“We need to talk,” Youngjae said to Daehyun. He saw in his eyes a bit of fear shining.

“Yeah, I thought so, too,” Daehyun answered him with wavering voice what was a totally rare thing for Daehyun but Youngjae knew him well enough to know that it only happened when he blamed himself for something.

“I’m not going to scold you, neither am I going to blame you for anything. You did what you thought would be the right thing. Never did I see you do something that would harm anyone on purpose, Daehyun.”

“But it is still my fault, Youngjae and the worst thing is that everyone is going to blame Himchan for it. You know there are members of the council and other important families that are looking for any flaw he makes, if they are going to find out what happened he is going to stand in front of the tribunal.”

“Let’s go,” Youngjae said and made a slight head movement towards the exit and hoped Daehyun would get his indication.

“Where?” He apparently did not so he just took him by his hand and dragged him along.

They just walked through the streets in awkward silence until they reached a small park and sat down on one of the benches.

“You could have just told me you wanted to get out of listening reach,” Daehyun began the conversation the two had waited for.

“I thought you would guess that much,” he answered.

“So what are we going to do now?” Daehyun asked sounding a bit exhausted. Youngjae knew he was blaming himself for everything.

“We should take him to our place, him, Jong Up and the boy. What is name?”

“It is our place, Youngjae, ours alone,” Daehyun complained.

“I know and it means as much to me as it means to you, but it is the only place no one knows about. It is our responsibility to keep Himchan save and after all that happened I’m afraid that his house won’t be a save place anymore.”

“But the mansion is secured. It was you who installed all these security systems and there are always a whole lot of vampires inside. No human, even if he would be a really skilled hunter would be able to take a step inside.”

“But what if the person who wants to harm him is already there. The ones that attacked us where humans and vampires combined. I have no clue at all what is going on right now but only a few vampires knew that we were going to the research facility so I begin to mistrust everyone right now.”

“Everyone?” asked Daehyun in a playful manner.

“Stop it, Daehyun. You know what I mean and we don’t have time for this.”

Youngjae saw a bit of disappointment in Daehyun’s eyes, he was almost sulking but the situation was tense now and playful talk had to wait.

“Vampires and humans. This just doesn’t make any sense at all,” Daehyun said while leaning his head back and starring at the sky which was still dark with no stars to be seen.

“Hunters and vampires don’t work together so I think they were all blood-contractors and work for vampires,” Youngjae told Daehyun.

“But it would mean that vampires want to see Himchan dead. I would understand somehow if hunters wanted to kill Himchan, but vampires?”

“If they wanted to kill him at all,” Youngjae interfered.

“You’re right. Why did they run away instead of attacking us the moment we had the accident. And then there is the strange story about the hunter attack.”

Youngjae lay down and rested his head on Daehyun’s legs. They both watched the sky in silence for a while, but it was not a comfortable silence and both could not rally relax because there was too much going on.

“What about the council. We can’t just hide Himchan and pretend that it solves the problem,” Youngjae broke the silence. He felt Daehyun’s hand playing with his hair and wished he could just ignore everything that was going on and have some time for them.

“I don’t know, Youngjae. I think we should just hide Himchan and postpone it, till he is in better condition and we have an idea of what is going on.”

“And we still have no idea of what is going on.”

“I think it’s time to go and look for some answers,” Daehyun stated.

“I think so, too. But before we do this, there are some thinks we have to consider and one of it is Himchan’s condition. If he wakes up and remembers what happened he will certainly break down and he will deny blood again.”

Youngjae saw on Daehyun’s expression that he too was thinking about the time when Himchan had denied any blood and got so weak that he almost died so the only conclusion had been to force him. Himchan may be weak but he was extremely strong-willed, so if the denied blood it would a bad situation where it was impossible for the two of them to leave him alone to investigate.

“What about this human, Yong Guk?” Daehyun asked all of sudden.

Youngjae smiled because it was kind of an admission that he was right.

