It had been almost a month since the night of the attack. The holes in the floor and wall had been patched up, leaving behind a ghostly memory of the event. Ricky had fully recovered from his injuries within a week, but he spent the majority of his time in his bedroom, too scared and ashamed to face Chunji or Byunghun. Changjo stayed with him most days. They passed the time sharing stories of their childhoods and what they had hoped to do in life before they became Systems. Minsoo made sure that Ricky drank a blood bag at least once a week, much to everyone's silent relief. Changjo still snuck out to take his 'walks' in addition to going to the club with Minsoo and Niel every so often. His need for blood almost consumed him, gnawing away at his mind like a rat. He'd left guilt behind, letting the pleasure of feeding and the empowerment of exerting his will over his victims take its place. He still creeped himself out sometimes though, usually when he found himself thinking about biting girls he'd known at school or even Ricky. Changjo had become facinated with the idea of what a System's blood would taste like and had to keep himself in check to make sure that he didn't stare at Ricky's neck too often. The two had become closer and closer with each passing day, learning everything about one another. He'd bonded with the others in the apartment too, but he didn't spend nearly as much time with any of them as he did with Ricky. Niel would sometimes join them in their discussions, but he often grew bored and went to bother Minsoo or watch TV. They'd all fallen into a sort of routine, and for now, things were comfortable and peaceful.

Changjo uselessy tried to flatten a few stray pieces of his hair that were out of place, turning sliglty in the mirror to admire the new red blaze that he'd dyed into the left side of it. All of their hairstyles had changed since he'd arrived (except for Niel's): Minsoo had shaved his almost completely off, Chunji's had faded back to black, Byunghun's was now a dark brown, and Ricky had bleached the tips of his, which looked odd when he didn't have it styled up in a fauxhawk.

"Hurry up, slow-poke," Ricky said from the bathroom's doorway. He leaned lazily against the frame, watching Changjo with a bored expression.

"Oh shut up," Changjo replied with a smile, turning to face him, "are you ready to go?"

"I've been ready for like an hour."

"It's your fault you didn't wake me up when you were supposed to," Changjo said, walking past him and into the living room.

"It's not my fault that you fall asleep every time you're left alone for five minutes," Ricky noted as he followed.

"We're leaving! If you need us we'll be at the arcade," Changjo cried, hoping that someone would hear. Niel grunted aknowledgingly in response, not even bothering to look away from TV. Changjo snatched a set of keys out of the bowl on the counter before they exited the apartment. They bolted down the stairs, too impatient to wait for the elevator, and burst out into the cold and snowy December evening.

"G-good thing I wore a coat," Ricky said with a shiver, wrapping his arms around himself and watching his breath puff before him in white clouds.

"Moving keeps you warm. Wanna race to the arcade?" Changjo asked, a competitive grin tugging at the corner of his mouth. Ricky looked at him for a moment and without a word they were off, slipping and sliding and speeding down the empty sidewalk. They pushed and shoved one another as they tried to get ahead, pausing only at intersections and for other pedestrians as they made their way to a more populated part of the city. It was Ricky that eventually gained the lead and reached the arcade doors first, though he was barely out of breath. He pulled his jacket off as he waited for Changjo to catch up, enjoying the frosty air nipping at his skin.

"I didn't know you were that fast!" Changjo panted as he trotted over, ping his own coat and resting his hands on his knees. Ricky shrugged and laughed.

"I didn't really either! Maybe it's because I've been pent up in the apartment so long, you know? All my energy's just been building up, I guess," he explained, slipping his jacket back on, "you ready to go in? Or do you need more time to catch your breath?"

"Oh very funny," Changjo said, standing and punching Ricky's arm. Before Changjo's eyes could adjust to the darkness of the arcade, Ricky grabbed his arm and dragged him over to a two player racing game.

"I hope you're not afraid of losing," Ricky said with a smirk. Changjo shook his head.

"I was about to say the same thing to you." Unfortunately for Changjo, Ricky won the first round. And the second. And the third. Then they moved on to a zombie shooting game. Ricky won that too, along with every other game they tried over the next hour. However, when they got to Dance Dance Revolution, Changjo's losing streak was broken. Try as he might, Ricky continued to lose round after round, though not for lack of trying. Exhausted, they both found refuge on a bench near the entrance. Changjo was finding it harder and harder to ignore the scents of the other people in the arcade. Especially the girls. He rubbed his temples, trying for once to push the thought of blood out of his mind. He couldn't do anything about it while Ricky was there.

