The Hunter and Hunted

He hurries down the dark alley. The other is close behind him and he needs to get somewhere safe. He can’t return to the apartment with the hunter behind him. Thank god he remembers to replace the Yao Grass in his amulets. With an amulet as his pendent and various others in places on his body, the Yao Grass would negate his scent so nothing can find him.  It’s the only way he can slip in and out unnoticed by anyone through scent. By sight, however, is another story. He’s a sneaky devil, but his stalker is relentless in chasing him down.

He descends onto the roof like a shadow, looking down into the dark alley. If he loses sight of the other, he wouldn’t be able to find him again. “Damn those amulets.”

The hunter continues through the alley, his hand reaching into his coat. His delicate fingers wrap around the small object. Making a sharp turn, he waits for his stalker to show himself. “”

He descends down to the alley. As the ace, he’s not easy to take down, but so is the other, known simply as Rave, short for the raven, the man’s intellectual match. Also, because the man comes and goes without a trace. Thought, he’s the one that named the man that because he pisses him off like the damn birds.

Rave takes a deep breath, exhaling carefully with the object under his jacket. Every scent of his is masked as long as it’s on his body.

“Rave~! Where are you?” He teases, a smile on his face. “Come on. Show me that pretty face of yours. Why you have to go and hide it all the time?”

Up yours, head. He tightens and adjusts the veil on his face, making sure it covers everything below his eyes. He fights the temptation to roll his eyes. He’s injured, the other would find him easily if he just…

“Hello, Rave.” The man purrs as he appears with a smile.

Rave pulls the bottle out and…

“Ahh!” The hunter screams, his eyes burning. “You!”

“I never thought pepper spray would come in handy for someone like me.”

“You’re a beauty, Rave, but a monster.”

“Likewise. Handsome, but deadly. I guess we’re two of a kind.” Rave sneers at the man. “Don’t think of moving.” He pulls out a skull attached to a metal ring. “You know what this is, right? You’re smart, unlike the other dumb idiots.”

He swallows nervously. “A high pitch screecher designed to temporarily dull the senses.”

“A monster like you knows. Good.”

“You’ll be affected too.”

“But I’ll still have my sight, unlike you.” Rave grins at his victory.

“You’re the bloodthirsty monster who’s been hunting us down.” He growls, resisting the temptation to rub his eyes.

Rave lets out an amused chuckle. “I should kill you, but that would make things boring.” He pushes himself off the wall. “Until next time, Jackal.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He walks up the apartment tiredly. His arm aches from the cut and the day’s work has him weigh down. “I’m home.” He pushes the door open quietly. Hearing sounds from TV in the living room, he walks over, smiling at the man spread out on the couch.

The twenty four year old lies defenseless on the couch, dressed simply in only sweatpants and a tank. A bandana is wrap around his right bicep.

He drops his jacket on the armrest, sneaking over to the sleeping figure. He sits down and leans over, trailing kisses from the other’s shoulder, to neck and finally capturing unsuspecting lips. He smiles as the other stirs.

The man under moans, wrapping an arm around the man above him. “You better take responsibility for waking me up. I was having a good dream.”

“What am I then?”

“You, Kim Himchan, is a dream come true. Why am I so blessed in life? What have I done to deserve you and your love?”

“I think about that every day.”

Yongguk places a hand on Himchan’s cheek. “You’re an angel, my angel.”

“You sure? I don’t think I’m pure and innocent enough to be one.”

“You’re my dark angel.” Yongguk trails his finger up Himchan’s . “I want to keep you to myself, my eternal beauty.”

“You make me sound as if I’m not human.”

“Nope, you’re not. Your otherworldly beauty has me convinced. You don’t seem to age all that much either.”

“So are you.”

“I’m getting old and look older than you.”

“But you are older than me.” Himchan pulls away. “Get up. I’ll get dinner ready.” He stands up and pulls off his dress shirt, revealing toned arms.

“What happened?” Yongguk puts his long fingers over the bandage on Himchan’s arm.

“A patient was having withdrawal symptoms and waved a surgery knife all over the place.” He winces slightly as Yongguk presses his lips against the wound.

“Did he hurt you?” He can feel the metallic taste on the tip of his tongue.

“It’s okay. The wound’s clean and bandaged. It’s been a few hours already. All I have to do is keep it disinfected and dry. I’ll have to change the bandages every couple of hours.”

“It can…still be infected.” Yongguk grins widely.

“What?”

“I should the poison out.”

Himchan squeals at the teeth on his neck. “Get off, that hurts.”

“But you’re always biting me. That’s not fair if I can’t do the same.”

“I don’t see you taking out the garbage when I clearly told you that the smell of the apartment complex’ garbage makes me nauseous.” Himchan enters the kitchen and pulls out the pans he needs to make his fried rice.

“I’ll do it next time, promise.” Yongguk follows after like a lost puppy.

“You say that every time.” Himchan starts to prepare dinner, pulling the ingredients he chopped up in the morning from the fridge. He throws them into the frying pan and mixes everything together. “I always end up doing it because it makes the apartment stink.”

“You’re just sensitive. I don’t smell anything.”

“Says the one with a clogged up nose.” Himchan tosses in the rice and stirs.

“I can’t help it if I’m sick. I don’t want to be.”

Himchan turns to face the man behind him. “Are you really…sick? Or faking it?”

“If I’m not sick…”

The deep voice sends shivers up Himchan’s back. His breath hitches at the hands hugging him from behind. His heart thumps at the lips near his ear.

“Are you going to play with me?”

Himchan gulps and elbows the man away. “Stop joking around. I told you I have lots of work to do. I have to run all over the place tomorrow because of this guy.”

“How long do I have to wait?”

“I don’t know.” Himchan growls angrily, jabbing the wooden spoon into the pan. “I just want to spoon the guy’s eyes out. He’s so irritating. I mean, it’s either me or him. Only one of us can survive.”

“Is my poor Himchannie upset? Did he upset you so much you wish him pain?”

“That man is supposed to be the one following me around, but instead, I’m the one doing the following.” He turns to face Yongguk again. “That man had the nerve to pepper spray me tonight like I’m some stalking ert. Can you believe that?” Himchan spoons the rice into two separate bowls, placing them on the table.

Yongguk laughs at his partner’s misfortune. “But it’s really satisfying, you know, to use pepper spray. I never thought I’ll be someone to use it too, but I did. It’s really effective to get people to stay away from you without much effort.”

“Yah.” Himchan smacks his hand against Yongguk’s arm, frowning at the jolt. “What’s wrong? Are you hurt?” He reaches for the bandana, but Yongguk pulls away.

“It’s nothing.”

Himchan pulls Yongguk’s arm close and tugs down the cloth. “You’re bleeding.” He glares at the smiling man. “I thought it was weird when you didn’t’ take it off when you would throw it in the laundry basket every night. Did you get hurt at the garage?”

“I bumped into one of the cabinets and cut myself when this tool fell. It’s nothing.”

“Nothing, my foot. We’re disinfecting it.”

Yongguk watches as the grumbling man washing his wound. “No hospital?”

“Would you even go?” Himchan sprays the wound with disinfecting liquid, blowing on it to ease the sting. “Besides, there are people who actually need attention given to them. A cut like this is nothing if you know how to treat it.”

“Sorry…for worrying you.”

“Then don’t do things I’ll worry over.”

“I’ll apologize by finishing dinner.” He walks over to the pot of soup, grinning at a grumpy looking Himchan.

“Ruin it and I’ll use your blood as sauce and shove it down your throat.”

“Aww… My Channie is trying to be a bad man.” He pulls the man close. “That’s so adorable!” Yongguk takes the opportunity and sinks his teeth into his neck.

“Stop that!”

“Nope. I’m getting revenge for that stolen kiss from before. You’re a naughty thief.”

“Che! Then you should kis…” The rest is mumbled inaudibly.

“What’s that?”

“Nothing.”

“Really?” Yongguk leans in, his lips brushing against Himchan’s. “I was about to smother you with kisses. Don’t you want them? Hm?”

“I…want.” Himchan whispers and tilts his head to meet Yongguk’s lips.

“Bon appetit.” Yongguk captures Himchan’s lips again, deciding to have dessert first.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The music blares out of the bar and it irritates his ears. He finds the familiar face and heads over. “Why are we meeting here?” He screams, growling at the woman bumping into him. He glares at the smirking man.

“This way.” The man leads him to a private room, his office. “So, I heard that you’ve been chasing after the clever little demon.”

“What is it to you, Zico?” He sneers at the other man. It’s his business what he does, not the Zico’s. He absolutely detests when people stick their nose into his business.

“Don’t’ get too serious. I’m just asking. You’re our ace, the best hunter. It’s normal to be worried, right?”

“Shut it, Zico. I don’t want to hear it.” It’s always the same, a lecture about how he’s been losing the demon on his hunts.

“Jackal, it’s dangerous for you to charge blindly after this demon. He had all these ways to hide himself. You said it yourself. We can’t find him by smell with that grass on him. And he blends in with the dark. He’s like the ty ravens who go pulling an eagle’s tail feather. Ravens are jackasses and this abomination is the same thing.”

“You think I’m stupid? That I don’t know?”

“He’s dangerous. Take him out ASAP.”

“Don’t tell me what to do, Zico. I’m perfectly aware of my actions.”

“What are you doing? Playing peek-a-boo with him?”

Jackal keeps his mouth shut. He’s not going to tell the man that he’s taken an interest in the demon. It’s for him to know and no one to find out.

“Jackal, Yongguk.” His back slams into the wall.

“Don’t…call me that.”

“Bite me.” Zico dares, growling at the man holding him captive. “He’s dangerous to us all. It’s not only to you. Whether we live or die depends on if he lives or dies.” He pulls Yongguk’s hands off his shirt. “If you can’t do it, tell me. I’ll go put a damn blade to his skull.” He walks off, leaving Jackal in the room alone.

Sighing, he drops to the couch, slumping down. He knows he should kill the demon, the man, but… There’s just something about him.

The light goes out and Jackal is plunge into darkness. His body becomes alert from years of training. Keeping his senses sharp, he listens for sounds.

Screaming drowns the initial silence. The sound of objects falling over and glass breaking fills the room. The screaming intensifies by other voices.

“Somebody get the lights!”

Jackal rushes out of the room. He can see the outline of moving bodies, but nothing clear enough to figure out what’s happening.

The screams continue. Glass shatters. Things fall. There’s a loud, high-pitch ringing in the air, causing a mass panic.

Jackal covers his mouth at the foul stench. He can hardly breathe and feels like puking. It smelled like nasty sewer water. His sight and sense of smell are both being attacked. The attacker is perfectly aware on how to attack and immobilize them.

Silence breaks out and the lights return.

Jackal stares at the massacre before him. There are people he has seen from afar, distant acquaintances, some he’s seen in passing, and a lot of other he hasn’t met before.

Bodies litter the bar. Some spread out on countertops, others on the floor or couches, some piled against each other. They all died from cuts, wounds from a blade used by someone he knows well.

“It’s the demon, the demon!” Zico marches over with a huff. “Now you understand why it’s so important that we get rid of him.”

Jackal clenches his fist and storms out. He climbs on his motorcycle and zooms through the streets, zipping through traffic.

The motorcycle roars as it enters the parking lot of the apartment complex. It stops and the engine dies at its designated spot. Its owner climbs off and hurries away.

Yongguk enters the elevator, jabbing his finger into the button for the right floor. His anger is building up. The demon had raided into the bar and… He lets out a scream and exits the elevator. He marches over to his personal apartment, entering his passcode in.

The closet door opens with a bang, revealing a black hunting outfit and various weapons resting on hooks in the back.

Yongguk pulls the outfit off the hanger, stripping and quickly redressing. He’ll be hunting tonight. The demon has to go. His weapons are held snugged on his body. A gun at his waist with extra bullets, a black blade hidden under his sleeve, another in his boot, and a small blade from a swiss army knife hidden in his belt. Tonight, tonight he’ll hill the demon once and for all. The outfit will protect him from normal weaponry and allow him to hide in the dark. The hood sew on the inside of his jacket will allow his face to be hidden and on his face would be… Yongguk’s hands hesitate over the mask. It’s a rule he made for himself, to hide his identity so the demon can’t get to him or people close to him. His knowledge to change his pitch allows another way to protect his identity.

