"Guess who came to see you today?" Jooheon asked, a singsong lilt in his voice.

Hyungwon's head snapped up. "Kyun?"

Jooheon's smile faltered a bit before he fixed it. "No, Wonnie, you know he can't come see you. Hoseok is here. You remember Hoseok, right?"

Hyungwon nodded, but his good ear fell a bit as he looked down, disappointed.

Jooheon sucked in a breath before looking over at Hoseok and patting his back. "He's ready for you, Doc."

Hoseok patted Jooheon's shoulder. He'd gotten the call about Hyungwon clawing at himself, and he'd figured that it was a good excuse to drop by and check how his other injuries were healing. His physical ones, of course, but also the psychological wounds.

"Hey, Hyungwon," Hoseok said with a smile and a wave as he stepped through the door frame of Hyungwon's room. "How are you doing?"

Hyungwon just shrugged, looking away and letting his arm hang limply off the bed, his eyes downcast.

Hoseok just sighed and rounded the bed, sitting on the edge closest to Hyungwon. "Can I see your stomach wound?"

Hyungwon blew out a breath, causing his bangs to fly up for a second before settling back on his forehead as he drew his shirt up just far enough for Hoseok to see the scar.

He prodded it gently, looking up at Hyungwon's face to gauge his reaction. "Does that hurt?"

Hyungwon shook his head, indifferent.

"All right, can I see your hand?" Hoseok asked, holding his hand out, palm-up. As with before, Hyungwon placed his hand in Hoseok's, and Hoseok nodded as he inspected his work. The finger seemed to be fine; as Hoseok's eyes dipped lower, he saw Hyungwon's nails, blood encrusted just beneath them where Jooheon had been unable to clean. He'd seen Hyungwon's nails when he'd healed his finger, but he hadn't known to be surprised then. Blood or not, he was glad to see them given what Jooheon had told him about Hyungwon's previous condition.

"All right, that all looks good. Do you mind if I take a peek at your neck?" Hoseok asked, setting Hyungwon's hand down gently in his lap.

Hyungwon tensed, his shoulders shrinking inward as he tried to put distance between him and Hoseok. "Why?" he asked, frowning. "It's fine. I'm fine."

"But I can heal the scratches," Hoseok countered, his brow furrowed. He'd never had Hyungwon resist his help before. "You want that, don't you?"

"What scratches?" Hyungwon asked with a frown, his eyes dull with confusion.

"The..." Hoseok paused, looking over to the open door, but Jooheon was no longer there to confirm. He looked back to Hyungwon's neck, taking in the neatly-wrapped white gauze acting as a safeguard against Hyungwon himself. "Hyungwon, I promise I won't hurt you, but can I take a look at your neck?"

Hyungwon kept the guarded look in his eyes but he lifted his chin up, giving Hoseok silent permission, and Hoseok exhaled before leaning closer and undoing the gauze that Hyungwon seemed surprised to see come off. Hoseok sucked in a breath as he took in the scrapes and gashes marring the vulnerable skin both above and below the damned collar, some an angry red, others thin white lines where he'd barely scratched the surface. "Hyungwon, do you remember-" Hoseok cut himself off, remembering Jooheon's words. Don't upset him. Do what you have to do, but let him believe what he wants to believe. He's in his own world these days, and it's not a happy one.

Hoseok shook his head, lighting up his right hand with magic as he traced his finger around Hyungwon's throat, temporarily illuminating the harsh marks before they faded away into healthy flesh. "Just a precaution," Hoseok said, pulling back with a strained smile. "It looks like it was fine after all."

Hyungwon nodded, still confused and wary, but not aggressively so. Rather, he looked tired and malnourished.

"Why don't we go have some lunch with Jooheon now?" Hoseok suggested, and as expected, Hyungwon rose out of bed, following Hoseok into the kitchen, where Jooheon was waiting for them with a plate already made for Hyungwon.

He scanned Hyungwon's newly-healed neck before nodding at Hoseok in appreciation. Then he smiled at Hyungwon and began feeding him fruit.

***

"I thought you said he's been better lately," Hoseok said softly. He and Jooheon were standing by the door, not wanting Hyungwon with his feline senses to overhear their conversation.

"He has been," Jooheon defended before sighing. "He was doing really well in the beginning of the week, minus the whole scratching incident, which he doesn't seem to even remember. But he was talking more, and he seemed more energetic."

"What happened?" Hoseok asked, frowning as he cast a look back at the boy's bedroom. "He didn't seem much different from the day of his return. What happened to his progress?"

Jooheon sighed, rubbing harshly at his brow. "Changkyun happened. Or didn't happen." He blew out a breath, frustrated by the issue. "They started talking at night through the door, and for a day or two, Hyungwon was the best I've seen him. But he's lacking the physical attachment part of the connection they once shared, and he's been getting more despondent each day. Taehyung came over yesterday and Hyungwon didn't even smile. It's like watching an animal in captivity, Hoseok. It's awful. He's losing his will to do anything."

