Siwon’s parents make it home at last and since he can’t sneak out to see Kyuhyun anymore, he finally retrieves that piece of paper with his number on it.

“Go away, I’m sleeping,” Kyuhyun mumbles the first time Siwon calls.

“But I only have right now!” Siwon cries. “I’m busy tonight!”

Kyuhyun groans and Siwon can hear him get up. “You’re just lucky I’m willing to be your Vampire guinea pig,” he mutters. “If you tried this with Heechul he’d sever all contact with you.”

Siwon jumps right into it. “You knew who I was, why didn’t you tell me who you were? Why didn’t I know? How come my parents don’t talk about you?” He doesn’t elaborate further, he knows that Kyuhyun can figure out what he’s talking about.

Kyuhyun sighs in resignation. “Because I have no interest in assuming the role of head of the Council. I don’t go to meetings with your parents, I only hear about them through my sister. I recognized you because Jessica talks about your parents and she knew they had a son named Siwon. I didn’t tell you about my blood status because it means nothing to me.”

“But it means something to everyone else around you,” Siwon points out. “I had a right to know how people were going to treat me.”

Kyuhyun is quiet for a few seconds. “You’re right.”

Siwon startles and yanks his phone away to stare at it incredulously. He hadn’t expected Kyuhyun to agree with him.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell,” he continues and Siwon’s jaw drops.

“Uh, I forgive you.” Siwon stammers.

“Good,” Kyuhyun says happily. “Now, was there anything else you wanted to ask?”

“No,” Siwon says hurriedly. He’s done enough for one night.

Siwon goes to bed with his mind buzzing. Kyuhyun actually listened to him, and he agreed with his point of view—he even apologized for not being honest! He can’t remember the last time an adult ever admitted to him that they were wrong, never mind to say sorry for it.

‘Maybe,’ Siwon thinks, ‘Living for so long doesn’t make them crazy. Maybe it makes them stronger, wiser. Maybe it’s not a horrible thing. Maybe the vampires are here to teach us.’

For two weeks, Siwon calls Kyuhyun every day. His questions range from general information about Vampires to more personal questions. Kyuhyun answers nearly all of them, but he refuses to tell Siwon what year he was turned in.

“My human age is 23,” He says. “That’s enough for you.”

Siwon starts losing sleep and getting distracted in school, so much so that one day he almost doesn’t notice when a girl starts walking home with him after school.

“I didn’t know you went here too.”

He nearly falls over. “Sunkyu!”

She smiles brightly and punches him in the shoulder. “Since when did you go here?” She demands.

“Forever, what about you?” Siwon fires back.

Sunkyu shrugs. “About two years, but I’m almost never in because I’m sick all the time.”

Siwon eyes her. “Do you have a weak immune system?”

She shakes her head. “Weak kidneys,” she says simply. “I have to go on dialysis soon.”

Siwon swallows hard. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”

“It’s not something I usually talk about,” Sunkyu tells him, waving her hand dismissively.

Siwon looks around to make sure nobody is listening. They’re a couple blocks away from school, almost nobody they know is around.

“Are you…do you have a sponsor?” He finally asks.

Sunkyu nods and bounces a bit. “Yep. Her name is Sooyoung. She saw me in the hospital. My parents could barely afford the treatment I needed, so she offered to sponsor me. My family lives in Busan, so I don’t see them often, but I call them all the time and I’m getting the best medical treatment possible. When I’m older she is going to turn me.”

“Your parents were okay with that?” Siwon asks incredulously.

Sunkyu’s smile falters. “They wanted me to stay alive,” she says. “This was their best option. Their only option.”

They walk in silence for a few minutes, lost in their own thoughts. Sunkyu stops a few blocks later.

“I have to go this way,” she says, pointing down the block.

Siwon nods. “It was good to see you again.”

“It was good to see you too,” Sunkyu tells him warmly. “If you want to talk, I’m here for you.”

She takes a step away but quickly turns back. “Kyuhyun is a good man. I don’t know what you’ve heard about him, but if you’re worried about his intentions, all he ever wants to do is help people.” She looks Siwon dead in the eyes. “If he tells you that he wants to help you, or wants to be your friend, he means it.”

