Kyungsoo is smart, okay? He is. Even though he’s a zombie and zombies are dead. Also he’s not rotting. Kyungsoo is dead and he’s a zombie but he’s definitely not rotting. But since he’s a zombie, he’s a little slow. Physically. Again, he’s smart. Yet other monsters aren’t nice about it; to them zombies are stupid. And slow. Stupid and slow and rotting. And they eat brains. Disgusting.

 

He wishes he was better at articulating his thoughts. Because he has a lot to say. But his mouth doesn’t always cooperate and his words come out blunt. So in consequence, Kyungsoo doesn’t have a lot of friends. And he can’t get a date. It won’t stop him from trying though.

 

Kyungsoo is just digging into the temporal lobe when Minseok breaks his heart. Well, he’s not in love with Minseok yet, but he felt that he could be in time. If he was just given a chance.

 

“Kyungsoo, I don’t think this is going to work out.” Minseok sighs, a look of mild disgust on his face. He’s staring at Kyungsoo’s plate of brains. “We’re just too different.”

 

A thousand thoughts flit through Kyungsoo’s head. How it’s probably because of the brains that Minseok is going to finally tell him how disgusting he’s thought Kyungsoo was this whole time. He wants to tell him that brains are a zombie delicacy and he only ever eats store bought because he doesn’t want to kill for them. How cooking them brings up memories of his mother. Of her in the kitchen showing Kyungsoo all the secrets her own mother taught her. He wants to tell Minseok how careful he had been in front of him because he didn’t want to scare him away, how he tightens his stitches every morning and redoes them every week, how he had finally gotten the courage to order his favorite meal because he thought Minseok was different.  

 

The werewolf had been sweet to him thus far. Most monsters tended to cross the street if they even saw him walking towards him, but Minseok had never seemed to have that problem. Plus he was handsome and well defined. Sure, he smelled faintly of wet dog whenever it rained, but love is (nose)blind.

 

Instead he asks, “‘Cause I’m a zombie?” Blunt as ever. “‘Cause..” Kyungsoo motions to his plate, unable to finish the sentence.

 

“I—well,” Minseok gulps, eyes darting around for an escape route, “It’s not just the brains, okay? Your skin is kind of—I mean—you’re dead, right? Isn’t your skin going to fall off or something?” Minseok all but mumbles the last part as if he’s aware that he’s being offensive but it’s too late to take it back.  

 

Abruptly, Kyungsoo stands up and pushes away from the table. “I understand. ’M a zombie. ‘M dead and decaying. It’s fine. Really.” But he doesn’t understand and it’s not fine, not really. Why was being a zombie so different than every other monster? Vampires and ghosts and mummies—they were all dead too.  Minseok was a werewolf, did he honestly not experience any bloodlust?

 

Kyungsoo turns on his heel and exits the restaurant, his half-eaten plate of brains staring Minseok in the face.

 

 

He calls Chanyeol as soon as he leaves the restaurant.

 

“Yeol, am I gross?” he asks without preamble when Chanyeol picks up on the second ring.

 

“Kyungsoo? What’s going on? What happened?” Chanyeol’s normally booming voice is made a little static-y from the speakers, but it comforts Kyungsoo nonetheless.

“Am I ugly?” He kicks at a rock on the sidewalk because he’s in the mood for feeling sorry for himself. “Nobody wants to kiss me. You won’t even kiss me. You’re my best friend.”

Chanyeol chuckles on the other line. “You’re right I wouldn’t, but that’s not because you’re a zombie. It’s because you couldn’t handle me.” Kyungsoo grumbles, fiddling with the stitches that are keeping his thumb attached to his hand. “Hey! Why don’t you meet me at The Witches Brew in ten, I’ll buy you a pint to cheer you up!”

 

“Yeah, okay. See you.” Kyungsoo hangs up and reroutes his path to meet his best friend. If nothing else, at least he has Chanyeol.

 

The dimly lit interior of The Witches Brew welcomes Kyungsoo with a burst of warm air when he pushes open the door. It was known to be welcoming to all types of monsters and Kyungsoo has always grateful not to be stared at. He gives a nod to the the barman, Baekhyun, who waves a friendly greeting back. He makes his way to his and Chanyeol’s usual spot tucked away in the corner.

 

He should have expected Sehun to be there. Sehun was basically an extension of Chanyeol. A mummy and a siren might seem like a strange pair, but they have been disgustingly in love since high school and still going strong. Kyungsoo supposes that Sehun was his best friend too, and it brings a hint of a smile to his face when the latter perks up at the sight of the zombie.

 

He’s barely slid into the booth opposite the pair before Chanyeol is pushing a pint of beer towards Kyungsoo, understanding painted on his face.

 

“Hey man, how’s Minseok?” Evidently Chanyeol had not prepped his boyfriend as to the purpose of this outing and he sends a swift kick to Sehun’s shins. “Ow, what was that for—oh..Oh! I’m sorry, Kyungsoo, I didn’t know.”

 

Kyungsoo grunts, even though his mother told him it was unbecoming. He’s tired of keeping up appearances and pretending that he’s not a zombie.

 

His two friends stare at him in sympathy. “Want to talk about it?” Chanyeol asks after a quiet moment.

 

“He ‘mplied I was rotting.”

 

“That bastard, I’ll kill him.”

 

“Babe, you can’t even walk down the street without tripping on your wrappings, how are you going to kill a werewolf?” Sehun chides.

“You can help me lure him.” Chanyeol winks obnoxiously at his boyfriend. “And then I’ll strangle him with my wrappings.”

“I only use my powers to lure handsome men, and I already caught the handsomest.” Sehun practically purrs back.

Kyungsoo clears his throat loudly. “You two. In love. Not helping.”

Sehun straightens up from where he’s been leaning into Chanyeol’s side and the latter fixes the wrapping on his forehead where it’s fallen over his eyes. “Right.”

Kyungsoo takes a long drag of his beer, tipping it back until the jug is empty.

“Have you ever heard of MonsterMeet.com?” Sehun says suddenly.

Chanyeol kicks his boyfriend again under the table. “Maybe he shouldn’t—“

“No, what’s that?” Kyungsoo looks up interested.

