Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Here’s the problem: 

Seungmin hates being a vampire. He’s fairly confident few vampires actually enjoy being the way they are, but they don’t despise themselves the way Seungmin does. It's not just a matter of preference or inconvenience; it's a deep-seated discomfort with his own existence. There is something wrong within him and there’s nothing he can do to fix it. It’s an ugly, nasty thing that he must grow around, trying desperately to ignore the darkness that pulses beneath his skin.

Seungmin's transformation into a vampire had been sudden and violent, the result of a brutal mugging by a rogue vampire desperate to quench his thirst. It was a chaotic turning and had left Seungmin grappling with a newfound existence he had neither sought nor understood. He doesn’t remember most of the weeks following his turning, just the fear and confusion that had permeated his every waking hour until the turn settled. The fact that Seungmin didn't know his sire added another layer of complexity to his turning. Unlike many vampires who found guidance and structure within their covens, Seungmin was alone. Even his parents, upon learning of his transformation, had severed all ties. He had no one.

He hates it.

He hates his new sleep schedule. Once a nice and normal creature of the day, he’s now restless in the sunlight, seeking refuge in the cool shadows of night. It's a lonely transition, knowing that while the world around him sleeps, he has to navigate an existence that is inherently alienating and isolating.

He hates having to take a break from school. At one point, he had loved going to classes. He was good at school, but dying and coming back to life was hard. And doing it alone was harder. So he stepped away from friends who couldn't understand his sudden disappearance from their lives, from professors who started to question his commitment, from something that made him happy.

He hates drinking blood. It always feels sleazy to purchase, knowing that behind every bag or vial lies a donor who may or may not have willingly given of themselves. The hospital he bought from was reputable, but there’s no way to truly know where his blood came from. The act of drinking feels like a constant reminder of the predator within him, that twisted, terrifying monster that he knows lurks under his skin.

He doesn’t hate Minho, but sometimes Seungmin looks at him with disbelief and wonders how Minho can stand to be around someone like him.

It’s no secret that they shouldn't work together. Minho had spent his early years as an unwilling donor for a vampire coven devoid of morality. Seungmin, on the other hand, was a vampire without ties to any coven, navigating his newfound existence with uncertainty and naivety. The dynamics between them should have spelled disaster. Minho knew all too well the dangers of trusting a vampire, especially one with Seungmin's lack of experience and control. Yet, against all reason, Minho remained unfazed by the inherent risks that simply being with Seungmin posed. Somehow, at some point, Minho had decided Seungmin was different and worth saving. At some point, Minho made a choice—an irrational, almost reckless decision to see Seungmin as different from the vampires that hurt him when he was younger.

Seungmin, however, knows he is nothing special. He’s just a vampire. He knows what that means, even if Minho doesn’t.

Here’s the problem:

After Seungmin had recovered from nearly dying at the hands of the other residents of his apartment complex, Minho made a decisive move to ensure Seungmin's safety. Although he had tried to hide it and play it off with jokes, Seungmin had been shaken from the attack and Minho could see it.

Seungmin knew Minho had been planning on moving back in with his team, as they had been upgraded to a nicer agency compound with more rooms and rent was free. When Minho had moved in, however, he brought Seungmin and asked if the vampire could shelter there. 

Seungmin had been positive he would be killed the first night. If he had been in their places, it’s what he would have done. Protecting the people you love is the most important thing and Seungmin was dangerous. The other hunters agreed easily, however, and over their meetings before moving in, never once threatened him. 

Still, on the day they moved in, Seungmin clung to Minho like a lifeline. Minho never left Seungmin's side and slowly, the compound began to feel less like a place where he’d wait for his execution and more like a place to build a family. 

Against all odds, Seungmin likes living with the vampire hunters. He may be the vampire, but they all have so much more experience and exposure to vampires that, often, they’re the ones teaching him what it means to be a vampire. 

Chan is the one to tell him that when his teeth start to hurt—his adult fangs finally starting to come in—sucking on ice helps ease the pain. Minho laughs when he sees him, cooing that “baby is teething!” He doesn’t even flinch when Seungmin bares his fangs in response, only ruffling Seungmin’s hair before pressing a kiss to his cheek and grabbing him a cup of new ice. 

