SBB 2016 Entry #23: Before Dawn (1/3)
Title: Before Dawn
Pairing: Onew/Jonghyun
Rating: R
Genre: Supernatural, Angst, Romance
Warnings: Mention of abuse, Slight Violence
Final Word Count: 26 612 Words
“We were told you had one of your sons you were willing to sell.”
“Yes I do. He’s nothing here but a mouth to feed but I’m sure he’ll be great use to you.”
“How old is he?”
“He’s twenty-three. I know he’s a little old but I swear he’s going to fit right in with the other whores.”
Jonghyun can hear the exchange between his father and the strangers and he knows they’re talking about him. Picking himself up from the floor where his father shoved him to answer the door, Jonghyun holds his side where it hurts the most - the man always did hurt him more where it didn’t show easily.
“Jonghyun!”
Jonghyun jumps at the booming voice and quickly drags his feet over to his father, finally seeing the two men who entered their small house.
“He’s the one I’m giving you in exchange to what I owe.” He grumbles, pushing him forward by the back of his neck.
Jonghyun stumbles a little barely catches himself right in front of one of the two strangers. The man lifts his head forcibly and looks at him.
“Small and a pretty face, they’ll like him there.” He hums and Jonghyun feels a shudder going through his body at the thought. “You’re free old man.” He shoots toward his father.
“F-father -”
“Shut up.”
Jonghyun tries to hold himself together as he’s pulled from inside his house. It’s not like he wants to stay with his father but the thought of being brought to a brothel is a lot scarier than the man’s abuses.
Looking over his shoulder, trying to somehow find an exit, Jonghyun only spots one of his brothers turning his back on him and disappearing in another room. Panic seeps into his system when ropes are tied way too tightly around his wrists and a cloak his wrapped around his shoulders, the hood pulled over his head - he knows it’s more to hide his identity than to protect him from the harsh cold.
Jonghyun shivers and winces when he’s pushed harshly behind the other few people to walk to wherever they’re taking them. He can feel the cold biting at every bit of exposed skin and tingling where warm tears are rolling down his cheeks and dropping from his chin.
Jonghyun isn’t sure how long they’ve been walking but they’re deep in the forest and he can barely see where he’s stepping, can barely see the fire from the torch held at the front of the line. Glancing to the side, Jonghyun halts for a second because he’s sure he saw something move right next to them.
“Hey keep up back there.”
The voice makes him jump and just as he’s about to tell the men he saw something, there are hands on his shoulders pulling him away before he can even make a sound. It barely takes a second and he’s in complete darkness, away from the rest of the group.
With wide eyes and quickened breaths, Jonghyun tries to look around himself but he’s pretty sure he couldn’t see his hands if he held them in front of his face.
“My son’s last toy ran away. You smell very nice, I’m sure he will enjoy draining you.”
Jonghyun almost screams at the voice right next to his ear but he freezes, blood running cold when the words register in his brain.
Vampires.
------
Jinki sits on the windowsill of his bedroom, enjoying the sound of the wood crackling in the fireplace, absentmindedly letting his fingers run over the pages of the book as his eyes quickly move over the writing. He’s read this book countless times before and he knows every word in it but he’s simply using it to pass time as he waits for his father’s return.
Hearing footsteps down the hallway toward his bedroom, Jinki looks up and smiles a little to himself when he picks up his brother’s scent accompanied by an unfamiliar one.
Taemin doesn’t bother knocking and pushes the door open, knowing Jinki knows about their arrival.
“Alright, here you go. He was on his way to a brothel, being sold by his father to pay off debts. He was in the back, no one noticed.” Taemin says, gently pushing the human more inside the room and taking away the ropes that were still on his wrists from the people of the brothel. “Try not to scare this one off as soon as the others. Father says they’re not easy to find these days.” The younger vampire adds.
Jinki closes his book and when he looks back up he can see his brother turning around and exiting his room, leaving a lone figure to stand there. Only from the scent, Jinki already knows it’s a man - probably quite young too - but the dirty, wet gray cloak covering the male keeps him from knowing more.
“Come closer, Love.” Jinki says with a soft authority as he stands and steps closer, leaving his book behind.
The figure doesn’t budge an inch and Jinki knows it’s due to fear. He can feel it radiating from him, can see his fists shaking at his sides - though that might be because of the temperature outside - but he also never been one to have much patience for disobedience.
“I said, come closer.” He says again and much like being pulled by a rope, the man drags his feet until he’s standing right in front of Jinki. “Uncover your face.” He adds and this time the human obeys, slowly lifting trembling hands to push back the hood covering him.
Jinki takes another step closer and tilts the young man’s chin up with his index finger. The vampire hums appreciatively. The human is beautiful. If Jinki ignores the fright on his face and the smudges of dirt, he can see big expressive dark eyes, cheeks painted a faint pink from the cold, red inviting lips and smooth looking skin. This might be the only thing his father knows how to do properly.
“What’s your name, pretty one?” He asks and he can see him swallow nervously.
“J-Jonghyun.” He whispers softly, word trembling and Jinki smiles - not missing the way Jonghyun’s eyes dart to his teeth trying to find sharp fangs - he has a nice voice too.
“Well Jonghyun, I’m Jinki and from now on, you belong to me and you will do everything I ask you to do.” Jinki declares, running a hand up the male’s shaggy black hair to move it away from his face.
“Are you going to kill me?” The small voice makes him halt because usually the initial responses he gets are much harsher and accompanied by quite a lot of fighting back. “The man in the woods said that you - ”
“Don’t listen to my father’s words, Love. As long as you don’t try to run away, you’ll be fine.” He interrupts him and the human’s eyes dart back to the floor.
“Sorry.” Jonghyun whispers and Jinki smiles a little - he already likes this one.
“Don’t be sorry pretty thing, you have a few things to learn.” The vampire says, lifting Jonghyun’s chin again. “Now, take those clothes off.” He sighs, looking at the flimsy cloak.
Jonghyun’s eyes widen a little as he grips the fabric tighter around his lithe body and Jinki lets out a low chuckle.
“You’re in great need of a bath and after I’ll put you into some nice, warm clothes.” He smiles, walking toward the door to his personal bathroom. “And no need for modesty, there’s nothing I haven’t seen in all my years.” He calls out dismissively, not even turning around to know if the young man is listened to his words - he knows he will.
Jinki is barely done filling up the bathtub, the soft glow of the candles reflecting in the water, when he hears Jonghyun come into the bathroom - he almost rolls his eyes at how he’s obviously trying to cover himself despise his words.
“You can step in. The water’s not too hot.”
Jinki smiles as Jonghyun wordlessly lowers himself in the bathtub - a smart choice. An involuntary sigh leaves the human’s lips as his body is submerge in the warm water.
“Nice?” Jinki questions knowingly and Jonghyun gives a curt nod, eyes trained on the little flickering flames as he raises his legs up to his chest to wrap his arms around them.
Jinki shakes his head to himself seeing the long fading scars on the boy’s back and the black and blue on his sides - he definitely didn’t leave behind a nice life.
“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you.” He says, a wave of protectiveness washing over him and Jonghyun looks away, tightening his arms around his legs as Jinki starts scrubbing his skin with a washcloth.
“Aren’t you just going to kill me eventually anyways?” He pushes quietly again - Jinki has a mind to tell him how distrustful he is but then again, what reason does he have to blindly trust him? - Jinki still smiles a little because the question sounds more curious than accusing.
“Like I said, as long as you don’t try to escape and don’t disobey, you’ll be happy here.” He declares reassuringly.
To his surprise, Jonghyun simply accept the explanation with a low hum and lets Jinki move him as he needs to wash him.
“You’re a strange one, you know?” The vampire says. “Usually they scream and try to run away.” Jinki chuckles and for a moment, Jonghyun gives him a puzzled look.
“I was going to be thrown in a brothel. I don’t see the difference.” He shrugs and Jinki knows that he’s close to tears from the way he’s swallowing thickly and pressing his lips in a thin line.
“Don’t think like that.” Jinki starts, clicking his tongue. “Brothels are filthy and you get passed around the dirty hands of everyone there. Only to die of some disease or starvation rather painfully and slowly.” He adds, his tone maybe showing a bit too much of his hatred for those places.
“Sorry.” Jonghyun almost whimpers, a single tear spilling over.
“Like I said, if you keep in line, nothing bad will happen.” He says again but he has the feeling that his words don’t hold much reassurance - how could they? Jonghyun’s head has probably been filled with horrifying stories about his kind since he was a little boy.
“This feels nice.” The human utters quietly with a sniffle after some minutes of silence and Jinki smiles.
“You better get used to this kind of treatments.” He informs, trying to make him feel as lax as possible.
“Will I have to sleep with you?” He asks bluntly, his tone almost too innocent and Jinki raises an eyebrow, the human quickly turning flustered at the way his question was taken.
“Not if you don’t want to? I don’t like to force myself on pretty things.” He says and he can see the human’s cheeks turn redder. “But I am going to bite you. You smell delicious, I must say.” He says honestly - he doesn’t see the point in lying to him - as he looks at his exposed skin.
Jonghyun’s hand instinctively shoots up to his neck to massage the tender skin there and Jinki laughs.
“I’m not going to bite your neck, you’d bleed out and die in a few moments.” He says casually.
“Isn’t it going to turn me?” He asks hesitantly and Jinki smirks a little.