Sehun continues on despite Chanyeol’s warning look. “It’s a dating site! My friend Zitao met a super hot warlock on there. You should try it.”

Kyungsoo grunts. “Why not?”

 

As soon as he enters his apartment, Kyungsoo kicks off his shoes and slumps on the bed thinking about what Sehun had said.

He opens his laptop and types the address. When the website loads he’s met with a black background and a heading that reads MonsterMeet.com: There’s Someone Spooky for Everyone! Kyungsoo rolls his eyes at the cliche but then clicks Create Profile anyway.

He’s just added the finishing touches— a selfie he had taken with Chanyeol at the Halloween party last year that he thought he looked pretty good in— and is contemplating calling it a night but the curiosity gets to him and he decides to scroll through a few profiles. A part of him feels bad because he was only just on a date with Minseok a few hours ago, but then the sting of his words that evening return and he doesn’t feel so bad anymore.

Though he had sort of expected it, it still didn’t feel good when he passed profile after profile that asked users not to send messages if they were a zombie. One profile of a fairy even said that “they prefer someone that doesn’t snack on brains.”

Kyungsoo was so used to the prejudice by now that he was more offended that the fairy thought brains were a simple and easy snack rather than the rare delicacy they actually were. He’s almost given up all hope and is preparing to text Sehun some angry emojis when his eyes catch the profile of a sophisticated looking vampire. The profile doesn’t say anything about zombies, so he clicks.

 

Kim Jongin

Species: Vampire

Seeking: love :)

Hobbies: reading, knitting, playing with my dog monggu, enjoying the occasional bloody mary

Likes: animals, dance videos, smiling at strangers on the subway

Dislikes: sad animals, v-neck t-shirts, words that aren’t spelled like how they sound

Kyungsoo reads through Kim Jongin’s profile and is having trouble matching the words to the profile picture. In the black and white picture is a handsome vampire with straight posture and a stoic expression. Honestly, it’s a little intimidating. He’s probably one of those vampires from a centuries old clan that’s wealthy beyond belief. Kyungsoo clicks through a few more photos, mostly more of the same, when he comes across the last photo on Kim Jongin’s profile. This picture is much different from the others and is what Kyungsoo can only describe as soft.

Jongin is laying down outside wearing a baby blue sweater with too long sleeves and he’s smiling at the camera, his fangs glinting in the sun. Curled up on his lap is a small zombie poodle and Kyungsoo melts. He wonders why Jongin even bothered with the first few pictures when this one was waiting at the end. The way the vampire is cuddling with the poodle gives Kyungsoo the courage he needs to message Jongin.

 

Hello Jongin. My name’s Do Kyungsoo, although I guess you would have seen that from my profile. I saw your profile and thought the picture with your dog was really cute ^_^ I’m a zombie too actually!! Although I hope that this isn’t a problem for you. You seem interesting and I hope to get to know you more.

 

Before his courage fails him, Kyungsoo presses send, shuts his laptop and shoves it away.

The next morning, Kyungsoo does his best to play it cool when checking his profile for messages. Hoping he has a reply from Kim Jongin. To his surprise he actually has 5 new messages waiting for him. Upon further inspection it turns out that 2 are spam, one is from someone who accidentally clicked his profile thinking he was Chanyeol, and the fourth is from a weird demon that seems to get off on zombie ization so he quickly deletes those. The fifth, however, is the golden ticket and Kyungsoo braces himself upon opening it.

To his surprise, Jongin is an emoji abuser. The message starts out with a simple “Hi Kyungsoo!!!!!” followed by three blushing smiley faces, an angel, and the pink heart with a bow on it, and continues with i’m so glad you messaged me, tbh i’ve never met a zombie besides my dog. btw his name is monggu!! i bet you’d like him he really likes meeting new people,” this is followed by the dog and the heart eyes emoji alternating five times each. i would love to get to know you, maybe we could meet up sometime? The message ends with Jongin’s phone number, two more blushing emojis and a red heart.

Kyungsoo doesn’t think his own heart can take it but he programs Jongin’s number into his phone and since it’s a Saturday, he agonizes all afternoon and into early evening about what to text him.

 

The message box has been staring Kyungsoo in the face all day. All he’s managed to type is a measly:

Kyungsoo: Hi Jongin, this is Kyungsoo from MonsterMeet! I hope you’re doing well. I’m glad you messaged me :)

Eventually, he sends it because he doesn’t know what else to say. He’s really bad at this.

Jongin: omg kyungsoo!! it’s jongin!! [grinning face][smiling face with smiling eyes]

Jongin: wait you already knew that [see-no-evil monkey x3]

 

Kyungsoo hates the getting to know you stage. The questions are always so boring and awkward. Especially for him—the getting to know you stage is really the only thing he knows. In an effort to move past it, Kyungsoo decides he’ll just get it out of the way all at once.

 

Kyungsoo: How are you? I’ve just been busy with work lately. You know all of those boring first date questions? Let’s get them out of the way now. My favorite color is red. More on the maroon side because it reminds me of the blanket my mom knit for me when I was six. My favorite season is winter because I like bundling up. I like listening to R&B, and I have one brother.

Jongin: whoa

Maybe that was a mistake and was too much at once. Kyungsoo begins crafting an apology to ask if he can start over, but Jongin responds again.

 

Jongin: my favorite color is purple because it’s pretty. I wish i had a cool reason like you [crying face] and i agree!! don’t you think everyone looks so cute all wrapped up in their scarves and hats. it makes me feel warm on the inside. i’m a er ([face with tears of joy] get it??) for pop music and i’m an only child.

Well, they certainly got that out of the way. But since Jongin sent his last message, Kyungsoo has no idea how to respond. He’s hit a wall already. Damn it. Maybe he just wasn’t meant for any kind of dating.

No sooner has this thought entered his head than Jongin sends him another message.

Jongin: [attachment: one image] btw monggu says hi!!!!

Wow, selfies already. Jongin is smiling up at him from the picture, face snuggled close to his zombie dog. Kyungsoo saves it and sets it as Jongin’s contact photo.

If Jongin had been hoping for a selfie in return, he was going to be disappointed. Kyungsoo wasn’t confident enough for that. Instead he’s reminded of something.

