"Yeonjun?"

At the sound of his name, Yeonjun looked up, surprise splitting his features as he noticed Selene enter his mother's chamber, a basket of fruits in hand. He smiled, bowing slightly, before walking up to receive the fruits on his mother's behalf. Selene smiled back, though she appeared confused at Yeonjun's appearance, especially looking so tired.

"What brings you to the Moon?" Selene asked, taking a seat Yeonjun had been quick to pull out. Yeonjun's smile never ceased from his face, though it soured, leaving Selene feeling slightly suspicious.

"Trouble in Paradise does, Selene," Yeonjun responded carefully, grabbing a golden apple from the basket. Selene frowned, displeased at the statement. "It's okay, Selene. I've just been working to fix the mistakes committed."

"What mistakes?" Selene inquired as Yeonjun took a seat. "Where's your mother?"

"She'll be back shortly," Yeonjun answered, taking a bite off the apple. "Took a little break. We've been working nonstop these past couple of days. These golden apples are delicious, Selene, thank you."

"Did something happen to my children?" Selene asked, immediately tensing. Yeonjun shook his head, momentarily lost in thought. "Indirectly then."

Yeonjun nodded, sighing. "One of the humans struck a deal with Artemis. Your children are fine, but Hoseok's facing the consequences now. My mother was tricked into helping Artemis, so now, I'm spending my days here trying to figure out how to fix this mess."

From an outsider's perspective, it would be impossible to determine that any of the Purebloods were related, much less sons of Selene. But, looking at how quickly Her gaze stormed, eyes narrowing into slivers brewing with fury and jaw clenching harshly, aura poisoning the usual purity of Her radiance— it was clearer than night that the Purebloods and Selene were one and the same.

"I'd been wondering why Artemis had stopped her visits," Selene muttered, hands forming into fists. "Coward. She meddles in my childrens' business and thinks that she can walk around. Who's the human Artemis is conspiring with? I must know his name. I'll kill him."

"Selene, darling, you can't kill him."

Selene's expression relaxed a bit as Hecate appeared, her gaze sorrowful but stern. Hecate offered Selene a small apologetic smile before standing by Yeonjun's side, placing her hand on his shoulder. Yeonjun smiled affectionately at the action, looking up at her warmly before turning back to Selene.

"Just how Artemis can't kill soulmates directly, you can't kill those placed in the soulmate's way," Hecate explained. "Artemis is a Hunter. She's cunning, a brilliant strategist, and knows how to get what she wants. She played it well. Had me fooled too."

"Her plan was never to kill him," Yeonjun continued, earning another small smile from his mother. "She wanted the human to feel desperate enough to save him. The human loves him, Selene. He's devoted the same way Ambrogio was once devoted to you."

The anger slowly dissipated from her eyes. Selene relaxed a bit, and while the initial anger had disappeared, it was now replaced with scorn combined with sheer helplessness. Whatever the human had done to her sleep her eldest and his soulmate away from each other, he did it because of delusions that Artemis helped conjure. Had Artemis never interfered, none of this would be happening.

Still, Selene despised the way that this human was meddling in her family's affairs.

"They haven't asked me for help yet," Selene said, lips quirking a bit. "Namjoon did centuries ago. I could hear him calling out for me. You weren't there, were you, Yeonjun?"

Yeonjun shook his head. "I was training back then. I had no idea what was happening on Earth. If I did, maybe things would have turned out different."

"Had my help been accepted, things would have been different," Selene hummed, shaking her head. "No matter. Yoongi is the most prideful of the three. I doubt he'd ask anything from me."

Yeonjun smiled. "The last thing he wants to do is trouble you. Let's hope that you don't have to intervene, Selene. Artemis won't be too fond of finding out that you've finally decided to make yourself known."

"A mother will do anything for her children," Selene responded, eyes narrowing once more. "Keep me updated. I will not intervene where I do not have to. I also asked for the human's name, Yeonjun."

