Absolute - Chapter Nine
Title: Absolute
Chapter: 9/?
Fandoms: TVXQ/DBSK, Super Junior, SS501
Pairings: Various (a LOT O.o; )
Rating: PG-16
Warning: Angst, Violence, Character Death
Summary: Seoul’s All-Boys Night School is just like any other night school in the area, but there’s one thing that sets them apart from all the others, and that is their students. Seoul has been the battleground of an underground, interspecies cold war for centuries, with populations of vampyres, lycans, and all those in between. Even so, no one saw it coming when young members from practically every division ended up in the same night class, along with several unassuming humans. How do you deal with suddenly having to play nice with those you were raised to hate? A dangerous game of cat and mouse begins, where the only rules were to get rid of the enemy, not be caught by the humans… And not to fall in love.
A/N:Oh my god it LIVES~!!! Kinda >.>;;; I need a good kick to write something other than rps ;_; I shall work more on this! >.<~ /determined. On the other hand, I'm beginning to think The World Ends With You is a lost cause because I can't even remember half my plots anymore /pouts. Thank you to the lovely mi_iseul for the beta~~~ <3333
Teaser Trailer | Characters and Terms | Prologue & Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four | Chapter Five | Chapter Six | Chapter Seven | Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
“JongWoon, could I talk to you after class please?”
JongWoon looked up from his textbook and gave Mr. Lee a questioning look, then nodded.
“Alright…”
He wasn’t failing that badly, was he? JaeJoong frowned at him but JongWoon just shrugged at the other man, unsure what exactly he’d done to grab the teacher’s attention.
Class had been almost too quiet today. Even JongWoon had been able to feel it this time, the tension so thick you could cut it with a knife. HeeChul and YunHo didn’t look at each other and seemed to be avoiding contact of any kind. The class seemed generally split into three groups with two of the groups avoiding contact as much as possible and the third just confused. JongWoon belonged to the third group.
When class ended and the other students started getting ready to leave, JongWoon gathered his papers together and waited for the classroom to be empty.
“Want us to wait for you?” JaeJoong questioned as he and KyuJong lingered at the door.
JongWoon grinned at them and shook his head. “Nah, I’ll be fine. See you guys tomorrow!”
When the other students had gone, JongWoon walked up to Mr. Lee’s desk hesitantly.
“You wanted to see me, seonsaengnim?”
The teacher looked up at him and smiled. “Right. Have a seat.” Feeling rather self-conscious, JongWoon sat down.
“I was just going over your marks so far and I wanted to ask…” The older man tapped his pencil lightly against the paper, hesitant. “Do you have any learning problems?”
“Huh?” JongWoon blinked at him for a long moment. “Learning problems?”
The other nodded. “Your results are…not very good,” he elaborated. “Normally students with these kinds of marks would be accused of being lazy or disrespecting but I’ve seen you work and study as well as attend tutoring sessions with Heo YoungSaeng. You’re giving your all towards this, am I right?”
“Right,” the student nodded, dismayed. Was he really doing that badly? “Was that why you never handed back my test marks, seonsaengnim?”
“Yes. Teachers are supposed to be informed on things like this, but I just want to make sure…do you have a learning disability or anything that would affect your marks like this? Personal problems?”
“I don’t think so, sir,” JongWoon blinked. “I’ve always done fine in school until now…and there’s really nothing going on that would distract me from school.” Apart from the dog he’d taken in but it couldn’t be that distracting, could it?
“Hm…” Mr. Lee tapped that pencil against the paper again, thinking. “I want to see if it’s a memory problem we’re facing here. “
“I want you to do well, JongWoon ah. Your heart’s in the right spot, which is more than I can say about most of the students I’ve seen. How about I come up with a memory exercise for you? Something small, such as memorizing a series of words or numbers, and you’ll have to keep them in mind and recite them back to me when I ask for them.”
JongWoon nodded; he didn’t see anything wrong with it. “I’ll give it a shot.”
“Good. Stay tomorrow after class again and I’ll have it ready for you.”
The younger man nodded again with a smile and stood, bowing to his teacher.
“Thank you sir,” he said, meaning it. Most teachers wouldn’t even try to help him and he really didn’t want to fail.
Mr. Lee nodded in return. “Your friends are waiting for you.”
Surprised, JongWoon turned towards the door, to see JaeJoong and KyuJong hadn’t left after all. A laugh escaped him.
“Aish, I told you guys to leave!”
He bowed to his teacher again and then left, grabbing his stuff on the way out.
“Well, we didn’t listen,” JaeJoong countered, smiling. “Now let’s go before they close the gates. Being locked up here the rest of the night doesn’t sound like a good plan to me.” KyuJong nodded in agreement.
JongWoon laughed, glad he had such great friends and neighbors. He followed them towards the school exit, thinking happily about the dog waiting for him back home.
*****
JaeJoong had just barely closed the door behind himself and KyuJong when his cell phone rang. Frowning slightly, he motioned at KyuJong to start making some food for them to eat and juggled with his books for a moment. Once they were all bundled into one arm, he fished out his phone with his free hand and glanced at the Caller ID. SiWon? Oh right. He’d given the Vampyre his phone number.
Most would consider it extremely stupid and suicidal to give a Vampyre your phone number (there was such a thing as reverse look-up). Considering this, JaeJoong didn’t mind as much as he thought he would or as much as he would have minded a week ago. It was strange, but he wasn’t afraid of SiWon.
He knew the Vampyre could easily kill him, that being ‘vegetarian’ had so many risks to go with it and that vegetarian Vampyres were the most unstable of their kind. Even so… The idea that SiWon obviously didn’t want to cause him any harm set his nerves somewhat at ease. SiWon wasn’t pretending to be nice to get closer to him, that much was obvious. That man was so expressive with his emotions, JaeJoong got the feeling he couldn’t lie even if he tried.
That honesty, even when dealing with a subject that would send any sane person running for the hills, was something the human admired. It would be lying to say he wasn’t apprehensive about hanging out with a bloodsucker, but he liked to think he could trust in SiWon’s good heart that hadn’t been destroyed when he was Turned.
Flipping his cell open, he held it against his shoulder while he maneuvered his textbooks from his arm to the counter.
“Hey, SiWon ah.”
