Chapter Text
Sunday, May 18, 2024.
1.56 A.M.
Jungwon bounces on the balls of his feet next to Jay, who is currently pinching the bridge of his nose.
“You’re supposed to be working on your intimidation. Stop fidgeting.” Jay groans, his patience slowly thinning.
Jungwon grins, flashing his short, sharp fangs. He continues bouncing, looking at Jay to get a reaction out of him.
Jay lowers his hand and stares at him with that fierce, intimidating look.
“You know that never works on me, hyung.” Jungwon’s grin widens, his eyes shining from the reflection of the stars.
“Hyung? We’re the same age.” Jay scoffs, shaking his head slightly.
“No, you’re 115 years older than me. You’re a really old man, Jay hyung. Or should I say, halabeoji?”
Jay rolls his eyes, letting out a resigned sigh. Jungwon is right, he is 115 years older, but only if he was still human. In their world—the vampire world, they’re the same age, as Jay was turned when he was 18, and so was Jungwon.
“And how do you know that?” Jay asks, raising a brow. “Let me guess, you asked five different vampires about my past?” He crosses his arms across his chest, looking down at Jungwon. Jay is pretty tall, about 184 cm, while the shorter vampire is 172 cm.
“Good guess! I asked ten.” Jungwon giggles.
Jay doesn’t bother to argue, he just turns around and heads towards the stairwell leading down from the rooftop of the apartment building. Jungwon reaches there first by speeding, looking back at Jay with a proud grin on his face. “If you’re the fastest vampire in Velmora, why am I here first—”
Jay appears infront of Jungwon in a flash. Jungwon blinks, then lets out a soft chuckle.
“So you can use your gift. You just don’t want to.”
“It’s not that I don’t want to, I just use it when it’s necessary.” Jay shrugs, and pushes open the door to the stairwell, holding it open for the hyperactive, blond-haired boy. “Hurry up.” He scolds, but there’s no real heat behind it.
He waits until Jungwon goes into the stairwell before he closes the door shut. He runs his fingers through his black hair, sighing in relief as the lesson ends for the night, even though Jungwon barely learned anything. The restless boy speeds down the flight of stairs, challenging Jay to reach the streets first.
“Keep doing that if you want a human to see you and burn you to ashes with their torches.” Jay says calmly.
Jungwon speeds back up, appearing right infront of Jay, his eyes wide with shock and fear. “Humans can do that!?” He asks, appalled.
Jay smirks, nodding slowly. Humans can’t actually do that, though. He is just trying to scare Jungwon, and it works. “Yes, they can. So stop speeding everywhere if you wanna stay alive.” He says, holding back a laugh.
Jungwon nods, walking next to Jay now. He starts to fidget with his fingers, nervously scanning the stairwell for any humans who might have seen him speeding, even though it’s just the two of them.
Finally, some quiet. Shit, I shouldn’t have thought that. This idiot will ask me infinite questio—
“Why do humans burn vampires to ashes if they see one?”
Jay sighs, his thoughts were right after all. “I knew you were gonna ask me a question.”
“I did! So, are you gonna answer it?”
“No.” Jay says flatly.
“Why not?” Jungwon asks, his brows furrowed.
“Because I said so. Now be quiet.” Jay says firmly, ending the conversation. Or, so he thought.
“Is it because if you tell me, the humans will burn you to ashes?” Jungwon assumes with wide eyes, looking up at the serious vampire.
Jay throws his head back with a groan, then looks down at the curious looking boy. “Yes, Jungwon. So stop talking about it.”
Jungwon gasps, grabbing Jay’s arm tightly. Jay flinches, stepping back so Jungwon would let go. He doesn’t.
“What the hell are you doing? Let go.”
“Jay hyung, I don’t want you to burn to ashes!”
“Let go, Jungwon. Now.”
Jungwon let go of his arm, but he doesn’t step back.
Jay brushes off non-existent dirt off his arm dramatically, his lips curling up in disgust. “Never do that again.”
“Okay, Jay hyung.”
“Stop calling me hyung. I’m not a hyung.”
“Oh, right. I meant halabeoji.”
“Don’t call me that, either. I’m not a grandpa.” Jay snaps.
