Not even thirty minutes after he had fallen asleep, Sungmin woke up again. He suddenly remembered that he had lost his night vision glasses the day he arrived. He was still using it when the werewolf hit him. When he had been thrown aside, the glasses slipped off his face. Because of that supernatural meeting he had completely forgotten about it. Sungmin scolded himself for letting his little baby get lost like that. Without thinking much about the matter, Sungmin stood up and rushed to the inner garden to look for the glasses.

"How could I forget it? It is worth three years’ of working for that pig and I almost left it behind." Sungmin mumbled to himself, feeling bitter as he remembered his worst employer. Too bad he was the one that used to pay the highest. Sungmin had always been very neutral towards his contractors, but when that man discovered he was gay, things changed. Sungmin grew to hate how that fat bag of hot air would keep on looking at him while they were discussing business, and he got to hate even more whenever he would offer extra to have Sungmin in his bed. Sungmin was there selling his skills not his body; he was not a and he would never be.

Careful not to touch the roses, Sungmin looked around the place he had fallen until he spotted his glasses a few feet away in between a bush of roses. Sungmin bit his lip as he approached.

"I’m just retrieving my glasses, please don’t hit me again." Sungmin mumbled, but nothing happened other than him closing his hand around the high-tech item. Sungmin inspected it shortly for any external damage and smiled at seeing nothing wrong.

With a wide grin, Sungmin turned the device on and put it on his face. He then looked around the garden to check if everything was working alright, but the moment he looked behind he frowned and jumped aside. He saw strange sparkles coming at him. With a racing heart, he looked around himself trying to locate the thing again but to no avail.

He was about to take a step back to the safety of the building when he heard Youngwoon’s guttural growl behind him. He turned around once again, he was in time to see those strange sparkles for the second time. He once again evaded, falling on the ground because Youngwoon had jumped in his direction after the sparkles. His rather huge beastly body still touched Sungmin, tipping his balance and sending him ungracefully on his .

Sungmin growled when his hand touched the ground as he tried to catch himself from the fall. The angle had sent too much pressure to his wrist, he felt a lacerating pain. He was about to complain about Youngwoon attacking him again, but when he looked up he saw Youngwoon holding the sparkles with his mouth. The werewolf was growling lowly, the sound coming from the back of his throat. Sungmin saw the sparkles moving as if it was trying to escape the strong bite. Youngwoon was trying to twist whatever that thing was.

Not understanding what was going on, Sungmin lifted the glasses. With his bare eyes, he saw the werewolf biting on nothing. He put the glasses back on in time to see a small burst of sparkles accompanied by the sound of glass being broken as Youngwoon finally twisted the thing.

The sparkles diminished and as Youngwoon howled, they danced around him before disappearing into thin air. For a moment, Youngwoon seemed to be surrounded by a faint golden light as if an invisible sun was shining against his dark fur. Everything was silent afterward. Only Youngwoon and Sungmin’s breathing could be heard.

The werewolf turned to Sungmin and growled reprimanding.

"I told you not to step out of the house at night!" Youngwoon scolded getting closer and sniffing Sungmin, who went completely still, unsure of what happened and what was going on. Moments later Youngwoon stepped away, but still held Sungmin by the back of his shirt and quite forcefully pulled his guest back into the house. Sungmin wanted to protest, but his vocal chords seemed to be disconnected from his brain because he simply couldn't get any sound out. Once inside, Youngwoon let go and shifted into his human body.

"I’ll get an ice pack for your wrist. And an unguent too. Go back to your room and don’t step out of it again until it’s time for breakfast." Youngwoon said not looking back at Sungmin, not even waiting as the human finally found his voice and called him back.

Sungmin huffed at being ignored, but he decided that he really should go back to his room. Once there he put his glasses into his backpack and sat on the bed to wait for Youngwoon to bring what he had promised. A few minutes later there was a knock on the door.

"Come in." Sungmin mumbled, trying to massage his wrist. Yet even after the acknowledgment, the door was not opened, Sungmin heard nothing coming from the other side. Confused, he stood up and went to the door.