KyuJong watched him for a moment before smiling and heading into the kitchen to start cooking. There was the faint echo of pots and pans as the younger man searched through the cupboards.
“Hyung,” he could almost hear the smile in the Vampyre’s voice. “Are you free right now? I was wondering if you would like to walk around a bit. It’s a clear night for once.”
“Walk around?” JaeJoong smiled, leaning against the door. “Isn’t it an odd time to go out for a walk?”
“Ah, not really…”
“Oh, right, I forgot,” he laughed softly. “You have that issue with sunlight.”
He didn’t notice the sound of pots and pans from the kitchen stop.
“Right, late night walks are really the only time I can get out,” SiWon said with a chuckle. ”So how about it? I’m near your area so I can be there in a few minutes.”
“I don’t see why not. Want to meet at the convenience store at the corner? I’ll be down in a minute.”
”Great!” SiWon sounded ecstatic. ”See you in a few.”
Laughing to himself, JaeJoong snapped his cell shut and pushed it back into his pocket. SiWon seemed delighted to be able to talk to a human who knew about his secret and wouldn’t run away screaming. The fear of harming JaeJoong always seemed to be there so it was rare for the Vampyre to relax, but he was slowly becoming more and more comfortable in the human’s presence.
“Kyu, I’m heading out for a bit.” JaeJoong poked his head into the kitchen, seeing his adopted brother staring blankly at the stove. “Eat without me, alright? What’s wrong, can’t decide what to make?”
KyuJong blinked and looked up at him, giving JaeJoong a smile. “No, it’s nothing. Where are you going, hyung?”
JaeJoong shrugged, leaning against the wall. “Out for a walk with SiWon. I’ll be back before dawn, okay?”
“Do you have to go? Tell him you’ll meet him in school or something.”
“I already told him I’ll meet him, it would be rude to cancel it. Why? What’s wrong with seeing him?”
KyuJong’s smile slipped slightly. “Nothing. Call me if anything happens?”
“Of course,” JaeJoong replied, frowning lightly. “What do you expect to happen?”
“…Nothing,” KyuJong repeated with a shake of his head, walking over to the fridge and opening it to search around inside. “Have fun, hyung.”
Wondering what was up with his dongsaeng, JaeJoong shrugged and walked back to the front door, slipping his shoes back on. He left the apartment, closing the door behind him with a click.
KyuJong removed his head from the fridge, looking at the front door as it closed. Abandoning the food he was about to make, he went to his room and opened the bedside drawer. Pushing the books and papers aside, he pulled out the gun concealed there and held it up, checking to see if it was loaded. It was.
His heart pounding, he swallowed and closed the drawer again while pulling out his cell phone. KyuJong dialed that familiar number and waited anxiously for the man at the other end to pick up.
Once he did, the slayer didn’t even give him a chance to speak.
“My brother just left to meet with a known Vampyre. I’m going after him, requesting backup.”
”Can’t do that, KyuJong.”
…What?
His grip on his gun tightened. “Why not?”
”We’re still regrouping after the stunt with the wolf leader. Attempting something again so soon could give our group away.”
“…I don’t think you understood what I was saying,” KyuJong said, frowning. “This isn’t some random person I’m talking about - this is my adoptive brother.”
”What is more important KyuJong? A single life, or our cause which could save millions of lives?”
“…” KyuJong bit his lower lip hard, trying not to let his anger get the better of him. “I joined your group to protect those closest to me. And now you won’t help me protect him? Alright, I can do it myself.”
”I can’t let you do that either, KyuJong. You could risk everything we’ve worked hard for. Stay where you are.”
“Everything I’ve worked for will be meaningless if JaeJoong hyung dies.”
Kyujong had the bad feeling in the pit of his stomach that calling for help hadn’t been the best course of action.
”KyuJong, you can’t go after him. That’s final. You know we have people everywhere; don’t make me send someone to tie you up. Your brother will be in more danger if we have to get involved and you know it. The Vampyre might not even try anything. They’re classmates, correct? Attempting to kill him now when you know he’s the one with your brother would be a stupid move.”
KyuJong ground his teeth slightly, squeezing his eyes tightly shut. He knew the older man was right and that getting involved had more of a chance of JaeJoong being hurt. He also knew the other man would follow up on his threat to tie him up if he tried to go anywhere. He probably already had people watching the apartment, he was that efficient.
“…I don’t have a choice, do I?” He dropped onto his bed, his gun hanging limply from his hand. “If JaeJoong hyung dies, I swear I’ll come after you.”
”He’ll be just fine, KyuJong.”
Hanging up without replying, KyuJong tossed his cell onto the bed beside him, looking at the gun in his hands. Perhaps he could still follow JaeJoong; his brother couldn’t have gotten too far yet. Carefully he rose from his bed and walked over to the window, shifting the shutters slightly to peek out.
He could see a figure standing down in the small alley between apartment complexes, looking right up at him. Swallowing, KyuJong moved away from the window. His superior really was efficient. There was no way the slayer would be able to leave the apartment without someone noticing.
It didn’t help that KyuJong only knew a few faces in the organization, the majority of the members unknown to him. He’d already figured out their people were everywhere. He wouldn’t know where to look.
Just to check, KyuJong walked to the front door of the apartment and unlocked it, opening the door and leaning out as though he was checking the state of the locks. Glancing around, he could see one of the other apartment tenants leaning against the wall further down, looking straight at him with a blank expression. Biting his lower lip, KyuJong closed the door again without locking it, returning to his room.
Looking back at his cell, he watched the picture across the front of himself and Jae until the screen went dark. KyuJong shut his eyes tightly, dropping the gun on the bed beside him.
Please, let Jae come back alright.
*****
When JaeJoong stopped outside the convenience store, he could see SiWon was already there waiting for him.
“Hey,” he greeted, his hands jammed into his pockets to ward against the chill. “I saw you not that long ago. Miss me already?”
“I just thought we could try something similar to hanging out after school,” SiWon said. “I kind of miss it.”
Seeing JaeJoong shiver, he took off his jacket and offered it to the older man. When JaeJoong protested, SiWon shook his head and tried to put it on himself while standing at arm’s length.
“I can’t catch colds, remember? You can.”
