Donghae felt his head spinning. The moment Eunhyuk’s lips touched his; he felt his whole body burning with fire. That was the moment when he realized that he didn’t consider Hyukjae as his friend. No, Hyukjae was more than a friend. And it was not just physical. If it was, then they would be friends with benefits. But his head, his heart, his whole body was chanting Hyukjae’s name over and over again. There were feelings he wanted to deny, things he was confused about. But all of the doubts vanished as their lips pressed against each other.

Donghae liked Hyukjae. He really liked Hyukjae.

The need for oxygen forced them to separate their lips but Hyukjae wasn’t stopping. Plump lips caressed Donghae’s face and traveled down his neck where he grazed his teeth and Donghae found himself gasping at the heavenly sensation. He had discovered two things – he was extremely sensitive at neck and Hyukjae loved his neck.

Hands clenched and unclenched the sheets as he felt the other lapping at his soft flesh. There was no way he could contain the loud moan that escaped his lips. He was embarrassed and even more so when Hyukjae stopped and chuckled. The older man hovered over his and stared at the drunken wide brown eyes.

“You make very interesting sounds.” He murmured in the iest voice ever and Donghae felt like kissing and punching him at the same time. He decided to do neither and pouted, his eyes narrowed, a sight Hyukjae found extremely adorable.

Hyukjae shifted and lied on the bed beside Donghae who didn’t remove his eyes from his face. He knew the younger man wanted some explanation and years of friendship had made Hyukjae surmise that Donghae had started to connect the physical pleasures to his emotions. He was a hundred percent sure that Donghae thought he already liked him.

The boy was so naïve, so sensitive. And now he had Donghae at the palm of his hand.

** **

How long can a person be satisfied with little things until temptation demands everything?

For Hyukjae, nothing was more satisfying than the present. It’s been four months since he had called Donghae his and deemed the younger man his boyfriend. Donghae had been confused but not reluctant. He had needed time to think, testing Hyukjae’s patience, but gave in at the end. Hyukjae was more than happy.

If Hyukjae had to talk about his feelings to Donghae then there was nothing more than lust and care for a friend. Love wasn’t in the equation for him. He only needed Donghae’s blood, a nice friend’s company and someone to satisfy his want for physical intimacy. Everything came in the form of Lee Donghae. Hyukjae felt like he had hit a jackpot.

Hyukjae knew how to keep work and feelings in two different chambers of his brain. And he knew exactly how to deal with a certain brown-eyed cute man. At times, he made false promises, fake confessions to keep Donghae close to him. Love was never Hyukjae’s thing. In 100 years of his life, he had never fallen in love. There was also a matter of fact that falling in love with a human being was lethal for a vampire. So he kept Donghae close for convenience.

Humans will grow old and die within a short span of life while he still had hundreds of years to live. He was used to losing people. It was no shock for him that he was going to lose his team members one day. He’d be sad when that will happen, even cry and face depression but will need to go back to the track. It was a vampire’s life.

But it was the first time in a hundred years that he had felt a temptation so strong.

Donghae, on the other hand, was still uneasy. Hyukjae confessed to him every day, told him how much he was liked by the man. But in the end, he couldn’t contain the alarm that set off inside his brain whenever Hyukjae said those words.

If Donghae had to be honest, he might have liked Hyukjae for a long time. He couldn’t go on with his life without that man. But it took one kiss for him to realize that those feelings were true.

Their relationship was complicated though. It seemed like nothing much had changed except for the time when they both were alone, in the dorms. Hyukjae liked to kiss and mark his neck, Donghae had observed that the man had an obsession with his neck. More than his lips, he was kissed on the neck. That left him so frustrated at times.

And Hyukjae seemed to enjoy it. That sadist loved to torture him with intimate touches and always left him hanging whenever he wanted more.

A part of Donghae was glad about that. His feelings for Hyukjae were so strong that he couldn’t control them at times. He didn’t want to progress to the next, more intimate stage before they confessed their ‘love’.

Donghae was broken from his train of thoughts by the ringing of his phone. It was Sehun. The mangnae of EXO said that he missed him and wanted to meet up. Donghae agreed and they decided to meet on the weekend. It had been a long time since they had spent some quality time together. He needed to catch up with his dongsaeng.

“Hyung, I’m hungry.” And that was the magnae of Super Junior who broke him from his thoughts. The mangnae flopped on the sofa and rested his elbow on the backrest and propped his head on his hand. He looked at Donghae with his deer-like eyes.

“What do you want from me then?”