Hoseok shook his head, feeling the heavy atmosphere of the apartment sinking into his bones. "I don't know what to tell you, Jooheon. I can stop by and heal whatever injuries Hyungwon sustains, or I can stop by and do check-ups on him, but I can only heal him physically."

"I know, I know," Jooheon muttered, running a hand through his hair and looking like he wanted nothing more than to claw his own eyes out. "And we're indebted to you, absolutely. But...we've come so far to bring him back, only to realize that maybe he's not coming back, I can't...I can't watch Hyungwon just wink out of existence."

Hoseok stared at Jooheon for a long moment before breathing out a long sigh. "Jooheon, I...never mind." He turned toward the door, placing a hand on the doorknob, but Jooheon put a hand on his shoulder, turning him back to face Jooheon.

"No, say it," Jooheon insisted, not liking the serious look in Hoseok's eyes but unable to let it drop.

"I just...look, Jooheon. I've spent a lot of time all over the world healing not just people but animals too, and...I know what an animal looks like when it's too tired to go on, when it's been cornered and doesn't want to fight its way out."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying I know the look in the eyes of an animal that wants to die."

"Get out."

***

By the end of the week, Hyungwon wasn't leaving his room. Jooheon tried everything. He cooked Hyungwon's favorite meals (or, alternatively, offered Hyungwon purely sweets). He tried to use Taehyung to lure him out. He tried dragging Hyungwon out. All his efforts, however, were wasted because by Saturday, Hyungwon was curled up in a nest of blankets, his ears flat against his head (even his bad ear seemed to flatten) and his tail curled around him. He ignored Jooheon when the witch called his name. Even commands, which had always prompted Hyungwon into action, largely failed. If Hyungwon reacted at all, a rare occurrence in and of itself, he slunk out of bed, tail between his legs, and returned immediately once the task was completed.

Jooheon felt himself constantly frustrated to the point of nearly breaking down whenever he saw the sad remains of his dear friend.

"Wonnie," he whispered, smoothing his hand over Hyungwon's head from his seat on the end of Hyungwon's bed. "Wonnie, you can't keep doing this to yourself. You aren't eating, you're barely moving. I'm worried about you. Why are you acting like this?"

Hyungwon tucked his head further into his blankets. "The collar won't come off," he mumbled, and as he shifted his head, Jooheon saw new scratches painting Hyungwon's delicate neck. "And Kyun still won't come and see me."

"Is that why you're doing this?" Jooheon asked, something painful twisting in his stomach. "To make him worry to the point of seeing you?"

Hyungwon mumbled something indiscernible, burrowing further into the blankets.

"I'll...I'll talk to him," Jooheon mumbled, not even bothering to fake a smile because he knew that it was only for Hyungwon's benefit at this point, and Hyungwon wouldn't even be able to see it.

"I'll talk to him," Jooheon repeated, swallowing in disappointment as he slid off the bed, setting the plate of apple bunnies on the bedside table as he left the room. No matter what he did for Hyungwon, no matter how much time he spent with him, he was always asking for Changkyun. But that was fine. If it made Hyungwon happy.

***

"You need to do something," Jooheon said, arms crossed as he stared at Changkyun, who happened to be in a similar state of decline. Like Hyungwon, he was holed up in his bed, trying to forswear the outside world. "He's getting worse. It's bad. He just sits there, Changkyun. He's lonely."

"He has you, doesn't he?" Changkyun mumbled.

"Apparently-" Jooheon began with a pained smile, "-I'm not enough. He wants you."

Changkyun looked up, regret lining his face and heavy in his eyes. "I'm sorry, Jooheon. You know he cares about you a lot. He probably just-"

"-needs physical affection from the person he regards as his guardian," Jooheon interrupted. "He needs you. Not from behind a door. He needs you to be there with him."

"But it'll cause him pain, Jooheon, he-"

"Better a bit of pain then him losing all interest in life and fading into the bed sheets," Jooheon snapped before spinning around, rubbing at his brow. "Just- go see him."

Jooheon left the room and Changkyun's eyes followed him in apprehension before he slowly got up.

***

"Hyungwon."

Hyungwon's head shot up out of his burrow. "Changkyun-" He cut off, squeezing his eyes shut as he tried to ward off a painful muscle contraction.

"Shhh," Changkyun soothed, rubbing Hyungwon's back and already regretting his decision to come in. He shifted uncomfortably on the bedspread. "Jooheon said you haven't been doing well."

Hyungwon forced an eye open, taking in Changkyun's figure, and even as his body clenched in pain, his ear perked up. "You're really here," he whispered, shrinking back after speaking out of turn, but Changkyun's smile was encouraging. "Did you come...to see me?"

"Who else?" Changkyun said with a laugh, but his smile faltered as he watched Hyungwon wince. "Hyungwon, I can leave if this is too painful-"

"Stay," Hyungwon said quickly, grabbing Changkyun's wrist. "Please, can you...can you stay?"

