The two young adults stood at the bus stop, watching as the buses come and go as they waited for their own. San still felt reluctant to leave just like this but Wooyoung had his hands wrapped tightly around San's to reassure him despite feeling awful about it himself. He didn't even get to say goodbye to his own parents and he didn't know when he would ever be able to meet them again. That alone made him feel depressed but he knew San probably felt just as bad as he did so he didn't think now was the time to be depressed. They need to be safe first and foremost before they can think about other things. 

"San ah." 

"Yeah?" 

"Earlier, you said something about your memories. What was it that you wanted to ask Seonghwa sshi?" Wooyoung asked just to break the tension between them. 

"Hmm? When I came out from the dollhouse and the female vampire attacked me, I suddenly recalled an old memory that I had forgotten... I knew about vampires and... appa taught me how to fend them off. I wanted to ask him about it but now I don't know if I'll ever have the chance to see him again."

"Don't think like that, San ah. I'm sure you will. I want to see my parents again too." 

San squeezed his hand tightly and let out a held breath. "I'm sorry, Wooyoung. If it wasn't for me... this wouldn't have happened to you." 

Wooyoung parted his lips to speak but decided to close them as he pulled San closer into a hug instead. There was nothing that he could say that would make everything magically better after all. He didn't blame San for all of this happening though but he didn't know how to convince San otherwise. Besides that, the vampires were after him for some reason that he still didn't understand either. He had always thought vampires were just myths and made up creatures but he was one now. 

"We just have to wait for your appa and see if he can do anything about it." 

"And how long would that be...? Do we need to keep running until then?" 

"I don't know, San... San. If... it becomes too much... if I become too much of a burden," Wooyoung stuttered over his words as he tried to form his sentence. San looked up at him with teary eyes and the other felt horrible as he wiped away his friend's tears. "You could still go home. Their target is me, not you." 

"How can you say that?" San whispered as he pursed his lips and clung onto Wooyoung's arm almost desperately. 

"Because... if they're just after me, the only one that needs to run is me."

"Wooyoung-" 

"And I'm a vampire now. You don't have to worry about me dying. I-" 

"Wooyoung." 

Wooyoung quieted down and looked at San who chewed on his lower lip. 

"Please don't say that again... We both know clearly who is the burden here. I'm just a human. Useless...and weak." 

Wooyoung trembled slightly out of anger but held it in as he stood up instead at the sight of their bus. "Come on, San. It might be a little earlier than we expected but let's run far away together." 

San rubbed away his tears and got up from the bench. He nodded and followed Wooyoung up the bus. They sat quietly at the back of the bus, snuggling against one another to try to catch some much needed rest. 

"Hssss-" 

Wooyoung squinted and lifted his hand that felt like it was on fire as he realised sunlight was pouring in from the window. He closed the curtain and tugged on his sweater's sleeves as he tried to cover himself up better. He looked at San who was still leaning against him and tapped his nose. He felt a sudden gurgle in his stomach and realised he was getting hungry again, or well, thirsty. He gulped and quickly pulled out a carton from the bag that Jongho gave him. He knew he should conserve them but San's scent was more overwhelming than the control he had over his thirst. He sipped on it slowly, tasting the sweet blood flowing down his throat. He breathed a little easier but at the same time, his mind flashed an image of him drinking from San's neck and that made him flinch. He squeezed his eyes shut as he continued to drink from the carton, blaming his vision on his thirst. He sighed and wished to turn back to normal too. He didn't want to live like this either, as cool as it was too. He healed faster, ran faster, was stronger but the constant thirst for blood and fear of sunlight did not jive well with Wooyoung. He would rather be human, basking under the sunlight and enjoying the taste of food all over the world. 

The bus eventually stopped at their destination and Wooyoung woke San up. He threw his hoodie on and the two of them got off the bus. It was a much quieter area and they had to wait for noon before the next wave of buses started to move so they made their way to the nearest convenience store first for San to eat something. 

"Ramen... sausage," the human child mumbled as he picked a few food. Wooyoung felt his stomach grumble again and whined. Why was he so hungry? He gulped down his saliva and guessed it was because he had always loved food but now his choices were too limited. 

"San, can you get a rice ball for me?" 

"Hmm? Can you even stomach it?" 

"I really want to eat it..." 

San didn't have the heart to say no and bought a rice ball for Wooyoung. They headed towards a motel and rented a room so Wooyoung wouldn't have to wait out in the sun. 

"Ugh... My skin feels like it'll tear apart," Wooyoung whined once they were finally inside the room. He lowered his hoodie and sat on the bed. 

"Are you alright?" San asked worriedly as he closed the curtain and placed the bag of blood cartons into the mini fridge. 

"Yeah, for the most part. I want my rice ball now." 

"Catch," San said and tossed it over to Wooyoung who caught it effortlessly. He opened it and wanted to gobble it up but felt himself hesitate. "Something wrong?" 

"What if I can't taste it...?" 

"I've seen appa eat food before. Maybe it just won't taste as good as before but you can probably still eat it," San said as he sat down at the desk to eat his breakfast. Wooyoung gulped and took a bite. It tasted normal frankly and he breathed a small sigh of relief. 

"Tastes normal, like a rice ball is supposed to."

"That's good." 