JaeJoong huffed and pulled on the jacket. “Alright, I give. But your gentlemanly behavior ends here. I can button it up myself.”
SiWon laughed, his dimples showing.
Just walking around seemed to be perfectly fine to JaeJoong. They talked about various things such as JaeJoong’s large family and schoolwork. Then the conversation turned more serious and they discussed how SiWon was Turned as well as what his life had been like before then.
“I still don’t remember who my Sire was,” SiWon said with a shrug. “HeeChul hyung said around the time I was Turned, there were many rogue Vampyres visiting so it could have been any one of them really. Someone just looking to stir up trouble.”
“Do Vampyres from out of town visit often?”
“Not really. But then again, Vampyres move around often to avoid detection and Seoul seems to be a common spot for them to stop by on their way to a different town. Then you get Vampyres who stay in touch with each other and come by to visit Sires or Children…and then there’s the Vampyre royalty.”
“Royalty?”
“HeeChul hyung and HyunJoong hyung explained it to me. The clans we have here in Seoul are actually part of larger clans, cults that extend throughout a given area. Those at the very top of the clan are those who were Sired by the cult founders, or in some cases the founders themselves. Asia has its own group of Vampyre royalty, which oversees everything from Korea to Japan to Vietnam. They come by to visit each major city every now and then to check up on the situation.”
JaeJoong nodded. “It’s like any form of government I guess.”
“You could say so, though I wouldn’t say Vampyre society is the most democratic of governments…”
Laughing softly, JaeJoong didn’t notice the sudden downhill in the road until he’d stepped onto it. Caught off balance, he stumbled and nearly fell, SiWon quickly grabbing the human to support him as his arms circled JaeJoong’s waist.
Their eyes met and something passed between them like a jolt of electricity and causing SiWon to nearly drop JaeJoong, the vampire barely remembering to hold on as he forced himself to stop breathing. Really, he should be more careful before getting so close to a human he berated himself mentally, swallowing past the sudden parched feeling in his throat.
JaeJoong regained his balance and SiWon let go once the human was steady again.
“You alright?” he questioned, inhaling just enough air to get the sentence out.
“Yeah,” JaeJoong said a bit breathlessly and then laughed. “What was that?”
“That was a downhill.”
“No, I mean, what was…never mind.”
“What?”
JaeJoong laughed again at the way SiWon’s eyebrows shot into his hairline. “It’s nothing. Say, you can still have normal food too right? I know of a good place near here, it should still be open…”
“Normal food tastes kind of weird,” SiWon admitted with a chuckle as they continued walking. “It has a strange aftertaste, but why not give it a try?”
“Why not?” JaeJoong agreed cheerfully. Continuing to walk and talk, neither of them noticed how JaeJoong walked just a bit closer to SiWon than before.
*****
Hearing the apartment door click open, KyuJong got up from his bed quickly and darted out of his room. JaeJoong closed the door behind him, humming softly.
“Hyung, you’re back!” Hearing the relief clear in his brother’s voice, JaeJoong looked up with a smile.
“Of course I’m back! Did you eat? SiWon and I went out to grab a bite somewhere else so I’m not that hungry anymore…”
KyuJong felt his heart nearly stop at those words and when JaeJoong started to shrug out of his jacket the younger man darted forward to help.
“Here, let me get it. Your fingers must be numb.”
Ignoring his brother’s protests that he was just fine, KyuJong pulled the jacket off of JaeJoong’s shoulders, in the process subtly brushing the other man’s nearly shoulder-length hair back to see his neck.
There were no signs of bite marks. Giving an internal sigh of relief, KyuJong backed off and went to hang up the jacket. It was then he noticed it wasn’t JaeJoong’s normal jacket…in fact, if his memory was correct, JaeJoong had gone without putting his jacket back on.
“Hyung, this isn’t your jacket.” He looked back at JaeJoong with a frown.
“Oh, SiWon lent it to me. He seems to have this constant desire to play the gentleman,” JaeJoong explained with a sigh, leaning against the wall. “He even offered to pay the bill at the small café even though he hardly ate anything. Imagine that? It’s not like I’m a girl or anything, so I don’t get why he keeps acting like we’re on a date…”
JaeJoong was babbling and that was unlike him. The wide, almost silly grin on his face was unlike him as well.
“Hyung, are you feeling alright?” KyuJong questioned.
“Never been better. I’m gonna turn in early though; I’m exhausted. You should too - you seem rather jumpy.” He ruffled KyuJong’s hair, chuckling at the noise of protest that came from the younger man. “Night, Kyu.”
With that he headed off, still humming to himself.
KyuJong watched him go and then turned to lock the front door, latching it carefully. He padded back into his own room, closing the door and setting up his laptop. Once it was booted up, he opened a search engine and started researching on the effects of Vampyres on humans.
*****
Wandering through the hallways with his textbooks tucked under one arm, ChangMin sighed to himself and yawned. Sometimes he wondered why he bothered coming to school early. He’d much rather be sleeping or finding something to satisfy his stomach, but every day without fail something got him to get up an hour early and come here to wander the hallways before class.
Maybe it was the thick sense of mystery that encompassed the entire class. Of them all, ChangMin prided himself on being the student that knew the most about any situation. With his Sight, there wasn’t much he couldn’t figure out and he was never in the dark. Staying on top of the game was his thing.
The situation in Class 3-6 was like nothing he’d ever seen before. This beat the adolescent drama he used to listen to in high school by miles. Being able to see literally everything had shown him the existence of the other races long ago but even he had never seen so many of them gathered in one place…seemingly coincidentally.
Something about that sounded too fishy to him.
Maybe that was why he was here early every day…the thrill of a mystery he hadn’t been able to solve. For someone who was used to knowing everything about everyone, the pull was irresistible. Even his stomach could wait an extra hour in comparison to that.
About to head back into the darker areas of the school as it grew closer to sunset, ChangMin turned and scanned behind the wall beside him absently before his eyes caught on something a few offices over. He was in the teacher’s section now, though most of the offices were unoccupied.
One wasn’t though. ChangMin’s eyes found Mr. Lee at his desk, gazing into space with a misted-over expression. Normally a teacher daydreaming wouldn’t catch his interest but something made ChangMin take a second look. Mr. Lee was staring straight ahead as though in a trance…and his hand was moving, writing something down.
