Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Hyung, what’s your greatest fear?” Little eleven-year-old Jisung asks, hands clenched tightly around his brother’s sleeve.

“Hmm? My biggest fear?” Renjun repeats, and he hums before staring off in thought. They’re sitting under a tree, surrounded by an expanse of moorland. The branches of the tree creak in the wind, creating the only sound audible in their otherwise silent surroundings.

Renjun takes a deep breath before he speaks again. “I guess I’m afraid of not being able to do something.” He says finally, holding up his hand and studying his outstretched palm. His voice is clear and honest, but Jisung misses the slight note of fragility laced in it. “I hate feeling helpless.”

Jisung tries to imagine a time when Renjun was unable to do something, but nothing comes to mind. Renjun chuckles at his pensive expression, and his own face shows nothing but earnestness as he continues to speak.

“That’s why I always do my best when I do things. So far, it’s worked for me.”

The younger stares up at the older, studying his face. Renjun is brave, honest, and hardworking. Jisung wants to be like him someday.

“You’re my favourite kind of person, hyung.” Jisung says finally. He leans his head on his brother’s shoulder and closes his eyes, his hands still clutching the other’s sleeve.

“Hah? You know like, five people, tops.” Renjun quips with a loud laugh, but he pulls his sleeve free to tug the younger boy closer to him. They lean into each other’s warmth, finding comfort in the other’s presence. 

“Always remember to do your best, okay, Jisungie? If something goes wrong, at least you’ll know that you’ve done everything you could to prevent it.” Renjun murmurs softly.

Jisung nods. He won’t realise how naive they both are for years to come. 

“Okay, hyung.”

———

Jisung wakes up thinking he’s under attack.

Turns out it’s just his dog, Yeol, who’s climbed up onto the bed and has started licking his face. Jisung stares at the ceiling above him beyond the ball of fur in his face as he tries to psyche himself up enough to crawl out of bed and feed his dog.

He groans and the sound echoes through his little apartment. Faint pink light shines from behind his blinders, and he frowns, looking back at Yeol, who is looking at him expectantly.

“It’s still night, so what do you want, Yeol?” Jisung asks the dog, peering through the space between the blinders and his window to confirm that the neon lights of Neo City are still brightly glowing in the night.

The shaggy dog doesn’t answer and only looks up at him with beady black eyes, tilting his head innocently. Jisung hums in thought, shrugs a hoodie over his old shirt and navigates his way through the darkness and into the living room. The living room is truly the centre of his apartment, with a door to his bedroom, his bathroom, and one to the hallway of the apartment building. There’s a strange scuffling sound coming from behind the latter.

Jisung freezes in his tracks. Yeol, however, doesn’t get the memo, and patters to the door.

“Yeol? Is that you?” Someone whispers from behind the door. “Did you get Jisung? He’s there, right?”

Jisung waits in silence, trying to remember where he’s heard that voice before. The dog seems relaxed, which makes Jisung feel a little more at ease.

The person behind the door releases a shuddering breath. “Please. Please, Jisung, tell me you’re there. I don’t know what to do.”

Jisung’s eyes finally widen in recognition, and he immediately moves to open the door. The door opens and he’s face to face with Lee Donghyuck, his next-door neighbour. The other man looks haggard, in contrast to his usual sunny demeanour, with red-tinged and swollen eyelids and slouched shoulders from fatigue.

His expression lights up with what Jisung thinks is hope when the door opens.

“Jisung.” Donghyuck says faintly, and despite them not being a little more than acquaintances, it breaks Jisung’s heart to see the other man like this. He simply stands in the doorway for a few seconds, confused. He snaps out of his daze when Donghyuck rubs at his eyes.

“Hyung, what’s wrong? Do you want to come in?” Jisung asks, stepping aside to let Donghyuck in. The latter shoots him a small smile of gratitude and steps into the apartment. Yeol greets him sweetly, tail wagging from side to side.

Jisung turns on the lights as Donghyuck fawns over the dog. “You’re so cute, Yeolie. Who’s a good boy?” Donghyuck says softly as he rubs the sides of the wriggling dog, and the tension in his shoulders seems to ease a little.

“Please, sit down, hyung. Do you want a drink?” Jisung says, gesturing to his little two-seater.

“No, I’m good. Thanks so much, Jisung. I just- I needed someone to talk to.” Donghyuck chokes out as he sits down. He quickly pats the space next to him, telling Jisung to sit down as well.

They sit in silence for a while, Jisung not knowing how to comfort Donghyuck while the latter calms down a little more.

Donghyuck slowly turns his head to look at Jisung and takes a deep breath. “You… you say you’re a wizard,” He says softly, his voice low. “You really believe that?”

Jisung’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise. He hesitates before answering. “Yeah. Yeah, I do. Why?” He doesn’t know what else to say and he suppresses an awkward grimace.

“My brother is missing,” Donghyuck says. “He’s been missing for over a month, and the police have already given up on looking for him. If they even cared in the first place.”

“Oh.” Jisung really wants to put his hand on the other’s shoulder, a sign of support, but the fear of Donghyuck disliking the touch stops him.

“I remember seeing an ad of yours, once. Poster at the police station. You say you’re a wizard who openly practices magic to help people.” Donghyuck continues. “I’m not sure whether I believe the whole wizard thing, but I need somebody to help me find Taeyong, please. I’ll pay you.”

He grabs Jisung’s wrist gently, but pleading. Jisung nearly flinches at the touch. He ducks his head shyly.

“I’ll look for him, hyung,” He says, voice surprisingly stable, even to him. “I can’t guarantee I’ll find him, but I’ll try.”

A voice in his head nags at him that he has no idea how to locate a missing person, but he ignores it in favour of focusing on Donghyuck’s face lighting up slightly with relief. Donghyuck slumps over, leaning into the younger man’s side. Jisung stays completely still, trying not to disturb him.

“Thank you, thank you so much.” Donghyuck whispers. His hand that’s still around Jisung’s wrist tightens its grip slightly.

“You seem tired, hyung. Do you want to stay over? We can talk about Taeyong hyung tomorrow.” Jisung offers. Donghyuck sits up and shakes his head, then combs his hair back once with his fingers. He smiles drily.

“I live next door, Jisung, I won’t collapse on the way home. Thanks for the offer, though.” He ruffles Jisung’s hair before standing up slowly. Jisung stands up too to accompany him to the front door.

“I probably won’t be awake tomorrow morning, so I’ll stop by somewhere between noon and the evening.” Donghyuck says. He stares at Jisung for a short moment as if he wants to say something else, but he ducks his head. “Thanks again.”

Jisung listens to the sound of Donghyuck’s apartment door closing before he closes his own. He turns the lights off again and sighs.

“There’s no way I’ll be able to sleep so soon after what just happened.” He says to Yeol, and makes his way to the one clear window in his apartment, the one in his bedroom.

The blinders roll up with a sharp tug to reveal the night view of Neo City. He leans down on the windowsill, watching cars with glaring headlights speed over the road below. Neon signs of various bright colours light up the streets, and even some graffiti painted on the walls shine with a peculiar glow. This is why Neo City is sometimes nicknamed ‘Neon City’. The regular street lamps seem almost redundant compared to the vivid light shed by the signs, simply adding more shadows around the people on the sidewalk.

The stars can’t be seen due to light pollution from the city, and without them Jisung feels the darkness from in the apartment and the unnatural light from the city close in on him. He sinks down, curling in on himself until his knees touch his chest. He glances up at the window again, but there’s no sign of even a single star in the sky.

Yeol soundlessly lies down next to him, sharing his warmth with his owner. Jisung lets out a shaky breath.

“You know, Yeol, we’ve been here for almost two years, but I can’t get used to the fact that I can’t see the stars. Kibum hyung always told me I could look for the stars whenever I’m alone at night, but now they’re gone, and all I can think about is how I could disappoint Donghyuck hyung, how one day the landlord won’t like me anymore and let me stay here for cheap, how I can’t even move on with my life even after two years.”

The stars are gone, Kibum, Ten and Renjun are all gone. Jisung is alone. The air feels cold around him, isolating.

Jisung sniffs and wipes a stray tear from his face. “And now I’m feeling bad for myself- I shouldn’t, I should be thinking of ways to find Taeyong hyung while I can’t sleep.”

He leans down to burrow his face in Yeol’s shaggy fur. That’s one of the perks of having a Sapsali, it doesn’t only ward off evil spirits, it’s fluffy and warm, and that’s just what Jisung needs to ground him.

“At least you’re still here, Yeolie.”

He falls asleep with his weight on the dog.

———

Jisung wakes up with a humongous crick in his back.

He can’t help the guttural groan that escapes him as he stretches. Yeol doesn’t even bother lifting his head, just side-eyeing his owner as the latter hoists himself up with a little difficulty.

Sunlight shines through the window this time, and the city is almost unrecognisable now that all the vibrant, colourful lights have turned off until tonight.

Jisung enjoys the silence as he gets ready for the day. He stares at his dishevelled state in the mirror as he brushes his teeth, with his white-bleached hair sticking up in twenty different directions and a sleepy tear track on his left cheek. He puts on a different hoodie than the one he slept in and pulls on black skinny jeans. He’d rather look a little more presentable in front of Donghyuck instead of wearing his usual sweatpants.

He turns on the lone lightbulb dangerously hanging by a few wires in the middle of the living room. It sputters to life with a concerning humming noise, but Jisung ignores it. He prepares a small bowl of dry cereal for himself and pulls out a book to read, titled ‘Magic: The Spells Everybody Should Know!”

He’s finished his bowl of cereal and is halfway through a paragraph on lettuce-growing spells when his phone rings. Jisung doesn’t own a mobile phone, he uses the landline instead. Technology and magic don’t mix very well, so neither do technology and wizards. The more modern the technology, the higher the chance is that it malfunctions or simply bursts into flames when in contact with Jisung for too long. Hence the landline (and the dry cereal, since he doesn’t have a fridge). At least that means a much lower electricity bill at the end of the month.

The phone rings loudly, startling him, and he rushes to it, but he mentally prepares himself before picking up. Phone calls aren’t exactly his favourite thing in the world.

“Park Jisung speaking.”

A low, familiar voice speaks on the other end of the call.

“Jisung, it’s me, Jeno. I’ve got a case I need your help with.”

Jisung’s eyes widen and he curses his ears for becoming a little warm at the sound of the other’s voice. “Ah! Hyung! What happened?”

“I’ll tell you if you come over here,” Jeno replies, sounding grim. “It’s not looking good and we don’t have any other leads. Could you come as soon as possible?”

“Where can I find you, hyung?”

“Come to the entrance of the park in Neo Zone, I’ll come find you. You’ll probably see the police tape around the area anyway.”

“Alright, I’ll be there, hyung.” Jisung says, repeating the location in his head so as to not forget.

Jeno is silent for a moment.

“Cool. Bye, then.” He hangs up, not letting Jisung get another word in.

Jisung grumbles, setting down the phone and stalking through the house in search of his jacket. “I haven’t had a job in two weeks, and now suddenly everybody wants me and I can’t catch a break!” He complains to Yeol, who doesn’t respond, too busy eating his own food.

The young wizard grabs his staff from beside the front door, strapping it to his waist before leaving the apartment.

The streets are quiet at this time of day (he hadn’t bothered to check the exact time when he was still at home), and he stares at the ground as he walks, to avoid stepping on anything unsavoury. Neo Zone’s park is thankfully just a few blocks away from his apartment, and as Jeno had said, he quickly spots the yellow police tape surrounding the entrance to an alley near the park.

“Jisung! Over here!”

Jisung whirls around in search of the source of the voice, and spots Jeno standing at the entrance of the park. Jeno is shorter than Jisung, but bulkier. His face slightly contrasts that, with puppyish eyes and a mouth that curls up cutely at the sides. He’s in his police uniform, and part of Jisung swoons while the other wants to crush that part with a baseball bat.

They walk towards each other, and Jeno smiles, his eyes crinkling into endearing half-moons. Now both parts of Jisung are swooning and he’s barely holding himself together.

“Hyung, it’s good to see you.” He forces himself to say, thanking the universe for not making his voice crack at the sentence. Jeno ruffles his hair affectionately. People seem to love to do that to Jisung.

“It’s good to see you too, Jisungie. The situation isn’t so good, though. We’ve been assigned a case of a series of murders, and we found another body that’s possibly the newest addition.” Jeno jabbed his thumb back in the direction of the alley.

Jeno and his division work in Special Investigations, or SI, a unit created to deal with nearly inexplicable cases. Most of them were cold cases, some were freak accidents, and some were the doing of supernatural forces. Jeno, the determined new hire of SI, decided to employ the help of the only wizard openly practicing magic in Neo City. Jisung was always happy to help, since he received quite a generous pay, but he’d never been invited to a crime scene that hadn’t been swarming with people from the forensics team already.

“You called me real early, didn’t you hyung?” He asks as they duck under the police tape.