His phone vibrates in the dark, signaling an incoming message from Zico.

You better be going after the demon tonight.

Yongguk grabs the mask and slides it over his eyes. “It’s ends tonight.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jumping down from the rooftop, Rave stretches his arms above his head, feeling free and relaxed. “That was fun.” He takes a deep breath and exits the alley, returning to the crowded streets of Seoul. He’ll be safe among them. “Maybe some coffee will do me some good.”

The bell jingles as the door opens. The boy behind the counter look up with a smile.

“Himchan hyung!”

“My coffee, Jongup.”

“Yes, sir! Right away, sir!” Jongup salutes the man and hurries to fulfill the order as Himchan takes a seat, his seat by the window.

“How you’ve been?”

“Good. Schools’ a bit chaotic though, but nothing I can’t handle. Junhong’s struggling a bit though.” He places the coffee on the table for his beloved hyung.

“Does the youngin’ need a-floggin’?”

“Nein.” Junhong appears with a hand at his hip and a round tray on the other. “The youngin’ no need a-floggin’. The youngin’ need the oldin’ to try a piece of fancy pastry.” He puts down the tray with a smile.

“Nice!”

“I still can’t get used to the funny talk you two do.” Jongup sits down and takes a slice, biting into it. “Hm… Delicious.”

“Really?” Junhong plops down excitedly. “I added lemongrass oil. Does it taste better than with real lemon juice? Or does it taste weird?”

“It’s a bit different than with lemon juice, but not noticeable.” Himchan replies, sipping his hot coffee. “Have you tried with other citrus flavors? A tinge of orange might taste good.”

“Really? Won’t it be two plain and normal?”

“A genius bake like you won’t have any problems with inventing different ways to improve something simple, right?”

Junhong squeals in delight and hurries back into the kitchen, babbling about new receipts.

“You should come by more often, hyung. It’s too gloomy without you. You’re the life of the party.”

“The word is riot, Uppie. I’m a riot.” He pulls out two nicely wrapped, thin boxes and pushes it over. “For you and Junhong.”

“What is it?” Jongup bounces in his seat at the tickets. “How did you…? Where did you…? It must be expensive, hyung!”

“Anything for my favorites.” Himchan smirks as Jongup races into the kitchen, screaming about the tickets. The smirk widens when Junhong’s voice joins him moments later. He nearly spills the coffee when he finds himself tackled into a back hug by the younger male.

“You’re the best, hyung! I love you so much!” Junhong presses his lips against Himchan’s temple. “I’ll work hard to repay you.”

“Just win the competition and bring back first place. I’ll consider your payment repaid.”

Junhong squeals again, running off screaming ideas for the choreography that would win them the trophy.

Himchan tosses the plastic cup into the trash. He adjusts the veil back on his face and pulls his coat together, returning to the busy streets. A smile forms under the veil and he quickly heads down the street, heading towards someplace with less people.

The hooded figure follows after, his heavy leather jacket shifts behind him. He sticks close to the other. It’s easy to find someone who purposely stays close to be found. The other male is waiting for him.

He is late. Jackal is late. It’s been three hours since the raid. Jackal is three hours late in finding him and he is bored because of that. Jackal will have to make up for it.

“Rave!” The voice booms in the alley.

“Took you long enough, Jackal.” Rave purrs in delight. An angry Jackal is most entertaining. Why else would he go charging into enemy territory? “I’m thinking of doing another raid if you’re late for another second.”

“Why? Why did you do it?”

Rave shrugs, frowning in indifference. “I was bored and wanted to play.”

“Bored? Bored?” Jackal roars in rage. “You killed them all because you’re board? Does life mean nothing to you?”

“Life means a lot to me.” Rave replies, glaring at the man. “You were growing in number. Did you not think I would notice? Our unspoken peace from full out war is only in balance if our numbers are balanced. You and your friends were creating an army to attack us.” His tongue sticks out, his lips turning into a grin. “Besides, your friend pisses me off. I want so bad to rip his smug off his face and gut him. If you want to blame someone, blame him.”

“I’ll kill you!” Jackal growls through clenched teeth.

“We both know you want to, but let’s face it. You never do. The only reason you always find me is because I let you find me.” Rave turns to leave, but pauses. His glare returns and he directs it at Jackal. “Tell your friend to not provoke me, or there will be more raids until off of you are gone.” He tilts his head back, a teasing smile on his lips. “Don’t worry. I’ll keep you alive so we can play some more.”

“Rave!” Jackal charges forward, his blade in his hand. Red, that’s his vision. Red from anger and red for blood spilled.

“Sorry.” Rave pulls down the ladder of a fire escape, climbing up. He pulls the ladder back in its place as he lands on the stairs. “I’m bored from waiting. You ruined my mood so I’m leaving.”

“Come back here.”

“Aww…I’ll miss you too.” Rave blows a kiss down to Jackal.

“I’ll rip that arrogant grin of yours off your face.”

“My, my. How aggressive.” Rave clicks his tongue. “Your voice sounds especially y today. Tell me, how low can you go?” He ends the question the words.

“Rave!” Jackal shouts more in embarrassment than in anger.

“Rave!”

“Now, now. You don’t want people knowing our secret, right?” He presses his finger to his lips. “Father would be most displeased, Romeo, if he finds you here under my chamber window. For our family has quarrels with each other.” Rave watches as the man grow red in anger. He can’t see clearly, but it’s obvious through the time they’ve spent together that the other man would be blushing, red like a tomato.

Jackal growls, his hands trembling in rage. The sound of a heavy metal door opening pulls him out of his angry trance. He turns his head to see, but just enough to see without being seen. He can’t be caught and thought of as a criminal. Jackal quickly pocks his blade and hurries out of the backstreet, hiding his face.

The man walks out tossing large bags of garbage into the dirty alley.

Rave watches as Jackal leaves the backstreet and back into the busy streets. He waits patiently, as much as he can without shoving the man back indoors, for the portly man to return to his kitchen and close the door before jumping back down to the ground. He follows after Jackal’s footsteps into the streets. He easily locates the hooded figure and hurries after.

He jabs his gloved hand into the tree, muscles tightening and teeth clenched. The pain against his knuckles does not faze him. One thought enters his mind: Rave is a dangerous menace and he needs to be stopped, no matter the cost.

“Are you just going to stand there?”

Jackal blinks at the sight of Rave sitting on a park bench and few feet from him, eating a burger. The man had followed him. How can he be so careless? He should have felt his presence.

“Want one?” Rave reaches inside the bag and pulls out a burger, offering it to Jackal like they aren’t enemies. “It’s still warm.”

They’re enemies, opposites. One is the child of day and the other a child of the night. They should be at each other’s throats. They should be trying to kill each other. They should at least be fighting, not sitting side by side on a park bench eating burgers like a couple of friends.

“Didn’t think a monster like you would eat burgers.”

“You’re not exactly human yourself if you can keep up with me.”

“Point taken.” Jackal sighs, looking up at the sky. “What exactly are we? Enemies shouldn’t be sharing a meal together and friends don’t kill their friends’ friends.”

“We’re a special kind. Just different.”

“Let me ask you something. Why is it that every time I see you, you have a different voice? Do you know ventriloquism?” Jackal takes a bit out of his burger. It won’t be a surprise since I know it too, but…

“Se-cret.” Rave tosses the burger wrapper into a nearby trash can. “Score!”

Jackal chuckles at how ridiculous Rave is. Seeing him like this, eating burgers and drinking carbonated sugar water, the man doesn’t seem to be that much of a demon. Looks can be deceiving, not that I know what he looks like. We’re both only three feet away, maximum, and I can just reach out and pull his veil off, but…

“Well, I gotta go.”

“What? You’re not going to slice my throat open first? It’s hard to believe.”

“Very funny.” Rave rolls his eyes at the humorless joke. “I hate change. Killing you would mean changing to a new hunter. It won’t be fun at all.” He stands up quickly, shifting his feet. “No offense, but your friends are . They’re below me and aren’t that much of an entertainment. You’re the best one. If I kill you, I’ll just die of boredom. I need to keep you alive for my own amusement.

“You’re twisted.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” Rave waves and walks off. “Until next time.”

Jackal lowers his head in confusion, exhaling deeply. A simple question from the man as able to calm him down when he was raging mad. Did the man have that much influence over him? The only person is… “Himchan!” He shoots up from the bench, leaving the park in a rush. “Himchan’s going to kill me.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Himchan taps his fingers impatiently. It’s been half an hour. He’s late too, so he has no right to be angry at Yongguk, but he’s irritated. The encounter with him, left him confused, unsure. He raided the man’s territory, which is a direct challenge, and the man, Jackal, had charged at him in rage. That’s the norm. But what possessed him to approach the other with food? It had felt like a…a date. A date with a hunter! The man was supposed to be prey!

“Sorry.” Yongguk drops onto the chair, lifting the glass of water to his lips and gulping it down in a flash. “I had to take care of something. Are you mad?”

“I would be if I wasn’t late myself.” Himchan confesses, pushing over his water for Yongguk. “I was more concern about if something had happened to you.” He meets Yongguk’s bewildered gaze. “I called ahead to push back our reservation.”

“How? Reservations are made months in advance and so tight that if no one shows up at the reserved time, they lose the spot immediately.” He looks at Himchan suspiciously. “What did you do? Charm the person at the door?”

“I have…connections.” Himchan sips his tea. “Ready to order?”

“Yes, I want a ppo ppo salad, a kissu kissu steak, and for dessert, a crème a la Himchan.” He leans forward with his signature smile,

“Charming.” Himchan waves a waiter over and takes full charge in ordering.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Sorry.” Yongguk hugs Himchan from behind. “My friends want me over to talk about something important.”

“Sure, it’s always something important with them.” Himchan pulls away from Yongguk’s arms. They haven’t even been halfway through their main course when Yongguk got the phone call. The rest of dinner had to be inhaled.

“I’ll come back as soon as I can.”

“Today is supposed to end with a Yongguk and Himchan night, like every night after dinner.” Himchan doesn’t want to pout, but he’s disappointed so he’ll pout if he wants to. “We’re always so busy with me at the hospital and you at the garage, that we hardly ever have time for each other. We agreed that after dinner we’ll push everything aside and spend time together, remember?”

“I know.” Yongguk wraps his arms around Himchan again, pressing his lips against Himchan’s neck. “I’ll make it up to you, okay?” He pulls back and turns Himchan around to meet his eyes, but the man looks away. “Himchan…ChanChan…Channie-yah…” He smiles at an idea. “If you don’t forgive me, I’ll have to buy you your favorite Tigger.”

“Fine!” Himchan puffs up his cheeks. “But no more Tiggers. They upset me more than you.” He hates them with a passion, with their beady eyes, and big nose and smile. “They creep me out. You have too much in the house. ” He lowers his voice into a mumble. “I should just donate them all to an orphanage.”

“Thanks, prince charming.” Yongguk kisses Himchan goodbye and rushes off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The office door opens with a bang and Jackal storms in. “Is there a reason why you had to call me in the middle of dinner and ruin my night? I told you not to call me after dinner.”

“Jackal, sit down.” Zico leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “I heard that someone saw you with the demon in the park. You were eating and chatting and acting like best buddies. Can you give me an explanation?”

In another part of Seoul, Rave laughs his head off. “Oh god, Jaebum. That’s the funniest thing I’ve heard. Tell me another.”

“Rave.”

“Okay, okay. I admit. I treated the guy to some burgers. That’s all. Nothing else happened. We still going to kill each other.”

“Honest?”

“Of course. What do you take me for? The guy and his buddies are prey. He’s just…more interested than the others. I’m going to save him for last.”

“You’re our best so we need you to stay alert. May I remind you, you’re the only one that can go against him. You’re our only hope of taking him down.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Rave…Himchan, remember who you are.”

“Me? I’m the beauty and the beast.”

“Very funny.” Jaebum replies humorlessly. “Youngjae and Jinyoung followed after the hunter who saw the both of you together. What are you going to do?”

“Who is it?”

Jaebum tosses the photos onto the table. “No idea. Never seen him. Someone called him Rapmon or something.”

“Sounds like some ugly cartoon character.”

He studies Rave quietly. “What do you want to do?”

“Where are they? Youngjay and Junior.”

“Near the gym the guy’s at. Are you going to take care of it?”

