Just like they had feared, the tent did end up collapsing in the middle of the day shortly after, and Ryeowook had no explanation for how neither of them got severely hurt. The following days, he realized just how much safety and darkness the tent had brought because the sun kept on waking him up when it came in direct touch with him for too long and the feeling that something might see and attack them made him sleep lighter than before.

It was near dawn after a few nights of walking that he sensed Kyuhyun tensing and glanced over at him, seeing the confirmation that his jaw was set firm and his posture straighter than usual.

“What is it?”

“There’s an occupied hut nearby.”

“Huh?”

Kyuhyun glanced at him, a small smile tugging at his lips. “Use your senses.”

Ryeowook came to a stand and took a deep breath, listening more closely to his surroundings. Wasn’t there the hint of something salty and… just delicious in the air?

Delicious?

He quickly clasped a hand in front of his mouth as if he had said that word out loud, shocked by it and the way it made him feel, how the hunger felt a little more present even though he had fed before going to sleep the day before.

“Are you okay?” Kyuhyun’s voice sounded wary, but Ryeowook nodded.

“Just… a thought that kind of scared me.”

“What thought?”

“I…” He could hardly say that he had just thought of the hint of a scent—most likely a human scent!—as delicious, could he? “Nothing. I’m okay.”

They made eye contact and after a few seconds, Kyuhyun nodded. “Let’s see if we find an unoccupied hut.”

“How come we only came upon unoccupied ones until now, but this time, there are also occupied ones?”

“Early spring isn’t exactly hunting season, at least not to the same extent as summer is, little prince.”

Ryeowook squinted at Kyuhyun, unsure if the ‘little prince’ was used as an endearment or somewhat of an insult this time. “So will we just search for an unoccupied hut?”

Kyuhyun nodded with a slight delay. “We’ll search for an unoccupied one, then I will try to find the owner in town to see if there’s a chance to rent his hut for a while or find a different place where we can stay.”

“Stay?”

Kyuhyun nodded and this time, his smile was warm and real. “Yes, stay. At least for the summer or however long we’ll be able to.”

Ryeowook beamed at him and when Kyuhyun started to walk again, he hurried to catch up to the other, energized by those words. “Can’t I come to town with you? It’s been so long since I’ve been around people!”

Kyuhyun hesitated, but then he gave another nod. “Not today, but we can try one of these days. My condition is that you’ll feed right before we go into town, though. Feel free to correct me, but it seemed to me like the scent of a nearby human overwhelmed or at the very least startled you momentarily, so I’d like you to be as well-prepared as possible before you’ll get your actual first exposure to humans.”

Ryeowook hummed sheepishly, embarrassed but not surprised that Kyuhyun had seen through his reaction and attempted cover-up. “But if we’re close to a town where we’ll stay, does that mean you’ll also want me to learn how to feed from humans soon?” The sentence felt both wrong and right to him, making him focus a little more on the ground ahead of them to distract himself.

“Yes, I think we can do that very soon. But before that, I’d like to take one other step.”

Ryeowook looked back up in surprise. “What step?”

Kyuhyun met his eyes briefly before looking ahead again. “I want you to feed from my neck.”

☆ ☆ ☆

Ryeowook couldn’t get those words out of his mind, especially not when he was left waiting near a vacant hunter’s hut, hiding under his coat as good as possible, too distracted even to be annoyed at the black fabric making the already too warm morning feel even warmer. Kyuhyun had left to go into town quite a while ago and Ryeowook started to get tired, the sun not having lost its power over him yet, but at the same time, he was giddy enough to not fall asleep. He hadn’t been on his own since they had left the coastal path, but he couldn’t enjoy the time as much as he wanted to, not when Kyuhyun was somewhere out there to figure out whether they could stay in that hut or not.

A scent suddenly made him jump and almost slide off the fallen tree that he had been sitting on. He blinked rapidly, not even having realized that he had been dozing off, and a moment later, he was finally able to recognize the approaching scent as Kyuhyun’s. He quickly got off the tree and grabbed both of their bags, approaching the other, halting when he noticed Kyuhyun’s expression.

“We can’t stay?”

Kyuhyun shook his head, taking his bag from Ryeowook who let his shoulders sag, unable to hide the disappointment from his face. “But I was able to get permission for a different hut that we’re allowed to occupy for a few days and another place that we should check out, apparently.”

“Can’t we check the other place out right away?”

Kyuhyun shook his head again, looking worried. “Let’s check it out tomorrow.”

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s just a feeling for now. I’ll tell you once we’ve seen the house, okay?”

“Will you tell me no matter whether your feeling proves correct or wrong?” When Kyuhyun nodded curtly, Ryeowook smiled and took the other’s hand. It was too hot, yes, but the other’s general happiness and appreciation over physical contact hadn’t gone unnoticed by him. “Then it’s okay, yes.”

“What would you have done if I had said no?”

“I would have made up the perfect plan in my half-awake state and otherwise relied on you being unable to resist me.”

Kyuhyun laughed, though it sounded exhausted. “You certainly know how to get the answers you want, don’t you?”

“I’m Joseon’s youngest prince, of course I’ve learned how to get what I want! Not that it’s a very difficult thing to learn when you’re the youngest…” He looked away sheepishly, suddenly realizing that his argument maybe wasn’t such a good one since he had never overcome the ‘adorable youngest baby-prince’-phase. “Is the hut far, by the way?”

“Not too far, no. Much closer than the other residence I was told about. Why do you ask?”

