[SuJu - Various] Unstillbare Gier (8/?)
Pairing: SiHanChul, KyuMiMin, YeWook
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 3548
Summary: They had never known fun nights out could end them up entangled in a game far more dangerous than their imagination allowed. (Vampire AU)
Notes: Collaboration with onewhomust @ ategoto
[Part 1], [Part 2], [Part 3], [Part 4], [Part 5], [Part 6], [Part 7], [Part 8], [Part 9]
If Kibum really thought locking Kyuhyun in a room was actually going to keep him from leaving again, the older vampire was seriously underestimating Kyuhyun's skills. Threatening his friends was one thing, but locking him in a room without video games was something else entirely, and not the kind of thing Kyuhyun would stand for. Kyuhyun paused at that thought. Maybe his priorities were a little mixed up.
Getting out again had been just as easy as it had been the first time. It probably helped that everyone in the house was so distracted with trying to save that person from Heechul's clan - Ryeowook? - that had been brought to the house, filling it with the smell of blood so much that it had almost made Kyuhyun physically sick. Things were getting worse, it didn't take a genius like Kyuhyun to see it. And despite Kibum's threats against his friends, he knew he needed to seek them out, to warn them.
The first thing he had to do, though, was ensure their safety from Kibum's clan, and if he could gloat a little at getting away again, then he had no problems doing that either. Which was why he took great joy in leaving a note for them to find whenever they finally noticed his disappearance. If you hurt my friends, the entire city is going to know all about what you are by the end of the night, the note had said. He had signed it Pwned by Cho Kyuhyun and left it in plain sight-- enough to act as evidence that he had slipped out of the house with such ease that they should really be ashamed.
He was free again, and left with a choice: to go back to Heechul's apartment, or to search out Siwon and Donghae. If he had time, both, but as easy as it had been to escape Kibum's house, he didn't doubt that once they noticed he was gone, they would immediately be searching for him again, just like last time. He just had to make sure he got everything he wanted to do accomplished before then.
Siwon and Donghae had to be found first, he decided. They were in more danger than Hankyung was right now. They were also much harder to find than simply going back to Heechul's apartment, thought Kyuhyun as he scanned the streets for any sign of them. The two had still been looking for himself and Hankyung, which meant they had been talking to people, asking questions... surely that would be memorable, so all Kyuhyun would have to do would be find a few of the people they had been asking. That would probably give him a good lead to wherever they were looking for him now.
All it took was asking the right questions for Kyuhyun to already know where they had been the last few days within a few minutes-- which meant they were probably still hanging around the same area, combing it for information, just as they had been doing before Kyuhyun was taken.
And they weren't the only ones, Kyuhyun realized as he walked now a near deserted street. Deserted except for one person heading in his direction. A very familiar person. "Hankyung!"
Hankyung almost looked like he wanted to run away the moment he saw him. Kyuhyun would say he looked pale as the dead but... well, that would be with a complete lack of tact, and for as upset as Hankyung looked, Kyuhyun really didn't think that would be a good idea.
The silence between them was stretching and it was more than irritating Kyuhyun, so he finally broke it, asking, "What's wrong with you?"
"I..." Hankyung paused, struggling for words. Something had happened, Kyuhyun could tell that. Hankyung just shook his head, clearing his mind. "What are you doing out? Did you escape again?"
Changing the subject. Like Kyuhyun would let him get away with that. "You aren't answering my question. What happened?" has asked firmly.
"I found Siwon and Donghae." Kyuhyun's eyes widened, and he let a small swear escape from under his breath. "I was out with Heechul, and we saw them. Kyuhyun, I... when I found Siwon, I wanted to bite him. I wanted to drink from him."
"You wanted to what?" Out of everything Kyuhyun had been expecting to hear from Hankyung, that had been the least likely. Hankyung, who had been one of the most gentle and caring people Kyuhyun knew when he was alive, had wanted to bite - and possibly kill - one of the people he had loved most. What kind of monsters had they become?
"It's not that uncommon." They both gave a jump as the red-head that Kyuhyun knew had to be Heechul appeared beside them from seemingly nowhere, settling up to Hankyung's side and running a black painted finger nail across his neck. "It's just because you wanted him so much, you know. Desire. It's not something to be ashamed of."
Hankyung gritted his teeth at the touch. "Shut the fuck up, Heechul."