Kyungsoo: Hey Jongin, why did your first few photos on your profile look so... serious? It seemed contradictory to your profile.

Kyungsoo loves texting. He would have much more difficulty using such complicated words and sentences out loud.

Jongin: oh um

Jongin: my cousin made me put those up because he said they make me look sophisticated and more like a ‘real’ vampire

Kyungsoo feels like he struck a nerve. There seemed to be bitterness and a story behind the quotations in Jongin’s message. Not to mention not one single emoji. But Kyungsoo doesn’t want the conversation to end so quickly, so he sends:

Kyungsoo: Well, I’m glad you put the last picture up. It’s so cute!!

This seems to pick Jongin’s mood back up; he’s right back to his emoji loving self. It’s apparent that Jongin loves his dog.

Surprisingly, texting Jongin comes easy. Kyungsoo never runs out of things to say and neither does the vampire.

Kyungsoo learns a lot about Jongin over the coming weeks and is surprised at how gentle the vampire is. He’s mad at himself when he realizes that he had been stereotyping him before—something Kyungsoo hates when done to him.

Jongin also learns lots about Kyungsoo, although there is just as much Kyungsoo holds back. He doesn’t tell him that talking to strangers is his worst nightmare, or that the real reason he likes winter is because it’s easier to hide his stitches. Though Kyungsoo had never been in a proper relationship, he had been on many dates, and none were as easy to talk to as Jongin is.

It was inevitable that he would ask to meet up.

 

“Do you have any good food in here?” Chanyeol pokes his head out from where he’s rummaging in the fridge. Kyungsoo is sitting on the couch next to a lounging Sehun. The siren is flipping through channels aimlessly while Kyungsoo is glued to his phone. Jongin is texting him a funny story about his day at work.

“Hey Kyungsoo, can I have these pringles?” Chanyeol’s voice is muffled, having moved to raiding the pantry. Kyungsoo grunts, not really paying attention. Chanyeol takes that as a yes and comes to join them, plopping himself on the couch right next to Sehun. He stuffs a handful of the chips in his mouth. “What’re we watching?”

“Nothing.” Sehun replies, sounding bored. He wipes some of the chip crumbs off of Chanyeol’s mouth with the sleeve of his sweater. “Kyungsoo has been giggling at his phone for 20 minutes.”

At this, Kyungsoo’s head snaps up, caught in the act. He shakes it furiously.

“I think he met someone on MonsterMeet, I saw the app on his phone when he unlocked it earlier.” Kyungsoo glares at Sehun for betraying him. Sehun only shrugs. “That’s what it is isn’t it?”

Kyungsoo sighs in defeat; it’s not like he could keep it from them for long. Just then his phone pings with another message from Jongin. It’s only a simple, talk to you later! i hope the rest of your day is good along with four different heart emojis, but it still has Kyungsoo grinning like an idiot.

“So who are you texting, then?” Kyungsoo raises his eyes from his phone to find his friends leering at him.

“No one,” he replies. Kyungsoo locks his phone and tries to put it back in his pocket, but Chanyeol is too fast. He snatches it with his greasy pringle hands while Sehun pins Kyungsoo down to prevent him from retaliating. Kyungsoo smirks; his phone is password protected. Kyungsoo sticks his tongue out at Chanyeol when he tries and fails to unlock it.

“Try his birthday.” Sehun suggests, and Kyungsoo deflates when the mummy finally gets his phone unlocked. He really needs a new password.

“Hey, ‘No One’ is pretty cute,” Chanyeol says. He’s found Jongin’s contact name and has proceeded to go through the photos.

Sehun scoffs, stealing the phone away from his boyfriend. “Not as cute as—oh yeah, you’re right. He is.”

“I’m always right,” Chanyeol says, taking the phone back. He moves on from the photos and starts scrolling through the chat. Kyungsoo silently weeps for his grease covered phone, and he buries his face in his turtleneck, hoping they don’t read anything too embarrassing.

“Kyungsoo….”

“What?”

“How long have you guys been texting for?”

“Like 3 weeks.” Kyungsoo answers, taking his head back out of his sweater. “Why?” Chanyeol is looking at him with a sad expression, verging nearly on disappointment. Despite asking, Kyungsoo already knows what he’s going to say.

“Dude, he’s texted you like 5 times to meet up, why are you ignoring him?” Sehun cuts in. He’s resting his chin on Chanyeol and reading over his shoulder. “Ow—hey!” He yells when Chanyeol elbows him in the rib. They have a silent argument with their eyes but Kyungsoo knows that Chanyeol was only going to say the same thing, just with a little more tact.

“I’m gonna go make some tea,” Sehun says with surprising emotional understanding. As soon as he’s in the kitchen, Chanyeol tugs Kyungsoo closer.

“I’m nervous,” Kyungsoo mumbles.

“I know, but you seem to like texting him. You have to at least tell him why not.” Chanyeol ruffles his hair. “And if he has something to say, send him to me. I’ll teach him a lesson.”

Chanyeol scrunches up his face and growls, pulling a laugh from Kyungsoo. He’s reminded of the time in third grade when Kyungsoo had confessed his crush on Jongdae via one of those cliche “do you like me: yes or no” notes. Jongdae had circled, underlined, and highlighted ‘No’, which Kyungsoo thought was a little excessive.

Chanyeol had found him crying during recess and vowed to get his revenge on Jongdae for hurting Kyungsoo’s feelings. Kyungsoo still doesn’t know what he did to him when he cornered him in the bathroom later that day, but Jongdae had screamed like the banshee he was and Chanyeol had gotten a week’s worth of detentions. He still claims that all he did was tie him up with his wrappings and threaten to break his Rescue Heroes action figures. Kyungsoo was thankful all the same. Chanyeol had always been there for him after a heartbreak.

Was it really asking too much to hope he wouldn’t have to anymore? Kyungsoo knows he owes Jongin a real answer instead of avoidance. But for tonight he’ll allow himself to be comforted by his best friends.

 

It’s been a week since Kyungsoo had decided he was going to tell Jongin the truth. But he was finding it difficult to come up with the words. How do you casually tell someone you would rather not meet them right now because you’re ugly and scared of ridicule. Besides, Jongin hadn’t asked anymore and Kyungsoo thinks he might have messed it up.

