Your bite - Kim Junkyu

nineteenth

Jeongwoo stopped as his phone rang, panting heavily from all the running. Taking it out thinking it was Jihoon, he frowned as he saw it was Hyunsuk.

Thinking it was more important to find Jihoon, he was about to put it in his pocket, but a message popped up on his screen.

"Jihoon and Yoshi are fighting!!!!!"

Jeongwoo braked, his eyes twitching wide as they skimmed the screen.

—

Jihoon took a step back, his hands sliding from Yoshi's collar. "What the heck do you mean?"

Yoshi scoffed, adjusting his collar. His eyes flickered at Jihoon, and the other boy was surprised to see tears in his eyes. "We were friends before. You, Yedam, and I."

Jihoon's brows furrowed. "I heard."

"But you and I hung out more often," Yoshi revealed, "We went into the forest the night before you left. We wanted to camp, without our parents knowing."

"I don't-" Jihoon's eyebrows rose, getting some vague flashbacks. "You were that boy? But his name was Nori."

"No," Yoshi tightened his fists. "That was your nickname for me. My real name is Yoshinori,"

Jihoon gasped, his mouth going to his mouth. He couldn't believe the situation.

"We got scared because of that howl, and you ran away. Leaving me behind," His jaw clenched as he continued, just the thought of it increasing his pulse. "I was chased by a vampire that night. And he bit me,"

Jihoon swallowed, his eyes shakily scanning the ground. He couldn't get himself to utter a thing.

"I've hated you for so long for running away without me. I just wanted you to go through what I did. I wanted you to," Yoshi gulped, not prepared to voice his revengeful wishes. "Turn into a vampire."

Realization came crumbling down on Jihoon at once. "That's why you wanted to give me the candy,"

Yoshi nodded, digging his teeth into his bottom lip. He couldn't believe that being there, in front of his sworn enemy, he was feeling completely opposite to how he had been feeling most of his life. He was feeling stupid. Guilty. Disgusted over his actions.

"H-how could I have known?" Jihoon asked, "I was just a kid."

Yoshi wiped his eyes, inhaling shakily as he felt himself tearing up. All that he had bottled throughout the years was surfacing. "I don't know. But maybe he wouldn't have got me if I was with you. Maybe-"

"He would've bit me," Jihoon narrowed his eyes. "Right? I'm sure you would've preferred that,"

Yoshi quieted down, only getting himself to lightly shake his head.

"I'm sorry that happened. I never knew what happened with you, I thought you also got home. I really did want to check up on you the next day, but we left before I could. But to go so far and make some freaking magic candy to ruin my life? I don't think you have any excuse for that,"

The other boy kept his eyes on the ground, faint whimpers leaving his lips. To suddenly challenge all of his beliefs was overwhelming - especially since he was realizing how wrong everything he had done was.

"You potentially ruined Danbi's life, you know?"

Jihoon's harsh truth was enough for a droplet to fall from Yoshi's eye. His revenge felt meaningless. His obsession with making Jihoon feel as he had, all that time, became a foolish act in a matter of seconds. He was never going to be satisfied - even if Jihoon had turned into a vampire, because it wasn't what he truly wanted, though his despair made him believe so. He just wanted to return to normal again.