so here we are for another unfinished, chaptered woogyu ride haha. like i said in the foreword, the majority voited for me to post it instead of keeping it to myself for another year...or two. or maybe forever lol
it's going to be a lengthy fic, that much i can say. you will notice why pretty quickly ;) send lots of love to nikittysan who's kept me writing on this for the longest time and still helps me out a lot! <3

warnings: blood, character death

Sunggyu pressed his hand onto the wound, spreading his fingers as if they could hold back the blood. Tears dropped from his eyes as he desperately clung to the trembling figure in his arms. „No...please...don’t leave me. Don’t die on me!“

The dying man in his arms gave him a weak smile and lifted his hand to cup Sunggyu’s cheek. He was shocked by how cold the fingers felt. The touch he had always loved felt different now. Usually that hand was warm and solid. Now it was cold and fragile. It was the touch of a dying man, not that of a lover anymore. Sunggyu felt the fear swallowing up his memories as he knelt on the dirty ground, holding his wounded lover in his arms. The fear was attacking his beautiful memories, sullying them until they became something dirty, something Sunggyu was afraid to look at. He had never allowed himself to love before and now he was losing the only person that had ever meant something to him. Life is cruel. Is that the will of your God? Does this mean I’m not allowed to love after all?

“S-Sung---gyu—“ Another painful stab in his chest. The voice that had always been filled with love and gentleness, sometimes even mischief, was now broken and hoarse. Every time those lips trembled, Sunggyu was scared that it was their last breath.

His fingers tightened around the wound but it was of no use. The blood of his precious person kept flowing out of the wound. He was losing him. “I’m sorry. If only I had been faster-“

The pale man smiled and, even in his dying moments, his smile was bright and genuine. Usually it made Sunggyu feel like he could fly, but now he felt himself choking on the pain in his chest. “It’s not—your fault. Don’t—blame yo-yourself.”

“But the king’s guards only wanted to kill you because of me. If I hadn’t approached you-“ Sunggyu’s voice broke. He lowered his head and sobbed. The king’s men were all dead now – their remains scattered around the area. Sunggyu had torn them all apart in rage but it hadn’t made him feel any better. He had been too late. Multiple spears had already pierced his lover at that time.

The smile didn’t falter even once. A thumb caressed his cheek softly. “I don’t regret—anything. I chased---you down---first.”

“I’ll kill them all!” Sunggyu shouted in rage through his tears. He looked up to the moon, the hatred gathering in his chest.  His eyes glowed yellow in the dark. He’d not let any human live. All of them would suffer for what happened to his lover. “I’ll eat the hearts and livers of their children in front of them. I’ll their lovers dry while they can only watch. I’ll never forgive them. Those horrible humans will pay for everything!”

The man’s eyes widened and he gasped. His fingers fell from Sunggyu’s cheek to the collar of his robe. Another hand covered Sunggyu’s bloody one. “Don’t----I don’t want you—to—kill. Not f-for---me. Or any—one. Don’t kill---innocents.”

“But-“

“Promise me-“ The dying man begged.

Sunggyu gnawed on his lower lip. The cold fingers tightened around his hand. “Please.”

He lowered his head again and pressed his lips on the man’s mouth. “I promise, love.”

His precious human smiled once more. Then his eyes suddenly turned vacant. Fear grabbed Sunggyu’s heart again. Tears dropped from his eyes onto the man’s face. The eyes he loved were empty but the lips still moved. “I hope we can...meet again.”

When his breathing stopped, it felt like the whole world was dying around Sunggyu. The colors faded, the birds fell silent, even the wind disappeared. Everything was dead, including his heart. When that person left, he took Sunggyu’s soul with him; his reason to live. Humans said monsters didn’t have a heart but then why was his chest in so much pain?

“How pitiful.”

Sunggyu’s head snapped up and he spotted a young woman between the trees. A normal human would probably mistake her for someone of his kind, but he was no fool like that. The woman was not human and definitely not young, even compared to Sunggyu’s age. He tightened his hold on the dead man in his arms as he recognized her face. “Did you come here to laugh at me?”

