Chapter Text
an old soul is fairly common for mortals, these types of souls are ones that have been reincarnated multiple times. unbeknowst to them, they've been living life after life, from one person to another, from one timeline to the next.
a new soul seldom appears, they are the souls who have never set foot in the earth and are living their very first lives. they can progress as old souls when they've reincarnated more than three times which is a normal transition for mortal souls.
then there are soulless beings, one who's souls left their body when they chose immortality or were born immortal. there's only a handful of knowledge about them and only fewer know their existence.
and lastly, an anomaly of souls park sunghoon found in the form of kim sunoo.
"you're fucking weird." sunghoon starts when sunoo takes another happy bite of mint chocolate ice cream. sunoo's eyes hurt when he rolls them so hard, like sunghoon hadn't already known sunoo's love for the flavor. yet the said person bought said flavor.
"no, you're super weird, you suck blood to live." sunoo sounds disgusted, yet he doesn't miss the adoration in sunghoon's pretty eyes, his pretty smile plastered on his pretty face and pretty fangs on display. sunghoon is a pretty vampire, then again aren't all vampires pretty?
ever since sunghoon saved sunoo from another of his kind four months ago, they've had this sort of weird relationship where sunghoon can do whatever the heck he wants with sunoo and sunoo doesn't mind whatever the heck sunghoon does to him. sunoo falls too hard too fast because they click so well, like they've known each other for a long time. sunghoon doesn't say, but sunoo knows he loves him, too.
sunghoon takes the ice cream cup from sunoo's hands and before sunoo can protest, he pins him down on the bed. sunoo glares, don't you dare , he says with his eyes but sunghoon dares anyway, connecting their lips together in the warmest kiss that sunoo melts into it. "you taste like toothpaste." sunghoon's lips touch the younger as he talks, it tickles.
"shut up, hater."
honestly, the idea of dating a vampire hadn't been in sunoo's list of to-do's upon entering college yet here he is now cuddling with his boyfriend (?) while his ice cream turns into a puddle on the table. they kiss for a bit more until sunoo taps out breathless; this earns a whine from sunghoon. the taller rolls over to the side and pulls sunoo closer to his body, engulfing him in a cozy embrace.
"sunghoon," sunoo calls from under said male's chin, voice muffled and cute, sunghoon smells like lavender, weird , said male hums in response. "can you turn someone into a vampire?" sunghoon scoffs playfully, "you read too much fiction."
"but some fiction have truth as bases, don't they not?" sunghoon does not want to respond, in fact sunghoon does not want to answer any questions related to his kind, sunoo knows he left them— his coven— some time ago, and that's that. sunoo is a curious little thing and that's exactly what led them to this whole situation: sunghoon in sunoo's—no, their, bed, arms wrapped around too tight around him like he doesn't want to let go; he likes the way sunoo radiates heat towards his cold inhuman body.
"why do you ask?"
"i want to know more about you." the genuineness of sunoo's voice sends waves through sunghoon's being. the way sunoo's gaze is so pure, so innocent, makes sunghoon want to taint him, but also protect him from the world and under. he doesn't deserve to suffer like sunghoon did. but alas, sunghoon sighs, he can't possibly win over sunoo's beautiful twinkling eyes.
with eyes closed, breath hitching, voice low, he responds, "only royal blood can turn humans into vampires."
"how?" sunghoon pinches the younger's lower back and smiles when sunoo squeals, he's so adorable. "one question per day, sunshine." sunoo's soft but angry fine makes sunghoon giggle.
it was quiet now, sunghoon can feel sunoo breathing slower and slower, like he's falling asleep. he places a kiss on top of the fluffy hair tucked under his protection, sunoo moves, "i haven't seen your eyes change color. do they even change color though?" he whispers drowsily. this freaking kid, sunghoon murmurs.
"love," he calls out, it's a heavy word, but it rolls off his tongue so easily when it's for sunoo.
"hm?"
"go to sleep."
