Seonghwa had not expected it to take him this long to find his ex. Even after hunting down some of the vampires his ex turned and destroying his turf, the male refused to turn up. Seonghwa wondered if he was just playing by the male's rules again, getting slightly frustrated when he could have been at home taking care of San and even Wooyoung. 

"Where is your Maker?!" Seonghwa hissed and the vampire just turned tails to run instead. "I guess I'll send you to meet him." 

He lifted his hand to snap his fingers but was promptly stopped by someone calling him by his name. 

"Seonghwa sshi." 

"Who are you?" the infuriated vampire asked while glancing at the other. Unlike the others, this vampire did not attack or showed any signs of hostility which made Seonghwa calm down a little. 

"Hongjoong sshi has heard your message loud and clear. He wishes to see you." 

"Ah, he can't even come and meet me himself anymore?" 

"I'm afraid that you were the one who said that you never wanted to see him again." 

"And since when did he care about what I want?" Seonghwa hissed. 

"Since he wanted to make amends." 

"Bring him to me instead. I'm not going anywhere with you," he said and patted his hands. He pulled out his phone and showed the map to the vampire who looked at it. "Ask him to meet me at this address. Alone." 

"I understand." 

÷÷÷

5 days went by painfully slow for San. Everyday, he would wake up and check on Wooyoung who would usually be asleep before spending the rest of his day either trying to put some food together for his own meals or just waiting patiently for the time that he would be allowed to see Wooyoung again. He still tried to check in with his dad but it was still pure silence on that side. He worried for him but Jongho said that his worries would just be useless and Seonghwa was probably too caught up in his emotions to reply him right now. 

The night of the 5th day, he was surprised to find Jongho motioning him over to the room that Wooyoung was in but nevertheless, he walked up to the vampire. They barely talked and even if they did, San didn't really get along with him. 

"Is there something you need?" San asked. 

"We thought we should try to take another step forward," Jongho said to San's curiosity. 

"Another step?" 

"Yes, we are going to open the door today and see if Wooyoung can control his thirst." 

"Hmm? What does that have to do with me?" San wondered, not that he minded helping out. 

"You're human so you should be able to incite a feeling of thirst from Wooyoung easily," Jongho explained. "So we are going to test him today. If he can control it, we can allow you two to hang out sooner than you think." 

San's eyes twinkled and he nodded. "What do you need me to do?" 

"Just stand here and whatever you do, don't move closer to the door." 

San nodded again and felt jittery. He hadn't seen Wooyoung for 5 days now, only heard his voice mostly. 

"Anytime you're ready," Jongho said and Yunho who was inside the room turned to look at Wooyoung who gulped. 

"Is this really going to be safe?" Wooyoung asked worriedly. As much as he wanted to see San too, he worried that his thirst might surface and all his training would be for naught. Although the house had San's scent all over, Yunho had warned him that it would be different when he saw the person directly. It was necessary for him to train to resist in front of the person themselves too.

"Only by doing this, we will know," Yunho said and smiled. "Ready?" 

"Yes," Wooyoung said with a shaking tone. Yunho held the door knob and just as he turned it, Wooyoung squeaked and shook his head. "No! No, wait. Just wait." 

"Alright. Just tell me when," Yunho said gently and Wooyoung made small little side steps nervously. He breathed in deeply and nodded.

"Okay, okay. I can do this. You can do this, Wooyoung," he groaned and balled his hands into fists. "Okay." 

Yunho opened the door slowly and Wooyoung gulped again, tilting his body to peek. His eyes met San's almost instantly as the other had also peeked. He yelped and stood upright again but Yunho had already swung the door wide open. Wooyoung stared at San and the first major difference that hit him was how he could almost hear San's pulse from where he was. San's heartbeat. San's breathing. San. San. San. 

"Hah..." He let out a tight breath and San gulped as well. 

"Wooyoung?" 

