Epilogue : 1 Year Later

The first time Baekhyun had been in Jongdae’s room he hadn’t had time to enjoy it. Now, Baekhyun woke up in that very room every morning, and he would admire the way the light snuck between the curtains and hit all the crystal features—the candle sticks, the lamp stands, and adornments on the chests and dressers, and even the huge chunks of raw, uncut crystal scattered on the desks—and the rainbows they cast on the white walls. He would get up and open the curtains, and the room would be awash in rainbows and light. Jongdae would groan and beckon him back to bed, and they would spend a few minutes cuddling or an hour making love. They couldn’t be married in the eyes of the law, but Jongdae’s friend Kyungsoo had performed a ceremony for them in secret. As far as Jongdae and Baekhyun were concerned, they were married. Baekhyun had worn his mother’s pearl necklace and her earrings—Jongdae had helped him to pierce his ears. He wore the earrings every day now.

Jongdae had kept his promise to adjust Baekhyun’s wardrobe. His favorite dresses had been altered, and some had been replaced. There were days that he didn’t feel like wearing them, and then there were some that he got all dressed up. Once, Jongdae asked if Baekhyun would let him wear one.

“I’ve never worn a dress before, and seeing how happy it makes you…I wonder what it’s like. Would you mind?”

Baekhyun had cried with joy as he helped Jongdae into a pale blue dress. Jongdae thought he didn’t look as good as Baekhyun did, but he marveled at the change he felt.

“You’re beautiful,” Baekhyun said. “You always have been, but now it’s…”

“Different,” Jongdae finished. Baekhyun put his own pearl necklace around Jongdae’s neck, and gave him a hat. “Oh my,” Jongdae gasped, “I never imagined how it would change my face…”

Jongdae didn’t always dress up with Baekhyun, but every now and then, he would ask to borrow a dress. Nothing in their relationship changed with their clothes, and half the time Baekhyun really didn’t even pay attention to it. He got so swept up in the moments he had with Jongdae that when he looked back, he couldn’t remember what they had been wearing. He thought that was how it should be, he should wear what made him comfortable, but not focus on it to the point where he forgot how to live.

Once they had gotten dressed, Baekhyun and Jongdae would go to the kitchen and make breakfast. Jongdae had dismissed the servants a few months ago, and Baekhyun had given Junho, Namjoo, and Seulgi large sums of money and sent them on their ways as well. Now that they were alone they had a lot to do to keep up with the house, but the upside was that they had no eyes to hide from. Baekhyun quite enjoyed the freedom to kiss Jongdae wherever he pleased, to entice Jongdae to take a bit of blood. He didn’t mind the tradeoff of more housework.

After breakfast, the two of them would either read together, or go outside. They would walk in the gardens, or Jongdae would bring Baekhyun somewhere so he could have another adventure. They’d gone to the sea, to the capitol, to the forests, and to the stables. Which seemed to be where they were heading now.

Baekhyun touched his rose pendant, a nervous habit of his, as he walked behind Jongdae.

“Will I like this surprise?”

“I hope so,” Jongdae laughed, “I picked it with you in mind!”

The wind picked up, and Baekhyun shut his eyes as dirt and grass blew around. Jongdae scooped him up and Baekhyun shrieked in surprise.

“Keep your eyes closed!”

Baekhyun buried his face into Jongdae’s jacket, discreetly inhaling Jongdae’s cologne. He could get drunk on that scent.

After a few minutes, they came to a stop. “Alright, I’ll put you down. You can open your eyes.”

As soon as Baekhyun was on the ground, he looked up, and his jaw dropped. In front of him stood an absolutely gorgeous horse. A beautiful white and dappled grey, with a black mane and black hooves, the horse looked like it had walked out of a fairy forest.

“It’s a mare,” Jongdae said. “She’s about two years old, and she’s very even tempered. It will be easy for you to ride her.”

Baekhyun gasped. “She…she’s mine?” He had just mastered the beginnings of riding, under Jongdae’s patient teaching, but the horse he was learning with was elderly, and Baekhyun always felt bad for exerting her.

“She is all yours,” Jongdae said. “Do you like her?”

“You spoil me!” Baekhyun cried, toying with the chain around his neck. “Jongdae, how can I possibly accept…”

Jongdae gently took Baekhyun’s hands. “My love, I have waited over a hundred years to have someone to share my life with. It brings me so much joy to give you all that you deserve to have. You’re my family now. And I know you’ll make me just as happy with what you give me in return, for the rest of our lives.”

