Word Count: ~3 k

 

Kyungsoo walked slowly down the street, constantly looking over his shoulders as he scanned for things wandering about. There had been a series of attacks around the neighbourhood recently late at night during the new moon. Unfortunately for Kyungsoo, tonight was a night of the new moon moon. Going out at this time of night was a huge mistake and Kyungsoo knew he should have stayed at his friend, Joonmyun’s house like the other had proposed. Joonmyun was worried that Kyungsoo might get attacked as he walked through the neighbourhood but Kyungsoo insisted that he would be fine.

The signature of the attacker was that the victims could not remember the attack. The only damage done to the victims were to bite marks on the neck around the jugular. The victims were discovered with severe, untraceable blood loss, although never a fatal amount.  The victims were all found on park benches, sleeping peacefully with smiles on their faces and hands folded neatly over their chests. That was anything anyone knew about the attacks. No one had ever seen the attacker either as he or she targeted those who walked through the neighbourhood alone. There was no type of target in particular that the attacker chose.

Kyungsoo scampered between puddles of light cast by street lamps. Up ahead, one of the lights flickered and below stood a young lady, probably around the same age as him, university age. She was leaning against the lamppost, shivering in fear and looking at some unknown entity just outside the reach of the light. All of the lights around began to flicker and Kyungsoo’s heart stopped in the tight grasp of fear.

The lights around both Kyungsoo and the girl went out, leaving only the black midnight of a new moon. Suddenly, he heard something rustling in the bushes. There was a sharp gasp of surprise, presumably coming from the young lady, before an uneasy silence fell. Kyungsoo stared at the place where the university student had just been standing and instead, found himself staring into a pair of glowing silver eyes. The last thing he remembered was the eyes glowing violet before he fainted.

 

--

 

--

 

Kyungsoo awoke on a park bench when his phone buzzed in his pocket, hands folded neatly over his chest. He pushed himself to a seated position slowly. The large-eyed boy couldn’t remember anything that had happened the day prior,’ it was all just foggy.  The message was just a simple message from Joonmyun.

 

8:48 am to JM - Good morning

 

Kyungsoo scrolled up through his sent messages and noticed that he had conducted a short conversation last night with the other, one he didn’t remember having had.

 

11:37 pm from JM – Kyungsoo? Did you get home okay? It’s the new moon and the news said that wandering around your neighbourhood tonight would be dangerous with the attacker on the prowl.

 

11:38 pm to JM - Yeah, I’m fine. I got home fine.

 

11:39 pm from JM - Okay. Good. Just checking to see if you were okay.

Good night!

:)

 

Was he with Joonmyun last night? All memories from last night and yesterday afternoon were blank. Kyungsoo scrolled farther up through his messages in hopes of finding slues as to what happened to him. It was difficult for him to think properly as his head felt light.

 

4:52 pm to JM – Are you free tonight? Do you want to come over and watch this movie with me? I know you’ve been dying to see it for the longest time.

 

4:57 pm from JM - Sure. What time?

 

5:00 pm to JM - 7:00 okay?

 

5:00 pm from JM - Works for me! See you then~

 

So he really was with Joonmyun last night. That still didn’t explain how he had ended up on a park bench instead of home in bed. His heart stopped as he finally realised his situation. This was exactly like what had happened to all of the other victims of the attacker. He switched his cellular to camera mode quickly, examining his neck. There were no markings on either side. A sigh escaped his lips and his heart began to beat again. The question still remained as to how he had ended up out in the park and who had finished the conversation with Joonmyun.

 

8:52 am from JM - Good morning. Listen. Can I come over this morning? There’s something I want to talk to you about.

 

8:55 am to JM - Sure. Just come in, the door is unlocked.

 

--

 

He stepped into the house, having forgotten that he was still wearing the attire from the previous night.

“Kyungsoo! What’s wrong? Wait, why are you still wearing that? Weren’t you wearing those same clothes last night?”

“About that. Well, I don’t actually remember what happened last night. I actually can’t remember anything that happened yesterday. Could you tell me?”

“Well, you came over at about 18:50.” He tapped his chin thoughtfully with a slim white finger. “You helped me prepare kimchi spaghetti for dinner and then we watched that movie you wanted to see. You wanted to go home, despite my protests. I think that was around 23:15? I thought that it would be a bad idea but you insisted that it was fine. I texted you to make sure that you made it home safely. I just assumed that you did, elsewise you wouldn’t have responded, right?”

“I don’t know... I woke up in the park this morning. It was really weird because I can’t remember anything from yesterday,” Kyungsoo mumbled. Joonmyun lifted the other’s chin, brow furrowed with worry as he checked Kyungsoo’s neck for bite marks.

“It doesn’t look like you were attacked,” he sighed with relief. “But at the same time, I don’t know why you would have decided to sleep on a park bench...”

“Neither do I...”

“And you don’t remember anything at all from last night?” Joonmyun prompted gently.

Kyungsoo thought on it again, picking at any fragments left in his brain. “It was dark out and I was walking home. The lights began to flicker and there was a girl,” he began slowly. “Everything went dark, and then there were these glowing eyes and...” he trailed off and Joonmyun looked at him with a worried expression. Kyungsoo’s eyes were glassy and unfocussed.