"I...I can stay," Changkyun said, the pain in Hyungwon's body mirrored in his eyes, and it only grew as he took in Hyungwon's neck. "I thought Hoseok healed your neck. Have you been scratching again?" He looked down at Hyungwon's nails to see that they'd grown out once more, quickly passing the ends of his fingertips. He made a note to have Jooheon trim them later.

"I just want the collar to come off," Hyungwon whispered, and whether it was out of fear of Seungcheol or pain, Changkyun couldn't tell. "I don't want to be reminded of him. I don't want to be his anymore. I want it off."

"Hyungwon," Changkyun sighed, and the bony hand on his wrist clenched in another wave of agony. It was all Changkyun could do to sit through it and looked even remotely unaffected. "I'm sorry, Hyungwon, but the only way we know of to get rid of the collar would mean destroying you along with it."

"Okay," Hyungwon said, coughing several times, and Changkyun looked away, pained, only when he looked back, Hyungwon's lips were coated in a thin layer of blood.

"Hyungwon," he said, tensing in alarm and shifting his weight backward, but Hyungwon's hand tightened on his, forcing him to stay put.

"Destroying me would destroy the collar?" Hyungwon repeated, and Changkyun stared at him, lost.

"Yes," Changkyun said after a moment, not strong enough to lie to him. "It would, but didn't you hear me? You would-"

"I'd disappear," Hyungwon said, and the weak light from the bedside lamp reflected off the warmth in his eyes and the blood on his lips.

"You'd disappear," Changkyun repeated, and if the light were facing him, it would catch the wetness in his eyes, holding none of Hyungwon's warmth but all of Changkyun's sadness. "I can't let that happen."

"Jooheon said-" Hyungwon paused, his body convulsing harshly, and he drew his body in even tighter, trying to restrain the painful tremors. "He said I didn't belong to anyone. So what gives you the right to make that decision?"

"The right-" Changkyun began, his frustration painfully clear in his eyes. He wanted to grab Hyungwon by the shoulders and shake him, shake some sense into his painfully frail figure. "What gives me the right? How about taking care of you for hundreds of years, watching over you, keeping you safe, watching you grow up? You're my family, Hyungwon. How am I supposed to watch you disappear?"

"I've watched you disappear, Changkyun," Hyungwon protested, his ear twitching as he squeezed his eyes shut and took several deep exhalations, pressing his head into Changkyun's thigh in an attempt to ignore the pain of being so close to him, of using his name and seeing him and touching him because it was worth it to Hyungwon. "You bring me back here and hide from me, always out of sight. Sometimes you talk to me but I can't see you. I can't even say your name without-" He paused, whimpering softly as the pain continued to crescendo. "Changkyun, Changkyun, Changkyun, Changkyun-"

"What are you doing?! Stop!" Changkyun yelled, panic forcing him to put a hand over Hyungwon's mouth in an effort to spare him, but his hand slipped off Hyungwon's lips, leaving a trail of red in its wake.

"What kind of existence is this?!" Hyungwon yelled back, tears streaming from his eyes as he gave up on trying to ignore the pain. He removed his head from Changkyun's thigh, instead resting his head face-down on the bed sheets as he opened his mouth and screamed into the linen, trusting it to muffle his torment.

"That's it, I'm leaving," Changkyun said, terrified of the suffering he was to bear witness to, knowing that it could easily be avoided if he simply wasn't there, but upon standing up, a hand struck out to grasp his, squeezing hard.

"Please," Hyungwon gasped, looking up, his face a horrible sight of tears and blood, both multiplying by the second. "Please, don't leave me-"

"You're going to kill yourself!" Changkyun snapped, pulling against Hyungwon's hand in an attempt to leave, but Hyungwon refused to let go.

"If I can't simply sit next to you and say your name, then I don't want to live any longer," Hyungwon confessed weakly, although the strength in his grip remained, keeping Changkyun by his side. "I'm done. If I belong to anyone, it's you, but even that's been ruined now," he said, choking slightly on something in his throat, either excess saliva or blood. "There's only one other option, and I'd rather go with that one instead."

"Anything," Changkyun mumbled. "Anything but you killing yourself for me. I don't want that, Hyungwon. Anything else."

"You kill me instead."

And Changkyun looked at the dying light in his dearest friend's eyes, a light that told him the sad end that would come to Hyungwon if Changkyun refused him, a gradual spiral of ripping himself apart an inch at a time no matter how many times his nails had to regrow.

Changkyun didn't want to see Hyungwon tearing himself apart. He didn't want to see Hyungwon suffering any longer, didn't want to have to listen to him cry at night from the wrong side of a door, didn't want the distance between them to become an impossible chasm that grew and grew until they forgot each others' faces from lack of interaction and forgot each others' names for lack of utterance.

And so Changkyun said okay.