Chapter Text
in the sand of my heart i drew my name there
i did not expect for yours to appear there too
(the waves come in but our names do not disappear
now there are stones where there were scratches)
Lee Minho isn’t unfamiliar to his cats bringing back things; as a cat owner, he’s more than aware about the things his cats tend to bring home after their romp through the neighbourhood. All he asks of them is that they return before sundown, because he would rather spend it sleeping than searching for one of his three cats. Or heaven forbid, two out of three of them - or, his worst nightmare, all three of them .
The things they bring back tend to range from the most innocuous of things, like a particularly large leaf from the rooftop gardens, to more disgusting things, like dead rats and birds. It's all in Minho's stride though, and he usually buries the dead rats and birds in the lawn downstairs, hurrying through the motions before someone can see that he's doing something suspicious.
His cats like to spend their time in the rooftop gardens, for one reason or another that Minho doesn’t quite know of, and so they usually bring back wilted flowers or rotten fruits, all of which Minho had received with varying degrees of thankfulness. He doesn't know who is the one that tends to these gardens at the rooftop - everything always seems to be in perfect order and the flowers and bushes grow so splendidly - but he thinks that one day he'll have to apologise to the person because his cats like to roll through the plants. He can't imagine the amount of damage his cats have already done to the garden.
Therefore, as far as things go, his cats don't bring back anything too surprising. This week has been especially typical, Minho thinks to himself, because there's been only one dead bird and a lot of leaves - it is autumn, after all. Perhaps that is why he puts his guard down. He's come to expect that his cats will just pass through the cat flap of his front door at a quarter to seven, place some dead leaves at his feet and yowl at him for dinner.
Which is why he shrieks and drops a can of tuna onto the floor when Doongie trots into the kitchen at nine, looking happily at him with a still alive bat in her mouth .
"Doongie!" Minho hisses, then bends down to pry her mouth open with gentle hands. "Bad girl! What did I say about bringing back living things?"
Doongie opens her mouth almost too willingly, ears flattening back against her head in what Minho presumes is a show of guilt. The bat is fluttering slowly, and Minho can see that it's unhurt, but perhaps just tired - or terrified by Doongie, if her sharp teeth are anything to go by.
"Stay here, Doongie, I'll give you your punishment later," Minho says sternly, and tries not to melt when she rubs up against his ankles when he stands up.
Now focusing on the bat, he goes into the hallway of his little apartment, sure that he has some empty boxes from when he received some packages a few days ago. Finding one that's just about the right size for the bat, he quickly backtracks to get a clean towel and folds it up to fit the bottom of the box, then gently puts the bat into the box, hoping that it's soft enough.
"Don't know what's wrong with you, but I'll let you rest here tonight, yeah?" Minho murmurs quietly to the bat.
Almost like a response, the bat looks up at Minho, small eyes bright red; it should be unnerving but Minho finds it cute for some reason. He takes the box into his living room and places it on the low table that's nearest the open window. Like this, the bat can fly out anytime it wants to, Minho reasons, and if it's still here the next morning he'll go to find a vet for it.
Satisfied with himself, he turns off the lights in the living room, hopes that it'll be less jarring for the small bat and goes back into the kitchen, where Doongie is awaiting for her punishment. Or, awaiting to not have her punishment, because Minho sends her to timeout for five minutes before relenting and giving her dinner, stroking over her back slowly. He can hear Soonie and Dori playing in his bedroom, the bells of their collars jangling brightly through his apartment, and it's not long before he joins them, waving the little fishline toy above Dori's head for her to bat at.
Doongie, understandably tired from her bat-catching adventures, is napping on top of the cat tower he spent more than a few paychecks on. Soonie is sprawled out under the heat of his bedside lamp, and she's so cute that Minho can't resist the urge to take a few pictures of her.
It's all normal, really. This is their usual routine, and there is nothing to look for here. Minho loves this time most, when he can play with his cats after a long day at work - especially when he knows that tomorrow brings the weekend, when he can spend the day cooking and lazing around, bothering his cats while he's at it. There is simply nothing that he is expecting to change, because he has always lived a normal life.
After all, he's human. He's not like some of his friends who are part-druid or quarter-siren or anything like that. He doesn't need to check his family history because he knows that he is human, and so lives a fairly peaceful life.
Lee Minho, human, goes to sleep one Friday night, and his dreams are just as nonsensical as they usually are.
