"Why can't you even cook a proper meal for yourself? You look so skinny, Sannie," Wooyoung said and pouted as they trained his thirst again. He was much better already since he was also taking small doses of blood from the carton. He tried to think of San's scent as perfume no matter how difficult that proved to be. 

 

"I've always been skinny, Young ah." 

 

"No, you were a bit more muscular before. My poor Sannie." 

 

San smiled and stared at his friend who flicked his eyelashes. "You're the same too. You look dehydrated." 

 

"I'm fine. Jongho said I'll look horrible right now because I'm not drinking enough blood to recover from the turning. My body is having a more difficult time than it would if I had a good first drink." 

 

"Is it because it's not human blood?" San asked and Wooyoung shrugged as he took another sip. 

 

"I'm still not too sure what the differences are but according to them, the nutrition value shouldn't be any different. It's just... the satisfaction of a hunt and the quenching of my thirst are different." 

 

San felt relieved that Wooyoung was still adapting to it. He knew if this happened to him, he would probably be a total wreck. He wondered if this was why Seonghwa didn't want him to know about this. "Ah.... I hope you can come out faster... I'm not sure what to tell your parents anymore." 

 

"Why are you even worrying about that?" Wooyoung chuckled. "Yunho handed me my phone so I've been contacting my mum. I told her we are working on a group project so hopefully that'll make it less suspicious for now." 

 

"Really? That's a relief. I feel bad for lying to them. They're such sweet people," San said. The two of them could just continue rambling about nothing and everything even if they ran out of topics so that was exactly what they did for the next few hours until San started to feel sleepy since it was already past midnight. 

 

"Go and sleep, San ah. Don't sleep here or your back will hurt." 

 

"Mmm... maybe I can bring my mattress here." 

 

"Go up to your bed and sleep," Wooyoung giggled at how cute his friend was with his closed eyes and mumbled words. He was glad that San was his friend. "Oh, Yunho." 

 

"Seems like you already made lots of progress today," the vampire who had just arrived said and Wooyoung nodded in triumph. 

 

"Of course. I've always been a decently fast learner and... I don't want to see San sad or guilty about this anymore." 

 

"Is he asleep?" 

 

Wooyoung nodded and stood up, stretching his back. "Could I ask you to bring him upstairs please? Since I can't do it myself." 

 

"Sure." Yunho lifted the sleeping male into his arms and Wooyoung waved his fingers to San even though he was asleep. 

 

"Sleep well, San ah. Good night." 

 

Yunho went upstairs and placed San down onto his bed, tucking him in. Just as he was about to leave, a hand grabbed him. The vampire looked down at San whose eyes were barely even open. 

 

"Did appa leave me...?" San whispered and Yunho raised his brows. He squatted down and patted San's hand. 

 

"Seonghwa hyung will never do that to you," he said gently. "He's probably just having some trouble." 

 

"Then shouldn't we save him?" San mumbled sleepily as he tried to cling onto his consciousness. 

 

"Your appa is not weak. You don't have to worry about him. Worry about yourself more," Yunho sighed and San nodded, eyes closing as he fell asleep. Yunho stood up and tucked San in again, wondering if Seonghwa was fine too but the other had already ordered him and Jongho not to find him. He had no choice but to be patient as well. He went downstairs again to find Wooyoung standing at the opened door, waiting for him with wide eyes. 

 

"What's wrong?" Yunho asked and Wooyoung shook his head, taking a step back. 

 

"Is San asleep?" he asked and Yunho nodded. "That's good. So what's on today's itinerary?" 

 

"More strength training and I think we can try to lower the barrier tomorrow."

 

"Hey, Yunho?" 

 

"Yeah?" 

 

"How did you become a vampire?" 

 

Yunho blinked as he shut the door behind him. "Me? Well... I died and Seonghwa turned me, of course." 

 

"But how? How did you two meet and how did you die?" 

 

Yunho cleared his throat and rubbed his neck before flinching a smidge from his memories. "It was a long time ago. Back then, it was still... when Kings ruled. It was a pretty difficult time. I was... well, a Prince." 