“It’s time to give the fledglings a chance. I can’t always be around.” Himchan brushes off a stray thread from his lap and fixes his pants. “It’s best to do it now when I’m still here so I can overlook the entire thing and fix up loose ends.”

“Be careful.” Jaebum gathers the photos. “And Rave, it’s Youngjae.”

“Details, details.” Rave waves goodbye and heads towards the hall. “Call Baby Jay and Junior and tell them I’m going. Send me the address.” His boots click in the quiet hall, creating a calming rhythm for him. “Calling him Youngjae makes me think of…speaking of the devil.” He pulls out his vibrating phone. “Hello?”

“Hyung.”

“Stop screaming.”

“Whatever, hyung.”

“What you want?”

“Oh, I’ll be in Paris for three months with Senior Sausage Lips.”

A ‘hey’ is heard in the background.

“Should I bring you back some coffee? They’re good.”

“How good?”

“Sir Eats-a-Lot tried to eat the coffee beans, what you think?”

“If picky eater likes them, I’ll try. Just not too much, okay? Too much coffee makes me nervous. And I can’t stop drinking as long as there is some in the house.”

“Okay.” The man pulls away from the phone, mumbling some French to someone. “Hey, gotta go. Love ya, hyung. Take care!”

“What about me? I want to talk to hyu…”

Rave smirks at the charming dongsaengs. “Cute.” He climbs onto his motorbike, black with a dual blade design in red on the side of it.

The motorcycle roars to life and speeds down the road, heading towards its destination. It growls throughout its journey and slowly fades into a purr before stopping. Its fierce eye-like headlights turn off and it tilts to its resting position, napping before its next travel.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With a boot firmly on the ground, Rave steps off. He tugs his helmet off and fixes his veil, tugging the hood back on his head. He checks the blades behind his waist, two more strapped on his thighs, two on his inner arms, and a switchblade in each of his boots. Blades are his specialty after all. It’s more up close and personal and allows him to follow through with a finishing blow. It also ensures his attack meets with the target.

The two figures shift in the dark, trying to keep quiet as they keep watch. They’re only fledglings after all and it’s nerve wrecking to do a mission for the first time.

“When is he coming?”

“Is he lost? The location changed all of a sudden and this place is kinda hard to find.”

A hand claps over their mouths and they become rigid. A strong presence leans in to them, the fingers digging into their cheeks.

“Hello~, boys.” The voice purrs and the owner removes his hands. “I hope you’re better prepared the next time you’re ambushed. You might be killed in a split second. You should have been able to sense me before I got too close.”

“Rave!” The round faced male exclaims, quietly, in excitement. “I’m so glad to see you!”

“What’s the situation?”

“That Rapmon guy is inside with his buddies.” The other man replies. His face is more slender than the first man’s.

“Here’s what you’re going to do.”

“You’re not going in, hyung?”

“Baby Jay, do you want to play watchdog? Sorry for assuming you want to be the thrilling part of a hellhound.” Rave gives the man an apologetic look, teasing him. “Sorry, Baby Jay. I’ll go in then.”

“Sorry, we’ll go.”

“Junior, you and Baby Jay play watchdog. I’ll go in as a hellhound and run the prey out. Make sure you get them quick, or you’re the one that will get taken out.” He puts a hand on the younger male. “Jay, you take the west entrance and Junior will take the east. I’ll sneak in through the window, got it?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Got it.”

“Keep in touch.” Rave plugs his earpiece in, shooing the others to get ready.

Watchdog is the term for the one positioned at the door. Rave prefers to be the hellhound, the one to run in for an attack and spread the prey to the exits where the watchdogs would be waiting. Although, he usually don’t have watchdogs to back him up so he needs to do everything himself. The fledglings should best start as watchdogs to catch the ones that stray off.

“Hyung, I’m in position.”

Rave pulls the small window open, carefully sliding in with the body he trained to be flexible. “Junior? What about you?” A loud clang captures his attention. “Junior?”

“Who’s there?”

Junior ducks down like a terrified cat. He grips the dagger in his hand carefully, ready to strike if needed. He inhales deeply, hoping that would help even out his beating heart beats.

“Come out!”

Another crash rings and a person stumbles forward. “Looks like I’ve been clumsy. Oops.” He lifts his hand up in a playful surrender.

“Joong, what are you doing here?”

“I head you got some females on your hunt. I thought I should come and play.” He his lips at the group in the center of the warehouse. “Let me have a taste.”

“You’re sick. Why would a huntsmen and a hunted share a bed?”

The man walks over. “No one said anything about sharing a bed. I just want to feel their bones give under my foot and their skin develop a pretty bruise to adorn their pretty skin.”

“That’s enough. Even if they’re not one of ours, that’s going too far.”

“Rapmon.” A shorter man walks over to their leader, whispering. “He’s famous for batter. He’ll leave them broken, literally, and leaves them for dead. The police has gotten wind of this. We should avoid dealing with him.”

“Oh? You’ve heard of me then. How nice.”

Rave moves closer to the railing to have a better look. “Baby Jay, Junior, on my mark.”

“Yes, hyung.” Jay flexes his fingers around the blade handle.

“Got it.”

“Rapmon is our first priority, but the new guy takes the place. We need to take them both out.” Rave adjusts the earpiece, moving it closer to his face.

“Hyung?”

“He’s right, Jay. That man is neither friend nor foe. He’s a threat to both sides and everyone else he gets his hands on. He needs to go!”

“Yes, Junior hyung.”

“Pay attention.” Rave pauses, gripping his blade. “You boys have your amulets, chokers, and masks ready?”

“Yes.”

“Roger.”

The two fledglings tightens their masks and pulls their hoods up. The choker on their necks are snugged and wrapped around properly to provide best results in masking their voices.

“On my mark. One…two…thr…”

The main entrance door opens and in walks Jackal in all his glory. He approaches the group, glancing at the girls cowering in the center, huddling close together. “What’s going on?” He turns to the unfamiliar man. “Who the hell are you?”

“I’m Joo…”

“Again, who the hell are you?” He sneers in disgust.

“He’s insignificant.” Rapmon declares, intercepting in between. “He’s just someone passing by. He’s leaving right…”

“Hello, I’m Joong.” He reaches a hand towards Jackal with a smile.

“What do you want?”

He pulls his hand back, annoyed at the other for not taking it. “I see you’re a man of reason.” He steps closer, frowning at how Jackal backs up away from him.

“Your reason?” Jackal stares with a curious gaze.

“I want the power, the strength, the fame…” His lips flits into a menacing grin. “…the girls. Especially the girls. I want lots of girls, all the girls.”

“Sorry, we don’t get any of those.” Jackal turns away. “Why don’t you go and be one of those idols if you want those things. You’re not welcome here.”

“Then I should get my fill now.” With a swift movement, he reaches over and pulls a girl close, wrapping an arm around her. “Thanks for the meal. I’ll enjoy her thoroughly.”

“Change of plans.” Rave wraps his finger around a cement stone. “Go after that man. Rapmon can wait.”

“What about the Jackal?”

“Don’t’ worry about him, Junior. Just go after that man. Baby Jay?”

The man in question stays quiet.

“Baby Jay. Can you hear me, Baby Jay?”

“Huh? Yeah.”

“Pay attention.”

“But Rave hyung, isn’t that man the one on the news? He’s the one that sent his girlfriend into the hospital, right?”

“You mean the one with cracked ribs and broken legs? Are you sure?” Junior shifts to get a better look, only seeing the man’s back. “What do we do?”

Rave clenches his teeth. “Go after him. Don’t let him out of your sight. Decapitate him. I’ll distract Jackal.”

“Got it!”

“Roger.”

“Ready?” Rave flicks his wrist and sends the stone flying, going straight through the row of dangling light bulbs.

“What’s going on?”

A body falls with a thud. The girls shriek.

“We’re under attack!”

“Who? Who is it?”

“Jack~al~, I see~ you~!” Rave sings, lunging towards the man with his trusted blade. “I’ve come to play.” He swipes his knife upwards, missing his target. “What’s the matter? Scared?” He taunts, s his lips playfully.

“It’s the demon. The demon is here.”

“The demon?” Joong grins and shoves the girl away. “If I can kill the demon, I’ll be famous.” He glances in the dark, eager to meet the demon. “Mr. Demon, where are you?” He pulls out a gun from behind. “I have a present for you.” He flinches at the man that drops in front of him. “Mr. Demon?”

“Sorry, wrong number.” The figure jabs a knife towards his target. “I’ll be your opponent instead.” Jay grins under his veil. “Don’t worry, I won’t disappoint you.” He s his blade forward again, smiling when it cuts his target’s shirt.

Joong points his gun and opens fire.

The girls scream again, their voices echoing in the empty warehouse and pierces through the men’s ears.

He drops down in front of the girls, wrapping his gloved hand over the closest girl’s mouth. “Shh…” He leans in, digging his fingers into her cheeks. “Keep quiet, understand.”

She nods her head, whimpering. The girls around her cover their mouths.

“Good girl. When I let you go, you’ll be good okay? No screaming. Just stand up, turn to your right, and run.” He releases her slowly. “What did I say? Can you repeat that?”

“Don’t scream. Stand up. Turn right. Run.”

“Good girl. Now go.” He watches as the girls rush towards the exit he was watchdog for.

More shots ring out in the warehouse, the bullets fly blindly in the dark.

“Where are you, Mr. Demon’s friend? Come on. You’re my ticket for power.”

Junior growls at the onslaught of bullets. “What gun is that? A semi-automatic?”

“Hello.” A voice calls out to Junior. The ring of a blade follows, but it never makes it to his mark. Instead, it’s embedded into the crate behind the said mark.

Junior s his leg out, sending the other flying back into a mountain of crates. “Sorry, not today.” He reaches for the other’s blade, illuminated by the few limited lights. “Aegi!” He flicks the blade forward.

Jay hears the blade’s ring as it slices through the air. He turns and leans back as the blade gets close to his face, keeping his eyes on it.

The blade flies under the hunter’s veil, gliding past and embeds itself into its target’s shoulder. It digs deep, stopping only when its handle hits the target’s shoulder.

Joong lets out a pained cry, his shoulder bleeding.

Junior sends a salute to his attacker, smirking at the other’s pissed off expression. “Thanks for the blade. Couldn’t have done it without you.” He runs off as the other male goes to retrieve his dagger.

Jay turns to face Junior as the other joins him. He presses his back against the other man’s. “The hostages?”

Junior glances towards the door. “Freed and safe.” He turns his body and presses Jay’s head down. He catches the glimpse of the bullet fly over Jay’s head.

“Pincer attack, call?”

“Call.”

The two stay low as they run towards the trigger happy Joong. At this point, his obsession in wanting to meet the demon has turned him dangerous.

Engulfed by a euphoric state, Joong’s assault of bullets become dangerous to both sides. A few had already grazed Rapmon’s companions, earning a protective growl from the man.

Rave smirks at his sneaky students, witnessing their attempt to knock the man down.

The air is knocked out of him when a strong pressure on his abdominal shoves him back, causing him to drop his gun.

The loose cable tightens, sending its victim crashing into a stack of crates.

Junior sneers and catches the weighted ball Jay tosses to him, returning the other’s to him. They’ve practice so many times that they can work without looking at each other.

“That should put an end to him.” Jay smiles, but his delight is interrupted by the blade at his throat. “What is this?”

“Are you going to threaten us this way? Taking advantage of us like this after we knocked him out?” Junior glares at the man that nicks his throat, letting out an irritated ‘tsk’ at the blood. “Easy. We bleed like you do.”

“Monsters bleed? That’s a laugh.”

Junior glares at the man, ignoring the irony of the comment. “Rapmon, eh? Why don’t you tell your friend herr to go easy on the knife?”

“Forget it, hyung. They think we’re going to kill them once we get the chance. That’s why I have thorns on my side.” Jay winces at the jab on his back.

“Shut it.” Rapmon turns to Jackal with a quick glance around. “What should we do? The demon seems to have fled.”

Two of Rapmon’s men brings over large lights, blaring them towards their hostages.

“Oh, hyung.” Jay says dramatically. “I feel all weird.” He grabs onto the older male. “I think I might be melting.”

Junior grins and runs his tongue over his upper lip, gliding along his teeth.

