🌼a/n: 
just a quick heads up! I will be using 1ST POV for this chapter but there will be times when it will look like a 3RD POV. It's called FIRST-PERSON OMNISCIENNT in which the narrator is a character in the story, but also knows the thoughts and feelings of all the other characters. Oki, y'all can continue on now~!

Lee Keni's POV 

"You don't have to do this," Soobin whispered as we entered the barn behind the manor. "We can just find another way for you to remember."

I looked over my shoulder to face him. Then I gave the tall boy an encouraging smile and whispered back, "There is no other way for me to remember... unless you think I should see Professor Nam-"

"Nevermind!" Soobin hollered protectively, making me bite my bottom lip from laughing.

Then I watched him sighing out loud and felt his hand grab mine. "Just be careful, okay?"

"I will... Don't worry," I softly told him before we both heard Jisung's fake cough.

I turned to look at him, Soobin's hand still holding mine. "You ready?" Jisung asked while glaring at Soobin.

I gave Soobin's a squeeze before letting go and answering Jisung. "Yes, I'm ready," I said as I walked over to the old, brown couch in the middle of the barn.

"I can't believe that you're making me do this after I manipulated your memories," Jisung muttered under his breath as we sat on the sides of the brown couch. "Just why do you trust me to get back in that head of yours?"

I looked over at my vampire and spoke up with all honesty.

"Because I know deep down that you've learned from your mistake."

Jisung raised his right eyebrow at me and asked, "Are you sure I've learned my mistake?" Then he looked over at Soobin and continued on, "What if it wasn't a mistake?"

"If you know the truth then you wouldn't have manipulated Keni's memories of us," Soobin exclaimed to the other vampire with hatred in his tone.

That ticked Oh Jisung off which made him stand up from the brown couch. "And what's this truth that you two have been hiding, huh?" He asked as he eyed the male vampire by the barn's entrance and exit.

Soobin was about to answer him but I beat him to it. "We're Soulmates," I answered, making Jisung snap his head to face me.

"What? That's impossible-" then Jisung stopped as he saw it. 

Only a vampire whose Gift is connected to the Mind Element can see what Jisung is seeing. A golden thread that he had not seen is tied around his guardian and the other male vampire. A golden thread that was coming out from their chests. He shook his head as he rubbed his eyes. But no matter what he did, he can still see it.

"Um... Jisung, are you okay?" I asked as I watched my vampire losing it.

"How is this possible?" He asked while looking between Soobin and me.

This time Soobin spoke up. He explained how we both started to feel this weird feeling when we were in the same room and that after going to the library to check up on what we were feeling was about, we both found out that we are Soulmates.

I watched as Jisung listened and Soobin explaining, adding a couple of details here and there for my vampire to understand. Once Jisung got his answer, he looked at me and asked, "That must've been why my manipulation didn't pull through..."

I furrowed my eyebrows as I saw him emotionally break again. "Jisung, I-" But he cut me off.

"Let's get this done and over with then," He said while sitting back down on the other side of the brown couch.

I took a deep breath in and looked into Jisung's eyes as I watched it turned a bright golden-yellow color.

Then everything around us turned black before we both had shut our eyes closed.

"Hey, wake up."

I felt someone shaking me and for less than a second, my eyes opened. I stood up with Jisung's help and once I found my balance, I looked around us and realized that we are both right outside the Academy.

"This feels so real..." I said as Jisung wiped some dirt off of his arm.

"That's the whole point of being manipulated by a Mind Manipulator," Jisung pointed out as we both started to walk to the back of the Academy.

Then I stopped and looked at him. "You cut me off back at the barn," I told him gently. "Why? Didn't you want an explanation from me?"

"I do but your Soulmate explained it so well," the dark-haired vampire said with an annoyed voice.

I sighed and hit his arm to which he gave me a shocked look. "Don't you think that hitting me in the arm is too early for you to do?" He asked while rubbing the pain away.

"If you get to feel the pain, then that means this mind trick of yours will make everything feel too real," I answered back, dodging his question by saying a different answer.

"Did you just answered my question differently?" Jisung asked with another raised eyebrow.

