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“Do you have your lunchbox?”
Jungkook glanced into his backpack before zipping it up and sliding his arms through the straps. “Yes.”
“You gave him a lunchbox?” Seokjin looked at Namjoon strangely, voice dripping with disbelief. “He’s a vampire . What did you even put in there?”
“It’s for show,” Namjoon defended. “I’m trying to be authentic.”
Jimin rolled his eyes as he moved forward, adjusting Jungkook’s jacket. “Do you have your thermos, baby? You know—the one with the actual food you need.”
Namjoon made a face at him.
Jungkook sighed. “Yes, hyung. Can I please go now?”
“Zip up your jacket all the way,” Yoongi called from his spot on the couch. “It’s cold out.”
“I’m dead . I’m always cold.”
The elder vampire gave him a glare that could cut through steel, and Jungkook promptly snapped his mouth closed and zipped up his jacket.
Hoseok was the last one to fuss over him, squeezing his cheeks and affectionately ruffling the hairstyle he’d spent half an hour on.
“I can’t believe our baby brother is all grown up and going to college,” he sniffed. “It feels like just yesterday your parents dropped you off on our doorstep and left us to raise you.”
“That is the worst possible thing you could have thought of to say, Hoseok,” Seokjin sighed. “You could have mentioned literally any memory you have of him from the eighteen years that he’s been alive and you chose that one.”
“ What ? I’m saying that I’m glad they did. Now he’s our baby!”
“Hyungs,” Jungkook interrupted, a whine slipping into the words. “I’m going to be late. Please, can I just go?”
“Go, go.” Jimin shooed him, blinking rapidly as if he were trying not to cry.
“Be good!” Hoseok called out.
“Make friends!” Namjoon added enthusiastically.
“Tell anyone if they’re mean to you that you have five older brothers who will literally suck their blood,” Yoongi added.
Jungkook hid his face in the collar of his jacket and tuned them out as he crossed the sidewalk towards the bus stop.
*
College was…interesting.
There was a lot of walking. Not that he minded, but it was a stark difference from moving down a hallway to his next class the way he’d grown used to in high school.
It was his oldest brother’s idea for him to start going to human schools. Seokjin had suggested it when he was still a toddler and the rest of them had eagerly agreed, wanting Jungkook to be the first out of all of them to experience what they perceived as a “normal” life.
Jungkook thought it was sweet. Their hearts were in the right place. Dead and unbeating, sure. But still in the right place.
He didn’t particularly love or hate school, really. The classes were okay and the people were alright. There was nothing about it that had ever stuck out to him, nothing that made a significant impact.
It only took one day of college to change that.
It all started when someone sat next to him in his psychology class. As always, Jungkook had picked a seat in the middle of the room. He didn’t like being too close to the professor for fear of being called on, but sitting all the way in the back had always felt rude. Not many people chose to sit in the middle row, either, so it suited him perfectly.
Needless to say, he was a little surprised when someone plopped a backpack onto the chair next to him.
“Hey. Is this seat taken?”
Jungkook glanced up and felt himself freeze.
If he had a beating heart, he was just about certain it would have skipped a beat.
A pretty boy with an even prettier smile was looking down at him. He was holding an iced coffee in one hand, condensation from the cold cup dripping onto the table. Jungkook barely managed a nod and the boy sat down, placing his coffee onto the table.
“I heard the professor’s a dick,” he said quietly under his breath. He grinned at him, and Jungkook realized suddenly that he hadn’t been blinking.
He tried to force himself to act at least a little normal. “Oh? Oh, y-yeah. Um. His ratings online suck.”
“Wait, really?” The boy’s eyes widened. “Oh, shit. I was just trying to make conversation. Do they actually?”
Jungkook let out a laugh, feeling some of the tension slip from his shoulders. “I have no idea. I was just trying to make conversation, too.”
The boy looked even prettier when he laughed, grin wide and boxy and eyes glittering, and Jungkook should have probably realized right then and there that he was fucked.
*
“How was your first day of college?”
“Fine.”
“Just fine? Did you make any friends?”
“...No, not really.”
*
His name was Taehyung.
He was in the same year as Jungkook. He’d moved to the city from out of state and although he hadn’t officially applied for it yet, he wanted to be an art major.
That was what Jungkook learned about him during the first week of classes. When they started having lunch together regularly, however, he also managed to learn that Taehyung had two siblings, he loved strawberries, his favorite shape was a heart, and he could carry a conversation for half an hour without pausing to take a breath.