“I think Himchan will only take his blood if Yong Guk gives it to him voluntarily and will he give it to him after he knows what has happened?”

“Let’s fetch him and see,” Daehyun answered.

“You go look for him while I’m looking after Himchan,” Youngjae said while sitting up.

“I’m going to miss you,” Daehyun said and held Youngjae by his shoulders.

“No, you don’t. What is wrong with you, why are so cheesy? Are you sure you just hurt your shoulder and not your head, too?”

“You just look cute, you’re personality totally is not cute at all. I’m going to look for this Young Guk guy and I’m not going to miss you at all.”

“Daehyun, ask him to come with you instead of forcing him, it will make things easier,” Youngjae shouted after him.

“Don’t you tell me what to do,” Daehyun shouted back.

“Of course I’m going to miss you,” Youngjae mumbled just loud enough for vampire ears to hear as he made his way back to the facility alone.

+++

The doorbell was ringing, again. He had no idea who it could possibly be that early in the morning or late at night since Yong Guk still hadn’t found any sleep. He had too much to think about lately and stayed up late. He had always preferred working at nighttime and sleeping during the day anyway. The bell rang again. Whoever was at the door seemed to have a rather urgent matter and Yong Guk decided that he could no longer ignore the ringing and went to open the door.

“You?” Yong Guk asked surprised.

“Me,” answered the vampire. Of all of the people he had last expected Daehyun in front of his door. He was dressed all in black except for a grey woolen scarf around his neck.

“I need you to come with me,” he said then locked as if he suddenly remembered something.

“I would appreciate if you came with me. I need your help. Well, actually Himchan needs your help.”

“Why? What happened?” Yong Guk had the feeling something was not right. He had no idea what made him think that, maybe it was the absence of the other vampire that was always with Daehyun, or maybe it was the way Daehyun suddenly became a bit too polite but it made him feel very uncomfortable.

“Himchan got into an accident. He needs your blood. He needs your blood soon.”

“I can give him some blood. Do you want to… like take it now,” he answered and looked at his arm already imagining the uncomfortable feeling of a needle in it.

“It would be better if you came with me,” Daehyun answered. Yong Guk had the feeling he had answered the question a bit too fast. He was now definitely sure something was off and he had the feeling Daehyun did not even try to hide the fact that he was lying. Yong Guk decided on what to answer as he saw that Daehyun shifted to a more steady position and that’s where Yong Guk realized that it was about going with Daehyun ore getting taken by Daehyun anyway.

“I just fetch my keys and my jacked,” Yong Guk answered and saw a pleased smile appearing on Daehyun’s face.

Outside Daehyun opened a small blue car making the turn signals flash in orange light.

“I had to borrow this one,” Daehyun said, wish made Yong Guk wonder, because he didn’t understand why it was in any of Daehyun’s interested what kind of impression Yong Guk had of him.

“I don’t even have a driver’s license,” Yong Guk answered while walking to the passenger seat and getting in. 

“You don’t?” Daehyun asked surprised as they were both inside the car.

“But you’re old enough, aren’t you?”

“Yes, but I failed. I failed a few times.” He had no idea why he was telling all this but even if he knew he was sitting next to a deadly creature he somehow could not find a reason to be afraid.

“No problem. I’m a really good driver with years of experience.”

“Aren’t you younger than me?” he asked wondering where all the years of experience should come from when he  could not have made his license that long ago.

“Oh, I probably was younger than you when I turned into a vampire but that was years ago. Vampires don’t age like humans. It takes years before we look older.”

“How old are you then?”

“Old enough that you should show more respect for your elders.”

“And Himchan, is he older than he looks, too?” Daehyun looked at him with raised eyebrows.

“No, he is probably around your age. Himchan never turned into a vampire, Himchan was born as one.”

“He has never been human?”

“No, never.”

