#sunghoon vampire au | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

lavenderbang · 8 months

Text

Drunk-Dazed

Vampire! Park Sunghoon x reader

genre(s): vampire au!, non-idol au!, Sunghoon is also your tutor, mystery (not really cause dramatic irony), fluff, horror, Jake is your best friend cause I’m a simp, also feat. the rest of enhypen, mainly Heesung and Jungwon tho

Warning(s): blood/gore, swearing (obviously), biting (OBVIOUSLY), and probably crime (if you consider killing a classmate and drinking their blood a crime)

W.C: 17.2k (Sheesh this is long...)

Summary: When a fellow classmate was found dead on the soccer field with all the blood drained from them and two pierce marks in their neck, you took it upon yourself as president of the paranormal club to find the vampire.

A/N: Y’all, when I say I am OBSESSED with Drunk-Dazed! That song literally made me an Engene overnight and honestly I can’t stop thinking about writing this fic. I don’t usually like monster stuff, but watching the MV (which is here) really inspired me. Also I love Park Sunghoon with my whole heart... anyways, Enjoy!

A/N 2: If you couldn’t tell from the previous author note and the title, this has been sitting in my drafts since the Drunk-Dazed MV dropped. It’s clearly been a long time since then, but I’m now finally posting this fic under a random spurt of inspo. I hope you enjoy it cause I love this fic (its my baby) and its been two and a half years in the making!

he’s so ethereal

“uhhh, you’re late dude,” You scoff at Jake, “Slept through your alarm?” Your best friend doesn’t respond, and only then you realize how serious he looked; Jake’s face was pale, and he seemed to fumble with his bag as he sat down beside you in his usual seat for biology. His eyes were darting all over the place before finally landing on you; you grabbed onto his hands to stop it from shaking.

“Hey, you okay?” You ask, frowning at your usually cheerful friend, “what happened?”

“I went out to the field this morning to get a bit of early practice...” He starts off, licking his lips nervously before continuing, “When I got there, there was someone laying out in the middle of the field....”

“who?” You ask but are soon interrupted by the chairman of your school and the chief of police coming into the classroom. Jake immediately looks at his shoes, not wanting to look at the two men at the front.

“Good morning everyone,” The chairman greets in a serious tone, “I have some grim news to share with you all. Now I’m deciding to share this with you because you are all young adults and deserve transparency on the situation.”

“Whats going on Jake?” You whispered to your friend, who was trembling in his seat.

“This morning at 7:32 am, were were alerted by a student that there was a body found at the soccer field.” The chairman stated solemnly. The amount of tension in your classroom was suffocating, “by 7:46, we had identified that the victim was a student by the name of Lee Geonu.”

The mood quickly turned from tense to absolute shock; You couldn’t believe that Geonu, the guy that asked you to borrow a pencil just last Tuesday was now dead. It didn’t make any sense whatsoever; its not like you were friends, but Geonu was a good guy, healthy too.

“I know this is frightening and disturbing news, but we will only take a few more moments of your time.” The chairman turned to the chief of police and continued, “I will now turn it over to police chief Kim to bring up what’s important.”

“Thank you sir,” The police chief nodded before looking down at the document in his hands, “Now upon inspection, it seems that your classmate was found with two distinct holes in the middle of his neck on the left side, as well as a very low blood volume. As of now, we are unaware of where his blood went, but we suspect it sank into the ground.”

You feel Jake’s hand tighten in yours, eyes brimming with tears from the traumatic experience. You squeeze his hand to comfort your friend, feeling sorry that he had see something so horrific.

“Now, we think time of death occurred at around 10:00-12:00 last night,” The police chief continued, before looking up at your class, “If any of you have any information as to what happened or anything you might know about the victim that is relevant to our investigation, please don’t hesitate to come to us.”

The room was silent for a moment, aside from a few sniffles in the back along with the anxious tapping of someones shoes on the floor.

“Lastly, I’m sorry to all of you for your loss.” Chief Kim smiled sympathetically, “I want you all to know you are safe and any information you can give us can help us find whoever did this to Geonu and give him justice.”

And with that being said, the two men exited the room, leaving a atmosphere of despair and melancholy over all of your classmates. You turned to Jake, patting his shoulder gently. He sniffled, blinking back tears. As hard as it was, your teacher put you all to work on a simple worksheet, hoping that it could take your guy’s mind off the current news.

~~~

“It was weird... The holes were small, no bigger than half a centimeter.” Jake explained quietly, whispering to you as you sat down at your lunch table, only to be followed by your friends Jungwon and Heesung.

“How far apart?” You asked cautiously. You still felt worried talking about this topic with Jake, as he seemed pretty shaken up yesterday morning. Since then he seemed okay, as it was a pretty big school and he didn’t know Geonu that well, having no classes with the guy.

“Maybe an inch, inch and a half?” Jake explained, opening his bottle of ice tea to take a sip.

“Strange...” Jungwon responded before teasing shoving your shoulder with a smile, “Maybe it was a vampire, right (Y/N)?” This made the boys chuckle, obviously amused to poke fun at you and your paranormal beliefs.

“That’s what I was thinking...” You responded staring at your sandwich, deep in thought. The laughter died and the boys all looked at you confused.

“Are you serious (Y/N)..?” Heesung asked, furrowing his eyebrows at you.

“Of course,” You replied, looking up at the oldest with a frown, “What else could it be?”

“Something real? Like a human maybe..?” Jake suggested, clearly concerned with your thought process.

“That doesn’t make any sense! Who kills a guy with two small holes in the neck and drains almost all of his blood from his body?” You leaned forward, picking at your food before sighing, “Besides, you guys are in the Paranormal Activities Club too, so why don’t you believe it could be a vampire?”

“Honestly, talking about ghosts and monsters and stuff during our PAC meetings is fun,” Jungwon started off before brushing his hand through his hair and sighing, “But it was never that serious. Not like ‘I think a vampire murdered our classmate’ type of club.”

“But don’t you believe in the paranormal? isn’t that the whole point of PAC?” You asked, seriousness dripping from your tone, “I just think it’s our duty to discover if this was actually a vampire-related incident or not.”

The boys looked at you like you had three heads, letting the silence be word enough that they thought you were insane.

“I mean, if its not, then no harm no foul...” You sighed, crossing your arms across your chest passively, “But it if it, that means we have a vampire on the loose and we need to find out who it is, as the closest thing to experts this school has.”

“I mean, it could be kinda fun to look for clues and stuff...” Jungwon smiled softly.

“We’d be like the Mystery Gang from Scooby-doo!” Jake beamed, suddenly interested in the idea of investigation.

“I guess we technically have to have other club activities besides chatting to count for credit..” Heesung agreed, shaking his head at the thought of actually agreeing to a vampire hunt.

“So PAC investigation to find the vampire?” You smirked, feeling excited to maybe see a real live monster.

“Yeah it’ll be fun!” Jake finalized, taking a bite of the apple he had pulled out of his bag sometime while having this conversation, “Lets meet back at the school tonight to look for evidence.”

“No can do actually...” You interrupted, shocking your friends at the odd change in attitude of inspiring them to do this and then suddenly bailing.

“What the heck (Y/N)!?” Jungwon huffed, throwing his hands up dramatically, “Why can’t you come?”

“I’ve got Calculus tutoring tonight.” You stated simply, “but you guys can go look for clues without me tonight and you can report back at tomorrow’s PAC meeting.”

“You have a tutor?” Heesung asked, “who?” You turn in your chair and point across the lunch room to a pretty boy sitting at one of the corner tables, headphones in and doing homework.

“Park Sunghoon.” You answered simply, “We go to the campus library every Tuesday and Thursday. One day he helps me with Calc and the other day I help him with Bio.”

“He’s in our biology class?” Jake asked shocked, scratching his head sheepishly, “I didn’t even notice him...”

‘Yeah he’s pretty shy, but nice enough.” You nodded and stuffed sandwich in your face before continuing with a mouth full of bread, “I don’t think he likes me very much though.”

“I wonder why...” Heesung cringes, watching bits of sandwich squish in your mouth as you talk with it full. Before you look away, Sunghoon looks up and around the room, only to catch your gaze. He blinks a couple of times before politely nodding at you. Feeling embarrassed you got caught looking, you whipped around and faced your friends again, feeling the burning sensation crawl up your neck. Of course, this appeared as the perfect opportunity for the boys to make fun of you; but you didn’t mind, as it was nice to see some cheer from the gloomy atmosphere that was hanging around recently.

~~~

Bzzt!

You looked down at your phone to see that you had gotten a message.

Sunghoon: hey, do you mind meeting me at the front of the school for our session?

You tilt you head in confusion, but nonetheless type out a response before packing up your things you had set up for your session.

(Y/N): sure, I’ll be right there :)

Quickly making your way to the front, you see Sunghoon standing there, expression blank and scrolling through his phone. Once he sees you, He puts it away and approaches where you stand.

“Hey (Y/N) I’m sorry about this, but do you mind if I teach you somewhere else today?” He asked, worry and urgency evident in the shakiness of his voice.

“I mean, I guess,” You respond jokingly, smiling to hopefully put the boy at ease, “I would have loved it you let me know BEFORE I set all my stuff out though.”

“I know and I’m sorry about that,” Sunghoon apologized, walking out of the building with you following, “My coach changed my practice to earlier so I had to make adjustments...”

“So where are we going?” You asked, walking beside your tutor fumbling with the zipper on your binder.

“My apartment, if that’s okay.” He replied, not looking away from where his eyes focused ahead, “since my practice is earlier, I’l be saving time by not having to travel home to grab my things before going to the rink.”

“Sounds good to me...” You agreed before falling silent. You felt a weird sensation bubble up in your stomach that you had never seemed to feel before. Maybe nervousness because you’ve never been to Sunghoon’s home, but why would you be nervous about something like that?

Silence filled the air as you walked onward. The sun was starting to set, setting a warm orange glow over the environment as you walked; Even in this light, Sunghoon looked pale; his eyes looking down at his feet as his dark hair swept across his forehead with ever step. Somehow you had never noticed until now, but Sunghoon had a mole right on the edge of the bridge of his nose. You though it suited him, even though you rarely talked about things other then your respective subjects.

“So” You cleared your throat, wanting to break the silence and overall your sudden appreciation for your tutor, “You play a sport? you said your coach moved practice...”

“Ah, yeah!” Sunghoon responded with a smile, turning to look at you for the first time since leaving the school, “I do figure skating” (A/N: I had to, I love ice prince Sunghoon). You nodded, finding it surprising that out of all the sports, he picked something elegant and precise as figure skating.

“Really? That’s cool!” You praised, excited to get to know more about him, “how often do you practice?”

“every weekday,” He answered, “usually after we have our session I go home and grab all my gear and head to the rink, but for some reason my coach moved practice ahead by an hour.”

“Damn coaches, Huh?” You joked, “Always ruining a perfectly good schedule. Not that I would know, as I don’t do a sport...”

“Oh yeah, you have your own club, right?” Sunghoon recalled, making a right turn as you continued to his house, “What’s it called again..?”

“Paranormal Activities Club.” You explained, “We usually shorten it to PAC because it’s a bit wordy...”

“Catch any ghosts?” Sunghoon asked smiling cheekily.

“We don’t catch ghosts, we talk about them.” You said before cracking a smile, “Behind their back of course, like we’re in middle school” Sunghoon laughed at your silly joke, warmth radiating from deep in his chest. For some reason, it felt good to make the boy laugh; maybe it was because he was so reserved that you were happy to see him ease up a bit with you.

You arrived at Sunghoon’s apartment within about ten minutes. As you stepped in, you noticed the simplicity of it; white walls, a glass coffee table, and a bookshelf off to the right. To the left, there was a small corner kitchen and a hallway that you assumed lead to the bathroom and Sunghoon’s bedroom. The only thing to note was the furniture; a expensive looking maroon love-seat that was perpendicular with the coffee table and a deep red, velvety sofa pushed up under the window.

“You can set your things down here and we can get started.” Sunghoon motioned to the coffee table before going into the kitchen, “want anything?”

“a glass of water would be nice,” You respond politely before setting your binder on the table. You looked at the sofa, before ultimately deciding to sit on the floor in front of it, feeling the furniture looked to expensive to touch. Sunghoon returns, placing the glass on a coaster and then on the table.

“Thank you.” You accepted the glass shyly, feeling a sense of awkwardness being in the private of his home.

“Why are you on the floor..?” Sunghoon chuckled lightly before sitting on the sofa, “there’s a sofa right behind you... I mean if your more comfortable on the floor we can sit there-”

“No I’ll move!” You exclaimed, getting up and sitting beside Sunghoon on the velvet cushions, “It just that your furniture looks so expensive...”

“Really?” He scrunched up his nose before opening his textbook and flipping through it to find the assignment, “I found these at a garage sale for like $100. Some little old Victorian lady was selling them. They’re really nice, but it’s really hard to get stains out of them...”

“Oh, I see.” You nodded, feeling the fabric under your fingertips before grabbing your pencil, “So should we get started?” Sunghoon hummed in response and you began the homework you were supposed to finish for tomorrow.

After a bit, things went back to normal and you didn’t feel as weird or awkward; it was like every other Tuesday in the library. It wasn’t long before the sun set, and you were packing up your things to go home.

“Thank you so much for accommodating my schedule today.” Sunghoon thanked, holding his door open for you.

“No problem! It was a nice change of scenery.” You said brightly, trying to be polite about the abrupt change of plans, “Have a nice night Sunghoon; see you Thursday!” You went down to the lobby and messaged Jake, hoping that the boys actually went to the soccer field to look for evidence while you were busy.

(Y/N): [dropped 1 location]

(Y/N): hey, pick me up cause its dark and there is a vampire on the loose?

Butt-head~: Of course, your highness. It’s not like I was just about to get into the shower or anything after being out in a field for an hour...

Attached to that message was a GIF of a dirty servant from that one medieval show doing a full bow. you rolled your eyes at Jake’s sarcasm.

(Y/N): if you’re busy, I’ll just walk home alone

Butt-head~: Don’t you dare

Butt-head~: I’m literally already in my car omw

Chuckling to yourself you sit down in the lobby and do what any person would do to pass the time; scroll through memes. It isn’t long before you get another text from Jake saying he’s outside. You hurry out and hop in the passenger side of his old red car.

“Hello your highness, I hope this chariot is to your standards.” He teased in a fake posh British accent, which wasn’t far from his usual accent.

“Well, there could have been a harp or trumpets playing when I entered, but this’ll have to do,” you sighed before smiling at your silly friend.

He suddenly turned on a loud, heavy bass song and drove in the direction of your house. You both jammed out for a bit, rolling down the windows and screaming out the lyrics at the top of your lungs. Eventually Jake turned down the music in exchange to chat with you.

“So me and Jungwon went out to the field and-” Jake started before you screeched out and stopped him.

“Don’t tell me!” You hushed, almost reaching out to put your hands over Jake’s mouth, “Wait until the meeting tomorrow!”

“I just thought you’d want to know about-” Jake started again but you shouted out to avoid hearing about what the boys found. Jake sighed and shut his mouth, clearly not going to be able to tell you about the investigation.

“Wait, where was Heesung?” You asked, quirking your eyebrows becasue you were cofused on why he wouldn’t show.

“He said he had something important to do instead.” Jake responded flatly.

“What’s more important than vampires?” You huffed.

“I know, this is the most important thing in our lives right now.”

“Exactly! This is serious stuff he was missing.”

The two of you were silent for a moment, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. Though, you soon broke the silence.

“i’m sorry I wasn’t there...” You apologized, fiddling with your things and feeling a bit bad, “I failed as a president today...”

“Dude, don’t worry about it! Your trustworthy vice-prez worked very hard in your place.” Jake complimented himself and jabbed a thumb at his chest; you giggled at his antics, glad he wasn’t upset with you.

“So how was tutor session with pretty boy? I’m sure you got lots of calculus done.” Jake teased, poking your shoulder.

“As a matter of fact, we did get a lot of calculus done,” You rolled your eyes and pushed his hand away before continuing, “Besides the awkwardness of me being in his house for the first time...”

“Finally seeing pretty boy’s house? Or were you too busy kissing him to see?” Jake teased yet again, followed by gross, wet kissing sounds. You give the boy a hardy slap to the shoulder before chuckling at his antics.

“That’s the second time you called Sunghoon pretty.” You joked before cracking a big smile, “You know, if you’re so jealous of me, I could introduce you two so maybe you could kiss him.” You then copy the kissing sounds Jake made moments before only to earn a laugh and a shove.

“Thank you for the offer, but I’ll pass.” Jake finally said and pulled up in front of your house, “Anyways, here’s your castle Your Highness.” You jumped out of Jake’s old car, collecting your things. You said a sincere thank you and waved goodbye before scurrying inside to eat and then sleep. Besides, you had a big day tomorrow filled with excitement from vampire hunting.

---------------

“Alright as all of the members of The Paranormal Activities Club have arrived, as president I officially begin this meeting.” You sat down after saying your opening speech and look at the three boys in front of you. PAC always met in room 300, so you pushed four desks together to make a meeting table. The lights were usually off as well, with only a couple of flashlights and a single candle lighting your meetings; but since there was more serious stuff to discuss this meeting, you opted to keeping the lights on.

“Now, to start off this very formal PAC Meeting, I have something to go over before we talk about the findings from last night.” You said before turning to Heesung and pouting, “Where were you? I though you were all good for the soccer field last night...”

“I thought these two knuckleheads could handle it without me,” Heesung points at Jungwon and Jake before continuing, “So I went to the public library to see if I could dig up any similar instances of killings in the same manner. I just wanted to see if there was a history of a murderer or serial killer that murdered in this way, but no luck..”

“That’s because it was a vampire, not a serial killer but whatever...” You responded passive-aggressively before smiling, “But thank you for double checking, I appreciate the work you’re putting into this.” Heesung simply gives a thumbs up and looks to the other two boys.

“Alright, so now that that’s settled,” You sated, turning to the other boys as well, “Lets go over what our investigation brought to light.”

Jake stood up and walked to the white board where there were a couple of magnets. He pulled them all off the white board and turned to you all.

“Jungwon, You have the evidence right?” He asked. Jungwon dug around in his backpack before pulling out a file-folder and scurrying up to where Jake was standing. They first began by placing random photos of the scene on the white-board, including a blurry selfie of the two of them and a picture of the sun reflected on the school windows. Jake cleared his throat, trying to appear as professional as possible.

“I will now account what happened when we arrived.”

“Ow, I think that’s the seventh mosquito bite!” Jungwon groaned and slapped his arm.

The boys trudged through the surrounding trees by the field. The area where Geonu’s body was found was roped off with police tape so Jake had opted to start looking in the surrounding area instead.

“Quit complaining, we are supposed to look for evidence of a vampire.” Jake scolded before shuffling around in the bushes.

“This is stupid.There’s no way it was a vampire.” Jungwon huffed before sifting through a pile of dead leaves, “(Y/N)’s bonkers. I can’t believe I agreed to this...”

“Maybe, but it would mean a lot to her if we just looked anyways.” Jake reasoned, pushing through-

“Do you really need to be telling me all this? Especially the part where you guys basically say I’m nuts?” You frown before being shushed by Jake, who continues on.

“Hey there’s a footprint here in the mud!” Jake pointed out before turning to Jungwon, “It could be our vampire.”

“Or a random person going through the bushes.” Jungwon huffed.

“Just give me the camera Jungwon.”

“Fine...”

Jake places the photo of the footprint on the white board, securing it with a magnet.

“From my deduction skills, it is around a size 7 males shoe.” Jake confirms, “I’ll be studying the tread to see what kind of shoe it is.”

“Okay sounds good.” You praised, nodding to Jungwon, “Continue on with what happened.”

“What exactly are we looking for that the police wouldn’t have already found?” Jungwon sighed, climbing out of the treeline onto the red gravel track that separated the woods from the field.

“Paranormal stuff.” Jake answered vaguely, walking down the path closer to where the body laid just yesterday.

He felt a strange sense of dread looking at the police tape, remembering the graphic scene all to well. It had etched itself into his head, not letting him get a wink of sleep the night before.

“Like... this?” Jungwon asked nervously. He held up a single silver ring, holding it up to the sky to get a better look at it.

Jungwon pulled the ring out of the folder; he had it in a zip-lock bag, almost afraid to touch it. Jake gave him a magnet, to which he hung the bag on whiteboard beside the footprint photo.

“What is that on it..?” You asked, leaning closer to get a better look at the ring. you could see that almost three-quarters of the outside of the ring was stained with some sort of black liquid.

“It looks burned in...” Heesung suggested, squinting to see the small piece of jewelry.

“Hey, I’m not done with the evidence yet!” Jake interrupted, trying to keep your attention, “Can we please stay focused?”

“Do you think we should go in there?” Jungwon asked, standing right on the edge of the police tape, “I feel like at that point, we would be tampering with actual police evidence...”

Jake fiddled with the bright yellow tape, allowing it to slide in between his fingers, assessing the option of what they should do. He looked to the spot where Geonu had been, trying his best to recall every detail he could when he discovered him. Blanking on what happened, he turned away from the tape and went back onto the path.

“I think it’s best if we go home. The photos are good and the there’s that ring you found too.” Jake decided, turning to walk to the direction of the front gate. In all honesty, he just couldn’t bring himself to got to that spot in the grass; but he couldn’t just say that to Jungwon.

“Sounds good to me, I wanna take a shower, the bush was gross.” Jungwon said, jogging to catch up to Jake. the boys walked to the entrance of the school.

“Wait! I want to get a picture!” Jungwon insisted, pulling out his camera to get a photo of the reflected sunset on the windows. Jake waited, leaning against the gate of the school and gazing at the building.

“This doesn’t seem very relevant to our investigation...” You chimed in before Jake groaned and rolled his eyes.

“Oh my God! Can you just listen? I was literally getting to the relevant part...” He scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest, “Don’t interrupt, Stink-ass.”

“Sorry.” you responded, promising yourself not to interrupt again until the boys were finished.

The school was big and made of brick and glass; but something else was catching Jake’s attention.

“Hey, that flock of crows is trying to get into the dumpster over there!” He chuckled, before jogging over to the dumpster that was on the edge of the parking lot left of the building.

“dude, its actually called a murder of crows.” Jungwon corrected, earning a ‘whatever’ from Jake, who seemed much more interested in what was attracting the crows to the dumpster. After getting a nice photo, Jungwon came over too, curiosity getting the better of him.

“It’s whatever’s in this drug store bag...” Jake deduced, pointing at the thin, white, plastic bag tied tightly on the top of the trash.

“What do you think is in there..?” Jungwon asked, voice barely above a whisper. He seemed concerned, mostly due to the big, dark spot covering the bottom of the bag.

“I guess there is only one way to find out.” Jake gulped before grabbing the bag by the handles with one finger and dropping it to the cement, “I mean, if we really want to open it...”

“What would the Mystery Gang do?” Jungwon asked, half-joking/half-seriously.

“I think they would open it.”

“Okay so lets open it then”

“You open it. I don’t want to touch it...”

“Me neither! Besides, you already touched it!”

“Yeah, so it’s your turn.”

“How about we rock paper scissors for who has to open it?”

“That sounds fair.”

“This is what we found in the bag, and in all honesty, I don’t feel like I should even have it because its like... actual evidence...” Jake grimaced and opened his backpack to reveal a brown paper bag.

He rustled in it before bringing out what was inside and pinning it to the white board. The room was silent as you stared at the item, feeling a sickness bubble up into your stomach.

Pinned to the whiteboard was an over-sized, white, male’s dress shirt; all around the neckline and dripping down, soaking into the chest area was dried, brown blood that had obviously been applied wet. The cuffs of the sleeves going up the arms was also covered in the dried liquid, tainting the pure white fabric.

“What...” You begin, not really knowing what you were going to say. What you even could say.

“We have to give that to the police.” Heesung stated frantically, like it was obvious, “That’s serious piece of evidence for their investigation and we shouldn’t have that.” The rest of you didn’t respond, earning a scoff from the eldest.

“You don’t think we should keep it, right?” He asked, clearing accentuating his tone to signify how stupid he thought that idea was.

“No, I don’t think we should keep it!” You exclaimed matter-of-factly, approaching the shirt and gently touching the hem of it, “But we could get as much information we need from it...”

“You’re joking right?!” Jungwon cried, clearly disturbed.

“Look at where the... blood is.” You pointed out, having a hard time actually say the word, “If it wasn’t a vampire and was just some guy, there wouldn’t be a focus of blood on the highest part of the shirt. We need all the clues we can to find out who our secret vampire is and this shirt has some.”

“I mean, we would only have it for a little longer and then after we get all the information we can from it, we give it in, right?” Jake supported, sitting down at the makeshift table to get away from the shirt. Heesung turned to you, worry and sincerity flooding his eyes.

“(Y/N), I don’t know how comfortable I am with this...” He warned, grabbing hold of your arm, “I really think we should give this in as soon as possible, along with everything else the boys found...”

“We will.” You answered firmly, holding Heesung’s grip on your arm with the opposite hand, “Just after we get the clues we need from everything.”

“How about a vote?” Jake suggested, “All in favor of keeping the evidence for a little longer and then giving it to the police after we are done?” Jake raised his hand, followed by you raising yours.

“All in favor of giving it to the police right after this vote?” Heesung countered and raised his hand. The three of you then looked to the youngest boy who had not voted for either.

“Jungwon?” You asked, and he looked at you and you could see the inner conflict he was going through in his head.

“We give it back as soon as we are done..?” Jungwon asked hesitantly, playing with the cuffs of his jacket nervously.

“As soon as we finish documenting all the information we need.” You reassured, “Not a minute longer than needed.” Jungwon nodded along to your words, hummed and bit his bottom lip out of habit. He tapped his foot, deep in thought before finally nodding again.

“Okay, but only if we don’t touch it without gloves or something so we don’t wreck the police evidence...” Jungwon finally decided, to which you quickly agreed to his terms.

“I guess it can’t be helped,” Heesung sighed, brushing his hair back to release his stress, “but just for the record, I’m not touching any of that and this is a bad idea...”

“Noted.” Jake finalized before standing and making his way to the door, “I’m going to sneak to the biology lab to get some gloves and tweezers to start looking for clues, you guys should start photographing the things we are giving to the police.”

With tasks assigned you all got to work in documenting any clues you felt could lead you to the identity of the vampire.

--------------

(figure) skater boy: Hey, do you mind if we are at my house again today for our session? Coach switched practice for the next two weeks...

You immediately switch directions, walking towards the front as opposed to the library where you were planning on meeting Sunghoon until he messaged you. you typed out a quick reply that consisted of the absolute poetry of ‘k’.

As you approached the lobby, you saw Sunghoon standing by the door, except he was taking to someone today. It was a guy that you had occasionally seen your tutor with, but you had never actually spoken to him before. The stranger met your gaze and smiled as you walked up to the duo.

“I hope I’m not interrupting.” You said politely, turning your attention to Sunghoon with a smile.

“Not at all, (Y/N).” He reassured, before motioning to the stranger, “ Have you met my friend Jay?”

“I have not.” You confirm, reaching your hand out to shake the other man’s hand, “I’m (Y/N), I tutor your friend.”

“Jay. I’m friends with your tutor.” Jay joked, taking your hand and shaking it. Feeling nervous, you look at the floor before finding the perfect thing to say to be less awkward.

“Woah! I love your boots! They look really cool.” You gushed, not taking your gaze off Jay’s feet. He was wearing a pair of combat boots that went up to his mid calf, and they looked to be made of an expensive material with shiny silver buckles on them.

“Hey thanks!” He chuckled in response, tilting his foot to model them, “I ordered them custom made because I thought they’d look cooler with my own personal touch, y’know?” You hummed in response, before feeling a tug at your sleeve, gaining your attention.

“We should get going if we are going to finish the biology assignment.” Sunghoon urged then turning to his friend and smiling, “See you! I’ll message you after practice.” Jay nodded in agreement before sending you off with a ‘nice to meet you’.

You begin the walk to Sunghoon’s place in silence before you decide to break it like you did yesterday.

“Jay seems nice.” You stated simply, hoping talking about his friend would help Sunghoon open up more, “How long have you been friends?”

“A couple of years now.” Sunghoon responded before smirking to himself, “You like him?”

“Sure, he seems pretty chill.” You said, given that you only had about a minute to interact with the guy.

“He’s a good guy.” Sunghoon finalized, looking out into the distance seemingly in thought, “He’s the kind of guy to have your back no matter what.” You hummed in response, falling silent as you walked towards Sunghoon’s apartment.

Maybe it was the fact that you were going to his house, but you felt that maybe you’d become a bit closer with the introverted boy. Maybe he at least didn’t dislike you, but you were certain he didn’t like you. But maybe that could change, just given a bit more time.

You were pulled out of your thoughts due to Sunghoon roughly grabbing your arm and pulling you to the left, just narrowly avoiding walking into the busy street. You stumbled a bit, catching your balance on Sunghoon’s shoulder.

“Watch where you’re going!” He huffed, clearly anxious, “Gosh, I thought maybe you didn’t know we had to turn here, but I didn’t expect you to try to walk into traffic.”

“Sorry, I was totally zoned out,” You apologized, letting your grip loosen from his shoulder. You both continued to walk, but he didn’t let go of your arm. For some reason you felt a warm feeling bubble up in your chest from the contact, “Thanks for yanking me to safety though.”

“Did I pull you too hard? Sorry about that, I was just worried.”

“Don’t worry about it, you were just helping me not get hit by a car.”

“Pay more attention next time. You must have been thinking about something important to zone out that badly...”

You blushed, realizing that you were in fact, thinking about Sunghoon and if he was your friend or not.

“Oh? You’re blushing. You must have been thinking about something embarrassing.” Sunghoon teased, finally letting go of you. You surprisingly felt disappointed in this action, “Maybe it was your boyfriend..?” You turned to him, confusion and embarrassment flooding your features.

“Boyfriend? I know you’re not talking about me...” You joked, looking at the sidewalk beneath your feet as you trudged along. It was Sunghoon’s turn to be confused and he tilted his head and stared at you.

“Aren’t you dating someone?” He asked to which you shook your head no; you could feel the shame of this conversation burn up from the base of your neck.

“What about the guy that picked you up on Tuesday that you always hang out with?” Sunghoon questioned you, to which you burst out laughing from the misunderstanding.

“Jake?” You spat between a fit of laughter, “No way! He’s a really good friend that’s all.” It was Sunghoon’s turn to be mortified, his ears turning red as his eyes darted anywhere but you.

“Ahhhh! I’m sorry for jumping to conclusion, you guys just seemed really close at school and the he picked you up and I just assumed and-” He rambled before you cut him off.

“It’s okay. I understand why people might think that,” You assured before smiling to yourself, “He’s my Jay.”

“Your Jay?” Sunghoon asked, finally able to turn and look at you. You catch his gaze and give him a soft smile.

“The best kind of friend that would do anything for you.” You explained simply, “My Jay.” Sunghoon seemed to understand your comparison, smirking to himself because of the cute analogy.

Soon, you make it to Sunghoon’s apartment and begin your biology work. You immediately sat on the sofa this time, not fumbling with the floor; this time, you were conscious of how close he sat beside you, the warmth of his body radiating on your side. It made you anxious suddenly, having him this close to you. You were self-conscious of everything, like how your breath smelled or the way your hair laid. This feeling was one that you couldn’t seem to shake, no matter how hard you tried to focus on teaching Sunghoon about DNA; it was driving you bonkers

“Can I use your bathroom?” You asked, bouncing your knee nervously. He nodded and motioned to the door on the left before continuing working on the question you were on. You quickly shuffled into the bathroom and locked the door behind you, taking a deep breath. You washed your hands and looked up to fix you hair in the mirror.

Only, there wasn’t a mirror there. It was just a blank wall in front of the sink.

You frowned, blinking a couple of times to make sure you weren’t just seeing things. When you finally reached out and touched the wall you finally confirmed you weren’t crazy and there really was just no bathroom mirror.

Drying your hands and heading back to the living room, you debated bringing up the bathroom mirror. Maybe he just broke it and hadn’t bought a replacement yet?

Thinking that it was no big deal, you dropped it and decided to focus on the task at hand. Sunghoon had finished the problem you were on before you left and had moved on to the next one. The whole mirror situation had shaken you from whatever you felt earlier and you were finally able to focus on biology; so much in fact that you finished the assignment early.

“You can stay a bit longer... If you want.” Sunghoon offered, biting his bottom lip and leaning forward on the sofa, “If you’ve got stuff to do, I understand too.”

“I can stay for a bit.” You agreed, putting all of your things in a neat pile by the door before taking a seat on the opposite end of the sofa as Sunghoon, “Besides, I was supposed to be here teaching anyways. And it’s not like I have a ‘boyfriend’ dying to see me.” Sunghoon buried his head in his hands and groaned, making you giggle from the successful teasing.

“I’m so sorry about that, honestly.” He apologized again before cracking an shy grin, “I just though since you spent time with him and you’re...” He trailed off shaking his head from the thought, ears turning a nice shade of pink.

“Oh wow, was Sunghoon going to say something nice to me?” You gasped, placing your hand on your chest dramatically, “Could it be that, THE Park Sunghoon doesn’t hate his biology tutor?”

“Of course I don’t hate you, I assumed we were friends!” He exclaimed.

“Friends? If we were friends, I would have known more about you.” You countered.

“Like what?”

“How about the fact that I just learned you live in an apartment, have old antique couches, and that you figure skate less than a week ago, yet I’ve tutored you all year.”

“Okay that’s fair.”

“And how about the fact that we don’t hang out other than tutoring? Not very friend-like...”

“Okay I get your point. But maybe we should.”

“Should what?”

“Hang out.”

Sunghoon shifted his weight, turning to you before saying something you never expected in a million years.

“I have a competition this weekend, do you maybe want to come watch?” Sunghoon asked, smiling sweetly at you. You taken-aback for a moment, thinking you misheard the boy in front of you. He really wanted to see you outside of tutoring?

“I.. uhh.” You stammered, blinking a couple of times before grinning up at him, “Sure. I’d love to come and cheer you on.”

“Cool. And don’t worry, Jay’ll be there too!” Sunghoon reassured you, “So that way, you wont be all alone when I’m on the ice.”

You replied with a small ‘cool’, feeling like your soul left your body. All this time, you were worried the guy didn’t like you when it turns out that he thought you guys were friends the whole time. It made you feel good that he actually wanted to see you, a sense of pride burning in your chest.

“Well, I better get ready for practice...” Sunghoon said, subtly hinting in it being your time to leave. You caught his drift and stood, making your way to the door and picking up all your gathered things.

“I better text Jake to come get me.” You responded from the door, slipping your bag over your shoulder.

“Does he usually drive you home from our sessions?” Sunghoon asked, leaning his back against the kitchen counter, seemingly like he was about to prepare food right after you left.

“He didn’t,” You replied, shifting from foot to foot, “but since you live far from me and.... well... there was that guy Geonu a couple days ago so you can never be too careful.”

You see Sunghoon visibly stiffen at the mention of Geonu. His smile falters for a fraction of a second before he approaches you at the door. He helps you with your things and opens it for you.

“It was a terrible thing that happened to him.” Sunghoon said weakly, voice barely above a whisper as he holds the door for you, “I hope whatever monster did that to him pays for what they did.”

You walk out into the hallway before turning back to face Sunghoon, Feeling a strange sense of dread leaving the apartment. He was smiling, but you could tell it was fake. Why...

“Stay safe (Y/N).” Sunghoon warned before waving, “Have a good night. I’ll text you about my competition later tonight!” You waved back, turning away from his door and walking down the hall to the elevator. Once in the small, confined box, you shook away that sense of dread.

“Get in loser.” Jake called to you from the red hunk of trash he called is car. Hopping in, you quickly did up your seat-belt and Jake was off.

“So, how was tutoring with pretty boy?” Jake asked in a sing-song voice. Ever since he found out about your tutor, he teased you relentlessly, calling him ‘pretty boy’ and saying some obscene remarks about how much “””work””” you guys do.

“Good.” You stated simply before grinning to yourself, “He invited me to watch his figure skating competition this weekend.”

“What! That’s totally a date!” Jake exclaimed, pushing your shoulder over and over, “(Y/N)’s got a date, (Y/N)’s got a date~”

“Shut up! It’s not a date, dumb-ass.” You pushed Jake back, shaking your head, “His friend Jay is going too, so it’s just a friend thing because we are friends.”

“Pretty boy has a friend?” Jake asked, seemingly confused, “I thought he was a loner; Shy boy style...”

“Of course he has a friend,” You scoffed, rolling your eyes a Jake, “For your information, I met him today and complimented his really cool custom boots.” Jake seemed interested in that comment, perking up at the mention of shoes.

“That reminds me! I went searching online for the treads of our vampire’s shoes.” Jake informed you, quickly catching your attention, “But I couldn’t find anything that looked remotely close to the footprint.”

“Really?” You asked before humming in response, thinking about what to do, “Maybe you haven’t looked for the right brand?”

“There doesn’t seem to be any brand like our vampire’s shoes, but I’ll keep searching.” Jake sighed, “So far, all of the major brands were busts because they have their own distinct styles.” You tried to remember back to the photo of the footprint, thinking about if there were any distinct marking on the tread. But to no avail, your brain couldn’t produce an image of value.

“That’s really odd...” You said flatly, deep in thought, but turn to your friend with a sympathetic look in your eyes, “But I appreciate all the work you’re doing to find the evidence.”

Jake let out a small, defeated ‘thanks’ before slowing to a stop. You get out of his car (not without an awkward, sitting down car hug) and scurry inside your house, waving frantically to your friend as he pulled away.

---------------

“Did you hear the news? Apparently there was another attack down by 42 St.” Jungwon exclaimed, catching your attention from the sudden news, “They didn’t die, but the victim was hospitalized and is in serious condition...”

You had gathered in the lunch room at your usual table; it was just you and Jungwon for the moment as Heesung was busy doing a make-up exam in History.

“Hey, pretty boy lives pretty close to there!” Jake revealed, returning from a bathroom break with a bag of chips and an ice tea. He sits beside you and fiddles with the plastic bag.

“Who?” Jungwon asked, tilting his head like a puppy out of confusion.

“Sunghoon.” You replied before chewing your cuticle anxiously.

“Yes?” a voice from behind you asked, causing you and Jake to whip around to reveal the man himself. He was standing with Jay and another boy you hadn’t met before.

“Oh, we were just talking about the attack that was on the news.” Jungwon explained, glancing between you and your friend tutor. Jay stiffened, looking like he’d just seen a ghost while Sunghoon glanced between his friends.

“I heard about that,” The other boy said; he had a cute face and raven black hair that gave him a mature aura despite his adorable features, “It was only a block from your house, right Hoonie?” The group was silent, but you watched as Jay shifted his weight from foot to foot.

“Yeah, it’s pretty close...” Sunghoon confirmed. He seemed slightly awkward, but you guessed it was because he probably wasn’t used to all the attention being on him. Jay seemed much more uncomfortable though, looking anywhere but your table. He chewed on his bottom lip before swinging his arm around Sunghoon’s shoulder.

“We should get going.” He urged, before smiling politely to you, “See you at the competition tomorrow (Y/N).” You nodded and grinned at Jay, noticing his strange behavior.

“Stay safe, Sunghoon.” You warned, earning you a soft smile from your tutor.

“I’ll be fine, don’t worry.” He replied before the boys were off, going to sit in the corner table where Sunghoon usually was found. You turned back to your friends and they looked at you expectantly.

“Please tell me I’m not the only one who thought they looked uncomfortable...” Jungwon said, eyes darting back and forth between you and Jake.

“No, they were definitely uncomfortable.” Jake said and turned to you, “What was with that Jay guy? He looked like he wanted to sprint out of here as soon as we brought the vampire subject up...”

“I don’t know.” You frowned, glancing over to their table where they seemed to be back to normal, joking and laughing, “When I first met him he seemed pretty chill but he was super on edge the whole time he was here...” Your table fell silent, cogs turning in your brain that you weren’t sure you wanted turning. Your thought process was interrupted by Heesung sliding into the chair next to Jungwon.

“Hey nerds, I just failed that History test.” Heesung said nonchalantly before switching his demeanor upon noticing your serious moods, “What’s up? You all look like you saw a ghost!”

“Hey (Y/N), you said Jay had custom boots,” Jake asked slowly, hinting at exactly what you were thinking. You nodded looking between the boys, “do you think the treads would be custom too..?”

“We think we just met our suspect for the vampire incident.” Jungwon revealed, causing the lingering tension to suffocate your group and fill your stomach with worry.

-----------------

“You know the plan right?” Heesung asked, leaning forward from the backseat of Jake’s car.

It was 2:00 on a Saturday and you were just outside the rink in Jake’s car with the boys; you were supposed to be going to the rink to support Sunghoon but because of the groups suspicions, you take it upon yourself as president of the PAC to do some spy work on the suspected vampire Jay.

“Of course I know the plan.” You rolled you eyes, going to open the door to get out before a flurry of ‘aye’s came from the three boys in the red car with you.

“We should go over it again once more to be sure.” Jungwon suggested, agreement coming from the other two boys. You sighed, but retraced your hand from the door handle

“Okay so you need to get his shoe size and look for burn marks from the silver ring.” Jake re-iterated for what seemed like the tenth time.

“A confession would also be useful,” Heesung stated, “But those first two things would be most important.”

“Also, check the tread to see if the shoe is actually the one we’re looking for.” Jungwon added.

“And make sure you bring up the attacks and see how he reacts.” Jake pipped in.

“and-”

“Guys,” You interrupted, clearly annoyed at how they don’t think you already know all that, “I’ve got it.”

“This is really important (Y/N), don’t let the club down.” Heesung said and grabbed your shoulder reassuringly. You nodded to your group, trying your hardest to exude confidence before opening the door and stepping out.

“Oh yeah, one last thing,” Jake called out to you before you shut the door, grinning from ear to ear, “Have fun cheering on pretty boy.” You shouted that you would before hurrying into the rink, wanting to see Sunghoon before his turn.

Ever since he said he’d text you about the competition, you had began to text back and forth nonstop. You were really starting to enjoy his company and for some reason, you couldn’t help but smile whenever you’d get a notification from him. That’s why the whole thing with Jay was so hard...

You didn’t want to jeopardize the relationship you had with Sunghoon because his best friend was allegedly a vampire. As much as you hated to admit, you really were starting to like Sunghoon and you wanted to become even closer friends with him; and you were pretty sure straight up accusing Jay of murder would not bode well for your relationship with Sunghoon....

As you entered the skating rink, you first felt a blast of coolness from the low temperatures. The second thing you felt was excitement because you could see Sunghoon tying up his skates on one of the benches across the arena. Even from across the room, you noted how beautiful he looked and you finally understood why Jake’s nickname for him was ‘pretty boy’. He wore tight fitted black pants that accentuated his long legs and a rich, red coloured shirt that made him look like a prince.

Tearing your eyes from Sunghoon, you scanned the crowd to find Jay; you see him sitting with the boy from yesterday and yet another unknown guy in one of the very front rows. How many other friends did Sunghoon have?

You scurry over to them, before poking Jay in the shoulder.

“Is this seat taken?” You asked with a smile, causing all the boys to turn and look at you. Jay smiled and scooted over, making room for you between him and the cute boy from yesterday.

“Hey (Y/N).” He greeted as you sat down, “Glad you could make it.”

“He’s on the ice now!” The newest boy pointed out, watching as his friend got onto the ice to warm up.

“Oh yeah, you must not know these two knuckleheads,” Jay said casually, getting the attention of the two boys he was accompanying, “Don’t be shy, fellas.”

“I’m Ni-ki.” The newest boy greeted shyly. If it was possible, he seemed even more shy than Sunghoon, eyes meeting yours for a moment before looking back out at the ice.

“My name’s Sunoo!” The cute boy from yesterday sing-songed, grabbing your hand and shaking it excitedly, “So you’re the (Y/N) Sunghoon won’t shut up about?” Jay shoved his overly excited friend for revealing that Sunghoon talked about you. You felt your cheeks heat up at the thought of Sunghoon gushing about you to his friends like a schoolgirl, but tried your best to act cool about it and like you definitely didn’t care.

Speaking of Sunghoon, there was a knock on the plexi-glass that got your attention; He stood on the ice, adorning the biggest smile you think you’ve ever seen on him. You got up and walked towards him, followed by the three other boys.

“You made it!” Sunghoon cheered, although his voice was muffled through the layer of glass between you two.

“Well, I was pretty busy, but I managed to squeeze this into my schedule.” You teased, checking your nails for the dramatic effect. The boy on the ice just chuckled at your teasing, the sound causing you to smile.

“Thanks for coming, I really appreciate it.” He thanked you sincerely.

“Of course. I wouldn’t miss it.” You said sweetly before cracking a goofy grin, “It’ll be nice to see you do something besides fail at biology.”

“Good luck out there buddy!” Jay encouraged, giving his friend a fist-bump through the glass.

“I’m sure you’ll be great.” Ni-ki assured, nodding at the boy on the ice before retreating to his seat.

“We’ll be cheering you on Hoonie!” Sunoo exclaimed, making a fist before returning to his seat as well. Sunghoon waved as he skated back to the bench to prepare for his turn, which would be happening in less that five minutes.

“After you.” You gesture for Jay to go first, swaying your hands dramatically towards the isle.

“Thank you.” He bowed, before going to his seat. You are then reminded of the task at hand, and you make a mental note to ask Jay some of the questions you prepared, trying your best to come off as natural. You sat back down in your spot between him and Sunoo.

“So, how have you been?” you asked nonchalantly, “Busy week?”

“Not really.” Jay answered simply, “Mostly schoolwork and then hanging with these dudes. You?”

“Well, just tutoring and managing my club.” You said, grinning sweetly at the boy.

“You have a club?” Sunoo gasped, before pouting, “I wish I had my own club...”

“What kind of club is it?” Jay asked, seemingly interested in what you had to say.

“It’s called the Paranormal Activities Club. PAC for short. We meet every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at around 4:00” You explained, glancing at Jay as you continues, “We talk about all sorts of paranormal stuff like ghosts, werewolves, demons... vampires...” Jay shifts in his seat at the mention of monsters, and you of course take notice of this.

“That’s really cool.” Ni-ki admitted, smirking at you before looking away.

“Yeah... cool.” Jay agreed, a hesitance slightly present in his tone.

“Do you believe in anything like that, Jay?” You asked, relaxing your demeanor and trying to seem as inconspicuous as possible.

“Me?” He said and cleared his throat, “Not really. It’s possible, but super unlikely...” You hummed in response, taking note of how he copied your stance by relaxing his back and opening his legs a bit more to seem comfortable. He wouldn’t meet your gaze though.

Interesting...

Just as you were about to say something else, The announcer came over the loud speaker and announced that it was time for the next skater to go and Sunghoon skated out to the center of the rink and stood in front of the judges. He bowed before doing a half a lap and gliding the other half with his arms spread, greeting the crowd. You clapped along with everyone else, making a mental note to put the whole vampire situation on pause and focus on Sunghoon.

He returned to the center where he waited; the music began. It was a a soft piano track and it filled the rink with the sweet melody. Sunghoon then began to skate and you could swear you felt all the air leave your lungs.

As he glided, Sunghoon twisted and turn on his blades, spreading his arms like a delicate swan. As the song grew to a peak, He dug one of his blades into the ice and used it seemingly as a launchpad, jumping and spinning in the air like gravity didn’t effect him. As the song continued, he swiveled on one of his feet before jumping and spinning again; your eyes followed him, in awe at how beautiful and graceful he moved around on the ice. He then spun in one spot, long leg outstretched at a perfect 90 degree angle before transitioning into holding his blade and creating a ring with his body, all while continuing his turns. You watched, almost in a trance as he moved along with the symphony, skating right by the crowd and right past the judges before launching into another jump. As the song came to a close, Sunghoon got into his finishing stance, which was his arms outstretched forward and sliding on one knee towards the judges, a 5-star smile on his face. You can feel your heart pounding in your chest from his performance, taking a moment to calm down before applauding your tutor friend. (Did I watch a ton of vids on Sunghoon skating today? Yes.)

“He did fantastic.” You whisper breathlessly to Jay, who stands and starts to holler at his friend.

