xXvii. family gatherings

  Breakfast was a tense and quiet affair. As Seoah walked into their dining room, she could sense quite a few pairs of eyes on her, but after she quickly strode across the room and sat down, they wandered somewhere else, bored and uninterested. 

   They were mostly directed towards Minkyung and the man next to her. It wasn't unusual to have guests at Gemini, since the headquarters had always been open to those who were seeking refuge from anything that was bothering them - from Seelie princesses to rogue Underworlders on the run, Gemini had never been picky in who they choose to take in. But people know who Wang Yukhei was - one of the most ferocious alphas in South Korea, and a famous business owner on top of that. He was definitely one of Gemini's best assets, with connections - in East Asia, at least - unparalleled. 

   Yet the problem wasn't so much as why he was here, but rather why at this specific timing, when tensions were brewing underneath the surface and everyone was dealing with their own issues. Specifically, the threat of death looming over them.

   Looking around the room, she could see the different reactions her members have towards the situation. Celeste, being the instigator of this tense mood, was nursing a mug of black coffee, despite the amount of times she had heard Minkyung tell her off for consuming caffeine. Seoah would've thought that she was the calmest of the bunch, having been resigned to her fate since some millenium ago, but the red puffy eyes said otherwise. 

  Jineul and Sungjong were, of course, nowhere to be seen - Seoah wasn't even sure whether they eat at all, seeing as they never appear in the dining room. Minwoo was, as expected, the most enthusiastic eater, with a full English breakfast set in front of him accompanied by a mug of something creamy. He seemed oblivious of his surroundings, digging in to his meal without hesitation.

   Minkyung and Yukhei was huddled together, mumbling in quiet tones which sounded loud in the face of the deafening silence that permeated the room. Yukhei occasionally raised his head, seemingly sniffing the air out - or maybe that was her imagination - though he did seem nervous. Seoah didn't really blame him - Gemini had always been intimidating in Underworlder circles, and though their reputation certainly helped her diplomatic efforts, it never gave a helping hand in terms of reassuring people. 

   Doing a quick headcount, Seoah realised suddenly someone was missing. "Where's Jaebin?"

   "We were about to ask you that, Seoah," A thin smile stretched Celeste's lips. "Since, you know, you spend so much time with him."

   "Oh." Instantly her cheeks coloured. "Well yeah, but that doesn't mean - "

   "Invictus was called away to a family matter earlier this morning." Chess appeared from one of the twin doors flanking the back of the room, with a characteristic pristineness that stood starkly against the current tension and mood. Closing the door behind her, Seoah could see her eyes sweep across the room and landing on Yukhei, but otherwise said nothing. "An urgent one," She added, almost as an afterthought. "His mother had called a summons."

   If it was possible, the mood in the room grew even darker. Everyone knew who Jaebin's mother was, even if he was goofy and annoying and didn't live up to his bloodline at times. Celeste was first to break the ominous silence. "I see. It must be a matter of utmost importance then." Before anyone could say anything else, Minwoo broke the silence with an exclamation.

   "Right, I'm done!" Wiping his mouth with a napkin, the man stood up and pushed away his chair across the carpeted floor. The sudden change in mood was so rapid Seoah could almost laugh. "Let's get ready for a long day ahead, shall we?" 

—  huangpu district, shanghai. 29.7.2017

  Jaebin took a deep breath and surveyed himself in the mirror. He was lucky that Gemini had an extremely efficient portal system, because otherwise it would've taken up a lot of his time to fly from Greece to China. His mother had called at three in the morning, and portal travelling allowed him to get across the world in less than five minutes, allowing him to get a good night's sleep before facing the enclave today.

  Of course, it was not without its consequences. And in this case, it was a bad case of motion sickness. 

  The first thing Jaebin had done once he woke up was to take a stroll through the city, since he hadn't been back for a long, long time. Grabbing breakfast from a vendor, he let the flavours of the scallion pancake melt on his tongue, the crunchiness providing the perfect texture. He bought a batch of tea eggs and of course, bubble tea, before headed towards one of the most expensive boutiques in the area. 

