Chapter Text
Taehyun stared at the cup in his hands. The red liquid staining the sides of the cup. The red liquid being blood. His hands tighten around the cup slightly. He’s not really sure what had happened.
He remembers everything hurting. He remembers suddenly being in a forest, bleeding out and in pain. He remembers some voices. He remembers the overwhelming taste of blood. He remembers how foggy his head felt. And he remembers closing his eyes, thinking he was dead.
Then he opened his eyes again. He was still in tons of pain. Taehyun remembers waking up before falling back to unconsciousness. He can vaguely recall someone forcing him to drink, which usually caused the pain to lessen.
At least he was alive.
Well, technically, he wasn’t alive anymore.
“Are you okay, Taehyun?”
Taehyun jolts, looking up from his cup to see Beomgyu staring at him, wide eyes in slight concern.
“I’m fine,” Taehyun responds, looking back down at his cup as the older continues his ramblings.
He brings the cup up to his mouth to drink. This isn’t the first time he’s drunken blood recently, and it won’t be the last. He’s not quite sure about how he feels about the taste of blood suddenly tasting good. Taehyun supposes it comes with the territory of his species change.
Vampires, huh. So they exist.
All myths have some sort of real inspiration.
Though myths are still myths. Taehyun quickly learned most stories about vampires were false. Like sunlight. It was more of a sensitivity than anything, standing in it too much could irritate the skin, but he won’t die from it. Still, he preferred to keep the curtains in his room closed during the day.
Taehyun is once again taken out of his thoughts as Beomgyu plucks the now empty cup from his hands and says something about taking it to the kitchen for him. He watches the other vampire leave, a feeling of fear leaving with him.
It’s weird. Taehyun wouldn’t say he’s distrusting or scared of these people, but every time he’s around Beomgyu or Yeonjun, the other older vampire, there’s no doubt a feeling of fear that creeps into him. Anytime they get too close, smile so that he can see their fangs, or even if Taehyun were to look them in the eyes, he gets a feeling that he’s going to die.
It’s only around the vampires, too. When he’s around the humans, nothing happens. Though he isn't around the other two, Soobin and Kai, that often, something about uncontrollable fledgling urges. Taehyun’s not sure why there are two humans living with two Vampires in the first place, but they’re good company when Taehyun can manage to talk to them.
This whole situation has been weird for him.
Taehyun leaned back, letting himself sink into the couch, and stare up at the ornately decorated ceiling. Every part of the house had vaguely Victorian decoration, even the parts of the house with modern technology. The whole house looked like something a stereotypical vampire would live in, Even calling it a house would be wrong, it was more of a mansion with how big it was. Yeonjun had said something about committing to the bit. Beomgyu said it was because Yeonjun was old and bored.
Taehyun had to admit it was very pretty, and who is he to judge what someone does after probably living for millions of years. Immortality is a scary thought. He can’t say he sees himself living that long. He can still die, just not of old age.
“I’m back,” Beomgyu sings as he walks into the lounge. There’s a bright smile on the other’s face, just enough to see his fangs and cause Taehyun to tense up.
“Welcome back, hyung,” Taehyun says, trying to keep his voice level. The coven had insisted on speaking comfortably. After all, if Taehyun was going to be staying for the foreseeable future, they might as well get to know each other. Like most things, he wasn’t sure how to feel about that.
Beomgyu’s smile grew as he sat himself down on the couch across from Taehyun, “How have you been doing?”
“I’m doing fine.”
Beomgyu pouts slightly, “You always say that.”
“It’s true,” And it is. Taehyun is fine.
There’s a slight pause as Beomgyu continues to pout, waiting for Taehyun to say more, “What do you do when you’re alone?”
What’s with the sudden interrogation, “Read, mostly.”
“Just read?” The older vampire asks, “Don’t you get tired of that?”
“There’s plenty of books in the library,” Taehyun responded, “And there are three libraries in this house.”
“Hmmm,” Beomgyu seemed to study Taehyun’s face before speaking, “You should play video games with me sometime!”
“I’ll think about it.”
Despite the non committed answer, Beomgyu’s eyes light up. He seems to lean forwards a bit as he excitedly talks. Taehyun noticed that Beomgyu tended to have a burst of energy before winding down. He wasn’t sure how he felt about the older, either. He seemed to have this want to be closer to Taehyun, always excitedly trying to find him or inching closer when he no energy.
Taehyun remembers when he was first introduced to the other, he could only describe Beomgyu as pretty. He wonders how old he is. Beomgyu always called Soobin ‘hyung’ and mentioned being a year older than Taehyun, though he’s unsure if it’s because he wants to or because he’s newly turned.
