Taek Woon’s heart was a pure void; he isolated himself, from the world and his foster family, focusing on studying as an excuse to not talk in general. His first year in high school was kind of dull, until he started noticing things. At first, it was when he would wake up and find his homework done and packed with a small amount of money hidden in an inside pocket. But then, he noticed that the bullies avoid him, while at first they picked on him, took his lunch or broke his glasses which he bought with the money he got. He knew that the Jung had nothing to do with it.

“Jung Taek Woon, you can do better.” His teacher’s voice woke him up. He looked up to notice that he got a 91% on his history exam, which was lower than usual. It didn’t truly bother him, but as he noticed the students mocking expressions, tears gathered up in his eyes. “Yet.”  The teacher spoke and they looked at the board. “Jung Taek Woon is the only one who managed to get over 90% correct answers in the exam, which sadly will make this class go through the night classes.” The students whined, displeased. “Except you, Taek Woon ah. You are free to leave if you wish.” Taek Woon shook his head without looking up, still observing his paper. “Very well, we will have the first period, and hopefully it won’t last more than few hours for you.”

The students groaned as they packed, gathering as the teacher left the class; their next period was math, so Taek Woon just pulled out something to revise, as he prepared for the class two weeks before, and even solved the problems for the section. “Taek Woon, can you stop reading that and focus on the board?” the teacher voice made him look up, and he noticed that someone was getting in the class followed by the director. “Students, I’ll introduce you a new element of our school.”

Taek Woon noticed the tension the kid brought as he glared on everybody. He bowed suddenly. “Good evening, I’m Kang Taek Woon.” The similarity of names made the students look at the poor kid who made himself small, sensing the new student’s glare landing on him. “Please take care of me.”

The class’s president stood calling for attention and for them to bow back to the kid. The last just nodded his head off. “Please sit” the director offered him and he sat in the spot behind Taek Woon. “I’ll let you continue your school day, hoping you will welcome the new transfer with warm hearts.” Taek Woon felt his heart sink in worry, as chills ran through his back. He was heavily stared at and it was uncomfortable enough to kill him. He tried his best to focus on the board but as he couldn’t, he managed to act like he was noting down while his mind wondered back to the time when he lived with Vampires, a certain vampire precisely. It had been two years already and he couldn’t forget Won Shik no matter what he did. He couldn’t forget how safe he felt every time he get in the infested with vampire mansion, greeting with a smile the faces he could recognize.

“Can you answer the question, Taek Woon ah?” Taek Woon looked up from the paper before giving the teacher a confused expression. “Oh. I mean Jung Taek Woon. Please come to the board and solve it.” Taek Woon’s heart froze for a moment as he tried to find a reason to escape the task. He stood up and held the chalk to answer without a word. The teacher nodded as he developed his logic before finishing and looking back to the board. “Who among you used this method?” The new student held his hand up. “Oh. It seems that our Taek Woons are super smart.” The chuckles were rather mocking and Taek Woon wished he could just hide in his seat. “Sit, Taek Woon.” He rushed back to his seat, only to make himself small, almost resting his head on the book. His heart was beating so fast it was suffocating. He kept his head low for the rest of the day, and instead of staying for the night classes, he excused himself to leave first.

As he headed out, he noticed the new Taek Woon speaking on the phone. He made himself small, trying to listen. “Yes, all set. Ravi will show up soon.” The phrase made his brain freeze. He was a set up! Shaken, he slowly made his ear buds in his ears and acted as he played with his phone, walking ahead when he noticed the man standing in front of him. He looked up, meeting a deadly glare. “Not studying?”

Usually shy, and reserved, Taek Woon straightened his position and looked right into the kid’s eyes, too angry to be used to think straight. “Mind your ing business.” The kid stood there stunned as Taek Woon passed by him with an equally dead glare. As he headed home, Taek Woon thought of it; it was either the kid was trying to lure him into heading to the mansion, exposing it, or that he was a setup for real and they will lure Ravi to come save him. “Idiots, Ravi will never waste time on me.” He chuckled to himself before looking up, realizing that he spoke too loud because of the buds, to notice the kid sitting not that far from him. Keeping his smirk, he went home, acting as normal as possible. He took his dinner, played with Na Yeong like usual, before heading to his room.

“You are strange, Oppa.” Na Yeong showed up suddenly, with her teddy bear, and sat in Taek Woon’s bed. “You are scared.” It was a statement, and it made Taek Woon look at her worriedly. “What?”

“Is it obvious?” he asked her before sighing deeply. “There is a new kid at school and he looks like a bully.” The girl nodded standing next to him, before handing him the teddy bear.

“When I’m scared, I hug my teddy bear and it makes me feel safe.” She spoke innocently but it made Taek Woon think of Won Shik. He used to go to Won Shik or call for him, whenever he felt scared. “Hug it tonight, it will make you safe.”