Heechul just smirked, but he backed off, stepping away to further gauge Kyuhyun's presence. "Kibum let you escape again? He's really good at doing that."
Kyuhyun let out a snort. "Yeah, he is. All of them are pretty good at failing." Probably the truest thing Kyuhyun had said all night. But he had other things to worry about: Hankyung wanting to kill Siwon and the fact that even without that, Siwon and Donghae's lives were in danger. He didn't know where to start anymore.
"What happened with Siwon? Other than you wanting to kill him, I mean." Kyuhyun grimaced after he spoke, realizing that those probably weren't the best words to use right now. "Sorry."
"Hankyungie tried to warn him not to look for you two anymore," Heechul answered, and if Kyuhyun wasn't mistaken, the red-head had slipped a comforting hand onto Hankyung's back. Well, as comforting as Kyuhyun thought Heechul could be. "I don't think he listened, but it's not my problem."
"Where was he?" Maybe if Kyuhyun talked to Siwon and Donghae, probably more calmly than Hankyung had, he might get them to listen. Maybe. He was at least pretty sure that he wouldn't want to bite them, which was one step up from what Hankyung had done.
"I'm not telling you," Heechul snapped in reply. "You shouldn't even be here. Do you know how many problems you cause every time you escape?"
Kyuhyun's eyes narrowed. Heechul wasn't going to help him. He should have assumed as much. He knew well enough that he was causing problems between the two clans, but for the sake of protecting the two of his friends that were left alive, he was perfectly okay with that. He shot a glance at Hankyung, hoping for something, but the other remained mute. If Heechul had any of the control over his childe that Kibum had over Kyuhyun, then Hankyung was likely being forced into silence. But Kyuhyun couldn't be so sure anymore. It seemed like Hankyung was slowly becoming more integrated as a real member of Heechul's clan...
Kyuhyun's lips curved into a smirk as he realized that he had one up on Heechul. "I guess you don't want to know what happened to Ryeowook, then."
-
Siwon wasn't sure what hit him harder, Hankyung running away from him, or Heechul's implication that his boyfriend -ex boyfriend? - still cared for him.
None of it made any sense, Hankyung disappearing, staying away even when he obviously was roaming the city as he liked. The despair in the Chinese man's eyes as he looked at him like a million secrets wanted to spill from his lips, the way he had seemed to need Heechul's support to even make it through this encounter. Not even the way the other man had disappeared into thin air after Hankyung had run. What was even going on here?
Donghae pulled at his arm once more, and it was only then that his friend's words sunk in. "What do you mean, their teeth?"
Siwon had noticed nothing out of the ordinary, but then, he had not exactly been staring at Hankyung's teeth of all things. Unlike Donghae who noticed the strangest things in the most impossible situations. Really, their teeth?
"They were, I don't know," his friend paused, as if he was searching for the right words, "...pointy. Like fangs, only Hankyung never had fangs, did he?"
Siwon almost had to snort. That sounded even more ridiculous than the Mafia or aliens. Well, maybe not as ridiculous as an alien abduction. "Donghae, humans don't have fangs." The very idea was bizarre, Hankyung hadn't suddenly turned into some fanged monster of the night just because he had disappeared. But the other man had always been rather good at thinking up the craziest theories to what happened.
"No, Siwon, I'm serious." One look at Donghae's face made him still, there wasn't even a trace of a smile to be seen, "when Heechul pulled me off of Hankyung like that, I thought I was hallucinating, but..."
He shuddered, remembering that all too well. Donghae was by no means weak, and judging by how scrawny the red-head looked, there was no way he would have been able to just pry him off with seemingly no effort at all.
"Did you even see the way Hankyung was looking at you before he ran?" Donghae continued, and Siwon had to admit he had a point, "like you were his favourite food and he was going to pounce any moment. And then that comment about the cross, it's really..."
A small, strangled sound fell from Siwon's throat and he felt the sudden urge to sit down, trying to process things. It fit, it all fit far too well, but... that just wasn't possible.
"Siwonnie..." Donghae was crouched next to him and it was only then that he realized he had sunken down to the ground in his daze, "I know I'm spacey sometimes, but I also know what I saw."
