Push and Pull
Immortals: Everything They Sacrificed
Ji Soo always thought of himself as a lucky and healthy young man. He was the youngest son of a distinguished family and he quite liked the preferential treatment he got all through high school. Med School was not his first choice, it was his mother's choice, but he went with it since he had nothing to lose.
He became known for his love to explore everything he could, especially the night life of Seoul. His time in the army passed really fast with him getting ready for med school so he did everything he could once he finished his mandatory service. Then he graduated and he started to work as an intern in his father's hospital. Everything was bright in his future until he met the doctor he was supposed to work for.
Lee Dongwook was a stoic man and rough around the edges. He wouldn't laugh when a joke was fun but he would tear up at every dad joke. He would rarely speak about himself but could speak about everything else for hours and still have more to say. His personality overall was peculiar but he had a bright mind and he was a perfectionist.
Lee Dongwook and Ji Soo were very different characters but they had something in common: their good looks. The nurses would give them little attentions which Ji Soo liked but Dongwook hated. In a fit of annoyance after a nurse spoke badly about another doctor, Dongwook got the title of Dark Knight. Ji Soo might have had something to do with the nickname but that’s another story.
Then everyone believed Dongwook would actually marry and leave for a quiet life, which didn't happen. Instead, he chose to leave the hospital and join the forensic program. Unfortunately, Dongwook asked the director for Ji Soo to be transferred as well.
That was how Ji Soo ended up working with Dongwook in the morgue. It wasn't that bad though. They were actively participating in police investigations and murder cases. It was far better than he imagined. But Dongwook was the same firm man and would rarely speak about anything except work. That was why he was so curious who was that woman and how did she catch Dongwook in her magic.
When Ji Soo entered the morgue ten minutes after 8 am, he found Dongwook in the middle of the room, hovering over a dead corpse with a scalpel in hand. The elder looked up with eyes so sore that he believed the man before him has been kept in the morgue for the past months without water or food. He really looked tired and dead inside.
"Wh-what happened? Did you fight with her?" Ji Soo stuttered as he walked inside, his eyes never once moving off his superior.
Dongwook growled before he cut deep into the chest of the corpse.
"That bad, huh?" Ji Soo whispered, feeling his heart beat so fast that he felt like fainting on the spot.
"We didn't fight." Dongwook answered eventually, “She’s so stubborn that we can’t even fight.”
Ji Soo frowned before a wide smile spread on his face.
"I have an idea."
Jiwon was standing by herself at a table in the corner, watching the bar filling up with customers. It was interesting hearing all the little noises they’d make or all the small details that not everyone could see.
Then, a perfectly healthy young man that smelled worse than Minwoo's bathroom -which stunk from some problem with his pipes- entered dressed like a rock star. He stopped right in front of the bar and tried to spot someone in the back.
"Can I help you sir?" Seojoon asked in that polite tone that would give Jiwon goosebumps.
"I'd like to make a reservation? I know there are times when a customer can ask for a room in the back."
Seojoon raised an eyebrow, confused if that was something true or Minwoo lied again to the customers.
"That doesn't happen in here but I'm sure we can come to an agreement." Jiwon started as she got up and trailed towards them like a fox. "It will cost you."
Surprisingly, the customer smirked smugly, looking like he was planning quite the scheme.
"Of course. Money aren't a problem."
"What if I don't ask for money?" Jiwon asked glancing at Seojoon from the corner of her eye. The youngest vampire sighed and gave in, knowing he'd have to take responsibility because it happened during his shift.
"What if not money?"
Jiwon smirked, mirroring the sly expression he wore a few minutes ago.
Dongwook was going home. He was usually a man with long steps taking a lot less to get somewhere compared a shorter person. He was also in a continuous state of hurry, inherited from the times he had lived in. But when he turned the corner towards the alley to his home, he suddenly started to walk really slowly. It was a bit weird how he kept his hands inside his pockets while taking slow steps towards his home.
