Absolute - Chapter Two
Title: Absolute
Chapter: 2/?
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: The second chapter's here! I'm trying to decide if updates should be once a week or twice a week... What do you guys think? Hope you enjoy this chapter! xD Beta'd by everkitsune !
Teaser Trailer | Prologue & Chapter One
Chapter Two
“How is even possible for you to be up this early?”
HyungJoon watched sleepily as YoungSaeng wandered into their shared room. “I’m not,” the other murmured, looking like a living zombie as he all but collapsed back onto his bed. After night school and working most of the day, they were both exhausted. Five hours of sleep just wasn’t enough.
“Maybe we should ask for less hours,” HyungJoon mused, flipping over on to his back and staring at the ceiling. “It’s not as if we’re really struggling to pay for rent. There’s you, me and Min, we’ll be fine.” YoungSaeng gave a mumble of agreement, or that was what HyungJoon assumed it was. It was hard to tell when his face was pressed into his pillow.
The alarm beside his bed went off again, and he groaned, sitting up and turning it off. “Alright, alright. Whose turn is it to wake up Min?”
“Yours,” YoungSaeng answered instantly. Even half asleep he knew what happened to whoever went to wake up JungMin. There was a reason the man had his own room.
“But he’s nice to you,” HyungJoon whined, standing up and trying to flatten his messy hair. “Whenever I do it, he nearly twists my head off.”
“Feed him a carrot.”
“Good idea,” HyungJoon replied, sleepily heading out of the room towards the kitchen.
YoungSaeng waited until the other was gone before pulling his face out of the pillow, sleepily gathering his clothes to take a shower. He’d been with JungMin and HyungJoon for as long as he could remember… Quite literally. He had no memories of his life before meeting them. YoungSaeng remembered wandering around a large park by himself a warm summer day. Two kids his age had been playing a game of soccer nearby, and he’d nearly been knocked over when one hadn’t watched where he was running. A lot of apologizing and ice cream later, he learned their names were JungMin and HyungJoon.
He’d been wandering around for a few days, and looked it, so both boys had taken pity on him and taken him home. Their mothers doted on the little lost boy and took care of him, trying to find his family, without luck. “Heo YoungSaeng” just didn’t seem to exist; his name wasn’t listed anywhere, and even after calling quite a few people with the last name of “Heo”, no clues were turned up.
So they’d adopted him. YoungSaeng had officially lived with HyungJoon, but as far as he was concerned, HyungJoon and JungMin were both his brothers, because they were the only family he knew. So it was no surprise when, years later, they were still joined at the hip in practically everything they did.
They accepted him, and cared for him… Regardless of what he was.
“OW OW OW OW OW!”
Blinking at the wall between this room and the next, YoungSaeng smiled faintly and gathered up his clothing, walking out of the room and leaning against the door to the second bedroom. JungMin, buried under several layers of blankets, had HyungJoon in a headlock with one arm, not even lifting his head out from under his pillow as the younger male flailed desperately. “Saeng! Help!” He choked, hardly able to breathe.
YoungSaeng sighed, padding over. “You didn’t use a carrot?”
“There’s only one left, and he’ll take a fit if he can’t have one later, please help me out?”
“Alright, alright,” YoungSaeng murmured, rubbing his eyes to clear them. Cautiously putting his hands out, he worked at the arm wrapped around HyungJoon’s neck, trying to get JungMin to loosen his iron grip. The only reaction from the younger male was to tighten his grip, and to pull his other arm out from under the blankets to flail around for YoungSaeng.
Resigning himself to doing it the hard way, YoungSaeng took JungMin’s flailing arm with both his hands, squeezing lightly and concentrating. The air around them dropped several degrees, his skin turning ice cold. The chill spread along JungMin’s arm and through the body underneath the blankets.
A yelp of surprise escaped the younger, and faster than either of them could blink he had released HyungJoon and darted to the other end of the room, crashing into the wall in his haste to get away from the sudden cold. YoungSaeng snickered quietly as HyungJoon massaged his neck with a wince.
“What was that for?” JungMin exclaimed, pulling out his earbuds and blinking blearily at them.
“For nearly beheading the baby,” YoungSaeng replied, sitting down on the recently vacated bed, looking down at his hands. He flexed his fingers carefully, willing warmth back into the digits.
“I didn’t behead him,” JungMin scoffed, messing up his hair even more before going to hunt down a change of clothing.
“Nearly,” HyungJoon replied. Under his breath he muttered, “Horse.”
JungMin vanished from where he’d had his head in his closet, reappearing next to HyungJoon and pinning him down to the bed beside YoungSaeng. He then proceeded to tickle the human senseless, to the point HyungJoon could do nothing but squirm and laugh breathlessly as the elder’s fingers danced along his sides, moving so fast they were literally blurs.
YoungSaeng chuckled, watching HyungJoon try to get himself free. A twinge of pain through his fingers made him frown, looking back at his hands. His body protested to the lack of cold, wanted him to bring back that chilled feeling from before. Warmth had never been his thing; he was more comfortable in the cold. HyungJoon called him an Elementalist; JungMin referred to him as Iceman.
No matter what he was or what his power was, he had very little control over it. Dropping his body temperature enough to wake up JungMin wasn’t that bad; when he tried to summon snow, or freeze liquids, it was hard for him to stop. He liked the cold… But he couldn’t let his power rule him.
His inability to control himself had nearly resulted in HyungJoon and JungMin’s deaths once. He owed it to these amazing people who had taken him in to never repeat that horrible experience.
HyungJoon gave a loud shriek and fell off the bed, taking JungMin with him. YoungSaeng gave them an amused look before standing to take his shower. Arms wrapped around his legs and the Elementalist fell over with a yelp, joining the tangle of limbs on the floor.