“You ask a lot of questions.” He says, actually enjoying how the other is and Jonghyun’s eyes widen for a second.
“I-I’m sorry…I just…sorry.” He fumbles over his words and Jinki actually smiles because it has been a while since he has seen such an endearing person. He’s used to getting the cold shoulders before they stupidly run off to get killed by rogues in the woods.
“Of course it won’t change you.” He chuckles - he likes how talkative Jonghyun is. “The entire process is much more complicated than a simple bite. Otherwise we’d have way too many lunatics running around stupidly and killing people here and there.” He explains and Jonghyun seems to breathe out a sigh of relief.
Jinki stands up and hands a towel to the human to silently tell him that it’s time to get out of the bath.
“Don’t worry, you’ll get to take plenty.” He says amusedly when the human almost pouts unconsciously - to which his eyes widen and he promptly looks away, embarrassed at being caught. “Put these clothes on and meet me back in the bedroom after.” Jinki indicate, walking out of the bathroom - he really hope he hasn’t misjudged and that Jonghyun won’t try to escape.
It barely takes a few minutes before he hears a quiet padding and turns around pleasantly to face the human. The vampire smiles because he can now smell Jonghyun’s scent without it being altered by the mixture of dirt and melted snow from earlier and it smells good. Jonghyun stands hesitantly at the foot of the bed, hands fisted at the hem of the clothes swamping his body, the round neck of the shirt displaying a cute mole between his collarbones and when he looks at him, Jinki admits to himself that he doesn’t remember having someone this cute.
Jinki sits on the edge of his bed and lifts his palm up to silently tell Jonghyun to sit with him. The younger stalls for barely a moment before rounding the bed and placing warm fingers against his hand, only flinching slightly at the cold touch before sitting down beside him.
“Does it hurt?” Jonghyun asks and Jinki can feel his hand start to shake against his, his voice trembling a little but he’s quite impressed by how put together he would seem to any onlookers. Jinki knows Jonghyun is seeing his eyes turning a darker shade and his fangs becoming more prominent that he’s figured what’s going to happen.
“Just a little.” He admits, pushing the sleeve up and bringing his wrist to his mouth.
Jinki feels Jonghyun tense and reflectively try to pull his hand away so lets his lips drag over the tender flesh for a moment, doing his best to soothe the reddened skin from the ropes earlier, taking the time to feel the slight quickening pulse and giving him time to process before puncturing the skin. He can hear a sharp gasp near his ear and feel blunt nails digging into his thigh but he simply closes his eyes and indulges in the warm taste of blood - it’s been a long time since it’s tasted so good. He almost doesn’t want to let go but he knows he has to otherwise he won’t be able to drink again the next day.
The vampire moves back as gently as he can, letting his tongue trail over the two punctured wounds before he takes in a shaky breath and pulls back completely to look at the other.
“See, that wasn’t so bad, Love.” He whispers and Jonghyun looks at him blearily, his cheeks completely flushed and his breath somewhat bated.
“I…uh…I’m tired.” He stutters out voice weak and cracking after a few seconds, blushing when he realizes his hand his still gripping the vampire’s thigh and pulling it away like he’d just been burned.
“Of course, you’ve had a rough day, you can just sleep here.” Jinki says and as soon as he lets go of his hand and stands up, Jonghyun scurries back on the other side of the bed and cradles his wrist against his chest, his eyes fixed on the small closing wounds.
-----
When Jonghyun wakes up, he groans because he already knows the pounding in his head is only going to get worse. Deciding that it’s still too early because of how dark it is, he tries to go back to sleep. It takes him a minute to realize he’s way too comfortable to be in his own bed after he buries his face in the too soft pillow.
Jonghyun opens his eyes and is confused for about a second before the prior night’s events come flooding back into his mind. Jonghyun sits up quickly and immediately looks down at his arm. He frowns when he can barely see the remnants of two small holes.
Letting his hand fall back on the bed, Jonghyun frowns even harder because ever since he was young, people have always talked about the vampires as vile creatures and how they’re horribly violent monsters controlled by their urges but the treatment he received the night before was anything but that. His own father decided to sell him to a brothel to pay off his gambling debts and he had done so with not much regret showing - if any at all - and Jonghyun can’t help but think about who the real monsters are.
“Good morning.”
Jonghyun jumps with a strangled sound at the voice and directs his eyes toward the doorway. The vampire is standing there with a small amused grin on his face and Jonghyun gets stuck for a second thinking how attractive he is. His face seems to be carved out of marble to create the perfect features, his hair a nice chestnut color falling past his ears and he has that confident air around him that makes Jonghyun fiddle nervously as he gives him a small reserved smile.
“Morning.” He mumbles when Jinki walks up to him and hands him a warm mug.
“It’s herbal medicine. I had it made for you. It’ll help with the headache.” He explains and Jonghyun doesn’t even question how he know about his headache before he takes the mug and winces at the bitter taste - the warmth of it is still nice now with the fireplace pout out.
“Thank you.” He croaks out, earning himself another amused smile.
“You’ll have to excuse the black curtains, we don’t really do well with the sun. Especially the midday one.” Jinki explains.
“Will it burn you?” Jonghyun blurts out, rumors and legends now all feeling a little faulty, not immediately realizing that Jinki implied he slept for more than twelve hours.
“If you’re looking for a way to get rid of me, no, opening that curtain won’t set me into flames.” He starts with a laugh. “But it is extremely uncomfortable and after a while pretty much unbearable.” Jinki finishes and the way he always talks so calmly makes Jonghyun feel somewhat more at ease then he should be with the situation.
“I wasn’t thinking about that.” He mutters at the vampire’s fake suspicion, looking down at his hands to fiddle with the blanket.
“Whatever it is, just ask, I can almost hear you think.” Jinki chuckles and Jonghyun bites his lip because there are so many things he wanted to know.
“What did…What did your brother mean when he said people like me are hard to find nowadays?” He asks and out of all the things he has in mind, he’s surprised this question comes out first.
The vampire raises an eyebrow, clearly just as surprised as he is with the question.
“Are you sure you want to know that? It’s pretty cruel.” He warns, walking to sit beside him on the edge of the bed.
“Yes.” He breathes out but he feels like it sounds more like a question.
“Well…With evolving methods and technologies, it’s easier to find missing people. So, he meant people that won’t be missed, people that no one will look for - who don’t have anyone who cares anymore.” Jinki explains and Jonghyun unexpectedly feels tears burning at the back of his eyes. It’s not like it actually surprises him but it still hurts to hear it like this.
“Thanks for being honest with me.” He mutters looking away.
“I’m sorry.” He apologizes shortly. “Get up, I’ll give you a tour and feed you. You must be pretty hungry.” Jinki declares, obviously trying to change his mind - which Jonghyun appreciates - and food sounds really nice now that he thinks about it.
Getting out of bed and following Jinki, Jonghyun sticks close to him when they walk by what he guesses are other vampires and he fixes his eyes on his own feet when one looks at him for a bit too long for his liking.
“Don’t worry, they’re just curious, they know better than to put a finger on you.” Jinki says back to him. “Here. Take a seat.” He adds, and Jonghyun almost bumps into him when he stops walking.
Looking up to see where the vampire has led him, Jonghyun gapes at the sight in front of him, hesitating for a moment before sitting down when a chair is pulled out for him.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much food.” He says, eyes wide and mouth watering as he looks at the table filled with different dishes - everything looks so good.
“Go on, dig in.” Jinki laughs, pushing a plate to him.
“Do you even need all of this?” He asks, only helping himself once the vampire starts filling his own plate.
“We don’t need to, no, but it does help with our cravings. And I guess the human part of me that always had a soft spot for food tagged along.” He adds the last part after Jonghyun sends him a furtive glance at the cravings part and somehow, he’s thankful for his thoughtfulness.
“Good morning! Someone looks much better than last night.”
Another voice suddenly says and Jonghyun’s eyes shoot up in the direction of the two incomers - he recognize the one who spoke as Jinki’s brother but he’s never seen the other one.
“What are you guys doing here? I thought you ate earlier.” Jinki sighs when they sit next to him with twin cheeky grins.
“When Taemin said there was a new face, I had to see who it was.” The unfamiliar vampire says and Jonghyun feels his face heat up when he stares at him, sharp eyes feeling like they’re piercing right through his being.
“And I just wanted to see how you were treating our new friend. Did you find his name?” Taemin adds toward Jinki before turning to him. “Did he bite you already?” He asks easily and Jonghyun’s eyes automatically cast down to his wrist.
“Taemin, Kibum. Since when do you guys care?” He sighs, obviously annoyed at their probing and despite the situation and not feeling entirely comfortable, Jonghyun can’t quite help but feel a tad amused because they sound just like any siblings. “You can see Jonghyun’s fine, you can leave now.” He says, pushing Taemin on the shoulder when he pulls his tongue at him childishly.
“Geez, who got your panty in a twist, old man.” Kibum taunts while Taemin pokes him and Jonghyun barely catches himself from laughing - until he sees the way Jinki glares at the other two.
Kibum rolls his eyes and pulls Taemin up, muttering something about finding someone who actually likes them.
