Wooyoung splashes cold water on his face, over and over again then he looks up at the bathroom mirror, his eyes dull and lifeless. He takes in a shaky breath through his nose and out through his mouth.

And for a moment he let his mind wander. What's the point? He's dead so.. what's the point of any of this? What's the point in putting Jongho and Junkyu in danger? What's the point in trying to keep living when.. I have nothing to keep living for. I should just give myself in. There's no need for anyone else to get hurt or die.

He felt tears pool at his eyes again and squeezes his eyes shut, drops his head forward and bit down on his lip, hard. His hands form fists on the counter either side of the sink, the water still running. He sniffs and takes in a sharp painful breath as more silent tears fell one by one one into the sink and flowing with the water down the drain.

"Wooyoung? Are we ready to leave" A knock followed Jongho's gentle voice sounds through the closed bathroom door.

Wooyoung doesn't reply and Jongho slowly pushes the door open. That's when he looks up to meet the younger's worried gaze. Wooyoung's eyes were red, his tears having blended in with the water that was on his face from when he splashed himself.

Jongho immediately goes and envelopes him in a hug with which Wooyoung numbly returns. He presses the side of his face against Jongho's shoulder, his arms wrapped around his torso. They stay in a comfortable silence for a few long seconds and Jongho's hug only grew tighter "He's really gone?" Wooyoung whispers, a tear sliding down across the bridge of his nose and onto Jongho's tunic.

All this time the one thing that's kept him going was the prospect of seeing San again. Of holding him, kissing him and telling him how much he missed him. But now... now he felt lost.

Jongho had to bite back his own tears, he couldn't let himself breakdown too when Wooyoung needed him to be strong now more than ever. Jongho shakes his head. "He may not be here anymore but all those moments and memories you shared were real. He was real. And I.. I may not have known him as well as you did but he wouldn't want to see you be this defeated. I know things are so messed up right now but there are people that love and miss you. Like me. And Hongjoong... And your mom. So please, don't give up" Jongho finishes, his voice shaky and he mentally curses as a tear slides down his own cheek. So much for being strong.

Wooyoung stays quiet, letting Jongho's words settle in his mind. Don't give up. He didn't want to give up. And San definitely wouldn't want him to give up either. But that didn't mean it would be easy.

So he sucked in a painful breath, breathes it out through his mouth then pulls back to stand up straight. He uses the back of his hand to wipe the fresh tears from his cheeks then he looks Jongho firmly in the eyes. "Thank you" He whispers with a weak smile and Jongho smiles back, taking his hand and giving him a reassuring squeeze.

"Let's get outta here" was all he says and Wooyoung nods, a shaky sigh escaping his lips.

Within the next 10 minutes they were ready to sneak out. Junkyu left through the front doors to sign out of the room while Jongho and Wooyoung snuck out through the window.

They met up again under a large tree beside the inn, safe from being spotted. "You ok?" Jongho asks with genuine concern as Junkyu jogs up to them.

Junkyu nods. "Yeah. No sign of Chiyo"

Jongho breathes a sigh of relief and looks back at Wooyoung. "Ok, let's go" He pulls his hood up and Wooyoung does the same. Then he quietly follows the younger vampire as he led them down the street and towards the path leading out of the village.

Everything was working out smoothly. They hadn't caught the attention of anyone and there was no sign of the heretic or her soldiers. But Jongho couldn't help but feel uneasy at how too smoothly things were going. But he brushes it off his shoulder and glances back at Wooyoung who looks at him with slight confusion.

"What's wrong?" Wooyoung asks in a hushed tone.

Jongho simply shakes his head and flashes a half smile. "Nothing. We're almost out of town" He turns forward as they kept walking. He picks up his pace slightly, making the other two follow suit.

Chiyo had created a magical barrier around the town so that she would be alerted of anyone crossed and just as they cross that threshold and make their way down the steep path, a slow clap sounds behins them.

They quickly turn around in alarm, Jongho quickly taking a stance in front of the other two males in protection. He locks eyes with Chiyo who only looked at him with a hint of amusement as she stopped walking. The other two men standing on either side of her. Wooyoung recognized the tall bald guy but the other was a new face, this one had shaggy black hair with a large snake tattoo on his exposed forearm.

"Jongho. I don't know why I'm surprised, I always knew you'd be the next to betray your father. But I didn't think you'd go this far" She says, her voice dark and laced with scorn.

"That monster is not my father" Jongho growls out. But he slowly steps back, urging Wooyoung and Junkyu to do the same. He knew they couldn't engage in battle right then and there and win. They were simply outmatched.

