Hyunsaeng never tried to take off the marble necklace nor did he bite it like other babies would usually do. Instead, he would hold it up and stare at it, zoning out as he did so. Hyunjoong would watch him in amusement while Youngsaeng went out to the kitchen to prepare powdered milk. Since Hyunjoong didn't need to go to class, Youngsaeng went alone and left the child in his boyfriend's care for the time being.

Little by little, Hyunjoong began to learn how to properly take care of a baby: changing his diapers, taking a bath, massaging him with baby oil, feeding him and all that. The other vampires helped the couple a lot, babysitting Hyunsaeng when the two wanted some time to themselves.

"Saengie-ah~" Hyunjoong sang as he skipped down the hall with Hyunsaeng in his arms, greeting his lover at the classroom.

Youngsaeng smiled and took Hyunsaeng into his arms, pecking him on the forehead. "Were you a good boy? You didn't hit Hyunjoong again, did you? No hitting. If you do, I'll get angry."

Hyunsaeng looked at his father and his arm reached up. Hyunjoong looked at him expectantly and leaned down, not knowing what the little boy was going to do. He ended up getting slapped.

"Hyunsaeng," Youngsaeng whined in exasperation. "I told you not to do that."

They went back to their room, cuddling with each other as Youngsaeng continued to feed the little boy bottled milk. "Hyunjoong," he started. The older boy looked at him. "Yeah?"

"I have something to give you," he said as he handed the baby to the latter. He stood up and went over to his bag, digging into it and pulling out a small box. He went back over to Hyunjoong, taking Hyunsaeng into his arms again and passing it over to his lover. "This is your birthday present but don't open it just yet."

"My birthday... How did you know it was my birthday today?" Hyunjoong asked suddenly in surprise. Youngsaeng smiled. "Kyujong told me when I asked him. I know vampires don't celebrate their birthdays but... I wanted to give you something."

"Why can't I open it?" the vampire asked curiously.

"I'll explain to you what it is first because once you open that box, the gift will be wasted," Youngsaeng told him. "Inside is a crystal, the size of your palm. It's not a normal crystal, it's a spiritual one."

Hyunjoong stared at him. "What... does that mean?"

"That crystal is called Raindrop. It isn't mined or found, it is created when a huge amount of spiritual energy is gathered together and has to be contained in something right away to be preserved. The Raindrop allows you to communicate with those who have passed away but it is only one use only. Once you use it, it shatters," Youngsaeng explained. "Once you open the box, you have activated the Raindrop and all you have to do is wish in your heart who you want to see and the person will appear out from the crystal in spiritual form. There is a time limit of ten minutes and the crystal will reflect the countdown to tell you when it is time to say farewell."

"So... if I open this box, then I will get to see someone who I have lost?" Hyunjoong clarified. Youngsaeng nodded. "Save it. You may want to use it at your time of need, when you're suffering the most."

"With you and Hyunsaeng here, I'll never suffer," Hyunjoong said with a grin, placing the box aside. "But I'll save it for someday."

"Mama," Hyunsaeng gurgled with his large eyes and wanted to be set down on the ground again. The coupled watched in astonishment as they saw that their son would walk a little bit already.

Youngsaeng lifted him up proudly. "You just began to climb a few days ago and you can already walk? That's amazing, Hyunsaeng!"

"His vampire blood is strong," Hyunjoong said with a smile, bringing Hyunsaeng into his arms. "He'll grow up fast."

They saw the little boy yawn and the father gently placed him onto the bed, covering him the blanket. "I guess he's tired now..." Youngsaeng nodded. "Let's wash up and go to sleep, too, arasseo? The sun's going to rise soon."

-----------------

Hyunjoong stirred to find that both his lover and Hyunsaeng weren't on the bed but instead, there was a note. He grabbed it, quickly unfolding and reading.

Hyunsaeng said that he wanted to go to the sea again. We'll be back soon so don't go out in daylight, okay?

The vampire and slipped off the bed, slipping on his coat anyway and heading out. The moment he stepped into the sun, he knew that he wasn't going to be able to stay outside for long and so, he began to run, getting into the forest and under the shade as fast as he could. He zipped through the forest, towards the sea to find his lover and Hyunsaeng. What were they doing there? Were they playing the bottle game?

Minutes later, he had to slow down, his energy draining faster than usual by the bright sun. If he or any vampire was out in the sun for too long, his mental state for slowly go out of control and his skin would begin to burn. Sweating, he hurried over to the darkest area of the forest and continued from there.

