Chapter Text
Dinner doesn’t go as badly as expected, to Kihyun’s surprise. There are no sudden accusations of being a supernatural creature, which is always a plus point when Minhyuk is around.
(There was only one incident where Minhyuk had very purposefully ordered garlic bread as a starter and stared intensely at Hoseok as he ate, which Hoseok obviously noticed but chose to ignore. Hoseok simply bit away at the crisp bread and even thanked Minhyuk for ordering when he was done. Kihyun tried his hardest not to laugh at Minhyuk’s disappointed expression and Jooheon shaking his head in sympathy.)
Kihyun would even go so far as to say that dinner is a pleasant affair – Hoseok and his friends are the perfect mix of weird yet funny, and the seven of them get along surprisingly well.
Hoseok is just finishing a story about Changkyun’s suspected foot fetish (“Hyung, stop spreading rumours – I do not have a foot fetish!”) when Shownu starts talking about work and Hyungwon says something that piques Kihyun’s interest immediately.
“Oh yeah, Wonho’s parents are in business too.” Hyungwon mentions conversationally. Kihyun freezes for a moment, then busies himself with wiping his hands with a napkin, trying to look nonchalant as he listens intently.
“Cool, what do they do?” Jooheon asks.
Business? What kind of business? Are Hoseok’s parents leaders of a gang, like I thought at first? Or are they really vamp… Kihyun cuts his own train of thought off. Oh my god. I am not going off into Minhyuk’s Conspiracy Land. There’s a logical explanation for why Hoseok met that man in the alley. There has to be.
“Hmm, boring stuff, really.” Hyungwon hums, in that same casual tone. “They’re huge though. Like, really huge. They’re so rich that his parents don’t even let me into their mansion.”
Minhyuk’s eyes turn wide and he snaps his fingers. “Shin? Shin Hoseok? Are you actually related to the founders of the Shin Corporation?” At Hoseok’s hesitant nod, he whistles in awe. “Wow, that’s really cool!”
Hoseok laughs, but it sounds a little awkward to Kihyun’s ears. “I guess so…”
“Wait, but his parents don’t even let you into their home and you’re his best friend?” Jooheon says incredulously. “Dude, that’s harsh.”
Hyungwon shrugs. “It’s always been that way with them.”
Changkyun snorts. “It’s worse with me. Hoseok doesn’t even let them know I exist. It’s like they think being poor is contagious or something. Like, just because I don’t earn a six zero figure doesn’t mean I smoke weed at the back of shady alleys or something.”
Hyungwon gives him a look that can only be described as fondly annoyed. “But you do, Changkyun.”
Changkyun in return, rolls his eyes. “Yeah, but it’s not like I did it ‘because I was poor’. And also – it was one time.”
Kihyun remembers what the man in the alleyway said to Hoseok. Your kind. Lower than yourself. He hadn’t meant va – anything strange. He’d meant those of lower status, those who weren’t as wealthy and prestigious as the Shin family.
He feels a rush of relief, so strong he almost smiles outwardly. See, Kihyun. Worrying over nothing. I shouldn’t have let Minhyuk’s freaky theories get to me in the first place. Hoseok is a perfectly friendly neighbour, who just so happens to be unlucky enough to have wealthy, stuck-up and overbearing parents! Perfectly normal.
Then, Hoseok makes eye contact with him and flashes that teasing smile at him from across the table, like wow, can you believe I hang out with these losers? The brief moment of connection with him hits Kihyun with a rush of fondness for the man in front of him, in part due to feeling guilty for believing Minhyuk’s theories for even a second.
Kihyun smiles back this time.
☾
After Hoseok and his friends leave for a bus ride home, the four of them are on their way back to Shownu’s car. Jooheon, yawning and eyes almost shut, allows Shownu to guide him by the shoulder, shuffling along like a sleepy child. This leaves Kihyun and Minhyuk to walk in the back – and gives Kihyun a prime opportunity to tease Minhyuk. In a much lighter mood than before, Kihyun sneaks a sly grin at Minhyuk.
“Y’know, despite suspecting that half of them are vampires, you get along pretty well with them, don’t you, Min?”
Minhyuk shrugs once, casual as can be. “Well, I guess they’re pretty likeable. And I mean, Hyungwon was there. So.”
“Really? Is that the only reason? Then I guess I imagined you getting Changkyun’s number as well.” Kihyun replies mischievously.
“Ew, don’t say it in such a suggestive way! Changkyun’s only twenty, he’s literally a baby. I would never do anything to him. Hyungwon offered his number and Changkyun was nice today, so why not?” Minhyuk protests indignantly, face aghast as if Kihyun has just accused him of being a child predator.
Kihyun laughs. “Okay, okay. Pretty sure Jooheon has his eye on Changkyun anyway.”