 

Wooyoung gasped in awe. A real Prince standing in front of him? He couldn't be more excited to hear how the rest of the story went so he hopped onto bed as if it was a bedtime story to listen even if he wasn't going to sleep. 

 

"It's not as exciting as you would imagine it to be. Everything had to go by rules... it was really suffocating until I met Seonghwa hyung with his ex lover who had come here to meet with the king. They were adventurers and I was intrigued by them. I've always wanted to go out and see the world, a pipe dream everyone has... I suppose."

 

"It's still a good dream," Wooyoung said. 

 

"Anyway, Jongho is my step brother and since I was first in line to the throne, his mother didn't really like me." 

 

"Jongho is also a Prince?" 

 

"Only after the remarriage happened. I spent a lot of time with Seonghwa hyung whenever I could and his mother saw it as an opportunity to assassinate me and pin the blame on Seonghwa hyung but that didn't happen." 

 

"What happened then?" 

 

"His ex lover found me waiting for hyung one day and killed me first. Technically, he injured me really badly to the brink of death. When hyung found out, he was really angry about it and I didn't want to die so he turned me." 

 

"How did Jongho get turned then?" Wooyoung asked curiously, getting more excited about the story. 

 

"After I became a vampire, I went back to the Palace. I didn't know then what would happen. If I knew, I wouldn't have gone back. The assassins attacked me and Jongho knew this was going to happen so he was waiting for me. He tried to save me but in the process, got hurt himself instead. I brought him to see hyung and he didn't want to turn Jongho at first."

 

"Why not?" 

 

"The thing about being turned into a vampire is that the person who bit you becomes your Maker. You can share your powers among one another, although the ability would be halved. Seonghwa hyung didn't want his abilities to fall into the wrong hands. He saved me without much thought because he had already spent enough time with me to know the person that I am but he didn't know Jongho at all. Also, he didn't want me to be wrecked with guilt if Jongho ever regretted it, just like how San is right now. In the end, Seonghwa hyung trusted me and turned Jongho. That's how we became vampires."

 

Wooyoung clapped lightly and beamed. "What about Seonghwa appa's ex lover? What happened to him?" 

 

"Still annoying hyung as usual," Jongho cut in and Wooyoung jumped from his sudden appearance. "He attacked Yunho because he was jealous of how much time hyung was spending with him. Can you imagine how selfish that is... and why hyung keeps choosing to forgive him is beyond my imagination." 

 

"Seonghwa hyung is too kind hearted at times," Yunho sighed. "He loves Hongjoong hyung and if he hadn't turned me, I would have been killed by the assassins too." 

 

"Hongjoong?" Wooyoung whispered. He felt as if he knew the name and recently heard it too. 

 

"Why are you even sharing our story to him? I thought we were way past that." 

 

"He wanted to know and I guess it's fair to tell him about our abilities too since we can share them." 

 

"Ooh~ what about me? Do I have an ability too?" Wooyoung asked excitedly and Yunho shrugged. 

 

"It's something that manifests on its own. Only time will tell. Not everyone gets an ability either and not everyone is capable of using them too."

 

"What are your abilities?" 

 

"I can transform into animals. The better I know their anatomy, the easier it is for me to transform into them. I can't simply transform into something I don't know."

 

"That's so cool," Wooyoung chuckled and turned to Jongho with high expectations but was met with an unbothered expression instead. 

 

"Mine isn't anything fancy. I can create barriers like the one surrounding the room but I typically use them as boxing gloves or a cage to trap people." 

 

"Woah~ You mean like creating a barrier around your hands only?" 

 

"Yes, that's the gist of it." 

 

"That's amazing! You're so smart," Wooyoung chirped and looked at his own hands. "Can I learn to use them?" 

 

"We can try it tomorrow but we would have to leave the house. Wouldn't want to destroy any furniture by accident," Yunho said and Wooyoung nodded enthusiastically. 

 

"I wonder what my ability is. I hope it's something cool too. Oh. What is Seonghwa appa's ability?" 

 

"He can swap things around but there are some requirements to it. We generally don't use it because it takes a lot of focus and practice to do it right." 

 

"Swap things around..." Wooyoung felt like a magician despite not knowing if he could do it yet or not but one could imagine. 

