“Woobin-ah!!!!!”

Clong.

...

Clong.

Time stood still.

Clong.

The gatherer looked into his lover's eyes which were filled with tears, already swollen and red. Ah...it's over now, he thought, but at least he is save, he lives.

Closing his eyes slowly, in his breath, Woobin felt the car rushing right trough his body. No pain, nothing. Because he wasn't a human. He wasn't living anymore. Only now, he truly realized.

The gatherer forgot. Being with Jongsuk, touching him, feeling him, loving him, it made him forget.

But now it was truly over.

Tears were running down Jongsuk's cheeks as he screamed in panic. His boyfriend was going to die, because he wanted to protect him. Horror. Pure torture. He'd prefer to die himself. Crying, shouting, Jongsuk closed his eyes as the car stood on the brakes.

Jongsuk's body was shaking heavily, but he forced himself to open his eyes immediately. He had to call the ambulance, he had to get up and help his lover. But before he was able to get up, his body completely froze.

His eyes met Woobin's. It was impossible. He must have been hallucinating due to the shock. His boyfriend stood there. Perfectly fine. Looking right back at him.

What was happening?

Suddenly the driver came running to Jongsuk, checking if he was hurt. “Boy, I'm so sorry! I didn't see you were crossing the street. Are you hurt?”

However, Jongsuk couldn't reply. He just stared at the gatherer, who stood there awfully quiet.

“Boy...?” The driver kept checking, but he saw no visible wound, so he sighed in relief. “Thank god you were able to avoid being hit...are you sure you aren't hurt?”

Jongsuk bit his lower lip. What was this man even saying? He was obviously not the one who was in supposed to be hurt here. What the hell? Jongsuk's body wouldn't stop shaking.

Clenching his fists, he tried to answer the driver, but his voice was shaking, so he couldn't talk properly. “W-why a-..are you a-asking me? Should...shouldn't you ask t-the man on the street?”

Jongsuk's eyes never left Woobin's. Nonetheless, the gatherer didn't say anything, didn't move, didn't even blink.

The driver followed the boy's gaze, but no one was there. He wondered if he might had hit him and Jongsuk was just too traumatized to feel anything.

“Boy..are you sure I didn't hit you? ...there is and was no one except you.”

“Nonsense...”

Suddenly, Jongsuk heard Woobin whisper his name, quietly, his voice full of pain and regret. “Jongsuk-ah...”

“Maybe I should take you to the hospital...common, get up. I'll help you and pay the fe-”

“There is a man standing right in front of us! Are you blind?!” Jongsuk burst out. The tears were still running down his cheeks, his voice broken, his body shaking.

The rain kept falling down on them mercilessly...

Run. Woobin wanted nothing more than to run away. Seeing Jongsuk hurt like that hurt him even more. That was why he told himself not to get involved with him. That is why he told himself not to let Jongsuk fall in love with him.

How was he going to explain this? How was he going to comfort him? How was Jongsuk going to trust anyone anymore? He ruined his life. Woobin ruined his loved one's life.

“Kid...”

“Leave me alone! You are crazy, old man...” he didn't know what to do. Blaming the driver was the easiest way out. That way, he wouldn't have to admit that he might be crazy himself.

Was he imagining things all these weeks? No...he felt him. He felt Woobin. He heard him, he tasted him. That couldn't be imagination, could it?

“...if you decide to go to the hospital sent me the bill, I'm going to pay for it....here is my card.” The man shove his card into the pocket of the boy's jacket, got into his car and drove away, leaving Jongsuk and the gatherer alone.

Silence.

Woobin was telling himself that he already knew this day would come. He already knew he'd hurt Jongsuk, he'd have to leave Jongsuk, he'd have to accept that he was no longer a human. But it was hard to accept, hard to realize after all this time.

“...Jongsuk-ah-” Woobin started, but was interrupted right away.

“What the hell is going on?...”

The gatherer hesitated, avoided his gaze for the first time in a while. “I...I-”

“D-did you avoid the car?”

Jongsuk was desperate. He needed a logic explanation. He wasn't crazy, was he?

“Jongsuk...I'm so s-”

“Am I...am I crazy?”

Tears kept running down the boy's cheeks as he lied shaking on the cold ground. Woobin felt his own eyes fill with tears. He was in pain and he didn't even want to imagine how much worse Jongsuk was feeling at the moment. He didn't deserve this.

“Of course not! I'm...I...”

“What the hell are you, Woobin? Please...don't lie to me...”

Woobin hesitated for a moment. “I'm not a human...”

“Mwo?...”