I smirked and shrugged. "Maybe." Jisung sighed, totally annoyed again but I can see him smiling softly from his side.

Then we both continued walking to the back of the Academy and once we got to the front of the entrance of the Dark Forest, I stopped Jisung.

"What now?" He asked in confusion.

I looked at the entrance then back at him and said, "This is for me to see, Jisung. So stay here for now."

He understood right away which he clenched his teeth together. Then he grabbed my hand and in worry told me, "Whatever you see, remember that it's not real. It's just what the Fear Simulator made. And if anything does happen... shout for me, okay?"

I softly smiled and nodded my head. "Don't worry too much, Jisung. You said it yourself. This isn't real," I replied back.

Then he lets go of my hand and I entered the Dark Forest.

I walked down the familiar path and realized how everything looked so clear.

"Damn... Jisung's mind manipulation is no joke," I whispered to myself as I noticed the sun was already setting.

I continued walking down the path until the moon was up in the night sky. I took my phone out and turned the flashlight on. After a few more minutes, I sense that someone is about to die soon. I bit my bottom lip as my Gift pulled me to the tree where Yeji's burnt and chopped body was found on Christmas Day last year. 

Then I saw her.

"U-unnie..." I called out but something caught my eyes before I could run over to Yeji's unconscious body.

A man stepped out from the other side but his face was blurry. He just stood there as he looked at Yeji. Then he spoke up and my heart skipped a beat.

"Ruth, don't just stand there," the man exclaimed while looking over at me. "Tie her up to the tree before she wakes up."

"Y-yes, s-sir," Vivien's voice broke out from behind me.

I turned around just to see Vivien walking over to the tree and Yeji with some ropes in her hands. But this wasn't the Vivien Kang that everyone in the Academy knows. She was still herself. She was still Ruth Kim.

The burn scar on her face made me feel pity for what had happened to her but I noticed that she was so different from the new girl that I met a week ago. Ruth looked scared and lost. I could tell that she didn't want to do any of this and that the man with the blurry face must have been- 

Wait...

"This isn't made up from the Fear Simulator," I whispered as I looked back at Yeji, the man, and lastly at Ruth.

The feeling of being scared and lost was what I felt during the simulation.

These were not exactly my feelings but Ruth's.

This was not created by Professor Nam's machine.

It's Ruth's memory.

"Are you okay?" Jisung asked when seeing me leaving the Dark Forest.

But I ignored him as I tried to think about what I just saw. The more that it made sense that it was a memory, the more I couldn't handle what was happening.

"Keni! What happened?" Jisung asked as he stood in front of him, worry etched on his face.

"This... This was not created by the Fear Simulator..."

"What are you talking about?"

I have to see Professor Nam.

"Keni, talk to me."

I looked at Jisung as tears started to form in my eyes.

Then I said, "Jisung, you can end it here."

My vampire looked confused but he didn't push on. He did what I told him to do and in a blink of an eye, we were back in the barn on the couch and Soobin was kneeling down as he looked at me from the side of the couch.

"Hey, you're back," He spoke up in relief while standing up and helping me sit up.

I soon realized that Jisung and I were lying on the couch, our legs hanging on the side. Then Jisung opened his eyes and sat up.

"So did you see what you wanted to see?" Soobin asked as I held onto his arm for support.

I nodded my head and heard Jisung sigh. "I guess you won't tell me?" He asked while looking at us.

"I'm sorry, Jisung," I spoke up gently. "But please don't worry about me. I'll be okay."

"You better be," He said while glaring at me. "This will be the last time I'll get inside that head of yours."

I bit my bottom lip and watched him walk out of our old hangout, leaving me and Soobin alone.

Then he asked as we both left the barn, "Are you going to tell the guys about what we did today?"

I looked at him in confusion and then Soobin showed me his phone that had many missed calls from Haruto and Jaehyuck, and some text messages from Bora, Maya, and Dakyung.

I sighed and nodded my head. "But not now. We still have to see someone."

Soobin crossed his eyebrows together and asked, "Who?"

"You wouldn't like my answer if I told you," I replied nervously.