Eager fingers tickled his sides, and in between the shrieks and laughter, YoungSaeng absently thought he wouldn’t trade this for all the snow in the world.
*****
Watching absently as Mr. Lee wrote down English sentences on the board, KiBum glanced to one side as the male beside him tapped his shoulder. YooChun nodded at him slightly, then slipped him a piece of paper. “There’s quite a few,” he murmured, as KiBum frowned down at the list of names, each under different categories. “And there are most likely a few more too. I’ve never seen a more paranormal class in my life.”
KiBum nodded, folding up the list and tucking it into his pocket. This was unacceptable; how could there be so many non-humans in the same class? The occasional Vampyre or Lycan was to be expected; Seoul was a supernatural hotspot. But so many? If YooChun was right, as he usually was (the man had keen eyes, KiBum knew he picked up on details most others would miss), there were at least three Vampyres and one Lycan in this class. At least; Demons were harder to point out, and Gifted nearly impossible unless their power was active.
Either way, it didn’t bode well for the humans in the class.
“So do we have anyone else on our side?” KiBum murmured in return, eyes focused on the board. YooChun stretched his arms absently, the tip of his pencil pointing at HyukJae, who as usual was deep in conversation with DongHae even though they had both been scolded twice this class alone.
“I’ve heard about that one,” YooChun replied quietly, taking notes down off the board. “His family’s middle-class and not that important, but very taken to our cause.”
KiBum nodded, frowning to himself. So many supernaturals, and three of themselves as well… Either something was underfoot, or it was coincidence.
But KiBum didn’t believe in coincidences.
The bell finally rang, and YooChun stood up and walked over to HyukJae before the other could vanish with DongHae out of the class. “Hey, could I talk to you for a moment?” He asked with a smile, as HyukJae blinked at him.
When he saw KiBum come up beside him, understanding seemed to dawn across the other’s face, and he nodded. “Hae, I’ll catch up to you in a bit?” He said to his friend. DongHae nodded, looking from KiBum to YooChun with wide eyes before leaving the room.
He followed KiBum and YooChun outside, bag slung over one shoulder. YooChun brought them around to the back of the school, checking to make sure there was no one nearby. Only once the all-clear was given did HyukJae speak up.
“I know who you both are, so you don’t have to explain that part. Your families are very high-up. What do you want with me?”
“Have you noticed the amount of … Non-humans… in our class?” YooChun asked, deciding to cut right to the chase.
“I’ve noticed a few.”
KiBum took the list out of his pocket, unfolding it and handing it to HyukJae. The others eyes widened. “Woah.”
“Yeah.” KiBum ran one hand through his hair. “I find it hard to believe so many of them could gather at random like this. Something must be going on.”
HyukJae looked over the list, then handed it back. “Which ones do you think might be a problem?”
“All of them? But the one to watch out for right now would be HeeChul. He doesn’t seem to hold back too much, things could get dicey.”
“You mean like that argument with YunHo? YunHo would need some looking after as well. I’ve heard some stories, apparently he’s going to be the leader of his pack when his old man passes away.”
“Same for HeeChul,” YooChun murmured thoughtfully. “A power struggle between the heads of the Vampyres and Lycans. That could definitely cause a few problems.”
“Our main concern should be the safety of our classmates,” KiBum concluded.
“Definitely,” YooChun agreed. “That’s why we’re doing this, after all.” HyukJae nodded along.
KiBum slipped the list back into his pocket as HyukJae adjusted his backpack. “Fantastic,” he said with a gummy smile. “I have to go meet DongHae, but I’ll keep an eye out. Are we going to meet again?”
“We’ll let you know,” KiBum promised, smiling in return. “It’s always good to talk to someone else on our side.”
“Same here,” HyukJae laughed, waving and walking away. “Slayers have to stick together, right?”
*****
Waving farewell to JongWoon, and laughing as the younger male crashed into the doorframe instead of walking through, JungSu walked out of the building and down the road. A faint sigh left his lips as he glanced at his watch. Class had gotten out a bit later than usual; he’d missed the bus that would get him back home. A quick 15-minute bus ride had turned into an hour-long walk, and it was cold out. The sun wouldn’t be rising again for quite a few hours, the street barely lit.
A shiver passed along his spine, the male jamming his hands into his pockets and focusing on something else. Something other than how creepy the walk was. Maybe he should look into buying a car… If he could ever get his drivers license. For some reason, none of those who’d tested him ever let him into a car again. He wasn’t that bad…
A honk from behind him made JungSu jump, and look around in surprise. A set of car headlights drew closer, and slowed down as it reached where the male was walking. Stopping hesitantly, he wondered if he should see who it was or run (it could be a kidnap attempt).
The driver’s window rolled down, and he recognized the face of one of his new classmates. What was his name again…?
“You’re JungSu, right?” The other asked, squinting up at him.
“Yes,” he replied, blinking back at the driver.
“I’m YoungWoon, from your class? Do you need a lift?”
YoungWoon, right. He remembered that name. “I live quite a bit away,” he said frowning. “It would be inconvenient for you.” Plus he’d only just met this man a day ago; he wasn’t so sure about getting into a car with him.
“Not really. I have work in an hour, was just planning on driving around anyways.” YoungWoon shrugged. “It’s up to you.”
Debating, JungSu shivered at a particularly chilly gust of wind and nodded finally. “Alright. Thank you.” He walked around to the passenger side of the car, opening the door and getting in. YoungWoon waited until he was seated and had his seatbelt on before driving off, heading down the road.
