When Ryeowook woke up, Kyuhyun wasn’t by his side anymore, but he sensed the other still in the small hut. He slowly opened his eyes, blinking up at the ceiling—a rather uncommon sight since he slept on his side most of the time—then he sat up, looking around. The sun was about to set and the window covers had been opened slightly to let in fresh air and the last rays of sunlight, shining onto the table where Kyuhyun was sitting. He seemed to have been watching the outside world while deep in thought but turned to Ryeowook when he noticed movement.

Remembering the fight from the night before and the fact that they hadn’t been able to resolve anything, Ryeowook lowered his head and crawled out of bed, obediently sitting down at the table as well, combing his hair with his hands in order to have something else to do that wasn’t waiting for Kyuhyun to speak. And if Kyuhyun wouldn’t speak, how should he open the conversation?

“What do you think about them?” Kyuhyun asked quietly when Ryeowook was done with half of his hair, his heart becoming more anxious as time passed, but it eased a little when he heard that question and Kyuhyun’s even tone. He looked up, halting in his movements before he absent-mindedly started doing the other side of his hair.

“I don’t really know. On the one side, they did step in when I needed help, brought me aside and then called you immediately, so I think their intentions are good. But on the other hand, I don’t think I’ll be able to hide my identity from Heechul for long and I don’t know how they will react… Since Hangeng has a position in the city council, it would be easy for him to reveal my identity and have me taken back to court, but it would probably be just as easy for him to hide my identity from the outside world and protect me if news should arrive here. Also… the thought that they know absolutely everything about me at any given time is… scary. But I would also like to stay for a little while longer and then maybe move on in fall…” He sighed, knowing that speaking his mind sounded just as chaotic as his thoughts were. How to decide? On what basis? How to determine what was the safest option and the one that would be best for them?

Kyuhyun nodded lightly, obviously having calmed down since their fight the day before. “There’s also the topic of feeding—do they feed in town? Or, what I assume to be just as likely if their relationship really is similar to ours, do they feed from each other?”

Ryeowook hadn’t even thought about that up to this point and the movement of his hands came to another stop. While Kyuhyun had once again gone back to feeding in town, he didn’t think it to be impossible for Kyuhyun to feed from him even when they settled down. And he was feeding from Kyuhyun with the prospect of feeding from his neck sometime soon… But weren’t those things to do in private? And if Heechul and Hangeng also did those things…

Ryeowook quickly banned all inappropriate thoughts from his mind, but he couldn’t help the knowledge that feeding from each other was something that wouldn’t go unnoticed by any of them. But he still hadn’t fed from humans… And, if he was completely honest, he wouldn’t want to miss out on their feeding sessions while also knowing that he’d be way too embarrassed to do anything inappropriate while Heechul and Hangeng were around.

“And of course there’s also the fact that… you know… their powers remind me a lot of her.” Kyuhyun’s voice was quiet, almost like he didn’t want to say those words out loud, and Ryeowook nodded thoughtfully.

“I also thought about that when Heechul-sshi revealed their powers yesterday.” He stared at the table surface, his eyes unfocused, hands still untangling his hair. With everything he knew about Kyuhyun’s sire, was there even a chance for them to settle in with Heechul and Hangeng, even if it was only temporary? Maybe they couldn’t exert any power over them, but even being able to read their thoughts and feelings was probably much too similar to his sire than Kyuhyun was comfortable with.

“So does that mean that we should keep moving? We can’t stay here much longer, after all…” Ryeowook trailed off as heavy sadness filled him. Maybe he could hardly understand the locals, maybe Heechul and Hangeng weren’t their best option for a temporary stay… but he still didn’t want to leave already. Everything had been so hectic since he had run away from court…

“You want to stay,” Kyuhyun observed the obvious and Ryeowook returned to reality, meeting the other’s eyes.

“And you don’t.”

They looked at each other and neither seemed to know what to make of the situation. One wanted to leave, one wanted to stay. One felt sympathy for Heechul and Hangeng and wasn’t used to having to keep moving all the time, one had had a traumatic experience due to a very similar power and put safety before comfortableness. Ryeowook tried to imagine such a scene at court—what would be the verdict? How would his father decide, how would he himself decide? What would his brothers say about such a case?