“Your ramen is always so tasty.” Kyuhyun sweet-talked. “Let’s eat some.”

“Why don’t you simply say ‘make me ramen’?” Donghae stood up and headed to the kitchen, closely followed by Kyuhyun who took a seat by the counter.

“That’d sound so rude.”

Look who’s talking. Donghae rolled his eyes as he searched for the packet of ramen.

“Wow! You’re actually making it for me. That’s new. You seem to be in good mood lately, hyung. Have you overcome the love crisis?”

“Love crisis?”

“You were talking about some crap a few months ago. Remember?”

Donghae remembered the conversation with Kyuhyun and his cheeks turned red. At that time he couldn’t have guessed he liked Hyukjae but their mangnae was quite smart.

“Looks like everything is fine in your paradise,” Kyuhyun observed Donghae.

Donghae couldn’t tell Kyuhyun about Hyukjae. The older man had insisted on keeping their relationship a secret, something Donghae had agreed to reluctantly. Hyukjae had ensured him that they’ll come out when the time was right.

“What are you talking about? There’s nothing like that.”

“Yeah, yeah. Hide all you want. You know you can’t keep any secret from me for long, right?”

“But there is none.” He muttered.

He knew how bad he was at hiding anything and how good others were at extracting the truth from him. But he had already survived for four months and wasn’t planning to let the cat out of the bag anytime soon. Not until Hyukjae agreed too. The problem was Kyuhyun, a very good observer, especially when it came to Donghae. It’s a good thing everyone thought of him and Hyukjae as the best of the best friends, ones who can’t be separated.

“Now go and watch tv or something. Do you want your ramen or not?”

“Make it tasty,” Kyuhyun said as he exited the kitchen.

** **

Jealousy, the green-eyed monster, is really a monster.

Donghae was nowhere inside their dorms and Hyukjae was really, really craving a taste of the missing man’s blood. The day was exhausting amidst D&E schedules and various variety shows. He had managed to drag his feet to the dorm in hope of tasting something refreshing even though his mind was ready to turn off at the sets. There was his stock of blood but it didn’t quench his hunger. He wanted Donghae and he wanted him bad.

The younger man wasn’t picking his calls or replying to his texts, something he wasn’t used to. After overhearing the conversation between Ryeowook and Yesung, he found out that Donghae had gone out to hang out with Sehun. That pissed him off, really pissed him off. Before he knew, he was already driving in search of the two. It wasn’t difficult for him to track down Sehun. When he found them, they were strolling near the park. Sehun coughed and Donghae gently rubbed his back.

Hyukjae always knew how to control his anger. His control of anger earned him praise and friends. But there was a certain Lee Donghae who knew how to get under his skin. Watching the interaction between the two, his skin itched even more.

It was a fact that Donghae and Sehun were close. Still, it was impossible to avoid the stab of jealousy. He could have stepped out of the car and separated the two. Or he could have jumped in their cozy time. He could have just ended their meet up by giving a lame excuse. But he didn’t do any of that and with a final glance, drove away, eyes holding a dangerous promise to show Donghae who he exactly belonged to.

** **

When Donghae returned to the dorms, it was already the afternoon of the next day. He had parted from Sehun, exchanging friendly talks all night, making up for all the time they had missed each other and found relaxation amidst busy, tiring schedules.

As he passed by the living room, he was surprised at the sight of Ryeowook laughing silently at Yesung dancing to Hot Issue playing in the background. His hard popping made Donghae chuckle and he strutted to his room with a smile on his face.

When he entered, he was completely taken off guard when, within a split of a second, he found himself on the bed. He would have thought about the impossible action if it wasn’t for Hyukjae’s face hovering right over his, his lips taken in a hard kiss before those lips moved to his neck, biting and nipping. Eyes wide, mind confused, Donghae wasn’t ready for the onslaught of euphoria rushing through is veins. His back arched and a loud moan escaped his lips.

That sound made Hyukjae lose his mind and dig his teeth deeper in the soft flesh and hard.

“Donghae!” There was a knock on the door. “Is everything alright?”

Hyukjae moved away from Donghae’s neck.

“Hyung! Everything’s fine.” Hyukjae replied as he went on the punctured skin, coating it with his healing saliva.

“Hyukjae? What are you doing inside?”

“Having fun,” he replied and moved to nuzzle his face at Donghae’s neck who was feeling lightheaded.

“On your own? Let me join too.”

Hell no. Hyukjae thought. “Donghae doesn’t want you to. Now leave.”