“So where do you live?” He asked, frowning lightly. JungSu laughed nervously. “Just keep going straight. It’s fifteen minutes drive in this direction…”
“Did you plan on walking that far every day?” YoungWoon asked, startled.
“Not really, but class let out a bit later today and I missed the only bus I could take,” the other explained, looking over at the younger driver. The moon was reflected in YoungWoon’s eyes as he glanced towards JungSu, then back at the road.
“You don’t have a car?”
“Don’t have a license,” JungSu corrected. “Apparently I’m a terror on the road.”
The other laughed at that, white teeth flashing in the dark. “Really. If you want, I can drive you home after school. I work every day of the week, and really I’d rather waste gas money with a purpose to it than just drive around aimlessly.”
“Wouldn’t that be too much hassle?”
“I just said it wouldn’t, didn’t I?” He chuckled as JungSu ducked his head. “If you feel bad about it, help me out in class? Awesome teacher he may be, I don’t understand half of what he puts out.”
JungSu smiled. “You have yourself a deal, YoungWoon sshi.”
“Just YoungWoon. Or KangIn if you want. That’s what my friends call me.”
“Really? That’s an interest choice of name.”
“Do you have any nicknames?”
“Not really?”
YoungWoon, KangIn, grinned as he changed lanes to pass a slow-moving vehicle. “That’s a shame. Everyone should have at least two names, it makes things interesting.”
The drive home was interesting. They didn’t run out of things to talk about, and JungSu found talking with the younger male refreshing. Before he knew it, they were coming up to the turn-off for his house. “Oh, turn here,” he said quickly, cutting himself off mid-sentence. Laughing at him, YoungWoon took the turn, driving down a quieter neighborhood street.
JungSu directed him towards his house, gathering his bag as YoungWoon drew the car to a stop. “Maybe you could teach me how to drive too,” he said as a joke, opening the passenger door.
“That can be arranged,” YoungWoon teased with a laugh.
JungSu laughed back at him, straightening. As he looked up, the moon in the sky caught his eyes. “Oh, look. The moon’s just about full.”
YoungWoon drew in a sharp breath, but when JungSu looked back at him, he was all smiles. “Right. Probably three days, give or take. You like full moons?”
“I like watching them,” JungSu confessed. “There’s something… Almost mystical about full moons, I find.”
“Agree with you fully there. Anyways, I have to head to work, see you in school tomorrow night?” JungSu nodded and closed the passenger door with a cheerful “Good night!”
YoungWoon watched JungSu walk up the steps to the apartment building, the older male vanishing inside. Sighing faintly to himself, he locked the car doors and looked up at the moon high overhead.
Three days…
*****
“JongWoon, watch out for the-“
“OW!”
“Why do I even bother,” JaeJoong sighed as JongWoon picked himself up from the ground, his foot caught on the sidewalk. A soft chuckle from beside him drew the male’s attention to KyuJong, the other watching JongWoon with a barely suppressed smile.
“Maybe you could warn me before I’m already tripping over it,” JongWoon protested, checking his jeans to make sure he didn’t put any holes in the material.
“Maybe you could watch where you’re walking instead of ranting about how unfair life is?” JaeJoong countered.
“KyuJong, your brother’s being mean!” JongWoon changed strategy, going to JaeJoong’s adopted brother for assistance.
“But you don’t watch where you walk, hyung,” KyuJong replied reasonably.
“You are all against me! What has the world come to?” With that, JongWoon stalked off to their apartment building, successfully clobbering himself with the door when he didn’t move after swinging it open.
“Case and point,” JaeJoong said simply, while KyuJong just tried not to laugh.
Once they got the now badly disorientated JongWoon into his apartment, the siblings headed off to their own, just two doors down. KyuJong closed and locked the door behind them, JaeJoong kicking off his shoes and heading off to the kitchen to make them something to eat.
They weren’t real siblings, but if you were to ask them they’d consider each other as such anyways. JaeJoong was adopted by his family at a young age, so young he hadn’t known they weren’t his real parents until he was told at the age of 16.
You’d think with seven girls and one boy, his adoptive parents had more than enough kids, but when KyuJong turned up they couldn’t turn the boy away. KyuJong was the only survivor of a brutal massacre that had taken the lives of the rest of his family, and left the boy scarred for life. The killers still hadn’t been found, and KyuJong had been taken in by their large family and treated as one of them.
As the only males in the large family, as well as the two youngest, KyuJong and JaeJoong had gotten along best. So it was no surprise that when they came to Seoul, they decided to do it together. JaeJoong was thankful every day for his brother, watching carefully as the younger male slowly came out of his shell and opened up to others.
Even so, every now and then he’d see that shadow flicker through his brother’s eyes, and he knew that whatever horrors KyuJong had witnessed that night had changed him forever.
Hearing KyuJong pad quietly into the kitchen, JaeJoong turned away from the stove where he was cooking and smiled at the younger. “Dinner will be done in fifteen minutes.”
KyuJong nodded, finding a bottle of water and perching himself on the counter next to JaeJoong. JaeJoong swatted at his leg absently, but didn’t tell him to get down. “Dinner at such a time,” KyuJong mused, looking at the clock. “Good thing work hours are at odd times anyways, our schedule’s completely flipped around.”
“We’re regular Vampyres now,” JaeJoong joked, stirring the pot. KyuJong choked on his water.
“You alright?” The elder questioned with a frown as his brother coughed into his sleeve. “Getting there,” came the breathless respond before he erupted in coughs again.
“Aish, such a kid,” JaeJoong sighed, patting KyuJong’s back. When the other looked like he wasn’t about to die, JaeJoong motioned away with one hand. “Go work on homework or something, no sense hanging around over here. And don’t choke yourself.”
