Few centuries ago, when Heirs were living as Nobles and Humans were considered as slaves, there was this one chores boy and this one cold tempered second son.

The Nobles were used to be entertained by beautiful dancers and performers, sustained with their sweet blood and never being refused anything.

For the banquet of the night, simple celebration of their father's 50th birthday, Hanbin was sat between his two brothers, right in front of the wooden door opening and closing as the servants went in and out to serve the dishes.

Jiwon, the older of the three, was munching on his food happily while eyeing one of the gracious dancers ; the little blond one, with his torso exposed by the loose shirt he was wearing. They knew this kind of stare. Jiwon intended to spend a good night with this human, for sure.

On his right, Junhoe, the youngest, had propped his chin on his hand, seemingly annoyed by the lack of interesting events. Junhoe was the kind to have fun when there were troubles, never missing a chance to cause some for his own pleasure. Maybe was he already planning something, who knows ? The kid liked to act when no one expected it.

The feast went by unexpectedly slowly and Hanbin was seriously thinking about leaving the reception room when they finally announced the dessert. Cakes covered with whipped cream, exotic fruits and shots of various liquors made their entrance on golden plates hold by lightly dressed humans, themselves considered as a part of the last serving. They were all incredibly good looking. From bright to dark colored eyes, flawless milky to chocolate skin, delicate to strong features .. Everyone could find at least one human matching their tastes.

Hanbin had his eyes on a skinny boy, brown haired with charming eyes and a genuine smile when the door slammed opened and someone was pushed inside the room with a harsh groan. The plate he was holding fell on the floor with a clear clanking sound.

The new intruder managed to get back on his shoesless feet, looking at the shut door helplessly under the numerous judging pairs of eyes.

When he turned his head to face the assembly composed of Heirs, Hanbin swore he saw his eyes glinting with combativity for a small moment before it returned to fear. No one seemed to pay further attention to the small boy after a while, back to their busy chattings with their lucky chosen ones while groping their bodies shamelessly, but the second son remained focused on him. The human chewed on his lower lip and quietly leaned on the wall, trying to blend into the decor as maids rushed to clean the mess he'd caused. Discretly, his right hand came up to rub his elbow and Hanbin followed the motion, noticing all the small bruises and scratches covering his frail white skin. At that moment, the prince knew he wasn't here to be used as a show-off for the reception.

Suddenly, he stood up and went to whisper something at the boy's ear before disappearing with him through the main door. Jiwon and Junhoe exchanged a knowing stare, both surprised by the uncommon event.

Hanbin had never taken a human to his room.

The bathroom slowly filled up with a relaxing silence as Hanbin carefully swept a wet cloth onto the human's bare chest. None of them was blushing, but they both refused to make any eye contact. Once the task done, he plunged the cloth back into the basin and quickly wrung it out before attacking the smooth back.

"What's your name ?", he cautiously asked, eyes focused on the long and deep scar stretching from the other's right shoulder to his left side.

Under his light touch, the servant tensed. Even if his back was facing Hanbin, the latter knew the human was facing a great dilemma. Someone his rank had never been allowed to address the Royalty, but at the same time, the prince asked him something and it would be considered really rude from him to keep the answer. As Hanbin sighed heavily to show he'd been waiting for a reply, the human coughed and excused himself.

"You can talk to me, I wouldn't ask otherwise", he finally said, retrieving the weight off the smaller's shoulders.

"My name is Jinhwan, your Highness", the other then replied, barely louder than a whisper.

Hanbin hummed in respond and carefully draped a soft towel on the smaller's shoulders, moving from his place to face him.

"How old are you ?", he inquired, eyes locking with Jinhwan's soft brown ones.

The black pupils he was looking at almost instantly dilated and he saw the other slightly backing away. Hanbin had always been told since his childhood that he was committed to grow up into a handsome man, giving off a strong and fierce aura, feared by many but admired by all the others. Even if Jiwon was the oldest, Hanbin was believed to succeed to their father, taking the role of ruling the small fief. But this would already be another story to be told.