Changbin is the one to teach Seungmin how to better control his vampire strength. He takes Seungmin with him to the gym, and while Seungmin had never been the biggest fan of working out as a human, it’s nice to have an outlet. Changbin teaches Seungmin how to box and holds the bag for him while Seungmin pulverizes an inanimate he knows he can never hurt. He still pokes fun at Seungmin’s noodle arms, but when Seungmin starts to get fidgety, he never fails to scoop the vampire up and take him to get his energy out.

Hyunjin is the one to dye Seungmin’s hair. Seungmin had stumbled into the other’s room one morning tugging at his bangs and complaining that he couldn’t see his reflection to cut it. Hyunjin had perked up and asked if he could style his hair. Seungmin agreed and now, whenever his pink bangs get in his eyes, he smiles. 

Jisung and Felix are the ones to curl around him in bed when he’s too restless to sleep during the night, tangling their legs with his and staying with him until he’s asleep. When he can’t sleep during the night and crashes during the day instead, they’re quick to join him for naps on the couch, the sunlight warming Seungmin’s skin. More often than not, they’ll wake up to find that more people have joined them.

Jeongin is the one to make Seungmin laugh. They’ll watch horribly outdated vampire movies on Jeongin’s laptop, crammed under the same blanket on Jeongin’s twin bed, and Jeongin asks stupid questions that he already knows the answer to, just to pull a smile out of the vampire. Seungmin knows that Jeongin doesn’t believe he can turn into a bat, but he’ll still point at the animal when it flies across the screen and ask if that’s Seungmin making his film debut with a straight face. Seungmin pushes him out of the bed and Jeongin will just giggle.

Minho, though, is the one to make Seungmin feel like nothing has changed.  He takes Seungmin on dates, to get coffee, to art museums, and to the movies. He kisses Seungmin in their shared room, in the back of a taxi, on the side of the river. He treats Seungmin like he would treat anyone else and Seungmin loves him all the more for it. 

He can’t lose Minho. He can’t lose anyone else. He can’t lose this.

So when his hospital emails him one morning to inform all their vampire patrons that they are experiencing a blood shortage and to encourage them to seek other sources of blood for the next few weeks, Seungmin doesn’t tell any of them.

Most vampires have a coven with a stockpile of blood they can turn to during this time. Any other vampires likely have partners they can drink from semi-regularly to tide them over. Seungmin, however, except for drinking from Minho that one time to save his life has never had fresh blood. He doesn’t have a coven to help him. 

He resolves to ration his small supply of blood, accepts that hunger is the punishment he has to suffer through because of who he is, and continues with his life as if nothing is wrong. He knows drinking blood is disgusting. He doesn’t deserve to ask for help when everyone has already given so much. He can endure a few weeks without blood. He can do this for them. Seungmin keeps his blood bags in a minifridge in his and Minho’s room to not disgust any of the hunters, so no one even notices when he runs out.

No one notices anything, really, until a week later. 

All eight of them are home, piled together on the couch for a movie night. They’re watching an animated movie that Jisung picked out, but Seungmin can’t remember the title. It’s gotten harder to focus the longer he’s gone without food, but he refuses to speak up, to burden the hunters with anything else. They’ve already done so much, too much, for him. He can handle this.

He’s pressed between Hyunjin and Jeongin on the couch, Minho sitting on the floor leaning against his legs. There’s a ding from the kitchen that he pays no attention to until Chan comes back into the room with a few steaming pizzas. 

As the hunters fall onto the pizza with a frenzy that could rival a rogue vampire in bloodlust, Seungmin falls onto the couch and lets his eyes slip shut. He must fall asleep for a few minutes because when he opens his eyes to someone shaking his shoulder, the food is gone.

Minho stands in front of him with a small smile on his lips.

“Hey baby,” Minho says and Seungmin grins at him sleepily.

“Everything okay?” Seungmin asks and Minho leans down to kiss him, ignoring Jeonging fake gagging next to them.

“You want me to grab you any blood? It’s feeding time, isn’t it?”

“Oh, um.” Seungmin says, stalling. He can’t let Minho open his fridge and see how empty it is. “I’m not really hungry right now. I’ll just eat in the morning instead.”

Minho has a meeting early enough tomorrow that he won’t be there to make sure Seungmin eats in the morning. 

Minho hums, running a hand through Seungmin’s hair and tugging at his dyed bangs.

“Are you sure?” he asks and Seungmin nods.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” Seungmin responds, the lie curdling in his stomach like rotten milk. “I’m too tired and comfortable tonight to feed.”