The last gift that Jongdae had given Baekhyun had been a jewelry box, with a lid made of two glass panels. And pressed between the glass was the flower that Baekhyun had discovered in his mother’s book. That was what ended up inspiring the name of his horse.

“I’ll call her Blossom,” Baekhyun decided.

“That’s a lovely name,” Jongdae said. “Do you want to take her out now?”

Well, he wasn’t wearing a dress at the moment, and the clothes he had on weren’t one that he minded dirtying, so Baekhyun agreed. Jongdae helped him fit a saddle and bridle on Blossom, and they spent hours working with her. She was perfectly gentle and even-tempered, Jongdae had made an excellent choice. When it got too warm to ride, Baekhyun and Jongdae walked Blossom back to the stables and cooled her down with a brushing. Baekhyun took extra care to go over every inch of her body, and when he was done he laid his head on her flank, closed his eyes, and listened to her breathing.

“What are you thinking about?”

Baekhyun smiled. “How beautiful she is. I really, really love her, Jongdae.” He straightened up, and Jongdae put his arm over Baekhyun’s shoulders and wiped a few stray horse hairs from his cheek.

“You deserve her. A man of your standing should have a horse to call his own, this was long overdue.”

“I’ll pay you back for this, someday,” Baekhyun said. “When I find my calling and have a job, that is.”

“Take your time,” Jongdae said, “We have that luxury now.”

They made sure all the horses had hay and water, and went back to the house to eat. Baekhyun sat in Jongdae’s lap, and they alternated between feeding each other and kissing.

“Will we always be this way?” Baekhyun asked.

“Maybe not,” Jongdae said, “Maybe not the actions, but the love we have for each other isn’t going anywhere.”

Baekhyun grinned and kissed Jongdae again. “It’s still so strange for me, thinking about the future.”

A year like this, and Baekhyun still found himself amazed at the opportunities that were waiting for him. Jongdae said that it was like that for him at first too, and sometimes he got overwhelmed even to this day.

Jongdae brushed his hand through Baekhyun’s hair. “We’ll take it slowly. One day at a time.”

Baekhyun nodded. “Tell me again what it will be like, please?”

Jongdae lifted Baekhyun into his arms and carried him to the sitting room, to the very same couch where they shared their first kiss. “I’ll have to hire some staff, but you won’t meet them. I’ll have to keep you locked up for a while, at least during the day. I’ll make them come to you, and I’ll teach you how to feed properly. You’ll learn quickly, all young ones do. When you’re ready to be around people, I’ll replace the staff again. Or by that time, we might be ready to move on to a new place. A new city, a new country. But we’ll think about it—”

“When the time comes,” Baekhyun finished. “And in the beginning, will I…will I still be me?” He had asked this many times, and Jongdae’s answer was always the same, but he never lost patience.

Jongdae touched his cheek gently. “Yes, and no. That’s why we’ll need to be careful. Kyungsoo can provide us with charms that will help keep you and the staff safe, and the bloodlust you feel in the beginning won’t last forever. You must remember that, my love. We will be fine as long as you remember that you will be strong one day.”

Baekhyun nodded, and took Jongdae’s hand from his cheek, lacing their fingers together. “I’m a little scared.”

“Of course you are,” Jongdae said, “I would be more worried if you weren’t. But I’ll be right beside you the entire time, and I’ll help you however I can.”

Every night Baekhyun would write in a journal. He addressed each entry to his mother, and hoped that she could read them, or know his thoughts, even though she was no longer in the world. She had died eight months ago, and Baekhyun had attended the funeral. He thought he would want Jongdae to turn him right after she died, but he was holding off. He was still mourning her.

Baekhyun finished the day’s entry, in which he’d mostly gushed aver his new horse, and put the journal aside. The portrait he’d commissioned of himself and his mother was in his old room, he didn’t have the heart to look at it anymore. He touched his earrings and thought again how sad it was that mother never got to see him wear them, but that he was glad he hadn’t seen her in her deteriorated state.

Jongdae’s arms wrapped around him from behind, and Baekhyun leaned into his embrace. “You’ll always feel her loss,” Jongdae told him, “But it will become easier to handle as time goes on, I promise.”

Baekhyun nodded. “I’ve been mourning her for a long time. I feel like if she could see me, she would scold me. She would tell me to focus on what I have. She would be happy that I found someone to love with all my heart.” Baekhyun turned his head and kissed Jongdae’s cheek. “I want you to feed from me tonight. And I…I want you to make it the night that I change.”