Curiosity caught, ChangMin walked up to the wall, pressing his hands flat against it and concentrating his gaze. He was able to zoom in on the teacher a few offices down, seeing clearly through all the solid objects in his way.
The older male wasn’t blinking…at all. That was strange in itself since the urge to blink had to be overwhelming but there wasn’t so much as a twitch in his eyelids. He didn’t shift his gaze once nor did his hand stop moving. Looking at the hand, ChangMin frowned as he saw he was writing on a small slip of paper, no bigger than the palm of his hand.
Pressing closer to the wall, ChangMin gave a start when Mr. Lee suddenly seemed to snap out of the trance, shaking his head and blinking to clear his vision. Then without even glancing at what he’d written, he folded the paper up several times and tucked it into his jacket pocket. A soft sigh left his lips; ChangMin could see the rise and fall of the man’s chest even though he couldn’t hear the noise.
Then Mr. Lee turned his head and looked straight at ChangMin.
Startled, the Gifted staggered away from the wall and nearly fell over, his eyes wide. The teacher was looking in his general direction, not meeting his eyes directly but even though there was no eye contact and there were walls and God knew what else in his way, ChangMin got the distinct feeling Mr. Lee knew he was there.
Shivers ran down his spine and the student hastily picked up the books he’d dropped, ducking down the hallway as fast as he could. He wanted to get away from that gaze, that knowing gaze that knew so much more than he ever could.
Only when he was at the opposite end of the school did he slow down, breathing unevenly as he wiped at the sweat dotting his forehead. Swallowing, he leaned against the wall and closed his eyes, going over what he had just seen in his head.
Maybe the mystery in Class 3-6 wasn’t just its students.
Something big was going on here…and he was going to figure out what.
*****
KyuHyun was still missing and it was easy to see by looking between the Lycans present the situation was getting serious. JunSu frowned to himself, hoping the pup would turn up soon. If he was absent for too long, YunHo would jump to conclusions again and assume the Vampyre clans had something to do with it. He really didn’t want the whole war idea to start up again, not so soon after the last one.
As the usual go-between for the wolves and vamps, JunSu found himself in a hard position. He didn’t want to be involved in any war that happened. YunHo had assured him in the past that thanks to his good relations with the wolves, if there were any fights, JunSu would be left out of it. If there was a fight, the Vampyre was sure he’d be dragged in to fight by his kindred, whether he wanted to or not. That could cost him his good association with the wolves as well as his life. Well, un-life.
Looking around the class, JunSu noticed a few changes. JaeJoong and SiWon seemed much friendlier than yesterday…well, JaeJoong was making more of an effort to talk to and work with the vegetarian in projects, while SiWon just appeared happy for the interaction.
While their friendship had been steadily growing for the past week, up until now, JaeJoong had been flinching every time SiWon got too close. That lingering fear seemed completely gone. It almost looked as if…no, it couldn’t be. SiWon wasn’t that kind of person. But if he did it without knowing…
A balled-up piece of paper whacked him off the back of his head and JunSu squeaked before clamping a hand over his mouth. Mr. Lee gave him an amused look.
“Everything alright, residential dolphin?”
JunSu was sure that if he weren’t dead and about as colored as the piece of paper that’d hit him, he’d be flushing bright red right now.
Turning around when the teacher’s attention was back on the lecture, he gave HyukJae a questioning look. After the first week and a half of HyukJae and DongHae talking non-stop, Mr. Lee had finally separated them by placing HyukJae at the back of the room.
It wasn’t the first time HyukJae had tossed pieces of paper to get another student’s attention. Before, he’d used paper airplanes but those had the misfortune of doing loops in the air before sailing right across their teacher’s vision. Mr. Lee took great joy in sending them back at HyukJae and unlike his student he didn’t miss his mark. HyukJae had given up on the airplanes after he’d had to duck one time too many.
HyukJae grinned, then mouthed, “Sorry.” He mimed throwing the paper, then pointed at DongHae.
JunSu gave his new human friend an amused look. Seriously, could his aim get any worse? DongHae was at the other end of the room.
HyukJae clapped his hands together and gave JunSu his best pleading expression and the Vampyre sighed softly, bending down to scoop up the paper by his feet. Checking to make sure the teacher wasn’t looking, he took aim and launched the paper across the room, making it land neatly on DongHae’s desk. The demon gave a start, staring up at the ceiling as though it was going to fall on him. Upon taking a closer look at the paper though, he brightened visibly and pulled it open, reading the message inside.
A knock at the door got all their attention, and Mr. Lee turned towards the door with a smile. “Right on time. Come in.”
A tall, lanky male with an unfortunate nose poked his head into the room before walking in hesitantly. He had a backpack slung over his shoulder, textbooks in one large hand. Mr. Lee motioned him further into the room when he stopped uncertainly until the newcomer was standing next to the teacher.
“Alright guys, this is your missing classmate. He’s back from China for the rest of the school year.”
Henry sat up straighter in his seat, Han Geng looking up from his papers with interest before his eyes widened. The teacher turned to look at the other male, smiling encouragingly.
“Why don’t you introduce yourself?”
The Chinese student looked nervously from face to face before he seemed to relax, a bright smile breaking across his face. A calm atmosphere seemed to fill the room, erasing any tension.
“Annyeong…my name is Zhou Mi, please treat me well.” His Korean was heavily accented but still understandable.
Looking around the class, when his gaze met Han Geng’s, something seemed to pass between them, the smile slipping off of the newcomer’s face for a moment before the teacher was speaking again, Zhou Mi looking back at him.
“Zhou Mi, why don’t you take the seat next to Henry? Henry, raise your hand.”
Henry shyly lifted his hand and Zhou Mi all but bounced over, flashing Henry a bright smile that seemed to set the Canadian’s nerves at ease right away. Sitting down, he really wasn’t much shorter than he had been standing and behind him, RyeoWook gave a quiet noise of dismay when he realized he couldn’t see the board anymore.
ShinDong blinked at the newcomer, completely caught off guard. Zhou…that family name was all too familiar. He was sure the others in the class had noticed the suddenly reassuring atmosphere, but no one else should know the meaning behind it except for him.
The state of affairs here must be even worse than he thought…
Why else would the Elementalist of Life have come?
