Len sealed his lips and watched Eric in silence. While that violent thirst was no longer in his crimson eyes, a deep stillness had certainly settled there. The faint scent of dried blood still drifted in the air, testing Len's restraint.
Eric sensed Len's silence and, shifting a bit closer, asked, "Does everything feel alright now? Your eyes... they are still as red as glowing embers."
The moment Len realized that his truth was still clearly reflected in his gaze, he jerked his head down again. He stared at the grains of sand as if trying to shield himself from the radiance of those eyes. He squeezed his eyelids shut, but that ring of crimson would not fade from his consciousness.
Eric did not give up. He tilted his neck slightly, bringing it close to Len's bowed face to peer behind those lowered lashes. He was watching Len as intently as if examining the minute details of a rare and precious gem. Len did not lift his gaze from the ground, but he could feel the heat of Eric's stare against his skin.
Then, Eric did something Len hadn't imagined even in his dreams. Eric raised his index finger and placed it directly between his lips. Without a moment's hesitation, he sank his teeth into his own skin.
Suddenly, a sharp and intoxicating scent of fresh blood filled the air. This aroma was many times deeper and fresher than that of the previous tiny scratch. Len's lungs filled with that scent. His entire body stiffened with a jolt.
Len lifted his lashes and looked directly into Eric's gaze. The pupils of his crimson eyes had dilated, and a profound shock was written across his face. He saw a fresh drop of blood about to seep down from Eric's finger, and in Eric's eyes, there was no fear—only a strange sense of challenge and surrender.
Len's gaze wasn't fixed on Eric's hand, but directly on his face. The scent of fresh blood set his nostrils ablaze, but stronger than that scent was the anger erupting within him. Deep creases formed on Len's forehead, and a sharp glint flashed in his crimson eyes.
"Are you insane?" Len's voice was ragged, as if he were forcing out his fear and anger all at once. There was an edge of concern in his words that sliced through the air.
At Eric's recklessness, Len's temper flared. He pressed his palms against his own face and rubbed them so hard as if he wanted to wipe that terrifying sight from his memory.
"Why did you do that?" he whispered through his fingers, his face flushed with rage. He couldn't understand how someone could hurt themselves just to test his thirst.
But Eric's face still held that same calm and unwavering expression. Ignoring Len's fury, he slowly extended his injured finger.
As Eric's hand drew closer to Len's face, the scent of fresh blood grew even thicker.
There was a strange stillness in Eric's eyes, as if he were trying to tell Len that he had no fear of this 'beast.' Len's breathing became heavy; on one hand, his anger told him to recoil, and on the other, that scent was pulling him in.
As Eric's injured finger drew closer, Len's breathing began to falter. The scent of fresh blood was now like an intoxicating poison to him. In panic, he began to scramble backward again, his palms sliding against the sand.
He wanted to run—away from Eric, away from that scent, and away from the hunger awakening within himself.
But before he could break out of the circle, Eric's other hand shot forward with lightning speed and clamped around Len's wrist. Eric's grip was strong and steady. Len's retreat came to an abrupt halt; he was pinned there like a prisoner.
Len's heart hammered wildly against his ribs. "Let go... Eric, let me go!" he said in a trembling voice, but Eric's face held only a calm smile.
Eric applied a gentle tug. He pulled the wrist with which Len had been shielding his face. As the hand was moved away, Len's face and his glowing red eyes were slowly exposed. Seeing his last veil of defense stripped away, Len frantically extended his other hand and began to push against Eric's chest, desperate to free himself from that iron hold.
For a few moments, the struggle and resistance remained in Len's hands. He was putting all his might into keeping Eric at a distance. But that thick, fresh aroma dissolved in the air began to take its toll on his nervous system.
The steely strength in Len's hands began to slacken. His shoulders slumped, and the pressure of his fingers against Eric's chest diminished. The resistance within him was now dissolving into surrender, and his entire focus narrowed down to that single drop seeping from the tip of Eric's finger.
As Eric's injured finger drew closer to Len's mouth, the panic in Len's eyes intensified. He was like a trapped bird with no room left to fly. Eric sensed that the steely resistance in Len's hands was gone; his grip had melted like wax.
A triumphant smile played at the corners of Eric's lips. Without wasting a moment, he flicked his wrist and brought the injured finger directly to Len's lips. As a final effort, Len pressed his lips together so tightly they looked like a thin, straight line. He froze like stone, as if trying to turn his mouth into an impenetrable fortress.
But Eric was not going to stop. He rested his finger—on which a crimson drop still glistened like a pearl—right in the center of Len's closed lips. Eric began to apply steady pressure. Len's soft lips began to give way under that firm force.
The moment Eric pushed the finger a bit further inward, Len's barricade collapsed. That warm, salty drop collided with the tip of Len's tongue.
For a second, the entire universe seemed to stand still. As that fresh, pure, and intoxicating taste slid down Len's throat, a bolt of electricity raced through every fiber of his being. Eric's finger was now inside Len's mouth, and that single moment had lifted all veils between them forever.
Initially, there was only bewilderment and distress in Len's eyes. He stared at Eric's calm face with his glowing red eyes as if looking at an unsolved mystery. But the moment the first drop of Eric's blood touched his tongue, that innocence vanished like smoke.
Slowly, a new and terrifying glint began to emerge in Len's eyes. It was not the glint of a human, but of a hungry predator. The hidden 'beast' within him had now completely shattered its chains. Eric saw Len's pupils dilate even further, and his body was no longer trembling; instead, it was charged with a violent power.
Deep lines of pain suddenly etched across Eric's forehead. Len's hand, which had been resting on Eric's chest to stop him, suddenly shifted and gripped Eric's clothes in a tight fist. Len's hold was so steely that Eric's body was pulled toward him.
As Eric's face came into immediate proximity, Len jerked Eric's finger away from his lips. He was no longer satisfied with just a single drop.
In the next instant, Len moved with the speed of lightning. He had completely lost his restraint. In his eyes, there was no longer the timid boy, but a primal thirst.
He tightened his hold near Eric's neck and, without a second thought, sank his sharp fangs into Eric's throat.
A suppressed groan escaped Eric's throat, and behind the cover of the tree, only the sound of Len's heavy breathing and the rhythmic drawing of blood remained.