He frowned at finding no one. Youngwoon had simply left the ointment and the ice pack in front of the door and left. Other than the knock, there had been absolutely no sound as if those things had materialized on their own in front of his room. As if Youngwoon didn't exist. Sungmin felt a pang of guilt and pain in his heart. He had told the other that they should avoid seeing each other a much as possible, but acting like that was a bit too much. Sungmin felt like crap because Youngwoon was avoiding him to that extent. Sungmin's mind was flooded with small signs of sadness and loneliness he had seen in both Youngwoon's forms. How long has it been since someone had talked to the werewolf? How long has it been since he had had company in that house?

As Sungmin applied the ice pack on his wrist, he thought about how Youngwoon could be feeling. He thought back to what Youngwoon had done to him for the past few days. Despite that first hit the werewolf had done everything Sungmin had asked, he had been kind and polite. And Sungmin had only been an . As he started to apply the ointments he decided that there were things he wanted to know.

The previous day at the kitchen Youngwoon had said he hunts things Sungmin couldn’t see. So he was hunting sparkles? What were those sparkles? After a few seconds of consideration, Sungmin added another question, why were those sparkles after him?

Sungmin laid back down and stared at the ceiling, wishing he could fall asleep faster than the previous nights. Sungmin heard another howl. Had Youngwoon gotten another sparkle?

Sometimes, only sometimes, Sungmin hated his curiosity.

Sungmin woke up the next day rather early. He took his bath, changed into some comfortable clothes and then strode to the kitchen where he could still hear the sounds of Youngwoon cooking and the delicious smell of the breakfast.

"What was that thing?" Sungmin asked as he opened the door, hoping that Youngwoon had not had time to escape him. Once he got in, he ended up laughing because Youngwoon was using a pink apron with little white hearts. Sungmin couldn't handle the sight of a werewolf using such fashion.

"What is that thing?" he teasingly questioned in amusement.

The werewolf looked at him, startled. He had expected Sungmin to wait outside till he was done with his own breakfast. Weren’t they not supposed to interact? Why was Sungmin acting so friendly? At his surprised silence, Sungmin felt another pang of guilt. He smiled tentatively as he was unsure if he should take a seat or not.

"I’m sorry." He mumbled, trying to find the right words to say. Suddenly his confidence faltered.

"Just don’t go out again. It’s dangerous." Youngwoon retorted, turning back to his cooking to avoid looking at Sungmin. Sungmin noticed that Youngwoon's shoulders were tensed, they were downcast as if the werewolf was trying to hide, trying to become smaller.

"It’s not just that… I’m sorry I tried to avoid and ignore you." Sungmin retorted messing up his hair in frustration for not knowing how to deal with the situation. Was he really trying to make amends with a werewolf?

"It’s natural that you don’t want to be in the presence of a monster. You don’t have to apologize for that." Youngwoon replied with a smaller voice, there was so much melancholy in his tone that it somehow angered Sungmin.

"You are right," Sungmin reported walking to the table and taking a seat. "I don’t want to be in the presence of monsters and believe me, I've worked for a few, I know what they are like." Sungmin added and those words had made Youngwoon frown and look back at the human in confusion. There was a new glint in Youngwoon's eyes, as if someone had injected them with emotions Sungmin couldn't decipher yet.

"You don’t match with my definition of ‘monster’ if that is what you're wondering," Sungmin added offering yet another smile. At that very moment, how could Sungmin consider a handsome guy a monster? Someone that could cook so deliciously? Someone who could wear a pink apron without any shame? At that moment, while the words were slipping past Sungmin's mouth, the thief became aware of how true those words were. Thinking back to the only two times Sungmin had seen Youngwoon's beastly form, even then the monster image seemed to be vanishing. When Youngwoon had forced him back into the house, Sungmin had not been as scared as he was on the first night. The beast had protected him from something Sungmin could not comprehend. "You’ve been nothing like a monster," Sungmin added with finality, with certainty. Looking into Youngwoon's eyes, Sungmin once again felt himself struggle inside, his built nature was struggling against his softer self, trying to hide it at any cost. But Sungmin didn't want to hide from Youngwoon anymore. "I just hate attachment, you know? Looking at you right now, it's easy to forget you are not human. It's easy to fall into your kindness. If I got to know you, it would be harder for me to leave. I don’t like making friends. The ones I made, end up dead. And I am not joking." Sungmin attempted to explain himself.

