Each day felt like a year to Changjo. Ricky hadn't come back yet. It'd been four days and they'd seen no sign of him, gotten no word of his whereabouts. Changjo tried to convince himself that he was still alive and would walk through that front door any minute, but his hope lessened and lessened every passing hour. He spent the majority of his time either in his room or wandering the nearby streets, hoping to catch sight of Ricky. He hadn't fed in a week, and though he intensely craved blood he kept himself in control. For Ricky. 

As expected, Jiyoung had a lot of questions for Niel when she regained consciousness. He explained everything to her, about the Project, about becoming a System, and about the Compound. He apologized profusely and promised her it wouldn't happen again, but she said she needed time to process everything and left. He'd been in a sulky mood ever since, and the others mostly avoided him.

Byunghun stood in the shower, letting the hot water beat into his back. He didn't know how long he'd been standing there, but he didn't want to leave. The water made a shield, guarding him from the scent of Chunji's blood. Byunghun knew that he had to feed but he didn't want to. He didn't want to hurt Chunji again, especially not after what Ricky did to him. He closed his eyes and thought uselessly of easier times, when he'd been a human who hungered for food instead of blood. The water began to cool rapidly, making him shiver. Reluctantly, he shut off the taps and grabbed a towel from the rack, quickly drying himself and slipping into the clean clothes he'd brought to the bathroom. He stood in front of the mirror, examining the veins that s underneath his eyes and around his lips. He jumped at the sound of a soft knock on the door. 

"Who is it?" Byunghun asked, though he already knew it was Chunji.

"Me," he answered quietly, "can I come in?"

"No."

"I know you need blood," Chunji answered, opening the door a little ways.

"I'm fine," Byunghun answered, gripping the sides of the sink. Chunji stepped inside the room and silently closed the door behind himself, leaning against it. He wore nothing but a pair of jeans, and Byunghun thought he could almost see the blood rushing beneath the pale skin of Chunji's chest. He took an involuntary step closer to him. 

"Yeah, sure you are. Look, it's better if you just do it now and get it over with instead of waiting and letting it get worse," Chunji said. Byunghun his lips before replying.

"Alright, fine. But I'm not drinking from your neck this time. I don't think I can..."

"Awesome. I went shirtless for nothing," Chunji laughed, trying to break the tension. Byunghun tried to manage a smile but couldn't.

"Sit," he said, motioning towards the edge of the bathtub. Chunji did. Byunghun knelt before him, his eyes sad as they drifted down from Chunji's face to his wrists.

"It's okay," Chunji murmured as Byunghun grabbed his right arm and pulled it down towards his mouth. He only paused for a moment before sinking his teeth into Chunji's wrist. Chunji flinched slightly, but tried not to move around too much. A painful stabbing sensation traveled steadily up his arm, spreading like a slow flame. He held his breath, biting his lip to hold back any noise he might make. Chunji couldn't decide which hurt worse: biting in the neck or the arm.

Byunghun fought to keep himself under control. Every part of him wanted to leap up and drink from Chunji's neck instead, but he knew that he couldn't. The small amount of blood he was getting from his wrists would be enough. Chunji's fingers brushed lightly against his cheek, pulling him back to reality and making it a little easier for him to keep his composure. He drank for several more minutes before Chunji spoke.

"Alright, I'm getting light-headed now, but take as much as you need." Byunghun instantly pulled away, several drops of blood falling from his lips to the floor. He gazed up at Chunji as he the wounds clean. 

"Thank you," Byunghun said, standing up and wiping his mouth with his fingers, the blood off of each one individually. Chunji nodded slowly and smiled, rubbing his temple with his left hand.

"You don't have to thank me," he answered shakily, "I'm just gonna sit here for a little bit until I'm sure I can stand without falling." Byunghun smirked at him.

"I could carry you, if you want." Chunji laughed and shook his head.

"I'd like to keep my dignity, thanks," he replied. Byunghun nodded and turned, opening the door. Then, before Chunji could react, he dashed back and scooped him up in his arms.

"Too bad!" Byunghun said. Chunji rolled his eyes and grudgingly put his arms around Byunghun's neck so that he wouldn't fall. 

"Fine. Take me to our room so I can put a shirt on," he ordered, and Byunghun obeyed. They stepped out into the hallway just as Niel was about to enter his room. He turned and looked them up and down.

"You know what? I'm not even going to ask," he said blankly before going into his room and shutting the door. Chunji and Byunghun both broke out into laughter as they went down the hall.  

xxx

"I think you and Niel are two of the most depressed looking people I've ever seen," Minsoo said, turning around to look at the two as they walked down the street. They'd all gone out on a grocery/supply shopping trip, though Niel nearly had to be forced out the door. Changjo just glared at Minsoo. 

"Not funny. You should be upset too," he growled, but Minsoo just laughed.

"Hey now, don't get snippy with me," he said, "besides, just because I'm not being a downer doesn't mean I'm not upset."   

"Whatever," Changjo muttered, shoving his hands into his coat pockets and returning his eyes to the ground. Five days without Ricky. He was tired of feeling numb. He just wanted Ricky to come home. Niel hadn't heard from Jiyoung since the night he had bitten her, though he'd tried calling her several times. They walked side by side behind the others, their faces dark and tired. As they neared the apartment, everyone walked a bit faster, desperate to get out of the cold air and into the heated building. Minsoo held the door as they all shuffled in, Chunji and Byunghun ladened with the most bags.

