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Felix softly hummed along to a bright tune that was playing on the café’s stereo while wiping down the counter. The outside world had become a hot, humid gray, the clouds hanging low with the promise of rain, but the inside of the café was cool and bright. Fairy lights and an array of plants provided an extra level of coziness against the brooding, foreboding sky outside.“Hey Felix!”The young man looked up when he heard his name. The café’s owner, Minho, peeked out from the ‘staff only’ door, glasses perched on his nose and light brown hair looking like he had run his hands through it at least a hundred times while going over papers in the back.“Yes?”“Did you remember to bring an umbrella?”“Nope.” Felix turned back to the huge windows, leaning over the counter a little to be able to see the darkening outside world better. “The weather forecast this morning said that I should be able to make it home dry.”Minho clicked his tongue. “It’s September, you don’t go outside without an umbrella.”Felix turned towards his boss again, pouting at him. As weird as it had been at first that they were almost the same age, it had also made them become closer than Felix had ever dared to hope. “It’s not far to the subway station, you don’t have to worry about me.”Minho held Felix’s gaze for a few seconds before he looked towards the window. “If it gets too bad later, I can drive you.”Felix wanted to protest, but he noticed the café’s door opening from the corners of his eyes, prompting him to look ahead and smile brightly towards the new customer. “Welcome!” he greeted the young woman who had entered.Once he had her order done and she was on her way again, Felix glanced at the clock. The café would close in about thirty minutes, leaving him with barely anything left to do. Bored, he took up some disinfectant spray and a cloth, wiping down the tables on his floor. There was also an upper floor, but of course he couldn’t leave the counter unattended. And there’d be cleaning staff coming in soon anyway, so it wasn’t like he really still had to go around to clean the tables…Felix had just returned to standing behind the counter, wiping over the clean surface to have anything to do at all, when the rain started. He tossed the cloth to the sink, leaning back as he watched the huge drops hit the glass, slowly at first, then faster and stronger.A lone figure, hiding underneath an umbrella, rushed past the windows and opened the door, shaking the rain off before entering fully. Felix straightened, a cheerful ‘Welcome’ automatically leaving his lips before the person turned around with a scowl. “I hate September.” The man’s eyes landed on Felix, expression immediately softening. “Hey Felix.”“Hey Seungmin.”Seungmin was one of the cleaning staff and they met almost every time that Felix worked the late shift.“You want a coffee? Hot chocolate?”“Coffee, please.”Felix hummed and got started on a simple iced americano. He briefly looked up when the door behind the counter opened, revealing Minho with slightly more tamed hair than earlier. “I told you it would rain. Hey Seungmin.”“Hey hyung.”Felix shook his head a little, sliding the cup of coffee over the counter. “It’ll be fine. It’s only my way home and I don’t live all that far,” he replied while Seungmin grabbed his coffee with a quiet ‘thanks’ before he disappeared into the staff only area.“Still, I wouldn’t want my best employee to get sick, right?”Felix shook his head in amusement, once again leaning against the counter, this time with Minho by his side as they watched the outside world together. “Really, hyung, I’ll be fine.”“I’d still feel better if you let me drive you home tonight. And maybe bring an umbrella tomorrow.”Felix gave a noncommittal hum as he watched the outside slowly disappear under the flood-like torrents that were coming down. The longer he watched, the more did the realization dawn upon him that he probably should accept Minho’s offer to drive him home because, no matter what he’d do, he’d probably get completely soaked even on the short way to the subway station.“Hyung, about your offer…” He trailed off, still watching the rain, even when Minho chuckled softly and patted his shoulder.“Just let me count the money first and get everything settled, it shouldn’t take too long.”Felix hummed. He only glanced away from the outside when Seungmin came out of the staff only area, dressed in his uniform and with his coffee in hand. “Still got any customers here?”“Yeah, I think there’s a couple on the first floor.”Seungmin nodded and put his cup aside, taking the bottle of disinfectant spray and the cloth that Felix had used earlier.“I already wiped down all the tables on this floor,” Felix informed the other who flashed him a brief smile before disappearing up the stairs, leaving Felix and Minho to their own devices once again.They watched the outside silently, only speaking up to bid the last customers goodbye when they came downstairs. Felix accepted their tray and started on the dishes. Shortly after, Minho pushed himself off the counter and left, probably first turning their sign at the door to announce that they were closed before Felix heard him at the cash register.Once Felix was done up front and Seungmin had come back downstairs to continue his cleaning duties there, he went into the back area. He changed out of his work attire and briefly texted his roommate, Chan, that he’d be home a little late before he made his way to Minho’s office, flopping down on a chair across from the other. He watched Minho work for a few minutes before he grew bored of that and turned to his phone instead, going through his social media while he waited.“Felix?” Minho spoke up suddenly and the young man immediately looked over, finding Minho frowning at some paper in front of him. “Could you get me a coffee? I’m almost done here, I promise.”“Sure,” Felix replied and got up from the chair. The door to the storage room was open and Felix could hear Seungmin rummaging there as he passed it before stepping out into the front area. The lights had been dimmed, making the dark outside world a little clearer even though the sun had already set.Felix only glanced at the window, not letting the rain dim his mood. Hey, he got a free ride home!He picked two to-go cups, making a coffee for Minho and getting started on a hot chocolate for himself when the noise of the rain suddenly got louder. “Sorry, we’re closed,” he called over his shoulder, keeping his eyes trained on the milk that was heating up for his chocolate.“No, you’re not,” a male voice responded, prompting Felix to frown lightly.He turned around in bewilderment, finding himself face to face with two very handsome young men, each holding an umbrella in their hands. One of them had his head lightly tilted and an eyebrow raised while the other looked at him with big eyes. Felix squinted a little, wondering which part of the ‘closed’ sign—or the sticker listing their opening hours right on the door—they hadn’t noticed. “Yes, we are. We’re only open until 8.”“No, you’re not,” the taller one replied, looking at Felix as if he had just sputtered utter nonsense.“Wait, are you still from the day shift?” the other one asked.The what now? Felix thought, but before he could reply, the staff door opened, revealing first Minho, then Seungmin who had both hands full with supplies to stock up. Both men seemed to freeze up at the scene in front of them and Felix hurried to say, “I’m sorry, hyung, I already explained that we’re closed, but they—”“It’s okay,” Minho interrupted him. He and Seungmin started moving at the same time and Felix merely watched in confusion as Minho nodded towards him. “Are you ready?”“Almost?” Felix eyed the two men on the other side of the counter warily, slowly moving to mix the milk with the cocoa powder. The taller man seemed to be just as confused, his head a little tilted and eyes never leaving Felix while the other one seemed to have an understanding of the situation.Seungmin dropped the supplies on the counter and flashed Felix a smile. “Don’t worry, I’ll take it from here,” he said before turning towards the two men. “What can I get for you? The usual?”“Yes, please,” both men replied, though the taller one still wasn’t looking away from Felix.That… didn’t make sense. None of that.“Felix?”Felix blinked when Minho called his name and he finally tore his eyes away towards the other who was waiting at the side of the counter, looking at him pointedly. Ah, right! He should get ready. Felix hurried to finish his hot chocolate, cleaning whatever mess he had made, then he grabbed both to-go cups, flashing the two men another wary glance as he passed them. He handed the coffee to Minho, receiving his bag in return, then they stepped out from behind the counter.“Hyung…” Felix looked over his shoulder once more, frowning as the two men were joking with Seungmin. Were they also cleaning staff and just started work later than Seungmin? But then why hadn’t they said so when they had entered?“Don’t worry about it,” Minho replied dismissively, briefly stopping when they reached the door. “I’ll be back in twenty,” he called out to the other three men who gave a variety of affirmative responses, then Minho stepped out first, opening his umbrella. Felix squeezed under it and they quickly made their way to Minho’s car.The ride back was quiet and Felix couldn’t help but think about the strange encounter. The two men had to have been part of the cleaning staff, there was no other logical explanation. And yet… Seungmin had treated them like normal customers. Seungmin had behaved like a normal barista, not someone who had only come to the café to clean it! Felix had closed the café together with Minho, just like he had done so many times in the past. This all just… didn’t make sense.He glanced over to his side, but Minho was merely focused on driving, a truly arduous task with how heavy the rain was pouring down. Almost as if someone had opened flood gates in the sky, attempting to drown everything that was below…“Felix?”The young man jumped when Minho suddenly spoke up. “Yes?”“Don’t think too much about what happened today, okay?” Minho’s voice was calm, soothing, so… normal. The car came to a stand and when Felix glanced outside, he realized that they had arrived at the apartment complex where he and Chan lived.He glanced back at Minho, but the other’s eyes didn’t reveal anything. “Yeah, of course.”Minho nodded and looked ahead again, so Felix gathered his bag and his hot chocolate, trying to also gather the courage to step outside. “Thank you for driving me home.”“No problem.”Felix took a deep breath, steeling himself mentally, then he pushed the door open, rushing outside. He closed the door and ran the few steps to the building’s entrance, using his bag as somewhat of a shield, yet when he arrived, he was still soaked. He turned around briefly to wave towards his boss, then he hurried inside.The scent of food immediately welcomed Felix when he stepped into the apartment that he shared with his best friend Chan. “I’m back,” he announced while taking off his shoes.“Welcome back,” Chan replied from roughly the direction of the living room or open kitchen.Felix looked at his bag, then decided to simply leave it at the entrance area. A brief look inside confirmed that the outer layer had held back the rain well enough, making him sigh softly in relief. He grabbed an umbrella and rested it against his bag, figuring he’d remember to take the umbrella along the next day like that, then he took a quick shower.When he was dressed again, Felix made his way into the kitchen, his stomach growling as if on demand. His roommate laughed from the living room area. “Nice to see you, too.”Felix groaned. He picked up the full plate from the counter and put it into the microwave, momentarily tempted to just eat his food cold, but habit prompted him to heat it up anyway. “Thanks for the food.”“No problem.” Felix looked over to where Chan was typing something, frowning at his laptop screen for a few seconds, then he nodded and got up. “Done for today?”“Not quite, but at least done with that section, I think,” Chan replied as he came over, affectionately ruffling Felix’s wet hair. “How was work?”“Boring. It was fine until, like, six, and then everyone seemed to decide to go home at once.” Felix scrunched his face in displeasure. “Luckily, Minho-hyung kept me company.”“Good, good. I wouldn’t have known how to explain that I was looking for a new roommate because the old one died of boredom at work.”Felix stuck his tongue out at the other and turned around to take his food out of the microwave. They sat down at the dining table and Felix shoved the first chopstick load of food into his mouth, humming appreciatively at the taste.“Good?”Felix nodded, then made a quiet noise, quickly swallowing his food. “Something weird happened when we left, though. There were these two guys coming in and they totally behaved like customers? I told them we’re closed but they just said that we weren’t? That’s not the kinda answer that someone who’s not a customer would give.” Felix frowned, replaying the situation in his mind, but the more he thought about it, the less sense it made. “And then one of them asked me if I was from the ‘day shift’? Which, like, yes? We’re not open 24/7? And then Seungmin, you know, one of the cleaning guys, just took over as if that was the most normal thing to do?”“Really?”Felix nodded, shoving more food into his mouth. “And then Minho-hyung just said that I shouldn’t think about it too much? Like, what kind of explanation is that? How am I supposed to not think about it now?”Chan chuckled softly at that. “He should really know you better than that.”“I think that’s more of a human thing than a me thing,” Felix replied, pouting lightly. “Anyway, since it doesn’t seem like I’ll get any answers for that, I did make sure to put an umbrella with my stuff so I won’t drown tomorrow and can actually come home on my own without needing hyung to drive me.” He gave a determined nod as he finished recounting his day. “What about you? Did you manage to do everything you had planned for today?”“Kind of,” Chan said. “I finished the section that I had really wanted to get done today. Classes were boring, though.”Felix sighed. “Screw mandatory attendance.”“I’d tell you not to swear… but yes.”Felix flashed his best friend a triumphant smile, finishing his food. “So… do I get a nice movie and cuddles tonight?” Chan’s eyes immediately strayed from Felix’s, making the younger pout. “Please? You and I both finished what we had to do, so that’ll be a nice way to end the day, right?”“Let me go over the section first?”Felix nodded, jumping to his feet to clean up after himself. While Chan went over his project, Felix busied himself with finding a movie that he wanted to watch and that he was certain his best friend wouldn’t oppose. The moment that Chan closed his laptop, Felix cuddled close to him, letting out a quiet, content sigh.
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Felix almost ran out of the staff only door, just barely reminding himself not to rush too much so he wouldn’t cause any accidents. He grabbed the coffee that stood at the end of the counter, waving towards his colleagues with his free hand. “Thank you, bye!” he called over his shoulder, hearing the other two bid him goodbye as well while he hurried outside, finally starting to run.He arrived at the subway just as the doors closed, barely suppressing a curse. There went his last chance of getting to class in time…Finally allowing himself a small break, Felix leaned against the closest pillar, catching his breath. The day so far had been… Well, shit. From a nearly ridiculous amount of annoyed customers to their system crashing to him spilling coffee beans all over the floor when he had only attempted to fill up the machine to his coworker arriving late to Felix now staring at the closed subway doors, waiting for the next train which would come in… He glanced at the screen showing how close the next subway was, groaning. It would probably take five minutes. His professor would be anything but amused…Succumbing to his bad luck, Felix propped open the small drinking hole of the lit and took a tentative first sip, grateful that at least his coffee tasted good.He used the spare time to briefly double-check that his umbrella was safely tucked away in his bag, relieved to indeed find it present. One more good thing. Maybe it was the end of the monsoon season, but he knew that both Minho and Chan would never let him hear the end of it if he forgot his umbrella again. They already made sure to ask him at least once a day…By the time that the subway finally arrived, Felix had already drunk half of his coffee. His professor did glare at him when he entered the classroom and Felix knew that the TA would mark him as late, but at least he had still made it in time to not be counted as absent, so that was something.When he had a break after his first two classes of the day, Felix made his way to the nearest convenience store, starving. He had only managed to eat something small during his break at work and it would be another four hours until he’d get home to probably order takeout because he knew Chan would be back even later that day, meaning: no food prepared.With cup noodles and some cookies, Felix made his way to the cash register, smiling brightly at the employee who barely even looked at him while scanning the items. Felix hurried to open his bag to take out his wallet. Except… There was his charger. His laptop. His umbrella. His water bottle.No. No, no, no, no, no!Dread washed through him as he went through the bag again, but to no avail. Charger, laptop, umbrella, water bottle. That was it.“Sorry, I must have forgotten my wallet,” he said with a forced laugh, hoping it would come off as embarrassed as he lightly bowed towards the store’s employee before turning away. But once he was outside, he didn’t know what to do with himself. His stomach felt like it was seconds away from growling, but he didn’t have enough time to go home and search for his wallet and make it back for his next class. Then again…He glanced at his phone. If he hurried, he’d have about half an hour at home, which should be enough time to grab a snack and look for his wallet.Felix sighed, mentally cursing the entire day as he started walking fast. At least he always kept his traffic card in his phone case!One hour later, Felix was nearly in tears on the way back to university. He had found a small snack to eat, but their fridge and pantry had proven spectacularly empty. On top of that, he still didn’t have his wallet, leaving only one other place where it could be: the café. And his classes ended so late that he wouldn’t be able to make it before they closed. Maybe he’d still be early enough for the cleaning staff to be around, though?Felix did his best to focus on his class, but it was a rather arduous task with his wallet gone and his stomach nearly empty.It was almost 9PM when he finally exited the subway, his stomach dropping even more when he realized that he did not even have enough money on his traffic card to be able to make his way back—unless his wallet was at the café. If it wasn’t… What if someone had stolen it? He had never left his bag unattended, but what if? Or what if it simply wasn’t at the café and he just hadn’t seen it at the apartment earlier? What if the café was already closed? Could he still call Minho? No, he shouldn’t do that, it was so late…Felix pulled up Naver maps and his legs nearly gave out when he realized that it would take him nearly an hour if he had to walk back home. Tears of frustration and tiredness pricked at his eyes, but he blinked them away. No, he’d just manifest that the café was still open and that the cleaning staff would allow him inside to briefly check if his wallet was there, and then he was going to find his wallet in the staff area. There was no other option.The thread that he was clinging to nearly snapped the moment the café came into sight. The windows were dark. The cleaning staff was obviously already done.Felix came to a stand in front of the café’s door, lost. He’d have to walk back. For an hour. Still without food. Still without his wallet. And without even knowing whether his wallet was at the café or not. Maybe he could shoot Minho a text message to ask him to check the next day. And once he got home, he could surely ask Chan to borrow some cash for his traffic card so he at least wouldn’t be just as helpless the next day…Defeated, Felix stepped forward and gave the door with the mocking ‘closed’ sign the slightest push, just so he could say that he had tried everything.Light spilled onto the pavement and the noise of chatter and the clatter of dishes overrode the silence of the night for a brief moment before the door fell close again.Felix stared at it. Blinked. Was he so hungry that he was starting to hallucinate? Was this all just a nightmare? Had he fallen asleep during class?He stared right through the glass door, right at the empty tables and chairs, the counter that he could barely make out on the opposite side of the wall. He squinted at the dark room, then looked towards his sides. The windows gave him the same image: darkness, empty chairs, empty tables.Felix took a step closer to the door and pushed at it again, unable to believe that it opened seamlessly. And that it was almost like the image of the dark café had been drawn onto the door, only to reveal dimmed lights, nearly all the tables full with guests, three young men bustling behind the counter.Felix could only stare, unable to believe what he saw. This… wasn’t possible. At all. He had to have fallen asleep in class.“Man, come in or get lost! You’re letting in all the heat!” someone called from one of the tables near the door, finally pulling Felix out of his stupor.“Sorry,” he replied immediately and hurried to step inside, letting the door fall close behind him. Even if this should be a dream, he might as well check if his wallet was there. Maybe if he found his wallet, he’d be able to wake up and listen to his class again, then go home…He looked toward the counter again, finding two of the baristas going about their work as usual while the third one stared at him as if he had seen the devil himself walk in. Wasn’t his name Jeongin? Felix remembered having met him a few times and he was also certain that Jeongin should have been one of the cleaning staff members. Just like Seungmin.That thought hit him like a truck.Something was wrong. Something was most definitely wrong with this café!He gulped and made his way towards the counter. Just a moment later, Jeongin also moved, meeting him halfway. “What the hell are you doing here?” he hissed, all the way up in Felix’s space. One of Jeongin’s hands grabbed his arm so tightly that it almost hurt, lightly pushing him back.“Hi to you, too?” Felix opted, trying to pull his arm free and stand his ground, but Jeongin was surprisingly strong, pushing a little more.“Get out of here right now.”“I work here.” Felix frowned, stumbling a little, trying to make sense of the other’s behavior. “And I think I forgot my wallet here. Can I at least check if it’s in the back?”“You shouldn’t be here.”“Jeongin-sshi, I—”“You don’t understand, you need to get the hell out of here.”“Jeongin?”Said man froze in place and Felix used the opportunity to peek behind him, smiling in relief when he found Minho in the doorway to the staff room. The smile faded the instant their eyes met and Minho seemed to freeze as well, shock washing over his face before he could hide it behind a professional mask, moving.“Felix, what are you doing here?” he asked when he was close to them, his voice almost void of emotion, and something inside Felix froze over. Minho was always kind to him, always gentle. He could be strict, of course, but… it was never like this.“I just…”“Said he forgot his wallet,” Jeongin replied, voice clipped.“You should have texted me,” Minho said with a frown and Felix lightly shook his head, trying to gather his thoughts.“It was late, I didn’t want to bother you, hyung.”“So you just…” Minho made a brief gesture at him as if that was all that needed to be said, then he seemed to change his course. “Whatever. If that ever happens again, text me. Now come on.” He grabbed Felix’s wrist and pulled him along, out of Jeongin’s grip, and behind the counter. Felix could only follow, unable to comprehend what was happening, unable to make sense of anything at all.Minho briefly left him alone once they had arrived at the break room where they could also leave their belongings. Felix quickly went in and didn’t even have to search because his wallet was right there, on the table, just waiting for him. He almost cried in relief that it wasn’t actually lost, double-checked to make sure that it wasn’t just an identical wallet that belonged to another staff member. When he could be certain that it really was his wallet, Felix put it into his bag before shooting Chan a quick cheerful text—the other had had to endure his whining all day, after all.When he turned around, ready to leave, Minho was standing in the door. “You got everything?”“Yeah.”“Alright, then I’ll take you home.”“What?” Felix blinked, even more confused than before. “No, hyung, you don’t have to. The weather is clear, I’ll just take the subway.”Minho shook his head, gentle but determined. “I’ll take you, no arguing. You probably have lots of questions anyway, don’t you?”Felix opened his mouth to protest, but then closed it again. Of course he had a lot of questions. Of course he was confused. But…But what? Minho was right there, offering him answers. How much of a fool would he be to decline?“Thank you, hyung.”Minho only nodded and pushed himself off the doorframe. Felix followed right after him, exiting the staff only area where Minho briefly called out a ‘see you later’ at the three working baristas. The two whom Felix didn’t know either hid their confusion or were all caught up by that point while Jeongin… Felix couldn’t read his expression well, but he seemed conflicted about the entire situation.Before Felix could dwell on that, Minho had once again grabbed his wrist and pulled him along, only to stop at one of the tables right by the counter. The two men who were sitting there seemed to have already watched them before they arrived and Felix’s eyes widened when he recognized them to be the same ones who had come into the café after closing hours the other day.“I need the keys,” Minho said, holding his hand out at of the two men. The one that had a somewhat cute, round face, as Felix realized, especially with how he was puffing out his cheeks in that moment.“Are you just ditching me like that? You haven’t even introduced me to Felix.”“Us,” the other man corrected and Felix glanced over at him. He had shoulder-length, black hair and the kind of face that would make any model jealous. His eyes were piercing right into Felix’s and he nearly forgot why he was standing at their table in the first place.“I’ll be back in, like, half an hour. One hour max. Give me the keys.” Minho’s voice had dropped a bit, bordering on dangerous, and Felix quickly looked at his boss again. His eyes had narrowed on the man with the round face, allowing no objection.The other man merely clicked his tongue. “Jagiya,” he chided softly and Felix nearly felt dizzy from whatever was happening. He looked back at the man who had just spoken, finding him fairly unimpressed by Minho’s glare. Instead, he seemed absolutely delighted to find Felix looking at him again. “Now, since that one won’t do this, allow me: Hi Felix, I’m Jisung, Minho’s boyfriend. And that one here is Hyunjin. We’re… roommates, I guess, with Jeongin.”Felix nodded lightly at the information and his mind was spinning as all the possible meanings of ‘roommates’ crossed it simultaneously, colliding and forming a mess. And how did this man—Jisung—even know his name?Hyunjin scoffed lightly. “Don’t say it that weird. The three of us live together, that’s all. We’re basically family,” he clarified, making the arrangement sound a lot less sexual.“Great, now that you did your introductions, can I have the keys?” Minho motioned for Jisung to hand over said item. The latter seemed to give up, moving a little to retrieve the keys from the pockets of his pants.“You’re gonna tell him, aren’t you?”“It’s not like I have much of a choice at this point.”Jisung nodded, gently placing car keys into Minho’s outstretched hand before turning back to Felix with a bright smile. “I’ll see you around, Felix!” he said brightly while Hyunjin merely waved at him with a smile. Felix could merely wave back as Minho pulled him towards the café’s door, seeming to ignore everything else along their way.It was only once they arrived at an expensive looking silver car that Minho let go of Felix’s wrist. They got into the car and Minho locked the doors but made no move to start the engine. Felix squirmed when the silence dragged on and he started playing with the straps of his bag, glancing over towards Minho every so often. Minho had one hand tightly closed around the car key while the other held the door’s grip as if he was ready to run.Questions were burning on the tip of Felix’s tongue, but it was obvious that Minho wasn’t ready to speak yet. But when he was, where should Felix even start? With the whole ‘day shift’ thing? With the café obviously being open long past opening hours? With the fact that it looked entirely deserted from the outside but once he had opened the door, it was as lively as ever? With Jeongin attempting to throw him out? With Jeongin and Seungmin obviously not being cleaning staff but baristas as well?Finally, Minho took a deep breath and looked over, his eyes softening a little. “You must have a lot of questions.”Felix nodded quickly, but he grew hesitant a moment later. “Can I ask?”“Go ahead.”“Hyung, am I going crazy?” The words had spilled past Felix’s lips before he could hold them back, but Minho’s lips twitched up into the hint of a smile.“Feels pretty crazy, doesn’t it?”Felix nodded enthusiastically and when Minho’s smile deepened a little, he leaned back, watching as Minho unclenched his hands and finally got the engine started. “But really… what’s going on? Our opening times say that we’re open until eight, but… that’s not really the case, is it? And why did the café look dark and empty, but then… it wasn’t?”Minho glanced over at him before training his eyes on the road again. “This is about to get even crazier. Do you think you can handle this?”“Yes.” What other option did he really have? If he didn’t get his questions answered, he’d probably go crazy, so hearing stuff that seemed crazy was the better option, wasn’t it?“It’s true that the café is only open to humans until eight. It is after closing hours that we’re open for… non-humans,” Minho started slowly and Felix merely blinked.“Like…?”“What do you think? What creatures could pass as human but aren’t?”“Vampires?” Well, depended on what lore Felix would base his information on, but if the café was only open at night for these ‘non-human’ creatures, then vampires were a safe bet, right? Not that vampires existed in reality… “Umm… werewolves?”Minho nodded without looking away from the road. “Vampires, werewolves, sirens… You name it, basically.”Felix stared at his boss, waiting for the other’s façade to crack, for him to yell ‘gotcha’ or just laugh in his face. Except… Minho’s expression remained solemn.“You’re kidding me, right?”“I wish. Believe me, I wish I was kidding.” There was a wistful edge to Minho’s voice that sounded too real for him to be joking.“But they’re not real. They’re all just fantasy creatures.” Everyone knew that. Vampires were just as real as Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny, meaning, they weren’t real at all.“Then how do you explain that the café looked empty but very much wasn’t once you opened the door?” Minho glanced over at Felix and… Felix didn’t know how to argue against that. Because that really didn’t make sense.“Am I hallucinating? Am I still dreaming? Maybe I fell asleep during class and still haven’t woken up… My prof is going to be pretty pissed at me…” Yes, that was logical.“Do you usually ponder whether you’re dreaming or not when you’re actually dreaming?” Minho shot back and Felix opened his mouth only to close it again.“But… then I’m hallucinating? I’m really going crazy?”Minho shook his head lightly and as much as Felix should probably be comforted by that, the alternative of him hallucinating sounded far less realistic. “You’re not. Magic is very much real. The dark appearance is no more than an illusion that I put up, specifically to keep humans away from the café. And usually, it works pretty well.” He glanced at Felix once more, prompting Felix to look away. Because… that was the kind of plot from fantasy novels. That wasn’t reality.“Then… assuming this is the truth… if you can make illusions like that, why won’t you make me forget? Why are you telling me all of this?” The more he thought about it, the less sense it all made.“Believe me, if I could, I would. But… my magic works through plants.”“Is that why there are so many plants around the café?” Felix looked up, not having meant to interrupt Minho, but the words were out before he could hold them back.Minho glanced at him once more briefly before he nodded. “That’s part of the reason, yes. It’s just that some of them… are a little more difficult to obtain. Believe me, I’ve been doing research on this more in-depth again since you first met Jisung and Hyunjin. And since I can’t make you forget but also don’t really want you to just run around telling everyone what you’ve seen, I figured that talking to you would be my best alternative.”Felix stared outside, unseeing, trying to wrap his head around what he had just been told. Nothing made sense. Nothing at all. But it still sounded a little nicer than him just going completely crazy and hallucinating and whatnot.“Felix?” Said man looked over when Minho spoke up softly. “I know this is a lot to take in right now… But if you have any questions, please know that you can always turn to me, okay? And… please don’t tell anyone about this. What I’ve told you tonight is… well… let’s call it ‘exclusive’ knowledge.”“Don’t worry, hyung. I mean, who would believe me anyway,” Felix tried to joke, but Minho merely glanced at him in a warning, making Felix cower a little. “I really won’t tell anyone. I promise.”“Thank you.”Felix frowned, shaking his head lightly. “No, thank you for trusting me with this. This probably isn’t easy for you.”Minho let out a humorless laugh. “I might be breaking a law, I’m not entirely sure about that, but I am definitely breaking a taboo, to be honest.”“A law?” Felix’s eyes went wide, but Minho only nodded.“You really think the government doesn’t know? The government knows very well that we exist. They even provide for us to a certain extent, or at least help shield us. Usually only so that we won’t pose any harm to humans, but… Well, doesn’t change the fact that they do know about us.”Felix’s jaw hit the floor and he only realized that he was staring when Minho turned to him and shrugged.“It’s not the 1870s or whatever anymore, you know? We can’t hide so easily nowadays, so sometimes it’s good to have the government’s protection. Or at least their awareness.”Felix nodded lightly. He could kind of see how with social media and all that it was probably good to have to the government aware of non-human creatures. Probably also to make sure that there’d be special laws that would need to be followed.“Got anything else you’d like to know right now?” Minho asked, but Felix shook his head, mind still reeling from all the information that had just been dumped on him. “Then I guess I’ll see you on Saturday?”“Huh?” For the first time, Felix really looked out of the window and realized with a blush that they had arrived in front of the apartment building where he and Chan lived. “Oh, yeah… Thank you for taking me home.” He turned towards Minho again, flashing him a quick smile, before he grabbed his bag and left the car.He went into the building on autopilot, mind busy replaying what had happened since he had arrived at the café that night. Minho had said that the café was only open towards non-humans at night… so did that mean that all the customers he had seen were… well, not human? What about Jeongin? And Seungmin? And if Minho could control magic, did that make him… a wizard?Was he really willing to believe any of that? Aside from that weird discrepancy between what he had seen outside the café and what had happened inside the café, there was no proof for any of Minho’s words to be true.But…Felix blinked when something was in the way to his room. No, not something. Someone. He blinked again, not even having realized that he had made it all the way back to the apartment. “Hi, hyung.” He smiled at Chan once he recognized the other, only receiving a raised eyebrow in return.“You good?”“Yeah, sorry. Was just a long day today.”“You got your wallet?”Felix nodded, his smile deepening a little. “Yes. I had really forgotten it at the café, it must have fallen out of my bag somehow. Minho-hyung gave me a ride home after.”“Oh? Is that why you just dropped off the face of planet earth?”Felix winced at the judgement and worry in his best friend’s voice and he lowered his head, nodding lightly. There was no way he could explain everything else that had happened, not even to Chan. Especially not when he had given Minho his word that he wouldn’t say a thing to anyone. “Yeah, sorry. Just kinda got so lost talking to hyung that I forgot to check my phone.”“Must have been a good conversation. Since you were totally out of it until just now.”“Ugh… yeah, sorry. It’s just the day…” Felix continued to look down, hating that he was lying to his best friend. Or at least not telling him the full truth.“Your texts made it sound like it was a rough day…”Felix nodded and let out a sigh, finally looking up again. “Everything went wrong.”“You hungry?”“Starving.”Chan nodded, the hint of a smile appearing on his lips. “Get changed and then tell me about it? I ordered food, it should be here soon.”Felix nodded, much more enthusiastic than before. Chan stepped aside, so Felix quickly entered his room and got changed, taking a deep breath, pushing everything Minho had told him away when he breathed out. No. Magic wasn’t possibly real. He had just maybe had a too rough day. And any other option was a problem for another day.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Fall soon descended upon the city, bringing along an almost comical amount of Halloween decorations that Minho put up all around the café. Felix and his colleagues spent nearly a full week trying to find even the tiniest detail, making their shifts particularly fun. Minho had seemed to be a little wary around Felix shortly after their conversation, but since Felix had decided to simply ignore the fact that any of that had ever happened, things had gone back to normal rather quickly.For Halloween, they got permission to wear whatever they wanted, so Felix made sure to style his freshly redyed blond hair. He added the palest foundation and powder he had been able to locate and a dark red lipstick and dark eye makeup. Once he was satisfied, he chose an all-black outfit, picking a shirt that had a few mesh details just for the heck of it, before he went in to work.“HAPPY HALLOWEEN!” his on-shift coworkers greeted Felix the moment he stepped into the café, immediately enveloped by warmth and the scent of coffee.“Happy Halloween!” he replied brightly, laughing when he saw that two of his coworkers had gone for witchy looks (including pointed hats, wands, and all) while the other one had gone for a skeleton, showing off impressive makeup.Felix slipped behind the counter and into the staff only area, briefly going to their break room to leave his bag there and grab his apron. He checked his phone for notifications, then went back to the front while typing out a response. He used the time before his shift started to make himself a coffee before disappearing into the back again when new customers came in.The shift itself was a lot of fun, with him and his coworkers using their characters to joke around whenever it was calm. As it got later, two of Felix’s coworkers left, leaving him alone with one of the women, Momo, who was dressed as a witch.While Felix tended to a new customer, Momo had taken a broom, cleaning up whatever crumbs and powder had fallen on the floor during their shift. “Felix, look!” she called out while he was preparing the customer's drink. He looked over his shoulder, laughing when he found Momo straddling the broom, almost riding it like a stick horse.“Don’t fly off, I still need you for another hour!”Momo laughed brightly, only getting off the broom when she arrived at the staff door, spinning around. “How would you rate my flying skills?” she asked, striking a pose.“Three out of ten,” Felix replied immediately, laughing at the incredulous gasp he got.“Three!?”Felix nodded, tapping in the numbers from the customer’s pager. “Still a bit wobbly and very low to the ground, but you got the spirit.”Momo huffed and disappeared just as the customer arrived and Felix accepted the pager with a smile while the customer took his coffee. The door opened once more and a ‘welcome’ already lay on the tip of Felix’s tongue when he recognized Minho. “Hyung!” he called out with a bright smile, surprised to find three young men trailing after him. “Happy Halloween.”“Happy Halloween!” Momo’s cheerful voice came from behind him, contrasting Minho’s tired wave. Jisung appeared to be the most lively out of the four of them, beaming at Felix and Momo while Hyunjin offered a smile and a wave and Jeongin just barely hid a yawn behind his hand.“Can I get you guys anything?” Felix asked since he was closest to the register, but Jeongin shook his head.“Don’t worry about it, I got it.”“I’ll do the tables then,” Momo said and got a rag and the spray bottle of disinfectant.Hyunjin and Jisung leaned against the counter while Minho and Jeongin came around it, Minho simply leaning against it as well next to Felix while Jeongin moved on to grab a cup and get to work.“How was work today?” Minho asked and Felix smiled lightly, though he was watching Jeongin who moved to one of the unused cabinets.“It was fun. There haven’t been too many customers today, but everyone seemed to be in a good mood…” He trailed off, watching as Jeongin was not only briefly looking through the cabinet that Felix knew held nothing but some boxes with old equipment that was kept just in case something broke. He had seen the boxes, he periodically cleaned around those boxes, had just never bothered to look into them any further because what use would that be?Well… He certainly had not expected Jeongin to pull out a teabag from those boxes. What the…Either, he had said that last bit out loud, or his staring became obvious because Jeongin looked over at him, raising an eyebrow. “Minho, I thought you talked to him?”“I did, though?” Minho replied, sounding in equal parts confused and amused.Talked to him. But if those boxes weren’t actually boxes holding old equipment… If Minho was supposed to have talked to him…The drawer in his mind that Felix had kept so carefully closed fell open, spilling out its contents of magic and illusions, of human versus non-human, of the ‘cleaning staff’ that operated as baristas during the night shift, one of whom currently very much preparing drinks…“Holy water attack!” Felix flinched when he felt something wet hitting the side of his neck and part of his face, but low enough not to come in contact with his eyes or mouth. He quickly looked up, finding Momo giggling, the spray bottle still raised. “Holy water was very effective.”Felix shook his head lightly, but he couldn’t help the smile that tugged on his lips. “What was that for?”“Getting you out of that pretty little head of yours, darling.” Momo flashed him a blinding smile before she placed the bottle and rag near the sink. Jeongin had gone back to busying himself with whatever tea he was making and just finished filling the cup, handing it to Minho. Both of them acted as if nothing had happened while Momo turned towards Felix. “But really, what were you thinking about?”Seizing the opportunity, Felix leaned forward a little until he was closer to his coworker, almost in her space. “About how to suck you dry without anyone noticing,” he replied, lowering his voice a little, quickly leaning back when Momo let out a squeak. Felix laughed as he watched Momo raising her hand, pointing a finger at him, the normalcy of this immediately blanketing his former confusion.“You! Just you wait, I’ll turn you into a frog!”“Can I at least pick what kind of frog?”“No! I’ll turn you into the ugliest frog in existence!”“Quiet down a bit, will you? There are customers around,” Minho reprimanded them, but he sounded thoroughly amused.Momo pouted at him while Felix looked away, instead finding Jisung and Hyunjin watching them intently. Or… no, not them. Him. Felix blinked, taken aback by the unwavering attention. Had his makeup smudged? Had he gone overboard? Because if witches and vampires and all of that was supposed to be real and Jisung and Hyunjin clearly belonged to the nightly customers—and Minho and Jeongin also apparently belonged to that side—then what if he had said something offensive? Had he overstepped any boundaries?Felix tore his gaze away to scan the café, relieved when he only found a couple sitting by the window, but otherwise, the ground floor seemed deserted. “Noona, did you remind people that we’re closing soon?”“Yeah. There aren’t many people left anyway,” she replied and Felix nodded, but then he didn’t know what to do with himself, didn’t know what to make in a situation where magical creatures were real and currently completely surrounding him.“If you two don’t need me here, I’ll be in the back, alright?” Minho asked and Felix was quick to nod. Jeongin flashed him a brief glanced with a raised eyebrow, then he followed Minho into the back, and before Felix could react, Jisung had also somehow rounded the counter and gone after the other two.Felix’s gaze went back to Hyunjin who looked scandalized at having been left alone, slightly widened eyes glued to the ‘staff only’ door before turning into a scowl that disappeared so quickly that Felix thought he had imagined it.“Hyunjin-sshi, right?” Felix asked carefully, wiping some stray crumbs off the counter. He could nevertheless feel Hyunjin’s eyes immediately turning towards him.“Yes. You were Felix, right?”“You two know each other?” Momo asked, moving to stand next to Felix.“We’ve met,” Hyunjin replied vaguely before Felix could come up with anything better, so he merely nodded.“Through our boss?” There was an edge of suspicion to Momo’s voice that immediately caused panic to shoot through Felix, though he covered it up with a smile.“Yeah. I forgot my wallet here the other day and texted hyung about it. He was so kind to come by my and Channie-hyung’s place after work that night. Hyunjin-sshi was driving then,” he explained and Momo nodded, understanding easing her features. Felix briefly glanced at Hyunjin, surprised to find the other still watching him closely.“Silly, how did you forget your wallet here?” Momo asked and even though Felix wasn’t looking, he knew that she was grinning at him in amusement.Felix shrugged lightly, followed by a grimace. “It was a rough day, okay? My wallet probably jumped out of my bag in hopes to escape my bad luck.” Momo giggled at that and even Hyunjin looked amused at that description. “I’m honestly just glad that hyung found it here and that it didn’t get stolen on the subway or anything,” Felix finished and straightened when another customer came in. “Happy Halloween!” he greeted the man, regretting the words the moment they were out. Judging by the glare that he was met with, that man was not a Halloween kind of guy.Hyunjin moved towards the side, studying the sweet treats behind the glass display, though Felix could bet that he was only pretending.“An iced americano,” the man spat out.Keeping a smile plastered to his face, Felix nodded and quickly got going at the cash register. “I suppose you’ll take it to go?” he asked, looking up only to be met with the man’s darkening gaze. “Since we’ll be closing in fifteen minutes,” he added, hoping to avoid any further discussion.“What kind of café is only open until eight?” the man bit back, eyes narrowing on Felix as if he had personally picked those times to mock him.“I’m sorry that our opening hours are an inconvenience for you, sir. My boss decided on them on his own. I can gladly let him know that they appear too short.”“You better. And while you’re on it, wipe that disgusting stuff off your face.”Felix barely suppressed a flinch, diverting his eyes towards the cash register. “So, an iced americano to go, right?” he repeated, only getting a scoff in response. But since the man was still standing in front of him, Felix took that as a ‘yes’ and selected the ‘to go’ option on the display. “That’ll be 1,500 won.”“1,500? For an iced americano?” The man raised his voice and when Felix looked up to meet his eyes, he merely nodded. He knew for a fact that their price was pretty average, but the knowledge that the man was obviously more enraged for the sake of it and not actually because of the price did little to help the fear that sparked through him. What if the man were to reach over the counter and hit him? Or what if he were to come around the counter to hurt them? Or ransack the entire place?“Yes, sir,” Felix replied, keeping his expression carefully professional and his voice even.“This is an outrage! You shouldn’t even let customers in if you’re about to close anyway! Make your signs bigger! And 1,500 won for an americano is exorbitant!”“I apologize, sir.” Felix lowered his head lightly, keeping his gaze on the other’s shoulder instead of making direct eye contact, hoping this would calm the man down.“Well, you better hurry the fuck up with that americano,” the man growled and Felix almost imperceptibly let out a deep breath, both to calm himself and knowing that the worst had been averted. Most likely, anyway. That man could still throw his drink at him…“Yes, sir,” he replied, waiting as the man grabbed his wallet and retrieved his card from it. Felix moved to take the card, only to have it thrown onto the counter. He sighed inwardly, keeping the smile up as he reached for the card, only to have someone grab his wrist, pulling him back before letting him go.“I’m sorry, sir, but I’m afraid we will be unable to complete your order.” Minho’s voice was as cold as ice, his posture straight and his head high. Even from his position slightly behind Minho, Felix could see the other’s piercing glare.The customer momentarily looked too stunned to speak before his brief calmness turned into open fury. “And who the fuck do you think you are to talk to me like that?”“The owner of the café. Now get out.” Minho’s tone allowed no protest and Felix could have cried, knowing that he had such an amazing boss.“You’re losing a paying customer!” the man protested, but his voice was much less firm than it had been before.Minho scoffed. “No great loss if that ‘customer’ is treating my staff like that. And it’s not like you’ve already paid.” He crossed his arms over his chest.The man on the other side opened his mouth, but no sound came out at first. “You’re going to regret this!” he yelled eventually, grabbed his card, and stormed off.A small hand appeared on Felix’s shoulder and he found Momo standing by his side, between him and the ‘staff only’ door that was currently open, Jisung and Jeongin each leaning against the doorframe. “Are you okay?” Momo asked quietly and Felix nodded, mustering a brave smile even though he was still shaken up on the inside. He hated customers like that. It was completely beyond him why people thought that it was okay to treat customer service workers like that.“Yeah, don’t worry.”Minho turned around, eying Felix first, then he turned to Momo. “Thank you for getting me.”Momo was quick to nod. “Thank you for always helping us and taking our side.”Minho shook his head. “Protecting you guys is the least I can do.” He looked at Felix again at that before turning away. “I guess we can call it a day now.”“Yay!” Momo did a little cheer, then started with their finishing duties. Felix shook his head lightly. He noticed a customer placing their tray at the return section, so he bid the young man goodbye and started to do the dishes. The routine movements did wonders to calm Felix down, his heart slowing and his hands stopped trembling soon after. Jeongin also joined them shortly after and like that, the four of them quickly finished their duties.When Felix turned around with the cleaning rag in his hand after washing the last dishes, he was surprised to find Hyunjin leaning against the counter right across from him, watching him quizzically. It was only then that Felix realized that, while all other customers had left, Jisung and Hyunjin were still there, neither of them making a move to leave and Minho also not saying even a single word to kick them out. Then again, if Jisung was indeed Minho’s boyfriend…“The makeup looks really good on you.”“Huh?” Felix blinked, not even realized that he had been staring at Hyunjin until the other had spoken up. With a slight delay, Hyunjin’s words truly sank in and heat rose to Felix’s cheeks. Hopefully, the makeup would cover the blush.He looked down, but he couldn’t help the smile that tugged at the corners of his lips. “Thank you,” he replied, wiping down the counter.“So you went all in for the vampire concept?” Hyunjin asked on and Felix was almost surprised that the other continued.“Yeah. It was kind of the easiest to work with and I had everything that I needed at home.”“Just no fangs, huh?”Felix rolled his eyes lightly. “Yeah, no, I didn’t feel like having those plastic things in my mouth. Especially since they’re usually only made for kids. I wouldn’t have been able to work a full day like that.”Hyunjin hummed and when Felix looked up from the counter, he found the other once again watching him. “They do sound rather inconvenient.”“They most definitely are,” Felix agreed and looked down again, toying with the rag since there wasn’t really anything left that needed to be cleaned. But since there were three others working, it was fine that he took a moment with Hyunjin, wasn’t it? “You’re usually only here at night, aren’t you?”“What did Minho tell you?”Felix shrugged and briefly glanced around, but Momo was busy chatting with Jeongin on the other end of the counter, both going after some other duties. “Not much, really. Just that… there’s kinda more to the world than what I had thought. That he can do magic…”“And that nighttime here usually isn’t for humans,” Hyunjin added and Felix hummed. “Aren’t you curious?”“I guess I’m still trying to really wrap my head around it all…”“So…?”Felix looked up, meeting Hyunjin’s gaze. “Of course I’m curious. But it all still seems very surreal to me.”“It doesn’t have to seem real right away, you know? But sometimes, things will feel more real when you ask questions.”“I wouldn’t know what questions to ask, though.”“Then start with the obvious.”“And if they’re offensive?”Hyunjin shrugged lightly. “We’d tell you. The four of us, I mean.”Felix tried to read in Hyunjin’s eyes, tried to find any signs of discomfort or dishonesty, but all he found was that same inquisitive look that Hyunjin seemed to give him every time they met. That same undivided attention.“Felix, are you coming or are you gonna sleep here?”Felix quickly looked up, smiling at Momo who was already standing in the doorway to the staff area. “Jeongin-sshi said he and the others from the cleaning crew will finish up, you and I can leave now.”Felix looked over at Hyunjin once again, surprised when for the first time, he found the other not looking right back at him but instead over towards Jeongin. Seeming to notice Felix’s gaze, Hyunjin glanced over, though, flashing him a smile. “Go,” he said quietly, then he turned away and went over to where Jeongin was doing something at the cabinets on the other end of the counter.With quick steps, Felix went over to Momo and they went into the break room together. They took off their aprons and grabbed their stuff, briefly bid Minho goodbye, then they left the café together, going to the subway station.When he arrived back at the apartment, Felix was still deep in thought over the confirmations he had received earlier. What Minho had told him about was real, apparently. Magic was real. He hadn’t imagined it when he had gone to the café only to find it looking empty from the outside while actually being full on the inside. The cabinet that supposedly held old equipment most likely held some special ingredients that the daytime baristas didn’t need to know about.It still hardly made any sense, but it also became more and more difficult to just ignore it all…He called out a brief ‘hello’ to Chan when he entered the apartment, changed into more comfortable clothes and cleaned his face from the makeup, then he got comfortable on the sofa, snuggling into his best friend. “Hey Felix,” Chan sing-songed, still on his phone. “How was work?”“It was fun!” Felix replied and peeked at Chan’s phone, looking away when he noticed that the other had KakaoTalk opened. “You ordered food already?”“Nope. I couldn’t decide what I wanted.”Felix shook his head lightly and grabbed his phone, looking through his delivery app. “Pizza sound good?”Chan hummed in response, so Felix ordered them pizza, then went to Instagram while Chan was still busy on his own phone. It was only when Chan put the device away that Felix also closed his phone, sitting a little more upright. He told Chan about his workday while they looked through Netflix in search for a good horror movie to watch while they ate. Neither of them was typically a big fan of horror, but it had kind of become their thing to watch horror movies for Halloween.It was only halfway through the movie that Felix found the courage to broach the one topic that had been occupying his mind since Jeongin had opened that one cabinet at work. “Channie?” he asked while he watched some of the characters on screen run upstairs. Beginner’s mistake.“Hm?”“Do you believe in magic?” Felix kept his eyes trained on the screen, but he could feel the weight of the silence that had suddenly settled between them. It took a little too long before Chan let out a slightly forced sounding laugh.“No, of course not. What now, has Halloween gotten a little too much to your head?”“Maybe,” Felix mumbled. He glanced over at Chan, finding the other’s expression strangely unreadable. That was very uncharacteristic for them. But also… what kind of reaction had he expected? Of course no one else would believe him. He himself still couldn’t quite believe it, after all…
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
It was during a shift in mid-December when the café’s phone rang. Since Felix was manning the register, one of his colleagues answered it, so Felix paid it no mind. He finished with the customer in front of him and was about to move on to the next one when his colleague tapped him on the shoulder.Felix turned around to him, tilting his head lightly. “It’s for you. Our boss.”Felix raised an eyebrow but took the phone from the other’s hands. “Hello?” he said, stepping aside to make space for his colleague who took over the position at the register.“Hey,” Minho answered and even from that single word, Felix could tell that the other was distressed. “I’ll get straight to the point: is there any chance that you could help out at the café tomorrow night.”Felix quickly looked around the front area, then made his way towards the ‘staff only’ door, slipping through it so he could speak without anyone else overhearing their conversation. “Tomorrow… night?”“Yes. Believe me, I wouldn’t ask you if I had any other options, but you’re literally my last resort right now.”“I mean, I have a class until 8:30, but I can come to the café afterwards, if that will be any help?”“Yes! God, Felix, you’re my savior right now!”“How long will I need to work?”“Night shifts are usually until six, but it’s usually rather calm after two. So if you could stay until then, or maybe a tad longer so we can all take our breaks, that would be amazing.”Felix thought about that for a moment, but at the end of the day, he couldn’t really think of any reason why that wouldn’t work. Chan had even mentioned he’d spend that night at their friend Changbin’s place, so Felix wouldn’t even need to make up an excuse why he was suddenly working a night shift at a café that supposedly wasn’t even open at night. “Sure, that should work out.”“You’re a literal angel. I’ll tell you everything you need to know when you get there tomorrow, okay?”“Okay.”Minho ended the call and Felix stared at the phone for a moment, taken aback by the turn of events, but then he simply shrugged. Working a night shift would also mean getting more money because of night bonuses, wouldn’t it? More money was always a good thing! And so, Felix found himself back at the café the next night after classes. He stared at the dark outside, unable to help the momentary doubt that he was just imagining it all, that none of it was real.He took a deep breath, then stepped up to the door and pushed it open. Warmth immediately surrounded him. Three of the tables on the ground floor were occupied and the air was filled with chatter and the scent of coffee. If he hadn’t known that none of the guests could be human, he would have thought this to be a very normal shift.Felix briefly looked around and found Minho busy at the register. At the table closest to the counter, Hyunjin and Jisung were sitting, the latter of the two waving towards him with a bright smile. Felix made his way over, greeting them briefly before slipping behind the counter, finally attracting Minho’s attention. The café’s owner seemed to sag in relief when their eyes met and he smiled at Felix, motioning for him to wait while he finished taking the customer’s order.Once he had handed over the electronic bell as well as the customer’s card and his receipt, Minho turned towards the other employee whom Felix finally recognized. “Seungmin, I’ll be in the back for a moment. Call me if you need me, alright?”Seungmin turned around, his face hidden behind a mask. He showed Minho an ‘ok’ before he got back to making the customers’ orders. Apparently satisfied, Minho turned away and motioned for Felix to follow him. “Thank you so much for coming tonight.”Felix shook his head. “It’s no problem, really.”Minho regarded him with a brief look over his shoulder. “This is a huge thing! Felix, I need you to understand that you’re not supposed to be here. You’re not even supposed to know anything about what’s happening here at night.”“But I do. And really, it’s okay for me to be here right now.” Minho sighed, opening the room to the break door. Felix followed him inside, but instead of turning toward the shelves with their uniforms, Minho turned towards the other side, opening a closet that held rows and rows of folders. Except… Minho’s hand went right through some of them while Felix could only stare and watch as Minho’s hand reappeared, this time holding an apron.“Just how many illusions do you have in place here?”Minho merely regarded him with a raised eyebrow as he held out the apron and Felix finally took it, putting his bag off to the side. “Why do we have different aprons for the night shift?”“They have a hydrophobic layer,” Minho explained and Felix raised an eyebrow while putting the apron on. “Believe me, it’s better this way. The night shift is dealing with some stuff that you wouldn’t want on your clothes.”Felix halted in his moves, fingers frozen in the middle of tying the apron behind his back. “You mean…”“Why do you think I need special storage room? Believe me, it’s not only for tea that has been magically enhanced.”“So… blood.” Felix finally finished tying his apron, waiting for any kind of negation, only to get a nod.“We have a variety of drinks specialized for different species. Blood happens to be one of the possible extra ingredients.” Felix could only stare at Minho blankly. Of course he should have expected that, but… “Why do you think I don’t have any humans working night shifts?”Felix looked away. “Then what am I doing here? I won’t know how to make any of those drinks.”A bell resonated and they looked at each other, then Minho motioned for Felix to follow him once again. “I mainly need you at the cash register tonight. Seungmin and I will be taking care of making the drinks,” he explained and Felix nodded in understanding.They left the staff only area and Minho immediately took the spot behind the register again, smiling in the kind of extra polite way that many of them did for customers. Felix was almost more taken aback by that expression than by the thought that no one except from him was merely human in that café. It was only then that Felix realized that he had never seen Minho at the register before that night.Felix smiled at the woman on the other side of the counter, paying close attention as Minho navigated the cash register. The surface itself didn’t look too different from the one at daytime, but Felix could clearly see more options than what he was used to.Minho had to serve a few more customers before he got the time to turn to Felix again, explaining the changes and where Felix could find features that were only important for the night shift. He was still in the middle of his explanations when the next customer came in, but this time, he let Felix take over.Once he was done, Felix turned back towards Minho who nodded his approval. “Alright, the last few things for tonight. You know where the call button is, right?” Felix nodded: it was a small button underneath the counter that they could use to call their colleagues from the back whenever they needed backup. “Press it a little longer if there’s an emergency. Seungmin knows this as well.”“Right, if Seungmin is here as well…”“Lost his voice.” Minho gave him a crooked smile. Felix looked over the other’s shoulder to find Seungmin scrunching up his face, nodding. “Hyunjin and Jisung will be here for your entire shift, so if anything happens or you have any questions, you can turn either to me or to them. If it’s anything that can be shown, of course Seungmin will also be there for you.” Felix glanced at the other who appeared thoroughly displeased with the situation, only getting his expression back under control when a customer came to pick up their order.“Aside from that,” Minho continued, “I do not want you to leave the counter area here on your own. Seungmin and I can take care of the tables and all that. I really only want you here to work the cash register tonight, you got it?”Felix frowned, already feeling useless that he wasn’t allowed to do anything else, but he nodded nevertheless. If that was what Minho wanted from him, then he would do that.“Good. If you feel uncomfortable by anything or anyone, let us know anytime, okay? I understand that this shift will be very much out of the norm for you, we all do. And if you don’t feel comfortable staying, please also tell us, okay? We’ll make it work somehow. The most important part is that you won’t be uncomfortable.”Felix nodded, smiling at the other. “I will tell you.”Minho searched in his eyes for a moment, then he slowly nodded. “Good. Whenever you want to go home, Hyunjin or Jisung will take you.”“I could have just taken a taxi,” Felix protested, but Minho shook his head.“I’d feel better if one of us took you home tonight.”Felix hesitated, but when Minho didn’t look like he’d let anything convince him that Felix would be fine on his own, he nodded. “Thank you.”Minho smiled at him and for the first time, it seemed to be a real smile.Another customer came in, so Felix turned his attention away from his boss, greeting the customer brightly while Minho went over to help Seungmin with the orders.Overall, working at night wasn’t all too different from his day shifts. While he did have to remind himself to keep on smiling as if everything was normal during the first few times that someone asked for extra ingredients for their drinks, especially blood, it eventually became a more normal occurrence. Around 11PM, more people started coming, and before Felix knew it, it was already 2AM. He had a nearly empty teacup that he had received from Minho at one point standing off to the side, finishing it when he finally got a moment to breathe for the first time in three hours. Seeing that the other two were still busy completing their customers’ orders, Felix turned towards their sweets display and refilled whatever was running low.“Are you still doing good?” Minho suddenly asked right next to him, making Felix jump a little and look up from what he was doing before he nodded.“Yeah, everything’s good.”“Do you want to take a break now? Seungmin and I would take our breaks afterwards and you could leave after that, if it’s okay for you to stay that long,” Minho offered, and Felix nodded right away.“Yes, of course, that sounds good.”“Do you want anything to drink? A hot chocolate again?” Minho offered, but Felix was curious about something else.“What kind of tea did you make me earlier?”Minho laughed, shaking his head. “You’re not gonna get another one of that unless you plan to just stay up all night.”“I mean, I do have a 9AM class, so I might just as well.”They stared at each other for a moment, Minho slowly blinking at him as if he had to take a moment to comprehend what Felix had just said. “And you did not think to tell me that any sooner?”“No? I’ll be fine?”“Listen here, you are taking your break now, I’m making you a hot chocolate for that, then Seungmin and I will take our breaks, and then you get the hell out of here. I do not accept any protest.” With that said, Minho spun around and started getting to work.Felix laughed softly and abandoned what he had been doing when he saw a new customer coming in. By the time that he finished taking the woman’s order, Minho was standing next to him with a full cup in his hand, tapping his foot impatiently. Felix took the cup with a quiet ‘thank you’ before making his way into the back area.He used the time to go through his social media until he had to get back. Seungmin had a new tea at the ready when they switched and Felix worked on the remaining dirty dishes, noticing that a few of them were those cups that Minho had once explained to be solely ‘decorative’. When he asked Minho about that, the other merely raised an eyebrow at him until Felix figured out on his own that those were probably for the drinks that got spiked with blood. No wonder that those were kept separate from all other drinks.A new customer came in, so Minho went back to the register. He was still making the customer’s order when the next person came through the entrance. Felix quickly took off the long plastic gloves that they used while doing the dishes and went over to the register, smiling brightly at the middle-aged man on the other side. “Hi, what can I get you?”“Hello, my usual please,” the man replied while taking out his wallet.“I’m sorry, it’s my first day today. What is your usual order?”The man glanced up, frowning. “I’m certain I’ve seen you here before, though.”Felix hesitated, then shook his head. “I’m sorry, sir, it really is my first day.”The customer’s frown deepened, then he shrugged and, as if the conversation had never happened, said, “Either way, I’d just like my usual, please.”Well… Felix looked over towards his side where Minho was just calling up the former customer. “Hyung,” he called out gently when the other had punched in the numbers. Minho immediately looked up, so Felix continued, “Do you happen to know what this gentleman’s usual order is?”Minho looked at him, at the man, blinked slowly. “I’m sorry, you’d have to ask Seungmin, I don’t usually do the cash register…”But Seungmin was on his break and this certainly didn’t seem like reason enough to call him out of his break. Let’s try again, Felix thought as he turned back towards the customer, “Sir, I’m really sorry, but I truly do not know what your usual order is and my colleague doesn’t recall it either. So please, would you let me know what you usually get?”The man looked at him, truly looked at him, so deeply that Felix felt like the gaze bore into his soul. Was there any creature where this could be harmful? “I said I would just like my usual. The same thing you guys always get me,” the man said very slowly, as if Felix was just too dumb to understand.Could it be that this man did not even know what he usually got? Did he just rely on them always knowing?The door behind Felix was opened and he spun around, smile immediately brightening. “Seungmin!” Said man halted in his tracks, halfway through the door, teacup in his hand, staring right back at Felix like a deer caught in headlights. “This gentleman would like his usual, but Minho-hyung and I don’t know what it is. Do you know what he usually orders?”Seungmin looked at the man, then at Felix, then back to the customer. Merely stared. Blinked. Stared some more.Felix could see the moment that a light bulb went on Seungmin’s head and he finally seemed to be able to connect the dots. He raised a finger to ask them for a moment, then put his cup aside before joining Felix at the cash register, quickly typing in an order.The customer watched the scene unfold, nodding eventually. “I knew you guys would know what I’m talking about,” he replied and handed over the exact amount of cash. Felix accepted it, but before he could even offer the receipt or the electronic bell, the man had already left to grab a seat.Receipt in hand, Felix looked after him, torn whether to call him back or not, but Seungmin made a dismissive gesture, motioning for him to wait a moment before typing away on his phone. After a few seconds, he turned the device around, showing Felix a note.
Don’t mind him, he’s always like that. I’ll bring him his drink later.
Felix nodded and glanced at the receipt, not too surprised when he found blood listed under ‘extras’. Depending on how old that man was, it wasn’t too surprising that he might indeed just not remember what he usually ordered. And if even Seungmin had had no idea at first what the order had been, that man’s idea of coming frequently and thus rightfully expecting people to know what he wanted and Felix’s idea of that same thing probably differed starkly. After all, the man hadn’t even realized that Felix didn’t usually work nights.Minho took his break next, looking somewhat nervous about leaving until Seungmin literally took him by the shoulders and forced him into the staff only area, making Felix laugh. Felix would have loved to chat with Seungmin, but since that wasn’t really possible, he busied himself with finishing the dishes before stocking up everything he could unless he was needed at the cash register.Soon enough, Minho returned from his break and nodded towards the back. “Alright, my little savior, get lost.”Felix grinned at his boss. “Where do I leave the apron?”“Just put it in the laundry.”Felix nodded. It felt a bit like a waste to put it in the laundry already when he had hardly even gotten it dirty, but he also didn’t know if he’d work a night shift again and everyone else would probably want to wear clean aprons. So he did as he had been told and returned with his bag in hand shortly after, simply waving the other two goodbye because Minho was once again busy with a customer. When he stepped around the counter, Hyunjin got up form where he had been sitting, just as Felix arrived at their table. “You will be taking me home?” he asked Hyunjin who nodded in response. “Alright. Then thank you, both of you, for watching over me tonight.” He looked at both Hyunjin and Jisung, finding them smiling at him.“You’re welcome,” Jisung replied brightly. “Thank you for saving my boyfriend from going completely insane.”“Yah! I heard that!” Minho called over from the counter. Jisung leaned back a little until he could probably look past Felix, then he blew Minho a kiss.“Let’s go before those two start flirting for real.” Hyunjin rolled his eyes and motioned for Felix to go ahead. Felix laughed at the protest from both Jisung and Minho, waving at both of them once more, then he went ahead. Once outside, Felix let Hyunjin take the lead, shivering slightly from the cold. He followed Hyunjin past a fancy looking silver car, that he was certain was the same car that Minho had driven him home in last time, and to a red sports car right behind that one.His jaw fell open when Hyunjin unlocked it with the press of a button and opened the passenger’s door, holding it for Felix. “You are kidding me, right?” Felix briefly glanced at Hyunjin before looking back, not needing a response because obviously Hyunjin was not kidding.He reverently lowered himself into the car, feeling the seat’s leather. There was no way that he, a mere poor student, was supposed to sit in a car like this!It was only when Hyunjin also got in that Felix finally moved to put his seatbelt on, the motions still somewhat in a trance. For just how long had Hyunjin and Jisung been saving money that they were able to afford cars like that? Or what kinds of jobs did they have?Hyunjin glanced over at him, an amused smile playing on his lips. “You can ask questions, you know? Just like Minho told you earlier: he, Jisung, and I will be there for you if you need anything. And I’m pretty sure that Jeonginnie won’t mind answering any questions that you may have either.”Felix nodded, fidgeting a little because he still didn’t quite know how to broach the actually important matters. “What if I’ll ask anything offensive, though?” Maybe he had already asked Hyunjin that question once, but he still couldn’t help but worry about it.“You’re basically bound to do that,” Hyunjin replied and Felix stilled in mortification. “You hardly know anything about all of this, how can you not ask questions that would be considered rude or invasive normally? It’s natural.” Felix had lowered his gaze, but he could still feel Hyunjin looking at him. “And it’s okay. Minho, Jisung, Jeongin, and I understand. We know that this is all new for you, and we’ll tell you if there’s anything that we don’t want to answer or that you shouldn’t ask anyone else. For the time being, try to see us as a safe space to ask away whatever comes to your mind, okay?” Felix nodded lightly and that seemed to be the confirmation that Hyunjin had needed to start the car. “I’ll need you to give me directions.”“Start with a U-turn and then we can stay on this road for quite a while,” Felix replied, staring outside as he gathered the courage to speak up again. He was fiddling with his bag straps in his lap for a while, just focusing on his breathing, before he spoke up, “I guess it would normally be considered rude to ask what you are?”Hyunjin chuckled at that. “Yes, very rude. It’s something that often goes unsaid until it is revealed in passing. Minho and everyone working night shifts usually have an advantage, based on what kinds of orders the customers place, but I guess you wouldn’t be able to read those signs, would you?”“I mean, those who order… well, blood as an extra, that’s kinda obvious.” Even though he had heard that quite a couple of times throughout the night, it still felt weird to say that aloud. “But aside from that, I don’t really know what those extras are supposed to give away. Or the other drinks that are only listed for the night shift.”“That’s what I figured. If Jisung and I had actually ordered from you earlier instead of getting our drinks right from Minho, you might have figured it out then already.”Felix decided not to comment on the fact that the others had arrived long before he had. Instead, he got hung up on the actual meaning of the sentence, quickly looking at Hyunjin with slightly widened eyes. “So… you’re vampires?”Hyunjin nodded, still seeming relaxed, though the darkness in the car could be hiding something from Felix. The full moon and the streetlights they were passing definitely weren’t enough to fully illuminate Hyunjin’s face. “Yes, we are.”“And Jeongin and Minho-hyung are living with you?”“Jeongin yes, Minho… I think he spends about half his free time with us and half of it in his own apartment.”“Oh…” Felix had seen Minho walking in with the other three often enough that he had gotten the impression that Minho would have lived with his boyfriend. He immediately wondered why that wasn’t the case but figured that was a question for Minho himself and not Hyunjin. “And Jeongin is living with you, but he’s not a vampire.”“Correct.” Hyunjin nodded again and Felix hesitated, tempted to ask what Jeongin was, but then he swallowed the question down. If Hyunjin didn’t provide that answer on his own, then Felix wouldn’t ask for it.“And Minho does something with magic. A wizard?”“A witch, to be precise.”Felix blinked at Hyunjin. “But aren’t witches women and wizards are men?”Hyunjin shook his head. “I think that’s how it is often portrayed, but that’s not the reality. Ask Minho about that, he can give you a better answer.”Felix nodded lightly, storing that question away in the back of his head for some other time. “If you’re a vampire, that means you’re immortal, right?” When Hyunjin nodded, Felix continued, “Are there any other creatures that are immortal?”“Demons. Aside from that, I don’t know of any other species that’s immortal. Many of us age slower than humans or have ways to enable themselves to age more slowly.”“What about sunlight? Can you go out in the sun? Vampires, I mean.”To Felix’s surprise, Hyunjin nodded. “We can, but we usually don’t. Our eyes are very light sensitive, which is good in the night, but can get very painful during the day. We also have a sun allergy, so staying outside for an extended period of time during the day will be very painful for us.”Felix nodded as he took that information in, nearly forgetting to give Hyunjin directions again when they needed to turn right. “What about… Umm…” It was probably also a taboo to ask about feeding, wasn’t it? Then again, if they were serving drinks with blood at the café… “Well… do you… do you drink from humans?” Felix could feel his entire face heating up, even his ears were burning at that question, and it only got worse when he caught Hyunjin’s side glance. He quickly looked down, too embarrassed to meet Hyunjin’s eyes.“No, we don’t,” the other replied, his tone amused and gentle. “It’s actually pretty much forbidden.”“What?” Felix couldn’t help but look up again, staring at Hyunjin with widened eyes. “Then how do you…?”“Blood donations.” Felix made a soft ‘ah’ at that and gave Hyunjin more directions, then the latter continued. “Minho probably mentioned that the government is more or less working with us, didn’t he?” Felix nodded. “One thing they do is that they boost advertisements for people to donate blood. That way, whatever extra the hospitals have will then be distributed to us. It usually doesn’t fully satisfy the hunger, but we get enough so that we won’t have to worry about our next meal.”“So the government knows how many vampires are in town at any given time?”“The government knows about all of us,” Hyunjin confirmed. “It’s not really any different from how you have to register a new place after you move. Our registrations basically only have a few more questions than yours do. They will also help us find places that actually work for us if we have trouble with that.”“Like…?”“Finding somewhere rather quiet for vampires. Or something close to nature for fairies.”“Fairies are also a thing?” Felix’s eyes widened even more and his mouth hung slightly open when Hyunjin nodded. He only snapped out of it when he realized that they had just driven past a road that they would have had to turn into and he quickly focused on the road again, needing a moment to get them back on the right track. He used the welcome distraction to wrap his mind around all the new information he had just gotten.“Your fangs.” Felix only realized he had said that out loud when Hyunjin let out an incredulous laugh. “Sorry… But… I didn’t notice any. Not on you and not on any of the other customers at the café. Or on Jisung-sshi.”“Of course not. We don’t exactly run around with our fangs on display. We only let them come out when we need them.”“Ah…” That made a lot of sense. Felix stopped his questioning once more in favor of guiding Hyunjin the last bit until they came to a full stop. Hyunjin turned off the engine but left the heater running, then he moved a little in his seat until he was facing Felix who also turned a little bit. A part of him wondered if he should get out right away. Tomorrow-him would probably thank him for it. But when else would he have an opportunity like this? “What about that entire ‘a vampire can only enter when welcomed in’-thing?”Hyunjin made a dismissive gesture. “As far as I know, that belief was spread when some old vampires with traditional values met younger people however long ago. Those vampires had thought it was still custom not to enter a house unless they had been asked in. And somehow, their identities were leaked and rumors spread from there.”“And the whole ‘turning into bats’?”“I sometimes wish I could do that.”Felix couldn’t help but smile a little at that. “Sure sounds convenient.”“Just imagine talking to someone annoying and turning into a bat mid-conversation and flying away.”Felix laughed at that, imagining the other person’s stunned expression. He got a little more comfortable in his seat, grateful to see Hyunjin’s smile and to hear the other making jokes about this topic. He hadn’t even realized how tense he had been until that moment. “So, you, Jisung-sshi, and Jeongin all live together,” Felix repeated from their earlier conversation, more than ready to leave behind the theoretical questions. Not that he could really think of much else in that moment anyway. Hyunjin nodded, so Felix went on, “How long have you all known each other?”“I met Jisung, I think… 150 years ago? And Jeongin soon after, actually.” Hyunjin was looking at some point behind Felix, frowning like he was trying to recall their meetings, then he nodded and focused back on Felix.“How did you meet?”“Didn’t you say you have a 9AM class? The full story might get a little long, at least if you want to sleep a bit before then.”Felix pouted, but he couldn’t really argue with Hyunjin on that matter. He really should go upstairs and go to sleep… “What about you?”“Me?”Felix nodded. “Is there anything you’d like to know about me?”Hyunjin didn’t seem to need long to think about that before he asked, “What do you study?”“Dance. It’s always been a hobby of mine and…” Felix hesitated, but he wasn’t quite ready to reveal the full story just yet, so he opted for, “well, I did some research and applied for a series of universities that offer dance. And a few of them accepted me.”Hyunjin laughed softly. “That’s cute. I also danced for a while but then stopped when we moved again. I’ve picked up art when we came here and have kind of stuck with that since.”“What kind of dance? And art? That’s so cool! What do you make?” Felix asked, immediately excited at having met another person who was in the creative field.“Mostly standard dances, but also some ballet foundations as well as hip hop,” Hyunjin replied, shrugging lightly. “If you’d like, I could show you my pictures sometime in the future,” he added with a shy smile that made Felix all giddy.“Yes, please! I’d love that.”“Why do you work at Minho’s café?” Hyunjin asked next, his questions seeming just as basic and all over the place as Felix’s had been earlier.“Well, I just kinda needed money, especially since I decided against living in the dorms. My parents do help out financially, but they also made it clear that I should start gaining some work experience while I’m in university, so yeah…” Felix shrugged lightly.“But how come you ended up at Minho’s café specifically? Is there any special reason?”Felix shook his head, thinking back to when he had done his applications. “Well, the café isn’t too far from where I live and from my university, so it sounded convenient. Also, Minho-hyung seemed very nice and understanding right off the bat, so I thought that was a good option.”Hyunjin nodded, seeming to accept that answer. “Do you live alone?”“No. I have a roommate: my best friend Chan.”“Won’t he be worried that you’re not coming up?”Felix shook his head. “He’s spending the night at his friend’s place. And even if he didn’t, he’d probably be asleep by now.” He frowned and glanced at the clock. “Well… or I’d hope he’d be asleep by now…” Aside from the chance that Chan might have stayed up simply to make sure Felix would get home safe, Chan also had… peculiar sleeping patterns. Sometimes, Felix wondered if his best friend slept at all. The dark circles under Chan’s eyes surely didn’t speak of a lot of sleep…“Is he also a student?”Felix nodded. “He’s doing music production and I think he’s also really good at that, but hyung keeps telling me that I’m just biased. He also works in that field, though, so I don’t think his protest is very valid.” He shrugged, then realized something and sat a little straighter. “What about you? What do you work as? Do you even work?”Hyunjin nodded, but he diverted his eyes. “I… actually sell my artwork.”“You do?” Felix leaned forward a little, suddenly even more certain that he wanted to see the other’s drawings one day. “That’s amazing!”Hyunjin shrugged lightly. “I’m not really that confident with most of my drawings, but people seem to like it. If it weren’t for Jisung, Jeongin, and Minho, though, I’m not sure I'd be able to do this…”Felix nodded, certain that he knew very well how Hyunjin was feeling. “Having that kind of support is really important.”“It is,” Hyunjin confirmed and they smiled at each other, only interrupted when Felix yawned behind his hand. Hyunjin gasped at that. “It’s almost 4AM, what are you still doing in my car? Get going, you need to sleep!”Felix laughed, tempted to just stay right where he was, but the logical side of him knew that Hyunjin was right. “I enjoyed talking to you, though.”“I did, too. But you need to go, you need your sleep.”Felix barely kept himself from rolling his eyes at the other’s care. “I’ll see you again?” He didn’t know if Minho would let him work more night shifts and was certain that Minho wouldn’t appreciate him coming to the café after official closing hours otherwise. But Felix really wanted to meet Hyunjin again. And Jisung, too!Hyunjin simply nodded, though. “You will. Now go.”Felix smiled at him, but he did give in and moved to open the door, hesitating and turning to Hyunjin once more, though. “Thank you. For driving me home and for taking your time to answer all of those questions.”“Anytime,” Hyunjin replied with a warm smile that brightened Felix’s mood even more. Tearing his eyes away, he opened the door, waved towards Hyunjin once more, then he closed the door and went to the apartment building. It was only when he was already inside the elevator and had turned back towards the street once more that he saw the car coming back to life and Hyunjin driving off, making Felix smile.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Since neither of their families was in Korea, Felix and Chan spent Christmas together as just the two of them. They had video calls with their families, but aside from that, they used the holidays for a much-needed break from all other responsibilities.It was during Felix’s next shift that Minho approached him, telling him that Hyunjin had wanted to get in contact but was apparently too shy to do it on his own. So he had asked Minho to give his number to Felix—if Felix was okay with that. Felix was surprised but more than okay with it, yet also a little nervous to, in a way, take the first step in approaching Hyunjin.And that’s how he found himself one evening a few days later in front of a two-story house in the outskirts of Seoul. No, the word ‘house’ didn’t even do that place justice. It had a full stone wall protecting the premises, including an iron gate and, from what he could see, a nice garden and then the house that looked almost like a mansion from long bygone times. That’s at least what he could make out in the darkness, and he already couldn’t wait to see the place in daylight one day.Felix didn’t even know whether he had actually rung the doorbell or not when the front door opened and a long since familiar head with long black hair peeked out, expression immediately brightening. Hyunjin briefly disappeared behind the door once more, then he came out of the house, donning a cream colored, cozy looking shirt and dark pants.“Hey,” he said when he arrived at the gate, unlocking and opening it for Felix who smiled back at him and entered.“Hey.”“Did you get here alright?” Hyunjin asked, closing the gate before taking the lead into the house.“Yes. The picture you sent me definitely helped to identify the right house.”“And still you didn’t even dare to ring the bell.”Felix blushed and focused very intently on taking off his shoes. “I guess I was just a little awestruck at seeing the house,” he replied shyly before the full meaning of Hyunjin’s words sank in. “Wait, if I didn’t ring the doorbell, did you…” He looked up to where Hyunjin was already waiting for him, nodding even though he looked away.“Well, vampires do have better senses, after all.”Felix could only stare for a moment before the house’s warmth got to him and he realized he was still wearing his winter jacket. He took it off, looking around for a place to put it until Hyunjin took it from his hands and hung it over a free hanger.“But if you noticed me that easily, does that mean that you constantly… I don’t know, sense your neighbors, too?” he asked further, following Hyunjin into the house, not even trying to hide his awe. Framed pictures lined the hallway and Jisung seemed to be the only constant in all of them. Jeongin was also present in many of them, but Felix could hardly spot Hyunjin. The quality of the pictures and the state of the paper revealed that the photos were an assembly from decades, even though Jisung, Jeongin, and Hyunjin hardly changed. Not to say that only their hair and their clothes really changed.Felix hadn’t even realized that he had taken his time looking at all of the pictures until he heard someone chuckle and he quickly looked over to where the sound had come from. Hyunjin had come to a stand in one of the doorways while Jisung was leaning against the wall beside him, making Felix blink in surprise. He hadn’t even realized that Jisung had joined them. “Hi,” he said with a delay, making Jisung grin.“Hey. Do you like the pictures?” he asked and Felix was quick to nod, his eyes drawn back to the photograph in front of him. It was one of only Hyunjin, Jisung, and Jeongin in front of the Namsan Tower, a very recent picture, as it seemed. “Hyunjin took most of them.”“Jisung!” Hyunjin hissed, barely loud enough for Felix to hear it.He looked over in surprise, then back to the array of pictures that he had just passed. “Is that why you’re not in the pictures?” he asked, but it was once again Jisung who answered.“He says he prefers to be behind the camera, not in front of it. Says something about not looking good in pictures.”Felix turned back towards Hyunjin, staring at him blankly. If Hyunjin didn’t think he looked good in pictures, taking photos of people should become forbidden because no one would ever be able to match Hyunjin’s looks.“See?” Jisung continued, this time talking to Hyunjin. “You’re saying absolute bullshit, even Felix thinks so!”Well, he would have phrased that nicer, but… Yeah, Jisung wasn’t wrong.“Whatever,” Hyunjin mumbled and looked away, tugging at his sleeves until he could hide his hands in them.Jisung laughed softly and turned towards Felix once again. “You want anything to drink?”“Just some water, maybe?”Jisung nodded and left, so Felix turned towards Hyunjin again who still looked flustered and seemed unable to meet Felix’s eyes. He motioned to the room behind him, taking a step back at the same time.Felix entered the room, the living room, as it turned out, but didn’t get far before he came to a stand in awe. Bookshelves lined two of the walls, completely filled with books and pictures. A few plants were scattered around, providing colorful spots to the otherwise cream-colored room. The dark wood of the bookshelves and the table that stood off to one side of the room contrasted the beige beautifully, but Felix’s jaw truly hit the ground when he saw the grand piano. When he tore his eyes away from the beautiful instrument, it was only for him to spot a real fireplace, its ledge once again decorated with pictures.“Go on,” Hyunjin encouraged him quietly and when Felix glanced over, he found the other already watching him, but quickly looking away when their eyes met. Felix smiled and let his curiosity win. He went over to the first bookshelf, eyes wide open as he took in the old spines. A few of them had already cracked, but many seemed to be in great condition. The books spanned an array of languages, many of which Felix didn’t know. The pictures in this room appeared to be newer, though it was those on the fireplace’s ledge that really caught Felix’s eyes. There was one of Hyunjin, smiling brightly at the camera while a slightly older white man was pressing a kiss on his cheek. This one seemed to be the oldest picture in the entire room and Felix couldn’t help—or fully explain—the painful throb that his heart made as he took the picture in. Was that man still alive? What had happened to him? Where was he now?The next one was a picture of Hyunjin, Jeongin, and Jisung. Jeongin was holding cotton candy, beaming like it was the happiest day of his life, while Jisung and Hyunjin stood on either side of him, looking thoroughly amused. A Ferris wheel was in the background, solidifying the impression that they had been at an amusement park.The last picture showed Jisung grinning while Minho was hugging him from behind, making a peace sign at the camera. It seemed to have been taken on the same day as the picture of Hyunjin, Jeongin, and Jisung because various booths were lined up in the background.“That was one of the few times that all four of us went out together. I still don’t think that Minho is over that day…” Jisung’s voice suddenly came from right behind Felix, making him jump and quickly look over his shoulder. Jisung glanced at him with a raised eyebrow before his lips formed a silent ‘oh’. “Sorry, right, you’re probably not used to this. Hadn’t meant to scare you.”Felix shook his head and glanced at the pictures again for a brief moment before he turned around, flashing the other a sheepish smile. “Sorry for snooping around like that.”Jisung quickly shook his head. “No, no, you’re good.” He gently took Felix’s hand and led him over to the sofa where Hyunjin was standing, looking a little lost and not at all like he actually belonged in this room. Jisung made first Felix then Hyunjin sit down on the sofa before he took one of the armchairs, immediately pulling his legs up to get comfortable. A glass of water was standing on the table in front of Felix and he gratefully picked it up, sipping on it before he put it back just as Hyunjin spoke up.“To answer your question from earlier, yes, we’re constantly aware of our neighbors. But most of the time, it’s rather subconsciously. Just like in an apartment, you’d probably also be constantly aware of the others around you.”Felix made a quiet ‘ah’ in understanding. “You haven’t known Minho for very long, have you?” he asked, his attention straying back to the pictures.Jisung shook his head. “Not really, no. Then again, he’s only human. Well, not human human, but…”“What he means is that while Minho is older than he looks, he is still much younger than we are. It was only when we came back here five years ago that they met,” Hyunjin filled in.“How long do you usually stay in one place?” Felix asked on, looking back and forth between the other two.Jisung merely shrugged while Hyunjin looked up pensively. “It kind of depends. Nowadays with the government’s awareness and all, we can stay a bit longer, especially in a city like this. Especially when you keep a low profile on the internet, it’s easy not to attract too much attention to the fact that you don’t age. And more people are aware of our existence and there’s more of us—or at least people who are aware of us—being in charge in companies, that also makes life a little easier.”“I’m glad you have that kind of support now.” Felix smiled at the other two who seemed a little hesitant at first before smiling back.“We’re also very grateful about that,” Hyunjin replied quietly.“By the way, Hyunjinnie mentioned that you were curious about how we met,” Jisung changed the topic, looking more animated as if the mere thought of talking about their initial meeting brought him energy.Felix nodded, excitement immediately sparking inside him at the prospect of hearing that story. “Yes! He only mentioned that you two met a long time ago.”Jisung laughed softly and looked over at Hyunjin with an expression that Felix couldn’t quite read. He saw adoration, fondness, amusement… “He found me at a point when life had been… well, a little rough, to say it kindly. It basically took a single look from him that night and then he was just there, like an angel who had come to save me.”“How did you know?” Felix asked, turning towards Hyunjin who had been smiling softly but became flustered the moment Felix talked to him.“Well… it’s sometimes rather obvious that the person across from you is a vampire…” He trailed off, eyes flitting between Felix and Jisung as if he was suddenly thinking about how far he could go, so very different from the night in the car.Felix tilted his head a little. Fangs was the first thought that came to his mind, but… wasn’t that a little too blunt to ask? Sure, he had asked all kinds of direct questions the other night, but this… this moment was very different.“Our eyes turn red when we’re hungry,” Jisung eventually took pity on both of them. “They basically change color gradually until they’ll be glaringly red. No matter how much control we have over whether our fangs show or not, we can’t really do anything about our eyes changing.”“Oh,” Felix made, blushing a little because Jisung had seemed to know exactly what Felix had been thinking. He looked a little closer at Hyunjin again, at Hyunjin’s eyes, but the other met his only for a brief moment, smiling shyly. It had still been long enough for Felix to tell that the other’s eyes were very brown and looked very natural at that, so… that meant he wasn’t hungry, right?“Colored contact lenses can help a lot nowadays, but at least here in Korea, there isn’t really a need for that too often,” Hyunjin added quietly and Felix nodded. The modern age really seemed to bring a lot of advantages for them.“Anyway,” Jisung continued, “when Hyunjin found me, I hadn’t been quite as… let’s say, adept at hunting, so—”“I thought hunting was forbidden?” Felix asked, quickly covering his mouth in shock when he realized that he had actually said that out loud. Jisung raised an eyebrow at him, but the smile on his lips definitely spoke of amusement.“Hyunjin told you that as well, huh? Yes, it is pretty much a taboo in many advanced societies now. But, you know, medicine hasn’t always been so advanced that we could just get a few blood bags.”Felix opened his mouth, but then closed it again, embarrassed that he had just overlooked the most obvious thing. Of course vampires would have existed much longer than modern medicine and science.“Anyway, he found me that night, alone, lost, just trying to get by and figure stuff out mostly on my own. Which, as it turns out, is also something that’s very much frowned upon in the vampire community. And he,”—apparently seeing Felix’s confusion, Jisung interrupted himself—“the ones who turn us are supposed to take care of us and basically show us how being a vampire works. Whoever turned me hadn’t really done their job. So, when Hyunjin found me that night, he kind of stepped in to do that and… Well, that’s that. He hasn’t said that he wants to get rid of me ever since.”Hyunjin rolled his eyes, but a fond smile was playing on his lips and happiness flowed through Felix at the thought that those two seemed to be so content with having found each other. “You were on your own at the time?” he asked carefully towards Hyunjin, unsure how much he was allowed to pry.Hyunjin turned to him and nodded. “I had left my sire and his coven a few years before that and had been roaming the world on my own. I had initially returned to Joseon because it was comfortable to be somewhere that I knew… I would have never thought that I would leave the country with not only one but two people by my side.”“So how did you meet Jeongin?”“Speak of the devil,” Jisung said with a glance towards the ceiling, then he got up. “Felix, you want some coffee?”Felix shook his head, figuring that Jisung must have heard Jeongin upstairs. With a nod, Jisung left the room, so Felix turned towards Hyunjin. “He started out being a little menace, so to this day, I am certain that some people told him to get rid of Jisung and me. Well… he did succeed, in a way, because we did end up moving away not long after we first met him, but we found him tagging along as if it was the most natural thing. And then at some point, it indeed became the most natural thing.” Hyunjin shrugged lightly, but even so, it was obvious that this small family meant the world to him. Happiness bubbled through Felix at that thought and he turned his body a little more towards Hyunjin, leaning his side against the backrest.“I’m glad you all found each other. You seem really close.”“I guess that’s what living together for over a century does to people.”It still seemed unreal to Felix that the other three, who looked like they were about his age, were actually much older than him. “This is still so surreal to me,” he mumbled and looked down at his lap. Just a few months ago, his life had been completely normal. And suddenly, he was surrounded by magic and all kinds of magical creatures. And they were willing to let him in!Or… was he even that special?“Does anyone else from hyung’s café know? From the day shift, I mean?” Felix looked up again to find Hyunjin shaking his head.“Not as far as I know. There were a few who had found out that something was off about the café, but a simple potion from Minho and everything’s forgotten.”Felix frowned at that. “But hyung said that he had had to research what to do…”“Oh yeah, it’s almost like he drinks some of it himself every time!” Hyunjin rolled his eyes, but he looked rather amused, finally relaxing and leaning back as well, turning more towards Felix. “He never remembers how to do that one. But he also did mention that several major suppliers have had to shut down since the last time he had needed to get supplies for this specific potion, making the already hard-to-get main ingredient nearly impossible to get.” “He still ordered some, though. Just in case,” Jisung filled in, suddenly standing in the doorway again. “He was complaining to me for nearly a week about how that cost him a small fortune.”“What, you want a pity party for that?” another voice came from down the hallway and Jisung looked over, sticking his tongue out.“And I made you coffee!”“You’re a great hyung. And if you’ll bring it to me, you’ll even the best hyung!”“What am I, your servant?”“Hyunjin-hyung!” Jeongin appeared in the doorframe, looking all cozy and cute in an oversized purple sweater, sweatpants, and fuzzy socks. His hair was messy from sleep and his eyes still not fully open as he looked at Hyunjin with a pout. “Jisung-hyung is mean to me!”Hyunjin laughed softly and leaned forward, patting the nearest armchair—the one that Jisung had been sitting in earlier. “Come here. I’m sure Jisungie will spoil you if you sit down.”“Hey!” Jisung protested, but Jeongin already happily started making his way into the room, coming to an immediate stop, though, when his eyes landed on Felix.“What are you doing here?”Felix glanced over at Hyunjin, then back to Jeongin. “Hyunjin-sshi asked if I wanted to come over…”“Oh… oh, right. Hyung mentioned that.”“It’s fine. I mean, you just got up,” Felix pointed out, well aware that he, too, would have probably needed a moment to adjust if he were to wake up to someone in his and Chan’s apartment who was not usually in their apartment.Jeongin smiled at him just as Jisung came back from the kitchen. The scent of coffee filled the air, coming from the steaming mug Jisung was carrying and handing over to Jeongin who beamed at the other. “Thank you! Could you also bring me a snack?”“You little demon…”Jeongin giggled at Jisung’s empty attempt at a threat. “But I’m your little demon. Also, Felixie probably wouldn’t mind a snack either.”Two pairs of eyes immediately turned towards Felix, staring blankly, but Felix was still caught up on the ‘demon’ part, his brain slowly connecting the dots. Dots that were glaring at him in neon. That he probably should’ve been able to connect a while ago.“Right, you’re human. I’m gonna get snacks,” Jisung mumbled and left the living room once again.“You’re a demon,” Felix said, staring at Jeongin who blinked back at him, then flashed him the brightest and most angelic smile.“Yes!”“Not quite what you imagined?” Hyunjin asked, sounding amused, but Jeongin huffed.“That’s because he’s never seen me in my real form. He only knows this. Of course he wouldn’t think of me as a demon.”“He also doesn’t know you that well, so he doesn’t know that you’re literally the personification of a demon no matter what shape you’re in,” Jisung replied as he came back into the room, ignoring Jeongin’s scandalized gasp. He placed a plate full of cut vegetables and fruits on the table before scratching the back of his neck. Felix was momentarily taken aback at how he could have possibly cut up several items in such a short time until he remembered that vampire speed would be a thing. Even so, he found it impressive. “This is kind of all I could really work with, so I hope it will do?”Jeongin was quickly distracted from their banter, his eyes shining as he took in the assortment on the plate. “Hyung, this looks amazing! Felixie, can you come over more often?”Felix giggled at that and leaned forward to take a piece of apple when Jeongin pushed the plate a little closer to him, taking a handful of vegetables in the same move.“Can I ask a question?”“You’ve done nothing but,” Jisung pointed out and Felix pouted at him, beaming the moment he saw Jisung give in.“Okay, so: demons can have multiple appearances. And they can eat, apparently, which vampires cannot,” he summarized.“Literally everything about that is equally correct and incorrect,” Jeongin replied. Felix blinked at him, confused to have received probably the most unhelpful reply anyone could have thought of.“What he means is,” Hyunjin came to his help, “that demons do not naturally have a variety of appearances, but they can basically create them. It takes some power to be able to create a humanoid appearance, but it does help to be able to walk the human world, which in turn helps them gain more power.”Jeongin nodded as he finished a slice of bell pepper. “It also takes energy to keep up this appearance, though, so that kinda evens out, at the end of the day. And no, you don’t want to see my real form. And you won’t. I don’t show that to humans unless they summon me.”Felix pouted a little, but he simply accepted that fact. If Jeongin didn’t feel comfortable showing his real self—or simply wanted to keep it separate, like a work uniform—, then he wouldn’t argue against that.“And regarding food,” Jisung jumped in, “Hyunjin and I really can’t eat. Tried that, went terrible, never gonna do that again. Drinking stuff is somewhat fine, but it’s best not to overdo it.”“That’s one of the reasons why Minho offers spiked drinks, actually. It helps us digest the drinks, in a way, and it means that we can drink more of it,” Hyunjin explained further.“And let’s not forget about the fact that it will actually provide us with what our bodies need,” Jisung added. “Truly, places like Minho’s café are basically heaven-sent for us.”“I disagree with the wording, but yes.” Jeongin grimaced and pushed a carrot stick into his mouth. “For me, I guess eating is just fun? Since this appearance here is very human, it can digest food more easily. But I don’t actually need it to survive.”“Then what do you need?” Felix asked, realization dawning on him that it was a taboo question when Jeongin squinted at him. “Sorry, you don’t have to answer.”“No, no, you’re good. I keep forgetting that you don’t have the same knowledge that we all have.” Jeongin shrugged and when he didn’t say more, Felix figured that he wouldn’t get an answer to his question. It made him all the more curious, but he wouldn’t press on topics that the others didn’t want to speak about.“By the way, just, like, generally, how do I know which questions are okay and which are not?” He looked at all three of them at that.Hyunjin was the first to have an answer for him. “Generally, if you’d ask that question to a human, it’s okay to ask us as well. Or, well, if you’d ask that question to a fellow Korean, that is.”“I’m not Korean.” Felix blushed when he had three pairs of eyes staring at him. “Umm, I mean, I kinda am. But I was born and raised in Australia, so, yeah…”“Damn, when did you come here?” Jeongin was the first to recover his composure.“During middle school, so, like, four years ago? No, I think it’s more like five?”“You spoke Korean at home?”“Hardly.”“You came to Korea knowing no Korean and you just went to school like it’s nothing and now you’re fully fluent!?” Jeongin stared at him wide-eyed, the vegetables in his hand seeming long forgotten.“Well… yeah?”“Dude, that’s hardcore!”“What about your family?” Jisung asked, but Felix shrugged.“They’re still in Australia. A befriended family took me in and they’re like a second family to me now. Well, the parents moved back to Australia when I started university this year, but I still live together with their son because we became best friends.”“What on earth were you doing moving to Korea all on your own as a child?” Jeongin asked on, still seeming in shock.“Hey, I was a teenager.”“You’re still a child.”“Excuse me?” When Jeongin merely raised an eyebrow at him and pointed at himself, then Jisung, then Hyunjin, before motioning at Felix, the latter figured that he couldn’t win that argument against people who were more than a hundred years older than him. Thinking about it… ouch! A hundred years was a lot! “Whatever. I actually wanted to become a trainee but didn’t make the audition… But I haven’t given up the hope that I can do something with dance eventually, so I’m studying that.”Jisung let out a soft whistle. “That’s determination.”“And your parents were okay with that?” Jeongin asked.“I guess I just begged until they agreed to find a way with me to make it happen.”“I’m sorry that the auditions didn’t work out,” Hyunjin said quietly and Felix looked at him in surprise, then shook his head.“Don’t worry about it, it’s fine now.” He took a few more slices from the plate before looking around again. “What about you all? Is there something that you want to achieve? Or something big that you’ve wanted to achieve in the past and have been able to do?”“For me, it’s art,” Hyunjin replied. “I’ve started out with photography, and that’s still interesting, but these days, drawing fulfills me more, so I’m doing that.”“Right, you mentioned that. Can I see some of your stuff later?”Hyunjin looked so flustered at that, eyes widening a little and lips opening a tiny bit before he quickly looked away, that Felix was almost surprised that he didn’t blush. Though maybe vampires weren’t able to do that. He’d have to keep that in mind.“Umm… I mean… I do have some drawings in my studio… But… well, they’re not all that good…” Hyunjin stumbled over his words, the most incoherent that Felix had seen him since they had met.“What hyung means to say is that they don’t live up to his perfectionist standard, but literally everyone else will still be speechless,” Jeongin filled in and Hyunjin tensed at that, ceasing all motion for a moment before he started playing with the end of one of his sleeves.“But they’re really not that good.”“Say one more word and I’m having Jisung-hyung aid me in getting Felix to your studio unobstructed to let him decide for himself.”Hyunjin sat straight and had his hands in front of him, waving them defensively, faster than Felix could comprehend what was happening. “No, no, no, don’t do that!”“So you’re gonna show him yourself?” Jeongin opted, seeming to drive Hyunjin even further into his panic because he also started shaking his head.“How about this,” Jisung interrupted. “Jeonginnie and I tell Felix about our dreams while you pick a few pictures that you’re confident with and you can either bring those over or we can come to your studio. Does that sound good?”Hyunjin’s eyes flashed over the three of them and before Felix could say that it was okay, that he didn’t want Hyunjin to worry, the other was just gone with a small ‘woosh’ing sound. Felix blankly stared at the spot where Hyunjin had been sitting just a heartbeat earlier, needing a moment to convince himself that this was real; that he had neither imagined Hyunjin sitting there nor was suddenly hallucinating him gone.Belatedly, Felix turned towards Jisung and Jeongin who looked thoroughly amused but didn’t mention it any further. “These days, I’m trying to learn more about the variety of magical creatures,” Jeongin started. “You may think that that kind of knowledge comes natural to us, but it actually doesn’t. We’re just more aware of many things because, well, that’s just our lives, our realities. That’s actually why I started working at Minho-hyung’s café. It’s not like we need the money, but working there gives me more exposure to other species. And Minho-hyung is basically a walking lexicon for this topic, so I’m also learning a lot from him.”“Is it because he is a witch?” Felix asked hesitantly, unsure if that kind of question was okay to ask, but Jeongin merely shrugged his shoulders.“Yes and no, in a way. He did need to do a lot of research and still does a lot of research on magical creatures, as far as I know, so this knowledge isn’t inherent to him either. But being a witch who opened a café that specifically caters to us at night by offering drinks or extras that are species-specific, it is necessary that he knows a lot,” he explained, his expression darkening a little.Felix nodded lightly, about to turn to Jisung because asking about Jeongin’s expression seemed like a very clear crossing of boundaries, when Jeongin turned towards the door. “Hyung, I can literally feel your distress from here. Either calm down or we’re coming right now.” He didn’t even bother to raise his voice.“Don’t!” Hyunjin’s voice sounded on edge, even to Felix’s ears, and Jeongin’s expression darkened even more.“Fuck this,” he announced and put his cup down. “We’re going right now, I’m not doing this.”Felix rose to his feet hesitantly when Jeongin did the same and merely looked at him once with a raised eyebrow that seemed to say ‘speak’ before turning away, but Felix still took it as an ‘okay’. “Demons also have heightened senses?”“No. Some of us feed on fear. With the little twist that the fear and distress of those we’re emotionally close to is… basically toxic to us,” Jeongin explained while leading the way.Oh. Was Hyunjin really that afraid to show him anything. “It’s okay. We don’t have to do this.”“Don’t worry,” Jisung said from behind him. “He’ll feel better after this, I’m sure about it.”They entered another room and Felix’s eyes barely even went over the array of canvasses in the room, instead zeroing down on Hyunjin who stood in the middle. Hyunjin’s eyes were darting around the room and his breathing seemed a little too fast, like he was on the verge of panicking. One hand was fisting the hem of his shirt while he had raised the other to his lips, possibly biting his nails.Felix couldn’t bear the sight, his heart twisting, and before he knew it, he found himself walking over towards Hyunjin. The latter quickly looked over at him, staring as if he was contemplating whether to run away, fight, or just play dead. By the time that Felix reached him, he still didn’t seem to have made up his mind.Felix reached for Hyunjin’s raised hand, gently pulling it away from his lips, almost surprised to find that Hyunjin just let him do it. Felix opened Hyunjin’s fist just far enough so he could sneak his own hand inside, intertwining their fingers, taken aback at how tiny his hand looked in Hyunjin’s. After blinking a few times at the difference, he looked up again, still finding Hyunjin staring at him, unmoving, not even breathing, as if he had just frozen in place.“Is this okay?” He tilted his head lightly, squeezing Hyunjin’s hand to emphasize what he meant.Very, very slowly, Hyunjin nodded, taking in a deep breath as if to steady himself.“Lesson learned: if something scary’s coming up, have a Felix at the ready,” Jeongin mumbled from behind Felix who felt his cheeks immediately burning in embarrassment at what he had just done and the fact that he had two witnesses. At the same time, the physical contact did seem to help Hyunjin, so Felix merely lowered their hands, not pulling away.He finally took the time to look around, immediately forgetting about his embarrassment. A sea of—painted—flowers surrounded him; many in color, some of them just drawn with pencils. Interrupting them were drawings of faces; most often two faces, leaning in, just centimeters apart as if they were about to join in a kiss. Among those, the majority of them were drawn with pencils.Felix gravitated closer to the drawings, pulling Hyunjin along. He took his time studying all the pictures; each detail, each line, how the colors mixed or influenced each other… His mouth probably hung open during the majority of the time, but he couldn’t help it, drawn into the images. At one point, Hyunjin quietly started to explain the drawings and if Felix hadn’t already fallen head over heels for the other’s art at first sight, he had definitely fallen deep by the time they were done.“Your art is amazing!” Felix finally said, unable to believe that Hyunjin could in any way be self-conscious about anything Felix had seen, but he knew better than to point that out.“Now that you’ve seen this, will you also let me see you dance?” Hyunjin asked, seeming eager to get out of the spotlight.“I don’t think I have any good videos on my phone,” Felix replied pensively, interrupted by Jisung and Jeongin groaning in unison. “I mean quality-wise!” he tried to amend the situation, but Jeongin was already raising a finger towards him.“Listen, if I don’t see a video of you in two minutes, I am going to steal your phone and I am going to figure out your password,” he threatened.“It’s fingerprint secured.”“I will not hesitate to cut off one of your fingers.”Maybe Felix shouldn’t have revealed that… His expression seemed to show it all because Jisung burst out laughing, patting Jeongin on the shoulder. “Yeah, yeah, good luck explaining that to Minho.”Hyunjin lightly squeezed Felix’s hand and the latter’s shoulders finally relaxed. “Well, give me a bit of time to find a video where the quality might not totally suck.”“Told ya, you got two minutes,” Jeongin replied, turned on his heels, and left the studio. Jisung shook his head lightly as he followed after him, so Felix found himself looking at Hyunjin, seeing him smiling and quickly looking away from him as if caught. Felix relaxed even more, a little amused but also touched at how often this seemed to be happening.They followed the other two into the living room, all of them squeezing on the sofa. Hyunjin hadn’t let go of Felix’s hand, so Felix also made no move to remove his, simply unlocking his phone with his free hand, scrolling through his gallery in search for a good video.It didn’t take all too long until he had found something and handed his phone to Jeongin who was seated between Jisung and Hyunjin. The quality still wasn’t the best, especially the sound quality, but it seemed to be good enough to satisfy the other three. They watched a few more videos until Jeongin jumped at the end of one. “Shit, it’s already 9:30? I need to get ready for my shift!” He shoved the phone into Hyunjin’s hand and bolted up and out of the room.Felix looked after him for a moment before turning towards Hyunjin and Jisung, both of whom were watching him instead. “Should we drive you home when we’re dropping Jeongin off?” Jisung offered.“It’s okay, I can just take the subway,” Felix replied automatically, instantly finding himself at the receiving end of Jisung’s and Hyunjin’s judging gazes.“We’re not letting you run around on your own at night,” Jisung pointed out.“I’m old enough, I’ll be alright!”“Yeah, and we know what kinds of creatures might be hiding in the dark. You’re not taking the subway.”Felix opened his mouth to protest, but Hyunjin beat him to it, his tone much gentler than Jisung’s, “Felix, I understand that you’re confident that nothing will happen, and we don’t mean to imply that you won’t make it home safe on your own. But we’d still feel better if you were to let us drive you. That the city should be safe enough doesn’t always mean that it is, so especially when you’re with us, we’d just like to do whatever we can to make sure that you will be safe.”Felix looked down, feeling like a little child, but also unable to argue against Hyunjin’s concerns. “Okay, then, sure. It would be nice if you’d take me home.”Hyunjin squeezed his hand, making Felix feel a little better, in part because they were still holding hands and it just felt inexplicably natural to do so.“It was really nice to have had you over today,” Jisung said softly and Felix looked up, smiling.“Thank you for having me. And also thank you for always answering my questions.”“Don’t worry about it. How else are you supposed to learn about us, after all?” Jisung replied, but Felix shook his head.“I do mean it. You said it yourself: I asked quite a few questions that are usually a taboo to ask. So: thank you. I really appreciate that you take the time to answer.”“Anytime. You also have Hyunjin’s number now, so don’t hesitate to reach out to him or Minho if there’s anything else you want to know.”“Also keep in mind that, no matter the question, it’s better to ask one of us than to consult the internet,” Hyunjin added and Felix smiled sheepishly; he had already asked about quite a few myths, after all, so it was clear that a lot of ‘general knowledge’ was false.“I’m ready,” Jeongin called from the hallway, prompting the other three to get up. They put on their shoes and coats, and it was only when Felix turned around that he realized that Jisung actually hadn’t followed suit all the way. Instead, he was leaning against the wall, smiling softly.“I’ll see you around, I guess?” he asked and Felix was quick to nod, not wanting this to have been their last meeting. He bid Jisung goodbye, then followed the other two outside and into the garage. To his surprise, Jeongin got in in the back, so Felix hesitantly opened the passenger door, once again sliding into Hyunjin’s red sports car.The ride was mostly filled with Jeongin’s babbling until they arrived at the café. Felix’s hand felt a little empty from having held Hyunjin’s hand for so long, but he naturally wouldn’t take the other’s hand while he was driving. “Thank you for taking me home. And thank you for letting me see your drawings earlier. It obviously meant a lot to you.”Hyunjin shrugged lightly, but a small, shy smile was playing on his lips. “You’re welcome. And… yeah, I don’t really show people what I make. At least not the stuff that I don’t sell. It’s just…”“It’s very personal, I get it.”Hyunjin glanced over at him before looking back at the road. Felix almost got the impression that there was something Hyunjin wanted to say, but in the end, they remained silent for a good while.“I wonder if hyung will let me work another night shift… It was actually kind of cool to work at night.”“Not scary at all?”“Nope. I don’t know… it was weird, of course, knowing that I’m the only human there. Or, well, the only one without any kind of special power. But it was also exciting. And I get to meet more people, I really liked that.”“You like meeting people?” Hyunjin repeated, but there was no judgement in his voice.“Very much!” Felix was quick to nod. “I like meeting people and making them happy. I think that’s actually why I like working as a barista because people are usually happy to get a drink and some cake or cookies. It’s just nice to know that I played a part in people’s happiness, you know? Even if it’s such a small part as providing a drink or a piece of cake.”“That’s really sweet.”Felix shrugged lightly, smiling to himself as he watched the outside world pass by. “I’ve always liked that: making people happy. It makes me happy as well.”“Try to stay that way, will you?” Hyunjin asked quietly. Felix looked over at him, but the darkness hid the other’s expression well enough. “The world is a cruel place. It’s people like you who really make life worth living.”Something bloomed inside Felix at those words because they went so much deeper than any regular compliment, sounded so much more honest. “I’ll try my best,” he answered eventually and looked ahead again, wishing that he could have properly promised Hyunjin that he wouldn’t change. But such a promise was impossible, wasn’t it?