"That's just crazy! There is no such thing as... as that," he finished lamely, refusing to even speak the word. Vampires? Hah. Those were tales parents told to scare their children, stories made up to explain things people couldn't understand. Used in pop culture because apparently the danger was supposed to be appealing. They were not real, and even if they were, vampires belonged to Transylvania into creepy castles, and not into fancy clubs in the middle of Seoul.
Donghae sighed next to him, pulling him into a quick hug, "Let's just look into it, okay? It makes too much sense to just push the thought aside."
No, it didn't. It made no sense whatsoever. It was impossible for the undead to exist, it went against the very creation of God. Unnatural, and absolutely impossible. Siwon shuddered.
"Your friend here has a point." Siwon's head whipped around to face the two strangers suddenly stepping out of the shadows.
A man and a woman, both dressed all in black, except for a silver cross dangling very pointedly over what looked like a uniform. And a gun holster at their sides. "Who are you? Police?"
Going by the short bark of laughter coming out of the woman's mouth he had been wrong in that point. But why the guns? Street thugs? No, they looked too respectable for that. Siwon frowned, getting up and pushing Donghae behind him. Whoever these people were, they seemed dangerous.
"Let's just say we care for a different kind of criminals." The man tapped at his cross, as if wanting to indicate something.
"Are you vampire hunters?" Donghae was out from behind him quicker than Siwon could warn him to be careful, staring at the two with a wide-eyes innocence that really, only Donghae could possess. Who in the world was randomly trusting of people with guns in a darkened alley?
"I guess you could call us that, in a way." Siwon froze up at that admission, narrowing his eyes at the two. Was he surrounded by crazies or something.
"There is no such thing as vamp--" he began, only to be interrupted by Donghae's babbling.
"Then were you going to save Hankyungie and Kyuhyunnie? Because we think they were kidnapped by Heechul or something and I think Siwonnie is going to go crazy if he can't have Hankyungie back."
Honestly, why was Donghae telling all this to complete strangers? They could in no way be sure that Heechul hadn't sent them to get rid of him and Donghae and even if that wasn't the case, it was still dangerous to trust someone with this information. The woman's next words made him pause, however.
"That was why we are contacting you. Kibum and Heechul have been left to their little clan war long enough if they already start involving normal humans." Kibum. That was a new name, one they could potentially use in their search. But did that mean Kyuhyun and Hankyung had somehow found themselves involved on different sides of a turf war? That would be even worse than them just running off with Heechul, even though he still refused to believe this had anything to do with supernatural creatures.
"Seeing how these two used to be your friends, we were hoping you could help us in tracking them down. Possibly save your friends." There was an edge to the woman's smile, but Siwon might have been imagining that because just a moment later she looked at him with genuine compassion in her eyes, "We never wanted regular humans to get involved in this."
Siwon swallowed, grabbing Donghae's arm before the other could agree to something they maybe shouldn't. "Let us think about it for a few days."
--
Kibum did not know who to be more angry at: Kyuhyun, for escaping yet again, his clan members for allowing it to happen a second time, or himself for letting Hyukjae pick this boy of all people to turn. No, he couldn't be angry over picking Kyuhyun. Given time, Kibum hoped, he could become a valuable asset to their clan; he was witty, smart, and most certainly evil and plotting. The perfect make for a vampire, really, and in a way, he even reminded Kibum of himself when he was younger. It was just going to take some convincing to get Kyuhyun to see the light, metaphorically speaking. Still, Kibum didn't doubt it could happen.
But that would take time, and Kyuhyun was definitely not doing any good for the clan by escaping and stirring things up with Heechul's group. If Kibum was going to follow Henry's advice and momentarily patch things up with the group - though he still wasn't sure why he should - having his youngest vampire out and probably screwing everything up was not the way to make it happen.
His eyes flicked over to the note that Kyuhyun had left behind, and he reached out for it, taking only a moment to read it. "I'm going to kill him," he swore under his breath. Evil indeed. Threatening to expose the clan... did Kyuhyun even realize what they would mean for him? If he was the one that exposed them, he would be the first one killed. Idiot.
"Hyukjae! Shindong!" Kibum's voice boomed through the house as he crumpled the note in his hand with enough strength to have cracked Kyuhyun's skull if he had been here.
"Sir?" Hyukjae was sheepish in front of him. Ashamed about letting Kyuhyun escape again? He should be.