"Here, Changjo, take the keys, go up the stairs, and get the door open for us," Minsoo said, tossing the set to Changjo. The elevator in their building was terribly slow and had a tendency to stop randomly on various floors, but it was better than walking up seven flights of steps with a bunch of groceries. Changjo took the stairs two at a time, wanting nothing more than to get up to his room and stay there for the rest of the day. As he placed his hand on the knob of the front door, it turned. It was already unlocked. Heart pounding, Changjo threw it open and tossed the keys onto the counter. The door to his room was open as well, and he knew for a fact that he closed it before they left. Dropping his coat on the ground, he ran through the small space that separated him from the doorway. He stopped short.

It was him.

Ricky stood in the middle of the room, his head bowed and his hands wringing nervously in front of him.

"Hey," Ricky said quietly. Changjo stood blinking for a moment.

"You...you're back?" he asked, still not quite believing his eyes.

"Yeah."

Changjo rushed into the room and hugged Ricky as tightly as he could. They both stumbled back and ran into the dresser, but neither of them cared. Ricky wrapped his arms around Changjo's waist and they stayed like that for several moments. Changjo buried his face against Ricky's neck, breathing in his scent and holding him tighter. 

"I thought that you'd...that you might've..." he whispered, the fear that had been haunting him all week finally flying away.

"No. I thought about it, but I couldn't after saying those things to you," Ricky replied, resting his cheek against Changjo's head, "I'm sorry. You're not a monster. I overreacted and it was stupid of me. I'm so, so sorry." Changjo shook his head slightly.

"It's fine, it was my fault, I should keep myself under control."

"No! It's not your fault. I always forget that you're a new System. It's so much harder for you to resist blood than it is for me and the others. I know you don't mean to hurt anyone," Ricky explained. Changjo pulled back for a moment and studied Ricky's face. He felt a little guilty that Ricky thought he was so innocent, but he didn't want to ruin the moment by revealing the truth. 

"Are you going to stay?" he asked, trying to change the subject.

"Of course," Ricky said with a smile. Changjo leaned forward and rested his forehead against Ricky's.

"Good. I missed you," he murmured, closing his eyes.

"I missed you, too," Ricky replied. They stayed that way for just a little longer before fully breaking apart. Changjo went and sat on his mattress, Ricky coming over and sitting beside him.

"Where'd you go?" Changjo asked, looking sideways at Ricky.

"Nowhere, really. I just kind of wandered around for a while. When I got cold I'd go into a store or something, and then I'd find someone willing to let me sleep in their house at night," he replied, pulling his knees to his chest and wrapping his arms around his legs.

Changjo studied every inch of him, his eyes finally resting, as always, on his neck. His desire to taste System blood remained. He felt a little guilty for thinking about it in a moment as sentimental as this, but he couldn't help it. Ricky glanced over and noticed Changjo staring at him.

"What?" he asked, shifting slightly in his seat, "why do you always look at me like that?" Changjo hurriedly looked away, his cheeks getting warm.

"It's...nothing. It's stupid," he mumbled.

"No, seriously! Tell me!" Ricky said, turning towards him.

"You don't want to know. You'd either think it's weird or get mad at me."

"I promise I won't. Now tell me." Changjo sighed and faced Ricky.

"Have you ever wondered what System blood tasted like?" he asked quickly, the words stumbling out of his mouth. The few seconds it took for Ricky to reply seemed like hours.

"Yeah, a little bit. Why---wait, you want to drink my blood, don't you?" Ricky asked, his face changing from meditative to fearful. Changjo leaned towards him slightly.

"Well...yes. I mean, what if it's just like human blood? Then Systems could just feed off of each other and we'd never have to kill or hurt anybody," he explained, trying to appeal to Ricky's morals. Ricky nodded slowly.

"I guess it could work," he mused thoughtfully. Changjo inched closer and closer.

"So, can I try it?" he asked, his heart racing and nerves buzzing with anticipation. Ricky looked at him, their faces only a few inches apart.

"Yeah, sure," he said, slowly resting back on his elbows. Changjo gently pushed on his chest until he was lying flat on the mattress. He climbed on top of him, his legs on either side of Ricky's hips. Their gazes never parted as Changjo steadily leaned down, his hand tracing its way up from Ricky's chest to his collarbone. It lingered there for a moment before sliding up to the right side of his neck. Changjo bent his head down, his tongue trailing from the nape of Ricky's neck up to his jaw. Ricky let out a small gasp and Changjo smiled slightly, though the other boy couldn't see it.

"This might hurt a bit," he whispered, his voice huskier than he expected. As Changjo's fangs brushed his neck, Ricky's hands slid up and gripped the back of Changjo's shirt, pulling him closer. Changjo sank his teeth into Ricky's soft skin, blood instantly rushing into his mouth. At first, it was salty and succulent and Changjo thought he would never have to attack a human again. But the more he drank, the more another flavor seeped into it. Changjo knew it was the Virus, sour and bitter and disgusting. He took one more dissatisfying gulp before pulling back. Ricky turned his face away, but not before Changjo could see the blush that had formed on it.

"So? How was it?" Ricky asked breathlessly. Changjo leaned down and the small trail of acrid blood that trickled down Ricky's neck. 

"The Virus ruins it," he said while sitting up straight, letting his hand slide back down to Ricky's stomach, smiling at how his cheeks turned redder when he did.

"Well that's...disappointing," Ricky replied, daring to turn his face back towards Changjo.

"Yeah, it is," he agreed casually. Ricky sat up and scooted back slightly, eyeing Changjo shyly.

"So, are you going to get off of me now or...?" Changjo tilted towards him, their faces almost touching.

"Sure, if you really want me to."

Ricky didn't respond.