“Oh wait, never mind.” Jay straightens up again, a hand on his stomach. “I think the smell of rotten, decomposing morons is making my lunch come up.”

Junior covers his smile with his hand, pretending to rub his nose.

“Let them go.” Jackal orders and turns to leave.

“What? We can just get rid of them now. What’s the point of letting them go?” Rapmon growls at the two smirking hostages. “Might as well get rid of the problem when we have the chance. We might not get another opportunity like this one.”

“Kill them and Rave will kill you before the sun’s up. Don’t underestimate them either.”

“We can use them as bait then. We’ll lure in the demon and…”

An ear-splitting shriek fills the large warehouse. The banshee cry pierces into their ears, causing all other sounds to be muted. An attempt to find the source fails as hiss sounds in their ears and a wet substance burns their eyes.

Junior smirks in satisfaction as he turns and goes after the withdrawing Jay, rushing out the doors of the warehouse in glee.

“Rave hyung was right. They do come in handy.” Jay tosses the can of pepper spray. “If it works on erts, it’ll work on anyone.”

“Let’s get out of here.” Junior pushes the younger man forward and they head to the motorbikes. “Hyung.”

“I’m slightly disappointed that the both of you were caught.” Rave reprimands, running a hand through his hair. “But I’m proud you put the hostages first.” He ruffles the men’s hair. “Though, the man still isn’t decapitated.”

“Sorry.” Jay nods his head shyly. “Do we head back to base?”

“Not yet.” Rave grabs Jay and goes through his hair. “Check yourselves for bugs. They could have planned one on you.”

“What do we do?” Junior checks his body, frowning at the lack of bugs.

“Come on. We’re going for a shower.” Rave pulls out a phone, sending a text. “Come on. I’ll introduce you to another fledgling or two.”

Junior follows after the black motorbike, slightly envious of the ‘YWF’ printed in red under the blades. He glances over to Jay’s boke, the familiar logo, consists of a ‘G’ and ‘7’, on the side, matching the one on his.

Jay shifts his boke closer to Junior’s, feeling slightly uneasy. What if they’re followed? How will they protect the people they love? The blinking lights make him turns to the older male, feeling slightly comforted by the nod and thumbs up.

Rave leads the two towards the highway, empty due to the lateness and the news of mysterious mass murders.

No one willingly wants to be out late at night for fear of being the next victim. The incidents are covered up, of course, but rumors spread and those are not easy to get rid of.

A large truck merges onto the highway, passing the three motorcyclist.

Rave waves to the driver, a smile on his face. He watches as the driver speeds up in front of him, the back opening moments later. He carefully pulls away as the metal platform lowers, stepping on the gas only when it’s down.

Junior shares a glance with Jay before driving up the platform, the younger male following behind him.

The platform rises and envelops the motorcyclist trio in darkness.

“Hyung?” Jay winces at the bright light. Looking around, he finds a fourth man. He bows in a polite greeting. “Nice to meet you.”

“This is our marksman, capable of shooting targets with only a bow and short arrows.”

The marksman bows with a smile. “Should we get started?”

The two fledglings glances over at rave who’s already making himself comfortable with a cup of Iced Americano.

“Please, stop into the case.” The man motions to the two hunters. “Make sure you have no phones or other electronics on you, or I won’t be responsible for lost data.” He pulls out a tray. “Place them here please, along with any jewelry like rings.”

Jay and Junior follows the instructions and steps into the case, the older male first, and stands comfortable apart from each other.

The case closes, making the two men feeling like a scientific experiment. A high pitched beep catches their attention as they stand under their feet begins to turn.

The marksman presses the bottoms on the computer, connected to a series of devices. The monitor shows an outline of the two men in the case. He stops the rotation and signals the two men to wait. He smiles at the awkwardness between the two and starts the sequence again.

Rave finishes the coffee as the case opens. A grin creeps up to his face at the next step.

“Now, please strip.”

“Eh?”

“What?”

“I ran the initial stages of wavelength interruption with a low dosage of EMP. However, I need to check manually for any device placed on you. Please change behind the curtain. You can leave your underclothes on. I won’t be checking your body for bugs so please do it yourselves.”

Junior steps into the corner with Jay behind him. “Is this really necessary? It seems a bit too much.” He pulls his belt off and tugs his pants open.

“Hyung.”

Junior turns and finds a small black device in Jay’s fingers. “What’s that? A bug?”

“That would be correct.” The marksman smiles at the startled cry. “I’ll be taking that, thank you very much.”

Rave reaches for a slice of cake as the two fledglings stand in their boxers as the marksman work on diffusing the device, placing the clothes onto a metal table. He runs another test on them to check for wavelengths and manually search thoroughly for optional bugs. He steps up for his turn as Jay and Junior redress.

Jay sits down next to Junior on the couch, glancing over to the appetizing sandwich on the table. His eyes follows it as it moves over to him, shifting upwards to the hand to meet the marksman’s eyes.

“Eat this. You’ll feel better when you’ve eaten.”

“T-thank you.”

“I’m Mark, Mark Tuan.”

“Choi Youngjae, nice to meet you.”

“I’m Park Jiyoung.”

“Pleasure, please eat and drink whatever you want.” Mark turns back to Rave, who shamelessly strips, tossing his clothes to him.

Despite being shy and self-conscious as himself, he has no problem stripping and showing off his body as hunter Rave.

Mark finishes searching for bugs and returns the clothes to their respective owners. The next and last step would be to shower and personal process of purification from the fight. He can’t help with that. Thus, the three hunters are dropped off the same way they were picked up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Miles away, Yongguk paces the living room as the clock strikes midnight. “Where is he?” He bites his lips and dials Himchan’s phone for the nth time in three hours.

The door opens and a cheerful, yet tired, voice rings in the quiet house. “I’m home.”

“Thank goodness!” Yongguk pulls him close for a hug. “I thought something happened to you. Where did you go?”

“Sorry. Something upsetting happened and I went for a drive.” He leans into the hug, inhaling the smell that solely belongs to Yongguk.

“You should have at least called. I was worried.” Yongguk pulls back, placing a hand on Himchan’s cheek. “With the rumors going around, I was afraid you’ll really be an angel. What would I do then?”

“I don’t know.” Himchan grins and presses his lips against Yongguk’s “Suffer lovesickness.”

“I’ll have to be an angel to find you again.”

“You? An angel? You’re more like a y devil.”

“Then should I show you how much of a devil I am?” Yongguk’s grin widens at the purr vibrating in Himchan’s throat and how the younger male presses against him. “Did you shower?”

“Yeah. I got coffee spilled on me so I showered at the hospital.” He pulls away and heads into the living room, yelping when he’s pulled backwards.

“Maybe I should pour coffee on you again.”

“No thanks.” Himchan puts his weight on the older male.

“What’s the matter? Tired?” Yongguk tightens his arms around Himchan’s shoulders.

“I…there’s this girl waiting for a transplant, but I don’t think she can make it.”

Yongguk turns the male around. “Hey, don’t worry. You’re a great doctor and you’ll definitely be able to save her. She’ll be fine.”

“As much as I want to believe that, chances are slim. I’m her doctor. I’ve seen her charts.” He looks up, meeting Yongguk’s eyes. “She’s only five, Yongguk. Five! She has her whole life before her and… she’s going to die before she can live it.” He bites his lips to stop the tears, his shoulder slumped in defeat. “I don’t get it. Why do bad people like serial killers get to live? But people who have done nothing wrong have to die?” He lets out a forced chuckle. “And ironically, doctors are supposed to save those bad people when they should just let them die. Because they’re all equal. You know, this murder was given a transplant and saved when the organ could have been given to someone else who needed it more. Why do good people have to die, Yongguk? Why?”

“I don’t know, Himchan. I don’t know.” He buries his face into Himchan’s neck. “No matter what happens, I’ll be here for you. Always.” Yes, those who kill others need to die. Next time, Rave. I’ll get you next time, so people like Himchannie and the girl can live.

“Hyung.” Himchan hardly uses the word, during his vulnerable states.

Himchan inhales Yongguk’s scent, needing it to calm down. He presses himself closer, as if wanting to merge with the man. With a sniffle, he concentrates on Yongguk’s scent, his touch and his voice next to his ear. He wants this, needs this. He needs Yongguk to ground him, to prove to him that he’s not a monster, not a killer, not coldblooded. He needs the confirmation like he needs air. It chokes him up inside when the young girl looks at home with hopeful eyes after she asks if she’ll die, then lying to her that she won’t, that a donor will come soon, knowing fully well that she might not be able to wait that long.

“Himchan?” Yongguk looks at the man worriedly, placing a hand on the man’s lap. He occasionally has to bathe the man like a child when Himchan returns all lost and confused, and completely unresponsive. It scares him, frightens him to the core that Himchan can zone out for hours. It worries him to return finding Himchan in such a state, yet not knowing for how long.

He knows the girl’s face will haunt him for as long as he’s alive, just like so many faces from before. He hates how weak he gets and how he lets the thoughts eat him up. But he’s only human, or…as human as he can possibly be. Sometimes, he just wants to throw everything away, to move to a faraway place and live on his own. How can’t, though. He needs an anchor, a constant presence to pull him back from the darkest depths of his mind. And that constant is a person, Bang Yongguk. The man has done more than he knows for Himchan as he’s forever grateful. He’ll be the angel Yongguk wants him to be, believes him to be, to stay by his side even if he’s just a bloodthirsty monster inside.

Yongguk brushes the hair out of Himchan’s sleeping face. It’s another night of putting the disoriented man to sleep, lulling him like a lost child. His heart twists and it gets hard to breathe when Himchan wraps his fingers around his shirt, pressing close to him and looking like a battered and abused child. It’s agony to see Himchan like this and it’s a constant pull on his heart strings to know there’s nothing he can do to help him.

Himchan whimpers and moves closer to Yongguk. Tears stream down his sleeping face. “Don’t go. Don’t leave me.”

Yongguk wraps his arm around Himchan’s waist, pressing the other’s man’s body to his. Lifting his leg, he tangles it with the younger male’s. “I’ll never leave you. I’ll protect you. It’s a promise.” He presses his lips against Himchan’s forehead. “You mean the world to me, Kim Himchan. I love you more than anything.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He rolls his eyes and walks back into the living room, purposely making sounds with his boots. “So sad.”

Yongguk closes the bedroom door with a soft click behind him. He thought he felt a presence in the house, but dismissed it as paranoia. He wished he didn’t. “Who are you? What do you want?” He glares at the uninvited stranger.

“Me? I’m Hanbin.” The man drops down on the couch, propping his feet on the coffee table. “Nice place.” He gestures towards the bedroom. “Your partner?”  whistle leaves his lips. “Pretty little thing. A bit messed up in the head though.”

Yongguk growls at the man’s eating grin. “How did you get in here?”

“I was in the neighborhood and decided to drop by and you know.” He smirks, knowing how his presence bugs the man. “I sneaked around a lot, going here and there and just so happens to find this place.”

Yongguk has head of the man, cruel and abusive enough to his own. Now that the man knows where he stays, there’s no double in his mind the man will use it to his advantage. For once, he just wants to slaughter the man and…

“That face of yours his hideous. And what a scary face you’re making.” He clicks his tongue with amusement and stands up. “Well, I have an errand to run. I’ll come again soon.”

“Don’t. Don’t come back.”

“Ciao!” He heads out to the balcony, jumping off and using his own way to exit.

Yongguk wishes the other would fall to his death so he doesn’t have to see him again. The man’s presence worries him. If the man can follow and find where Yongguk stays, then the man can hurt Himchan, or worse.

With the cover of the shadows, he slinks into the dark alley. “Hey, it’s me. I found the Jackal’s hideout. I’ll text you the address.” He turns on his messaging app, frowning at the sudden dark screen. “What the…?” his body tenses and he looks up, finding a man standing a few feet away from him. “What’s this?” He turns at the sound of a metal chain. “Who sent you?”

The two figures step closer, watching the man’s movements.

“H-hey, you want info on Jackal? I know where he lives. I’ve even checked it.” The two figures can only be from one of two sides, the huntsmen or hunters. Huntsman would want the info, but since the two don’t seem to be that interested, then hunters?

A clang rings in the alley as something lands on the fire escape.

“What’s wrong with you?” The man lands in the alley and playfully hits Hanbin’s shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

“Yah, Jiwon. You scared me. I thought…”

“What?”