Jeno sighs. “Yeah, the moment I saw this case I knew something weird was up. Someone’s dead, but this would be the best opportunity for you to get a good look at everything before Forensics arrive. They’ll be here in a few minutes, so you’d best hurry.”

Another officer is waiting for them at the entrance of the alley. He’s even bulkier than Jeno, with a more serious face, but now that face is nearly split in half by a Cheshire grin.

“Well, if it isn’t Jeno’s favourite employee.” The man drawls, winking at Jisung. “Glad to have you back, Jisungie.”

Jisung tenses at the man’s familiarly intense stare. “Hi, Jaemin hyung.”

“The body is back there. Brace yourself.” Jeno says, and Jaemin steps aside to reveal a pale figure on the ground a little further away. Jisung gulps and takes a few steps forward. He gasps as he sees the body properly, and a warm hand holds him in place by his shoulder.

The corpse is pale, a few shades away from looking like a sheet of paper. Jisung can’t see its face from this angle, but he can see a pale hand that’s so shrivelled that he can practically trace every bone in it, every empty vein. The person is dressed quite neatly, in a suit that appears quite expensive.

Jisung steels himself to step closer, to look at the face, and a full-blown tremor wracks his body as he lays his eyes upon the corpse’s shrivelled visage. Features contorted in agony, mouth open in a silent scream, cheeks completely hollowed, eyes bulging out of their sockets. With skin horridly pale and its face slimmed to the bone, the corpse looks more like a skeleton than anything. Jisung forces himself to look, to process, and his eyes find two holes pierced in the dead man’s neck. One word immediately forms in his mind at the sight.

Vampires.

He blinks, stumbling back. Jeno might be saying something, but Jisung doesn’t hear it as he’s lost in thought.

It’s rare, but possible. Vampires usually don’t suck humans completely dry, instead, they keep their victims addicted to the feeding, creating their own blood farm to harvest from. It’s illogical for vampires to go berserk like this, but very few supernatural beings have the ability to suck a human completely dry. The two holes being put there as a setup is also an option, but a strange one. Humans wouldn’t have a reason to go to this extent just to blame it on a vampire, and from what Jisung knows, pretty much all supernatural creatures that are occasionally hostile towards humans aside from vampires have very different methods of killing and also have no reason to want to frame a vampire.

He paces around, subconsciously mumbling to himself until he startles out of his musings with a small squeak when Jeno grabs him by both shoulders to hold him still.

“Jisung. Tell me what you think.” Jeno urges softly.

Jisung glances at the body again, at the gruesome holes in the neck that have only the faintest traces of blood left. His mouth feels too damn dry to speak, but he tries anyway.

“I think a vampire killed him. It doesn’t make a lot of sense, but it makes the most sense out of all the other options.” He tells the officers, and Jaemin and Jeno exchange a glance that tells Jisung that they thought the same.

“Is there any way you can confirm it?” Jaemins asks. “We don’t want to go chasing after monsters if none of them is our killer.”

The wizard’s face blanches, and he stiffens. He hesitates before speaking again.

“There’s one way,” He says, taking a step back towards the corpse. “I need to sniff his neck.”

Jaemin splutters in surprise at the same time that Jeno says “Excuse me?”, but Jisung is already hovering over the corpse, trying not to touch anything.

A sweet, bordering on saccharine scent hits his nose, and he grimaces, reeling back. Too much of that and he’d start licking the bite wound. It’s not a personal thing, just a regular human reaction to vampire saliva. That’s how humans become addicted to feeding, due to the aphrodisiac-like substance that numbs all the senses, making room for artificial pleasure.

“That’s- this was a vampire, all right,” Jisung stammers, standing up straight. He stumbles a little, and Jeno pulls him closer to support him. “That smell has to be vampire saliva.”

“Are you alright? You look kinda… woozy.” Jaemin says, his voice laced with concern.

Jisung rubs his temples, trying to rid himself of the numb feeling in his head. “I’ll be okay.” He says, and he doesn’t notice himself slumping against Jeno as he recovers. The latter gently guides him out of the alley, Jaemin right behind them.

They’re just in time to see Forensics pull into the street. Jisung’s eyes widen in alarm.

“You have to tell everyone to wear something in front of their face, to dilute the effects of the saliva.” He urges, but all he gets in response is a firm pat on the arm from Jeno, whose arms are still slightly curled around the wizard’s shoulders.

“Woah, when did you get behind me?” Jisung asks him, genuinely surprised, and Jeno smiles at him.

“You’re so out of it.” Jeno huffs amusedly, and looks at Jaemin. “Jaem, can you handle things from here? I need to take this guy home.”

Jaemin gives him a thumbs-up, but Jisung half-heartedly wriggles in protest.

“No, I’m fine. Give me a minute or so.” He says, then flops his head back onto Jeno’s shoulder. A completely lucid Jisung would never do this, but he feels light-headed and particularly bold right now.

Jaemin lets out a loud snort before walking away. Jeno smiles even wider, and he walks Jisung to outside the area blocked off by police tape where they can sit on the edge of the sidewalk.

Once they’ve settled down, sitting side by side, Jeno pulls Jisung closer. The wizard’s instincts are to flinch and scoot far away, but he manages to stay put.

“I’ll need you to find out everything you can about the vampires in this city, okay?”

“Yeah, I can do that. No problem.” Jisung punctuates the last part with an awkward salute, and immediately regrets it, visibly cringing. Somebody calls Jeno’s name, and Jisung instantly misses the other’s warmth when he stands up.

“I have to go, call me when you know anything, all right? Or if you need anything.” Jeno says, ruffling the younger man’s hair one last time (seriously, is his hair that nice?) before walking back to the crime scene.

Jisung stares after him, expression sullen.

If you need anything, he repeats in his head.

“He means anything with the case, of course.” He tells himself.

The commotion of the investigation behind him fades as he walks away. He’s only been walking for a few minutes when a car door shuts loudly behind him. He whirls around to see a man in a suit wearing shades step out of a shiny black BMW. The windows of the car are tinted, so Jisung can’t see who’s inside.

“Park Jisung,” Suspicious Gangster Man begins, but the wizard isn’t having any of it. Seriously, an expensive car with tinted windows, and a mafia-lackey-looking man who knows Jisung’s name? Typical gang-related kidnapping happening right here, and this is not happening today, Jisung thinks.

“I don’t know you,” He squeaks, and abruptly turns around. “And I’m not talking to you. Bye.”

Then he makes a break for it, his head completely clear now.

“Wait! Park Jisung!” The man calls after him, and soon enough running footsteps sound behind him. The sound of a car starting echoes through the empty street.

Jisung runs as fast as his lanky legs can carry him, running on pure adrenaline and fear. Mostly fear. He hears the footsteps behind him grow closer, and he can’t help but let out a fearful yell as he runs (for his life, possibly). The BMW seems to be driving already, but doesn’t go fast enough to overtake him.

Another voice yells from behind him. “Mark, what the fuck are you doing? Get him already!”

“I’m trying, sir!” The man chasing Jisung pants. The car speeds up, just fast enough to drive next to Jisung. The window of the back seat nearest to the sidewalk is down, and another man wearing sunglasses peers at Jisung, a bored expression on his face. At least it looks bored, Jisung is a little too preoccupied to focus on the man too much.

“Jisung Park,” The man calls out, but Jisung doesn’t respond. “Dude, stop fucking running!”

The wizard looks away, eyes widening a fraction when he spots the street he has to go into to reach his apartment. He’s almost there! A sudden strength surges within him, spurring him on. The man in the car groans.

“Oh my god. Mark, come on.” He calls out plaintively.

Jisung whirls around the corner, and the guy behind him lets out a surprised yelp in surprise at the sudden change in direction. A different car passes by, going in the opposite direction, forcing the BMW to reverse to let it pass. Some angry words are exchanged behind him.

His apartment feels so close now, but it feels like he’s running for hours. He quickly jerks open the door of the complex before hurrying up the first flight of stairs. Hurried thudding sounds below him and his entire body tenses in panic. He scrambles to unlock his front door, quickly slips into his apartment and shuts the door. He slips the fragile and perhaps useless bolt of the door into place and slumps down against the door until he’s on the ground, panting heavily.

His body is still tense and his heart is beating in his throat. Yeol scampers to his side, head raised alertly. Dull, staggering footsteps sound behind the door.

“Park Jisung! Open up!” The suspicious pursuer wheezes. His voice is shrill and exhausted. Jisung has to admire his persistence.

“No!” Jisung yells back through the door. Yeol, as if sensing his excitement, lets out one loud bark to announce his presence.

Everyone seems to be trying to regain their breath for half a minute until another set of footsteps hits the floor in the hall outside. Someone walks calmly to the door and stops.

“I only want to talk, Jisung," The man who’d been inside the car says. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

Jisung scoffs. “I might’ve believed you if you’d said that before you started chasing me down an entire block.”

He stands up to peer through the peephole in the door. Only that man and his lackey are outside his apartment, but Jisung's instinct tells him that they’re armed with enough weapons hidden beneath their suits to make up for the lack of manpower. Paranoia eats at him, coming at him like a crawling sensation over his back, running over his shoulders and into the tips of his fingers.

“What do you want from me?”

The man in front smirks. If Jisung were any more relaxed he’d notice how stupid his face looks through the peephole’s fisheye lens.

“I just want to talk to you. Perhaps negotiate if necessary, but I won’t harm you in any way.” He lifts his hand up, whose image also warps through the lens of the peephole. “I swear."

Jisung glances back at Yeol, who seems mostly curious, not defensive. No particularly hostile energies in the area, then.

He takes a deep breath. Fuck it. He unbolts the door and opens it.

The man in front of him is shorter than he is, but most people are. Still, he exudes a sort of presence that makes Jisung want to shrink. It’s probably mostly due to the gangster getup.

The lackey who’d been running after Jisung steps forward to stand between Jisung and the other man. He looks exhausted and ruffled, and his lips are pursed together in an attempt to regain some seriousness.

The three of them stand in silence for a moment, and Jisung feels more anxious the longer they do so. Eventually the lackey lets out an awkward closed-mouthed cough.

“We’d like to come in.” He grunts. The man behind him stares blankly at Jisung, his smirk gone by now.

“O-oh. Come in, then.” Jisung says with a slight tremor in his voice. He steps aside to let the two men in, despite every fibre in his body telling him not to. He’s actually shaking a little bit.

Yeol doesn’t greet them in the same way he greeted Donghyuck last night, instead shooting them a dismissive glance before pattering away again.

The lackey stands beside the two-seater while the other man sits down immediately, folding his legs and leaning back a little as if he’s been coming here for years. He gestures at the little short wooden stool on the other side of Jisung’s equally miniature coffee table.

“I’d like you to sit down, Park.”

He has no right to order Jisung around like this. Dread weighs the wizard down as he sits down, eyes flitting nervously between his two guests.

“I’m Zhong Chenle, and this is my secretary, Mark.” The man on the couch, or Chenle, says. “You can look me up later, if you want.”

Chenle’s tone is haughty, emphasised by his raised chin and lazily tilted head. His expression turns into one of mild annoyance.

“I’ll keep this short. Shorter than the amount of time it took to sit you down.” He drawls, the edges of his lips downturned. He unfolds his legs and leans forward.

“That man you saw in the alley today is a good friend of mine, a business partner. I’ve noticed that over the past few weeks that a lot of my business partners have been dropping like flies,” He raises his eyebrows and stares into Jisung’s eyes over the rim of his shades. “That just can’t be a coincidence, can it?”

Jisung is only dimly aware of his knuckles whitening at how hard he’s clenching his fists.

“What does that have to do with me?” He asks. “Why go through all this effort to chase me down?”

Chenle clicks his tongue. “I was getting to that part! Let me finish.” He sighs before continuing.

“The police were getting bum-fuck nowhere with their investigations, but now you’re on the case. That changes things.”

He smirks again, casting a quick glance at his secretary. “I’ve heard from a credible source that you’re not lying about being a wizard. I know for sure that this case can’t be handled by the normal police force, but you could crack this case quickly.

“Which is why I needed to get to you as soon as possible. You might’ve been hired by the Special Investigations, but you’ll have to do me a little favour- keep as much information as you can from the police.”

Jisung scoffs. “Who do you think you are, telling me what to do? You don’t have anything to do with this case, and I don’t owe anything to you.”

Chenle sneers in response. “It has everything to do with me. The culprit is obviously making it clear that they have it out for me, and I’m not going to sit back and take it, which I’d be doing if I leave it in the hands of the police. They mess with my connections, they mess with me.”

“You- you seem to care an awful lot about these connections of yours,” Jisung frowns. “There’s something you’re not telling me.” His eyes widen in realization. “You’re doing illegal shit, aren’t you? That’s why you don’t want the police involved.”

Mark the secretary purses his lips even more, tensing, but Chenle only lets out a dismissive laugh.