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The mood in the café had been off all day. The news about some disease in China were spreading and the information was all over the place, so new that everyone was speculating. But it wasn’t Korea, so they were safe. Right?It was early January, so their shifts were usually calm. Many students had gone home over the semester break or were simply staying inside to hide away from the cold temperatures. At the thought of returning home that night to a quiet apartment, Felix let out a sigh while doing the dishes. Maybe he could give Hyunjin a call? They hadn’t really called before and had only met up once more since the first time, but Felix dreaded the thought of not having anyone to talk to after this shift. He knew from experience that whenever Chan was with Changbin, he wouldn’t answer his phone, so Chan wasn’t really an option. And no matter how many people Felix had met and enjoyed talking to, they all… weren’t that close. Not close enough for him to vent to after a taxing day at work, anyway.The café was completely empty except from him and his coworker and as much as Felix wanted to talk to Chan (preferably) or Hyunjin, he didn’t really feel like talking to anyone else. And his coworker seemed to share the sentiment.They worked quietly, only making meaningless comments on the music occasionally or dividing their tasks. By the time that the last thirty minutes of their shift were finally over without another customer coming in, they immediately moved to finish up their work. Felix took care of the cash register since Minho had shown him recently how to do that. He was just finishing the required paperwork when he heard someone in the front.“Felix?”“In the back,” his colleague answered.Felix raised an eyebrow and signed the final part when he heard someone running along the short hallway. He looked up to find Jeongin, out of breath, rushing into the office and closing the door, bridging the short gap between them while he spoke. “Felix, can you cover for me?”Felix frowned. “Sure, what—”“Someone’s summoning me and I can’t hold it off much longer.”“Yeah, I’ll do it.”“Thank you, I’ll text Minho!”Jeongin threw the door open and ran out again, leaving Felix to look after him with a raised eyebrow. “You okay?” he called out, but didn’t get an answer. A little worried, he quickly stored away the day’s income, then he grabbed the cash department to put it back into the register. Before doing so, though, he went to the break room to peek into it in search of the other employee. “Jeongin?”The break room lay in front of him completely empty, making Felix blink slowly. Well…He momentarily thought about texting Chan that he would be staying at work late, but then he remembered that Chan wasn’t home, so there was really no use texting him. With a quiet sigh, Felix made his way to the front again. What did he even need to prepare for the night shift? Last time, he had arrived so late that he hadn’t needed to do any of the preparations, and aside from that, no one had ever explained to him what needed to be done. With the illusions in place, would he even be able to do anything?“Hey, you good?” his coworker asked and Felix looked over at him, smiling.“Yeah, don’t worry. You’re all done?”“Yup.”“Then you can go ahead and go home. Jeongin wasn’t feeling well, so he asked me to wait until he’s a little better or his colleagues from the cleaning crew get here,” Felix lied, almost surprised how easy the excuse left his lips. And definitely a little surprised at how wrong it felt to call the night shift the ‘cleaning crew’.“You sure?”“Yup,” Felix replied. His coworker eyed him a little longer while Felix finished preparing the cash register, then he seemed to give in.“Alright, I hope you won’t have to stay for long.”Felix merely smiled at him, unable to bring himself to lie about how he would definitely need to stay quite a bit longer. His coworker went to get changed, then they bid each other goodbye.Felix restocked whatever he was able to while his mind wandered off to Jeongin. How often did it happen that people summoned him? He had seemed to be in great distress, so what exactly was that process? What did it feel like for Jeongin to be summoned?He was just filling up coffee beans when the door opened and a young woman whom Felix didn’t recognize came in. “Sorry, we’re closed,” he called out automatically, making her come to a full stop.They both stared at each other over the coffee machine until Felix heard a few coffee beans hitting the counter and he quickly tilted the coffee bean bag back, cursing in his mind as he tried to minimize the damage he had just caused. He grabbed a nearby spoon, intending to put the piling coffee beans back into the bag so that he could at least close the lid of the machine's coffee bean compartment, but he froze mid-movement when the woman said, “You’re not Jeongin.”He looked up again in surprise. “You’re here for the night shift?”“What?” She squinted at him, making Felix smile lightly, hoping to ease the mood a little.“I stumbled in a little late one day and Minho-hyung kind of filled me in on everything. Jeongin…” Did she know that Jeongin was a demon? Was it a taboo to say that Jeongin had just been summoned? “… wasn’t feeling feel, so he asked me to cover for him for a bit.”“Oh… You’ve done this before?”“Well… not really?”They both stared at each other a little longer before she flashed him a sheepish smile. “Well, that’s bad. It’s my third night here, so there are still a lot of things I don’t know.”“Well, great, I can literally only tell you how to man the register.”Neither of them seemed to really know where to take it from there. Felix briefly glanced at the clock and realized that they only had two minutes to spare before the café would reopen for the night.“Um… how about you get changed and then we simply take it from there? Jeongin said he texted Minho-hyung, so we’ll probably get help soon.”The woman nodded and finally started moving again.“Oh, I’m Felix, by the way.” He flashed her a bright smile, a little confused when she seemed to startle at that before smiling back lightly.“Jihyo.”“It’s nice to meet you. Now quick, I will be lost without you!”Jihyo’s smile turned a little more real as she hurried around the counter and into the back area.Felix fixed the coffee bean mountain and put the bag away, sighing quietly when he realized that it was already time to reopen. He went to the cash register, fumbling a little with it but eventually got it working for the night shift just as Jihyo returned to the front. “How come you’re wearing a different apron?”“Huh?” Felix looked down at himself, remembering with a delay that the night shift had a different apron than the day shift. “Oh, I totally forgot about this! I’ll be right back,” he announced and hurried into the back. It took a bit of fumbling behind the illusion before he was able to grab the right apron and he was still tying it when he returned to the front, glad to see that no one had come in just yet. His eyes widened lightly in surprise when he noticed Jihyo holding something and he stepped a little closer. “There’s a manual?”Jihyo looked up and nodded, holding it up for a moment so that Felix could see that it was indeed the manual for the night shift. A glimpse between the pages, though, revealed that it was only semi-helpful to him because he still had no idea what some of the ingredients were. Not that he’d even be able to locate them behind the illusion…“Will it be alright for you to be mainly in charge of making the drinks?” he asked with a small smile. “There are illusions in place, so I can’t even really see the parts that are only accessible to the night shift.”“Really not?” Jihyo asked, looking at him in surprise.Felix shook his head lightly. “No. I mean, you can also practice with the cash register, of course, and I’m sure I’ll be able to help with measurements and all of that, but I probably won’t be able to help much with identifying some of the ingredients or making some of these drinks…”“That makes this all even more complicated.” Jihyo looked down at the manual with a complicated expression and Felix hummed, simply studying the inside together with her in hopes of getting a better picture of the overall situation.The door was opened soon after to give way to a young woman. The two employees greeted her and Felix stepped back a little to let Jihyo familiarize herself more with the cash register and afterwards with the coffee machine. They had two more customers, only the last one actually asking for a special drink that Jihyo and Felix took a moment to figure out how to make.When the door opened for the fourth time, the ‘welcome’ died on Felix’s lips as Minho stormed in, looking livid. Felix was almost certain that a murderous aura surrounded him and he hurried away from the ‘staff only’ door to make space for Minho. Hyunjin and Jisung looked hardly better, though they at least tried not to look like they were about to kill someone.“Hey, you two want anything?” Felix asked hesitantly, shaking himself out of his stupor faster than Jihyo who had literally fled to the other end of the counter, eyeing them all warily. Felix truly felt bad for her.Hyunjin was a little faster to place their order, his tone sounding barely controlled. Felix sighed inwardly as he handed Jisung’s card back. “Pick a seat, we might take a little longer.”“No need,” Hyunjin almost growled, glaring at Jisung who had elbowed him in the side.“Yes, very much a need. You two are scaring Jihyo-sshi. Go sit,” Felix shooed them away before grabbing the small slip with their order to make it together with Jihyo. Luckily, the order wasn’t too difficult and they managed to finish it just as Minho came back, looking like he was just barely keeping his anger under control. He regarded them briefly, apparently determining that neither of them needed his help because he started rummaging through the cabinet that Felix didn’t have access to.Felix was almost dying to join Hyunjin and Jisung when they picked up their drinks, dying to ask about the situation and maybe get away further from Minho. But that not only seemed too dangerous because Minho would clearly be able to hear him and Felix did not actually want to test the other’s patience, but he also didn’t want to leave Jihyo on her own when she looked terrified enough of the situation as it was.He still found himself taking over the cash register when the next customer came in, easier able to keep up a good customer service attitude than Jihyo. They worked in near silence like that for quite a while, and Felix could tell that Minho, Hyunjin, and Jisung were slowly calming down a little. Jisung, especially, seemed to turn from being angry into being worried the more time passed, talking to Hyunjin too quietly for Felix to hear anything.“I’m sorry.” Felix almost whipped his head around from where he had been watching the other two. He instead looked at Minho, who had just spoken up, immediately smiling softly when he saw the other’s contrite expression. Jihyo on the far end of the counter looked torn between fear and surprise. “You two aren’t to blame for Jeongin being unable to start his shift, so I’m sorry that you had to be on the receiving end of this just now.”Felix shook his head lightly. “It’s okay, hyung. Life happens, getting stressed by that is human.” He only realized a moment too late what he had said and he could tell by the amused look on Minho’s expression that his realization was clearly displayed on his face. “Um… I mean… Forget it, you know what I mean.”Minho chuckled softly. “You’re too precious.”Felix was tempted to make a Gollum voice of ‘My precious’, but he didn’t get a chance when a new customer came in and he would definitely not lose face like that.They got a little busier afterwards, especially with Minho explaining a few more things to Jihyo, and Felix hardly noticed time passing when he suddenly noticed movement out of the corner of his eyes. The table where Hyunjin and Jisung had just sat was suddenly empty and in the periphery, Felix could see that the door behind him was suddenly open, slowly falling close.“Will you two excuse me for a bit?” Minho asked, his voice sounding pressed. “Call me if you need me, alright?” Felix barely got the chance to even nod before Minho also disappeared into the back area. He looked over his shoulder at the ‘staff only’ door, then to the front, blinking in surprise when he found a customer there. He looked at the cash register and realized belatedly that he was actually in the middle of taking that customer’s order, so he hurriedly apologized and continued where he had left off. Minho reappeared shortly after, but it was only to make a cup of tea that he carried into the staff area.Though it took a little longer than it probably should have, Felix and Jihyo managed to get through the small rush of customers pretty well. Jihyo was just finishing up the last few orders from that rush while Felix tended to a new customer who had just come in when the door behind him was opened once more. It took some conscious effort for him to stay focused on the customer as he saw Jeongin joining them behind the counter.As soon as he was done, he spun around, ready to welcome Jeongin back brightly, but his smile immediately faded when he saw the other. Jeongin’s hair was falling slightly into his face and he had gotten a black mask from somewhere that still wasn’t able to cover up how utterly dejected and out of it he looked. Felix immediately wanted to reach out for him, but he didn’t know if that was okay. On top of that, they actually were busy.A young woman came in and Felix beamed at her when he actually recognized her as a member of the night shift staff. She got changed and quickly joined them in the front while Felix was just finishing up an order. The other three who had been in the back also finally came back to the front and suddenly, the area behind the counter was almost crowded.Felix used this opportunity and gently pulled Jeongin aside as soon as he had the chance, studying the other’s face even though Jeongin wasn’t even looking at him. Still, he could see that Jeongin’s eyes were a little red, as if he had cried after having returned. “I don’t think I even need to ask if you’re okay,” Felix started quietly. “But what about a hug?”Jeongin finally looked up to meet his eyes and Felix’s heart gave a painful throb at the sadness and the dejection he could see in them. And still, Jeongin only watched him as if the concept of a hug was alien to him.“It’s okay if you don’t want one, of course. I know it won’t actually change anything, but… it still sometimes makes life a little easier, you know? I guess I just want you to know that I’m here if you need me,” he started babbling, only stopping when the thought hit him that this might be weird. They weren’t really close and didn’t know each other all that well. Was Felix overstepping boundaries again?He was about to pass it off in a joking manner, hoping that he hadn't done any damage, when Jeongin hesitantly spread his arms a little. Felix instantly jumped onto the opportunity and hugged Jeongin close to himself. Jeongin was slower, wrapping his arms almost carefully around Felix as if he could break at any moment. After a few seconds, he moved to let go, but Felix tightened his hug a little. Jeongin’s arms snaked around him once more, this time hugging back so tightly that Felix almost couldn’t breathe, but instead of complaining, Felix tightened his hug to the same level.He closed his eyes, ignoring the world around him in favor of simply holding Jeongin, giving him all the time that he needed. He didn’t know much time had passed—seconds, minutes, maybe hours—when Jeongin finally started to relax. Still, neither of them let go until Minho suddenly pulled them out of it.“Hey you two, can you at least move a bit?”“Sorry,” Jeongin replied immediately and stepped out of the hug almost hurriedly. Felix also made some space, watching Jeongin for a moment longer, but even though the other wasn’t meeting his eyes, he held his head a little higher. Felix smiled to himself and moved away to restock some of their sweets. When he briefly looked up, he found Hyunjin glaring into Jeongin’s direction while Jisung looked thoroughly amused, his lips moving, but words too quiet for Felix to understand.Minho disappeared into the back shortly after and somehow, Felix found himself doing the dishes while Jeongin leaned against the counter next to him, drying everything and putting it away with an unfocused gaze.“It was a young girl.” Felix glanced up at Jeongin’s quiet voice, but the other was still staring straight ahead, seemingly unseeing. “The one who summoned me. She… she asked me for help. Against her father.” Jeongin gulped and Felix momentarily halted in his movements. He had an instant feeling about what had been going on with that girl even without Jeongin spelling it out for him, and his stomach twisted at the mere thought. “He came in not long after while she was still begging me to help her…” Jeongin trailed off and it was only when Felix finished cleaning the dishes that he figured that Jeongin wouldn’t go further into detail.“You did good,” he said quietly, not needing to ask to know that Jeongin had acted on the girl’s wishes. Or at least he was certain that he didn’t have to ask.Jeongin let out a quiet, humorless laugh. “If anyone else had said that, I’d take that as an insult.”Felix stilled, one hand on top of the long plastic gloves that he had just taken off and placed over the sink's edge. Right. The other was a demon. He wasn’t supposed to do good. “What would have been appropriate to say?” he asked carefully, glancing over at Jeongin who was still drying the dishes.“Everyone else would have probably asked me what I did to him.” A small smile tugged the corners of his lips upwards, making Felix smile as well despite himself.“Do I actually want to know what you did to him?”“I don’t think so, no.”Felix didn’t allow himself to think of the implications of that sentence, but one thought still stuck to his mind like glue. “Was that little girl present?”Jeongin glanced at him from the side as if Felix had just majorly offended him. “Of course I didn’t do anything to that guy in front of her.”“Right,” Felix agreed and he couldn’t help but smile again when another thought crossed his mind. “That would have been pretty inhumane, after all.”Jeongin shoved him with his shoulder and turned around as if nothing had happened, making Felix grin. “Jihyo, how long are you staying?”“Until 2.”Jeongin nodded. “Then go ahead and take your break now while it’s not too busy.”She nodded and made herself a drink, then she disappeared into the back. The remaining three quickly fell into rhythm with Felix manning the register again and the other two preparing drinks and doing whatever other tasks had to be done.Felix had gotten a small break that he had used to make himself a simple green tea, but he didn’t even manage to get first sip before the next customer came in. She looked like a young woman who was probably just a little older than he was. “Welcome,” he greeted her with his usual bright attire, startling a little when she was up close. Her eyes were almost completely red with only a hue of brown. “What can I get you?”“A black coffee with an extra shot of blood,” she ordered with a smooth voice and just the hint of an accent.Felix nodded, his hand flying over the display with practiced ease. “Anything else you’d like tonight?” he asked as he raised his eyes from the display, gulping when he found her eyes a little too far south.“Yes,” she said, her voice a little rougher.Before Felix knew what was happening, he was pushed against the counter in his back and Jeongin was suddenly standing right in front of him while someone else—Hyunjin—was between that woman and the counter. One of them was hissing and the sound gave Felix goosebumps all over. One of his hands found the back of Jeongin’s shirt, gripping it tightly, while he stared at the scene in front of him with widened eyes. He could see the woman’s lips moving, but he couldn’t make out the words she was saying. Unlike Hyunjin’s when he almost growled, “Fuck. Off!”She replied again, but over the blood rushing through his ears, Felix could only make out a hissing noise, interrupted only when the staff door was opened. Felix’s eyes flitted to his side and time seemed to come to a full stop with Minho’s appearance. This time, there was definitely an aura about him, an electric flickering that made his hair stir as if moved by light wind. “Get out.” Minho hadn’t raised his voice, yet it seemed to be booming inside Felix, making a shiver run through him and the hairs on his arms and the back of his neck stand up. “And never show yourself in this café or in front of my staff ever again.”The woman looked like she wanted to protest, but something in the air between them was crackling and a moment later, she was stumbling backwards. She pointed her finger at Minho, looking like she wanted to curse him, but without another word, she spun around and was gone a moment later, only the movement of the entrance door revealing that she had been in the café in the first place.“Felix!”Felix blinked, unable to tell how much time had passed during which his brain seemed to have completely short-circuited, unable to allow him to act or even think. But, according to the worried glances from Minho, Hyunjin, and Jisung, he might have been checked out for a bit. Or maybe it hadn’t been that long and he just hadn’t realized that over his shock.He blinked again, forcing his fingers to release their grip on Jeongin’s shirt. His heart was beating fast and his legs felt unsteady, as if they would give in should he attempt to stand on them without support.“Felix, are you okay?” Minho asked, gently touching his arm, while Jeongin turned around to face him, worry etched into his features. And no weird aura about either of them that was crackling and making their hair move.“I’m fine. I’m fine,” Felix mumbled, trying to get his body to obey.“Felix, you’re shaking,” Jeongin observed, seemed to hesitate, but just a moment later, Felix found himself enveloped in a hug. He closed his eyes, hugging Jeongin back, almost surprised how easily his arms obeyed that command regarding how the rest of his body did not seem to accept any signals from his brain. He took a deep breath, then another, and a third one…“Felix?” Said man leaned back a little from the hug when Minho spoke up again, his voice gentle. “Hyunjin will take you home, alright?”Felix nodded, hesitated, then let go of Jeongin, smiling softly at him. “Thank you.”Jeongin merely shrugged as he let go and, as if nothing had happened, he turned around and went back to work. Felix took another deep breath, then he finally managed to push himself off the counter and retreat to the back. He took off his apron, then put on his jacket and grabbed his bag. When he left the staff only area, he found Minho standing at the side of the counter, holding a to-go cup while talking to Hyunjin and Jisung. The two vampires immediately looked up when Felix stepped through the door, both of them looking serious. Minho turned to look at Felix shortly after, flashing him a gentle, calming smile.Felix went over to the three of them, accepting the to-go cup with a slight bow of his head. “This tea will help you calm down. Not only physically but also mentally,” Minho explained quietly and Felix took it with a small ‘thank you’. “If you want to talk about what happened tonight, never hesitate to approach any of us, okay?”“Thank you. I really appreciate that. Not only the offer but also you guys helping me so quickly.” Hyunjin looked away at that while Jisung smiled and Minho shrugged lightly, opening his mouth, probably to protest, but Felix was a little faster, “Also, hyung, you looked really cool just now.”“What?” The tips of Minho’s ears turned a bright red so fast that Felix couldn’t help but giggle.“I mean it,” he said and slipped around the counter, slipping his hand into Hyunjin’s as if it was the most natural thing to do. “Good night.”“Get out of here, you little menace,” Minho grumbled and turned away, but Felix was still smiling, knowing well enough not to take the other seriously.He turned towards Hyunjin, smile deepening when he found the other staring at their joint hands. “Ready?” he asked quietly, watching Hyunjin’s eyes shoot up before he nodded.They left the café together and Hyunjin guided him to the silver car again—Jisung’s, Felix assumed—, opening the passenger door for Felix to get in. He smiled at Hyunjin as he followed the silent demand, fixing his seatbelt while Hyunjin went around the car and got in as well. He took a first tentative sip from his drink, a little surprised at the sweet, gentle, herbal taste. He hadn’t known that something could taste gentle, but this tea very much proved him wrong.“How is it?” Hyunjin asked as he turned on the engine.“It’s really good. It’s one of Minho-hyung’s magic teas, isn’t it?”Hyunjin nodded. “Magic tea with a little bit of extra magic weaved into it to make sure it’ll have its full effect.”Felix smiled at the cup in his hands, loving the warmth that he could absorb from it, the taste, the gesture. It showed so clearly how much Minho cared, even though he wouldn’t actually say that aloud. “Did he really ban that woman from the café?”“Felix, she tried to attack you.”“I know, but…” Wasn’t that still too harsh? She had been hungry, after all. Maybe that drink could have helped her. Maybe also kept others safe…“Yes, he did ban her. I don’t know exactly how it works, but I’m pretty sure that she won’t be able to disobey Minho’s command.”Felix let out a soft hum and took another sip of his tea, unable to stop thinking about that vampire woman. Of course the moment had been scary, of course he was glad to have had so many people around who protected him. But at the same time… He couldn’t help but feel for her.“Are you okay, though?”Felix took a moment to actually think about that. Naturally, he was still shaken up by what had happened and dreaded having to return to an empty apartment. But at least for the time being, he truly was okay. “I think I’ll need a bit more time to actually process what happened tonight. But overall, I am okay.” His thoughts flashed back to an earlier moment during his shift and he sat a little straighter. “Can you do me a favor, though?”Hyunjin glanced over at him. “What is it?”“Will you make sure that Jeongin’s also doing alright? He seemed really shaken up after what happened earlier. And… I mean, I get it. I also would have been shaken up, if I were him.”Hyunjin nodded, his eyes back on the road. “That’s a given. The three of us… Well, four now, I guess. The four of us always take care of each other.” Felix nodded lightly, glad that they were there for each other, that Jeongin had people to lean and rely on. “But I honestly hadn’t expected him to tell you what happened.”Surprised, Felix looked over at Hyunjin. “Because it’s pretty dark, what happened?” he made a guess, but Hyunjin shook his head.“He hadn’t even told us what had happened.”Those words needed a bit to sink in, but when they did, Felix’s eyes widened. “You mean, when you rushed back there…”Hyunjin nodded. “We had been angry at him before, that he would just leave you to your own devices at the café, without either of us around. But the moment he was back, Jisung and I knew that something wasn’t right. He usually doesn’t return from his summonings that distressed. It has happened once or twice that he didn’t tell us right away what had happened, but… that all it took was a hug from you…” His grip on the steering wheel seemed to tighten at that.Felix lowered his gaze to his lap, unsure what to do with that information. He was glad that Jeongin had obviously felt so much better after the hug, even ready to talk about what had happened, no matter how vaguely. It made Felix feel happy, trusted. But it also made him wonder once again about the details. Just how hard had this one been on Jeongin that he hadn’t even told Hyunjin and Jisung about it?“How often does it happen? That Jeongin gets summoned, I mean.” Felix could feel Hyunjin’s eyes on him, but he took another sip from his tea, not quite ready to meet the other’s eyes.“Not so often anymore. It used to happen much more frequently, back when more people believed in magic and all this. It only happens once every few months now, I think.”Felix nodded slowly, grateful that Jeongin at least didn’t have to go out so much. Then again, how did he get what he needed then? Hadn’t he mentioned feeding on fear? Where did he get that from nowadays? Could he just get it from everyday situations?With a quiet sigh, Felix pushed those thoughts away, not sure if he’d ever get an answer to them. And at the end of the day, it didn’t really matter either, did it?The car came to a stop and Felix looked outside, suppressing another sigh when he realized that this was his cue to get up, to return to the empty apartment.“Will you be alright?” Hyunjin asked quietly and Felix looked over to find the other watching him. With a gentle smile, he nodded.“Yes, don’t worry.” He looked outside again, saw the full moon peeking down between clouds and buildings. And suddenly, he missed his home in Sydney. Missed looking up and seeing the moon almost every night, missed road trips, escaping the city until it was dark enough to see the stars. Even missed being a teenager, just a little bit. Missed the carelessness, the knowledge that someone would always be home for him, and for just a moment, he wanted to ask Hyunjin to come upstairs, to keep him company, to stay by his side until he fell asleep.Tearing his eyes away, Felix flashed Hyunjin another smile. “Thank you for driving me home.”Hyunjin nodded, his expression unreadable. “Anytime. Call me if you want to talk, okay?”“I will. Thank you.” Not allowing himself to dwell on the moment any longer, Felix opened the passenger door and got out of the car, slinging his bag over his shoulder. He waved towards Hyunjin once more, then went into the apartment building.He finished the tea shortly after entering the apartment, getting ready for bed right after because he could already feel the tea taking effect. Soon, he fell into a deep slumber.
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Felix had never believed himself to be particularly wary of his surroundings, but that had certainly changed after his last night shift. He was feeling first-hand the same anxious undercurrent that he was certain many women felt when they were out alone after dark.It didn’t really help that life in general became more anxiety-inducing. Whatever disease had started in Wuhan—a city that Felix had never heard of until one month earlier, but suddenly, everyone knew it—had spread to Korea and slowly, people seemed to be becoming anxious. Society seemed to have come to the general consensus that everyone had to wear masks—or maybe, it was a government recommendation; Felix heard so much from all sides that he had lost track of what had been said by whom, let alone how much was believable and how much was fabricated—, so he never left the apartment without a mask anymore. It was a somewhat strange sight to see everyone wearing masks these days.The full moon shone down from above as if it tried to make these times at least a little brighter, trying to assure Felix at least a little more on his way to work. For whatever reason he was working another night shift. But well, the extra money was definitely noticeable on his paycheck, so he wouldn’t complain. It also meant that he was guaranteed to see Hyunjin and Jisung.Felix briefly glanced into an alley that he passed, eyes lingering a little longer to make sure there really wasn’t anyone. His thoughts mocked him for even attempting to play it a little safer like that since he had already seen that vampires moved way faster than he’d be able to react, so even if a vampire was in any of those alleys, there was no guarantee that he’d notice them—or be able to react if he did notice one. And still, he felt a little assured each time he glanced down an alley and everything seemed normal.An uncanny sensation overcame him all of a sudden and he quickly glanced around, but everything seemed normal. Only few people were on the streets. But what if they weren’t actually human?A shiver ran down Felix’s spine and he walked a little faster. At least he was almost there!He quickly glanced down the next side road. His heart stuttered when he noticed two figures in the dark and he had to take a deep breath. No, they were obviously just making out. Everything was fine. People did that.Except…Felix glanced into the road again because something had been a little off. Something about how one of the two seemed a little too out of it. Drugs. Drugs were certainly the reason. Or maybe too much alcohol.His heart was beating faster and he was about to look away when the other person raised their head from the first person’s neck. Felix could feel that person’s eyes on him, but he couldn’t take his eyes off the man’s mouth. Off the too long and too sharp canines. Off the dark spots that could only be one thing.Felix ran.It was only a few steps, then he was inside the café, quickly pushing the door close behind himself, leaning against it to catch his breath.“Felix?”Hyunjin was right in front of him, arms slightly raised as if he wanted to do something with them but then had aborted the idea halfway through. Their eyes met and Felix was almost glad to see the dark brown of Hyunjin’s irises, comforting after what he had just seen.He slowly shook his head, trying to calm his fast breath and his racing heart. “I’m fine. Just need a moment.”Hyunjin opened his mouth—Felix wanted to slap himself because he pointedly noticed the lack of fangs—as if he wanted to protest, but then he remained silent, nodding lightly. “Anything I can do for you?”Felix shook his head lightly. A part of him was tempted to ask for a hug, but he didn’t want to have to explain himself. And they weren’t really that close, were they? If this were Chan, he’d definitely ask for that hug, but Chan was at Changbin’s place once again. Damn that man! Maybe he’d ask for that hug at one point anyway.After another deep breath, Felix could finally smile brightly enough that he knew it reached his eyes. “Thank you for worrying about me, Hyunjin-sshi.”Hyunjin seemed to hesitate, but then he slowly nodded, his eyes still full of worry when Felix pushed himself off the glass door and went further into the café. He made his way into the break room to leave his bag there, his heart nearly giving out when he turned around with a night shift apron in his hand and found Minho standing in the doorway.Felix rested one hand over his heart and the other against the closed cabinet, letting out a deep breath. “Hyung, you almost gave me a heart attack!”“Sorry,” Minho replied before approaching him. “I actually wanted to talk to you regarding three things before your shift starts.”“What is it?”“One thing is that I would like to remove the illusions for you. You’re starting to become somewhat of a regular in my night shifts, after all, so I figured there’s no use to keep up the illusions for you.”“And you can do it just like that? Removing the illusions for only me?”Minho raised an eyebrow and held out a hand. Felix hesitantly reached out to hold it, watching as Minho closed his eyes and mumbled a few words under his breath. A tingling sensation ran through Felix, almost like an electrical current, and his surroundings seemed to glitch for a moment. Irritated, Felix blinked a few times before everything was back to normal.Minho pulled his hand back, so Felix raised an eyebrow at him. “That was it?” he asked.Without saying anything, Minho opened the cabinet behind which Felix had always seen rows of folders. This time, he saw stacks of neatly folded aprons. His eyes went wide as he reached his hand out, touching exactly what he knew he should feel there but had never actually seen. “Woah!”When he looked back at Minho, the other smirked at him from behind his mask, his eyes forming crescent moons. “The second thing,” he started and held out his other hand, opening it to reveal a string bracelet that had a flower pattern weaved into it, “is this. It’s a protection charm.” Minho looked away as if he was embarrassed by his own words or actions while Felix could only stare at it. “It will protect you against vampires. Which leads me to the final thing that you need to be aware of.”“What is it?” Felix carefully took the bracelet and examined it for a moment before looking up. “Can you tie this for me?”Minho nodded, seeming to have waited until Felix would be able to pay attention again before he spoke up, “Because of the virus, it seems like we’re running into somewhat of a blood shortage, so the government has stopped delivering any to cafés.”“What?” Felix’s eyes shot up in shock.“Don’t worry too much. They’re not delivering to cafés or the like currently so that they can keep up the private deliveries as well as meeting the hospitals’ demands.”Felix looked down at where Minho’s fingers finished tying the bracelet before falling away. An unpleasant feeling sank in his stomach. Would the government really be able to continue supporting the city’s vampires? What would happen if the blood supplies ran so low that the government couldn’t provide for vampires anymore?“What does this bracelet do?” Felix asked, trying not to think about the much more pressing questions.“As long as you wear this, vampires can’t touch you, so you’ll be a little safer. Keep that in mind while you work today, though, okay?”Felix nodded, but his customers couldn’t be much further from his mind. Instead, there was Hyunjin. Which was ridiculous since they had only held hands on two occasions.He looked up, flashing Minho a smile. “Thank you.”Minho nodded softly and stepped back. “Make sure to always wear it, okay?”“I will. Oh, can I also shower with it?”Minho nodded again. “Yeah, water won’t harm it, don’t worry about that.”Felix smiled a little brighter, then he went to the front with Minho. They were already open by the time that they joined the other night shift employee, but no customers had come in so far, so Minho took the time to run Felix through all the ingredients that weren’t on their daytime menu. He explained them all in detail, though Felix had trouble concentrating on Minho’s words with how amazed he was at suddenly seeing everything.The shift was moderately calm, but still very busy for Felix who was actually learning how to do the special beverages. Jihyo also came to work later that night, laughing at how Felix was struggling with the new beverages and because she suddenly had the upper hand despite having worked in the café for a much shorter period compared to Felix.It was only when he was back in the car with Hyunjin after his shift that he couldn’t keep his mind off what had happened earlier that night. And Minho’s words shortly after.A shiver ran through Felix and he subconsciously touched a hand to his bracelet. Minho had said that everything was still fine in the private realm, but…“Hyunjin-sshi?”“Yes?”“You…” But how could he ask about this? Aside from the fact that this was most certainly a taboo topic, wasn’t it just generally rude to ask directly about this?“What is it?” Hyunjin asked quietly.Felix looked over at him, biting his lower lip. “I don’t know if the question is okay to ask.”“Just ask, it’s fine.”Felix still hesitated for a moment, then turned his head to look outside again. “Is the blood supply really sufficient?”Silence settled over them, but Felix wasn’t certain whether to read it as him overstepping a boundary or as confirmation that his fears were true. When the silence stretched on, he squirmed a little“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked.”“No, it’s… Did Minho say anything?”Felix shook his head lightly. “Minho-hyung gave me this bracelet as protection, but he also said that no blood is being delivered to the café to guarantee that private supplies wouldn’t run out. But… On my way to the café earlier…” The image of that vampire from earlier raising their head flashed before him again and he squeezed his eyes shut, hugging his bag a little tighter.“What happened?” Hyunjin asked, his voice gentle, almost soothing.Felix shook his head, taking a deep breath to try to calm himself down. “I… You said that you don’t… that drinking from humans is a taboo, didn’t you?”The silence that followed was almost deafening. “Did someone try to—”“No!” Felix quickly shook his head, looking over at Hyunjin at the other’s pressed voice. Even in the darkness of the car, he could see how tightly Hyunjin was gripping the steering wheel, how tense his jaw was. “I just… I… saw someone.”“You saw someone?” Hyunjin echoed and Felix was almost afraid to nod.“In the street just off the café. I hadn’t understood it as such at first. But then that vampire raised their head and…” Felix looked down, gripping his bag even tighter, trying to ban that image from his mind. “I’m sorry you had to see that.”Felix looked back at Hyunjin in shock, quickly shaking his head. “What? No, you couldn’t have done anything about this! I’m just glad that I knew about all of this beforehand, I guess.”“But if you hadn’t known about us, you wouldn’t have had to work a night shift and you wouldn’t have been there!”“And Minho-hyung might not have made me a protection charm, or if he had, I might have disregarded it, so what’s your point?” Then again, he probably would’ve still worn it simply because he would have appreciated the kind gesture, even if he hadn’t known about the charm’s background. “I wouldn’t care about being out at night because I wouldn’t be aware of what could happen to me. Do you really think I’d be safer if I didn’t know about any of this? Do you really think I’d be happier?”Hyunjin opened his mouth but closed it again without saying anything. He seemed even more upset than before and Felix leaned back with a huff, staring out at the street. His frustration subsided as quickly as it had come, leaving him deflated and feeling even worse than before. “I’m sorry.”“No, I am sorry. You’re right. I hadn’t considered any of that.”“Still, I shouldn’t have snapped at you. So I’m also sorry.”Felix watched as they turned down the street that he lived on and suddenly, he wished Hyunjin had taken a detour, had taken him somewhere else. For what it was worth, Hyunjin could have driven him to Busan and back and Felix couldn’t have been happier.As it was, though, Felix merely watched as they passed a few more buildings before arriving at the one that he lived in. Merely stared outside as the dread sank in that he was supposed to leave the car. Go upstairs. Into the empty apartment. And in that moment, it was too much. “I don’t want to go home.”Felix could feel Hyunjin’s eyes on him even though he didn’t look over. “We’re already here, though.”“I know. But I don’t want to be alone tonight.”“Right. Your roommate is a werewolf.”“What?” Felix looked over with a frown. “No, he’s not. He just likes to spend some nights at his best friend’s place to work on their music together.”Hyunjin looked back at him, one eyebrow doubtfully raised. “And he always conveniently picks the nights with a full moon for that?”Felix opened his mouth but didn’t have a comeback right away, so he closed it again until he could finally think of a very smart, “How did you notice?” Yes. Very smart. He wished he could just facepalm himself.If possible, Hyunjin’s eyebrow wandered even higher. “Because you’ve been working during the past three full moons consecutively and always mentioned that your roommate wasn’t around.”“So?”“Do you even realize why it’s these specific shifts that Minho would ask you to cover?” Hyunjin’s second eyebrow also went up, incredulous.“For the record: last time, Jeongin asked me to cover his shift.”“And Minho certainly would’ve kicked you out the moment he arrived if it hadn’t been for ongoing staff shortages during full moon.”Felix opened his mouth only to close it again, his mind drawing a blank. “But… but I asked Channie-hyung if he believes in magic… He said he doesn’t, so…” Chan wouldn’t lie to him. They always told each other everything. Well, Felix had obviously kept a lot from Chan during the past two and a half months, but that wasn’t his fault.He frowned, trying to recall a time when Chan hadn’t spent roughly one night per month at Changbin’s place, but that had always been their thing, long before Felix had joined Chan’s family. And it had gone completely unquestioned. Because why question something that was this established, this natural?His fingers were itching to call Chan, to confirm that Hyunjin was lying, to assure himself that Chan would never lie to him, that they always told each other everything. But Chan never answered his phone when he was with Changbin.Because… he was a werewolf? Naturally, someone who’d turn into a werewolf could hardly answer their phone until they changed back, right?“I’m sorry. I thought you’d know.” Hyunjin’s voice was quiet, void of any judgement.Felix shook his head lightly. “I’ll have to talk to him. Tomorrow.” It made sense. Too much sense. How could he have been so blind?But no, Chan wouldn’t lie to him. Chan couldn’t be a werewolf. He was just his best friend, his brother who got into music a little too much, especially when he was with Changbin, so he never answered his phone when he was ‘in the zone’, as he had once labelled it. That was natural. Felix knew that side of him well. Chan wouldn’t even answer the phone when he was ‘in the zone’ without being at Changbin’s place.“Can I spend the night at your place?”The silence in the car continued, so Felix could almost convince himself that he hadn’t just said that out loud. No, he must have only thought that. It was strange enough as a thought, there was no way he would have said that aloud.“Are you sure?”Or, well, maybe he had said that.Felix nodded slowly. “I don’t want to be alone tonight.”It was quiet again for a moment, then Hyunjin let out a soft sigh. “I’ll let the other two know that you’re coming over. Go pack whatever you need, alright? I’ll be waiting here.”Felix flashed Hyunjin a small smile, then he got out of the car. He hurried to get into the building and up to the apartment he shared with Chan, hurried even more to pack everything he’d need. Should he grab some food? Darn, he had no idea what kind of food the other three kept at their house—if any! And he couldn’t just use up whatever Minho might store at their place, right?He packed a cup of instant noodles for good measure, double-checking that he had everything he’d need, then made his way downstairs again. Hyunjin was indeed still waiting, so Felix slid back into the passenger seat.“You’re really sure about this?” Hyunjin asked and Felix nodded.“Positive.”“Alright. In that case: Jisung says you’re lucky because Minho’s also planned to stay a few nights, so Minho will probably cook. Which, according to the man himself, is very good. Jeongin also always gets excited when Minho cooks, so do with that what you will,” Hyunjin replied as he started the car and they got back on the road.Felix couldn’t help but smile softly at that. “If a demon gets excited over human food, I don’t think it’ll be bad.”Hyunjin laughed softly. “I’m not so sure if Minho’s cooking schedule will work for you, though. Minho’s turning more and more nocturnal these days. Not to mention all the time he spends at the café.”“I’m sure we can make it work.”Hyunjin glanced at him, a small smile still on his lips though he seemed more serious. “You’d really feel safer with us tonight?”Felix didn’t have to think before he nodded. “Definitely. I just really don’t want to be alone tonight.”“And you had no human friends to turn to?”Felix raised an eyebrow at Hyunjin. “Have you checked the time? The majority of them would be asleep at this time. And what should I tell them? ‘Hey, yeah, I wanted to crash at your place because my best friend is probably a werewolf, so he’s not home, and also, I just saw a vampire illegally drain someone’? Yeah, that would totally not get me a referral to the psychiatry—or at least a night at the hospital while they do drug tests on me.” He leaned back and looked down at his lap. His eyes landed on the bracelet again and even though Minho had asked him to keep it on all the time, his fingers automatically moved to try taking it off.Hyunjin clearly had to notice what Felix was attempting, but he didn’t say anything until Felix gave up with a huff. “I’m gonna have to ask Jeongin to help me with this.”“You’re not taking that off.”“Says who? I’m not going to be wearing something that can cause you pain.”“I don’t care, you shouldn’t be taking that off. Wasn’t Minho clear in his instructions?”Felix looked over. “You know what? I frankly don’t care either. I’m not going to be wearing something around you that could hurt you. Period.”“What if I hurt you?”“You had plenty of chances before I got this.” Felix raised his arm to refer to his bracelet. “I feel like if you had wanted to hurt me, you would’ve done that already. And I couldn’t see anything earlier that would suggest that you’re wearing contacts, so it’s safe to assume that you also aren’t so hungry that you’d just go for my neck, right?”“You paid attention to that?”“Have been doing so ever since you revealed that’s a way of telling whether a vampire is hungry or not. That lady who tried to get a taste of me last month had very red eyes, for example.”“And still you didn’t back off.”“She was a customer.” Felix glanced at Hyunjin in a way that he hoped told him something like ‘obviously I’d treat her with the same respect as everyone else’. “Plus, it’s not like she’s the first one who came in with pretty red eyes. And she did order some coffee with blood in it, so I had assumed that she would be feeling better afterwards.”Hyunjin shook his head as if in disbelief. “You really have zero survival instincts, do you?”“Excuse me?”A few minutes later, they arrived at the house where Hyunjin, Jisung, and Jeongin lived. Light was streaming out of one of the rooms upstairs, but by the time that Hyunjin had parked the car and he and Felix got out of it, Jeongin was standing in the open doorway, waving at them. Right after taking off his boots and coat, Felix made Jeongin take off the charm, tying it to his bag instead so he definitely wouldn’t forget it.“You look like someone ran you over with a car,” Jeongin observed and Felix shrugged.“I guess that’s where I am mentally.”“So you came here?” Jeongin raised an eyebrow, but Felix only nodded.“So I came here.”“You know Minho might get pissed if he sees you without the charm, right?” Jeongin pointed out.Felix sighed, looking at the bracelet that was now hanging from his bag. “I’ll put it on again tomorrow morning. But I don’t want to risk hurting Hyunjin-sshi.”“You’re still so formal with him?” When Felix looked up, he saw Jeongin frowning, and a glance to the side revealed Hyunjin fiddling with one of his sleeves. “Hyung, you still didn’t ask him to speak informally with you? You told me you were gonna do that, like, when? In December? It’s February!”“That’s just two months! Two months is nothing!” Hyunjin protested, but Jeongin didn’t look like he was having any of that.“Well, to you that may be nothing, you’re ancient. Lixie here is but a child, to him, two months would be a lot!”“Don’t act like you’re that much younger than me!”Felix looked back and forth between them and he couldn’t help the giggle that left his lips. He quickly clasped his hand over his mouth when Hyunjin and Jeongin turned to stare at him. “Sorry. This is just… surreal.”“Hyung, you broke him,” Jeongin said with a pointed stare at Hyunjin.“Don’t act like you didn’t play a part in that,” Hyunjin replied, sounding a little annoyed.“Where can I leave this?” Felix asked, raising his bag.The other two looked at each other for a moment longer before Jeongin made a show of turning his head and leaving for the kitchen.“Follow me,” Hyunjin said and led the way upstairs. “I should apologize beforehand, no one has used the guest room in a while, so it might be a little dusty.”“It’s fine. You weren’t expecting me to come over, after all,” Felix replied. A leaden tiredness started taking over his body, but it seemed to completely avoid entering his mind as well.“No, it’s not. How about you go downstairs and talk a bit with Jeongin after leaving your bag here?” Hyunjin suggested as he reached the top of the stairs.“Or I could maybe get ready for bed? And then we could all chat a bit?” he opted. Hyunjin shrugged and opened a door, coming to such an abrupt stand that Felix nearly ran into him. He peeked around Hyunjin but couldn’t really make out much in the dark room.Downstairs, Jeongin started laughing while Hyunjin shook his head lightly. “That little…”“You’re welcome!” Jeongin called out between his laughter and Felix finally caught on to the situation. Jeongin had probably used the time between Hyunjin letting him know that Felix was coming over and them actually arriving to clean up the room.“Thank you,” he called back, even though he still hadn’t seen much.Hyunjin seemed to finally be shocked back into motion because he moved aside and turned on the light in the room. Felix’s mouth fell open when he saw the queen sized bed standing against one wall and he was tempted to just throw himself onto the bed and never leave it ever again. It looked like literal heaven, with light blue sheets that had a cloud pattern, as well as an array of different sizes and shapes of pillows. Felix could definitely see himself moving into that bed.Belatedly, he let his gaze travel through the rest of the room, a little surprised that the furniture was kept in white here, a stark contrast to the living room. This room was void of any photos, but it did have a painting of a sea of flowers hanging on one wall, instantly making Felix wonder if Hyunjin had made it. Felix also spotted a huge wardrobe, including a full-body sized mirror. And between the wardrobe and the corner, Felix could just barely make out a door.He looked back at Hyunjin who seemed to have been watching him carefully, so he pointed towards the door. “Does that one lead into the bathroom?” When Hyunjin nodded, Felix raised his bag. “Would you mind if I get ready?”Hyunjin quickly shook his head. “No, no, go ahead. I’ll be downstairs?”Felix nodded with a small smile, then he crossed the room to the second door, slipping inside. He found the light switch after a bit of fumbling, his mouth falling open once again at the sight of the bathroom. The room was once again kept in white and cream colors and it looked overall very modern. A brief glance at the shower told him that it probably had more functions than the entire bathroom in the apartment he and Chan shared. Felix looked at it wistfully, then at the bathtub. Oh, to live in such luxury! But he wouldn’t waste that night to take a bath. Or to figure out the shower’s many functions.He went through his usual evening routine, already changing into his pajama as well in hopes that his mind would associate his pajama with being tired and actually get tired. But when he left the bathroom, he nearly got another heart attack when he found Hyunjin sitting on the edge of the bed, quickly looking up.“I’m sorry, I… Jeongin said there was that show he wanted to watch… And we’d be in the way of him fully immersing… But he made you tea, so…”Felix squinted a little, unsure whether Hyunjin had actually bought that sorry excuse for ‘you two go have some alone time’ or if he was just trying to resell the story. Either way, Felix didn’t believe a single word. Except from the tea because that one stood very evidently on the bedside table.“Well, if he said so…” Felix went over to the bed and dropped his bag at the foot end, simply accepting that Jeongin had wanted them to have some one-on-one time. He got onto the bed, gently pulling Hyunjin back into a sitting position when the other attempted to get up. Felix briefly reorganized the pillows until he could comfortably lean against the headrest, his legs pulled close and the cup of tea in his hand. “Huh? This smells familiar…” He leaned a little closer to the cup, smelling it again, but he still couldn’t quite figure out why he knew the smell.“Jeongin said it’s the one that’ll help others calm down.”Felix looked up in surprise. “You have Minho-hyung’s teas here?”“Well, yeah… Minho kind of lives here. Half the time, that is.”Right. That made sense.Since the tea had cooled down during the time that he had needed in the bathroom, Felix blew over it and took a first, tentative sip, still almost burning his tongue. He settled back, simply warming his hands on the cup. “Thank you for allowing me to stay over.”Hyunjin shrugged lightly. “No problem. You did look like you needed it, you know? Though I think that Jeongin exaggerated quite a bit.”Felix couldn’t help but smile. “Doesn’t matter. I really appreciate it. Today has been… a lot.” He looked down at his tea, suddenly feeling cold despite its heat.“I… sorry. I should probably leave.”Hyunjin moved to get up again, but Felix quickly shook his head, reaching out to grab the other’s sleeve once more. “No, please. Stay. I did mean it when I said that I don’t want to be alone right now.”“But you already got ready for bed.”“Yes, but…” Felix looked down again. Was he demanding too much? Hyunjin had already gone through the trouble of bringing him over, Jeongin had even cleaned this room for him… He shouldn’t ask for even more.“You really want me to stay?” Hyunjin’s voice was soft, almost… vulnerable? Felix nodded lightly in response. “Okay.”“Okay?” He looked up again, smiling a bit when Hyunjin gave him a firm nod.“Okay.”Felix let go of Hyunjin’s sleeve and leaned back, getting comfortable once more. “Can you tell me something?”“What would you like to hear?”Felix shrugged lightly. “I don’t know. Just anything.” He thought about it for a bit, trying to find a topic that wouldn’t be depressing. “Maybe… how did you guys meet Minho-hyung?”Hyunjin smiled at that and leaned back, resting his weight on his hands. “That’s technically Jisung and Minho’s story to share, but… let’s just say that they met at a club, went on a few dates… And then one day, Jisung just stood in the doorway with Minho.”“When did that happen?”“Shortly after we came to Seoul. I think… six months after we came back? More or less?”“Aren’t clubs too loud for vampires, though?”Hyunjin shrugged. “They’re certainly too loud for me. But Jisung claims it’s fun, so he goes occasionally. He also says that it’s good to meet people, so yeah.”“But how does he know whether the other person is human or not?”Hyunjin raised an eyebrow at him. “You think he’d go to a normal club?”“There’s special clubs?” Felix’s eyes widened a little more with every piece of knowledge that he gained, while Hyunjin merely nodded, seeming amused.“Of course. If you know how to look for it, you’ll notice that there are quite a few spaces dedicated to us. Though ‘us’ in this case usually means all non-human species. If we’re looking for anything else specifically, we’ll have to seek out the human places.”“Like LGBTQ+ places,” Felix provided, remembering the picture of Hyunjin with that man.Hyunjin seemed to hesitate, then he nodded. “For example, yes.”“That sounds taxing.” Felix took another sip from his tea, trying to imagine what it would be like to be doubly marginalized like that. Of course, one might argue that he would know the feeling well enough, but he still felt like Hyunjin’s case was more… severe. Especially because he was a vampire and so places like clubs were way too loud for him and clubs and bars were nearly the only types of places that were made targeting marginalized demographics. And cafés, apparently. He couldn’t imagine how Jisung could stomach clubs.“It could be worse, honestly. Not to say that it would be worse if it wasn’t for Jisung seeking out people. He’s usually the one out of the three of us who will do all the social networking. Or at least the majority of it.”“I can see that, I think.” Even though Felix hadn’t spent too much time with the other vampire yet, Jisung really did seem the most sociable one among them, as far as Felix could tell. Probably even including Minho. “What will happen when you move away? With Jisung-sshi and Minho-hyung, I mean.”Hyunjin shrugged lightly. “They might break it off then. Or maybe try a long-distance relationship. That’s easier nowadays than it used to be, after all. Or maybe Minho will come with us.”“But what about the café?”“Who says that he won’t be able to open a café anywhere else in the world?”Felix remained quiet at that. The thought alone that the café might disappear one day was unsettling, even though he knew that it was only natural. Things appeared and disappeared from one day to the next all the time, especially in a fast-paced country like Korea. “Do you ever get used to it?”“What?”“Moving. The lack of stability. Knowing that what you have right now won’t last.”Hyunjin remained quiet at that, so Felix drank some more from his tea, trying to imagine living a life like that. It seemed… fragile. Exhausting.“No, not really,” Hyunjin replied quietly. “I had thought I was fine on my own, you know? Even when I found Jisung, I thought it was only a matter of months, maybe years. I had tried not to get attached to him, tried to tell myself that Jisung would leave one day. And every time I told myself that, it hurt a little more. And then Jeongin just popped into our lives and I thought the same thing. Now it’s been over a century and I still catch myself wondering what will ever happen to me if I don’t have them in my life anymore. If travelling will once again be the only constant in my life.” Felix had looked up at one point, watching Hyunjin’s side profile, equally in awe at his beauty and in pain because of his words. Eventually, Hyunjin turned to look at him with a sad smile. “I don’t think I could take it anymore. Not having those two around.”Felix looked down at his cup, finding it nearly empty somehow. He finished the last bit and put the empty cup on the bedside table. When he looked up again, he found Hyunjin still watching him. “Would it be okay for you if I hug you?”Surprise flashed over Hyunjin’s features, his eyes slightly widening and his mouth opening a bit before he seemed to regain control. When he nodded lightly, Felix wasted no time to move closer and wrap his arms around Hyunjin’s middle, snuggling into him. His eyes immediately closed at the comfort of having someone this close and he let out a quiet sigh when Hyunjin wrapped his arms around him. Hyunjin smelled a little of oranges and roses, but not in the artificial way. Maybe a little earthy, too.The day’s tension finally seemed to uncoil itself, slowly melting from Felix’s body. His muscles slowly relaxed and even his thoughts seemed to calm down, like an ocean after a storm.“Can you stay until I fall asleep?” he mumbled, the soft fabric of Hyunjin’s shirt pressing against his cheek. Maybe that request would make him sound like a little child, but if that was the case, then so be it.“If that’s what you want?” Hyunjin asked back, his voice quiet and gentle. Felix hummed in response.One of Hyunjin’s hands moved into his hair, caressing it gently, and if Felix had been a cat, he would definitely be purring at that point. As it was, he simply settled on moving a tiny bit until he was even more comfortable. He could stay like this for a lifetime!
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When Felix woke up the next morning, he was a little disoriented. He opened his eyes to a darkness that was too deep for his own room and to the feeling of a bed that was way too soft for his own. And did not smell like his own.Slowly, the memories of the previous night returned. That vampire feeding. Hyunjin telling him that Chan was—most likely—a werewolf. Hyunjin agreeing to a hug…Felix’s memory stopped there. But he was clearly not in Hyunjin’s embrace and instead very much tucked into the sheets. Did that mean that he had eventually crawled into bed, more asleep than awake? That would be embarrassing. Or had Hyunjin…?No, that was even more embarrassing and Felix immediately aborted that train of thought.He sat up and stretched a little, then crawled towards his bag at the foot end of the bed, brushing his phone on top of the bag just perfectly for it to fall. Felix whined and leaned further over the edge of the bed until he finally located his phone, instantly blinding himself when the screen lit up. Squinting, he turned the brightness down until it didn’t hurt him to look at the screen.He was surprised to find out that it was still kind of early, but not so early that the room should be as pitch black as it was. Curious, he moved out of the bed and, using his phone’s flashlight, to the thick curtains in front of the window. He pulled them open a little, surprised to indeed find the world a bit brighter on the other side, though a set of shutters still kept the majority of light outside. Well, blackout curtains plus shutters certainly made sense in a vampire household.Felix padded into the bathroom, momentarily blinding himself again when he turned on the light there. He went through the motions with his morning routine while his thoughts drifted off to the night before. That vampire… The second one, in a way. Hyunjin hadn’t even answered his question about whether supplies were still sufficient. But hadn’t his reaction been enough?And Chan… But Felix could trust Chan, couldn’t he? Chan wouldn’t have kept something this important from him, would he? Maybe all the signs were currently pointing at Chan being a werewolf, but that didn’t have to be true, did it?Felix fiddled a little with the charm until he had it securely tied around his left wrist, then he grabbed his bag, double-checked that he wasn’t leaving anything behind, and left the bathroom, navigating what he assumed to be the guest room by the light of his phone’s flashlight once again.In the dimly lit hallway, though, he suddenly didn’t know what to do with himself. He never went to anyone’s place just to be left all on his own in the morning. He didn’t even know what would be okay for him to do and what wouldn’t. And if he were to leave, should he lock the doors somehow, at least the gate?The scent of coffee distracted him. If it smelled like freshly brewed coffee, that had to mean that someone was up, right?Felix quietly made his way to the staircase, following it to the ground level that was bathed in light. He hesitantly approached the kitchen first, stopping in his tracks in surprise when he found not Jeongin but Minho sitting on a bar stool at the kitchen island. He was wearing sweatpants and a loose T-shirt that revealed a hickey on his neck. It was the sight of Minho dressed so casually that reminded Felix that Minho was described as living in that house half the time.Probably having noticed him, Minho looked up, flashing him a smile. “Good morning.”“Good morning,” Felix mumbled, suddenly even less certain of what he was supposed to do.“I made some coffee. If you’re hungry, there are some leftovers in the fridge. I didn’t know when you’d be up, so I simply ate earlier when I came back from the café.”“Thanks.” Felix looked around uncomfortably, the sense of overstepping and being somewhere he wasn’t supposed to be so strong all of a sudden that he wasn’t even sure if he’d be able to eat anything. “Sorry, uh… maybe I should just leave.”He could feel Minho’s eyes on him, the gaze weighing him down, rooting him in place even as he himself was looking down. Eventually, Minho sighed softly. “Come here, sit. I’ll heat you up some food, alright?”“It’s okay, I—”“Felix.” Said man finally looked up, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. Minho looked tired, but he was still attentive, gently patting the kitchen island in an invitation. “I mean it. Hyunjin would probably kick me out if he wakes up later and hears that I didn’t even feed you. He was ready to fight me already on the topic of staying up to wait until you woke up even though he was too tired even to keep both eyes properly open.”Felix looked away, stunned silent by what Minho was saying. He did give in, though, and went to the kitchen island, putting his bag on one bar stool and sitting down on another, facing Minho until the other started moving around the kitchen. A cup of coffee appeared in front of Felix just a moment later, then Felix heard the fridge opening while he fiddled with the cup. The thought that Hyunjin had been willing to stay up even though he was dead tired warmed his heart a little against everything else that had been happening.“I’m sorry for being awkward, hyung,” he mumbled after a few more seconds.“No need. It’s a bit weird to see your boss outside work, isn’t it?” Felix grimaced at Minho’s words. “You may have to get used to it, though. The others probably already mentioned it, but I do come here often. So maybe, if you’d like, we could be less boss and employee and more… friends?”“I’d like that,” Felix replied quietly, eyes still on his coffee.They were quiet for a bit before Minho spoke up once again, “Hyunjin told us what happened yesterday. Do you want to talk about any of that?”Felix shook his head lightly. “No. I’ll need to talk to Chan-hyung later. I just…” It was so tempting to simply spill his heart to Minho. Instead, he shook his head once more. No, he had to first settle things with Chan, everything else could wait until afterwards.The microwave gave a soft ‘ding’ and a moment later, the scent of food filled the kitchen. Minho set down a plate with fried noodles, beef, and vegetables in front of Felix, followed by a pair of chopsticks. “Just for the record, I had meant to cook something else, but I had forgotten what I did and did not have here, so I had to improvise a bit.”Felix picked up the chopsticks with a small smile. “Thank you, hyung.”Minho merely shrugged. They sat in silence for a while—Minho on his phone and Felix eating. But Felix was surprised to find the silence rather comfortable.Once he was done, Minho let him out, and Felix was on his own again. The absence of people he trusted was almost suffocating, and even when he put on music to keep himself busy, he couldn’t keep out the thoughts.When he arrived back at the apartment, he was still alone, so he busied himself with some chores and went through his social media, but after that, he was lost. Normally, he’d probably get lost on YouTube or find something to read, but this time, he could barely focus on anything for a minute straight.It was already afternoon and Felix was just staring out of the living room window, his laptop long since having gone to energy savings mode, when he heard the door open. Felix scrambled to his feet and was in the hallway just a moment later, relief flooding him when he saw Chan’s bright smile. Chan wouldn’t lie to him, never.“Hey there, Felix.”“Hey Chan.” Felix smiled brightly at his best friend, his worries immediately feeling insignificant. He still wanted to double-check, but he was certain that Hyunjin was wrong.“How have you been.”“Could be better.” Felix grimaced at the memory of all the stuff that had happened the night before.“Oh? What happened?”It would be so easy to tell Chan the truth. And also so implausible.So, Felix simply made a diminishing gesture. “Just missed having the best cuddle buddy around.” Chan laughed and approached him, ruffling his hair before he went to his own room to unpack, Felix trailing after him, heart already full of love at the other’s affection. He leaned against the doorframe to watch his best friend. “How’s Changbin-hyung doing? I haven’t seen him in ages.”Chan glanced over his shoulder. “He’s doing alright. Though he did mention not getting enough cuddles.”“Well, maybe if you’d occasionally mete up here instead of always at Changbin-hyung’s place, that could be easily solved.”Chan seemed to freeze for just an instant before he continued to unpack like nothing had happened. And Felix probably wouldn’t have paid any attention to it if it weren’t for the seed that Hyunjin had planted in his mind.“I told you, it’s not quite that easy. He has all the good equipment at his place.”“Well, then why not meet occasionally without working?”“Yeah, we should probably do that sometime soon.”Felix hummed, but his heart wasn’t in it. He wanted it to be. He wanted to be excited to see Changbin again, wanted to look forward to it, wanted to start planning what movies to watch, what food to eat...“Lixie, you alright?” Chan’s voice was closer now. Felix blinked, not even having realized that his eyes had lost focus, and he looked up from the ground to smile at his best friend.“Yeah, peachy.” Chan raised an eyebrow at him and Felix looked away, unable to play his worries down any longer. “Just… You know…” He took a deep breath and looked into Chan’s eyes again, needing to see the other’s expression. “A few months back, I had asked you if you believe in magic. Do you really not believe in it?”Chan’s features twitched, a miniscule movement, and his eyes seemed to narrow on Felix, before the expression was hidden under worry. “Of course not, what kind of question is that?”Felix could only stare at his best friend. Stare, as the rest of the world ceased to exist. Stare, as a dark numbness wrapped around him. Stare, as meaningless words flew past his ears. “You’re lying.”The meaningless chatter stopped. They stared at each other, and even though Felix would have only needed to reach out his hand to touch Chan, he felt like they were worlds apart.“Hyung, tell me the truth.”“Felix, what—”“Stop lying!” Felix only realized that he had raised his voice when Chan flinched. His vision grew blurry from disappointment, anger, and frustration, but he blinked the tears away, still staring at Chan. “Was Hyunjin right? When he told me last night that you’re a werewolf?”Chan’s eyes widened. “How…?”Something crashed. And for a moment, Felix was so disoriented that he looked around, didn’t realize that neither of them had moved. There was nothing physical that had crashed. Just his heart. Splintered into a thousand pieces, each one sending shock waves of pain through him as he stumbled back.“I trusted you,” he whispered.“Felix, I can explain—”“I TRUSTED YOU!” Felix looked back at Chan who had reached a hand out to him. This time, he didn’t care about the tears, didn’t care about the shaking that could either be the earth or him, both options seemed valid. But he did care about the shambles of his heart. “I trusted you,” he repeated one more time, and even he could hear the pain in his voice. “You know that I hate it when people lie to me. I asked you. When I first found out that all of that was real and actually understood that I wasn’t just going crazy, I asked you! I was ready to rely on you. All you would have had to say was ‘yes’!”“Felix—”“Shut up!” Both of them flinched lightly. Felix wiped away some tears, but more followed. “We’ve lived together for, what, five years? And you never thought to tell me? Because of what, some shitty rule that said you’re not allowed to reveal what you are? Even to your BEST FRIEND?”“Felix, I was afraid—”“And you’ve had over three months to get your shit together!” Felix’s voice broke on that and he let out a strangled sob.They only stared at each other and Felix watched as Chan lowered his hand, as the realization seemed to sink in that this was happening.“Is Changbin one, too? Is that why you always meet at his place?” Felix asked in a whisper, not trusting his voice enough to speak louder.Chan looked like he was about to deny it, but then he nodded slowly, looked away. “Yes.”Felix let out a humorless laugh. “I can’t believe that you kept this from me all this time. I always told you everything. I had really thought you did the same.” He turned away and went to his room. He didn’t know what he wanted there, but he found himself packing his bag all over again.“Felix,” Chan started again, apparently having followed him.“Go away,” Felix replied, unable to keep the sobs out of his voice no matter how much he wanted to be strong. “I don’t want to see you right now.”“Won’t you at least listen to me?”“You’ve had three months.” He looked up towards the blurry blob that was Chan. “You’ve had three months to approach me on your own. Hyunjin hadn’t meant to take this from you. He was absolutely certain that I already knew.”“So Hyunjin isn’t human either? And you, what, accept it just like that?”Felix’s eyes narrowed to a glare before he went back to packing his bag. “Well, he didn’t wait five years to tell me. And he is not my best friend whom I thought I knew inside out.” He thrust another pair of underwear into the bag for good measure, forced his laptop and its charger into it as well before pulling the zipper close with some difficulty.He grabbed a tote bag and turned around, attempting to leave his room, but Chan blocked the exit. “What?” Felix hissed, keeping his eyes straight ahead.“Where are you going?”“To Hyunjin’s, probably. Or anyone else who wouldn’t mind me crashing at their place for a few nights.”“Felix, can’t we please talk this out?”Felix finally met Chan’s eyes. “We are going to. But right now, I’m hurt and I do not want to see you.”When Chan still didn’t move, Felix simply brushed past him. He put on his boots and his coat, shouldered his backpack, grabbed the tote bag and his phone to shove them into his pocket, then he left. On the subway, he texted Hyunjin to check if he was home. The answer came surprisingly fast.Felix first went grocery shopping and found himself back at Hyunjin’s place just as the sun was setting. This time, he rang the doorbell. Unlike that morning, all the blinds from the house were closed, indicating to Felix that Jisung and Hyunjin were probably roaming around the house.“Come in, the gate shouldn’t be locked,” Jisung’s voice came through a speaker near the bell.Felix tried the gate and it indeed swung open without problem. The front door was opened just as he arrived, allowing him to step inside. When the door was closed, Jeongin was looking at him warily, but Felix busied himself with putting down all the ingredients he had bought as well as the bag with his clothes before he took off his boots and coat.“I honestly hadn’t expected you back this quickly,” Jeongin commented, but his tone was careful.“I don’t want to talk about it right now.”Silence engulfed him for a moment before someone else, whom Felix quickly identified as Hyunjin, spoke up. “Is it Chan?”Felix grabbed his grocery bags tighter than warranted, clenching his teeth against the wave of pain and anger that washed through him at the mere mention of his best friend. “Can I borrow the kitchen for a bit? You do have an oven, right?”To his relief, the other three let him do as he pleased. Jeongin and Jisung quickly disappeared again while Hyunjin stayed in the kitchen, reading a book. Minho came in while Felix was in the middle of mixing a second batter, aiding Felix in his search for a springform pan, but otherwise leaving him to his own devices.Jisung, Minho, and Jeongin had already left with half the batch of brownies that Felix had made and a cheesecake was sitting on one of the kitchen counters to cool when Felix found himself on the sofa with Hyunjin. He had a half-eaten brownie in one hand and a cup of tea—normal green tea, who would have thought that they also had non-magical teas?—in the other. Felix was still frustrated, but he had finally tired himself out enough to speak.“You were right.” He could feel Hyunjin’s eyes on him but didn’t look up. “About Chan-hyung, I mean. He’s a werewolf. So is that one friend that he’s always visiting during full moon.”“I take it the conversation didn’t go well?” Hyunjin asked, his voice careful as if he was testing Felix’s boundaries. Felix immediately felt bad that there was even a need to do so.“I’m sorry. For my entrance today. For just taking over the kitchen like that without a warning.”“Don’t be.” Hyunjin spoke so gently that Felix truly wanted to believe him. “You looked like you needed it.”“I did. Baking helps me destress.” He sighed, staring woefully at his brownie. “Anyway, Chan-hyung denied it all at first. Again.”“Again?”“I had made a first attempt on Halloween, but then dropped it because I hadn’t thought that it was necessary for me to pursue this.”“Oh…”“Yeah, oh.” Felix stared at his brownie for a few more seconds before taking another bite from it. “Can I stay here for a few days? Not long, I promise, I don’t want to be a burden. But… I need some distance right now.”“Two vampires, a demon, and a witch are the kind of distance that you need from magic?”“Not magic. Just… hyung.” Felix felt like crying all over again. He wanted to just have Chan wrap him in an embrace, hold him tight. Or, maybe not even Chan. Maybe his mother. Yes, he’d do anything if only he could have his mother wrap him in her embrace, tell him that everything was okay, that the world was safe and good.“You seemed to take it all a lot better for us,” Hyunjin said quietly, but Felix only shrugged, trying to will away the tears that were burning in his eyes.He swallowed against the lump that had formed in his throat, taking a deep breath before he trusted his voice enough to speak, “You also aren’t my best friend since middle school. I haven’t lived with you for years. I don’t think that I know you all inside out. But I guess I don’t know Chan-hyung that well either.”A lone tear escaped his eye, but he quickly wiped it away.“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come. I’m not even close enough to any of you to warrant me coming over unannounced and like such a mess.”“Felix.”Hyunjin reached his hand out, but then seemed to stop himself, dropping the hand. Felix’s heart broke a little more at that. He really shouldn’t have come. He was overstepping. No, he had seen the boundary, taken a run-up, and jumped far over it.“I’m sorry, I should just go,” he whispered, trying to breathe against the tears, against the trembling, against his heart somehow still shattering more.“No, it’s okay.”“It’s not! I’m a mess, I shouldn’t be here right now, I can’t even think straight, I—”“Can I run you a bath?”Felix’s train of thought literally derailed at that, unable to navigate the turn their conversation had just taken. “What?” He looked up, right at Hyunjin whose face was twisted in worry and who was playing with one of his sleeves.“Can I run you a bath?” Hyunjin repeated, his voice small. “There’s a variety of scents you can choose from. Minho made some of them, so they’d have extra attributes, if there’s something extra calming that you want or something to relax your muscles or… Any of that. But of course we also have normal bath bombs and bath oils…”Felix could only stare at Hyunjin, a new wave of tears welling up inside him and he wasn’t strong enough to stop them. “Why?”Hyunjin shrugged lightly. “Just… baths are nice.”Felix continued to stare at the other, then he slowly nodded. “Okay.” He quickly finished his brownie and downed the rest of his tea, then they went upstairs together. Felix grabbed his bag on the way.Once they arrived in the bathroom that was attached to the guest room, Hyunjin opened one of the cabinets. “You can look through here for something that you like. The bottles on the lower cupboards are all from Minho, the tags should give you all the information you need.”Felix nodded lightly, looking through the assortment of bath supplies while Hyunjin behind him adjusted the water, calling him over at one point to check if the water temperature was good for him. It took Felix a few minutes until he could finally make up his mind, and when he did, he shyly carried one of Minho’s bottles over, holding it out to Hyunjin without meeting the other’s eyes. Hyunjin poured some of the bottle’s contents into the bathtub and put the bottle back where it belonged. He got some towels that he placed on the edge of the sink before turning to Felix.“I’ll leave you to it then?” Felix nodded hesitantly, still not daring to look up. “Call me if you need anything, okay?”“I will. Thank you… hyung.”“You’re welcome.” Warmth permeated those two words, but when Felix looked up to see if Hyunjin had been smiling like he thought Hyunjin would have, the other was already gone and the door to the guest room closed. He stared for a moment longer, then he slowly stripped off his clothes, clumsily untying the charm, wincing a little when he realized how much it had suffered from his stress baking.The scent of lemons and ylang ylang filled the air, making Felix feel a little better even before he got into the tub. He turned off the water, turned on some soft music, then leaned back and closed his eyes. Only focused on breathing, on existing.He didn’t know for how long he had just let himself soak until he found the energy to grab the charm, submerging it and scrubbing at it a little until it was nice and clean again. Once done, he put it on the tub’s brink to let it dry while he slowly cleaned his own body. He realized too late that he had forgotten to get any shampoo, so he decided that for once, his hair would have to make do with the bath oil.By the time that he made his way downstairs again, he felt completely soft and light, in a way. He took his time on the stairs to look at the pictures hung up on the wall, finding them to be more recent, more personal, more fun. Some of them were even selfies. And the majority of them actually had Jisung, Hyunjin, and Jeongin together in them, making Felix smile.When he arrived downstairs, he first peeked into the living room, finding it lit but empty. He peeked into the kitchen next, figuring he’d have to find Hyunjin there—only to be taken by surprise when that room was empty as well.Felix’s eyes went to the third door. He hesitated, then approached. Light made it through at the edges of the door and Felix could even hear soft music playing on the other side. Remembering Hyunjin’s reaction from last time, Felix halted once more, then he knocked quietly.The door was opened in no time and he found himself face to face with a surprised, then slightly embarrassed Hyunjin. “Ah, sorry, I must have gotten a bit lost…”“It’s fine,” Felix was quick to reply. “If you don’t mind, I could sit with you?” When Hyunjin’s expression changed, Felix looked down, already knowing that he’d get denied. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to, like, watch you. I just… thought you might want to continue drawing. And I could read a book or something. But it’s fine, I can just… I can busy myself upstairs,” he mumbled, taking a step back, unsure if he’d be able to take Hyunjin’s rejection.Hyunjin’s hand appeared in his vision, froze, then very gently came to rest against Felix’s hand. “It’s okay. Why don’t you pick a book and I’ll get an armchair for you?”“No, you don’t have to—”“Felix.” Hyunjin’s voice was still gentle, but somewhat exasperated. “I mean it.”Felix finally looked up, searching in Hyunjin’s eyes for the lie, for the confirmation that Hyunjin would want him gone. The search grew more and more unnerving as he failed to find what he was looking for.“Okay,” he mumbled eventually and they went into the living room together. Felix turned towards the bookshelves right away, but the search for a book turned out to be more difficult than he had anticipated. Until he stumbled upon one specific book. He took it out and turned to Hyunjin with a raised eyebrow. “Dracula?”Hyunjin shrugged. “It’s good to be aware of what kind of perception humans have of our kind. And what the ongoing vampire lore is.”“That… oddly makes sense.” Felix looked back at the book, but then he figured that he had already pulled it out, so he might as well read it. It also looked like it should be in English, so that was another advantage.They went back into Hyunjin’s studio together and Felix was surprised to find one of the living room’s armchairs already there, facing Hyunjin’s workplace so that they’d be able to look at each other. He hadn’t even noticed Hyunjin bringing it over.He got comfortable in the armchair anyway while Hyunjin got back into his former spot, in front of a canvas. The music was still playing softly in the background as Felix lost himself in the story of Count Dracula. “Earth to Hyunjin and Felix?”Felix flinched so hard that he nearly lost grip of the book. His eyes flew up from the pages, blinking a few times to adjust to the distance. Jeongin was laughing somewhere in the hallway while Jisung stood in the doorframe with an unimpressed raised eyebrow. Felix’s eyes went further to find Hyunjin who was glaring at Jisung.“I almost messed up the painting,” he hissed.Jisung shrugged. “Not my fault that both of you visited a parallel universe. We just wanted to announce that we’re back.”“And you do that by killing us? I’ve already died once, isn’t that enough?” Hyunjin asked in a scandalized tone, though his attention seemed to be back on the canvas.“It’s just the two of you?” Felix asked on when he still neither heard nor saw Minho.Jisung nodded. “Minho said that his plants need some care. Can’t believe his plants win over his boyfriend.” He huffed just as Jeongin appeared in the doorframe next to him.“Felix, your brownies are absolutely superb! What on earth did you put into them?”Felix tilted his head a little. “It was just stress baking, though?”“I’m gonna thank Chan if I ever meet him.”Felix’s mood immediately soured and he turned back to the book. “Yeah, well, whatever.”“Jeongin, you absolute moron,” Hyunjin hissed while Felix stretched a little, then got comfortable again and searched for where he had left off, not willing to let the thought of his best friend ruin the night even more.“I’m sorry,” Jeongin said quietly, but Felix simply shrugged.“Let’s not talk about this.” There! He finally found the sentence where he had been interrupted, but his dive into Count Dracula’s castle was interrupted by Jeongin once more mere seconds later.“You made cheesecake?” he called out, presumably from the kitchen.“Help yourself,” Felix called back.Shortly after, the door was closed with a quiet click. Felix took a deep breath and could finally fully immerse himself in the fictional universe that he had been so rudely ripped out of.His peace lasted a full page until the door was opened once again. He looked up, mentally giving up on getting any further, when he found Jisung entering first with a chair.“Yah! Don’t you dare to even think about taking up residence here!” Hyunjin protested immediately, but Jisung merely flashed him a glance before setting the chair down next to Felix. Jeongin followed shortly after him, carrying a small tray with a steaming cup of tea and a piece of the cheesecake on it. He placed the tray on the chair, winked at Felix, then he and Jisung left again.Felix stared after them, then at the tray, lastly at Hyunjin who looked just as perplexed before shrugging it off and returning to his canvas. Felix decided to accept his new situation as a given and put the first forkful of cheesecake into his mouth, taking a moment to just taste it before he decided that he was satisfied with the result and went back to reading.It was only in the wee morning hours when Felix could hardly keep his eyes open that he decided to go to bed. But once he was alone again, the thoughts returned. Chan. Being a werewolf. That vampire from the night before.Even though he was physically exhausted, it took Felix a long time to fall asleep.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The next day, Felix had a simple breakfast before he repacked his bag a little, putting on the charm in the process, and left. Once he arrived at his university, he let himself into one of the dance practice rooms, grateful to only find a small note asking him to be careful because of the virus.Once inside, he started some music and warmed up. It was easy, losing himself in the music, just letting his body move. It was freeing. And it seemed to be what he had needed to truly unravel all the thoughts that had created chaos in his mind.Hours had passed by the time that Felix slumped to the floor in exhaustion. His mask had long since been discarded off to the side to allow him to breathe better. He was all on his own anyway.He only allowed himself a few minutes to catch his breath before he stretched, took a shower, and left. He grabbed a bite to eat on his way to the subway, not even having realized that he was starving until he saw the first signs of restaurants.His phone lit up with a message when he was only two stops away from his destination.