Yeonjun chewed on his bottom lip, hesitancy clear in his features at Selene's demand. Names were powerful in the world, and Selene knowing the person getting in between Yoongi and Hoseok would undoubtedly cause trouble, even with Selene saying that she wouldn't do anything to him. The possibility remained, but Yeonjun had no alliance with Seokjin. He didn't matter as much as Hoseok did.

"Yeonjun, you can tell her," Hecate said, nodding at him. "I'll be here if Selene tries anything."

Selene scowled. She crossed her arms, waiting patiently for Yeonjun to respond. Finally, Yeonjun relented.

"His name's Kim Seokjin."

🩸

"Hoseok, are you okay?"

King Micah received no response from his son, who was staring sullenly at his dinner, fork picking at the food. Hoseok's eyes fostered no light, looking vacantly as he put a piece of steak in his mouth, repeating his actions after picking at his food every couple of seconds. He'd been like that all day, and now Micah was genuinely starting to worry. Micah turned to Seokjin, who only shrugged, also casting his gaze down.

Something had happened last night, King Micah could tell, but he didn't ask, instead let both of them finish their food. Hoseok finished first, immediately standing up and bowing.

"Excuse me."

Without another word, Hoseok scurried from the dining room, leaving Seokjin and Micah alone. Seokjin finally looked up, guilt intertwined with his features. Micah sighed, waiting expectantly for Seokjin to speak.

"Hoseok suspects something," Micah finally said, as Seokjin said nothing. Seokjin nodded. "What did you tell him?"

"Wedding mishaps," Seokjin answered, looking away. "I hadn't meant to mess it up, but Hoseok caught on pretty quickly. That I was lying to him. I left before I could cause any more damage."

Micah's lips pressed together. "That's just what I needed. No matter. As long as Hoseok doesn't step foot outside this palace, it'll be fine."

"As you've said on numerous occasions," Seokjin said, frowning. "You've never told me why, though."

"Do you want him to get captured?" Micah scoffed. "I don't think you need an explanation for what I tell you. Hoseok must stay here. Once he becomes King, everything will finally be in place. Have the Purebloods shown their faces yet?"

"The wards around the palace should be impenetrable," Seokjin replied. "I've heard no one pass through them. I know someone spotted Jungkook in the outskirts of the city, but that's about it. The main three have yet to show their faces."

Micah chuckled. "As long as Hoseok remains untouchable, they'll be kept at bay. Most of the vampires are dead anyhow— they don't have anyone fighting for them. They'll be forced to surrender eventually."

"But they won't surrender until Hoseok becomes King," Seokijn said. Micah shrugged.

"There are plenty of other ways to get them to surrender," Micah answered, not bothering to elaborate.

While Micah trusted Seokjin, Seokjin's primary motivation was his devotion to Hoseok. From the boy's eyes, he could see who smitten he was with Hoseok and knew that there was nothing Seokjin wouldn't do for Hoseok to remain by his side. This was exactly why Artemis had chosen Seokjin, why she was willing to risk an innocent like Seokjin. If Seokjin could just convince Hoseok that they could be together, that he and Yoongi weren't meant to be, then everything would be fine.

What Seokjin didn't know was that there were always backup plans in place. Micah would do anything to protect his son from the hands of the Purebloods, especially from Yoongi. It didn't matter what anyone wanted— Micah would happily make the same sacrifices he'd done time and time again. The line between good and evil was nonexistent on Micah's plate. All that mattered was making sure the Purebloods were gone.

No matter who he had to kill in the process.

"Have you thought about what Artemis has proposed to you?"

Seokjin shifted uncomfortably in his seat at Micah's question. Micah scoffed, shaking his head in disappointment.

"She's giving you the ability to kill Purebloods, and you're still deciding?" Micah pressed. "Seokjin, you're young and agile, but you're still human. You don't stand a chance against them. What if they were to disrupt the coronation? What if Hoseok were to remember everything? Do you want him running to Yoongi? Do you want him to leave you behind?"

Seokjin shook his head, eyes glazed over with conflicting emotions.