“Sorry I had to stop them before they start filling your head with stuff. Scaring humans is their favorite pastime.” Jinki says, brushing them off. “Kibum isn’t related to us but he’s been with us for as long as I can remember so he’s pretty much like our brother.” Jinki clarifies for him and Jonghyun nods, not entirely sure how he feels about the two
Once they’re done eating, Jinki tours him around the place and Jonghyun has a hard time believing how enormous the mansion is - he wonders just how many vampires live here and if he’s actually safe walking around.
“And this is my favorite room.” Jinki says, his voice suddenly quieter, pulling him out of his thoughts and Jonghyun almost gasps at the sight.
Behind the double wooden doors, is what Jonghyun would qualify as an ancient library - something he’s only imagined existed in the talks of the people from his village.
“Do you know how to read?” Jinki asks, clearly amused by his reaction as he nudges him inside, the curtain around a windowsill pulled back slightly and letting in a beam of sunlight in to highlight dust particles and it takes Jonghyun a second to remember he’s been asked a question.
“Yes. I’ve just never seen anything like this before.” He mutters, afraid to touch anything and end up with a curse or something.
“Well these are all books and journals gathered by my family in the past centuries.” He starts and Jonghyun is amazed - he could spend days here. “It’s kind of a mess, no one really comes here a lot except me…and Minho.” He adds, grabbing a nearby book, looking over Jonghyun’s shoulder and the human gasps when he turns his head and sees someone behind him.
“I apologize, I didn’t mean to frighten you.” The one who Jonghyun assumes being Minho says with a small grin as he extent his hand toward him. “I’m Minho.” He says and Jonghyun shakes it, willing his heartbeat to slow down again.
“Minho is nice and won’t try to purposely scare you or play mind tricks.” Jinki says and Minho raises a brow.
“I take that as he’s met Taemin and Kibum already.” The taller one says and Jinki nods. “I hope they didn’t scare you. I know they can be a bit much at first but they’re really nice.” He smiles and Jonghyun shakes his head, finding himself smiling back because Minho only exudes warmth and niceness to him.
“It was okay since I wasn’t alone with them.” He replies quietly, glancing back toward Jinki and Minho chuckles.
“Great, I was just picking up something I needed so I’ll see you around.” He says with a polite smile, walking away with a book Jonghyun hadn’t noticed, under his arm.
“Minho is human. He’s been here since he was a little kid, his father having worked with our parents for years before he passed a while ago.” Jinki says and Jonghyun’s eyes widen.
“Really?” He whispers.
“We’re not all violent monsters you know, everyone living in here has to prove themselves worthy and how they’re not to cause us any trouble. If they can’t even resist one human walking around, how can we trust them?” He adds and Jonghyun feels a little guilty for his first thought being about how a young boy could have grown up in here without being mauled or something.
Jonghyun turns back toward a shelf to avoid looking at the vampire in fear of him knowing his thoughts, eyes falling where books have clearly been shoved with no particular order and he jumps a little when he doesn’t hear Jinki walking up behind him and sees him reaching a hand past him to straighten a book that was askew.
“I’ve always loved searching and finding new books I haven’t read before.” He says and Jonghyun finds himself smiling a little at the words - as much as it makes him smile, it kind of scares him how human Jinki seems.
“Is it rude to ask how old you are?” Jonghyun questions because everything here just looks so old.
“I just turned six-hundred and fifty-nine years old this past December.” He says before laughing a little. “It’s weird you know, as much as age is irrelevant to us, we never quite stop counting.
-----
The library quickly becomes Jonghyun’s favorite place. He can’t decide yet if he prefers the windowsill where he can sit to read and feel the sun on his skin or the little corner in the back with the armchair and candles where he can be all cooped up. All he knows is that there’s so many books he has never even heard of and so much knowledge at the tip of his fingers.
Today is a cooped up kind of day and so he’s curled on the armchair with a soft blanket wrapped around his shoulders and a book propped on his knees but now his eyes are burning every time he blinks and it’s the third yawn he’s tried to suppress in under two minutes and he thinks he should call it a night.
Placing a piece of paper in the book to find his page again the next time, Jonghyun stands up and stretches, blowing out the candles and quickly making the short distance between the library and the bedroom. At first he would always knock whenever he’d come back without the vampire but after being told not to a few times, he slowly pushes the door open.
“Hey, done with your reading today?” Jinki greets him, not having been able to accompany him because of a meeting with his father and Jonghyun hums, rubbing his eyes a little sleepily.
Looking up to find the vampire, Jonghyun feels the tip of his ears burn a little because he’s buttoning his shirt, his hair damp from the bath he obviously just took and Jonghyun is suddenly glad he stayed a few more minutes to read. Adverting his eyes and looking toward the fireplace - a habit he caught from the first day here - Jonghyun clears his throat.
“How was the meeting?” He asks, mostly for a distraction and Jinki makes an annoyed little noise.
“Glad it’s over.” He brushes it off and Jonghyun looks back at him with a faint little smile because while he doesn’t know why, it’s obvious there’s something tense with their relationship.
“Are you…Are you hungry?” He asks a little hesitantly, knowing that he hasn’t drank from him today.
“A little.” He replies quietly, a thankful smile blooming on his face when he walks up to him and Jonghyun kind of hates how shy he gets when the vampire stares at him all kinds of soft and caring - he can never hold his gaze for more than a few seconds.
Feeling a cool touch at his temple, Jonghyun looks back up to Jinki’s face and his breath hitches a little in his throat with how prettily the flickering flames hug his features and he swallows thickly when the fingers gently move down to the side of his jaw.
“You have a smudge of ink here.”
It takes a second too long for Jonghyun to register the words and by the time he does, there’s a playful smile already appearing on the vampire’s face. Blinking quickly and feeling himself becoming flustered, Jonghyun swat his hand away from his face and holds back a whine as he rubs at his cheek with his too long sleeve.
“Come Love, let’s get you comfortable.” Jinki chuckles at his reaction and Jonghyun looks at him suspiciously but still crawls up on the bed.
Making a show of being more offended that he actually feels, Jonghyun shoves his hand in the vampire’s direction and looks the other way. Jonghyun can feel Jinki’s eyes on him and yet he doesn’t feel the bed dip and him sitting down like usual. Growing curious, he looks back toward the vampire, his hand dropping limply on the bed when he sees him looking at him with a soft smile and it’s making Jonghyun have this annoying fluttering feeling in his stomach.
“What?” He grumbles. “If you don’t want it, just say it.” He adds and if he’s honest with himself, he’s more annoyed by how easily flustered he is than by the vampire’s doings.
“You’re very cute tonight.” Jinki replies bluntly and Jonghyun’s eyes widen for a second before he’s scooting to the other side of the bed and wiggling to get under the cover.
“I’m going to sleep, you missed your chance.” He grumbles some more as to not actually start whining and he can hear the vampire laughing before the bed dips with his weight.
“Come on Love, don’t be like this. I’m just teasing.” He says and Jonghyun can feel him hovering, trying to peek at his face but he simply burrows deeper under the covers.
Jonghyun doesn’t move or say anything and even when it’s starting to get a little stuffy under the covers with the fireplace and the winter slowly coming to its end, he’s not ready for more of whatever that was.
“Fine I’ll just stay here with you then.” Jinki sighs and Jonghyun can feel him get under the covers too but he’s pretty sure he’s facing the other way.
After a few minutes, Jonghyun slowly pops his head from under the covers and quietly looks back over his shoulder to see that just like he thought, Jinki’s back is toward him. He knows that if he wanted to, the vampire could just bite him, just force him to do whatever he wants but ever since he’s been at the mansion, Jonghyun hasn’t felt forced into anything. The first bite had been scary because he didn’t know what to expect but since then he’s come think differently of it.
Turning his head back the other way, Jonghyun thinks he should actually try to get some sleep but it’s like even with how sleepy he felt before, he can’t quite seem to close his eyes and let himself be lulled to sleep. Glancing over his shoulder again, Jonghyun wiggles back a little closer to the vampire. When he doesn’t get any reaction, he does it again but freezes for half a second when their backs are pressed together - he thought he still had some more room to move before being this close.
Jonghyun stays still when he feels the other shift and turn on his other side. Closing his eyes, Jonghyun knows he can’t fool Jinki into thinking he fell asleep - but he still tries anyway. Feeling a hand gently pulling at his shoulder, Jonghyun rolls on his back with a short sigh but keeps his eyes closed.
“Jonghyun.” Jinki calls, the soft mention of his name making Jonghyun open his eyes and he almost wish he didn’t because the vampire is now propped up on his elbow and the way he’s looking down at him makes Jonghyun feel like he can know his every thoughts and feelings.
Before Jonghyun can shy away from his gaze, Jinki reaches out with his free hand and grabs one of his, bringing it close to his chest to play with his fingers. Jonghyun looks on curiously and blushes when he catches himself suddenly thinking that he wants to reach out and just touch the other.
“Can I bite you?” Jinki asks and while not being surprising, the question still somewhat catches him off guard.
Jonghyun looks at him with round eyes for a moment before he nods slowly. He’s not sure if it’s the fact that they’re both lying under the covers but it somehow feels a lot more intimate than the previous times he’s bit him. Jinki gives him a soft little smile either sensing the shift in mood too or just hearing the way Jonghyun’s heart is pounding against his ribcage.
Lacing their fingers together, Jinki brings his wrist closer to his mouth and Jonghyun brings his other hand up to fist his fingers in the vampire’s shirt. Jinki sends him a quick glance at the gesture before closing his eyes and letting his fangs sink into his skin. Jonghyun lets out a quiet little noise at the initial sting but he instinctively moves closer to the vampire when he slightly pulls on his hand. Swallowing thickly, Jonghyun fights to open his eyes after a while and he does just in time to see the vampire’s teeth leave his skin.
