Yugyeom's first hint is when he catches Jinyoung thumbing through pages on his iPad. The website's dark, with gothic themes, and pixelated blood drips from the header on the screen which reads: SANGUINARIANS. Jinyoung's always been weird, so Yugyeom just chalks it up to that and lets it be. For awhile.

But when he gets his hands on the iPad a couple of days later he's struck by an unsettling curiosity. He's always sort of looked up to Jinyoung and he won't deny that he's pretty fond of him--but it stops there because that's where he stops it every time--except for this time; damn curiosity. Jinyoung's always taken good care of him, been a shoulder to cry on when gets tough, and been his sanity when he feels like he's going to lose his mind. At least those are the reasons he gives himself for poking into Jinyoung's business.

Sure enough, Jinyoung hadn't thought to erase his browsing history. Yugyeom pulls up the article, purple on black text nearly impossible to read, and squints despite it being inches from his face so he can read it.

"Sanguinarians are those with the insatiable need for blood. They are often considered 'real life vampires' but many question their validity as an unbalanced state of mind. Others though--others in the know--are aware that sanguinarian is simply the term modern day vampires use to fly under the radar and find each other--or their prey--more easily."

Yugyeom stares, unaware of his gaping mouth, unaware of Jackson's yawned comment that he should go the to sleep as he makes his way to the bathroom, unaware of the pair of eyes observing him; invisible in the dark. All that runs through his mind is what the ? But he keeps reading.

"It's not really a secret that vampires exist--after all, they've been hiding their presence for centuries--and such places to meet sanguinarians do exist. They often range under the name of blood bars, vampire bars, and death dens. They're rare, but not impossible to find. Likewise many mainstream bars with similar themes are just harboring the real thing in plain sight."

Okay, that's enough. Yugyeom closes the window and resumes his staring; this time at nothing in particular. He's unable to shake the unnerving feeling he's being watched.

Jinyoung's name is on the tip of his tongue, but it never escapes--he's not crazy and only a crazy person would even consider entertaining this .

But Jinyoung had--and he'd been reading it so seriously; glasses on and everything. When Yugyeom clicks back to the browse his previous history, he's disturbed to find even more pages about vampires, bloodlust, what to do when you get bitten, light sensitivity, and the desire to sleep in dark, cramped spaces.

There's only one thing it can be: some sort of elaborate joke.

That curiosity though, wherever it came from it's not leaving; and it might kill the cat, but satisfaction will bring it back. Right?

That's the excuse Yugyeom uses when he follows Jinyoung out that night. He shrugs on a hoodie and flips it low over the brim of his hat, keeping nearly half a block's distance between them and thoroughly ignoring his subconscious screaming at him that he's a ing idiot.

It's one of their very (very) rare nights off and Jinyoung had left without warning--forcing Yugyeom to jump into action despite the confusion on the other band member's faces (including Jaebum's rude, "Where you gonna go this late, kid?")

Now he's stalking Jinyoung into a nearby district full of clubs and bars and wondering why he even bothered. Jaebum was right; it's not like he can get into any of these places. His feet don't stop however, and he tails Jinyoung past the endless neon signs and bouncing beats echoing from underground clubs. He stops when Jinyoung turns down an alley, face lit blue by his phone's screen, and disappears into a nondescript door opened for him as if the person on the other side had known of his arrival.

So that's not strange or anything.

Yugyeom can't ignore the hairs standing up on the back of his neck or the fact he can't really do anything else, so he turns on his heel and heads back for the dorm and promptly invites himself out with Jackson and BamBam just as they are about to leave for a late dinner. (If only Jinyoung knew.)

"So," he says, ignoring Jackson's chagrin at having to pay for another person's meal. "What's been up with Jinyoung-hyung lately? Hasn't he been acting strange?"

"Uh," Jackson says, poking impatiently at the galbi frying between them. "Jinyoung's always kinda been like that, y'know, weird?"

"You're one to talk, hyung." BamBam replies, sipping on his soda.

"If you ask me," Jackson disregards BamBam's statement (they all know it's true), "You're the one who's been acting weird."

"Yeah," agrees BamBam. "It's almost eleven, where'd you go?"

"Oh," Yugyeom had not been anticipating their attack. "To the convenience store?"

"Why's it a question?" BamBam narrows his eyes at him with playful suspicion. "You were gone for almost an hour. The convenience store is right across the street."