   You see, even though Underworlders don't exist in the humans' world, a handful of them tend to rise up amongst the ranks and consolidate their power over the humans. Part of this was done in revenge, of course - the humans had made extensive efforts to exterminate their kind and to revert the relationship of dominance and submission was extremely satisfying. But it was also done because of the natural hierarchy of the world. It was that simple - vampire enclaves had always had a reputation of rising above the others, given their resemblance to humans, and their tendency to charm. The Unseelie and Seelie were too busy engrossed in their own affairs to truly extend their power over the humans, while the wolves were busy trying to reclaim whatever scraps of humanity they have left. The Merpeople of course do not have the ability to even mingle amongst the humans, whereas there were too little warlocks to truly rise up amongst the others. And some of them had rather glaring warlock marks that made them hard to blend in.

   But vampires. With the propaganda from fiction and movies, it was easy, almost too easy, for vampires to blend into humans. And of course, some reveal their identity to make transactions a little easier, that relationship a bit more smooth-sailing, and life a bit more glamorous. So when Jaebin entered the boutique, the bell signalling his entrance, the workers there knew who he was, even though they knew nothing of his lineage, or who he really was. The power and authority of his mother extended beyond her station, and its influence was glaringly obvious.

   Or at least, that was what his relatives, and what she said. Personally he never believed in that crock of bull. Yes, Jaebin enjoyed the benefits and he enjoyed how easy luxuries came and how easy life was, but he never really believed in flaunting his position or lineage. Which was why his mother, whose central belief was humans being used for amusement and, well, being used, was always so disappointed in him. 

   Jaebin almost chuckled to himself as the workers in the store took down his measurements, before holding it in, so as to not 'spoil the family's name'. Personally he believed that the reason for his mother's, beliefs was because she had been alive for too long. As they say, immortality is a curse, and he had witnessed the decline of sanity in more than a few vampires. Living long certainly does no wonders for your ability to think straight. 

   Stepping out of the boutique with a newly tailored suit, Jaebin checked his watch and realised he still had about nine hours to kill before dinner, and the meeting. It had been such a long time since he had such freedom, and he certainly wasn't going to let it go to waste. 

   Inhaling the air, Jaebin stepped off the alleyway that the boutique was situated in, and headed back to the main street. Ah, the familiar polluted stench of Shanghai. How he missed it. 

  And so, back to the present. Jaebin had just came back from the salon, which was far closer to the enclave and thus logically, where he should've headed to next, but for some reason his absent-mindedness manifested, and he didn't realise he had forgotten to bring his mother the souvenirs from Greece until he was five minutes away from the restaurant. Cursing under his breath, he walked briskly back to his hotel room and here he was, checking his appearance in the mirror. 

  Jaebin wondered what his mother would think of him. It had been so many years since he'd actually seen her, mainly because vampires weren't exactly known for their sense of time. He wondered whether she would proud of him as a top member of Gemini, or whether she would see him as the failure as he always had been.

   After all, she had always favoured his younger sister more. 

  Well, hopefully she'd at least not be frowning when he arrived. Grabbing the paper bag sitting by the dresser, Jaebin adjusted his tie, and stepped off into the darkening city.

  As always, his mother had a flair for the unusual, the hidden away, and the curious. The given address was indeed a restaurant, but the server - an Unseelie, judging from his ears - directed him through a series of doors that gradually distanced him from the hustle and bustle of humans, and deeper into the dark. 

   The dark, where creatures like him loom. 

   Retrieving a key from his belt, the Unseelie boy unlocked a set of ornate Chinese doors that swung open heavily in the silence, and directed him down a wide and sloping corridor. "Through here, sir, if you would please." 

   Sir. Jaebin almost wanted to laugh aloud at that address. He wanted to tell the server boy that he was not as intimidating as the others; he was simply a normal man born into an unusual family. But he knew that, as heir of the family, he had a reputation to uphold. So instead, he replied curtly, "Thank you", before stepping down the path, while the doors closed behind him with a loud echo. 

