Chapter Text
Chapter One
The Darkest Night
“Where did he go?”
Jeongguk simply rolled his eyes and continued the slow walk to his room. Hoseok called after him, but he was too tired to listen anymore. Apparently Jin had felt the same way as he had all but bolted to his room the second they’d turned away from him. Don’t get him wrong, he was all for respecting his elders and showing gratitude to the two men who had protected him throughout his life. But at 500 years old, he’d heard the whole “and remember to keep your guard up” speech just one too many times.
When he walked into the room, he was met with the damp smell he’d become all too familiar with over his long life span. Motel rooms had unfortunately become evermore frequent in the last few decades due to a certain bitch from hell deciding to ramp up the search for him. 500 years on the run had certainly shown him a lot of the world but he longed for a day where he could simply stay still, even just for a minute. There had been a period of his life, one he liked to black out now, where he had seriously contemplated giving in or giving up. Of course, Hoseok and Jin had taken turns on suicide watch, not his happiest time of life that was for sure, and though he still had days where he felt a little like letting go, he was glad, if only for the reason that he was still able to do what his mother had wanted him to do, that he was here.
He stripped off his sweater, leaving him in a baggy T-shirt and ripped jeans (a great invention of the 20th century), and laid back on the grubby mattress. A long strand of black hair fell across his eye – Jin would need to give him another hair cut soon. Or maybe if they got lucky, they’d find somewhere to settle for a few months, and he could afford to pay for a proper haircut. He huffed a silent laugh at his faux optimism. “Yeah, not likely.” He thought aloud.
500 years of running from someone he didn’t even know. He didn’t have much to show for such a long life though he supposed the fact he’d survived this long must count for something. Since he couldn’t afford to trust anyone, the only friends he had were Hoseok and Jin, but they were also his guardians since his mother died and his father, like the very first vampire’s fathers had been, was a demon - and they definitely didn’t stick around. Not that he’d have wanted it to. Just the thought had his skin crawling.
He shook his head in hopes of shaking that thought away too. No, he really didn’t have much to show for his 500 years. Maybe if he could hold out long enough to find a certain someone, the next 500 years would be worth a lot more. All he could do was hope.
“Yah!” Jin called through the door, rousing Jeongguk from his thoughts. “Jeongguk open up before Hobi hears me!” Despite his aching limbs, Jeongguk made his way to the door and let Jin in receiving an immediate smack round the back of his head. To be honest, he barely felt it. Jin’s fae strength was very little in comparison to his vampire strength. But he rubbed the back of his head anyway just to appease his friend. His guardian.
“You know he probably heard you already? You’re not exactly subtle Hyung.” Jeongguk eyed Jin sceptically before laying back down on the lumpy mattress.
“I know but it makes it more exciting to pretend we’re sneaking around”
“You make it sound like we’re having an affair which if that’s what you’re after, I’m very much uninterested.”
Jin scoffed in response “Don't be a brat. You know I wouldn’t look at you like that even if I were gay and you were the last man on earth.”
“Hmm” Jeongguk hummed softly “I might as well be. It’s not like you or hobi hyung get to spend your time with anyone else. Even if the rest of the population vanished one day, I wouldn't know the difference.” The air around them turned a bit more serious as it always seemed to when Jeongguk brought up his impending life of solitude on the run. He felt the bed dip down beside him and a hand came to rest gently on his leg. “Well, despite the brat you are-” Jeongguk immediately hit Jin's shoulder in protest to that remark. He was only a brat sometimes after all. And of course Jin ignored him and laughed before continuing with a smile, “we would never regret the time we spend with you or protecting you. You know that by now at least?” Jeongguk avoided eye contact but nodded his head softly. Jin gave his leg a squeeze before leaning down to the side of the bed where Jeongguk kept his bag and snacks. It wasn’t hard to guess what Jin had really come to him for, but he didn’t stop him because as Jin’s words sunk in he thought that yes, he really did know that. He did know how much Jin and Hobi loved him, wanted to fight for him out of more than just duty. By now, he did at least know that.