"Also," Jackson joins in, "You've been staying up super late staring into the iPad with a face like this:" he mimics Yugyeom's aghast face with too much dramatism and has BamBam nearly choking on his food.

"So you were the one watching me?" Yugyeom exclaims. "Creep."

"Watching you?" Jackson looks confused and somewhat concerned. "Uh, no, but I did see you when I got up to take a piss at like two in the morning. How long were you even up?"

It hadn't felt like that long. Besides, Yugyeom thinks to himself, he's not got enough evidence to be doing the crazy things he's doing.

"Whatever." Yugyeom sighs, stealing the piece of meat Jackson had been aiming for and shoving it in his mouth before a battle could ensue. "I'm not going to lose any sleep over it."

But he does. He wakes up later that night--rather, early morning--it's 4:58 AM when he glimpses blearily at the clock. He hears the keypad to the door ting and unlock, but he doesn't hear anyone come in. Save for Jackson's atrociously loud snoring, it's obscenely quiet.

He's got his feet over the edge of his bed in an instant, and they're on the freezing cold floor trying in vain to be as silent as whoever had just come in. He holds his breath, craning his neck to peer out his ajar door. There's no movement in the dark entryway, no sound save for the door clicking back into place--with no one near it.

"What are you doing?"

Jinyoung's voice comes out of nowhere and Yugyeom shrieks, slipping backwards and landing on his with a hard thud. Jackson's snores falter and then continue on, and Jaebum's annoyed voice croaks, "Shut the up!" but other than that, no response to the living dead sleeping in their adjacent rooms.

Though Junior hadn't come out of nowhere. He's standing right in front of Yugyeom, though how he'd gotten there without him noticing is the question, and looking bemused.

"You--" Yugyeom glares up at him from where he'd toppled over. Usually, Jinyoung would offer him a hand up but he's standing on the other side of the doorframe and looking a bit at a loss. "You woke me up."

"Did I?" A momentary flash of surprise. "You're a light sleeper. I tried to come in as quiet as possible."

Yugyeom gets to his feet, sizing Jinyoung up. He doesn't smell like alcohol; in fact he doesn't smell like anything at all. "You were out late. Drinking?"

"Yeah." says Jinyoung. "I haven't been sleeping well lately."

"No ?" Yugyeom speaks before he can stop himself, a hand coming up to his mouth in delayed response.

Jinyoung rolls his eyes at him. "Go back to sleep. We've got an early schedule tomorrow."

And that's that. He shuffles on quiet feet into his room and closes the door, navigating the darkness like a cat.

Yugyeom crawls back into bed and stares up at the ceiling, unable to drift off again. It's the rational part of his brain that's determined to convince him... silent entrance, no trouble in the dark, no scent of alcohol, and the oddest factor of them all: didn't come through the doorway to help him up.

Needless to say he's exhausted in the morning--but Jinyoung's practically glowing. There's no trace of hangover or exhaustion from the less than three hours of sleep he'd gotten. Jaebum jokingly asked if he'd gotten laid last night on the drive to their filming, and Jinyoung had seriously replied, "Are you trying to get me in trouble!?"

The next week flashes by in an instant; they're all too busy preparing for their next album, practicing, filming, and working on promotions. During that time Yugyeom barely has the energy to pay special attention to Jinyoung and his possible vampirism, although the fact is starting to sound less strange and more appealing; much to Yugyeom's chagrin.

Their next day off he spends too much of researching (secretly in his room after kicking Mark out) and compiles a list of vampiric things and see if Jinyoung's doing any of them. If Jinyoung completes the list, Yugyeom can be 99% sure he's a vampire.

1. Waits to be invited through doorways (Nearly impossible since they are invited in nearly everywhere they go; Yugyeom can only rely on that one night he'd caught Jinyoung sneaking in late).

2. Avoids the sunlight at all costs (It's winter so there's not a lot of sunlight. But whenever there is, Jinyoung's wearing hats and scarves and sunglasses--and Yugyeom's even caught him using gloves).

3. Dislikes garlic (But Jinyoung's always disliked garlic!?)

4. Can't stand the sight of crosses (Obviously a stupid rule that doesn't work).

5. Likes to sleep in cramped, dark places (He does sleep cocooned in his blankets).

6. No reflection (But Jinyoung totally has a reflection. It would be a serious problem if he didn't, seeing as their practice room is practically all mirror).

None of these things are helpful and after wasting all that time researching, Yugyeom just feels like he's been played.