“I guess that you knowing about it makes it easier to explain. I can handle things even if Special Investigations finds out, but prevention is better than the cure, as people always say.

“And you’re right, you don’t owe me anything. You’re also right about me caring an awful lot about my connections. I care so much I couldn’t help but make some in the police force.”

He stands up, tugging out the wrinkles in his suit as he continues to speak in his condescending drawl.

“If you tell Special Investigations anything about me, your friends can bid their jobs farewell. So keep your mouth shut.”

What?

Jisung blinks, the blood draining from his face.

“What? How am I supposed to work if I can’t tell the police anything?”

“You know what the culprit is. Do you really think the police could handle a vampire anyway? I know how to deal with vampire scum, so if you could just be nice and leave the police out of it, that would be best for everybody, trust me.”

His condescending tone makes Jisung’s blood boil. The wizard grits his teeth, glaring at Chenle with an uncharacteristic fierceness.

“You can go on all you want, but you can’t expect me to obey you.” He stands up too, fists shaking now from how hard they’re clenched. “I don’t give a rat's ass about what you think is best. You’re not that important. All I’m doing is finding out as much as I can about vampires, so the police will know how to handle them themselves. What I’m hired for has nothing to do with you, so you’ve wasted your time.”

He points his hand at the door. “I think it’s best that you leave.”

His staff is still strapped to his waist, and he spots the secretary warily glance at it through his shades.

Chenle’s face contorts in anger and he opens his mouth to say something, but a knock on the door interrupts him. Without hesitation Jisung briskly walks past the two men to open the door. Donghyuck is on the other side, looking fresher than he did last night. He peeks curiously past Jisung at the two men in suits and sunglasses, looking very out of place in the messy apartment.

“Am I interrupting something?” He asks sweetly, but there’s a tension in his face that betrays his suspicion.

Chenle scoffs, and walks to the door. Mark follows close behind him. “I was just about to leave, actually.”

He turns his head to look at Jisung, his expression blank. “Since you’re involved in this case, know that we’ll meet again. I just hope that our next meeting won’t be under… unfortunate circumstances. You’d best keep my previous words in mind, even if you don’t plan to do anything with them now.”

He struts past Jisung and Donghyuck, waving his hand. “Goodbye now.”

Jisung watches him and Mark walk down the hall and turn to disappear down the stairs.

Donghyuck lets out a loud breath. “Who was that?”

A strange and horrible feeling curls in the pit of Jisung’s stomach as he struggles to process everything that just happened.

“Just some guy who came to threaten me,” He says. “Don’t worry, it’s not that big of a deal.”

“If you tell Special Investigations anything about me, your friends can bid their jobs farewell.”

He knows he shouldn’t let those words affect him.

What if letting Jeno know so much about the world of the supernatural would put him in danger?

Jisung doesn’t want that to happen. Something in the back of his mind identifies the feeling in his stomach. It's not simple dread or fear.

It’s helplessness.

He hates it.

Chapter Text

Twelve-year-old Jisung is outside Ten’s bedroom door, eyes tracing over the deep ridges in the wood.

“Hyung, are you okay?”

He’s met with silence for a moment.

“Not really.” Comes the muffled reply. Jisung frowns and quietly opens the bedroom door. Ten is lying flat out on his bed, face buried in his pillow. Jisung closes the door behind him and walks to sit by his oldest brother’s side.

“What happened, hyung?”

Ten grunts and sits up. He’s forced his expression to be blank, but there’s a trace of hurt in his eyes. “Just… shit, you know.”

Jisung doubts that Ten remembers that he’s not supposed to swear. He must be really upset, then.

“Did somebody hurt you?” He asks, scooting a little closer up the bed, but not touching his brother. Ten doesn’t like to be touched, he remembers.

“Yeah, they did,” Ten says, his voice hoarse. He takes a deep breath, seemingly considering something before he looks at Jisung. “I hate caring about people. I hate caring more about people than they care about me. It hurts and it sucks.”

His voice breaks at the end, and his face crumples as his eyes start to brim with tears. He ducks his head, taking another shaky breath.

“I thought that now that I’m a bit older, I’d be done with needing other people, but I’m not. I still feel hurt when they treat me differently, single me out, call me a monster.”

He curls further in on himself. Sadness washes over Jisung at the sight. “What about your friends from the town, hyung?”

Ten inhales with a shudder. “They’re the ones who called me a monster. They said it was a joke afterwards.”

Jisung’s mouth drops open.  “Wha- that’s so mean!”

He moves until there’s only a hair’s width of space between them. “I know you’re not a monster. Renjun hyung and Kibum hyung know it too. You’re amazing and I love you very much, you’re the best hyung I could ever ask for.”

Ten lets out a watery laugh. “Yeah, thanks. I love you too.”

He lies down again, turning his back to Jisung. It’s obvious that he wants the conversation to be over, so the younger boy takes it as his cue to leave. He shuts the door behind him.

Three days later, he opens the door again to see the wall stripped of posters, every personal item vanished. Ten has run away from home.

He doesn’t come back.

———

“You don’t look okay to me, Jisungie,” Donghyuck says. “I can come back some other time if you’d like.”

Jisung shakes his head, trying to clear his thoughts. “I’m alright, hyung.”

They’re next to each other on the two-seater again, like last night. Jisung has tucked himself neatly into one corner, and Donghyuck has nearly tucked himself against Jisung’s side. It’s odd, being this close to someone he hasn’t interacted with often, but Jisung finds that he doesn’t mind.

“Where was the last place that Taeyong went to?”

Donghyuck answers like he’d prepared his responses beforehand. He might’ve, Jisung thinks. “He went alone to meet a friend of his at a bar on Resonance Street; I checked with the bartender whose shift it was at the time and according to him Taeyong never showed up.”

Jisung frowns slightly. “Resonance Street, where is that?”

“That neighbourhood, uhh, Neo Zone, that’s what it’s called.”

Alarm bells ring in his head. “Neo Zone? That’s-“

That’s where someone was murdered yesterday.

Donghyuck tilts his head, clueless. “That’s what?”

Jisung stands up, picking up a notebook and a pen. “Never mind. Do you know the name of his friend?” He asks as he jots down a few things.

“Jungwoo. Not sure about his surname, though. Something common, like Choi or something.”

“Have you met him before?”

“Once, he was waiting outside the apartment for Taeyong when they went out together one night.”

So he never entered the residence.

“Was Taeyong distracted or exhausted before he disappeared?”

Donghyuck blinks, surprised. His eyes become unfocused as he thinks back. “He was, actually. Kept forgetting things, not paying attention to what I was saying sometimes.”

Jisung nods, trying to keep his expression neutral as he writes the words down. Cool, cool, cool, that could just be a complete coincidence, he tells himself, even though his brain is signalling that there’s an obvious red flag waving right in his face. “Was he excited to go out?”

“Yeah, just happy, I guess. He likes to party,” Donghyuck frowns as he looks at Jisung. “Did you think of something?”

“It’s just a hunch right now. I don’t want to worry you.”

Donghyuck scoffs good-naturedly. “You expect me to not be worried after hearing that?”

Jisung’s cheeks redden slightly, but he otherwise ignores the other’s words. “Can you give me a brief description of what Taeyong hyung looked like that night? I’ll ask around in my circle in case anyone has seen him.”

His neighbour hums in thought. “You know roughly what he looks like in general. He coloured his hair back to black a while ago, in case you didn’t see him after that. I think he was wearing a black leather jacket and ripped skinny jeans he stole from me, and he had the whole smoky eye makeup look. Don’t remember much else of importance, I think.”

The young wizard steels himself before asking his next question.

“His neck was exposed, right?”

Multiple emotions flash in Donghyuck’s expression, bewilderment, suspicion, caution. “Yeah, why do you ask?”

Jisung presses his lips together. Should he be telling Donghyuck this? What if his hunch is wrong?

“Just checking all my options,” He says. “Gotta be open to all possibilities.”

“And one of those possibilities is that he was killed by a vampire?” Donghyuck jokes, but Jisung keeps his lips pressed together in a grim expression, not wanting to lie and deny it.

“Park Jisung!” Donghyuck exclaims. “You’re not serious, are you?”

“I am.” Jisung considers telling the other about the vampire killings but decides against it. Donghyuck is freaked out enough as it is.

The older man’s expression morphs into one of disbelief, but he calms himself down and looks away. “Alright. You say you’re a wizard. Of course you’d believe in vampires. I knew it’d be a little insane to hire you, but I trust your skills.”

“My skills?”

“I wouldn’t have approached you just because of that insane ad, Jisungie. I saw that ad ages ago, but there was a blog post online praising the hell out of you. Some other people, old clients of yours, were all over the comment section saying good things about you.”

Jisung splutters in surprise. “A-about me? Really? Wow.” He trails off in a breath of awe. “I don’t use the internet, so I never knew.”

Donghyuck laughs. “I kind of figured from the old-ass phone you have. So, because you’re a witch you have to live like you’re in medieval times? Do you use the toilet or do you have a chamberpot under your bed?” He jokes, the twinkle in his eyes telling Jisung that it’s all in good nature.

He’s not really calling him crazy. It still irks Jisung a little bit. Something defensive bubbles up in him and he pouts. “I’m really not faking it, you know.”

Donghyuck blinks, eyes wide and surprised. “Okay, I didn’t say you were.” He says reassuringly.

Still, Jisung doesn’t believe that he fully understands. He pouts harder. Donghyuck changes the topic.

“Is there anything else you want to ask me? I don’t think I have any other useful information for you, to be honest.” He says, standing up and unnecessarily patting down his jeans.

He winks at Jisung. “I’ll take you out to eat sometime, okay? If there’s anything let me know, I’m right next door after all.”

Jisung isn’t listening. “So you believe that I’ll get the job done but that I’m lying about my methods? That’s a weird logic.”

Donghyuck halts in his movements. He looks slightly sheepish. “Well, I’ve met crazier people before, and they were also nice. I’m not quite sure what being a wizard means to you exactly, so I don’t really think about it too hard. You believe what you want to believe, man. I won’t judge you.”

Jisung thinks that’s the stupidest thing he’s ever heard. Donghyuck’s answer prompts him to act out on an urge that’s been bugging him since the moment the conversation went in this direction. He takes his staff from his waist and spins it around his fingers with finesse that he knows would impress anyone. Then he grasps it properly in his hand, points it at his desk and speaks the first spell he’d ever learnt.

“Rem purgo.”

The items on his desk move as if guided by an invisible hand, drawers open to let some things slip into them and papers stack themselves neatly on top of each other.

When everything stops moving, Jisung has a pleased little smirk on his face and spins the staff in his fingers again. When he looks at Donghyuck, his neighbour is staring at the desk, lips parted and eyebrows raised. His eyes flit to Jisung, then back to the desk, and the movement repeats for half a minute.

He looks at Jisung again and bursts out laughing.

“You’re so cute,” He says, still giggling. “That fucking blew my mind away and I’ll never be the same again, but you’re so cute.”

He walks closer to Jisung and pinches both his cheeks. The latter lets out an indignant squawk and fumbles to get free from his clutches. Donghyuck lets him go, a wide grin on his face. Jisung gapes at him, perplexed.

“Aren’t you shocked?”

Donghyuck nods, a nonchalant expression on his face. “Yeah, I am. I’m just distracting myself from reality by focusing on your smug little mug. So cute, Jisungie.”

He grins again cheekily. Then he inhales deeply and looks back at the neat desk, and an expression of awe takes over his face.

“God, I still can’t believe it.” He breathes out with a minuscule shudder as he processes what he just witnessed.

He looks at Jisung, something between caution and dread in his eyes. “So it really is possible that Taeyong was taken by a vampire?”

Jisung bites his lip. “I have my suspicions that Taeyong was becoming addicted to being fed on by vampires. Things like that can lead to multiple bad situations, but it could still be that his disappearance is unrelated to what he was planning to do and with whom he was doing it that night.”

Donghyuck leans back on the arm of the two-seater, one hand on his cheek, fingers spread to cover half of his face. “Oh god. It’s just a suspicion, right?”

“Yeah. I’ll look into it and let you know if I find something.”

They’re both silent for a while. Jisung’s eyes flit around the room as he awkwardly waits for the other to say something. He spots Yeol’s tail sticking out from behind the couch, the dog is sound asleep.

Donghyuck sighs and stands up straight. He looks the young wizard in the eyes and shoots him a weak smile. “Thanks for hearing me out Jisungie. Your magic thing was pretty cool, and also reality-shattering, and I think I’m gonna head home.”

He then surprises the younger by pulling him into a hug, hiding his face in Jisung’s shoulder. They stay like that for a few seconds. Donghyuck pulls away before Jisung can bring himself to hug back.

“See you around, Jisungie.” He says as he goes through the front door, winking at the younger before leaving.

Jisung watches him unlock his own door. “Bye, hyung.”