𓆩 ⟡ 𓆪
"sunghoon," sunoo calls out to him just before he pulls up by sunoo's university's drop off. sunoo looks adorable today with sunghoon's hoodie on. sunghoon bit his lips at the thought of his scent on sunoo, but it's not like humans have a keen sense of smell; they can't smell sunghoon's back off, he's marked on sunoo. the human adorably blinks with head tilted, sunghoon wants to combust. "pick me up at three?"
"sure thing, baby." sunghoon pulls sunoo by the drawstrings of his hoodie and plants a chaste kiss on the younger's forehead. sunoo squeals from the sudden action and lightly slaps sunghoon's arm, making him laugh. sunoo acts like he doesn't like it but the pink near his ears say otherwise. driving and fetching sunoo has been sunghoon's part-time job ever since meeting him. he wants him safe. there is always something lurking within the normalcy that could threaten sunoo. that and sunoo just looks oh so glowing when sunghoon sees him after even just mere hours of being apart. sunoo feels like heaven to a godless creature like sunghoon.
getting out of the car, sunoo sees jungwon early as usual and waiting for him by the benches to get to class together. sunoo throws a flying kiss towards sunghoon's direction and trots off with his friend. sunghoon tries to not be cheesy but he catches the kiss anyway.
sunoo's day goes perfectly mundane, he wishes sunghoon was his classmate.
halfway through a work material, jungwon pokes sunoo who's busy being angry at the pieces of paper left by the professor. "your boyfriend looks paler today, did you tire him out last night?" jungwon wiggles his eyebrows and that creepy smile of his is etched on his face with a lascivious suggestion. sunoo couldn't roll his eyes hard enough but he laughs. "you're disgusting, jungwon, and besides i think it's because he's not eating properly."
sunoo bit his lip, sunghoon did look paler recently and it's because he's really not eating right and he gets up in the middle of the night and just stays by the small balcony of sunoo's apartment, like he's waiting for something. he may or may not know sunoo would wake up when he moves even just a tad bit, yet he stands guard on the balcony every midnight without fail, until twilight breaks.
there's really no use of helping sunghoon in anything. he's very secretive about his... well, existence. all sunoo knows is that the night sunghoon saved him from danger, sunghoon acts like he's known sunoo all his life . what's scary is that sunoo feels like he does. like when he plants little kisses on places sunoo didn't even know he liked, or when sunghoon does things for him without being asked. and when he stares into his eyes like his world is only him, only sunoo, sometimes he's afraid that maybe sunghoon knows him a little too well; afraid that he might fall harder. it's only been a couple of months.
"you okay? because you looked happy for a sec then now you're sad." jungwon asks, blinking cutely, sunoo pinches his cheeks. jungwon is a cute dongsaeng. "i'm alright, but just... sunghoon."
"right, didn't he move in with you last week?" sunoo's eyes go wide at jungwon's sentence just because he's obnoxiously munching on chocolate pretzels while being irresponsibly loud; loud enough that some person who knows sunoo could hear. sunoo slaps his arm lightly and glared at the younger male to shut up. jungwon just chuckles. sunoo just let jungwon be and continued answering. there's still a few more hours until three but he wants to go home to sunghoon and cuddle, do domestic stuff, be in love and all that.
it's the first time sunoo has ever felt like this. for all 19 years of his life, he's never even had a crush let alone a boyfriend (?). though there is a lack of labels between the two of them, sunoo loves what he and sunghoon have right now. it's also something serious, that's why he (and maybe sunghoon, too) is still tiptoeing around their set up. he's also scared, truthfully, because he has zero experience; yes, sunghoon is clearly not the type to leave just because sunoo sucks at relationships but he really, really wants them to work. wants to impress sunghoon. thinking about this now makes sunoo giddy, writing hearts all over his paper (to be submitted, by the way). jungwon side eyes his friend.
it's an indescribable feeling whenever he and sunghoon touch. butterflies? fireworks? wedding bells? none of those come close. like a cold rush that sends his neurons on overload, numbing in a good kind of way. when sunghoon smiles, he short circuits. when they kiss, sunoo feels like he's reaching heaven. having sunghoon's lips on his is great and all but when his fangs slightly make contact with his lips sends sunoo spiraling. god , it's so sexy when they make out and sunghoon unintentionally unretracts his fangs to full size but he's still so gentle never once maiming sunoo. and it's especially sexier when sunghoon teasingly bites down on his plump lower lip, sunoo feels sunghoon smile within the kiss afterwards.
jungwon pokes his cheek with a pen.
