Chapter Text
“The municipal government has issued a new policy regarding home ownership and leasing that states that residents are not permitted to live alone as a result of the significant increase in missing persons cases and the appearances of unidentified individuals. Effective immediately, all single-living residents are under precautionary supervision until at least two individuals over the age of 18 have registered under a single home address.” The newscaster’s voice came piercing through the speaker.
Taehyung switches off the TV with an exasperated sigh. He slumps further into the couch hoping for the cushions to envelop him whole.
Jimin, his friend of 7 years, sits next to him, apathetic to Taehyung’s distress. “I heard these guys are apart of a cult to take power over us.”
Taehyung finds himself naturally slipping in between cushions, essentially letting the couch swallow him down.
“Lowkey, I’d join them,” Jimin adds.
“I. Hate. People.” Tae grunts in the compression of the cushions, muffling his words, making it sound ridiculous to Jimin’s ear.
“We get it~~, you’re a loser, you don’t fit in, ‘I’ve never seen you without that stupid hat,’ that’s weird.” His friend mocks.
Taehyung ungracefully digs himself out of the ditch of his couch cushions with a frown.
“Isn’t this good? Living alone makes it a lot harder to report a missing person.” Jimin points out. “And they’d discover your dead body WEEKS after you’ve been killed!”
“Jimin, this is serious!” Taehyung groans. “Forcing people to live with total strangers for ‘safety’ is not gonna stop people from going missing!”
“Like, how about, instead of forcing citizens into uncomfortable situations, they spend more time investigating the assholes behind the missing people cases!” He complains.
“It’s not as easy as you think, Tae,” Jimin defends. “Those assholes probably have a whole operation going and just catching a few loose screws instead of taking the time to get the head of operations would be wasted time.”
Taehyung side-eye’s his friend. “Are you a cop?”
“Fuck off,” Jimin rolls his eyes and shoves him playfully.
“Look, if you’re so upset about finding a roommate, why don’t you live with me and Hobi?” Jimin offers.
“Because my lease ends next year and your place has thin walls,” Taehyung counters. “If I move out of here, I won’t find another place this size and this affordable again.”
“Well, no one told you move to the busiest most touristy part of the city.”
“Transit time is so much faster! Leave me alone!” He defends.
“No, you can’t be alone because you need a ROOMMATE!”
Taehyung wails in frustration and lays sideways on the couch into Jimin’s lap.
He takes a look around his humble abode, every thing in its place and every place in its thing. The potted succulents and vibrant furniture and dinky clutter were a calculated decision that make his tiny little world the perfect paradise. This is his safest place and if he were to bring another person into this world, stranger or even closest friend, his whole world would be disrupted.
Who else out there is going to appreciate the entire Frank Ocean discography on vinyl displayed above the dining table?
NO ONE will understand the sentimental value bestowed upon that shelf that speaks to Taehyung’s heart during every meal he eats at that table.
Or the single funko pop of Colette from Ratatouille on the vent hood which looms over the stove that inspires him to be a better cook. It doesn’t really work. But the intention is there and Taehyung doesn’t have the time nor the patience to explain that to a roommate.
“All I aspire for in life is peace & I’m halfway there already,” Taehyung explains as Jimin begins to run his fingers through his friend’s hair.
“Getting a roommate is just gonna put me 10 steps back from that.”
“It’ll only be for a little while,” Jimin assures.
“How long is a little while?”
“For as long as it makes sure we’re safer. Now stop complaining and lets get to work on roommate applications.”
A week has gone by since the new policy was enacted and it seems it never lets Taehyung forget that it happened. In the mail he received a letter from the government about his living situation and had prearranged an appointment with an officer of sorts to discuss it.
Once the date of the appointment approached, Taehyung was visited by a man named Lee Hajoon.
“Hello, Mr. Kim. I am officer Lee Hajoon. I am one of the residential supervisors of this region. That’s basically a glorified park ranger,” he jokes as Taehyung invites him inside.
He gestures for the man to sit at his dining table and sits adjacent from him.
“So, you’re here to tell me I can’t live by myself anymore,” Taehyung assumes.
The officer folds his hands on the table and leans forward. “Unfortunately, yes,” he says, slightly feigning remorse.
“There are programs that can help you find a suitable roommate,” the officer suggests.
