chapter 22

Sunggyu is led down, first through to an elevator that drops at too quick of a speed and Sunggyu has to hold onto the railings for dear life. Hoya ends up escorting him with one other vampire named Taecyeon, a tall and muscular vampire. “So I guess you’ll be hanging out with us for a while, then,” Taecyeon says when the door finally opens.

    Sunggyu glances up at Taecyeon but immediately hides his face when Taecyeon lets out a lighthearted laugh at his swollen lips and the mark sneaking out of his collar. “Don’t worry, Sunggyu. You’ll see Woohyun.”

    “Yeah, once a day in the evening. From four o’clock to seven o’clock,” a new vampire steps out from a perpendicular hallway and joins them.

    “All in all, you get three hours with him each day. Fair enough, yeah?” says someone who falls into step with Sunggyu, someone that seems to have appeared out of nowhere. “I’m Wooyoung, by the way. And that is Junho,” he says, gesturing to the other newly joined. “We’re your guards.”

    “Isn’t this kind of sudden? Don’t you have other things to do?” Sunggyu asks meekly, attempting to make some sort of conversation.

    “Well, we were on… call, I guess. We were waiting for a job and we’re more than glad to do this one,” Taecyeon answers.

    “And this is like, a once in a millenium thing. It would kind of if those wolves got their hands on you,” Junho shudders to prove his point.

    Countless sets of steel doors are unlocked and they walk down a set of spiral stairs until finally they come to a door. It leads to a wall of windows and through the windows Sunggyu can see a simple room. There’s a queen sized bed pushed off to the corner, a small kitchen in another. It’s a mini apartment, something Sunggyu had forgotten fits him more than Woohyun’s mansion. It’s not home, and when Sunggyu is led into the room, he feels this emptiness in his heart.

    The door is shut behind him and Hoya speaks over some intercom. “The doors will be locked at all times and will only be unlocked when food is being delivered or when you have a visitor. If you want anything, just ask. Because of the short notice your room is kind of plain right now so don’t hesitate.”

    Sunggyu lets out a heavy sigh and falls back onto the bed. He rolls onto his side and stares at the glass window. It’s a mirror from this side and Sunggyu looks at his features. There’s a clock on the wall and he looks at it, thankful that it’ll only be an hour before Woohyun gets to visit. So in the meantime he’ll take a nap and try not to think of Sungjae and how he’ll react that tomorrow when Sunggyu does not show up.

…

    Woohyun glares at Hoya. “Are you watching him sleep? You creep.”

    Hoya leans back in his chair. “Excuse you. I’m just doing my job; I need to make sure that he’s safe at all times. And to do that, I need to keep my eye on him at all times.”

    Woohyun shakes his head before turning to Wooyoung. “Unlock the door,” he says.

    “Just remember that we can see you,” is all Taecyeon says before unlocking the door and opening it for him. Woohyun walks through, the door closing behind him, and he looks at Sunggyu’s sleeping form on the bed. He tiptoes over and sits down on the edge of the bed. “You get three hours,” Hoya reminds him and he flips Hoya off in response.

    Leaning down, Woohyun kisses Sunggyu’s slightly parted lips. Sunggyu blinks open his eyes and groggily looks at his surroundings, stretching out his limbs. “Woohyun?” he mutters.

    “Hey, sleeping beauty.”

    Sunggyu still hasn’t completely woken up by this point and he pulls Woohyun down, curling into his body. Woohyun adjusts himself, wrapping his arms around Sunggyu’s body and pressing kisses to every inch of of his exposed skin. Woohyun makes a decision between cuddling with a sleepy Sunggyu or getting his full attention. Woohyun remembers that Hoya is watching and the decision becomes a no-brainer.

    Rolling Sunggyu onto his back, Woohyun leans back slightly, lifting Sunggyu shirt slowly. Sunggyu makes a small noise but he remains mostly asleep so Woohyun decides he’ll have a little bit of fun. Woohyun runs his tongue along Sunggyu’s soft skin, smiling when Sunggyu starts to squirm.
“Woohyun?” Sunggyu sounds like he’s actually awake by this point but Woohyun’s not done yet.

    He moves up and brushes his lips against Sunggyu’s before connecting their mouths. Woohyun runs his rough hands along Sunggyu’s sides, sending shocks through every muscle in his body. “Woohyun,” he manages, breaking away to catch his breath. “You surprised me.”

    “That’s what I was going for,” Woohyun sits up and pulls Sunggyu up with him. “It’s been a long day. Tired?”

    Sunggyu shakes his head and tries to fix the mess of Woohyun’s hair that he’s made. “Hopefully I won’t be in here for too long,” Sunggyu says. “But do you think Sungjae will tell us where it is?”