Inside the store, Yerin was growing impatient. She knew he was doing it purposely; she could hear him and smell the chloroform on his clothes. With a headache that seemed to be impossible to recover from, she grabbed a plastic cup and threw some coffee inside. The vampire rolled her eyes when she heard him get even slower when reaching her store and planted herself in front of the window.
Dongwook was smiling to himself, thinking that maybe he’d got her attention.
"Are you handicapped? Why are you embarrassing yourself in the neighborhood?" She asked in a normal tone, knowing that he was able to hear her.
Dongwook stopped, looking like a street lamp in the middle of the alley. He glanced at her store but didn't move.
"I heard from the ladies around that a strange man lives nearby. He's an antisocial creep who goes out at night and returns around this time." She continued, leaning against the counter. "You should be careful."
Dongwook frowned. She was making fun of him using the rumors around his apartment building.
"Did you ask your customers about me?"
Yerin's smug face fell as she narrowed her eyes at him. Dongwook on the other hand was very pleased with his retort.
"No. They saw me when I delivered the products to your apartment that night."
"Did they even recognize you without the orange beanie and the glasses?" He added, imagining her reactions in his head.
"Should I drink all of your blood and let you dry under the sun?" She hissed, grasping the plastic cup so hard that the coffee spilled all over her hand. "Try me."
Dongwook chuckled already having a good idea of how Ji Soo's plan will piss her off later on.
"Believe me, I will." He whispered before he continued the rest of the way home.
"What kind of deal is that?"
A few hours passed and the bar was crowded yet there was a table in the back where a human and a vampire talking restlessly about their friends.
Ji Soo was probably the one feeling the most frustrated because Jiwon was a woman of strange principles. She was also very stubborn and bossy which he didn’t expect to get to such lengths.
"We have to work together anyway. Why not use you for bigger purposes. You come here often with women that don't seem eager anyway." She was hitting the right spots with cold words delivered in a way that she knew would leave an impression.
"Why would I want to work here?" Ji Soo hissed, annoyed that after work he'd have to work again.
Jiwon sighed and pointed at the bar. Seojoon was there, talking to a woman, refilling her glass every time he wanted and keeping tabs on those drinks.
"He's a charmer. You can learn from him."
"Why would i want to learn that? Does it look like I can’t manage by myself?" He asked, really offended.
Jiwon chuckled, "You're feisty. I like that and I'm sure with how silent this bar has been we could use someone feistiness. Besides, you only come here with women that don't seem to be interested in you as much as they are curious about your friend. Mystery is a great characteristic, isn't it?"
Ji Soo's eyebrow twitched but he didn't say anything.
"Hyung likes a woman already. I need that table in the back to make them reconcile. If me working here for a few days is what it takes, fine." Ji Soo admitted, thinking that everything he was doing was going to reflect on Dongwook’s behavior at work.
"The woman he likes, is she interested in his looks or in his personality?" Jiwon asked curiously.
"I'm not sure but from what he said, they have known each other for a while. Dongwook hyung is a practical man most of the time but he seems to have lost his mind for this woman."
Jiwon chuckled bemusedly before she looked at the bar again seeing Seojoon shake his head disapprovingly at her. Unfortunately, something came intersected and Jiwon’s sight was blocked by someone else.
"So you are the other forensic specialist, hm?"
Minwoo was usually a laid back man, only messing with people from afar but he couldn't help himself when he heard Ji Soo's heartbeats.
"The woman your hyung likes won't fall in your traps. They need time alone or else there will be collateral damage." Minwoo added, sitting next to Jiwon.
"You know her?" Ji Soo asked his eyes widening.
"Yerin. Her name is Yerin, right?" Ji Soo nodded, taken aback with how many people already knew about her while he hadn't seen her yet. "Send them somewhere together. But make sure they stay close to each other even if that means creating a schedule and forcing them to respect it."
Jiwon glanced warily at the dimpled bartender but his innocent face didn't seem to hide any evil plan; at least not yet.