Jinki takes a second with his eyes closed to breathe in before he looks at him and there’s a little drop of blood still on his lip and Jonghyun flushes even more than he already is when he realizes how much his muddled mind wants to lick it off. Keeping their fingers linked, Jinki brushes his mouth against the wounds, tongue barely touching as usual to help stop the bleeding and Jonghyun sucks in a short breath.
“You okay?” Jinki asks and Jonghyun nods, his hand not willing to let go of his yet and his other still fisted in his shirt.
“Yes.” He almost rasps out, his mind feeling a little more fuzzy than usual.
“Sorry…I took a little more than you’re used to.” The vampire apologizes and - oh - that’s probably it.
“That’s okay.” He reassures, looking up to the elder’s eyes.
“I’ll let you sleep now, you did look really tired when you came in.” He says quietly and Jonghyun holds onto him tighter when he feels him start to move.
“Wait.” Jonghyun stops him. “Can you stay here?” He asks, feeling his cheeks burn at the neediness in his voice - but he’s feeling somewhat sentimental and he doesn’t feel like being left alone.
“Of course I can.” Jinki smiles at him and when he moves back to lie more comfortably, Jonghyun’s hands relax on him.
When Jonghyun realizes how close they actually are, at the back of his mind, he feels like he should create some distance or something but he doesn’t want to. So instead, he lets go of Jinki’s hand and moves until he’s snuggled up on his side, feeling the vampire’s arms move to hold him and he closes his eyes, feeling sleep pulling at him because that is exactly what he needed.
-----
“Can I ask you a question?” Jonghyun asks, putting his book down on his lap and Minho gives him an amused look.
“You already ask a lot, one more won’t matter.” He chuckles and Jonghyun huffs a little.
The two of them have gotten pretty close in the months Jonghyun has been living in the mansion. Jonghyun assumes it’s because Minho is human too but somehow he feels safe speaking with him and can have fun. He’s come to like Taemin and Kibum too but he still not sure about their teasing sometimes.
“Why have you stayed here this entire time?” He questions and Minho raises a brow.
“You’re going to have to be more specific than that.” He replies, crossing his legs from where he’s sitting in an armchair Jonghyun is pretty sure is worth more than everything his family ever owned.
“Jinki told me before that you were here because of your father so…why didn’t you leave since he…” Jonghyun trails off, not knowing how much Minho’s father’s death affected him.
“They provide me with food and shelter for the services my father did for them. Why would I want to fend for myself out there?” He starts and to Jonghyun’s relief, it doesn’t look like he’s bothered he brought up his father. “Plus, I got to choose who I want to bite me.” He adds with a playful grin and Jonghyun almost gapes at him.
“Why would you even want that?” The question leaves his mouth before he gets to really think about it and Minho snorts.
“Come on, don’t tell me you’ve never felt it when Jinki bites you.” He waggle his eyebrows in that annoying way he always does before continuing. “Felt the rush go through your body, the heat almost being too much despite them being cool, felt the need for more nagging you.” He pushes and suddenly, Jonghyun feels his face burning up because - yes - he has, but he’s never truly indulge in them.
“Oh - uh - okay I didn’t -”
“You should let go and appreciate it. Take it from someone who knows.” Minho laughs a little and Jonghyun feels himself blushing some more, babbling out words of weak protest because now he’s only thinking of the way Jinki looks at him whenever he’s done biting him and only the thought is making him flustered.
“Yeah - sure.” He stutters, picking his book back up.
“Jinki isn’t going to hurt you.” He adds and Jonghyun looks at Minho again, not really hiding his cautiousness.
“You sound so sure.” He voices because while he doesn’t fear with his safety on a general basis when he’s with the vampire, he can always see the glint of something wilder hidden in the depth of his eyes and he’s not sure about giving way to that.
“It’s the holding back that’s the hardest.” He adds and Jonghyun hums pensively.
“How do you even know?”
“Kibum told me.” He says bluntly and before Jonghyun can put one and one together, Minho answers his unasked question. “I was like you at first. When we started getting together, I wouldn’t even let him bite me. Not until much later, because I was too worried, but when I finally let him do fully he told me how much easier it was to deal.” He explains and Jonghyun can only smile a little because while he didn’t expect these two to have something, with how soft Minho is and how brash Kibum is, he can see on the other’s face how much care he has for the vampire.
“I guess you’re right.”
“There you are, I was looking for you.”
Jonghyun jumps, eyes shooting toward Jinki suddenly walking inside the library. There’s a moment where he’s horrified that the vampire might have heard their conversation but he plays it off by giving him a small smile.
“Sorry I really wanted to continue reading this book but you weren’t there when I woke up.” He says and it’s actually the truth - he was simply not expecting Minho to be there too, no matter how many times they run into each other.
“Don’t worry, I just wanted to check if you wanted to meet someone?” He smiles, showing no sign of having heard them and Jonghyun breathes a little sigh of relief as he stands up curiously.
“Sure?” He agrees, taking Jinki’s offered hand and trying to ignore the teasing look Minho is not so hiding behind his book - maybe he was wrong thinking he doesn’t fit with Kibum after all.
“My mother’s here.” Jinki suddenly says once they’re in the hallway and Jonghyun freezes.
“You want me to meet your mother?” He asks bewildered and Jinki turns to look at him with a laugh.
“Don’t look like that, she’s really nice.” He says, pulling on his hand to get him to walk again.
Once they get downstairs - not without Jonghyun throwing complains all the way about how he’s not dressed or ready or prepared enough to meet the woman - Jinki reassures him once again before they walk into the dining room.
“Mother?” He calls out and right away there’s a woman coming out to meet them and Jonghyun is almost appalled by how similar their features are when she smiles back at them.
“Oh Jinki! I was hoping I would see you.” She grins and Jinki lets go of Jonghyun’s hand to hug her.
“Of course, I came as soon as I heard you were here.” He says and Jonghyun feels a smile pulling at his lips at how content the other looks.
“And who is this?” She asks toward him and Jonghyun’s eyes widen for a second before he bows at her.
“This is Jonghyun, he’s with me. He’s been here for almost three months now.” He explains and Jonghyun smiles at her, not feeling anywhere near as uncomfortable he thought he would.
“I hope they’re all treating you well and making you feel welcomed. I know these four boys are more of a packaged deal.” She laughs quietly, touching his arm and Jonghyun tries to hide his shock at the motherly aura he can feel all around her.
“They’ve all been very nice to me.” He smiles politely, surprising himself with the lump suddenly growing in his throat.
Jinki glances at him quickly, grabbing his hand again and drawing little circles on the back of it when he seems to sense his feelings.
“Are you staying for long? It’s been a really long time since you’ve been over.” Jinki asks, changing the subject and she gives a small sigh.
“Is your father gone for long?” She asks back and it’s Jinki’s turn to sigh.
“Only until the morning.” He replies and she grimaces a little.
“I’m sorry, you know I’d stay longer but you know how I can get.” She says regrettably, reaching out to touch Jinki’s cheek lovingly and Jonghyun tightens his hold on his hand to keep his emotions in check. “But you’re always welcome to visit me, you know? And bring Jonghyun along.” She smiles and Jinki nods.
“I definitely will.” He replies with a grin. “Do you want me to try to find Taemin?” He asks and she nods.
“That’d be nice, I’ve seen Kibum earlier but he had no idea where that brat was either.” She laughs and Jinki leans in to peck her cheek.
“I’ll find him for you, he always shows up eventually when you come by.” He chuckles.
Jonghyun can hear them exchanging some more words and little promises but all he can focus on, his trying to keep himself together, thoughts about his own mother suddenly flowing through his mind and he’s not sure his composure will last forever.
With a squeeze to his hand, Jonghyun looks at Jinki to see him looking a little worried.
“Mother wants to see Taemin before she leaves, we’re going to go back upstairs.” He says toward him and Jonghyun nods, giving the woman a shaky smile - he realizes she looks quite worried too and that only makes it harder for him.
“It was nice meeting you, I wish you could stay longer.” He says and she smiles, reaching out to touch his cheek much like she did to her son earlier.
“I’m sure we’ll get to meet again.” She reassures and all of it is only getting him closer to break down.
When Jinki starts leading him away a minute later, Jonghyun feels tears springing to his eyes and he holds onto the vampire’s hand tightly because his sight is getting so blurry he can’t quite see where he’s going.
Once Jonghyun registers they’re back into Jinki’s bedroom, Jonghyun lets his tears fall freely as he feels the other let go of his hand to cradle his face instead.
“Are you okay? What happened?” Jinki asks and Jonghyun shakes his head, the sobs and hiccups leaving him without consent and he’s suddenly wrapped in an embrace - his mind is too jumbled to realize the embrace is all warmth.
“Your…My mother -” He starts a hiccup jarring his speech but he doesn’t continue, he doesn’t want to talk about it. Maybe someday but not now.
“It’s okay, you don’t have to tell me anything, Love.” The vampire whispers in his ear, comforting kisses being pressed to his hair and Jonghyun cries. He lets himself feel all the emotions he’s been holding back as he buries his face in the crook of his neck, arms wrapping around his back to hold onto him as much as he can - those were the words he needed to hear.