Kibum tried not to let the rage seep into his voice. Tried, but wasn't very successful. "Is it that difficult to keep an eye on a newly turned vampire? How weak are you two?"
Shindong cleared his throat nervously as he spoke. "With all due respect... for a new vampire, he's very smart. And we were busy with Ryeowook, too..."
"Not an excuse!" snapped Kibum. "Ryeowook is not one of ours, and he is not our priority. Your job was to keep an eye on Kyuhyun, and--" A loud knock on the front door interrupted him. "Who the hell is that?"
If it was one of his own, they would have let themselves in. Henry? But Kibum didn't know why he would return so soon after Kibum had nearly pushed him out of the door at the news that Kyuhyun was missing again. He wasn't expecting anyone. He frowned, giving Shindong and Hyukjae a look that said "Be prepared for anything" as he made his way to open the door.
The smell of the other vampire hit him first as he opened the door, but it was nothing to prepare him for the red head's smug look. Kibum's eyes narrowed. "Heechul."
The same let himself in, uninvited of course. "I think you have something that belongs to me."
"Ryeowook is here, if that's what you're saying. Incapable of caring for your own boys, Heechul? I don't understand why I had to be the one to take care of him when he was injured." Kibum was very carefully watching Heechul, trying to guess if he was here to fight.
Rolling his eyes at Kibum, Heechul muttered, "Don't get your panties in a bunch, Kibum, I'm just here for Ryeowook this time."
Kibum ignored the insult and relaxed, but only slightly. It was never safe to completely trust anything that came out of Heechul's mouth. However, from the looks of things, Heechul had come by himself. Even as strong as the other vampire was, he was no match for a houseful of Kibum's clan, so it was very likely that he wouldn't try anything. All Kibum had to do then, was get Heechul in and out of the house quickly and without causing any problems. "He's in our living room."
"Like I couldn't have figured that out myself," huffed Heechul. He had been heading towards the staircase, but immediately changed directions, trying to appear like he had known what he was doing all along. Kibum just shook his head at Heechul's attitude, following behind him to the room and signaling to Hyukjae and Shindong to follow as well. What they found was Yesung hunched over the couch, watching over Ryeowook's small, pale form.
"Yah, get away from him, you'll get your smell all over him." Yesung all but jumped away as Heechul shoved at him before lifting up Ryeowook's lithe body with a relative ease. Kibum could see worry etched into Yesung's face. It looked like that talk about not getting involved with other clan's was going to be happening sooner rather than later.
"You're not going to thank us for saving your Ryeowook's life?" asked Kibum as Heechul made his way to the door without so much as a "good bye."
Heechul stopped for a moment, as if he was considering. "Nope," he replied decisively, and he was out the door again in a matter of seconds.
-
Yesung knew the talk was forthcoming the moment Kibum saw him all huddled over Ryeowook's lifeless figure. No, he had known even before that, when he had been unable to hide his concern about the other vampire's wounds on the night he had found him. Kibum was bound to misunderstand the situation.
He sighed, leaning back on the sofa Ryeowook had been lying on just minutes earlier before Heechul had stormed in and taken him away. No, not away, he had to correct himself. Taken him home. Yesung had to admit that he was still rather worried for the other, it was days after the attack and he had still not woken up. Had he lost that much blood? It was not uncommon for a vampire to slip into a comatose state for a while if that happened, but not for so long. Usually at least.
But then, nothing of that attack had been usual.
Yesung barely even looked up when Kibum took the space next to him. The older vampire didn't need any physical reaction to know his presence was noticed anyway.
"You are being extremely foolish, Yesung."
Kibum didn't say anything for a while and Yesung leaned back with a sigh, "Would you believe me if I said it's not what it looks like?" It sounded terribly clichéd even to his own ears and the snort he received in reply let him know it was precisely the same for the other vampire.
It was the truth though. The only reason he had been worried was that Ryeowook was his prey, and his alone. He would not allow anyone to take that privilege off his hands, even if it meant protecting the enemy. If anyone had a right to kill Ryeowook, it was him. Not some mysterious third party that none of them even really knew of. Yesung grit his teeth. He would definitely get revenge for this.
"Don't grow attached. Even if we form an alliance, and that is a big if, I will not tolerate you having feelings for one of Heechul's boys."
"I don't," Yesung shot back, almost too quickly, "but he is mine to kill."
