Archive of Our Own ^beta

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Being a vampire is a curse and a blessing in one, Changbin thinks. He doesn’t have to sleep much, he doesn’t need to eat but he can eat if he wants, and he has the option to be immortal. He doesn’t want to be immortal, because he has friends who aren’t vampires who he doesn’t want to leave behind, but some do choose to be.

This brings him to his current situation, where he has to deal with two of the curses of being a vampire: sensitivity to the sun and a lack of reflection. His human friend, Chan, is helping him put on sunblock before football practice, because Changbin can’t see himself in any mirrors or windows, and said friend is very close to him.

He has an umbrella, but kicking around a ball with an umbrella looks ridiculous, so sun block it is, and since Chan is a sweetheart who likes helping him, Changbin will have to deal with Chan’s handsome face close to him, his gentle fingers on his face.

For the record, Changbin is not in love with Chan. He simply has a healthy appreciation for his looks and personality, nothing wrong with that. Chan is the only bearable person in the Red Sun house football team anyway, since the team is overrun by werewolves, but Chan is also the most handsome out of everyone (except maybe Hwang Hyunjin, but Changbin will not speak on that wolf).

They’re having a friendly training match against the Blue Blood house, which is probably why Jisung is watching them. Jisung is a wolf too, but he’s a nice one. He looks cute in his red sports uniform, hoodie and glasses, which does not distract Changbin, but it does seem to distract Chan somewhat.

Because of course Chan is always distracted by his roommate. He can’t blame him, paying attention to a vampire in a team full of werewolves is like dangling a piece of meat in front of a person—inappropriate, depending on who you ask. Werewolves like to pretend they own sports, after all.

Not Jisung, but no werewolf and not even humans are immune to the age old rivalry between vampires and werewolves. And so, Changbin isn’t sure if he wants to pretend Jisung is cheering for him as well. He most likely is, because they’re friends, but at the end of the day he is a werewolf, and Changbin is a vampire.

When they first met at introduction to the boarding college for supernaturals, Changbin assumed he was a vampire—simply because werewolves usually have that distinct smell to them, and are easy to spot as sporty types or loud ones—and so he started talking to him.

He later found out that Jisung assumed that he was a werewolf in return. Which makes sense. He’s loud, sporty, and not quite what someone would expect from a vampire (tall, skinny, and pale, whereas he’s short, big, and tan). What doesn’t help either, is that both creatures have sharp fangs, and Changbin doesn’t pay enough attention to teeth to tell the difference when seeing them.

Either way, they figured things out when the introduction split up into a vampire and werewolf specific part, which is also when they met Chan, who is one of the very very rare humans at the school. Humans are allowed to enroll, but most are intimidated by the supernaturals.

Ever since then, the vampires and werewolves have been fighting for Chan’s attention, hoping to get him to pick a side one day. Changbin knows it’s useless. Chan is friendly with literally everyone, and he’s too kind to pick a side. Changbin is happy to state that Chan is his close friend, though.

Jisung is too, but Changbin has to admit that he’s a bit jealous of how much time the wolf gets to spend with Chan, courtesy of the two of them being roommates. He also always knows how to steal Chan’s attention, even when it’s supposed to be Changbin’s time to shine. 

Football practice is his time to be with Chan, and although he appreciates Jisung’s support, he’s already struggling between all of the werewolves. It’s not Jisung’s fault that he’s cute and magnetic towards eyes, Changbin suffers from the same.

Although, he guesses that only Jisung’s magnetism only works on his friends, because he’s usually quiet and becomes almost invisible between the loud and rowdy werewolves. Changbin isn’t even sure everyone from the other houses know he’s a werewolf. Jisung reminds him of how it’s okay not to be like the others.

The match passes by without much trouble, and Changbin is pretty happy with how much he contributed, because usually his teammates aren’t too generous with passing the ball to him, but it seems like their opponents don’t feel the same.

Some wolves from the Blue Blood house ask about their teammates, and Changbin grits his teeth when his childish wolf teammates complain about him. The other team ask about who the poor vampire in the team is, so Changbin flips them off in reply. 

He looks around for Chan, but he seems to be talking to some guys from the Blue Blood house in the audience. Changbin wonders how he even knows them. 

“He was pretty good, but I suppose he’s an exception. There’s a reason they can’t fill a whole team with vampires,” a Blue Blood football player says, Changbin thinks his name is Yeonjun. He rolls his eyes, especially when his teammates agree with him. 

“I’m surprised he still wants to play with us, but I guess he’s more of a wolf inside anyway,” Hyunjin says with a chuckle. He’s one of Jisung’s friends. And so is Seungmin, who doesn’t seem amused much by Hyunjin’s jokes. 

“I know, right? I still think he’d join a full vampire team if he could, though. You know how they are,” Seoljin says with a loud laugh, eliciting more laughter from the rest of the team. Changbin sighs and ignores them, but he’s startled by loud footsteps on the bleachers. 

“Maybe if you guys would be proper teamplayers, vampires wouldn’t be an issue! It’s just a sport,” Jisung suddenly calls as he comes down onto the field. Changbin’s eyes widen at Jisung’s bold callout—usually he wouldn’t go against his fellow werewolves. 

“Who is he? Vampire?” Yeonjun asks, frowning in confusion. Huiyoon, from Changbin’s team, shrugs, pretending to not even know Jisung. Changbin scoffs, irritation prickling the tips of his fingers. 

“I’m not even sure. Perhaps he’s a half wolf of some kind?” Huiyoon teases Jisung, who steps forward and growls, a clear sign that he’s not up for teasing. Huiyoon holds up his hands and relents. “Sorry, no jokes allowed, I guess.”

The team walks away and Changbin faces Jisung with a sigh. “You didn’t have to do that,” he says with a pat on Jisung’s shoulder. “I’d have hit him in the face anyway.”

“You wouldn’t!” Jisung laughs and shakes his head. “You’re strong but I know you’re soft, Binnie hyung.”

Jisung grins as he holds onto Changbin’s arm before patting Changbin’s stomach, and Changbin hopes the flush from running around the field will hide his blush. “I thought you wouldn’t growl at them either, and yet you did,” he replies.

“It’s the only way to make them shut up, I’ve found,” Jisung answers with a shrug. His lips purse into a slight pout, his cheeks puffing out slightly. “I don’t like Huiyoon anyway, so I don’t mind.”

“Tell me about it.” Changbin groans. He’s glad that he doesn’t have to deal with the man much other than during football, but he is kind of known to be insufferable. The fact that he’s a werewolf doesn’t make his likeability score any higher in Changbin’s books.

“I could’ve let you growl at him, but I think Huiyoon knows that trick already. Remember when you did that for me when we first met?” Jisung says with an idiotically adorable giggle. Changbin laughs, but his heart stutters as Jisung brings up Changbin’s behavior from back when they first met.

He might have had a silly little stupid crush on Jisung back then, when he still thought he was a vampire. Huiyoon was making his asshole jokes about vampires and Changbin decided to mock him by growling at him. 

And Jisung, embarrassingly, knows that he did it because he wanted to protect him. He still cringes at how he acted, but he’s gotten over his crush pretty quickly when he found out Jisung is a werewolf. So now all that’s left is a simple appreciation for his friend and his admirable self.

Jisung is very smart, one of the youngest people around for a reason, and he can do just about anything. He’s cute, just like Chan, so although Changbin isn’t ashamed of his short-lived crush on Jisung, he knows that Jisung wouldn’t want him anyway. He wouldn’t live up to the way Jisung admires Chan, after all, which is great, because Chan is lovely, and Jisung is lovely, too.

The only thing he’s afraid of is the two of them forgetting about him once they get together. They’re already together way more often, and Changbin would love to claim that he’s completely fine with that, but sometimes he finds himself longing for a bit more of their attention.

It’s clear when Chan comes over to them with curious eyes, obviously wondering what they’re talking about. “Hi guys. Everything all right?”

“Chan hyung, there you are, finally! Yeah, we’re fine. It was the usual shitty jokes, you know? I wanna get food and go back,” Jisung says with a long sigh, his voice low as he speaks. Chan smiles, his dimples appearing as he looks at Jisung. 

“Binnie and I are going to take a shower first, I think, but I’ll meet you up at the dining room,” he answers. Jisung huffs in fake exasperation, and Changbin watches Chan’s eyes crinkle in amusement. “Are you coming too, Changbin-ah?” 

“Yeah, for a bit,” he says, because although he’d love to have an excuse to spend time with his friends, he’s a tad grumpy after being in the sun for two hours. “I’ll only get a blood pack and then go back to my room. I have some reading to catch up on. I’ll join you two tonight.”

It’s an excuse, but he wouldn’t want to bring down the mood. Chan does tell him that he played well, as he always does, but as soon as Jisung appears with a plate of rice and meat and a big smile, Changbin can tell that Chan’s expression softens. 

Even if the blood pack helps his mood, Changbin still silently sulks about having missed his chance to spend some quality time with Chan as he returns to his room, where he finds his roommate, Jeongin, and Felix playing a boardgame.

“Hey there, hyung! You wanna join?” Jeongin asks but Changbin waves them off and sits down on his bed with a sigh, looking around for his vampire history book. Jeongin hums. “What is it? Did Chan hyung not pay you much attention again? Or were the wolves assholes again?” 

“Both. Plus it was sunny outside. Such a dreadful combination… I’ll be over it once I rest,” he asnwers with a huff, but he smiles at the memory of Chan helping him before the friendly match, his soft hands on his skin. “At least Chan hyung put on my sunscreen again.”

“Hyung. I don’t get why you complain about not getting attention when he does things like that for you,” Jeongin says with a laugh. “Don’t you know how jealous other people are that he has such a soft spot for you and that Jisung boy?” 

“I know, but you’d get me if you had to deal with a whole team of wolves, too. I only have him at football practice,” Changbin whines. He knows he’s exaggerating, but it’s his right to be dramatic about it every once in a while. He normally doesn’t care about the wolves, but that doesn’t mean he’s having fun being in a team full of them. 

“Fair point. I could never deal with being in a team like that,” Felix comments with a sheepish smile. “I think us vampires have it hard sometimes. Especially with sports—those wolves think they can own a sport.” 

“Exactly.” Changbin points at his fellow vampire in agreement. “Anyways, I have to study, so please don’t yell too much.”

“Sure thing. I’ll muffle Lix-hyung if I start winning,” Jeongin promises, cackling when Felix hisses at him. Changbin wills himself not to be distracted by them and to finish his reading so that he can sneak into the dining hall with his blood packets and sit with Chan and Jisung.

He doesn’t have to sneak, because vampires are allowed to sit there and eat or drink their blood, but most vampires like to sit outside at night, and although Changbin loves joining them, he prefers sitting with his best friends every once in a while. He sees his vampire friends all the time, after all.

He encounters Chan on his way, who seems to have been headed towards his room. “Changbin-ah! Hey. On your way to the dining room? Jisungie’s already there.”

“Yep. Did I make you two wait?” he asks but Chan shakes his head. 

“I wanted to see if you were all right. Jisung told me the wolves were being annoying again after the match. Sorry I didn’t notice,” Chan says as he rests a hand on Changbin’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry. Jisungie growled at them for me,” he replies with a laugh. Chan snickers. “You should have seen it. It was pretty bold of him.”

“I’ll ask him to show me, but I don’t think he’ll want to,” Chan says with a hum. Changbin already imagines Jisung’s pink cheeks in response to the request, and he can’t help but smile. “Did he growl for you?”

“He growled, I’m not sure if he did it for me. Huiyoon was pretending to not know who Jisung was again, so perhaps he just did it to get him to leave,” Changbin replies. Chan exhales through his nose, annoyance clear in his face, but he keeps quiet about it. 

He joins Changbin in getting a blood packet for tonight before making their way to Jisung. Changbin tugs his red hood over his head when he enters the dining hall so he doesn’t get any trouble from any hungry wolves before he sits down with Chan and Jisung. He thinks it’s cute how Jisung always sits with Chan, rather than his wolf friends, but perhaps he did it knowing that Changbin would come tonight. 

“Hey guys,” Jisung says with a kind smile. He already has a two plates of food in front of him, signifying that he’s waiting for someone. “Didn’t know if you wanted something, Changbin hyung, sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m good,” Changbin assures his friend with a tiny smile. He’s already feeling better, and talking about music with his friends will always assure him that it’s only the sun making him cranky and jealous. At the end of the day, he’ll be fine again.

Seeing Chan and Jisung laugh because of his jokes, seeing Jisung comfortably talk and goof around, and hearing Chan talk about the books he’s read will never fail to cheer Changbin right up. 

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“And then I ran into Ryujin and Yeji in the woods! I—I cannot unsee that again. I will never go running out there again,” Jisung wails. Chan grabs Changbin as he’s wheezing with laughter, his eyes completely closed and dimples on full display. Changbin’s stomach hurts as Jisung rolls around in embarrassment. 

“You guys don’t understand! I’d rather have Minho hyung laugh at me because I tripped than have them yelling at me to give them some privacy,” Jisung complains with an exaggerated pout. “Do you hear what I’m saying? I’d rather have a vampire laugh at me than embarrass myself like that again!” 

Jisung starts hitting Chan and Changbin’s arms and back, but there’s no strength behind his punches. “Minho hyung is a strange vampire anyway, of course you’d prefer him!” Changbin says as he grabs Jisung’s wrist. Chan is still wheezing, rendered completely useless.

“But he’s still a vampire! A vampire who thinks it’s very amusing when I trip,” Jisung retorts, imitating Minho’s laughter. Changbin snorts, and he winces when his fangs ache. He’s had human food for the first time in a while, so now his teeth hurt.

“Stop making me laugh! My fangs are dying. And besides, doesn’t Minho hyung always help you up afterwards, though?” he points out. He knows Minho, after all, and Minho sometimes complains about having to help the nerdy wolf at track and field practice, but Changbin also knows that he doesn’t mind. Jisung lets out a long sigh.

“Let me be dramatic, hyung-ah,” he complains, inflating his cheeks to show his displeasure. Chan grabs onto Jisung’s arm as he takes big gulps of breath.

“Shh! Shh! Minhyuk might hear us,” he warns the two. Changbin almost forgot about their house master. It must be past curfew for werewolves, and by extension, humans. 

“Minhyuk has a soft spot for you as a human, hyung. And I think he forgets I exist sometimes,” Jisung says with a shrug. “It’ll be fine. You’re like a vampire, you don’t need sleep.”

“And what about you, then?” Chan boops Jisung’s nose with his finger, laughing when the latter bites at it. Changbin snickers.

“My teeth hurt. It’s the new moon. I can’t sleep,” Jisung answers with a sheepish look.

“Our teeth are in sync, you know?” Changbin adds, raising his eyebrows at Chan, who squints at them. “Didn’t you know that when a vampire and a werewolf join forces, their fangs synchronize?” 

“Don’t you lie to me, Changbin-ah,” Chan warns him. “Jisung just said it’s because of the new moon! And I do know about some werewolves being extra sensitive to the moon phases. And I know you get achy teeth when you eat human food, so there you have it.”

“You’ll never know,” Jisung says with a sigh, but then he starts laughing when Chan grabs his wrists and shakes him. Jisung squeaks and leans towards Changbin. “Changbin hyung, help!”

“If you two tell me that you’re lying, I’ll help you soothe your toothaches,” Chan threatens them as he uses his feet to keep Changbin at a distance. He and Jisung immediately stop to look at Chan with wide eyes, like a child looking at a piece of candy. 

“You will?” Changbin asks, trying to hold back a smile. Chan laughs at the way he and Jisung are looking at him. “Okay, fine! You were right, there’s no such thing as teeth synchronization. Come here with your hands.”

Chan snickers but he offers the two both of his hands. “Don’t bite too hard,” he says as Jisung and Changbin use his fingers as a chewing toy. Chan somehow complains about how it tickles, but he lets them keep going, like the sweetheart he is.

Jisung is falling asleep even as he’s chewing on Chan’s finger. Changbin coos even with Chan’s ring finger and pinky between his teeth, but he lets him go when he sees Chan smiling at Jisung as well. 

“Maybe I should let you two sleep,” he whispers with a soft chuckle, using his hoodie sleeve to wipe Chan’s hand before ruffling his hyung’s hair. Chan hums, cringing a bit when Jisung drools, so Changbin helps him carry Jisung to his bed. 

“You don’t have to go yet, if you don’t want to,” Chan softly tells him after they’ve tucked Jisung in. Changbin wasn’t actually planning to leave just yet, he always waits for Jisung and Chan to fall asleep. 

“I won’t, but you can sleep, hyung. I don’t mind,” Changbin answers with a shrug. Chan yawns and immediately slaps his hand in front of his mouth, making Changbin laugh. “Go to sleep, you idiot. You’re not a vampire.” 

“I know. I know. Thanks for stopping by, Changbinnie-yah,” Chan says, rolling his eyes with a somewhat fond smile on his face. Changbin can’t find the strength to pretend he’s upset when Chan pinches his cheek. 

“Good night, hyung,” he whispers, pushing Chan towards his bed. Chan sighs and slumps down onto the sheets. He’s tired, even if he’s pretending not to be. Changbin smiles and briefly rests his hand on the side of Chan’s face. “I’ll rest here for a while, then I’ll go back to my room.” 

Changbin sits on the floor and simply breathes as he waits for Chan to fall asleep. The sight of his friends peacefully sleeping calms him and makes him feel at ease. Sometimes he wishes he could sleep, too, instead of just rest, but during times like these, he’s glad that he can simply watch.