“Right hyung,” KyuJong replied with a faint smile, dropping off the counter and walking out of the kitchen. JaeJoong watched him, shivering slightly before he turned back to the stove. He must have imagined it, but he could have sworn he’d seen that shadow in the younger’s eyes again.
*****
“How did it go?” DongHae questioned eagerly, waiting at the school gates as HyukJae walked out. “What did they want to talk about?”
“School stuff,” HyukJae said with a shrug as they started walking. DongHae blinked at him, then looked around. “There’s no one around, Hyukkie,” he said. “What did they want to talk about?”
DongHae really was smarter than his puppy-like appearance let on. HyukJae laughed, glancing around absently as they turned a corner. “Slayer stuff. I told you yesterday, right? They’re both from big slayer families, I recognized them right away. Park YooChun and Kim KiBum; who doesn’t know their families?”
“I think you told me about their families before,” DongHae said eagerly, hands swinging beside him as he walked. “Two of the best slayer families in the world, right?”
“Right. Compared to my family, we’re only mediocre. Dime-a-dozen slayers really. Those two, they’re from the elite families. My parents would say being in the same class as them would give me a chance to learn from them, but I don’t know,” he said, frowning. “You know how I am with the whole slayer issue.”
His parents were hard-core slayers; very traditional, very strict. Anything that wasn’t human was erased. There were different kinds of slayers. Some of the most lenient ones only hunted those who killed humans mercilessly; the more thoughtful Vampyres and Lycans were left alone, or compromised with. Then there were the middle slayers, the ones who hunted non-humans, except for Gifted. The whole hunting Gifted thing was up for debate, because essentially they were human, with a few modifications to their DNA. It was an issue to some slayers to kill those who’s DNA was so close to their own, and most Gifted were peaceful anyways.
Then there were the hard-core slayers, like HyukJae’s family. Anything that wasn’t 100% human had to go. Personally, HyukJae was against that. It wasn’t their fault they weren’t born human. But his parents never did listen to him. From what he heard, KiBum’s family was very up-tight on the rules as well. YooChun’s was supposed to be one of the slightly more lenient ones, letting Gifted get away with a warning if they play nice.
There was silence for a moment before HyukJae perked up. “My parents are out for a week! Want to stay over? That house is creepy when there’s no one there,” he said with a laugh.
“Sure!” DongHae exclaimed, eyes wide. “I still think there’s a ghost in your basement, all those creaky floorboards. Maybe we can find it!”
“We’re not going ghost hunting,” the other said with a laugh.
“Why not~? It would be fun to talk to one!”
“Only you would go up to a poltergeist and want to make friends, Hae…”
Laughing and chatting, the duo walked twenty minutes before reaching HyukJae’s house. HyukJae bounded up the steps and unlocked the door, admitting them and locking it again behind them. The suburban house was quiet and dark, rather spooky until the lights were switched on.
“So we have the run of the house until next Tuesday,” HyukJae said with a laugh, heading upstairs towards his room. “Want to watch movies or something? It’s too early to sleep yet.”
“Okay!” DongHae dashed after him, slipping into the room behind the other. Placing his bag down, HyukJae turned around and yelped as he was tackled onto his bed.
Laughing and struggling half-heartedly to get free, HyukJae finally stopped when he realized he was successfully pinned down to the bed. Panting slightly, he stared up at the younger man above him, grinning back down with excitement in his eyes.
“It’s only us, you know,” HyukJae said softly, when he’d regained his breath. “There’s no need for you to pretend.”
“Are you sure it’s okay?” DongHae whispered, blinking down at him. HyukJae nodded and smiled, watching expectantly as the other’s eyes brightened, then shifted into a dark red.
A loud rip reached his ears, large shapes unfurling from behind DongHae and draping down on either side of the male underneath him. DongHae drew in a slow breath, and even in the near-darkness of his room HyukJae could see the color fade from his skin, leaving it ashen grey. The fingers pinning his wrists down to the bed loosened their grip so that sharp claws wouldn’t puncture the slayer’s skin.
“You ruined your shirt,” was the first thing HyukJae said when everything was still again. As DongHae let go of his wrists, one hand lifted to brush against the leathery wing beside him. “Need help getting it off?”
“Please?” Even with glowing red eyes, sharp teeth and grey skin, DongHae couldn’t look threatening with a pout on his lips. “I think it’s stuck.”
Once DongHae got off of him, HyukJae sat up and motioned for the other to turn around. He worked at the torn cotton around the large wings protruding from the younger’s back, tearing the holes slightly bigger so DongHae could wiggle out of his shirt.
Folding up the shirt to fix later, HyukJae looked up as DongHae turned around. His eyes focused on the tribal-like tattoos twining along the other’s chest, unique markings. “They’re beautiful,” he murmured, reaching out to brush fingertips lightly against them.
“It tickles,” DongHae protested, catching HyukJae’s hand.
“But I can’t help it.”
“Hyuk… Everything will be alright, right?”
Seeing the worry in the young demon’s eyes, HyukJae sighed softly, standing up and wrapping his arms around the other, careful not to jostle his wings. “Everything will be perfect,” he promised, smiling. “I won’t let my parents find out about you.”
“And if they do? There are so many slayers in our class. To be honest, I’m a little scared.”
“Everything will be alright,” the human insisted. “I’ll protect you from them.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
DongHae smiled, wrapping his arms around HyukJae in return and hugging him. “Thank you.”
HyukJae laughed, turning his head slightly to brush his lips against the demons. He didn’t care if it was wrong; there was so much going against them now, but he didn’t care. All that mattered was holding on to DongHae, and never letting go.