The blond vampire giggles. “You’re over a hundred years old, I think you are a grandpa.” Jungwon teases, earning an annoyed look from Jay.
“I stopped aging 115 years ago.” Jay says defensively.
Jungwon chuckles, his tone turning soft. “I’m just teasing you, Jay. Don’t be so defensive.”
“I’m not being defensive.”
“Suuure.” Jungwon drawls, laughing while clapping his hands together. “Don’t you have the mindset of a really old grandpa, though?”
“No. I still have the mindset of an eighteen year old, I just act more mature because I’ve been here for so long.” Jay explains, his tone weary.
Jungwon laughs a little louder now, even though there’s nothing funny. He laughs at anything, really, as long as he’s with Jay. “Whatever you say, old man.” He mutters as he reaches the pavement on the streets, looking up at the stars.
Jay doesn’t say anything else, but his mind was being really loud.
This babbling idiot is so annoying.
Why was I assigned to mentor this dummy.
Which dumbass turned him into a vamp.
Why do I even tolerate this idiot?
---
VAMPIRE RULES
1. Do not make friends with humans.
2. Avoid sunlight because it weakens you.
3. Avoid mirrors when humans are around.
4. Never let humans see your fangs.
5. Do not trust anybody.
---
Sunday, May 18, 2024.
5:21 P.M.
Jungwon stares at rule number five, which he had just cancelled out with a pencil he found on the ground 4 months ago, his fingers tightening around the single sheet of paper. He wrote down the rules on the first day of his training with Jay, who was the one that taught him the rules.
His parents weren’t patient with him, and they would yell at him whenever he started fidgeting or asking questions. He couldn’t control his hyperactivity, and neither could they, so they sent him to an arcade 10 hours away from home, then left him, forever. The twelve year old boy was confused, hurt, and suffered his whole teenage years.
He stole bread and bottles of water to survive.
He stole cash just to stay one night in a crappy motel, or he would sleep in dirty alleys.
He was lonely and nobody wanted to befriend him, but he wasn’t miserable.
He still loved life.
Thursday, February 9, 2024.
(4 months ago)
He celebrated his eighteenth birthday alone at his favourite place, the arcade. He spent hours there, playing his favourite car racing and zombie shooting game, spending half of his paycheck on buying more tokens. He had a job as a waiter in a café, so he had enough money to buy himself a small cake, and that was more than enough to make him the happiest person alive.
Friday, February 10, 2024.
12:11 A.M.
He walked down the dark, empty, streets alone from the 24 hour arcade to the nearest motel. He whistled happily to himself, his hands tucked deep inside the pockets of his dark blue jeans that was one or two sizes up.
The motel was just right across the street, and before he could step foot onto the zebra crossing, he was pulled into an alley and felt a burning sensation all over his body as the vampire sucked every drop of blood in him. He couldn’t scream because it all happened too fast.
2:15 A.M.
He woke up in that same dirty alley, his throat feeling dry as hell. He stood up slowly, his vision blurry before he rubbed his eyes and regained his balance by placing his palm against the wall.
He needed to know what happened, why he was feeling so weird.
He panicked internally and started running towards the motel, and three seconds later, he screamed, quickly slapping his palm against his mouth so he doesn’t wake anyone up. He was infront of a motel room door so quickly that he went speechless. He slaps himself. Then again. And again. And again. He needed to wake up from this bad dream.
Before he could slap himself for the fifth time, a hand grabbed his wrist and he spun around, his heart dropping to his ass. A taller, handsome, looking guy with a jawline that could slice an apple, stood before the trembling, shorter one. He looked bored, tired, and calm, then he slowly let go of Jungwon’s wrist, tucking both his hands into the pocket of his black jacket.
“I’m Jay, your mentor.” He said flatly. “I’ll be teaching you—”
“What is happening!? Why are you my mentor!? Why—”
“Never interrupt your mentor when they’re speaking.” Jay snapped, his eyes widening to make himself look fierce and intimidating. It works with everyone, but Jungwon wasn’t intimidated by him at all. He was just scared and confused about what the hell was happening to him.
He stared at Jay, nodding slowly. “Sorry, Jay. Uh, can you tell me what’s going on?” Jungwon asked, trying to hide his panic, but Jay could tell by the slight tremble in his voice.
