Chapter Text
Echoes beyond echoes of a multitude of voices are repeatedly swirling around his mind.
“How could you?!”
“Why did you do this!?”
“What compelled you to come to this conclusion?!”
“It’s all your fault!”
“This is all because of you!”
But they can become as loud as they want to be. Jungkook is far gone from paying them any mind. Not anymore.
His body jostles slightly from the movement of the car before it comes to a complete stop. He hears movement and mumbling, then car doors opening.
Amid his current blindness, he is tugged roughly from the car and then thrown onto hard pavement. The bag on his head is finally removed, and he lifts his chin only to be eye-to-eye with secondary vampire guards, who are all wearing the same disgusted and somber looks on their faces.
Jungkook looks around to see that he has been thrown at the beginning of an alleyway, far away from kingdom grounds.
He hears shuffling, then a hand forcibly grabs his jaw and turns his head forward, coming face to face with one of the guards.
The vampire snarls before he speaks, “You have been exiled. We have nothing more to say to you. So it’s better that you just lay out here to rot.”
His jaw is released, and his head is shoved back so that his body follows. Jungkook doesn’t get a chance to look back up as they are already getting back in the car and driving away, leaving him alone where he had been discarded.
It it isn’t until there’s no sound of the car’s rumble, and when he’s alone, that Jungkook winces.
He’s hungry. His entire body hurts. There are wounds upon wounds on his skin. Cuts and bruises all over him he couldn’t even begin to count them all. His clothes are torn in multiple areas, and the vampire can’t bother to wonder how terrible he currently looks. He doesn’t even want to know how much blood he has lost.
With whatever strength he has left, Jungkook crawls and drags his body further into the alley where he can’t be seen by passersby. When he deems he is far enough from where he’d been left in shame (just specifically where he was), the vampire lets out a small, pained whimper as he sits up to lean against the wall. A hand reaches out to hold his own side, providing himself with some sort of comfort.
Jungkook knows he needs help. But he knows he won’t get any at all, he knows he doesn’t deserve it. And he’s okay with it.
Instead, he sighs and wills his body to go limp and relax. The vampire’s entire body aches above anything else that has happened to him before, yet it feels so peaceful at the same time.
If this is how he is judged to die, then so be it.
On the Overworld, in a dark and eerie corner of an area, a tear is cut vertically through the air. The tear is stretched open to reveal a sort of galactic opening. The rift is a swirling vortex of darkening colors, giving no way of knowing what could be on the other side. Just then, there’s a muffled voice heard before a figure steps out from it.
Did you get all that?
“Yeah, yeah. I heard you the first time.” The dark figure says.
And don’t forget about the soul delivery, Taehyung. This is the second time I’ve had to remind you about it.
“I told you I got it, Jimin. I’m cutting off telepathy, don’t bother me.”
A small sigh is heard in his mind, and he knows the man on the other side is currently rolling his eyes.
Alright. Safe travels, my lord.
“Hm.” Taehyung hums as his mind finally becomes silent. He lets out a frustrated sigh as he looks around where he has arrived from his magic gateway.
He knows he could get others to do these duties for him easily, but others make mistakes. He doesn’t. Taehyung believes that only he can get these done as quickly and as perfectly as he can, as annoying as they are. He’s The King of the Underworld after all. He can do whatever he pleases.
With a tantalizing swirl and glow of his royal indigo eyes, the portal closes at will.
“I guess I could check in on how our blood debts are doing,” He says to himself while walking towards the direction of his first task.
It’s midnight in the Overworld, so there’s not much liveliness going on and about. Taehyung finds that it’s his favorite time to work on the activities he needs to finalize. In special cases or not.
It’s not often he gets to do this. When he does, he makes sure to do everything at once so no little detail is missed and annoys him viciously some other time. Taehyung takes his free time very seriously, thank you very much.
He’s passing by an opening of an alleyway while mentally jotting what tasks he should do first when his body stops automatically on its own. Taehyung furrows his eyebrows in confusion. The demon looks down at his feet and then around him. There’s certainly no danger around. If there was, Taehyung would have noticed it already.
The demon King then looks towards the alleyway, squinting his eyes as he tries to pinpoint the reason his body has stilled. It’s then when he attempts to take a small whiff of the area that his mind finally puts the missing piece into place.
He smells blood.
And not any kind of blood, no. Upon further inspection, the pungent scent of blood was a mix of both sweet and sour. It’s somehow a combination that’s too good to be true.
Taehyung wants to go towards it, but he’s is currently in the middle of something. However, his destination is still a couple blocks away, and he can simply teleport there within seconds.
