Crunch! 

Daeshim looked around for little Doyun. Ever since he had awakened, Doyun had been getting consistent fevers. During his fevers, he would wander out and do many things. When he passed by the backyard door, which was cracked open, he heard someone eating. He entered the backyard and saw his little brother squatting on the ground while chewing on something hidden in his hands. “Doyun?” He called. 

Doyun, hearing his older brother, turned around with a smile, “Hyung!” His face was flushed red while his eyes looked dazed. Blood dripped down his mouth, while it looked like flesh was stuck between his teeth. In his hand lay a dead snake, split in half, with torn flesh shaped as teeth marks embedded in the skin. Doyun stood up, his body swaying as he ran into his brother’s leg, picking up his hands to show his brother what he had. “Look, I found food.” 

Daeshim grabbed the half-eaten snake and tossed it on the ground. He took a napkin from his pocket, wiping Doyun’s tiny hands clean. Doyun looked at the thrown snake, then back to his brother, tilting his head in confusion. The heat made his mind feel like mush and cotton. “Is there something wrong?” Doyun asked. 

Bending down after he finished wiping Doyun’s hands, Daeshim started cleaning Doyun’s face. “If you are hungry, you need to tell me, okay? Hyung will always cook for you.” 

Doyun hummed, not noticing that vines were slipping out from his legs, wrapping around the dead snake’s eaten body. The vines engulfed the dead snake before disappearing back into Doyun’s body. Daeshim saw the whole process, but did not comment on it. 

Tilting his head into Daeshim’s hand, which continued cleaning his face, Doyun rubbed his aching stomach. “Hyung, I am hungry.” 

“What do you want to eat?” 

“Hmm?” 

"What do you want to eat, Doyun?" 

The scene changed. Blood was everywhere as a little Doyun sat in the middle of it. He curled his body into a ball, barely moving as vines shot up, trying to surround his body. “Doyun.” He could hear someone calling his name, but not once did he move. The vines swayed around him, covering every inch of him until his head was the only thing left visible. 

“Doyun.”

“Doyun.” 

“DOYUN!” 

Little Doyun finally stirred. He lifted his head, opening his eyes in the direction of where he heard the call. He could barely make out the figure walking towards him; they were blurry, but as they came closer, the blur started to clear. And once he could almost make out who it was, the vines completely closed the lingering hole, fully enclosing him. But he did make out something before his vision turned black. 

Hyung, have you come to save me? Were little Doyun’s last thoughts. 

Doyun woke up with a raging headache. He grabbed his head, waiting for the pain to go away. He could barely remember his dream, but he felt it was the reason for the random headache. It reminded him of when he was little. When Doyun first awakened, he had fevers for a year. And each time his fevers would come, he would never remember what happened during his dazed, heated moments; it even felt like his head would split open after his fever would break. It was a shitty year, but at least he had his brother with him. 

After a few minutes, his headache subsided as he took a deep breath. Once his head no longer felt like someone pounding on it, Doyun remembered where he was. He glanced around, seeing that he was the only one in the bed and most likely the bedroom. At the edge of the bed, he saw the clothes he wore last night, cleaned and folded. He threw the blanket off his naked body and reached for his clothes to quickly put on. 

After getting clothes and standing up with a wince, Doyun noticed a note and keys on the nightstand. He touched the keys as he read over the note:

𝐿𝒾𝓁'𝒱𝒾𝓃𝑒, 

𝒲𝑒 𝒽𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝓁𝑒𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝒹𝑒𝒶𝓁 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝒶 𝒢𝒶𝓉𝑒. 𝒴𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝒸𝓁𝑜𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓈 𝒽𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝒷𝑒𝑒𝓃 𝒸𝓁𝑒𝒶𝓃𝑒𝒹 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓁𝑒𝒻𝓉 𝑜𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝑒𝒹𝑔𝑒 𝑜𝒻 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒷𝑒𝒹. 𝒲𝑒 𝒶𝓁𝓈𝑜 𝓁𝑒𝒻𝓉 𝒶 𝒸𝒶𝓇 𝑜𝓊𝓉 𝒻𝓇𝑜𝓃𝓉 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝑜 𝓊𝓈𝑒 𝓈𝑜 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒸𝒶𝓃 𝑔𝑒𝓉 𝒽𝑜𝓂𝑒. 𝒴𝑜𝓊 𝒸𝒶𝓃 𝒽𝑜𝓁𝒹 𝑜𝓃𝓉𝑜 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒸𝒶𝓇 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝒶 𝓌𝒽𝒾𝓁𝑒, 𝓈𝑜 𝒹𝑜𝓃'𝓉 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝓇𝓎 𝒶𝒷𝑜𝓊𝓉 𝓉𝓇𝓎𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝑜 𝓇𝑒𝓉𝓊𝓇𝓃 𝒾𝓉 𝓆𝓊𝒾𝒸𝓀𝓁𝓎. 

