It’s still dark when you wake up, but you suppose it’s never bright in the middle of this forest.

You hear a soft echo—a voice, you realize.

Someone’s singing.

You push yourself off the bed and tiptoe to the opposite wall, pressing your ear flat against it.

You hear it.

A gentle tune, a voice who sings such sad and longing notes. You listen, feeling tears sting your eyes as you hear the loneliness of the melody. And yet it’s so beautiful, touching your heart deeply and making old repressed memories resurface.

Who’s singing?

You quickly make your way out of the room to the room next door, not even registering who’s room this is. You enter without thinking and freeze when you lay your eyes on Jongdae. He’s sitting on his windowsill, his right leg planted on the floor and his left dangling over the windowsill, his body turned to face the view outside, but now he looks at you with wide, surprised eyes.

“Oh.” You breathe, your heart thumping wildly. “I’m sorry, it’s just that I heard you singing, so—”

“It’s okay.” He smiles, hopping off and taking a step towards you. “Did you sleep well?”

You nod, heat rushing to your cheeks as you look down. You don’t trust yourself to speak; you feel so embarrassed. How could you just burst into someone else’s room like that?

A clap of thunder reverberates and you yelp in surprise.

“Sorry.” Jongdae immediately mumbles, hanging his head. “This area is rather stormy. I try to keep enemies away.” He shifts uncomfortably on his feet, still refusing to meet your eyes. “Are you…scared of lightning?”

You blink at the question in surprise. “No.” You say immediately. “I was just surprised.”

He seems to lighten up slightly at that, but then he purses his lips and whispers, “Then are you scared of vampires?”

You pause, taken aback by his sudden question. “Well,” you start cautiously, scared you might upset him, “not vampires, per se, but the idea of being bitten by a vampire scares me.”

His eyes darts to the floor again, shame evident on his face. “Right.”

“Jongdae—” You try to say, to comfort him and tell him that you aren’t scared of him. You know he would never hurt you.

But do you really know that?

Your throat constricts and no words come out. You avert your eyes, knowing you are scared. You want to go home, you want this to be nothing but a bad dream.

And then, in a horrible epiphany, you realize you wish you never saved him that day.

“Let’s go.” Jongdae whispers, bringing you back to reality. His arm brushes past yours as he walks by, and it makes you shiver.

You hang your head as you follow him to the living room. Jongin is already sitting there, sipping on something tinted red and you don’t dare ask what it is.

“Jongin,” Jongdae greets with a quick nod before taking a seat next to him. Unsure what to do, you follow him and sit across from them. “Did you find anything?”

“No.” Jongin shakes his head, a dejected sigh leaving his lips. “I went all over the country. I asked anyone and everyone who might know. No one saw them.”

Jongdae seems to wilt at that, slumping forward in his seat.

You look between them, slightly confused. “What are you talking about?”

“Ah,” Jongin flashes you a tight smile. “Our brothers. I often teleport to different places in hopes to find a clue as to where they are, but it’s been a whole year and I still haven’t found anything.”

“Well,” the corners of Jongdae’s lips lift up hopefully, just a little. “It has only been a year.”

“True,” Jongin nods before another long sigh escapes his lips. “We’ve spent much longer as a vampire than that.”

They brood in silence for a long moment, and you keep your mouth shut as you glance between them, unsure what to do or say. You feel so out of place here, feeling as if you don’t even exist anymore.

Jongdae suddenly jolts up, a wide grin blooming on his face. “I got it!”

“What?” Jongin stares at his brother with furrowed brows.

Jongdae seems excited as he bounces on the soles of his feet, an idea appearing in his mind. “We can go find him!”

“Him?” Jongin seems to catch on, even though you look at them blankly. “We haven’t seen him in centuries though. And also, he’s too young for his kind; can he really help?”

“I’m sure he can.” Jongdae nods vigorously, a new shine of determination in his dark eyes. “Other than you, he’s the only one who might be able to receive information from all over the world.”

“We can try.” Jongin still seems skeptical, but he stands up to follow Jongdae to the front door.

“Wait!” You jump up, panic washing over you. “Where are you going? What about me?”

“We’re going to find an old friend!” They call back at you. “You can come if you want, but the house will protect you too.”

You shiver as the darkness seems to grow stronger, the light following them out the door. Thunder claps outside and lightning flashes. The house seems to grow several degrees colder.

You quickly catch up to them, not wanting to be left alone in this place. It doesn’t matter where they’re going or what they’re doing; you feel better around someone.

Jongdae seems to smile as he waits for you by the door, the corners of his eyes crinkling slightly. Lightning snakes over the door in angry zaps once it closes shut, locking itself from intruders.

“Ready?” Jongin asks, albeit slightly unwillingly. Jongdae nods before glancing over at you, and Jongin follows. You gulp as you nod