Promise

09: The Snake and The Chain

Several days passed in isolation.

Wooyoung had every opportunity to prevent that, but he wanted to be left alone. It helped him straighten out his thoughts, his emotions, everything. He ignored the text messages from San for the time being, only reading a few of them here and there. At least San seemed to understand and not be severely offended by Wooyoung's behavior, not that the latter cared.

Sure, there was also the occasional visit from Mingi and surprisingly Yunho to give him food. The couple seemed worried about Wooyoung's lack of interest in fueling his body, so they stayed with him during the duration of him eating. They respected Wooyoung's silence, purely staying in the room for short periods of time out of worry.

Of course Wooyoung was also visited by the infamous redhead. Wooyoung though was never under the impression he was being interrogated or held prisoner with Hongjoong's presence around. He only understood that the vampire was worried about him as well, and was just checking in here and there.

Isolating himself like this had its downfalls though. San was still healing in what Wooyoung assumed was the gangs infirmary within this warehouse, and being so distant caused the unbearable heat to take over his body. At first Wooyoung managed in a tank top and his sweats, but it got to the point he sat in the room shirtless because he felt so overwhelmed. He was good at pulling a shirt on whenever a vampire knocked on the door, and he was given plenty of time to actually cover himself before anyone entered.

Except there was one time Hongjoong entered the room as Wooyoung was pacing, earbuds in his ears blasting music to distract himself. He turned around and met the redheads gaze, immediately reaching for a shirt and pulling the earbuds out of his ears while apologizing.

Hongjoong said nothing at that time, simply disappearing for a solid five minutes before returning with a large bowl of ice. It was nowhere near enough coldness to suppress the heat Wooyoung felt, but it was a kind gesture that Wooyoung admittedly was thankful for. Before he left Hongjoong also patted Wooyoung's shoulder with a sympathetic look, leaving his hand on him for a few seconds too long. Wooyoung truly believed the vampire was trying to help him with that gesture.

Alone to his thoughts, Wooyoung was able to get himself under control despite the external factors that affected him. He got over the deaths he witnessed, only baring nightmares for another night before he regained his mostly dreamless sleep. He sorted out what he felt towards these vampires and regained his normal composure and demeanor. He rebuilt his walls that kept him safe and promised himself to not let them fall so easily again.

The bond he had with blondie obviously couldn't be ignored, but he couldn't, wouldn't, let himself become so susceptible to it. There was no turning back the clock, so he had to work with the situation at hand. He had protection, and he'd have a job to complete. He can adapt, he's done it so many times before, while also keeping true to himself.

A knock on the door broke Wooyoung from his mindless pacing. He panicked briefly, reaching for the closest top he could grab to cover his bare chest, which happened to be a hoodie he had laying out. Not even fully pulling it over his head he heard a creak that signified the door opening. Pulling his head through the top of the hoodie, he turned his cold gaze to the door.

A chuckle filled the room.

"Wow that's a mean look." San was leaning against the doorframe, his attitude coming off as borderline arrogance.

Wooyoung on the other hand was shocked to see the blonde, having not seen him in a few days. He seemed so different to the last time they interacted physically, like nothing ever happened. How he stood so casually in just a t-shirt and pants completed by tennis shoes.