Chapter Text
[Jungwon]
—2007—
"What do you think? Does it cater to your appetite?"
Jungwon lets his lips quirk to a small smile as his right hand and most trusted confidante settles beside him with only a gust of small wind to announce his presence.
Seoul is thriving. Only a half-century since Jungwon has stepped foot in his mother country and yet everything is different.
"Shouldn't we be adapting, Heeseung-hyung?" He inquires and turns ever-so-slightly to Heeseung's direction, showing a dimpled smile.
He feels rather than sees the rushing of blood to the other's face.
Ah. He has fed.
"I'm working on it... Jungwon-ah."
They've been in Europe for the most part, and English has been their primary language. They've picked up a few other languages here and there, but they've never used their mother tongue for... quite some time now. Since Sunoo.
"Sunoo-hyung must feel ecstatic," he muses, smirking to himself at using such honorific despite being centuries older. The other has, after all, whined for a decade about leaving Korea due to unfamiliarity in other languages outside of Hangugeo.
"Oh, he is. Except now he has to listen to Riki whine for leaving Japan," Heeseung snickers.
Jungwon grows rigid at the mention of their youngest, body going still he could pass for a statue.
Riki. Nishimura Riki. His latest conquest.
They have been living in Japan for the past nine years, having been taken with the then-eight years old Riki. There was no reason to stay in Japan, and what was supposed to be a quick stop turned into an almost decade stay due to the young one.
Riki was... enthusiastic. He followed them anywhere, and would get to all sorts of trouble to gain their attention. Jungwon has never planned on turning him, no. Far from it. He wanted to see the boy grow and reach for his dreams. He would've kill for it. Strike down anyone standing in the boy's path to ensure his success. And he knows the other four would've done the same.
Except Riki was bewitched. He was bewitched with the idea of eternity, of eternal beauty. Of them.
It wasn't exactly a surprise. It happened almost all of the time, wherever they stayed. But Jake was never supposed to reciprocate the longing. Jake was never supposed to yearn for the eight year old boy as much as the eight year old yearn for them. He should've learned his lesson with raising Jay after his transition, but no. He was so taken he took Riki straight out of his home and into theirs, announcing him his own son. And Riki wasn't even of their own ancestry.
Jungwon should've never let Jake get away with it. But it's not like he would punish him, either. It may be his blood that turned Jake but Jake was never his conquest.
He glances towards Heeseung.
"Are you still regretting Riki?" His right hand asks, sadness in his voice. Jungwon looks away.
"You know how I feel about turning him."
"You never had such qualms with me wanting Jake. Or Jake towards Jay. And Jay to Sunoo."
"He would've been of age this year. And he would've left Japan of his own accord to pursue his dreams. He would've succeeded, and marry, and procreate," he turns to face Heeseung. "He would've had choices. And we agreed beforehand that Sunoo is to be the last one."
Heeseung refuses to meet his gaze, eyeing the city spread down before them instead.
"You never punished him," Heeseung says quietly.
"He was never mine to punish," Jungwon answers as he grasps him by the shoulder, passing him by.
"... I will arrange his punishment as I see fit, Your Grace."
Jungwon merely raises his hand in answer as he left the rooftop.
---
It was chaos when he arrives home.
Jungwon lets himself shroud in the shadows as he observes his family from the darkness. There are broken china pieces all over the carpeted floor and a stunned Jay is standing in the middle of it all. Sunoo is yelling his absurdity, and Jake is begging for Heeseung to reconsider. Riki merely watches the exchange in silence.
"Come on, Heeseung. This cannot be. I beg you, please, please reconsider. You know how I—"
"This discussion is over, Jake. This is my decision and you will accept it."
"Two decades... it's too long. I can't—I can't not go without his blood for twenty—"
"You have Riki. Sunoo. Me. You will survive," Heeseung interrupts, his demeanor cold.
Jungwon sees the betrayal on Jake's face but Heeseung doesn't waver. Jungwon finally decides to announce his presence.
"Twenty years without Jay's blood," he says in lieu of greeting, impressed with Heeseung's idea.