This scent. This sweet pungent scent is right here in front of him. And Taehyung has never been one to be influenced so easily. It almost makes him feel crazy, but he has to figure out the source of this smell before anything else can be done.
The demon walks into the alley, looking all around and to find the origin of the scent. It is then that Taehyung hears the sound of weak and labored breathing, that he turns his head to the right and meets a figure on the ground leaning against a wall. They looked… human?
Wait.
No.
No human has ever smelt like this, Taehyung is sure of it.
Upon a closer look, the demon realizes that this figure is a vampire. This thoroughly explains why Taehyung was entranced by such an aroma of mere blood. Taehyung takes a step closer and squats down in front of the vampire, finally seeing that he is badly wounded.
“My, well look at you,” He mumbles.
As if he barely noticed someone was there, the vampire slowly lifts his gaze to meet Taehyung’s. They were a beautiful dark shade of crimson, in contrast to his indigo. Meeting eyes, something inside Taehyung shifts, then snaps. A strong feeling hits him like nothing nothing ever has before.
He wants to help him. And he doesn’t know why.
The vampire before him simply stares, too weak to even mutter a single word let alone anything at all.
The demon noticed the hand weakly clutching at his side, covering what could be the largest injury on him. Taehyung lifts his hand, violet dark power swirling around his fingertips as he presses his hand against the wound, attempting to heal what he can.
The action causes the vampire to flinch and let out a hiss, face contorting into one of pain.
“Easy, easy. It’s okay,” He whispers. “I got you.”
As Taehyung heals the wound, the vampire’s face slowly begins to relax. Once he’s done what he could at the moment the demon pulls his hand away.
Taehyung thinks to himself for a couple seconds. He can definitely do more than just this. And Taehyung has always done his tasks perfectly. Even without saying it out loud, the main point of his priorities has shifted. He has a new task at hand now.
His duties can wait.
“What’s your name, pup?” Taehyung speaks to him softly.
As he gives the vampire time to respond, he brings up his hand. With his other hand, he uses the nail of his thumb to cut across his own wrist, causing blood to seep out and drip to the ground. Taehyung perks up at hearing a sound coming from the other man.
“Jungkook. . .” It was weakly spoken, but Taehyung could hear him enough.
“Jungkook, come,” The demon says as he inches his open wrist towards the vampire’s lips, urging him to drink, “Take your fill.”
At the slight hint of fresh blood, Jungkook shakily brings his hand up to grasp Taehyung’s arm, mouth opening and closing around the sliced wound. Admittedly weak, Jungkook still desperately takes his portion.
It takes a while for Jungkook to finish drinking, however the demon doesn’t seem to mind at all. He stays where he is, watching the vampire take in gulp after gulp of Taehyung’s own blood. He doesn’t know why, but thinking about it makes something swirl deep in Taehyung’s stomach.
Jungkook slowly pulls away once he’s done, blood dripping from the corners of his mouth down to his chin. The demon, for a mere moment, finds it cute. That this little pup of a vampire is a messy eater. He pushes that thought to the side for now, taking back his hand and sealing the wound with his power.
“Thank you…” Jungkook mumbles.
Taehyung had no time to respond, for the vampire was now passing out, body becoming limp and falling into the demon’s chest. On instinct Taehyung immediately wraps his arms around him, eyes scanning his figure and checking his condition. He let out a small breath at seeing that Jungkook was alright, simply exhausted.
The demon lets his eyes linger over the vampire’s face. He notices that a bit of color has returned to his skin, and he doesn't feel as cold as earlier. And his blood, it was no longer as sour as before. Something clicks in Taehyung then, and a final decision is made then and there.
He is taking Jungkook back with him.
There is something that prompts this, but Taehyung doesn’t want to begin thinking about it right now when he has an unconscious vampire in his arms.
Slowly and carefully, he shifts his arms so one is under Jungkook’s knees and the other is behind his back. Upon making sure his position is good, Taehyung gently lifts the vampire from the ground, carrying him close to his chest.
He turns his body, and he shifts his eyes just a little, and a rift portal is opened once again. The demon looks around himself to make sure he hasn’t missed anything.
Concluding that everything is in order, he walks towards the magical tear and steps into it with Jungkook still held close to his chest.
The sound of a gateway is ripped and opened in the middle of the Underworld’s castle, and Taehyung is stepping through it with the vampire cradled in his arms.
“If you’re here to see His Majesty, I am afraid he is not available at the moment,” A demon from across the room speaks before turning around, gaze lifting and meeting the one she was just speaking of.
Her expression turns into one of shock, her shoulders rising up to her ears.
