Ryeowook didn’t take long to grow used to Hangeng and Heechul—the weather and accustoming to a human sleeping rhythm were much harder on him. Even getting used to food turned out easier than he had expected, though he was tempted to reason that Hangeng’s cooking was simply too irresistible even for his vampire nature. Without wanting to discredit the cooks at court, Ryeowook couldn’t remember ever having eaten as deliciously as he did with Hangeng and Heechul. Or maybe that was just because a lot of time had passed since his last proper meal and his senses had changed entirely in the meantime, but he preferred the first version.

Kyuhyun surprised Ryeowook when he cooked for the first time, turning out to be a great cook as well, but then he remembered that the other had lived alone for a long time, probably necessitating that he learned how to cook. The others were even more surprised when they realized that Ryeowook also knew a few basics, leading to long talks about the lives that they all had lived until that point. During one of those conversations, Ryeowook also learned about how Heechul and Hangeng had found out about their powers. Not surprisingly, Heechul had realized what his power was rather quickly. Hangeng, on the other hand, had surprised him when he revealed that it had taken a lot of time and talks for him to find out that reading feelings had indeed become his power, reassuring Ryeowook that it was okay that he was taking time with figuring things out.

About a month had passed by the time that Kyuhyun decided to look for some kind of work in or around town, but his insecurity of leaving Ryeowook alone with Heechul was still palpable during the first times that he left on his own or sent Ryeowook back alone after a visit to the market. It was during that time that Ryeowook found out by accident that Hangeng owned a set of the classic Confucian literature and thanks to his “irresistible approach”, as Hangeng had labelled it, got permission to read them.

As the days got hotter, Ryeowook often found himself cooking or at least preparing meals with Heechul while they waited for the other two to return to the house. That particular day was no different, though they started a little later than usual.

Heechul sorted through the vegetables while Ryeowook retrieved boards and knives from their destined drawers. “Ah, Kyuhyun said to warn you about the knives—he just sharpened them this morning when you and Hangeng-hyung went to the market.” Though he still mostly spoke Korean with the others, he had gotten used to Hangeng and Heechul mixing in Chinese words occasionally and had less and less problems understanding the people on the market the more often he went to town. Heechul using their alone-time to teach him the local dialect also did wonders for his understanding.

“And here I thought he had stayed behind so you could feed in peace,” Heechul , making Ryeowook roll his eyes. Maybe he should watch this habit of his a little more—at least back at court, he had been better at holding back such a reaction.

“Sharpening the knives was more of an afterthought from him.”

“No wonder I met him on my way back. Speaking of the way back…”

Ryeowook just picked the first vegetable and briefly glanced at Heechul before he started cutting. “They’re nearby already?”

“Yes. Are we really that late?”

No answer was needed since both of them knew that yes, they were that late. The temperatures had become so unbearably hot during the day that neither of them had managed to find the motivation to move any earlier than absolutely necessary, making Ryeowook sigh inwardly. These temperatures really weren’t meant for getting any work done! How much worse did it have to be for Kyuhyun, Hangeng, and everyone else who couldn’t just laze around all day?

Heechul’s laughter interrupted Ryeowook’s thoughts and he briefly glanced over before turning back to his task. “Kyuhyun’s not in a good mood.”

“So much for focusing on Hangeng-hyung when he’s around,” Ryeowook , hinting at a point where Heechul had revealed that he always did his best to focus on Hangeng’s thoughts only when they were around other people since he knew that he always had Hangeng’s consent for reading his mind.

“I can’t help it when Kyuhyun is complaining so much.”

“Just don’t let him hear that.”

“I do value my life, little one.”

Ryeowook rolled his eyes again. Little prince, little one… no matter what nicknames he got, everyone seemed to share the opinion that it had to be a cute one, ignoring any protest from him.

“But maybe pick somewhere with more moderate climate for your next destination when you and Kyuhyun move on?”

“If he’s really complaining that much, I feel like that’s a given.”

“You’re probably right. Now shush, they’re getting into earshot.”

Ryeowook smiled at the warning but did focus more on his task, taking the next vegetable to cut. Not much later, Kyuhyun and Hangeng arrived, but both took the time to freshen up before greeting them. It was still a little strange to Ryeowook to see the Hangeng and Heechul sharing hugs and kisses so casually, and at the same time, it made him want to be the same way with Kyuhyun—if only his shyness didn’t always get the best of him.

