A gorgeous woman who looked frighteningly similar to his friend. The woman had dark hair with strands of gray that fell over her shoulders and down to her back, like a black silk curtain. Dark, kind eyes that held a hint of motherly warmth, and were beginning to tear up.
She wore a teal-blue dress that hugged her figure splendidly, with full lips, fair, flawless skin, and a stunned expression on her gorgeous face; one would have mistaken her for a saint.
Sunny now knew where Eunbin got her looks from; it was as if he were staring at an older version of Eunbin, and it was obvious that this was Eunbin's dead mother.
"Eunbin?" The woman asked, her voice shaky as she stumbled and fell to the floor. Hearing the commotion, Sunny listened to a pair of footsteps rush to the door.
"Honey?! What's going on?" A gruff voice asked, and a pair of strong-voiced arms hoisted the woman up and held her firmly.
A tall, handsome man with broad shoulders and dark hair appeared from behind the stunning woman, then froze in place.
"Y-you? W-What?" Eunbin stuttered as she stumbled back again and caught herself by holding onto Sunny's arm as he had moved to stand beside her and stare in shock as well.
Her parents were alive?
"I-I don't understand. Sunless, you see them too, right? Tell me you see them as well." Eunbin said in a pleading tone.
"I do, but who are these people, Eunbin?" Sunless asked, despite her knowing that he had already guessed who they were, she still answered.
"My parents, my dead parents, it must be some mind hex or illusion, it has to be. There is no way I'm seeing my dead parents right now." Eunbin said, feeling her breathing quicken.
"We're not fake or dead, Eunbin. Look, you remember this, don't you?" Her father asked in a gruff yet somehow soft tone, stepping closer with a hesitant expression, and showed his wrist to her.
The Enchantress stepped away, holding her head, and swayed as she processed who was standing before her; it was impossible.
Once she became awakened, she went to the government and requested the files they had on them, and she saw the pictures of their mangled bodies after the gate was cleared.
Unless those pictures were of someone else?
No! Eunbin immediately denied; she saw her father's severed arm still wearing the bracelet Eunbin had made for him as his birthday present as a child. And yet when she looked at his left wrist, she couldn't deny the truth. It was still there, having not aged a day, and neither had her parents.
But it was still strange: he always wore Eunbin's bracelet on his right hand. Even when she saw their dead bodies, it was still in his right hand, and now, for some reason, it was in his left.
Eunbin inwardly shook her head as she realized that she was thinking about the wrong things. She slowly got a hold of herself and gently pried away from the firm, reassuring grip Sunless had on her when he caught her.
Eunbin meant it when she said she was glad he was here and that she needed him now more than ever.
"Don't lie to me, you dare try to impersonate my parents?" She said in barely concealed rage and pointed a trembling finger at them.
"We're not impersonating anyone, honey. Come here and hug your mother. It's been so long, my little girl even got herself a boyfriend." Her mother gave a watery smile.
Eunbin rapidly shook her head. "No, no, you're not real. I watched you both die from a nightmare gate opening on top of you. I know I did,"
"You were only seven, Bin, when the nightmare gate opened on top of us, our physical bodies were destroyed, and we became lost, stuck in the dream realm without a real body, and we had no way of conquering a nightmare seed until recently."
"You were masters!" Eunbin's voice faltered as she snapped at her biological parents.
"We were awakened, dear. You know that." Her father said softly.
That was impossible.
"Then why didn't you come for me as soon as you ascended and gained new bodies? Why wait for me to stumble upon our house I bought back from the government all these years later?!"
"We didn't think you needed us anymore, you were with royalty," her mother said, tears now rolling down her cheeks.
"That's not an excuse! I was lucky enough to be adopted not long after I was dropped off at the orphanage. Were you that happy to not have me around anymore?" Eunbin said, frustration leaking in her voice, making her mother gasp again and choke back a sob.
"Eunbin-" Her father began with a disappointed expression.
"I have to get some air," Eunbin said, interrupting her father, and began to briskly walk away while taking deep breaths to calm her rapidly beating heart, with Sunless following on her heels.
"Eunbin?" Sunless said, causing her to look over and see his hand hovering on her shoulder, silently asking for permission.
When Eunbin nodded, he gripped her shoulder firmly, pulled her steady for whatever reason, and guided her to sit down on a nearby bench.
It wasn't until she immediately collapsed onto it that Eunbin realized why he had done that.
Her knees had failed her.
Sunny watched as his friend took deep, steady breaths, and the corners of her eyes started to tear up, but even then, she still somehow looked more beautiful. He wanted to console her but had no idea what to say in this situation.
Oddly enough, the feeling of wanting to comfort her was slowly overwhelmed by something more lustful. When Eunbin looked at him, that was when he knew something was wrong because the urge to act on that lust grew even more, then suddenly disappeared as fast as it appeared.
