The knock at your door startled you out of your thoughts and you swore as the idea you had almost formed disappeared. You checked the clock as you pushed away from your writing desk. Who was at your house at 10:30 at night? A grin flitted across your lips when you realized that it had to be Yongguk.

You had been hoping he'd come back again after the last time when you returned his castle to him, but you hadn't known how to contact him. You peeked out the window to confirm that it was him, then threw the door open, smiling broadly. "Nice to see a friendly face--" you stopped. Something was wrong. His expression was blank, except for a glint in his eyes that raised your hackles.

You slammed the door shut again, locking it immediately. Your heart was racing, and you heard him hiss outside. Remembering the strength in his grip the night you met, you knew the door wasn't much of an obstacle.

"I tried to stay away. I really did. I planned to go back to the barn, and stay there until morning. Figure something out. I tried so hard."

"What are you talking about?" You asked warily.

"I'm sorry, you just...." There was a pause, and the tone of Yongguk's voice changed. "You smell so good. And your fear only makes it sweeter."

You stared at the door in horror, trying to imagine his expression. "Something's wrong with you, Yongguk. What's going on?"

"Let me in, and I'll show you," he practically purred. This wasn't the man you had met before.

"No," you manage to squeak.

"Ahh come on, don't be that way. It won't be unpleasant for you, you know that."

"It will be if I die this time," you snapped.

A quiet scratching began and your heart leapt into your throat. He was running a nail down the door, the action's sole purpose to unnerve you.

Trying to control your wildly beating heart, you leaned against the door. "Stop it! I thought you didn't drink blood from the unwilling!"

"Well that leaves out pretty much everyone, doesn't it? Makes feeding pretty hard."

You were afraid to look out the windows to see what he was doing. "You were doing alright before!"

There was a thud that made you jump and suppress a shriek as he, you assumed, pounded his fist on the door. "And now my source is gone. I've had a change of heart. I had forgotten the thrill of the hunt."

"Hunt? This isn't a hunt. You're standing outside my house, spouting stuff that isn't you. This goes against everything you told me about yourself, Yongguk."

"Hunting is in my nature, sweetheart. Let me tell you, living out here all alone, you make the perfect target." The scratching started up again.

You squeezed your eyes shut, willing tears away. "Where's the man I met a month ago? You were so determined to control yourself! I helped you, I trusted you, and... I..." You tried to hide a sob. You were going to die. You were going to die at the hands of someone you saved, someone you had respected, someone you had liked. "I thought you were my friend!"

The scratching stopped.

"Guess that was stupid of me," you whispered.

Silence. What was he doing?

"...I'm so sorry," you heard a soft voice. The stairs creaked and then the silence returned. After long moments of tense listening, the last shred of control you had over your tears disappeared and you dissolved into shaky sobs.

~*~

Yongguk ran as fast as he could, mind clearer than it had been in weeks, hating himself more with each step.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid! The word beat through his head. Stupid, and irresponsible, and treacherous. He had thought his self control was better than that. His hand went to his pocket and he clenched his hand around his castle until he felt one of the spires puncture his skin.

He had betrayed the trust of likely the only human who would ever take pity on him or try to befriend him.

He didn't know how long he had been running when he finally slowed his pace, then stopped, looking around. He had run far enough that he didn't know where he was. Cautiously, he scented the air, hoping desperately that he was far away from humans. You were still the nearest one, but you were now miles away. The venom flooding his mouth at your scent sickened him and he smashed his fist into a tree. The bark splintered and he hissed as the skin of his knuckles broke.

He wandered the woods for several more hours, sinking deeper into self loathing. He couldn't get his mind off of the fear in your voice, the flash of terror he had seen on your face when you opened the door, the smell of it tinging your scent.

When a shaft of weak morning sunlight lanced through the foliage and hit his cheek, he recoiled in horror and pain. He had completely lost track of time.

Panic began to set in as he realized exactly how light it was getting. The sun was nearly completely up when he finally found an abandoned hunter's blind, dodging between sunbeams to get to it. He quickly scrambled up the tree and into the cramped shelter.

He leaned against the wall and fished his castle out of his pocket. He held it up, staring at the small silver thing, and remembering. He remembered his sister, and his brother, his parents. He remembered how it felt to be human, remembered how it felt to love his family, and remembered his despair when he realized he'd never be able to see them again. He felt the hunger ebb slowly and he relaxed slightly, closing his eyes against the guilt threatening to fill the space the hunger had occupied. 

Tomorrow. Tomorrow he would go to you. He would apologize. Even if you never wanted to see him again, he would tell you how sorry he was.

~*~

Himchan pushed open the barn door. "Yongguk?" He called quietly.

No response. He called again, a little louder. Still nothing. A bad feeling began to settle in the pit of his stomach when he realized Yongguk's scent in the barn was stale. Having just fed, his senses were dulled, and all he could tell was that his friend wasn't in the nearby area.

He knew he shouldn't have gone so far away to hunt. He tried never to hunt in the towns closest to where he was staying, but he wasn't used to such a rural area. It had taken longer than he had thought it would to get to another town and back. He turned around to go out and look for Yongguk, but froze when he saw the weak morning light begin to filter through the crack of the barn door.

Himchan swore. In a matter of minutes it would be too light for him to search safely.

He would never forgive himself if Yongguk disappeared or got himself caught, but there was nothing he could do. Another pang of guilt shot through him as he realized how likely it was that Yongguk would be so delirious that he wouldn't notice the sun until it was too late.

He buried his head in his hands. As soon as it was safe, he would go search for his friend.