Chapter Text
Ricky believed his life was considerably mundane. He was raised by two adoptive parents who loved and cared for him in one of those historical neighbourhoods that seemed to only exist in Korean dramas. They treated him as their own and ensured he remained connected to his Chinese heritage. So, imagine his surprise when they presented him with a well-kept note, which he had never seen before, and told him that he needed to attend a school for the supernatural.
To his knowledge, he wasn't supernatural. No offence to supernaturals; they seemed like great people. Beings? They seemed great. But why would this random letter, from whom he expected was his birth mother, specifically say to send him to Ateliyen University? If he's not mistaken, his birth mother abandoned him on his adoptive parents' doorstep and didn't have the gall to do it herself. Who did she think she was, demanding which school he should attend? To make things worse, why were his parents considering following her words? What if she's the principal of this peculiar school, and she waited eighteen years to murder him on the school grounds as some sacrificial virginal lamb?
One day, he's in a screaming fest with his mother, and less than two weeks later, he's on a one-way flight to Jeju to get checked in before the beginning of the school year at Ateliyen.
Ateliyen was somehow what he expected it to be, yet much more. It's what you'd think a school for supernaturals would be. Enormous and almost overwhelming buildings, students from all walks of life and teachers who have seen and heard of everything there is to know about the supernatural world.
As he walked into the grand foyer during his self-aided tour, out of the corner of his eyes, he saw a pair of teenagers roughly his age push each other nearly too aggressively. They growl, low and guttural, snarling at the other's face, which was when Ricky instinctively took a step back, closer to the centre of the foyer and further away from the field. What made him scream in fear and embarrassingly jump into the arms of a random man behind him was when the two seemingly normal teenagers stepped back, gave each other identical smirks and leapt into the air, transforming into wolves in front of his eyes.
"Woah there, no need to be scared they're just roughhousing. What? Never seen werewolves before?" The man with his hands securely wrapped around Ricky's waist whispered in his ear. Somehow, this flicked a switch in the blonde's mind. His knees almost immediately gave out under him, causing the stranger to tighten his hold, and his eyelashes fluttered to the beat of his heart, which was concerningly quickly.
"Actually no, I haven't thanks for the heads up though..." He pushed away and turned around to make eye contact with his 'hero'. It felt like time stopped, and the only people left in the world were each other. Gyuvin's large, originally brown eyes flashed a dark crimson red while Ricky's flashed bright sky blue. A heavy, almost angelic aura blanketed the room and all the students who were privileged enough to witness. The older man's face contorted in confusion. Why did he feel like this? Like his entire body was aflame, the sole thing cooling it down was the presence of this random supernatural who gaped at him with bewildered eyes.
"Mate," was the singular word that left his lips in what felt like hours to pair. Ricky quirked his head to the side. Of course, these beings have soulmates. He had read too many fictional books about supernaturals to not know this.
The entire school population seemed to be looking at the pair. Hell, even the werewolves had paused their sparring to see what was the cause of so much commotion. Gyuvin quickly assessed the situation and wrapped his fingers around the shorter's wrist to drag him towards his dorm room.
Ricky let out a small yelp when the door slammed behind him. He was in the Darkworlders' dorm. From the outside, it was nothing like every other building on the school's compound. Large, ancient gargoyles circled the top floor designated for those with any percentage of Royal blood. The walls were white, just like the other buildings, but the heavy black marble pillars framing the front doors set it apart from the rest. To a regular person like Ricky, it felt as if someone had turned the heater straight up, and beads of sweat pooled on his forehead practically immediately upon arrival. The overwhelming scent of the two had the air in the room feeling so thick they could cut it with a dull knife.
In the safety of his room, Gyuvin began pacing up and down the small makeshift living room. He muttered obscenities to himself with his fingers tangled up in the dark strands of his hair. Meanwhile, confused and frankly overwhelmed, Ricky stood as far away from Gyuvin as possible.
"So- what are you exactly?" the taller man managed to force out his lips in between fits of hyperventilation. He raised his head from his hands when Ricky took a little too long for comfort to answer that question.
He cleared his throat, "A human?" Voice unnaturally high as his eyes fidget around the room to avoid making eye contact with the 'big scary demon'. An unfamiliar but comforting laugh echoes through the room. Rattling Ricky’s chest, causing his head to spin.
“Babe, I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this but, there's no way you're a human.” Gyuvin sniffed the air around him. He took large steps towards Ricky, effectively pushing him into the corner of the dark room. “I can almost taste the fairy blood running through your veins. It's so heavy. And you're so magnificent that the other scent is likely angel blood. Am I right?”
Gyuvin's nose was now attached to his neck. Hot breath warming him up even more. His hands, large and inviting, made their way down either side of his ribs and not long after, his waist. Testing the waters, he gave Ricky a squeeze, causing him to let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, and his eyes rolled to the back of his head in pleasure.