But his suspicions remain when he wakes up to Jinyoung sneaking in again, late, on a full week's schedule no less, and he's breathing heavy and soaking wet.

That's odd. It hadn't rained tonight.

When Jinyoung sinks to the floor in the entryway, clutching at his chest and exhaling a pained breath, Yugyeom's feet move of their own accord and he finds himself hovering over Jinyoung, unsure of what to do with the sight before him.

It's not water Jinyoung's soaked with; it's blood. And a lot of it.

"Oh ." Yugyeom's words leave in barely a whisper.

"." Jinyoung hisses. "Don't get near me."

"What's--" Yugyeom stops, reconsiders his choice of words/question. "That's not your blood is it?"

Jinyoung's eyes flash dangerously in the dark living room. "What do you think?"

Yugyeom hesitates, caught between the decision to himself or to scream for dear life. Neither would erase this mess.

Jinyoung unleashes a breathy laugh but there's no amusement in his tone. "You scared? You should be, since you've figured out what I am."

Yugyeom takes a deep breath and as calmly as his nerves will allow him says, "First let's get you cleaned up. Then I think you've got some explaining to do."

His response catches Jinyoung off guard, but he takes Yugyeom's proffered hand and leans heavily on his arm as yugyeom guides them into the bathroom and shuts and locks the door.

With the light on, Jinyoung looks even more frightful. His expensive jacket is ruined, and there's a tear in the side, right through the red stained shirt under it and deep into his skin.

Yugyeom helps him shrug off his coat and gingerly pulls off his shirt, wincing at the wound spilling dark, nearly black, blood.

"So it is yours."

"Not all of it." Jinyoung's voice is husky, like he's holding himself back from something. " had cut iron heels. She got me good. It broke off inside. I've got to get it out..."

"Hold on, what?"

Jinyoung glares up at him from where he’s slouched against the closed toilet lid. He's got a reflection, another thing the lore has all wrong. "What are you thinking?"

Yugyeom's thinking Jinyoung went out to drink, a different kind of drink, and his victim had gotten the best of him. When he voices it aloud it sounds really ed up.

"I don't kill people." Jinyoung must say this because he can sense the fear lingering in Yugyeom's gut. "But I've got to..." He winces, muscles convulsing and wound leaking more dark blood. "." He says again. "This ing ."

"How..." yugyeom prepares himself for what he's about to ask and what he's about to do. "How do I get it out?"

Jinyoung corners him with a look bordering on antipathy. "Get a spoon."

"Won't that just make it worse?"

"I'll heal as soon as it's out. Go get it. And make sure it's not ing silver."

Yugyeom scrambles to do as he's told, navigating the dark kitchen as quietly as possible and returning with a spoon he's only somewhat sure isn't silver. Do they even make spoons out of silver anymore?

He opens the door and locks it behind him again, wincing at the amount of blood pooling on the floor.

"Okay," says Yugyeom, getting to his knees despite the sticky red mess on the floor and positioning himself in front of Jinyoung's chest. "This is gonna hurt. Can you be quiet?"

"Just do it." Jinyoung snaps. Not that Yugyeom can blame him; he knows it's gotta be agonizing.

Yugyeom presses a shaky hand against Jinyoung's side and pushes the spoon into the wound. It slides in all too easily and elicits a hiss of pain from Jinyoung. Yugyeom pushes it further until he hits something solid and when he feels the spoon slide behind it, he slowly pulls it out--trying not to gag as heavy torrents of blood bubble from the cut.

The heel-tip pops out and hits the floor with a wet clink and Jinyoung, who had been tense and biting his lip until it turned white, unleashes a whooshing sigh and relaxes. Just as he'd said, the wound seams itself closed and leaves no scar.

Jinyoung lets his head thunk against the wall, limbs hanging lose at his sides. "Thanks." He says hoarsely.

Yugyeom stares down at his hands, covered in blood, and drops the spoon. "I'd say no problem, but." Cleaning up this mess and getting rid of Jinyoung's bloody clothing is going to be the real problem.

"Yeah." Jinyoung manages to snort out a laugh, this time somewhat amused. "You know my secret now. Though it's my fault."

"Yeah," Yugyeom's not sure if he's too shocked to be shocked or if he's just already come to terms with it. After all, "You might want to delete your search history in the future."

"I thought you'd just pass it off as weird." Jinyoung seems to be returning to himself, sitting straighter and looking more lively--even though he's the antithesis of alive, technically.