Siwon can’t help but to shiver at the intensity in her voice. When he gets home he sees that Kyuhyun texted him.

‘I hear your parents are traveling abroad next week. Who is staying with you?’

Siwon sends back, ‘Nobody. I stay by myself.’

A few minutes later he gets a reply. ‘Don’t you get lonely?’

Siwon decides honesty is the best policy. ‘All the time. Why do you think I ran away on my birthday?’

The reply comes quicker this time. ‘Do you want to stay at my place? I’m in and out sporadically but if you get really desperate for company, my door is open.’

Siwon hesitates. He met Kyuhyun literally three weeks ago, does he trust him enough to stay in his house with him, alone?

He surprises himself by thinking that yes, he does. Kyuhyun has shown him no ill feelings thus far, he even sent Siwon to Lotte World for his birthday! Siwon can probably trust Kyuhyun more than his parents publicist at any rate, and he’s been alone with that guy very often over the years.

Siwon replies to the message. ‘Where do you live?’

*             *             *

Siwon waits a grand total of two hours before he goes over to Kyuhyun’s place. Kyuhyun seems surprised to see Siwon at his door, even though Siwon texted him three times to ask for directions.

Siwon is surprised too, but more so at the interior of Kyuhyun’s apartment.

“It’s so…”

Empty, he thinks first. Small is the second thing A standard off-white couch, a coffee table, and a TV in the living room. From what he can see of the kitchen it’s very small, standard stove and refrigerator. There’s one hallway branching off into what he assumes is the bathroom/bedroom. It’s all painted white. The only thing that seems to stand out is that the wall opposite the front door is made entirely of glass, and they’re on the tenth floor so it’s a pretty impressive view.

“Clean.”

Kyuhyun laughs. “Yes, I suppose it is.”

Siwon steps inside carefully, almost afraid to take up space.

“Did you just move here?”

Kyuhyun shakes his head. “I’ve lived here for almost five years.”

Siwon stares at him. There’s almost no personal items, no pictures, CDs or DVDs. He wonders if they’re all in Kyuhyun’s room.

“I’m almost never here,” Kyuhyun says quickly. “I’m always either out with Heechul and Jungsu or my sister.”

Even so, Siwon thinks.

“Are you hungry?” Kyuhyun asks.

“Yes,” Siwon blurts, even though he ate before he left. Kyuhyun smiles, a bit relieved it seems.

“Do you want to go out to eat?”

“Sure.” Anything to make this less awkward.

Kyuhyun takes him to a little American-style restaurant in Hongdae. The waitress knows Kyuhyun by name and winks at Siwon as she seats them and gives them some water. “Kinda young, isn’t he?” She teases Kyuhyun, ruffling his hair. “Cradle robber.”

Siwon blushes furiously and Kyuhyun waves her off. “Go do your job Victoria.”

When she leaves Kyuhyun reaches across the table to knock Siwon gently on the head.

“Stop freaking out,” He commands. “Victoria is teasing me, not you.”

Siwon swallows thickly and reaches for the glass of water in front of him. “Sorry,” he mutters against the rim of the cup.

Kyuhyun’s tone softens. “You don’t have to apologize for it…just,” he pauses and sighs. “It’s vampire humor,” he says finally. “Everyone is young compared to me. I could walk in here with a 60 year old woman and Victoria would still call me a cradle robber.”

“Oh,” Siwon says weakly.

“Regardless of whether or not we were romantically involved.” He continues.

“Oh,” Siwon repeats, blush returning. “Okay that’s um…good to know.”

Kyuhyun nods. “So, what do you want to eat?” he asks, breezing on and pretending he doesn’t notice how relieved Siwon is.

*             *             *

Once they get past the awkwardness, Siwon finds that he really enjoys Kyuhyun’s company, even if he hates his apartment. Siwon mentions it on his third day staying over. Kyuhyun lets Siwon sleep in his room, and to be honest it’s not much better than the rest of his house.

“What would make it better?” Kyuhyun asks.

Siwon shrugs. “Anything! Paint, pictures, some more furniture!”

“I don’t need a lot,” Kyuhyun protests.

“Of course you don’t,” Siwon agrees. “As long as all you’re doing is surviving. This isn’t a home though, it feels like a hotel. How can you be comfortable here?”

