Romeo and Juliet
Moonless NightsA/N: Whenever you see ~*~, the story is switching between Jinki and Minji telling their story, and everyone else interrupting to talk about something semi-related. Hope it's not too confusing ^^;;
Minji took a deep breath and excused herself from the table. She brought her bag of potion ingredients from the bedroom, mixing a larger batch and passing it around the table. "I need everyone to take a drink of this, except for Taemin, Minho, and Jinki. This is a potion that will hide your knowledge and memories of me from any other vampires. The vampires here will be able to see you think of me, and when the time is right, I'll have another potion for you to drink that will take away this block," the witch explained quietly, eating a little of the dinner she had prepared.
"You really expect us to just take your word for it?" Kibum asked softly once it was his turn, the newest couple already having taken their drinks from the communal cup.
"I'm sure you know how-"
"You all gave Minho a chance," Jinki spoke up quietly, glancing over at his girlfriend. "You didn't know anything about him, but after spending a small amount of time with him, you gave him a chance. Minji and I aren't demanding you accept us completely, we're just asking for a chance to explain everything," he sighed, wishing he could just make them all understand. "But we can't risk anyone else finding out, and we need you to trust us. Please."
Knowing there was an even bigger request for Jinki's family, Minji let out a small sigh of relief when Jonghyun took the cup and drank a bit, Kibum following suit. "Now, Dongwoo doesn't have a choice in this. I would really appreciate if Kibum and Jonghyun would agree as well, but... Your tears, that's what's next," she said softly, blowing a fine powder mix into Dongwoo's face and wiping his tears quickly. "Interesting..." the eldest being in the room murmured once her eyes cleared, tilting her head and looking at him curiously.
"Why should I give you a damn thing, Gong Minji?" Jonghyun asked, his voice low as he gazed at the witch's face intently.
"Hyung..." Taemin whispered, but he knew how Jonghyun felt about witches, with good reason. And especially Minji, because she was...
"And I'm also giving Kibum and Jonghyun my blood," Minji added, taking two vials from her bag and walking around the table to place them before the two protesting vampires. She knew Kibum would probably drag his feet less if he wasn't so completely in love with and so close to Jonghyun, but she understood his issues.
Jinki stood up and stared at his girlfriend blankly, about to open his mouth in protest. "Noona, when did you... Should you do that right now?" he asked worriedly, sitting down slowly and lowering his gaze as Minji handed the vials to the vampires directly.
The witch took a deep breath, holding out a pouch of the powder. "I'll let you see me, will you let me in as well?" she asked, her tone nothing if not formal. There was a mix of relief and increased stress as the vampires nodded. Minji blew the stuff gently into their faces, collecting each man's tears softly, her own eyes b with tears as Jonghyun's life became even clearer to her.
"I know that you and I will need to talk sometime, Jonghyun, privately. I can completely understand why you hate witches, why you hate me, but..." Minji glanced down slowly. "But if you are still unwilling to trust me, if you think I'm here to cause trouble or something..." she sighed, rubbing a bit of powder into her own eye and blinking a few tears onto his hand. "I'm serious, Jonghyun, more than you could know."
"Minji noona..." Kibum whispered, holding a napkin up so the woman could dry the rest of her tears as she took her seat. He drank the blood he had been given, giving Minji an encouraging smile once he could see all the worried thoughts running in her mind.
Jonghyun stared at his hand for a few moments, biting at his lip nervously. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath before going to the kitchen sink and washing his hands so there wasn't any chance of him consuming the witch's tears. "Let's eat before it gets cold," he sighed, toying with the blood before him and finally drinking it quickly. He ate a mouthful of rice quickly to get rid of the taste, washing it down with his water.
"I know my opinion really doesn't matter," Dongwoo said quietly. "But I don't mind not being too involved with this situation. I'd like to say thank you, though, for letting me and Sungyeol be here while you tell the story of how you met and fell in love and all that mushy stuff..."
"Well, it wasn't always so mushy," Minji chuckled lightly, eating more because she was feeling slightly lightheaded from not eating all day, and the baby was none too happy about the lack of food, either.