Yong Guk was not really sure what to make out of this information. He read about vampires being undead creatures but if this was true, it would mean someone who was around his age was all the time living yet not alive. He remembered Himchan’s eyes and his intense stare and how they looked more alive than the eyes of most people he saw all day. Nothing seemed to make sense any more. He had been at the wrong place at the wrong time and now his life was confusing and all he knew about life and death got blurry and maybe even totally wrong.

He noticed Daehyun was looking at him again. He seemed to wait for the right time to speak, so Yong Guk asked first.

“So do you want to tell me anything else?”

“Actually, I do.”

“So?”

“I lied. Himchan doesn’t need your blood. He would feel better with it, but it’s not indispensable.”

“Then why am I here?”

“He doesn’t need your blood, he needs you.”

“Me? What does that mean? For what?” Yong Guk began to feel nervous. He thought it was all about donating some blood but he had the feeling there was a much longer story behind Daehyun’s sudden visit.

“To calm Himchan down.”
“Why me?”

“Just a feeling that it could work.”

“What if it doesn’t?”

“Then nobody can help him, I guess.”

“So, do you might want to tell me what is going on right now? Why should I calm him down? Because of what?”

He noticed that Daehyun was thinking about whether he should tell him something or not.

“I promise you that I will try my best to calm him down and therefore you will tell me what happened. Now.”

“Seems fair enough. We got into a car accident and Himchan was hurt and we, well I made a mistake while trying to save him. I thought he would stay unconscious but the smell of blood awoke him and in his thirst he killed the boy, so later we gave him Himchan’s blood to save him and turned him into a vampire.

“Wait, slowly... I still don't get what is going on,” Yong Guk answered confused.

“Himchan was hurt and if vampires are hurt they need blood to heal and sometimes we can’t control ourselves if it’s really bad and that’s what happened. It was all an accident but Himchan still killed the boy that we later tuned into a vampire to save him. Now think about how you would feel if you killed someone just to save yourself,” Daehyun explained to him.

“He killed a child?” Yong Guk asked his voice shaking.

“A boy about 17-18 years old I guess.”

“But if he’s a vampire now, he is still alive, isn’t he?”

“I now this is confusing but all that is important right now is that Himchan thinks he killed someone.”

“So you want me to console a murderer.”

“No, I want you to console Himchan. He is no murderer. It was an accident that happened because I wasn’t careful enough. If you want to label someone as a murderer than that person should be me.”

“I still don’t have a clue, why I should help. He doesn’t even know me.”

“That’s not important.”

“And what is?”

“It’s important that he trusts you.”

He didn’t know what he should make of all the information he just got. He could not imagine Himchan as someone who was ridden by his instincts and killing someone without even knowing it. His hand touched his neck as he thought about the night when he was attacked by a vampire but his mind refused to imagine Himchan as such a creature. Yong Guk was a person who loved kids. He cared for children who lived under bad conditions and always tried to contribute to organizations that helped them, so he should hate a person who killed a child but he just couldn’t not before he properly understood everything that was going on and the only way to do it was by meeting Kim Himchan.

Yong Guk saw that there were heading to an industrial estate. In front of him was a big complex with a few modern looking grey buildings with an illuminated company logo on top of each building.

“Where are we? I thought we were going to see Himchan.”

“We are. Himchan is in there.”

“What is this building? It looks like a pharmaceutical company.”

“It is a pharmaceutical company, on the outside. It is our research center. It has a lot of intelligent vampires gathered, searching for different things, a substitute for blood, a cure or just more knowledge what this vampire thing is all about. Youngjae was asked more than a few times to work there but he always declined.” Yong Guk noticed that Daehyun sounded proud by telling him this. At first he thought Daehyun was a silent person but he now found out that it was quite the opposite. Daehyun talked a lot and always in a loud and sometimes even exaggerated manner. Daehyun told him more things about the building but Yong Guk could not quite concentrate on what he was saying because his mind was occupied by something else.