𝒰𝓃𝓉𝒾𝓁 𝓃𝑒𝓍𝓉 𝓉𝒾𝓂𝑒, 

𝒥𝒾𝓃-𝒮𝒶𝓃𝑔 

Thank God I have a way to leave here. He thought. It was a little disappointing not to see the husbands when he woke up, since it was the first time they spent a whole night together. But, at the same time, he also felt a sense of relief. Last night still left an impression on him. Taking both of them simultaneously had Doyun crying and screaming the whole night in pleasure and pain. Blushing from the memories, Doyun felt embarrassed by his reactions. He asked for it, only for it to be too much all at once. 

Let’s not think about that. Doyun shook his head, pushing the memories back. He had to leave here. Changbin could already be home, and he did have to work later. Knowing his sore body is covered in marks without checking, Doyun used his healing skill, hoping everything would be good in a few hours. 

He grabbed the keys and quickly left the room and walked to the front door (slightly limping along the way). Doyun put on his shoes, opening the front door as he peeked out, ensuring no one was around. He didn’t want others to know about him and the husbands, especially other hunters. Seeing no one was there, Doyun locked the door from the inside before he closed it and stepped out. He walked to the only car sitting in front of the house. When he saw the car, he wondered if it was too late to return the car keys and walk out of this place. 

It was a Mercedes-Maybach SUV. 

Doyun works as a PR Manager, who is only an awakener; there is no way he could afford a car like this. I hope no one sees me driving this. He didn’t want people to start asking questions. He could only sigh and get in the car. Once he was in and buckled, not even wanting to savor being in an expensive car, Doyun swiftly drove off. What he didn’t see as he drove off was someone watching him from across the street. 

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

It has been a few days since Doyun last slept and spoke to the husbands. They have been busy, and so has Doyun, leaving them with no chances to talk with each other. Doyun still held onto their car, always checking on it at the apartment's garage to ensure it was still there. He also made sure that Changbin didn’t notice the expensive car. 

Doyun rested back in his work chair, stretching as he yawned. He took a sip of his coffee, trying to stay awake because today is the dog’s, ahem, Dong-Min’s photoshoot. “Are you sure you don’t need anyone else with you?” Youngsoo asked for the umpteenth time. 

“How many times are you going to ask that?” Doyun responded, growing a little annoyed. “Hunter Mun is fine. He is not a rapid dog.” Plus, he has an almost-friendship relationship with Dong-Min, so he doesn’t see the point of having anyone else with him for protection. He only needs to make sure the people at the photoshoot do not step on Dong-Min’s bottom line. 

“To ensure you haven’t gone crazy.” 

Doyun rolled his eyes. “It is fine.” He emphasized towards the end. Before Youngsoo could say anything else, someone walked towards their desks. When they glanced up, they saw Dong-Min standing there. Youngsoo slightly flinched and quickly sat down, feigning to bury himself in his work. Ha. 

“Hunter Mun, are you ready to go?” Doyun looked at the time; they would be an hour early, but it should be fine. Dong-Min nodded his head before pulling out his hand, holding something in his fist to hand to Doyun. Doyun stood up, opening his palm as Dong-Min dropped the item into his hand. Seeing it was candy, strawberry-flavored, Doyun smiled. “Thank you.” 

Dong-Min nodded his head, putting his hands behind his back as he stood there in silence. Doyun grabbed his things, stepping around his desk as he went to stand by the hunter. “We can go now.” He left with Dong-Min following behind him. Seeing how calm and docile Dong-Min was, Doyun felt today would be a good one. 

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

“Little snake, are you ready to eat?” A woman held a leash connected to a freshly dressed teen. The said teen was biting their fingernails, digging into the skin as their fingers started to bleed. The woman harshly slapped the teen’s cheek, causing their slitted eyes to contract. “What did I say about eating yourself?” 

“I’m…hungry.” The teen slowly spoke. 

“That is why I am taking you to eat.” She softly rubbed the snake’s reddening cheek. Even though the teen had tough skin, the woman’s strength was high. She looked ahead as they stood in an empty alley. 

Across from her was a building holding a photoshoot today. There will be plenty of people inside for her snake to fill its belly, a beautiful harvest. “So, tell me, little snake, are you ready to eat?” 

The teen's forked tongue flicked out. “Hun…gry.” 

“Hmm, you will eat very soon.”