Youngwoon turned off the stove and focused all his attention on Sungmin, still frowning. But there was something growing in him. Sungmin could see that glint getting stronger, he could see Youngwoon's shoulders relaxing. Suddenly the werewolf seemed somehow vulnerable as if Sungmin's words were doing something the thief didn't know.

"And now you do want to know me? Why?" Youngwoon questioned still confused. His tone was soft, somehow hopeful. There was also a hint of delight in that tone. Sungmin shrugged.

"That thing yesterday… I’m pretty sure you saved me from that sparkly thing," Sungmin made sparkling gestures with his hand to emphasize his words. "Because I saw what I was not supposed to be able to see, now I want to know. What was that thing anyway?" Sungmin tried to sell his point.

"You saw sparkles?" Youngwoon questioned getting closer and sitting in front of Sungmin on the other side of the table. Sungmin saw acknowledgment in Youngwoon's eyes when he spoke, but his tone was doubtful as if he couldn't believe what Sungmin had just said.

Sungmin nodded simply. He made a gesture to his eyes and replied. "That thing I was using yesterday night, those were infrared night vision glasses, and with them, I saw sparkles. I avoided it because I didn’t know what that thing was." Sungmin explained.

Youngwoon considered his words for a moment, he mumbled ‘night vision glasses’ three times before he grinned quite wickedly and looked back at Sungmin’s face. The information seemed to please him as if he had gotten a key to a locked door he had been wanting to open for a long time.

"Yesterday night, were you thinking about someone you hate profusely?" Youngwoon questioned, apparently completely changing the subject at hand. But the fact that he asked something to which the answer was yes made Sungmin frown this time around.

"Kind of." he answered with some reserve. Hateful thoughts resurfacing in his head at the mention of that particular .

A chuckle came from Youngwoon, his eyes turned into crescents for a few seconds. Once again Sungmin wondered if maybe all the werewolf talk was really a dream of sorts. Just by looking at Youngwoon’s human form, he just couldn’t tell. Sungmin felt something curl inside his stomach, there was a pang in his heart at the thought that Youngwoon was indeed very charming. The light atmosphere, the happy sound escaping Youngwoon's lips for the first time, his eye smile. Youngwoon was indeed someone captivating.

"Those sparkles you saw, it was a spirit that feeds on human hatred. Once it finds a prey the spirit possesses the human and influences him to feel more and more hatred towards everything and everyone. The more hate the human feels the stronger the spirit gets until it is able to consume a human soul. If it had possessed you, you would have eventually died of a heart attack, depending on the spirit’s hunger, in a few weeks or months." Youngwoon explained with a light tone. His posture was that of someone talking about the weather, explaining something as obvious as why it rains.

Sungmin starred. Then he stared some more.

"A spirit? Like a ghost?" he asked, but Youngwoon shook his head. The smile was still in place. Sungmin realized that Youngwoon was undoubtedly happy.

"Spirit, ghost and soul are completely different things." He started off on another explanation, his hands moving to indicate three different portions of space in front of him. "Spirits are non-living creatures. They are born and they feed on human's emotions, beliefs or strong feelings," He said with his hand cradling something invisible.

"You mean like spirit of hate, revenge, or there are also spirits of fork, spoon and knife?" Sungmin asked, making a face.

Youngwoon swayed his head to indicate Sungmin was partly right. "Hate, revenge, love, sympathy, kindness, loyalty. For any human feeling or emotion there is a different kind of spirit that feeds on them. Spirits feeding on negative feelings kill humans, the ones feeding on the positive feelings guard and nurture. In the past, humans had gods, the sun, the moon, the sky, the water and fire. That human worship and belief created spirits representing those things, living off that devotion. Another example, cities and countries also have spirits, feeding on the patriotism." Youngwoon tried to bring up examples, he knew it was not really easy to understand.

Sungmin felt there was some believability in those words, so he nodded. "Ok, What about souls and ghosts?" he raised an eyebrow as if in challenge, a small smirk forming on his lips.