Yong Guk had a bad feeling as they drove nearer to the building and instead of wanting to get away as fast as possible he wanted to see Himchan and know that he was alright. His head told him it was a wrong decision but it did not feel wrong at all. He craved for a cigarette and searched his pockets only to find out that he had no package inside them. He tried to tell himself that he wanted to stop smoking anyway but his head still longed for the nicotine and it got worse the nearer they came to the buildings and the more stressed out he became.

Daehyun parked right in front of the building not caring if it was blocking the way. Yong Guk got out of the car and followed Daehyun. He saw a lot of persons inside of the building but could not see whom of them where vampires and who were human. They went inside an elevator but instead of going up Daehyun pressed the bottom for the basement. He took out a card of his pocked and pressed it against some kind of scanning machine. The door closed and the elevator moved down. As the doors opened again two men in black suits welcomed them. They bowed as they saw Daehyun who ignored them.

“Excuse me but the human has no permission to be here,” one of them said to Daehyun but having his eyes on Yong Guk.

“He’s here on Kim Himchan’s permission,” Daehyun said, his voice sounding a bit annoyed.

“We know nothing about his,” the other one said.

“You can go and interrupt Mr. Kim in his healing process to ask him,” said Daehyun and moved past them. Yong Guk followed and saw how the guards looked at each other not sure if they should stop him or not but apparently decided against it because they stayed by the elevator.

They walked down a well-lit corridor with closed doors to their sides. Somehow Yong Guk now had the feeling they were in a hospital and not in the basement of a company.

In front of one of these doors he saw the other vampire Youngjae and a short man in a white gown. He was a little stoutly and had short black hair and wore a pair of black-rimmed glasses.  

“You’re back,” Youngjae said.

“Is he the one?” the man asked.

“Yes, it’s him.”

“I’m Mr. Kang, you could say I’m Himchan’s doc, nice to meet you,” he said and reached out his hand.

“Bang Yong Guk,” he answered and shook it.

“I’ll need some of your blood to test it, if you wouldn’t mind.”

“No, it’s okay. But where is Himchan? Can I talk with him? Is he hurt?”
“He is asleep right now,” Youngjae answered him and pointed at the door.

“Can I go in?”

“I..,” Youngjae was just about to answer as Young Guk heard cries of agony, cries so painful he had never heard anything like that before. He stopped thinking and ran into the room. He saw Himchan lying on a bad ripping out the blood infusion out of his arm screaming and trashing around. His hair was a mess, his eyes were glowing and it was the first time Yong Guk could see Himchan’s fangs.

He said nothing because nothing could make it better that he just killed a boy. He went to him sat down on the bed and put his arms around him. Himchan was trying to get out of the embrace but he had no strengths and soon gave up letting his body fall against Yong Guk’s. Yong Guk just held him in his arms and patted his back with circling motions.  After a while the screaming became crying, the crying became sobbing, and the sobbing became uneven breathing. Yong Guk was someone with patients so he waited and let his shirt getting wet with the other man’s tears until he felt asleep in his arms. He laid him down and wrapped the blanket tightly around him. Yong Guk just stayed in the room and watched him sleep. He looked so tired and fragile Yong Guk had the urge to be there for him and protect him even if he knew he did not stood a chance against other vampires. He was still not sure if he stood on the right side. In the end this fragile being had killed a minor that now turned into a vampire. In his head the idea of someone being dead yet living still was something impossible so for him this young boy was still alive and may be this was the reason that he pitted Himchan and had no ill feelings towards him. He wanted to stay by Himchan’s side and the fact that Himchan needed to drink his blood did not freak him out as much as he thought it would. He thought that maybe there really was something sensual about this creatures called vampires.