"I did at first." Yugyeom uses Jinyoung's discarded clothing to try and mop up some of the blood. "I even followed you once."

"I know." Jinyoung says, and upon Yugyeom's surprise, "Vampire, remember? Enhanced senses? I can smell you from more than a block away. Well, anyone I've got my sights on, really."

Yugyeom stops mopping the floor with Jinyoung's clothes.

Jinyoung easily reads the discomfort in his body language. "Er,"

"No, stop. Just stop." Yugyeom bunches up the shirt and coat and throws them at Jinyoung. "Take a ing shower and clean up this mess and don't come out until there's no trace left."

"I would but," Jinyoung makes an awkward gesture that makes no sense and Yugyeom stares at him with one brow raised, forcing him to voice it out loud. "I've lost a lot of blood. I can't really move."

"And?" Yugyeom's not sure he likes where this is going.

Jinyoung stares at him and his eyes are stupidly enticing with that red glow of theirs. "I need your help."

"I've been helping you." Yugyeom states. "I dug a girl's broken ing shoe out of your stomach for you. And don't you dare think about using that vampire charm of yours, if that's a thing, because I will ing stake you in your sleep."

"I know." Jinyoung says, "And I won't, though I'm good at it." He manages a tired grin at Yugyeom's grimace.

A million things are running through Yugyeom's head in that moment, like how this really because he's always really liked Jinyoung but he's not sure if he's ready for them to take it to that level--which isn't even a level he'd thought existed--but he's pretty sure is just a sublevel for another level that he's aware of but had gotten extremely good at ignoring. See, he doesn't even use the word. The actual word. That stupid ing four letter word.

And now he's about to agree to let Jinyoung drink his blood!? Oh hell no.

"It doesn't hurt." Jinyoung urges him, somewhat desperately. "I promise."

"Is that what you said to that chick who impaled you, because I'm having serious doubts." Yugyeom doesn't mean to sound so harsh, but he's scared in more ways than one.

"I can hear your heart pounding. Your pulse rate. It's not just fear you're feeling." Jinyoung's patient despite the hunger evident in his piercing gaze.

Yugyeom can't deny it; can't deny him. But all hell be raised before he lets Jinyoung bite him in a bathroom covered in blood and bits of a girl's high heels and destroyed and expensive clothing that Jinyoung doesn't even own (borrowed from the shoot)--they are going to be in so much trouble. "Take a shower, hyung. I'll clean up. Then we can discuss... that."

Jinyoung rolls his eyes but acquiesces with a heavy sigh, dragging himself to his feet and turning the spout to spray warm water from the showerhead. While he's undressing Yugyeom digs under the sink for the darkest towels they have and hitting the jackpot when he finds a half empty jug of bleach and rubber gloves tucked into the far corner.

He scrubs away at the blood before it can stain, ruining two towels in the process, and nearly jumps out of his skin when someone knocks loudly on the door and goes, "Who the takes a shower at the buttcrack of dawn!?"

It's Jackson and he pounds on the door again when both Jinyoung and Yugyeom attempt to use silence as a feasible answer. "I've gotta piss like a racehorse, open up!"

"Uh," Yugyeom scrambles to get rid of the bloodied towels, the bleach, the gloves--his shriek of surprise cut off by a soapy hand when Jinyoung grabs him and yanks him into the shower, towels, bleach, gloves, and all and whispers, "Stay put." while wrapping one of the last clean towels remaining around his waist and unlocking the door just as Jackson's begun to pound on it again.

"Okay, I heard you. Jesus." Jingyoung says, steam clearing out the open door. "Hurry up."

Jackson's obviously half awake and takes no heed of the little bit of blood on the floor between the toilet and the sink as he relieves himself, hitches up his pants, and pauses to give Jinyoung a queer look. "It smells weird in here. Like... bleach and..."

Jinyoung shoves him out the door and closes it on him before he can figure out what the other smell is.

"Anyways," Jackson says through the door, unfazed, "You should try to be less obvious when you've gotta knock one off, I mean, wow."

Once the door's closed and locked again Yugyeom parts the shower curtains, damp and irritated.

"What?" Jinyoung says in response to his glare, holding back a laugh at Yugyeom's sorry state. "I had to act fast."

"Are you done?" Yugyeom replies coldly.