Previously walking with his head down, Jooheon’s head snaps up so fast that Kihyun’s worries that he’ll get whiplash.
He expects Jooheon to protest, complain about Kihyun telling lies, call him a shitty hyung, etcetera etcetera, but his response is even better than expected.
“How could you tell?”
After some consideration, Jooheon follows up with “Oh god, do you think he noticed? Shit.”
Choosing not to reply, Kihyun laughs silently all the way back to the car and leaves Jooheon to his agony.
☾
“Kihyun!” Minhyuk bursts into their apartment, tone equally excited and worried, which is never a good sign with Minhyuk. Kihyun sighs, silently mourning the inevitable death of peace in his apartment. It had been a good two days after that outing at the diner, a good two days of no supernatural theories about their neighbour.
“Listen.” Minhyuk pauses for dramatic effect, but Kihyun can already see what’s coming a mile off. He braces himself for a headache in three, two, one –
“I’m at least 60% sure that Changkyun is a vampire.”
Yep. There it is. Of course Minhyuk would theorise about yet another innocent person and probably scare them enough with his accusations and stalking to drive them to migrate to Australia. (That actually happened with Mrs Tsai from 24B.)
“I don’t even want to know your reasoning this time,” Kihyun sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose in irritation.
“Yes you do! Listen to this: remember Hyungwon saved Changkyun’s contact in my phone the other day? I hadn’t actually looked at it until now, because I wanted to ask Changkyun if he wanted to hang out – and look at what I found!” Minhyuk shoves the phone into Kihyun’s face, despite Kihyun swatting the excessively bright screen away.
He squints. “I.M? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Exactly.” Minhyuk says, tone grave. “He didn’t enter it as Changkyun. And when I asked Hyungwon why he did it, he just said ‘oh it’s something we call changkyun sometimes’. How is this not suspicious? Who calls someone else by something that’s not their name, unless they have something to hide?”
“Um, friends? Any normal friends? It’s called a nickname, Minhyuk, ever heard of it?” Kihyun says. “Jooheon sometimes calls me Ki, you sometimes call me Hyun, does that make me a werewolf?”
“No, but it’s different. Hyungwon calls Hoseok Wonho and he calls Changkyun I.M. It can’t be a coincidence! And only he calls them that… because only he knows that they are vampires because he’s their feeder! It all makes sense!” Minhyuk waves the phone in his face again, as if it’ll somehow make his bullshit explanation any more convincing.
“No, it doesn’t.” Kihyun replies exasperatedly. “None of that makes sense! Hyungwon is close friends with them, why shouldn’t he give them nicknames? And another thing, your entire argument is on the basis that Hoseok is confirmed a vampire and that theory in itself is completely ridiculous too! What proof do you actually have that he’s a vampire?”
Minhyuk, honest to god, actually takes out a notepad and starts reading from notes, “Look, okay, he’s pale, extremely good-looking and have you seen his eyes? They’re so intense, I swear it’s not natural! In fact, it probably isn’t – because he probably has to wear coloured contact to cover up his red vampire eyes. Secondly, he sleeps throughout the day and only wakes up at night – that is classic vampire behaviour. Thirdly – “
“You sound more like you’re in love with him than theorising that he’s a vampire.” Kihyun deadpans. “You sound like that girl from Twilight.”
Minhyuk scowls. “You’re blinded by your own cynicism, Kihyun. The evidence is damning!”
Kihyun looks at him incredulously. “The evidence doesn’t even make sense. Also, how is refusing to believe that my neighbour is a vampire cynicism?”
Minhyuk pouts, in that way he knows wins most people over. ‘Most people’ does not include Kihyun, because being friends with Minhyuk for over ten years does allow him to build up resistance against such things.
“But what evidence do you have that he’s not a vampire?”
Kihyun flaps a hand at the open window, where Hoseok can clearly be seen disposing of his garbage outside of the apartment building. “Um, maybe the fact that it’s daytime and he hasn’t disintegrated into a mound of dust on the front lawn of our apartment building? Come on Minhyuk, we’ve seen him walking around in daylight, eat garlic bread – and don’t think I don’t know about the time you tried to scald him with holy water! How much more evidence do you need?”
Minhyuk blinks slowly, not saying anything. Once, twice, brown eyes sunk deep in concentration. Kihyun begins to wonder if his logic is actually getting to him, if all his prayers for a miracle are finally paying off –
“Werewolves can’t control themselves on a full moon.”
What?
Out of all the things he expected Minhyuk to say, that came completely out of the left field and leaves Kihyun surprised, and immensely confused.
“No…” he says slowly. “They can. You know this, Minhyuk, you’re a werewolf for god’s sake, what are you talking about?”
Softly, Minhyuk says, “I can. Shownu can. Jooheon can. But some can’t. Especially those who have just gotten the bite, who haven’t learned how to control themselves yet.”
