Archive of Our Own

Yeonjun has always enjoyed the occult, the esoteric, and goth culture. He loved scaring people with such trivial things because he thought there were more important things to pay attention to.

His small town had always treated him like he was some kind of weirdo—which, sure, he was—but what was the big deal? He wasn't the one who crossed the street when a black cat walked by. He didn't refuse to whistle after sunset because "it attracts spirits," nor did he leave bowls of salt outside his front door when a storm rolled in. If anything, everyone else was far stranger.

Yeonjun simply happened to own an embarrassingly large collection of horror novels, knew enough Latin to poorly recite old rituals, and spent his weekends dragging Beomgyu and Hueningkai through abandoned churches and forgotten cemeteries, just as they used to do in the old days. Now that he had just arrived from the city, where he had been attending college, he was back to his old ways.

"One day, we're going to find a serial killer," Beomgyu complained for what must have been the hundredth time, kicking a loose stone down the cracked pathway.

"No, we're going to find a ghost."

"That's worse."

Hueningkai looked around nervously. "I still don't understand why we're here."

“Because Reddit says a vampire lives here,” Yeonjun whispered, grinning with the flashlight tucked under his chin.

“Reddit also says that pigeons work for the government,” Beomgyu said, staring at him intently.

"Exactly! Fifty-fifty."

They left ten minutes later, having found absolutely nothing but three rats and lots of empty beer cans. Despite everything, Yeonjun considered the night a success anyway.

However, the timing was extremely suspicious. Exactly one week after the failed vampire hunt, the house next to Yeonjun’s was finally sold. It had sat empty for years behind an overgrown iron fence, its windows permanently shut and its garden slowly being reclaimed by weeds. Every Halloween, local kids dared each other to touch the front door, hoping something scary would appear behind it. Now, somebody actually lived there. Apparently, the new neighbor worked from home, so Yeonjun hardly ever saw him, and he was an orphan who had received a large inheritance that allowed him to buy the house.

According to Yeonjun’s mom, the new neighbor was "a very polite young man." Mrs. Han, the old woman from the convenience store, said he was "lovely and handsome." According to Beomgyu, the guy looked like he hadn't seen the sun since the earth was created. But Yeonjun still hadn’t formed an opinion until the following Thursday evening. 

He was sitting on the front steps, painting tiny white stars on the back of his phone case with a pen and listening to music through his headphones, when he saw a movement out of the corner of his eye. Someone was dragging boxes into the house next door. Yeonjun noticed that the man was extremely tall and dressed entirely in black, despite the warm summer night. He was also wearing black gloves...in June?

The strange man set the box on the floor and looked up. For a second, their eyes met, and Yeonjun felt a chill run through his entire body. Despite the weird feeling, Yeonjun smiled, earning a stare from the stranger in return. However, the other man didn’t smile or nod or do anything.

Yeonjun was stunned. What the hell?

"...How rude," he muttered to himself, as he watched the stranger disappear into his house without another glance.

Over the next few days, Yeonjun became an at expert observing his new neighbor, mostly because that guy was impossible to ignore. His name, apparently, was Choi Soobin. 

Mrs. Han never stopped talking about what a sweet man he was whenever he went to the convenience store, but Yeonjun didn’t believe it at all. "Sweet" people smiled or waved. "Sweet" people didn't stare at others without saying hello.

Soobin would leave his house just after sunset every evening, almost as if he was following a schedule. He walked the same route through town, stopped by the convenience store, and disappeared again before midnight. Strangely, he rarely bought groceries, never talked to anyone for longer than necessary, and never accepted invitations. He seemed uninterested in socializing. Yeonjun had decided that he was either: 1. painfully awkward or 2. hiding a terrifying secret. Both options entertained Yeonjun, especially the latter.

However, Yeonjun realized that observing Soobin was much harder than he had expected. This was mostly because Soobin had the dreadful habit of looking back every time Yeonjun tried to sneak a peek.

One late Sunday afternoon, Yeonjun pretended to water the plants on his front porch while "casually" watching his neighbor lock the front door. Obviously, there was nothing suspicious about holding the same watering can for four straight minutes.

Soobin adjusted one of his black gloves before walking down the sidewalk—heading exactly towards the most neglected part of town. Yeonjun leaned forward to see better, but the other man stopped and turned his head. Their eyes met again for a second. Yeonjun did the only thing he could think of and ducked behind the flowerpot, thinking it would hide him from the rest of the world.

He looked over the pot and discovered that Soobin was still standing there, looking directly at him with a mocking smile. Wait, was Soobin actually smiling? Yeonjun refused to move. After what felt like an entire year, Soobin nodded slightly—almost imperceptibly—and continued walking as if nothing had happened. Only then, still confused, did Yeonjun stand up.

On another day, the bell above the convenience store door rang just as he reached for a bottle of soda from the refrigerator. Someone else reached for the same bottle, and their fingers bumped. He turned around and looked up to see Soobin staring at him with that same unreadable look. 

"Oh, sorry," Yeonjun said, shivering and immediately letting go of the drink. "You can have it."

"...You saw it first." Soobin said, blinking. His voice was much lower than Yeonjun had expected. It was also the first time Yeonjun had ever heard him speak.

“No, really.”

Neither of them moved for a long time, causing Mrs. Han to watch them from the register with a confused look on her face. After several painfully awkward seconds, Soobin picked up another bottle.

"Thank you," he whispered so that only the two of them could hear. Then, he finally left.

Yeonjun stood perfectly still, not knowing what to do.

"What a nice young man," Mrs. Han commented, smiling.

Yeonjun stared intently at the door. "...He's really weird."

“So, that happened last week,” Yeonjun told his friends.

"You're obsessed," Beomgyu pointed out one afternoon.

"What? I’m not!"

"Dude, you know exactly at what time he leaves his house."

"That's called being observant."

"Actually, that's called being a stalker," Hueningkai interrupted, his mouth full of sandwich.

Yeonjun looked at the floor and scoffed. “I’m just curious...”

“Curious about the guy who ignored and talked to you once?” Beomgyu asked, grinning.

“He didn’t ignore me!” Yeonjun complained, knowing he was lying. "It's just that...he has something about him that rubs me the wrong way, and I need to figure out what it is."

Beomgyu and Hueningkai exchanged a look before bursting into laughter.

"Oh my god," Hueningkai said, catching his breath. "You have a crush!"

"I absolutely do not—"

"You've been talking about him for the last twenty minutes."

"I'm talking about how suspicious he is!" Yeonjun protested, his cheeks red with embarrassment. "He only leaves his house after sunset."

“Mhm, sure.”

“He wears black every single day, even gloves in June!”

"Of course."

"He rarely smiles."

Hueningkai stared at him, swallowing the last bite of his sandwich. "Have you ever considered that maybe he’s introverted?"

“No…” 

"You should, though," Beomgyu suggested, leaning back on one of Yeonjun’s chairs. “What’s your plan, then? Collect DNA samples? See if he sparkles in the sunlight?”

"I'm not that insane," Yeonjun argued after thinking for a moment. Then he added, "But I don't dislike those ideas..."

"Oh my God, you're hopeless," Beomgyu sighed.

"I'm just making observations."

“You know his schedule!”

"I know everyone's schedule!" Yeonjun fought back.

“No, you don’t,” Hueningkai retorted, wiping the crumbs from his mouth with the back of his hand. "Tell me what time I used to leave for school." 

Yeonjun opened his mouth, but nothing came out. "You're both missing the point," he said, rolling his eyes dramatically as Beomgyu snorted.

“And what's the point?”

“He’s suspicious! How many times do I have to say it? I’m slowly starting to convince myself that he’s a creature of the night.”

“A zombie? A nightwalker?…Slenderman?” 

“Oh—now that I think about it, he does look like Slenderman,” Hueningkai added.

“No, something hotter…a vampire!” 

Beomgyu stared at Yeonjun, unable to believe what he had just heard. “Dude, you have no right to judge anyone for supposedly being a vampire when you were accused of the same thing in school,” he said, pointing at Yeonjun.

“Thank God I graduated.”

“Slenderman is hot, though…” Hueningkai interrupted. “Also, you don’t have the right to talk about something suspicious when you own six fake skulls.”

