The whole apartment was quiet when Ryeowook finally turned the shower off, and what was even stranger still was that everyone was either standing or sitting around in the living room or kitchen, not even talking to one another.  Or maybe they had, and Ryeowook hadn't been bothered to notice their mouths move and to not care that Henry was just doing this in his own way of revenge.  Since no one approached him, Ryoewook did not know that there was something stirring in the apartment so he grabbed his coat, put on his shoes, and left without mumbling anything to anyone.

Of course, this strange occurrence did nothing to distract his mind when he was walking towards the café.  Though the world was still dim from the black hole, the sun still shone and decorated the world with its pale existence.  Ryeowook was one to believe in the books and movies he'd seen, so he kept thinking about Yesung.  Yesung, who was a vampire and, according to books and myths, would either burn in the sunlight or sparkle like glitter, like in that one classic that Zhou Mi had been squealing about when he was much younger.

All this worrying was proven useless when he did reach the café.  Yesung was standing outside in a light shirt, dark jeans, and sneakers.  He wore no hat or sunglasses, letting the sun fall on his skin without any worry.  Though, there was a strange whiteness to his skin that made Ryeowook shiver.

"You're late," the vampire muttered when Ryeowook reached him.

He didn't sound mad, but he wasn't smiling either.  Ryeowook bowed his head low, apologizing under his breath.  He frowned when he saw Yesung's feet leave his line of vision so he straightened.  He let out a sigh when he saw that Yesung had turned to face the café, looking at Ryeowook through the reflection of the glass.  The number above the vampire's head vanished, as did the numbers of the other people in the reflection.

"How much did Zhou Mi tell you?" Ryeowook suddenly asked, the question leaving his mouth before he could even have time to think about what he was saying.

"Enough to get us through this," Yesung replied, taking Ryeowook's wrist and pulling him away.

Ryeowook felt something spark beneath his skin when Yesung touched him, almost startling him into pulling away, but at the same time it was enough to make Ryeowook want Yesung's hand holding his.  It happened, too, right as Ryeowook were about to pull his wrist free.  Yesung's fingers interlaced with his and held on with a solid grasp, though there was something gentle about it, as though Yesung were allowing Ryeowook to pull away if he wanted to.  Ryeowook didn't take the chance given to him.

Without realizing it Ryeowook had been pulled down the street and around the corner, the world moving by at a blur.  Seeing the world just race by made Ryeowook tug on Yesung's hand, and the two eventually stood facing each other in the front of a book store.  Yesung's glare was smoldering, his eyes hot and furious, like Ryeowook had just done the meanest thing in the world, and maybe he had, because Yesung released his hand and continued glowering at Ryeowook.

"Did I do something wrong?" Ryeowook dared to ask, gaze not meeting Yesung's but remaining glued to the sidewalk.

"Yes."

The answer made Ryeowook flinch, but he remained silent, waiting to hear what he had done wrong.

"I thought that quiet guy was following us, but it was you!"  Yesung shouted, causing a few people to look.  "I could smell him, but it was you! You reek of him, it's disgusting!"

"I took a shower!" Ryeowook stammered.  "Changed my clothes!  He… he attacked me!"

"I bet you used his soup in the shower.  Stupid.  You're so stupid, asking me out and coming to meet me when you already had someone like him!"

"He's just my… just my friend," Ryeowook told Yesung, but it sounded more of an excuse than a plea.

"Tell him that!" Yesung growled, pointing.

Ryeowook whipped around quickly to see Henry standing nearby, a smirk making his face appear a lot more fierce than usual.  When Ryeowook turned to protest to Yesung, the vampire he was gone.  He could feel his wrist burning where Yesung had grabbed him, and when he lifted it up to look he could see a thin silver chain around it, almost as if it were a shackle.  When Henry reached out and pulled the chain from Ryeowook's wrist he almost wished it had been.

"It's like he said," Henry told Ryeowook, letting the chain fall to the ground. "You have me."

Ryeowook stared blankly at Henry, not quite sure what to say or do.  He remained silent long enough that eventually Henry took his hand and pulled him into the book store.  Ryeowook didn't even protest.  He was sat in an armchair while Henry went to the coffee shop set off to the side inside the bookstore.  He returned shortly holding two coffees, offering one to Ryeowook.  The older male was still unmoving, so Henry set one coffee on the side table and took Ryeowook's hand, placing the coffee into it.  The second he let go the cup fell to the floor.  Or rather, it would have if it didn't bounce off an invisible foot.  It was then that Ryeowook noticed the chain seemingly floating in mid air in front of him.

"Zhou Mi…" Ryeowook muttered, and the ghost came into view.

It was strange to see him with such a serious expression on his face, but Ryeowook relaxed when the edge of Zhou Mi's mouth quirked up in a half-smile.  It was forced, Ryeowook knew, but it was something.

"Is Kui Xian here?"  Henry asked, voice serious.

Zhou Mi nodded only slightly, and then the bookstore's alarm system was going off.  It stopped suddenly.  Ryeowook glanced at Henry to see that his face was contorted into a painful expression, his eyes narrowed in concentration.  People inside the bookstore were starting to panic and most were running out into the street.  Ryeowook watched them go, stomach churning guiltily.  He had a feeling this would turn into a big fight- and it was all over him.  The alarm started screeching again, making Ryeowook whip his head to see that Kyuhyun had grabbed Henry around the neck.  Ryeowook panicked when the number suddenly dropped to ooooooo132.

"Kyuhyun, stop!" Ryeowook shouted.

The younger male faltered for a moment then released Henry.  The number jumped back up, but Ryeowook didn't have time to register that it did because he was pulled to his feet and over a strong shoulder.  He saw Eeteuk in the corner of his eye.