Jay took a deep breath before speaking calmly. “Alright, just…don’t panic even more. You’re a vampire.”
The blond vampire froze, his jaw dropping. Jay didn’t react, just waiting for him to say something.
“I’m a vampire…?” Jungwon muttered, his eyes flickering down to the ground, and for a moment, Jay thought he was going to burst into tears in disbelief. Instead, the shorter boy’s face lit up, and he grabbed Jay’s shoulders, shaking him excitedly. “I knew it! I knew vampires were real!” Jungwon exclaimed.
Jay stepped back, putting some distance between them as he studied Jungwon, his brow furrowed in confusion. “Uh, okay, and don’t touch me.” He stated.
Jungwon giggled, looking up at Jay, his eyes filled with excitement and newfound curiosity.
Jay sighed internally, knowing that mentoring Jungwon wouldn’t be easy. “What was I saying before you rudely interrupted me?” It wasn’t really a question, but more of a statement. “Oh, right. I’ll be teaching you how to be an intimidating, feared vampire. Starting from now.” He added, as he started to walk towards the traffic light, not looking back to see if Jungwon was following.
“So, do I have really fast speed now?” Jungwon asked, his eyes widened in curiosity as he catched up.
Jay rolled his eyes, sighing dramatically, but he answered anyway. “How else do you think you reached the motel so fast?”
“Uh…adrenaline rush?” Jungwon hesitated, his answer clearly a guess as he bounced lightly on the balls of his feet.
Jay didn’t bother to answer. He was already starting to regret the fact that he accepted to mentor Jungwon. Not that he had a choice.
Sunday, May 18, 2024.
5.30 P.M.
Jungwon stands alone in the abandoned warehouse where he goes to when the sun is up. He doesn’t stay in motels anymore because he simply doesn’t have to. The warehouse is bigger, so there’s lots of space for him to speed around.
He folds the piece of paper slowly after remembering how he ended up this way, and how he met Jay. He tucks the folded paper into the top part of a shelve, placing the pencil right next to it. He turns around and flinches, jumping like a startled cat.
“Jay! You scared me—you waterfall!” He blurts out.
Jay tilts his head a little to the left, blinking once. His eyes flicks up to the top part of the shelve where the paper is, before looking back at Jungwon’s frightened expression.
“I’ve never been called a waterfall in my 133 years of living, but okay.” Jay says dryly. He watches as Jungwon clutches his chest, right over his heart. “Your heart isn’t even racing, you’re a literal corpse.” Jay scoffs, crossing his arms across his chest as he eyes Jungwon up and down.
Jungwon drops his hand to his side, standing up straighter and clears his throat. “What are you doing here?” He asks, his expression softening as he stares at Jay.
“I was waiting for you at our usual spot. Did you forget we have an early lesson today?” Jay answers, his foot tapping softly on the dusty, hard, concrete floor. He had been waiting for Jungwon for 20 minutes outside of the motel where they first met.
“Oh, so it wasn’t a mistake…” Jungwon mumbles, avoiding eye contact, fidgeting with his fingers.
Jay’s brows furrows in confusion. “What?”
“I thought vampires can’t go out when the sun is up, so I figured you didn’t mean to start a lesson so early.” Jungwon states, shifting his weight from side to side.
“Are you kidding me?” Jay snaps and pinches the bridge of his nose. “We can go out when the sun is up, but we can’t stand in direct sunlight, you dumb dumb.” Jay sighs, dropping his hand, and taps the blond vampire’s forehead twice. “Get that into your noisy, stupid, little brain.” Jay drawls, dropping his hand and tucking it into the pocket of his brown jacket.
Jungwon chuckles, rubbing his forehead as he looks up at Jay, who now has a faint smirk playing on his lips.
Jay lets out a quiet sigh, then nods towards the paper on the top of the shelve. “Why do you still have that?” He asks calmly, looking at the paper as he remembers the second night of their lesson, when he explained the vampire rules to Jungwon.
Jungwon turns around, his gaze landing on the pencil, then the paper. “Ah, that. Incase I forget the rules, you know?”