Chapter: 9/?
Fandoms: TVXQ/DBSK, Super Junior, SS501
Pairings: Various (a LOT O.o; )
Rating: PG-16
Warning: Angst, Violence, Character Death
Summary: Seoul’s All-Boys Night School is just like any other night school in the area, but there’s one thing that sets them apart from all the others, and that is their students. Seoul has been the battleground of an underground, interspecies cold war for centuries, with populations of vampyres, lycans, and all those in between. Even so, no one saw it coming when young members from practically every division ended up in the same night class, along with several unassuming humans. How do you deal with suddenly having to play nice with those you were raised to hate? A dangerous game of cat and mouse begins, where the only rules were to get rid of the enemy, not be caught by the humans… And not to fall in love.
A/N:Oh my god it LIVES~!!! Kinda >.>;;; I need a good kick to write something other than rps ;_; I shall work more on this! >.<~ /determined. On the other hand, I'm beginning to think The World Ends With You is a lost cause because I can't even remember half my plots anymore /pouts. Thank you to the lovely mi_iseul for the beta~~~ <3333
Teaser Trailer | Characters and Terms | Prologue & Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four | Chapter Five | Chapter Six | Chapter Seven | Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
“JongWoon, could I talk to you after class please?”
JongWoon looked up from his textbook and gave Mr. Lee a questioning look, then nodded.
“Alright…”
He wasn’t failing that badly, was he? JaeJoong frowned at him but JongWoon just shrugged at the other man, unsure what exactly he’d done to grab the teacher’s attention.
Class had been almost too quiet today. Even JongWoon had been able to feel it this time, the tension so thick you could cut it with a knife. HeeChul and YunHo didn’t look at each other and seemed to be avoiding contact of any kind. The class seemed generally split into three groups with two of the groups avoiding contact as much as possible and the third just confused. JongWoon belonged to the third group.
When class ended and the other students started getting ready to leave, JongWoon gathered his papers together and waited for the classroom to be empty.
“Want us to wait for you?” JaeJoong questioned as he and KyuJong lingered at the door.
JongWoon grinned at them and shook his head. “Nah, I’ll be fine. See you guys tomorrow!”
When the other students had gone, JongWoon walked up to Mr. Lee’s desk hesitantly.
“You wanted to see me, seonsaengnim?”
The teacher looked up at him and smiled. “Right. Have a seat.” Feeling rather self-conscious, JongWoon sat down.
“I was just going over your marks so far and I wanted to ask…” The older man tapped his pencil lightly against the paper, hesitant. “Do you have any learning problems?”
“Huh?” JongWoon blinked at him for a long moment. “Learning problems?”
The other nodded. “Your results are…not very good,” he elaborated. “Normally students with these kinds of marks would be accused of being lazy or disrespecting but I’ve seen you work and study as well as attend tutoring sessions with Heo YoungSaeng. You’re giving your all towards this, am I right?”
“Right,” the student nodded, dismayed. Was he really doing that badly? “Was that why you never handed back my test marks, seonsaengnim?”
“Yes. Teachers are supposed to be informed on things like this, but I just want to make sure…do you have a learning disability or anything that would affect your marks like this? Personal problems?”
“I don’t think so, sir,” JongWoon blinked. “I’ve always done fine in school until now…and there’s really nothing going on that would distract me from school.” Apart from the dog he’d taken in but it couldn’t be that distracting, could it?
“Hm…” Mr. Lee tapped that pencil against the paper again, thinking. “I want to see if it’s a memory problem we’re facing here. “
“I want you to do well, JongWoon ah. Your heart’s in the right spot, which is more than I can say about most of the students I’ve seen. How about I come up with a memory exercise for you? Something small, such as memorizing a series of words or numbers, and you’ll have to keep them in mind and recite them back to me when I ask for them.”
JongWoon nodded; he didn’t see anything wrong with it. “I’ll give it a shot.”
“Good. Stay tomorrow after class again and I’ll have it ready for you.”
The younger man nodded again with a smile and stood, bowing to his teacher.
“Thank you sir,” he said, meaning it. Most teachers wouldn’t even try to help him and he really didn’t want to fail.
Mr. Lee nodded in return. “Your friends are waiting for you.”
Surprised, JongWoon turned towards the door, to see JaeJoong and KyuJong hadn’t left after all. A laugh escaped him.
“Aish, I told you guys to leave!”
He bowed to his teacher again and then left, grabbing his stuff on the way out.
“Well, we didn’t listen,” JaeJoong countered, smiling. “Now let’s go before they close the gates. Being locked up here the rest of the night doesn’t sound like a good plan to me.” KyuJong nodded in agreement.
JongWoon laughed, glad he had such great friends and neighbors. He followed them towards the school exit, thinking happily about the dog waiting for him back home.
*****
JaeJoong had just barely closed the door behind himself and KyuJong when his cell phone rang. Frowning slightly, he motioned at KyuJong to start making some food for them to eat and juggled with his books for a moment. Once they were all bundled into one arm, he fished out his phone with his free hand and glanced at the Caller ID. SiWon? Oh right. He’d given the Vampyre his phone number.
Most would consider it extremely stupid and suicidal to give a Vampyre your phone number (there was such a thing as reverse look-up). Considering this, JaeJoong didn’t mind as much as he thought he would or as much as he would have minded a week ago. It was strange, but he wasn’t afraid of SiWon.
He knew the Vampyre could easily kill him, that being ‘vegetarian’ had so many risks to go with it and that vegetarian Vampyres were the most unstable of their kind. Even so… The idea that SiWon obviously didn’t want to cause him any harm set his nerves somewhat at ease. SiWon wasn’t pretending to be nice to get closer to him, that much was obvious. That man was so expressive with his emotions, JaeJoong got the feeling he couldn’t lie even if he tried.
That honesty, even when dealing with a subject that would send any sane person running for the hills, was something the human admired. It would be lying to say he wasn’t apprehensive about hanging out with a bloodsucker, but he liked to think he could trust in SiWon’s good heart that hadn’t been destroyed when he was Turned.
Flipping his cell open, he held it against his shoulder while he maneuvered his textbooks from his arm to the counter.
“Hey, SiWon ah.”
