The Turning

(Nine)

Hyungwon remembered his first night back in his apartment clearly. Shownu, I.M, and Wonho had dropped him off on the street several miles away from his place. They insisted any closer would be dangerous. He agreed and tried his best to jog the rest of the way home. When he had first opened his door, he nearly caused Jooheon a heart attack. His best friend had been so worried by his presence. Hyungwon assumed he would have to move out. He pushed the uncomfortable memory from his head as he shuffled out of his bedroom.

The sound of hushed whispers caught his attention. It sounded like Jooheon had a guest over. He frowned, stopping in the tiny hallway of their apartment. He wasn't prepared for a guest now. It had only been four nights since his return and he wanted to take his time to help Jooheon get used to him more. He guessed he would have to put that plan to rest. Instead, he had to entertain a guest.

"Good afternoon Joo, I – Gunhee?"

Hyungwon paused by the medium sized table in the corner of the apartment closest to the kitchen. At the table, poking at the food on his plate was Song Gunhee. He met the younger male through Jooheon. Gunhee was a close friend of Jooheon's and his friend as well.

"Hyungwon, sorry to hear about you being a vampire," Gunhee remarked, taking a sip from his orange juice. "But hey at least you are a little cooler now."

"Yes, because being the undead is so cool," Hyungwon said, arms crossed.

"Good afternoon, Hyungwon."

Hyungwon glanced at Jooheon. "Hey, you aren't cowering in fear around me anymore. Should I call this progress?"

Jooheon looked up from his textbook, brows furrowed. "I got tired of being scared, hyung. It is so exhausting. Besides, you are still my best friend just, undead."

Hyungwon smiled.

"By the way, you missed a whole week. Do you plan to go back to school?" Jooheon asked.

Hyungwon shrugged "I don't know. I don't know if vampires can go to university. I mean I've never seen any at school."

Jooheon nodded, a finger to his chin. "You are right. The only thing I fear at university are the long midterms and even longer finals. I would have noticed a vampire."

"Thanks for accepting me Joo. Even if you did avoid me for the first three days, I am grateful," Hyungwon said.

Jooheon placed his palms flat on the surface, stretching out his neck and tilting his head to the side. "Hyung, you can't be nice to me and then make me feel bad at the same time."

Hyungwon laughed at Jooheon's response and then frowned. An image of the men who mugged him drifted into his mind. There was so much he thought he would lose in the alley beside just his life. His beautiful friendship with Jooheon had been one of the many things he believed would be taken from him. Their friendship meant everything to him and when he thought he was going to lose it, he was devastated. During his time with the MX clan, Jooheon remained a constant thought in the back of his head. They had been by each other's sides for so long that the separation had been too much. He missed Jooheon so much. He even missed his ridiculous whining.

Hyungwon pushed his thoughts aside and ruffled the honey brown strands on Jooheon's head as he took a seat near him. "It wasn't my intention to make you feel bad. All I am saying is you could have called a slayer on me, but you didn't. On the first day you were still accommodating even when you were scared out of your mind. Thank you."

Gunhee chuckled, leaning back in his chair. "Aren't you both sweet?"

Jooheon rolled his eyes. "Don't pretend you didn't miss Hyungwon. You were over here a lot last week."