chapter 18

When Sunggyu finally comes to, he has no idea what time it is. His head pounds, though, and he just wants to curl into the warmth pressed against his body for eternity. Moving is overrated. Sunggyu grips the body beside him, snuggling his head into the crook of their neck and further tangling their legs.

            “Woohyun,” Sunggyu mumbles into his skin.

            “Does this mean you’re awake?” he hears Woohyun whisper.

            “No,” he answers. He wants to stay just like this forever. Woohyun chuckles and kisses the crown of his head, hands leaving him and legs untangling from his. Sunggyu whines and he hears Woohyun laugh as he’s left alone on the bed. Woohyun moves to the window, gently pulling the curtains apart. Sunlight drifts in and the moment it hits Sunggyu’s vision he hisses and hides himself under the blanket.

            “If you didn’t drink so much you wouldn’t be having a hangover,” Woohyun states the obvious and it annoys Sunggyu.

            “I’m never drinking again.”

            “How much do you remember?”

            Sunggyu peeks out from underneath the blanket and watches as Woohyun changes into decent clothes. He blushes because he remembers everything. He remembers how he’d gotten mad at Woohyun, complained to Hoya, slept in Hoya’s bed. He remembers vividly how hot he was feeling and how much he wanted Woohyun and he sort of attacked Woohyun – as much as a hamster can attack a lion. “Everything, hm?”

            Sunggyu nods quickly before ducking back underneath the blanket. The bed leans down as Woohyun sits on the edge and Sunggyu’s face burns when Woohyun kisses Sunggyu’s cheek through the thin blanket. Woohyun lingers and whispers in a husky voice, “Now that you’re sober we could always continue.”

            Sunggyu squeaks when Woohyun pats his and he scurries to the other end of the bed. “Come on, Sunggyu,” Woohyun laughs, “it’s time to get up.”

…

            Sunggyu blinks, not sure if he’s hallucinating or not. “, I forgot,” he hears Woohyun grumble beside him.

            “That’s not very nice, cousin. How could you forget I was coming?”

            Hoya sits with Myungsoo and Sungyeol in the living room, dressed in casual clothes. “Sunggyu, how are you feeling?” he asks, standing and walking over.

            Sunggyu narrows his eyes. “I’m okay, I think.”

            Hoya’s mouth hangs in a lopsided smile and he stands a little too close to Sunggyu for comfort. “You’re surprised, right? It looks like we’ll be spending a lot more time together. I’ll be staying here for the next few weeks. Probably months.”

            “Oh,” is all Sunggyu manages to say. He will admit that he is surprised that Hoya’s here. Especially because Woohyun seems to not like him too much. So he wonders why Hoya is allowed to stay for so long. He feels Woohyun’s arm snake around his waist that tugs him closer, protectively. Sunggyu glances at Woohyun and Hoya who are exchanging death glares at each other. The look in their eyes sends a shiver down Sunggyu’s spine.

            “Remember your place, Howon,” Woohyun says in a low voice and Sunggyu can’t help but think it’s pretty ing hot. And scary. He’s starting to question the things that attract him. It’s just that for some reason he’s been kind of bothered since last night because Woohyun has really been getting to him in ways he won’t say out loud.

            Myungsoo stands and Sungyeol rests his chin on his hand, clearly enjoying this exchange of testosterone and pheromones. “Both of you need to remember the reason you’re working together. Honestly.”

            “Yes, Woohyun, stop acting like such a child,” Hoya winks at Sunggyu and Sunggyu blushes because he totally forgot that he vented about how childish Woohyun was being. Woohyun looks at Sunggyu in disbelief.

            “Oh, you are terrible.”

            Sunggyu turns to face him and tries to look as innocent as possible. “I was drunk and I was mad at you. Can you really blame me?”

            Woohyun laughs in disbelief and frowns, shaking his head. “There is no way you’re getting away with this. I can’t believe you told Hoya I was childish!”

            “I’m still here, cousin. And he didn’t just say you were childish. I believe stupid, possessive, and selfish jerk were also used.”

            “I was drunk!” Sunggyu defends.

            Woohyun opens his mouth to say something but Myungsoo speaks first, effectively cutting him off. “Alright, this is going downhill very fast. Hoya, Woohyun and I will be in the archive. Time to get to work,” Myungsoo says, pulling Hoya and Woohyun by the elbow.

            Sunggyu hurries to Sungyeol’s side and watches as Woohyun complains to Myungsoo that Hoya is an idiot and he doesn’t want to be stuck with him but he reminds Woohyun why they’re doing this and then Woohyun shuts up.

            Sunggyu spreads himself across the couch and yawns. A nice nap is what he needs right now. “I’m going to get food,” Sungyeol says but Sunggyu’s already drifting off.

…

            When Sunggyu opens his eyes he doesn’t know where he is. He hears waves lapping over a sandy shore and he can smell the sea. He’s disoriented beyond belief. He sits up and finds himself in a little shack, small and the only thing in it is the hammock he’s in. He stands, curling his toes in the sand. He’s wearing the clothes he fell asleep in, the white cardigan over a thin white v-neck and jeans, and he feels the sand between his toes. Is this some weird dream? But it feels real.