~*~ flashback ~*~
~ two years ago ~
The strong music from the club caused Jinki's heart to pound even as he approached the building, his eyes rolling as he glanced over to his coworker. "And why are we here, again? Because I'm pretty sure I told you last time that I wasn't interested."
Kyuhyun chuckled lightly and draped his arm around the vampire's shoulders. "You know I couldn't help but bring you along. Do you have any idea how long I've waited to not be the maknae?" he smiled, unaware of the other man's actual age.
"That's right. He's been the one pouting every time we went out because he had to get our drinks and drink less to be responsible for his partying hyungs," Siwon smiled at the two of them.
"Whatever. I guess it's not totally horrible to hang out with your ugly faces. It'll just make the girls want me more," Jinki teased the 'older' men back.
Already in the club, Minji tilted her head at her classmates and shook her head. "So you really think I needed to get out this badly? You blindfolded me and stole my fake ID and convinced the bouncers it was a surprise birthday present?" she sighed, sipping on her water slowly.
"Yes," Amber answered bluntly in English, "We really did think you were that desperate," she chuckled at her friend.
Krystal smiled as well and ordered Minji a drink, with alcohol, declaring that no one was getting up until the glass was empty and the contents were in Minji's stomach.
"Fine, I'll have fun," Minji sighed before drinking the liquid quickly the glass to get her friends off her back.
"You drugged it, right? Minji needs laid, remember?" Sunyoung, who had watched entirely too much Sailor Moon as a child and demanded to be called Luna, after the heroine's cat of all things, grinned devilishly at the witch.
"Hey! I'm not completely hopeless," Minji pouted, picking up an ice cube and throwing it at Luna's head. "You just watch, I'll be driving off with some very attractive man and the five of you will all be taking separate taxis to your homes as the pitiful little girls you are," she chuckled, flipping off the entire table as she walked away to the dance floor.
Among the other living beings on the dance floor, Jinki moved between random strangers, his unfortunate experience living with a gay couple his own age making it easy for him to grind upon and dance with a small handful of men as well. His group had dissolved as soon as they were inside, each of them with their own strategy for getting what they wanted of the evening. Or night. Or early morning. Whenever what happened, happened.
~*~
"Wait," Minho stopped the story, shaking his head before looking between the pregnant couple. "So Minji is just barely out of high school? I mean, Taemin is in high school, so maybe it doesn't matter, but...," he sighed, running his hand through his hair slowly. "Then why do you call her Noona?"
The witch let out a gentle chuckle and shook her head slowly at Minho. "I don't know what all you have read concerning vampires, but I can't imagine you know very much about witches, or even werewolves or demons." She paused to take a drink and get more comfortable in her seat. "Witches have the ability, as do many demons, to alter their appearance. This makes it possible to stay unnoticed over several human lifetimes. Witches live for close to five hundred years, Minho."
"Five... five hundred years?" the human gaped, squeezing the hand of his boyfriend that was suddenly placed inside his.
"Right around that," Minho nodded with a small smile. "Witches are born under the sign of a star. Each witch has one star and each star that bears a witch has just one soul to share. The star, the source of the witch's power, has only five hundred years to live, or to exist. Once the star dies and its light burns out lightyears away, the witch will begin to die. Sometimes, though, depending how strong the spirit of the star and witch both, the life of the witch could be shorter or longer than exactly five hundred years by about a decade. Give or take a couple years.
"So you're saying you're actually much older than Jinki?" Minho tilted his head, trying not to get lost in all he was learning.
Jinki nodded with a small smile, leaning his head onto his girlfriend's shoulder. "Witches don't have their own set of years like we do. They just change how old they appear. So, in human years, I'm close to seventy. Minji, though she keeps herself looking so young, is actually..." he paused, making sure it was really alright for him to say. "Minji is about two hundred and seventy years old."
Minho's mouth fell open slowly at the news, and he couldn't imagine he would be able to retain any more information after that bomb.
~*~
As the night wore on, the vampire migrated slowly through the crowded space and had to stop dead in his tracks when suddenly someone came close enough that he couldn't read. He had been doing well enough to ignore most of the thoughts that were floating around the room, but to actually encounter someone he couldn't read threw him off his game entirely.