Jay stares at him, not buying it. “Why was rule number five cancelled out? You broke that rule?”
Jungwon turns back around, his eyes widening as he looks at Jay. “What? No! It just had a spelling mistake.”
Jay smirks as Jungwon defenses himself. He puts a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it softly. “Don’t worry, I broke it too.” Jay admits, earning a sigh of relief from Jungwon.
“You trusted a vampire?”
“Trust.” Jay corrects, his tone softening.
“Oh, who? I’m curious.” Jungwon asks, grinning widely.
Jay stares at Jungwon for a long moment, before taking a deep breath and dropping his hand from the shorter boy’s shoulder. “It’s none of your business. Now, let’s go.”
Jungwon’s face lit up with excitement, his feet threatening to speed to the ends of the earth. “Where!?”
“A roof. Your lesson, remember? You were supposed to learn how to avoid sunlight, because knowing you, you would expose yourself to the humans. It’s too late now, the sunlight is gone. Mostly.” Jay sighs loudly, looking around as if the walls would give him an answer on what to do instead.
“Oh, uh…you can teach me how to use pain projection?” Jungwon requests, hoping Jay would say no.
Jay rolls his eyes, but there’s no real heat behind it. “Right. You still don’t know how to do the most basic attack and defense skill. All you have to do is focus on a person and have the intention of hurting them, then their whole body will feel like it’s burning.” He speeds to the entrance of the warehouse, stopping to look back at Jungwon, who is grinning like an idiot before he appears right infront of him.
“I like it when you use your gift.” Jungwon whispers as he leans in close, their chests almost touching before he steps back, a shy smile playing on his lips.
“It’s just being faster than others.” Jay says flatly, shrugging.
Jungwon stares at Jay, feeling butterflies in his stomach. He looks down at the floor before looking back up at the other vampire with a neutral expression. He takes a deep breath, and smiles that adorable smile that makes Jay melt but never admits it or makes it obvious.
“I find it attractive, Jay.” Jungwon says softly and gulps.
The unspoken words hang in the air between them.
I find you attractive, Jay.
Jay freezes, his breath hitching. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Jungwon stares at him for a moment longer than necessary and bites his lower lip nervously, then nods as he looks down at his feet. “You’re right, sorry.” He mumbles.
Jay clears his throat awkwardly, tucking his hands deep into his jeans pockets. Instead of saying something, he turns on his heels and walks out quickly, hiding the blush creeping up his neck and flushing his cheeks. The blond vampire follows behind, unusually quiet. He matches Jay’s pace now, trying to appear unbothered and jolly. They walk in silence for almost five minutes before Jay stops abruptly, turning to face Jungwon beside him, who is now looking up at him with wide eyes filled with curiousity and confusion. Jay quickly avoids his eyes, looking anywhere else—the ground, a building, a lamppost. He takes a deep breath, feeling awkward.
“I, uh…I’m sorry, about…you know. Earlier. I noticed your mood changed.” He sighs.
The corner of Jungwon’s lips twitched, then he smiled. “It’s okay, Jay. I kinda just blurted out the words. My brain was scrambled and I was kinda nervous and—”
“Jungwon.”
“Sorry. I’ll stop talking.”
“No, continue. It’s fine.”
Fuck.
Jungwon is doomed. He’s fallen in way too deep, and Jay’s words confirmed that there is no way out now. He can’t get himself to speak, so he just stares at Jay.
“Uh…Jungwon?” Jay waves a hand infront of his face.
“Y-yeah? Sorry, I kinda zoned out.”
Jay lets out a low chuckle, the awkward tension disappearing as he finds Jungwon undeniably cute. “Let’s go. You gotta learn how to pain project, remember?”
Jungwon nods and follows the other vampire already walking towards the crowded area of the street.
Friday, September 10, 1909.
(2 weeks after Jay was turned.)
“Mom?” Jay went to the living room. “Dad?” He headed to the kitchen. Then the bathroom. His parents bedroom. His room. It was already 12:38 A.M, and they should have been back home from work by now.
They left home when Jay was out hunting. He told them he was a vampire because they were the only people he could trust, but they didn’t trust him enough to not suck the blood out of them. Jay found a note on his bedside table, and he read it with a heavy heart.