———

If there’s one place in Neo City to gain information on vampires for sure, it's The Final Round, a pub run by someone named Jung Jaehyun. Jisung isn’t sure what species Jaehyun is, but he’s always nice to Jisung, so in the end it doesn’t really matter to the wizard.

The special thing about The Final Round is that it primarily serves practitioners of the magic arts, and sometimes even non-humans come to visit, as the pub is viewed as a neutral ground for the supernatural. There’s bound to be somebody there who knows about some vampire-related happenings in the city or can at least give Jisung some advice for dealing with them.

Jisung waits for a few hours for the pub to open and for the first customers to arrive before he sets off for The Final Round. The pub is in the basement of the building, so Jisung takes the stairs from outside down to the entrance. He opens the heavy wooden door into the pub and is met with the usual unusual layout.

Thirteen dark wooden pillars hold the ceiling up, although Jisung doesn’t know whether that’s true or if they’re just there for show. Intricate patterns and figures have been carved into the wood. Thirteen tables are scattered in the areas between the pillars. The bar has thirteen stools, and the walls are decorated with thirteen square, old-looking tapestries, with images of creatures with botched anatomy sewn into the fabric.

The strange setup is to dispel energies surrounding the practitioners of magic that visit, that they’re usually completely unaware of creating. This way there won’t be any accidental violent clashing of energies in the pub. Jisung has never quite understood how it worked, but he’s also never stayed with many wizards in a normal room before, so he takes Jaehyun’s word for it.

A man with a shock of vibrant pink hair is sitting at the bar, talking animatedly to the bartender, who’s just nodding along with a vague smile. Jisung walks to the bar to take a seat next to the pink-haired man. The latter turns to him and his eyes glint in recognition.

“Jisung! It’s great to see you!” He says loudly, clapping the wizard on the back once in greeting.

Jisung bows his head shyly. “Hendery hyung,” He glances at the bartender. “And Jaehyun hyung, it’s nice to see you guys.”

Jaehyun smiles back. He radiates energy that makes Jisung feel at home, comfortable. “Good to see you again, Jisungie. Would you like something to drink?”

“The usual, please.”

As the pub manager leaves to prepare Jisung’s drink, Hendery turns to Jisung, his smile ever-present. His smile is enchanting, and Jisung doesn’t know whether it’s because it’s just that nice or the man’s fae genes are working their magic.

“So, what brings you here today? Missed me that much?” Hendery teases, and Jisung can’t help but smile.

“Of course, hyung- but I was also planning on getting some information today.”

“This is definitely the place to go to if you want information.” Jaehyun says as he sets down Jisung’s drink, a simple glass of ice cold lemonade, no lemon slice since Jisung doesn’t like his drink too sour.

“What do you want to know about?” Hendery asks as he watches Jisung take a sip from his lemonade.

“I’m working on a vampire-related case.”

“Oh! You mean the killings in Neo Zone?”

Jisung’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise. “You know about that?”

Hendery nods. “Of course! A friend of mine actually witnessed one of the attacks and told me about it.”

“Who? Do you think that they’d be okay with me asking them some questions?”

“I’ve told you about Yangyang, the fairy. He forgets things within, like, two days. I don’t think he’d be of much help.”

Jisung frowns. He knows that Hendery isn’t exaggerating, fairies have a notoriously bad memory. So he’s quickly reached one dead end. Time to rewind.

“Do you know any vampires I could talk to? I don’t know whether there was a group behind these killings or one person. I don’t really know why a vampire would go so far as to kill someone either.” He subconsciously presses his lips together in thought.

Jaehyun, who’s been listening the entire time, speaks up. “You know, there’s a vampire in the corner over there.” He points at a figure sitting alone at a table in the far corner, away from the bar. Jisung focuses on the energies present in the pub and feels a cold aura from the person there. He’s never met one before, but he’s sure that they’re a vampire.

Jisung glances nervously between Hendery and Jaehyun. “Should I go and talk to her?”

“Yeah! Do it, good luck man.” Hendery exclaims, shooting him a supportive thumbs up.

Jaehyun simply shoves Jisung’s lemonade closer to the edge. “Don’t forget your drink.”

Now armed with one lemonade, Jisung walks over to the vampire’s table. She’s pretty, as somehow all vampires are, and she watches him cautiously as he approaches her. She has a book laid out on the table in front of her, not a drink in sight. Makes sense, Jisung thinks dimly. Since she’s a vampire and all.

He stops to stand next to her, and she stares him straight in the eye, raising an eyebrow.

“Can I help you?” She asks. It’s subtle, but Jisung can tell from her posture that she’s on guard.

He nods and bows slightly. “My name is Park Jisung, and I’d like to ask you some questions.”

Her expression doesn’t shift. “About what?”

“A-about the vampire killings in Neo Zone. I don’t know much about vampires, so I thought speaking to one could give me a rough idea of where to start with my investigation.” As he speaks, his urge to shrink back nervously grows.

The woman smiles slightly. Her eyes don’t quite look friendly, but she’s less on guard than before. “I’ve heard about that case. Ask away.”

She leans back and glances from Jisung to the empty seat in front of her, and he scrambles to sit down. His lemonade splashes haphazardly against the rim of his glass when he sets it down a little too roughly.

“I’m Kim Yerim. Lone vampire.” She introduces herself, tilting her head up in a greeting of sorts. “Let me try and make things easier for you- vampires almost always belong to a coven. This city is home to only one coven, and that’s Vision.”

Jisung leans forward, curious. “You don’t belong to Vision? What are covens even for?”

Yerim smiles scornfully. “Covens are basically a way to keep vampires organised. Our traditional way of existence is keeping out of the eye of the public, so covens create blood farms, a group of humans addicted to the feeding that keep giving blood until the quality diminishes, usually with age. Feeding on people outside the farm is allowed, but ill-advised. I hate the way Vision runs their farm, so I never bothered to join. I have a connection in a local blood bank, so I’m managing.”

“Wow… that’s very cool of you.” Jisung says, not really knowing how to verbalise what he wants to say properly.

Yerim’s smile turns sweeter. “Thanks. So what I’m saying is that the killer you’re looking for is probably in Vision. Probably not by someone too high up in the ranks, since most of the people in those positions have been alive for centuries and don’t like doing something as barbaric as that. I guess it’s good that they think it’s beneath them.”

“Hmm. There’s a possibility that the killer isn’t part of Vision, right? Is that more unlikely than the vampire being from the coven?”

The vampire twirls a strand of hair around her finger absentmindedly. “Personally, I wouldn’t want to do anything too out of line, since the coven likes to keep tabs on lone vampires. The coven’s priority is to stay as invisible to humans as possible, and that all goes to shit if a lone vampire decides to start a vampire-supremacist revolution or something.”

“If the coven finds that so important, why is it more likely that the killer is from Vision?”

“Aha! Good question.” Yerim praises him, and Jisung feels his cheeks redden and he smiles sheepishly.

“Of course, this is all speculation, but there’s no way that the victims aren’t connected in some way.”

Chenle’s connections, Jisung thinks.

“The coven leader is in the hotel business, he can’t afford the blood farm otherwise. It’s possible that the victims are related to an enemy of his. That’s the only reason I can think of why the coven would be ready to get so nasty- obviously what the coven is being threatened with is more important than keeping their identities hidden.”

Jisung sighs. So no matter who’s doing it, they obviously have a more ambiguous motive than just bloodthirst.

“And you’re sure there’s no other coven in Neo City?”

Something glints in Yerim’s eyes. “Not yet, at least. I think that most of us loners are waiting for a leader with a more humane motivation to show up. The others are just people who don’t like being around others in general. I’d have known if there was another coven, the tension would skyrocket in the vampire world.”

“Alright. Where can I find the leader of Vision?”

“Huh?” Yerim asks, stunned. She catches herself gaping and her mouth shuts with a sharp clack. The way she looks at Jisung changes, with a mixture of disbelief, apprehension and amusement. “You want to speak to the leader? What’s that going to accomplish?”

Jisung shrugs, looking away from the vampire’s intense stare. “I can confirm whether the culprit is really in Vision. If the coven leader is behind it, he’d try to kill me, and if he isn’t behind it but suspects a culprit, we can catch the killer together. If I can’t find anything, I’ll just have to look for the lone vampires.”

Yerim sighs, her expression grim. “Let’s hope it doesn’t get to that point. Not all lone vamps are as nice to humans as I am, you know. And speaking of being nice to humans, what makes you think that the leader of Vision will be willing to speak with you?”

“I’ll just have to try.” Jisung says without hesitation.

“You’re insane.”

The wizard shrugs, not feeling particularly crazy. It’s a risk, but he thinks it’s necessary. What else can he do if not ask vampires directly?

“Where can I find the leader of Vision?”

The vampire looks away with a disbelieving scoff. “His name is Dong Sicheng. He’s a centuries-old vampire that settled in Neo City.   His coven lurks in the Phantom Hotel, a building that their leader owns. Is there anything I can say that can convince you to not go except for that near imminent death is waiting for you in that building?”

“Where is Phantom Hotel? Neo Zone as well?”

A growl of tired frustration escapes the woman. “Yeah. Neo Zone.”

Jisung nods. A lot of interesting things happen in Neo Zone, huh. “Thanks, Yerim noona. This really helped!”

He gulps down his lemonade and stands up, bowing again. He can feel the vampire’s eyes follow him as he walks back to the bar. Hendery has moved to chat with a few other people at a different table, but Jaehyun is still there, hand outstretched to take Jisung’s empty glass.

“So, anything useful?” The pub manager asks as Jisung leans on the bar counter.

“Yeah, actually. I think I’ll be going to visit the leader of a vampire coven tonight.” Jisung says brightly.

Jaehyun doesn’t flinch, just continues cleaning up things behind the counter. “That’s incredibly stupid.”

Jisung frowns slightly. “It’s dangerous, but I need to have a clear picture of where to investigate.”

“It’s stupid because it’s dangerous, Jisung. You’re a young, not too experienced wizard, against an entire coven of old, much more experienced vampires who prey on humans like you.” Jaehyun says when he finally looks the younger man in the eye, his expression concerned.

The wizard deflates, but his expression is still determined. Jaehyun sighs as he puts a glass he was cleaning somewhere behind the counter. “I can’t help you with this, but I can say that the drink was on the house.”

Jisung’s head shoots up. “Hyung! I’ve gotten so many drinks from you, you don’t need to do this again.” He whines.

Jaehyun gives him a blank look. “Pay me back by coming back alive, then.”

Jisung nods frantically. “I will!” He stands up, sending a small wave to the older man before heading towards the exit. “See you next time, hyung!”

———

The Phantom Hotel building is massive, like the stereotypical Neo City building. An obnoxious, bright red sign of the logo is plastered onto one side of the building. Light shines from some of the many windows, but the most light comes through the glass at the hotel’s entrance. Glass walls are placed next to the revolving door as if to let passersby have a glimpse into the luxury that the hotel has to offer. Just looking at the dark red and gold theme of the inside of the hotel has Jisung feeling very, very poor.

He prays that the revolving doors don’t malfunction as he walks through them, and breathes out a soft exhale of relief when he goes through safely. That’s when he realises that he’s overlooked something.

“Where the hell do I go now?” He asks himself, scanning his surroundings, fists clenched nervously. He decides to think of a plan while sitting down, so he takes a seat in the lobby on a stool that’s probably worth four times his life savings.

He waits for about ten minutes, pretending not to notice the girl at the reception giving him the stink-eye. Then he feels a familiar energy, like the one he felt radiating from Yerim. Cold, devoid of life. He glances around in search of the source and spots four quite good-looking people walking through the revolving doors.

Aside from the honestly crazy face cards these people have, their aura is enough to tip Jisung off that they’re vampires. He watches them go through down a hallway left of the entrance. He waits for a moment before standing up to follow them. He walks slowly, trying to be subtle in his pursuit.

They wind through corridors, and it feels like they’ve been walking forever until they stop at a red double door. The one walking in front turns around to see if the coast is clear.

Well, Jisung didn’t think of that happening.

Vampire Number One blinks dubiously as he stares at Jisung, who’s standing in the middle of the hallway, not too far behind them. The other vampires turn to look at what Number One is looking at, and they all freeze.

Jisung wishes the ground would swallow him up right about now. Sadly, the ground is unsympathetic and remains unmoving, and Jisung becomes more aware of the four sets of inhuman eyes on him the longer he stands here.

“Uhm, hi.” He says. Number Two and Three narrow their eyes, while One and Four still look confused.

“Vampires, right?”

Immediately the vampires’ demeanours shift, and they all look at him in alarm and extreme suspicion. Jisung grimaces. Good lord, he sucks at starting conversations.

“I’d… uhm. Like to speak with your boss. You know, Dong Sicheng. I dunno much else about him, but I heard he and the rest of the coven usually gather here.” Jisung rambles on, becoming more and more nervous. He’s totally going to die here, right now.

For some reason, the vampires don’t seem to mind his lack of decorum, as they all stiffen again, with their eyes on something behind him.