Part Two
Pairing: Onew/Jonghyun
Rating: R
Genre: Supernatural, Angst, Romance
Warnings: Mention of abuse, Slight Violence
Final Word Count: 26 612 Words
“We were told you had one of your sons you were willing to sell.”
“Yes I do. He’s nothing here but a mouth to feed but I’m sure he’ll be great use to you.”
“How old is he?”
“He’s twenty-three. I know he’s a little old but I swear he’s going to fit right in with the other whores.”
Jonghyun can hear the exchange between his father and the strangers and he knows they’re talking about him. Picking himself up from the floor where his father shoved him to answer the door, Jonghyun holds his side where it hurts the most - the man always did hurt him more where it didn’t show easily.
“Jonghyun!”
Jonghyun jumps at the booming voice and quickly drags his feet over to his father, finally seeing the two men who entered their small house.
“He’s the one I’m giving you in exchange to what I owe.” He grumbles, pushing him forward by the back of his neck.
Jonghyun stumbles a little barely catches himself right in front of one of the two strangers. The man lifts his head forcibly and looks at him.
“Small and a pretty face, they’ll like him there.” He hums and Jonghyun feels a shudder going through his body at the thought. “You’re free old man.” He shoots toward his father.
“F-father -”
“Shut up.”
Jonghyun tries to hold himself together as he’s pulled from inside his house. It’s not like he wants to stay with his father but the thought of being brought to a brothel is a lot scarier than the man’s abuses.
Looking over his shoulder, trying to somehow find an exit, Jonghyun only spots one of his brothers turning his back on him and disappearing in another room. Panic seeps into his system when ropes are tied way too tightly around his wrists and a cloak his wrapped around his shoulders, the hood pulled over his head - he knows it’s more to hide his identity than to protect him from the harsh cold.
Jonghyun shivers and winces when he’s pushed harshly behind the other few people to walk to wherever they’re taking them. He can feel the cold biting at every bit of exposed skin and tingling where warm tears are rolling down his cheeks and dropping from his chin.
Jonghyun isn’t sure how long they’ve been walking but they’re deep in the forest and he can barely see where he’s stepping, can barely see the fire from the torch held at the front of the line. Glancing to the side, Jonghyun halts for a second because he’s sure he saw something move right next to them.
“Hey keep up back there.”
The voice makes him jump and just as he’s about to tell the men he saw something, there are hands on his shoulders pulling him away before he can even make a sound. It barely takes a second and he’s in complete darkness, away from the rest of the group.
With wide eyes and quickened breaths, Jonghyun tries to look around himself but he’s pretty sure he couldn’t see his hands if he held them in front of his face.
“My son’s last toy ran away. You smell very nice, I’m sure he will enjoy draining you.”
Jonghyun almost screams at the voice right next to his ear but he freezes, blood running cold when the words register in his brain.
Vampires.
------
Jinki sits on the windowsill of his bedroom, enjoying the sound of the wood crackling in the fireplace, absentmindedly letting his fingers run over the pages of the book as his eyes quickly move over the writing. He’s read this book countless times before and he knows every word in it but he’s simply using it to pass time as he waits for his father’s return.
Hearing footsteps down the hallway toward his bedroom, Jinki looks up and smiles a little to himself when he picks up his brother’s scent accompanied by an unfamiliar one.
Taemin doesn’t bother knocking and pushes the door open, knowing Jinki knows about their arrival.
“Alright, here you go. He was on his way to a brothel, being sold by his father to pay off debts. He was in the back, no one noticed.” Taemin says, gently pushing the human more inside the room and taking away the ropes that were still on his wrists from the people of the brothel. “Try not to scare this one off as soon as the others. Father says they’re not easy to find these days.” The younger vampire adds.
Jinki closes his book and when he looks back up he can see his brother turning around and exiting his room, leaving a lone figure to stand there. Only from the scent, Jinki already knows it’s a man - probably quite young too - but the dirty, wet gray cloak covering the male keeps him from knowing more.
“Come closer, Love.” Jinki says with a soft authority as he stands and steps closer, leaving his book behind.
The figure doesn’t budge an inch and Jinki knows it’s due to fear. He can feel it radiating from him, can see his fists shaking at his sides - though that might be because of the temperature outside - but he also never been one to have much patience for disobedience.
“I said, come closer.” He says again and much like being pulled by a rope, the man drags his feet until he’s standing right in front of Jinki. “Uncover your face.” He adds and this time the human obeys, slowly lifting trembling hands to push back the hood covering him.
Jinki takes another step closer and tilts the young man’s chin up with his index finger. The vampire hums appreciatively. The human is beautiful. If Jinki ignores the fright on his face and the smudges of dirt, he can see big expressive dark eyes, cheeks painted a faint pink from the cold, red inviting lips and smooth looking skin. This might be the only thing his father knows how to do properly.
“What’s your name, pretty one?” He asks and he can see him swallow nervously.
“J-Jonghyun.” He whispers softly, word trembling and Jinki smiles - not missing the way Jonghyun’s eyes dart to his teeth trying to find sharp fangs - he has a nice voice too.
“Well Jonghyun, I’m Jinki and from now on, you belong to me and you will do everything I ask you to do.” Jinki declares, running a hand up the male’s shaggy black hair to move it away from his face.
“Are you going to kill me?” The small voice makes him halt because usually the initial responses he gets are much harsher and accompanied by quite a lot of fighting back. “The man in the woods said that you - ”
“Don’t listen to my father’s words, Love. As long as you don’t try to run away, you’ll be fine.” He interrupts him and the human’s eyes dart back to the floor.
“Sorry.” Jonghyun whispers and Jinki smiles a little - he already likes this one.
“Don’t be sorry pretty thing, you have a few things to learn.” The vampire says, lifting Jonghyun’s chin again. “Now, take those clothes off.” He sighs, looking at the flimsy cloak.
Jonghyun’s eyes widen a little as he grips the fabric tighter around his lithe body and Jinki lets out a low chuckle.
“You’re in great need of a bath and after I’ll put you into some nice, warm clothes.” He smiles, walking toward the door to his personal bathroom. “And no need for modesty, there’s nothing I haven’t seen in all my years.” He calls out dismissively, not even turning around to know if the young man is listened to his words - he knows he will.
Jinki is barely done filling up the bathtub, the soft glow of the candles reflecting in the water, when he hears Jonghyun come into the bathroom - he almost rolls his eyes at how he’s obviously trying to cover himself despise his words.
“You can step in. The water’s not too hot.”
Jinki smiles as Jonghyun wordlessly lowers himself in the bathtub - a smart choice. An involuntary sigh leaves the human’s lips as his body is submerge in the warm water.
“Nice?” Jinki questions knowingly and Jonghyun gives a curt nod, eyes trained on the little flickering flames as he raises his legs up to his chest to wrap his arms around them.
Jinki shakes his head to himself seeing the long fading scars on the boy’s back and the black and blue on his sides - he definitely didn’t leave behind a nice life.
“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you.” He says, a wave of protectiveness washing over him and Jonghyun looks away, tightening his arms around his legs as Jinki starts scrubbing his skin with a washcloth.
“Aren’t you just going to kill me eventually anyways?” He pushes quietly again - Jinki has a mind to tell him how distrustful he is but then again, what reason does he have to blindly trust him? - Jinki still smiles a little because the question sounds more curious than accusing.
“Like I said, as long as you don’t try to escape and don’t disobey, you’ll be happy here.” He declares reassuringly.
To his surprise, Jonghyun simply accept the explanation with a low hum and lets Jinki move him as he needs to wash him.
“You’re a strange one, you know?” The vampire says. “Usually they scream and try to run away.” Jinki chuckles and for a moment, Jonghyun gives him a puzzled look.
“I was going to be thrown in a brothel. I don’t see the difference.” He shrugs and Jinki knows that he’s close to tears from the way he’s swallowing thickly and pressing his lips in a thin line.
“Don’t think like that.” Jinki starts, clicking his tongue. “Brothels are filthy and you get passed around the dirty hands of everyone there. Only to die of some disease or starvation rather painfully and slowly.” He adds, his tone maybe showing a bit too much of his hatred for those places.
“Sorry.” Jonghyun almost whimpers, a single tear spilling over.
“Like I said, if you keep in line, nothing bad will happen.” He says again but he has the feeling that his words don’t hold much reassurance - how could they? Jonghyun’s head has probably been filled with horrifying stories about his kind since he was a little boy.
“This feels nice.” The human utters quietly with a sniffle after some minutes of silence and Jinki smiles.
“You better get used to this kind of treatments.” He informs, trying to make him feel as lax as possible.
“Will I have to sleep with you?” He asks bluntly, his tone almost too innocent and Jinki raises an eyebrow, the human quickly turning flustered at the way his question was taken.
“Not if you don’t want to? I don’t like to force myself on pretty things.” He says and he can see the human’s cheeks turn redder. “But I am going to bite you. You smell delicious, I must say.” He says honestly - he doesn’t see the point in lying to him - as he looks at his exposed skin.
Jonghyun’s hand instinctively shoots up to his neck to massage the tender skin there and Jinki laughs.
“I’m not going to bite your neck, you’d bleed out and die in a few moments.” He says casually.
“Isn’t it going to turn me?” He asks hesitantly and Jinki smirks a little.
