Chapter Text
There is a vampire living in Jake’s apartment.
“Of all the things you could’ve picked up off the street, it just had to be a bloodsucker, huh? You couldn’t have picked up a stray cat? Or a dog? Or, heck, a raccoon, for fuck’s sake?”
“I like this one,” the vampire—Heeseung—slurs and points at Jay, the tips of his sharp fangs poking out from underneath his amused grin. “He’s feisty.”
“This one,” Jay mocks Heeseung with a grumble, “happens to have a name. Which you know and refuse to use!”
“Nothing’s wrong with wanting to help people,” Jake sulks, paying Jay’s dark expression no mind. He tenderly moves Heeseung’s head off his lap to rest on a cushion instead, a shy smile pulling at his lips as he watches Heeseung twist and turn to find a more comfortable position to doze off in. Heeseung’s cheeks are slightly flushed, like he’d been sipping margaritas out in the sun for a bit too long, minus the tan, his lips tinted red from a fresh bag of AB-positive.
Jay scowls at them from the opposite end of the living room. “He’s going to eat you. Haven’t you noticed him following you around like a— like a, I don’t know, vampire all the time? He’s hunting you and you’re just letting him.”
“I bet ten bucks Jake’s going to be dead by the end of the week,” Sunoo playfully jeers from the kitchen, shoveling yet another scoopful of mint chocolate ice cream into his mouth with a cheeky grin.
“I bet twenty he has a bloodplay kink,” Sunghoon chimes in, scowling when Sunoo offers him a bite of his ice cream.
Jay chokes on a gag at the sight of Jake gently carding his fingers through Heeseung’s hair to move it out of his face, exaggerating his loud hacking when Jake glares daggers at him and puts a finger to his lips to hush him.
“You’re not serious about keeping him, are you?”
“He’s not a pet, Sunoo,” Jake says with an annoyed grumble, “he doesn’t need to be kept. He said he needed a place to stay.”
He’s allowed peace and quiet for about a minute more until Jay mutters under his breath, “Now how the fuck am I going to afford a coffin? Hey Sunghoon, you mind splitting with me?”
Let’s start from the beginning.
It’s not like Jake had intentionally sought out a vampire to stay in his apartment rent-free. He barely makes enough to deposit extra cash into his savings account at the end of every month, nevermind the rent payments that Jay has had to cover for him one too many times. If he knew that Heeseung was a sucker for long, burning hot showers, he probably wouldn’t have brought him home.
(Knowing him, he probably still would have, but that’s beside the point.)
It’s just that, well, Heeseung had looked so pitiful when he stumbled into the clinic. Jake was working reception that day, struggling through another level of Candy Crush during the lull that came right before noon, when the bell tied to the front door chimed.
“Welcome in,” Jake said, his eyes still glued on his phone. Clients usually helped themselves to the kiosks on either side of the reception desk, only bothering to pay Jake any attention if they were frustrated about how long it was taking for a phlebotomist to attend to them. He didn’t think twice when he was greeted with a low grunt followed by silence rather than a hello. He did, however, feel a bit chilly, and when he realized that the door hadn’t chimed closed, asked without looking up, “Could you please close the door behind you?”
Silence. There was no shuffling of feet to close the door, no apologies for leaving it open, not even a scoff in annoyance at his audacity to ask a client such a favor. Only then, when another chill snaked up Jake’s spine and dotted his bare arms in raised bumps, did Jake look up.
Heeseung, even as emaciated as he was then, was the most beautiful creature Jake had ever laid his eyes on. His hair was long, soft waves framing his cheekbones, and his pitch-black eyes glistened with stars despite the ugly fluorescent lights that painted the room in a sterile off-white hue. He was wearing a leather jacket and smelled like smoke, the kind that wafted from kindling set ablaze in the middle of the woods, his black jeans ripped up to his thighs to show off his pale skin. He stared at Jake with an eerie heat, almost as if he wanted something from him, his head tilted to the side as his eyes trailed from Jake’s arms to his face. Jake felt like a field mouse being hunted by a famished hawk.
Jake’s voice came out weak as he dropped his phone into his lap. “A-are you here for a blood test?” he asked, clearing his throat in hopes that it wouldn’t crack under the weight of the client staring down at him. Suddenly, the desk separating them felt much too narrow.
“No,” the client answered, his voice so quiet that Jake had to lean in to just hear him. “Not a test.”
“I’m sorry,” Jake said, well-rehearsed from the many times he’s had to deal with clients whose phones had mistaken the clinic for a pharmacy or hospital, routing them here instead. He pointed to the list of services they offered, the plastic sleeve covering it clouded in dirty fingerprints. “We only do blood, urine, and stool tests here.”