“He did.” Jay responded, showing a sense of pride for his best friend. The boys yell words of encouragement to Sunghoon as he bows to the judges and then to the crowd. You catch his gaze and feel a certain swell in your chest when he smiles just a bit brighter at you.

~~~

“You were gliding across the ice like ‘swooooshh’ and then you jumped up and spun like ‘trrrrt’!” Ni-ki gushed, rotating his finger as you were standing by the dressing room to congratulate Sunghoon. He looked even more beautiful up close, handsome features glowing in the place he’s most comfortable.

“You were awesome Hoonie!” Sunoo agreed, smiling so bright his eyes basically disappeared in his eye smiles.

“Thank you guys, really.” Sunghoon said out of breath, brushing his sweaty locks off his forehead, “I’m glad you all came to cheer for me.”

“Of course,” Jay scoffed, “What kind of friends don’t support their friend?”

“You should have seen (Y/N) watch you,” Sunoo exposed, moving aside to make room for you to talk to Sunghoon comfortably, “She couldn’t take her eyes off of you, and stared like this.” He then did an over-dramatized of you, eyes sparkling and jaw open so wide you thought he was trying to eat an invisible cheeseburger. You felt your face heat up out of embarrassment before Jay shoves Sunoo to get him to quit.

“For the record, I did not watch you like that.” You corrected, before grinning and holding out your hand for a high-five, “But you were really cool.” Sunghoon’s already flush cheeks reddened at your comment before letting out a small ‘thank you’ and lightly high-fiving you. When your hand touched Sunghoon’s, you felt a jolt of electricity and it made you giddy.

“Should we go out for pizza or something? To celebrate?” Ni-ki suggested, earning a murmur of agreements from the group. Sunghoon mentioned he had to go change and you were secretly upset by this. Just because you were friends didn’t mean you couldn’t think he was attractive right? He looked so good in that costume, the tight-fitting pants and loose shirt that left only a little to the imagination. You ogled his exposed collarbones for a moment more as he was talking to Jay about if he’d place; Although you had just now notice something that was there.

Right above his right collarbone, there seemed to be a small burn-mark that was previously covered with makeup but now was visible due to Sunghoon’s sweat. It wasn’t very big, but it looked like it was in a starburst shape and you wondered what could have caused it. Maybe a cooking accident with oil?

The ice price disappeared in the change room and you and the rest of the boys waited out front in the lobby. When Sunghoon did emerge from the change room, you all wasted no time and began to make your way to the closest pizza joint. You walked beside Jay, watching the other two boys tease Sunghoon in-front of you.

“So...” You said, trying to fill the silence; You didn’t know how to transition in to vampire talk so effortlessly. It was a weird topic to bring up out of the blue and you didn’t know how to ask Jay about his shoes without seeming like you had a foot fetish.

“Yeah..?” Jay asked before chuckling, “You okay? You look a little on edge; something on your mind perhaps?” Perfect.

“Well, its a little late and there have been a few attacks recently...” You said wearily, stealing glaces at the boy beside you.

“Oh yeah, there have been.” Jay gulped, brushing his hair out of his eyes, “But you’ll be okay if you stay close to us.”

“Me and my club suspect its a vampire.” You stated bluntly, wanting to see how Jay would react; he stiffens, but overall keeps a good composure.

“Really?” He chuckled dryly, “That’s interesting.”

“I know you don’t believe in that kind of stuff though.”

“yeah...”

“But we are pretty serious about it. We are just trying to find out who the vampire is.”

“Do you have a suspect?”

“yeah.” You answered and turned to him, pausing before speaking slowly, “We actually do have one...”

Jay stared at you, panic concealed in his glossed over eyes. Before he could speak, the boys lead you into the restaurant.You drop the conversation as you enter the building. You all squish into a corner booth and Ni-ki orders a pizza for all of you to share.

“what’s wrong Jay? you look like you’ve seen a ghost?” Sunoo asked concerned, placing his hand on his friends shoulder.

“Nothing’s wrong.” Jay said flatly, glancing at you before smiling, “I just can’t wait to eat.”

“Dude, I’m so hungry!” Ni-ki sighed, patting his stomach for emphasis.

“I’m not actually, so I think I’ll just hang out.” Sunghoon revealed, grinning softly. You were pressed next to him in the booth and for some reason you felt nervous.

It must have been the vampire thing.

Definitely.

Why else would you be nervous?

“What?” Sunoo exclaimed, “How could you not be hungry? You’ve exercised all day!”

“Not sure, but I’m good on the food.” Sunghoon explained, “I think I’ll just get an ice tea.”

Just then the pizza arrived and you all (besides Sunghoon) began eating. Lots of fun was had and you swear you felt like you were with your own friend group. The boys made you laugh and you felt pretty comfortable around them, even though you had just met Ni-ki and Sunoo today.

Not long after, it was dark and you and the boys had finished the pizza and it was time for you to go home; You still hadn’t gotten any information about Jay’s shoes or a confession about vampire activities. But you had an idea to maybe reveal some information, though you didn’t really want to do it...

As you guys stood up from the table, you “accidentally” knocked over Sunghoon’s half-drunken ice tea all over your shoes, drenching your feet and the surrounding carpet with the sticky drink.

“Ahhh!” You whined, feeling the coldness of the drink seeping into your socks. The boys reacted as quick as possible, picking up the glass and informing a waitress about the accident. You guys left the restaurant, embarrassed; You sat outside on the pavement, wringing your socks out, giggling about how silly the situation was. Now was the time to really get the information you need.

“What am I gonna do about walking home?” You sighed before looking at Jay playfully, “Maybe Jay will let me borrow his super cool boots! What size are they anyways?”

Jay chuckled and looked down at his shoes before shaking his head at you.

“No way man! I don’t trust you with my babies.” Jay joked, “besides, they are a men’s size 7, so I doubt you would be able to fit into them.” That was the same size as the print at the scene...

“I know, I’m just kidding.” You chuckled, trying to hide the thought process going on in your head, “I’ll just wear these gross sneakers home!” As you began to put your shoes on, your vision is suddenly covered by a figure crouching down in front of you.

“Hop on.” Sunghoon urged, looking over his shoulder with a smile, “You can’t live that far from here right?” You replied with a small ‘are you sure?’, to which Sunghoon nodded yes. You picked up your shoes with one hand before wrapping your arms and legs around the ice-prince. He stood up and adjusted you on his back, placing his hands around your thighs to support your body. You felt yourself become nervous, yet excited from the close contact, bringing heat to your face from these feelings.

“See you boys tomorrow!” Sunghoon called out to the boys as you and Sunghoon prepared to leave. Ni-ki and Sunoo waved before starting their trek in the opposite direction, bickering back and forth. Jay lingered for a moment longer, feeling a sense of anxiety bubble up in his chest. Were you close to finding out about...? He didn’t like the idea of you and Sunghoon being alone, but he trusted his friend.

“You two be careful okay?” Jay said very carefully, eyes glued to his friend, “I’ll see you tomorrow Sunghoon.” And with that, he turned to leave and quickly followed after the other two boys. You tried to get a look at the bottom of his shoes, but you couldn’t see them very well in the dark and in the distance.

You had let Sunghoon know where you lived and the two of you were off. For a bit, the only thing that could be heard was Sunghoon’s feet against the pavement and the beating of your heart in your ears. You found comfort in the smell of his cologne and the occasional street light as Sunghoon held you close.

“Hey, you didn’t have to carry me home...” You hummed, feeling slightly guilty about making Sunghoon carry you.

“Oh, my bad. I’ll just leave you here then.” He teased, loosening his grip on you. You squealed and clung onto his shoulders and let out a flurry of “no”s. He chuckled at your reaction before shifting his grip on you to hold you closer to him. You wrapped your arms around the boy tighter, burying your face in his shoulder. It was silent again, but only for a moment before you mumbled a quiet thank you; Sunghoon hummed in response, focusing on the warmth of you against his back and the thousand thoughts stirring in his head.

“Hey (Y/N), I have to ask you something.” He finally said; You had almost fell asleep on his back, focusing only on the sounds of his breathing. His statement intrigued you, causing you to perk up off of his shoulder.

“What’s up?” You said gently, tightening your grip.

“Say you had a really good friend...” He started out, voice low and serious, “and you found out they did something really bad, but it was an accident” You frowned, getting a sudden sense of dread. You suddenly felt how cold it was outside in the dark.

“What would you do?” He finally asked, “Would you stay friends with them?”

You were quiet for a minute, thinking of how to respond to this question. You had just passed the last streetlamp on the road you were walking so it was almost pitch black except for a few stars. The night atmosphere brought in a thick tension that made you feel nervous about the subject matter of Sunghoon’s question.

“I mean, I guess it really depends on what the bad thing is.” You stated, before continuing on, “But it was an accident and if I knew they were a good person, I guess I might stay friends.” Sunghoon nodded, thinking about your answer and breathing out weakly.

“Why? Did your friend do something really bad?” You asked suddenly, Jay popping into your mind. Sunghoon’s pace quickened a bit and you could feel his heart in his chest going crazy. He seemed anxious and you though about what that could mean. He adjusted his grip on you before clearing his throat.

“Nope. I was just wondering what you’d say.” He said flatly, seemingly more confident than before. You blinked a couple times, surprised by his sudden change of tone.

“Oh okay...” You replied nonchalantly, looking up to the sky and sighing, “I mean, if you did something bad on accident, I’d still be your friend because you’re a really great guy.” You didn’t even realize what you said until it came out of your mouth. You felt you face heat up and Sunghoon let out a hearty chuckle that made you even more flustered.

“Thanks I guess.” He said through giggles, Before chewing the skin on his bottom lip and responding back, “I think you’re a really great girl too.”

“Thanks” you can’t help but squeak, making you mentally want to punch yourself. There’s suddenly tension again, but for a different reason this time. Sunghoon’s grip on your legs is softer now and you notice his thumb beginning to mindlessly draw shape on your thighs. You held his broad shoulders tighter and you could feel him take a shaky breath as yours tickled the side of his neck.

But before the tension got too thick, you had arrived at your place. Sunghoon took you to the front door and let you down off of him before turning around to face you. His cheeks were red, but you were sure it wasn’t from the cold.

“Thanks again for taking me home.” You said, feeling like your stomach was going to explode.

“Its no problem.” Sunghoon assured you, rubbing the back on his neck to get the goosebumps to go away.

“It’s pretty late, do you want me to call you a cab?”

“No I’m alright, but thanks for the offer.”

“Are you sure? I’d hate for something to happen.”

“I’m sure.”

Sunghoon bowed his head to you, bidding you a farewell. You felt your body move towards him and before you could even think to stop yourself, you did the unthinkable.

You leaned in and placed a kiss on his cheek, right on the corner of his mouth and you swore you must have looked just as surprised as Sunghoon did; His eyes were wide and he looked as if he was frozen in time.

“I- uhmmmm....” You stammered before saying the stupidest thing in the universe, “Good job skating today. Goodnight!”

Sunghoon blinked a couple of times, finally seeming to wake up.

“Uh- Thanks!” He exclaimed, clearly flustered, before turning to leave you door. He had his hand on his face where you kissed as he waved back at you with the other when he realized he needed to say goodbye, “I- uhh, Goodnight (Y/N)!”

It was official, you wanted to die.

--------------------

“Jake, did you even listen to the rest of the story?” You huffed, embarrassed at your friends relentless teasing.

“If you didn’t want me to make fun of you,” Jake explained through fits of laughter, “You should have left the part where you awkwardly kissed pretty boy out of the story!”

You shoved Jake into room 300 because he was about to miss the turn into the classroom (and for your own personal gratification). Heesung and Jungwon were already there, putting the desks together to create your meeting table. Upon noticing your entrance they both greeted you and Jake before gazing at the cackling vice-president of PAC.

“What’s so funny?” Jungwon asked, pulling out all of the evidence photos from his backpack. Jake sighed, wiping a tear away and finally able to catch his breath.

“I mean, you should ask (Y/N).” He chuckled, “I’m sure she’s dying to explain.” You rolled your eyes, trying to fight your body from heating up.

“Nothing new, Jake just bullying me.” You shook your head and took your seat at the head of the table. After setting up the rest of the evidence, the boys sat down too and you officially started the meeting.

“Alright, so here’s what I got to find out about our suspect.” You said and went up to the whiteboard. You picked up a black dry erase marker and wrote Jay’s name before underlining it.

“First, when we were at the rink, I mentioned our club and asked if he believed in paranormal things and he said no, but with hesitation.” You said and wrote down a summary of what you said, “Then, when I mentioned the attacks, he got really antsy, especially after I mentioned that we were investigating for a vampire.”

“So no confession I presume?” Heesung asked, jotting notes down as you went along to keep your encounter documented after club was over and you had to erase the board.

“No, but he was very defensive any time I brought the vampire stuff up.” You explained and the boys nodded.

“And the other boys, you said they were named Sunoo and Ni-ki..?” Jungwon asked and you hummed in response, “Did they do anything suspicious?”

“Not a thing.” You said simply, “Sunoo seemed more worried about the attacks than I did. And Ni-ki was a bit more focused on pizza and figure skating than engaging in conversation.”

“However,” You continued before writing your thoughts on the board, “I have reason to believe Sunghoon knows about Jay being a vampire.”

“You do?” Heesung said, shocked at your accusation, “Why?”

“Well, I wanted to get more information about Jay’s boots, but I couldn’t bring up shoes without seeming weird so long story short, I dumped ice tea on my sneakers and Sunghoon took me home.” You said before writing a side note, “Oh and for your information, Jay’s shoe size is a 7 in men’s, but I couldn’t get a good look at the treads.”

“Okay, that useful information.” Jungwon said and jotted that down, “But continue.”

“Anyways, He had asked me if I would stay friends with someone if they did something really bad, but I knew it was on accident.” You explained, writing the point form of that conversation on the board, “So I suspect he knows about Jay and doesn’t know what to do, stay friends or turn him in.”

“I mean, that is an oddly specific question.” Jungwon agreed, furrowing his eyebrows in thought, “Why would you ask someone that unless you specifically have an experience to go by.”

“Anything else happen?” Heesung asked, looking at you expectantly.

“Yeah (Y/N), anything else happen?” Jake, who had been quiet this whole time asked, eyes fluttering and a grin on his face. You groaned, pinching the bridge of your nose.

“Relevant to the investigation, no.” You said before sighing, “But I also gave Sunghoon a really awkward kiss on the cheek, but that’s irreverent.”

The room went up in a flurry, and you could have swore you wouldn’t have gotten a bigger reaction if you said you had found Jay to be the vampire. All the boys were talking at once and it was so loud, you almost didn’t hear a knock at the door. You shushed them before going to the door and opening it to reveal the man you were just talking about.

“Uh, hi...” Sunghoon greeted shyly. The rest of the boys peered over your shoulder to eavesdrop on the conversation until Sunghoon met their gaze, to which they looked anywhere but the doorway. You’re gaze dropped, not being able to his face, feeling the heat of nervousness and embarrassment creep up your neck.

“Hey, what’s up?” You asked, suddenly aware of all of the writing you had on the whiteboard; You pulled the door a bit closer, blocking most of the room.

“I just wanted to uhh.... I wanted to talk to you about something.” Sunghoon mumbled, clearly nervous. The boys let out a loud ‘oooOooOoOOoO’ from behind you and you reminded yourself to hit them later. You rolled your eyes feeling bad for how your friends were being.

“Sure, let’s just go out into the hallway.” You said and closed the door behind you. It was quite out there and you finally had the courage to bring your gaze back up to his face. Your eyes settled on the spot where you had kissed him a couple nights ago and you couldn’t help the butterflies from fluttering around in your stomach.

“Before you say anything,” You sighed, trying your best to hide your embarrassment, “I’m sorry about Saturday night. I totally don’t even know what I was thinking doing that and-”

“Oh please don’t apologize!” Sunghoon interrupted frantically, before clearing this throat and fiddling with an envelope; You hadn’t even noticed he was holding it until now.

“I mean, I don’t mind you kissing me like that...” He said timidly, smirking to himself before holding the envelope out for you to take. You do take it, feeling the red wax seal on the front, “I wanted to give you that. But please don’t read it yet!”

“Alright, I’ll wait to read it.” You agreed and gripped the paper tightly, “Is that all..?”

“Well, I was also wondering if you want to come over later today?” He asked, biting his bottom lip; your eyes were trained to his mouth, but instead of his lips, you were focused on his pointed canine teeth; how cute that he had little “fangs”!

“Yeah, I’d love to, but as a date..?” You asked timidly, rocking back and forth on your feet. Sunghoon blinked and gazed at the ground, ears red.

“If you want it to be, I’d like that too...” He said and you nodded, feeling like your heart was about to explode, “So I guess just be in the lobby of my apartment by 8 and bring the letter. Please don’t read it until then.”

“I promise.” You agreed again, smiling like an idiot, “I guess I’ll see you later.”

Sunghoon said goodbye and gave you a kiss, much like you did to him a few nights ago; Only this time, his lips attached to your mouth for a moment and you felt like you could die happy. Except he tasted oddly metallic, but you were too excited to care. He waved goodbye and scurried down the hallway and disappeared from your sight.

You go back into the classroom and are met with three pairs of eyes on you. You stared at the boys and they stared back in silence.

“So are we gonna talk about pretty boy asking you out or..?” Jake finally said and you scoffed, approaching them.

“Let’s just get back to work on things that matter!” You huffed, but couldn’t stop the grin from gracing your features.

~~~

Ice Prince: you’re almost here?

You text back a reply and quickly close your phone. Jake glanced at you before patting your shoulder reassuringly while keeping is focus on the road.

“Hey, everything will be fine.” He said and smiled, “I mean, I think you’ll probably spill water all over his floor and probably trip in the elevator, but I guess he’s into girls like that.”

“Oh god, don’t jinx me.” You groaned, pulling down the flip-up mirror in Jake’s car to check your makeup one last time. You take a tube of lip-chap out of your bag and apply another layer, worried about your lips being crusty. Jake chuckled and parked in front of Sunghoon’s building, flipping the mirror up and startling you in the process.

“You look great, dude.” He said simply and gives you a lopsided grin, “Just breathe and be yourself and everything will go great.” You take a deep breath in and thank Jake before giving him a hug.

“Hey, when you tell me all about it later, make sure to leave out all the kissing parts.” He teased, grimacing as you got out of the car, “I don’t need to hear about you and pretty boy swapping spit.”

“If I knew you’d be so jealous of me, I would have set you two up instead.” You grinned and walked towards the front door, thanking Jake for the ride before entering the lobby.

(Y/N): I’m here!

Ice Prince: Be right there to see you :)

Ice Prince: Did you bring the letter?

After reading the last message, you texted back a quick ‘yes’. Just then, the elevator doors opened to reveal Sunghoon, who beamed when he saw you. He looked almost as ethereal as when he was on the ice (almost).

He had his hair parted in the middle and a simple, over-sized white dress shirt tucked into his black jeans. The shirt felt somewhat familiar, but you couldn’t place where you’d seen one like that...

“Hey.” He said, shakiness evident in his voice, “You look so beautiful...”

“Oh thanks.” You replied, trying to hide your nervousness, “I think you look beautiful- I! Uhhhh mean handsome! You look really handsome...”

You mentally facepalmed yourself, but it must have been showing in your features because Sunghoon laughed, releasing all the tension in the room. After all, this was your calculus tutor and a friend you were with. He lead you into the elevator. Sunghoon lived on one of the top floors on his apartment complex, so you'd be in there for a minute; Sunghoon took the time to try and ease his nerves, staring at the doors and humming a soft tune.

You glanced in the mirror in the elevator, wanting to make sure your hair was perfect. And that’s when you saw it; more accurately, didn’t see it...

You were alone in the reflection.

Feeling like your eyes were deceiving you, you turned back to see Sunghoon standing there, humming away without a care in the world. You turned back to the mirror and saw that he wasn’t in the mirror. You felt your stomach drop as everything clicked together.

No mirrors in his house, the burn on his collarbone, not eating after the competition, his question that night, the metallic taste of his lips, and that stupid shirt...

“Come on (Y/N),” Sunghoon beckoned from the hallway; you hadn’t realized the doors opened and he was waiting for you. Sunghoon smiled and your eyes snapped to his sharp canines you had noticed earlier today, “Sorry, was I interrupting your daydream?”

“Not at all.” You said nervously, leaving the elevator and following Sunghoon to his place. You had to fight the urge to run away from him and not let him be alone with you in his apartment; he could be trapping you and every instinct was screaming run.

But you were curious about him. If he really was... then as the president of PAC, you needed to know.

“Hey (Y/N), you don’t have to be afraid.” He whispered, facing his door and opening it. He held his door open to you and softly grinned, which filled you with comfort, “Its just me.”

You entered his apartment and everything looked like it had the last time you were here. It had felt like ages ago now.

You sat on the couch, feeling surprisingly calm; But you always had felt pretty calm around Sunghoon (up until recently when you started getting butterflies because of your feelings), so it made sense.

“Do you want anything?” He called from the kitchen casually, like he does when you study here. He was looking in the fridge, as if he didn’t notice the change in your behavior.

“No, I’m alright.” You hummed, sitting with your hands in you lap; the atmosphere was thick, and you watched as Sunghoon closed the fridge and approached the couch and sat beside you, “So, what do you have planned?”

“First things first, I want to address that letter I gave you,” He said and looked at your bag that was still around your shoulder; You moved it and went to take the letter out of it, shuffling around in the bag, “And then maybe we can go out somewhere or watch a movie or whatever you want.”

“Sounds good, I have it right here.” You said, still looking for it in your bag. You ducked your head to look in your bag for it, surprised you hadn’t felt it yet, but you couldn’t see it in there, “It should be in here... somewhere...”

Sunghoon watched as you start taking things out of your bag until it was empty; no letter.

“I could have sworn I brought it!” You huffed, frustrated and embarrassed you forgot the one thing you needed, “I’m so sorry. but maybe you can just tell me what it said..?”

“ahhh of course this would happen...” Sunghoon sighed, chuckling to himself, looking at the velvet cushion of the couch, “I can’t believe I have to grow the courage to actually say it, but you needed to know.”

“Maybe you don’t have to say it.” you grabbed his hands, causing him to look you in the eyes. There was a suddenly tension, and you could feel yourself growing meeker by the second, “Maybe I already know...”

Sunghoon was so close you could feel the heat radiating from his body. His eyes hid something you couldn’t read, but his expression laid stone cold. He licked his lips before responding to you, eyes not leaving yours.

“What do you know?” His voice was low, barely above a whisper.

“What you are.” You said breathlessly with your last ounce of courage. Sunghoon’s eyes flickered, leaning away from you and looking out the window. He pulls his hands from yours, placing them in his own lap.

“It was the elevator right?” He asked, continuing before you could answer, “I mean, I wouldn’t be surprised if you figured out my little secret sooner, you being the president of the vampire hunting club and all.”

It was silent for a moment; Sunghoon still couldn’t meet your gaze, looking out the window into the lit city streets while you couldn’t stop looking at him. He was still beautiful as ever, and your eyes wandered to the mole on the bridge of his nose. You remember walking home with him that day an finally noticing it; You thought it made him look so much prettier.

He was still the same man as he was that day.

“What happened with Geonu?” You asked tentatively, leaning closer to Sunghoon to look out the window too.

“I had it all written down in the letter, but I can tell you about it because I owe you at least that much.” He said, his voice sounding weak and tired.

God he was so hungry.

He was off to buy some beef to curb the cravings (Sunghoon eats it raw), but the market he went to was closed until the next morning.

But it didn’t help that he was hungry now and as time went on, his willpower was dwindling. As Sunghoon walked down the streets, hoping some fresh air would help with the intense burning in his stomach, before a familiar voice called out to him.

“Hey Sunghoon, Why are you out so late?” Jay called, jogging to catch up with Sunghoon. Jay was known to enjoy late night shenanigans, so it was no surprise to Sunghoon why he was out at night. But the smell of Jay’s sweat was killing him in ways he couldn’t explain to his friend.

“Wanted to go for a walk.” He answered flatly, trying to control his rampant desires. He kept walking, trying to get away from Jay, but his friend wouldn’t leave him alone.

“Hey dude, wait up! You don’t look so good...” Jay said, concern laced in his voice, “I’m gonna take you home okay, you need to rest up.”

As Jay reached out to touch Sunghoon, it was the last straw. Sunghoon grabbed his friend by the arm and yanked him, causing Jay to stumble to the ground in the adjacent alleyway, trying to process what was happening. Sunghoon lunged onto Jay, holding him down.

“Sunghoon get off of me!” Jay shouted, struggling to get out of the vice like grip Sunghoon had placed on his wrists. He saw the pure predatory look in his friend’s eyes and the growing of his teeth; The sight was something that would never leave Jay’s head.

“Sunghoon snap out of it!” Jay yelled, finally being able to throw Sunghoon off of his body. Sunghoon immediately made some distance between the two and burst into tears, laying on the pavement clutching his stomach.

“I’m sorry Jay...” Sunghoon cried, regaining the littlest bit of composure, “I’m.. It... It hurts so bad, Jay.”

“Hey it’s okay...” Jay said through heavy breaths, still trying to process what was going on and that this was real, “You should just go home and try to feel better okay?”

But just then, another figure appeared in mouth of the alleyway; Geonu.

He was studying late that night, stopping at the convenient store for some late night snacks. He was on his way back to the library when he hears shouting and fighting in the alleyway. And like any other person, he went to see what was going on and if he was able to help.

“Hey what’s going on? I heard shouting and fighting...” He explained, gazing at the two boys on the ground before approaching them. He stuck his hand out to Sunghoon, who was closer of the two to help him to his feet when the boy lashed out Geonu, digging his fingernails into his forearm and wailing.

Geonu pulled his arm away, crying out in pain and shuffling away from Sunghoon, holding onto the deep gash on his arm that was oozing blood. Once Sunghoon caught scent of it, his last bit of control was gone.

He lunged at Geonu, but he was quicker, stumbling to his feet and running in the direction of the school with Sunghoon in pursuit.

“Sunghoon! Wait!” Jay shouted, running after his friend to get him away from Geonu. He watched as they were heading through the front gate in the direction of the soccer feild.

Jay ran to the woods, hoping to cut off the duo; Suddenly there was a scream of anguish, sounding like Jay’s dear friend. He ran faster, emerging from the bush to see the two boys lying on the field.

Sunghoon had Geonu on his back, holding Sunghoon with his palms firmly on his chest. However, Geonu was wearing a silver ring that was burning into Sunghoon’s flesh near Sunghoon’s collarbone, which made the boy cry out. He ripped the hand from his shoulder before twisting the silver ring off Geonu’s finger and throwing it out at the track.

Sunghoon then fiercely lunged towards his neck, sinking his fangs into the center of his throat. Geonu’s screeched out in agony but it was already done. He weakly pushed on the boy above him, trying to get him off as he grew weaker.

Sunghoon sucked and chewed at the open wounds on Geonu, feeling the burning pain in his stomach subside. He held Geonu firmly until he ceased to move.

Jay watched in horror, his head spinning. He felt like he was in a dream as he watched his closest friend turn into a vampire and kill someone. Sunghoon unlatched from Geonu, realizing what he had done. He scurried away from Geonu’s body as fast as he could before wiping the copious amounts of blood from his mouth and chin area. He gazed at the red on his hands, feeling sick.

Sunghoon let out a pained scream, sitting on his knees as he let out sobs. Jay, shaken by his friends reaction, tried to approach the boy. Sunghoon looked at him,tears in his eyes.

“I-” Sunghoon choked, “God what have I done?”

Jay stared at his friend with wide eyes, kneeling on the grass.

“I’m a monster Jay.” Sunghoon wailed, shaking and crying, “I didn’t mean for this to happen... I was just so hungry and- and I killed him Jay. I couldn’t-” He broke into heavy sobs, pulling at his hair with red spit dropping onto his knees.

“Its... It’s okay.” Jay reassured, not exactly knowing what to do, went to his friend and wrapped his arm around him to sooth him, “You’re okay...”

“I’m a Vampire Jay, but I try my best to not hurt humans.” Sunghoon sniffled, wiping his face with the back of his hand before trembling, “But I did... I killed him and I don’t know what to do... There so much red.”

Without a word, Jay took off his jacket, before reaching for the buttons on Sunghoon’s dress shirt. He didn’t know what he just saw, but Sunghoon is his best friend and whatever killed Geonu wasn’t the Sunghoon who was in front of him now. So he helped his friend rid himself of the red on his shirt before tying it up in the bag Geonu had gotten from the convenient store and wrapping his jacket around Sunghoon.

He walked his friend to his house, where he cleaned him up and put him to sleep on his bed, watching over him as he slept, trying to get the nightmarish images from this night out of his head.

“What I did...” Sunghoon sighed finally turning to look at you with a serious face. Tears were brimming the edges of his eyes before he swallowed, “It’s unforgivable. I’m gonna have to live with the fact that I’m a monster forever.”

You stared back blankly, not sure of what you felt. Nothing felt real at this moment; you should be horrified, angry, or even a bit stressed, however you felt surprisingly calm. You resisted the urge to reach out and touch him, not knowing how he would react.

Sunghoon sight and looked back out the window, a weak smile.

“Y’know, I don’t blame you if you want to run away,” He said nodding slowly before swallowing, “I just wanted you to know the truth and I felt that it was the only good thing to do. I totally understand if you-”

“Stop.” You interrupted, causing Sunghoon to turn to you. Before your brain registered what you were doing, you leaned in and kissed Sunghoon, hands coming up to wrap around his neck. He was shocked, but quickly kissed you back cupping your face with his hands. You broke free and he blinked expectantly a couple of times.

“Listen, I don’t know what I think, cause this is a lot to process,” You started to explain, playing nervously with the hair on his nape. You looked at Sunghoon’s face; His soft lips, his pretty eyes and his pretty features, reminding you of who was in front of you. And with that, you made up your mind

“But, I don’t hate you, and I don’t want to leave.” You said firmly, “You aren’t a monster; you’re Sunghoon, the dork who figure skates, who studies with me every Tuesday and Thursday. You’re the guy who carried me home when my shoes were gross and the guy who my friends tease me about liking. This doesn’t change anything. You’re still you and I love you the way you are. So I’m not going anywhere.”

Sunghoon held your face, thumbs caressing your cheeks before he leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on you lips. It was quick but sweet. He whispered a ‘thank you’, finally able to relax a bit.

You wanted nothing more than to kiss him again, so you did, leaning in and kissing him deeply. You felt dizzy, but the only thing you knew was you never wanted to stop kissing Sunghoon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“As president of the PAC, I officially begin this meeting. We have a few things on the agenda today.” You said simply, sitting down in your spot, breathing out a heavy sigh, “To start, I have an update for all of you about our vampire.”

You thought all night about what you were to do with the information that Sunghoon is a vampire. You had explained everything to him; about how you were looking for a vampire and how you had suspected his friend was the perp and not Sunghoon himself. and after much deliberation (and Sunghoon’s permission), you thought the best course of action would be to tell your friends the truth. it would be impossible to lie to them when you were so invested in-

“Is it that your boyfriend is a vampire?” Jake asked, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms over his chest. You looked at him in shock, flabbergasted on how Jake came to the conclusion. Before you had the chance to speak, he nonchalantly tossed an envelope- the one Sunghoon had given to you - on the desks.

“You left this in my car when I dropped you off for your date.” Jake explained.

“So, you opened it and read it..?” you asked; Jake silently shrugged and you shook your head at him in disappointment.

“Anyways, the point is, he admits it in the letter.” Jake said simply, glancing to Heeseung and Jungwon, who looked between you and the letter, “I texted the boys about it while you were on your date.”

“And?” You asked, looking between all the boys, “What do you want to do with that information..?”

“What do you want to do, (Y/N)?” Jungwon asked, “I’m sure you have your feelings invested on what happens next?”

You took a deep breath and slumped back in your chair, “I mean, I think Sunghoon a good guy. I’ve known him for a while and obviously now that were dating, I believe it even more. I know the most logical thing is to turn him into the authorities... but truthfully I’m not sure if I can. But if you all want to, that’s your choice.”

The boys were silent before Heeseung cleared his throat.

“well, we have already talked about the next course of action.” Heeseung began, speaking gently as if you’d spook. Jake hummed, gaze soft as he watched your uneasiness rise. He swallowed before speaking, “I don’t know Sunghoon as well, but he seems nice. and he makes you happy. And I think everything will be okay if we just leave it at that.”

You felt a wave of relief wash over you as you watch Jake’s expression relax; it was as if he was just as nervous about the decision as you were.

“There was a lot of logic talk with it,” Jungwon explained, lacing his fingers together and placing his hands on the desk, “realistically, the police probably wouldn’t even believe us if we did explain everything to them, so there would be no point.”

“And we also thought it would be a cool opportunity to talk to someone who is paranormal.” Heeseung added, with a shrug and a smirk, “y’know, for more club activities.”

“Yeah! (Y/N), do you think you could get Sunghoon to come and we could interview him for our records?” Jake asked, almost jumping out of his seat because he was so excited. you chuckled at your friends, who not only seemed to be making the best out of this situation, but also who just genuienly seemed interested in supporting you and Sunghoon.

“Funny you ask,” You laughed, standing from your chair. You made your way to the door, “Because the second order of business is that we have a few new members joining out club today and I was waiting to introduce them.”

You open the door to reveal Sunghoon and Jay, who awkwardly wave at your friends.

“Sorry for the wait, you guys can go sit down at our makeshift meeting table.” You explained, watching as Sunghoon smiled at you before he leaned in a placed a kiss onto your cheek.

“Hey, uhm..” Jay began awkwardly, walking over to and pointing at the whiteboard, “Why does it say “Evidence Jay is a Vampire” on your board..?”

“Oh uhm, don’t mind that.” Jungwon squeaks sheepishly, going over to the board and quickly erasing it.

“Hey, what’s so wrong with that?” Sunghoon teased, wrapping his arm around you and nudging his friend with his other. The group let out a flurries of chuckles.

“Hey Sunghoon, come sit over here.” Jake gestures to the seat beside him, grinning wildly at your boyfriend, “I have so many questions to ask you!”

You watched as the boys settled in nicely; Jungwon was showing some of the ‘research’ of vampire Jay to human Jay, while Jake and Heeseung brought out notepads and began to ask Sunghoon about some of his habits. You couldn’t help the undeniable feeling your heart swell at the thoughts of what the future might hold.

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A/N: ITS FINALLY DONE!!! I know this writing quality probably isn’t good (it is from years ago), but I loved this concept too much and put too much work into this fic just to scrap it. I hope you enjoyed it and if not, stayed tuned for something better !!!

#kpop #kpop fanfic #fluff #angst #horror #fantasy au #vampire au #enhypen #enhypen fanfic #enhypen vampire au #park sunghoon #sunghoon #sunghoon x reader #park sunghoon x reader #sunghoon vampire au #sunghoon fantasy au

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strzlun · 7 months

Text

VAMPIRE

// park sunghoon //

pairing: vampire!sunghoon x human!femreader

word count- 13.1k

genre/cw- angst, fluff, mentions of death, sunghoon is head over heels, slowburn, usage of “love”, violence(?), crying(sobbing), profanity, party setting, fangs, protective sunghoon, confessions, fated love, lucid (past) dreams, someone follows reader (just for a scene)

summary- Sunghoon lingered around until he was ready to sink his teeth into his desire

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You didn’t believe in vampires or any mystical creatures for that matter. You believed they were just merely apart of the fictitious world. But if they were to ever exist, you believe they would take the form of Park Sunghoon.

Park Sunghoon was the notorious popular boy around your campus, he had everything anyone could ever want. Everyone knew him and the power he held and they all wanted a chance with him, to take a look inside the hidden shadows of a world that Sunghoon lives in.

Yet, he never gave the time of day to anyone, he kept his distance with anyone that were practically attached to the idea on him. He only continued on with his life, not letting the desires of others distract him.

However, there were the few selected that Sunghoon had spared a glance towards and they were never the same after meeting him. They seemed to have had a new side to them that no one could decipher.

You had your fair number of interactions with him, whether it was mere glances around campus or discussion about assigned projects, you thought it was nothing major but to others it seemed to unravel something you weren’t aware of.

The interactions you’ve had with him was more than enough to have people crowd you. You hated having random people show up next to you, only to ask what it was like to be so close in the presence of Park Sunghoon.

You didn’t get why everyone was practically at his mercy. He was just a human being like the rest of you.

You yawned as you could feel the all-nighter catching up to you, you had an exam this upcoming week and you decided to go over the material in the library.

You tried to stay awake but you knew better there was no way you would make it without falling asleep. You gathered your belongings and decided to call it night and hope for the possible best.

You had walked at night plenty of times and thankfully you never encountered anyone during these times. Yet, you guess that might change when you feel the presence of someone behind you. You were pushing past it a few blocks back thinking it must be someone else heading home after an exhausting day.

But you realized that the person was always behind you, taking every turn and stride as you. That’s when you realized you were being followed, you tried to remain calm and rational.

You would look at passing windows and see the reflection of the shadow figure of the person, head hanging low not wanting to get caught. You gulped nervously, you were just about to reach your place in a few minutes so you hope the person would just leave you alone.

As you were walking, your eyes landed onto a person walking in the opposite direction from you but widened to see that it was Sunghoon.

You wondered what he was doing out so late at night, but in that moment you were grateful to see a familiar face. You and Sunghoon made eye contact with each other, his gaze was hard and you could notice him slowing down his pace and changing directions to walk over to you.

You stopped walking, waiting for him. You could see the glance he took behind you and you assumed he must’ve noticed the person behind you. He kept his harsh gaze behind you until he reached you and changed his gaze onto you.

“I’ll walk you home” You didn’t protest his offer, you simply nodded your head and the two of walked by each other’s side

You could feel the presence behind you finally disappear and you released a sigh of relief. You could feel Sunghoon’s gaze never leaving you but you didn’t look at him, you were already beyond exhaustion.

“Are you okay?” He never asked you about your well being so this was definitely a shock for you

“Yeah I’m fine thank you” You gratefully smiled at him and he only hummed, you wanted to ask what he was doing out so late at night but you decided not to pry, it’s none of your business

After a few minutes of walking, you finally arrived at your place. You told him it was fine that he didn’t have to walk you all the way to your front door but he insisted. Just as you were going to go inside, Sunghoon stopped you.

“Can I use your phone to call my friend? I’m supposed to meet up with him but my phone died” You stared at him for a moment, but nonetheless you took out your phone and gave it to him, you were turning the favor of him walking you home

Sunghoon smiled quickly before typing in your phone. When he gave back your phone, you noticed that he never called anyone. You looked at your phone to see the new contact created in your phone.

Park Sunghoon. You looked to see Sunghoon already going down the stairs, he could feel your gaze on him and he turned around when he reach the bottom.

“Call me whenever you have to walk alone, I’ll walk with you” And with that he was gone, you looked to try and find him but you could his faint figure walking and turning the corner, before disappearing into the night

As you looked back down to your phone, you found yourself dwelling on his words, you scoffed to yourself as you shook your head.

Sunghoon didn’t mean what he said.

After Sunghoon dropped you off at your house, he got rid of the smugly smile he had as the thought about the moment between you two faded from his mind and was replaced with the thought of the person following you.

He had a scowl on his face as he grumbled. Now he definitely was going to be late meeting his friend.

Sunghoon yawned as the low vampire struggled from beneath his foot. He would be damn if the low vampire thought he would go easy. The low vampire was thinking of hurting you and if he hadn’t arrived, Sunghoon knew he would have to get his hands dirty.

Everyone in the area knew, you were the only one to never be messed with.

You were under his sworn protection until eternity.

“Are you going to apologize for trying to go after her?” Sunghoon was instigating an apology but when the low vampire stayed silent, Sunghoon pressed his foot harder causing the low vampire to groan

“I’m hungry” That was all the low vampire was able to mutter and he laughed hearing the reasoning

Sunghoon crouched down to level with the low vampire, never removing his foot.

“Then you find an alternative. You don’t go for someone you know you can never touch” His tone was cold, his words getting harsher and harsher than the previous one

“I’m sorry” He hummed happily as he took off his foot from the low vampire, who gasped for air

“Good, now go somewhere else to hunt” The low vampire only coughed and ran away from Sunghoon who stayed in the dark alley

He sighed heavily feeling exhausted, he dusted off his clothes and straighten them out before walking out the dark alley.

It was as if a flip switched inside of him as he replaced the scowl with a stoic face. His strides were prideful, he was an aware of the power he held.

After all, he was the most powerful vampire in the area.

Today was another all nighter, you were stressing over exams you know you should’ve studied before hand. But you were a procrastinator and decided to push for things last minute in hopes to get them done.

You yawned as you finally finished the last piece of study material. The achievement of finally completing this almost felt rewarding, but the time frame in which it was done seemed like a punishment.

You saw the time and your heart nearly dropped seeing it was almost four am, you seemed to have lost track of time in general. You were quick to collect your belongings before walking out of the library to head back home.

Yet, before you continued walking, you stopped for a moment. You pondered on a thought or rather a conversation and Sunghoon’s name seemed to be lingering in your head.

You took out your phone and went to his contact (which you never deleted), you pondered whether calling him or not. But you shook your head and put your phone away, you just assumed he was being nice. He didn’t mean his words for you to call him whenever you have to walk alone.

You were going to venture on back to your home and you could feel the drowsiness slowly take over, your eyelids felt heavy and you found yourself yawning every now and then. This was the last time you ever procrastinated studying for your exams.

You didn’t even make it ten feet away from the library until you felt your life flash before your eyes.

“Boo” Your scream could’ve awaken the whole world up with how loud it was, you could hear the groaning from behind you causing you to whip your head

When you see Sunghoon holding his ear from your scream, you felt a sense of relief seeing it was only him before it being replaced with anger.

“Sunghoon what the hell are you doing?” He made it seem like he was trying to regain his hearing and after a few moments of silence he finally looked at you

“You aren’t the only one cramming in studies for exams” He muttered as he straightened out his posture, he should’ve expected this reaction but thinking about it he didn’t mind

Today Sunghoon was longing for you deeply today and he didn’t know what caused this emotion to erupt in him. Maybe it was talking to you that caused him to miss the So he decided to drown himself in studies for the upcoming exams, which he knew he would ace with no problem.

He didn’t want to indulge in the desire for you, he wanted to keep his distance from you but he also wanted to keep an eye on you from afar.

When he decided to leave the library that’s when he saw you walking and yawning with each step you take. He wasn’t one to smile in public, but he couldn’t help himself when he saw you.

“But so late at night?” You tilted your head but soon you realized you were one to talk, so you quickly raised your hand for him not to say anything

“Let’s go” Sunghoon moved his head forwards as he took steps ahead of you, you looked at him with confusion and he could practically feel it oozing out of you

“I told you, you’ll never have to walk alone as long as I’m here” His words were smooth but rough like ice, you could feel the shiver in your body as he turned around to look at you

Under the moonlit sidewalk, your heart felt a churn and you were quite sure if it was a warning or a sign. You gulped down nervously before taking steps to pass Sunghoon. He smirked at your actions and followed to catch up to you.

The walk was quiet, it was awkward but rather you were too tired to maintain any conversation with him. He respected that and kept his mouth shut, as long as he was able to be by your side that more than enough.

Distant howls could be heard and you looked to left where there was a forest, Sunghoon stopped walking when he noticed your gaze.

“Dogs” He muttered and when you turned to face him, he puckered his lips ushering you to keep walking, you tiredly rolled your eyes and continued walking

Sunghoon took the chance to look towards the forest himself, before clenching his jaw lightly and walking back towards you.

The moment you crashed onto your bed, your eyes were quick to shut as you fell into the abyss of sleep.

You groaned when feeling the sunlight hit your face. You groggily opened your eyes as they tried to adjust to the surrounding and once it sunk into where you were, your eyes were wide open.

You looked around to see a grass meadow, you laid up against a tree with the leaves and branches covering you. Your breathing became heavy with no recognition of where you were.

“Oh you’re awake” The voice you knew all too well, you’d just heard it a few hours ago

When you turned to face Sunghoon, you were ready to start questioning him but you stopped when actually seeing him.

His gaze looked softer, the warm smile on his face contrasted when you last saw him. When he noticed your expression, you see the worry take over. He slowly walked over to you and just when he was close enough, you saw the necklace he wore.

You could see the first letter of your name dangling in the middle as he got closer to you.

“Are you okay?” The tone made your heart melt and you didn’t understand why but you weren’t able to respond, you could only simply look at him

No matter how hard you tried to speak with up, it was like your mouth was shut and you couldn’t say a word. When he cupped your cheek, you flinched lightly at the warmth of him. He retracted his hands for a moment before hesitantly resting it back onto your cheek.

He examined your face and when he noticed there seemed to be no sign of injury, he sighed before looking into your eyes.

The way he looked into your eyes felt different, it didn’t feel like the usual times he looked at you. He smiled softly before taking a seat next to you.

He intertwined your hands together and it made you shocked at how perfectly your hands fitted with one another. He rested his head onto your shoulder while rubbing his thumb on your hand.

“Let’s rest a little more mhm?” His tired voice seemed to have put you under a trance because before you knew it your eyes became droopy and soon you drifted off to sleep once again

Your eyes fluttered opened and you expected to be in the same location but when you noticed you were back in your room, that was enough to make you sit up.

Your breathing became uneven as you looked around your surroundings, the throbbing of your head didn’t help ease your nerves.

You wondered why you dreamt about Sunghoon and why the hell it felt so real.

As Sunghoon walked around campus, there was a slight bounce to his steps. His face still stoic but the steps he took seemed happier than usual, well he was happier.

Walking home with you last night felt like a fever dream. Even though, you two didn’t talk much, it was still enough for him to remind him.

He shouldn’t interfere, he knew that better than anyone else. But he’s waited months, years, decades to see you again. Upon meeting you again, he couldn’t help but inch closer and closer to you.

He wondered if you were to remember him, would you come back to him or would you run away in fear of what he’s become.

He shook his head, clearing it of those thoughts. He has an exam to ace, he couldn’t think of those things.

The vacation you anticipated was finally here. You walked out, stretching of your limbs freely. You felt exhausted but were more glad that the exams you dreaded were finally over. Now you were able to rest comfortably and not stress.

You were going to head home when you saw someone walking up to you. You looked and you could feel the racing of your heart, when Sunghoon came into your vision.

His gaze was cold but that’s how his gaze was. But the flash of the warmth gaze from the Sunghoon of your dreams, made you cough awkwardly.

As he stood in front of you, you could see the noticing gazes of people passing by. The short whispers wondering if the two of you were getting closer with each other.

“What?” You asked and you could see the faint scoff of a smile on his face before going back to his stoic face

“Heading home?”

“After a long day of exams, I think I will be” Your remarked would have made him chuckle if it was just the two of you, but in public he nodded his head

“Let’s go then” He tilted his head and you knew it meant he was walking you home again

“You know, you don’t have to. You can head home” You offered as Sunghoon was already walking ahead of you, he shook his head and continued walking

“I know I don’t have to, but I want to. There’s a difference” The glance he takes over his shoulder to look at you made your heart stop

You gnawed at your lips before sighing and walking behind Sunghoon, when he noticed he slowed down his pace to have you ahead of him.

You didn’t even seem to realize his actions, the two of simply slipped into a comfort of silence. Sunghoon wanted to savor this moment, he knew he shouldn’t be doing this but last time he checked he didn’t care.

It was you. For you, he will be willing to do anything if it meant being in your presence. He did it once, he wouldn’t be afraid to do it again.

When Sunghoon reached his house, it was already dark. He placed his belongings down and landed onto his couch, he wasn’t tired not exhausted, he just needed a breather.

That was until you filled his mind. He found himself finally releasing the smile he’s yet to show you, when the time is right. The moments may be small but to him, they mean the absolute world.

He rested an arm behind his head, the thoughts and memories that filled him were nothing but bittersweet. The smiles and laughter he once created for you rested in his dull non-beating heart. He remembered as if it were yesterday when he once had you in his arms without a care in the world.

He remembers when the two of you were once madly in love with each other.

That was until you were stripped away from him. He lost all sense of reality, the night he lost you. It was nothing but bitter and rage, when you were found. He never forgave himself till this day, he thought, if he had just stayed with you, the two of you could’ve lived happily ever after together.

Yet, he was given an opportunity. Where he can meet you once again and watch over you to protect you for eternity. But the cost? His mortality.

But he didn’t care, as long as he was able to see you again. He would everything in his power.

During, the pouring down rain, him and the person who’d given the opportunity stood in the moonlight. This was the night where Sunghoon would meet his new profound fate.

The hallucinations given to him made tears well up in his eyes. He saw you in front of him, the same smile he adored. You simply walked over to him and rested a hand against his cheek, he melted into your touch as he moved his head to expose his neck even more.

“Bite me”

The words were faint and when the striking of the bite struck him, the illusion of you disappeared as well as his conscious. The next time he woke up, he could feel the agonizing sensation in his mouth, the sudden coldness of his skin and the unbearable pain in his neck with the creeping sensation of hunger.

He looked around the person was no where to be found, he was all alone in this world until he found you again. Then, it would be you and him in this world once again.

Sunghoon brought himself back and got up from his couch, he didn’t need to think about this anymore. He didn’t need to dwell on the past, he has you and he wouldn’t let harm go your way.

You broke night as you laid awake in your bed. You couldn’t seem to get the dream out of your head and you were fearful of what it could mean. There couldn’t be a possibility that you were falling for him, you’ve barely interacted with him.

You racked your brain, thinking it must be the gestures of walking you home. You settled on that thought but the more it sunk, the more it gnawed at your gut and it didn’t feel right.

You groaned and stared at your ceiling, you mumbled reassurance words to yourself and it was working until you heard the ringtone of your phone.

You grabbed your phone wondering who could be calling you at this hour but when you saw the contact, you nearly dropped your phone. You sat up straight against your headboard and looked at the call ringing.

What the hell was Sunghoon calling you at this hour? But before you could decided which course of action to take, the call disappeared and your lock screen showed one missed call from Sunghoon.

You decided to wait and see if he would try to call again but when you waited a few minutes, you didn’t receive anything. You thought it might have been a mistake, he didn’t mean to call you.

But as you rested your head against the pillow, you phone still at hand, you felt the urge to call him back. You weren’t going to give in and force yourself to sleep, but an eye always peeked open to check in case you get another other notification from Sunghoon.

When he realized what you doing, you gave up. You clicked onto his contact and called him, the line rang maybe once or twice but after the third ring, you heard his voice through your phone.

“What happened?” His voice was undeniably soft, you could practically feel the worry from the phone and the same thump against your chest happen

“Are you okay?” His asked again and you almost found your eyes closing shut from the comfort that took over

You hummed in the call as you made yourself comfortable in the bed.

“Sorry, it’s just that you called and I wondered what happened” You mumbled out and on the other line, Sunghoon almost felt his heart jump in glee

“I’m sorry, did it wake you?” You shook your head as if he could see you as you muttered no, he hummed at your answer and you almost said goodnight if he didn’t stop you

“You sound tired” You were, practically exhausted yet you couldn’t seem to sleep fall asleep but now on call with him you could feel the drowsiness take over

“Suddenly I am now” You yawned and you knew you were going to be out soon it’ll be best to end the call now

“Stay on the line” Your eyebrows furrowed hearing his suggestion, you scoffed and he heard that

He let out a soft chuckle but you managed to pick it up. You never heard him chuckle before and it sent a sensation to your chest.

“Why?”

“Just because” His reasoning almost made you laugh out but you simply rolled your eyes

“I don’t want to pay for a high phone bill” You told as you finger hovered over the ‘end call’ button but his next words made you stop

“I’ll pay for the expenses, so stay on the line” It was silent on your side, he waited for your response but when nothing he assumed you must have fallen asleep

And he was correct, you were fast asleep in your, phone in hand with Sunghoon on the other line. He chuckled to himself before resting his phone next to him.

“Goodnight…Love”

When you wake up, you notice you are in a bedroom just not yours. You got up from your bed and looked to your surroundings, it was another place you had no idea of. But the extricating pain in your head made you hold it and loudly groan, you heard rapid footsteps and in walked Sunghoon once again.

His gaze was filled with worry and he made his way over to you and laid you back in the bed.

“What are you doing up? Your fever hasn’t gone away” This Sunghoon was completely different from the one you know in reality

“Do you need anything?” His question had you melting in mere seconds and you had no clue why, you shook your head and looked around to your surrounding

“Where am I?” He looked at you confused and placed a hang on your cheek to check your temperature

You flinched once again and retracted his hands from you and sighed.

“You’re in your room and your fever still hasn’t passed so continue to rest okay? I’ll be outside if you need me” Sunghoon warmly smiled and was going to leave but you grabbed his wrist before he could leave

You didn’t know why you did that but you knew that you didn’t want to be alone in this moment. Regardless of not knowing him that well, Sunghoon was still a familiar face that you oddly felt comfortable around.

He smiled at your gestures and nodded his head. He took a seat on the floor next to your bed and intertwined your hands together. He rested his head against the bed in order to face you with a smile, you could feel the beating of your heart.

“What if you get sick too?” You mumbled and he practically scoffed at your words

“Then, we’ll just be sick together right love?”

You woke instantly back in your room and you could still practically feel the thumping of your heart against your chest. Your uneven breathing made you lightheaded, you don’t know what jolted you awake. Whether it was the sunlight shinning into your room or the mere mention of ‘love’ falling from Sunghoon’s lips.

All you know is this cannot go on any longer. You needed to figure out why you were startling to have these dreams about Sunghoon.

When you went to go pick up your phone from where you usually put it, you noticed it wasn’t there. You freeze before searching everywhere for it.

“Crap where the hell is my phone?” You muttered and then you hear the call out of your name, now you think you’re going crazy

You looked around still hearing the calls of your name and you tried your best to hear where it’s coming from. When you realized it was coming from your bed, you went over and moved your sheets around until you found your phone.

Your eyes were wide when you see the ongoing call of nine hours with Sunghoon who was still calling out to your name.

“Why didn’t you hang up once I fell asleep?” You asked Sunghoon and you heard the sigh of relief he let out

“Well good morning to you too” You scoffed before ushering him to answer the question

“Just because” Your eye nearly twitched in annoyance hearing the same answer he gave you last night

“You better pay for the expenses Sunghoon” You told and the chuckle that filled your ears made you look at your phone to make sure you were still talking to Sunghoon

“I already told you, I will so don’t worry” The prideful smirk was livid in your mind and that was enough for you to hang up the call with a final goodbye

Sunghoon: Let’s do it again tonight

You rolled your eyes at his message, to hell you would do it again.

You: Whatever

As Sunghoon was relaxing on his couch, the excitement of tonight keeping him up and energized. He knew the chances were slim that you would actually call or even answer his call, but he can have false hope couldn’t he?

He was going to watch a movie to kill time but when a letter was slipped under his front door, he froze. He knew of only one person that would do such a thing. He clenched his jaw and picked up the letter before ripping it open, he knew it was bound to happen but he still wanted more time.

‘I’ve seen you’ve gotten comfortable’

It was a simple sentence and it was more than enough to have him rip it up into pieces and throw it in the garbage. He landed onto the couch again, hand in hair, frustrated.

The person who turned him now mocks him in pity. There was a secret price to pay other than having his morality taken, in order for you and Sunghoon to live happily ever after.

You would need to willingly let yourself get bitten by Sunghoon. If you don’t, your unknowingly continuous fate will keep happening until you finally let him bite you. Sunghoon didn’t experience fear, but this was his biggest fear.

He didn’t want you to experience what previously happened to you, he would never be able to move on if he had to witness losing you all over again. But he didn’t want to strip you from your mortality just for a selfish desire of his.

You were his main priority and he will fulfill his destiny in protecting you for eternity.

The realization you had late at night is that for some reason, you cannot get a good night of sleep regardless of how exhausted you are unless you’ve talked to Sunghoon.

Now, you didn’t like this observation. You were able to rest before but now that he was starting to squeeze and meddle into your life, you can’t seem to keep your eyes shut.

It was already three in the morning and you weren’t going to call Sunghoon. You won’t give in, you’ll force yourself to fall asleep if you have to.

You brought the sheets closer and shuffled in your bed and closed your eyes. You were beyond comfortable and it should be enough to have you falling asleep.

Yet, when you woke up at five in the morning. The drowsiness was taking over you, you grew frustrated and you almost gave in. You had your phone in hand and all you needed to do was simply call him and you could get the sleep you’ve been longing for.

But you were stubborn. You threw your phone onto the nightstand, forcing yourself to go back to sleep. And with the success you were able to drift off into a proper sleep.

You finally thought you were getting rest but when you opened your eyes again, you were under the stars and moonlight. Your eyes looked around and you could see Sunghoon sleeping beside you, when you sat up, you noticed your hands that always seemed to be intertwined with each other.

Sunghoon shuffled around in his sleep before waking up. He saw you looking at him and he gave the smile you only see here, he sat up along with you.