It was only the third week of school when he casually brought up something Jungkook had been desperately hoping he wouldn’t notice.
“Hey, Kook.”
Taehyung placed his chin in his hands, and Jungkook pretended his stomach hadn’t twisted strangely at the causal nickname.
“How come you never eat?”
A brief flash of panic went through him. Jungkook swallowed, shifting in his seat. “...I eat.”
“I’ve never seen you eat anything,” Taehyung argued, frowning slightly. “Is it money? I can pay for—”
“No, no,” Jungkook said quickly. If he could blush, he was sure his cheeks would have been burning. “I’m not—I, um, have money. I’m good. Thank you.”
“Are you on a diet?”
Jungkook winced. “No.”
Taehyung nudged his sandwich in Jungkook’s direction. “So…?”
“I’m just not...hungry. Right now.”
Disappointment flickered in the human’s eyes, and Jungkook suddenly felt inexplicably guilty.
*
“Can vampires eat human food?”
Seokjin glanced up, fingers pausing on his laptop keyboard. “What?”
Jungkook wasn’t looking at him. He kept his gaze glued to his chemistry textbook, painfully aware of the fact that all five pairs of eyes in the room had shifted towards him.
“Why are you asking?” Jimin asked carefully.
“Just…” Jungkook shrugged, sinking lower into the couch. “I dunno. I was curious.”
He saw Hoseok and Yoongi exchange a glance out of the corner of his eye. Next to him, Namjoon ruffled his hair.
“Technically, yes. It doesn’t do anything harmful to us but it doesn’t provide us with any sort of nutrients or energy, either.”
“And it tastes like cardboard,” Yoongi added dryly. “So there’s that.”
“Why are you asking about human food all of a sudden, Jungkookie?” Hoseok asked. His expression was curious, and it wasn’t the only one.
Jungkook didn’t answer, instead stammering a weak excuse about needing to go study and locking himself in his room, but he knew he couldn’t fend off the questions forever.
*
The next day, when Taehyung sat down at their favorite table in the cafe on campus, Jungkook pulled out a sandwich.
Taehyung’s face lit up. “Hey! You’re eating!”
Jungkook smiled slightly. “Yeah. I guess I was...um, hungry. Today.”
The lie tasted bitter in his mouth—and so did the sandwich—but the way Taehyung beamed at him made all of it worth it.
*
Weeks passed. They grew closer, and with that came new levels of intimacy.
Taehyung was a fan of skinship. He loved greeting Jungkook with hugs, liked to lace their fingers together sometimes or press up against his side when they walked. Jungkook wasn’t sure how to react at first, but he found himself growing used to it. He liked making Taehyung happy.
It had become a second nature of sorts to want to make him smile.
Midterms rolled around, and they spent a lot of time in the library together.
A lot.
Of time.
It was past dinner on a Thursday night and they were sitting on a pair of beanbags in the back corner of a study area. Taehyung’s head was resting against Jungkook’s shoulder, and Jungkook had been rereading the same page for twenty minutes. He didn’t want to turn the page and risk disturbing him.
Without any warning, Taehyung lifted his head.
“Jungkookie,” he said. He sounded hesitant as his eyes searched Jungkook’s expression, brown irises flickering nervously. “You like me, right?”
Jungkook stared at him. Had he not made it obvious how much he liked him?
“Um…yes?”
Taehyung let out a little laugh at the unsure tone of his response. “No, you dummy. I meant, like— like -like me. I’m not...reading this wrong, right?”
Jungkook’s eyebrows furrowed. “I’m not sure,” he said slowly.
Taehyung’s face fell, and he tried to backtrack, realizing what his response must have sounded like.
“I-I just mean—I’m not sure what you mean by like -like,” he said quickly, the words quiet and embarrassed. “I like when we...um, hold hands? If that’s what you mean?”
Taehyung looked a little surprised before he let out a little laugh.
“That’s part of it, yeah,” he giggled. “But I’ve also wanted to kiss you, like, since we met. And go on dates. Do you think that sounds like something you might like, too?”
Jungkook swallowed.
“Yes,” he said softly, nodding surely. “I definitely do.”
Taehyung’s smile was blinding, and Jungkook, who was always cold, suddenly felt strangely warm.
*
“I have a boyfriend.”