"you've been grinning for three minutes now, it's getting creepy." the younger says, fixing the grey chunks on his hair. he's not about to tell jungwon he's fantasizing about sunghoon in the middle of the day like they don't spend hours on end clinging to each other. besides, "isn't it time to re-dye your hair?"
"i'm tired of dyeing it now, i'll just let it stay as it is." crisis averted.
"but it looks ugly." jungwon's hair growth is weird. grey hair constantly regrows just on the fringe part and it's not helping that jungwon's current hobby is growing out a mullet. sunoo swears he'll cut it in his sleep if it gets too much. in the one year they've known each other, sunoo helps jungwon dye the grey parts black but it grows too fast to last. "i know but the dye just doesn't stick long enough and it hurts my nose."
it looks all right to be honest but jungwon doesn't like the attention it gathers. he's tired of repeating 'it's a pigment condition' or he can just kick anyone who asks about it again. "you're such a baby, wonnie." jungwon just scrunches his face at sunoo then goes back to styling his hair to at least hide the grey. which he can't really hide.
there's no professor who shows up by the end of the class, worksheets were passed to a representative and sunoo reluctantly thinks he should pretend to forget to pass it because aside from doodling hearts and sunghoon's name, his answers don't really make sense.
they slide to another minor subject that doesn't affect the gpa.
anyway.
there's also the fact that sunghoon isn't human, a whole other adventure besides being in a relationship with him.
he doesn't talk about himself at all. it bugs sunoo because sunoo talks about himself all the time and sunghoon looks at him adoringly when he gushes about his family, hometown, previous school, life before moving to seoul. before meeting sunghoon.
wait, he doesn't even know how old sunghoon is. the realization makes him groan loud. everyone in class turns to him, even the professor stops teaching. jungwon snickers beside him and sunoo fights the urge to slap his friend.
𓆩 ⟡ 𓆪
meanwhile, sunghoon is bored to death in their apartment.
and hungry for blood.
it's been one week since he moved into sunoo's apartment meaning he's gone seven days without feeding. which is fine, but he's almost at his limit and his body is getting weaker. he shouldn't have gone through his blood stash so quickly but the nearest blood bank, or any strigoi establishments for that matter, will surely recognize him... being in hiding and all, he can't risk getting caught.
jake hasn't responded to him in days. he's the only one in his former coven that he has contact with and currently, without a better option, his only supply to a blood stock that could last him for about a week. he survived four months without hunting or buying blood because of jake, but recently he's hard to reach and he's out of options.
he rolls around the bed, it smells like sunoo. everything in this apartment is sunoo-coded and sunghoon basks in that. it's rare to feel alive when you're undead.
he knows it was a bold move to live with sunoo but the closer he is to the younger, the more protection he can give him. other strigoi have been lurking this vicinity as of late and sunghoon is glad to have found sunoo first. well, second, since that other shithead almost drained his sunshine of his blood. like hell sunghoon would allow another encouter.
he sighs, sending sunoo a message that he'd be driving to his university now. sunghoon's head spins when he stands up a little too fast but then it doesn't stop spinning when he falls to his knees. everything blacks out.
𓆩 ⟡ 𓆪
"s—sunoo?"
"sunghoon, you idiot!" sunoo screams in distraught with tears running down his cheeks, still so pretty when crying. sunghoon's nose twitch at the surging metallic taste filling all his senses. blood. sunoo's blood. sunghoon quickly pushes sunoo away from him and he sees red and an enormous gash on sunoo's wrist down to his elbow.