“They’re decorations…”

“You wear combat boots when it’s thirty-five degrees outside.”

“Fashion.”

"You also have candles that smell like abandoned monasteries!"

"God, they were limited edition! You know that!"

Beomgyu buried his face in his hands. "I can't believe we're having this conversation."

Later that day, after saying goodbye to his friends, Yeonjun went to the convenience store to buy a bag of chips. He put on his headphones and happily walked to the store. But it seemed like the universe was enjoying making fun of him. He spotted a familiar figure standing in front of the refrigerators in the distance. There was Soobin, wearing his usual black clothes and gloves, even though it was the middle of summer.

Despite the embarrassment was consuming him, Yeonjun walked through the door and went inside. The old lady looked at the young men before smiling to herself.

"Oh, Soobin! Your neighbor is here."

As soon as Yeonjun saw Soobin turn around and stare at him, he wished the floor would open and swallow him. Then, the taller man gave the slightest nod imaginable.

"Hello," Soobin greeted, his voice lowered.

Yeonjun blinked, realizing that the other had spoken first. "Hi."

An awkward silence settled in as they looked at each other. The only audible sound was the hum of the refrigerators in the background. Yeonjun had successfully forgotten every vocabulary word he had ever learned.

Finally, Soobin reached into the refrigerator and grabbed a grenadine drink. He could feel the cold creeping up his back, making him shiver slightly. He narrowed his eyes when he noticed the color of the drink. It was red, suspiciously similar to—no. Absolutely not. He was starting to think he was going crazy from reading so many horror books.

"Is something wrong?" Soobin asked, having noticed him staring.

Yeonjun shook his head so quickly that his neck started to ache. "No, sorry."

"Okay."

Soobin walked toward the register, paid for his drink, and left as if nothing had happened. Yeonjun watched him leave through the glass door. Only after Soobin disappeared into the growing darkness did Yeonjun realize that he’d been holding the same bag of chips for nearly three minutes straight.

"You two should become friends," Mrs. Han added. 

"With him?" Yeonjun asked, looking horrified.

"He seems to like you."

"Sure, Mrs. Han," Yeonjun laughed. "That man probably hates me."

He paid for his food and left, an idea refusing to leave his mind. It wasn't the friendship part, though. Why didn't he follow Soobin into the darkness? Maybe he could finally discover what was really happening.

At 10:45, Soobin stepped outside his house in the same clothes. Tucked under one arm was a paper bag from the convenience store. Yeonjun watched him disappear down the street, then stood up. He had already made the decision without thinking any further. 

"I'll just follow him for five minutes," he muttered to himself, grabbing his bag and quickly messaging his friends about his plans. He tried his best to stay calm.

He adjusted the hood of his sweatshirt and started walking after Soobin, certain that he would find something worthwhile for his "investigation." However, he was unaware that the distance between them was shortening. It wasn't because he was running toward Soobin, but because Soobin had immediately noticed him and slowed his pace.

The farther they walked, the quieter the streets became. The convenience store, the old bakery, the tiny bus stop covered in political campaign posters, and finally, the last row of houses all disappeared behind them. Summer nights in town always carried the same sounds—crickets, distant murmurs, and the occasional barking dog—but tonight everything felt strangely muted.

Yeonjun pulled his hood lower over his forehead, hiding himself while maintaining his distance from Soobin. Soobin kept walking at an unhurried pace, one hand tucked into his coat pocket and the paper bag still under his arm.

Five minutes turned into ten, and Yeonjun frowned. Where was he going?

The road gradually transformed into a dirt path bordered by towering trees whose branches nearly touched overhead. The air felt cooler there and smelled like damp earth and old leaves.

A twig snapped beneath Yeonjun’s feet, and he froze, but Soobin didn’t react at all. Another branch loudly cracked—that was definitely not him. Yeonjun slowly turned his head, but saw only darkness stretching between the trees. He swallowed at the thought of how embarrassing it would be to end up murdered while stalking someone he didn’t know well.

He took another careful step, squinting to see better in the darkness. He realized the path ahead was empty. Soobin was gone. "What?"

Soobin had been right there just a second ago. The next second, he had simply disappeared. Yeonjun’s heart sped up as he looked left, right, and behind him, but there was nothing. 

"Okay..." he muttered, trying to stay calm. "This is totally fine."

Something moved above him, and another branch shifted. Instinctively, Yeonjun reached into his backpack and closed his fingers around the only object that could possibly protect him: a tiny silver key ring.

"Great. I'm going to die here," he whispered.

Suddenly, a quiet voice came from behind him. "I don't think that's going to help."

Yeonjun nearly dropped the key ring and spun around so quickly that he almost lost his balance. He saw Soobin standing a few steps away, looking as composed as ever. His expression was unreadable, and the paper bag was gone.

For several painfully long seconds, neither of them spoke; they only stared at each other.

“Why are you following me?” Soobin finally asked, tilting his head. 

Yeonjun didn't know what to say, his brain had completely shut down. "I'm not following you," he said, trying to sound as convincing as possible. But then he saw Soobin's mocking smile. "Okay, yeah. I am.”

"Why?"

Because I think you’re hiding a secret. Because you always leave your house after sunset. Because you wear gloves in thirty-degree weather. Because you looked at me once and now I can’t stop thinking about you.

“Because…you walk weird,” Yeonjun said instead, silence setting in again.

“I walk…” Soobin continued, blinking in confusion.

"Weird."

"I've never been told that before."

Yeonjun wished the ground would open up behind him. "That's because people are afraid of being honest."

"I see..." Soobin replied after a moment, absentmindedly adjusting the cuff of his glove.

"And you take the same route every day. That's weird."

"Oh, so have you been watching me?"

"Only accidentally," Yeonjun mumbled, feeling the heat spread across his face and settle in his cheeks.

"Right."

To Yeonjun’s horror, Soobin's mouth lifted slightly, giving him a smile that showed amusement.

Then, from somewhere deeper in the woods, something—or rather, someone—growled, making Soobin’s smile disappear instantly. He turned his head toward the darkness, and his entire posture changed. For the first time all evening, he looked genuinely alert.

"Stay behind me," he said quietly.

“What?”

"I said stay behind me," he repeated, his tone firmer now.

Yeonjun instinctively moved closer to Soobin and grabbed the sleeve of his coat. It was only after doing so that he realized what he had done.

"Sorry," he muttered, letting go immediately. However, Soobin didn’t even look at him.

Another low growl echoed through the trees, sounding much closer this time. Yeonjun stared into the darkness, trying to make out the shape hidden among the leaves.

"I don't see anything."

"You don't need to."

Okay, he was genuinely scared now. "...What?"

For a brief second, moonlight slipped through the leaves, and something moved quickly. It was gone again before Yeonjun could focus on it, and his heartbeat immediately doubled its rhythm.

“Soobin…”

"Hm?"

"If that was a serial killer, I want you to know that Beomgyu is never going to let me live this down."

"I don't think you'll have to worry about that," Soobin said unexpectedly.

"You sound very confident."

"I am."

There was something strangely reassuring about the way he said it—so calm and certain, as if he were commenting on tomorrow's weather.

Another rustle came from somewhere to their left. Unconsciously, Yeonjun took half a step closer, his shoulder almost brushing Soobin’s arm. Still, neither of them acknowledged it. Then, a pair of glowing eyes appeared between the bushes, and Yeonjun stopped breathing. The creature stared at them for exactly two seconds before casually walking onto their path.

It was...a cat. A very round, unimpressed cat. It looked at Yeonjun, flicked its tail, and disappeared into the undergrowth.

Yeonjun slowly lowered the tiny silver key ring he had been holding like a weapon. "I knew it!"

Then, so quietly that Yeonjun almost thought he’d imagined it, Soobin laughed. Yeonjun stared at him as if he had suddenly turned into a bug.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Soobin asked, looking down to meet his gaze.

"You actually know how to smile!"

The laughter stopped immediately, and Soobin looked away with a smile playing on the corners of his lips. "I never said I didn't."

That action made Yeonjun’s heart beat even faster than it had when whatever had been hiding in the woods appeared.