Jeongguk woke up in agony. The lumpy mattress was bad enough but to top it off, he had apparently forgotten to close the curtain last night and a strong ray of sunshine was piercing into his leg. He pulled it up towards his chest before jumping out of the bed to quickly close the curtains. Thankfully, the damage to his leg was mostly on the surface and he could already feel it healing. One of the positive’s to being a vampire was his fast-healing body, much like his amped up strength and speed.
Of course, there was always a downfall to any gift and for his, being a first gen vampire, he was not only weakened by the sun but was physically burnt by it. If he spent too long in it, there was no doubt Hoseok and Jin would be walking into greet a pile of ash on the floor as opposed to the broody vampire they would normally be greeted by - especially when having first woken up.
Hoseok was a second gen vampire- made, not born - and luckily for him the sun only weakened his abilities, so he was free to walk the daylight as he pleased. Funnily enough, Hoseok had been turned by Jeongguk’s mother, 400 years prior to his birth, hence him being tasked with Jeongguk’s eternal protection. Jin was simply a best friend to both Hoseok and the warlock who originally spelled Jeongguk. Because yes, Jeongguk had been spelled before he had even fully formed in his mother’s womb. His birth was somewhat...manufactured?
His mother, Yeona - a woman he never met but was always taught to admire by Hoseok - had given up her own life in return for saving others from her sister, Young-mi. They were both first gen vampires. Born, and not made, vampires who had, like many other born vampires, special gifts. For Young-mi, it was a gift that meant gaining power from whichever being she fed from.
Usually, when a vampire was born from a human and a demon, they inherited a certain gift from the demon specific to its kind. Common gifts were compulsion, flight, and shapeshifting – in fact he’d once met a vampire who could shapeshift into a tree. But Young-mi was born of a greater demon, something unheard of and after the great war, impossible to replicate. Their mother had died after giving birth to Young-mi. And though her older sister, Yeona (Jeongguk’s mother), who was born 30 years earlier, had raised Young-mi with as much love and care as their mother had raised her, the power eventually clouded her mind until she was almost completely void of anything human.
The great war of Iantho took place 300 years after Young-mi’s birth, in the early 1100’s. All of fae, warlock, human and vampire kind had worked together to banish demons from their world after years of suffering under them and Young-mi, being as powerful as she was, had been a great help to all of them. Unfortunately, the amount of power she used seemed to trigger something in her. And over the course of the next coming centuries, she grew to feed so ravenously that her own sister had begun a plot against her.
Vampires and demons having children together was rare since the vampire always died after the birth and it was even more rare after the great war as demons were hard to call forth and they certainly didn’t wander to planet earth of their own accord anymore. And yet, Yeona along with the powerful warlock, Namjoon, had found a way. Namjoon had used the blood link Jeongguk had with Young-mi to tie her power to his lifeline. So long as he lived, her power could not. The power she had already acquired from the beings she'd drained to death stayed with her, but she couldn’t take on anymore. It wasn’t perfect but it was better than the alternative which would’ve meant more deaths and more power to her.
Jeongguk wasn’t always happy with the life he had but he had a purpose, and for that, at least, he was grateful. Despite not being born with any additional gifts, like most born vampires, he used to think the universe had handed him his own personal gift in the form of one Kim Taehyung. A boy who had been born 300 years ago from a demon and a fae. Another unheard-of phenomenon since Fae-Demon children always, always died. But Kim Taehyung had not, and in him, Jeongguk, Hoseok, Jin and many others, had found a hope that Young-mi may have just met her match.
However life was never kind it seemed, as almost immediately after Kim Taehyung's birth, the boy disappeared and Jeongguk had yet to find him. Namjoon had also said he would look for him but since they hadn’t heard from him at all in the last century – they guessed he had no luck either.
Today would mark the 500th year of Jeongguk’s life on the run. September 1st, his birthday. And oh, though he didn't know it yet, what a birthday it was about to be.
When Jeongguk walked into the convenience store at 11:30pm that night, he had at the very least, hoped it would be quiet. Of course, with his luck, how could he not end up picking the one store in Daegu that was filled with people - young, drunk, loud people - at this time of night. He pulled his hood up and skirted his way down the cereal aisle, doing his absolute best to avoid the half-drunk college students. Why on earth did Jin insist on getting ice cream to ring in his birthday?