Once it becomes too hard to ignore the urge to be weird and ruffle his friends’ heads or lie with them, he decides to leave and get back to his room. Jeongin is resting there, so Changbin lies down under his covers to do the same. 

Maybe if he could actually sleep, he wouldn’t be thinking about Chan and Jisung the entire time. It’s always the late nights with them that get him—that’s when he has them all to himself, that’s when it feels like there are no difference between them that could hold Changbin back from admitting to himself that he cares for them more than he lets on sometimes. 

Of course he’s not shy to admit that they’re his best friends, but it can be difficult to let them know, at times, especially in public. He’ll get over it, but he does hope that he’ll be able to spend more time with them like they did tonight. 

Late at night and early in the morning might quickly become settled as Changbin’s favorite times of the day, and not just because of the lack of sun. 

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Jisung is running as fast as he can on two legs. He forgot the time, and although he has permission to miss the first couple of minutes of class after lunch to eat, he doesn’t want to miss music class.

He can’t help that his body is so incredibly sensitive to the phases of the moon and he needs more food once the waxing moon arrives, but he’s embarrassed that he’s one of the only wolves who’s this sensitive. It doesn’t help that he’s not a quick eater.

He stumbles into class and apologizes to the teacher with a brief bow, ignoring the way the students are looking at him. She waves him off and tells him to go sit with his group. Jisung swallows and pushes his glasses up his nose as he looks around.

Relief washes over him when he sees Chan waving him over. He sits next to him and Changbin, unable to hold back a sigh. “Oh gosh. Thank goodness it’s you two. What’s the assignment?”

“Teacher Kim knows we get along, and she wants vampires and werewolves to work together, so we’re in luck,” Chan says with a big grin. Changbin hums and Jisung smiles. He’s happy that they got put together without much trouble. They haven’t gotten the chance to work together on a music project yet, so he’s excited.

Jisung hears about a project to create a musical performance in any way they’d like, as long as it’s done together and they show off their skills. It sounds like a dream project to Jisung, because he’s always wanted to try and write his own music together with his favorite hyungs.

Although he likes working with Seungmin and Hyunjin on music, he’s happy to switch it up, because he feels like the three work together really well. Changbin suggests going all out and trying to pull together an album for the project.

Jisung thinks there’s no harm in trying, and thus, they spend the entire afternoon, as well as after classes, trying to write a song or two. Even after dinner, the three of them end up in the music room in the Red Sun house, playing and experimenting together, forgetting about the time as they try to play music.

Jisung finds that the gayageum is and will always be the instrument most intuitive to him, his fingers almost instinctively plucking melodies on the strings of the zither. Changbin tries some instruments but finds himself returning to the janggu, drumming beats to support the melodies they’ve come up with so far.

Chan is and always has been a great piano player, so he tests out the tunes there, humming along to the music. For a moment, Jisung forgets about everything that he usually worries about during the day.

He doesn’t have to think about how he probably looks silly with his tie slung over his shoulder so it doesn’t get in the way, his glasses perched on top of his head so they won’t slip off. He doesn’t have to think about whatever his fellow wolves think about him, nor about what any vampires might have to say about him. It doesn’t matter in the moment. 

The only thing that matters is that he can write down all those thoughts that are usually stuck floating in his mind, giving them a place of their own—That, and spending some quality time with his friends.

“Jisung-ah, Changbin-ah. Why didn’t you tell me you guys were this good at writing lyrics?” Chan wraps his arms around both of their shoulders, pulling them into a sort of group back hug. Jisung huffs as his glasses slip down onto his nose and he fixes them, his cheeks feeling slightly warm. 

“Why didn’t you tell us you’re a genius with melodies?” Changbin retorts, twisting his upper body to squint at Chan, who laughs. The sound is bright and sends Jisung’s heart doing a happy little spin. He spots Changbin with a smile on his face, his eyes scrunched up into cute crescents.

“I told you I went to music school before,” Chan says with a sigh. He ruffles their heads and pushes the two together before standing up and sitting at the piano. “Now play that again so I can write it down, okay?” 

Jisung grins at Changbin, who playfully pushes Jisung away from him. Jisung is overcome by the urge to bite Changbin’s cheeks, but he restrains himself, scolding his inner wolf for craving affection. 

The three are interrupted when their housemaster walks into the room, probably on his patrol to check if the common rooms are empty. Minhyuk offers them a sheepish smile. “You three again, huh? Sorry to interrupt, but you guys are in a house with a lot of others, so the house rules are there for a reason. I’ll have to send you up to your rooms now—or at least, Chan and Jisung.”

“Apologies, Minhyuk hyung. It’s my fault,” Changbin stands up and bows. “I kept them busy here. You know how it is with vampires, we tend to forget the time after sundown.”

“Just don’t let it happen again, all right?” he says, motioning for them to clean up and get going. They all gather their papers and put the instruments back in their place before bowing again in apology and hurrying out of the music room.

Jisung lets out a breath and holds onto Changbin’s arm as they leave the room. “You didn’t have to do that, hyung-ah. I think it’s sweet that you defended us, though,” he says with a soft chuckle. Changbin casually shrugs, but before he can answer, a voice sounds from the common room.

“Hey, Changbin-ah! You were playing some sick stuff just now. You wanna join our game?” some vampires call out. Jisung freezes and lets go of Changbin’s arm, avoiding their gazes. He doesn’t even pause to see who they are. He’d rather walk away, but he’s frozen in place. 

“Nah, maybe later,” Changbin answers. Jisung keeps his eyes on the floor, but his glasses are slipping off, so he moves to fix them. He wants to walk away, but the vampires start talking again.

“Oh wait! There’s the wannabe vampire wolf! Jisung-ah!” Jisung snaps his head up to see Taejoon, Youngjae, Felix, and Jeongin sitting around the table with a game between them. Jisung sighs. “You can join us, too. Chan hyung, as well. We welcome anyone, doesn’t matter if you’re a wannabe or not.”

“Shut up, Taejoon-ah,” Youngjae scolds him, but he’s laughing. Jisung’s stomach churns, even as Changbin rolls his eyes at them. Jeongin slaps them.

“Just because he has glasses and he reads books doesn’t mean he’s a wannabe, asshole,” he says with a sigh. Jisung is too tired to deal with this, but he doesn’t want to be a coward. He’s grateful for Jeongin’s comment, but he might only be doing that because he’s Changbin’s roommate.

“I know. At the end of the day, he’s still a wolf. Wait—it’s not the full moon yet isn’t it?” Taejoon says before he starts howling. Jisung rolls his eyes, but his heart hurts. He wonders if Changbin feels the same about him. These are his friends, after all—but then again, his own friends aren’t always nice about vampires either.

“God—Stop being childish and go on with your game, guys,” Chan snaps, putting an end to the howling and laughing. “We’re all grown ups here, and we gotta share a house so let’s be nice to each other, all right?”

“Right. Sorry, I forgot humans and wolves need sleep and get cranky if they don’t. We’re just joking around,” Youngjae assures them, but Jisung doesn’t think it’s very funny. His fingers tingle in annoyance. He steps forward and growls, but two sets of hands stop him from moving any further.

“Come on, they’re not worth it, Jisung-ah. It doesn’t work on vampires,” Changbin whispers, his point proven by the fact that they’re still snickering, even if Felix and Jeongin look a bit uneasy. “Let’s go.”

Jisung sighs and relents, his cheeks burning in embarrassment. He wants to go to his room and hide now, already regretting that he growled at the vampires. He was annoyed and it helps to shut werewolves up, but now he’s just mortified.

“Sorry about that, guys. Do you want me to stop by your room for a bit before I go back? Jeonginnie is still downstairs anyway,” Changbin suggests softly. He looks a bit down and the sight hurts. Jisung wants their happy smiles from back in the music room to return.

“No, it’s all right,” he replies, even though he kind of desperately needs a hug from Changbin, but he’s too embarrassed about making a fool of himself in front of his friends. He just wants to hide right now—the approaching full moon is making him extra sensitive. 

“Okay then, good night,” Changbin says with a tiny smile. Sometimes Jisung feels bad that Changbin has to spend every night being up and awake the entire time. He knows that if it were him, he’d go into a downward spiral at some point, being alone with his thoughts all the time. 

“Good night, Changbin-ah. Sweet dreams,” Chan says, and Jisung repeats his words, a little smile appearing on his face when Changbin huffs at their cheesy words. The two snicker before going to their room. 

Chan wraps an arm around Jisung’s shoulders and silently rubs his arms. Jisung lets out a long sigh, but his chest fills with warmth as Chan’s comforting scent enters his nose. “Don’t say anything, hyung. I’m just disappointed that the night ended like this.”

“Me too. I wish everyone would just get along already,” Chan comments with a hum. “I feel like it puts an unnecessary wall between us. Even between you and Changbinnie.”

“That’s not true,” Jisung snaps without thinking. He immediately regrets it when Chan’s face falls. He steps towards Chan and offers him an apologetic look. “I mean. It’s just—It’s not true most of the time. Not when it’s just the three of us.” 

“But that’s the thing. You’re only together when I’m there,” Chan replies. Jisung’s stomach churns. It’s true. “And I know it’s because of others and not because you two don’t care for each other, but it’s still an unnecessary limitation put on you by this stupid age old conflict.”

“I know. I wish it was different, but people hold grudges even for events that were centuries ago. But what can I do about it?” Jisung sighs. He runs a hand through his hair, fatigue making his limbs feel heavy. “Let’s just wash up and go to sleep, hyung. This conversation is depressing.”

“Come here for a hug first.” Chan opens his arms and Jisung immediately lets himself fall into his arms. He wishes he didn’t let Changbin leave without a hug either, not because Chan’s hugs are bad—they’re like a warm bath after a long day—but because they’re the perfect compliment to Chan’s hugs.

Changbin’s arms around him feel like having a warm meal after all, or like coming home and diving into bed, and Jisung regrets sending him away. At least he has Chan by his side, an ever comforting presence to Jisung’s stormy mind. 

He knows that Chan is prone to worrying and overthinking as well, but he has always been better at keeping those thoughts at bay, at least when he allows himself and his mind to rest and he sleeps properly.

“Thanks Channie hyung,” Jisung whispers. “You always look out for us. Sorry to be trouble.”

“It’s not you and Binnie who are trouble,” Chan replies with a sigh. He gently pinches Jisung’s cheek, grinning when Jisung bites at his hand. “Okay, I take it back, you are trouble sometimes, you bitey bitey man. Let’s go sleep.”

 ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡⋆

If there’s anything Jisung dreads more than a pack of vampires, it’s the full moon. As soon as the moon starts waxing, Jisung starts feeling this growing dread in his stomach. He’s more irritated, he’s hungry, he’s agitated yet anxious, as if he can snap at any moment.

It’s not like he turns into a blood thirsty monster when the full moon arrives, but he does struggle to keep his human form and not turn into a wolf and go ham on his bedsheets or something. 

His wolf only comes out occasionally, when it’s a full moon and he’s too tired to hold himself back. Before it’s the full moon, he’s simply filled with a sense of doom, which only worsens when he hangs out with other wolves.

He’s in the library with Seungmin and Hyunjin, studying, but he’s feeling progressively worse. His friends are talking about something, but Jisung can’t seem to concentrate much on their conversation. He’s done his reading and assignments, but he’s struggling to stay focused. He needs food, but it’s not dinner time just yet.

“‘Sung-ah? You’re not listening, are you?” Seungmin asks as he taps Jisung’s hand. “I’ve got a rice cracker if you want.”

“Thanks,” Jisung says with a soft smile. Seungmin rummages in his bag and offers him the food. “I wasn’t listening. Sorry. I hate the waxing moon.” 

“It’s okay. It’ll be over soon enough,” Hyunjin tells him, reaching out to pat Jisung’s head. Jisung scowls. His friends always feel energized once the moon starts waxing, and most werewolves somehow know how to turn dread into adrenaline, but not him. It sucks, and Jisung hopes that someday he’ll learn how to change it.

His friends know that he feels dreadful around other wolves, so hopefully they won’t mind him bailing out on them. “I think I’m going to clean up and go back to my room. Or check if Channie hyung is reading here,” he says, offering his friends an apologetic smile.

“Sure thing. We’ll see you later, Jisung-ah.” Seungmin waves him off, so he gives his friends a brief hug goodbye and wishes them good luck with the rest of their assignments. “Say hi to Chan hyung for us.”

“Will do.” Jisung sends them a flying kiss before returning his books and looking around to see if Chan is in his usual spot. And indeed he’s sitting in the corner Jisung usually sits when he wants to read peacefully.

“Hi there, curious human,” Jisung says in lieu of a greeting. He tilts his glasses down to look at Chan, who laughs and pats the spot beside him, where Jisung plops down and leans against him. “Hyunjinnie and Seungminnie say hello, too.”

“That’s nice of them, thank you. How’s the moon sensitivity today?” he asks as he puts a bookmark between the pages and turns his upper body a bit to face Jisung.  

“Better now. I always feel bad for my friends for leaving them, but it is what it is,” Jisung answers with a gentle shrug. He inspects the book in Chan’s hands. It looks like a fiction. “How’s the book?”

“It’s all right, but they didn’t do a very good job at writing vampires—they sparkle in the sun,” Chan answers with a chuckle. Jisung laughs, imagining Changbin sparkling while playing football in the sun. “It would be cute, for sure.”

“It would,” Jisung agrees with a snicker. He wishes Changbin would be here with them, but he’s probably inside, playing cards with his vampire friends. “Maybe we could ask Changbinnie hyung to put glitter on his face sometime.”

“Oh, maybe we could get him to do it for tonight—if he wants to come to the party. Did you hear about it? That the werewolves are throwing a full moon eve party again? I think it has become a tradition,” Chan says. Jisung’s eyes widen and he pulls a sheepish expression. Of course no one told him.

“You know I never hear about these things. Hyunjin either forgets to tell me or assume I don’t want to go because of my stupid moon sensitivity,” he complains. “Do you think Changbinnie hyung will wanna come? Or other vampires?” 

“Yeah for sure. These parties are basically the only time where vampires and wolves can get along. I mean, the wolves are usually a bit aggressive near the full moon, but once they get drunk, nothing matters anymore,” Chan answers with a grin. He’s been to a party before, Jisung now remembers. “I know Changbin’s friends, Felix and Minho, went last time. Even the girls come.”

“Oh god,” Jisung says, remembering his awkward encounter with Ryujin and Yeji. Chan snickers and fondly wraps an arm around his shoulders.

“It’s okay. Are you coming tonight? Or nah?” he asks.

“I will. If you and Changbinnie are going. It might make me forget about my dread,” Jisung answers with a shrug. Normally he’d decline and hole up in his room to avoid the other wolves, but maybe it’ll be fun to go with his friends. 

“I’m sure Changbinnie will wanna come if you go, too,” Chan replies with a grin, making Jisung blush. Chan is probably joking, if anything, he’d want to come because of Chan or his friends, not because of him. “Either way it’ll be fun. I’m happy you’re coming, too. Let’s go get Changbin.” 

Jisung grins widely and grabs Chan’s hand to pull him up. His heart is pounding fast for some reason, his usual moon-related anxiety temporarily replaces by something akin to excitement. 

As Chan predicted, Changbin easily agrees to joining them to the party, much to Jisung’s relief. Having the two of them by his side will be a perfect distraction until the full moon arrives tomorrow night.

☾

Changbin wouldn’t say that being in a room full of werewolves in when it’s almost full moon is his favorite pastime, but then again, most of the wolves don’t really care once they’ve drank something. Changbin himself isn’t drinking, because he’s just had a blood packet and he doesn’t feel like getting drunk tonight. 

He’d rather watch his friends dance and the wolves and vampires mixing, just for one night. And tonight, Jisung is there, too, which is a first, so he’s glad he can spend the party dancing with both Chan and him and his friends.

Chan and Jisung aren’t even tipsy when they start dancing and Minho comes to join them, which encourages Felix to enthusiastically jump into the group as well. Minho and Felix have a lot less shame than Chan and Jisung, and perhaps also Changbin, but seeing the two eventually leads to all of them going all out.

Changbin—who ends up being the only non-tipsy one together with Minho—is laughing his ass off once Jisung starts doing silly dance moves, tripping all over himself, while Chan shakes his butt and laughs while doing it. 

Felix takes everyone’s hands one by one, briefly slow dancing with all four of them before pushing them together to do the same. Changbin somehow ends up slow dancing with a very tipsy Yeonjun—the werewolf from the Blue Blood house—and even with Chaeryeong, too.

He selfishly seeks out Jisung and Chan, who he finds cutely dancing together. They’re spinning in circles around each other until Jisung trips and falls, ending with the two of them laughing and Jisung announcing he’ll take a break.

Changbin steals Chan first, because he knows that Chan will venture out and dance with others as well, and he needs to seize the opportunity before he loses track of the man. Chan smiles brightly, his cheeks slightly pink due to the alcohol in his system and Changbin can’t help but feel all weird and fluttery inside.

“Having fun, Chan hyung?” he asks, leaning closer to make himself heard above the heavy pounding of the bass. Chan sticks out his tongue into a cheeky laugh.

“Of course I am! Especially now that you’re here~” he teases and Changbin pouts, but his stomach does something funny. And now that he’s drunk blood recently, he can blush, but he doubts that Chan will notice. Chan doesn’t usually drink, but he promised to drink something sweet together with Jisung, which might have been stronger than they anticipated.