“We must’ve fallen asleep, I hope we didn’t miss the meteor showers” And right when you were going to respond, in the corner of your eyes, you could see the falling stars passing you by

You were mesmerized, you had never experienced a meteor shower before. You were so emerged that you forgot about Sunghoon next to you, who didn’t even dare looking at the sky.

His gaze remained on you, seeing the glistening stars passing by through your eyes. He was mesmerized by you. His heart was pounding out of his chest, he had something important to tell you.

When he called out your name, you looked away from the sky and turned to face him. The loving smile he showcased made your heart thump into your chest.

“I love you”

You gasped as you woke up in the familiarity of your room. Your breathing being even more uneven than ever before, you felt like a weight was crushed onto you.

The simple three words were the now going to become the downfall of you. These dreams you’ve been experiencing had to have a meaning behind it, these weren’t dreams that come and go. They were constant and felt almost real, like you’ve experienced this before.

The solution? Going onto the internet and searching trying to figure out what these dreams could possibly mean. And after searching the web for a while, it always gave you same answer.

The reason why you were dreaming about Sunghoon constantly was because it was your subconscious mind telling you that he is important to you.

You felt confused, how could he be so important to you when you weren’t even important to him? You hummed trying to make sense of all of this, but hidden under all the confusion, was the warmth in your heart at the thought of him.

“You’re inviting me to your party?” You questioned through the phone, Sunghoon had called you just like how he always did

The progression of you answering his calls were slow but surely. The letter he received should’ve been the warning sign to not to close but he couldn’t help it anymore. You were here and he was going to protect you with the entirety of his life. He will make sure history never repeats itself.

“It’s not just a party, it’s my birthday party” You mentally rolled your eyes and he could feel it through the phone, he called you out but you denied

“It’s a personal invite, I would like for you to attend but you don’t have to if you don’t want to”

“I thought you didn’t interact with people” You questioned and you couldn’t hear the chuckle you were slowly getting used to when talking with him

“I don’t but every once in a while, it’s not so bad” You hummed and told him you’d ponder on the thought and to leave the information of the party

He hoped to see you at the birthday party, because if you were to show up. It would truly be the best birthday he’s had in such a long time.

You decided to go to the party, it wouldn’t hurt to just simply celebrate his birthday. When you arrived at the party, you didn’t expect it to be like this. Red color lights flashed through the house, the blaring song through the speakers, the crowds of people partying.

You expected it to be a rather small party considering Sunghoon doesn’t interact with many people, but seeing all the people in the house begged to differ.

You looked around in confusion as you pushed through the sea of people, you seemed lost until you found yourself in what seemed to be the living room. There were a few people sitting in the couch while others stood to converse with each other.

That’s when you found Sunghoon. He was talking with a group of people but the moment his eyes landed onto you, he brushed them off and went over to you.

You kindly smiled at him and you beyond surprise to see him give a light smile in return, normally he would wave or nod his head.

“You came” You were surprised you were able to hear his voice but you nodded your head and seemed to forget the gift bag you held

“You didn’t have to bring a gift” He motioned to the gift and you handed it to him before shrugging your shoulders

“It’s your birthday” He eagerly opened the bag and you found yourself trying to stop him but he managed to grab out the small box

“Oh come on, open it later” You muttered and the light smirk plastered on his was quick to leave before nodding his head and placing the box back in the bag

“Whatever you say” You rolled your eyes at him and just as the night started, Sunghoon stuck to your side like glue

Where you went, he was right next to you even though the party was hosted for him. Whenever people came up to him, he would greet them with a wave and thank them before turning his attention back onto you.

"Sunghoon this is your party, you have to enjoy it" You tried to usher him to talk to others who seemed to be waiting for him and his attention

“I am enjoying it, I’m with you” The same thumping in his chest made you blink rapidly for a moment, you still weren’t used to hearing those words leaving his mouth

Whenever he would say it on call, you could easily brush him off but in person, it was much harder to do so. When you looked to him, he still had his gaze on you.

“Sunghoon, we need to talk” You both looked to see a person grabbing him by the elbow and before he could even protest he was taken away

You could hear the faint ‘stay there’ and ‘I’ll be back’ from Sunghoon until he was out of your sight. You chuckled lightly and decided to focus on the party that still going on.

“What the hell are you doing? Why would you even invite her here?” He rolled his eyes at his friends words and shook the grasp off of him

“It’s my birthday, I can invite whoever the hell I want” His friend groaned seeing the control you had over him, he knew why Sunghoon was acting like this, he understood but he was also aware of the circumstances and consequences

“You better know what you’re doing, because already having her here is dangerous enough. Especially with the vampires and werewolves roaming around” His friend seethed through his teeth and Sunghoon was quick to shoot a glare

“No one will dare to go near her. Everyone knows better than to even try. But even so that’s why I need to get back to her”

“Keep the party active or shut it down, I don’t really care. I’m just going to be with her”

As you waited for his return, you could feel a gaze on you, you assumed it to be Sunghoon but when you turned to see a new face you raised an eyebrow.

When the person saw your face, you could see the color fade from his face. He tripped back on his feet as he stared at you with wide eyes, when he called out your name, you titled your head in confusion.

“I’m sorry do we know each other?” You could see the person gulped down before taking a step closer to you to examine your face

You stepped back to create some distant and you don’t know but it almost seemed like Sunghoon sensed your distress because he was quick to come to your side. Once he saw who it was, he was quick to grab your wrist and put you protectively behind him.

You were too caught up in the moment to feel the sensation of his ice cold hands around your wrist.

“Sunghoon” The wide-eyed person muttered, his eyes never leaving you

“I don’t think she knows you, so I suggest you leave” The tone was dangerously low, you could feel shivers run up your spine as the glare Sunghoon had in his eyes shocked you to the core

The person brought their hands up in defense and walked away. You could see the clench of Sunghoon’s jaw relax when the person was gone, he quickly faced you and it was the worry gaze that made you feel deja vu of the Sunghoon in your dreams.

“Are you okay? He didn’t hurt you right?” The change in his tone when it came to made your heart feel something you weren’t sure what it was

You shook your head and the shaky sigh of relief that came from him made your heart ache for some reason.

“Do you want to head upstairs? It’s much quieter over there and I can tell you don’t like this party” Sunghoon suggested and he wasn’t wrong, even though you were with him most of the night, your social battery was already gone

You nodded your head and offered his elbow for you to hold as he guided you upstairs but, you swatted it away before ushering him to take the lead. There was the same light smile on his face as he walked and you following behind him.

He still carried your gift in his hand and he was constantly checking to make sure you were still near him. When you were passing through the crowd of dancing people, you could feel the grip that wrapped around your wrist once again.

That was when you finally felt the cold sensation on your wrist again, when you pulled for a second Sunghoon immediately turned and looked around. You looked between him and his cold hands but you didn’t think much of it, you assumed he might have just been very cold.

You and Sunghoon were oblivious to the moment that happened as he was too caught up thinking you had pulled him because something had happened.

When he looked at you, you felt your heart drop before picking up in a face pace. You shook your head and he continued to guide you through and once you both had made it upstairs, a sense of relief washing over.

Sunghoon had brought you to what you assumed to his room, it was definitely spacious and there was few to nothing in his room. It was rather minimalistic that contradicted the size of his place.

You could practically hear the sigh of relief come from Sunghoon as he went over to rest on a chair in his room. You almost let out your giggle at his reaction, you knew parties weren’t his thing.

“Knew that you didn’t handle parties well” You told and for the first time in your reality, you saw the Park Sunghoon smile and chuckle at your words

Your eyes widen and you didn’t notice the stare you had on him until he awkwardly chuckled and shuffled in the chair and pointed you out on it.

“What is it something on my face?” He touched around his face, trying to dust off anything on it but you simply shook your head

“Oh no, it’s nothing don’t worry about it” You muttered and finally looked away from him and looked out the window that could perfectly show the moon and stars light up the dark night

You were suddenly brought back to the meteor shower you experienced in your dream. The loving gaze Sunghoon had for you, the intertwined hands, the mention of the three words.

Sunghoon seemed to notice the change in you as you looked at the moon and stars and for moment the flash in his memory made him looked at you. The longing in eyes pouring out of them, the gift that he once held now dropped onto the floor with a thud.

The thud was enough to knock you out of your daze and when you slowly turned to face him, you saw longing gaze on you.

He nervously gulped and you saw his eyes scanning your expression as you looked at him. You didn’t realize the teary eyes you had but Sunghoon did and he quickly got up from his chair and made his way over to you.

“What happened?” His voice was almost killingly soft, in that moment you couldn’t tell the difference between this Sunghoon and the one from your dream

They practically felt the same and you could feel the lump in your throat and the uneven breathing start to come back. The single tear drop that fell from your eyes was quickly wiped away by Sunghoon.

You blinked your eyes repeatedly feeling the cold sensation against your cheek from Sunghoon’s hand. You made a mental note to get him gloves to make sure his hands don’t freeze anymore.

His tense smile as he retracted his hand after wiping your tear. You could hear the shake in his breath and neither of you still realized just how closer you were.

Sunghoon’s mind ran wild. He remembered every memory he had with you, that would include seeing the meteor shower with you and it being the first time he told you, he loved you.

So seeing you stare outside and feel the shift in emotions made a slip of hope linger in his non-beating heart. Did you possibly remember? When you awkwardly coughed and wiped your eyes to get rid of the teariness look, he knew you didn’t.

It was just the spur of the moment that shook your heart. He took a few steps back before wandering his eyes around the room, the awkwardness that filled the both you was becoming unbearable.

So when he remembered about your gift, he quickly went back to where he dropped it and went to pick it up. When your gaze followed him and saw him picking it up, you felt the pounding of your heart.

“No don’t open it now” You felt embarrassed having him open the gift you got him in front of you, but the warm smile he had made you forget everything

As he softly opened the present, his eyes landed on what was inside of it, his heart dropped which he didn’t even know was possible considering his situation. He gently picked up the necklace and could the ‘S’ that dangled from it.

It was the same exact one you once gave him back then but instead of having your letter, it had his. His eyes trailed to you and you could see the teary look he had in his eyes.

You were so confused but when he suddenly got up and hugged you, you felt your body freeze. The soft sniffling that came from him, ached your heart terribly. He held you tightly as if he was afraid if he let go, he would lose you forever. You hesitantly wrapped your arms around and him to help ease his nerves that seemed to be going haywire.

After a while, he seemed to realize the situation and immediately peeled himself off of you, he quickly looked away and wiped the tears and then cleared his throat.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me”

Lies. He knew exactly what came over him, it was the love he had for that rose from the hidden corner of his still heart.

“Are you okay?” Your worried voice soft on his ears that he felt like no time had passed between the two of you, his smile was bright and it did something to your heart making it flip over and over again

He nodded his head before taking a seat back into the chair, he looked at you and unhooked the necklace trying to put it on. But as he kept failing miserably, you chuckled before making your way over to him.

“May I?” When he looked at you, he got deja vu

He couldn’t put on the necklace back then and he still couldn’t put it on till this day. And you had to come to his rescue and help him. He smiled and handed you the necklace, when you gently picked it up and placed it around his neck, making sure the ‘S’ dangled properly.

When you clipped the necklace, his hand unconsciously went to touch it and looked down onto it. His warm smile never leaving his face as he simply admired the necklace.

“For some reason, I thought of you when I saw it and I realized it’d be a perfect gift” You muttered and when his gaze shifted to you, still holding the necklace in his grasp he smiled

“I love it. I’ll cherish it for an eternity” His words felt like it held truth to it, your heart fluttered in your chest as you openly smiled at him and simply nodded your head

“I’ll hold you to your words, make sure to keep it” You could see his fingers crossing over his heart and you rolled your eyes

“Cross my heart”

You groggily opened your eyes and took a deep breath. When you saw the surrounding, you sat up with haste. You were in a bed but you recognized to still be in Sunghoon’s room yet there was no trace of him.

Your recollection of what happened finally came to you and you let out a sigh of relief. You remember mentioning to Sunghoon that you were feeling somewhat tired and he offered to take you back to your place.

But you rejected as this was his birthday party after all, you wouldn’t possible let him walk you home and take him away from the party. The amount of times he reassured you, he didn’t care if left the party was uncountable.

Yet, you still told him you would be fine but when he suggested an alternative which was that you rest in here until the party was over and he would take you home.

You didn’t reject the offer and you had to admit that sleep must’ve been the best sleep you’ve gotten in ages. You felt energized and relaxed as if you could take on anything that was thrown your way.

Your theory that you slept better whenever you talked with him seemed to be true. You noticed the blaring music that once played was now long gone, you could hear a few voices talking through the silence.

You got up from the bed and slowly grabbed your shoes that were neatly set next to the bed. When you put them on, you went out of the room and tried to look for Sunghoon.

When the voice of Sunghoon filled your ears, you made your way downstairs but your footsteps seemed to have been picked up. When you reached halfway through the staircase, you looked and there stood Sunghoon and a few other people you’ve seen around campus.

Your beating heart soon stopped and dropped to the pit of your stomach. Your uneven breathing was the only thing heard throughout the silence of the house, you could see Sunghoon’s wide eyed expression as he saw you.

His fangs were openly exposed as he and another person held a tight grasp on each other. You recognized the person to be the one who approached you when Sunghoon was away. The person’s hand or you would saw claw was raised ready to attack Sunghoon.

“Y-you’re awake?” Sunghoon’s voice was fearful as he soon let go of the person’s collar, his eyes that were once brown are now blood red looked at you, his fangs popping through with the two words he spoke

He hesitantly walked over to the staircase but you stumbled backwards as you tried to step back and get distant between the two of you. Sunghoon froze and felt his the cracking and shatter of his heart, he swore if it was still beating, it would have stopped in this moment.

Your eyes tried to analyze the situation, the claw of the person who stood still looking at you, the fangs and red eyes of Sunghoon. It was enough for the tension to rise even higher. The fear that set the atmosphere was suffocating, you felt you were losing your mind.

You quickly got up from the staircase and rushed down as fast as you could. The calls of your name coming from Sunghoon would have normally made your heart beat faster but it only made your stomach churn.

You rushed out the house and ran as fast as you could. The burning of your lungs made you want to stop but you couldn’t seem to. You ran until you made it to the safety of your home before locking your door shut.

Your breathing was heavy as you rested against your front door. You tried your best to make sense of the situation but whatever logical sense you tried to piece with it didn’t make any sense.

Sunghoon’s red blood eyes, his fangs that were so prominent, the ice cold feeling of his skin.

You slid down against the door as you looked into oblivion. This whole time you didn’t believe in mystical creatures, yet, they existed and you even brefriend one.

To hell, you ended up falling for a damn vampire. You didn’t want to believe the realization that settled in your heart.

You should’ve know that it was strange how Sunghoon started to wiggle into your life like nothing after finding you that night. You thought you were smart but he made you look so damn naive.

“Sunghoon…” His friend tried to come up to him but he was quick to shove him away as he fretted with too many emotions in him

“Fuck” He mumbled under his breath and when he could see the person who approached you come near him, his anger took over

“Sunghoon no!” He was losing rationality in his mind, your fearful expression as you looked at him clouded his mind

“What is stopping me from sucking my damn teeth into you? Huh?” He asked the person in his grasp and he looked at Sunghoon with pity in his eyes

“Don’t look at me with those damn eyes, you tried to justify your actions years ago and I never forgave you. What made you think it was okay to show up to my party? To even think about approaching her” Sunghoon seethed through his fangs

“I told you I live with regret every single day for decades for what I did to her!”

“Seeing her again, erupted the emotions in me again and I couldn’t just believe she was right there before my eyes” The person yelled and tried to get out of Sunghoon’s grasp but he didn’t let go, his grasp only grew tighter

“She didn’t deserve it, you took her away” Sunghoon spoke the truth, the person in his grasp was the reason why you were taken so soon

He was the person who made him take the decision in giving his mortality in order to wait and protect you for eternity. Sunghoon wanted to protect you from ever experiencing history again.

“I didn’t mean to do it” The person’s voice softened and Sunghoon shook his head, he was losing it

“But you did it. You can’t and you won’t take her away again, I will never allow you. For eternity, she is under my protection”

When you opened your eyes, you realized you were in the darkness of a living room. Even though the room had a feel a familiarity to it, you had no idea where you were. The setting was rather eerie and the make matters worse, you seemed to be by yourself.

You could the nerves settling in your heart and you could feel the uncomfortable pounding of your heart against your chest. Something wasn’t right.

When you heard a phone, you looked to your side and once you saw the contact and your heart dropped. The contact that displayed as the call continued made your senses become overwhelmed.

‘Sunghoon <3’

He was calling you and as your hand hesitantly picked it up your phone and answer the call, you were suddenly met with darkness. The grasp you once had on your phone fell in the process.

Sunghoon called out to you multiple times and when he got no response he could feel his gut twist with unease. When the call hung up on its own, that was more than enough for him to know something wasn’t right.

Sunghoon kept calling and texting your phone for you to respond. He was frantic as he rushed over to your house and just when he was a block away, you could see and hear the sirens.

His heart dropped as his mind raced with thoughts, he prayed for you to be okay. As he rushed over, he was stopped by people and he tried to push them away trying to get to you once he realized the sirens were directly at your place.

The people around started crying and wailed to him when they realized he had arrived. He tried to decipher the words leaving their mouth. But when he did, his world came hurling down to crash.

His eyes went over to your place with wide eyes as they soon begin to fill with tears. He felt the life drain out of him. You were found in your house after a neighbor complained about the noise from your place. His once happy beating heart now shattered at the realization that you were gone.

Park Sunghoon lost you and soon enough he lost himself.

You woke up on your couch with a harsh gasp, your eyelids puffy and heavy from all the crying you did earlier that day. You tried to recollect the dream (if you could even call it that) you experienced.

Soon, a raging headache came crashing down and you held your head in agony. You were breathing heavily trying to calm your nerves but the headache only became worse.

You were witnessing memories flashing before your eyes. Memories you had never experienced before and seen ever your life. Emotions you didn’t even know that could rest in your heart, now rose to the surface.

You were oblivious to the soft knocking on your front door. As you now groaned in pain of the headache and heartache you were experiencing.

Flashes of you and Sunghoon together caught your attention. It was the Sunghoon that you saw from your “dreams” and now it was supposed to be reality.

The dreams you experienced were memories from who knows where. Your eyes looked around trying to make sense of what was happening, the ringing in your eyes didn’t help in the slightest.

You were feeling numb to everything around that you the soft knocks on your door were now becoming banging against it.

The ringing of your doorbell was drowned out by the last memory to flash in your mind. The breath you let out was short and came out as a shutter, the tears spilling from your eyes.

Your door was suddenly burst opened and in walked a worried and heaving Sunghoon. Your eyes shot to him and you could feel the breath get knocked out of you. You stared agape at him.

Sunghoon knew he shouldn’t have done that but when you weren’t responding to your phone and now weren’t answer your door, fear settled into his heart.

The fear that he failed his sole purpose in life again.

But as he scanned around your place and saw you on the coach staring at him, your tears staining your face and the heaviness of your breathing. His heart broke at the scene.

You were quick to stumble over your feet and made your way over to him. Sunghoon expected for you to push him, punch him, yell at him, practically let out all of your emotions onto him.

But when you tightly hugged him, he was shocked. He didn’t expect this. But when you cried against him and hearing your cries made his heart drop, he was quick to hug you back to soothe you.

He whispered sweet nothings into your ears in order to help you but it only seemed to make it worse. Your hold on him only got tighter with each word told to you.

The mumbles of his name coming from your mouth made it seem like you were calling out to him even though he was right in front of you.

“What did you do to yourself?” When you ripped yourself away from Sunghoon to look at his eyes with your teary ones he looked at you in pure confusion

“My hoonie” The nickname that left your mouth made his knees weak and give out on him, he tumbled to the ground as he felt like he couldn’t breathe

“What did you say?” He muttered not believing his ears, he believed none of this was real, that his mind was simply playing tricks on him

The shaky smile that formed on your face made Sunghoon realize everything. His shaky hands hovered over your cheek as his own tears filled his eyes.

He shook his head not believing it but when his cold hands touched the warmth of your cheek, he knew this was all real. It came crashing down onto him and the smile he showed was enough to have you crying again.

Sunghoon brought you into his embrace as the two of cried in each other’s arms.

“You’re such an idiot. I would’ve found you. You didn’t have to turn into a vampire” Sunghoon’s chuckle vibrated throughout your bedroom as he had an arm around you

He finally told you everything from the day you left him till now. It was a lot to catch up but you were more than happy to hear him and to simply be in his presence. But you were upset to know he gave his mortality in the process.

“I wanted to wait for you, and I’m glad I did. It was the best decision I ever made” Your scoff was enough for the smile on Sunghoon’s face to get brighter, you remember rarely seeing his smile but now it seems like an automatic with you

As he shuffled around your bed, you didn’t fail to notice the bracelet on his wrist. You softly held his wrist, the coldness that once made you question him no longer phased you.

Sunghoon was surprised but when he saw looking at his wrist, he let you admire it.

“You kept it after all this time” Your voice was soft as you examined the necklace now turned bracelet with the first letter of your name in the middle

“Of course. It’s one of the three most prized possession of mine”

“What’s your other two?” Sunghoon grabbed onto the necklace you gave for his birthday

“This and you” His last word made your heart flutter against your chest and you proudly to accept it

You were bound to accept Sunghoon into your heart, so there was nothing other than to allow him into your life just like how he once was in.

While for Sunghoon, he was beyond over the moon. He swore his still heart fluttered against his chest as he looked at you and had you in his presences again.

“You know, what I noticed” This perked his interest and raised an eyebrow towards you

“You still have the habit of holding my hand” You lifted the intertwined hands and you could find Sunghoon coughing awkwardly

He tried to let go of your head and gave him a confused look as you still held tightly onto his head.

“I just pointed it out, doesn’t mean I don’t like it” You giggled and Sunghoon was quick to lay beside you once again

“I’ve missed you so much” He muttered and you contently sighed, you were pleased, happy that this was how your life is

“I’m sorry it took me so long” You apologized and Sunghoon was quick to shake his head, he rubbed his thumbs against your hand in comfort

“Doesn’t matter how long it is, I will always wait for you”

It was inevitable that you and Sunghoon naturally became closer. Everyday he was at your home from early in the morning to late at night, there were times where you had to kick him out but he didn’t want to leave.

So he ended up sleeping on your coach and you would wake up to hear your fire alarm going on. You would quickly rush to see what’s going on, only to find Sunghoon with burnt food on a plate.

He would cheekily smile and tell you breakfast is served. The efforts made your heart warm but the execution still needed a little more work.

As you and Sunghoon watched a movie, you excused yourself for a moment. While you were away, he paused the movie and waited for your return.

But when a letter slipped under your front door, his eyes widen. He quickly got up from your couch and hastily grabbed the letter and ripped it open.

‘Tic Toc’

Sunghoon crumbled the paper before shoving it into his pocket. When he sat back down onto the couch, his leg bounced, his eyes scanning the area.

He was too caught up in the moment that he seemed to have forgotten the hidden truth of reality. He was beginning to grow anxious and frustrated, his flipped his hair backwards in order to help himself calm down but it wasn’t working.

When he checked the date on his phone, he could the lump in his throat. That’s why the letter was sent, it was one week from now where Sunghoon would have to make his decision.

Whether to allow you to face your unwritten fate or for you to allow him to bite you. Neither of which he wanted to do but there didn’t seem to be an inbetween.

But there had to be a way in order for you to beat your fate, for you to live. And he was going to try everything in his power in order to make sure you did. Regardless of what needed to be done, if it meant having you stay.

Sunghoon will be prepared to give up everything just for you.

“No Sunghoon, are you crazy?” Indeed he was, it was t-minus three days until the choice had to be made and he’s been working in search of another ultimatum

And in which he did find one, but it involved a route he wasn’t sure how it would unfold. Yet, he was willing to do it however his friends beg to differ.

“You need to think this thoroughly. How do you know there won’t be another variable involved once it’s too late” His friend tried to reason with him but he simply shook his head

“There can’t be. It’s a soul giving up its entirety. It’s either fair or fair”

“Sunghoon in case you forgot, you’re already non-living. You truly believe you will be chosen over her?” His friend’s word held truth but at the same time his reasoning was the only way

“I’ll make sure I am” Sunghoon was determined, he’s always had been and he will always be

He did tell himself, for eternity you will be under his sworn protection. If he had to give up everything in order for you stay, he will do it in a heartbeat.

The wager involved instead of you having to face either of the consequences in which you weren’t even aware of. Sunghoon would replace you, he would replace his fate for yours.

But in doing so, he and you will seize to forget about each other. Only time could tell whether your paths would ever cross again.

It was a painful reality for him but this was the love a vampire had for a human being.

Today was the day. Sunghoon had wanted to spend his last day with you in happiness. He wanted for you to remember the remaining moments of him in your memories to be happy rather than sad.

So he had decided to create a special day, which he called ‘the anniversary’. It was corny but you didn’t mind at all, rather you found it endearing. Under all the facade he tried to put up, he was still the same Sunghoon you once fell in love with decades ago.

The day the two of you went to an open field. It would only be the two of you, just like how it used to be. It made you happy to know that after all this time separated from each other, you both were still the same.

With the fresh pile of snow that rested on the ground made the day seem nearly close to perfect. Even though, the cold didn’t bother him in the slightest, he still pretend to be affected by when you threw snow at him.

It was just the way you smiled brightly in success of ‘getting him’ that made him keep up the act, just to hear your laughter.

But when the snow softly grazed your skin, you were quick to shutter from the coldness and you always glared at Sunghoon when he dared to laugh and mock your reaction.

As you and Sunghoon walked the area, you didn’t realize the pictures he was taking of the scenery with you in it. It was only when you turned around at the call of your name is when you noticed the picture he took.

You groaned and motioned for him to delete but once it was on his phone, it will forever stay there. Your attempts in trying to get the photo deleted were in vain. You given up knowing Sunghoon was just as stubborn as you were.

So to make it fair, you secretly took a photo of him admiring the scenery. Yet, the photo was perfect. He was looking at the sunsets, his back faced towards you but you were still able to get a slight angle of his side profile.

“The sunset is beautiful, isn’t it?” You finally looked up from the picture you took to admire it and he wasn’t wrong

The sky was casted with a pink and orange tone that melted into each other. When you were beside him, Sunghoon was quick to intertwine your hands together. The coldness you felt against your warmth reminded you of the reality. He was a vampire and you were a human, but you didn’t care.

He was Park Sunghoon at the end of the day. He was the one you will forever love, regardless of what’s to come. You would put up with anything in order for him to always be with you.

The comfortable silence that rested between the two of made Sunghoon forget the day. That was until he felt a striking pain in his abdomen, causing him to lose his balance.

His hand still held yours as his free one rested above where the pain was settling.

“Sunghoon what’s going? Are you okay?” Your worried tone made him feel upset, but he tried to remain as positive as he could, he needed to for you

“I’m fine. I just need to rest” He muttered before letting his body fully collapse to the ground, you were quick to catch him into your arms

“No you’re not fine!” You stated the obvious and you were quick to wrap his arm around your shoulder, you needed to get back as soon as possible

“I’m doing this for you” His statement made you freeze and you faced him with hesitating eyes

“What did you do..?” You muttered as the same uneasy feeling settled into your gut

“Made sure you got to live” Sunghoon’s weak smile was all you needed before tears welled up in your eyes

“God damn it Park Sunghoon, what the hell did you do?!” Sunghoon’s hands cupped your cheek before brushing away the unknowing falling tears from your eyes

“It’s better me than you, I wouldn’t be able to bear knowing that I lost you all over again”

“But I have to bear losing you? How is this fair?”

“Because you won’t remember” When you heard his justifying answer, your heart stopped as you stared at him

“What do you mean I won’t remember?” Sunghoon smiled warmly before creasing your cheek with his ice cold hands, everytime he felt your warmth he could feel his own body on fire

“In order for us to have this dreading “happily ever after” you’ve needed to allow me to bite you and if not, you would have to face your fate of being taken away again”

“But luckily I found an alternative, in where you get to live with no worries”

“I promised to always protect you no matter where I am, so I was always be by your side” His weak chuckle made your grow frustrated at him

“That’s not the same, I need to have you here with me. I’ll have to live without you and I know I can’t experience that again”

“Bite me Sunghoon” His eyes widen and weakly shook his head no, over his dead body would he ever bite you and strip you away from your very mortality

“I’m allowing you to bite me, so do it!” Your tears stained your face as you showed your neck to Sunghoon, you rather be a vampire with him and spend eternity with him than having to experience losing him

“I love you”

The three words made you feel like sobbing. It didn’t feel like how ‘I love you’ should feel like, rather it felt like a goodbye. It felt like you and Sunghoon were saying goodbye to your eternal love.

“Don’t say that to me now Sunghoon. Tell me that later okay?” You mumbled through a sad chuckle and you could see the little efforts he tried to sit up

You helped him sit up and with the little strength he had left, he brought you into his arms. You could feel your sobs slowly let out as you wrapped your arms tightly around him.

“I love you. I’ll always love you”

“For the rest of eternity, I will always love you. I promise to find you again” You sobbed against him as you nodded your head at his words

“I love you too, so please don’t go” You mumbled, you knew it was too late but you still had a shiver of hope that your wishes would be answered

“Bye bye… My love” Sunghoon faint voice filled your ears and before you knew it, his arm that once wrapped around you fell, and be was gone right before your eyes

As you looked to where Sunghoon once was, you could see the necklace and bracelet he wore laid in front of you. You chocked out a sob as you shakily picked up the jewelry. You brought it to your heart as the tears fell from your eyes never seemed to stop.

You cried were loud, you looked around hoping for Sunghoon to appear in front of you just like he always does.

But when there was no sign of him other than the jewelry in your hands, you completely utterly broke. You started sobbing loudly, no longer caring if anyone could even hear you. The hiccups that rippled out of you filled the open land, you covered your mouth trying to muffle your sobs but it only made them louder.

You shook your head rigidly, you couldn’t admit it.

“Bring him back to me” You mumbled into your hands as you hoped the universe would possibly hear your desires and bring him back to you

Why couldn’t he simply bite you? If you were able to spend eternity with him, you would be the happiest person alive. So why didn’t he just bite you?

Your body shook from all the crying but soon it stopped. You pulled your hands away from your face and saw the tears that covered them. You were confused and looked at your surrounding trying to piece where you were.

You touched your face to feel the wetness from your tears. You began to wipe your face rid of the tears and that’s when you noticed the jewelry that dangled from your hands. You saw the necklace that had a ‘S’ dangling from it while the bracelet had your letter on it.

You tried to think as hard as you could but you didn’t know anyone with the letter ‘S’ in their name. You were even more confused on why you were crying and where you were.

You don’t remember coming out all this way and that worried you, you pulled out your phone and that’s was when you saw a photo you don’t even remember taking.

It was of the sunset that still painted the sky but there was a person in the frame. You couldn’t see their face but only see the side of it, who was this? You looked around trying to find anyone near by but there didn’t seem to be any

You looked back at the picture and seemed drawn to it. The scenery is just stunning and you couldn’t seem to get your mind off of it.

“The sunset is beautiful, isn’t it?” You muttered not knowing who you were speaking for

This was the happily ever after that resides in you and Sunghoon’s fate. The fate of a fated love between a vampire and human.

Unknown when the paths would cross again or if they even will cross again. It seems to be a play of chance in whether you and Sunghoon could meet again.

And possibly fulfill the happily ever after you both will always long for eternity.

As you rushed to your class, you could only hope to make it on time. You parents were going to beyond furious if you were late to class again. You could feel the burn in your lungs as you ran but that didn’t stop you, until you rushed into class.

Your friends immediately dragged you to the desk and just as you sat down the bell rang. You heaved in relief before laying your head down onto your desk.

You could hear the classroom door open but you didn’t dare to lift your head, already too exhausted in trying to make it to class on time. You could hear the murmurs from your classmate but it didn’t peak your interest.

That was until you heard the mention of your name to which you shot up from your desk and acted like you were paying attention. You were trying to register what was going on but once you realized there was already a person taking a seat next to you.

All eyes were on the two of you and when you looked to your side, you saw a face you have never seen before. You examined the face and the person seemed to have noticed because he turned his gaze onto you.

“Do I have something on my face?” He asked as he touched his face but you merely shook your head and focused your attention to the teacher

You could hear the light chuckle beside you until you heard a light tapping on your desk. When you look down, you saw a note being slid onto your desk, you look to see the person next to you smile briefly at you before looking to the front of the class.

‘Hi, I’m Park Sunghoon.

P.S- I like your bracelet with the letter in the middle, it’s nice’

#enhypen #enhypen imagines #enhypen writer #enhypen angst #enhypen fluff #enhypen fic #enhypen x reader #enhypen oneshots #park sunghoon #park sunghoon x reader #enhypen sunghoon #sunghoon imagines #sunghoon fic #sunghoon x reader #vampire au

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tarosunshine · 2 months

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엔하이픈 𐙚 VAMP﹗

genre fluff vampire au 𖹭 warning blood jealousy pairing — OT7 x fem reader

— they use their powers and abilities.

NOTE : this is based on the webtoon ! (kinda)

𐙚 HEESUNG : read mind

“hee, where are you?” you called him in your mind since you couldn't see him anywhere. you hoped he could hear you wherever he was. thanks to the hustle and bustle of the place and the people, you couldn't find him, and he hadn't brought his phone with him either. “i'm near the caramel apple stand” you spoke again in your mind. about 10 minutes ago, heesung had gone for ice cream, while you had stayed in line for the ferris wheel, but they closed the game, so you had to move.

luckily, seconds later, you heard your boyfriend's voice behind you. “here you are. your favorite, babe” he handed you the ice cream with a smile. “i thought you wouldn't listen to me” you also smiled when you saw him and grabbed the cone. he grabbed your free hand, and you started walking. “if you call me, i will always listen to you, love” he said as he tilts his head to you. then you trapped your fingers with his and walked towards the car. on the way, you explained to him what had happened to the game, so you decided to return home.

𐙚 JAY : superhuman strength

“jay...” you sighed as you left your bag on one of the empty chairs. you heard a sigh from him too. “honey, you had to see how he looked at you. and when he touched your waist? and he make you uncomfortable!” jay speaks exasperated as he frowned and sighed over and over again. he was so angry at the guy, not at you. he could never get angry with you. “here, have some water, and don't worry about that idiot” you handed him a glass on the table and turned to pour one for yourself. but suddenly you heard the sound of glass breaking and you immediately turned in alarm in the direction of your boyfriend.

the first thing you saw was the broken glass on his hand suspended in the air and how the blood began to drip down his arm and hand. “oh my god, jay!” you immediately walked over and started removing the large pieces of glass from his hand. then you ran to get the first aid kit and sat down in front of him. his eyes were still in shock. “i... i don't know what happened to me, i'm sorry” he lowered his head in shame and let you clean him up. “was that your super strength?” you mocked, smiling so he wouldn't feel so bad. “yeah. i don't know why i couldn't control it. i'm really sorry” with his good hand, he caressed your face. you smiled at him and rested your hand on his. “and i'm sorry if i scared you.”

𐙚 JAKE : pyrokinesis

it was almost midnight, and after a long day, you and your boyfriend were lying in bed while watching a movie.

“are you hungry?” jake asked as he stroked your hair. you shook against his chest, but something suddenly came to your mind. “although...” you spoke, raising your face, looking at him with smiling eyes. he suspected what you would say and moved his hand away from you.

you immediately got out of bed and headed towards the kitchen as jake followed you with a smile and rested his arms on the table, looking at you. when you turned to see him, you had a bag of marshmallows. you waved in the air, and he shook his head smiling. “you know i can't use my powers all the time. it's dangerous, love” he approached your face and kissed your cheek. “just one... please?” he couldn't refuse if you looked at him with those eyes. “fine” he agreed, now kissing the tip of your nose. you smiled and stabbed two marshmallows with two forks, then you handed him one, and a small flame came out of his finger, starting to melt the candy. you looked at his hand fascinated, as if it were the first time he had done it. jake chuckled when he saw your face and then held out the marshmallow to you. you kissed his cheek in gratitude. “thank you.” “always, love.”

𐙚 SUNGHOON : half werwolf and half vampire

just a few seconds ago, you had stopped paying attention to what sunghoon was talking in front of you. “did you hear me, babe?” he asked, looking at you with puppy eyes. you smiled when you saw him and denied it. “sorry, sorry... are your fangs bigger than before, hoon?” you asked, changing the subject since that was what had distracted you. “my fangs?” he spoke, touching the tip of one of them with a finger and furrowing his eyebrows. you nodded, looking at his mouth.

“it must be because tonight is full moon” he commented, carefully looking at his teeth on the screen of his phone. you nodded, remembering. “well you look cute” you rested your hand on his cheek. he approached your face with a silly smile, causing his fangs to stick out, and he give you a small kiss, who turned out in a needy and long one. “ouch” you put your finger over your lips, feeling the pain. he looked at you worried and grabbed your cheeks. “oh, i'm so sorry. it wasn't my intention. i think i got a little too excited” he ran his finger over the small trail of blood. “i didn't though they were so sharp” sunghoon covered his mouth with his hand while he continued caressing the injured place with the other. “it's okay, don't worry” you smiled, to reassure him.

𐙚 SUNOO : mind controler

you had been at a party for a couple of hours, but you weren't having such a good time. it was already starting to get boring, so in a few minutes you would leave, or well, that was what you had planned until you saw a group of boys talking animatedly in an area that you had not paid attention to. and one boy in particular caught your attention, one with red hair. you looked at him several times, and his fox-like eyes hypnotized you for a few seconds. you didn't realize when your body moved on it's own and you advanced towards them, but you stopped and blinked, confused. this time, you made your way towards the exit but then heard a male voice behind you, and when you turned, you found the redhead, who smiled.

“hi” you meet his kind eyes as he tilts his head slightly to the side. you returned the greeting, somewhat embarrassed.

⋆ 一

“i can't believe that you used your powers the first time we met, kim sunoo” you says somewhat offended as you looked at your boyfriend with furrowed eyebrows. the boy smiled, embarrassed as he looked away. “and they didn't work” you scoffed as you poked his cheek several times. he tightened his arms around you, looking with those eyes that tried to manipulate you that time.

“yes, and i'm sorry about that” he apologized, pouting as he approached your face, but right after that, his lips curved in a sweet smile. you wanted to pinch his cheeks. “are you trying to manipulate my mind right now?” you asked, raising an eyebrow. so he raised both eyebrows and looked at you offended. “i promised i would never do it again, honey. seriously” he spoke before giving you a small kiss on the lips. you giggled and hugged his waist. “hm, then i just like you a lot.”

his smile remained for a few seconds, then he slowly kissed your lips again, placing his hands on your cheeks as he gently caressed your skin. “i definitely like you more” he says and nods, and in one movement, he makes you fall over his chest, hugging and wrapping your body with legs and arms.

𐙚 JUNGWOON : teleportation

“i miss you, woon” you spoke with the phone in your hand and pouted as if your boyfriend could see. you heard his cute laugh. “i miss you too. a lot. and you have no idea how much i want to see your face, but remember that i'll be back tonight” he reminds, and you could hear a couple of things falling where he was. “yeah, you're right” a sigh left your lips, trying to ignore the noise on the other side. you heard a guttural noise from him, then a curse. “sungwoon? something wrong?” you asked a little worried. he didn't answer you. on the contrary, he cut off the call. you frowned at your phone as you moved it away from your ear. “what's wrong with him?” you murmured, puting the device aside and laying on your back on the couch of the lonely house.

“did you miss me, my love?” a pair of dark glasses and a charming smile appeared in your vision. you almost fainted from shock. “yang jungwoon!” you gasped as you rested one hand on your heart and sat down. he jumped over the sofa, sitting at your side. “it was a lie that you missed me?” he asked with a sad voice. then you grabbed his face with a smile and gently removed his glasses. “i reeeally missed you.” in one movement, you pulled him towards your body, and he wrapped his arms around your waist, holding you close to him as he hid his face on your neck. “did you just use your powers at daytime?” you asked, smiling. as he got apart a little from you, his lips twisted into a smirk and nodded. “because i want to see you. i couldn’t wait” he complained and burry his face in your neck again, inhaling your essence happily.

𐙚 NI-KI : teleportation, shadow manipulator

“it's always the same with you, nishimura” you complained and rolled your eyes as you began to walk with your arms crossed, ignoring him. the sound of his giggle reaches you. “of course! i know you love me” his mocking tone was evident, but you just ignored his words, leaving him behind.

“love you? yeah, right. i don’t even like you” you muttered as you mocked his expressions. but suddenly, his figure appeared in front of you, and you collided with his chest. “nishimura!” you went up, looking at him pissed off. you met his gaze that was darkened. “you do not like me at all? i'm sure you do” he spoke, looking into your eyes with a playful smile. “nishimura, you can't use your powers here” you whispered as you looked everywhere. luckily, everyone was in class, so you took him by the shoulders, making sure no one saw, and moved somewhere where no teacher or student would see you.

“you know this would look bad if someone saw us, right?” he also whispered, looking at you with the same smile. you frowned and immediately moved away from his body. “oh, no... look, a teacher!” he pointed out surprised, you turned your head and saw the shadow of a teacher. you gasped and moved closer to him again to hide, but you immediately heard his amused laugh against your forehead, and you slowly looked up at him and sighed, realizing what he did. “stop using your powers and stop making fun of me.” you pushed his body and walked away from him, heading towards your classroom. he follows you, and you hear his mocking laugh again.

#lim ⋆#˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆#enhypen #enhypen x reader #enha x reader #enhypen drabbles #enhypen heeseung #enhypen jay #enhypen jake #enhypen sunghoon #enhypen sunoo #enhypen jungwon #enhypen niki #enhypen vampire au #enhypen au #enhypen headers

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chaenqen · 6 months

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basileia | enhypen

genre royal, kingdoms, vampires, fluff, fantasy, female!reader, enha as vampires and princes featuring enhypen!vamp!prince and reader!princess warnings mention of blood, violence, etc. in future episodes

as the princess of one of the most feared and well-known kingdoms it wasn’t unusual for you to get letters and invites from other kingdoms yet you never really paid much attention to them since they were boring and un-amusing in your eyes.

A gust of wind swirled into your chambers as the courier walked in. You could feel your heart racing in anticipation as you saw the mysterious seal of the Adon Kingdom on the letter he held. You had heard many stories about this ancient kingdom but never imagined they would make a move like this, a move that could affect your path forever.

trepidation filled you as you opened the note and read its contents, unaware of what may be coming next...

“dear princess,

It is our great pleasure to extend an invitation to Your Majesty to attend the coronation of Prince Heeseung atop the throne of the Adon Kingdom. This historic occasion marks the first time in three decades that a new ruler will be installed. We would be honored if you were to grace us with your presence on this joyous day, as it would indeed be a privilege for all those present. We eagerly anticipate your arrival at our grand celebration on the 3rd of November. Prepare for a day of unforgettable festivities and merriment, as we welcome you to the majestic kingdom of adon. Your presence is greatly appreciated and awaited.

sincerely, the kingdom of adon."

you had never encountered an opportunity like this before and you couldn’t contain your excitement as you immediately went to prepare for the trip to the kingdom.

after a long journey, you arrived at the gates of the adon castle perfectly in time. to your surprise, you were welcomed by three princes who were wearing their representative colors ever so elegently as they greeted you. the youngests gaze made it clear that he wasn't happy about having a stranger enter his kingdom and his two elder brothers seemed equally hesitant but still managed to welcome you with warm smiles and respectful bows “welcome dear princess” their voices harmonized together beautifully. "i hope you had a pleasant journey, dear, im jay, prince of mars" as he introduced himself his hand went to his chest, a small grin plastered on his lips. your eyes land on the boy with black and white hair who is staring at you with distrust. the dark-haired boy who seems pretty quiet and observant notices the staring contest between you both and finally speaks up "dont mind riki... he doesnt trust people at first yet he does warm up at some point." jay nods in agreement and lets out a hum before motioning you to follow them inside. the castle was huge you could even say humongous yet it was beautiful and oh so breathtaking. "im sunghoon, prince of mercury, m´lady..." the prince introduced himself right before leaving you at the bottom of the staircase so you could meet their oldest brother.

your heart raced, waiting patiently amidst this spectacle, you finally caught the prince's attention. Your hesitation led you to approach the boy slowly and carefully, introducing yourself in an admiring and respectful tone “good morning your majesty, I’m the princess of azure” he nodded in approval as he extended his arm for you to grasp “no need for such formalities princess...” His eyes locked with yours and you could almost feel the weight of all of your worries and fears slipping from your shoulders. “Just call me heeseung" a smile appears on both of your faces as a blush gracefully spreads across your soft cheeks before a tap on your shoulder prompts you to turn around. you’re met with a pink-haired boy who has the brightest smile you have ever seen. “hello dear princess!” the boy beams you a smile as he reaches out his hand for you to take. he leads it in front of his mouth yet before he does anything his eyes meet your widened ones “may i?” he refers to your hand which is in front of his lips and right after you agree he gives a light kiss to your knuckles as he bows before he stands up straight once again “i’m glad you could make it princess” his smile was really addicting and you just couldnt take your eyes off of the boy. heeseung was still beside you and so was the pink-haired boy who was talking to you in pure excitement. they lead you to their table where a few other boys already settled down including jay, sunghoon and riki. “i’ve always wanted to meet you! i’ve heard so much about you but of course only good things!” his enthusiasm made you chuckle “thank you, i’m glad to meet you too— what was your name?“ you tilted your head as you leaned slightly closer to hear him better since the room was quite loud. “my apologies princess, im sunoo, prince of venus" you felt your heart flutter as your eyes met his. you couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement as you realize that you are seated with the most feared and respected kingdom of all time...

to be continued...

<33

@j-wyoung @lacieeeeee00

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bloom-hypen · 7 months

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༘⋆𝕽𝖊𝖉 𝖇𝖑𝖔𝖔𝖉 𝖒𝖔𝖔𝖓 ☾⋆

Vampire enha au!

In which meeting vampires or even knowing one wasn't your plan, but somehow it ended up like this.

You always thought the world was normal until the moment you saw him with his red glowing eyes staring back at you.

[Plots are just ideas for now! Changes may happen due to a different idea or another reason]

Paring : Heeseung x fem! reader

Warnings: Blood , curse words , may have a bit of violence towards someone who is not the reader

Description: Y/n's boss asked her to do the night shift of the cafe that day, but her day had gone horribly. That was until it went worse when she took a shortcut home. What she saw was about to affect her either in the best or worst.

Read here

Paring: Jay × fem! reader

Warnings: blood , jay may be a jerk [not the way I see him but it's for the plot]

Description: Jay is the boss of a company that y/n works at. Working after hours wasn't what the plan was, but sadly, you were forced to . What happens if she finds out his dark secret for just staying longer than usual

Read here

Pairing: popular! Jake × shy fem! reader

Warnings: slight blood mention

Description: Jake, the new transfer student and a big social butterfly, but it's difficult with y/n he seems more distant, and she's not sure why.

Read here

Pairing: Player! Sunghoon × fem! Reader

Warnings: Swearing , Jerk Sunghoon (again not how I think he acts) , mention of violence , mentions of blood

Description: Y/n knows all the rumors of Sunghoon due to her friends who love the gossip, but what happens when suddenly one of the girls he was with at the time disappears. Then he dissappears, and no one knows the reason, but the rumor of him harming the girl stats to spread.

Read here

Pairing: best friend! Sunoo × fem! Reader

Warnings: very slight mention of blood

Description: It was your monthly sleepover with sunoo, but he was acting different than usual. He then tells you he has to tell you a big secret and to not be scared (had a very opposite effect) but agree to listen wither way. He then explains his past.

Read here

Pairing: class prez!Jungwon × Vice prez! Reader

Warnings: mentions of blood , slight mention of bullying

Description: Lately due to the new campaign to collect money for your class has made you stay after school with the rest of council but when you walk in one day you didn't expect to be ment with only the class president and a mug that contained a red liquid that seemed off.

Read here

Pairing: best friend! Ni-ki × Fem! Reader

Warnings: Slight mentions of death , mention of blood

Description: Ni-ki couldn't keep a secret anymore. Having to cancel meet-ups due to his thirst for blood and not seeing them has made him notice how much he misses his best friend. One day, y/n decided to confront him, and he told her his most well-kept secret.

Read here

Hope you enjoy this!! Please let me know if you want to be tagged in one or all, and I'll add you! :)

#enhypen #sunoo #jake #jay #jungwon #sunghoon #heeseung #ni-ki #enhypen x reader #sunghoon x reader #sunoo x reader #jake x reader #jay x reader #jungwon x reader #ni ki x reader #enhypen vampire au

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heeseungsnewwhore · 7 months

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“Biting”

Kinktober Day 1

Consider this my first addition to kinktober. A little late but in time enough 🩸.

A/N: “This is a scene from a story you will find posted later this month on my AO3. Their are mentions of other members, so no need to be confused, it’s just a shortened piece from a larger series.”

❥ snippet

Pairing: Sunoo x fem!reader x Sunghoon

Rating: 18+, mdni, kinktober day 1

Genre: Just mild filth.

Warning/tags: mentions of blood, lots of blood, slight shaming, definitely degrading, biting kink, you know Diabolik lovers? Yeah, if you know you know, just derogatory vampy filth. 🩸

“Oh she’s been bitten more times than I can count, don’t let her fool you.” Sunoo says as a smirk gathers at his lips. His piercing red eyes rendering the thoughts in your head helpless. “She even likes it~! So we can eat whenever we want~!”

“So she’s one of those types…Kinda disappointing.” Sunghoon says simply as the other celebrates. He’s now hugging your body closer to his in his. Your back practically flush’s against his chest. Taking in your scent as he buries his face against your neck. You already knew well enough that a vampires lap was a dangerous place to be.

“L-Listen…You two- I need to get to Jay I was on my way to give him and Jake a blood sample. Can you at least wait?” You couldn’t help but let out an exhausted sigh. Not from all the traveling, but now that you were all the way back to where you were in the very beginning of this mess.

Stuck between two vampires that you didn’t even know. Except this time it wasn’t Seonghwa and San and you knew the two of them well enough by now.

Sunoo audibly scoffs before rolling his eyes. “She’s thinking about that other coven…I think we’re more handsome than them, thank you.” Sunoo says in a condescending tone, before turning away from you and Sunghoon. Seemingly uninterested.

“I don’t really care what she’s thinking about…I’m curious…” You hear Sunghoon’s words tickle against your ear before he’s baring his fangs. Slowly sinking them into your neck now.

“Shit-!“ You curse, gripping his knees as your body tensed. It usually didn’t hurt this much. But his fangs were huge. There was an ache starting to throb through your neck now and you couldn’t help but shift about in his lap, trying to find some kind of comfort. But this only makes him groan before he’s holding you back in place.

It’s then that Sunoo’s eyes are glancing back over to the scene. A slight glare even. No- It wasn’t even slightly. He was side-eye glaring you. Hard. Before his eyes are following the drool of crimson that begins to pool at your collarbone. Now crawling over to the two of you. Bracing a hand on your thigh, as he leans to collect the fluid with his tongue. Licking his lips with a curious hum.

“She does taste kind of funny, I guess…” He grumbled and you couldn’t help but furrow your brows at his words.

“W-well if it tastes so bad, then g-go back..”

Sunoo is glaring at you again. “You’re mouthy. I knew you’d be trouble.”

He’s suddenly moving down onto his knees, shoving your legs open with Sunghoon’s, not having much choice from the way you were sitting on his lap. Sunghoon looking down at the other concerned before he simply says,

“Keep eating.” He commands and Sunghoon hasn’t missed a beat in what he’s taking from you. “This is for her~ Apparently she likes fangs here too…” The younger vampire says smoothly, as he trails delicate fingers along the softness of your inner thighs, pushing your dress up as he does so.

You only clasped your eyes shut. You couldn’t help but end up feeding him more thoughts to read. The previous coven you had been with, Yunho and Wooyoung had favored feeding from your thighs. They were the first two to want to make it pleasure for you- And you couldn’t help but give in as they had done just that…So Sunoo wasn’t wrong.

“Slut.” He giggles, and you go to move to close your legs, but he’s not letting you. Nor is Sunghoon as he takes your arms, practically holding them behind your back.

