Hyukjae.

It was that voice again. That cold and dark voice which had been calling him, but he couldn’t tell who it was. It was pitch black around him, but Hyukjae knew it wasn’t safe to be here. He had to go back to where Donghae was.

Hyukjae, come. Come to me.

No one was around him, but he could still hear the voice calling out to him, and this time, it was clearer than before. Who would that be? Now that he listened carefully, it wasn’t Minho’s voice. It was someone else’s. Who?

“Lord Hyukjae!”

Hyukjae’s eyes shot open, and a relieved sigh immediately escaped his lips upon seeing Kris standing in front of him. “Don’t scare me, Kris...”

“That was what I’d like to say,” Kris said as he hunkered down beside the blonde, “What in the world were you thinking sleeping in the backyard?”

As if he had just woken up from a deep sleep, Hyukjae’s eyes went wide as he scanned his surrounding, only now realizing that he wasn’t inside Donghae’s mansion. He didn’t even remember leaving Donghae’s room last night. He went to sleep before Donghae, and that was it. There was no way he’d step out of the mansion in the middle of the night and sleep in the backyard alone.

“My lord,” Kris quickly helped the blonde to stand on his feet when he noticed him shivering, his face getting even paler by the minute. “Let’s get you inside. You might get sick like this.”

“K-kris...” Hyukjae gripped on the latter’s arm tightly, as if his life was depending on it, “What...what happened?”

“I’m not so sure myself. Donghae barged into my room telling me that he couldn’t find you.”

“I...I didn’t leave my room. I swear. I didn’t-“

“I know. I believe you.”

It didn’t manage to calm Hyukjae even a bit though. He didn’t feel good about this at all. He was still shivering even when they were already inside the mansion, his whole body was aching, and he felt like throwing up. Every step that he took felt so heavy that he wanted to just lie down on the floor, and get rid of the pain.

Donghae was already there waiting for him when he entered his room, and before he could say a word, the latter pulled him into his arms, securing him in his tight embrace. Hyukjae smiled. This, at least, was able to make him feel a little better.

“I thought I was going to die when I didn’t see you in my room,” Donghae said.

“I didn’t... I didn’t leave. I don’t know how I-“

“I know, let’s just get some rest. You’re freezing.”

Hyukjae didn’t argue when the latter carried him in his arms and placed him down on the bed. He was too tired to take even a step forward. He immediately snuggled closer as Donghae wrapped his hands around him, letting himself getting engulfed in his warmth.

“Donghae...”

“What?”

“I had a nightmare.”

“About what?”

“I was in a very dark place, and you weren’t there. Someone was calling me, but his voice scared me.”

“Don’t answer then.”

“Why?”

“You promised not to leave me.”

“Yeah, I did,” Hyukjae nodded and smiled. “I promised you.”

“I won’t forgive you if you leave me, Hyukjae.”

Hyukjae’s eyes began to water as he met with Donghae’s sad gaze, but he tried hard not to shed any tear. “Do you mind if I ask you something?”

“Go on.”

“What will happen if you choose not to devour me?”

Donghae seemed a little taken aback at the sudden question, but Hyukjae was glad that he didn’t avoid his eyes this time. He was always prepared for this. From the moment he chose to stay with Donghae, he had prepared himself for what would come.

“I’ll get consumed by my own powers,” Donghae said, “And I will die in the end, slowly and painfully.”

“So you want to kill the king instead?”

“That’s the only way.”

“You might die getting killed too.”

“There’s nothing I won’t do if it means to protect you.”

“Donghae...” A drop of tear fell down Hyukjae’s cheek as he leaned in, closing the little distance between them. “Why do I feel like I’m the one who’s losing you?”

Instead of saying anything, Donghae just held him tighter, as if he was letting him know that he wasn’t going anywhere. That was when Hyukjae noticed the strange mark on his arm, and it somehow gave him a bad feeling when he looked at it. It might be his mind playing tricks on him, but he felt like it was glowing, and the colour seemed to be slowly darkening.

“Is there something you want to tell me, Donghae?” Hyukjae asked.

“No, why?”

“Nothing, I was just asking.”

“Do you want to go somewhere today? You’ve never really seen other sides of this world.”

“I thought you said there’s nothing here.”

“Except for this one place that I’m sure you’d like.”

“Really?” Hyukjae looked up at the latter, somehow feeling a little relieved to see him smiling again. He felt like years had passed since he last saw the smile on Donghae’s face. “Where would that be?”

“I’ll take you there.”

For the first time ever, Hyukjae wasn’t so excited to go out with the latter, because he was too afraid that this might be the last time they could spend a day together. He was prepared for all of kinds of things, but being apart from Donghae would definitely break him.

“Let’s just have fun,” Donghae said, “It kills me to see you sad like this.”

Hyukjae chuckled. “What are you saying? I’m always happy when you’re with me.”

“So don’t leave, don’t ever leave. Don’t walk away from me.”

It sounded so sad in Hyukjae’s ears. But he didn’t want to cry right now. He had to be strong, for Donghae’s sake.

“If I ever leave you,” he whispered, “Don’t forgive me.

____________________________

“Wow,” Hyukjae stared in complete awe at his surrounding, studying every single thing he saw around him.

Fresh flowers, a beautiful blue lake, green trees, the sound of birds chirping, and the beautiful light reflected on the surface of the lake. Never once had he expected to see this kind of place in this world where the deadly devils reside, let alone seeing a single ray of light shining in here.

“I know you’d like it here,” Donghae said.

“Are you sure we’re still in Eosforos?”

“Yes we are.”

“I’ve never thought such place like this exists in your world.”

“You can think of it like an oasis,” Donghae said as he intertwined their hands and pulled the blonde along with him, heading towards