“Awh, you like Changbinnie that much?” Changbin bats his lashes, and he expects Chan to laugh, but he just hums and shows him a smile so sugary sweet that makes his teeth ache. Changbin almost gets the urge to bite him.

Chan’s handsome face up so close is soon getting a little bit heavy for Changbin to handle—even though he should be used to it after all the times Chan has helped him apply sunscreen—especially when Chan circles his arms around Changbin’s waist and pulls him closer. 

“Hyung, don’t you want to dance with others, too? I think I saw Sana being here. And what about Hyunjinnie? He’s probably looking for someone to dance with,” he whispers, heart pounding a bit faster than it should.

“Hm. You’re warm, but also right. Just one more second—minute, whatever,” Chan says with a chuckle, and Changbin shakes his head at the nonsense, but his stomach feels funny. Chan simply snickers when he hugs Changbin before the latter lets him go, and then he goes out to seek Jisung.

He finds the wolf trying to copy Minho’s increasingly ridiculous dance moves, involving spins and turns and weird leg movements. Jisung is concentrated, a rosy blush dusting his cheeks, and Changbin finds himself watching for a moment before joining in and poorly copying Minho’s movements as well, hoping to make Jisung laugh.

“Damn. You two are naturals, woah,” Minho comments, sarcasm dripping off his voice. Jisung laughs when Changbin improvises some strange dance moves. Mission accomplished. 

Minho has stopped dancing, and he comments that they should go on together. Jisung waves him goodbye before taking Changbin’s hands and shaking them instead of actually dancing with him. Changbin laughs. “Having fun, Jisung-ah?”

“Yes~! It’s great, dancing with vampires! They smell way better than wolves around this time,” Jisung says with a long and deep sigh. He’s not wearing his glasses, which might have been a good decision, considering he’d lose them in a second while dancing. 

Jisung coaxes Changbin to do a twirl, so Changbin complies. “Vampires aren’t so bad after all, are they?” Changbin replies as he spins Jisung around and dips him down, a big grin on his face. Jisung’s smile grows heart-shaped, and Changbin feels that same fluttering as before. Something must be in the air. 

“They aren’t. They’re very very cool. Some of them are sweet, too. They can be just like me, or very different,” Jisung incoherently answers, but it touches Changbin nonetheless. “Some of them can dance very well. Spin me around again!” 

Changbin snickers and does as Jisung says, revelling in the squeaky laugh it earns him. His stomach is making a fuss, and he wonders if vampires can get sick after all, even without blood in their system.

“How tipsy are you, Jisung-ah?” Changbin asks with a chuckle. Jisung snorts and shrugs.

“I don’t know,” he answers, giving Changbin enough reason to think he’s pretty far gone. He might need to feed him a bit, or get him to drink some water. “It doesn’t matter! This way I don’t feel the dread~”

“That’s not—” Changbin begins with a laugh, but he’s cut off by someone announcing they’re going to be playing spin the bottle. Jisung gasps and starts tugging him along to the group. Changbin is surprised Jisung wants to join, but perhaps it’s because he sees Chan walking over.

Spin the bottle is a game for people who are tipsy, Changbin thinks, but he’s a weak man when it comes to his friends—and especially Chan and Jisung. He doesn’t feel like kissing anyone, but he’s surprised when Jisung declines as well.

“I won’t kiss any wolves tonight! No thank you,” he says as he waves his hands. “No vampires either, those teeth are scary.”

Changbin feels disappointed and relieved at the same time, but he can’t place the feeling. He isn’t sure if he wants Jisung to kiss someone or not. He feels a bit weird seeing Chan kiss someone else, but then again, it’s only a brief peck for a stupid game. 

“Jisung-ah just go kiss Chan oppa if you don’t wanna kiss anyone! Why are you even here,” Ryujin complains when Jisung rejects yet another person. She’s obviously tipsy, just like the rest of the people joining the game. Jisung can’t even answer before everyone chants for them to kiss.

Changbin laughs and joins the chanting, just to tease his friends, but he can’t help but feel kind of odd about it. He grows quiet and swallows thickly when Chan loudly announces that fine, they will do it.  

Changbin’s eyes closely follow Chan’s movements, the way he leans closer to Jisung and asks him if he’s okay with this, to which Jisung chuckles awkwardly and says, “Yeah, you’re not a vampire or wolf. It’s cool.”

Chan smiles, his dimples appearing. Jisung’s cheeks are pink, and grow redder when Chan leans closer. Changbin wants to look away but he can’t. He wants to pull them apart and push them together. He wants to be Chan and know what Jisung’s lips taste like and he wants to be Jisung to feel Chan’s hand on his cheek. He wants to be the subject of their fond looks. 

As Chan and Jisung’s lips touch in a somewhat messy yet surprisingly sweet kiss, Changbin wonders if they might have done something like this before, in the privacy of their own room. They would tell Changbin if they had, right? But then why do their lips seem to fit together so naturally?

Why does Jisung’s cheek fit so snugly into the palm of Chan’s hand? Why do Chan’s ears glow such a pretty red, yet he doesn’t pull away? He doesn’t dare to ask, even when they part due to lack of oxygen more than anything else.

The group cheers for a moment before moving on like nothing happened. But Changbin lags behind, can’t take his eyes off of his friends, who seem giddy for the rest of the night. He hates that his stomach feels twisted into knots in jealousy, but he can’t help it. 

Chan and Jisung are roommates, and spend so much more time together, Changbin can’t possibly compare. He’s relieved when the party gets dismantled by the professors once it gets closer to sunrise, and he seeks out Chan and Jisung to make sure they’re all right. 

“Come on, let’s get you two to bed, shall we?” he says with a fond chuckle once he finds Jisung and Chan both dozing off on the ground. He pulls his friends up, fondly sighing when the two whine and let themselves be draped over his shoulders. “Drink some water when you get back, okay? Are you wearing any lenses, Jisung-ah? Because you should take those out, too.” 

“Yes, yes, yes, yes,” Jisung replies in a sing-song voice before laughing at himself. Changbin sighs, but his stomach flips again. It doesn’t help when Chan hugs him and brings him a glass of water as well, after they arrive at their room. 

“Thank you for taking care of us, Binnie-yah,” Chan says, his hand coming to rest on Changbin’s cheek for a moment. He hopes Chan doesn’t feel how warm they are, despite him not having much blood in his system anymore. 

“No worries. Drink up and sleep soon, all right?” he answers softly, his stomach churning. He feels bittersweet as he watches his friends gulp up their water and lie down in their bed. “Good night, you guys.”

“Wait! Hyung! You can’t leave without a kissie good night, c’mere!” Jisung suddenly announces, waving Changbin to come over. Changbin huffs out a laugh, but Jisung is serious, because he gets out of bed and yanks Changbin towards him before pressing a kiss onto his cheek. 

Changbin takes in a sharp breath. It’s only a kiss on the cheek, and he feels bittersweet about this, too, unsure if he’d rather have it on his lips, or if perhaps he’s glad that he only kissed his cheek. Jisung taps his own cheek, waiting for Changbin to return the gesture.

Changbin sighs, his heart making a fuss, but he relents and gives Jisung an itty bitty peck on his warm cheek, willing himself not to linger too much. “Good night,” he whispers, gently pushing Jisung onto his bed again. 

Jisung lies down and closes his eyes, and within the couple of seconds Changbin keeps staring, Jisung is out cold, the alcohol knocking him out. Changbin releases a breath in relief. He reminds himself that Jisung loves Chan, not him, before he turns around to leave, but he jumps when Chan is suddenly in front of him as well.

“Good lord,” he says with a sigh. Chan’s eyes are wide and pleading, probably meaning he doesn’t want to be left behind. If only Changbin had the courage to do the same earlier tonight, when he felt left behind during that stupid game.

“Do you want a kiss good night, too, hyung?” Changbin asks with a soft chuckle. Chan grins and nods. Changbin leans forward and gently kisses Chan’s cheek. He then opens his mouth to wish him good night, but Chan suddenly raises his hand and brushes his fingers through Changbin’s hair before giving him a kiss on the side of his head.

“Not sure why we don’t do this more often,” Chan wonders aloud. It must be the lingering alcohol in his system. Maybe he’s even mistaking him for Jisung, but then he says, “Good night, Changbin-ah.”

Changbin stands frozen in his place, heart pounding as if he’s still alive and kicking and he just ran a marathon. He swallows and wants to turn around and leave, but he pauses when he spots Chan moving towards Jisung’s bed.

The man leans down to kiss Jisung’s cheek and run a hand through his hair as well, just like he did with Changbin earlier. Chan whispers something that Changbin doesn’t quite catch, and Changbin forces himself to leave before he sees something he shouldn’t. 

He rushes back to his room, but when he sees Jeongin resting peacefully, he is reminded of how he'd normally wait until Chan falls asleep, and he feels guilty for bailing so soon. He sighs and quietly makes his way back to his friends’ room. 

He knocks softly and inches the door open when he doesn't get any response, checking if both of them are asleep. Chan is back in his bed, snoring, and Jisung seems to be in a deep sleep. 

He quietly refills their glasses of water and tugs Chan's blankets up to his chin before deciding to leave again. His heart is still making a fuss for some reason. “Good night, you two. I hope you won't forget about me.” 

 ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡⋆

Jisung is feeling slightly terrible. He doesn’t remember much from last night, only some bits and pieces—dancing with Chan, Changbin, and even Minho—but from some memories he isn’t sure if he dreamt them or not.

All he knows is that he wants Chan by his side today. It’s the full moon, and, combined with the slight headache left from last night, his anxiety is spiking even as he’s having breakfast. He feels a bit sick, but being alone in his room will only make it worse. He needs Chan.

He’s stupid for telling Chan that he’s fine and will catch up with him, but how can he say no when Chan tells him that he wants to thank Changbin for something? Jisung doesn’t even know what he’d thank Changbin for, and he feels bad for not knowing, but if it’s something from last night, it would make sense. 

He can’t help but feel bitter, however, when he enters class late after forcing himself to eat and sees Chan surrounded by vampires. His stomach drops, selfishly wondering if they forgot that it’s the full moon and he’ll probably shrink in on himself if he has to sit next to other wolves and smell their sweat.

He sits next to Seungmin and Hyunjin, who are talking about the party last night, but Jisung doesn’t feel like joining the conversation. He’s too up in his head, his forehead pounding and a sting behind his eyes from his lack of sleep. 

“Jisung-ah, are you alive? Or do you feel like absolute shit, too?” Hyunjin asks with a soft chuckle. He swings an arm around Jisung’s shoulders, the discomfort from his scent getting stronger fighting against the comfort of having his affection. “I slept maybe ten minutes, and I keep switching between feeling like a zombie and feeling like I can sprint around the campus. God. Wolves should get the day off when it’s full moon.”

“I agree,” Jisung says with a deep sigh. He fixes his crooked glasses and leans onto his arms in defeat. “I won’t be very fun today.” 

His friends understand, and they get that they can’t do much to help, but Jisung wishes it was different. He wishes he didn’t feel like throwing up around other wolves when it’s the full moon. It is what it is, and Jisung tries his best to pay attention in class, but his notes are a mess.

He keeps glancing to Chan and Changbin, who seem to be having a perfectly great time together, blissfully unaware of Jisung’s glare. 

He’s annoyed. Annoyed and angry. When class ends, he’s still fuming, his chest tight in a combination of dread, anxiety, and irritation. 

“Hey, Jisung-ah! Wait,” Changbin calls out. Just the person he didn’t need right now. Jisung turns around to face Changbin, his jaw locked tight. Changbin’s eyes widen slightly. “Uhm… Are you all right?” 

“What do you think?” Jisung answers, the words coming out harsher than he intended them to. He doesn’t have the mind to be sorry. If Changbin would have paid him any mind during or before class, he would know. Changbin looks slightly uncomfortable. 

“You don’t look very happy, that’s why I’m asking,” he says. Jisung huffs, and crosses his arms.

“Yeah, well, duh! It’s the full moon and I can’t even sit next to Chan hyung!” he hisses, his heart pounding. He doesn’t like fighting, but the full moon and his moon sensitivity make him on edge, irritation swallowing him whole unless he lets it out somehow. 

“Why not? You could have asked, right?” Changbin replies, waving around with his hand. Jisung scoffs.

“Yeah, sure, with a whole bunch of vampires around. As if they would let me. You know I need him, don’t you?” he says, his voice sounding strange in his ears. Changbin lets out a harsh laugh, making Jisung flinch.

“And what? It’s my responsibility to make sure you can sit next to him?” he retorts. “Who cares if the vampires let you?” 

“No, of course it’s not your responsibility! But maybe you should have known that I’d be late and that your vampire friends would join you first,” Jisung complains. He feels childish, doing so, but he thought Changbin would understand. “You know I don’t like sitting next to wolves, but I can’t just sit in between a whole flock of vampires either.”

“No wolves allowed, no vampires allowed either—You can’t just claim Chan hyung for yourself!” Changbin snaps all of a sudden, making Jisung flinch. He takes a deep breath, his heart beating harshly against his ribs.

“What do you mean? I’m not claiming him!” he retorts with a bite. 

“And yet, you’re telling me I can’t sit next to him,” Changbin argues, which is absolutely not what Jisung is doing. “You are already his roommate. You two spend every damn night together, and I am the culprit here? He came to me to thank me, okay? Is that a crime? Is it a crime for me to want to spend some time with Chan hyung every once in a while?”

“You have football practice with him, what do you mean? We always spend time with the three of us,” Jisung points out, his heart hammering in his ears. He hates fighting. “I’m literally only asking for today, to sit next to him when it’s the full moon, I feel like shit, and I’m going insane!”

“Don’t be selfish, Jisung-ah. I know it’s the full moon—I didn’t mean to make you feel bad, but sue me for finally getting to spend some time with Chan hyung! He’s my friend, too, did you forget?” Changbin bites back, the words sending a spike of anger down Jisung’s spine. Jisung growls and pushes against Changbin’s chest. 

He feels the wolf inside him clawing at his ribs, begging him to let him out, but Jisung refuses. No matter how angry he is, how dreadful he feels, letting his wolf out around his friends— toward his friend—is too mortifying too allow. 

But he’s already losing control, and he can’t stop himself from pushing Changbin again. Changbin jumps him in retaliation, tackling him and toppling both of them over before pinning his wrists to the ground. Jisung’s head hits the floor and his fists clench. His glasses have flown off his face, but Changbin’s face couldn’t be more clear to him in the moment, staring at him from up close. Changbin’s eyes flicker red. 

“You already have Chan hyung, don’t you get it?!” he hisses, his fangs in full view. Jisung is panting harshly, his chest rumbling with every breath. He struggles against Changbin and against himself, his muscles tight as he feels his claws break through.

“What? What are you talking about?!” Jisung squirms, the full moon tugging and pulling on his patience, tempting his wolf to come out and overpower Changbin. He thrashes around, but Changbin won’t let him go.

“Don’t you remember last night?” Changbin asks him, still holding Jisung against the ground. Jisung blinks in confusion, wracking his mind about what happened last night. “You kissed him. He kissed you.” 

Jisung’s eyes widen and he suddenly remembers—Chan’s lips on his. The two of them both tipsy, the kiss tasting like alcohol and yet Jisung loved it. “I— I– Yeah, I remember now. That—That was for a game!”

“And yet you both obviously enjoyed it!” Changbin snaps, as if there’s something wrong with that. As if one kiss means that Chan is his now. 

“We were both drunk, hyung!” Jisung points out with a growl. Changbin briefly loosens his grip on Jisung’s wrist, but as soon as Jisung moves, he slams them back down. His heart is going haywire, his head is pounding, and he’s afraid he’ll hurt Changbin if he gets any angrier, and yet his wolf is begging him to push Changbin over and claw at him. “Ugh! Why would this even be a problem? Let me go, hyung!”

“No, I’m trying to make a point here. Chan hyung already cares about you way more than he cares about me. Can’t I have even a fraction of his time?” Changbin hisses, stubborn as always. He really doesn’t get how Jisung feels, does he?

“Of course you fucking can! Just—Just today is the worst day for that! I have a headache from last night, the full moon is making me anxious as fuck, and I can’t stand the smell of other wolves! I need him, hyung!” Jisung snarls at Changbin, whose eyes flash red again. “Let me go!” 

“What the fuck is going on here? Stop it right now!” Chan’s voice suddenly bellows through the halls. Only now does Jisung realize that a crowd has gathered around them, watching them fight. Chan’s face is red—he’s angry, all right.

“H—Chan hyung?” Changbin stammers as Chan stomps over and pulls the two apart. Jisung’s stomach drops and he wonders how much of their conversation he heard. 

“Are you two seriously fighting about who gets to have my attention? What the heck, you guys?” he snaps, making it clear that he heard quite a portion of their argument. “I’m not some kind of toy you need to fight to play with! I thought you knew better than to join the rest of your species in trying to get me to pick a side.”

“That’s not what this was about, hyung,” Jisung retorts, but Chan offers him an incredulous look. Jisung’s fingers prickle in irritation, his eyes stinging in frustration. 

“Whatever it was, friends don’t fight about friends, do they?” he argues. Jisung’s heart feels like it will jump right out of his throat any second, leaving behind a bloody scene. He can’t handle Chan and Changbin’s angry expressions, especially not knowing that he caused all of this. “If there’s something you want from me, come and tell me instead of fighting about it!”