Maybe all this storytelling even if most of it seemed fiction was because they it was something fascinating about the fact that they needed to drink human blood to live. His thoughts went to the human boy and what would happen to him now. As how Yong Guk knew it they seemed to have some kind of rules or laws and maybe they had some kind of plans as how to help him. Even if it was not his fault he felt responsibility toward him. He had the feeling that everything would not have happened if he stayed at Himchan’s side and gave him his blood so he would have been stronger and would not have needed the boys blood. Himchan began to stir in his sleep, begun turning from one side to another. He suddenly opened his eyes. They were out of focus and glassy. Yong Guk put a hand on his shoulder trying to calm the other down but instead Himchan tried to get away and begun to get frantic.

“I might hurt you, get away, please get away,” he begun to scream.

It broke Yong Guk’s heart to see Himchan reacting like this and being afraid of him. He did not really know him neither did he knew or understood everything about vampires but still he felt some strange kind of affection. Himchan started to talk blurry and really fast and it took a while for Yong Guk to understand his questions.

“He is dead right? I turned, right? I really did not want to.  So young, he was too young. He is a minor. Is he a minor? He can’t be a minor.”

Yong Guk did not know what he could possibly tell him to make him feel better. No matter which way he turned it, in the end he did kill a boy.

“Yong Guk, may I talk to you? He had not noticed at all that Youngjae had entered the room.

“But I...”

“Mr. Kang is staying with him. Please, it’s important,” Youngjae interrupted him.

He left the room meeting Daehyun outside.

“We know you want to help Himchan and we really appreciate that and for some strange kind of matter Himchan seems to trust you a lot so we think that we should explain some things to you that we kind of withheld.

“Let me guess matters are even worse.”

“As much as I would like to tell you that you guessed wrong, I can’t.”

“Why is turning someone so bad, isn’t it what vampires do?”

“We don’t just turn humans to vampires as we see fit. There are rules, you could compare them to human laws and we have to follow them. And turning someone into a vampire without his consent is forbidden. And turning someone that is of age is forbidden. And killing a human whole drinking his blood is forbidden.”

“What happens if you break the rules?” Yong Guk asked one shaking voice surprising him.

“The members of the council are the one that, you could say rule all the vampires. They are the heads of the oldest and most powerful vampire families around the word and if a vampire breaks the rule he is hunted down.”

“Hunted? What does that mean?”

“The reason why you have heard about vampires is because we could not stay hidden. There were always a few persons who found out and some of them decided that they would do anything to hunt us down and kill us. They call themselves hunters and their knowledge about vampires is handed on from generation to generation. But nowadays they just hunt down a vampire that has broken the rules. It has to do something with the pact that was formed a long time ago. But this is not what we wanted to tell you. What Daehyun told you is that Himchan was in a car accident, but the truth is Himchan got attacked. They were trying to get us into an accident. We don’t know who and why and that’s why we need your help.”

“Someone is trying to hurt Himchan?” Yong Guk asked, still trying to comprehend what is going on.

“Yes,” Youngjae answered.

 “What can I do? I’m a human, I can’t protect him.”

“That’s not what we want you to do. Himchan’s protection is still our job, even if we have failed recently. Himchan needs to hear form a human that everything is going to be all right. Vampires don’t care about humans. They see a lot of people die and they get numb and don’t care, that’s just the way it is. If we tell him it’s going to be all right than he doesn’t believe us because he things we don’t really care about the human boy, so he needs to hear it from a human.”

“I’m not the best at talking,” Yong Guk told them.

“You don’t need to be. Just be there for him.”

“For how long?”

“As long as it takes to convince him,” Daehyun suddenly joined their conversation. Yong Guk got the feeling that it was not a matter of one or two days they were talking about.

“I need you to make a decision now. Either you stay by his side and help him or you give us some of your blood for research and then go and don’t ever come back again,” Youngjae told him.

Yong Guk had no idea if he wanted to be involved in all of these complicated matters, he had no clue what it would do with his future and what consequences his decision would have for his life so he did what he always did in such a situation, he thought about where he wanted to be tomorrow and that would be by Himchan’s side, and that is why he opened the door again and sat down on the chair next to Himchan’s bed.

