Chapter Text
Seungmin can’t exactly remember how he came to live the life he is. (Okay, scratch that, he kinda can.) One day, there was a crack in the sky— in his world— and then everyone was shooting through the crack to explore the mortal world. Seungmin had been young, even younger than he is now, and had no choice but to follow his ever-so-eager mother up to the mortal world. Truthfully, his mother had been everything to him at the time after his father had been executed for disobedience. And that had been when he’d found out the sickening fact: his kind fed off of the mortals and sucked their soul to consume for more energy, energy that couldn’t be found from any other food source.
He could still remember his horror when he found his mother curled over a lifeless human, having sucked every bit of their soul out of their body.
“Seungmin-ah, this is what Seraphees do, hon. We prey on these weaklings and suck their souls out, see, like this. And that makes us healthier and stronger and more beautiful. Look darling, my skin’s glowing, isn’t it? Isn’t it wonderful?”
“B…But mommy, the human—! The human’s dead! Mommy, you killed him!”
“Mommy didn’t kill it, she used it. That’s what is supposed to happen and what we do, darling. Seungmin, just try it. You don’t even have to do anything, Mommy can hunt one for you and you can just suck it’s soul. I’ll teach you.”
“But… But—!”
“But, nothing. C’mere.”
“I don’t wanna kill a human… I don’t wanna suck their soul! I don’t wanna do it!”
Seungmin grimaces.
Four-year-old-him had stubbornly refused the human and his mom had simply sighed and left him be, assuming he was just being silly and would come to his senses soon enough. To fourt-year-old-him’s dismay, she left him in the abandoned human building to go hunt by herself. And when she realized Seungmin was a lost cause, she left him for good, never coming back and never telling him goodbye before leaving.
Fourteen years later, Seungmin had yet to suck on a human soul.
Fourteen years later, he was officially cast an outcast from the Seraphee Society and scorned whenever a fellow Seraphee came across him. That was the price for refusing to be like everybody else, and for never sucking on a human soul. And it was mostly okay, living in a cramped apartment amongst the humans, hiding his wings and eyes, rarely leaving his home.
And, the plus to everything! It really wasn’t so bad, living as a human. It’s quite simple; dress in human clothes and live in an apartment like theirs, eat human food, and repeat his routine every single day. Eat, sleep, repeat.
Speaking of which.
He was out of eggs.
Fuck.
He had to go out.
—
The seven of them were Seraphee hunters, called the Stray Catchers, and they were currently chasing after a Seraphee. Or, more accurately, a Seraphee was chasing after them. But to-mato, toh-mah-to. It’s basically the same thing—
“Duck! Duck, I said duck!” Jisung screeches. “Holy shit that huge rock almost hit us!” He continues, after ducking his head with the other six following suit.
“Yeah, no shit!” Minho snaps back. “Who’s bright idea was it to do this whole thing? We could’ve just stayed normal teenagers and stayed at home! Why the fuck am I sprinting down a street in leather pants with a bunch of idiots?!”
“I’m an idiot?! You’re an idiot!” Jisung barks.
“Less bickering, more running!” Chan reminds them, huffing and puffing and clearly out of breath, but still managing to gently scold them.
Another shower of rocks spray the air behind them, and they skid to the side, ducking into another area. The Seraphee’s a full-grown one, tall and slender with ginormous black wings that are currently beating up and down furiously in flight and burning black eyes. Their skin is glowing brightly— and that means two things.
A. The Seraphee has recently fed on a human soul.
B. The Seraphee has fed on so many souls that their skin is glowing permanently.
Both were horrifying options.
And so, naturally, they kept running.
The pounding of footsteps echoed through the abandoned streets, because only they were dumb enough to be out and around in a world full of death monsters, their breath coming in ragged gasps as they sprinted for their lives— it was by some miracle they weren’t dead yet because wow, maybe the heavens loved them. (Or, maybe just enjoyed these seven idiots acting like the idiots they were…?)
The Seraphee's piercing screech split the air from some place behind them, reverberating off the cracked pavement and rusted street signs. Felix, in his electric-blue-haired glory, risked a glance over his shoulder and instantly regretted it—the Seraphee’s glowing eyes burning like embers in the darkness of the late evening, with its black wings unfurling as it gained even more speed— absolutely terrifying if anything.
"Keep running!" Chan barked, his voice sharp with urgency, a whole contrast from his usually awkwardly sweet behavior when not ‘on the job’. They couldn't afford to slow down, not when that thing was right behind them. The thing that could well kill them and leave them dying with souls sucked out.
