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Days had passed since Sungmin was back and for those days it had only been Sungmin and Youngwoon again. It was almost like before because Sungmin no longer stayed inside the house at night, instead he would go hunt with Youngwoon as his infrared night vision glasses had been personalized so he could see the spirits with them. He still had no means of really fighting them, but Ayasya had lent him some of her powers so at least he had more protection and could act as bait. It was a lot better when vampires would show up because with them Sungmin could perfectly fight.

There was one thing though that had surprised Sungmin. When he had gone to the library again, he was quite startled at not seeing the sword, but instead finding a high podium decorated with fake climbing roses and upon it a small silver box. Sungmin had been overly curious, so he had opened the box and his heart leapt in a mixture of feelings at seeing his letters, he picked them up and frowned at seeing that a few of them had not been opened.

"What is the meaning of this?" Sungmin asked Youngwoon, confused. The werewolf picked the papers from Sungmin’s hand and silently put them back into the box.

"It’s a treasure," Youngwoon replied. "The proof that you had been part of my life." He added before turning to Sungmin and pulling him closer into an embrace.

"No…" Sungmin mumbled holding Youngwoon back. "Why are the last ones still closed? Why didn’t you read them?" he added frowning sadly.

"Because with each new one you would sound more distant, as if you were trying to compensate with them the fact that you would not come back." Youngwoon replied tightening his hold.

Sungmin fisted Youngwoon’s shirt, his heart started to beat painfully in his chest because what Youngwoon had said was exactly what he was doing, not exactly as a compensation but as an excuse to actually not be back. Even if the correspondence was one-sided, Sungmin had wanted to keep it as a means of telling himself that he was keeping a long distance friendship, so he didn’t need to be back. Youngwoon hid his face in Sungmin’s neck because those heartbeats had been answer enough, he knew he was right. Sungmin had only come back because he had been assigned to Kyuhyun and the hunter was still living with him. That was a truth none of them wanted to voice out.

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The day Kyuhyun came back was a day Youngwoon got called out by the neighboring werewolf pack, so Sungmin had been alone home. He was in fact in the library when he heard Kyuhyun coming in.

"Stay where you are." Sungmin heard Kyuhyun say even though they were still rooms apart. Moments later the hunter got into the library while holding onto Black Rose, but that was not the Black Rose Sungmin knew.

"What happened to the sword?" Sungmin asked as he walked closer while Kyuhyun put the sword back on the wall. "Why is the blade no longer made of silver?" he added squinting his eyes at the different shine the blade had, it was more luminous. "What is that? It’s not Titanium." Sungmin mumbled, reaching a finger to touch the blade.

"No. It’s platinum. The perfect metal to fight against vampires." Kyuhyun replied, smiling at the details he had ordered for the blade, the roses carved in the middle of it were a very nice new touch.

Sungmin stayed silent for a moment, he had never understood why Youngwoon would have a silver sword in the house, now he understood a platinum one even less.

"What’s with this sword any way? Youngwoon never told me why it actually exists." He questioned with a small voice, trying to pass it off as if he was talking to himself. Kyuhyun, though, was not born yesterday.

"Black Rose had been crafted so Youngwoon could die by its blade. He had given this sword to the second young master of this household, but to him the sword was equal to how much his older brother loved the werewolf, so that young master never used it. Youngwoon kept it as a reminder of how much he loved him," Kyuhyun replied still looking at the sword. "A few weeks back Youngwoon took it from the wall and broke the blade because he wanted it to mean how much he loved you. He believed you wouldn’t be back so he had decided to send it to you as your graduation gift. His heart as a weapon for a hunter," Kyuhyun added before he finally looked at Sungmin. "You don’t have to thank me for dragging you back here. Now follow me."

Sungmin looked at him with an embarrassed frown, completely taken aback by how frank Kyuhyun actually was, he didn’t even care about the effects of his words.

"Where? Are we starting our training now?" the apprentice questioned rushing after his new mentor, yet he got absolutely no reply.

Moments later, he was slightly reluctant as he understood where Kyuhyun was going. The last place he wanted to visit again was that mausoleum, but as Kyuhyun got in, he was followed right after.

Sungmin stayed a step behind as Kyuhyun got further in and kneeled in front of the statue of young master Sungmin. Kyuhyun lit incense and paid his respect to the dead.

Afterwards, without standing up, he spoke.