“Okay,” Minho agrees, before dropping into Seungmin’s lap, pulling Seungmin’s arms around his waist, and draping his feet over Hyunjin, who just squawks in indignation. “Just let me know if you need anything tonight.” 

The next morning goes by quickly and it’s too easy for Seungmin to lie to the other hunters that he had eaten in his room before emerging for the day. The hunters are busy like they always are, no one bats an eye at Seungmin’s words as they all filter out for the day. 

Seungmin spends his day reading and looking for jobs that are supernatural-friendly. He applies to a few with low hopes, before curling up on the couch to nap. He wraps his arms around his stomach and tries his best to ignore how empty he feels. 

He wakes up a few hours later to Felix shaking him gently. The blond greets him with a wide smile and Seungmin shakes the last dregs of sleep off. It’s harder to wake up when he’s so exhausted and hungry, but he forces a smile back at Felix.

“Hi Seungminnie,” Felix greets. “Did you sleep well?”

Seungmin nods, then yawns, negating his actions.

Felix just laughs and pokes Seungmin’s side.

“Wake up a little, sleepyhead. We’re about to eat dinner if you want to join.”

Seungmin nods again, before getting up from the couch to follow Felix to the kitchen.

When he’s upright, Seungmin is hit with a wave of bone-deep tiredness and he stumbles a little. Felix reaches out to catch him, a look of alarm crossing his face.

“Seungmin?” Felix asks.

“I’m fine,” Seungmin says, brushing off Felix’s concern. “I don’t think my body got the memo that I was supposed to be awake quite yet.”

Felix laughs, taking Seungmin’s excuse, and tugs him to join the rest of the hunters.

Seungmin drops into a seat at the table and pillows his head on his arms. 

“You okay, Min?” Changbin asks, joining him at the table.

“I am so tired,” Seungmin slurs. It just takes so much effort to function and he’s so hungry, but he can’t say anything. This is what he deserves.

“Still adjusting to your new sleep pattern, huh, Seungminnie?” Minho laughs as he joins them at the table with a plate of food.

Seungmin picks his heavy head off the table and drops it on his boyfriend’s shoulder. 

“Being a vampire sucks,” he says and he means it. 

“I’m sure you do a lot of suck–” Jisung starts to say before Jeongin slaps a hand over his mouth.

“Not at the fucking dinner table, Jisung,” Jeongin pleads.

Chan steps into the room and lets out a tired sigh.

“Language, Jeongin.”

Jeongin starts protesting that Jisung started it and Seungmin smiles and drifts back to sleep with the hum of conversation surrounding him. He’d do anything to protect these boys, even if it meant a little suffering on his part.

He wakes up briefly when he feels himself being lifted.

“What’s goin’ on?” he manages to ask.

“It’s time for baby vampires to go to bed,” Minho responds, tightening his grip and moving through the compound with a grace that could rival any supernatural creature.

“M’kay,” Seungmin mumbles and lets his head fall into Minho’s chest.

Once Minho has them both settled in their bed, he shakes Seungmin a bit to wake him up more.

“Are you really okay, baby? Did you feed today?”

Seungmin nods.

“Just sleepy, hyung. I drank this morning,” Seungmin replies, a half-truth weighed down by a lie.

"Are you sure?" Minho presses gently, his hand brushing over Seungmin's hair tenderly, reverently.

Minho's concern lingers in the air, palpable and unwavering. He gazes at Seungmin with searching eyes and Seungmin almost tells him. Minho was the one to drag him back to life last time. Seungmin loves him and Minho loves him back. It would be so easy to tell Minho, to admit the truth about the blood shortage and what it is doing to him. But guilt and shame anchor Seungmin in silence.

"I'm sure," he finally replies, deceit bitter on his tongue and his empty stomach clenching uncomfortably. 

Minho searches Seungmin's eyes, but relents, offering a soft smile tinged with concern. 

"Okay, baby. Just rest. I'm here if you need anything."

As Minho settles beside him in bed, his warmth envelops Seungmin and he curls into Minho's embrace, seeking comfort in the steady rhythm of Minho's breathing.

He’s hungry, but he’s okay. Really.