Wooyoung twitched and felt his throat tingle at the sight of his friend. His human friend. It was like Yunho and Jongho said. The feeling was more intense than he expected. It was as if he knew he was looking at the same person but with more emotions flooding his senses. It was almost overwhelming as his lips parted, fangs gleaming. San felt his breath hitched and he took a step back unconsciously as he looked at his friend. Wooyoung's hair was a mess since he hadn't had the opportunity to clean up yet and his once brown eyes had a red glint in them. His skin was pale and lips cracked. 

"Sannie," he whispered, somehow afraid that if he spoke any louder, he would have growled instead. He shut his eyes tightly but that didn't help as it only amplified his other senses. San smelt like fragrant grapes that would soon be ripe for the plucking. Wooyoung wanted to taste it. Drink it. He gasped at his thoughts and also took a step back. Yunho noticed his internal battle and cheered him on quietly. 

"I'm right here. Everything is alright," San said softly, trying to convince himself as well. 

"San, I miss you," Wooyoung said to distract himself as he tried to look at San again. 

"I miss you too." San wanted to pull him into a hug and comfort him but knew he had to help his friend be better first. Wooyoung swallowed another lump as he shifted forward a little. 

"San ah, just wait a little longer... I'll be right by you soon," Wooyoung said with a thin smile and looked at Yunho who understood the look. 

"Wooyoung?" 

"I'm afraid this is his limit for now, San. We can try it again tomorrow," Yunho said and slowly closed the door. San felt his heart sink further but couldn't do anything about it. "You've done really well, Wooyoung. You held back any signs of aggression and also kept yourself stable." 

Wooyoung collapsed onto the bed and let out a whimper as he fought back his tears. How could he think about drinking his friend's blood? How could he even think about hurting him? 

"It'll take time," Yunho said and gave Wooyoung a pat on the shoulder. "For now, let's focus on what we can do, okay?" 

"I'm... so... thirsty, Yunho," Wooyoung whispered and wiped his tears away. "I was fine when it was just you and Jongho... but the moment I saw San... it's like my entire throat became dry and I wanted... I wanted to sink my fangs into him and drink... everything." 

"It'll be like that. That's why you need to learn control," Yunho said. Jongho joined them with a carton in his hand. 

"Dying of thirst yet?" he asked and Wooyoung glanced at him. 

"It really hurts," Wooyoung whined and tried to soothe it with his saliva but it didn't help at all. 

"Here, drink this," Jongho said and tossed him the carton which he caught. 

"What is it?" 

"Blood." 

Wooyoung yelped and tossed the carton onto his bed. "Why would you give that to me? I said before that I don't want to drink that." 

"You have to, if you want to have better chances of not drinking your friend up. It's just animal blood. Seonghwa hyung stopped drinking human blood a long time ago." 

"Do you think that's going to make me feel any better?" Wooyoung scoffed and hugged his legs. 

"But it'll help you with your thirst," Yunho said and Wooyoung tilted his head to look at Yunho. "Look. You can't not drink either. If you stay off it, it'll gradually eat up your lifespan instead."

"Then...maybe I won't live as long as a vampire. I can live a normal human lifespan," Wooyoung said, hoping that it was convincing but he couldn't stop the burning sensation in his throat that screamed for blood. His gaze even shifted over to the carton on the bed and he swallowed again. 

"It doesn't work that way," Jongho sighed. "You'll get weaker and weaker. You won't be able to move or do anything just like you wouldn't if you didn't eat or drink for days. It's not a fun feeling." 

"But what if getting a taste of blood makes me crave more?" 

"It works like water, Wooyoung. Once your thirst is quenched and your hunger satiated, you won't need it again until your next thirst." 

"Then what about all those shows about vampires going wild for blood or things like that?" 

"Hence why we exercise control," Jongho sighed, feeling his head hurt even though it wasn't as he tried to convince Wooyoung to drink the blood. "The better control you have over it, the less likely you are to randomly bite someone." 

"How does it taste like...?" Wooyoung asked nervously as he picked up the carton. He breathed in and slowly opened it. 

"It tastes different to all of us just like regular food. Some vampires can't even stand the taste of it which is why they can't help but to only drink human blood. So far I haven't heard of a vampire who loves animal blood more, not even Seonghwa hyung." 