“You guys don’t fucking understand a thing.” Jisung stands up with a shaky breath and turns on his heels. He stumbles as he grabs his glasses and starts running. Running as fast as he can, away from the crowd, away from Chan and Changbin. The last thing he hears is Changbin telling Chan to go after him, but footsteps never follow him.

☾ 

“Hyung. It’s okay. I’m okay. Go after him,” Changbin insists, but Chan shakes his head. Jisung needs a moment, and he’s not going to pick a side now. He won’t pick a side ever, especially not between his two dearest friends. 

“Are you really okay? Jisungie is dealing with himself and the moon sensitivity, but what about you, Changbin-ah? Why did you fight him?” Chan asks him, because it can’t be easy to fight with a friend. He reaches out for Changbin’s arm, hoping to give him a soothing touch, but Changbin doesn’t look pleased.

“Of course I’m not. I—Aren’t you upset with me, hyung?” Changbin asks with a sigh. Chan huffs.

“Yeah, I’m upset. I’m angry. I’m disappointed. Who would want to see their friends fight over you? I’m concerned, too, but Jisungie ran away. You didn’t,” he answers. His chest feels tight in worry over his friends, and he’s trying not to blame himself for not noticing the tension between them. Arguments happen, but physical fighting is rare, even if it’s the full moon. 

“I know. I’m just—It’s not like we wanted to fight over you. He was being selfish. So was I, probably, but what are we supposed to do, then?” Changbin grumbles. Chan lets out a soft breath. 

“Talk it out. Maybe with me, if it’s about me?” he suggests softly, but Changbin rolls his eyes. He’s not up for reconciliation just yet, it seems. “I’m not going to force you, and I’m not going to pick a side. Ever. So you should go to Jisung first. You two should make up together, because however much I’d love to do it for you, I’m not going to.”

“I know. I need time, hyung. Sorry,” Changbin says with a sigh. Chan softens and waves him off. He’s disappointed, but there’s nothing he can really do except wait and encourage his friends to make it up. He has been dealing with werewolves and vampires fighting each other and using Chan as an excuse for way too long. 

Hopefully his friends will make up soon, because he isn’t sure how well he will be able to stay away from them. Jisung and Changbin usually are the only people he can spend time with without being constantly reminded or confronted with the age old rivalry. He needs them. 

 ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡⋆

Jisung is running. Running and running and running and running. Round and round the track, trying to clear his mind. At least with the world flying past him and his body occupied, he can soothe his inner wolf a bit. He doesn’t want to turn, but the track field is a safe place to allow himself to let his wolf loose without losing control.

He’s caught in a loop of running, his body automatically completing lap after lap until he’s sweating buckets, and then he keeps going. He only stops when he hears someone yell out his name.

“Han Jisung!” It’s Minho who’s calling him. Jisung comes to a screeching halt, almost tripping over his own legs as he stumbles out of his adrenaline induced haze. He is panting harshly, his legs shaking now that he has stopped running.

“W-What?” he pants out, resting his hands on his knees. He belatedly notices that his claws are out. He’s also not wearing his glasses. Great.

“You were running on legs and feet. I know running is a werewolf thing or whatever, but running on all fours is not really allowed, usually,” Minho says with a sheepish expression. 

“Oh…” Jisung says with an awkward chuckle. He blushes in embarrassment. It does explain why it feels like he has been ripped from another dimension all of a sudden. He turned more than he thought he did, apparently. “Sorry.” 

“I’m not making fun of you. I just wanted to let you know,” Minho says with a shrug. “I… I saw you fighting with Changbin. What happened?”

“Oh. Nothing. Just—I’m miserable because of the full moon,” Jisung admits softly. He scrunches his nose and rubs a hand along his face. 

“Oh. Ohh, but shouldn’t you be having wild sex to get it all out? Or run through the forest and get all dirty?” Minho asks with a laugh. He’s joking, but Jisung can’t bring himself to be amused.

“Those are stereotypes, hyung!” he complains. Minho shrugs, obviously he knows that. Perhaps he was trying to help. “Have you seen my glasses, by the way? I’m sure I had them on when I started running.”

“I didn’t. Maybe they flew off or you stepped on them. You were quite… up in your own world,” Minho answers with a sheepish smile, imitating claws with his hands. Jisung scowls, his neck heating up in embarrassment. 

“Jisung-ah?!” Hyunjin’s voice calls out. Jisung whips himself around to face them. Right. He was supposed to meet up with him and Seungmin. The two run up to them, and Hyunjin gives Minho slightly shifty eyes. “Are you okay? What happened to running together?” 

“I’m fine. I—I forgot. I’m sorry,” he says with a huff. He keeps his eyes down at his feet. At least his own smell is masking that of his friends. Minho silently leaves them, which is a shame, although he supposes Minho wouldn’t wanna be between three wolves during the full moon.

“That’s fine. We saw you and Changbin hyung, after all,” Seungmin replies, and Jisung sighs. It seems everyone has either seen them or heard about their fight. “What happened between you two?”

“Nothing. Nothing happened, okay? We just fought!” he snaps. He’s sick of everyone asking if he’s okay, what happened, isn’t Changbin your friend—he’s already on edge, he doesn’t need to be babied.

“Damn, okay. I was just asking,” Seungmin says with a soft sigh. Jisung bites the inside of his cheek. He apologizes under his breath. “Do you want to talk to Changbin first?”

“No. No, as you can tell, talking isn’t going particularly great right now. I need to… I need it not to be full moon first,” Jisung says, looking up at his friends with an apologetic look. “Chan hyung is mad at me and Changbinnie hyung, too. I… I really fucked up.”

“And the running hasn’t helped so far? You look like a sweaty sea lion,” Hyunjin says with a soft chuckle. Jisung snorts and shakes his head. “How about we run some more, then? The three of us together, do our usual pack act and maybe our wolves will be satisfied for tonight.”

“Let’s do that. I hope it helps,” Jisung says with a nod. He hopes that being with his friends with soothe him, even if it makes him anxious. All he needs, is to forget about everything, just for a moment. 

 ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡⋆

Hate is a strong word, but if there is something Chan would say he hates, then it’s the idiotic rivalry between vampires and werewolves. There is no reason fro them to baselessly hate one another, no reason to fight or judge each other based on species, and yet, Chan can’t seem to escape it.

He keeps being reminded of his friends and their fight. He’s worried about Changbin and Jisung, but there’s nothing much he can do about it at the moment. It doesn’t help that he’s still plagued by the memory of kissing Jisung last night, as well as Changbin’s displeased expression.

He doesn’t know if he regrets what he did last night, but it might have fueled the fight from today. He doesn’t know what to think. He loves his friends, and he’d hate for them to fight because of him. He knows that they love each other, after all, but their minds are tainted by the rivalry between their species.

Before he knows it, he finds himself in the library, a space which usually provides him peace of mind, but now, it only reminds him of Jisung. He decides to take a walk instead. Maybe some fresh air will clear his mind.

“Hey Chan hyung, are you all right? You seemed pretty upset at that fight,” Yeonjun comes to ask him, but Chan waves him off and tells him he’s all right, but telling a werewolf he’s fine, doesn’t mean that the vampires won’t bother him to ask him how he’s doing.

Chan huffs. Even when they’re being nice, it’s clear that the two species don’t interact at all, which only feeds his frustration and determination to get out of the house and take a walk. He can’t really vent to anyone, after all, because everyone is biased.

There are no humans around, who understand his worries—the closest are Changbin and Jisung, but he can’t confide in them right now, either. They’re his everything, his safe space between the constant pressure on him to pick a side and declare one of the species as superior.

Changbin and Jisung do tease him, time to time, but they’re never serious. They often tease him by teaming up against him, though, they never fight over him. He wants them to make up, but he can’t force them, so he’ll have to distract himself another way until they do.

He passes the music room first, but playing by himself simply isn’t that fun. What will he even play? He only has the songs he made with Changbin and Jisung in his mind, so he moves on to outside, and he passes the football field, where he finds Changbin and his friends, Minho, Felix, and Jeongin, passing a ball.

Felix, Jeongin, and Changbin are holding an umbrella, and while Changbin is still pretty skilled, his friends are quite clumsy as they kick the ball. It’s a funny sight, so he pauses to watch for a while.

A moment later, Changbin meets his eyes. He stops the ball with his foot and offers him a slight smile. Felix waves at him. “Hey, hyung! You wanna join? We’re not great at this, but it’s good fun.”

“No, I’ll pass. I was just on a walk to clear my head. I’ll continue soon,” he answers. Chan can’t help but notice Changbin’s guilty expression, but he tries to not let it get to him. He can fight the urge to pull Changbin into a hug and tell him it’ll all be okay.

“If you’re looking for Jisungie, he’s running on the track field,” Minho announces for some reason. Chan is curious why he says so, but perhaps Minho simply saw him while he was running himself. 

“Okay,” he answers, not really committing to deciding whether he’ll visit him or not, but he knows that he will pass by just to check anyway. 

Jisung is running with Seungmin and Hyunjin, and the three of them seem to be very focused. Chan walks around the field, deciding not to interrupt them right now, he knows better than to disturb Jisung when he’s in the zone. Even from a distance, he can see that Jisung’s claws are out—he’s still struggling.

On his way past the running tracks, he stops when he sees something black and out of place at his feet. It’s Jisung’s glasses. Chan crouches to pick them up and inspects them to see if they’re damaged, but they just seem very dirty.

Thank goodness Jisung has some sturdy glasses, Chan thinks with a soft chuckle. He brings the glasses back to Jisung’s stuff. He places it on Jisung’s backpack, hoping that he’ll see it.

Just as he turns around a body bumps into his, startling him. “Woah there,” he says as he grabs the man by the shoulders. It’s Seungmin, who is looking at him with wide eyes.

“Oh, it’s just you, Chan hyung. Sorry for bumping into you.” Seungmin chuckles awkwardly. “I was just making sure no one was trying to steal our stuff. Oh! You’ve found Jisungie’s glasses, thanks.”

“No worries. I was just passing by, so I’ll be on my way,” Chan replies. He doesn’t want to hang around and bother them for too long, so he moves on, but not without a glance towards Jisung. His friend is still running, round and round the track. He doesn’t seem to be getting tired anytime soon. That’s good.

Chan continues his walk towards the forest, hoping to find a peaceful spot to sit. It’s a nice day, the sun is out, which is why the vampires have got their umbrellas out, and most wolves are outside as well, releasing their energy in preparation for a full moon night. 

Chan is enjoying his restful walk, until he hears growling somewhere near him. He doesn’t hope that he’ll run into a feral werewolf going ham on some poor animal or something, but as he comes closer to see if everything’s all right, there, he sees two figures fighting.

Not again, is Chan’s first thought, because he can already tell that it’s a werewolf and a vampire fighting. His stomach drops when he recognizes the two guys from the Blue Blood house clawing at each other’s faces as they’re rolling around in the dirt.

“Hey, stop it!” Chan calls out, dashing on over to try and pull the two apart, but he gets an elbow in his face before he can do much. The werewolf growls at him and the vampire tells him to stay the fuck out of it before he gets mauled.

“What, and let you get mauled instead?” Chan snaps, dodging a claw aimed at the vampire. The vampire hisses and bares his fangs at Chan, showing him that he’s not as concerned with his safety as he pretends to be. “For the record, I won’t let him get bitten by you either.”

“Shut it and go! This is between me and him. You humans wouldn’t understand,” the werewolf snarls, but Chan refuses to let the two go. He’s not going to let anyone get injured on his watch.

The vampire uses the temporary distraction to launch himself at the werewolf, fangs out and about. He lodges his claws into the wolf’s arms, and Chan quickly dashes forward to yank the vampire away from him.

“Fuck—! Final warning, human. You’re going to get yourself hurt badly if you don’t stay away from that wolf—It’s the full moon, you idiot!” The vampire’s eyes glow red as he hisses at him in warning, but Chan doesn’t back off and comes to stand in between them. 

“I warned you.” The vampires jumps at him, and Chan feels claws digging into his arms from behind. He can’t process what’s happening as the vampire opens his mouth and digs his teeth straight into Chan’s shoulder.

Chan yells as a sharp pain shoots through his body, making him lose all strength. He collapses and tries to push the vampire off of him, kicking out his feet and yanking at the man’s hair. “What are you doing?! Get off me—! Don’t fucking poison yourself!” 

The vampire parts from him with a loud gasp, his eyes glowing an even more intense red as his tongue peeks out to catch a drop of blood running down his chin. “Fuck—Humans taste good. Too bad I can’t suck you dry without dying.” He all but moans, but he’s cut off by the werewolf snarling and reaching out to claw at the vampire again.

The vampire is quick, but not quick enough to dodge a slash on his hand. Chan groans and pushes himself up to grab at the werewolf’s arms, but the wolf whips himself around and bares his teeth.

Chan’s eyes widen when he sees him turning, panic settling in his stomach like a boulder, but he’s not quick enough to get up before the werewolf lodges his claws into Chan’s chest and bites his neck, hard.

Chan yells, his whole body freezing up due to the sharp pain. He scratches at the werewolf’s throat, remembering that it’s one of turning wolves’ weaknesses. The werewolf cries out when Chan squeezes as hard as he can, the vampire’s laughter distant in his ears.

“You fucking idiot!” the vampire bellows, but Chan ignores him and uses all of his strength to push the werewolf off and run. He doesn’t care that he’s leaving the vampire and werewolf without having stopped their fight—he has done what he can.

He’s panting, hands pressed to his bleeding neck and shoulders. He’s not even sure where his legs are taking him, because the bloodloss is making him more and more lightheaded by the second. 

He drags himself as far as he can manage before he collapses on a field somewhere. He faintly hears some commotion around him, footsteps and voices. Female voices? 

“Chan-ah? What the fuck?” Chan isn’t sure if he’s imagining Sana’s voice or not, because he’s having a hard time focusing on anything, really. There’s a lot of voices mixing, hands on him, and as much as he tries to be aware of what’s happening, his body is too occupied with staying awake and not succumbing.

Moments later, he regains consciousness in a bed. He flinches, his legs kicking out involuntarily. It’s the Red Sun House’s infirmary, which isn’t where he passed out, but the nurse tells him that Sana, Yeji, Ryujin, and Chaeryeong from the Green Guardian House brought him here, and the four indeed are standing around the bed.

“T-Thanks for helping me out,” Chan says with an awkward chuckle, he’s grateful that at least vampires and werewolves worked together to help him. He winces when the nurse treats the bite on his neck. He looks down to see that his shirt is properly ruined, ripped into pieces and hanging on by a thread. Sana clicks her tongue.

“I don’t know what happened, but it looked bad. I didn’t expect you of all people to get into a fight, Chan,” she says with a sigh, her eyebrows pulled together in concern. 

“Tell me who did it, they’ll get a piece of me. It was a werewolf wasn’t it?” Chaeryeong adds, crossing her arms. Ryujin scoffs.

“Didn’t you see the puncture marks on his shoulder? Those were obviously from a vampire!” she argues. Chan scowls, his stomach churning in irritation. Not again, not again, for god’s sake!

“A vampire can’t do this much damage!” Chaeryeong retorts, only adding fuel to the fire. Chan’s fingers tingle, his head heating up in frustration. When it seems like Yeji is about to join the argument, too, he decides it’s been enough.

“Enough! Stop it!” Chan snaps. The four grow quiet as the turn towards Chan. “It were both, okay? They were fighting each other and I interfered. Happy now?”

They stay quiet, looking embarrassed. Yeji is the first one to apologize, but before the rest can do so, the door to the infirmary creaks open. The nurse is still cleaning his wounds when Chan meets Changbin’s worried gaze. 

“Sorry about that, Chan-ah. We’ll be going, now, but take care, all right?” Sana says, her eyes alternating between Chan and Changbin. Chan softly thanks the girls for helping him again. His stomach churns as he watches Changbin approach his bed. The last thing he wanted was to worry his friends when they have other things on their minds.

“How are you, hyung? What happened?” Changbin asks as he comes to stand beside him. Chan averts his eyes when he sees Changbin looking at his wounds, a scowl overtaking his expression. Chan presses his lips into a thin line. 

“Hyung, come on. There’s a vampire bite on your shoulder, and what I believe is a werewolf bite on your neck of all places. You look like a ghost,” Changbin complains, his hand coming to rest on Chan’s forearm. The nurse moves on to applying gauze on his wound, before wrapping his neck and shoulder with bandages. 

Chan can’t bring himself to answer. He doesn’t want Changbin to use him as an excuse to avoid a confrontation with Jisung, but he isn’t going to let him think that his fight with Jisung is how he got hurt in the first place.

“Stop being an asshole, hyung. Don’t ignore me,” Changbin says, a harsh edge to his voice. Chan snaps his head towards him, ignoring the sting in his shoulder and neck.

“I’ll stop once you and Jisung make things right! I’m fed up with the constant fucking fighting! If—If you and Jisung can’t even make up, how can I expect anyone else to?” he snaps. Changbin’s eyes widen and his expression hardens. The nurse finishes up his bandaging and gently tells him to stay put and rest here for a couple of hours before they come to check his blood, and to call out if he needs anyone. 

“I’m being taken care of, Changbin-ah. I’m fine,” Chan says with a huff. His body feels stiff and his neck is throbbing uncomfortably. He’s still light-headed. Perhaps he should have asked the nurse for some food.

