Changgu moves on

After a lot of debate with everyone, Jinho decided to take Changgu to Toronto with Kino. To say that everyone was surprised was quite an understatement. No, everyone freaked out. Hoetaek was the first to calm down and just hug the hell out of Changgu, having missed him. Yanan brought the two into his own bone crushing hug, sobbing into Changgu's shoulder and Hyojong just stood there in shock. Yuto was unsure of what he was seeing, but he was happy to see that Changgu was back.

"So what brings you here?" Asked Chani once they were back at the pack house. "Well," said Changgu, scratching the back of his head. "I think I've figured out why I'm back," he said. "It's only a matter of finding out if that really is the reason that I'm back," he said.

"It's so strange to hear you speak," said Yuto as he scratched the back of his head. Changgu chuckled. "I was capable of speech," he said. "I just never really spoke," he said. "Was there a reason for it?" Asked Hoetaek. "Father used to beat me into silence, though I think you knew that," said Changgu as he looked at Hoetaek. "I always knew he was bad, but I didn't think he was that bad," said Hoetaek.

"Eventually it got to the point where I didn't speak at all, but I did speak every now and again," said Changgu. "It was always during some important event," hummed Hoetaek as he nodded.

"So what's the visit about?" Asked Yanan. "Ah, I wanted to find my grave site," said Changgu. "I believe my necklace is still there," he said. "You think that's keeping you here?" Asked Yanan. "It might be," said Changgu. "But we'll have to go and see," he said. "How long did it take you to convince them?" Asked Hoetaek. "A few hours," said Changgu as he sighed.

"We didn't want to see if it was the reason he was back," said Jinho as he scratched the back of his head. "We're all happy that he's back, but sometimes you have to wonder if there is a reason for it," he said. "That was the argument I used," said Changgu.

"Well," said Hoetaek. "It's still there," he said. "Last we checked anyway," he added. "Some of us go out that way," said Chani. "It's still there," he said. "Get some rest, you guys can go out in the morning," he said.

"Where have the others been?" Asked Changgu. "Jaemin's visiting his brother and cousin, the other vampires are travelling," said Chani. "Must be nice to have an empty house for most of the day," Jinho said with a snicker. "It's nice to not smell the stench of wet dog for most of the day," said Chani. "Oi, we don't smell that bad," said Hoetaek. "Have you even smelled yourself lately? Yeah, I didn't think so," Chani said with a teasing grin. "Oi oi," said Hoetaek. "Cut it out will you?" He asked, laughing some.
 

~

After getting some much needed sleep, Kino and Changgu were up early the next morning, going about their usual morning routine of letting Changgu out and Kino getting ready for a morning run. Changgu was too used to being a dog so he still acted like one, but everyone was treating the same as before.

Changgu was left to explore the property while Kino went running, with Chani joining him a few minutes later to go hunting. No one was sure of what was going to happen today, but they knew that Changgu would probably end up moving on, something that everyone was hoping wouldn't happen more out of selfishness than anything.

Changgu ended up wandering off on his own, instinct pushing him in a random direction as he was lost in his own thoughts. Something was pushing him somewhere, and he figured that it was the direction of his own grave site. He soon dropped his human illusion and ran as fast as his legs could carry him, trying to reach the grave site before anyone else.

It wasn't long until he was joined by Chani however, having diverged into the same path as the vampire as he finished hunting. Chani easily kept up with Changgu's dog form, but soon scooped him up into his arms and ran the rest of the way with Changgu in his arms. "It's going to take all day for you to get there," explained Chani. "It's pretty far out of the way," he said.

When they got there Chani put Changgu down after coming to a stop a few feet from the grave marker. Changgu was unsure, as he looked at Chani. "Go ahead," said Chani. Changgu walked over to the front of the grave marker, spotting the necklace there. Chani kept his distance, unmoving as he watched Changgu to see what he would do.

Kino barreled into the clearing after rushing over, panting as he slid to a stop beside Chani. He was still in his wolf form, but he had the urge to change back. He didn't though, and just watched to see what Changgu was going to do.

After some hesitance Changgu put up his human illusion, showing him leaning in front of the wooden cross as he examined his name that was crudely carved into the piece of wood. "Well, at least it's a decent little spot," he finally said after a few minutes, reaching out to grab the necklace that was hanging on the cross. When he touched it however, something clicked in his mind and Changgu moved his hand away quickly, blinking in surprise.

"Changgu?" Asked Chani as he tilted his head to the side. Changgu turned to Chani, nodding. "It's time," he said, moving away and standing up. Kino whimpered slightly, moving forward. "Don't worry," said Changgu as he went to stand in front of Kino. "I'm still the dog alright?" He asked, grinning. "I just won't be human anymore," he said. Kino nodded.

"Can you promise me one thing?" Asked Changgu as he could feel himself fading. Kino tilted his head to the side. "Take the cure alright?" Asked Changgu. "You don't need to keep suffering like you had," he said, placing a hand on Kino's snout before the human illusion faded, leaving Changgu the dog to stand there and look up at Kino.

Kino just stood there frozen in shock as he processed what Changgu had told him. Chani walked over and pet Changgu on the head. "Let's head home then?" He asked. Kino nodded, moving away and lifting his snout to the sky, howling.
 

~

Going home was different, filled with a silence just permeated in sadness. Jinho could only comfort Kino by keeping a hand on his arm, a gesture that Kino appreciated. Kino would finally take the cure, and Eunwoo would be at the pack house in Chicago waiting for them.

"What changed your mind?" Asked Eunwoo. "Changgu," said Kino. "I owe him that one last promise," he said. Eunwoo nodded and prepped Kino's arm for the injection. He then injected the cure into Kino's arm before moving back and disposing of the needle. "There you go," he said. "It'll take a couple days but, you're all set," he said. "Thank you," said Kino.
 

~

A few days later Changgu the dog disappeared. Kino ran around nearby the property calling for him. "Changgu!" He called. "Come here boy!" He called. He felt the need to go to the docks suddenly, rushing to the docks and seeing a human Changgu standing in the middle, staring out at the water.

"Changgu?" Asked Kino, looking surprised to see him. Changgu turned to look at Kino, smiling softly at him before fading away. Kino ran over to where he had seen Changgu, falling to his knees. "Changgu," he whimpered out as he sat back. "Why didn't you tell me this was what would get you to move on?" He asked.

"I think he didn't want to tell you because you wouldn't have taken the cure," said Jinho as he walked over. "All of us wanted you to take the cure," he said. "You were suffering you know," he said. "I guess," mumbled Kino.

"Look at it this way," said Jinho. "Taking the cure is a way of moving on," he said. "It wasn't just Changgu who moved on," he said. "We also moved on in a way," he said. "You used the excuse of what happened with Changgu to continue suffering, but," he said. "Now you took the cure, and moved on from what had happened with Changgu," he said. "I guess," said Kino.

"I miss him too," said Jinho. "Even before we found out that Changgu really was our dear friend," he said. "It comes from being dog owners I guess," he said. Kino nodded. "We'll just have to move on for him," he said. "Yeah," said Jinho.