He decides that if he’s going to be sad, he’s going to throw himself a nice pity party to go with it, so he heads to the supermarket to see if they have anything that can cheer him up.

It must be Kyungsoo’s lucky day because when he finally makes his way over to the brain cooler, he notices a red sign advertising them as 2 for 1. Excitedly, Kyungsoo begins filling his cart. He doesn’t even notice the presence right next to him until the other party reaches for the same package as him and ends up getting there first.

“Oh, I apologize you can have it.” The owner of the voice relinquishes hold on the package of fresh brains; Kyungsoo watches the hand withdraw and looks up only to be greeted by the widening eyes of the same vampire he’s been talking to online for the past several weeks. “Kyungsoo?! Oh my god, I hope it’s you cause you only have the one picture. I’m sorry if it’s not, I didn’t mean to bother you.”

Kyungsoo is so startled that he almost doesn’t notice the slight lisp when Jongin pronounces his “s’s”. He’s had no time to prepare a response so all that comes out is a jumbled, “Mmpfh,” that can vaguely pass as an assent to Jongin’s question. The vampire seems relieved and he smiles to show fangs that are slightly too big for his mouth.

“Okay good! I heard they were having a sale and I had to get some food for Monggu. But, umm, you can have it if you want it.” Kyungsoo is still staring at Jongin, willing his brain to think of a response.  

“Hi,” he finally manages and he wants to kick himself when Jongin’s face falls. He’s so much more eloquent online. So instead of saying anything else he holds the package of brains out to Jongin. The vampire looks hesitant though so Kyungsoo shakes it a bit, urging him to take it.

“Thanks,” Jongin says looking down shyly, and with his lisp it comes out more like thankths. He notices that Jongin puts the brains right on top of all of the other items in his cart, not even trying to hide them like he would. Kyungsoo is envious that he doesn’t seem to think twice. Jongin must not mind the funny looks, but then again Jongin is a handsome vampire and not a gross zombie.

Kyungsoo shuffles awkwardly, not knowing how to proceed from there. Thankfully Jongin, who seems just as awkward, breaks the silence.

“So Kyungsoo, I uh—I know you said that you’re busy a lot but if you’re free right now would you maybe want to come over? You could have the brains for dinner maybe? Um, not as a date or anything unless—unless you wanted it to be a date—but I thought, maybe, if you wanted to...you could meet Monggu?” Jongin finishes lamely, scratching the back of his neck.

Kyungsoo wants to go, he really does, but he’s also scared that he’ll be too quiet and unlike the version of himself that Jongin likes online so he does his best to get out of it. He mumbles something about having to meet Chanyeol and leaving the stove on but Jongin insists and 20 minutes later, after they’ve both made their purchases, he finds himself following Jongin to his house.

 

Jongin’s house is nothing he would expect from a vampire’s house, though Kyungsoo supposes he should have expected it because Jongin is different from other vampires he’s met. Jongin is actually different from anyone he’s met before. Not once has he said something about Kyungsoo’s lack of communication skills. Kyungsoo is grateful, but he’s still trying his hardest to keep the conversation going because he can tell that Jongin needs the motivation.

Kyungsoo watches Jongin as he sweeps through his house gracefully, setting his groceries on the counter. As Jongin unloads his purchases, the pitter-patter sound of tiny feet comes into the room. Kyungsoo tears his gaze from Jongin to see the tiny zombie poodle making its way directly to him. He’s missing clumps of fur and his jaw is a little crooked but his stitches are neat and trim and none of his remaining fur is matted at all. Kyungsoo can’t help but coo at the creature.

“He likes you already!” Jongin looks gleeful despite his baby ignoring him in favor of jumping up at Kyungsoo’s leg. Kyungsoo looks to Jongin for permission and scoops Monggu in his arms as soon as the vampire gives him an encouraging nod. Monggu responds by up the side of his face and Kyungsoo is unable to stop himself from letting out a small giggle.

“I should feed him now,” Jongin tells Kyungsoo after the two are more acquainted. “You might want to put him down, he gets a little messy.”  Kyungsoo stiffens momentarily before Jongin catches himself and quickly clarifies. “Oh, I mean—. Because he’s a dog, not because of the brains. Once I fed him some peanut butter and it got all over my new carpet. So now he’s only allowed to eat in the kitchen.”

Kyungsoo nods, setting Monggu down. Monggu, who seems to know that it’s dinnertime, heads directly for his bowl and sits in front of it, waiting patiently.

“Who’s a good boy?” Jongin coos, ripping the plastic packaging on the brains. As soon as Kyungsoo realizes that Jongin is about to dump the whole package in raw, he places his arm on Jongin’s to stop him. Kyungsoo shakes his head furiously and Jongin’s eyebrows become adorably knit in confusion. “But Kyungsoo, this is his favorite.”

Kyungsoo just shakes his head again and holds out his hands. Jongin blinks up at him, still confused, so Kyungsoo makes a grabbing motion. “Cook them.” Jongin, bless him, just his head to the side in a way that makes it look like he’s the puppy rather than Monggu. Kyungsoo does his best to elaborate, “’S better cooked.”

Immediately, Jongin’s face falls, thinking he’s been a horrible owner for feeding his zombie dog raw brains. Monggu had always gobbled it up, how was Jongin to know any better. “Am I a bad owner? Does Monggu secretly hate me?”

“Raw is good,” Kyungsoo says in order to soothe Jongin. “Cooked is better.” Jongin relaxes at this and finally relinquishes his hold on the package. Kyungsoo takes it from him and heads to the stove only stopping when he realizes that he doesn’t know where the pans are. “May I?” he asks and Jongin scrambles up from his place on the floor to help him.  

Once the brains are safely sizzling away in the pan and Jongin is done running around the kitchen fulfilling Kyungsoo’s culinary needs he leans up against the counter pouting at the stove.

Kyungsoo glances down and away. “You know,” Jongin begins, “ I invited you here for dinner and you’re doing all the work.” Kyungsoo peeks back at Jongin. The pout is still there but this time it’s directed at Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo shrugs as if to say it’s nothing.