“You didn’t have to, so why did you choose to become a hunter, Sungmin?” Kyuhyun questioned still looking at the statue.

Sungmin was slightly taken aback by the question. There were many answers to that question, Sungmin was still considering how to elaborate his answer. He wanted to be his own person, he wanted to make a difference, become someone Youngwoon would be proud of, someone Youngwoon could love.

“Whatever you are going to say, that’s not your true answer. You are thinking too much.” Kyuhyun interrupted Sungmin’s thoughts.

The apprentice looked at Kyuhyun with surprise. “What do you mean? How can you know what I was going to answer?”

Kyuhyun smirked. “I lived long enough to know. What made you think for the first time that being a hunter was a choice to be made?”

That was a low question. Sungmin blushed and his heart accelerated. “When I thought I could protect someone.”

Kyuhyun’s smirk turned into a soft smile as he nodded. “A hunter is a protector. Most of us had decided for this path because we wanted to protect. Regardless of what each one of us lived before, we all decided to hunt to protect. Most of us want to protect what is left, those that doesn’t know, because we lost to the supernatural that one that meant the most. You are different than most hunters, Sungmin, you want to protect the one that means the most to you, someone that is supernatural,” The hunter continued to speak with his serene tone, but Sungmin could hear the sorrow, the pain of having lost in Kyuhyun’s tone. “In that aspect you are not that different from him.”

Sungmin looked sharply from Kyuhyun to the statue. At first Sungmin had wanted to scowl and say Kyuhyun was wrong. But that grave shouted otherwise. That Sungmin died protecting Youngwoon.

"I was but an apprentice when I met him, eager to show my mentor what I could do. Only wishing to rid the world of werewolves and vampires. I couldn’t believe there could be something as a werewolf protecting humans. I wanted to kill. I didn’t want to protect. I just wanted revenge. That day, if only I had held on to him with a firmer grip, if I had not let go of him, he wouldn’t have died. But we also could still be blind to the fact that not every werewolf is a monster. Even though I had wished he had not died, I believe that at least it was not in vain. A lot changed after his death and because of his death." Kyuhyun’s eyes were fixed on the statue as his calm voice filled the mausoleum.

Sungmin looked back at Kyuhyun. He didn’t want to admit, but that Sungmin was someone important to a lot of people. "Who did you lose?" Sungmin asked softly. "How did you become a hunter?"

Kyuhyun closed his eyes as if summoning his memories. "My wife. We lived in a small town like this one, unsuspecting that a pack of werewolves was protecting us. There was a group of hunters tracking those werewolves and one day my world changed completely. Vampires attacked our town, the werewolves rose to defend us, the hunters fought both sides unaware that their action was a huge mistake. Only a handful of townsfolk survived, and we all became hunters. After meeting Youngwoon I learned that if the hunters had not been in the equation that day, the werewolves could have saved my town, my life wouldn't have changed, those many lives wouldn't have been lost. Once, I only wanted revenge, after meeting Youngwoon I dedicated my life as a hunter to prevent the same mistake from happening again."

There was silence after those words, Sungmin just kept staring at his new mentor, the reason behind Kyuhyun's actions, was heart breaking.  

After a moment, Kyuhyun picked something from an inner pocket of his coat and handed the paper to Sungmin.

"I asked Heechul to help me with that," He said still not looking up at his new apprentice. "I hope you had found yourself, Sungmin, and I don’t really care if you believe in reincarnation or not, it’s up to you to believe or not that his soul is inside you. Just know that the fact that you came here was definitely no coincidence." Kyuhyun added.

Meanwhile Sungmin was holding on to the paper with cold hands because Kyuhyun had given him a family tree, his family tree, going back a good six hundred years. But Sungmin's eyes got stuck at one small branch of that tree. Surprised, Sungmin looked up, his eyes focusing on a statue beside the one Kyuhyun was kneeling in front of. He looked down and read the name and the other names of the parents. Lee Sungjin. He was a direct descendant from young master Lee Sungjin. The house, the fields Youngwoon had cared for for four hundred years, he is the supposed rightful owner of all of that, if only someone had not sold it to the werewolf.

Sungmin didn’t believe in reincarnation, but he did believe in destiny.

And Youngwoon was definitely his destiny.

"There is another reason why you are here right now. I’m not sure if you know… werewolves are not immortals." Kyuhyun suddenly added and that had made Sungmin’s heart skip a beat.

