For the whole day, Gongchan slept, recovering from a night of being a terrifying wolf. Shinwoo cooked, cleaned, watched tv, did laundry, read an overdue library book, and played catch with himself by bouncing a rubber ball against the wall. He kept busy with anything he could think of so his mind wouldn’t wander to his other friends. He couldn’t stay worried about them and stress himself out. 

     But the truth was, Gongchan and Shinwoo had a hard time not thinking about Baro, Jinyoung, and Sandeul. Even as Gongchan started working for Shinwoo’s uncle’s plumbing business to help chip in and pay the bills, the roommates couldn’t stay busy enough to keep their minds off their bandmates. 

     “Do you think Jinyoung would find a barn with lots of animals to live in?” Gongchan muttered as they arrived at home after a long, tiring plumbing mission. Pipes leaked in a tall office building and water dripped through every floor, leaving the two frustrated friends to find the source… which took the entire day. “I don’t want to think about him drinking from animals! They wouldn’t become vampire animals, would they?”

     Shinwoo flopped onto the couch next to Gongchan, thinking about ordering delivery since they were both too tired to cook. “What’s worse, Jinyoung fulfilling his vampire needs on humans or animals?” he shuddered. “Either way, it’s not cool to think about. I’m sure whatever Jinyoung is doing, he hates it. But he needs to survive somehow… And I don’t think there is such a thing as vampire animals. That’s what bats are for, right?”

     Gongchan wasn’t listening to Shinwoo as he was in deep thought. He said aloud, “Do you think they’re treating Baro well? I mean, I know when he used his phone call to contact us last week, he said that jail wasn’t that bad. Baro said the mattress was slightly lumpy and food was bland, but he sounded like he was hanging in there. Plus he said he would be out in six months! I can’t wait to see him again. We’ll have loads of fun to cele–”

     “I think you forgot,” Shinwoo in, “Baro also said that when he’s free, he wants to spend time with his family first before he comes back here. He wants to make it up to his parents and sister for all his wrong doings, visit his grandparents, and spend time with his dog, Yulmu. He’s missing them all a lot.”

     Gongchan’s train of thought couldn’t be stopped and he rambled on, “Poor Sandeul… It’s been two weeks since he returned to the hospital. Do you think the doctors can help him this time? It’s not every day you turn a zombie back into a regular human. What if… What if…”

     Shinwoo sighed, shaking his head, “We can’t lose hope. They helped him once, they can do it again. But worrying about everyone isn’t going to make the situation better.”

     “I suppose you’re right…” Gongchan admitted, then added when he saw Shinwoo pull out his phone, “Can you order an extra large fried chicken bucket? I need to feast after that job. Plumbing is harder than I thought.”

     “Already on it,” Shinwoo said as he was about to dial the number, but saw that he had missed a call. “That’s odd… I didn’t hear my phone ring before. At least they left a voicemail.” He quieted down, pressing the phone against his ear.

     “Who is it?” Gongchan whispered as he watched Shinwoo’s brown eyes open wide in shock. 

     When he stuck the phone back in his pocket, he rushed over to put his sweaty sneakers back on. “We need to go now!”

     “What about our fried chicken?” Gongchan pouted as he repeated Shinwoo’s actions, putting on shoes. 

     “That can wait!”

     The urgency in Shinwoo’s voice scared Gongchan and made his heart pound as they ran out to the street. “Hyung, what’s going on? Tell me what’s wrong! What did you hear?”

     “It’ll take too long to call for a taxi,” Shinwoo trembled, not listening. “We’ll have to run. Follow me!” He darted down the sidewalk, dodging pedestrians. 

     “Wait!” Gongchan ran after him, noticing how much slower he was than in werewolf form. 

     After running block after block, the boy halted with their chests heaving for air. 

     “What’s the meaning of this?” Gongchan was the first to say, wiping the sweat off his forehead. His body ached after a full day of work, then running a marathon. “You didn’t tell me anything, Shinwoo.”

     Still panting too heavily to speak, Shinwoo pointed. Gongchan’s eyes followed the direction of his finger, and for the first time he noticed that they were stopped in front of the hospital, the one Sandeul was staying at. 

     Finally able to speak again, Shinwoo stuttered with the same look of shock in his eyes as he did earlier, “Something… something might be wrong with Sandeul. The nurse said to come quickly… before it’s too late.”