"I'm thirsty," Ricky whined, poking Changjo's shoulder, "the normal kind of thirsty."

"Sounds like a personal problem."

"The arcade connects to the rest of the mall in the back and there's a food court right across from here. Since you beat me so many times at DDR, you should go get me something to drink."

"It's probably just going to make you sick," Changjo warned, glancing sideways at Ricky. He just shrugged.

"I don't care. I miss real food. I haven't had a Coke in foreeeeever," he groaned, slumping lower in his seat.

"Fine, I'll get you one," Changjo said, standing and touseling Ricky's hair.

"Really? Thank you!" he cried, grinning from ear to ear. Changjo wove his way through the arcade, the smell of blood growing distracting. However, he persevered and made it out of the packed arcade, into the open space of the mall. There were a few shoppers milling about, but for the most part it was empty. Contrary to Ricky's statement, however, there was no food court in sight. Changjo wandered about for a little while until he spotted a lone vending machine in the middle of several booths. He went over to it and got a Coke, feeling a wave of longing for human food.

He honestly thought he was going to make this his first outing in months without feeding. That was until a girl too busy reading a book to watch where she was going almost ran into him. He stepped back out of the way, but she didn't notice him at all. She was pretty, with long brown hair and glasses that framed her small face. Even when he was a human, she would've caught his eye. But now that he was a System, he also smelled her tempting blood and just couldn't resist. Out of the corner of his eye Changjo could see a long deserted hallway that presumably led to a janitor's closet or something. His hands were clammy as he set down Ricky's Coke on a bench. Trying to be as quiet as possible, he grabbed her arm and pulled her with him into the corridor. Her book clattered to the floor and she let out a suprised shout. Changjo yanked her closer and covered with his other hand, all the while backing up towards the end of the hall. To his relief there was no one there, just a closed door in a little nook to their left. He pushed her around the corner and up against the wall. She struggled and bit down on his palm, but he didn't care. He knew that time was of the essence, so he quickly leaned in and prepared to bite. His fangs had just brushed her neck when he felt a hand clasp his shoulder with a painfully tight grip.  

"What. Are. You. Doing?" Ricky hissed, his voice quiet but boiling with thinly concealed anger.

"I...I can-" Changjo began, but Ricky just squeezed his shoulder harder. Changjo swore he could feel his collarbone beginning to snap.

"Let her go. Now," he barked, pulling Changjo off of the trembling girl, "I'd suggest that you leave. Here's your book." He had barely placed the novel in her hand before she was gone.

"I don't know what happened, I just..." Changjo lied, trying to sound as shocked and innocent as possible.

"We're going home now," Ricky said, his voice still dripping with fury. He started walking away.

"Ricky, I-"

"Dont! Don't you dare try to talk to me!" Ricky snapped, whipping around and glaring at him, "Just try to keep up." Changjo fell silently in step behind him, his head bowed. Changjo his lips longingly, his body craving the blood he almost had gotten.

xxx

The apartment was dark and quiet when they arrived. Ricky hadn't said a word to or even looked at Changjo the entire way home. Chunji lay sleeping on the couch with his head in Byunghun's lap.

"Uh...you guys are back early," Byunghun said, a tinge of panic in his voice. Ricky threw the keys onto the counter with more force than was really necessary.

"Yeah. Where's Minsoo and Niel?" he asked flatly. Changjo thought he could feel the coldness rolling off of Ricky's body and hitting him like a wall. He wished Ricky would at least look at him.  Byunghun glanced around the room nervously.

"Minsoo's in bed and Niel's...uh, well he's sleeping I think. He doesn't feel good, so you guys probably shouldn't go in there," Byunghun answered. 

"What do you mean?"

"That's just what he told me." Chunji stirred slightly in his sleep and Byunghun rubbed his back absentmindedly. 

"You're lying," Ricky said, taking a step towards the hallway.

"No, really I'm not," Byunghun answered. He moved to stand up, but Chunji shifted again and he went still. Ricky eyed him suspiciously. "Okay fine. Jiyoung's here. Go in if you want, but I'd let them be."

"Who's Jiyoung?" Changjo asked, looking from Ricky to Byunghun.

"She's Niel's...well, technically I guess they're just friends, but he's been in love with her for years. They've known each other since they were kids, they were neighbors back when Niel was a human. She lives in America, but comes to Seoul in the summer. She still doesn't know that he's a System, though, she thinks he just ran away from home to live here. I guess she came back for Christmas or something, but she just dropped in unannounced like an hour or two ago."