The wry smile Kibum shot him before leaving the room did not speak of how much his sire believed him.
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 3548
Summary: They had never known fun nights out could end them up entangled in a game far more dangerous than their imagination allowed. (Vampire AU)
Notes: Collaboration with onewhomust @ ategoto
[Part 1], [Part 2], [Part 3], [Part 4], [Part 5], [Part 6], [Part 7], [Part 8], [Part 9]
If Kibum really thought locking Kyuhyun in a room was actually going to keep him from leaving again, the older vampire was seriously underestimating Kyuhyun's skills. Threatening his friends was one thing, but locking him in a room without video games was something else entirely, and not the kind of thing Kyuhyun would stand for. Kyuhyun paused at that thought. Maybe his priorities were a little mixed up.
Getting out again had been just as easy as it had been the first time. It probably helped that everyone in the house was so distracted with trying to save that person from Heechul's clan - Ryeowook? - that had been brought to the house, filling it with the smell of blood so much that it had almost made Kyuhyun physically sick. Things were getting worse, it didn't take a genius like Kyuhyun to see it. And despite Kibum's threats against his friends, he knew he needed to seek them out, to warn them.
The first thing he had to do, though, was ensure their safety from Kibum's clan, and if he could gloat a little at getting away again, then he had no problems doing that either. Which was why he took great joy in leaving a note for them to find whenever they finally noticed his disappearance. If you hurt my friends, the entire city is going to know all about what you are by the end of the night, the note had said. He had signed it Pwned by Cho Kyuhyun and left it in plain sight-- enough to act as evidence that he had slipped out of the house with such ease that they should really be ashamed.
He was free again, and left with a choice: to go back to Heechul's apartment, or to search out Siwon and Donghae. If he had time, both, but as easy as it had been to escape Kibum's house, he didn't doubt that once they noticed he was gone, they would immediately be searching for him again, just like last time. He just had to make sure he got everything he wanted to do accomplished before then.
Siwon and Donghae had to be found first, he decided. They were in more danger than Hankyung was right now. They were also much harder to find than simply going back to Heechul's apartment, thought Kyuhyun as he scanned the streets for any sign of them. The two had still been looking for himself and Hankyung, which meant they had been talking to people, asking questions... surely that would be memorable, so all Kyuhyun would have to do would be find a few of the people they had been asking. That would probably give him a good lead to wherever they were looking for him now.
All it took was asking the right questions for Kyuhyun to already know where they had been the last few days within a few minutes-- which meant they were probably still hanging around the same area, combing it for information, just as they had been doing before Kyuhyun was taken.
And they weren't the only ones, Kyuhyun realized as he walked now a near deserted street. Deserted except for one person heading in his direction. A very familiar person. "Hankyung!"
Hankyung almost looked like he wanted to run away the moment he saw him. Kyuhyun would say he looked pale as the dead but... well, that would be with a complete lack of tact, and for as upset as Hankyung looked, Kyuhyun really didn't think that would be a good idea.
The silence between them was stretching and it was more than irritating Kyuhyun, so he finally broke it, asking, "What's wrong with you?"
"I..." Hankyung paused, struggling for words. Something had happened, Kyuhyun could tell that. Hankyung just shook his head, clearing his mind. "What are you doing out? Did you escape again?"
Changing the subject. Like Kyuhyun would let him get away with that. "You aren't answering my question. What happened?" has asked firmly.
"I found Siwon and Donghae." Kyuhyun's eyes widened, and he let a small swear escape from under his breath. "I was out with Heechul, and we saw them. Kyuhyun, I... when I found Siwon, I wanted to bite him. I wanted to drink from him."
"You wanted to what?" Out of everything Kyuhyun had been expecting to hear from Hankyung, that had been the least likely. Hankyung, who had been one of the most gentle and caring people Kyuhyun knew when he was alive, had wanted to bite - and possibly kill - one of the people he had loved most. What kind of monsters had they become?
"It's not that uncommon." They both gave a jump as the red-head that Kyuhyun knew had to be Heechul appeared beside them from seemingly nowhere, settling up to Hankyung's side and running a black painted finger nail across his neck. "It's just because you wanted him so much, you know. Desire. It's not something to be ashamed of."
Hankyung gritted his teeth at the touch. "Shut the fuck up, Heechul."
