Chapter 1: Approaching Night
Touch of Death
Warning: Minor description of blood and gore
Jungkook woke up on a sofa by the fireplace, finding himself covered in soft fleece blankets. He tried to sit up, but was prevented by the stabbing pain in his neck. His memory was slightly hazy, and he glanced around to get ahold of his surroundings. This certainly was not his house, but a look outside showed that he was still in Busan, the distant beach and shoreline barely visible over the treetops.
Groaning, he attempted to sit up again, this time more successful as the throbbing had subsided somewhat. He let his eyes adjust to the dim lighting as he surveyed the house.
Jungkook seemed to be in the living room of a small cabin, right in the middle of a park’s forest, though he had no idea how he had gotten there. It was by no means familiar, every object appearing foreign to his eyes. The flames from the fireplace continued flickering, casting shadows across the picture frames scattered on top of the mantle. They were all nature shots taken in Busan: a normal family; a pair of brothers; a young couple, holding a baby in their arms. Amidst the photos, he noticed a blood red rose, suspended in a glass jar.
He wanted to explore the house more, thinking that maybe moving would jog his missing memory a bit. Struggling, he managed to rise to his feet, but before he could take a step, footsteps sounded, and another boy entered the room.
The newcomer seemed to be slightly older than him, either eighteen or nineteen. He was wearing a simple t-shirt and pants, balancing a cup and a plate on one hand as he carried a first aid kit with the other. With a shock, Jungkook realized that this stranger must’ve been the owner of the cabin.
Noticing that he was awake, the boy quickly moved to his side, placing the objects on the wooden coffee table. “Hey, how’re you feeling?” he asked in a Busan accent, and Jungkook noted in vague amusement that his first reaction was concern for his wellbeing, and not to question about his identity.
The younger boy merely shrugged in response. “Fine. My neck hurts and I’m feeling a little light-headed, but otherwise I think I’m alright.” He shifted slightly as the other boy sat down next to him, pushing aside the blankets. “But I don’t quite remember how I got here,” he admitted, before laughing softly. “In fact, I don’t remember much of anything. How did you find me? Why am I here?”
The stranger bit his lower lip in contemplation, his dark hair falling into his boyish face. Jungkook remarked that his had quite a nice face, features all soft edges and curves, with round eyes, a small nose, and delicate lips, although his skin was abnormally pale.
“How about you eat first, and I take a look at your wound, before I tell you more?” he suggested finally, nudging the plate towards him. Jungkook saw that there was a piece of buttered bread on the dish, and water in the cup. It was only then that it hit him how not hungry he was, instead feeling a burning thirst make itself known. He cleared his throat thickly, trying to chase away the uncomfortable feeling.
“I’m not hungry,” he answered. “Can’t you tell me now?”
The other boy bit his lip again, and Jungkook realized this must’ve been a nervous habit for him. He took a deep breath before answering. “Don’t freak, okay?” he started, warning. Jungkook promised he wouldn’t.
“Well…last night, my clan had a disagreement within us. In a fit, half of my clan stormed off into the city, killing off random households just for the sake of it, and to piss off our leader. You…your house was one of them.” He paused at this, gauging his reaction. “My name is Jimin, and you’re currently in one of the clan’s cabins in this forest. I apologize on behalf of the impulsive actions of my clan.” He bowed his head in apology, before glancing up tentatively and breaking into a sad smile. Showing a flash of his inhumanly sharp incisors.
Jungkook fell backwards, shocked, as the missing puzzle pieces fell into place. The previous night came back to him in crystal clear detail, right down to the overwhelming scent of iron. He stared at Jimin - no, he was a monster just like the rest of them - in horror, one hand flying to his neck.
“You’re a vampire,” he choked out, almost spitting out the last word. He saw Jimin flinch at the term, and yet, he did not deny it. The burning thirst was still there, stronger now, and everything suddenly made sense. Jungkook got up from the couch, though Jimin remained unmoving, stumbling towards the exit. He pushed his way out of the door, away from the house and its cursed inhabitant, as his vision bled red.