He heard Yesung mumbling curses before he left. Hyukjae brought his attention back to Donghae who didn’t seem to be in his senses anymore. His eyes were half closed, face flushed and hair disheveled. Hyukjae marveled the face how Donghae looked so innocent and y at the same time. He wanted to taint the younger man so bad. He dipped his head once again, slowly, and took those thin lips in a slow and passionate kiss.

** **

“Are you two prepared for the stage?” Leeteuk asked Hyukjae the next morning. He and Donghae had to go for performance of their new release and they were nominated for the first place. They were more than ready.

“Yes, hyung. We’re fine.”

“EXO is also going to be there. Take care of them.”

“Will do. You don’t need to tell us that.”

“I know you will. And they are docile kids. But you need to take care of a hyperactive kid too. Make sure to take rest. Don’t stress yourself.”

Hyukjae chuckled. It was a common fact of how scared Donghae was to appear on television. He’d become nervous and make mistakes. But the man was a serious person while performing on the stage, especially during D&E performances, knowing that only two of them would be there.

“Hyung, bring me spicy rice cakes. I’m craving them.” Ryeowook added and Hyukjae gave him a strange look.

“Aren’t you going to cook yourself?”

“Nah, I’m feeling lazy today.”

“He won’t be back for long.” Leeteuk told Ryeowook.

“Then why don’t you get me some?”

** **

Hyukjae was feeling the excitement as well as pressure. Also, he was rather worried about Donghae’s silence. The younger man was awfully quiet. Donghae doesn’t talk much, usually, but when he’s with Hyukjae, he doesn’t know when to shut up.

What could be the reason? It was the first time they were going to appear on public together after things between them changed, that is after they broke the borders of friendship. Hyukjae could think of that as the only reason. Donghae couldn’t be very vocal about his feelings regarding the matter because it was supposed to be a secret. But Hyukjae knew, that didn’t mean Donghae would stop thinking.

“Hey,” He murmured to the Donghae standing at his side and clasped his hand on the younger’s. “It’s going to be fine.”

Donghae smiled, eyes shining innocently and Hyukjae felt like kissing the younger man, right then and there. But they couldn’t. They were backstage and staff members were bustling around.

When it was time for the performance, both stepped on the stage, welcomed by the cheers of fans. It made them feel proud and grateful, like always. The music started and they were immersed in their performance, dancing to the rhythm and winning hearts. It was all going well, until halfway through it.

No one saw it coming when Donghae, dancing behind Hyukjae, seemed to lose his balance and fell. Gasps of surprise filled the audience and Hyukjae continued to sing, moving around because Donghae’s turn was coming. Everyone was expecting Donghae to stand up and hoped he didn’t sustain any injury but murmured filled the hall when the man showed no signs of movement. Hyukjae, noticing the unconscious state of the younger man, rushed to his side and soon the dancers flocked around.

** **

The news about Donghae’s collapse at the stage spread like a wildfire. The incident was recorded in cameras and went viral. Fans were worried and anxious over his condition. His health became a hot topic of discussion among netizens and other idols.

“What happened?” Leeteuk asked Hyukjae, who was sitting outside the hospital room. Donghae was inside, still unconscious. It had been an hour since the incidence and the leader rushed in quickly to check on Donghae’s condition.

“I don’t know. He suddenly fainted on the stage.” He mumbled, even though he had a good idea what might have actually happened and he felt guilty over it.

“Where’s the manager?” Leeteuk inquired and just then, the manager came rushing.

“Hyung, what happened to Donghae?” Leeteuk asked the manager, his eyes filled with worry.

“Anemia,” was the only answer. Hyukjae winced internally. Knowing it was his fault that Donghae ended up in that situation, he felt even worse.

“What? Again? But he has been taking healthy diet lately. How could it be?”                 

“I wonder the same. But I’ve noticed that he’s been unfocused lately. Is something worrying him?” The manager looked at them. He wondered if there was a strain between the members that lead to Donghae getting stressed or something.

“No, everything is fine. He seemed to be excited about the comeback. He gets tired easily now though. Can it be because of age?”                                                              

“I don’t know. Let’s see what doctors say.”

“I’m so worried about him.” Leeteuk murmured, leaning against the wall, face a reflection of worry. “His father had cancer. Does that mean…?” He couldn’t complete the sentence. Having faced the loss of Donghae’s father to the fatal disease, Letteuk worried is history repeated itself with the son. Not that he knew anything about medical sciences and stuff but he wondered why Donghae’s health was declining.

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