"Waiting is painful. Forgetting is painful. But not knowing which to do is the worse kind of suffering."

"Am I too late?"

Siwon lifted his head. His eyes traveled slowly to find Hyukjae. The young vampire stiffly sat on the bed, holding Donghae's body in his arms. He had been sit there for hours now and never once averted his gaze away from his lover. Not a word coming out from his mouth ever since they set foot at the elder's mansion.

"Will he become like us?" Hyukjae asked. "Am I too late?"

"Frankly speaking, I really don't know, Hyukjae." Siwon answered in the end. "Let's just wait a bit."

"He took my blood." Hyukjae said lowly as he looked at Siwon in the eyes, hoping that the other would agree with him and give him some assurance that Donghae would awake soon, that he didn't leave him for real. "He will, right?"

"We should wait." Siwon nodded, although he wasn't really sure if Donghae would ever awake.

Donghae was in such condition that Siwon wouldn't know if he would awake even after he had taken Hyukjae's blood. He didn't even know if he had taken it, of if he did just like Hyukjae said he did, he didn't know if it was enough to change him. There were cases that the wound was severe that even by taking the blood it wouldn't had time for the blood to taking over and heal what needed to be heal and change the person completely. But Siwon wouldn't dare to say it in front of Hyukjae, not when he was torn apart like that.

Hyukjae nodded his head faintly, agreeing with Siwon to wait. Emptiness was all he felt as he landed a soft kiss on his lover's head. He kept rocking Donghae's body faintly, like rocking a little child in his arms. He kept Donghae's head next to his chest and once in awhile he would plant a kiss on his hair, whispering to Donghae to wake up soon every now and then, telling him that he would wait, that he loved him more than anything. Deep down he felt hollow and scared. He just wanted him to come back.

Everything just simply hurt.

He saw what they did to Donghae and he couldn't do anything about it. He could only watch how Donghae suffered from what the witches had done to him. He was mad of himself from being too late. He was mad at himself from being weak. If only he he didn't whine and bear all the pain maybe Donghae wouldn't have left. He left and sacrificed himself because of him. He trade his life for the cure so he would stop suffering, so could live. If only he could bear every pain back then .. it would have been nothing compare to what he felt right now. Seeing Donghae letting go his last breath in his arms was the hardest. And even though he knew Donghae had taken his blood it wouldn't guarantee that the younger would turned and became a vampire like how he wished him to be. He didn't know if his blood could saved him. Like Siwon said, he had to wait. And waiting without certainty was making everything ever harder to bear. 

"Why don't you get some rest." Siwon said. Hyukjae indeed looked tired and messy. "Let me take care of him, Hyukjae."

"No! no one's touching him." Hyukjae shook his head and pulled Donghae's body closer to his own. "No one's touching Hae."

Siwon nodded his head without arguing, knowing Hyukjae was having the hardest blow in his life at that moment and he didn't want to bother him even further by arguing. Slowly he moved toward the desk where he put a bowl of clean and fresh water and damped a towel and brought it back to Hyukjae. The young vampire took it with his shaky hand and mumbled thank you before he laid Donghae's body back to the bed.

He threaded his fingers on Donghae's hair with so much affection once again. Planting kisses on his forehead and cheeks so softly and carefully. He was so caught up with everything he did that he didn't even notice that Siwon had left the room. There were just him and Donghae and the deafening silence.

His gaze traveled slowly from his lover's face and to his entire body. Donghae looked so tiny and messy. The already dried up blood can be seen everywhere. Purplish bruises were started to form on his pale skin and it made Hyukjae's tears rolled down his cheek for a countless time that night.

"What have you done.." He whispered lowly. "You shouldn't go and sacrifice yourself for a disgusting being like me, Hae."

Slowly he wiped away the dry blood from his hands with the warm and moisten towel. He had to blinked his tears away a couple of time so he could see that he was doing everything correctly. But he stopped soon as his fingers in contact with a rather rough skin on his wrist and he looked at it with heavy heart.

A long cut was visibly seen on the wrist. It didn't look that horrible since Siwon already stitched it hours ago, but still the sight brought back unpleasant memory. Hyukjae looked at it, heart broken and guilt were eating him alive. Bracing himself again he intended to finish what he had started. The blood smell didn't bother him anymore. He just wanted to get rid of it from his lover's body.

So Hyukjae started to clean the cold and pale skin again, carefully wiping every inch of it. But again he stopped as a cold metal on one of Donghae's finger came insight. It was a ring. With heavy heart he took the ring off and cleaned it carefully. The once was dull metal because of blood stained, now sparkling bright and lovely.

It was the engagement ring. Hyukjae could tell after seeing the engraved word inside, along with his own name. The word was simple, yet so greatly meaningful.

"Taken... "He mumbled softly with a sad smile flashed on his lips, reading that simple word inside. "Was this the reason why you couldn't let me go, Hae? You belong to me?"

He averted his gaze away from the ring and looked at Donghae's face. How he wished to see those eyes open up and return his gaze. But he knew it wouldn't happened anytime soon, if ever.

"And here I am, not knowing anything about this even though I was the one who gave you this." Again, Hyukjae couldn't hold back his tears.

Everything hurts.

"I think It's time to take it off, isn't it?" Hyukjae said sadly as he put down the ring on the small desk next to the bed carefully. "Because when you're awake, you won't remember about it, along with those memories behind it. You won't even remember me. But it's ok, I guess. As long as you're awake. You're going to, right, Hae?"

A deafening silent was all he got as an answer.

"I know you won't have the same feeling toward me and I don't want you to get confused with everything. But I assure you that mine won't changed. Not after everything. Not after what you have done to me. Not after the love you've given me. You have suffered for a long time now. Let me be the one to repay everything you've done. I know I've made a lot of promises to you before but this time I will keep my promise. I will love you forever, because you see, forever is all I got."

He wiped his angelic face and stared at it for awhile. Those eyes that usually sparkling so innocent, now were closed so tight. Those rosy lips that used to kiss him, now looked so pale and blue. But Donghae looked as beautiful nonetheless. He just looked like he was just sleeping and Hyukjae forced himself to think that way, denied the fact that Donghae was gone. For him, he was just sleeping and just being stubborn, not wanting to wake up yet because right now Donghae is dreaming a pleasant dream.

"I love you, my love.." He whispered as he leaned down to kiss Donghae's icy cold lips softly before he pulled up a warm blanket over his body up to his chest. "When you're done dreaming, please wake up and come back to me. I need you, Hae. I really do."

Hyukjae inhaled deeply the air that he didn't need and put down the dirty towel away. Slowly he put both Donghae's hands on his own bare chest, adjusting the pillow on his head as if he didn't want Donghae to feel uncomfortable in his long slumber.

"Has Kyuhyun returned yet?"

Leeteuk put down his pen and looked up. His calm and gentle face looked tired and pale. Heechul came in sight as he walked slowly to where he was sitting. Slo