 

"It's easier to just punch them at full strength," Jongho said and Wooyoung laughed awkwardly but he understood why that would appeal to Jongho more. The male was much stronger than he looked even though Yunho was taller than him. He was certain if Jongho ever hit him, even if he was a vampire or not, he would probably get broken ribs. 

 

"This is all very exciting," Wooyoung said and Yunho was glad the male finally didn't look so depressed as he had before. 

 

"Of course, the only way from here is up," Yunho said and he meant it. After all, he had been there at the low. Seonghwa had struggled to teach them since the other had always been a vampire and if it hadn't been for Jongho's support as well, Yunho wasn't sure if he would have been able to stay sane for this long. 

 

"Hmm... I wonder if San would get excited about this too." 

 

÷÷÷

 

"That's the boy?" 

 

"Yes and the two guard dogs." 

 

"And what about the human boy?" 

 

"We will attack tomorrow. Somin will be with me. BM and Jiwoo will be together. You two will take care of the guards and we will grab the boys." 

 

"Why do you get to decide what we do?" the female vampire with blond hair scoffed. 

 

"I'm open to any complaints and changes," the one who had suggested the plan sighed. 

 

"Let's just go with it. J Seph already took our abilities into consideration too. We can escape with them better than fighting those two while you two lean towards fighting more than us." 

 

"I know. I just wanted to be the one to suggest it." 

 

"So we are all agreed on the plan?" 

 

The other three vampires didn't voice any more comments and continued to stalk their prey. 

 

÷÷÷

 

"I'm putting down the barrier now. Be careful," Jongho said as he lifted his hands. He moved them apart and the barrier started to dissolve from the room. Wooyoung gulped as he looked at San who was standing right outside the door, waiting for them to come out. Once the barrier was fully down, he stepped out from the room and beamed as he headed up to San. He threw himself onto the male who returned the hug tightly. Even though his scent definitely became more intense from their close proximity, Wooyoung had already steeled himself the best he could. 

 

"It's been too long, San ah," Wooyoung giggled and couldn't help smiling from ear to ear. San nodded and held back a tiny tear from leaking as he buried himself onto Wooyoung as well. The other felt cold unlike before but he didn't care. As long as Wooyoung was alive (or undead), that was all that mattered. 

 

"I'm so glad you're doing great too," San said and Wooyoung squeezed his arms. 

 

"Did you even eat properly? You're so thin now." 

 

"Ah... well, you know I can't really cook much so... I guess I haven't been eating as well as I could have been." 

 

"You should have just ordered take outs." 

 

"I didn't have much appetite ei-" 

 

"Alright. Let's not spend all night at the front of the door," Yunho chuckled, glad to see the two reunited in each other's arms as well. He could tell that they had a special bond but chose not to act upon it. He wasn't one to comment on it though. 

 

"Right. Come with us, San," Wooyoung said excitedly. 

 

"Outside? Are you sure you're alright with that?" 

 

"After days of locking myself in, I'm going to go crazy if I don't leave. Also, you have a really nice house. Just a little sad that I have to come here in this way." Wooyoung pouted and San cupped his cheeks. 

 

"I'm sorry about that," San said and their eyes met. It was just for a split moment but Wooyoung almost leaned in before Jongho's face distracted them. They both jumped away and cleared their throats. 

 

"Wooyoung, remember that you have to keep yourself under control at all times," Jongho reminded him and Wooyoung pouted again. He wasn't going to drink San's blood. No... what was he going to do again? San's face had an obvious change in color but thankfully they were headed out into the dark so nobody noticed it. 

 

"Will you be fine coming out like this?" Wooyoung asked San as they both stuck close to each other. 

 

"Why are you asking me that? You're just as afraid of the dark as I am." 

 

"Because I can see better in the dark now. Though I do miss the warm sunlight too. Ah! But that doesn't mean I don't love the night. I love it too," Wooyoung quickly said. He took a deep breath and felt his senses waking up. There were so many new scents that he hadn't known existed before. 

 

"I'll be fine as long as I know you're safe," San whispered, the memory of that night still vivid in his mind. "So where are we going?" 