+++

Himchan woke up with the feeling of someone’s hand softly through his hair. It took him some time to remember where he was and what had happened and he immediately felt his heart clench at the thought of it. He slowly opened his eyes and saw the dark orbs of Bang Yong Guk looking right at him.

"You're awake", he said. His deep voice was calm and quiet. Himchan found it a pleasant sound to hear. It had some kind of soothing effect even when the words spoke where nowhere important.

He remembered crying on Yong Guk’s shoulder last night, or what he thought was last night because he had no idea how long he had slept and what time it was. The room he was in had no windows to the outside so he didn't even know if it was night or day.

He felt really embarrassed right now, he could not tell when he had cried in front of anyone the last time and he had only met Yong Guk once before.

“I'm sorry”, he said hoping Yong Guk would not mind too much. Himchan still did not know what to do with the fact that he was here with him and who this had actually came to be.

"Don't be, he is okay, you don't have to worry this much." Yong Guk misunderstood what he wanted to say but he could understand why, because Himchan felt sorry for the boy, too. The pictures of the boy's bloody neck and his pale lifeless face came back to his mind and Himchan closed his eyes in hope it would make them go away. What made them disappear was Yong Guk’s hand that now petted slowly up and down his shoulder.

Himchan saw the needle in his hand and had the urge to rip it out again.

“Don't, I don't like needles either so don't waste my blood,” Yong Guk said as he somehow guessed what he was thinking.

He was still feeling like a monster but he let the blood get inside him anyway. He had done enough damage already, so he felt better listening somewhat people told him, or rather what Yong Guk told him.

“How are you feeling? Are you in pain?”

“I'm fine. How is the boy? Has he woken up?” Himchan could hear his own voice shaking as he asked the question.

“I haven't talked to him, but I've seen him and he looked well.”

“I want to see him, I have to tell him I'm sorry. Where are Daehyun and Youngjae?”

“I can look for them, if you want to,” Yong Guk said.

“Why are you even here?” Himchan wanted to ask him this question since he woke up, but he had not found the right time to do it.

“Don't you want me here?”

“No, no that's not how I meant it. It's just, I am a vampire and I just killed a boy. You have all reason to hate me, to be disgusted by me and still you’re here.”

“I just,I...,” Yong Guk was interrupted in his answer as Youngjae and Daehyun entered the room and Himchan inevitably knew they had been somewhere near listening to their conversation the hole time.

“How are you, are you feeling all right, are you hurting somewhere?” Youngjae started to ask the moment he entered the room.

“What do you think how I feel?” Even if he knew they were not at fault he somehow blamed them for not stepping in and letting the whole thing get out of hand. He had never witnessed them making the slightest mistake and now they made one that could not be retrieved.

“Himchan, we are really sorry for what happened. We never thought something like this could ...”

“Stop it Youngjae I don't want to hear any excuse. I want to know why it happened. Who were the persons in the car and what it they want and above all I want to see the boy and I want that you take care of him the best you can.”

“Jong Up stayed with him all the time. He is all right. He turned without any problems.”

“I want to see him.”

“Himchan I don't think it's a good idea for you to move yet.”

“I want to see him, now.”

“Himchan,”

“Youngjae, don't you get it, he is my first born.” Himchan finally said and heard Youngjae gasp. The realization after finally saying it through was for Himchan a confusing matter. Having turned a vampire only indirectly before by giving them blood while they were already bitten by some other vampires like it has been the case with Jong Up was a different matter then directly turning vampire. A vampire and his e shared a bond and it was an even more significant matter if the vampire was a pure blood like Himchan. He could sense the boy. He knew he was awake and somewhere near only a few rooms away. He wanted to see him. He had to know everything was all right. Taking care of the boy was the only way he could atone for the misdeed he did.

Himchan tried to sit up in bad. His body felt completely powerless.