Minji's ability amused her even more, as flashes of who would wake up with who the next morning flooded her head. This was her reason for staying away from the clubs, she just couldn't stop seeing the things that would happen, and it made her more and more curious to see everything. She blinked, her cloudy and downcast eyes returning to normal as someone passed by who remained a blank canvas.
Since it wasn't immediately clear what or who the other person was, both the vampire and witch looked around closely to read specific people, in hopes of finding out the other supernatural person. Jinki couldn't smell a wolf anywhere, and Minji didn't sense a demon close by, but that still left each of them with two options. Plus figuring out which of the countless moving bodies the block belonged to. And then, finally, the two curious creatures happened upon one another after giving up and sitting at the bar.
The first to finally find the other was Minji, who couldn't help but have a little fun with the other. "Let's find out just what you are, hm?" she chuckled under her breath and ordered two of whatever 'the cutie five seats down' was drinking. Once she had them both, she dropped just enough of a powdered potion she kept at all times into his drink that he would really notice a change in himself, doing it quick enough that it fell from the palm of her hand as she slid the glass back to the bartender.
Jinki looked to see who had given him the drink, but the chair was empty as he turned his head to the side. Shrugging it off and assuming it was some girl too shy to stick around, he tilted the glass to his lips and took a large drink. "..." he swore, closing his eyes as they flashed red. "You should have seen that coming, Lee Jinki," he sighed, groaning as he stood up. He bit his lip as his fangs poked at his skin, a thirst for the sweet red liquid of life coming over him slowly.
"Cat got your tongue, vampy?" a giggle sounded from his right, the opposite side from when he barely felt the presence of the other person with powers in the room.
Jinki turned slowly until he found the mysterious woman who had poisoned him. Well, it wasn't even necessarily poison, but whatever it was, wasn't nice to him. "Witch, it seems," he hissed, reaching out blindly and cursing the sigh of relief that escaped his lips as a soft hand took his. "Please?" he started, nodding his head in a small bow. "Can I please have my self control back? I don't know how much longer I can hold on without attacking someone," he whispered, his nose and mind already searching out potential prey.
Minji smiled softly, another soft chuckle leaving her. "We'll see. For now, just come with me," she whispered back, leading the man through the crowd quickly until they were outside.
"I guess I could give you this other potion easily enough, but," she paused once she had taken the vampire to an empty bus stop only a block from the club and they were seated. "But you have to swear on your own blood that you'll do anything and everything I tell you for one week," the witch ordered firmly.
"A week? You want me to be your for a ing week?" Jinki growled at the woman, sighing deeply when she stood up and started walking away. "Fine. Agreed. I swear it," he muttered, opening his eyes to glare at the ground when the ... er, witch, told him she couldn't hear him. "I swear on my blood that I'll do whatever you want for a week, starting right now, if you give me the damn potion!" he said louder than he meant, but his fangs were fully unsheathed now and he knew he would pounce on the next drop of blood he smelled.
"See? That wasn't so hard," Minji smirked as she returned to the bench and handed the pitiful looking man a small bottle of water with the antidote potion already mixed in. "Drink it all and you'll be fine in ten minutes," she informed him quietly, still thinking about what all she could make the vampire do for her.
~*~
Dongwoo dropped his chopsticks, flushing when all the eyes of the table turned to him. "Sorry, I just... Minji really made you her ?" he mumbled, wincing when Sungyeol reached over to smack the back of his head. "What?"
"And who was it that said I was, and I quote, 'running the whole show' for a month after things with Taemin and the council were figured out and over? Running the whole damn show, Dongwoo. The dates, the food, the movies, the … " the human folded his arms over his chest, smirking at the red in his boyfriend's cheeks that just continued to darken.
"Running the whole show?"
"A month?"
"Who's the now?"
"I hope you like that di-"
Minji cleared , daring Kibum to finish his sentence with just one look. None of the other men met her gaze, Jonghyun even mumbling a halfhearted apology. "And that's why I want you to be a girl, baby," she sighed, rubbing over her stomach slowly.