"are you fucking insane?!" he panics, running towards the bathroom for the first aid kit, sunoo is going pale before him and it breaks his heart. sunghoon's hands are fast to wrap a clean rag on sunoo's wound to diminish the bleeding. sunoo might need stitches from the size of that. apart from sunghoon feeling his heart breaking, it's being crushed and squeezed and thrown and stomped upon at the sight of his beloved's terrified face. sunoo must've loved him too much to make such a sacrifice. he focuses his breathing and asks calmly, "what did you think you were doing, su—"
"saving your fucking life, what do you think i'm doing?!" sunoo yells, more tears come down and sunghoon feels guilty that he couldn't wipe them away because he needs to remain pressure on the laceration else it starts bleeding again. he just places a long kiss on sunoo's forehead, nuzzling his face on sunoo's head. "i'm sorry." he whispers, voice cracking.
"i got worried when you weren't at the car park but you texted you were coming. i called a few times but you didn't respond so i knew something was wrong." his sobs were uncontrollable and there was red on his clothes, sunghoon's clothes, dripping on the floor. sunghoon is seeing stars with the amount of blood he inhales. he's hungry for blood, but sunoo is hurt, so that trumps the other thing.
"stupid, you should have said something," the human's crying is dying down. sunghoon just hugs him as his shoulder shakes. "i should have said something." sunoo adds. his wound is starting to ache so sunoo keeps tugging away from how sunghoon is pressurizing it. "you're hurt, stop moving."
sunoo pouts, "but you passed out! when was the last time you..." sunghoon feels the blood isn't leaking anymore so he prepares his own suturing set because this happens often. "it doesn't matter." sunoo sniffs, occasional ouches and ows when sunghoon stitches his gash; from where sunghoon knows how to do minor surgeries, he doesn't ask. the thought lingers in sunoo's head, maybe he'll ask next time when they don't have more pressing matters to discuss.
the topics about him has been touchy for sunghoon recently because he's never had to talk about himself before. this is the first time he's been involved with a non-strigoi and he's clueless on how to breech his everything to sunoo without the younger being scared of him, he might leave. sunghoon continues to chew over his lack of communication while fixing sunoo. and then sunghoon feels his irises shift which they commonly do when feeding or experiencing changes in emotion. sunoo wanted to see his eyes change and sunghoon had indeed fed from sunoo, so he looks up at the crying boy, eyes silver and icy.
"babe, look." he sees the tears even stop in fascination. sunghoon is beautiful as fuck. sunoo places a short and soft kiss on sunghoon's lips. sunoo then exhales heavily, what did sunghoon mean that it doesn't matter? what kind of a person does that make sunoo if it doesn't matter that he the love of his life (?) unmoving on the floor of their apartment, pale as hell, obviously not drinking blood because he's never seen sunghoon drink and it's been a week since they were together almost all of the time? "it matters to me. please let me help."
the silver-haired male finishes seven stitches on sunoo's arm, wrapped it with more gauze and elastic adhesive. there, done, it will scar sunoo's pretty skin though.
it's funny and pitiful for sunghoon that the one who is willing to help is also the one who's begging. sunoo— cute, sassy, beautiful sunoo is offering himself to a vampire because he loves said vampire. the consequences would be drastic down the road, especially when shit finally catches up to him, but the thing they have now... sunghoon was willing to have his head sliced off for more of this .
sometimes he wishes he were human, so he could crave fast food (not blood) like sunoo. or dead, like fully in-the-coffin-six-feet-under dead.
"sunghoon?" his beloved calls, "here," sunoo tilts his head, inviting sunghoon to take him. the arteries running down sunoo's neck are visible, tempting. sunghoon's breath hitches. but the thought of hurting sunoo again shakes sunghoon's resolve. he needs to feed but he promised to himself that he would put sunoo above everything and everyone else; so he freezes. sunoo opens his eyes because he hasn't felt any movement since offering himself to sunghoon. sunghoon looks at him, hesitant and shaky, so he gives a little smile to reassure him. sunoo breathes softly, "bite me," closing his eyes again.
sunghoon shifts closer, rotating his head for a better position. fangs unretract as he inches towards the pulsating carotid. sunghoon exhales deeply, whispers gently against the skin on sunoo's neck, "tell me if it hurts."
hands on sunoo's waist, he sinks his fangs into sunoo making him gasp. sunghoon glides his fingers delicately along his sides to soothe the younger through the sting of his fangs. the penetration is the only painful part yet sunoo takes it beautifully. he carefully lays down sunoo on the floor when he pushes harder onto the human. my perfect sunoo.
