"Mr. Jung, Dr. Hardinns would like to speak with you", a nurse informed before Leo could enter Hakyeon's room. He'd been visiting for two weeks now and Hakyeon wasn't showing any mental improvements. 

Taekwoon thought that maybe Hakyeon could return home. 

He entered the doctor's office. 

"Please take a seat, Taekwoon-sshi". 

Taekwoon sat down, eyeing the doctor. 

"We have been observing Hakyeon and we honestly see no signs of progress. I know he was your mate but your mark is not on him and you're not obligated remain by his side. We all sympathize with everything he's been through but I believe it's time to let go". 

The words came out rushed and Taekwoon couldn't believe what he was hearing --- obligated? Let go? He wasn't obligated; he sincerely loved Hakyeon whether or not they were bonded by a mark or not. 

Taekwoon was quiet for a few minutes until the doctor interrupted him tentatively, "Mr. Jung?" 

"He is my mate", Taekwoon growled. 

"Excuse me?"

"You said he was my mate; he is my mate and I'm not going to give up on him", Taekwoon spat before leaving the room in anger.  How dare he be told what to do; how dare that stupid man act as though he knew about his and Hakyeon's relationship. 

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

"Woonie!" 

Taekwoon groaned as he felt the familiar arms around his neck, "What is it, Yeonnie?" 

He and Ravi were speaking about territorial issues that morning when Hakyeon woke up. 

"Watcha doing?"

"Talking", Taekwoon said. 

The arms didn't budge and Taekwoon sighed, "Why are you so clingy Hakyeon-ah?" 

Normally, anyone would be angry or offended but Hakyeon wasn't just anyone. 

The arms loosened and he looked at his mate, "I'm sorry Woon-ah, would you guys like some lunch?" 

"Now you notice I'm here", Wonshik joked. 

Taekwoon nodded and Hakyeon smiled before going to the kitchen. 

"Hyung, aren't you too cold?" Ravi asked as he watched Hakyeon disappear into the kitchen. 

"Mm why?" Taekwoon asked from his laptop screen.  

Wonshik rolled his eyes at his friend. 

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

Now that Taekwoon thought about it, he really was stoic while Hakyeon was chatty. But Hakyeon never once complained because he loved Taekwoon the way he was. He didn't mind being ignored sometimes because to him, Taekwoon was everything: his saviour, his lover, and mostly his best friend. 

Taekwoon understood him and they held common values and that was more than Hakyeon could ever ask for.  

And although, Taekwoon would be annoyed for Hakyeon's over-affectionate personality, he loved him and was thankful for his mate at the end of the day. 

And now, Taekwoon had to be Hakyeon's rock and help him recover from all that horror. 

It just wasn't fair. Hakyeon went through so much in his life and yet, he remained so positive and happy. 

But after what Ken did to him, he seemed to have finally cracked. 

But Taekwoon was not going to let his beloved mate break; he'll show Hakyeon what's worth living for...

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

 "So where will you go?" 

"Back to my apartment I guess", Jaehwan replied, not looking at Ravi. 

There was a pause. 

"You can't keep running from this mating thing Jaehwan", Ravi muttered, "You know how dangerous it can be for an unmated vampire; your job can't protect you forever". 

Jaehwan gave the younger boy a soft smile, "Don't worry about me; it's too late for me--"

Ravi was confused, "Too late for what?"

"For mating", Jaehwan said, "I'm older than most single submissive vampires. It would be much too difficult to find a mate with my age". 

Ravi was silent. He discovered that he didn't like Jaehwan even thinking of getting a mate. 

"Stay with me", he blurted out. 

"What?" Jaehwan asked in surprise. 

Obviously the elder had heard him so Ravi knew he couldn't back down. 

"Stay with me", Ravi repeated before blushing, "I -uh, don't happen to like most young submissives anyways". 

Jaehwan took a few minutes before he fully comprehended the taller boy's words. 

"Are you -- you don't mean that Ravi", Jaehwan said in denial. 

Ravi grabbed his wrist, "Jaehwan, why don't you be my mate? I really like you".

Jaehwan blushed and was surprised from the sudden confession. "Wow this is so sudden".

"Please Jaehwan. I never thought much about settling down until I met you", Ravi repeated and how could Jaehwan resist those beagle eyes?

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

Hakyeon was now stable on blood but he remained secluded and ignoring Taekwoon's presence each day. 

"How long are you going to keep this up?" Taekwoon sighed.  

"Until you stop coming".

Taekwoon frowned, "Hakyeon I'm not ever giving up on you. I'm sorry I let this happen but we are mates. We're supposed to help each other no matter what."

Hakyeon was quiet. 

"A-and even though I may not have said it a lot, I really love you. I don't want to be with anybody els", Taekwoon confessed, hoping to make Hakyeon see how sincere he was. 

"Taekwoon, I just want the best for you. You don't deserve -- this", Hakyeon said motioning towards his own body.  

Taekwoon felt like smashing a window. He hated - no despised- when Hakyeon spoke so lowly of himself, as a lowly object. It infuriated him. 

------------/-------------------------------------//-----------

"Wah, she's gorgeous", Hakyeon gaped as he stared at the girl strutting away. 

It was their first time in a local town after Hakyeon's persistent begging. He was bored and begged for weeks until Taekwoon finally agreed to take his mate for dinner in town. 

And now, Taekwoon hurried to dry his mate's wet shirt, "She just dumped a glass of water on you". 

Hakyeon was in awe at the beautiful woman. She claimed to be Taekwoon's ex but even Hakyeon knew she must've been a fling--- after all, breaking a mating bond isn't a small deal. 

He couldn't imagine why Taekwoon would let someone like that go though. He could've easily made her his mate. How could Taekwoon settle with him after her?

"Hakyeon, how could you say that?!"

Hakyeon looked up. Did he say it out loud? Oops 

Taekwoon was very upset, "Why do you speak so low of yourself. You're beautiful". 

Hakyeon blushed, "I'm sorry for upsetting you". 

Taekwoon frowned; sometimes Hakyeon's selflessness irritated him and this was one of those times. 

"Yeon-ah it's my fault that rude dumped water on you".

Hakyeon gave him a sweet, silly smile, "It's okay; at least it wasn't Coke right?" 

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

Taekwoon wasn't going to give up but the hospital wasn't making things helpful. 

"I'm afraid with no progress, we have nothing else to do with the patient", the receptionist said the following morning Taekwoon entered with the daily blood bag of animal blood. 

"Then I'll take him home", Taekwoon snapped; he only wanted to see Hakyeon and get a piece of mind. 

There was little progress and Hakyeon never spoke other than small talk. He never smiled either but Taekwoon just needed to see him every day. It gave him hope. He couldn't be away from Hakyeon when he'd just found him. 

"Sir, I'm sorry but the truthful reason is that an incident has actually taken place", the nurse stopped Taekwoon in his tracks. 

Panic passed through Hakyeon's veins. An incident... That entails practically anything and everything. 

"W-what the hell does that mean?? What happened?! He's okay right?!" 

The nurse frowned, "Sir you may want to take a seat". 

Taekwoon didn't move and the woman sighed, "Hakyeon hurt himself; he cut his wrist with the steak knife during dinner. It was Easter so all patients were given a special meal. None of us could've expected this; Hakyeon has only been silent and well behaved---" 

The woman went on and Taekwoon's heart stopped.

"Cut... Knife...? Is he alright?! Where is he?!" Taekwoon interrupted. 

"He's alright more or less. You see, he lost quite a bit of blood and attracted two of the patients beside his room. Thankfully a nurse got to them before permanent damage was done. We put him in an isolated room for safety".