It so happened that a few days later, Ji Soo had a whole plan figured out with very detailed instructions from Minwoo.
"Why aren't you interfering?" Jiwon asked Liu Wei one night as they were watching Minwoo, Seojoon and Ji Soo work through the schedule.
"Why aren't you interfering?" He asked her back, looking like he couldn't be bothered to move an inch from his seat at the bar.
"I don't know. I want to but I can't."
Liu Wei laughed out loud, patting the seat next to him for her to take it. She pouted and sat down, one leg over the other.
"It's fun to tease Yerin." Liu Wei mumbled before he leaned towards Jiwon, "Also, I don't think the person she has been hiding from is Dongwook."
"Is that why you're letting the human go on with this charade?"
Liu Wei nodded, "Dongwook's smell is strong enough to hide her. We both know she can't hear the heartbeats of others but every vampire can hear hers. When Dongwook came here that night, he felt her fragrance."
"That's what Minwoo said." Jiwon whispered, looking into Liu Wei's dark eyes.
"It's been a long time, Jiwon. She's been on the run for most of her life. She needs a break."
"Are you getting soft, general Liu Wei?"
"I'm being realistic." He replied coldly before taking a sip from his red wine.
It was Friday afternoon and to everyone's surprise, rain was pouring down cats and dogs. The morgue closed earlier thanks to a problem with their computers and Ji Soo found the moment good for a drink.
"It's not even five in the afternoon and you want a drink? I'm going home."
"No! Now, hyung try and loosen up. I told you I will help you with your woman haven't I?"
"Yes and it's been a week since then. Nothing happened." Dongwook scoffed.
"Not anymore."
Ji Soo smiled wickedly and grabbed Dongwook's arm harshly, already dragging him towards Itaewon.
"Do you think they will actually agree to go to Busan together?" Seojoon asked after Liu Wei more or less ordered Yerin to come by.
"Yes." Both Minwoo and Jiwon responded at the same time.
Seojoon didn't seem convinced so he turned to Liu Wei, whose playful expression didn't help much.
"I don't trust any of you," Seojoon mumbled narrowing his eyes at Minwoo in particular, "It's your fault I'm like this in the first place."
"You're welcome."
Seojoon scoffed loudly, frustrated with the way Minwoo seemed to mess with everything in his life. If only he wouldn't have gone to work that day, he could be 40 years old now.
"Stop thinking about the life you don't have and concentrate on here and now." Minwoo started in a cold tone which wasn't usually one if his characteristics.
Liu Wei sighed and hoped Ji Soo will bring Dongwook faster so he wouldn't have to come in between Minwoo and Seojoon again.
"Why did you ask Ji Soo to work here?" He asked when he saw Jiwon lean against the bar cabinets.
"Because we lack vampires," She answered as if that was obvious, "How can we know what happens in the world with more humans than vampires coning here?"
Liu Wei nodded, surprised Jiwon thought so deeply about their situation.
But that was true and he couldn't shrug off this strange feeling in his chest. Maybe it was because Yerin's heart was beating so loudly or maybe it was his gut telling him that something was wrong in the world.
Yerin could feel it too. That same gut feeling that Liu Wei had was even more intense to her. The brunette vampire frowned when she felt her back sting and stopped a few feet from the bar.
It was still daylight but it felt like the wind was blowing during the night; harsher as if trying to stop you from moving forward.
Then she felt her back aching, as if something was getting insider her and wrap around her spine. She was growing really hot and she started to breathe heavier and louder, her blood boiling in her veins.
"Are you alright?"
The one asking was someone she couldn't even hear and he was right behind her. That didn't usually happen with how perceptive she was yet the newcomer even leaned towards her.
"Step back, Ji Soo." Another voice ordered sternly.
Ji Soo tilted his head confusedly as Dongwook pushed him aside and wrapped his arms around her, helping her remain on her feet.
"Look at me, Yerin." He mumbled softly only for her to hear. "It's ok. Just look at me."