"Jesus- Keni, no! Isn't it enough that you got Jisung in your head again?" Soobin exclaimed when he realized who I was talking about.

I looked at Soobin in the eyes and said gently, "Binnie, what I just saw was not created by the Fear Simulator. It was Ruth's memory."

The 18-year-old vampire's face went even paler than the usual when hearing me.

"If it's Ruth's memory then how did Professor Nam get her hands on it?" He asked as he took my hand and started to walk to the front of the Oh Manor where the car is parked at.

"That's what we have to ask her when we meet up with her," I exclaimed as I quickly sent a message to Bora after opening my phone. "I also told Bora about where we are going and to check where Professor Nam's office is at."

"Isn't she a Professor at the Daegu Branch?"

"She is, but after what she did back at the Academy. She was suspended."

"Where did you get this information from?"

"From We Bite Vlogs."

Soobin opened the door for me and I got inside the car. He used his speed to get to the driver's side, then he got inside and asked, "I thought that the club's leader decided to stop doing the vlogs?"

"They did but..." I looked outside the window on my side as Soobin started to drive down the driveway. "Taehee unnie wanted to be the first to talk about it. So the club opened again."

"You have many friends now that I think about it," Soobin said as the car reached the gates.

I looked back at him and chuckled. "I don't. I just... know a lot of people."

"Well, at least you hang out with the good people," He added and stopped right there.

I didn't need the Soulmate Connection to tell me what Soobin was feeling. I may not remember our memories clearly but at least I remember my memories of him when we were First Years and Second Years. The many times when I see him ignoring what the other students would say while he walks down the school's hallway and the things they say when he wasn't around. Their words make him look like a bad guy when technically he is just someone with a bad past.

I reached my hand out to him and placed it on his again.

"You're a good person, Park Soobin," I told him firmly. "Don't let others make you think that you are not."

The car slowly came to a stop and Soobin turned his head to face me. "Why do you think I'm a good person?" He asked while his golden-red eyes glowed.

I smiled at the question and answered, "Because before we both found out that we were Soulmates, you saved me that day when a truck came running down the hill. If you weren't a good person, then you wouldn't have saved me."

"Wait, you remember that?" Soobin asked in surprise from the old memory two years ago.

"Jisung didn't lock away all of my memories of you," I said as I intertwined our hands together. 

"That was when we first met" He pointed out with a shy smile. "That was also the day when I started to like-"

Soobin was cut off when my phone went off. I had to pull my hand away from his to get my phone out of my jeans' pocket. Before I got to check the text message from Bora, I heard Soobin sighing in irritation which made me laugh softly. Then I checked what Bora sent me and quickly checked it on Google Maps when I saw the address for Professor Nam's office.

Soobin sat up straight and asked, "Wait, she got it already?"

I nodded again and placed my phone on the holder near the driver's side. Then I said as I tapped on the enter button, "Her office is only a few streets away."

Then I felt Soobin's emotions and Ruth's memory appeared in my mind as he started to drive again.

We are halfway to the truth now...

We are almost there, Yeji.

🌼a/n:

I legit wheezed at some parts when I wrote this chapter.
Currently, Hwasa's Maria is playing- 😂🧡

Two more chapters left for PART 2. Also everyone, please prepare yourselves for Chapter 23. It's gonna be one hell of a chapter and I hope I'll write it better than the last few chapters. Because we are all going to find out what exactly had happened to Ruth and why Professor Nam showed Keni Ruth's memory of the night when Yeji died.

OMFG OMFG I CANNOT WAIT 😤😭😤😭😤😭

but the next chapter will be out next Friday... 😅😁

I hope y'all are studying well. I'm currently trying to achieve my goal of getting 1.25 and 1.50 for my grades this second semester! Wish me luck, guys. Because if I pass this second semester, I might be able to move out of my parents' house later this year. 🧡🧡🧡

LEZ REACH FOR OUR GOALS AND DREAMS THIS YEAR! I WISH Y'ALL LUCK AND MAY GOD KEEP BLESSING ALL OF US- ayt Ima end the A/n here... 😁✌🏼

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