soft sounds pass sunoo's lips once in a while as sunghoon feeds, sunoo squirms a little everytime sunghoon shifts his bite to let blood flow. excess blood trickles down the younger's neck and sunghoon laps up what he can with his tongue. "that tickles." sunoo whispers and he feels sunghoon smile. the moment feels so intimate and sunoo feels closer to sunghoon. he hopes sunghoon will be more unbarred when it comes to himself. he wants to be there for sunghoon through whatever he went through, is going through, and whatever his future holds; sunoo sees his future with sunghoon and he hopes sunghoon does, too.
"baby," sunghoon's handsome face is what greets him when he comes to his senses, his silver hair is getting long, sunoo thinks, he finds himself smiling back at his lover. he must've passed out for a little while, the sun has already set, the floor is rid of blood, the room smells like lavender, his clothes are clean, and he's comfortably on the bed. sunoo feels loved with the aftercare.
"are you... my blood, i mean, did you..." sunoo doesn't know how to phrase the question without it sounding awkward. he meant to ask sunghoon if he was all right now, with his vampire cravings (cravings?) or food or something like that. sunghoon just chuckles and kisses his forehead, whispering a thank you against it.
"drink this, it'll help you restore the fluid you lost." sunoo takes the water bottle from sunghoon. it's just water, he thinks, but when he drinks it, there's a hint of something sweet that he's never tasted before. sunghoon bites his lip when sunoo gulps down two-thirds of the liquid in one go.
"sunghoon, i want a proper sit down about this." he says when he finishes the entire bottle. sunghoon looks at him with confusion and awe. his recipe must be working wonders to sunoo's body. but, right...
"okay." sunoo blinks waiting for sunghoon to continue. "my supplier, a member from my former coven, has been the one supplying my weekly provisions but recently he's been uncontactable and i don't have anyone else to reach out to." he realizes it's even more of a bigger problem not just for his blood supply, but jake has also been the one informing him of the coven's whereabouts. there is a manhunt for sunghoon, that's the latest he heard. but sunoo doesn't have to know that now.
sunoo nudges him when he spaced out. "i don't know how long others go without—" sunghoon gestures a you know , sunoo nods. feeding, blood; either of these, "—i can go a week max, but i get weaker by the day i don't..." sunghoon trails off.
sunoo doesn't miss a beat when he asks, "so you need how much per day?"
"sunoo." said male pouts at a certain loss of pet names. "just answer me." he whines.
"half a liter."
"and what would be the consequences of me losing half a liter per day?"
"sunoo."
"answer it, sunghoon."
"nothing—maybe a little dizziness but nothing fatal." sunghoon voice is nearly inaudible, almost as if he doesn't want to let sunoo know it's not dangerous, but sunoo hears it anyway.
"then that settles it." the word of finality. a contract between lovers (?) that goes unspoken yet is the heaviest weight in this relationship. the other male sighs with contemplation visible on his face. it benefits him more than it will ever sunoo but he doesn't want sunoo to act foolishly like tonight. at least this way, he can control what happens. he traces the pressure dressing he's done earlier, red isn't seeping through the gauze anymore.
"i don't have to feed everyday." he sighs once more, his tone is upset. sunoo places his warm hands onto sunghoon's cheeks squishing him and forcing him to look up at sunoo. "i know, but don't go a week without doing so. i want to help you, so ask when you need to. i care for you, okay?" sunoo fights the urge to say he needs sunghoon, too, he thinks it is a little too clingy of him, but his eyes glistening with tears say otherwise.
"okay." defeated. sunghoon buries himself on the crook of sunoo's neck, two small holes prominent on the latter's unblemised skin. he kisses them apologetically.
"i'm hungry," sunoo announces. sunghoon is happy that he's at least the regular sunoo he adores, "i can't cook, should we order takeout?"
"darling, i'm full." sunoo's 'oh, right' makes sunghoon laugh.
"so just for me, duh," sunoo hums, "kfc?"
sunghoon pulls him closer by the waist, clutching sunoo's hand with his, the older male intertwines them. "anything for you." he says, inhaling sunoo's scent. sunghoon smiles when he smells lavender.