The client’s eyebrows furrowed, like he was frustrated that the clinic that famously provided only clinical testing services didn’t have anything else to offer. Jake slightly cowered in his seat, bracing himself for the beration that would inevitably come. This was one of the reasons why he hated working reception—the misdirected anger that often manifested in the form of curse words and middle fingers.
The yelling didn’t come. Instead, the client suddenly slumped forward, his arms gripping onto the counter to hold himself up.
“Oh my God,” Jake shot backwards, eyes widening in shock. “Um, let me call my manager—”
“I need blood,” the client croaked, barely audible. When he weakly lifted his head, his eyes seemed even darker than when he first walked in, his pupils blown and lips pale. Jake began to notice how gray his dark circles looked, how gaunt his cheeks were. He backed up, his heart thumping loudly in his chest as his brain fired a million thoughts all at once— call Soobin, call an ambulance, stop freaking out and do something, Jake!
Just before he could muster the air to yell Soobin’s name, the client suddenly fell to the ground, disappearing behind the desk with a thud. Jake just couldn’t seem to get his words out. His tongue was frozen behind his teeth, his throat closing up as he dashed behind the desk and into the lobby. He sank to his knees, his fingers pressed against the client’s throat to feel for a pulse, incoherent sounds bursting through his lips as he tried to string vowels and consonants together into something that made sense.
He couldn’t feel a pulse. The client’s skin felt like ice to the touch, so cold that it burned Jake’s skin. Jake’s breaths quickened like he was hiccuping, too little air filling his lungs just to burst out of them the next second, his hand snaking around his client’s jaw to try to feel for any rhythm that would indicate a sign of life. He’s never had a client faint on him like this—never had a client potentially die in front of him.
Then he sees them—two little barbs peeking out from under the client’s lips.
They were barely visible, just the tips of his fangs poking out, but they were there, sharp and porcelain white, just like all the pictures he’d seen online. Jake had only heard about vampires from the old rumor mill and internet forums that he’d find himself in whenever he’d get curious, never fully believing that they could possibly exist because that meant that all the other supernatural creatures he’s heard about in scary stories were real too. But here he was, holding a vampire in his arms. A vampire that had just passed out because he wasn’t here for a blood test, not exactly—he was here because he was starving. He was here because he needed help.
“What are you doing?” Jay hissed, alarm coloring his eyes as Jake hauled the vampire’s limp body into the back seat of Jay’s car. Jake hadn’t told Jay about the vampire, only telling him that he needed to be picked up from work right now and that it was an urgent emergency. "Why are you kidnapping a client? And why are you involving me? Who’s going to bail you out of prison if we’re both involved, dumbass?”
“I’m not,” Jake huffed as he struggled to lift the vampire’s legs into the car, “kidnapping him.” He braced himself, tightened his core, and grunted loudly when he finally managed to shove the rest of the vampire into Jay’s car and shut the door. When he slid into the passenger seat, Jay glowered at him, frozen still and furious. “I’m helping him. And we need to go. Now.”
When Jay didn’t move, Jake turned to him and pleaded, “Please, Jay. I’ll explain everything when we get home, I promise.”
Jay turned around to glare at the uninvited guest in his back seat, taking in a deep breath before looking at Jake with raw fire in his eyes—a warning of the devastation that would ensue if Jake didn’t keep his promise. Then he started his car, put it into drive, and sped home.
Jay didn’t make a peep on the quick drive back, so focused on the road that Jake was afraid lasers would start shooting out of his eyes to melt the asphalt. They hauled the vampire’s body upstairs, Jay holding his legs while Jake hooked his hands under his armpits, and set him down on the floor because they were too weak combined to attempt to lift him onto the couch.
The vampire’s eyes were glued shut, his body catatonic despite the increasing volume of Jay’s yelling as he paced about their apartment, immediately demanding an explanation for why it was so important for Jake to haul a stranger into their home.
“Just— Just wait,” Jake said, as exasperated as Jay was. He sank to his knees and shoved his hand into the bottom of his backpack. Then he froze, the reality of the situation suddenly smacking him in the face like a semi truck.
The tubes were cold in his hand, though they were no longer freezing like when he’d first taken them from the fridge. He was only able to grab five of them before sneaking out through the front. Soobin was busy drawing blood from another client in the back and Yeonjun was taking his lunch break at the pizza place next door, so there was nobody around to catch him in the act. Whether or not the cameras in the storage room caught him, he’ll worry about later. Hopefully they didn’t. He needed this job.
“What am I waiting for?” Jay hissed, arms tightly crossed at his chest as he tapped his foot against the hardwood floor. “Explain.”
Jay’s eyes bulged out of his head when Jake slowly pulled the patient samples out of his backpack. Two gray tubes, three purple tubes. Jake didn’t have time to check the system for the patient’s blood type or any dangerous biomarkers he should’ve accounted for. Suddenly, he wondered if vampires could be allergic to certain blood types. Were they also immune to human diseases? Did vampires count as humans?
