When he appeared once more at the usual place, the leaves that hung from the branches of the great trees in the clearing had already transitioned slowly but surely from a vibrant green to a dull and rusting brown. 

Sunggyu was not as annoyed as he thought he would have been, however. He had wander to the clearing every night without fail and always left feeling like he had left empty-handed, with nothing but nostalgia. But he knew Woohyun had duties (and he did too) and their paths might not have crossed at all to begin with because of their respective, busy lives. To put it simply, Sunggyu was sure that whatever had kept the younger man from visiting the clearing and keeping up with their unspoken, agreed meetings, there was a legitimate reason.  

During the months he waited, he often (perhaps almost every single night, given if it were a good, clear night)--wondered if he should visit Woohyun at the castle. But Sunggyu was not someone who should appear wherever he pleased in the castle because that would bring about questions. He did not want to draw attention to the soon-to-be king. Sunggyu had never been one of the favourite guards of the kingdom and he was sure that if anyone were to find out they were close enough for Sunggyu to even consider visiting him for any purpose other than delivering a punishment or carrying out orders, it would make Woohyun look unfavourable to the citizens of the kingdom. Sunggyu was feared and thought of as tyrannical; although Sunggyu did not deal out very harsh punishments anymore, his reputation precedes him. 

The past cannot be erased. 

In the most recent months, Sunggyu had found there to be a reduction of punishments to be carried out. He was unsure if this decrease in crimes was because everyone in the kingdom was far too busy to be committing crimes because of the upcoming war, if everyone was too tired to be talking about the monarchy, or if Sungyeol (who was the reason why he was often summoned) was finally keeping himself out of trouble. 

He was actually supposed to be wandering around town in a disguise to eavesdrop on any common-folk in case there was a rebellion brewing in the kingdom.  

Sunggyu really couldn’t give a . 

He just found it tiresome to have so many responsibilities that he didn’t care for. He only stayed with the Kim Clan because it was comfortable and he had nowhere else to go. 

Woohyun staggered into the clearing, looking haggard but rather upbeat. His skin was rather pale and there were dark bags hanging from underneath his eyes. It was clearly obvious that the last few months did not treat him well--he did not go out enough during the summer months and was obviously not sleeping much if at all. The man did not fail to give the vampire a warm smile. 

"Sunggyu!" 

Sunggyu managed a small smile, the closest he had ever come to smiling in quite some time. The younger man looked like he got energised from the simple smile and ambled over with a hurried gait, the smile that had looked tired albeit being warm, beginning to reach the eyes that looked like they had seen too much unhappiness in the past while. 

He kicked off his shoes in a very hurried manner. 

He sat down right beside him on the dirt, dipping his bare feet into the cool lake water, swung his arm around Sunggyu's neck, messing up Sunggyu's hair in a playful manner. While Sunggyu had not been one for such affectionate touches and probably would have burned the person who dared to mess up his hair in the past, because it was Woohyun it was okay. To some extent. 

Sunggyu flushed a light pink, throwing off the younger man's arm, although he secretly (not that he would ever admit it) liked his affectionate play. He narrowed his eyes at Woohyun. 

"Missed me?" Woohyun teased, not looking offended or put-off that his arm was thrown off. Sunggyu was secretly thankful that Woohyun did not find his actions prickly and in fact, picked up on his emotion well. Almost as if... Sunggyu shook off his thoughts. 

He didn't think it were possible. Two men... 

"Not at all," Sunggyu managed to say nonchalantly, although his heart was pounding in his chest. He was bubbling with happiness, the exact opposite of what he was saying. He could barely fathom why he was acting this way. He'd never been like this. He'd been curt and honest for all of his life, even before he became a vampire. But then again, he'd never really liked anyone as much as he liked Woohyun; aside from his half-sister Saemi that ended up leaving and ostracising him too. Needless to say, he didn't like her that much anymore, even though she was admittedly respectful. He still had a soft spot for her, even though he didn't show it. 

"If that's what you say," Woohyun grinned, obviously knowing that Sunggyu was lying. Sunggyu just felt his face get slightly hotter and he turned, so that Woohyun wouldn't get a close view of his face, that was slowly turning a darker shade of pink, much to his dismay. 

"What made you suddenly remember to come out today to this place?" he gruffly asked. He hoped the heat on his face would go away soon so that he could face Woohyun. The moonlight gave him coverage but not enough. 

Sunggyu peeked at the younger man from the corner of his eye and that was when he noticed something really was amiss. Given that Woohyun looked understandably tired, there was also a very defeated look in his eyes--something that Woohyun never really had. He always seemed more upbeat but to see him like this... Sunggyu felt sad. 

"What happened?" he demanded, forgetting to let Woohyun have the chance to answer his previous question. Sunggyu had a dreading feeling that it had something to do with the impending war in Everlasting. 

Woohyun, if he were bothered by the abrupt change in mood and conversation topic, made no hint of it. He gave a little, wry smile that had an uncanny resemblance to what Saemi often gave to people who asked her about her prophecies. 

"War is coming soon." 

Sunggyu did not know what to say. The clan had decided to not meddle this time around, because they didn't want to risk the offending kingdom that the Everlasting Kingdom was going to war with--that particular kingdom had a werewolf clan that was at truce with them. The werewolf clan had been contacted and they were also adamant that both parties did not meddle with human affairs. Sunggyu was sure that the King of Everlasting was livid but there was nothing much he could do about it. He was technically at advantage by the no-war truce between the two clans because while vampires were fast, werewolves had brute force and they were also able to shapeshift. 

Taking his silence as a cue to continue speaking, Woohyun  his lips, his eyes drawn down to the grass below. He wanted to cry but it was not characteristic of a brave, fearless ruler that was supposed to lead the kingdom. That was, as per what his father had said anyway.