Despite all of Beomgyu’s efforts and Taehyun’s questions, he still can’t help but feel uneasy. He feels kind of bad as he tries his best to avoid the other vampire, but the unpleasant feeling of fear is enough to keep him away.
˚₊‧꒰ა . ——— ˗ˏˋ ☾ ◯ ☽ ˎˊ˗ ——— ˖ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
‘We’re a coven that specializes in taking care of newly-turned vampires, fledglings, especially if they don’t have a sire,’ Yeonjun had explained to him a little after he had woken up, ‘We help them get used to being a vampire before they’re ready to start their own life.’
Taehyun guessed that made sense. Especially after he was told sires are tasked with taking care of whoever they turned. Taehyun’s sire was dead. He was attacked, a chunk of his neck had been ripped out, and he fought back. Supposedly. Taehyun can’t remember any of it. Soobin said it was a miracle he had been turned before he had died.
The oldest vampire had taken care of Taehyun the most while he was bedridden. Soobin came in occasionally, but it was mostly Yeonjun. He did all sorts of checks to make sure Taehyun was recovering smoothly, and with his newly obtained vampire healing he recovered quickly. The quickest Yeonjun had ever seen, apparently.
Despite that, he still spent almost a week in bed, his only company being Yeonjun when he visited. He didn’t hate the older, but much like Beomgyu there was fear and the feeling of death following him whenever Taehyun was in the same room as him. Yeonjun had most of the answers, but Taehyun was just too uncomfortable to find the older when he had a question.
He knew quite a lot about the older as well, due to being stuck in a bed for a week. Taehyun doesn’t know Yeonjun’s exact age (Yeonjun himself doesn’t know) but he knows he’s old. He apparently wasn’t expecting to start a coven, but that changed when he met Soobin. (Taehyun is unsure if he meant that romantically or not) and used to just hang out with a few other friends. Yeonjun is also a big fan of human food and will eat it when he can.
Taehyun was basically bombarded with information of Yeonjun realized Taehyun wasn’t going to talk about himself. He was mostly scared of Yeonjun. Any other opinions he would have about the older were overshadowed by intense fear. He really hated it. Taehyun could tell Yeonjun was a positive and caring person, yet anytime he was around, Taehyun could help but feel like he was about to face death. It was worse than his reaction to Beomgyu.
The older was just scary.
˚₊‧꒰ა . ——— ˗ˏˋ ☾ ◯ ☽ ˎˊ˗ ——— ˖ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
“If you have trouble finding me, you could also ask Soobin,” Yeonjun had also told him.
Taehyun took every opportunity he could to do that. Even if he had to comb through ever single floor and room to find the human, he would. At first, Soobin was cautious about being around Taehyun. Saying that Taehyun being newly turned meant he had less control over his instincts. It took a few days, but Soobin eventually stopped worrying.
Taehyun quickly realized why Yeonjun had said to go to Soobin if he had questions. While he couldn’t give personal experience, his knowledge was wide.
“What’s with vampires drinking from the neck?” Taehyun asked,
Soobin puts down a book he was reading. He was in some sort of study. A desks in the back of the room and a few bookshelves and cabinets lined the walls. There was also a cork board with tons of writings and pictures hung up. There was also a table and a few couches in the center, Taehyun wonders how often they get used.
“There’s a large amount of blood,” Soobin reaches up to touch a part of his neck, “This is the carotid artery, has tons of blood. Though normally you wouldn’t actually get to the artery, you’d hit a vein close to it. If you’re not trying to kill a human, it heals faster and the blood flow is more consistent. It’s a similar reason to why bitting the wrist is also common.”
“So why the neck specifically rather than the wrist?” Taehyun asks from the couch he sat down on while Soobin was talking.
“Easy access. Let’s be real, if you are trying to take someone by surprise, it’s easier to go for the neck than grab someone’s wrist and try to bite it.”
“That makes sense.”
“You’ll start biting from the wrist, though, just because the neck has easier access doesn't mean it’s easy to teach from,” Soobin shuffles a few paper on the desk around, “When you start drinking from a live source that is.”
“I am going to drink from you?”
Soobin shakes his head, “You’ll start with Yeonjun, won’t be as filling, but you’ll get it same experience.”
Taehyun tilts his head slightly, “Why from him?”
“It’s so you don’t accidentally turn or hurt me or Kai,” Soobin responds, “It’s also great for helping you control what you’re doing from someone who is a vampire.”
Taehyun stared at the human as he went back to his book, “You know a lot about vampires.”
“Yeah,” Soobin pointed to the cork board, “I like the occult, always have.”