𓆩 ⟡ 𓆪
jungwon and sunghoon have met twice (thrice now) and they always just nod at each other to acknowledge the other's presence. today though, sunoo left jungwon near the university parking for a bit to turn in a due paper. it's not awkward per se, just uncomfortable because jungwon knows that sunghoon knows and they both know yet they don't make an effort to talk about it . when will sunoo come back?
"so um, dham—" jungwon shushes the older by aggressively shoving a piece of sour tape in his mouth. sunghoon does not protest because, right, it's awkward talking about that in a heavily public area and sunoo has yet to know more about his friend.
jungwon keeps chewing on his sour tape candies because sunghoon knows he's never easy to talk to someone of his kind, also probably because the status and limpid seniority he has over the youngling. he doesn't exude these over jungwon though, he just knows jungwon is aware.
on the hand, it's taking a long time for sunoo to come back and jungwon might never have the chance like this to talk to sunghoon alone again, so he turns to him, "how do i tell sunoo-hyung?"
sunghoon, in the limited time he's spent with jungwon, thinks that this is out of his character. sunghoon sees him as this headstrong little thing who shouldn't be messed with; the jungwon right now is fidgety. maybe talking about himself is like how sunghoon feels when he talks about himself, too, apprehensive, especially when they talk about it to someone important to them. their common denominator is sunoo.
in all his life, sunghoon has interacted with only a handful of dhampirs so he doesn't know how to go about giving advice. heck, he doesn't even talk about himself to sunoo but at least sunoo knows that he is not of this mortal world.
jungwon presents as a half-vampire and half-human, a peculiarity on both sides of his factions. sunghoon can tell he's raised as a human and has never interacted with the immortal side of his family. sunghoon knows him, rather his father, from the gossip around their kind. he never expected the youngling to be sunoo's best friend though, what a small world.
"if it means anything, sunoo won't hate you." sunghoon mutters sheepishly, he's not really good at comforting people.
"i know he won't hate me, duh , he's with you," sunghoon feels like he's talking to a watered down version of sunoo. no wonder they're friends. "it's just that it's been a long time since we've been friends but i never got to tell him. it might change the dynamic of our friendship."
"the way i see it, the longer you're dragging it out, the more it'll be harder for you to tell him."
"ah, right, like you tell him about yourself? give me advice when you've done it yourself, park sunghoon ." jungwon smirks. the emphasis on his name makes sunghoon shudder. jungwon surely won't betray him, but the theoretical power jungwon holds over sunghoon makes the older want to lock this kid up in the basement of their apartment for his secrets to be safe.
at the very least, he's now got himself another ally. hopefully, jungwon knows how to act right.
sunoo nears the university parking lot and to his surprise sunghoon and jungwon are talking... about something quite serious, too, sunoo presumes. the way jungwon talks to the taller male is nothing sunoo had seen jungwon interacting with others before: gloomy. which is weird because jungwon is talkative and annoying. he observes them for some minutes and when they've gone from a heavy mood to a lighter one, he catches up to them with a bright smile on his face.
"you guys seem pretty close, what's up?" sunghoon and jungwon share a judgmental look at each other then scoffing. sunoo interlaces his fingers with sunghoon and the older leans towards him placing a kiss on his temple. sunghoon then throws jungwon a smug look.
jungwon is disgusted. "sunghoon-hyung has something to tell you." jungwon starts earning a loud yah from sunghoon. they bicker for another minute and sunoo laughs at the both of them.
they bid goodbye to jungwon when the youngest declines an offer to drop him off at his apartment. on the drive home, sunoo asks, "what did jungwon mean when you wanted to tell me something?"
"honestly, baby, i have a lot to tell you. i'm not ready and i'm also unsure this is the proper time to disclose them all... but i will, okay? don't worry." sunghoon kisses the hand he's holding. sunoo hums. sunoo trusts him and if sunghoon doesn't think now is the time, he can wait. he squeezes sunghoon's hand for reassurance. "i'm not worried. i trust you."
sunghoon's heart swells with warmth, it's not even beating.
"thank you, my sun."