“Right…” Taehyung pretends to consider, “so, let’s say, hypothetically, I’m unable to find a roommate. What happens?”
“Well, hypothetically, you and I would be seeing each other more often.”
Taehyung took the hint and was disturbed by the thought of seeing this government worker in his home every week.
He declined the offer for roommate programs as it felt too close to his college dorm experience. Safe to say him and his college roommate aren’t on speaking terms.
Another week goes by and Taehyung’s roommate search operation is consuming all of his free time from reviewing applications, stalking profiles, and conducting interviews. Maybe he’s just picky and has high standards, but out of 40 profiles, none have seemed substantial enough.
Everyone has flaws, Taehyung understands, but since when was everyone completely degenerate? It’s either they’re too messy, they snore too loud, they’re addicted to vape, or they have sex too much, blasé blasé blasé. Why is nobody normal anymore?? Even the most prestine looking profiles still felt suspicious to him. What are they truly hiding?
That’s when Taehyung came across something boring. Something so lifeless and empty that it felt almost perfect. This profile had no picture of the candidate. Just a name and number.
Something compelled him to dial the number but he stopped himself before hitting call. What was he thinking calling a random number with no semblance of who he’s calling? The audacity of this application annoys him. To not even care to put a description down just feels arrogant.
“Jeon Jeongguk,” he reads out loud. He can already tell he’s an asshole.
He puts the application to the side and browses through the rest. But the sheer arrogance of the practically blank page sitting there has him grinding his teeth.
He picks it up again with a huff.He scans the paper again and again as if each time it’ll reveal more about so-called “Jeon Jeongguk” and of course, he sees nothing but a phone number and his stupid ass name.
He huffs again and moves to put it down but is interrupted by a knock at the door.
He gets up quickly without thinking with the application still in his hand. When he opens the door he’s greeted with dark hair, large pupils, and a broad chest. The guy is his height but his build is much bigger and it makes Taehyung’s breath hitch.
“Can I help you?” He mutters.
“Yeah, I’m here for my interview,” the man says.
“Uhm, I didn’t schedule anyone for an interview today,” Tae corrects.
The man smirks. “I’m sure you were going to,” he says confidently in a low drawl.
“Oh, please,” Taehyung rolls his eyes.
“No need to beg,” the man shrugs.
Taehyung is slightly taken aback but doesn’t let it phase him for too long. He’s tired of this arrogant attitude and just wants him gone. “Look, I have lots of applicants to sift through & I’m sure I already put yours in the NO pile.”
The man raises an eyebrow with a sly smile.His eyes shift to the paper currently in Taehyung’s hands. The paper that’s been bothering him for the past ten minutes.
“You sure about that?”
Taehyung clenches his jaw and breathes in sharply through his nose. His blood starts to boil as he watches the guy’s ego inflate.
Of course this was him! No one could match the arrogance of this page more than this guy. This stupid Jeon Jeongguk who put in zero effort into applying yet showed up at his door unwarranted.
“So you’re Jeongguk?” Taehyung asks not for confirmation but out of disappointment.
“The one and only,” Jeongguk says with pride, “so, do I get my interview?”
Taehyung shrugs and takes a look at the page in his hand. “Well, with an application as impressive as this, how could I say no?” He says sarcastically.
“I knew you’d love it,” Jeongguk jokes.
Taehyung pinches his brow, feeling defeated. He’s too tired to shoo this guy off. “Fine… whatever. Lets get this over with,” he concedes.
He steps aside and invites the guy in to which Jeongguk proudly enters with his chin up and his stride swaying with confidence. Compelling.
As Jeongguk passes Taehyung, he watches the arrogant guy mildly peruse around his apartment. Scanning the furniture, the decor, even the smell.
“Not exactly your style?” Taehyung asks as he locks the front door.
Jeongguk stands in front of his succulents and looks back at him.
“What makes you say that?” He asks, looking comically dark and brooding in his Harley Davidson bomber jacket, thick sole combat boots, and his long hair tied half-up in a bun while immediately beside Taehyung’s brightly coloured and lively hanging plants and potted succulents.
Taehyung laughs an ingenious laugh. “Step away from the succulents, you’re draining the life out of them,” he teases before heading to the sofa to sit down.
The guy seems to believe it, suddenly jerking away.
“Sit,” Taehyung orders, gesturing to the arm chair next to himself.