~*~
Jinki scooted as far away from the witch as he could on the bench once he drank the potion slowly, gradually feeling more like himself. He sighed gently as he blinked his eyes open and felt completely normal, sparing a glance at the woman hesitantly. "How old are you, twelve?" he mumbled, knowing by the smirk he was given that there was no innocent child left in the witch beside him. "Please don't make me call you Master. That's it. Anything else, I'll agree to without much complaint," he said quietly, chewing his lower lip nervously because it had been decades since he felt so nervous.
"I told my friends I was going home with someone tonight, so let's start by not making me a liar," Minji finally said softly, standing up once a cab came close enough for her to flag down. She pulled the vampire close and took a picture of them next to the taxi, sending it to her friends to prove she found someone to take her home.
"My name is Lee Jinki," the vampire informed her quietly as the cab drove them to a hotel the witch decided on.
"Gong Minji."
"Go- Gong Minji?"
"Yes, that Minji."
". My. Life."
Minji giggled once more and shook her head, sighing as she opened her purse again. "Eat this. I need to keep myself hidden from your family and friends. I'd rather not many bloodsuckers know what I look like or anything else you may find out about me this week," she said gently, handing the vampire a cookie, rolling her eyes when he looked at it skeptically.
"You really think the only way we can make our ingredients work is potions and powders? We can lace nearly everything, Vampy," the woman smiled as he ate the lightly sweetened treat. "And it's not very practical to carry around a bunch of bottles or pouches if something big is happening. I made impotence brownies last week for a wife with a cheating husband. The trick is knowing what works and what doesn't, and that's why I'm the top alchemist in the country, Jinki."
"But you chose to go to high school again?"
"I chose to start over again, actually. From Kindergarten up," Minji murmured, glancing down before exiting the taxi and taking Jinki up to a room. "You know how messy things were in our world twenty years ago..."
~*~
"What happened twenty years ago?" Minho cut in quietly, gasping when Jonghyun's hand tightened enough on his glass to shatter it, blood mixing with his water as the shards sliced his skin.
Taemin took a deep breath as Kibum took Jonghyun to the bathroom to clean up and calm down, moving his chair closer to his boyfriend's. "I told you Jonghyun's mother was murdered, right? Well, it was just over twenty years ago this October," he whispered, holding Minho closer to him.
"If Minji was in such bad shape, was she the one who-"
"It was her older sister, Bom."
~*~
"So what do you want, Witch?" Jinki sighed as the woman officially invited him inside and the hotel room door closed behind them, blinking as Minji turned around with narrowed eyes.
"I won't make you call me Master, or Mistress, or even Your Highness," she glowered. "But you will address me by my name, Minji. I'm not going to call you 'Vampire' the whole week, so I expect you to give me the same courtesy."
Jinki swallowed thickly, nodding silently because all his words had left him.
Sighing slowly, feeling like she had been sighing much too much that night, Minji waved the vampire in further. "It's strange, being around someone for so long and not being able to know things that I would normally know. I mean, I know who you are to the vampire world, to your coven, to the rest of our world, but that isn't really who you are. I know what you are, Jinki," she said softly while taking off her shoes, twirling her index finger in the air so the man would turn around as she changed quickly into a comfortable t-shirt and shorts.
"I suppose I could say the same," Jinki nodded and turned around once he sensed she was finished. "I can't see what you're thinking about me, and I only know of you what I've heard. You have a longer resume than I, but what you are on paper and who you are in your heart could be completely different," he mused, not entirely convinced though, being her bit- being under her orders for a week. He nodded a small thanks when Minji handed him clothes as well, going to the bathroom to change quickly.
~*~
Kibum cleared his throat from the doorway of the kitchen. "Why were you staying in a hotel?" he asked softly, Jonghyun still calming down and needing to be alone for a few more minutes.
"I um... I had a fight with my sister and needed to leave for a while," Minji sighed, twisting a piece of hair awkwardly. "I have three sisters, Minho, and Sungyeol, if you don't know. Dara, Bom, and Chaerin, all older than me. Bom and I have different philosophies regarding a few subjects, and our arguments get rather heated and violent," she explained quietly, glancing down to eat even more of her food and sighing once more as her eyes filled with tears.
Sungyeol stood to retrieve a tissue for the woman. "I can understand that. My younger brother, Sungjong, and I have had our fair share of wars. He's broken my arm and I've broken his arm, plus a good deal of verbal abuse and words that hurt worse than any blow or kick to give," he said gently as he took his seat again, smiling lightly at his boyfriend as Dongwoo kissed his cheek.