    “I doubt he will. But at least I get some comfort in knowing you’re safe. Although I’m still not happy about that jerk guarding you.”

    “You’re being childish again.”

    “Are you going to punish me?” Woohyun asks, chin resting on top of his balled fists, elbows leaning on his knees. Sunggyu shakes his head and shoves him away because Woohyun’s being greasy and stupid again.

    “You want that to happen way too much.”

    “Or maybe I should punish you for being too cute  instead-”

    Before Woohyun can push him back down on the bed, Sunggyu dodges and rolls off. He backs away when Woohyun stands, creeping towards him with fingers outstretched. “Accept your punishment, sleeping beauty.”

    “Don’t come near me,” Sunggyu warns, holding up his hand as if that will stop Woohyun. It doesn’t, obviously, and he just continues towards Sunggyu. Sunggyu maneuvers himself around the couch and it’s only when Woohyun pounces and Sunggyu is to slow to dodge that he realizes that was a bad mistake.

    Woohyun presses Sunggyu into the couch and tickles his sides, knowing full well what it does to Sunggyu. As a result, Sunggyu becomes a laughing mess, back arching, body writhing, struggling away from Woohyun but Woohyun is persistent. “S-stop!” Sunggyu yells breathlessly in between laughs and Woohyun just tickles Sunggyu further, stopping only when Sunggyu is a panting mess, heaving breaths loud in the small room. He gazes up at Woohyun through his eyelashes, smiles, and glows. Glows in the soft light of the fixtures above their heads.

    Woohyun ends up collapsing on Sunggyu, shifting so that they both somehow fit on the couch, legs and arms tangled. “The couch is too small for the both of us,” Sunggyu complains and Woohyun just hums in response.

    Burying his face in Sunggyu’s hair, Woohyun lets out a content sigh.

    Sunggyu ends up falling asleep at one point or another and although Woohyun might enjoy their limited time together doing other things, he doesn’t really mind. It’s Sunggyu and all he needs is Sunggyu close to him, the warmth of Sunggyu’s body pressed flush against him, the sound of Sunggyu’s very human heart beating behind his ribcage.

    “We understand that you two are sharing your precious lovey-dovey time together but food is here and Sunggyu needs to stay healthy,” it’s Taecyeon.

    Woohyun nudges Sunggyu awake, untangling their bodies. “It’s time to eat.”

    Sunggyu’s eyes fly open and he looks up at Woohyun as he pulls them to a seated position. “I fell asleep?”

    “Truly a sleeping beauty,” Woohyun chuckles, kissing Sunggyu’s cheek.

    “I-I’m sorry, Hyun. I didn’t mean to fall asleep… it’s just that I was so comfy and warm and-”

    Woohyun kisses him and tells him it’s okay. “Don’t worry about it. I enjoyed holding you while you slept like a little baby-”

    Sungguy slaps a hand over Woohyun’s mouth. “Stop being so greasy,” Sunggyu says. He yelps when he feels Woohyun’s tongue dart out and his palm. Sunggyu retracts his hand and wipes it on Woohyun’s sleeve. He tsks and mutters food before getting up and trotting over to the door.

    The door is unlocked and Hoya steps in carrying bags of food. “We’ve got some groceries for you. Oh, and Woohyun, you have one more hour. Use your time well,” Hoya places the groceries on the counter in the kitchen. “Oh, and Sunggyu, nice abs,” Hoya whispers so low Sunggyu has to strain to hear it. He does, though, and blushes like a high school girl because he completely forgot they could see everything.

    Hoya leaves and Woohyun frowns. “What did he say to you? I should’ve listened!”

    “N-nothing. I’m just going to make some dinner and u-um you can… eat, too, you know.”

    “Are you implying what I think you are?”

    “Well you need to eat, too, right? Is it so outrageous to imply that?”

    Woohyun grins like an idiot as he helps Sunggyu put away the groceries. Sunggyu gets to making himself a small meal and it’s announced that they have twenty minutes left. Sunggyu quickly takes his pot of ramyun off the stove and sets it to the side to cool a bit. Sunggyu timidly turns to face Woohyun, hands already moving to his shirt, pulling it down to reveal the almost translucent skin. He tugs Woohyun towards him and Woohyun his lips. “You know it’s really hard to hold back when you do that,” Woohyun mumbles, placing a kiss over the throbbing vein in his neck.

    “What do you mean?” Sunggyu breathes.

    “You’re so innocent and yet you do such suggestive things. It kills me,” Woohyun presses his tongue to the spot before sinking his teeth into the skin. Sunggyu winces slightly but he relaxes at some point and Woohyun’s fangs send pleasurable shivers down Sunggyu’s spine.

