Chapter 343 - Spider’s Webs-IV

Haneul led Min Hyuk to her room. The man stared at her with his gaze unblinking. He didn't ask or speak but his eyes were watching every moves she made with interest.

"Sit here," Haneul showed the way to the chair.

Min Hyuk took a seat as she had asked, and looked at her who went away to the cupboards, opening and closing the drawers until she pulled out a wooden box.

Haneul came back to his side, once she had what she needed, "Where is the wound?" She asked and it became clear to Min Hyuk what she wanted to do.

"You are tending me," he stated but it sounded to Haneul like a question.

"I can't?" She questioned him and saw his smile widening.

"No, of course you can buy human's medicine don't work with me," Min Hyuk reminded her.

Haneul nodded promptly, her gaze unwavering, "I know but that's fine, I will only look at it."

Min Hyuk didn't immediately reply and his gaze continue to loom at her, studying her. Haneul could feel his gaze on her but she felt too awkward to meet his eyes now in the empty room where there was only the two of them. The candles were lighted dimly, not enough to reduce the shadow between them. While she felt shy and nervous without the light, she was also great duo of it as the shadows helped to hide the colors of her cheeks which had turned bright pink.

When she saw Min Hyuk's eyes falling to her bed, her cheeks reddened and she schooled her expression before Min Hyuk found anything odd from her reaction.

"I will have to take off my robe," Min Hyuk said, his smile adding charm to his handsome face. Seeing his smile, Haneul's heart squeezed and she pursed her lips.

She let him move and turned her back so she won't have to watched him strip off from his outer robes. The rustling sound didn't help the situation and she pulled her braided hair tugging it to her neck.

Min Hyuk took his time to take off his robe, his eyes unable to tear away from Haneul's back figure. It had been years since he saw her and she was still the same as he remembered, kind, beautiful, everything about her stirred him. Sometimes to the point where he cannot help himself. 

"I thought you were angry," Min Hyuk said, his hand pulled the ribbon that snuggly tied his waist.

Haneul snapped from immersing herself to the loud sound of her heartbeat. When she heard his question, anger sparked in her mind and she bit the insides of her cheeks. "Why do you think I wouldn't?" A spiteful tone added on her words and she squeezed her heart thinking how she might have sounded too emotional on her reply. 

"So you did," Min Hyuk said in whispered. In the room and the distance they shared which wasn't too close nor far, it was hard to miss his words.

So you did? Was that all he had to say?!

Haneul still remembered it fresh in her memory the day after the catalyst ceremony when she woke up from her sleep and run to ask the maid where Min Hyuk might be as he had stayed in the Royal Palace as well. Her heart sank to a cold bottomless sea when the maid said Min Hyuk had gone to a war.

He had left without notice and no letters had been sent to her. When she thinks how much worry accumulated every year upon his depart and how she would be nervous in cold sweat every time the deaths of the war was announced, she felt stupid. Stupid for waiting for him who seemed to not think of how she was feeling. Stupid, for being worried every day that her every morning turn dull and monotone.

"I am done," he announced, bringing her back from her thoughts.

Haneul's heart felt as though it was soaring to the sky and now it was suffering the burn from getting too close to the Sun when she recalled what she had felt during the past two years. Anger bubbles inside her which she suppress. 

In silence she said, "Sit so I can tend your wound." And he did. 

Haneul then stepped closer to Min Hyuk. As his wound was around the side of his stomach, she sat on the chair next to him and bent her head as it was easier to access to his wound by doing so. 

Her heart squeezed on the closure. Everything seems to matter to her but maybe not for Min Hyuk.

Dabbing the cotton with water and wiping the blood, Haneul noticed how his wound was much worse than he showed her to be.

"Why didn't you tend your wound before coming here?  Whoever had tend your wound, they are a sloppy mess," she said tightly.

"The nurses helped to tend my wounds," Min Hyuk answered. He could hear how sweeter her voice was as she came closer to his side. 

His eyes stared at her who continue to bite her lips to focus which she seem to never notice. 

"They must be pretty then," Haneul had spoken too quickly before frowning at her own words that sounded as if she was jealous.

Min Hyuk chuckled and instead of disagreeing he said, "They were, so very beautiful. Ouch!"