The Heir slowly reached for the human's chin, lifting it up to take a proper look at the face that picked his curiosity. Under the grease, the oil and the dirt stood something even more surprising than what he'd imagined.

The appreciation should have been visible because the human's cheeks turned into a beautiful shade of red. The skin was flawless and as white as milk, glowing with a really thin layer of moisture left by Hanbin's previous cleaning. The nose was perfectly arched and what to say about those pinkish plump lips. He felt mesmerized by that amout of perfection united in this one small frame, feeling the urge to taste it right here and now. This human must have been raised for the court after all, he was sure about it.

As the prince let his mind wonder about all the things that could happen in the next couple of hours, Jinhwan tentatively wet his lips and swallowed his saliva before answering, all of this getting well noticed by Hanbin's intense stare.

"I'm turning 21 in two months, your Highness" he added, his small hands gripping on the towel and pulling it closer to hide his exposed skin.

In human age, Hanbin should have been younger than the servant, but knowing how blood gave Heirs regeneration abilities and longer life expectancies, it wasn't surprising to see the prince nodding and smiling endearingly.

"Tell me if I'm wrong, but you weren't supposed to come to the reception, right ?" Hanbin asked, although already knowing the answer. It was clearly a negative one.

No one looking as dirty as Jinhwan was could be sent in front of the Nobles, so what happened for him to end up in that situation ? The guests had kept their comments low because his father was powerful but he knew as a matter of fact that the Lord had been really embarrassed and the one responsible for this accident was going to pay for it. In front of him, Jinhwan shivered and nodded quietly. It was enough for Hanbin to seize the hint and he got up, giving his hand for the human to take.

"Let's sit in my room, you're going to catch a cold here.", he stated as they entered in the bedroom heated by the fireplace.

Hanbin motionned the smaller to take a sit on his king sized bed while he took off his heavy embroidered costume to leave it on a chair. He followed Jinhwan's eyes and smiled when they glinted with something near the concept of desire. It was a good thing if the other liked what he was looking at. The white shirt he chose to match the black trousers had definitively been a good pick.

He slowly made his way back to the bed and parted Jinhwan's legs with his knee, once again lifting his chin with his right hand but this time with the aim of kissing him. The human showed no opposition, accepting the kiss and giving it back as if it was only the natural thing to do, and maybe it was. Refusing something to a Heir had never been a wise idea.

As minutes went by, the kiss rose in intensity and soon, the prince was overhanging the submissive human. His right hand was pinning Jinhwan's ones above his head as the left one played with the soft skin of his hip. They shouldn't have ended in this position, but the smaller had been way more invasive than expected and Hanbin wasn't the kind to let people get out of his control. As soon as a moan escaped from Jinhwan's parted lips, the Heir broke the kiss and put some distance between their chests, taking the time to register the flush on the other's face, his slightly kiss-bitten lips covered with a shiny coat and his unsteady breathing.

Jinhwan was simply beautiful.

While Hanbin was caught in his thoughts, Jinhwan arched his back to steal a kiss, smiling playfully. Snatched back into reality, Hanbin glared at him with rounded eyes before anger covered his red irises with a thick veil. Underneath him, Jinhwan bit the inside of his cheek and tried to sink further in the mattress. He'd messed up, didn't he ?

"What do you think you're doing ?"

His Highness' voice sounded rough and low, not a bit liking what just happened. His thoughtless behavior got him in a sensible situation again, and if he could, he'd laughed about his stupidity. The sayings were false, Jinhwan wasn't one to learn from his mistakes.

At the moment, he couldn't reply, keeping his mouth shut and willing to wipe away the tears gathering at the corner of his eyes. He wasn't sad, nor afraid, rather embarrassed and wishing to get the things done as soon as possible. It had been naive of him to think that the Heir would be one to like some challenge coming from a mere piece of meat. Because it was what humans were, right ?

