Chapter Text
Run.
The boy couldn't do anything but run, occasionally looking back even though he could clearly hear their claws hitting the pavement and their growls filling the silence of the night. His short legs were burning with the effort of moving forward and his chest felt tight with the sharp air intakes. He didn't know where he was heading, he didn't recognize the area but as long as there was no dead ends in sight he didn't care.
He couldn't get away from his own stupidity. Really, he couldn't blame anyone but himself. Choosing to run away at midnight just proved to be his dumbest idea yet but he couldn't scold himself yet; he didn't have time for that, not with the wolves snapping their strong jaws at him as they followed him, chased him.
Even so, he already lost focused and before he knew it his foot stepped on an empty can of soda that has been carelessly thrown on the ground. The can rolled forward and his foot followed unintentionally and then his body lost all balance, falling towards the ground. His head is the first to hit the solid surface, messing up his vision.
The two wolves stopped running once they caught up to him, circling him with interest.
Jungkook's vision was blurry and the imagine of the wolves was doubling but even with the threat sniffing at his body, he couldn't get up. It was like his body simply gave up and soon, so did his mind.
♤♡◇♧
When Jungkook woke up he could feel that he wasn't alone. There was certainly another person with him in the room, which couldn't be a hospital room because it was far too dark. There was no blinding lights and no annoying tick of a clock or the sound of dripping coming from an IV. Even the bed was too soft to be a hospital bed. The sheets were too smooth and the bed itself was too big. And the person in the room wasn't a nurse, he knew, because he couldn't hear them move around, agitating over him. He would know, he has been hospitalized way too many times. He knew how hospital worked and this wasn't one.
So someone must have taken him in.
Or he died and ended up in Heaven. He wanted to believe it was Heaven but when his mother wasn't drunk enough to have an incoherent speech, she would tell him all about how bright Heaven was.
The room wasn't bright. Maybe he was truly bad. Maybe all those times when he got beaten happened for a reason. He must have been bad but he didn't mean to overcook, he didn't mean to break that one plate, he didn't mean to put too much fabric conditioner when he washed the clothes and he didn't mean to cry when he was yelled at but maybe that was something his mother forgot to tell him. Maybe his mother forgot to tell that even accidents get him in Hell.
"I know you're awake." The voice was deeper than anything Jungkook ever heard before. Is this how Satan sounds like? "You're not dead." The person chuckled and Jungkook sighed in relief. The child opened his eyes hesitantly.
The first thing his eyes laid upon was an immense painting hang right on the opposite wall. It was dark themed, a sunset over a hill surrounded by trees and the occasional few deer every here and there and dark clouds heavy with an upcoming rain that birds were flying away from. It was beautiful, even someone as young as Jungkook could appreciate the beauty of it.
The walls were covered in wood but behind them stood proudly stone walls. Strong and cold and almost indestructible.
The was a small area in the room with a sofa and a love seat that surrounded a coffee table.
The wall that was on the right of the painting was covered in curtains from one end to the other and from the ceiling to the floor and oh. There stood someone, peaking outside through the small space from between the ironed looking curtains.
The person was tall and dressed in black, violet locks combed backwards and kept in place with special gels. The man wore glasses with a short chain that went around his tanned neck. He too was beautiful, because he too was painted; face paled with ghost white and black lines reassembling a skull.
"Who are you?" Jungkook dared ask.
"My name is Namjoon. You are currently resting in my master's personal chambers. Unfortunately, he is wrapped up in a business meeting right now but he would like to have tea with you later." Jungkook blinked at the laid back tone, calm and collected and unconcerned by the thoughts that could be running through the child's mind.
"Why am I here?" I remember being surrounded by wolves that were inches away from eating me, is what he left unsaid.
"My master took a midnight stroll when he just so happened to notice you. You are lucky, he got there right as one of the wolves was about to bite your head off." It wasn't a comforting thing to hear, not at all, but Jungkook began to think that maybe the man didn't care enough to comfort him. "Now, Jungkook. How about I help you take a bath and get dressed? In the meanwhile I will be able to let you know how things will work from now on if you decide to stay with us." Jungkook got over the fact that the man knew his name and nodded. He might have been a child but he wasn't stupid enough to refuse a warm bath and warm clothes and possibly even a meal. He himself didn't know yet if he wanted to stick around so he had to make the best of it while he still could.
Even so, Jungkook didn't truly let the man help. He stood in the farthest corner of the bathroom while the man prepared a bath, letting the water fill the tub and oils scent the water.
"My master is a vampire." The man began, hand still in the water as he checked the temperature. Jungkook didn't know if he wanted to get in, he could practically feel the heat of the water from where he was standing but his tiny bare feet were getting colder the longer he kept them on the marble floor. "He would appreciate it very much if you would leave the curtains alone when he's in the room. When you are with any other monster in the house, you are free to pull them open but as soon as he enters you have to pull them back." The man stood up from above the water, tall and proud and looked down at Jungkook as a sign that he should get undressed and hop in the tub. And the child, with a heavy sigh leaving his lips, used his shaking hands to pull the oversized tee over his head and untie the knot that kept his large sweatpants around his waist. He wasn't wearing any underwear but his skin was littered in enough scars for the attention to be drawn upon them instead. Namjoon didn't say anything about, simply waiting for the child to enter the tub even though he knew, and it was quite visible, that Jungkook was too small to get in by himself. But he allowed the child to try and climb over and into the water and didn't comment when Jungkook looked down at his own feet and asked for help. Namjoon helped him in, ignoring the way Jungkook tensed entirely. "You can take a few minutes to relax."
"Okay." He leaned back onto the tub but didn't close his eyes. The warm water gave him the feeling of melting and the oils were helping his muscles relax. Until that poing, he didn't realize how sore they were.
Namjoon hummed and went back into the room to bring over the chair that has been previously resting before the desk filled with papers.
"While you are here do not speak with anyone until you have permission to. There are 4 other monsters that you will be allowed to interact with but the servants are off limits." Jungkook was amazed by how straight the monster's back was. The man's general posture very elegant but he didn't look like he was putting in any effort to make it look so. It was very natural and for a second, Jungkook was jealous. He often didn't get to eat because he couldn't keep a straight back at the dinner table. "The kitchen is off limits until further notice. You do not open doors that are closed and you do not close doors that are opened. If you want to open any door then you will knock and perhaps you will be welcomed inside." Namjoon went on to explain how the house itself was a monster and that meant they had to treat it with respect so no door slamming, no wall punching, no nothing that could literally damage the house.
He continued talking as he stood up and moved behind Jungkook. He didn't touch him at first, but his actions made it clear to Jungkook that the man wanted to wash his hair for him so he let him, throwing his head back and focusing his vision on the wooden ceiling. He continued until Namjoon's fingers found their way into his hair, combing through it and pulling on the few knots that he found, that is when Jungkook started to feel out of it. His eyes kept closing involuntarily but he opened them each time until exhaustion took over and the last thing he remembered was Namjoon's low toned chuckle.