When Kyuhyun returned and greeted him with a brief hug and a peck on the cheek before getting comfortable at the table with Hangeng, butterflies still fluttered in Ryeowook’s stomach like the first time and he flashed Kyuhyun a quick smile.

“Now that everyone’s here, we have a proposal to make!” Heechul cheered, surprising Ryeowook with the sudden enthusiasm, and nodded towards Hangeng.

“This is an idea that Heechul and I have had since we thought about taking in other vampires and how to make things work for all parties,” Hangeng started. “Heechul and I have another place nearby; something small that’s far enough away that our powers can’t reach it. In other words, our powers can’t reach this house when we’re there.”

“You have another place?” Kyuhyun asked in surprise and Ryeowook also glanced at Heechul who merely smiled knowingly. “Where?”

“That’s a secret. It’s a place that we made to give both of us a chance to get away in case the thoughts or feelings we would receive from potential long-term guests become overwhelming—or for… Heechul-ah, what term did you use earlier?”

“Private time.” Ryeowook felt a blush creep into his cheeks at that phrase and he quickly banned his thoughts from going deeper into what ‘private time’ meant.

“I thought you used something else. Anyway: now that you two have been here for a while already, we wanted to try out the idea that led us to making that place originally. We were thinking about spending one night here and one night there…” He trailed off, but Heechul was quick to help out with the grammar that Hangeng had most likely been looking for or maybe just to clarify.

“Spending every other night there.”

“Wouldn’t that be a huge trouble for you?” Kyuhyun voiced out, but he fell quiet quickly, so Ryeowook guessed that Hangeng shook his head.

“Not at all. Heechul and I thought it through a lot back then and when we talked about it this morning, we came to the conclusion that we still want to do this. It will give all of us a proper rhythm and time for ourselves.”

“Additionally, Hangeng and I still have a private place that we can go to and have the certainty of being alone. I understand that you think leaving that place up to you two might have been easier, trust me, we considered that, too. But in the end, the wish to have a place just to ourselves was stronger,” Heechul elaborated.

“You two must have held back a lot because of Kyuhyun and me. I’m sorry for troubling you so much.”

Heechul laughed softly. “Always so polite~”

“It’s not a trouble at all,” Hangeng also assured him, but Ryeowook still couldn’t help the ever-returning worry that the other two had made a lot of adjustments in their daily life.

“So basically half the nights, all four of us will be here, and half the nights, only Ryeowook and I will stay here,” Kyuhyun repeated, sounding a little unsure if he had indeed heard correctly.

“Yes. Heechul and I trust you to—“

The scent of blood hit Ryeowook, shortly followed by Heechul’s cursing and his knife falling onto the counter. Ryeowook’s head shot up, the vampire nature lightly stirring inside him, though it was too satiated to make a fuss. From the corners of his eyes, he saw Hangeng and Kyuhyun also jump to their feet and take a step forward before pausing. Heechul had curled up his hurt hand, but he couldn’t stop the blood that easily while he took a step back, his eyes instantly darting towards Ryeowook who needed a moment longer to understand why everyone was suddenly alarmed, then he slowly put his knife down and reached his hand out. “May I see?”

“Ryeowook, you’re just a newborn,” Heechul confirmed Ryeowook’s suspicion.

“I’m fine. Hangeng-hyung would know if I’m lying.”

Heechul’s gaze wavered, but he still shook his head. “It might get too much for you, though.”

“And if that happens, there are two of you who would instantly know about that and Kyuhyun who could stop me at any point. Hyung, back at the capital, I’ve worked at the hospital—I know how to treat wounds. Please allow me to take a look at your hand.”

Heechul still looked torn, unmoving while a small trail of blood ran down his wrist and further along his arm. Ryeowook held his gaze calmly, thinking about what to do: first, he should figure out how deep the cut was and they had to stop the bleeding and find something to bandage the wound with—then again, there was probably some first aid stuff somewhere around the house. Hangeng and Heechul seemed to be prepared for every occasion, after all.

Heechul took a deep breath, his eyes never leaving Ryeowook’s as he slowly stretched out his hand, finally uncurling his fingers. Tension hung heavy in the air, but Ryeowook found himself strangely calm, too used to the sight of blood, though Heechul had obviously hit an inconvenient spot, blood oozing out so quickly that Ryeowook couldn’t examine the wound properly. He glanced up and quickly spotted one of the kitchen towels lying nearby.