“Oh? A young human wants to speak with me?” A voice, deep and smooth like honey, asks, right next to his ear. Jisung flinches away from the cold breath against his ear and turns enough to look at the best-looking person he’s seen all night, which is a high standard. The man has soft, short brown hair, brown doe eyes and full lips. He’s dressed in a simple black turtleneck, with a purple scarf slung casually over his shoulders.

The thing that Jisung focuses on, however, is that he couldn’t immediately sense the man’s aura a few seconds ago, even now with the man standing right next to him. There’s no doubt that he’s a vampire, but there’s no cold, unsettling energy surrounding him. There’s nothing.

The man smiles a smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes and looks at the four vampires still at the door, who are all bent in a ninety-degree bow.

“Alright then, I’m rather busy, so we’d best hurry. Come along, boy.” The man, presumably Sicheng, says. Scratch that, certainly Sicheng, from the way the other vampires scrambled to bow to him and the sheer authority the man exudes. Vampires Number One and Two quickly open the double doors, and Sicheng walks through the door, not glancing back once. Jisung quickly trails after him, only half comprehending what the hell is going on.

The doors open into another dark hallway, and Jisung feels the floor slowly slope downwards. The air becomes colder the further they go, and suddenly the hallway is flooded with light when doors ahead of them open. He blinks as he adjusts to the light and can’t help but stare at the scene around him. It’s like a library, tall and long shelves lined up perpendicular to the walls. A fancy glass chandelier hangs from the ceiling and the wizard wonders how far down they’ve ended up for the ceiling to be able to be this high.

He glances behind him and sees the four vampires split off from them to go through a door between two bookshelves.

“Where does that go?” He asks, forgetting who he’s talking to.

“Hmm?” Sicheng hums and he glances at the door. “Ah, the blood farm. I guess they were hungry.”

Jisung stays silent for the rest of the walk. Sicheng leads him through into an open office, with a desk in the middle, a chair behind it and a chair in front for visitors. Maps, news articles and pictures of unfamiliar faces are hung on the walls without an apparent system. Aside from that slight chaos, the office looks just as neat and expensive as the hotel, with clean red carpeting and pristine white walls.

Sicheng drops himself onto the chair behind the desk and the momentum spins him around once. He gestures at the chair opposite him for Jisung to take a seat.

“I never expected to speak to you, wizard. It’s not every day that someone is bold enough to speak to the leader of a coven.” Sicheng says as he grabs a pen to twirl lazily around his fingers.

“You know I’m a wizard?”

The vampire scoffs. “Please, you have ads everywhere and unlike you, I actually use the internet. I need to be up to date on as much as possible to keep my coven and business running.”

Jisung shifts awkwardly in his seat. Here goes nothing, he thinks to himself. “Then I guess you’ve heard of the murders in Neo Zone?”

Sicheng’s eyes narrow. “I have,” he answers as he leans back in his seat. “Some believe that there’s a vampire out in the city committing these murders. I guarantee that nobody from Vision has anything to do with it.”

“I heard that Vision tends to keep tabs on rogue vampires. Do you think one of them may have done it?”

“Honestly, no. I’ve found a link between all the victims and it doesn’t have anything to do with vampires,” Sicheng smiles, and it catches Jisung off-guard. “They’re all friends of a pest named Zhong Chenle.”

Jisung’s eyes widen. “You know him?”

The vampire’s smile morphs into a near-sneer. “Unfortunately.”

He puts his pen down with a little too much force to not have any emotions behind the action. “Did you know that I’ve owned every single hotel in Neo City for the past sixty years?”

“Uhm, no, sir.” The title slips out of Jisung’s mouth naturally when he’s reminded of the other’s age.

“Now Zhong is trying to get into the hotel business as well, even though the brat has reach in the entertainment and retail industries. I can’t have rivals, I need to feed my coven.” He spits, and Jisung swears that the brown in his eyes has turned into something brighter, something reddish.

“When I met him face to face and told him he should give up on trying to enter the industry because he’d fail miserably, he blew a fuse and declared that he wouldn’t give up no matter what. He’s a petulant man-child who just can’t be satisfied with what he has.” Sicheng glares at the wall, seething.

Jisung hesitates before speaking. “Chenle did approach me when I was put on the case, he knew that there were vampires involved.”

Sicheng scoffs, looking the wizard in the eye again. “Do you think a human would be capable of this kind of massacre?”

It’s not a rhetorical question. Jisung pauses, thinking. “People do a lot when they’re desperate. Are you suggesting that Chenle made someone kill these people?”

“You catch on quick. I thought you were rather dense when I met you in the hallway, but it appears I’ve underestimated you. All Chenle needs is a reason to get rid of me. Knowing him, he’ll try to deal with the coven himself after making even himself believe that we’re behind the murders.”

I know how to deal with vampire scum, Chenle had said. Something doesn’t sit right with Jisung. “Don’t you think that’s a little far-fetched? He told me he knew how to deal with vampires, so I don’t think he’d drag the fight out like this.”

Sicheng’s expression becomes cold. “What did he say?”

Jisung stiffens. “Uhh.”

The vampire’s face contorts in rage and he stands up from his chair, slamming his hands on the desk. “That snot-nosed ape.” He snarls. His eyes are definitely red now. “If he thinks he can say that without any consequence, then he has another thing coming.”

“H-hang on! Right now, the two of you are in the same position! Chenle is just as defensive as you are. I’m sure he said that because he thought you were attacking his people.”

Chenle thinks that vampires did it. Most likely Sicheng. Sicheng claims that nobody from his coven has anything to do with it and believes that Chenle is trying to set him up, although that theory seems highly unlikely.

“The person who benefits most from the situation is the perpetrator,” Jisung begins. “If the coven has nothing to do with it, then that means that someone else is behind it.”

Sicheng is silent for a moment, then sits back down. His face shifts back into his perfect human façade as he calms down. “I wouldn’t know who’d benefit from a conflict like this.”

An unfamiliar voice interrupts their conversation. “Sir, you have an appointment with V Food Group in the office upstairs.”

Jisung and Sicheng look up to see a pretty male vampire standing outside the office, head bowed slightly.

“Ah, yes. Thank you, Jungwoo,” Sicheng says as he stands up. He smiles at Jisung, and the smile is almost genuine. “I thank you too, wizard Park, for not only consulting me instead of assuming things unlike someone, but also for letting me see some reason.”

He struts out of the office. The other vampire waits for a few seconds, still with his head bowed, before turning around to follow the coven’s leader. Jisung jumps up from his seat, scrambling to catch up.

“Hang on- Jungwoo?” He asks the vampire. The latter turns around curiously.

“That’s me.” His voice is soft and velvety. He looks rather friendly, but the unmistakable chilling aura of a vampire hangs around him.

“Do you… know somebody named Lee Taeyong?”

Perhaps he’s imagining things, but the friendly smile on the vampire’s face fades slightly and his eyes widen a fraction. Jungwoo glances at his leader, who’s stopped walking and has his head tilted to one side, waiting and listening.

He shakes his head. “I don’t know who that is.” Then he speeds up his pace to walk closer to Sicheng. Jisung watches him go, then follows the two vampires back out of the basement.

He doesn’t know what time it is, but the neon signs in the city are as bright as ever when he steps out of the hotel. He smiles to himself.

“See, that wasn’t so bad! No conflicts, and lots of information.” He tells himself, and he finds himself walking home with a spring in his step.

He’s at the edge of Neo Zone, a few blocks away from his apartment when a voice calls out to him.

“Hey! Wizard!”

He turns around, searching for the caller, then spots Jungwoo, the vampire from before, a distance away, not close enough for Jisung to sense his energy.

“Could you follow me? I wasn’t comfortable talking back there, so let’s go somewhere private.” He says, that same alluring smile on his face.

Excited by the idea of information about Taeyong, Jisung follows the vampire into an alley. The vampire stops, his figure half concealed by the shadows.

“So, you were with Taeyong when he disappeared?” Jisung asks, stopping a safe distance away.

“Yeah, I was. We’d had a feeding arrangement for maybe a little over a month.” Jungwoo confesses.

“What happened on that last night?”

Jungwoo doesn’t move. It’s almost like he’s a still image. Then he speaks. “I killed him.”

There’s an almost sad expression in his eyes. “I lost control, and I left him in that alley to die. I can’t have anybody know about this.”

Then his expression shifts, a predatory glint in his eyes. “Which is why I have to kill you too.”

Jisung pales, and he feels weak in the knees. Jungwoo is too close for him to run away, so he grasps his staff at his waist and prepares to fight.

“You- you killed him?” Jisung says, his heart sinking.

Jungwoo takes a single step forward. His irises are bright red, but the serene smile on his face remains. “I was a little too hungry that day, I guess,” is all the warning the wizard gets before the vampire lunges.

Jisung steps to the side and holds out his staff. “Incutio!”

Jungwoo’s body slams against the wall, and he lets out a wheeze of pain. He hoists himself up, but Jisung doesn’t let him recover.

“Voco spiritum.” He mutters, and a gust of wind sends the vampire further down the alley. Jisung takes the chance to run out of the alley, but an inhuman growl behind him makes him freeze in his tracks. He watches, entranced as the wounds on the vampire’s body heal, leaving only faint traces of blood on the skin. A vein bulges in the man’s neck, and his fangs are bared, no doubt dripping with narcotic saliva.

“What’s going on here?” Someone asks behind Jisung. He whirls around to be faced with Jeno, in his uniform, glowering like Jisung has never seen before.

He turns again to see Jungwoo grit his teeth, then leap up against the wall of the alley, clambering up the building in a quick escape. Jisung can hear Jeno shouting and drawing his gun, but the vampire is gone.

They stand still in shock, Jisung's chest heaving. A hand comes to grasp Jisung’s shoulder and he flinches.

“Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?” Jeno asks, his voice incredibly worried.

“I’m fine. I just want to get home.” Jisung says, letting himself relax in the other man’s hold. He can’t seem to process anything properly. Jungwoo’s confession doesn’t feel real. Taeyong isn’t dead.

Jeno’s mouth presses into a thin line. “Alright. I’ll walk you there.”

Jisung doesn’t object and lets himself enjoy Jeno’s arm that’s curled protectively around his shoulder.

“What were you doing here, anyway?” He asks the police officer in an attempt to ignore the thoughts screaming in his mind.

“I decided to patrol the area a little, half in case there were any more attacks and half to make everyone aware that the police are keeping an eye on things,” Jeno replies. “It’s good that I came along when I did, I don’t know what I would’ve done if I had to find your body the next morning.”

Jisung frowns. “I was handling myself quite fine, actually. I am a wizard, you know.”

Jeno smiles, but he looks exhausted. “I know. How’s your investigation going?”

“It’s interesting. There seem to be multiple parties involved, but I don’t know who’s the culprit and who’s just unfortunate enough to be dragged into the drama.”

“Parties such as?”

Jisung’s eyes widen in alarm. “Uhm. Vampire coven. Other people. Very vague, haha!” He laughs nervously, decidedly not looking at Jeno.

Jeno stops walking, and the arm he has around the other man makes the latter stop too. “What other people, Jisung?”

“Well, it’s not important right now, they might not have anything to do with it.”

“You don’t get to decide what’s important and what isn’t, Jisung,” Jeno says seriously. “This is my case, I need to know these things.”

“They don’t want me to tell you.” Jisung says softly, knowing that the officer wouldn’t be happy with the excuse.

Jeno frowns. “And that matters the most? You’d keep things from me and the police because someone directly involved in the case asked you to?”

“I’m pretty sure he didn’t do it, and I don’t think he’s directly involved, technically.”

“Then why are you keeping his identity secret?” Jeno urges, his voice rising slightly in pitch. He’s frustrated, and Jisung hates knowing that he’s the reason for it.

“He threatened you, okay? Said he’d get you fired if you knew about his connection to the victims.” Jisung confesses. “I don’t want to tell you any more than that.”

Jeno blinks and finally removes his arm from Jisung’s shoulder. He ducks his head and runs a hand through his hair.

“Dammit, Jisung. Those kinds of people are dangerous. You should’ve told me. What if he tried to threaten you, too? What if he decides later that that’s exactly what he’s going to do?” He scolds.

“He doesn’t have any reason to. I just need to keep his identity secret.”

“It’s my job to know about these things, Jisung. Please, tell me.” Jeno’s voice is soft now. Jisung doesn’t dare look in his eyes. He starts walking again, and the older catches up to him quickly.

“I’ll tell you when I know more.” Jisung says.

“It’s my case, Jisungie,” Jeno reminds him. “But fine, I’ll leave it for now. What else did you do today?”

“I went to see the leader of the vampire coven in Neo City.”

“Eh?” Jeno gawks at him, puppy-like eyes wide in shock.

Jisung smiles, pleased with himself. “I went to see the leader of the vampire coven. It gave me a better idea of the situation.”