Jonghyun cleared his throat beside Kibum, lowering his gaze before looking up to the witch's face. "Sorry about that," he mumbled, keeping his eyes downcast while he took his seat once more. "So, what happened during that week?"
~*~
"You want me to cuddle with you? Seriously?" Jinki sighed, shaking his head at himself as he crawled under the covers hesitantly.
Minji sighed and rolled to face him. "Yes. Is it really that hard to believe that I'm not inherently evil or dragged you up here to me into dawn or some ? All I want tonight is just... Some other warm body. Someone who knows who and what I am that I don't have to lie to. I want someone to hold me because my sister is an absolute and... I... just..." she stopped herself and closed her eyes, turning away from the vampire and hugging a pillow close to her.
Blinking at the outburst, Jinki turned out the lights and bit his lip as he drew closer. "I'm sorry," he whispered, running his hands up and down the woman's arm gently. "Some... Something will work out. She's your sister, after all," he said quietly, hoping it might help her to relax and biting at his lip harder because he couldn't figure out why he cared.
"Thank you," the witch murmured as her hold on her pillow loosened. Jinki stayed awake until he was certain she was asleep, waiting until then to move closer and drape his arm around her waist hesitantly. He slept better than he had imagined he would, being subject to one of the most powerful witches in the country, of one of the more powerful covens in the world.
There was already a room service tray full of breakfast waiting when the vampire woke up, blinking as Minji sat across the room in a robe, her hair still wet from a shower.
"I finally made a decision for the rest of the week. One night has passed, so there are seven days and six nights remaining," she informed him, rolling her eyes as he looked at the tray. "Eat, Vam- Jinki," she corrected herself, unaware that a small part of Jinki found 'Vampy' just cute enough to not hate it. "I want you to live with me here for the whole week. I have school and you have work, but my order is for you to stay here otherwise," Minji told him quietly, smiling gently as the vampire nodded in agreement.
"I need to go home and get more clothes?" the man answered, asking permission with his tone and smiling back at the other's nod.
Minji smiled a little bigger as they both got a plate and she sat back with her legs crossed. "I've placed a 'Do Not Disturb' sign on the door, including the maid. You're my maid this week. Make the bed, pick up the mess, do my laundry, iron my uniform, blah blah blah," she grinned, knowing full well that he'd been raised with his own maids to do that for him.
Although the news wasn't completely pleasant, neither was it a complete surprise. "Is that everything? Just being your maid?" he dared to ask, knowing immediately by the woman's smirk that it was not. "I suppose you'll tell me as we go."
~*~
"So that's why he started making his bed and putting his dirty clothes into a basket..." Jonghyun mused, chuckling at the look Jinki gave him.
Jinki picked up a piece of carrot and threw it at Jonghyun's head. "I wasn't a complete slob. You make it sound like my room was in a constant state of utter chaos..."
"You didn't even know where a laundry basket was, Lee Jinki."
~*~
The second night was almost identical to the first, but without the alcohol. Jinki had gone home after work to pack a bag, evading most questions and finally making up that he needed to house sit at Siwon's parent's place because the family was going on a vacation and couldn't take their dog.
Instead of staying out late at a club, Minji picked up a pizza and breadsticks, and they sat in bed for hours just talking. The pizza was still on the end of the bed when they woke up the next morning, facing each other and only half under the covers because the night had taken them despite their efforts to stay awake. And Jinki discovered for the first time that cold pizza left out overnight was one of the most amazing breakfasts he'd ever had.
~*~
"Cold pizza? You ate cold. Pizza. For breakfast..." Jonghyun gaped, a few pieces fitting into place. Because it was apparently around when he met Minji that Jinki had started changing. Before, he was one of the most persnickety and uptight stick-in-the-muds Jonghyun had ever met. He was nice enough, sure, but everything just had to be so so.
"It's even better if you have a hangover," Taemin offered, nearly all eyes turning to him, then narrowing at Minho.
"One night. He wanted to drink and he's well old enough and we got drunk and ate pizza and watched old movies. One. Night," Minho defended himself quickly, mumbling something about how his baby wasn't a baby before filling his mouth with more food.