It was also then that he heard the gunshot.  The number above Eeteuk's head nearly halved as the oldest dropped to the ground.  Ryeowook heard Kangin scream above him, and he was thrown to the floor.  Pain shot through his head, and then the world went black.

-- -

It wasn't that Ryeowook had hit his head too hard, like the doctors said.  He wasn't that he was in shock, either.  The man simply could not form words.  Even he, who had excelled in Korean at school, could not even manage to say his own name.  Zhou Mi kept encouraging him when he opened his mouth, but that would make Ryeowook forget how to ask for food and he'd go without.

He wanted so desperately to see Eeteuk and look at the number over his head, but he couldn't ask and so he remained in bed, unsure of what to do.

He only knew as much as the nurses would allow.  He had woken up in the emergency room, given a private room.  He would be discharged after seeing a therapist in a few hours, and that meant maybe he'd be home by two P.M at the earliest.  He would not be able to visit Eeteuk- Kangin was not letting anyone near him.  Zhou mi had explained even the nurses and doctors were having a hard time up in ICU.

Ryeowook turned away from Zhou Mi, selfishly wishing Henry was there to shut him up.  He was actually surprised Henry wasn't there, but then again he hadn't been told that both he and Kyuhyun were being interrogated.  That was another thing that was not allowed to be said to Ryeowook.

"You wouldn't believe," Zhou Mi was saying when Ryeowook looked at him again.  "It's all over the news- oh!  Yi Sheng-ah!"

Ryeowook looked to the door, heart racing when he saw Yesung standing there.  He looked as if he'd run to the hospital, and maybe he had.  The vampire took a hesitant step forward, then rushed to Ryeowook's side.  He was completely silent, staring at Ryeowook with some emotion Ryeowook wasn't sure he would call.

"See you!" Zhou Mi said cheerfully, leaving the room.

The door clicked shut behind him.

"Idiot," Yesung mumbled, touching Ryeowook's hair.

"I'm not…" Ryeowook surprised himself by saying.

"No, you're not. I am.  I shouldn't have left you with him.  He's trying to cure you.  He's stupid, and so am I."

Ryeowook shook his head, making Yesung's hand fall away.  The vampire sat on the edge of the bed, placing his hand on Ryeowook's head again, letting his fingers trail down to touch Ryeowook's cheek.  Ryeowook blinked, pushing himself into a sitting position to press his lips against Yesung's.  He expected the vampire to push away, but instead he wrapped an arm around Ryeowook's waist and cradled his neck with the other hand.  It felt weird to Ryeowook, because Yesung was much gentler than Henry.  He had a feeling it was because the vampire was afraid of hurting him.

"Wait!" Ryeowook gasped, pushing Yesung away. "Cure for what?"

"You mean you didn't know?" Yesung questioned.

Ryeowook shook his head, frowning.  Yesung stood from the bed and pushed his hair back from his face with both hands.  Ryeowook couldn't help but look at the string of stomach that showed when he did that.  His eyes were drawn back to the vampire's face when he let out a frustrated sigh.

"What?"

"I figured he wouldn't tell you, but even that ghost didn't!"

"That ghost has a name," Ryeowook muttered, but his argument was lost when Yesung went to the window.

"Since you're 'cursed', there's supposedly a cure," Yesung explained.  "Because of what you do, what you can see, I bet that creep wants it to stop.  But… there is no 'cure'.  It's just a stupid story, something they tell the afflicted so they don't have to worry about being freaks forever."

Ryeowook was speechless.  Yesung had spoken as if he were one of the afflicted, not just someone on the outside, looking in and intruding upon the world of a group of afflicted.  He quickly thought back to his dream, trying to remember what the sky had looked like.  There seemed to have been an outside source muting the sun's power.  Almost like the black hole that loomed above the world now…

"Yesung-sshi, were you afflicted, too?"

Yesung sent a cold glare at Ryeowook before nodding slightly.  Ryeowook felt something in his heart pull, and suddenly he was on his feet and filling the distance between him and Yesung.  He wrapped his arms around the vampire's waist and hugged tight.  He could feel Yesung tense next to him before relaxing.  Ryeowook smiled when he felt Yesung's hands on his back.  He looked up to talk to Yesung, but had no chance to.  In a matter of seconds he was back on the bed with Yesung's lips furiously working against his.  Ryeowook was sure this broke some rule, but he was willing to face the consequences.  He was clinging desperately to Yesung's shirt, not wanting to lose even the simplest physical contact with him.  This felt right to Ryeowook, he wasn't full of fear like he had been when Henry had kissed him.  He wasn't afraid of the man above him.

What he was afraid of, though, was the low growl that suddenly erupted from Yesung's throat.  Ryeowook froze instantly, feeling his fingers fall free of the fabric he had just been clinging to.  The pressure against his lips vanished, and Ryeowook opened his eyes, not realizing he had even closed them.  Yesung looked completely apologetic, eyes soft, but Ryeowook was still frozen beneath him.  The vampire moved to the window with inhuman speed, causing Ryeowook to gasp.

"Sorry," Yesung said, but his voice sounded almost amused.

"No, you shouldn't be," Ryeowook told him, struggling to sit up.  "It's my fault, I forgot…"

"You forgot," Yesung repeated, snorting as he turned to face Ryeowook.  "You'll forget, again, and I'll do something and you'll be scared of me.  Don't say you aren't, Ryeowook! I can see it in your eyes!"

Ryeowook was silent, unable to deny the truth.  He was afraid, but it wasn't for the reason Yesung thought.  He had just been startled by Yesung's displays, nothing more.  No, Ryeowook wasn't afraid of Yesung hurting him… it was the other way around.