“What is that?” Jay asked, his voice suddenly hushed and shaky, eyes flickering about the room as if to search for hidden cameras. “Did you steal—”
“I had to,” Jake blurted.
Jake looked from Jay to the vampire lying still by his knees, then to the tubes in his hand. He knew it was wrong to steal patient samples. He knew how much trouble he could get into—how much of an ethical mistake this was. But what else was he supposed to do— not help the dying vampire? There weren’t any protocols in his employee handbook for dealing with situations like this, but Jake couldn’t just allow a perfectly innocent creature to perish so painfully, no matter how much his brain had screamed for him to just turn the other way.
“He was— He was dying right in front of me,” Jake said, his voice small. He couldn’t bring himself to catch Jay’s expression, too afraid that Jay was staring at him with the same horror he extended to the creature on the floor. “I had to, Jay.”
Jay didn’t say another word, didn’t smooth his hand down Jake’s back like he always does whenever Jake got worked up about something stupid like hitting the curb during driving practice or burning yet another batch of jasmine rice because their rice cooker just didn’t get along with him. Instead, he sank to his knees to join Jake on the ground, his eyes still transfixed on the crimson tubes in Jake’s palms.
Jake’s parents had always pointed out how odd it was that he’d chosen to work at a clinic. Blood made him queasy. Needles freaked him out. Urine and stool samples were a bit gross to think about. Jake had tried to find a scribing job, believe him. He’d considered becoming an EMT up until the point when Sunghoon pointed out that he might encounter some seriously bloody cases—and Sunghoon would know, because his older sister was a firefighter and showed up to house calls too. So phlebotomy it was, and after the three-month course that completely emptied his bank account and a handful of fainting spells that he had pushed himself to learn to fight off, Jake was offered a job at the clinic on the corner of 12th and 7th street.
The blood smelled acidic, burning his nose once he managed to wrangle the rubber stoppers off. Caustic, almost—sweet and metallic and alluring, poison wrapped neatly with a bow on top. Jake gently set the stoppers on the ground, then paused. He wasn’t sure how to proceed—was he supposed to just stick the blood into the vampire’s mouth? He could feel a headache coming on, the warmth of his hand transferring to the glass tubes that clinked together in his firm, sweaty grip. The world suddenly spun a bit too fast.
“Jake.” Jay’s voice startled him. He sounded so far away despite him being a mere foot away from him. “Jake, you okay?”
“Not really,” Jake squeaked. Maybe he should have called in sick today after all; then he wouldn’t be stuck in this mess. His arm trembled as he met Jay’s eyes. “I don’t— How do I—”
“I’ll do it,” Jay said, his voice firm, unwavering unlike the way his gaze flitted about, Jake’s nervousness seeming to have rubbed off on him. Jay held out his hand to take the tubes. “Can you sit him up?”
The vampire seemed heavier than when they’d lugged him up the stairs. It took a moment for Jake to push him up, cradling his head against his chest with his legs bracketing the vampire’s thighs for support. Jay nodded, determined, when Jake met his eyes.
He didn’t know what he’d expected. The vampire didn’t shoot out of his arms, didn’t suddenly wake up gasping for air like a fish out of water. Jay gently pressed a tube against the vampire’s bottom lip, coaxing his mouth open to coat his tongue with blood. Nothing happened for a minute or two. By the time the clock’s hands had changed twice, Jake started to think that the vampire wasn’t ever going to wake up, dread washing over his body in strong waves.
Then the vampire swallowed. Jake felt it. Jay saw it. The vampire’s mouth fell open, just barely, and Jay poured another vial of blood into his mouth. He swallowed again. When all five tubes were empty, the vampire in Jake’s arms shifted slightly, tucking his face against Jake’s chest. Color seemed to start returning to his face, a slight flush on his cheeks to match the pink tint of the blood staining his lips.
Jake didn’t know why he felt compelled to do it, but he reached up to brush the vampire’s hair from his face anyway. He looked even more beautiful up close, his long eyelashes fanning out on his soft cheeks. His face was dotted in moles and light freckles, his lips shaped into a heart, his ears cutely stuck out from under his mop of dirty blond hair. It felt wrong to behold something so ethereal like this, but Jake allowed himself to indulge. Just this once, while the vampire rested in his arms.
His name was Heeseung, he said. Lee Heeseung.
“You’re a vampire.”
“And you’re one smart cookie,” Heeseung said, the smile plastered on his face looking more and more like a smirk as he leaned forward and bared his teeth at Jay. Even though Jake could tell that Jay wanted to act like he wasn’t affected by Heeseung’s goading, Jay wasn’t doing that great of a job, cowering a bit as Heeseung took him in. Heeseung’s fangs were on full display, four sharp points that looked even sharper than the needles Jake was so afraid of. “A yummy one, I bet.”
