When Won Shik woke up, back when Taek Woon came back to the mansion, he wasn’t surprised to find that the kid left without a word but the painfully shocking part was that Taek Woon disappeared, leaving Na Yeong behind. The girl got the treatment she deserved, adopted under the Lee’s name, getting in a prestigious school outside the country while Won Shik spent the following four years trying to find his lost love.

“You should give up.” Hak Yeon told him once, almost a year back. “He is probably dead and buried somewhere.” Won Shik tensed but refused to answer. “Won Shik, you should have thought of it before making him out of your life; now it is too late to regret it.”

“I know he is not dead. I just need to find him.” Won Shik offered a hopeful expression to his friend who sighed. “He came back to me once, he will do it again.” he looked back to the window. “And this time, I’ll hold on him tight.”

It has been a year since and still no sign of Taek Woon. Hak Yeon gave up trying to persuade his friend, while the rest didn’t bother to try. They all knew that Won Shik’s love was strong enough to persist forever. By the end of autumn, the coven got attacked by few other new covens, which made them busy while Lee Jin Ki had another team set on finding Taek Woon.

He knew that the kid was something special, since the mere start, or the heartless Won Shik will never bring him in.  For that reason, among others, Jin Ki thought it was time to step in and fix the mess his best fighter made to himself. As he studied the emails, one particular email managed to make him smile.

“Minho.” The head master’s bodyguard stiffened at the call.

“Yes, sir.”

“Call N.”

The team observed as the head master’s body guard called for their leader, as they were taking a supper outside the mansion, surrounded by dead trees, and endless brown color. “Do you think it’s a new mission?” Hyuk asked them, worried. “We had been having a lot of missions lately.”

“We had been having a lot of competitive covens around us too.” Hong Bin commented.  The breeze howled and they noticed how long it took Hak Yeon to show up. “Let’s go check on him.” They were about to move when they noticed Hak Yeon getting in his Motorbike, driving away. “HYUNG!” Hong Bin tried to call but the man dashed away before they could react. Confused, they shared a look when Minho showed up.

“The head master gave you each a break, until your leader come back from his mission.” Minho just spoke what he was told to and left before answering their questions, not like they could dare to ask that man either. They sat back in the table, confusion written in their faces.

“It’s the first time they send N on his own.” Jae Hwan worriedly spoke, as he tried to look for signs from Hak Yeon. “What do you think it will be?”

Won Shik’s mind was already off, thinking of Taek Woon, so he didn’t bother to think much. “Probably fetching someone.” Indeed, Hak Yeon was sent south, to the fishing islands, in order to meet someone.  It took him few hours before reaching the coast.

Reaching his destination, around six am, he wore lenses as he parked his motorbike. “Is there any fishing ship out?” he asked the fishers he managed to meet in his way.

“By this time for the day? I don’t think so.”  One of the men answered him as they were busy packing. Hak Yeon inhaled the sea’s scent only to be held by the overwhelming scent of wet sand, fish, and open space.

“Do you know any new kid in the town?” the men froze for a moment before glaring at Hak Yeon; the last knew he got his answer, so he drifted it away. He just bowed to them, with a soft smile, as he swiftly left the place. Wondering around, he tried to catch anything familiar, and nearly gave up when he noticed something.

Just few feet in front of him, a man stood up a huge rock, observing the waves crushing under his feet. The sight was calm but surrounded with darkness, loneliness, and sadness. For some reasons, Hak Yeon found it suitable to step closer.

The man was taller than he expected, observed closely, with mid long hair as black as his clothes. He seemed more like the angel of death than a human being, so Hak Yeon got his gun ready.  Standing by the man, he looked ahead only to notice that the sky’s blue was getting lighter. “It will be the sunrise soon.” He looked over the man, before noticing that he got the man he was looking for. “It’s a beautiful spot to be in. Don’t you think so?” Silence, apart from the waves’ sounds, welcomed his voice. “He had been looking for four years, even when we did give up. We all thought you died.”

“Shut up.” The hiss was calm, almost too calm, and Hak Yeon looked at an older Taek Woon who had his eyes right in front of him. “Look.” He looked ahead as the sun rose slowly. From where they were it looked like the sun came out of the sea in neon of orange, peach, and pink.

“The sunsets must be even better.”