Jeno is still stunned. “I don’t know much about vampires, obviously, but isn’t visiting a vampire leader very, very dangerous?” His voice cracks at the last words and shoots up a pitch.

“That’s what my friends said, but the leader was pretty hospitable.”

“Jisung,” Jeno whines exasperatedly. “You can’t keep putting yourself in danger like this! All I asked for was information!”

“Which I got!” Jisung says defensively. Why does he feel guilty? He didn’t do anything wrong.

“At least call me next time you’re gonna do something like this?” Jeno stops walking again, grabbing Jisung by both of the shoulders this time and making him look the other in the eye.

“I know I might not be a wizard or anything, but I think I can keep up quite well in most situations. You might be able to defend yourself, but I still want to be there to protect you. You don’t have to do things on your own.”

Jisung feels trapped beneath the other’s gaze, and his heart stirs a little at Jeno’s words. “I…” He ducks his head in defeat. “I was…”

Jeno smiles and Jisung feels himself grow warm. “You’re very stubborn all of a sudden, I’ve never seen this side of you before.”

“It’s because…!” Jisung doesn’t know what he wants to say. He dares to step closer to Jeno, not looking at him. “Thank you. For wanting to be there for me.”

The officer laughs. “It’s not a lot of work to care about you, Jisung.”

Jisung feels fragile, like the slightest pressure could break him, but Jeno doesn’t pressure him. He just smiles, and there’s nothing but honesty in his expression. For a moment, all Jisung’s troubles seem to fade away. His mind is blissfully quiet.

“Let’s get you home. You’ve had a long day, haven’t you?” Jeno murmurs gently, and they walk the last block to Jisung’s apartment in silence.

Jeno stops by the entrance of the complex. “I’ll see you around, Jisungie. Sleep well.”

“B-bye, hyung.” Jisung blurts out, feeling his cheeks redden. He feels the older’s eyes follow him until he’s out of sight. He stands in the middle of the stairwell, taking a deep breath. A small smile takes over his face. It feels nice to be cared about, he realises.

He’s quickly brought out of his reverie when he walks into the hallway leading to his apartment. Another supernatural type of energy hangs in the air. It’s not like a vampire’s at all, it’s fiery, chaotic and it crackles like electricity. It’s familiar. The last time he’d felt this energy was six years ago, and the nostalgia makes his chest ache.

“Jisung?” A voice, also familiar, says.

Jisung forces himself to look, to convince himself that this is real. A man is standing in front of his door, looking straight at him. The man isn’t very tall, his figure is slender, leaning against the wall of the corridor. His hair is nearly golden, with odd red streaks painting the ends. His face, so familiar that it’s painful, is full of hope, of relief.

Jisung doesn’t even dare breathe and he starts to shake.

It’s Huang Renjun, in the flesh.

Chapter Text

Jisung is seventeen years old when the lights go out in the house. It may seem insignificant, but to him, it means everything.

He jumps up from his bed, looking around frantically for a trace of blue flame- a sign of Kibum’s presence, the light that’s been keeping this house lit for years. He stumbles through hallways, over creaky floorboards that he’s sure he could remember every groove of, right to the front door.

There’s a man standing by the door. Jisung doesn’t recognise him, and confusion mixed with panic bubbles up in his chest.

“Who are you? What did you do to Kibum hyung?” He asks, voice tense.

The man looks at him, eyes widening. He smiles, but it’s the most frightening expression Jisung has ever seen. The man approaches him slowly.

“Did that dokkaebi lure you in? How long have you been here?” He asks softly. Jisung steps back, heart pounding.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Where’s Kibum hyung?” He says shakily, clenching his fists at his side.

“Kibum? The man in red?” The stranger asks, raising his eyebrows. “He’s a dokkaebi.” He says as if it’s an important detail that Jisung’s been missing.

The young wizard grits his teeth. “I know.”

The stranger laughs, a sympathetic look on his face. Jisung thinks the look is pure evil. “You’re young. Did you run away from home? I bet that dokkaebi lured you here and made you think you had a home here.”

The man stands up straight, a glint of something akin to condescension in his eyes. “He was a monster that needed to be eradicated.”

Jisung feels like a bucket of ice water was dunked over his head, a chill running up his spine. “What do you mean?” He’s trembling, and his voice breaks. “What did you do to him?!”

The man holds out his hand as if to beckon Jisung to take it. “I’ve found a way to exterminate the supernatural pests that have invaded our world. This dokkaebi was one of the first of my many conquests.”

Jisung is silent, his face pale and a choked feeling in his throat. Hot tears start to flow from his eyes, and his face scrunches in grief. “You- he- no , he can’t die!” He wails, his voice breaking once again. His hands reach up to tug at his hair in distress and he stumbles back.

The stranger watches him coldly, retracting his hand. “Why are you so upset?”

The wizard doesn’t respond, just shaking his head and trembling. “It’s not true, you’re lying!”

The evidence is there. Kibum is nowhere to be found, and his blue flames that lit the house were gone without a trace. It’s like he was never there in the first place.

A flood of emotions washes over Jisung. Anger, grief, fear, all constrict around him, waiting to squeeze the life out of him. He needs to let it out somehow.

A loud sob escapes him and the last thing he remembers is the sound of an explosion and everything going white.

———

Jisung stands in the hallway, frozen as he takes in the sight of the man before him.

Renjun looks older, which makes sense since the last time they’d seen each other was six years ago. He smiles, and his snaggletooth is still there. Jisung remembers the days when Renjun hated that snaggletooth.

“Jisung.” Renjun repeats, taking a step closer, his voice soft and low. He seems to steel himself before walking over to Jisung, who lets him close the distance.

The older man looks up at him, an expression on his face that the wizard can’t quite analyse at the moment. “I’ve missed you.” He says, and something in Jisung breaks. His blank expression crumples into something fragile, and his eyes fill with tears. He’s pulled into a hug, and he clings onto his brother, the feeling foreign yet so familiar.

“H-hyung…” He says softly, holding the other as close as possible, as if he’s scared that Renjun will pull away and leave again.

His brother looks up at him. He’s crying too. “You’re so big already.” He remarks, sighing. “I’ve missed so much, haven’t I?”

Jisung nods silently, pressing his lips together to stop them from trembling.

“Aww, baby, you still cry like you used to.” Renjun teases, but his voice is still emotional. Jisung ducks his head in embarrassment, taking a few breaths to calm down.

“Why are you here, hyung?” He asks softly.

Renjun stands back slightly. “My travels are over, and I wanted to see you. The house… was empty. I heard what happened to Kibum hyung.” He says sadly. “I managed to find Taeyeon noona, who told me where to find you.” He reaches up to ruffle Jisung’s hair. “You’re so independent already, Jisungie. I’m proud of you.”

Jisung feels like a teenager again, being praised by his brother, feeling so weak. “So… you’ve seen me. Where are you going to go now?” He asks hesitantly.

His brother laughs incredulously. “You think I’m going to leave you once I meet you for five minutes? I’m staying with you, even if I have to sleep outside your door forever.”

Jisung perks up in alarm. “You don’t have to do that! I have a couch…” He averts his eyes. “I’d like you to stay.”

“That’s very sweet of you, Jisungie. I’d really appreciate it.” Renjun says softly.

That’s how Jisung ends up sitting in his living room at apparently three in the morning, nervously watching Renjun inspect every corner of his house, Yeol following him around curiously, tail wagging.

“Do you ever dust this place?” Renjun says disapprovingly as he traces a finger over Jisung’s mantle. His eyes fall on a particular picture, and his gaze softens as he picks it up by its wooden frame.

“This is…” He trails off. It’s a drawing of their family; Kibum, Ten, Renjun, and Jisung. Since Kibum and Renjun are creatures that don’t appear in photographs, Renjun had painted his family by hand, and Ten had drawn him into the picture as well. His index finger lingers over each of their faces, studying their inky features one by one.

He looks at Jisung with a sad smile. “You kept this.” He says sheepishly as he glances back at the artwork.

Jisung blinks in confusion. “Why wouldn’t I?”

Renjun doesn’t answer and looks at the picture for a while before placing it on the mantle again. “I can’t believe we’ve been split up like this.” He says softly. “It’s my fault. I never should’ve left.”

The wizard stays silent. Renjun studies him for a moment, then sits next to him on the couch. “You think so too, don’t you?”

Jisung shakes his head. “That’s not it, hyung. Ten hyung left on his own, and nobody could’ve stopped what happened to Kibum hyung.” He pauses, taking a quiet breath. “But I was definitely lonely when you were gone.” He confesses. His hands fidget in his lap as he decides to say the things weighing on him out loud.

“After Kibum hyung passed, Taeyeon noona took me in and taught me how to use magic properly, since I’d never received wizard training before. She’s amazing, but I missed you all so much. I trained for three years before moving here to Neo City, and I realised that I didn’t know anything- I’d hardly ever been among regular humans before, and integrating into society was so hard. I didn’t know how to do anything except magic, so that’s what I stuck to. It didn’t help people trust me or like me, but it was the only way for me to get by.”

Renjun wraps an arm around his shoulder as he speaks. When Jisung’s done, he speaks up. “I… I feel like a jerk because I don’t know what to say, Jisungie. I’m sorry that I had to leave you behind.”

“It’s fine, hyung. I know you had to go. Weird magic fox spirit duties and such.” Jisung says with a soft, awkward laugh.

Renjun grins. “Yeah, that. I missed the family a lot, too. I had friends, though.” He pulls Jisung a little closer. “Has there been anyone at all who’s been there for you?” He asks cautiously.

Jisung thinks for a moment. “Yeah. Taeyeon noona, who says I may visit whenever, and Yeol. He’s a gift from noona, she said Sapsali ward off evil spirits.”

His brother coos and looks at the dog asleep on the floor. “Good thing he only wards off evil ones. I’d hate to have the little guy after me.”

“There’s also…” Jisung says hesitantly. “A bar I go to, with supernatural customers. They’re very open and friendly, usually.”

Renjun nods in approval. “That’s good. Do you have any friends?”

“Uhm…”

Renjun waits patiently. Jisung turns a little red. “Yeah. Two police officers that I help to solve cases involving magic and stuff. Jaemin hyung and Jeno hyung.” He says softly. “Jeno hyung was the one who approached me and hired me. I’m helping him on a case right now.”

“Ah. Is he the one whose energy I sense on you?” Renjun asks bluntly.

“Huh?” Jisung squeaks. “Ah, I forgot you could do that.” He averts his eyes again. “He’s the one, yeah.” He smiles slightly as he thinks of their conversation earlier.

Renjun watches him, a small smile on his face. “And he’s good to you?”

Jisung nods. “He’s very nice, and he cares about me. He walked me home today.”

His brother nods in approval. “That’s good.” His voice shakes a bit, and Jisung looks up at him, surprised. Renjun is looking down, eyes watery again. He sniffles, and all Jisung can do is stare.

“Hyung?” He asks hesitantly. He slowly reaches out a hand to hold the other’s, nearly flinching at the touch even though he initiated it himself. Renjun’s hand shifts so they’re properly holding hands and sniffles, head turning to the side. He lifts his free hand and waves it around placatingly.

“I’m alright, just- just emotional, you know?” He lets out a puff of air as if he’s frustrated at himself. “You just can’t imagine how relieved I am that you’re here, you know. Here, living your life somewhat normally, despite everything that’s happened.” He cards a hand through his hair and leans back. “You have no idea how scared I was when I came back to a deserted house, I thought I’d lost you all.”

“Ah…” Jisung says, not knowing how to respond. “I can imagine how that must’ve felt.” He squeezes his brother’s hand for a moment, faintly hoping to communicate his support. He can vaguely remember how distraught he’d been five years ago, but the sadness is now long gone, leaving only occasional moments of loneliness behind.

Renjun squeezes his hand back before standing up, jaw set. He tilts his chin up, taking a deep breath before putting on a smile. “I want to see the rest of your place, now.”

Jisung presses his lips together in a faint smile. “Okay, hyung.”

To say the least, Renjun is not impressed with the rest of the apartment. Jisung watches almost nervously as his brother steps into his small bathroom.

“Does the water go down properly?” Renjun asks (interrogates) as he scrutinises the shower drain in the floor. He glances at the dim lamp mounted on the wall with clear distaste, but at least he hadn’t noticed the bare lightbulb hanging for dear life from the living room ceiling, Jisung thinks to himself.

“Y-yeah, it does.” Jisung says weakly, pressing his back up against the doorframe when Renjun marches out, arms folded over his chest as he makes his way to the bedroom. The wizard switches off the bathroom light and nervously trots after his brother. Vibrant colours shine through Jisung’s window, painting the walls pink, blue, and green. Renjun sits down on the bed, bouncing up and down with a pensive frown. It’s rather cute, but Jisung is too nervous to laugh. Why he’s nervous, he’s not quite sure himself.