The next morning, Yeonjun woke up convinced that he had imagined half of what happened the night before. Unfortunately, his group chat with his friends proved otherwise:

beomgyu: are you alive???????

hueningkai: if you got murdered can i have all your mcr cds

yeonjun:  i'm alive

beomgyu: did you find your vampire boyfriend

yeonjun: HE'S NOT MY

yeonjun: and no

hueningkai: so you stalked an innocent introvert

hueningkai: for absolutely nothing

yeonjun: i did NOT stalk him

yeonjun: stop.

beomgyu: you literally followed him into the woods

beomgyu: if thats not stalking then idk what it is

yeonjun: thats called investigative journalism

yeonjun: i’m like a detective

beomgyu: …

beomgyu: you’re hopeless

He sighed, tossed his phone onto the bed, and stared at the ceiling. Nothing supernatural had happened, nor had anyone attacked him. The mysterious growling had come from a tiny creature that wasn’t interested in eating anyone. And Soobin…had laughed, which bothered him more than the possibility of mythological creatures existing.

By late afternoon, the heat had become unbearable. Yeonjun gave up on pretending to read The Castle of Otranto and decided to lie down on the cold floor to cool off. Just then, his mother walked in carrying a glass bowl.

“Can you do me a favor?” she said, her hair tied back in a bun as she wore a neat kitchen apron.

“It depends.”

“Take this next door.”

He sat up immediately, thinking he had misheard her. "What?"

"I made too much hwachae," she continued, staring at him. "I'm trying to be neighborly."

"Mom, you've literally spoken to him once…"

"That's called being polite, Yeonjun. Come on, go,” his mother finished, looking at him with the typical expression only mothers could give.

Five minutes later, after fixing his hair and straightening his clothes as best he could, he found himself standing in front of the old house with a giant Tupperware container balanced between both hands. The iron gate creaked as he pushed it open. He realized the garden was now well kept, with white and red roses climbing the fence.

After knocking on the door for a while and receiving no answer, he considered running away and blaming it on social anxiety. His thoughts were soon interrupted when the door opened to reveal Soobin standing behind it. He was still dressed in black and wearing gloves.

They didn't speak for a moment until Soobin looked down at the bowl.

"Is that for me?"

Yeonjun looked down, too, as if he had forgotten he was holding it. "Oh—yeah. My mom thinks you’re too skinny.”

An awkward silence settled in. Yeonjun closed his eyes, feeling like an idiot because he hadn't meant to say that at all. When he opened his eyes again, Soobin was still looking at him. The corners of his mouth had lifted slightly, as if he were trying—and failing—not to smile.

Neither of them moved for a few seconds. Yeonjun was still holding the container, which was already starting to feel heavy.

Soobin looked down at the bowl, then at Yeonjun, then back down. "Thank you."

Yeonjun didn’t respond. He was growing accustomed to the silence, but he simultaneously hated it. He especially hated how quiet Soobin’s house was. He couldn't hear any footsteps, music, or TV in the background. Only the distant ticking of an old clock could be heard.

“So…” Soobin started, fixing his gaze on Yeonjun. "Are you going to keep standing outside?"

Yeonjun blinked. "What?"

“The hwachae is melting.”

"Oh, right," he said, looking down at the container and realizing the ice cubes were already floating on the surface.

"You can come in," Soobin offered, stepping aside.

Every horror movie Yeonjun had ever watched started playing in his head: Never enter a mysterious stranger’s house. Never accept invitations after sunset. And never trust the suspiciously attractive man dressed entirely in black.

"Okay," Yeonjun finally said, slipping off his boots and entering through the door.

The house smelled faintly of old books and fresh flowers—not blood, which was disappointing. He looked around and saw that the place was unexpectedly cozy. There were books everywhere, and plants covered the windowsills. Large, dark curtains covered the windows. In one corner, a record player sat beside stacks of vinyl records. Several framed paintings leaned against the walls instead of hanging neatly. Nothing looked haunted or threatening. It definitely didn’t look like the home of a centuries-old vampire, as he had thought Soobin might be.

Soobin snatched the bowl from his hands and disappeared down the hallway, leaving Yeonjun alone in the living room. His eyes were drawn to one of the bookshelves. It was filled with classic Gothic novels, such as Dracula, Frankenstein, Carmilla, Rebecca, and even the very book he had been reading earlier, The Castle of Otranto, as well as many others.

When Soobin returned, Yeonjun slowly turned toward him. "Excuse me?"

"Hm?"

"You own every single Gothic novel ever written."

"I like classics," Soobin stated simply, his gaze fixed intently on his own bookshelf.

"So much that you have three different editions of Dracula?" Yeonjun pointed out.

"They have different translations..."

"That's exactly what a vampire would say!"

For the first time, Soobin laughed properly, tilting his head back and holding his stomach with one hand. Yeonjun stared at him, forgetting how to breathe. "Am I that funny?"

Soobin looked at him for a moment with a playful smile on his face, his eyes sparkling with laughter. "Very."

Yeonjun immediately looked anywhere but at Soobin, feeling his cheeks burn.

His gaze wandered around the room until it landed on a framed photograph sitting on top of the piano. He walked closer, only to discover that the picture showed the exact same house. The same garden and front gate were visible. But the photograph looked old because it was in black and white, and the edges were faded with time. On the porch stood two smiling men. One had big, round eyes and was shorter than the other. Yeonjun squinted to see better and realized that the other man was...Soobin.

Yeonjun's smile vanished instantly as fear coursed through his veins. “...Soobin?”

“Hm?”

“...How old is this picture?”

Soobin followed Yeonjun’s gaze until his eyes landed on the photograph too. He walked over to the piano, carefully picked up the frame, and brushed a speck of dust from the glass with the sleeve of his sweater.

“It’s old,” he answered. It seemed like he was trying to dodge the question as best he could.

“Yeah, I already noticed that,” Yeonjun said, losing his patience. He got closer to Soobin and pointed at the taller man in the picture. “That’s literally you.”

“No.”

“No?”

“That’s…my grandfather.”

Yeonjun looked from the photograph to Soobin’s face, then back to the photograph. “So, are you telling me your grandfather looked exactly like you?”

“We’re family,” he refuted. “I think that’s how it usually works.”

Yeonjun didn't buy that story for a second. Of course he knew that family members tended to look alike—he wasn't an idiot—but, knowing how strange Soobin was, he was sure it was definitely him and not a made-up story. To avoid making things even more awkward, though, he didn't press the issue any further.

He kept staring at the picture, though, and turned his gaze toward the other person standing beside Soobin’s supposed grandfather. The man had a bright smile and had thrown one arm casually around Soobin’s shoulders.

“They looked happy.”

“We—they were,” Soobin said, looking at the photo again. His voice sounded almost nostalgic, which made Yeonjun look away, leaving a bitter taste in his mouth.

He looked around the room, searching for something else to focus on in an attempt to change the subject. His gaze fell on the record player once again, and he examined it more closely. His attention drifted to the vinyl sleeves stacked beside it. Some were jazz albums, and some were classical music, but one caught his eye.

“There’s no way…” Yeonjun said, picking it up.

Yeonjun turned toward Soobin, holding the ‘Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge’ record to his chest as if he had discovered some kind of buried treasure. “You listen to My Chemical Romance?”

“...Sometimes.”

Yeonjun stared at him in complete disbelief. “If you were really a vampire, you know you'd be a total stereotype, right?” he joked. He watched as Soobin looked to the side, trying not to smile. "Is there ever a vampire that listens to pop music?"

Soobin stared at him and then started giggling. "Well, I wouldn't know. I'm not a vampire."

Yeonjun blinked. He had spent almost three weeks trying to prove that Soobin was a supernatural creature. Instead, he accidentally discovered that Soobin's laughter was so warm that it sent shivers down his whole body.

To distract himself, he began searching the room again. He noticed the long, dark curtains and walked over to them. He realized they were blocking almost all of the outside light.

He grabbed the fabric. "I wasn't wrong about the vampire aesthetic."

"How many times do I have to tell you that I'm not a vampire?" Soobin sighed, watching his every move.

"Wait, I need to test something."