“What if…” He continues, voice unusually quiet, “It’s the same way with vampires? Myths aren’t always accurate. What if some vampires can go into sunlight and some can’t?”
Kihyun blinks. Holy shit. In all his years of knowing him, he’d never thought he’d ever hear Minhyuk say something even close to logical. He hates to admit this, he really does… but Minhyuk has a point. Vampires are elusive, even in the supernatural community. They occasionally brush shoulders with other supernaturals and maybe exchange pleasantries, but mostly keep to their own kind.
Kihyun himself has never met a vampire and neither has any of Shownu’s pack, since they are relatively small and young. He thinks of the vampires in movies; hypersexualised creatures that are either fantasies for horny preteens, or terrifying monsters who seduce beautiful women then snap their necks and drain them of all blood.
It’s not a pleasant image to have and Kihyun doubts it’s accurate. If it was, wouldn’t the body count in his city be much higher by now? Still, the thought of a vampire lurking around without his knowledge makes him feel uneasy. He doesn’t think Hoseok is like that – Hoseok with warm eyes and gentle smiles – but if there is the chance of another vampire nearby… Kihyun wants to be sure there isn’t.
It’s for the safety of the pack… and the safety of Hoseok too, he tells himself.
☾
That night, Kihyun sets up his laptop and steaming coffee mug on his desk, ready for a full night of researching. He feels a little ridiculous for it and can imagine how humiliating it would be to be caught by Minhyuk, researching goddamn vampires, but Kihyun’s interest is hooked and his brain won’t let Minhyuk’s comment go.
He browses the net for an hour or so, skimming through Wikipedia articles and occult websites, before he starts finding Twilight tumblr blogs on the fourth page of google and considers giving up. But he has yet to find something concrete, something beyond what he already knows from movies, so he throws aside his sense of pride and keeps searching.
Another half-hour passes and his eyes grow heavy from sleep, despite the coffee. At this point, he’s basically clicking every link that shows up on his screen. Finally, a site with a glaringly black and red layout pops up on his screen.
Groaning at what looks to be a virus or scamming site, Kihyun moves his cursor to go back to the previous page, when he notices the url: realvampiresforum.com.
He snorts. Way to make a website sound totally shady. He moves to close the browser, but for some reason, hesitates. I mean… I could just post something to ask if anyone actually knows anything about vampires. I mean, there’s no harm right?
Desperate as he is, Kihyun decides fuck it and heads for the ‘Post’ button. It’s then that he realises he needs to create an account to do so. Grumbling, he reluctantly clicks on the blood-red (seriously, who created this terrible design?) sign-up button and is greeted with an unusual looking sign up page.
Rather than asking for his email or anything one might expect, the sign-up page consists of username, password and details about his appearance in multiple-choice format (did he have pale, ice-cold skin? Were his eyes blood red or ice blue?).
“Cue the dramatic music,” Kihyun mutters under his breath. “If there’s an option asking if my skin fucking sparkles in the sunlight I’ll throw my laptop out the window.”
Thankfully, no such option exists, but the rest of the questions are equally weird. It’s when he gets to the last question, asking when was he bitten that the realisation crashes down on him. “Oh god,” he laughs breathily. “This is a fucking vampire role play website.”
He considers quitting right there and saving himself whatever dignity he has left, but he’s spent way too long answering questions about his supposed vampire status to erase all his effort now. Regretting every decision he has ever made in life, he clicks the button to sign-up.
Immediately, he is brought to the ‘Post’ page. Nibbling on his bottom lip, he wonders what he should say, how he should present himself. Scary vampire? Sexy vampire? Embarrassment flushes through him when he realises he is actually taking the role-playing seriously. Damn my head at 2AM in the morning – why can’t I make better decisions in life?
Deciding to just post as ordinarily as he would type it, he types:
Hey, I’m a 23 year old from Korea and as you can tell from the fact that I’m here… I’m a vampire. I think? I was bitten just a few nights ago, but it was at a club and my memories are kind of hazy so I’m not all that sure. My appetite has been weird the past few days though and sometimes my teeth feel a little sharp in my mouth. I don’t know what’s happening or even what signs to look out for if I’m really a vampire. Or if I’m just going out of my mind. If someone could help me out, that’d be great! Thanks.
Simple, undramatic and hopefully pitiful enough that someone might actually share legitimate information with him. Ignoring his own embarrassment, he clicks away to browse a few more articles about vampires.
☾
When he returns to the god-awful website, he’s mildly excited (no, he’s not, he tells himself) to see two messages waiting in his inbox. He clicks on the first, cautiously hopeful, then slumps in his chair when he sees her username is Ebony Dark Ravenblood.