Renjun hums after one last bounce on the mattress. “At least this isn’t rock hard,” He says as if it still physically pains him to admit it. He slowly stands up and flails Jisung’s pillow in his hand. The light from the window reveals a sparse cloud of dust that emerges from the pillow. “This, on the other hand, is too flat!” Renjun exclaims, waving the pillow around as if it owes him ten years’ worth of rent.

“I sleep just fine on it.” Jisung says defensively, stepping forward to take the pillow away. Renjun sighs, letting go of the pillow.

“Whatever, it’s late. You should shower and go to bed soon.” The older says gently, turning away. Jisung quietly sets down the pillow again, glancing at his brother.

“You should sleep too, hyung.” He says softly. He pulls out an extra blanket from his wardrobe and walks to his couch, draping the blanket over one of the arms. Yeol is awake now, and the dog walks over to him, tail wagging. Renjun walks into the living room, expression conflicted.

Jisung regards him curiously. “Hyung…? Are you alright?”

His brother’s expression shifts into something more passive. He smiles slightly, nodding. “Yeah, I’m good.” He takes a deep breath and looks around. “Well, you should go get ready for bed.” He says quietly.

Jisung nods slowly. “Yeah.” He presses his lips together as he walks out of the room to do just that. He spaces out, following his daily routine on autopilot. When he steps out of the shower, he can’t even remember whether he washed his hair or not. He brushes his teeth, some kind of static buzz clouding his mind. He steps into the living room when he’s done with everything. Renjun is lying on the couch, doing something on his phone.

“Man,” Renjun sighs when Jisung comes out. “You might be the only person in Neo City who doesn’t have internet. Or has access to their neighbour’s internet.”

Jisung just smiles sheepishly. His brother stands up and lifts his arm high to ruffle Jisung’s hair. “I still can’t believe you’re so tall….” His expression softens. “You look tired. Go, sleep. I’ll figure out how to use the shower and steal your shampoo for tonight, ‘kay? Sleep tight.”

Jisung nods slowly, thinking to himself that he probably won’t be able to fall asleep anyway. “Alright, hyung. Sleep well.” He stands there awkwardly for a few more seconds before quietly making his way into his room, Yeol pattering after him before he shuts the door. He closes the blinds and settles under his blanket, Yeol lying at the foot of his bed.

He blinks as he stares at the small sliver of light peeking past the blinds. He wonders to himself about the past few hours. With Renjun’s sudden return, he realises how much he’d missed him. Not the sad, staring-out-the-window kind of missing, but something passive, a kind of missing that was always there, in the back of his mind. Maybe that’s why he was so driven to find Taeyong, to bring Donghyuck’s brother back to him.

A hollow feeling takes over him as he wilts. Taeyong was left to die, and all Jisung can do is try and find where he was left so Donghyuck can have some closure.

Jisung is weak, he can’t do anything to help the people he cares about. He’s hopeless, he’s… he’s…

He’s asleep. The world finally goes dark for Jisung.

The sun is relatively high in the sky by the time Jisung wakes up thinking he’s under attack. Again. This time, Renjun pinches his cheek so hard he wakes up with a scream, flailing about while Renjun lets go and just laughs. Jisung wordlessly glares at him while cupping his sore cheek, huffing.

“Come one, it’s eleven in the morning, I’m hungry,” Renjun whines, walking out of the room and opening the cupboards in the kitchen. “Ah, cereal!”

Jisung grumpily gets out of bed, internally trying to remember when the last time was that he’d slept in so late. He changes clothes quickly, while Renjun grumbles about something outside.

“What is it?” He asks when he walks into the living room, watching Renjun stare at him with his arms crossed, standing next to Jisung’s stove, or ‘kitchen’. 

“You don’t have a fridge,” Renjun begins flatly. “Which is fine, and completely understandable- but you have cereal.” He holds up the cereal box, raising his eyebrows, smiling in disbelief. “What are you eating with this?”

Jisung looks at the box, then back at his brother. “Uhm. Nothing?” He’s long gotten over the fact that it’s kind of sad, and now he just wants his brother to leave it be. “It works just fine.”

Renjun sighs, as if sensing his younger brother’s feelings, and sets the box down again. “We’re talking about this at some point.” He says firmly, then pours the cereal into two bowls he’d managed to find as well. Jisung moves to sit on the couch, two spoons in hand, and Renjun comes over to sit next to him, handing him a bowl in exchange for a spoon.

“So, what are your plans for today?” Renjun asks after taking a few loud, crunching bites.

Jisung finishes his bite before answering. “I have to find a guy,” He starts, feeling slightly numb. “He might be dead.” He adds softly. “A vampire left him to die somewhere in Neo Zone, and I need to bring him back. He’s my neighbour’s brother.”

His brother’s eyes flicker to his hand grasping his spoon, knuckles white. “I’ll help,” He says simply. “Just give me something of the guy and I could probably track down his energy.”

The wizard perks up. “You can do that? From just an object?”

Renjun nods. “We fox spirits are naturals at tracking magic, you know,” He says rather proudly. “Just get me something he uses frequently, and since we know roughly where to look, sensing his energy won’t be too hard.”

“Huh,” Jisung says, eyes wide. “That’s very cool!” He then shovels a few more spoons of cereal into his mouth, feeling motivated to start the day.

Once the dishes are washed and the dog is fed, Jisung finds himself knocking on Donghyuck’s door, Renjun standing behind him. Donghyuck opens the door a few seconds later, eyes lighting up at recognition.

“Ah, Jisungie! What’s up?” He asks, lingering at the door and looking Renjun over curiously.

Jisung shoots him a small friendly smile. “Hyung! I found a way to…” He falters, suddenly wondering whether to tell Donghyuck about the possible state of his brother.

“There’s a way to locate your brother.” Renjun butts in, stepping forward slightly. He holds out his hand to Donghyuck. “I’m Renjun. Jisung’s brother.”

Donghyuck stares at him, shaking his hand. “His brother, huh?” He says, voice strangely passive. He shoots them both a close-lipped smile. “So, what do you need from me?” He asks, not unfriendlily.

“We need something your brother has used frequently. Like a hairbrush, anything.” Renjun says, taking over the conversation. “Do you think you have anything like that?”

Donghyuck’s face remains blank as he thinks. Then suddenly, he turns around. “Be right back.” He disappears into the apartment, and after a minute or so he comes back holding a thick black marker. “Hyung used this to doodle on shit all the time. You think this is enough?”

Renjun takes the marker, studying it. “Yeah, it should, actually.” He looks up at Donghyuck. “Any reason why you chose this? Just asking.”

Donghyuck smiles faintly. “My brother didn’t live here, he just came over often. Liked to be involved in my life, kept me up to date on things, but he didn’t leave much of himself behind, physically.”

The fox spirit nods and looks at Jisung, whose face is a little pale. “We’ve got what we need. We’ll find your brother.” He says, taking Jisung by the arm and leading him down the hallway.

Donghyuck stares at the duo for a moment. “Brothers, huh.” He murmurs, shaking his head. “Jisungie sure leads a strange life.” He closes the door.

Jisung stumbles after his brother, out onto the street. The sun is out, barely a cloud in the sky. “So, Neo Zone, was it?” Renjun says, studying the marker in his hands.

“That’s right,” Jisung replies, orienting himself. “Come on, this way, hyung.” It’s his turn to drag his brother along, and they walk down a few blocks before Renjun suddenly halts, Jisung nearly falling backwards.

“Wait,” Renjun says lowly. “I can sense something already.” He suddenly makes a right turn, walking with newfound determination, leaving Jisung to hurry after him.

Jisung easily catches up to the spirit, watching him curiously. “What does it feel like, hyung?”

Renjun absentmindedly fiddles with the marker. “It’s like how dogs can track scents, but fox spirits track energy instead. You know what energy is; distinct per individual, like DNA.” His eyes narrow and his demeanour changes slightly. “We’re close.”

They head into a dark area of the district, the buildings look ragged and abandoned. They’re tall and nearly menacing, and Jisung cranes his neck up to stare at them in awe as they walk. “I didn’t know there was an area like this.” He remarks softly.

Renjun doesn’t reply to his words. “You know, Jisung, there’s something off about this energy I’m feeling right now.” He turns around, frowning. “You might want to-“ His eyes widen and his eyes flicker to something above them. “DUCK!”

Renjun pulls his brother down as something lunges at them, sailing over them and landing only a little ahead of them. Jisung’s breath catches in his throat as he recognises the aura. It’s cold, lifeless.

“A vampire,” Renjun growls, taking a defensive stance in front of the wizard. “I knew there was something off about this.”

Jisung tugs at his brother’s shoulder. “What are you talking about, hyung? Let’s go before we end up having to fight this guy!”

Renjun shakes his head. “We’ve gotten what we’ve come for.” He says grimly, and Jisung freezes, gaze going from his brother to the vampire, who’s turning around, fixing them both with an icy glare. He looks familiar, too familiar.

“…Taeyong hyung?” Jisung says in disbelief, mouth agape in shock. His hand clenches the fabric of Renjun’s coat, something strange settling in the pit of his stomach. Taeyong isn’t dead.

Well, he isn’t exactly alive, either.

Taeyong flexes his fingers, glare lightening up slightly as he keeps staring at them. “Jisung-ah,” he starts. “I don’t want to hurt you, but I can’t keep you alive,” he says, remorse clear in his expression. “Nobody can know what I’m doing.”

Jisung furrows his brows, on edge. His hand goes to his staff subconsciously. “What are you doing, exactly?”

Taeyong frowns, looking confused. “Huh?”

The wizard blinks, now also confused. “Huh?”

The vampire looks even more confused. “What?”

“What the fuck?” Renjun says, interrupting them. “We’re here because Donghyuck’s looking for you. He misses you!" He snaps at the man in front of them.

Taeyong cards a hand through his hair, letting out a disbelieving huff. “You’re telling me you’re here because of Donghyuck?” He looks at them incredulously. “That’s…” His eyes find the marker still tightly grasped in Renjun’s hand. His expression shifts into something painfully sad. “He asked you to find me?”

“Yeah, that’s right,” Jisung says hesitantly. “Why else would we be here?” Something at the back of his mind nags at him that he’s missing something, something important.

Renjun suddenly grabs Jisung’s hand. “We need to get out of here.” He says lowly, shoulders tense. He turns around to look behind Jisung, eyes widening.

“What? Wh-“ Jisung’s words are broken off with a yelp as Renjun yanks him to the side, yet another figure charging past them.

The brothers find themselves against a wall as they watch Taeyong dodge what looks like a large tiger. He leaps to the side as the tiger skilfully lands on the ground, its body immediately whirling around as if to leap again.

Jisung gawks at the scene. Renjun simply guffaws. “What kind of situation did we just get ourselves into?!”

“What is that?” Jisung asks his brother, his voice squeaky.

“A weretiger, one of those animal shifters,” Renjun says, taking in the sight with interest. “And I have no idea why it’s here.”

“Do we intervene?” The wizard asks nervously, hand moving to hold the staff by his side. He watches Taeyong continue to dodge the tiger’s attacks, distress building. “We should, right? We need to bring him back home!”

“He’s had the opportunity to, but he didn’t. So there’s something else going on.” Renjun replies, eyes narrowing as he speaks.

Suddenly, the tiger manages to land a hit on Taeyong, making the vampire skid over the concrete before the tiger pounces on him, baring its teeth.

“Okay, but we still need him alive!” Jisung says in alarm, not waiting for his brother’s permission anymore. He lifts his staff. “Incutio!”

The tiger stumbles slightly, no longer hovering right over Taeyong, who uses the opportunity to scramble away from the tiger. Jisung rushes over, ignoring Renjun’s shout to come back. He stands between Taeyong and the beast, expression determined but relatively frightened. “I don’t know how you are, but I’m not letting you attack Taeyong hyung anymore.” He says, the words losing a little impact from how his voice trembles.

Renjun runs over, grabbing Taeyong by the arm. “You’re not going anywhere, with all due respect. My brother’s not going to risk his life just for you to run away again.”

Taeyong tugs at his arm, probably expecting to have it yanked from Renjun’s grip, but the latter is surprisingly strong. The tiger quietly watches it all with amber eyes before letting out a low growl.

The three others watch as the tiger shifts into the form of a man wearing a suit of all things.

The man looks at Jisung. “We meet again, Park Jisung,” Suspicious Gangster Man says as Jisung tries to remember his name. Mark, was it? “I thank you on behalf of Zhong Chenle for locating the culprit for him.”

Jisung shoots him a surprised look. “What?”

Behind him, Taeyong flinches, trying to break away from Renjun’s grip. “Oh no, you don’t,” Renjun snarls. “What is he talking about?”

“He’s behind the Neo Zone murders.” Jisung says, his expression is vulnerable with shock as something clicks in his head. Stress builds up inside of him as he thinks quickly. He’s found Donghyuck’s brother and the killer Jeno was looking for, but what does he do now? Does he turn Taeyong in? Can a vampire even be locked up in prison? What about Donghyuck? He turns around slowly, looking at Taeyong with wide eyes.

