forever twenty

and then he sees her near the water and he has to stop himself from turning around because people kind of make him nervous. but he keeps walking and he’s thinking aren’t you cold? are you lost; do you need me to escort you back to your hotel or something—

the moonlight illuminates her figure and her face and kangjoon recognizes her as that pretty bartender at that one bar. all the prior questions slip away when he’s finally within a few footsteps of her and there’s only one question that’s left.

“can i have a jack and coke?”

sohee watches as waves lash gently, back and forth, long lines of ripples from the current distorting their soft illumination, as the moonlight reaches out it’s hands upon it and refracts, edges curling in bubbles and foam where the water thins and disappears into the sand; she watches, feet bare and cold buried into the coastline, and wonders, what it’ll look like in the mornings. would it all be brighter? would it feel hotter, warmer? it’s been five years and sohee fails to remember how warm actually feels like.

knees bend inwards and her arms begin to tie around them, chin nesting in the curve her legs create, comfortably, images flashing almost right before her eyes - her father’s there, they’re chasing seagulls all the way to the port, and her soles hurt because the sand is scorching but she doesn’t mind. mother would scold her later, tell her to be more careful. sohee misses her voice. she misses the scolding and the running, everything that came with it.

her apartment feels empty on the good days, smothering on the bad, when sohee’s all alone and there are no books left to read in her own personal collection. she likes wandering, because of that, and because maybe she’s too sentimental for her own good. the library entertains her well enough, though lacks that certain day-time charm. clubs confuse her, too many people all at once, too many scents mixing together to allow her for a clear mind. the beach though - the beach is special, binded with her past enough to stir nostalgia in her soul but not enough to leave her crying. in moments of melancholy such as these sohee likes it best.

except there’s a voice, cracking past the silence, and suddenly she feels exposed, senses previously left idle now fully aware of everything he is - her ears catch his footsteps before he can speak, nose, the drift of wind that carries his scent, and then there’s a certain specialty, one that detects his heartbeat, the blood as it rushes through his veins. she turns around almost to get up and leave, scurrying into the night, but the face is not unfamiliar and sohee’s lonely. her smile is short but heartfelt, welcoming him towards her through her initial shock.

a hindered smirk urged to form. head tilting as she observed the image closely; two abnormally pale palms cradling a bright crimson apple elegance, she too couldn’t help but double the actions. holding the novel timidly between scooped digits only to have it fall before a familiar set of shoes.

knowingly she felt the rosy glow overtake her features, bashfulness painted over cheeks as she attempts to bury the evidence.

twilight. twilight.

out of all the books in the library, and mind you, there were many stacked upon rows and rows of shelves, each varying in size and length, sohee’s puppy friend had sought out just the worst interpretation of their species; no, the girl’s issue spun not from the rather cliche storyline, or the suffocating love-triangle, but from all the inaccuracies one could find inside, pages ridden with stereotypes of vampires made through bites and sparkling skin. sohee had always been a fan of literature ever since she turned, finding too much time on her hands and not enough activities to indulge in, and as such, she had began with nothing other than supernatural novels - naturally, her curiosity was a force not to be reckoned with and she wanted to know then how certified authors perceived her kin. she didn’t get much satisfaction from it.

He allowed a brief chuckle slip past his lips before peering over his shoulder, directing his gaze to the crowd of spectators watching the burlesque performance. “I fear that I’ve been left to my own devices this evening, hence I have nothing but my own company to enjoy” he said with a hint of amusement in his tone, head tilting curiously to the side once he turned to look at the bartender once more. “Oh, there is no need to fret. There’s been none of that, I assure you”. He waved his hand dismissively at her assumption, not wanting her to worry over something that never took place. “Ah, there is no need to hurry. Not only do I have all the time in the world at my disposal, it would also be rather unfortunate if our conversation ended so soon, don’t you think?”

there was something odd about this man, and sohee was beginning to feel frustrated at her inability to quite pin-point what it was about him that could possibly drive her to such a conclusion - he was there, in front of her, she could most definitely see him, most definitely hear him, and sohee had learned to trust her senses to a far greater extent than anything else; yet, also, alarmingly he wasn’t there at all, he possessed no scent to perceive, had no heartbeat to catch, no blood that she could detect. he seemed just like that, a figment of her imagination maybe; but that was impossible, as no such a thing existed in her world.