“J-Jay’s going to be pissed-“

Sunoo rolls his eyes suddenly and before you know it, he’s abruptly sinking his fangs into your thigh. Cutting you off as he does so. Your words catching in your throat only to come out as a yelp. Like Sunghoon now, he’s contently feeding from your thigh. But more greedy. An ache tickling its way up your leg and to nether regions. It hurt but all at once…Well Sunoo knew the rest. Your body had liked it.

Not that you would’ve minded it- But these vampires were strangers to you despite Hongjoong agreeing that it was safer and best for you to move in with them for a while. That and they were of high council so there weren’t very many opposing parties that would try to bring trouble their way.

“We just want a taste before Jay just hogs you.” Sunoo grumbles against your thigh. “You think he’s all safe because he seems so cool, right? Like he and Jake really want to help?” Sunoo snickers. “Good luck if they’re waiting for you in that lab together…”

You strain your legs against his grip, grunting suddenly as Sunghoon is pulling you even more into him.

“Then Maybe I shouldn’t leave them waiting-?” You try to convince the other and he only shakes his head.

“It’ll be your problem, not ours.” Sunoo says simply before he’s sinking his fangs into you again. Deliberately making sure they go right back into the same holes.

And there you were. Gasping and straining- Trying to hold back all the little noises that were getting forced out of you. From Sunghoon’s hands constantly squeezing and wandering around your waist- Occasionally ghosting over your chest. To Sunoo’s trail of fang marks he wanted to leave along the inner flesh of your thighs. Greedily licking up the drools of blood before drinking from one of the areas again. His other hand playing dangerously higher under your dress…But you dare not move. Instead your legs welcomed the curious hand as you spread them. You suddenly feel Sunghoon’s fangs retract.

A strong hand in your hair now as he’s yanking your head back, causing you to gasp. “Now that’s just unbecoming for a lady, don’t you think?”

Before you could even begin to say whatever you thought was necessary- You feel those same delicate fingers, ghosting over your lips underneath the lace. Playing at the heat of your core and the dampness that was forming. A pathetic little whine escaping your lips, and the way Sunghoon smiles at that…

“Good thing she’s no lady~.” Sunoo is smirking against your thigh as he speaks.

“How does it feel, y/n?” The larger male speaks before he’s using his free hand to slip off the shoulder of your dress. Brushing his lips agaisnt the skin there before grazing it with his fangs. “Do you really like being fed off of?”

“Oh she loves it~” Sunoo says with a swipe of his tongue over the marks he’s left, before he’s moving to the other thigh. This time sinking his fangs into you so hard, you jump as you let out a yelp this time.

“S-Sunoo…If you take so much…p-please…”

“You’ll be forced to crawl like a dog all the way to them~ Already on all fours. Right? You seem like you might be used to that position.”

“Jake will love to see a dirty chalice~…We haven’t had fun with one in a while.” Sunghoon suddenly says and Sunoo is groaning softly as he takes more from you.

You didn’t exactly know what they meant, but you had a couple of ideas. Alas, you knew it was useless to inquire…The only thing you could do- Was let them finish. You did notice that one thing was all the same with every single one of these vampires and it was the mere fact they just loved to argue. So you were done arguing. You knew they were no real threat to, Jungwon made that clear, and they had all seemed to take his words seriously. Nevertheless- They were just as mischievous and devilish.

Before your thoughts can continue to reel on? Sunghoon is biting down into the other side of your neck. Keeping your head tilted back at the angle he wants. Fingers tangled in your hair, as the other hand moves to ghost over your chest again. Causing you to shiver and arch your back in the slightest. The smallest of an action, now has him taking that hand to one of your breasts. Roughly fondling you the dress and the moan that escapes your lips is only fueling them to become even bolder with you. Sunoo’s fangs are only inches shy of your clothed folds now and he has a thumb slowly making circles over your trapped clit.

Hands.

Their hands.

God.

Their hands were everywhere it felt like, and you were giving in with every passing second. The large empty room starting to echo softly with the sounds coming out of you, and the absolutely deliberate messy sounds they were making with their mouths. Followed but their groans, all as if they were getting some kind of high off you. One of your hands to rest over the larger one that was fondling your chest at this point, and the other going down to tangle in the softness of Sunoo’s hair. The vampires seemed to enjoy the touch, becoming more intense with their actions. You could feel your blood drooling from their mouths as they sank their fangs deeper.

“F-Feels good…I-it does…S-sun..” You choked out, Sunoo’s thumb moving even rougher against your clit, your thighs trembling as you whimper and you know your panties are soaked.

He pulls away with a breathy chuckle, head practically coming from under your dress from how close he was feeding near your cunt. Now shoving some of the bloody fabric back to reveal your stained thighs. Greedily licking away at the trails of bloods that was racing down your legs. Those piercing red hues staring up at you as he does so. You can’t exactly look down on him with the way Sunghoon has your head yanked back, but he’s enjoying the sight of the others greedy antics well enough.

“Mmm-…” Sunoo hums with a grin. “She’s having so much fun, forget making her crawl, let’s just do it until she passes out~…”

The other sounded way too cheerful despite the words that were coming out of his mouth. Yet…You had a feeling that he was going to commit to every word of it.

“Can we move to the couch?” Sunghoon finally speaks, letting your head go as he’s licking his lips. You finally having the freedom to breathe more properly and readjust yourself, but you’re practically limp in the others lap.

“That does sound better, my knees hurt.” Sunoo is pouting, rubbing over his legs. “But! I still want her on my lap this time. You should see her face Sunghoon~, so trade with me for a bit.”

The two were just casually planning on continuing to feed and toy with you as if it were simple dinner plans. The next thing you knew, your body was binging lifted up into Sunghoon’s arms, and the couch was getting was the next place you were.

Jay definitely wasn’t going to be happy when you finally saw him.

#enhypen #enhypen smut #fanfic #hard things #enha sunoo #enha sunghoon #vampire au #vampire #kinktober #sunghoon x y/n #sunoo x y/n #enhypen x female reader #kinktober day 1 #enha kinktober day 1 #enhypen kinktober day 1

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interlunium-opus · 10 months

Text

►DANCING WITH THE DEVIL #003 [Sunghoon.]

Previous Parts ‣ #001 | ‣ #002

Abstract: Juxtaposing the way your town was beginning to get a new lease on life after the authorities finally found the culprit behind your town's recent serial killings, your life was fraying at the edges instead as you still had to continue battling your inner demons on the daily – from nightly terrors to random flashes of visions – the latter of which, for mysterious reasons, seemed to only happen when you are face-to-face with Park Sunghoon, the bane of your existence. The more distraught you were over it all, the more convinced you were to get to the bottom of it, even if it means wreaking hell with the bane of your existence and waltzing with him in a game of his own making. You knew you were treading dangerous waters in doing so but you figured, if your days are numbered, then you'd rather go down fighting, dragging him down with you. But with the line between hate and love being thin, someone is bound to slip up soon, thereby threatening to ensnare the both of you deeper into the tangled web that Sunghoon had spun for you in the first place. ⌈ Do check out the previous parts here ‣ #001 | ‣ #002 ⌋

Warnings: blood; violence; injuries (some are self-inflicted); suggestiveness (some are forced); mentions of crimes (missing persons, murder, serial killings); manipulation; toxicity; trauma.

— i

“That’s a pretty heavy topic for a light read,” Jungwon who was trailing behind you, remarked, eyes fixated on the book you were holding, “that book is about Trauma right? I know you like reading but it’s deadline season so I doubt you’re picking this up for leisure reading. I don’t think it relates to any of your modules either. Is everything alright y/n?”

No, you thought to yourself, nothing is. Juxtaposing the way your town was beginning to get a new lease on life after the authorities finally found the culprit behind the serial killings, your life was fraying at the edges as you continue to battle your inner demons on the daily – from nightly terrors to random flashes of visions – the latter of which, for mysterious reasons, seemed to only happen when you are face-to-face with Park Sunghoon, the bane of your existence.

The more you ruminated about how your life has seemingly turned awry, the more perplexing it all becomes. In fact, if your life was a jigsaw puzzle, it would be the kind where none of the remaining puzzle pieces that have been left fit the gaps, which gives you either a distorted picture if you force it, or an incomplete picture, if you leave it be – none of which is ideal. Not when the gaps were having such a debilitating effect on your life from the dizzy spells, anaemia, visions, to nightly terrors.

Perplexingly, the more you pondered about each gap, the more it can be traced to Park Sunghoon. The most jarring of all in particular was the gaps in your memories of that evening when you last worked with Sunghoon – after which, everything seemed to take a weird turn, though not immediately. It was only in hindsight that you were able to see how the disjointed oddities seem to be cascading: the memory gaps; your sudden deteriorating health; Sunghoon’s sudden shift in behaviour; your nightly terrors; and your distorted visions. Taken together, you couldn’t help but quell the sinking feeling at the pit of your stomach that perhaps the ill-fitting puzzle pieces in your life weren’t natural at all – that they were purposefully tampered upon. That everything has been orchestrated. That you have been toyed around like a rat in a maze.

It even sometimes occurred to you that perhaps the said maze had been his in the first place – though you can never for the life of you figure out how and why would he go through such lengths.

Hence why you’ve been battling tooth and arms for the popular book in your hand. A book on trauma that perhaps could shed light as to why your mind has been going haywire; why your memories did not seem like they were yours; and why you feel so inexplicably haunted – as if you’re forgetting something, as if a danger is looming, as if Park Sunghoon is someone you should be wary of for more ominous reasons instead of just for his prowess at catching and breaking hearts.

“You know you can trust me right?” Jungwon murmured softly, bringing you back to reality. You felt him coming up behind you, his chest pressing against your back as he reached over towards the self-checkout machine, offering to help you instead since you had begun to space out. You edged away slightly, giving him some space – still not used to how excessively attentive and tactile Yang Jungwon has been as of late.

Now, Jungwon has indeed always been a chivalrous lad but his actions, gazes and touches back then were never excessive – it was always strictly and unmistakably cordial that there would be no room to overthink nor misunderstand the meaning of it. As of late however you couldn’t help but notice how every touch and gaze linger a tad bit too long that you couldn’t help but feel increasingly apprehensive of something bubbling underneath. It’s all in your head, you would try to convince yourself sometimes, feeling guilty of being so suspicious of someone that has offered nothing but constant help and comfort to you as of late.

“I know,” you softly muttered back, “I can’t trust myself though.”

“It doesn’t matter,” he smiled reassuringly, his voice ever so gentle and soft, “because I do.”

You smiled back almost automatically, eventually relenting especially under the weight of his compelling gaze. “Well, it’s nothing serious really. Just a recurring nightmare that’s debilitating,” you mumbled, carefully weighing each word so as not to overshare, “I would have just ignored it but I feel like its recurrence is starting to distort my perception. It didn’t help that the place, the man, the feeling, all felt familiar – as if it had been a memory that is replayed rather than just a dream conjured. Anyway, I uh, just wanted to check if they could mean something psychologically because I’ve read before that traumas can manifests itself in the form of nightmares too.”

“Like in PTSD sufferers?” he sympathized, “It's possible. You did after all underwent a near death experience in campus.”

“Yeah…” you murmured, slightly surprised to hear him reference the case you experienced in campus which you were sure only Heeseung knew of. But then again, you reassured yourself, Jungwon worked part-time as a guard so it’s possible that it’s something made known to them for safety measures. You then noticed his attention shifting away from your eyes towards you neck, brows knitting in recognition of something, “that mark, how did you-” his hand begin to reach up, ghosting over your neck when you guys were sorely interrupted by a booming, jovial voice.

“Good evening lovebirds, hope we’re not intruding.”

You two immediately snapped your head towards the direction of the voice, startled, as if you two had been walked into while doing something incriminating. It was Jake Sim, the Student Union’s Head of Sports, tugging on his sleeve to show you guys the Burgundy-coloured arm band he was wearing which signify that he was on patrol duty. Trailing behind him was, of course, Park Sunghoon.

“It’s 15 minutes until the start of the curfew,” Jake announced as he approached you both before turning his attention squarely towards you, “just want to make sure this lady right here won’t overstay.”

“I guess I must have a bounty over my head with the way you and your little gang are always up in my business,” you muttered flatly as you shot Sunghoon a brief accusatory glance, “I was just leaving.”

“Pretty sure your friend here," Jungwon suddenly spoke up, eyes flitting to Sunghoon, then back to Jake, "-isn't part of the Student Union. Surely you're not reprimanding someone but turning a blind eye to your own best friend ? that would be low of you Jake Sim."

You pressed your lips together to quell the amusement and satisfaction that was quickly blooming over your face. As expected from the poster boy of chivalry and valour in campus, you thought to yourself as you give Jungwon a brief look of admiration.

“Oh don’t worry, I was just leaving as well,” Sunghoon calmly replied though the brief tightening of his jaw seem to indicate that the comment didn’t miss the mark. Suddenly he turned to you, “since they both have to make the last sweep before curfew, it’s just us then. Shall we head out together?”

“I can head out alone just fine,” you replied him curtly and bid Jungwon a quick goodbye, before turning on your heel and exiting the main hall, taking the back corridor towards the back exit instead in hopes that you wouldn’t have to deal with Sunghoon anymore.

Except as you descended down the stairs, you could hear footsteps following you. You rolled your eyes and picked up your pace, knowing exactly who it was.

“Aren’t you walking too fast right now? Scared of the curfew or scared of me?” Sunghoon asked, the amusement in his voice audible. You ignored him, pushing past a series of glass doors that separated the corridors, hoping that one of them would have slammed him right in the face.

“You seem pretty chummy with that cat-eye lad,” he started again, “Do you have a thing for men who resemble animals or something? first your fox-looking guard dog then this cat-looking –“

“Park Sunghoon, get lost,” you hissed as you turned around abruptly, having had enough of him pestering you. To your surprise, despite the sound of his footsteps, he was actually just a few steps away from you which caught you off guard as he almost crashed onto you the moment you turned around. Not that it bothered him though for he just grinned slyly, satisfied to have incited a reaction from you.

“Aren’t you being too cold to me?” he raised his brows, waving a blue book in his hand – the book you had just loaned out and should have been safely tucked in your zipped backpack, “you actually dropped this and I was just trying to give it back to you.”

You furrowed your brows in a mixture of annoyance and embarrassment as you make a grab for the book, only for him to retract his hand back, “Oh? I thought you wanted me to get lost?”

“Give it back,” you demanded.

“Say it nicely,” he taunted, biting his lips to suppress the grin that was blooming across his lips.

You scoffed thinking how you should have known better. “Over my dead body,” you spat as you backed away, your patience thinning, “you know what? you can have it. I’d rather pay the penalty fee.”

With that you turned back and marched towards the exit door hoping that that would have offended him enough to leave you alone. Except this was Park Sunghoon we are talking about and if there is anything you can predict about him is that he will always act the opposite of what you expect and anticipate – like a true contrarian.

As you swung the door open, Sunghoon had caught up to you, and in just swift motions, he reached over and slammed the door back close – drawing parallels to the scene at the beginning of your nightmare when the door was shut close too as soon as you swung it open. Like a memory trigger, memories of your nightmare flooded in – filling you with a sense of confusion. You turned around, about to tell him off, only to be unnerved by how close he was, dwarfing over you in such a menacing way – again drawing parallels to your nightmare when you were backed up by a faceless man.

“For someone who is always running into dangerous situations, you sure still run your mouth freely y/n,” he chided threateningly in a low voice. Shivers went down your spine as your back pressed onto the cold glass behind you though you weren’t sure if it was the contact that made you shudder or was it the way Sunghoon loomed ominously before you with the dimmed lighting accentuating the steeliness of his expressions and the gravity of his commanding gaze.

You start to feel a lump in your throat, feeling your mind raking for memories that you weren’t even sure were there as if it was trying to warn you that something similar had unfolded beyond the realms of dreams before – of which didn’t end well. Still, always too brave for your own good, you refused to show any signs of fear as your stared back up into his increasingly paralyzing stare, almost as if challenging him.

In the midst of all the confusion, a dangerous and risky thought brewed in your mind. If Sunghoon really have anything to do with your hallucinations and even nightmares, you figured that you should be able to trigger it as per the previous cases when somehow being close to him seemed to have set it off. Thus, as if you two hadn’t been unnecessarily close in proximity already, you did the unthinkable as your hands reached up towards him, grabbing his collar and pulling him down towards you, catching the ever-so-inscrutable Park Sunghoon totally off-guard. His brows knitted in a mixture of confusion and alarm, his Adam’s apple bobbing – looking uncharacteristically unnerved, “what the fuck do you think you’re doing?” he hissed, seething, as he gripped your wrist, his nails digging onto your skin painfully that you were sure it’d leave a mark.

A familiar sense of forebode soon rose from every small detail you see and every little sensation you felt: from the way he looked down murderously at you, to the way gripped your wrist, to the way the fabric of his shirt felt under your clutch. It was all starting to evoke that sickening feeling of déjà vu that is almost too heavy and ominous that it was paralyzing. Your visions begun to distort, transitioning rapidly between the Sunghoon that was right there with you in library, to Sunghoon standing in a dark, moon-lit room. From a glowering Sunghoon who looked like he was going to murder you to a Sunghoon who looked rather sultrily at you.

You gulped, mustering every strength and rationality in you not to crumble under it all. It’s just in your mind y/n, you tell yourself repeatedly as the visions rapidly transitioned, showing similar sequences as the ones you’ve had before. Except this time, as the Sunghoon from your visions lowered his face towards you, about to close the gap, you felt him dip lower, latching instead to your neck instead of your lips – mirroring your nightmares with the faceless man sinking his fangs onto your neck. When the man pulled back, you faced the exact same faceless man as the one in your dreams – the shadows concealing the rest of his face save for the sharp jawline, pale skin, plump lips, fangs, and blood-stained shirt.

Had this been your typical nightmare, this would have usually been the part where it all ended. But somehow this time, it went on, his face craning in such a way that the moonlight, which streamed through a nearby window, gradually illuminated the rest of his face: his nose, his eyes, hair. Your trepidation quickly combusted into that of horror as you realized now why the man’s features had always evoked such a strange feeling of familiarity.

It was Park Sunghoon’s.

“You…” you croaked, mind fraught in turmoil when the scene before you melted away, reverting back to Sunghoon at present in the library, who had just aggressively yanked your hands off of him. You noticed the subtle brief eyebrow twitch and clenching of jaw as he teetered back – almost as if he registered or realized something.

“Don’t play with fire y/n,” he glowered and suddenly the lights around the library started to flicker wildly and in the fraction of second when his face directly caught the light, you noticed how his dark brown eyes had unexplainably turned into a shade of amber though you couldn’t double take as the light completely went out after, his voice echoing in the dark, “—you’ll get burnt”.

When the lights switched back on after a few seconds, Sunghoon was gone – as if he had disapparated.

Suddenly whatever courage and strength you had from earlier dissipated and you crumbled onto the cold marble floor – legs weak, hearts wildly palpitating and mind completely stretched thin. Memories from that night when Sunghoon sank his teeth onto your neck started to flood back to you like burst dam, filling you with overwhelming emotions that you found yourself heaving and paralysed.

Twice in your life, you downplayed all the signs that had been there: from Sunghoon’s omnipresence around your life; the way events around your life seemingly gravitate towards him; the way his words always felt double-laced — it now all made sense. They were no coincidence — they were all him, everything was a web purely spun by him. The way he manipulated everything to his favour, from removing obstacles to tipping events, and then subsequently weaponised your own mind and memories against you to the point of insanity.

You remembered feeling very foolish back then in your last waking moments but now you just felt completely stupid for being strung around by Park Sunghoon again to the point of insanity.

What happened next was a total blur as you became so overwhelmed and numb from the rush of memories and realization: from having to process that vampires are not a stuff of fables; to Sunghoon being one; and to you being the one preyed upon. When you arrived home, you didn’t even bother to switch on the lights nor shower – just collapsing dejectedly and weakly onto your couch. Your train of thoughts soon melded into a disjointed mess as your body eased, lulling you into a sleeping state. It all then warped into something familiar — a large living living room, a figure following you from behind, door slamming shut just when you open it, you getting pinned against it — it was the same thing.

Except this time, everything was as clear as day – without any glitches and without any concealment – Park Sunghoon looming before you eyeing you as if you were meat. Everything then flooded back to you: you packing up to go home, him blocking you and forcing a kiss on you to the point your lips bled, then him stopping you from escaping, taunting you before sinking his fangs onto you. As you drift in and out of consciousness, you could see him sporting a triumphant grin, lips and collar morbidly smeared with blood – your blood – as he caressed your cheeks, rubbing the tears away as if he hadn’t been the one to have caused it in the first place.

“not so feisty now huh? y/n?” was the last thing you heard before it all went black.

Your eyes then fluttered open. You can feel your cheeks wet, apparently shedding a tear in your sleep just like in your nightmare. Unlike previous nights when you jolt awake in horror, sometimes even screaming, this time, you were calm – awash with a sense of clarity.

It has never been any random man. It has never been any normal nightmare.

It was Park Sunghoon all along.

And they weren’t nightmares, they were repressed memories.

You feel your fists clench in vehemence. You knew that your days now were probably numbered for there was no way he would let you off now that your memories have returned. Far from being scared however, you felt bolder, empowered by the desire to not let him have the upper hand. If I’m going down, you thought to yourself as your hand reached for the spot on your neck where the puncture mark had been, you’re going down with me Sunghoon.

— ii

“How many more bagged bloods is it going to take for you to realise that that is not hunger?” Jake jabbed, clicking his tongue dismissively at the way Sunghoon aggressively bite onto yet another bagged blood, finishing it in just seconds as if he hadn’t drunk for weeks. Jake shuddered when Sunghoon turned around, glowering, his eyes a luminous golden as he crumpled the empty bag, throwing it angrily across the room. Sunghoon has always been the calm one so to see him this agitated was alarming.

Sunghoon knew a drop of your blood could drive him off the rails but what he didn’t know was how you, in your entirety, could have the same effect. He felt dizzy again as he was reminded of when you had daringly, and foolishly he might add, pulled him earlier – the way your dark eyes, like whirlpool, was threatening to pull him deeper; the way your lips, parted and flushed, threatened to drew him close; the way you looked so small under him, making him go almost feral at the thought of completely engulfing you. Fuck, he cussed again internally as he slumped onto the bed, face buried in his hands, feeling the burn rising.

“It’s that toxic mix of obsession and lust that you hate the most,” Jake suggested, “swallow your pride tonight and prey on someone else both for fresh blood and for your other carnal desires – that’s how you’ll get through the burn. Nothing beats the satiation from a living person.”

In any other times, he would have already lunged at Jake but right now he was too overwhelmed to even glare at him. Begrudgingly he agreed to be dragged to another party tonight – much to the delight of Jay and Jake. Technically if what he felt was lust, he can just find other women from the hottest to the most skillful, to satiate that. If what he felt was hunger for fresh blood from a living human – that, too, he can find from another human. Whatever it takes, the world is essentially his oyster and tonight, he wasn’t going to restrain himself.

Thus unlike his usual untouchable and prickly self, Sunghoon was a different man tonight for when they arrived at a frat party in another university, his hands quickly found the hottest woman who was more than eager to get it on with him.

You’re nothing to me y/n, he thought to himself they sloppily made out in one of the empty bedrooms, his hands roaming frantically as his desire rise and fall with every touch and kisses, convincing him that it had indeed been just any normal lust. Except as the night deepened and things escalated further than he usually would allow, you still burned in the back of his mind. Burning ever brighter as if he had just tried to put down fire with fuel with him being the one at stake, completely engulfed in flames.

Now vampires don’t really get sick but with the way the burn within him was almost incapacitating, he might as well be breaking into a fever. A fever that is leaving him infuriatingly confused as to whether he wants to eliminate you or own you.

— iii

Your nightmares stopped since that evening. On one hand, you were grateful, finally having adequate and uninterrupted amount of sleep each night – something that has become a rarity to you that it was almost a luxury. On the other hand, you were slightly bummed. There were still some things you wanted to confirm, of which you could potentially do by revisiting your nightmares and yet now that you were seeking for it, it had completely vanished, leaving you with nothing but just dubious patchwork of memories of which was getting increasingly fragile and fleeting as days passed.

“It’s all red herring I tell you,” you hear Sunoo grumble from the other side of your door, occasionally knocking to ask you if you were ready, before continuing on with his ramblings and complaints, “there is no way a 23-year old drug addict did all that. I’ve been dabbling in Press work long enough to see a red herring when I see one. I bet you whoever is behind all these is powerful and influential to easily tamper with evidence and throw someone else under the bus like that.”

“I think so too,” you concurred though you stayed silent about your reasons. While you had been itching to tell Sunoo everything you knew and what had transpired between you and Sunghoon, you had no evidence whatsoever. Not yet, at least. Objectively too, though you now know that Sunghoon is no ordinary human, perhaps not one at all, you don’t have evidence that he is behind all the serial killings either. Sure the shoe fits but for all you know, there might have been many like him around town, operating solitarily or even colluding with one another to prey on humankind while covering each other’s back. In fact, the whole town might have just been rats in a maze for them.

There is also another reason as to why you have been keeping your mouth tightly sealed in this regard: to protect Sunoo himself. After what Heeseung and Sunghoon did to him, you were sure Sunoo harboured so much ill-feelings towards them that no amount of reason could ever talk some sense into him had he gotten a whiff of these information. In fact, you were certain that he would immediately run with it, printing the stories out without any care for the lack of evidence, let alone the grave implications of doing so. Hence, you’ve kept yourself silent about it, preferring to gather information and piece it all out alone for now.

“You can come in now, I’m done putting on my dress,” you said as you applied a burgundy shade of lipstick over your coral lips, dabbing on it to spread it evenly across. Noticing the way Sunoo seemed stupefied at the sight of you with jaws agape, you started to feel self-conscious, trying to pull the tulle sleeves of your off-the-shoulder sequinned black gown upwards, “Is it too much? too revealing? should I change to-“

“Oh quit it. More like too stunning,” Sunoo gushed overdramatically as he encircled you, “I can’t believe how adamant you were to miss the ball tonight. Look at you, you look absolutely jaw-dropping right now, as if you’re made for the ball.”

“You’re just saying that because I have begrudgingly agreed to come with you to the Winter Ball,” you rolled your eyes, “I’m all set now, let’s go – won’t want to be fashionably late, I’m not made for that kind of attention.”

“Even if you’re not fashionably late, you would end up commanding a lot of attention tonight anyway,” he winked as he helped you with your coat, placing it loosely over your exposed shoulders.

Ever since the culprit has been caught, life has finally returned to campus with the return of the long-awaited annual Winter Ball sealing the deal – serving like a celebration that the worse was finally over. As if the weather was also on the side of the event, it had begun to lightly snow that evening as well, covering the merrily-decorated compound of campus in the colour of purity as if symbolising a 'rebirth', making the whole scene before you seem so magical and otherworldy especially as everyone were dressed so formally with their tailored suits and classy gowns.

While you have never been interested in the Ball, you succumbed to the continuous pressures from Sunoo who never tire in pestering, whining and bribing you to attend it with him. You were actually adamant on standing your ground but after weeks of seeing him being all dejected and moody from having his investigation resources confiscated by Heeseung, you thought this would cheer him up. Thankfully, it really did – bringing the megawatt smile back to his face while adding extra spring to his steps.

When you two finally reached the Grand Hall with 45 minutes to spare before the start of the event, it was already brimming with life as students and staffs, all decked in their finest, mingled about – filling the air with a cacophony of sounds from chatters, laughters, whispers, and clinking of glasses – all of which floated above the soft classical music that is being played by a live Orchestra. Usually grim and sombre owing to its Gothic Architecture and monochromatic grandeur, the Grand Hall too was transformed into a majestic wonder tonight, looking like the epitome of opulence, magnificence and exclusivity, with all the ostentatious chandeliers; taper candles; hydrangea centrepieces; twinkling lights; and garlands.

Sunoo excitedly tug onto your hand, his eyes twinkling in delight, almost mirroring the fairy lights that adorned the columns and trees. You were never the type to enjoy social events like Balls nor were you ever a fan of being in a crowd, but after months of trepidation and despondency, the bustling crowd and noise was oddly comforting – like a sure sign that the worse is definitely over. In fact, as you two settled in, meeting and catching up with old friends and other coursemates, you were really beginning to take Sunoo’s words for it – that you’d have the time of your life tonight.

At least that was what you thought until about an hour and a half later when the crowd quietened down into gasps and whispers. From the reaction you'd have thought the Dean had walked into the Hall but it was none other than Sunghoon and his clique, having just arrived, decked in the finest suits from the most luxurious brands, effortlessly looking like the embodiment of wealth, class and charisma. Sunghoon himself was dressed regally in a black sleek and custom-tailored YSL suit with a distinct intricately-designed ruby-centred coat of arms pinned on his lapel. Sunghoon had always looked cold and intimidating but his partially slicked-back hair tonight, which fully exposed his thick brows, prominent brow bone and piercing gaze, was amplifying it all – lending a rather ethereal, otherworldly and untouchable quality to him.

“Such attention hogs,” Sunoo muttered disdainfully, “I was so sure they would decline the invitation again this year and yet here they are—”

“Is it too late to go back now?” you grumbled, grimacing at the way everyone clamour and gushed over them like sunflowers towards the sun – totally oblivious to the fact that there is a monster lurking amongst them. All of a sudden, as if he knew you were there and you had been staring, his eyes directly met yours in a chilling precision amidst all the distance and the crowd that stood between you two. You held his gaze, eventually scowling when he refused to look away and proceeding to give you the once-over with a smirk blooming across his lips.

“Ugh,” Sunoo groaned, turning you around, and shielding you away from Sunghoon’s prying eyes, “he’s so shameless – it’s almost as if he wants you right there and then.”

Yeah, want me dead, you thought to yourself.

Fortunately, as they always had a crowd clamouring over them, they were always so preoccupied and were always away from your line of sight so you were able to go about your evening unbothered, completely in your own world, joking and dancing with Sunoo as well as with some of your other coursemates – completely forgetting that Sunghoon was even around. Until that is, the lighting started to the dim, the Orchestral music started to gradually grow louder and the floor started to clear – signalling the start of the long-awaited Waltzing session. You watched in awe as some people begin to join others at the centre of the hall, each rhythmically and formulaically Waltzing to the classical music with their partners with so much ease and grace as if it’s something that anyone normally does in their pastime.

Just then you felt Sunoo tugging your hand with a sheepish grin that you knew only meant trouble. You mouthed a few protests, trying to retreat away but as you begin to feel the heat of people’s stares, you had no choice but to begrudgingly let yourself get dragged to the dance floor, not wanting to cause a fuss and attract more attention.

“You owe me big time Kim Sunoo,” you grumbled through gritted teeth as you watched other couples warily while Sunoo just confidently held your hand in his and wrapped a hand around your waist, guiding you carefully according to the melody of Tchaikovsky’s 'Serenade For Strings in C Major, Op.48 II', “come on, what’s a ball without proper dancing? You already look the part, might as well play the part. Trust me okay? now relax your shoulders and carefully, follow my steps, 1, 2, yes, now backwards, yes -”

That was how you ended up on the dance floor, waltzing through a series of classical music, and a series of different men because Sunoo cheekily did not tell you that partners change whenever the classical pieces change. As if that wasn’t awkward enough – you could feel someone’s burning stare on you throughout the dance: Park Sunghoon.

While his hands were always on the hottest women in campus and he was always so preoccupied, whether it is in conversations, chatters, or even whispers, his eyes never failed to meet yours in an uncanny precision whenever your eyes accidentally landed on him in the crowd. That is, if he hadn't already been staring at you in the first place like a vulture waiting for their prey to succumb to its death. At one point, you held his gaze, frowning to show your utter contempt – hoping that that would have given him the message and make him look away but with the way the corner of his lips tipped, that obviously had the opposite effect. In fact, at one time, his partner ended up turning around, proceeding to give you the stink eye as if you had been checking out Sunghoon in the first place. As if, you thought to yourself, grimacing.

“Evening beautiful.”

You snapped out of your thoughts, realising then that the piece had changed again and the man that was holding your hand had changed. “Jungwon!” you gasped, face melting into utter relief and glee. Your body relaxed almost immediately in his touch after all the stiffness you had to maintain from the bunch of strangers you had to shuffle through for the Waltz so far.

“Wouldn’t want to miss a dance with the most beautiful lady in the hall tonight,” he grinned cheekily as he wrapped his hand over your waist ever so gently, guiding you carefully and attentively through the slow melody. It was classic Yang Jungwon – comforting and dependable. Except tonight, contrasting his usual boy-next-door image, his slicked-back hair, which fully exposed his strong arched brows and sharp feline eyes, lent a much stronger charismatic and refined impression to his look and vibe which could lean towards unnerving, if not alluring, if he wasn’t smiling cheerily like he did right now.

“No shift tonight?” you asked.

“Unfortunately, I do in about 45 minutes since they are short-staffed due to the holiday season,” he pressed his lips into a thin line, “but doesn’t matter, now that I’ve danced with you, my evening is complete.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re the last person I’m dancing with as well,” you replied before almost stumbling as the music sped up, struggling to keep up. Always so gallant and dependable, he quickly held you steady, beaming reassuringly as he wheeled you away to a more spacious area, “I’ve got you, just follow these sequences- yep, there you go…”

“Sorry about that. I haven’t acclimatised myself to upbeat waltzing. Heck even waltzing in itself was some sort of an uphill struggle,” you smiled apologetically, eyes trained on your feet to make sure you won’t be stepping on him again before flitting back up into his eyes, “never even planned to come but Sunoo insisted.”

“Well, he deserves a medal for convincing you then and I am grateful that you did. You were the only one I was searching for in the crowd earlier.”

“You’re not already drunk are you? you are unusually flirty tonight,” you raised your brows quizzically before chuckling playfully, “this isn’t you – bring me back that innocent, anti-romantic, Jungwon.”

With a playful smirk he corrected, “first things first, old Jungwon is long gone. Secondly,” you feel his grip over your waist tighten and the grin slowly faltering as his gaze seemingly darkened, “I’m not that innocent.”

You chuckled lightly, thinking that he was just being playfully dismissive though you find your smile faltering as you notice the way his gaze shifted, the way his eyes flitted ever so briefly seemingly towards your lips and neck. “Is the mark on your neck gone?” he asked. It took you a while to process what he was referring to when you were reminded of that night in the library when he was going to ask something about it before getting interrupted by Jake. “Oh- that,” you mustered. For reasons unknown you somehow decided to lie, “yeah, it was just a small injury.”

He raised his brows, looking unconvinced, “it didn’t look like a normal injury to me? How did you get it?”

You have always known that Jungwon’s stare can be too intense sometimes especially since he had sharp feline eyes and strongly-arched brows but the way he stared down at you right now really unnerved you in a way that makes you feel cornered. “Not sure actually. Perhaps it was a bed bug from when I went to the rurals for volunteering last time,” you lied again, hoping that that could’ve been believable.

“Ah-“ his mouth hung, “those bloodsuckers.”

You could have swore he said the last word with extra, unnecessary, emphasis – as if he knew you were lying and he wanted you to know that. Thankfully, the piece was nearing its end so you didn't need to stare into those forceful and hypnotizing eyes any longer as you turned around, swaying in shadow position just like other dancers. His words and gaze however still lingered in your mind so distractingly that as you twirled you lost his hand for a brief moment though he recaptured it just in time as you spun back towards him. Except, the hands that had caught you was larger and you can see now, to your horror, it was not even Jungwon anymore. It was Sunghoon and the piece had already transitioned to a darker piece: the majestic ‘Swan Lake Op.20, Act II, No.10’ by Tchaikovsky.

“How did you—,“ you stuttered, caught completely off guard. You could have sworn Sunghoon was far away from you the last time you caught a glimpse of him – the distance of which would have been impossible for him to be your next dance partner.

“You’re not wrong,” he conceded, almost as if he could read your mind and was replying to your thoughts, “I had to break the social etiquette and leave my partner before the piece ended just so I can have the last dance with you before someone else snatches you away.”

You scoffed, really not having it. “well, I’m not one for rules either,” you snubbed, just about to pull away from him and break the etiquette by leaving the dance mid-way when you felt him interlacing his fingers with yours while his other hand that was just resting over your waist, slid higher, snaking across your back, seizing you in a vice-like grip, “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. You would just attract a lot of attention since half of those in the room are looking at us now. I know you hate attention.”

You looked around and true enough, almost everyone’s attention in the hall was on you both. You stared back up at Sunghoon, flummoxed, “you did this on purpose didn’t you? Wasn’t the previous piece supposed to have been the last dance?”

“Well, what I want, I get,” he asserted domineeringly, brows arched up smugly as he wheeled you away in an adept yet dizzying turn across the dance floor past other couples. Perplexingly, despite the pace and force at which he was leading you, you hadn’t stumbled even once – it was almost as if you had been put under a spell, a spell that enraptured you in a fixed pre-set rhythm with him.

“So you’re saying that dancing with me tonight is what you want?” you asked mockingly just to spite him.

“Wrong,” he tutted, “it’s you that I want.”

“Is that doublespeak for my blood?” you provoked. Seeing the way his brows made the slightest twitch and his gaze darkened made you feel almost triumphant. He lowered his face slightly, tilting it, and bringing his lips close to your ears, “don’t play with me darling,” he whispered, his breath hot against your ears, sending shivers down your spine, “I can conjure up your worst memories here right now. Maybe then you’ll learn not to run your mouth too liberally in public.”

You jerked your head away from him and stared back into his darkened gaze in defiance though the way your jaw tightened was enough to satisfy him for it was a sign that you were fraying no matter the tough front you put forward for him. “why haven’t you killed me yet?” you asked, point-blank.

“Well, killing you would mean letting you off easy,” he cooed, “you don’t deserve that.”

You chewed the inside of your lower lip, seething, wondering how much longer you could tolerate being so close to this vile man. Every second felt like decades and you have become increasingly hyperaware of the way he was holding you – with every part of your body that was touching his, searing. From his large hand that had snaked over your back; his fingers that were all interlaced with yours; and your body all locked with his — you were effectively being seized, like a prey. More infuriatingly is the way your heartbeat was picking up though you couldn’t tell if it was simply out fury for having to dance with the devil; apprehension over his next steps; or, as much as you hated, over how flustered he was making you feel.

Nevertheless, you weren’t one to admit defeat nor show any signs of vulnerability – especially not to him. So even if you felt like you were going to buckle under his intense gaze and cower away from his strong hold, you persistently powered through – feigning nonchalance as you stared back in those dark commanding eyes unflinchingly. You figured for someone so prideful, power-obsessed and controlling like him, who always have the upper hand and have people wrapped around his fingers, accusing him of having feelings for you and being obsessed with you would be the greatest insult which in turn would have triggered him to act rashly. Hence you decided to play along, taunting him mockingly with the aim of riling him to the point of slipping up, “Oh yeah? I do hope that that is indeed the case,” you muttered lowly, “— not because you’re catching feelings for me. That would have been such a low blow, falling for a mere mortal who feels nothing but vehemence towards you.”

Pressing his tongue against his cheek, he scoffed, lips curling agonisingly slow into a rather insidious grin. “Oh yeah?” he drawled, his hand sliding further, fingers curling over your side ribs with nails digging painfully into your skin like talons, “then why is your heart beating so fast? Are you scared of me?” he raised his brows smugly as he harshly pulled you closer up his body as if trying to assert his dominance and further grind your gears, “or are you attracted to me? Would be a low blow for you either way isn’t it?”

“Speak for yourself,” your hand had already travelled down his shoulder, resting on his chest, eyes boring into his, unyielding and challenging, “yours is matching mine. You should be careful Sunghoon, you might need more blood to keep that shrivelled heart pumping this fast.”

Just then the piece picked up, booming into the last chorus line as if trying to mirror the tension that was brewing and threatening to spill over between the two of you as you two obsess over one-upping the other, completely oblivious over the fact that sometimes, the line between hate and attraction are blurry. In fact, to many unassuming observers, it was very easy to mistake the both of you as being completely enamoured with one another especially with the proximity, hand placements, the locked gazes and the banters. But whose to say they were wrong when deep down the both of you couldn’t tell for certain either.

The music fortunately stopped just in time, preventing anything from escalating and as if utterly disgusted you immediately pried his hand off of your back, feeling his touch searing by the second. He wasn’t going to let you off easy though as he tugged onto your hand, causing you to slightly tip towards him, before bringing the hand close to his lips. You watched in horror as he pressed his lips onto the back of your hand planting a gentle kiss that caused shockwaves across the crowd. A devious smirk immediately tugged on that very lip, “you look beautiful tonight by the way. Ravishing. Would have told you that earlier if we weren’t constantly at each other’s throat.”

You yanked your hand back protectively, embarrassed and fuming. You hated how his every move are always so calculated with the intention delivering the biggest blow to you as if someone was keeping score. Sunoo emerged just in time from the crowd, hissing curses at Sunghoon as he wrapped a protective arm over you and took you away. “You okay?” he asked, lowering his face to meet yours. You plastered a smile, nodding, “I’m fine. He was just messing around.”

Just then, one of the staffs took over the podium, announcing that it was time for dinner, fortunately diverting everyone’s attention away from you towards the food and drinks that were being wheeled into the hall. “I should have kept a closer watch on you,” he said apologetically, “I didn’t know he was that determined to get to you. Kind of weird though. I mean after months of pretending you were nothing but a stranger?” Sunoo paused, eyeing you suspiciously, “you’re not… hiding anything from me are you?”

You shook your head, pretending to be unaffected and nonchalant, “None whatsoever. He’s just bitter that I beat him in the other essay. Classic Sunghoon.”

Thankfully, Sunoo didn’t press on further, readily buying into your lie. As he was busy eyeing the rich selections of food, you looked away, feeling your head spinning though you couldn’t tell if it was from the excessive socialising, dizzying waltzing, or maybe it was Sunghoon and the array of emotions he was capable of evoking from you all at the same time – fear, dread, anger, you name it. Eyes trained on the empty galleries decked out on the upper floors, you decided to slip away from Sunoo, who was busy socialising now, to find a momentary respite.

As you reached one of the galleries, which was decked in burgundy-gold colour palettes, you hunched over the wooden bannister, propping your elbow up and resting your chin in your palm, looking over blankly at the bustling crowd on the floors below. As if there was gravity pulling, your eyes ended up wandering towards Sunghoon, seated at the corner with his little clique, surrounded by other wealthy and popular kids as per usual.

You scowled as memories from earlier – from his taunts, flirtations, to his threatening remarks – flooded back in. If only people know what you are Sunghoon, you thought to yourself.

As you laboured over these thoughts, you soon found your mind treading dangerous waters, your other hand already slipping inside your purse, making a grab for something: an army swiss knife – something you had been carrying as of late for protection.

Your eyes flitted from the knife to Sunghoon, then back, thinking to yourself, theoretically, like sharks, the littlest drop of blood should be easily detected by him. You flipped the blade out as you gave Sunoo a quick text telling him to stay where he was and start filming the crowd if anything happens. A barrage of texts immediately came through from Sunoo but you ignored it as you slipped the phone back into your purse, eyes trained on Sunghoon as your resolve to cause havoc was strengthening by the second, if I’m lucky he would lose control right in front of everyone.

With no hesitation you slid the blade across a small section of your palm though in your haste, the cut went deeper than expected with blood quickly pooling and trailing down. You winced, feeling it sting as you looked back at Sunghoon who was still engrossed in a conversation with others. Then suddenly as if a switch had been turned in his head, he looked up straight at you in such a chilling precision as if he knew you were right there.

Startled and alarmed, you edged away from the railings, trying to escape his field of vision. The lights started to flicker then and you knew you got him. Heart hammering wildly against your chest with your fight and flight response kicking in, you quickly darted out of the gallery.

The lights had completely went out then, leaving the winding corridor illuminated ominously with a red glow from the emergency lights in the corner. You can hear the crowd below erupting in unrest. Just as you reached the staircase you saw a CCTV right in the corner and another risky thought brewed in your mind. You purposefully slowed down and as you anticipated, not a full second after, you feel someone’s heavy presence behind you though before you could turn around, you found yourself slammed to the nearest wall.

The corner of your lips lifted, forming a small triumphant grin at the sight of Sunghoon in front of you, “aren’t you too easy Park Sunghoon?” you mocked, gritting your teeth his hand grabbed your neck, threatening to choke you. It might look as if Sunghoon has all the upper hand right now but nothing could be far from the truth because if anyone knows anything about him, to be able to rile the calm, collected and calculative Sunghoon up to this point is a massive feat. After all, he was always the one who is a few steps ahead, the who orchestrates, the who puppeteers. But now, despite all his attempts, his efforts seemingly backfired with his eyes already lightening to Golden; fangs fully erupted; and breathing all labored, both out of anger and increasingly, hunger. “You must really have a death wish y/n,” he warned insidiously.

You would be lying if you said the sight of him glowering murderously at you with razor sharp teeth and glowing golden eyes did not terrify you but from the moment your memories had started to slowly return weeks ago, you knew your days were numbered and that realization struck something in you – turning you from the risk-averse and non-confrontational person you had always been, to someone who is more defiant and dauntless. After all, if you’re going to die – you might as well die fighting.

Hence why, instead of pleading for mercy, you were relentlessly trying to provoke him, “with an opportunity served on a golden platter like this,” you derided, smirking as you ran your bloody hand up his wrist that was on your neck, “you shouldn’t fumble again. It’s getting too embarrassing at this point. Aren't you supposed to be infallible?”

You could see the alarm in his face as he realised a second too late how you had effectively smeared your blood on his hand, which had by then seeped onto his cuffs. Just like how your blood slowly crept up his cuff, dying every fiber at the edge into a deep shade of red, he, too, was increasingly engulfed in a confusing mess of impulse and desires which was getting harder to fight. Juxtaposing his usual calculated movements and calm and controlled facial expressions, he was thrown into disarray now as he yanked your hand aggressively away, pinning it against the wall, only to have his senses and rationality struck harder, as your bloodied palm was now fully exposed, the blood of which was dripping down towards his own hand – the scent now becoming overbearing that he was seeing red.

“Or do you prefer to do it in alleys, leaving my bloodless, punctured, body to be the next cold case in town? Oh wait, it can’t be a cold case anymore since you’ve got someone else to throw all the blame to,” you goaded further, truly having no regard whatsoever for your own life, “poor guy. For all we know you might also be running a drug den – essentially a pool of black sheeps to tap onto should you need someone to throw under the bus.”

Almost snarling, you feel him tighten his grip over your wrist, his nails digging onto your skin, as he lunged towards you. You squeezed your eyes shut, bracing for what was to come. But instead of the prickle of pain on your neck that you expected to follow, you felt him crash his lips onto yours instead, aggressively devouring it like a man starved. Your eyes flew open, aghast, as you felt his hand crept up your back possessively, pulling your body flush against him with unyielding strength as if any space in between would have killed him. You yelped – the sounds of which he swallowed as he thrust his tongue inside your mouth and deepened the kiss so heatedly that you could almost taste the anger and bitterness in the way his lips ferociously and hungrily devour yours. You then felt your bottom lip getting tugged in between his teeth, the pain of which made you wince, before it sent you thrashing harder against him when you felt him nibble, lick and suck on it. Not that any of your efforts were fruitful for he was far stronger – completely unbothered and unyielding like a stone. In fact, the more you thrashed and protested, the more seemingly intoxicated and entranced he became as he completely pressed his body up against yours, effectively immobilising you against the wall.

Your mind was getting hazy from the lack of air and just when you thought you might pass out, he pulled back, staring down at you domineeringly with his penetrating and devilish golden eyes. “Who’s easy now?” he mocked in a show of dominance and power as his tongue sultrily licked his blood-smeared lips.

“You fucking psycho-“ you hissed breathlessly as you shoved him away with as much strength as you could muster.

“Next time you pull this kind of stunt-“ he warned, the colour of his eyes gradually darkening to his usual dark brown colour as the grin on his face faltered, “–actually, forget it. I’ll make sure that you won’t even have a next time.”

“Why don’t you put money where your mouth is,” you spat as your fists clench in fury, “or is your mouth too busy trying to chase mine?”

His brows shot up momentarily before he narrows his eyes menacingly at you. You were sure he was going to say or do something to you then when suddenly you hear Sunoo calling your name out repeatedly.

“y/n!”

You snapped your head towards the direction of the voice, seeing Sunoo appearing by the staircase, completely out of breath, hunched over the floor, as if he had just ran all the way up. When you turned back, Sunghoon was long gone with absolutely no signs of him nearby. You looked around haphazardly, checking each galleries, and looking over the bannisters, seeing absolutely no signs of him, as if he disapparated.

“y/n!”

Sunoo grabbed your hand, swivelling you harshly around to face him, “what is wrong with yo-“ he paused, gasping, eyes widening in alarm, “you’re bleeding!”

“oh right- it’s-“ you mumbled, snapping out of your thoughts, as you looked at your bloodied palm. Except instead of your hand, Sunoo dabbed his clean handkerchief againts the center of your lips instead. You edged your face away, surprised. When you reached and gently touched the stinging spot on your lips, true enough it was bleeding. You scoffed, reminded of Sunghoon’s bloody lips too, along with his mocking words “who’s easy now?” – realising only then what he had really meant as he had bitten your lips and sucked on it. That prick, you feel your shoulders dropping in defeat, your head splintering.

“Did you take a tumble or something?” Sunoo asked as he continued gently dabbing your bloody lips, “If I didn’t know any better I’d have thought you had been making out or something. Look at the state of your hair and your lips-“

“Don’t be ridiculous,” you grumbled defensively, snatching his handkerchief from him, trying your best to feign nonchalance as memories of Sunghoon liplocking you started replaying in your mind like a broken film, “I tumbled on the stairs earlier, it was too dark.”

“You’re acting weird, do you know that?,” Sunoo eyed you suspiciously, “Actually – you have been acting weird. What was that text earlier? Stay there? Camera on? What were you up to? But anyway thanks to your heads up, I caught something interesting.”

“Wait- you did?” you asked, hoping that perhaps Sunghoon could have been caught in his film. The way in which he suddenly appeared behind you was something no human could do – not in such speed, not when he was in the midst of a crowd and not in that dimmed lighting.

“Oh-“ you managed, evidently disappointed when you watched the clip in Sunoo’s phone. He filmed everywhere and everything except for the area where Sunghoon was initially at. The camera suddenly flipped to selfie mode, showing Sunoo looking confused as the lighting flickered, “Sunoo I didn’t tell you to film yourse-“

“Hey, exactly because I filmed this that I caught something odd,” he grumbled, fast-forwarding it to the time when Sunoo started swivelling around in the dark, “look at that man at the far corner near the statue,” you followed his finger, focusing on the guy who stood rooted there. It was grainy and blurry but you can see that his head snapped upwards as if he saw something alarming before suddenly he vanished just a few seconds the lighting went out.

“Wait, what-“ you grabbed Sunoo’s phone, rewinding it back and replaying it. There was no mistaking it, the guy definitely vanished into thin air. You first thought that it might have been Sunghoon but that would be impossible. After all before the lights shut off, he clearly was at the to other end of the hall, by the sofas – you saw that with your own eyes.

That was when the horrifying truth dawned on you, that your presumptions weren’t that far off — that there really was more than one like Sunghoon, not just in your town, but in your campus.

— iv

“It’s done,” Sunghoon muttered as he re-entered the dining hall of their loft. Jake turned to him, catching a glimpse of the man slumped near the sofa in the other room before the door completely closed behind Sunghoon, “he should remember nothing about tonight except just how wasted he was.”

“Good work Sunghoon,” Heeseung nodded as he massaged his temples and checked his phone for the umpteenth time for updates, “I’ve had the victims already sent to two different hospitals too. There should already be someone there ready for to do all the necessary cover-ups so the accident tonight shouldn’t cause too much ruckus with the elders.”

“Good thing I was making out just outside of the Grand Hall isn’t it? Otherwise someone else would have found the bodies,” Jay wiggled his brows, looking proud.

“Well for someone who was near the vicinity, it really is a wonder how far gone you were with the girl you were snogging with to have missed out a stray vampire feeding on two students nearby,” Jake scoffed, shaking his head dismissively as he nudged Sunghoon, beckoning him to agree with him. Sunghoon just gave him a cursory glance, looking every bit as disinterested and indifferent as ever as if he, too, wasn’t liplocking around the time it happened.

“What if this stray vampire is the one responsible for the chaos earlier?” Heeseung asked aloud, tapping the edge of his phone against the marble countertop, “did anyone have a good idea of what actually happened earlier? I was too busy buttering up the Board of Directors.”