"Yes. It is what I decided," his right hand confirms, switching to Hangugeo smoothly. "Jay can still drink from him but no further exchange is allowed."
"You disheartened me, my lord," Jake finally acquiesces forlornly.
"You will no longer address me as such. Call me hyung, as I am physically the oldest of everyone here. And from now on, we shall speak in their tongue, as I'm sure everyone is expecting to."
Jungwon nods and settles on one of the plush seats.
"He is right. We don’t know how long we will be staying here, but it's best to adapt as soon as possible. Jake, Riki is your responsibility. Teach him well," Jungwon says and waits for Jake to nod his agreement before continuing.
"Next to Heeseung-hyung is Jay-hyung. And then Jake-hyung, Sunoo-hyung, myself, and lastly Riki. We will discuss further arrangements in the future but this will be our age system starting today. Tell me you understand."
"Yes, hyung," Riki agrees, clearly beside himself with excitement.
"Yes... Jungwonie." Sunoo.
"I understand." Jake and Jay.
Jungwon rises from his seat and strides towards Jake, smoothing his demeanor to that of understanding. He places one cold hand on the other's blood-warm cheek.
"We will commence with your punishment tomorrow. For tonight, do you want my blood or Jay's?"
Four heads snap to their direction, surprise palpable in the air. It is not common for Jungwon to offer his blood but despite Jake's disobedience, he love him all the same.
"I'll have Jay's, Your Grace," is Jake's immediate answer. Jungwon nods and steps back.
"Are you crazy?" are the first words to come out from Jay's mouth ever since he found out about Jake's punishment.
Jake merely walks towards him and grabs him by the lapel of his coat, dragging him towards the massive staircase.
"This might not be the only time Jungwon will offer his blood for the next twenty years but this will be the last time I can have yours, Jay-hyung," is Jake's response.
Sunoo and Riki moves to follow. They have been all feeding together for the past year and it's instinct at this point to do so, but Jake stops them.
"We will be alone tonight," Jake orders, eyes gleaming red as if he might defend his right to claim Jay alone.
Sunoo immediately backs down, pulling Riki with him when the younger attempts to follow still. With no further protest, the two continue upstairs.
"I want to drink from Jaeyun-nii and Jonsgeong-nii," Riki whines at Sunoo.
"You will feed on me tonight, Riki," Jungwon says and walks back towards the loveseat he was occupying earlier. Riki flashes towards the seat in excitement, having forgotten his earlier dilemma, and eyes already gleaming red.
"Jungwon-nii—"
"It's Jungwon-hyung," he corrects as he settles beside the youngest. "You already know our language, why aren't you using it?"
Riki all but climbs on his lap, his face already on his neck, petting his cheek against Jungwon's skin.
"It's weird," the youngest whines. "And unfamiliar—"
"Get used to it, or this will be the last time you're drinking my blood."
"Yes, Jungwon-hyung. May I bite you now?" Riki asks in broken Korean. Jungwon pats his head in affirmation.
"Sunoo-ya, do you want to drink from mine tonight?" Heeseung inquires just as Riki bites down non too pleasantly on Jungwon's neck. The smell of blood immediately permeates the air.
"No need, hyung. I will wait for Jay-hyung," Sunoo answers, eyes red and trained on the staircase.
"Jake-hyung might near drain him. There's no use in waiting for him," Jungwon interrupts. "Come," he says, offering his wrist.
The dejected look on Sunoo's face turns into a beam as he saunters towards them, a skip on his steps.
"Of course, Your Grace—I mean Jungwonie."
Heeseung gives him a look, clearly waiting for the offer as well.
"You've already fed," Jungwon grins.
"If I have known you will be offering your blood, I wouldn't have," his right hand sulks.
"You will have your time, hyung," he assures and lets himself sink to the feeling of his blood draining.
---
The night is almost finished and the house has gone quiet. Sunoo and Riki has passed out after feeding and playing board games. Heeseung sits in-between the two on the couch with both his shoulders pillowing their heads. He, too, has passed out, not with blood but champagne. Two empty bottles sat on the low table among the unfinished board game.