“You ask a lot of questions.” He says, actually enjoying how the other is and Jonghyun’s eyes widen for a second.
“I-I’m sorry…I just…sorry.” He fumbles over his words and Jinki actually smiles because it has been a while since he has seen such an endearing person. He’s used to getting the cold shoulders before they stupidly run off to get killed by rogues in the woods.
“Of course it won’t change you.” He chuckles - he likes how talkative Jonghyun is. “The entire process is much more complicated than a simple bite. Otherwise we’d have way too many lunatics running around stupidly and killing people here and there.” He explains and Jonghyun seems to breathe out a sigh of relief.
Jinki stands up and hands a towel to the human to silently tell him that it’s time to get out of the bath.
“Don’t worry, you’ll get to take plenty.” He says amusedly when the human almost pouts unconsciously - to which his eyes widen and he promptly looks away, embarrassed at being caught. “Put these clothes on and meet me back in the bedroom after.” Jinki indicate, walking out of the bathroom - he really hope he hasn’t misjudged and that Jonghyun won’t try to escape.
It barely takes a few minutes before he hears a quiet padding and turns around pleasantly to face the human. The vampire smiles because he can now smell Jonghyun’s scent without it being altered by the mixture of dirt and melted snow from earlier and it smells good. Jonghyun stands hesitantly at the foot of the bed, hands fisted at the hem of the clothes swamping his body, the round neck of the shirt displaying a cute mole between his collarbones and when he looks at him, Jinki admits to himself that he doesn’t remember having someone this cute.
Jinki sits on the edge of his bed and lifts his palm up to silently tell Jonghyun to sit with him. The younger stalls for barely a moment before rounding the bed and placing warm fingers against his hand, only flinching slightly at the cold touch before sitting down beside him.
“Does it hurt?” Jonghyun asks and Jinki can feel his hand start to shake against his, his voice trembling a little but he’s quite impressed by how put together he would seem to any onlookers. Jinki knows Jonghyun is seeing his eyes turning a darker shade and his fangs becoming more prominent that he’s figured what’s going to happen.
“Just a little.” He admits, pushing the sleeve up and bringing his wrist to his mouth.
Jinki feels Jonghyun tense and reflectively try to pull his hand away so lets his lips drag over the tender flesh for a moment, doing his best to soothe the reddened skin from the ropes earlier, taking the time to feel the slight quickening pulse and giving him time to process before puncturing the skin. He can hear a sharp gasp near his ear and feel blunt nails digging into his thigh but he simply closes his eyes and indulges in the warm taste of blood - it’s been a long time since it’s tasted so good. He almost doesn’t want to let go but he knows he has to otherwise he won’t be able to drink again the next day.
The vampire moves back as gently as he can, letting his tongue trail over the two punctured wounds before he takes in a shaky breath and pulls back completely to look at the other.
“See, that wasn’t so bad, Love.” He whispers and Jonghyun looks at him blearily, his cheeks completely flushed and his breath somewhat bated.
“I…uh…I’m tired.” He stutters out voice weak and cracking after a few seconds, blushing when he realizes his hand his still gripping the vampire’s thigh and pulling it away like he’d just been burned.
“Of course, you’ve had a rough day, you can just sleep here.” Jinki says and as soon as he lets go of his hand and stands up, Jonghyun scurries back on the other side of the bed and cradles his wrist against his chest, his eyes fixed on the small closing wounds.
-----
When Jonghyun wakes up, he groans because he already knows the pounding in his head is only going to get worse. Deciding that it’s still too early because of how dark it is, he tries to go back to sleep. It takes him a minute to realize he’s way too comfortable to be in his own bed after he buries his face in the too soft pillow.
Jonghyun opens his eyes and is confused for about a second before the prior night’s events come flooding back into his mind. Jonghyun sits up quickly and immediately looks down at his arm. He frowns when he can barely see the remnants of two small holes.
Letting his hand fall back on the bed, Jonghyun frowns even harder because ever since he was young, people have always talked about the vampires as vile creatures and how they’re horribly violent monsters controlled by their urges but the treatment he received the night before was anything but that. His own father decided to sell him to a brothel to pay off his gambling debts and he had done so with not much regret showing - if any at all - and Jonghyun can’t help but think about who the real monsters are.
“Good morning.”
Jonghyun jumps with a strangled sound at the voice and directs his eyes toward the doorway. The vampire is standing there with a small amused grin on his face and Jonghyun gets stuck for a second thinking how attractive he is. His face seems to be carved out of marble to create the perfect features, his hair a nice chestnut color falling past his ears and he has that confident air around him that makes Jonghyun fiddle nervously as he gives him a small reserved smile.
“Morning.” He mumbles when Jinki walks up to him and hands him a warm mug.
“It’s herbal medicine. I had it made for you. It’ll help with the headache.” He explains and Jonghyun doesn’t even question how he know about his headache before he takes the mug and winces at the bitter taste - the warmth of it is still nice now with the fireplace pout out.
“Thank you.” He croaks out, earning himself another amused smile.
“You’ll have to excuse the black curtains, we don’t really do well with the sun. Especially the midday one.” Jinki explains.
“Will it burn you?” Jonghyun blurts out, rumors and legends now all feeling a little faulty, not immediately realizing that Jinki implied he slept for more than twelve hours.
“If you’re looking for a way to get rid of me, no, opening that curtain won’t set me into flames.” He starts with a laugh. “But it is extremely uncomfortable and after a while pretty much unbearable.” Jinki finishes and the way he always talks so calmly makes Jonghyun feel somewhat more at ease then he should be with the situation.
“I wasn’t thinking about that.” He mutters at the vampire’s fake suspicion, looking down at his hands to fiddle with the blanket.
“Whatever it is, just ask, I can almost hear you think.” Jinki chuckles and Jonghyun bites his lip because there are so many things he wanted to know.
“What did…What did your brother mean when he said people like me are hard to find nowadays?” He asks and out of all the things he has in mind, he’s surprised this question comes out first.
The vampire raises an eyebrow, clearly just as surprised as he is with the question.
“Are you sure you want to know that? It’s pretty cruel.” He warns, walking to sit beside him on the edge of the bed.
“Yes.” He breathes out but he feels like it sounds more like a question.
“Well…With evolving methods and technologies, it’s easier to find missing people. So, he meant people that won’t be missed, people that no one will look for - who don’t have anyone who cares anymore.” Jinki explains and Jonghyun unexpectedly feels tears burning at the back of his eyes. It’s not like it actually surprises him but it still hurts to hear it like this.
“Thanks for being honest with me.” He mutters looking away.
“I’m sorry.” He apologizes shortly. “Get up, I’ll give you a tour and feed you. You must be pretty hungry.” Jinki declares, obviously trying to change his mind - which Jonghyun appreciates - and food sounds really nice now that he thinks about it.
Getting out of bed and following Jinki, Jonghyun sticks close to him when they walk by what he guesses are other vampires and he fixes his eyes on his own feet when one looks at him for a bit too long for his liking.
“Don’t worry, they’re just curious, they know better than to put a finger on you.” Jinki says back to him. “Here. Take a seat.” He adds, and Jonghyun almost bumps into him when he stops walking.
Looking up to see where the vampire has led him, Jonghyun gapes at the sight in front of him, hesitating for a moment before sitting down when a chair is pulled out for him.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much food.” He says, eyes wide and mouth watering as he looks at the table filled with different dishes - everything looks so good.
“Go on, dig in.” Jinki laughs, pushing a plate to him.
“Do you even need all of this?” He asks, only helping himself once the vampire starts filling his own plate.
“We don’t need to, no, but it does help with our cravings. And I guess the human part of me that always had a soft spot for food tagged along.” He adds the last part after Jonghyun sends him a furtive glance at the cravings part and somehow, he’s thankful for his thoughtfulness.
“Good morning! Someone looks much better than last night.”
Another voice suddenly says and Jonghyun’s eyes shoot up in the direction of the two incomers - he recognize the one who spoke as Jinki’s brother but he’s never seen the other one.
“What are you guys doing here? I thought you ate earlier.” Jinki sighs when they sit next to him with twin cheeky grins.
“When Taemin said there was a new face, I had to see who it was.” The unfamiliar vampire says and Jonghyun feels his face heat up when he stares at him, sharp eyes feeling like they’re piercing right through his being.
“And I just wanted to see how you were treating our new friend. Did you find his name?” Taemin adds toward Jinki before turning to him. “Did he bite you already?” He asks easily and Jonghyun’s eyes automatically cast down to his wrist.
“Taemin, Kibum. Since when do you guys care?” He sighs, obviously annoyed at their probing and despite the situation and not feeling entirely comfortable, Jonghyun can’t quite help but feel a tad amused because they sound just like any siblings. “You can see Jonghyun’s fine, you can leave now.” He says, pushing Taemin on the shoulder when he pulls his tongue at him childishly.
“Geez, who got your panty in a twist, old man.” Kibum taunts while Taemin pokes him and Jonghyun barely catches himself from laughing - until he sees the way Jinki glares at the other two.
Kibum rolls his eyes and pulls Taemin up, muttering something about finding someone who actually likes them.
“Sorry I had to stop them before they start filling your head with stuff. Scaring humans is their favorite pastime.” Jinki says, brushing them off. “Kibum isn’t related to us but he’s been with us for as long as I can remember so he’s pretty much like our brother.” Jinki clarifies for him and Jonghyun nods, not entirely sure how he feels about the two
Once they’re done eating, Jinki tours him around the place and Jonghyun has a hard time believing how enormous the mansion is - he wonders just how many vampires live here and if he’s actually safe walking around.