Feigning ignorance, Sunghoon just casually shrug, despite knowing very well who had sparked the whole chaos earlier: you. Unlike what is popularly depicted in the media, vampires aren’t really like sharks but some do have a keen sense of smell when it comes to blood especially if it is the blood that they are very well familiar with. This is the case of you to Sunghoon who, having dawned it himself, could smell it when you had hurt yourself earlier. Though in hindsight he could now see how foolish and rash he had been to be easily baited like that. Not that he wanted to divulge all that to the rest though, especially not to Heeseung.

“Regardless of what happened in the Grand Hall, I think we have another one in our midst,” Sunghoon smoothly changed the subject, “I doubt it’s a pureblood though – we’d have sensed them otherwise and the way he or she just leaves the bitten body like that is too amateur and sloppy to be one of us.”

Heeseung nodded grimly, “that’s one heck of a skilled ‘unnatural’ then – to be able to evade us for so long.” ‘Unnatural’ is what they used to refer to human-turned-vampires. Not that the term is anymore less condescending than the non-Pure Bloods that some would refer them as.

“Leave that to me, I’ll try to find out more about it. Skilled or not, we are still much more superior and powerful than they are,” Sunghoon offered though his intentions in finding the culprit differed from the rest. Heeseung gave him a brief appreciative smile before retiring to the drawing room to answer a call.

“We’re done here right?” Sunghoon asked, turning to the other two, “let’s crash a party.”

Jay and Jake turned to each other in confusion but gladly complied nevertheless since they loved having fun and loved nothing more than roping the most reclusive one of them, Sunghoon, to get wild with them. The party that Jay took them to tonight wasn’t just any frat party either – it was some upscale party at the city – filled with the hottest and wealthiest people from the upper echelons of society including those of their own kind.

“Feeling the burn again?” Jake asked quietly as they entered the lofty mansion.

“Weirdly, no,” Sunghoon replied, surprised at his own answer. Jake’s words from weeks ago suddenly ringing hard in his ears, realizing now how it was you who had effectively quelled the burn that had plagued him tonight. Though he didn’t really know which one did it: the blood or the kiss since he did both tonight. Not that he wanted to ponder about it though. Tonight, he wanted a distraction.

Fortunately, it didn’t take long for him to become preoccupied, getting roped into one of the empty bedrooms no sooner than 10 minutes being in the mansion. By the hottest woman in the party too, no less, who also happens to be of their kind. It was perfect – it should be. After all, she’s hot and someone of his own would understand and withstand his needs the most with no need of him to restrain himself like he would on mere mortals. He remembered finding her hot too as she seductively run up her red-lacquered nails up his chest, eagerly unbuttoning his shirt while her short red dress hiked up dangerously high as she straddled him. Her lips quickly molded with his and the whole thing quickly turned into a messy make-out session that quickly escalated. It was going so well.

Except not really.

Because instead of getting delirious and high in the throes of such heat, his mind was constantly straying away from the moment, finding its way back towards you. As if branded, you were etched in his mind and he hated that. He was supposed to be the one toying you and the one etched onto your mind to the point of insanity. Yet here he was, being the one who is gravely bothered and troubled in a game that he himself had spun.

He really thought he got it all under control but clearly, if anyone is losing control, it has been him. The signs had been there all along but classic Park Sunghoon just never wanted to deal with it and now look at the way it festered. He went from watching you as if you were an experiment to keeping such a close watch and tabs on you almost protectively and possessively, as if you were his in the first place.

Then there’s the jealousy that he felt whenever he sees you with either Sunoo or Jungwon. Initially he thought the feeling and desire to get rid of them was simply borne out of wanting to eliminate hurdles along the way and subsequently isolate you. That was indeed probably what it was initially, but slowly the desire becomes tainted with a more emotionally-driven interest – the desire to be them – the be the one receiving all the smiles, the gentle touches and spend an inordinate time with you. The next thing he knew, you have taken root in his mind, growing so entrenched as if you were the one spinning some sort of web in the first place, and not him. You end up haunting him not just in his waking moments, which was torturous enough considering how he doesn’t really sleep, but even in moments when he was in the midst of reaching his highs with other women.

Even now, as he flipped the lady over for another round, even as she was screaming his name loud – all he could see, hear and feel was you. The way you called his name, whether softly or bitterly; the plumpness of your lips; the warmth of your neck; the curvature of your waist; the way you fit perfectly in his embrace as if you were made for him. Fuck, he cussed to himself again. Deep down, he found himself desperately wishing that it was you he was touching, it was you who was holding onto him, it was you that was begging for him.

Buried within those lecherous thoughts however lay something more innocent. Something he doesn’t dare nor wish to ponder: how he wanted you to not detest him. How he wished that you had a fraction of positive feeling for him instead of just the vehemence that you always showed.

By the time he was done, he was already putting his clothes back on, foot already out the door. If problems can’t be solved, he thought to himself on his drive back home, pressing the pedal to dangerous speeds, I should eliminate it altogether.

Afterall, he reasoned further, I can’t yearn for something that isn’t there.

— v.

“The Head of Security bumped into me on the way and is now treating me to coffee so I’ll be a bit late but I’ve already authorised my credentials earlier so just go ahead and log into my PC with the log-in details I’ve shared,” Jungwon explained through the phone as you settled inside the staff room in the library, switching on the PC there while thanking him profusely for the umpteenth time, “thank you so much Jungwon. You know what, I owe you big time. I’ll treat you to a meal next time alright? Anything you want, just say it.”

It was just this morning when you asked him for a favour to view the CCTV in campus, hoping to get your hands on the evidence of whatever transpired last night before it gets wiped out. Always so benevolent and dependable, Jungwon agreed almost immediately without pestering you about the reasons even when getting himself authorised required him sneaking about and accessing the main system discreetly over at the main wing. While sometimes you do feel uncomfortable at just how far he is willing to go for you so selflessly, he has always had a reputation for being obliging and dependable so you always chalk your cynicism to irrational paranoia instead.

Being proficient in IT yourself, it didn’t take you long to figure out how to navigate the system once you’ve logged in, after which you began identifying the specific CCTV angles that could trace Sunghoon’s possible steps. “Got you,” you murmured to yourself, grinning triumphantly as you found him in CCTV #81, which was around the area where Sunghoon was lounging about just minutes before the whole chaos ensued. As you expected, at one point in time, unlike everyone else, Sunghoon’s head suddenly snapped upwards, right towards the area where you were and within seconds after the lights went out, he vanished.

You switched the angle to the other one – the CCTV near the staircase where you were at – which somehow ‘conveniently’ glitched just moments before he suddenly appeared behind you. You watched in anticipation as he roughly shoved you against the wall, expectations shot through the roof as you remembered purposefully riling him up right there and then because you wanted to incite the worse in him and get it filmed. It was risky but you thought, if it was the only way to get him to reveal more of the kind of monster he was, it would be worth it. Except, the more you watched, the more dismayed you were. With his back facing the CCTV, you were entirely engulfed by his figure – the angle of which was completely concealing the struggle that transpired between you two – making it look as if you two were heatedly making out in the dark instead.

You rewinded the clip again, trying to find an instance that could have implied otherwise. None, you thought to yourself, sinking in your seat in utter dejection as you realised none of it was usable – leaving you only with that clip of him vanishing but that could easily be taken as some sort of glitch as well.

Who’s easy now? You remembered him saying that again, realising now just how double-laced those words really were and calculated his actions were. The hall was indeed too public so he knew ravishing you right there and then could get him exposed. So he decided to do it under the guise of a kiss – the least suspicious yet the most vexing way to get back at you – essentially delivering a double-blow to you. Or triple rather, since he fumbled your plan with the CCTV as well, maybe he figured the angles out too. You scoffed, feeling defeated. At this rate, it did not feel like you were trying to beat him in his game but it felt more like you were waltzing with the devil to a tune that only he knows the beat of.

Just as your eyes scanned all the other CCTV angles cursorily, the angle near the back exit caught your attention. It had the same statue as the one Sunoo captured in his phone, near where a man was seen suddenly disappearing. You enlarged the clip, zeroing in on the guy which is probably the guy in question, who walked past the statue while trying to wear his coat, looking as if he was just about to exit through the double doors when suddenly he turned around, head snapping upwards towards the direction of where you should be, just a few seconds before the lights flickered and went off. Then to your horror, he too, like Sunghoon, vanished.

You gasped as you zoomed in the clip to identify who he was though the graininess and blurriness of the clip due to the distance and the night vision was making it almost impossible. It didn’t help that you could only see his face for some 5 seconds before he disappeared. Amidst the graininess however, his eyes had that eerie tapetum lucidum glow which is common among nocturnal predators – the same glow you remembered seeing in the maniac who had attacked you in the alleyway as well as in campus. In fact his eyes glowed so much that it was almost similar the reflective stripes he had on the shoulder of his jackets, which you swore you’ve seen somewhere.

“Sorry, I took too long. Did you managed to find the clip you were looking for?”

You jumped, startled, turning around to see Jungwon beaming softly at you as he took his cap off and unzipped his jacket.

“No worries. I was just trying to figure out how to make the resolution better-“ your voice trailed off as you watched Jungwon turned around to take his waterproof Security jacket off and hang it on a nearby coathanger. The stripes, you stared in apprehension as you recognised it to be the same with the man in the camera – two stripes on each shoulders, both reflective.

“Hey, Jungwon? Did you bring that jacket with you yesterday to the Ball?” you asked carefully as you rose up, alert. He hummed in affirmation, “yeah, I changed in campus so the jacket was all I had to protect me from the sudden snow – why?”

“Nothing,” you plastered a smile as you grabbed your phone from the table, raking your brains for excuses to leave the room, “Oh, it’s getting late. I should head back soon, someone is waiting for me.”

You noticed the way his grin faltered, as if noticing something amiss, “so soon?” he asked, craning his neck, trying to peek at the screen behind you, “is that yesterday? anything interesting?”

“Oh nothing, I just lost my money and wanted to see if someone had took it from my purse but apparently not. I guess I must have misplaced them-” you turned around abruptly, about to close the window which showed CCTV angle you had enlarged earlier when suddenly you felt his hand over yours on the mouse, stopping you from doing so. You swallowed thickly as you felt his chest pressing against your back, feeling trapped between him and the table.

“You sure about that? Because you’re obviously zooming on someone else,” he muttered in a low voice before whispering raspily against your ear, “I guess I should drop the façade now.”

You jerked away from him, horrified, as it dawned on you immediately how his whispering voice was similar to that of the man who had pushed you down the stairs in the South Wing. You teetered backwards in terror – now realising, with his back against the light, how he bears so much resemblance to the man: the tapered chin, the bony wide shoulders, and the thin-lipped murderous grin. You wasted no second then, turning around and running for the door but Jungwon was quicker as he slammed the door back shut just as you opened it, “too slow,” he whispered before you suddenly feel yourself getting yanked and flung to the side, pillowing against a stack of empty boxes at the corner.

You groaned as you mustered all your strength to sit up – not that it would have mattered though for he had climbed on top of you and straddled you in place within seconds, “It was fun while it lasted-“

You feel your heart sink as you watch his face contort almost effortlessly into a wicked expression as if that could have been his resting face. His gaze, which always somehow lent you some form of comfort, was now glazed with malice. His lips which always curved sweetly like a form of reassurance was now all twisted devilishly. You realised then just how trapped and silly you have been – essentially jumping out of the frying pan into the fire – thinking you were safe with Jungwon, only for him to be as much of a hazard as Sunghoon.

“You’re—” you croaked, feeling the dread and trepidation rising as you saw the way his canines fully erupt into razor-sharp fangs now, “what have I ever done to you? Why are you doing this?”

“Initially, you were just at the wrong place at the wrong time…” he drawled as he brought his hand up to your face, finger tracing your jawline agonisingly slowly, “then I found out about your relations with Sunghoon and the power I seemingly have over him whenever you’re with me –“

“What are you saying?! We’re not together—”

“Don’t play dumb,” he growled, the grin faltering, “if it weren’t for wanting you all to himself, I wouldn’t have been left nearly bloodless by an alley, only to be picked up by some other freaks like him and turned into one-“ he heaved an exasperated sigh, hands clenching in frustration, “—doesn’t matter anymore. I can’t turn back the time and I can’t really beat him so-“ he grabbed your collar, tugging it to reveal your neck, eyes glazed in what looked like hunger, “I’ll just hurt him where it hurts the most.”

You feel your heart quicken, hand discreetly slipping into your pocket, grasping the swiss army knife which you had decided to carry along at the last minute earlier. “You’re mistaken, I am nothing to him,” you jabbered, trying to distract him and find the right time to attack him, “he hates me and if you kill me, you’re just doing the dirty work for him.”

“Stop lying,” he chastised, his hand fisting your collar, “he was the one who saved you that time when I almost killed you and yesterday too – ah fuck, if he hadn’t caught up to you, I swear you’d be shreds.”

Sunghoon what? You thought to yourself, eyes shaky in utter disbelief and confusion but as your time was ticking, you had more urgent things to worry about. With the way Jungwon had been bitterly talking about Sunghoon so far, you figured you could use that against him so you lied, “then you should know that Sunghoon is the one I am supposed to be meeting and since I’m not there, he’s probably heading here – you’re going to be the one torn to shreds Jungwon.“

He chucked devilishly as he wrapped his hand over your neck, using his thumb to strain it sideward for a better angle, “well I’ve got to hurry then…” his expressions darkened, “Look at that—your mark is still there. I knew it looked familiar. Well, I should bite you over here too then – that would drive your Sunghoon completely off the rails to see his toy got permanently re-marked and killed in such a way-“

“no you wont-“ you hissed as you drove the swiss knife onto his upper arm with as much strength as you could muster, causing him to back up in pain, groaning and muttering expletives. You took the opportunity to kick him off, scrambling quickly back to your feet though the victory was short-lived as he lunged towards you, knocking you down again. “Playtime’s over,” he growled, dragging you back and yanking your shirt off your shoulders aggressively before dipping his head onto the crook of your neck, sending you thrashing harder under his weight as he lapped on a particular spot on your neck.

“Fuck you, get off me, get the fuck off me-“ you protested but his hands around your neck only tightened, constricting your airways and your screams, as you feel the tip of his fangs press onto your skin. You squeezed your eyes shut, bracing for the worse. The next thing you knew however, the weight and pressure was lifted, and air rushed into your lungs so suddenly and rapidly, that you were reduced to a coughing mess. You could hear struggles and scuffles in the background followed by the sound of furniture toppling and glass breaking from the other end of the room.

Then silence.

Clambering back up to your feet, you stared in horror at the state of the room with files and furnitures toppled and a large broken window right at the corner, as if someone just ran through it, before you realise, as your eyes travelled down, legs peeking out from behind the shelves that concealed the area, seemingly motionless and covered in glass shards. Almost on auto-pilot, you hobbled towards the person – dread and trepidation rising at the thought that the person, who had saved you, might have been gravely hurt. Or worse, killed. Jungwon is after all a vampire with a body count.

As you rounded the corner, to your surprise, slumped against the wall on the floor, with shards of broken glass all over was Sunghoon – head thrown back, eyes shut, with a darkened patch on his shirt over the chest area. Realising how it was blood, you immediately flung towards him, any hatred you felt for him dissipating as panic seized you, “hey-“ you shook him, your hand almost recoiling at how cold he was to the touch, “Sunghoon, wake up- hey wake up-“

“I’m not dead yet,” you hear him mumble weakly, eyes opening to mere slits – the golden irises peeking through. You fell back in relief, exhaling sharply, “– that's a relief.”

He scoffed weakly, “you’re going to regret that and wished I was instead.”

“Shut up,” you reprimanded as you knelt beside him, dusting the shards of glass off of him as your eyes scanned around the room for something that could have stymie his bleeding. You grabbed a table cloth nearby, balling it, as you turned back to face him – alarmed at the way the patch had grown. "You're–" you pressed the cloth onto his chest, seeing it get rapidly soaked up, "– profusely bleeding. Aren't you supposed to be invincible?"

"I'm fine," he mustered but you weren't convinced at all and quickly you used your free hand to fish your phone out, about to dial the emergency services for help when you hear him groan weakly as he readjusted himself against the wall behind him, “no need to call for help- just go…”

“Go? Are you crazy?” you protested, scooting closer instead to apply more pressure, “what if you die?”

You watched in confusion as his hand slowly crept up your hand that was holding the cloth, his fingers lacing yours from the back of your hand, “I won’t die easily,” he muttered, bringing your hand close to your lips, as his eyes glowed brighter which you now understood like some sort of telltale sign of hunger or anger, “but you, y/n, will, if you stay any longer around me.”

You noticed then that there was blood dripping by the side of your palm to which Sunghoon suddenly licked. You flinched, not just from the action, but from the stinging pain, only realising then that you had unknowingly injured yourself, probably from the glass shards you were dusting off earlier, “do you see the predicament you are in right now y/n?”

You swallowed thickly, trying to look unaffected even as your heartbeat started picking up, “not until you get help Sunghoon. Just tell me who to call then if not emergency services—"

Suddenly he lunged towards you, toppling you over with ease, completely dwarfing you, “look, I think you’re mistaken,” he huffed, eyes flitting to your neck and you swore you could see murder in his eyes and it was all quickly engulfing you in a paralyzing sense of déjà vu to that evening when he bit you, “I didn’t save you out of some noble reason. I did it simply because you’re my meal and I won’t let anyone else ravish you.”

You breathing became increasingly laboured the longer you stared into his piercing eyes – almost as if he was doing something to your mind, conjuring the worst of memories, inciting the worst of emotions – as he prodded on, “Also, you’re my prey so no one else get to lay a hand on you even if that would have made my life easier.”

He suddenly backed up slightly, giving you enough space and chance to run away, “I love some cat and mouse game so I’d rather catch you when I’m at my best,” he brushed his hair back, brows raised threateningly, “so you better run now before I regain my full strength.”

You propped yourself back up groggily, eyes locking into his as if trying to probe the depth of his mind, as if not wanting to believe the sadistic things he has been sprouting, as if wanting to believe that he really had saved you for noble reasons and not for whatever possessive and obsessive bullshit he had been sprouting.

“I said... run!” he repeated, this time, more domineeringly and that somehow did it for you. As if a switch had been turned inside of you, your body assumed a life of its own, powering through self-preservation as you recoiled from him and made a run for the door. Everything after that was a blur — potentially distorted through a series of heightened fear, adrenaline, intense pain and disjointed confusion. All you could remember was running out of the library, out of the wing, out of the compound — not stopping once until your legs buckled from exhaustion by the side of a bus stop, landing hardly against the tarmac floor. The cut where he had licked now oozed even more blood, dripping onto the concrete floor – as if mirroring the way your mental state was fraying.

— vi.

You hardly left your home throughout Winter Break, coming up with all sorts of excuses not to join Sunoo in the library when it would have usually been the other way around – with you egging him to join you since exams were just around the corner. Eventually the new semester rolled in and fortunately or rather, miraculously, you have yet to bump into Sunghoon even now that you were entering your 2nd week. You could see his name in the registrar sometimes and even saw his clique but he was never around. The image of him bleeding out on the floor continuously burnt at the back of your mind – like guilt haunting you excruciatingly with every day he is absent, redirecting your mind quickly to the worst scenario possible.

But that isn’t possible, is it?

After all, he is a vampire – a being that is supposed to have superhuman powers and regenerative abilities that wouldn’t just die from what look like a stab wound on the chest. But then again, you would find yourself wondering sometimes much to your consternation, if that isn’t the case then where is he?

Jungwon, too, had disappeared. The official word is that he had moved abroad after being offered a prestigious scholarship though you doubt there is any truth in that. After what he did to Sunghoon, it is just possible that Sunghoon had him killed. Or worse, he could just be yet another pawn in Sunghoon’s grand scheme of things – used to torment you and then paint himself as the white knight.

“Hey, can I sit here?”

You hummed in affirmation though your affable smile faltered as you turned and looked at who it was – Jake Sim. You swallowed thickly, eyes wandering wildly for any signs of Sunghoon. Thankfully, it was just him. “You’re… alone?” you couldn’t help but ask. He nodded, sporting his usual radiant and infectious smile, “the rest aren’t joining this module – none of them are a fan of this much math.”

“Sunghoon too?” you asked before internally cussing at how loose-lipped you suddenly became, almost as your lips had begun to have a life of its own. Thankfully, Jake thought nothing of it, just shaking his head as he took out his iPad, looking over his notes, “nah, he is in this with me but he’s just a bit under the weather lately.”

You straightened up in your seat, suddenly wary as the image of him bleeding out replay again and again in your mind like a broken tape, “he’s… he’s not hurt is he?”

“Nah,” Jake reassured, beaming widely, “don’t worry about it.”

You opened your mouth, wanting to prod more out of guilt, but closed it immediately, realising how you shouldn’t worry for someone who should have been the enemy. Thankfully, the lecturer entered just in time, preventing you from engaging in anymore meaningless chatter with Jake.

Life continued on peacefully for another week and gradually you have started to loosen up – no longer jolting to every sound, no longer looking over your shoulder abruptly and no longer on a vigilant lookout for danger when you were in a crowd.

But troubles soon brew within your own circle.

“No, I’m serious, it’s legitimate!” Sunoo sighed exasperatedly, the frustration evident on his face and strained voice as he paced haphazardly in front of you and Ni-Ki, “I don’t know the exact connections they have to the cases, but they were wrought in it for sure.”

You handed back his file, which had now been filled with sightings report and pictures of Sunghoon and clique, trying to feign disinterest and nonchalance though your heart was drumming against your chest. “Sunoo, the culprit has been caught. There’s nothing we can do–” you looked away from him, shifting your attention back to your work as you feared that you might crack if you look any longer into Sunoo’s pleading eyes, “–unless you get more concrete evidence like I don’t know, them dragging a dead body or something.”

Ni-Ki nodded, leaning back against his seat unconcernedly, “yeah and come on this is Heeseung and his friends you’re suspecting – you need more than evidence to take them down.”

Sunoo scoffed, looking completely dejected and betrayed as he looked from Ni-Ki to you. You felt your heart sank when you met his eyes which was glinting with sadness and what looked like betrayal as he backed away, “Fine. I’ll just pursue this on my own then. Apparently two of my closest friends don’t have enough backbone to fight the status quo nor enough loyalty to support me.”

“Sunoo-“ you called out, hopping off your chair to go after him but Ni-Ki grabbed you by the wrist, stopping you, “he’s in an emotional doldrum right now and no amount of reason could get through that y/n. You might just get into a bigger fight with him if you continue.”

You sighed weakly, agreeing, looking forlornly at the swinging door that he had stormed off through – the guilt was gnawing inside of you. This would have been the perfect time to divulge what you knew about Sunghoon to Sunoo and perhaps devise a plan to get him now that you knew the truth about him and his potential weakness. But instead of doing just that, you lied to your own bestfriend and covered for the enemy for reasons you never dared to ponder about.

You tried to reassure yourself that night that this was just one of Sunoo's momentary outbursts – that he will come around, as he always does. He was after all one of the most non-egotistical and selfless person you have ever known – essentially the personification of sunshine. So it really boggled and worried you to see Sunoo adamantly still seething towards you and Ni-Ki even after a few days, ignoring you both very blatantly – especially you, as if you betrayed him.

But then again, had he known the truth you have been withholding, he wasn’t wrong. It would constitute a betrayal. Though you honestly don’t know who you were doing it for. You knew on one hand you were doing it to protect Sunoo. After all, he used to be a sickly kid whose condition can deteriorate rapidly even with the slightest ailment or injury. Hence knowing the kind of danger Sunghoon poses, you couldn’t help but be paternalistic over him. On the other hand, perhaps your boggling actions also stemmed from wanting to call it even with Sunghoon who has, after all, saved you numerous times. You understood very well that, as he asserted, he hadn’t saved you for noble reasons but still saving is saving, without his actions of which, you would have long been dead.

That evening however, as you were getting lulled into a sleeping state, your phone rang. You were going to just ignore it as it was midnight but with Sunoo on the caller ID, you immediately answered it, falling off the couch in panic, “Sunoo, I-“

“Hey calm down-,” he shushed you, “I told you I’ll get evidence.”

“What do you mean?” you asked warily, already getting an inkling that he was up to no good.

“Well, I’m loitering around in their hang-out place now and guess what? They have a secret door leading out to the basement-“

“Kim Sunoo!” you gasped, trying to reorient yourself as you were still groggy from the nap. You grabbed your coat, foot already at the door within seconds, fumbling with your keys, “you better step out of there now! What if they find you?”

“Well, they have no business having a whole ass secret basement in the first place. They should explain that to me first before anything,” he reasoned sassily, “also, don’t worry. My sources told me that they’re currently at a party in the neighbouring town so you know, this is place is free real estate right now.’

“Sunoo don’t-“ you sighed, stopping yourself, fearing that reprimanding him further will just make him distance himself again. “I’ll go with you then okay?” you lied, already shuffling past the hallways and out of your accommodation block, “Can you just get out of there now please? Wait for me in the courtyard or something. We’ll venture in together then. You said it yourself, I’m smart and two heads are better than one so–”

“Really?" he gasped. You can almost hear his signature smile from his tone as he cheerily agreed, "You’re the best- all right, I’ll go out now."

Except, after 15 minutes of waiting for him by the courtyard, he failed to show up nor pick up his calls, making you antsy. Fearing the worst, you headed to campus, marching towards the Wing where their hangout room was. You begrudgingly approached the huge door that lay at the end of the hallway, which was already ajar. The door, designed in a Gothic Architectural style, was imposing with huge columns on either side, gargoyles on top, intricate carvings on the arch and a golden wolf knocker by the center of the door, completing the grimness of it, as if blatantly warning of the danger that would befall the fools who dare to trespass. In fact, no one had actually been in the room except for the guys themselves so again, rumours are abound of what lay behind the massive door. But none of that mattered now – you needed to get to Sunoo, fast.

You held your breath as you push the door slightly, just enough to slip yourself in. You had to quell the gasp that automatically arose in you as you ventured further into the room – a massive, gothic architecture, common room that seemed more fitting for societies and clubs than just for some group of 4 rich kids to hang around in.

Despite the vaulted ceilings and tall windows, the room was grim and dark thanks to its monochromatic grey walls and furniture with the only splash of colour being from the curtains and rugs, of which were in hunter green; coat of arms, similar to what Sunghoon wore on his lapel during the Ball, of which featured a ruby gem in the centre; and an array of paintings – all of which had dark colour palettes and feature grim images that rhymes with death, despair, desolation, you name it.

You looked around frantically for any sign of door or staircase but all you see are windows, walls, arches and bookcases, wondering how in the world had Sunoo gotten to the basement. Reminded of the secret passage in the library, it occurred to you that perhaps the entrance is hidden.

As you looked around specifically for something out of place, your eyes couldn’t help but return to the tall bookcase in the corner. You approached it, eying every spot carefully and touching anything that looked remotely out of place before your eyes settled on a rather conspicuous book with navy blue spine and nothing but the symbol ' ; ' on it – an embossing that somehow bear resemblance to a bite mark. You tugged on it, wanting to see what kind of book it was when suddenly as you pulled it to a certain angle, the book case shifted, swinging halfway to reveal a winding staircase.

The staircase was anything but welcoming but you went down anyway with Sunoo in the forefront of your mind. Unlike the dark and sombre common room upstairs, the basement, still in gothic architecture was more brightly-lit but still barren and cold, resembling grimly more like a crypt. You looked around the maze-like crypt, firing off multiple texts to Sunoo to enquire on his whereabouts. Your ears soon perked up when you heard his notification sound softly echoing, seemingly coming from the other side. You followed the passage way, finding a door laying by the end as you round the bend, with muffled voices becoming increasingly audible as you get closer. You carefully positioned yourself behind the door, which was already ajar, holding your breath as you carefully tried to peak through the space. You hand immediately flew to your mouth, stifling the gasps that you almost let out, as you saw Sunoo laying unconscious on the floor.

“He should have heeded our warning—” you heard a familiar voice – the owner of which suddenly appearing into your field of vision, crouching down by Sunoo, inspecting the papers strewn next to his body. It was Heeseung. You gulped, positioning your phone in between the gaps carefully to record the scene in case anything happen. You listened to him continue to say something to someone else in the room, “—we’ve been delaying it too much. It’s time to get rid of him.”

You swallowed thickly, your hands shaking as you carefully edge your phone, trying to capture the other side of the room where the other man he was talking to were. Your breath suddenly hitched when you caught the man in your viewfinder – it was Sunghoon, whose attention suddenly then flitted from Sunoo to the door, as if detecting your presence. You immediately recoiled, holding your phone straight to your chest – fervently hoping that you hadn’t been caught.

“What is it?” you heard Heeseung asked, to which Sunghoon fortunately just shook his head to, “it’s nothing.”

Shit shit shit, you cussed in your head, the possibility of Heeseung also being a vampire now dawning in your mind – along with the rest of clique, Jake and Jay, who also frequents this room. It was only now, in hindsight, was it all falling well into place: the way some are part of the Student Union and therefore, Student Patrols; the way Heeseung was adamant in stopping Sunoo’s investigation; the way Heeseung warned you not to tell anyone of your attack in campus. Only now you realised that there was a reason why these lads were shrouded in so much secrecy and mystery in the first place – with an air that is difficult to place surrounding them, straddling somewhere between hypnotising allure and sinisterness.

You raked your brain for what to do next. Sunoo was lying unconscious in the hands of people who would be more than capable and ready to kill him. Yet if you barge in, you can’t save him either and the incriminating evidence you have as well as the knowledge of their true selves, would just die with you. Quickly you sent the video off to Ni-Ki along with a quick text on where you are, asking him to come quick, only to be hit by a notification that there were no service. Shit, you cussed again internally, deciding to hurry back to where you came from to get service, promising Sunoo in your head that you will definitely come back for him.

Except as you turned the bend, a figure materialised right before you. You gasped, teetering backwards. It was Sunghoon – his head tilted in such a condescending way, “Not sure if I should commend your bravery or foolishness for walking into the tiger’s den willingly like this.”

You were about to open your mouth to protest but found yourself shoved into a nearby room in a flash – a small reading room of some sort. “Stay back you psycho,” you hissed, backing away and maintaining the distance.

“Well you should have run when you could have. Should have snitched when you could have. Too late now is it?” he sneered, blocking the only exit in the room.

“Let Sunoo go,” you demanded, trying to mask the trepidation rising within. He scoffed disdainfully. He never actually planned to hurt Sunoo but he played along anyway, totally enjoying the power he has over you whenever Sunoo enters the equation, "he did trespass where he shouldn't have, you know."

"He didn't mean to. He's probably just curious like everybody else about what lies behind your lofty door," you tried to reason. He raised both brows, sarcastically feigning surprise and interest, "Oh? is that why we found some of our documents and a bunch of pictures in his bag? Just curiousity?"

"I'll get him to apologize," you offered, pleading almost, "or you know what, I'll apologize on behalf of him. I'll even get on my knees–"

"y/n, stop–" he rolled his eyes, "apologies and kneeling down may feed the egos and pride of humans but they mean nothing to my kind – not me at least and definitely not when it comes from a mere mortal."

"There is no such thing as free lunch," you blurted, stopping him as he was about to exit the room, "you quoted that aphorism to me remember? then I'll make you a deal in exchange of letting Sunoo go, unharmed."

He approached you at a glacial pace, the fireplace nearby casting his shadow ominously behind him, making him loom larger than usual, “and what could you ever offer that I possibly don’t and can’t have?”

“My blood.”

A quick twitch of the brow and slight tipping of the corner of his lips flashed almost imperceptibly across his inscrutable face, the interest and desire cracking through unwittingly. “Are you offering yourself as a bloodbag for him? How noble,” he scoffed, “and disgusting – what are you two, Romeo and Juliet?”

“Aren’t you being too mouthy for someone in need?”

“Back to you. I’m holding both you and your beloved Sunoo’s life in my hands and you’re still acting up?” he suddenly lunged towards you, shoving you against the cold wall. Though in the heat of emotions, he had failed to see that you had quickly grabbed the swiss army knife from the pocket of your jacket, flipped it open and now, just as his hands were wrapped around your neck, threatening to choke you, your knife was already pointing dangerously on his chest, threatening to re-puncture him where he was injured. His brows shot up, a grin of disbelief tugging on his lips – both amazed and vexed by your fast reflex and unrelenting defiance, “nice effort but that puny knife won’t do jackshit on me-“

His grin faltered as your expressions moulded into that of mocking delight, “sure about that?”

He looked down in a horrifying realisation that instead of puncturing him, you had turned the knife, grasping it by the blade instead, the blood now dripping onto his shoes, the scent of which was quickly engulfing his senses. When his eyes flitted back to yours, it was already golden and his canines were already elongating into full fangs. That was all you needed, “well, seems like I have the upper hand.”

He snarled, his hand tightening over your neck, like a snake constricting its prey before swallowing them whole, eyes narrowing murderously at you, “you know I can just kill you and drain the life out of you right?”

“Yes, but you never did. What's really stopping you?” you gritted your teeth, feeling the pressure suffocating you. Just when you felt the air almost knocked out of your lungs, he released you. You fell onto the hard ground, hunched up, violently grasping for air.

"Just because I haven't doesn't mean I won't. I like to saviour my meals," he crouched down in front of you. You stared back into his tantalizing stare through eyes that were still wet from your coughing fit, “your eyes are already glowing, I don't think you have the luxury for mind games right now. I meant what I said – leave Sunoo the fuck alone.”

The way you offered yourself was everything he had schemed for – even better than forcefully taking it away from you. After all, for someone rebellious and iconoclastic like you, giving yourself up like that is probably equivalent to stomping on your pride. This was exactly the kind that would feed his ego. At the same time, he also hated it. He hated how you were so willing to give yourself up just for that weakling Sunoo even when he wasn’t going to hurt him in the first place.

He wanted so bad to not yield in, to toy you further in the way that best butter up his inflated sense of self. But most of all, sillily, he wanted you to give in to him for him not for anyone else’s sake.

But you were right, he doesn’t have the luxury to hold on to his pride, not at the moment at least, when the scent of your blood was slowly engulfing his senses and tainting every bit of rationality he had left. It didn’t help that he hadn’t been feasting on live blood either which in turn slowed down the healing of his injuries – all of which just made your blood all the more enticing and irresistible. He grabbed your chin harshly, jerking your face upwards towards him, “Fine. I’ll take your offer but there would be no resisting and no excuses. If I want it, I’ll get it.”

You narrowed your eyes, grimacing at the thought, but you swallowed you pride, “only if you promise to get my consent first and not drain me lifeless.”

You know the fragility of words and promises but if there is anything you learnt from him is that he seemed to hold himself to such high dignified and noble standards that something as simple as breaking a promise would have been a blow to his pride. You thought too, perhaps it’s the chase that he was obsessed with – which you think would best be countered with perhaps, not outwitting and one-upping him, but rather, cutting the chase abruptly. If the chase is what drives him high, then your prickliness and defiance would just be feeding him – like an unending Waltz. Thus you figured that you needed to end his chase, even if your pride is on the line.

“You’re awfully demanding,” his hand slowly crept down your neck, his fingers wrapping over the back of it, “your blood is the same as everyone else’s don’t you know that? It’s highly substitutable.”

“Are you trying to convince me or yourself?” you mocked.

“Fine,” he muttered resentfully, eyes already trained on a spot on your neck, about to launch forward to you when you stopped him, “not my neck,” you raised your hand towards him, “until you free Sunoo, you’re not getting it from where you want. That’s part of the deal remember? Consent?”

He scoffed. Sunghoon should have hated this. The way you’ve played him instead of the other way around but just like Jake said, so intricate had he weaved his webs for you, he couldn’t help but be ensnared in it as well. In fact, at this rate, it just seems like he’s the one getting ensnared deeper. Had you been just anyone else, he would have just lunged towards you, draining you in the vilest way he could. Unfortunately for him, you weren't just anyone else. You have become a someone. Someone who has struck a chord in him in ways that managed to stop himself from fully succumbing to his animalistic senses, to hold onto any last shred of rationality and sense even when it's hanging by a thread.

Begrudgingly, he silently complied, yanking your hand indiginantly, his fingers lacing over yours through the back of your hand like talons. Your shoulders tensed up as he brought your hand towards his lips, wincing when you felt his cold tongue brushing past the wound before he started sucking on it. You swallowed thickly at the sight, increasingly unnerved, as you watched him shut his eyes, his brows knitting in pleasure, his adam’s apple bobbing rapidly.

“That’s-“ you stuttered, starting to feel lightheaded after a few minutes, “that’s enough.”

His lids fluttered open, the golden irises peeking through almost ominously. He lifted his head slightly, a smirk already adorning his lips reflecting some sort of satisfaction and conceit, his tongue making a quick swipe over his blood-stained lips, “you think that was enough?”

The next thing you knew he had lunged towards you, toppling you down against the cold cement. With his large hand wrapped over the back of your neck, he titled your head awkwardly to the side as if readying your neck. You wedged an arm against him, trying to stop him from descending further, though with the crazed look in his eyes you wondered how long could you fend him for, “Park Sunghoon,” you protested, “you promised.”

He scoffed, prying your hand off of him easily, “ever heard of The Scorpion and The Frog fable?” he smirked, dipping his head onto the crook of your neck. You shuddered, feeling his hot breath against your skin, his lips ghosting just inches away. You feel his grip tightening and you squeezed your eyes shut, your hand clenching his shirt as if bracing yourself for the pain.

But the painful prick never came. Instead you feel his lips softly pressed over your skin before he started sucking on a particular spot in a gentler way, right over where your original bite mark was. “Gotcha,” he whispered and you jerked away from him, your fingers immediately feeling that spot – confused when you felt no puncture marks.

“Take that as a seal,” he backed up, eyes reverting to its normal colour.

It was only at home later you realised what he had meant when you saw the deep purple bruise on your neck – a harmless love bite – as his words repeated in your mind like some sort of siren song, “take that as a seal. A seal that you owe me. And when it fades – the original bite mark that remains underneath should remind you that I own you.”

— vii.

True to Sunghoon's words, Sunoo returned unharmed – having absolutely no recollection of venturing into Sunghoon’s lair and having little to no resolve any more in pursuing the case that he had been so obsessed about, something you were sure was also of Sunghoon’s doing.

Sunghoon, on the other hand, was sparsely around. Months passed without him pestering you nor asking you for what you owe him – something you were grateful about. Perhaps, as you projected, all it took to extinguish his obsession with you was indeed to cut the chase because since then, he had stopped bothering you. Just as quick as the bruise on your neck faded, you figured, the deal would no longer matter to him. Eventually the bruise fade and seasons pass, leaving only the brown puncture marks on your neck which never fully disappeared, lingering now permanently like a birthmark.

As another semester rolled and ended, you soon approached graduation season. By then you were fully convinced that normalcy has indeed returned. Until, that is, you received a sudden text from Sunoo one night announcing that he was going to Sunghoon’s hang-out spot again. The panic that is reminiscent of that fateful night immediately engulfed you and when your calls returned unanswered and rejected, eventually, you hopped off bed and ran back to campus, bursting into Sunghoon’s lair.

The room felt so still and void with no sign of Sunoo so you figured that maybe he had ventured to the basement again so you made your way towards the bookshelf when someone broke the silence.

“Sunoo must really be your Achilles Heel,” Sunghoon appeared from the shadows before throwing a phone onto the couch near you. It was Sunoo’s phone.

“Where is he?” you demanded, “you promised me you wouldn’t-“

“And I didn’t,” he smirked, leaning against a column haughtily, “he’s safe and sound in his home. Just probably panicking over the fact that he can’t find his phone.”

“What?” you managed, still breathless from all the running, “So you tricked me?”

“How else can I get you to come to me,” he raised his brows, arms folded, “Anyway, I’ve held my part of the deal, it’s time for you to hold yours.”

You swallowed thickly. Of course you’d never back away from your promise, not when he has held his, but the way his voice dropped and his gaze darkened was unnerving you, making you feel as if you were walking up a guillotine for your head. “Of course,” you replied, feigning nonchalance, “you didn’t have to trick me with Sunoo, I’d have come to you either way. It’s a promise after all.”

“Oh really?” he walked up to you, his footsteps echoing ominously in the grim room as his eyes begin to lighten in colour – a transition you had seen countless times now but still managed to struck dread in you, “with the way your heart is racing, I doubt that y/n.”

You scoffed, “I ran all the way, of course it’s racing. I’m not you with your slow beating heart or dead heart – whatever it is.”

His brows shot up, slightly taken aback but amused nevertheless – your defiance and answer-backs have always been entertaining, even when it’s irksome, “glad you clarified, I would’ve mistaken it for you being flustered by me, if not intimidated.”

“Cut the chase Sunghoon,” you shot him down, offering your hand, “blood is blood right? it shouldn't matter where it comes from so can't you just make a tear here and take it from here instead of my neck?"

Eyes locked on yours, you can almost see a flicker of irritation in his golden eyes, as he trailed his hand up yours before he gripped it, yanking you close towards him while the other hand swiftly snaked around your back, enrapturing you with him. “are you trying to make discounts right now?” he glowered, his hold as string as iron, as he lowered his face down to yours, his breath hot on your ears, “your neck is where the prize is.”

You furrowed your brows, feeling the hair at the back of your neck stood up. “Fine,” you scowled, “then do it fast, I can’t stand being so close to you.”

“Doesn’t sound like my problem,” he smirked as he suddenly hoisted you up the piano so you’ll be near eye-level with him. "What are yo-" you complained, completely taken aback, your hands fisting his clothes.

“aren’t you going to bare your neck for me?” he eyed your button up, “or you want me to rip it open for you instead?”

“Fuck you,” you spat, begrudgingly unbuttoning your top buttons, staring back at those eyes which were growing luminous by the second as if reflecting the intensity of the hunger inside while his grin grew wider the more skin you exposed. His hand snaked further up your back as he dipped his head and bury it on the crook of your neck. "You have no idea how long I've waited for this," he muttered breathily against your neck as his other hand wrapped itself tightly over the back of your neck to tilt it slightly, already getting lulled by the warmth radiating from your body and your perfume which was deliciously and intoxicatingly blending with the scent of your blood. As his lips grazed your neck, he felt a spark of electricity – a hint of something more than just hunger.

You flinched when you suddenly felt his fangs puncture your skin – a prickle of pain which quickly diffuses as the weird feeling of haziness set in. Your breath hitched when you feel him bury himself deeper onto the crook of your neck, his nails digging onto your back as the taste of your blood engulfed all of his senses, igniting fire in his veins, setting it all ablaze. Feeling increasingly lulled, your hand automatically flew to his shoulders, holding onto him for support unwittingly.

Sunghoon could feel the hunger within him growing with every drop but perplexingly, the more he drank, the less satiating your blood became, and yet the hunger burns still – as if indicating that there was another hunger growing entrenched that needed sating and it wasn't blood. He pulled back slightly, confused, as he stared onto your neck – now freshly punctured, blood oozing down. You remembered feeling relief when he stopped as you really thought, at the rate at which he was frenzily feeding on you, he would have lost control.

The relief however was short-lived when you felt him plant what felt like a kiss on the spot. You furrowed your brows, utterly confused, only to be jolted back to reality when he did it again, now trailing kisses up your neck. You jerked your head away from him weakly, alarmed, only to be met by a gaze that was so searing and electric with desire – unnerving you more than his hunger-filled gaze ever had. "What are y-" you were going to ask but he never let you finished as he smashed his lips onto yours so hungrily, so urgently, so passionately – impatiently deepening the kiss with so much ferocity as if in a drunken stupor. Struggling to push him off, you leaned back slightly instead, just enough to wedge an arm against him to stop him from descending further while you extended your other hand behind you to prop yourself up against the piano lid. "Sunghoon, what are you doing?!" you demanded breathlessly.

"Isn't this a lesser evil than sucking your blood?" he muttered breathily, eyes completely glazed with lust. Suddenly you feel him grab the back of your thighs, pulling close towards him, causing you to lose your balance as he completely engulfed your frame, pushing you against the piano lid as he recaptured your lips in a fiery kiss. This time, more hungrily, more desperately, more aggressively – completely out of character for him – as if mirroring the unrelenting desire and yearning within, the repression of which was now overspilling uncontrollably. Crushing your body completely against his, he deepened the kiss further – almost urgently – parting your lips so adeptly and slipping his tongue into your mouth, causing you to protest harder though he easily pried your hand off of him, holding it with vice-like grip.

You eventually started to feel lightheaded, your strength quickly dissipating. As you floated in and out of your consciousness, you feel him trailing drunk and hungry kisses down your neck, then your collarbone, his hand tugging your cloths down your shoulders, his nails digging onto your skin possessively.

Then it all went to black.

— viii.

You jolted awake, sitting upright and panting as if you just had a really bad dream. Your hand instinctively reached for your neck and you felt some fresh puncture marks where the old mark used to be. That was when you knew, it wasn’t a dream at all. Well, at least I’m still alive, you were thinking to yourself before realising the unfamiliar bed you were sitting upright on and the unfamiliar black silk slip dress you were wearing. You stared up, aghast, only realising that the bane of your existence was seated on an armchair just opposite of bed, looking visibly amused.

You protectively gathered the blanket around you, trying to cover every inch of your exposed skin, “where am— why are you— what have you done to me?”

As if the circumstances you were in wasn’t questionable enough, the way he sloppily wore his ivory patterned silk shirt with the first few buttons unbuttoned in a way that partially exposed his chest, was further shoring it. It was just too casual and leisurely compared to the usual Sunghoon, who had always been neatly dressed to the nines.

“Oh darling,” he drawled as he rose up, walking at a glacial place towards the bed before resting his hands against the top of the footboard, “I’m offended you forgot about what we did. It was pretty wild. Sorry about your clothes though, couldn’t help but rip them to shreds in the heat of the mome-“

You threw a pillow at him, not even letting him finish, as you feel the heat rising up your cheeks, reminded of the way he had ferociously kissed you, the way his lips had trailed over your skin, and the way his hands roamed possessively over you. “Stop playing around,” you balked. He scoffed as he brushed his dishevelled hair back. You realised then that was the first time you’ve seen him with his hair down, since it was always slicked or parted in a way that revealed his forehead, and it was somehow making him look softer than usual – as if he could do no harm though the sly grin and the taunting gaze on his face begged to differ.

He grabbed something from a nearby table, offering it to you, "Stop with the scowling now, I was only joking. Here, take this – it’s a silk robe to cover you if you want. Unless you want to stay under that blanket all day.”

You snatched it begrudgingly from his hand as he continued, “you passed out. Apparently, your blood hasn’t recuperated yet so even my meagre consumption last night caused you to black out. I had a doctor and a nurse over last night to check and replenish you. You should consider taking iron pills and multivitamins you know – you’re borderline anaemic.”

“And whose fault was it in the first place?” you remarked sarcastically as you put on the black silk robe, “anyway, that should be enough signs for you to find a better bloodbag don’t you think? This one is a dud.”

“not in your lifetime,” he quipped.

You furrowed your brows, “well you certainly weren’t just drinking my blood last night.”

“Ah right –,” his brows shot up, a smug grin tugging the corner of his lips, “apparently I wasn’t just hungry for blood. Not when your lips were in such proximity. Also, like I said, wasn't it a lesser evil compared to blood? you won't risk dying."

“I’d rather die, you insufferable prick,” you spat, plastering the fakest and most sarcastic grin you could muster. Sunghoon just smiled bitterly at that. Perhaps eloquence was never his strong suit. Perhaps all the deaths he had to take care of and witnessed over the decades had hardened him. Perhaps his rather strict and disciplined upbringing had skewed his personality in such a way that emotions are to be relegated to the bottom, beneath all else. Whatever it was, he could never compel himself to say the utmost truth to you – disguising everything instead in the most vicious and selfish nonsense he could muster. Sometimes, it almost felt as if he was trying to convince himself, not just you, that it was all just primal desires and nothing more.

“Give me my clothes back,” you demanded, pulling him out of his thoughts.

“I’ve chucked it away – it’s all bloodied with some buttons ripped off. Hence, your current get-up—” he gestured, “don’t worry, a female housekeeper was the one who had helped you change but she misunderstood the context and put you into a rather seductive change of outfit. I’m not really complaining thou–” he trailed off, his eyes travelling down your body before you snapped him out of it, “my eyes are up here genius.”

“Sorry, it’s just a bit too distracting,” he cleared his throat, “— anyway, as I was saying, I had someone go and buy more change of clothes for you to change into. You would have to wait though, we’re currently far from the city centre.”

“Then lend me your clothes.”

“I don’t have any,” he replied instantaneously, “I just bought this mansion not too long ago so it's still pretty barren of my stuffs."

It was lie. A lie just so that he can make you stay longer – something out of character for him given how he never liked to linger around his partners. A lie that completely juxtaposed his belief that it was all just primal desires.

“I told you someone is coming with some new change of clothes. Just a few more minutes or hours of wait shouldn’t hurt. Unless you’re comfortable going out in that,” he cocked his head smugly as you eyed your get-up. It definitely was too revealing and probably too inappropriate for your standards as it looked more like a nightgown to be walking around in broad daylight in.

“As if it’s safe to stay here any longer than necessary with you,” you grumbled.

“Let’s just say if I wanted to do something bad to you, I would have already done it,” he muttered as a matter of factly, “you were, after all, passed out for more than 24 hours in a rather seductive dress.”

You glared at him, speechless now.

“Anyway, I’ll get you some food while waiting. You must be famished.”

Just primal desires, he repeated. As if he hadn’t personally tell his cook to make all the dishes that you liked, telling him in minute details how you liked your dish more on the salty side; how you didn't like broccolis and carrots; how you liked your steak medium rare – he knew it so well like the back of his hand. Just primal desires, he reassured himself. As if he hadn’t been selflessly nursing and caring for you all night, mind constantly occupied in worries and guilt for putting you in harm's way.

“I’m not hungry–" you retorted.

"You are. You passed out for more than 24 hours, you need to eat.”

“Well, I don’t want to. I want to go home,” you insisted, adamant.

Eyes locked onto you icily, he leaned down towards you, his hands resting against the mattress, on either side of your thighs, “look, we’re deep in the forest, away from the city. There are no public transport around here and little to no service, so your ticket out of this place is me and unless you eat, you’re not going anywhere.”

Just primal desires, he told himself again just as he spun the web further around you, getting increasingly lulled by the vision before him: you in his bed, in his mansion, away from the city. It was a perfect vision: just you and him, safely tucked away from all the noise, from everyone else. Just you for him.

“You can’t force me.”

“You want to try me?” he raised his brows tauntingly, “because I will carry you downstairs if you insists. I will spoonfeed you if I have to. Or better, I’ll just put the food in my mouth and pass it to you through-“

You shoved him away, vexed, as you rose up from the bed, “you’re such a domineering prick.”

“Only because you’re always so indomitable,” he quipped, looking satisfied even when he had just called you names. You begrudgingly followed him as he led you out of the room through a series of corridors, a grand staircase, past the living room and finally to the kitchen. Unlike his loft which was in modern architecture last time, this place was in Gothic Architecture, just like their hang-out room but with lots of painting, sculptures and books though no amount of adornment could offset the grimness of the place.

Over the dining table was a selection of mouth-watering food – the quality of which looked as if it came from a Michelin-starred restaurant. “I can’t eat these,” you muttered, arms folded, “how do I know you haven’t poisoned them? And how do I know if it isn’t human meat?”

“That’s a very uncivilised and savage take on us. We don’t eat human flesh,” he corrected.

“Still doesn’t root out poisoning,” you insisted, “if you want me to eat then cook something up for me now and let me watch. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy.”

“You’re very distrustful.”

“I’d be stupid not be after all you put me through,” you snapped.

“Fine,” he exhaled sharply as he moved to the kitchen. You took a seat by the island, watching his every moves like a hawk as he took ingredients out of the fridge and lay it all out in front of you, "happy now?" he asked, gesturing at the frozen chicken meat. He then proceeded to chop up some aromatics so adeptly, as if he had done this a million times, after setting a pot to boil.

"How you even know how to cook? you guys don’t really eat and even if you do I’m pretty sure you have a cook to do that for you, no?”

“We don’t derive any satisfaction from eating anything but consuming blood so yes, we don’t really eat. But we’ve lived alongside humans for so long, we’ve got to learn the trade somehow,” he proceeded to wash the chicken meat – cleaning it so adeptly and meticulously with salt, lemon and vinegar. You soon got distracted by the pictures that lined the walls in the dining room – some of which featured him and his clique in garbs from different eras though they looked the same physically – only slightly younger and shorter in a few pictures. You looked back at him, scrutinising him when his eyes flitted to you, "are you wondering how old I am?”

“No. Why would I be curious about you?”