Jungwon usually doesn't need to feed for months, one of the perks of being a pureblood, but having been fed on with not one but two vampires can take it's toll.
Riki drinks messily, as expected of a newborn, and blood has spill along Jungwon's collar. He shakes his head in amusement and shadow-walks (another pureblood perk) towards his room to change. It's been a while since he has to change after a feeding as the others have known not to spill his blood. But Riki is a child and he will learn.
He exits his room after picking an appropriate outfit, nothing flashy and nothing too-outdated, when he passes by Jake's room. The two are still awake, much different to the other three's statuses.
Jungwon walks in, opting out of shadow walking as a semblance of respect.
"And here I thought Jake would be draining you, not the other way around," he greets Jay who's currently slurping on the other's neck. The smell of the blood around them is so thick that Jungwon's own teeth start to tingle.
The bed is a mess, as if they had a brawl before feeding. Jake is lying down amidst the mess, shirtless, with Jay on top of him in the same state. He already looks out of it.
Jay removes his fangs from the other's neck to turn to him, eyes red and blood on his mouth.
"He had this fantastic idea that we drain each other," he answers and wipes at his mouth. "He wants my blood inside him and his in mine. So far, I'm not sure if it's working."
Jake's hand reaches out to fist at Jay's hair.
"Well, I'll leave you to it. Don't kill each other," Jungwon says before exiting the room. Jake is in his possessive mood and Jungwon would rather not get in the middle of it all.
Everyone will have a hard time with drinking Jay's blood from now on. He just hopes a year will suffice and Jake can get over it. Or else he might've to step in.
---
It’s three hours ‘til daybreak and it’s awfully quiet. Jungwon prowls among the streets, musing silently. It was eerily different from when he observed the city earlier this evening atop a high building. It was just alive and brimming with life hours ago. Now, only lost souls and devils are left on the streets, moaning and beckoning to sink their claws into whatever life is left.
Seems like feeding must wait for another night. They have arrangements they need to settle in the following days, some measly like whether anyone would like to attend school in the meantime; and some important ones like if there are clans aside from them already settled in the area. If so, they need to find out where their territories lie and set up a perimeter of their own.
Heeseung will have to handle those. Jungwon, for one, refuses to attend school despite being 18 years old physically. He has lived for 684 years and has attended high school and college over and over again that he recoils to a mere sight of any educational establishments. Eternity is already his personal hell, there’s no need to subject himself to any further torture.
If he can’t feed tonight, then he needs to sleep for at least a full week to replenish his lost blood. He can’t feed from either Sunoo and Riki as they have just fed from him and have left traces of their venom in his bloodstream. Those need to be flushed out of his system before he will be able to feed on them or they might get bonded. Flushing them out will at least take a month.
He can’t feed from Heeseung as well, as he had promised he will let his right hand feed from him soon. And the sooner Heeseung feeds from him, the better so he could all flush out their venoms at the same time. Jake and Jay are out of the question. He’s confident that those two will refuse to feed or be fed upon for months to come in order to savor their last blood exchange. They might yield if Jungwon were to ask but he’s not that cruel.
He releases a weary sigh, already dreading his week-long sleep. How he envies non-purebloods and their inability to form a blood bond. If they were all bound to the same Master, one who is not Jungwon himself, he would’ve joined and enjoyed the fray of blood exchange every other week with his family.
He gets rid of the thoughts immediately. There’s no use wishing for the impossible.
He continues his musings as he wanders, savoring what little flavor of the night is left. The wind blows cold against him, ruffling his coat and his hair. Winter is right in the corner and Jungwon immediately saddens at the thought. Riki would’ve been 18.
Now that he’s alone, memories of their youngest’s transformation rushes to the front lobe of his brain.
It was raining then, hard and heavy, and it might’ve washed away the blood on the pavement, but it couldn’t remove the scent of blood hanging thick on the air.
Riki has jumped down from the roof of their mansion, intended to make them all suffer. To make Jake suffer for not being able to convince Jungwon to turn him. He bled to death right in the entrance to their villa.