He took a deep breath and looked into the boy's eyes. “I'm not a human.”

Jongsuk's eyes widened.

“I'm sorry! I didn't mean to lie to you I just-” Woobin hurriedly explained while approaching Jongsuk, but he was crawling backwards immediately. He was scared. Jongsuk was scared of him...

“Don't come closer!” he cried.

The gatherer felt a sharp pain in his chest. He felt his own body shivering. “Jongsuk...I'm sorry...I'm so sorry...please...” He tried once again, taking one step closer.

“Don't come closer!” he cried once again. Jongsuk was out of his mind. Without thinking, he grabbed a stone next to him and threw it at the other.

Woobin watched the stone flying through him. Jongsuk was scared. Really scared. He had every right to be scared, Woobin told himself, but he couldn't suppress the pain he was giving him. The gatherer couldn't stop the tears from falling when he heard the boy scream terrified when the stone didn't hit him.

“I'm not going to hurt you...please...I know you are scared...I...I just...I just couldn't...” he tried to find the right words, tried to explain what he was, why he was there, why he did all that, but he couldn't.

“W-what do you w-want from me? ...why...why me?”

“I'm not here to hurt you!...” I'm here to protect you. You are supposed to die. Woobin couldn't tell him that.

Jongsuk just stared at him totally scared, still waiting for an answer.

“Please get up first..you are soaked...you will get sick...” Woobin pleaded with a broken voice.

The boy shook his head, but forced himself to get up nonetheless. He could hardly stand. “Leave me alone...I don't..I don't want to see you anymore.”

“I can't...”

“..why...”

Woobin didn't answer. He couldn't. If he had answered and told him that he was supposed to die, he would have been scared even more. He'd rather bear the pain of being feared.

Jongsuk couldn't believe all this. Just an hour ago everything was fine. He was having fun with the man he loved, he was touching him, he was talking to him, like everyone else did with their lovers. But it was all a lie. Maybe he was crazy. Maybe he was desperate to feel loved that he imagined things. It was the only thing that made sense.

Woobin was not a human he said. Nonsense. What else would he be? A ghost? An angel? Nonsense. But...why did he feel so real? Why would he have been angry about Soohyun if he wasn't real? Why was he crying right now? Nothing made sense anymore.

No matter what, he had to get rid of Woobin before he would cling to him even if he was the devil himself.

Looking at him one last time, Jongsuk turned around and slowly began to walk home, one trembling step after another. And the gatherer quietly accepted his choice.

They reached Jongsuk's home. The boy immediately went inside and closed the door behind him, leaving the other standing outside. He leaned against the door and let his tears run down his face once again.

“Jongsuk-ah...” Woobin leaned against the door as well, not going inside though he was able to. “I'm not going to come in...I don't want to scare you....”

Silence.

“I didn't mean to hurt you...I didn't to lie either...but I had to...I'm sorry...I really am...”

Silence.

“I will try not to bother you, but I can't leave you alone either..so...please don't do anything stupid..or else I'll have to come inside...”

Woobin heard footsteps, he knew Jongsuk was walking away now, but that was alright. As long as Jongsuk wouldn't hurt himself, he wouldn't blame or bother him. All he wanted was that the boy was save.

The gatherer sat down on the stairs, listening to the sound of the rain. He regretted it. Not because he lost his boyfriend, but because the boy was hurt because of him. Jongsuk was even thinking that he was crazy. Woobin might have been able to protect him from the car, but he couldn't protect him from the pain. He hated himself.

He had become too careless himself. He knew it was wrong from the start, but he was weak. Too weak. Letting his feelings take control over his actions was wrong. He himself had started all this. If Woobin hadn't been so jealous, hadn't kissed him..everything might have turned out differently. It hurt. It hurt to know that he was the cause of Jongsuk's suffering.

Time passed as he was reflecting about his actions and at some point he realized something critical. Something that changed the current situation drastically.

The gatherer was still there.

He was the cause of the accident earlier.

If he wasn't there, Jongsuk wouldn't have gone outside, wouldn't have been running around carelessly, wouldn't have been in danger. Jongsuk had been in danger because of him.

He had saved him, but he was still there...which meant..this wasn't his supposed death...which meant....it's not over....

another update!! :D I tried so hard to convey all the feelings and the atmosphere of the situation and all, but i feel like i failed hard...sry for that. 

anyway i was REALLY!!!!! happy to see so many comments and new subs for this story though i hadnt updated for months, it made me really happy and i want to thank all of you <3 i appreciate your support, comments and so on a lot! and i'm really sry i cant update as often as before :(