Yerin only raised her head enough for the tall man to see her pupil dilating to the point it was taking her whole socket. It wasn't normal for a vampire but it happened before, to certain vampires with a mark on their bodies.
Dongwook tensed when he heard her heartbeats slow down so much that it was a miracle she wasn't dead yet. He glanced at Ji Soo's pale figure and sighed.
"You can enter. I'll stay with her until she feels better."
"But-" Ji Soo couldn't let another woman interfere with his plan but her form seemed so weak that he gave up.
Once Ji Soo was inside the bar, Dongwook turned to Yerin and punched her hard in the ribs. Her eyes widened as she felt the air get stuck in her chest. Yerin hissed at him but before she could do something reckless, he rolled up his sleeve and forced her to bite him.
They probably stood there like that for a while, longer than Dongwook expected but once his blood entered her body, she calmed down. Her eyes came back to normal and the fire inside her faded away. When she regained her consciousness, Yerin pushed his hand away softly and wiped .
"Thanks." She mumbled so faintly that even for a vampire was hard to pick up.
"I asked you when you fed the last time. Look what happens if you avoid it!" His eyes were angry yet at the same time full with worry and his whole demeanor seemed to be the opposite of what she remembered.
"Are you scolding me now?" She asked, obviously not taking it as serious as he was.
"Of course I am! You should take care of yourself!" He could barely refrain the anger and having been on the edge for the last days was only fueling him to scold her more. "You're supposed to be the leader so why are you so irresponsible!"
That was a very sensible subject and he knew people in the past would be punished for reminding her just how much pressure there was on her shoulders yet he still said it. Unlike before, it didn't seem to affect her as much because instead of getting mad she started to laugh.
"That's right. I'm an irresponsible wench who abandoned everything. What for, you may wonder? The happiness of one man," She retorted, making him feel guilty for sprouting nonsense.
Dongwook couldn't respond to that so instead he followed her inside like a loyal servant, a few steps behind her so he couldn't have to look at her face.
"Finally!" Ji Soo exclaimed, making exaggerated moves with his hands so Dongwook would move faster.
"Why did you call me here for?" Yerin asked going straight to the core.
No one responded but they all turned to the human. Ji Soo smiled nervously before he turned to his hyung with new found bravery.
"Hyung, I have thought about your love issues and I am ready to sacrifice for you. With that said, we have to wait for your crush to arrive as well."
"She's here already." He grumbled pointing at Yerin.
Ji Soo glanced at Yerin, who was dressed in a brown blouse with a white coat over it and had the huge glasses on her nose and orange beanie. He glanced at Dongwook next who was dressed in an all black set, just like before.
"Are you kidding me?" The human asked feeling disheartened, "Her?"
Dongwook nodded, having no desire to add anything about the woman next to him.
Ji Soo his lips and rubbed his hands together, feeling like he got slapped in the face. Truthfully, he wasn't expecting a Miss Korea, not with Dongwook's personality, but he did expect something else than her.
"Is she rich by any chance?" Ji Soo asked, making Liu Wei laugh so hard in the back that he choked.
"What if I am?" Yerin sneered, her figure not at all intimidating.
Jiwon rolled her eyes and nudged Ji Soo to just go on with the plan.
"Right. I called some people and got you a hotel room for two, close to the beach in Haeundae. I was helped by these people and we decided you two need some time alone to work it out." As he said those last words, Ji Soo couldn't help but let his eyes wander over Yerin's figure. The only think he really approved of was her height.
"What makes you think I'd agree to go and babysit her?" Dongwook asked especially changing his tone so he could annoy them.
In return, Jiwon kicked him in the leg which in return surprised Ji Soo so much that he felt his heart skip a beat.
"You don't have a choice. You better take care of her." Jiwon ordered the elder with a glare.
"This woman is amazing." Ji Soo whispered to himself though everyone heard it. Jiwon was as fierce as a woman could get and he was being lured in.
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