It was still early in the evening when Zhan and I left my office. We weren't quite at the car when Zhan's cell phone rang. It was his grandpa calling to let him know he was back and inviting us to dinner. Of course, we immediately said yes and headed out. If my brother were still there, we would have taken him with us, since he too would like to meet Grandpa Xiao. But he already flew back to the States last night together with Cheng. He wants to take care of his business there and the upcoming move.

When we arrived at the farm, there had already been a real atmosphere. Everyone was celebrating that Grandpa Xiao was back. And he also brought another pack, which wants to help to settle the problem with the black wolves. So there were a lot of wolves and only a handful knew me.

The moment we approached the large group, they all stared at me with wide-open eyes. One of them, a good friend of Zhan's, immediately shouted, "That vampire not only looks cute, he smells like that too!"

Suddenly, all these wolves showed a great interest in me because I didn't smell like death. That was really a very, very strange feeling. Especially because everyone was sniffing me until Grandpa Xiao yelled, "Let my grandson's boyfriend arrive and don't pester him like that!"

They let me through and I was able to greet Grandpa Xiao. Meanwhile, they besieged Zhan and bombarded him with questions about me. And Zhan calmly tried to answer each and every question. This gave me time to ask Grandpa Xiao if he had a moment to talk to me privately. He immediately said that was no problem at all and we both just walked off.

After walking for a while, we stopped and Grandpa Xiao asked me, "So my boy, what do you want to talk to me about?"

I was a little embarrassed, but then I said, "You must have noticed that I have very strong feelings for Zhan. More specifically, that I love him. I want to be with him and I want to be with him forever. But..."

"But you're wondering how that's going to work, aren't you? You as a vampire, him as a werewolf."

"Yes. Something like that. What I'm concerned with is that Zhan has a limited lifespan. So if we were to officially mate, what would become of me after he's gone? I already can't imagine being without him. But what about after 30 or 40, maybe 50 years? Zhan will age and die someday. And I will be left lonely and alone. How can I go on living without my partner then? I can't even kill myself. Sorry if I'm explaining this stupidly. But I'm a little upset right now."

"So you're afraid of losing him. And you're worried about the future. I can understand that. Because if you mate, you probably won't be able to have a new partner after that."

"Yes. But that's not my point. I don't want anyone else but Zhan. I just want him. And just the thought of losing him someday almost kills me. I have nightmares where I see Zhan getting older and older and then dying. I am not capable of anything after his death. I can't live and I can't die. When I try to kill myself, the vampire in me stops me. The evil in me, forces me to keep living and living and living, while I torture myself with longing for Zhan."

"Whew, that's a heavy nightmare. So it's like this. No one knows yet what it's like when mating between a vampire and a werewolf. Since such a mating hasn't happened yet, so to my knowledge, it's hard to predict what will happen. I know that Zhan once was on to something, a legend. But it's just a legend, and so far he hasn't found any evidence that the legend is true."

"What is this legend?"

"That's what Zhan has to explain to you. As far as I know, that's why he wanted to go abroad again to do more research. But I can tell you this much, it was about a love affair between a she-wolf and a vampire. According to legend, if I remember Zhan's words correctly, the she-wolf lived as long as the vampire."

"So, could there be hope for Zhan and me?"

"Yibo my boy. Right now, you should only pay attention to the present. Zhan is here now, he is with you, sharing his life and love with you. Your concerns or worries, you should share with Zhan. He will tell you everything he knows. He will work with you to find a solution. I believe you two were brought together for a reason. You two are special. So I'm sure fate has something special in store for you, too. Fate doesn't bring you two together just like that, only so that one of you will die someday and the other will live an endlessly long agonizing life. Trust in your feelings and in Zhan. Enjoy the here and now and about tomorrow, don't worry today."

"But what if there is no solution for us? I'm really scared of losing him." As I said this, tears came to my eyes.

"I firmly believe that a special destiny awaits you. And Zhan will find and read any old book, no matter how thick, to look for solutions. He doesn't want to die and leave you alone any more than you do. And I am sure he can guess what you are worried about. Trust in him. You will see that he will not disappoint you or abandon you. He really loves you very much and would do anything for you. You are a good private detective after all. Get together, both of you, and find the clues to your destiny. I'd like to tell you more, but right now I can't."

"So you know something?" I asked, sobbing.

"I have a hunch. But it's just a guess. That's why I say, both of you go on a quest and find the old legends. Follow the clues and traces. And don't worry about what will be many years from now. Just enjoy your happiness."

"Mhm. I will. I'll talk to Zhan later when we get back home."

"That's fine. Now let's get back to Zhan before he starts to worry."

"Yeah, he's worrying fast."

"Well, you're his everything."

"He is to me, too."

"And while we're going back, why don't you tell me a little about your brother? After all, my grandson Cheng has been in love with him for so long now."

"I'll tell you anything you want to know." I said cheerfully. Grandpa Xiao wiped my tears from my face, hugged me and we walked back together. And as he had already guessed, Zhan was already looking for me. And when he saw me, he immediately came running to me and hugged me tightly.

After Zhan finally greeted his grandpa and his grandpa said he had gone for a walk with me to learn more about my brother, we went back to the others. They were still all excited. Some even turned just to see if I really wasn't afraid of them.

While I was awkwardly petting one wolf after another, Zhan started to laugh heartily and that's when I too finally relaxed and had to laugh as well. The evening had been really nice. I got to know many new wolves, who were somehow totally crazy but also super nice.