He shook his head smiling to the little girl. “I need it to make you safe too. Keep it. I have my teddy bear.” He pushed her to go to her own bedroom, wishing her a good night; hugging his pillow, his brain wheels were turning ten times faster. “If I stay still, I’ll turn insane; but if I do something, I may make mistakes and put people in danger. I better just sleep.” He barely managed to but he did sleep that night.

In the morning, he noticed someone, as he peaked through the bathroom’s window, posted in front of their back yard. The man was older than the student in the school; he wasn’t looking at the house per se, but seemed waiting for something or someone. Taek Woon carried on his day normally, except from  slipping the silver dagger, that he kept from two years ago and forgot to hand back since he didn’t have time to, inside his sleeve. “Taek Woon ah! Good morning.” He bowed to the woman who served him, while the man was standing by the windows.

“There are people around the house.” The man announced suddenly. “I don’t think it is safe to send Taek Woon to school today.”

“If he doesn’t go, they will think there is something up.” The woman said caressing Taek Woon’s head. “He can’t skip school because of some idiots who thought it was a good idea to terrorize us.” He looked at them before leaving his seat. He fixed his bag and school uniform before daringly walking out, twenty minutes before the bus’s arrival. “Taek Woon ah! Take this for the lunch.” He looked back to notice her holding a bag. “I made you extra pancakes if you want me to pack them, the bus won’t arrive now.” He nodded and stood there, observing her heading back to the house then back to him before noticing something sharp hitting his knee. He panicked for a second, before pulling up and noticing his dagger inside. He totally forgot it. She showed up and put the pancakes in the bag before making him hold it tighter. He noticed how shaken she seemed. “I love you, son.”

In normal situation, he would just put a small smile, and leave but as he knew how tense the situation is, he pulled her closer in order to kiss her cheek. “I love you too, mommy.” She teared up, as he smiled while the bus showed up and he stepped away, offering her a sincere smile. “I’ll be fine, just … stay safe.” She nodded and they parted with heavy heart. He didn’t know why he felt so worried about them.

At school, he made sure the dagger was in a tightly close reach, tensely observing the new kid’s movements. He even skipped P.E, and sat there observing them. “You don’t mind if I join?” He looked up to notice an unexpected presence.

“N?” Taek Woon was fast to snatch the vampire’s hand and ran to a shadowed area, making Hak Yeon laugh.

“I’m a half blood, sweetheart. No need to worry about the sun.” Ignoring Hak Yeon, Taek Woon looked for the kid. “And the hunter is after Ravi, right now.” The information made Taek Woon’s head snap up in shock before looking darkly away.

“Like I care. What do you want from me?” Taek Woon stepped back, holding on his sleeve with the dagger inside. Hak Yeon noticed that the expression in kid’s face didn’t change much since the day he was kicked from the mansion, and sighed at the mess.

“The head master wants us to take you somewhere safer than this.” Taek Woon just laughed at it, making Hak Yeon laugh. “Leo…”

The cold glare the kid sent was enough to shut Cha Hak Yeon himself. “I don’t give a about your head master’s order, with all the respect I have for all of you; and I give less about safety. If they want to kill me, I’ll ease their burden and do it myself.” He was about to leave when Hak Yeon held his arm.

“Leo, you are wrong if you think Ravi will let you die.” Taek Woon kept his eyes ahead and refused to look up. “He won’t let you get hurt or even get near to it. Didn’t you get it since you left? I thought you were a smart kid and you will get it.” It made Taek Woon frown.

“I don’t know what you mean and I don’t want to. He kicked me out, and hurt my feeling so badly I can’t patch it up, so you can’t just show up and expect me to understand.” Taek Woon’s voice rose. “You can go to that friend of yours and tell him to go to hell.”

“He had been living hell, since you left.” Hak Yeon managed to freeze him for a moment. “He had been crying, hugging your pillow, inhaling your scent. “ Taek Woon’s chest heaved and his breath felt like made of steel. “Your room stopped smelling the same, by the end of the third month, and he just lost it. He just… lost it.” Hak Yeon made Taek Woon look up. “I know I’m wrong to do this. I know I’m going to ruin everything he had been doing since he woke up from his incident. But, he is one of my dearest friend and I’m fed up with his constant pain.” The kid was lost by the end of it; he didn’t understand what the man meant, or probably knew it but didn’t want to believe himself thinking so. “Taek Woon, he kicked you out so you won’t try to save him again not because that would make us in danger. it, Leo, we are soldiers! We had been in worse situations than the one you did put yourself in.” Taek Woon stepped back, shocked.

“What?”

Thinking it was time for Won Shik to explain things, Hak Yeon held the kid’s hand and pulled him out of the school, before they got in a very familiar van. The team was all there, except from Ravi. “Let’s go.” Taek Woon observed them as they looked at him, smiling happily.

“It feels good to see you back.” Jae Hwan said patting on Taek Woon’s head. Taek Woon didn’t know what to think. His mind was a mess, and he didn’t feel his body shaking despite how much it did. They soon got inside the coven’s property, and Taek Woon’s mind replayed some of his unforgettable memories, especially the painful one.

“I am so revolted I had such danger in my own room.”