Days blur into nights, and Seungmin finds himself caught in a cycle of exhaustion and hunger. He continues to evade questions about his well-being, deflecting concern with half-truths and smiles that don't quite reach his eyes. The hunters, wrapped up in their own duties, remain oblivious to his hunger. There’s been reports of a new coven violating the laws and they’ve all been busy trying to organize a meeting with the coven leaders to see if interference was necessary. Seungmin fades into the background effortlessly. 

It's not until another week passes that the facade begins to crack. The hospital had emailed again to let the vampires know they were still experiencing a blood shortage and Seungmin was getting weaker.

Seungmin wakes to find himself alone in their room, Minho clearly already gone for the day. His body feels leaden, limbs heavy with fatigue as he pushes himself upright. Hunger gnaws at his insides, a hollow ache that refuses to be ignored.

With faltering steps, Seungmin makes his way to the kitchen, where a few of the hunters were gathered for a late breakfast. He forces a smile as he joins them at the table, pretending that everything is normal.

Changbin, ever perceptive, notices the shadows under Seungmin's eyes.

"You okay, Seungminnie?" he asks, concern etched in his voice as he takes a seat beside him.

Seungmin manages a nod.

"Just tired," he says.

Hyunjin picks up on their conversation and looks over at the pair.

“You sure you’re okay, Minnie?” he asks, “You look pale.”

Seungmin looks over at the hunter with a deadpan expression.

“Hyunjin, I’m a vampire,” he replies, flashing his fangs.

Hyunjin laughs and raises his hands in defeat.

Just then, the hunter’s phones chirp with the notification sound from the agency and they all groan. 

Seungmin cocks his head in confusion as everyone stands up to leave, gathering supplies for a hunt.

“That coven we were telling you about went on the run. One of the other teams went to check out their home and found evidence of humans held against their will. We have to go track them down,” Jisung explains, seeing Seungmin’s confusion.

Seungmin nods and, before he knows it, he’s alone in the compound again. 

Sometimes he forgets he’s a vampire living with vampire hunters. They were trained to identify and eliminate threats like him, conditioned to see vampires as enemies to be dispatched without hesitation, and even though he knows they won’t kill him—that they like him (that one even loves him)—moments like this remind him just how much of a burden he is for them. It's not their fault; they've shown him nothing but kindness and support, but it has to be hard for them to live alongside him, to go against all their years of experience.

Deep down, he wonders if they might actually agree with what he’s doing, this slow starvation he’s forced upon himself. Deeper down, he knows they wouldn’t. He knows he’s killing himself and that the hunters will be upset when they find out, but he can’t bring himself to tell them.

It’ll be fine. He’ll be fine.

The hunters left the breakfast on the table and the sight of their food makes him grimace. He stands to clean the kitchen up and when he’s finished, he’s winded. Everything is so much harder when he’s hungry.

Seungmin makes his way to the couch, ostensibly to work on more job applications, but he finds himself drifting after only a few minutes. 

He jolts back to awareness when the door bangs open.

He whips his head to the door, tensing up as if to prepare for a fight, but he relaxes immediately when he sees Minho.

“Hi,” he calls out.

Minho visibly brightens when he spots Seungmin and makes his way to sit next to Seungmin on the couch.

“Hi,” Minho replies, leaning in to kiss Seungmin and Seungmin loses track of time.

When Minho finally pulls back, Seungmin is winded again, for a very different reason. Shaking his head to clear his mind he asks about the hunt.

“How’s the coven? Everyone else had to leave in the middle of breakfast.”

Groaning, Minho knocks his forehead against Seungmin’s and launches into a tale about how the other team had been completely wrong in their assessment of the coven’s home. Apparently, the humans the coven had were into some freaky vampire shit and had willingly offered themselves up and were quite upset that the hunters had chased their vampires away.

“It was all a mess,” Minho sighs. “Everything is technically legal and there’s a bunch of pissed-off vampires and humans involved, so they made everyone else stay back to do paperwork, but I got to come home early because I had a patrol shift early this morning. So be prepared for the rest of them to be in a very bad mood when they get home.”

Seungmin giggles and leans to kiss Minho again.

“At least you aren’t stuck doing paperwork.”

“Nope,” Minho agrees, wrapping his arms around Seungmin, “And I get to be here with my favorite vampire.”

Seungmin relaxes into Minho’s hold.

“How was your day?” Minho asks, and it’s Seungmin’s turn to groan.

“I’ve applied to, like, a hundred jobs and no one has gotten back to me,” Seungmin complains. “They all say they’re vampire-friendly, but I don’t know any other reason I keep getting rejected. And I’m so tired.”

