Fans gathered outside the hospital, waiting for word on their adored singer's condition, growing disheartened and distressed the more time passed without any change in Kyuhyun's status. The first few days were the worst, tempers flaring and the police having to keep order until the crowds began to disappear at the end of the first week. It wasn't until the end of the second week that Kyuhyun slowly began to improve, finally awakening to the sight of Seunghyun, sitting beside him in a chair and looking like he'd aged 20 years in the space of a few weeks.

"Finally," he breathed, patting Kyuhyun's pale hand in relief. "You're awake... will you be ok?"

Blinking as his only means of communicating since he was unable to move or speak for all the monitors attached to him, Kyuhyun let the man know he would be alright, given time. By the end of the fourth week, Kyuhyun was weak, but able to talk and take his first tentative steps. It wasn't ideal, but he'd recover eventually, of that Kyuhyun had no doubt.

Though he did wonder why Yesung hadn't been to see him. He'd been told of Yesung's visit that first fateful night, but when he failed to return, Kyuhyun had been hurt, then resigned. So he'd been wrong... it wasn't the first time, but would be the last. It hurt too much to be so wrong when it had felt so... right.

What wasn't right was the fact that nobody knew he was a vampire other than Yesung (and Seunghyun), and while Kyuhyun was grateful that he'd been silent on the matter, it meant that he was healing considerably slower than he would have otherwise done, not being able to feed as he normally would. Slipping out as much as he could, Kyuhyun preyed on the dying around him, but it wasn't enough and he still felt so weak, even as he was released from hospital.

The first thing he did after waking was try to find Yesung, standing outside the door of his dormitory and watching as Yesung's room-mate left him to do who knew whatever. Since Kyuhyun now knew Yesung was alone, he knocked on the door and waited for Yesung to answer.

The days after the accident passed at a turtle's crawl for Yesung. He had to resist the daily urge to visit Kyuhyun and make sure he was alright, reminding himself he was more likely to make the situation worse than actually help. Guilt was heavy in his chest as he went through the daily motions of school, listening to his classmates and the news for any sign of recovery from the singer. Sometimes on his way to work, he'd stop outside the hospital and watch with the crowds, but never did he go inside.

Finally the news came that Kyuhyun was awake. Yesung couldn't have been more relieved, grinning like a loon when he heard. The vampire would be alright... he wouldn't die. Well, die again. He still forbid himself from visiting, not wanting to interfere with the other man's life anymore. Next time there was an accident, Kyuhyun might not make it out alive. It was better this way.

So when Yesung opened the door at a quiet knock, the last person he'd expected to see was the man he'd been thinking about ever since the accident. His mouth fell open in shock, eyes wide.

"K... Kyuhyun?" he choked, caught between hiding somewhere his curse wouldn't be able to do anything and tackling the singer over in relief. "You're alright... you're still in one piece," he stated the obvious, relief becoming the dominant emotion for the moment as his hands shook.

"Obviously," Kyuhyun replied softly, his voice still not quite recovered yet. His movements were awkward and hesitant as he shifted in place, held up by crutches. "Can I come in?" he asked, confused by Yesung's reaction.

And by his reaction to seeing Yesung after months of being in the hospital. The attraction was still there, and if anything, it was even stronger. So much so that Kyuhyun was having trouble keeping his hands off the young man, his hands clutching at the crutches like they were doing more than just keeping him steady on his feet. It was almost like a physical ache, a need inside of him that could only be filled by Yesung, and it almost scared Kyuhyun, but that was only if he dared to think about it.

Blinking, Yesung realized he was blocking the doorway to his room.

"Sure," he said, hurriedly stepping aside so the vampire could come through. Had he come here all the way on those crutches? "Um, sit down anywhere you want."

Yesung closed the door after Kyuhyun, wondering just what he was doing. He should have come up with an excuse of some sort, anything to make sure Kyuhyun stayed away from him, but he couldn't help but want to see the vampire again... make sure he was alright.

The room hadn't really changed much, except his room-mate's side was finally a little cleaner, and Yesung had finally gotten permission from the school administration to bring his turtle from home. Pets were usually not allowed, but they had been relaxing that rule a little for smaller animals. Ddangkkoma's tank was set up in the corner of Yesung's side of the room, taking up quite a bit of space.

Yesung hovered anxiously, not sure what to do. "How... how are you feeling?" he asked finally, his eyes worried. "Is it even alright for you to be all the way over here?" Was he healed enough? Surely not, it hadn't been that long ago...