Before he could move them aside and let in the last of the afternoon light, Soobin quickly stepped forward, grabbed his wrist, and turned Yeonjun toward him. Yeonjun froze and slowly looked up, realizing just how close they were. So close that Yeonjun could see Soobin’s bright black eyes, his extremely pale skin without any color in his cheeks, and his small moles. He could make out each of his features.

“You don’t need to.” Soobin's tone was quiet, and his expression was much more serious now.

Yeonjun could feel his heart beating in his throat, and his legs began to shake. He feared they might give out at any moment. This was ridiculous. After all, he had followed this man into the woods at night, accused him of being a supernatural creature, and practically stalked him for three weeks. So why was this making him nervous?

He slowly began to back away until he bumped into the window. Soobin was still close by, not letting go of his wrist. Yeonjun looked down at their intertwined hands, then back at Soobin. He noticed that Soobin hadn't taken his eyes off him for a moment.

“I—”

Soobin tilted his head to one side. “Hm?”

"I-I should go. Mom's going to worry,” Yeonjun finally said. He tried hard not to stutter, but he clearly failed.

Soobin simply looked at him. Then, his gaze flickered toward the clock hanging on the wall. "It's eight in the afternoon.”

Yeonjun really hated him. "She's very...protective," he lied.

Soobin stared at him with an unreadable expression until he finally broke eye contact. He took two steps back and released his hand.

"Okay," he said simply, still not looking at him.

Yeonjun was still extremely nervous, but he missed Soobin’s attention even more. He pulled himself together and began walking toward the exit, passing by the other man.

He turned around and noticed that Soobin was still avoiding his gaze. "Bye."

Soobin finally looked at him and smiled, dimples and all. "Bye, Yeonjun," he said. It was the first time he’d said his name, and Yeonjun found himself craving for Soobin to say it again.

Yeonjun opened the door, put his boots back on and walked out without looking back. His hands were sweaty, and he felt like he was going to faint at any moment. He walked into the house without saying a word, passing his mother who asked why he had taken so long. He locked himself in his room, flopped onto the bed, and felt his whole face, including his ears, get hot. They were most likely flushed.

He grabbed his phone but didn't check the group chat messages in detail before sending the last one. This was all the confirmation he needed of what Beomgyu had told him earlier.

yeonjun: i have a crush on choi soobin.

hueningkai: ???????

beomgyu: i was talking ab how i got explosive diarrhea

beomgyu: but good for you ig 

It had been two days since Yeonjun left his house following the incident with Soobin. He knew he had overreacted and that his actions had made no sense. However, he was also afraid that if he ran into Soobin, he might die of embarrassment on the spot. Just thinking about him made Yeonjun break out in a cold sweat.

Whenever his thoughts drifted back to the living room, the curtains, or the way Soobin had looked at him, Yeonjun immediately found something else to think about, like taxes, climate change, or everything wrong with capitalism. He did anything to stop thinking about him.

He also stopped going to the convenience store for fear of running into him. That's how serious the situation was.

One day, his mother made him go out to run some errands, and since it was daytime, Yeonjun didn't hesitate to go. Out in the sun, he wouldn't run into Soobin, would he? Soobin only went out at sunset...or so he thought. Yeonjun returned from the store as if nothing had happened. He took the keys out of his pocket, but before he could put them in the lock, he sensed movement behind him. His entire body froze in its place.

“Why have you been avoiding me?” asked a voice that was becoming increasingly familiar to him.

Yeonjun slowly turned around and found himself face-to-face with Soobin, who was holding the empty bowl in one hand and a black umbrella in the other. An umbrella in this weather? Yeonjun wondered, confused. But he was so used to Soobin’s odd behavior that he ignored it.

For a moment, Yeonjun considered several options: option one: lie; option two: run away; option three: fake his own death. Unfortunately, none of them seemed particularly realistic. “I haven’t been avoiding you.”

Soobin stared at him intently for a few long seconds, as if trying to find an answer in his eyes. “You disappeared for two days,” he finally said.

“That’s not—have you been paying attention to me?” Yeonjun asked, feeling his hands get sweaty and his cheeks flush at the thought of Soobin thinking about him.

"Maybe," Soobin flattered, smiling and revealing his dimples. He caught Yeonjun off guard with what he said next. "Yeonjun, you look really...pretty when you're all red in the face like that.” 

Yeonjun felt his brain go blank, and his face turned even redder; the blush now reached his ears.

“You have all your blood in your cheeks…Yeah, pretty is the right word,” he mumbled, barely above a whisper.

Yeonjun’s stomach flipped. Out of everything Soobin had said, his brain focused only on the words "blood" and "pretty".

Blood.

Pretty.

Blood.

Pretty. 

Those words lingered in his head like a mantra until he forgot where he was, what day it was, and even his own name. Unfortunately, Soobin was still standing there, patiently waiting for an answer.

“So…” Soobin said after a moment, watching him with obvious amusement.

"Shut up." Yeonjun groaned and covered his face with both hands.

This was awful. Terrible. A complete disaster. The worst part was that Soobin looked pleased.

When Yeonjun finally lowered his hands, he found Soobin still looking at him and smiling. God. Without thinking twice, he stepped forward, immediately regretting every decision that had led him to this moment. Unfortunately, it was too late to back out now.

Before he lost his courage completely, he leaned forward quickly and pressed a brief kiss against Soobin’s cheek. It lasted less than a second before he jumped back as if he’d touched a live wire.

Neither of them moved for a moment, until he finally registered what he had just done. "Oh...oh no."

The silence somehow became even worse, and Soobin’s eyes widened slightly. Yeonjun felt as if his heart were about to leap out of his body.

“Yeonjun—”

“Nope!” he interrupted.

Before Soobin could respond, he spun around, shoved his key into the lock, threw himself through the front door, and slammed it shut behind him. The sound echoed through the street, leaving an uncomfortable silence in its wake.

For almost a whole minute, Yeonjun stood pressed against the door, breathing heavily. Then, he slowly lowered himself to the floor. "Oh my God.”

From the other side of the street, Beomgyu slowly lowered the bag of snacks he had been holding and turned to face Hueningkai, who looked just as stunned. 

“...Did he just kiss him?” Hueningkai blinked.

“I think he just kissed him.”

They both stared at Yeonjun’s front door. A few seconds later, they heard the loud slam that echoed through the entire neighborhood.

“I knew it! I can’t believe we witnessed that.” 

Across the street, Soobin was still standing exactly where Yeonjun had left him: motionless. 

“Do you think he’s okay?” Hueningkai asked.

Two minutes passed, and Soobin was still standing there without moving. He wasn't even aware that the two boys were watching him from a distance. Finally, he moved and touched the spot on his cheek where Yeonjun had kissed him.

Beomgyu grabbed Hueningkai’s arm so hard that he almost dropped the snacks. “Oh my God! Did you see that?"

"Shut up!" Hueningkai whispered to him, a little too loudly for his liking.

"I'm whispering!"

"No, you're not!"

They continued to argue in what they thought were quiet voices until they looked ahead again and discovered that Soobin was gone. He had vanished in a matter of seconds.

“...What the hell?” they both said at the same time.

Beomgyu frowned. “He was literally there.”

“I know!”

They simply stared at the place where Soobin had been standing. Then Beomgyu grabbed the bag of snacks again. “We’re asking him.”

“Oh, absolutely,” Hueningkai said, nodding.

The two boys crossed the street in record time. Beomgyu pressed the doorbell, but no one answered. He pressed it again, but still, there was no response. He was about to press it a third time when the door burst open.

Yeonjun stood there, breathing heavily as if he had just run a marathon. His face was bright red, his hair was a mess, and he looked like he was about to pass out. “Hi…” he said cautiously. 

Neither Beomgyu nor Hueningkai answered. They simply stared at him.

“...Why are you looking at me like that?” Yeonjun shifted uncomfortably in his place.

Beomgyu slowly raised a finger and pointed toward the house next door. “Care to explain?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Yeonjun replied, blinking in confusion.

“Liar.”

“What?”

“We saw everything.”

The color immediately drained from Yeonjun’s face. “E-everything?”

“Yeah, everything,” Hueningkai confirmed with a nod.

Without saying a word, Yeonjun began to quietly close the door again, but Beomgyu shoved his foot between the door and the frame before it could shut.