“I’m glad you decided to come though,” Jongin continues, nudging Kyungsoo’s arm shyly. “I thought that you might be avoiding me.” Kyungsoo swallows hard and looks away again. He gives the brains another stir watching the oil pop and sizzle around them and tries not to think about how he was doing exactly that.

When the brains are done cooking and Jongin is finished cooing over how fast Monggu devoured the expertly cooked meal, Kyungsoo shyly settles down at the table with his own plate of brains.

“He even the plate clean! I think he wants more!” Jongin is giggling, watching as Monggu parks himself at Kyungsoo’s feet and stares up at him expectantly. He grabs a package of O+ blood from the fridge and adds it to the blender of ice he’s already set out, flicking it on. Kyungsoo can still hear the occasional giggle over the blender’s loud whir. When he’s done, Jongin sits himself next to Kyungsoo and begins slurping his blood smoothie through a straw.

It’s quiet for a few moments—just the clinking of the fork against the plate and the slurp of the straw—before Jongin breaks the silence.

“Kyungsoo?” Kyungthoo. He can’t help but be endeared by the slight lisp. “Can I try some?” Kyungsoo halts his movements unsure of what to do. No one's ever wanted to share before. But Jongin looks at him with a smile, a little curious. His fangs are just slightly too big for his mouth, Kyungsoo notes and he offers a piece on his fork.

Jongin surprises him by taking the bite directly off, Kyungsoo having expected him to take the whole fork. Almost instantaneously, however, Jongin’s face contorts into a grimace and Kyungsoo feels his heart sink. The vampire chews slowly, his expression never really changing, and swallows with an audible gulp.

He waits for it. He waits for the comments telling him that he’s ugly and gross. He waits to hear that zombies are disgusting and that Jongin can’t believe he even entertained the thought of dating one. He waits for all of this because that’s what usually happens. But instead Jongin shrugs and says, “Hmm, I guess I thought it would taste more like blood.” And goes back to on his O+ smoothie.

Kyungsoo is confused. “‘U’re not grossed out?”

Jongin looks up at him from where he’s been trying to get the final drops of his smoothie out, his cheeks still full. His eyebrows raise in surprise and the vampire swallows down what he has with a gulp. “Grossed out? I—well it wasn’t my favorite but, I mean, if you like it….Blood is kind of gross from an outsider's perspective, don’t you think? I don’t have any right to judge.”

Kyungsoo feels a tightening in his chest, affection spreading through his body and warming him up. He drops his head, lips twitching as a smile threatens to form.

 

They call it a night after watching a couple of bad reality television shows. Monggu has snuggled himself onto Kyungsoo’s lap. He hates to move him, but Kyungsoo has work in the morning and so does Jongin.

“It was really nice, meeting you.” Jongin says after walking Kyungsoo to the door. “In person I mean.”

Kyungsoo nods in agreement, meaning it. Meeting Jongin in person makes him wish he would have done it sooner. He wants to say something; something to let Jongin know that he likes him and he had a good time.  Kyungsoo’s always had a hard time talking. He’s hoping there will be a next time. He really wants there to be a next time.

It happens in a blur; Kyungsoo turns to say goodnight just as Jongin leans in. His lips connect with the corner of Kyungsoo’s mouth, no more than a soft peck. Jongin pulls away hastily, having missed his destination.

“Um, that was—that was supposed to be—” Jongin’s grin is shy and embarrassed, his upper lip curling over his fangs. “Goodnight.”

Kyungsoo hand goes immediately to the spot, his mouth falling open slightly in shock. He ducks his head and mumbles a quick,“‘Night”. He heads out, Jongin closing the door softly behind him.

He waits until he’s around the corner to allow himself to break into a full blown grin.

The doubt sets in later that night. Kyungsoo lies in bed thinking over the night. Overthinking the night, really. Jongin is sweet and patient but what if Kyungsoo isn’t enough. What if he didn’t talk enough, or smile enough, or meet any of Jongin’s expectations. It’s much easier to talk online.

Kyungsoo agonizes over it for the next several days. His anxiety made worse by not hearing anything from Jongin. Not that he’s said anything either. By the time Friday rolls around, he’s so in his head about it that he needs to talk to someone.

 

After the third loud thunk, a large hand appears beneath Kyungsoo’s forehead to stop him from continuing to repeatedly bash it against the table.

“Want to tell me what’s wrong?” Chanyeol positions himself across the table from Kyungsoo, wrappings askew and rubbing his eyes. Kyungsoo had come over without any warning, barely giving the mummy to compose himself after being rudely awakened from his nap.

“’S four p.m.” Kyungsoo huffs at his yawning friend.

“You’re avoiding the question.” Chanyeol says, “And I’m allowed to take naps in my own home, thank you.”

Kyungsoo stares determinedly at the floor. “I like him.”

“Is this a problem?” Kyungsoo gives an unhelpful shrug. Chanyeol narrows his eyes. “Did he say something?”  

Kyungsoo groans in frustration. That’s the problem, isn’t it? Jongin hasn’t ever said anything to make Kyungsoo feel like he was lesser for being a zombie. But what if it’s just because he was being polite? Jongin didn’t seem like the type who would be rude to someone’s face.

“Is it so impossible that he’s genuine?” Kyungsoo had texted Chanyeol all about his impromptu date as soon as he had gotten home that night. By now, Chanyeol has gotten good at interpreting Kyungsoo’s silences.

“They never are,” Kyungsoo grumbles. He’s learned to not get his hopes up over time, and he feels like he should be extra careful this time, especially after letting Minseok in. That had proved to be a disaster for his heart. Something about Jongin, though, is making him stumble.

Tears prick his eyes before Kyungsoo can stop them. The sting of humiliation resurfaces when Kyungsoo thinks about the others. Minseok had only been the latest to break up with him for being a zombie.

Something soft dabs at the corner of his eye. Kyungsoo looks up to see Chanyeol using his wrappings to dry the zombie’s eyes.

“Thanks, Yeol.”

Chanyeol beams, showing far too many teeth, causing his wrappings to fall over his eyes again. Kyungsoo laughs.

“Why don’t I help you set up a date?” Kyungsoo mulls it over for a moment and then grunts in affirmation. He hands over his phone because he could use the help. “How about, ’Hey Jongin, I really enjoyed the other night, maybe we can go out for dinner and a movie sometime?’”