Why couldn't he push away from this stranger? He didn't even know his name. He didn't know who he was or rather, what he was. Yet, he was falling pliant to him in the privacy of his dorm room. And what didn't he mean he was a fairy? And an angel? His inner dilemma washed some clarity over him, so he had enough common sense to push away from Gyuvin’s embrace to process his words.
Being supernatural did make a lot of sense for Ricky. He was adopted. He has no idea who his parents are. Were? He couldn't even tell you if they were dead or alive. It also explains his natural blonde hair and vivid dreams of the supernatural world. Originally, Ricky chalked it up as aftereffects of reading so many fiction novels but, after hearing Gyuvin’s words, it might have just been a sign.
“What do you mean I could be a fairy and angel?” Ricky’s voice returned. Albeit soft, and emotion-filled, but still present.
“You're acting as if this is the first time you're experiencing the supernatural world,” Gyuvin smirked once again, ineffectively reading the panic on Ricky’s face. The blonde finally gained the courage to look Gyuvin in the eye for the first time since their meeting. His heart skipped a beat once again, causing him to clutch his chest anticipating pain. However, it never came. How was he going to keep on living if every time he made eye contact with this random guy he felt like he was dying?
“Actually it is,” Gyuvin gaped at the older man and dove his hands into the pockets of his jeans, fishing for his phone.
“Jiwoong hyung, I have a favour to ask you, meet me at my dorm room as soon as possible,” before he could hang up the phone, there was a curt knock at the front door, startling Ricky who refused to move from his position in the corner of the room. Gyuvin moved with urgency to let him in and winced at Jiwoong's expression when the older’s eyes widened.
“Gyuvin, why are you harbouring an angel here?” Jiwoong rolled his eyes and took his time approaching Ricky as if he were a scared feral cat. With his hair perfectly gelled up and dress shirt flawlessly pressed, you'd assume Jiwoong was a stuck-up rich kid back home where Ricky was from. When he smiled, the light reflected off one of his fangs. Ricky gasped and looked at Gyuvin who was unaffected.
“He thinks he's a human so I called a blood specialist to figure out what he is exactly. I mean I can smell the angel and the fairy on him but there's something else familiar I can’t put my finger on,” a protective growl sat at the base of Gyuvin’s throat when Jiwoong approached Ricky a little too close for comfort for him.
Ricky’s brown, almost black eyes darted between Jiwoong and Gyuvin. When the youngest rested his hand on Ricky’s shoulder, it distracted him just enough for Jiwoong to scrape his neck for a trickle of blood to flow out. The vampire swiped his thumb across the cut and placed his bloodied finger onto his tongue as if it were a foreign delicacy to be treated with the utmost amount of care. The blonde hissed and grabbed his neck while he stared at Jiwoong in shock.
“Oh yeah, he's a perfect half-blood. But there's something else there I can't figure out either. You're going to have to ask a vampire older than I am.” Jiwoong shrugged his shoulders and promptly left. His superhuman speed blew the sheet of paper sitting on the coffee table that Gyuvin practically ran to pick up.
Less than a week prior, the younger had a vision more vivid than any other vision he had ever had. It started with him pacing up and down the halls of the school. Faceless students stopped and stared as if he was crazy. Then, he walked- no strutted into the principal's office and registered a mating between him and a name that was blurred beyond recognition.
The vision prompted him to go to the office and get the mating forms, just in case. Now he sees the reason. His mate is in front of him. Holy shit his mate is in front of him. And somehow he already looks and feels at home.
“I'm so sorry I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Kim Gyuvin, half demon, half warlock, one hundred percent royal blood.” he gave Ricky a small smile to try to ease his nerves. The half-demon didn't have the best hearing but the flutter of Ricky’s heart was loud and clear to him.
“D-demon?” Ricky stuttered out. His head pained him with all the new information he was absorbing.
“Also you are half fairy, half angel and also my soulmate,” Gyuvin took both of the older’s cold, almost doll-like hands and held them close to his chest. Confusion stained Ricky’s face but the familiarity of Gyuvin’s strong heartbeat calmed his features.
“Can't you feel it?” He connected their eyes and demonstrated a deep breath for Ricky to copy. He put his trust in the half-demon and shut his eyes. Once he did, the overwhelming presence of the younger flooded his senses. He felt it. He felt the thudding of his heartbeat, loud, boisterous over his own. He registered his scent. Just like a campfire. Warm, smokey and even homey. When he opened his eyes he saw it. He saw him. He saw Gyuvin’s big brown eyes staring back at him. Red and magenta hues encircling his irises. He saw the small upturn of his lips and the wrinkle of his forehead. Oh my God.
“Judging from your expression right now, I think you do.” The smile widened and his chest rumbled in quiet yet infectious laughter that Ricky caught like the flu. Like love-sick fools, the pair stood in the middle of the room giggling in each other's arms.