“Oh no, don’t do that. You’re going to tell us what happened.”

“Please, let me disappear in peace,” Yeonjun muttered, unable to look up from the floor.

“No.”

“Guys…please. I think I’m dying.”

“You can die in peace once you tell us everything,” Hueningkai said. “Now, open the door.”

Yeonjun grumbled before obeying the order and letting them in, instantly regretting it. 

He covered his face with both hands. “It was better when you thought I was stalking him.”

Beomgyu looked at Yeonjun’s burning red face. “...Well?”

Yeonjun remained silent.

“If you’re going to stand there buffering, at least let us sit down,” Hueningkai said dramatically.

“I really hate both of you.”

“No, you don’t,” Beomgyu replied, walking through the house and sitting down on the couch. “Now start talking”

Yeonjun groaned, closed the door, and flopped face-first onto the couch, burying his face in a cushion. “...I think I have a problem,” he muttered through the fabric.

“Oh, finally!” Beomgyu exclaimed dramatically. “Acceptance is the first step.”

“No, like…I mean a serious problem,” Yeonjun said, rolling onto his back and staring miserably at the ceiling. “I went over to his house because Mom made me bring him hwachae.”

“We know,” Hueningkai interrupted.

“I went inside and…I accused him of being a vampire,” Yeonjun added. “...And I think it's not a joke anymore.”

Hueningkai and Beomgyu stared at him for several seconds before bursting into laughter. Yeonjun, however, wasn't laughing. This was serious business to him.

“Oh my God, you can't be serious,” Beomgyu said, wiping away a few small tears.

“I'm serious!” Yeonjun protested, covering his face with both hands. “His face was completely frozen when I…kissed him!” He struggled to say the word, lowering his voice just to say it. “That's definitely not normal.”

“He probably has poor circulation,” Hueningkai said, still unable to stop laughing.

“No, wait,” Yeonjun protested. “He has cold skin and wears gloves in the summer. He uses an umbrella in the sun and has blackout curtains. He even has an old photo in the same house. And he lied to me, telling me this man that was in the picture was his grandfather! It looked just like him!” 

“...What?” Hueningkai asked, the smile fading completely from his face.

“Also, he said that…” Yeonjun continued, blushing immediately. “I’m pretty when all my blood is in my cheeks…”

Beomgyu finally stopped laughing and looked at him with genuine confusion, unable to believe what he’d just heard. “What the hell…?”

Yeonjun nodded slightly, embarrassed, and hid his face behind a cushion again.

Beomgyu slowly leaned back against the couch. “I’m still not convinced.”

“...What? Why?”

"No, because I think you're wasting your time coming up with conspiracy theories about whether he's a vampire instead of focusing on what really matters. You have a gorgeous, financially stable goth guy who freezes up the moment you give him a simple kiss on the cheek!" Beomgyu said exasperatedly. "You could be making him your summer love, but you'd rather focus on other things. Wake up!" 

Yeonjun froze at those words and then looked down at the floor, his thoughts racing. A gorgeous, financially stable goth guy. He thought about Soobin laughing in the living room, his smile when Yeonjun called him weird, and how he gently held his wrist before he could open the curtains. He thought about how he’d noticed Yeonjun had been avoiding him after only two days. For the first time in his life, Beomgyu was right. Why hadn't he realized it sooner?

“I think I’m an idiot.”

“You think?” Hueningkai muttered.

“I spent almost a month trying to prove that he was a vampire when I should have been flirting with him…”

“Finally, you learned,” Beomgyu said with a smile. “Our work here is done.”

“No, wait.” Yeonjun slowly sat up. “...Do you think he likes me?”

Beomgyu and Hueningkai looked at each other and burst out laughing again. “Dude, he stood there frozen for two whole minutes after you kissed him on the cheek. If that's not liking someone, I don't know what is,” Hueningkai concluded.

Yeonjun blushed even more as he thought back to that brief moment with Soobin. “He did what—”

“So it doesn't matter if he's a little weird. You should shoot your shot at him. After all, he could just be your summer fling,” Beomgyu interrupted, snatching the bag of snacks right out of Hueningkai's hands.

Yeonjun remained silent for a few seconds while he thought about it. Then, he came to the best conclusion. "Well, guys, you're right. Starting today, I'm going to make a move to get Soobin to…do something with me."

“Yeah, buddy, let's get him in your bed!” Beomgyu said, earning himself a slap on the arm from Yeonjun.

The following week, Yeonjun was awakened from his nap by an unusually loud knock on his bedroom window.

“If that’s a bird again, I’m going back to the city,” he said aloud, rolling over with a groan and reluctantly opening one eye. 

He spent the entire week fantasizing about Soobin. To be honest, he hadn’t kept the promise he had made to his friends. Whenever he saw the pale man across the street, he blushed and went back to whatever business he had been doing before. 

He thought that if Beomgyu or Hueningkai were in his situation, they would understand. Each time he saw those black gloves, his thoughts wandered off to the black umbrella, then to the container, then to the kiss. It wasn't even really a kiss. Still, he couldn’t get that moment out of his mind.

This crush was more intense than any he had experienced before, and it scared Yeonjun. For the last week, he had imagined Soobin in all kinds of scenarios: Holding hands, kissing, Soobin taking off his shirt and Yeonjun feeling the cold of his—

He frowned when he heard another knock, which took him out of his train of thoughts. He climbed out of bed with his messy hair sticking out in every direction, pulled the curtain aside, and looked out the window. There weren't any birds, but there was a neatly rolled-up piece of paper next to one of the planters in the window box.

“...What?” He opened the window and took a closer look at the paper, which was sealed with dark red wax along the edges.

He unrolled the paper and read the letter carefully, paying particular attention to the elegant cursive handwriting. “My dearest Yeonjun,” it read, and he felt his heart beat faster and faster. He was afraid he might die right then and there.

"With the way you've teleported yourself into my mind at all times, I'm starting to think that you're the one who's a supernatural creature.

I'm writing you this letter because I’m afraid that if we see each other face-to-face again, you’ll cast another spell on me and freeze me in time with a kiss.

I still have the container you gave me on my kitchen counter, though, and I would like to give it back. Could you or your mom come by at night so I can do it?

To be completely honest, if you ever do knock on my door, I hope you do show me more spells from your book. Being my most true self, I like the idea of you bewitching me.

Yours,

Choi Soobin.”

Yeonjun read it again and again. He was sure he had reread it more than ten times by the time the crickets began to sing. His whole face, including his ears, turned completely red.

“...No way.” He covered his burning face with both hands and looked around his empty backyard, expecting someone to suddenly appear.

Yours, Choi Soobin. Yeonjun really, really liked the idea of Choi Soobin being his. He let himself daydream about it for a minute, knowing it was still just a common sign-off.

He slowly crouched down on the floor of his room. His eyes wandered back to the page almost against his will, and he reread the part where Soobin said he had bewitched him. “He’s insane…”

After another minute of mental malfunction, he rolled up the letter again with ridiculous care and tucked it into his pajama pants as if it were the most valuable thing he owned—which it was.

Suddenly, an idea popped into his head. A truly terrible one. He closed his window and locked the door of the room to think more carefully about what he planned to do.

Once he had made up his mind, he put on his best clothes: a black, off-the-shoulder, long-sleeved top and a pair of short, black shorts that showed off his long legs perfectly. He fixed his hair and applied makeup, adding a touch of red lipstick to make himself look cuter and not for other reasons, like leaving kiss marks all over Soobin’s cold, pale skin. 

Once he was satisfied with his appearance, he grabbed his bag and headphones and left the house, ignoring his mother's question about where he was going looking so dolled up. He headed to the neighboring house, feeling his heartbeat grow louder with every step.

He wasn’t sure what he was planning to say, though. “Can I kiss you properly this time?”  No, absolutely not. Maybe, it could be something like “I read your letter and I'm here to bewitch you.” Worse. 

By the time he reached the porch of Soobin's house, he had come up with his fourth—maybe fifth—idea. They were all terrible by his standards though. He considered himself a good flirt, but Soobin was making everything difficult, confusing, and doubtful. The best approach might be to kiss him directly on the lips the moment he opened the door rather than recite corny nonsense.