Heechul just smirked, but he backed off, stepping away to further gauge Kyuhyun's presence. "Kibum let you escape again? He's really good at doing that."
Kyuhyun let out a snort. "Yeah, he is. All of them are pretty good at failing." Probably the truest thing Kyuhyun had said all night. But he had other things to worry about: Hankyung wanting to kill Siwon and the fact that even without that, Siwon and Donghae's lives were in danger. He didn't know where to start anymore.
"What happened with Siwon? Other than you wanting to kill him, I mean." Kyuhyun grimaced after he spoke, realizing that those probably weren't the best words to use right now. "Sorry."
"Hankyungie tried to warn him not to look for you two anymore," Heechul answered, and if Kyuhyun wasn't mistaken, the red-head had slipped a comforting hand onto Hankyung's back. Well, as comforting as Kyuhyun thought Heechul could be. "I don't think he listened, but it's not my problem."
"Where was he?" Maybe if Kyuhyun talked to Siwon and Donghae, probably more calmly than Hankyung had, he might get them to listen. Maybe. He was at least pretty sure that he wouldn't want to bite them, which was one step up from what Hankyung had done.
"I'm not telling you," Heechul snapped in reply. "You shouldn't even be here. Do you know how many problems you cause every time you escape?"
Kyuhyun's eyes narrowed. Heechul wasn't going to help him. He should have assumed as much. He knew well enough that he was causing problems between the two clans, but for the sake of protecting the two of his friends that were left alive, he was perfectly okay with that. He shot a glance at Hankyung, hoping for something, but the other remained mute. If Heechul had any of the control over his childe that Kibum had over Kyuhyun, then Hankyung was likely being forced into silence. But Kyuhyun couldn't be so sure anymore. It seemed like Hankyung was slowly becoming more integrated as a real member of Heechul's clan...
Kyuhyun's lips curved into a smirk as he realized that he had one up on Heechul. "I guess you don't want to know what happened to Ryeowook, then."
-
Siwon wasn't sure what hit him harder, Hankyung running away from him, or Heechul's implication that his boyfriend -ex boyfriend? - still cared for him.
None of it made any sense, Hankyung disappearing, staying away even when he obviously was roaming the city as he liked. The despair in the Chinese man's eyes as he looked at him like a million secrets wanted to spill from his lips, the way he had seemed to need Heechul's support to even make it through this encounter. Not even the way the other man had disappeared into thin air after Hankyung had run. What was even going on here?
Donghae pulled at his arm once more, and it was only then that his friend's words sunk in. "What do you mean, their teeth?"
Siwon had noticed nothing out of the ordinary, but then, he had not exactly been staring at Hankyung's teeth of all things. Unlike Donghae who noticed the strangest things in the most impossible situations. Really, their teeth?
"They were, I don't know," his friend paused, as if he was searching for the right words, "...pointy. Like fangs, only Hankyung never had fangs, did he?"
Siwon almost had to snort. That sounded even more ridiculous than the Mafia or aliens. Well, maybe not as ridiculous as an alien abduction. "Donghae, humans don't have fangs." The very idea was bizarre, Hankyung hadn't suddenly turned into some fanged monster of the night just because he had disappeared. But the other man had always been rather good at thinking up the craziest theories to what happened.
"No, Siwon, I'm serious." One look at Donghae's face made him still, there wasn't even a trace of a smile to be seen, "when Heechul pulled me off of Hankyung like that, I thought I was hallucinating, but..."
He shuddered, remembering that all too well. Donghae was by no means weak, and judging by how scrawny the red-head looked, there was no way he would have been able to just pry him off with seemingly no effort at all.
"Did you even see the way Hankyung was looking at you before he ran?" Donghae continued, and Siwon had to admit he had a point, "like you were his favourite food and he was going to pounce any moment. And then that comment about the cross, it's really..."
A small, strangled sound fell from Siwon's throat and he felt the sudden urge to sit down, trying to process things. It fit, it all fit far too well, but... that just wasn't possible.
"Siwonnie..." Donghae was crouched next to him and it was only then that he realized he had sunken down to the ground in his daze, "I know I'm spacey sometimes, but I also know what I saw."
"That's just crazy! There is no such thing as... as that," he finished lamely, refusing to even speak the word. Vampires? Hah. Those were tales parents told to scare their children, stories made up to explain things people couldn't understand. Used in pop culture because apparently the danger was supposed to be appealing. They were not real, and even if they were, vampires belonged to Transylvania into creepy castles, and not into fancy clubs in the middle of Seoul.