“Kyuhyun, could you wet a fresh towel and give it to me?”

“Of course,” Kyuhyun replied, moving with a slight delay.

Ryeowook turned back to the wound and, hoping to already get a closer look, he gently took Heechul’s hand.

A shock wave rushed through him as if he was struck by lightening. Ryeowook stumbled back, into something, no, someone. The world was spinning and suddenly, he was freezing. The scent of blood seemed to have grown stronger by a tenfold, and the vampire nature raged to gain control, but he fought it back. An arm wrapped around him in a hug, or maybe to hold him back.

Ryeowook blinked a few times and finally, his vision cleared. Across from him, Hangeng and Heechul stared at him wide-eyed. Hangeng half-shielded Heechul who had pulled his hand close to his chest protectively, his hand that was still covered in blood.

“Heechul, are you okay?” Hangeng asked without looking at his boyfriend.

Ryeowook snapped out of it and tore his gaze away, finally landing on Kyuhyun who held him protectively, lending the warmth that Ryeowook was suddenly lacking, frowning.

Movement on the other side distracted Ryeowook and he looked back at Heechul who very carefully moved his hand, examined it, brushed his thumb over the spot where he had cut himself. “It’s gone,” he mumbled. “The cut… it’s gone.”

“No wonder your power never showed itself,” Kyuhyun breathed out and when Ryeowook looked back at him, Kyuhyun’s eyes were shining, his voice laced with wonder.

“My power?” His eyes went back towards Heechul, the siren-song of the other’s blood too distracting.

Hangeng’s posture relaxed and Heechul’s expression changed as he glanced at his hand, then back at Ryeowook. “I get it, I get it. Hangeng, come on, let’s go outside to clean up this mess.” He smiled at Ryeowook, then he turned around, shortly followed by Hangeng.

Ryeowook faced Kyuhyun, wanting to repeat his question, but Kyuhyun was faster. “Do you need to feed?”

“I just fed earlier…” But if he was honest, he did need to feed again. The hunger was stronger than it had been in a long time, and Ryeowook couldn’t help but think that it was a miracle that he had nevertheless stayed in control all this time.

“Feed first, then we’ll talk about this, okay?” Without waiting for an answer, Kyuhyun stepped back, taking his warmth with him, but he grabbed Ryeowook’s hand, pulling him over to the big table. Ryeowook didn’t protest further, but when the hunger was quenched, he also didn’t let Kyuhyun pull away, still feeling cold, now emphasized by tiredness.

“What happened?” He had just wanted to take a look at Heechul’s wound and then… then… Then what?

“Let me take a guess: you suddenly felt a burst of energy rush through you, out of you. And then you were dizzy and cold and hunger returned in full force—none of that making sense in this heat and since you fed this morning.”

Ryeowook frowned and tried to take a look at Kyuhyun’s face without breaking the hug. That he was cold and hungry hadn’t been a secret, but had the dizziness also been that obvious? And how could Kyuhyun know about that shock that had rushed through him?

“I told you that I assume you have an active power, didn’t I?” Ryeowook nodded, frowning. But this all didn’t make sense! Unless… “Everything that I just listed are characteristics of active powers, especially when used in the beginning when the power can’t be controlled yet. It seems like your power is healing.”

“Healing?” Could that really be? But Heechul had indeed said that his wound had closed… And with everything that Kyuhyun had told him about the origin of powers, it did seem to make sense—at least to a certain degree. Then again, Kyuhyun himself was the living proof that powers could work in an abstract way.

Shuffling noises revealed Hangeng and Heechul re-entering their home, but Heechul made another stop in the room he shared with his boyfriend while Hangeng came over to them and sat down. “Are you okay?” he asked, his eyes focused on Ryeowook with such intense care that Ryeowook felt like a young child, surrounded by his older brothers and parents who had then still seemed like heroes to him, so safe and secure that no harm from the outside world could ever reach him.

“I am. What about Heechul-hyung?”

“I’m fine, too,” Heechul answered from the other room, accompanied by some rustling. Ryeowook frowned at that sound, but when the thought crossed his mind that Heechul’s outer robe had probably gotten stained with blood, the soft rustling noises made a lot more sense. “Though I will admit that that felt a little strange. Or, well, unexpected.”