Jeongguk does so with surprising grace, stepping down on his clunky boots without the sounds of a stomping ground. He sits back lazily in the chair, posture relaxed. Taehyung hates how at-home he’s making himself.
Taehyung clears his throat briefly, composing himself to be calm. “So… Jeongguk,” he starts, the name struggling to leave his mouth, “Tell me about yourself.”
The guy raises an eyebrow again. “Why?” He asks not with confusion but with inquiry.
Taehyung’s forehead creases. “Because I need to know who I’m living with?” He states incontestably.
The guy chuckles through a suspicious smirk. “I think that’s the least of your worries.”
“Yeah, well you made that pretty clear with this application,” Taehyung throws his blank profile down onto the coffee table.
Jeongguk leans forward and rests his elbows on his knees. “You’re not at all concerned about who is behind all the missing person cases?” He asks, “all those unidentified individuals who seemingly ‘don’t exist’?”
“There’s no proof those are correlated,” Taehyung objects, uncomfortably shifting in his seat.
“Oh, but they are.”
Taehyung feels his heart sink as he glances at the blank profile again.
“You see, there are some people out there who cannot be photographed. Or blood tested, or fingerprinted, or DNA matched,” Jeongguk continues, “Do you know what type of… I guess… ‘person’ that is?”
Taehyung gulps. “Sounds like a person that doesn’t exist,” he assures unconvincingly.
Jeongguk shakes his head in disappointment. “Oh, how I wish that were the case,” he admits, “but unfortunately, we do exist and we’re done hiding.”
“We?” Taehyung’s voice goes up an octave.
When the guy smiles, head tilting to the side, the breath gets knocked out of Taehyung’s lungs and each inhale feels like sandpaper on his throat and his heart beat triples in speed. Fangs. Long piercing white fangs.
“Oops,” Jeongguk shrugs, “I guess the cat’s out of the bag.”
He’s dreaming right? That can’t be real, right?
Suddenly, Jeongguk’s eyes briefly flash red then back to brown. “Your heart’s beating really fast,” he says, “if you weren’t so terrified right now, I’d say it sounds unhealthy.”
Oh. He’s gonna die tonight, isn’t he?
Taehyung knows he should probably run or get out of this situation somehow but he can’t get himself to move. One wrong move and he could be another “missing person” on the news in the morning. He needs to play this right and maybe they can both come out of this peacefully.
“Well?” Jeongguk says, slouching back into his seat, entirely relaxed and nonchalant, “anything to say to your vampire roommate?”
He swallows down the tension in his jaw with a deep inhale and slowly begins to speak. “So…” his voice waivers, “why do you… wanna live… here?”
The vampire chuckles, throwing his head back. “Relax, red, I’m not gonna kill you.”
“Answer the q— red?” Taehyung questions, failing to sound assertive.
The vampire just waves his hand over his face. “Your cheeks are red.”
Taehyung rushes to cover his cheeks with his hands.
“C’mon, don’t you know who you’re talking to?” The vampire teases.
Taehyung looks at him with wide rattled eyes. “No?!” He exclaims with a pitch of frustration. “Please, if you’re gonna kill me just get it over with already! I can’t take this any longer!”
“It’s cute how clueless you are,” Jeongguk drawls.
“Huh?” Taehyung squeaks.
“You don’t realize how long you’ve been watched, how many times you could’ve been killed,” the vampire reveals, “for weeks even before the policy was made, you were being followed, observed, analyzed…”
He stands up & slowly circles the human on the sofa.
“You think this little policy is going to protect you, but you don’t even realize,” he reaches the back of couch standing directly behind him & leans close into his ear. He whispers smooth & low, “you’ve already been found.”
Taehyung feels every hair on his body stand up, sending chills down his spine. His heart pounds in his ears and is finding it harder to breathe.
“But you’re lucky,” Jeongguk adds, standing up straight.
“Why’s that?” Taehyung asks in a breathless and terrified rasp.
Jeongguk walks around the sofa and stands directly in front of the human. With two gentle fingers, he lifts Taehyung’s chin and holds intense red to hazel eye contact with the trembling human.
“Because I found you,” he admits with simultaneous light and venom and in his tone. “And I’ve figured out you are far more valuable to us alive than dead.”
Taehyung gulps, fear keeps him as still as the corpse he was meant to be before Jeongguk found him.