“Around 120,” he smirked relishing in the way your eyes widened and the way you pressed your lips together to suppress a gasp, “that’s the equivalent of 20s in human age by the way.”

“Do you guys just stop ageing physically beyond a certain threshold or something?”

“I thought you said you weren’t interested,” he gibed as he began frying – the scent soon filling the air deliciously, making your mouth water, "We do. But physically, it kind of slows down once we enter our teen. Usually at a rate of 1 year for every 10 human years or something.”

Looking over his shoulders, he asked, “Anything else you’re interested about? I’ll entertain. I’d rather be interrogated than be glowered at. You’re starting bore holes on my back.”

You lifted both of your legs up on the stool, hugging your knees close to your chest as you pondered carefully. You had a lot of questions truth to be told but after insisting that you had nothing to be curious about when it comes to him – that would be embarrassing. That being said, one pertinent question continue to burn in the back of your mind and no amount of pride could quell the curiosity behind that. “Did you kill them?” you finally asked after bouts of hesitation.

He switched off the stove and turned around, placing the pan onto a mat on the island, his eyes meeting yours in that signature chilling precision, “you mean am I the actual town’s serial killer?” he stretched his hands against the marble island, brows raised expectantly, gaze locked onto yours, “what do you think?”

You stared back into his eyes, scanning his face for any microchange in expressions that could've served as a hint. "No," you answered.

“That’s surprising,” he leaned back, arms folded, “thought you think of me as the big bad wolf?”

“I used to think you might have something to do with it,” you muttered honestly, “but I no longer think it has to do with the killing. Probably more on the covering up.”

He turned his attention back to the stove, attending the sauce that he had already started cooking earlier, “You’re correct. I didn’t kill any of them.”

“Was it Jungwon?”

“He was responsible for a couple of them,” he muttered without looking at you, “but it was a combination of other stray vampires too – the ‘unnaturals’ we call them. They are human-turned vampires – which has been alarmingly on the rise in this town over the past few years. There aren’t really any good reason to turn human into vampires unless you’re psychotic because ‘unnaturals’ are hard to control as you need to keep them constantly guided, trained and supervised – without which they'd just run amok, turning into a bloodthirsty fiend that pose risks to both humans, and us alike, risking our exposure.”

“So you covered the murders?”

You could see him nodding briefly as he turned around, plating the food neatly onto a plate, “since we are the official pure bloods currently residing in this town – the council of elders sought our help both to maintain order and catch the culprit.”

“So you're doing something good in a sense?” you raised your brows, “but still, you did bite the head cheerleader and Jungwon.”

“And you, too,” he added nonchalantly as he placed the meal he had cooked up in front of you, “Well I never said I was a good guy in the first place. We still need blood to live – we usually could substitute it for animal blood or bagged blood but blood from a living human is different. It’s far superior in taste, satiety and nutrients if you will. So preying on human for blood was never really banned for us vampires but it has to be done responsibly. If accidents happen, we must also ensure that they are taken care of. Though it should be avoided because too many accidents would definitely reach the ears of the councils.”

“Hence why the head cheerleader, Jungwon and you,” he emphasized, “still lives. Though unfortunately Jungwon got picked up by another pure blood, that we didn't roamed around, as I left him unattended while he passed out. This might have been the same pure blood who had been stirring chaos around town too.”

“Then why is it that you keep coming back for me and not leave me alone like the cheerleader or Jungwon?” you asked boldly.

“Because you're so vexing,” he muttered back, deadpanned.

“Then you should’ve killed me the first time you had bitten onto me,” you shot back.

"You’re not wrong, that was indeed my biggest mistake".

Your blood definitely fitted his palate so well – something that was rare for someone so picky like him. But more than that, there was something about you that had completely dumbfounded him. He found that the more he drink your blood, the hungrier he became but instead of fully descending down the animalistic spiral as he usually would have, the more his consciousness re-emerged. This was the reason why he had always been able to stop himself from succumbing into a feeding frenzy with you. The hunger however would still be there, growing more entrenched by the second, burning him from within but the satiation of that apparently lied elsewhere: in your lips; in your skin; in your warmth – you.

Had he killed you in the first place, he could have saved himself all the troubles. He could have just ended it with fury and bitterness. But now he was in too deep.

“You had a couple of other chances too,” you continued prodding, “what’s stopping you?”

He sighed, swivelling your chair so you faced him, as he leaned down towards you, his hand on either side of you, “if something is delicious, it has to be savoured. That’s what I’m doing with you. It’s not often that someone comes along with blood that perfectly matches my picky palate.”

You scoffed, “then explain the kisses.”

“Well, the act of feeding is not really as innocent as the act of normal eating is it? Think about it,” he trailed his finger down your jawline, to your neck, “it’s my lips, on your neck. Then of course, there’s the proximity, the hands, the heat of our bodies – everything pretty much easily coalesce into lusts especially in the heat of delirium-“ his eyes begin to inadvertently flit from your eyes to your lips, the flicker of desire apparent.

Sure, he wasn’t lying but Sunghoon was no hormonal teenager who could easily be lulled with such desires and he knew it well. It takes a lot to incite something like that in him. But you don’t have to know that, he thought to himself.

You smacked his hand away. You didn’t expect him to say something sweet and mushy obviously but you would be lying if his words doesn’t sear. All the better, you tell yourself, reassuring that this way, you can stop feeling guilty or thankful to him beyond what is necessary. That you can just dampen any glimmer of thought that Sunghoon is different than what he present to be. “The deal was to offer my blood not to be your slvt,” you rolled your eyes as you swivelled your chair back towards the table, picking up the cutleries, "If I finish these, you’ll send me home immediately?”

He nodded, chin resting on his palm with his elbows propped against the table as he watched you, his lips curving unknowingly in such a gentle way as he watched you savour the food, your brows all knitted-up, your head nodding in satisfaction, “I take it that you like my cooking?”

“Only because I’m starving,” you grumbled, surprised at how hungry you actually were, finishing your meal faster than you usually would. You pushed the empty plates, staring back at him, “I’m full. Give me the clothes you promised me and send me home now.”

“Of course,” he gestured, fishing out his phone. Suddenly, an older man in dark suit and slicked-back hair entered the kitchen, carrying paper bags from luxurious brands. “They’re all yours, change into whichever you like. You can find me in the living room once you’re done.”

“These-“ you panicked, looking at the tags, each having more digits than you could ever afford, “I can’t accept all of them – they cost a fortune!”

“they cost nothing to me,” he shrugged, “treat it as a gift or something. You had, after all been, rather satisfactory.”

You scoffed, his choice of words always so offensive and searing. Begrudgingly you trudged up to the washroom, changing into the plainest one you could find out of the bunch – a simple ivory ruffle satin blouse from Hermes. You re-emerged from the washroom, dumping the bags in front of him, “I don’t want any of it. And this-“ you gestured to the blouse you were wearing, “I’ll repay you.”

“You’re always so stubborn, it’s just a token of appreciation,” he shrugged, rising up, guiding you through a series of corridors towards the main entrance.

“What we had was a deal,” you emphasized, “there is no need for any sort of appreciation there. It’s purely transactional.”

“You’re always so cold,” he muttered, opening the door of his G-Wagon for you, “and I’m insufferable – we’re perfect for each other.”

You glared at him as you entered his car, grabbing onto the door to close it before he could even close it for you.

If it was up to him, he wouldn't send you home at all. He would just continue to spin the web around you, keep you close with him, lock you inside with him. But he knew not to push buttons too far. He had plenty of time.

He had forever.

— ix.

Days turned to weeks then turned to months, and true to his words, Sunghoon really never let your deal nor you go. Being the insufferable prick he is however, he took to snatching you away out of the blue while you were in the campus corridors, into an empty class room, empty closet, empty toilet, dark and desolated library corners , you name it, just to feed on you in the most thrilling way.

“Blood tends to taste better when hearts race. How else can I do that than to take you by surprise?” he grinned slyly as he pushed you against the wall, completely unbothered that someone could have always walked in on you both. With eyes that had rapidly lightened to golden and canines erupting into full fangs, his hands would always be so swift and adept, already unbuttoning your top buttons or sometimes, tugging your shirt down your shoulders impatiently while the other hand seized your head like talons – as if he hadn’t already pinned you up against a surface with his massive frame.

While the prickle of pain that followed no longer made you jump nor flinch, you could never get used to the act of him sucking your blood through your neck. With fear and dread now subsiding, the intimacy of the act, like he had said before, was now too discernible to ignore: his soft lips on your neck, the way his hands and fingers roamed and gripped you, the way his head bob against the crook of your neck, the way his body was pressed up against you, and of course, the gaze as he pulled away – a gaze with smouldering intensity which never failed to make your heart race. It’s just transactional, you would tell yourself, you’re nothing but a bloodbag y/n, you reassured yourself.

Except you didn’t know how much longer you could tell yourself that especially after you bumped into Heeseung one day in one of the empty corridors. His eyes trained on the fresh puncture wounds on your neck, “I hope he’s not overdoing it.”

Your hand immediately flew to your neck, covering it – as if it was some sort of a hickey to be shameful about. You gave him a quick nod of acknowledgement before brushing past him though he grabbed your wrist mid-way with a grip that felt like iron – a stark contrast with the gentle and amiable image he was well-known for. But then again, you reminded yourself, he’s a vampire just like Sunghoon – it might all just be a façade.

“I’m not here to hurt you,” he reassured, letting your hand go, “I just need a quick word.”

“Then be quick,” you relented, folding your arms defensively, maintaining a certain distance.

“I don’t how far you have gone with Sunghoon but let me tell you, you guys may be perfect for each other in a complementary way but,” he hesitated, “it could also coalesce perfectly into toxicity.”

"You've got it all wrong," you corrected, "we haven’t 'gone' anywhere. And we won’t. There is no way I would develop feelings for him and there is no way he would develop feelings for me when he could have anyone with the snap of a finger. Whatever we have, it’s completely transactional. So don’t worry about it.”

“It's you who I am worried for,” he sighed, eyes softening in such a way that conveyed genuine worry, “I can assure you that the fact that you went this far with him – breaking almost every guard he has and bending him in ways he had never allowed, meant something. I can’t speak for him but I’ve known him for decades to know a breach when there is one."

“That being said, obsession driven by attraction can be just as dangerous as contempt,” he continued as he fished out a crystal vial which was filled with dark red liquid, “it doesn’t matter if you like him back or not – if he wants you, he’ll make sure he’ll own you and the moment he feels like he’s losing you, his claws will just tighten.”

Suddenly he offered the vial towards you, “here's a chance for you to cut yourself from him.”

You eyed it suspiciously, "Is it poison? Are you asking me to poison him?”

“Don’t be silly. It’s kind of like a tranquiliser for us,” he beckoned you to take it, “it’s time for us to move away but he had been adamant in sticking around. I can’t let that happen but at the same time he’s too strong and too stubborn to listen,” he sighed, “so if you feel that there is any truth in what I have said, feed him this – however you see fit. It’s potent so just a drop is enough to incapacitate him momentarily. I’ll know when it works so I’ll quickly go to you when that happens and take him away."

You reluctantly took it from his hand, “and if I don’t?"

“Then I can’t save you anymore,” he mustered a weak smile.

"Why would you help me? He's your friend," you questioned.

"Exactly because he's my friend," he muttered despondently, "you both are poison to one another. Ive been through such tragedy once, I'm not letting him go through it."

You remembered tossing and turning that very night as Heeseung’s words replay in your mind incessantly like a broken record. Even when you’ve chucked the vial in the deepest corner of your drawer, under a bunch of other stuffs, you still can’t help but think of it.

Eventually, you rose up from your bed, reluctantly opening the drawer where the vial had been hidden away. Hugging your knees close to your chest, you held the vial in your hand up against night light.

Back then, you would have killed for this chance to rid of him. Yet now that the chance is right in your hand, you find yourself hesitating, thinking of reasons why you shouldn't instead.

— x.

Eventually you’ve reached the end of your academic year – all your hard work, labouring in the library and burning the midnight oil, culminated in distinctions. Not even waiting until graduation, you soon fell into another set of routine, from part-timing; volunteering to job-searching – already eager to start the next part of your life. This in turn had also limited the amount of times you bump into Sunghoon which was ideal, you thought, though he had now taken to appearing at your balcony at odd hours once or twice a month.

Like a loan shark, he just never missed asking for his due.

“Why can’t you drop by during day time or something?” you grumbled lethargically as you opened your balcony door at 3AM, "suddenly sensitive to sunlight are you?"

“You’re busy in the daytime,” he said as a matter-of-factly, closing the door behind him as if it was already a routine, “unless you want me to crash your part-time or volunteering places-“

“Okay, okay, I get it. Funny how capable you are of being considerate,” you sighed, gesturing him over, “let’s get it done with, it’s late.”

You don’t know if the new night routine was skewing your perception or if Heeseung’s words had started to sow seeds in your mind unwittingly but it was becoming alarmingly apparent to you how with every bite, everything felt less transactional from Sunghoon’s side. From the gentler touches; the possessive grasps; and the gaze that lingered longer – conveying more than the usual hunger within. Tonight, too, it felt all the more apparent as you flinched, suddenly feeling his cold tongue slid over your puncture wounds, catching the blood that trailed down.

“I told you not to do that,” you protested, edging your face slightly away from him, meeting his eyes that stared back with such smouldering intensity that it was making your heart flip.

“What if I want to?” he asked, face completely impassive, but gaze darkening by the second. You swallowed thickly as you stared back into those eyes while leaning back slowly, as if trying to probe the depth of his mind and test if there was any grain of truth to Heeseung’s words. He followed suit, face charging slowly towards you, as if chasing yours – his hands never leaving your waists and his gaze locking with yours yours in a gaze that was so electrifying.

You could have recoiled, you could have jerked away, you could have turned, you could have pushed him – but almost as if drawn by the gravity that seemingly existed between you and him, you just backed away slowly, eyes locked with his. You feel his hips pressing onto you as your back hit the countertop, giving you no more chance to back away. Face now only inches away from you with gaze that was so electric with desires, you can feel his breath hot against your lips and his body warm against yours – the warmth of which you didn’t expect from him, given how he was usually cold to the touch.

Again, you could have turned away. But you didn’t. Instead you let him draw nearer, his lips now ghosting over yours, his hand tracing the curvature of your spine, fingers folding protectively as it slid over the side of your ribs – the air crackling with electricity, with tension that is so palpable, it could have cut. If it was just primal desires on his side, he should have no problem breaking the tension by forcing a kiss on you – something he had done before. If it was just complete vehemence on your side, you should have shoved him away – something you had always done before too. But instead, you two just let yourselves bask in the moment of utter hesitance – just one move away from breaking the tension that warped the air and letting it all crumble.

His eyes flitted from your eyes to your lips, prompting you to do the same – the gaze from both of which was just oozing in repressed desires and bottled emotions. As if mirroring the restraint that was hanging by the last thread, his fingers had begun to dug painfully into your ribs and you had begun to tightly clench a fistful of his shirt.

You could see it then, in the depths of his searing gaze, that the flicker of desire, was catching flames. “No—” you weakly mustered, turning away just a fraction of seconds after he leaned in, evading the capture of his lips. You feel his breathing hot and laboured against your jaw, where he stayed rooted instead. You squeezed your eyes shut, disappointed at yourself for almost succumbing, "leave," was all you could managed as you pushed him weakly.

Perplexingly, and rather fortunately, he complied, weakly prying himself away from you though in such an agonisingly slow pace. “—now,” you insisted, daring to look back into his eyes – which was surprisingly gentle and pensive this time. You knew then, he was cracking.

You brushed past him, leaving your room, feeling nauseated as you wondered, if you had cracked too?

By the time you returned to your room, it was already empty though the tension from before still hung in the air, proceeding to haunt you for the remainder of the night over why and what could have been.

— xi.

Perhaps he had gotten bored of you. Perhaps the realisation that something was budding beyond normalcy was hitting his pride badly that he needed to step back. Perhaps, he had really moved abroad with Heeseung like what Heeseung had planned. Whatever it was, you hadn’t seen him since that evening – something you were of course, grateful for.

Sometimes, you feel his presence in the crowd and in the shadows as you go about your way, volunteering, working part-time, interviewing and so on – but he was never there. Just your imagination and skewed intuition. Tonight too as you attended the graduation after-party, you thought you saw his face in the midst of the crowd; his presence in the shadows; and his voice amidst the cacophony of noise. But again, you were wrong and you chalked it all up to exhaustion.

Eventually you slip away to the balcony, trying to find a momentary respite as your head had begun to splinter from all the socializing.

“Want me to take you away?”

You jumped, your train of thoughts came crashing.

Speak of the devil, you thought to yourself as you exhaled sharply, startled, at the sight of Sunghoon leaning against the door frame.

“You look bored,” he continued, letting himself in and closing the door behind him to shield you two away from any prying eyes, “of course you are, you hate crowds and you hate celebration”.

“You missed graduation,” was all you could muster.

“We’ve graduated countless of times so it means nothing to us,” he shrugged.

“Then why are you here?”

“Because you’re here,” he replied very quickly with no taunting smirk, unlike usual.

You sighed as you leaned back against the bannister, turning your head sideway and baring your neck, “don’t take too much, we’re in public.”

He scoffed, “that’s touching and all but I’m not a monster. You’re not just a bloodbag to me.”

You abruptly turned your head towards him, brows furrowed, "but I’m just supposed to be a blood bag to you.”

“that’s not for you to dictate.”

Suddenly, you heard a piercing scream from inside. You rushed towards the door, seeing the crowd clamouring over Nicholas who had been carried on a stretcher. Nicholas was the guy you had gotten close with over the past few weeks since you two had started interning together. You immediately rushed towards the door, about to re-enter the hall when Sunghoon stopped you, his grip over your wrist felt almost like iron, "he’s not dead yet. Just fainted.”

You looked at him in horror, “what do you mea- did you do this?”

“You probably didn’t realise it but he had underlying intentions towards you,” he muttered flatly, his grip unrelenting, “he spiked your drink.”

“He- what?” you stopped protesting, reminded of the way both Sunoo and even Ni-Ki had warned you against him, though you didn’t pay too much attention to it since he had always been so nice with you, “but that doesn’t- that doesn’t mean you have to take it in your hands and incapacitate him.”

“Don’t be dramatic,” he rolled his eyes, “I didn’t drink a lot. I just exert certain pressure on his hand and neck to make him pass out. After hurling a bunch of threats to him, that is.”

"You really need to be careful with who you interact with," he cautioned, "human are very easy. They catch feelings very easily."

It suddenly dawned on you horrifyingly that perhaps your intuition had been right. That it had always been him, in the crowd and in the shadows, always closely following and watching. Heeseung’s words begin to flood your mind.

"Obsession driven by attraction is just as dangerous as contempt". "It doesn’t matter if you like him back or not – if he wants you, he’ll make sure he’ll own you and the moment he feels like he’s losing you, his claws will just tighten".

"Euijoo, from my part-time job-" you asked, voice shaky as you were reminded of how he had suddenly submitted his resignation letter without bidding you goodbye just a day after he confessed to you, "was that your doing too?"

"You've always hated receiving confessions and the guilt in your face throughout the whole night was pretty telling of it," he quipped, "I was just doing you a favour no? I didn't bite him though. Just told him off and offer him money. You can still find him in the bookstore near the mall, alive and annoyingly cheery as usual."

You looked at him, completely aghast. Realizing the truth a tad bit too late. Of how you are completely entrapped within his claws with other people being wrought in it as well.

He scoffed, looking hurt, “Why are you staring at me like that? I was only looking out for you – in both instances,” he tugged onto your arm, pulling you into an embrace that gradually tightened in a way snake constricts its prey, "can’t you see? the length I go for you.”

You wanted to push him off but almost like a muscle memory, it gave up after a few attempts, unwittingly melting into his embrace in defeat as the guilt filled you and the dread hounded you.

“Let’s head home,” he murmured softly into your hair.

Obviously you wanted nothing to do with him anymore tonight but you knew him – you knew that look in his eyes, you knew that grip around your hand, so you just obliged, excusing yourself to the restroom for a bit to collect yourself. He nodded, giving you a brief smile, “don’t run away okay?”

It was such a harmless sentence delivered in the gentlest way and yet, you could feel the way it’s laced almost like a threat.

The ride back home was mostly silent, your mind racing with a billion thoughts. He walked you up to your door silently. As you turned your doorknob, you muttered, “I’m moving in a few days.”

“I heard,” he replied almost instantaneously, “you landed a job at one of the big-3 right?”

You turned around, mustering the courage, “what would happen to our deal?”

“What about it? I’ve secured the unit next to yours,” he replied so nonchalantly, “it would be as if nothing had changed.”

“you what? But how–" Your brows knit in dismay. Only Sunoo knew about you getting the job and moving so for Sunghoon to have not just known the news but have also secured the unit next to yours was filling you with so much terror.

“You know me, what I want, I get.”

Heeseung's words rang in your mind deafeningly again.

He furrowed his brows, “what? You didn’t expect the deal to just end like that did you?” He scoffed, taking steps towards you, his footsteps echoed ominously in the hallway, “it won’t. I won’t let it.”

“Sunghoon, back off-“ you warned as you backed away into your home, swiftly about to close the door on him but he was faster as he wedged his shoe in between, pushing the door open, letting himself in, "you won't ever escape me y/n, I own you – that permanent mark on your neck should serve as a constant reminder for you."

Sunghoon didn't know why he was all riled up – perhaps it's the look of terror in your eyes. After all he had done for you, all the patience and considerations he had also imparted to you – what he got back was instead a look of fear. And he thought you guys were making good progress over the past few months, despite some hiccups now and then.

“Sunghoon, I am not yours and I will never be so you have no righ-“

He tugged your hand, slamming you against the door, not letting you finish your sentence at all. You shuddered as you looked up into his eyes – the steeliness of which you hadn't seen in a while that you forgot just how intimidating and paralyzing it was.

“you said it yourself, it’s all primal desires," you protested, writhing under his grasps.

“Haven’t I shown you enough? Displayed enough patience, enough consideration and enough restraint? Are those not enough as indication?” he asked, the disappointment so evident in the strain of his voice and weight of his stare.

“It’s all just obsession, you’re mistaking it,” you argued.

He scoffed, his eyes suddenly golden, his hand cradling the back of your head, “why don’t we see who’s mistaking what?”

You wedged a hand, palming him by the chest, “Sunghoon-“ your eyes were almost pleading but he was already seeing red – blinded by obsession, clouded by anger – as he crushed your body against his, claiming your lips in a searing kiss. His tongue soon pried your lips apart, deepening his kiss so desperately and hungrily, in a way that you could feel all the emotions he had bottled and repressed for you – from the anger, the bitterness, the yearning and the longing. You tried to shove him away, knowing very well you were of no match against him – not when he was completely overtaken by his his desires and impulses.

Suddenly he pulled away, his eyes staring back at you in alarm. By the time he realized something was wrong, it was far too late, as he teetered backwards unwittingly, knocking vases and books over, before he collapsed to the floor, breathing becoming more laborued. His face soon contorted in to a mixture of fury and hurt as he stared back at you, “you-“

Your legs buckled under you as you stared weakly at him, your eyes somehow misty as you watched him struggle. When you used the washroom earlier, you had mixed the red liquid from the vial that Heeseung had given you, with your lipstick – remembering how he said it won’t have an effect on human and that that it was so potent on vampires that even a drop would've sufficed. You then proceeded to apply it on your lips, your gut feelings telling you that you might need it tonight. As your gut feelings had told you, you indeed needed it.

A dark figure suddenly materialised behind Sunghoon – it was Heeseung, looking forlornly at the way Sunghoon was all hunched up over the floor, coughing, feeling his strength dissipating by the second despite his efforts. He glowered with every muscle he had left in his face, at Heeseung who was holding him by his arm, then to you. Locked to your eyes, his gaze hardened, almost that with utter fury though his misty eyes conveyed otherwise. Heeseung gave you a brief appreciative nod, before he wrapped his cloak over Sunghoon, both vanishing into thin air within split seconds after.

You should be elated that the bane of your existence was now gone, probably for eternity, but a tear soon rolled down your cheeks. Though you couldn’t tell, nor do you want to, if it was simply out of guilt, sadness or regret.

A/N: Hello everyone! If you've reached here then thank you so much for presevering through this massive chapter (and I -oop 💀) I hope it has been an interesting ride and thank you for sticking by and showing so much interest for this series. This particular chapter went through massive overhaul multiple times lol but thank goodness Dark Blood came in just in time to give me a new burst of energy and motivation wheee If you saw my previous post and had been waiting for it, I apologise for the delay huhuu I got stuck in some parts 💀 Ps. If you enjoy this, shower it with some love by leaving me some comments on it hehe I dont bite 🙆🏻‍♀️

#enhypen vampire #enhypen imagines #enhypenwriters #enhypen sunghoon #enhypen sunghoon imagines #park sunghoon #enhypen scenarios #enhypen #sunghoon imagines #sunghoon vampire #kpop imagines #sunghoon scenarios #enhypen sunghoon scenarios #kpop scenarios #enhypen x reader #enhypen x female reader #enhypen vampire au

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sweetheart-sunghoon · 2 months

Text

𝗲𝗻𝗵𝘆𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝘃𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝘂

i'm making a writing comeback and would love some input!

i have an ongoing vampire au for our lovely enhypen, but have only written and posted two parts. before i continue, i want to know: what would you want out of vampire au? what themes and tropes? what scenarios? what have you been craving from a good vampire romance?

jump in my ask box and let me know!

i would really appreciate it (⊃｡•́‿•̀｡)⊃

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vanillelace · 2 years

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⟡ warnings ; profanity, mentions of blood (this is a vampire au), some NON DETAILED mentions of violence, food mentioned, death.

⟡ pairings ; yang jungwon x fem. reader

⟡ genre ; vampire au, fake dating and attempted slowburn, slight royalty? PLOT TWIST BUT NOT THAT WELL WRITTEN

⟡ wordcount ; 12652 words

⟡ summary ; You are the most wanted half-blood. Your mother, however against her will, was smitten by a mere mortal, condemning herself and your future. And she conveniently forgot to mention that she is a vampire. Yang Jungwon, son of one of the most famous vampire royals, has to date you in order to see a brighter future. An unexpected journey full of twists and turns.

⟡ note ; hi guys. i have not uploaded a single work of mine because motivation is going 📉📉 rn 💀 so uh yeah this will probably be my last work. i may upload, but of my own will ^^ also I had to rush this really bad so im sorry if it doesn’t seem too good. I may release a sequel!! Not right now though. SONG MADE BY ME. DON'T STEAL.

THIS IS A PART OF THE RED MOON COLLAB WITH @liliansun AND @twilightau ‼️

“It’s a beautiful day, nonetheless,” your best friend, Danielle Marsh, comments.

“Doesn’t mean I have to be all shimmy-shimmy-aah, Dani.” You reply, laughing. Danielle giggles, punching you playfully.

You and Danielle have been the best of friends since even before you could speak. At that age, of course, it was mainly slapping each other and pulling one another’s hair, but you still considered it a holy friendship at the time. Your mum, Aurelia, and Danielle’s mother, Mrs. Marsh, were the best of friends. They had their own secrets, some of them they did not (and still don’t) trust the two of you with, and those secrets brought them together.

Today is the day before your birthday, and the day after Danielle’s. It’s currently the 30th of March, 11 AM, and the two of you are attempting to pass the time.

“Should we just have a picnic?” You ask Dani, to which she nods enthusiastically. “Totally! Let’s go make some food.”

“Dibs on making lemon crinkle cookies!” You shout, running into the kitchen. You accidentally bump into your cat, Mitch. She’s the most beautiful calico cat you’ve ever seen, and you’ve always found it extremely hard to believe that someone would let Mitch out of their sight and allow her to be lost. You adopted her off the street.

She purrs, rubbing her neck against your leg. You smile and kiss her head, exactly the place where she hates being kissed, and run off into the kitchen, Danielle following suit. She stopped on her way to lift your cat and give her a hug, and grabbed her car keys. “I’m gonna go get stuff for the cookies, and let’s make some nachos. I’ll buy stuff for pink lemonade too. Text me if you need anything, get started with the nachos. Home baked, right?”

“Yeah, always. You’re getting the salsa ingredients too, right? We don’t have ketchup.”

“Yep. I’ll send you a list of what I’m buying before I check out. Reply fast or I will not give a flying shit, I tell you.”

You roll your eyes, laughing. “Yeah, mom, bye!”

“I’M A DAY OLDER THAN YOU!” Dani yelled, slamming the door behind her.

You and Dani live together, just down the lane from both your family homes. Dani is 19 as of yesterday, and you turn 19 in a few hours. Funny how Mum thought I’d barely be old enough to drive, but now I have my driver’s license too, you think to yourself.

Your mother isn’t one for the history books in your opinion. She’s your average mother. She always tells you that she’s from Canada, and your father’s from South Korea. You’ve never met your father. He died when your mother was 7 months along. She does have a picture of him though.

You’re constantly surprised by how similar you and your father look. Same eyes, but not eye color, same nose, same smile. Same figure, and same accent, allegedly. Your mother is an extremely kind person, and was heartbroken when your father passed away.

Your grandmother, who you’ve not been able to meet, always writes to you on a monthly basis. She’s the sweetest person you’ve ever known, aside from your mother. Dani is on very good terms with your family too, so it’s all one huge party. She’s not really close to your younger sister, Lily, who's adopted, but they do talk often.

After Danielle returns, you and Danielle get started on making a mess. The doorbell rings, and you run to answer it, a water-stained apron arming you from whoever is on the other side of the door.

“Hello, are you Y/N?” A masculine voice asks, and you find a face to the voice when you look up from the ground.

“…who are you?”

“Oh, I should probably introduce myself. I’m Park Sunghoon, ambassador to the Maledictus ruler.”

“I’m sorry, what?” You snicker, trying to cover it up, taking off the apron and dumping it on the couch nearby, “Is this some elaborate scheme? Because you’re failing miserably at trying to convince me.”

“Um, lady, no. Are you Y/N?”

“And if I am?”

The Sunghoon in question sighs and presses a finger to his temple, as if this conversation is giving him a headache. “Y/N, who is it?” Danielle shouts, and you facepalm.

You just HAD to shout my name, didn’t you?

“Alright then. Please come with me with no resistance, unless you particularly wish to be unconscious.”

“Danielle!” You yell, but your voice is muffled by your cat jumping on you, smacking you right in the mouth. “Oh, for fuck's sake.” Sunghoon sighs, dragging you and Mitch into a limousine.

Limousine? Okay, rich.

“DANIELLE!” You yell. Deciding self-defense is your only resort, you bite him on the wrist, Mitch just purring in approval.

“JEEZ, LADY, I CAN'T RESIST EVERYTHING?” Sunghoon half-yells, half-asks, groaning in pain but still reluctant to let go.

Mom, I'm sorry but I may go to prison for this.

Anyone watching would think you're showing a sudden display of affection to your alleged kidnapper. You aggressively hug him, his face turning red.

“WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?” Sunghoon manages, extremely confused and amused.

Danielle runs, a bowl of salsa in one hand. Seeing you strangle (or attempt to) him, she lets out a war cry, the neighbor staring.

“AYYY!” She yells, the bowl rising in her hand.

You immediately know what she's going to do, and you both are so going to regret it.

She whacks him face-on with the salsa!

Mitch shrieks happily and jumps in the limousine.

“I don't fucking get paid enough for this. Get. In. Please.” Sunghoon positively begs at this point, looking close to tears.

Out of the kindness of your hearts, you both take a seat.

Only when Sunghoon climbs in and mumbles, “Salsa was very good, if I do say so myself,” do you realize that you have a terrible sense of danger and security.

“Aww! Why, thank you!” Danielle smiles, and Mitch purrs.

“Danielle, sweetie, no big deal, but we're probably going to get killed.”

“As long as it's with you. We lived a long life.”

“You guys talk too much.” Sunghoon says, as the car gets darker and darker by the second. You look down to see a syringe in your arm.

“Oh, nooooooo…” a distorted voice says.

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

“Y/N, you snore. Did you know that? And so does your friend here. Even your cat snores.”

You wake up to Sunghoon looking exhausted, his hand massaging his temple. Does he always do that?

“Sorry.” You say, just as Danielle and Mitch snore and purr. You offer a smile that comes out more like a grimace, and Sunghoon, if possible, looks wearier.

“No worries.” He offers a smile. “Could you wake them up, if you don't mind? We're almost here.”

You nod, not-so-eagerly, because you know Danielle is going to be pissed. She's the sort of person that hates being woken up by someone else.

You poke her warily. She responds with a snore, louder than ever, and turns over to her side. Oh, great.

You slap Danielle lightly on her cheek, to which she wakes up, gasping. “Y/N! Have you not learnt–” she begins, but stops when she realizes who she's with.

“Good morning, Ms. Danielle.” Sunghoon nods respectfully. Dani smiles.

“Wait. Wait. Why are we HERE?” You yell, everything coming back to you.

Crap, crap, crap, the lemon crinkle cookies are probably burning NOOOOO…

Priorities, man.

You come back to the limo, seeing Danielle holding Mitch out in front of her. “I'm a good girl please don't kill me I'm too young–”

“Half an hour ago, you were telling us how you and Y/N have lived a long life. Here you are, telling me you're too young to die. Make up your mind, lady.”

“Ooh, lady. Damn. I'm Danielle!” Danielle says, reaching Mitch out for a handshake.

“DANIELLE, HE'S A STRANGER. DID NO ONE TEACH YOU ABOUT STRANGER DANGER?”

“Y/N makes a valid point, Ms. Danielle. Did no one teach you anything?” Sunghoon laughs.

“Y/N, can we beat him up?”

You smile. “Thought you'd never ask.”

She grabs a rolling pan from her apron and starts whacking him. You pinch him wherever possible.

“This– Is– For– My– Fucking– Lemon– Fucking– Crinkle– Fucking– Cookies!” you say with each pinch.

“NO! THE TRAUMA! PLEASE STOP!” Sunghoon screams, and the driver from ahead says, “Please don't kill him. I have a family to feed, and I depend on him. Please.”

Both of you stop. “He pays you?”

“Yeah, he's pretty rich.”

You and Dani smirk at each other.

“You thinking what I'm thinking?”

“Definitely.” You reply.

“Maybe if you give us money–”

“Maybe if you give us info–”

“DANI NO–”

“Y/N NO–”

A pause.

“Give us a minute to reconvene and get back to you!” Danielle says.

Sunghoon nods in agreement, a tear falling from his eye.

“Danielle, what are you going to reconvene over? WE DON'T NEED MONEY, WE NEED INFORMATION?”

“But when you can get money, why not take it?”

Pause.

“Valid point. We'll ask for both.”

“Okay,” Danielle nods, and says loudly, “Sunghoon, we've reached a compromise.”

“I didn't know you were on first-name basis with your victim but okay! What do you want? Anything to make you guys shut up. Please.”

“Money,” Danielle says, “and info.” you add.

“How much? Of both?” He asks, pulling out his wallet.

“100$ for each of us. And all the info we want.”

“Good deal. Here you go. Ask away.”

“Thanks! Why are we here?”

“You'll see. Don't worry, you'll see at least two familiar faces, if not three.”

“Oh. Will we be safe?”

“You're in a limousine, I paid you to stop abusing me, and I didn't even hit your cat, not that I would, of course. What do you think?”

“Oh. Sorry,” Danielle apologizes.

“It's alright! By the way, we've reached Maledictus. Please have a look-over of your appearance.” Sunghoon announces, clambering out of the limousine.

Danielle looks down to see a flour-covered apron, which she bashfully pulls off. You give yourself a brush-off, and deem yourself neat. You ruffle Mitch, at which she shrieks and scampers over to Danielle. Dani winks at you and gathers her apron and Mitch.

“Lead the way, Sunghoon.” You say, as Dani gets out of the car.

A winding path leads to a gate, putting you in mind of Draco Malfoy's mansion from Harry Potter. The black gate does not cool your senses, and when Sunghoon identifies himself using his biometrics, a deep voice booms.

“Identify the visitors you have with you, Mr. Park.”

“Uhm, a cat, a friend, and her.”

There's an empty silence, after which the voice booms, “Biometric identity of 'her', please.”

Sunghoon gestures to you, and you walk awkwardly. He takes your hand and presses the thumb to the identifier.

“Approved. You may enter.”

Sunghoon grins lightly. “Ladies first. And cats.”

Danielle walks ahead, dropping Mitch down to follow. You walk with Sunghoon, curious to know why you are here.

“Sunghoon, am I in trouble? Will Mitch and Danielle be alright?”

“Don't worry. They're fine. Nothing's going to happen to you as long as you don't 'resist', per se.”

You nod, not entirely convinced. “No matter what you do, Ms. Danielle and your cat will be safe. I'll give you my word.”

You nod slightly, feeling better about this whole mess. “Thanks, Sunghoon.”

Sunghoon smiles, the first real smile you've seen. “I'm sorry for the hostility you encountered when you first met us by the way. And the salsa. We were trying to protect ourselves.”

“It's cool, you don't need to worry. I understand. Besides, the salsa was delicious, although it could've taken away my eyesight forever.” He laughs at that, and you take it as a sign that it really is fine. You join in.

“Ah, welcome back, Mr. Sunghoon. I see you brought her. But who is the person with her? And what is–”

An old, balding woman sees her worst nightmare rubbing her foot and purring. “IS THIS–” she begins, but stops to sneeze noisily.

“I'm sorry, miss. Didn't know you were allergic.” Danielle scoops Mitch up and walks a small distance away.

“It's alright,” the woman sniffles haughtily, “but I thought you might know, Sunghoon.”

“My bad, Mrs. Ahn, I wasn't aware you would be here to welcome us. I thought it'd be Mr. Ahn.”

To give you slight context, Sunghoon whispers, “Mr. Ahn loves animals, but his wife is allergic to almost all of them. That's why he's been unable to have a pet, and jumps at the opportunity to take care of one.”

“Yes, I am only alright with bats. Good reason for that, too. However, my husband has been working a lot and is having his midday snack, so I thought to cover up for him. He'll meet you in the Hub.” Mrs. Ahn says, smiling tenderly.

It has always amazed you how people change with just a smile. But no one shares that amazement, so you can't really say anything about it, for fear of being laughed at and, or, killed!

“Thank you, Mrs. Ahn. If you'll excuse us, I'll take them to meet him now.”

Mrs. Ahn nods, moving out of the way, waving as you pass, sneezing as Mitch scampers forward to meet you. Picking her up, you peck her and squish her.

“You really love your cat, huh?” Sunghoon laughs, poking Mitch playfully. You swear you see Mitch roll her eyes, and you nod eagerly.

“I mean, who wouldn't? Want to know the story behind how she became my pet?”

“Totally, after this meeting though. Sort of important. For me and you. So. Yeah.”

Oh, right.

“No worries.”

You hum, as Danielle catches up with you guys. “This is why I hate quick paced walkers.” She mumbles, out of breath. You and Sunghoon laugh.

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

After what seems like eternal walking, and around five flights of stairs, Sunghoon finally says, “We're here!”

“How are you still so loud?” You and Danielle groan, and Mitch purrs. “You too, Mitch. You literally rode my back.” Danielle sighs.

“Y/N, you are one untrained half-blood.” Sunghoon mumbles, just enough for you to catch it.

“One untrained WHAT?” You shout, the breath returning to your lungs and voice regifted to your throat.

“Fuck. You'll see!” Sunghoon runs, gesturing to the two of you to follow.

“Danielle, DID YOU FUCKING HEAR THAT?”

Danielle nods. “Unfortunately, if we're being realistic, we can't exactly find out. But because I'm your best friend, I'll panic with you. AN UNTRAINED WHAT? IS THIS HARRY POTTER?”

“You know, my mother never talks about her family. Kind of suspicious if you ask me. I haven't even seen my grandmother. I know that they're from Canada, but I don't know any more.”

“Well, I guess we're about to find out.” Danielle says, looking at the magnificent doors swinging open.

“MRAWW!” Mitch shrieks through the utter silence as she spots a familiar face. She scurries across the room to where a woman is standing, looking extremely anxious. A crown rests on her face solemnly, sparkling in the golden light exuded by the chandelier.

“MOM?”

This is when everything keeping you sane shrivels up and dies.

“MS. CAMPBELL??” Danielle yells, and the two of you run to meet her, not realizing that there's a throne next to where she's standing. “Mother dearest, would you care to explain?” You confront her, extremely concerned.

“Hi, darling. I'm sorry it had to be this way. But it did. So. Hi. Uhm. Your grandmother's here! And so is –”

Before you can hear who else you were supposed to know, your grandmother squeezes you into a tight hug. “My darling Y/N!”

“Gran! I've never met you, have I?”

Wow, what a greeting. Way to go. So proud. Such etiquette.

“Now, that's no way to greet your grandmother, is it? But yes, you've only seen me when you were an itty-bitty baby. How adorable you were and still are.”

“Thanks, Gran. Would you at least be so kind as to tell me what's going on?”

“You'll see soon enough. Take a place. Dani! I've heard a lot about you. Stand next to Y/N. Grab Mitch too.”

You two obey, and Mitch settles in Danielle's arms.

“The accused may step forward.” A deep voice booms, not unlike the one you heard at the gate earlier.

HUH? ACCUSED?????

Your mother and grandmother step forward.

“You have been summoned to The Court of Maledictus to present your defense as to why the vampire world has not been made aware of the presence of one of the most powerful and popular half-blood in existence,” an extremely bald man began (why is everyone bald?), pausing to hear Sunghoon whisper in his ear. “I am also made to learn that there's a mortal present amongst us?”

“Yes, Slav, but she can be trusted.” Your mother insists, and Slav sighs.

“So be it. May the half-blood be made to stand in front of the Court?”

You walk after receiving a nudge from your Gran. Sunghoon inclines his head to where you are supposed to stand, and you walk, your head looking straight ahead.

“Ms. Y/N Jae-hyun Campbell, daughter of the late Mr. Lee Jae-hyun and Mrs. Adrina Cassius, are you aware that Adrina Cassius, known in the mortal world as Amber Cassius, is a vampire?”

One beat.

Two beats.

“You are absolutely, positively, most DEFINITELY joking.”

Adrina grimly smiles at Slav, who rolls his eyes.

“Adrina, you are telling the Court that you're own child, the most powerful half-blood in all of history, doesn't know her own family?” A man, looking no older than 50, looks down at you scrutinizingly. He wears a magnificent crown worthy of a king atop his head, where locks of grayish-brown hair flow down till where his shoulders meet his neck. Dressed in robes of elegant black, he looks ready to perform wizarding nonsense.

“Unfortunately, Yang Jae-hwan, she doesn't. You don't hold any rights over that decision either.” Your mother says, evidently annoyed.

“Anyways,” Slav clears his throat, “Adrina Cassius married a mortal, Lee Jae-hyun, for the reasons she prefers to call love. She gave birth to Y/N Jae-hyun Campbell, whose real name is Y/N Jae-hyun Cassius.

“We are here for the 'grand reveal' of Ms. Y/N, and His Majesty Yang Jae-hwan's verdict on how best to train the half-blood, and how to protect her. We are also here to listen to the defense of the Cassius family.”

“Hello all, I am Wilhelmina Cassius, wife of Athan Cassius,” – a collective gasp rings throughout the Court – “and I will present the defense.

“We have none. Why do we defend our choices? Yes, the choices in question may threaten the very existence of mortality, but they didn't! She's of age in a few hours, and we were going to present a diary written by all the reigning royalty of our family, including how to adjust to being a half-blood by our ancestor, Lilith Cassius.

“However, due to… present circumstances, we are unable to. I find this to be a valid enough defense. I am the reigning queen due to my daughter stepping down, which I fully support, by the way, and I have been handling things just fine. I don't seem to find a valid reason for this whole fiasco.”

“The Queen of Colonia, present day Canada, has made the defense. What does the King reply to this?”

“You're right, Wilhelmina, you do make a valid point. But what if her powers got out before she came of age? What then? What if mortals were harmed? This is the first half-blood I've seen that's not out of control. Precautions have to be taken, Wilhelmina.”

“Jae-hwan, you wanted Y/N's power for yourself and under control, didn't you? We can be honest, this is a safe space!”

“Wilhelmina, let's stay civil. I do care about power, but I would not take Y/N's power. Ever. My son is equally powerful. In fact, I'm surprised Y/N didn't–”

“Enough. Can we get the verdict?”

“Yes, Slav, if you please.”

“By the Court's discretion, the verdict remains not against, but with the Cassius family. However, a few conditions will be discussed, and now that Yang Jung-won, son of Yang Jae-hwan, succeeded in getting Ms. Cassius here, he has succeeded in placing his claim to the throne and will be the next emperor.”

Yang Jungwon? Didn't Sunghoon drag us here?

“The Court is dismissed. The Cassius family and their acquanitance have been requested to stay back for a meal. Thank you.”

How was that a proper court verdict? This is the weirdest day of my life. Couldn't get weirder.

“Y/N, WHAT THE FU- HECK WAS THAT?” Danielle screams in your ears, Mitch shrieking as usual with equal passion.

“Danielle, I wish I knew. I'm as confused as you are, honey.”

“Kids, we need to go to the official dining hall. Follow me.” Your mother says, flying away as a bat.

Wait, flying? The day got weirder.

Danielle gapes, but follows. You follow suit. What is happening?

All around, life seems to be going on as usual in the Palace of Maledictus. You feel like you're the only ones out of order. Mitch bounds after your bat-mom and Dani and you walk slowly behind.

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

After what seems like a lot of walking and exercise again, you and Danielle finally reach the hall.

It's not a hall. It's a huge ballroom. A very long dining table stretches from one end of the room to the other, a regal tablecloth spread out on it. The chairs look like thrones themselves, and there are at least 32 chairs in total. Approximately. The hall has a lot of chandeliers looking down at the people vainly.

“Please, ma'am, have a seat,” a waiter gestures to a chair next to your mother, while another waiter takes charge of Danielle's seating. The two of you sit together, your mother to your left and your Gran on Danielle's right.

A delicious-looking feast has been set out, and you see your mother wolfing down chicken. Taking 'inspiration', the whole table begins digging in happily.

“I propose our kids to date, Adrina.”

The table goes crazy. Wilhelmina chokes on wine, Danielle spits chicken on her plate, Adrina has a coughing fit, and your jaw drops. The king's heir, Yang Jung-won, blinks rapidly, and Sunghoon falls out of his seat.

“I – (cough) – beg your – (cough) – pardon?” Adrina says, trying to pull herself together. “They can fake date. Beneifical for both families, and we can have an alliance if all goes well. If it doesn't, we'll see. If they don't – what is the term? – fall in love with each other, then there's no alliance and we go back to our lives. If there's no alliance, maybe Jungwon can take over your territory once the inevitable happens.”

Inevitable being your grandmother dying, you know. The horrible tradition in your family states that the ruler who marries a mortal will be removed from the line of ruling, and only their child – a half-blood – after they come of age will be allowed to rule. So, after your Gran, only you can rule.

“Is that a threat, Jaehwan?”

“No, merely a caution, my dear Adrina.”

“Mom,” you whisper. “Mom, it's fine. We can try it. Don't worry. Ask him if we can think and discuss about this for five minutes.”

“Jaehwan, we'll discuss this for five minutes. We can't take such a rash decision instantly. Give us time and we'll tell you after discussing it after the meal.”

Jaehwan agrees, and so the meal goes on, and afterwards, the hall goes silent.

Gran and your mother whisper quietly, you and Danielle not the only ones trying to catch snippets of their conversation. Jaehwan and Sunghoon crane their necks to eavesdrop, while Jungwon seems to be the only calm one.

“Y/N, are you really alright with this?” Adrina asks, and Wilhelmina whisper-shouts, “How is that even an option? Adrina!” “Mother, I'm trying to secure my daughter's future, and her sister's. Her sister is a mortal and isn't of age yet. She can't be told. I'm sorry, mother.”

“Gran, I'll be fine. He won't torture me. Mom, I'm prepared.”

Wilhelmina and Danielle, although very silent, don't look too happy. “Jaehwan, let it be written that Jungwon and Y/N have begun dating on the 31st of March. On the 30th of June, we will see how the relationship is going and decide whether to form an alliance or not.”

Jaehwan beams, clapping. “Jungwon, you'll be moving to Y/N's city, and your friends may move too, if you like. I hope to see a good alliance.”

Jungwon makes eye contact with you, smiles ever-so-slightly. “Alright, father.”

It isn’t possible to fall in love in just three months. This is not going to be really good.

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

Your grandmother is positively pissed about the arrangement, but she doesn't exactly have a say due to the fact that it will be beneficial to her rule. And her future generations. So she

has no option but to go with it.

Danielle has been forcing you to tell her everything he does for the past hour. The two of you are staying awake till midnight to celebrate your birthday.

“Y/N, if I find a single red flag, I will make you dump that son of a vampire.”

“Hey, don't call him that. I'm the daughter of a vampire.”

“Still can't get over that, but sure. He's a terrible person.”

“Breathe, Dan. Let's not judge a book by its cover.”

“Yeah.”

The two of you are staying at the palace, and all you can think about is:

My poor lemon crinkle cookies. They have done nothing to deserve this.

“Anyways, fifteen minutes left!” Danielle says, sensing the annoyance practically radiating from you. She rolls up a lettuce to make a makeshift mic, its edges tearing up slightly.

“What do you think, Ms. Cassius, the soon-to-be 19 year old?”

“Comment denied!” You smile, pushing the lettuce-mic away. Danielle pouts jokingly, eating the mic.

You guys have brought up a mini-picnic from the kitchen to enjoy by yourselves in your room. Your mother is sleeping in the room across, and your Gran is asleep in the next room, on your right.

Taking a bite of the lemon tart the two of you stole, you think about the day's events. Damn, that was a weird day. But the ending seems good!

The two of you pass your time, talking about the university you go to, Zephyr University. Gossiping about the most recent breakups in your friend group, you don't realize how fast the time flew until Danielle checks her phone.

“SHIT, IT'S 11:56!” Danielle shouts, making you jump. “Bro, breathe, we have four minutes,” you say, laughing at Dan's expression.

“How are you so calm? Dude. You're – what did they say? – ah, coming of age in the next… three minutes!”

“I wasn't born exactly at 12 AM on the 31st of March, you know?”

“Yeah, but we don't talk about that!”

You grin, helping yourself to a chocolate.

“OKAY, 30, 29, 28, 27, 26, 25, 24, 23, 22, 21, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1! HAPPY BIRTHDAY Y/N!”

“THANK YOU DANIELLE!” You yell with equal energy, jumping up and down with Danielle.

The door creaks.

A hiss is heard.

You and Danielle stop celebrating.

The creaking stops.

“Danielle?”

“Y/N?”

The two of you look at each other, and scream.

And then, someone places what looks like blood next to you. What seems like a sinister voice says, “Happy birthday, Y/N. Hope you get along with good blood.”

That doesn't even make sense.

You shriek anyway. Getting up, both you and Danielle punch, kick and pinch whatever part of the person you two can.

“ARGH! WAIT! HEAR ME OUT! SWITCH ON THE FUCKING LIGHT!”

You continue without a care, but Danielle does so. The two of you have been sitting in the light of a single candle, so it is sort of understandable why you can't see who the creep is.

The light flicks on to reveal Yang Jungwon.

Oh, fuck.

“Dude, you have good self-defense, but like, why?”

“But why would you come here?” Danielle asks, in shock. “You see, Ms. Danielle, I believed that as her fake boyfriend, I should probably wish her a happy birthday. Did not expect this to happen, although Sunghoon told me what you guys did to him. He is apparently very scarred.”

You smirk at the memory, catching Danielle's eye. Jungwon narrows his eyes, still very curious and concerned, but shakes it off.

“Thanks for the thought of it, Jungwon. What flavor is the cake? It looks a lot like blood.”

“That's because it is!”

One beat. Two beats.

Danielle gags, getting as far away as possible from the cake. “Jungwon, what the fuck?”

You don't even know him but you're already worried.

“I'm joking… Ms. Danielle, don't worry. It's just red velvet with some extremely bright red frosting.”

“Oh,” Danielle murmurs, walking slowly. “Want me to test it out or something?”

“Nope, I'll do it myself, Jungwon.” You say, grabbing a wine glass and scooping the cake in it. Taking a spoon, you gingerly take a small bite, ready to vomit if necessary. To your surprise, it tastes delicious.

“... Maybe it isn't all that bad. It doesn't taste like blood, approved by me.”

Jungwon lets out a breath he didn't even know he was holding, and Danielle promptly eats the cake from your wine glass. “Ifs akshooli weawy goof,” she says, nodding in approval.