Around midnight Zhan and I drove back. By the way, our little Yizhan was with us the whole time and at the pack the twins took care of him again.

Arrived at home we were shocked when we entered the apartment. Youn was sitting in the living room with two big suitcases and had already been waiting for us. I didn't even know that he still had a key to my apartment. "Yibo my beloved, where have you been until now? I've been waiting for you for hours." He said and hugged me. He didn't even pay attention to Zhan.

I was so perplexed that I just stood there stiffly, speechless for the first moment. After two or three minutes, I asked him, "Um, what are you doing here?"

Youn suddenly looked at me seriously and said, "Seoki wanted me to move in with him. I thought everyone knew about him and me. But that's obviously not the case. Because when I came home from work, he told me I had to live somewhere else for a few days because his parents were coming to visit him and didn't know that he was dating me and living together. I hadn't even processed that shock before he started packing my bags too."

"Uh-huh...and..."

"Well, I ended up coming here. You gave my room to someone else, but that shouldn't be a problem for us. I'll just sleep with you then."

I thought I wasn't hearing right. And then I also saw Zhan take his jacket and leave. I ran to Zhan, held his hand and asked, "Where are you going?"

"I'll let you talk alone first." He said.

"You stay here!!!" I replied. I suddenly got all angry.

"But surely you want to talk first, don't you? And I don't want to disturb you."

"ZhanZhan!"

"What?"

"Why are you doing this?"

"Like I just said..."

"I don't want you to go."

"Why?"

"Because your place is by my side. Always and forever! ZhanZhan, I've been waiting all evening for both of us to come home because there's something I really need to tell you."

"Yibo? Hello, best friend in need?" Youn called out to me. But I ignored him.

"Zhan I have something important to tell you."

"What's that?"

"I LOVE YOU!" I just shouted it out as loud as I could. I didn't care if the neighbors could hear. I just wanted to scream it out and finally tell him how I felt about him.

Zhan looked at me with wide eyes and this time it was him who had tears in his eyes. "ZhanZhan, I love you. And I don't want you to leave. I need you to stay here with me. Not just now or tomorrow. Forever! I can't imagine my life without you."

"I love you too Yibo. And I will always be by your side. Today, tomorrow and for all time. No matter what, I won't leave you. I just thought you wanted a moment to yourself and your best friend because he's upset and needs your help."

I turned around to Youn, who had a strange look on his face. I said to him, "Youn, I love Zhan. We've been together since he moved in. He hasn't spent a single night in the guest room. Because I want him with me all the time. I can't fall asleep without him and I don't want to. He is the only one now that I allow to lie next to me in my bed. I'm sorry. But you can't sleep with me. You're welcome to stay in the guest room. I have no problem with that. But, if I let you stay here until you can go back to Wooseok, I expect you to get to know Zhan and accept him. Because he's not going to disappear from my life. And if you're my best friend, at least try to get along with him."

Youn looked at me silently for seconds and finally nodded. "Alright. I'll try my best. Thanks for letting me stay." Then he took his suitcases and went into the guest room.

I took Zhan's hand and said, "And you and I will go to our room with Yizhan now." Zhan nodded and followed me.

In our room, we kissed each other and I said, "ZhanZhan, when you were leaving, I got really scared."

"Why?"

"Because I thought you weren't coming back."

"I really just wanted to let you guys talk for a minute."

"I was just scared."

"You don't have to be scared my cute little vampire. After all, I can't even live without you. How would I be able to leave you? And I've told you several times, as long as you don't tell me to leave, I'll stay by your side."

"Please stay forever."

"I will. And Yibo...I know you're worried about our future. But, please don't do that. I'm on to something. And if it's confirmed, then you'll never have to be alone again."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"That would be great."

"Absolutely. I know what's been bothering you. But I wanted to wait until you were ready to talk about it."

"I'm ready."

"Then I'll tell you all about it later, when we've slept in."

"Mhm. But before that, I have something to tell you ZhanZhan."

"Like what?"

"I love you."

"I love you too Yibo."

"I love, love, love you so much."

"Awww you are so cute. How could I not love you?"

"And there's something else."

"Yeah?"

"I'm going to keep my friendship with Youn to a minimum. So, he'll still be my best friend. But only that anymore. No cuddling or any other things that aren't part of a friendship."

"Um okay. That's good."

"Yeah. Because you know what?"

"What?"

"I love you hahaha."

"I love you too."

"I could say that to you for hours ZhanZhan."

"And I could listen to it for hours more. But for now, let's put Yizhan in his basket, go shower together, and after that..."

"Oh yeah, after that we' ll have a lot of fun before we go to sleep."

"Exactly!" Replied Zhan.

But before we actually put Yizhan in his basket, we kissed and held each other for a long time. At the moment I feel indescribably happy. I could finally confess my feelings to Zhan and I will do what Grandpa Xiao told me. Namely, enjoy today. I am eager to see what Zhan has found out. And well, I will also talk to Youn again in peace. Right now, I'm not even sure if I want this friendship anymore. I'll have to think about that, too.

Youn is my best friend and has been for many, many years. He has always been there for me, always helped me, protected me and listened to me. Years of friendship that you just can't forget or throw away. Still, it has become strange. When I looked into Youn's eyes earlier, I almost got goosebumps.