Kyuhyun entered the room, looking around in uncertainty and finally settling on Yesung's room-mate's bed by default; he wasn't sure he'd be able to get up from a chair if he had to. He glanced at the turtle in surprise since it hadn't been there the last time he'd been to see Yesung, then his attention was diverted by Yesung's voice.

"I'll... live," he replied, not missing the irony of that statement. "And probably not. But I'm here because I wanted to know something." Leaning forward a little awkwardly, Kyuhyun attempted to hold Yesung's eyes. "Why didn't you come to see me?"

And did he know how much that had hurt Kyuhyun, to be alone all that time with just the (very) few friends he had for company rather than the one he really wanted. But of course he wouldn't tell Yesung that. Not when it seemed clear that he wasn't interested, despite the attraction Kyuhyun continued to feel.

"I wanted to see you, but they said other than the night of the accident... you never came back. Why?"

Watching as Kyuhyun sat down on his room-mate's bed, Yesung dropped down onto his own because if he continued standing he might start pacing, and that would should just how nervous about this he was. Playing with a loose string from his comforter, the student watched Kyuhyun's gaze take in the main change to the room.

When Kyuhyun turned and looked at him, Yesung swallowed thickly. Damn, why was it he could never break that gaze? It was like a spell, from the instant their eyes met Yesung couldn't look away until Kyuhyun allowed him to. Not seeing each other for so long hadn't changed that at all.

The question sent chills down his spine, not because Kyuhyun was scaring him, but because he couldn't answer, couldn't say what was on his mind. If he said he stayed away because he didn't want to hurt Kyuhyun, that would lead to more questions that would need answers... answers no one outside his family knew and Yesung was determined it stay that way.

Wanting his curse to stay secret didn't make Yesung a better liar however. Shifting nervously, he tried.

"There was no time, finals are starting soon..." But Yesung knew even if he had been buried under schoolwork and studying, he still would have found time to visit Kyuhyun.

Shifting uncomfortably on the bed, Kyuhyun decided to move closer, sitting on one of the chairs beside Yesung's bed, very near Yesung himself. "I don't believe you," he said plainly, his eyes not leaving Yesung's. "You can't lie to save your life, Yesung..."

"So why not just tell me the truth?" Kyuhyun asked, leaning closer. He didn't know what it was but Yesung was driving him crazy.

It was starting to get to him and he found his eyes straying to Yesung's body, then back up to his face. Unable to recognise the feeling as hunger, Kyuhyun mistook it for the attraction he'd continued to feel for Yesung and treated it as such, wanting to get as close as he could to the young human singer.

"You're driving me crazy, did you know that?" he added, his voice becoming hoarse. "I wanted to see you, but you never came back. Don't you know how much that hurts? Even if we... if you just consider us friends... that's not very nice of you... so please. Just tell me why..."

Biting his lower lip as Kyuhyun moved closer, Yesung wished he could look away, or something, because it was so much easier to come up with a plausible lie if he couldn't see the emotions in the vampire's eyes. He flinched as he was called out on the lie, his mind scrambling for something else, anything else but the truth. What was he supposed to say?

"I-I'm sorry," he said, nervousness making him stutter again. "I... I thought..." The way Kyuhyun's eyes trailed along his body sent shivers down his spine, but he had stopped associating such looks with a desire to feed from him, instead writing it off as a part of what made the vampire practically stalk him... a cause for anxiety, sure, but not the same kind of anxiety as the idea of being fed from would cause.

"I think it's for the best, that we don't see each other anymore," he heard himself whisper. This time there was no stuttering, no nervous shifting around... because that part was not a lie.

But it wasn't for whatever reason Kyuhyun may think. The vampire wasn't the danger... it was Yesung himself.

Kyuhyun snorted. "We're not seeing each other now," he pointed out softly, shifting even closer still until he was practically touching Yesung.

Inhaling the scent that was uniquely the human singer's, Kyuhyun's eyes almost glazed over with desire and hunger as his control snapped and he threw himself at Yesung, his fangs bared and aiming for his neck. He seemed completely oblivious to Yesung's attempts at fighting him off, though he didn't make a sound as he attacked.

"That's not what I mean," Yesung sighed softly, trying to find another way to phrase it without making Kyuhyun ask anymore questions. The brush of their shoulders hardly registered, so used to the vampire's presence he'd become.

What did register was the way Kyuhyun's eyes shifted slightly, becoming more animal than human. Before Yesung could say or do anything else, the human found himself pushed back onto the bed with a yelp of surprise, Kyuhyun on top of him and trying to —

Yesung realized with a jolt what was happening and released a panicked yell, starting to struggle immediately.

