my holiday is almost over huhuhu ;u; but i haven't forgotten about my weekly update of course! thank you everyone who leaves upvotes and comments <3

sunggyu has to face seoul again and he's in for a few surprises - damn human population sure exploded! 

warning: slight warning for the flashback part because it gets a little scary for the tender hearts, i guess :)

He looked around to check for possible dangers. Once again the gumiho felt mad at himself for missing the opportunity to get used to this world. Everything was so different from what he used to know. How was he supposed to protect Woohyun in this place? He had mistaken cars for monster when they seemed to be machines meant for transportation. Sunggyu had no idea how they worked but they seemed to be controlled by humans. Only the gods knew how many other things he would encounter today that later on proved to be harmless.

Sunggyu held his breath in the elevator, not trusting the device and constantly thinking about how to protect Woohyun if something were to happen in there. He felt relieved when they left the elevator behind but only until they were outside. The world was much brighter than the night before. There were more people, more cars, more everything. Sunggyu groaned shortly as he felt the hunger claw at his skin. None of the humans he saw carried weapons. They were all so…helpless and clueless. Sunggyu was sure he could have any of them in a second. He’d have them in an alley  and devoured so quickly before anyone would notice. He his lips as a deliciously smelling woman walked past him, their shoulders brushing for a second. He turned his head after her and was about to follow the woman, when a hand grabbed his.

“Wrong direction. The police station is this way.” Woohyun said and pulled him along.

The gumiho suppressed a growl threatening to come out. No eating humans. No harming them. You should thank Woohyun for stopping you. He looked at the spot where they were connected and felt his hunger dissipate slightly. Skin contact with Woohyun seemed to ease his pain. The only disadvantage was that Woohyun also smelled tasty. Sunggyu guessed that the other humans faded into nothingness because the monster in him was too focused on the most delicious scent so close to him. Jumon had always smelled like the finest delicacy in the world and Woohyun was no different. Sometimes Jumon had let the gumiho bite him. He had never hurt the other man more than necessary and never against his will but Jumon’s blood had had a special effect on him. Still, he could hardly ask Woohyun if he was allowed to bite him. Sunggyu wondered if it would count as harming a human if the other man willingly agreed.

Anxiously, Sunggyu scanned the surroundings as they made their way towards their destination. There were buildings everywhere, one after another; some small and others looked like they could reach the heavens. Never did one house exactly look the same as the next. Everything was bright and colorful, so full of life. No one seemed hungry or sick. Sunggyu found it hard to deal with the extreme change. Humanity seemed to be flourishing and it was a bit scary. He wondered if perhaps the humans had gotten rid of all the monsters and their enemies, so now they lived in perfect peace and prosperity. Maybe he was the last of his kind? Being a monster had always been dangerous but if the human population had grown this much, things looked bleak for his kind. Seoul was only one city but the sheer size of it made Sunggyu feel like it was a country instead.

“Woohyun…how many people live in this city?”

The human turned his head. “Uh…I’m not sure. I think about 9 million? But honestly I don’t know the exact number.”

Sunggyu frowned. “How much is a million?”

It was Woohyun’s turn to frown. “Well, a million is…uh… Do you know how much 100.000 is?”

He nodded. That was a number he knew.  The biggest city he ever saw in the past had held so many people. It had been a scary experience and a story of poverty and sickness. Back then he didn’t think that many humans in one place were a good idea. Sunggyu hadn’t stayed for long, needless to say. “Well, one million is ten times as much.”

Sunggyu stopped in his tracks as his mind did the numbers. “But…that must be the size of a whole country!”

Woohyun chuckled. “No. South Korea is much bigger than Seoul. I think we’re at around 51 million people?”

“51-” He paled. The gumiho remembered time when you maybe had to deal with villages of 50 people and now there were millions in one town? How had the humans procreated that much in one thousand years? “How is there enough food and water for so many people? I don’t see anyone fighting over supplies…”

His human gave him this pitiful you-are-weird-look. “You ask really strange questions. Why would everyone be fighting? As long as you work and have money, you can get everything you need.”

