“It’ll be fine, Chanyeol. I’m only going to school for one more year and then there’ll be holidays in between for me to come back. Before you know it, I’ll be back here again. Besides, it’s not like I’m going away tomorrow. I still have almost nine months before I have to go,” Kyungsoo tried to explain.

“That is one thing-,” Chanyeol responded, not fully convinced it seemed, “-but you seemed rather distraught and against your father’s decision for reasons other than that. It sounded really concerning to me.” Chanyeol noted, standing near the edge of Kyungsoo’s bed with his arms folded over his chest.

Kyungsoo was seated up in his bed and gripped the fabric of his blanket, the material in his hands when he heard Chanyeol pointed out that fact.

Kyungsoo looked back up at the standing Chanyeol, who had his back turned to the window and was thus shun open by the soft glowing moonlight from behind.

Kyungsoo opened his mouth to say something but only ended up making stuttering noises, before giving up and turning his head away.

“So, there is something isn’t there? Well then, I don’t wish to meddle in your family matters so I will take my leave then,” Chanyeol implied, ready to turn on his heel and leave Kyungsoo for the night, considering the fact that they weren’t even supposed to meet each other that day.

“Wait, don’t go,” Kyungsoo quickly lurched forward on his bed, almost falling off the side so he could catch Chanyeol by the wrist.

“Sure, what is it?” Chanyeol replied, pausing and turning to look back at Kyungsoo who would’ve fallen off the bed if the latter had not caught him.

“My parents don’t mean me any harm. I swear. I was just overreacting because I was upset about being sent away. Please don’t take to heart all the things I said earlier on. I wasn’t thinking when I said all of that,” Kyungsoo tried to explain to Chanyeol, looking visibly sad at it.

Chanyeol heaved a sigh and moved closer to Kyungsoo, helping the younger boy regain his balance and to sit upright on the bed before letting go.

Chanyeol remained standing by the edge of the bed as he talked, “I apologize but I can’t help to notice that your parents are severely lacking presence in your life. I am unsure if that’s the way things are in this day and age, but from what I can recall, that is usually a huge sign to be concerned about.”

Kyungsoo tried to justify, “They’re just really busy people and because of their job, they have to keep up appearances. It’s really hard for them and I’m always getting sick and they have no time to always take care of me. They need to work to earn money for me and my brother and sister.”

“-but your parents seem wealthy. If they aren’t able to take care of you themselves, why don’t I see them hire other people to take care of you like a nanny or a governess?” Chanyeol questioned.

Kyungsoo quickly answered, “I used to have people like that to take care of me but I’m older now. I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself now so I don’t need that kind of help. You’ve seen me alone all the time, haven’t you? You can see that I am perfectly fine by myself.”

“That is true,” Chanyeol acknowledged, slightly nodding his head, “I take your word for it but I just couldn’t help but be worried for your wellbeing.”

“I promise you, I am fine,” Kyungsoo assured.

“Don’t you ever get lonely though?” Chanyeol couldn’t help but ask, somehow being able to relate to how Kyungsoo probably felt most of the time.

“I used to, then I met you,” Kyungsoo smiled, looking up towards Chanyeol.

Chanyeol too smiled and chuckled, “You really are adorable, aren’t you?”

Kyungsoo kept smiling, beaming under Chanyeol’s shadow obscuring the moonlight. Chanyeol made him happy, it was as simple as that.

Soon, meeting each other for three days a week and only during the mornings didn’t seem enough for both Chanyeol and Kyungsoo.

They enjoyed each other’s company the most and there seemed too little time for everything it is they wanted to talk about, especially considering that Kyungsoo would have to move out the following year in the autumn.

Chanyeol figured out another way to visit Kyungsoo more often; which was to come to Kyungsoo’s room at night and accompany him until he fell asleep.

Chanyeol noticed how Kyungsoo’s parents rarely if ever went into his room, least to say to talk to him after dinner time.

Furthermore, the cleaning services didn’t come at night, so Chanyeol could visit Kyungsoo in his room every night of the week without the risk of anyone finding out.

Most of the time, Kyungsoo would ask Chanyeol to watch a movie with him through the night until he fell asleep.

By then, they had run out of vampire movies to watch and Kyungsoo would try to make Chanyeol watch popular films of the past years. This was so Chanyeol could slowly catch up with today’s modern and popular culture.

Kyungsoo couldn’t help but notice the expression that Chanyeol displayed when the movie they were watching was displaying a scenic shot of the landscape and environment.

Kyungsoo saw how Chanyeol’s mouth hung slightly open and how his eyes were trained, fully focused on the screen when the scenic shot came on.

