Honestly, no one pays it any mind in the beginning. Yoongi is a pre-med student and volunteers at the emergency room, doing mostly menial work. And when he’s not working nights, he’s up during unearthly hours working on his music most of the times. These factors combining, Yoongi doesn’t get much sunlight and has been deathly pale since he was born.

So no one, not even himself, notices the signs.

They’re all over at Seokjin and Namjoon’s for a late birthday celebration. Seokin was to do all the cooking while the others were supposed to supply the ingredients. Yoongi, being slightly more adept than Namjoon and having maybe an ounce more common sense than the rest, was elected as chef’s assistant.

Yoongi did well - slicing and dicing the vegetables, albeit at a slow pace, but at least nothing flew off the chopping board not more than twice.

That is, until the garlic appeared. Yoongi honestly wouldn’t have noticed, having so little experience with the vegetable, if Seokjin hadn’t yelled in his ear.

“Yah! Your hands are all red!”

Seokjin whacks the garlic clove out of Yoongi’s hands and steers him to the kitchen sink. He lets cold water run over them before hitting the younger male over the head.

“What were you thinking?”

“Uh… I thought garlic stings?”

“Your eyes, you idiot. They sting your eyes, not your hands!”

Yoongi looks down at his hands. If that was the case, why were his hands burning?

“Maybe you’re allergic to them…” Seokjin mutters as he examines Yoongi’s hands. At least the red was fading.

“Anyhow, I’ll handle the garlic, you just stir the pot every 2 minutes, okay? You should really see the doctor about that.”

Yoongi shrugs and turns to the pot. He is a doctor. Well, soon anyway.

The next time he shows the signs is when he goes over to Taehyung’s dorm. Jungkook had wanted Yoongi to go over some of the lyrics he’d written to see if they’d fit into Yoongi’s melodies.

Jimin had opened the door, hair a messy nest atop his head and eyes still squinty from sleep. He’d woken up to pick up the milk delivery, even though it was already 2 in the afternoon.

Yoongi was leaning against the wall, next to the door and Jimin wouldn’t have noticed him if his hand hadn’t shot out to stop the door from squashing him. Jimin peers around the door to see Yoongi finishing the last carton of milk, 5 other empty cartons lying at his feet.

“Hyung? Why didn’t you just come in? Taehyung left the door open before going out.”

Yoongi stares down at the invisible line between the hallway and the dorm living room.

“I didn’t want to barge in?” Yoongi scratches the back of his head. As he knew it, Taehyung’s girlfriend is quite the clinger and is known to have spent the night over sometimes. He was just saving himself from awkward encounters.

Jimin makes a face; Yoongi has never been that polite.

“Well… come in,” he says slowly when he notices that Yoongi hasn’t made a move to enter.

Yoongi shrugs, before slipping off his shoes as he crosses that invisible line.

It was a rare occasion where all seven of them had suddenly felt the need to work up a sweat. Also because it was the summer holidays and most of them were on break (and very bored).

Yoongi had gone unwillingly but when the ball was in the court, he found himself having quite a lot of fun. In fact, he was so into the game that he hadn’t noticed how red he was becoming.

It was Jimin who had first reacted when the older boy had stolen the ball from him and was this close to his face. (Although it is important to note that the first thing Jimin noticed was that self-satisfied smirk on the Yoongi’s face).

“Hyung!” He exclaimed, running after the older boy and ignoring the fact that Yoongi had just scored.

“Hyung, you’re all red!”

Jimin catches Yoongi’s hands to stop the older from flailing around so that he could get a closer look and Jimin’s urgency does the trick. Yoongi settles down with one eyebrow raised in question.

Sure enough, the skin across his nose had started peeling. Jimin frowns. Yoongi has never been that prone to sunburns.

The other boys circle around the two in curiousity but Jimin pulls the older boy towards the dorms, waving at the others to continue the game without them.

Yoongi’s not sure why, but Jimin takes it upon himself to tend to Yoongi’s burns. He sets Yoongi down on a kitchen stool while he quickly finds the aloe salve from their first aid kit. The younger boy, leaning against the kitchen counter, promptly swathes Yoongi’s face and bare shoulders with the salve, leaning in close to make sure he’s doing it right.

That’s when it happens and it happened quick, like a light switch clicking on.

Jimin smelt good. Like damn good. There was the smell of sweat and of smelly feet but there was also this strong smell of ramyun and grass and rain and everything that Yoongi loves. Unknowingly, Yoongi leans in to take a big whiff and the aftereffect is like a big kick to his gut.

“H-hyung?”

Yoongi grabs Jimin by the shoulders, ignoring the trembling in the younger boy’s voice. Yoongi buries his nose in the crook of Jimin’s neck and this time, he feels the kick down below, lower than his gut.

Yoongi plants his lips on the skin of Jimin’s neck and , hard. A noise between a moan and a groan escapes the younger boy’s lips and the sound only riles Yoongi up even more. His lips move upwards, tongue flicking out to meet Jimin’s jaw at intervals.

Jimin finds himself being pushed backwards onto the counter as Yoongi finally moves upward to kiss him full on the lips. It’s a little too eager and frantic with lip bites and teeth knocking, but then it’s Yoongi hyung kissing him so Jimin takes it all in and gives as much as he takes.

It’s only when his lungs start burning that Jimin has to push Yoongi away, eyes glazed and panting noisily.

“H-hyung.” Jimin’s knocked over again when he sees the lust in Yoongi’s eyes.

Then all of a sudden, in a moment of realization, all of the previous signs come to mind – burning when coming in contact with garlic. Staying up all day and night but not getting the least bit tired. Not entering his room uninvited. And now, getting burned in the sunlight.

“Hyung… are you- are you a vampire?” Jimin asks disbelievingly. Yoongi starts to deny it but then he thinks about everything that has happened too and he has to admit, it sounds like it could be true.

Yoongi looks down to examine his hands; he doesn’t look any different. He also doesn’t feel any different…

He looks up at the younger boy, with his already plump lips swollen, his hair all mussed up and the patch of skin at his neck turning purple and blue, and the feeling rushes up to fill his entire body again (though it began in his groins).

Nope, he doesn’t feel any different, except…

He shrugs at Jimin, “who cares,” and he leans in again to ravage the younger boy’s lips.