But the moment Wooyoung swallowed, he had never regretted eating food before. He instantly threw it out and gagged a little to San's surprise. 

"Wooyoung?!" He quickly grabbed tissues and gently patted his friend's back. "What's the matter?" 

"I don't know," Wooyoung whimpered as he held San's shirt. "My stomach..." 

San lifted his head and wiped his lips. "I'll get you some water." 

"It tasted fine... in my mouth but... it's as if my stomach rejected and ejected it out." 

San took the water he bought for himself for Wooyoung to drink. The other gulped it down slowly, not wanting to agitate his stomach again or he might throw blood up which would honestly frighten the both of them and he didn't want that. He couldn't understand why water was fine but not food. 

"Appa didn't do that... or maybe he did it when I wasn't looking," San muttered, wondering how much Seonghwa had endured if Wooyoung, who loved food so much, could just throw it up like that. It wasn't just a day where he saw Seonghwa eat but years. He had seen the other eat human food for years. He took more tissue and started to clean the floor. "Are you feeling better now?" 

"Yeah... ugh... this is the worst," Wooyoung mumbled and pouted. "You're telling me I can't eat fried chicken ever again? This ." 

San fell silent and Wooyoung gasped softly. He looked at him apologetically since he didn't want San to blame himself again and quickly back hugged his friend. 

"I'm... I'm fine! I can deal with this," Wooyoung said quickly and San nodded a little as he scrunched the tissues and tossed them into the bin. "San ah..." 

"Yeah?" 

"What are we going to do from now on...?" Wooyoung asked and San stood up, turning around to look at his friend. Wooyoung's eyes were filled with uncertainty and nervousness while San's were filled with sadness and guilt. 

"Run. Just keep running until we are safe." 

"How will we know that?" 

"Appa will come to us. He said so himself." 

"And what if he never shows up?" 

"I trust him..." 

Wooyoung pursed his lips. He didn't want to squash San's hopes but he didn't believe that living this way was right either. How long did they have to run? What if San or him dies before that could happen? What would all this have been for then? This wasn't what they wanted. What happened to college and work? How were they going to live like this? 

"Wooyoung, what are you thinking?" 

"Too many things to keep track of my exact thoughts," Wooyoung sighed and sat down on the bed. "How much do you even have?" 

"Couple thousand won and a few cards that appa made for emergencies," San answered him. 

"How long would that last... you?" 

"Why are you asking me like that?" 

"Because I'm a vampire now? And I live off blood instead?" 

"Right... we still need to figure out a way to get you fresh blood sometimes," San hummed. 

"I could try hunting animals," Wooyoung said reluctantly as he grimaced at the thought of it himself. 

"You can barely even think about hurting a dog or a bird. How would we even hunt animals that way?" 

"Yah. Neither can you." 

"I know. So there has to be some way we can procure more blood for you." 

Wooyoung huffed and laid down, tired from everything that was going on and his gnawing thirst wasn't helping. San washed his hands and looked at his friend for a moment. 

"Wooyoung." 

"Hmm?" 

"What if you drank my blood?" 

Wooyoung shot up from his position instantly with wide eyes and shook his head. He wasn't sure what he could tell San and what he couldn't but Seonghwa made it pretty clear that he didn't want San to know who he was. "Don't be an idiot. You're the only one with money. If I drink from you, you'll die." Or I'll die for the most part. 

"You can just take the money if I die." 

"Yah! What makes you think I want to do this alone? You have the responsibility to take care of me now," Wooyoung hissed, trying to make up any excuse he could think of to make San stop feeling guilty without exposing his own breaking nerves. "So don't talk so lightly about dying or leaving me alone.." 

"I'm sorry, Woo. I won't anymore." 

"Good. Now get some sleep," Wooyoung said in a hushed tone before stuffing his face against the pillow to hide the shakiness in his voice from San. He didn't want to show San that he was just as afraid as he was about their future or that he was afraid of losing San. San sat down on the other bed and was about to lay down but he noticed how Wooyoung was trembling and got up again. He picked up the blanket to cover him but instead found himself laying on top of Wooyoung. 

"Wooyoung?" 

"Just stay with me," his friend whispered and San didn't question it as he could hear the shaky tone in his voice. He adjusted his position instead to allow Wooyoung to literally smash his head against his chest. He felt his friend bear hugging him tightly and it almost cut off his breath but he didn't say anything. He just returned the hug until Wooyoung calmed down and loosened his hold a little. San gently patted his back and hummed a little, trying to comfort his friend. He knew Wooyoung was usually expressive and open about it but there were moments where he still kept to himself and this was one of them. 

A rustle followed by footsteps roused Wooyoung from his sleep. He didn't think he was a light sleeper but he supposed his stress levels were higher than he expected. He blinked and wondered where San was since he wasn't in his hold anymore. How did a soft rustle wake him up but not San moving away from him? He squeaked and hopped out of bed. He zoomed across the entire room but there was no sign of his friend. He rushed to the front door and realised that it was locked so he peeked through the curtain to find his friend across the stress at the vending machine. He didn't want to break the lock so he kept an eye on his friend but noticed weird movements. There was a male staring and walking closer to San who hadn't taken notice of him yet. He tried to open the window to warn him but froze when he realised the footsteps from earlier had stopped right outside his room. 

"S-..."