Kyungsoo’s eyes go wide as saucers, “Don’t send that!”

“Huh? Why not?”

“I can’t.”

“So you just want to go to dinner?” Kyungsoo shakes his head. “The movie, then?” Kyungsoo shakes his head again, more aggressively. “Kyungsoo, I’m just trying to help.”

“Not out,” Kyungsoo finally manages to get out. His speech gets worse when he’s frustrated.

“Okay, done.” Chanyeol hands Kyungsoo his phone back. “Relax, I invited him for dinner at your place,” he says when Kyungsoo scrambles to see the message the mummy just sent.

Kyungsoo relaxes. That’s a much better plan. He can do a date at home. There’s less pressure and no stares.

“One more thing,” Kyungsoo says, just as his phone lights up with a reply from Jongin. It’s an affirmative for the date as well as about 7 different heart emojis. He meets Chanyeol’s curious eyes quickly, and then darting away, embarrassed. “He kissed me.”

Sehun isn’t lying when he tells people that Chanyeol is a danger to himself as well as everyone around him. As soon as he processes Kyungsoo’s words, he’s out of his chair and tripping over himself in his excitement to hug his best friend. Kyungsoo nearly falls out of his own chair.

“Tell me all the details,” he says when he finally lets go and Kyungsoo can breathe again. The zombie glares. “Okay, fine. No details. But can I tell Sehun?”

The mummy is already pulling out his phone to text his boyfriend. So Kyungsoo grunts a ‘yes’ because he knows Chanyeol will tell Sehun anyway. He really owes it to them anyway.

 

They’d ended up agreeing to having their date the next night. Jongin would come over around 7 for dinner and Kyungsoo could give him a speech he’d prepared all morning about how he likes him and that he’s also bad at communicating.

Kyungsoo checks his stitches in the mirror. The one on his left shoulder joint is fraying a bit, but just as he moves to get his sewing kit, the doorbell rings. There’s no time to fix it, so Kyungsoo decides he’ll just throw on a jacket for now and fix it after Jongin leaves.

Jongin looks nice tonight. His silvery hair is styled up and he’s wearing a black jacket that’s buttoned all the way up to his neck with brass buttons. He looks every bit the picture of regal vampire that Kyungsoo had expected when he first laid eyes on his mostermeet profile. In fact, he looks like he stumbled straight out of the pictures that his cousin forced him to add. Stumbled because as soon as Kyungsoo leads him inside, Jongin is grinning shyly and fiddling with the hem of his jacket nervously. This looks more like the Jongin Kyungsoo likes. The vampire with the lisp who wears snuggly sweaters and coos at his zombie dog.

 

He leads Jongin to the table where he’s already set everything up, including a pint of the same kind of blood he had seen the vampire drinking the other day. This delights Jongin to no end and he excitedly offers some to Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo politely declines, having tried a small taste of it earlier and deciding it wasn’t for him.

Jongin shrugs. “Your loss. This stuff is much better than brains,” he says, but there’s a twinkle in his eye that tells Kyungsoo he’s just trying to lighten the mood. The zombie has been tense all evening, hoping that he’s not coming off as indifferent or bored.

Dinner actually goes pretty smoothly even though Kyungsoo still hasn’t worked up the courage to give his prepared speech and Jongin doesn’t seem to mind his lack of responses. In fact, dinner is going so well that of course something had to mess it up.

When they’re done eating, Kyungsoo stands to clear the table. Jongin wants to help, so he stands to help Kyungsoo. It’s an accident really; Jongin stumbles a bit from the uneven tile of the flooring, sending a splatter of blood all down the front of Kyungsoo’s jacket.

“Oh no, I’m so sorry, Kyungsoo. I didn’t mean to, I’m so sorry.” Jongin is frantic. He grabs a napkin and starts to dab at the stain. Kyungsoo is just thankful it didn’t get on his white shirt.

“‘S’okay, don’t worry.” Kyungsoo reassures him, gently prying the vampire’s fingers from his jacket so he can take it off. His right arm comes out smoothly, but something snags oh his left so he tugs a bit until the jacket comes free. Unfortunately, that’s not all that comes free. Kyungsoo had forgotten about the fraying stitches. His stomach drops.

His arm is dangling by a thread, Kyungsoo finally having managed to free it from the jacket. He’s mortified. He clings his arm to his chest and tries to regulate his breathing. All he needs is to cry.

Jongin is staring at his arm, eyes wide and Kyungsoo knows this is it. It’s going to be the last straw. Jongin is witnessing him falling apart and he’s going to say—

“Do you have a sewing kit?”

“Huh?” Kyungsoo had expected anything but that. Corpse, maybe. Dead, rotting, decaying. Any of those. But Jongin is biting his lip like he’s scared that Kyungsoo will yell at him, so all Kyungsoo can manage is a bewildered, “Yeah, my room.”

“Great, I’ll be right back.” He dashes in the direction Kyungsoo pointed. Thank God Kyungsoo prefers to be tidy.

He comes back and motions for Kyungsoo to join him on the couch, sitting sideways to focus on Kyungsoo’s arm. Jongin works quickly, lining Kyungsoo’s joints up so they’re even.

“I stitch Monggu up all the time!” Jongin exclaims proudly, “I even make him sweaters for the winter so he can be warm and cozy. I’ll show you sometime.” Kyungsoo would very much like to see that. He’s sure it’s adorable. He’s opening his mouth to tell him when Jongin speaks again.

“I used to get teased for my lisp,” Jongin begins. Kyungsoo turns his head to look at him but he’s staring straight at the top of Jongin’s silver head. “When I was little and my fangs first grew in, they felt so big and foreign in my mouth. The other kids laughed at me and said I sounded stupid.” He ties up the last thread and clips it. The stitches are neat and orderly. Kyungsoo is impressed. “It used to bother me a lot and I didn’t really have a lot of friends. Plus, I’m a vampire, so a lot of the others were scared of me anyway.”

“On top of that, I never really fit in with the other vampires. To them I wasn’t...vampire-y enough.” Jongin lets out a bitter laugh at his made up word.