            Sunggyu steps out of the shack and is greeted with a sparkling ocean. It’s vast and when he looks around he sees no one but him and the expanse of beach that travels for miles and miles, so far that it ends much farther than Sunggyu can see. He breathes in the salty air, feels his body relax because this is nice and it’s a dream so he doesn’t have to worry about anything (except it’s too bad Woohyun’s not here to share the dream with him).

            “Nice, isn’t it?”

            Sunggyu whips his head around to find where the voice is coming from and his heart stops when he sees Sungjae standing on the beach, ankle deep in seawater. He looks up at Sunggyu who’s not too far away from him and smiles. Sunggyu takes a step back, wondering when Sungjae had gotten there and why the hell he’s in Sunggyu’s dream.

            “You’re probably thinking this is a dream, right? It kind of is, I guess, but not really. You don’t have to be so afraid of me. The only thing I can do to you here is talk. And that’s all I want to do.”

            “What is this? What do you mean?”

            “I just fabricated this little world so we could speak. I thought this setting would be relaxing. Is it?”

            Sunggyu nods, narrowing his eyes. So he was wrong. This isn’t a dream. “Why do you want to talk to me? Wouldn’t you just kidnap me instead?”

            Sungjae laughs as if it’s funny. “Kidnapping you was just a silly experiment. It just confirmed what I had already thought.”

            Sunggyu takes a brave step into the water. “We were interrupted last time. Right now we have a long time so I wanted to explain. Maybe if I explain everything you’ll come with me willingly.”

            Sungjae takes Sunggyu’s silence as encouragement to go on. “You see, Sunggyu, there’s something I want. A lot of vampires want it, too.”

            “What is it?”

            “No one really knows what it is. There are rumours and speculations but I suppose you could call it a myth for now. It’s said to be something that grants any wish. The key to breaking any curse. The legend is that it’s located in a cave or some place of the sort but no one knows the way.”

            “Why do vampires want it specifically?”

            “Well every species is cursed, right? Vampires are cursed to forever be overruled by the night and blood. Vampires, as you should know, have amplified emotions. We feel things twenty times more intensely than humans. So when you humans feel as though your heart has been broken, we vampires feel as though our hearts have been ripped in two and ground up before pouring out of our chests. To put it nicely. I’m sure you understand this much at least? And blood is the very thing that drives us insane and turn us into monsters. Lunatics are what vampires will eventually turn into if they can’t control themselves. And most of the time they can’t. We all lose control one day. This is our curse.”

            Sunggyu nods, not knowing it was quite like that. “So this key or whatever will break that curse?”

            “Well, it could do anything. Some vampires want it for themselves. Most species want it for their entire race. Like me. I want to break this curse that vampires are under.”

            “So why can’t anybody find the key?”

            “It was hidden by its creator in a place where it’s said that only a certain type of person can find. And that’s where you come in.”

            Sunggyu furrows his eyebrows. “Me?”

            “You’re the only one who knows the way.”

            “What are you talking about?” Sunggyu laughs nervously. Preposterous.

            “It’s completely true. I confirmed it when I drank your blood,” he says casually and the memory sends a shiver down Sunggyu’s spine.

            “How did you know? Just by the way I… t-taste?” he gulps.

            “Not only that. The feeling I got from the moment I saw you told me and it was confirmed when I touched you, tasted you. I’ve been watching you for a long time, Sunggyu, and I’m positive that you’re the one. I’ve done so much research and everything fits. Your ancestor is the creator and a witch I know told me that the way has been passed down to you. You know where it is.”

            Sunggyu gulps. “I… I don’t know where it is. I don’t know the way and I can’t help you.”

            “But you do. My team is locating the entrance. Once we do, we’ll take you there and you can do it; I’m sure of it.”

            “Even if I did, Woohyun would never let me do that.”

            “He would if he knew what for. Woohyun is a smart man. The Council wants what we want, although they don’t know you’re the key, yet. Shall I convince him?”

            “Don’t you think he’d kill you first?”

            “He might. It’s always worth a shot, yeah?”

            Sunggyu looks at Sungjae, completely unsure. “Can’t you find someone else?”

            “You’re the only one, Sunggyu. And you’ll be the only one for another thousand years.”

            “I don’t know…” Sunggyu’s sentence trails off, falls into silence. The silence is filled with the sound of the ocean, birds chirping above their heads.

            “It’s very simple, Sunggyu. Don’t you know that one day Woohyun might turn into a monster who won’t even be able to recognize you? He’ll just eat you, rip you apart, without remorse. He won’t be Woohyun anymore. It’ll happen to all of us. We’ll devour our loved ones because we won’t be able to distinguish between food and the people we love.”

            Sunggyu pictures Woohyun with his lips curled back, sharp teeth exposed. He draws a picture of Woohyun tearing through Sunggyu’s neck like he’s a lion who has caught a deer. “Think about it. And come to me when you’ve made a decision,” Sungjae says, taking a step back.

            “How will I be able to find you?”

            Sungjae smiles. “In three days meet me at that bookstore you enjoy. Oh, and be careful. If more people find out about you then you'll be hunted down by everybody. They'll all want their hands on you,” he winks and then he’s vanishing into thin air. Sunggyu wonders how he knows about his favourite bookstore but then he’s opening his eyes and jolting to a start, back in the living room of his home. 

not proofread. oops.