 

"I found an open park the other night when I was taking a flight," Yunho said as he led the way. "It should have enough space for us to stretch our limbs." 

 

"I don't think I've come to this side before," Wooyoung said as he looked around the area. He did stay on the opposite side after all so he never really had a reason to come over before. It was always San who went over to his home. 

 

"There's not much to do here," San replied and Wooyoung quirked a brow at him. 

 

"You just don't like being outside much either," he teased his friend. 

 

"That's true..." 

 

"If you weren't so warm and came out in the sun, I might have thought that you are a vampire," Wooyoung said jokingly. "You prefer indoors and you're sometimes awake for long hours at night." 

 

"When you put it that way... appa barely even hid the fact that he was a vampire from me. He had his blood in the cartons in the fridge that he knew I wouldn't touch. He never goes out in the morning and he always keeps the curtains closed." 

 

"So you're just gullible," Wooyoung teased and San frowned. 

 

"I'm perfectly fine," he whined and they reached the park. 

 

"Finally. Come on, Wooyoung. Show us what you've got," Yunho said and motioned the younger to follow them.

 

"I'm going to go ahead. Stand somewhere that I can see you," Wooyoung said to San who chuckled and nodded, lowering his arm that had been resting on the other's shoulder. 

 

"Since when did you become the protective one?" 

 

"Since I'm now faster than you!" he chirped and ran ahead to catch up with Jongho and Yunho who were already breaking into a sprint. San let out a sigh as he watched Wooyoung join the vampires in a race. His eyes couldn't keep up with their speed and the dark wasn't helping either. He found a lit up area and decided to linger around there. While it would have been safer for him to stay home, he didn't like to be alone. The dark scared him too but being in the dark and alone was worse if he wasn't in his bed. 

 

"Shouldn't we keep an eye on San?" Wooyoung asked and the other two looked at him with confused expressions. "If there are vampires coming to threaten Seonghwa appa, wouldn't San be in the most danger?" 

 

"From what we concluded, the one that would need protection is you and not San," Jongho said. 

 

"Why me? I just became a vampire recently. I didn't even know you guys were real until then." 

 

"We don't know either but it seems like your life is being targeted too. Seonghwa hyung told us to keep an eye on you," Yunho said and Wooyoung furrowed his brows. All these years, he lived a relatively peaceful life. He had never gotten into any real trouble before and he had also known San for a whole year so why now? What was so special or different about now? They ran one round around the park and went back to where San was in record time. "Your body is adapting really quickly." 

 

"I guess it's cause I usually do some light exercise too," Wooyoung said and ran to San who smiled at his presence. 

 

"Now that we are warmed up, not that we can be, let's see you try using an ability," Jongho said and San tilted his head since he hadn't heard about this yet. 

 

"Ooh~" 

 

"Mine is easier. So let's start with that first. Some abilities have criteria in using them, mine are my hand motions. Look closely." Jongho opened the palm of his hands and brought them closer. San and Wooyoung stared intently but couldn't tell what was going on until Jongho shut his hands and there was a sparking sound and a small glowing cube had formed before him. 

 

"Wow! How did you do that?" Wooyoung gasped and touched the cube that just floated around. 

 

"It's hard to explain that question but it's mostly from your imagination. Imagine building walls and then you shut them," Jongho said, helping Wooyoung with his hands. 

 

"Like this?" Wooyoung tried but nothing happened. He wondered if he just couldn't do it or he didn't have enough of an imagination. "Is there something I should be feeling? Or... or... anything else?" 

 

"Hmmm... it comes naturally to some of us, more than others," Jongho said. He had never really wanted to try using other people's abilities since he felt like he was strong enough with his own. Yunho's ability took too much energy and Seonghwa's needed focus. Although he had both of those qualities, Jongho didn't really think he needed them in any situation. 

 

"I'll keep trying," Wooyoung said and did the hand motions again, trying to imagine the walls as Jongho said and shut them. Shut. Shut! 

 

"Not working?" San asked, wondering how he could help his friend out since he felt sidelined. 

 

"No. I can't feel anything coming to me," Wooyoung sighed and wondered if he should try Yunho's power instead. He wanted to at least be able to do something cool. "What about yours, Yunho?" 