“Jay, we’re sorry but we cannot live in the same house as you anymore. We can’t sleep at night without being afraid of you killing us. The whole apartment is yours now. You do not exist to us anymore, and do not bother finding us. Goodbye, Jay.”
He sheds a tear. Then two. Then his breathing quickens as he reads each word, and tears streamed down his face as he trembled, crumpling the paper into a ball. He falls onto his knees, sobbing loudly, his fingers gripping the edge of his bedside table tightly. His cries continued for the whole night.
(A week later)
Jay was depressed, miserable. He did lots of things to distract himself—clean the apartment, read books, play his guitar. He even considered asking the leader to kill him, but he realized that it’s not worth dying because of his parents. They weren’t bad, but they weren’t good, either.
They would get him gifts for his birthday, go to the beach with him, bring him to the cinema to watch a new marvel movie, but they would also slap him for dropping a glass cup, break his favourite guitar for forgetting to wash the dishes, cut holes into his clothes for forgetting to do the laundry, and more that he couldn’t recall. They only stopped all that after being afraid that he would just grab them and bite the skin off their necks if they tried to lay a hand on him.
It didn’t take too long for him to move on—vampires heal faster than humans. Though, deep down in his heart, he still missed them. He still hoped that they would run into the apartment and yell “Surprise! It was all a prank!” He still wished that he was just in a very long nightmare that he somehow couldn’t wake up from. He threw away all the family photos hanged on the walls and in the small picture frame on his bedside table. Even though he missed them, looking at the pictures infuriated him, because if they really loved him unconditionally, they wouldn’t have left so quickly just because he wasn’t a human anymore. He knew that he couldn’t have hurt them, and he told them that many times but they didn’t believe him.
---
Tuesday, May 20, 2024.
12:16 P.M.
The sun shines brightly on the streets of Velmora as vehicles crowd the road. It is the perfect time of day for Jay to teach Jungwon how to avoid the sunlight. The two boys walk under the awnings of small shops with Jungwon complaining about the heat.
“I’m irritated by the heat!”
“Well, it’s a good thing you’re learning how to avoid it, isn’t it?” Jay smirks teasingly.
The blond vampire looks up and chuckles. “Yeah, but the wind will blow the heat towards me.” He said confidently, not attempting to be funny at all.
Jay raises a brow, his smirk gone. “Is that supposed to be a joke?”
“Joke? No. Isn’t that basic science or something?”
The taller vampire stares at him for a long moment, dumbfounded. His forehead creases, his steps slowing just a little. “Right, I forgot you didn’t go to school.” He sighs.
“Yes, I did! I stopped going at twelve!” Jungwon exclaims.
“You seem like the kind of kid that gets taken out for counselling sessions mid lesson. No offense.”
“How do you know!?”
Jay doesn’t answer, just lets out a tired sigh. It’s not that hard to guess.
Jungwon is already distracted by an outstanding car that is on the front of the line in the traffic. His eyes widen in awe. “Woah! Do you see that, Jay? What car is that?” He breathes.
Jay’s gaze landed on the car which is obvious to spot because it is surrounded by cheap cars. “That’s a Rolls-Royce Cullinan.”
“I want it.”
“Sure. Kill the driver, then take the car.”
Jungwon gasps loudly, snapping his head to look at him. “What!? I’m not gonna kill a driver because—”
Jay’s hands fly over Jungwon’s mouth, pressing his palms against his lips tightly. “Keep your voice down!” He hisses over gritted teeth, looking around to see if anybody heard their conversation. “Are you trying to get us caught? Or worse, killed?”
Jungwon shakes his head and tries to speak but it comes out muffled over Jay’s palm. He grabs Jay’s wrist and pushes his hand from his mouth gently but firmly. “Sorry! I was just shocked that you said that so casually.”
Jay shakes his head and continues walking. The blond vampire hums softly to himself, his eyes locked on the Rolls-Royce Cullinan. Jay looks down at him, his expression neutral. His gaze shifts to the car then back to Jungwon. “You really like that car?”
“Yes! It looks like a car you’ll drive.”
“Hm. I don’t drive, I super speed.”
Jungwon giggles at Jay’s words. “Why don’t you drive?”