"All she wants is for you to remain chaste, and she'll give you the strength, skill, and hunting ability to be able to kill them. You wouldn't be human anymore. You could be part God."

"I would have to leave for a couple of days," Seokjin responded, "I could put you two in danger. Besides, being part God doesn't entice me. I just want to keep Hoseok safe. Everything I'm doing is for him. I'm not doing anything for personal gain."

"Seokjin, you could protect Hoseok like this. If you kill the Purebloods, you'll assure his safety forever," Micah argued. "Imagine it—the Crown belonging to the two of you. Hoseok, forgetting about those wretched Purebloods completely, feeling nothing as you slay them. It's symbolic. It's history."

If Micah could do it, he would.

He'd do anything to see the crumbling Purebloods' expressions when they realize they've lost. To see Yoongi surrendering once Hoseok becomes unattainable. It didn't matter that the Purebloods had given him long life and everything he'd asked for. The Purebloods could just as easily take it away. The fact that they hadn't yet was a miracle in itself, but Micah couldn't dwell on that. He needed to see the Purebloods die.

If Yoongi died by Hoseok's hand, it would be all the better.

What Seokjin was doing right now— being unsure of everything laying in front of him, was a big mistake. He was just given the opportunity to attain skill and advantage, yet, Seokjin was hesitant to accept it. What was chastity to power? Power was everything, especially in the imbalanced world they lived in. Micah wasn't strong enough to bear the power anymore— his age had finally started catching up to him, but Seokjin could.

"I'll think about it some more."

Seokjin bowed his head at Micah before standing. He tucked in his chair and began walking out of the dining room. As his hand touched the handle, Micah called out,

"If you love my son, you'll do it."

Seokjin froze at Micah's words, words that sounded as if he had heard them before. His jaw clenched, his fingers tightening around the handle as Micah approached him. Micah put a hand on Seokjin's shoulder, taking Seokjin's silence to his advantage.

"Save him, save the world," Micah whispered. "If you let this precious opportunity go, who knows how many lives you'll be responsible for? You have to do what's best for us. For Hoseok."

It is because I love him that I have to do this.

Micah smiled victoriously as the doubt washed off Seokjin's face.

"I knew you'd make the right choice."

Seokjin opened the door, letting the King pass through. He followed behind Micah, emptying his mind of all his doubts and insecurities. King Micah was right. His priority should be Hoseok. Anything that can give them an edge— he had to take it. It was the right thing to do after everything he'd done.

Hoseok's expression of loathing and fury remained imprinted on his mind, the last words that Hoseok had ever told him haunting him every second of the day. Even if Hoseok looked different now, Seokjin couldn't shake the Hoseok he'd seen before he'd agreed to Artemis's offer. Even when he had tried to conjure the illusion that they had always been together, there was still a prominent distance between them. Seokjin hated it.

If the Purebloods had never intervened, Seokjin wouldn't have been forced to take such strong actions.

Seokjin didn't think that he was a bad person. He didn't think he was good either. He'd done his fair share of evil things, but what human didn't? Caught in lies that he couldn't escape from now, trying so desperately to make it seem like Hoseok and Seokjin were madly in love with each other. He'd seen Hoseok continuously playing with the ring that was meant for him weeks ago, the tinges of displeasure radiating on his face the way the Sun would radiate its light onto the land.

Everything had changed.

But if he did this, if he managed to get Hoseok crowned, all their problems would go away. Artemis had said so Herself. Taking the vow of King was a lifelong commitment and one that would effectively have Hoseok forget all about what had corrupted him during his time with the Purebloods. Hosoek hadn't been injured nor harmed when seokjin had seen him. He was almost radiant, which had confused Seokjin further. He couldn't help but wonder what the Purebloods told Hoseok that made him change his mind. There had to be something that had changed Hoseok's mind, but did Seokjin truly want to know?

No.

Not when it could take Hoseok away from him.