It wasn't a world for the weak ones to live in.

Fate was the one dictating your whole life, first based on your nature. If you were born a Heir, congratulations my dear, you hit the jackpot. Live well, rest well and be sure you'll have a beautiful coffin when you'll die. On the contrary, if you were born a Human, better wish you luck next time. Only two roads were traced for you to follow : the one leading you to be raised for the court if you were pretty enough, learning how to dance, read, play instruments, .. even how to please the Nobles with false giggles and excessive abuse of eyelashes flutterings. Jinhwan found it disgusting. The other one went straight to the ungrateful life, from servants working under Heirs' directions to blood containers, none of it was really a lifetime dream.

Hanbin looked at him for a while, finally sighing and letting go of his wrists. He didn't dare to move even from an inch, still surprised by the turn taken by the event. He almost expected the other to turn into a crazy mess and rip his throat like some melted butter for acting like he did. 

"Tell me why you were pushed in the reception room with a plate", the prince demanded as he took place against the fluffy pillows.

Jinhwan slowly straightened and shyly turned his head to gauge Hanbin's expression. The latter tapped the place next to him and spread his arm. Understanding the voiceless request, the smaller went on all fours and approched the Heir, trying to remain calm. When he sat where the other wanted him to be, Hanbin's hand brushed his hair back and dragged his head against his chest. He instinctively put a hand on the firm pectoral and listened to the steady heartbeat resounding. It was a pleasant melody.

"I ..", he needed to think about where to start. "One of the girls who had to hold the plates went missing just before they had to go in and I happened to pass by with a broom and a bucket." He quietly spoke up. "They told me to go and clean the stairs but a guard suddenly grabbed by arm and gave me a plate."

This was bad, he was starting to talk too freely.

"Before I could understand what was going on, I was being pushed and the next second, I was on the floor with a bunch of Heirs looking at me as if I was a fuc-" He jerked up as he realized his words, both of his hands clapsed on his mouth.

Hanbin made him put his head on his torso again wih a grin and pressed him in a tight embrace.

"Go on", the Heir murmured. So he obeyed.

The prince didn't mind him bad mouthing everything ?

The more he talked, the more he thought that it was weird to narrate his day to a Heir, furthermore this one being one of the princes. But somehow, it became easy to follow the stream of his memories, Hanbin's hand playing with his hair helping with the relaxation. His story started from his unexpected presence in the room to be followed by the list of his daily chores, until he got to talk about his parents. He knew he grew up with them until the age of 5, keeping a small amount of souvenirs that slowly faded day by day until it was difficult for him to even remember their faces. Their voices, however, remained unstrained by the flow of time. He told Hanbin that he liked to think about it before sleeping, that it was a good mean to keep the nightmares away. The Heir listened to him carefully, nodding and humming when he felt Jinhwan hesitating to go on.

They shouldn't have ended in this position, but maybe it was ok. Maybe it was ok for them to want to stay in that bed forever, one listening to the other's soothing voice and the other listening to the melodious heartbeat.

Maybe it was ok for them feel this string tugging at their hearts.

Hanbin sat still on the wooden chair of the small kitchen, knees againts his chest and chin propped on top of them, patiently listening to Jinhwan talking about how potatoes' seeds could be poisonous if treated unconsciously. The smaller boy was busy peeling them and a look at the two full buckets left made Hanbin roll his eyes.

"Why are you the only one peeling them ? Shouldn't the others help you ?", the curious prince asked.

Honestly speaking, he wanted the other to finish the chores as soon as possible so they could cuddle and talk until sleep win over them. Jinhwan stopped the knife for a brief second, and then put on the fake smile Hanbin learnt to hate. The human was hurt and tried to hide it behind a mask.

"They're probably sweeping the floor or putting on the tables" he replied, gently throwing the peeled potato into a side bucket. He took another one.

"No, I mean .. Servants usually work together so the tasks are done faster, but it seems like you're always alone," Hanbin pointed out. "Why ?"