"Saengie!" he called when he could smell the salt of the sea. There was no response. As he continued walking, he saw the end of the forest and in front of it was a steep slope that led down to the sea. From the edge of the forest, he tried to look down but he couldn't see the beach.

Oh great... I have to go all the way to edge in order to see... But the sun... Taking a deep breath, he made up his mind and dashed out of the shadows, leaning over to see Youngsaeng standing at the edge of the water with Hyunsaeng in his arms.

"Youngsaeng!!!" he yelled over the crashing of the waves. The young boy gasped and turned back, squinting his eyes against the sun to see the vampire waving at him with a cheeky grin.

Hyunjoong's heart skipped a beat when his lover turned around and looked up at him. The boy's eyes twinkled in the sunlight, his skin seeming milkier than before; the ocean breeze made his hair hit his face on one side as he turned. Youngsaeng smiled and turned to Hyunsaeng, making him look up.

"I'm coming up. Get back in the shade!" Youngsaeng shouted at him as he walked over to the slope.

"I'll come down. The hill's too steep and slippery," Hyunjoong quickly said as he jumped over the edge, sliding down. Once he arrived, he quickly pulled his boyfriend and the toddler with him into the shade, panting heavily. He was starting to feel faint. Youngsaeng looked at him with concerned eyes and set Hyunsaeng down on his feet before gently caressing the older boy's cheeks. "Are you alright? We should hurry back... This much sunshine's not good for you."

Hyunjoong grinned again even though he was rapidly losing energy and stamina. He pecked the latter on the lips. "I'm okay. I just wanted to see you."

"We see each other every day," Youngsaeng remarked as he took Hyunsaeng's hand and began to walk on the rocks beside the wide river with Hyunjoong. "We should hurry. Don't faint on me, okay? You can faint when we get back."

"How do you know so much about vampires?" Hyunjoong questioned curiously, smirking.

"My boyfriend's a vampire. How can I not know? Anyways, don't you know? Having the nine-tailed fox within me, my mental age is around 5000 years," Youngsaeng told him.

The vampire's gaze fell as he clutched tightly onto the boy's other hand. "Don't say that... I'm still researching about the nine-tailed fox but how come the books barely say anything? They repeat the same things."

"Mama..." Hyunsaeng mumbled. Youngsaeng turned back. The little boy pouted. "I'm tired..."

"I'll hold him," Hyunjoong offered. "You've already carried him long enough." But Youngsaeng stopped him, taking the toddler into his own arms. "No, you're under sunlight. You're probably feeling quite dizzy and weak right now. I don't want you to use any more extra energy."

The latter sighed. "The Raindrop crystal you gave me... So you said that it can contact anybody that has passed away and you can talk to them?"

Youngsaeng nodded. "As long as you know who you want to talk to, they will appear for 10 minutes." Hyunjoong thought for a bit but then shook his head, the grip on Youngsaeng's hand tightening. "Saengie-ah... I really love you... Ever since that time I met you when you were in fox form, I thought about you everyday. I honestly had no idea I would meet you again in human form..."

"Same with me," the younger boy revealed. "I missed you after I left."

Hyunjoong looked up at the blue sky. "You were the one that told me that stars could make wishes come true." Youngsaeng smiled softly and nodded. "They do, if you devote your wish to that one star... In this world, miracles can happen anywhere."

"Youngsaeng."

"Neh?"

"Your parents must've been very wise... Or your grandparents. They must have taught you a lot."

The younger boy nodded again and looked at Hyunsaeng. "They did. And I hope that that wisdom can be passed down to Hyunsaeng. He is smart and understands what I'm saying right now. He will always remember in the back of his mind."

Hyunjoong gazed at the toddler and stuck his finger out. Hyunsaeng took it eagerly and unexpectedly bit it. The older boy howled in pain and quickly snatched his finger away from the little boy, inspecting it. Youngsaeng chuckled. "He really dislikes you, doesn't he?"

The latter's nose twitched. "Even though he's only around one year old, that still hurts! Goodness!"

When they finally got back, Hyunjoong collapsed onto the bed and passed out without even taking his coat off. Hyunsaeng was also very tired by the time they arrived at the Night class building and so Youngsaeng gently tucked him in beside his lover. He sat beside his beloved, gazing softly down at the peaceful expression as the boy slept.

Unknowingly, a tear escaped his eye as he smiled sadly. "Hyunjoong-ah, I love you so much that it hurt but... I don't have much time left."