KyuJong watched him for a moment before smiling and heading into the kitchen to start cooking. There was the faint echo of pots and pans as the younger man searched through the cupboards.
“Hyung,” he could almost hear the smile in the Vampyre’s voice. “Are you free right now? I was wondering if you would like to walk around a bit. It’s a clear night for once.”
“Walk around?” JaeJoong smiled, leaning against the door. “Isn’t it an odd time to go out for a walk?”
“Ah, not really…”
“Oh, right, I forgot,” he laughed softly. “You have that issue with sunlight.”
He didn’t notice the sound of pots and pans from the kitchen stop.
“Right, late night walks are really the only time I can get out,” SiWon said with a chuckle. ”So how about it? I’m near your area so I can be there in a few minutes.”
“I don’t see why not. Want to meet at the convenience store at the corner? I’ll be down in a minute.”
”Great!” SiWon sounded ecstatic. ”See you in a few.”
Laughing to himself, JaeJoong snapped his cell shut and pushed it back into his pocket. SiWon seemed delighted to be able to talk to a human who knew about his secret and wouldn’t run away screaming. The fear of harming JaeJoong always seemed to be there so it was rare for the Vampyre to relax, but he was slowly becoming more and more comfortable in the human’s presence.
“Kyu, I’m heading out for a bit.” JaeJoong poked his head into the kitchen, seeing his adopted brother staring blankly at the stove. “Eat without me, alright? What’s wrong, can’t decide what to make?”
KyuJong blinked and looked up at him, giving JaeJoong a smile. “No, it’s nothing. Where are you going, hyung?”
JaeJoong shrugged, leaning against the wall. “Out for a walk with SiWon. I’ll be back before dawn, okay?”
“Do you have to go? Tell him you’ll meet him in school or something.”
“I already told him I’ll meet him, it would be rude to cancel it. Why? What’s wrong with seeing him?”
KyuJong’s smile slipped slightly. “Nothing. Call me if anything happens?”
“Of course,” JaeJoong replied, frowning lightly. “What do you expect to happen?”
“…Nothing,” KyuJong repeated with a shake of his head, walking over to the fridge and opening it to search around inside. “Have fun, hyung.”
Wondering what was up with his dongsaeng, JaeJoong shrugged and walked back to the front door, slipping his shoes back on. He left the apartment, closing the door behind him with a click.
KyuJong removed his head from the fridge, looking at the front door as it closed. Abandoning the food he was about to make, he went to his room and opened the bedside drawer. Pushing the books and papers aside, he pulled out the gun concealed there and held it up, checking to see if it was loaded. It was.
His heart pounding, he swallowed and closed the drawer again while pulling out his cell phone. KyuJong dialed that familiar number and waited anxiously for the man at the other end to pick up.
Once he did, the slayer didn’t even give him a chance to speak.
“My brother just left to meet with a known Vampyre. I’m going after him, requesting backup.”
”Can’t do that, KyuJong.”
…What?
His grip on his gun tightened. “Why not?”
”We’re still regrouping after the stunt with the wolf leader. Attempting something again so soon could give our group away.”
“…I don’t think you understood what I was saying,” KyuJong said, frowning. “This isn’t some random person I’m talking about - this is my adoptive brother.”
”What is more important KyuJong? A single life, or our cause which could save millions of lives?”
“…” KyuJong bit his lower lip hard, trying not to let his anger get the better of him. “I joined your group to protect those closest to me. And now you won’t help me protect him? Alright, I can do it myself.”
”I can’t let you do that either, KyuJong. You could risk everything we’ve worked hard for. Stay where you are.”
“Everything I’ve worked for will be meaningless if JaeJoong hyung dies.”
Kyujong had the bad feeling in the pit of his stomach that calling for help hadn’t been the best course of action.
”KyuJong, you can’t go after him. That’s final. You know we have people everywhere; don’t make me send someone to tie you up. Your brother will be in more danger if we have to get involved and you know it. The Vampyre might not even try anything. They’re classmates, correct? Attempting to kill him now when you know he’s the one with your brother would be a stupid move.”
KyuJong ground his teeth slightly, squeezing his eyes tightly shut. He knew the older man was right and that getting involved had more of a chance of JaeJoong being hurt. He also knew the other man would follow up on his threat to tie him up if he tried to go anywhere. He probably already had people watching the apartment, he was that efficient.
“…I don’t have a choice, do I?” He dropped onto his bed, his gun hanging limply from his hand. “If JaeJoong hyung dies, I swear I’ll come after you.”
”He’ll be just fine, KyuJong.”
Hanging up without replying, KyuJong tossed his cell onto the bed beside him, looking at the gun in his hands. Perhaps he could still follow JaeJoong; his brother couldn’t have gotten too far yet. Carefully he rose from his bed and walked over to the window, shifting the shutters slightly to peek out.
He could see a figure standing down in the small alley between apartment complexes, looking right up at him. Swallowing, KyuJong moved away from the window. His superior really was efficient. There was no way the slayer would be able to leave the apartment without someone noticing.
It didn’t help that KyuJong only knew a few faces in the organization, the majority of the members unknown to him. He’d already figured out their people were everywhere. He wouldn’t know where to look.
Just to check, KyuJong walked to the front door of the apartment and unlocked it, opening the door and leaning out as though he was checking the state of the locks. Glancing around, he could see one of the other apartment tenants leaning against the wall further down, looking straight at him with a blank expression. Biting his lower lip, KyuJong closed the door again without locking it, returning to his room.
Looking back at his cell, he watched the picture across the front of himself and Jae until the screen went dark. KyuJong shut his eyes tightly, dropping the gun on the bed beside him.
Please, let Jae come back alright.
*****
When JaeJoong stopped outside the convenience store, he could see SiWon was already there waiting for him.
“Hey,” he greeted, his hands jammed into his pockets to ward against the chill. “I saw you not that long ago. Miss me already?”
“I just thought we could try something similar to hanging out after school,” SiWon said. “I kind of miss it.”
Seeing JaeJoong shiver, he took off his jacket and offered it to the older man. When JaeJoong protested, SiWon shook his head and tried to put it on himself while standing at arm’s length.
“I can’t catch colds, remember? You can.”
JaeJoong huffed and pulled on the jacket. “Alright, I give. But your gentlemanly behavior ends here. I can button it up myself.”