her father had left her a manual, precisely written with studies of creatures beyond any child’s creative mind, he had taught her indirectly, so sohee knew a lot of things, had no proper training, no principle to her theory, but the knowledge was still there, and she trusted it all to an inexplicable extent. after all, it had been proved all right until now. after all, it had saved her, offering her alternatives when all she had wanted to do was starve herself, no blood, no more. and if she had to name the man, or at least his species, she’d probably say he was a ghost - the way the light fluttered just a bit translucent through him, the static way his clothes draped around his frame, coupled with his lack of proper presence, it all pointed to that.

but ghosts did not exist. it didn’t cross her mind even once that her father might’ve been wrong.

hands played nonchalantly with the edges of her polishing-cloth, pulling strings in and out, over and over, while her mind focused distantly on what he was saying, “not much of a drinker?” she threw back the repeat as a question, sending him a curious look and the gentleness of a smile to mellow it all down, “what’s a ‘not much of a drinker’ doing in a bar?” though suddenly, she realized her own prying nature, cowering back a little in her spot, “if you don’t mind sharing, that is.”

he had a strange way of moving, strange way of speaking, as if he had escaped from a historic novel and somehow ended up in the wrong world; sohee almost considered herself fortunate for her lack of any proper work that night, as a secret lover of mysteries, she wanted to solve this one too. eyes dashed across the horizon, examining the still empty seats of the bar, just to pacify the conscience screaming at her in the back of her mind, no, she was not slacking, she told herself. she was merely being friendly to a customer. the fact he also happened to ward off her boredness was simply a bonus on top of everything else.

“on the contrary mister,” she began, swallowing down nervousness that her words might appear too bold for even her own liking, her tone shaking the slightest “you do have company for the night. and that’s, well, me. as you said, it’d be unfortunate if our talk ended only at that.” sohee shrugged, pulling back from her leaning stance to give some space, “so, mister, do you usually hang around bars alone? or is this just a special occasion? or–” hand hastily moved to cover up her mouth in a mock shock, “– is this just your way of picking cute bartenders up? because i have this really pretty co-worker and she quite likes the brooding types.”

she bumps into a club-goer who had already consumed his share of drinks and curses internally. the tray sways and she spills some. grumbling internally she almost misses how he makes a lewd gesture, and then he even goes so far as to touch her butt without consent. minji let’s out an offended gasp before turning him into a rat, as sleazy as the guy, and as temporary as his partners. it might not have been completely legal..but hey..he’d be back to his normal form within an hour.

finally she spots her friend. “so!” the witch calls out, her voice hardly carrying over the music. “there..you…are…- oof.” with this she sits down, sliding the tray onto the table. “i got us more drinks. sweet stuff too.”

she puts an arm around her friend, pulling her close to her bosom. “did you miss me, so?”

there were far too many things occupying sohee’s mind all at once, threatening an overdrive, and for the hundredth time that night she could only explain the sensation as suffocating; for instance, her face may or may not have been too close to minji’s body, and no matter how much she wanted to avoid the conclusion, the girl couldn’t help but flusteredly notice how warm she felt, curved up against her. her fangs pulsed again. she escaped the grasp of her friend with as much self-respect and dignity as she could manage, though not before playfully biting at her shoulder. “yes, of course i missed you~” the vampire chanted over the music booming from the speakers, directing her gaze across the room to the mess of people suddenly in panic over the sight of the rat.

her laugh was hoarse and maybe slightly too unforgiving to be sohee like, head shaking in mock disapproval, “i leave you for one second and you start turning people into animals. very witch-like, minji. i’m not quite sure if i’m disappointed or proud. i’m rather leaning towards the latter, though.” she blinked, once, attempting to recall memories of what she had seen moments ago through the bloodlust drunken daze of her mind, “in your defense, he was a douchebag. nobody should touch a lady like that,” a lady, it sounded both entirely too proper for the occasion and somehow very much not so.