“Ahh, Your Majesty! You’re back early! You usually take a couple of days to get everything done. Has something…” Her voice trails off as her eyes set on the occupant in Taehyung’s arms. “Taehyung, who is—”
“Seunghee,” The demon cuts her off. “Prepare the medical concoctions and a clean pair of clothing. Have them ordered to be delivered to my chambers.”
He begins making his way up the stairs to where she is standing while adjusting his grip on the unconscious man in his arms.
Seunghee shakes her head from the initial surprise, then opens her mouth to speak, Taehyung halting in his step beside her, “But my lord isn’t that—”
“Now. I won’t ask a second time.” There’s a glint in his eyes, leaving no room for objections. The other demon submits immediately, taking a step back.
“Yes sir.” Taehyung nods and takes his leave towards his personal room.
There are two guards by his door when he arrives. Taehyung gives them a simple curt nod as they open the doors for him. The demon walks through them, sparing no glance when they are closed behind him.
He sets his sights on his bed, making a beeline towards it. Once he makes it to the side of the bed he carefully sets the unconscious vampire onto it. Just as he begins assessing the other’s injuries, the doors to his room are open once again.
Taehyung already knows who entered and turns his body to face him.
“When I heard that our dear king brought an interesting guest home, I had to come see for myself.”
“Jimin,” The demon lets out a quiet sigh, already knowing that he was here to tease. “You brought what I asked for?”
“Yeah, let me take a look at him first. I’ll heal and disinfect what I need to, and then we can clean him up,” The other demon replies casually, setting the medical items and fresh clean clothes on a nearby chair.
Taehyung steps aside so Jimin can take his place, bending down to take a closer look at Jungkook, fingertips gently touching his face. Jimin’s hand stops for a second, slightly hovering over his mouth.
He turns his head towards the king and questions, “Was this blood already there?”
“He fed from my blood before passing out.”
There is a mischievous gleam in Jimin’s eyes, but he doesn’t say anything else as he turns back to the vampire. He assesses Jungkook’s injuries further down his body, letting out a content hum.
“You did a good job with the wound on his stomach, despite not being a designated healer.”
“Just because it is not my profession, doesn’t mean my powers are any less strong than they are to get the job done,” Taehyung replies, arms crossing against his chest.
Jimin then straightens up from his position with a small chuckle.
“Oh, I know Your Grace. Your powers far surpass all of us in the Underworld. That’s why they hold you so highly on the pedestal.” The demon healer turns to where he placed the items, grabbing the medical concoctions.
He dips his fingers into two different ones, then spreads them across both his hands and a bit up his forearms. The demon lets his own power flow through the medicinal liquid, allowing it to activate throughout his healing capabilities. His power glows a mix of green and yellow, swirling around his arms, hands, and fingertips.
“This’ll only take me a few seconds. Then we can get him cleaned up, so he can rest comfortably.”
“Thanks, Jimin.”
As soon as he deems it was activated enough he turns back to the vampire, hands hovering above his head, then he begins to slowly travel them down his body. It’s a subtle change, but Taehyung can see the blood, bruises, and wounds dissipating from Jungkook’s body. It’s impressive. That they have such useful capabilities that can do amazing things such as this.
“This is the first you have ever brought a man home, let alone a vampire. Of course… I’d like to know how this one caught your eye,” Jimin begins as he’s finishing up the procedure, eyes moving to where Taehyung is.
The swirling powers on the demon’s fingertips are now fading, concluding the healing ritual complete. Jimin smiles at his work, stepping away to allow the other demon to take a look. He studies for a moment how Taehyung gazes down at the vampire, and he feels another smile tugging up at his lips.
“I’m sure you already know his name.”
“Jungkook,” The king replied softly, still staring down at the now fully healed vampire.
The healer’s smile grows slightly wider. “Hm. Pretty. I can partially see why you brought him.”
After sparing the two a final glance, Jimin gathers up the medicinal items he had brought, turning to leave the room. Just as the doors open to let him out, he halts in his step and turns his head.
“Bring him to me once he awakens. I’d like to check on him one more time,” Jimin says over his own shoulder before leaving the room and leaving Taehyung alone with Jungkook.
Taehyung stays in his place for a while longer as a twinge of relief is passed through his chest. He still doesn’t know or understand what prompted him to take the vampire with him, but what he does know is that it felt right in the current moment to do so.
With careful and slow motions, the demon places his arms under the back of Jungkook’s knees as well as his back, picking him up. Once he has a good hold of him, he begins walking towards his washroom.
“Let’s get you cleaned up, pup,” Taehyung whispers gently.