Hyunjin
Where are you?
me
Sorry, omw
Just needed to get out a bit
Will be there in 10
Felix looked up when the subway came to a halt and he tapped against the side of his phone along to the beat of his music with his index finger. He got out a few minutes later, startled because his surroundings had become significantly darker since he had entered the subway. Was it really already that late?He walked a little faster—as much as his legs allowed it, that was. When he arrived, he slipped through the gate to the grand house, turning around after closing the gate only to find Hyunjin leaning against the doorframe of the entrance door. Felix’s lips naturally pulled into a smile at the sight and he quickly crossed the front yard. “Hey.”“Hey,” Hyunjin echoed and stepped aside to let Felix enter. “You okay?”“Yes, I just needed to move a bit. And the practice rooms at university are open during the break, so I made use of that.” Felix shrugged lightly while he took off his mask, boots, and coat, then turned around to smile at Hyunjin. “I guess I should have left a note? I honestly hadn’t thought I’d be out this long.”Hyunjin looked away, motioning for Felix to come further inside. “You went to the practice room…?”Felix nodded as he went into the kitchen, briefly greeting Jeongin who was scrolling on his phone, sprawled over the remaining armchair when Felix passed the living room. The other armchair was, apparently, still in Hyunjin’s studio.He washed his hands thoroughly while replying, “Yeah, dancing helps me clear my head. And, I mean, a lot has been happening these days…”“Are you feeling better now?” Hyunjin asked, his voice careful, as if he wasn’t sure if the question was appropriate.“Yes, a lot, actually. I think… if it’s okay, I would like to spend another night here and head back to talk to Chan-hyung tomorrow?” Felix glanced at the other in uncertainty while he dried his hands.“Of course, you can stay as long as you need to,” Hyunjin was quick to reply. They went into the living room and got comfortable on the sofa just as Jeongin briefly glanced up.“Hey, are you hungry? Thirsty?” he asked, still scrolling through his phone, seeming entirely unbothered by the presence of two more people in the room.Felix shook his head, not missing the way Hyunjin’s features glitched for a moment as if he was only just remembering that Felix was human. “No, I’m good. I ate something before I came back.”Jeongin nodded in understanding, not even looking up, while Hyunjin flashed Felix an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry, I should have thought about that.”“The day you and Jisung-hyung remember this will go down in history,” Jeongin argued and Felix looked over at him in surprise, somehow having expected that Jisung would be more attuned to human needs because of Minho.“Jisung-sshi too?”“Dude, I could bet that Minho nearly starved during the first couple times he came over. He did learn his lesson eventually and started getting groceries whenever he’d come over. And kitchen appliances because apparently we were lacking those, too.” Jeongin shrugged, finally looking up. “You should’ve seen that one time when he and Jisung-hyung had a fight over that because Minho never let anyone else pay for the groceries. I swear that he made it a point to go to the supermarket during daytime just so no one would be able to interfere with him getting his stuff.” He laughed, probably remembering that moment.Felix looked over at Hyunjin, amused, only to find the other wearing an even more apologetic expression. “It’s been a while since we’ve been human. Things like food slip your mind eventually…”Felix shook his head lightly. “It’s fine, don’t worry about it,” he replied and reached his hand out, freezing mid-movement when Hyunjin flinched back even before they touched.Hyunjin cleared his throat a little. “The charm. You can’t touch me with that.”“Oh, right…” Felix looked down at his left wrist, pulling a face because he had forgotten about that. “Does it still work when I just have it on me but don’t wear it?”“It might, but I don’t know for sure.”Felix huffed and moved to take the charm off, deciding to simply tie it to his bag again so that he wouldn’t forget it and so that it wouldn’t touch him in any way. The thought process of which was much easier than the action, as he once again realized while trying to single-handedly untie the charm.“By the way,” Jeongin changed the topic, “Jisung-hyung said to tell you that he might have been dying a little since last night, but your cheesecake was worth it.”Felix’s head shot up. “What?”Jeongin shrugged. “I mean, I got a taste of heaven when I tried your brownie, so I couldn’t resist the cheesecake, of course, and it was also so good! And hyung might have gotten a little influenced by that and ended up stealing a piece of my slice of cake.” He squinted a little and huffed as if that was the highest offence that had ever been done to him. “Anyway, vampires aren’t supposed to have human food, right? And I think he got a stomachache from it last night and I haven’t really seen him since, so there’s that…”“He’ll be fine, though, won’t he?” Felix asked, eyebrows furrowed in worry and charm-opening-task abandoned.“I’m prophesying that Minho-hyung will show up before the end of the night, but yeah, Jisung-hyung will get over it. And maybe he’ll learn from it, though I wouldn’t put too much hope on that one. Cheesecake is probably his greatest weakness.”Felix looked down, noticing his half-opened charm and mindlessly untying it fully. He hadn’t meant to cause any harm with his stress baking… He’d definitely have to apologize to Jisung later for accidentally hurting him. And he should probably remember that and not make cheesecake again in this place. Brownies were his signature treat anyway, he should probably just stick to those.“Is there anything I can do to make him feel better?”Jeongin shook his head. “This is his own stupidity. I had thought about making him some tea to calm his stomach, but I don’t think that would be a good idea currently.”“He’ll feel better soon, don’t worry about it,” Hyunjin agreed with Jeongin. Felix looked back and forth between them, then he sighed quietly.“I’ll put this one away,” he said and raised the charm that he had finally managed to untie. He went into the hallway and tied the charm to his bag, then he returned.The evening passed peacefully, with the three of them chatting in the living room and otherwise reading. Minho indeed showed up shortly past nine, grumbling something about not being able to leave Jisung to his own devices for even a few hours. He left again about as quickly as he had come, taking some more brownies and some of the cheesecake with him when Felix asked him to do so.That night, Felix slept a little easier.He left around noon the next day, equipped with the remaining brownies and slices of cheesecake. When he arrived at the apartment, he took a deep breath upon seeing Chan’s shoes in the entrance area and hearing him somewhere in the apartment. Felix didn’t actually see the other, though, as he put the treats on the kitchen table before sorting through his bag.When he was done with all of that, he knocked on Chan’s bedroom door. And again when he didn’t receive an answer after a few seconds. This time, he heard some shuffling and shortly after, Chan opened the door. His hair was a mess and the bags under his eyes made Felix doubt that the other had slept at all since their fight.“Hey,” he said quietly, trying a small smile.“Hey,” Chan breathed out, taking him in as if he couldn’t believe that Felix had actually come back.“Can we talk?”Chan nodded and ran a hand through his hair. “Yeah, sure, let me just…” He motioned towards his room and Felix nodded.He went into the living room area, sitting down on the sofa. Playing with his fingers in his lap, Felix stared at the charmed bracelet around his wrist, still wondering how it worked. He only looked up when he noticed movement, smiling a little at Chan who had come to a stand in the doorway, hesitating. Felix patted the sofa next to himself, hoping to comfort Chan at least a little bit. After a few more heartbeats, Chan came over, his eyes downcast.“Allow me to start?” Felix asked quietly, waiting until Chan nodded before he began. “First and foremost, I want you to understand that I am not in any way upset because you’re a werewolf, okay?” Chan gave a faint nod and Felix’s shoulders sagged a little in relief. “The only thing that I’m upset about is that you never told me. I mean, I get it that there are laws and stuff and that you were probably afraid to tell me, but… Channie, you’re my best friend. You could confess to murder and I’d ask if you need help hiding the body. I thought that I knew you better than anyone else, so… it hurt to find out that was not the case. And it hurt to find out from someone else.”A shadow passed over Chan’s face. “That Hyunjin shouldn’t have—”“No,” Felix interrupted him. “He shouldn’t have. And he feels bad because he did. He hadn’t realized that I hadn’t known.”Chan took a deep breath. And another. “For how long have you known about…” He made an all-encompassing gesture.“Since October? Or something? No, I think it was still before then that Minho-hyung told me about it all. Remember when I lost my wallet last year? That night, I stumbled into the café that had looked fully closed from the outside. But it was bustling on the inside. Minho-hyung explained it to me that night, that all of that was real. But I didn’t exactly believe him until Halloween when Jeongin got ingredients for a tea from one of the cabinets that supposedly held nothing but old machines. I kinda didn’t have a choice but to believe them after that.”“You asked me that night, didn’t you? If I believed in magic,” Chan mumbled.Felix nodded with a sad smile. “Yeah. At the time, everything was so new to me and I was still trying to wrap my head around it all, but they had made clear that I shouldn’t talk to anyone else about it.”“They?”“Minho-hyung, Hyunjin-hyung, Jisung-sshi, and Jeongin.”“They’re all…” Chan trailed off, but Felix nodded, hoping they were talking about the same thing. “Why did you ask me then?”“Because you’re my best friend. Because I wanted to talk through all that with you. But I didn’t know where to start, still wasn’t even sure that any of that could indeed be real.”“So you didn’t talk about it.”Felix nodded even though Chan hadn’t phrased it as a question. “You could have told me since then, you know? I never suspected anything, but if you had told me, I would have believed you.”“You never suspected anything even though I was out every full moon?” The hint of a smile was playing on Chan’s lips.“Bro, you know I never check the weather. Most of the time, I don’t even know what moon phase we’re in,” Felix replied.“That’s fair, I guess.”“And also… I guess I thought that if you were anything other than human, you would have told me about it. Because I thought that there were no secrets between us.”Chan’s smile was gone as quickly as it had come as he lowered his head even more. “I’m sorry.”Felix nodded lightly. “I forgive you. Just… don’t keep things from me, okay? And don’t lie to me, hyung. Please.”“I won’t. No more lies. No more secrets,” Chan promised right away and Felix smiled softly.“Good. So, is there anything else I should know about?”Chan quickly shook his head, his eyes a little wide while still avoiding Felix’s. “No, no, nothing,” he replied quickly.“Okay. Then how about some cheesecake and some brownies and you tell me everything I should know about werewolves? And everything that’s insider knowledge. And whatever you do during full moons. Basically, I just want to know every tiny thing that you haven’t told me over the past few years.” He was already getting up when Chan suddenly grabbed his wrist, finally looking up and meeting his eyes.“You’re really not mad at me?”“I’m hella mad at you. But I also love you, so I expect you to spoil me for a bit. And you’re starting with some in-depth story-time.”Chan blinked up at him, then, very slowly, a smile spread on his lips. “Okay. Okay, I can deal with that. Yeah.”Felix grinned. He went over to the kitchen area and prepared two plates, each with a slice of cheesecake and a brownie. “You want anything to drink?”“Do we still have some coke?”Felix checked the fridge, finding a nearly empty bottle of coke. “For one glass, I guess. Or half of one.”“Damn it.”Felix laughed softly and took the bottle out, pouring the rest of its content into one glass while simply getting himself a glass of water. When he was done, Chan was already there to help him carry everything over to the sofa where they got comfortable again and Chan started talking.“Let’s start with the most basic facts: werewolves can be born or created, but the latter is very much frowned upon. And I have no idea what Stephenie Meyer was on about, but we only turn at full moon and it’s very much involuntary.”“I’m getting a feeling that she was wrong about quite a lot of things,” Felix replied between two bites of cheesecake.“It’ll probably be easier to list the things she was right about.”“She used real places,” Felix pointed out, delighted when Chan snorted. “But okay, so we’re on normal werewolf lore and not whatever Stephenie Meyer made of it. Next facts, please.”Chan nodded dutifully but finished chewing a bite of his brownie before he continued, “One thing ‘normal’ werewolf lore seems to be rather off about, though: we don’t become rabid beasts. We transform into, I guess, normal wolves? But that doesn’t mean that who we are will be lost. It’s like…” His gaze went off into the distance, one hand raised slightly as he was gesturing along with his words. “Like, when I’m in my human form, I can sense the wolf part deep in me, but it’s rather dormant. But the closer we get to full moon, the more restless he becomes until, well, I have to transform during full moon. It’s not voluntary and nothing I have control over. Night settles, I transform, no matter where I am or what I'm doing.”“Sounds impractical sometimes.”Chan threw Felix a ‘tell me about it’-look that said more than a thousand words. “And then the roles are kind of reversed: my human side is rather dormant while the wolf side does whatever it desires. But… like, our personalities don’t really change.”Felix frowned, trying to fully wrap his head around that. “So why do you leave during full moon then?”Chan glanced at him as if the answer was more than obvious. “First of all, I have to move. If I can’t run around as a wolf, I’ll feel trapped.”“Makes sense.”“Second of all: I doubt you’re gonna want a howling wolf with a need to move in a small apartment like this, do you? Or out in the city in general? People generally tend to think of wolves as dangerous for very valid reasons, you know?”“Oh…” Apparently, the answers were just as obvious as Chan’s eyes had let on. “But if you’re not dangerous, or at least not significantly so, then could I come with you and Changbin-hyung one day?” Felix tilted his head a little, watching as Chan just stared at him, judgmental expression slowly shifting into incredulousness.“You’re serious,” he said after a few seconds and Felix merely nodded, raising an eyebrow when Chan burst out laughing. “Dude!”“What?”“I’m becoming a wolf at that time! We all are! Are you crazy?”“But you said you’re not dangerous!”“I am very dangerous at the time, I’m a wolf!”Felix pouted. The idea of petting a cute wolf-shaped Chan had crossed his mind and it just refused to be pushed away into the mental trashcan of ‘unsustainable ideas’. “If the ‘normal’ lore is wrong about your nature when you’re in wolf-form and you’re still you, why can’t I come along? You’re my best friend, I mean it when I say that I want to know every side of you. Who cares that one of those sides just so happens to be a bit more furry?”“You’re crazy, Lee Felix.”Felix narrowed his eyes lightly on his best friend. “Then at least tell me what you usually do during full moon. Where do you go?”Chan shook his head lightly and shifted his position to be more comfortable, putting the last piece of his brownie into his mouth, chewing and swallowing it before he spoke up again. “Changbin’s parents have a cabin in the woods. Well, it’s more of a house, not just a cabin. We usually go there and then spend most of the night just running and strolling through the woods.” A smile was playing on his lips and Felix couldn’t help but mirror it.“What does it feel like?” he pushed further.“Like freedom. It’s just him, me, his dad, the night creatures in the forest, the trees, the wind, the moon… For a few hours, you can just be. There are no rules, no expectations. It’s a bit like being a child again, your brain can just be completely empty as you race through the night.”Felix tried to imagine what that had to be like, but the answer came quickly enough: dancing. Minus stuffy and smelly practice rooms, minus specific routines. “I think I get it. It sounds wonderful.”They continued to talk about werewolves and all the stuff that Felix should know about until Chan eventually started asking Felix about Hyunjin, Jisung, Jeongin, and Minho. They continued to talk about how exactly Felix had come to find out about magic, and even though he didn’t go into detail about what the other four were, he told Chan about them, about how they had met, how they were getting along…“Why don’t you come with me when I work a night shift again?”“Wait, you’re working night shifts?”Felix blinked in confusion. Hadn’t he made that clear enough? “Yeah. Kinda have been for the last few full moons.”“You what!? And they just let you do that?” Chan’s eyes widened.“Well, Minho-hyung literally asked me to work night shifts? And Hyunjin-hyung and Jisung-sshi have always been nearby in case I needed help. And they always drove me home afterwards to make sure I got here safely. Well, Hyunjin-hyung did.”“I can’t believe they’re letting you work night shifts. And that I didn’t know anything about that until now.”Felix laughed softly and leaned back, amused but also touched at his best friend’s worry. “I’m telling you, I’m safe. Trust me. Also, I have this thing now.” He raised his left hand to show off the charm. “Minho-hyung made it for me, it’s supposed to keep vampires away or something.”“Minho-sshi is a witch?”Oops. “Well, yeah… I hope he won’t be upset that you know…”Chan sighed softly. “I’m so coming with you for your next night shift. I need to see it all for myself. Maybe I should ask Changbin-ah to come with me.”Felix whined at that. “Have hyung come over early! I really haven’t seen him in ages and totally need to see him again!”“Okay, okay,” Chan relented, making Felix beam. They were okay. Maybe Felix was not yet fully over the fact that Chan had kept all of this from him, but he would be. And they could finally talk about everything. And he’d get to see Changbin again! What a good day this was.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Felix worked more night shifts after that. Minho didn’t tell him why, but Felix had a feeling about it, judging by the way that the mood had grown more tense. He saw more and more vampires whose eyes were too red. On top of that, the café still didn’t get any blood supplies.Classes had been moved online, much to everyone’s frustration. He was a dance major! How was he supposed to practice dance and do group choreographies when he wasn’t supposed to be meeting anyone and had no in-person classes?Jisung seemed peachy as always, happy to interact, attentive eyes seeming to go towards the counter whenever he wasn’t behind it with Minho. Minho, who looked a little paler than usual and drank almost suspicious amounts of tea. It was as if those two were glued together, not even holding back with small affectionate gestures when they were sitting in front of the counter. Hyunjin on the other hand… Well, he looked okay. Growing more tense as time went by, but nothing that appeared out of the ordinary.Until he asked Felix to cancel their plans of Felix coming over in mid-March. Until he was only there for half of Felix’s shift and it was Jisung who drove him back home.Until Hyunjin didn’t even appear at Felix’s next shift.And no one would tell him a thing.But it was obvious enough, wasn’t it? It was in whispers on social media about dead bodies being found, drained of blood, two small wounds in the neck, adding to the anxiety of the ongoing virus. It was in the frequency of red eyes, in the lack of blood to sell. It was in Minho’s constant presence during night shifts and his virtual absence during day shifts. It was in Felix seeing more of his colleagues also wearing the same charm that he was wearing. It was in another vampire trying to make a move at him, only to flinch away just as fast the moment they touched, hissing at him as if they had gotten an electrical shock.Felix was completely out of it for the rest of that shift. Hyunjin wasn’t there for the second time. Jisung and Seungmin were watching Felix with hawk eyes. And he couldn’t concentrate, no matter how much he tried.When Felix signed off that night, he checked the work plan for the next few nights and days. Jeongin would be working the next four nights straight. Seungmin was off on every night that Felix was working for the upcoming week. Well, at least he’d be able to see Jihyo for his next night shift and Momo for his next day shift…He grabbed his bag, intending to simply bid Minho goodbye, but it seemed like Jisung had snuck into the staff area as soon as Felix wasn’t up front anymore. They both looked up from where Minho was apparently trying to work through something on the computer while Jisung had seemed to have melted over his boyfriend from behind, like a blanket.“You ready?” Jisung asked and Felix nodded.The ride was mostly quiet, so unlike Jisung, so unlike Felix’s usual rides with Hyunjin. “How is he?”“Who? Hyunjin?”Oh. Felix had actually asked that out loud. Well, there was no going back, apparently. “Yeah.”Jisung shrugged. “Could be better. But there isn’t really anything we can do about it these days.”But there was, wasn’t there? There was something Felix could do. “Maybe I could help—”“No.” Felix flinched at how fast and decisive Jisung had spoken. “Taboo, remember?” Jisung covered his reaction up with a small laugh, but Felix could only let out quiet hum, staring outside.It was only when he was lying in his bed that night, freshly showered, that a thought came to his mind. A plan.The next day, he told Chan that he’d be out for the night, claiming to have been called in for an impromptu night shift because he was certain the other would try to stop him. He did some research on what one should pay attention to when donating blood, following the tips of drinking a lot and eating well.When Felix left that evening, he got some simple groceries on the way, then took a taxi to the house where Hyunjin, Jisung, and Jeongin lived. He had texted Chan about his true intentions on the taxi ride, not wanting to keep this from his best friend, but also putting his phone on airplane mode afterwards to avoid getting spammed by Chan’s messages and calls.Felix’s heart was beating fast. He hadn’t been out on his own this late in quite a while and especially not with such a grave purpose. What would it even be like? He had tried to find some information online, but he had only been able to find works of fiction detailing vampire bites, always something grand and erotic. Sometimes scary and painful. But there appeared to be no real information out there. Unless he could count those stories as real, as people using their experience for their works?He shook his head lightly as he exited the taxi, pushing those thoughts away as he rang the doorbell, watching the premises. Watching the light behind the living room window as if it would give him any answers.An eternity passed, then he rang the doorbell again, glancing at his phone. He knew that Jeongin and Jisung were out, so the one behind the living room light had to be Hyunjin. Unless, of course, one of the other two had simply forgotten to turn off the light.Felix glanced at his phone a couple more times, watching the minutes tick by, until he had had enough. He pressed down the gate’s handle and pushed lightly, not surprised when the gate opened easily. He passed through the gate and went to the front door, knocking.Lacking anything better to do, he simply took in the door’s wood, following the lines as there wasn’t really anything more exciting to see.His phone told him that three minutes had passed by the time that he knocked again, waiting, frowning. Hyunjin had to know that he was there. Was Hyunjin hoping Felix would leave on his own? At this point, he’d rather try to break in than leave without having seen Hyunjin.Felix shifted his weight from one foot to the other, knocking a third time. “Hyung, I know you’re in there. Let me in,” he called out quietly, certain that the other would be able to hear him.“Go away.” The voice was much closer than Felix had anticipated. It sounded like Hyunjin was right on the other side of the door.Felix blinked his surprise away with new-found determination as he adjusted the weight of the tote bag in his hand a little. “I’m not leaving before I’ve seen you.”“Go. Away.”“No.” Were his ears playing tricks on him or did Hyunjin actually hiss at that? “I’m wearing hyung’s charm anyway, so what’s the matter? I just haven’t seen you in days, I’m worried about you.”“Don’t. I’m okay. But you need to leave.”Felix rolled his eyes lightly. “Yeah, that’s totally what someone who’s ‘okay’ would say. Now, will you let me in?” Oh, everyone else was so going to give him shit about this, Felix could clearly see it coming. But alas, he had already come this far, he wouldn’t leave this quickly.“Felix. It is not safe for you to be here. Leave.” It could be the door distorting the sound, but Felix was certain that Hyunjin’s voice sounded pressed.“No. I’m not leaving. You’re not okay. There’s something I can do about it. You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”The gentle wind rustling the leaves was the only answer Felix got, even when several seconds had passed. Had he gone too far? Was he overstepping with this? Should he have listened to Jisung telling him that there was nothing he could do about it?Felix sighed softly and leaned against the doorframe. “Hyung,” he called out softly. “You said that this is okay when explicitly given permission, didn’t you? I’m giving you permission. It’s okay. I just can’t stand the thought of you suffering like this when there’s clearly something that I can do about it. There’s still a lot I don’t know about this, but we can talk about that later, right? For now, please just let me in. Let me help.”The silence was deafening. Felix looked down, his heart sinking with each passing second. What should he do if Hyunjin didn’t open the door? He could hardly just go to the café and ask one of the others for a key. Jisung would probably drive him home before Felix even stepped a foot into the café and they would probably have Chan stand guard all night to make sure that Felix wouldn’t attempt this again.What other options did he have?The door opened a little bit, startling Felix who quickly took a more acceptable stance again. Yet, the moment their eyes met, all thoughts about etiquette were gone. Hyunjin was looking right back at him, his skin pale, nearly gray; a stark contrast to his raven black hair and the red eyes that seemed to be almost shining, piercing right through him. Felix knew that he should be scared. Instead, he was overwhelmed with worry and… and maybe, those red eyes were a little hot.“Felix,” Hyunjin hissed and Felix blinked, startled out of his trance. A low noise, close to a growl, escaped Hyunjin’s throat and… okay, yeah, Felix should be afraid, but it was hardly his fault that this was actually hot, was it? “Do you understand now? You need to leave.”“Yeah, that’s not happening.” Felix raised one hand and tried to push at the door, but it didn’t even move an inch. He pushed a little harder, but the result remained the same while Hyunjin was mostly hiding behind the door.“Do you not understand what this means?”“Do you not understand what I mean when I say that I’m okay with this? I’m not leaving.”“Felix!”“Lecture me all you want after this. But I care about you, I’m not leaving.”Hyunjin’s eyes narrowed on him and his breathing definitely seemed to come harsher now. Finally, he let out some kind of curse—at least it sounded that way, Felix couldn’t understand a word the other was saying—and opened the door wider. Felix flashed him a bright smile. “Thank you,” he said quietly, hoping it would convey how honestly he meant it.He entered the house, watching as Hyunjin took a few steps back quickly until he was standing halfway in the living room, one hand tightly holding on to the doorframe. Worry once again twisted Felix’s insides as he took off his mask, shoes, and jacket.He first went into the kitchen to wash his hands and put away his groceries, not particularly surprised when he found some of the shelves and fridge space occupied with what he assumed to be Minho’s stuff. It was only after he had put everything away that he turned around, fixing his eyes on Hyunjin who was watching him closely, red eyes fixated on Felix as if drawn to him by magnets.Felix looked down once again as he started untying the charmed bracelet, hearing Hyunjin’s breath hitch.“Felix!” he hissed once again.Said man looked up and merely raised an eyebrow as he finished untying the charm, tying it to his bag instead. Slowly, he crossed the kitchen, watching as Hyunjin took a step back for each step that Felix took forward until his back hit the living room wall. Felix still didn’t look away as he took a few more steps forward, sitting down on the sofa, patting the spot next to himself. “Hyung. I mean it. It’s okay,” he said softly.Hyunjin shook his head, gulped, shook his head again, his eyes never leaving Felix. “You don’t understand. I don’t know if I can stay in control.”“I trust you. Maybe I don’t know what this feels like for you, but I want to help you. I don’t want you to have to suffer like this.”Hyunjin shook his head once more, opened his mouth, but nothing came out. His gaze turned almost pleading, begging, but Felix only responded to it calmly.An eternity seemed to pass before Hyunjin took a step forward. And another. Very, very slowly making his way to the sofa, sitting down on its edge, back straight, breath flat, as if he was ready to jump up and run away any moment.“This will probably hurt. No, sting. It’s not said to be very painful, but…” Something flashed over Hyunjin’s expression and he held his breath, hands clinging to the edge of the sofa so tightly that Felix could see the white of his knuckles. He was almost surprised that the fabric didn’t break under Hyunjin’s fingers. Felix remained quiet, allowing Hyunjin to take his time. “Are you sure?” Hyunjin breathed out eventually.Felix nodded, smiling softly when their eyes met once again. “I’m positive.”Hyunjin nodded, stayed still, then slowly moved closer until he was close, so close. He still didn’t seem to breathe, red eyes simply staring at Felix, searching, as if he was waiting for Felix to take his words back. Felix’s heart was beating fast, and his hands were a little clammy with nerves, but he hoped that his eyes were steady as he responded to Hyunjin’s gaze. As he tilted his head a little.Hyunjin’s eyes immediately flickered down. For just a heartbeat, Felix was certain that Hyunjin would ask him for permission once again, but that never happened. Instead, Hyunjin leaned down, one hand suddenly in the back of Felix’s head, the other on his arm, and before Felix could fully comprehend their position, something was piercing his neck. He grimaced at the sensation and had to actively remind himself to stay still. He was doing this for Hyunjin.Felix could hear Hyunjin swallowing while he simply sat there, waiting for all the feelings that the stories had promised; but he was spared both the pain and the pleasure.So he focused on everything else instead. On the feeling of Hyunjin so close to him, his lips on Felix’s neck, his hands firm and… Felix scrunched his face when Hyunjin pulled a little too much, but he still tried to grant him the access that he needed. He’d definitely sue whoever had started the myth of vampire bites being sexy.Felix closed his eyes at some point, relaxing his muscles into the stretch, focusing solely on how Hyunjin’s lips felt against his skin. How they moved lightly each time Hyunjin swallowed, how they felt slightly chipped, pressed against Felix’s neck with determination. Oh, he’d probably have a hickey the next day… Maybe he should consider leaving the camera off for his classes…He didn’t know how much time had passed until he felt Hyunjin’s tongue running over his neck. A shiver ran down Felix’s spine at that sensation, leaving a trail of sparks in its wake. He felt a little lightheaded and his neck was a little stiff when Hyunjin released his grip and leaned back, eyes staying on Felix’s neck for just a moment longer before he looked up.Felix blinked, a little taken aback at the deep brown he was met with. If he wasn’t mistaken, there was still a tinge of red to the brown, but it was entirely incomparable to what Hyunjin’s eyes had looked like before. His skin had also regained its color, looking healthy again instead of ashen. “Are you okay? I think I took a little too much, I’m so sorry, how are you feeling? Do you need anything? Water? Food?”Felix shook his head lightly, stretching his neck a little into the other direction in hopes to even out the slight tension, or, better yet, make it disappear. “I’m fine, don’t worry about me. I got some snacks, I can just—” He stood up while he spoke and the ground slipped from under his feet, the room spinning wildly as it turned black. Two hands immediately guided him to sit, to lie down, fussing over him with a worried voice that very slowly started to make sense.“—alone. Felix, can you open your eyes for me? Can you say something? I have to get Minho, he’ll know what to do. My phone, it—”“Hyung.” Felix was convinced that he had said that confidently, but it felt like no more than a whisper. Hyunjin nevertheless fell quiet right away and Felix briefly opened his eyes to a still wildly spinning world. He closed his eyes again, taking a steadying breath against the nausea that churned in his stomach. “‘M okay. Just need a moment.”Hyunjin’s hands gently cupped one of Felix’s. “Are you sure? Are you really okay? I’m so sorry. I… I did take too much, I’m so—”“Hyung!” That was definitely much stronger than the first one. Felix slowly opened his eyes again and he could be mistaken, but the world did seem more stable, but he still opted to close his eyes for a moment longer. “I mean it, I’m okay. I’ll just take it a bit slower. It’s not like I’ve ever donated blood or anything, so my body is probably just not used to this.”“Are you sure?” Hyunjin’s voice was dripping with worry and Felix couldn’t help but smile softly.“Yes, I mean it.”“Can I get you anything?”“Maybe some water?”“Yes, yes. Water. Water is good.” The touch was gone a moment later.Felix slowly opened his eyes again and it was only when the ceiling stared back at him in all its sturdiness that Felix realized what had just happened. He had nearly fainted right in front of Hyunjin. Wow, great. Not embarrassing at all. He barely suppressed a groan and the urge to hide his face behind his hands.From his periphery, he saw Hyunjin coming back into the living room, this time with a glass of water in his hand, so he slowly pushed himself up. First to his elbows, giving himself a moment to see if that was alright.“Felix, don’t get up just yet!” The glass sounded like it was put down with a little too much force, then Hyunjin was right by Felix’s side again. “Are you sure you’re fine?”Felix couldn’t help but smile as he slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position. The room started spinning again, but only a little this time. He waited until the room had calmed down, ignoring how Hyunjin’s expression turned more and more worried with each passing second. Finally, he nodded, ignoring how the world instantly became woozy from that simple motion. “I’m okay. Really.”“Felix, you basically fainted on me!”Felix looked back at Hyunjin, took his hands, then gently pulled until Hyunjin gave in and sank to the cushions next to him. Once he was satisfied, Felix dutifully took the glass to drink some water before he spoke up, wanting to calm Hyunjin down as much as possible. “Yes, I was a bit dizzy. But I am fine now. I promise. I probably just shouldn’t have gotten up that quickly.”“You shouldn’t have come here.”“And left you to your misery?” Felix raised an eyebrow, then got a little more comfortable, decisively pulling the other’s arms around himself as he cuddled closer, wrapping his own arms around Hyunjin. “That’s not happening.”“Felix…”“Hyung, I need you to talk to me, okay? I don’t want you to get to this point again. Ever.” Felix could feel Hyunjin shaking his head, moving to push Felix away, so he tightened his hug.“No, I won’t do this again. I can’t do this to you, what if something happens to you?”“And what if something happens to you?”“I can take care of myself.”“And you think I can’t?”“That’s different!”Felix shook his head lightly, tugging at Hyunjin until he gave in and leaned back, seeming to accept his fate. “How does Jisung-sshi do it?”Hyunjin went rigid for a moment. “He… has Minho,” he admitted quietly.“And for how long has this been going on?”“The reliance part for a little over a month. But I think there have been a few occasions even before this when Jisung fed from him.”Felix hummed softly. “And why should Minho-hyung be able to do it but not me?”“Because Minho is a witch. And Jisung doesn’t really have to take as much as I just did.”“That’s because Jisung-sshi is clearly acting more reasonable.” Felix frowned, dismayed. But he also remembered the copious amount of tea Minho had been drinking recently. “And if it’s related to some special drinks or whatever, I’m sure I can ask Minho-hyung to make me some of that. But I don’t want you to have to suffer like that. You let me into your life, you’re stuck with me now.”Hyunjin let out a humorless laugh, but he did pull Felix a little closer, so the latter counted that as a victory.“I got really worried, you know? When you started cancelling plans and wouldn’t come to the café anymore.”“I’m sorry.”Felix shook his head lightly. “It’s gotten really bad, hasn’t it?”Hyunjin hummed softly. “The government sent out notifications a few weeks ago that they would have to stop the blood supply because it was hardly sufficient for hospitals and we naturally aren’t their priority.” He raised one hand and gently stroked Felix’s hair, making Felix close his eyes comfortably.“No wonder there’s been stories about… Well, what’s rumored to be vampire attacks. And no wonder the government stays quiet about it.”“You’ve heard about that?” Hyunjin sounded surprised, his hand halting for a moment.Felix hummed. “It’s basically all over social media.”“Oh…” Hyunjin resumed patting Felix’s hair. “Anyway, we had kind of seen that coming.”“Because no blood was delivered to the café anymore?”“That and our private supplies also got delayed.”“How often do you usually get them?”“Once a week. Which is enough for anyone who’s not a newborn. We don’t need to feed as often as humans do to last us well. We can of course go a little longer than that, but anything over two weeks really isn’t recommended because that would become straining even for older vampires. So, when we noticed that things started going awry, Jisung started passing parts of his portions on to me while he turned to Minho. He didn’t want to rely on Minho fully because… Normally, we do need more than a single human can offer.”Felix hummed. He remembered having read earlier that the usual intervals for donating blood were two to three months, so it made sense to him that one human alone wouldn’t be able to satisfy a vampire, at least not long-term. “But that’s what they’re doing now, isn’t it?”“Yes. Minho did some research, as always, and found a way that his body will recover faster. And… I mean, it’s obvious that the feeding takes a toll on him, but it seems to work well enough.”“Is that why Jisung-sshi is always staying so close to Minho-hyung?”Hyunjin laughed at that. “Yes, but in a different way than you’re thinking.”Felix tilted his head a little until he could somewhat see the other’s face. “Then in what way?”Hyunjin’s fingers started carding through his hair instead of merely patting it and Felix’s eyes fluttered close again at how comfortable it felt. “Simply put, if we feed from someone more than once, we… kind of become attached. And protective. It’s like… we want to make sure that the one we’re feeding from will be well taken care of. I think it’s a kind of survival instinct to guarantee that our ‘source’ won’t disappear.”Felix frowned. “Put like that, it sounds much less romantic.”Hyunjin chuckled. “Believe me, deep down, there’s nothing romantic about it. Though it is a fact that these days, the only ones we will feed from regularly are those we are close to.”“Oh…” Felix opened his eyes again, staring at the wall opposite from him. “Am I overstepping then?”“You’re fine,” Hyunjin replied, so quietly that Felix nearly missed it. “It is also proven that feeding gets more enjoyable. Science says it’s something about some remnants of our poison staying in the bloodstream and the human getting used to it eventually and reacting to it, or something like that.”Felix laughed softly, the idea of science explaining vampires somehow absurd to him. It was only with a slight delay that the full meaning of Hyunjin’s words sank in. “Wait, so, when people write about how pleasurable vampire bites feel, that’s actually a thing? Just not for the first time?” He blushed at the mere thought of it, even more when he heard and felt Hyunjin hum.“It is a thing. If I let you do this again, you’ll probably notice right away that it feels different than this time.”Felix scoffed. “If?” he repeated. “Change that to ‘when’, unless this blood shortage problem will miraculously disappear overnight.”“Who says I’ll feed from you again that quickly?”“Oh right? Because when I came over, you were clearly about to feed from a random person out there.” The silence that filled the room was enough of an answer for Felix. “So it’s decided. I’ll check with Minho-hyung to see what he’s doing to make this sustainable and then you are going to let me take care of you.”“Felix, are you sure you want this? It… it gets really intimate with time.”“So? Then find someone else if you’re not comfortable with it. If you don’t do that, I’m afraid you’ll have to make do with me.”Silence enveloped them and tiredness slowly creeped up on Felix. He should probably get some food and then make sure to get a good night’s rest… He did have classes the next morning, after all.“If we do this,” Hyunjin started quietly. “Would you promise me to stay the nights?”Felix looked up, taken aback at that request. “Of course.”“Good.”Felix settled back into the other comfortably, cherishing the feeling of Hyunjin’s fingers carding through his hair, the other arm wrapped securely around him.With much effort, Felix pushed himself away after what felt like an eternity. He briefly locked eyes with Hyunjin, smiling at him when he saw a flash of panic on Hyunjin’s face. “Don’t worry. I should just make some food before I’ll fall asleep,” he answered the unspoken question. For a moment, Hyunjin looked like he was about to argue with Felix, but then he nodded, giving Felix space to get up. Luckily, the world very much stayed in its place this time as Felix made his way into the kitchen, Hyunjin following closely after him. Felix just made something quick to eat and ate while they made light conversation.“Oh, I probably need to check my phone,” Felix mumbled between two bites, patting his pockets only to come up empty. He scrunched up his face a little at the thought of having to get up, but Hyunjin was already on his feet.“Where is it?”“I think in my jacket pocket?”Hyunjin nodded and left the kitchen, returning seconds later with the phone in in hand, handing it over to Felix. He unlocked it while eating and turned the airplane mode off, wincing when an almost infinite amount of text messages popped up on his screen as well as the notification of two missed calls.“Mind if I call my best friend real quick?”“Go ahead,” Hyunjin replied and Felix nodded. For simplicity, he went to KakaoTalk and pressed the video call button, only briefly skimming over the texts in the meantime. Yeah, Chan was definitely worried…The call connected almost immediately. “Lee Felix! Are you okay? How dare you just text me about going to Hyunjin and then just, I don’t know, turning your phone off? Do you have any idea how worried I was? I was literally thinking about going to that café of yours just to chat up your boss to take me to that place. I was literally freaking out about this! Changbin probably has a search commando out at this point!” Chan took in an almost gasp-like breath, interrupting his English lecture.“I’m okay, Chan,” Felix quickly squeezed in, smiling when Chan seemed to actually take him in for the first time since their video call had started. “Changbin-hyung doesn’t actually have a search commando for me, does he?” he continued in Korean, the language switches way too normal between the two of them for him to even be fully aware what language he was using.“No, but he was probably about to go out looking for you,” Chan replied, deflating. “You scared the living shit out of me.”Across the table, Hyunjin had raised an eyebrow at him, so Felix quickly swallowed his bite and explained, “I may have texted Chan-hyung what I was intending to do and then turned on airplane mode.”Hyunjin’s mouth fell open in obvious shock while Chan seemed to perk up. “Hyunjin’s there?” he asked in English and Felix hummed.Before he got the chance to turn the phone, though, Hyunjin stood up. Felix raised his eyebrows lightly in question, the next chopstick load of food raised halfway but abandoned on its mission. To his relief, Hyunjin merely came around the table, coming to a stand behind Felix, gently resting one hand on Felix’s shoulder while he waved towards Chan with his other hand. They had met once before when Chan and Changbin had indeed come to the café at nighttime. Jisung and Hyunjin had been on their best behavior that night, while Jeongin… well, he had been a little demon indeed. But one look from Minho and the threat of no more hugs from Felix later and Jeongin had at least been tolerable towards the other two. Jisung and Hyunjin had also revealed during that meeting that they were vampires while Chan and Changbin had confirmed that they were werewolves, greatly relieving Felix who finally wouldn’t have to tiptoe around their identities anymore. Well, except for Jeongin’s.“Oh, Hyunjin-sshi, hello!” Chan smiled at Hyunjin before frowning. “Changbin’s calling, I better get that.”“Okay. Make sure to tell him to abort the rescue mission,” Felix replied and Chan simply hummed before ending the call.“You scared him,” Hyunjin observed quietly, sitting down next to Felix, keeping one arm around the latter who simply shrugged.“I didn’t want to lie to him. But I also wasn’t gonna let him try to talk me out of it. Though maybe I should’ve only told them about all this after I did it,” he mused as he put more food into his mouth, realizing with much delay that that indeed probably would have kept the other from worrying while still allowing Felix to be honest. “Oh well, it’s too late for that now…”Felix finished his food and Hyunjin took care of the dishes, not allowing any protest or even help from Felix who eventually went through his messages from Chan and Changbin while he waited for the other, texting Changbin as well to let him know that everything was alright. Afterwards, they settled in the living room to watch a movie together and Felix snuggled into Hyunjin, smiling when the other immediately held him close. He could be mistaken, of course, but he did have a feeling that Hyunjin was a little more touchy than usual.It wasn’t long after the movie that Felix went to sleep. His alarm rudely woke him up way too early the next day. Felix fought against the blanket, then with his morning routine, nearly getting a heart attack when he noticed the glaring hickey on his neck. He blinked at it a few times, original task of brushing his teeth momentarily forgotten. He should definitely keep the camera off that day…It was with only twenty minutes to spare until his first class that he made his way downstairs, laptop under his arm and phone in his hand. The smell of eggs and bacon permeated the air, making his stomach growl.“Morning.”Felix jumped, nearly dropping his laptop in the process. His eyes went wide and he stared at Minho who sat at the kitchen island, eventually looking up from his phone as the silence stretched on.“Morning, hyung,” Felix replied with a delay, making Minho smirk. Well, the scent of food probably should have prepared Felix for this…“Hungry?”“Starving.”“Good because food got ready two minutes ago. I also made you some tea that’ll energize you and that’ll help your body recover faster.” Minho looked back at his phone, his tone casual as if he had just told Felix about the weather, not about all the things he had done to take care of the younger.Unlike so often these days, Minho wasn’t wearing a turtleneck but a loose-fitting sweater and Felix saw a hickey on either side of Minho’s neck, one of them nearly invisible while the other seemed to be from just a few days earlier. There were a few more hickeys above the sweater’s collar and Felix blushed at the implication, quickly looking away and towards the stove where he spotted a pan.“You made me breakfast?” Felix lit up at the prospect while Minho simply hummed. Felix put his devices onto the island where the cup of tea was already waiting for him. He first made his way towards the stove, though, beaming at the food that was waiting for him. He carefully slid the food from the pan onto a plate, grabbed a fork, then made his way back to the island, sitting down. It was only when he took a first tentative sip of his tea that Minho’s explanation fully sank in. “Hyunjin-hyung told you about what happened last night?”“Well, he didn’t really have to, it was obvious as soon as he stood in front of us. Well, for me, anyway, Jisung had known long before then, I guess, because he would have sensed you here. But yeah, Hyunjin told us.”Felix looked down as he put the first forkful of scrambled eggs into his mouth, suddenly embarrassed at what he had done. “I didn’t overstep by doing this, did I?”“You probably saved us all from a huge fight, that’s for sure.”“Huh?”Felix looked up, but Minho continued scrolling through his phone. “We were worried about Hyunjin. Kept telling him that he needed to feed. He refused.” He shrugged. “Jisung and Jeongin had a fight with him about that just a few nights ago. I actually haven’t really been over in a while either because Hyunjin had basically begged me to stay away.”“Oh…” It had really been that bad, hadn’t it? Just how much had Hyunjin suffered before Felix had come over? And why on earth had Jisung been so adamant about Felix not doing this when he had obviously been worried about Hyunjin?“But it might have been good if you had come talk to Jisung or me beforehand. So you’d know what to expect.”Felix grimaced, ignoring the fact that he had tried to talk to Jisung and that had clearly not gone as planned—or as Minho apparently expected. “Yeah, well, it was admittedly underwhelming. But hyung said that it will… well, change after a while.”Minho nodded, putting his phone aside and truly looking at Felix for the first time that morning. “He’s right. It gets better until, like, the fifth or sixth time, then stays at that level.”“Was it weird for you at first?”“Oh yeah, totally!” Minho laughed at that. “I had actually known what to expect but was still underwhelmed, you know? But Jisung had been really cute when he asked me if he could do that and we had already been a couple at the time, so…” He shrugged while Felix raised an eyebrow.“So you did it a while ago?”Minho nodded. “At first just because we were curious, but also… the government supply isn’t quite as reliable as they say it is. Which is natural, as the number of vampires in the city fluctuates, just like the number of people who donate blood. It doesn’t usually get as bad as it is now, but… yeah, it was still helpful sometimes that I was there and could help them lift the burden a little.”Felix hummed around a mouthful of bacon and tapped on his phone, eyes widening when he saw the time. “Sorry, hyung, I gotta start my class.”Minho laughed softly and got up, grabbing his phone. “Have fun?”Felix rolled his eyes but still flashed the other a bright smile. “Let’s talk more about this later?”“Sure, if you’d like? I’ll head to bed now, though.”Felix nodded while unlocking his laptop. “Good night.”Minho gave him a hum as he left the kitchen, so Felix focused on opening Zoom, quickly typing in the class ID and the password. He went to his jacket next to grab his earphones, connecting them to his laptop to listen to his class while he finished eating and did the dishes. Felix was perfectly fine for the majority of his classes, taking notes diligently and chatting with his classmates whenever they had group sessions. It was halfway through his last class that exhaustion settled into his limbs and his thoughts strayed more and more. He briefly considered making himself coffee, but the thought of taking a nap after class was even more enticing.Keeping his eyes open became a more and more arduous task to the point where he nearly cried in relief when the professor finally bid them goodbye. Felix quit Zoom, double-checked that he had saved his notes, then he shut his laptop, grabbed his phone and made his way upstairs. Not seeing the need to set an alarm, he let himself fall onto the bed, sighing in relief. He squirmed a little until he could pull the blanket over himself, falling asleep shortly after. Gentle fingers carding through Felix’s hair brought him back to the surface of consciousness. But he was still so, so tired. Couldn’t he just sleep for a bit more? Five minutes? Or hours? Or days?The person laughed softly and Felix relaxed at the sound. “Minho cooked. Won’t you get up to eat?”Felix turned his head a little, letting out a soft noise that he hoped was enough to communicate his unwillingness to get up.“Come on, you can sleep more later, once you’ve eaten. How’s that?”Felix whined, curling in on himself a little more. Leaving his bed sounded absolutely terrible.That soft laughter resonated again and Felix immediately relaxed. “You know, I’ll carry you down if I have to.”“‘M not a kid,” Felix mumbled, or tried to. He had no idea how much of those words actually made it past his lips.“So? I’ll still carry you if you don’t get up on your own. You have to eat, you know?”Felix frowned, forcing his eyes open at the other person’s determination. He blinked a few times until the dark color blotches started to form shapes and then actual things. Tiredly, he looked up, finding Hyunjin sitting on the edge of the bed, one hand still in motion in Felix’s hair.“You’re awake.”“Barely,” Felix mumbled, unable to stop the quiet whine that escaped him when Hyunjin pulled his hand back. He sat up, needing another moment to try to recall his name and what century he was living in before he looked back at Hyunjin who was smiling at him, watching him.“Ready?” he asked and got off the bed, holding one hand out.Felix struggled to leave the bed, naturally grabbing Hyunjin’s hand as he forced one foot in front of the other, yawning. He somehow made it downstairs and into the kitchen without any accidents, his eyes only half-lidded because it was way too bright. He could hear Minho laugh softly and someone else gasp while he was led to the kitchen island and gently made to sit down.“What did you do to our poor child?” Jisung asked, sounding concerned.“Maybe the tea I made him this morning was a bit too much,” Minho replied while Felix crossed his arms on the island, attempting to lay his head on them, but someone held him back by the shoulder. He turned his head to glare a little at Hyunjin, just wanting two more minutes of rest. Was that too much to ask?“The poor kid already has to deal with blood loss, now you’re also making him crash from magic?” Jisung continued and suddenly, he was on Felix’s other side, hands fuzzing over him without really touching him.Felix blinked slowly at him. “What?” he mumbled.“Sorry, I should have warned you about that.” Minho’s voice sounded much closer this time and when Felix turned his head, he suddenly found a steaming bowl with stew in front of him. And God, it smelled delicious!“Warned me about what?”“That you can crash from magic, especially when you’re not used to it,” Jisung replied while Minho filled another bowl with stew. “He probably made you an energizing tea earlier, didn’t he?” Felix nodded lightly, so Jisung continued, “And I’m guessing it was laced with magic to really do the trick, but once the magic basically leaves our bodies, it can lead to us crashing. Like you can crash once caffeine leaves your body, you know?”“Oh,” Felix made and looked down at the stew in front of him, at his hand that was still holding Hyunjin’s. Minho made it back to the kitchen island to place his own bowl of stew there before leaving the island once again. “Is that why I’m so tired?”“Yes, sorry,” Minho replied. “I keep forgetting that you’re not used to magic.”“It’s okay.” The scent of fresh rice filled the air and Felix’s stomach growled. He pressed his free arm over it in embarrassment while Minho chuckled and Hyunjin once again ran a hand through his hair. So gentle, so attentive.Felix hadn’t even realized that he had closed his eyes and had been on the verge of drifting off until something clattered in front of him and he quickly opened his eyes. A small bowl of rice, a spoon, and a pair of chopsticks had joined the bowl of stew in front of him and somehow, Jisung was on the other side of the kitchen island, sitting down together with Minho.“Let’s eat well?” the latter asked, amusement tinting his voice, and Felix hummed.“Thank you,” he mumbled, too embarrassed to speak any louder. Unwilling to let go of Hyunjin’s hand, he simply picked up the spoon to start eating, letting out an appreciative hum at the taste.They talked a little about work at the café and about Felix’s classes. At one point, Jeongin also joined them, eyes barely open and hair still a mess. He didn’t eat, though, and seemed to be perfectly content just joining them. Jisung made a cup of coffee for Jeongin, placing another cup in front of Felix. The latter looked up, raising an eyebrow lightly, but Jisung simply smiled warmly. “One of Minho’s regenerative teas, don’t worry. This one won’t knock you out even more.”Felix nodded lightly as he finished eating, then he took the cup into both hands and leaned back against Hyunjin. Felix thought that he did pretty well with staying on track with the conversation until Jeongin was suddenly telling a completely unrelated story and raising the cup with tea was turning into a nearly impossible task. He nevertheless made sure to finish the tea before excusing himself, lacking the energy to even fight Minho who said that he’d do the dishes. Next time. He’d fight Minho on that next time.Hyunjin was with him once again, only leaving him alone in the bathroom. But he was there when Felix came back into the guest room, when he snuggled into covers. And, even better, he was gently stroking Felix’s hair to help him fall asleep.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Felix had to get up early the next day for a morning shift, then he went home from there for his classes. He felt perfectly normal again and even Chan seemed to quickly stop pampering him as if he was a fragile doll. Whenever he met Minho at work, the older man seemed to have made it his purpose to give Felix tea—the regenerative one.And still, despite being doted on so much from all sides and getting his fair share of cuddles from Chan, a sense of missing something loomed over Felix like a darkening cloud.It was nearly one and a half weeks after Hyunjin had first drunk his blood that they were able to get some alone time again and Hyunjin got the chance to feed. This time, Felix’s body almost seemed to hum quietly at the feeling, more comfortable than before, but still a far cry from how it was often described. Having learned from the previous time, they had some snacks and water at the ready afterwards and Felix gave his body some time, simply cuddling with Hyunjin and talking quietly. Overall, his body seemed a lot less affected by the feeding than it had been the first time. “What’s with you, Lixie, huh?” Chan asked as Felix attached himself to his best friend the moment the other had returned from the bathroom.“Hm?” he asked, taking one earbud out from where he was listening to his online class.“You’re even more cuddly these days than usual.”Felix shrugged lightly, getting more comfortable as he kept his eyes trained on his screen to follow the PowerPoint presentation. “I think it might just be the lack of interactions,” he replied. Sure, he had Chan, he had Hyunjin, Jisung, Jeongin, and Minho, he had the customers at the café and his coworkers… But he was still missing his classmates. Missed goofing around with them, missed going to university, missed regular dance practices. Especially the dance practices! Doing them online wasn’t even half as helpful or demanding or fun as they were in person. But these days, no one was supposed to come into university, not even the gyms, so Felix was stuck having to do his training at the apartment.“Don’t you get plenty of interactions?” Chan asked back, making Felix whine.“But it’s not enough. I don’t like being inside so much. I want to go out and dance with people and meet people and have fun! And other people do that but I can’t because I wouldn’t want to put you or anyone at the café at risk!” Hyunjin and Jisung had explained to him at one point that vampires couldn’t get sick and Jeongin had dismissed Felix’s concerns as well, so he knew not to worry about them. But what about Minho? What about the other staff at the café, both the day staff and the night staff? What about the customers?And, most of all, what about Hyunjin? Even though he wouldn’t be able to contract the virus, Hyunjin relied on Felix staying healthy, so he couldn’t get sick. Especially not with that virus that was spreading because that was not only a still rather unknown disease that seemed highly lethal, but it would also entail quarantine. And it was starting to appear in other countries around the world as well. That was scary.“Lixie, are you and I talking about the same thing?”“Huh?” Felix looked up, but Chan’s eyes were trained on his own laptop.“I get it that you miss dancing and all that, but you’re a lot more cuddly these days than normally.”“No, I’m not. It’s just because we’re both home more, so I can attach myself more to you,” Felix replied defensively, but something about that felt wrong. “And we’re just sitting around, so we might as well cuddle.” Closer, but still not it. Felix frowned at his laptop screen, a little confused why the obvious answers didn’t feel as right as they should have. And why, despite how many cuddles he got from Chan, he still felt like something was missing.“Uh-huh?”Felix pressed his lips into a flat line as he watched the screen, but his thoughts were elsewhere. Or rather, with someone else.The moment he realized that, he blocked the thought, forcing his attention back to the screen. He most certainly had more important things to do than to figure out what kind of impact a certain someone had on his life.Well, until he lay in bed, anyway. At the same time as Chan. Which was weird enough in itself, regarding how often he had nagged Chan about staying up too long, yet by that point, they usually went to bed at roughly the same time. Unless Felix had to work an early shift, though that didn’t happen too often anymore since Minho seemed to understand that the late shift or the night shift were better suited for Felix recently. A few days later, Felix left after another late shift with the intention to catch a bus to go Hyunjin’s place, but naturally, he never got that far. The moment he and Momo came out of the staff area to leave the café in Seungmin’s hands, Felix noticed the fancy red car standing right outside the café, Hyunjin leaning against the car’s side. For a moment, Felix felt like he was part of some cheesy teen movie, but he nevertheless couldn’t help but grin at the sight.Momo let out a quiet whistle. “He’s hot. That car is hot!” Her shoulders slumped a little. “I’d honestly die if someone were to pick me up like that.”Felix managed an intelligible hum while Seungmin behind them chuckled. “Bye, Seungmin,” Felix said pointedly before turning back to Momo. “You don’t live too far, right?”“Nope. Just two stops by subway,” she gave another wistful sigh while Felix opened the door, eyes immediately meeting Hyunjin’s.“Who knows, maybe we can arrange a ride back for you?”“Eh?” Momo came to a shocked stand while Hyunjin’s lips curved into a smile.“Bargaining for rides before you even say ‘hello’?”Felix took two more steps, coming to a halt right in front of Hyunjin, hands carefully clasped behind his back so he wouldn’t be too tempted to hug the other while he wore his bracelet. “Hello, Hyunjin-sshi, what a pleasure it is to meet you again. I’d love to say ‘on this sunny day’, but neither has it been sunny earlier, nor is it still daytime,” he said in an extra polite yet the most unserious manner possible.“You little menace.” Hyunjin’s smile turned even more amused and he raised a hand, but Felix ducked out of the other’s reach, raising his left wrist as a silent reminder.“You… you know each other?” Momo asked and Felix turned back to her, smiling brightly.“Yes! He’s one of Minho-hyung’s friends and we’ve become close over the past few months,” he explained before turning back to Hyunjin, though he still saw the understanding passing over Momo’s face. Hadn’t those two met on Halloween, too? “Now, hyung, would you mind giving my poor, poor coworker a ride? It’s already dark outside, a young woman like her should not be out on her own this late.” He made puppy eyes at Hyunjin who laughed softly.“I think that can be arranged.”“If you call me your ‘poor, poor coworker’ again, I’ll walk,” Momo threatened, seeming to have regained her composure and making Felix laugh. Hyunjin first held the door open for him, then also for Momo, before he got into the driver’s seat.“Woah, this is such a nice car!” Momo’s awed voice came from the backseat.“Thank you,” Hyunjin replied quietly.“Where are we going?” Felix asked as he turned around.“Oh, right. You know that super huge Lotte Mart? I live close to that.”Hyunjin nodded and started the car, making a U-turn to follow Momo’s directions. They made easy conversation on the ride all the way until Hyunjin parked the car at his own home. Felix couldn’t help the giddiness he was feeling at the prospect of Hyunjin feeding from him again, but he knew he’d have to get some proper food into himself first. Minho had texted him that there were leftovers in the fridge for him, so at least he didn’t have to worry about what to make or how long it would take.Once inside, Felix immediately made his way to the kitchen to wash his hands and pop the food into the microwave, using the waiting time to untie the charm. As soon as the knots were untied and the bracelet safely tied around the handle of his bag, Felix felt arms snake around him from behind and a head nuzzle his neck. Excitement sparked through him, though he blamed it on the anticipation of Hyunjin feeding from him. Felix leaned into the embrace, closing his eyes for a moment before opening them again and turning around. He wrapped his arms around Hyunjin, leaning his head on the other’s shoulder, closing his eyes again once he was comfortable, breathing in the rose and orange scent that was Hyunjin.Way too soon, a ‘ding’ interrupted the moment. With a pout, Felix leaned back a little, Hyunjin’s arms also unwinding from him. Their eyes met and this close, Felix could tell that Hyunjin was wearing colored contact lenses. “I’ll be right back, okay?” Hyunjin asked quietly and when Felix nodded, Hyunjin stepped out of his hug and left.Felix got his food out of the microwave, grabbed a pair of chopsticks, then got comfortable at the kitchen island. He was answering a message from Chan while eating when he noticed movement and looked up, smiling at Hyunjin before he quickly finished typing his response. When he looked up again, his eyes met Hyunjin’s significantly more red ones.“Did you really wear those contact lenses just to pick me up?” Felix asked between two mouthfuls of food, but he already knew the answer before Hyunjin nodded.“Yes. I wouldn’t want to risk others seeing my eyes like this.”“You could just pretend that you’re wearing colored lenses then, you know? As long as those people aren’t too close to you, they wouldn’t know any better,” Felix pointed out, but Hyunjin shook his head.“It’s not only about humans. Everyone who’s not a human and those who are human but have magical abilities would know and they would naturally avoid us.”“It looks good, though.”It was only when Hyunjin raised an eyebrow at him without saying anything that Felix realized he had just said that out loud. His face instantly starting burning and he lowered his face in embarrassment.“I mean… I don’t like that it means that you’re really hungry… but… yeah, it kind of looks really good.” His voice got more and more quiet as he spoke and he eventually drowned everything else that he could possibly say with more food.“You really don’t have any survival instincts, do you? When a vampire’s eyes are red, it means that they should be avoided at all costs, especially by humans. But look at you!”“I didn’t say it looks good on everyone,” Felix mumbled, groaning and hiding his face behind his hands when he realized he had said that out loud as well. “You know what, I think I’ll just shut up for the rest of the night. Or the week. Maybe I’ll go to some temple and take a vow of silence.”Hyunjin laughed and maybe, just maybe, Felix suddenly didn’t mind his embarrassment quite as much anymore. “I’ll miss you when you do that.”“You’ll only miss my blood.” His voice came out a little muffled.There was a beat of silence, but Felix still didn’t dare to lower his hands. “No, I mean it. Whenever we’ll have to part ways… I’ll miss you.” Hyunjin’s voice was serious and the melancholy that resonated in it made Felix look up, his hands dropping to his lap and his former embarrassment forgotten.“This has happened a lot, hasn’t it?” he asked quietly, remembering the picture on the ledge of the fireplace, the one where a man kissed Hyunjin’s cheek while Hyunjin was smiling like the sun. Something about that picture still didn’t sit right with Felix.Hyunjin looked down and even though Felix couldn’t see it, he was certain that Hyunjin was playing with his sleeve again. “Kind of, I guess, at least to me. Jisung’s always been more careful and more flexible, but I… can’t really help it.”Felix wanted to ask more, wanted to know more. But… they weren’t really that close, were they? Hyunjin was a vampire, he had lived through centuries, while Felix was a mere human, there one moment and nothing but a speck of dust the next, maybe a fading memory.He looked down at his food, suddenly not quite as hungry anymore. He had never really thought about his mortality, but in this moment, it seemed striking, unavoidable. He was part of Hyunjin’s life for the time being, but what about next year? Or the year after? Hyunjin, Jisung, and Jeongin would move on eventually, maybe Minho as well. And they were bound to leave Felix behind.He couldn’t remember ever having felt so small, so insignificant. “I’ll miss you, too,” he whispered, trying to ignore the way his heart was bleeding at the mere thought of having to go separate ways one day. They were just friends, not even that close, weren’t they? So why was he hurting so bad at the prospect of separation?“You should eat more.”Felix looked at his food, sighing inaudibly as he picked his chopsticks up and did as he had been told. He had to eat so that Hyunjin could feed and so that he wouldn’t faint afterwards. He couldn’t make Hyunjin worry.Once Felix was done eating and had cleaned the dishes with Hyunjin’s help, he thought they would get to the feeding right away as they went into the living room, but instead, Hyunjin suggested watching a movie. Felix didn’t quite feel like doing that, but if Hyunjin wanted to watch a movie, he wouldn’t protest.The movie’s plot was predictable enough, but Felix still found himself relaxing, forgetting about the depressing thoughts that had been running through his mind during dinner. Hyunjin had wrapped one arm around Felix’s shoulders at one point, immediately prompting the latter to cuddle closer.Felix only straightened when the ending credits started rolling. Their eyes met and Felix leaned back without breaking eye contact, Hyunjin following his moves, slowly, as if in trance, leaning closer. Felix tilted his head just as Hyunjin’s hand appeared on his shoulder. Hyunjin leaned further in until Felix could feel his breath ghost over his neck and he subconsciously tilted his head still a bit further.“May I?” Hyunjin mumbled and Felix couldn’t help but smile, endeared by how Hyunjin made sure to ask for consent even when feeding was literally the main purpose of Felix’s stay.“Yes,” he replied, raising one hand to gently rest on the back of Hyunjin’s head, lightly tangling into the long black strands.He thought he felt Hyunjin’s lips curving into a smile, but the sensation was gone a heartbeat later, replaced by the piercing sensation of Hyunjin’s fangs. Felix closed his eyes, relaxing as much as he could in his position. Comfortable warmth filled him, starting from his neck and spreading evenly through his body as Hyunjin drank. Hyunjin’s free hand appeared in Felix’s hair, holding him in place.Felix’s eyes opened when Hyunjin drew back his fangs, only to flutter close when Hyunjin licked over the wounds. A pleasurable shiver ran through Felix’s entire body and he actively blamed it on his body adapting to the feeding. Nope, no way his body would react in this way because of any other reason.Felix opened his eyes again when he felt Hyunjin pulling back, his hand falling out of Hyunjin’s hair. Their eyes, both brown this time, met and they were still so close… Felix didn’t recall his gaze traveling down, but he clearly did recall how red Hyunjin’s lips looked and…He needed something else to focus on.He blinked, looking away, taking a deep and calming breath against his racing heart. When had that happened? It was because of the feeding, wasn’t it?“Are you okay?”Just how much could vampires hear again? Could Hyunjin hear his heart?Felix died a little on the inside at that thought and he nodded quickly. “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. Just…” His eyes roamed the room over the TV, the bookshelf, the table… Oh, a glass of water! What a good idea!He leaned forward and gulped down the entire content of the glass, grateful when the cool sensation of the water indeed helped him clear his mind. But as soon as he had set the now empty glass down again and turned back to Hyunjin, convinced he had calmed down, he was met with such an intense look in the other’s eyes that he immediately wished he could just drown himself in water. Or a cold shower. Maybe that would help.“You really are okay?” Hyunjin asked, his voice so gentle that Felix melted on the spot. So, he did the only thing that would truly save him from having to endure that look any longer: he scooted closer to Hyunjin and cuddled into him, wrapping his arms around him to hold him close while resting his head on Hyunjin’s shoulder.“I really am,” Felix replied quietly while Hyunjin wrapped his arms around him, so secure, so safe, so warm. And maybe he still melted. Melted right into place, right into Hyunjin, as if his body had been created only to be wrapped inside Hyunjin’s embrace.They sat in comfortable silence for a long time until Hyunjin suddenly tensed, removing one arm from around Felix. Felix looked up, pouting when Hyunjin checked his vibrating phone before gently removing himself from the hug. “Sorry, I have to get that,” he said and left the room.Felix stared after him, a little dumbfounded at being left alone. He blinked at the door, expecting Hyunjin to return any moment, but when nothing happened for a few seconds, Felix’s pout deepened and he looked around. His eyes were involuntarily drawn to the pictures on the ledge of the fireplace and he soon found himself getting up and then standing in front of the left picture. The one of Hyunjin with the man who was probably European or American. The man who was kissing Hyunjin on the cheek. Hyunjin, who was smiling so brightly at the camera…Whenever we’ll have to part ways… I’ll miss you. Was that what had happened to those two as well? They looked so happy in the picture. Would Felix become like that? No more than a picture on the wall? Probably somewhere in the hallway, or maybe, if he became that important, around the living room?“Did it hurt when you left him?” Felix didn’t know how, but he could almost sense Hyunjin’s presence. Or at least thought he could. The room stayed quiet for so long, that Felix looked up, almost surprised when he did find Hyunjin standing not far behind him.Hyunjin, though, was only looking at the picture, his expression unreadable for Felix. “It wasn’t me who left,” Hyunjin finally said and stepped closer. He raised one hand, caressing the frame with such tender care that Felix had to swallow hard against a sudden, huge lump in his throat.He looked down, not wanting Hyunjin to see his pain. Not wanting to have to admit that there was pain. “I’m sorry, I—”“He died of AIDS.”Felix’s head shot up, eyes slightly widened in surprise and breath caught in his throat. “What?”Hyunjin was still looking at the photograph, a sad smile on his lips. “I met him when we were in New York City. It had been a fun time, the 1980s, with new inventions making it big, some interesting musicals on Broadway, our first time in that city… I don’t know how Jisung got to know the ins and outs of the gay scene, but he did, and then he dragged me into it as well, and then I met him. We hit it off very fast at the time.” Hyunjin laughed softly with a faraway look in his eyes, seemingly remembering the time. “I had been a bit wary at the time because of the AIDS epidemic, I hadn’t actually wanted to get into anything, but… Well, it happened.” His smile fell and he let his hand drop from the frame. “He and I, we had one and a half years. I was with him when he was on his deathbed.”“I’m so sorry,” Felix whispered.Hyunjin looked over at him, eyes widening lightly. Before Felix could understand what was happening, Hyunjin’s hands were cupping his face, thumbs gently caressing his cheeks and… Oh, his breathing was a little shaky. Felix raised one hand, rubbing over his eyes, surprised when it came back wet.Hyunjin gently pulled him into a hug, one hand caressing the back of Felix’s head, while Felix wrapped both arms around Hyunjin’s middle. “It’s alright now. And hey, if I hadn’t known it before, I would have known then that we vampires can’t get sick. I mean, science has also proven that by now, but… well. I guess that’s a good thing.”Felix nodded, his heart breaking even more at Hyunjin’s melancholic tone that contradicted his words. As if Hyunjin didn’t actually believe that his inability to get sick was good.“I’m sorry. I hadn’t meant to bring back sad memories.”“It’s okay,” Hyunjin replied quietly, then laughed.“What?” Felix tried to lean back at look at the other, but Hyunjin didn’t let him.“Nothing. Just… Minho and Jisung would be proud of me, I think. If they knew that I told you.”“It would have been okay if you hadn’t told me, you know?”Hyunjin hummed softly, the sound reverberating against Felix’s chin where it was resting on Hyunjin’s shoulder. “Maybe.”Silence encompassed them for a little bit until Felix mumbled, “Thank you.” The light squeeze that he received in return was answer enough. “By the way, who called you earlier?”Hyunjin let out a groan. “Jisung. He reminded me of a commission that’s due very soon and that I’m still far from finished with.”Felix gasped and pulled away. “Then what are we still doing here? You need to get busy!”“But—”“I can find myself a task to do. I have lots to do for university, I can work on that. And if I don’t feel like it anymore, I’ll just pick up Pride and Prejudice again and continue reading that. Would me typing on my laptop disturb you?”“No?”“Good!” Felix stepped out of the hug, took Hyunjin’s hand, and made his way into the kitchen. They picked up his laptop, earphones, some snacks, and some water, then they went into Hyunjin’s studio where Felix got comfortable in the armchair again. It had probably become his favorite place in the house over the past few months and one of his favorite activities: both of them sitting together, soft music playing while Hyunjin was drawing and Felix was reading. Well, it wouldn’t be quite as leisure for him on this particular night, but Felix was certain he’d have many more nights to make up for that.For the time being, Felix put on his earphones and went to the cyber campus from his university. Apparently, the board of their faculty had decided that analyzing choreographies was the same as actually dancing them. Felix had yet to meet an actual dancer who agreed with that, but under the given circumstances, especially with the university closed because of the virus, there wasn’t exactly anything he could do about it.He spent a good part of the night on the analysis until he got too tired and picked up Pride and Prejudice to continue reading where he had left off last time. And when he couldn’t concentrate on that anymore either, he went to bed, Hyunjin following close behind as always, staying with him until he was fast asleep. Felix would totally petition for early classes to be cancelled forever. Just not in that moment. Maybe later. When he was actually awake.He groaned, his hand patting over the mattress until he managed to locate his phone, turning the alarm off. All he wanted to do was stay. Sleep more.But, knowing that he’d definitely fall asleep and miss his first class if he stayed in bed even a second longer, Felix forced his tired body up. He didn’t bother turning on his flashlight, simply feeling his increasingly familiar way into the bathroom, only to blind himself when he turned on the light there. He let out another groan, hiding his face from the bright light as he unsteadily made his way to the sink, barely seeing as he started his morning routine.Marginally more awake, he eventually made his way downstairs, hardly surprised to find Minho at the kitchen island, scrolling through his phone. Minho looked up a moment later, laughing.Felix whined at the noise until a hand grabbed his, gently guiding him, making him sit down. “I’ll make you some coffee and breakfast, how does that sound?”Felix let out some noise that he hoped would be understood as confirmation while he rubbed over his eyes, forcing them open afterwards. Maybe, just maybe, he had stayed up a bit too long the night before…“Morning,” he mumbled eventually, making Minho laugh once again.“Morning to you, too. Got a little late last night?” Felix just hummed at that. “How many classes do you have today?”“Three. Two this morning, one after lunch.”The microwave clicked behind him, then started working. A moment later, the water faucet was turned on, only to be turned off shortly after. He didn’t really find it in himself to look over his shoulder to see any of that, though.“Can you take a nap during lunch break? Or maybe after your last class?”“Hope so.”Minho laughed softly, seeming to accept that Felix wouldn’t say much more. Felix grabbed his phone, distracting himself with social media while he listened to the sounds coming from behind him. He would have loved to be more helpful, but he wasn’t exactly sure if it was a good idea to put a knife or anything fragile into his hands just yet.Shortly after, two bowls of porridge, decorated with fresh fruit, and two cups of coffee appeared on the kitchen island. Felix stared at them, blinking, his tired mind trying to fully understand the situation. “You’re not going to sleep after this?”“I actually have to be at the café this morning, so I figured we could have breakfast together before I’d leave.”“How are you so awake?”Minho chuckled. “One: Jisung didn’t feed from me last night. Two: I’ve gotten used to not getting a lot of sleep. That’s what owning a café and having a nocturnal boyfriend do to you, I guess.”“Oh…”Finally, Felix found it in himself to move enough to start eating. “Why do you have to be at the café today?”“Just got a technician coming in and figured that the others would appreciate it if I were there for that. Also, I hardly join the day shifts these days, which isn’t really good. I should be around more often at daytime so that I can make sure everyone’s doing well.”“But you’re always around at night!”Minho nodded. “And I should be, at least with recent events. But that doesn’t excuse my absence during the daytime.”“But even you deserve days off.”Minho shrugged at that, seeming unfazed. “It’s not like I don’t take time off, don’t get me wrong. But it doesn’t feel right to leave the night shift on their own when… Well, when the government isn’t taking good care of all its citizens.”Felix looked down at the table surface. Was he part of the problem, kind of? At least part of the reason why Minho took extra care to be around during the nights? “Hyung, isn’t there anyone else who’s powerful enough to protect everyone?”“There is. But while you guys are at work, I still feel like it’s my responsibility to make sure that you will be safe, you know?”Felix pouted, wishing he could take some of the burden off Minho’s shoulders. But he was a mere human, what could he possibly do?“By the way, when does your class start again?”“Nine.”“Then you got two minutes.”“What?” Felix jumped from the bar stool, not even bothering to check if Minho had said the truth before he was running into Hyunjin’s studio, coming back shortly after with his laptop in his hand, already navigating Zoom while he was still walking. It was only when he was back on his barstool, the Zoom meeting open and him raising his hands with his earphones that he realized something was off and he looked up to find Minho eyeing him weirdly. “What?” he asked, putting one earphone in so he’d know if there was anything he’d need to respond to. His professor started the class almost at the same time, but Felix kept his microphone and camera off as always, watching Minho instead.“Nothing, just…” Felix raised an eyebrow when Minho trailed off, waiting silently until the other continued. “Did you just take that from Hyunjin’s studio?”“Yes?”Minho shook his head lightly. “What were you doing that your laptop was in Hyunjin’s studio?”Felix blinked at the other, confused. “Well, I worked on an assignment last night while Hyunjin-hyung was working on a commission. And when I got tired, I read for a bit…”They held eye contact in silence, Felix growing more confused the longer he only heard his professor’s voice in one ear, though he didn’t even try to pay attention to what his professor was saying. “You just… Stayed there?”“Yes?”“Let me get this straight: Hyunjin. Let you stay there. In his studio. While he was working on something.”“Yes, that’s what I said. He and I were both working on stuff.”Minho still stared at him with big eyes, blinking a few times, shaking his head lightly a moment later with an incredulous laugh. “You don’t get it, do you?”“Don’t get what?”“Felix. No one is allowed in Hyunjin’s studio.”Felix frowned. “That’s not right. I’m in there with him all the time. And I’ve seen Jisung-hyung and Jeongin in there…” Well, once, anyway. The night when he had been stress baking and they had brought him some food and tea.His frown deepened as he thought about the other times when he had been in Hyunjin’s studio, taken aback by the realization that Jisung and Jeongin had often appeared in the doorframe, but they didn’t seem to have actually entered the studio except from that one time. And he clearly remembered Hyunjin having protested at the time. Felix had taken it as no more than lighthearted banter, but…“Felix, I have never been in Hyunjin’s studio. I once talked about it with Jisung and even he said that Hyunjin doesn’t let anyone stay in there. He might show others pictures in there occasionally, but even Jisung and Jeongin haven’t been in there much. And Jisung especially mentioned that Hyunjin doesn’t let anyone join him while he’s working. Ever.”Felix could do nothing but slowly blink at Minho, trying to make sense of what the other was saying. “So… what does that mean? I’ve been in there so often…” Did that mean that he was just too insignificant to be counted? Or…He quickly shut down the thought before it could fully form, but Minho seemed to have other plans for him. “I think it means that you’re very important to him. To be honest, I’ve never seen Hyunjin look at anyone the same way that he looks at you. Now, Jeongin and Jisung might have different stories to tell,” Felix immediately thought of the man from the picture, “but I have never seen Hyunjin that way.”Felix looked away, unable to hold Minho’s gaze, but even when his eyes drifted to the screen, he was unable to focus on what he was seeing. If he was important to Hyunjin… If Hyunjin treated him specially… If Hyunjin even looked at him differently, then…Then did that mean that Felix was allowed to think all those things that he had kept himself from thinking so far?“He never said anything like that, though.”“Well, does he need to?”When Felix looked up, Minho’s pointed gaze was mixed with a kind smile, which shouldn’t go together, but it somehow did. And suddenly, Felix felt unmeasurably stupid.How was he supposed to make it through the entire day until he’d be able to talk to Hyunjin about any of this?Minho raised his cup and apparently finished his coffee while Felix hadn’t even started his own yet. “Anyway, I think I better get going or the technicians will arrive at the café before I do. See you!”Felix nodded. “Don’t worry about the dishes, I’ll do them later.”“Thank you.”They briefly smiled at each other, then Minho put his dishes into the sink, rinsing them before he left and Felix turned his attention to his class, finishing his breakfast as he listened. Throughout the day, Felix busied himself with his classes, a much needed nap, and assignments. Minho also returned at one point, though he only briefly checked in on Felix before he went upstairs. Felix was still working on the choreography analysis from the night before, sitting at the kitchen island with his earphones in and his laptop in front of him, when he noticed movement. Looking up, he was surprised to find Hyunjin entering the kitchen, smiling almost shyly at him. When had it gotten that late?Felix paused the video and took his earphones out. “Good morning,” he greeted Hyunjin, reaching one arm out for him, delighted when Hyunjin came around the kitchen island to hug him from behind.“Good morning,” Hyunjin replied quietly, nuzzling Felix’s neck. Felix closed his eyes, leaning back comfortably while he raised one hand to rest on Hyunjin’s arm.“Sleep well?”Hyunjin hummed, so close that his breath slightly tickled Felix’s neck. “You?”“Way too short. I keep forgetting that some professors like to torture us with early classes.”Hyunjin laughed softly at that, leaning back a little bit.“Get a room, you two,” someone muttered and when Felix opened his eyes, heat rose to his cheeks when he found Jeongin squinting at him from the doorway, his hair still pointing into all directions. “Do we have food?”“I thought you don’t need to eat?” Felix teased him, but he gently freed himself from Hyunjin’s embrace, regretfully sliding off the barstool and out of Hyunjin’s arms. He looked into the fridge, trying to figure out what to make and what Minho might have planned for before simply taking out some ingredients, figuring that since Minho wasn’t up yet, he’d have to live with whatever Felix was going to make.Hyunjin helped him a little, at least with preparations, and Felix once again noticed how Hyunjin stayed close to him even when he didn’t have anything to do. How he hadn’t protested the ‘get a room’ comment earlier, not even jokingly. How Hyunjin was often already watching him whenever Felix would look up.Yeah, well, maybe Minho had a point.The food was almost done when Felix could hear the shower upstairs. Jeongin immediately denied his suggestion to wait for Minho, though, so Felix and Jeongin simply ate first.They were already done when Minho and Jisung came downstairs. Felix had gone back to his analysis, nearly done with it, but he found himself taken for a loop when he saw the other two, notably both of them with wet hair. Somehow, he kept forgetting that Minho and Jisung were a couple. Had they taken a shower together? If the other bathroom was anything like the one connecting the guest room and, as Felix had been told at one point, Jeongin’s room, then there was definitely space enough in the shower stall for two people to shower together comfortably.“You’re staring,” Minho commented and Felix felt another blush rise to his cheeks as he quickly looked back at his laptop.“I made food earlier,” he mumbled, staring at the document in front of him that had a half-written sentence. Just… how had he intended to finish that sentence?Minho chuckled and Felix heard him rummaging behind himself while he squinted at the document in front of him, eventually giving up and watching the last few seconds of the choreography again.He finally finished the assignment while Minho was still eating. Felix leaned back a little, Hyunjin’s arm once again around his shoulders, and closed his laptop. “How is it?” he asked Minho across from him. Jisung next to him was scrolling through his phone, but it looked like he had one hand resting on Minho’s thigh. Only Jeongin sat on his own, one leg pulled up, seemingly playing some mobile game.The entire moment felt… casual. Normal. Domestic. As if it had always been that way. As if it was supposed to always be that way. And Felix completely missed Minho’s response as he just took the moment in, hit by the feeling that everything was exactly as it should be.“Can’t believe he’s making me compliment his food and then he’s not even listening.” Felix blinked when Minho’s voice pulled him out of the moment and he couldn’t help but smile. Jisung laughed quietly and Felix got more comfortable, meeting Minho’s amused eyes. “Now, where was that pretty little head of yours?”“Right here.”“Oh yeah? Sure didn’t look like it.”Felix’s smile only deepened and just a moment later, Minho’s attention was diverted when Jeongin cried out in frustration over his game. Minho leaned closer to help Jeongin and Felix was content to just watch, to bask in the moment.Minho actually stayed in that night and they had a lot of fun playing Mario Kart on a Wii that Minho located somewhere. Hyunjin and Jisung turned out to be almost comically bad at playing while Jeongin was obviously reveling in the opportunity to finally play with two others who didn’t completely suck at the game. It very quickly turned out that especially Felix and Jeongin would have to stay on opposing teams because everything else was just unfair to the other three.When Felix got ready for bed that night, he still could hardly stop smiling, his cheeks already hurting. He couldn’t remember the last time he had had that much fun and already started planning when to have a rematch. Maybe with Chan and Changbin present as well, just to make it all even more fun.When he returned to the dimly lit guest room, he wasn’t surprised to find Hyunjin sitting on the edge of the bed, looking over at him with a gentle smile. Felix could still hear Jeongin and Jisung bickering downstairs, interrupted every now and then by Minho’s laughter, but the guest room was calm, tranquil.“Hey,” he said quietly as he made his way over to the bed.“Hey,” Hyunjin replied.Felix sat down next to him, leaning back onto his hands. Minho’s earlier words were still playing in his mind, about how Hyunjin was treating him so differently. He had briefly considered that it could be because of the feeding since Hyunjin had explained that it could lead to feeling attached and protective, but that wouldn’t explain why Hyunjin had behaved that way already before Felix had shown up at his doorstep to make him feed.Felix’s eyes went to Hyunjin who was, as always, already watching him. “You seem to have been thinking a lot today,” Hyunjin started and Felix nodded.“I guess you could say so. I just… talked to Minho-hyung earlier and he planted some ideas into my head.”Hyunjin raised an eyebrow. “Oh? What kinds of ideas?”Felix’s eyes involuntarily went to the other’s lips before fluttering up but he knew that Hyunjin had seen it in how the other’s eyes widened ever so slightly. Something changed in the other’s eyes, but it was too dark for Felix to pinpoint what it was.“Can I try something?” he asked instead of answering Hyunjin’s question.“What is it?” Hyunjin asked back, his voice barely above a whisper, almost sounding… breathy?Felix held Hyunjin’s gaze as he leaned closer, watching out for any sign that he was overstepping, any sign that Hyunjin might be uncomfortable. Hyunjin’s lips were slightly parted and it almost seemed like he was frozen in place as Felix leaned closer, heart racing in his chest. They still held each other’s gazes and Felix thought he could see vulnerability, but also wonder. Anticipation, maybe? Or was he projecting too much?Felix halted once more when their faces were mere centimeters apart. “Would it be okay if I kissed you?” he mumbled, hoping that he wasn’t reading Hyunjin wrong, that he wasn’t making something out of Minho’s words that the other had never intended.Hyunjin gave a short, almost imperceptible nod. Felix couldn’t help but smile, relief washing through him as he closed the distance between them.The kiss was no more than a soft press, a gentle brush of lips against lips, before Felix leaned back a little. He instantly yearned for more, tempted to give in, to lean closer and seal their lips in a longer kiss, but instead, he pulled back further, watching as Hyunjin exhaled shakily for what seemed like the first time since Felix had started leaning in.“Is that okay?” he asked quietly, slowly growing worried at the lack of reaction he got from Hyunjin.“Felix…” Hyunjin started, but then trailed off as if he was looking for words. He looked away, opening his mouth once, twice.Felix couldn’t help the anxiety that was slowly building inside him, his forehead creasing in a light frown. Had he actually read it all wrong? Had Minho been wrong? Felix would have been prepared for rejection or acceptance. But he had not been prepared for silence.“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have—”Before he could react, Hyunjin’s hands were suddenly on either side of Felix’s face and their lips were connected again, so fast that Felix hadn’t even seen it coming. His eyes widened for a moment and his body stiffened, then all the tension and anxiety seemed to evaporate as his eyes closed. He leaned into the kiss, pressed a little closer, butterflies dancing in his stomach.“FUCKING FINALLY!”Felix jumped, breaking the kiss to stare at Hyunjin, both of them wide-eyed for just a split second until Hyunjin seemed to regain control. “YANG JEONGIN!” he yelled back, turning to face the direction of the door.Felix couldn’t help it when he burst out laughing, covering his mouth behind one hand as he watched Hyunjin turn back and stare at him incredulously. Felix leaned against Hyunjin, hugging him, hoping to convey that everything was okay, that they were good, that he wasn’t laughing about Hyunjin. It took a few seconds until the other’s arms finally wrapped themselves around him, holding him as he fought to calm down.Felix managed to stop laughing after what felt like an eternity, leaning back a little to wipe stray laughing tears from his eyes. “Don’t be upset with him.”Hyunjin huffed lightly, glaring at the door, but Felix couldn’t see any real malice on his face. “I’m gonna make that demon pay.”Felix quickly shook his head, reaching out with one hand to gently make Hyunjin face him. He was still smiling, lightly caressing the other’s face with his thumb, melting on the inside when Hyunjin leaned his head into Felix’s hand. “He was just worried. He must have felt both of us being anxious. Or, well, I was a little anxious at least, and nervous.” Heat rose to his cheeks, all the way to his ears and he looked down, but the smile stayed on his lips. “I think he was just relieved that we… well, sorted things out?” He looked up again, hopeful.Felix’s entire body seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, feeling lighter than ever when Hyunjin nodded. “If this is okay for you? I’d understand if you just…” He trailed off, eyes traveling to somewhere behind Felix.“It is,” Felix was quick to jump in, grateful when Hyunjin’s eyes returned to him. “I wouldn’t have done this otherwise, believe me. I… I honestly don’t think I would have even offered to let you feed form me if I hadn’t been open for this option.”“Because you had expected it to feel different?”Felix nodded, his smile turning a little crooked in embarrassment. “That and the simple fact that I care about you, so I noticed when you didn’t come to the café. That day when you left early. That day when you cancelled plans. And it mattered to me, I couldn’t just stand by even though I knew everyone would tell me to do just that.”“Jisung might not have. Neither would Jeongin, I think.”Felix looked away. “I did attempt to talk to Jisung-hyung, and… well, that didn’t go well.” Though he still didn’t fully understand why that hadn’t gone well when Jisung had obviously wanted Hyunjin to feed. And Jeongin… Felix didn’t know why, but Jeongin hadn’t even really crossed his mind at the time. “Jeongin might have been on my side. But Minho-hyung and Chan-hyung…” Then again, hadn’t Minho even told Felix that he should have come to him to talk?“Listen, Minho would’ve probably given you an earful. First about how ridiculous your idea was, then about everything you’d need to keep in mind.” Now that Hyunjin said that out loud, Felix could see that Minho might have done exactly that instead of being as entirely opposed as Felix had first assumed. “You shouldn’t underestimate how much he cares, about all of us.”“You know hyung well, don’t you?”“I have a few years of practice.” Hyunjin shrugged with a smile that Felix immediately reciprocated.They sat like that for a while and even though Felix’s arm got a little heavy, he had no intention to pull it away. “Hyung, what are we now?” he asked eventually.“What do you want us to be?” Hyunjin asked back, his gaze imploring, curious.Felix tilted his head lightly. “Would it be okay if I called you my boyfriend?”“Only if I get to call you that, too.”Felix blushed at the cheesy response and he looked away, but he couldn’t hide his smile. “I think I can live with that. That is, in case you’re ready for Channie-hyung to most likely come over next time I come visit. And for at least a picture, preferably probably a video call with my family. And maybe also Channie-hyung’s family since they are, like, my second family…”Hyunjin laughed softly. “Sounds like a lot of people I’ll have to meet.”“Hey, why won’t you consider yourself lucky that we have an epidemic,” Felix stopped himself, remembering the news from just a few days prior, “no, pandemic going on so my and Channie-hyung’s families won’t actually come to Korea.”Hyunjin laughed louder at that, raising both hands in defense. “Okay, okay, I’m counting my blessings.”Felix grinned and finally dropped his hand, unable to hold it up any longer. “You do know English well, right?” he asked, a little worried until Hyunjin raised an eyebrow at him. “Right, you lived in New York City, forget I ever said anything.”Hyunjin hummed. “Glad we’re on the same page.”“So, where else have you been? I saw all those books and didn’t even recognize some of the languages.”“Didn’t you say you wanted to go to sleep?”“Make it a goodnight story?”Hyunjin shook his head lightly and got up, immediately making Felix pout. Until Hyunjin turned around, that was. “Go on, get under the blanket. Can’t tell you a goodnight story if you’re not properly tucked in.”Felix’s pout instantly transformed into a beam and he hurried to do as he had been asked, getting comfortable and making enough space for Hyunjin to sit on the side of the bed, cross-legged. Felix reached one hand out until he could hold Hyunjin’s, content to be able to touch the other as he listened to stories of bygone times.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Waking up on his own the next day and leaving was much more difficult than Felix thought could possibly be warranted. But alas, there was only so much he could do about that.He came home to find Chan sitting at the kitchen table, working on some music. After a brief welcome, Felix joined his best friend with his own laptop and his earphones, going through social media while he waited for his first class of the day to start.Felix could hardly concentrate on his class, giddy to tell Chan about the recent developments between him and Hyunjin, but also not wanting to make that an in-between thing. So, he impatiently waited until his last class was over and until he and Chan had a steaming bowl of stew in front of each of them.“Say it.”“Hm?" Felix carefully blew over his first spoonful, looking up into Chan’s amused eyes.“There’s been something on your mind since you came home, I can tell. What is it?”Food forgotten, Felix beamed at his best friend. “Well… Hyunjin-hyung might be my boyfriend now.”“Might be, huh?” An amused smile was playing on Chan’s lips as he watched his best friend who immediately nodded excitedly.“Can you believe it?” He dove into what had happened the day before and how he had approached Hyunjin about it, nearly forgetting about his food if it hadn’t been for Chan reminding him to eat. “I still can’t believe that I had to ask him!” Felix giggled to himself, putting another spoonful of food into his mouth.“I hope you know that means that I need to officially meet him now, don’t you?”“Duh!”Chan sighed softly, still watching Felix. “Can’t believe it, my little Lixie’s all grown up now.”Felix rolled his eyes. “Don’t act like this is my first relationship ever!”“Well, maybe not the first one ever, but the first one with a non-human. That does make a difference.”“If it’s so important, maybe you should’ve let me into this world of magic earlier,” Felix teased and stuck his tongue out at his best friend before eating more, raising an eyebrow when he noticed Chan’s sudden hesitation and the way he looked down.“Are you planning to tell our families?”“Of course,” Felix replied slowly, growing wary at his best friend’s behavior. “It’s already bad enough that I can’t tell my family that Hyunjin-hyung’s a vampire, I won’t keep the fact that I have a boyfriend from them. But… I can tell your family everything, can’t I?”Chan was still looking down as he nodded, the hand with his chopsticks a little too still for Felix’s liking. “About that…”“What?”Chan squirmed and discomfort dropped in Felix’s stomach, like he already knew what was coming. He lowered his hand with his spoon, the stew splashing back into his bowl. “There’s something I wanted to tell you. I. My family doesn’t want you to know—in fact, my parents made me promise not to tell you, but…”“Chan? What is it?” Felix could hear the strain in his own voice, hardly noticed that he had automatically switched back to English just like Chan.Chan’s face twisted and Felix felt like there was a voice in the back of his head screaming no no no no no no no…“They are… special as well.”The clatter and splash of Felix’s spoon falling into his bowl made both of them jump. “I asked you two months ago if there was anything else that I should know.” He could barely keep his voice calm, anger from betrayal scorching through him like flames.“I know!” Chan looked up quickly, eyes wide and his entire face panic-stricken. “I know, Lix, I know. I’ve been asking them almost every day to tell you or to let me tell you, but they…”“If they know I know about you, why would they be so much against it?”“They already hate that you know about me! Felix, in some countries, we can get legally punished for letting ‘random’ humans know about that.” Something akin to fury sparked inside Felix, but before he could speak up, Chan kept on talking, “You’re not ‘random’, I know that. What the texts mean with that is that technically no one but certain higher-ups or whatever are supposed to know about us. And even where it’s not a law, it’s definitely a taboo.”“Why?”“Because history is full of humans hunting us down.”Felix physically flinched at that. Bile rose to the back of his throat at the accusation and it took him a moment too long to truly understand that it hadn’t even been meant as an accusation. He took a calming breath, then another, allowed himself to sit with that thought, to let it sink in.He should have known. The Salem witch trials were world famous. And the reputation that vampires were the scary lords of the night who had to be killed upon sight lest they kill you was also widely spread, only altered in recent times. Not even to mention the horror stories about demons and werewolves.Felix gulped, appalled at his own lack of apprehension and empathy. He looked down in shame, unable to meet his best friend’s eyes. “I’m sorry.”“It’s okay,” Chan replied quietly.“Is it really that strict?”“Well, even you didn’t know about us, so that has to mean something, right?”Felix’s shoulders hunched as he once again felt excluded, treated like an alien. And at the same time, he was worn down by the fear of having been ignorant, of the vastness of what he still didn’t know…“It’s only your dad, isn’t it?” he asked quietly, desperate to get back on track of their earlier conversation.“Only he is a werewolf, yes,” Chan confirmed and Felix nodded lightly. He remembered that Chan’s father had used to accompany Chan on his outings with Changbin, all the way until Chan’s family had moved back to Australia.“What about your mother and Hannah?”“They’re witches.”“The plants,” Felix mumbled, remembering them almost automatically. The abundance of plants, some of which he had been familiar with, many of which he hadn’t known.“Yes,” Chan replied even though both of them knew that the statement hadn’t needed a confirmation.“Just… one more question.”“What is it?”“Did your mother ever make me forget?”Silence answered him, so heavy that Felix felt tears pricking in his eyes. He looked up, desperate to find denial, but Chan’s sad smile and pitying expression spoke for him before his words did. “Once. You had accidentally overheard a conversation that hadn’t been meant for your ears.”Felix looked down when his sight got blurry, but he didn’t even try to stop the tears. He heard the soft scratching of a chair against floor, then Chan’s quiet steps as he rounded the corner, hesitated, then very gently drew Felix into a hug. Felix could do no more than lean into it, all strength seeming to have deserted him.“If it’s any consolidation,” Chan mumbled somewhere above him, “I’ve begged my mom not to do it. I had begged her to tell you back then, to let you in. But she wouldn’t have any of it. Even threatened to give me some of her potion as well if I didn’t stop begging.”Felix closed his eyes and turned his head little, finally raising his arms to hug Chan back. As he tried to swallow the pain. Come to terms with the fact that his memory had been messed with. That all of his memories had never been fully true. Had always lacked something important.That he had never been trusted enough by people whom he had trusted with his life. They spent the remainder of the day with lots of affection and care, though Felix maybe still baked them a batch of brownies in his attempt to figure out where he stood, how he wanted to proceed. It was only after he had thought through everything and talked to Chan as well to get his opinion that he took the time to schedule a video call with his own family, finally having the mental capacities to move on. He already hated that he would have to keep something as important as Hyunjin being a vampire from his family, but if the past few months had taught him one thing, then it was to hide the existence of anything supernatural from humans. And that he wasn’t in any position to ignore such a taboo.During the video call, they agreed for Felix to call them again when he was at Hyunjin’s place again, so he texted Hyunjin to let him know about the arrangement and to also tell the others because Felix wanted to use that opportunity for everyone to meet.He was basically bouncing with excitement when he went to Hyunjin’s place again, letting himself in at the gate and being greeted by Hyunjin at the front door. Felix wished he could lean up to greet Hyunjin with a kiss, but he remembered the charm just in time, crying inwardly at the inability to do exactly what he wanted. He stored the idea for the future, when things would return to normal, and simply opted to smile brightly at the other.“Hey.”“Hey there,” Hyunjin replied quietly, stepping aside to let Felix in.Felix’s eyes lingered on the other for a moment longer before he started taking off his shoes, jacket, and mask. “You put on contacts for the video call?”Hyunjin nodded lightly. “That seemed more appropriate than red eyes.”Felix scrunched his nose, but he couldn’t really argue with that. He fumbled with his bracelet until he could tie it around his bag, then made a beeline for the kitchen to wash his hands, greeting Jeongin in passing.Once his hands were clean and dried, Felix turned back to where Hyunjin was leaning against the doorframe, walking up to him while biting back a smile, hands linked behind his back.“What got you smiling like that, hm?” Hyunjin asked, eyes trained on Felix, arms crossed over his chest.“Nothing,” Felix replied, only stopping when he was right in front of Hyunjin who raised an eyebrow at him. Releasing his hands, Felix raised one of them to rest against Hyunjin’s cheek before he leaned up to peck the other’s lips, unable to hide his bright smile when he saw surprise wash over the other’s face.“Ugh, stop that gross PDA,” Jeongin grumbled and Felix couldn’t help but laugh. He turned around, walked over, and promptly draped himself over Jeongin, tightening his hug when the other instantly squirmed in an attempt to get away. “Get lost! Spare me!”Felix shook his head, burying his face on the other’s shoulder as he laughed, keeping his arms locked for a little longer just to mess with Jeongin. When he heard footsteps, he released the other, spinning around brightly to where Jisung and Minho joined them, looking clearly amused by the scene that they had walked in on. Minho was wearing one of his signature turtlenecks that hid the bitemarks.“Hyungs, finally! Save me from this nasty human!”Jisung only laughed while Minho raised an eyebrow at him, making no move to actually abide to Jeongin’s plea. “What happened to you being a mighty demon and all?”Jeongin grumbled something along the lines of “I hate you all” at that and turned back to his phone.A moment later, Jisung was right by his side, cupping his face in his hands. “Aww, we love you, too,” he cooed, leaning in with a kiss mouth.Jeongin screeched and scrambled out of chair, quickly getting some distance between them while Jisung laughed. “You! Keep that disgusting affection to your boyfriend!”“Jisungie, I’m beginning to think that Jeongin might not like physical affection,” Minho commented, making it sound as if that was a newfound realization, while Hyunjin sighed, but Felix could clearly see the suppressed amusement.“Over a century and still nothing has changed,” he said with fake indignation.“Well, sounds like I’ll have to spend the next century trying to convince him.”A visible shiver ran through Jeongin at Jisung’s words. “Ugh, I’m ditching you two!”“Felix, when did you say you wanted to start that video call with your family?” Minho asked, turning the attention away from Jeongin.Felix quickly checked his phone for the time. “In ten minutes. But I can call them early, they’d probably be ready. And setup would take a minute, too.”Minho nodded, so Felix went back into the hallway where he had left his bag. He fished his laptop out and started setting everything up in the kitchen since the height of the kitchen island in perspective to the chairs was most convenient. He noticed with amusement that Minho was setting up tea.“Are you hungry? I cooked when I got up earlier, but there’s enough for you, too,” Minho asked offhandedly, still busying himself with his task.“I’m good, I ate with Chan-hyung before I came over.”Minho hummed in response while Jisung spoke up, “Jagi, how good is your English again? Felix mentioned that his family is in Australia and that they didn’t speak Korean at home.”At that, Minho turned around and Felix had a feeling that the other was probably slow-blinking at them, but he was focused on unlocking his laptop and opening facetime. Hyunjin slid into the seat next to him and Felix glanced up, flashing him a warm smile.“My English is okay for reading stuff related to magic, but I’m not sure about anything beyond that…” Minho answered slowly.“That’s fine. Let me know if there’s anything you don’t understand, I don’t mind translating,” Felix replied while typing out a quick ‘hello’ to his mother.Next to him, Hyunjin fidgeted a little, prompting Felix to look over. Hyunjin smiled quickly, but even if he hadn’t been playing with one of his sleeves, even Felix would have noticed the nervous energy radiating off Hyunjin. He lightly bumped his shoulder against the other, just as the water boiler announced that it had reached the right temperature.“Hey, you’ll be fine. My family won’t bite.”“Huge advantage to two others in this room,” Jeongin muttered from somewhere behind them. Minho snorted at that and Felix faltered, realizing what he had just said.“Also, they wouldn’t be able to come to Korea no matter what. And I’m sure they’ll like you. They already do, just based on what I told them, and are very excited to meet you,” Felix continued, but his calming intention seemed to completely miss its target because Hyunjin’s face twisted.“That doesn’t work on Hyunjin,” Jisung also provided, making Felix pout that all of his attempts were futile. But he did know of one thing that had already helped once. Deciding to simply copy that strategy, he reached his hand out and locked it with one of Hyunjin’s, forcing the other to stop his nervous antics. He squeezed Hyunjin’s hand and focused back on the screen, single-handedly typing out a quick response to his mother who had said that she, Felix’s father, and Felix’s sisters were almost ready.Minho arrived at the kitchen island with two big cups of the same regenerative tea that Felix too had a stack of at his and Chan’s apartment by that point and that he drank at least once a day.“Thank you,” Felix said with a small smile and Minho simply nodded, sitting down next to him. Jisung stood behind his boyfriend while Jeongin lingered behind Felix and Hyunjin as they all waited for Felix’s family to be ready.Luckily, the call was started soon after and Felix immediately accepted it, beaming and waving excitedly when the image of his family popped up. “Hey!!”The four on the other side of the screen greeted them back while those around Felix were a little shier in their responses. Especially Hyunjin sat much straighter, his tension even palpable through the hand that was connected to Felix’s.“Guys, this is Jeongin,” Felix started, gesturing behind himself and Jeongin gave a small wave, “Jisung, my boss turned friend Minho,” both of them waved as well, though Minho visibly perked up when he heard his name, “and finally, Hyunjin.” Hyunjin bowed lightly towards the screen, giving another quiet greeting.“Your boyfriend,” Felix’s younger sister Olivia provided with a grin and Felix nodded, unable to help the smile that appeared on his lips immediately.“Yes, my boyfriend,” he confirmed, glancing towards his side.“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Hyunjin said with a polite smile, the perfect expression for a first meeting.“The pleasure is all ours,” Felix’s father replied.“We’ve already heard a lot about you,” Felix’s mother added with a warm smile. “Only good things, of course.”“Felix mentioned that you’re an artist?” his father continued and Hyunjin nodded once again.“Yes, sir.”Felix’s father sighed softly, but his mother only glanced at him in amusement. “Oh come on, honey, we knew that Felix would end up with someone from the artistic field.”“Mom!”Felix’s mother laughed quietly at that, then her eyes moved around the screen. “Minho, right? You already have your own café at such a young age?”Minho immediately sat a little straighter when his name was mentioned and after a second, he nodded with a sheepish smile. “Yes, ma’am.”“That’s really impressive.”Minho nodded once again, but Felix wasn’t entirely certain whether he had or hadn’t understood the compliment.They continued to exchange pleasantries and talking about a variety of light topics, but the longer the conversation kept going, the more did Felix get a feeling that Olivia was distracted and he wasn’t entirely certain if that was a good thing. His suspicion got confirmed about half an hour in, when his parents seemed to be done making adult conversation.“Hey bro?” she asked, drawing the word out with an angelic smile.Felix’s senses instantly jumped into full alert-mode and he squinted at the camera. “I don’t think I want you to say whatever you have in mind.” Behind him, Jeongin stifled his laughter and Felix could feel Hyunjin’s eyes on him.“What? You think too lowly of me!” Olivia’s eyes widened and she pouted, raising a hand to her heart. Their older sister Rachael rolled her eyes and even though Felix knew better, he couldn’t resist his younger sister.“Okay,” he gave in with an indignant huff. “What is it?”Olivia’s smile was back, but a lot more devilish this time and Felix immediately regretted his weakness. “Oh, I was just wondering if Hyunjin is good in bed.”“OLIVIA!” Felix tried to jump off the bar stool, instantly hitting the edge of the island and it was only thanks to Jisung’s fast reflexes that he didn’t fall. Heat shot into his head and he could see his face turning a bright red on the screen. Behind him, Jeongin burst out laughing, just like Rachael did while his parents seemed to be mildly shocked that Olivia would say that. Hyunjin seemed to be frozen in place while Minho looked around at them, apparently lost.“What?” Olivia asked, her smile back to full angel mode. “It’s not like you’re trying to hide it.”Felix’s hand flew to his neck and if it was possible, he probably blushed an even deeper shade of red. He groaned, rested one arm on the table, and let his head fall on top of it. Next to him, Jisung filled Minho in and a moment later, Felix felt someone, probably Minho, pat his head lightly.“I like her. Lixie, whenever you go back to Australia, make sure to let me know so I can come with you,” Jeongin said when he had finally calmed down and Felix whined.When he raised his head again, it was only to protest, “We haven’t slept together so far. We only just kissed for the first time last week!”“One thing doesn’t exclude the other,” Rachael replied nonchalantly while Olivia raised an eyebrow at the camera.“Oh come on, you literally have hickeys all over you!”“Shut up, both of you,” Felix whined and let his head fall to his arm again.“Why though, I’d love to hear more,” Jeongin said, all bright and chipper.“You too, shut up. Demon!”Jeongin laughed once again at that while one of Felix’s sisters huffed, probably Rachael because she said, “The only demon here is you, thinking that we’d believe such an awful lie.”“Cut him some slack, will you?” Felix’s father finally stepped in.“He’s our brother. Cutting him some slack wasn’t in our job description as his sisters,” Olivia replied, sounding way too excited for Felix’s liking.He finally raised his head again, glaring at the camera. “You know, I was gonna say that I miss you all, but actually, I think I’m glad that I’m a few thousand miles away from you.”Olivia gasped, raising both hands to her heart this time and pulling the most convincing puppy eyes Felix had ever seen. “Mom!! Felix said he doesn’t love us anymore!”Felix simply rolled his eyes, but he glanced toward his side, lightly nudging Hyunjin who still seemed too tense, flashing him a smile when the other looked at him. He wished he could ask Hyunjin if he was alright, what he was thinking about…They bid their goodbyes not long after that, with Felix’s parents explaining that it was getting late and that they would go to sleep soon.When they had ended the video call, Felix leaned into Hyunjin with a groan, switching back to Korean for Minho’s sake. “I’m never wearing anything but turtlenecks again.”Minho patted his back lightly. “That’s a lesson I learned a long time ago. If you don’t want any people teasing you needlessly, wear a turtleneck on certain days. Or scarfs.”“I had planned to do it, but then I’m basically never outside anymore and simply never turn on my camera for class, so I totally forgot to buy any.” And for work, he usually covered the hickeys with makeup, but he hadn’t remembered to use any for the video call.“So that was normal for your family?” Hyunjin asked carefully and Felix nodded, still not moving away from the other.“Yup. They usually keep the teasing a little more down during a first meeting, but… Well, they really don’t seem to believe that we haven’t been dating for weeks already. Also, I haven’t seen them in a really long time. I last went home in summer—the Korean summer, I mean—and I was supposed to also go home again this summer, but… I’m not sure anymore if I can…” His embarrassment quickly faded, overtaken by a sinking feeling that he might be right and he tightened his hug on Hyunjin a little. With the current development of the virus, there was no way for him to know whether he’d be able to see his family in summer or not…“Hey, if things don’t go so well, you’ll certainly be able to go in winter. By then, things will surely be better,” Jisung said quietly and Felix nodded. So far, he was still clinging to the hope that he’d be able to go home in summer.“Thank you for introducing us to your family,” Hyunjin said quietly and Felix leaned away a little to smile at his boyfriend.“Thank you for agreeing to meet them. All of you.” He looked around at the others as well, happy when they smiled back at him.“Do you always introduce your boyfriends so early, by the way?” Minho asked, sounding more amused than anything else, but Felix shrugged.“I mean, I’ve only dated two guys before and for them, it hadn’t really started with a friendship, so… no? Not really? But I’ve known all of you for months now, so it only felt right for me to introduce you all to my family, and this seemed like a good catalyst, kind of?” Felix replied thoughtfully. “And my family’s been curious about you all already before this, so yeah…”“Even me?” Jeongin asked and Felix tipped his head back until he could see the other.“I’m pretty sure my sisters have been especially excited about meeting you.”Jeongin laughed at that. “I seriously have to meet them in person one day.”“I’ll do anything in my might to prevent that.”Felix finished his tea, then they all went into the living room with Hyunjin briefly excusing himself to take out his contact lenses, before they all chatted until Jeongin, Jisung, and Minho left for the café. After bidding them goodbye, Felix went into the kitchen to get more water and a snack before making his way back into the living room, Hyunjin always by his side. As soon as they were both sitting and Felix had his hands free again, he cuddled closer to Hyunjin, closing his eyes comfortably when the other started caressing his hair.“There’s something that we should probably talk about,” Hyunjin started slowly, but his tone was even and gentle, so Felix simply hummed to encourage the other to keep talking, not worried. “This time might still be okay, but I feel like the next time feeding would probably become… intense.”“You want to talk about boundaries?” Felix provided and reluctantly leaned away, feeling like this was a conversation that demanded eye contact. Hyunjin nodded, not meeting his eyes, once again playing with his sleeve.“I just… I think it would be good to… You know, to keep further steps for us separated from feeding.”Felix nodded thoughtfully. “So that both of us can go into it with a clear head?”Hyunjin was quick to nod, looking relieved that it had been Felix who had provided the explanation. “Is that okay for you?”Felix couldn’t help but smile, touched that Hyunjin was thinking about that. “Yes, that’s very much okay for me. I don’t think I’d regret anything we do, but I completely agree with you that it’ll be best for both of us to take new steps with a clear head.”“It’s just… it might be difficult.”“For me?”“For both of us.”Felix tilted his head lightly. “So, it’s not just me who feels all of that but you, too?” Hyunjin nodded, making Felix frown. “How? I thought it’s basically your poison reacting with the leftover poison in my bloodstream?”Hyunjin nodded again, furrowing his eyebrows. “I’m not entirely sure about it, but I think it’s because… Like, the blood that we drink also comes in touch with our poison, you know? And so, it reacts nevertheless?”Felix raised an eyebrow, unsure if that really made as much sense as Hyunjin was thinking. “But in my case, it’s literally my blood that’s reacting, that makes sense to me. But for you… It would still be my blood, just in your stomach? I don’t think it should have the same effect?”Hyunjin shrugged lightly at that. “It’s the only explanation I’ve been able to come up with.”“Why have scientists figured out why feeding becomes more pleasurable for humans but not why it does the same to vampires?”Hyunjin shook his head. “I have no idea. Maybe there just weren’t any vampires who wanted to get such tests done on them, maybe science really hasn’t been able to explain it so far, maybe I just haven’t read about it…” He shrugged, an almost helpless gesture this time.Felix pursed his lips, deciding that he was going to have to look into that. Maybe he’d be able to find some research that had been done that topic?He shook his head lightly, chasing those thoughts away. “Anyway, I’m not here to talk about science.” He flashed Hyunjin a bright smile, leaning closer, but when Hyunjin still didn’t seem to be able to fully let go of those thoughts, Felix simply poked Hyunjin’s nose with his index finger, laughing when Hyunjin scrunched his nose.“What was that for?”“To get you to stop thinking about stuff that neither of us has or needs an answer to.”Hyunjin shook his head lightly, but he was smiling, so Felix leaned in to do what he had originally had in mind. Their lips met in a gentle kiss and Felix immediately melted. He had been looking forward to this all week and couldn’t be happier to be right back where he felt he belonged. Hyunjin’s hand came to gently rest on the side of Felix’s face and Felix rested one hand on Hyunjin’s shoulder, drawing closer. Excitement buzzed through him, each touch simultaneously electrifying and steadying.When Felix felt Hyunjin’s tongue against his lips, he immediately opened up, pressing himself even closer to Hyunjin, losing himself in the feeling of their tongues meeting, in tasting Hyunjin. Hyunjin pushed him back lightly and Felix automatically went with it, leaning against the sofa’s backrest.Hyunjin’s lips left his, kissing his jaw, down his throat, leaving hot trails behind. Felix tilted his head, keeping his eyes closed, lost in the feeling of Hyunjin’s soft lips against his skin. “May I?” Hyunjin asked quietly, his lips still brushing over Felix’s skin, and Felix simply hummed in response, tilting his head a little further in invitation.Hyunjin’s fangs pierced Felix’s skin, but the brief discomfort was almost immediately replaced by heat dripping into his bloodstream. Felix let out a quiet sigh, pulling Hyunjin closer. He wanted, no, needed to feel more of Hyunjin, have him as close as possible. Arousal stirred low in Felix’s stomach, fed by the heat pumping through his veins, beckoning him to just let himself fall, to give in.A low whine escaped him when Hyunjin’s fangs drew back, but Felix was immediately placated by the tongue that licked over the small wounds, lips that left small kisses along his neck before withdrawing. Felix’s eyes fluttered open when Hyunjin leaned back and he tried to pull the other closer again, wanted him there, needed more, to feel the other’s lips on his, to touch…Hyunjin shook his head lightly and Felix pouted, eyes finally meeting Hyunjin’s dazed ones, flickering back down when Hyunjin licked over his lips, much redder than they should be. “Not right now.”“Why?”Hyunjin’s lips pulled up into a half smile and Felix forced himself to look into the other’s eyes, finding something similar to regret in them. “I just fed from you.”“So?” Felix still didn’t see the problem.“You’d be able to taste your blood if we kissed right now.”Felix opened his mouth to say that that wasn’t a problem before his brain finally jumped back to action and he closed his mouth again. Right. Humans weren’t meant to do that. And the iron taste of blood was truly not necessarily something he was longing for, especially not in a kiss, especially not with who knew how much of it he’d be able to taste on Hyunjin’s lips and his tongue…A shudder went down his spine, but he wasn’t even sure whether it was from the thought of tasting blood or from thinking about kissing Hyunjin. “Touché,” he mumbled and let himself fall against the backrest with a pout, pulling his legs up onto the sofa, both for comfort and because the feeding hadn’t left him entirely unaffected. If he already felt this strongly this time…Hyunjin moved next to him, grabbing the glass of water that had been resting on the living room table, holding it out to him. Felix accepted it with a small smile and downed half of it in one go before setting it back down, opening his arms. Hyunjin laughed softly and snuggled closer, making himself small enough to tug himself into Felix’s side even though he was usually taller than Felix. Felix automatically wrapped his arms around Hyunjin, turning his body a little towards the other as he relaxed. He pressed a peck on top of Hyunjin’s head before one of his hands moved up to play with Hyunjin’s hair, smiling to himself when Hyunjin’s body went completely lax in his embrace.“You like this?”Hyunjin hummed, a quiet and content noise. “You do, too.”Felix smiled to himself at the other’s observation. “I do. I mean, I’m all for skinship, 24/7. But… I don’t know, I think someone caressing my hair makes me feel safe.” Like home. His mother had done it often when he had still lived with his family, and later, Chan’s mother had done it, too. It made him feel small, protected.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
One week later, Felix blankly stared at the email in front of him while his professor’s voice droned on and on in the background. An eternity seemed to have passed until he was finally able to move, reaching for his phone, unlocking it in slow-motion. Typing out the inevitable words.