~*~
Thursday evening, night number six, Minji was more than surprised at herself at the smile that spread on her face when she heard the door to her room open, covering and thinking about Bom to make herself calm down.
"Homework?" Jinki mused softly when he saw the book she had out. "Do you even actually study? Or do you already know all of the subjects without having to try?" he chuckled, not sure how he'd fallen into complete comfort with the witch.
"Actually, I have to review for the tests to make sure I'm getting the same thing wrong. It's like studying, but to be imperfect," Minji explained, closing her notebook once she reworked the formula just enough to get her answer close, but incorrect for that section. "Only two more days, you must be all smiley because you get to leave me soon," she chuckled lightly, rubbing at her shoulder because she'd been hunched over for so long.
Jinki just stuck out his tongue. "How did you know, Noona?" he teased, ducking to avoid the pen thrown at him. "Come here," he said softly and sat on the edge of the bed, pulling Minji's desk chair closer. "Don't you have some sort of knot relieving junk you could mix up to help with this?" he asked curiously as he pressed his palms and fingers against her neck and shoulders firmly to loosen her muscles.
"Where's the fun in that when I have a big stro- Ah!" she cut off with a yelped moan, barely flushing as she cleared . "I have you for that right now..."
"It'll work better if you lie down and take your shirt off," the vampire offered quietly, not expecting the woman to actually get up and do as he said. He swallowed thickly and grabbed a bottle of lotion from the bathroom, gasping and dropping the bottle when he saw that Minji had taken her bra off as well to lie on her stomach on the bed.
"Don't tell me you've never seen a topless woman before, Oppa..."
Jinki tried to swallow from his nerves, but his throat had gone dry and he cleared his throat instead as he picked up the lotion. "Of course I have, I just... Oh hush..." he mumbled when Minji giggled up at him.
~*~
"Please tell me this is going where I think it's going."
"Hyung!" Taemin half whined at Kibum, the older vampire grinning back at him.
"You'll be topless for Min- Wait, already done. Because the two of you-"
"Kibum."
The mentioned vampire turned his gaze to Minho, the two of them having a short conversation of stares and head shakes, eye flicks and head nods. "Oh... Oh!" Kibum amended. "Good, because Taemin isn't allowed to have until after I'm dead."
Taemin groaned, picking up a full bottle of water to send through the air at Kibum's head. "I hate you so much," he muttered, the whole table knowing it was a temporary emotion.
"Wait... So you really haven't ever..." Dongwoo bit his lip, regretting a few more taunts he'd given Taemin recently. And then there was the .
"No, I haven't ever. I've gotten further with you than my own boyfriend, you prick," Taemin glared, his eyes rolling when the older boy murmured another apology. "So... Jinki hyung... Did you?" he asked, a slightly mischievous glint in his eye.
~*~
"That was amazing. Where did you learn how to do that?" Minji sighed on the bed, not at all feeling like moving after everything Jinki had just done.
Jinki smiled as he handed the witch a robe. "From a doctor, actually. I thought about becoming a physical therapist for a while, and I had good enough grades that a doctor in that field let me shadow her. Some of her patients let me practice, plus I have three other guys around my age at home that didn't mind free massages one bit," he chuckled lightly.
"Well, I believe that was the best massage I've had in a very long time," Minji smiled at the vampire, taking a deep breath before pressing her lips to his cheek. "Thank you," she murmured, escaping to the bathroom quickly because being 'high school age' made her emotions all aflutter.
It was the next night that things really changed, Minji walking in to find Jinki already waiting for her and dressed just a bit fancier than just what he wore to his job.
"I thought that since it's the last night, maybe we could go out," the vampire murmured. "I want to say thank you and tell you that this has been much, much less horrible than I could have ever imagined," he added, his hand lifting to rub the back of his neck awkwardly.
"Lee Jinki, are you asking me out on a date?" the witch blinked, smiling lightly as Jinki gave a sheepish nod. "Go wait downstairs, then. I'll freshen up and we can go," she said softly, waiting for him to leave before throwing herself on the bed and rolling around as rather girly squeals escaped her lips.