“I’ll call the police!” Jay threatened, his grip tightening around Jake’s wrist until his knuckles whitened and Jake could no longer feel his fingers. He shielded Jake with his body, his frame eclipsing Jake’s. “We shouldn’t have helped you.”
“Oh, but then I wouldn’t have been able to enjoy your wonderful company!” Heeseung spread his arms wide and gestured to their living room with a smirk, then smoothed his hands over the velvet cushions of Jay’s expensive couch as if he owned the place. Jay glowered at him. Heeseung just laughed, obviously pleased with his effect on Jay.
“Where are you from?” Jake suddenly croaked. Heeseung’s eyebrows twitched, intrigued. Jake hadn’t said a word since Heeseung woke up, shutting his mouth only because Jay had refused to let him speak to the vampire and clamped his palm over Jake’s mouth before he could get a word out. But now, with Jay distracted and the vampire conscious and apparently alive, curiosity got the better of him.
Heeseung didn’t answer immediately, cocking his head to the side as his lips quirked up into a lopsided smile.
“You’re pretty,” Heeseung said instead of answering the question. Jake felt like he was being studied under a microscope, pinned down with a glass slide and ogled at through a set of magnifying lenses. Heeseung’s eyes roamed from Jake’s face to his neck, currently bare due to the low cut of his worn-out sweatshirt from high school, and Jake scrambled to pull at the loose collar to hide his skin as Heeseung’s smirk grew. “Anyone ever told you that before?”
“Stop looking at him like he’s a piece of meat,” Jay cut Heeseung off before Jake could reply with something that would’ve bordered on an incomprehensible stutter. “Don’t you even think about laying a finger on him, demon.”
“It’s vampire, sweetheart. Wrong species,” Heeseung bit back. His eyes flashed red in the blink of an eye, immediately fading back to the dark brown that Jake got accustomed to after Heeseung had woken up. Jake held his breath. Jay tensed as Heeseung suddenly stood up, easily towering over them with an amused grin. “But you can call me hyung if you want. Since you saved my life and all that. We’re friends now, aren’t we?”
Heeseung turned around and headed straight for Jake’s room, where he’d rested after Jay had fed him the stolen blood. When the door clicked closed, Jay whipped around to squint daggers at Jake, still gripping onto his wrist as if his life depended on it. Jake’s hand was fully numb.
“Jay—”
“I’m going to go to my room,” Jay gritted out after taking a deep breath. “And I’m going to stay in there until he leaves. If he’s not gone by Monday morning, I’m taking my name off the lease.”
Jay left without another word, leaving Jake alone in the living room to stew in silence. He was too busy trying to wrangle the swirling thoughts in his head into something that made sense to notice Heeseung sneak up on him, jumping in alarm when Heeseung suddenly plopped onto the couch beside him.
“Get a load of that guy, huh?” Heeseung teased, pointing his thumb towards Jay’s door and patting the cushions next to him, beckoning for Jake to sit. “Hey— I know a guy who does these, like, spells for people. Helps them with stress and stuff, I think. If you want me to refer him I could totally—”
“My name is Jake,” Jake blurted, his eyes widening when he realized what he’d just said. Maybe it wasn’t the best idea to reveal his identity to a stranger that could rip his throat out faster than he could blink, but oh well. Heeseung seemed to have the effect of rendering his brain-to-mouth filter useless. “Jake Sim.”
“—and— Oh!” Heeseung stopped his rambling. “Oh. I’m sorry, I was— Agh, I was too busy trying to scare the crap out of that guy that I totally forgot to ask your name. Jake, was it?”
Jake nodded. Heeseung’s face lit up with the brightest smile he’d ever seen.
“Jakey,” Heeseung said, slowly, like he was testing the feel of Jake’s name on his tongue. “Is it okay if I call you that? I think it’s cute.” Heeseung thought for a moment, then added with a mischievous smirk, “Plus, I think your roommate would have an absolute conniption if we were on a nickname basis.”
Jake didn’t know what the word conniption meant exactly, but by the way Heeseung’s eyes lit up when he mentioned Jay, he thought maybe it wouldn’t be the best idea to play into Heeseung’s schemes just yet. Jay looked like he was about to go into cardiac arrest when he’d pulled up to the clinic, and Jake had had enough of saving lives for the day.
But instead of refusing, he nodded shyly and sat where Heeseung had patted the couch. There was something about the way Heeseung seemed to attract all the light in the room to himself, his skin practically glowing when he registered Jake’s response. Despite all survival instinct telling him to stop giving into the vampire’s whims, he couldn’t help himself. Any and all sense of his self-preservation had flown right out the window when Heeseung walked into the clinic, and Jake had no intention of getting it back.