SiWon laughed, his dimples showing.
Just walking around seemed to be perfectly fine to JaeJoong. They talked about various things such as JaeJoong’s large family and schoolwork. Then the conversation turned more serious and they discussed how SiWon was Turned as well as what his life had been like before then.
“I still don’t remember who my Sire was,” SiWon said with a shrug. “HeeChul hyung said around the time I was Turned, there were many rogue Vampyres visiting so it could have been any one of them really. Someone just looking to stir up trouble.”
“Do Vampyres from out of town visit often?”
“Not really. But then again, Vampyres move around often to avoid detection and Seoul seems to be a common spot for them to stop by on their way to a different town. Then you get Vampyres who stay in touch with each other and come by to visit Sires or Children…and then there’s the Vampyre royalty.”
“Royalty?”
“HeeChul hyung and HyunJoong hyung explained it to me. The clans we have here in Seoul are actually part of larger clans, cults that extend throughout a given area. Those at the very top of the clan are those who were Sired by the cult founders, or in some cases the founders themselves. Asia has its own group of Vampyre royalty, which oversees everything from Korea to Japan to Vietnam. They come by to visit each major city every now and then to check up on the situation.”
JaeJoong nodded. “It’s like any form of government I guess.”
“You could say so, though I wouldn’t say Vampyre society is the most democratic of governments…”
Laughing softly, JaeJoong didn’t notice the sudden downhill in the road until he’d stepped onto it. Caught off balance, he stumbled and nearly fell, SiWon quickly grabbing the human to support him as his arms circled JaeJoong’s waist.
Their eyes met and something passed between them like a jolt of electricity and causing SiWon to nearly drop JaeJoong, the vampire barely remembering to hold on as he forced himself to stop breathing. Really, he should be more careful before getting so close to a human he berated himself mentally, swallowing past the sudden parched feeling in his throat.
JaeJoong regained his balance and SiWon let go once the human was steady again.
“You alright?” he questioned, inhaling just enough air to get the sentence out.
“Yeah,” JaeJoong said a bit breathlessly and then laughed. “What was that?”
“That was a downhill.”
“No, I mean, what was…never mind.”
“What?”
JaeJoong laughed again at the way SiWon’s eyebrows shot into his hairline. “It’s nothing. Say, you can still have normal food too right? I know of a good place near here, it should still be open…”
“Normal food tastes kind of weird,” SiWon admitted with a chuckle as they continued walking. “It has a strange aftertaste, but why not give it a try?”
“Why not?” JaeJoong agreed cheerfully. Continuing to walk and talk, neither of them noticed how JaeJoong walked just a bit closer to SiWon than before.
*****
Hearing the apartment door click open, KyuJong got up from his bed quickly and darted out of his room. JaeJoong closed the door behind him, humming softly.
“Hyung, you’re back!” Hearing the relief clear in his brother’s voice, JaeJoong looked up with a smile.
“Of course I’m back! Did you eat? SiWon and I went out to grab a bite somewhere else so I’m not that hungry anymore…”
KyuJong felt his heart nearly stop at those words and when JaeJoong started to shrug out of his jacket the younger man darted forward to help.
“Here, let me get it. Your fingers must be numb.”
Ignoring his brother’s protests that he was just fine, KyuJong pulled the jacket off of JaeJoong’s shoulders, in the process subtly brushing the other man’s nearly shoulder-length hair back to see his neck.
There were no signs of bite marks. Giving an internal sigh of relief, KyuJong backed off and went to hang up the jacket. It was then he noticed it wasn’t JaeJoong’s normal jacket…in fact, if his memory was correct, JaeJoong had gone without putting his jacket back on.
“Hyung, this isn’t your jacket.” He looked back at JaeJoong with a frown.
“Oh, SiWon lent it to me. He seems to have this constant desire to play the gentleman,” JaeJoong explained with a sigh, leaning against the wall. “He even offered to pay the bill at the small café even though he hardly ate anything. Imagine that? It’s not like I’m a girl or anything, so I don’t get why he keeps acting like we’re on a date…”
JaeJoong was babbling and that was unlike him. The wide, almost silly grin on his face was unlike him as well.
“Hyung, are you feeling alright?” KyuJong questioned.
“Never been better. I’m gonna turn in early though; I’m exhausted. You should too - you seem rather jumpy.” He ruffled KyuJong’s hair, chuckling at the noise of protest that came from the younger man. “Night, Kyu.”
With that he headed off, still humming to himself.
KyuJong watched him go and then turned to lock the front door, latching it carefully. He padded back into his own room, closing the door and setting up his laptop. Once it was booted up, he opened a search engine and started researching on the effects of Vampyres on humans.
*****
Wandering through the hallways with his textbooks tucked under one arm, ChangMin sighed to himself and yawned. Sometimes he wondered why he bothered coming to school early. He’d much rather be sleeping or finding something to satisfy his stomach, but every day without fail something got him to get up an hour early and come here to wander the hallways before class.
Maybe it was the thick sense of mystery that encompassed the entire class. Of them all, ChangMin prided himself on being the student that knew the most about any situation. With his Sight, there wasn’t much he couldn’t figure out and he was never in the dark. Staying on top of the game was his thing.
The situation in Class 3-6 was like nothing he’d ever seen before. This beat the adolescent drama he used to listen to in high school by miles. Being able to see literally everything had shown him the existence of the other races long ago but even he had never seen so many of them gathered in one place…seemingly coincidentally.
Something about that sounded too fishy to him.
Maybe that was why he was here early every day…the thrill of a mystery he hadn’t been able to solve. For someone who was used to knowing everything about everyone, the pull was irresistible. Even his stomach could wait an extra hour in comparison to that.
About to head back into the darker areas of the school as it grew closer to sunset, ChangMin turned and scanned behind the wall beside him absently before his eyes caught on something a few offices over. He was in the teacher’s section now, though most of the offices were unoccupied.
One wasn’t though. ChangMin’s eyes found Mr. Lee at his desk, gazing into space with a misted-over expression. Normally a teacher daydreaming wouldn’t catch his interest but something made ChangMin take a second look. Mr. Lee was staring straight ahead as though in a trance…and his hand was moving, writing something down.