He smoothed his hair back, feeling his heart race, and knocked gently. When no one answered, he knocked again. Still no answer. What?  Yeonjun didn't understand what was going on. He turned around and looked up at the windows on the side of the house, only to find that all the lights were off. He checked the time on his phone: 9:53 p.m. Soobin was still supposed to be home, not out doing…whatever he does after 10 p.m.

Finally, Yeonjun gave up in disappointment. He put on his headphones and started walking toward the abandoned cemetery to take his mind off his failed mission. When he arrived, he took out his phone, put ‘Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge’ on shuffle on Spotify, and ignored the memory that came flooding back of seeing the vinyl at Soobin’s house. 

He distracted himself by walking in circles and listening to the music until he felt someone watching him. He froze for a moment before slowly turning around, hoping it was Soobin watching him in the darkness.

However, to his surprise, it wasn’t Soobin he found there. Sitting on one of the gravestones was a young man dressed entirely in a black suit. He had raven-black hair and huge, sparkling eyes that never took their gaze off Yeonjun

Startled, Yeonjun took out one of his earbuds. “Hello…?”

The boy tilted his head slightly, jumped off the gravestone, and stood up. He slowly approached Yeonjun and looked at him as if he were the most entertaining thing in the world. 

“You look really pretty to be in a place like this at this time of night,” the stranger said, walking around Yeonjun and looking him up and down.

Yeonjun blushed noticeably at the comment and stared at the floor, not knowing what to say.

“What’s a guy as handsome as you doing in a cemetery?” the other young man asked. “Are you trying to perform some kind of ritual or something?”

Yeonjun looked up to meet his gaze. “No—I just find comfort in this place,” he managed to say.

“Wow, you’re so weird…I like that.”

Yeonjun felt his face turn even redder. The stranger’s voice was so calming.

“What’s your name, cutie?”

“Yeonjun. What about you?”

“Hmm, I don’t give out my name on first dates.” 

Yeonjun felt icky about that comment but he continued anyway. "So, why are you here? Are you here to perform rituals, too?" he joked, daring to move closer.

The man stared at him and shortened the gap between them a bit more. “No, I also find comfort in cemeteries,” he revealed.

"Then I guess we have something in common—" Yeonjun started, but stopped himself as he took a closer look at the stranger. He focused specifically on his round eyes, which he was sure he’d seen before somewhere. “You look familiar…Do you live around here?”

The boy narrowed his eyes slightly. “No, I’m just passing through, and you’re breathtaking.” 

Delighted by the attention he was receiving, Yeonjun giggled awkwardly. Still, he wished it was a taller, more mysterious man who told him those things.

A petty part of him was angry at Soobin for leaving him like that, though. "What could be more important to him than spending time with me?" Yeonjun wondered. For a moment, he considered using this random guy to vent his anger and show Soobin that time was running out. But the rational part of his brain reminded him that he’d only known Soobin for a month. He didn’t owe him anything, did he?

"So," the stranger began with a smile, "did you come alone?"

Yeonjun thought the man had a charming smile, though he hadn't yet realized what it was really hiding. “Yeah, I come here alone often.” 

“That’s brave.”

“...Or stupid,” he joked. He started to back away slowly when he saw that the stranger was advancing toward him.

Suddenly, his back slammed against a tree. There was no escape. He followed the stranger’s gaze, which moved to his neck. Yeonjun began to worry as the stranger got closer, cornering him further against the trunk.

He regretted his previous thoughts about the man. The man was dangerous, and Yeonjun was either going to die or be buried alive in a cemetery for not being careful enough. His whole body trembled with fear, and he couldn’t utter a word. Beomgyu was right after all—he had found a serial killer in this graveyard.

The stranger leaned in even closer, his gaze fixed on the pulse fluttering beneath Yeonjun’s skin. But, before Yeonjun could even react, a voice he knew too well echoed behind him. 

“...Taehyun?” The man froze in place and looked behind the tree. 

Yeonjun initially felt relieved upon hearing Soobin’s voice. But…why did Soobin know his name? A million thoughts raced through his mind, none of them good. What if Soobin had come to help this Taehyun guy kill him?

“Soobin…what are you doing here?” Taehyun asked curtly, annoyed by the other man’s presence.

Although Yeonjun couldn't see Soobin's expression because of his position, but he could still hear him as he moved closer. “I just moved back,” he said.

Wait, did he say back? Yeonjun had lived in the town for over eighteen years straight and two more on and off during the holidays. He had never heard of Soobin, not even from his mom or friends. However, he was so focused on finding a way to get out of there alive that he didn't want to think about whether Soobin—or his future killer—was human or not.

“Are you still on that weird philosophy?” Taehyun continued, never taking his eyes off Soobin.

“Yes, I am.”

Taehyun's annoyed expression changed completely to one of arrogance. “That’s too bad. We could have shared this meal I have right here, like we used to do in the old days. He looks so delicious…” he said, looking at Yeonjun again with hungry eyes. 

He had fallen into the hands of cannibals. Perfect. He couldn't imagine a worse way to die than being eaten alive, organ by organ. Yeonjun gave up on life then. At least he looked "delicious." 

“What?” Soobin finally appeared in his field of vision, rushing to get the same view as Taehyun. His whole body turned to stone when he saw an extremely frightened Yeonjun trapped between the tree trunk and his former friend.

“Soobin…” Yeonjun finally managed to say. He was still beautiful under the moonlight in his black coat and gloves. He hoped Soobin was the one who ate his heart.

Soobin looked him in the eyes, and, to Yeonjun’s surprise, his angry expression softened. “Are you hurt?”

Soobin’s words felt so sweet and so comforting. Were serial killers often like this? Yeonjun really wanted to answer, but he couldn't get any words out of his mouth. He wasn't sure whether he wanted to jump right into his arms or run away as fast as he could from him.

Soobin looked at him with concern, still waiting for an answer. But, realizing that none would come, he decided to look at Taehyun again. “Move away from him,” he demanded.

The corners of Taehyun’s mouth curled into a smile. “Are you really going to protect a human? Years ago, you wouldn’t have done the same—”

“He isn’t yours. Move,” Soobin interrupted angrily. 

Yeonjun felt his cheeks grow warm at the comment. He felt pathetic for blushing for the man who was going to eat him alive at any moment. He wondered if this was all an act—a kind of foreplay to make the killing more exciting. It had to be, for it to make sense.

“What is he, your pet?” he joked. But his smile faded when he saw Soobin rapidly approaching him.

Soobin pushed Taehyun away from Yeonjun. "Didn't you hear me the first time? Move!” Soobin said, his voice filled with true anger. 

In all the time Yeonjun had known Soobin, he had never seen him angry before. Stoic? Yes. Calm? Yes. But never, ever angry. He wanted to punch himself for focusing more on how attractive anger looked on Soobin than on how to escape Taehyun’s grip now that he was free.  

His train of thoughts stopped when he felt two leathery hands grip his waist and carry him off like a bride. Looking up, he saw Soobin’s face as he started to run away with Yeonjun in his arms. 

Then it hit Yeonjun—Soobin was actually going to kill him. He spent the last two seconds he had left to escape thirsting after his assassin. Tears came to his eyes as he kicked Soobin in the side while he was still running.

“Let me go! You’re gonna kill me! I don’t wanna die!” he screamed. But his kicks seemed to do nothing to slow Soobin down. Yeonjun’s vision started to blur as the tears won out. “Please stop! I thought you liked me! Why me?” He cried out, sobbing into nothing.

Two minutes in, he heard the sound of keys tinkling. Looking up, he saw the front door of Soobin’s house. How had they gotten there when it took him forty minutes to walk to the graveyard? He didn’t have time to think, though, because he was shoved inside and placed on Soobin’s couch. Looking up, he started crying again at the sight of the face he once thought he could love.

“Why? Soob…” He cried out. Tears of sadness filled his eyes instead of the angry ones that had been falling just a moment ago. He couldn’t even finish saying the full name. It felt like a dagger in his throat. "I'll do anything. Just don't kill me. Please—"

The caress of a thumb on his cheek interrupted him. Soobin dried out his tears as he leaned down to face him. “Yeonjun, please trust me. I’m not going to kill you.”

