“Eunhye? It’s Sunggyu.”

Eunhye flung herself on the bed and got under the covers in record time, her heart pounding as she placed her head down on one of Howon’s pillows.

“Can I come in?” Sunggyu knocked again, this time a bit more urgently. “Eunhye?”

“Yeah?” Eunhye tried to make her voice as drowsy-sounding as possible.

The door opened and Sunggyu strode in, stopping to stand at the edge of the bed. He let out a quiet sigh when he saw her sit up. “Sorry, it’s just that Howon was concerned over your fluctuating heartbeat and he thought you were having nightmares.”

“No, I’m fine.”

“You’re sure?” He raised an eyebrow questioningly, and glanced backwards at Howon who was standing outside of the door.

“Mhm.” Eunhye hummed and nodded her head slightly.

“Well, I have to get going – I have plans to grab some lunch with my girlfriend.” Sunggyu smiled somewhat goofily. He looked like a child who had been given a new tablet as a gift. “Can I trust you to be alone in the apartment with Howon without tearing it down? I can tell him to go out and buy the groceries if you want.”

“No, it’s fine.” After thinking of yawning cats, yawning dogs, and yawning people, Eunhye finally yawned on her own will as she stretched her arms. “I might nap a bit longer, I think. The bed’s a lot more comfortable than the floor.”

“You’ve slept for almost two hours already.”

Eunhye blinked, not realizing that she had spent that long reading through the stack of scrapbooks and journals. It had only felt like fifteen minutes. “Oh.”

“Anyways, I’m going! Bye!” Sunggyu cheerily waved before dashing out of Howon’s room. On his way to the front door, he patted Howon on the shoulder. “Try to keep your temper under control. I know it’s hard, but you have to realize that she’s trying to take in everything. You’ve had five centuries to deal with yourself; give her time to deal with you.”

Hours had passed, and the house had remained silent the entire time. It was eerily quiet, with the exception of the low hum of the refrigerator and the constant ticking from the clock on the living room wall.

Howon paced lightly outside of his room, his eyebrows furrowed as he tried to make a decision. He was sure she had lied to Sunggyu, and he also wanted to know about Eunhye’s own past. Now it was just a problem of correctly identifying the right timing to talk to her about it.

Huffing out air, he approached the door frame and then gently knocked on it. “Eunhye?”

“…Yeah?” Her soft response was delayed.

“Can I come in?”

“…yeah.”

He hesitantly entered the room, choosing to sit down at his desk. He swivelled around in his chair and leaned back. It took him way longer to find his voice as he stared at her in his sweater, along with the bed hair that seemed to add on to the adorableness. “I think it would be fair if you were to tell me your story, now that you know mine.”

Eunhye returned Howon’s gaze as she sat still for a moment. Exhaling audibly, she fell back and let her head land on the fluffy pillows. “There’s really not much to my side. I was just walking home with Joon one night, and my parents were dead when I got home. When I walked in, I saw a pair of blue eyes that glared at me before disappearing into the dark.”

She stared at the ceiling, wondering why she was actually telling him her past. Then she remembered that she had told him that she saw him as a friend now.

“Joon was a scaredy-cat, and he ran away after he saw my parents on the floor.” Eunhye laughed bitterly. “The little bastard wouldn’t even come out with me as a witness, because he said he would be killed by the suspect since it saw both of our faces. Then… that’s about it.”

“I know there’s still more to it,” Eunhye couldn’t remember hearing Howon getting off the chair, but then again, he was a supernatural; of course he’d be able to do that without making a single squeak. He was kneeling beside the bed and using his thumbs to delicately wipe away the few traitorous tears on Eunhye’s face. “But I’m not going to push you to tell me more about that. What I really want to ask is: did you have a nightmare?”

“No.” She whispered nervously. Would Howon be angry if he found out that she had been snooping through his belongings without permission? Probably.

“Look at me and tell me that you didn’t have one.”

“I didn’t have a nightmare.” Eunhye turned her head to make eye contact with him, knowing that she wasn’t lying – she hadn’t slept, and therefore she couldn’t have a nightmare if she wasn’t sleeping.

“Then why was your heart rate so high?” He frowned.

“It’s a bit creepy that you were listening to that.” Eunhye eyed him judgingly.

“That’s like telling me to stop smelling kimchi that my mom is making in the kitchen.” Howon rolled his eyes and ran his hand through Eunhye’s hair, wincing when it got caught in one of the knots. “Not that I see you as food, but it comes along with being what I am.”

“If you’re obsessed-”

“Loyal.” Howon interrupted her, but his eyes showed his anticipation for the words she wanted to say.

“If you’re loyal, and you do happen to… date me, then what happens when I grow old and die? Are you just going to wait for another reincarnation to be born?”

Howon frowned slightly, realizing that he had reached the turning point. He could either convince her to be like him, or he would have to repeat the entire process again a century later. Howon climbed on to the bed, placing himself so that he had Eunhye trapped beneath him.

“I’d appreciate it if you weren’t hovering on top of me and all, because that isn’t answering my question.” Eunhye squirmed and pushed at his arms in a poor attempt to make him collapse.

“If you date me, and just so happen to fall… would you ever be willing to become one?” He whispered as brought his face closer to Eunhye, his ears hearing nothing but her erratic heartbeat. Howon desperately wished that her answer would be ‘yes’, but he knew from past experience that the chances were near zero.

Because, who would ever willingly become a bloodlusted beast like him?

so uh. school kinda got in the way of editing this. ha... ha.

Edited: 14/11/11
Lest we Forget.