"I know… Youngwoon is already reaching his age limit." Sungmin replied sadly. At hearing his reply Kyuhyun stood up, he turned to Sungmin and looked deep in his eyes.

"Werewolves live in circles. Were you planning to wait for Youngwoon’s next circle? Were you planning to live as Youngwoon had lived for the past four hundred years?" Kyuhyun questioned seriously.

Sungmin blushed, he had not expected someone to have had seen through his intentions. When he first left the mansion, he had been planning to become a hunter and be back as fast as he could, he wanted to fight for Youngwoon's love. But when he learned that Youngwoon was not immortal, that he was close to dying of old age, he decided to not be back, he selfishly decided to strive for a new start, to wait for Youngwoon's next circle; his next life when there would be no ghosts between them. That decision he had not told anyone. Completely embarrassed, Sungmin replied by simply nodding. Kyuhyun though, smiled.

"I’m glad you love him this much. I’m thankful you came in this lifetime because Youngwoon definitely deserves to be happy in this lifetime," Kyuhyun said, handing Sungmin a red vial. "From your next feed onwards only drink from this vial, it’s something Ayasya had helped me with. The blood in here is Youngwoon’s, it will keep your supernatural powers and will allow him to only smell you. This will be the key for his next lifetime, when he comes back his spirit will certainly recognize the hunter that has been feeding on his blood through the centuries. This vial is enchanted, if you leave even a drop of blood in it, by the time you need to feed again it will once again be full. This is also my last act of redemption for causing him to suffer for such a long time." He added.

At that moment, Sungmin had never felt more thankful in his life, but he also understood one very important point. The one that had killed him had been no other than Kyuhyun.

"Thank you. I’ll make sure he will be happy for the remainder of this lifetime and through all life times that will come." Sungmin replied with a very emotional tone.

“I won’t accept anything less than that. Now I have another question. What makes a spirit strong?” Kyuhyun replied, a smirk back on his face.

“Say what?” Sungmin mumbled surprised. “What that has anything to do with anything?”

Kyuhyun shook his head. “Humans. Our beliefs, our feelings, our deepest emotions. Keep that in mind, because it is time for us to add a new tale in the town’s legend. If Ayasya gets stronger, so does Youngwoon. If we are going to wait, we need a safe place for Youngwoon to come back to.”

“Add to the legend?” Sungmin mumbled with a confused frown, but as Kyuhyun kept smirking at him, Sungmin felt goose bumps at what he thought next. “You made up the legend?!”

Kyuhyun shrugged nonchalantly. “It was not that hard. People kept talking whenever something strange happened. People felt safe in believing something good and supernatural was protecting them, I just made sure to center everything on the wolf spirit. After Ayasya was born, she grew stronger every time someone would talk about the legend with pride. The belief, the pride on the spirit wolf, the flower cultivation and this mansion where everything began. We need to maintain it while we wait for Youngwoon to come back. We have the perfect tools for that. We have you, a direct descendant of Lee Sungjin, we have Youngwoon, the protector. It’s time for the wolf with golden fur to be seen again.” Kyuhyun explained, it was evident of how proud he was of his creation. Kyuhyun had manipulated facts, had pulled strings. He had given Youngwoon a source of power that was extremely important.

“I really have a lot to learn from you, Kyuhyun.” Sungmin replied with pride, with some excitement even.

“This is your first assignment as my apprentice: give new breath to the legend by letting the town know, letting the town see that the Lee Family has not disappeared and is back in town.” Kyuhyun instructed guiding Sungmin out of the mausoleum.

At that moment they both heard a lively howl coming from the woods followed by another two.

"I pulled some strings, by the way. We need more ‘Lee’s in this house. Even though Youngwoon had promised that, after his death, the territory would belong to the other werewolf pack, I talked them out of it. Because of who you are, Sungmin, this territory will belong to the hunters until Youngwoon is back. But our pet wolf doesn’t know that yet." Kyuhyun mumbled as he made his way out of the mausoleum.

Sungmin followed suit. “I am really glad you are not our enemy.” Sungmin half joked. Kyuhyun laughed.

One thing was certain, Sungmin didn’t really care how many people would live in the house, because he finally had a loved one and friends that wouldn’t die as soon or as easily.

And he made a promise: He would wait. He would love Youngwoon for eternity.

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