“Did you tell anyone what I told you?”

“About Jackal’s hideout? No way. It’s a gold mine. The huntsmen will pay big bucks for it.” Jiwon smirks at the thought of wealth.

“Listen to me. We…” His blood freezes.

“Who are you?” Jiwon calls out to the tall figure. “Run along. Go and get out of here. Go home before you get in trouble okay, little kid?”

“Don’t…” His eyes jolts at the splatter of blood, feeling the warmth of it sprayed over his face and clothes. His companion drops limply to the pavement, his severed head trolling away. He stumbles backwards. “Oh sh…” He turns to leave, but the second hunter reappears, causing him to back up away from him. Trapped between two hunters, he pulls out a pocket knife. “Don’t come closer. Go away.”

The second hunter, more muscular than the first, and shorter, steps closer.

Within seconds, a line wraps itself around Hanbin’s neck, tightening and beheading him. The two hunters cut off the cable that were in contact with their targets, burning them as evidence. They reattach the small weight to the end of the wire, their long distance weapon.

A scream alerts the two hunters and they quickly run off, leaving the woman screaming at the headless bodies.

The two shadows move quietly and quickly, blending form one shadow to another and swiftly enters a back door. Working in the dark, they clean and redress. A loud pounding causes them to hurry.

The lights turn on and the person at the door smiles as the door pulls open.

“Sorry, are you open?”

“Yes, of course.” He turns towards the counter with a bright smile. “Junhong! Customer!”

“Yes, hyung.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Junhong sways, his tall body drags and slumps, moving as if intoxicated. “Can we go home? Hyung~!”

Jongup smiles at his whining dongsaeng. “In a bit. We have a bit more to do.”

“I’m exhausted.” He bumps into Jongup, arms linking around the other’s and leaning against the others body. “Hyung~!” He whines, sounded like a loving girlfriend who would use aegyo to sway an equally as loving boyfriend’s mind.

“Hm?”

“Hyung.”

“Hm?”

“Jonguppie hyung.”

Jongup smiles at the playful maknae, knowing the direction the other is aiming.

“Jonguppie hyung~!” He moves his head and rubs it against Jongup’s, like an overgrown affectionate cat. “Jonguppie hyu~ug~.”

“I’m going to fall.”

“No.” Junhong tightens his hold on Jongup’s muscular arm. “You’re not allowed to. I won’t let you.”

“You’re heavy.”

“It’s your fault. Who told you to be on a diet when I have so many pastries that needs to be tasted?”

“Should we do a cake tasting promotion?”

Junhong lifts his head, turning to his hyung. “How?”

“We can do a three for two special and have customers taste them for comments. We’ll have them fill out some questions we’ll prepare for them. And they’ll pick a cake of their choice when they give us the comments. It’s more effective to have more feedback.”

“What about the costs? It’ll be hard to cover up the expenses.”

“Smaller size portions or one day taste test and give a discount for each three cakes.” Jongup suggests joyfully. “Of course, we’ll have to think this through better and in details if we’re going to do this.”

“That would mean more work though. I don’t want to work.” He whines and leans against Jongup again. “When are they coming back? I need sleep~.”

“This week. Something about Daehyun hyung eating too much plane good because the portions are too small.” Jongup nearly trips from Junhong’s tall frame. Adjusting the bag on his shoulder, he glares at the two men staring at them and scowling in disgust. He wraps an arm around Junhong, earning arms around his shoulders and a pouting Junhong looking straight at him. “What’s the matter now?”

“Hyung~. Let’s go home already. I want a bath.” His expression changes at the comment he catches from the scowling men. “No one asked you, face. Why don’t you take a look in the mirror? I bet you don’t even have a girlfriend.” He smirks at the embarrassed man. “You’re not even half the man my noona is.” He leans into Jongup, hugging the older man closer and pressing his face against his hyung.

Jongup keeps quiet and plays along. The disgust on their faces is too funny.

“Besides, someone as handsome and y as my hyung is too good to be in the presence of ugly and nasty garbage. You should feel honored since you’ll never be this hot.” He smacks his hand on Jongup’s behind, earning a jolt and surprised yelp from the man. “You’re just jealous that I get to be near someone with such a perfect .”

Jongup grabs the gentle, yet troublemaking maknae and pulls him away. The other is always clingy when tired and would say whatever he wants without a filter. He picks up speed before Junhong can complain about wrinkled and shriveled up parts. There is a time for everything and this isn’t the time for insulting homophobic asses. Junhong had his fun, it’s time to go now to avoid trouble. The last thing they need is homophobic men trying to straighten them out by trying to beat them into a bloody pulp. Keyword, try.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In another part of Seoul, two hunters round the corner and head down the street, stopping in front of a hospital alley. Checking for unlocked doors, they find one and hurry inside. It doesn’t take long for them to head into the laundry room and quickly suit up, folding the bag their clothes were in, the shove it into the uniform pocket. Black from head to toe, they hide their faces with masks and pull up their hoods.

The door opens and two more hunters enter the room, slightly clumsy in their movements. They meet up with their senior hunters, who quickly brief them. The mission is to clean up a failed mission on the juniors’ part.

Joong his lips at the sight of the nurse’s long legs. There’s a stir in him, mainly in his pants.  He reaches out for a touch, fingers eager to feel the smooth skin.

The lights turn off and plunges the hospital in darkness. The nurses and doctors panic, answering the emergency alarms of patients in different rooms.

Joint growls as the nurse steps away from him. Standing up, he walks over to her.

A few seconds are all they need. And in those seconds, the decapitated what they couldn’t. The act would rid the troublesome man’s abusive ways.

Joong’s scream echoes in the room.

The lights return. The emergency alarms stop.

The nurse turns around. She screams.

Joong lies curls up in a pool of blood.

Mission completed.

Exiting quickly, the two groups of partners go their separate ways. A bloody hospital knife is dropped from gloved fingers. The junior hunters send a nod and receive a wave from their seniors, leaving quickly after the silent goodbye.

The cafe rings with him hand laughter the next day, giggling and hitting his hand on Jongup’s thigh. “Good, good.”

“Just good?”

“The best. The greatest.” Himchan’s smile increases at the proud look on Junhong’s face. “A job well done.”

“No complications either.” Jongup sips his latte. “No one wanted to touch him so we had to borrow his hand for a bit.”

“Hyung, they’re really good with their wires. I don’t think I can puppet the guy’s hand like that.”

Himchan hits the table loudly. “Fantastic.”

“They said they had to decapitate him, under orders, but that would have been too traumatizing for the nurse.”

“Nurse noona don’t deserve to be scarred for life.” Junhong drinks his milkshake, biting on his straw, trying to get the numbness out of his teeth.

“We only had three minutes tops and the longer we take, the easier we’re found. The fledglings seem to be satisfied with the outcome. None of us wants him to die so soon. This is worse than death, right? It’s the perfect punishment for a ert.”

“Moon Jongup, you have the face of an angel, but you’re one sinful creature, aren’t you?”

“I’ll take that as a compliment, hyung.”

“Hongie~! Uppie~!” At the entrance of the café, a cheerful man raises his arms in the air excitedly, dropping the bags in his hands.

“Yah! Jung Daehyun!” The younger male behind him screams, huffing at the mistreatment of the souvenirs he got during his vacation.

“My precious Jonguppie~! Hyung misses you!” Daehyun hugs the other, rubbing his head affectionately. “Hyung miss you lots.”

“Did you eat lots? You got chubbier.” Jongup comments with his arms around Daehyun’s waist. “Your waist is bigger than I last remember.”

“Still handsome?” Daehyun spreads his pointer and thumb under his chin, flashing a smile.

“Yes.” Jongup smiles brightly. He had miss the noisy man.

“Junhongie~! Come give hyung a kiss.”

“No.” Junhong dodges the man’s hand, a smile on his face.

“Let hyung love you!” Daehyun chases after the tall maknae.

“Hi, hyung.” Youngjae sits down next to Himchan, pushing over a bag. “Coffee from all over the world.” He smiles proudly at his present. It’s not much, but suitable for the coffee lover.

“Thanks.” Himchan puts the bag besides him. “Did you have fun?” He can see the excitement in Youngjae’s eyes. Of course the man had fun, loads of fun.

“Took lots of pictures. I’m thinking of putting them all over the wall in the break room. I also took pictures and notes of different pastries for Junhong and…”

“Noooooo!” Junhong fails to protect himself from Daehyun’s kisses and pinches. “Hyung, no! Stop! No more! I’m dying!”

“Really?” Daehyun steps back and looks at Junhong’s redden face. “Should I give you more kisses to save you?” He teases with a smile.

Junhong covers his cheeks, rubbing the pain away. “Hyung, pabo.” He runs off and hides behind Jongup, wrapping arms around the older male.

“Pabo?” Daehyun points to himself in disbelief. “Me?” He rushes over to Junhong, ready to take revenge.

“Jonguppie hyung, save me.”

Jongup only smiles as he’s caught between the two overgrown children. It’s been a long time since everyone is together.

“Stop it.” Himchan scolds, smiling at the craziness. It’s been too long, it’s been normal and tamed for too long.

“I’m gonna get you, or I’m not Jung Daehyun.”

“Sit down, Sir Eats-a-lot or I’ll tell them that story about what happened at that bar.”

Himchan raises a curious eyebrow. “Bar?”

“Yah, Yoo Youngjae! Don’t you dare!” Daehyun threatens, pointing a finger towards the man. “That stays between the two of us. No one else should know about it! Keep quiet!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next few days goes by in a blur and Himchan finds himself sitting in his own apartment rather with Yongguk in theirs. Yes, his apartment that he secretly owns. He sighs deeply and nudes what to do. The fight between the hunters and huntsmen will have to come to a conclusion. Either he goes, or Jackal. But if jackal goes, he won’t have a reason to stay. If he goes, then Yongguk…

“Yongguk…Bang Yongguk. What did I do to deserve you? I’m just a killer, a murder how only purpose is to kill or be killed. I’m a monster.”

Miles away in a lonely apartment of a single the same thoughts plague Yongguk. “Rave has to go, I know, but I’ll probably end up dead. What will happen to Himchan then? He’ll think stupid thoughts like me abandoning him or not loving him anymore.”

The phone blinks and vibrates in the dark apartment. The sound of it vibrating reaches its owner’s ears. Long fingers wrap around its body and he’s picked up.

Yongguk lifts the phone to his ears tiredly. “Hello?”

“Jackal! Where are you?”

“Zico? What’s wrong?” He didn’t like the man’s trembling voice and panic in his tone.

“Rapmon and his group are killed!”

“What are you talking about?” He leans forward, his body ready to spring into action.

Rapmon and his group aren’t the best, but they are still able to hold their own in battle. What they lack skills and other aspects, they make it up with their pack like way of attacks. They are always together as a group. They were like hyenas, chasing and hunting down most of the monsters they are responsible for.

“Four hunters attacked. They were taken by surprise and taken out in minutes. Only one classy, but he’s in critical condition. He’s not going to make it.”

Despite wanting the remaining member to survive, it was unlikely. The group live together and they die together. The remaining huntsman won’t survive out of loyalty, or probably won’t want to survive when his family has been killed.

“Who did it? Who were they?”

“They wore the demon’s mark.” Zico pauses, hesitating. “Jackal. He’s expanding his power. If more of him rises, we’ll be in trouble.” There’s a loud bang and something is shoved over. “We can hardly go up against Rave. How can we go against four more?”

“One by one and plan ahead.” Yongguk replies, biting down on his lips. “We need to go about this carefully. Separate them and ambush. We’ll need to cut off their contact or they’ll come to each other’s rescue. It’ll be trouble for us.”

“I’ll plan the attack and contact you.” Zico hangs up without another word.

Yongguk bits his lips nervously. He turns on his desk lamp and begins to write, getting his thoughts down in case something happens to him.

 

Himchan,

If you get this letter, then it means and I’m no longer here. I want you to know that I love you and will always love you, no matter what and where I am. Be strong and live your life. I want you to grow old, to be happy and live a full life. I’m sorry for breaking my promise. We won’t be able to grow old together. I’m sorry. I still wish for you to go on living without me.

