* / play the fool

junghwa

    “besides…I’m sure I’m way better company than the bitchy lady and her vampire lover? Sugar daddy? He seems a little young…” he narrowed his gaze towards the woman who had called him a worthless idiot. “He’s like…200? 250?….Ah, regardless, it’s an age of gullibility and naivete,” he hummed, remembering himself at that age. It had been around the time that he’d decided to spend time in Italy almost three centuries ago. He then looked at his companion. “In the very least, I would like to have your name, so that I’m mentally not calling you a snack the whole time, becuase that’s just rude,” he rambled on. 

     “Junghwa. I’m Junghwa. As for payment, well, rest assured I can afford to spoil myself,” he hummed, a casual smirk gracing his lips. 

     iseul couldn’t help the tiny wince he felt when the vampire reassured him that he pays no mind to the ‘ petty insult ’. so he did hear, iseul inwardly sighed. he didn’t have much faith in the fact that the vampire was unbothered; everyone said that, it’s only polite to say that after all. iseul could make the decision if the other was truly unbothered in the time he was going to spend with him. at the sound of celebration, iseul’s eyes flickered to the vampire, averting from the lush seat. celebrating the day he died? was turned? “ what a, memorable, occasion. ” the human mindlessly comments as he trailed the other’s motions, taking this moment to get a good look at the vampire’s outfit before his line of sight floated away. this once over only confirmed his prior thoughts on how the vampire differed from the others he has met so far. strange.

     though his next words made iseul itch to turn back, to look to where his mother and her lover sat, to gauge their reaction to this vampire’s words. ( because surely, if the vampire heard his mother’s words, the opposite would be the same wouldn’t it? must be a vampiric hearing thing. ) he could only afford a polite smile as he pushed the thoughts of his mother and her lover to the back of his mind. best case scenario: they’re too engrossed in each other and maybe another human blood bag for the night to pay him any heed. iseul tried not to dwell on other scenarios. though, he did tuck the vampire’s speculation of her lover’s age in his mind. 

     “ ah, yes, i’m iseul. ” he had responded and promptly regretted. no other vampires that fed on him had asked about his name of all things and now that he had let it slip, his mind is running amok. he shouldn’t have given out his real name now should he? that’s traceable, contactable and just stupid. this is a vampire! what is he even doing, getting familiar with what is essentially a blood bag? iseul could not fathom as his sight drifted from the table to him albeit with a tiny grimace at the slip of his tongue. “ nice to meet you, junghwa-ssi. that is good to hear, i am very honoured. ” he replied and realised that it really wasn’t much conversation-wise. 

A Celebratory Snack ||

He settled at a booth with a grin, staring at all his fellow vampires around him with a casual grin. “So, anything new, anyone?” he asked, not surprised that he didn’t get a response at all, very chill, before looking at the kid who ended up approaching him. “Oh? You must be a new human here~ I haven’t seen you here before! I like to get to know my snacks before hand so come join me!” Junghwa exclaimed with a grin. He noticed one of the other vampires looking at him in slight annoyance. “I take it, you come here with others?” he asked. He knew how being a human contributor worked, but he didn’t care. If he could annoy a few of those vapid vampires, his goals were accomplished. 

     they usually let him have at the last drop bar himself. his mother and her lover doesn’t need to physically be there to know his schedule at the bar; which day he came in, the precise duration of his stay, his trade off and the amount of money exchanged. iseul doesn’t think about their methods too much, just lives with the fact that they have a hold of this information and work around it. as long as the money matches up at the end of the day, they could care less for how he got his hands on it. still, there are visits where he is summoned to go with them and this is one such day. 

     his mother is practically in the vampire’s lap and they are entertaining themselves, leaned close and whispering, laughing about something iseul can’t quite make out as he nurses a cup of sweaty cold water. usually he’d like to get in, get it over with and get out; there’s no reason to dally, iseul honestly doesn’t want to stay in the bar beyond what he absolutely needs to. however, when he is forced to accompany them, he is only a puppet, acting at their whims and they don’t take kindly to him moving on his own. he keeps his eyes trained on the glass, watching the water droplets as they give in to gravity, trickle down, clump into bigger droplets and slide down more until it is stopped by his hand and - “ didn’t you hear him? go show him a ‘ good time ’. the idiot looks worthless but i trust you know how much to negotiate for. ” that makes iseul look up and towards the couple before looking where his mother points with a manicured finger. the target for tonight then. “ don’t dilly dally, get over there. ” with that, iseul stands and made his way towards the other vampire. 