The human winced. The fact itself was painful enough, he didn't need the prince to remind him about it.

He put down both the knife and the vegetable before whiping his hands on his apron. When his eyes met the other's, he resigned. As quick-witted as Hanbin was, he'd have figured it out himself some day anyway.

"They don't like me" he blurted out. "They act awful with me because I wasn't meant to peel potatoes and scour pans. The bruises, the scratches .."

When Jinhwan stopped talking, he saw Hanbin's hand crossing his sight, grabbing the knife and the half-peeled potato to give it a try. The smaller let him be and picked another set to go on.

"They said that I had the best life they could dream of and that I was stupid for messing it up," he sighed, smiling fondly at the Heir struggling to get one single potato done. "I overheard them talking about me, mocking me." It was the hardest part, certainly because they knew nothing about him. They didn't know about the hell he lived in. His current life was a million time better.

"They called me names, tried to put themselves at my place and bragged about how they'd have acted", he chuckled bitterly. "If they're so willing to try it, I bet they'd be happy to be abused by gross women and old men."

The single thought of their wet lips pressing against his skin and their fangs digging into his soft neck made him shiver. He saw from the corner of his eyes that Hanbin had stopped all movement, silently staring at him. He ignored it and went on.

"Every banquets, every feasts .." His voice trembled. "It was the worst. You're made to take a bath three times a day and each time, they scrub your skin to the point where you're almost bleeding. And you know what ? You can't complain, because it means that you can talk, and if you can talk, then it's because they didn't scrub hard enough to make you shut up. They want you to be in pain, want it to be so painful you want to cry." He took in a deep breath, checking on the other's paling face.

"Once it's done, they use a ton of products on you. Flower scented soap, essential oils, crystals powder, rose perfume, sugar syrup, sometimes honey .. It was so much I always had headaches and got scolded for not standing straight and not smiling like they taught me to" Jinhwan sniffed and whiped his teary eyes with his dirty sleeve.

"Jinhwan .." Hanbin tried, reaching out a hand to grab the smaller's one.

"No Hanbin, hear me out !" He swept the hand away, immediatly regretting it when he saw the Heir hurt expression. "I don't know how things are done here, but where I was, it was horrible. You never see the same faces, never get touched by the same people .. The strangers groping you, kissing and l icking your skin, it was disgusting yet you had to act as if you enjoyed that ! Feeling loved, needed, adulated .. None of that is true" He couldn't help the tears rolling down his cheeks now. Hanbin closed him in a protective hug, but it was too late. The burried memories were surfacing and he needed to get rid of them.

"I was a toy that you used once and throw away after having fun with it. Useless, meaningless, replaceable. I felt like trash." He glanced up at the taller, eyes puffy and lips bitten. "We were almost thirty in a room of twenty Heirs, so why did they always choose me, Hanbin ? Why me out of all us ? Because I'm prettier ?" He closed his eyes, it hurt. "I hate being pretty."

He felt tender fingers under his chin, the next second, warm lips were wrapped on his chapped ones.

He broke the kiss after a moment, opening his eyes to face Hanbin with a sad smile. The other's hand brushed through his hair and pulled him back in his embrace.

"How do you protect your humans here, Hanbin ? Are the guests allowed to take more than blood and a few kisses from them ?" Jinhwan asked, voice muffled against the other's chest.

"What do you mean ?" Hanbin asked, throat tight and hardly holding back a gag. It was rhetorical. He knew what Jinhwan was talking about.

"They drank my blood and I gave them my body, Hanbin .." His small hands grabbed the silk of the Heir's shirt. He wished the other wouldn't let got. "It's basically making me a wh.re. Do you really want to deal with that ?"

Hanbin said nothing, hugged him harder. It was Jinhwan who had spoken, but why did he feel so bare and raw ? Why did it hurt so much ?