Seokjin knocked on Hoseok's door. He waited a couple of seconds for the shuffling to stop before he entered. Hoseok was sitting on his bed, staring vacantly in front of him. He maintained a stoic expression as Seokjin slowly entered. Hoseok hadn't forgotten about the events of last night, Seokjin was sure of it, and he wasn't going to let Seokjin in that easily.

"I'm going away for a couple of days."

Hoseok rolled his eyes, raising an eyebrow in scorn. "Tad convenient, don't you think? You lie to me, and the next day you're just...going to go away?"

"Listen, Hoseok," Seokjin sighed, crossing his arms. "I don't want to overwhelm you. I'm sorry that I lied to you, okay? But, it's for your own good. It's to keep you safe."

"A ring on my finger isn't going to keep me safe," Hoseok snapped, finally looking at him. "If you lied to me about something like that, I can only imagine what else you're hiding from me. I bet you probably don't even think that what you're doing is bad."

"Everything I'm doing is for you!" Seokjin snapped back, "There are things you shouldn't know for your benefit, Hoseok. Do you think I would be keeping stuff from you just because I want to? You've known me your whole life. Am I truly capable of that?"

Hoseok's expression hardened. "I don't know anymore, Seokjin. Are you?"

"Hoseok, I love you," Seokjin said, exasperated. "I would never do anything to hurt you. It's because I love you that I do what I do."

Seokjin watched as Hoseok's expression began to falter, hands slowly going up to his head. His eyes widened, struggle evident in his face at the words. For a split second, it seemed like Hoseok was in genuine pain, but as Seokjin tried to inch closer to investigate, Hoseok's demeanor changed completely. He straightened up and, looking at Seokjin; he smiled, though the smile did not reach his eyes.

"Have a safe trip, Seokjin," Hoseok said, the smile still on his face.

Any emotion that Hoseok had before had left him, replaced by a somewhat cheerful personality. Seokjin watched as Hoseok got up from the bed and walked towards him. To Seokjin's surprise, Hoseok's arms wrapped around him, his mind numbing as he realized that Hoseok was embracing him. Slowly, Seokjin hugged him back, letting his eyes flutter close as he held Hoseok.

They remained like that for several moments, basking in each other's presence. This felt normal— right, perfect; there was no other way for Seokjin to describe it other than perfect. He pulled away, smiling softly at Hoseok, who looked up at him innocently, and for a split second, Seokjin deluded himself into believing Hoseok cared.

Hoseok had to care if he stopped being angry.

"I love you," Seokjin murmured, tucking Hoseok's hair behind his ear. Hoseok smiled.

"I love you more." Hoseok said as he cupped Seokjin's cheek, "Don't lie to me again."

Hoseok leaned in, letting his lips softly touch Seokjin's in farewell. He tried his best to ignore the pair of eyes he felt staring daggers at the back of his head, focusing himself on Seokjin, who seemed to have already lost himself in Hoseok. After a couple of moments, Hoseok pulled away, letting his hands grab Seokjin's.

"Come back in one piece, okay?" Hoseok said, only receiving a softer smile from Seokjin. Seokijn kissed the top of Hoseok's forehead, embracing him one last time.

"If you want, I can take you out for a bit," Seokjin offered. "We could walk around town. I'm sure your father would let you."

Hoseok shook his head, looking away, "We'll do that when you come back. You should go do whatever you have to do. I assume you can't tell me what it is."

"When I come back, I'll tell you," Seokjin promised, letting go of Hoseok's hands. "Everything will go back to normal, my love, I promise."

Hoseok smiled. "There's nothing I'd like more."

As Hoseok led Seokjin out, Seokjin peeked behind him, noticing the window. "Hoseok, why do you have the window open?"

"To see the Moon," Hoseok responded, leaving a smile on his face. "It provides comfort to me, remember? I told you this."

"Right," Seokjin said, looking back out the window. Deciding not to pursue anything, he gave Hoseok one final look. "Goodnight, Hoseok."

"Goodnight, Seokjin."

Hoseok closed the door gently behind Seokjin, making sure to lock it. He leaned against the doorway to hear the sounds of Seokjin's footsteps echoing farther and farther away. Once Hoseok was sure that Seokjin was nowhere near his room, he sighed and wiped his lips with his sleeve.