“I don’t think you sound stupid.” The sentence is probably the longest one Kyungsoo has said to Jongin out loud, but the vampire waits patiently for him to get it all out. Jongin grins and looks back down at his handiwork. He runs his fingers over the stitches to smooth them out.

“I’ve gotten over it mostly,” he says, looking back up. “I still get shy sometimes but I’ve learned that it’s part of what makes me who I am.” His finger moves from the stitching on Kyungsoo’s arm to the one that runs the length of his jaw. Kyungsoo freezes, hyper aware of the breath he’s holding. “There’s nothing wrong with the way you are, Kyungsoo.”

Jongin is so close, Kyungsoo can feel his breath on his cheek. His eyes flick up to meet Kyungsoo’s where they stare for a long, intense moment. The air around them feels thick

“Cold water and salt.” Jongin says so softly that it’s nearly a whisper.

“Mmm?”

“Cold water and salt...for the blood.”

Kyungsoo clears his throat, breaking the moment. “Yeah, thanks.” He nods at Jongin, “And for this, too.” He wiggles his shoulder at Jongin who chuckles.

“It’s the least I could do. It’s technically my fault.” Jongin stands. “We should finish cleaning up.”

“Wait!” Kyungsoo says. “I want to say something.” Kyungsoo had prepared all day and now is the perfect time to tell Jongin how he feels. Jongin sits back down beside him. “I want to tell you that I—that I like you.” Jongin looks like he wants to say something too, but he lets Kyungsoo continue. “‘S hard for me to talk a lot and I’m much cooler online, but if you’re patient with me then I will get better.” Patience was only half the battle sometimes. It also didn’t help that Jongin was so handsome. It was always more difficult to talk to good looking people. Especially when Kyungsoo’s motor skills were already working overtime. Sometimes looking at Jongin felt like he was staring directly into the sun. But he would save that confession for another day.

“You’re sweet and k-kind, and your dog is so cute.” Jongin beams at the last one like the compliment was about him. “And I really, really like you. I was scared ‘cause dating has never worked out for me before, so I—so I av—” The word is stuck on the tip of Kyungsoo’s tongue as he gets more frustrated trying to get it out.

Jongin can feel the zombie’s frustration, so he places a hand on Kyungsoo’s knee. It seems to steady him; Kyungsoo is grateful. Where others would supply the word for him, Jongin seems to understand that Kyungsoo needs to find the words for himself.

“So I a-avoided you and I shouldn’t have.” Kyungsoo takes a deep breath. “If you’re willing to tolerate me then I was hoping we could be together? Also, you’re so handsome I forget to breathe sometimes.” He definitely didn’t mean to say that last one. Well, you only live once.

Kyungsoo takes another deep breath and exhales loudly. He’s proud of himself. His preparation had really done wonders even if he did stumble a few times. He waits nervously for a response to his confession.

The one he gets is Jongin nearly knocking the wind out of him with how hard he hug tackles Kyungsoo. “Of course, Kyungsoo.” He whispers. “I like you, too.”

 

“Do I really look okay?” Jongin asks for the nth time that night. They’re on their way to The Witches Brew to meet Kyungsoo’s friends. Jongin is nervous because as much as he says he’s over it, he’s still shy meeting new people. “My collar is itchy.”

“You look fine,” Kyungsoo says and his eyes say stop messing with it. Jongin gets the hint and drops his hand to his side.

They have been dating for about 2 months now. He knows it’s a little weird, but Kyungsoo hadn’t introduced Jongin to his friends yet because he wanted to be sure. And honestly, taking Jongin to meet Chanyeol and Sehun felt like he was taking him to meet his parents. They were certainly overbearing and embarrassing enough for it.

Kyungsoo had even voiced this thought to Jongin (since his confession, he was getting much better at speaking to him since it was clear that Jongin wouldn’t laugh at him or get frustrated). This had resulted in Jongin saying, “It’s nice to finally meet Kyungsoo’s mummy.” to Chanyeol when they first settled into their booth.

Only Kyungsoo—and Jongin—had laughed, the other four sets of eyes staring in incredulity. Four because Sehun had invited his demon friend Zitao and his super hot warlock boyfriend. The pair sit tucked in the corner, curled together and looking dangerous.

He wasn’t prepared for so many people and it made him nervous. He had been prepared only for his closest friends. Chanyeol takes the awkward moment to go order drinks for the newcomers, the rest of them already with drinks in front of them. Zitao and his boyfriend, Kris, are sharing something out of a large goblet that only Baekhyun could have concocted. Kris and his eyebrows glower in the corner while Sehun and Zitao talked animatedly.

Chanyeol returns to the booth with a pint for Kyungsoo and a Bloody Mary for Jongin and begins to ask Jongin about his dog—Kyungsoo had briefed his best friends on topics to get the vampire talking—but then Sehun and Zitao’s conversation ends and the demon’s eyes slide over Kyungsoo. He stiffens. He can feel the other’s gaze raking over him.

“So like, as a zombie…” Zitao starts, Jongin’s grip on Kyungsoo’s waist tightens. “Do your limbs ever fall off and stuff?”

Jongin opens his mouth to say something, but Kyungsoo puts his hand on the former’s thigh to stop him. The question still makes Kyungsoo uncomfortable, but Zitao’s gaze looks curious so Kyungsoo decides to answer.

“Sometimes.” His eyes follow the drip of the condensation down his glass.

“Sick,” Zitao says.

It’s quiet for a tense moment and then Kyungsoo, Chanyeol, and Sehun burst into laughter, confusing the other three at the table. It had been the same thing Sehun said when Chanyeol had first introduced them. Granted, Chanyeol had quickly dragged him away to presumably give him a lesson in etiquette. But Kyungsoo always found that it didn’t seem to hurt so much when the asker wasn’t visible disgusted.  

The rest of the night passes easily enough. Jongin loosens his grip on Kyungsoo when he decides that Zitao isn’t a threat, Kris turns out to be less scary than he looks, and Baekhyun even comes over to join them for a bit.