He pressed their foreheads together, and Yeonjun hated how much he liked being like this.

"I...I don't know what to believe in anymore," he said, hiccuping with red, sad eyes. Soobin grabbed his head with both hands.

"Then believe in this: I'm not going to kill you."

Yeonjun melted every time Soobin said his name—another thing he would regret in the afterlife. "I’m trying to save you. Trust me, okay? I know I’m not the most trustworthy man, and I know I can be suspicious, but please trust me on this one.” Soobin placed a soft kiss on Yeonjun's temple. He thought he might already be dead.

The worst part was that Soobin disappeared in the blink of an eye. With the door locked, Yeonjun had nowhere to go. This realization made him cry a little more onto Soobin’s cushion.

Once he had dried out completely, he looked around the living room, taking note of every detail that might help him escape. Memories of the day he first went over appeared in his mind: the kitchen, the vinyl shelf, the curtains...

Then he thought about Soobin. He really thought about him. He thought about how Soobin held his wrist, his cursive handwriting, and the words on the letter he wrote him. He also thought about how he had frozen in place for two minutes after Yeonjun gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. He couldn't believe someone who had done all that could betray him. How cruel was Soobin to make his heart flutter and then eat said organ?

He thought about what he had said to him just a few minutes ago, and the kiss on his temple that still burned. “Please trust me on this one.” If he was going to die, he decided that he was at least going to do so believing that Soobin had done all those things with a true intent. It was foolish, but it eased his heart a bit. Maybe the relaxation would make the cut finer… 

Suddenly, his gaze returned to the photograph above the piano as it had the first time. He picked it up, bringing it closer to his face to get a better look. He saw the same two men again: Soobin’s supposed “grandfather” and…Taehyun? That face was unforgettable; it was definitely him. He now remembered why those round eyes seemed so familiar.

The realization made Yeonjun feel stupid. It was so obvious, and yet he’d still thought it was a joke, something he’d made up. This time he turned his gaze back to Soobin. His face was still exactly the same. His youthful expression was forever frozen in time. 

He dropped the photo onto the floor. He heard the glass of the frame shatter into a thousand pieces, but he didn't move. He was still in a complete state of shock. Now, he realized that what he had thought was weird—the black clothes, the gloves, and the nights out—wasn’t so weird after all. And now he knew that the things that were after him weren’t cannibals. Yet, they wanted his blood. 

Soobin was a vampire. What would he do with this information now? It didn't change the fact that he was going to die one way or another. It just added an odd explanation to Taehyun's fixation on his neck and his comment that he looked delicious. At least being drained to death seemed sexier and more dramatic than being sent to the slaughterhouse. 

He sighed, regretting saying that the idea of Soobin being a vampire was hot. That thought led him straight to his own death.

Yeonjun didn’t realize he had started crying again. By dawn, he found himself curled up on the ground. He thought about his mother, who would soon wake up and wonder where he was. He thought of his friends, Beomgyu and Hueningkai, who would no longer have the 3×2 fast food discount in the city. He cried even more. Every second felt like torture knowing that he could die at any moment.

The sound of footsteps outside the door startled him, making him snap out of it. He picked up a shard of glass from the floor, stood up, wiped his tears away, and tried to look calm, clearly failing in the attempt. The jingle of the keys was heard again as the door opened, and Yeonjun mentally prepared himself for whatever was about to happen.

Soobin came in with his hair a mess, without his coat or gloves, and with the sleeves of his white shirt rolled up and covered in blood. In his hands he carried Yeonjun’s bag, which its owner hadn’t even realized he had forgotten. 

He closed the door behind him and his eyes immediately scanned the room until they fell upon the broken picture beneath Yeonjun’s feet. His gaze slowly traveled from the shattered glass to the piece he was clutching in his trembling hand. Then, they moved to his tear-stained face.

“So…you know now.”

Yeonjun didn’t know whether to laugh or continue crying. “You lied to me.” 

Soobin closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Then, he opened them and began to slowly approach, but Yeonjun stepped back, bumping into a shelf and knocking things over

“No! Don’t come any closer!” he screamed, tightening his grip on the shard until the edge dug into his palm. 

Soobin stopped immediately and raised both hands to show that he wasn’t going to move any closer. “... Okay.” His voice was so low it could barely be heard.

Yeonjun’s breathing refused to slow down. He couldn’t stop looking at the blood staining Soobin’s white sleeves. When he turned his gaze back to the taller man’s eyes, he realized that they were filled with worry.

“Don’t lie to me anymore,” he whispered, his voice shaking. “Please…”

“I won’t. I promise.”

Yeonjun looked at him suspiciously, doubting anything that might come out of Soobin’s mouth. “You told me you weren’t a vampire. You looked me in the eye and lied!”

“I know—”

“You made me think I was crazy,” Yeonjun interrupted, feeling tears well up in the corners of his eyes. “You let me flirt with you and you even flirted with me…”

He looked down for a second and noticed a small line of blood running down his hand. He had squeezed the glass too hard. He was so focused on Soobin that he hadn’t even felt the sting of the glass as it pierced his skin. A crimson drop slid from his palm onto the wooden floor, and Soobin froze.

Yeonjun looked back up just in time to see the change in his expression. His pupils widened slightly, his jaw tightened, and his fingers curled into his palms. However, he didn’t move an inch. Instead, he slowly looked away from his bleeding hand and fixed his eyes on the wall behind Yeonjun, taking a long, measured breath.

“...Drop the glass,” he said quietly.

Yeonjun frowned. “What?”

“Please, Yeonjun. Drop the glass.”

Another drop of blood hit the floor, but Yeonjun didn’t care. “No.”

Soobin looked up at the ceiling, took a deep breath, and tried to calm down. Yeonjun accidentally noticed the sharp fangs peeking out between his lips. 

“Please. I’m not asking because I’m afraid you’ll hurt me,” he said, trying to sound as calm as possible. “I’m asking because you’re hurting yourself.”

Yeonjun instinctively hid his injured hand behind his back but he never let go of the glass that was still hurting him. “I don’t believe you.” 

“I know…”

“So stop saying that!”

“I know—”

“I said stop!” Yeonjun interrupted, raising his voice and felt tears trickle down his cheeks. He had cried for hours. How could he still be crying? “Stop lying and look at me—”

“I can’t look at you!” It was the first time Soobin had raised his voice. Realizing what he had done, he looked at Yeonjun with pleading eyes. “It’s really hard for a vampire to restrain himself when he’s hungry, even more so when there's fresh blood right in front of him.”

That made Yeonjun stop, and he could hear his heart beating loudly. “W-what…?” 

He looked at Soobin’s face again and noticed the look of despair. Despite everything, Yeonjun found it difficult to hate him. So, why continue torturing him, when he could simply help him?

“Are you hungry?” he asked, surprised at his own courage.

“...Yes,” Soobin answered, looking at the ground again. He was finally telling him the truth.

“So, if I walked over there…”

"Please don't come near me. I haven’t drunk human blood in years.” Yeonjun looked at him carefully. He wasn’t staring at his wound anymore. His breathing had become uneven. His jaw was clenched, and he was gripping his fists so tightly that his knuckles had turned white. He looked terrified.

“And if I touched you…” he continued, slowly walking towards Soobin. He noticed how he backed away until his back hit the front door. “And if I kissed you, what would you do?” If Soobin hadn't eaten him by that point, then it meant that he was somewhat fulfilling his promise.

For the first time, Soobin looked back at him. His eyes were now completely black and full of something he had never seen before: Fear.

“...Don’t” he managed to say, his voice trembling.

“Because you’d kill me?” 

“No.”

“So, why?” he asked, finding himself face-to-face with Soobin and staring intently into his eyes. He was no longer afraid of him. Now he was simply overcome with curiosity. 

“Because I don’t trust myself enough.”

The room fell completely silent, and Yeonjun looked at his bloody hand again. Then, he looked at Soobin, who was pressing himself against the door as if it would absorb him and pull him out of there.