"Well then," Changjo said, walking over and plopping down in a chair. He sniffed the air experimentally; he could smell her blood now. It wasn't exactly his type, more flowery and spicy than sweet and fruity, so he knew he would be able to control himself. Ricky stood halfway between the kitchen and the living room like a gargoyle, arms crossed and face stony.

"I'm going to bed," he announced, making sure not to let his eyes go anywhere in Changjo's general direction.

"Uh...alright," Byunghun replied, shooting a questioning look at Changjo as soon as Ricky was gone. "What's up with him?"

"I'm not sure," he said, shrugging as nonchalantly as he could.

"Yeah, I'm not buying it. What happened? You can tell me, you know. I won't get mad like him. Ricky's just like a kid, he's tempermental and takes everything personally."

"Okay...well, he sort of caught me abou--" Changjo began, but he was cut off by the sound of shouting.

"Are you kidding me?" Ricky yelled. Changjo shot up and raced into the hallway, Byunghun close behind, Chunji sitting up on the couch and blinking confusedly.

"Ricky!" Niel cried from the bedroom. Ricky stood in the doorway, his trembling hands gripping the sides of his head.

"What the hell are you doing? First Changjo, now you? And to Jiyoung? I thought you cared about her!" Ricky screamed, pointing an acusing finger at Niel. It was dark in the bedroom, but Changjo could just make out the sight of Niel kneeling on his bed, straddling the motionless body of a girl. Twin rivers of blood trickled from the corners of his mouth and his hands were stained with red. 

"I didn't mean to, I swear, it just sort of happened," Niel replied, his voice hoarse and choked. A tense silence grew in the air for several moments. "Oh God, what have I done?" He stood and began backing away from Jiyoung, his eyes wide. His hands began to shake as he ran into the wall behind him. Byunghun pushed past Changjo and Ricky into the bedroom. He crouched beside Jiyoung and placed his fingertips to the unbitten side of her neck.

"She's still alive," he murmured, dipping his head down and quickly the still bleeding puncture wounds to seal them, "she'll be fine. You'll have a lot of explaining to do though, Niel." Niel just stared at her body, blood still trickling from his mouth.

"I'm done. I can't take this anymore," Ricky said, his voice hard. He turned and stormed past Changjo. 

"What? What do you mean?" Changjo said, stepping forward and taking hold of Ricky's arm. He shrugged him off and kept walking. 

"Don't touch me! I can't deal with you monsters anymore! All you do is hurt other people. You're just the puppets the Project wanted to create," Ricky snarled, throwing the front door open. Changjo felt like he'd been punched in the stomach at the word 'monsters'. Was that really what he'd become? 

"Ricky, please, don't go," he said quietly, "I don't want you to go. I need you to stay. Please!" Ricky paused for a moment.

"Stop lying to me," he spat, and with that he went out the door and slammed it behind him. 

"No!" Changjo yelled, lurching towards the handle, but Chunji held him back.

"Let him go," he said, pulling Changjo away. Changjo broke Chunji's grip on him but didn't move. Every part of him wanted to run out that door and catch Ricky, but he knew it was no use. A hollow feeling began to swallow him up and he leaned against the counter, slipping down it until he was sitting on the floor. 

"It's my fault," he mumbled, hiding his face in his hands.

"He'll come back," Chunji said reassuringly. Changjo shook his head slowly.

"No he won't." Changjo let his mind wander back to a conversation he and Ricky had late at night several weeks ago.

Ricky had told him how much he hated being a System, how much he wanted to be human again, how he hated and loathed and wanted to destroy the part of him that desired blood. Ricky knew that part was actually all of him. He'd confessed to Changjo that he'd tried to end his life before, but it hadn't worked. The Virus had made him too strong and resistant. Bullets merely grazed his skin. He barely bled even when he sliced his stomach open. Changjo winced at the memory and tried to keep his voice steady as he spoke.

"If anything, he's just going to try to find a way to kill himself."

Author's Note:

Hey everyone! Thank you so so much for all of your wonderful comments <3 In fact, thank you for simply reading this silly little fic of mine! I'm so glad that people enjoy my awful writing :) ANYWAY, I'd just like to let you know that Jiyoung is an actual person! She's my wonderful friend Jennifer (Jiyoung is her Korean name), and you can follow her on Tumblr here and here. Anyway, thanks again for reading!