𝕘𝕚𝕧𝕖𝕟-𝕥𝕒𝕜𝕖𝕟 | ᴇɴ-

𝟐𝟎

I slip through my bedroom door quietly, turning the clips in my hand. The house is dark and everyone has retired to sleep. Making sure no one hears me, I walk the length of the corridor to Sunoo's room and knock softly.

"Hyung, are you awake?" I whisper. I know he'll hear me. Our heightened senses allow us to.

But there is no answer.

Still, I get to work, using the two clips I stole today to unlock the door. After a couple attempts I get it open.

The room is dark, though the curtains are drawn and let the moonlight seep in. Sunoo is sitting in the floor and glances at me when I walk in. He looks tired and sick. Just like that day long ago in the castle when I found him in his room. Except this time there is no blood on him at all.

"Come to say goodbye?" he asks. His voice is hoarse and low.

"You're not going anywhere, hyung," I say as I take a seat beside him.

"I'm dying."

"You're not."

"They took them out. My fangs. It's like..." he reaches to his mouth with his hands, "I'm empty."

His eyes begin to water. I cannot imagine the kind of pain he's going through.

"I know, I'm sorry." I have nothing better to say.

A beat passes as the words sink in on him.

"You knew?" He asks.

There's a moment of silence before I answer. Part of me doesn't want to tell him, but he deserves to know.

"Yeah, I was there."

He looks at me with horror.

"Sunghoon-hyung was there too. He tried to stop the Mistress, but I didn't let him. I was scared they would take us in too," I confess.

He looks away, unable to look at me. I know I've hurt him so I don't even try to reach over. I let him mourn silently, staring at his back.

I haven't done the best job at taking care of them lately. So much has happened that it has become hard to keep up. I've been sickly and tired, and so hungry. Even though I've tried to keep an eye open to check on the other guys, it's become impossible. Niki slipped through my fingers and now he's gone. Jake-hyung has been acting weird, secretive. Sunghoon-hyung looks worse every day. And Sunoo-hyung was hurt. He was hurt and I didn't do anything to stop it.

I couldn't have done anything.

I need to remind myself of that. There was nothing I could do. Or was there? Could I have stopped it? Guilt eats at me from inside, along with the new instinct that asks me to run to the woods and never come back. I want to, every night. This place is not safe for us anymore and even if we try, there is no salvaging a sinking ship. But I need to get everyone together again. Put them back together just enough to get away.

At this point, I only know one way to do it.

"Hyung," I call Sunoo. He doesn't turn to me or give any indication that he's heard me. But I keep going.

"Hyung, you can..." I swallow my fears away, "you can drink from me."

He noticeably tenses at my words and turns around. When he looks at me, he's not angry anymore. He's confused.

"You can drink my blood," I clarify.

I've been thinking about this for a while. After what Jay-hyung told us the other day, I had been turning the subject of our craving around my head. And then the Mistress took Sunoo-hyung's fangs. All the dots connected. If Jay-hyung is right, then what he needs is blood. Maybe that will heal him. And I'm willing to provide.

"Are you sure?" he asks.

I take a deep breath. "Yes, I'm sure."

I owe it to him. Not just because of what I did, but because of the blow I know he took for us when the maids found him out in the courtyard all that time ago.

Hesitantly, he leans close and I turn my head so that my neck is completely exposed. He may not have fangs to cut through, but I know he'll figure it out. I try not to wince when I feel the cut. I try not to cry when I feel him sucking the blood out of me. Already, I feel him getting stronger with each gulp.

a/n
so sorry this is a bit late, but thank you for waiting and reading! ♡ i hope you're enjoying the story so far. we're reaching the end soon, so stay tuned.
also, the comeback is only a few days away omg!! any theories?