They stood there, in silence, until the sun was up enough. Taek Woon faced him finally. “Why are you here?” his face was void from expression, but still expressed hostility and displease. Meanwhile, Taek Woon’s heart was begging him to ask for a certain someone, if he was there or if he was fine, but his mind and specially the walls he built around him the last years were enough strong to hold him back.

“We missed you.” Taek Woon scoffed at it, making Hak Yeon frown. “We did! But, we thought you died so much your smell was nowhere to be found.” Taek Woon looked at him with a smirk. “I can’t even believe you are alive.”

“I am.” Taek Woon walked down the area, followed by Hak Yeon who didn’t know to break it in. “Why are you still here?”

Hak Yeon held Taek Woon’s arm, making him freeze. “We want you as a part of the coven again. We want to fix what Won Shik did.” Taek Woon didn’t move an inch, looking like a kind of statue, while Hak Yeon made sure to face the man’s eyes. “We want you, like we always did. Nobody did kick you out.”

I know Taek Woon’s thought almost made him cry. “He did.”

Hak Yeon groaned. “He didn’t! It was the only way he thought of back then!” Hak Yeon freed Taek Woon to run his hands on his hair. “Do you even know what it feels like to be in love? Do you? Won Shik is so in love with you that he battles against himself in order to see you every day. In fact, he will never allow you back in the coven, but he misses you too much to live without you. Even when you were in the Jung’s house, he would go check on you, sneak to give you money he gets from missions.”  Taek Woon could remember that he got pocket money every day. “In fact, because of you, Ravi reached his third millions of kills just few months before the vampire slayers targeted you.” The information made Taek Woon’s eyes widen, shock written in them. “Yes, he did throw his head first in every single mission, in every single war, he made sure to stay in one damn piece just so he can go to the next mission…”

“Why.” Taek Woon’s eyes got filled with tears so he chose to look away, sniffing them. “Why would he do this much for me?”  Hak Yeon really wanted to say it, but he couldn’t voice it out. “Does he love me that much?” it made Hak Yeon snaps his head to Taek Woon’s way. “Does he?”

“He always did. I don’t know since when, but he knew he did love you since the second he woke up in the nursery, after your exceptional rescue mission.” Hak Yeon slowly pulled Taek Woon in his arms. “But I don’t want to talk about it, because if there is someone who needs to explain things to you, it’s him.”

Taek Woon pushed the vampire away, glaring. “I’m not going back to the coven.” Hak Yeon gave him a scolding expression. “Unless you turn me as one of you.” The condition was a punishment on itself. It was known that most humans lose their past memories after they transform into vampires, so if they turn Taek Woon into one, it means he will forget Won Shik and everything else.

“Come to the coven then.” Hak Yeon offered after a long staring battle. “If you turn, you will need to stay hidden from the sun, and if not, I’ll bring you back where I found you.”

Taek Woon scoffed and walked away, followed by Hak Yeon who was ready to use his charms on Taek Woon if needed. They reached a boat, when Taek Woon stopped the vampire, and got in to fetch a small back bag. “Let’s go.” Hak Yeon observed the man getting in a van. “Aren’t you coming?”

“I have a bike.” Nodding, Taek Woon left the car to follow Hak Yeon to the bike, sitting there casually. As he drove ahead, Hak Yeon wondered why Taek Woon was still holding the grudge. The silent trip ended by the territory of the coven, as Hak Yeon paused. It surprised Taek Woon who looked at him, unimpressively. “Can I request something?” Since he didn’t expect answers, Hak Yeon held Taek Woon’s hands. “Don’t let the head master know about the sneaking into your room part when you were in the Jung’s, he still doesn’t know how and why the slayers discovered about you.” Taek Woon raised an eyebrow, tempted to ask but then he guessed oh so well. If Won Shik kept sneaking into the house often, then one of the vampire slayers after him got a hold of the reason. Getting a small nod, Hak Yeon drove to the mansion’s entrance. Most of the vampires were sleeping by the day time, so the vampire guessed that only the pure blooded were around.

Hak Yeon pulled the man inside, only to be stopped by no other than Won Shik. “You took time to come back, Hyung.” The smell of fish was strong, yet the familiar scent kicked him anyway, making him look behind his leader. The shock and the happiness that showed up in Won Shik’s face almost made Taek Woon cry. The vampire tried to reach for him, making him step back. “Taek Woon… You are Taek Woon.”