“I don’t want you in my sight anymore.”

As his tears gathered up, he looked up to Hak Yeon. “I can’t go inside.” His voice shook, as he tried to swallow the tears. “I can’t.” The vampires shared an understanding expression. “I just can’t.”

“You won’t.” Sang Hyuk offered . “I’ll guard you” Taek Woon nodded as he made himself a spot next to Hyuk. The care stopped and the others left the car. Few minutes after the awkward silence that fell upon the two in the van, someone called for Hyuk. “I’ll just check it out, ok? Stay here.”

Taek Woon almost laughed at Hyuk’s cuteness, and closed his eyes, pulling out the dagger. He made a small prayer, hoping that God was hearing him out. He prayed that his foster family would be fine, and that they will be alive by the time he will come back home. He was so silent and so calm that every move the vampire who suddenly showed up by the car sounded too loud.

In fact, Won Shik was heavily injured, but the scent he caught as soon as he was taken back to the mansion was strong enough to fill his veins with life; Taek Woon was there. He knew it.

As soon as Won Shik’s eyes widened in the nursery, Hak Yeon didn’t even need to ask. He nodded to Won Shik as soon as the man looked at him with that hopeful look, resulting for the injured man to leave his bed. “Yah! You need to wait until you finish the blood pack! Yah! Ravi!” the nurse kept calling but the vampire could hear none.

All he knew was that his Taek Woon is back. He froze right in front of the car, where the strength of the smell became overwhelming, unable to move. He did hurt the kid, he couldn’t forget neither forgive himself for that but he did it for a reason and that reason on its own was enough to make him shed tears, ready to beg for a chance even if it is a second. Before he could even move, his injury made him lose balance and he swayed before feeling warm arms holding him up.

He groaned as he sat down before looking up to the dark expression upon him. Taek Woon’s face was painted with anger, so clearly, and Won Shik thought he was so beautiful. He never thought the kid could look this beautiful in such situation. “I’ll call for backup.”

“No.” Holding Taek Woon from leaving, Won Shik pulled him closer. “Stay. I want you to stay.”

“Then why did you kick me out?” the question was doubled by a harsh shove and a helpless Won Shik observed as Taek Woon stood up to call for help. Unfortunately for the Vampire, everything went blur since.

While the injured vampire was taken to the nursery, Lee Jin Ki showed up, with a happy smile. “Taek Woon ah! It is a pleasure to see you.” Taek Woon just bowed without a word while Jin Ki pulled him to a hug. “Still holding the grudge, huh? Anyway, I’ve settled it down so that you and Na Yeong will study in a boarding school outside the country. It’s not a prestigious school, but enough safe for you and your sister.”

“How about … my parents?” He was about to say Mr. and Mrs. Jung but then he held it up. Jin Ki just smiled to him and patted to his head before excusing himself. Taek Woon looked up to the team behind him who tried to ignore his eyes, except from one man who stepped closer to give him keys. Familiar keys. He looked up, shocked, almost expecting a hope. “Where are they?”

“Killed.” The man sincerely spoke, and it made Taek Woon wince in pain. “They tried to save their daughter, who is inside by the way.” Taek Woon didn’t wait for further explanation and ran inside calling for Na Yeong. He got in the nursery, only to find Na Yeong and Won Shik, both asleep, side by side, in the nursery beds. It shocked him how sick Won Shik looked by then. Usually, a vampire looks more lively and colorful to lure victims, but at that time, even the pale Na Yeong looked more alive.

“He had been like this since you left.” He looked back to Jin Ki who stood there with papers in hand, he was obviously studying something. “When he woke up, he was mess, begging me to kick you out.”  Jin Ki looked down with a small smile. “When he asked me back then, I thought he was exaggerating but then, it took us few months to understand how much he loved you. Quite an exception you are, both of you.” Jin Ki carried on with his daily duties while Taek Woon stood there, shocked.

“Loved me?” his eyes were filled with tears. He faced the unconscious man in the bed, before shedding the tears he had been holding for two damn years. “Why would you hurt me this way if you love me? Why? There was so many ways to hold me back from trying to save you! There are so many ways to protect me, Won Shik… but you chose the most painful one. Why?” Kneeling in front of the bed, he rested his head on the steel frame, sobbing painfully. He knew everybody in the house heard him, and he didn’t care. He didn’t care. “I tried to hate you. I think I did, but… I’ve never stopped, not even once, thinking of you, unless I study. This is why I study, Kim Won Shik. I study to stop thinking I’ve ever met you, I study harder when I do remember you despite that, and I’ll work hard to erase you from my life, if this is the way you want us to be.”

“But what about you?” hands landed on his shoulders and he stood to meet the eyes of a man, the one who announced the Jung’s death, deadly glaring at him. “What does your heart want?”

Taek Woon looked back to the bed, before looking back to the man he remembered under the code name Bin. As he looked at the man’s eyes, he knew what he wanted, oh so well, but he knew even better that he was unable to grant himself that simple wish.

He wanted to live by Won Shik’s side, despite everything.