    When Sunggyu’s knees start to wobble, Woohyun pulls away slightly before over the new wounds in Sunggyu’s neck. He pulls Sunggyu close and Sunggyu circles his arms around Woohyun's waist. "I don't want you to go," Sunggyu admits quietly.

"I don't want to go."

"This is cheesy."

"I think we need some wine with this cheese."

Sunggyu smacks him lightly. The door suddenly opens behind them and Hoya steps in. “Alright, visiting hours are over. Time to go,” Hoya says, waiting at the door expectantly.

Sunggyu quickly kisses Woohyun and pushes him slightly, taking a step back. If he does anything more then he won’t be able to say goodbye so he tells Woohyun to go quickly. Woohyun nods and walks to the door, stopping in the frame. “I’ll see you tomorrow. I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Sunggyu whispers and falls back onto the bed as he stares at Woohyun’s retreating form. Sighing, he closes his eyes and starts the countdown.

…

Woohyun’s visit are frequent and yet far too short. He comes, they spend their time together, Sunggyu eats and so does Woohyun, and then he leaves. Sunggyu rests his head against the mirror and groans. “It’s so boring in here,” he complains. Minutes, maybe hours pass, before Sunggyu hears someone speak to him.

“We have Sungjae and he says he won’t speak unless he sees you. Up for a trip to the top?” Hoya asks from the other side of the mirror-window. Sunggyu looks up as the door opens and Hoya steps through. He holds out his hand and Sunggyu takes it, letting Hoya help him to his feet.

“He won’t say anything?”

“He says he’ll tell you and only you. So we’re going to bring you to him to get some answers. But don’t worry - he won’t be able to hurt you.”

Sunggyu nods. He wants to get out of here, to see Woohyun freely, and maybe he can finally be released if Sungjae gives him some answers. Following Hoya, they head up to the tower. The elevator ride is long and Sunggyu finds himself shaking slightly. He jumps when he feels Hoya take his hand, interlacing their fingers. Hoya grips him firmly and reassuringly. “You know, you don’t really have to speak to Sungjae if you’re afraid of him. We can find other ways of getting him to talk.”

Sunggyu shakes his head quickly. “I want to talk to him. He doesn’t scare me, you know. I’m not some fragile piece of glass that you vampires seem to think I am.”

“Humans are fragile. But if you’re confident then I have no reason to worry.”

“I wish Woohyun could do that.”

Hoya laughs and the elevator doors finally open. Hoya leads him up a spiral staircase and chuckles when Sunggyu makes an annoyed comment about walking up stairs and how it’s too much work for him. They come to a door and Hoya unlocks it carefully. “Sungjae is chained and isn’t a very pretty sight but he won’t be able to hurt you at least. Just be cautious anyways.”

Sunggyu nods and steps into the room. Hoya closes the door behind him. He walks forward and looks up, gasping slightly at the sight. Sungjae is chained to the wall, shackles heavy on his body. He wears a blindfold, tugged up so that he can see. Blood stains his skin and his eyes are a bright red. Sungjae smirks victoriously when he looks up to see Sunggyu.

“So they let you come.”

“Tell us where the entrance is,” Sunggyu says, cutting straight to the point. Sungjae leans back and looks at Sunggyu’s figure, taking a long moment to take in his form.

“It was a wrong move, you know. Telling the Council and everything.”

“I didn’t have a part in that.”

“All I wanted was for you to meet me and tell me what I wanted to hear. Just you. I don’t need all these people interfering.”

“I don’t know what you want but I can’t trust you and I would never give you what you want.” Sunggyu walks over to the thin window that’s located just a little closer to Sungjae. He wants to show Sungjae that he’s really not afraid, even though deep inside he might be a little.

“I figured you’d say that.”

“Then why bother?”

“I don’t think you truly get it, Sunggyu,” he pauses before cackling slightly and continuing. “You want answers, right? But you understand I won’t give them to you for free.”

“Name your price.”

“You.”

Sunggyu shakes his head. “And I don’t think you get it. I won’t hand myself over to you.”

Sungjae laughs hysterically and Sunggyu whirls around, furrowing his eyebrows. What is wrong with this guy? Sunggyu grips the edge of the window tightly and feels a cool breeze come in, forcing goosebumps to rise on his forearms. “But you will, you will!” Sungjae continues to laugh and Sunggyu feels uneasy. So uneasy that he drifts to the door and knocks on it. “Let me out,” Sunggyu says firmly. The door swings open in the next second and Sunggyu almost falls into Hoya’s arms.

“I don’t think I’m getting you any answers today,” Sunggyu laughs breathlessly once the door is shut and locked. Hoya shakes his head and smiles, helping Sunggyu steady himself.

“You’ve done enough for today. We’ll try again tomorrow.”

    i know the formatting is messed but im managing with what i can