     iseul has seen the vampire around, always lurking by the entrance of the bar; animated, touchy and loud. and so, he has heard the other’s proposition too, a private deal just between the two of them; no third parties, no stuffy back rooms, no need to satisfy a different set of fangs each time they come around and be subjected to subpar rates. he could offer top dollar, is open to negotiation and can set up a better atmosphere for a much better experience. even separated by a good amount of distance, iseul can hear how persuasive the vampire can get. it’s always a ‘ yes, anything you want, of course ’ from him and even as iseul’s trying to pin down an appointment for the night, he notices that more often than not, the humans leave with him. ( and more often than not, iseul never sees them again but there’s a myriad of reasons why that could be. he is not about to go down the worst line of thought. it’s not something for him to bother himself with, he can barely take care of himself. right, right. )

     before he was led to the backrooms, iseul had seen the vampire getting along amicably with another human and he had thought that was it for the night, he’s done it yet again and before he could dwell on it further, iseul shelved it into the back of his mind, out of reach and out of sight. he has more than enough things to worry about, he can’t take on more. so, imagine his surprise when he steps out of the bar, takes 2 steps and is cornered by the very same vampire he’s only seen and heard from a distance. alarm bells go off in iseul’s head immediately but he is frozen in his spot as the vampire introduces himself and starts the spiel iseul has only heard in passing. except it’s so loud and the vampire is leaning forward and iseul can’t help but take a step back and he advances, maintaining their distance. he should sidestep the vampire, should move around him and turn him down, be firm about it! alas, it’s so much easier said than done and iseul can only barely stutter out rejections, eyes darting around, hoping desperately he reads the rejection from iseul’s behaviour and just give up his attempt.

     he has to be careful, it’d be the end if he accidentally entered into a deal with this vampire ( or any vampire for that matter but in present time, this vampire ). afraid that he’d somehow let slip an ‘ okay ’ or even an ‘ i’ll consider ’ or any answer indicative that he is anything but a hard ‘ no ’ , iseul opts to stay silent and inch himself backwards and away from the vampire.

     iseul goes through life with his head down, eyes glued to the ground, staying out of people’s way, trying to live his life around others’, giving in to others’ whims after entirely futile resistance. as an individual, iseul is horribly terrible at standing up for himself or voicing his opinions but as an employee, a part-time worker, those rules etched into his bones shift. there is a certain responsibility to being a cashier, a server, a cleaner even. he has to ensure he collects the correct amount of money, answer phone calls, tend to inquires, make sure the place is as spotless as it gets and without compromising himself or his colleagues, provide a pleasant experience to their patrons. the expectations of him as a worker is enough to override his usual self and makes iseul - if only just a little - easier to approach and maintain a conversation with. topics about work is comfortable, small talk between difficult customers encouraging. it’s easier to be just a struggling part-time worker rather than, well, himself. 

      perhaps it’s not so strange that iseul finds most of his bonds in his changing cycle of co-workers. from one place to the next, other part-timers joining the roster or leaving for something more, something new. and among them there’s minho, one of his co-workers at a fried chicken and beer place. it’s not always they get to work a shift together because of iseul’s absolutely wrecked work schedule trying to earn as much money as physically possible and trying to fit his handful of part-time commitments into a weekly schedule. surely, minho has his own schedule and commitments too so when they do happen to be on the same closing shift, iseul looks forward to it. it’s nothing terribly grand but it’s enough to be a sort of ‘ healing time ’ he supposes, a time to unwind with friends, to be normal even outside of work and it’s all thanks  to the alcohol. 

     they settle on the steps near the han river where the breeze blows this late into the night and there’s only the occasional runner on the tracks, it’s quiet enough to unwind but not entirely silent to where iseul is lost in his thoughts. the chicken and beers are pulled out from their plastic bags and the two of them divide the portions between them, breaking up the chewing with small talks that just flows and everything just seems so simple and easy if only for this moment. they talk about everything and nothing and there’s no pressure; it’s comfortable being with minho, iseul has long decided so maybe that’s why his alcohol addled brain loosens up and tries to unload some of its troubles onto his kind-hearted co-worker. “ minho-ssi, have you seen, well erm, twilight? like the movies, series. or maybe, read the book? because it, erm, came from a book. ” yeah, that’s natural. that’s good, unsuspecting, good job iseul.

— a solo piece about that which was two ! [ trigger warnings: bullying, child abuse, violence ]

     occasionally, really just occasionally, iseul remembers his older sister. it’s in the 3am walk home alone after a late closing shift without the company of music ( just in case ), it’s in the quiet lull at the old bookstore that barely sees any customers where the old owner lets him sleep on the shift during rough times, it’s in the spaces between his hectic life that he’s trying to avoid, he remembers her. but she is frozen in time; even as he has grown, she hasn’t. iseul sees her at 16 with her hair in a short bob and with tears in her eyes before she turned and walked out the house without so much as a flinch even as their mother upheaved the dining table, threw utensils at the closing door and was screaming bloody murder. noh yeseul comes to him when he is alone with his thoughts; no music, no orders, just himself. it’s just a little different from how she used to find him, iseul supposed.

     hihi, it’s been a hot while since i’ve written but i’m super excited to be here and thankful for the welcome i’ve received so far !! i’m steph (she/her) and i bring my runner of a child, noh iseul !! he’s 21 and a human who knows about the existence of vampires but that’s about as far as his awareness goes. generally, he is super conflict averse and bad at meeting people’s eyes so you’ll catch him eyeing the floors or walls even in conversations but he’s working on it, slowly. to keep up with his mother’s demands and to support himself, he usually works any and all part time jobs that will have him so it’s probable you’ll see him around !! i’ll leave more information under the cut since i haven’t had time to set up pages but if anything catches your eyes feel free to like this intro and i’ll pop into your messages or feel free to drop into mine, see you around !!

[ trigger warning: threats of murder, implied child abuse ]