✦ ~ ☪ ~ ✦
“‘Local police have found the remains of five more bodies, two females and three males, all abandoned in secluded alleyways. The bodies have been mutilated beyond recognition, as the past victims have been, though the the kills seem to follow no pattern,’” the anchorman on the small screen reported, the scene behind him sensored as it showed the forensic team moving the corpses. “‘Further reports will be given out as the forensic team continue investigating this case. Until then, this has been labeled a serial murder case, and the police would like to kindly advise everyone to stay in their houses past nine o'clock in the evening, and to travel in large groups.’”
Jimin sighed and turned off the television, throwing the remote down on the table. “This is my fault, this is all my fault,” he groaned, burying his face in his hands.
“You don’t know if it’s that kid you Turned. Rogue vampires appear all the time in Busan, this could just be another one of those cases,” his friend and roommate, Yoongi, reasoned from his perch on the edge of the couch.
“It’s him, it has to be him,” Jimin said. “Think about it, I Turned him five nights ago. He left five nights ago. The murders started five nights ago. Besides, why Busan, why this area, of all places?”
“Well, he was the one who left. Which means you don’t actually have to be responsible for him anymore,” Yoongi pointed out.
“It is my fault though!” Jimin insisted. “I was his sire, I’m supposed to be responsible for him.” He sighed again. “If only Wonsik hyung would stop defying Hakyeon hyung, then this whole thing would’ve - “ he stopped suddenly, interrupted by a strong scent of blood that just came out of nowhere. Fresh, human blood.
“Did you…?”
“Yeah,” Yoongi replied, getting to his feet. “Think our little fledgeling is on the loose again?”
Jimin nodded wordlessly, before running out the door.
✦ ~ ☪ ~ ✦
Jungkook glanced out the window, seeing the sun sink beyond the treeline.
After he had escaped from the vampire that held him hostage, he returned to his house. It was empty, of course, its inhabitants having been brutally murdered the night before. It had retained no traces of blood - the killing happened in his neighbours’ home - and yet it seemed to be haunted by their ghosts all the same.
Jungkook had quickly found that he was no longer immune to the sun, instead staying home during the day and going out during the night. He hated himself for it, hated how he became the very monster that had destroyed his family, his life. And yet self-preservation prevented him from killing himself, so he was stuck in a vicious cycle of self-hatred with no reprieve.
He glanced out the window again to see that the sun had went down, the last of its rays casting long shadows that stretched over the pavement outside his house. He got up from his seat, feeling the beast within take over in the form of an uncontrollable hunger and an unquenchable thirst.
Jungkook left his house quietly, falling into his now-familiar routine of carefully selecting his victims, then luring them to dark corners. He loved the hunting, loved how his prey would tremble in fear as he approached, and it was yet another aspect of his new self that he hated.
He picked cautiously tonight, selecting a young couple that had stayed out too late. Very few people dared venture outside after dusk now, the local authorities having nearly blown his cover. Jungkook knew he was being reckless, knew that he shouldn’t waltz around so brazenly and leave the bodies in such obvious places, but a part of him yearned to be caught. There was always the much talked-about vampire hunters; of course, each city had their own mini organization. Humans trained to kill creatures like him. They could finally put an end to his misery, something he himself could not do.
And so he continued in his reckless ways, hoping that each night spent hunting would be his last.
The couple he had been stalking turned the corner, right onto a secluded road lit by few streetlights. He grinned in the dark, his vision holding a tinge of red as his eyes adjusted to the new darkness. His nails grew longer as he advanced. Swiftly, he darted forward, seizing the female first to stifle any scream. Her lover was one step too late as he attempted to process what was going on. In that time, Jungkook let go of his victim and lashed out, and he joined his female counterpart on the ground, left drowning in his own pool of blood.
Jungkook smiled and dropped to his knees, letting his vampire incisors slide in front of his human ones, drinking his fill of blood for the night. As before, no matter where he killed, he would always drag the corpses to somewhere more sketchy, a dark alleyway or in the middle of a forest. In this case, there was a park nearby, so he settled for the forest option.