“You got hurt because you interfered with others didn’t you? It’s fucking full moon! Of course they’re fighting! Don’t you know how stupidly dangerous it is to interfere? Even with our defense classes,” Changbin hisses as soon as the nurse has left the room. “You know werewolves are overconfident this time of the month. It’s probably why Jisung isn’t here right now either.” 

“Go get him, then, Changbin-ah. Or leave me,” Chan says, his voice tired even to his own ears. Changbin grits his teeth, but Chan doesn’t have the strength to regret his words or take them back.

The door opens again, this time revealing a dissheveled and sweaty Jisung. Word travels fast, it seems. Jisung is wearing his dirty and slightly crooked glasses, obscuring half of his face as he dashes towards the bed.

“Hyung-ah? You—You got in a fight? What happened?” Jisung stammers, his breathing slightly erratic. Chan’s heart hurts, but he stays silent. Jisung lets out a shaky whine, and he reaches out for Chan’s hand. “Chan hyung? Why won’t you say anything?”

“He won’t tell me either,” Changbin whispers. Jisung removes his glasses and wipes at his face with his free hand, a whimper escaping his lips. Chan swallows thickly. He can’t even reach out to comfort his friends, but he’s relieved when he sees Changbin wrap an arm around Jisung.

“Hey, don’t cry, all right? He said he’s fine. Fine enough to yell at me, at least,” Changbin says with a soft chuckle, but it’s bittersweet. Chan wraps his arms around himself—only loosely, as to not disturb the claw marks on his chest. His stomach churns when he sees Jisung wipe away teardrops from his cheeks.

“Why—? Why would he yell at you, hyung?” Jisung asks. “You didn’t do this,” he adds, the certainty in his voice surprising Chan. Jisung has no way of knowing that.

“I’m not sure what happened, but he has a vampire bite on his shoulder and a werewolf bite on his neck. It’s… it’s pretty bad, so I think he tried to stop a fight between the two and got hurt in the process,” Changbin explains softly. It’s almost ironic how exactly that happened twice in one day.

“Hyung! It’s the full moon! You—That’s stupidly dangerous!” Jisung says, turning to face Chan. Chan feels bad for it, but he can’t hold back a grin.

“That’s what Changbinnie said, too,” he says, and Jisung lets out a watery snort, more tears dropping down his cheeks. Changbin exhales and rubs Jisung’s back.

“Don’t laugh, hyung. It’s the full moon and I’m extra pathetic, I’ve felt like crying all fucking day,” Jisung complains. 

“Please don’t,” Chan and Changbin reply simultaneously. Their eyes meet, and Chan is unable to hold back a tiny smile, even if it’s hard to hold his gaze.

“Come on, Jisung-ah. Go hug Channie hyung,” Changbin says as he averts his eyes. Jisung shakes his head.

“Come with me and we’ll hug him together,” he insists, much to Chan’s relief. Changbin smiles as well, and the two turn towards Chan before carefully wrapping their arms around his middle. Chan finds himself choking up a little in their embrace.

“Sorry for worrying you. I don’t want you to fight. I don’t want the others to fight. I’m just…” Chan whispers, wishing he could move his arms to return the hug better. 

“It’s okay. We’re sorry, too,” Changbin says, but Chan sighs. He doesn’t want them to apologize to him. They need to apologize to each other. “You… We know being a human is hard between all of us feisty fanged creatures.”

“As long as you two make up, I’ll be all right.” Chan snickers softly, but he’s getting tired. Jisung and Changbin sit next to him on the bed for a little while and agree to get him some food, but they are told to leave when the nurse comes back to take a blood sample to see if the vampire or werewolf didn’t infect him with something. 

First, the nurse makes sure that he won’t lose too much blood if he takes his blood now, and then, after getting his blood drawn, he’s suggested to rest as much as he can. Chan tries to rest, but his mind can’t seem to settle down.

He’s thinking about Changbin and Jisung, as he always is. He wants to know if they’re all right, if they’re not too worried about him, if they’re making up already, if Jisung is still struggling with moon sensitivity, even after running all day, or if Changbin can still stomach a blood pack after seeing his state.

He has never been great at being left alone with his thoughts, so he decides to take a nap instead, but it only backfires and he wakes up feeling groggy and gross, his whole body feeling stiff. The nurse comes back to tell him that his blood looks clean, but that he needs to stay for tonight to see if he’s all right in the morning. 

Somewhere around dinner time, the door to the infirmary opens once again, this time revealing Hyunjin’s curious expression. “Hi Hyunjin-ah. How are you?”

“I’m all right. I was looking for Jisungie, but he’s not here, I see,” he says with a sheepish expression. “How are you? I heard what happened. Sorry about that.”

“It’s okay. I shouldn’t have tried to interfere,” Chan says, waving him off without moving his arm too much. “I assumed Jisung would be with you and Seungminnie to eat, maybe cuddle, too.”

“Yeah, that’s why we’re looking for him. I thought maybe he’d come to you for some affection. He’s probably holed up in his room, then,” Hyunjin says with a shrug. Chan opens his mouth to ask Hyunjin if he can somehow tell him if he’s found Jisung, but Hyunjin seems to read his mind and beats him to it. “I’ll come back to tell you when I’ve found him.”

“Am I that obvious?” Chan asks with a chuckle. Hyunjin shrugs, a grin plastered on his face.

“It’s kinda known that you care a lot about Changbin hyung and Jisungie. A lot of people are jealous of them—that they’ve managed to get so close to you,” he explains, somehow smiling as he speaks. Chan’s heart stutters.

“And yet they fight over my attention,” he mumbles with a sour expression. Hyunjin sighs.

“Unbelievable, isn’t it? You’re lucky to have two people who care about you this much. They care about each other a lot, too. That’s why they fight,” he says with a chuckle. “I’m sure it’s just some built up insecurity.”

“I hope so.” Chan sighs. Whatever it was, he hopes that Changbin and Jisung can talk it out soon, and that they’ll talk to him about it as well. He wants this to be solved, and to never happen again. 

“Get well soon, hyung. I’ll be going.” Hyunjin pats Chan’s arm and offers him a kind smile. Chan thanks him for stopping by.

Shortly afterwards, he receives some dinner, as well as a very brief visit from Changbin, who only comes to peek his head inside and to tell him to eat well. Chan appreciates it, but he’s also a tad bit disappointed that he doesn’t come and sit with him. 

Chan guesses he had it coming, he ignored him, yelled at him, and told him to leave, but he finds out that eating by himself is lonelier than he anticipated. The nurse brings him a book to read, which helps him pass the time, but he finds it hard to focus.

A knock sounds. Chan calls out to let the person inside. It’s Hyunjin. Chan smiles and motions for him to come inside. He has probably come to update him on Jisung, but Chan already supposed that he found him, since he stayed away for quite a while.

“Hey, hyung. Hope you weren’t about to go to sleep,” Hyunjin says as he approaches the bed. Chan shakes his head and holds up his book. “Jisungie was in his room as I suspected. He had a plate of food with him, but neither Seungminnie nor me brought it to him, so we suspect it was Changbin hyung.”

“I hope so. Jisungie didn’t know who brought it?” Chan asks. Hyunjin shakes his head.

“He said someone knocked insistently and when he opened the door the plate of food was there on the ground,” he explains, and Chan laughs. That sounds like Changbin alright. “In short, he felt better after eating something and knowing that you’re slowly healing, so you won’t have to worry about a thing tonight, either.”

“Okay. I heard you,” Chan replies with a chuckle. Hyunjin grins. “Thanks for stopping by. I suppose I’ll try to get some sleep soon.” 

“You should. I’ll go cuddle with Jisung some more and make sure we don’t go crazy because of that sphere in the sky,” Hyunjin says as he stretches his arms above his head. “Sleep well, hyung.” 

Hyunjin leaves and Chan let’s out a long sigh in relief. At least his dear friends are still taking care of each other. That makes him feel a lot more at ease when he forces himself out of bed to make use of the small bathroom next to the infirmary to wash up before bed.

He’s sad that he can’t be there with Jisung on the night of the full moon, but at least he has his werewolf friends to lean on. 

 ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡⋆

Changbin has been up all night. It’s normal for a vampire to do so, but he hasn’t rested at all. His friends aren’t doing well, and there’s nothing he can do about it. Chan doesn’t want to see him, and neither does Jisung. 

He feels bad about it, mostly because he had a hand in the worsening of their conditions. He fought with Jisung even though he knows Jisung has valid reasons to want to be next to Chan when the moon is full, and yet he had to be a selfish jealous prick and want Chan all for himself. 

Chan has to deal with fights all the time, always forced to pick a side, and so Changbin can’t blame him for getting mad at him and Jisung for fighting. It’s probably why he felt obligated to jump in between the vampire and the werewolf. 

He can’t believe the vampire would risk himself to bite Chan—drinking too much human blood can poison one if they’re not doing it to turn someone into a vampire—but he guesses that fighting a werewolf during the full moon made the guy overconfident. 

He’s worried about his friends, but he’s not sure what to do about it.

“Changbin hyung. You’ve been sitting like that for hours?” Jeongin suddenly snaps him out of his thoughts. “It’s morning. You’re wasting the late night hours.”

“I know,” Changbin whines, letting himself fall back onto his bed. Jeongin walks over and looms over him with a sheepish smile.

“Is it still because you fought with Jisung hyung? Or because of Chan hyung? Both, perhaps?” he guesses. Changbin rolls his eyes, but he admits to Jeongin that he’s right. “And so you’re just going to sulk about it?” 

“Well, there’s not really anything else I can do. I brought Jisung some dinner and made sure Chan got some, too, but they don’t want to talk to me and I don’t know how to apologize,” he complains. His stomach feels weird, thinking about it. 

“Just go and see them, hyung,” Jeongin tells him, patting Changbin’s stomach. “You’re not going to get anywhere if you just sulk. You’re not helping anyone with that.”

Changbin lets out a long groan, but Jeongin is right. Instead of admitting that out loud, however, he grabs onto his roommate and pulls him into a tight hug. Jeongin complains as he goes limp in Changbin’s hold. “Thank you Jeonginnie-yah~”

Changbin presses his face into Jeongin’s, who squirms and pushes him away. “Hyung! Ugh. Go put your affection on them, okay? Please don’t squeeze me to death.”

“Fine! I’ll go out to see if Jisung is on the field again,” Changbin says as he lets go and grabs his sunscreen. He’s nervous, but he won’t let Jeongin see. He still hasn’t quite figured out his own feelings yet, after all. 

There’s this tugging at his heart any time he thinks about Chan and Jisung. He wants them to be happy more than anything, and a selfish part of him wants to play a part in their happiness. He wants to stop by the infirmary to see how Chan is doing, but he knows that Chan won’t talk to him unless he has made up with Jisung, so he searches for him first.

It’s the weekend, so there are no classes, and Changbin won’t attent football practice, since the majority of the wolves are recovering from the full moon night and Chan won’t be there either, but Jisung usually runs a lot on the day after, so Changbin makes his way to the sports fields to see if Jisung is out there. 

Inside his mind, he’s practicing what to say, but he forgets his words the moment he sees Jisung surrounded by a whole lot of vampires. His stomach drops and he finds himself frozen in place.

“Come on wolf boy! Aren’t you supposed to be all fast with the moon still almost full and all? Do a race against us,” the vampires insist. “It might be cloudy, but behind the clouds, the sun is still present. We’re weak.”

“I’m not interested. Just leave me alone,” Jisung hisses back at them. His shoulders are up to his ears and he looks about ready to growl at the vampires. “Can I please have my glasses back?” 

“What? These broken dirty ones? You won’t need them while running, do you?” The vampires keep teasing him, making Changbin’s blood boil. He walks over. “Come on. You can summon your wolf if you want. If you can even. Or are you scared? A little moon sensitive, perhaps?”

“Yeah, sure. Not any more moon sensitive than you idiots are sun sensitive, constantly trying to prove you’re better than everyone. Go suck a rat’s blood or something!” Jisung snaps, and he growls at the vampires. Changbin’s stomach drops—he told him growling doesn’t fucking work on them!

“Easy there, wolf boy,” the vampire warns him, and the others step closer to Jisung as well, who doesn’t step away and instead bares his teeth. Fuck. “I wouldn’t turn if you aren’t going to race us.” 

“Hey! Let’s all take it easy, all right?” Changbin steps in and comes to stand next to Jisung. He doesn’t recognize the vampires, but they’re wearing Blue track suits, so they’re from the Blue Blood house. 

“Fuck off, wolf,” the vampires hiss, and Changbin rolls his eyes.

“I’m a vampire, too, thank you very much,” he snaps in return, letting his eyes flash red for a second to prove himself. Jisung whispers at him to leave it. “And I’d love it if you’d stop bothering my housemate so I can get out of the sun.”

“Piss off, this is none of your business. Why would you even want to defend a wolf like him?” The vampire takes a step forward and pushes Changbin away before grabbing Jisung by the shoulders. Jisung snarls loudly, but Changbin can see the fear in his eyes. He knows how much Jisung hates bringing out his wolf and turning. 

The three vampires all crowd around Jisung, who seems to panic and claws at the person who grabbed him, slashing his face. He barely bleeds, but the anger is obvious in the way the vampire inhales. Changbin takes in a sharp breath when the vampire’s eyes flash red, but before he can interfere, he throws Jisung onto the ground.

The anger simmering within Changbin’s chest flares up as the vampire kicks Jisung in the stomach. His legs work on their own when he dashes forward and dives in between the vampire and Jisung, and the fist he had raised to hit Jisung hits Changbin’s jaw instead. A sharp sting surges through his cheek. Jisung yells.

“You fuck! What are you doing?” the vampire bellows at Changbin, who glares at him, feeling his eyes flash red again. “Get the fuck away! I’m not hitting a vampire!”

“You’re a fucking coward, you know that?” Changbin hisses, baring his fangs at his fellow vampire. He pushes him off and gets ready to hit him for kicking Jisung, but one of the other vampires tackles him before he can. 

They roll around the track, fighting for dominance, but Changbin knows that he won’t be able to win against three other vampires. He headbutts one of them against the nose, but he gets a chin against his forehead in return. 

A loud growl draws the vampires’ attention away from each other and towards Jisung, who is snarling at them, hunched over and teeth bared. Changbin’s eyes widen and he’s heart goes into overdrive—Jisung is turning. 

That’s bad. Really, really bad.

It seems like the vampires think the same, because their already pale faces grow even more ghastly. “Fuck this. It’s not worth it. L-Let’s go.” The three scramble to get away, leaving Changbin to gape at Jisung in a form he has never seen before.

Jisung is panting, his muscles taut and shoulders pulled up. Changbin slowly stands up. His jaw is throbbing, but that’s the least of his concerns at the moment. “Jisung-ah?” he calls out softly. He’s shaking on his legs, the after effects of getting angry while being in the sun making him feel like he’s run a sprint around the premises.

Jisung snaps his head towards Changbin, his eyebrows pulled together into a deep frown, but behind the fierce look in his eyes, Changbin can see that Jisung is inside there. He steps closer, slowly, and reaches out his hand. His heart is pounding in his ears, hoping that he’ll be able to calm him, even when he’s still pushing his vampire instincts away himself.

“It’s all right. You’ve scared them. We’re okay,” he whispers. Jisung lets out a soft whimper, the sound making Changbin’s heart clench. He takes another stop forward, his fingers brushing Jisung’s arm. “Come here, Jisung-ah.”

As soon as Changbin touches his waist, Jisung falls into his arms, melting into his hold. Changbin exhales, allowing himself to finally relax as well. His heart is making a major fuss, but he decides to ignore it. 

“Hyung—I’m— Are you all right? They hurt you, didn’t they? I’m so sorry. I’m so so s-sorry,” Jisung whispers through ragged breaths. His body is relaxing, his wolf retreating again. Changbin holds him tight, allowing himself to indulge just for a moment. 

“It’s okay. It’s fine. I’m sorry for being selfish when I knew you needed Chan by your side,” he whispers in return. Jisung shakes his head, burying his nose into the crook of Changbin’s warm neck. “Are you hurt?”

“A little, but that’s not important. I—I need a moment to calm down,” Jisung answers, still taking big gulps of breath as he holds onto Changbin. Changbin keeps him close as he caresses Jisung’s back, allowing himself to calm in Jisung’s arms as well. “You didn’t have to protect me, hyung. Those are—those are your species. Don’t get hurt for me.”

“What? And let you get hurt instead? Let you turn without having anyone there to help you through it?” Changbin answers with a bittersweet chuckle. Jisung pulls away a bit, looking at Changbin with watery eyes. 

He raises his hand and gently touches Changbin’s jaw. There must be a bruise on there. Changbin feels shy under Jisung’s gaze, wishing he would not concern Jisung. “Thank you for coming to help me despite me attacking you about Chan hyung yesterday,” Jisung whispers, his eyes kind, something warm and grateful in his gaze. Changbin shivers.

“I wanted to apologize, anyway,” he replies under his breath, somehow afraid to raise his voice. He feels like if he does, Jisung will notice. Will notice that there’s feelings behind his words, feelings that he hasn’t quite inspected himself.

It’s different from the brief crush he had on Jisung when they first met. It’s more intense, more insistent, and way more difficult to ignore. 

“You don’t have to. I’m sorry for trying to claim Chan hyung. I’m sorry for being so difficult,” Jisung says, his breathing still uneven, but Changbin quickly shushes him. 