Minho cursed under his breath as he vaulted over an overturned dumpster, barely managing to keep his footing. He stumbled a little, but Hyunjin steadied him, and then they were off and running once more.
“We need to lose it!" Minho hissed.
"We need to trap it!" Changbin corrected, eyes darting over to the others. "We can’t keep running forever. That’d be suicide.”
Ahead, Hyunjin spotted a narrow alleyway between two crumbling buildings and his face light up.
"There!" he shouted. “We can trap it there!”
He switched directions, darting to the left and leading the group into the cramped passage. The Seraphee shrieked again, wings curling up in the air as it twisted in pursuit, its elongated, clawed fingers grazing the walls as it squeezed into the alley.
"Felix, Han, now!" Chan ordered, glancing at the Seraphee.
At the sharp command, Felix and Han immediately spun around, each yanking on a set of thin, nearly invisible wires (that the Seraphee was either too blind to see, or too busy trying to hunt them to see) strung across the alley. The moment the Seraphee flew forward, the trap activated. Jagged iron spikes, ones they’d scavenged from an old construction site (that had not been easy, rummaging around in a dirt-packed area with rotting corpses), snapped upward from the ground, glinting in the dim light. The creature shrieked in fury, black talons clawing at the air as it veered back to avoid impalement only to crash onto them— though of course, it wouldn’t kill it. But it would hopefully weaken the monster and leave it writhing in pain.
"It’s not enough!" Jeongin gasped, pressing himself against the wall as the monster thrashed around— in pain, but still very much angry and moving. And clearly not in enough pain to be passed out or any less angry. Which was going to be a very major issue if their lives had anything to do with it.
"We need to get it to pass out!" Chan gritted his teeth, and then turned his head. "Minho, the spear—now!"
Minho unhooked the long steel spear from his belt strap and tossed it to Hyunjin, who caught it with trembling hands. It never got easy doing it, not when you were fearing your own life and face-to-face with the creepy being. The Seraphee lashed out with its talons, but Han and Changbin tightened the wire chains around its wings, forcing it down. The creature snarled, twisting violently, its glowing eyes burning with fury. Okay, great, still not passed out or injured enough to stop fighting.
Hyunjin took a steadying breath, hands still shaking, and then drove the spear forward with all his strength. The steel tip pierced straight through the Seraphee’s chest, sinking deep into its core. A bloodcurdling scream tore from its throat, its wings spasming wildly as dark, tar-like blood oozed from the wound. Hyunjin winced, stumbling back. The alley filled with the stench of burning flesh and of rotting blood as the creature convulsed, before growing limp and flopping on the ground.
Obviously and very unfortunately, it wasn’t dead. But! It was passed out and unable to fight, so another win for the Stray Catcher!
There was a stretch of silence, before Felix broke it. He bent over, hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath.
“Holy moons— That was too close. Way too close.”
“Agreed.” Changbin nods, swallowing as he wiped the sweat off his forehead.
Han let out a shaky laugh, flopping against the alley wall. "Remind me again why we do this?"
Chan straightened, gripping the remnants of the steel spear and pocketing the contraption he’d just used to wrap the Seraphee in a film of white material that would bound it tightly together.
"Because if we don’t… no one else will.”
Hyunjin shudders.
“Still, running around and chasing these beasts, trapping them and fighting them. And then we gotta load them onto our vans and move them— while they’re in the back?!” His face twists up.
Jeongin shakes his head.
“Speaking of which… let’s get this one into the van. We still gotta load it and hand over to the holding cell.”
—
Their base wasn’t anything extravagant— nope, it was just a large, slightly worn-down house on the outskirts of the city. A couple bedrooms, two bathrooms they shared together, and a kitchen Minho forbid anyone else but him from entering. It was their home, their safe space— where they could finally breathe and be silly teens again, not monster hunters. As soon as they stepped inside, the atmosphere shifted from tense to familiar comfort, the tension slipping away after the whole drama a couple minutes ago with the Seraphee.
Minho barely made it two steps in through the door, before a blur of orange fur darted toward him. He knelt down with a fond grin, greeting his pet fox with a fond scratch behind the ears.
“Aw, Soonie! Did you miss me?"
Hyunjin fake-pouts.
“I’m jealous. You treat that fox better than us, hyung.”
Minho shot him a glare, mid-patting Soonie’s head.
"Because Soonie doesn’t complain nearly as much as you do, fucker.”
The others all laugh, including Hyunjin who’s heard Minho call him names enough to know he isn’t seriously trying to be mean. Minho sighs wearily and huffs a smile a second later.