Donghae sighed next to him, pulling him into a quick hug, "Let's just look into it, okay? It makes too much sense to just push the thought aside."
No, it didn't. It made no sense whatsoever. It was impossible for the undead to exist, it went against the very creation of God. Unnatural, and absolutely impossible. Siwon shuddered.
"Your friend here has a point." Siwon's head whipped around to face the two strangers suddenly stepping out of the shadows.
A man and a woman, both dressed all in black, except for a silver cross dangling very pointedly over what looked like a uniform. And a gun holster at their sides. "Who are you? Police?"
Going by the short bark of laughter coming out of the woman's mouth he had been wrong in that point. But why the guns? Street thugs? No, they looked too respectable for that. Siwon frowned, getting up and pushing Donghae behind him. Whoever these people were, they seemed dangerous.
"Let's just say we care for a different kind of criminals." The man tapped at his cross, as if wanting to indicate something.
"Are you vampire hunters?" Donghae was out from behind him quicker than Siwon could warn him to be careful, staring at the two with a wide-eyes innocence that really, only Donghae could possess. Who in the world was randomly trusting of people with guns in a darkened alley?
"I guess you could call us that, in a way." Siwon froze up at that admission, narrowing his eyes at the two. Was he surrounded by crazies or something.
"There is no such thing as vamp--" he began, only to be interrupted by Donghae's babbling.
"Then were you going to save Hankyungie and Kyuhyunnie? Because we think they were kidnapped by Heechul or something and I think Siwonnie is going to go crazy if he can't have Hankyungie back."
Honestly, why was Donghae telling all this to complete strangers? They could in no way be sure that Heechul hadn't sent them to get rid of him and Donghae and even if that wasn't the case, it was still dangerous to trust someone with this information. The woman's next words made him pause, however.
"That was why we are contacting you. Kibum and Heechul have been left to their little clan war long enough if they already start involving normal humans." Kibum. That was a new name, one they could potentially use in their search. But did that mean Kyuhyun and Hankyung had somehow found themselves involved on different sides of a turf war? That would be even worse than them just running off with Heechul, even though he still refused to believe this had anything to do with supernatural creatures.
"Seeing how these two used to be your friends, we were hoping you could help us in tracking them down. Possibly save your friends." There was an edge to the woman's smile, but Siwon might have been imagining that because just a moment later she looked at him with genuine compassion in her eyes, "We never wanted regular humans to get involved in this."
Siwon swallowed, grabbing Donghae's arm before the other could agree to something they maybe shouldn't. "Let us think about it for a few days."
--
Kibum did not know who to be more angry at: Kyuhyun, for escaping yet again, his clan members for allowing it to happen a second time, or himself for letting Hyukjae pick this boy of all people to turn. No, he couldn't be angry over picking Kyuhyun. Given time, Kibum hoped, he could become a valuable asset to their clan; he was witty, smart, and most certainly evil and plotting. The perfect make for a vampire, really, and in a way, he even reminded Kibum of himself when he was younger. It was just going to take some convincing to get Kyuhyun to see the light, metaphorically speaking. Still, Kibum didn't doubt it could happen.
But that would take time, and Kyuhyun was definitely not doing any good for the clan by escaping and stirring things up with Heechul's group. If Kibum was going to follow Henry's advice and momentarily patch things up with the group - though he still wasn't sure why he should - having his youngest vampire out and probably screwing everything up was not the way to make it happen.
His eyes flicked over to the note that Kyuhyun had left behind, and he reached out for it, taking only a moment to read it. "I'm going to kill him," he swore under his breath. Evil indeed. Threatening to expose the clan... did Kyuhyun even realize what they would mean for him? If he was the one that exposed them, he would be the first one killed. Idiot.
"Hyukjae! Shindong!" Kibum's voice boomed through the house as he crumpled the note in his hand with enough strength to have cracked Kyuhyun's skull if he had been here.
"Sir?" Hyukjae was sheepish in front of him. Ashamed about letting Kyuhyun escape again? He should be.
Kibum tried not to let the rage seep into his voice. Tried, but wasn't very successful. "Is it that difficult to keep an eye on a newly turned vampire? How weak are you two?"