“Don’t be. I’d be the same,” he assures Jisung, trying to sound confident even though his legs are shaking. “I was just… I couldn’t stop thinking about you and Chan hyung, about how you two kissed. I was afraid you two would forget about me.”

“We would never! Hyung!” Jisung’s eyes grow comically wide. “I—You’re part of our group no matter what. I care about you so much, and so does Chan hyung!” 

“I know. I couldn’t help but be a little jealous, and I let it get to my head,” he says with a shrug, a blush creeping up his neck in embarrassment. “Chan came to me to thank me for taking care of him and you after the party, and I clinged onto that affection.”

“You—? Oh. Oh right, you brought us to our room, didn’t you?” Jisung says, a smile appearing on his face. “I didn’t even thank you yet, so let me do that now.”

“No, no, it’s all right. You know I get bored and will take any excuse to spend more time with you two at night.” Changbin waves him off, the blush spreading to his cheeks as he thinks about their kisses good night. “Let’s just not fight anymore, okay?”

“Sounds good,” Jisung says with a soft snicker. 

Changbin finally lets go of Jisung, and only then does he feel that the afternoon sun is really draining his energy. He looks around and spots Jisung’s broken glasses on the ground. Jisung follows his gaze and sighs. “Right. I think I’ll have to be blind for a while.”

He then turns towards Changbin. “But even while blind I can tell that those assholes hit you quite hard. Should we go to the infirmary?”

“Yeah. You got kicked quite hard, too,” Changbin replies. He sighs and adds, “and I would love to get out of the sun already.”

“Bring your umbrella next time, dummy!” Jisung scolds him, but his expression is fond. “Sometimes I feel like you vampires forget that you’re sun sensitive, just because the phrase isn’t used as often as moon sensitive.”

“Too bad we don’t just sparkle in the sun,” Changbin says with a deep sigh. He smiles when Jisung holds up his hands to protect Changbin from the sun, laughing at Changbin’s words.

“Channie hyung told you about that, too?” Jisung snickers, his eyes scrunching up as he smiles. “You’d look so cute!” 

“Yah!” Changbin weakly protests, but he’s happy that at least Jisung is feeling well enough to tease him. 

They arrive at the infirmary, where Chan is reading a book. His eyes widen when he sees the two come in, a smile quickly fading from his face as he lets his gaze roam Changbin’s face. “W-What happened to you two?” Chan sits up, but winces. 

Changbin quickly motions for him to stay in bed. “Some assholes were trying to get Jisung to race them. We tried to tell them to leave, but they were stubborn. They got mad that a vampire was trying to defend a werewolf. Jisung had to turn halfway to scare them off.”

“Oh goodness.” Chan’s expression grows sour. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. We made up. I think that’s worth the bruises and massive anxiety that comes from letting my wolf out,” Jisung says with an awkward laugh, rambling on. “Changbinnie hyung didn’t bring his umbrella, though. And he got hit. So we’re here to, uhm, well, heal a bit. Perhaps also to see if you’re doing better.”

“You talked it out?” Chan asks, the corners of his lips twitching upwards into a hesitant smile.  “No more fighting?” 

“Hopefully not. I assured Changbinnie hyung that we won’t forget about him no matter what,” Jisung replies. Chan snaps his head towards Changbin.

“Ya! Why would you think we’d forget about you?!” he scolds Changbin as he reaches out for his hand to pull him over to the bed and wrap him into an embrace. “You fool. We love you.”

“I know,” Changbin whines, his cheeks heating up in embarrassment. He sighs and pulls away before he starts leaning his head on Chan’s still healing shoulder. “It was a moment of weakness, knowing you two are roommates and all, kissing like you’re in love.”

“What?” Chan’s ears are suddenly redder than the red of their uniforms. “We were drunk.”

“I know. Doesn’t mean that it didn’t look like you were enjoying yourselves a lot,” Changbin points out. His heart is making a fuss again, but he pushes the feelings away. He needs to be selfless right now, and show his friends that he won’t feel left behind if they’re together. “It’s okay if you were.”

“Even if we were, we wouldn’t forget you,” Jisung softly points out. He comes to stand next to them, slipping his hand into Changbin’s and intertwining their fingers. Changbin takes a deep breath. 

“I know. I’d be happy for you. I know better than to be jealous, now,” he assures them, but his heart is protesting. There’s still a selfish voice in his mind begging him to keep them close, to not let them slip through his fingers without having figured out his own feelings. 

The room grows strangely silent. Changbin thinks about Chan and Jisung’s kiss. His stomach fills with butterflies at the memory, but there’s that familiar tugging at his heart as well, the sour tinge of jealousy lining the memory. 

He can’t figure out if he’s jealous of Chan or Jisung, however, because the thought of being in either of their places makes his skin heat up. Is it really okay for him to think about his friends like this? To wonder what it would be like to be in either of their shoes that night?

Before they can say anything else, the nurse walks in and asks if they need anything. He examines the three of them, providing some soothing treatment for Changbin and Jisung. He also tells Chan that he’s free to leave, as long as he rests for at least the remainder of the weekend. 

Chan seems relieved to be let out of the infirmary, and Changbin can imagine why. Chan hates being in one place for too long, especially if it means he’s restricted in what he can do, who he can talk too. 

“What do you want to do, Chan hyung?” Changbin asks, coming to caress Chan’s good shoulder. “Sleep? Eat? Go for a walk? Listen to some music?” 

“ Listen? Can’t I join you two and play?” Chan pouts a little, making Changbin’s heart stutter. He’d love to let Chan join them and all play together, but he’s supposed to rest. 

“You need to sit and not use your shoulders, hyung,” Jisung replies, a matching pout on his lips as well. Changbin might as well combust. 

“Fine. I’ll just sit and listen, if you two want to play some music,” Chan says with a sigh. “I don’t feel great anyway.”

The three make their way to the music room, where Chan sits on the couch as Jisung plays some tunes on the gayageum and Changbin supports him with some beats on the janggu. Changbin can’t stop thinking about how they’re all pretty beat up and tired, however.

The music is good, but he feels like there’s something more they can do, perhaps a message they can convey with their songs. It’s fun to make music, but it’s also an opportunity to make people think. 

“Jisung-ah, are you frustrated?” Changbin asks as he looks up at his friend. Jisung falters and tilts his head.

“What do you mean? Am I not playing well?” he asks. Changbin shakes his head and stops playing for a moment.

“No, not that. Are you frustrated about what happened today, and two days ago?” he clarifies, also flicking his eyes towards Chan, who has straightened himself as he listens. 

“Yes. Yeah, of course I am. I don’t like having to fight or avoid vampires. It sucks,” Jisung says, his lips twitching down into a sour expression. “Why?” 

“Well, Channie hyung obviously has been struggling with the same frustrations, and I’m annoyed as well, so I thought, why don’t we put all of those feelings into a song or two?” he suggests. 

“That’s a great idea!” Chan perks up, but he flinches as he jostles his shoulder too much in the movement. Jisung and Changbin simultaneously tell him to not get too excited, and share a big grin with each other. “Sorry. As you can tell, I’ve been getting really fed up with the stupid rivalry and constant fighting, especially around the full moon. Why can’t we all act like we do during the full moon parties?” 

“Exactly! It would make a lot of people’s lives easier if we all got along, but it’s not easy to throw away the thoughts we’ve been brought up with. But we gotta fight for change, don’t we?” Jisung adds with an eager nod. The passionate sparkle in Chan and Jisung’s eyes is beautiful, and Changbin is glad that he brought it up.

“Let’s think about it and work on it some more when Chan hyung gets better,” he says, sending a big and sweet grin towards Chan, because he knows that the man is bummed out that he can’t work right now. Chan huffs.

“It’s okay if you get a headstart, I’ll just be miserable on the couch,” he wails dramatically. Changbin laughs and before he knows it, Jisung is tugging at Changbin’s arm, pulling him up and bringing him to the couch. 

“No way, we’ll just cuddle on the couch with you hyung. I’m tired anyway,” Jisung states. They carefully sit down next to Chan and tuck themselves against him. It’s peaceful, a moment of refuge. 

They decide to spend the better part of the morning like that, doing nothing for a while. It’s nice, but Changbin still feels guilty for being jealous. Jisung holds his arm across Chan’s chest, which brings him some peace of mind. 

If only Changbin could help them more, but perhaps, with music, he can. He isn’t fond of werewolves, but he can see how this rivalry is continuing to hurt his precious friends as well as himself. 

The rest of the day is spent brainstorming about some lyrics, just because they can’t help themselves. Inspiration comes when it comes, and they have to rest anyway. The melody and arrangement will come later.

All that matters is that he made up with Jisung and Chan, spoke up about his jealousy and can now spend some time venting in the form of music. It’s a whole weight off his shoulders. 

 ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡⋆

There’s no feeling better than the full moon passing to Jisung. It brings him peace of mind, and it’s always like a breath of fresh air after the anxiety he gets around the full moon. Chan is healing, Changbin and he talked things out, so all is good again.

He can focus more on his studies, which means he gets to spend more time with Chan and Changbin in the music room as well. You’d think they’d be productive with their music, after spending so many afternoons together in that room, but Jisung has to admit that they tend to get distracted.

Jisung can’t help that Changbin and Chan have such beautiful smiles, that they have similar humor, and that Jisung keeps thinking about Chan’s lips on his own and Changbin’s jealousy. It’s nothing too distracting, but he has been thinking about some things during their musical sessions together.

He wonders if Changbin was jealous because he has feelings for Chan. Jisung can imagine if that’s the case, and he would gladly encourage him to do something about it, but then again, he understands why Changbin feared that he’d be left alone if Jisung and Chan would end up together.

He’s spending yet another late night with Chan and Changbin, scribbling lyrics and humming melodies after being sent to their rooms by Minhyuk. The three of them are all on Chan’s bed, cramped together with their notebooks on their laps. 

They’re sitting with their backs against the wall, Jisung in the middle for some reason, and he’s feeling warm as his friends lean against him. Their album is making progress, and it makes Jisung feel even closer to his friends. 

“Hmm… My inspiration is running a bit dry. Do you have any ideas for me? What haven’t we done yet?” Chan wonders out loud, curious eyes scanning Jisung and Changbin’s writing. “We’ve talked about our frustrations, about the harmful stigma’s and stereotypes, about the benefits of us all working together… What else?”

“Maybe you could write about what it’s like to kiss a werewolf?” Changbin jokes, leaning forward to wiggle his eyebrows at Chan, whose ears grow red. Jisung blushes as well and slaps Changbin’s thigh. 

“If we sing about kissing a werewolf, we also gotta sing about kissing a vampire, shouldn’t we?” Chan comments with a grin. Changbin’s cheeks gain a pink color and Jisung can’t help but smile, his heart fluttering. He’d be lying if he wouldn’t be curious to see Chan and Changbin kiss.

“Why don’t you try, then, Channie hyung?” Jisung pokes Chan’s cheek and bares his fangs, imitating those of a vampire. Chan laughs, the sound much like the music they’ve been creating all week. 

“I mean… It’s not like I’ve never kissed a vampire,” he says with a soft shrug, but his eyes do stray towards Changbin. Jisung can tell they’re curious, because otherwise they’d be laughing it off already. 

“But do you remember it clearly? Like you obviously do with mine,” Jisung jokes lightly, but his heart is pounding in anticipation. He doesn’t know why he’s so invested, why he hopes that his friends will kiss. Maybe it’s because he’s curious, too, but too scared to try and kiss a vampire himself.

Chan is silent for a moment, and Changbin leans forward, making a kissy face at him. Jisung leans back as far as he can to give them some space. “Come on! For science!” Jisung says with a chuckle. He pushes his glasses further up his nose so that he can see them clearly. 

“No one will be jealous?” Chan asks with a pointed look at the two of them, but he’s already leaning over Jisung’s lap. Changbin huffs and rolls his eyes. 

“No, hyung. We’re all here right? All sober. Together,” he replies, also leaning over Jisung’s lap and fixing Chan with a look. Chan stares right back at him. Jisung sighs and pushes their heads together.

Chan and Changbin’s faces clash, their lips touching. Chan bursts out laughing, lips spreading into a grin as his eyes scrunch up. Changbin giggles, and they laughs against each other’s lips for a while, but as soon as Chan calms down a little, Changbin leans in again to kiss Chan properly.

Jisung’s stomach fills with butterflies at the sight, and the way Chan relaxes, tilting his head ever so slightly so that he can kiss Changbin a bit more deeply, makes Jisung feel like kissing a vampire isn’t so bad after all. He wonders what it would be like. 

He shivers when he hears Chan and Changbin’s lips softly smack against each other. His skin heats up as he realizes that he’s trapped between them, but he wouldn’t say he minds. From this position, he can see Changbin’s pink cheeks and Chan’s red ears perfectly. 

Chan’s hands are on Changbin’s shoulders, Changbin’s ones are on Jisung’s thighs, connecting the three of them even if Jisung isn’t involved in any kissing. 

The two of them part with breathy giggles, and once they meet eyes, Chan smiles so widely that his eyes disappear. “Okay, wait! Wait a second,” he says, his hands coming up to gently touch Changbin’s cheeks. Jisung’s heart flutters. “Why were we doing this again?” 

Changbin laughs. “For the song!” he answers, his eyes flicking towards Jisung. His cheeks are still pink. It’s so cute Jisung might melt. “For the sake of unity between vampires and werewolves, I guess.”  

“Shouldn’t the vampire and the werewolf be kissing, then?” Chan asks with the raise of an eyebrow. Jisung gasps softly, because Chan does have a point. He’s been curious, and seeing Chan look so happy kissing Changbin, his heart is begging him to give it a try as well.

Maybe it can help him put a finger on what exactly he’s feeling for him. He likes Chan and Changbin, that’s for sure, but there’s something different about his feelings for the two of them compared to Seungmin and Hyunjin. It might be infatuation, but Jisung isn’t sure if he’s ready to accept that yet.

“Maybe we could kiss during the performance of our album and make a big statement,” Jisung blurts. Changbin’s eyes widen, and Jisung briefly panics, but as the corners of his friend’s lips twitch up and his gaze fills with something like passion, he relaxes.

“That’s a great idea!” Chan agrees, happily patting their shoulders. “You should totally do that.”

Jisung feels jittery—he didn’t expect them to just accept his wild suggestion like that, but now that he thinks about it, it would get everyone’s attention. A vampire and a werewolf kissing in front of everyone, not even drunk or high on the full moon. 

He fixes Changbin with a curious look, his heart pounding in his ears. “Practice round?” he blurts, mentally facepalming for being awkward, but Changbin simply snickers and straightens himself in front of him. 

Jisung feels a bit like a balloon, about to burst, when Changbin uses his pointer finger to tilt Jisung’s head up a bit so that they face each other properly. Jisung huffs as he meets Changbin’s eyes—there’s a look in them that Jisung hasn’t seen from him before. Not meant for him, at least.

He swallows and decides to get it over with, so he rushes forward and presses their lips together, squeezing his eyes shut as he does so. His cheeks heat up when he feels Changbin’s soft lips against his own. 

He doesn’t understand why he was ever scared of this. He can’t even feel Changbin’s sharp fangs through his lips—of course he can’t—and Changbin’s body, warmed by fresh blood flowing through his veins, feels like a breath of fresh air, like the waning moon.

He isn’t so sure if he wants to show this off to the whole college. He thinks he’d rather keep this lovely feeling private, but if it’s for the sake of everyone, to prove a point, he doesn’t have much of a choice. Perhaps, when he’s more used to this, he’ll be proud to show off.

He runs out of breath sooner than he’d like, so he parts from Changbin with a soft gasp. He grins at his friend. “Not as bad as I thought,” he whispers with a chuckle. Changbin’s jaw drops dramatically and he slaps Jisung’s arm.

“What do you mean, you dog!” he complains, his words making Chan laugh. 

“I meant that I was afraid of your stingers! You know? Pointy teethies for blood drinking are scary,” Jisung retorts with a huff, crossing his arms in front of his chest in an exaggerated show of exasperation. 

“I won’t bite you while kissing, aegi-yah,” Changbin scolds him. Jisung freezes and blushes at the nickname. Changbin is calling him a baby? He isn’t sure if he should be offended or endeared by it, but the way his heart is pounding like crazy tells him that he likes it. 

“And besides, werewolves have fangs, too,” Changbin adds in a lower voice than before. Jisung pouts.

“I know, you dummy. Mine are not as sharp as yours, though,” he points out with a shrug. His cheeks still feel warm, so he sticks out his tongue at Changbin to distract him from that fact. Changbin pulls a weird face in return.

“You guys are so cute, good lord,” Chan suddenly says, a deep sigh escaping from his lips. His gaze is fond as he stares at them. Jisung laughs. He’s glad that Chan can tell that they’re not seriously fighting and that they’re just poking fun at each other. 

“Don't pretend like you're not cute either, hyung,” Jisung immediately retorts. Changbin hums in agreement. 

“That's not the point right now,” Chan says with a slight pout, only proving that Jisung is right. “Now let's finish these lyrics and go to sleep before the sun comes up.” 

Jisung's eyes widen and he peeks at the clock. He didn't realize it had gotten this late again. It's what you get for hanging out with vampires so often, but Jisung doesn't mind. 

He likes the quiet of late nights and early mornings, but even if he didn't, he thinks he likes Changbin and Chan more. 

He feels like restarting his lyrics and drafting something hopeful, something sweeter. And if he falls asleep while doing so, he knows that Changbin will stay and take care of him and Chan, just like he always does. 