Curiosity caught, ChangMin walked up to the wall, pressing his hands flat against it and concentrating his gaze. He was able to zoom in on the teacher a few offices down, seeing clearly through all the solid objects in his way.
The older male wasn’t blinking…at all. That was strange in itself since the urge to blink had to be overwhelming but there wasn’t so much as a twitch in his eyelids. He didn’t shift his gaze once nor did his hand stop moving. Looking at the hand, ChangMin frowned as he saw he was writing on a small slip of paper, no bigger than the palm of his hand.
Pressing closer to the wall, ChangMin gave a start when Mr. Lee suddenly seemed to snap out of the trance, shaking his head and blinking to clear his vision. Then without even glancing at what he’d written, he folded the paper up several times and tucked it into his jacket pocket. A soft sigh left his lips; ChangMin could see the rise and fall of the man’s chest even though he couldn’t hear the noise.
Then Mr. Lee turned his head and looked straight at ChangMin.
Startled, the Gifted staggered away from the wall and nearly fell over, his eyes wide. The teacher was looking in his general direction, not meeting his eyes directly but even though there was no eye contact and there were walls and God knew what else in his way, ChangMin got the distinct feeling Mr. Lee knew he was there.
Shivers ran down his spine and the student hastily picked up the books he’d dropped, ducking down the hallway as fast as he could. He wanted to get away from that gaze, that knowing gaze that knew so much more than he ever could.
Only when he was at the opposite end of the school did he slow down, breathing unevenly as he wiped at the sweat dotting his forehead. Swallowing, he leaned against the wall and closed his eyes, going over what he had just seen in his head.
Maybe the mystery in Class 3-6 wasn’t just its students.
Something big was going on here…and he was going to figure out what.
*****
KyuHyun was still missing and it was easy to see by looking between the Lycans present the situation was getting serious. JunSu frowned to himself, hoping the pup would turn up soon. If he was absent for too long, YunHo would jump to conclusions again and assume the Vampyre clans had something to do with it. He really didn’t want the whole war idea to start up again, not so soon after the last one.
As the usual go-between for the wolves and vamps, JunSu found himself in a hard position. He didn’t want to be involved in any war that happened. YunHo had assured him in the past that thanks to his good relations with the wolves, if there were any fights, JunSu would be left out of it. If there was a fight, the Vampyre was sure he’d be dragged in to fight by his kindred, whether he wanted to or not. That could cost him his good association with the wolves as well as his life. Well, un-life.
Looking around the class, JunSu noticed a few changes. JaeJoong and SiWon seemed much friendlier than yesterday…well, JaeJoong was making more of an effort to talk to and work with the vegetarian in projects, while SiWon just appeared happy for the interaction.
While their friendship had been steadily growing for the past week, up until now, JaeJoong had been flinching every time SiWon got too close. That lingering fear seemed completely gone. It almost looked as if…no, it couldn’t be. SiWon wasn’t that kind of person. But if he did it without knowing…
A balled-up piece of paper whacked him off the back of his head and JunSu squeaked before clamping a hand over his mouth. Mr. Lee gave him an amused look.
“Everything alright, residential dolphin?”
JunSu was sure that if he weren’t dead and about as colored as the piece of paper that’d hit him, he’d be flushing bright red right now.
Turning around when the teacher’s attention was back on the lecture, he gave HyukJae a questioning look. After the first week and a half of HyukJae and DongHae talking non-stop, Mr. Lee had finally separated them by placing HyukJae at the back of the room.
It wasn’t the first time HyukJae had tossed pieces of paper to get another student’s attention. Before, he’d used paper airplanes but those had the misfortune of doing loops in the air before sailing right across their teacher’s vision. Mr. Lee took great joy in sending them back at HyukJae and unlike his student he didn’t miss his mark. HyukJae had given up on the airplanes after he’d had to duck one time too many.
HyukJae grinned, then mouthed, “Sorry.” He mimed throwing the paper, then pointed at DongHae.
JunSu gave his new human friend an amused look. Seriously, could his aim get any worse? DongHae was at the other end of the room.
HyukJae clapped his hands together and gave JunSu his best pleading expression and the Vampyre sighed softly, bending down to scoop up the paper by his feet. Checking to make sure the teacher wasn’t looking, he took aim and launched the paper across the room, making it land neatly on DongHae’s desk. The demon gave a start, staring up at the ceiling as though it was going to fall on him. Upon taking a closer look at the paper though, he brightened visibly and pulled it open, reading the message inside.
A knock at the door got all their attention, and Mr. Lee turned towards the door with a smile. “Right on time. Come in.”
A tall, lanky male with an unfortunate nose poked his head into the room before walking in hesitantly. He had a backpack slung over his shoulder, textbooks in one large hand. Mr. Lee motioned him further into the room when he stopped uncertainly until the newcomer was standing next to the teacher.
“Alright guys, this is your missing classmate. He’s back from China for the rest of the school year.”
Henry sat up straighter in his seat, Han Geng looking up from his papers with interest before his eyes widened. The teacher turned to look at the other male, smiling encouragingly.
“Why don’t you introduce yourself?”
The Chinese student looked nervously from face to face before he seemed to relax, a bright smile breaking across his face. A calm atmosphere seemed to fill the room, erasing any tension.
“Annyeong…my name is Zhou Mi, please treat me well.” His Korean was heavily accented but still understandable.
Looking around the class, when his gaze met Han Geng’s, something seemed to pass between them, the smile slipping off of the newcomer’s face for a moment before the teacher was speaking again, Zhou Mi looking back at him.
“Zhou Mi, why don’t you take the seat next to Henry? Henry, raise your hand.”
Henry shyly lifted his hand and Zhou Mi all but bounced over, flashing Henry a bright smile that seemed to set the Canadian’s nerves at ease right away. Sitting down, he really wasn’t much shorter than he had been standing and behind him, RyeoWook gave a quiet noise of dismay when he realized he couldn’t see the board anymore.
ShinDong blinked at the newcomer, completely caught off guard. Zhou…that family name was all too familiar. He was sure the others in the class had noticed the suddenly reassuring atmosphere, but no one else should know the meaning behind it except for him.
The state of affairs here must be even worse than he thought…
Why else would the Elementalist of Life have come?