Wooyoung opened the carton and the whiff of blood made him gulp. Unlike San's grape-like smell, this smelt like meat. The irony scent. He wondered if this was why vampires drink human blood. He slowly took a sip, letting the blood swirl around in his mouth before it slid down his throat, making him hungrier and also soothing the aching pain in his throat. It had a metallic taste that he wasn't certain if he liked but he could accept it as he tried to take his time to down it. He wanted to consume it all instantly from how thirsty he was but knew he had to learn control. Control. He had to. He couldn't afford to lose this battle against himself. 

"Hah... hah...," Wooyoung panted after the carton was emptied and he wiped his lips, eyes enlarging at the sight of the blood on his hand. He it up and his lips as well. 

"Better?" Yunho asked and Wooyoung nodded. 

"Much..." He felt his energy come back almost instantaneously and wondered if his body was more like a battery now. Even as a human, he wouldn't have felt refreshed this quickly after a meal. "I want... more." 

"Once a week is enough but since you just turned, you will need more to recover so take one everyday until we say otherwise," Jongho said while Wooyoung started to the inside of the carton, not wanting to waste a single drop. Jongho and Yunho both understood how difficult it was to control their thirst at first. It would drive you crazy but it was something they had to force themselves to learn or they would be just like those others who didn't care who they drank or how many. 

"Hah... San would taste so much sweeter," Wooyoung whispered, not even realising that his thoughts were slipping out of his tongue. "So so much... better." 

"Snap out of it, Wooyoung," Yunho said and Wooyoung flinched. 

"S-sorry."

"You're forbidden from drinking from San," Jongho said firmly. "Even if he offers you his blood, you must never ever drink from him. Do you understand?" 

"Why?" 

"For reasons that are privy to us for now but that is Seonghwa hyung's rule to you. You must never ever! Ever! Drink from San. For both your own sakes," Jongho repeated and Wooyoung nodded. 

"Not like I plan to," he said despite his instincts telling him otherwise now that he knew what San's scent was like. 

÷÷÷

A knock followed by the door opening before Seonghwa met Hongjoong's eyes ever since the time in his office. It hadn't been that long since they last met and already, Seonghwa felt irritated just looking at him. 

"By the looks on your face, I can see your anger still has not been appeased." 

"You attacked my son and my son's friend. Tell me why I should not be angry, if not angrier, at you?" Seonghwa said but moved aside to let him in since he didn't want to have an argument in the hallway. He shut the door once the other was inside and already headed to the bed. 

"I did that for a reason," Hongjoong said. 

"If not to incur my wrath, then what else would it be?" 

"Because it was a request made to me by the Overseer." 

Seonghwa couldn't tell if the other was being serious or not. "Why do you care what the Overseer wants?" 

"I didn't really care. Not until he mentioned that he wanted your fake son." 

Seonghwa frowned and decided to play along for now. "What does he want with my son?" 

"He wants the boy with your son and your son plays an important role in whatever it is he's plotting."

"The boy...? Who are you talking about?" 

"Wooyoung? I think that's his name." 

Seonghwa became confused at this point but he had no choice but to believe Hongjoong because he was almost certain that Hongjoong didn't even know Wooyoung and Wooyoung had only become a vampire recently so there was no way that Hongjoong would suddenly have an interest in him. He was not that kind of person and even if he did become that person, why would his lackey drink from Wooyoung if the boy was this important? 

"Well, I can't say I have much interest in helping the Overseer in whatever it is he wants but I did do it to mostly get your attention." 

"Do you even realise what you have done?" Seonghwa said in a low tone, trying to keep his anger calm. 

"I got you to seek me out. That was all I wanted," Hongjoong said and Seonghwa leaped at the other, pushing him down onto the bed harshly. 

"You almost killed him! I had to turn him to save his life. Wooyoung had nothing to do with us, neither did San. But because of you, both of them... both of them are suffering now because of that!" Seonghwa yelled at Hongjoong who stared back at his ex. 