Jay shrugs. “Why not? I don’t have to be stuck in traffic, risk getting into an accident, and…I just don’t. I’m a vampire. Vampires don’t drive.”
“You don’t drive, Jay. I’m pretty sure the older vampires drive, like to work. Not every vampire lives in an abandoned building. I’m pretty sure they still have bills to pay.”
Jay’s expression softens, a smirk tugging at his lips. “Smart boy.”
Jungwon’s eyes lights up, and he blushes, a shy smile tugging at his lips.
They stop under the awning of the last small shop before the crosswalk, which is scorching in the heat. Cars and buses drive across the crosswalk, their engines roaring loudly. The road seems very busy today, and no vehicles stop for the pedestrians to cross to the other side, so they either run and risks their lives, or wait until the crosswalk is empty for a few seconds before another vehicle drives by.
The two boys wait, but when none of the drivers stop their vehicle, Jay steps in quickly, stopping right in the middle of the crosswalk, his eyes narrowed in the scorching heat. The vehicles slow down, and eventually they stop before Jay, causing a long line of honking cars and buses behind them.
“Everyone please cross now!” Jay orders, acting as if he’s the traffic police. Pedestrians cross quickly, some thanking Jay as they pass him.
When every pedestrian has crossed, Jay quickly jogs back to stand under the awning, standing next to Jungwon. He wipes the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand.
“Jay! Have you gone crazy!? Why did you just stand in the heat? You’re weaker now!” The blond vampire yells, but not too loud for anyone else to hear.
Jay shrugs, a proud grin on his face. “I thought you would be happy seeing me help your precious humans. I don’t think you would wanna see one of them get hit by a car.”
“You risked your life! And for what? Me yelling at you?” Jungwon’s eyebrows furrowed, his worried and furious eyes locked onto Jay’s.
“I was only standing there for a minute, which means that only one percentage of my body has weakened. You’re such a drama queen, really.” Jay groans. “Besides, you’ll gain back whatever you lost, overnight. Depending how much weaker you’ve gone, though.”
Jungwon relaxes a little, sighing. “Can you at least warn me first before you run off like that? I thought you wanted to get yourself ran over.”
Jay chuckles, shaking his head. “Okay, okay. You can calm down now.”
They cross the crosswalk quickly and head for under the tree where the leaves are blocking the sunlight. Jay turns to Jungwon, his expression serious now. “Okay, now you have to learn how to avoid the sunlight. I don’t expect you to fully avoid it, that’s impossible. I just want you to quickly find another sheltered area without using speed. Your mission is to go to that park over there. Now, go. I’ll be here watching you.”
Jungwon takes a deep breath and steps out into the heat, his eyes scanning the streets for a nearby sheltered area. He finds another tree with the leaves blocking the sunlight, and he jogs there, stopping right under it and turns to look back at Jay for his approval. The other vampire nods, his expression still serious. He doesn’t say anything, just waits for Jungwon to move on. Jungwon turns back around and scans the streets again, this time finding a sheltered bus stop. He jogs there and stops, finding an awning of a bakery shop. He heads there, finding a bench under a tree that has its leaves covering the sunlight, then he finally reaches the park which isn’t scorching in heat. Jay appears next to him after a minute, clapping his hands together.
“Not bad. You did good, but you’re not done yet. I want you to go to the lake now. Go.”
Jungwon grins, finding this lesson exciting. Once he reaches the lake, Jay tells him to go to the tattoo shop, then the theater, then back to the abandoned warehouse.
“Lesson is over. You did well, good job.” Jay smiles, patting Jungwon’s head.
Jungwon grins proudly, his large eyes sparkling. “Thank you!” He exclaims, bouncing on the balls of his feet.
They head inside the abandoned warehouse, and Jay stands awkwardly at the entrance. “I’ll uh…leave now. See you tomorrow, Jungwon.”
Jungwon pouts, not wanting Jay to leave, but he doesn’t ask him to stay. “See you tomorrow, halabeoji.” He teases, a lopsided grin plastered on his face.
Jay rolls his eyes, but a smirk tugs at his lips. Without another word, he walks out of the abandoned warehouse, leaving the grinning vampire alone now.