me
I won’t be able to come home in summer
My flight just got cancelled
He stared at his screen, watched as it eventually darkened and turned black. This was good. For Hyunjin, anyway. It meant that he wouldn’t have to go for almost two full months without seeing his boyfriend.It also meant that he would have go for much longer than one eternity of a year without seeing his family in person.
Olivia
Whaaat???? No way!!
The corner of Felix’s mouth twitched up in a barely-there smile before the screen went black again.
Olivia
They can’t do that! That…
Felix merely stared at the screen, not even able to gather the strength to unlock his phone right away to read his younger sister’s full message.
Rachael
Nooooo!!!!!! You have to…
Mom
Honey, I’m so sorry to hear…
Felix’s vision became blurry and he turned his phone over, taking a deep, steadying breath. No, he wouldn’t cry. Not during his class, anyway. He’d be fine. He still had Chan by his side. He had Minho, Hyunjin, Jisung, and Jeongin. As well as Changbin. He was fine. He would have had to quarantine anyway if he had actually gone back to Australia. Traveling would by far not have been his safest option to begin with.Felix was about to text Chan as well, but his professor ended the class, so Felix waited until the final goodbye before he exited the zoom meeting. He got up from the chair at their dining table, stretched a little, then made his way to Chan’s room. The door was slightly open, but Felix still knocked, pushing the door further with that motion. He glanced inside, finding Chan working but seemingly on a call with someone.“Like this?” Chan asked and Felix waited a moment before he knocked again, a little louder. Chan looked over his shoulder, smiling at Felix and beckoning him to come closer, so Felix did, draping himself over Chan’s shoulder from the side. He glanced at the screen to find Changbin on the other side of the call, seeming busy with listening to whatever Chan had just done. After a few seconds, he nodded, his eyes focusing on a different part of the screen. Just when he looked like he was about to say something, his eyes widened a little and he smiled, waving at the camera, his mouth moving.“Changbin says ‘hi’,” Chan translated and Felix straightened his position a little, waving back at the camera.Chan hit a few buttons, then he took off his headset and just a moment later, Changbin’s voice made it through the speaker, “—look tired.”“Me?” Felix replied, pointing at himself, and Changbin nodded. Felix mustered a small smile, then he sighed. “I just got the news that my flight was cancelled.”“What?” Chan asked, turning towards him, his eyes full of worry. Felix nodded lightly, looking down in dejection.“Lix, I’m so sorry to hear that,” Changbin said as Chan gently wrapped his arms around Felix’s middle, pulling him closer until Felix was sitting on his lap, undeniably grateful for the physical contact.“Let’s be honest, I wouldn’t have known how to survive quarantine anyway and I would have had to go through that twice had I been able to go.”Changbin shook his head. “It must still be devastating for you.”“We all know how much family means to you and how much you’ve been looking forward to going to Australia during the break,” Chan also added.Felix shrugged weakly before leaning more into his best friend. “I mean, at least I have you two here, and Minho-hyung, Hyunjin-hyung, Jisung-hyung, and Jeongin. So, it could be worse. I’m sure there are many people out there who have it much worse.”“Which doesn’t mean that this situation doesn’t suck,” Changbin pointed out.Felix sighed quietly and looked down. Because of course it sucked, no matter how much he tried to remind himself of all his privileges. It still felt like a part of him was dying from the things that he was denied due to the pandemic, no matter how many blessings he had left to count.“Wanna hear what Changbin and I have been working on?” Chan changed the topic and Felix nodded, thankful for the distraction.“If that’s okay?”“It’s okay as long as you give us honest feedback,” Changbin replied with a smirk and Felix’s smile deepened. He sat a little straighter, both to concentrate and to allow Chan to move, navigating his computer mouse to play the piece that he and Changbin were working on. Felix eventually returned to the kitchen area for his next class, but he was grateful for the time that he had been able to spend with Chan and Changbin.After dinner that night, Felix packed his bag while Chan sat on his bed. “You should seriously just start leaving stuff there.”“I can’t just randomly leave my stuff lying around,” Felix protested, stuffing another pair of underwear into the side of the bag.“Well, then how about you ask if it’s okay and then leave your stuff there? From the brief impressions that I got of them, I don’t think they’d mind. Well, at least not Hyunjin-sshi and Jisung-sshi.”Felix rolled his eyes. “Jeongin wouldn’t mind either. He’s just a little demon sometimes, but he can be quite civil if he wants to. Can you hand me my charger?” Was he forgetting anything else?Chan moved, so Felix held out his hand, leaving it hoisted in the air until he felt the charger cord against his palm and grabbed it, stuffing the charger into the bag as well. He had his toiletry bag, clothes, laptop, chargers, the umbrella that he had kept in his bag since September…“You should also totally get another set of your creams and stuff to leave there.”“I can’t just take over their bathroom! It’s enough that their guest room has basically become my second room, I can’t keep on taking over their entire house.”“How does Minho-sshi do it?”Felix rolled his eyes all over again. “I don’t think his and my situations are comparable. He’s been with Jisung-hyung for much longer, he basically spends half his time at their house.”“You literally spend two nights and three days there pretty much every week, how is that any different from basically spending half your time there?” Chan shot back and Felix opened his mouth only to close it, unable to come up with a proper comeback.“It clearly is different,” he said eventually since he still did spend significantly less time there. And usually didn’t even have to get groceries since Minho always had stuff prepared and had already told him at one point that it wasn’t a problem to him that Felix was also using his stuff. Not that Felix didn’t buy his own stuff when there was something specific he wanted to cook… “Okay, I think I got everything.”“You’ll be back on Sunday, right?”“That’s the plan, yes.” Felix stood up and shouldered his backpack, letting out a quiet ‘oof’ at how heavy it was. He could probably use his bag for workout purposes at that point, so maybe he should indeed consider asking if he could leave some stuff at the others’ house…They went into the hallway together where Felix put on his shoes and grabbed his denim jacket, then he bid Chan goodbye and got on his way to Minho’s café.Once he had arrived, he was quick to dismiss the day shift and start getting everything ready for the night shift. By the time that Seungmin arrived to open the café with him, Felix had already prepared everything they needed.He was surprised to find no other staff members—not even Minho—, Hyunjin, nor Jisung around when they opened the café.“What?”“Hm?”“You’ve been looking around like something is amiss.”Felix looked over at Seungmin who was lazily leaning against the counter. “It’s nothing. Just that Minho-hyung, Hyunjin-hyung, and Jisung-hyung don’t usually let me roam around here at night without their supervision.” Seungmin laughed at that and Felix couldn’t help but glance at him warily. “You don’t happen to be, like, the most powerful demon or witch ever, right? Because if you’re not, I really don’t get why they suddenly leave me alone.”“You still haven’t figured out what I am?” Seungmin asked back, raising an eyebrow.“No? Was I supposed to?” Felix tilted his head lightly, glancing towards the door when he saw movement, but it was only a car driving by, so he looked back at Seungmin.“Right, you’re only human so you don’t know how to read between the lines, or even just according to our orders.”Felix pouted. “Well, tell me. At least about special stuff that I should probably know about, seeing how I’ve become a regular worker in the night shift.”Seungmin looked towards the front again with a bored expression. “Nah. Minho-hyung is the one who got you on board, that’s his task.”“Hey!” Felix started to protest, but he was interrupted by the door opening. With an indignant glare towards the other, he ventured off to the side, waiting for whatever order would come in. For some reason, whenever Seungmin was at work, he was usually the one to take orders. And he was extremely good at selling extra stuff! Felix assumed that it had something to do with the sound of Seungmin’s voice being very comfortable, but he had no actual clue.It stayed calm for the first two hours and Felix found himself entranced whenever Seungmin softly sang along to the songs playing in the background. If he wasn’t singing or taking orders, they usually led easy small talk to pass the time. Seungmin even went so far as to leave Felix alone at one point to water the plants. Felix didn’t know why he couldn’t have done that because he was certain that Minho would kill them if he found out about Felix having been left alone at the cash register so letting Felix water the plants shouldn’t have made a difference, but the night was so slow that nothing even happened until Seungmin was back by his side.Felix had gone over to wiping off all the places that usually didn’t get enough attention during their cleaning routines when the door opened to four very familiar men. “Hyungs!” he greeted them with a beam, relishing in the bright smile he got from Jisung and the small wave that Hyunjin gave him. Jeongin looked amused at the sight of Felix on the small stepladder while Minho raised an eyebrow at them.“That slow?” Felix was certain he would have called it ‘boring’ if it hadn’t been for the one man sitting in a corner, reading a newspaper. Felix was convinced that the man was either a demon or some kind of undercover agent since they weren’t serving blood—thus drastically cutting down the inflow of vampire customers—and who else was still reading newspapers in 2020?“That slow,” Seungmin confirmed. “The usual for you?” Minho simply nodded and all four of them made their way back.Felix continued to clean until Seungmin tasked him with bringing Minho’s and Jeongin’s tea into the back. Once he had finished cleaning and put the small stepladder away again, he told Seungmin that he’d turn to their storage room next and to call for him if he was needed.He had gotten more than halfway through their storage by the time that he was actually called to the front to join Seungmin and Jeongin. Jisung and Hyunjin’s usual table was occupied by two women who were chatting and when Felix looked around, he also couldn’t spot the two vampires anywhere else, so he assumed they were still in the back with Minho.An hour went by with their slower-than-usual rush before Seungmin asked Felix to take over at the cash register. Shortly after, he found a cup of tea in his vicinity that smelled slightly fruity; a telltale sign for Minho’s regenerative tea.Minho joined them up front for a bit, but soon enough, he seemed to figure out that the other three didn’t actually need him, so he returned to the staff only area. When Felix asked Jeongin why Jisung and Hyunjin weren’t in the front this time, he merely got a raised eyebrow, followed by “Hyunjin-hyung isn’t exactly in the best condition, as you should also know, and Jisung-hyung wouldn’t pass up on a chance to be with his boyfriend” and a shrug. Felix hadn’t been able to say anything else before a new customer had come in.They had gotten past the worst and were in the middle of a debate whether Felix or Seungmin should take their break first when the café doors opened again. Felix saw that as his chance as he quickly resumed his spot behind the cash register, smiling brightly at the woman who had entered. “Welcome!”Seungmin let out a huff and raised his pointer finger at him, but he did seem to relent, busying himself once again with making some tea while Jeongin pointedly did the dishes. Felix still thought that he could hear the other laugh.The woman walked up to Felix, her hair falling over her shoulders in black, gentle waves, an ember gaze fixed on Felix. She wore a blouse that hugged her body tightly and a suit jacket over it, a beautiful and elegant fit.“Hi, what can I get for you?” Felix asked, hoping that his voice was more stable than his flustered heart. Something about that woman was extremely alluring, making him almost pity the moment her eyes flickered up to their menu and away from Felix.Soon enough, her eyes landed back on Felix, almost taking his breath away with their intensity. “Can you get me a strawberry latte?” Her voice was velvet, almost mixed with a slight purr, making Felix’s heart beat faster.He nodded, almost absentmindedly. “A strawberry latte, yes, coming—”“—right up,” Jeongin finished, his tone clipped. Felix blinked when he was shoved away from the register and pushed into the staff only area.“Hey!” he tried to protest, but as soon as he was free to move and spun around, he found the door already closed in front of him, blinking dumbly at it. Reality hit him like a bucket of ice-cold water and he took a step back, right into someone, making them hiss. “What the…” Felix shook his head lightly, trying to shake it free of whatever cotton candy haze had just befallen it. He wasn’t even into women!It was when he heard a low growl that Felix finally looked up. Hyunjin was standing close to him, but he was neither looking at Felix nor at the door. Felix followed the other’s line of vision to where Jisung was standing, a tight grip on Hyunjin’s wrist, meeting Hyunjin’s eyes with a glare of his own, lips moving but voice too quiet for Felix to make out the words.“What’s going on?” Minho stepped out of his office, frowning at the situation he was met with. He pushed his gold-framed glasses up the bridge of his nose before crossing his arms. “Hyunjin? Jisung? And Lix, you may want to take off that charm for a moment.” Felix was confused by Minho’s words, but he started untying the charm nevertheless.“Succubus,” Hyunjin replied, the word almost unintelligible over the growl, and Felix’s eyes widened when he saw Hyunjin’s fangs peeking out, making him halt his movements for a moment.“Or incubus, we can’t know that,” Jisung replied matter-of-factly, but he still neither released his grip on Hyunjin nor looked away from the other.Minho sucked in a sharp breath, his eyes narrowing. “I’ll—”“No need,” Jisung replied, but the way his eyes bore into Hyunjin made Felix doubt who was truly the target of those words. “Jeongin already took care of that.”Hyunjin tried to pull on his wrist, but Jisung’s grip tightened even more, the tension in his hand visible even to Felix. Hyunjin hissed at Jisung, and Felix quickly hurried to finish untying the charm, but then didn’t know what to do with it.“Put it in your pocket,” Minho provided while dropping his arms to his sides. “You’re taking your break now. I’ll make you some tea,” he announced and strode past them. Once the charm was safely tugged into the back pocket of his pants, Felix stepped closer to Hyunjin to make space, gently touching the other’s arm.Hyunjin spun around, one wrist still in Jisung’s vice-like grip, immediately pulling Felix into his side with his free arm, so fast and hard that Felix couldn’t help the small gasp that escaped him. The sound seemed to finally snap Hyunjin out of it because his grip immediately loosened and he blinked, his expression softening. He let go of Felix, stepping back just the tiniest bit, moving his arm until he could rest one hand against Felix’s cheek. “I’m sorry, are you okay? Did I hurt you?”Felix shook his head, more focused on the fact that Hyunjin’s fangs were gone, how gentle his eyes were, and how much softer the other’s voice sounded than on the actual words. His eyes flickered back towards Jisung, unsure what to make of the entire situation, so he started at the only point he knew. “Why can’t you know for sure whether she was a succubus or an incubus?”Instead of answering, Hyunjin looked back at Jisung who finally released his arm. “Let’s sit down, then we can talk, alright?” Jisung offered and Felix nodded, confused. With both of his arms free, Hyunjin took Felix’s hand and gently pulled him into the break room, following after Jisung.It was only when the three of them were seated, Hyunjin once again with one arm around Felix’s shoulders and pulling Felix tightly into his side, that Jisung spoke up, “It’s kind of like with witches and wizards: whether a sex demon classifies as an incubus or a succubus depends on how they obtain their energy: incubi obtain it through being dominant and usually through giving while succubi obtain it through being submissive and usually through receiving.”Felix tilted his head a little at that. While it had still made a lot of sense to him why witches and wizards weren’t gendered, he had a little bit of a harder time seeing that for succubi and incubi. Then again, taking his own sexuality and preferences into consideration, maybe he shouldn’t be quite as confused by that. “So I guess we only have a gendered perspective of that because those traits have been gendered by society?” he offered, but Jisung merely leaned his head from side to side in a ‘yes, but no’ fashion.“To a certain extent, you’re probably right. But as far as I know, it also is a fact that women tend to be succubi and men tend to be incubi. But I’m not sure why.”“Evolution,” Minho’s voice came through the open door and a moment later, he appeared in the doorframe, carrying two cups in his hands. He set one of them down in front of Felix with a gentle smile, tapping its side lightly. A string of something green weaved into the liquid, its glow quickly fading, mixing with the tea. Magic.Minho kept the other cup in his hand as he sat down next to Jisung who immediately wrapped one arm around him, mirroring Hyunjin and Felix’s position. Minho briefly tapped against his own cup as well, so Felix assumed that he laced his tea with magic, too. “Since women are expected to be submissive and men are expected to be dominant, sex demons with those traits also fared better in history and had an easier chance to survive. Because of that, the number of female succubi and male incubi increased with time while the number of female incubi and male succubi decreased. I’m not sure what the percentages are these days, but I’d expect the ratio to eventually change into something more even.” He let out a huff. “I also can’t believe Jeongin actually served that woman.”“Hyung, you can’t just refuse to serve every customer who’s a bit extra,” Felix replied, turning towards his side when he heard a quiet growl and Hyunjin’s grip on him tightened. “What?”“Sorry,” Hyunjin mumbled and looked down, loosening his grip again.“Felix,” Minho spoke up and Felix looked back at him, “you’re technically right—as long as we’re speaking about humans. But magical creatures can be a little more challenging sometimes. And the consequences of them acting out can be worse.”Felix huffed, but it didn’t look like he could win an argument against the other three, so he stirred clear of that coast. “Why would she have even tried that, though? This being a magical café and all, wouldn’t it make more sense for her to stay clear of the staff?”“Generally yes,” Minho agreed. “But just like for vampires, their food sources have been… made more difficult to obtain.”“How so?” Felix raised his cup, tentatively blew over it and took the first sip. Warmth immediately flowed through him and he cuddled back into Hyunjin, one hand holding the cup, leaning it on his thigh, while his other hand went to Hyunjin’s thigh, coming to rest on it in hopes that it would help the other calm down.“Succubi and incubi have a tendency to go to clubs to pick someone who will satisfy their needs.”“Oh…” Felix looked down at his tea as the dots connected in his head. If they usually went to clubs but clubs were closed or less frequented because of the pandemic… Well, obviously incubi and succubi too would have trouble these days. “Then how can I tell if someone is an incubus or succubus?”“Their eyes,” Jisung spoke up. “They’re usually ember or gold.”Felix nodded, clearly remembering the way that woman’s ember eyes had looked at him. “Oh, and why are they all always going for me? Is it just because I’m at the cash register when they come?” He raised his head, finding Minho looking back at him in amusement but shaking his head.“Humans are just our preferred option,” Jisung explained, looking down, seemingly flustered. “While we can also feed from magical creatures, it’s usually not as sustainable or fulfilling as humans, and I think Jeongin once said that it’s the same for demons.”Felix huffed, pursing his lips in discontent. Of course he, the weakest staff member, would be their preferred feeding option!“And we as humans are generally much weaker, meaning, easier prey,” Minho pointed out with a slight shrug, yelping and almost spilling his tea when Jisung pinched his side. “What? It’s not like that’s a lie!”They chatted for a bit longer, until Seungmin suddenly peeked his head around the doorframe. “Sorry to interrupt, but Felix, are you gonna be back soon? I’d still like to take my break, you know?”Hyunjin immediately stiffened at those words while Felix simply looked up. “Yes, of course, I’ll be there in just a minute.” Seungmin nodded and left again, so Felix turned towards Hyunjin, raising an eyebrow. “Will you let me get up?”Hyunjin seemed to actually hesitate, his jaw set tight and every muscle in his body taut. When the silence dragged on, Felix’s second eyebrow went up as well.“Hyung? This is my work. I still have to finish my shift, no matter what kinds of customers show up. I’ll be fine. I have Jeongin by my side, and Seungmin. You’re all here in the back, a mere call or press of a button away. Or, if that’s not too much for you, you could come sit in the front of the café again. But either way, I have to get back to work.”“I know that,” Hyunjin replied, but his voice was pressed. On the other side of the small table, Jisung and Minho got up, leaving the room.Felix fully turned towards Hyunjin, raising one hand to rest it against Hyunjin’s cheek. “Hey, it’s okay for you to worry about me. But I still have a life to live and a job to do.”Hyunjin averted his gaze and Felix sighed quietly.“How about I’ll go up front and stay long enough for Seungmin and Jeongin to take their breaks. If everything is still calm afterwards, I’ll see with Minho-hyung if I can leave early today. Does that sound good for you?”“It’s the best you’ll give me, isn’t it?” Hyunjin asked quietly, raising his gaze to look at Felix again. Felix nodded lightly, holding Hyunjin’s eyes, slightly pained at being able to see the other’s contacts this close. Eventually, Hyunjin took a deep breath and nodded. “Alright.”Felix smiled softly and leaned in to place a gentle peck on Hyunjin’s lips, not protesting when Hyunjin held him in place, deepening the kiss immediately. Much sooner than he wanted, Felix broke the kiss and leaned back. “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine,” he assured Hyunjin who nodded, still looking a little doubtful.Hyunjin accompanied him to the door that separated the staff area from the public area where Felix regretfully put on his bracelet. As Felix got back to work, he soon saw Hyunjin and Jisung taking a seat at one of the tables near the counter, though not their usual table since that one was once again occupied, this time by a man and a woman.The night indeed stayed slow. Minho joined them in the front while Jeongin was on his break, but he merely used the chance to chat with Seungmin and Felix, the two of them not even needing Minho to help with any orders.When Jeongin was back in the front, Minho told Felix that he could leave, so he did. Once he and Hyunjin were back at the house, Felix was quick to take off the charm and wash his hands diligently. Afterwards, he got started on somewhat of a midnight meal, smiling when Hyunjin’s arms sneaked around him from behind while he was cutting some vegetables. “Feeling better?”Hyunjin hummed, placing a gentle peck on Felix’s neck. “I’m sorry for earlier.”Felix shook his head lightly, keeping his eyes trained on what he was doing. “Don’t worry about it. It was about that protectiveness that you told me about last month, wasn’t it?” That and potential jealousy were at least the only explanations he had been able to come up with in the meantime.Hyunjin gave another affirmative hum, nestling his face in Felix’s neck. “As much as I couldn’t help it, I’m still sorry.” His arms tightened a little and Felix smiled to himself, wondering how he could have gotten so lucky to come across Hyunjin and that Hyunjin was actually interested in him.“By the way, there’s something I’m curious about: at what age were you turned?” Felix changed the topic.Hyunjin laughed softly, his breath tickling over Felix’s skin. “Why?”“Just curious. I mean, if we’re fully honest for a minute, it’s super weird that you’re, like, at least 150 while I am literally 19. If you were human, that kind of age gap would be horrendous.”“I see, I see. So you’re saying that next time I better go to a nursing home and find someone there?”Felix rolled his eyes, lightly elbowing Hyunjin for even thinking of such a thing. “No, what I’m saying is that you don’t look like you’re much older than me. I’m just curious about what your human age is. Even though I’ve known you for, like, half a year already, I don’t know much about your past.”“You want to know about that?”“Hyung, I’m going out with you. I want to know everything about you!” The broth on the stove was boiling, so Felix turned a little to put the noodles in as well as the carrots that he had already cut. Hyunjin’s arms stayed loosely wrapped around him, limiting Felix’s movements a little, but not so much that he was unable to cook.“Some parts of my past aren’t all that great, though. Many, I have forgotten. There’s a lot of boring everyday routine…”“I don’t care, I want to know. I don’t know anything about your human life, I don’t know about the time you were turned. I don’t know where you’ve been, what kinds of passions you’ve followed, what kinds of jobs you’ve had, what made you return to Korea… I don’t know what food you used to love, who was your favorite person at what time and whose guts you’ve hated. I don’t know about the hardships you’ve been through, I don’t know if the person you are today is the same character you’ve always had or if it’s someone you’ve created through lots of work and with lots of effort as you were striving to be better. I don’t know what kinds of creatures you’ve met on your journey, about the times that you’ve probably considered kicking out Jisung-hyung and Jeongin, or about the times when you realized that you loved them more than anyone in the world. I don’t know what you miss the most about being human, or if even those things have become insignificant as time went by. I don’t know what you love or hate about being a vampire, what you’d like to change about your current life, or even what flowers you like!”“Jeez,” Hyunjin mumbled, sounding impressed. “You’ve thought about this a lot, haven’t you?”Felix huffed, pushing the leek rings from his board into the broth, stirring it. “Half of that literally just came to me… And I guess all I’m saying is that I want to know more about you, I want to know your story, your life.” He grabbed the sausages that he had found in the fridge, hoping that Minho hadn’t had some kind of big plan with them as he cut them into smaller pieces to add to the broth.“So I guess today is story time?” Hyunjin asked, letting go of Felix to stand next to him instead, leaning against the counter.“Is that okay?” Felix immediately glanced over at Hyunjin, hope flaring inside him, and he beamed when Hyunjin nodded.“I was turned when I was 22, I think. More or less.”“More or less?” Felix raised an eyebrow, but he continued to focus on the sausages on his cutting board.Hyunjin shrugged lightly. “It’s been a long time. I told you that there’s a lot that I’ve forgotten.”“Alright.”“I like purple tulips.” Felix glanced at Hyunjin in surprise before pushing the cut sausage into the pot, then he moved to wash the dishes he had used during his meal prep. “They’re my birth flower. I don’t know why I remember that, but I do. I also used to draw them kind of frequently, but most of those drawings have been sold.”“Why did you become a vampire? Or is that too personal to talk about?”“You’re truly curious about a lot of things, aren’t you?” Hyunjin sounded thoroughly amused, making Felix smile and shrug.“I told you, I want to know everything.”“I’ll tell you that story some other time, alright?” Hyunjin’s voice was soft, but when Felix glanced up, he couldn’t read the other’s expression. There was clearly more to the story than Hyunjin was willing to share just yet, though.“Of course, whatever you’re comfortable with.” Felix finished cleaning what he had used, simply putting it on the drying rack next to the sink as he moved back to the stove to turn it off. He grabbed a ladle and a bowl and soon was ready to start eating. Maybe this wasn’t the most nutritious food he could have made, but it was all he was in the mood to make after working.Hyunjin shared an anecdote from the past with him while Felix ate, then stored the remaining food away and finished doing the dishes. Eventually, they moved into the living room. They started by watching a movie and even though Felix was tempted to kiss Hyunjin, he remembered the other’s warning from last time and figured that if blood wouldn’t taste good to him, human food probably wouldn’t taste good to Hyunjin. So he only cuddled close, relishing in the comfortable embrace and the feeling of Hyunjin’s body against his.The characters on screen were currently at the pool, in the middle of whatever, when Hyunjin suddenly spoke up quietly, “I’ll miss you.”“Huh?” Felix turned a little, catching a glimpse of the sad smile on Hyunjin’s lips.“When you’re with your family in summer.”“Oh…” Felix looked away, the memory of the email earlier immediately coming back. He cuddled closer to Hyunjin who automatically tightened his embrace.“Oh?”“My flight got cancelled. I won’t leave.”“Oh,” Hyunjin echoed, sounding just as flat at Felix had. “I’m sorry.”“I mean, it’s better for you this way. You won’t have to look for another way to feed—or hope that the government will be able to provide for you again,” Felix tried to lift the mood, but Hyunjin merely shrugged.“I would have been fine. I wouldn’t have liked going out to hunt again, but I do have a feeling that Jisung wouldn’t have left me another option but to do that. It’s not like I haven’t lived that way for ages,” Hyunjin replied, his voice gentle, but Felix thought he could hear a bitter undertone.Felix turned a little until he could throw one leg over Hyunjin’s legs, cuddling closer. “This means that you and Channie-hyung will have a new number one priority: cuddling me!”Hyunjin laughed softly, one of his hands going up to pet Felix’s hair. “You’re saying that as if that isn’t my number one priority already.”Felix hummed, happiness bubbling inside him. “So I’ll just have to convince Channie-hyung, that sounds manageable.”The sounds from the movie filled the silence that settled over the two of them once again. Eventually, Felix turned his head a little so that he could properly watch the screen, losing himself in the movie and Hyunjin’s comforting embrace.When the ending credits rolled over the screen, Felix rolled himself off Hyunjin, stretching. He squeaked when Hyunjin poked his side, flinching away. What a mistake! Not even a heartbeat later, Hyunjin was all over Felix, mercilessly tickling him, reflexes much faster than Felix could counter the tickle attacks. “Stop. Hyung! Mercy!” He tried to squirm away, laughing, uselessly struggling to protect his stomach from the oncoming hands with one arm.He was crying tears of laughter and his stomach hurt by the time that Hyunjin finally relented, disappearing, leaving Felix lying on the sofa, gasping, fighting to regain his breath. He had somewhat succeeded by the time that Hyunjin’s hand appeared on his legs, lifting them up and sitting down before dropping them on his lap. Felix finally opened his eyes again, pouting at Hyunjin as good as he could. “You’re cruel.”“Am I, now?”“I really thought I was gonna be the first human who would go down in history for laughing himself to death!”Hyunjin scoffed. “Even if that were possible, I do have means to bring you back if needed, you know?” he said with a smirk.Felix blushed, but he sat up a little. “Would you actually?”The smirk disappeared as quickly as it had come, making way for a quizzical expression, red eyes boring into brown ones. “I mean, this would be something we’d need to discuss first. And… I would like to know you for a bit longer than just a few months. Though of course there’s no one saying that you’d have to stay with me should I turn you…”Felix shook his head lightly as Hyunjin’s tone lost its serious edge and instead sounded increasingly uncomfortable. He sat up fully, gently placing one hand against Hyunjin’s cheek. “Hey, I didn’t say you’d have to do that or even that you’d have to think about it. I would at the very least actually like to be a tad bit older than forever 19, you know? Or, well, 21 in Korean age, I guess…”“There’d be a lot more than that to consider,” Hyunjin replied quietly and Felix dropped his hand, taking Hyunjin’s hands into both of his as he listened. “You would have to say a final goodbye to your family. If not when you’re turned, then at the very least when they grow old. Since, you know, you can’t really turn everyone you love.”Felix looked down at their hands. Right. He had never even thought about that fact. He shook his head lightly, banning those thoughts from his mind since they weren’t even relevant—at the very least not at that point. “Doesn’t matter, not right now. Let’s talk about this some other time, alright?” He looked up again, smiling when Hyunjin nodded, looking relieved. Grateful to have brightened the mood again, Felix raised both hands to cup Hyunjin’s face and he leaned a little closer. “Now, if I’m not mistaken, I came here for something different.” He grinned, relishing in Hyunjin’s eyes immediately dipping down. His own eyes briefly went to the other’s lips, then he simply followed what his heart wanted, finally being able to do that.The kiss started out gentle, unhurried. Hyunjin’s hands rested on Felix’s legs, lazily caressing his thighs as they slowly deepened the kiss. Felix slid his arms around Hyunjin’s neck, holding himself in place like that and taking off some of the weight that his core muscles had had to carry. Hyunjin’s hands wandered up, one coming to rest on Felix’s hip, and Felix saw it as his cue to move. He hesitated for just a moment, wondering if Hyunjin would think his idea was too much, but then he still moved until he could straddle Hyunjin’s hips without breaking the kiss. Hyunjin’s second hand came to rest on Felix’s hips as well, pulling him closer, fisting the fabric of Felix’s shirt.It didn’t take long for Hyunjin’s lips to start wandering, leaving a hot trail in their wake, his arms sneaking around Felix’s waist at the same time, holding him close. Felix automatically tilted his head, granting Hyunjin all the access he wanted and needed, relishing in the intimacy of their position, in how much of them was touching, in how much closer they were than usually.When Hyunjin’s fangs broke through his skin, Felix couldn’t help the soft gasp that escaped him at the pleasure that whited out the rest of the world, crashing down on him. He grabbed the fabric of Hyunjin’s shirt, but it wasn’t enough, so he moved his hands until he could hold on to Hyunjin’s shoulder with one hand, the other finding its way to the back of Hyunjin’s head, tangling into his hair, holding him close.Desire flooded Felix’s veins, lighting him up from the inside stronger than anything he had ever experienced before and he pressed himself closer, wanting, needing more, everything. A whine left his lips when Hyunjin’s fangs disappeared, but he was quickly placated by the tongue that ran over the wounds, by lips that trailed along his neck, by hands that caressed his back, holding him close. But it wasn’t enough.Felix lightly pulled on Hyunjin’s hair, not allowing himself to miss the feeling of the other’s lips on his skin when Hyunjin immediately leaned back. Felix’s eyes fluttered open for the briefest of moments, then he dove back in for a kiss.His body’s cheer over their closeness was cut short by the strong taste of iron that overshadowed Hyunjin’s personal taste. Felix leaned back, unable to help the way his face scrunched up in distaste and Hyunjin…Hyunjin laughed.Felix whined, wiping the back of one hand over his lips in a futile attempt to get rid of the taste of blood. “I should have listened to you.”Hyunjin’s hands gently cupped Felix’s face as he had the audacity to coo at Felix. The latter pouted, staring back at Hyunjin miserably, especially with how amused the other still looked. Desire was still thrumming through him, urging him to continue where they had left off.“I’m sorry, I should’ve remembered.”Felix shook his head. “I wanted to kiss you. I guess I’ll have to get used to this, though…” Maybe he should ask Minho if he had any tips for this situation?Hyunjin’s eyes were still twinkling with mirth, but he comfortingly ran one hand through Felix’s hair, appeasing the human who instantly melted into the touch. “You’re really okay?” Hyunjin’s voice was more serious this time and Felix opened his eyes, not even realizing that he had closed them at the other’s ministrations.He nodded with a smile. “I am, don’t worry. My body was just faster than my mind, I guess.” He laughed softly and finally pushed himself off Hyunjin, tempted to cuddle into the other’s side, but there was one thing he had to make sure first. “Do you have to draw again tonight?”“I probably should, but that can wait a bit longer.”“Can I get stories then?” Felix looked at the other hopefully, beaming when Hyunjin nodded. He immediately cuddled into the vampire’s side, making himself comfortable as Hyunjin’s voice led him back to New York City of the 1980s, apparently most comfortable to talk about a time that Felix already knew a little about.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Felix had indeed asked if he could leave some of his belongings, though he had been really awkward and shy about it. Hyunjin’s pure delight over the question had quickly assured Felix, though, that the question had not only been okay to ask but had probably even been wanted.Felix also thought that he was doing pretty well with not letting the cancelled flight affect his spirit, but the way his entire mood plummeted when Chan told him that it was full moon again probably proved the opposite to be true. Maybe Felix should just go to Hyunjin, Jisung, and Jeongin’s place early? Sure, he was expected there soon anyway, but… there was nothing wrong in going two days early if it meant that he wouldn’t spend the night on his own, was there?That would have to wait a bit, though, because Chan had told him that Changbin would come pick him up later and Felix most definitely wouldn’t let this rare opportunity to see his close friend pass!A mere ten minutes after Felix’s last class of the day had ended, the doorbell rang and Chan was up and going before Felix could even react, making him laugh. “I swear, I see a tail wagging behind you!” he called towards his best friend as soon as he had finished talking on the intercom.“Yah! You take that back!”Felix just laughed as he pushed himself to sit upright, putting his phone aside. “Never. You’d make a cute puppy.”Chan let out something akin to a growl, just making Felix laugh harder as he made his way to the entrance area of their apartment, wrapping his arms around his best friend who stood by the door, opening it shortly after. A few seconds passed, then Changbin stood in the doorway with a grin and Felix let go of his best friend so they could hug Changbin instead. Changbin hugged him back right away, his strong arms securely wrapped around Felix’s smaller frame, and Felix wished he’d never have to let go.“Lixie, wanna go on a short trip?” Changbin asked in lieu of a proper greeting, a teasing lilt to his voice.Felix leaned back from his hug, immediately intrigued. “Of course, when?”“Tonight?” Changbin grinned, but Felix raised an eyebrow, tilting his head lightly.“I thought it’s full moon tonight?”Changbin nodded. “Which is exactly why I’m asking if you’d be up for a short trip.”Felix merely blinked at him before his eyes went wide, probably even comically so. “You want me to come with you?”“If you’d like?”“You mentioned that you’d like to see us in our wolf forms, didn’t you?” Chan asked, sounding almost hesitant, while Felix looked back and forth between him and Changbin.“Wait, you guys are for real? You mean it? I can come with you?”“Yes?”Felix squealed and leaned in to press a peck to Changbin’s cheek before scrambling out of the hug. “Just give me a minute!” he called over his shoulder, running into his room to pack whatever he’d need for a night away. He hurriedly grabbed his laptop and chargers as well, figuring there was no need to change out of his sweatpants when they were literally about to go into a cabin in the woods.In record time, he was back at the entrance area, his backpack slung over his shoulders, beaming.“Who’s the excited puppy with an imaginary wagging tail now, huh?” Chan teased him with a grin, but Felix couldn’t even muster an annoyed eye roll with how happy he was.“Oh shut up!” He slipped on his shoes and grabbed his denim jacket and a minute later, they piled into the car where Changbin’s father had been waiting.“Hey Felix, Chan.”“Hi!” Felix was barely able to contain his excitement long enough to put on his seatbelt before he started bouncing in his seat, needing to let out his happy energy, not caring about the other three’s amusement.“Did you two boys prepare him for what this kid will see?” Changbin’s father asked, but the other two shook their heads.“He was excitedly running around the apartment basically as soon as he heard the suggestion. Even if I had wanted to, I wouldn’t have been able to tell him anything in advance,” Changbin replied while Felix looked around the car, forcing himself to sit still.“What do I need to know?”Changbin turned around in his spot in the passenger’s seat. “First of all, you do realize that we’ll be turning into real wolves, right? Not some tiny puppies, real wolves.”Felix nodded dismissively. “That’s why you’re called werewolves, after all, and not werepuppies or whatever.” Changbin rolled his eyes. “But Channie-hyung said that you’re still you, so there’s nothing really to be afraid of, right?”“Let’s see about how well you’ll fare with that once you’re actually on your own in a cabin in the woods at night,” Changbin’s father replied while Felix’s eyes widened.“Wait, you’ll leave me all alone??” A moment later, he wanted to slap himself. “Right, hyung mentioned something about a need to move…”“Believe me, if we expected there to be any danger for you, we wouldn’t have asked if you’d like to accompany us,” Changbin’s father said and Felix nodded lightly.“Alright, I’ll be all alone in a cabin in the woods in the middle of the night and not think about all the ways I could die then. What about Wi-Fi? Do you have Wi-Fi at the cabin?”The look he got through the rearview mirror and from Changbin gave away the answer even before the latter said, “No, we don’t, why would we need Wi-Fi there?”“Well, one of us has a 12 o’clock class on Fridays.”“And you didn’t think to tell us about that one before we kidnapped you?” Changbin’s eyes widened while Felix laughed and Chan rolled his eyes.“I told you that he has classes on Fridays and you said that wouldn’t be a problem.”Changbin huffed. “You might have neglected to say when his class starts.”“So, what I’m hearing is that we’ll have to get up early tomorrow so that Felix here won’t miss his class. Did I get this right?” Changbin’s father asked and Felix nodded.“That would be good, yes.”Changbin let out a defeated sigh and leaned back in his seat. “I’m suddenly grateful for all the extra passes for missing classes that we get.”“Wait, werewolves get extra passes for missing classes?” Felix echoed with a scandalized gasp, whining when Chan and Changbin nodded. He totally understood why they got those passes—but that alone didn’t mean that he thought that practice to be particularly fair. He also wanted permission to miss classes! After a nearly two-hour ride, Felix found himself surrounded by nature, mostly trees. They had left the city behind a mere twenty minutes earlier, yet the contrast couldn’t have been greater. The car came to a halt in a clearing that was home to a cabin larger than what Felix had expected. It was a single-story house, but much bigger than his and Chan’s apartment.As soon as he was allowed to, Felix jumped out of the car and took a deep breath. The air was crisp, much fresher than the city could ever provide, and alive! Birds chirped above them and the leaves occasionally rustled when wind blew through the trees. Even the colors seemed to be more vibrant than in the city: the grass and leaves greener, the stems browner, the sky bluer…“You think we should just leave him here?” Changbin asked behind Felix with a chuckle.“I doubt he’d notice,” Chan replied.“Can I see the stars here?” Felix asked, turning around to the other three men who were watching him in amusement.“You should. It’s nothing like back home, but you should be able to see some stars out here,” Chan replied and Felix beamed at the prospect of seeing the stars again for the first time in forever.“Your cheeks are gonna hurt if you keep smiling like that,” Changbin’s father commented, but he still sounded amused. “Let’s go inside?”The others agreed, so they did, leading the way for Felix to follow.The door gave room to a vast space. Only one corner was secluded, and Felix figured that the bathroom would be found in there. Aside from that, the cabin merely held an open kitchen area with a low table surrounded by hassocks on one side, while the other side was overflowing with blankets and pillows. It looked like a comfortable nest for giants.“You guys simply sleep on the ground?” Felix asked once he had finished looking around. He turned towards the other three; Chan was still standing close to him while Changbin and his father were in the kitchen area, putting the items they had brought into the fridge.“Where else do you think wolves are gonna sleep?” Chan replied with a raised eyebrow and Felix nodded.“That makes sense.”“We usually stay out for a while and come back in the early morning hours, but before the sun is up. Just so you’re aware that three wolves will come into the house at some point during the night,” Changbin added and Felix nodded in understanding. The idea of the other three men changing into wolves in just a few hours was still strange to him, so for the time being, he pushed the thought away and got settled along with the others. They cooked together and talked, playing a card game afterwards to pass the time until the sun set.Felix noticed the other three getting more and more restless as the evening passed until Changbin’s father hit his thighs with his palms. “Alright, let’s clean up here, shall we?”Felix pouted because they hadn’t even been able to finish the game, but what use was there to argue? “It’s okay, I got it,” he said when Chan by his side fidgeted once again, stretching his neck until it cracked.“Thanks,” Changbin’s father replied and the three men got up.Felix collected the cards, stacking them all neatly until they fit in the box, and even though he had heard rustling noises behind himself, he was still utterly unprepared when he turned around only to see the other three stark naked. His eyes widened and his mouth fell open in shock, only closing when Changbin started cackling.“Sorry, maybe I should’ve told you about that. But clothes don’t really have a history of surviving the shifting process.”“That… makes sense…” Felix looked down, heat creeping into his face.“You can come outside when you hear howling, alright?” Chan offered and Felix merely nodded, too embarrassed to look up. He listened to the other three’s steps, then the front door was closed. Felix stood up, consciously willing himself not to think about what had just happened as he put the box with the cards back to where Changbin had gotten it from earlier, then he busied himself with his phone, answering a few texts.A nearby howl made him flinch so hard that he nearly threw his phone across the room before he could remind himself that everything was okay, that he had signed up for this. He got to his feet and went over to the front door, slipped on his shoes, then carefully peeked out, his heart racing. Fear sparked through him when he found not three men but three wolves in front of him. They were bigger than Felix had imagined—then again, he had never looked up how big wolves got—and had an overall predatory aura even when none of them looked like they were about to attack. One of them was cleaning its paw, looking almost bored, while another sat next to that one. The third one was standing on all four legs, closest to Felix, watching him through bright eyes.Felix hesitantly stepped forward, holding one hand out to the wolf that stepped closer, resting its forehead against Felix’s palm. “Channie?” he mumbled and the wolf nodded as if it had understood him. No, not ‘as if’, it clearly had understood him!Laughter bubbled out of Felix and even though there was a nervous edge to it, he was slowly calming down. “This is so surreal,” he mumbled, holding Chan’s eyes.The wolf that had been merely sitting stood up and came over to him as well. Felix ignored the instinctive fear that coiled in his stomach, pulling it taut, as he tilted his head instead. “Changbin-hyung?” he guessed, smiling lightly when the wolf nodded, letting out a quiet noise that was probably affirmative. Felix started petting both wolves, letting his fear subside as the creatures’ presence became more familiar.When the third wolf rose to its feet, the other two looked over. Changbin trotted towards his father right away while Chan looked back once more, nudging his snout against Felix’s hand before leaving his side as well. All three looked at him once more, then they broke into a run as if on command.Felix watched, awe and fear mingling inside him in a weird cocktail as he stood by the door a little longer, eyes fixated on the dark forest in front of him. The wind rustled through it once again and something creaked, making a shiver run down Felix’s spine. He wrapped his arms around himself and looked up, at the full moon and the stars. They really weren’t as plentiful as they were in Australia, but so much better than anything he could get in Seoul.Something—or maybe someone—howled in the distance and Felix couldn’t suppress the fear that ran through him any longer, so he quickly withdrew into the cabin. A part of him wanted to lock the door, but he had no key for it and searching Changbin’s father’s belongings was clearly too invasive. Another part of him longed to stay outside and watch the stars, maybe start a bonfire, but his sense of danger didn’t allow that either.Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to calm down, taking out his laptop and focusing on a reading assignment instead.When he eventually grew tired, Felix got ready for bed, but even once he was huddled under some of the blankets, he couldn’t quite bring himself to relax. Instead, he went through his social media and texted a little longer with Hyunjin. Felix was woken up by something cool and slightly wet touching his hand. He slowly opened his eyes, but his drowsiness almost instantly dissipated when he stared into icy blue eyes. Fear shot through him, much more intensely than anything he had ever felt before, and he was pretty sure he let out a strangled scream as he shot upwards and scrambled to get some distance between himself and the monstrous creature that had woken him up.His heart was racing and he was almost dizzy from the sudden movement and his rough awakening. The wolf across from him tilted its head and Felix swallowed hard, but before he could gather his senses enough to even think up an emergency plan, the wolf took a step back, then lay down.Felix’s eyes flew through the room and it was only when he saw the mess of blankets and the kitchen on the other side of the room that he remembered where he was. And why he was there.His eyes went back towards the wolf and he took a few deep breaths while he stared at the creature that merely waited, patient. “Chan?” Felix asked finally, his voice raspy.The wolf raised its head to nod, then lowered its head again, paws inching forward a little, though.Felix gulped, ignoring his instincts that screamed for him to run, fight if necessary. Maybe even play dead, if nothing else worked. Instead, he leaned forwards, crawling closer to the wolf, keeping his eyes trained on those icy blue eyes, on the ears that twitched every so often. When he was close, Felix hesitated once more before slowly reaching his hand out. The wolf raised its head, freezing when Felix flinched back. “Sorry,” Felix mumbled. He took another deep breath, then finally reached out far enough to place his hand on the wolf’s forehead. The wolf’s tail started wagging ever so lightly.Fighting down the thought that he was so close that the wolf would have to merely turn its head to snap his arm, Felix inched closer until he could sit more comfortably, petting the wolf, no, Chan between his ears, watching as the tail started wagging more excitedly. “Tired yourself out enough?” Felix asked quietly, flinching back when the wolf let out a quiet bark. He sighed. “Sorry. Apparently, I wasn’t quite as prepared for this as I thought I would be. You understand that I’m not actually afraid of you, don’t you?” he mumbled, unsure how to explain that he wasn’t afraid of Chan but that a wolf lying in front of him was still scary.Chan merely moved his head a little further forward, giving Felix better access to pet him. Felix smiled softly. “I’ll take that as a yes. I’ll explain myself when we’re back home, alright?”Chan let out a huff that Felix wasn’t entirely sure how to interpret, but maybe he didn’t need to know. His heartbeat picked up again when Chan stood up and came closer, turning until he lay curled up next to Felix, eyes still fixated on the human. Felix’s eyes had widened as he merely watched and it took a few deep breaths for him to calm himself enough to scoot back to where he had been sleeping. He hesitantly reached one hand out, petting Chan’s fur again, watching in awe as the werewolf uncurled himself, stretching until Felix gave him belly rubs.Felix couldn’t help but laugh softly. “I see, I see. You’re truly just a big puppy, aren’t you?”The wolf let out another huff and this time, Felix was pretty sure that Chan was offended by that statement, but it wasn’t like he could actually argue against it.Movement distracted Felix and he froze in place when he found two more pairs of icy blue eyes fixed on him. Fear paralyzed him while his heart was racing as if it wanted to run away—maybe to get help, maybe just to not be present when the inevitable happened.Something nudged Felix’s knee and Felix almost got a real heart attack when his eyes lowered and the wolf by his side was staring back at him, relaxed. “Okay. Okay. This is really gonna take some getting used to,” he mumbled, trying to remind himself to take deep breaths. If Chan was calm, that could only mean that the other two wolves were Changbin and Changbin’s father.Felix absentmindedly continued petting Chan, the action strangely grounding, until he eventually looked up at the other two wolves, watching as they apparently deemed it safe to move. The two wolves flopped down on the blanket fort on Felix’s other side, the one closest to him gently nudging his leg with its snout. “Changbin-hyung?” Felix asked quietly and the wolf let out a quiet noise that Felix simply decided had to be affirmation.When Felix divided his attention between Chan and Changbin, petting both of them, Changbin let out a content noise and rested his head in Felix’s lap. Slowly, Felix was able to calm down and he even started to quietly enjoy the moment.His heart had long since calmed down and Felix was certain that all three wolves had fallen asleep by his side when he moved a little. Changbin blinked his eyes open, raising his head enough for Felix to move and lie down. Felix cuddled back under the blanket he had used earlier. Changbin curled into a ball behind him, close enough for them to touch, a comforting, gentle pressure. Chan on the other hand was still lying on his back, not seeming to have noticed a change, so Felix gently put his hand back on Chan’s stomach, closing his eyes, letting the quiet noises of the three werewolves and their warmth lull him back to sleep. A blaring alarm ripped Felix out of sleep’s grasp after what felt like two minutes. He groaned and turned away from the source, only looking up when the alarm just wouldn’t stop. After endless seconds, he opened his eyes, blinking against the blinding brightness, immediately dropping his head back into the pillow when he saw a very naked man.Someone chuckled by his side and when Felix blinked his eyes open once more and turned his head, he was met with Chan’s gaze. “Morning, Lixie.”“Morning,” Felix mumbled and the alarm finally stopped. Felix let out a relieved sigh, then forced himself to sit up. They wouldn’t have to get up just yet if it weren’t for his class, after all!“Would you guys mind if I get ready first? You all can put some clothes on in the meantime,” he grumbled, trying to coordinate his limbs and the blanket that seemed to cling to him.Changbin’s father laughed somewhere behind Felix. “Sure, go ahead,” he said and Felix nodded, finally freeing himself from the blanket. He pointedly looked anywhere but at the other three—though Chan and Changbin were at least covered by blankets from their waists down—as he made his way into the bathroom, trying to wake up.By the time that he came out of the small room, the other three were indeed dressed. Chan and Changbin’s father were talking quietly in the kitchen area while Changbin sat on one of the hassocks, still seeming to contemplate what century he lived in.As they got ready one by one, Felix helped in the kitchen as well to make them breakfast. Breakfast itself was rather quiet with just a few teasing remarks about Felix’s reactions that he hoped he took in stride—or maybe with a furious blush and a lot of embarrassment. On the drive back to Seoul, Felix sat in the front with Changbin’s father while the other two fell asleep in the backseat. Felix asked more about werewolves, about the things he had seen the night before, about basically anything he could think of, and to his delight, Changbin’s father answered everything.In what felt like no time but left Felix hardly fifteen minutes to wake up Chan and get into their apartment, they arrived. After getting himself some instant coffee, Felix settled in the kitchen with his laptop, just in time for his online class, while Chan went back to sleep in his room. Felix’s thoughts stayed on the night before, though, his mind unable to calm down as he tried to process everything that had happened in the past twenty hours. After a quick nap and take-out dinner because it ended up being much later than he had anticipated, Felix found himself in Minho’s café once again, a cup of energizing tea within reach as soon as the day shift had left. He was barely able to hide his yawns as he tried to prepare for the beginning of the shift, fighting to keep his eyes open. Jihyo had the nerve to laugh at him the moment she stepped into the café and Minho and Jisung looked no less amused when they came in only minutes later.Eventually, the tea took effect and Felix was able to actually do his work well.He was still caught by surprise when he spotted two very familiar figures entering. “Hyungs!” he called out, interrupting the conversation he had had with Jihyo and Jisung.Chan laughed, a disgruntled Changbin in tow. “Hey there.”“What are you doing here?”Next to him, Felix caught Jihyo whispering, “Are they supposed to be here?” to Jisung who made a dismissive gesture.“What’s the strongest coffee you have?” Changbin asked while Chan rolled his eyes.“We barely saw you earlier, so we figured we’d stop by here. Also, Changbin has a deadline coming up and said he’d be able to study better in a café and with company.”Felix nodded, already opening the special menu. “Hyung, if you want something to keep you up, can I maybe recommend you one of our teas?”Changbin squinted at him. “I need caffeine. What good do you think a tea is going to do me?”Felix laughed softly, ignoring the offended gasp from Jisung. “You clearly haven’t had Minho-hyung’s teas yet.”“Whatever you’re gonna get him, can I have one of those, too?” Chan asked and Felix nodded immediately.“Coming right up for you.”“You’re an angel,” Chan replied and Felix grinned at him.“I’m not so sure about that,” Changbin replied but Felix’s smile didn’t dim.“Oh yeah? Let’s see about that once you’ve actually tried hyung’s tea.”Changbin huffed, but he didn’t protest any further as Felix rang them up for two energizing teas. Felix spent his break with his two friends, delighted when Changbin begrudgingly admitted that the tea was better at helping him wake up than any amount of coffee. They talked about what had happened that night and even though Felix was anxious to explain himself, he quickly realized that the other two understood. Felix wasn’t sure, though, whether he was happy about that or not because while it did sound like none of the three werewolves were upset with Felix’s reaction, it sounded too normalized, like people were always scared about their wolf forms, and that most definitely wasn’t okay with Felix!When his break ended and Felix went back downstairs, Changbin accompanied him to order two more of the energizing drinks, immediately brightening Felix’s mood at the successful recommendation.It was only when Felix finished his shift that he realized that a moment he had been waiting for over a week had finally arrived: he actually had Minho to himself. Well, himself and Jisung, as he realized upon opening the door to Minho’s office, but that was a necessary evil that he’d apparently have to deal with.“Hyung?”“You’re done?” Jisung asked, but Felix shook his head.“I mean, yes, but there’s something I had wanted to ask,” he replied hesitantly, glancing back and forth between Minho and Jisung.“Do you want one of us to leave?” Jisung asked further, but Felix shook his head once again with a defeated sigh.“I guess it wouldn’t matter, even if you left,” he said and finally fully entered the office, closing the door behind himself. The other two watched him closely, turning more serious.“What is it?” Minho pushed his glasses up and leaned forward a bit.How could Felix ask the question without asking it directly? Then again, was there even a way to ask that question indirectly? He fidgeted from one leg to the other, but his mind still wouldn’t provide good phrasing, so he changed tactics. “Can I be very blunt about this?” Minho made an inviting gesture. “What do you do about the taste of blood when kissing after feeding?”Minho’s eyes widened in shock while Jisung burst out laughing, unable to stop even when Minho hit his thigh not too gently. Eventually, Minho sighed and looked at some spot behind Felix with a sour expression. “I got used to it eventually. Can’t say that I’d call it the highlight of feeding, though,” he replied, a faint blush rising to his cheeks.“You should’ve seen his expression the first time he kissed me right after,” Jisung finally managed to choke out while still trying to catch his breath. “I’m pretty sure I’ve never been closer to getting cursed in my entire life.”Minho sent a pointedly annoyed glare towards his boyfriend. “Yeah, well, served you right with how you ‘forgot’ to warn me!”Jisung’s hands flew up into a defensive stance and his eyes widened almost comically. “I really did, though! I’m sorry! I really only remembered when it was already too late!”Minho scoffed and turned back to Felix who was just looking back and forth between the couple, torn between concern and amusement at the scene playing out in front of him. “I assume Hyunjin was a little kinder to you than this guy?” Minho nodded to his side where Jisung had dropped his hands but was therefore pouting.This time, it was Felix’s turn to blush. “Yeah, he had warned me about it. But I think we both kinda forgot last time…”Minho nodded in understanding. “I might not be able to help you much with that specific problem, but allow me to give you another piece of advice: Never, and I mean never, even think about topping or anything of the like right after feeding.”Felix’s blush deepened and he quickly shook his head. “W-we’re not even that far!”Minho merely flashed him a pointed glance. “You’re not that far yet. But believe me: Been there, done that, was a bad idea.”“Minho literally fainted on me twice and was close to fainting on quite a few more occasions,” Jisung filled in, his expression turning sour as he was probably remembering those moments. “So, yeah, I’m with him: That’s not recommended. Which, I mean, Hyunjin should know very well, but I guess it’s best if both of you are aware of this.”“You might even feel faint if you just let Hyunjin do all the stuff. Which is normal, but I’d recommend telling him if it does get to that point,” Minho added and Jisung nodded vehemently.“It’s in our instincts to protect you two, so believe me, we’d do literally anything to make sure that you’re alright. So we also want to know if there’s anything amiss, especially shortly after feeding.” His expression was so contrite that Felix was certain there was more to that, at the very least experiences that Jisung didn’t wish to revisit.He simply nodded, much more awkward than he would have thought he’d feel after approaching the general topic—and with a lot more tips than he had intended to get. “Thank you.”“No worries. That’s what we’re here for,” Minho replied in a light tone. He looked back at his documents, easily allowing Jisung to pull him in for a kiss before Jisung came around the desk, looking much more energized and freer than just seconds before.“Ready to go home now?”Felix nodded. They collected Chan, leaving behind a whiny Changbin who complained about having to continue studying all on his own, then Jisung led them outside and to his car. Chan looked around, seeming confused as he got into the backseat while Felix automatically got into the passenger’s side. It was only inside the car that Chan spoke up, “How come it’s you this time?”“Excuse me?” Jisung instantly sounded offended, making Felix snicker.“He doesn’t mean it like that. I’ve actually also been wondering: how come Hyunjin-hyung wasn’t there today?”Jisung huffed as he pulled out of his parking spot, pouting adorably. “You guys could’ve just told me that you don’t want me here.”“Nooo!” Felix automatically leaned closer, but he remembered just in time that he couldn’t touch Jisung because of his charm, leaning back with a pout. “That’s not what we mean at all.”Jisung briefly glanced into the rearview mirror, appearing to hesitate before he said, “Jeongin was summoned. Hyunjin and I usually make sure to be there for him afterwards, just in case. He doesn’t usually need it, but he still appreciates being able to talk about who summoned him and why, even though he’d never admit that out loud. But for the rare cases that he does need support afterwards, we don’t want him to be alone.”“Like last time,” Felix provided quietly and Jisung nodded.“Still can’t believe that it was you who made him talk.”“Never underestimate the power of a good hug.”“Wait a second,” Chan said from the backseat and Felix turned to face him. “Jeongin is a demon?”“Yup,” Jisung replied, sounding as casual as if he had just answered a question about the weather.“Felix, you’re meaning to tell me that you frequently hang out with two werewolves, one witch, two vampires, and a demon? At this point, do you still have any human friends?”Felix pouted at his best friend, his mood souring more than it probably should and he instinctively became defensive. “It’s not my fault that you all aren’t human! And I have Momo! And the guys from my dance classes.”“You hardly ever hang out with the others from your dance classes.”“Well, we’re also in the midst of a pandemic, if you haven’t noticed.”Chan rolled his eyes. “Seriously, though, you need more human friends.”“I totally do not.”“You do,” Jisung said and Chan smirked while Felix let himself fall back against his seat with a whine, staring outside at the dark streets, only lit up by the streetlights. Even if he had more really close—human—friends, though, what good would it be in the current situation? When it was recommended to meet up with as few people as possible? And when he’d have to keep so many secrets from them…Back at home, Felix convinced Chan to watch a few videos on YouTube with him. Not because he wasn’t tired enough to fall asleep any minute, but simply because he needed more cuddles. And he had hardly been able to spend time with his best friend that day, so who could possibly blame him?
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The week after, Felix was swamped by midterms. He spent basically every waking hour bent over his books or on his laptop with texts or practice sheets open. Very much to Hyunjin’s dismay, he even cut their post-feeding cuddling session short in order to study. Chan reprimanded him for it at one point, saying that he was studying too much, but the thought alone that he wouldn’t be able to look up vocabulary during his exams was stressing Felix out to the max time and time again. To his surprise, the exams turned out easier than expected—for everyone, not only for him—, leaving him frustrated, drained, but also somewhat happy since his chances of scoring well were suddenly much higher than he had anticipated.Two days after his last midterm exam, Felix made his familiar way back to the vampires’ and demon’s house. The sun was still setting by the time that he left the subway, leaving him in a good mood as he turned his face towards the sun, soaking up its warmth. He rounded one more corner but suddenly came to a stand when he saw a lone figure sitting in front of the gate to his destination.Jeongin looked up from where he was crouched in front of the gate, a slight pout on his lips. He stood up and came over towards Felix who tilted his head lightly.“Is that very heavy?” Jeongin pointed towards Felix, probably meaning his bag.“Could be lighter, but it’s alright.”Jeongin nodded. “Let’s take a walk?”Wariness rose inside Felix as he merely watched Jeongin. “What’s going on?”Tiredness washed over the demon’s face and he shook his head. “Hyunjin and Jisung are having a fight. Trust me, you don’t want to be in there. I don’t want to be in there.”Felix raised an eyebrow. “What are they fighting about? Does this happen often?”Jeongin merely shrugged. “Not too often, no, at least not anymore. I think they were arguing about something regarding new regulations, but honestly? When their yelling lasted longer than a minute, I basically fled the scene.”“How long ago was that?”“Dude, the sun still hasn’t sunk fully. It was, like, five minutes ago? They haven’t come outside yet—neither to get some space to cool down nor to get me, so it’s safe to assume that they’re still fighting.”“Oh…” Felix looked down. He tried to imagine Hyunjin and Jisung yelling at each other, but his brain faltered. Sure, he had seen Hyunjin upset and a tiny bit of him could see Jisung yelling if he got too emotional, but them truly openly fighting over something?Jeongin started walking, so Felix instinctively did the same, falling into step with Jeongin. “How are your midterms? Hyung mentioned that you’re finally done?”Felix groaned but nodded. “Yeah, finally. They were much easier than we all expected, probably because they were online and none of the teachers seemed to really know what they were doing.”“You seemed to be really stressed because of them.”Felix shrugged lightly. “Just time pressure plus having to do everything in perfect Korean is still… well, challenging.”Jeongin hummed lightly in response. “I’m honestly grateful that’s not something I need to worry about.”Felix glanced towards his side. “What? Midterms? Time? Korean?”Jeongin laughed softly. “I mean, all of the above. But I technically meant languages.”Felix raised an eyebrow, but then he deemed it safer to look forward again, lest he run into a streetlight or something. “Why don’t you have to worry about languages?”“Well, one thing is that languages usually come easy to demons because it just makes our existence easier. But for us fear demons… there is no language barrier. We are summoned to carry out missions and instill fear, which means that we have to understand what our missions are. And sure, eerie screeches also make for easy fear, but if you want the really deep-rooted fear, the one that we can truly feast on, you’ll need to speak your summoner’s and your victim’s language.”“But how do you know what to say?” Felix glanced at Jeongin again, but the other merely shrugged.“I can read fear, basically. The deeper the fear is situated, the more clearly it will portray itself to me.”Felix’s eyes widened. “So you can basically look at a person and figure out all of their deepest fears?”This time, Jeongin glanced over at Felix. “It’s basically like you humans reading food labels.”Felix pouted. “But I’ll still need a dictionary when I want to try to decipher what the food labels here in Korea attempt to tell me…”Jeongin laughed softly, shaking his head. “I was so confused by that at first, you know? Dictionaries, language barriers… When I first found out about those things, they completely blew my mind.”“I wish I could just know languages without having to do anything to learn them…”“I mean, you’re doing really well with Korean.”“Was hard enough to get here.” Felix grimaced at the reminder of nights spent over grammar books and dictionaries, of hours spent on Korean language classes that he could have spent studying for the actually important exams—if only he had had a chance of understanding them without studying the language intensively first. Of fellow students avoiding him for his lack of Korean skills and parents being all over him to make him teach their children English. Of getting eliminated at the audition because his Korean was too bad…Jeongin lightly nudged his shoulder with his own, making Felix raise his gaze from the ground. “Therefore you have other things that come to you naturally, things that I had to work hard for.”“Like?”“Well, to list the most obvious thing: you didn’t have to literally create your appearance to walk in the human world because you were born in a human body. I get it that many humans still change their appearance, like you dying dye your hair, but still: you have a human body that’s also not requiring transformations or hiding non-human parts. Believe me, that is a blessing. Though some humans still like to differentiate whom they actually see as human and whom they don’t.” Jeongin scrunched his face and Felix couldn’t help a small smile.“Yeah, well, I don’t get racism either.”“It literally makes zero sense to me. But anyway. Another point is that you’re really good at empathy.”Felix raised an eyebrow as he glanced over at Jeongin, surprised when he found the other looking almost apprehensive. “But you’re good at it, too?” If nothing else, the time when Jeongin had been summoned by that child a few months back should be proof enough of that.Jeongin shrugged lightly. “Hyunjin-hyung and Jisung-hyung taught me a lot about that.”“Hyunjin-hyung and Jisung-hyung?” Felix’s eyebrow went higher, especially when Jeongin nodded.“Felix, in the demon world… there’s no real use for morals. You kill those who threaten you or you get killed by them. We all stand on our own. Demon children are pretty rare, to be honest: both because it requires two people to have sex with each other and because then the child needs to actually be taken care of. Those who are born usually won’t make it past infancy.”“But... then how do demons come to exist?” Felix furrowed his brows, trying to imagine a world so cruel, so loveless… A shiver ran through him and he pushed those thoughts away again, wrapping his arms around himself.“Many of us have been born at some point, often enough with at least one sex demon involved. There are quite a lot of half-bloods, too, with again the majority of them having sex demon blood in them. If they’re born by a human, chances are that they might live a little longer—if they’re born into the demon world, chances are they’ll die faster.” Jeongin shrugged. “Some humans also turn into demons, they’re usually wizards who succumbed to the dark forces. But overall, there haven’t been too many changes in the demon world in a few centuries now.”Felix stared at Jeongin blankly at the last sentence, his brain activity seemingly having come to a screeching halt and refusing to start working again. He was only rattled out of his stupor when he tripped over something and would have faceplanted into the floor, if it hadn’t been for Jeongin quickly grabbing his arm and steadying him. Felix was truly grateful that the streets were almost deserted, with most people avoiding going outside due to the pandemic. That meant that no one had seen that he had almost tripped because he had been busy staring at Jeongin.“In a few centuries?” he echoed finally, his voice slightly high-pitched. Jeongin, though merely shrugged. “Just how old are you?”“Does it matter?”“You call Hyunjin-hyung and Jisung-hyung ‘hyung’!”“Their human appearance is older than mine, so it seemed like the right thing to do. And they don’t mind it.”“Do they know that you’re older?”“Who says I am?” Jeongin smirked as he glanced at Felix who met his gaze straight, then looked down.“Aren’t you? You said there haven’t been changes in the demon world in centuries?”“I said there haven’t been too many changes, doesn’t mean that there haven’t been any at all. You don’t have to be that old to know what’s been going on in your world; after all, I assume that you also know more about this world than the past twenty years or so, right?”“I mean, yeah…”“See?”Felix glanced at Jeongin once more, wanted to pry into it, wanted to know just how old Jeongin was exactly… But with how much he had been deflecting until this point, Jeongin wouldn’t tell, would he? “You were surprised to find out how well I speak Korean…”Jeongin shrugged lightly. “I told you, I learned a lot from Hyunjin-hyung and Jisung-hyung. I know now that learning a language for five years and being fluent at it is impressive. I understand humans much better.”“What surprised you the most about us? Or what do you find most interesting?”“Aside from the fact that you guys survive on so few languages?” Felix rolled his eyes at Jeongin’s comment, but simply waited until the demon continued speaking. “You’re so emotional. You get scared so easily, but it’s also one of the easiest tasks to make you happy. You cry easily and scream and laugh. And oh god, it’s impossible to satisfy your kind’s curiosity! But it’s actually pretty cute.”Felix couldn’t help but smile at that description. “I mean, we only live for a short time, gotta live life to the fullest, right?”“Oh, and you humans do!” Jeongin laughed at that. “You make yourselves scared and do the craziest stuff like those murderous rollercoasters or sky diving! I sometimes wonder how the human race has even survived so long.”Felix laughed as well when he heard that. “Oh, I sometimes wonder the same. With all those wars and diseases and the reckless stuff that we do… It’s truly a miracle that humans haven’t died out yet.”Jeongin nodded fervently. “I truly don’t understand how the human race is still going on. One would think you’d all have died of heart attacks or from plummeting down places or eating the wrong stuff. Seriously, how are your stomachs so weak? You eat one tiny wrong thing and just die! But no, you’ve still persisted, somehow!”“Put like that, I really don’t get it either. It truly doesn’t make sense how humans are still a thing.”They walked in comfortable silence for a bit and Felix had a feeling that they were already on the way back, probably just a few minutes away from the house. Instead of the curious survival of humankind, though, Hyunjin and Jisung were a much more pressing issue on his mind. Were they done fighting? If so, what mood would they be in? Probably nothing too agreeable, right? Also, what kinds of regulations had just been put into place—or were about to be put into place? They had to be quite serious if Hyunjin and Jisung ended up having a huge fight over them, right?Felix was still in the middle of pondering on what those regulations could possibly be when he was suddenly yanked back by his upper arm. A pained noise escaped him, only for Jeongin to shush him immediately, letting go so he could take up a defensive stance in front of Felix. “What—” he tried again, but Jeongin interrupted him with a hissed ‘Quiet!’.Rubbing his sore arm, Felix glanced past Jeongin, squinting into the darkness ahead of them. He hadn’t even realized that some of the streetlamps were apparently broken.“Now, what do we have here?” a velvet female voice purred, honey dripping from it and sending a warm wave through Felix. His eyes widened at the realization that he had to be met with yet another sex demon even before the woman stepped close enough to be bathed by the gentle light of a streetlamp. He couldn’t see her eyes, but he was certain that they were ember or golden.“Scram. Both of you.” Jeongin’s voice had dropped to a growl and the air around him was electric, making the fine hairs on Felix’s arms and neck stand up. The fact that Jeongin had said ‘both’ while Felix only saw one person didn’t help either.“What? Want him all to yourself?” the sex demon asked, her voice as alluring as before as she stepped even closer, her high heels clicking against the ground. Her tight, black dress barely covered the most important parts, seeming way too cold even for mid-May.“I wonder what kind of face that mask hides,” another female voice purred and Felix jumped, his heart skipping a beat when a woman with blood red eyes was suddenly right in front of him. His eyes widened and he wanted to reach out to Jeongin, hold on to him, but he wasn’t able to.The air around Jeongin crackled with tension, seeming to turn a shade darker than it should be, as if Jeongin had an aura around him that absorbed the light. “I said get lost.” His voice was rougher around the edges this time, sending an icy spark of fear right down to Felix’s gut.“Oh, such a fragile one,” the vampire cooed while the sex demon laughed, the sound jingling and pleasant to the ears.The air flickered and a moment later, the vampire lady was gone. Felix looked around frantically, almost missing Jeongin’s gentler words. “Don’t be afraid, Felix. I won’t let anything happen to you.”“What makes you believe you’re a match for us?” the sex demon asked, a dangerous hint to her voice that almost made Felix whimper. Tension made the air thick and he had a really strong feeling that he shouldn’t be there. Why had Hyunjin and Jisung had to have a fight on this specific day? He could have been at their house with them, spending a relaxing evening until Jisung and Jeongin would eventually leave to allow Hyunjin to feed in peace…“What makes you believe that you’re a match for me?” Jeongin asked back, the rough edge back to his voice and he sounded like he was smirking.Jeongin’s appearance suddenly glitched, the human image that Felix knew so well overshadowed by the flickering image of a taller creature, fully black with red highlights. At the same time, Felix sensed something at his side and heard a screech, but when he looked over, the vampire woman had already been sent flying. Strange words left Jeongin’s lips, his voice almost unrecognizable to Felix as he could only stare with shock-wide eyes. Black smoke enveloped the sex demon and the approaching vampire woman who let out another screech that came to an abrupt halt.A deafening silence followed, the only proof of what had just happened being two roughly human-sized heaps of black smoke.“Felix?” Jeongin’s voice was quiet, hesitant, but back to normal. Felix looked back at the very human-shaped demon who had raised one hand but then didn’t seem to know what to do with it. “Are you okay?”“Th-they…” Felix’s teeth clattered and it was only then that he realized that he was trembling.“They’ll be fine, don’t worry. I wouldn’t harm them in front of you.”“But—”Jeongin shook his head lightly. “The smoke only takes away their orientation and will likely make them unconscious. It’ll disappear in ten to fifteen minutes and they’ll be completely back to normal just a few minutes after.” Felix gave a curt nod of understanding, eyes glued to Jeongin’s worried ones. “Can I… Do you need a hug?”Felix nodded again, immediately relaxing when Jeongin’s arms wrapped around him tightly. He was okay. Jeongin was okay. Those two women were okay.Felix squeezed his eyes shut and tightly grabbed the back of Jeongin’s shirt, trying to force himself to calm down, though the result was marginal. At least the trembling stopped after an eternity of them just standing together, hugging.“Let’s go home?” Jeongin offered quietly and Felix nodded again, reluctantly accepting that Jeongin pulled away from him, though he was quick to grab Jeongin’s hand, needing at least some kind of physical contact. “What do you think about a bath once we get back?” Jeongin continued, gently pulling Felix to start walking.“I’d like that.”“Perfect, then that’s settled! We have really cool potions from Minho that can help you calm down.”“I know.”“You know?” Jeongin sounded surprised.“Hyunjin-hyung ran me a bath after I had a fight with Channie-hyung,” Felix mumbled, a little self-conscious about that memory.“Ah, that makes sense.”They had really only been a few minutes away from the house where Hyunjin, Jisung, and Jeongin lived, but somehow, it was enough for Felix’s heart to calm down and his mind to be at ease. Once on the inside, Felix heard quiet music coming out of Hyunjin’s studio and he couldn’t help the immediate longing to go in there, but a single glance at Jeongin who lightly shook his head was enough for him to abandon the idea. He automatically disposed his mask in the pocket of the light jacket that he had been wearing, hanging the jacket up at the entrance area. He followed Jeongin upstairs where he washed his hands before looking through the cabinet of bath oils once again, absentmindedly picking apart the charm’s knots.“I’m guessing that Minho-hyung’s—” what word had Jeongin used earlier? Ah, right, “—potions won’t have bubbles?” At least the one last time hadn’t made any bubbles…“No, they don’t,” Jeongin replied from where he had started the water. “But we actually got some non-scented bath essence for that because Jisung complained about that once. It’s in the other bathroom, I could get it for you.”“Would you?” Felix looked over hopefully, smiling when Jeongin nodded and got to his feet.“Check the temperature,” he said as he left. Felix did just that, adjusting the temperature until he felt it would be fine, then he returned to the cabinet just as Jeongin walked back into the bathroom between his and the guest room. Felix needed a little longer, reading through his options. The one from his first bath didn’t seem to fit entirely, but there was one bath oil from Minho’s stash that had lavender as its main ingredient and sounded basically like his calming tea in bath oil form.Picking out the small bottle, he handed it over to Jeongin who had readied a set of towels in the meantime. While he was at it, Felix also tied the charmed bracelet to his bag so he wouldn’t risk forgetting it.“Do you need anything else?” Jeongin asked after adding some of the oil into the water, its soothing scent immediately spreading in the bathroom that was slowly steaming up.Felix hesitated, the unspoken “if not, I’ll take my leave” hanging heavily in the air between them and it suddenly didn’t matter how okay he felt—he didn’t want to be alone. “Can you… Would it be too much to ask if…” Hyunjin would hate it, wouldn’t he? He was upset already, Felix definitely shouldn’t do anything to anger him even more! Or, well, make him jealous or whatever…“You want me to stay?” Jeongin provided eventually and Felix looked down, too embarrassed to confirm, too desperate to deny. Jeongin turned away, adding the other essence to the filling tub. “Let me change into something more comfortable, alright?”Felix’s head shot up. “You will? But this won’t be a problem, right? For Hyunjin-hyung, I mean.”Jeongin shook his head. “Don’t worry about hyung, trust me.”Felix hesitated once more, searching in Jeongin’s eyes for any sign that the other was sugarcoating the situation, but when he couldn’t find anything, he smiled softly and nodded. “Alright.”Jeongin briefly smiled back at him, then he turned away and left, the bubble bath essence still in hand, closing the door behind himself.Felix took a deep, steadying breath, then he slowly started stripping off his clothes. Once the tub seemed full enough, he turned the water off and slowly eased himself into the slightly too hot water, letting out a quiet sigh once he was fully submerged up to his neck. Maybe it was a little too hot now, but that just meant that he had more time to soak in the tub.A quiet knock startled him, especially when it came from the opposite direction than he had expected. “Come in,” he called out and just a moment later, Jeongin opened the door that connected his own room to the bathroom. He had changed into a pair of sweatpants, the loose T-shirt from before still on top.After slipping into the room, Jeongin closed the door again, then he came over to the bathtub, sitting down at the foot end and putting one elbow on the brink, resting his head on his hand. “Is there anything specific you’d like to talk about?”Felix shrugged lightly, feeling almost too soft to be able to do that. Minho’s bath essences truly did wonders!He let his mind wander, trying to figure out if there was anything in particular he wanted to talk about or if he just wanted to chat in general. The answer came to him as he thought about the abundance of pictures around the house. “There’s something I’m curious about, but I might be overstepping,” he started, looking right at Jeongin again who simply motioned for him to go ahead. “I was just wondering… on the pictures all around, there are a few that seem to hold former partners from Hyunjin-hyung and Jisung-hyung.” Felix hadn’t spotted a lot of pictures like that clearly indicated former relationships or love interests, but there were definitely some, even outside the living room. “What about you?”Jeongin blinked at him, as if not understanding the question. “What about me?”“There are no such pictures with you.”“Why would there be?” Jeongin looked truly clueless, staring at Felix with big eyes, and all Felix could do was to stare back, a quiet, confused noise escaping his throat. After a few seconds, Jeongin simply shrugged. “It never seemed particularly appealing to me, you know? The whole thing with pining, dating, having sex…”“Because you’re a demon?” The question was out before Felix realized it and he gasped, just barely keeping himself from clasping a bubble-covered, wet hand over his mouth. “Sorry.”Jeongin, though, tilted his head a little, as if the question hadn’t been offensive but something to seriously think about. “I guess me being a demon doesn’t help? But I don’t think I’d feel different if I hadn’t grown up in the demon world. I don’t know how demons view romance, but sex is discussed often enough among demons that it does seem to happen frequently.” He shrugged, as if it was the most boring thing to think about.Felix simply stared at Jeongin, his mind immediately providing the terms ‘asexual’ and ‘aromantic’ for him, but he wasn’t entirely sure if such labels would mean anything to Jeongin. “Does it get lonely?”Another slow blink was the answer before Jeongin spoke up, slowly, as if he tried to convey the stupidity of the question through his tone alone. “Does it get lonely living with Hyunjin-hyung and Jisung-hyung?”Felix nodded, but when Jeongin merely raised an eyebrow at him, he added, “Like, in times like now, I mean. When Hyunjin-hyung and Jisung-hyung are occupied with boyfriends.”“Does it get lonely when there are even more people frequenting our home and spending time here?” Jeongin rephrased the question, an amused smile slowly appearing on his face. When said like that, Felix understood why Jeongin looked at him like he had just asked the dumbest question in existence. “No, Felix, it does not get lonely having Hyunjin-hyung and Jisung-hyung around and every so often having others coming in and out of our home for an extended amount of time. It does not get lonely making new friends along the way, though departing from them after a few years is usually rather bittersweet. I’d like to argue that the other two are usually hit worse, though. The times when there are others involved also means that those two will get their need for skinship fulfilled by other people and they won’t bother me with that.” Jeongin grimaced so strongly that Felix couldn’t help but laugh.“Do you hate it that much?”“It can be nice occasionally. But geez, those two seem to live off of skinship, not blood. It’s annoying.” Jeongin scrunched up his face as if he had just bit down on a pure lemon. “They also get attached easily. That is: Jisung-hyung finds all the people like a social butterfly and Hyunjin attaches himself—heart and limbs—in record speed. The moment he lays his eyes on someone of interest and that person reciprocates even in the slightest, that man is gone.”Felix sank down a little in the tub, hoping that the blush that rose to his cheeks could be passed off as coming from the heat of the water. “He really gets attached so quickly?”“You didn’t notice? That dude literally doesn’t look away from you for more than two seconds whenever you’re in the same room.” Felix did recall noticing Hyunjin watching him, but he wouldn’t have thought that he could have really seen it as obvious. “He tries to tell himself that he’s gotten better, and who knows, he probably has. But I can see what he sees in you, so really, I don’t think it’s surprising that he immediately became interested in you.”Felix wanted to positively drown himself. While screaming.He went for the safer option, briefly made sure that his hands were bubble free, then hid his face behind them. Happiness coursed through him, like champagne bubbles, and his cheeks almost hurt from how much he was smiling.Jeongin chuckled quietly. “Just don’t break his heart, alright? It’s very fragile.”Felix spread his fingers a little, risking a glance at Jeongin who had crossed his arms on the bathtub’s brink, resting his head on them. He immediately wanted to reply that he’d never break Hyunjin’s heart, but… “That’s not fully up to me now, is it?”Jeongin looked at him in surprise, then he smiled. “See? And that is why we like you so much.”Felix let out a huff. Lacking a proper response, though, he simply pushed some of the bubbles in Jeongin’s direction. Jeongin laughed when the bubbles missed their target by far.“How much time do we have until your next torture session of exams, by the way?”Felix stifled his laughter in favor of letting out a groan. “Until late June. We started late, but we’ll still finish in time. Torture indeed, if you ask me. I just hope it’ll be as manageable as it was this time.”They continued to keep up easy conversation until the water started getting cold. After handing him some shampoo and sponge so Felix could properly clean himself this time, Jeongin went into his own room, leaving Felix to his own devices. Since the night was still young, Felix didn’t brush his teeth just yet once he was done getting himself dried and dressed.When he opened the door to the guest room, he briefly froze in place, seeing Hyunjin sitting on the edge of the bed. His eyes widened a little, watching as the other looked up, his expression so open and vulnerable that Felix nearly dropped his bag and ran over to the bed. But that wouldn’t have been a good fate for his laptop.Instead, he turned off the bathroom’s light, walking over to the bed with just a small bedside lamp on. He placed his bag at the foot end before joining Hyunjin on the bed, holding his arms out, smiling when Hyunjin immediately cuddled into him. Felix gently carded his hand through Hyunjin’s hair, enjoying the feeling of Hyunjin’s arms snaking around his waist, holding him close.“Hey,” he whispered after an eternity that could have been seconds, minutes, or hours. It didn’t matter.“Hey,” Hyunjin mumbled, leaning back a little until they could look at each other.Felix dropped his hands to loosely lock behind Hyunjin’s neck, smiling at the other, hoping to ease his worries. “Feeling better?”Hyunjin nodded and looked away, but Felix could clearly see the regret on his conflicted expression. “I’m sorry. Jeongin mentioned that you guys got into a bit of trouble… If it hadn’t been for—”“Hey,” Felix interrupted Hyunjin. When the other looked up with slightly widened eyes, Felix shook his head, his smile never faltering. “It’s okay. I wasn’t alone out there. And if Jeongin didn’t want to be in here while you two were fighting, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have wanted to be here either. Either way, everything’s okay: I am safe, Jeongin protected me.”“But… he said that you saw his real form.”“So?”Hyunjin furrowed his eyebrows at Felix’s casual tone. “Aren’t you scared?”“Of Jeongin?” Felix raised an eyebrow, even more astonished than before when Hyunjin nodded. “No, why would I be? I knew he was a demon, I knew that the appearance he shows me isn’t his real appearance. Believe me, I was much more scared of those two women. What happened today just means that there’s a little more that I know about demons now, and a little more that I know about Jeongin specifically.” Speaking of which… “You’re not mad at him, are you?”“For taking a walk with you?” Hyunjin asked back, but Felix shook his head.“For staying with me when I took a bath. I mean, I had asked him to do so, but… you’re not mad at him for actually staying, right?”Hyunjin shook his head lightly. “No, not with him. If there’s anyone whom I’d have full trust in with things like that, it would be Jeongin.”So Hyunjin knew that Jeongin had no interest in anything romantic or sexual? The thought disappeared as quickly as it had come, appearing too meaningless for Felix to ponder on it any further. “I’m glad.” They smiled at each other for a moment before Felix tilted his head slightly. “If it’s not too much to ask… Jeongin mentioned that you and Jisung-hyung fought about a change of regulations?”Hyunjin’s expression immediately darkened and he looked away. He let out a sigh that seemed to take much of his frustration out as well, leaving only resignation. “Yes. They’re apparently using the pandemic to justify changes in the regulations regarding vampires who registered for government aid.”“What kinds of changes?” Felix asked quietly, trying to catch Hyunjin’s eyes, but Hyunjin was stoically staring at the ground.“They’re changing the distribution system. Meaning: younger vampires will be favored over older ones who still learned how to feed from humans. Before, they still tried for an equal distribution, but now it seems like the older vampires will immediately feel any fluctuations while the younger ones probably won’t notice anything. And Jisung and I aren’t exactly high on their priority list regarding blood.”Felix’s eyes widened. “What? They can’t do that! That’s unfair.”Hyunjin shook his head, finally looking up at Felix. “But it’s not. It secures the livelihood of those who need it more urgently.”“While leaving you guys to fend for yourselves! That really isn’t fair.”A shadow passed over Hyunjin’s expression. “It’s alright. There are more younger vampires in the city than older ones anyway and I’m assuming that some will leave the country due to these regulations. And even though it’s frowned upon in many societies these days, there are still quite some older vampires who don’t rely on government aid—neither for housing, nor for blood. So really, it’ll be fine. Jisung and I know how to fend for ourselves.”“But—”“Felix!” Hyunjin let out an exasperated breath. “I fought over this whole thing already earlier with Jisung, can you please…” He trailed off, looking frustrated.Felix nearly recoiled, but he left his arms where they were, figuring that support was more important in that moment. He let out a quiet sigh, pushing down his worries and sense of justice in favor of not upsetting Hyunjin any further. It would work out. It wasn’t fair, but Hyunjin and Jisung would be fine. They had him and Minho, at least as long as they were in Korea. And that change was only happening in Korea, right?“I’m sorry. I hadn’t meant to upset you.”“I’m also sorry,” Hyunjin replied, his voice quiet, defeated. “I know that you only worry about us. But please don’t tell Jisung that you’re on his side, okay? I don’t want to have to fight both of you at the same time.” He met Felix’s eyes again, the hint of a smile on his lips, and Felix immediately gave in, nodding.“Alright, I’ll leave it to you two to figure out.”Hyunjin nodded, relief washing over his face, and when Felix gently pulled him close again, he didn’t resist. Felix nuzzled his nose into Hyunjin’s hair, simply allowing both of them to take some time to relax, to just exist. He did make a mental note, though, to ask the others to update him on any changes regarding that regulation. Just… maybe let the matter cool first.Felix didn’t know for how long they had just sat together like that before he spoke up quietly again, “When do you want to feed, by the way?”Hyunjin was silent for a moment too long, making Felix frown in worry, but even when he looked down, the bit of Hyunjin’s face that he could see didn’t reveal enough for him to be able to tell what the other was feeling. “Will it be okay for you if I just feed tomorrow?”“Sure. Do you want me to stay a day longer then, too?”“Would that be okay?”“Of course. I’ll just let Channie-hyung know that I’ll be back later than expected.”“Thank you.”Felix merely hummed in response, simply enjoying being able to hold Hyunjin like that. When neither of them wanted to really move but grew uncomfortable, they ended up simply lying down and watching videos on Felix’s laptop until Felix barely managed to keep his eyes open. While getting ready, a question he had thought about on quite a few occasions already came back to him and this time, he assumed that he could simply ask it. Would he need a lot of convincing to get his way?Hyunjin sat on the bed with his legs crossed and seemingly texting someone, his forehead creased in a slight frown, when Felix stepped out of the bathroom. Hyunjin briefly glanced up before going back to what he was doing, so Felix simply made his way over, sitting down on the covers close to Hyunjin without disturbing the other, waiting impatiently.Eventually, Hyunjin lowered his phone with a quiet sigh. “Sorry, that was Minho.”Felix shook his head lightly. “No worries,” he replied, quickly reaching out and grabbing Hyunjin’s wrist when the other moved to get up. “Would you stay?”Hyunjin’s frown deepened. “Don’t I always stay?”“Yes, but… I mean… Would it be okay for you if we cuddled until I fall asleep?” Felix’s worry eased into bubbling happiness when Hyunjin started nodding before he had even finished his question. He beamed at Hyunjin and finally moved to get under the light blanket, pushing the heavier one aside since it was getting way too warm to use it. He held his arm out, delighted when Hyunjin immediately got under the blanket as well and snuggled up to him, holding him so comfortably close that Felix never wanted to move again.He did move once more, though, but only to steal himself a goodnight kiss, basking in its gentleness and in how comfortable it felt. At the same time, giddiness bubbled through him because they were doing something new, taking another step in their relationship. Safely cuddled into Hyunjin, Felix soon fell asleep.