Chiyo simply smiles in amusement at his words. Her wispy loose hairs getting blown in her face due to the harsh winds signifying a storm was brewing. "Wooyoung, be a dear and come with us and I'll let everyone else live. Or resist and I'll have to kill you all. I'm sure Jaejoong will be delighted to hear he has one less traitor for a son."

Jongho knew she was bluffing. She couldn't kill him on her own grounds. He knew Jaejoong wouldn't allow it. But he plays along. "Wooyoung isn't going anywhere" Jongho snaps back at her, his fangs bared and eyes blood red now with dark veins weaved around his eyes.

"How long are you going to keep running around like a lap dog for him before you realize you'll never mean anything to him" Wooyoung speaks up for the first time. He steps forward and Jongho tries to hold him back but Wooyoung gives him a reassuring look that said 'it's ok' before he turned his attention back to the heretic and her goons.

Chiyo glares at him but doesn't say anything. "It's been so many years and you still worship and idolize him when he obviously doesn't care about you. All he sees is someone he can manipulate to get what he wants-"

"Shut up" She mutters.

"-Here you are doing all his dirty work while he sits comfortably in the safety of the palace with his actual wife-"

"Shut up" Her voice comes out a bit harsher.

"-You'll never be anything more than an old fling. You think by being a pushover he'll fall in love with you but the truth is he doesn't love you and he never will"

Her nose flares, her eyes widens with rage and she mutters a quick spell under her breath. The next thing Jongho is gasping for breath beside Wooyoung. His eyes blown out as he tries breathing in but nothing enters his lungs. It felt like someone was sucking the air out of his lungs. He fell to his knees, pained wheezes squeezing past his throat.

Wooyoung acts quickly and he vampire speeds to Chiyo. One second he was beside Jongho the next he was behind Chiyo, his arm wrapped around her neck in a headlock.

The two vampire soldiers try to lunge at him and he hisses, squeezing her neck tighter. "Come any closer and I'll rip her head off" He warns. His vampire appearance menacing and ghastly. They stop in their tracks, their fangs bared as well.

"Let him go" Wooyoung now says to Chiyo who was wincing in pain at his hold around her neck, inhibiting her ability to breathe. She was stubborn though and Jongho was still kneeling, wheezing and coughing with Junkyu worried pulling him up.

"I said let him go!" Wooyoung says much more forcefully and she complies. Jongho takes in a sharp breath of air into his oxygen deprived lungs.

Upon seeing that he's ok Wooyoung now brings his lips to Chiyo's ear. "Now you be a good dog and go tell Jaejoong that I'm coming after him-" His voice raspy and foreboding. "-and I promise him, I will spend the rest of my life trying to kill him and expose him for monster he is" He growls before snapping her neck. She drops to the ground, limp and unconscious.

One of the soldiers quickly tries swinging at him but he ducks and just when his vamp speed cool-down was over he grabs Junkyu and faded, Jongho following, and leaving the two men alone with Chiyo's body in the dirt.

San stops in his tracks, as if having heard something but wasn't sure what it was. Seonghwa, who was walking beside him, stops as well and looks at him with an arched brow. "What's wrong?" The werewolf asks.

San's stays quiet, eyes wandering the dark forest trees, but he couldn't quite figure out what exactly he was listening for. All Seonghwa could hear was the early onset of storm winds blowing at the tall trees and whistling in his ears.

San shakes his head. "I-it's nothing" He continues walking. I must be losing it...

"It's going to rain soon. We should find somewhere to take cover" Seonghwa suggests and San nods in agreement.

Then that feeling once again catches him off guard. It was less like a sound and more of like something inside of him.. signaling to him. And it was impossible to ignore.

"Seonghwa.." He breaths out in barely a whisper. "I- I think we should go this way" He points east, away from the village on the map Taemin had given them.

Seonghwa's brows furrow in confusion. "What? Why? But the map says-"

San was already heading down the direction he pointed. It felt like there was a giant invisible beacon that only he could see or.. feel rather. It was difficult to explain but the closer he walked towards the beacon the stronger and more familiar the sensation was. So he picks up in a jog, desperate to get to whatever was calling to him.

"Mujin!" Seonghwa calls behind him. "Yah! What the hell? Where are you going?"

San couldn't hear anything though all he thought of was one person and one person alone. He runs, heart thumping in his chest, long dark hair whipping in the wind. He nearly trips a few times but refused to let himself falter. He focused on that calling and wouldn't let it go.

He finally bursts into a clearing and it felt like time had slowed down because everything seemed to move in a different way. First he locked eyes with the bright blue of a merman. Then Jongho.

Then Wooyoung.

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Cliffhangerrr ☻️ tehehe

cry with me you guys, they're so fucking kewt 😓 (lets all pretend it detected truth for san because ain't no way 🤨....)