The next morning, only a couple hours later, there's something different. It feels like something shifted, whether it's inside Jisung or not. 

Changbin is still there, Jisung is still in Chan's bed, and he feels like it's meant to be. The three of them together, an unusual combination, but nonetheless invincible together.

And perhaps, Jisung realizes as he looks at his friends’ sleepy faces in the early morning light, he's in love with them both. 

☾

“You guys would support me if I fell in love with a vampire, right?” Jisung asks during lunch, making Hyunjin and Seungmin stop in their tracks, food brought halfway to their mouth. Chan is with Changbin and his friends today, just like Jisung encouraged him to do, just to make sure that Changbin would know that he never means to claim Chan. 

“What?” Seungmin asks as he puts down his chopsticks. At the same time, Hyunjin says, “It's Changbinnie hyung, isn't it?” 

“Neither of those are answers to my question!” Jisung complains, his cheeks reddening ever so slightly. “It's a simple yes or no question.” 

“It's not, it depends on who it is, just like it would do if you'd fall for a werewolf. Or human,” Seungmin retorts. He has a point, and Jisung finds it suspicious that he brings up humans as well. They all know only one human, after all. 

“Fine. The vampire might be Changbinnie hyung. But please don't tell anyone,” Jisung answers with a huff. Hyunjin scoffs. 

“Of course we won't tell anyone! I don't believe anyone would be happy to hear this news,” he points out. “Except maybe Changbin hyung. Or Chan hyung.” 

“Really? Do you think they'd be happy?” A small smile starts growing on Jisung’s face. “Why?” 

“You three are so close and protective of each other, it's one of a kind. Even though you fought, I think it's because you care about one another. And so does Channie hyung,” Hyunjin tells him with a soft sigh. He leans his face head on his hands. “I think you three have something special.” 

Jisung's eyes widen and his stomach flips. “I think so, too. And I hope we can use that to change things around here,” he says softly. 

“Change? The way vampires and werewolves feel about each other, you mean?” Seungmin squints, his eyebrows drawn together into a slightly hesitant expression. Jisung nods. “That's… ambitious.” 

“I want to try. We already get along every month at the full moon eve party,” he argues. “I am not fond of vampires either, but we can't keep fighting, right? Years ago, vampire houses and werewolf houses were completely separate, so we've already taken one step in the right direction. The next won’t come in years if we don’t do anything.” 

“You have a point, but how are you going to try and convince everyone?” Hyunjin says, poking at his food with his chopsticks. Jisung shrugs. 

“Music. And uhm, Chan hyung. We want to perform our album at the festival,” he explains, feeling a bit shy about it, because he's reminded of their decision to make a sensation by having him and Changbin kiss. “The three of us will be an example in the meantime, of course.”

“Hmmm. Who knows, it might work,” Seungmin says with a shrug. “It’ll be fun either way. Especially if you and Changbin end up together.”

“Exactly!” Hyunjin agrees, pointing his chopsticks at Jisung, a wide and toothy grin accompanying him. “ That would be setting an example all right. The three of you all together would be awesome too. I could see that happening for sure.”

“Don’t lie… It’ll get my hopes up,” Jisung says with a scoff, reaching across the table to hit Hyunjin’s arm. Hyunjin flails dramatically.

“I’m not lying! I’m serious! Don’t you feel the same, Seungmin-ah?” he says, whipping his head towards Seungmin.

“Yeah, he’s kind of right. I wouldn’t be surprised,” Seungmin agrees. Jisung’s heart goes a little haywire at the thought. Would it really not surprise them? Would Chan and Changbin like the idea, too? Would it really be possible for him to date a vampire?

His mind keeps racing for the rest of the day, and even when he meets with Chan and Changbin to start working on arrangements for their songs, he can’t stop thinking about the possibilities and scenarios for the three of them. 

Their late nights, but with a romantic twist. A kiss good night, hushed loving words, falling asleep in each other’s arms, perhaps a promise of something more. Jisung stops his thoughts before they can run off too far, but he can’t stop Chan and Changbin from commenting on his pink cheeks and teasing him about them.

He likes when they tease him, though, even if Chan chants for him and Changbin to have a practice round in kissing again. Chan seems to be even more excited than Jisung is, but he wishes there was a way for them to include him somehow. 

But he’s too worried. Too shy. Too anxious to bring this up when they’re focused on a good cause. If he messes up by bringing his romantic feelings up, they might not be able to finish their project. He can’t let Chan down like that.

He’ll have to keep his feelings to himself a while longer.

 ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡⋆

If there’s one thing that makes Chan happy, it’s Changbin and Jisung, and perhaps also music. He already knew this fact, but across the past few days, as the festival is nearing and they’re finishing their album, it has been confirmed over and over again.

Ever since his two most precious friends fought, he has been thinking about their well-being more, and he wants them to be happy more than anything. The way their faces lit up and their eyes sparkled when they kissed that one late night working on music was a sight that sent Chan spiralling—in a good way. The best way.

He saw them happy, saw love in their eyes, and he wants nothing more than to see it again. Which is why he might have been subtly poking them to do more. Or maybe not so subtly, because his friends are pretty good at reading him, but they never tell him to stop. 

They never really talk about anything in detail, however. The later at night it becomes, the more affectionate and less bothered by the rivalry ingrained in their system, as well as worries about what others think.

The fact that the three of them together have created a safe space—both with each other and within music—however, does not mean that everyone else sees it that way. 

“Fucking hell, you three are in here again? Stop hoarding the music room,” Taejoon sighs. He’s standing in the doorway with his arms crossed. “And stop hoarding Changbin. He’ll either turn into a fucking werewolf or a coward if he spends more time with Jisung.”

“Shut up, Taejoon-ah,” Changbin says with a sigh. Chan grits his teeth, but he wills himself to not get too upset. They’re working on a solution to this exact problem right now. “We’re working on our project. I can play cards with you later tonight.”

“Whatever. Even the werewolves are annoyed by you three causing a constant ruckus—Jisung cheering for Changbin during football games, Chan hyung constantly trying to show off how well you three pretend to get along, and Changbin literally spending all night in your room—it’s weird. I’m looking out for you when I tell you that you need to stay in your lanes after this project is over,” Taejoon hisses. “You’re stirring up shit—even outside of the full moon, I can feel those wolves side-eyeing us.”

“We’re just minding our own business and making music, it’s not our fault that others take that personally,” Chan points out, feigning patience. He doesn’t feel like fighting. He’s been tired of it for a long while. 

“You’re not minding your own business outside of the fucking music room, that’s the thing! The half moon has arrived, so the full moon is quickly approaching again, and if you three keep going, I’m afraid things will go even worse than last month,” Taejoon continues with a scoff. Chan sighs, his eyes flicking towards Changbin and Jisung, who don’t look very happy with his words. Jisung is biting his lower lip, eyes cast down to the ground, while Changbin is avoiding Taejoon’s gaze.

“We’ve found a shared passion, and we’re not going to pretend we hate each other just because of some stupid tradition. Maybe if everyone just minded their own fucking business, this whole rivalry and fighting wouldn’t happen in the first place,” Chan snaps, his voice and gaze dark as he face Taejoon again. The vampire huffs, but Chan doesn’t care if he hurts him at the moment.

“What do you think we’re trying to do? I wouldn’t think you as a human would understand, Chan hyung, but it seems like being here for months on end hasn’t taught you a damn thing,” he responds with a snarl. Changbin stands up and steps forward.

“It seems you don’t understand a thing about friendship,” he snaps. 

“And you don’t understand anything about comradeship! You’re just leaving us for a fucking werewolf and a human?” Taejoon argues, pointing a finger at Chan and Jisung. “You fought with Jisung, and all of a sudden you’re pretending to get along all fine again? He’ll snap at you again next full moon, you know? And us! What a friend, you are.”

“Shut up, you fuck! Changbin hyung is a great friend. He might not be a werewolf himself, but he understands me better than most of the other wolves, like those footballers for example, or the ones who fight vampires in the woods for fun! None of them are my friends. He is,” Jisung intervenes. Chan slowly brings his hand to Jisung’s arm, hoping to calm him and silently tell him he shouldn’t argue.

“And I feel the same about him,” Changbin says, facing Taejoon with a calm voice. “He’s a better friend to me than you’ll ever be. And that’s okay. That doesn’t mean we have to fight.”

Taejoon stays silent for a while, his jaw tight as he roams his eyes across Changbin’s form, then Jisung, then Chan. He sighs, his features softening slightly. “Fine. Suit yourselves. I tried to warn you. Vampires take comradeship seriously, but werewolves are even more protective of their pack. Don’t play with fire.”

Taejoon turns around and walks away, leaving behind a bit of a tense atmosphere. The silence feels thick, and Chan is worried that Changbin and Jisung’s spirits were dampened by Taejoon’s sudden warnings. 

Chan stands up and pulls Jisung up so that he can pull him and Changbin into a big hug. He kisses both of their heads. “I’m proud of you for standing up for each other and for friendship. I hope you guys still want to go through with our plans for the performance? I… I don’t want to give up our music now that we’ve created such beautiful things together.”

Jisung wraps his arms around Chan and Changbin’s necks, making himself small between the two so that he almost disappears within his two hyungs’ hug. Chan watches how Changbin’s expression softens into a fond smile. His stomach flips.

Changbin then meets Chan’s gaze, his eyes still fond. “Of course we won’t give up. And by the way, we were standing up for you, as well. Without you, we wouldn’t have become so close. You’re the glue of the group, you know?”

“I’m not! You two got along just fine without me during introduction days, remember?” Chan retorts, hoping that they won’t see his red ears, but a set of teeth latches on to his earlobe and bites. “Ow! Jisung!”

Jisung pulls out of the hug a little to grin. Chan tries to glare, but he can’t help himself. Jisung simply looks too adorable. “You bitey man! I’m right, by the way.”

“You are, but so is Changbinnie hyung,” Jisung says as he grabs Changbin’s hand and bites it. Changbin’s face contracts and Chan laughs at his cute expression.

“Ow! Jisung-ah… It’s not even new moon!” Changbin complains. 

“Hm shwwwng hwwkshn,” Jisung retorts with his mouth full of Changbin’s hand, eyes fierce as he pouts even with his mouth occupied. Changbin suddenly giggles.

“That tickles! Don’t talk with my hand in your mouth, we can’t understand you,” he scolds, but his expression is happy. Chan’s heart flutters in relief. Jisung pouts as Changbin’s hand slips away.

“I said I’m showing affection,” he clarifies. Jisung takes a hold of both Chan and Changbin’s hands and presses a soft kiss on the backs of them. “Don’t get me wrong or be offended. I’m a loving bitey man, who loves making music with you two.”

Chan might as well melt on the spot, his heart feeling like it might break out of his ribcage any second. “I love you two, too,” he whispers, just to get it out of his system. “More than anything.”

He keeps his eyes on the ground, his heart pounding in his ears as he realizes what he just said. His neck is hot. He loves Changbin and Jisung, and perhaps he loves them in more ways than one. 

A cold yet soft hand touches his cheek, gently coaxing him to look up. He meets Changbin’s eyes, which sparkle with something that Chan might have just found within himself as well. He remembers kissing Changbin a couple of nights ago, and his body heats up all over again.

Even with Jisung still holding their hands, he feels the pull towards Changbin, whose eyes stray down to somewhere below his nose. He leans a little into Changbin’s touch while his thumb runs along the back of Jisung’s hand. 

Chan can’t often get himself to forget about everything, but in this moment, his mind is finally blank and peaceful, his feelings taking the lead for once rather than his mind, which always seems to strive for perfection. Now, none of that matters.

For a second, he thinks that Changbin will kiss him, or perhaps he might kiss him before Changbin can, whatever happens first, but the moment is ever so rudely broken by a knock on the door.

Chan takes in a sharp breath, his nostrils flaring in annoyance that someone came to interrupt them yet again. He deflates when he sees that it’s their housemaster Minhyuk, coming to inform them about curfew yet again. 

“I’m sorry guys, I know it’s annoying to have these rules even in adulthood, but you’ll have to go back to your rooms now. Especially since the festival and the full moon is approaching, we need the wolves to be well rested,” Minhyuk explains as he examines their disappointed expressions. “It’s so that everyone can rest in this house.”

“Yes, yes, we’re living with a lot of others, so we should be mindful. We understand,” Chan says with a soft sigh before offering Minhyuk a sheepish look. “We’ll clean up now.”

“Perfect. Good night, you three,” their housemaster says before softly closing the door, blanketing the room in yet another silence. The moment is over now, but the feelings still linger in Chan’s chest, making his fingers tingle as he closes the lid of the piano and briefly dusts it off. 

Changbin and Jisung put their instruments away as well, and the three walk right past the group of vampires who are still playing cards in the common room. Changbin’s roommate, Jeongin, is with them as well, which probably means that Changbin will stop by Chan and Jisung’s room before going back.

It has become a sort of tradition for Changbin to spend the night with them until they fall asleep, and Chan couldn’t be more grateful for it. Especially tonight, with the festival just around the corner.

The three gather on Chan’s bed again, limbs tangled into a web. “So, we’re all in favor of the performance going through as planned?” Chan asks the two, just to be sure. Changbin and Jisung share a look, but they don’t need much time to discuss with their eyes before agreeing. 

“Yes. We don’t have much time to change up any plans, anyway. Changbin hyung almost managed to convince Taejoon hyung just now, I saw it,” Jisung says, looking up at Changbin with his round and pretty eyes. Changbin smiles, a bit shyly. “I think we can do it. I’m nervous, because of the waxing moon, but I know that as long as I stick with you two, I’ll be okay.”

“I know you will, Jisung-ah,” Changbin assures him. “We have to take this chance to change something. Even if it’s just a small step. And even if nothing changes, we’ve found something we love doing together. We don’t need to be roommates, play football together, run together, or comradeship, we have music now.”

Chan smiles widely. “Exactly.” They have music, and each other. Chan promises himself to pick up where they left off in the music room someday, perhaps after the festival, because he needs Changbin and Jisung to know just how much he really loves them.

 ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡⋆

Changbin has been looking forward to this day for a while now. He knows that Jisung is nervous, and that Chan is worried about them not making a change despite their hard work. 

Changbin is most worried about kissing Jisung.

They’ve practiced a handful of times, but only once for real. Changbin knows that he’s in love with Jisung, but he doesn’t know if Jisung feels the same. Perhaps kissing him will only make him anxious, which is likely considering the waxing moon. 

Jisung insists that he’s all right, and that his moon sensitivity is low since he’s not around werewolves, but Changbin keeps an eye on him anyway. He does the same with Chan, because Jisung isn’t the only one who tends to pretend he’s fine when he’s done. 

And Jisung isn’t the only one whom Changbin is in love with. His crush on Jisung returned in full force, this time in a deeper way, and what Changbin called a healthy admiration for Chan’s looks and personality at first, turns out to be something much like love as well. 

Whatever today turns out to be, he knows that he’ll leave with confidence in himself and his bond with the friends he cares so much about, but he hopes that the three of them will at least make a little dent in the concrete wall that is the age old rivalry between werewolves and vampires. 

The performances are outside on a big stage, during the evening, right before the sun has starts setting. Werewolves perform first, so that the vampires can perform without having to worry about the sun too much.

They’ve requested to be one of the last to perform, to ensure that they make a lasting impact, and don’t disrupt other performances in case they accidentally start a riot. They watch vampires recite poetry, werewolves dance, either of them sing, do a joke routine, show off their flexibility, you name it. 

It’s impressive, but none of the performances involve vampires and werewolves working together, despite them being forced to do so in music class this semester. Changbin is sure that some of them would have liked to do it, but were afraid of what others would think.

He knows that he’s had troubles accepting his infatuation with Jisung just because he’s a werewolf. Not because Changbin likes him any less because of that, but because he assumed that Jisung wouldn’t want to be with a vampire. He’s sure that he isn’t the only one who feels the same.

He knows that Minho talks with Jisung without any restraints, but he also knows that Minho doesn’t talk to anyone he finds annoying or who doesn’t respect him, which makes Jisung the only werewolf he really talks to, which is a shame.

“Oh god. We’re up next,” Jisung whispers as he watches Jeongin sing on stage. Chan wraps an arm around Jisung’s shoulders and rubs his arms. Changbin rests his hand on Chan’s arm.

“It’ll be fun, won’t it? Just pretend that we’re in the music room, just the three of us,” Chan assures him softly, in that sweet voice of his. Jisung’s expression softens and he hesitantly nods.

“Okay. You’re right. I’ll just look at you and not the rest,” he says, the corners of his lips twitching up into a small smile. Changbin watches as Chan ruffles Jisung’s hair, his own hand sliding down Jisung’s back.

He would be lying if he’d say that he wasn’t nervous at all, but he’s also excited, the anticipation of playing music with his dear friends and hopefully making a statement to the rest of the academy built up in his chest and is ready to burst. 

They're called over to come and set up their instruments as Jeongin's performance comes to an end. The crowd already murmurs about as the three enter the stage. Everyone who did not know they're a group of a human, a vampire, and a werewolf, knows as soon as their performance actually starts. 

“Welcome everyone. As you all know, this is our academy's 57th annual festival, which might be the only time vampires and werewolves come together willingly, apart from the full moon eve party,” Chan announces to their fellow students. “Hopefully, this will become less of a taboo some day. The three of us have worked together to make a collection of songs about our experiences and feelings as a human, vampire, and werewolf. It's called Eclipse. If you want to take a look at our lyrics, we have written copies at the sides of the hall. I hope you listen well, thank you and enjoy.” 