   As he descended, Jaebin realised that it was less of a dungeon and more of an underground garden. After some time, the darkness gave way to a dimly lit path, flanked by flaming torches by either side, and he could feel the cool summer air on his face. Inhaling, Jaebin could smell the distinct scent of flowers, but with a distinct undertone. Artificial perfume, and of course, blood. 

   He soon ended up in a wide chamber, one which seemed to stretch on forever horizontally and vertically. Looking up, he could see no end to it, and neither walls to enclose the space he was in, which was wide open except for a wall directly facing him, where another set of doors blocked his path. Jaebin cocked his eyebrow and exhaled, a little impatient. This was seriously getting old, his mother's love of labyrinths and mysteries. Approaching the dragon statue (a pair guarding the door) on the right, he twisted the pearl in its mouth, and the stone gave way to an iris scanner. Leaning towards the scanner, Jaebin allowed it to examine his eye and leaned back. Almost immediately, the stone doors yawned open to a wider space beyond.

   As soon as Jaebin stepped into the room, he instinctively ducked to the side casually, because he knew what was in store for him. Sure enough, a wine glass came flying at where his head was a moment ago, shattering against the door and splattering red liquid across the white. Ah, what a waste. 

   "Hello, great aunt," He greeted, almost boredly. "How have you been?" 

   "You ungrateful little brat," The woman rasped, standing up. She didn't look as old as her age would indicate, but she had clearly passed the threshold of youth that vampires were allowed to retain, because the skin around her neck had began to sag. Or perhaps it was because of her nasty personality and the fact that she refused to see the sun, which could lead to a rapid deterioration. "How dare you come to show your face after what you've done?"

   "With all due respect, grand aunt," Jaebin replied, stepping over the broken glass strewn across the floor - evidence of more cutlery throwing - and heading to his allocated seat to the right of his mother's. Instead of a round table, which would suit the local customs more, his mother had specifically chosen a long table which would make the ranks of the family clear, since they were seated in order of senority. As the son of the current leader, Jaebin would, of course, be right at the end. "I am replying to a summons by my mother, who also happened to be the head of this family. If I had ignored it, my head would end up in a stake." He smirked as he deposited the bag at the foot of his seat, turning back to face his relatives. "I would pick angering you over angering my mother any given day." 

   "Hold your tongue, Li Zaibin." Jaebin almost winced at the use of his Chinese name - it was always reserved for when he was in trouble, and he knew nothing good would come out of the use of his Chinese name, coupled with the more mellow sounding tones of his native tongue. "You're here because the Mistress allowed you to be. Don't get ahead of yourself." Emerging from the garden - he could see the outlines of plants from the light of the fireflies dancing in the dark - was a tall and willowy figure. His cousin-in-law, a famous actress, stalked towards him in her shimmery champagne-coloured gown. Ten years ago, he might've felt intimidated. Not now. He'd been used to Celeste walking the hallways with such authoritative grace that the woman in front of him almost paled in comparison. Well, of course she would. She was a vampire after all.

  "And you," He replied in their mother tongue, taking his hand out of his pocket in the relaxed pose he had practiced, taking a step forward. She instinctively took a step back, as if intimidated by him. "Aren't you getting ahead of yourself? Don't forget you were married into this family, Ruoqiao jie. And into the branch family, too. I'm a member of the main family. Now sit down." As if his voice held an invisible force, his cousin-in-law was forced to sit on her chair, gritting her teeth in defiance. A cold glare by Jaebin silenced her, but before he could take a seat he was interrupted again.

   "Ah, Jaebin!" The doors swung open with a groan, and at the sound of his name, the man turned to look at the new entrant. It was one of his many cousins, though as heir of his own family, ranked much higher than the woman he had put in place earlier. Choi Minhwan grinned widely, approaching Jaebin with open arms. The younger vampire stepped forward, and was wrapped in a tight embrace by the other man. If people didn't know better, they would've thought them brothers. "Long time no see, my friend. How are you?" 