At the sight of the ice cream tubs he breathed a sigh of relief. The quicker he could get this ice cream to Seokjin, the better. Jeongguk made a reach for the door handle, not even noticing the boy next to him as he did. It was only when he felt the warmth of a hand underneath his that he bothered to look up.
Warm brown eyes looked back at him, and he was sure the boy they belonged to could probably hear his breath catching in his throat. If Jeongguk was to follow his instincts - which he usually did, much to Jin and Hoseok’s chagrin – he would say this boy was a fae. Jin was a Fae and he too had that soft kind of beauty that was sure to take most people’s breath away. Although, this boy didn’t have the signature bright coloured hair that most Fae had. It could be dyed he supposed – Jin’s hair was dyed black however still changed colour when overcome with particularly strong emotions - but his brunette curls looked natural especially with the golden highlights that shone beneath the shop’s luminescence. Surely those couldn’t be superficial?
A gentle coughing sound brought Jeongguk out of his thoughts, reminding him that he, very awkwardly, still had the boys hand trapped under his own. He blinked and pulled his hand back with a jolt, muttering an apology with flushed cheeks. A light chuckle filled the air and Jeongguk tried his best not to stare again when a boxy smile was directed his way. “Which one do you want?” the boy asked in a wonderfully deep voice. A shiver erupted through him, and he hoped the boy didn’t notice. “Oh” Jeongguk coughed, “the um, the cookies and cream…thanks” God only knew why he suddenly felt so nervous. His hands were almost shaking when he reached to take the ice cream from the others hand. “Good choice” the boy said with a soft smile before turning back to the freezer to grab three of the same ice creams for himself. Jeongguk let out a breathy laugh and surprisingly made no move to leave which was very unlike him when it came to conversations with strangers. Then again, he wasn’t sure if this could be classed as a conversation since he was mostly staring and stuttering dumbly. “I haven’t seen you round before” The boy continued “Do you go to college here?”
“Ah, no.” He replied, but when soft brown eye stared back at him expectantly, he found himself saying more, “I’m just passing through with some friends. We’re on a bit of a road trip I guess.” Slowly, they started walking towards the checkouts. Jeongguk had to shove his hand in his pocket to stop from reaching out to hold the hand brushing against his, “Do you go to the college near here?” He asked.
“Yeah, I just started my final year, so a road trip definitely sounds like a lot more fun right now. Are you staying in town long?” he asked.
“Probably not.” Jeongguk replied. The line for the checkout didn’t seem to be long at all and he couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed which was a stupid thought considering how badly he’d wanted to get out of this store all but 5 minutes ago.
“Hmm.” The boy nodded “I guess there wouldn’t be much point asking for your number then?”
Jeongguk nearly choked on his own saliva at that. “Huh?” The boy chuckled and his heart nearly stopped at seeing that smile again. “You want-I mean-I…ye-” Jeongguk cleared his throat “Yes, you can have my number. If you want.” Oh. There was that smile again.
“Great!” he replied smoothly “I’m Tae by the way.” Tae reached out to shake his hand. Jeongguk, though shakily, managed to shake it back. He gave himself a mental pat on the back for that. “N-nice to meet you Tae. My name’s uh..." My God, he thought to himself, stop being so awkward and tell him your name! "It's uh, um, K-Kim Jeongguk. Yeah. Or uh, you can just call me Jeongguk.” It's not like he even needed to give him a last name but he'd given him the fake one anyway. He realised then he was far too quick to give himself that praise before.
“Nice to meet you, Jeongguk.” The cashier called for the next person and Jeongguk had to resist the urge to pull Tae back to him. “Here” Tae said, quickly turning back before leaving again. “Don’t lose it.” He called behind him. And Jeongguk held onto the small piece of paper as if it were the key to his freedom. When Tae finally left the shop with a heartachingly adorable flush on his cheeks and a nod his way, Jeongguk thought he may just have to thank Jin for sending him into this little store after all.