The vampire is starting to get agitated, gritting his teeth as he struggles in Renjun’s hold. “Just- let go of me!” He hisses desperately, and he manages to make Renjun let him go for a moment, before the fox spirit leaps onto him, determined not to let him get away.

Mark observes quietly, not moving to help at all. “My job right now is to kill this vampire. Are you going to continue standing in my way?” He asks, sounding slightly concerned.

Jisung purses his lips, feeling conflicted. “Yes,” He says finally. “Killing him isn’t the answer.” He glances back at Taeyong, who’s wrestling with Renjun behind him. “He has to stay alive.”

Mark sighs, looking genuinely disappointed. “Fine.” Then he swings his arm back, readying a punch to Jisung’s face. The wizard quickly steps to the side, eyes widening as Mark’s fist barely misses him. With the movement, the other man’s body fluidly shifts into that of a tiger again.

“Hyung, get Taeyong hyung away from here!” Jisung yells at his brother, but Mark is already leaping at the pair. A dark blur barges into him, sending him flying to the side.

“Where do all these people keep coming from??” Renjun exclaims in disbelief.

“Taeyong, we’re leaving.” A feminine voice says and the figure turns around. Her chilling aura makes it clear she’s a vampire, and she grabs Renjun by the collar, trying to get him away from Taeyong.

Jisung gapes at her. “You’re…!”

Yerim doesn’t spare him a glance as she bares her teeth at Renjun, the fox spirit shoving her face away with his hand with an alarmed yelp. Taeyong takes the opportunity to flee, Yerim quickly running after him. Mark, still in his tiger form, hurries after them in large bounds, but the duo manages to clamber up one of the walls and slip into a building, the tiger having to take a moment to leap up and find purchase before chasing after them again, out of sight.

Sounds of their rushed footsteps echo and fade away slowly, until it's eerily quiet in the alley.

Jisung and Renjun sit there alone, breathing heavily and recovering from the rush of the situation.

“Are you okay?” Renjun asks finally. “I’m not entirely sure what just happened, but you’re not hurt, right?” He cups Jisung’s cheek, studying his face.

Jisung ducks his head. “I’m okay, hyung. What about you? You were the one fighting.”

His brother grins. “I’ve fought way worse. Vampires and weretigers are nothing in comparison,” He brushes himself off, sighing. “Now what do we do? Do we go after them?”

The wizard sighs too, deflating. “I think I need to tell Jeno what happened,” He says glumly. “I guess we’re going to the police station.” He stares down the alley one last time before his brother takes his hand and leads him away.

“…Where’s the police station again?”

“Come, hyung, I’ll lead.” Jisung says with a soft laugh.

They walk there in silence, still a little dazed. Jisung goes over to the reception, smiling shyly at the receptionist. “Hello, is Officer Lee Jeno around?”

The receptionist stares at him, and Jisung just knows that she recognises him, but despite that, she asks “What is your business with him, sir?”

“I’m an informant.” Jisung answers and the receptionist lets out what might be a sigh and picks up the phone. Jisung takes a step away as she makes a call.

“Officer Lee? There’s an informant here for you,” She says, glancing at Jisung. “Mhmm, right.” She sets down the phone. “He’ll be here shortly, you can wait in the waiting area.”

Renjun pulls Jisung along to sit down in a corner, both quiet as Jisung’s gaze trails over the bland, off-white walls, posters and ads pinned on a giant corkboard to his right.

Jeno appears from behind a corner, eyes crinkling as he smiles at Jisung. “You wanted to see me?”

The wizard relaxes slightly at Jeno’s appearance, shooting him a relieved smile. “Hyung!” He stands up quickly, playing with his own fingers. “I need to talk to you about the case,” He says seriously, relief in his expression fading. “It’s… not good.”

Jeno’s smile falters, but he nods. “Come on, then,” He turns around and gestures for Jisung to follow before he stops and looks at Renjun. “Are you with him?”

Renjun steps forward, hand outstretched. “I’m Huang Renjun, Jisung’s brother,” He says with a polite smile, studying the officer with a calculating gaze. “I’ve heard some things about you.”

“Lee Jeno.” Jeno replies simply, shaking the offered hand. “I can’t say the same, I’m afraid.” He adds, his tone polite. He glances at Jisung for a split second before moving to walk down the hall. The two brothers quickly walk after him, the three of them filing into a small office.

“Well, what’s up? Didn’t face off any other vampires in dark alleys in the few hours we’ve been apart, I hope.” Jeno says with a smile as he pulls out the chair behind his desk to sit down, gesturing for the brothers to sit in the two chairs in front of him.

Renjun and Jisung exchange a glance. Jeno looks at them with wide eyes before focusing on Jisung. “You didn’t, right?” When Jisung looks away guiltily, he lets out a defeated, disbelieving laugh, burying his face in his hands for a second. “You can’t be serious- Jisung-ah! You can’t keep putting yourself in danger like this? Are you alright?” He asks, sounding distressed.

Renjun butts in. “In his defence, we didn’t do it on purpose. We were looking for a human, but he turned out to be a vampire.”

Jeno frowns. “Explain.”

Jisung starts telling Jeno everything, starting from Donghyuck’s request, vaguely elaborating on the situation with Chenle, and mentioning his meeting with Yerim, the vampire who’d shown up in the last confrontation to whisk Taeyong away. Jeno frowns when he gets to the last part.

“You’re saying that your neighbour's brother, who’s been missing for over a month, turned into a vampire and started killing people, just like that?” He says, trying to get a grasp on the situation. Jisung nods. Jeno leans back in his seat, thinking. “So the lone vampire lady is probably related to it, right?”

Renjun scoffs. “Vampire politics. Why’d they have to get humans involved in their mess?” He pokes Jisung in the head with a finger. “And you didn’t tell me about the first confrontation with a vampire in a dark alley- then again, you didn’t even tell me what this case was about!”

Jisung grumbles under his breath, not knowing how to respond. He looks up at Jeno, sighing. “What now? Are you going to try and arrest a vampire?”

Jeno looks up at the ceiling, letting out a breath. “I don’t know. Honestly, if I see this guy around, I’ll try to go after him since it’s my job, but actively chasing him might aggravate the situation. We don’t know his exact motives for killing those people, and putting more effort into the case might alert… other parties.”

Jisung nods. “That’s fair. Yerim noo-“ He pauses, unsure whether to add the honorific. “She did say that the coven was usually very keen on keeping lone vampires in check.” He sighs. “And what do I even tell Donghyuck hyung?”

“Let us handle that. Since we have new information on his brother, it’s our job to inform him. I’ll ask Jaemin to call him and fill him in.” He pauses, then laughs sheepishly. “After I fill Jaemin in, that is.”

Jisung and Renjun hang out in Jeno’s office for around a quarter of an hour as Jeno is out to look for Jaemin and help inform Donghyuck about the case. Jeno appears at the door. “Jisung-ah, Donghyuck wants to speak with you. Do you mind?”

The wizard stands up quickly. “I’ll come!” Renjun comes along with him, and Jeno leads them to a different room. Jaemin is sitting next to a shaken-looking Donghyuck, the latter perking up slightly in recognition when he spots Jisung in the doorway.

“Jisungie…” He says wetly. “Is it true?” He asks, lower lip trembling. “My brother, he…”

Jisung comes to sit next to him on the couch. This place seems to be some sort of break room, he thinks to himself as he spots a coffee machine in the corner. “It- it is, hyung, I’m sorry. I’m sure there was something else that made him do this…” He trails off, not knowing how to comfort the other man. He bites his lip in frustration.

Man up, Jisung! Donghyuck hyung needs you, he scolds himself internally. He puts his hand on Donghyuck’s back, leaving it there as he speaks. “…There wasn’t anything you could’ve done to change this, and I’m here if you want to talk, hyung. I’m here for you, and I live right next door, too!”

Nothing he could’ve done to change this? Isn’t that a little cold? Jisung anxiously wonders to himself.

Donghyuck sniffles, nodding. “I know. Thank you, Jisungie,” He sighs, eyes unfocused. “It’s just… my brother-“ His expression crumples as he cries. “He’s not even really him anymore, you know? He’s become something I don’t even know, and it’s so sudden. I can’t even see him again.” He wipes a few tears away with the heel of his palm. For a while, he keeps crying, the rest of the room quiet as they let him.

After about ten minutes, the tears stop flowing. "Aish..." He exclaims, sounding exasperated by himself.

He takes a deep breath, then stands up slowly. He forces on a smile, looking at everyone else in the room. “I think the best thing for me to do right now is go home…” He laughs awkwardly, and no one joins him, regarding him with sad, silent sympathy. He walks out of the room, everyone slowly following him.

Renjun, Jisung, and Donghyuck step out of the exit, Jaemin and Jeno lingering by the doors. Jisung looks back at them. “Well, it was good… talking to you?” He says hesitantly.

Jeno’s expression softens and Jaemin lets out a vaguely amused huff before he claps Jeno on the shoulder. “I’ll be going back to the office. See ya soon,” He looks back at Jisung. “Stay safe, our Jisungie. Don’t make Jeno and me worry too much, okay?” He then looks at Donghyuck. “You too. Take care of yourself, okay?” He says firmly before heading back into the building.

Donghyuck murmurs a glum "I will, thank you," before turning around and making his way down the steps of the entrance. Renjun walks after him. Jisung moves to do so as well before Jeno stops him. “Jisung-ah, wait.”

Jisung turns around curiously, a familiar weird feeling in his chest when he looks at Jeno. “Yeah, hyung?”

Jeno looks at him, smiling softly. “Jaemin has a point you know, you should stop making me worry so much,” He pauses for a moment, reaching out his hand, and his expression turns slightly determined when Jisung doesn’t move away. He gently takes Jisung’s hand in his, holding it delicately, letting Jisung take his hand away whenever he wants to. “You know how much I worried about you last night? I was wondering what I’d gotten you into, and then hearing all that today... you’ve been through so much, so much danger.” His voice sounds slightly pained.

Jisung’s eyes flicker around nervously, not sure where to look. Finally, they settle on looking right at Jeno’s own, and his heart nearly skips a beat. “I’m sorry, hyung.” He says softly, but he knows it’s not what he needs to say.

“Don’t say that, Jisungie,” Jeno says softly, his smile widening slightly. “Just… be careful, okay? Now that this is over, you have to take care of yourself. I seriously can not say it enough.”

Jisung dares to hold Jeno’s hand back, hold slowly tightening. “I know, hyung,” he says with a smile of his own. “Thank you for caring about me.”

Jeno looks at him for a moment, seeming focused on something. “Could I…” He says finally, stepping closer. “Could we hug?” He laughs sheepishly. “Ah… I’m being weird, right? Sorry-“

“We can, hyung!” Jisung says quickly, perking up. He splutters, cheeks pink. “Let’s hug.” He stiltedly lifts his arms, and Jeno laughs, visible tension leaving him as he closes the distance and wraps his arms around the taller man. Jisung quickly hugs him back, lifting his chin above Jeno’s shoulder, too nervous to dare to relax completely.

He’s warm, Jisung’s brain supplies plainly. Slowly, he puts his chin in the crook of Jeno’s neck, breathing out softly. He could swear he feels Jeno hold him a little tighter.

Renjun lets out a cough. “I’m gonna go, you guys can finish up on your own, right? I’ll just make sure Donghyuck gets home safely.”

Jisung jolts, startled, and takes a step back, letting go of Jeno. He looks at the officer for a moment and realises that his cheeks are a faint pink as well. Huh.

“I-I’ll go with you! Wait for me!” He yells out, but he takes Jeno’s hand once again, meeting his gaze again. “Uhm…” He gives the other’s hand a squeeze. “I’ll see you, Jeno hyung.” He says before scuttling after his brother, face getting redder and redder.

Renjun sighs as his brother catches up to him. “Seriously, all that drama and you have enough energy to be sappy with that guy?” He says in fake exasperation, but he’s smiling. Jisung smiles back shyly, not answering.

His brother just laughs and shakes his head. He speeds up his pace to catch up with Donghyuck. “Donghyuck! Wait up!” The other man turns around, waiting obediently.

As Jisung runs next to his brother to his friend, heart still beating a bit faster from before, he thinks to himself;

Within these few days, my life has changed. I have people who care about me and support me, and I have people I care about and want to support.

He and his brother reach Donghyuck, who’s watching them quietly, eyelids slightly swollen and red from crying. Renjun loops his arm around his and Jisung follows on the other side, Donghyuck walking between them.

"I don't know how we're going to fit, but we're staying at my place tonight, all three of us." Jisung announces, looking at Donghyuck next to him. Renjun laughs and even Donghyuck cracks a small, grateful smile.

"Alright, Jisungie. If you insist." Donghyuck says softly. Neither of the brothers say anything when they spot a few more tears running down his cheeks.

Even after everything horrible that’s happened, so many precious things have entered my life as well.

Thank you, world. I’ll try to make the most of this.