   "Could be better. You?" Released from his embrace, Minhwan grasped his forearm, patting his shoulder. "I'm absolutely parched. Just got off the plane from South Korea, you see. It was torture being cooped up with humans, since I was so goddamn thirsty, but at least it was business class. If I was flying economy, I might've not been able to control myself."

   "I thought the Choi family had their own private plane," He replied mildly. Minhwan went ahead of him, and grabbed a bottle of water from the mini bar next to the table, though he knew it wouldn't do anything to quench his thirst.

   "Oh, they did. But that bastard Choi Minho needed it for something or another, so I was forced to fly commercial. Me, the heir! Can you imagine?" 

   "I guess I do." Jaebin tried to keep the sarcasm off his tone, and reached to pick at the appetizers lining the table. Vampires technically didn't need human food to sustain themselves, but to taste the food was still an enjoyment in itself. Nibbling delicately on the parma ham, he went back to Minhwan, who had drained his water and was still ranting about his flight. 

    " - and customs held me up, it was so irksome. As if I didn't have somewhere urgent to be. Ah, here's one of the servers. You over there!" Pointing at a young female standing by, Minhwan continued. "Get me a drink. One of the red ones." Bowing meekly, she scurried away quickly. "Anyways, where was I? Ah, yes, customs - " 

   Leaving Minhwan to his rant, Jaebin turned back to the food. One thing he realised throughout his years of knowing his cousin was that the best way to avoid him was to simply ignore him, because Minhwan would inevitably find someone else to complain to and talk about what he was annoyed about. Sure enough, he had turned to Ruoqiao, who was still recovering from the aftermath of Jaebin's words. When the server girl returned, Jaebin turned back to his cousin, and was about to request a glass for himself as well, when Minhwan took the glass, set it aside, and grabbed the girl in one go. 

  "Ahhhhhh, it's Minhwan hyung." An audible sigh from behind Jaebin, and he found himself meeting the eyes of Choi Minki, Minhwan's third younger brother. "When would he learn to control his thirst?" The drawling boredom in his tone made it seem almost as if he was witnessing the rain, and not his older brother draining the blood from the girl through her neck. Jaebin could see how hard Minhwan was biting down, the ivory fangs tearing into her pale skin and crimson liquid staining the white of her shirt. "Hyung, calm down. Supper is going to be served soon." 

  Unwillingly, Minhwan released the girl from his jaws, and tossed her aside carelessly, the girl's motionless body hitting the ground with a loud thud. the excess blood away from the corner of his lips, he wiped the side of his mouth with the pad of his thumb, and grinned, putting his fangs on display. "How could I resist such sweet blood directly from the source? You know, as well as I do, that young girls are a delicacy. Hiring young female workers to serve a coalition of vampires is almost inviting us to them dry." 

  Minki sighed, and crouched down, checking her pulse. "Well, at least you didn't kill her, I guess. It would be a huge hassle afterwards. We'd be lucky if we weren't forced to pay compensation fees again." 

  "Exactly. See how well I held back? You should be glad - " 

  The sound of doors opening silenced Minhwan, though he wasn't the only one - the room fell into such silence that the sounds of heels striding across the marble floor echoed throughout. All eyes were turned to the source of the noise, and from the shadows emerged an authoritative figure.

  Jaebin was the first to approach her, mainly because it was his responsibility to do so. He tried for an easy-going smile. "Hello, mother." 

   The thin smile stretching her lips were enough affirmation that he was, in fact, not a failure and still acceptable in her eyes. He gave a short nod of his head, before stepping aside to let his mother reach her seat. Only when she sat down do the other vampires file to their seats, sitting down quietly. Even his grand aunt, who was still throwing glassware around a few moments ago, sat without much grumbling. "What did you say we should be glad about, Minhwan?" 