Woohyun tugged on his hand to get him walking again. Sunggyu followed him quietly, still trying to process the huge amount of people in Seoul. If the whole becoming human failed, at least he wouldn’t have to worry about having no food in the future. Suddenly, the gumiho could feel his muscles tense as he sensed something. Someone screamed and both of them turned their heads, just in time to see a big car coming right towards them instead of following the flow. Sunggyu reacted instinctively and used his powers. Time slowed down around them and the car stopped mere centimeters away from Sunggyu. He grabbed Woohyun and threw their bodies backwards, out of the car’s range. He felt the magic slip from his fingers during the fall but luckily they managed to get away before the car continued its path and crashed right into a wall. More screams could be heard around them and Sunggyu quickly checked on Woohyun.

“Are you okay?” The gumiho pulled him back to his feet but he saw no injuries on Woohyun. He was awfully pale and shaking though.

“W-What…what happened? The car was about to hit us- How-“

People gathered around them and started to whisper but Sunggyu decided to ignore them. Adrenaline was fueling his system and he observed the crashed car. It had missed them, but only by mere centimeters. There was no doubt in his mind that this had been another attempt on Woohyun’s life. I knew it. Cars are dangerous after all. Sunggyu glanced towards the street, unsure if another one was going to come for them, but all the other cars seemed to have come to a halt. People were busy staring at the scene.

Woohyun struggled out of his grip and looked through the windows. “Oh my god, there’s a mother and a little baby inside. We need an ambulance.”

“I’ve called one.” A woman shouted from behind them.

His human knocked against the car window in panic. “Are you okay, miss? Can you hear me?”

Sunggyu wondered how he could be worried about her when she almost killed them. Only thanks to his gumiho powers did they get away in time. He shuddered when he remembered that his magic was slowly disappearing. Even during the fall, he had felt it slip from his fingers. Sunggyu was going to need a plan on how to protect Woohyun until the end of the deadline. A human plan.

“Woohyun, get away from the car. It could be dangerous.” He said as he tried to pull Woohyun away from the car. Sunggyu wasn’t sure if the woman inside still meant harm to his lover.

The younger man gave him an irritated look. “What are you saying? She’s injured! She needs help!”

Woohyun tried to open the car door but it wouldn’t budge. “Damn! I think it’s stuck.”

Sunggyu flinched when loud sirens resounded. The noises made him freeze and look for another danger but the humans didn’t seem worried. Instead, they made space for the car coming towards them. Sunggyu was ready to save Woohyun yet again but the car stopped near the scene instead of crashing into them. Two people got out of the car and ran towards them. Woohyun seemed relieved to see them. “There’s a woman on the driver’s seat. She seems to be unconscious. And there’s a baby in the back…”

Woohyun stepped aside to let them do their work and Sunggyu observed them curiously. It seemed like they were here to help the woman. He vaguely remembered seeing cars like that one at the hospital he was kept before, so these people were probably healers as well. The newcomers tried the same things Woohyun had done but the car door still wouldn’t budge. One of them grabbed a small, black thing from their belt. “Where are you, fire department? We need you at the scene. The car doors won’t open.”

A reply came from out of nowhere. “We’re stuck in traffic. We have the siren on but people aren’t moving aside! We’ll need about 10 more minutes to reach the destination.”

Just then something in the car moved, the woman had woken up. She moved her head and looked around in confusion, then she realized she couldn’t move and that there was blood flowing down her face. She spotted the two men outside her car window and started screaming for help. The woman turned her head carefully and wept. “MY GIRL! PLEASE SAVE MY CHILD!” It was muffled but her loud scream could be heard even from further away.

One of the men went around the car to check the backseat. His colleague glanced at him but th