“And this is my favorite room.” Jinki says, his voice suddenly quieter, pulling him out of his thoughts and Jonghyun almost gasps at the sight.
Behind the double wooden doors, is what Jonghyun would qualify as an ancient library - something he’s only imagined existed in the talks of the people from his village.
“Do you know how to read?” Jinki asks, clearly amused by his reaction as he nudges him inside, the curtain around a windowsill pulled back slightly and letting in a beam of sunlight in to highlight dust particles and it takes Jonghyun a second to remember he’s been asked a question.
“Yes. I’ve just never seen anything like this before.” He mutters, afraid to touch anything and end up with a curse or something.
“Well these are all books and journals gathered by my family in the past centuries.” He starts and Jonghyun is amazed - he could spend days here. “It’s kind of a mess, no one really comes here a lot except me…and Minho.” He adds, grabbing a nearby book, looking over Jonghyun’s shoulder and the human gasps when he turns his head and sees someone behind him.
“I apologize, I didn’t mean to frighten you.” The one who Jonghyun assumes being Minho says with a small grin as he extent his hand toward him. “I’m Minho.” He says and Jonghyun shakes it, willing his heartbeat to slow down again.
“Minho is nice and won’t try to purposely scare you or play mind tricks.” Jinki says and Minho raises a brow.
“I take that as he’s met Taemin and Kibum already.” The taller one says and Jinki nods. “I hope they didn’t scare you. I know they can be a bit much at first but they’re really nice.” He smiles and Jonghyun shakes his head, finding himself smiling back because Minho only exudes warmth and niceness to him.
“It was okay since I wasn’t alone with them.” He replies quietly, glancing back toward Jinki and Minho chuckles.
“Great, I was just picking up something I needed so I’ll see you around.” He says with a polite smile, walking away with a book Jonghyun hadn’t noticed, under his arm.
“Minho is human. He’s been here since he was a little kid, his father having worked with our parents for years before he passed a while ago.” Jinki says and Jonghyun’s eyes widen.
“Really?” He whispers.
“We’re not all violent monsters you know, everyone living in here has to prove themselves worthy and how they’re not to cause us any trouble. If they can’t even resist one human walking around, how can we trust them?” He adds and Jonghyun feels a little guilty for his first thought being about how a young boy could have grown up in here without being mauled or something.
Jonghyun turns back toward a shelf to avoid looking at the vampire in fear of him knowing his thoughts, eyes falling where books have clearly been shoved with no particular order and he jumps a little when he doesn’t hear Jinki walking up behind him and sees him reaching a hand past him to straighten a book that was askew.
“I’ve always loved searching and finding new books I haven’t read before.” He says and Jonghyun finds himself smiling a little at the words - as much as it makes him smile, it kind of scares him how human Jinki seems.
“Is it rude to ask how old you are?” Jonghyun questions because everything here just looks so old.
“I just turned six-hundred and fifty-nine years old this past December.” He says before laughing a little. “It’s weird you know, as much as age is irrelevant to us, we never quite stop counting.
-----
The library quickly becomes Jonghyun’s favorite place. He can’t decide yet if he prefers the windowsill where he can sit to read and feel the sun on his skin or the little corner in the back with the armchair and candles where he can be all cooped up. All he knows is that there’s so many books he has never even heard of and so much knowledge at the tip of his fingers.
Today is a cooped up kind of day and so he’s curled on the armchair with a soft blanket wrapped around his shoulders and a book propped on his knees but now his eyes are burning every time he blinks and it’s the third yawn he’s tried to suppress in under two minutes and he thinks he should call it a night.
Placing a piece of paper in the book to find his page again the next time, Jonghyun stands up and stretches, blowing out the candles and quickly making the short distance between the library and the bedroom. At first he would always knock whenever he’d come back without the vampire but after being told not to a few times, he slowly pushes the door open.
“Hey, done with your reading today?” Jinki greets him, not having been able to accompany him because of a meeting with his father and Jonghyun hums, rubbing his eyes a little sleepily.
Looking up to find the vampire, Jonghyun feels the tip of his ears burn a little because he’s buttoning his shirt, his hair damp from the bath he obviously just took and Jonghyun is suddenly glad he stayed a few more minutes to read. Adverting his eyes and looking toward the fireplace - a habit he caught from the first day here - Jonghyun clears his throat.
“How was the meeting?” He asks, mostly for a distraction and Jinki makes an annoyed little noise.
“Glad it’s over.” He brushes it off and Jonghyun looks back at him with a faint little smile because while he doesn’t know why, it’s obvious there’s something tense with their relationship.
“Are you…Are you hungry?” He asks a little hesitantly, knowing that he hasn’t drank from him today.
“A little.” He replies quietly, a thankful smile blooming on his face when he walks up to him and Jonghyun kind of hates how shy he gets when the vampire stares at him all kinds of soft and caring - he can never hold his gaze for more than a few seconds.
Feeling a cool touch at his temple, Jonghyun looks back up to Jinki’s face and his breath hitches a little in his throat with how prettily the flickering flames hug his features and he swallows thickly when the fingers gently move down to the side of his jaw.
“You have a smudge of ink here.”
It takes a second too long for Jonghyun to register the words and by the time he does, there’s a playful smile already appearing on the vampire’s face. Blinking quickly and feeling himself becoming flustered, Jonghyun swat his hand away from his face and holds back a whine as he rubs at his cheek with his too long sleeve.
“Come Love, let’s get you comfortable.” Jinki chuckles at his reaction and Jonghyun looks at him suspiciously but still crawls up on the bed.
Making a show of being more offended that he actually feels, Jonghyun shoves his hand in the vampire’s direction and looks the other way. Jonghyun can feel Jinki’s eyes on him and yet he doesn’t feel the bed dip and him sitting down like usual. Growing curious, he looks back toward the vampire, his hand dropping limply on the bed when he sees him looking at him with a soft smile and it’s making Jonghyun have this annoying fluttering feeling in his stomach.
“What?” He grumbles. “If you don’t want it, just say it.” He adds and if he’s honest with himself, he’s more annoyed by how easily flustered he is than by the vampire’s doings.
“You’re very cute tonight.” Jinki replies bluntly and Jonghyun’s eyes widen for a second before he’s scooting to the other side of the bed and wiggling to get under the cover.
“I’m going to sleep, you missed your chance.” He grumbles some more as to not actually start whining and he can hear the vampire laughing before the bed dips with his weight.
“Come on Love, don’t be like this. I’m just teasing.” He says and Jonghyun can feel him hovering, trying to peek at his face but he simply burrows deeper under the covers.
Jonghyun doesn’t move or say anything and even when it’s starting to get a little stuffy under the covers with the fireplace and the winter slowly coming to its end, he’s not ready for more of whatever that was.
“Fine I’ll just stay here with you then.” Jinki sighs and Jonghyun can feel him get under the covers too but he’s pretty sure he’s facing the other way.
After a few minutes, Jonghyun slowly pops his head from under the covers and quietly looks back over his shoulder to see that just like he thought, Jinki’s back is toward him. He knows that if he wanted to, the vampire could just bite him, just force him to do whatever he wants but ever since he’s been at the mansion, Jonghyun hasn’t felt forced into anything. The first bite had been scary because he didn’t know what to expect but since then he’s come think differently of it.
Turning his head back the other way, Jonghyun thinks he should actually try to get some sleep but it’s like even with how sleepy he felt before, he can’t quite seem to close his eyes and let himself be lulled to sleep. Glancing over his shoulder again, Jonghyun wiggles back a little closer to the vampire. When he doesn’t get any reaction, he does it again but freezes for half a second when their backs are pressed together - he thought he still had some more room to move before being this close.
Jonghyun stays still when he feels the other shift and turn on his other side. Closing his eyes, Jonghyun knows he can’t fool Jinki into thinking he fell asleep - but he still tries anyway. Feeling a hand gently pulling at his shoulder, Jonghyun rolls on his back with a short sigh but keeps his eyes closed.
“Jonghyun.” Jinki calls, the soft mention of his name making Jonghyun open his eyes and he almost wish he didn’t because the vampire is now propped up on his elbow and the way he’s looking down at him makes Jonghyun feel like he can know his every thoughts and feelings.
Before Jonghyun can shy away from his gaze, Jinki reaches out with his free hand and grabs one of his, bringing it close to his chest to play with his fingers. Jonghyun looks on curiously and blushes when he catches himself suddenly thinking that he wants to reach out and just touch the other.
“Can I bite you?” Jinki asks and while not being surprising, the question still somewhat catches him off guard.
Jonghyun looks at him with round eyes for a moment before he nods slowly. He’s not sure if it’s the fact that they’re both lying under the covers but it somehow feels a lot more intimate than the previous times he’s bit him. Jinki gives him a soft little smile either sensing the shift in mood too or just hearing the way Jonghyun’s heart is pounding against his ribcage.
Lacing their fingers together, Jinki brings his wrist closer to his mouth and Jonghyun brings his other hand up to fist his fingers in the vampire’s shirt. Jinki sends him a quick glance at the gesture before closing his eyes and letting his fangs sink into his skin. Jonghyun lets out a quiet little noise at the initial sting but he instinctively moves closer to the vampire when he slightly pulls on his hand. Swallowing thickly, Jonghyun fights to open his eyes after a while and he does just in time to see the vampire’s teeth leave his skin.
