Ricky slipped through the door to Minsoo's bedroom and shut it behind him with a quiet click. He stood there, his back against the cool wood, staring down at the person he had once considered his closest friend. Changjo's wrists were handcuffed to the posts at the end of the bed. He sat cross-legged with his back bent and head bowed. He didn't look up as Ricky entered. 

"I brought you food," Ricky said softly, producing a blood bag from behind his back. Changjo groaned and sat up, stretching his sore muscles and trying without avail to get the kinks out of his neck. He fixed Ricky with a chilling stare.

"I don't care. I want out of these ridiculous cuffs," he growled. Ricky rolled his eyes and sighed.

"For the last time, Changjo, I don't have the key. Minsoo was very clear that you had to stay here until he said otherwise. There's really nothing I can do." Changjo twisted his neck from side to side, the popping and cracking of his bones startlingly loud in the quiet room.

"Come here," he said, beckoning Ricky with a single finger. Ricky didn't budge. "Oh, come on. I can't reach." He strained his arms against the cuffs as proof. Ricky took a few tentative steps forward. "That's it, come on now," Changjo teased. With a huff Ricky came and plopped down in front of him, tossing the bag into Changjo's lap. 

"There." Changjo pursed his lips and raised a single eyebrow at Ricky.

"I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm a little tied up at the moment. You're going to have to feed it to me," he said, nodding at the bag. With a grimace, Ricky reluctantly picked it up and held it close to Changjo's mouth. He looked away as Changjo bit into the plastic, but Changjo never let his eyes leave Ricky's face as he drank stale blood. He finished it off with a sigh, a single rivulet of red liquid running from the corner of his mouth down his chin. As Ricky released the bag from his grip, it fluttered silently back down into Changjo's lap. "Can you..." Changjo started, shifting his glance as best he could to his chin and biting his lower lip awkwardly. Ricky reached over and wiped the stream of blood up with his thumb. Before he could move his hand away, Changjo leaned forward and took Ricky's finger in his mouth, off the blood. Ricky pulled his hand away slowly, discreetly wiping his thumb off on the hem of his shirt.

"So, are you good now?" he asked, rubbing the back of his neck uncomfortably.

"No," Changjo said blatantly. He wasn't going to waste his time lying, "I'm still hungry. I'm always hungry." He leaned back against the footboard of the bed, resting his head on the wood. Ricky watched him with wide and wary eyes.

"Why did you do it?" he blurted out suddenly. Changjo looked at him through half-open lids. "Why did you kill her?" he added quietly. Changjo closed his eyes all the way and shook his head. 

"I don't know. I didn't mean to. I didn't even realize what I was doing to her...until you guys came. It's just so hard. You wouldn't understand; you're too...good," he murmured. 

"Wouldn't understand what? What's so hard?" Changjo opened his eyes.

"What it's like to drink a person's blood. It's the most amazing feeling in the world in the worst possible way. It's more than addicting. The sensation of it...once you experience it, you want to do it again. And again. And again. And it gets better every time. You want to push your limits, see just how far you can take it, see what you can make them do..." he cut off suddenly, the words stuck in his throat. He couldn't explain the twisted and dark desires that consumed him; there were no words to describe what he felt. Ricky nodded slowly. 

"You're right. I don't get it. I probably never will. But please tell me that you understand--" he started.

"How horrible the things I've done are?" Changjo finished, raising an eyebrow. "I do. But there's a part of me that can't care. All that part of me wants is more blood." He bowed his head again, silence hanging in the air for a few moments. "Please leave." And Ricky did, his unasked question echoing in his head.

"How much of you is that part?"

xxx

It was two weeks later when Minsoo finally came in, one of his fists clenched around a small silver key. Changjo didn't acknowledge his entrance into the room; he kept his stare fixed upon a small patch of sunlight on the floor in front of him. Minsoo wordlessly unlocked Changjo's left wrist, then his right, each hand falling limply onto the floor as he removed the cuffs. There were two bracelets of dried, crusted blood where the metal had dug into his skin. He still didn't look up.

"I'm going to be keeping an eye on you all the time now. There will be no leaving the apartment without me. You will get your food from the blood bags like Ricky. You won't come to the club with Niel and I anymore. Do you understand?" Minsoo asked, his voice hard but not unkind. Changjo looked up, his eyes cold.

"Yes." Minsoo's heart ached with the chill of Changjo's stare. He felt as though he had failed him. It was his job to protect him, to help him adjust to being a System, but instead he had been negligent, allowing Changjo to feed and kill. He looked away to avoid the younger boy's gaze.

"You can go now." Changjo stood without a word and left the room, brushing against Minsoo's shoulder on his way out. Minsoo only paused to sigh before following Changjo out through the small hallway and into the living room. The others were sitting and watching TV, but they all turned as soon as Changjo entered the room. Uncomfortable beneath their stares, Changjo looked past them and out the window, where snow was falling thickly.

"We saved you a seat," Niel said, patting the couch cushion beside him. Changjo smiled meekly and lifted his hands.

"Thanks. I have to wash up first, though. I'll be back in a little bit." The sound of his footsteps on the wood floors filled the room. Nobody moved or spoke until the bathroom door closed.

"Well that wasn't awkward at all," Chunji said as he carefully pried Byunghun's hand off of his arm, which the other boy had clamped there as soon as Changjo had walked in. Ricky looked crushed.

"Guys, go easy on him. This hasn't been a walk in the park for any of us. The last thing I ever wanted to do was chain one of my charges up like they do at Headquarters," Minsoo said, pinching the bridge of his nose in an attempt to ward off his oncoming headache, "but it was a necessary measure. From now on, things are going to be different. We're going to have to keep a very close eye on him, but that doesn't mean we're going to treat him like a prisoner or anything. Because he's not. He's still our friend. Please do your best to remember that." Byunghun gritted his teeth and pulled Chunji closer to him.

"Fine. But if he tries to do anything like...that again, I swear to God I'll kill him," he mumbled. Niel rolled his eyes.

"Oh please, you just don't want him to touch your Precious Prince Chunji." Byunghun growled, a low animal sound that ripped from his throat and made everyone jump.

"Oookay, we're gonna go calm down now," Chunji said, hopping up from the couch and pulling Byunghun with him by the hand. He dragged him down the hallway toward their room, taking care to keep him as far from Niel as possible. 

"Geez. Everybody's so on edge," Minsoo said, flopping down on the couch next to Niel.

"That's Changjo's spot," he said absently.

"Fascinating," Minsoo replied, snatching the remote from the younger boy and changing the channel.

xxx

Ricky quietly slipped out of the room and into the corridor. He paused for a moment outside of the bathroom door before opening it. As he stepped inside, he immediately noticed the huge amounts of steam billowing about the room and the absence of Changjo's clothes on the floor. He walked over to the bath and pulled back the curtain. Changjo was sitting, fully dressed, on the floor of the tub, his back against the wall and the hot water pounding down on him. 

"Hey," Ricky said.

"Hey," Changjo replied. Ricky stepped cautiously into the shower and slid the curtain shut behind him. The boiling hot water sank into his jeans and t-shirt, soaking them within seconds. Changjo grabbed Ricky's hand and pulled him down next to him. They sat like that in silence for several minutes before Changjo rested his head against Ricky's shoulder. Ricky could feel Changjo's body shaking; he knew that he was crying, but his face was already so dripping wet that the tears didn't show. With no words to comfort him, Ricky simply rested his head on top of Changjo's and sat there until the water turned cold.