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Minho texted him the next day, asking if he’d mind switching shifts with Jeongin so that Felix would be working that night and Jeongin during the following one. Felix was confused by the switch, but he agreed nevertheless between his classes.He texted Hyunjin about the change when it became clear that he wouldn’t be able to tell the other in person, then left. He arrived at the café just as Momo stepped out of it, looking almost traumatized. Their eyes met and Momo raised a finger to her lips, grabbed Felix’s arm, and pulled him out of the direct view from the café.“Hi?” Felix asked hesitantly, confused by the young woman’s behavior, but Momo just pulled him further until they were safely hidden by the next building.“A quick word of survival advice: try to steer clear of Minho-oppa.”“Huh?” Both of Felix’s eyebrows wandered up in surprise, but Momo only nodded, her eyes wide.“I have no idea what is going on, but he’s literally all over the place and more stressed than I’ve ever seen him before. He said something about some kind of conference because of which he won’t be able to check in with us for a week, or something like that,” she explained in a hushed and urgent tone.Alarm bells instantly started ringing inside Felix. What was going on? If Minho was so out of it because of that conference, it was connected to the magical world, wasn’t it? “Did he say what it’s about? For how long exactly will he be gone?”“Something about the ongoing pandemic. And he said he’ll literally have to leave for it tomorrow and I don’t think I’ve ever seen him that pissed about anything. Like, I swear the air around him was crackling.”That wasn’t good. Felix had to talk to Minho, immediately! “Thanks for the heads-up,” he replied, hoping Momo wouldn’t pick up on how alarmed he truly was about the situation. “I think I better head in now. This doesn’t sound like a good time to start my shift late.”Momo nodded, quickly wished him ‘good luck’, then they parted ways.As soon as Felix stepped into the café, he could sense the switch of mood. The hairs on the back of his neck stood at the tension that made the air thick and he was tempted to call Jeongin and ask him to switch back to their original schedules. Was this also why Minho had asked him to switch? So that Jeongin would be there when Minho wasn’t?The café appeared empty and Felix frowned. Shouldn’t someone have been there? Someone to start preparations for the night shift? Someone who wasn’t Minho?His question was answered when Felix had almost reached the counter by Seungmin stepping out of the staff only area without looking. There was a strange air that surrounded him, but before Felix could fully put his finger on it, it had dissipated. Seungmin finally turned around as he let the door fall close and Felix just rounded the corner, yet the other seemed to have expected him. “Hey Lix.”“Hey. Everything okay?”“Let’s at least say that it’s safer to go back there now,” Seungmin replied with a smirk. “Now get ready quickly, I haven’t really been able to do anything yet.”Felix nodded, no wiser than before except from the fact that something really had happened and Minho clearly had been in a very non-agreeable mood. He slipped into the staff only area, knocking lightly on the open door to Minho’s office. Minho looked up from where he had had his head buried in his hands, sitting at the desk chair, Jisung standing behind him, his face grim. Felix’s eyes darted back and forth, unsure how to really interpret what he was seeing. “Hi hyungs.”“Hey,” the other two greeted him back.“What happened?” he asked hesitantly, aware of the fact that he should much rather hurry to join Seungmin in the front.Minho simply shook his head. “Get ready and make sure you guys can open the café. I’ll explain what’s going on later when there’s time, okay?”Felix nodded helplessly, glanced back and forth once more, then he turned around and went into the break room. He quickly checked his messages, smiling softly when he saw Hyunjin whining about them having missed each other. Felix quickly sent a reply back, then he grabbed an apron and joined Seungmin in the front. When the first customer came in, they still weren’t ready, but Seungmin had no choice but to man the register anyway while Felix continued to finish their preparations.Another night shift member whom Felix wasn’t all that close with came in after about an hour and when he joined the two of them up front a few minutes later, he told Felix to go into the back. Felix immediately made his way into Minho’s office, this time finding Jisung sitting on the table while Minho rubbed his neck, stretching it a little.“Hyung,” Felix called out quietly, immediately getting the other two men’s attention. “You look like you need a massage.”Minho grimaced. “I’d kill for one.”“May I?”“You know how to give massages?”“I mean, I’m not trained or anything, but Chan-hyung and Changbin-hyung say that I’m really good at it.” Felix shrugged lightly, but when Minho gave him a nod in response, Felix happily went to stand behind the café’s owner, doing his best to work the other’s neck muscles loose. “What did you want to talk about?” he asked quietly.Minho dropped his hand and simply let Felix do his thing. “There’s an international witches conference I’ll have to attend in China. It’s about the—oh god.”Felix laughed quietly at the sound that was just a little too close to a moan and he focused his hands on that same spot, doing his best to loosen the muscles there. Minho let out another groan, obviously having forgotten about his train of thoughts.“Ah, god, it hurts so much.”Felix’s moves immediately halted. “Do you need me to stop? Go softer?”“No, don’t even think about it!” Minho almost sounded panicked, prompting Felix to continue the way he had started, biting back laughter when Minho groaned again.“There’s that conference in China where they’ll try to find a solution to the pandemic. A magical solution, that is. Or at least a way to help,” Jisung finally explained, his voice a little strained, and Felix looked up with a slight frown. Jisung’s expression was strange, almost a little conflicted, as his eyes were trained on where Felix’s hands were working against Minho’s rock-hard muscles.“Conference starts tomorrow, planned to last a week. But these things never go as planned,” Minho pressed out, followed by yet another groan.“Won’t you need to quarantine? Or will they do it online?”“No, we’re meeting in person. And… we can use teleportation. It’s trickier for witches since we have to combine our skills with incantations that usually go beyond our natural magic, but yeah, that’s how I will be traveling.”Felix hummed softly. “It sounds stressful. No wonder Momo-noona was in a hurry to get out of here.”“She also had the misfortune of meeting me before Seungmin did.”“Eh?” Felix asked in confusion, but he recalled the way there seemed to have been an aura around Seungmin, so maybe that had something to do with it?“I’d love to tell you the specifics, but Seungmin said he’s having too much fun watching you struggle to figure it out on your own,” Minho replied and Felix’s expression immediately morphed into one of displeasure.Before he could do anything else, though, a bell chimed in the staff only area and Felix huffed. He gave Minho’s shoulders and neck a few more encouraging pats before stepping back. “Guess I’m needed up front.”Minho hummed, stretching his neck a little. “Thanks for the massage, Lix.”Felix immediately beamed, glancing over his shoulder while already making his way to the staff door. “Anytime!” With that, he slipped out of the staff only area and went back into the front, quickly settling into a rhythm with the other staff member who prepared drinks.It was only shortly past midnight when Felix found himself called back into Minho’s office once again. Another staff member had joined them, so even though it would have been better for all four of them to be up front since it was unusually busy on that night, Felix deemed it alright for him to talk to Minho for a few minutes.He gently knocked on the open office door again, entering when he was told to do so. He was taken aback by the state of the office: it was never messy, but in that particular moment, it looked almost sterile. Only two papers had been left on the desk, seemingly filled with instructions while all the other stray papers seemed to have been neatly put away into their designated spots. All the folders were lined up, the pens in their pencil holder, placed on one side of the table together with all the other materials they needed. Minho’s gaze was still shifting around the place while Jisung leaned against one of the shelves.“Hyung? What did you need from me?” Felix asked when Minho had merely glanced up once before going back to scanning the room, probably to make sure that really nothing was amiss.Finally, Minho fixed his eyes on him. “Felix, I wanted to ask you something.”“What is it?”“Would it be okay for you if I leave you as one of the minor-emergency contacts for the day shift? You know, just in case any of them has a question or runs into an issue that they can’t solve on their own. You’re one of my longest standing employees from the day shift and you know pretty much everything you need, so I’d trust you to be somewhat in charge while I am gone.”“Me?” Felix’s eyes widened slightly and he pointed at himself.Minho simply nodded. “I don’t think anyone will reach out—I at least basically never get any calls from any of you—and you wouldn’t be the only one who gets listed as an emergency contact. I’d just feel more comfortable knowing that those who might not be quite as confident in what they’re doing have someone here in Seoul whom they can reach out to anytime. And of course, if whatever they’d ask of you is too much for you, there’d be no problem in referring them to me.”“I mean… sure?”Minho gave him the tiniest of smiles. “Thank you. I’ll have another person assigned for the day shifts, probably Mina since she has started at about the same time as you. For the night shifts, I’ll leave Jeongin in charge as well as Sana. I think you’ve met her?”Felix needed a moment to think about that, but then he nodded slowly. “Maybe once or twice?” While he did work quite a few night shifts, Minho seemed to make sure that he usually worked with Jeongin or Seungmin. Jihyo had also become somewhat of a constant, but aside from those three, Felix hadn’t worked too much with the other night staff members and he didn’t interact with them too much either. Or maybe it was them not interacting with him a lot, he wasn’t entirely sure about that.Minho nodded. “Alright, I’ll figure out a precise bonus for the four of you before the month ends so that you’ll get it with your next paycheck.”“A bonus?”“Of course. I’m basically asking you guys to be on stand-by for about a week, naturally you’ll get paid for that. If a doctor is on stand-by, they will be paid for that time, so it’s only logical that I’ll be sure to pay you guys for the extra burden as well.”Felix had to remind himself to close his mouth, not even sure when it had fallen open in shock. “I… Thank you!”Minho shook his head and clicked his tongue, but a fond smile played on his lips when he met Felix’s eyes. “No, thank you. This is an extra burden that I’m asking you to carry, I won’t take your acceptance for granted, especially not since it’s happening on such short notice. Now get back to the front, I’m sure the others already miss you.”Felix could only accept the other’s words as he stepped closer to the door again, yet he hesitated once more, one hand already on the door handle. “Hyung? Good luck for the conference. Keep us updated, okay?”Minho looked at him in surprise, but then he smiled. “Don’t worry about it. Jisung will have me retell every single second of my day when we call.”“Hey! I’m not that bad!” Jisung protested, pushing off the shelves, but Minho’s fond smile was enough for Felix to know that Minho had likely said the truth.Leaving the other two to bicker among themselves, Felix left the staff only area once again to meet up with his colleagues. Minho and Jisung left the café a few minutes later and when Felix had time for a cursory glance around the café quite some time after that, he found Hyunjin sitting at his usual table, reading a book. Felix couldn’t help but smile at the sight, couldn’t help the instant sense of being protected that washed through him, and he continued his work in a much brighter disposition.The time on the cash register read 3:31AM when Seungmin shooed Felix out of café. The ride back to the house was unspectacular but fun and Felix was greeted by the scent of food as soon as he stepped through the front door. With a growling stomach, he immediately beelined towards the kitchen, fingers already busy untying the charmed bracelet.“Welcome back!” Jeongin called out just as Felix stepped into the kitchen.“You made food!”Jeongin glanced over his shoulder from where he was standing by the stove, amusement pulling the corners of his lips up and making his eyes sparkle. “Well, technically, Minho did. But he told me to use up his leftovers because of that conference he has to go to.”“Oh? So I don’t have to worry about getting poisoned?” Felix replied with a grin, disposing of his bracelet in the back pocket of his pants, laughing at the instant ‘Yah!’ he got in response. Starting to wash his hands, he glanced over. “What? I’ve literally never seen you cook. And you said yourself that you don’t need human food to sustain yourself, so how am I supposed to trust your cooking skills?”“I’d be very careful with what you say next! I am very much capable of poisoning this food right now!”“But you wouldn’t, you love me.” Felix flashed the demon a radiant smile, laughing when Jeongin acted like he was gagging.“Hyung, take your disgusting human away from me.”Felix dried his hands on a kitchen towel, nimbly evading Hyunjin’s arms in favor of walking back into the hallway and tying the charmed bracelet to his bag. The moment his fingers left the bracelet, Hyunjin’s arms wrapped around him from behind and a pleasant shiver ran through Felix when Hyunjin pressed a gentle kiss on the crook of his neck. Turning around, Felix wrapped his arms around Hyunjin, leaning up slightly to place a peck on Hyunjin’s lips. “Missed me?”Hyunjin’s smile fell into a pout and his eyes became adorably big. “You didn’t even say goodbye when you left earlier!”Felix’s expression turned serious as well. “I’m sorry. It’s just… You were still asleep and the sun hadn’t set yet. I wasn’t sure if it was okay for me to wake you up.”Hyunjin frowned lightly. “Of course it would have been.”“I’ve also never been in your room before.”Hyunjin’s lips formed an ‘oh’ before he pressed them together for a moment, determination settling in his features. “Let’s change that after dinner.”“Dinner? Isn’t it more like a midnight snack?” No, that wasn’t right either. “Breakfast? No, I haven’t gotten up yet, it can’t be breakfast… But if I start my days more or less with lunch, then shouldn’t this be breakfast…?”“Stop having a semantics crisis! Food is ready,” Jeongin interrupted Felix’s confused train of thoughts. Apparently, the semantics crisis would have to wait to be solved.Felix happily returned to the kitchen with Hyunjin, settling on a stool at the kitchen island across from Jeongin. “Do you two know anything about this conference that Minho-hyung was called to attend?” he asked, looking back and forth between the other two, but both of them shook their heads.“He just said that it has to do with the pandemic. Probably the witches getting together to see if they can alleviate the gravity of the situation somehow,” Jeongin replied with a shrug.“I think Minho mentioned that there have already been several conferences like this, but those were all local ones. Since we left the epidemic-stage and have entered the pandemic-stage, though, they’re probably also trying to get more international forces together now,” Hyunjin provided and Felix nodded.“That makes sense. How can they help, though? Will they try to develop medicine? Or help with developing vaccines?”Hyunjin shrugged lightly. “I don’t know how far exactly they can help. But Minho does have healing potions and creams and witches can work with incantations to a certain degree, so I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s what they’re trying to do.”“Hyung also mentioned incantations earlier. But I thought witches only have powers based on plants?”“It’s a little more complicated than that,” Jeongin jumped in. “Their natural magic is based on plants. They can, however, broaden their abilities with incantations, though those usually take up quite a bit of power for witches, as far as I know. Incantations are usually how wizards obtain their magic, channeling forces like that. Therefore, wizards usually don’t work with potions and the like. So, they each can dab into each other’s power source, but they’re usually limited in how far they can use it.”Felix wasn’t entirely sure if he understood that since it sounded to him like learning the other side’s source when one already possessed magical abilities should be an easy thing to do. But if Jeongin said that it wasn’t exactly that easy, then Felix would simply believe him. “But how sustainable is that when magical creatures usually try to stay hidden from humans? Them trying to find antidotes for Covid-19, I mean,” Felix asked on.“From what I’ve gathered, most witches have an innate need to help,” Jeongin went on with his explanations. “They hadn’t been so keen on keeping themselves hidden before the witch hunt that started in medieval Europe, but they became extremely keen on keeping themselves hidden afterwards. Well, the ones who survived, that is.” Jeongin grimaced. “The Salem Witch Trials further added oil to the flame not much later. I’ve heard some really bad stories about that time. If I were a witch, I too would do my best to keep my identity hidden from humans, I guess.”That certainly made sense but also… not. “But you’re a demon. Aren’t those treated even worse by humans?”Jeongin rolled his eyes. “By the church, sure. But people are honestly less likely to believe in the real existence of demons than witches, thinking that they have history to back them up for the existence of witches. And even those who do believe in us usually accept that we’re more powerful than humans. They’re also rather inclined to make use of our powers in one way or another and since that’s usually beneficial for us, it works out pretty fine.”“But witches are also more powerful than humans…”“But they are too much alike to humans and just that tiny bit different that makes people fear them while still making them an easy target. I wouldn’t show those hunters my human form, so they wouldn’t even think that I could be easily overpowered. If they were to lay eyes on Minho, he looks like a much easier target.”That was a logic that Felix couldn’t really argue with. Even when Minho was using his magic he wasn’t quite as intimidating as Jeongin in his real form would appear to others—and Felix as well, probably, if he didn’t know that the demon in front of him was Jeongin.They switched to more comfortable topics afterward and once they were done eating and had finished doing the dishes, Hyunjin took Felix’s hand and led him upstairs. Felix called out a preliminary ‘good night’ to Jeongin, then he had already been ushered to the first floor. Giddiness bubbled through him as Hyunjin led the way to his room, only briefly glancing over his shoulder when they arrived at the door before pushing it open. Then Hyunjin stepped back, gently pulling Felix forward to enter first. Felix beamed at the other before stepping past him.He didn’t know what he had expected, but the continuation of the cream color theme was somehow both exactly it and not it at all. Light browns and cream gave the room a warm feeling, matching the faint orange and rose scent that hung in the air and that was so unmistakably Hyunjin. The bed was decorated with a variety of flower-patterned pillows and a small bouquet of apparently scentless flowers stood in a vase on the bedside table. Next to the vase was a frame that Felix assumed held a photo, but he couldn’t see it from where he stood. On the wall across from the door and the one to his right, Felix saw pictures of purple tulips surrounded by roses and greenery while the wall on the left was entirely hidden behind bookshelves. How was Hyunjin even able to take all of them with him?Felix stepped further into the room, turning around. A door was almost fully hidden where the bookshelves started, probably leading to the second bathroom on this floor. Turning further, the wardrobe came into sight as well as a huge drawing of two male faces, mere centimeters from kissing. Felix’s breath caught in his throat as he took the picture in. It was drawn in pencil, but so realistic that he wouldn’t have been surprised if the two men were to move any moment, close the distance. Desire, want, and love were so clear on their faces that Felix almost felt compelled to look away from the intimacy.“What do you think?” Hyunjin’s quiet voice brought Felix back into reality.“What do I think?” he echoed in a mumble, his brain needing a moment longer to make sense of the words, until he could tear his eyes away from the drawing. When his eyes landed on Hyunjin, he noticed that the other was tugging at his sleeve again and he realized that he had taken too long with his reaction. “Sorry. What do I think about what exactly? Your room? The paintings? This drawing in particular?” He nodded towards the drawing of the two men.“All of it?” Hyunjin’s voice sounded small, insecure, and Felix couldn’t fathom how Hyunjin could ever feel anything but certain and confident about his drawings—or his room.He held out his hands, watching as Hyunjin hesitated, then stepped closer, taking Felix’s outstretched hands, making the latter smile. Content with the ability to bring physical comfort, Felix squeezed Hyunjin’s hands as he turned back to the painting. “If I didn’t know better, I’d expect them to close the distance and kiss any moment. I have no idea how you do it, but their feelings are so incredibly clear, it’s amazing! I also really like how your room looks almost simple but then there are all those colorful details and they manage to turn ‘simple’ into ‘tasteful’ and whenever I’ll move, I am going to have to ask you for interior design tips. Also, how on earth do you take all those books with you? Or did they come with the house?” He finally turned back towards Hyunjin, beaming when a gentle smile had found its way to Hyunjin’s lips and he looked so much calmer than before; his hands relaxed in their hold in Felix’s and his expression open.“I’ll happily help you with your next move,” Hyunjin replied and Felix grinned. “As for the books… It does help to have Jisung as your best friend and family.”“Right, you mentioned that he always manages to get in contact with others.” Felix made his way over to the bookshelves, Hyunjin following him easily.“Witches can help with shrinking things and making them less heavy, too. Aside from that, Jeongin can also simply teleport everything, though he’ll usually have Jisung and me promise to spoil him since it does take energy for him to teleport so much stuff with him—or to teleport so often.”Felix hummed softly, taking in the array of books in front of him. He found books on painting, drawing, and photography, an almost ridiculous amount of books that appeared to be romance novels and Felix was about to tease Hyunjin about that when his eyes landed on a new genre. The long row of books ended on a framed photograph of that same man who was also featured in the photo in the living room. This time, it was only that man, staring right into the camera with an expression so full of love and affection that Felix’s heart hurt.Felix reached his hand out to the photo but then dropped it, unsure if it was okay for him to touch the frame. “He meant a lot to you.” He had intended for the words to come out as a question, but in the end, there was no need to ask. The fact that this man was both on the ledge of the fireplace in the living room and in Hyunjin’s room, being one of only two pictures in this room, said it all. And if that hadn’t spoken for itself, the number of books on AIDS and HIV that filled that particular shelf would have been a clear giveaway.“Until I met him, it was always me who left,” Hyunjin said quietly and Felix turned towards him. Hyunjin once again wore a faraway look on his face, his expression too conflicted for Felix to make out any specific emotions. “He was one of very few in the past century whom I told what I am.”“Why didn’t you usually say anything?” Felix asked softly, a little unsure if he should interrupt, but Hyunjin merely glanced over, a mirthless smile tugging at his lips before he looked back at the picture.“It’s safer for us not to reveal what we are, of course. And beyond that… I got a little too carried away one time. He survived, but… it was a too close call. After that, I promised myself to always separate love interests from those whom I feed from.” A shadow appeared on his face, not leaving. Felix squeezed Hyunjin’s hand, hoping to be able to provide even a hint of comfort. “I offered to turn him,” Hyunjin continued, clearly talking about the man in the picture again. “It’s not that I didn’t love those before him or the ones who came after. It also was by far not the first time that I contemplated turning my partner. But whatever he and I had was… different.”Something broke inside Felix at those words, but he couldn’t pinpoint whether it broke for Hyunjin, Hyunjin’s former partner, or for himself. It hurt to hear Hyunjin speak that way about his ex. It hurt just as much to imagine what had happened, how Hyunjin must have felt at the time.“He refused me. Said that no matter how much he didn’t want to die, he couldn’t imagine living forever. That he couldn’t imagine a relationship lasting forever either. Said that life would eventually get boring. That he preferred having lived to the fullest, that he would have loved being by my side for a little longer, but that he couldn’t imagine how else he could feel more fulfilled. That I should take my feelings and put them to use to work towards a better future.” A single laugh escaped Hyunjin’s lips and Felix hadn’t known that laughter could be so full of pain. “I don’t think I was ever able to honor his words.”Felix shook his head lightly. “That’s certainly not true. You still keep his pictures and you have all this information about AIDS here!”“But I don’t do anything with it. Sure, I set up anonymous monthly donations however long ago for a place that does research on AIDS and tries to find working medicines. But… it feels like nothing. He’s had to go through that gruesome disease and all I was allowed to do was to stand at the sidelines even though I could have saved him. All I do now is to hide behind knowledge and the ‘anonymous’ tag, drawing and painting useless things when I could have enrolled in school and learned how to help on site.”It was in that exact moment that Felix realized that he hated Hyunjin’s self-deprecating tone more than anything in the world. “Nonsense,” he replied firmly, tugging on the other’s hand until Hyunjin at least turned towards him, though he still didn’t look away from the shelf. “You honor his memory by pursuing knowledge and by keeping him alive, even if it’s just through pictures and by remembering him. You honored his words by not turning him even though it must have broken you. I can’t imagine how much strength it must have cost to not violate his wishes. No!” Hyunjin had just opened his mouth, finally looking back at Felix who shook his head, staring right into Hyunjin’s red eyes. “You’re living your life doing the things that you enjoy and spending it with people whom you love. What better way to honor the dead than by living to the fullest?“You might not be at the frontline, trying to fight AIDS at the hospital beds or in research centers. But who says that doing that would have fulfilled you any more than drawing and painting? That the reality of working in hospitals, seeing people die every single day even though you ‘technically could have saved them’, would have been better for you? That seeing people in pain from wounds and diseases would have made you happier? I don’t mean to talk down all the happy moments that can happen in a hospital, all the births and the healing. But you don’t seem like someone to me who would be able to bear the downsides of working in a hospital in the long run, like someone who wouldn’t get affected by all the hardships and all the issues that the hospital systems bring along.”They stared at each other for endless seconds, Hyunjin opening and closing his mouth several times, looking like he wanted to protest, but in the end, he only looked away towards the ground. Felix’s heart immediately softened and he stepped a little closer, raising one hand to gently rest against Hyunjin’s cheek.He hesitated for a moment, words weighing heavily on his heart, but then he decided to speak up anyway, hoping that it would distract Hyunjin enough. “There’s one thing I’m curious about, though,” he started and Hyunjin’s eyes flew up to meet his once again. “Why am I different? You said you don’t feed from your love interests—but what you and I have… that’s not platonic, is it?” That option had never crossed his mind before, but it had crept up on him while he had listened earlier.Hyunjin’s eyes immediately widened and he shook his head. “No! No, it’s not. Very much not. I do like you, a lot!”Felix instantly smiled and he nodded, calmness washing over him at the assurance. “Then why didn’t you start feeding in town when the blood deliveries stopped coming? It makes more sense now why you had been so adamant about turning me away, more sense than it already did before. But… I don’t understand why you didn’t start feeding in town, I guess.”“Minho and Jisung are convinced that I was waiting for you.”“Well, were you?” Felix ran his second hand up Hyunjin’s arm until he could comfortably link his hands behind Hyunjin’s neck.They held eye contact for a few seconds during which Hyunjin wrapped his arms around Felix’s middle, but eventually, Hyunjin looked away. “It doesn’t make sense. But… there was a part of me that refused to go out to hunt. That refused to go back to old times.” Hyunjin frowned lightly, his jaw tense for a moment before he continued speaking, “The… I told you that it’s become a taboo here. Vampires who do go out to feed in town… they are seen almost like animals, like they refuse to go with the time.”Felix nodded softly in understanding, wondering if maybe a part of Hyunjin might have wanted to drink his blood for a long time already despite the bad reputation. Maybe it was even the same part that had been interested in Felix since the very beginning. Or was that just wishful thinking? The next morning, Felix was an uncoordinated mess. His alarm rang way too early considering how long he and Hyunjin had stayed up the night before for Hyunjin’s feeding and endless conversations. He hadn’t even remembered falling asleep, but he could only assume that it had been okay since Hyunjin surely could have carried him into the other bedroom if he had wanted to do that.Hyunjin only briefly woke up, but he was quickly placated by Felix telling him to stay asleep and a peck on the lips. It was a lot more difficult to convince Hyunjin to let Felix get out of bed so he could get ready to start the day.Felix had no idea how he made it through his classes that day. He attributed a lot of it to Minho’s energizing tea, though, and the walk he had taken that had been supposed to be a jog, but since too much physical exercise wasn’t recommended after donating blood—which was the closest he could get to receiving tips on what to do or not do after letting a vampire feed from him—, he had decided to take it a little slower. By the time that his classes were over, he was more than ready for a nap.He easily made his way back upstairs, but then hesitated in front of the guest room. The night before, Hyunjin had made clear enough that he would have preferred for Felix to have bid him goodbye. And unless Felix read the signs wrong, Hyunjin clearly hadn’t minded sharing his bed, so…He slowly stepped away from the guest room and quietly made his way to Hyunjin’s room instead, slipping through the door and closing it behind himself. He turned on his phone’s flashlight to navigate the otherwise pitch-black room, finding Hyunjin still sleeping on his side, a comforter covering his lower half. Felix couldn’t help but smile at the adorable sight as he walked closer and eventually got on the bed, lying down carefully, hoping that he wouldn’t wake Hyunjin up.His efforts seemed to be in vain, though, because Hyunjin frowned lightly, blinking his eyes open a moment later.“It’s fine, it’s just me. Keep sleeping,” Felix mumbled, gently resting one hand on Hyunjin’s cheek that moved lightly when Hyunjin smiled drowsily. One of Hyunjin’s arms was hazily thrown over Felix who let out a quiet ‘oof’ at the clearly uncontrolled force, but then he smiled as well; Hyunjin’s eyes had closed again, he didn’t actually seem to have been woken up.Finally, Felix turned off the flashlight and scooted a little closer towards Hyunjin, closing his eyes as his body instantly relaxed. Felix woke up to a hand drawing lazily circles on his back. He slowly opened his eyes, but his surroundings were just as dark as before, so he closed them again, simply cuddling closer to Hyunjin. Soft laughter came from slightly above him, making him smile, especially when he felt a pair of lips pressing a kiss on top of his head. “Good morning.”“Morning,” Felix mumbled back. He briefly untangled his limbs to stretch his body before contently cuddling close again, delighted that Hyunjin’s hand never left him. “What time is it?”“Shortly after sunset, so around 7:45, I think,” Hyunjin answered quietly.Felix hummed, blinking his eyes open to avoid falling back asleep. “That was a long nap then…”“You came back for a nap?” There was something in Hyunjin’s voice that Felix couldn’t quite pinpoint, but it didn’t sound like something negative.“Yeah. I hadn’t gotten much sleep before my alarm rang, so I needed a nap when my classes were done.” He leaned back a little, looking up to where he assumed Hyunjin’s face was even though he still couldn’t see anything. “Was that okay?”In lieu of an answer, Hyunjin’s hand moved up to Felix’s cheek and a moment later, their lips met in a slow, gentle kiss. Felix’s eyes fluttered close again and he lost himself in the moment, in the kiss, in their proximity.“I’ve been dreaming of this,” Hyunjin said, so quietly that Felix almost missed it and so close that his lips still brushed against Felix’s.Felix stole another kiss before he leaned away a little farther, resting his forehead against Hyunjin’s. “Of kissing me?”Hyunjin laughed softly, breathily, and Felix smiled, happy to have been the cause of that sound. “That too. But I meant being able to wake up next to you.” His tone was more serious this time, warmer, and Felix’s eyes fluttered open once again.“Hang on,” he said, dismayed at the fact that he wasn’t able to see Hyunjin’s expression. He twisted a little in Hyunjin’s embrace until he found his phone, turning on the flashlight and resting the device against the pillow so that its harsh beam was softened, almost drowned out. But when Felix turned around, it was still enough for him to finally make out Hyunjin’s slightly scrunched up face. “That’s better, now I can finally see you.”“You could have warned me.”“Sorry, I’ll make sure to do that next time.”“I also could have turned on the bedside lamp.”Felix glanced over Hyunjin’s shoulder, then he shook his head. “Nah, my phone was closer. You would have had to reach much farther.” He dropped his head on the pillow again, looking back at Hyunjin’s eyes. The room was still too dark for him to get a proper read on Hyunjin’s expression, but it was definitely much better than the pitch-black darkness from before. “So, you said you were dreaming of waking up next to me?”Hyunjin hummed, his previous aggravation seemingly forgotten. “I know that our sleep schedules don’t match, though…”Felix shook his head lightly. “Does that mean that we can do this more often? That we can fall asleep together like this?”A gentle smile appeared on Hyunjin’s lips, almost shy. “I’d love that.”“Me too.” Felix made a mental note to not only fall asleep by Hyunjin’s side from that day onwards but to also be by Hyunjin’s side at sunset whenever possible. If it meant that he got to be there when Hyunjin woke up and that he got to cuddle his boyfriend even more, who was he to complain?
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Felix soon found himself completely giving up on even the thought of sleeping in the guest room again, because why would he do that if he could instead fall asleep and wake up in Hyunjin’s arms? And then sneak back into bed shortly before sunset so that he could watch Hyunjin wake up as well?Minho returned from the conference looking more tired and pale than Felix had ever seen him before, which was how he learned just how much strength and energy teleportation cost witches. But relying on airplanes wasn’t an option in their current situation…Felix also managed to amend the situation with Chan’s family, finally getting back to talking, even though he still wasn’t entirely sure how comfortable the others were with him. He still had a feeling that they were trying to shut him out of anything magical, with only Chan’s father talking a little more openly about his life as a werewolf since that was obviously a reality that Felix had grown very accustomed to. Chan’s mother and sister seemed to be more withdrawn towards him regarding their magical abilities.Months passed like that. Peaceful, happy, and as safe as one could be during a pandemic. Soon, the first careful announcements for the next semester came in and Felix was virtually buzzing with excitement when he saw that dance practices were listed again. Finally he’d be able to do what he loved again! And not just in the confinements of his home but in an actual class, with a teacher right in front of him, with his classmates!It was two days before the new semester was supposed to start that Felix got an email. He was on his break in the café’s staff room, sipping on a matcha latte, when he checked his phone. The majority of his classes had been moved online, but the dance practice had still held on strong, only announcing that changes would have to be made to the size and the general arrangement to comply with COVID restrictions.When Felix read through the email, it was as if time came to a stand. He could only stare at his screen. Tap it when it turned dark. Stare more.He slowly lowered the hand that had raised his cup half-way to his mouth, suddenly not thirsty anymore. His smile had fallen at one point, hollowness taking over where excitement for the new semester and happiness had resided until mere minutes prior.
[Notice regarding course 53-716: Musical Dance]
Dear students,
We are truly sorry to inform you that the course “53-716: Musical Dance” will not be able to take place offline. Instead, the course will be changed to “53-715: Musical Theory” and will include both theoretical units and performance analysis. This class will be open to dance majors, vocal majors, and theater majors.
We offer our sincerest apologies.
We hope you will stay healthy and wish you a great start into the new semester.
[Performance faculty staff]
The screen turned dark. But Felix still only found himself staring at it, unable to move, unwilling to accept that this was real.An annoying bell brought him back to his senses and Felix put his phone into his bag, not wanting to carry it around with him to weigh him down even further. He put on his mask and took his drink to the front with him, putting it somewhere hidden in the counter area where the other staff members also left their drinks. His moves were almost mechanical as he washed his hands and went back to preparing orders. Even his voice as he told customers to enjoy their drinks and sweets sounded mechanical to his ears, the pitch forced, fake.He didn’t even put on music on his way back home, lacking the energy to take out his headphones, untangle them, plug them in, press play…The apartment turned out to be uncharacteristically noisy. Felix frowned at the clatter of dishes and voices that were just too much for how empty he felt, a too strong contrast. He toed off his shoes, disposing his bag at the door with his mask, then he went into the bathroom to wash his hands.When he turned around, he found Chan standing in the doorway, his head tilted slightly, and Felix figured that he should probably be surprised at his friend’s sudden appearance, but he couldn’t even find that in him. “Hey hyung,” he mumbled, looking away tiredly.“Lixie, you good?”“Sorry, just… got a bad email earlier.”“What’s wrong?” another voice chimed in and a moment later, Changbin stood next to Chan.Felix looked at him, blinked, frowned lightly. “You’re here?”The other two exchanged a glance before turning to Felix again, frowning. “Well, yeah. Channie-hyung said he texted you?”“Oh… Sorry, I didn’t look at my phone since my break.”“It’s all good. What email did you get?” Chan asked on and Felix could only manage a helpless shrug as he looked down, his lips tugging up a little in a sad smile.“My dance class was again turned into a theory-slash-analysis class,” he mumbled, leaning against the sink as the weight of that statement came crushing down on him.“Oh Lixie.” With two steps, Chan was by his side, wrapping Felix up in his strong arms. Just a moment later, Changbin was also there, hugging both of them close.Felix leaned into them, closing his eyes, just letting the hugs comfort him, fill that emptiness. After endless seconds, he wiggled his arms free until he could hug his friends back, sighing softly.“I’m sorry. You were looking forward to that so much,” Chan said quietly somewhere above Felix who tried a small shrug.“It’s fine. I should’ve seen it coming…”“It’s not fine, though. I know how much producing means to me; I can’t imagine anyone taking that away from me. But they’re taking dance away from you for yet another semester…”“It’s better this way, though. They’re doing it for our health.”Changbin let out a ‘tsk’. “Doesn’t mean that this is fair or that it has to feel good. You know what will feel good, though? The dinner that hyung and I prepared.” With that, he stepped out of the hug and simply pulled Felix along.“Hyung!” Felix protested weakly, but Changbin didn’t listen. “At least allow me to change into sweatpants?”“If you must?”“Would boost comfort levels.”“Well, then.” Changbin let go of Felix who couldn’t help the small real smile that snuck on his lips. Chan passed him with a smile of his own, gently ruffling Felix’s hair before he joined Changbin in the kitchen.Felix looked after them for a moment, fondness filling his heart, then he made his way into his room to get changed. On his way back, he stopped in the entrance to search for his phone and briefly text Hyunjin about the turn of events, adding an adequate amount of crying emojis while making his way back into the kitchen. He also finally saw Chan’s message from ten minutes after Felix’s break had ended, telling him that Changbin was coming over for dinner.“You know,” Changbin said when Felix entered the kitchen area, “Chan-hyung and I had been meaning to get some more recording done. But I think tonight calls for a movie night with ice cream and popcorn, what do you say?”Felix looked up, his mood instantly improving at the prospect. “Sounds good, except from the fact that we have neither ice cream nor popcorn.”“You don’t even have ice cream?” Changbin turned around, spatula in hand, eyes widened incredulously as he looked back and forth between Chan and Felix who both shook their heads. “Unbelievable. Hyung, you go get us ice cream and popcorn, Felix can help me finish here.”“Hey! I thought you and I were cooking dinner together!”“Not anymore. Lixie’s been out there already, so have I, so it’s clearly your turn to get our missing groceries.”Chan huffed. “Unbelievable,” he grumbled but turned away to leave.Felix joined Changbin at the stove, wrapping his arms around his friend’s waist and resting his chin on the other’s shoulder. “Can I help you with anything?”“Nope. Just mop me up when I’ve finished melting into a puddle from heat?”Felix hummed, getting himself more comfortable. “That I can do.” After dinner, Felix found himself squished on the sofa between his two friends, but he wouldn’t want it any other way. Well, maybe he’d take an additional Hyunjin, that would make the moment truly perfect. They put on a movie with the full intent to watch it, but soon enough, they were lost in sharing stories about their days, then about their lives, sharing popcorn and ice cream and Felix found himself laughing, almost forgetting about how heartbroken he had been.It was only after he had said goodnight to them hours later that Felix remembered that he had promised to call Hyunjin back earlier after Hyunjin had called him during dinner. The phone only rang twice before Hyunjin answered.“Hey.”“Hey,” Felix replied, getting comfortable lying on his bed, strongly feeling his boyfriend’s absence.“How are you?” Hyunjin’s voice was gentle, caring, and when Felix closed his eyes, he could almost imagine that the other was right by his side.“Okay, I guess. We tried to watch a movie but then just ended up talking and talking and talking and… well, that was good.”“I’m sorry that I couldn’t be with you.”Felix couldn’t help his sad smile. “I wish you could have been here… But I’ll be back in a few days, so don’t worry about me, hyung.”“How can I not be worried about you?”“Well, I have two werewolves around me who have been cuddling me and cooking me dinner and feeding me ice cream and popcorn. I’d like to think that I could be doing worse.”Hyunjin huffed on the other side of the line. “Now, you’re just saying that to make me jealous, aren’t you?”“Sorry, hyung,” Felix sing-songed before letting out a quiet sigh. “But really, I do wish you were here.” They were quiet for a while and Felix shifted a little in his bed before yawning, fighting to keep his eyes open because he didn’t want to fall asleep just yet. “What are you doing?”“I’m working on a new commission.”“What is it about?”“An oil painting of this man’s wife,” Hyunjin replied before he went on to describe the painting to Felix who closed his eyes, imagining what Hyunjin was telling him. The next day, Felix woke up to the sun shining into his room and the clatter of dishes in the kitchen. He slowly opened his eyes, finding himself staring at one of the walls. With a quiet sigh, he sat up, searching for his phone that had gotten lost somewhere in the sheets. That empty feeling from the day before was back, not quite as overwhelming as it had been but still very much present. What kind of dance major was he if he couldn’t even take any actual dance classes?The corners of his lips lifted up when he found a few new messages from Hyunjin: a photo of the painting form the night before, followed by a ‘good morning’. Felix typed back a quick answer, complimenting the drawing before writing that he hoped Hyunjin was sleeping well, then he hooked his phone up to his charger and padded into the bathroom, knocking until Chan finally unlocked the door and let him in so they could get ready together.Changbin left after breakfast—or lunch, whatever. Felix used his free day to cuddle up to his best friend for as much as he could, reading a book he had bought recently at Jisung’s recommendation.He was lost deep in a fantasy world when someone suddenly nudged him.“Felix,” Chan’s voice was muted and when Felix looked up from the pages, the magical world that he had constructed in his mind immediately fell apart, replaced by Chan’s conflicted and worried expression. Felix raised an eyebrow, but Chan merely held out his phone for Felix to see better. Felix’s eyes skimmed over the emergency alert that Chan had gotten.Then he read the message again.And again.He stumbled up from the sofa and went into his room, checked his own phone, finding it with the same emergency alert. The one that asked him and Chan to quarantine for two weeks because they had apparently had contact with someone who had caught the virus.That couldn’t be happening. It just couldn’t.“Hello?” Chan’s voice suddenly came from the living room and Felix went back, watching his best friend on the phone. “Yes, sir, we’re both home.” Chan listened, his eyes suddenly meeting Felix’s, going wide. “No, sir, is there no—” Chan’s face turned pale, his expression pained, and Felix already knew that he was bound to hate whatever he was about to hear.Phone still in hand, Felix made his way over to the sofa, lying down with his head in his best friend’s lap, curling himself into a small ball.“Yes, sir, I understand,” Chan replied, sounding defeated, his free hand finding its way into Felix’s hair, gently carding through it. “Yes, sir,” he said once more before ending the call.“They’re taking you away, aren’t they?” Felix asked quietly.Chan’s hand momentarily stilled in his hair before resuming its movement as Chan sighed. “Yes.”“Because it’ll be full moon soon, right?” At some point since he had learned that Chan and Changbin were werewolves, Felix had started keeping an eye on the moon phases, at least roughly knowing at all times whether new moon or full moon was coming up.“Yes.”Felix squeezed his eyes shut, moving even closer to his best friend. “I don’t want to be alone for so long.”“I know, Lixie. I wish I could stay with you.”“Two weeks are too long.” He had been supposed to go back to Hyunjin’s place soon. How would Hyunjin be able to make it through these two weeks? He had to tell Minho as well. At least all of his classes were online, so he didn’t have to worry about missing out on those… Felix almost wanted to laugh at that.“We’ll make it through somehow, I promise. And then we’ll cook something really nice when I’m back, how does that sound?” Felix could only hum at Chan’s attempt to cheer him up. “And how about we’ll have another movie night then?”“I think I should go to Hyunjin’s place that night, though.”Chan hummed. “Then a movie afternoon, how about that? With lots of cuddling and ice cream and popcorn? I could drop you off at Hyunjin’s place afterwards, if you’d like. Oh, and I think we can also have watch parties now, can’t we? I’ll have to look more into that.”Felix nodded lightly. “Stay healthy, okay?” He hated how small his voice sounded. Hated how small he felt. How lonely.“You too, alright? You’ll see, it’s just two weeks, they’ll pass in the blink of an eye.” Felix knew that wasn’t true, but he hummed quietly in response anyway. “We’ll be calling a lot, alright? And you’ll have classes to attend anyway. You could look more into yoga or whatever as well, just to have something to do. How does that sound?”Lonely. “Okay.”“We’ll get through this, you hear me?”Felix gave another soft hum.“I should start packing, though. We can cuddle more afterward, okay?”Felix didn’t answer but eventually sat up to let Chan pack, trailing after him. On the way, his own phone rang and he stared at it for a few seconds, the caller ID only telling him that the call came from the Seoul area. A deeply ingrained fear of being unable to understand the call shot through him. Logically, there was no reason for that anymore; he knew that he did well enough with phone calls. But the fear that had settled inside him years earlier when he still hadn’t been good at Korean had somehow never left him.Felix had to take several steadying breaths before he was able to accept the call. “Hello?”“Hello. Am I talking to Lee Yongbok?” a male voice replied.Felix scrunched his face at the mention of his Korean name. “Yes, sir. Who is this?” His eyes landed on Chan taking out a huge duffle bag and he instantly lost track of the phone call. He half gathered that he would be assigned a health official who would check up on him and who would have him undergo tests, who would help him with a self-quarantine app. The man asked if he was home, then told him to stay there. As if Felix had been planning to leave after having received the quarantine notice. But there probably were people like that, people who would ‘only quickly get groceries’ or whatever. Eventually, he could end the call, filling Chan in on what he had gathered from the call.When Chan was done packing, they got back to the sofa, cuddling close, and Felix wished he could just freeze time, that no one would ever come to pick Chan up. But of course, such a wish could never become reality.Way too soon, someone rang their doorbell, revealing themselves as a health official. Felix and Chan put on their masks and shortly after, the person was upstairs, entering their apartment in full protective gear to get their COVID tests done. They also received instructions that Felix tried his best to pay full attention to, then one of the two people asked Chan to follow him.Everything inside Felix screamed to stop it, but all he could get was another short, tight hug before the apartment door fell close, leaving Felix on his own. The silence rang in Felix’s ears. He had been supposed to spend this day with Chan, just the two of them lazing around, enjoying each other’s company.Oh, how fast things could change…Felix texted Minho next to let him know about the quarantine, a little surprised when he got a reply not too long after, checking if he was okay. Wasn’t it still a little too early for Minho to be up? He smiled softly nevertheless as he assured his boss, thinking that was it, but then he got the next text from Minho who told him that he’d been meaning to talk to Felix in person, but that he would be taking Felix off night shifts since he finally had a full night shift staff again. And Felix just stared at the screen for the umpteenth time within twenty-four hours, somehow typing back a simple ‘okay’ before he exited the chat.At one point, he started a video call with Chan and even though neither of them talked a lot, Felix found mild comfort in the fact that he could at least see his best friend. That was better than nothing, right?He ended the call when he knew that Hyunjin would be up, calling his boyfriend instead. And Felix thought he could hear the ground disappearing from underneath them when he told Hyunjin that he wouldn’t be able to come over for two weeks. The next day, Felix was met with not only the bag from Coupang where he had ordered groceries but also a plastic bag with a post-it note on it.After putting away his groceries and leaving the Coupang bag outside his door, he curiously turned to the plastic bag, the hint of a smile appearing on his lips.
Thought you might do good with some special tea. All instructions are included.
Stay healthy! – Minho
Felix pulled the post-it off the bag and put it on the living room table instead before he started going through the contents of the bag. He found an assortment of tea from Minho—the one for health, the revitalizing one, and the energizing one—as well as some snacks that Minho seemed to have bought on the way and, lastly, even two containers with food. The top one had another post-it.
Don’t worry, we were freshly cooked this morning. But you better put is in the fridge sometime today! – 2020.08.31
Felix did as instructed and snapped a picture of the two containers safely tucked into his fridge. He sent it to Minho with a quick “Taking good care of these two”, followed by “Thank you, hyung!!”He went on about his day afterwards, trying to keep himself busy. He called his younger sister as soon as he knew she’d be available, keeping her on the line for as long as she was willing to entertain him before he was once again left to his own devices. He dutifully filled out the quarantine app throughout the day, read, started a new K-drama, did some yoga, and ate, but he still couldn’t drown out the sense of loneliness. Chan was supposed to be there with him. Felix had been supposed to be at work during the afternoon. And the next day, he had been supposed to go to Hyunjin’s place after his classes.Instead, he sat in front of the low living room table on his own, hugging a pillow to his chest, mindlessly watching a drama until Chan would be available to call. Or Hyunjin. The day passed, somehow. How exactly, Felix didn’t know either. He ended up talking for hours with both Chan and Hyunjin, but when he ended the call with barely placated worries, it was only for the loneliness to come back in full force, pressing down on him almost like it had a body. It suffocated him, laughed at him. The silence rang so loud as if he was the only living creature on this earth.But he couldn’t let himself fall asleep on the phone with Hyunjin every night. He was an adult. A young one, yes, but an adult nonetheless. He could survive two weeks of quarantine. It was basically just Chan staying away for full moon on repeat, right?He was fine! His classes were a welcome distraction the next day and he threw himself into the mandatory readings right after, just to keep doing something, just to have a purpose. Just to not think about how empty the apartment was without Chan.In the evening, he talked to Chan and Hyunjin about his day. Gratefully, he found himself falling asleep a little easier that night.He’d be able to get through this. He was fine. On the fourth day, Felix shot Chan a message that he hoped Chan would be fine that night, somehow. Even if he likely wouldn’t be able to run like he needed to. Even if he’d be alone instead of with Changbin and Changbin’s father. Even if they didn’t know yet how authorities would handle this situation.It turned out that someone came to pick Chan up in the early afternoon and he was brought to some area that had been fenced off. Chan texted Felix that he had even seen signs warning about the area, though they were kept vague enough that humans wouldn’t know what was really going on. He later shared pictures of something that looked like hardly more than stables with a bed and an open-air enclosure that could be easily captured in one picture with security cameras installed in several places. Too small. Too cramped. Felix could basically sense the claustrophobia that Chan—or at least his wolf part—had to be feeling.That night, Felix only briefly called Hyunjin, too anxious for Chan to be able to properly lead a conversation.But he was fine. He had to be. Thursday started too early and with very little, restless sleep. It went on with the class that should have been a proper dance class before it had been demoted to theory and analysis. It continued with Chan only shooting him a brief text that he was in an extremely bad mood after the previous night and had been woken up too early to be brought back to the hotel room. Even through text alone, it sounded like Chan was ready to kill the next person who’d disturb him.The day bubbled, like magma threatening to spill over the edge of the volcano, into one of Felix’s teachers going into a homophobic rant—with too many students bopping their heads in agreement—and finally climaxed in Hyunjin shooting him a quick text about some auction that had been rearranged and that he had to newly prepare for. An auction that would be held less than 24 hours later.Felix had tried to distract himself with practicing some dancing since that usually always helped, but it was no use on that day. His body wouldn’t move the way it was supposed to, the space was too cramped, it was more frustrating than helpful. And he wasn’t even allowed to go outside for a jog to get rid of all the negative energy.And like that, Felix found himself staring at the dark ceiling above him. His phone blinking with new messages from Changbin and Minho that he didn’t have the energy to answer. Scenes replayed in Felix’s mind over and over. Scenes that he had been trying so desperately to forget. Memories of insults hurled at his face, first in English, later in Korean. Mocking laughter. Balls going his way extra hard, giving everyone extra reasons to believe that they had been right to pick him last when he got hit so fast or missed so often. Constant whispers behind his back. The soothing arms of a woman who had never truly let him in.But he had to be fine. Somehow. Felix felt like a zombie all throughout the next day. He permitted himself one of Minho’s teas, hoping that it would bring him as much comfort as it brought him energy. He wished Hyunjin good luck for the auction before he dove into university assignments, grateful that the tea helped him focus.But eventually, the effects wore off. And he was alone. Still. With more than a week of loneliness still ahead of him.Chan called him that night, still seeming agitated after the full moon, like there was a lot of pent-up energy that Chan wasn’t able to get out of his body. And Felix got it. Maybe a little too well.But they’d be fine. Somehow. On Saturday, Felix talked to his family, Chan, and Changbin throughout the day, and to Hyunjin at night. Hyunjin told him all about the auction in probably the most excited manner that Felix had ever seen, his happiness infectious.Until they ended the call. Until he was alone. Until the demon on his shoulder told him that even Hyunjin got everything that he wanted while Felix was left behind, wading through quicksand, not realizing that all of his efforts were futile. What was he even doing? He was gay in a country that was anti-LGBTQ+. He was an almost-trainee who hadn’t passed because of his lacking language skills and who had been too afraid to try again. He was a human caught up in a magic maze with some paths completely obstructed, the images of Chan’s mother and sister standing in front of them with blank faces. He was a dancer with no dance classes. He was an Australian who couldn’t return to his country even if he wanted to because Australia had closed off its borders completely, who had been shunned even in his home country for looking different. He was Korean but not raised Korean enough to fully call Korea his home country. He was supposed to provide for Hyunjin but wasn’t allowed to leave his apartment.But he had to be fine. Sunday felt almost like a fever dream, passing too fast and agonizingly slow, both real and unreal. Felix hardly left his bed, trying to find even the faintest resemblance of comfort until he found himself in Chan’s bed instead. At least there, everything smelled like his best friend. At least there, he could pretend that his best friend would be home soon. Then Chan would tease him for occupying his bed. Maybe he’d let himself fall on top of Felix’s slimmer frame before the teasing. And then they’d cuddle and watch a movie and talk and laugh…Felix stopped fantasizing when his heart hurt too much. When his body curled up as tightly as possible, only to have even the faintest illusion of a proper hug.And he knew he wasn’t fine.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The days that followed blurred into each other. Felix could tell that especially Chan and Hyunjin became more worried as time passed. He got more food from Minho that week, too, and read that as a sign that Minho was also worried about him. And then one day, he was woken up by the shrill sound of the doorbell.Felix groaned, hiding even more in Chan’s blankets. He wasn’t allowed to have visitors anyway, so he knew there should be no need to get up. There was no one who should come for him anyway.He was just drifting back to sleep when the doorbell rang again. Felix frowned, opening his eyes to the bleary view of Chan’s room. He fought a little to coordinate his legs as he got up, dismayed at whomever he’d have to tell to go away.Exiting the bedroom, he immediately walked into the wrong direction first, not entirely used to the apartment’s layout in his more than tired state when not coming from his own room, and by the time that he did manage to stand in front of the intercom, it wasn’t even blinking anymore.Leaning against the wall opposite the intercom, Felix yawned, then rubbed over his eyes, forcing them open afterward. What day was it even? He had truly and thoroughly lost track of pretty much everything, only his phone reminding him occasionally about when he had classes.A knock on the door startled Felix so much that his head snapped up, hitting the wall behind him. “Ow,” he whined, holding the back of his head as his face twisted in pain. At least he was awake now, after nearly having dozed off again while standing.Still carefully feeling the sensitive area in the back of his head with one hand, he made his way to the front door, looking through the peephole so he’d at least know whom he was telling off. Instead of a human face, though, he was met with a humanoid figure hidden behind so much protective gear that Felix flinched back with a yelp.Was it already Sunday? Was his quarantine actually over?His heart beat faster at the prospect and he snatched the mask that hung by the door, quickly running one hand through the mess that had to be his hair before he opened the door, peeking outside.“Lee Yongbok?” a female voice resonated from behind the protective gear.“Yes, ma’am, that’s me,” Felix answered.The woman nodded and instructed him to let her in so she could do the COVID test on him. Felix obeyed without protest and, after informing him that the test results would be sent to him via text message, the woman left and Felix closed the door.Felix made his way into the bathroom, grimacing at the thought that she had just gotten a swab from his throat when he hadn’t even brushed his teeth yet. Disgusting.By the time that he was done with his morning routine, Felix was insignificantly more awake. He went into the kitchen and heated up some water, preparing one of Minho’s energizing teas. He got his phone from Chan’s room, hiding a yawn behind his hand, before he got comfortable on the sofa; phone in one hand, cup of tea in the other.A small smile, the first one in days, appeared on his lips when he saw the official text message that announced his text result to be negative. He immediately texted Chan, asking him if he also already had his result. He contemplated texting Hyunjin as well, but then decided against it in favor of dropping by unannounced later and surprising his boyfriend with the news.To keep himself busy, Felix started going through social media, but as time went by and he didn’t get a response from Chan, anxiety began forming inside him, starting in the pit of his stomach and spreading slowly. He sent a follow-up text after roughly ten minutes. Then he sent Minho a text, telling him that he could indeed come to work the week after, also asking him not to tell Jisung—or anyone else from that household—yet because he wanted to surprise them.He still didn’t have a response from Chan.Felix got up, his tea forgotten as he started pacing the living room. Should he just call Chan? It was already past noon, so Chan should be up, right? Especially if one of the health officials had also come to visit him at noon, then Chan should definitely be up and already have his result.All Felix knew was that he needed Chan back. Now. He typed out another text, almost begging Chan to respond, but he hadn’t even sent it for a full ten seconds when he heard soft beeping from the front door.Tossing his phone in the vague direction of the sofa, Felix almost ran down the hall, arriving in time with Chan stepping through the door, eyes crinkling in a smile, then Felix had already thrown himself into his best friend. He hugged Chan tightly, as if his life would end if anyone were to separate them. And maybe it really would.Chan laughed softly, chest moving against Felix’s. “At least let me come in?”Felix could only shake his head, holding on even tighter. He wouldn’t let go. No way. Not ever. Or at least not for as long as possible.“I’m not going anywhere, don’t worry. I’m here now.” Chan’s voice was gentle, soothing, as he maneuvered them back into the apartment, closing the door behind himself before leaning against it, letting his bag drop with a quiet noise and probably discarding his mask as well. Finally, Chan’s arms wrapped around Felix as well, holding him close, just like he needed. “There, there. Don’t cry, Lixie. I’m here now,” he mumbled somewhere into Felix’s hair, adding sweet nothings that were all music to the student’s ears.Felix hadn’t even realized that he was crying until that moment, all that mattered being that he could hold on to Chan, that he had Chan back, so close. That he wasn’t alone anymore.“You’re right, I guess,” he mumbled once he had calmed down enough to speak, his arms having loosened at one point until he was simply leaning against Chan. All of the stress and anxiety of the past days seemed to have evaporated from him, leaving nothing but a shell. “I think I am indeed hug-powered.”“Oh, you finally figured that out?” Chan replied, his tone light but teasing, yet Felix didn’t have it in him to tease back as he simply hummed. His eyes had closed a long time ago.“Just for your information, I ran out of power a week ago. I’ll need a lot of charging.” Finally, Felix did lean away a little until he could look into his best friend’s eyes. “Well, for a few hours, at least… Because…”“Hyunjin,” Chan filled in, his eyes warm, filled with understanding and love. “I know. You go there, I will probably hit up Changbin to see if he’s up for a session in literally whatever way I can get.”Felix’s face scrunched up at that and he leaned against his best friend again, breathing in his familiar scent, melting into the hug that would always fit him so perfectly. “Still can’t believe they put you into that and thought that was humane.”Chan scoffed. “I’m not sure they regarded me, at least in my wolf form, as humane.”“Bastards, all of them.”Chan let out a choked laugh. “Felix, language!”“Don’t scold me, I’m literally touch-starved.”“What does that have to do with anything?”“You know how people get hangry?”Chan laughed at that and Felix smiled to himself, knowing that he had won.“Whatever, can we maybe move to a more comfortable place? Like, the sofa.”“If we must.”“I’d highly prefer it.”Felix huffed but unwillingly let go of his best friend, letting him enter their apartment properly. He watched as Chan took in the state of his bed in clear amusement, but thanks to their calls and video calls, he had been long since aware of the fact that Felix had slept there.They got comfortable on the sofa once Chan had changed into his sweatpants and left his bag in his room, their limbs intertwined, talking quietly or otherwise enjoying each other’s presence. They had put on a random show in the background at one point. Sometimes, they were paying attention, sometimes, they weren’t.After Felix had taken a shower, they left together, hugging tightly once more at the subway station where they parted ways; Chan towards Changbin, Felix towards two vampires and one demon.The subway ride seemed to take forever. Felix was mindlessly playing with his bracelet, alternating between staring at the screen above the doors that mostly played ads and the line that listed all the stations and showed what station they were headed to at any time. Finally, his station came up and he could get out of subway. His steps were hastened, but he somehow kept himself from running the short stretch to the right house.He let himself in at the front gate, grateful for the pin pad that had replaced the old-fashioned lock a few months earlier. As soon as the gate was closed, his fingers started untying the charm as he walked over to the front door. A grin pulled at his lips when the door was opened, revealing a surprised looking Jisung on the other side.“So it really is you.”“It really is me,” Felix confirmed, finally succeeding at tucking off the bracelet. He carelessly stuffed it into the back pocket of his pants, then flung himself into Jisung’s arms, smiling to himself when he was caught securely. Jisung moved them inside, closing the door behind Felix.“A bit eager, are we?”“Shut up,” Felix complained, but he did lean back and finally took off his mask. “I have to wash my hands, then you’re getting the longest hug ever.”“I’m not sure if you have your priorities straight,” Jisung commented, but he trailed after Felix when the human had toed off his shoes and made a beeline to the kitchen, stuffing his mask into his bag before leaving his bag in the hallway.“Oh, I have my priorities very straight. Because I need to get all the hugs that I can and I dare to doubt that Hyunjin-hyung will let me go once he has me close.”“Touché.” Jisung laughed quietly.Felix impatiently washed his hands, cursing in his mind that thirty seconds had to be so long. When his hands were finally dry again, he turned around and hugged Jisung once more, closing his eyes with a quiet sigh. “Is Jeongin also here?” he asked softly and Jisung hummed.“Jeongin is in the living room, Hyunjin in his room.”Felix saved the information for later, simply staying where he was, recharging. And Jisung indulged him, letting him stay.“You know,” Jisung asked after a small eternity, “I’m beginning to understand why Jeongin describes your hugs as healing. And why they have such an impact on Hyunjin.”Felix immediately smiled at that, tightening his hug a little. “Channie-hyung literally calls me hug-powered. And after I had to go without for the past two weeks, I’m pretty sure that he’s right.”“Right, it was full moon shortly after your quarantine started, wasn’t it?”Felix hummed quietly and tightened his embrace even more, hiding his face on Jisung’s shoulder for a moment before he stepped back. “Alright, Jeongin’s turn next.”“Let’s see how happy that little demon will be about a hug,” Jisung retorted, his eyes sparkling with mischief.Felix grinned at him before making his way into the living room. Jeongin was lying sprawled out on the sofa, looking away from his phone, presumably noticing the commotion. “Eh? You’re still down here?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.“Yup,” Felix replied, unceremoniously dropping himself right on top of Jeongin. All the air seemed to leave Jeongin’s lungs with an ‘oof’ while Jisung cackled in the background.“Yah! Get off me!” Jeongin attempted to push Felix away, but the latter only held on tighter.“Never.”After a few more seconds, Jeongin dropped his fake defense. He reached one hand out towards the side for a moment, probably putting his phone away, then Jeongin wrapped his arms around Felix’s middle. “They finally let you out of quarantine, huh?”Felix hummed quietly. “Hyung and me both.”“Didn’t Chan let you hug him?”Felix raised his head to look at Jeongin with disdain. “Excuse me? That was shortly after noon today. How do you think those meager hours could live up to two weeks of being denied literally any physical contact?”“Ew, you’re gonna let me go faster than that, right?”Felix huffed. “I’ll think about it,” he replied and laid his head on Jeongin’s shoulder again.“Humans,” Jeongin complained, disgust dripping from his voice.“Nah, I’m pretty sure it’s just a me-thing.”“Doesn’t make it better.”Felix let out another huff, but since Jeongin wasn’t actually trying to get him off and instead kept his hands clasped on his lower back, Felix deemed his actions okay. At the end of the day, it wasn’t like literally every single inhabitant of the house could easily manhandle him if they so desired.“Lix?” Jeongin spoke up eventually, only receiving a small hum from Felix in response. “It actually is a tad too hot still for you to be plastered to me like this.”Felix scrunched his face, but he pushed himself up nevertheless, sorting his limbs off the sofa while hurting Jeongin as little as possible. “Thanks for enduring it, though.”Jeongin shrugged lightly. “You’re our human, so it’s whatever,” he said and grabbed his phone again from where it had been lying on the table, getting comfortable.“This is our cue to go then,” Jisung said from the doorway and Felix had no idea whether the other had been standing there the entire time or if he had just returned.Jeongin groaned. “For real?”“I mean, unless you wanna be here for whatever happens post-feeding…”Felix blushed at the insinuation and the rustling of clothes revealed that Jeongin got up behind him. “I hate you all. I better get a nice drink from Minho’s café for this.”Jisung laughed. “Now, that can be arranged.” He met Felix’s eyes, his own shining good-naturedly, then he turned away.Felix lightly pressed the back of one hand against his cheek, finding it hot from embarrassment. But he still wasted no time grabbing his bag, slinging it over his shoulder. He first went into the kitchen to down a glass of water before making his way upstairs. There, he softly knocked on Hyunjin’s door to make himself known—not that this was necessary, but certain habits died hard—before opening the door, well aware that Hyunjin would have told him off if he hadn’t been allowed inside.Hyunjin was lying on his bed, one arm by his side and the other thrown over his eyes, not even moving as Felix entered. The room was only dimly lit by the lamp on the bedside table, just the way Hyunjin liked it.Felix closed the door, leaving his bag next to it as he made his way over to the bed, intending to crawl over Hyunjin. But the moment his knees hit mattress, his world spun and he suddenly found himself lying on his back, both hands pinned to the sides of his head by his wrists, Hyunjin’s legs caging his hips, and nearly glowing red eyes staring right into Felix’s.“Hi,” he breathed out, his heart beating fast with anticipation and from Hyunjin’s actions.“Lix…” Hyunjin’s fangs peeked out behind his lips and his eyes travelled down to Felix’s neck, the hunger in them almost blatantly obvious. His voice sounded almost ruined with the barely suppressed hunger.Felix tilted his head, never looking away from Hyunjin’s sharp features that still took his breath away. “Go ahead. We can talk later. Or tomorrow.”The last syllable had barely left his mouth before Hyunjin’s lips were on his neck, leaving the hint of a kiss before Hyunjin sank his fangs in. Both of them moaned and Felix’s eyes fluttered close as waves of pleasure crashed down on him, pulling him deep into a sea of desire and want.He barely noticed it when Hyunjin withdrew his fangs, licking over the wounds to close them, drawing another quiet moan from Felix. His skin was already sensitive from the vampire poison coursing through him, his nerves on fire with the need to be close, to feel, to touch. But his hands were still held securely in place. All Felix could do was to turn his head a little, prompting Hyunjin to look up from where he had been trailing kisses along his neck.“Hyung, kiss me,” he whined, the sound cut short by Hyunjin’s lips on his. And oh, Felix had missed this. He outright melted into the kiss, into the feeling of Hyunjin’s body against his. The usual tune of his alarm interrupted Felix’s peaceful sleep long before he was ready to get up. He groaned, fumbling for his phone. He forced one eye as open as possible to make sure he’d sweep into the right direction to snooze the alarm, then closed his eye again, cuddling closer into Hyunjin’s embrace. He was on the verge of drifting off to sleep again when gentle, slightly plump lips appeared on the back of his neck. Felix let out an appreciative hum, shifting a little to give Hyunjin more access. Hyunjin’s arm tightened around his middle, kisses moving up slowly until Felix turned his head, moving one hand up to rest against Hyunjin’s cheek as he pulled him into a lazy kiss.Felix groaned when his alarm went off again and he pulled back unwillingly turning the alarm off before looking at Hyunjin again, smiling at the other’s soft expression. He gently caressed some hair out of Hyunjin’s face, endeared when the other’s eyes closed.“Your class,” Hyunjin mumbled.“I know,” Felix replied with a slight pout. “I’ll get ready, okay?”Hyunjin only hummed, looking so soft that Felix couldn’t resist leaning in and pecking Hyunjin’s lips once more, not missing the smile that he got in response. Unwilling, Felix untangled himself from his boyfriend and made his way into the bathroom to get ready. Yet, as he was standing in front of the mirror, taking in the array of hickeys that Hyunjin had left the night before, he instantly wanted to go bury himself back into the bed. But no, he couldn’t do that. Hyunjin probably wouldn’t be able to sleep well if Felix listened to his classes while in bed with him.He let out a quiet sigh as he finished getting ready, simply putting on a pair of shorts and a loose T-shirt, not intending on turning on the camera during his classes.Felix went downstairs, hiding a yawn behind his hand. Feeling a little too lightheaded for how much sleep he had gotten, he decided on the revitalizing tea over the energizing one. Once the tea bag was soaking in a cup full of hot water, he opened the fridge to figure out what he could make for breakfast, but his mouth opened in a quiet ‘oh’ when he found a food container with a small post-it note that read his name. His lips stretched into a smile as he took it out and popped the container into the microwave, pleasantly surprised that Minho was there as well and had thought of him while making himself dinner.Felix busied himself with his phone, answering Chan’s text, while he waited for the microwave to ‘ding’. He ate in the silent kitchen, but no matter how cared for he felt, something was missing all this time. The warmth of an embrace. The feeling of someone right by his side. And he knew that he was being childish. Possibly even too needy, too much…It didn’t stop him from making his way back up after he had done the dishes. He had a fresh cup of tea, this time the energizing one, in one hand and a water bottle in the other, carefully making his way back into Hyunjin’s room, surprised when the other didn’t react. Felix put everything down on the bedside table before he crawled onto the mattress, lying down again.“Hyung,” he called out quietly, gently caressing his boyfriend’s hair. Hyunjin merely frowned lightly but then relaxed again, making Felix laugh. “Hyung,” he tried again, smiling apologetically when Hyunjin slowly blinked his eyes open, making a questioning noise somewhere in the back of his throat. Felix leaned in for a brief kiss, loving the way Hyunjin leaned into it softly, drowsily. “Can I listen to my class here today?” he asked quietly, still so close that his lips brushed against Hyunjin’s as he spoke.“You want?” Hyunjin asked back, though Felix could bet that the sentence had been supposed to consist of more words that got lost.“I do. I want to be close to you.”Hyunjin hummed, lips forming a tired smile. “Then stay.”“That’s okay for you? You’ll be able to sleep?” Felix double-checked, but he only got another hum in response as Hyunjin already drifted off to sleep again. Felix smiled, simply watching his boyfriend until he realized that he was probably getting late for his class. He hastily yet quietly scrambled to get his laptop and earphones, setting everything up for his class that he was miraculously only two minutes late for. Then he took a sip of his new tea before cuddling closer to Hyunjin, moving one of the other’s arms to rest around his middle, delighted when Hyunjin unconsciously pulled him closer for a moment before his arm relaxed. The day passed comfortably like that. When his classes finished, Felix napped a little more or wasted time on his phone until he heard quiet voices from the bathroom separating Jisung’s and Hyunjin’s bedroom. Hyunjin stirred lightly behind Felix, prompting the human to turn around, watching in the nearly non-existent light as Hyunjin slowly woke up.The shower was turned on, and suddenly, someone squeaked in the bathroom, followed by Minho laughing. “Lee Minho, you—” Jisung’s voice became too quiet for Felix to understand anything else.At the same time, Hyunjin blinked his eyes open briefly before nuzzling closer to him, hiding his face on Felix’s chest, hugging him almost a little too tightly. “So noisy.”Felix laughed quietly, caressing Hyunjin’s hair with one hand, listening to the shower running in the other room. “Good morning.”Hyunjin simply hummed, leaving a kiss right over Felix’s heart through the T-shirt. Happiness immediately simmered through Felix. How had he ended up in a place like this? When had luck finally struck him?It will end eventually.Felix’s smile immediately fell at that thought. Yes, one day, the other four would move on. And he’d stay behind.“Everything okay?” Hyunjin raised his head and Felix mustered a smile, pushing away the dark and unwelcome thoughts with a hum.“I love you,” he mumbled instead, watching as Hyunjin’s face immediately brightened.“I love you, too,” he replied, closing the distance between them in a gentle kiss.They stayed cuddled close and comfortable like that until Minho and Jisung left the bathroom, then Hyunjin went to get ready while Felix migrated downstairs. He got some coffee started for Minho and another revitalizing tea for himself, then he looked into the fridge, trying to figure out what to make for breakfast.He was still stuck on that question when he heard voices and steps on the stairs shortly before Minho and Jisung joined him in the kitchen. Giving up, Felix turned around, smiling brightly as soon as his eyes landed on Minho. “Hyung!” He quickly made his way over, hugging a surprised looking Minho.“Eh?”“Told you he was gonna do that,” Jisung commented, making Felix laugh as he glanced over towards the other. Amusement sparkled in Jisung’s eyes while Minho’s arms slowly wrapped around Felix.“He even made me wait for an eternity when he arrived yesterday just to hug Jisung and Jeongin,” Hyunjin’s voice came from the direction of the stairs, sounding a little pressed.Felix met his eyes over Minho’s shoulder, tightening his hug when Minho started to pull away. He knew that Hyunjin wouldn’t like it, knew that he probably should let go of Minho for Hyunjin’s sake… but at the same time, he needed Minho’s hug in that moment. He’d just spent the full night and day in Hyunjin’s embrace and he was determined to return to it once he was done with Minho. But for the time being, hugging Minho was the priority.He tried to communicate that through his gaze before closing his eyes when Minho finally relaxed again, indulging him a little longer. “Just had to recharge after I was robbed of hugs for two full weeks. And the subway ride! There was no way I would have made it up the stairs without a proper recharge,” he defended himself.Minho laughed quietly. “And what is this?”“More recharging because I walked downstairs and did all these preparations and then turned my brain into mush trying to figure out what to make for dinner-slash-breakfast.”“You know that—”“Shush,” Felix interrupted Minho before he could say anything that Felix wouldn’t have a good counterargument for. “Just endure this a little longer.”“Okay, okay.”Felix smiled to himself, but he still cut the hug much shorter than what he had taken from Jisung and Jeongin the day before. Stepping out of the hug, he flashed Minho a smile, snatched his tea, and made his way to the kitchen island where Hyunjin and Jisung had already sat down. He placed the cup on the counter, then moved the barstool in front of him to the side until it was as close to Hyunjin’s as possible. Finally, he sat down, swiveled around a little, and leaned back into Hyunjin’s chest, the other’s arms immediately snaking around him, holding him close.“Hyung,” Felix spoke up, his voice more subdued. He felt Jisung’s eyes immediately turning towards him and Hyunjin straightening a little in anticipation, but his eyes remained on Minho who had opened the fridge, taking out a series of ingredients, turning his head lightly to show that he was listening. “Am I really not getting any more night shifts?”Minho glanced at him briefly before he continued what he was doing. “I’m sorry, Lix. I would have preferred talking to you about that in person before making changes, but… The fact alone that I made you work night shifts would have already been highly illegal under any other circumstances. It was only somewhat in the gray area because several of my employees suddenly lost their food sources, so I wasn’t able to schedule them safely.”“And now things have become somewhat normalized again,” Felix mumbled, leaning more into Hyunjin who tightened his embrace, seeming to know that Felix needed the extra support. He was glad that everyone seemed to have figured their stuff out again, finally, but at the same time… “Can I at least come visit occasionally? I don’t want to completely lose contact with some of the staff…”“I mean, that too would be in the dark gray area, but at the end of the day, I can’t forbid you to come as a customer.”“Except, I couldn’t even stay now…” Right before he had had to go into quarantine, the government had issued a prohibition for the sale of food as anything but take-out. No customers were allowed to sit down to enjoy their tea or coffee or cake anymore…“About that… regulations are a little different at night. Since none of my customers then are supposed to be humans, thus lowering the risk of infection greatly,” Minho said and Felix nearly gaped at him. First, Minho’s café was exempt from the curfew, now it was even exempt from the ban of in-house dining. Well, at night, anyway. It definitely seemed a little unfair to Felix because Minho’s café still had enough guests who were very human, like witches or werewolves.But at the end of the day, there was nothing he could do about the regulations. And it was good that at least the non-humans still got the chance to meet, wasn’t it?One day, the regulations would fall again. Things would get easier. Life would go on. And until that day, Felix still had Hyunjin. No one could take that away.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Minho had been called upon to attend yet another witch conference which had started on that day and took place in Seoul. Which meant that Felix was once again listed as one of the light-emergency-contacts at the café.A fact that was all the funnier considering he ran around like a headless chicken on the first day that he was back. He was working an awkward middle shift, just a few hours during their rush time, really, which he was grateful for since he still didn’t fully feel like his normal self. Maybe Hyunjin had also taken a tad too much two nights earlier… Then again, red was still vaguely bleeding into his usually brown eyes, so Felix knew that Hyunjin hadn’t even been able to drink enough to satisfy his hunger. And he’d be damned if he didn’t secretly feel bad about that, no matter how little he could do about it.The shift was rather calm despite Felix’s constant confusion about everything he did. The new regulations clearly frightened off customers, and Felix didn’t know whether to be grateful for that or not.Tired, he made his way back to Hyunjin’s place where he was supposed to stay for another night before he’d return home to Chan. Minho should also be there by that point. While he had agreed to house a fellow witch during the conference, he nevertheless had Jisung to take care of. And Felix had been inconspicuously advised to take a walk with Jeongin and Hyunjin once the other two were up. The details weren’t all that difficult to figure out.Felix stretched his neck lightly as he made his way out of the subway. It was still light out, so hopefully he’d get the chance to snuggle back into bed and watch Hyunjin wake up. He smiled at that thought, warm fuzziness tingling through him at the mere mental image of how soft Hyunjin always was at that time of the day.He rounded the corner, a light skip in his step despite his tiredness, but he came to an abrupt halt after only a few steps, eyes wide. In front of him, Hyunjin, Jisung, Jeongin, and Minho stood right in front of the gate to the first three’s house, the air around them hostile. Facing them stood three men in suits. One of them looked nervous, eyes flitting around. And between the other two men, Felix saw another young man, eyes already fixated on him, expression unreadable and face way too familiar to Felix, even with the mask that hid half his face.Felix took out his earphones with one hand, the other moving to absentmindedly pause his music, just as Hyunjin, Jisung, and two of the men in suits turned towards him. “What’s going on?” he asked, wanting to sound certain, but his voice bore a small tremble. Slowly, he walked closer to the scene, uncertainty filling him, dripping into his gut like slow poison.The man in a suit closest to him put on a polite smile. “Nothing, sir, please move on,” he said, the tone of his voice overly professional to the degree of being fake.Felix frowned at him, glanced at the one next to him who looked too similar to Seventeen’s Jun for Felix to be able to trust his eyes. Finally, his eyes landed on the four men closer to the gate. “Hyungs, what’s going on?”“Sir, your friends are a little busy right now, please—” The man in a suit completely ignored Hyunjin’s low growl as he stepped closer towards Felix, attempting to touch him before flinching and pulling back at lightening speed with a hiss. Vampire!Felix used the moment of confusion to move closer to Minho who immediately pulled him slightly behind himself just as Jeongin started speaking, his voice dripping venom, “Newborn. Accidental turning. Some shit about a ‘high profile’ and ‘high security’ case that we are supposed to take care of. Because they want him to move in with us.”“What?” Felix’s head whipped around towards Jeongin at that last sentence. “They can’t do that!”“They can,” Minho supplied. “I’ll explain it to you later.”Felix opened his mouth to protest, but Hyunjin beat him to it, “It appears we should hurry a bit.” His voice was colder than Felix had ever heard it and he moved a little closer to Minho, his hand searching for his friend’s. He looked over towards the person who could truly be none other than Seventeen's Jun. How was that even possible?Jun’s eyes seemed to be glued to Felix and Minho, irises shining with such a bright red that Felix needed a double-take. His hand finally found Minho’s, entangling their fingers, grateful when Minho gently squeezed his hand.“This newcomer—” the second man in a suit started, but he was cut off by Hyunjin once again.“—belongs to us.” His voice was piercing, leaving no room for objections. “We expect something in return for you dropping this kid on us on such short notice.”The first man in a suit scoffed while the other narrowed his eyes on Hyunjin before having to turn to Jun. He seemed to be in charge of keeping Jun right where he was. Finally, the first man answered. “You’re in no position to make demands.”“We won’t be asking too much,” Hyunjin continued, “just your voice regarding a certain legislation.”The man scoffed. “The legislation has gone through.”“And Korea has a history of first making a law and then amending it until it’s actually practicable. We’re asking you to put in your voice to make it practicable.”“We’re not saying that we don’t see the use of the legislation—in cases of emergency,” Jisung jumped in, his voice sounding slightly aloof. “What we want, though, is equal distribution instead of hierarchical distribution in times of normalcy. We understand that newborns have to be the priority—but the current wording makes it sound like you would refuse catering to older vampires.”“And you’ll have to admit that this worry isn’t unfounded,” Hyunjin continued. “The amended version of the legislation would even work in your favor. Unless, of course, you prefer live-feeding.” Something ugly mixed into his voice, dangerous, like he was a predator waiting for his prey to show the tiniest sign of weakness.“Done,” the man in a suit snarled, glaring at Hyunjin so darkly that Felix squeezed Minho’s hand, holding his breath. Despite having reached a solution, the argument appeared to be far from over.“If that’s all…” the second man started and Hyunjin gave him a curt nod, as did the first man.That was when the third man, presumably one of Seventeen’s managers, took a step forward. “How fast can he return to work?”A deafening silence answered him. Felix glanced over when he heard Jeongin’s cold laughter just before the demon turned away and stepped through the gate behind them. Jisung and Hyunjin seemed to take the question barely a notch more serious. “Excuse me?” Hyunjin’s tone clearly conveyed that this was less a request for a repetition and more the offer to rethink asking the question in the first place.The manager, though, appeared to either not get the hint or blatantly ignored it. “I asked when he can return to work.”Jisung scoffed and turned away as well, signaling that he was leaving the field to Hyunjin. “Judging by experience, you should be able to start slowly after about four months, especially with a company as big as yours appears to be. Further steps will have to be determined then.” His tone made clear that the answer was non-negotiable, but the manager expectedly spluttered at it.“Four months? That’s impossible! He needs to be back in two weeks at the latest!”“That’s not happening.”“Then make it happen! That’s what we’re here for, right?” The man looked back and forth between the two sides, likely searching for allies. Jun was the only one who wore an equally agonized expression, but even he didn’t dare to speak up. Eventually, the manager turned back towards Hyunjin. “I need him back in two weeks, that’s the maximum I can take him off schedule.”“Okay.” Felix’s eyes widened at Hyunjin’s suddenly light tone. “But if that’s what you want, we will not be taking the kid in. I will not have my name dragged in the mud from such neglectfulness. And I hope you are prepared for the massacre you’re setting up.”Felix’s breath caught in his throat and his heart stuttered at the nonchalance with which Hyunjin was saying those words. Hyunjin, though, merely turned away to leave, followed by Jisung, but before he even reached the gate, the manager called out once again.“Wait! Wait! You can’t… That’s… What do you need?”Hyunjin stopped, then turned around, slowly. “I told you: four months at the minimum.”“But we don’t have four months!”“Then make him have four months. If you don’t like it, go somewhere else.”“I—”“I’ll do it!”Felix’s head whipped around to Jun who immediately cowered as far as the other man’s grip allowed it. He quickly regained his composure, though, and forcefully straightened his posture.“I’ll do it,” he repeated, his tone calmer and more certain this time.“You can’t make such a decision!” the manager immediately protested, but Hyunjin ignored him as he stepped around Jisung, his eyes trained on Jun.“You’ll do it?”Jun nodded, his shoulders moving up as if he was trying to make himself smaller. “I will. I don’t want to hurt anyone.”The manager took a few steps towards Jun. “You’re just a kid, you have no idea—”Something in Jun’s expression changed and movement flashed before Felix’s eyes. The next thing he knew was Jun letting out a choked noise from where he was suddenly held by both men in suits, pressed down to his knees, while Hyunjin stood in front of a stumbling back manager, one hand shooting out to steady the man. Jisung had appeared right in front of Minho at the same time and something dark poked at Felix’s vision. His gaze flickered over towards the gate where he found Jeongin, the air around him slightly distorted, as if the light was bending around him, leaving him in the shadows. Just like the night that the two of them had been ambushed.Hyunjin glanced over his shoulder, slower this time, then he relaxed his stance and went over towards Jun. “Let him go.”“But—” one of the two men protested, falling silent just a moment later. After a few more seconds, the two men obeyed.Hyunjin held out one hand towards Jun and Felix was dying to be able to see more. As it was, Hyunjin’s figure concealed Jun’s from where Felix was standing. “It’s okay,” Hyunjin said quietly, and Felix could only guess that his face had turned much softer, just like his tone. “You’ll be safe with us.”After endless seconds, Hyunjin straightened and Felix finally saw Jun again, standing up, seeming to cling to Hyunjin. Something dark and toxic shot through Felix and he quickly lowered his head, ignoring the sense of doom that suddenly lingered over him.“But—” the manager tried once again, falling silent after just one word.“You can get monthly updates.” Hyunjin’s voice was back to its harshness. “We’ll do what we can to speed up the process, but I will not be pushing him beyond what he can take. We can decide on further steps according to the updates. This conversation is done.”“Thank you,” one of the men in suits said, then a series of steps followed. Shortly after, Felix heard a car being started, then quietly driving off.Minho’s fingers wiggled a little, pulling until Felix realized that he was trying to get him to let go. Felix opened his hand, letting it fall to his side, still staring at the ground as Minho took a step away from him. “I’ll see if I can find any potions or charms that will help him,” he said quietly.“Thank you,” Jisung replied and Felix didn’t have to watch to know that they sealed the promise with a kiss.Hollowness had come back to him, leaving only a toxic mess sloshing somewhere at the bottom of his heart. Unfounded. Evading explanation. Shouldn’t he be happy that Hyunjin was this reasonable? That he was looking out like that even for a newborn he had just met? That he and Jisung had just gotten two potential allies to amend the damage that had been done by the change of legislation?“Felix?”He looked up, attempting a smile that would reach his eyes. Hyunjin looked too worried to buy it, holding something out for him. His laptop. Two chargers on top. The fake smile fell.“I don’t think it would be wise to have you inside right now with a newborn, but I guess you’d need those.”“Thanks,” Felix mumbled. He took the laptop from Hyunjin’s hands, then fumbled a little with his bag until he had everything stowed away before he shouldered his bag again.He couldn’t even get a kiss goodbye because it was still deemed too dangerous for him to take off his charmed bracelet in public. Or the mask.A sharp sting shot through him, took his breath away, made his throat constrict. Felix swallowed against it, looking up into Hyunjin’s eyes while smiling the brightest smile. “Good luck with everything. We’ll be texting!”“Lix…” Hyunjin reached out one hand before dropping it, his expression conflicted. He didn’t seem to fully buy the smile, but he also appeared to be too much on the fence about it to actually ask.“Wait, I’ll take you home,” Minho hurried, but Felix shook his head.“Don’t worry about it, I’ll just take the subway.” With another beaming smile towards Minho, Felix turned away, keeping up his bright composure in the silence that followed him.Once he had rounded the corner, the hollowness won. “Felix?”Felix didn’t answer. Couldn’t answer. He didn’t have the energy. He just left his shoes and mask by the door, then dropped off his bag next to the bathroom door before robotically washing his hands. He intended to just go into his room until Chan was done working, but by the time that Felix was done in the bathroom, Chan was already standing in the doorframe to his own bedroom, arms open, and Felix gravitated into him, burying himself into his best friend.Minutes passed by before Chan spoke up again. “What happened?”“You don’t have to work anymore?”“Screw the project, I can work on that tomorrow. Sofa, ice cream, then we talk?”Felix let out a quiet noise of agreement, not letting go of Chan right away, though. And still, a few minutes later, he found himself just like Chan had suggested: on the sofa, a tub of ice cream in one hand, spoon in the other, sitting with his side leaning against the backrest so they could look at each other while everything spilled out of him. And Chan simply listened. Hugged him when their ice cream was done. The next day, Felix forced himself to simply focus on university. Chan came knocking on his door at one point, but Felix had to tell him off since he was in the middle of a class and couldn’t always prioritize chatting over his classes.He somehow did manage to lose himself in university work even after his classes were over, texts and an in-depth analysis of a short musical clip proving to be the perfect distraction to the hollowness he felt inside.The light inside his room was dimming and Felix couldn’t help the strong urge of slipping into Hyunjin’s bed, of snuggling, waiting for the other to wake up… He should probably turn on the light.Oh well, just a little more.The doorbell rang, but since he didn’t expect anyone over, he played the short clip once more, eyes trained on the screen with unbroken focus. Well, at least until Changbin’s loud voice made it through to him.“You’re not the birthday boy!” Felix frowned at that and paused the video in favor of minimizing the window. He looked at the corner of the screen, squinting at the numbers as he tried to recall how his birthday had come around without him noticing. He was always excited about his birthday…“Birthday boy literally hasn’t left his room all day.”“What? That’s unacceptable! LEE YONGBOK!”Felix grimaced to himself at the use of his Korean name and he barely got the chance to take out his earphones when his door was thrust open unceremoniously, revealing Changbin with a fake-angry expression.“You haven’t answered my texts all day, how dare you! Now get up, I need to congratulate you!”Felix couldn’t help the small smile that tugged at his lips at his friend’s vigor. He played with the thought of resisting just for the sake of it, but fearing that his laptop would get crushed under a Changbin who would most probably throw himself onto the bed, Felix did climb out of bed and let Changbin pull him into a tight hug. A moment later, another set of arms wrapped around him.“Happy birthday, Lixie,” Chan said quietly while Changbin started singing to him, purposefully loud and so off-key that Felix tried to wiggle out of the hug, laughing the longer the song dragged on.Eventually, they settled down, though, and Felix avoided the others’ eyes. “I don’t really feel like celebrating, to be honest.”“But it’s your birthday! Come on, you can’t let the stuff that happened yesterday ruin your birthday,” Changbin argued, but Felix just shrugged.“I’m really not in the mood, though.”They were all silent for a moment and Felix knew that this was uncharacteristic for him. He was probably worrying quite a lot of people at this point because he hadn’t looked at his phone even once! But… But. These past nearly three weeks had been tough. And he just really wasn’t in a festive mood.“Well, then how about we just watch a nice movie and cuddle and eat that cake that I brought, hm?” Changbin offered eventually, finally prompting Felix to look up again.“You brought cake?”“Of course I did! What’s a birthday without cake?”Warmth mixed into the hollowness that Felix had been feeling so often lately and he nodded. “Alright. Movie, cuddles, and cake. That sounds like a good way to spend a birthday.”“Better than staying all holed up in your room?” Chan asked, only getting a pout from Felix in return. “What? I really haven’t seen you all day and it’s not like I didn’t try!”“Sorry… I really did kind of just get lost in university stuff.”“Well, no more university stuff now!” Changbin decided, grabbed Felix’s wrist, and pulled him along.Felix easily followed his friend into the living room, getting comfortable on the sofa as Chan and Changbin prepared everything they’d need to ensure that none of them had to get up for quite another while. If only Hyunjin was there… Maybe Jisung, Jeongin, and Minho as well…No, he shouldn’t think like that. He had Chan and Changbin by his side, that was a huge blessing! Hyunjin, Jisung, and Jeongin had an arguably more important task at hand. And Minho was stuck with yet another conference and helping the other three.An overwhelming sense of uselessness overcame Felix and he pulled his knees to his chest, looking down because he knew that he wouldn’t be able to keep up a smile for his friends. Chan and Changbin were doing so much for him, he couldn’t be ungrateful towards them!Even though Felix hadn’t intended or wanted to, he ended up retelling everything to Changbin, starting with the loss of his night shifts and ending at leaving the others the day before. Changbin had held out his arms at one point and ever since, Felix was cuddled into his friend’s strong embrace. “I still don’t understand why they could just do that… Who even were they?”