Chapter: 2/?
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: The second chapter's here! I'm trying to decide if updates should be once a week or twice a week... What do you guys think? Hope you enjoy this chapter! xD Beta'd by everkitsune !
Teaser Trailer | Prologue & Chapter One
Chapter Two
“How is even possible for you to be up this early?”
HyungJoon watched sleepily as YoungSaeng wandered into their shared room. “I’m not,” the other murmured, looking like a living zombie as he all but collapsed back onto his bed. After night school and working most of the day, they were both exhausted. Five hours of sleep just wasn’t enough.
“Maybe we should ask for less hours,” HyungJoon mused, flipping over on to his back and staring at the ceiling. “It’s not as if we’re really struggling to pay for rent. There’s you, me and Min, we’ll be fine.” YoungSaeng gave a mumble of agreement, or that was what HyungJoon assumed it was. It was hard to tell when his face was pressed into his pillow.
The alarm beside his bed went off again, and he groaned, sitting up and turning it off. “Alright, alright. Whose turn is it to wake up Min?”
“Yours,” YoungSaeng answered instantly. Even half asleep he knew what happened to whoever went to wake up JungMin. There was a reason the man had his own room.
“But he’s nice to you,” HyungJoon whined, standing up and trying to flatten his messy hair. “Whenever I do it, he nearly twists my head off.”
“Feed him a carrot.”
“Good idea,” HyungJoon replied, sleepily heading out of the room towards the kitchen.
YoungSaeng waited until the other was gone before pulling his face out of the pillow, sleepily gathering his clothes to take a shower. He’d been with JungMin and HyungJoon for as long as he could remember… Quite literally. He had no memories of his life before meeting them. YoungSaeng remembered wandering around a large park by himself a warm summer day. Two kids his age had been playing a game of soccer nearby, and he’d nearly been knocked over when one hadn’t watched where he was running. A lot of apologizing and ice cream later, he learned their names were JungMin and HyungJoon.
He’d been wandering around for a few days, and looked it, so both boys had taken pity on him and taken him home. Their mothers doted on the little lost boy and took care of him, trying to find his family, without luck. “Heo YoungSaeng” just didn’t seem to exist; his name wasn’t listed anywhere, and even after calling quite a few people with the last name of “Heo”, no clues were turned up.
So they’d adopted him. YoungSaeng had officially lived with HyungJoon, but as far as he was concerned, HyungJoon and JungMin were both his brothers, because they were the only family he knew. So it was no surprise when, years later, they were still joined at the hip in practically everything they did.
They accepted him, and cared for him… Regardless of what he was.
“OW OW OW OW OW!”
Blinking at the wall between this room and the next, YoungSaeng smiled faintly and gathered up his clothing, walking out of the room and leaning against the door to the second bedroom. JungMin, buried under several layers of blankets, had HyungJoon in a headlock with one arm, not even lifting his head out from under his pillow as the younger male flailed desperately. “Saeng! Help!” He choked, hardly able to breathe.
YoungSaeng sighed, padding over. “You didn’t use a carrot?”
“There’s only one left, and he’ll take a fit if he can’t have one later, please help me out?”
“Alright, alright,” YoungSaeng murmured, rubbing his eyes to clear them. Cautiously putting his hands out, he worked at the arm wrapped around HyungJoon’s neck, trying to get JungMin to loosen his iron grip. The only reaction from the younger male was to tighten his grip, and to pull his other arm out from under the blankets to flail around for YoungSaeng.
Resigning himself to doing it the hard way, YoungSaeng took JungMin’s flailing arm with both his hands, squeezing lightly and concentrating. The air around them dropped several degrees, his skin turning ice cold. The chill spread along JungMin’s arm and through the body underneath the blankets.
A yelp of surprise escaped the younger, and faster than either of them could blink he had released HyungJoon and darted to the other end of the room, crashing into the wall in his haste to get away from the sudden cold. YoungSaeng snickered quietly as HyungJoon massaged his neck with a wince.
“What was that for?” JungMin exclaimed, pulling out his earbuds and blinking blearily at them.
“For nearly beheading the baby,” YoungSaeng replied, sitting down on the recently vacated bed, looking down at his hands. He flexed his fingers carefully, willing warmth back into the digits.
“I didn’t behead him,” JungMin scoffed, messing up his hair even more before going to hunt down a change of clothing.
“Nearly,” HyungJoon replied. Under his breath he muttered, “Horse.”
JungMin vanished from where he’d had his head in his closet, reappearing next to HyungJoon and pinning him down to the bed beside YoungSaeng. He then proceeded to tickle the human senseless, to the point HyungJoon could do nothing but squirm and laugh breathlessly as the elder’s fingers danced along his sides, moving so fast they were literally blurs.
YoungSaeng chuckled, watching HyungJoon try to get himself free. A twinge of pain through his fingers made him frown, looking back at his hands. His body protested to the lack of cold, wanted him to bring back that chilled feeling from before. Warmth had never been his thing; he was more comfortable in the cold. HyungJoon called him an Elementalist; JungMin referred to him as Iceman.
No matter what he was or what his power was, he had very little control over it. Dropping his body temperature enough to wake up JungMin wasn’t that bad; when he tried to summon snow, or freeze liquids, it was hard for him to stop. He liked the cold… But he couldn’t let his power rule him.
His inability to control himself had nearly resulted in HyungJoon and JungMin’s deaths once. He owed it to these amazing people who had taken him in to never repeat that horrible experience.
HyungJoon gave a loud shriek and fell off the bed, taking JungMin with him. YoungSaeng gave them an amused look before standing to take his shower. Arms wrapped around his legs and the Elementalist fell over with a yelp, joining the tangle of limbs on the floor.