"Yeah." Jingyoung gives him a menacing grin. "I'll go get dressed. Meet me in the living room--and don't leave me hanging."

"How could I?" Yugyeom's sarcasm is hard to miss. "If I don't you might end up in an even bigger mess."

And that's how Yugyeom ends up uncomfortably soggy and back pushed down into the couch with a clean and excited Jinyoung hovering over him expectantly.

Yugyeom blinks up at him, unable to decide whether he should keep his eyes closed or open. "If I let you do this," he says, wishing he could control the shake in his voice, "You've gotta promise me something."

"Hmm?" Jinyoung hums, nose rubbing against Yugyeom's jaw. His voice escapes in a low pur, like an animal pleased with its prey.

"Don't do this with anyone else." Yugyeom says. "I'll be your donor." He grabs hold of Jinyoung's shoulders, digging his nails in to make a point. "So... don't it up, okay?"

Jinyoung pulls back though, just when Yugyeom had prepared himself, and the concerned look in his eyes almost makes Yugyeom want to take it all back and run screaming into the night never to return.

"Do you know what you're saying?" Jinyoung asks him, his fangs flashing vaguely as he speaks.

"Uh, yes and no?" Yugyeom replies, staring up at Jinyoung. "I didn't really have a lot of time to think about it." But the more I do, the more I think it doesn't seem so bad. He doesn't say, but Jinyoung seems to know so anyway.

Jingyoung's head dips down, laughing into Yugyeom's shoulder. "You're something else."

"I know, I'm great." Yugyeom replies without fanfare. "Just do it already."

So Jinyoung does. He's gentle about it, letting his lips trail soft against softer skin, and he the spot he's about to bite in warning before sinking his teeth into Yugyeom's neck. Yugyeom's expecting the tinge of pain but not the shiver of pleasure that wracks through him and he's certainly not expecting the throaty sigh he releases as Jinyoung and wraps a hand behind his neck to support his body, which had gone lax without his permission.

Just as his vision's going cloudy and he thinks he can't take anymore, Jinyoung pulls away and laps up the last of the blood. He sits back, letting Yugyeom catch his breath. He brings a hand up to his neck, feeling at the vein Jinyoung had drank from, surprised to find no bite marks.

"I've got a magic tongue." Jinyoung sticks it out at him, glowing for the most part with renewed energy. "So, how was it?"

"Not..." there's no way Yugyeom's going to admit it actually felt pretty ing fantastic. "Not that great."

"Oh," Jinyoung has the gall to look disappointed.

Yugyeom musters up the energy to punch him in the shoulder, pushing him back to he can sit up. "Don't be a ! You know, don't you?"

Jinyoung sits back on his heels, raising a brow. "Well, yeah. You're kind of obvious. I knew you liked me before, too."

"Since when?" Yugyeom asks, bothered by the idea. "When did you..."

"Even before I was bitten I knew, I guess." Jinyoung says. "But perspective changes when you die, I guess." Upon Yugyeom's narrowed eyes, he decides to answer his actual question. "It was a couple months ago. I went out with JB and Jackson and got really, really drunk. All I can remember is being shoved into a bathroom stall and instead of getting some like I'd thought, it was all taken away. I had my life drained out of me and when I woke up, I thought it was just the worst hangover ever, but my eyes never stop hurting when it's really bright outside and I could see and hear and smell way better than I ever had before, and when I figured out I had a lust for blood, I'd already almost killed a girl.

"It was pretty mortifying. I left an anonymous call and followed the ambulance. She made it, and I decided to figure out what the had happened to me. I was like you were at first, really ing skeptical, but it was actually happening to me and I couldn't control it, so..."

"Wow." It's the only word Yugyeom can muster. "I'd apologize, but I don't think that's really right in this situation."

Jinyoung shakes his head. "You don't need to. I'm just," he covers his face in his hand, trying to hide his embarrassment, "I'm just thankful you're able to accept me."

Yugyeom grins, glad he finally has the upper hand, and pulls Jinyoung's hand from his face. "Don't worry," he says. "I'll keep your secret."

"What secret?"

Yugyeom jumps, nearly falling off the couch, and Jinyoung throws an arm over the couch; sending the coldest, deadest stare to Jackson he could muster.

"How many times do you have to piss!?" Yugyeom nearly shouts at him.

Jackson just peers out at them from the bathroom, meeting Jinyoung's daring gaze with a queer one. "It's fine," he says, "I don't think I even want to know, anyway."