“Take him to shower then bring him to the head master’s office.” Hak Yeon ordered, looking right into Taek Woon’s eyes. He could see how unwilling the man was but as Won Shik held his hand, Taek Woon’s expression slightly shifted into embarrassment. The man allowed the vampire to pull him back to the room where he used to live. The sight of it was enough to bring nostalgic tears in the man’s eyes.

“It’s like I’ve never left.” He mumbled to himself while Won Shik’s back stiffened.

“But you did.” Won Shik took some fresh clothes, sniffing suddenly. “I’ve bought you clothes, every year, just in case you will come back.” He heard a scoff.

“I didn’t.” the simple answer made Won Shik look back to the man who was topless by then. The sight of his smooth and muscular body was enough to make anyone feel , and Won Shik was no exception. He looked up to notice a cold expressionless Taek Woon looking at him with a hint of pain in the eyes. “I didn’t come back.” Frowning at it, Won Shik was tempted to ask for explanation when Taek Woon opened the bathroom’s door, only to freeze there.

“Oh! No. I didn’t get time to clean it.” The bathroom was a bloody mess; blood filled bandages were filling the sink, while lines of blood filled the mirror, the walls, and the bath curtain. “I’ve been busy getting ready for another mission.” Taek Woon’s world froze, as he stared with horror at the real and hidden side of Won Shik’s life. Hurt beyond explanation, he turned the faucet, sitting in the middle of the bathtub, with his pants on. Won Shik was about to say something about that but as he noticed Taek Woon’s eyes on him, he just looked away. “I’ll…. I...”

Leaving the room, he tried to breathe in, to calm down, but the more he tried the more it leaves his lungs like daggers.  Under the shower head, Taek Woon shed tears, as he rested his head on his knees, crying the pain Won Shik lived. He didn’t know what to do. Staying or leaving seemed to bring Won Shik equal dilemma. After few minutes, he showered thoughfully before joining a silent Won Shik, who was sitting in the bed, holding something.

“It’s the shirt you were wearing when I first met you.” Won Shik’s eyes were red shot, filled with sadness but his voice was endearing and filled with love. “You were ten by then, and god knows how beautiful I’ve found you.” He looked up, with a smile. “I constantly find you beautiful.” Caressing Taek Woon’s cheek, Won Shik’s smile flattered. “I’ve always did.”

Taek Woon didn’t know how to react to that. Touched, he truly wished to tell Won Shik that he remembered it, if not that he never did forget actually how that meeting changed his life. “The head master is waiting.” Wearing clothes, he ignored Won Shik’s burning eyes on him, and focused more on holding his tears. He left the room, knowing very well that the vampire will follow. The three minutes’ walk to the office was the longest in their lives, and especially Won Shik’s. Walking just behind Taek Woon, the vampire wished he could just touch him, hold him, hug him, and inhale his scent like he did many times when Taek Woon used to live with him. God knows how eager was he to come back every time from his missions for that damn reason.

Hak Yeon and the rest of the team were outside the office. “He requested to be alone with Leo.” Hak Yeon held Won Shik’s arm in order to pull him out. “And for us to leave the perimeter. They want to talk alone.” It meant no good yet Won Shik had no says on the matter. He followed his team, trying as hard as he can to not look at Taek Woon. For some reasons, he knew he will regret it.

Taek Woon’s heart was racing as he got in the room. “Oh dear. I’ve totally forgot that you grew up.” Jin Ki’s voice was everything but menacing which made him relieved. “Please sit Taek Woon ah.” He bowed to the man before sitting right in front of him. After a moment of silence, Jin Ki glanced at his bodyguard. “Minho, make sure that Ravi is out of reach.” The said man left the room while Jin Ki gave Taek Woon a studied look. “N told me about your request.”

“It is not a request. It’s a condition that I’m not going to negotiate about.” Taek Woon kept a cold expressionless mask but inside, he was shivering. The idea of turning into a vampire always scared him. “If you want me in this coven, you have to turn me into one of you anyway.”

“We both know that this is not what Won Shik planned for you.” Jin Ki sighed as the simple mention of Won Shik’s full name made Taek Woon’s eyes shift away. “Why are you punishing him this badly?”