“You shouldn’t go anywhere. Your bruises are not in the least healed,” Youngjae said with determined voice. Himchan did not like it when Youngjae showed this kind of motherly side. He thought it did not suit Youngjae but he could sense that Daehyun seemed to be quite fond of it.

“Then let’s take a wheelchair,” Daehyun suggested.

“Where should we take a wheelchair from?” Youngjae asked.

“We are in a medical facility,” Daehyun responded.

“One for vampires, you forgot. Vampires don’t need wheelchairs,” Youngjae reasoned.

“So you have a better idea than?”

“At least I make some suggestion instead of criticizing others.”

“I would at least think them through.”

He wanted to say something to stop the two before they attacked each other as he noticed that Yong Guk stood up from the chair next to his bed and put one had under his knees and the other around his back lifting him up carefully and caring him bridal style outside the room.

Normally Himchan would have protested and he would have thought it a condescending act but he knew Yong Guk meant it well. He hoped his cheeks were not showing any redness because he was embarrassed but at the same time he could not deny he kind of like the feeling. He felt save in Yong Guk’s arms. Maybe it was because no one would have dared to do such a thing but Yong Guk. He was a human and for a person as Yong Guk it may just have seemed the right thing to do. Yong Guk carried him to a big window that showed the inside of another room. He saw the boy sitting cross-legged at one side of a bed. Jong Up was sitting at the other side. In the middle was a tray with burgers, fries and coke. They were eating and talking to each other. If they noticed Yong Guk’s and his presence they showed no reaction to it. Himchan could see the boy’s eyes glowing and his fangs visible because he still had no control over them but he still looked so young and his cheeks were so squishy that it made him look like a child more than a beast that could kill humans. Only at this moment Himchan realized that Yong Guk was a human and for a freshly turned vampire he should crave for blood. The boy should have smelled Yong Guk being so close but he still showed no reaction at all. Himchan decided to listen to their conversation.

“It feels like everything changed, my body, my view, everything. Are there things that somehow stay the same?”

“Probably there are, but you have to find them for yourself. I can tell you what it is for me, though, if you’re interested.”

“Please,” the boy answered, sounding a bit less fearful.

“For me it’s dancing. I always liked to dance, even before I turned into a vampire. Of course you are faster and stronger as a vampire. But dancing isn’t about being fast, it’s about matching the beat, following the rhythm.”

He could see how the boys eyes grew bigger as the listened to Jong Ups rambling about dancing taking away the boys fear with every word. Himchan had always thought of Jong Up as an always smiling idiot, but maybe he was a genius instead.

He had no idea why he did not react to human blood and he dicided not to care for now. There were already so many unanswered questioind he just put onto the list to agonize about it when he had time for it. Now he felt too tired for that.

“Do you know his name?” he asked Yong Guk.

“It’s Choi Junhong”

“How old?”

“I don’t know, sorry.”

Suddenly he heard both of the boys started laughing. They were now trying to steal each other’s fries and Himchan thought that maybe what Jong Up said could be true, maybe turning something was not as cruel and unforgiving as he thought, maybe there was some hope for the boy named Junhong.

Himchan heard the steady clatter of high heels coming nearer and nearer in fast pace and he knew this sound all too well.

“Let me down, please.”

“Are you sure you can walk? You look exhausted already,” Yong Guk said his deep voice full of worry.

“Let me down,” Himchan said again and Yong Guk put him carefully on his feet. His back and his upper legs were still hurting and if Yong Guk had not put an arm around him immediately he would have fallen down the second his feet touched ground.

“I can carry you to your room, it’s really no problem.”

“No, I have to walk.”

“Why? What’s wrong?”

“My mom is coming.”

Author’s note: Here is the next chapter that got really long somehow. There will be more Banghim interaction the next chapter, I have feeling the story is still lacking at this. I’m not good at writing romantic stuff but I’ll try. Thank you again for reading and commenting. Bye bye