Himchan, I’ve hid a part of my life from you, to protect you. There’s something you need to know about me. I have a secret, a dark secret. I’m someone that belongs to the night, to the darkness. I’ve vowed to protect you and I’ll keep that promise. My presence will put you in danger so I have to go. My death will grant you safety. It’s the only promise I can keep. If my death can keep you alive and safe, then I’ll die a million times over. You’re my treasure, my angel. And I’ll forever by your knight in shining armor. I’ll be the shield and the sword that protects and defends you.

Himchan, I love you, now and forever. Stay safe.

Forever yours,

Bang Yongguk.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In a lot outside Seoul, four figures rest calmly on top of a large metal storage container. Empty food containers surround them. Exhaustion shows on their faces as slump shoulders reveal the burden on their young bodies.

“What now, hyung?”

“Let’s just wait. Wait and see.”

“But…”

“I know, Youngjae. I know.”

“That Zico guy isn’t going to let this slide.” Jongup pops another piece of chicken into his mouth. “We took out Rapmon’s group and they were close.”

“Should we tell Himchan hyung?”

“JB hyung and his fledglings have left.” Youngjae points out, drawing circles on the dust covered container with his fingers. “Do we leave too? I’ve grown fond of Seoul. I thought we were going to stay for good. And the cafe…do we close it? We can’t keep it open if we leave. I’ll miss it.”

“Me too, Youngjae. We spent a long time here. It’s became home for us. At least, that’s what it feels like.”

“I’ll miss home.” Junhong rubs his tear away. He made a few friends through the years. It’ll be hard to say bye forever. “Do we have to go?” He whines, frowning at the idea of losing something as sentimental a ‘home’ in Seoul.

“Home…” Jongup smiles at the stars. “…is when I’m with you.”

The two eldest chuckles at the words, their shoulders feeling lighter. Jongup will always be Jongup and he’ll always find the light in the dark and the star in the gloomy storm.

“I suppose.” Daehyun keeps his eyes on the stars with his hand behind his head. The heat from the container from the morning sun warms his back.

“Home is each other.” Himchan squats down on, lifting a piece of chicken to his lips. “Home is a constant and the only constant we have is each other.”

“Hyung.” Junhong’s voice softens, feeling shy and sentimental. “How long has it been now? How many years have we’ve been together?”

“It feels like forever.”

“When did we meet?”

“We’ve been here since nineteen ninety-three.” He can feel the others’ eyes on him. “But we’ve been together for…what was it?” His eyes roll around, his mind thinking. “A hundred and fifty-eight years, seven months, and fifteen days.”

“You remember?” Youngjae smiles and taps the older man’s elbow with his foot. “What about the date? You remember that too, smarty-pants?”

Jongup smiles fondly at the memory. “April twenty-eighth. We met by chance for one reason or another.”

“Then we got changed by that…monster.”

“That’s when we were reborn, right?” Youngjae lies down, his hands on his stomach and his left leg bend. “It’s been so long.”

“We died and were born on that day.” Himchan sits next to Junhong. “If it wasn’t for the Master, we would probably have gone crazy.”

“We looked at him like he was crazy when he told us about the monsters of the night who drinks blood, the huntsmen, and hunters.” Junhong shivers at the memory.

“Jongup-ah, I still think he’s crazy. We were lucky we survived his so-called training.” Daehyun laughs at the memory of the craziness of the training they went through. It was more of trying to survive him while he hunted them like animals.

Youngjae lets out a laugh. “He just wanted to kill us off and called it training.”

“He wasn’t that bad.” Daehyun admits fondly. “We’re alive because of him. If he didn’t try to kill us every time under the excuse of training, we won’t be alive today and doing what we do. He found us when that creature did and we were lost and confused. We didn’t understand anything and he couldn’t have killed us when we were still trying to understand what we saw.”

“Yah.” Youngjae sits up, a scowl on his face. “We died and lived till now because of him. We died because he was drunk and let that monster escape. If he didn’t, that monster wouldn’t have found us. That monster exploded and covered us in his blood. We were reborn because of that. Everything is because of him.”

“And that’s the story of how we were blessed with this life. The end.” Daehyun cheerfully raises his hand towards the stars. The memory is too gloomy to continue. Their death and rebirth is in the past and they should be happy now.

“I still don’t know if it’s a curse or a blessing.” Youngjae comments, a smile on his lips and exhaling deeply.

“Does that mean Master is both out killer and savior?” Junhong glances around for an answer, but only gets laughter in return.

“Tonight’s going to be our last night, probably. Enjoy the stars as much as you can. By tomorrow night, our world would crumble before us. We’ll have to leave at the end of the week.”

“And the cafe?”

“Don’t worry, Youngjae. I’ve already settled the paperwork. Once we’re settled, if we make it out alive, the store will be rented out. Things will continue as normal. Our accounts are still intact, right?”

“Yeah, we’ve build up a steady chain of accounts with the cafe chain stores. Money keeps moving around so it won’t be easily traced. And my skills would make it even harder to track. Don’t worry.”

The small group becomes quiet, enjoying the stars until they fade and watching the sun as it starts to rise. The sun on their skin makes them nostalgic, reminiscing of old days full of life and wonder. They disappear before the sun rises fully. With covered faces and hoods over their heads, they return to the shadows where they belong and feel most comfortable.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yongguk straightens his huntsmen outfit, feeling slightly regretful at how the huntsmen part of his life will soon end. He’ll finally be able to live his life with Rave gone and others taking his place to fight against any hunters, but… The thrill of the hunt has always been a welcoming aspect in his life. There are times where he’ll look forward to them. Nights after the hunts are nights where he’ll love Himchan with extra passion. The adrenaline pumping into his veins makes him more eager to ambush Himchan in the hall and steal his breathe. He’ll have to give up the joy of the hunt so people like Himchan can be safe, but it’ll be worth it.

The blade glints under the moon, held fondly between its owner’s fingers. It will carry through with his master’s task and end his lifelong mission, at least a large obstacle in it.

Yongguk pockets the knife, grabbing his mask and heading out his room. His phone vibrates excitedly in his pocket. A quick tap shows a message from Himchan.

‘I’ll be late tonight. Don’t wait up for me. I love you.’

He pockets the phone and heads out, jumping into his car. The car engine roars to life and Yongguk backs it out, exiting the parked area.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hyung, I found something you might not like.” Daehyun lifts the folder slowly, dreading the reaction. “I ran it over and over again, but…” They’ve all gathered together to discuss their next plan of attack, not expecting to get such a big discovery.

Himchan opens the file, his fingers gripping the sheets. “How?”

“I don’t know. What do we do?”

“Oh my…” Youngjae huffs at the information, pulling the file out of Himchan’s hands. “How is he…? Didn’t the Master kill him? How can he go around and…?” He exhales again in disbelief. “This is ridiculous!”

“I don’t know. Maybe this was before the Master killed him.” Daehyun bites his lips, frustration on his face and feeling anxious about their next plan to attack.

“Hyung? Are you okay?”

“Huh? Yeah, Uppie. I’m fine.”

“But, hyung.” Junhong bites his lips. “If he’s sired by the monster who made us, are we the same? Wouldn’t that make us…brothers?”

“No, Junhong. We’re not.” Daehyun exhales deeply. “The monster’s blood soaked us from head to toe. We got all the benefits, but we’re not him. This guy…” He gestures with his brand towards the file. “…he’s born the way the others are.” He gestures the biting motion with his hand, biting down audibly with his teeth.

“We’re humans who fight these monsters with their strength, but we might have become the same after all these years.” Youngjae’s shoulders slump. “The only difference is the lack of need for blood.”

“Does that mean we’ll die?” Junhong frowns at the thought. “But we haven’t traveled the world yet. I still want to visit haunted places around the world.”

Jongup pats the maknae’s head, ruffling his hair affectionately.

“One more.” Himchan closes the file, tearing it to pieces. “One more time and we’re going to Prague.”

“Ah… The hunters of Prague again?” Daehyun smiles at the thought of going home. “I still want the food tour.”

“You’ll get fat.” Youngjae grimaces with a roll of his eyes.

“What’s wrong with being chubby?” Daehyun smiles at his longtime partner. “You were so adorable with your baby tummy.” He reaches over to the other’s belly.

“Stop that!” Youngjae grabs the hand over his belly. “Stop touching it!”

“You were so cute.” Daehyun’s pout changes to an affectionate smile. “But my Youngjae is now a y man.”

“You bet I am!”

“I’ll be chubby enough for the both of us.”

“You’re weird.”

“One of us has to be. Or else it’ll be boring.”

Himchan turns and the four men follows, playfulness pushed aside. He leads his hunters, his family out of the abandoned mini warehouse.

The group heads down the dangerous neighborhood of abandoned and broken down houses used by the homeless and the occasional criminal. Masks covering their faces and hoods covered their heads, they are armed to the teeth in blades, some more obvious than others. They’re not the ‘Hunters of the Blade’ for nothing. Their appearance catches the attention of the homeless men who had crowded around a metal cylinder, using it to burn what they find for warmth. Their presence causes the dirty men to feel uneasy.

Himchan drops the torn folder into the container, burning it to ashes.

Ashes…perhaps in the end, they’ll all be ashes and be blown away in the wind.

“What’s wrong?” Daehyun asks the tall maknae. He watches as Junhong runs towards the homeless men, stopping when he noticed wary looks. He smiles as the youngest pulls out some money from his pocket and presses it into the old man’s hand. “Ah…” He hurried over pulling money out. “Ahjusshi, it’s cold. Go get something to eat and drink.”

The old man looks up from his hand, seeing the young group of men crowding around him. A group of young men usually means trouble, and he has no way to defend himself against the young and healthy when he’s old and brittle.

“Here.” Youngjae presses more bills in his hand. “Go sleep in the bathhouse. It’s too cold tonight. It would be bad to get sick in this weather. Take a bath and keep warm.”

“Eats lots of yummy snacks.” Jongup presses his own share for the man into his hand.

Himchan smirks, amused at how his dongsaeng enjoys aiding others and being as human as possible in their lives full of monsters. “Ahjusshi.” He points back towards the direction they appeared from. “There’s a house over there you can use. It’s nice and warm. There are no holes in the walls.” He pushes his hand back into his pocket. “It should be enough to keep you safe and warm when the money runs out. Take care of yourself.” He turns and resumes his departure.

“Bye, ahjusshi!” Junhong waves happily, his smile hidden by the mask.

One by one, they bid farewell to the confused old man and his sudden small fortune. It’s dangerous for people to see them, but they still have a bit of humanity. They haven’t lost to the monster inside…yet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Back in Seoul, a car pulls up at a club. Yongguk steps out and heads inside, finding it to be strangely quiet and empty. “Zico?” He reaches for the knife strapped behind his waist, waiting. “Zico.”

“J-Jackal? Is that you?” The man stumbles out from behind the counter.

“What happened?”

“Sorry, we’re closed from now on.” He jokes with a pained chuckle. “I’ll be seeing you on the other side…if there is one.”

“Hold on, I’ll…”

“It’s too late.” He grips Jackal’s arm. “Agree or not, Jackal. The demon has to be stopped.” His grin softens. “Honestly, I don’t remember why we’re even fighting each other. Both sides keep to the rules, but I guess…” His breathing labors. “…fear has something to do with it. We all have something to protect and that desire makes us want to fight to protect him.”

“We both want to get rid of the threat.” Jackal comments, understanding the man’s words. “But in the end, we become our own threats. Perhaps the reason why we’re so hell-bent on killing Rave and his group, and they us, is because we see ourselves in each other. We are the real threat to ourselves and we seek to defeat it so we can live in peace. We can’t kill the threat inside ourselves, so we seek to kill each other because we are the manifestation of the threat and fear for them like they are to us.”

“I don’t need you logic, Jackal. Just…find a way to solve it. I’m counting on you.”

“It’s either us or them.”

“I would prefer us, honestly.”

“Will you be okay?”

“Yeah, I have some blood in the back. I won’t recover completely, but I’ll live.” He turns his complete attention to Jackal, trying hard to concentrate on the man in front of him. “Yongguk, I have a bad feeling. I kept think as I waited, what if this is the last time I’ll see you? What if this is goodbye? For good?”

“Then, my friend, I wish you a long and healthy life. Stay safe.”

“Yah, what part of a vampire’s life isn’t long?”

“The part where he meets Rave.” Jackal jokes, patting Zico’s shoulder. “Farewell.” Jackal turns and heads out of the bar, back into the empty streets.