“Those two men?” Changbin asked back and Felix hummed in confirmation. “Likely government agents. And… well, they were very much allowed to do it.”“But how?”Changbin squirmed a little underneath him, but he still continued to talk. “You see, there are two ways for people with magic to find homes: one is to look for a place ourselves, like basically everyone else does. The other is to ask the government for help. It’s an easy process that will usually guarantee quick, somewhat cheaper housing that will fulfill our needs.”Felix nodded softly. “Yeah, the others told me about that at some point.”“Especially in huge cities like Seoul, many of us will rely on the government help since it’s almost impossible to find something good and affordable on our own,” Changbin continued. “There’s one downside, though: if the housing they find for us has more bedrooms than we need, the government can place other magical creatures with us.”“What?” Felix pushed himself up a little, eyes widening slightly in shock as he stared at Changbin, then at Chan. Both of them nodded in response. “Why, though?”“Housing shortages. And, in situations like the one you described, a kind of safety net that those experienced with magic or whatever will help those who are new to all of this,” Chan replied.Felix pouted, but the explanation made too much sense for him to argue against, so he lay down against Changbin again, getting comfortable. “So that is what happened? They had a newborn vampire and put him into a house of two vampires and one demon that still had a free bedroom?”The other two nodded once again and Changbin went on with his explanation, “We are made aware of this from the very beginning and it’s actually part of our contracts, that we will accept newcomers into our homes if needed. Though these kinds of things are usually very rare done less rushed when they do happen.”“They were probably in more of a haste because Jun is an idol and they wouldn’t have wanted for news like this to slip,” Chan provided and Felix hummed, mentally poking at the hollowness that once again spread through him.Why did it have to hurt so much? Jun was a newborn vampire who needed help. He had to feel incredibly lost—being turned in the middle of a pandemic with everything out of order, life already turned upside down, then torn away from his band members and thrown into a different house with three roommates who had met him with hostility… Well, it was rather the other three men who had been met with hostility while Hyunjin at least had been kind towards Jun. Felix should be proud to have a boyfriend like that. He should be happy for his idol to have been placed in a house where he knew he’d be treated and taught well. He should feel for Jun for having to go through all of this to begin with.And instead, Felix hated even the thought of it. He hated that Jun was there. Hated that Hyunjin had reached his hand out the night before and that Jun had been able to take it while Felix hadn’t been able to hold his boyfriend’s hand or kiss him. Hated that he had had to leave early. Hated that he didn’t know when he’d be able to see Hyunjin again. Hated knowing that he couldn’t do anything to help aside from staying away.“By the way, is Hyunjin gonna come over later?” Changbin asked and it was only then that Felix realized that none of them had spoken for a while. Yet the silence continued as he looked up, blankly staring at his friend for a few seconds.“No?”Changbin frowned. “‘No’ as in ‘you don’t know’ or ‘no’ as in ‘he’s really not coming over’?”“Well, I don’t think he’d come over. We never really talked about it, but… Yeah, we just never talked about it.”“And did he text you anything?”Felix looked away, embarrassed. “I kind of didn’t look at my phone all day.”“Is that why you didn’t answer any of my texts?” Changbin looked scandalized at that, his eyes widening almost comically when Felix nodded. “Well, go get your phone! You have to make sure that your boyfriend texted you! And your family is probably worried that they haven’t heard from you all day!”“Hyung!!” Felix whined, trying to cuddle close again, but Changbin easily fought him off and pushed him to his feet. Felix pouted at him, but he still gave in and made his way to his room.He let out a quiet sigh when he saw the sheer endless amount of texts that he had gotten. Figuring that the other two would have to wait for a moment, he flopped down on his bed, unlocking his phone.Skimming over the notifications revealed a much more manageable amount of texts. His heart sank, though, when he noticed no messages from Hyunjin. Or Jisung or Jeongin, for that matter. But that was okay. They had a newborn vampire to take care of. That was stressful. They probably just hadn’t remembered it the night before.Felix let out a quiet sigh as he briefly went into his chat with Changbin, merely skimming over the messages. Changbin had wished him a happy birthday almost right at midnight, eventually fizzling into some complaints about Felix not answering and ending in the links of two cat videos. He should remember to check those out later… Next, he answered his family, hoping that they hadn’t actually worried about him. Lastly, he shot Momo and Minho a quick ‘thank you’ to their happy birthday wishes.Finally done, Felix crossed his arms on the bed and rested his head on them. When had it gotten dark outside? It had happened at some point while he had been in the living room, hadn’t it? That meant Hyunjin should be up…Felix closed his eyes, swallowing against the sudden tightness in his throat, the overwhelming sense of being forgotten. It was okay. He didn’t even remember whether he had talked about this with the others at any point. They might not even know that it was his birthday. And even if they did, they were clearly busy.“What do we do with you, hm?” Chan’s quiet voice came from the direction of the door, prompting Felix to open his eyes and twist a little until he could see the other two standing in the doorframe. He only offered them a light shrug, unsure what could really make him feel better when hugs and cake proved to be much less successful than they should have been.Before either of them could come up with a suggestion, Felix’s phone vibrated. He glanced over, sitting up when he saw Hyunjin’s name on the screen. His thumb already hovered over the green button to accept, but then he looked towards Chan and Changbin instead. The other two were there for him, with him. Wouldn’t it be too rude to just accept?“Go ahead,” Chan said quietly with a warm, honest smile, and Changbin nodded as well.Felix smiled back softly and finally answered the call. “Hey,” he said quietly, watching Chan and Changbin leave the room, pulling the door close to give him more privacy.“I’m so sorry for only reaching out now! Happy birthday!” The words sounded almost rushed and Felix lay back down on the bed, relaxing a little because it was so clear that Hyunjin felt bad. From somewhere in the background, Jisung and Jeongin called out ‘happy birthday’ as well.“It’s okay,” Felix replied quietly.“No, it’s not! Your birthday is almost over!” Hyunjin protested immediately.“I didn’t even check my phone all day. Changbin-hyung kind of forced me to check it a few minutes ago, so you called at the perfect time.”“And you should have at least had a text from me when you did check your phone,” Hyunjin continued.Of course that would have been nice, but… “It’s fine, hyung. Really.”Hyunjin huffed, still sounding upset, but at least he didn’t protest any further. “Well, what have you been doing all day?”Felix shrugged lightly even though Hyunjin wouldn’t be able to see it. “Just university stuff, actually, nothing interesting. Until Changbin-hyung came over, like, half an hour ago? He forced me to stop. Then I had cake with Chan-hyung and Changbin-hyung…”“That’s no way to spend a birthday.”“As if you are any better,” Jisung’s voice came from the background and Hyunjin hissed back a response.It was quiet for a bit, then Hyunjin spoke up again, “Alright, I’m back in my room, that should at least keep Jisung from hearing you.”“You’re no better?” Felix asked, though, intrigued about Jisung’s point.A beat of silence passed before Hyunjin answered, “Well, I don’t even know when my birthday is.”“Do you remember what season it was in?”“No. It wasn’t really such an important thing back when I was born… And it certainly hasn’t been important since I was turned.”Felix frowned. “Then just pick a date. What’s a date that you like?”“That’s not really how birthdays work, though, is it?”“Of course not. But who really cares? I mean, you would have also needed a birthday for legal documents, right?”Hyunjin hummed almost absentmindedly. “Jeongin wants you to know that he did that. Pick a random day that he liked and declared it his birthday.”“So much for not being able to hear me, huh?”“Well, if Jisung hadn’t ‘just so happened to need something’ from upstairs, he wouldn’t have heard you,” Hyunjin replied, sounding displeased. Felix smiled at the thought that Jisung—and probably Jeongin as well—had followed Hyunjin just to listen in on the conversation. “Jisung claims that it was really only coincidence.”“Let’s act like we believe him.” Hyunjin huffed, but he didn’t protest, so Felix changed the topic. “Are you free to come over for a bit?” Hope immediately blossomed inside Felix, and he turned to lie on his side.“I would love to…” But. Hyunjin didn’t have to say it for Felix to hear it in the other’s defeated voice. And the hope evaporated, disappearing into thin air and leaving behind the same hollowness that had become such a constant visitor to Felix.“I get it,” he said quietly, hoping that Hyunjin wouldn’t pick up on the change of tone. “You must be busy.”“I’m sorry, Lix. I should probably get going…” There was a small, hopeful undertone to Hyunjin’s voice, as if he wanted for Felix to argue, to keep him on the phone, as if he would stay if only Felix asked him to.“So should I. I’ve kept Chan-hyung and Changbin-hyung waiting for too long already,” Felix said instead.The silence that followed was filled with let-down hopes, defeat, and something like betrayal. As if Felix had gone off script by refusing to play a game of bargaining for more call-time.“I’ll talk to you later,” Felix added when he heard nothing else and this time, he could hear the disappointment in his own voice, though he wasn’t sure whether he was disappointed because of Hyunjin or himself.“I… yes,” Hyunjin agreed, his voice so small that Felix immediately wanted to go back on his words. Instead, he ended the call and forced himself to get out of bed, out of his room. Right back onto the sofa that was definitely too small for himself, Chan, and Changbin, but that left him perfectly squeezed between the other two. So neatly tucked away from the world between his two closest friends. Reminding him that he wasn’t dissolving, crumbling into the nothingness that filled him.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Felix’s colleague the next day was nice to him and let him go early, but the day after, he wasn’t quite that lucky. They got an unexpected rush in the evening and, since it was just the two of them, the counter ended up looking a little messier than it should have. So even though Felix didn’t really have the energy for it, he stayed until they closed and quickly finished up with his coworker.Felix planned to leave right after, but then Seungmin was there and gave him a look, so he ended up staying behind, chatting with Seungmin for a bit, letting the other’s voice comfort him as he started humming along to a song that was playing on their stereo.It was only when Seungmin stopped singing and humming to greet the next night shift worker that Felix was ripped out of his stupor. He blinked, a little confused about how he could have gotten that lost in Seungmin’s voice, but also feeling much better. It was almost like someone had filled his insides with downs—soft, gentle, warm, leaving no room for the hollowness from the past few days.“It’s your voice, isn’t it?” he asked quietly when their coworker had disappeared into the staff area.Seungmin glanced at him with an amused smile. “Finally figured it out, huh? Took you long enough.” Felix merely rolled his eyes at that, but he was still grateful when Seungmin continued. “Yes, I’m a siren.”“Is that why you looked like you were ready to commit murder that first time I worked a night shift?”“Was that the time I lost my voice?” Seungmin tilted his head lightly and Felix simply nodded. Dismay immediately washed over Seungmin’s features and gave a strong nod. “Yes. A siren without their voice… That’s basically as if someone ripped out your heart.”“Ouch.” Felix grimaced at the mental image. “Is this also why you’re usually at the register? And why people buy so many extras from you?”Seungmin grinned. “You noticed that, huh? Yes, that’s why.”“That sounds a little unethical.”“Sounds more ethical to me than living off of blood or fear. Or torturing humans upon being summoned.”“Ew, don’t remind me.” Felix pushed himself off the counter just as the other staff member returned to the front. “I’ll take this as my sign to leave.”Seungmin just laughed while their coworker looked confused, but Felix decided that this wasn’t going to be his problem. Instead, he hurried to get outside, making a mental note that he’d have to text Chan once he was in the subway to let the other know why he was late.The door was opened just as Felix reached it, making him jump back so he wouldn’t get hit by it. He hurried to grab the door to allow their customer to come through more easily, putting on his best smile that would reach his eyes, a task that was so much easier than it had been during the past few days.“Please come in first,” he started cheerfully as his eyes met their customer’s. His voice faded, the smile falling. Icy shock pierced his heart, paired with surprise and a daunting sensation that dripped into his gut like molten lead.Chan’s mother stared right back at him, eyes wide, hair falling over her shoulders freely. Her face was more tanned than it had ever been while she had lived in Korea, but the small creases that Felix spotted on her face spoke of deep worries.Why was she here? Was it because of the conference? Then why hadn’t he known about it? Had Chan known? If it was for the conference, had she already been here for days? Had she been in Seoul on his birthday?“What are you doing here?” Her voice was sharp, tone cutting, and Felix flinched back. Within a heartbeat, she seemed to re-assess the situation, grabbed his wrist, and pulled him outside without even giving Felix the chance to throw a panicked glance over his shoulder.She pulled him a few steps further into the mouth of a small alley. The same alley where Felix had seen that vampire feed months earlier. A shiver ran down his spine and he automatically moved closer to the main street, glancing down the alley uncomfortably. He had never again seen anyone there, but the mental image of that vampire raising their head, mouth dark with blood, had imprinted itself into his mind too vividly.“Felix, I’m asking you again, what were you doing in that café?” Chan’s mother repeated, this time in English, her voice softer by a margin.Felix shook his head lightly to get himself to focus on the situation at hand, then he looked back at her. “I work there. But why are you—”“You shouldn’t.”“What?” Felix could only stare at her, trying to process her words.“I said that you shouldn’t work there. Do you know what kind of establishment that is?” Her voice was pressed with worry, even a tinge of anger, and Felix took a small step back, wrapping his arms around himself.“Yes, I do. But I only work there during the day.” Well, at least by that point he did, but he had a feeling that it wouldn’t be a smart move to reveal that he had worked night shifts at that café. “I was just chatting with my coworkers and forgot the time, that’s all.” He hated how small his voice got under her eagle eyes, hated feeling like a teenager all over again.“Felix, that place isn’t safe for you.”Well, it’s certainly safer in there than standing outside in a small alley in the middle of the night, Felix wanted to argue, but he clenched his teeth, swallowing the words back down. Before he could come up with a good argument, though, he heard his name from his other side.“Felix!” He glanced over, finding Seungmin approaching them without his apron but therefore wearing a light jacket, eyeing them warily. “Is everything okay?” His eyes moved to Felix, bearing an intensity that almost had the latter crumble. Instead, he nodded, lowering his eyes.“I’m fine. This is Channie-hyung’s mother, don’t worry about it. You should go back inside.”To Felix’s surprise, Seungmin did the exact opposite and took a step closer. “No. I’m not leaving you like this.”Chan’s mother let out a huff, still not bothering to switch back to Korean. “We’re not done with this conversation, young man.”“Mother, wait!” Felix took a quick step closer to her when she started turning away, both of them freezing. Was he even still allowed to call her that? Did he still want to call her that, after everything that had happened during the past year? “I just… Why are you here? In Korea, I mean. I thought Australia closed the borders?” He took another tentative step closer, carefully speaking in English as well even though he was certain that Seungmin could understand them perfectly well either way.Chan’s mother slowly turned back towards him, her expression carefully schooled. “I just had a business to attend here. I’m only staying for a few days, though.”“The conference?” Please say ‘no’, please! Her eyes sharpened. “You know about it?”Felix swayed lightly, stumbled back. He felt like someone had ripped open the floor right underneath his feet and he was falling, falling, falling… “You’ve been here since Monday?” His voice was barely above a whisper.Her eyes softened a little and something like guilt seemed to pass over her features. “I came to Seoul on Sunday. I’m sorry, Felix. I never meant for you to find out.” She smiled sadly, then she turned away.Felix’s legs gave in and he simply let himself fall to the ground. The soft downs that had filled him were drenched, weighing him down, drowning him from the inside. His throat constricted and his eyes burned, but even when his lip started trembling, he only clenched his jaw and his fists. He wouldn’t cry. He wouldn’t cry, he wouldn’t cry, he wouldn’t cry!“Felix?” Seungmin’s voice was careful and so, so close. How little it would take for Felix to bury himself into Seungmin, to cry his heart out, to cry until all the formerly fluffy downs were but a matted, ugly mess.Instead, Felix took a deep breath, then fought his way back to his feet. He had to go home. Had to ask Chan. And if Chan had known… then what? Then where?“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.” His voice sounded more stable than he had dared to hope but Seungmin still watched him carefully, as if he was just waiting for Felix’s façade to crumble.Eventually, he nodded. “Get home safely, okay?”Felix nodded and started to leave before another thought crossed his mind and he turned around once more, facing Seungmin. “Thank you for just now. Thank you for coming after me.”Seungmin shook his head lightly. “It looked like she was kidnapping you. It already took me way too long to get out here. If she had been a vampire or a demon, she could have been long gone.”“She really is just Chan-hyung’s mother. Don’t worry. But still: thank you. I appreciate it.” Without even attempting to fake another smile since his mask would hide it anyway, Felix turned away and left.He went through the motions with his way back home, but no matter how much he was spacing out, just trying to keep himself together, it seemed to take forever until he finally stepped through the apartment door.Chan was on him almost immediately. “Lixie! Are you okay? What happened? Why are you so late? No, wait, really, what happened?’Felix fought to toe off his shoes, unable to meet his best friend’s eyes. “Did you know that your mother is in town?” he asked quietly.Chan froze before letting out a truly remarkable series of curses. Especially considering he never cursed.Felix used the time to take off his mask and put down his bag. Just as he started his way to the bathroom to wash his hands, Chan seemed to finally collect himself again. “You met her? Bullshit, of course you’ve met her! Yes, she literally told me five hours ago when she asked me to have dinner with her. When I told her that we couldn’t eat out and proposed to eat here instead, she asked me, like, ten times if you really weren’t home and told me about a hundred times not to let you know that she was in town. What the hell? How did you meet her?”“Ran into her as I was making my way out of the café.”Chan scoffed. “Wow, that plan went well then.” He ran a hand through his hair, letting out an annoyed sigh. “I take it you haven’t checked your phone.” It wasn’t even phrased like a question, but Felix still shook his head as he dried his hands. “I texted you after she asked to have dinner together. I hate all this secrecy. You deserve to know about all of this.” Felix shrugged lightly and took a step closer to Chan, sneaking his arms around the other and resting his head on his shoulder, closing his eyes when Chan’s arms immediately came up and around him as well, holding him close. “I’m sorry you had to find out like this. I really can’t believe that she was here for your birthday and didn’t come over! How are you feeling?”Felix shrugged once more. “It hurts, I guess. That she still can’t let me in. That she knows that I know and still…” Something hot and silent ran down his cheek and Felix untangled one of his arms to wipe it away, almost surprised to find himself crying. But with one tear gone, another came, and the flood gates that he had kept so carefully locked earlier were bust open.Chan simply pulled him into the living room and onto their sofa, then close again, holding him quietly.“I looked a bit more into my family history,” Chan spoke up when Felix had stopped crying, feeling drained with a headache oncoming. But he couldn’t be bothered to move to get himself something to drink. Maybe he’d simply dissolve if Chan let go of him. “It just seemed so unfair that mom and Hannah won’t let you in, you know? Because you’re family, you deserve to know about all of this.”Felix cuddled a little closer in the only way that he knew how to let Chan know how much he appreciated him in that moment. Chan briefly tightened his hug before gently caressing Felix’s back as if he understood.“Apparently, our family lineage goes all the way back to before the witch hunt and the witch trials. And back then, the witches in our family were apparently really well respected while practicing very openly. They might have even have been some of the most well-known and most respected witches at the time, but that I’m not entirely confident about. Anyway, I don’t know how, but while they apparently killed the majority of that side of my ancestors, one girl appears to have survived and continued on the family lineage.“There are a handful of others who survived from different lineages and from what I’ve been able to find out, they all have a tendency of being highly suspicious of humans and advise not to let humans in. There are some that still highly value helping humans. And I guess that mom and Hannah fall right into that category: help humans but never let them get so close that they could hurt you.”Felix furrowed his brows. “But then why take me in? I get it from the helping perspective, but why take in a human if you don’t want to actually let him in?”Chan shook his head. “I honestly don’t understand that either. And when I once tried asking mom, she immediately got really defensive, so I kinda never asked again. All I know is that I’m grateful that you came to live with us.”Felix let out a quiet huff, breathing out his mild agitation along with it. “She wants me to quit.”“What?” Chan went rigid under Felix, his hand stilling on Felix’s back, but the human could only nod.“I won’t. But she wants me to. I told her I was only working day shifts, but… yeah… I guess she wasn’t too amused about the fact that I know what happens in the café at night. And just generally that I work in a place that also targets non-humans…”“I can’t believe that she’d try to meddle with that.”Felix shrugged lightly. “With how much she’s against me even just knowing about anything supernatural, I’m not surprised. Oh, she also said that she wants to continue the conversation at some point, so yeah…”“So she might drop by one of these days.”“I guess so…”Chan let out a soft sigh. “I just hope she at least won’t come over while you’re in a class.”Felix let out a quiet hum of agreement, trying to keep his mind empty.But the nothingness followed him into his dreams. Called him worthless, useless, unlovable, not trustworthy, not good enough. It tossed him aside while everyone around him moved on, kept him behind an invisible wall as he had to watch everyone leave. The only thing he remembered in the morning were the feeling of loneliness reaching its cold, slimy tentacles out to him, holding on tight to him, as he could only watch as Hyunjin left, looking behind once more with something like pity in his eyes before turning away, his arm wrapped around someone else’s waist.He was beside himself all day, spacing out more often than not, waiting for the doorbell to ring to announce the inevitable.All that happened, though, was a knock on the door when he and Chan had started preparing dinner. “Don’t worry, I got it,” Chan said as he put down his vegetable knife and Felix merely hummed, continuing to cut his own share of the vegetables that they needed. If someone was knocking on their door, it was probably just some neighbor who needed something that they couldn’t get at the convenience store.What he had not been prepared for was the shocked “Mom!” he heard seconds later. Felix’s knife fell to the table with a clatter and he stopped breathing, eyes wide as he listened to Chan’s mother entering.“Hey Chan, I’m sorry for coming over unannounced.” Her voice was soft, gentle, and Felix had to fight a wave of tears. Why wouldn’t she talk to him in that way anymore?Why wouldn’t she love him anymore?“No, it’s… We were more or less expecting you,” Chan replied, defeat weighing on his voice. They were both speaking English, probably on instinct.“He told you.” His mother’s voice had immediately turned sharp.“Yes, Felix told me. Of course he did. And also, he can hear you.” There was a dangerous edge to Chan’s voice and a tiny part of Felix was thankful for it, thankful to know that Chan still had his back.Felix looked down at the half-cut bell pepper on his cutting board, listening to the steps that came inevitably closer, waiting for the hammer to fall. There was movement to his left as Chan pulled back the chair there, sitting down close to Felix.“Mom, please sit,” he said quietly into the tense silence.Felix’s shoulders moved up and he wished he could hide, wished he could avoid the conversation that was about to happen. Was he really so wrong for still wanting to work at Minho’s café? Why couldn’t Chan’s mother just let him be?“What happened to your neck?”Felix’s hand flew up at her sharp remark and his head snapped up, eyes widening, then blurring with tears when he was met with her disappointed gaze. His hand hovered over the purple bruises on his neck, specifically over the spot that Hyunjin had fed from just a few nights earlier. But it was too late. She had seen it.Her eyes narrowed further on him as she slowly sat down on the chair across from him. “Felix, what happened to your neck?”Felix’s mouth opened, but then closed, words trying to rush out only to form knots in his throat, none of them making it. His heart already grieved the gentle tone she had used earlier.“Is that your boyfriend’s doing?” Her voice turned almost nasty at the word ‘boyfriend’ and Felix looked down, pressing his lips together to keep even a semblance of his composure as his hand uselessly fell into his lap. She had no right to talk about Hyunjin in that kind of tone!“Mom, please don’t speak to him like that,” Chan protested, but his mother didn’t seem to pay him any mind.“Is that how you found out about all of this?”“No,” Felix replied. He momentarily considered elaborating the issue, but then he decided against it. She was already judging him so much, there was no need to make the situation even worse. Or to extend her judgement to Minho, Hyunjin, Jisung, and Jeongin.“No? Then how did you find out?”Felix shook his head, keeping his lips pressed together.“Alright, then is it your goal to become a vampire? Is that what this is all about?”Felix quickly looked up again as he vigorously shook his head. “No, it’s not!”“Oh? Then why get yourself a vampire?”“It’s not about him being a vampire! We just… Hyunjin and I just…”“What, you just clicked? You just happened to fall in love with each other?” Chan’s mother shook her head. “He should know better than this. This will only end in pain for both of you.”Her words were direct daggers to Felix’s hearts, exposing all of his own worries while leaving him to bleed out.“It’s not like every same-species relationship is bound to last forever,” Chan jumped in, sounding increasingly annoyed at the conversation. “So what that Hyunjin is a vampire and Felix is a human? Even if they were both vampires or humans, there’d be no guarantee that it wouldn’t end in heartache. And with things as they are right now, there’s no saying how long they will last. If Felix wants to stay a human, then hopefully they’ll have a few nice years together, and if he wants to be turned one day, then maybe they’ll have forever together, even if it’s at the price of leaving behind the other humans he’s known so far. But isn’t that his decision to make?”“He’s still too young to make a decision like that!”“Most people I know started dating in school and you’re telling me that Felix is too young to date someone at twenty?” His mother scoffed, but Chan didn’t back down. “This is not my or your decision to make. We can only stay by his side and support him, but neither you nor I have any business judging him for falling in love. And you haven’t seen him these past few months—he’s happy. And Hyunjin appears to be the same, so why would any of us try to get between them? That doesn’t make sense!”“No, what doesn’t make sense is to support a relationship that is doomed from the start.”“But it’s not doomed!” Chan leaned forward, closer to his mother. “At least Hyunjin doesn’t mind the fact that Felix is a human. Neither do I—or any of the other friends he’s made recently.”His mother’s eyes shot back to Felix who immediately cowered at her sharp gaze. “Do you even have any human friends at this point?” Those words weren’t even a plain dagger anymore. They were a dagger with rigged edges. Thrust into Felix’s heart, twisted, then pulled out again with no regard of the shreds of his heart that came with it.“‘At this point’?” Felix repeated, unable to stop the tears any longer as he looked down. “It’s not like that has ever worked for me. At least here in Korea.”The silence that followed was almost deafening. But the inside of Felix’s head was all the louder, filled with memories of his classmates pushing him away, making fun of him, some of them outright bullying him.“Felix, I’m sorry.” Chan’s mother’s voice had softened, but Felix refused to meet her eyes. “But I’d still rather not see you as a part of this scene.”“Then why take me in? If you never wanted me to know about all of this, why take me in?”“Because you were a child who needed a home in a foreign country and we could provide that for you.”“What is a roof over my head worth if the people living under it will shut me out of their lives?” Felix finally looked up, meeting Chan’s mother’s eyes for a second before looking away. “So what, you want me to quit? And break up with my boyfriend? Just because you can’t handle the thought of me being involved with any of this?” His lips twisted into an ugly smile. Chan’s hand came to gently rest on Felix’s own in his lap, warm and familiar and comforting and he looked down at them. “If that’s what you want, then you shouldn’t have taken me in. Then you should hate that Chan is my best friend. That we live together. But I never heard you protest any of that. You only started shutting me out when I met more people who aren’t fully human, when I started to learn about this and you couldn’t make me forget.”From the corners of his eyes, he saw her flinch. “You told him about that?”Chan nodded, squeezing Felix’s hand. “Felix asked me about it when I finally told him about what you, Hannah, and dad are. I was tired of lying to him.”The woman across the table sighed and a heavy silence settled over them once again, crushing Felix. Wasn’t it enough that he was already bleeding to death? Did he also have to get crushed like that?“Mom, if that’s all you wanted to say, then please leave now.” Chan’s voice was quiet but firm and Felix could have cried even more from just knowing that Chan was there, Chan was on his side. He wasn’t alone. Even as everyone else left or turned their backs on him, Chan was still there.“I just… Felix, think about it, okay?” Chan’s mother tried again, her voice considerably softer than it had been earlier. Felix, though, continued to look down, even when she pushed her chair back and got up with a quiet sigh. “I really wish it wouldn’t have come to this,” she said softly, then she left.Neither Chan nor Felix followed her to see her out and it was only when he heard their apartment door clicking shut that Felix’s resolve crumbled. He couldn’t help the sob, but Chan was there, immediately pulling him into a hug, holding him close once again.I really wish it wouldn’t have come to this. Wasn’t that just a different way of saying “I wish we never would have met”? “I wish we never would have taken you in”?Chan held Felix until he calmed down, until his tender heart stopped bleeding so profusely, until the pain turned into dull throbbing, very present, but a little more bearable. He was about to ask Chan whether they should continue cooking or just order take-out when the doorbell rang. Felix let out a quiet whine, holding Chan a little tighter.“It’s fine, I’m sure the person will leave on their own,” Chan said quietly, tightening his hug a little.Felix hummed and turned his head, eyes landing on the bell pepper. If he thought about it, he wasn’t even hungry anymore… But Chan was probably hungry, wasn’t he? And the bell pepper did look kind of sad… Even if they didn’t cook, they should probably put it into the fridge…The doorbell rang again, making Felix frown in dismay while Chan sighed. “I’ll tell them to go away,” he said and carefully untangled himself from Felix who let him go unwillingly, watching as Chan made his way into the hallway to answer the intercom. “Hello?”Felix couldn’t hear the answer well, but he still recognized Hyunjin’s voice, no matter how distorted. No matter how heavy his body felt, he still pushed himself up and went closer to the intercom, wanting to understand what was happening.“Yes, Lix is here.”“Could he meet me downstairs? To go to my place for a bit?”Chan frowned and looked over towards Felix who was similarly confused but too tired. “Why?” he mouthed and Chan relayed the question.“We just wanted to take some time to figure things out. With the new situation and all…”Felix looked down. Figure things out. This was the beginning of the end, wasn’t it? “I’ll go,” he said quietly. Because why drag it out? Why ruin still another day when this one was already perfectly in shambles? He might as well just take it all in one go, get it over with, then take time to heal. From everything. Figure out where he was standing. Back on his own with Chan and Changbin. Because that was where he would inevitably land, wasn’t it?“Are you sure?” Chan asked and Felix simply nodded. He didn’t even bother to change into more appropriate clothes, just grabbed his phone, wallet, and earphones, listening as Chan told Hyunjin that Felix was on his way. “Do you want me to come with you?”Felix shook his head lightly while putting on his shoes. “I’ll text you when I’m on my way back, alright?”Chan nodded lightly, then pulled him in for another hug that Felix could only lean into, knowing that if he hugged Chan back, he wouldn’t leave. Chan pressed a gentle kiss on top of Felix’s head before he leaned back. “I love you, okay? No matter what my mom said and no matter what happens tonight: I love you, I’m here for you.”Felix gave him a half-smile before looking away. “I love you, too. Thank you.”“Now go.” Chan squeezed Felix’s shoulders before letting go.Felix nodded and took a deep breath. He looked up into Chan’s eyes once more, grateful for the support that he found, then he turned around, grabbed his mask, and left.Hyunjin was waiting by the front door, brows creasing in a frown when their eyes met. Felix looked down just as the automatic door opened. “Hey,” Hyunjin greeted him, his voice soft and gentle and all Felix wanted to do was to throw himself into Hyunjin’s arms, forget about the rest of the world, forget about everything that had happened recently… “Are you okay?”Felix only shook his head, wrapping his arms around himself. “Let’s go,” he said quietly and made his way to the car. Hyunjin was by his side immediately, opening the passenger door for him as always, letting Felix get in first before he went around the car to get in as well.They had been on the road for a few minutes already before Hyunjin spoke up again, “Is there anything I can do for you?”Don’t leave me, were the first words that came to Felix’s mind, but he refused to let them spill out. He knew that he was in no position to make demands like that, especially not given the fact that them parting ways eventually was inevitable. Maybe Chan’s mother had been right…Realizing that he still hadn’t answered, Felix shook his head lightly. Because what could Hyunjin possibly do? What could Felix possibly ask for? Shouldn’t he truly just be grateful for what they had had? End it before he’d get his heart broken even worse?They arrived at the house long before Felix was ready to move again. But it couldn’t be helped, could it?He got out together with Hyunjin, entering the house and going through the motions of taking off his shoes, his mask, washing his hands… Voices drifted into the kitchen from the living room, cheerful, belonging… So unlike everything that Felix was.Hyunjin was beside him the entire time, a presence that should have been comforting, that should have filled the nothingness inside Felix with warmth… His fingers momentarily twitched to take off the charm, but then he just dropped his hands. No, it was probably better for him to leave it on. If for nothing else, then for the fact that Jun was a newborn vampire.Felix numbly made his way to the living room, only to freeze in his step right at the doorway. He could feel four pairs of eyes on him, could sense the mood shifting, but his eyes were trained on only one thing. On the second armchair. That hadn’t been in the living room in months.And the logical part of his brain understood that it probably meant nothing. That they had just needed the space to sit, that there was nothing more to it. But that part didn’t stop the bleeding of his heart, didn’t stop the pain, the certainty. That it was over. That there was no space for him anymore.“Felix?” Felix blinked, finding Jeongin standing in front of him, looking worried. “Hey, you okay? You need a hug?”Felix mutely shook his head, avoiding Jeongin’s held out arms as he made his way into the living room and sat down on the sofa, as close to the door as possible.“Lixie, what’s wrong?” Minho asked as well, but Felix once again shook his head, forcing his eyes away from the armchair that Jisung was sitting in with Minho on its armrest. Jun on the other armchair was but a shadow to Felix. “If you don’t feel well, we can also talk about all of this another day,” Minho went on, but Felix shook his head once more.“No, let’s do it now,” he replied, doing his best to make his voice sound normal, stable, and if he couldn’t make it sound confident then at least he managed to make it sound not hollow.Hyunjin and Jeongin slowly sat down on the sofa. Hyunjin reached one hand out but then seemed to remember that Felix hadn’t taken off his charm and he dropped his hand.Jisung cleared his throat. “So,” he started, “since we’re a little pressed on time, let’s get right into it then, shall we?”Hyunjin straightened, once again appearing to be the one in charge of the situation, just like he had been the other night. “Yes, let’s start this. So, I think we all know that we will have to make a few adjustments to how things were.” Felix gave the hint of the nod, not bothering to look up. “Because of that, we wanted to get everyone together to see what adjustments we’ll need to make for everyone to be satisfied.”“I would say that Jisung and I are pretty much fine?” Minho started, only taking a small break, probably for Jisung to react, before he continued, “I’ll just be coming over less. Which means: you all need to keep my plants here alive for a while. I’m also still trying to find charms or potions or whatever to help with the self-control issue. I have a few leads, but nothing’s set in stone yet. If all goes well, I should have something by next week, though.”“Next week already?” Jisung asked, sounding surprised.“Don’t get your hopes up; as I said, nothing’s set in stone yet.”“That means that the two of you will be the bigger issue for now,” Jeongin said and Felix could only assume that he and Hyunjin were meant with that statement.He finally looked up, his expression carefully blank. “Isn’t it easy?” He looked at Hyunjin whose expression was still conflicted, hope, concern, and worry mixing all at once. “I can’t come over, but the apartment isn’t a good place for Hyunjin-hyung to stay. So we can meet there for feeding before Hyunjin-hyung will come back here.”Hyunjin instantly shook his head. “No, that won’t do! I can’t just… We…”Felix just looked at him, waiting for an alternative that he knew wouldn’t come. Because feeding at the house clearly wasn’t an option with a newborn vampire around, leave alone everything that followed feeding. And even if Jisung were to go out with Jun for the time being, the scent of human and blood would probably still hang in the air, wouldn’t it? It also wouldn’t change the fact that Felix would have to leave right after the feeding. And the apartment was clearly not suitable for a vampire to stay long because it would be too loud, with too many scents around all the time—not to mention the fact that Felix and Chan didn’t have any blackout curtains. And Felix couldn’t even think about banning Chan from their apartment all the time, just to give him and Hyunjin some privacy. Meeting outside wasn’t an option either. And no matter what they did, Hyunjin would have to return quickly either way since he was apparently mostly in charge of Jun, wouldn’t he?“What about booking hotel rooms?” Jeongin suggested.“No. For, like, a hundred reasons,” Minho replied before anyone else could say a word, disgust dripping from his voice. And Felix mentally admitted that he shared Minho’s opinion and sentiments: not only would it make him feel dirty if they met at hotels rooms to spend only one night there, but it also still entailed the same problems as his apartment.Felix held Hyunjin’s desperate eyes for a moment longer, then he looked away, eyes landing on the living room table once again. Hyunjin wasn’t saying anything. He didn’t seem to have any better ideas either.“If that’s all, I’ll be leaving first.”“What?” Jisung made, sounding entirely taken aback.“That’s all that needed to be settled, isn’t it? Then I can leave.” Felix rose to his feet, turning away. Something ugly was settling inside him, something heavy, dark. He’d rather not be in this house when that something filled him completely. Or maybe it would explode and simply end him.“Lix!” Hyunjin called out and Felix could almost feel his hand. But the touch never came. What did come, though, was a low growl, though it didn’t seem to be directed at him.“You can’t touch him right now, he’s wearing the charm,” Jeongin stated matter-of-factly, not seeming intimidated by the growl in the slightest.A spark of hope tried to light up Felix’s insides, but it was quickly snuffed out by the overall darkness and Felix hurried to make his way out of the living room. Steps followed him, hurried. “Felix, what on earth is going on with you?” Minho asked, right behind Felix, but luckily not hindering him from putting on his shoes and his mask.Opening the door, Felix turned around once more, finding Hyunjin already walking past Minho. “At least let me take you home. We can—”“Goodnight,” Felix interrupted him with a finality in his voice that seemed to startle Hyunjin enough to halt in his tracks, just staring at Felix wide-eyed.Felix turned away and closed the door behind himself. It wasn’t exactly cold, but Felix still shivered at the night air, walking a little faster. Chan’s mother had been right. Things couldn’t last. Even with a minor change like this one, there was already no solution. All this time, they had solely relied on Hyunjin’s house being available, but without it, they were nothing. Hyunjin was dependent on him for feeding, and that was it. Jun was more important for the time being. And soon enough, they’d move on.Felix tilted his head back, blinking at the bright neon lights inside the subway, willing the tears away. He could cry later, with Chan.When he finally arrived home, Chan greeted him almost immediately. “You’re back this fast?” Felix merely nodded, quickly maneuvering both of them to the sofa and Chan’s arms around himself. There. That was his home. That was all he needed.All he was allowed to need.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The days drifted by like gray sludge covered by gray skies from gray fine dust. Or maybe gray clouds heavy with gray rain to make the sludge even worse. His classes happened. Work happened. Text messages happened, which Felix tried to answer with his usual tone, just so the others wouldn’t worry about him. Jun was doing okay, apparently. And Seventeen’s manager was giving Hyunjin a real headache. The man didn’t seem to understand what ‘monthly’ meant and demanded updates about every other day.Hyunjin also suggested meeting up more than once, but Felix ignored the messages each time or found some kind of excuse why he couldn’t make it. And he could tell that Hyunjin was trying to get through to him, and yet… He knew that running away wouldn’t solve his problems. He knew that running away wouldn’t magically produce solutions. But he still didn’t feel ready to face Hyunjin in their hopeless situation, didn’t have the strength to face the despondency of their situation.It was Monday, according to Felix’s phone. The evening shift was a little busier, but nothing that he couldn’t handle in his state. Still a far cry from the kinds of shifts they’d usually have.Eventually, he could leave Momo alone up front while he went through their storage to fill up whatever they were running out of in the front and generally sort through the room that somehow always turned into a mess within hours of having been cleaned. Almost like it had a life of its own.Felix had no idea just how long he had been gone, but Momo hadn’t rung the buzzer, so he clearly wasn’t needed up front. Which fed right back into the same painful sloshing darkness inside him that he’d been trying so hard to fight against. Not needed, not wanted, that black sheep that was only there for everyone’s comedic relief…Felix rested his forehead against one of the boxes and closed his eyes. Deep breath in. Hold. Deep breath out. Hold. Repeat. He was okay. He was wanted in this café. Probably. Momo at least tried to make him feel like he was. He hadn’t seen Minho since Thursday because the other was still mainly present during night shifts and otherwise had that conference to attend, so Felix honestly couldn’t be sure about him. Had Minho’s view on him shifted due to the talk they had had at Hyunjin, Jisung, and Jeongin’s place? His text messages didn’t necessarily say that, but what if his opinion had changed? Felix already wasn’t wanted in the night shifts anymore, so who said that he would stay wanted and needed in the day shifts? Who said the others weren’t doing a better job, weren’t better at their customer service—Felix had been arguably bad at it this month—, better at making the drinks, better at Korean, less of a liability overall… Had anyone else among the staff had customers making clear hints at their sexuality or at least that makeup wasn’t for them?No. Deep breath in. Hold. Deep breath out. Hold. Repeat.Felix opened his eyes after a few cycles. He should get to the front again. If for nothing else, then at least to let Momo distract him from the darkness.His eyes landed on a box of straws and, figuring that they certainly needed straws because they always needed straws, he opened the box and took two of the plastic bags filled with colorful straws before he made his way out of the storage room. A voice made it through the still closed door towards the front, one that he hadn’t expected to hear at this time of the day.“She stayed with me during the conference these days,” Minho just said and Felix perked up. Minho had mentioned at some point that a mighty witch was staying with him because she had come from far away and booking hotels was too much of a hassle during the pandemic, especially since she was coming from abroad and couldn’t exactly go into quarantine when she had a conference to attend.Clinging to this spark of curiosity, he pushed the door open while Momo answered. “Oh? That’s so cool, that you had a fellow barista staying with you during the last few days! It must have been so nice to—”Momo’s voice droned on, but Felix didn’t register the words anymore as his eyes met those of Chan’s mother. The sludge inside him instantly froze over, its ice spreading through his veins.“Felix! I came to—”“Get out.” Felix nearly jumped at how harsh his tone was, but he only turned to face away, his gaze landing on the bags of colorful straws in his hand. He had inadvertently switched back to English since it was his default language with her. “I’m at work. Leave me alone.”“I just wanted to say goodbye,” her voice was so much gentler than what Felix could bear in this moment. His head shot up again and he glared at her, his grip on the straw packages tightening, the plastic crinkling noisily. “So you couldn’t say hello or even come by on my birthday, but you suddenly need to say ‘goodbye’?” He scoffed.“Felix, just listen for one minute,” she tried again, her voice getting a little louder as Felix spun around and marched right back into the staff only area, the door falling close behind himself for a few blissful seconds before it was opened again just as he was disappearing into the break room. He grabbed his phone, needing three attempts to unlock it because his hands were shaking too hard and by the time he finally succeeded, his sight was growing blurry.“Felix?” Minho’s voice came from the door, tentative, gentle, and Felix didn’t dare to face him as the first tear fell.“Go away.” Felix hated how his voice trembled, hated that Minho was right there, hated that he couldn’t even keep it together at work, hated, hated, hated… His heart hurt too much.“Is there anything I can do for you?”“Just leave me alone. Please.”He couldn’t do this. Minho couldn’t be kind to him. Minho had to stay away because he was Hyunjin’s friend and so, he couldn’t be Felix’s friend anymore. Why wouldn’t they all just finally understand? Understand that Felix didn’t belong, that he wasn’t good enough, that he had nothing to offer except from his blood, that their relationship was bound to end rather sooner than later? How could they still not see that?The silence lasted too long.Felix turned around, finding the door closed and the room deserted except for himself. And somehow, that hurt even more.He sank down onto one of the chairs, dropping his face into his hands. He couldn’t cry. He couldn’t cry, he couldn’t cry, he couldn’t cry! He was at work. He had to be fine. No matter what happened, he had to be fine.His phone lit up with a new message from Momo. Felix took several steadying breaths before he once again unlocked his phone. He also saw a message from Chan, but he went to his chat with Momo first.
Momo
Oppa said to tell you that they left
So it’s safe for you to come back
New tears welled up inside Felix and he took another deep breath, sending her a quick ‘thanks’. It wasn’t fair that Minho treated him this well, that he was still so considerate. He shouldn’t be, especially not in the overall situation. While Felix hadn’t heard much about the conference for obvious reasons, he had gotten the impression that Minho really admired Chan’s mother, so he shouldn’t be taking Felix’s side like this.Pushing all of that away for later, Felix went into his chat with Chan instead.
Channie
My mom just came by to say goodbye, just to let youknow. I told her you’re at work, so I think you won’tsee her again
Felix closed his eyes for a few seconds, appreciating his best friend’s text message even though it hurt all the same. Had she come to the café because of Minho? Had they decided to meet up at the café again before she left? Had she come to the café because she had known Felix would be there? She had said that she had ‘come to say goodbye’, so that was it, wasn’t it?
me
thx
she was here just now
Felix wanted to add more, wanted to let Chan know that she was gone again, but he didn’t have the energy for anything else. He watched instead as his messages got read, then he quickly locked his phone and pocketed it. No, he couldn’t let himself get distracted like that. He was still at work, he had to be a professional here. Or, well, as professional as he was currently able to…Taking another deep breath, Felix pushed himself up and made his way back to the front, keeping his head down. Luckily, Momo was the only person in the café, and she immediately looked up from where she had been mindlessly wiping the counter. “Felix! I was worried, are you alright?”Felix merely shook his head. He didn’t want to get into it, and even if he had wanted to talk, he wouldn’t have known where to start.“Oppa made you some tea.”Felix looked up at that and towards the cup that Momo pointed at. He glanced at her, insecure, but Momo only smiled gently at him, so he went over to the cup. He lifted it to sniff it first, almost crying all over again when he noticed that it was one of Minho’s calming teas. Minho had even gone out of his way to make one of his own teas for Felix while Momo had been around and Chan’s mother had most likely been judging him for it!Felix took a careful sip, finding the tea hot but not scalding, and working so quickly in its gentleness that he knew that Minho had added actual magic to it. Yes, he was definitely ready to cry.“Do you want to talk about what happened just now?”Felix shook his head lightly as he took another sip, cherishing the tea’s comfort. “Thank you for letting me know that they left.”“Of course. Oppa also said that you can leave early if we manage to prepare everything ahead of time. He seemed to be really concerned about you.”Felix nodded lightly. A part of him was immediately screaming about not being needed, but the tea was stronger, blanketing the insecurities and anxiousness.In the end, Felix only managed to leave half an hour earlier than scheduled, bringing the straws to the front that he had gotten earlier and then forgotten about in the break room. He did feel more relaxed as he left, thanks to Minho’s tea, but he knew that it was only sheltering him from the hollowness and the ugly sludge inside him, that it was only a moment of reprieve and no actual improvement.The change was clear enough for even Chan, though, judging by the relief that that washed over his face the moment Felix stepped into their living room. “Lixie, you look… okay?”Felix grimaced. If this was ‘okay’, he didn’t even want to know just how bad it had been during the last few days. “Minho-hyung made me tea after that encounter. One of his magic teas.” Felix added the last sentence when he was met with a blank stare and Chan nodded in understanding.“If you’re feeling well enough… can we maybe talk?”Felix immediately looked down as dread filled all the spaces inside him that had been cozied up by the tea.“No, no, no! Hear me out first, okay? I just… I want to try to find a solution with you. For everything that’s been going on these days. Because you clearly aren’t doing fine and I just… Since Minho’s tea is helping you right now anyway, I thought this might be a good time to straighten everything out with a somewhat clearer head?”Felix looked up again, searching in Chan’s eyes until he nodded hesitantly, figuring that they really needed to do something about his situation. “Food first, then we talk?”“Do we have anything here to cook?”They both stared at each other for a few seconds before Felix rephrased his offer, “Okay, we order take-out, then start the talk?”Chan flashed him a crooked smile. “Pizza sound good?”“Yeah. I’ll get comfy, alright?”Chan nodded, eyes already on his phone, so Felix took the time to go to the bathroom and change into more comfortable clothes before he joined Chan on the sofa again. “Alright, let’s dive straight into this.”“Not sure if I can do straight,” Felix replied, smiling when Chan merely gave him an unimpressed look. He quickly schooled his expression, motioning for Chan to continue.“So, you told me what happened. But what exactly are you thinking and feeling? Because there’s clearly a lot more going on for you than a crappy quarantine, Jun showing up as a newborn, my mom showing up unannounced, and Hyunjin not having a solution to the current situation either.”Felix sighed and leaned sideways against the backrest, looking down. Reluctantly, he started talking about everything. About the old thought patterns and feelings that were resurfacing, about his fear of losing Hyunjin, about his fear that maybe Chan’s mother was right, about wondering if Hyunjin only really kept him close and was interested in him because he was feeding from Felix. Including a side tangent of explaining the effect that feeding had on humans, especially regular feeding, since Chan didn’t seem to be aware of that.When Felix eventually finished speaking, his eyes were trained on the two empty pizza boxes sitting on their living room table. He felt strangely empty. The ugly sludge was still there, but even that felt hollow, as if it had turned into a balloon that would fly away if anyone were to pull its plug. And then what was he? What would be left of him?“No wonder you seemed so depressed. This really is a lot,” Chan mumbled eventually and Felix finally looked up again, waiting for his best friend to sort his thoughts. And maybe he had just talked forever, but hearing that someone else thought that it really was a lot was strangely… comforting. It made that gray sludge feel more valid. “Does Hyunjin know you feel this way?”“About what exactly?”“Your relationship, mainly.”Felix shook his head, looking down. “No. I feel wrong for even doubting him because he seems so genuine and Minho-hyung once said that no one is allowed in Hyunjin-hyung’s studio and that I’m a total exception to that rule. But… I don’t know… It’s so small, but the fact that the armchair was back in the living room… Like, I get it that it was needed there so that everyone could sit comfortably, but…” He sighed. It didn’t make sense and he knew that, but he still couldn’t help how he felt about it.“I think you should tell him.”“Hyung! It’s too silly for that,” Felix whined, but Chan shook his head.“It’s obviously not silly if it means this much to you. And let’s be honest: it’s not really about the armchair. The armchair is just… the projection of your fears?” Chan frowned. “Yes, I think that’s the right term. You could also explain the situation using the armchair as an example.”Felix thought about it and in a way, it indeed made sense. But wouldn’t Hyunjin also think all of it to be silly? Or, even worse, would Hyunjin be hurt because Felix was doubting everything?He thought back to the time that he had actually asked Hyunjin about the moving on part, about how they had only spoken about Jisung and Minho and never about themselves. Had Hyunjin been just as insecure about them as Felix, because everything had still been so new? Or was it just a clear sign telling Felix that they were a thing while Hyunjin, Jisung, and Jeongin were in Seoul, but that their thing would end whenever the other three moved on?“What happened to the teenager who stood up to his parents until they let him go to Korea all on his own, hm?” Chan gently nudged Felix’s knee with his own, but all Felix could manage in response was a sad smile.“He grew up. And he’s had a bit too much life thrown his way recently.” He let out a quiet sigh, fidgeting a little on the sofa until he was comfortable again. “I’m sorry, it’s just…” It was just… what exactly? Too much? Too depressing?“I get it,” Chan said eventually, his voice still incredibly soft, and when Felix looked up, his eyes were so honest that Felix could only believe him. “You know, it sometimes felt that way with having to keep me being a werewolf a secret from you. I sometimes felt like I was going crazy, that this was such an important part of me and I couldn’t tell you, like I was betraying you…” Felix softened even more, knowing that his best friend had struggled with that so much, was still thinking about that time. That Felix wasn’t alone in any of this. “I still feel bad for not having told you for so long. But the fact that we finally did have the conversation really makes me feel a lot lighter, a lot more… secure, I guess.”Felix watched the pizza boxes for another bit without really seeing them, taking the time to think about what Chan had just said. “So you mean that I will probably also feel better after talking to Hyunjin?”Chan hummed in response. “It’s also always helped us to talk about things that bother us, hasn’t it?”Felix remained silent at that because yes, of course it had helped them… but Felix also knew how to read Chan well enough, knew that they’d be fine no matter what. The kind of deep knowledge that could only come from years of having known each other, the kind of trust that had needed disagreements, that had come out of the most vulnerable conversations and being there for each other, no matter what life threw at them. Felix didn’t know Hyunjin that well yet, couldn’t possibly know the other that well yet. But… if he thought that way, didn’t it mean that their current situation was an opportunity to get there?“But how do I tell him all of that?”“Do it like you did with me just now?”Felix grimaced. “I’d like to at least act like I know Korean fluently and not give him the wildest Konglish mix he’s probably ever heard.”Chan laughed at that. “Oh come on, he’s a vampire! You mentioned that they travel kinda often, right? I’m sure that his mind is a complete language disaster.”“Yeah, and he’s apparently good enough at compartmentalizing it to speak solely in Korean whenever I hear him speak, so that’s no argument. Also, his Korean sounds pretty up-to-date, so your argument is even less valid.”Chan threw him an unimpressed look before he leaned forward a little, taking in the empty pizza boxes with a dismayed expression before leaning back.“Still hungry?” Felix asked.“Nah, just in a snack mood. All the serious talk makes me want to eat something.”“Snack cabinet should be full.”Chan made a displeased noise. “Nah, I’d have to move for that.” He once again turned a little more towards Felix. “I really do think that you should talk this all out with Hyunjin soon, though. I miss your smile.”Felix gave his best friend a sad rendition of his smile at that. “Can you and Changbin-hyung come with me?”Chan raised an eyebrow. “You want us to sit in on your talk with Hyunjin?”Felix grimaced, realizing he’d have to explain his point a little better. “No, I mean… Hyunjin-hyung and I wouldn’t be able to meet at their place, and we likely wouldn’t meet here either. Because, like, there, we have a newborn vampire and here, it would be uncomfortable for Hyunjin because there are too many people around. So meeting in a park or maybe at the Han River might be the most comfortable, but I know that Hyunjin-hyung, Jisung-hyung, and Jeongin don’t really like to see me outside alone at night. Or, well, Hyunjin-hyung and Jisung-hyung don’t…”“So you want Changbin and me there as emotional support and as proof that you’re not being reckless.”Felix rolled his eyes, but he nodded anyway. “Basically, yes.”Chan nodded. “I’ll check if Changbin’s available tomorrow night, how does that sound?”“Hyung, it’s in the middle of the week!” Felix protested immediately, his and Chan’s mothers’ usual talk about ‘It’s a school night, don’t stay out too late’ or ‘It’s a school night, you can’t have a sleepover’ too engrained in his mind.Chan threw him an unamused glance, already on his phone, probably to text their friend. “Dude, it’s not like any of us usually goes to bed before 1AM and I’d kinda like to hope that you two will get this figured out a little faster than that. We also have a nightly curfew that I’d like to avoid breaking. And even if you don’t figure it out fast enough: you know that Changbin and I are pretty flexible with our work schedules and I know that you don’t have a class until noon on Wednesdays, so I think we’ll be fine.”Felix pressed his lips together, a little disgruntled because Chan was right, of course. When Chan stayed busy on his phone, Felix finally moved to get his own phone, finding it devoid of any messages. He hesitantly opened his chat with Hyunjin, then only stared at it. At the messages he and Hyunjin had sent back and forth the night before, at meaningless words that Felix’s heart hadn’t been in. Eventually, he settled for a simple ‘Hey, can we meet up tomorrow night?’ before locking the phone again and instead busying himself with getting snacks.Equipped with ppeppero sticks and chips, he returned to the sofa just as Chan looked up from his phone. They talked until long after midnight, about possible solutions that Felix could suggest at his meeting with Hyunjin and about everything else that could solve the situation.Even though the tea had long since lost its effect by the time that Felix went to bed that night, he still didn’t feel quite as hollow and hopeless as he had during the past few days. The talk with Chan had clearly helped him, though he was still anxious about meeting Hyunjin the next day. Because what if everyone else was wrong? What if Hyunjin would turn away? What if he really only ever considered Felix as a temporary fling? What if, what if, what if… Felix kind of wished the hollowness back. Hollowness was definitely more bearable than anxiousness. He knew that it was important for him and Hyunjin to talk about them and where they were and what they needed, he understood very well that this was a conversation that they desperately needed to have. And a tiny voice inside his head assured him that they would be fine, that Hyunjin had been nothing but understanding and gentle at any point. But that didn’t stop the fear. The fear that they were over, the fear that they couldn’t go on, that he wasn’t actually wanted beyond his blood.He confided in Chan and Changbin about those worries before they left to meet Hyunjin, and it was Changbin who came up with a possible solution. And while Felix was a little on the fence about it, he also figured that it could be worth a try. At least temporarily.And so, Felix found himself at Han River in the late evening, Chan holding his hand while Changbin had wrapped one arm around his shoulders.“Can you believe that full moon will actually fall on Halloween this year?” Changbin asked into the silence and Chan laughed softly.“Kinda fitting, isn’t it?”Felix looked down at his shoes, the long since familiar hollowness creeping up on him once again. How could even the moon hate him this year? Halloween was his and Chan’s night, why did the moon have to interfere with that and why did it have to be this year when his entire life seemed to be dissolving right in front of his eyes?“Hey.” Chan gently bumped their shoulders. “What’s wrong?”Felix shook his head lightly. “It’s just… Halloween is our night,” he mumbled, watching from the corners of his eyes as Chan stiffened, then deflated.“I’m sorry. We’ll make up for it, okay? I know it won’t be quite the same, but I promise that I’ll make it up for you, alright?”Felix nodded, but he found hardly any consolidation in that promise. Of course he knew that they’d make up for it, probably a day later, but… the thought of having to spend their night on his own was still crushing him, threatening to take away the meager composure that he had been able to rebuild since the evening before.“Hey, don’t give me this kind of face,” Changbin protested, squeezing Felix a little. “We’ll figure something out for this, okay? You could come out with us again, if you’d like?” Felix nodded lightly, but he wasn’t entirely sure if that was as good of an alternative as Changbin presented it. “Now stop sulking, you’ve done enough of that for the next century and I swear that I would move heaven and earth for you and if, for whatever reason, today should not go well, you will get one more day to sulk and then I will personally make sure to put you back on track, you hear me?”Felix pulled his hand free from Chan’s in favor of hugging Changbin tightly, seeking comfort that he knew he wouldn’t be able to internalize until after his talk with Hyunjin. At the earliest…Chan once again nudged his shoulder gently and when Felix glanced over at him, Chan nodded down the road. Felix unwillingly untangled himself from Changbin, nervousness getting a hold of him instead, keeping his anxiously beating heart in a painful, tight grip.Felix turned around, watching as Hyunjin approached them, dressed in all dark colors unlike his usual softer style. Was he just going through a style change these days? Or was he actually trying to become one with the night?The implications of his last thought made a shiver run down Felix’s spine and he briefly glanced over at Chan, finding the other watching Hyunjin. Felix looked to the front again, finding Hyunjin’s expression unreadable as he came to a stand in front of the other three, eyes darting between them.Finally, it was Chan who moved, turning towards Felix and breaking the silence. “Lix, Changbin and I will go to the convenience store that we passed right before coming down to the water, alright?”Felix nodded, flashing his best friend a small smile and purposefully crinkling his eyes due to the mask, hoping to ease both of their worries. Chan searched in his eyes for a little longer before he gave a nod of his own, looking past Felix. Changbin squeezed Felix’s shoulder, then he walked past Felix, leaving together with Chan.Finally, Felix looked back over towards Hyunjin, offering him an insecure smile as well, only realizing belatedly that the mask probably hid it. “Hey,” he said quietly.“Hey,” Hyunjin breathed out, his expression curious, maybe even uncertain if the way that his eyes were searching Felix’s were any indication.“Let’s walk a bit?” Felix suggested and Hyunjin simply nodded, so Felix turned around and started walking, Hyunjin quickly falling into step with him.Both of them remained silent for a while, only the sounds of their steps, the water, and the distant traffic following them.“You look a little better today than last week,” Hyunjin said quietly after a few minutes.Guilt dropped in Felix’s stomach and he looked down at the stone path beneath his shoes. “I’m sorry. But… that’s kind of what I wanted to talk about?” Hyunjin simply hummed in response, so Felix took a deep breath, trying to remind himself that things were okay, that talking would help, that Hyunjin would surely understand. “I… This past month has been really hard for me. This entire year has kind of been hard, but the last month even more so.”“I’m sorry,” Hyunjin mumbled and there was something utterly heartbroken in his voice that immediately made Felix’s head shoot up. He squinted lightly, trying to decipher Hyunjin’s expression despite the darkness.Eventually, Felix gave up and looked ahead again. “It’s just… with the pandemic now and all, it kind of… feels like I’m losing my footing in this world? Dancing always meant so much to me, so to have that taken away from me like this…” He shook his head lightly, lowering his gaze once again. “Then finding out that my best friend and his family aren’t actually human and kept that from me for years, and his family still not letting me in… And then quarantine happened and I was all alone for so long and just… I really wasn’t doing well. But you already know that part. Those two weeks just kind of brought back a lot of insecurities.”“What kinds of insecurities?” Hyunjin asked quietly, his voice wavering a little as if he wasn’t sure if it was okay for him to interrupt.Felix hesitated, then gave himself a mental push. No, he had promised Chan and himself to be honest, he had to be honest about all of this if he really wanted to make up for his silence. He took a deep breath, pushing down the nerves and fears that immediately tried to resurface, that fought for him to stay quiet, find some kind of lame excuse, or something that would make a lot more sense, logically speaking.“Of not belonging,” he said, almost relieved to hear his own voice, to know that he was winning the fight. “Of not being good enough. Of being excluded for who I am.” He took another deep breath, finding this one to be a little easier than the one before, then he pushed on, “You see, ever since I came here, I… I’ve either been rejected or excluded in one way or another. These days, the practice rooms are closed and there haven’t been any proper classes, so that was already really difficult for me because dance has always been a kind of refuge to me. This semester, they had kept my hope up for that one dance class, but then, as you know, they ended up having to change that as well.“And then the quarantine happened and of course it had to be full moon during that time, and I realized that I just really am not made to be all on my own. And just when I thought that things would be fine and go back to how they were before the quarantine, those government officials showed up. And out of all the people in Seoul, the newborn just so had to be Jun.”“What about him?”Felix’s lips pulled up into a bittersweet, unseen smile. He briefly glanced up, spotting a bench not too far away, slightly changing their course until he could sit down with a sigh. “Jun, he… He’s in charge of dancing in his group. He’s a foreigner who struggled a lot with Korean when he first came to Korea. Doesn’t that sound familiar?”Hyunjin was quiet for a moment, but Felix didn’t dare to look over at him, not even when he spoke up. “He reminds you of yourself?”“Yes. With the main difference that he got to debut while I had gotten rejected. There are other members in Seventeen who are technically more similar to me or my situation, but… yeah, he’s definitely too close for comfort. And I know that I should be happy for him that he gets to live with all of you and that I know he will be treated well with you because it’s so clear how protective you all are and that your anger that day wasn’t directed at him because you were so kind to him and… I just can’t. I just… I’m just afraid. Because he’s so much better than me.”“What are you talking about?” The question was gentle, honest, void of any of the judgement that Felix had been afraid he’d hear. Hyunjin turned more towards Felix, reaching his hands out as if he wanted to touch him, but then he seemed to realize at the last moment that Felix was wearing the charm. Hyunjin let out a frustrated sigh, but Felix continued to look down.“He’s everything I ever wanted to be, you know? Everything I could have been,” he admitted in a whisper.Chan had been the one to draw that conclusion. Well, technically it had been past-Felix who had ranted on and on at various occasions about how relatable he found especially Jun and Minghao within Seventeen, specifically because they were both dancers, had done martial arts back in their home country, and had struggled with Korean, still were struggling with Korean every now and then. Chan had just reminded Felix of that and suddenly, it seemed to make so much sense why Felix just couldn’t help but feel like he was being replaced, why Jun joining Hyunjin, Jisung, and Jeongin was such a bittersweet occurrence to him.“Oh Felix.” Hyunjin’s voice was just as quiet, full of empathy, and Felix suddenly realized that he had never had a reason to withdraw like that. He teared up at the knowledge that Hyunjin was right there, that he had never wanted Felix to feel that way, that he wouldn’t leave, and he could barely hold back from throwing himself into his boyfriend’s arms.He took a slightly quivering, deep breath, looking up at the dark, starless sky as he tried to calm down. “And then… Then Chan’s mother suddenly showed up as I was leaving work. She’s apparently the witch who stayed with Minho-hyung.”Hyunjin gave a quiet hum. “Minho mentioned a rather… unfortunate encounter yesterday. And that one of his employees had said something about some woman getting into an argument with you last week.”“Yes, that’s one way to put it.” Felix sighed. “She had wanted to keep it from me. That she was here, you know? She even seemed upset when she realized that I knew about the conference…” He shrugged helplessly, keeping his eyes trained on the ground in front of them. “She told me to quit. That hyung’s café wasn’t any good for me. The day after, she accidentally found out that you’re very much not human…”Hyunjin sucked in a breath next to him. “Don’t tell me…”Felix looked up and at Hyunjin with a sad smile. “Yes. She told me to break up with you. That we couldn’t last anyway. And I think I would have been able to ignore that well enough… if it hadn’t been for everything else. And just… I do appreciate that you came that day to pick me up, I do think that I generally really need that—being involved, you all wanting me there to make such big decisions. But in that moment, it was just… too much. I was convinced that you had only wanted me there to let me know that everything was over. And then I saw the second armchair back in the living room and it just…” He shrugged, blinking against the tears that threatened to fall as he looked up again, trying to will himself to calm down. “It just… seemed like the confirmation. That you didn’t want me anymore. That it was over.” The first tear escaped, quickly followed by the second and then just more and more.Felix lowered his head and pressed the balls of his hands against his eyes, trying to stop the tears from coming, but it was like someone had broken a dam inside him. “I’m sorry,” he choked out as the tears kept falling, soaking his mask, running beneath it. After a few seconds, he ripped the mask off, pulled his legs up, and hid his face in his hands.“Felix…” Hyunjin mumbled and he sounded so helpless that it broke Felix’s heart even more.He needed endless minutes to calm down, both of them forced to merely sit next to each other, unable to touch. Eventually, though, Felix raised his head again and wiped over his eyes and cheeks, blowing his nose with a tissue he found in one of his pockets. So what that blowing your nose in public wasn’t seen as socially acceptable in Korea? Who cared about that anyway.He took another deep breath, the air so much fresher and crisper without his mask, and finally looked at Hyunjin again, almost wishing that he hadn’t when he saw the other’s pained expression. “I’m sorry,” he repeated himself, looking down again because Hyunjin’s gaze was just too much.“No, don’t… Lix, I am sorry. I should have been there for you. But I failed you as a boyfriend.”“No!” Felix’s head shot up and he looked at Hyunjin again, eyes wide as he quickly shook his head. “No. Hyung, you’re not to blame for any of that.”“But I should have acted last week. I shouldn’t have brought you along when I could clearly see that you weren’t doing well.”Felix shook his head once more before looking away. “I don’t think it would have really changed anything last week. I probably still would have felt unwanted.”When he looked back at Hyunjin, he found the other looking down and looking so, so hurt. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry that I couldn’t be there for you when you needed me.”“I am also sorry. For not letting you in for so long.”Hyunjin shook his head lightly, but he finally looked up again. “You know that the armchair was meaningless, don’t you? That we moved it, I mean.”Felix nodded. “I know that it was only moved because you needed the space, but…” He diverted his eyes again before letting out a quiet sigh. “I know that logically, but emotionally, it still felt like I was getting kicked out of your life. Because that armchair had been in your studio for so long.”They merely looked at each other, neither of them seeming to know exactly what to say. Eventually, it was Hyunjin who took the lead. “You know that I love you, don’t you?”Felix immediately smiled at that. “I love you, too.”Hyunjin responded to his smile, his eyes crinkling beautifully over his mask. “Good. Then what do we do about this situation? What do you need?”Felix looked away again, both to think and because he knew he was about to make a proposition that Hyunjin wouldn’t like. “I think one thing I need is certainty,” he started slowly. “Maybe… maybe we could settle on one night a week that we will spend together somehow, somewhere?”Hyunjin nodded energetically at that. “Yes, yes, let’s do that!”“And…” Felix hesitated. Could he really make a proposition like that? Wasn’t it too much to ask?“And?”“And… Would it be possible…” No, that was the wrong way to go about it. He shook his head lightly before taking another deep breath. “I know that you hate feeding in town, but…” He trailed off again when Hyunjin immediately stiffened next to him.“You want me to stop feeding from you.”“No!” Felix quickly looked up, eyes wide, panicked, meeting Hyunjin’s carefully guarded ones. “No. I mean, yes. But only temporarily. Because…” He looked away again. “Because… That’s… kind of another insecurity of mine. That really, what this all comes down to, is my blood. That we both might only feel this drawn to each other because you feed from me. That my blood is really all you want and need from me. One part of me understands very well that that is not the case, that this thought pattern is ridiculous, but… the doubts are there. And I just can’t make them go away, no matter how much I want to.”Silence fell over them until Hyunjin let out a slow, measured breath. “Okay.”“Okay?”“Yes, okay. I…” Hyunjin started, then shook his head. “If that’s what you need, then that’s what we will do.”“For now,” Felix replied. “It’s only for now. I’m not saying that I don’t want you to never feed from me again.” Hyunjin nodded lightly, but he still didn’t look entirely convinced. “Is it really okay for you? We can’t go from one of us being unhappy to the other one being unhappy.”“I…” Hyunjin started before falling silent once again. Felix merely watched him as he seemed to organize his thoughts before finally speaking again. “I do not want to feed in town. I don’t like that part. But I understand why we should do it that way for the time being and why it’s important to you to do this, no matter how much I wish it weren’t necessary.”Felix nodded lightly. “You’ll let me know if you can’t do it anymore, right?” he asked, his voice small, somehow still uncertain if it was okay for him to make a demand like that.Hyunjin, though, simply nodded, meeting his eyes again. “Yes, I will.”Felix gave him the hint of a smile before tilting his head a little. “Can I get a hug?”Hyunjin raised an eyebrow at him, his eyes still wary. “Not with that charm.”“That’s why I was asking, so I know whether I can take it off or not.”“You really want a hug?” The insecurity in Hyunjin’s voice pierced right through Felix’s heart.He nodded lightly, hoping that his eyes would show just how serious he was about it. “I do. I meant it when I said that I need you around more. And also when I told Jisung-hyung that I’m probably hug-powered.” He added that last part because he was certain that Hyunjin had overheard them that day. Felix sported a sheepish smile, grateful when Hyunjin finally nodded with a small smile reaching the corners of his eyes.Felix was quick to untie the charm, stuffing it into his back pocket, then he immediately nestled himself into Hyunjin’s arms that wrapped around him just as fast. He closed his eyes, simply breathing in Hyunjin’s rose and orange scent, focusing on the other’s arms around him, on Hyunjin slowly relaxing, on something inside him finding peace, finally filling the hollowness, transforming the gray sludge into clear water.Hyunjin’s lips pressed a gentle kiss on top of Felix’s head, though Felix hadn’t even noticed the other taking off his mask, and in that moment, it wasn’t enough. Felix leaned back a little until he could look at Hyunjin. He raised one hand to gently rest against Hyunjin’s cheek, searching in the other’s eyes for any kind of opposition as he leaned closer, but only finding warmth and peace. Still, he hesitated once more before their lips met, wanting to give Hyunjin an out just in case, but instead, Hyunjin closed the distance between them. Felix sighed into the kiss, melting into its warmth and comfort.They kept the kiss slow and leisure until Felix eventually leaned back and merely cuddled close again. Hyunjin’s hand gently travelled up and down Felix’s back, almost as if the action was absent-minded.“Lix?”“Hm?”“Should we do another meeting? To truly figure out what we all need and how to make that possible?”Felix sighed softly. “I guess that would be good, wouldn’t it?”“We don’t have to, if you don’t want to. I just thought that it might be best to get everyone’s opinions and maybe also see if the others have any ideas on how to make this work the best. Since, as you said yourself last time, neither your place nor mine would currently be the ideal meeting place, but I at least still don’t have any better ideas…”Felix hummed quietly at that, but he still wasn’t able to come up with a satisfying solution to their situation. As nice as it could be to meet outside in the summer, he wouldn’t feel comfortable with that, seeing how most people in Korea still avoided going outside at all costs. And he couldn’t really get all the cuddles and kisses here as freely as he could if they were at home. On top of that, they still had a curfew that wouldn’t allow them to stay outside for very long.“I guess another meeting really will be the best solution.” That way, he’d also be able to properly show Jisung, Jeongin, and Minho that he was doing alright.“Then… by any chance… would you text Jeongin about it?” Hyunjin sounded almost sheepish while Felix looked up, confused.“Sure?”“Thank you. It’s just… He and Jisung got really upset with the situation as it was and while Jisung will be easy enough to talk to, Jeongin can sometimes be a little more difficult… I think he’d listen to you and believe you, though.”“He wouldn’t believe you?”“He might not, no.”Felix nodded. “I’ll text him, don’t worry.”They settled on a day and time for the next meeting, slowly making their way to the convenience store where Chan and Changbin had said they’d be waiting. They ended up not even having to go that far, though, finding the other two on a bench at the entrance point to the Han River, both of them complaining about having forgotten that they weren’t allowed to sit in or in front of the convenience store due to the virus.Hyunjin drove them home afterwards, not allowing any protest from either of them. Felix grabbed himself a new mask from Hyunjin’s glovebox before he texted Jeongin on the drive back and once they were back home, he filled his two close friends in on what had happened.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Two days later, Felix found himself back at Hyunjin, Jisung, and Jeongin’s house shortly after sunset. The lights were on inside the house and Felix could see people moving around.He let himself in through the gate and, as per usual, was greeted by Hyunjin at the door. Hyunjin, who was back to his pastel colored, soft shirts, looking so fluffy that Felix immediately smiled at the sight. “Hey,” he said softly as he took off his shoes.“Hey,” Hyunjin replied, giving him the space that he needed. He was fidgeting with his hands, but this time, Felix could only give him another sad smile as he took off his mask, knowing that everyone would immediately protest if he so much as thought about taking off his charm. Instead, he went on his usual route into the kitchen to wash his hands, calling out a brief hello towards the living room.“Lixie!” Jisung immediately called back and when Felix glanced over his shoulder while washing his hands, the other was already in the doorway, beaming at him. “You’re back! Like, really back!”Felix rolled his eyes and looked at his hands again. “Yeah, well, I was in a kinda really bad place mentally. But I can talk about that more later, okay?”“Okay,” Jisung agreed instantly.“You told Jeongin that we’re meeting today, right?” Minho’s voice also came from the doorway and Felix hummed in response.“He said he’d be here. Has he still not come back?” He glanced to where Hyunjin stood close to him, expression conflicted before turning genuinely sad as he looked away, shaking his head. “He won’t miss this, right?”Hyunjin had told him after their talk that Jeongin’s version of ‘a little more difficult’ when faced with conflicts was that he would disappear into the demon world. Felix wasn’t entirely sure if Jeongin hadn’t at least swung by the human world every so often since he clearly did have internet connection because he had responded to Felix's message—or was the demon world just that much more advanced than what he had always imagined? And that much closer connected to the human world?—, but at the end of the day, it didn’t change the main issue at hand: Jeongin had pretty much told Hyunjin to ‘get his shit together’ and then disappeared. Since Jisung had left to stay with Minho for a few days at about the same time, that had left Hyunjin and Jun alone for a bit and… Well, Felix didn’t even want to imagine how much the situation must have sucked for everyone involved.“Let’s wait a bit and give him a call if he doesn’t show?” Jisung opted.Felix turned off the water and dried his hands, worry settling inside him at the thought that Jeongin still hadn’t come back. When he turned around, Jisung held open his arms with a tentative expression, but Felix shook his head with a regretful smile, raising the hand with the charm. No matter how much he’d love to go in for a hug, he couldn’t unless any of the others told him that it was okay for him to take the charm off. But with a newborn around, Felix didn’t think that the chances for that were very high.Jisung actually pouted at him until Minho distracted them. “Let’s go into the living room? Get comfortable while we wait for Jeongin?”Felix nodded immediately, but when he glanced at Hyunjin, he found the other hesitating. He raised an eyebrow, silently waiting, watching as Hyunjin fiddled with the hem of his T-shirt, most likely using it in lieu of a sleeve. Felix wished he could take Hyunjin’s hand, calm him through physical touch, and the fact that he was hindered from doing so almost hurt physically. Instead, he had to settle on flashing Hyunjin an encouraging smile. “What is it?”“It’s just… the armchair is still in the living room.”Felix’s smile turned endeared at the reminder of how thoughtful Hyunjin was. How could he have ever doubted him? “It’s okay. I expected it this time. And I’m in a much better mental place than I was last time,” he replied quietly, his smile deepening at the relief that washed over Hyunjin’s face. Had the other really been that concerned about the armchair?Love blossomed inside him and Felix wanted nothing more but to pull Hyunjin closer, kiss him, shower him in all that love. He took a deep breath and nodded towards the door instead. “Let’s go?”Hyunjin nodded, and they made their way back into the living room. Jun was sitting in the same armchair as before, the one furthest away from the door, back straight as his widened eyes seemed to constantly dart back and forth between all of them. Meanwhile, Jisung and Minho had gotten comfortable on the second armchair, Jisung sitting on its armrest. Felix would have expected them to be cuddled together, but on second thought, it probably did make more sense for Jisung to be able to move freely, just in case.Instead of sitting down right away, Felix came to a stand between the sofa and the armchair that Minho and Jisung were sitting on. He bowed deeply, only straightening again after a few seconds. “I would like to apologize for last time.” He made sure to make eye contact with everyone once before he continued speaking, “I wasn’t in a good place mentally, so it was unfair of me to agree to the meeting, knowing that I wasn’t in any state to have a proper and effective conversation.” He turned towards Jun once more, keeping his eyes on the idol this time. “I also neglected to introduce myself last time. I’m Lee Felix, it’s nice to meet you,” he said with a bow.Jun bowed back lightly, eyes flitting towards Hyunjin as if he wasn’t sure what to do. “I’m Jun.”“I… know, actually.” Felix glanced down before looking back at Jun, offering an uncertain smile. “I hope that won’t make things awkward?”Jun’s eyes had grown even bigger than before. “You won’t tell anyone, will you?” he rushed out. “About… all of this, I mean.” He made an all-encompassing gesture and Felix’s eyes widened lightly as he quickly shook his head.“No, no, of course not! My closest friends are the only ones who know and I know that they wouldn’t tell anyone. Please don’t worry about that.”“You’re sure about that?”“Yes, positive.”Jun still seemed hesitant, but before either of them could say anything else, something caught Felix’s attention from the corners of his eyes. He briefly glanced over, just in time to see whisps of black shadows dispersing into thin air, revealing Jeongin suddenly standing by the bookshelves. He glanced around the room warily, eyes eventually landing on Felix. “You’re back.”“I’m back,” Felix confirmed, smiling softly at Jeongin.“And you’re okay?”“I’m okay.”“You two figured stuff out?”Felix rolled his eyes, but he was still smiling. “Yes, we figured stuff out. Now, will you come here? You’re literally one of two people here whom I’m allowed to hug.” He spread his arms and hadn’t even finished speaking before Jeongin had flung himself into his arms. Felix immediately smiled, so wide that it almost hurt, as he hugged Jeongin back tightly.Minho laughed softly. “Imagine if anyone else could see this? A mighty demon being this delighted over—okay, okay, sorry! I’ll shut up.”“Don’t be mean to hyung,” Felix gently scolded the demon in his arms, getting a quiet growl in response.“You are our human and you were hurting. I’ll be as mean to anyone as I see fit.”Minho laughed once again while Felix tightened his hug, burying his face on Jeongin’s shoulder, touched by the other’s words. Jeongin had said that he was their human. Not only Hyunjin’s, theirs. They were all protective over him. They all loved him. They all wanted him around.“Just so we’re clear, if you start crying, that’s Hyunjin’s problem and not mine,” Jeongin grumbled, back to his normal teasing and more demon-like self.Felix leaned away, laughing as he untangled one of his arms so he could wipe over his eyes, his hand coming back wet. “I won’t cry. I just love you, too, that’s all.”Jeongin let out a ‘tsk’ while he quickly stepped away as if he had been burned, his expression stoic, daring anyone around to say anything. “You called me back here to talk?” he said as he plopped down on the sofa.Felix glanced at Jun who seemed utterly confused about what to make of the situation, his expression carefully blank but eyes still too wide and darting around. Hyunjin and Felix sat down on the sofa as well and it was once again Hyunjin who took the lead. “Yes. Felix and I talked about this privately, but this isn’t exactly a situation that the two of us alone could solve, so figured it would make the most sense for all of us to meet together again.” He looked over at Felix who immediately straightened a little as he nodded, glancing at the table insecurely before he looked up again.“Yes. I have thought about this a lot and talked a lot with my best friend and… in the end, one thing that would be important to me is to have at least one night a week with Hyunjin-hyung.” He glanced over to his boyfriend, suddenly uncertain again. “The question is just how we do it. But… I think I’d need that. The certainty that I can at least see hyung once a week. If I already can’t come over like I used to, I…” He looked down, wishing he could take Hyunjin’s hand to calm himself, to have that certainty of Hyunjin being right there next to him, with him…“But of course coming here isn’t really an option, at least not if you want hugs and the certainty of being able to stay the night. At least not yet,” Jisung said quietly and Felix simply nodded.“Can you meet outside?” Jeongin asked, but Felix shook his head.“I don’t think that’ll do. I wouldn’t feel comfortable enough…” His eyes strayed towards Jun and he realized that he still had no idea how the other thought about all of this. Was Jun okay with them? Could Felix talk openly in front of Jun? “And either way, it’s getting colder at night. I wouldn’t want to risk catching a cold or anything just to see hyung.”A beat of silence followed before Jeongin huffed. “Right, you humans get sick so easily…”“You said your place wasn’t ideal either, right?” Minho asked on and Felix nodded, deflating even more.“Channie-hyung and I share an apartment and there are other apartments all around us. I’m just afraid that it might get too much…” There was also the issue of blackout curtains, for example, but that was something that Felix and Chan could easily take care of. The amount of people around them whom Hyunjin would be able to sense all the time would be a bigger problem. Not to forget about the fact that their walls weren’t exactly thick, so getting intimate without Felix dying of embarrassment afterwards—or at least having to ask Chan to take a walk or camp out at Changbin’s—was also a challenge.“Couldn’t I maybe go somewhere else for the night?” Jun’s quiet voice chimed into the conversation and when Felix glanced over at him, Jun immediately shrank further into the armchair.“I don’t think that would be feasible just yet,” Hyunjin replied, sounding like he had long since thought about that option as well.“Oh, speaking about it!” Minho suddenly perked up, sounding a lot more animated than before. Felix curiously looked over at him, finding the other already having hopped off the armchair and leaving for the hallway. Jisung looked like he was ready to follow Minho, only barely staying in place. A few seconds later, Minho returned from the hallway, holding a small jewelry bag. With confident steps, he strode over towards Jun, neither stopping at Jun immediately pressing himself more into the armchair, fingers clinging to the fabric so tightly that Felix was afraid it would break, nor at Jisung instantly protesting and jumping up, trying to get in front of Minho. Hyunjin also immediately sat straighter, one arm protectively in front of Felix, while Jeongin just groaned.Seemingly without a care about the ruckus he had just caused, Minho brushed past Jisung—Felix was honestly surprised that Jisung let him—and thrust out his hand with the tiny bag. “Here you go.”Jun’s expression was hidden behind Minho from where Felix was sitting, but the lack of movement revealed all too well the shock that the other had to be in. After a few seconds, Minho lightly tossed the bag into Jun’s lap. The instant the bag had left Minho’s hand, Jisung pulled him a few steps back, not allowing any protest this time even though Minho was clearly unwilling to move.“What is this?” Jun asked, his voice pressed, and he still hadn’t moved a finger.“A charm, what else could it be? I did promise I’d make you one, didn’t I?”“A charm?”Minho jerked his head in an impatient nod. “It should help you with staying in control. I’ll need to activate it, though, for it to function to its full capacity.”“Why didn’t you do it before handing it over?” Jisung asked, displeasure clear in his voice.Minho turned his head towards him and Felix wished he could see Minho’s expression. As it was, he could only read the other’s mood off his unimpressed voice, “I need the charm to lock around Jun-sshi first for the best result.”“You didn’t do that for mine,” Felix mumbled and Minho glanced over at him, shaking his head.“No. Your charm is based on a very different principle.”“Huh?”Minho rolled his eyes as if he couldn’t believe that he actually had to go into the details. “I weaved the magic into your charm. That one there,” he nodded towards the still untouched jewelry bag in Jun’s lap, “has the necessary ingredients in a pendant. It’ll need regular reactivation. And as only the pendant bears the magical ingredients, casting my magic on it works best when it’s worn. Your charm is full of my magic; it won’t wear out and it doesn’t need anything special to do its job, except from being tied around you.”“Oh…” Felix looked back at his charm, even more intrigued by it. Of course he had known that it was enchanted, but he hadn’t known the extent of it. Hearing more details about his charmed bracelet made him even more curious about it.Movement distracted him and he looked up, finding Jun very, very slowly reaching for the bag. He untied it, then turned it around with one hand. A silver necklace fell into his waiting hand and he dropped the bag, carefully picking up the necklace. It had a thin, silver chain, and if Felix wasn’t mistaken, the pendant dangling from it was probably made of resin with some greens in it that Felix couldn’t make out in detail. Jun looked up, uncertainty clear on his face, but Minho simply nodded at him. Finally, Jun moved to tie the necklace behind his neck, looking up again afterwards.Minho tried to step forward once the necklace was in place, but Jisung held him back. “Minho, you shouldn’t—”“And how do you expect me to active the charm?” Minho simply spoke over Jisung in a no-nonsense tone. He merely glanced at his boyfriend, then looked back at Jun, pushing past Jisung who immediately followed his every step again, growing visibly anxious when Minho reached his hand out to touch the charm. Jun had gone completely rigid and Hyunjin had tensed once again as well.The tension was so thick in the room that Felix was sure he could have cut it with a knife while Minho mumbled a few words. Felix’s heart was beating in his throat as he watched, unable to really see what was happening, but hoping, hoping…He flinched when Minho was jolted back a few steps. Hyunjin jumped up from the sofa as well while Jun was once again staring at the scene in front of him wide-eyed.“Han Jisung!” Minho spun around towards his boyfriend almost as fast as Jisung had moved them not even a full second earlier. “Stop scaring that poor kid! I… God damn it, don’t give me that look.” Minho immediately softened from his started lecture, pulling his boyfriend into a hug.Hyunjin let out a huff as he sat down again, his lips tightly pressed together, the tension still visible in his jaw.“Pull a stunt like that again and I’ll leave,” Jeongin grumbled.“I’m sorry,” Jisung replied, sounding so much like a hurt puppy that Felix’s heart nearly broke. “I couldn’t help it.”“I know, I know. Don’t worry, jagi. Let’s go to my place and relax after this, hm?” Minho’s voice was gentler than Felix had ever heard it before and he suddenly felt like he was intruding, looking down, then at Hyunjin instead. What if Felix had been so close to Jun without wearing a charm? Even if Felix had magical abilities, Hyunjin would have probably reacted the same way as Jisung just had, wouldn’t he?Minho somehow maneuvered himself and Jisung back to the second armchair, sitting down and pulling Jisung into his lap this time, holding him close.“Does that mean that the scary parts are finally over? Because I’m honestly sick and tired of feeding from the kid literally all day every day,” Jeongin asked, sounding fed-up with the entire situation, though Felix figured that there was a lot more caring behind his question that Jeongin let on. Then again, remembering some of the talks he had had with Jeongin, maybe he really was just annoyed because of the overall situation…“Well, the charm is in place and working,” Minho said in lieu of an answer. “Jun-sshi, you should be able to feel it?”Felix’s eyes went back towards Jun who frowned, then slowly nodded. “Yes, it… the hunger is a lot more…” His eyes flitted towards Felix, then towards Hyunjin.“It’s alright, you can talk freely in front of everyone here,” Hyunjin encouraged him softly and a pang of jealousy immediately exploded in Felix’s heart. His fingers were itching to reach out towards Hyunjin. But no, he couldn’t do it. Maybe… maybe when Hyunjin brought him home, maybe he could take the charm off then to steal a kiss. Hopefully Hyunjin would be okay with that!Jun gulped but nodded. “Everything feels a lot more… manageable. It’s still there and I think if I hadn’t…” He hesitated again before speaking, “I think it’ll still be difficult, but… a little less so?”“Yes,” Minho agreed. “The necklace is only meant to help you, it won’t replace your training. It’s also only meant to be a temporary aid. A word of warning at this point: I’d advise you to take the necklace off most of the time so you can actually get used to having humans around you. But the necklace should serve to make feeding easier, and to get that annoying manager of yours off our backs soon. I also found a potion that—”“No!” Jisung’s voice was almost panicked and Minho sighed while Felix frowned.“Sung-ah, you heard that guy. We have to do everything we can right now. The potion won’t make a difference, okay?”“No! Min, you can’t do that!”Minho shook his head lightly. “Let’s talk about this later?”Oh. Potions were drinks. Vampires couldn’t digest drinks without blood. So Minho was probably indirectly saying that he’d add his own blood to the potions, which, of course, collided with vampires becoming territorial over those they fed from.“There’s no other way?” Hyunjin asked quietly as well and Minho looked over at him, simultaneously pulling Jisung closer once again.“Not if we really want fast results.”“With that potion…” Jun started hesitantly, glancing towards Jisung, then at Hyunjin once again. Felix’s heart bled at how clear it was that Hyunjin was the one to be in charge of him, to help him, to guide him… “If we do that… can I see my members?”Jun’s voice sounded so broken that Felix’s heart cracked. How could he even be this selfish? How could he only think about himself and how much he didn’t want Hyunjin to be this close to Jun even though this was the ideal situation for Jun when Jun was kept away from those he loved and trusted? Those who made up his family here in Korea. Just how hard had the past week had to have been on Jun?Felix shuddered, his only comparison to what Jun was probably going through being the two weeks of quarantine that Felix had just been through, and he immediately pushed that thought away from himself, wishing he could hug someone. But he could neither take off his charm nor just ask Jeongin like that.“I would assume that the charm and the potion combined should allow you to at least see them for a bit, yes. But in the end, that’s something for you and Hyunjin to determine,” Minho replied.“I would also like to be present during meetings for a while. I understand that you might want your privacy, but I won’t risk anyone’s safety,” Hyunjin added.The hopeful expression immediately fell from Jun’s face, replaced by something crestfallen and devastated as he hummed and looked down. Still, he seemed to understand that it was better that way.