“It's actually really good,” you translate for Jungwon. “Thanks, I baked it myself!”

“WOAH, REALLY?” Danielle exclaims, eyes as wide as plates. Quietly, she whispers to you, “Y/N, maybe he isn't as bad as I thought,” and you smile.

“Anyways, I'll let you guys sleep. We're going to Zephyr Uni in the morning, around 10. I'm transferring universities, so I'll be taking finals at your university. Continuing classes there, too. See you at breakfast,” Jungwon salutes a goodbye and shuts the door behind him.

“Well, that was… interesting. He's nice though. He thought of you!”

“Yeah, more like he wants the alliance.” You say quietly, confused. Is what I'm saying true?

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

At breakfast, you, Dani, Sunghoon, Jungwon and his friends sit together. The five of Jungwon's friends know about the arrangement, so nothing's extremely awkward.

“Guys, this is Y/N Cassius, and her friend, Danielle Marsh, a mortal. And Mitch, their cat.” Sunghoon introduces while Jungwon goes to fetch juice for the table.

“Hey!” You and Dani chorus, taking a seat in between Sunghoon and Jungwon. “I'm Lee Heeseung, the oldest here. I'll let the others introduce themselves. It's nice to meet you!”

“I'm Park Jeongseong, but you can call me Jay!”

“I'm Sim Jaeyun, but you can call me Jake!”

“I'm Kim Sunoo!”

“And I'm Riki, Nishimura Riki.”

You and Dani nod to each of them respectfully, and smile. “We hope we all get along well, hopefully.” Dani says, grinning and lifting her fork.

Once Jungwon is back, he takes a seat next to you, smiling. He offers juice to everyone, taking care to not spill even a bit. He's sort of cute. Maybe he's nice after all.

Your thoughts are immediately proven wrong.

“Oops!”

Jungwon smirks evilly as a stain of orange juice spreads on your white shirt, and you gasp as you feel the chill of the juice.

“JUNGWON!” Heeseung scolds, running to get baking soda from the kitchen. Sunghoon presses his temple, sighing with fury. You just sit there, mouth ajar. “Y/N, just stay here, I'll get you another shirt. Heeseung can remove the stain when you change shirts.” Danielle says, and runs off to your mother, who hopefully has a change of clothes.

Sunghoon turns to Jungwon. “Jungwon. Apologize. You're supposed to be mature, especially to your fake girlfriend. Why did you do this?”

“It was an accident. Sorry, Y/N!” He apologizes happily, as if no one knows that he did it on purpose. “Totally, Jungwon! It's completely alright!” You say sarcastically, seeing Danielle return with a white button-up crop top.

Luckily your mother had packed up whatever clothes you and Dani left behind at her home, because you two had zero time to pack.

Mom, thanks.

Heeseung returns too, so you go to the ladies' room to change your shirt. You exit the restroom to see Jungwon standing outside, holding the baking soda. “You forgot this,” he says, picking his nails.

“Oh, thanks.” You say, taking it from him and re-entering the room to use the sink. From outside, he says as loud as possible, “I really am very sorry, I didn't mean to cause a change in the mood. Like, really. I'm not mean, I promise. I'll be thoughtful from now on when I think of jokes.”

You listen silently, scrubbing the shirt. Seeing the stain disappear, you exit, stopping in front of Jungwon. “Don't worry. I was just really upset because it's my birthday, you know. Wanted the day to go perfect.”

“Oh, I'm sorry.” “You don't need to apologize, it's fine! Let's forget it and look ahead!” You smile, and Jungwon returns it, his face cheering up.

The two of you walk back to the table, and on the way, you ask a member of staff for a bag to keep the wet shirt in. The lights suddenly dim, and your eyesight takes a bit to adjust. “Need help?” Jungwon offers, taking your hand gently. He leads you back to the table as you try to spot your mother, who was supposed to be here.

Your senses haven't fully developed due to the lack of training as a young child, and so you can't really make out much. “I'll help you train, by the way, whenever we're free. We'll discuss a set time later.” Jungwon says, reading your mind.

You thank him, and finally reach the table. Ignoring the slight tingles in your fingers, you let go of his hand, and the table brightens up.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, HAPPY BIRTHDAY..”

You gasp as nineteen candles light up and the whole table sings for you. The staff clap as well, and you smile, the brightest in the room.

“Thank you all so much!” You exclaim in joy after the song is over. “Make a wish, Y/N,” Dani says, and you do so, blowing the candles.

“What'd you wish for?” Jungwon asks you curiously, as you cut the cake to give everyone.

“If I tell you, it would not come true. So no thanks.” You say, busy cutting the cake proportionately. He pouts, and cringes immediately after. “Shit, remind me to never do that again.” You laugh and nod.

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

On the journey back home, the University students sit in one vehicle, and your mother sits in another. Gran left for Canada immediately after breakfast, and Jungwon's father and the rest's parents stayed back in Maledictus.

You sit next to Dani and Sunghoon, and you tell Hoon the story of how Mitch became your pet as he listens attentively, with Dani adding her own comments in between.

“So yeah, Mitch decided to stay with us! We officially adopted her, like, 10 months ago.”

Sunghoon smiles, ruffling Mitch's fur, while she claws at his hand, irritated. The journey worth 90 minutes passes by quickly, and the driver pulls up to the driveway of your home. Your mother's car follows, and the drivers stop for a meal.

You quickly whip up some spaghetti and sandwiches, and Danielle attempts to repair the damage in your kitchen. Sunghoon makes some lemonade, and gives the drivers their meal. They wave and drive off to Maledictus.

“Shit, the kitchen is such a mess.” Danielle says, opening the oven door to find burnt cookies and an extremely nauseating smell.

“What happened here?” Your mother asks, entering the kitchen.

“Mother, we were trying to enjoy our last few days of break before school, but dear Sunghoon over here decided to drag us to Maledictus!”

Sunghoon winces, wiping the inside of the oven clean. The rest are sorting through the bags in the living room. Dani is currently sifting through the food in the fridge, trying to throw out the rotten food. Surprisingly, even after just one day of absence, at least a quarter of the food (healthy stuff) had gone bad.

You hate wasting food and Danielle knows it. So she does it herself. She dumps the food in the separate trash can, cringing.

After about half an hour of cleaning, the three of you manage to clean up the mess in the kitchen. The rest of Jungwon's friends successfully sort through their bags and make sure the right stuff is in the right bag. Your mother has already returned home, but you see a notification from your mother.

Mom ♡ : If you need anything, message me or call.

You : thanks mother!!

After sending a reply, you settle down on the rug in the living room, while Danielle gets chairs for the rest. “We're leaving for the dorms tomorrow, do you guys have everything set?” You ask the boys, who nod. “Only Riki is your age. He's majoring in dance. I'm majoring in journalism.” Sunghoon says, and Riki grins, saluting.

“What do you major in, guys?” Dani asks, sitting next to you. “I major in humanities, finishing my degree this year,” Heeseung says.

“I major in the visual arts,” Jay says. “I major in astrophysics.” Jake smiles.

“I major in the visual arts, like Jay.” Sunoo says, smiling brightly. “And I major in music, focusing on composition and therapy.” Jungwon says, and you gasp. “Same!”

“Oh, damn, nice. We'll see each other in class then!” Jungwon replies.

“What about you, Danielle?” Sunoo asks.

“Film studies!” Danielle says enthusiastically. “Thought so,” Jungwon says, nodding.

“What do you mean?” “You seem like the type to be really happy in the studies of media. Just the, uh, vibe with a capital V.”

Everyone agrees, and Danielle flushes. “Aw, thanks guys. Means a lot.”

You pat her on the back and Danielle holds your hand. I would never trade this for anything.

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

SHIT WE'RE LATE.

The first thought you have when you wake up. Delightful.

Why is everything shaking?

The second thought. How very wonderful. You then realize that your bed is shaking. “Y/N, WAKE UP.”

Jungwon's voice yells, and water splashes on your face. “Sorry, Y/N,” Sunghoon says. You blink rapidly and see Danielle assembling an outfit for you.

Only then does everything process.

SHIT I'M WEARING SHORTS AND A SHIRT?? I LOOK LIKE CRAP.

You jump into the shower, practically flying. Jungwon and Sunghoon catch each other's eyes and try not to laugh.

“Welcome to our household,” Danielle says, holding a pile of clothes and dumping them on your bed. Sunghoon offers to take Y/N's suitcases down, and Danielle gladly accepts.

“Jungwon, she'll ask for her clothes. Just hand that whole pile over, but DO NOT. I REPEAT. DO NOT. LOOK AT HER. YOU'LL FIND YOURSELF SIX FEET UNDER. YOU UNDERSTAND ME?” Dani says, shaking him aggressively by the shoulders. You sigh in the shower.

Dearest Danielle.

“BREATHE, DANIELLE, I THINK HE KNOWS,” you yell as loud as you can.

Immediately after the shower switches off, you bang the bathroom door and stretch a hand out for your clothes. Jungwon obediently hands them over.

Getting dressed in a hurry, you tie your hair up in a bun. “Let's go!” You exclaim, dragging Jungwon by the hand downstairs.

“Everyone finished their breakfasts, by the way.” He says casually, and you facepalm.

“Shit, I'm so sorry.” “It's okay, breathe. You can have it on the way there.”

“We're going on public transport, I'll just pack it and take it there. Are the groceries packed?”

He nods, and Danielle stops you on the landing. “Here's your breakfast. Eat it in the dorm. Let's go.”

The nine of you rush to the bus stop, just in time for the bus to arrive. “Zephyr Stop, please. Nine of us.” The conductor nods, and you pay.

Online payment for the win!

Upon reaching the bus stop, all of you get down, and you and Dani wave to the conductor. She waves and smiles.

“We'll show you to your dorms. All genders in one huge building, but different wings. Females on the left, males on the right, and non-binary people depends on their preferences or identification. Not really sure.” Danielle says.

The seven boys nod, lugging their bags with them. “The dormitories have a mini-kitchen, explaining the groceries we have. Depending on how many people you have in your room, you have bunk beds and one extra bed. One attached bathroom for everyone, and a study table for each person. There's a couch and a TV, and the Wi-Fi password will be shared to you by a residential counselor,” you explain, walking slowly.

“Since today's a Sunday, we can meet up freely. When actual classes begin, we'll have to stay in our own block. But we can meet at the shops on campus.

“We have a café, restaurant, medical store, a few medical staff, grocery stores, and thrift stores run by the marketing and fashion students. We have a few sports fields, a garden, recording studios, a huge library, swimming pools, and just an open field. We have an amphitheater and auditorium too. ”

The boys listen attentively, and Danielle sees the check-in machine. “Hand me your IDs, I'll check you guys in.” She offers, and everyone dumps their IDs in her hand.

Checking in everyone, she hands the IDs back to everyone.

“We'll meet at the café. Can we have a group chat? I'll share the location there.” You offer, and Sunghoon nods. “I'll take your numbers and make one. Guys, go ahead.”

The rest meet with the resident counselor as you give your number to Hoon. Grabbing as many bags as you can, you take yours and Danielle's belongings and unlock your room.

I'll unpack later.

Opening your phone, you see a message.

Park Sunghoon has added you to a group chat.

Park Sunghoon has renamed the group chat to Vampires and a Mortal

Sunghoon :

hey guys. y/n will share the location here. we'll meet up there. btw, here's the room numbers and roommates.

– me and jungwon, room 112

– heeseung, jay, sunoo in room 116

– riki and jake in room 115

You :

here's the location : xtxtxtxttxxttxxt

me and danielle are in room 67

You close the chat, and help Danielle unpack her things.

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

“I'm too lazy to remember everyone's orders, so go order your food yourself guys. Please.” You say, and they roll their eyes. Zephyr Café is a really calm place, the classic romanticized café.

It has a beige color palette, and the smell of baking and happiness. Students come here on casual hangouts, study dates, solo dates, dates in general. Since not all students arrived on campus, and you all were here for lunch, the café was not very crowded.

“Hey Jaemin!” You wave to the boy behind the counter, Na Jaemin. “Hey Y/N! I see you have people with you. You seem to be making friends!” He laughs, and you punch him playfully.

“Shut up. Me and Danielle have the usual, the guys will order personally.”

“Alright. Enjoy, friendless bitch.”

“SHUT UP, JAE.”

You and Jaemin have known each other since your first year at Zephyr, the both of you in the same course. You're close with his friend group too.

You did nurse a small crush on him, and sometimes still do. But it's just a crush.

After everyone receives their orders, all of you talk about everything possible. Breaking the ice is really useful, because you and Jungwon will have to pull off a fake relationship and you need to make it realistic.

“Also, Y/N, we need to talk in private. Could you guys give us a minute or a few?”

Without waiting for an answer, he pulls you over to a corner of the café. “Can we use the field for training?” He asks, and you nod. “Yeah, just let me know the times. We probably have the same schedules so yeah.” He nods, and you return to your seats.

All nine of you chatter away like old friends, talking about Spider-Man to Angelina Jolie.

After the café lunch, you guys return to your rooms, and you take a small nap. In the evening, you and Danielle meet up with a few friends.

“Yunjin! Minji! Hi!” The two of you greet your two other friends. They're roommates and are in the room opposite to you.

“Hey guys!” Minji says, hugging the two of you. Behind her, Yunjin is dragging a sack full of snacks. “Here's food. Eat whenever. You're welcome.” She says, and you hug her. Yunjin is the oldest, the same age as Heeseung, and is finishing her degree in botany this year. Minji is majoring in literature.

You’re the youngest in the four of you guys, but you hate when they baby you, so they always baby you. Just for fun.

“And how’s our baby doing?” Yunjin says, pulling your cheeks. “Stop it!” You say, pulling out of her reach. Minji laughs, and Danielle opens your fridge to keep the groceries away. “I heard you made new friends? Around, like, seven boys?”

“Yeah, don’t make it weird, please.” You tell Minji, who already looks like she’s scheming. “Mhm, sure, I would never!” You sigh. Your friends are annoying, and also annoyingly sweet, so it’s a win-win.

“Aww, does my baby have a boyfwend?” Yunjin asks, putting on a pair of glasses and smirking at you knowingly. “Maybe, but you’ll never find out who!”

“So you confirmed that you have one. We’ll find him. And when we do, he will regret it.”

“Please don’t guys, she finally got a boyfriend. Let’s not scare him away.” Danielle says, coming to the couch with packed bottles of cold coffee for Yunjin and Minji. “Did you guys have lunch yet?” She asks, and they nod. “Did you guys?” Minji asks, accepting the coffee. You nod and plop on the sofa.

Small talk continues, and they leave to unpack. “Bye guys! We need to unpack too,” you say to Danielle, shutting the door after they leave. “Yeah, let’s do it. Anyways, how did you like the questions about your ‘boyfwend’, Y/N?” Danielle giggles.

“My vampire boyfriend?” You ask, grinning. “I don’t think I would describe him in that way, but sure. He’s fake anyway. As in, our relationship is fake.”

Danielle nods, putting her clothes on hangers and placing them in her side of the wardrobe. “Danielle, you don’t want to drink, do you?” You ask, the thought suddenly occurring to you.

“Never.”

“Oh, thank god.”

You have never found the alleged temptation of drugs, alcohol and cigarettes tempting, and you hope never to. The farthest you’ll ever go, you decide, is wine or champagne, and medicinal drugs.

Hopefully you avoid the latter too.

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

“Wake up, Y/N, it’s seven AM.” Danielle shouts in your ears, and you jump. “Okay, okay, breathe.” You say, gathering yourself and rubbing your eyes aggressively. “Need water?” Danielle asks, and you nod. She hands you a glass, and you dump it over your head.

“Better?”

“Yep. Are you ready?”

“As usual. We’ll leave by 7:45, so we have a lot of time for breakfast.”

You rush to get ready, and wrap a towel around your head after your shower. Pulling on a decent outfit, you stare in the mirror, satisfied. Deciding to go with a minimal makeup look, you finish it off with a brush of your brows. You’re wearing a black oversized shirt with graphics, and faded blue baggy jeans with blue Converse. Pinning your hair back, you use hair gel to make your hair less frizzy. Dabbing on some lip balm, you walk out of the door, grabbing your bags.

“Let’s go?” Danielle asks, and you nod.

Arriving at the main building, you look up to where your class is. The theory classes are in the first half of the day, and the second half goes to completing your assignments, and practical classes, if any.

You and Danielle usually drop off your bags, but you see Jungwon, Sunghoon, and the rest at the entrance, looking confused. “Oh, hey, I nearly forgot about you guys,” you say, rushing to help them out. “Media and sciences are at one place, so I’ll take Sunghoon and Jake. The arts are in another section of the building, so Y/N can take you guys there. We’re going to drop our bags off, have breakfast first, then go to class, so come with us.”

They nod, and you all run off to your classes. You drop off Riki at the dance studio in the basement, and tell him he can ask the professor if he needs anything. Waiting patiently for him to keep his bag, you check your phone. “Back, whose room are we going to next?” He pops out of the studio, and you say, “Visual arts.”

Going to the first floor after the ground floor, you take a right and go to the second classroom you see. “Here. It’s more of an art studio, not sure where they take their practicals. The professor is in, you can ask them.”

They walk out after ten minutes, and say, “They asked us to leave our bags right here, they’ll show us around later.”

You nod, and go to the next floor, allowing them to follow you. “Music composition, music therapy is the classroom on our left.” You drop your bag in the front, and Jungwon drops his bag beside you.

“Let’s go to the restaurant.”

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

The day has been exhausting. You still have training to look forward to. You open the texts between you and Jungwon again.

Jungwon : we’ll meet up on the ground, i’ll be waiting at 11.

You : pm????????????

Jungwon : yeah, what else? 🙄 we’ll do sensory training today. darkness. think about it, let ur brain process.

You : 🙄 im rolling my eyes but make it in bold, italic red underline.

Jungwon : nice reference. i see you’re a woman of culture as well.

You : obviously

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

“Training’s going to be interesting,” Jungwon says.

It is 11:15 PM, and you are extremely sleepy. You are in the field, near the forests that surround it. The trees block out the little light from the night sky. You grimace and say, “Sure. Can we get it over with, please?”

He shrugs, and begins. “Make out my movements. Stop me when you think you can.”

You see a blur of hands around you. Shit, he’s fast.

Finally, when you see him hesitate, you smack his hand. “Got you.”

“Good. Can be faster. Next, I want you to hold my hand with exactly my little finger. Doesn’t matter how. But little finger.”

Another blur of movements. Your eyes are adjusting, however slowly it may seem. Finally, when you think you can see his ring finger, you grab a finger.

“Good.” He says, turning on a torch. “You’re getting better. Stop me when I cross my fingers.”

And so it goes on, and on, and on, until around 11:55. “Stop me when I get too close,” he says.

Now, what is TOO CLOSE?

You stop him as soon as you feel his breath on your cheek. “This time, it seems you got me by my breath, not your eyes. Good strategy, but doesn’t work in all battles. We’ll stop here. I’ll walk you to your dorm. Is Danielle still up?”

“Nope, I asked her to sleep, not wait for me. She said she’d try, but I highly doubt she can. She falls asleep on a fixed schedule.”

Jungwon shakes his head, and you can barely make it out. The walk back is silent, only filled with the sounds of insects and animals making sounds, and the sound of your footsteps and breaths coordinating.

“See you Friday, Y/N.”

See you Friday.

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

Every Monday and Friday, the same time every time, he trains you. By the third Monday, you are successfully able to identify different movements.

It’s a Wednesday, and you enter class and sit next to Jungwon, who’s passed out. It’s 8:32 AM, and the class begins at 9 AM. All around you, you hear whispers. You turn to Jaemin, who sits behind you, and ask, “What’s happening?”

“Y/N, you haven’t heard? Rumor is that you and Jungwon sneak out at midnight.” Jaemin says, cutting straight to the point.

“What? There’s more, isn’t there?”

“Yeah…” he begins. “They think you do stuff in the woods. You know, inappropriate shit. I don’t believe them, but there you go.”

You stare. “You’re kidding. They can’t possibly be that immature.”

“Actually, they are. Plus, Jungwon’s asleep, so that makes things worse. You may want to talk to him.”

“Thanks, Jaemin.”

“Also, Y/N, do you want to hang out with me after school?”

“Definitely!”

“Alright, see you at the café at 5:30?”

“See you there.”

You turn to the front, and poke Jungwon. “Jungwon, we need to talk, dude.”

“Mmf. Let me sleep, Y/N.”

“It’s serious, you dickwad.”

“Chill with the language, Y/N.” He says, sitting up straight. “What is it?” “Uhm, basically, there are rumors that we do inappropriate stuff in the woods.”

“Isn’t that technically good? Because we’re supposed to be fake dating…”

“Oh. Right. I forgot about that.”

“Speaking of which, we should probably show off right now.”

“What do you mean?”

“I can kiss you on the cheek, you know.”

“Oh…” you flush, shrugging. “Sure,”

Before you even get out the word, Jungwon pecks your cheek softly, smiling ear-to-ear. You go positively pink at the kiss, although very childish. The whispers seem to grow even louder, and Jungwon says, “Ignore them. They’re going to manipulate anything we do, so why not give them a show?”

You nod, and the professor enters, signaling an end to the whole fiasco.

You subtly open your notebook and doodle hearts everywhere.

What is happening to me?

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

At lunch, when all of you meet up, Jungwon fills everyone in on what happened in class. They laugh, and Danielle and Sunghoon smirk at you. Surprisingly, you and Sunghoon are becoming fast friends, and you conveniently forget the fact that he was your attempted kidnapper.

“Anyways, how were your classes, guys?”

The chatter goes on till 2 PM, when the practicals begin. Today, you have a free class till 3 PM, after which you have a practical session in the studio to try and begin working on your final presentation. Finals begin from April 22nd, and end on May 2nd. University begins again on July 1st. It’s the 10th of April, and the frenzy is finally getting to a lot of students.

Each of you leave for your respective schedules. You hurry to the library to get started on your music therapy homework. “Hi, Y/N! Over here!” You hear Yunjin say, and the librarian aggressively shushes her. You wave excitedly and head over there, swinging your bag on the floor. “Hi Yunjin!”

“Hey kid. What’s up?”

And so you and Yunjin chat whilst doing your homework, a paper on how music is interpreted amongst teens as makeshift therapy. Yunjin is doing her botany work, a case study on different structures in various plants worth 25% of her grade. She frustratedly shakes her head, looking at her computer. “Google is so unreliable, man,” she sighs. “Need help? I probably can’t, but worth asking,” you offer. “Nope, it’s fine, thanks!” She replies, waving it off.

You narrow your eyes at her, and she grins widely. “It’s okay, don’t worry kiddo.”

You nod, still suspicious, and continue your work. Finally, at 2:50, you decide you’re satisfied with your work. You proofread it, and format it. “Yunjin, need any prints?” She shakes her head as a ‘no’, and you nod, heading over to the printer.

“Hi!” A familiar voice exclaims, and you look up from your paper to see Jaemin’s best friend, Lee Jeno. “Hi Jeno!” You reply cheerfully. He’s extremely similar to a Samoyed, with a really cute eye smile. You realize with a sudden jolt that Jungwon and Sunoo also have eye smiles.

“How’s life treating you?” He asks, stapling his papers. “Oh, interesting. What about you?”

“Fun. But since finals are near, I doubt the same spirit will last.” “Valid point.” You comment, as your prints get ready. Stapling them, you wave a goodbye. “Are you working at the café today?” You ask him, walking back to your table. “Yeah! My shift’s till 6 something.”

“I’ll see you at the café!” You smile and wave. “Bye Y/N!” “Bye Jeno!”

“Yunjin, I’ll go to the recording studio. Good luck with your assignment, okay?”

“Okay, child. Bye!”

“DON’T CALL ME THAT!”

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

At the recording studio, you greet the assistant professor, the teacher who helps with practicals. “Hello, Ms. Kent! Did you have your lunch?”

“Yep! Thanks for asking, Ms. Campbell.” You internally shudder, remembering the exposed feeling going through you at the Court when they revealed your last name to be Cassius.

“I feel like this time I want to go for a backing track before I try writing the words,” you say, placing your bag next to your chair. “New method? Whatever for?”

“I don’t know, I just feel like I don’t have inspiration for lyrics. Maybe by next week.”

“You mean the seventeenth? That’s a dangerously close date, but okay. Whatever’s fine by you. We have time till 5 today, so you will definitely be able to achieve a lot.”

You smile, looking at your melody list. It’s a sheet you prepared that lists your favorite backing tracks.

“What if I—“

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

After the recording studio session, you feel energized, music coursing through your veins. Ready to meet Jaemin, you go directly to the café, fifteen minutes away from the studio. Checking the time, you realize it’s 5:20 PM, ten minutes earlier than planned.

It’s fine, maybe I can get started on the lyrics. I need a melody though.

You begin pointlessly humming, trying to come up with a melody for your lyrics. “Hmm, HMM, HMMMM!”

“I’m sorry, but are you okay?” Jaemin asks, walking up to you. “The practical seems to be messing with your head, Y/N.”

“Yeah, yeah, shut up. Are you ready for it though?”

“If it’s me, you can’t really have expectations, Y/N.”

“You’re right. Point taken. How’s it going?”

“I have, like, the chorus all set, but not the backing track, the verses or the melody.”

“So basically you have nothing except some repetitive lines, or a refrain.”

“Pretty much, yeah.” He grins, ordering a coffee. “Hey Jeno.”

“Hey, Jae. Hi Y/N! I didn’t know this was what you meant by ‘see you there’. I don’t want it to be awkward or anything, but are you two on a date?”

“No!” You both chorus, panicking, and Jeno giggles. “Whatever you say.”

The two of you discuss everything about summer, waiting for your orders. “How was your birthday?” Jaemin asks, and you grin. “Oh, lovely!” You reply, recalling the weirdest day before.”

“I have a gift for you, but it’ll wait until after this hangout.”

“You LITERALLY DID NOT have to tell me, Jae. Why are you so mean?” You whine, your head in your hands. “I love annoying you, Y/N.”

“Sure you do. You are a bitch. An evil, mean, bitch.”

“Yeah, yeah, sure, kid.”

“SHUT UP!”

Conversations have always been easy with Jaemin, so you find it no surprise that you don’t get bored with him. At the end of it all, around 6:30, when you both get up to pay, he doesn’t allow you to pay. “My treat. If you pay, you won’t get your gift, and I’ll tease you till the end that you never got to see it.”

“You are manipulating me. But okay. Next time, I’m paying.”

“Sure, sure.”

After paying, the two of you leave, and he says,”Here’s your gift.”

Opening a blue velvet box, he takes out a locket. “Holy shit, Jaemin, it’s beautiful.”

“Open the locket.”

In it is a picture of you, Danielle, him, and Mitch. I miss Mitch. I wish she could stay at the dorms.

Your eyes tear up. “Y/N! Don’t cry, is it that bad?”

“No. It’s beautiful.”

“Here, I’ll put it on for you.”

That’s when you realize that this is what love, platonic, feels like. He unclasps the hook of it and puts it around your neck gently, smiling. “It looks lovely on you.”

“Thank you so much, Jaemin.”

“You’re always welcome.”

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

Jungwon : why were you out with jaemin?

You : uh.. he’s my friend?

Jungwon : but IM UR FAKE BOYFRIEND?? 😭😭

You : THEN ASK ME OUT??

Ignore that. 😀😀

Jungwon : No. Meet me outside ur dorm RN

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

“Y/N. Will you go out with me on a date?”

The first thing you hear when you open your door is Jungwon’s voice, and he’s holding a bouquet of flowers.

“Where did you get the flowers from? We literally texted three minutes ago.”

“ANSWER THE QUESTION!” He cries, looking exhausted.

“I mean, obviously, I thought that was a given!”

“I could kiss you right now.”

You shrug. “Do you want me to?”

“To what?”

“Kiss you right now.”

“Yeah, that would be cool,” you say (not so) casually. “Don’t act so carefree.” He replies, kissing you on the lips.

It doesn’t seem right. There should be more of a PLOT before we kiss, man.

I’m looking into this too much. Chill, Y/N.

You kiss him back, and Danielle shrieks behind you. Crap, Dani.

The two of you break apart, the bouquet in your hand. “DID I MISS SOMETHING?”

“NO, BUT YOU RUINED IT, NINCOMPOOP.”

“SHIT. WHY ARE WE TALKING IN CAPS AGAIN?”

“BECAUSE I’M PISSED?”

“Guys, breathe,” Jungwon breaks in. “Y/N, it’s alright. Danielle, you didn’t miss anything. I just asked her out on a date.”

“Oh. Continue, pretend I’m not here.”

“Danielle, that’s just weird, dude.” You both say to her.

She raises her hands, as if accused. “Don’t blame me, love made me crazy.”

You throw a pillow at her face.

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

Jungwon : for the date, meet me at the restaurant, friday, at seven pm. no training, we’ll compensate for the training on saturday.

You : okayy ^_^ thank u 💗💗

Jungwon : ideally i should be thanking u but okay

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

You giggle as the two of you continue texting. “Y/N, it’s ten. Sleep. Please. Or let me. Or go over to his dorm. I would much rather sleep in the same room as Sunghoon than listen to you giggling annoyingly. Do vampires never sleep or something? That guy looks tired but doesn’t sleep.”

You shake off her rant. “Okay, okay, mom, I’ll sleep.”

You wish him a good night. You can’t help but feel like high school sweethearts, but make it older and more mature.

Mature? Says the girl giggling at texts. Bro. You’re not okay.

I know.

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

You wait for Friday night to arrive. When classes end, you rush to your dorm to get dressed. Two hours early. Danielle rushes after her classes too, to make sure you look perfect (you already do) for the date.

“Okay, what do you want to wear?” She asks, shutting the door behind her.

“Uh, maybe the black dress? Not yours, not the tight fitting one. The more airy, loose one.”

“Yeah, sounds good. Yours, right?”

“Yeah, but I don’t have good shoes to match.”

“I have black heels, I think. I’ll search. Clean makeup?”

“Yeah, obviously.”

You rush to get ready, and by 6:30, you look in the mirror. The black dress has pleats that reach your knees, and off the shoulder sleeves that extend to your elbow. You wear Danielle’s strapped heels, wedged, not pencil, and your hair is left loose, a scrunchie in your purse, in case you need it. Your makeup consists of concealer, some counter, tinted lip balm, highlighter and eyeshadow eyeliner.

“You look so pretty, I need a Polaroid.”

You pose for one, and take one with your best friend. “Man, if I were Jungwon, I would rather die than let you go. Juliet to your Romeo.”

“HOW I HEARD YOU SAY!” You and Danielle sing along, while you pack your purse.

“Bye! Have fun, Y/N,” she says, kissing your cheek. “Bye!”

You arrive at the restaurant, and you see Jungwon standing there with a bouquet of daisies, your favorite. “How’d you know?”

“Danielle.” He replies, hugging you. “Shit, Y/N, you look so gorgeous.” He compliments you, and you flush bright pink. “Thank you.” “Always.”

“I want to get to know you more, Y/N.” He announces grandly, kissing the back of your hand. “Aww, hopeless romantic,” you tease, and ask, “What are we going to do?”

“Oh, I don’t know, dance?” He jokes, smiling. You giggle — STOP WITH THE CREEPY GIGGLING, Y/N — and grin. “We’re going out of campus. I took permission, plus it’s the weekend, so they told me it’s allowed.”

“Ah, alright. Where though?”

“You’ll see.”

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

The drive there is not that long. After around twenty minutes of driving, he says, “We’re here, Y/N.”

You look around. Stars sparkle in the night, and the moon looks bright and happy. “I found this place last week, after training. It’s really beautiful, but I’ve never seen it during the day. Here’s the treehouse I built.”

“You built a TREEHOUSE?”

“Yeah, out of wood that had fallen. The walls are made with rotten wood. #Recycling!”

“Wow. You built a treehouse.”

“Not a big deal!”

“Totally.”

He leads you up the ladder, and grabs a chair for you. “I made dinner, it’s in the car.”

Jungwon runs to bring the food. He’s so cute, man. He returns with a picnic basket, and asks you to turn around. The room is brightened up. Is he lighting a candle?

“You can look now.”

You gasp, seeing candles lit, and wine glasses. “Jungwon, I don’t drink…”

“Who says we’re drinking wine?” He smirks, pulling out apple cider, your favorite. “Danielle?”

“Nope, me. I saw you drink it during class.”

You blush furiously, the thought of him looking at your preferences overwhelming you. “Thank you.”

The two of you spend all your time there, getting to know one another, drinking apple cider sophisticatedly, eating a vegetarian filet mignon (that’s what he called it), and laughing.

You admit that it’s been really fun with him. Is it a crush?

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

Finals. Crap.

It’s the sixteenth of March, and you have not prepared lyrics. You have a general melody, but you need lyrics. After class, you run to the library and grab a dictionary.

You frantically start scribbling down lyrics.

It began before my birthday

You and I, so forced,

Didn’t have words to say

The ice trying to defrost

Itself so fast

You wished me at midnight

Scared me out of my wits

You and I, against no light

Your goodbye felt like secret chits

Passed in class

And maybe I read into things too much

But we seem like too good of an opportunity to pass

Up, so I’ll try and take this and trust

That we both would last

So please don’t leave, don’t say goodbye

You know I’ll miss you, so don’t even try

No matter how fake we are, hope you feel the same

Way as I do, please just stay

And I could be romanticizing you a lot

You and I, as pretty as a forget-me-not

Following its name, I can’t ever forget you

I’ll be as blue as the flower if I do

And maybe I read into things too much

But we seem like too good of an opportunity to pass

Up, so I’ll try and take this and trust

That we both would last

So please don’t leave, don’t say goodbye

You know I’ll miss you, so don’t even try

No matter how fake we are, hope you feel the same

Way as I do, please just stay

I haven’t known you for long, a few weeks isn’t much

Time doesn’t matter, ‘cause you feel like a crutch

To my sanity, if I don’t have you near

So please just stay, dear

So please don’t leave, don’t say goodbye

You know I’ll miss you, so don’t even try

No matter how fake we are, hope you feel the same

Way as I do, please just stay

So please don’t leave, don’t say goodbye

You know I’ll miss you, so don’t even try

No matter how fake we are, hope you feel the same

Way as I do, i hope you stay

“Good enough.” You murmur, and fall asleep.

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

After homework class the next day, you rush to the recording studio. “Ms. Kent, I’m ready.”

“Jeez, Ms. Campbell, you scared me. But I’m happy. Let's begin.”

At the end of the session, Ms. Kent smiles with pride. “I am very proud of you. I hope it works out for whoever you have dedicated this song to.”

“Thank you, Ms. Kent.”

You exit, feeling very happy. This is guaranteed to get you a good grade.

You hear your phone ring, and you take a glance. It’s Sunghoon. “Hello?”

“Y/N, Jungwon is dead.”

Pause.

One beat.

Two beats.

“You’re joking. I’m coming to your dorm right now.”

“I’m not here, Y/N, please believe me.” You hear the pain in his voice. “Y/N, I’m at the campus hospital. I’ve called the King. Please come now. Everyone’s here.”

You run, tears falling, but you don’t realize it. Your only priority is getting to Jungwon.

“What happened?” You cry, seeing Danielle waiting outside.

“Y/N, he left a letter for you.”

“No, Danielle, this is a joke. Danielle, please. This is a joke.”

“I’m sorry, Y/N, it’s not. It really isn’t.”

She encloses an envelope in your palm. “None of us opened it. He died in the bathroom, Y/N. Allegedly because of a stab, possibly silver.”

“It’s a murder.” You declare between sobs. “We know, Y/N, please come see him. His father will be here in fifteen minutes.”

“When did this.. when was he found?”

She doesn’t say anything.

“DANIELLE, WHEN WAS HE FOUND?”

The one person I thought was like me. Would understand. Who helped me reach my potential and unlocked it in the first place. Lit a candlelight dinner for me. He’s my fucking muse. This is a joke.

“DANIELLE, HE’S GONE.”

Sunghoon screams, and on seeing you, hugs you immediately. The rest are sitting, tears soaking their shirts. When they see you, they run for a group hug. “Y/N…”

“He was found when I was in the recording session, right?”

“We tried calling you. None of us could come get you, we were too busy. It was 5 minutes before you picked up Sunghoon’s call.” Danielle murmurs, choking up with tears.

“And now he’s missing.” Heeseung says, staring blankly. The doctor arrives on the scene. “Hello, the patient has gone missing and I’m aware. For your information, I’m a vampire, too. There is a high possibility he turned to ashes, and we can’t rule it out. I'm not sure what happened, and the security cameras aren’t explaining anything either. We’re sorry for your loss. We are trying our best to figure it out. I am aware he is the young Prince of Maledictus, and the King is on his way. I assure you, this is not a mistake. It’s supernatural.

“A red moon incident is what we call it. When a vampire, a very powerful one at that, just disappears with no warning after his alleged death, it’s either they’re in ashes… or they’re alive.”

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

Dear Diary,

The king is furious. His only heir, gone into thin air? Impossible. He doesn’t blame me, though, surprisingly. I honestly don’t think he believes me to have the capacity to be able to scheme this well.

I don’t mind.

I know exactly what happened. His letter explained everything.

Here’s a word-to-word copy of it.

—————————————————————————————————————

Dear Y/N.

Do not show this to anyone else. Not even Danielle, not even Mitch. Mitch is a human, by the way. She’s been made a cat because of an age-old curse that runs in her family.

I am alive. For security purposes, I won’t tell you where. My father is planning something. He’s a terrible, cunning man. He wants to kill you, and make me do it. I’m sorry, but I love you.

You hear me?

I love you.

I’m alive. I asked Jaemin to place the silver next to a body I was working on. Jaemin’s really nice, by the way. He knows. But he’s with me. He’s applied for leave from the university under pretences of his grandmother being ill.

Lies.

He’s with me, and wants me to tell you that he’s safe. “Y/N, remember me in that locket of yours.”

Remember me too. I’ll come get you one day. When it’s safe. I promise.

By the way, love the song. I know for a fact it’s about us. Jaemin overheard everything before he came to the bathroom.

Don’t hate us,

Love, Jungwon.

P.S. : we both love you. Stay safe, and don’t worry. Don’t forget us, otherwise you’ll be as blue as a forget-me-not. ;)

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

THREE YEARS LATER.

“Y/N!” Danielle greets you.

The two of you don’t live together anymore. She moved away to LA for her career after graduation. You still stay in the same place, in hope of Jungwon being able to find you.

Right now, Danielle is with you, at your good old home. Your mother is in Canada, helping your Gran.

“Hi! How are you?”

Danielle and you still talk, and have video calls weekly twice. The boys are still in touch through the group chat.

“I’m fine, as I said yesterday,” you laugh. “Same!” She giggles.

The two of you spend hours together until it’s time for her flight. “I’ll see you next month. Call you when I reach!”

You hug her tightly. “I miss you a lot.”

“I miss you too, Y/N. I love you, okay? Take care!”

She kisses you on your cheek. “Love you too. Have a safe flight!”

After shutting the door, you plop down on your couch. Life’s been good.

“Y/N. How have you been?”

You turn around to see Jungwon and Jaemin, looking extremely weary.

“We need to go, right now.”

Ah, my vampire boyfriend.

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

568 notes · View notes

arseworse · 1 year

Text

The Second Prey [Eps. 1]

P. Jongseong x reader x P. Sunghoon

a story where Sunghoon-your ex who just broke up with you-has to protect your best friend from evil vampires, but without him knowing that the other prey is you. If things were like this, someone else should protect you too right?

------------------------------------------------------

This world has its favourites. And you believe one of them is Jiya. Smart, sexy and cute. Not to mention, she succeeded in replacing your position as 'Park Sunghoon's most special person'.

Yeah, you guys just broke up for a really ridiculous reason. The reason that made your friendship with Jiya foundered halfway. You're alone again.

"Why you often come to Jiya house, Sunghoon? What did you hide from me? What about our date today?" You asked as your eyes filled up with tears.

"It's not what you think, please-" Sunghoon tried to explain but Jiya suddenly fainted in Sunghoon's arms.

You rolled your eyes. You were so tired.

"Explain."

"I can not. Please just understand me, y/n."

"I don't want to understand if you don't explain it today!"

"THIS IS NONE OF YOUR BUSSINES! Please y/n. I don't want to be harsh on you. I love you. Okay?"

You laugh hollowly when your boyfriend snaps at you. Understand him? When you don't know what to understand. When you are the victim here. When your boyfriend doesn't know his priorities.

"Okay," you said blankly. Sunghoon looked guilty. And whether it was because of your hot eyes or what, you saw Jiya slightly tugging at the corners of his lips.

And after that night, Jiya and Sunghoon never talk to you anymore. The reason? You never know.

------------------------------------------------------

Since that night, things have gotten a little... weird? You don't know if it's because you're feeling depressed or something, but you sometimes see black shadows outside your house.

Especially when you're having your period. You feel like you're being watched. Like tonight, you can't sleep because you have menstrual pain.

"You better be comfortable or I'll change myself into a MAN!" You said to your stomach when you heard knock on your window.

You immediately shut up. As a loyal thriller viewer, you certainly don't practice what the main character does when unusual circumstances occur.

But, you're a bungling person😇

KLONTANG

The thermos filled with hot water that you used to compress your stomach accidentally fell over. Making the knock on the window quicker and louder. You're starting to panic.

CRASH

After what feels like hours, you hear the sound of a strong wind accompanied by a crash. Similar to the sound of a traffic accident. The knocks on your window stopped?

Curiosity kills the cat. But you are not a cat. So, you get up from your bed, walk to window, and slide the curtains. Nobody is there. Now you belive you're just crazy because of heart broken.

No.

You're not crazy. There, behind the tree across the street. You saw one of your classmates' faces staring in horror at your bedroom window on the second floor. He's your ex-boyfriend's best friend,

Park Jongseong.

#park sunghoon #jay enhypen #jay x reader #sunghoon x reader #enemies to lovers #lovers to enemies #love triangle #enhypen angst #enhypen thriller #enhypen vampire au

136 notes · View notes

bluehouryoongi · 2 months

Text

BITE ME- Masterlist

Pairing: Jake x Female Reader

Genre: Vampire Enhypen and Human Reader College Strangers to Friends to Lovers!AU

Synopsis: Set in present-day Pacific Northwest US. Y/n in a college student, and keeps to herself. One day, she has strange encounters with two statuesque men, one of which invites her to a party (at their mansion ofc) where she drunkenly confesses that she can't pay her rent. Vast and highly believable events ensue, leading to her live with 7 a-little-too-perfect guys. That's all you need to know.

Status: Ongoing!

Warnings: Some mentions of death, blood, and violence. Nothing scary, but this is a vampire fic so proceed with that in mind:)

A/N: This fic was originally inspired by the vampire storyline within Enha's music video's. This story does not follow that storyline, and is its own thing entirely. I hope you enjoy!!

Part One:

1: The Beginning

2: The Party

3: The Trap

4: The Move-in

5: The Decision

6: The Move-in (Again)

7: Late Night Encounters

8: A Request, and a Gala

9: Planning and Learning

10: Confusion

11: Answers

#enhypen #sim jaeyun #ao3 fanfic #college au #kim sunoo #lee heeseung #nishimura riki #park jeongseong #park sunghoon #vampire au #enhypen au

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softsan · 7 months

Text

ENHYPEN VAMPIRE AU (AESTHETIC)

MASTERLIST

Heeseung

hierarchy: coven regent

five hundred and fifty-eight years old

the coven's appointed head

in control over all coven's matters

introspective and thoughtful

taken aback by his fiery mate

mate: elemental witch

Jay

hierarchy: high-ranking member

three hundred and seventy-two years old

comes off as intimidating and is well-feared

suspicious and dubious of humans

prefers to avoid human communities at all costs

stumbles across his mistreated mate

mate: house maid

Jake

hierarchy: high-ranking member

three hundred and forty-three years old

sweet and mild-mannered

gives pure smiles to all

generally curious about humans and their way of life

unexpectedly crosses path with his dangerous mate

mate: vampire hunter

Sunghoon

hierarchy: high-ranking member

two hundred and eighty-six years old

honest and provides sensible advice

sees the beauty of the harsh winters

rather indifferent towards humans

enchanted by his peculiar mate

mate: councilman's daughter

Sunoo

hierarchy: aristocrat

one hundred and fifty-five years old

playful and naturally charming

enjoys playing tricks on his brothers

is very hospitable towards humans

encounters his newly-turned mate

mate: new vampire

134 notes · View notes

theaspen · 26 days

Text

summary : Jay seems to keep appearing in your alternate nightmares. He acts as your night in shining armor, always helping you in your sleep. But when you try to stop the nightmares altogether he doesn't like it.

Genre : Thriller, angst.

pairing : Jay x you

Warnings: Graphic descriptions of blood, death and suicide. If you are sensitive to these subjects please don't read!!

___________________________________________

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

____________________________________________

Authors note: It's honestly SO embarrassing that I'm posting this now LMAOAOAOA.

Uhm. I'm sorry. I hope you guys enjoy and leave some nice comments or feedback or anything tbh. And send me an ask, or comment below to be added to the tag list.

____________________________________________

Are you sure?” My uncle asks sceptically.

“Yes I'm sure.” I tell him firmly.

This is the 10th time he's asked me this question today alone. What's a therapist gonna do? Besides, I'm sick of him pretending to care.

“Uncle, I'm not really sure why you're so insistent on this. Is it because the press is outside? They want to interview you?”

It's a sharp dig at him and I know it. He's never cared about his own brother, never visited.

He scowls at me, “Careful, might I have to remind you that it isn't your father that's taking care of you, putting you in the best room with the best doctors.”

I glare at him as he walks away from the room. Well atleast the pathetic nice act is gone.

Kyungsoo enters my room soon again, throwing a careful glance at my uncle. He was a big shot after all. With his more than successful firm.

“You good?” He asks.

“Yeah, um I think I'll just go for a walk.” I tell him rather shortly.

“Sure.” He says quietly, probably assuming I had an argument.

But truth be told, I'm avoiding him. I'm getting attached to someone who's just tolerating me for their job. It's not his fault I know but I can't get attached to those who won't stay once I'm up and gone.

My mind goes to Jay for a tiny second. Hm. Maybe I should talk to a therapist. The dreams stopped for two days and usually I would be overjoyed at the idea of not just one but two full nights rest.

But I woke up feeling uneasy, I made a promise to Jay, someone who exists only in my head. But I made a promise nevertheless.

There are so many things I want to ask him, so many.

Why do I have no dreams? Why is it that I only ever have a blackout or nightmares?

Why is he saving me?

I know I shouldn't, but my curiosity has gotten the better of me. I look down at my fisted hands and open them. There are two sleeping pills, I stole it from a nurse's bag when she wasn't looking.

Sleeping pills and I aren't the best of friends. Sure they help me not have a meltdown from not being able to sleep for almost 20 hours but they also give me the worst types of nightmares. Which right now happens to be something that I need.

“Goodnight.”Kyungsoo tries to smile at me.

I meekly smile back , eager to down the pills and meet the one person who actually wants me to stay.

_________________________________________

The pills go down my throat ten minutes later. The small light creates a shadow of me in front. The shadows shift, turning and twisting and I watch fascinated as they give a performance for me.

I'm not afraid, a part of my brain thinks. What are the shadows going to do? They've been with me forever. Taunting me, trying to manipulate me. I've never given into any of their tricks. I've never trusted them.

But when I'm all alone now, in a tiny closet peeking out from the hole and watching the shadows linger my heart picks up its beat.

They come and they disappear again and again. I look through the tiny peep the closet gives and realise soon as they go behind every nook and creek that they are looking for none other than me.

My hands reach out to clasp my mouth shut. My body folds itself as small as it can possibly go. Will the shadows think to look here too?

I shut my eyes forcefully. My other senses heightened until I could feel everything around me. The musty smell of the closet, my fingernails digging into themselves. My feet numb, paralyzed.

My breathing becomes slower, my arms start to unclench. I think they're gone. I think I can get out now. Escape to a place where they can't catch me.

Before I know it, before I can even pull my hands away from myself. There's a strange hiss that comes inches away from me. A hand grabs my ankle and pulls me hard enough that I don't have time to scream.

My head bangs against the hard wooden doors as I'm being pulled away. The impact is so hard that I can only clutch my head and groan as the hands keep pulling me away, dragging me on the rough wooden floors.

The splinters catch on clothes and skin. My chin is bleeding, but I can't even stop. Can't even catch a hold of myself as I try to catch myself breathlessly.

There's a sharp turn to the right, and that's when I know that the shadows aren't just pulling me along aimlessly , they have a destination in mind.

My eyes scan around desperately trying to catch hold of something to stop.

Just then, a hand- a solid, real and warm hand catches me. A sudden stop to the journey.

I know who it is before I can even look up. I clasp my hands with his. The shadows aren't pleased, they hiss and linger around My ankles.

But when his hand keeps tugging me in, the shadows start to dissolve, materialise into nothing, losing their power.

Jay's hands pull me again, even when the shadows disappear, he doesn't let go and I don't either.

When I gain a little strength into my limbs I finally pull away from the embrace. I look into his eyes, they are wide and scared, maybe even more than mine.

“Thank yo-”

“Why didn't you come?? You made a promise and you leave me all alone here?!” Jay yells angrily.

I pull away completely. I was happy to finally see him again, but seeing his bloodshot face. The look of absolute rage in his eyes makes me stop. Brings the familiar uneasy feeling back into my stomach.

“I'm sorry.” I mumble.

Jay looks at my crestfallen face, and immediately his face softens.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn't have yelled at you. I was just scared you left forever.” He says softly, “You're hurt a lot this time. Come here, let's clean you up.”

He rips off a piece of his sleeves and starts dabbing it on my wounds.

His reassuring words don't chase away the moths in my stomach.

“Jay..do you think I should see a therapist?”

Jay frowns at my words, “A therapist? What's that?” He asks curiously.

“Umm. It's someone who helps you with your problems, like stress, anxiety…nightmares.”

Jay stiffens upon that. His hand paused on my chin.

“But why…? I can save you. I save you every time.”

I shake my head,

“I can save you again, you won't even have to get hurt next time. Just trust me. That's all you need to do!”

I take his hands in mine, his eyes are trembling,

“What happens when you can't?”

“..what”

“What happens when one day you can't save me? I can wake up, but what about you? What if something happens to you instead?”

He shakes his head intently, “I don't care, I only exist because of you. If you're gone, then I'm alone again, I have no purpose.”

I stay silent at that, avoiding his eyes.

The world around me seems to shift again, faster than it did before.

“I think I'm waking up now.”

“Yeah.”

“Can't you…can't you appear in my dreams too? Not just nightmares?”

“I don't know.”

I can feel my resolve slipping at the sight of his tired face. He looks my age, but at this moment his face seems to have gone through a millenia worth of sadness.

“I'll come back okay?”

Jay just nodded. His fingers slip away from mine as he watches me disappear again. I never stay for long. He wonders whether it's because I can't or I don't want to.

Jay fidgets with his fingers even after I'm gone.

He thinks long and hard about how he could make me stay. Every time I've left, it's only because he saved me.

What happens when he makes me believe that she can't escape the nightmare anymore?

________________________________________

Taglist : @sunjaylove @ryejigyu @keikeu

@excusemeimquirky @lollllllliiiiiiiiiiiipop

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blackch-rry · 4 months

Text

Moment of Peace (Or Lack Thereof)

Pairing: Shy!Vampire!Sunghoon x Werewofl!Reader

Summary: Sunghoon finds himself caught in a moment of weakness thinking you and him are home alone. Keeping your relationship private has been easy, but not until Niki stumbles upon it.

Warnings: none, really. One swear word. Fluff?? Niki being a lil snitch. Sunghoon’s peace being disturbed for the unseeable future.

WC: 0.973k

A/N: I’ve been trying to write a vampire x werewolf au, Romeo and Juliet type vibes between reader and Sunghoon, but i just had to write this scene out first. Not really connected, but same type of world! …but if i do write a fic about it, it would be ten times more angst. This is also written on zero hours of sleep.

***

“I thought you said she wasn’t allowed on the couch.”

Sunghoon’s attention is ripped away from his book. His eyes land on Niki, who is standing near the bottom of the stairs. A playful grin on the younger’s face as he glances between your sleeping form and Sunghoon.

Sunghoon removes the hand that was mindlessly petting your wolf form. He rests it on the back of the couch instead. He looks at the younger boy, an unexpected hint of embarrassment caught in his words, “It’s whatever…just go somewhere else.”