Heeseung has given Riki his blood in an attempt to slow down the last cycles of his life even as all his organs cease to function. Jay has called Jungwon, stumbling over his words and trembling so hard that Jungwon can feel him over the phone.
He only heard Riki’s name and Sunoo’s pained screams in the background for him to shadow-walk so fast he created a personal record. It also left him reeling and weak for days to come.
He was greeted with the sight of Heeseung holding a breaking down Sunoo, Jay pacing back and forth with his hands clenched tight in his hair and unknowingly spreading bloody footprints all over the floor, and Jake emptying his own blood down Riki’s throat. Multiple bites litter all over Jake, especially on his arms where he bit down to take his own blood and mouth-feed it to the dead body in his arms.
Jay is the first to notice Jungwon and he all but flew towards him, taking a hold of his arms and begging for him to save Jake. Jungwon brushes him aside and settles next to Jake on the floor who finally notices him.
“Y-Your Grace! I didn’t know—he jumped—I,” Jake stutters, red eyes blown wide and looking pallid from all the blood he loss.
Riki was not beyond saving but Jungwon would’ve left him to die if not for Jake. Jay might’ve been Jake’s conquest, but he wasn’t as taken to the former as much as he was to Riki. And Jungwon was afraid of what will come to Jake if Riki will not be saved.
Everyone in the family, save for Heeseung who was given as a gift, had no choices in becoming a vampire. Jake was left to die in the streets after being mugged and beaten to near-death, and it was Heeseung who took him to Jungwon and begged him to save the kid. Jay was a product of war and Jake found him in the hospital three years after leaving Jungwon and Heeseung. Jay was the one who brought Jake back to them. Sunoo was turned not long after Jay, a pen pal of the latter from their mother country who had confided about his terminal illness.
Jungwon had no plan in extending their little family, but he saw how different Heeseung was when Jake was with them, and how cold he grew when the latter left. When Jay became a vampire, Jake was smitten, and he never mentioned anything about leaving again. When they both requested for Sunoo, Jungwon said yes only because he didn’t want Jake to run away again, and with Jay this time.
Riki gave them no choice. He could’ve lived a wonderful life as a human. Jungwon can’t help regretting him. If he hadn’t met any of them, if he hadn’t ran into Jake nine years ago—
It only takes him half a second to recognize a presence behind him and Jungwon spins on his heels with his hand raised to a swift, deadly strike. His hand stops mere inches from a child’s face.
He stumbles back, bewildered. His nails, which he hardened before posing to strike, revert to their ordinary, harmless form. The child, a boy, isn’t all fazed with almost being hit on the face. Instead of cowering like a normal human being, he clutches at Jungwon’s leg and snuggles his cheek against his thigh, looking up at him.
Jungwon feels his throat burning at the sudden scent wafting over him and all at once, he’s hit with the fact that he’s starving. His eyes glow red, and his fangs extends from beneath his gums, flooding his mouth with his own blood.
The child stares at him, entranced, and reaches out one small hand towards him.
“—HOON! SUNGHOON! BABY, WHERE ARE YOU?!”
The lady is still some distance away. If not for his advanced senses, he wouldn’t have picked up the distressed call. Which means the child hasn’t heard his mother yet. Jungwon can either snatch him now and drain him in the alley. Or he can coax the child to follow him.
Jungwon can have his fun, then. A hunt.
He licks his lips at the idea and lowers himself to crouch in front of the child. He opens his mouth to speak but renders unable to when small hands start touching his face.
“Hell…o,” the child greets shyly, one hand on Jungwon’s cheek with his thumb dipping inside the latter’s mouth, and the other hand playing on his earring.
The child is painfully innocent that he feels his fangs aching to sink into the smooth skin and sully his whole being. Until he’s bloodied and broken. He wants to feel—
His thoughts are interrupted as the child sneezes. Jungwon blinks, and the child does it again before folding himself against Jungwon, seeking warmth. Arms squeeze his neck and legs attempt to wrap around him.