He dragged the bodies with his enhanced vampire strength, and as he walked through the forest, he felt a jolt go through him. This was the forest where Jimin - no, he was a monster, and monsters didn’t have names - lived. He moved faster at this thought, not wanting to risk running into the other vampire again.
As Jungkook dumped the bodies in a hidden alcove in the trees, his supernatural hearing picked up the sound of footsteps behind him, boots crunching the frost-covered leaves that littered the frozen earth. Vampire hunters. He heard the shifting of straps as they got closer, estimating three in total. Without looking, he could sense that they’ve stopped a mere twenty feet from him, and heard the unmistakable sound of the safety being released on the guns. But they’re hesitating, waiting for some sort of resistance from him, yet Jungkook simply turned around to face them. He grinned.
“If you’re here to kill me, do it now,” he said, holding his hands up slowly in a surrendering position.
The hunter at the front faltered slightly. Jungkook noticed that he seemed older than the other two, bright blond hair contrasting with the signature black uniform the hunters wore to distinguish themselves. A dark half mask - a visor, of a sort - covered his eyes, but his mouth held a soft curve to it, lips sloping gracefully in a near-heart, almost feminine in its delicate appearance.
He finally stepped forward, adjusting his hold on his weapon. “That’s it? Any last words, monster?”
Jungkook’s lips twisted in a dark grin. “I hope we rot in hell together.”
If there was any indecision before, this sentence made the choice for them, and all three hunters fired at the same time. Jungkook merely stood there and welcomed the sheet of bullets, awaiting death. Or perhaps death was not the right term, as he was already dead. Perhaps the right term was simply that he was awaiting his end.
But the bullets never reached him, as a figure suddenly tackled him to the ground. Shouts of confusion arose behind him, the hunters clearly unprepared for such an event.
Jungkook just blinked from his position, trying to make out the newcomer that was slightly crushing him with his weight. A familiar face greeted him, lips parted and panting from exertion as he stared back.
This finally drew out a reaction from the younger, quickly scrambling out from beneath him. “You,” he spat with venom, no longer caring about the vampire hunters that seem to be fighting with another of the undead that just appeared out of nowhere.
“Look, I’m sorry, but - ” the rest of his sentence went by unheard as Jungkook turned and ran, out of the forest and away from the monster wearing a human face.
He kept running, ten times faster than his former self, yet the vampire behind him seemed to have no trouble catching up. It was almost like a déjà vu with how the trees blurred past, streets and houses blending together, and the moon shining ever-mockingly from its post in the night sky.
Jungkook rounded a corner, darting sideways into an alley in his attempt of shaking off his pursuer, with no luck. He felt his head bounce off the bricks as the other boy grabbed him roughly by his collar, shoving him against the wall.
“Just what were you thinking back there?!” he hissed, breath hot in his ear, the previously bashful boy having disappeared. “You could’ve been killed, you know.”
“I’m already dead,” he pointed out in dry amusement. “Also, that was kinda the whole point.”
“I Turned you to save your life, not so you could just throw it away,” Jimin said, pressing him harder into the wall to prevent any form of escape.
“Well you shouldn’t have,” Jungkook shot back, anger rising as he struggled in the other boy’s grasp. “I never asked you to ‘save my life’. I’d rather die than to live as a monster like you.”
“Jiminnie! It’d be great if we could leave right now!” a voice called, presumably the vampire from before. Jimin’s expression was indecisive for a moment, before looking at him in the eye.
“You will not cause any trouble,” he intoned, eyes flashing red as the compulsion washed over Jungkook. He hissed at him, but it was no use, Jimin’s will far stronger than his as an older and more experienced vampire. “You will follow me out of here, so I can save your life again. And you’ll come with me after we outrun the hunters.”
Jimin stepped away, letting the magic do its work, as Jungkook obediently followed his instructions without fail, almost in a hypnotized state. A streak of white darted past them, grabbing Jimin with it, and Jungkook ran after the pair obediently, hearing the clash of weapons fade as they got farther and farther away.
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