“Fine then, I see you have a new friend now.” Siwon sulked to the picture he had drawn on the dirt as he let out a frustrated groan. “I mean, I’d be ecstatic if it wasn’t a hunted!” He continued, emphasising the ‘hunted’ as his phone began ringing.

 

"Hello?" He answered, his unhappiness evident in his tone of voice.

 

"What's gotten you so angry?" A familiar voice laughed from the other side of the line.

 

"Heechul."

 

"Again? What did he do this time?"

 

“He brought home a hunted.”

 

There was a short silence, “Um, I don’t think I heard you correctly, Wonnie”

 

"I think you did Kibum."

 

“A… Hunted?”

 

“Exactly.” Siwon replied with a sigh, burying his face in his hand, and then muffling out, “And I’m pretty sure this Hunted is quite… special to him.”

 

"Special as in...?"

 

"You know, special."

 

"Okay... So?"

 

"What do you mean, so?"

 

“He’s a hunted. So?” Kibum asked dismissively. 

 

"He's a hunted!" Siwon exclaimed.

 

"Yeah I know. So?"

 

"So this is wrong!"

 

“How?”

 

“It just is!”

 

"That must mean that we’re wrong too! I’m from the dark realm, and you’re a pastor from the light.”

 

“That’s different Kibum.”

 

“No it’s not! In fact, our relationship is worse! They didn’t choose to be hunted, Siwon. It wasn't their fault! They are innocent, unlike us. The dark realm. We are guilty of the most terrible acts out there.”

 

“Kibum…”

 

“I’ll call you back once you come back to your senses.” Kibum muttered before hanging up.

 

Siwon groaned, a fight with his boyfriend and best friend in one night over a stupid hunted. “Good on you Siwon. What else could possibly go possible go wrong?” 

 

He glared at the house where the hunted was taking refuge in, snapping the twig that was in his hand and throwing it at the house to vent out his anger.

 

The sound caught the attention of a silhouette who walked to the nearby curtain. Siwon got up slowly, eyes fixed on the person who seemed to be hurriedly grabbing items and placing them into his bag.

 

"I knew he was up to something." Siwon mumbled to himself as he peeked in through the window, trying to look past the gaps between the dark, opaque curtain. "Forgive my sins, I am only doing this for the sake of a friend..." 

 

He hurriedly stepped away from the window as he saw the figure turn in his direction before making his way to the front door. 

 

“Hunted?” Siwon questioned as soon as the other stepped up. 

 

“Holy sh-” 

 

Siwon frowned, “What are you doing?”

 

“What does it look like I’m doing? I’m leaving.” Hangeng sighed.

 

"It doesn't look to me like simply leaving." Siwon accused. "What's in your bag?"

 

"My personal stuff?" Hangeng replied.

 

"I don't trust you. Show me."

 

"Why?”

 

“Because I don’t trust you.” He repeated, snatching the bag out of the other’s hands, and opening it up.

 

“Hey!”

 

“What are these... Wait, flowers?”

 

“Yeah flowers." Hangeng replied.

 

"Why do you have wilting flowers in your bag?" Siwon asked, confused.

 

"I gave them to him previously. They were dying, so I replaced them with new ones.”

 

“Huh.” Siwon said, before throwing the bag back. “So what do you want from my friend?”

 

“Nothing. I swear to God.”

 

“Wait. You believe in God?”

 

“What?”

 

Siwon cleared his throat. “Um, nothing. As I was saying. You’re going to hurt him right?”

 

"No, I'm not." Hangeng replied defensively. “That’s why I’m leaving.” He added, more quietly, as his head dropped slightly. “I would never let anything happen to him. I couldn’t possibly see him hurt.” He sighed.

 

Siwon recalled the previous conversation with his boyfriend and chuckled sadly, “I’m not even worried about you hurting him physically. I’m worried about you hurting his heart.”

 

“What? What are you talking about?”

 

He took a deep breath and faced Hangeng, “You really don’t know, do you?”

 

“Don’t know what?”

 

“You are ridiculous.”

 

“Siwon!”

 

The said person smiled in mild amusement. “Are you sure you want to leave?”

 

“I have to. I’m putting his life at risk.” Hangeng sighed frustratedly. "You know that too. I can’t hurt him."

 

"How do you know that you won’t if you leave him?”

 

"How do you know that I will if I leave him?"

 

“I understand him more than you, and let me tell you this. You may not hurt him physically if you leave, but he will be hurt in other ways.”

 

"In what ways?"

 

"That’s for you to find out. And by the looks of it, you may suffer from the same pain as him.”

 

"You don't make sense at all."

 

“It doesn't matter, just--"

 

"Look, if I'm going to hurt him either ways, then I'd rather not be here to witness it, especially if I caused it."

 

“That’s selfish. Why can’t you just stay here and protect him?”

 

“What happened to you? I thought you were against me. Why the sudden change of mind?”

 

"Because you mean much more to him than you think."

 

"Why would you--"

 

“You are probably the most important thing to him right now.” He said exasperatedly. 

 

“And if I leave, maybe he'll find something more important to him than me.” He cut off, emotionlessly.

 

“Hangeng.”

 

“It’s the right thing to do, Siwon. He will forget me soon.”

 

“No he won’t. You have to stay…”

 

“You know I can’t Siwon. I am a threat.”

 

“But--”

 

“That’s enough. I’ve already made my decision. Leaving now would probably hurt him less than if I stayed longer, and then left all of a sudden.” Hangeng argued softly.

 

Siwon sighed defeatedly, “Are you sure?”

 

“I’m sorry. I have to do what’s right. And erasing my existence from your lives is the only right thing to do.”

 

"You're really not going to see him again?"

 

"Yes, I won't." Hangeng replied, shifting his gaze to the house, “Please don’t tell Heechul about this.”

 

“But--”

 

“Please, Siwon.” He begged.

 

“Okay then." Siwon agreed. "It's not like I want Heechul to kill me for not making you stay anyway."

 

"Thank you." Hangeng said, smiling a little. "By the way, I think I mentioned this before, but I'm atheist."

 

Siwon chuckled, “I’m going to miss you, hunted.”

 

“Me too. Goodbye, Siwon.” Hangeng replied as he turned to leave. "You seemed much more comfortable with a hunted than I thought you'd be."

 

"Don't worry, I thought the same." Siwon laughed as he watched the figure disappear into the woods.

 

"But then, I think I'll be seeing you again."