#*vampire hyungwon

The damp moss and sodden leaves are cool under the arches of Hyungwon’s feet. He wriggles his toes, sinking them deeper into the cool earth. Light droplets of rain fall steadily through the canopy of leaves above and he turns his face upward to meet them. The spray is refreshing against his cheeks, cleansing away the fog that hovers heavy over this memory. But, despite his best efforts, it remains, hugging low to the ground to obscure what he should not remember. 

Hyungwon sucks in a deep breath, filling his lungs with the sweet, clean air of the woods. It nudges against something in his mind, gently attempting to shake loose the cloudy veil. Another breath and the petrichor of wet soil swirls in warm coils in his chest. The locked memory rattles, shivering more violently than before, desperate to be set free.

He drops his gaze back down, sweeping slowly over the endless expanse of trees before him. This place is familiar to him--at least that is what it feels like. A comforting weight of fondness settles deep behind his ribs, and only one word floats to the surface that fits this forgotten feeling.

Home.

A small smile caresses the corners of his mouth. So this was where he spent his human life? He wonders, with whom, did he share it with. His smile falls; that information remains unwilling to come forth. 

No matter, he thinks, it will come back when the time is right.

Hyungwon sinks his heels into the undergrowth, happy to have found at least this part of his past. With hundreds of years of dark memories, this verdant place was a respite in the consuming abyss of eternity. 

He lets his eyes slide closed, opening his arms wide before inhaling. Instantly, he notices something is off. There is a sharp, metallic scent permeating the rapidly cooling air. A scent that he is uncomfortably accustomed to.

His eyes snap open as he seeks out the source. What happened in this memory? Remember, remember! He shouts to himself. 

The crack of a branch has him spinning around just as a pained, gut-wrenching scream pierces the air. 

————

Hyungwon opens his eyes to the twinkling lights of the city. The rain drizzles over hunched pedestrians and cars putter by in the thinning traffic; He stands tall amid it all, his mind still reeling from the flashback. He allows his senses to come back to him one by one--the splashing of running feet through accumulating puddles, the enticing aroma coming from the coffee shop across the street, the bite of the winter wind against his fingers. He lets himself be grounded by this noisy, modern age. 

He has a passing thought that he should return home now, no longer hungry for a decent hunt. But, a voice calls out to him--imbued with a warmth and gentleness that was ill-suited for an abomination like him--and he looks up to see a woman walking towards him, sloshing through the puddles in shockingly bright yellow rain boots.

The woman he escorted back to her office a fortnight ago. His dead heart flutters with unwonted emotion and he urgently tries to shove it back before she reaches him. 

“Mr. Chae!,” she says, stepping nearly toe-to-toe with him and shielding him under the safety of her umbrella. “It’s so good to see you again!”

Shit, he thinks as that annoying emotion cheekily evades his pursuit, sprouting and surging over the surface of his heart. I’m doomed.

Forsaken. Forgotten. Abandoned. 

Hyungwon does not remember what anything else feels like other than those three emotions; they have been his sole companions for several centuries. His days are spent idling in the shadows and his nights are empty and cold. He does nothing, remembers nothing, feels nothing.

He walks quiet streets one night when he let the hunger go on too long. His stomach twists painfully and his throat burns raw, dragging him out of his home and driving him forward on instinct alone. He stumbles along in a daze, following his nose to the nearest source of food.

There.

A woman walks no more than a block ahead of him and his stomach lurches. His veins boil and thrum, excited at the prospect of such a delicious meal. He straightens, steadying his pace to match hers. But, she stops, twisting slightly to rummage through her purse. Hyungwon continues with lengthy strides, his fangs sliding free of his gums, and he works to suppress the groan in his chest. 

He is at her side almost instantly, hands clasped gentlemanly behind his back. 

“Are you alright, Miss?” A flurried thought crosses his mind, hoping she cannot see the glint of his fangs through the dark, but he lazily shoves it away. He is hungry—he cannot be bothered with such niceties.  

She looks up and Hyungwon is the one who freezes in alarm. Her eyes swim with stars and overflow with something warm and kind. He has never been looked at in such a way and it renders him speechless. 

“Oh, yes.” She says, gracing him with a genial smile. “I think I left my keys in my office, though.”

Hyungwon remains silent, stunned into muteness by this human who should register as nothing more than food. For the first time in much too long, he feels something. A pinprick of something warm and gentle and loving. He is baffled. 

Words find him again and he does his best to hide his bewilderment. “Shall I escort you back to get them? It’s very late and this city is dangerous at night.”

She lights up at his offer and Hyungwon’s eyes go wide at what that does to his unmoving heart. 

“Really?” She bounces forward on the balls of her feet. “That would be wonderful, thank you!”

He can only summon a nod and what he hopes passes as a smile. He offers her his arm and she slips hers around, sticking close to his side as they begin to walk. He is not sure what exactly has overcome him, but he is filled with a fierce desire to be next to her and never leave. 

Other emotions begin a slow trickle through him and he glances down at her in wonderment. Just who is she to make a monster feel again? He is unsure but knows without a doubt that he wants to find out.

Hyungwon’s chest presses flush against your back, pinning you between the wall and his body. A delicate finger sweeps your hair away from your neck and you tilt your head to the side, exposing the dance of your pulse and inviting him closer.

A low sound escapes from his throat, the bloodlust burning away any words that he might say. His arm wraps tightly around your waist and the pale pink silk of your slip bunches under the crushing grip of his fingers. A beast with his prey caught under him, ready to be devoured, but he fights the urge, fangs already piercing into his lip.

“I won’t bite you unless you want me to,” he rasps, desperately trying to rein in the most natural part of himself. 

You lower a hand to rest atop his, massaging soothing circles over his knuckles.

“I want you to, Hyungwon.”

An unnatural growl rumbles through his chest, the beast set free. He pushes his hips against you, caging you closer to his body and bringing his prize to his lips. He buries his face into the crook of your neck, taking in deep breaths of your sent and listening closely to the beautiful rhythm of your heartbeat.  

He kisses where your pulse jumps, sucking a bruised bloom to mark the spot. Silently, he thanks whatever deities sent you to him before he sinks in the points of his fangs.

Mine. All mine.