“And?” No response. “Kyungsoo?”

“Huh? What? What were we talking about again?” He snapped back to reality and Joonmyun pulled back a corner of his mouth, looking even more concerned.

“Never mind, it was nothing,” Joonmyun sighed after a substantial pause. He smiled innocently and Kyungsoo dropped the question. Strangely enough, Kyungsoo was feeling extremely fatigued and his head felt light. Perhaps it was from sleeping on a park bench all night. He still couldn’t figure out why he did something like that but every time he tried to remember it, he got dizzy. Kyungsoo yawned widely.

“Are you tired?” Joonmyun inquired, worry written all over his face.

“A little...” he yawned again.

“I’ve got to go to work soon but you can stay here while I’m gone. You don’t have classes today right?” Kyungsoo nodded, rubbing an eye. “I know your apartment is a little far from here, so I think it would be better if you just stayed here for the day.”

“Are you sure it’s alright? I don’t want to be a bother to you.”

“It’s fine,” Joonmyun replied, face relaxing a little. “You can find a set of pyjamas in the closet in my bedroom. We’re roughly the same size so they should fit you.” He smiled benignly.

“Thanks hyung,” Kyungsoo murmured.

“If you need anything, just text me. My phone will be on all day and Tao isn’t the mean slave driver that he tries to make everyone believe he is. If you need anything, he’ll let me come back and help you.”

Kyungsoo nodded before tottering down the hallway to the bedroom.

He vaguely remembered hearing the door close behind Joonmyun and the key turn in the lock. He vaguely remembered changing out of his clothes and into a set of pyjamas he found in the closet, leaving his own clothes in a heap somewhere in a corner of the room. And he vaguely remembered climbing into Joonmyun’s bed before falling asleep.

Nightmares haunted his sleep, nightmares he couldn’t quite remember when he woke up, heart thumping painfully against the inside of his ribcage. Kyungsoo drifted into a fitful doze as he tried to remember the night before. The only thing he could remember was a pair of glowing silver eyes.

 

--

 

--

 

The quiet thump of a door shutting woke Kyungsoo. He glanced at the clock on the bedside table, 17:00. Kyungsoo was disoriented, noting that he was definitely not in his own bed, room, or even pyjamas. The day was all a blur to his still-tired mind. He heard the sound of bags of groceries being set on a granite countertop before Joonmyun popped his head into the room.

“Kyungsoo-ah. Are you feeling any better? You didn’t look very good this morning so I asked you to stay over for the day. It looked like you would have difficulty getting home,” the older replied to the blank stare.

Kyungsoo stretched and heard his back pop in multiple places. “Yeah. I’m feeling much better now,” he lied, plastering a smile on his face.

“That’s a relief. Listen. While you’re here, why don’t you stay for dinner? I’ll pop your clothes in the wash quickly and then start on dinner.” He smiled that angelic smile of his before collecting Kyungsoo’s messily discarding clothing and carrying it to the wash. Kyungsoo walked down the hallway into the kitchen and sat down on a stool at the counter.

 

“How was work today, hyung?”

“It was the same boring stuff as always. Luhan and Jongdae were goofing off and I had to scold them as they raced around the office on their rolling chairs,” he sighed. “It’s not like I’m their mother or something. Besides, they’re adults now.” Despite the exasperation in his voice, there was also a note of fondness rather like that of a mother.

As he cooked, Joonmyun told Kyungsoo about his day and the various shenanigans his co-workers got up to instead of doing actual work on the magazine. Kyungsoo laughed along with him as he complained about his day and the other workers’ exploits, not without slight affection in his voice as he spoke.

Joonmyun continued his stories throughout dinner but at some point halfway through the meal, Kyungsoo’s mind wandered back to his dreams and the fragments of his memories from the night prior and to the eyes that seemed to pierce his soul.

“...Soo? Kyungsoo? Are you okay?” Kyungsoo looked up to find a very concerned Joonmyun looking into his eyes.

“Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?” He smiled weakly and based on Joonmyun’s reaction, it probably resembled a grimace more than anything else.

“It’s just that you’ve been tired and spacey all day. That, and I’ve been calling your name for the past minute and you haven’t responded. Is there something on your mind? Are you sick?” He pressed his forehead to Kyungsoo’s to check for fever but found none.

“No. It’s nothing, really. Thanks for letting me stay here all day and giving me dinner and everything, but I think I should probably go home. I don’t want to be a bother or anything.”

“You’re not a bother to me,” Joonmyun protested. “But if you want to leave, I won’t stop you. It’s still light outside, so you should be safe, but don’t go out late tonight. It’s going to be overcast, which means no moonlight and that the attacker could still be on the prowl.”

“Okay hyung. I promise.”

 

--

 

He got changed quickly and left his friend’s house. The sun was nearing the horizon quickly and twilight would soon begin. “Goodbye hyung! Thanks for everything today,” he threw over his shoulder as he closed the door with a soft click.

“Anytime.” There was a note of anxiety in Joonmyun’s voice but Kyungsoo disregarded it.