She smiled smugly and moved closer, but Sunggyu growled at her deeply. His eyes glowed bright yellow and his sharp teeth showed. She lifted her hands in defense and stopped moving. “I told you it was doomed to end like this. Humans are meant to be with other humans. It’s forbidden for them to be with one of your kind, as it’s forbidden for your kind to fall in love with one of the humans. This man was sentenced to death the day he offered you his heart and you didn’t eat it.”

“Shut up!” He shouted in rage. Sunggyu knew it was his fault. He knew their love had been against the rules, but he didn’t need her to tell him that.

“Funny how he died hoping you’d meet again. I guess he didn’t know, did he? You know the punishment for his actions, right?” She smirked at him.

Sunggyu let go off his lover and attacked her. Just as he was about to hit her with his claws, she disappeared into thin air. He growled in anger and turned around. She was hovering over his lover’s corpse with a calm expression on her face. “I wonder... If he had known loving you would cause his soul to never be reborn again, would he have still made the same decision? Hm, gumiho?”

“GET AWAY FROM HIM, YOU WITCH!” Blue flames gathered around him and Sunggyu shot the magic at her. She blocked his attacks with ease.

“Hey, hey, hey, you could hit your beloved human with that.”

“I’ll kill you even if it’s the last I will do-“ Sunggyu ran towards her but suddenly she held up her hand. Invisible ropes tightened around his body and he felt himself unable to move an inch. He groaned but whatever he tried was futile. He couldn’t move.

“Didn’t you just promise your human to behave? Bad fox - already breaking promises.” Sunggyu opened his mouth for a reply but she waved her hand again and his lips were forced shut. “Stop interrupting me while I’m in a generous mood. I have a proposition for you, gumiho. I admit watching you two struggle moved my ice-cold heart a bit. I’m willing to give you a chance to meet again.”

He stared at her in silence. She seemed content with that reaction. The woman crouched down and touched his lover’s hair. She pushed the sweaty, bloodied locks out of his face. A gesture that seemed gentle but there was a cold look in her eyes. “I’ll make his soul enter the wheel of existence again. In 1000 years the human’s soul shall be reborn again.”

Sunggyu thought he could feel his own heart stop. A thousand years without his lover seemed impossible to bear but if it meant meeting him again... He wanted to ask her a question but his lips couldn’t move. “I know what you want to ask. Of course I won’t just do this without asking for something in return. For the next 1000 years, you will stick to the promise you gave your lover. You will not kill any humans, nor will you harm them and feed on their flesh. If you can prove to me that your will is strong enough, I’ll let the human be reincarnated.”

He felt the blood drain from his face. How was he supposed to survive without eating a heart or liver once in a while? She smiled at him. “Wait– Are you hesitating? Is he not worth that much? Or maybe you’re scared of dying? A gumiho might be immortal but it can still die from hunger. But if you manage to do it, not only will your precious human be revived, you’ll also be able to live with him, love him. The legends are true you know. If a gumiho lives without killing or eating humans for one thousand years, the Gods will reward its strong will with the gift of humanity.”

Sunggyu felt the bonds around his head loosen. He tried moving his lips and succeeded. He glared at the woman. “I’ll do it. I’ll promise, but how will I know that you’ll hold your end of the bargain?”

She shrugged. “I’ll let you meet him before the deadline is over. Will twenty-eight days do? If you don’t meet him on that day, you’ll know I didn’t let his soul return and you’ll still be able to go back to your immortal gumiho existence. I think giving you almost a month with him to decide is generous enough. I hope you’ll make this entertaining, fox. Don’t fail early in the game please. I’d hate to miss the heartbreaking reunion of the star-crossed lovers.”

With a wave of her hand, she was gone. Sunggyu felt a sudden pain in his right wrist. He collapsed from the strength of the burning sensation. When it subsided, he checked his wrist and spotted a mark on his skin. It looked like a small fox but it had nine tails. He crawled over to his lover’s corpse and pulled him into his arms. Carefully, Sunggyu stood up and lifted the man up with him. He gave the human’s forehead one last kiss before he carried him away, deeper into the woods.

Sunggyu buried his