"He's said that before."

Hoseok couldn't even fight the tears that slipped from his eyes as he said this out loud. He'd hoped that it wouldn't be true— to give Seokjin the benefit of the doubt, but the second Seokjin had uttered that phrase, Hoseok knew Seokjin had already used it before. While he didn't know what Seokjin had used the phrase for, it was familiar, and that's all that mattered to Hoseok. The phrase held no good connotation, even if that's what Seokjin had meant it for.

"He has."

Hoseok turned, his eyes meeting a pair of obsidian ones. He wiped his tears, ducking his head to prevent him from seeing to no avail. He could hear laughter coming from the window, a sound that resonated through his body and brought Hoseok inexplicable joy.

"No need to hide your tears, Hoseok. It's not like I've never seen you do so."

"How much did you watch?" Hoseok asked, shaking his head. "Be honest. I could feel your eyes just staring at me."

"Then you know I've been here the entire time."

"I had a feeling," Hoseok murmured, walking towards him. "Didn't think I'd be right."

"I could always leave, sunshine, if that's what you want," Yoongi offered as he turned his head to Hoseok, who was leaning against the wall closest to the window. "Though it would be a waste, considering all those sleepless nights that's been spent would go down the drain."

Hoseok scoffed, rolling his eyes, and held his hand out to Yoongi, "Get in here before anyone sees you making yourself at home on my window."

"Mm, to think that we only needed some time apart from each other," Yoongi mused, taking Hoseok's hand. He stepped off the windowsill, and after closing it, pulled Hoseok towards him, his free hand latching onto Hoseok's waist. "I should have let them take you from me sooner."

"I can still kick you out," Hoseok warned, though he did nothing to leave Yoongi's hold. Yoongi chuckled, only pulling Hoseok closer, eyes shining brighter than Hoseok had expected them to be.

"That's too bad, sunshine," Yoongi teased, leaning closer. "Now that I have you in my arms, I'm never letting you go."

Sunshine.

Hoseok's heart warmed at the gesture.

"I've missed you," Yoongi murmured as he let his gaze drink in Hoseok. "It feels like forever and a day since I've seen you."

While Hoseok only had fragments of memories, he knew one thing.

"I've missed you more."

a/n: a little bit shorter this time (like 3.3k) but hoseok did a full 180 what's up with that hmmm 😾‼️ jk we'll find out next chapter i was just being selfish and wanted to keep sope to myself  😋 in all seriousness, i wanted sope to have their own chapter so i was like lemme do a lil intro first 

and yes i did have to add the 2seok part, which will also be explained next chapter !

tbh i think this is the softest i've done sope this entire book. omg guys it only took like 70k words for them to fully progress. in conclusion, sope married now 😋

fun fact, sope reunion was written with my everything by nct u and sweet night by v in the background <3 do with this what you will 😋

i've been so inactive bc my ass leaves for college next week and i got lots of shit to take care of and do 😔😔😔 MY ELECTRICITY ALSO WENT OUT A COUPLE DAYS AGO BC OF A STORM AND I WAS IN PAIN (no worries we all good now i promise) but i will be v inactive esp on social media (if you follow me on ig ofc), bc i gotta be a responsible adult now and get myself ready for school.

^ this means next update will be either a bit delayed or given ahead of schedule. i signed up to volunteer to check students into their dorms so that's going to be extra fun this year (i'll def be busy)

ik this is like little but this year i have my own private bathroom this year WHICH MEANS I ONLY GOTTA SHARE IT WITH ONE OTHER PERSON ( my roomie) but i'm literally so excited bc last year i had communal restrooms and that was a real pain 😔😔😔

can't believe time has flown by so fast wow. i'm in shock really </3

thank you for 11k reads and 1.4k votes too! y'all really never cease to surprise me but i'm always so thankful for you all. thank you for continuing to support me. y'all really mean the world to me 🥺💜💜