“Poor little, baby vampire,” Minho teases.

Seungmin huffs and rests his head on Minho’s sternum. 

“Aw,” Minho coos, “Come here, baby, you’re cold.”

“I’m always cold,” Seungmin argues back, lifting a hand to blindly gesture at his body. “Vampire, remember?”

“I know,” Minho says. “But I like to think I can warm you up.”

Seungmin pulls back to look at Minho’s face and laughs when he sees the way Minho is wiggling his eyebrows.

“You do,” Seungmin says and then Minho is kissing him again, more aggressively.

Breaking apart, Minho stands up and offers a hand to Seungmin.

“Bed?” Minho offers and Seungmin is quick to stand up to take his hand. 

When he’s vertical again, however, Seungmin’s stomach twists painfully, screaming in hunger. His vision completely blacks out and his ears start ringing. He slams his eyes shut and braces to hit the ground. He doesn’t, Minho lunging forward to catch him. 

“Seungmin?” Minho gasps out, lowering them to the ground carefully.

“I’m okay,” Seungmin says, panting, pressing his hands to his eyes to ease the pounding in his head. “I don’t know what just happened.”

Minho’s hands feel his forehead and rub his arm, trying both to check him over and provide comfort as Seungmin fights to regain his breath and vision.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Seungmin says, trying as much to convince himself as Minho. 

“You’re not hungry or anything? Are you hurt?”

Seungmin shakes his head, then moans when it makes the pounding come back.

“No,” he lies. “Fed this morning. I think I’m just tired.”

“Let’s go to bed then,” Minho replies firmly. “Just to sleep.”

Seungmin hums in agreement and readies himself to stand again, but yelps when Minho picks him up instead.

Seungmin shudders in Minho's grip and tries to stop his muscles from tensing, but he can feel his body fighting him, begging him for food he can’t give it. His stomach is cramping, but he breathes through it and, by the time Minho gets them to their bed, he’s relaxed enough that he convinces Minho it truly is just exhaustion. 

Even though he wants to tell Minho, to ask for help, he can’t. The hunters are so busy and they’ve given him the home, the family, and the sense of belonging he thought he had lost forever when he was turned. He can ignore the needs of being a vampire for now.

Seungmin is okay. It’s only been a little over a week.

Vampires can go longer than that without blood. 

At least he’s pretty sure they can.

Here’s the problem:

Seungmin is absolutely, and definitively, not okay. 

He wakes up the next morning to an empty bed and voices outside of his room. He tries to sit up to go outside and join them, but his body fails him, completely empty with no energy to spare, and he collapses back against the mattress. He whimpers and shuts his eyes tight as the room spins around him. 

He’s so hungry. 

He’s alone with his thoughts for an indeterminable amount of time before the door cracks open. He hears footsteps, but he can’t even muster the strength to open his eyes and turn his head to see who has entered the room. He feels a hand brushing back his bangs.

“Good morning, baby,” he hears Minho say and all Seungmin can do is lie in the bed and hope his boyfriend will realize that something is wrong with him. 

Seungmin hears Minho sigh, then feels a kiss pressed to his forehead. 

“I wish you would tell me what’s going on,” he hears the other boy mutter, and then Minho is walking away. Seungmin wants to cry out, to apologize for lying, to beg for forgiveness and help, but all he does is stay motionless in the bed as his body fails him. 

After Minho leaves, Seungmin doesn’t fall back asleep, his eyes still shut as he feels his body go limp, finally starting to give up after nearly two weeks without food. He deserves this, he reminds himself. There’s an ugly, nasty thing inside of him, a predator that he has failed to control, and now he’s finally starved it out. He’s a monster, and his hunters have been trained to kill him. Despite their acceptance and kindness, he can't shake the nagging doubt that he is a liability, a danger lurking in their sanctuary. Really, he’s just helping them. This is his atonement for burdening them. This is his punishment for existing.

He’s just sorry he can’t say goodbye, that he can’t thank them for loving him.

Chapter Text

Here’s the problem:

Seungmin is hiding something, but Minho can’t get his boyfriend to share what’s wrong. Minho had noticed the restless nights, the hollow look in Seungmin's eyes, but every attempt to figure out what exactly was going on was met with a smile and an easy dismissal.