Chan bows to a rowdy audience, within which only Minho dares to stand out by clapping for them. Jeongin, Felix, Hyunjin, and Seungmin join him, which makes Changbin smile. A moment later, Sana, Ryujin, Chaeryeong, Yeji, and two other girls join in as well. 

They've already succeeded to bring together vampires and werewolves in some way, even if it’s a small accomplishment. He points it out to Jisung, whose nervous expression fades into a grateful one. 

Changbin taps his drum to count down for the first song, sharing a look with Chan and Jisung before they start. They start smoothly, having played this song many times before, and so Changbin can allow himself to look at Jisung and Chan while letting his hands work through muscle memory. 

Chan is angled slightly towards them on his piano, while Jisung is turned almost completely towards Changbin and Chan at first. As the performance goes on, the audience grows less rowdy, and they warm up to being on stage, Jisung opens up, blooms like a flower and smiles. 

Chan sees it and lights up much like Changbin does, and the three of them harmonize even better than they were already doing. 

And in between sharing looks with Chan and Jisung, Changbin glances at the audience, and every time he looks, he sees more expressions of interest and gratitude. He's thankful for his and Jisung’s friends for encouraging them the whole time, but even others—including Taejoon, Youngjae, Yeonjun, a whole group from the girls houses, and even Huiyoon—start supporting them and dancing along to the music. 

There's still obvious disgust and disapproval within the audience, but they've also gotten more support than he expected. 

It fills him with confidence for the finale. 

The last song arrives and Changbin’s heart slowly speeds up. He meets Jisung’s eyes multiple times throughout, and Changbin swears that he sees giddiness in Jisung’s gaze. It makes him buzz with anticipation. 

“Thank you all!” They finish the performance with only minimal mistakes, and they receive a bigger applause than Changbin expected, some waving around the lyrics as they cheer. He’s happy to see that almost the entirety of the Red Sun house has their backs, as well as the girls from the Green Guardian house, but not everyone seems convinced just yet, so, after holding Chan and Jisung’s hands to bow, he turns towards them with a smile.

“Thank you for coming, and let this be known: I, a vampire, love this werewolf!” Changbin announces, as loudly as he can. His heart is pounding in his ears as he sees the various reactions from the audience. 

He then faces Jisung, but before he can check if Jisung is still up for their planned kiss, a set of hands land on his cheeks, pulling him forward into a fierce and passionate kiss. He gasps and quickly wraps his arms around Jisung’s waist in return, hoping that his heart won’t beat right out of his mouth into Jisung’s one.

For a moment, he hears the audience go wild, but he can’t focus long enough to hear much before the sound is drowned out by his heart pounding in his ears. He tilts his head and deepens the kiss, pulling Jisung flush against him. 

He’s glad that he drank some blood before the performances started, but not too long ago, so he won’t blush too hard, but he’ll hopefully be warm for Jisung, whose lips are soft against his own. 

They practiced this moment, but nothing could have prepared Changbin for the real deal—the adrenaline left from the performance and announcing he loves Jisung, combined with Jisung’s new passion and eagerness, are making Changbin weak in the knees.

When they part—purely due to a lack of air—Changbin sees a pinkfaced Jisung with a dazzling look on his face. He loves him, and Jisung might love him back. 

Chan’s hands rest on their shoulders, a proud look accompanying him. When Jisung presses a kiss on Chan’s cheek, Changbin can’t stay behind, so he mirrors the gesture. 

He decides to ignore the clamor from the audience and whispers for Chan and Jisung to come and clean up while the professors try to ease the crowd. As soon as the instruments are cleared from the stage, the three of them immediately hug to release any leftover adrenaline.

“Oh my gosh. You two did so well! I— Fuck, I almost cried when you kissed. It was beautiful,” Chan says, his lips moving against the side of Changbin’s head. Jisung tightens his grip on the two of them.

“Thank you, hyungs,” he says, hiding his face in the crook of Chan’s neck. “I’m so proud of us! God—I want to go again.”

“Me too. And you did great, too, Chan hyung. We couldn’t have done this without you,” Changbin adds, because Chan is an unmissable puzzle piece in their group. He touches Chan’s cheek, much like he did a couple days ago in the music room. 

“I…” A confession is on the tip of Changbin’s tongue, but he feels a bit tongue-tied when he realizes that he needs to tell Jisung that he was genuine earlier on stage as well. They deserve to know, but he’s feeling emotional in the moment, seeing Chan and Jisung so touched.

Before he can gather the courage, a staff member comes to shoo them away to make space backstage. The three leave with synchronous giggles, sticking close together as they get back into the crowd to rejoin the festival.

They’re immediately greeted with an immense wave of people from all houses wanting to talk to them—congratulate them, ask them questions, condemn them, cuss them out, you name it. Changbin’s good mood immediately disappears, especially when he loses sight of Chan and Jisung. 

He appreciates Felix’s enthusiasm and praises, and he gladly answers Jeongin’s questions, but he’d love to share this with Chan and Jisung, the ones who helped him create this.

“That kiss was iconic, Changbin hyung,” Felix tells him excitedly. “You should have seen the reactions from everyone else—everyone lost their minds when you did that. I think this will be talked about for years until now.”

“I hope it’ll be in a positive light,” Changbin answers with a bittersweet chuckle. 

“I hope so too. Because I could tell you meant it. You really love Jisung hyung, don’t you?” Jeongin asks him, softly elbowing his side. Changbin exhales and nods.

“I do. And I love Chan hyung just as much. Fuck—I still need to tell them,” he says as he runs a hand through his hair. 

“What are you waiting for, then? Go find them and air out your heart like you did on stage!” Minho tells him. He places a hand on Changbin’s shoulder and winks. “I’ve heard that the courtyard is pretty romantic at this time of day.”

Changbin huffs, but he can’t help but feel grateful. “Thank you three for being supportive, really. I… I appreciate it. You guys are great.”

“No need to tell us, hyung! Go!” Felix says as he waves Changbin off with a bright smile. Changbin pulls the three of his friends into a quick hug before running off to find Chan and Jisung.

Jisung isn’t difficult to find. He’s always either with his friends, Hyunjin and Seungmin, or Chan, or he’s somewhere quiet, alone. Changbin finds him near the food stands, indeed with Hyunjin and Seungmin near him. 

Jisung lights up when he sees Changbin and waves for him to come over. “Hyung! Are you okay? Did the wolves bother you a lot?” he asks, but Changbin shakes his head.

“You guys did well. You gave an impactful and meaningful performance,” Seungmin tells him with a genuine smile. Changbin bows in thanks. “Hyunjinnie bawled his eyes out up until the last second, including when you two kissed.”

Hyunjin clears his throat and slaps Seungmin’s arm. “It was beautiful, okay?! That kiss came from the heart!”

Changbin’s eyes widen—the fact that one of Jisung’s closest friends says this probably means that there’s some part of the truth in there. He looks at Jisung to see him with pink cheeks. Changbin’s stomach flips—there’s a possibility Jisung loves him back?

“Uhm. Thank you. I—I’m glad you enjoyed it!” Changbin tells him with a laugh. “I was hoping to steal Jisung for a second. I wanted to tell him and Chan hyung something.”

Hyunjin whips his head to Changbin, his expression intense all of a sudden, making Changbin shiver. Hyunjin also looks at Jisung, eyes wide. “Yes. Yes, please! Go ahead. He’s all yours tonight,” Seungmin says with a soft chuckle. Jisung sends the two a look Changbin can’t quite read.

“Do you have any idea where Chan hyung could be?” Changbin asks Jisung as he takes a hold of his hand. He wouldn’t want to lose him again within the crowd. “I couldn’t find him between our Red Sun housemates.”

“I haven’t seen him. He could be talking to the girls, perhaps,” Jisung suggest, his free hand holding on to Changbin’s arm as he stays close. “I’m not wearing my glasses and I got annoyed by my lenses so I can’t see shit.”

“Can’t you use your sense of smell?” Changbin cuckles softly. Jisung squeezes Changbin’s hand and scoffs.

“Only if he’s not surrounded by stinky wolves,” he answers with a laugh. Jisung then pauses and sniffs. “Wait. I think he’s left of us.”

Changbin looks around and spots Chan with the girls from the Green Guardian house. “Oh, look. You were right about Channie hyung.”

They approach Chan, briefly talk to the Green Guardian wolves and vampires, and then they pull Chan away. Jisung is surprisingly eager as well, tugging on Chan’s arm. “Changbinnie hyung said he wants to tell us something!” 

“I know! And I’m really curious,” Chan replies with a laugh. “It seems important.”

Changbin huffs, but he can’t stop a blush from creeping up his neck. He doesn’t know why he follows Minho’s advice and takes his friends to the courtyard, but he has to admit that the atmosphere does fit the mood of a confession. Lanterns from the festival are casting colored lights upon the scenery, and the light from the moon is quite strong as well. 

“It is important. I’ve been carrying this with me for a while, but now that the performance is done, I think it’s time to tell you,” Changbin says. His heart is pounding, especially when he sees his friends’ gazes grow worried. 

“Don’t give me those looks. It’s a happy message! To me, at least,” he continues with a sigh. It manages to ease his friends’ nerves, but not quite his own. And Chan must notice, because he softens and gently touches his jaw in an encouraging gesture.

“Then it’s happy for us, too,” he assures Changbin, who swallows thickly and tries not to get lost in Chan’s eyes. Jisung hums in agreement. “So tell us whenever you’re ready.”

“Right. I’ll just say it. Remember what I announced very loudly on stage at the end of our performance?” Changbin begins. Immediately, Jisung’s expression grows a bit bashful, his lower lip slipping between his teeth as he nods. “I meant it. I love you, Jisung-ah. And I love you, too, Chan hyung. I love both of you so much, and I can’t go on without you two knowing how much you mean to me. I don’t care that we’re all different species. I really don’t give a single flying fuck about that. These past few weeks have made me realize that I care about two things: music, and you two. And I need you to know.”

Chan and Jisung stare at him with wide eyes in silence for a moment—he understands, he dropped quite a bomb onto them just now—but he hopes that they’ll say something soon, because his heart feels like it’s about to beat right out of his chest.

“I love you too, hyung! Hyunjin was right! It was genuine—I was genuine when I kissed you just now. Just like I was when I kissed Chan hyung. It—It might sound cheesy, but I honestly wouldn’t know what to do without you two. A life only ever interacting with werewolves sounds horrible, even if I love my friends, too. I love you two in a different way,” Jisung rambles, obviously nervous as he speaks, eyes flicking between Changbin and Chan, the latter of who is still silently staring them.

Changbin can’t help but smile at Jisung, grateful that he confirmed his suspicion of the kiss actually being sincere. He’d love to kiss him again, but there’s still one person who hasn’t spoken up yet, and they can’t end the conversation until he has heard from him.

“Chan hyung?” he says, offering Chan a curious look. Chan’s eyes are slightly watery, which hurts Changbin to see, but he’s not going to bawl right now, because he knows that Chan and Jisung won’t be able to keep it dry either if he does, and then he’ll feel bad.

“I—What do I even say? Are you sure that I’m part of this, too?” Chan whispers, blinking as he looks at Changbin and Jisung.

“Of course! Why wouldn’t you be?!” “We literally just said that we love you too! You idiot!” Jisung and Changbin start talking through each other, throwing aggressive compliments and reassurances at Chan, who lets out watery laughs.

“Okay! Okay, I get it!” he says, waving his hands at them before pulling the two of them into a tight hug. Chan sighs deeply and presses a kiss against the sides of their heads. “Thank you for gathering the courage to confess. I—I was really rooting for you two, but at the same time, my feelings for you two grew so strong it became difficult to ignore them. I would have been happy to cheer on you from the sidelines, but I’m grateful that we can stay a strongly bonded group of three.”

“Me too,” Jisung says, finishing off his words with a big smooch on Chan and Changbin’s cheeks. He turns to Changbin with a cheeky grin, his adorable cheeks bunching up. “Thanks for doing this, Changbinnie hyung. It was unexpectedly romantic of you.”

“I’m very romantic, thank you,” he retorts with a huff, but before he can say more, he’s cut off but Jisung cupping his cheeks and pressing a soft yet insistent kiss onto his lips, much like what happened merely hours earlier. Changbin immediately melts into his touch, and before Jisung can back away, Changbin pulls him back in by the middle to prolong the moment.

He nips at Jisung’s lower lip, his stomach filling with butterflies at the soft sound Jisung lets out in response. He has to hold back the urge to bite Jisung’s lips—he wouldn’t want the kiss to be over just yet—and keeps it soft, so that he can enjoy Jisung’s gentle fingers caressing his jaw.

Afterwards he backs away and turns Jisung around so that he face Chan. “Someone else is waiting for you,” he whispers into Jisung’s ear. The latter’s cheeks grow red, but he doesn’t waste any time before jumping forward into Chan’s arms, his own arms wrapping around Chan’s blushy neck. Jisung kisses him square on the lips.

The two kiss as if they have something to make up for, which Changbin guesses they do. Especially Chan has been missing out, even if all Changbin and Jisung did was chaste practice kisses. 

Chan and Jisung are the one kissing, but Changbin feels like he’s right in between, his stomach doing all kinds of acrobatics, his face warm as he watches. Chan’s fingers gently caress Jisung’s cheek, his other arm wrapped around Jisung’s waist. 

They only seem to part when their breath runs out, and even then, they stay close, the tips of their noses touching, lips spreading into equally beautiful and bright smiles. Changbin feels like the luckiest man on earth to be able to witness this.

As if they communicated it beforehand, Chan and Jisung simultaneously turn to face Changbin, mirroring grins on their faces. Chan lets go of Jisung and steps towards him, his expression softening into a fond one, the one that always manages to make Changbin stare. 

“Wouldn’t want you to feel left out, would we?” Chan whispers softly, taking Changbin’s hand and tugging him closer. Changbin sighs, but he accept Chan into his arms. 

“Less talking, more kissing, then!” he complains half-heartedly, which is a mistake, because it only makes Chan laugh, which means Changbin has to swoon about his beautiful dimples and moon-crescent eyes again. 

As soon as Chan’s laughter dies, he leans down to kiss Changbin’s lips, and finally, Changbin can properly concentrate and appreciate Chan’s soft and pillowy lips. He runs his fingers through Chan’s curls, making sure that he can’t back out before Changbin is satisfied with how much love he has shown him. He has something to make up for, too, after all.

Chan kisses him deeply, just like he did with Jisung, and Changbin feels like he’ll combust any second. No one is there to interrupt them now, no Minhyuk, no staff, no vampires or werewolves. 

He realizes that he’ll be able to do this more often from now on, and that thought fills him with anticipation. 

When they finally part, Changbin can’t help but break out into a big smile, a whole weight falling off his shoulders. Confessing to and kissing his two dearest friends is the best way to top off their already pretty successful performance.

“Now let’s go enjoy the festival—tonight’s one of the few nights we get to stay up with the vampires,” Chan suggests, which Changbin thinks will be the perfect end to this night. Chan takes each of their hands and pulls them along to enjoy the rest of the festival. 

There are traditional games, food, special blood recipes, professors showing off their talents, and Changbin thinks he even spots some werewolves and vampires enjoying it all together. It might all be over tomorrow, but he hopes it won’t. He hopes that he and his friends—boyfriends?—managed to make a lasting impact, not only on their relationship, but also on the vampires and werewolves at this college.

But even if they didn’t, Changbin thinks he’ll make peace with only having heard words of love from his friends, and knowing that his feelings are reciprocated.

 ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡⋆

It seems like everything has gone back to normal after the festival, but only on the surface. If Chan pays attention, however, he can tell that there’s less fighting, and in general a little more animosity between vampires and wolves. Less umbrellas are stolen and destroyed by werewolves, there’s less mocking, and it seems like the atmosphere during music class has eased as well. 

Chan notices that in preparation of this month’s full moon, more werewolves actually explicitly invite vampires to come to their full moon eve party. This time, not many werewolves seem to need to be almost blackout drunk to dance or interact with vampires, nor do Chan, Changbin, and Jisung need any alcohol or drinking games to kiss and dance with each other either.

The day after—the actual day of the full moon—is a lot quieter than the last one as well. Jisung is less afraid to surround himself with vampires and to admit that he doesn’t want to be around werewolves unless it’s his friends. More vampires seem to have learned to go easy on the wolves that day as well, and there’s a less tense atmosphere.

Him, Changbin, and Jisung are being less bothered by others, too, and even though nothing much has changed between the three of them at first glance, they’ve become even closer, and less embarrassed about affection. 

The music room has become their unofficial room, and Changbin spends a lot of time in Jisung and Chan’s room, too. Many late nights and early mornings have been enjoyed together, as well as afternoons, watching each other’s football games, and being there for each other during difficult times.

Chan makes sure to be there to apply Changbin’s sunscreen, to ease Jisung’s moon sensitivity when he needs it, but Changbin and Jisung do the same for each other. They don’t need to understand each other’s struggles to be there for each other. 

That’s all he needs, and it seems the rest is starting to understand that as well. Even if the process is slow, Chan knows that as long as he has Changbin and Jisung by his side, he’ll survive the rest of his time here at the academy, having found his passion both in music, and in his precious boyfriends.

☾