Kyuhyun stares at him in a vague state of shock. “That’s pretty deep for a thirteen year old.”

Siwon shrugs. “It’s why I covered my room in pictures of the ocean.”

Kyuhyun looks at him thoughtfully. “What would you do with my apartment?”

Siwon crosses his arms. “Paint it neon pink.”

Kyuhyun takes him to a hardware store the next day and tells him to help pick out a few colors. Siwon goes back home the day after, but his parents come and go a lot over the next few months and he goes back and forth between his house and Kyuhyun’s accordingly. Every time Siwon goes over, Kyuhyun has done something different. Whether it’s painting or getting new furniture—he even puts up a few picture frames (though they remain blank).

“I hope you didn’t do this because of me,” Siwon tells Kyuhyun one day. “Because that would be creepy.”

“It was only half because of you,” Kyuhyun admits. “To be honest, nobody has said anything to me about my decorating skills before. Hearing what you said…well you were right. I needed a change.”

Siwon feels kind of flattered, but he doesn’t say it. instead he calls Kyuhyun a creeper and throws a sofa pillow in his face.

Six months after Kyuhyun picked him up off the bridge, Siwon realizes that he’s allowed Kyuhyun to take over his life. He doesn’t tell his parents about his day anymore, instead Kyuhyun is the first person to know when he gets a good grade or when the cafeteria served pizza for lunch. When he needs help with his homework, he calls Kyuhyun and wheedles the answers out of him. And when Siwon is bored out of his mind or when he feels lonely, he doesn’t call the boys from his school, he calls Kyuhyun. It’s slightly scary for Siwon to think that his best friend is a very old Vampire Prince, but he can’t do anything about it now, he’s grown too attached to Kyuhyun.

One day during summer break, Siwon is sitting in a crowded café waiting for Kyuhyun to show up when a pretty teenage girl taps him on the shoulder.

“Do you mind?” She asks, gesturing towards the seat. “I just need a minute.”

Siwon closes his mouth (previously gaping open in shock) and nods. She smiles brightly at him and sits down.

“Thanks. My name is Sooyeon by the way.”

“I’m Siwon,” he answers.

This time she flashes her teeth when she smiles. “I’ve seen you before…you hang out with Kyuhyun, right?”

He nods. “Are you his friend?”

“Yes,” she answers quickly. “A very good friend.”

Siwon leans forward. “Does Kyuhyun talk about me a lot?” He asks. “It just seems like a lot of people know who I am.”

Sooyeon nods. “Oh all the time,” she chirps. “He never shuts up about you. At least when I’m around,” she adds quickly.

Siwon looks at her shyly. “What does he say?”

“Only good things,” Sooyeon tells him. “He says that you’re very smart and you have a great sense of morality for someone so young. You impress him.”

Siwon nods. “And does he like hanging out with me? It just seems weird because I am only thirteen, I wonder if he gets bored with me.”

Sooyeon reaches across the table and takes his hand. “Honey trust me,” she begins earnestly, “Kyuhyun genuinely likes you. He enjoys your company, it doesn’t matter that you’re thirteen. Well,” she corrects quickly, “I mean it does, but it doesn’t…do you know what I mean? Like he would never overstep your boundaries but he still thinks of you as an equal.”

Siwon nods. “Convoluted as it is, yes that does make sense.”

Sooyeon sighs in relief. “And do you like spending time with him?”

Siwon nods. “He’s the best friend I’ve ever had. Like you said, he treats me like an equal. He’s interested in what I have to say, he knows how to have fun, he…he wants what’s best for me and he wants me to stay safe. He would never do anything to hurt me.”

Sooyeon squeezes his hand. “That’s absolutely right,” she says softly, and Siwon almost doesn’t hear her over the sound of the crowd.

Abruptly, she stands up. “Well, it was nice to finally meet you,” she trills. “Bye Siwon!”

As she hurries off, Siwon turns around. “Bye Jessica! It was nice to finally meet you!”

Well, if she wanted to pretend she wasn’t the Princess who was Siwon to act otherwise? But once she leaves the table all bets are off.

Sh*t goes down in the next chapter just saying