“This is it. This is the end for me.” Zico laughs humorlessly. “I hope I didn’t put him in danger when I called.” He shifts and props his body upwards, leaning on the counter. “Hey, you’re there, right? Don’t even think about touching my friend. He’ll end you.” He winces at the pain, feeling it burn. “!”

A butcher knife flies out, embedding horizontally on Zico’s neck. Blood flows the blade and pools under the man’s body. Covered with blood, the blade allows the head to slide off, rolling away.

A pair of boots and long legs step closer to the body, staying away from the red puddle. A gloved hand pulls out a wire, a metal weight attached at the end. The man flicks his wrist and sends the metal ball flying, shattering the alcohol bottles.

The alcohol runs down the counters, dripping to the floor. It covers the table, spreading slowly and crawling further away from its bottle.

He pulls out a lighter, flicking it on and tossing it onto the counter. His eyes reflects the fire, dancing on the countertops, prancing on unbroken bottles and causing them to explode.

A second man enters, dumping alcohol over the tables and paving the way for the flames. He tosses the plastic container, watching as the fire uses it as a bridge to cross over.

The flames soars, lapping at the décor and alcohol like drunkards. They dance wildly, spreading like a plague.

The two figures turn and leave through the back door. They head down the alley, fixing their hoods. The shorter of the two turns at the lack of footsteps from behind.

“What’s the matter?”

“Hyung…” He hesitates, his eyes full of concern. “I know who Jackal is.”

The man swallows nervously. The younger male’s voice, sounding like a confused child, gives him a bad feeling.

“That file says Jackal is on part with us, right?”

“What about it?”

“I…Jackal’s really…”

“Don’t.” He intercepts, taking a deep breathe. “Not another word.” He whispers, as if talking too loudly would break through the lie. “Let’s get out of here first.”

The young male follows the other, tugging his hood down and hurries to the parked motorbike. He reaches for his helmet and pulls it on.

The shorter male grabs his own helmet, pulling it down on his head. A pair of arms wrap around him as he starts the engine. He kicks off the metal stand and turns the motorbike into the busy streets.

“I’m worried, hyung.”

He hears the voice clearly despite the helmets and the loud engine. It’s one of the few perks they’ve gained. They’re able to hear each other’s voice, no matter the distance, as long as it’s directed towards them. “Clear your head, Junhong. Don’t let hyung know.”

With the blood of a True Blood spilled on them, they’ve developed a type of telepathy with each other, becoming open books with nothing to hide. They have nearly nothing to hide from each other, but in the small chance they do, there’s an unspoken agreement to respect each other and not probe for answers, information, or both.

Junhong tightens his arms, concentrating on the warm back of his favorite hyung and the steady heartbeat against his hand. It comforts him and helps steady his own beating heart.

The scenery blurs as they pass by. Jongup inhales and relaxes his grip on the bike handles. The warmth of Junhong’s strong body eases him. They’ve been together for so long that there’s hardly a difference between them. He feels at ease with the other’s presence. It’s natural for him to be together with his only, and favorite, dongsaeng. Being apart for too long makes their bodies have withdrawal like symptoms.

Junhong’s eyes glazes over and his mind is as blurred as the fading scenery. He reminisces about a time where things were less complicated, where technology is non-existent and walking was the only type of transportation, except smelly horses and ship rides hat takes forever. It was happy, besides trying to survive in a world of monsters, and they had each other. That’s all they have, really.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

An unknown amount of time passes and Jongup pulls the motorcycle into a hidden area behind a junk yard. He grips the hand on his waist, tapping it gently. “You okay?”

“Yeah, just…” Junhong turns to the arrival of the other half of their little group. “Hyung.” He steps back from the motorbike, biting his lips in debate if he should talk or not.

“You okay, Junhong? Not hurt, right?” Daehyun’s voice is gentle, his normal hyper-ness replaced by a comforting calm.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?” Youngjae turns to Jongup, who turns away uneasily. “What is it?”

The moon hides behind the clouds as Junhong recounts his task, revealing what he saw and heard. By the time he’s finished, Daehyun’s mind is reeling, Youngjae bites his lips nervously and Jongup is expressionless. The information is hard to accept and there’s difficulty processing it.

“You mean…” Daehyun starts, trying to voice out his summarization for easy processing. “…Jackal is…and he’s with…who’s really…which means they are…whiling trying to…” He raises his hand to his head. “Oh my… This doesn’t make sense. How can the…? And we…?”

“Don’t try too hard.” Youngjae comments with his right hand on the crook of his left elbow, his left thumb between his lips. “There’s too much complications with this.”

“Do we tell hyung?” Junhong questions, his voice low and soft. “He has the right to know, but…” His mouth clamps shut.

“It’s probably best…” Jongup’s voice pierces into the confusion. “…if we don’t tell him. He’ll be sadden by it.”

“But he should know!” Junhong counters, feeling uneasy to hide something so important from their beloved hyung. But then…

“No, Jongup’s right.”

“Daehyun?”

“He’s important to hyung, but we need to protect hyung because he’s important to us.” Daehyun glances around between the younger males. “Who’s more important to you? That person that’s trying to kill us, may I remind you all, and is with hyung? Or the hyung that’s been with us all these years?”

“I guess you have a point, hyung.” The idea still doesn’t sit well with Junhong. It feels…unnatural, to have something to hide from Himchan.

“Hyung might decide to do something stupid like sacrificing himself.” Youngjae flinches at the pain on his finger. Blood swells out of the injury. He stuffs the finger into his mouth, brushing his tongue over the tip. A metallic taste covers his tongue.

“I feel selfish…to want hyung to live over someone he cares about deeply.” Junhong feels a hand glide up his back, stopping on his shoulder. “H-hyung.” He feels flabbergasted at the man next to him. “When did you get here?”

“Don’t worry.” He rubs Junhong’s shoulder to comfort him, to comfort his family.

“Hyung.” Daehyun’s eyes turns melancholy. “We don’t mean to hide it from you, but…”

“I know. I understand.” Himchan smiles with understanding. “It’s hard not to when the four of you are throwing your emotions at me left and right.”

Their telepathy works mysteriously. Sometimes it’s as if the telepathy have a mind of their own and work to reveal emotions and thoughts they keep from each other as a protection attempt. They’ve develop a strong trust because of this and would often understand without a word being spoken. Their empathy for each other has strength over the years.

“We don’t mean to keep it from you.” Daehyun bites down on his puffy lips. “We just want to keep you from harm and protect you, even if it’s from yourself.”

“Well, if that monster made us into something like him, at his level, then our opponent should be the same or at least similar to us.”

“So he might be True Blood?” Youngjae’s gears work quickly. “It would explain why he’s the only one that can keep up with you.”

“Hyung…are you thinking…” Jongup’s response is a sly grin.

“This is getting more and more interesting.”

“Should we test him?” Junhong’s moody behavior is replaced by curious wonder. “We can stall him until the sun’s up. If he’s under a great deal of stress, then he should be weakened.”

“Junhong and I got rid of the bar.” Jongup announces proudly. “Burned it to the ground.”

“Rapmon and his group are gone and the fledglings cleaned up that mess, with that guy.” Youngjae states, pointing out the tasks they’ve finished.

“It happened so close to each other that it can build up stress.” Daehyun’s eyes turn to the eldest. “Did you notice anything different?”/

“How can I when I’ve been holed up at my apartment?”

“Ah… that’s right. We’ve been cleaning our tracks and moving our stuff out.” Daehyun scratches his cheek with a finger shyly. “I forgot.”

“No, it would mean he’s probably looking for us and close to his limit.” He pulls out his phone. “I wonder…”

“Hyung…” Junhong hesitates before continuing. “Do you think he saw your video message yet? That can give us a clue.”

“Maybe…” Himchan grins mischievously. “Youngjae, we’re about the same size, right?”

“Why?” The younger replies, suspicious at the other.

Himchan scoffs with amusement. “Listen, I have a plan.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The junkyard lights blare downwards, lighting up the empty space in the yard’s center.

Jackal growls at the irritating presence of Rave before him. His eyes darts to the man hanging over a fire disintegrator by a crane.

“If you defeat me, you can have him back.”

A black bag covering his head, hands and legs tied, Youngjae tries to steady his breathing through the bag’s nylon material. The yard lights make him warm and sweaty, making him hope he won’t sweat off the Yao Grass masking his scent.

“Rave!!!”

Rave smiles at the growl. “Such…intense rage. It thrills me immensely.”

“Let him go! He doesn’t’ have anything to do with what’s between us.”

“On the contrary, I’ve finally found what’s most important to you.” His grin disappears, a look of determination on his masked face. “So you better come and make me.”

Rave wants to push, to provoke, to make Jackal attack with all his might and show how much the man means to him. He wants Jackal to show his desperation to show how big of a weakness the man is. He wants to break the huntsman down to his most primal desires, free of rational thinking and reasoning. To have Jackal break apart completely in his attempt to save the person most precious to him, Rave wants to see it. But Himchan, Himchan is afraid. He’s afraid to know how much he means to the man, how much he’ll sacrifice and how far he’ll go to ensure Himchan’s protection, how much he’s willing to do, legal or not, to make sure Himchan is safe from harm, even if it means to lose himself to the monster inside. He’s afraid to learn how much he means to the man and how he’ll be the reason the huntsman fails.

An animalistic growl erupts from Jackal’s throat and he charges at Rave. “I’ll kill you once and for all.”

Rave hops back with a grin, dodging the blade being into his face. “You’re kinda cute when you’re angry.” He teases, dodging another swipe of the blade. “I don’t think you’re serious enough though.” He pushes Himchan out of his mind. He had a task at hand and a mission to complete. It still worries him to see Jackal losing control, despite being the reason for it and is aiming for him to do that.

“I’ll skin you alive!”

“Do it.”

“I’ll cut you limb from limb.”

“What’s stopping you?” Rave slips and the blade touches his mask, leaving a cut on the material. “Tsk.”

“Not so confident now, huh?”

“Actually, I can’t wait to taunt you more and push you to your limit.”

Junhong watches as Jackal aims for Rave again. “How long till sunrise?”

“Just a few hours, not long.” Daehyun replies, keeping his eyes on the two fighting figures. “They’re really going at it. Hyung’s not fighting back though, he’s just avoiding him.”

“He doesn’t seems to be effected much. He’s really trying to cut up hyung.” Jongup bites his lip, in air at the closeness of Jackal’s blade to Rave’s neck. “Youngjae would be roasted before the sun’s up.”

“Let me help.” Junhong tugs on the lever, feeling a silent curse thrown his way.

Youngjae bits his lips at the sudden drop, his fingers trying to grasp the hook. He tosses a string of curses towards Junhong, growling at the other’s cute laugh and merong. He can just feel the young hunter’s laughter.

“He’s going to kill you, you know.” Jongup can feel the annoyance from the older man. “He’ll think of ways to get back at you. He’s not a genius for nothing.”

“I’m not worried.”

“You should be.” Daehyun smirks at Junhong. “Who knows? He might ambush you and slaughter you like an animal.”

Ignoring the bickering duo, Jongup turns his attention to the fight. He notices how Jackals attacks have become wild, reckless and predictable. “He’s leaving plenty of openings.” He comments, following the man’s movement. “Forget sun rise, he would be covered in wounds by now if hyung is serious.”

“Come back here and fight me like a man!” Jackal growls at another miss.

“Sorry, I don’t plan on dying today.” Rave is disappointed at the countless openings and carelessness. Jackal might as well charge forth without weapons. The huntsman is blinded. Himchan, on the other hand, should he be disappointed? Or flattered? Either way, Himchan is shoved into the dark corner by Rave.

“Stand still!” Jackal flinches as his blade slides into muscle, the metal disappearing pass the dark clothe of Rave’s outfit.

“What’s wrong?” Rave asks, the unnerving sound of pain in his voice. “Didn’t you want me to stand still? I did what you asked.” An unamused chuckle escapes his lips. “Aren’t you satisfied? You finally got me. Now push it in. Push it in deeper.” He steps closer, pushing the blade in, biting down on his lips to stop the cry.

Jackal returns to his senses, pulling the dagger out. The sight of blood startles him. The pained look on Rave’s face makes him look almost…human.