“Would it be okay for you, maybe, to stay until the hottest days have passed? We don’t have to wait until fall, but maybe just pass the most severe part of summer here before we move on?” he asked carefully, unsure if it really was as much of a compromise as it had seemed in his head. Wasn’t that still basically him getting his way and Kyuhyun not getting his way? “I mean, if we notice that things don’t work out, we’d of course leave earlier than that! It’s just…” He couldn’t explain why he wanted to stay so much, couldn’t find any logical arguments to support his own side, but also couldn’t give in to Kyuhyun completely. Was he failing Kyuhyun like that?

“I understand.” Ryeowook looked up again, but this time, Kyuhyun had his eyes diverted. The sun’s rays turned his complexion golden, making him look even more stunning than normally. “When I ran away, I felt the same way. When I arrived in this area, actually, I stopped running and settled down for a few years after a long period of only settling temporarily when the circumstances didn’t allow me to keep moving.”

“How do you know it’s this general area? If you haven’t met Heechul and Hangeng before but they have been here for a while already…”

“It’s the way people speak. Their dialect is familiar for me, so even though I haven’t been to this city before, I know that my journey must have ended somewhere nearby before I returned to Joseon. I had actually thought about staying in Joseon for a while—who would have guessed that I would only stay for a few months before running off with a prince.” He chuckled softly before he quickly became serious again, yet Ryeowook couldn’t help but smile a little.

“But what are we doing now? I don’t want to mess with your plans even more…”

Kyuhyun shook his head. “I don’t have any plans from this point onwards. We made it far enough that we shouldn’t be found for a while unless someone betrays us, but seeing how you can’t communicate with the people here, I doubt that people here know much about the affairs outside China, so I think it’s unlikely for anyone to know who you are—except from Heechul and Hangeng.”

“So…?”

Kyuhyun took a deep breath. “So unless they betray us, I think it’ll be safe for us to stay through summer.”

Ryeowook’s eyes widened lightly. “But what about you? What about—“

Kyuhyun shook his head once again, interrupting Ryeowook’s worries. “I can take care of myself, Ryeowook, and I can tell how important it is for you to find a place to stay for a little while. Thinking about it, I’m even curious if something will change between us when we’re not quite as dependent on each other and not on the run.”

Ryeowook huffed lightly. “It’s not like you’re all that dependent on me,” he mumbled and looked away, finishing with his hair and letting his hands sink.

“You’re mistaken,” Kyuhyun argued, though, surprising Ryeowook. “I’ve never considered turning anyone else and even when I had something going on with another person, the thought never crossed my mind that I wanted to stay by their side long-term and it never took long for me to either forget about them or simply keep them in back of my head as a nice memory or a lesson learned. You, however, have been on my mind since we first met and even when I tried to focus on other things, my thoughts kept on returning to you. I may not be dependent on you in the same way as you are currently still dependent on me, but I want you by my side.”

Ryeowook looked away, warmth spreading inside him from those words, though he didn’t think that this could compare to the way he depended on Kyuhyun. “Still, we shouldn’t stay if you don’t feel comfortable with them.”

“Let’s pay them another visit later? There are a few questions that only they can answer.”

“What if they ask about my identity? Like you also said yesterday, I don’t know how aware Heechul-sshi might already be of who I am, and if he asks…” Could he lie without revealing the truth in his mind? Could he keep up a lie in front of Heechul? Anyone else wouldn’t be a problem, but how could he possibly not reveal his true identity to a mind-reader? And if he lied, he’d definitely worry that his real identity would be found out, so was there even a point in lying?

“Do you think you can keep up an act?”

Ryeowook shook his head, looking at the table surface. “I could keep up an act in front of anyone but Heechul. If he’s not already suspicious about my identity, I’m sure he will be very soon, and wouldn’t it be too risky to tell him the truth? He already knows my full name, so, even if I’m not the most well-known prince, he might have already figured out who I am.”

“Then say the truth.”

Ryeowook’s head shot in and he frowned. Was this the same Kyuhyun who had just scolded him for being too open the day before or had someone shapeshifted into that form and kept the real Kyuhyun locked up somewhere. “Say the truth?”

Kyuhyun nodded calmly. “Say the truth and we’ll see how he and Hangeng react. If they seem suspicious in any way, we’ll leave right away, if they seem to take it well, we can still try to stay for a while before moving on.”

“Isn’t that just as reckless as taking the tea they offered?”

Kyuhyun hesitated, then shook his head, his expression pensive. “Not quite. Yesterday, they were complete strangers with possibly good intentions, but that might have been an act. We know a little bit more now, and, to be honest, anyone at any point in our journey might come to recognize you through one coincidence or another. I understand that forcefully hiding something would lead to more suspicions, especially with powers like theirs, but just because we tell them the truth doesn’t have to mean that we trust them. It would only mean that we respect them, their powers, and the circumstances.”

