It took some time for Tao to regain his breath, his cheeks were flushed and his vision somehow blurry, adrenaline still rushing through his veins. The other vampire had disappeared already, only his last words “Let the game begin” were still vibrating through the chilly air. Something about these words made Tao tremble with both excitement and slight fear.

Just some meters away another vampire appeared standing by a giant oak tree. The darkness didn’t allow Tao to recognize him right away but the older boy didn’t let him wait for all too long.
After taking some steps towards the baby he stopped and closed his eyes, trying to concentrate on the smell.

“I see my brother was faster than me… he always tries to be the first. It’s very unfair, don’t you think so too?” A large grin, which Tao already thought of was typical for the whole family, was spread over the older’s face while he stepped closer. Now that the moonlight hit his face, Tao could see the older’s flawless features.

Again his heart was racing in his chest when he felt the older getting really close until their bodies touched. It took the experienced vampire no time to connect their lips. Even though Tao didn’t try to resist or take control, the older was not really satisfied with the kiss and the extent of power he had. Pushing the younger vampire backwards, he soon made sure to press him against some old tree to gain more control of the situation.

Tao tried to break the kiss in order to catch his breath but the other wouldn’t let him. Only when Tao began to tremble and tightly grab the older’s shoulders, he was granted some air. Turning to the side to breathe properly, the boy heard a low chuckle right next to his ear.

“Just to inform you… you’ll never have any kind of control in case you choose me. Even if this information lessens my chances, I’m not afraid to tell you. If you like this… don’t be afraid to tell me. I’ll be glad to win this game and hear my foolish brothers whine about my victory.” His deep voice so close to Tao’s ear made the younger shiver in slight excitement, how had he even agreed on this confusing game?

Before leaving Tao alone, the older pushed his mouth to the boy’s neck and it, tasting the blood through the delicate skin. The next moment he was gone, laughing all the way as he flashed towards town suddenly longing for some fresh blood.

Almost one hour passed before Tao heard another noise. All the time he had been trying to get out of the forest but even though he was sober again, there was no way to find the right way in the giant, foreign forest. First sunrays tried to push the night sky away, however could not lighten the leaf-covered ground. Tao walked through the damp grass of a meadow he had crossed two times already. He planned to sit down in the middle of the field to wait for the daylight to help him find the way back, but before he could reach the place a sudden force pushed him onto the ground.

The heavy impact made both vampires roll on the damp ground until they ended up with the older vampire lying on top of Tao. For a moment they just looked at each other before the older grinned the Kim-clan-grin, as Tao called it already.

“Have you been waiting for me?” The older asked while pushing some of the younger’s sweaty hair out of his face.
“I… somehow expected you to come. What took you so long?”

“Mhhh… I had a little talk with my brothers and… it was hard to find you, we’re very far away from our house.” He blow some hot air against Tao’s neck when the younger blinked at him in surprise “Tell me… do you like our game so far?”

“It is weird. And rude. Even if it’s our instinct to do this, we should at least talk about it..”

“Talk about it? You’re so human, that’s really cute.” The older smiled down at him “Okay then what is it that you want to talk about, honey?”

“It’s… eum… I-… you could at least ask me first! Before you just do what you want!”

“Okay, Tao I want to ask you first. In order to show you my qualities and convince you that I am maybe the right partner for you, may I kiss you?” The confident smile turned into a sheepish one, but Tao knew it was all just part of his acting.

Still he thought it was nice, almost cute that he actually asked for permission. Slowly the younger’s hands found their way to the other’s hair where they stayed for a moment.
“No, you can’t. I’ll do it.” Normally no older vampire would let a younger kiss him but Tao felt like he could dare to try it and just as he thought, he was not rejected. The older willingly let the boy control the kiss without pushing any further.

That last kiss left Tao trembling the most, he felt so welcome and protected. Every kiss had been special, he had learned a lot about the boys via each kiss. Not only because of their words and actions but even more through the information they had sent him. Tao didn’t even know vampires were able to convey tiny bits of information that way but now he thought this was the kind of skill he wanted to learn from the boys.

“I think we should go back now, you must be really tired.” The older got up and reached out his hand to help Tao get on his feet too. Nodding, the younger followed his guide with slow steps. He didn’t even notice when the other took his hand and told him to be careful in the dark. Of course this warning was kind of useless after having spent the last hours alone in the woods but it was still nice of the older to warn him.

Back in front of the house, they first met the other two brothers and soon afterwards Suho and Chanyeol came back from the hunt and joined them on their way inside.