 

"As you probably know, I can transform into animals but to do that, you need imagination for it and also knowledge. Let's start with something simple that you should know. Think of... a dog," Yunho said as he switched places with Jongho who excused himself to run again. "Four legs. Snout. Pointy ears or floppy ears. Long tail or short tail? You have to know what you want to change into and how to move in them or else your transformation will end up iffy." 

 

"Wah... Sounds complicated," Wooyoung whined and Yunho chuckled. 

 

"It is difficult the first time around. Even I became a half man, half... something when I transformed for the first time. But now I can freely transform into some of my selected animals."

 

"Why isn't this like some anime where I can learn it in just one episode and fast forward to me knowing how to do it?" 

 

"I believe in you, Wooyoung ah," San cheered his friend. 

 

"Haha. You keep trying then. I'll go and join Jongho. If you get into any trouble, just scream," Yunho said and patted Wooyoung on the shoulder before he left as well. 

 

"Shouldn't you stay with them?" San asked worriedly since he thought they would never leave their sight. 

 

"Hmm? Ah... I'm fine being here." Wooyoung had been the one who told them that he wanted to stay with San since he knew the other would be just as afraid of the dark as he would. "We can go home after they're done with their laps." 

 

"Young ah," San whispered. 

 

"Hmm?" 

 

"I'm really sorry about all these," San apologized as he held Wooyoung's open hands. "I'm sorry for turning you without asking for your permission first... I'm sorry for getting you into trouble like this." 

 

"San ah... it's not your fault. You never wanted any of this to happen too. I'm sure your appa will be able to fix me. Maybe. Not that they know of any vampires who turned back into humans but! We can have hope, right?" 

 

"Maybe I should ask appa to turn me too. Then we can be together," San mumbled and Wooyoung frowned, pulling his hands away. 

 

"Don't think like that, San ah. I don't blame you for becoming a vampire. I'm the one who told your appa to stop you from crying. Saving me was the right choice. But if you're going to just throw away your humanity like that, I'll get upset." 

 

"Ah! Don't get upset. I'm sorry," San apologized again and hugged Wooyoung tightly. "It's just a little frustrating to me... that... I can't do anything to protect you even if we get attacked again." 

 

"Then let me protect you. I should be able to do at least that much." 

 

San was about to argue when he felt a sudden chill. He turned his head and back to Wooyoung who had also turned. "Did you feel that?" 

 

"I did. Let's go find Yunho and Jongho," Wooyoung whispered and held San's hand. They started running to find the other two but for some reason, the further they ran, the darker everything seemed to become around them until they were completely engulfed in the dark. They stopped running and Wooyoung's grip tightened on San's hand. It hurt a little but San didn't have the chance to tell him since he was panicking. 

 

"What's going on? Yunho! Jongho!" Wooyoung yelled out and took quick glances just in case anyone snuck up against them. "Yunho?!" 

 

"Why don't you two be good little boys and just fall asleep for me?" a warm comforting voice that made them feel disarmed echoed behind them. Wooyoung gasped and spun around but felt a sudden pull of weight as San collapsed. 

 

"San! Yah!" he yelped and held onto his friend who had passed out. 

 

"Now, now. Don't be frightened. I won't hurt you," the voice spoke again and Wooyoung could only see a pair of cleanly polished shoes before a finger tapped him on the forehead. He felt a surge of power course through him but instead of making him feel strong, he grew tired instead and his head drooped. His last view was that of San being picked up from his lap. "Sleep well, little sheep. Thank you for making my job this easy." 

 

Meanwhile on the other side of the park, Yunho and Jongho were intercepted by the other two vampires as they had planned. 

 

"Their target has to be Wooyoung and San," Yunho growled as they had been a little careless. 

 

"Surely, Wooyoung can take care of himself now," Jongho sighed and lifted his fists but even he felt something was wrong. For starters, their opponents looked too lax or maybe they were overconfident. 

 

"Are you sure you can afford to be caring about others with us in front of you?" the tall blonde male asked in a slightly weird accent. 