It suddenly clicked: Back in the living room, when Soobin had grabbed his wrist to stop him from opening the curtains. When Yeonjun kissed his cheek. When he carried him all the way home. When he pressed a kiss to his temple. Soobin had been close enough to hear his heartbeat every single time. Close enough to smell his blood. Yet he had never bitten him. 

Yeonjun slowly loosened his grip, and the shard of glass slipped from his hand and hit the floor with a quiet clink. The room became impossibly silent, the only sound left being his heartbeat. He wondered if it was loud enough for Soobin to hear each beat.

Soobin still refused to look directly at the cut on his hand. “You should bandage that. I have a few things that might help…” he whispered.

But Yeonjun didn’t answer. Instead, he took another slow step forward. 

“Yeonjun…”

His fingers slowly curled around Soobin’s fabric, staining his shirt with his blood. It was almost as if he expected the other man to disappear the moment he touched him. He looked into his eyes one last time, silently giving him every chance to pull away.

Yeonjun stood on the tips of his Dr. Martens boots, closing the small distance between them with a racing heart. For a terrifying second, he hesitated, close enough to feel Soobin’s icy breath on his skin, sending shivers through his body. Then he leaned in the rest of the way.

At first, Yeonjun felt Soobin’s fangs brushing against his lips. But he didn't care—he finally pressed their lips together so gently that he wasn't sure they were actually kissing. 

It was nothing like he’d imagined. Soobin’s lips were impossibly cold yet impossibly soft. The kiss was hesitant and careful as if moving too much would shatter the moment completely. Yeonjun could feel Soobin holding himself back, barely allowing himself to respond. He smiled against his lips without realizing it.

Finally, they pulled apart. Yeonjun slowly opened his eyes, eager to see Soobin's expression. However, he couldn’t pull away even half an inch when Soobin’s hand found his waist and gently but firmly keeping him where he was. As if he had finally run out of reasons to hold back, he leaned in again and captured Yeonjun's lips once more. 

He gasped in surprise at the gesture and melted into his embrace when Soobin deepened the kiss. Through the thin fabric of his shirt, he felt the coldness of his hands and let out another embarrassing sound, rolling his body into Soobin’s grip. His fangs were no longer out, as he had retracted them so as not to hurt Yeonjun. A bummer for him, though.

Yeonjun had waited all summer for this, even before admitting to himself that he liked Soobin. Was this a dream? Nothing mattered to him anymore. Not even the fact that, three hours earlier, he had almost died at the hands of another vampire. Not even the fact that, until fifteen minutes ago, he had been crying in terror of the man who was now kissing him as if he had waited his whole life to do so.

Yeonjun pulled away briefly to catch his breath, then kissed Soobin again. He raised one hand to the back of Soobin’s head, tangling his fingers in his hair and gently tugging at it. The kiss deepened ever further, as if that were possible, becoming completely sloppy. Their tongues settled into a shared rhythm as Soobin’s hand slowly caressed Yeonjun's waist, driving him completely crazy.

They refused to separate, but they needed to breathe. They pulled away once more, their noses brushing softly together. For a brief moment, they simply looked at each other, both breathless for the same reason. 

Soobin's expression was that of a man who was both lost and ecstatic. Yeonjun blushed at the sight, feeling his heart beat faster and faster.

“I told you that I wasn’t going to hurt you,” he said, smirking and freely showing his fangs. He was still hungry.

Yeonjun smiled at him and, completely mesmerized, stared at his fangs. His expression changed to complete seriousness, and he brought his face close to Soobin’s again abruptly. “Now with the fangs, please.”

Soobin stared down at him, completely surprised. “What?”

“Kiss me with the fangs!” he said, lunging to kiss him again, but without achieving his goal as Soobin raised one of his hands to his cheek and gently turned his face away.

“No! I could hurt you, and I already promised you I wouldn’t,” the taller man said, laughing and looking at him tenderly. Then, Soobin slowly approached and planted a kiss on his cheek.

Yeonjun pouted and accepted defeat—maybe next time. He brought his head close to Soobin’s chest, instinctively trying to hear his heartbeat. Obviously, he couldn’t hear it since he didn’t have one. So, he ignored it and continued burying himself in Soobin's cold body, using him as a shield against the hot summer temperature.

They stayed like this for several more long minutes. Soobin caressed his waist and hair while Yeonjun hugged him around the chest.

“Soobin…” Yeonjun muttered, his face crushed against Soobin’s shirt.

The soft hum of Soobin’s throat made him want to scream. 

“Are you really a vampire? Like, really?” He needed to know if this was real or just a weird nightmare turned wet dream. 

“Yes, I am. I thought it was obvious.”

“Okay…” Tiredness hit Yeonjun like a truck. After all, he hadn’t slept and had spent the entire night crying. “Hey, what happened to Taehyun?” he asked, suddenly remembering the other man. He had been wondering about it ever since he saw Soobin’s bloodstained sleeves. The make-out session had delayed the question.

"Oh, it's all taken care of now. Don’t worry. He won’t hurt you or anyone here for a long, long time.” Yeonjun felt Soobin's strokes on his hair grow rougher as he answered. 

“You killed him?” Yeonjun had learned that he wouldn't care whether he was an assassin or not. 

"No, I couldn't bring myself to do it. He was one of my oldest friends, you know?” 

Yeonjun wanted to coo at the answer. Now he understood why Taehyun had mentioned Soobin’s philosophy. This man wouldn’t even kill another supernatural creature! It wasn't because he lacked the skills—Yeonjun had seen how strong he was when he pushed the other vampire—but because he didn't think it was right. Yeonjun wondered if Soobin would kill a fly if it landed on his food. 

“I have a very important question…” Yeonjun rubbed his cheek against Soobin’s chest. He felt like if he closed his eyes, he wouldn't open them again until next week.

“I’ll answer anything.” Soobin was prepared for an interview about his childhood, how he became a vampire, and why he doesn’t eat humans. But it wasn't any of that.

“Would you say you're more like an Edward type, a Louis type, or a Stefan type? I know you’re not Lestat or Damon, so it’s down to those three.” 

"What about real vampires, Yeonjun? I thought you were a goth.”

"Well, I know you're not Count Orlok. You’re prettier, and you don’t burn in the sun.”

“Actually, I do...” Soobin interrupted.

Yeonjun pulled away from Soobin to look him in the eye. “But that day, when you came to me...” 

“I mean, the umbrella helped a bit, but it burned like hell when I got home. I just wanted to see you.”

Yeonjun’s face turned red, as usual, and he rested his head on Soobin’s shoulder again.

"Don't avoid the question with your flirting. I know you’re the Edward type, but you won’t admit it.” The vibrations of his laugh became a makeshift heartbeat for Soobin. It also wasted a lot of energy. “I’m so sleepy…” He lowered his arms and rested his entire body weight on the taller man.

"Okay, let's go to sleep now. It’s been a long night.” Soobin kissed the top of his head and carried him to the couch, replacing the memory made hours earlier. "If you wait a little while for me, I'll lie down with you. I just need to feed and change my shirt. I have some emergency blood here…”

Yeonjun had two ideas that would have sped up the process and helped with the increasing heat of the day. However, after Soobin rejected his idea of fang-kissing, he didn’t dare voice them. Instead, he waited a few minutes.

When he finally returned, Soobin rearranged their positions so that Yeonjun’s head rested on his chest. They were in the same position as before, just lying down. Yeonjun never thought he would find this much comfort in a corpse. 

"Will you still hold me while I sleep?" he managed to ask, almost giving in to slumber. 

“I will.”

Time seemed to slow down as he fell asleep. “You promise?” 

"I do, Jun." Yeonjun wasn’t sure if he was dreaming when Soobin unexpectedly used his nickname, but after two more strokes of his fingers in his hair, he gave in and fell asleep.

He knew that when he woke up, he would have to explain a lot: to his mother, why he hadn't come home; to Beomgyu and Hueningkai, how he had finally gotten together with Soobin; and to himself, what the hell had happened.

Of course, he had a million questions for Soobin: Who turned you? How old are you? Will you kiss me with your fangs someday? But at that moment, nothing mattered. The only thing he cared about was keeping the other man close to him for as long as possible. 

Luckily for Yeonjun, that was the only thing that mattered to Soobin, too.