Ryeowook nodded lightly, still wondering how they had gone from ‘I mistrust them so much that I don’t want to be near them’ to ‘yes, let’s probably stay’ in such a short amount of time, but he didn’t dare to argue further, doing his best to ignore any other worries and doubts that rose inside him. “You’re not just doing this for me, are you?” he asked quietly since it was the one worry that he couldn’t hold back and the one question that didn’t have any other place or time to be asked.

“If you’re happy, then so am I. And I do understand where you’re coming from.”

“Promise you’ll tell me if you become too uncomfortable.” Ryeowook raised his finger at Kyuhyun like he was scolding him, wanting to lighten the mood, and seeing the other smile and playfully raise his hands in defense was definitely worth it.

“I will. Total transparency, did you forget?”

Ryeowook huffed and leaned back, but it seemed like whatever had been standing between them had indeed been resolved, finally making him smile.

“But you must also promise me not to do anything that could be deemed reckless again. I care about you and I worry about you, so please, if you think that something might be deemed reckless at court, just give it another thought before doing it.”

Ryeowook agreed with a nod, assuming that any reasoning of him being certain about what he was doing and applying the safety measures he had learned since infanthood wouldn’t convince Kyuhyun. And in the end, Kyuhyun was the older immortal who most certainly knew better what safety measures were adequate.

☆ ☆ ☆

Near dawn, he found himself back at the other two vampires’ mansion, faced with a very confused-looking Heechul with somewhat messily tied-up hair who opened the door for them. “Come in,” he invited nevertheless and stepped aside, letting Kyuhyun and Ryeowook enter. When they entered this time, Ryeowook found the main area looking the same but also not: the scent of hot pot hung in the air, two bowls and a pot that probably held rice sat on the counter, and even though he couldn’t pinpoint why, Ryeowook had a feeling that they had already been used. So at least they weren’t intruding during a meal, were they? A tea set with two cups stood on the table in the same area where they had also sat the day before. Only Hangeng was nowhere to be seen.

“Please sit. Can I get you anything? Something to drink or to eat?”

Following their argument from the day, Ryeowook merely looked at Kyuhyun as he waited for an answer, surprised when he found the other nod hesitantly. “I guess tea would be nice.”

Ryeowook mentally rolled his eyes: scolding him one day and doing the thing he had scolded about the next day! But maybe he actually did it as a peace-offering, which was a thought that Ryeowook kept on his mind since he liked it. Heechul nodded with a smile and went over to the cooking area. He carefully moved the huge pot that held the food aside and got a new pot that held water, putting this one over the fire, then he also got a new tea set, one that had a bigger teapot than the one he and Hangeng had used, before he returned, motioning towards the seats. “Please sit,” he repeated himself and this time, the two visitors did as they were told.

Heechul sat across from them and tilted his head. “We did kind of expect you to return eventually, but to be honest, we didn’t expect you so soon.”

“There are still some questions that came up for us yesterday, so we decided to come back soon,” Kyuhyun answered and Heechul inclined his head in understanding.

“It’s the same for us, so I hope you will understand that we will also ask questions?”

“Of course.” Kyuhyun didn’t sound like he had expected anything else, but he hesitated, his gaze wavering towards a corridor that Ryeowook hadn’t paid much attention to until this point. Hangeng emerged from it, greeting them with a smile and a nod, then he went over to the cooking area.

Ryeowook watched in slight confusion—how come Heechul had started the tea but obviously wouldn’t finish it?

“Um, yeah, about that… Hangeng is better at cooking. I’m pretty convinced that even tea tastes better when he makes it,” Heechul answered, sounding a little embarrassed, and Ryeowook glanced at him, momentarily taken aback to receive an answer to an unspoken question before he remembered that there was nothing to be surprised about.

“I just like cooking more than you do and the tea tastes the same, no matter who makes it,” Hangeng corrected, making Ryeowook smile, especially when Heechul immediately shook his head.

“Nope! It definitely tastes better when you make it!” he argued with a smile so bright that Hangeng didn’t argue further, merely seeming amused by the situation. When Heechul turned back towards Kyuhyun and Ryeowook, though, his expression was somber. “Allow me to start since I think that our question is a very fundamental one.” He had looked at both of them this entire time, but when he spoke this time, his eyes focused on Ryeowook. “Who are you?”