The vampire holds him like this for what feels like ages, watching the blood rush to little red’s cheeks.
When Jeongguk smirks, Taehyung’s chest blooms with frustration. He jerks his head out of the vampire’s hands with a clenched jaw and furrowed brows, looking to the side where his view is the comfort of his home.
Jeongguk retracts his hand and backs away to sit back down.
“How long have you been watching me for?” Taehyung asks quietly with a shaky voice, avoiding eye contact as he processes everything he’s been told.
“Me? 4 weeks. As for the others… well, I can’t be sure,” Jeongguk says.
“Others?” Taehyung’s head snaps up toward the man.
Jeongguk sighs as if he’s annoyed like he even has the audacity to be so. “Don’t make me repeat myself, Red. They were gonna kill you until I found you.”
“Why are you protecting me?” The human asks, anger searing into his tone.
“I’m not protecting you,” he rejects immediately.
The vampire rolls his eyes and shakes his head as if the idea itself needs to be forcefully removed from his mind. “Look, as much as we adore killing your kind, your kind wants to kill us just as much. And frankly, they’re getting better at it. So, here’s what’s gonna go down…
“I’m going to live here as your roommate for as long as I need to and you’re not gonna tell anyone about who I am. You vouch that I am human and you get to live,” he explains.
“And how am I supposed to register a non-existent person under this address?” Taehyung questions.
Jeongguk smirks and reaches into the pocket of his jacket, pulling out a person’s ID. “Here I have the identity of one Shin Sungchu,” he holds it close to his face, “pretty identical, don’t you think?”
“Is that a real person??” Taehyung exclaims.
“I mean… he used to be…”
Taehyung’s expression morphs into fear and disgust.
“Don’t make that face, Red. You have aging to worry about,” Jeongguk dismisses, “I also have his birth certificate, social insurance number, passport, bank information, yata yata yata.”
“What about his family?” Taehyung asks.
“Enough with the family shit! He’s dead! Alright? He has no family to care about him!” Jeongguk explodes suddenly, eyes red and soulless.
And just then it dawns on Taehyung that he has to live with a killer for as long as Jeongguk deems it necessary… and he can’t escape it.
Taehyung bows his head down, eyes closed as he tries to hold back tears that are dangerously close to welling up. He swallows down the lump in his throat. “Sorry,” he rasps breathlessly, “what other conditions are there?”
Jeongguk calms down as his eyes fade back to brown. “Uhm… no visitors…” he adds awkwardly.
Taehyung nods, head still down. “Okay, um,” he still can’t hide the shake in his voice, “you can use the room by the front.”
“Hey, Red…” the vampires says with a surprisingly softer tone, “are you crying?”
“I’m fine…” he lies.
Taehyung can’t cry. How stupid would he be to show weakness in front of a killer? He has to be strong and take advantage of the value Jeongguk has put on him. He knows he can’t get out of this but that doesn’t mean he has to sacrifice the peace and comfort he’s achieved here.
As much as Jeongguk wants to say that Taehyung means nothing to him, there’s an underlying reason as to why he is still alive today — he needs him.
Taehyung rubs his eyes and breathes in deeply. He swallows the lump in his throat and clenches his jaw to keep his voice stable.
“You’re gonna take the room in the front,” he starts again, firmer and demanding, “you’re gonna move all your stuff in on your own. Rent is $2700 a month and you’re gonna pay $1350 on the first of each month. You keep all communal areas clean and you throw out all your trash.”
Jeongguk raises a brow, slightly taken aback, holding back another arrogant smirk.
“If you don’t have a job, find one,” as Jeongguk is about to interject, Taehyung cuts him off, “a LEGAL one! You wanna act human, you contribute to humanity.”
The vampire shuts his mouth.
“And one more thing…” Taehyung says, “How often do you kill?”
Jeongguk’s eyes become narrow and serious. The quirk of his lips disappears into a frown. His eyes are dark but not red and Taehyung finds comfort in that fact.
“I can go without feeding for 3 days,” he explains.
Taehyung winces at the statement.
“I don’t have to kill to feed,” Jeongguk adds attempting to put the human more at ease. “It’s just harder to do it under the radar if I keep them alive.”
“What happens to them after?” He asks.
Jeongguk shrugs. “It’s kinda like they’re wasted.”
Taehyung watches the vampire’s face contort into concentration, really putting in thought to explain what happens to his victims.