“but anyway. those--” she pointed a finger excitedly at the glasses full of colorful liquids, glistening in the dim light of the club, welcoming them in, “--seem way too pretty to drink. can’t we just like, keep them? forever? they’d make such a nice diy decoration…” though her hands were far greedier than her words, eagerly capturing her own vial and bringing it up to her lips, the harsh scent burning foul to her overly delicate senses, “they all have a different flavor, yes?” she gives it an experimental stir, watching the neon green liquid twirl, “we should take a shot together. a lucky shot.”

her next statement did made her think though. she continued to mix some drinks for the customers for a few seconds before she responded, “i’m not entirely sure how – it’s like you know, a natural thing for vampires to be charming? about the persuasion, you just have to be good with words, and you have to look at them straight into the eyes. i’m pretty sure if you’re good with flirting you can perfectly execute it.” she nodded, her eyes still fixated to whatever she was doing. “why don’t you try it with the next customer that comes up at the bar, yeah?” she averted her gaze, taking a quick glance at her companion, before she let her eyes wander around the place, “that… guy seemed like he wasn’t a vampire, you should give it a try.”

byulyi, sohee found, was often times a person hard to figure out by external means; calm, that the other remained most of the time, stone-faced, distant, the younger had had the pleasure of conversing with her only a few times throughout her stay at the duchess. but alas, perhaps that was also one of the prime reasons for her interest - sohee had always been curious, though not particularly gutsy, which often took it’s own toll over her hunger for knowledge. sometimes she’d rather peacefully continue blending into the background view, being merely the bartender swarmed with work and, given the right circumstances, chatty enough for others to pour out their problems onto.

now, though, byul was not as simple as a stranger on the street, just a passerby, so indeed sohee felt the pressure lighten - surely, as colleagues, and if not that, then fellow vampires, they could converse freely and without the restrictions of overbearing politeness. the younger inspected her face with subtle curiosity churning softly behind the lids of her eyes, back bouncing against the wall she had used for support, with her minor nervousness given away by her restless actions as she carefully listened to byul’s explanation. suddenly she found herself ashamed at her lack of understanding of her own capabilities, though she could not blush or experience a hitch of breath, so at least those signs of her discomfort were not present. “yes, natural,” sohee parroted, trying to focus on the way she spun flashy cocktail glasses and poured vibrantly colored alcohol inside,  “-- i haven’t really used this persuasion much. vampires and charming seems like a far away concept.” it was only a half-joke, a rather shy smile cracking through sohee’s face at the added mention of flirting, another aspect she lacked proper skills in.

and then byul offered something crazy, to try her luck at it all right then, and the girl could immediately imagine all that could go wrong with it. truly, did she have to? she already struggled with talking to a person she did know, let alone go out to a random client and introducing herself. it wasn’t her area of expertise or comfort but she was also the one who had inquired; it’d be even worse to let the other’s advice go to waste. gathering up all the courage she had left, the girl gave an affirmative, albeit hesitant, nod, “...ok. i’ll try. what’s the worse that can happen anyway?”

with that she set out towards the guy who byul had suggested, a rather pleasant-looking man minding his own business on his table near the bar; she seeked a way to refrain from losing her composure, appearing more confident than she really was, but perhaps it had been a bit futile, with her nervousness still seeping onto her stance. nevertheless, she vowed to follow the little tips the woman gave her - so she looked him in the eyes, unyielding, grin present but missing that one last bit of certainty. “hi there,” was that really her voice just now? she leaned down to his level, and he couldn’t look away. she had never been good at improvisation, though she had watched enough romance movies to know one or two cheesy lines, “what’s a cutie like you doing alone?” her giggle sounded just the slightest overdone, “why don’t you give me your phone number and we’ll fix that?”

when the man had turned his head, something flashing over his expression, sohee thought that she had failed - and perhaps, under normal circumstances her act would have not achieved any success and more likely a soul-crushing defeat - but there he was, scribbling numbers urgently onto a scrap piece of paper, edges rough from being torn with too much haste. the girl returned to byul with confusion bubbling deep inside her stomach, sliding her trophy across the bar.