They’re all kicking off their boots and stretching their arms above their heads, proud of their job being complete. The adrenaline was finally wearing off, leaving behind only exhaustion and hunger. Mostly hunger though.
"I’m going to start on dinner," Minho announces, heading toward the kitchen. Soonie darts after his dad, bouncing happily on his feet now that Minho’s back home.
"I’m gonna wash up first," Hyunjin said, already making his way to the bathroom.
"Same here," Chan added, rubbing at his sore shoulders before disappearing down the hall. “I’ll use the other bathroom then.”
One by one, the others followed suit, each taking their turn to clean up and then retreating to their respective rooms. For now, it was personal time, before they rejoined for dinner to goof off again. Right now, they needed a bit of peace and quiet for themselves to recharge.
Jeongin, however, lingered near the door, his mind still racing from the night’s events.
"I need some air," he muttered to himself, stepping outside.
The cold night air was refreshing, sure, but it didn’t really clear the unease in his chest, weighing heavily down like a huge boulder on his chest, something that wouldn’t go away. He started to walk— walking aimlessly, hands stuffed into his jacket pockets, until a sudden gust of wind sent a chill down his spine. Then he felt it—something was watching him.
And that was a creepy feeling, especially at night with the sun completely down by now.
A shadow moved above him, and before he could react, a Seraphee lunged at him.
“Fuck!”
He barely had time to stumble backward, before its talons slashed through the air where he had been standing moments ago. Jeongin hit the ground hard, panic surging through him as he scrambled back.
Oh shit.
Shit, shit, shit.
Not now. Not now of all times, when he was all alone with his friends all back at home, shit!
Just as the Seraphee prepared to strike again, another dark blur slammed into it, knocking it away from Jeongin. He watched, wide-eyed and still very much breathlessly terrified, as the two creatures clashed—one of them fighting with a desperate sort of fury… protecting him? No, that couldn’t be… Why would another Seraphee help him? No, he was just going insane, that’s it. That’s all it is.
The attacking Seraphee screeched, wings flaring in rage and then flipped the other one on their back.
Jeongin didn’t wait around to find out more. The attention of both Seraphees were on each other, and as far as he was concerned, he wanted to live. He scrambled to his feet, turned, and sprinted, his heart pounding as he head back home.
—
"A Seraphee saved you?" Chan repeated, raising a skeptical brow as Jeongin hurriedly explained what had happened the moment he came back. The others had been starting to take their seats at the dining table, but had immediately gathered in the living room when Jeongin crashed in all panicked.
"Maybe it was just fighting to eat you instead of the other one," Changbin suggested. “You know, wild and all, more hungry for souls.”
Felix nodded. "Jeongin, all Seraphees are horrible and bad. That’s why we hunt them. There’s no good ones. And no way that one was helping you.”
"I know what I saw," Jeongin insisted. "That thing— he wasn’t trying to kill me— that one saved me. I could feel it. Trust!”
“Jeongin…” Hyunjin pursed his lips.
“Hyungs, you know how Seraphees usually have completely black eyes and their skin glows? Well, the one that saved me (“I’m telling you— it didn’t save you, it was fighting the other for a meal!” Minho grumbles) looked all dull, and his eyes were just like a human’s! With actual whites and a pupil, not inky black! He really saved me!” Jeongin insisted.
The others still looked doubtful, exchanging glances before shrugging it off.
“C’mon, let’s just go eat dinner.”
“Innie, come. Minho hyung made lasagna.”
Frustrated, Jeongin fell silent, but deep down, he knew the truth. That Seraphee wasn’t like the others. That Seraphee with the fierce eyes, kinda pooled with deep longing sadness…
I’ll figure it out, Jeongin vowed internally.
—
Seungmin stood in the shadows, his breathing steady but his mind racing. The trio of Seraphees before him sneered, their eyes glowing with contempt.
They all wore their matching white robes, a symbol that they were part of the Society. Noble, graceful, accepted.
Seungmin, in his human clothes? A disappointment.
"You really are pathetic," One of them hissed, the same one he had just fought off. "Choosing humans over your own kind?! Disgraceful."
"I don’t hunt humans," Seungmin said evenly. "I never will. Don’t expect me to be so filthy like you all are.”
The others snarled in response to that, but Seungmin didn’t care. (At least… that’s what he was trying to tell himself.)
That human had gotten away— that was all that mattered. He could endure these taunts and jabs all night if he had to, he was used to it.
He was used to sinking and being plunged into his darkness, into a pit of eyes and mocking laughter and an abyss where no one cared and no one was left to care.
Because if his own kind— his own mother— left him, who was left to love him and genuinely care whether or not he was doing okay?
No one.
The answer was no one.