Eager fingers tickled his sides, and in between the shrieks and laughter, YoungSaeng absently thought he wouldn’t trade this for all the snow in the world.
*****
Watching absently as Mr. Lee wrote down English sentences on the board, KiBum glanced to one side as the male beside him tapped his shoulder. YooChun nodded at him slightly, then slipped him a piece of paper. “There’s quite a few,” he murmured, as KiBum frowned down at the list of names, each under different categories. “And there are most likely a few more too. I’ve never seen a more paranormal class in my life.”
KiBum nodded, folding up the list and tucking it into his pocket. This was unacceptable; how could there be so many non-humans in the same class? The occasional Vampyre or Lycan was to be expected; Seoul was a supernatural hotspot. But so many? If YooChun was right, as he usually was (the man had keen eyes, KiBum knew he picked up on details most others would miss), there were at least three Vampyres and one Lycan in this class. At least; Demons were harder to point out, and Gifted nearly impossible unless their power was active.
Either way, it didn’t bode well for the humans in the class.
“So do we have anyone else on our side?” KiBum murmured in return, eyes focused on the board. YooChun stretched his arms absently, the tip of his pencil pointing at HyukJae, who as usual was deep in conversation with DongHae even though they had both been scolded twice this class alone.
“I’ve heard about that one,” YooChun replied quietly, taking notes down off the board. “His family’s middle-class and not that important, but very taken to our cause.”
KiBum nodded, frowning to himself. So many supernaturals, and three of themselves as well… Either something was underfoot, or it was coincidence.
But KiBum didn’t believe in coincidences.
The bell finally rang, and YooChun stood up and walked over to HyukJae before the other could vanish with DongHae out of the class. “Hey, could I talk to you for a moment?” He asked with a smile, as HyukJae blinked at him.
When he saw KiBum come up beside him, understanding seemed to dawn across the other’s face, and he nodded. “Hae, I’ll catch up to you in a bit?” He said to his friend. DongHae nodded, looking from KiBum to YooChun with wide eyes before leaving the room.
He followed KiBum and YooChun outside, bag slung over one shoulder. YooChun brought them around to the back of the school, checking to make sure there was no one nearby. Only once the all-clear was given did HyukJae speak up.
“I know who you both are, so you don’t have to explain that part. Your families are very high-up. What do you want with me?”
“Have you noticed the amount of … Non-humans… in our class?” YooChun asked, deciding to cut right to the chase.
“I’ve noticed a few.”
KiBum took the list out of his pocket, unfolding it and handing it to HyukJae. The others eyes widened. “Woah.”
“Yeah.” KiBum ran one hand through his hair. “I find it hard to believe so many of them could gather at random like this. Something must be going on.”
HyukJae looked over the list, then handed it back. “Which ones do you think might be a problem?”
“All of them? But the one to watch out for right now would be HeeChul. He doesn’t seem to hold back too much, things could get dicey.”
“You mean like that argument with YunHo? YunHo would need some looking after as well. I’ve heard some stories, apparently he’s going to be the leader of his pack when his old man passes away.”
“Same for HeeChul,” YooChun murmured thoughtfully. “A power struggle between the heads of the Vampyres and Lycans. That could definitely cause a few problems.”
“Our main concern should be the safety of our classmates,” KiBum concluded.
“Definitely,” YooChun agreed. “That’s why we’re doing this, after all.” HyukJae nodded along.
KiBum slipped the list back into his pocket as HyukJae adjusted his backpack. “Fantastic,” he said with a gummy smile. “I have to go meet DongHae, but I’ll keep an eye out. Are we going to meet again?”
“We’ll let you know,” KiBum promised, smiling in return. “It’s always good to talk to someone else on our side.”
“Same here,” HyukJae laughed, waving and walking away. “Slayers have to stick together, right?”
*****
Waving farewell to JongWoon, and laughing as the younger male crashed into the doorframe instead of walking through, JungSu walked out of the building and down the road. A faint sigh left his lips as he glanced at his watch. Class had gotten out a bit later than usual; he’d missed the bus that would get him back home. A quick 15-minute bus ride had turned into an hour-long walk, and it was cold out. The sun wouldn’t be rising again for quite a few hours, the street barely lit.
A shiver passed along his spine, the male jamming his hands into his pockets and focusing on something else. Something other than how creepy the walk was. Maybe he should look into buying a car… If he could ever get his drivers license. For some reason, none of those who’d tested him ever let him into a car again. He wasn’t that bad…
A honk from behind him made JungSu jump, and look around in surprise. A set of car headlights drew closer, and slowed down as it reached where the male was walking. Stopping hesitantly, he wondered if he should see who it was or run (it could be a kidnap attempt).
The driver’s window rolled down, and he recognized the face of one of his new classmates. What was his name again…?
“You’re JungSu, right?” The other asked, squinting up at him.
“Yes,” he replied, blinking back at the driver.
“I’m YoungWoon, from your class? Do you need a lift?”
YoungWoon, right. He remembered that name. “I live quite a bit away,” he said frowning. “It would be inconvenient for you.” Plus he’d only just met this man a day ago; he wasn’t so sure about getting into a car with him.
“Not really. I have work in an hour, was just planning on driving around anyways.” YoungWoon shrugged. “It’s up to you.”
Debating, JungSu shivered at a particularly chilly gust of wind and nodded finally. “Alright. Thank you.” He walked around to the passenger side of the car, opening the door and getting in. YoungWoon waited until he was seated and had his seatbelt on before driving off, heading down the road.