In retrospect, there were probably better ways to make such an announcement. Ways that didn’t include waiting until everyone had taken their first sip of blood during dinner time, resulting in a round of gagging and sputtering as everyone around the table choked on their drinks.
Jungkook winced.
Seokjin was the first to speak, eyes wide as he stared at him across the dinner table. “You have a what ?”
Jungkook bit the inside of his cheek and sank into his chair a little. “A, um… a boyfriend?”
Next to him, Jimin let out a long breath. “What the fuck?”
“You speak even less than Yoongi,” Hoseok sputtered. “Literally how do you have a boyfriend?”
“Who is it?” Namjoon added over Yoongi’s muttered “ Rude .”
Jungkook glanced down at the mug of blood in front of him, anxiousness brewing in his stomach.
“He’s, um...he’s a human,” he said quietly. “We’re in psych together.”
The kitchen grew deathly silent.
It was Hoseok who was the first to speak. “Does he know...?” he asked hesitantly.
“That I’m a vampire?” Jungkook finished, frowning absentmindedly down at the table. “No. I haven’t told him yet.”
“How has he not noticed?” Namjoon asked, sounding genuinely confused.
Jungkook gave a small shrug. “I’m careful.”
“You hide it,” Yoongi clarified. “Let me guess. You eat human food around him, don’t you?”
Jungkook didn’t have to respond. The way he sank lower into his chair was enough of an answer.
“Jungkookie,” Jimin said softly. “Sweetheart, you know we don’t mind you dating.”
“We don’t?” Seokjin asked, giving Jimin a strange look.
“Shut up, hyung,” Jimin replied swiftly. “No, we don’t. But Kookie, this is exactly why it’s tricky having a relationship with humans. You have to pretend to be someone—well, something—you’re not.”
“I don’t, though,” Jungkook replied, sitting up a little. “I-I feel like I can be the most myself when I’m around him.”
Seokjin’s expression softened at the words. He was quiet for a moment. “How long has this been going on?”
Not for the first time, Jungkook was thankful that he couldn’t blush. “We, um, we talked about it last month, and we’ve been going on dates since then.” He swallowed hard. “I’ve…liked him for a long time, though. Before he asked me out. I think maybe since the day I met him.”
Hoseok sniffled loudly, and Jungkook glanced in his direction, startled.
“Oh, don’t mind me.” His brother waved him off, blinking rapidly. “They’re happy tears. You’re literally growing up right in front of me. Next thing you know you’ll be twenty one and your life will be over.”
“Hyung,” Jungkook whined, covering his face with his hands. “Stoooop.”
“He is right, in a way,” Namjoon spoke up suddenly, and his voice was far more serious than anyone else’s. “You are going to be twenty one soon, Jungkook. And you’re going to stop ageing. And your human...well, he won’t.”
Something deep, deep inside of Jungkook twisted sharply at the thought of Taehyung growing old and dying.
“Taehyung,” he whispered after a moment. “His name is Taehyung.”
Jimin placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it gently. “It’s just something you have to think about it, Kookie,” he said softly. “I know this probably isn’t what you wanted to talk about when you told us, but they’re things you have to consider.”
“This Taehyung,” Yoongi said seriously, “is he that important to you? That you would consider turning him?”
Briefly, Jungkook thought about it. He pictured beautiful, bright, full of life Taehyung.
And then he thought about making him undead, and he felt more selfish than he’d ever felt before in his life.
He didn’t finish his dinner that night.
*
Read: How come ur not in school today mister :(
Read: Jungkook??
Read: JUNGKOOKIE
Read: Okay seriously ur freaking me out
Read: Jungkookie please respond
Read: Are you mad at me??
Read: Can you just tell me if ur okay? Im so worried
Read: Its been three days. If I did something, im sorry. I miss you.
He cried a lot.
He didn’t eat much.
His brothers were worried about him. The first day they’d seemed sympathetic, but more full of pity than anything else. As if they felt bad but were sure he’d be over his minor teenage heartbreak relatively soon.
By the end of a week, it was getting more and more obvious that this wasn’t a minor teenage heartbreak.
“Jungkookie, please,” Jimin begged. He was crouched beside the youngest vampire’s bed, a thermos of warm blood clutched in his hands. “Just take one sip, honey. You haven’t eaten in days.”
Jungkook’s phone chimed with another text, and he flinched before pulling the covers over himself.
Jimin stepped outside to see the rest of the vampires gathered around in the hallway, arms crossed.
“Well?” Hoseok pressed.