Seungmin is freakishly independent, a byproduct of being abandoned by both his family and sire after his turn, and although Minho has been making progress in getting the vampire to open up, it’s slow. 

The kitchen is loud, as it always is, when Minho joins them and he shakes his worry off and makes his way over to Felix at the stove, pausing when he sees what the younger is doing.

“Are you,” he pauses, looking closer at the pan, “scrambling pancakes?”

Felix laughs and messes with the batter in the pan more. 

“I’m not really sure what happened, but they weren’t flipping. Innie says they still taste okay, though,” Felix replies, using a spatula to point at where their youngest is shoveling bits of cooked pancake dough into his mouth at a frightening speed.

Minho huffs and hip-checks Felix away from the stove. 

“Innie will eat anything,” he says, grabbing for the spatula. “Don’t take his work on this. Let me finish these.”

Minho busies himself salvaging the rest of the batter while the rest of the boys file in and start setting up breakfast.

Once he’s finished, they settle down at the table just as Chan comes stumbling out of his room.

Minho sees him survey the table before he freezes and furrows his brow.

“Good morning,” Chan greets. “Has anyone seen Seungmin?”

There’s a chorus of negatives from the table before Minho speaks up.

“I went in and checked on him earlier,” he replies. “He’s probably still in bed. He was really out of it when I came in last night.”

Hyunjin leans back in his chair to eye the clock on the wall in the kitchen and frowns.

“It’s been close to an hour, though,” he worries. “Seungmin doesn’t usually sleep this long.”

At this, Jeongin makes a face.

“He must be really tired,” he says. “But if he went to bed at the same time as Minho-hyung, he should’ve been up a while ago.”

“He’s been acting weird recently,” Minho says. “The past few weeks, really. I mean, last night he basically passed out when he tried to stand up, but he told me he was just really tired. I thought maybe he was having trouble adjusting to his vampire sleep cycle. I know it can be weird for a few years after turning.”

“He got close to passing out with me too,” Felix adds. “Same thing as with hyung, he tried to stand up and got all shaky and started swaying.”

“And he’s been tired all the time,” Changbin says. “Like, more than usual or what’s normal for a new vampire.”

Fear tightens in Minho’s stomach and he pushes away from the table. He can’t let Seungmin hide this anymore.

“I’m going to check on him,” he explains. “Something doesn't feel right.”

“I’ll come with you,” Chan says, following Minho out of the kitchen. 

Minho is glad Chan is joining him. While Minho has ample experience with the more brutal aspects of vampires, Chan knows all the ins and outs of vampire behavior. A few of his friends growing up had been turned and he’s still close to them. If anyone can figure out what’s going on with Seungmin, it’ll be Chan.

“I’m sorry I didn’t notice anything before, Minho,” Chan says, as they make their way to Minho and Seungmin’s shared room. 

“No,” Minho protests, “I should have said something a few days ago. Seungmin is just so hard to get through to sometimes and I didn’t want to push.”

Chan just shakes his head.

“You wouldn’t know what to look for,” Chan replies. “I do. We’ve just been so busy I haven’t really been around to check in on everyone. You brought Seungmin here to keep him safe and I let you down, both of you.”

When they reach the door to the bedroom, Minho stops Chan from opening the door.

“He’ll be okay, right, hyung,” Minho asks, and all of a sudden he feels like he’s eighteen and Chan is undoing the chains on his wrists in the coven’s basement again while Minho asks if he is going to live.

“He will,” Chan states like there’s no question about it. 

They open the door and make their way into the room quietly, closing the door behind them. Minho hangs back, letting Chan take the lead. Seungmin is still in the same position Minho left him in this morning and his heart picks up.

Something is wrong. Something is so very wrong.

Chan takes a seat next to Seungmin on the bed and shakes his shoulder slightly, smiling gently.

“Seungminnie?”

Seungmin doesn’t respond. He doesn’t even twitch.

Chan frowns and leans closer, moving his hand to cup the side of the vampire’s face.

“Hey, Seungmin,” he says, louder this time. “Can you wake up for us?”

Seungmin still doesn’t respond.

Chan pauses then, flipping his hand to rest the back of it against Seungmin’s cheek, then moves it to his forehead. He shakes Seungmin’s shoulder again, a little more aggressively, and his eyes widen when he sees how pliant Seungmin’s body is. There’s no resistance. He’s like a puppet with all the strings cut.