Out of some morbid desire to torture himself, he reads her message:
hey!!1! saw ur post lol and i totally know how u feel!! I was bitten at exactly 3am in the morning so I was super shocked to see the bite marks on my wrist and my eyes turned red in the mirror!! I’m rly pretty now tho so I don’t think I regret becoming a vampire :3 if u want to meet up message me back. I know all kinds of things I could teach u… abt being a vampire!! Teehee~
Kihyun clutches his head and pulls at his hair (which Minhyuk says is a bad habit, that will leave him bald someday). He sits there, unmoving for a minute, honestly questioning all faith he has in humanity, before he gingerly moves the cursor to delete the message. He wishes it would instantly be erased from his mind as well but no luck. The terrifying image of her excessive exclamation marks, terrible grammar and creepy sexual advances are burned permanently into his mind.
After that first traumatic experience, Kihyun’s cursor hovers over the second message as he ponders how much dignity left he has to save.
He clicks, bracing himself for an onslaught of similarly terrible grammar and punctuation. To his surprise, the message he receives is long, spanning multiple paragraphs and even has proper grammar and capitalisation. Straightening in his chair, Kihyun lets out a breath. This might not be a total failure after all.
From: ramyun-king
Hey! I’m sorry, you’re probably feeling pretty confused right now but no worries, it’s understandable. Bitten vampires often experience mood swings during the first few weeks of their ‘transformation’. The loss of appetite is common too, as is the feeling of teeth being too sharp for your mouth. Don’t worry about it, but make sure to eat soft foods like potatoes and steamed carrots for the next few weeks. It’ll discourage your fangs from appearing and possibly cutting into your lip. Loss of appetite is because your body is still adjusting to the physical changes of becoming a vampire. You’ll be able to eat normally in a few weeks, but that’s also when you’ll have to start consuming blood. (Don’t freak out, there are plenty of legal avenues you can use; you won’t have to drink blood directly from the person if you don’t want to haha!)
Okay but most importantly, you need to make sure that you’re actually a vampire. Some people mistakenly believe that they are – like 80% of this website’s users hah – when in fact they’ve just watched a couple too many movies. So here are some steps that may help you check if you’re a vampire or not:
- Sunlight; most vampires can’t go out in harsh sunlight, so avoid if you don’t want to get hurt, especially if you were just bitten. Mild sunlight, for example, in the early morning or late evening is fine – at most, you’ll get a headache, which is how you can test out your theory.
- Fangs; as a new vampire, you may experience sudden pain in your gums due to the growth of fangs. They’ll pop in and out occasionally, which you’ll have to bear for a week or two, unfortunately. Easy check if you’re a vampire haha! Fangs = Yes, No Fangs = No.
- Blood; yes you may have a sudden desire to drink blood when around humans. It’s inconvenient, but not an immediate danger to the people around you. The real thirst only sets in after about two weeks so you can use that time to try finding a steady source of blood. I would recommend blood bags or buying animal blood from a butcher.
Those three are the most basic aspects of being a new vampire. Whether you’re actually a vampire or not, I hope this message helped a little :) Good luck!!
That was… much more than he’d expected. Whoever this ‘ramyun-king’ is, he’s really generous with his information. All while sounding perfectly logically and informed, despite the fact that he was discussing about being a vampire. Kihyun isn’t sure what to think, to be honest. But ramyun-king sounds reliable and sincere in wanting to help Kihyun, so he decides to trust his information a little and go with it.
He crafts out a quick reply, hoping to get his gratitude across.
From: yoo-tama
Hi! Thank you so much for the response, it was really helpful! Sorry it took me a while to respond, reading took some time because it was practically an essay haha. I’ll start checking tomorrow, this problem has been on my mind for a while. Your help is really appreciated :)
Kihyun gets ready to close the browser a moment later, when his inbox ‘pings’ again.
From: ramyun-king
Oh my god, I’m so sorry! I sometimes get rambly when I type, although I tried my best to keep the message concise. Hope it didn’t waste too much of your time OTL
An amused grin lifts the corners of his mouth. Despite sounding confident and almost professional in his first message, here, ramyun-king sounds almost shy and it’s even kind of cute, Kihyun admits. He types out a quick response.
From: yoo-tama
Haha no worries! I was actually relieved to see your long message – it sounds like you really know what you’re saying. Compared to the previous messages I received, at least…
Against better judgement, Kihyun goes to his deleted messages and takes a screenshot before permanently deleting his message from Ebony Dark Ravenblood. (He still cringes every time he sees that.)
He attaches it to his message and continues typing.
Clearly, Ebony Dark Ravenblood is a professional when it comes to vampires, but her offer to ‘teach me’ wasn’t nearly as helpful as your essay. So don’t be sorry! Again, thanks for your help :)
Kihyun hits send, half-wondering why he’s still smiling at the screen when he closes the browser and turns off his laptop.
(He tells himself it’s because he now has a concrete list of steps he can follow to check and prove to Minhyuk that Hoseok is not a vampire.)