“Because I love him as much.” The confession shocked Jin Ki who stared at the man, absently looking in the window. “I’ve always cherished him and loved him to the point that even when I knew that everything he did was to protect me and save me, I still felt pain, I still cry over his words, and I still feel this consuming anger inside my heart.” Taek Woon looked at Jin Ki with determination. “I love him so much it hurts to see how much he neglected himself, how much he tore himself, and how badly I want it to last for him. ”

“It make no sense for me, sorry.” Jin Ki frowned while Taek Woon laughed, amusedly, which surprised the people in the mansion, it had been six years since they last heard such sound.

Taek Woon, in other hand, was in the verge of crying. “It made no sense for me either.” The man sighed resting a shaken hand on his forehead. “I don’t want him to keep me and in the same time, I want to spend my life by his side. I don’t know what to do to be honest.”

“Stay.” Jin Ki offered. “It is way more painful this way.” Taek Woon frowned, almost glaring, but Jin Ki just ignored it. “Beside, you are registered as a member of the coven and turning you is a must in the coven.” It was true, and Taek Woon was planning to use it against Won Shik anyway. As the silence lasted for a moment, Jin Ki took a phone to call Minho. “Bring them in.” they didn’t take time to show up but as soon as Won Shik got in the room, tears flew down from Taek Woon’s eyes. He stood to face the window, silently wiping while Jin Ki sighed in resignation. “Taek Woon requested to turn in.”

Everybody, except those who knew, looked at Taek Woon’s back in shock. “What?” Won Shik’s voice broke as he stepped closer. “What do you mean?” Jin Ki gave him a serious glare and the vampire’s whole soul shook. “No.”

“You have no says on the matter.” Taek Woon’s icy tone was shocking. It was quiet but so cold. “I want to be a vampire, anyway. I’ve always did.” He turned to glare on Won Shik. “Besides, if I don’t, the tribunal will ask of the reasons and the cause of my departure. You can’t risk the whole coven to be under the tribunal’s eyes just because you refuse my choice.” Taek Woon looked back to window.

Won Shik looked pleadingly toward his team mates when Jae Hwan stepped closer. “Taek Woonie, think of it before deciding…”

“Why?” the question was sudden and Taek Woon turned to face them. “Why would I? Why would I consider your opinions and thoughts when you kicked me out without considering mine?” Won Shik paled while Jae Hwan frowned.

“He did it for your own good.” Won Shik wavered in Jae Hwan’s arms, as the man held on him tightly.

Taek Woon scoffed stepping closer. “My own good? Sure. I believe you. It is for my own good to be kicked out that way, I presume.” Taek Woon glared deadlier as he got closer. “You messed with my life enough, Kim Won Shik. Now, I’m old enough to decide for my own.” Taek Woon was about to look at Jin Ki when Won Shik hugged him suddenly. It was the most intimate moment they shared in ages, and Taek Woon’s tears got no boundaries.

“I beg you.” Taek Woon tried hard to not sob, as he tried to dry his eyes as silently as possible. “I beg you to not do it.” The others looked away, trying to not witness Ravi breaking down. “Kill me, torture me, do whatever you want, Taek Woon ah but don’t turn into a vampire.”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Taek Woon faced Won Shik only to see blood tears falling from the vampire’s eyes. “Why wouldn’t I do it? Give me one reason to not to.”

Won Shik looked down, as he was too hurt to speak. He fell on his knees, holding on Taek Woon’s shaken legs. “I beg you, Taek Woon ah. I beg you.” Resting his head on the man’s knee, Won Shik’s voice wavered. “I was scared you will die if you try to save me. I didn’t mean to hurt you, I swear. Please…” he sobbed suddenly. “Please don’t do it.”

Taek Woon closed his eyes and looked up to look at Hak Yeon’s eyes, seeking for assistance, but the vampires in the room obviously didn’t want to get involved with the issue. “Stand up.” He helped the vampire to stand up.

“I’ve been wrong. I admit it. I did hurt you, and I did hurt myself.” The sudden confession made Taek Woon hold his breath. “but all I did was for you to live! I would never allow you to lose the precious gift of life, Taek Woon. No matter what you say, I’d never let you do it.” As they looked at each other, Taek Woon knew that Won Shik was sincere and for some reasons, it made Taek Woon more determined to do it.

Stepping away, Taek Woon faced Jin Ki who kept watching without a single word. “It may be precious, but for me, you always had been the most precious gift given to me.” It may have been a whisper but in Won Shik’s ear it was loud, too loud even.

It suddenly explained why Taek Woon was so eager to punish him that badly and he left the room, only to break the room he kept untouched into shred.