“Minho,” Chan calls out. “Come here.”

Minho rushes to join Chan on the bed. 

“Put your hand on his face,” Chan says, grabbing Minho’s hand and guiding it to Seungmin’s cheek. “Is he normally this cold?”

Minho swallows down the bile threatening to rise in his throat when he feels how cold his boyfriend is.

“No,” he chokes out. “He was cold last night, but it wasn’t this bad. Hyung, he’s freezing. What–”

“Hey, calm down,” Chan soothes. “He’s gonna be okay. Can you go get Jisung?”

Minho nods.

“Why, hyung?”

“I think this may be a blood issue. Seungmin may not be processing blood as he should. It’s not uncommon for new vampires, especially those with no sire present, but Seungmin should have grown out of it. Jisungie knows a coven with a baby vampire that had this happen a few years ago. He’ll know what’s wrong.”

With that answer, Minho practically sprints out of the room.

“Jisung,” he pants, when he reaches the living room where the rest of the hunters are sitting in a worried huddle. “We need you. Hyung thinks it’s a blood problem.”

Jisung stands up to follow Minho, but so do the rest of the hunters. Minho doesn’t have it in him to fight them, so they all pile into the little room.

“Let me see,” Jisung states as he makes his way over to the bed. 

Minho watches Jisung look over at Seungmin, repeating the same steps Chan had. Then, Jisung lifts Seungmin’s lip and looks at his gums. Suddenly, he’s reeling back. Hyunjin steps up to catch him.

“He’s–” Jisung stutters out, his voice shaking. “He’s starving .”

“What?” Minho breathes out. 

“Like, hasn’t had blood in days, maybe weeks, starving,” Jisung continues, his voice picking up speed. “Like, needs blood now or–”

Changbin spins around where he’s standing to open the minifridge and get a bag of blood, but it’s empty.

They all gape in silence at the place where Seungmin usually has his blood stored in organized little sections by type.

“Does anyone know when he last fed? Like, saw him feed with their own eyes?” Chan asks tentatively. 

Everyone shakes their heads and Minho feels a terrible wave of guilt crash over him. How long had Seungmin been starving alone to reach this state?

Minho joins Chan and Jisung on the bed and pulls Seungmin’s frighteningly limp body to his chest.

“Seungmin? Baby, it’s time to wake up,” he pleads, shaking his body aggressively.

Seungmin moans, still not moving or opening his eyes, but at least he has made a noise. The hunters all release a collective breath of air at the sign of life from their vampire.

Minho holds his wrist up to Seungmin’s mouth, pressing it against Seungmin.

“Drink,” Minho demands. “Drink, Seungmin.”

Seungmin’s face scrunches and he moves slightly to shake his head.

“No,” Seungmin whispers.

“Nope,” Minho says. “We’re not doing this again. You need to drink. I’m offering. Demanding, really. Drink. Now.”

“I dun’ need it,” the vampire slurs, barely opening his mouth.

“Yes, you do, Seungmin,” Chan says, prying Seungmin’s mouth open and resting his teeth on Minho’s wrist. 

“No,” Seungmin whines again. “I don’t…I’m good, I promise…no blood…I’ll be good…not a monster.”

Minho feels his heart shatter and when he looks up helplessly at the rest of the hunters, he can see it echoed across every face. 

“Baby, what?” Minho whispers. “You need to drink.”

When Seungmin just whimpers again, Chan speaks up again.

“Seungminnie, no one thinks that,” he says softly while guiding Seungmin’s mouth back to Minho’s wrist. “But you do need to drink.”

“I’m sorry,” Seungmin cries, like he’s trying to defend himself and Minho wraps one arm around his waist to start rocking them. “It was gonna be okay…you were tired…was gonna be fine.”

“Shh, baby,” Minho says. “It’s okay. You’re okay. Just drink.”

Seungmin starts crying then in earnest, fat tears that roll down his cheekbones and pool in his too-pronounced collarbones, but he finally sinks his teeth into Minho’s wrist and starts to drink.

Minho gasps as Seungmin drinks like his life depends on it and he goes cold when he realizes that it does. He lets his mind go blank as Seungmin drinks, but soon enough, Seungmin is pulled off him.

Minho and Seungmin let out twin whines, reaching for one another, but Chan wraps an arm around Minho, while Jeongin steps up to grab Seungmin.