Jinki dropped his phone as his mouth opened slowly once he saw Minji walking toward him in a short dress that fit her in all the right ways. "Tae? I'll call you sometime tomorrow..." he mumbled before hanging up his call and slipping his phone back into his pocket.
"I'm just a girl, Jinki," the witch giggled, but she bit at her lip nervously as the man took her hand. She'd aged herself just a bit, just enough that no one would think there was some sort of inappropriate . Which, technically, there was, but it was she who was robbing the cradle.
The vampire led Minji outside to his car, opening the door for her and driving just out of the heart of the city. "I hope you don't mind me choosing on my own," he murmured once he had pulled up to a Japanese restaurant and smiled softly at the soft look on the woman's face.
To the surprise of them both, neither the witch nor the vampire dropped their smile during the entire evening. The surprise, and the delight. They went on a walk near a river, Jinki's hand eventually finding its way into Minji's.
Jinki knew once they got back to the hotel that they both knew what would happen in the room. He also knew that if it had happened the first night, it would have been angry and fast and hard and he was unspeakably happy that it would be tonight.
Minji gasped, moments after the hotel room door closed, standing at the closet to slip off her shoes, when a pair of arms wrapped around her waist and a pair of lips pressed against her neck. For the first time in her life, she didn't know what was going to happen. And for the first time in her life, she didn't want to know all the answers before the questions were even asked, wanted to hope it all worked out.
Taking the way the witch leaned her head to the side to give him more room, Jinki kissed her neck once more and walked her slowly to the bed. For the first time in her life, he didn't know what the woman he was with wanted, what exactly made her happy. And for the first time in his life, he didn't want to know everything before he needed to, wanted to learn on his own and just hope it worked right.
Jinki took a deep breath, Minji's eyes fluttering closed just before his, as they settled on the bed. But both pairs of eyes flashed open and stared deep into the others as one gentle kiss was shared between them. One kiss was all they needed, and they knew.
~*~
"But you did more than kiss, right?" Jonghyun cut in, blushing when everyone turned to look at him with wide eyes. "What? It's a valid question. Minji's not pregnant because they kissed, I was just wondering if that was really their first time," he defended himself quickly.
Jinki rolled his eyes and took Minji's hand. "Yes, that was the first night we slept together. And we stayed in bed more or less the entire next day. Then we exchanged numbers and we started dating regularly," he wrapped up his story quickly with a gentle squeeze of the witch's hand.
"And then we fell in love. But this child here," Minji chuckled at her boyfriend. "He took forever to actually say it. Then again, when he did, it was definitely worth the wait," she smiled gently as she leaned over to brush her lips against the younger's, ignoring the chorus of 'aww's from the table.
The rest of dinner went by without incident, Minho and Kibum rising to help clear the table. "Dongwoo will get that," Taemin said softly, not even sparing the older vampire a glance because he knew Dongwoo would obey. Dongwoo nodded slowly and stacked the dishes carefully, smiling when Sungyeol came to help him wash them. The uncharacteristically submissive behaving vampire kissed his boyfriend's cheek and sent him downstairs once they were done, biting at his lower lip as Taemin walked him to the door.
"I know you're smart enough to not delude yourself in thinking you won't receive any punishment. Even if I decided to forgive you completely, which I haven't, you have the Elders to answer to," Taemin said quietly, hesitating before looking up to Dongwoo's face. "You have no real idea what the two of you did to me, Dongwoo. I can't forgive you now, and I most certainly can't forget it, but..." he sighed, glancing briefly at the floor. "But you've been really nice lately, and you saved me in the park. I won't forget that either, Hyung," he whispered and turned away slowly. "Oh, and I'll make sure you stay invited here, even if you're not exactly welcome," he added before letting the elder leave after a small bow.
"Jonghyun?" Minji called softly, the vampire nodding silently as he followed her into the bedroom. "I thought it might be best for us to get our talk over with," she explained quietly and sat on the bed while Jonghyun took a chair.
"She was my mother," the vampire started quickly. "She was my mother and there are so, so many times that I needed my mom," he whispered, refusing to let himself cry. "Jinki's mom has been really great, but... But..."
"But she's not your real mother. The woman who gave birth to you and who raised you first, she was murdered."