Regardless of the warnings, Sunggyu made himself comfortable at the bar in the midst of all the naturals having a jolly good time. It was a noisy albeit somewhat respectable place constantly crawling with creatures of all sorts, though the bar catered to a large clientele of vampires given how the establishment was ran by one of their own. Under normal circumstances, the man would have felt a little uneasy, however there was nothing to fear since he was already dead (and really, what’s the worse that they could do? throw him out? it was literally impossible)

He was content with simply watching the night unfold before his very eyes: people watching at its finest. None had bothered him thus far, and he was certain to avoid drawing any unnecessary attention during his stay.

sohee had never, not in her entire year of employment at the duchess, found herself with time to spare, or lacking of things to do; in fact, the club had always been renowned among the hidden supernaturals as  the gathering spot of all beings of the night, courtesy to miss moon’s fine marketing, and as such had accomplished creating a remarkably loyal customer-base, vampires, werewolves, mythical creatures, all mingling within the crowd of unsuspecting humans. and those who gained no satisfaction from the ever expanding repertoire of shows, all different in direction and suitable ages, somehow just as easily managed to crawl their way towards the bar, where they promptly became sohee’s problem to deal with.

the girl had taken quite a liking to her particular set of work, though it had not been without it’s difficulties - getting accustomed to such a public job was not, by any means, a simple task, and it had perhaps taken her a shameful amount of training until she developed a proper self-control, governing any and all blood lust that could be bubbling up inside her. but despite the needed effort, sohee felt rather grateful that she was given the opportunity. after all, it was this that played the biggest part of her integration into her new society, and this that gave her a chance to finally socialize once more, soothing sohee’s loneliness into a halt.

so of course she was grateful. this had changed her life. nowadays, naturals did nothing to make her fearful; she was already used to everything they could offer.

she watched, absentmindedly, from her leaning stance, elbows propped on the shiny surface of the bar, as the crowd before her eyes began to disperse, signaling the start of tonight’s show - burlesque, it had taken them quite some time until they convinced this troupe to guest, but it did wonders, tickets selling out mere hours after their release. now sohee was left mostly alone, the only bartender in one of the slower shifts of the night, velvet booths glistening in red, empty, only three pairs remaining seated. the man she had made a gin and tonic for a few minutes ago blinked lazily at the view of his hollow glass, twirling it within his grasp, but never asking for a refill. and on the other side of the bar --

another man, younger, pale, almost translucent - sohee cocked a head sideways, perhaps a little guilty, a little curious, with the sudden realization that she had in fact left a customer without offering her service. her feet moved slowly as she strolled towards him, dragging a cloth along the edges of the bartop, as if to polish it, but really more of a distraction, “hi,” she greeted softly, observing as he turned, “you okay there? need anything?”

“how about we go classic and start off with some gin ‘n tonics? bartender?”

she stretched out the word and blinked cutely, leaning over the counter. “two gin ‘n tonics please.” she got a flashy wallet out, anti-theft charms and spells glistening around it, and laid a few wads down. “hu~rry plea~se~!” the witch chimed.

“how about you find us a booth, so?”

sohee had never been a fan of sharp alcohol - just as she never had much of a chance before to properly consume it, while it still held any effect over her body. but being dead had it’s own set of privileges - the lack of need for sleep, proper feeding, the enhanced strength and speed - and traits the girl had quite mixed feelings about, such as, for instance, her inability to get properly drunk. not that she had ever tried very hard before; but others had confirmed as well, a vampire only gets dizzy at best. so the night perhaps felt to her as a bit of a waste of resource, though her company was fair, and they needed at least one to be sober by the end of it anyway.

“sweet,” she said, at first too quietly to break through the background chatter, until she repeated with more force, “i prefer sweeter drinks. but we might as well start strong.” the girl didn’t exactly have the longest and most impressive of resumes when it came to these things; in fact one could summarize her party-days as short lasting, few and far-between, sohee never being the kind to enjoy getting intoxicated midst a sea of strangers. still, working as a bartender had it’s benefits, one of which being her ever expanding cookbook of cocktails, another - the occasional necessary taste-tests. she had grown quickly accustomed to these kinds of burning flavors. gin and tonic sounded especially bitter.

eventually they found the switch things that would turn on the lights, and wheein had no idea what she was doing. she just pressed random buttons and flipped all the switches until the amusement park was alit with light. it was truly a sight to be seen, and the witch was itching to get out there. “wow!” she whooped, eyes wide and wicked, before she ran out into the wilderness with her arms out and no fucks to be given. she did nearly fall over again, but played it off with a cool pose.