He reached his flat at 20:00 and the last light of dusk was fading as twilight transitioned into nighttime. The house was immaculate and organised, just as he had left it. He didn’t know why he was expecting elsewise. The boy shut the door quietly after himself and turned the lock with a click before shuffling into the kitchen. He couldn’t remember the events that had transpired the night before and that fact was still weighing heavily on his mind. He decided that the best way to distract himself was to bake something. That usually cured any anxieties he had, or at least took his mind off of it for a while.

 

He knew many of the recipes in the cookbook so well that he could probably execute most of them in his sleep. It was nice to have something so simple to concentrate on, although tonight he thought it would be better to actually pull the cookbook out and try something new. He quickly leafed through the worn pages covered in little notes and scribbles and found a recipe for something called biscotti. It looked good enough and the shape looked fun so he decided to try it. Kyungsoo pulled his “Kiss the cook” apron over his head, rolled up his sleeves, and got to work.

 

It was 23:32 when he finally finished, both baking them and drizzling dark chocolat syrup over them. He took one and munched on it a little. They weren’t his best so he took a pencil and noted what they needed, scribbling little changes to the recipe in the margins that might make the biscotti better for next time before pulling his apron off and throwing it over a chair at the counter.

He looked at the clock and realised that it was nearing midnight. If he went out now, he could meet the person he met in the park the night before, the person he could remember almost nothing about. The only thing he remembered was that mysterious pair of eyes.

“Sorry hyung,” he whispered to himself as he pulled a jacket on at the door and quickly rushed out, forgetting to lock the door behind him in his hurry.

 

--

 

He wandered about the park until he found the bench he had spent the night on. Kyungsoo didn’t know if it really was the same bench, but for some reason it just felt right. He stood in the pool of light cast by a lamppost, searching the dark just outside the light’s reach for that mysterious thing . Above, the sky was dark, moon obstructed by clouds. The light began to flicker and he instantly felt a déjà vu. The light snapped off and he was surrounded by darkness.

“Why are you here,” a husky voice questioned from a location Kyungsoo couldn’t locate in the pitch black.

“I was just walking home,” the university student lied, heartbeat loud in his ears and strong in his throat. He wondered whether the stranger could hear his heartbeat and whether the accelerated pace was from fear or excitement.

“That is a blatant lie,” the voice replied. “Let me repeat myself. Why are you here?”

“I-I don’t know...” Kyungsoo stuttered. He blinked for just a moment and was suddenly face-to-face with the same eyes from the night before, the same intense silver eyes that brought back fragments of the memories he had lost.

“Who are you?” The eyes turned from surreal silver to piercing violet and Kyungsoo found himself unable to hide truth from his response.

“Do Kyungsoo,” he blurted. With another blink, the pair of eyes were gone again.

“Why are you looking for me?” A cold breath flowed over the side of his neck and Kyungsoo clamped a hand over it. When he turned to look at the source of the breath and voice, the eyes were gone again.

“I want to know what happened last night,” he replied slowly, against his will. “I want to know who, what you are.”

“Where do you live?”

“407 b in the apartment complex just north of this park.” Kyungsoo clamped a hand over his mouth. “Why do you want to know,” he mumbled through his fingers.

“I’ll be taking you home tonight. A pretty thing like you deserves to sleep in his bed, not on a park bench,” the voice purred. Kyungsoo felt a cold hand caress his face, wending a shiver up his spine.

“What are you?”

“I’m just something that comes and goes with the moon,” the voice whispered.

The clouds overhead passed, revealing a sliver of mood, providing just enough light to illuminate the boy before him. Although he looked to be just a boy, aged about nineteen years, his eyes looked to be much older. The sharp jaw line was the most beautiful feature but the fangs protruding past large lips were the most striking. Kyungsoo’s heart stopped.

“My name is Kim Jongin. I am a vampire, but you need not remember that. You need not remember anything about me... Just forget you ever saw me. Goodnight, Do Kyungsoo.” The silver eyes came before Kyungsoo’s face once again and turned that intense shade of violet.

Kyungsoo suddenly felt tired and weak. No matter how much he willed himself to stay awake and fought for consciousness, some other force was compelling him to sleep and overpowering him with ease. His eyelids grew heavier and soon his vision went dark. He felt himself falling as his legs were unable to support his weight. He fell against something cold; cold, yet soft and delicate. The feel of a cold embrace was the last thing that he remembered and then forgot from the night. He could only remember one thing from that night, a name whispered by a husky voice.

In his sleep, Kyungsoo mumbled the name of the stranger who carried him back to his house. “Kim Jongin.” That was the one detail his mind managed to retain as the rest of his memories faded to blackness.

 

A/N: Welcome back to Lonely Beauty or welcome to Lonely Beauty for the first time! This chapter is similar to the first part of the original LB with subtle grammatical and content changes.  I've changed styles a little since I first published the old version of this story but I hope you like it all the same. The chapters in this version are longer and have more themed titles. I hope you enjoyed this and enjoy the rest of the story. Drop a comment, upvote, subscribe, whatever floats your boat~ Regards, J