Jinki takes a second with his eyes closed to breathe in before he looks at him and there’s a little drop of blood still on his lip and Jonghyun flushes even more than he already is when he realizes how much his muddled mind wants to lick it off. Keeping their fingers linked, Jinki brushes his mouth against the wounds, tongue barely touching as usual to help stop the bleeding and Jonghyun sucks in a short breath.
“You okay?” Jinki asks and Jonghyun nods, his hand not willing to let go of his yet and his other still fisted in his shirt.
“Yes.” He almost rasps out, his mind feeling a little more fuzzy than usual.
“Sorry…I took a little more than you’re used to.” The vampire apologizes and - oh - that’s probably it.
“That’s okay.” He reassures, looking up to the elder’s eyes.
“I’ll let you sleep now, you did look really tired when you came in.” He says quietly and Jonghyun holds onto him tighter when he feels him start to move.
“Wait.” Jonghyun stops him. “Can you stay here?” He asks, feeling his cheeks burn at the neediness in his voice - but he’s feeling somewhat sentimental and he doesn’t feel like being left alone.
“Of course I can.” Jinki smiles at him and when he moves back to lie more comfortably, Jonghyun’s hands relax on him.
When Jonghyun realizes how close they actually are, at the back of his mind, he feels like he should create some distance or something but he doesn’t want to. So instead, he lets go of Jinki’s hand and moves until he’s snuggled up on his side, feeling the vampire’s arms move to hold him and he closes his eyes, feeling sleep pulling at him because that is exactly what he needed.
-----
“Can I ask you a question?” Jonghyun asks, putting his book down on his lap and Minho gives him an amused look.
“You already ask a lot, one more won’t matter.” He chuckles and Jonghyun huffs a little.
The two of them have gotten pretty close in the months Jonghyun has been living in the mansion. Jonghyun assumes it’s because Minho is human too but somehow he feels safe speaking with him and can have fun. He’s come to like Taemin and Kibum too but he still not sure about their teasing sometimes.
“Why have you stayed here this entire time?” He questions and Minho raises a brow.
“You’re going to have to be more specific than that.” He replies, crossing his legs from where he’s sitting in an armchair Jonghyun is pretty sure is worth more than everything his family ever owned.
“Jinki told me before that you were here because of your father so…why didn’t you leave since he…” Jonghyun trails off, not knowing how much Minho’s father’s death affected him.
“They provide me with food and shelter for the services my father did for them. Why would I want to fend for myself out there?” He starts and to Jonghyun’s relief, it doesn’t look like he’s bothered he brought up his father. “Plus, I got to choose who I want to bite me.” He adds with a playful grin and Jonghyun almost gapes at him.
“Why would you even want that?” The question leaves his mouth before he gets to really think about it and Minho snorts.
“Come on, don’t tell me you’ve never felt it when Jinki bites you.” He waggle his eyebrows in that annoying way he always does before continuing. “Felt the rush go through your body, the heat almost being too much despite them being cool, felt the need for more nagging you.” He pushes and suddenly, Jonghyun feels his face burning up because - yes - he has, but he’s never truly indulge in them.
“Oh - uh - okay I didn’t -”
“You should let go and appreciate it. Take it from someone who knows.” Minho laughs a little and Jonghyun feels himself blushing some more, babbling out words of weak protest because now he’s only thinking of the way Jinki looks at him whenever he’s done biting him and only the thought is making him flustered.
“Yeah - sure.” He stutters, picking his book back up.
“Jinki isn’t going to hurt you.” He adds and Jonghyun looks at Minho again, not really hiding his cautiousness.
“You sound so sure.” He voices because while he doesn’t fear with his safety on a general basis when he’s with the vampire, he can always see the glint of something wilder hidden in the depth of his eyes and he’s not sure about giving way to that.
“It’s the holding back that’s the hardest.” He adds and Jonghyun hums pensively.
“How do you even know?”
“Kibum told me.” He says bluntly and before Jonghyun can put one and one together, Minho answers his unasked question. “I was like you at first. When we started getting together, I wouldn’t even let him bite me. Not until much later, because I was too worried, but when I finally let him do fully he told me how much easier it was to deal.” He explains and Jonghyun can only smile a little because while he didn’t expect these two to have something, with how soft Minho is and how brash Kibum is, he can see on the other’s face how much care he has for the vampire.
“I guess you’re right.”
“There you are, I was looking for you.”
Jonghyun jumps, eyes shooting toward Jinki suddenly walking inside the library. There’s a moment where he’s horrified that the vampire might have heard their conversation but he plays it off by giving him a small smile.
“Sorry I really wanted to continue reading this book but you weren’t there when I woke up.” He says and it’s actually the truth - he was simply not expecting Minho to be there too, no matter how many times they run into each other.
“Don’t worry, I just wanted to check if you wanted to meet someone?” He smiles, showing no sign of having heard them and Jonghyun breathes a little sigh of relief as he stands up curiously.
“Sure?” He agrees, taking Jinki’s offered hand and trying to ignore the teasing look Minho is not so hiding behind his book - maybe he was wrong thinking he doesn’t fit with Kibum after all.
“My mother’s here.” Jinki suddenly says once they’re in the hallway and Jonghyun freezes.
“You want me to meet your mother?” He asks bewildered and Jinki turns to look at him with a laugh.
“Don’t look like that, she’s really nice.” He says, pulling on his hand to get him to walk again.
Once they get downstairs - not without Jonghyun throwing complains all the way about how he’s not dressed or ready or prepared enough to meet the woman - Jinki reassures him once again before they walk into the dining room.
“Mother?” He calls out and right away there’s a woman coming out to meet them and Jonghyun is almost appalled by how similar their features are when she smiles back at them.
“Oh Jinki! I was hoping I would see you.” She grins and Jinki lets go of Jonghyun’s hand to hug her.
“Of course, I came as soon as I heard you were here.” He says and Jonghyun feels a smile pulling at his lips at how content the other looks.
“And who is this?” She asks toward him and Jonghyun’s eyes widen for a second before he bows at her.
“This is Jonghyun, he’s with me. He’s been here for almost three months now.” He explains and Jonghyun smiles at her, not feeling anywhere near as uncomfortable he thought he would.
“I hope they’re all treating you well and making you feel welcomed. I know these four boys are more of a packaged deal.” She laughs quietly, touching his arm and Jonghyun tries to hide his shock at the motherly aura he can feel all around her.
“They’ve all been very nice to me.” He smiles politely, surprising himself with the lump suddenly growing in his throat.
Jinki glances at him quickly, grabbing his hand again and drawing little circles on the back of it when he seems to sense his feelings.
“Are you staying for long? It’s been a really long time since you’ve been over.” Jinki asks, changing the subject and she gives a small sigh.
“Is your father gone for long?” She asks back and it’s Jinki’s turn to sigh.
“Only until the morning.” He replies and she grimaces a little.
“I’m sorry, you know I’d stay longer but you know how I can get.” She says regrettably, reaching out to touch Jinki’s cheek lovingly and Jonghyun tightens his hold on his hand to keep his emotions in check. “But you’re always welcome to visit me, you know? And bring Jonghyun along.” She smiles and Jinki nods.
“I definitely will.” He replies with a grin. “Do you want me to try to find Taemin?” He asks and she nods.
“That’d be nice, I’ve seen Kibum earlier but he had no idea where that brat was either.” She laughs and Jinki leans in to peck her cheek.
“I’ll find him for you, he always shows up eventually when you come by.” He chuckles.
Jonghyun can hear them exchanging some more words and little promises but all he can focus on, his trying to keep himself together, thoughts about his own mother suddenly flowing through his mind and he’s not sure his composure will last forever.
With a squeeze to his hand, Jonghyun looks at Jinki to see him looking a little worried.
“Mother wants to see Taemin before she leaves, we’re going to go back upstairs.” He says toward him and Jonghyun nods, giving the woman a shaky smile - he realizes she looks quite worried too and that only makes it harder for him.
“It was nice meeting you, I wish you could stay longer.” He says and she smiles, reaching out to touch his cheek much like she did to her son earlier.
“I’m sure we’ll get to meet again.” She reassures and all of it is only getting him closer to break down.
When Jinki starts leading him away a minute later, Jonghyun feels tears springing to his eyes and he holds onto the vampire’s hand tightly because his sight is getting so blurry he can’t quite see where he’s going.
Once Jonghyun registers they’re back into Jinki’s bedroom, Jonghyun lets his tears fall freely as he feels the other let go of his hand to cradle his face instead.
“Are you okay? What happened?” Jinki asks and Jonghyun shakes his head, the sobs and hiccups leaving him without consent and he’s suddenly wrapped in an embrace - his mind is too jumbled to realize the embrace is all warmth.
“Your…My mother -” He starts a hiccup jarring his speech but he doesn’t continue, he doesn’t want to talk about it. Maybe someday but not now.
“It’s okay, you don’t have to tell me anything, Love.” The vampire whispers in his ear, comforting kisses being pressed to his hair and Jonghyun cries. He lets himself feel all the emotions he’s been holding back as he buries his face in the crook of his neck, arms wrapping around his back to hold onto him as much as he can - those were the words he needed to hear.
Part Two