 

"You've got another thing coming if you think we should be afraid," Jongho scoffed. He exchanged glances with Yunho as they both took notice of the shorter vampire next to the male. It was a blonde female and she didn't look like an easy target either. Both of them had rather menacing auras about them and they knew this wasn't going to be as easy as Hongjoong's lackey. "Who sent you?" 

 

"Does it matter? Let's play. I'm BM, by the way." 

 

"Doesn't matter to me." Jongho opened his palms and clapped his hands close, expecting it to be a quick battle but the two dodged his attack despite him making his barrier invisible. 

 

"We know your tricks. It won't work against us," BM chuckled and doved in to attack Jongho who sent a punch that connected with the other's foot. They bounced off one another and immediately went in for another hit. Yunho turned into a bird and started to fly towards the other two's direction but was stopped abruptly by the female vampire who kicked him down. He gasped and quickly transformed back before he landed to cushion his own fall. He had never thought someone could kick him out of midair like that. The female vampire landed lightly on her feet and Yunho stood up. 

 

"Is that all you have?" she asked and went into a fighting stance again. 

 

"I really don't want to hurt anyone," Yunho grumbled. 

 

"Not my problem," she scoffed and attacked him. Jongho wouldn't usually have much problem fighting anyone but every blow of BM's sent him scooting back to his surprise. The male was big and his strength was alarming too. He was almost as tall, if not taller than Yunho but the size of their muscles were vastly different. 

 

"Hey, hey. You're just going to keep blocking?" BM chuckled. "I haven't even used my ability yet." 

 

"Who are you people?" Jongho asked and tried to remain calm. He just had to look for an opening and do as he always did. Lock them in and crush them. "What do you want from Wooyoung and San?" 

 

"Huh? I don't know. I'm just here to have fun," BM replied and Jongho clicked his tongue. So this person wasn't the brain of the group. He glanced at Yunho who was having trouble trying not to hit the female who had already landed some painful blows on him. "But if you really have to know something to make you fight harder or motivate you, I guess I won't mind telling you." 

 

"BM, you know they will get upset if you tell them any information," the female groaned. 

 

"But this isn't any fun. He's not even trying to defeat me properly, Jiwoo." 

 

"It's not that they aren't trying. They're just weaker than we thought," the female, Jiwoo said, triggering the two brothers. "We are S ranks after all while they're just A ranks." 

 

"Ranks?" Yunho asked, hearing such a thing for the first time. 

 

"That's right. We are way stronger than you guys in terms of ranks," BM chuckled. "But that doesn't mean you can't get stronger so come on, man."

 

Jongho just felt irritated by the way the two were talking down at them like that. He opened his palms again and tried to trap the male again but as if he could see Jongho's every move, he smoothly jumped away. 

 

"Not good enough!" 

 

BM ducked forward and punched Jongho's barrier, pushing the other back once again. It rattled Jongho since he knew he was difficult to budge but this vampire seemed to really know how his ability worked and used it against him. Yunho transformed into a wolf this time and instead of running away, he ran towards BM instead and attacked the vampire who hopped away just before Yunho could snap his neck.

 

"This isn't going to work," Yunho growled as he stood by Jongho after returning to his body. "I don't know what kind of ranks they've been throwing around but if they're really that much stronger, we won't be able to save Wooyoung and San." 

 

"You're not suggesting that we contact Seonghwa hyung, are you?" 

 

"That's exactly what I'm suggesting. If we can't win, at least with Seonghwa hyung, we stand a chance." 

 

"Hey now. Don't go whispering amongst yourself," BM said and smirked. "Your precious Maker won't be able to save you in time. He's still a few hours away from reaching us." 

 

"We can at least warn him about Wooyoung and San. You do it," Jongho said and Yunho flinched. 

 

"Ugh... do I have to? You know I hate telepathy." 

 

"I do too. But they're not going to let us escape and save them." 

 

"Enough talk," Jiwoo scoffed and attacked them again. Jongho put up a huge wall to give time to Yunho to start the telepathy as the female vampire hit the wall hard. It wasn't as impactful as the male's but Jongho could still feel the power behind it. The only reason why they didn't like to use it was because it made them open up their mind to Seonghwa, not that Seonghwa was the problem but rather, the fact that they couldn't hide anything when the connection was open made them unwilling to use it. Seonghwa didn't blame them as he didn't like his privacy being taken away either and he understood that it would only be used for emergencies and this seemed like a better time than any to do it. 