“So where do you live?” He asked, frowning lightly. JungSu laughed nervously. “Just keep going straight. It’s fifteen minutes drive in this direction…”
“Did you plan on walking that far every day?” YoungWoon asked, startled.
“Not really, but class let out a bit later today and I missed the only bus I could take,” the other explained, looking over at the younger driver. The moon was reflected in YoungWoon’s eyes as he glanced towards JungSu, then back at the road.
“You don’t have a car?”
“Don’t have a license,” JungSu corrected. “Apparently I’m a terror on the road.”
The other laughed at that, white teeth flashing in the dark. “Really. If you want, I can drive you home after school. I work every day of the week, and really I’d rather waste gas money with a purpose to it than just drive around aimlessly.”
“Wouldn’t that be too much hassle?”
“I just said it wouldn’t, didn’t I?” He chuckled as JungSu ducked his head. “If you feel bad about it, help me out in class? Awesome teacher he may be, I don’t understand half of what he puts out.”
JungSu smiled. “You have yourself a deal, YoungWoon sshi.”
“Just YoungWoon. Or KangIn if you want. That’s what my friends call me.”
“Really? That’s an interest choice of name.”
“Do you have any nicknames?”
“Not really?”
YoungWoon, KangIn, grinned as he changed lanes to pass a slow-moving vehicle. “That’s a shame. Everyone should have at least two names, it makes things interesting.”
The drive home was interesting. They didn’t run out of things to talk about, and JungSu found talking with the younger male refreshing. Before he knew it, they were coming up to the turn-off for his house. “Oh, turn here,” he said quickly, cutting himself off mid-sentence. Laughing at him, YoungWoon took the turn, driving down a quieter neighborhood street.
JungSu directed him towards his house, gathering his bag as YoungWoon drew the car to a stop. “Maybe you could teach me how to drive too,” he said as a joke, opening the passenger door.
“That can be arranged,” YoungWoon teased with a laugh.
JungSu laughed back at him, straightening. As he looked up, the moon in the sky caught his eyes. “Oh, look. The moon’s just about full.”
YoungWoon drew in a sharp breath, but when JungSu looked back at him, he was all smiles. “Right. Probably three days, give or take. You like full moons?”
“I like watching them,” JungSu confessed. “There’s something… Almost mystical about full moons, I find.”
“Agree with you fully there. Anyways, I have to head to work, see you in school tomorrow night?” JungSu nodded and closed the passenger door with a cheerful “Good night!”
YoungWoon watched JungSu walk up the steps to the apartment building, the older male vanishing inside. Sighing faintly to himself, he locked the car doors and looked up at the moon high overhead.
Three days…
*****
“JongWoon, watch out for the-“
“OW!”
“Why do I even bother,” JaeJoong sighed as JongWoon picked himself up from the ground, his foot caught on the sidewalk. A soft chuckle from beside him drew the male’s attention to KyuJong, the other watching JongWoon with a barely suppressed smile.
“Maybe you could warn me before I’m already tripping over it,” JongWoon protested, checking his jeans to make sure he didn’t put any holes in the material.
“Maybe you could watch where you’re walking instead of ranting about how unfair life is?” JaeJoong countered.
“KyuJong, your brother’s being mean!” JongWoon changed strategy, going to JaeJoong’s adopted brother for assistance.
“But you don’t watch where you walk, hyung,” KyuJong replied reasonably.
“You are all against me! What has the world come to?” With that, JongWoon stalked off to their apartment building, successfully clobbering himself with the door when he didn’t move after swinging it open.
“Case and point,” JaeJoong said simply, while KyuJong just tried not to laugh.
Once they got the now badly disorientated JongWoon into his apartment, the siblings headed off to their own, just two doors down. KyuJong closed and locked the door behind them, JaeJoong kicking off his shoes and heading off to the kitchen to make them something to eat.
They weren’t real siblings, but if you were to ask them they’d consider each other as such anyways. JaeJoong was adopted by his family at a young age, so young he hadn’t known they weren’t his real parents until he was told at the age of 16.
You’d think with seven girls and one boy, his adoptive parents had more than enough kids, but when KyuJong turned up they couldn’t turn the boy away. KyuJong was the only survivor of a brutal massacre that had taken the lives of the rest of his family, and left the boy scarred for life. The killers still hadn’t been found, and KyuJong had been taken in by their large family and treated as one of them.
As the only males in the large family, as well as the two youngest, KyuJong and JaeJoong had gotten along best. So it was no surprise that when they came to Seoul, they decided to do it together. JaeJoong was thankful every day for his brother, watching carefully as the younger male slowly came out of his shell and opened up to others.
Even so, every now and then he’d see that shadow flicker through his brother’s eyes, and he knew that whatever horrors KyuJong had witnessed that night had changed him forever.
Hearing KyuJong pad quietly into the kitchen, JaeJoong turned away from the stove where he was cooking and smiled at the younger. “Dinner will be done in fifteen minutes.”
KyuJong nodded, finding a bottle of water and perching himself on the counter next to JaeJoong. JaeJoong swatted at his leg absently, but didn’t tell him to get down. “Dinner at such a time,” KyuJong mused, looking at the clock. “Good thing work hours are at odd times anyways, our schedule’s completely flipped around.”
“We’re regular Vampyres now,” JaeJoong joked, stirring the pot. KyuJong choked on his water.
“You alright?” The elder questioned with a frown as his brother coughed into his sleeve. “Getting there,” came the breathless respond before he erupted in coughs again.
“Aish, such a kid,” JaeJoong sighed, patting KyuJong’s back. When the other looked like he wasn’t about to die, JaeJoong motioned away with one hand. “Go work on homework or something, no sense hanging around over here. And don’t choke yourself.”