It didn’t quite look like Chanyeol was very awe-stricken or impressed at it. If Kyungsoo could describe it, Chanyeol’s expression was more that of longing and fondness, as if Chanyeol missed being out in the world very much.

Kyungsoo didn’t point this out to Chanyeol, keeping it to heart but devising a plan to possibly fulfill Chanyeol’s wish one day.

Kyungsoo’s nights were never lonely from then on. If it wasn’t watching movies, they could be playing games.

Kyungsoo had gone through much hassle and quite a lot of trouble to introduce gaming to Chanyeol.

Chanyeol initially had a headache when he discovered what electronic games were, finding them similar to movies but with the ability to control a character and determine the storyline.

There was so much to remember and learn of now, especially when Chanyeol decided to go into hibernation in the past century with the most rapid development that humans had gone through.

Being the son of rich and influential parents who never had time for him, Kyungsoo always had the latest games and consoles as soon as the new releases hit the stores.

While a younger Kyungsoo was excited to get all the new games and gadgets, he realized now that his parents only bought it for him to keep him shut up and to stop asking them for attention.

It hit Kyungsoo again about how lonely he was for a second time when he realized that he didn’t really have anyone to play games with for multi-player options.

Kyungsoo did try asking his older brother to play games with him, but his older brother was never interested in games and spent almost all of his time studying.

Everyone in Kyungsoo’s family always made excuses whenever he asked to spend time with them, and eventually, Kyungsoo too stopped asking because he would always get the same answer over and over again.

Kyungsoo’s prayers were sort of answered when Chanyeol came along, although he surely didn’t even dream of becoming friends with a vampire.

“You should really try to make friends with other people when you start school next year,” Chanyeol suggested, resting on a chair in Kyungsoo’s room one night with his legs crossed and his arms on his lap.

Kyungsoo was on his phone, sitting somewhere on the floor beside Chanyeol when he overheard that. “I don’t need friends, I have you,” Kyungsoo commented.

“I know that but I can’t go with you when you leave for boarding school. I won’t be there for you. You need some human friends too,” Chanyeol noted.

“It’s not easy for me to make friends. They don’t understand me and my classmates hardly talk to me if ever,” Kyungsoo stated, putting his phone down.

“Well, have you ever tried being the one to talk to them first?” Chanyeol advised, “Find someone with similar interests and someone whose personality you can get along with. You can get along with a vampire, I’m sure you could get along with humans who are your ago too.”

“I’m scared of being hurt,” Kyungsoo admitted, hanging his head.

“I am too,” Chanyeol added, “-but I keep trying foolishly, hoping that the next time I try it will be different. I’m not saying that you should keep trying again and again even if it hurts and brings nothing to you. Everyone wants to feel rewarded for their efforts too. No one can just endure failing and endless pain for so long.”

“What are you trying to tell me?” Kyungsoo asked, tilting his head up to look at Chanyeol seated on the chair above him on the floor.

“I’m trying to say that you should probably take different approaches instead. If you do fail, rest and give yourself some time to recover before you decided that you want to try again. Take breaks but don’t give up just yet.” Chanyeol tried to guide.

“I still don’t know if I can do that yet,” Kyungsoo replied.

“It’s okay, just remember what I have told you then,” Chanyeol consoled.

Kyungsoo chuckled, “-remember, huh? Will you even remember what you told me since vampires have such bad memories?”

“If you’re always there to remind me, I won’t forget,” Chanyeol smiled to himself.

One night, in particular, Chanyeol was in the rafters again when he was alerted by the sounds of crying coming from the room of Kyungsoo’s younger sister.

Chanyeol, now being the family’s official stalker, couldn’t help but look through the ceiling lighting holes at what was going on beneath.

Chanyeol saw Kyungsoo’s father tucking the young girl into bed, then reading her a storybook to comfort her. Lastly, he kissed her on the forehead before she went off to sleep.

Chanyeol couldn’t remember if all humans did this back then, or whether it was a newer practice of this day and age.

It was seemingly something normal between a parent and child. However, Chanyeol could feel from that, that Kyungsoo’s parents treated him very differently than how they treated his other siblings.

Chanyeol kept it to himself, though, choosing to withhold what he saw from Kyungsoo.

One winter morning, about five months since Kyungsoo moved into the mansion; Chanyeol and Kyungsoo were hanging out as usual when Kyungsoo sighed and slammed down a book on the table he was sitting behind.

Kyungsoo let out a disgruntled noise and began anxiously running his hand through his hair.

Chanyeol was standing by the window in the study room, shifting his weight onto one leg as he was looking out at the snowy landscape of the mansion’s extensive yard.

“What’s wrong?” Chanyeol asked, looking ov