"I see, so they were beautiful. Then you should have let them to fix this wounds of yours rather than coming here. You are wasting your time with me rather than choosing a beautiful nurse to stay with you," she said everything with her jaw set and when she was about to retract her hand, Min Hyuk took a hold of her wrist.

There was still the smile that made him fall for him like never before but was also irritated now.

"What?" She snipped.

"That statement you make," Min Hyuk leaned a little forward as if to see her better and make her see him better as well. "It sounded to me like you were jealous."

"You must be imagining it," Haneul replied.

"Am I? But you are angry, I can tell. Nothing ever miss a vampire's eyes, including emotions, don't you know this? The yellow witch must have told you about how we can read the heartbeats of a person and know what emotions is imbued on their words," he reminded and seeing her frown, he added, "What I meant by pretty nurses are Mrs. Gwong Hi."

Gwong Hi, the name rings bell in Haneul's mind because she was the old woman in the palace who worked as the doctor. The woman was over sixty years old. Haneul's cheeks reddened when she knew she had been teased by him. 

With a frown, she said, "I didn't know that you like elder woman." 

Min Hyuk chuckled at her reply. Letting go of her hand he said, "You didn't explain to me why you are angry." 

Haneul stared at his eyes, "Do you need to ask? You know it better than me why I am angry."

"Do I?" Min Hyuk tilted his head. "God make you mouth and give you lovely voice to speak, Haneul. I am not the yellow witch who can read your mind."

Haneul stopped her hand and whammed to close the wooden box lid. Her eyes sharply stared at Min Hyuk, "Since you are waiting for me to say it then I will come out and say it. Why didn't you tell me that you were dispatched to the war right on the next day? You told me that you would be alright but the Queen had sent you to the war knowing you would lose from the war," her heart drum quickly against her chest but not from nervousness and rather anger. The accumulated worries for years now turn into a deep anger in her heart. 

The rim of her eyes felt hotter but she pushed aside the anger that she felt. "You don't know how worried I was all this time while waiting for you!" She yelled and raised her fist and slammed it to his chest. The hit could be hardly identified as one with the small amount of power she input. With both har arms on his chest, Haneul bent her head so he wouldn't see the tears on her eyes. "Why can't you sent me a single letter?! Every time before I sleep I would..."

Min Hyuk held both of her hands, removing it from his chest and unwillingly Haneul lifted her chin when he pulled her face up. The two stared at each other. Min Hyuk had a frown on his forehead, "Wasn't it you who hadn't reply to my letter? Every day, I have never missed a day to sent you the letter but all of them was sent back to me from your house."

Haneul's eyes widened and for a moment she appeared blank, "What?" She questioned.

Meanwhile, outside of Seoyeon and her dream, Jung Hwa covered his stomach where blood soaked his shirt. Twelve out of the witches, only four of them had left.

The current leader of the witch, Yelena looked around her followers on the ground, ripped to pieces with blood pool around them. Either they lost their limbs or ripped to pieces until one cannot recognize their original shape, her followers met an utter defeat after only wounding the pureblood once.

Jung Hwa chuckled, gathering back Yelena's attention. Bringing his hand, he comb his hair, pushing them to the back of his head, "I have just found something today that you want to here, dark witches— Oops! My bad, allow me to fix the words. You are not dark witches but dark witches wannabe, black witches, right?"

Yelena's eyes widened over his words. Her beautiful face took only a second before it morphed into a hairless woman with distorted burn marks all over her head that caused her eyebrows to go missing. Her expression only turn more revolting to see with hatred that creased her face. "You will die today, pureblood!"

"All of you say the same exact thing," Jung Hwa twirled his finger.

Yelena squinted her eyes, questioning Jung Hwa's gesture but she didn't have to ask for too long as the next second, the witch who stood beside her let out a piercing scream. The rest of the witch was shocked with the sudden attack, their eyes all stunned at the black dagger had pierced her neck. 

"You lowlife bastard! How can you attack when we are still speaking?!"

Jung Hwa rolled his eyes, he questioned how can they be so stupid and expect mercy in a fight? When he uncrossed his arm and raised his hand just slightly, the rest of the witches looked around with their eyes wary. When Jung Hwa laughed, they realized the vampire had tricked them that only fueled more anger inside the witches.

"Speak is useless when it comes to fight.. Don't anyone ever teach you that?" Jung Hwa waved his hand, "It is your time to apologize you know and I will make note to make your death less painful if you do so."