"I told my men not to hurt them," Hongjoong said and Seonghwa punched him. 

"Did you now? Did you?! Cause I know for a fact with my own eyes that one of them almost drank Wooyoung dry!" 

Hongjoong blinked and looked panicked as he finally realised why Seonghwa had gone on a frenzy, killing off his people and taking down his turf. He had thought that the other just hated him this much after what he did before but it turned out to be much worse. "So you turned him... and came to find me... because you wanted to know why I did what I did." 

"And your answer... your answer is just because you wanted me to find you? Do you realise how selfish you sound right now? Hurting an innocent boy just to get to me? How can you even still think about forgiveness when you pull a stunt like this?" 

"I didn't know they would do that," Hongjoong whispered, knowing how lame he seemed now. He had just wanted to rattle them a little. 

"So yes, yes I'm upset, Hongjoong. I forgave you for killing Yunho. I forgave you for killing San's parents... I did. But why... enough is enough," Seonghwa said with pain in his voice. "All you had to say was that you were sorry. Was that too much to ask for? Did you have to drag my son and his friend into this? Two youngsters who haven't even had the chance to live out their life? Even if it was a request from the Overseer.... Don't you love me enough to know what would hurt me?" 

Hongjoong gulped and stared at Seonghwa's teary eyes. Seonghwa didn't know if he was sad or frustrated anymore. Now that he had actually punched Hongjoong, it didn't make him feel any better. In fact, it only made him feel worse because even after all these years being apart and Hongjoong's tendencies to take certain things too far, he loved the man. He felt upset at himself because he couldn't bring himself to move on despite knowing the things Hongjoong had done because everything he did, he did it for him. 

"Why... why couldn't you just have told me that the Overseer wanted San and Wooyoung...? Why did you have to do something so roundabout?" 

"Hwa..." 

"Just tell me the truth."

"Fine. The Overseer had another prophecy recently. While he omitted a lot of details, he told me that in order for that prophecy to come true, he had to have Wooyoung and San. That's why I came back to find you and asked you to join me in the competition to be the next vampire lord. It's the only thing I could think of to protect your little human family but then you rejected me so I sent people to disturb Wooyoung and San. I didn't think they would harm them and you would end up turning Wooyoung because it never made sense to me why the Overseer found two humans so important."

"...." Seonghwa rubbed away his tears and climbed off from Hongjoong. Like a puzzle trying to piece itself together, Seonghwa was trying to understand what was going on too. "What if... he saw that you had to be the one to send your people and that's why I would have to turn Wooyoung into a vampire to save him... That would mean we played right into his hands."

"You're right." 

Seonghwa bit his lip, wanting to deny that everything was going just the way the Overseer had wanted. He stood up quickly and gasped. "Does this mean... me being away from them was also a trap?" 

"Do you really think the Overseer could see all these finer details?" Hongjoong asked and tilted his head. 

"Do you think I care what he can see? I'm going back now." 

"Huh? Already?" 

"I'm not here to reconcile with you, Hongjoong. I'm just here so that you know not to mess with my family anymore but it seems like you're not even the biggest threat to it. The Overseer is." 

Hongjoong grabbed Seonghwa's wrist to stop him. "Listen to me, Hwa. Don't go against the Overseer."

"If he plans to hurt my son, then he better watch his own back." 

"San is not your son! He never was. Will never be." 

"I raised and love him. I have every right to call him my son. Don't you dare tell me he isn't. Let go." 

"Seonghwa ah, please. Just promise me. Whatever you do, don't put yourself in danger for that human child. You know what he is." 

"You're in no position to talk about him like that." Seonghwa yanked his arm away. "I loved you and I love you but I can't be with you anymore, Hongjoong. So... just forget about me. Whatever happens, I'll take care of it by myself." 

Hongjoong couldn't say more since he knew Seonghwa had made up his mind. He knew saying anything else would only make the other distant himself more so he let him leave, knowing that this wouldn't be the last time they meet again. Their paths were intertwined after all, sometimes never touching but always meeting at some point.