The music at the party shifted and the bass dropped suddenly from an old 90’s song. Those red eyes kept their hold on Minseok, their intensity stealing his breath away. When did this vampire become so alluring?

“Who is Byun Baekhyun?” Luhan asked in a whisper against Minseok’s ear.

Minseok shivered and looked back at Luhan a little surprised at the sudden close proximity between them, “He’s the man - vampire... I met him the other night when we were all studying in the library.”

“Oh,” Luhan mumbled and returned his gaze towards the bar, but the vampire had disappeared amongst the bodies and the shadows.

“There are so many vampires here,” Minseok shuddered as he said the word and looked back at Luhan, “Please don’t leave my side tonight.”

Luhan smiled warily at his friend and squeezed his hand, “I promise to stay with you.”

With those words of comfort, Minseok took a deep breath and smiled sadly in return, his fingers squeezing back as he looked around the crowd, searching. Amongst all the flashing lights and the vampires around, it was nearly impossible for Minseok to make out the distinct shape of the person he was looking for. Luhan hovered behind him the whole time, protectively, keeping his eye out for the mysterious Byun Baekhyun - there was just something about that vampire that irked Luhan.

It took nearly ten minutes for Minseok to push through the crowd, a little terrified to be squeezing between so many bloodsuckers. Sure, Minseok knew that there were laws in place to prohibit the of blood without consent and, sure, Minseok also knew that not all vampires even wanted to drink his blood, because like all beings, they had their own personal tastes. However, this did not stop the lingering fear in the back of his mind as he was met with cold skin, red eyes and glistening fangs while he maneuvered his way to the other end of the room.

Stumbling into the bar as he finally made it across the room with Luhan trailing behind, Minseok was startled to come face to face with the blonde haired barista that worked with Jongin. Something about this scene, the silk shirt clinging to the vampire and the rag he held in his hand as he polished off a wine glass, was all so familiar to him. Where had he seen this before? What was this strange sense of deja vu?

“Minseok,” Sehun said as he recognized the young man standing in front of the bar, “What are you doing here?”

“Uh,” Minseok began unintelligently, “Sehun, right?”

Sehun nodded, “That’s my name,” he confirmed and looked at Luhan, “Who’s your friend?”

“Luhan,” Minseok introduced him, “He’s my roommate,” he then explained with a faint blush.

Sehun quirked an amused eyebrow and reached beneath the counter, pulling a beer bottle from a cooler filled with ice, “Here.” he offered, sliding it to Minseok after popping the cap.

“I’m not really here for that,” Minseok flustered and Sehun snickered.

“May as well have one while you’re here though, right?” he asked, sliding the drink closer and Minseok gave in easily, picking the cold bottle up and taking a long swig. Luhan watched closely as Minseok’s adam’s apple bobbed the more he drank and Sehun watched Luhan with a mischievous grin.

It had been a while since Minseok had gone out for drinks and usually he tried to avoid doing so during the semester, but if anything might calm his nerves, then it might possibly be this. And that was a chance Minseok was willing to take in a room surrounded by vampires. Luhan shifted closer to Minseok, looking back and forth between his friend and Sehun curiously, wondering what relationship was there.

Sehun eyed Luhan and then reached out to pick up a wine glass, “Can I get you something to drink?”

Luhan’s eyes widened in surprise, “No thanks,”

“Are you sure?” Sehun smiled knowingly and Luhan shook his head again, “Suit yourself.”

“Sehun,” Minseok said slowly, the remnants of the beer from his lips, “Have you seen Jongin?” he asked and Luhan’s eyes snapped in the direction of Minseok, surprised.

“Is that why you’re here?” Sehun asked with a faint smile, “That would make sense… I saw him earlier, dancing with Chanyeol I think. It’s his birthday, you know.”

“Is that what this party is for?” Minseok asked, accepting the second drink that Sehun was sliding towards him.

Sehun nodded, “Not every day a vampire turns 600.” he chuckled.

Minseok merely hummed with a nod, taking a sip of his second drink, hoping that the buzz might start setting in soon. His body was tense all over and he felt as if he were being watched by everyone there, even if perhaps that were not the case. Luhan stepped closer to him, to remind Minseok that he was still there to be with him and Minseok smiled at him as he downed the bottle in his hands.

It was then that Minseok spotted Jongin, making his way through the crowd with a smile plastered on his face. Jongin couldn’t shake the grin from himself as finally made it to the bar and Minseok couldn’t help but notice that he looked completely different from his nights behind the cafe counter. Instead of his comfy work shirt and apron, he traded them in for more form fitting clothes with his hair brushed back. He looked good.

“Minseok, glad you made it,” Jongin was smiling and a little tipsy with a reddish hint to his cheeks, “Who’s your plus one?”

“Luhan,” Minseok said, turning to look at his roommate, “We’ve shared the same dorm room for years.”

Jongin turned to look at Luhan, grinning even as recognition seemed to click in his eyes, “I’m Jongin, nice to meet you,” he said simply, reaching his hand out.

Luhan blinked and shook Jongin’s outstretched hand tentatively, “Nice to meet you too.”

“Anyway,” Jongin cleared his throat and turned to look at Minseok, “Shall we get on with our appointment?”

Minseok reached for his third drink, courtesy of Sehun’s perceptiveness, and nodded as his lips wrapped around the lip of the bottle so he could take a sip. Jongin grinned all over again and took Minseok’s free hand to pull him out of the room. He looked over his shoulder and shouted back that they’d be quick, telling Luhan not to worry and that he’d bring him back unharmed as soon as possible. The laugh that Jongin threw in at the end did not make Luhan feel comfortable as he watched his friend get dragged away.

***

“What is this place?” Minseok asked curiously, finishing off his third beer and relaxing a little as they moved further and further away from the party; the buzz had finally started and was seriously tampering with the filter on his mouth.

“Chanyeol’s house,” Jongin replied, finally coming across the room he was looking for, “And this is the guest room he lets myself and Sehun share when we spend the night.” he said, opening the door.

“This is his house?” Minseok asked, jaw dropping.

Jongin snorted, “That’s what I said my first time here too,” he giggled and led Minseok into the room.

“This is a guest room?” Minseok blurted again and Jongin nodded with an even louder giggle.

“Chanyeol is sort of our King, so his house is pretty lavish.” Jongin explained, “Although, I guess he’s more like a president now, in recent years. He’s the leader of the vampires and he works hard to protect us and to protect humans.”

“He doesn’t act like a King,” Minseok muttered, his cheeks were beginning to flush from alcohol intake, “Sorry, it’s the beer.”

Jongin giggled again, the slight flush on his own cheeks deepening a shade, “No worries. Chanyeol doesn’t act like a King, he’s like a giant child most of the time. He begged us to throw this surprise party for him even though he’s a psychic.” he burst into laughter as if that was the most absurd thing he had ever heard himself say and then sat back on the bed, patting the spot next to him.

“He’s psychic?” Minseok asked curiously before concentrating way too hard to make his way to the bed without tripping over the