Shindong cleared his throat nervously as he spoke. "With all due respect... for a new vampire, he's very smart. And we were busy with Ryeowook, too..."
"Not an excuse!" snapped Kibum. "Ryeowook is not one of ours, and he is not our priority. Your job was to keep an eye on Kyuhyun, and--" A loud knock on the front door interrupted him. "Who the hell is that?"
If it was one of his own, they would have let themselves in. Henry? But Kibum didn't know why he would return so soon after Kibum had nearly pushed him out of the door at the news that Kyuhyun was missing again. He wasn't expecting anyone. He frowned, giving Shindong and Hyukjae a look that said "Be prepared for anything" as he made his way to open the door.
The smell of the other vampire hit him first as he opened the door, but it was nothing to prepare him for the red head's smug look. Kibum's eyes narrowed. "Heechul."
The same let himself in, uninvited of course. "I think you have something that belongs to me."
"Ryeowook is here, if that's what you're saying. Incapable of caring for your own boys, Heechul? I don't understand why I had to be the one to take care of him when he was injured." Kibum was very carefully watching Heechul, trying to guess if he was here to fight.
Rolling his eyes at Kibum, Heechul muttered, "Don't get your panties in a bunch, Kibum, I'm just here for Ryeowook this time."
Kibum ignored the insult and relaxed, but only slightly. It was never safe to completely trust anything that came out of Heechul's mouth. However, from the looks of things, Heechul had come by himself. Even as strong as the other vampire was, he was no match for a houseful of Kibum's clan, so it was very likely that he wouldn't try anything. All Kibum had to do then, was get Heechul in and out of the house quickly and without causing any problems. "He's in our living room."
"Like I couldn't have figured that out myself," huffed Heechul. He had been heading towards the staircase, but immediately changed directions, trying to appear like he had known what he was doing all along. Kibum just shook his head at Heechul's attitude, following behind him to the room and signaling to Hyukjae and Shindong to follow as well. What they found was Yesung hunched over the couch, watching over Ryeowook's small, pale form.
"Yah, get away from him, you'll get your smell all over him." Yesung all but jumped away as Heechul shoved at him before lifting up Ryeowook's lithe body with a relative ease. Kibum could see worry etched into Yesung's face. It looked like that talk about not getting involved with other clan's was going to be happening sooner rather than later.
"You're not going to thank us for saving your Ryeowook's life?" asked Kibum as Heechul made his way to the door without so much as a "good bye."
Heechul stopped for a moment, as if he was considering. "Nope," he replied decisively, and he was out the door again in a matter of seconds.
-
Yesung knew the talk was forthcoming the moment Kibum saw him all huddled over Ryeowook's lifeless figure. No, he had known even before that, when he had been unable to hide his concern about the other vampire's wounds on the night he had found him. Kibum was bound to misunderstand the situation.
He sighed, leaning back on the sofa Ryeowook had been lying on just minutes earlier before Heechul had stormed in and taken him away. No, not away, he had to correct himself. Taken him home. Yesung had to admit that he was still rather worried for the other, it was days after the attack and he had still not woken up. Had he lost that much blood? It was not uncommon for a vampire to slip into a comatose state for a while if that happened, but not for so long. Usually at least.
But then, nothing of that attack had been usual.
Yesung barely even looked up when Kibum took the space next to him. The older vampire didn't need any physical reaction to know his presence was noticed anyway.
"You are being extremely foolish, Yesung."
Kibum didn't say anything for a while and Yesung leaned back with a sigh, "Would you believe me if I said it's not what it looks like?" It sounded terribly clichéd even to his own ears and the snort he received in reply let him know it was precisely the same for the other vampire.
It was the truth though. The only reason he had been worried was that Ryeowook was his prey, and his alone. He would not allow anyone to take that privilege off his hands, even if it meant protecting the enemy. If anyone had a right to kill Ryeowook, it was him. Not some mysterious third party that none of them even really knew of. Yesung grit his teeth. He would definitely get revenge for this.
"Don't grow attached. Even if we form an alliance, and that is a big if, I will not tolerate you having feelings for one of Heechul's boys."
"I don't," Yesung shot back, almost too quickly, "but he is mine to kill."
The wry smile Kibum shot him before leaving the room did not speak of how much his sire believed him.