“You know, I’ve never thought you hated me this much.” Rave’s heart clenches. He’s tired. His body is tired. His wound won’t close as fast, even with the monster’s blood in him. He hasn’t been this exhausted in…forever. Maybe. He fought Jackal many times, but this time, it’s different. He knows about Jackal, he knows. And it makes it so much harder to keep his calm.

Jackal hesitates, not knowing if he really hated the man, or if he hated what the man is. Rave is something he’s not and he will never be. Rave’s a monster, a hunter, but he’s also unmistakably…human. He, himself, was human once, a long, long time ago. It’s been so long, that he’s wondering if there’s any human left inside.

“You better hurry. Or your friend will take a one way trip into the grinder.” Rave reminds, hissing at his wound.

Youngjae wraps his fingers around the hook, holding on tight. He takes a deep breath and clenches his teeth. “It’ll be like bungee jumping.” The hook shifts and he feels his lower body lifting up as he drops.

“No!” Jackal watches in horror as the body drops, a spray of red shooting out from the grinder. He heads towards it, dashing forward.

“No so fast!” Rave blocks the huntsman’s path. “You’ll have to go through me.”

“I’ll tear you in two!” Jackal tackles Rave to the ground, straddling him.

He laughs at the irony of it. Under normal circumstances, he would welcome the man on top of him, but this isn’t normal.

“I’ll cut you limb from limb. I’ll rip you apart!” Jackal s his knife into Rave’s shoulder, earning a scream from the man under him.

Youngjae moves out of Daehyun’s arms, pulling the sack off his head. “What’s happening? Why is hyung screaming?”

“He stabbed hyung! He really stabbed him!” Junhong moves forward, turning back at the hand on his arm. “Hyung! We have to save him! He’s going to kill him. He’ll die!”

“Wait for the sun.” Jongup urges, fighting his body’s response to go help the older male.

“Hyung will be dead by then!”

“Hyung is strong.” Youngjae rubs his wrists, not liking the rope marks on them.

“Wait for hyung’s order.”

“But…” Junhong turns his head as the first sign of sun. “I don’t think I’ll ever be this happy for morning to come.”

“Let’s go stall before hyung is sacrificed.” Youngjae checks his charms and tugs his mask on. His hood is pulled into place and he pulls out his blade, heading off towards their target. He need to do a quick rescue mission before their initial one can be finished.

The four masked and hooded hunters creep closer, finding Rave pinned under Jackal, blood seeping from his shoulder and thighs. They can hear Rave’s labored breathing and thumping heart in their echoing in their ears. The last time they were able to hear it was when they were badly injured during their training with the Master. It was the first time they realized they could synchronize their hearts and breathing.

“Jongup, you and Junhong get hyung out of there. Daehyun and I will take care of Jackal.” Youngjae glances over to the crazed man.

“Hyung!”

“Don’t argue.” Daehyun interrupts, not willing to debate on who does what. “Now is not the time. Jackal is crazed and out of control. He’s dangerous, more dangerous than before. Youngjae and I will take care of him.”

“Trust me.” Youngjae urges the younger hunters. “I’m the mastermind, remember? The genius who got us away from danger and trouble plenty of times.” He receives trustful nods.

The four hunters split up. Jongup and Junhong heads towards the right with the others heading down to the left. He move until they are behind a pile of junk directly in front of the raged huntsman. They watch and wait, wait until Daehyun and Youngjae are in position directly behind Jackal.

“I’ll end you once and for all.” Jackal paces the top of the blade above Rave’s heart. “I’ll destroy you once and for all.”

“Go ahead.” Rave taunts, determined confidence on his face. “You keep saying you will, but you never do. What’s wrong? Scared?”

“Who’s scared? Me?” Jackal lets out a nonchalant chuckle.

“Just know…you’ll regret it. You’ll regret it once it’s over and spend the rest of your miserable life wondering why you have to do it.”

“That’s for me to decide.”

“You think your friend will be safe once you kill me?” Rave provokes, poking at Jackal’s vulnerability. “There are others like me. They’ll take revenge for me and kill him. Then you’ll be left with nothing.”

“Shut. Up.” He shifts his fingers for a better hold, aiming the tip properly for a single strike to end the life under him. His blade cuts pass the cloth, but that’s all it does. Jackal finds himself flying backwards with cables wrapped around him. He growls and glares at his attackers. “Let go if you know what’s good for you.”

“Nope. Too bad for you we’re not letting go.”

“That’s exactly why we’re attacking you. We know what’s best for us.” Youngjae smirks under his mask. “Just stay still and it’ll be over soon.”

Jackal growls at being captured. He turns to Rave, exploding when he finds him escaping with two others’ help. “RAVE!!!” His voice fills the junkyard. He tugs against his binds, growling in frustration.

Rave wines at the pain on is thigh, leaning heavily on his saviors. He groans at the pain shooting up his leg, feeling it numb from blood lost. His breathing labored and vision swimming, he knew the fight won’t last long. It’s either Jackal, or him. And from the look of things, it seems his end would arrive sooner than Jackal’s.

Daehyun struggles with the cable between his fingers. He expected Jackal to rage, but the strength behind his rage is…

Youngjae senses Daehyun’s struggle, sending a growl towards the older man. ‘Hold on. Let them escape. Give them a chance to hide.’

‘I’m trying.’ Daehyun sends back, hos foot slipping on the pebbled covered ground. ‘He’s desperate. He might try to take us all out to accompany him.’

“RAVE!” Jackal ignores the men holding him captive, only interested in one person.

Junhong slips as they round a corner to hide behind a mountain of metal. He hits the floor hard, pain shooting up his backbone. He turns his palm upwards, finding it bleeding from a cut.

“You okay?” Rave grips the younger male’s arm, pulling him up. He pulls off his mask, brushing the dust off the wound and presses the mask onto it. “Clean and treat it as soon as you can.” He pulls out his veil, wrapping it around Junhong’s hand in a makeshift bandage.

“Hyung, what about you? You sure you can reveal yourself?” Jongup ask with worry.

“Protect yourself too, hyung.” Junhong puts out his veil, covering Rave’s face with his mask and using the veil on his own. “We need to live a long time, together.”

“Thanks.” Standing on his own, Rave puts a hand on Jongup’s arm. “Take Junhong and go to the meeting point. Take care of yourselves.” Rave feels his wounds closing, but the ache is still there, reminding him of the cruelty from the man that once vowed to protect him.

“Hyung…”

“Don’t worry, Junhong. The blood in my veins won’t let me die so easily.”

 “Use these. Youngjae hyung discovered that if we gave each other our blood, it would work the same ways as the bloodsuckers taking blood. It’ll speed up your healing process and make you stronger.” Jongup presses a handful of blood filled capsules into Rave’s hand. “Take care of yourself, hyung.”

“I will.” Rave takes the pills and pops them into his mouth, swallowing them dry. “You take care too, Uppie. Until we meet again.” He hugs Jongup tightly, squeezing the other’s shoulder in comfort. “Watch eat other’s backs, you here?” He pulls Junhong into a bear up, feeling guilty at the unshed tears in Junhong’s eyes. They’ve never separated like this. It can be the last time they’ll ever see each other, depending on how the mission ends.

“Come back to us, hyung.” Junhong, looking like a lost child, wraps his arms around Rave. “Don’t die, Himchan hyung. Don’t die and come back. We’ll be lost without you. And Daehyunnie hyung will get fat. You have to be there for us so don’t die. Please don’t die. Don’t leave us. Don’t leave us all alone. You have to come back. You can’t die. I won’t let you.”

“I’ll try my hardest, Hongie. Protect the fridge while I’m gone. Okay?”

Jackal’s voice pierces into the sky.

“We better go, it’s morning soon.” Jongup puts a hand on Junhong’s shoulder, squeezing it in assurance. “We need to finish up things on the other end.”

The two younger hunters turn and run off. They have things to prepare, things to make sure they all leave in one piece…and together.

Rave heads back towards Jackal and his brothers, approaching the spot carefully. His heart flips at the two hunters on the ground. He can sense their presence and the slight movement lets him breathe easier. They are okay. They are alive.

Daehyun and Youngjae push themselves up. Their prey had surprised them with a sudden surge of energy. Taken by surprised, they lost their footing and fell forward, allowing Jackal to escape while they slam into the ground from the forceful tug.

Rave inhales deeply, taking in the scent of his surroundings. Despite being aware, he’s caught off guard. He finds himself face in the dirt and a bone crushing weight on his back.

Jackal pounces. He pins Rave down and straddles him, ing his blade into the other’s heart, feeling the blade slide in with ease. He smirks in satisfaction. If his Himchan dies, then Rave has to die. And all this friends too.

Rave’s heart-wrenching scream fills the air, sending a shockwave in his wake. His body, never before suffered such brutality, jolts, pushing against the foreign object and becomes defensive. Cells gathers around the object plunged into the body, pushing muscles and blood vessels away from the blade and rushing to repair the damage. The blood from the capsules are working hard, changing Rave’s blood and speeding up the healing process.

Junhong and Jongup pauses in their escape, the scream tugging at their heartstrings. They resume and rush towards their destination quickly. A private plane awaits them. And inside is Jackal’s coffin that they found through painstaking trouble and plenty of sneaking around. It’s fortunate that Junhong’s lock picking skills have not dulled. Jongup’s skills as a famous thief in the olden days finally becomes useful again.

Daehyun pushes himself onto his feet, catching the thick fire blanket like cloth without turning his eyes away from his beloved hyung. Together with Youngjae, he charges forward.

“I’ve finally did it. I’ve finally killed you.” Jackal lets out a chuckle. “I did it. I killed you.” He leans in, a smirk on his face. “How does it feel? To finally die?”

“It feels nice…Bbang.” The words leaves Rave’s dry lips, followed by a soft laugh. “It feels nice, to die by your hands. I’m glad…”

Jackal’s body freezes. His finger releases the blade handle. Thoughts run in his head, questions, doubts, regrets, and fears. With trembling fingers, he pulls down the veil, revealing the smile he loves so much, the face he’s kissed millions of times, the face of the man who’s body is under him, the eyes that he loves to have looking at him. It’s Himchan, Kim Himchan. It’s the man he vowed to protect even at the expense of his own life. He promised to do what he can to protect him, but here he is, the one responsible for stabbing Himchan in the heart, literally.

“Hey, handsome.”

“Hi-Himchan?” Yongguk’s voice is shaky, scared, and lost, resembling like a child’s. “Himchan? Channie?”

“Hey, Guk. How you’ve been?” He winces at the pain, groaning.

“Oh god… Himchan, I…”

“This is it. You did it. After vowing to kill me for so long, you finally succeeded.” Himchan lifts a blood covered hand to Yongguk’s face. “I’m so proud of you.” He smiles fondly at Yongguk’s tears, feeling it drip onto his face. “I love you, always.”

“Him-Himchan?” Fear shrouds around his heart as the hand falls from his face. “N-no. No. Please, Himchan. Come back. Please don’t. I’m sorry. I didn’t know. Himchan, please. Don’t go. Don’t leave me.”

The first sign of the sun shows itself, creeping slowly towards the huntsman and the fallen hunter. The final end will happen.

“No! No! Himchan! Come back!”

The sun makes its way to the lovers, oblivious of their plague.

“No. Don’t. Please, Himchan. Please. I’m sorry. I didn’t know. I…” He watches as the sun creeps onto Himchan’s pale face. “NO!” The sight of body breaking apart enters his vision. Resembling burning paper, the wounded body breaks up, fading in the daylight, disappearing without a trace. “HIMCHAN!!”

A shroud of darkness envelopes Yongguk. It devours him, making the fading vampire body the last thing he sees before everything turns black. The death of his lover under his hand will haunt him for all of his cursed life of eternity.

 

 

---

This came out longer than i thought it would be. It also when differently than I had planned. There are cameos of other idols and the rest of BAP, who I really didnt intende for the other 34 members to have big roles. I like that concept that came out of it though. I might use it again. 

I know it was part of the request that there will be no deaths. But alas, someone died. ...Or did they? *smirk* I'll do an after piece after I'm done with all the requests...maybe. And maybe a piece dealing with their origins, like pre-hunter and pre-huntsman.

Onwards! To the next one. Got7 with Jackson Wang and Mark Tuan!

 

Words: 19,242

Pages: 48

Dates: 1 November 2015 - 19 January 2016