"I'm very sorry, Sunless. What you just experienced was due to an attribute of mine. I always have it suppressed whenever I'm around you or my sisters, but it slipped up because I'm so overwhelmed with emotions right now." The Enchantress said through sniffs as she grabbed a handkerchief that Sunny brought with him and wiped her eyes.
"It's okay, finding out your parents are alive is more than a big deal."
"And here I was in the middle of planning a Christmas party for everyone, even though we still have over a few months before the winter solstice, then I got hit with this. I didn't want you, of all people, to see me in such a state. I hope it doesn't ruin your impression of me. " Eunbin said, letting out a humorless laugh. It was clear as day that she had come to care about his perception of her.
"Forget about the damn party, Eunbin, your parents are alive, I'm not going to think any differently of you because you're overwhelmed," Sunny said, trying to get her to focus on the topic at hand. He wasn't even going to mention that he only celebrated Christmas once, which was surprising considering that he was born around that time.
His parents never had any money to buy him anything for the holidays. Sunny never minded, though; for him, mother and father being there was better than any presents they could have given him.
"I'm happy to hear it, Sunless, and I'm glad to have met you. I mean it; it's nice to be able to be myself around someone other than my sisters and not be judged for it. And how can I forget about the party? The main reason why I plan these events is that you never do anything else except work, and I want you to be able to relax and have fun. But we both know I'm talking about this as a way to avoid the situation at hand." Eunbin said, steadying her breathing and meeting his gaze with her unusually vulnerable dark eyes, but her voice was still small.
"I know, and it's very much appreciated, trust me. If you want, I can go somewhere else and let you catch up with them." Sunless said, lowering his voice to be as soft as he walked closer to her.
"No, no, I'd like you to stay here if it isn't too much trouble for you. I know how busy you are, and I realize that this is a selfish thing to ask, but I can't be alone, not right now." Eunbin said as she moved over to give Sunless some room, as he sat beside her, and then continued once he was settled.
"I want to think that I'm dreaming and I'll wake up in my chambers. But no, this is real, and I'm terrified about finding out that my parents have been alive this entire time, and they haven't contacted me once. Do you think it's strange to be scared of finding out your parents are alive? I mean, what if I think of them as strangers once we begin talking? What if I realize they were right and I don't need them anymore?" Eunbin asked in rapid succession, and she immediately realized that she had bombarded him with questions.
Though, strangely enough, her cheeks started to heat up in embarrassment, which was the second time this had happened when Sunless was around.
Eunbin cursed inwardly for being self-conscious of her appearance whenever he was around and second-guessing her statements. It had never happened with anyone else. It was always the other way around. So why him?
It was probably because he was her first friend, yes, that had to be it.
She could only keep using that excuse for so long, though.
Come on, say something, Eunbin pleaded inwardly. It didn't help that he had been silent the entire time she was talking; she hated it mainly because somewhere along the months, Eunbin had found herself enjoying listening to him talk about anything, whether it be about cooking or how his day went.
Eunbin stole a glance at his gorgeous face and saw that his expression was calm, attentive, and free of judgment. Eunbin opened her mouth to apologize, but before she could, he began talking.
"I don't think it's strange; in fact, I think it's a normal reaction. I doubt you will, as you went through all this effort to preserve their house and find their records, and you'll only find out once you know their side of the story." Sunless said,
"Yes, you're right. Thank you, Sunless. You have been a great help to me," Eunbin nodded as she stood up with newfound confidence.
"I try," He said as he stood up as well and followed her as she made her way back to her home. A full minute passed before they reached it again, and there they were, sitting on the porch, with her father holding her mother comfortingly by the shoulders. Her parents visibly brightened when they saw her and Sunless walking towards them.
"You're back? Thank the gods, please come in and sit down."
"Also, it is very nice to meet you, Sunless. Our Eunbin is lucky to have someone like you. Now, what do you want to know, Eunbin? Just ask, and we will gladly tell you; it's the least we could do." Her mother smiled at her as they walked into the living room, and she sat down on the couch beside her father.
"It's nice to meet you, too, ma'am. I see where Eunbin gets her beauty from. I almost mistook you for a saint when I saw you at the front door." Sunless spoke with confidence, but his subtle body language betrayed him as he sat beside Eunbin in a rigid pose, looking like he was in Godgrave and would turn to ash if he moved a muscle.
"What a sweet young man you are! If you keep saying stuff like that, my husband will get jealous," Her mother laughed brightly,
Despite the serious atmosphere, Eunbin found herself wanting to laugh at him, but she composed herself, looked her mother in the eye, and answered her question.
"I want to know everything, from how you two are even alive in the first place to how you got here, starting from the beginning, and I don't care how long it takes."
Her parents are in fact alive and well but they have a lot to answer for.
Nothing and I mean nothing will happen to them in the future. They will be fine, trust me. :)