Changjo opened his eyes, blinking against the bright sunlight that shone in his eyes. It took him a moment to gain his bearings and remember where he was. He his side, expecting to see Ricky, but instead saw an empty bed. Niel, however, was curled up on his own mattress, still fast asleep. Changjo sat up and stretched, rubbing his tired eyes. He stood up with a groan and shuffled out of the bedroom, carefully closing the door behind him so as not to wake up Niel. Ruffling his hair, he stepped into the living room. It was empty.

"Minsoo, Ricky, and Byunghun went to headquarters this morning to pick up the check and go shopping," said Chunji, who was standing in the kitchen. He saw Changjo's confused expression and laughed. "Sorry, I should probably explain. The Project provides each Compound with a monthly allowance to buy stuff like clothes, furniture, and since I'm here, food. They'll be back in an hour or so, since it's already past noon." Changjo nodded and went to sit in one of the four armchairs in the room.

He rubbed his eyes again, trying to get himself to wake up. He was still groggy, but he felt that the some of the weight of his exauhstion had been removed by his first night of real sleep. However, there was still a dull ache in his head. He couldn't stop thinking about his family; would he ever see them again? He shook his head, trying to clear his mind. Chunji came into the room and sat down in the chair next to Changjo, a glass of what looked like orange juice in his hand. Changjo felt his stomach turn, both with wanting and disgust. The Virus hadn't completly gotten rid of his desire to eat food, but it had definitely already made his stomach repulsed by it. As Chunji reached over to put his glass on the coffee table, his sleeve got caught on the corner of it, pulling the fabric up to his elbow. Changjo's eyes widened. Pale scars in various states of healing criss-crossed his wrist and forearm. Some were white and barely visible, but others were red and stood out against his skin. Chunji quickly moved to pull his sleeve back down, but he knew Changjo had already seen. Chunji laughed nervously.

"Um...since it's just us, I suppose now would be a good time to explain...why I'm here." He took a quick sip of his juice and cleared his throat before turning to face Changjo. "You know that when someone first becomes a System, the Project...uh...'gives' them people to feed on, right?" Changjo nodded, and remembered the little girl with a shudder. "Right. Well, similar to how Systems are essentially kidnapped and brought to Headquarters, humans are captured and brought there as well. They're kept there, in cells, until their number's up. Then, they're taken to the room of one of the Systems, and...well, eaten." He paused and took a deep breath. "I was one of them. I was taken by the Project and used as food for one of the Systems. However, the particular System I was...'fed' to woke up from the blackout period while he was drinking my blood. Understandably, he freaked out. Members of the Project came in, tried to take me away, tried to calm him down, but he wouldn't let them. He broke out of his chains and grabbed me, he wouldn't let them take me away. They tried talking to him, but he wouldn't hear it. He threatened to kill them and expose the project. Considering the fact that he had just snapped his steel chains like they were made of paper, they listened to him. He said that the only way he would do what they asked, the only way that he'd be a normal System, was if they let him...keep me. They agreed. I suppose they assumed that he'd just eat me eventually, but he didn't." Chunji stopped again and shook his head. "That System...was Byunghun. At first I didn't understand why he did what he did. I thought the same thing as the Project, that after a while he would kill me. It took some time, but he told me why. When he woke up, he felt so guilty, so terrible for what he'd done, the only way he thought he could stay sane was if he saved me and protected me. Forever." Silence filled the air for several long minutes. Changjo knew exactly how Byunghun must have felt. He'd probably have done the same thing, if he had woken up before he'd killed the girl. But one thing kept bothering him.

"What about...um...what about your scars? What do they--" Changjo began, but he stopped, immedietly feeling like he'd pried too much. Chunji shifted in his seat and smiled apprehensively.

"Yes...well...if Byunghun hadn't stopped them, the guards, I would've been taken and fed to another System. I would've died. He saved me. In return, I...I give Byunghun my blood. He doesn't always bite me. Sometimes when he goes a long time without feeding he doesn't trust himself to bite me. So, I cut my wrists and drain the blood for him. He saved me and in return I provide him with blood. That's why I'm here. Minsoo says that if I leave, if I go back to my family, the Project will most likely kill me." Changjo looked up and saw Niel leaning in the entryway. 

"Please tell me you didn't drink the last of the orange juice," he said, acting as if he hadn't heard any of the previous conversation. 

"Why, you want to drink it so you can throw it up later? You know, it's not really me that's wasting the food, it's you," Chunji replied, laughing. "So the next time Minsoo tells me I'm using up all the money, I'll let him know that you can take the blame." Niel just rolled his eyes and walked over to the fridge.

"Whatever."