“He didn’t drink any,” Jimin sighed.
Namjoon shook his head. “This is getting out of hand. He’s making himself seriously sick.”
Seokjin’s lips were pressed together. He glanced at Yoongi, who nodded.
“Guys, I think it’s time we had a talk with this Taehyung.”
*
Jungkook could hear faint voices outside of his bedroom, but he didn’t pay them any attention. His brothers were probably arguing about what to do with him.
He felt guilty for worrying them, but he couldn’t bring himself to care about anything else. All he could do was lay in bed and feel sorry for himself.
Of course he had to go and fall in love with a human. (Because if he was being entirely honest with himself, this was more than a crush. He knew that now.)
There was no version of the story that didn’t end in heartbreak—Taehyung would die eventually, or Jungkook would be forced to turn him into a vampire. He wouldn’t be able to live with himself either way.
Outside, the voices climbed momentarily, interrupting his thoughts. He heard muffled shushing, and it made him frown. What were they talking about?
There was the sound of footsteps approaching before light knocking echoed on his door.
“Kookie? There’s someone here to see you.”
It made his frown deepen. The only people that came into his room were his brothers. In the eighteen years they’d lived in this house, he’d never had a single guest.
When the door creaked open and closed quietly, Jungkook sat up to see who it was.
And immediately froze.
Taehyung gave him a small smile. He was lingering somewhat awkwardly by the door, as if he wasn’t sure whether or not he should come closer.
Jungkook made the decision for him. He leapt off his bed, summoning an energy he didn’t even realize he had after days of not eating anything, and threw his arms around him.
“Taehyung,” he breathed. He had his face pressed into his neck, and he breathed in the familiar smell, allowed himself to bask in the familiar warmth of his body.
Taehyung sniffed, arms tight around him as he hugged him back. “Don’t Taehyung me. I am so mad at you.”
Jungkook pulled back, sniffling. “I know. H-how are you here? What—”
“Your brother called me.” Taehyung hesitated. “The really tall, um, weirdly handsome one?”
“Seokjin,” Jungkook said, feeling a sense of relief and gratitude wash over him. It was promptly replaced with a stifling concern, however, one that made his entire body stiffen. “Wait. Did you—have you met my brothers?”
Taehyung looked a little guilty. “Uh huh. They, um—they sort of gave away your secret.”
Jungkook stared at him. “My...secret?”
Taehyung nodded, as casual as if they were discussing the weather. “Yeah. That you’re all vampires?”
“We—w- what ?”
Jungkook could only stare at him. His arms had fallen away from his shoulders.
Taehyung gave him a small smile, and his voice was soft when he spoke.
“Yeah. I totally didn’t believe them at first, obviously. But then they showed me their fangs and your guys’ refrigerator full of blood. And I was like, okay, so they’re either serial killers or vampires. And I’d feel guiltier being in love with a serial killer, so.”
Jungkook made a panicked sound somewhere in his throat, eyes widening.
Taehyung’s face had flushed. “Oh, cool. Telling a guy that’s been ghosting me for a week that I’m in love with him. Not my best moment. Definitely not my worst either, though, believe it or not.”
Jungkook could feel his features softening, and he swallowed hard, suddenly on the verge of tears. “You think you’re in love with me?”
“I mean.” Taehyung licked his lips nervously. “I’m sort of really bad at reading myself. But, um—” He let out a breath, lips twitching with a smile. “—Yeah, I’m pretty sure.”
“Oh,” Jungkook said, voice small. “That’s...nice. I’m, um—” He bit his lip. “I’m pretty sure I am, too. Even though we’ve only known each other for a little while.”
“It’s all relative,” Taehyung replied softly. “Time, I mean. Which sort of leads me to the reason I’m here, actually. You’re scared we shouldn’t be together because I’m not a vampire, right? Because I’m not going to live forever?”
Jungkook flinched at the abruptness of the statement.
“Yes,” he whispered, and he could feel his chin starting to tremble. “That’s...part of it.”
“Jungkooook,” Taehyung pouted, and there was a little bit of a whine to the words. “You could have talked to me. This is my relationship, too. I should get a say in things, don’t you think?”
“I can’t turn you, Tae,” Jungkook sniffed. “I won’t. I’m not killing you.”
“Technically you’d be making me immortal,” Taehyung pointed out.
Jungkook merely stared at him, unimpressed, and he laughed.
“Okay, fine. I get your point. But why do we have to worry about that right now?”
