Baekhyun watched the stars fade into the morning sky from his perch on the upholstered chair of Chanyeol’s office. The pale blue of day began to settle in, which spurred Baekhyun’s movement, finally. He drew the curtains shut, blacking out his surroundings and shrouding the room in shadow.

He felt safe like this.

It reminded him of a time, long ago. When he was much younger and much less experienced.

The younger Baekhyun would have been far more reckless when chasing after Minseok. A brief smile attempted to flitter across his lips, but it vanished as quickly as it came.

Why couldn’t he be as reckless as he was then? He wondered this single thought profusely, but only ever came to one conclusion. He was selfish.

How could he endure the pain of losing Minseok again? How could he ever expect Minseok to become a monster for him?

Baekhyun grabbed his untouched glass of blood and strode to his room where he slept the day away.

***

Minseok did not sleep a single wink.

He watched the white of his ceiling endlessly from night to day.

WIth too many thoughts to sort out, he instead pushed them all aside. It was too much. He couldn’t bare the thought that… That…

“Minseok?” Luhan called, “Are you awake?”

Minseok sat up in his bed, looking the very picture of death.

“I’m awake.”

“You don’t look well.” Luhan commented, slipping out of his own bed and into a set of slippers.

“I don’t feel well.” Minseok said in earnest, falling back against the uncomfortable university dorm mattress.

“Will you take the day off today then?” Luhan inquired.

Minseok shook his head, sighed, and pulled the smallest bit of strength he had left to get out of his bed. Exhaustion be damned.

“Take it easy today, alright?” Luhan said, before taking up a towel and entering the bathroom to shower.

Minseok pulled on a fresh set of clothing before washing and brushing in the small wash closet across from the bathroom. He was going to need several cups of coffee, a study room, and all the courage in the world to late face Baekhyun, because that man had a lot of explaining to do.

“Baekhyun…” Minseok said the name slowly, each syllable sounded out on his lips.

How could he?

***

Yifan entered the library, ducking under the doorway as he did. He had with him a cup of steaming coffee and a pile of papers that looked more confused than himself. His eyes darted around the first floor, scanning for a place to sit when he spotted a very familiar figure.

“Minseok,” he whispered, settling his coffee and papers down beside the furiously working boy.

“Yifan,” Minseok startled; his chair scraped against the wooden floors of the library as he ducked away from the face of evil.

Minseok swallowed hard, “Hello.”

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Yifan chuckled quietly, “What are you researching?” he inquired, peering at the computer screen on Minseok’s desk.

“I- I’m just looking at some research for the vampiric history course I’m taking.” Minseok stuttered over his words, quickly pulling his things together and shoving them in his bag.

Yifan drew closer, red eyes glued to the screen. He scanned the page, looking at newspaper articles of a bombing and a riot in the downtown area. Something caught his attention - a striking blonde head of hair in the crowd of rioters - before the screen went black. He looked up, surprised, to find that Minseok was tucking the chair back into the desk with his items in hand.

“Leaving so soon?” Yifan asked, voice only slightly offended.

“It’s not that you’re here,” Minseok blurted and it didn’t sound like a complete lie, “I just have a class to get to and I didn’t realise the time.” he explained quickly, checking his watch, “The building is nearby, but the fourth floor is a long walk and the elevator doesn’t always work, so-”

Yifan laughed behind his large hand, “Go on then, tell Luhan I’ll see him later.”

Minseok nodded and turned swiftly on his heels. The voice of a maniac rang through his ears: welcome to the show.

***

Chanyeol rubbed his eyes as he watched Kyungsoo