Eventually, the night sneaks up on them. Kyungsoo has had a surprising amount of fun for a night that forced him to meet two new people. Chanyeol, Sehun, and Jongin all seem to get along as well, which pleases Kyungsoo. Chanyeol even guffaws at some of Jongin’s lamer jokes—one’s that Kyungsoo wouldn’t even laugh at. Baekhyun’s long since returned to the bar; helping his bartender with the demands of the growing crowd. Sehun is saying his goodbyes to Zitao and Kris, who had turned out to be rather fun when he wasn’t trying to look cool. Jongin insisted on paying for all of them so he leaves to the bar to settle the tab with Baekhyun while Chanyeol and Kyungsoo are left waiting by the door.

“He’s good for you.” Chanyeol nods to Jongin at the bar, who’s looking like he doesn’t quite know how to handle Baekhyun. “I approve, though I’m still not above kicking his .” Kyungsoo smirks at his friend. “You know, just in case he gets any ideas about not treating you right.”

Kyungsoo punches Chanyeol lightly on the arm and smiles fondly at Jongin. The vampire has somehow been coerced into watching Baekhyun perform a magic trick. They’re just parlor tricks though and nothing like the real magic Kyungsoo knows Baekhyun can perform, but Jongin smiles and claps delightedly all the same.

“I’m going to miss you.”

“Huh? ‘M not going anywhere.”

“Just leaving the nest.” He dabs fake tears out of his eyes. “Hunnie!” Chanyeol shouts, now that Sehun and Zitao have parted ways and the siren is sauntering towards them. “Our baby is all grown up.”

“Yes, we’re all so proud,” Sehun deadpans, if only to humor his boyfriend. But Kyungsoo can see the tug of his lips when Chanyeol continues with his fake wailing.

Jongin comes back to them then, going immediately to Kyungsoo’s side and looking at Chanyeol curiously.

“What’s—”

“Don’t ask,” Kyungsoo says. He tugs Jongin away from them before his friends can say anything else. They really were like embarrassing parents. Jongin turns around to give them a wave, content with being pulled by Kyungsoo but not wanting to be rude to his friends.

“Why the rush?” His lisp softens the end of the word and Kyungsoo just wants to pull him closer.

“Make good choices!” Chanyeol calls from behind them.

“Use protection!” Sehun yells just afterwards.

Kyungsoo speeds up as Chanyeol’s booming laughter echoes out into the quiet street. Jongin huffs a laugh and follows behind. Kyungsoo’s friends were really something. But maybe he will ask Jongin to stay tonight.

 

 

[epilogue]

 

“Remember Jongin, just one.” Kyungsoo reminds his boyfriend when they step inside the shelter. The air smells faintly of wet dog, but that’s to be expected of an animal shelter. The small yips turn instantly to full blown barking as soon as the caretaker leads the pair into the room, each animal wanting to be the lucky one who gets chosen for a home.

“We have your standard familiars and black cats for witchcraft and wizardry over here. There’s wolf pups there in the corner. And if you look up to the ceiling we have a small colony of bats.” She looks to Jongin when she says this. “Any animals that you are particularly interested in?”

“Yes. The puppies, please,” Jongin tells her. She nods and begins leading them towards the kennel but Jongin gets distracted along the way and wanders off to the corner where there’s a smaller kennel with only two animals.

“Aren’t these puppies?” Jongin asks with a frown. “Why are they over here?”

“Yes, but those are the un—, rather, the ones who have difficulty with being adopted.”

Kyungsoo, who was trailing behind, steps forward to take a closer look at the dogs. In one corner of the kennel the bigger one is lying—no floating—in the corner, sleeping. Its ghostly coat shimmering under the florescent lighting. The second is a skeleton with no fur; just a mess of bones and teeth. He sits in the middle chewing on his own leg.

“What makes them hard to adopt?” Kyungsoo asks the woman. Jongin has sat himself on the floor in front of the kennel trying to get the skeleton dog’s attention.

“Many would prefer a cuddlier animal, as well as one that’s much more pleasing to the eye.” Kyungsoo feels a punch to the chest at that. He looks over the woman, a witch if the wand tucked into the back of her skirt is any indication, and notices that she’s standing a little ways away from him. Kyungsoo tries to shake it off and joins Jongin, where he’s still kneeling on the floor. He’s managed to capture the attention of the skeleton puppy as well as the ghost, who was woken from the other pup’s excited yips. He floats over to see what all the fuss is about.

Jongin’s face softens as he watches the two puppies in front of them.

“They said the same thing about Monggu too,” Jongin whispers.

Kyungsoo feels a pang in his heart at the thought of Monggu being unwanted. Since he and Jongin started dating he had been spending a lot more time at Jongin’s house, the little zombie pup loved curling into Kyungsoo’s side; it was his favorite spot to sleep. Kyungsoo had caught the jealous stares Jongin probably wasn’t aware he was giving. It’s why he had finally suggested that they get a sibling for Monggu. That way nobody would be left out.

They’re interrupted when the caretaker clears to get Kyungsoo and Jongin’s attention.

“Are you sure that you want these puppies? We have a much better selection in—”

Kyungsoo stands abruptly, cutting her off. “We want these two.”

Jongin looks up from his spot on the floor. The skeleton puppy nips at his fingers, trying to get him to resume play.

“Kyungsoo, it’s okay, we only have to get one.”

“Both of them. We want both of them.”

 

Later, when they arrive home, Kyungsoo can’t help but think how lucky he is. Monggu rushes to them, curious about the new arrivals, and the animals jump all over each other getting themselves acquainted.

Kyungsoo watches Jongin introduce Monggu to the skeleton puppy, who he had named Jjanggu. Jjangah, the ghost puppy, is busy sniffing around the couch.

Being with Jongin had given Kyungsoo a new courage that he didn’t know he had. Jongin, who was always so quick to assure him that he wasn’t ugly. Jongin, who was patient with him even when his words wouldn’t come. And he, himself, was the one reassuring Jongin many times when he was shy about his lisp.

“Kyungsoo!”

“Mmm?”

“Would you like to come with me to the fabric store tomorrow? I have to get more yarn. Jjanggu won’t fit any of Monggu’s old sweaters and I’m worried he’ll get too cold.”

Kyungsoo looks down to where his boyfriend is snuggling with two puppies and smiling sweetly. “Sure.”

He’d go anywhere as long as it was with Jongin.