Jungwon doesn’t move as the child successfully climbs on him after some few struggles. His little face is tucked on the side of Jungwon's neck, puffing warm, wet breaths.
"Oh my god, Sunghoon!" A voice screeches behind him. Jungwon took too much time and now the boy's mother has caught up to them.
He wraps his arms easily around the boy and stands, his back to the approaching lady.
He thinks of how easy it would be to cater to his monsters. He thinks about gutting and draining the woman, and then keeping Sunghoon. He can be Jungwon's little play thing until he grew sick and tired. It's not the first time he would be raising one. He and Heeseung used to have a human blood bag way before Jake although Heeseung accidentally drained him dry.
May his soul rest.
For the first time in a while, Jungwon feels excitement bubbling beneath his skin. One he hasn't felt for centuries now. He often wondered how Heeseung must've felt when he took a near-dead Jake to Jungwon. He wondered how Jake has differed to all the other near-dead people Heeseung has encountered before, and why him of all things. It was the same wonder when Jake came back to them on his own accord to beg for a dying Jay to be restored to life, and when Jake took years convincing him to turn Riki. For Sunoo, Jungwon understands where Jay is coming from, but for the rest, he can't help but be swept in his curiosities.
It must've felt like this.
Which means a time may come where he will consider turning Sunghoon.
And he can't have that. Not when his time as a free vampire is coming to a close, and his throne and inheritance looms closer.
He schools his features before turning to the woman, faux worry pasted on his face.
"Hello, ma'am. Is this your boy?"
[Sunghoon]
—2022—
Sunghoon has a recurring dream, one that's been haunting him ever since he's a child. He lies awake in his bed, a minute before his alarm starts ringing, and recalls the dream in perfect details.
The cold, biting, autumn wind. Glowing red eyes. The smell of dried blood. A beautiful stranger. And his mother's frantic voice.
It feels more like a memory than a dream, but he has asked his mother about it before and she said that it didn't happen. She doesn't recall looking for him in the middle of the night. Sunghoon decided then that it really was a dream. He might recall the scene perfectly in his mind but he couldn't remember anything that led to that moment.
He doesn't remember how he strayed out of bed and out of their apartment and wandered into the streets. So it must've been a dream. It doesn’t seem plausible for a five-year old to be able to get down a three-storey building undetected.
Even so, Sunghoon still cherishes the dream, and the person in his dream. It may be embarrassing to do so but if you've had the same dream over and over again for years now, it's apparently possible to get attached—
His thoughts are rudely interrupted with the blaring of his alarm. With a heavy sigh, he tucks the precious memory in the drawer of his thoughts and readies himself for the day.
---
This day fucking sucks.
First of all, his jerk friends aren't around. He received a text from Jake mid-way their first class that he and Jay will be absent for the whole day, and probably for the rest of the week. And it's only Tuesday.
It would've been fine if those two aren't around. Before meeting them, Sunghoon was living the introvert life. And then there came Jay who followed him around asking about his lineage. Turned out he's a Park as well, although it doesn't seem like they're from the same clan. Befriending Jay meant befriending his apparently-not-boyfriend Jake.
Jake was easy to get along with. He's kind-hearted, funny, and understanding. He's also very playful but he's not offensive. He reminds Sunghoon of a golden retriever. Of course, he's different with Jay. He's louder, acts like a brat sometimes, and tests the other's patience all the time. It's where Sunghoon picked up his habit of teasing Jay as well.
After the two, he was eventually introduced to the rest of their friends: senior Heeseung, sophomore Sunoo, and freshman Riki.
Sunghoon is not someone who easily gets comfortable with the people around him, but there is something eerily familiar with the five of them that Sunghoon couldn't place his finger at. He knows that they all live together in the outskirts of Seoul, he knows that they aren't brother by blood but considered each other family, and he knows that they've known each other for at least ten years now. But he feels like he doesn't really know them and they never offer any personal information.
There are instances wherein a single shared glance from them translates to a whole argument without a single word. There are inside jokes Sunghoon couldn't grasp but left the rest of them with wry smiles and smirks. It should've bothered Sunghoon but he finds that he doesn't really mind.