it had been a while since sohee’s last “adventure”.

granted, the girl had never been much of the type; curious, yes, that she was, very much so, but there were rules that sohee knew to follow, guidelines that, granted, restricted people from certain actions one could deem as fun, but nonetheless, they were guidelines for a reason. last time the girl had had the courage to step over them, she had caused a chain reaction that resulted in the complete change of her life, more for worse than for the better. sohee liked being dramatic, but that didn’t necessarily mean she did not have logic behind all of her madness - even in death, it seems, she remained the same emotion driven being that she was before, so she could not root out the need for a precaution.

now, though, perhaps it’s worth noting that the idea of having a whole amusement park at their private disposal was beginning to slowly gain appeal. hands flicking against each other to dust themselves off from an invisible dirt, sohee gave a shrug, half-attempting to appear nonchalant, half-failing as her eyes dragged over wheein’s figure while the other brushed off the remaining signs of her fall. she often had to remind herself not to show her concern too directly when it came to the witch, though it also happened to be that these thoughts came to her too late just as regularly, much to the other’s dismay, “the enhanced strength has got to be one of the few privileges of being, well--” she trailed off, taking a step further into the night, “--undead.”

at wheein’s praise sohee found herself in a moment of dilemma, contemplating whether she should just let the comment be or find a retort, though all options resulted in the slight furrow of her brows, and the deformation of her lips into a thin, disapproving line, as she shot her a small look. “technically,” she bagan, body bending sideways to peek behind an empty cart for cotton-candy, “i should be thinking of the dark in the light. or something. either way, you make a good point.” as this plan is just as suicidal, she thought, jumping lightly at the feeling of wheein’s arm curl around her shoulders, tugging her forwards through the dim alleyways.

and though sohee had been indeed skeptical at the witch’s skills in improvisation, it appeared that mashing buttons endlessly did prove to have a good outcome; even before she could start to complain, wheein had already turned everything on, a sudden brightness igniting all her senses alive. lamps flickered in an array of rainbow colors. rides churned in happy music, bubbling all around them. neon signs blinked awake. and sohee had been staring for too long to notice her friend’s absence by her side.

“wheein! wait!” she screamed, amusement blending somewhere in her voice, before she finally managed to catch up, halting the other by a light hold of her forearm, “you really run fast, you know? i’m pretty sure if i actually needed to breathe i would be breathless now.” yet she couldn’t help but let out the laughter that had been raising in her chest escape, grin wide upon her expression at the sudden realization of the reality of the situation. “wow. we actually did this. we actually, legitly, really broke into an amusement park--” eyes glimpsed hurriedly at the watch dangling loose around her wrist, “--at one in the morning.”

“it’s okay, don’t worry about it. you’re here now. i almost thought i was getting stood up.” she said teasingly, putting an arm around the vampire. “let’s enjoy ourselves-” she parroted. “hear hear! i’m buying the first round!” minji proclaimed, steering them to the bar.

there was a fault in sohee’s code, somewhere, the girl wearily confirmed, as minji threw her arms across her frame and pulled her in for a hug; she shouldn’t have seemed so tempting in her eyes, just like sohee’s fangs shouldn’t have grown at the simple thought of closing the distance between her lips and the other’s neck. yet, there she was, nose burying momentarily in the softness of her hair, the crook of her shoulder, mutter spilling from her mouth before she could stop herself, “you smell nice--”

and then, suddenly, the realization of the words she had just spoken hit her like a lightning strike, and if sohee wasn’t a vampire, her face would’ve already been painted in thick strokes of strawberry red. her laugh echoed tense and broken, lost in the chaos of the crowd, as she awkwardly rubbed a hand across the back of her nape, “new perfume?” she tried, eyes avoiding minji’s gaze in an attempt to cover up her shame, before she hurriedly changed the subject.

“standing you up never crossed my mind,” the girl confessed, a small smile raising upon her expression as the two of them dug deeper into the mass of people, minji’s scent finally blurring along with all the others. her happiness was only short lived, though, as the latter swung a hand to reel her in closer, and everything was spinning once again. sohee swallowed, pose stiffening a little as she desperately clung onto a proper composure, a red moon grinning evilly above them in the night horizon.