“They get lightheaded, dizzy and drowsy, can’t really move that well… it takes a few days of recovery. Sometimes they develop blood-related issues.”
“Oh my god…” Taehyung exhales, his posture slumping in despair.
“Hey, a lot of people found it very pleasurable in the moment,” the vampire defends.
“That doesn’t help!” Taehyung presses his palm into his forehead and gently massages it trying to come to terms with everything.
“Alright, if you’re gonna live here, no feeding within a 20km radius of the building,” Jeongguk makes a noise of protest but Taehyung dismisses it, “and you will NOT kill them!”
“You drive a hard bargain, Red,” Jeongguk comments, the quirk of his lips reappearing again.
“There’s just one more thing I need from you…”
Taehyung crosses his arms. “What?”
“I get to feed from you. Just once.” Jeongguk rasps.
Taehyung’s heart drops to his stomach. He should’ve known. Of course he wouldn’t be an exception. A vampire has one urge and it’s not picky.
“You decide when and where. But you can’t walk away from it,” Jeongguk adds.
The vampire detects Taehyung’s heart pounding at 130 beats per minute, his blood pumping hastily throughout his stiff body. Albeit, the red completely drains from his cheeks. Poor little Red.
Taehyung swallows cautiously. He inhales slowly, filling his chest with air as an effort to suppress his pounding heart. He exhales and speaks quietly but calmly. “You can… feed from me… the day you move out.”
Jeongguk’s smirk grows into a wide smile of lips. “Perfect.”
The vampire stands up from his seat and extends his hand out to the human. Taehyung stands as well, meeting him at eye level. He takes the vampire’s hand with a firm shake.
The deal is sealed. Taehyung has a vampire roommate indefinitely & his life of peace is now a pipe dream.
That night, Jeongguk assured he would be in and out of the apartment during the night and would need Taehyung’s key until morning.
“Uhm… okay…” he agrees hesitantly, “I need them back by 7.”
“They’ll be on the table by 6 then,” the vampire reassures and it seems genuine.
Going to sleep that night wasn’t easy. For hours, Taehyung drifted in and out of REM sleep. He’d dream of himself being kept hostage by a killer with no escape only to wake up to the sound of his new vampire roommate eerily walking around the apartment just outside of his room.
He tries to tell himself it’s not real. He wouldn’t be dumb enough to agree to something like this. But his anxiety won’t let him rest and his subconscious won’t let him forget how much of it is actually true. And once the morning comes, he’ll have to face his new reality.
His thoughts keep him awake, bringing tears to his eyes as he realizes it’ll be a long time before his home can truly start feeling like his home again and that for months or even years to come he’ll always have to be on his toes & look over his shoulder even when he needn’t be.
By the time he finally reaches a constant state of rest, it’s when his eyes have become too puffy to keep them open.
When he wakes up, it’s with a pulsing headache and a dry mouth around 6am. He crawls out of bed like the corpse he could’ve been if not for his new roommate.
Before trudging out of his room, he opens the door an inch and pokes an eye out into the living room, checking if the coast is clear. He walks out prematurely, catching the vampire walking out of his own room simultaneously, presumably to leave Taehyung’s keys on the table.
Taehyung can’t tell if the vampire has been awake all night. He’s dressed in the same pants as the night before but his shoes are now organized by the front door and he wears a plain black T-shirt that now shows off a sleeve of tattoos on his right arm that Taehyung hasn’t seen. And his hair is now tied into a low little ponytail instead of a half-up-half-down look from the night before. It’s hard to tell whether he’s tired or not but the moment he sees the human come out from his room, it’s almost as if his frantic fast paced movements have slowed down.
“Woah,” Jeongguk teases when he sees Taehyung’s dead tired posture, “I thought this arrangement was to keep you alive.”
Taehyung doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t want to say anything. In fact, it causes him physical pain to verbalize anything he wants to say in that moment.
Thankfully, Jeongguk doesn’t push him to talk any further.
“Alright, well, here are your keys just like I promised,” he places them down on the dining table then toes back over to his room. “We’ll talk later,” he says and disappears behind his door.
As a moment of relief, Taehyung releases the breath he didn’t realize he was holding and let’s his body relax. His shoulders slump and his head lobs to the side as he drags himself to the washrooms and gets ready for a day full of constant discomfort and fear.