Being with Jinhwan made Hanbin realized a handful of things about Humans and about Heirs. He seized concepts and ways of thinking he'd never thought about, never heard nor could imagine. After the outburst in the kitchen, both of them started acting awkward toward each other. Even if the servant seemed pretty fine with it, it was different for the prince.

Over the time, he grew used to the other's presence whenever he went to sleep, got used to Jinhwan's soft chuckles when he tried to memorise his lessons .. It even felt weird not to stick around the kitchen to mess with his cute grumpy side when Hanbin was being annoying. 

On top of that, thirst had started to dry his throat to the point it was hardly bearable. He tried to drink from others than the smaller, but none of his attempts met the expected result. He'd only drunk a few times from Jinhwan, but each occasion had been so pleasant and intimate, he could admit that he was now addicted. 

The first time he went for it was during a late night where the wind blew so strongly it was almost hard to hear the smaller's voice. Jinhwan was going again over his first days in the castle after being sent away from his previous place.

"She had the good idea to bite me, but not to drink from me, you know ? She just wanted to hear me cry in pain, so I bit her back." He said, running his fingers on Hanbin's nape, eyes glued to the ceiling where the branches' shadows danced to storm's rhythm. "She hated it and became a true fury. I still don't know how I managed to get out of it with a simple scar .."

Hanbin hummed and brushed his nose against the smooth skin of his neck. He could feel the pulsing jugular just underneath the thin layer and started to s uck on it with the attention of leaving a hickey. Jinhwan moaned but kept his eyes on the moving picture, letting the other play with his tongue on the sensitive skin. The Heir ran his fingers under the thin blouse as he opened his mouth. He carefullly trailed the tip of his fangs along the vein, waiting for the younger to protest if he wanted to. Surprisingly, a chuckle brushed away his doubts and the fingers on his nape came up to tangle with his messy strands.

"I want it too", and even in the darkness of his bedroom, Hanbin knew Jinhwan was smiling.

The papers pilled up on his desk showed no resistance when he swept his arm across the wooden surface, upset at the fact that he couldn't find the sleep even after 3 days without blinking a bit. The maids were going to have a hard time cleaning his mess, but he couldn't care less. Actually, he just wanted to sleep, get rid of his thirst, his mood swings and as far as he knew, only one person could accomplish all in one. Even more upset after thinking about his missing piece, he slumped down on his bed, face in the pillows. Against all expectation, slumber came to tickle his lids and he didn't hear the door opening.

Hanbin almost got a heart attack when a small hand caressed his cheek. Luckily, he knew who it was. A relieved sigh escaped his lips and he rolled onto his back, welcoming the new comer with a tight hug. Jinhwan easily gave in and stuck his nose against the prince's shoulder.

"I'm sorry", he mumbled, wrapping his arms around the narrow chest.

Hanbin smiled, face burried in the smaller's hair. Only then did he realize how much he missed this scent too. Not even bothering to answer, he huffed and fell asleep with the familiar body curling at his sides.

On the morning, he woke up next to a wide awake Jinhwan looking at him. The younger had his face cupped by his hands, elbows angled to maintain his head up. When he saw the other moving, his face lit up and the Heir melted at the cuteness. He felt tiny arms encircling him and he nuzzled at the purposely exposed throat to let his fangs tore the white flesh.

Jinhwan sighed and ran his fingers on his back.

"Remind me to never let you bite me when you just woke up. You dig in like like a starv-"

Hanbin shushed him with a bloody kiss.

"I think I love you", he said hesitantly after breaking the kiss.

"You better think again then if you're not sure", Jinhwan replied with a grin.

---

This OS was a bit short, my bad ..

I felt like ending it here but seems like I can pick it up again and add other moments, right ? I actually like writing open endings so I can go on with part 2 or 3 for when I feel like writing them aha !

Thank you for bearing with me and always showing support. I say it too much, but it really means a lot to me !

I'm rather active on Twitter nowadays, so if any of you want to chat, use @Mins_grass ! The Binhwan shippers community is starving :')