"Murdered by your ing sister. How can you expect me to ever forgive her? How can I accept you when you... You're a witch, like her... She was my mother, Minji. She's dead and sometimes I can't even remember things about her," the man admitted quietly. "I love Jinki's mom and all, but I just... There were so many times that I just needed my mom. I needed my mom and I wanted my mom and she wasn't there and... Dammit, Minji. I may not hate you so much, but I'll hate your sister until the day I die," he hissed, his eyes b with tears, and he wasn't quite sure the emotion behind them.
Minji sighed and hesitantly reached out for Jonghyun's hand. "I'm not my sister, Jonghyun. I've done bad things, we all have. But I always look at the whole story. Bom just does stuff because she can," she tried to explain to him.
"I don't even know why it happened," the vampire said quietly, squeezing Minji's hand gently. "I vaguely remember hearing how it happened, and what witch was responsible, but nobody ever told me why she was murdered."
"From what I understand, an old lover of your father's hadn't moved on from him," Minji said slowly. "She came to Bom and Bom accepted because she's cruel. She only cares about herself, so she took the payment and made a plan. The woman thought that if your mother was out of the picture, she could take her place. Bom used that woman's daughter, putting a spell on her. She gave the girl a poisoned knife and basically made her into a puppet to kill your mother, and then took away all the girl's memory of the whole event."
Jonghyun shook his head in disbelief. "All because some crazy was in love with my father?" he blinked, those tears finally rolling down his cheeks slowly.
"I'm sorry, Jonghyun, but people come to us with all sorts of outrageous requests all the time. Bom just takes up more offers, the violent ones that most of the time shouldn't happen," Minji sighed as she lowered her gaze.
"I know none of this is an excuse, and I understand if my relation to the witch who killed your mother means that you can neve-"
"I can accept you," Jonghyun said slowly, biting at his lip nervously. "It's going to take some time to really get used to you and being a witch and everything, but... I think that I can accept you, and I can support your relationship with Jinki."
Minji blinked, her arms wrapped around the vampire tightly before she realized it. "Thank you," she whispered, closing her eyes as relief flooded over her. "Thank you, Jonghyun, thank you so much. All I need is a chance, I'll show you how different I am..."
The younger creature nodded slowly and hugged her back. "I'll give you your chance," he murmured, pulling away slowly and taking the woman's hand. "Let's go," Jonghyun smiled as he led Minji into the living room where everyone was waiting anxiously.
"Well?" Taemin was the first to break the silence, Jinki and Kibum both growing stiff as they awaited the answer from the most awkward pair in the apartment. The room fell eerily quiet again as Jonghyun moved to Kibum and held him close, and Minji slid into Jinki's lap.
"We're going to see how things go," Jonghyun said quietly. "I'm going to give you a chance, as a couple and as parents," he murmured, holding Kibum tighter and sighing slowly. "It's going to be hard, especially at first. Being around any witch would make me think about what happened, it's just going to be even worse because of which witch is here," he sighed, looking up to Minji slowly and giving a light smile. "But Minji noona isn't evil. I'm going to be hopeful that everything works out well."
"And Jonghyun isn't full of as much hate as he'd like everyone to believe," Minji smiled back at the vampire. "If anything, he's a giant fluffy puppy hidden in a scowling wolf," she giggled at his faux offended look at being compared to a werewolf.
Kibum grinned and kissed the older man softly. "Awwww... My Jjongie is such a big boy," he cooed, pinching Jonghyun's cheek and making baby noises at him.
"So, Taemin is ignited..." Minho started quietly. "Dongwoo isn't the spawn of satan, not as much anyway. And now Minji and Jonghyun have made up," he listed the recent events in their lives. "So what's next on our insane to-do list?"
All the eyes in the room turned to Taemin slowly when the youngest vampire let out a low chuckle. He grinned slowly as his eyes took on a rather sinister glint. "Jinki hyung, you can help me get an appointment with the Elder Council, right? I have a few things I need to discuss with them."
A/N: So, there you have it. Minji meets Jinki and blah blah blah lovey dovey fun stuffs. And the answer to the riddle of why Jonghyun hates witches so very much. Hope you enjoyed~
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