"Hey, Kyuhyun, w-wait! Stop!" He frantically tried to push the vampire off him, barely managing to keep those fangs far enough from his neck to stop Kyuhyun from biting down. Hyperventilating from panic, Yesung kicked out, his foot connecting with the chair Kyuhyun had vacated and knocking it over with a loud bang.

Hadn't Kyuhyun promised? He'd promised he wouldn't attack Yesung. Was it just another promise broken? "You promised!"

He couldn't fight him off. He couldn't... tears prickled the back of his eyes as he felt the bared fangs brush against his neck. "KYU!"

Shaken back to his senses by Yesung's anguished cries, Kyuhyun realised what he'd done and recoiled, moving faster than he'd thought he could do under the circumstances and pressing himself against the wall next to the door, panting for breath. What had he done?

"I'm.... I'm so sorry..." he gasped out, his body shaking as he realised the magnitude of what he'd just done. Remorse and grief overtook the young vampire and he didn't even stop to grab his crutches as he pulled open the door and hobbled out as fast as he could. Anything to get away from Yesung.

He'd ruined everything. Again. Despite the promise he'd made, he'd just tried to feed from Yesung, only now realising he'd misinterpreted the signs of hunger for attraction. He shouldn't have come, Kyuhyun knew that now as he brushed away tears of pain that were both physical and emotional. Now he'd never be able to see Yesung again and it was his own damned fault.

Without any awareness of time passing, Kyuhyun eventually found himself back at his home, cutting it almost scarily close to dawn as weakness overtook him. Kyuhyun would have to feed the next evening, he knew, or he was going to die, but then again, would that be such a bad thing? At least then Yesung would be safe from him and not have to worry he'd be attacked again.

Laying down on the bed, he was soon asleep, tear-stains on his pale cheeks.

Yesung opened his eyes when he felt the body on top of him vanish, panting as he pushed himself up onto his elbows to stare at Kyuhyun, the vampire's expression a mixture of pain and horror. Instinctively the student clamped one hand over his neck where he'd nearly been bitten, making sure the skin was unharmed.

"K—" he started, but Kyuhyun was already gone. Blinking, Yesung felt dampness on his cheeks and realized his tears had fallen. Swallowing, he tried to remember to breathe, shaky arms pushing himself back into a seated position. He'd nearly become vampire food.

Realizing this, the tears fell faster, blurring his vision as Yesung fell back onto his bed, curling up and taking shuddering gasps. Everything came crashing down on him, the idea that he could have died just then. Sure he was cursed, sure it might be better for everyone if he were to become a hermit or something and disappear off the face of the earth... but he didn't want to die.

Had that been caused by him again?

Catching sight of Kyuhyun's crutches, Yesung swallowed, dangling one arm off the bed to pick them up and pulling them onto the mattress beside him. Kyuhyun needed these...

Tomorrow, he thought, closing his eyes with a shudder and feeling more tears escape as exhaustion pulled him under. Tomorrow he'd bring them back, when he could think straight.

Then after... He had no idea.

Waking the next evening and feeling weak, Kyuhyun lay on the bed and stared up at the ceiling, his expression blank. He didn't really feel like going out to feed, especially given how weak he was, but he didn't really have much choice. His body didn't want to die, and right now, it ruled him rather than his mind.

Feeling a bit like a robot, Kyuhyun showered carefully and changed his clothes, realising with dismay that he'd left his crutches at Yesung's. Groaning with despair, Kyuhyun left the house and wandered around aimlessly until he found someone alone and fed from them, leaving the body slumped against the door of a shop nearby.

Oddly enough, the feeding didn't seem to help his mood much, though his body felt less... weak. Kyuhyun still needed more after months of inadequate feeding at the hospital, and he continued to wander around, feeding at random until he finally felt well enough to go home. He didn't want to be anywhere Yesung could find him, even though he knew Yesung had been to his house; Kyuhyun could just choose not to open the gate to him, that was all.

He had to make sure Yesung stayed away from him, and that he stayed away from Yesung. Kyuhyun couldn't afford to screw it up even more than he already had done.

Yesung woke up exactly as he'd fallen asleep, Kyuhyun's crutches in his grip and a painful reminder of what had happened. Drawing in a shaky breath, he looked at the clock and realized with a groan he was late for class.

The day going downhill, Yesung deciding to take a shower and skip his first class entirely. It turned out he might as well have skipped the entire day, he was so unfocused in classes. The teachers picked on him for many of the answers and scolded him when it turned out he wasn't paying attention. Even music class failed to bring him back to reality, Yesung playing senseless melodies on the piano before the teacher nearly closed the cover on his fingers.