   Instantly, Jaebin stiffened up. It was never good to be singled out at occasions, and it was especially worse when it was the mistress of one of the most prestigious mafia families addressing you, even if it was your own mother. He secretly felt sorry for his cousin. "N-nothing, ma'am. Simply that the human was alive." As if on cue, two other female servers came forward, bowed quickly, and took their friend away. "Anyways, you look as beautiful as ever, auntie." 

   "Always the charmer," The smile on his mother's lips never left, and privately Jaebin wished his mother would show him more affection. But it was in a public occasion, after all. He held his tongue, and merely resumed the almost bored look he had perfected - the mark of a young vampire with everything at his fingertips and seemed to think the world was beneath himself. "Now, where's my daughter?" 

   Daughter? Jaebin looked at his mother in mild confusion. After he returned to Shanghai from America, oh, many tens of years ago, he had went separate ways with his little sister and never seen her ever since. He didn't even know she was alive. But the seat to the left of his mother was empty, so it must mean she was coming. 

   "Probably caught up in traffic, as the rest of us were," Minki drawled. Jaebin sighed. His mother had always had a soft spot for the brat, even if he was from the branch family and not the main. Perhaps because he was the youngest in the whole family. If it was someone else talking back, they would've been kicked halfway across the room and had their limbs snapped before they realise. Sure, vampires heal, but it took time and the process always hurt. 

   Just before his mother could reply, the doors swung open, and Jaebin looked up. His eyes widened at the sight of the young girl making her way down the table, the black and red hanfu standing out in stark contrast to the suits and western style dresses the others were wearing, but no one seemed to mind. No one seemed to question her presence, either, except perhaps Jaebin.

   After all, his baby sister, whom he believed was missing for more than twenty years, was here, in front of him. 

   His mother didn't seemed surprised in the slightest either, and merely looked at her with a sense of love and affection that was absent whenever she stared at her own son. "Hello dear. How was your trip? Were you tired?" 

   "I'm fine," She replied shortly. "They let me use their portal, so it was really quick." Portal? "My apologies for being late, mother. I had to pick something up from Xuhui. This is for you." Handing her a large white cardboard bag. "I hope you like it."

   "Of course, darling. Anything you pick out for me is infinitely precious." Ruilan let her daughter plant a small kiss on her face, before one of the servers came forward and took the cardboard bag away. She then turned her eyes onto her son, who was still frozen in shock at the sight of his baby sister. "Come on, Jaebin. It's your little sister whom you haven't seen for a long time. The least you could do is greet her, hmm?" 

   Masking his surprise again, Jaebin let a charming smile spread across his lips, as if nothing had happened. "Hello, Saebin."  

Oh hey two updates in one day?? Dayum, right 

I have exams on Thursday what the am I doing

Anyways yes, in case you haven't noticed my vampire kink is manifesting again 

Oh btw, this is finally a darker twist to the story so yeeeet 

And ig I got the family idea from watching the kdrama Mine?? I wasn't going to watch it but since Cha ing Hakyeon was starring in it I was like, well, let's give it a try. And guess what. GUESS WHAT. His character has that stereotypical love-at-first-sight plotline that I absolutely goddamn despise. But the rest of the plot seems okay. So should I,,,,watch it,,,,or not,,,,rip

Anyways I finished Vincenzo and holy ing the FEELS. If you haven't watched it yet you HAVE to watch it. I'm someone who doesn't like kdrama and it hooked me up completely. I love it. I aboely love it. To the point where I might start a new applyfic based around that because why not 

Aight,,,,I gotta yeet to studying so,,,bai

(Also I wanted to name this 'Family Issues' but that's probably a bit overblown so) 

And fyi, I have nothing against Choi Minhwan or Choi Minki or Choi Minho, I just thought it was hilarious if I included cameos from them :D 

Oh yeah, and I'm currently obsessed with Hakuouki now so be prepared for a Japanese setting. And omg I just realised how global this story is?? Turkey, Egypt, Greece, Canada and now China?? I go, me