At that, Jungkook’s eyebrows furrowed. “What?”
“Jungkookie, we’re eighteen ,” Taehyung laughed, eyes bright and voice warm. “We don’t have to think about the rest of our lives right now. I know it’s hard for you, because you have so much time, but just—it’s not that serious. Or at least, it doesn’t have to be. Not right now.”
“Taehyung—”
“No, I’m serious . Listen, you’re—you think too much, Kook,” he said gently, and Jungkook bit his lip at the truth of the statement. “I can see your brain working sometimes when you’re trying to figure out if you should kiss me goodbye or not at the ends of our dates. You need to know not everything is that deep . Sometimes you just have to let shit happen.”
Jungkook let out a long breath, feeling his shoulders sag. “I guess,” he said quietly, wrapping him in a hug at the waist. “We still have a few years before we really have to think about any of this.”
“And maybe by then you’ll be ready to turn me,” Taehyung teased.
Jungkook made a face into his shoulder. Secretly, however, he couldn’t deny the fact that he was relieved to know Taehyung wasn’t scared of the idea of spending eternity with him. Wanted it, even.
It made it a lot easier for him to stand on his tiptoes and press a kiss to his mouth.
Taehyung giggled into it, hands coming up to frame his face, and Jungkook could feel himself melting.
They were interrupted by a thud outside the bedroom door, followed by fervent whispering.
“Jimin, move over —”
“I can’t hear them anymore.”
“Do you think they’re fucking?”
“Namjoon, elbow me one more fucking time, I dare you—”
Taehyung laughed, and Jungkook rested his forehead on his shoulder with a sigh.
“They’re so embarrassing.”
“They’re sweet,” Taehyung said, smiling. “They care a lot about you.”
The reminder made him warm, and Jungkook felt his lips twitching as he glanced towards the door.
“Yeah,” he said softly. “They do.”
*
4 Years Later…
“Oh my god, no . For the last time, you can’t get rabies if you drink from a squirrel.”
Taehyung frowned. “But that doesn’t make sense. What if the squirrel has rabies?”
“Then why are you even approaching it!” Namjoon threw his hands up, looking thoroughly frustrated.
The gesture made Taehyung pout. “It’s a theoretical situation. What if there’s, like, a shortage at the blood bank one day?”
“And you need to turn to squirrels to fend for yourself?” Yoongi asked dryly.
“Did Jungkook explain anything to you before he turned you?” Seokjin sighed.
“Or did he just bite you and then you guys had that really loud sex session,” Jimin added, making a face. “That we could all hear, by the way, because the walls in this house are thin. For future reference.”
Jungkook hid his face in Taehyung’s shoulder, who was laughing.
“He explained some stuff.” He smiled down at the youngest vampire, dropping a kiss onto his forehead. “I mean, I was sort of dying. So like. There wasn’t that much time for a crash course in how to be a proper vampire or anything.”
The abrupt reminder sent a tense silence over the room, but Taehyung was quick to wave off the uncomfortable expressions.
“Guys, it’s fine. It was, like, a year ago.”
Hoseok nodded in Jungkook’s direction, and Taehyung turned to see his boyfriend playing with the hem of his sweatshirt, chin trembling slightly.
“Kookieee,” Taehyung whined, eyebrows furrowing. “Stop. Don’t do that. I know you’re getting all sad and depressed thinking about it.”
“You were literally dying,” Jungkook mumbled, cheek still pressed into his shoulder. “It is depressing.”
“Yeah, but getting hit by that car is technically the reason you turned me,” Taehyung reasoned. “And now we get to be gross and in love forever. In a literal way. So you’re not allowed to be depressed by it.”
“In a way, we should thank the car for hitting him,” Hoseok mused.
Yoongi snickered, and Taehyung made a face at all of them.
Seokjin was smiling as he stood up off the couch and headed towards the kitchen, and he ruffled Jungkook’s hair briefly on his way out.
“Chin up, Jungkookie. You get to spend forever with your soulmate. Nothing to be sad about as far as I can see.”
Taehyung grinned down at him, and it made Jungkook’s lips twitch slightly in response.
“I guess,” he said softly. He snuggled into Taehyung’s side, who wrapped an arm around him and pressed a kiss to his temple.
“Yeah, you’re stuck with me forever,” Taehyung whispered. Jungkook rolled his eyes in response.
Secretly, he couldn’t help but think that nothing would make him happier.