“Have you felt others first learn about their powers before, Hangeng-sshi?” Kyuhyun asked and the other nodded.

“Several times, yes, but it’s been quite a while. But with this limited knowledge, I think there’s still something I’ll need to correct you on, Kyuhyun: feeling cold after first using the power, at least to the extent that Ryeowook does, is not a complete given.”

“It’s not?” Kyuhyun sounded genuinely surprised and Hangeng shook his head.

“It’s not. I assume that if you felt the same that Ryeowook does right now, it might mean that the loss of body heat relates to your powers.”

That sounded reasonable for Kyuhyun's case, but Ryeowook had trouble figuring out how healing was supposed to connect to feeling warm or cold. Sure, a severe fever could be accompanied by shivers, but how did healing relate to that?  

“How do I learn to control it now?” Ryeowook asked, straightening a little though he didn’t move away from Kyuhyun. Hangeng, on the other hand, rose to his feet and went to the kitchen area, picking up where Heechul and Ryeowook had left off. “Is it trial and error again?”

“Yes,” Kyuhyun confirmed just as Heechul emerged from his room, indeed wearing a fresh robe. He briefly took in the scene, then joined Hangeng. “It’s very similar to feeding, actually: this power may seem too strong to handle at first, but eventually, you’ll understand how your power works and you’ll be able to use it more moderately. But especially in the beginning, there can be good and bad days until you can truly control it.”

“I think you’re very lucky that you got an active but non-aggressive power,” Heechul said. “Most of the powers I’ve heard of or seen so far are active powers that first show themselves by accidentally causing harm, while passive powers often go unnoticed for a while. Active non-hurtful powers seem very rare.”

Kyuhyun and Hangeng nodded in agreement, but those words still sparked Ryeowook’s curiosity. “So you do know of other powers like mine?”

“I actually don’t.” Heechul laughed, but turned sober a moment later, glancing at Hangeng reproachfully. Ryeowook couldn’t help but smile, imagining Hangeng scolding his boyfriend mentally, most likely not wanting to risk another accident.

“Does telepathy count?” Kyuhyun asked, but after a moment’s thought, Heechul shook his head.

“I assume telepathy is more of a passive power, though I can’t be sure. But if that person has to spend energy to communicate, I guess it does count.”

“I’ve heard of someone who can…” Hangeng trailed off and his eyes met Heechul’s, but neither of them seemed to have a word for it, or at least not a Korean one. “Well, he can change locations in the blink of an eye. But he mentioned that this has brought him into quite a few dangerous situations already.”

“Teleportation?” Kyuhyun helped out and the other two looked at him blankly until a light seemed to go off in Heechul’s head.

“Yes, that’s it!”

Teleportation would have been very useful during their flight! Well, if it didn’t land them right back at court, that was. And if other people could be taken along. Then again, if it was completely random at first until the vampire gained control over their power, Ryeowook could think of quite a few scenarios right off the top of his head where such a power could do more harm than good.

But healing… what exactly could go wrong with that?

“Easy.” Heechul said from the kitchen area, bringing Ryeowook back to reality.

“What’s easy?” Kyuhyun asked and Heechul put his knife aside, then he turned around and nodded towards Ryeowook whose eyes widened a little in surprise.

“The possible negative consequences. I would assume that you did spend a lot of energy—but was it all the energy that you had? What would happen if you were to spend more? Additionally, what if something like this happens in a not-so-controlled environment: just imagine if something were to happen in town or you and I hadn’t started cooking so late and this had happened without the other two. Or if you hadn't fed this morning. Especially in the beginning or whenever we become reckless, things can go wrong very easily—just because your power seems to be a non-harmful one doesn’t mean that you can’t hurt others.”

Ryeowook looked down, ashamed that he hadn’t considered those things before. Truly, things could have gone much worse than they had. “Thank you. For always having my back and explaining everything.”

“You’re welcome.” Heechul flashed him a bright smile. He glanced at his boyfriend who started with the actual cooking process, then he went over to the sitting area and sat down with Ryeowook and Kyuhyun. “You may not have been here for long and you might not be staying long, but never forget that while you’re here, we will care for you and help you grow as much as we can.”