“It’s hot… and I’m tired…”

“Whenever we go to the market, let’s search for some clothes that will be better for the heat—and also to blend in.”

“Won’t it be a waste of money?”

“Since we hardly spent anything except from the bribe I paid to get us on the ship and the bit of food I got in the villages… I’m also expecting to be able to hold a show sometime soon, so that’ll bring in new money.”

Speaking of money…

Ryeowook reached into the pocket inside his shirt, but instead of the small stone that Kyuhyun’s message had been attached to, he grabbed a string that he had wrapped into some more cloth to avoid any noises. He put the small bundle into his hand and revealed what had been hidden under the fabric.

Kyuhyun’s mouth fell open and he came to a stand as he stared at the string with gold coins. “You brought a fortune and it never crossed your mind to tell me about it?”

“The clothes will be my treat?”

“No, no, keep it. There may come a time when we or you will need the money more urgently. For the time being, I still have enough money and, like I said, I’m expecting to earn more soon.”

“But—“

Kyuhyun shook his head with a smile, putting the fabric back in place, then closing Ryeowook’s hand over it. “Spend it once you start earning money or when money gets tight. Until then, we’ll be fine with the money I earn.”

“What if I see something that I want to buy?”

“I mean, I can’t forbid you to spend your money—but I do advise you save it.”

Ryeowook pouted and put the coins back into the pocket of his shirt, following Kyuhyun when he continued walking.

Not too much later, they finally arrived at the hut where they were allowed to stay temporarily. Kyuhyun freshened up the bed while Ryeowook hung their coats on hooks near the door, then he also got the blanket, hugging it tightly when Kyuhyun attempted to take it from him.

“Come on, where am I supposed to sleep if you don’t give me the blanket?”

“On the bed, of course.”

“Ryeowook—“

“With me. Just like you did the last few days.”

But what if Kyuhyun didn’t want that?

The thought was unexpected and Ryeowook looked down at the blanket in his arms. The possibility that Kyuhyun might not want to sleep so close to him somehow never crossed his mind until that moment and suddenly, he felt foolish.

“I mean, only if you want to… Sorry, I—“

A soft chuckle interrupted him and Ryeowook knew that everything was okay even before he looked up and their eyes met again. “Of course I want to sleep in one bed with you, little prince.”

Ryeowook flashed Kyuhyun a small smile, then he raised the blanket to hide a yawn. “I don’t even remember when I last stayed up so long,” he mumbled and made his way over to the bed, moving close to the wall, though there still wasn’t much space left for Kyuhyun.

Somehow, they both fit onto the bed and Ryeowook found himself securely wrapped in Kyuhyun’s arms again. Now that he was lying, the tiredness seemed overwhelming and the dimmed light inside the hut felt like paradise. With the last bit of willpower, he responded to Kyuhyun’s goodnight kiss before he got fully comfortable and fell asleep almost instantly.

☆ ☆ ☆

When he woke up, Ryeowook could feel that the sun was already setting. Kyuhyun still had an arm securely draped over him, but when Ryeowook opened his eyes, he wasn’t surprised to find the other already awake.

“Morning.”

“Good morning.”

Ryeowook yawned, then he looked into Kyuhyun’s eyes again, somehow once again caught off guard by their beauty and uniqueness. “Isn’t it boring for you to always wake up before me and just… well, let me sleep?”

Kyuhyun shook his head lightly. “It’s been so long since I last had something like this… And even then it never felt the way it does with you.”

Their eyes met and Ryeowook blushed, looking away shyly. “So, what’s the plan for today?” When had his heart started to beat faster? A warmth spread through him that had nothing to do with the temperature around them and suddenly, he regretted not having used the moment to answer with something sweet or ask further.

“I want to check out that other house that I was told about. Near dawn, I’d say you feed and then we take a trip to town.”

“What?” Ryeowook’s head shot up, but Kyuhyun merely nodded calmly.

“I thought more about the ‘going to the market’ thing and I realized that I forgot to check if you can already eat something. But regarding how well you can cope with sunlight by this point, I think we can start with small portions of food and water to make your body get used to that again, so I assumed that going to the market together would be the best since you can pick something you like to eat. And we can also look for clothes together—either today or sometime in the future, depending on how far we get today.”

“But won’t the presence of people get too much for me?” Ryeowook couldn’t help but remember the night before and his momentary euphoria dissipated immediately. There was also the effect that the sun still had on him. But if Kyuhyun said that it was okay...?

“That’s not a given, no. Yesterday, you didn’t expect it and you haven’t smelled a human since you were turned. But when we go into town and you have just fed before, you will anticipate it and you will certainly be able to handle the situation a lot better. I don’t know for how long—we might barely make it to the city gates, we might have to turn around at the market, we might be able to get some shopping done, we might be able to do everything… But unless you’re opposed to it, I’d like to give it a try.”

Ryeowook was quick to nod, grinning at the knowing smile he received in return. “Yes, I want to try it! It’s been so long since I’ve been around people, I definitely want to try it!”

“Don’t forget that the sounds and scents might get overwhelming, though—in human standards, you and I are usually talking very quietly. And also remember: I’ll be right there with you, no matter whether you need me to fight against the hunger, rising panic, the overload of sensations, or anything else.”

Warmth blossomed in Ryeowook’s heart and even though he felt a little ashamed for the fear he had developed about going out all on his own, he also couldn’t help but be grateful that Kyuhyun didn’t make fun of it, re-assuring him instead.