“That doesn’t solve the more urgent problem at hand, though, does it?” Jeongin interrupted the conversation and Felix looked back at him. Jeongin looked thoroughly annoyed, but Felix couldn’t quite pinpoint why that was.“You mean…” Minho started, sounding unsure.“Hyunjin-hyung and Lix. They are clearly the real problem children here regarding feeding and, apparently, literally their entire relationship.”An uncomfortable silence settled over them and Felix looked down. He could almost sense Jeongin’s confusion, but in the end, it was Hyunjin who spoke up. “The feeding is not currently an issue we need to talk about,” he started, his voice sounding pressed and guilt dropped in Felix’s stomach like molten lead. He was the one forcing Hyunjin to feed in town. He was the one forcing a lifestyle onto Hyunjin that the other didn’t want.“We don’t really have any options but to meet at Chan-hyung’s and my apartment, do we?” Felix asked, desperate to get away from the topic of feeding, to ease the tension somehow. He looked up, searching the others’ expressions for a better solution, but found them either avoiding his gaze or seeming to draw a blank.“Hang on, you two are serious about this?” Jeongin asked, gaping at Felix who shifted uncomfortably.“Just drop it,” Hyunjin mumbled, but Jeongin merely flashed him a glare.“Hyung, we all know how important this is to you. Well, Jisung-hyung and I know and Minho-hyung probably heard his fair share as well. So I just…” Something flashed over his expression, making him hesitant, something akin to worry. Was Felix really fucking up that much with his demand?Hyunjin looked over at Jeongin and Felix immediately wished he could still see the other’s expression, that he could have certainty that things weren’t as bad as they sounded. “It’s only a temporary thing, but it might help with the overall situation.” Hyunjin’s voice was gentle, yet bearing a finality that seemed to successfully stop Jeongin’s inquiry, even though the demon still didn’t look entirely convinced by what he had heard.“Alright then. As long as it means that you two won’t pull another stunt like this and the kid finally stops being scared all the time…”Felix looked towards Jun again, finding the other shifting uncomfortably“I suggest we leave it at that today. Minho, I think you should go home. I…” Hyunjin’s voice wavered, then he took a deep breath. “Actually, could you take Felix home as well?”“What?” Felix’s heart dropped and his throat constricted. This wasn’t right! He had counted on Hyunjin taking him home, he couldn’t just… He needed…“Hyung, it’s okay.” Jeongin’s voice was much gentler than before. “You take Lixie home, I can keep an eye on the kid for a bit.”“Jeongin, I think I should—”“I think you’re hurting our human right now and I will not let you do that even a minute longer,” Jeongin interrupted Hyunjin, his voice firm, not allowing any protest, and Felix could have cried from knowing that Jeongin had his back like that. “Also, what do you think a newborn vampire can do to a demon like me? You should know better than to think the kid could so much as lay a finger on me.”Hyunjin hesitated and Felix could feel the other’s eyes on him, but he had looked down again, trying to mend his crumbling heart and keeping the gray sludge at bay. Hadn’t he done so well at keeping it away? Had it all just been Minho’s tea? Was this even still a healthy response? He had already gotten the guarantee that he’d see Hyunjin every week, wasn’t he too greedy for also wishing the other would take him home?On the other hand, shouldn’t he have learned from the past week—the past three weeks, if he was fully honest—that he needed to be a little selfish to be okay? That he needed to be honest with himself and those around him, even when it was difficult?“Okay,” Hyunjin agreed and Jeongin let out a quiet ‘tsk’.“I thought so.”Felix finally looked up, meeting Hyunjin’s eyes. “Okay?” he repeated, trying to ignore the hope that immediately got a hold of him at the prospect of getting a bit of time with his boyfriend.Hyunjin simply nodded before looking back towards Jun. “Try to relax a little, okay? I’m sure that this meeting was tough on you, even with the charm.”“Also,” Minho chimed in, “as I said, try to do as much as possible without the charm. At the end of the day, we do need you to be fine without it.”“Yes, thank you.” Jun bowed lightly, but Minho merely made a dismissive gesture, poking Jisung’s side afterwards.“You ready to go home?”Jisung made a noise that was somewhere between agreement and protest, but he did get up eventually, so Felix did the same. Minho and Hyunjin followed suit, but before they left the living room, Felix squeezed himself past Hyunjin, flopping down over Jeongin once more, holding the squirming demon tight. “Ew, go away!”“You love this.”“I hate you.”Felix merely hummed, smiling to himself as Jeongin relented and wrapped his arms around Felix, grumbling something along the lines of ‘disgusting skinship’. “Then just be grateful that Minho-hyung scratched all of my night shifts, will you?”“And miss the chance of teasing you?” Jeongin huffed. “It at least means that I actually do get time without those blood suckers occasionally.”“Yah!” Jisung protested, sounding far enough away that he was probably already at the front door, while Felix simply laughed. If the past week had shown two things, it was that Jeongin was clearly able to leave whenever he wanted to, and that he clearly cared way too much about all of them to actually leave.Felix released Jeongin, scrambling off the sofa. “Be nice, alright?” Jeongin rolled his eyes, so Felix turned around towards Jun, bowing lightly towards him. “Goodbye. I hope things will get a little easier for you from now on,” he said with a soft smile.Surprise washed over Jun’s face, then he hurried to bow as well, so fast that the movements blurred in front of Felix’s eyes. “Yes, yes, I… Thank you,” Jun replied, talking so fast that Felix nearly missed the meaning.With his goodbyes said, Felix made his way to the entrance area, Hyunjin following closely after him. The front door was slightly open and Minho and Jisung were nowhere to be seen as Felix slipped on his shoes, briefly glancing at Hyunjin to check that the other was ready as well before he went outside. Hyunjin closed the door after them and they made their way over to the cars.Minho was leaning against Jisung’s silver car, holding his boyfriend comfortably. Apparently, Jisung still hadn’t fully gotten over how close Minho had been to Jun earlier.Felix glanced over at Hyunjin by his side. “Hyung?” he started quietly, waiting until Hyunjin glanced at him before he continued, “Can I take my charm off?”Hyunjin raised one eyebrow, but then he seemed to catch on to what Felix wanted. He hesitated, glanced towards the house, but then he nodded anyway. “Yes, go ahead.”Felix immediately beamed and quickly untied the knots. By the time he was done, he was already impatiently standing in front of the other couple, Jisung having stepped out of the hug but only far enough to still lean against Minho’s side. Finally, Felix pushed the charmed bracelet into the back pocket of his pants, then he looked over at Jisung, holding his arms out, slightly tilting his head. “Okay?”Jisung stared at him for a moment, seeming to contemplate the situation, and a heartbeat later, Felix had his arms full of him, laughing when he got squeezed so hard that it almost hurt. He wrapped his arms around Jisung, holding him just as tightly until his muscles protested and he had to loosen his embrace. Jisung’s arms also loosened just enough to make the hug more comfortable, swaying them from side to side ever so lightly.“You okay?” Felix mumbled, relieved when Jisung hummed.“Just… inconvenient circumstances.”“Because Jun is a newborn?”“Because Jun is a newborn, Minho is my human, and I literally just fed last night.”“Oh…” No wonder that Jisung’s reaction had been that strong if he had fed so shortly before their meeting.Felix tightened his embrace for a moment, then he caressed Jisung’s back a little. “But this is okay?”Jisung hummed quietly. “You’re okay.”Felix blinked his eyes open, frowning at the dark trees a few meters away. “Yes, I’m okay?” Jisung was talking about him having returned, right?“He means that it’s okay for him if it’s you who’s close to Minho,” Hyunjin filled in quietly.Felix’s frown deepened even more and he tried to lean away, but Jisung didn’t let him, so he simply relaxed in the hug again. “I’m not that close right now, though?”Jisung made a frustrated noise while Minho laughed, taking pity on Felix, though, and explaining, “It means that he considers you family. Just like Jeongin and Hyunjin are okay for Jisung, you’re okay to be close to me right now. I wouldn’t recommend overdoing it, but it’s kind of, like…” He looked over towards Hyunjin, seeming unsure about the exact wording. “Like your instincts settling?”Jisung hummed, stepping out of the hug and returning to Minho’s side, hugging his arm as if Minho could disappear if Jisung didn’t touch him. “Pretty much. You know how we get super protective, but that can kind of… go down a little if the relationship is really secure and if the person who comes close is also, basically… labelled secure for us? Like, I know that you or Jeongin or Hyunjin-hyung would never make a move on Minho or harm him, so it’s okay for me to let you guys come close even now. It was different when I first started feeding from Min and when we picked it up again earlier this year, but… yeah, it’s more settled now, so it’s okay. Kinda.”Felix nodded in understanding. He still struggled a little to fully wrap his mind around that kind of possessive notion, especially since he hadn’t seen or experienced it in a long time. Well, except from that one evening after his quarantine when he had seen Minho again and Minho had very clearly tried to push him back towards Hyunjin. But aside from that, Felix had always been so close to Hyunjin after feeding that this possessiveness had just not really played a role to him. After all, he had profited from having his boyfriend that close just as much as Hyunjin had.Having come to his conclusions, Felix looked at Minho curiously with a slight tilt to his head. “Can I get a hug from you, too?”Minho laughed softly, pulling his arm out of his boyfriend’s embrace with little resistance before he stepped closer to Felix and wrapped him up in a gentle hug. Felix smiled happily, hugging Minho back closely, unspeakably grateful to have found friends who would indulge him even when he got clingy, even when he never wanted to let go. He closed his eyes, simply enjoying the moment and the peace that settled inside him, knowing that he was okay, that all of them were okay. That things would probably stay a little rocky for another while, but that they were likely closer to a solution than they had been before.Eventually, he stepped out of the hug, though, turning towards Hyunjin instead. “Let’s go?”Hyunjin nodded and held out his hand. Maybe they only had a few meters to go before they arrived at Hyunjin’s car, but Felix treasured the physical contact all the same.Behind him, the first car door slammed shut. Felix stepped closer to Hyunjin’s car, glancing over his shoulder. Surprise washed over him when he found Minho having followed them around the car, car keys dangling between his fingers. Minho flashed him a smile, then he got into the driver’s seat of Jisung’s car.Felix looked over at Hyunjin, finding the other smiling so fondly back at him that Felix couldn’t help but smile back brightly. He finally stepped away from the door, letting Hyunjin open and close it for him, before Hyunjin walked around the car and got into the driver’s seat. Felix had just finished fastening his seatbelt when the car next to him started moving and shortly after, Hyunjin also maneuvered them onto the street.Felix glanced over at his boyfriend, love and affection blossoming inside his chest, and he gave in to the urge to touch, placing his hand on Hyunjin’s thigh. Unfiltered happiness joined the mix inside him when Hyunjin placed his hand on top of Felix’s, keeping it there unless he had to switch gears.“Hyung?” Hyunjin hummed softly in response, so Felix continued, “I’m sorry. For running like that and not talking.”“I’m also sorry,” Hyunjin replied softly. “I should have known sooner that you weren’t doing alright, that I had to act.”“But you had Jun to take care of.”Hyunjin shook his head lightly. “That’s no excuse for not taking good care of my boyfriend.” He glanced over at Felix briefly, smiling softly, but Felix immediately felt worse.“Will you really be fine with feeding in town for a while?”Hyunjin’s smile fell and he sighed quietly. “I don’t like it… But it’s what you need, so it’ll be fine.”“Everyone else looked really shocked earlier…”“They know that… this is not my preferred option. And I think they assumed that you were fine with this. Just like I did.” Hyunjin’s voice became progressively more quiet until Felix had to strain his ears to understand him.Felix’s eyes widened lightly and, not knowing what else he could do, he gently squeezed Hyunjin’s thigh, intertwining their fingers a little more afterwards. “I really am sorry, hyung,” Felix replied quietly, turning a little in his seat so he could face Hyunjin. “I wish I wasn’t… I wish I could just…”“I know,” Hyunjin replied quietly and finally glanced over at Felix again with the hint of a smile playing on his lips.A boulder’s worth of weight seemed to be lifted from Felix’s shoulders at that and he returned the smile even though Hyunjin was already looking back at the street, briefly freeing his hand to switch gears.“Thank you.”Hyunjin nodded in response. “Let’s just take this as a reminder to tell each other how we feel, okay?”“Yes,” Felix replied, adding I’ll try at least, I promise in his mind.When they arrived in front of the apartment complex where Felix and Chan lived, Felix unfastened his seatbelt and fully turned to face Hyunjin. “I can’t wait for the day that I can come over to your home again.”Hyunjin turned towards him as well, flashing him a somewhat twisted smile. “Me neither.”“Oh, I meant to ask!” Felix straightened a little. “How are things with Jun? It always seemed to be a little… tense?”Hyunjin grimaced. “Jeongin and Jisung got really pissed at me for not having worked things out with you any sooner, to be honest. The three of us weren’t happy with the way the government put Jun into our care to begin with, but then when it became clear that you weren’t doing okay and that you were shutting all of us out… And that it was naturally me who had to talk that through with you while I was also the only one who had already trained a newborn and thus the one in charge of Jun…”Felix gently squeezed Hyunjin’s hand in silent encouragement. “It’s a lot for both of us, isn’t it?”Hyunjin simply nodded before looking away with a quiet sigh. “Things should become better now, I think. Now that you and I have figured things out…”“Were Jeongin and Jisung-hyung really that affected by this?”Hyunjin met Felix’s eyes again, smiling softly. “You heard Jeongin earlier, didn’t you?”“That I’m your human—all of yours.” Felix couldn’t help but smile at the reminder, still feeling warm and giddy from it.Hyunjin nodded. “All four of us are protective over you.” Felix’s smile deepened, even though he felt bad for having worried not only Hyunjin but Jeongin, Jisung, and Minho as well. “But I think everything will calm down from now on. At least that’s what I hope.”“I’m sure it will.”Hyunjin smiled softly at him, as if he had needed those words as much as Felix had, and Felix did the only thing that seemed right in this moment. He leaned closer to Hyunjin, happiness and contentment filling him when Hyunjin immediately leaned in as well until their lips met in a gentle kiss. The kiss felt like coming home, like a fluffy blanket on a cold night, like the world was finally falling back into its place.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Roughly one month passed. The best thing that came out of it was that Chan and Hyunjin got to spend more time together and Felix had a first-row seat to watching them become more comfortable around each other (the embarrassing story or two that were shared about him were, begrudgingly, worth it). The worst thing that came out of it was his growing guilt about denying Hyunjin what he actually wanted. But aside from the fact that they were forced to spend less time together, it seemed to Felix like nothing was really changing between them. Which again manifested in even greater guilt for ever having doubted Hyunjin and their relationship, for even the mere thought having crossed his mind that the feeding could have influenced how they felt for each other. He should probably do something about that.But that would have to wait for later.Felix dropped his head to his desk, groaning at the dull pain that immediately pulsated through his head at the impact. How did it seem like he was literally only existing in exam periods? What kind of curse was university that exam periods seemed to be all the time?The doorbell rang, announcing… Well, Felix didn’t know whom. He would have normally bet on some delivery person, but he and Chan had already had dinner and it was nearly midnight. They were also well-stacked with snacks, so Felix was certain that Chan wouldn’t have gotten delivery. And even Changbin coming over wasn’t likely at this time. So… Well, maybe someone had rung their bell by accident.With a long sigh, Felix forced his head up and his eyes back to the screen in front of him, going over the presentation slides from his musical theory class. He hadn’t even made it through the first slide in front of him when Chan called his name.“What?” Felix called back through the closed door of his room, frowning at the slide in front of him, eyes still skimming over it.“You may wanna take off your charm.”Felix mindlessly did as he had been told, re-reading the line in front of him, until his mind stumbled over Chan’s words. Take off his charm? He looked down at his wrist where his fingers had already begun working on the knots that held the charmed bracelet in place.He and Hyunjin hadn’t made any plans. And they hadn’t been meeting up recently unless they had specifically made plans. But Chan would never tell him to take off the charmed bracelet for anyone but Hyunjin…A gentle knock startled Felix out of his confusion and he swiveled around in his desk chair. “Come in?”The door opened, indeed revealing Hyunjin, clad fully in black, and his eyes…Felix hurried to get the charm off while already making his way over to his boyfriend. He didn’t know where the charm landed once the last knot had come undone, but he also couldn’t say that he cared when he wrapped his arms tightly around Hyunjin. When he felt the other’s arms slowly wrapping around him. When he heard Hyunjin’s slightly shaky breath right next to his ear.Forgotten were his midterms, his exhaustion, and his inner turmoil. None of it was important when his boyfriend was on his doorstep, hurting.“I’m sorry, I—”“Shh,” Felix interrupted him, tightening his embrace. Over Hyunjin’s shoulder, he locked eyes with Chan who silently motioned towards his own room before disappearing from view. Felix closed his eyes to the quiet sound of Chan’s door clicking shut.A small eternity passed before Felix opened his eyes again, still without letting go of Hyunjin. “What do you think about cuddling in bed? We could watch a movie on my laptop… Or we could listen to music. Or talk. Or simply cuddle without anything else. Whatever you like.”Hyunjin gave a faint hum and Felix had no idea what the other was agreeing to, but he figured that it wasn’t all too important. He leaned back, even when Hyunjin’s arms immediately tightened on him. Felix slid his arms off Hyunjin’s shoulders until he could gently cup Hyunjin’s face in his hands, then he leaned in to press a soft kiss on Hyunjin’s lips, hoping that Hyunjin would understand even without words that he was safe, that he was okay, that Felix wouldn’t pry. That all he wanted was to be there for his boyfriend.Felix leaned away and stepped out of the hug after a few seconds and this time, Hyunjin let him. Felix smiled softly at him, pulling Hyunjin fully into his room. “You change, I get some more water, then we cuddle?” he offered, smiling when Hyunjin gave him a brief nod.Felix quickly went into the kitchen to refill his water bottle, making another stop in the bathroom when he realized that he surely wouldn’t want to get up once he had lain down. When he finally went back into his room, Hyunjin was sitting cross-legged on the bed, dressed in soft, comfortable clothes that clearly belonged to Felix. The sweatpants were just a tad too short on him, but Felix’s heart nevertheless bloomed at the mere sight of Hyunjin wearing his clothes. It didn’t matter that they had fallen into this routine as soon as Hyunjin had started coming to his place, it still made Felix unspeakably happy to see Hyunjin like that. Especially this time when Hyunjin seemed to be so much more relaxed than he had been a few minutes earlier.“Hey,” Felix said quietly as he closed the door behind himself and made his way over to the bed.“Hey,” Hyunjin echoed and lay down just in time for Felix to get comfortable as well, holding out his arms for Hyunjin who immediately cuddled into him. “Sorry for coming over unannounced like this.”Felix shook his head lightly, one hand automatically carding through Hyunjin’s hair while the other comfortable rested on Hyunjin’s back. “Don’t worry about it. You looked like you needed it.” Hyunjin gave a quiet hum, pulling Felix marginally closer with the arm that he had draped over Felix’s middle. “Want to talk about it?”Hyunjin shook his head lightly and Felix hummed in understanding. “Will you tell me something?”“What do you want to hear?”“Anything.”Felix had to think about the request for a moment, trying to come up with a story that he hadn’t long since shared with Hyunjin. Eventually, he settled on an episode from his childhood, relieved when Hyunjin’s body slowly relaxed against his own the longer Felix simply talked, jumping off his own stories to share more anecdotes when it was clear that Hyunjin merely wanted to listen. One week later, Felix let himself in through the gate that belonged to Hyunjin, Jisung, and Jeongin’s house, still wondering if he should have announced himself in advance. He knew that Hyunjin would be home—or at least he was very certain about that because Hyunjin had taken Jun into town to feed the day before. He also knew that this meant that Jun should be pretty much fine with a human staying the night because Jisung and Minho had experimented with that recently. They had told Felix that they were successful, even though Jun was clearly growing agitated in the morning, signaling that more than one human for one night would still be too much for him to handle, at least without using magic.And so, Felix made his way to the front door that was opened even before he got there, as always, by Hyunjin in a soft-looking, cream-colored shirt and red, slightly widened eyes. “You’re not supposed to be here,” Hyunjin said in lieu of a greeting, but he still stepped back to let Felix in. Which was honestly more than Felix had dared to hope for. He had been ready to fight Hyunjin on this topic all over again.“And I’m pretty sure it’s been a week since you last fed,” Felix replied with an angelic smile while he took off his shoes.“I win,” Jeongin’s voice came from approximately the living room.“I can’t believe I ever agreed to make a bet against you,” Jisung grumbled and Felix raised an incredulous eyebrow at Hyunjin.“They made a bet about whether I’d come over or not?” he asked, watching Hyunjin hide his hands in his sleeves and then his face behind his sweater paws. Adorable. Felix’s hands automatically went to the charm to take it off, but he reminded himself just in time that he hadn’t actually talked about that just yet with the others and wasn’t sure if they’d be okay with him taking it off while Jun was around.Movement in the hallway distracted him, only to find Jisung leaning in the doorway to the living room. “Jeongin said you were gonna show up unannounced one of these days. I said that you’d at least shoot us a message, even if you might ignore any type of protest.”“Now look who knows our human better!” Jeongin’s voice came from inside the living room once again and Felix grinned. He made his way into the kitchen, amused by the sound of quiet bickering from the living room. When he turned around after drying his hands, he wasn’t surprised to find Hyunjin standing close to him, watching him.“You should have texted me.”“And risked you protesting against me coming over? Or having to wait who knows how long in case you’d go for my strategy and just run away? No, thank you. Can I take this off?” He raised his left wrist, smiling at the visible whiplash on Hyunjin’s face, the protest momentarily stalled by confusion.“Yes. But still, we would have…” Hyunjin trailed off and Felix raised an eyebrow at him, his fingers untying the knots on their own.“You would have… arranged something? Made sure that Jun isn’t here when I come over?” The way that Hyunjin started playing with his sleeve was answer enough and Felix sighed quietly, focusing more on the knots until he could finally put the charmed bracelet in the back pocket of his pants. With the charm out of the way, he stepped closer to his boyfriend, gently cupping his face and waiting until Hyunjin finally made eye contact. “Hyung. Remember what you asked me when you started feeding from me?” he asked quietly, patiently waiting even when Hyunjin looked away again.“I asked you to stay,” Hyunjin replied, so quietly that Felix almost had to read the words off the other’s lips.“Yes. I’m not planning to leave tonight. And unless you’re making Jun sleep on the sofa, I’m also pretty sure that I don’t have a guest room to return to. Not that I would even want to sleep anywhere but in your bed, in your arms. Okay?” Hyunjin looked back at him and Felix could finally search in the other’s eyes, trying to find that same quiet confidence about feeding that Hyunjin had had for so long.“Hyung!!” Jeongin’s whiny voice interrupted the moment. “I’m comfy here! I don’t want to leave!”“You’re comfy here now. But I doubt you’re gonna want to be here in ten minutes,” Jisung retorted. Jun’s voice made it through to Felix, though he was speaking too quietly for Felix to understand him, unlike Jisung’s reply. “We told you about the effects that feeding has, haven’t we? Well…”“Oh,” Jun made while Jeongin grumbled something incomprehensible, though it did sound like he was getting up.Hyunjin let out a quiet sigh before his lips curved into a small smile. “You’re staying?”“For as long as you will let me.”“Okay,” Hyunjin whispered and Felix beamed before he leaned in, pressing a gentle kiss on Hyunjin’s lips.When they leaned apart, Felix found Jisung leaning against the doorframe, Jun standing half behind him, seeming unsure what to do with the situation. “We’ll be back in about an hour, alright?” Jisung asked, his eyes going back and forth between Felix and Hyunjin.Felix nodded, but he looked at Hyunjin for confirmation, finding the other already looking at him. He smiled at Hyunjin, then turned towards Jisung, but the other had already turned away, clearly not needing any further confirmation.“I can’t believe that you just came over like that,” Hyunjin said with a slight shake of his head.Felix looked back at him, raising one eyebrow. “This wasn’t even the first time I did this,” he remarked, grinning when Hyunjin merely rolled his eyes. “Also, I can’t believe that you’re being such a bad role model. What kind of impression must this leave on Jun, hm? That you won’t even make sure to be well-fed.” He left out the part where they had assured each other that they’d talk about it when their previous arrangement wouldn’t work anymore. Hyunjin had come to him when he had needed him, and the utter lack of real protest was more than enough for Felix to know that he was doing the right thing.“Okay, well, I’m out of here,” Jeongin announced while passing the kitchen.“Why though? I have lots of love to give, I can give you lots, too,” Felix called after him with a grin, trailing into the hallway as well, laughing when Jeongin made retching noises.“Stay away from me, you spawn of Satan!”Felix only just turned the corner when Jeongin already escaped while Jisung was laughing so hard that he was leaning against the wall in the entrance area. Felix tilted his head lightly, in equal parts amused and confused. “Coming from Jeongin, did he just curse me or was that the highest compliment I could ever get from him?”“I’d say it’s the latter,” Hyunjin replied, his tone fond and when Felix glanced over at him, he found Hyunjin smiling affectionately. “Jisung-ah, now get out of here.”“Eager to get your fangs into your boyfriend, huh?” Jisung replied, seeming to just barely get the sentence out without starting to laugh all over again.Heat instantly shot into Felix’s face while Hyunjin hissed, only making Jisung laugh more. He motioned for Jun to go outside, following after him while still laughing.Silence fell over the house and Felix turned towards Hyunjin again, smiling when he found Hyunjin already looking at him. “Ready?” he asked quietly, holding his hand out, beaming when Hyunjin grabbed it and intertwined their fingers.Felix happily led them upstairs, letting his eyes roam over the familiar pictures until one suddenly struck him. He came to such an abrupt stand that Hyunjin’s hand tensed, probably in an effort not to run into him, but Felix’s entire attention was drawn to a new picture, right at the top of the staircase. The photo was only about three months old and one of a full series of pictures that were all saved on Felix’s phone. They had been in the middle of playing a board game; Felix and Hyunjin sitting on one side of the living room table, Minho and Jisung on the other, and Jeongin at one head end. In the middle of the game, Jisung had suddenly told them to look up and then proceeded to take a number of pictures. In the first one, Felix and Jeongin had looked up in surprise before they had also started smiling for the camera, the pictures getting increasingly silly as Jisung had just continued to click away. The picture that they had put up on the wall was one of the earlier ones, with all five of them smiling brightly at the camera.But most importantly: it was the first picture that had been hung up in the house that had Felix in it.The love that he felt for Hyunjin, Jisung, Jeongin, and Minho bloomed inside Felix so strongly that it was almost overwhelming. It was one thing to have heard the others tell him that they liked him and wanted him around. It was a different thing to find a picture with him in it included in the array of pictures around the house that only held people that were important to its inhabitants.“Do you like it?” Hyunjin asked quietly and Felix finally managed to tear his eyes away from the picture, beaming at Hyunjin instead.“I love it!” He happily pulled Hyunjin the remaining few steps up and then along the hallway to Hyunjin’s bedroom. The room’s subtle rose and orange scent welcomed Felix home and he impatiently waited for Hyunjin to close the door. Finally, he guided Hyunjin over to the bed, trying to get Hyunjin to sit down, but the other wouldn’t budge, turning to face Felix instead, clicking his tongue lightly at Felix’s pout.“Don’t give me that look,” Hyunjin chided, but his voice was fond and gentle, raising one hand to lightly rest against Felix’s cheek.“What are you waiting for?”Hyunjin hesitated, his gaze becoming momentarily guarded before he dropped the façade and his shoulders. “It’s just… You’re really certain about this?”Felix immediately nodded, looking right back into Hyunjin’s red eyes, hoping that his own would convey how serious he was about this. “Yes, I am. And I’m very sorry that I had to push you away to begin with,” he added, already seeing the protest in Hyunjin’s frown before the other shook his head.“Don’t apologize.” Felix opened his mouth to argue that he very much had to apologize, but Hyunjin didn’t give him the chance to speak, “Thank you. Thank you for having been honest with me when you needed a change for you to feel secure.”Felix shook his head lightly, looking away. “Still, I’m sorry that I doubted you at all. And thank you for accepting it and for not holding it against me.”“I would never.”Felix looked up again, searching in Hyunjin’s eyes for a moment until his lips turned up in a smile. He stepped closer to his boyfriend to connect their lips in a brief, gentle kiss.When he leaned away again and lightly pushed at Hyunjin’s chest, the other went without resisting, sitting down on the edge of the bed. Felix followed, straddling Hyunjin’s lap, and he kissed Hyunjin again, more determined this time, and Hyunjin instantly matched his energy, kissing him back with just as much fervor. Felix’s arms loosely wrapped around Hyunjin’s neck, one of his hands tangling itself into the long strands of Hyunjin’s hair. Both of Hyunjin’s hands came to rest hotly on Felix’s hips, before Hyunjin seemed to change his mind, wrapping his arms around Felix’s middle instead, holding him close.It didn’t take long for Hyunjin to break the kiss in favor of kissing along Felix’s jawline and down his neck, leaving a hot trail in his wake. Felix tilted his head, his eyes remaining closed as he simply felt, relaxed, gave in to the small tendrils of pleasure that were reaching through him.“May I?” Hyunjin asked quietly, lips still moving against the sensitive skin on Felix’s neck, and Felix almost laughed at the absurdity of the question. At the same time, love and excitement sparked inside him at the reminder that Hyunjin would always ask, always check if Felix was okay with feeding.“Yes,” Felix breathed out. Then he let himself fall into the ocean of pleasure that submerged him the moment Hyunjin’s fangs pierced his skin. Felix was only allowed to stay one day and even he could tell that Jun was on edge when Hyunjin drove him back near dawn the night after. Even so, Hyunjin stayed with him until he fell asleep in his own bed and even if he had been awake enough to form full sentences, Felix knew that he wouldn’t have been able to express how loved he felt in that moment. It was near midnight two nights later and he was cuddled up on the sofa with Chan, some cheesy movie playing in the background, when one of their phones started vibrating on the table. Felix grimaced and looked over at the two devices. Who on earth called them at this hour?Chan moved after a few more heartbeats, first checking his own phone, then Felix’s, leaning back with the second device in hand and holding it out to Felix. Felix’s displeasure disappeared as quickly as it had come when he saw the caller ID.“Hi?”“Hey,” Hyunjin’s voice came through the device, sounding pressed.“What’s up?” Felix asked, frowning lightly as he sat up straight. Sure, calls weren’t all that uncommon between them, but they usually called earlier in the night and most of the time also checked beforehand if the other person was available to call. Next to him, Chan straightened and paused the movie, watching him.“The short version is that we kind of ran into a situation and need your help.”Felix blinked at the TV screen in front of him. “Mine?” he repeated. He was a mere human, what on earth was he supposed to be able to help with?“It’s about Minho’s potion.”Felix’s frown deepened. “I can’t do potions…”Chan gave a quiet “What?” and when Felix looked over at his best friend, he looked more confused than ever.“It’s… not exactly about the potion…”“We need your blood,” Jeongin’s voice resonated from the other end, followed by a hiss and a series of probably curses that were too muffled for Felix to understand. Possibly not even in a language he spoke.Figuring that Hyunjin would need a moment to return to the phone, Felix whispered, “They need my blood. I think it’s for that self-control potion that Minho-hyung had looked into.” Chan nodded, understanding flashing over his features. “And right now it sounds like Hyunjin-hyung is murdering Jeongin…”“I’m not murdering anyone,” Hyunjin instantly protested while Chan merely raised an eyebrow and Felix shrugged.“Okay, so. You need my blood for the potion?”Hyunjin sighed and a moment later, the background noise from his side ceased entirely. “Yes. Minho did that the last two times, but… He’s not exactly in any shape to do it this time. We’re not even entirely sure if he’ll be able to cast his magic on the potion…”“So you need me for the blood. To make the potion better digestible for Jun,” Felix summarized, holding Chan’s eyes.The line remained silent for a worryingly long time before Hyunjin answered. “Yes.” It sounded like this one word had been dragged out of him, somewhere from the deepest depths where it had been buried, never having been supposed to see the light of day.Everything inside Felix wanted to eagerly get on the way, to be there, to help! But…“Are you okay with this?” He was certain to know the answer even before he heard Hyunjin sigh.“I wish there was a different solution. Jun did suggest that he could ask for one of his friends to be driven over, but that would mean the addition of at least two humans here and… In short, you are the only other human whom we fully trust.”Felix slow-blinked at Chan in front of him, watching his best friend tilt his head in question, but unable to respond. A chaos of emotions had been let loose inside him and he couldn’t quite name a single one, but they were overwhelmingly positive, that much he knew. They needed him. They wanted him there because they trusted him! His picture was on their wall. They wanted him there, they wanted him to help, they weren’t just casually letting him in but even asking for him to be there.That realization hit him like a strike of lightning. Maybe his second family was pushing him away, refusing to let him in. But he was very much wanted and included by Hyunjin, Jisung, Jeongin, and Minho.“You good?” Chan asked quietly when the silence had apparently stretched on for too long and Felix nodded.“Yes. Yes, I’m good. I’ll come over?” He wasn’t even entirely sure whom he was talking to, but it seemed like both Chan and Hyunjin accepted his words as an answer.“I’ll pick you up.”“Thank you, hyung.”“It’s the least I can do.”“No, I mean—” Felix interrupted himself, shaking his head lightly. “I’ll explain it later. I’ll see you soon.”Hyunjin simply hummed, then the line went dead. Chan raised an eyebrow at him, but instead of answer right away, Felix flung himself into his best friend’s arms once again, hugging him close. Chan simply went along with it, clearly long since used to Felix’s spontaneous hugs. He hugged Felix back until the younger wiggled away, motioning for Chan to follow him. “I’m just happy, you know?”“I kinda figured as much,” Chan replied, sounding amused but also confused.“It’s just… With everything that’s been going on…” Felix hesitated but then decided to speak anyway. “It still hurts that your family doesn’t want to let me in,” he explained as he entered his bedroom and went to his closet to grab some proper pants to wear. “I feel like, if anyone should let me in, it’s your family since they are a second family to me… Or were… I’m not entirely sure anymore.” He sighed quietly, simply staring at the contents of his closet without really seeing anything before he managed to get a grasp again, squaring his shoulders. “So it’s just really nice that Hyunjin-hyung, Jisung-hyung, Minho-hyung, and Jeongin aren’t like that. That they constantly make an effort to let me in, to know that they trust me enough to want me there and for me to help even in this situation…”“I’m sorry,” Chan said quietly and Felix quickly looked up, then shook his head.“No need. You’re doing all you can. You are letting me in and I’m incredibly grateful for that.” He grabbed the pair of pants on the top of the pile, dropping them on his bed for the time being in favor of walking back to his best friend and loosely wrapping his arms around the other’s neck. “I love you for that. And for so much more. You know that, right?”Chan rolled his eyes, but he did wrap his arms around Felix’s middle. “Don’t let your boyfriend hear that,” Chan teased him, but Felix merely shrugged.“I have yet to find out whether he does or doesn't tell the others that he loves them. I have a feeling that he doesn’t, which means that there’s clearly room for improvement in their friendships and hyung’s communication skills.”Chan actually laughed at that. “Not everyone needs to tell his homies that he loves them for that to be understood, you know?”Felix huffed. “Well, then how about telling them he appreciates them?”“I’m sure they also understand that without Hyunjin saying that out loud. Also, from what you’ve told me, Jeongin might be royally offended if Hyunjin or Jisung were to say any of that.”Felix made a simple ‘pfft’ at that, shrugging. “You gotta communicate sometimes!”“Well, you understand that he loves you even when he doesn’t say it often, don’t you?” Chan replied with a raised eyebrow.“That’s hardly the point here!”Chan laughed at that and unwound his arms, lightly pushing Felix into the direction of his bed. “Go get changed. I can’t have you not be ready when Hyunjin-hyung comes to pick you up.”Felix rolled his eyes, but he did follow suit, changing into the pair of jeans that he had grabbed earlier before making his way back into the living room to pick up his phone and cuddle with Chan a little longer. When Hyunjin texted him that he had arrived, Felix said goodbye to Chan, certain that they’d see each other again in just an hour or two.He went downstairs and slid into the passenger’s seat of Hyunjin’s car. “Hey,” he greeted the other while fastening his seatbelt just as Hyunjin already started the car.“Hey.”Felix raised an eyebrow, fiddling with the seatbelt a little longer until he finally heard the ‘click’ that announced that he had succeeded. He looked up, trying to see past the darkness and read in Hyunjin’s face, to get past his still pressed voice. Felix hesitated, then he quickly took off his mask and started untying the charmed bracelet.“Hyung?” he spoke up quietly. He hadn’t intended to lead with baring his feelings, especially not seeing that Hyunjin was clearly not exactly in the mood to have a heartfelt conversation, but at the same time, he felt like that was the right way to start. Especially when he didn’t get a response. “I wanted to say thank you.”“You already did.”“I know. But I didn’t tell you what for.” He smiled when their eyes briefly met before Hyunjin turned to look at the street again. “I wanted to say thank you for letting me in. For allowing me to help. I know that it’s not easy for you and that letting me in in itself hasn’t been easy for you all, but I just want you to know that I appreciate it.”“Of course we’ll let you in,” Hyunjin replied, as if it was the most natural thing.Felix shook his head, though. “None of that is self-evident. Minho-hyung had intended to simply erase my memory when I first found out about everything. Chan’s mother actually did erase my memory at one point. She, Chan’s dad, and Chan’s sister are like my second family, and still they’re treating me like an alien when it’s about anything magical. You all were strangers and yet you trust me, let me in, want me there… It really means a lot to me, you know?”Finally, the bracelet came undone and he could put it into the back pocket of his pants. Freed from the charm, Felix reached over and placed his hand on Hyunjin’s thigh. He wished that he could have greeted Hyunjin with a kiss, like normal couples did, but that would have to wait until they arrived.Hyunjin’s hand found Felix’s, their fingers automatically interlacing. “This really burdens you, doesn’t it?” he asked quietly after a while. “That Chan’s family won’t let you in, I mean.”Felix hummed quietly and turned to look out the window, his shoulders sagging slightly. “I would have never thought that they’d keep something big from me.” A thought crossed his mind and he let out a humorless laugh. “And now I’m keeping something equally big from my family! How hypocritical of me…” He looked down, the corners of his lips twitching.Hyunjin gently squeezed his hand gently, a silent comfort when all words were in vain.“New topic,” Felix decided, instantly feeling bad because he was about to bring down the mood again when Hyunjin had just started to relax a little. “What exactly will I need to do? What exactly will happen when we arrive?”Hyunjin instantly tensed. Felix sighed inwardly, already regretting that he had asked, but he was also still curious about what his involvement entailed exactly. “Minho will probably have the potion ready by the time we arrive. All we will need from you is a little of your blood. Minho has a small dagger that is suspiciously well-suited for this task, if you ask me. He’ll probably lend it to you for today. We usually have Jun stay present, though in a different room, because he needs to get used to the scent of blood and stay in control. Then Jisung would close Minho’s wound, which is a task that would fall on me this time,” Hyunjin answered mechanically.Felix nodded lightly. All of that sounded easy enough. “How has Jun been taking it?”Hyunjin’s body went rigid as a stone and Felix closed his eyes, willing away any images of Jun possibly going completely rabid from blood lust. No. They’d be fine. Right?“So far, it’s always been good that Jeongin and I have been there. This time, Jisung will have to take my position. I hope he’ll be able to do it…”“Because he might want to stay with Minho-hyung?”Hyunjin’s lips curved up into a one-sided, bitter smile. “Because it’ll take a lot of convincing to get him to leave Minho’s side. Minho… he nearly fainted on us when he redid the magic on Jun’s necklace.”Felix’s eyes widened at that and his grip on Hyunjin’s thigh tightened a little. “Is he okay now?”“Well, he was already complaining about us fussing over him by the time I left…” Hyunjin shrugged lightly, seeming a little more at ease than before. “But… from what Jisung’s told us, the government has been relying a lot on the witches in town. Because of the virus and possible solutions. So Minho has been burdening himself with that and the café and Jisung feeding from him regularly… And on top of all that, he’s redoing the magic on Jun’s charm about once a week, and now we’ve added the potion that demands extra magic and blood…”Felix winced lightly at the mere thought of everything that Minho was burdened with. He had usually seemed fine at work. A little paler, maybe, but aside from that, he had been his normal self. Not that Felix had seen him a lot at the café, but that part in itself wasn’t too surprising to him since Minho still tried to be there mostly for the night shifts despite not neglecting the day shifts. Felix couldn’t even imagine the toll all of that had to take on Minho.“No wonder he wasn’t able to keep it up…”“Don’t let Jisung hear that or he’ll force Minho to take at least one month off. He’s already threatened to have Minho take a year off if he does decide to move with us.”A smile played on Felix’s lips, but it fell quickly with the second sentence. “You’re thinking about moving?” he asked quietly, looking down at the airbag sign in front of him.Hyunjin gently squeezed his hand, but the gesture wasn't quite as reassuring as normally. “Not really, no. It’s just… kind of always on the back of our minds. But for the time being, we’re luckily at no point where we’d have to move already. And, if possible, we’d like to wait until quarantine regulations are dropped before we will move, though that hopefully shouldn’t be an issue. Regarding when they will be dropped and when we will have to move again, I mean…”“I still can’t believe that you’ll be leaving one day,” Felix mumbled, his heart bleeding at the mere thought of the others leaving… leaving him? Probably, right?“You know…” Hyunjin started slowly, hesitantly. “Whenever we leave Seoul… you and I don’t have to separate. Not necessarily.”Felix’s head shot up. The option of leaving with the others had never even crossed his mind, at least not seriously. Minho, sure, but he was also a witch. But he himself…? “You mean… if you turn me?”Hyunjin briefly glanced at him before looking ahead again. “Not necessarily. It’s not exactly common, but… I wouldn’t mind. None of us would, actually. No matter whether you want to become a vampire or not, that’s entirely up to you. But…” Hyunjin’s grip on Felix’s hand tightened momentarily. “All of you us love you a lot, you know?” he added, almost too quietly for Felix to hear. Once the words did register, though, tears immediately burned in Felix’s eyes and he had to swallow against a forming lump in his throat.“You mean it?”Hyunjin nodded softly, eyes carefully trained on the road. “I’d never force you. And I do want you to know that no matter what you want to do… Even if we stay together, there’s no guarantee for us to work out. There never is, for two people.” Something in Hyunjin’s voice changed, tilted, twisted something in Felix’s heart.“Tell me about it?” he asked quietly.Hyunjin looked at him, holding his gaze for so long that Felix started to worry about the road, but just when he was about to speak up, Hyunjin turned his head back to the front. “We had started out as friends, him and I,” he began, his voice quiet and even, like always when Hyunjin started talking about his past. Felix leaned against his backrest, watching Hyunjin’s side profile silently. “We would study together, go to the exams together, eat together—or at least spend mealtimes together—, go out together… I think the entire district knew that it was always the two of us together.“We were inseparable, you know?” A melancholic smile played on Hyunjin’s lips. “He confessed eventually. Both his love and the fact that he was a vampire. He said that his coven was about to move on, asked me if I wanted to join him. At the time, there was nothing I would have rather done, so he explained to me what was awaiting me, and then, two nights before his coven left, he turned me.”Hyunjin’s grip on Felix’s hand momentarily tightened before he relaxed again, taking his hand away to switch gears. They had almost reached the house where Hyunjin, Jisung, Jeongin, and, as of recently, Jun lived. Soon, Hyunjin’s hand found its way back to rest on top of Felix’s.“We stayed with his coven for a while until there were some… discrepancies. We left together with another couple. He and I were together for a little over a century until we could admit that both of us had changed. We had taken each other for granted, at the time, and had been set on fixing whatever was causing us to drift apart. It got almost… toxic. I think that’s the word that’s used today.” Hyunjin shrugged lightly. “Eventually, we decided that we were better off on our own. I left all three of them shortly after.”“That’s when you met Jisung-hyung and Jeongin, isn’t it?” Felix asked quietly, but Hyunjin shook his head.“Not right away. I roamed the world on my own for a few years, though I’m not entirely certain how long. Until one day, I found myself back in Joseon. And then was found by Jisungie and Jeonginnie.” His expression softened immediately at the reminder of how they had met and Felix couldn’t help but smile as well, until something suddenly clicked.“Wait!” He sat a little straighter. “You’re telling me you’re over 250 years old?” Hyunjin glanced over at him before taking his hand away to make another turn. Even in the darkness, Felix could see, or maybe sense, the other’s insecurity, and his jaw fell open. “You… that’s a quarter of a millennium!”“Yes?”“That… Oh my god.” Felix fell back against his seat, finally remembering to close to mouth. “Oh my god! You’re… Jeez, and you never thought to tell me sooner just how old you are?”“I mean… You never asked. And it didn’t seem important to me…”“You had a relationship for over a century and you’re a quarter of a millennium old and you didn’t think that was important?”Hyunjin frowned, bringing the car to a full stop. It was only belatedly that Felix realized they had actually arrived.After killing the engine, Hyunjin turned towards him, worrying his bottom lip with his teeth before he spoke up again. “I’m sorry,” he started quietly. “It’s just… it’s really not that important to me.”“I’m nothing but a speck of dust in your life!” Felix hid his face behind his hands, trying to restart his brain from where it was spiraling in a tight loop.“That’s not true!” Hyunjin protested immediately and a moment later, there was a cool touch against Felix’s wrists, pulling at them so gently that the choice was still up to Felix whether he wanted to abide or not. Eventually, he gave in, allowing Hyunjin to pull his hands away, to cradle them in his own. “Felix, look at me.” Felix did as he was told, looking right into Hyunjin’s searching eyes. “I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you earlier. But I also want you to know that all of this… That this isn’t meaningless. That you’re more than ‘a speck of dust in my life’.”It was only when Hyunjin quoted him directly that Felix realized he had to have slipped into English when his brain had short-circuited. That just got even more embarrassing…“Remember my partner from New York City?” Felix nodded hesitantly. “Do you also remember that I told you that I had only known him for one and a half years?” Felix nodded again, frowning lightly as he was trying to figure out what Hyunjin was trying to get at. “You and I have met for the first time a little over a year ago. About one year and one month.”Felix’s eyes widened lightly. He hadn’t even realized that Hyunjin had kept count of that, and especially not that he would have remembered their very first meeting since it had been so short.Hyunjin gently placed Felix’s hands into his lap, scooting a little closer until he could easily cup Felix’s face in his hands. “It’s been 36 years since I had to say goodbye in New York City and I wouldn’t even dream of forgetting him. It’s been over 150 years since I’ve left my very first partner. And I’ve forgotten about neither of them, nor about those that came in between. It doesn’t matter how long you and I will last—I won’t forget you.”“Hyunjin…” Felix could only stare into Hyunjin’s eyes, could only feel his heart beating fast and hard at the confession that went so much deeper than anything Hyunjin had ever told him before. Hyunjin searched in his eyes and he seemed to find what he was looking for because a small smile appeared on his lips just before he leaned closer to seal his promise with a gentle, unhurried kiss.By the time that they parted, Felix’s hands had somehow found their way to rest on top of Hyunjin’s, and Hyunjin had spread his fingers just far enough for Felix’s smaller ones to fit between them. “Never forget this, alright?” Hyunjin mumbled. “No matter how short or long our time together may be, I won’t forget you.”Felix leaned closer until he could rest his forehead against Hyunjin’s. He breathed out slightly shakily, overwhelmed by the myriad of emotions that Hyunjin’s words had caused. “Okay,” he whispered, his eyes closed as he grounded himself through the touch. “I… Argh, I can’t do this!” He groaned, then took a deep breath. When he started again, he switched back to English, the words coming more naturally and feeling so much deeper and more real than their Korean counterparts. “I won’t forget you either. No matter what happens, no matter how long we stay together. I love you.”“I love you, too,” Hyunjin replied in Korean. And Felix knew that it was solely because some things just needed to be said in one’s mother tongue.He stole another kiss from his boyfriend, protesting lightly when Hyunjin leaned away way too soon, even having the audacity to laugh. Felix opened his eyes, unable to keep up his fake disgruntlement when Hyunjin’s voice sounded so beautiful, so carefree. “Now, how about we go inside? I kinda have promised Jun that I’d take him to see his friends tonight.”Felix smiled back and hummed in response. “You seem less worried now.”“Oh, the protective instincts will come back soon enough. Just allow me two minutes of being fine, will you?”Felix’s smile deepened. He nodded, but still motioned towards the car door. “Let’s go?”Hyunjin nodded and they both got out of the car. Hyunjin grabbed Felix’s hand as soon as they were side by side, intertwining their fingers, as they made their way to the front door.The door was opened by a timid-looking Jun who quickly made space for them to enter. Felix smiled brightly at him before he started on his usual routine of taking off his shoes and his jacket and washing his hands. With all of that done, he followed the others’ voices into the living room, coming to a stand in the doorway next to Hyunjin. Jun and Jeongin had claimed the armchairs for themselves while Jisung and Minho were sitting on the sofa. Minho’s expression bordered on annoyed as Jisung was clinging to him. He had one cup in his hands, but another cup stood in front of him.“Hey there, beloved savior,” Jeongin welcomed him with an amused look while Felix merely raised an eyebrow.“Me?”“Who else keeps on saving everyone’s asses, huh?” Jeongin replied, only laughing when Jisung hissed at him in a warning.Felix looked away, heat rising to his cheeks, and he was grateful for Hyunjin’s arm that was wrapped around his shoulders, pulling him a little closer. Probably sensing that Felix wouldn’t respond, Minho spoke up, “The cup on the table is the potion that I made.” Felix looked up again and nodded lightly. Nerves tingled inside him as they stepped up to business, at the realization that this was the moment where everyone was counting on him. “I have a small dagger that I use. I would generally recommend cutting your wrist with it since just pricking your fingertip would make it take forever until there’s enough blood in the potion. Be careful, though: the dagger is really sharp.”Felix nodded, then frowned lightly. “Won’t I get a scar?”Minho shook his head. “That’s one of the perks of having vampires nearby: Hyunjin can simply heal the wound for you. Just like there’s never any scar tissue on our necks, there won’t be any on your wrist either.”“How much…?” Felix started but trailed off towards the end, still a little awkward talking about blood as a mere extra to a drink.“Did you make any of the blood-spiked drinks at the café?” Minho asked back, squinting like he was trying to recall how many night shifts Felix had worked before blood had started running out.“No," Felix replied with a shake of his head and Minho simply nodded. "You only allowed me to make drinks during the night shift when the government had already stopped delivering blood.”“Then Hyunjin will take the lead with that, he will know how much blood is needed to make the potion digestible for vampires.”Felix nodded, trying to calm himself with the thought that Hyunjin would be there through everything, that he wasn’t alone, that he was well protected…“You don’t have to do it, you know?” Jisung said quietly into the silence that had fallen over the living room. “If it’s too much for you, you don’t have to do it. Then we’ll have Jun call someone who will take over, it’s okay.”
You are the only other human we fully trust.
Felix shook his head lightly, his lips curving up into a small smile. “It’s fine. I may be nervous, but I’ll do it,” he promised, watching Jisung visibly relax before he seemed to realize that he had to stay alert. Felix turned towards Hyunjin next, not surprised to find the other already looking at him. “Ready?”Hyunjin merely shrugged, but then he let go of Felix anyway to take the cup standing on the living room table, making his way back into the kitchen with Felix following closely after him. A small dagger, no bigger than Felix’s hand, was already sitting on the kitchen counter. He curiously picked it up, surprised by how light it was. His eyes went over to his wrist and suddenly, it seemed entirely impossible for him to move his arms. He was supposed to cut himself with that. He was supposed to cut his wrist with that!Something warm came to rest on Felix’s back, right between his shoulder blades, and it took way too long for Felix’s mind to understand that it was Hyunjin’s hand. That Hyunjin was right there, offering silent support in a moment that had to be no less difficult for him.Felix looked up, finding the other’s jaw tense and his eyes hard, staring at the potion, as if he was fighting his own instincts. “We can do this,” Felix mumbled, not looking away from Hyunjin. “Right?” So much for even faked confidence…The last word did finally make Hyunjin look away from the cup, his eyes softening when they landed on Felix. He gave a slightly jerky nod, a little too fast for how well he usually adjusted himself to human speed. “We can do this.”“Okay.” Felix looked back at the cup, then at the dagger, and lastly at his wrist. “Okay,” he mumbled once more, steeling himself with a deep breath.“Remember to only cut very lightly,” Hyunjin added and Felix nodded. He most certainly would have cut way too deep if it hadn’t been for Hyunjin’s words.He took another deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment, focusing solely on Hyunjin’s hand on his back. He could do this. They were all counting on him. He wasn’t doing this to actually harm himself but to help.Felix opened his eyes again and positioned his wrist closer to the cup, hoping that nothing would spill. He took another deep breath, trying to steady himself, then raised his right hand with the dagger, willing it to stop shaking. He could do this. He was strong. He was doing this for Jun. And for Minho. And Jisung. And all of Seventeen. He could…Felix relaxed his muscles, moving the dagger away a little because his hands refused to stop shaking. He squeezed his eyes close, trying to will his frantically beating heart to calm down while he rested both hands on the counter surface. He hadn’t even been this nervous before Hyunjin had fed from him the first time!Hyunjin’s hand on Felix’s back started moving, rubbing gentle circles through the fabric of Felix’s T-shirt. For a few seconds, Felix allowed himself to only focus on that motion, on the gentle pressure of Hyunjin’s hand, on its warmth…Slowly, the blood rushing through his ears grew quieter and the trembling eased. The silence in the house was almost eerie, considering six people who were hardly ever quiet were gathered together.Felix opened his eyes and squared his shoulders. He raised both arms again with newfound determination, positioning his left wrist over the cup once more and the dagger right where he assumed he’d have to cut. The blade was cold against his skin and it was almost too much.He couldn’t do it.No. No, he could. He could do it. He had to. He’d be fine.A hand appeared in his vision, gently wrapping over its own, long fingers curling around small ones around the hilt. Felix chanced a glance at Hyunjin, but the other was solely staring at their hands, at the dagger…Felix squeezed his eyes close once more before forcing them open at the thought that he wouldn’t know how deep he was cutting if he didn’t look. Not allowing himself to think about what he was doing even a second longer, he applied pressure on his wrist, almost surprised at how easily his skin gave way. He grimaced at the sharp pain that shot through him and quickly looked away when he saw blood oozing out of the wound, closing his eyes once again. A deep growl came from somewhere behind them, faintly sounding like Jisung, but everything else was drowned out by the blood once again rushing through Felix’s ears.His hand with the dagger moved away, his fingers releasing the hilt, but Felix couldn’t have said whether that was by his own or Hyunjin’s doing. A soft ‘clang’ announced that the dagger had most likely been discarded in the sink.Hyunjin’s hand that had been holding Felix’s right one suddenly appeared on his left hand, holding it in place for endless seconds before twisting it lightly, lifting it. Some of the blood immediately ran down Felix’s skin and he grimaced at the mere mental image, grateful when Hyunjin’s tongue licked over the wound once, twice, thrice, then chased the drops that had escaped. Felix’s skin tingled as it healed, tendrils of pleasure reaching through him immediately.He only dared to open his eyes when he felt Hyunjin’s lips on his wrist once more, right where he had cut. The soft kiss made Felix’s skin tingle all over again and he somehow found himself cradled in Hyunjin’s embrace, so safe, so warm.“You did well. You’re so brave,” Hyunjin mumbled between gentle kisses that he pressed onto the crown of Felix’s head and Felix immediately relaxed. His legs felt like pudding, threatening to give out the moment that Hyunjin would let go.The sense of safety was ripped away from Felix just a heartbeat later when Jisung’s urgent voice cut through the silence. “Hyunjin!”Hyunjin instantly tensed and quickly let go of Felix. “I’m sorry,” he whispered and picked up the potion. “Stay here, I’ll be right back, okay?”Felix nodded shakily and watched Hyunjin leave the room. As soon as he was alone, Felix’s legs gave out and he sank to the floor, leaning against the hard and cold cabinet door in his back, his heart racing in his chest. He forced himself to breathe slowly, closing his eyes to shut out as many stimulations as possible.He heard another growl, louder than before, from the living room, and a quiet gasp, then silence engulfed him once again.Felix had long since lost all sense of time when a hand appeared on one of his arms, alerting him to the presence of someone else, right before he was wrapped into a hug, engulfed by the gentle scent of roses and oranges. He immediately leaned closer, blindly reaching for one of the arms that were wrapped around him, holding on to it. Hyunjin nuzzled his head into the crook of Felix’s neck, his breath ghosting over the sensitive skin, calming.Steps revealed the arrival of another person, but Felix still didn’t open his eyes. No matter who it was, Felix was safe, that much he knew without doubt. But, judging by the fact that he could hear steps at all, it was probably Jeongin.The water faucet was turned on and shortly after, the water cooker beeped and started working. The water in the sink started running once again and Felix could hear the usual noises of someone doing the dishes.Finally, he opened his eyes again, blinking a few times until the kitchen came into full focus. “Are you okay?” he mumbled.Hyunjin sighed softly, straightening a little without fully letting go of Felix. “Not really. But I know that we didn’t have any other option.”“What will you do in the future?”Hyunjin shrugged lightly, almost helplessly, as if he really didn’t have an answer. “Isn’t it obvious?” Jeongin said and Felix looked up at him.Dissatisfied with his position, he finally found the strength to push himself off the ground, Hyunjin following him as always, both of them leaning against the counter. In his periphery, Felix saw Jun joining them in the kitchen, but he kept his focus on Jeongin.“We take the kid up on his offer.” Hyunjin hissed in warning, but Jeongin blissfully ignored it, opening a cupboard and taking a tumbler from it. He opened the tea cupboard next, speaking in an utterly unfazed tone, “Minho’s clearly out of question, so is Lixie. So we just need to figure out whether we’ll have someone come here or if we’ll have Minho join you guys wherever you meet Jun’s team.”“Jeongin, we—”“—don’t have a choice.” Jeongin finished preparing the tea—Minho’s regenerative one, Felix noted—and turned to face Hyunjin instead. “Your reaction today should be clear enough even for you to understand that.” With that, he turned towards Jun instead. “You may wanna talk to your friends about that and see who’d be open for this. And keep in mind that this is supposed to be a strictly temporary thing—we’re aiming to stop with the potion as soon as possible.”Jun nodded, looking like a deer caught in headlights, so Felix took a step toward Jeongin, gently putting his hand on the other’s arm. “Don’t be so strict with him.”Jeongin raised an eyebrow at him, but before he could say anything, the water boiler beeped, announcing that it had reached the desired temperature. Jeongin shrugged Felix’s hand off as he turned around to fill the tumbler. He screwed it mostly shut, then held it out for Felix. “If you burn yourself, you’re the only one to blame.”Felix smiled softly as he took the tea, shaking his head lightly in amusement at Jeongin’s cold front paired with the sweet act. “Thank you.”Jeongin shrugged. “Now get out of here. The kid’s friends are probably waiting.”Felix’s smile deepened. He grabbed a small plastic bag that he could use to discard the tea bag later, then he turned towards Hyunjin. “Ready?”Hyunjin nodded. “Just one more thing that I want to show you,” he said quietly. Felix raised an eyebrow, but Hyunjin only motioned for him to follow, so he did, his confusion growing when Hyunjin took the tea from him and handed it over to Jun with a simple, “Hold on to this for a moment?”Felix briefly waved goodbye towards Jisung and Minho in the living room, a little worried when he found Jisung sitting while Minho was lying on the sofa, his head in Jisung’s lap and his legs propped up, as if he was still fighting dizziness. Felix wasn’t given the time to think too much about it before Hyunjin’s hand lightly wrapped around his wrist, pulling him further to the door to his studio. Hyunjin glanced at him, making curiosity spark inside Felix, then he turned towards the door and opened it. At first, Felix was confused about what Hyunjin was trying to show him, his eyes only landing on the endless canvases and Hyunjin’s drawing chair. It was only when he peeked further into the room that he saw it.Felix’s eyes widened and he quickly turned towards Hyunjin, finding the other already watching him with a small smile. “You got an extra armchair for your studio?” he asked excitedly, his cheeks almost hurting from his smile when Hyunjin nodded.“For you. You said it was important to you.”Before Hyunjin even finished speaking, Felix flung himself into his boyfriend’s arms, hugging him so tightly that he would have squeezed the breath out of any human. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” He squeezed Hyunjin once more, elated when the other’s arms wrapped around him as well, holding him safely. Felix leaned away a little until he could look into Hyunjin’s eyes, still beaming. “That wouldn’t have been necessary, though.”Hyunjin shrugged lightly. “It makes you happy. That’s all I wanted.”Felix’s smile became even brighter, if possible, and he leaned in to kiss Hyunjin, hoping that the kiss would convey all the emotions he felt. When he leaned away eventually, he simultaneously stepped out of the hug. “Let’s go?”Hyunjin nodded lightly. “Let’s go,” he agreed, allowing Felix to pull him along. Felix hurried to slip on his shoes and his jacket, taking his tea back from Jun before his eyes automatically went back towards Hyunjin, their eyes meeting as if drawn together by magnets. And he knew that he never wanted anything to change.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Sydney, Australia Felix was reclined on a sunchair, a pair of sunglasses on. Above him, seagulls were screaming, mixing into the calm, rhythmic swooshing of the waves. The sun had long since begun its descent, slowly dipping beneath the horizon, casting its red and orange glow far over the ocean. Felix didn’t think he’d ever get used to the beauty of this sight.He had returned to Australia after finishing his degree. The decision hadn’t exactly been an easy one, but it had been an eternity since he had last seen his family. By the time that Australia had finally allowed people to enter or leave the country again, his graduation had been so close that he hadn’t taken the journey upon himself. He had thought about just coming back to visit his family until Hyunjin had told him that they’d have to move soon. Within about a month, the decision had been made that they would all be moving to Australia: for Felix to return to his family and for all of them to have a few more years together before the inevitable. Unless Felix would suddenly change his mind and decide that he did want to be turned.Jun had gone back to living with his members a while ago. Felix knew that it was tough for him, that he had still slept over at Hyunjin, Jisung, and Jeongin’s place frequently, just to have at least some quiet down time. Apparently, they were still working on new solutions, at least that’s what Jun had told him the day before.Felix had gotten close to all of Seventeen at some point. It had been awkward at first, on his side, anyway, but presently, he’d go as far as to say that they were friends. They were certainly treating him like their unofficial maknae whenever he was around! They had even allowed him to use their dance studio from time to time during the pandemic and Felix was eternally grateful for that.Eventually, the sun disappeared behind the horizon, a few daring rays still darting over the edge until they, too, faded, only leaving behind Australia’s relentless summer heat. Felix took his sunglasses off, squinting into the remaining brightness.Around him, people started to leave; they had seen what they had stayed at the ocean for; nature’s spectacle was over, their reason to stay had passed. Felix, though, stayed outside as the world slowly turned dark, finishing a bottle of juice that he had bought earlier. Oh, how he already missed watermelon juice and the abundance of 24/7 open convenience stores. Working at Minho’s café and staying after his late shift to talk to the night shift until one of the staff members inevitably kicked him out good-naturedly.How he missed Chan and Changbin.Felix sighed, quietly, wondering what his close friends were up to. From what he had heard, Changbin had just finished moving into Felix’s old room, though he still complained about the load of things left to do, about all the renovations he wanted to do. A part of Felix’s heart hurt, just thinking about how much his old home would change.And in a way, that pain just showed him what he had already been suspecting: that he needed the changes to stop. Or at least that he needed more stability in his life than he had had during the past few years.As always when those thoughts bubbled up inside him, his heart was bleeding even more, bleeding for what he’d have to give up.“What’s with the sour mood, hm?”It was like a switch was flipped inside Felix.In a heartbeat, he clambered off the sunchair, finding himself caught in a pair of strong arms, in a cloud of roses and oranges. And then suddenly, there were arms everywhere, hugging him from all sides, and really, what did it matter what happened to his old room? Jeongin was laughing and somehow, all of them joined in, and Felix couldn’t recall calming down or starting to cry, but he sure remembered how Hyunjin’s arms around him tightened and how Minho patted his head comfortingly.When Felix finally leaned back a little, the others gave him some space. Jeongin got comfortable on the sunchair that Felix had occupied earlier while Jisung lightly poked Felix’s cheek. “How did you get even more freckles?” he asked in lieu of a proper greeting, his eyes wide and voice so incredulous that Felix couldn’t help but laugh.“Well, first of all, I go outside.”Jisung rolled his eyes and ruffled Felix’s hair affectionately, and even though they had barely been separated for a month, Felix couldn’t find himself minding the fact that his already messy hair from the wind had been turned into even more of a mess.“Did you all arrive alright? Are you still living out of boxes?” His last word was almost drowned out by a loud groan from Jeongin, Jisung, and Hyunjin, while Minho just smiled cheekily.“That devil!” Jeongin was suddenly sitting upright, pointing an accusatory finger at Minho. “That devil made us unpack everything last night! I was hardly functioning after having to teleport several times because of course we have too much stuff to neatly pack it all into two suitcases per person and I had just wanted to crash at our new home, but that wicked witch forced us to unpack everything!”Minho was outright cackling by the time that Jeongin finished his curses while Jisung pushed the demon’s legs to the side so he could sit down as well. “I can’t believe I got myself such a tyrant of a boyfriend!”“It was messy, okay? I couldn’t let us live in such a chaos! And if unpacking isn’t done within the first two days, it’ll take months and I sure as hell was not going to deal with that.”“It was demon abuse!” Jeongin protested right away.“It’s not like you did the majority of the work anyway,” Hyunjin replied, slightly tightening the arm that he still had wrapped around Felix.“Well, I also neither have vampire strength nor vampire speed, so obviously you and Jisung-hyung would need to do more.”“I don’t think that Jisung worked more than you did,” Minho remarked, laughing when Jisung immediately jumped up, his mouth opening and closing in a protest that never came. Smugly, Minho turned away from his boyfriend and towards Felix instead, “By the way, how are you coping with the weather here? I’m pretty sure there must be dimensions of hell that are more bearable than those temperatures earlier today.”Felix tilted his head lightly. “You better get used to that, hyung. It’s still quite a bit hotter than this when we’re in the peak of summer.”Minho’s eyes bulged. “What? I have to endure even more than this soon?”Felix shook his head. “Not soon, next year. We’ve already had summer. We’re South of the equator, remember?”“Oh, right…”“Are there actually dimensions of hell that are more bearable than Australia?” Jisung asked, turning towards Jeongin as he plopped himself back down on the sunchair.Jeongin, though, merely shrugged. “Don’t know. I’ve only been to hell dimensions once or twice, I usually stick to the demon world whenever I leave the human realm,” he replied casually and Felix once again realized how much he still had to learn about all of that. Who would have thought that there was actually a difference between the demon world and hell?They stayed at the beach for a while longer before making their way to the house that the other four had just moved into. Jisung and Jeongin started squabbling about what movie to watch while Minho went around to check on his plants, leaving Felix with Hyunjin to explore the house. He had initially been certain that he’d end up helping the others move in because who on earth unpacked everything during the very first night after such a long journey? Well, Minho, apparently… But because he hadn’t been able to help with that, he instead found himself peeking into every room.The bathroom was… well, a bathroom. It was the closest to the front door and even had a bathtub, but the shower seemed to have less settings than the ones from the others’ house in Korea, which… Yeah, Felix appreciated that. It meant that he wouldn’t need a manual or an explanation before using it for the first time.He further found the living room and the kitchen—well stocked, so apparently, Minho had even gone grocery shopping. Was he even human at this point?—, both with a kind of dated but homely look to them. All the walls were still rather empty, though, which was almost jarring in this place. On the other hand, it seemed like the other three had succeeded in keeping Minho from at least one step of moving in…The only exception to that was the living room. A shelf took up the full space of one wall. A TV had been installed in the middle of it, and the surrounding shelves had all been filled with plants, movies, and books, the same ones that Felix had also seen in their home in Korea. Including a number of movies that either Felix had bought at some point or that the others had bought with Felix in mind: dance movies, some Bollywood movies, kids movies that Felix had missed from his childhood… And then there were the three photographs on one of the shelves. The one of Minho and Jisung at the amusement park. The one of Jisung, Jeongin, and Hyunjin from the same day. And the newest addition: a picture of Hyunjin and Felix at Minho’s café. Felix was laughing while Hyunjin was looking at him incredulously with the hint of a fond smile playing on his lips and a smudge of whipped cream on his nose, more still on Felix’s finger. Felix neither knew how he had actually managed to catch Hyunjin off guard that day nor how Jisung had managed to snap that picture, but it was one of his favorite memories. A zoomed in picture of one of their game nights early on had been the stand-in on the ledge over the fireplace for a while, but they had always agreed on wanting to eventually find a picture of only Hyunjin and Felix. But until that day at the café, none of the pictures had quite satisfied all of them enough to replace the one from their game night.Felix wasn’t entirely sure where the picture of Hyunjin and his ex had gone after it had been replaced with the one of Hyunjin and Felix. He was certain that Hyunjin still kept it somewhere, but Felix had never asked and Hyunjin had never started the topic either.With a smile on his lips, Felix grabbed Hyunjin’s hand, intertwining their fingers as he made his way upstairs, leaving behind Jisung and Jeongin who still hadn’t come to a conclusion about what they wanted to watch. Felix couldn’t quite pinpoint it, but something about having his movies and his picture on display like that always made him happy. Like he belonged. Like he’d be a part of the other four even if one day they might go different paths.They went upstairs next and this time, Hyunjin took the lead, gently nudging Felix to first enter the door on their right. It was the only door on that floor that had been closed, so Felix already had a feeling what he was going to see even before he glanced up at Hyunjin who was smiling softly at him, nodding. The door opened to a room full of canvases. A stool with an easel stood off to one side, close to a window, and a shelf next to it that was overflowing with art supplies. By the other window stood Felix’s armchair. The one that Hyunjin, Jisung, and Jeongin had gotten for him after Jun had moved into their house and Felix couldn’t help but smile knowing that it was still there, still waiting for him to get comfortable with a book or his laptop, to keep Hyunjin company.Felix turned towards Hyunjin, for once finding the other still looking through the room as if he was double-checking that everything was in place, only glancing over a moment later. Felix smiled happily, pulling Hyunjin closer to peck his lips. “What’s next?”“My room?” Hyunjin asked back and Felix nodded happily. He followed Hyunjin back into the hallway and to the door right across from them. Inside the room, several pictures leaned against the wall next to the door, and Felix looked up questioningly, but Hyunjin merely offered a light shrug. “I wasn’t sure which ones I want to put up,” he explained and Felix nodded.The room looked almost the same as it had in Korea, with the huge bed on one side and an even bigger shelf filled with books right across from it. A shelf that Felix knew held a section about Australia at that point, as well as some books that Felix had gotten over the past three years and that had somehow found a home not in his and Chan’s apartment but in Hyunjin, Jisung, and Jeongin’s house. He spotted a few more plants that Felix had a feeling were probably Minho’s—just how many plants did witches have?—since he hadn’t seen them before. And of course that one picture of Hyunjin’s ex that still stood in the section about AIDS, a silent reminder of bygone times, an unspoken wish for a better future.“There’s something I was wondering,” Felix said, his eyes moving further to where he assumed his own books probably were. At least it was the same direction where they had been back in Korea. When Hyunjin simply hummed, Felix continued, “Are all of these books yours? Or did some of them belong to your former partners?” Somehow, he had never asked that question. It hadn’t even really occurred to him until he started finding books related to him or from him in that shelf that he realized that Hyunjin’s ex from New York and he himself were the only ones that he knew were featured in that bookshelf.“They’re all mine,” Hyunjin answered and Felix looked up, raising an eyebrow. “What?”“Come on, some of these must have belonged to someone else at one point,” Felix replied. Of course he knew that Hyunjin liked to read and owned a lot of books either way, but there certainly had to be more things from former partners, right?Hyunjin, though, shook his head. “For the first ones, reading as a hobby wasn’t necessarily a thing, and then later… I don’t know. It just kind of never happened. I think that’s in part because I knew it was only ever temporary, so we always lived in separate places and I always made sure that I would give back anything that they had left with me. But my previous relationships usually never exceeded two or three years, so… It just seemed natural.”“You and I have been together for nearly three years now,” Felix mumbled, a little astonished at that realization.Hyunjin nodded, a smile playing on his lips and the look in his eyes so fond that Felix melted. It seemed like he would never get used to Hyunjin looking at him that way, since even three years hadn’t made him any stronger. “Yes.”Felix looked away, back towards the books, leaving the still unanswered question hanging in the air between them. How much longer will we have? He still didn’t know. Didn’t know if he wanted to be turned, didn’t know if he wanted to move countries every few years, didn’t know if he’d be able to let Hyunjin go either. But 23 was still young, right? Maybe Hyunjin would never look older than 22, but… Felix just didn’t know. Didn’t know what he wanted from life.“Wanna see the bathroom as well?” Hyunjin gently pulled him out of his worries and Felix nodded, turning back to his boyfriend, pushing back the dark thoughts in favor of simply enjoying the present.“And then dinner?”“Why are you looking at me for that?”“Just making sure that I can eat dinner before we might have to go in between Jisung and Jeongin.” Felix grinned at Hyunjin, who rolled his eyes, but his smile grew even fonder as he pulled Felix along, showing him the bathroom on the top floor as well. It was nestled between Jeongin’s room and Hyunjin’s studio, a little smaller than the one that they had had in Korea, but still big enough for a tub. And what else could Felix possibly ask for? Jisung and Minho’s room was right next to Hyunjin’s, similar to how they had done it in Korea, and a peaceful calm settled over Felix. Maybe things were changing, maybe some things were still left in the open with no solution, but at least this house felt like home. At least this house still had everything that Felix could ever ask for. “Hello, what can I get you.”Felix nodded, his eyes trained on the paper between himself and Minho. “I would like one cappuccino, please.”“Okay.” That was probably the least cheerful response Felix had gotten over the past hour. The sun was nearing the horizon, but with this specific café, they couldn’t have started earlier. “Can I… can I… Ah, why can’t I remember this!” Minho let out in Korean, his voice rising a little with frustration, then he groaned, slumping back.“Come on, hyung, this is the last round. You got it!” Felix cheered him on, just barely keeping himself from switching to Korean as well.“Lee Yongbok,” Minho growled, but he did push himself up. “Okay.”“So, I want one cappuccino.”Minho nodded, his eyes focusing back on the paper. “Can… Can I get you anything else?” he read the question slowly, the syllables still seeming to lie strangely on his tongue.“Yes, actually, can I have one of those chocolate muffins?”Minho looked up, his death glare boring right into Felix’s eyes. “Jeongin was right all along, you are Satan’s spawn.” Lowering his eyes, Minho took a deep breath, then put on a fake smile. “Yes, of course,” he continued once again in English. “One cappuccino and one chocolate muffin. That makes… money,” he said the last word in Korean, but Felix still smiled brightly at him. If it had been any earlier, he would have pushed Minho to give him some random number, just to practice those in English as well. As it was, he let it slide.“Good job, hyung!” He switched to Korean as well, watching as Minho’s entire body seemed to breathe a relieved sigh.“Why is English so difficult?”“Because it’s still very new for you.”Minho shook his head, though, grimacing. “I did learn some years ago, but it was already difficult for me then. It’s so different from Korean!”“Well, isn’t that your answer then?” Felix asked back, laughing quietly when Minho merely blinked at him. “It’s because our languages are so different that they are so difficult to learn. The grammar is different, the words are very different, the sounds are really different…”“English pronunciation doesn’t make sense!”“Well, Korean pronunciation doesn’t either!”“Korean pronunciation is super clear!”“Do you have any idea how many deviations you guys have?”“At least we have rules!”“I gotta agree on that one.”Felix hadn’t had a good comeback to that argument to begin with, but he still pouted as he looked up, watching as Jisung slid onto the bench next to Minho who immediately beamed triumphantly.“Ha!”Felix rolled his eyes, scooting a little closer to the window when Hyunjin and Jeongin both slid onto the bench next to him. “English also has rules,” he muttered under his breath, but of course that was no hindrance for the two vampires at the table.“It has more deviations to those rules than cases that actually follow the rules, though,” Jisung pointed out and Felix… Felix could see where the other was coming from, even if it wasn’t actually true. He wished he couldn’t understand it all that well.His mild frustration immediately evaporated when Hyunjin pecked his cheek, wrapping one arm around Felix’s shoulders, his body noticeably relaxing when Felix cuddled into him on instinct.“Hi, I see we have some newcomers. Can I get you guys anything?” a new, melodic voice spoke up and Minho groaned, covering his ears.“I don’t wanna hear it, I don’t wanna hear it!” he whined in Korean, making Felix and Jeongin laugh while Jisung pulled his boyfriend closer, cradling him even when Minho clearly tried to fight back.Hyunjin was the only one who actually turned towards the waiter. “By any chance, could you get us two iced americanos with a shot of blood each?” His voice was gentle and there was a soft lilt to his words, just the hint of an accent, very comfortable to listen to, yet Felix’s body instantly went rigid. He opened his mouth to protest, closing it just in time when he realized what kind of café they were in. Right. This was okay. They were in a magical café which of course had magical ingredients and was open at magical creature friendly times. Hence why he and Minho had only met up an hour earlier instead of meeting earlier in the afternoon. After all, they had wanted to eventually spend time here with the other three.Jisung joined Jeongin in his laughter, most certainly laughing at Felix this time, while Felix merely lowered his head sheepishly, appreciating the way that Hyunjin squeezed him gently in silent comfort.“Certainly so. Anything else?”“A plain iced americano, please,” Jeongin said, seeming to calm down.“And a… hot chocolate,” Minho added.Felix’s head flew up because he had never seen Minho drink a hot chocolate before, but the witch only watched the waiter, a proud smile finding to his lips.“Coming right up,” their waiter said and left the table.“Pop quiz,” Jeongin said with a mischievous grin as he leaned forward, making eye contact with Felix. “What was he?”“Is it okay for you to ask like that?” Felix asked back, but Jeongin merely made a dismissive gesture. “Alright, well… a siren?” The melodic voice most certainly spoke for that. And Felix hadn’t noticed any other obvious traits that could give the man away, but apparently, there was no need for anything else because Jeongin already nodded.“I’d say so, too.”“Seungmin would be proud of you,” Minho added and Felix rolled his eyes, but he still got comfortable in his boyfriend’s embrace once again, happy about the compliment.“So, how’s Minho doing?” Jisung asked, glancing at his boyfriend with a mirthful smile, though the question was clearly directed at Felix.“I’d say pretty well?”Minho, though, scoffed. “I literally can’t even remember the most basic sentences.”“Hyung, you’ll get there. The beginning is always the most difficult because everything is new and unfamiliar and will make your head hurt. And you just ordered in English! Don’t underestimate how much that is already worth.” Minho only looked out of the window in response, prompting Felix to sit a little straighter. “No, hyung, I mean it. Do you have any idea how proud I was of myself when I could properly order in Korean? And then the employees would still always ask weird follow-up questions and it took even longer until I finally understood all of those. This actually is an accomplishment and you should be very proud of it.”Remembering his early time in Korea, Felix only really remembered the struggle. He had thought he’d be fine managing his life, especially with another family by his side to help and support him. Instead, even the easiest, most everyday things had become almost impossible to do. Talking to people? The language barrier had stood between them like the mountain chain separating North Korea and China. Even just going somewhere, while he had a map? He was almost guaranteed to get lost on his own, or at least arrive with a delay because everything was announced in Korean, all the signs were Korean, the roads were confusing… He had been so lucky to have had Chan and his family by his side. And Minho was so, so lucky to have Jisung, Hyunjin, Jeongin, and Felix by his side.“I know it’s frustrating now, hyung, but you’ll get there. I got there, and so will you. Believe me.”“Well, Lixie must know, right?” Jeongin said, his tone casual. “He’s been through it just recently. Hyunjin-hyung and Jisung-hyung would also know, I guess?”“Thanks, I already knew before that I couldn’t rely on you for this kinda stuff,” Minho grumbled, making Jeongin laugh.“Well, you’re very right about that! But just wait until we’ll get to a country where none of you guys knows the language.”“We have literally learned languages from that little demon. Can you believe that?” Jisung added and Minho grimaced.“Ew, I don’t even want to think about that.”Jeongin laughed and Felix glanced up at Hyunjin, finding the other merely watching the scene unfold, clearly not deeming it necessary to interfere. He looked completely relaxed, like this was where he was most comfortable.The waiter soon returned, handing out the drinks for everyone, and Felix was once again caught by surprise when Minho motioned towards him when they got to the hot chocolate. It was only with a slight delay that he realized that he really shouldn’t have been surprised since Minho knew that it was one of his go-to drinks. He accepted the drink with a quiet ‘thank you’, then turned towards Minho with a smile, finding the other already having gone back to bickering with Jeongin.Felix happily cradled his hot chocolate in both hands, leaning back against Hyunjin who was mindlessly stirring his iced americano while listening to the others. And Felix knew that for him, too, there was no place where he’d rather be. “Mooooommm!!!” Felix tailed his mother into the kitchen like a little duckling. “I told you not to prepare anything!”“How were you raised over the last few years, huh? We have guests coming over, of course I will prepare at least something!” she argued, taking a batch of cookies out of the oven with practiced moves while Felix could only stand back, sulking, watching as his mother slid the cookies onto a grate to cool. He had just returned from a quick shopping run with his sisters and slowly, it dawned upon him why everyone had been so adamant about him going as well when his two sisters would have been perfectly fine on their own.“Hyunjin and Jisung literally won’t be able to eat anything!”“Well, then these are for your other two friends. But I absolutely cannot host your friends and not have anything prepared.”“Mom, I’m not five anymore.” Felix sighed, his eyes going to the grate full of cookies. He wished that Hyunjin and Jisung could eat some of them; they already smelled phenomenal. But still… wouldn’t his mother get more hurt having prepared something for them and them not eating anything? Wouldn’t this put them on the spot, especially Hyunjin? Hyunjin had been nervous about meeting Felix’s family in person anyway, wouldn’t he feel even worse having to turn down the offered and freshly baked cookies?The front door’s lock was twisted and a moment later, Felix’s father called out a greeting, instantly followed by, “Do I smell cookies?”“Yes, I made some for our guests,” Felix’s mother replied, opening her arms with a fond smile towards her son.Still conflicted, Felix easily gave in and stepped into his mother’s hug. At some point, she had become smaller than him and even though he logically knew that, it was still unexpected each time they hugged. This was definitely a downside of being an adult. Was he wrong to wish that he could have always stayed small, hiding away in his mother’s arms, the safest place in the world, so tiny that she could easily lift him up?“Hands off, they’re for our guests.”Felix laughed despite himself, stepping out of the hug to see his father’s best attempt at puppy eyes—which turned out to be highly ineffective against his mother.She merely clicked her tongue, nodding towards the hallway. “Go freshen up.”“Yes, ma’am,” his father replied, doing a military pose that bad both Felix and his mother laughing. Smiling brightly, he relaxed again, gave his wife a kiss, then he sauntered off and Felix couldn’t help but watch in adoration. Did he and Hyunjin look this way to others? One playful, the other more serious, yet both full of love for each other…“What are you thinking about?” His mother asked quietly, pulling Felix out of his thoughts. He glanced over at her, how she leaned against the counter with one hip, watching him intently.Felix sank back against the counter as well, keeping his eyes on the spot where his father had disappeared. “I was just wondering… it’s so clear how much you two love each other. I was wondering if Hyunjin and I also look that way.”“Are you concerned with how people perceive you?” His mother’s voice was soft, yet clearly attentive.Felix tilted his head lightly, mulling the question over for a moment before he shook his head. “I think it’s less about how other people perceive us… but more about what others could see in us? Does that make sense?” He glanced over at his mother who was watching him with a small frown. “I mean… What they think of us is their thing, that doesn’t concern me so much. But… I still do hope that they would see that we’re in love, that we belong together and are happy together, that maybe some people will see that this is possible? That love isn’t actually dead, that even two men can have that…”“I think I understand what you’re getting at.”Felix smiled at his mother. “Is there anything else you wanted to prepare?” he asked, deliberately changing the topic.“Can you help me make some more space in the living room?” his mother asked back right away, as if she had been waiting for Felix to offer his help, but Felix simply nodded. They made quick work in the living room, rearranging the armchair and some extra chairs so that everyone would be able to fit around the living room table. Afterwards, Felix also helped his mother prepare a quick, early dinner. It had taken quite a lot of arguing until Felix had been successful in convincing his family to meet Hyunjin, Jisung, Minho, and Jeongin in the evening but not to eat together, and he deemed the final result of his efforts good enough.He was still cleaning up after dinner with Rachael while Olivia sat at the table instead of helping them and their mother arranged the cookies when the doorbell rang. “I’ll get it!” their father announced from the living room area Felix pouted, wishing that he could have been the first to greet his friends. As it was, he could only increase his efforts in the kitchen, quickly putting the last dishes into the dish washer and cleaning his hands.“Welcome,” his father said in the hallway. “Come in, come in.”“Good evening,” Hyunjin replied, his voice sounding timid yet polite.Olivia giggled, welcoming their guests as well, and it was only when Felix glanced over his shoulder that he realized that his younger sister had long since joined their father. Traitors. He quickly finished drying his hands, but his mother and Rachael still beat him to the door. By the time that Felix finally arrived in the hallway, his mother was already cooing over a bouquet of flowers in Hyunjin’s hands while Hyunjin himself looked down, likely embarrassed.“These are for you. As a thank you for the invitation,” he said quickly, making Felix’s mother gasp.“For me?” Hyunjin merely nodded, dropping his hands when she took the bouquet, inspecting it closely before turning around towards her husband. “Look at what Hyunjin got me! Oh, Felix, can you put them into a vase, please?”Felix’s smile instantly fell. “Why me?” He had only just arrived, they were his friends!Olivia and Rachael laughed while their mother simply handed him the flowers and shooed him off, leaving Felix no other choice but to briefly flash his boyfriend and his friends a smile before he turned away. Back in the kitchen once again, Felix took his time to look at the flowers, smiling when he spotted purple tulips in the mix. Maybe Hyunjin had said that these flowers were for Felix’s mother, but they still felt like an extended gift to him.While he searched for a fitting vase and prepared everything, he listened to everyone else greeting each other and moving into the living room. Or so he had thought.“Need help?” Jeongin’s voice came from behind him, so unexpected that Felix nearly dropped the vase when he jumped. He quickly turned around, rolling his eyes when Jeongin simply grinned at the successful scare.“Nah, I’m good,” Felix replied, deeming the flowers ready. “Plus, my mom might kill me if she finds you helping me.” He shrugged lightly and picked up the plate with cookies as well, holding it out towards Jeongin. “Cookie?”“Did you make them?” Jeongin asked, immediately taking one and eyeing it curiously, but Felix shook his head.“Mom did. She insisted on having at least something to offer.”Jeongin laughed at that before he put the cookie into his mouth, humming in satisfaction as he followed Felix into the living room where Jisung’s laughter greeted them.“Oh yes! It’s still so strange that the seasons are just, like, switched here,” he said, his voice bright. Felix put down the flowers and the cookies on the living room table, then took a seat on the sofa between Hyunjin and Minho. He leaned forward once more, picking up two cookies and offering one to Minho, smiling at the gratefulness that washed over Minho’s face.As his mother asked for more details, Felix leaned a little closer to Minho. “My mom made them,” he whispered in Korean and Minho gave a small nod of understanding before both of them turned to listen to the conversation. Felix popped the cookie into his mouth, then wrapped both arms around Hyunjin’s left arm, smiling happily when the other’s hand came to rest on his thigh. Hyunjin’s body was tense, though, likely because this was the first in-person meeting between them and Felix’s family, so Felix hoped that the physical contact would help to calm Hyunjin down.“Right, Felix mentioned that you and Jisung have a sun allergy,” Felix’s father just said, looking like he was recalling a fact that had been mentioned to him decades ago instead of three days when Felix had reminded him of why they were meeting so late.Hyunjin nodded. “Yes, sir.”“And lots of other allergies,” Jisung added, and Felix knew that the other was pouting even before he glanced over, seeing Minho with a second cookie in his hand and a raised eyebrow while Jisung was wistfully watching the cookie disappear into Minho’s mouth.“We’re not repeating the cheesecake incident,” Felix reminded him, watching Jisung deflate even more.“You like mom’s cookies?” Olivia asked, sounding excited. Minho looked over at her and nodded, giving them a thumbs-up.“They really are delicious,” Jeongin added. “Lixie gave me one when we came over.”“See? So it was good that I made some,” Felix’s mother said, and Felix could feel her pointed gaze on him even though he stubbornly refused to look at her, instead lowering one of his hands to trace Hyunjin’s fingers, suddenly highly interested in his boyfriend’s hand. His mother, though, seemed to move on quickly without expecting a reply from her son, “Minho, Felix mentioned that you’re looking to find a job in a café?”Felix looked up, finding Minho’s eyes slightly widened, then he quickly swallowed and nodded. “Yes.”“Are you also planning to open a café here?”Minho frowned slightly, clearly needing a moment to understand the question. Felix was about to offer his help when Minho turned towards Jisung instead, saying in Korean, “Can you tell her that I might take over a café if someone retires but I’m otherwise not planning to open one on my own?”Jisung nodded, but before he could say anything, Felix’s mother replied in English, “Oh, really?”Minho’s head whipped around to her, giving her the usual wide-eyed blink that was a clear indication of his surprise and that he was taking a moment to realign his perception of reality with the actual reality.Felix’s mother responded with a sheepish smile, “I can still understand some Korean, but I can’t really speak it. That’s why we never taught our children much Korean.”“Mom!” Olivia protested, “You can’t just respond and not translate! I only heard something about a café!” Jisung was the fastest to react, translating what Minho had told him earlier. “Why won’t you open one on your own?” Olivia pressed on once she had heard the translation.“We…” Minho made an ‘from A to B’ motion, but none of them jumped in to help right away, allowing Minho to gather his thoughts first. “Move? Often?” He turned towards Jisung a little and the latter nodded, a small, proud smile on his lips. Felix merely watched, endeared by how much Minho was relying on Jisung, no matter how hard that had to be for Minho. Endeared also that neither Hyunjin nor Jeongin were his go-to person for translations but Jisung and Jisung only, as it seemed. “So open…” Minho made an according gesture, pulling his lips into a straight line, “difficult.”“Why do you have to move so often?” Rachael asked on and Felix flashed her a small smile, grateful that none of them teased Minho for his broken English but simply gave him time, accepted whatever jumbled sentences they got. Felix wished more people had been that kind to him back when he had first arrived in Korea. Then again, he had been faced with a bunch of other teenagers, so could he have really expected more than what he had gotten?“Are you, like, Michelin testers?” Olivia asked on. “No, wait, are you with the government? On some secret affair?”Jeongin scoffed. “You’d think we’d tell you if we were here on some secret affair?” he replied and Olivia gasped, instantly losing herself in in the conspiracy until their parents stopped her. Jeongin was wholeheartedly laughing and even Hyunjin looked amused while Jisung had leaned closer to Minho, most likely translating what was happening, judging by how Minho gave him faint nods every so often, his lips pulling up into a smirk.“Yes,” he said eventually and Olivia immediately perked up on her chair. “That’s why they can’t eat.” He said those words so seriously that Olivia’s eyes went wide and her mouth formed an ‘o’. She only seemed to realize that Minho was lying to her, simply feeding into her conspiracy, when Jeongin started cackling, nearly falling off his chair, and even Jisung looked fairly amused.“Hey! That’s not fair! It’s a valid question!” Olivia quickly defended herself, but it only made Jeongin laugh harder while Minho batted his eyes at her with an angelic smile.