Niki manages to suppress his laughter at the sight of him. He’s quick to realize that Sunghoon is indeed very embarrassed; like a kid getting caught in the act of doing something he shouldn’t. It’s the way Sunghoon is looking back at the pages of his book, blankly staring in one spot as if waiting for Niki to leave, that confirms it.

Niki has never wanted to make fun of him this much in his life, but he decides not to. Growing into his maturity and all. One thing catches him off guard. He’s never seen Sunghoon this shy before. Niki expected him to yell at him to mind his own business, but instead he’s met with a silent Sunghoon. Niki wonders if it’s because you’re sleeping and he doesn’t want to wake you.

Huh… Sunghoon? Him and his love for scolding? He actually cares about not disturbing your sleep…

Niki feels like he’s missing something. Something very important.

He begins to wonder if you are also the reason for Sunghoon’s shift in behavior the past months. God, he’s practically itching to ask and tease him about it. About you.

Reluctantly, Niki just glances between the two of you, a furrow in his brow, before sauntering off towards another part of the house.

Sunghoon watches him leave through his peripheral vision. He waits until he can no longer hear his footsteps before letting his body relax, tension visibly seeping off. The book falls to a gentle close; his thumb keeping his place. He leans his head back against the couch before peering down at you. Still asleep with your head resting on Sunghoon’s thigh.

He himself feels surprised at his behavior. The weird way his jaw clenched when he heard Niki’s voice, or the heat that coursed throughout his body being seen like this. Going against his own words. Caught in a moment of vulnerability and giving in when you sat by his feet and looked at him expectantly just hours prior. He’s embarrassed. (Which is something he’s not used to).

He thought the guys were out of the house, doing their own things. That’s why he let you climb up without hesitation, because he’s done it numerous times before. The newfound side of him that allows himself to give in to you, get distracted by all of you, was something that he wanted private, not let the other guys know. They didn’t need to know. Not about how he’s no longer strict and cold towards you, or how one part of him wants to feel affectionate towards you without hiding it from the others.

He groans, already irritated just thinking about how Niki is probably snitching on him right now. Sunghoon isn’t fond of his peace being disturbed. He has a gut feeling he won’t be finding a moment of peace anytime soon, at least not with just you and him.

His hand slowly finds its way back to you, gently running down your side, his fingers playing with your relaxed ears at times. He’s just glad you didn’t wake up, that you didn’t see the hint of pink creeping up on his face, because he knows that if you did and shifted back to your human form…He’d be more irritated than ever seeing an amused smile on your pretty face.

Sunghoon decides to pick up where he left off in his book and relish in the warmth on his thigh before his moment of peace is washed away by a storm.

***

Niki did in fact snitch on him mere minutes after.

“He was the one so against it! Fucking hypocrite!”, Jake peers into one of the windows, trying to see if it’s true, but ultimately just focuses back on the circle they’ve all formed.

Sunghoon was almost right about one thing. Everyone was out of the house, besides Niki. After the younger vampire scurried off, he caught a glimpse of the others coming back from the main village. The gossip circle was quickly formed shortly after.

Jake begins again, “Aren’t I right? He did tell us to not let her on the couch whenever she’s shifted.”

Heeseung tilts his head slightly, “Oh, come on. Don’t tell me you didn’t see it coming.”

“Huh?”

“He’s had this crush forming on her for months. You know how he is, he’d never be upfront about it. Definitely not in front of us.”

“What?!”

“I totally knew it.”

“Dude, no you didn’t!”

The six of them quickly start to overlap in arguments. Not being aware of their volume. It’s not until a couple minutes pass and the sound of the side door being opened catches their attention.

You, now in your human form, stand in the doorway wearing an oversized shirt. You give them a skeptical look, questioning what they’re up to despite the fact you heard everything. A blessing, and somewhat curse, of heightened hearing.

“You guys are being very loud out here.”

“Oh- uh, sorry?”

You glance around at their bewildered expressions before smiling to yourself. Sorry to Sunghoon, but he’s about to be a very irritated man.

“And just to clear the air, Sunghoon and I have been dating for a month.”

You hastily walk back into the house, escaping the scene of the crime, but the six of them are quick to follow with more overlapping remarks of shock.

#enhypen x reader #park sunghoon x reader #sunghoon imagines #enhypen fics #sunghoon x reader #sunghoon fluff #enhypen au #enhypen imagines #enhypen drabbles #park sunghoon #vampire sunghoon #enhypen fluff

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rosesbxrry · 2 years

Text

𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐮𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐞

𝔼𝕟𝕙𝕪𝕡𝕖𝕟 𝕧𝕒𝕞𝕡𝕚𝕣𝕖 𝔸𝕌 𝕤𝕖𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕤

They call him the ice prince, but to you, he was just the dorky best friend you had a crush on for years. Ice skating was definitely not your forte so when he invites you for a night out to skate at a lake nearby, you were hesitant to accept. Things were fine until an accident happened and you found yourself gasping for air in ice cold water and then being bitten by Sunghoon, whom you had no idea was a freaking vampire.

Pairing: Sunghoon X Fem! human to vampire Reader

Genre: fluff, a dash of angst, mutual pining, best friends to lovers trope

Warnings: mention of blood, food/ eating, death (the mc dies but not really)

Word count: 10,903 words

Series masterlist

Author’s note: Again, it would be best to read Jungwon’s instalment first since there will be references to that. I know I promised to post this by the middle of May but it seems that my writer’s block was hitting me a lot harder than i thought. Apologies for any grammar or spelling mistakes!

Park Sunghoon was known as the ice prince all over campus.

His background in ice skating wasn’t the only factor that contributed to the title. He reminded you of an iceberg surrounded by the sea, so beautiful to see from afar yet, there was something enigmatic surrounding it.

With his lanky figure, ivory skin with thin and refined features; he was the embodiment of attractiveness, something you yourself would admit the first time you met him (to your dismay)

The other students notice it as well; he has what it takes to capture people’s attention (and their hearts too) by just passing by even though most of the time, he sports a rather bored or stoned face.

Some people would perceive it as unapproachable or arrogant, while some find it a part of his alluring charm; making hearts swoon at just a mere glance.

In contrast, you knew behind those blank sets of eyes, his thoughts were not as deep as people imagine, rather, his princely image was shattered the moment you sat next to the empty seat he saved for you, opening his mouth to say one of the most ridiculous things you’ve ever heard.

“If teeth came out of your butthole, would you go to the dentist or doctor?” He asks with such a deadpanned face and seriousness in his tone that you almost trip on the chair.

“Sunghoon,” you choked. “It's literally eight in the morning.”

He gave you a one sided shrug, “There’s no such thing as a stupid question, all philosophers says so.”

You raise an eyebrow, “There is nothing, I mean nothing, philosophical about that question.”

A smile makes it’s why to his face, his eyes turned into a crescent shape and the once stoic expression disappears when he finds your annoyance amusing to him.

This was the Sunghoon you know, the boy who you awkwardly befriended when he pumped into you during orientation week of uni, the boy who finds joy in teasing you but can’t help but cling to you whenever he’s lonely.

He was the boy who accidentally said I love you to the pizza guy on the phone at 2am in the morning, his cheeks flushed a deep red and eyes widened in dread when he realized what he had just said.

The both of you were already hungry and sleep deprived from studying all day and Sunghoon made a mistake thinking he was talking to his parents on the other side that it just naturally slipped through his lips.

He immediately stutters out an apology to the guy while your howling laughter can be heard in the background. You pestered him so much that he gave you the cold shoulder since the incident, but it didn’t stop you from following him like a quacking duck.

It became an inside joke between you two, because you knew he would strangle you the minute you told the others, leading to some of them being confused about whatever happened, because they couldn’t understand the context of the situation.

“Someone please tell Sunghoon and y/n that they should get a room.” Ni-ki gag, watching from afar with a rather distasteful face.

The view consisted of Sunghoon pinching your cheeks as you continued to pester him about the pizza incident, your laughter can be heard from a mile away in the dining hall of the campus.

“Can they just please confess to each other already. It’s so painful to watch them act like a married couple without actually being a couple.” Sunoo was disgusted, mindlessly stabbing at his waffle with a fork whilst judging eyes glaring at the two of you.

“I saw them flirt when I went to park my car,” Jungwon dryly said at the side, not even bothered to glance their way, “I never wanted to accelerate my whole life.”

Complicated doesn’t really define your relationship with Sunghoon.

It was easy to be vulnerable with him, so comfortable to just talk about your problems and frustration to him without being worried, because as much as he likes to push your buttons, Sunghoon has never, even for a second made you feel insignificant.

You wonder why your heart beats faster, your cheeks flushing and hands clammy at just the mere sight of him to the point where you wonder how you haven’t malfunctioned yet. Sometimes, you ache for him to linger longer, hold you a little tighter but he will always let go, and you don't have the guts to tell him how you really feel.

There was an invisible line between you and Sunghoon, and you didn’t know if both of you were crossing it or not.

Friends don’t act like that.

You kept hearing those phrases like a mantra coming out from the mouth of your friends to complete strangers who clearly were interested in Sunghoon in that way.

You brush it off, telling them that the both of you were just really good friends. Those words coming out of your lips even sounded like a lie to your ears. It left a nasty taste in your mouth, maybe because deep down you knew, you saw him beyond just that.

The momentum between you and him felt like a faucet running, over-pouring and powerful but neither of you were ready to close it, not ready to confront each other about the elephant in the room.

You didn’t want to break the bond you had with him, and you could tell he was scared as well.

So you let him drag this out, from the way he always tucks your hair behind your ears or wraps you in his coat that was too big for you in the winter. You let him drink your bubble tea from the same straw and feed him with the same chopsticks you put in your mouth.

Even now, as you put your phone on speaker, laying down on your bed at midnight whilst hearing the soft noises that Sunghoon was making on the other side. Your lids were heavy, drowsiness slowly overtaking your consciousness causing your eyelids to close.

“Are you asleep?”

“No, I’m practicing being dead.”

Sunghoon’s muffled laughter echoed your ears, causing you to roll over on your side, thick duvet shuffling closer to your chin as you felt the winter temperature slowly creeping on you.

“You could have just said yes.” He taunted.

“No, I'm just checking the back of my eyelids to make sure they are still in place.” You insisted, already could tell he was scowling without even seeing his face and expression right now by just the tone of his snort at your reply.

“Aren’t you sleepy?” You ask, yawning a little bit.

Every night calls with Sunghoon ended with either one of you being sleepy before agreeing to end the call. But more recently, it always ended up with you falling asleep unnoticed until you woke up the next morning with the call still connected.

He would tease you that you snored or mumbled gibberish in your sleep, in which you retaliated back. It dawned on you that he might have stayed up the whole night while you were asleep just to catch you embarrassing yourself.

But when you saw him at campus, he seemed fine? He looked normal, unlike the sleep-deprived state he usually is when he stays up late. And you also notice that he hasn’t been eating much, always declining that he wasn’t hungry or had something else before.

It was not very like him, especially when he didn’t eat the pizza you ordered when he was over one time. But you try not to pry too much. He looked fine and acted the same as usual, so you didn’t worry too much about his well-being unless it was serious or he looked physically sick.

You heard a few muffled shuffling on the other side before he replied, “If I told you I don't feel sleepy because I’m a vampire, would you believe me?”

You grumble in disbelief at his joke, “Please Hoon, a vampire? not a chance.”

You heard him let out a nervous laugh, mumbling about how ridiculous it sounds too under his breath. You heard a weird crunching sound on the other side, something similar like a pair of boots walking through a bed of snow on a sidewalk.

“Sunghoon?”

“Yeah, what’s up?” He breath out nonchalantly, playing dumb as if you can’t hear the obvious noise emitting out of your phone.

“Are you outside right now?”

There was a pregnant silence followed by your question. You hear him let out a sigh, almost like he had wanted to wait a little longer to reveal his plan.

“Look out your window.”

A bit confused, you shuffle out of bed when he ends the call abruptly, walking towards the window to see if he was bluffing or really telling the truth. You pulled the curtains away and were able to make out a familiar silhouette standing outside the building of your dorm, waving at you frantically.

No way.

You immediately went to wear your winter outer clothes; a thick coat, a scarf and a pair of wool gloves before heading off outside. The cold breeze instantly causes you to shiver, puffs of water vapors escaping through your nose every time you exhale.

Yesterday’s snow had definitely made its mark. The roads, the sidewalk, the buildings and the parked cars; the snow had envelope the neighborhood with a dense white blanket. When the temperature drops way below the freezing point, the humidity it causes makes breathing and walking even more harder than it is.

As you walk closer to the figure, you slowly waddle your way through the heavy snow, hands tucked tightly inside the warmth of the pocket of your jacket.

Sunghoon’s skin was as pale as the snow, not even a dust of red on his cheeks at the coldness. If he didn’t wear that pitch black long coat, he would have blended nicely together with the background.

“You’re crazy Park Sunghoon! It’s literally freezing outside!” your shout echoed the empty streets of your dorm.

He gave you that big grin, the one that turns his eyes into a crescent shape and shows his pearly white teeth. He pulled up two pairs of ice skating shoes and you instantly knew what he was planning. You shook your head, face falling at the thought of wearing those and crashing again like last time.

“Oh no.” You gasp.

“Oh yes.” He grabbed and dragged you by the wrist, heading towards the familiar location of the frozen lake the two of you went last time he taught you how to ice skate.

Let’s say, you weren’t talented in balancing yourself on thin blades like he was. The memories of you falling on your behind, struggling to stand up again with arms stretched out at your sides haunted you for weeks.

Sunghoon said all you need is more practice. He said that while perfectly skating backwards facing you with a menacing laugh and you knew, you wanted to pummeled him in the face if you could.

“Come on, up you go. Now, that's not so bad right?” Sunghoon said.

The minute the both of you put on the skates, he was already up and on the frozen lake like second nature.

“Easy for you to say.” you huff out, trying to balance yourself but it only made you very stiff, terrified that you might slip and fall again. The cold was not helping either; you were shivering down to your bones.

“How are you not freezing right now?” you complained, staring at his bare hands on his sides.

He looked like the opposite of you, only wearing a minimal coat underneath his usual attire while you looked like a balloon that was about to explode. The fact that he looked so hot even in this weather was so unfair.

Sunghoon shook his head, an endearing smile across his face as he skated towards you, reaching out to hold your hand in his. He acted like an escort, guiding you across slowly and making sure you didn’t lose your balance.

“I feel like a mother bird teaching a chick how to fly.”

“Just shut up and make sure I don’t fall.”

You were glad that the cold temperature had masked the flush on your cheeks. The way Sunghoon was staring at you, eyes darting down ever so often with a smile before meeting your eyes; it made you feel like your heart was beating against your chest.

You nervously fix your gaze at his bare fingers that were intertwined in yours. His hands were so much longer than yours, gripping onto your fragile ones with a comfortable pressure. At the back of your mind, you wish you hadn’t worn a pair of thick wool gloves now.

The frozen lake looked like a winter wonderland, enveloping you and Sunghoon in your own little peaceful space where it felt like it was only the two of you in the world.

You continue to mindlessly move your skates in whichever direction he was pulling you. Two figures slowly drifting deeper into the surface of the lake, the lights of civilization long forgotten with only the moon illuminating the path.

Just when you began to enjoy the motion, feeling the cold winter breeze brushing against your cheeks, Sunghoon took the opportunity to let go of your hands, leaving you to fend for yourself.

“Sunghoon, no—” you squeak, feeling like you had lost your point of gravity without something to hold on to.

“Come on, you can’t expect me to hold your hand forever?” He snickered, making a few movements to slide himself a few distance away from you, hands in his pocket with a taunting stance.

You click your tongue, sloppily skating your way to him at a very slow rate with an annoyed sigh, “I swear when I get my hands on you—”

“If you can get to me that is.”

Sunghoon watch you struggle, muttering murderous schemes under your breath. He bit back the obvious smile blooming on his face. Though he looked calm and collected, the butterflies in his stomach were in a frenzy, causing an almost aching feeling in his heart.

He turned his back on you, gazing at the full moon in the dark sky.

There’s no denying that he has a crush on you. Anything you do caused his heart to flip into multiple summersaults especially when he teased and taunted you. The way you would stop with what you were doing with an adorable pout on your face as your sole gaze was only at him even if it was out of annoyance.

It was selfish of him but— He wanted you to only look at him.

But of course everything was too perfect, because what’s stopping him from confessing his feelings was the fact that had turned into a vampire a few months ago.

It even sounds so dumb in his head, and what more when he actually tells you the truth. It felt like everyday, he was lying to you about who he really is and it scares him that there’s a possibility that you’ll know the truth one day in the future.

It’s not worth it telling you now.

Sunghoon has already long accepted that you’ll never be by his side; telling you that he's a vampire would only confuse you even more, breaking the close bond between you two right now was the last thing he needed.

Instead, he wishes to savor all his precious moments with you. He hopes to carry all of these good and happy memories with you throughout his immortal life until his dying breath.

A small sad smile made its way on his lips at the thought. His only regret was not being able to confess to you, the cruel pain will stick to him forever and he was surprised at how accepting he was, but then again, you had that kind of effect on him.

As long as you were not the one suffering, that was what matters to him the most. For now, he was content with having you by his side.

When he turned around, ready to face you with a grin and to see your annoyed expression, he was met with an empty view with no trace of you in sight.

You were gone.

“Y/N?” Sunghoon’s face immediately drop when he couldn’t find you.

It was just an endless surface of frozen water surrounding the both of you, there was no way he could miss you, and there was no way you could have just hid from him as well. It was just not possible, even to him.

It took him a second to even dawn on him what was going on. He was too lost in his own thoughts to even realize how dangerously silent it was, as if he was the only one currently standing in the perimeter of the area.

Something had happened to you.

The male’s vampire senses perked up but the panic that coursed through his body was evident.

His breath hitch when he caught sight of an unfamiliar hole in the distance, cracks of flaky ice still breaking and slowly falling into the lake’s water, eyes noticing the small detail of two lines of blades ending at exactly where the area had disappeared.

Sunghoon could hear a fuzzy ringing in his ear, it felt so near yet so far. His legs moved into a frenzy towards the pit, knees almost bucking at how anxious he was when he finally concluded what had happened.

All he could think of is the image of your figure slowly ascending down the cold depth of the river as he kneeled down to face the murky water, imagining the puff of air escaping your lungs until the last bubble reaches the surface.

He couldn’t even recognize his own voice when he shouts your name into the cavity of oblivion where you had fallen, the echoes bouncing off the gloomy borders of the midnight sky, the amount of fear conveyed in every syllabus was agonizing.

His only reply was dead silent together with ripples of waves from the surface of the dusky water with his reflection. The cold had never bother him, but at that moment, it sent a shiver down his spine at the sheer amount of terror that was ripping every inch of his sanity.

It feels like his body just moved on its own, shoving off his long coat on the ground and pulling the skates from his foot to the side.

For a normal person, plunging straight into freezing ice-cold water was a death wish. But to Sunghoon, it was a matter of life and death, because your survival determined whether he could get to you in time.

His only concern was whether you would die from drowning rather than the coldness itself. God, he shouldn’t even imagine that at this moment.

Sunghoon swam as best as he could, going straight down where the moonlight had reached down from the hole above. The cacophonous sound of the lake surrounds his ears, with everything around him pitch black, but that wasn’t a problem as his occult instinct could sense how deep the lake’s bottom was.

He saw a glimpse of a hand before he instinctively reached out to grab a hold on it. Every movement he does feels like in slow motion underwater, like weights shackled to his body as a burst of bubbles escapes his lungs, dragging your body with him to the surface.

Even though he was soaked from head to toe, Sunghoon was light on his feet as he pulled himself out of the water. Something in him cracked when he noticed how lifeless your body was as he dragged you out as well, letting you lay flat on your back.

No words could be uttered out of his lips, his brain could not coherently process the situation as he stared at your face; eyes-closed and skin a ghostly hue, lips a little blue to be alive, showing not a sign of consciousness at all. The shock from the cold had caused your body to succumb to the void.

It was evident with the way his hands held your cheeks and his voice calling your name that you were slowly slipping through his fingers from a ledge known as life and death. With fingers trembling, Sunghoon could feel his lips quivering, heart numbing and throat lurching at how frozen you felt underneath his fingertips that he couldn't help the stinging feeling on his eyes.

How could he let this happen to you? If only he didn’t bring you out this winter night, if only he released you were in trouble – how loud did you call his name under the cold water? How was he going to live knowing what he had done to you?

All the pain and suffering you endured was always caused by him and if there was even a chance that he could trade places with you, he would do it in a heartbeat. The excruciating cry that slipped through his lips burned his throat. His grip on you was as hard as an iron, as if he was holding onto your soul for his dear life to not slip away.

Light frost has shaped itself in a thin layer on every exposed surface of the two figures, from the wet clothes to the delicate skin and eyelashes that married their faces.

Even if he were to carry you to a nearby hospital, it was too late. No matter what he does, the ending would always be the same– he was going to lose you. With how weak your pulse is, he could only visualize a scene with him carrying your dead body to the emergency wing as a group of healthcare personnel did their best to resuscitate you.

How would your parents react? How about your friends and colleagues? He had just taken away someone’s existence before their very eyes. He had taken all the promises, all your hopes and dreams of the future – he had robbed you from all of those.

Something flashes before his eyes, a distant almost fuzzy memory that rekindles before his eyes. The image of his own lifeless body laying on the concrete pathway from when he was walking back from the ice rink to his dorm a few months ago. It was an ominous midnight, a perfect set up for an attack that will forever change his life.

He could only remember red eyes and the burning sensation of a bite on the junction of his neck. With the whisper of Jay’s voice against his ears and a churning blaze that circulates his entire body, he could only remember waking up with an agonizing thirst for blood and the horror of finding out that he had turned into a vampire.

He too had encountered death before his eyes. It was flickering through his eyes, triggered by seeing your body laying there identically to his from a distant memory. Sunghoon found the strength to pull the jacket away from your neck, sinking his head on the space between the junction of your shoulders.

He mimicked what he had remembered; prominent and sharp canines breaking the surface of your delicate skin, feeling a sudden surge of adrenaline from his body leaving to disseminate into yours. Fragile snowflakes parachute down slowly from above only to melt at the touch of a surface.

That’s what it felt like at this moment, as Sunghoon slowly breaks down every piece of humanity in you from a single bite.

Cold.

It was the only sensation she felt as a body of water swallowing her up. She could hear erratic bubbles forming and popping from the impact of her fall, the weight of the lake dragging her down further to the bottom until the light from the moon could not reach.

The shock from the temperature had numbed her body until even goosebumps could not form, not even a single hair on her body was up. It reminded her of the time when Sunghoon had jokingly pushed her into the crisp pool last summer, hearing his muffled laugh from the surface – only this time, his hands were nowhere in sight to pull her up.

And then the burning came.

The stabbing pain initiated at your neck, spreading like wildfire throughout your body. The heat seared through your veins so ever fierce, and it lull and throb every so often. Your body felt like it was floating in an empty space filled endlessly with nothingness.

A dim light shone in the distance, slowly pulling you from a deep slumber. A thin string has attached itself to your soul, jerking you away from the empty space, until the urge to take a breath ignites the consciousness to open your eyes.

With eyelids heavy and a hazy sight, you groan as an upcoming throb behind your head overwhelms your senses. The mattress dips down when you sit up, rubbing your sockets to get rid of the grogginess. Although the lights in the room were a dim orange, it took a while for you to adjust to the glare, which makes you realize how deep of a sleep you were in before.

“She’s up.” A panicked voice was followed by a firm grip on your shoulders.

It took a while for you to process that it belonged to Sunghoon, speaking towards Jay, who had positioned himself at the end of the bed frame. You blink a few times, a bit out of the zone but still, can make out the worried expression of his face.

“How do you feel?” Sunghoon asked carefully.

At that moment, you felt the headache that was itching at the back of your head. Not to mention, your throat was scratchy and a painful thirst-like sensation overwhelms your taste buds every time you swallow.

You were going to throw up.

“I think I need to lay down again.” you heave in agony, which he immediately helped you to reposition yourself on the bed.

A sigh of relief slips through your mouth, feeling the plush pillow against the back of your head. It gave you a momentary sense of reassurance, the comfortableness of everything was a stark contrast to what had happened to you before this.

“It’s more cozy than I thought.” you mumbled, a small smile marrying your face with eyes closed.

“What do you mean?”

“The afterlife I mean– ” you paused mid sentence. The two figures watch you hastily sitting up once again with eyebrows furrowed and eyes as wide as saucers, fingers pointed at them in a dazed. “–wait, if I’m dead, then what are you two doing here?”

“Y/n,” Sunghoon said as gently as possible. “you’re not dead.”

“Oh okay, cool, that’s nice,” you slowly nodded your head, about to slip back into the covers again until you swung back up again followed by another question with a skeptical expression, eyes darting around the unfamiliar room. “Then where am I?”

The room you were in had an ancient ambience. The wooden bedframe was huge with an intricate layout and pattern that reaches the ceiling. It almost looked like a cabin with the furniture made entirely of dark mahogany and the musky smell can be detected even from the white crisp sheets of the bed underneath you.

What was odd was that the room was entirely lit up by a candle. A single candle that sits on top of its case against the walls, not even fluttering with barely any drop of melted wax was in sight. Not a single curtain was drawn open from the windows, which gave you an uneasy feeling at how mystic the atmosphere was.

Sunghoon swallowed down the lump in his throat, eyes trembling and lips pursed in deep thought. You watch him adjust to sit further at the edge of the bed next to you, in which it only heightens your anxiety for his answer.

“I’m not sure if you were going to believe us, but just so you know, it was really hard for us to accept it as well, initially that is. Look, it might be something hard to comprehend and surely a lot of adjustment has to be done for you to cope—“

“You’re a vampire y/n.”

Sunghoon whip his head to face Jay with a very disapproving look on his face, fuming when Jay had interrupted him, “I told you I can handle it myself.”

Jay only shrugged at the male’s murderous gaze, shooting back with an almost taunting tone, “Well clearly, you handled it well judging by her reaction right now.”

You look back and forth between the two, shaking your head from the very confusing escalation in the atmosphere that you clearly needed more context, and the fact that Jay had proclaimed that you were a what?

“Wait a damn minute, you still haven’t explain why– ”

You were interrupted by a loud cough that clawed its way up to your throat, and you felt it. The burning sensation previously has grown astronomically painful, feeling it spread from the roof of your mouth to the pathway of your esophagus until it tingles in your ear.

You winched at the pain, clutching onto your chest and suddenly, tears started to sting your eyes and the images of liquid red exuding a glass cup kept flickering in your mind, throwing you in a frenzy. Your tongue unconsciously licks at the throbbing pain at the front of your teeth until you realize– was it always that sharp in the first place?

“Jay, hand me the blood.”

“Hand you the what?” You exclaimed in disbelief, eyes shot up, and body instantly moving out of the bed. Before you could escape, Sunghoon hand already held an iron grip on your forearm, causing you to wiggle your way out in distress.

“Listen to me y/n, hey, look at me,” you halt your trashing when Sunghoon's tone turns more hush, almost pleading you to stop resisting.

His strong pull on your wrist caused the distance between your faces to shorten, noses just inches away. It gave them a perfect view to stare at each other, and you noticed just how exhausted and worried he looked with the way he frowns.

“Just trust me okay? And I know how painful it is right now,” you watch him swallowed, looking down in guilt. “It will all go away if you drink it. And then I’ll explain everything to you, I promise.”

With eyes almost lost in thought, his dark orbs bored into your own, that for a second, you forgot how to breathe. You could see yourself in the reflection on his eyes, pale and almost ghostly, feeling the beads of cold sweat dripping down your back.

You felt so weak, like the sugar in your blood was slowly disappearing, vertigo clouding your vision until it burns to even continue opening your eyes. Heat was slowly spreading from the core of your body to the tips of your extremities, and it was starting to feel difficult to even breathe properly without hyperventilating.

With no other choice, you slowly nodded back at him. With eyes closed and lips pursed in a defeated manner, you could hear him let out a sigh of relief when you finally agreed. He could tell how hesitant you were but at least you were willing to listen to him.

Jay hands you a mug with a straw and you give a disapproving expression, eyebrow furrowed in disgust when you look down at the thick deep red liquid. Although your mouth was salivating at the sight, your brain still comprehends it as literally warm blood you were about to feast on.

“I would really prefer you telling me it was tomato juice next time.” You chimed in, pinching your nose and placing the straw in your mouth. Jay and Sunghoon laugh, watching you intently taking a gulp of blood before Jay replies with a shrug.

“Bon Appetit I guess.”

When you woke up the next day in your room, everything felt very normal. You got dressed like normal for your morning class, heading towards the bathroom only to notice a large bandage at the side of your neck.

You open your mouth instinctively to examine the prominent and sharp canine at your upper teeth, the reflection of actually seeing it on yourself in the mirror makes you sigh in exhaustion. When you see a glimpse of a red speckle on the irises of your eyes, you immediately turn away to go down stairs.

The once wonderful day to day breakfast had no significance anymore. The smell of eggs and toast no longer stimulates your appetite and sometimes, your roommates would joke whether you were pregnant with the sheer amount of time you would decline their offer, and the fact that you gagged multiple times.

Obviously you were not, but sometimes you did have to force yourself to take a bite. Sunghoon had mentioned that it helps to keep relationships normal. It makes you feel guilty when you remember about the times he had forced himself to eat human food to appease you, in which, you now finally understood why now that you were in his shoes.

Blending in with your new life as a vampire requires a lot of learning. With the help of Sunghoon, he kept things simple for you to remember.

Number 1 : Vampires are not the same as we think they are

“Umm….why are you dressed that way?” Sunghoon, who had been waiting for you in the car with the windows rolled down, raised an eyebrow at your choice of clothing from the driver’s seat.

You stood at the curb in front of the car, having just come out of your dorm, clay from head to toe in dark garments that covered your skin. You watch as some kids and their parents walk past you from the street opposite, their dazed and confused look goes unnoticed even with your sight being covered by a pair of sunglasses.

“I’m sorry, did I miss something? Are we going to a funeral?” Sunghoon grunted when you gave him a light smack on the shoulder, dragging your feet into the passenger seat of his car. You furiously took off your sunglasses, followed by the cap and hood of your hoodie.

Ideally this would be the perfect winter outfit, but you did think you went overboard just a little bit when seeing yourself in the rearview mirror.

“I thought vampires would burn in sunlight?” you asked.

“Only in fucking movies,” Sunghoon grumbled, rubbing his shoulder. “Do I look like I’m dying?”

Now, you felt embarrassed, letting out a sigh of frustration while leaning on the headrest of the seat, “So it was all a fucking lie?” you said simply, glancing at the male beside you.

“Yup.”

“Then what about garlic?” you questioned.

“Crap.”

“Silver arrows? Crosses?” you tried again.

“Nope,” Sunghoon curtly replied. You watch him wear his seatbelt before rolling up the window beside you. He turned to you after adjusting the mirrors before pushing the signals on, setting his hands on the steering wheel. “Anything else?”

“No sparkles?”

“No sparkles,” Sunghoon shook his head with a small smile.

You scrunched up your nose in disappointment, hearing the engine rumbled and the flicker of the radio’s switch as the both of you drove away.

Number 2: Vampires don’t sparkle like Edward Cullen, bummer

“Did you bring some blood pack?” Sunghoon asks, turning into a corner at the intersection of the road. It was still a bit snowy so he was being careful when driving.

“Tomato juice,” you say matter-of-factly, correcting him with the appropriate word to use. “ And yes dad, I did pack some in my bag.” you gesture to the said bag sitting on your lap.

Sunghoon glanced back at you for a second. He felt guilty for forgetting the code word for blood between the both of you. The tight grip on the driving handle goes unnoticed to you.

Sunghoon’s hummed in reply, letting out an amused huff at your sarcastic words. “Just making sure. Sometimes I can't leave you alone without adult supervision.”

You cocked an eyebrow at him, “I don’t need adult supervision, especially from you.” you emphasis on the you part which only caused Sunghoon to mused.

“You won’t be needing adult supervision until you stop acting like a brat.”

You laugh, “That's rich coming from you.”

Your little banter with him continues until you’ve reached campus. Honestly, the only thing that peeve you the most about the change is the fact that…

Number 3: Vampires drink blood

There is just something morally wrong with swallowing down liquid red like it’s some kind of juice box that you bring to kindergarten in a bag pack. And the fact that it was warm revolted you even more.

You initially were appalled by the revelation but Sunghoon had reassured you that Jay had sourced the blood in a clean manner (whatever that means) and that we don’t have to worry because it's not real human blood.

You ask him why Jay doesn’t allow consumption of human blood out of curiosity, which you immediately regretted when he stayed silent. And suddenly you remember the reason why he was hunted and turned in the first place.

It was not just him, but the thousand other innocent humans that would go missing due to a fraction of rogues who can’t seem to let go of the past. You were already disgusted with the idea of drinking fake blood but killing a human being and drinking their blood?

You shutter at the idea. It had your stomach churning in an uncomfortable way at just the thought. But there was just one thing you can accept wholeheartedly.

Number 4: Vampires do have enhance senses

All your senses whether it be smelling, hearing or even your physicality has become something more engaging in your daily life.

Your surroundings have never sounded so crisp against your ears, whether it be the sound of birds chirping in the morning or the howling of the winter breeze at midnight from the window of your room.

You could hear the chattering of other students more than a mile away, even if it was spoken under their breath. Now you understand how and why Sunoo knows so much with such little effort in his presence.

You remember just feeling a slight tingle and a buzz in your ear, like a soft voice in your head telling you to catch the basketball heading your way.

Stunted eyes of the people around you instantly made you feel flustered, which you don’t blame of course. You walk away with your head down the minute you give the ball back.

Imagine seeing someone like you being able to catch a ball that was speeding without much struggle, especially when the players were 6th feet giants themselves with strength and skills beyond yours.

Well, at least you have better eyesight now to take notes and the fact that you surprised your professor when you didn’t doze off during his lessons was a great advantage.

It also helps that you were no longer suffering from the constant scrutiny of Ni-ki’s pranks.

The moment he makes eye contact with you at the hallways, a hand up and a grin plastered on his face to greet you and Sunghoon, he immediately ran the other way when he saw your unamused face; hands crossed against your chest and a very much evident bandage on your neck.

The amount of time he had tricked you into his little scheme comes flooding back into your memories and you had to resist the urge to chase him down if it wasn’t for Sunghoon holding you back.

“This is no fun anymore,” Ni-ki whined for the nth time, walking beside you with his head thrown back with an exaggerated gesture. “Who am I supposed to mess with now?”

“Seriously Ni-ki,” you questioned, shoving him by the shoulder with your own. “You're the most horrible vampire ever. Can you at least have some responsibility with what you have?”

Ni-ki inhaled dramatically, shooting a glare at your direction.

“Jeez, you make it seem like I’m the only one doing something wrong. Look at the bright side,” he slid his hand over your shoulder with a knowing smirk. “Now you don’t have to worry about failing classes.”

You gave him a scoff, “Nuh-uh, unlike you, I have a conscience.”

“Hey! I do have a conscience,” he pointed out, a frown now on his lips, leaning back to rest his hand behind his head. “It just knows when to keep its mouth shut.”

You rolled your eyes at him, eliciting a disbelief snort his way. “Even if you do have a conscience, it's gagged and tied up somewhere in a basement.”

Something you didn’t expect was growing much closer than you were with the other boys in Sunghoon’s vampire circle. You were already well acquaintance with Jungwon, who is the president of the newspaper club you were a part of (in which, things finally make sense about the incident with the vice-president and last month's issue).

You shared a couple of classes with Sunoo who was maybe a little too excited about the fact that you’ve turned into a vampire. With his angelic smile and bubbly personality, he was the last person whom you would expect to be a blood sucking supernatural being.

Heeseung and Jake were nice enough to give you advice and help you to adjust well with the new changes in your life. You could tell they were not that elated and chose to stay low-key about being a vampire, which you understand completely.

And Ni-ki. Well, he's just Ni-ki.

Jay was a lot more intimidating than you thought, but you could see how much he cares about the others, including you. He taught you a lot about being a vampire, including the knowledge and history behind the occult realm, and the relationship between the different races, which for centuries, have integrated within the modern human civilization.

And here you thought human politics were complicated enough.

Number 5: Vampires were not the only supernatural creatures

You didn’t realize how well they are in disguising themselves among humans until you could discern them by just your feeling. You were washing your hands in the sink when you made eye contact with another girl who was fixing her lipstick at the bathroom mirror.

Dark long hair, skin as white as snow and features almost painfully beautiful, there was something out of this world with the way she looked. It was amazing at how human-like she was, her doe eyes stunting you with a peaceful lull until you were mesmerized with only the thought of her.

No human would realize the scale-like contour underneath her porcelain skin that glitters and pink pointed nails unless, well, you were not.

There was an ominous silence in the atmosphere when she held her gaze and gave an almost taunting smirk when she moved to use the sink beside you. She was wiping excess lipstick at the corners of her mouth while you did your best to ignore her, because you knew the meaning behind her action.

“Must be nice being able to appreciate vanity.” You nonchalantly vocalize, drying your hand with paper towels from the dispensary.

She chuckled, putting away her lipstick before staring at the mirror in front of you. Instead of the reflection of two figures in the mirror, there was only the face of one. She quickly packs her lipstick in her pouch, side-eying you with a glint.

“We enjoyed it as much as humans do. You would know how it felt won’t you?”

Past tense.

Your eyebrow twitches after noticing her choice of words. You were told to avoid any sort of confrontation with other creatures lurking among the students, especially when it comes to sirens. You don’t know what sort of intentions they have since each of them pretty much have their own agenda.

But you can’t help but remember the time where you had to take pictures of the swim team for the newspaper club before you turned a few months ago. You were hit with a large wave of water that took you by surprise with its strong chlorine scent that even bystanders at the sides were shocked.

At first, you thought, maybe because you had stood too close to the pool to get caught drenched in any of the swimmer’s splashing.

It was not until Liz, another member of the newspaper club whom you were partnered with, placed a towel around you out of concern did you realize how odd it was that you got wet when you had precisely stood outside the safety line around the pool.

You were evidently shocked by what happened, trying to make sense of it, but you didn’t want to worry the blonde girl, so you quickly followed her as she escorted you out of the venue. She held you protectively on the shoulder, eyes glancing back at the group of swimmers sitting at the bleachers with a dirty look, as if she knew something was up.

(Looking back, you were now sure that she might also be apart of the supernatural circle)

You could never forget the face of one of the swimmers who was giggling behind her hands when you curiously glanced their way as Liz helped to push away your wet hair; the same face that was standing right now beside you, ready to walk out of the bathroom.

“Enjoy your meal.” She looks back at you up and down, smiling so sweetly that you wanted to gag, but you opt to just grip the edge of the sink for support. She left with the soft sound of heels echoing the empty bathroom, leaving you behind with your own train of thoughts. And of course you knew what she meant by meal.

It was obvious what she did back at the pool was because of your association with vampires (whom you didn't even know at that time). Jay had mentioned that sirens and vampires didn’t not have the most friendliest history with each other, fueled by the horrendous bad blood between each other by a war centuries ago until today.

Even by the way he speaks, the amount of venom in his spite at just the mention of them brings great fear in you, that you almost felt like they did something more personal to him than just histories of bad blood.

But now that you were one of them, it was evident with the way she looked at you, that you were lower than dirt in her eyes. This was not some cliché college drama where the nerd gets picked on by the pretty and popular girls and ends up with the popular boy who sees her as not like other girls, living happily ever after.

The exchanges between you and Haewon at the bathroom represents the reality of the tense relationship between the various different species. You knew behind that sweet smile of hers, she could just tear you down into pieces with her claws alone, because to her, you were a newborn fawn being thrown in the wild among other predators.

This was your new life of dangers and mishaps mixed together to create a great chaos. Let’s just say you did your best to avoid Haewon and her groups of sirens.

Another group that you were told to avoid was, well, a vampire’s enemies since their very creation. The ones that were portrayed in every movie and media alike as a vampire’s parallel, a ying to their yang.

Werewolves.

But there were some exceptions to these rules when you were introduced to a pack that were unlike any other.

“Hello people who don't belong here.” Sunghoon silently approaches the living room of his shared dorm with Jake and Heeseung, having just arrived only to witness some unwelcoming guest sitting at the sofa.

“Hello.” the unison sound of your voices as well as the two other males, EJ and Nicholas elicit a deep sigh from Sunghoon, especially when there was not even a single sign of guilt in their tone. The sound of your howling victory with you and EJ jumping around a defeated and distraught Nicholas on the ground, the screen blaring with a huge game over sign, causing Sunghoon to roll his eyes.

“How did you guys even get inside?”

You showed him an awfully familiar key, “Jake said we can use the console, so you don’t have to worry if we broke in– Guys! What about another round?”

So the three continued playing, leaving a disapproving Sunghoon mumbling under his breath with annoyance, “Of course he would.”

But at least he knew he didn’t have to worry about your well-being, you fit right into their lives like a glove and silently, a smile creeped into his face when you turned around to face him with a big grin.

His mind went completely blank at the way you looked at him, feeling his heart flutter (he didn’t even know if it was possible) when he felt your hands on his to give him a controller. He can’t even coherently hear what you were saying, something about joining them play, until he saw the huge smug smirk on EJ and Nicholas’s faces behind you.

He beat both of them in the game, in exchange that they kept their mouths shut.

Taki was the sweetest of them all, which was a surprise to you considering that he was really close with Ni-ki. You just hope he doesn’t get influenced by that rascal. The only person who you were distant with was K, which didn’t surprise Jay that much when you mentioned it to him

“K doesn’t like anyone.” Jay said earnestly. “It’s a bond thing. He’ll warm up to you eventually like everyone else”

“Well,” you muttered simply, shoving your hands in the pockets on your jacket. “He is staring at me like I have three heads”

Jay raised an eyebrow, “He does not–” he paused a bit, some kind of memory passed by until he lowered his eyes, “–okay, maybe you are right.”

You gave him a knowing look before wandering to look around the unfamiliar place. “What is this place actually?”

You knew this place as the location where you had woken up the day you were turned, where Sunghoon had told you about your new transformation and the first time you had tasted blood. The room being one of the many areas of the mansion-like territory known as The Sanctuary.

It was a tiny abandoned house in the middle of nowhere from the eyes of onlookers from outside, which are those who don’t belong in the supernatural circle. There were whispers of haunted and dark stories behind the landmark among the townspeople when you were younger, with no one daring to step foot without feeling the ominous threat surrounding the house.

You guess that was one of its mechanisms to drive people away from the place.

“A safe spot for us, conceal at the eyes of any humans or creatures unless they knew the location already. This is where we would most likely gather if anything happens.” Jay sat down at one of the camelback sofas, crossing his legs in a comfortable position. “Be careful with that.”

You immediately flinch, retrieving your hand apologetically after curiously touching at a small cauldron on a table. “Sorry. Is that sand inside?”

“That’s dust. I’ll tell you later when we have more time.”

“Great.” you let the word linger in your mouth, eyes darting at the fireplace at the middle of the room. Even at first glance, you knew the fire was not normal, there was no firewood underneath to fuel it. “How does concealing even work? Is it like another one of a vampire’s abilities?”

You remember Ni-Ki’s ability to teleport and the subtle hints of Jake possibly having the ability to control fire once by accident. Maybe it was the ability of glamour, but you recall Jay telling you only a certain clan of vampires possess the ability, particularly those who have gone rogue.

Jay shook his head, arranging some items at the side of the table. Maybe he was worried you might start touching things again. “This place was built by multiple witches centuries before I was born. I can’t really say much other than it's built with much ancient, unfathomable magic.”

It did make sense why there were so many witch-like items in the place. The lingering scent of strong incense kept burning at the corner of rooms, jars of untouched and unknown substances filled with cobwebs sat in groups at the shelves, and not to mention the cauldron you saw just a few seconds ago.

Maybe it was a sign for you to stop touching something you were curious about that could potentially be a hazard to your safety.

“How’s it going with Sunghoon?” Jay asks.

“Fine.” For some reason, the little speckle of fire was more interesting to you than the conversation. “He’s busy with classes and stuff like normal. Nothing out of the ordinary honestly.” you shrugged.

“You know that’s not what I’m talking about.” Jay sighed. “You….haven’t had the talk with him yet, did you?”

The guilty expression on your face says it all. You already knew what he meant even without much explanation. Even though your relationship with Sunghoon didn’t change much ever since that day, you can’t deny the sudden small distance that manifested between you two.

It was funny how it used to be so easy to talk to him about things, even if Sunghoon tends to be the person who would avoid confrontation as much as possible. But if you were willing to push that boundary, it seems to help him ease into the situation even more.

Now that you were the one being hesitant, none of you were willing to approach the bottled up feelings inside.

The silence that followed was filled with the sound of crackling fire and the soft ticking of the grandfather clock that didn’t even show the right time. You wonder why it was even there, maybe just for the aesthetic of the room.

“You know he still feels guilty about what happened.” Jay started, watching you closely.

“Maybe take the time to talk it out with him because I know–” Jay thoughtfully propped his chin on the palm of his hand, “–you don’t blame him for it.”

“I know, I know. I’ll….take the time to talk to him.” you slowly admitted, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear. “Why do you always have the solution to everything?”

Jay chuckled, giving you a pleased look. “Comes with age, kid.”

This was the first time you went out in the dead of winter without a proper attire. You lay down on a pile of snow, feeling the cushiony texture underneath the bare skin of your hand. If you had done the same thing when you were human, you’ll be left with frostbites all over your skin.

“What are you doing?” Sunghoon breath out above you while you proceed to move your hands and legs in a star shape pattern. A smile cracked on his face when he saw you staring back underneath him with a whimsical laugh.

“A snow angel.” you said, letting out a gentle sigh whilst feeling the snow underneath you turn shallow at every motion. “Today would be the last day of snowfall. It would be ashamed if we didn’t do anything with this amount of snow.” you tugged at the hems of his pants, eyes in a pleading look. “Come on Sunghoon, join me so I don’t look crazy.”

“You already look crazy even without me.” He crackled, looking around the vicinity before reluctantly laying down beside you. You beamed at him before looking up at night sky– it was so cold that you could make out the thin mist circulating the air, but it didn’t hide the slight glimmer of the stars above you from shining.

There was a calm silence, the only sound emitting from the soft movements of you and Sunghoon’s limbs against the snow in an attempt to create a snow angel.

“This reminds me, when I was young during winter,” you hear Sunghoon cut through the silence with a nostalgic voice, causing you to turn your head slightly to look at him. “Me and my little sister would play snowball fights the entire day until my parents had to drag us both inside before we freeze to death.”

You can’t help but notice how radiant he looks reminiscing the story, staring off into the distance as if he was watching the scene play out like it was yesterday. For the longest time you knew him, it was not often he would get sentimental, so you waited for him to continue, feeling yourself falling more deep into his voice.

“We would beg our parents for a few more minutes. We deciding on making snow angels, thinking it would make a mark to remember the fun things we did that day.” Sunghoon lick the bottom of his lips, the dryness of the air together with talking for too long resulted in his lips feeling chapped.

He let out an endearing laugh, watching his chest vibrate at the action. “You could imagine how sad we were the next morning when it disappeared.”

“I could only imagine how your little sister felt.”

He let out a dramatic sigh, rolling his eyes. “Oh, yeah she definitely reacted very strongly. The amount of tears running down her face would make you think she lost her stuffed animal which –for a kid her age– is a very serious deal.”

Both of you continue to laugh amid the silent night, seeing the vapors floating to the sky every time a breath of exhale exits out. Sunghoon gets lost in the story that he didn’t even think twice about the words coming out of his mouth the next second.

“And then, when the temperature was just right, our parents would bring us to the lake nearby our house. Me and my little sister would bring our little ice skates and–” hearing him choke on his own words, you watch the small smile on his face turn into a deep frown as he begins to realize where his story was leading to.

The pause lasted for a few seconds as Sunghoon pondered whether he should continue or not, but you took the initiative to open your mouth first.

“When I was young, my family used to make gingerbread cookies all the time.” you looked away from him, staring at a particular spot on the sky that you swore was a shooting star. “I would accidently put too much cinnamon in the batter that I would cry because it tasted too spicy.”

The memory struck something in you, imagining the warm sensation and the sharp taste of the spice overwhelming your senses and the sound of your parents panicking when you started whaling out loud. It made you feel bad that they had to calm you down, but it gave you a great lesson the next time you baked those cookies with them.

“Sounds horrible.” Sunghoon winced.

“Wait until you hear the story when I first discovered that Santa Clause isn't real.”

Sunghoon shook his head with a small smile, tracing his fingers on the snow gently in an attempt to keep him composed at just the thought of little you discovering such shocking news. He had to bite back the grin from forming.

“Talking about all these memories feels overwhelmingly bitter-sweet, don’t you think?” you said, swallowing down the lump in your throat. “I never thought memories could be so precious until now. It's nice to know I’ll be able to keep them.”

Your words brought such complicated feelings to Sunghoon that he stayed silent the whole time after that. The both of you stayed un-moving in your laying position, to the point where you could feel the shape of your body molding into the bed of snow on the ground.

You let the snowflakes flutter down to rest on your face, closing your eyes from time to time, expecting it to melt from the contact, but it lingers on your skin until you realize you no longer have the warmth to make it possible. You felt Sunghoon shift closer until the ends of your shoulder met and you were hyper aware that his hands were now inches away from yours.

“Have you ever thought about a world where everyone you loved and know will no longer be with you?” He exhaled shakily that you were worried he was going to break.

“God, I can’t even imagine that honestly.” you breathe out. You were shaking too, but you knew you had to keep going, or not, you’re afraid that this fear and sentiment will make you crumble under the thoughts. “But, I think, you don’t choose the fate where it lies, you know? You're just gonna have to make the best out of it, and hope that only good things come of it.”

You turn to look at him and at the same time, Sunghoon seems to sense your gaze as he turns to look at you as well. His eyes were always so piercing that you could feel it deep in your heart but now, he gazes at you as gently as the snowflakes that gather on the highs of his cheeks.

Your eyes observed the moles on his face, the one positioned close to his eyes were prominent with the amount of distance between you two. You wonder if he could hear your heart beating but then again, with his enhanced hearing, what sound could he not out-hear?

You saw solace in the windows of his soul, every hint of guilt slowly disappearing at your words of reassurance. Although it was indirect, it was enough for him to know that you were fine, and would always be, so you don’t have to drown yourself in this sorrow alone.

At that moment, he just wanted to grab your hand and run away until it was just the both of you in this world because, at this time and place and moment, there is a crack in his ribcage in the shape of your name from when you stole his heart that it almost made him breathless.

“Don’t look at me like that.” His gaze never left yours when said that.

“Like what?”

His eyes wavered, as if it reflects the movement of his heart at the moment when you move to graze at his fingers with yours. This time, there were no pairs of wool gloves in your way to feel the texture of his skin against yours.

“Like I’m the most important person in your eyes right now.”

Damn, he really knows how to hit the nail on the head with that one. You weren’t even aware that you held your breath, but you took a second to remind yourself to inhale and exhale properly.

“What if I was?” you look away when his stare was too much for you to bear. “I’ve always been for a while. You're just too scared to admit it.”

Unexpectedly, you hear him let out a laugh. “Are you confessing to me right now?” He shifts to tangle his pinky finger with yours while you stop the urge to laugh as well, welcoming his action by tightening the grip.

“Only if you feel the same way.”

By this time, you were sure that if you and Sunghoon stayed for another hour, you'd be buried under the pile of snow as well. The tips of your ears had been in contact with the snow until you could feel the numbing sensation. Sunghoon fell silent once again, but this time, you could tell that he was gathering his thoughts with the way he would occasionally brush his legs over yours in a playful manner.

“I like you, y/n, I really do.”

He almost whispered into the night, like a gentle lullaby, but you heard it loud and clear, moving your hands to finally intertwine with his. You and Sunghoon enjoyed the rest of each other's company, basking in the winter atmosphere and the thoughts of the future; spending each other’s eternity until the end.

You were startled when he moved to stand up, causing you to sit up in confusion, speckles of snowflakes just falling out of place from your clothes. You raised your eyebrow when he turned to look at you with an excited grin that reached his ears that was almost contagious. You had to contain your laugh at how messy his hair was.

“Let’s go.”

“Go where?” you asked, but he was already tugging your hand, encouraging you to stand up as well.

“I’m going to teach you ice skating again. And this time–” He leaned in, and you swore you saw the galaxy reflecting on the irises of his eyes when he looked at you.

“I’m not letting you go.”

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