“Right hyung,” KyuJong replied with a faint smile, dropping off the counter and walking out of the kitchen. JaeJoong watched him, shivering slightly before he turned back to the stove. He must have imagined it, but he could have sworn he’d seen that shadow in the younger’s eyes again.
*****
“How did it go?” DongHae questioned eagerly, waiting at the school gates as HyukJae walked out. “What did they want to talk about?”
“School stuff,” HyukJae said with a shrug as they started walking. DongHae blinked at him, then looked around. “There’s no one around, Hyukkie,” he said. “What did they want to talk about?”
DongHae really was smarter than his puppy-like appearance let on. HyukJae laughed, glancing around absently as they turned a corner. “Slayer stuff. I told you yesterday, right? They’re both from big slayer families, I recognized them right away. Park YooChun and Kim KiBum; who doesn’t know their families?”
“I think you told me about their families before,” DongHae said eagerly, hands swinging beside him as he walked. “Two of the best slayer families in the world, right?”
“Right. Compared to my family, we’re only mediocre. Dime-a-dozen slayers really. Those two, they’re from the elite families. My parents would say being in the same class as them would give me a chance to learn from them, but I don’t know,” he said, frowning. “You know how I am with the whole slayer issue.”
His parents were hard-core slayers; very traditional, very strict. Anything that wasn’t human was erased. There were different kinds of slayers. Some of the most lenient ones only hunted those who killed humans mercilessly; the more thoughtful Vampyres and Lycans were left alone, or compromised with. Then there were the middle slayers, the ones who hunted non-humans, except for Gifted. The whole hunting Gifted thing was up for debate, because essentially they were human, with a few modifications to their DNA. It was an issue to some slayers to kill those who’s DNA was so close to their own, and most Gifted were peaceful anyways.
Then there were the hard-core slayers, like HyukJae’s family. Anything that wasn’t 100% human had to go. Personally, HyukJae was against that. It wasn’t their fault they weren’t born human. But his parents never did listen to him. From what he heard, KiBum’s family was very up-tight on the rules as well. YooChun’s was supposed to be one of the slightly more lenient ones, letting Gifted get away with a warning if they play nice.
There was silence for a moment before HyukJae perked up. “My parents are out for a week! Want to stay over? That house is creepy when there’s no one there,” he said with a laugh.
“Sure!” DongHae exclaimed, eyes wide. “I still think there’s a ghost in your basement, all those creaky floorboards. Maybe we can find it!”
“We’re not going ghost hunting,” the other said with a laugh.
“Why not~? It would be fun to talk to one!”
“Only you would go up to a poltergeist and want to make friends, Hae…”
Laughing and chatting, the duo walked twenty minutes before reaching HyukJae’s house. HyukJae bounded up the steps and unlocked the door, admitting them and locking it again behind them. The suburban house was quiet and dark, rather spooky until the lights were switched on.
“So we have the run of the house until next Tuesday,” HyukJae said with a laugh, heading upstairs towards his room. “Want to watch movies or something? It’s too early to sleep yet.”
“Okay!” DongHae dashed after him, slipping into the room behind the other. Placing his bag down, HyukJae turned around and yelped as he was tackled onto his bed.
Laughing and struggling half-heartedly to get free, HyukJae finally stopped when he realized he was successfully pinned down to the bed. Panting slightly, he stared up at the younger man above him, grinning back down with excitement in his eyes.
“It’s only us, you know,” HyukJae said softly, when he’d regained his breath. “There’s no need for you to pretend.”
“Are you sure it’s okay?” DongHae whispered, blinking down at him. HyukJae nodded and smiled, watching expectantly as the other’s eyes brightened, then shifted into a dark red.
A loud rip reached his ears, large shapes unfurling from behind DongHae and draping down on either side of the male underneath him. DongHae drew in a slow breath, and even in the near-darkness of his room HyukJae could see the color fade from his skin, leaving it ashen grey. The fingers pinning his wrists down to the bed loosened their grip so that sharp claws wouldn’t puncture the slayer’s skin.
“You ruined your shirt,” was the first thing HyukJae said when everything was still again. As DongHae let go of his wrists, one hand lifted to brush against the leathery wing beside him. “Need help getting it off?”
“Please?” Even with glowing red eyes, sharp teeth and grey skin, DongHae couldn’t look threatening with a pout on his lips. “I think it’s stuck.”
Once DongHae got off of him, HyukJae sat up and motioned for the other to turn around. He worked at the torn cotton around the large wings protruding from the younger’s back, tearing the holes slightly bigger so DongHae could wiggle out of his shirt.
Folding up the shirt to fix later, HyukJae looked up as DongHae turned around. His eyes focused on the tribal-like tattoos twining along the other’s chest, unique markings. “They’re beautiful,” he murmured, reaching out to brush fingertips lightly against them.
“It tickles,” DongHae protested, catching HyukJae’s hand.
“But I can’t help it.”
“Hyuk… Everything will be alright, right?”
Seeing the worry in the young demon’s eyes, HyukJae sighed softly, standing up and wrapping his arms around the other, careful not to jostle his wings. “Everything will be perfect,” he promised, smiling. “I won’t let my parents find out about you.”
“And if they do? There are so many slayers in our class. To be honest, I’m a little scared.”
“Everything will be alright,” the human insisted. “I’ll protect you from them.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
DongHae smiled, wrapping his arms around HyukJae in return and hugging him. “Thank you.”
HyukJae laughed, turning his head slightly to brush his lips against the demons. He didn’t care if it was wrong; there was so much going against them now, but he didn’t care. All that mattered was holding on to DongHae, and never letting go.