“I know, hyung,” the youngest says to Minho, pushing his sweatshirt sleeve up. “But he needs more than you can give right now.”

Sliding behind Seungmin, Jeongin holds his wrist to Seungmin’s mouth.

“Go on, hyung,” he says to Seungmin this time. “Please drink.”

Seungmin latches onto Jeongin’s wrist with the same fervor he did with Minho and drinks for another few minutes. Eventually, he pulls off, before grabbing onto his knees and curling up, staring around the room, looking terrified like he’s going to be punished.

“You done, Seungminnie?” Hyunjin asks, rubbing his back and wincing when he realizes he can feel every one of the vampire’s ribs under his hand.

Seungmin nods but refuses to make eye contact with any of the hunters.

Minho crawls to Seungmin on the bed and wraps him in a brief hug before pulling back and grabbing Seungmin’s face.

“Are you back with us?” Minho asks and Seungmin nods again. Minho maneuvers him to be curled up against his body before turning them to face the hunters.

“Seungmin, what happened?” Chan asks.

Seungmin shuts his eyes before he starts to explain.

“I got an email from the hospital, you know, the one I buy blood from, a few weeks ago that they were having a donor shortage and wouldn’t be able to provide blood to vampires for the next few weeks. They told us to look for alternative sources, but I don’t really have one, so I rationed what I had, and then when I ran out, I just figured that I would wait until they were restocked.”

All seven hunters stare at Seungmin in horror with their mouths wide open.

“So,” Changbin starts and anyone can see he’s angry. He’s always been protective of his friends and he’s about to unleash it on Seungmin. “You had no blood for multiple weeks and were planning on just starving and dying?”

Seungmin shrinks into himself.

“Yes,” he says, his voice small.

“Why wouldn’t you ask us?” Felix blurts out, and the blond looks near tears. “Do you not trust us?”

“Of course, I trust you,” Seungmin gasps. “But why would you want to help me? You were all so busy and it really was okay. I don’t want to bother you any more than I already do.”

“Baby,” Minho says into Seungmin’s hair where he’s buried his face so that no one sees him cry. “You would never, could never, bother me.”

“Never bother us,” Jisung interjects gently.

“I do, though!” Seungmin exclaims, starting to cry again. “ I don’t have a job and I have to drink blood, which is so inconvenient, and I can’t eat with everyone else. And…And it’s your job to kill me, but you haven’t and I know I’m too much! I just…I don’t want you to hate me.”

Minho’s grip around Seungmin tightens. 

“Seungminnie,” Minho whispers.“We don’t hate you. We could never hate you.”

Around them, the other hunters nod fervently. Chan, usually composed, starts to talk, his voice tight with tears. 

“Seungmin, we care about you. We’re a family, you’re family, and family helps each other. You shouldn’t have had to go through this alone.”

“You could have come to us, Seungmin. We want to be there for you,” Changbin says evenly.

“I didn’t want to bother anyone,” Seungmin repeats. “I just thought…I thought I could handle it.”

“But you don’t have to handle everything alone,” Hyuijin states. 

Jisung moves closer, pressing against Minho and Seungmin, his voice soft but firm. 

“And you’re wrong about one thing. It’s not our job to kill. It’s our job to protect, and that includes you.”

Seungmin starts crying harder.

“I’m sorry,” Seungmin sobs. “I’m so sorry.”

Minho brushes a thumb gently across Seungmin’s cheek, wiping away tears. 

“You have nothing to apologize for, Seungmin. We’re going to do better. All of us.”

He looks at the hunters around them and every one of them looks determined.

“You have to talk to us, though, okay?” Chan asks. “And you’re going to feed twice a day, at least for a little while.”

Seungmin’s eyes open wide and he tries to argue.

“No, that’s too much. I don’t need it and I still don’t have a place to buy blood and I don’t–”

Minho reaches up to flick his vampire’s head. 

“Dummy, there’s seven of us here.”

“I don’t want you to have to feel obligated to–”

“We want to,” Jeongin states, and all the hunters nod in agreement.

“See, you stupid vampire,” Minho says and Seungmin turns to hide his face on Minho's shoulder. With all the blood in his system, however, they can all see his ears flush.

“I love you,” he mumbles and Minho turns to kiss his vampire.

“I love you too,” Minho replies.

As he feels Seungmin relax in his arms, he lets out a sigh of relief.

Seungmin will be okay.

He’ll make sure of it. They all will.