Jongdae gasped. “We’re hardly ready!”

Baekhyun looked at him pleadingly. “I’m ready.”

Jongdae sighed. “Well, it will take a few days for the change to be complete. I suppose I can…while I wait…and you wouldn’t have had human blood to begin with…” He held Baekhyun’s hands. “Are you sure?”

Baekhyun nodded. “I’ve never been more sure of anything. I know this is sudden, but I’ve been thinking about it all day. I’m stronger now, look at how well I did when I was riding today! Please Jongdae, I don’t want to wait anymore.”

Jongdae leaned back. “Are you sure? Are you absolutely sure?”

Baekhyun nodded.

Jongdae smiled. “Okay then. Let me go get what we’ll need. I’ll give you a minute.”

Baekhyun flew from the bed and into the bath. He washed quickly, and changed into a pair of pajama pants. He didn’t bother with a shirt, because it would just get bloody when Jongdae drained him. Baekhyun fell to his knees in the bathroom. Jongdae was going to drain him of his blood. He wasn’t afraid, in fact he was excited! When he woke up from this change, he would be a new person. This was what he wanted, he was ready. He went back to the bedroom and sat on the bed, waiting. Jongdae came back with a goblet, and a knife. He had Baekhyun hold the goblet, and he made a cut on his arm and let his blood drip into the goblet.

“You’ll have to drink it quickly. You won’t want to, but I’ll help you,” Jongdae said.

Baekhyun nodded. They moved the cup aside, and Jongdae arranged the pillows so Baekhyun would be comfortable. Baekhyun laid back, and Jongdae kissed him tenderly.

“Close your eyes, love.”

Baekhyun took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

Baekhyun didn’t remember feeling any pain. He remembered that Jongdae had been gentle, and loving. That he had helped Baekhyun drink something, something cold and sweet, unexpectedly sweet.

There was a warm hand on his face. Baekhyun opened his eyes.

“Jongdae,” he said hoarsely.

Jongdae smiled. “Good morning, love. I have something for you.”

He held up a large bowl and lifted it to Baekhyun’s lips. One taste had Baekhyun sitting upright and yanking the bowl into his hands. He’s never tasted anything so good in his life, and he drained the bowl in mere seconds. When it was empty it clattered to the floor, and Baekhyun inhaled deeply. His body felt odd, different, but in a good way…he felt new.

“You should see yourself,” Jongdae murmured.

Baekhyun his lips and realized that his teeth were different. He lifted a hand to his mouth and pressed his fingers against the longest ones—longer than he remembered.

Fangs, they were fangs.

“It worked,” Baekhyun gasped. His fingers came away bloody, and he knew what had been in the bowl. “Jongdae, it worked!”

Jongdae smiled. “It did. You’re a new being now. Do you want to see how it feels?”

Baekhyun jumped out of bed, and together he and Jongdae ran from the house. They ran for miles, for hours, and Baekhyun never got tired. He never coughed, his head didn’t ache, he never got dizzy. They ran all the way to the ocean, and then they finally collapsed on the sandy beach. Baekhyun pulled Jongdae on top of him and kissed him deeply, fangs accidentally scratching Jongdae’s lips.

“Oops,” Baekhyun giggled, over the cuts. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Jongdae said. “I suppose that will happen a lot. But you’ll get better, at everything. We have our work cut out for us you know, you’ll have to learn how to feed properly. The new staff will be here in a few days. I’ll have to keep you away from them.”

Baekhyun nodded. “I’ll listen to you. I’ll be careful. But for now, can we go swimming?”

Jongdae laughed. “Absolutely my love!” He sat up and pulled off his shirt, and Baekhyun whimpered. Jongdae grinned and bent down to kiss Baekhyun again.

“Later,” Jongdae whispered, his voice full of promise. “First, let’s find out how strong you are.” He stood up and held out his hand, and Baekhyun took it.

“I’m so happy,” Baekhyun said as Jongdae pulled him to his feet. He kissed Jongdae again, and again. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Jongdae said. “And I’m so happy to be with someone I love so much, starting our new life.”

“Our life,” Baekhyun repeated. “That sounds wonderful.”

“It will be,” Jongdae said. “Now come on, let’s go to the water!”

And hand in hand, they raced to the ocean.

Thanks for reading!