Finally school was over, and an hour later the student found himself standing outside the gates to Kyuhyun's home, holding on to the vampire's crutches and staring at the gates as though he could will them to open through mind power alone. When that failed to work, Yesung looked for something he could use to get Kyuhyun's attention, finally locating a ringer outside the gate and pressing the button.

He had absolutely no idea what he was going to say or do. Yesung kind of figured he'd just hand him the crutches and leave, which was probably the best course of action. There was no way they could stay friends... the only good thing about the near-attack was that Yesung was sure Kyuhyun wouldn't ask why he hadn't visited him in the hospital now.

On his way home, Kyuhyun managed to spot Yesung outside his house with his crutches and ducked out of sight, his eyes wide with fear and worry. He couldn't let Yesung see him or even know he was there; even if he had fed until he was full, Kyuhyun couldn't trust himself around Yesung anymore, that had been made painfully clear to him the night before.

Stumbling around to the back of his house, he let himself in quietly (or he hoped he was quiet...) and sat in his gaming chair, even that failing to raise his spirits. He'd just have to outwait Yesung and hope the singer went away and forgot all about him. Whether he'd forget Yesung remained to be seen, but given his excellent memory, that was highly unlikely.

Hearing the bell pressed yet again, Kyuhyun sighed and willed Yesung silently to just go away and leave him alone, his heart aching.

Yesung waited, resisting the urge to glance at his watch. Maybe Kyuhyun wasn't in... or maybe he was just ignoring Yesung. Both were plausible reasons... one just hurt a little more than the other.

After waiting for what must have been an hour, Yesung knew he could have just placed the crutches down and gone. It worked the same way... he had just been planning to give the crutches back and leave anyways, wasn't he? What difference did it make if he wasn't handing them to Kyuhyun directly?

But it did make a difference... whether Yesung knew that difference or not, so he stayed, pressing the ringer again after a long pause and leaning against the solid gate, closing his eyes. A shiver passed through him; it was getting cold. Time continued to drag on, Yesung ringing the bell every five minutes or so to let Kyuhyun know he was still there, then every ten minutes, every fifteen as he slowly started to give up.

Feeling worse every time the bell rang, Kyuhyun curled up in the chair and began to cry softly, the pent-up emotions finally getting to him. There was just no way he could answer the door, let alone agree to see Yesung again. Not after what he'd done. Kyuhyun couldn't believe that even after breaking his promise, Yesung still brought his crutches back for him, and it made him wonder even more why he'd refused to come see him at the hospital after that first night.

It would have to go unknown, though. He just couldn't trust himself around Yesung; no matter how much he was attracted to him, Kyuhyun would now always wonder if it was actual attraction rather than hunger and he couldn't do that to himself, let alone Yesung. That was why he had to stay strong and resist the urge to open the door and let Yesung inside.

Eventually the times between the bell ringing became longer and Kyuhyun wondered if this meant Yesung was giving up. Why that idea hurt him even more when it was his own choice not to answer, Kyuhyun didn't know, but his sobs wracked his body painfully as he cried for what they could have had and lost thanks to his own stupidity.

When Yesung started to nod off against the gate, he pinched himself hard and the pain brought him back into wakefulness. His fingers were numb from holding on to either the crutches or the cold gate and falling asleep here wouldn't be good. The amount of time between doorbell rings had decreased to half an hour.

Just what time was it anyways? Finally looking at his watch, Yesung blinked in surprise. It was well past 1 in the morning... he'd been here for over four hours. No wonder he could hardly feel his fingers despite jamming them into his sweater pockets.

Blinking past the tears that threatening to fall, Yesung rang the doorbell one last time, leaning against the gate wearily. Finally he had to call it quits. Kyuhyun wasn't going to open the door. He had no idea why it hurt so much, but it did.

Carefully Yesung slid the crutches under the gate, pushing them far enough onto the property so that no one could try grabbing them, then stood and nearly brained himself on the stone jutting out beside the gate. Shaking his head to clear it, he looked up at the house one last time before turning and quietly walking away, heading back to the university.

The warmth of the dorm building was welcomed after the chilly temperature outside, but other than stopping him from catching pneumonia, it did nothing for him. Kicking off his shoes, Yesung went to Ddangkkoma's tank and watched the turtle lazily chew a piece of lettuce for a long moment. Finally exhaustion pulled him towards his bed and he dropped into it, willing himself to stop crying for the vampire he'd told himself he'd stop seeing anyways. Cold and tired, Yesung fell into a dreamless sleep.