Youngwoon moved his hand to the second portion of space. "Those are more or less the same thing, you can say a ghost is a variation of a soul, because they are living entities. Humans are embodied souls, you live not only because your heart is beating and your brain is in full activity, but also because you ‘have’ a soul, it’s a part of who you are," Sungmin nodded once with a doubtful expression, that was a signal for Youngwoon to move to the third space. "Ghosts are non-embodied souls, they can be lost, they may have regrets or they can be too attached to their bodies. Non-embodied souls are not supposed to exist in the human dimension, only the embodied ones. When a soul breaks this natural rule they become ghosts." Youngwoon finished his explanation patiently.

"Seriously?" Sungmin scoffed with a raised eyebrow, that last part sounded overly cliché.

"Seriously." Youngwoon retorted with another chuckle.

"So that thing was going to kill me? Thank you for getting rid of it." Sungmin retorted, looking at the table as he tried to digest all that information.

"You’re welcome." Youngwoon replied softly and genuinely.

After a moment of silence, Sungmin looked up again. "Wait. You said humans have souls as if you were not into that qualification as well." He said with a frown.

Youngwoon nodded, pursing his lips. "That’s right. I’m a werewolf. I am a half-breed between a soul and a spirit. I was born human, but a spirit of a wolf also lives in me. It’s genetic, my mother was human, my father was a werewolf." Youngwoon retorted, his eyes turning slightly sad once again. What happened to Youngwoon's family? The question was there at the back of Sungmin's mind, but something else came out of his mouth.

"And your great great great grandparents were what?" Sungmin scoffed again, that part of the talk was feeling too absurd. Youngwoon had seemed a bit confused with the questions. But after a moment of consideration, to Sungmin’s surprise, he did answer him seriously.

"My prime ancestor was a wolf spirit that fed on humans’ noble feelings, he used to protect the human kind. Luna, the moon spirit, became so powerful because of the human devotion that she was able to embody and in her human body, she fell in love with the wolf spirit. They had kids, and that’s where I came from. My bloodline is from millenniums ago." Youngwoon explained some more and his tone was so serious, so filled with certainty that Sungmin simply decided to nod and faked he believed everything. In the presence of a madman, you should not counteract.

Youngwoon smiled even more; in that moment, Sungmin’s tummy decided to ask for food. The human blushed at the loud growl, whereas Youngwoon stood up and went back to prepare breakfast. When Youngwoon served him a portion, Sungmin protested. But the werewolf didn’t accept Sungmin’s refusal.

"You are leaving today anyway. So just eat with me at least once?" Youngwoon requested. His tone was still kind and polite. But yet again, there was such sadness in his eyes, a sort of longing that filled Sungmin with guilt one more time.

He felt bad for being an with the kind half-breed between soul and spirit – Sungmin scoffed internally again – so he picked up the chopsticks and took a bite. Youngwoon kept staring at him with a frown before he actually focused his stare on Sungmin’s hurt wrist.

"What? You can even tell I am right handed?" Sungmin asked as he continued to eat without problems while using the chopsticks with his left hand.

"I am not the only perceptive one here I see. Did it get badly hurt?" Youngwoon retorted.

"I think I cracked a bone. It still hurts like hell, so I’m trying not to use it. I just need to rest for awhile and not put pressure on it. So for a few days, I’ll be using my left hand and you will be cooking my meals. Deal?" Sungmin grinned.

Youngwoon frowned surprised. "You're staying?" he asked with just too much of a hopeful tone, so much it made Sungmin nervous. Something once again seemed to claw and twist Sungmin's insides. Youngwoon's expression became anxious, filled with a hopeful apprehension. Sungmin averted his eyes back to the food.

"I evaded the sparkles, but it's you who unbalanced me. It’s technically your fault, so you take care of me 'til it gets back into perfect shape." Sungmin reported in a matter-of-fact voice, almost in a challenge.

A moment passed between them. Sungmin looked up again. Youngwoon was smiling, his shoulders were relaxed, and his eyes were shining. He seemed like a kid who had just received good news.

"Why did that sound like a trained speech?" Youngwoon retorted, taking the first bite of his meal, his tone teasing and happy.

"Shut up." Sungmin retorted before he stuffed his mouth with food and averted his eyes once more. He didn’t want Youngwoon to know he had spent some time the previous night trying to come up with a plausible reason to stay a few more days. Sungmin sneaked a glance up at the werewolf and hoped he would not regret that decision. He really hated attachment of any level, he hated the fear of losing someone precious again.