He just likes hanging out with them.
And now, not only are Jay and Jake absent, but all of them. He could've survived without the two but with all of them gone? He can't.
He can't remember the last time he was alone.
Annoyed and a bit betrayed, he continues silently throughout the rest of his bleak day.
---
This is a bad idea, Sunghoon tries convincing himself for the nth time as he stands before the massive arched gate that confines the mansion within.
A fucking mansion.
Two years into their friendship and no one has bothered to tell him that they all live in a fucking mansion. It's just his luck that he had kept the birthday letter Sunoo had given him last year. The letter was enclosed in a formal sealed envelope where their home (mansion) address was elegantly scrawled on the back.
When he first googled the address, he couldn't believe it. It was on the outskirts of Seoul that is marked as a private property although there's nothing but trees for miles. In the end, he had confirmed on Jay's student file in the admin (almost got into trouble for that) that it is indeed the correct address.
He took the bus and did a lot of walking and now he's here. And his guts are telling him to turn back around. Sunghoon usually follows his gut feeling but it's ridiculous to feel this way when they are his friends.
These are the same people who bother him during his free hours, who raid his fridge in the dorm, who hang out with him every single day. There's no reason for him to feel this way.
Like he's being watched and hunted, and that the moment he steps inside the gate, there will be no turning back.
"Seriously," Sunghoon mutters, shaking his head. He's just intimidated by this whole mansion thing. Once he sees his jerk of friends, he will forget all about this.
With that in mind, he starts looking for a doorbell or anything that he may be able to use so he can get their attention. It's not like he could just push this open and—
His hand grazes the steel and the gate creaks open, wide enough that he can pass through.
Sunghoon blinks, unsure. He feels his stomach tightening like he might puke anytime and he steps inside before he changes his mind. He pushes the gate close behind him and continues on a well-used narrow pathway that leads to the entrance of the mansion. The mansion is dark and modern, and looks like it should be somewhere in Europe, not in Seoul.
He surveys the place as he walks and finds it attractively unkempt. The weeds are overgrown and dead leaves are scattered everywhere like confetti. As it is the Autumn season already, there's probably no reason for them to attend the garden with Winter fast approaching. Still, the setup makes it feel like an intro to a hollywood horror movie showing Sunghoon the primary victim before opening to introductory scenes of the main cast.
He reaches the steps towards the double door but Sunghoon couldn't find a doorbell or any of that sorts so he raises a hesitant fist to knock.
There's a resounding silence. It's then that he finally noticed how silent the surrounding is. For a place surrounded by trees, Sunghoon can't hear a single bird cry or any animals.
Odd.
Are they not at home? Is that why all of them are—
The door creaks open ever so slightly.
Sunghoon peeks inside but only darkness greets him from beyond the doorway.
"Hello..?"
Silence.
He's starting to hesitate then, the pit in his stomach now too large to ignore. Sunghoon is not really the bravest person when it comes to anything horror-related. He's usually the one screaming on the screen for that one stupid character to run away while he still has a chance to.
Right now, he feels like that stupid character.
Swallowing, he re-thinks the whole thing. He came here because he wanted to pay a visit and check if everything is alright. If all of them are absent, something must've happened right? He spent so much effort confirming their address that he didn't expect anything that might happen aside from seeing his friends.
Could it be that they are all out of town? If so, is there anyone else inside?
Why is he itching to run away?
Sunghoon looks around nervously. Its still four in the afternoon and the sun won't set until six-thirty. If he go now, he can still catch a bus ride.
Shit, he shouldn't have come here. He could've just called Jay or Heeseung and avoid this situation altogether.
"Fuck, what am I doing?" He whispers as he stares into the darkenss inside. Something must be in there. He can feel it waiting for him to get inside.
He should let the others know that their home is haunted. With that final thought, he reaches for the door handle so he can close it but as his hand crosses the threshold, a pale hand shoots out from the darkness inside and clamps around his wrist.
"What the—"
The door slams shut behind him.