In the following weeks, Felix helped Minho get a job at a magical café while simultaneously looking for a job for himself and a place to rent as well as juggling his family and boyfriend duties. He imagined that anyone else would have been happy to have their family and boyfriend in the same country, at least anyone who treasured both relationships as much as Felix did. To Felix himself, however, it was pure stress for the first two months until they finally seemed to find a good balance that wouldn’t mess with his circadian rhythm too much. At the same time, he sensed that especially his parents were still a little wary regarding Jisung and Hyunjin, both because they couldn’t all eat together and because they would solely come by in the late evenings whenever they visited.Jeongin seemed to be a little better perceived by his family because he happily ate whatever he was given, though Felix did have a growing suspicion that Jeongin, Rachael, and Olivia got along a little too well. Maybe he should have declined when Jisung had suggested that all of them could move to Australia together to give Felix a little more time to make up his mind about whether he did or didn’t want to be turned...Minho was clearly the favorite, though, at least in Felix’s parents’ eyes. Especially his mother adored Minho, increasingly so after he had been over once to cook together with Felix, so Felix made it his mission after that to improve his cooking skills with Minho’s help.After those two months, Felix gave up on his search for an apartment and simply accepted Hyunjin’s standing offer to live with them for the time being. Not surprisingly, the only thing that changed was the time ratio Felix spent at his new home and his parents’ place. It was another calm night for Felix: searching for jobs that sounded like they’d actually be able to earn him a living and that he’d be able to enjoy—who would have thought those two criteria to have nearly no overlaps?—while lying on his stomach on the sofa. Hyunjin was in his studio and Felix had spent the past few nights there as well, but he had decided that he needed a change of scenery, so the living room it was. Jeongin had gotten comfortable on the armchair across from him while Minho was at work and Jisung had naturally accompanied his boyfriend.A soft ‘pling’ announced an incoming email and Felix briefly glanced at the notification that popped up on his screen, then over at Jeongin. “Seriously?” Jeongin merely shrugged, not even looking up from his own laptop, so Felix opened the email he had gotten from the other. It only consisted of a link. He glanced up once more, then opened the link, watching as the website loaded. And kept on loading. And… “What kind of website is this?”“Hm?”“It won’t load properly.”“Oh, right,” Jeongin mumbled and moved a moment later. After a few seconds, he plopped down next to Felix just as the website announced that it had failed to load.Felix merely watched as Jeongin went to the government’s website and logged himself in. Then he reloaded the website that he had sent Felix, turning the screen back to Felix who watched as the website loaded, this time without problem. “Am I allowed to be on this website?”“Officially probably not, no,” Jeongin replied with a shrug before he got up and went back to his armchair.Felix took his time to read through the website: it was a traineeship opening to help new arrivals—all magical creatures, of course—get settled and find everything to meet their needs. The exact same kind of service that Hyunjin, Jisung, Minho, and Jeongin had also used to find a new home. But as it seemed, this kind of work went much further: it included cultural training and language classes—or at least help with scheduling them—as well as overall assistance should the new arrivals run into any issues.It was just that… “Would they even consider me as a legitimate candidate?” If he wasn’t even able to see this page without Jeongin—or, most likely, anyone with magical roots—being logged in, would they even consider a human for this position? They hadn’t listed a species in their specifications, but the fact alone that the access to the website was restricted was telltale sign enough, wasn’t it?“Why not? They’d know that you have contacts to magical creatures. You could even explain that you’ve worked night shifts in Minho’s café, so you already have first experiences working with our kinds. And once they’ve met you, I don’t think they’d even be able to turn you down. Anyone would be lucky to have you on a welcoming board,” Jeongin replied, his voice casual through it all, but Felix’s mouth still fell open in a quiet ‘o’ and warmth spread through him at the compliment.“Really?”“Just my experience.”Felix focused back on the job opening. Sure, it wasn’t dancing. But no one said that he couldn’t pursue dancing in his free time, right? Or after that traineeship. Maybe this hadn’t been how he had thought his life would pan out, but… if he could use the experience that he had made by going to a foreign country? If he could put that to use and even stay in contact with the magical world..? Two weeks later, Felix squealed so hard that even Hyunjin woke up, twisting away from him ever so lightly.“Hyung!!!” Felix spun around, where he had sat up, poking Hyunjin’s shoulder until the other forced his eyes open.“What?” Hyunjin mumbled, but he clearly noticed Felix’s excitement because he rolled onto his back, holding out his arms and Felix happily snuggled into his boyfriend, turning the screen towards him.“Look, look, look!! They want me!”“Who?” Hyunjin was squinting against the screen, though Felix had turned the brightness to its lowest setting before going to sleep.“The government! That traineeship that Jeongin forwarded to me?”“They want you?” Hyunjin echoed, raising one hand to steady Felix’s. Felix watched as Hyunjin’s eyes seemed to tremble ever so slightly and it was only when the room suddenly fell back into darkness and Hyunjin pulled him into a kiss that Felix realized that the other had just read the email—much faster, of course, than Felix was able to. “I’m proud of you,” Hyunjin mumbled, still so close that his breath ghosted over Felix’s face.Felix grinned into the darkness. “Thank you. I’m so excited!”Hyunjin laughed softly, drowsily, and Felix sensed the other letting himself fall onto the mattress again. “Tell the others as well, hm? But maybe not right now.”Felix laughed quietly, shaking his head. “No, that’s boyfriend privilege,” he replied, searching for Hyunjin’s cheek with one hand before he leaned down to press a peck to his lips. “Now sleep some more, alright?”“How generous of you,” Hyunjin mumbled, his words already getting slurred and Felix giggled to himself, waiting until he was certain that Hyunjin had fallen asleep before he got out of bed, feeling his way out of the room. Four days later, Felix was up way too early. The kind of too early that meant that he had slept for a full three hours and was even up before Hyunjin, Jisung, and Jeongin went to sleep. The kind of early that meant that Minho was still at the café, soon to finish his first full night shift.But Felix couldn’t sleep. The job interview was set for very early anyway, and it certainly didn’t help that this was his first real job interview. Well, unless someone were to count the two interviews that he had gone to in the meantime, but he had neither been fully invested in those, nor had he gotten beyond the first round of interviews. And Minho hadn’t exactly done a full job interview with him since Felix had only been a working student anyway.Which brought him back to his current misery.“I’m gonna go see how hyung’s doing,” he announced, unable to stay still for more than five seconds. Also, going to the café might reward him with a free drink. Maybe.“Why is he allowed to go but I’m not,” Jisung whined from the direction of the living room where he was probably still sprawled over the sofa, bathing in his own misery. Minho had gone out of his way to forbid Jisung, Hyunjin, and Jeongin to show up during his shifts, claiming that they’d be too distracting for him. For some reason, Felix hadn’t been included, so he took that as him being allowed to go. Also, the other three might have stayed all night while it was clear that Felix wouldn’t have been able to stay long, no matter when he’d come.None of them granted Jisung an answer, but it wasn’t like he truly needed one anyway. “Be careful, alright?” Hyunjin said, but Felix merely nodded. Maybe he wasn’t usually out and about at five-thirty in the morning, but they weren’t in the middle of a pandemic anymore, so he’d be fine. On top of that, the café was only a ten-minute walk away and he was back in his own home country.Felix got a quick kiss from Hyunjin while Jisung picked up his whining again until Jeongin indulged him, making Felix smile. He met Hyunjin’s eyes, both of them amused at Jisung’s antics, then Felix left into the cool, fresh night.Winter didn’t get as cold in Australia as it did in Korea, but Felix had still made sure to bundle up warmly and he didn’t regret it as he walked along the silent streets, breathing in the crisp air and letting it out in white puffs. Gone was the hint of fear that he had felt at night on his own in Korea. He didn’t know what it was, only knew it didn’t make sense… but Sidney felt safe for him. It was his home. His home wouldn’t hurt him.Way too soon, he arrived at the café that looked entirely closed and inconspicuous from the outside, but as soon as Felix pushed the door open, he was welcomed by warmth and light. The scent of coffee and tea mixed in the air, and even though the café would close just a little over an hour later, nearly all the tables were still full with patrons.Only one person stood behind the counter, completely zoned out expression only slowly morphing back into attention; usually bright eyes barely focusing on Felix, and it took all too long until they widened. “Lix!”Felix grinned, arriving at the counter with a skip in his step as Minho scrambled to straighten up. “Hey, hyung. No sleeping at the job.”“I wasn’t sleeping! My brain just simply can’t cope anymore!”Felix laughed at that, all too familiar with the feeling of his brain just simply shutting off from too much work. Or, as it had happened frequently during his early time in Korea, from too much Korean, which would naturally be too much English in Minho’s case. “Lots of customers tonight, huh?”Minho nodded immediately. “My brain is broken now. What are you doing here, though?”“Couldn’t sleep.”“Nerves?”Felix groaned. “You’d think my body would have understood that it’ll be better to go to a job interview well-rested. But no!”“Need something to help you destress?”“I’d been hoping for something energizing?”Minho gave him a once-over before shaking his head. “You’re getting something nice and calming.”“Hyung!!”Minho laughed, completely ignoring Felix’s protest as he typed something into the cash register. Indignantly, Felix handed over his card, just as the doors behind him were pushed open once again. Minho’s eyes flickered towards it, something crossing his features that looked almost panicked before he could rein it in and Felix immediately understood.“Don’t worry, hyung,” he said quietly, accepting his card back, briefly glancing over his shoulder to see a man, who looked only a few years older than he himself was and wore a black trench coat, coming to a stand behind Felix. Felix turned back to Minho, smiling softly at him. “Take care of his order first, I won’t go anywhere.”Minho nodded lightly, putting the order information that the machine printed off to the side, clearly steeling himself. Felix smiled once more, then he stepped to the side, taking in the displayed variety of sweets, though his attention was on Minho and the man in the trench coat.“Hello, what can I get you?” Minho asked, his voice clearly fake in its cheerfulness, but the sentence so practiced that it still rolled over his lips without problems.And then the man started to list a variety of drinks. Felix found himself looking up after the third one, watching as the man seemed to have focused on a point above Minho, probably either to look at the menu or as he recalled what his peers had said. A point above Minho, whose face just completely fell as he stared blankly at the man in front of him.“—that one with blood, and…” The man trailed off, his eyes seeming to land on Minho for the first time since he had started rambling off his order, and it was only in this moment that he seemed to realize that Minho had long since lost him. “Umm… sorry, you’re new here, aren’t you?”Minho merely stared at him for a second longer before his eyes went over towards Felix, the look in them clearly panicked. Felix immediately straightened. “How much did you still get.”“I heard one cappuccino and something with a latte,” Minho mumbled, lowering his eyes towards the screen.Felix nodded and went through the order of the man next to him as far as he still remembered it, giving Minho the Korean names to work with, providing both languages whenever it was clear that Minho’s tired brain refused to match the extra ingredient he knew with what he saw on the screen. Eventually, Felix looked over at the man next to him, a little cautious for a moment until he noticed the other merely watching with interest and no judgement.“There was one more drink for you, sir?”“Ah, yes. A vanilla velvet, please.”Felix nodded and looked over at Minho who frowned at the cash register but found the tea soon enough. He repeated the full order back to the man in the trench coat, a small smile finding his lips when he had gotten everything right. Once the man had paid, Minho disappeared off to the side to work on the orders, so Felix turned to the man next to him once more.“Thank you for your patience, sir.”The man, though, merely shook his head. “I work with foreigners often enough, I understand that languages can be challenging.” Felix’s smile instantly deepened, grateful that the man understood. “So I take it that you haven’t been here for long?”“Oh, I have. Sidney is my home,” Felix replied quickly. “But my friends only arrived a few months ago.”“They came here for you?” Felix nodded, his disposition brightening even more at the mere thought that none of them had wanted to part ways so quickly, that he got the chance to show them his beloved home country and hometown. “Where did you meet?”“In Korea. I went there as a student.” Maybe that was only half the truth, but it wasn’t a full lie either, so what did it matter?“Korea?”Felix nodded. “That’s where my family comes from, but I had never been.”“What’s it like to be back?”“It’s pretty great, honestly.” He just wished he’d know how the future would pan out. Especially what would happen once the other four’s time was up. Would Felix change his mind by then? Would he still want to stay human? Would he want to be turned then? Would he leave with them, no matter what he decided? Would their relationship change too much in the meantime?Had he studied dance for nought? Would he still end up doing something with dance, in one way or another? Or had it all been useless?No, it couldn’t truly have been useless, right? At the very least, he had gotten his work in Minho’s café out of it and that had gotten him three close friends and his boyfriend. And yet… if he didn’t actually do anything with dance… wasn’t his degree still kind of useless?“What’s going on in that pretty little head of yours?” Minho was in front of Felix with a steaming cup completely out of nowhere. Felix’s head shot up and he briefly glanced towards his side, finding the spot there empty. A glance over his shoulder revealed the man in the trench coat stepping out of the door. For just how long had he been zoned out? It had felt like a few seconds max…“Sorry,” he mumbled, accepting the cup from Minho’s hands. “Just… thinking about life, I guess. The future.”“Because of you and Hyunjin?”“Yes… but also no. It’s more general than that, really.”Minho hummed, his eyes going behind Felix when the door was opened again. “Don’t think too hard, alright? Life is gonna happen. We can’t predict the future, so don’t worry about it uselessly, okay? For now, you’ll have a job interview. You can still worry about the step after that once it’s done,” he said, switching tone and language just a moment later to greet the next customer.Felix watched his friend as he took a sip from his drink, eyeing it in slight confusion just a moment later. It certainly had the basis of the calming tea—which was a little different at this café than it had been at Minho’s—, but there was still something else in there. Something that spread through him with warmth, leaving a gentle flow of energy in its wake.Minho glanced over at him when he was at the coffee machine, smiling. “Like it?”Felix nodded. “What did you make?”“Just experimented a little. You looked like you could need this.”Felix hid his deepening smile behind the mug as he raised it to his lips once again, taking another sip from the tea. It didn’t quite taste like the energizing tea that had been mixed into the calming tea, it rather seemed like Minho had only taken a few extra ingredients to add to Felix’s tea. Or maybe it was a tad of magic, he wasn’t sure. He stayed at the café until it closed, getting permission to stay even after closing to keep Minho company. Felix had a growing suspicion that this permission wasn’t entirely selfless, though, as no demons were around for this shift and Felix knew that the other staff members couldn’t speak Korean. Well, except from one person who was semi-fluent at it.Outside the café, Felix and Minho parted ways; Felix downtown bound, Minho returning home. Felix arrived at the government building that he had only ever seen from the outside just awkwardly early that there was too little time to walk around the block and too much time to go inside already. He eventually opted to wait at a nearby bus station to go through his social media, smiling at the encouraging texts he had gotten from Hyunjin and Jeongin. Jisung, on the other hand, had sent him a ‘Thank you for saving my boyfriend!’Five minutes later, Felix deemed the time good enough and turned around, back to the imposing building. It was almost surprising how calm he felt despite the impending job interview, but he was certain that Minho’s tea had quite a lot to do with that. The nerves quickly came back when he entered the huge lobby, though. The ceilings were so high that they made him feel like a tiny fly and everything looked… old. But in a stylish way. The floor tiles were checkered, like a chess board, and leather chairs formed a small waiting area to his right. Ahead of him was a solid wood desk that looked like it had already survived at least one hundred years. The lobby even had a balcony area where people were already rushing past despite the early morning hour.Hyunjin and mom would like this. The thought snapped Felix out of his reverie and he quickly closed his mouth. His eyes went back towards the desk across from him and to the secretary who looked a little too purposefully busy for him to not have seen Felix gaping. What a great first impression…Felix looked down in embarrassment but still made his way over to the desk, only briefly glancing up to find the secretary looking at him, his face a perfect, professional mask. “Hello, how can I help you?”“Hi,” Felix replied, his voice coming out raspier than intended. He quickly cleared his throat before he tried again, “Ugh, I’m sorry, hello. I have an appointment with Mr. Walker? Lee… Felix Lee is my name.” Wow. Just wow. Maybe a little more sleep wouldn’t have been so bad… or maybe he shouldn’t have spent so much time around Minho and gotten his mind all set on Korean again since he couldn’t even get the order of his name right…The man behind the desk turned to his computer, clicking a few times before he glanced up again. “Felix Yongbok Lee?”Right, second names were a thing for official documents—like job applications. “Yes, sir.”The man nodded. “I’ll notify Mr. Walker. You may sit over there while you wait,” he said with a gesture to the waiting area before he turned to the phone on his desk.Felix muttered a ‘thank you’ while automatically bowing lightly and mentally facepalming himself for it just a moment later. How had he gotten that stuck in Korean mannerisms?He went to the sitting area and sat down in one of the leather chairs, using the time to admire the architecture once again. The balcony had a fully white barricade, white pillars reaching all the way from the bottom to the ceiling. Huge windows let in the early morning light, but Felix squinted lightly into their direction. They had some kind of protective layer over them, didn’t they? The light did seem a little too dark for how bright it had already been outside, so there had to be either some kind of darkening sheet over them over maybe even magic.Felix’s eyes went back to the pillars and the barricade, taking in the intricated patterns that had been chiseled into what he assumed to be either stone or marble.“Mr. Lee?” Felix quickly looked up when he heard a melodic, female voice, alluring, but the blue eyes revealed that she couldn’t be a succubus or an incubus. So… a siren maybe?“Yes?”She smiled at him, professional but still warm. “My name is Elizabeth Dupont and I’m here to pick you up for your interview with Mr. Walker.” Felix quickly rose to his feet, lightly bowing once again as he greeted her, mentally sighing at himself for it. Would he ever fully adjust to Australian customs again? “Have you found your way alright?” “Yes, ma’am.”She nodded. “That’s good. It must have been a little intimidating, entering this building for the first time.”Felix couldn’t help but smile sheepishly. “The lobby looks really beautiful, I can’t deny that.” They walked along a hallway that seemed equally grand despite the ceilings being much lower. Even the lamps were kept in an old style, looking like they were supposed to still have real candles in them. Paintings and photographs had been hung up along the walls, but they were walking too fast for Felix to be able to read the names of the people they portrayed.They hadn’t gone far by the time that Elizabeth Dupont knocked on a door. The sign next to it said that this was a conference room and a voice from the inside told them to enter. She opened the door, motioning for Felix to enter, and he thanked her quietly before he entered the room, coming to a shocked stand just a moment later. Two men and two women sat facing him, and while none of them had taken along their jackets, Felix instantly recognized one of the men as the one with the trench coat who had ordered from Minho earlier.Their eyes met briefly and Felix could see the same surprise in the other man’s eyes, then he quickly did a half-bow as he greeted them, sitting down once he was asked to do so. Two and a half weeks later, Felix was invited to a second interview and another three weeks later, he walked into that building for the first time as an employee. He was assigned two partners—a demon and a fairy—because they had a policy that no one was to go out on missions on their own, just in case anything happened. It also made things overall easier to work as a team: there was always someone to talk to, someone to ask questions, someone who could take their vacation, someone who could take care of all the paperwork while the other two went out. Of course Felix still had a lot to learn about the different species, but his colleagues told him everything he needed to know and whenever he came across something that he was too embarrassed to ask them or felt like it might enter the taboo-territory, he turned to Hyunjin, Jisung, Minho, and Jeongin.It was around the same time that Jeongin told Felix how to summon him—minus all the extra steps that should not be forgotten when properly summoning demons. There was no ritual, no demand for Jeongin to obey Felix’s call or his words, none of the steps that were normally taken by the summoner to protect themselves. But Jeongin said that he’d feel better if Felix had the option to summon him anytime, just in case something went terribly wrong at work. One of the hardest things during all of that was Chan’s absence. Chan, who had decided to stay in Korea. Chan, who only came to Australia once a year. Chan, who acted deliciously annoyed whenever Felix showed up in Korea unannounced with Jeongin, very much to Jeongin’s and Changbin’s delight. Felix didn’t know what he would have done if he didn’t have Jeongin to teleport them back and forth.And slowly, even Chan’s family seemed to accept that Felix was involved in magic now, that he wouldn’t back out of it for anyone. That he had come to stay. The relationship never got back to what it had once been, but it became amicable again, even comfortable. Felix fell into routine so fast that he hardly noticed time flying by.Until Hyunjin took him aside and led him to their room one day.Until Hyunjin told him that it was time for them to move on.Until Hyunjin looked him right in the eyes, forever 22 while Felix would soon turn 29, and waited.Until Felix’s heart broke because he knew what answer he had to give to the unspoken question. “I can’t.”Hyunjin looked away. His eyes filled with unspeakable sadness, but his expression remained neutral, even with a small albeit sad smile. “I know,” he said, barely loud enough for Felix to hear.“I’m sorry,” Felix whispered, holding on Hyunjin’s hands. “I love you. You know that, right?”Hyunjin nodded lightly. “But you love being human more,” he replied and finally looked back at Felix with eyes that seemed to already be mourning. “You’ll stay here, won’t you?”Felix looked away, unable to hold Hyunjin’s eyes any longer. “I’m sorry.”Hyunjin shook his head and stepped closer, gently placing one hand against Felix’s cheek until Felix looked at him again. His broken heart seeped agony through his entire body, all the way to his fingertips and toes, to the top of his head, and coiling especially cruelly into a knot in his stomach. Why could love hurt so much? Could he even call it love if he decided to let go?“Don’t be,” Hyunjin said quietly.“But if I truly love you, how can I let you go?”“Because sometimes, love doesn’t outweigh what we want from life or what we need. And that’s okay.”Felix looked away, to some spot on the wall behind Hyunjin, just to escape the other’s intense gaze. “It doesn’t feel okay, though.”“But it feels better to you than the alternative, doesn’t it?”The mere thought of leaving his family was a dagger to Felix’s heart. He couldn’t leave. He had left them once, he had been betrayed by a chosen family once. He had left again to return. Why did his heart have to be broken so many times? Why couldn’t he have lived a life where all the pieces of his heart lived together?“You’re okay, Lixie. We’ve had ten years together. This is more than I had dared to hope for for a long time.”“You still wish that I would let you turn me.”“I do,” Hyunjin replied, his tone even.Felix couldn’t recall how often they had talked about potentially turning him by that point, and yet… He couldn’t imagine it. As much as he wanted to and had tried to, he couldn’t imagine himself as a vampire, couldn’t fathom the thought of living forever. Couldn’t imagine the constant restlessness. Was he too selfish to want stability?“But this is your life and I cannot take away your choice of how you want to live it. What you need from life is not something I can offer. And sometimes, relationships simply don’t work out if certain needs aren’t met or if certain plans to live one’s life cannot be fulfilled in the relationship. No matter how much both people love each other. And that’s okay. I’d rather know that I have been allowed to love you for ten years and to part amicably than to not have had this chance at all.” And still, Hyunjin’s voice was soft and so full of understanding that Felix couldn’t doubt him.He leaned forward until he could rest his forehead against Hyunjin’s, closing his eyes, breathing in the comforting mix of roses and oranges that had long since come to mean home to him. “How do you do this? The constant moving…”“You grow used to a lot if you have to,” Hyunjin replied, his voice mirthless and Felix silently reached for the other’s hands, holding them tightly. He didn’t want them to leave. But as much as the thought of being left behind had scared him for years, he also couldn’t see himself leaving Australia again, couldn’t see himself moving every five to eight years, no matter whether as a human or a vampire.“Did you decide where you want to go?”“No. We had wanted to wait for you to make a final decision. But Minho’s been talking so much about going to Brazil that that will probably be our next destination.”“Well, at least you’ll most likely stay South of the equator then.”Hyunjin laughed softly, leaning away slightly, so Felix did the same, opening his eyes to find Hyunjin already watching him. “Does any of you even know Portuguese?”“Nope. We should probably start learning it soon. You wanna be there to watch Jeongin make fun of us?”Felix couldn’t help but smile at that. “Of course he’d do that, huh?”“Only in private. But yeah, his teasing is endless. Screw his demon advantages. He’s an amazing help whenever we go anywhere, though.”“He’ll actually turn his demon mode off in public?”“Only as long as we’re talking to anyone.” Hyunjin’s eyes were twinkling from probably an array of fond memories of Jeongin teasing him and Jisung about language mistakes but acting like an angel whenever he had to translate for them. “We’d honestly be pretty lost without him. But he shall never hear us say that.”Felix’s smile became even more amused because he knew none of them would hear the end of it if Jeongin was told how necessary he was for their getting by. He had no doubts that Jeongin was aware of his importance either way. “Thank you.”“For what?”“For staying with me for so long. For coming with me to Australia. For being considerate.”“Thank you, too,” Hyunjin replied, his thumb gently caressing Felix’s cheek. “For staying. For being considerate. For everything, really.”Felix smiled and sealed their words with a kiss. Maybe their time together was limited, but he would do anything in his might to make it worthwhile. Three months later, Felix found himself at the airport. It was still daylight, so it was only him, Jisung, and Minho. Jisung and Minho who would go ahead to the new house. While Jeongin and Hyunjin were staying behind to finish packing and then teleport everything to their new house.Normally, Hyunjin and Jisung would have left together—with Minho, this time—, but Hyunjin hadn’t even needed to say a word for all of them to understand that he would stay behind to have as much time as possible with Felix. Even if it was just a few extra hours before they would have to part. And since the other four would be reunited in just a few hours, Felix was the only one seeing Minho and Jisung off.Even Minho was uncharacteristically emotional and touchy when they bid each other goodbye in front of the security check, promising to stay in touch—via calls, text messages, by bribing Jeongin into helping them…That night, Jeongin helped Felix teleport all of his belongings to his new apartment. Well, maybe not all of them. Felix might have gotten another edition of some movies and books because either he wasn’t sure which ones were even his or the others had protested that he couldn’t possibly take them with him. And maybe Felix had also left some things behind so that they’d have something of him with him all the time. Maybe one of those things was one of his favorite hoodies that he knew Hyunjin liked a lot. It was safely hidden in one of Hyunjin’s boxes and Felix had a feeling that it was good that he wouldn’t see Hyunjin’s reaction whenever he’d find it because he was certain that there would be a lot of tears.Hyunjin spent the night in his apartment. It didn’t matter that nothing had been unpacked except from the absolute necessities—Minho would have surely scolded him for that—or that the house would have certainly been more convenient for Hyunjin. All that mattered was that they were together for one more night. Felix was groggy the next day, trying to quietly sort through at least some of his kitchen appliances because he needed to eat something. And maybe he cried when he opened his fridge and found a few food containers with a post-it from Minho on the top one, saying ‘I know you probably won’t be in the mood to cook, so I prepared some extra for you. Take care of yourself, drink a lot of water! Love you ♡’“I see you found the food that Minho left behind for you.”Felix flinched so hard he nearly fell off his chair. He raised one hand to his heart as he turned around, scowling at the grinning demon in front of him. “Yang Jeongin! You can’t do this to me! I’m getting old! Who knows, I could have suffered a heart attack!”“Yeah sure, grandpa. Since you survived this one, though, mind waking up Jinnie-hyung? Minho’s calling me, so they must have arrived.”Felix’s fake annoyance immediately fell away and he lowered his hand. “So soon?”Jeongin shrugged. “Everything seems to have gone smoothly with their arrival and getting the keys and all that.”Felix hummed quietly and looked down, then he pushed himself up with a sad smile, leaving the empty food container in the sink before he made his way into the bedroom while Jeongin stayed in the kitchen.Felix got onto the bed, crawling over to Hyunjin and shaking him lightly. “Hyunjin,” he called out softly, watching as Hyunjin’s forehead creased lightly in a frown before it evened again, but his breaths weren’t as deep as they should be. Silently, Felix lay down, acting along for the time being by wrapping Hyunjin’s arm around his middle, smiling lightly when Hyunjin automatically pulled him even closer. Felix leaned in to place a peck on Hyunjin’s lips, and a few more on the side of his face for good measurement, finishing by booping Hyunjin’s nose with his index fingers. “You really think this would still work on me?”“Was worth it either way,” Hyunjin mumbled and Felix’s smile deepened. He leaned in to kiss Hyunjin once more, letting the world slip away as he lost himself in the kiss. In the end, it was Hyunjin who broke the kiss. “Jeongin’s getting impatient.”“Just let him be his little demon self. He still has you for another eternity,” Felix replied, but he did give in and opened his eyes. The room was still dark, only dim light making it through the slit underneath the door, but Felix still thought he could see Hyunjin’s eyes shining with tears. He probably just knew Hyunjin well enough.Felix leaned in to steal one more kiss, too short to last for a lifetime, before he leaned away, raising one hand to Hyunjin’s face. “You really won’t come with us,” Hyunjin whispered, closing his eyes, his voice thick with unshed tears. Felix remained silent, knowing that he didn’t need to say anything. That everything had long since been said. “I’ll miss you.”“I’ll miss you, too.”“You have to live a good life. Promise me that, alright? You have to live your life to the fullest.”“I will. And you guys send me postcards, alright? And letters.” Maybe that wasn’t healthy. Maybe Jisung, Jeongin, and Minho had eyed Felix and Hyunjin with suspicion after they had first started mentioning this. Maybe this wasn’t how one let go of someone they loved, how one ‘adulted’ properly upon realizing that the life expectations didn’t align.But maybe Felix was okay with hurting a little more. Maybe Felix couldn’t bear to be completely left behind even though he couldn’t come along. And they all knew that solely relying on Jeongin for teleportation simply wasn’t possible, and flying out all the time was neither convenient nor good for the climate, even though at this point it wasn’t a question about money for any of them.Felix and Hyunjin had briefly considered going for a long-distance relationship, but they had just as quickly dismissed the idea because physical touch was too important for Felix.Outside the bedroom, the doorbell rang. Felix’s heart sank at the knowledge that this was it, that their time was up, and the tears came so suddenly and so overwhelmingly that he couldn’t hold them back. Hyunjin’s hands were there not even a heartbeat later, gently caressing the silent tears away.“I’ll get it,” Jeongin announced and Felix took a deep breath, trying to steady himself.“I’ll never forget you, Felix,” Hyunjin whispered, so quietly that Felix nearly missed it, and his façade almost crumbled.“Come on in,” Jeongin said in the hallway and the sounds of two pairs of feet shuffling made it through to Felix.“I’ll never forget you either,” Felix mumbled back, his lips pulling up into a bitter smile when Hyunjin sealed their words with a kiss.They both got up silently, as if on cue, making their way out of the bedroom, holding hands. Hyunjin flinched when they entered the hallway while Felix merely squinted against the brightness.“Lix, Hyunjin,” Chan called out and a moment later, his arms were safely wrapped around Felix, nearly pushing him over the edge and into an ocean of tears while simultaneously providing the lifeline. He hugged his best friend back with one arm, squeezing Hyunjin’s hand with the other.“Are you still gonna get ready, or…?” Jeongin started, but Hyunjin merely gave him a dry laugh that sounded so close to a sob that Felix leaned away from Chan a little to make sure that Hyunjin wasn’t actually crying. But both of them seemed to have reached a silent agreement that no more tears would flow until they had separated. No more tears until Hyunjin and Jeongin were in Brazil. “Right, right, not like it matters anyway,” Jeongin conceded while Chan stepped back a little, making space for Changbin to hug Felix as well. They both greeted Hyunjin the same way while Jeongin eyed them with a suspicious side eye, probably ready to flee should any of them approach him.“It’s time?” Felix asked quietly, his eyes going towards Jeongin who nodded.“I mean, Minho summoned me, like, half an hour ago. So yeah, it would probably be good if we could get going.”“Why are you even still here if you were summoned half an hour ago?” Changbin asked warily, but Jeongin merely raised an eyebrow.“You think I’d have that wicked witch summon me with all the formalities?”“Isn’t that unsafe?”“Well, I wouldn’t recommend him or our human to call anyone else that way.” Jeongin shrugged, conveniently shifting the attention towards Felix.“You know how to summon him?” Changbin asked on, but Felix merely gave a shrug in response as well, unwilling to go into the details. At least as long as Hyunjin and Jeongin were still there.Felix turned towards Hyunjin, hugging him once more, breathing in the rose and orange scent one last time. People certainly sold shower gels in this combination, right? Or candles? Then he could at least somehow keep Hyunjin close. Hyunjin hugged him back while Changbin muttered something under his breath about being jealous of the other two for not aging.Eventually, Felix let go, allowing his heart to leave as well. It would find its way back to him eventually, maybe missing a few pieces. But that was okay.He turned towards Jeongin, pulling him into a close hug as well, still honored at the way that Jeongin relaxed into the hug because he knew that Jeongin hardly ever did that with anyone else.Felix didn’t know for how long they hugged until Jeongin pulled back, lightly ruffling Felix’s hair. “Stay healthy, alright? And if you ever get into a dire situation, don’t forget to call for me.” Felix nodded, mustering a brave smile as he stepped back.Jeongin briefly glanced towards Chan and Changbin, nodding at them, before he turned towards Hyunjin, extending his hand. Hyunjin looked at it as if he didn’t know what to do with it, his eyes glazed over, and something broke inside Felix when he saw that Chan had wrapped one arm around Hyunjin’s shoulders, squeezing them as if to encourage Hyunjin, yet not letting go until Hyunjin himself took the first step, finally reaching out for Jeongin’s hand. Felix took his former place instead, squaring his shoulders even as Chan wrapped one arm around him.“Farewell,” Hyunjin said quietly, his eyes wandering over Changbin, then Chan, before lingering on Felix until neither of them could keep up their smiles, until Hyunjin’s eyes were shining with unshed tears and Felix’s eyes were burning, his throat closing. Hyunjin turned away and towards Jeongin who took a step closer, wrapping his free arm around Hyunjin’s frame as black smoke engulfed them before dissipating, leaving the spot where they had just stood empty.The remaining three were quiet for a long time. Even Felix’s tears flowed silently, as if his body understood that this moment needed silence. That the first stage of mourning needed to start quietly.Eventually, he wiped over his eyes and his cheeks, taking a deep yet unsteady breath as he turned towards Chan and Changbin, finding them in similar states of minds. “I know you two just arrived yesterday, but would you help me unpack?”Changbin let out a quiet laugh. “So that’s what you wanted us here for. Not as farewell committee and emotional support but as cheap labor.”Felix merely rolled his eyes, but he didn’t even get the chance to come up with a comeback before he was crushed in a group hug from the other two. Holding him together even with his heart on its way to Brazil. Keeping him steady no matter how much his world had been shaken up.“Allow me to be frank with you, but I really thought we were going to say goodbye to you as well,” Changbin said after long seconds, still so close, yet none of them moved.“I kept playing with that thought. But it never felt right. Living life on the go… it never felt like it fit me.”“So you’re staying,” Chan said quietly, his voice a little raspy and Felix and Changbin immediately tightened their hugs.“So I’m staying,” Felix confirmed. “Because this is my home.”“There’s really no way we can make you move back to Seoul then?” Changbin asked, wincing when Chan probably hit him, and Felix shook his head.“With all due respect, but I’m never moving back there. I’ve spent some really weird years there,” Felix said and the other two laughed, falling quiet after a few seconds.“Please tell me you at least have food here,” Changbin changed the topic and Felix hummed, grateful for the distraction, grateful to have his two closest friends right by his side for a while.“Minho-hyung gave me a few containers.”“Food heaven, here I come!” Changbin cheered and instantly let go to make his way towards the kitchen if it hadn’t been for Chan grabbing a fistful of his shirt.“Hey, we gotta do some unpacking first!”Changbin groaned but soon joined Felix and Chan in their laughter and a few minutes later, they all found themselves in the kitchen, continuing the unpacking where Felix had left off, forgetting about time as they caught up. And despite the pain, Felix knew that he had made the right decision to stay. Knew that he would be okay. Knew that he had found the place where he belonged.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Salem, Massachusetts, USA After his graduation, Felix went back to Australia for one month to see his family again. Possibly for the last time. He felt arguably sorry for the woman who sat next to him on the flight from Australia to the US because he was clearly a sobbing mess for up to half of the time that he spent on that airplane. Even the stewards and stewardesses got worried about him at one point.Hyunjin, Jisung, Jeongin, and Minho had allowed him to tell his family, so they would at least know why he wasn’t able to return because he was clearly already breaking enough rules by just telling them that Hyunjin was actually a vampire and that Felix had decided that he wanted to be turned as well, that he couldn’t imagine leaving Hyunjin. That his family wasn’t allowed to tell anyone else. That he most likely wouldn’t be able to return often, especially not for meetings that included anyone outside his parents and his sisters. And that even then he would only be able to return very briefly, likely with Jeongin’s help, though they didn’t know that last part.But that knowledge didn’t make it any easier for Felix to actually take that step: to leave, to know that things would never be the same again. Jeongin had offered to teleport him, but Felix had declined, knowing that he needed this last proper goodbye at the airport, that he needed his family to physically see him off, that he needed at least the flight as mourning time. To mourn his family. To mourn his humanness. To mourn Australia, probably also Korea. To mourn everything he had come from, everything he had always known.By the time that the plane landed in Boston, Felix was bone-deep exhausted and had a headache. And to make matters worse, it was only late afternoon, so it was only Jeongin and Minho picking him up when he desperately would have needed the comfort of his boyfriend.Felix tiredly let himself fall into his two friends’ arms, grateful for any hint of comfort that he could get after having been on his own for more than 24 hours.“Let’s take you home, hm?” Minho said quietly after what felt like an eternity and Felix simply nodded. Minho wrapped one arm around Felix’s shoulders, gently pulling him along, while Jeongin followed after them, the noise of suitcase wheels following so close that Felix understood even in his half-conscious state that Jeongin was pulling along his suitcases.Home. How long would it take before this place would feel like home? Would it be faster than his arrival in Korea since he already had people around whom he considered his family? Would it be slower because he didn’t actually know what to do with his life here? What would he work as? Should he go to university again? Well, maybe he shouldn’t go to university right away, that would probably be a little too much for a newly turned vampire… Speaking of which!“The blood supply really is good here, isn’t it?” he asked quietly even though he was certain that no one around would be able to understand them while they were speaking in Korean.Minho hummed as he led them out of the airport building. A cool wind immediately blew over Felix and he cuddled closer to Minho. Around him, everyone was wearing T-shirts and many women were wearing skirts, so Felix wasn’t entirely sure whether the chill came from him just having left a still rather hot Australia or from him being beyond tired. It was probably both.“There’s no need for you to worry about that, especially not in Salem.”“Because of all the magical creatures that gathered there?” According to Jeongin and Minho, Salem was famous among the supernatural communities not only for the witch trials, but also for its conglomeration of non-humans who had moved there afterwards to show their support for the witches. Because of that, Salem was known as somewhat of a safe haven for them: it was more accepting than other places, more open, offered more opportunities, was said to generally take very good care of all its citizens…“Exactly.”“There’s also quite the nightlife in and around Salem,” Jeongin added.“Ranging from cafés to libraries to clubs, by the way. I even spotted one or two supermarkets that are open 24/7,” Minho said and Felix hummed, unsure about how much of this information he’d actually be able to remember.Jeongin and Minho told him more stories about moving, about the town, about all four of them having taken forever to adjust to the time zone even though Felix would have thought that to be a rather simple task for vampires. Apparently, it was even worse for vampires, with the internal clock and the sun demanding opposite things.Felix listened as much as he could, but the words seemed to go in one ear and out the other because when they exited the car eventually, he couldn’t have recalled a single thing that they talked about. They had come to a small house that was somewhat familiar to Felix; he had seen both its outside and inside during several video calls, though the outside at daylight was still a rather unfamiliar sight. He also knew what the house that Jisung, Jeongin, and Minho were sharing looked like. He had heard the stories of Jisung, Jeongin, and Hyunjin getting highly confused about not living all together, of Hyunjin simply sleeping over at the other house because it was too confusing and too strange for him to be on his own. And maybe, Felix had thought to himself, Hyunjin also couldn’t stand the thought of being apart from the others in particular after over a century.By the time that Felix managed to get out of the car, Minho had already come around it and waited impatiently, taking Felix’s hand and pulling him along towards the front door. Jeongin protested half-heartedly behind them about being left alone with the suitcases again, but Felix hardly had the chance to understand the other’s words before the front door was opened.Felix’s heart skipped a beat and he could suddenly walk a little straighter, a little faster. He ignored Minho’s laughter as the other let go of his hand, and then Felix skipped up the two steps leading up to the front door and flung himself into Hyunjin’s arms. Hyunjin hugged him so fast that he somehow managed to pull Felix closer mid-jump, so hard that he stole the air from Felix’s lungs, but all Felix could do was to hug Hyunjin back as tightly as his tired arms allowed. The sweet scent of oranges and roses filled his nose, welcomed him home, robbed him of the full control of his body until he was barely standing on his own, mostly held up by his boyfriend.“I’m so tired,” he mumbled. “I think I could sleep for a century.”“I got up thirty minutes ago just to greet you and now I won’t even get a kiss before you go back to sleep?”“Kissing means closed eyes and that is very dangerous territory if you want me awake,” Felix replied, smiling at the scandalized gasp that he got in response. Satisfied, he leaned back a little until he could peck Hyunjin’s lips. “Take that as a stand-in, hm?”“Can I leave?” Jeongin asked behind him.“Oh, stop being like that!” Minho reprimanded him, but Jeongin only huffed.“I only have you and Jisung-hyung or Felix and Hyunjin-hyung to decide between. Do you have any idea how hard life has gotten, being surrounded by nasty lovey-dovey stuff all the time?”“You poor, poor demon,” Minho replied dryly before his tone softened. “Lixie, I brought some food over earlier. You can unpack tomorrow, but make sure to eat something before you go to sleep, okay?”Felix begrudgingly untangled himself from Hyunjin in favor of turning around towards the other two. “You’re leaving?”Minho nodded. “Remember that we were planning to go to the exhibition tomorrow in the afternoon, alright? Both of you.”“I still can’t believe you’re making me get up that early,” Hyunjin mumbled under his breath, but Minho merely rolled his eyes.“We have literally two days left for the exhibition and I am not going to miss it even if you died, so get your act together. We’ll pick you two up tomorrow at three,” he announced, then he turned around and left. Jeongin grinned and waved towards them briefly before he also hurried out of the door, pulling it close behind himself.Felix turned towards Hyunjin, a little worried. “Will you be alright?”Hyunjin shrugged lightly and Felix finally remembered that he was still wearing his shoes, so he toed them off. He briefly glanced at his suitcases, trying to remember where he had left his toiletries, but before he could even make a move towards them, Hyunjin gently pulled at his hand. “Go make yourself some food, I’ll take those two into our room, okay?”Felix couldn’t help the immediate smile that appeared on lips when he heard those words. Our room. He nodded quickly, but instead of going to the kitchen, he headed to the bathroom first.He only managed to stay awake with Hyunjin for a little longer before the journey got the better of him and he got ready for bed with toiletries that Hyunjin ended up providing for him since Felix didn’t want to search for his own stuff. And soon after, he was falling asleep by Hyunjin’s side, tugged safely into the space where he most belonged. Even though he had gone to bed early, Felix woke up close to noon next to a still sleeping Hyunjin. He felt like something died in his mouth and his bladder was almost hurting from how full it was, forcing him to get up even though all he wanted was to stay in bed.After getting through his morning routine, Felix found himself in front of the microwave, another portion of food that Minho had prepared for him slowly spinning as it was heating up. He rubbed his hands over his face, yawning, but the leaden tiredness still wouldn’t let go of him. Hoping that Minho might have brought over some coffee or tea as well, Felix got on a quest to look through the kitchen cabinets, but aside from tableware, he found all of them remarkably empty.The microwave dinged, bringing an end to Felix’s futile search, so he instead opted to settle down to eat, sending Minho a quick photo of his food, adorned with a heart. And a request for coffee.Over the next two hours, he received a thumbs-up from Minho and texted a little with his family. He also took the time to inspect all the photos that had been hung up around the house—minus the bedroom, of course—, settling in the living room afterwards until he heard Hyunjin’s alarm going off in the other room. Their room.Excitement immediately coursed through him and Felix made his way into the bedroom, finding Hyunjin having moved slightly away from the alarm, yet showing no other signs of getting up. Amused, Felix entered the room and turned off the alarm on Hyunjin’s phone, endeared at how Hyunjin immediately relaxed in his sleep. His eyes briefly lingered on the bedside table, finding two more than familiar picture frames on it. One of them held an old picture of Hyunjin, Jisung, and Jeongin; so old that Hyunjin had made a hand drawn copy of it at some point, hiding the yellowed photograph behind it. The second frame held a photo of the two of them. It was a selfie from one of their nightly dates to the Han River during Felix’s senior year at university and one of his fondest memories.Felix lightly shook his head, both to get himself back into the present and at Hyunjin’s adorableness, and snuck back into bed, merely watching Hyunjin for a moment, taking in his boyfriend’s elegant features that he had had to miss out on for way too long. Minutes had probably passed by the time that Felix caught himself, realizing that he was supposed to wake Hyunjin up if they wanted to have any chance of leaving on time.“Hyung,” he called out quietly, raising one hand to trail his fingers along the soft skin of Hyunjin’s face, smiling when Hyunjin let out a quiet sigh. How could anyone look this beautiful? Felix was so gone for this man.“Hyunjinnie,” he tried again, fully resting his hand against Hyunjin’s cheek, lightly caressing the skin with his thumb. Hyunjin moved ever so lightly, leaning into the touch, and love and adoration seemed to have replaced the blood in Felix’s veins at the adorable sight.“You need to wake up.” He lightly tapped his thumb against Hyunjin’s skin when he still didn’t get a proper reaction, but that too seemed to have no effect. In the spur of the moment, Felix simply leaned closer and pecked his boyfriend’s lips, cheering at the way Hyunjin stirred lightly. “So kisses it is, hm?” He dropped his hand to Hyunjin’s shoulder, showering his boyfriend’s face with small kisses, not even stopping when he noticed Hyunjin smiling and his lids fluttering lightly whenever Felix was close to them, and still not when Hyunjin rolled onto his back, exposing the side of his face that had been pressed against the pillow, allowing Felix to shower that side with love as well. An eternity seemed to have passed by the time that he returned to Hyunjin’s lips, melting on top of his boyfriend when the other kissed him back, finally wrapping his arms around Felix as well in a loose embrace.In the end, it was once again Felix who leaned back, lightly propping himself up on his elbows so he could look at Hyunjin, see the other’s fond smile, slightly reddened lips, warm and brown eyes that crinkled lightly at the edges as he smiled, looking up at Felix with so much love that Felix couldn’t help but lean down once more to steal another kiss. “Good morning,” he mumbled eventually, mirroring the way Hyunjin’s smile brightened.“I think I like my new alarm clock.”“Your old one clearly didn’t do its job,” Felix replied, leaning in for yet another peck, unable to resist when Hyunjin was so close. Despite the pressing time, he snuggled into his boyfriend afterwards, resting his head on the other’s shoulder and closing his eyes. “I missed this. I missed you.”Hyunjin hummed quietly, one of his hands lazily caressing up and down Felix’s back. “It was just one short month… but I missed you, too.”Felix couldn’t help but smile, momentarily tightening his hug. “I’m curious about Jeongin’s perspective on the ‘one short month’ part.”Hyunjin laughed at that, his hand momentarily stopping in its motion. “It’s hardly my fault that a month away from you felt like much longer.”Felix grinned to himself, turning his head a little to place a peck on the crook of Hyunjin’s neck before he got comfortable again. “I should probably let you get ready, shouldn’t I?”Instead of answering right away, Hyunjin removed one of his hands from around Felix, searching for his phone instead. The small groan he let out was enough for Felix to know that they really needed to start moving, but as long as Hyunjin didn’t push him away, there was no way that Felix would let go of him. Luckily, Hyunjin seemed to share the sentiment, because when he moved, it was only to coax Felix into another kiss.When Hyunjin did eventually move to get up, Felix was delighted to find out that he was allowed to follow the other like an excited, little puppy. Minho texted them at some point to let them know that the other three would be arriving a little later than planned, but Felix was still surprised that they didn’t show up until 3:30PM. He and Hyunjin piled into the car and Felix laughed when he found himself, Minho, and Jeongin quite adequately dressed for the temperatures, while Hyunjin and Jisung had made sure to be as well-covered as possible to avoid direct sunlight. Felix had no doubt that Jisung had applied sunscreen just as generously as Hyunjin had.Even though Felix had been placed on the middle seat in the back since he was the smallest one of the three, he was almost constantly leaning over either Hyunjin or Jisung, happily holding both of their hands while he took in their surroundings: the abundance of plant stores all around, the variety of houses, the gardens where he was certain that many held plants for magical use… The streets were almost deserted with only the occasional dog-walker outside until they arrived at the downtown area.There, they stopped at the entrance of a small house, squished between two others, its front inconspicuous with only a small sign advertising that it was actually a café. The inside was cozy, leaning into the design of long bygone times, yet Felix instantly felt comfortable. “Hi, welcome back!” someone greeted them when they arrived at the counter and Felix smiled at the man, then looked up at the menu boards. The café seemed to only offer a limited number of beverages, with some drawings adorning the free spaces that made Felix smile at their cuteness.“Will you all take your usuals?” the cashier asked, indicating that the others were regulars.“Yes, please,” Jisung replied and Felix’s mind seemed to stumble. He lowered his gaze from the cards, turning towards Jisung instead, then he looked up again.“Actually, I think I’ll take your Sunshine tea,” Minho said. Felix blinked at the menu signs without really taking them in, then finally lowered his gaze to squint at Minho.“What about you?” the cashier asked and…“Were you speaking Korean all this time?”The cashier raised an eyebrow at Felix who positively facepalmed himself when he realized that he had said that out loud while Minho laughed. Jeongin also sound thoroughly amused when he said, “Lixie, may I introduce you to the concept of demons?”Felix only groaned, but he still looked up again, finding very much ember eyes looking back from the other side of the register and… yes, he should have noticed those before. And probably also that they had been speaking Korean all this time. “Sorry… My brain seems to be very jetlagged…”“You did realize, though, that we’ve been speaking Korean since we picked you up, didn’t you?” Jisung asked, the smile clear in his voice even though Felix didn’t look at him, trying to speed-work through his embarrassment. ‘Bilingual’ his ass… this was more of a bye-lingual moment.“Hyung, do they have that energizing tea?” he asked vaguely into Minho’s direction, but it was the cashier who answered, laughing quietly.“So two Sunshine teas?”“Yes, please,” Minho replied and Felix finally dropped his hand, looking up to see Minho handing over his card just a second before Jisung realized what was happening, protesting while the cashier swiped Minho’s card.“Lixie, how did you not realize what kind of café we’re in?” Jeongin teased him as they moved over to the side.Felix pouted at the other. “It’s not my fault that there are probably illusions in place!”“There are…” Jeongin trailed off, squinting at the menu boards as if they would give him the answer if he just stared hard enough. “Right. You can’t see through anyone else’s illusions, of course… And this is a café that humans go to as well,” he mumbled under his breath, probably more to himself than to Felix.“Right, how do they do that? Won’t some orders, like, draw attention?” Felix asked on, but the others shook their heads.“There’s a list of cue words we can use, especially for some of the ingredients. And everything else can be simply passed off as insider names or ‘accidentally using old names’,” Hyunjin explained and Felix nodded slowly in understanding. That indeed made a lot of sense.Once they were all equipped with a drink, they piled back into the car and Felix probably faced his greatest dilemma yet: to hold Hyunjin’s or Jisung’s hand. Sure, Hyunjin was his boyfriend, but he hadn’t seen Jisung in over a month and had at least had a full night with Hyunjin, so…In the end, the two of them took the decision away from him when Hyunjin rested one of his hands on Felix’s thigh and Jisung grabbed his hand, leaving Felix happily squished between the two of them.It didn’t take long until Minho parked the car again and they all filed out of the car, following Minho who seemed to know exactly where to go. Felix automatically intertwined his hand with Hyunjin’s, letting his gaze wander over the houses around them, the plants, the people, trusting Hyunjin to make sure that he wouldn’t run into anything.When they arrived at the building in question, Felix took in the gigantic ‘Salem Witch Trials Memorial Exhibition’-sign that had been hung up at the front of the modern building. He wasn’t given a lot of time to stare before Hyunjin started tugging on his hand and Felix simply went. Jisung, Minho, and Jeongin were already waiting on the inside, far enough from the door that the sunlight streaming through it didn’t hit them. But that didn’t do anything about the sunlight streaming in through the windows.Slightly confused, Felix turned around towards the windows, but he found them very open. He turned back towards the ground where the windows’ shapes were clearly outlined. Finally, he looked up, tugging at Hyunjin’s hand when none of the others were paying attention to him. Hyunjin immediately turned towards Felix who pointed inconspicuously towards the windows. “Are you and Jisung-hyung okay in here?”Hyunjin’s gaze followed Felix’s gesture, then went back to Felix with a slightly tilted head. “What do you mean?”Felix blinked at his boyfriend in utter confusion. “The windows?” he prompted, only for Hyunjin to tilt his head a little more, a light frown joining the confused expression. “Sunlight is shining through them?”“It’s not?”“What?”They both just stared at each other until something very slowly dawned upon Felix. A cupboard that held old machines. A closet full of folders. Two menus that were only partially visible to humans. He spun around towards the other three. “Hyung!” All three of them turned towards him, immediately halting in their conversation, but Felix’s eyes were fixated on Minho. “Are there any illusions in place?” Minho’s eyes flickered through the room, then he gave a simple nod and held out his hand. Felix’s eyes widened as he placed his hand on top of Minho’s. “You can even undo someone else’s illusions?”“Not quite. It’s more that I’m enabling you to see through them. I can’t erase them for you, though.” Minho’s eyes flickered through the room once more before going back to Felix. “This may become a little trippy for you. You’ll most likely still see the illusions, but you will be able to kind of see through them, like through a thin curtain. Depending on how strong the magic behind them is, you might even have to focus specifically on something to bypass the illusion.”Felix merely nodded impatiently because at the end of the day, it didn’t matter how he was able to see the real place as long as he did get to that point. Minho closed his eyes and a slither of magic flowed between them. A moment later, the world glitched before Felix’s eyes and he blinked fast a few times until everything around him was clear and sharp again, moving along in line with the others. At first glance, nothing had changed, but when Felix looked around, he could detect the screens in front of the windows that kept out the sunlight, could see that there was no actual sunlight hitting the floor but that it was all artificial light.“Woah,” he mumbled, still twisting and turning in all directions in an attempt to find all the things that were different from before. At the edges of his vision, the illusions remained, but wherever he looked directly at them, he could see right through them. “Am I really the only one who needs this?”“The only one among the five of us, at least,” Minho replied, sounding thoroughly amused.“How does it work, by the way? I never remembered to ask that question…”“He’s so adorable,” Jisung commented quietly and Felix finally looked over at him, finding Jisung watching him with the fondest expression even when Minho turned to his boyfriend with an equally disgusted and scandalized look.“Excuse me?”“You’re the cutest one ever, don’t worry.”“Ex. Cuse. Me?” Minho’s eyes widened in indignation. Felix and Jeongin started laughing while Jisung simply looked over at his boyfriend, love mixing into his fond expression.“You are.”Minho huffed. “I’m not cute.”Felix glanced to Hyunjin at his side and when their eyes met, Felix knew that both of them found this display exorbitantly cute, even as neither of them dared to object. “So?” Felix asked as he turned back to the other couple, watching a very disgruntled Minho giving in to Jisung having wrapped him in a back hug while Jeongin was watching them from the sideline.“This type of magic is usually only directed against the most mundane of the human-like creatures: humans themselves. The magic reacts to anything non-human, which all of us have traces of, and becomes invalid. Other witches and wizards would be able to sense the magic, I’m not so sure to which extent that is also applicable to other supernatural beings,” Minho finally revealed.“I couldn’t sense anything,” Hyunjin offered and Jisung nodded.“I can… kind of sense it?” Jeongin replied and Minho shrugged lightly.“Considering that it does take magic—or at least rituals—to summon you, meaning that you’re connected to magic more directly in a way, that does make sense.”Felix nodded lightly at the information, not even realizing that they had arrived at the ticket counter until Jeongin turned away to talk to the woman behind the counter. Shortly after, all of them had a ticket in their hands and they were allowed to enter the actual exhibition.“Now, what makes this exhibition extra special is that it is an interactive one,” Minho explained as they passed the ticket control.“Oh? How so?” Felix asked, though his eyes were already taking in everything around him.“There will be surfaces that will ask you to place your hand there. You might need one of us as a kind of ‘catalysator’. From what I’ve read, once we put our hands in the designated spots, we will be kind of sucked into the story? Like we will be experiencing what happened at the time. But don’t worry, we will of course physically remain here, even when our surroundings will change.”Felix hummed in response, coming to a stand in front of the nearest wall to read the text on it. The paragraph introduced the time before the witch trials, explaining what witches were and how they had lived in peace with humans. The first major disruption of this peace had been the witch hunts in medieval Europe, its conclusion followed not even half a century later by the Salem Witch Trials.Felix read through the timeline, his heart sinking with every new piece of information and he periodically glanced over to where Minho and Jisung were slightly behind him and Hyunjin. It seemed like Minho was taking the time to read through everything on his own instead of relying on Jisung for help and Felix could only imagine that it was a sign of Minho paying his respect to the witch community.Felix glanced towards his other side, but he had long since lost sight of Jeongin, so he instead looked at the wall in front of him that concluded the early stage of the witch hunts. He looked up at Hyunjin, smiling when he found the other already watching him, and they went on to the next room that showed the room and puppets of the family where the witch trials had started. Felix took the scene in; the two little girls who had been the first ones who had been accused, the array of plants around the displayed room… Did that mean that those children had indeed been witches?His heart hurt for the innocent children and he was ready to move on, but Hyunjin held him back, silently pointing at one of the pillars that made up the fence that separated them from the display. Felix tilted his head in question before turning back towards the pillar, eyeing it more closely this time and… wasn’t there a sign that said ‘touch here’? He looked up again and Hyunjin smiled softly, nodding, so Felix stepped closer to the pillar.“Remember to act like nothing’s wrong. You can look around a little, but I’d recommend not to do it too drastically because the humans around won’t know what’s going on and we shouldn’t draw their attention,” Hyunjin said quietly and Felix nodded, but before he could touch the wooden pillar, Hyunjin added, “And remember, if it gets too much, the scene should stop when you remove your hand, since it’s triggered by touch.”Felix nodded and finally placed his free hand over the marked spot. In an instant, the room around him blurred before coming into focus again. A little child was squealing on one side, playing with a few sticks, while a woman and a teenage girl sat at the table, preparing dinner. They were talking, yet Felix couldn’t understand a single word despite the sounds being comfortable, like random background chatter.The scene was interrupted when a reverend burst into the room so suddenly, dragging along a crying child and the panicked voice of a woman following them, that Felix flinched back. The sounds stopped immediately and Felix had to blink a few times before he could make sense of what he was seeing: the exhibition room, puppets instead of real people sitting in a house very similar to the one he had just seen, the reverend’s arrival only hinted at.“Are you okay?” Hyunjin’s voice came from close to Felix, the Korean just messing with his mind even more, and somehow, he found himself in Hyunjin’s embrace with no recollection of when Hyunjin had even wrapped his arms around him. Hadn’t they been holding hands?Felix nodded lightly, looking around to find Minho and Jisung entering the room as well. “Just… caught off-guard? It felt so real,” he mumbled and Hyunjin hummed quietly, caressing his back with one hand.“Hey, you guys okay?” Jisung asked, taking the situation in, and it was once again up to Felix to respond with a nod.“Yeah, just got a little jump-scared by…” He motioned towards the exhibition piece and Minho followed his gesture.“This is the first immersive part?” he asked, but he didn’t seem to need a response before he stepped closer, placing his hand where Felix’s had been a moment later, his other hand still intertwined with Jisung’s. Felix watched in awe as the other two briefly closed their eyes before opening them again and it seemed like they were simply looking at the exhibition set.Felix glanced up at Hyunjin again, then he hesitantly reached one hand out to place it on top of Minho’s, closing his eyes and only opening them again when he heard the gibberish from before. He briefly glanced to his side, almost surprised to find Minho and Jisung there, surprised as well because he had been so stunned the first time that he hadn’t even realized that he could still see Hyunjin as well. Everything else from the exhibition hall had disappeared, though.Screaming and wailing quickly made him look ahead again and his grip on Minho’s hand tightened a little as he watched the reverend drag in one of the girls. He was screaming, this time in clear English, about the child being bewitched, about how it had to have made a pact with Satan. Like a child would do such a thing!The list of accusations continued on before the reverend threatened to go to a council with this matter. All figures came to a momentarily standstill, like someone had pressed ‘pause’ on the scene, then Felix’s surroundings turned blurry all over and he blinked a few times, drawing back his hand as his eyes focused on the exhibition room once again.Nex to him, Minho let out a measured breath and Felix looked over, hesitating for only a moment before he reached out once more, gently pulling back Minho’s hand to hold it. “Hyung?” he started quietly, waiting until Minho looked over at him before he went on with his question, “I don’t think I ever asked you this and… I hope it’s not too taboo? But how do people even become witches?” He only knew that many witches had been killed during both the witch hunt and the witch trials. But since witches still existed, that meant that one had to be able to somehow ‘become’ a witch, right?Minho’s eyes went back to the exhibited scene in front of them, but nothing in his expression said that Felix had crossed a line, so he merely waited for Minho to gather his thoughts. “It’s mostly genetics, as far as I know. You have to be born with magic in order to become a witch. That’s why there are so few of us nowadays—or at least that’s why our numbers significantly decreased at one point and why witches are more common in non-European countries. Also excluding the US.”“But… I think Channie-hyung mentioned that his family bloodline goes back very far, so…”Minho nodded, a small, sad smile on his lips. “You’ve certainly read Harry Potter, haven’t you? Or at least seen it?” Felix nodded, not entirely sure why Minho suddenly started talking about fiction. His questions were quickly answered, though, “Now, we’re not gonna dive into J.K. Rowling as an author because you’re not gonna want me to start on a rant about how awful she is”—Jisung nodded fervently, but Felix wasn’t entirely sure whether Jisung looked more like he did or did not want Minho to go on that rant right then—“but one of the concepts that she brought up is kinda useful for this. They have that idea of purebloods, right? That’s basically what this is about. The pure bloodlines can usually be traced far back."But not all witches would get involved with other witches or magical beings. If different species come together, there are usually three possible outcomes: either, our kind will dominate; their kind will dominate; or both will mix.” That did make sense, Felix thought to himself, considering how Chan had become a werewolf just like his father, while his sister and his mother were witches. “In the case of witches and humans, the third option is the case. This means that the first descendent would basically be half-human and half-witch. In this way, powers can be increased or they can decrease over generations. Supposedly, all witches have the same ancestor, and then spread."Our magic only truly shows if our witch side is at least at fifty percent. Anything below that can still show itself in being really good with plants or having an affinity with animals, but we wouldn’t be able to actually do anything with magic and the magic from illusions, for example, wouldn’t recognize us. That does mean, though, that a lineage can basically disappear only to have magical descendants again several generations later. And once the magic is discovered, you’d naturally try to preserve it.”Felix let the words sink in, his eyes on the scene in front of him even though he wasn’t really seeing it. “And the safest way is to get engaged with other magical beings,” he summarized eventually and Minho nodded.“Of the opposite sex, naturally,” he added and when Felix looked over, he found the other smirking. “I guess my bloodline will end with me.” He shrugged, yelping when Jisung pinched his side. Felix smiled at the display, waiting for the other two to calm down again, Jisung pouting and Minho petting his arm while he turned to Felix again. “My family line doesn’t date back very far since the rediscovery of magic.”“No need to be humble about it, though.”Felix flinched so hard that he feared he’d go into cardiac arrest. Jeongin merely laughed, clearly enjoying Felix’s and Minho’s reactions, even more so when Minho turned away, mumbling something about Jeongin being a ‘godforsaken demon’ as he pulled Jisung along.Jeongin flashed Felix a wicked grin, nodding towards the next section as well with a raised eyebrow and Felix simply nodded, sorting out his and Hyunjin’s limbs until he could grab Hyunjin’s hand again as they walked and Jeongin continued talking, “While it’s true that Minho’s current bloodline doesn’t go back very far, it was purified very quickly and appears to be based on some powerful witches. If that weren’t the case, I doubt that Minho would have been able to sustain that café in Seoul all on his own for as long as he has and with as little effort as it seems to have taken him.”“Eh?” Felix made, coming to a stop at the next information board, but he was still watching Jeongin, not yet reading the information.Jeongin gave a slight shrug. “I can’t know for sure, of course, but from what I’ve heard, keeping up illusions actually costs energy, just like it costs energy for me to keep up a human appearance, and Minho’s illusions were clearly grand and manifold. And still, he could teleport to China and back and use his magic for other things.”“Shut up,” Minho grumbled from two information boards further down the room, but Felix noticed that his ears were bright red.Felix smiled to himself as he turned towards the information board in front of him, but the question of Minho and how powerful he apparently was didn’t quite let go of him. Wasn’t it even more shocking then that Minho had worked himself to the point of collapsing back when Jun had joined Hyunjin, Jisung, and Jeongin? Or how reverently he had spoken about Chan’s mother?They continued on through the exhibition. Jisung and Minho were usually somewhere close to Hyunjin and Felix, but Jeongin only seemed to be around about half of the time, disappearing off to wherever during the other half.Felix’s heart was bleeding with every new piece of information that he learned. He was grateful for Hyunjin’s constant presence because his heart was definitely too tender not to take breaks every so often during which he simply stood off to the side, hugging his boyfriend, letting everything sink in as he distracted himself with small kisses. How grateful he was to be able to do that, even in public. He couldn’t even imagine doing something like this in Korea.Eventually, they arrived in a huge room, supposedly the last one. It was called ‘The Legacy of the Witches’ and, according to the leaflet that Jeongin had picked up god only knew when and distributed to them, it contained the survival stories of witches from both the witch hunt and the witch trials. One wall even held a section with candles that visitors could light for the fallen witches.Felix looked around with wide eyes, curious about the portraits and the scenes that were displayed around the huge room. Minho was already going off to the right, simply dragging Jisung along. And Felix was tempted to follow them, but…His eyes went around the room once more, finally landing on the portrait of a young girl with an elderly woman, both seemingly with Asian heritage. He didn’t know what it was, but something seemed to pull him towards that image, like an invisible thread. He glanced at Hyunjin, finding the other already watching him curiously, then he started moving.Arriving in front of the portrait, Felix still didn’t know what it was about that painting that drew him in. He had never seen either of the two people and their names didn’t sound familiar either. He tilted his head lightly at them before skimming over the text that was displayed underneath the portrait. Supposedly, the elderly woman had escaped the witch hunt in Europe, but she was later prosecuted during the witch trials in Salem. The little girl, however, had survived and her descendants lived on to this day, with some of them having returned to East Asia where they were originally from and others having moved to Australia.Something tugged at Felix’s mind, a thought too far away for him to grasp and yet close enough for him to know that he should be able to draw conclusions.Without dwelling on it for too long, Felix reached out to the small sign next to the information plaque and closed his eyes for a few seconds, opening them again to the scene of a family of five: the mother, father, one teenage boy, a slightly younger teenage daughter, and a child, presumably also a daughter. Felix couldn’t help but worry and he briefly glanced at Hyunjin, finding the other intently watching the scene, so Felix simply turned back to the front.He held Hyunjin’s hand a little tighter as more people entered the scenes and they watched the family flee, seeking shelter over and over as the situation became more and more dire. As they were betrayed by humans—because no magical creature would do such a thing, right?—over and over again. Eventually, the family decided to pay a smuggler to take the youngest child across the ocean and even though the family’s fate was only hinted at with flames on the shore as the child was crying on the ship, Felix understood that they hadn’t survived.Tears pricked at his eyes, but he refused to let them fall as the scene changed once again, showing hints of the little girl growing up, apparently in another household of witches who had escaped Europe. Her features became more and more familiar to Felix in a way that he still failed to ascribe to anyone he knew.She bore children at some point and taught them the same things she had learned: do not trust humans. Be careful about whom you show your magical abilities. And still, she thought herself and her family safe, trusted, and practiced as a witch in her new home. She grew older and her children bore children and they still passed on the same teachings even though it was clearly in a more lax manner. Because they were safe.And then the witch trials began. First, it was no more than ‘rumor says’, but then the rumors became true and way too soon, the church came knocking on this family’s doors. And Felix watched, his vision blurring with tears, as only one of the young daughters somehow escaped, watched as a number of citizens, presumably humans, accused the family, demanded ‘righteousness’, demanded the death penalty for these ‘women who had sold their souls to the devil’.The scene of the girl on her way across the country faded to a voice announcing that the family was still alive and well, that the blood line was still going on, and it was when they showed an image of the current descendants that Felix finally understood what had felt so familiar all this time.He didn’t even realize that his knees had given in until Hyunjin caught him, didn’t realize how hard he was crying until Hyunjin pulled him closer, caressing his back and whispering sweet nothings into his ears. Didn’t realize how much time had passed with his heart open and bleeding until more hands appeared, gentle in their touch and eternally comforting.“I’ll be back soon,” Minho announced at some point as Felix was slowly calming down, yet he still couldn’t chase away the images that he had just seen. And the photograph that had ended the storyline. The family photo of the women in Chan’s family, at least from his maternal side.No wonder they had always rejected Felix. No wonder they still couldn’t fully let go of the teachings of centuries. No wonder that the pain was too deep and the knowledge too ingrained in them. And still, Felix found himself wishing that they could have let him in. That they’d understand that he wouldn’t hurt them, that he had always considered them family. That they’d take a step to heal from a past they had never lived through, from a past that still haunted them in the present.“Felix?” Minho’s soft voice made it through to him and Felix finally looked up, forcing one of his hands to let go of its death grip on Hyunjin’s shirt so he could wipe over his eyes and cheeks. He sniffled and a familiar scent hit him. With a delay, he spotted the cup that Minho was holding with a small smile, holding it out for Felix when their eyes met.“Thanks,” Felix mumbled and took the cup, recognizing the scent to be one of the magical calming teas, though it smelled a little different than the one Minho had offered in his café.“I’m sorry,” Hyunjin said quietly and Felix quickly looked over at him before taking a tentative first sip of his tea. “I’m sorry that they can’t let you in. I know that these things are difficult to overcome, but… I’m still sorry.”Felix shook his head lightly, taking a slightly shaky, deep breath as a sense of calm spread through him. “Don’t be. It…” He looked down, into the cup in his hand. “It just is the way it is.”“Doesn’t mean that it doesn’t suck,” Jisung said from beside him, but Felix merely gave a slight shrug.“Of course I wish they could let me in. But I think I understand a little better now why they can’t.”Jisung gently petted Felix’s arm at that, a comforting gesture that made Felix feel small, like a little child that was eternally protected. He smiled softly at the other, grateful that he wasn’t alone, grateful that he had not just one but four people around him who never hesitated to give him the support that he needed. Taking a deep breath, Felix finally gathered the strength to push himself up again, leaning into Hyunjin when the other immediately wrapped one arm around his shoulders.“Can I show you something?” Minho asked, his voice uncharacteristically hesitant and Felix quickly looked over at him, nodding even before Minho continued, “I know it may not be very uplifting… but I think they also have some of my history here. I’d like to show you that.”Felix’s nodding instantly became more fervent. “Yes, I want to see it.”“We could go outside, afterwards,” Jeongin opted. “They have booths with merchandise there, I think you’ll like it.”Felix was inclined to agree immediately, but he still stopped himself. “What about Hyunjin-hyung and Jisung-hyung?” Outside still meant ‘sun’, so wouldn’t the other two be harmed if they stayed out too long?Jeongin merely held up one hand with two umbrellas and Felix squinted at them, certain that he had not seen those before. Where on earth did Jeongin always get these things from?“Don’t get him wrong, umbrellas and parasols aren’t, like, the ultimate solution. But they definitely help,” Jisung added as they came to a stand in front of another portrait. It was only when Felix saw the little boy on the lap of probably his mother that he realized that men and boys had been strikingly absent in this entire exhibition. Well, except from all the people from the church who had been hunting the witches down and occasional fathers, though they appeared to have been mostly out of the house for the displayed scenes…“Hyung,” he spoke up, turning towards Minho. “How come that this is my first time seeing a boy in this exhibition?”Minho shrugged lightly. “I think it’s mainly because when humans think of our kind, they think of women. And, historically speaking, more women and girls were witches than men and boys, so I guess that also adds to that.”Felix took another sip from his tea that was working wonders in calming him down, in giving him the mental capacities to deal with everything. He could still get back to the feeling part of it later, but for the time being, he was in the middle of an exhibition that was important to at least Minho and he’d be damned if he didn’t enjoy it to the fullest as long as he still could.Minho held a hand out to him in a silent offer and Felix took it with his free one, closing his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, he saw the same picture that had greeted him so many times already: an idyllic family life, though this time, the scene started in what seemed like a garden area. It all went along similar to what Felix had already seen countless times before, with the main change being that a voice told them at the end that the organizers hadn’t been able to track any living descendants.When reality came back into focus, Felix blinked a few times before he looked over at Minho, lowering his hand. “How do you know that this is your family history?”Minho seemed to think about it for a moment while Felix drank some more of his tea, enjoying its warmth and the gentle blanketing feeling. “How did you know where to go earlier?”“Huh?” Felix tilted his head lightly.“That that portrait belonged to Chan’s family?”“I didn’t, though.”Minho gave him an exasperated look. “But there was a reason why you went to that one and not any of the other pieces, wasn’t there?”Felix thought back to when he had entered the room and eventually nodded. “There was a kind of… pull?”Minho nodded lightly. “It was the same for me for this portrait. I cannot tell you for sure how they are related to me or how their paths continued after what we’ve seen, but by the fact alone that magic led me here, I know that they must be connected to my magic.”Felix looked at the image once again. It depicted an Asian family, just like it had been the case with Chan’s family, which in itself was probably weird enough since he was certain that not many people would have travelled that far back in the eighteenth century. On the other hand… Witches could teleport. And it probably wasn’t unheard of that they travelled to expand their knowledge, was it? And even if they didn’t do it all on their own, companionships between different species—like it was the case for all five of them—couldn’t possibly be a thing of the new age only.“So witches have always travelled a lot?”Minho frowned, but before he could come up with an answer, Jeongin jumped in, “Yes.” Felix looked over at him, finding Jeongin studying the portrait. “It’s not exactly seldom for other magical creatures to demand our help for translation purposes, sometimes for our teleportation skills. Some will also summon us for our real purposes—whether they consist of revenge or sexual acts—, of course, though it does appear that only humans will summon us solely for that. I know of quite a few others who have developed… bonds, in a way, with other magical creatures, some of them spanning generations.”“It’s kinda useful to have a demon on your side, you know? For protection, I mean,” Minho added with a shrug. “But, as Jeongin said, of course also in cases of language barriers or if you have to move far or a lot.”“Have you had this kind of bond with anyone else before?” Felix asked further, but Jeongin merely made a disgusted face.“Ew, no. I still have no idea what’s wrong with all of you.”Minho and Jisung rolled their eyes while a fond smile pulled at Hyunjin’s lips and Felix could merely bask in the moment and in how much he truly loved all of them.“Excuse me?” a female voice came from behind Felix and he quickly looked over his shoulder, momentarily afraid that someone from Korea had overheard their conversation since the person had spoken in Korean. This clearly wasn’t a conversation that any other human was supposed to hear!In front of him, however, stood a young Caucasian woman in goth attire; her skin almost unnaturally white compared to her raven black her, black lipstick and eyeliner, black, lacy dress, and platform boots. She looked stunning and like she had just stepped out of everyone’s 2000s teenage years, the personified dream look.“Yes?” Minho was the first one who reacted, seemingly just as confused by the woman who looked very much not Asian but clearly spoke to them in Korean that, as far as Felix could tell, sounded accent free. Was she a Korean studies student and had overheard them? Or had she lived in Korea, maybe even grown up there, to be able to speak Korean so well?“I see you’ve been lingering in front of his picture for quite a while,” she continued and Felix grew more and more certain that she had no accent. She also didn’t have any ember or golden eyes—neither red ones nor contact lenses—, so at least the wasn’t missing something as obvious as that again. “And I noticed that you checked out the immersive story as well.”“So you’re a staff member?” Jisung asked carefully and Felix shared his wariness, still uncertain what to make of this situation.The woman smiled, not exactly unkind and still in a somewhat wicked way that made Felix press himself a little closer to Hyunjin. Her eyes followed the moment and one side of her lips twitched up into a smirk. “No need to be a scaredy cat,” she said and turned towards the portrait. “Yes, I’m a staff member. And just by the nature of the exhibition, it should be clear enough that none of us are human.”“Naturally,” Hyunjin replied, but he too seemed to be on the fence about what to think of her, judging by the slightly pressed sound of his voice. Felix instinctively raised his free hand to the one that Hyunjin had on his shoulder, hoping that the physical touch would work its wonders for his boyfriend.“You can call me Joey,” the woman continued, appearing to be studying the image. “You see, we’ve had trouble finding anyone who was still alive from this bloodline. We started assuming that they must have disappeared entirely.” She turned her head, fixing Minho under her gaze so precisely that Jisung tensed. “But it appears that they do have living descendants.”Minho only gave her one of his wide-eyed blinks that spoke volumes of how he was working through the situation in his head, trying to figure out what to make of it. Jisung, though, seemed to already be a step ahead him. “What do you want?” he asked, his voice tense and slightly lowered, not quite bordering on dangerous but a clear sign for anyone to back off.Joey, though, merely raised an eyebrow at him before she turned towards Minho again. “We’re curious, nothing else. Visitors will usually come to this specific portrait to complete their experience, but I have never seen anyone seek it out as directly as you have.” Minho opened his mouth, only to close it again, clearly at a loss of words. After a few more seconds, Joey turned a little further, fixing Felix under her eyes. “You, too, are a mystery to me. I didn’t realize that a human could be—”Hyunjin switched his stance to have a protective arm in front of Felix so quickly that he jumped, spilling some of his tea, while his brain tried to catch up to what had just happened. He stared at his wet hand, momentarily overwhelmed by where he should even begin to try to find any tissues or if he could only wipe his hand his clothes—and attempt to dry the cup with his sleeve—when a black cloth appeared in his view. Felix quickly looked up to find Joey watching him with clear amusement and a black handkerchief between her slender, pale fingers.“Thank you,” he mumbled, awkwardly taking the cloth, almost surprised that Hyunjin didn’t hinder him from doing so. He quickly cleaned the cup and his hand, but then he wasn’t sure what to do with the handkerchief because of course he had to hand it back, but now it was wet, so wouldn’t it also be impolite to hand back a wet handkerchief like that? He looked up at Joey again, finding her gesturing for him to give her the piece of cloth, so he did, watching as it disappeared as soon as she curled her fingers around it.Felix dumbly stared at her empty hand, then looked over to where Jeongin was standing, looking as relaxed as ever. After a moment, Jeongin glanced over at him, flashing him a smile, before he focused back on what Joey and Minho were talking about and Felix focused back on the conversation, amazed at the bits and pieces of witch history that he learned like that.By the time that they stepped outside, Felix was surprised to find that it was already evening. Felix finished his tea and he, Minho, and Jeongin got something small to eat before they walked around, finding cute souvenirs and trinkets. Minho told him which ones had magic woven into them, usually as protective or good-luck charms, and which ones did not. They also took some pictures and even though Felix had yet to see any of them, he already knew that he’d treasure them infinitely.The sun had already started setting by the time that Minho dropped Felix and Hyunjin off at their house, getting out of the car with them. And a moment later, Felix found himself securely wrapped into his friend’s arms, his entire body relaxing.“I guess I won’t really see you for a bit, hm?” Minho said quietly and Felix simply tightened his hug. He couldn’t imagine it: the unsatiable hunger, the inability to be around humans for a while, the scorching pain of the sun… It was only hours away, and yet still a different world to Felix.“Can’t believe I literally got one and a half days with you,” he replied, making Minho laugh.“You make it sound like you’ll never see me again.”“Well, I won’t! Not in this lifetime any—ow!” Felix squeaked and freed himself from the hug, seeking shelter behind Hyunjin while Minho merely laughed. Glaring at his friend, Felix rubbed his side where Minho had pinched him. “Just you wait! Give me a month or two and I’ll get my revenge!”“Dream on.” Minho grinned at him as he took a step back. “You and I both know that Jisung wouldn’t let you get that close.”“Who says I have to get physically close to you to get my revenge?” Felix pouted. Maybe he didn’t yet have an idea of how he could get revenge and the chances were high that he wouldn’t follow through with it anyway, but he at least wanted to entertain the thought a little longer. And either way, he’d have more than enough time to make something up.Minho rolled his eyes and arrived at the still open driver’s door. “Don’t miss us too much.” Felix stuck his tongue out at him, laughing at the fake annoyance that appeared on Minho’s expression. He comfortably sneaked his arms around Hyunjin’s middle as he watched the other start to get in, only to stop and turn back around once more. “And thank you. For flying out in time so we could all go to the exhibition together.” A soft smile had made its way to Minho’s lips, and Felix was so stunned by the sudden open honesty, that he didn’t even get to respond before Minho got into the car and closed the door, driving off while Jeongin and Jisung simply waved towards him, calling out ‘see you in your next life’ and ‘see you soon’ respectively.When the car was out of view, Felix took a step back, lightly pulling Hyunjin into the house. He didn’t miss the way Hyunjin immediately relaxed when the relative darkness engulfed them. They toed off their shoes, then Felix took the lead into the living room, simply getting comfortable on the sofa for the time being. He was surrounded by books and drawings in the most comforting way. And above all was the faint scent of roses and oranges.Two pictures stood near the TV: one of Hyunjin, Jisung, and Jeongin that had formerly been hung up in the hallway in their house in Seoul. And the other of Hyunjin and Felix at Minho’s café. Felix was laughing while Hyunjin was looking at him incredulously with the hint of a fond smile playing on his lips and a smudge of whipped cream on his nose, more still on Felix’s finger. Felix neither knew how he had actually managed to catch Hyunjin off guard that day nor how Jisung had managed to snap that picture, but it was one of his favorite memories. They had used a different photograph for a while as a kind of stand-in, but none of them had been truly satisfied with it because it had been a zoomed in picture and not a photograph that truly only featured Hyunjin and Felix.“What are you thinking about?” Hyunjin asked quietly, one hand leisurely caressing Felix’s back.“The picture still makes me happy.” He couldn’t even quite describe what it was; probably a mix of both the fact that Hyunjin, Jisung and Jeongin only kept around pictures of people who were important to them and the fond memory of that night. He knew that he was featured in a few more photographs, both in this and the other house, but something about it still felt special to him. Like he belonged.Instead of mocking him like the others surely would have—good-naturedly, of course, since they all were somehow always soft around him—, Hyunjin merely let out a quiet hum. “Me too.” They stayed quiet for a bit and Felix simply enjoyed the moment, enjoyed having his boyfriend back by his side. “You’re certain about this, aren’t you?”Felix looked up, then fidgeted until he could properly look at Hyunjin without truly leaning away. “I am. It’s still all very surreal to me, but… This is what I want more. I love being human, I know that I will miss my family terribly and the Australian sun and Australia in general until we can maybe go there one day. But as much as becoming a vampire and everything that entails still sounds abstract to me, at least when applying it to myself, I just… I can’t bear the thought of not being with you. Of not having Jisung-hyung and Minho-hyung and Jeongin around me. Or of growing older while all of you will remain the same, or at least mostly the same…”A somewhat nostalgic smile appeared on Hyunjin’s lips and he looked away, pulling Felix a little closer. “You know, I thought the same way back then, back when I decided that I wanted to be turned.” Felix tightened his arms around Hyunjin a little. “I just… We should never forget that what we have right now might change. And I hope that if it does, both of us can be honest enough to not let it escalate as much as it did with me and him.” Even without fully specifying it, Felix understood that Hyunjin was talking about his first ex, his sire.“But we also might not change so much that we can’t find a compromise,” Felix said quietly.“Yes. And I hope that will be the way it goes for us.”Felix looked up again and couldn’t help but smile lightly when Hyunjin looked back at him just a moment later. “Hey, we’ve already put a lot of work into all this, haven’t we?”Hyunjin hummed. “How often do you think you’ll run away from me?”“Hey!” Felix shot up into a proper sitting position, pouting when Hyunjin laughed and tugged at his wrist until Felix gave in and cuddled closer again. “Stop being mean to me. I can still change my mind.” He poked Hyunjin’s chest in retaliation. “And it’s not like you’re that much better than me. You’d think that 250 years would have given you an advantage there, but it turns out you’re—” His protest ended in a squeak when Hyunjin started tickling him. “Mercy!” Felix laughed, trying to protect his poor stomach from the onslaught of attacks, but somehow, he found himself falling back onto the sofa and Hyunjin over him, clearly making use of the fact that he was faster and stronger because Felix stood no chance.It was only when Felix was crying from laughter and had difficulty breathing that Hyunjin actually took mercy on him—or maybe turned extra cruel because he simply flopped down on top of Felix. Felix still somehow caught his breath after an eternity and he finally freed his arms to wrap them around his boyfriend, briefly raising one to wipe away stray laughing tears before he hugged Hyunjin again.“You’ve become much better,” Hyunjin said quietly and Felix couldn’t help the happy smile.“Thank you. I think we both have learned a lot from each other and how to deal with each other.” He frowned at his own wording. “Wait, does that sound too negative? I don’t mean it in a negative way. I mean it like… we’ve gotten better at knowing what the other person needs and how to communicate properly.”Hyunjin hummed quietly, adjusting his head a little until. “I’m curious what the future will bring. Where life will take us.”“Will it be weird if I say that I haven’t really thought that far ahead?”Hyunjin laughed softly, the vibrations going through Felix’s body as well, making him smile. “You really haven’t?”“I mean, I have thought of the fact that, like, we’ll have to move a lot which I’m not sure I’ll be super happy with, but I think it’ll be fine because we’ll stay together. But aside from that… Not really, no. It just… it seemed senseless to think about who I will be and what I will become when I have a finished bachelor’s degree on me and will be turned, meaning that everything else will have to come to a halt anyway.”The lack of physical stability and the knowledge that he’d have to say goodbye to the people he loved—or at least wouldn’t be able to see them as much as he wanted to—had been two of the main issues for him in his decision of whether he wanted to be turned or not. Until about halfway through his senior year at university, Felix had been unable to make up his mind. They had started considering this option seriously shortly after Jun had joined the picture, the fact that he was a newborn triggering the conversation, and then had kept talking about it for about two years. Felix had talked about it with all of them individually but also together, had had endless conversations about it with Chan as well as Changbin, and still, he hadn’t been able to make up his mind until he got to the point where he had needed to make a decision.“You know there’s no turning back, right?” Hyunjin whispered, as if he was still afraid that Felix would change his mind, but Felix merely hummed, one of his hands absentmindedly starting to caress Hyunjin’s back.“I know. And I want this.”Hyunjin turned his head a little once more, nuzzling into Felix’s neck, and Felix closed his eyes when he felt the other simply breathe, relax. “Okay,” Hyunjin mumbled, his lips pulling up into a smile against Felix’s skin. And then, with more certainty, “Okay.” He placed a kiss on Felix’s neck that still made warmth tingle through the human, then he turned his head again a little.“By the way, there’s something I’m curious about,” Felix started and waited for Hyunjin to hum, his hand trailing up to play with the long strands in Hyunjin’s neck, before he continued, “what about Minho-hyung? I just… there’s always been certainty about Minho-hyung coming along with Jisung-hyung, but I never heard anyone talk about turning…” He had thought about bringing it up with Minho and Jisung directly, but at the same time, it had felt like… not necessarily a taboo question, but definitely one that would cross a line.Hyunjin let out a long breath before he gave a quiet hum of agreement. “It’s forbidden. And I mean actually forbidden, by global law.” Felix made a quiet noise of surprise, but Hyunjin already continued his explanation, “Turning other magical creatures would… make them too powerful? Because apparently if you turn someone with magical abilities in whatever way, they will keep those abilities and additionally gain vampire abilities. I’ve heard some really nasty stories about what can happen in such instances. There are only very few occasions where the magical communities have come together—one of them being Salem as a living commemoration community. But I’ve also heard of a few times when they got together because at least one magical being had been turned into a vampire and started abusing their power.”A shiver went through Hyunjin all the way into Felix who briefly tightened his hold on his boyfriend. “So it was forbidden to avoid greater harm?”“Yes.”So Minho would be able to stay with them longer than a normal human would, but there was no way for him to stay with them forever. Felix squeezed his eyes shut, fighting back a wave of guilt that he had even considered not taking Hyunjin’s offer to turn him. He was in such a privileged position…“What about werewolves?” he asked quietly, but Hyunjin shrugged.“I don’t know, actually. Then again, from my understanding, even if a magical creature would accidentally become a werewolf as well… I don’t think it would have such a huge impact? At least not compared to becoming a vampire.”That did make sense. Aging slower and turning into a wolf every four weeks did sound less dangerous than constantly having super speed and strength and being simply immortal, at least when combined with other magical abilities. “And demons?”Hyunjin was quiet for so long that Felix started wondering if he’d get an answer at all. “I don’t know, actually. You might want to ask Jeongin about that. But I think that if a magical being were to turn into a demon, they’d lose their original abilities?” He was quiet for a moment longer, then nodded lightly. “Also, becoming a demon is more of an individual choice and can’t be accidentally caused by an outside force. So yeah, I think it’s really only the mix with vampires that’s forbidden. At least I’ve never heard of anything else.”“So Minho-hyung could technically become a demon,” Felix said, mostly to ease the mood, and it seemed to work because Hyunjin laughed.“Bold of you to assume that he isn’t one already. Or, alternatively, that he wouldn’t curse the universe before he’d turn into a demon.”Felix laughed as well because while the first part was only a joke, the second part seemed all too possible and Minho-like. “Oh, hyung would totally do that!” He slowly removed his hands, prompting Hyunjin to prop himself up a little and make eye contact. “But speaking about turning…”“You’re ready?” Hyunjin breathed out and Felix nodded, squealing when Hyunjin was suddenly standing and had lifted him up before he even really understood what was happening. He was laughing, wrapping his arms around Hyunjin when he spun them around, laughing as well.“I can walk on my own!”“And why should I let you?”“Hey! Those would be the last steps that I could take as a human, what if I wanted to treasure them?”Hyunjin leaned away a little, raising an eyebrow. “Do you?” he sounded amused, but also ready to set Felix down should he confirm.Instead, Felix shook his head and pulled Hyunjin closer until he could peck his lips. “I couldn’t care less about something like that.”Hyunjin huffed at that, but then carried him into the bedroom looking much too content with the situation. Felix smiled to himself, at how easy it sometimes was to make Hyunjin happy. Then again, it wasn’t like he was much harder to impress and satisfy.Hyunjin kicked the bedroom door shut behind them, leaving the room only dimly lit by the bedside lamp. When had that even been turned on? Or had it burned all day?He gently placed Felix down on the bed, crawling over him a moment later and Felix all too happily wrapped his arms around Hyunjin’s neck once again, looking into the other’s brown eyes, eternally comforting for Felix after what they had been through at the start of the pandemic.“There really is enough blood, right?” The question was out before Felix could help it, but Hyunjin looked back at him calmly, nodding.“Yes. Now that you mention it, I can actually move it to the big fridge later.”“What?” Felix blinked up at Hyunjin dumbly, watching as one side of the other’s lips turned up into a smirk.“Did you really think we didn’t have any just because it wasn’t on full display?”“I… just never thought about that?” But now that he did, he realized that the fridges had always solely been for his and Minho’s food. And Jeongin’s. But he had never seen any of the blood bags that he knew had to be around the house.“You heard of kimchi fridges, right?”“Of what?”Hyunjin groaned, leaning his forehead on Felix’s shoulder, but Felix had still seen the hint of a smile that the other was clearly trying to suppress. “Remind me again for how long you’ve lived in Korea?”“But I only stayed with fellow Aussies!”Hyunjin raised his head again, shaking lightly. “So, normal Koreans actually have two fridges: one for all kinds of food, one solely for kimchi. The latter is usually set at a slightly different temperature. It also means that only one of those fridges will smell like kimchi and the rest of your food won’t.”“That… actually makes sense…” Felix frowned, trying to figure out why he had never heard of that, but he was still far from a conclusion when Hyunjin continued speaking.“In that same manner, vampires often have extra fridges to store their blood. Because, well, others often get a little squeamish or weirded out if they suddenly find blood bags next to human food. But since it’s only you and I living here, it means that I can move the blood bags later from the smaller fridge to the bigger one.”“I didn’t even know that there’s another fridge in this house…”“I’ll show it to you once you wake up again. It’s a little hidden for whenever different species live together.”Felix hummed quietly, a little amazed at how thought-through the entire system was. “And… do they know that…”Hyunjin nodded once again, unprompted. “We did inform the government that we’d have a newborn with us after a month, so when the last delivery arrived here, it already contained the supply for both of us.”Felix hummed, but the more he tried to think about it, the weirder it got. “Okay, I think I’ll need a little more time to fully wrap my head around the details of what it entails to become a vampire.”Hyunjin laughed and briefly leaned down to place a peck on Felix’s lips. “Wanna think about that later?”Felix nodded before he automatically tilted his head in invitation. A strange calmness settled over him and none of the nervousness that he had expected in this moment. He just knew that he was safe, that he’d be well taken care of.“Ready?” Hyunjin asked once again and Felix gave another nod.“Ready.”Hyunjin smiled and leaned down, capturing Felix’s lips in a kiss, slow and gentle and so full of love that Felix melted into it, pulling Hyunjin a little closer. He deepened the kiss until Hyunjin’s lips left his, trailing down his neck instead. His fangs briefly scratched over Felix’s skin and a shiver ran through his entire body in anticipation, at the reminder of all the sensations that he had already started to miss. Then Hyunjin’s fangs broke his skin. Felix let out a quiet sigh at the pleasure that instantly washed over him and he let himself fall into pleasure, let himself get swallowed by the waves until the world slipped through his fingers.Until his eternal life began.