Taehyun takes a closer look at said cork board, it’s notes and pieces of books pinned up as if Soobin is trying to solve a mystery.
“How are you feeling?” Soobin asks after a bit.
“Fine,” Taehyun turns back to face Soobin, “It feels kind of like I know I’m a vampire, but I don’t really know it.”
“Your brain isn’t accepting the fact you’ve been turned?”
“Something like that.”
“Well, you keep asking me all these questions without experiencing some of it yourself like you should be.”
“I like asking questions,” Taehyun says in mock offense. “I like knowing things.”
Soobin smiles, “I don’t mind you asking, but I would still rather you ask an actual vampire, though.”
“...I’ll try,” Taehyun says, he really will, but he’s not sure if he can get over that feeling he felt earlier, “Thank you Soobin hyung.”
˚₊‧꒰ა . ——— ˗ˏˋ ☾ ◯ ☽ ˎˊ˗ ——— ˖ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
Kai, Taehyun learned, could easily be found lying around in one of the many lounges. Sometimes when Taehyun would be avoiding Beomgyu, he’d run into him. Sometimes playing video games, sometimes reading. Taehyun definitely felt the most comfortable around the human. Depending on his mood, sometimes Kai more than Soobin.
They were similar in age, with Kai being younger, though he had dropped out of school at some point. Family reasons he had been told.
Taehyun knew the least about the younger. None of the others ever really saying much about him and Kai often dodging questions.
“I’m here now!” Kai had said with a bright smile after Taehyun asked how Kai ended up living with the others, “I don’t plan on leaving, plus the hyungs take care of me.”
Taehyun didn’t say anything and just let Kai talk.
He also noticed how little he left the house. Sometimes the others would leave, sometimes for visiting a human city, sometimes to visit a vampire friend. But Kai almost never left. Every so often, he’d go on walks, some of which he invited Taehyun to go with him, but other than that, never.
And god, Taehyun was curious.
He did like being around Kai. With, weirdly enough, the younger seemingly avoiding Taehyun at times. Kai was still friendly, but sometimes Taehyun would enter a room and Kai would leave soon after. Sometimes he wouldn’t make eye contact or give short answers.
That’s exactly what he was doing.
“Are you okay, Taehyun?” Kai asked. Seemed to be a popular question these days.
“I'm doing fine,” Taehyun responds, “Beomgyu hyung has been persistent lately.”
Kai smiles, “He does that a lot, mostly to me or Soobin hyung though.”
“Why doesn’t he want to play with you?”
For a split second, Taehyun swears he sees Kai’s expression turn to panic before it disappears.
“He says Soobin hyung is a sore loser, and sometimes he doesn’t want to play with me.” Kai’s voice didn’t seem as warm as earlier. Almost strained.
That was the end of that topic. Taehyun quickly switched to talking about the book Kai was reading.
Taehyun liked Kai’s company, but sometimes he felt hard to talk to. Like he threw up a wall any time Taehyun tried to learn more. Which Taehyun did want to know more.
It felt like Kai was doing to Taehyun what he was doing to Beomgyu and Yeonjun.
˚₊‧꒰ა . ——— ˗ˏˋ ☾ ◯ ☽ ˎˊ˗ ——— ˖ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
Taehyun stared at the ceiling as he laid in bed. There were too many thoughts running in his head. Thoughts about his future, his situation, and where he was currently. He was basically living with four strangers. Four very nice strangers who have been nothing but kind to him, but stranger nonetheless.
Then there was the whole vampire thing. He wasn’t as bothered by it as he thought he would be, more frustrated this happened. A little annoyed that his life will never be the same, but not upset.
Taehyun brought his blanket over his head. Both Yeonjun and Beomgyu scared him. The older vampire more. It was like everything that made them a vampire terrified him to his core. Which was frustrating since he could logically tell himself he wasn’t scared, but his body didn’t react that way.
Soobin was a great source of answers for his questions. He was more cautious around Taehyun but seemed to care. He definitely always answered Taehyun questions. He enjoyed being around the older, especially since he seemed to be the person Taehyun hangs around the most. Soobin didn’t ask about Taehyun but would answer if Taehyun asked about him. It was nice to just have conversation.
Kai was nice. Taehyun liked being around him, but Kai didn’t seem to like being around him. It made him unexpectedly sad. Taehyun felt a little guilty being sad about Kai avoiding him just as he goes and does the same thing to the others. He feels more comfortable around him, and it makes him sad.
Taehyun loosened the grip he had on the blanket, and sighed to himself. He’s going to have to get used to this. If he doesn’t then what? Live with the coven forever? He didn’t have much of a choice.