 

Seonghwa hyung, hyung, can you hear me? 

 

Somewhere, a few hours away, Seonghwa briefly stopped running as he felt a voice coming in. He raised his head and looked around. 

 

Hyung, it's Yunho. We were ambushed. They got San and Wooyoung. We don't know exactly how many there are but the two we are up against are no joke. Even Jongho is having a difficult time against them. 

 

Yunho? 

 

Hyung! Hyung, can you hear me? 

 

Yes, I heard you. It'll take me 30 minutes at my fastest to reach you. Until then, stall them as much as you can. Don't let them get away. 

 

We will try, hyung. 

 

Seonghwa gritted his teeth and took deep breaths. He had to remain calm and collected. He had to save people that were the closest thing he had to a family. Without them, he didn't think he would still want to exist. And so, he gave it his all to run. 

 

"How did it go?" 

 

"30 minutes but we can't just waste time here. We need to find Wooyoung and San too," Yunho said and stood up. "Stall them for me. I'm going to use that." 

 

"Huh?" Jongho glanced at Yunho to find the male taking on a serious look and he wondered if there was a better way to go about this. "That is unstable. You can't hold it for long." 

 

"I'm not trying to," Yunho whispered and Jongho understood. He opened his arms wide, creating a large barrier that almost enclosed half of the park including him and Yunho. BM whistled as he looked at the scale of the barrier. 

 

"Trying to lock us all in here? My buddies should be long gone by now." 

 

"Instead of just standing around, why don't you pull your weight?" Jiwoo groaned as she stopped attacking to assess the situation. 

 

"Go!" Jongho shouted to the other two's confusion. They turned to look at Yunho who was transforming into a huge black bear and in that split second of confusion, Jongho broke into a sprint to escape from them. They had to make sure that Wooyoung and San weren't taken too far first or it'll be troublesome to find them later on. 

 

"Damn it," Jiwoo cursed and was about to go after Jongho when she realised the barrier was in her way. "He purposely made it huge first to make us think that he's closing off the fight."

 

"Seems like he got us," BM chuckled as his attention was on Yunho instead. "I wonder how much muscles bears have." 

 

"Seriously? You know Somin and J Seph are bad at fighting and you're thinking about bears?" 

 

Yunho let out a roar and charged after them, lashing out with his huge claws as they both dodged him. Sometimes, their backs hit the barrier but they would quickly recover and try to go in for a couple of hits. Their attacks seemed to land but it only made Yunho more furious as he snapped his teeth at them, roaring every so often. 

 

While Yunho fought against the two alone, Jongho ran as fast as he could to find the other two. He needed to know how many they were up against at the very least and who. He went a few miles away when he caught sight of a female walking with a dollhouse in her hands. At first glance, he wouldn't have paid much attention to her but he could tell that she wasn't human. He landed on his feet and she glanced behind. 

 

"Were you the one who took Wooyoung and San?" he asked and she shot him a glare, giving him the confirmation that he needed. She started to sprint and Jongho was surprised by her speed. BM and Jiwoo were both quick but she was just as quick, if not quicker even with a dollhouse in her hands. Jongho started to give chase and tried to build walls to block her but just like BM, she used them as leverage to get away faster instead to Jongho's irritation. He took a deep breath and decided to open his mind, reaching out to Seonghwa as much as he disliked the feeling. 

 

Seonghwa hyung, I found the one who took Wooyoung and San. She is holding a dollhouse and I think they're inside there. 

 

Dollhouse? The doll keeper? 

 

Who? 

 

Do you sense more than her and the children around you? 

 

What do you mean, hyung? 

 

I need you to focus, Jongho. I believe the group you're up against is Kard. They're a four person team. The dancer, the puppeteer, the doll keeper and the dreamer. 

 

I only encountered 3, hyung. 

 

Keep an eye on her. Stay close. Don't lose her. 

 

I'll do my best.