He has nothing to worry about.
It is extremely unusual for him to be woken up by his cats. Usually they just crawl all over him when they want breakfast, meowing pathetically like he's let them starve for a week. Today, he wakes up to the heartbreaking sound of Dori yowling from outside, and it's so loud that Minho sits up straight immediately, heart abruptly notching to a hundred and twenty as he stumbles out of bed to see what's wrong.
"Dori?" Minho says frantically, flipping the light switch on as he enters the living room, "What's wrong, where are you - what the fuck, who are you !"
"You let me in!" The stranger sitting on top of his table says, defending himself.
Minho thinks he's going to pass out. "I did not !"
"You did, you said I could stay for the night," The stranger insists, and then Minho feels his legs lose their ability to hold him up. He sinks onto the carpet of his living room and then he ends up on his knees looking up at the stranger that's still sitting on his small side table who is now looking very panicked.
"Why did you collapse?! Are you okay, do you need - what do humans need? A doctor? I’m not even a human, you guys are so fragile -"
"Listen," Minho interrupts, "my legs are pathetic, my friends tell me that often enough, I don't need a stranger to tell me that. What are you doing in my home? Who even are you?"
The stranger pauses, squinting at Minho like he's assessing him, and Minho feels very much like he's being put through some sort of unknown test. Finally, the stranger opens his mouth again after taking a deep breath.
"I'm the bat your cat brought back last night. You put me in the box and said I could stay the night, and I didn't want to fuck with your hospitality rules so I did!"
"But - you're… a human now! And everything - not a bat!"
"I'm a vampire, we can all turn into bats," The stranger says dismissively.
"... Excuse me?" Is there protocol for when a bat turns into a vampire in your living room overnight? What is he supposed to do? Minho feels a little faint.
"I'm a vampire. Now - do you need help getting up? I don't think you can be comfortable down there…"
"You are sitting on my side table, I don't think either one of us are comfortable," Minho says flatly.
"Well I don't want to trespass," The vampire says, "but do you need help getting up? I'm not going to attack you or anything, you let me stay the night."
"You attack people?" Minho asks warily, shoulders hunching in together defensively out of instinct.
"Yeah," The vampire says, "like a vigilante. I go around the streets now and chase off the people who are harassing others, or stalking someone. It's something me and my friends do, since we're most active at night and all that."
Minho hesitates, then accepts the vampire's hand, using him as leverage to pull himself up and sit down on the couch. The vampire sits down beside him, and Minho takes the opportunity to look at the vampire.
He still doesn't know the vampire's name, but the vampire doesn't look that much older than him - they might even be the same age. The vampire looks a bit out of place and nervous, and Minho supposes he is in a stranger's house. He hasn't met many vampires, mostly because they tend to only come out at night - sensitivity to sunlight and all that - and Minho doesn't often go out at night. He isn't too sure if he should feel scared or not with a vampire in his home - but he isn't scared. Not when Doongie comes over and slinks her way between the vampire's ankles, meowing a little.
"Oh, do you want breakfast?" Minho asks, bending down a little to pat over Doongie's head softly. "Sorry baby, I'll get your food for you now." He makes to get up, but the vampire touches his shoulder gently, and he looks over.
"Are you sure you can get up? I can help you, you know."
"It's fine," Minho says, shaking his head and standing up. "Besides, I don't even know your name, other than that you're a vigilante vampire who protects the streets, apparently."
"My name is Jisung," The vampire says immediately, almost like he had been compelled to say it. "I'm a pretty young vampire, if you couldn't tell. And also, because you let me stay overnight last night, I'm your problem now until I repay you back."
"What?!" Minho squawks, almost dropping the bowl of water he's filling. "What does that even mean? And - my name is Minho."
"You of all creatures should know," Jisung says, and Minho doesn't understand what that means either. "It's just standard repayment isn't it? You helped me so I'm sticking around you until there's something I can help you with, preferably something of equal value."
"And… what happens if you don't repay me?" Minho asks, finally putting the food bowls down and letting his cats attack it. "Are you like, punished or something?"
"No!" Jisung says, and he looks supremely awkward, hovering in the grey space between the kitchen and the living room. "It's just courtesy you know, it's not like - binded by magic or something. Helps to foster good feelings between the different species' and all."
"So… you're going to stick around me until you repay me? Isn't that inconvenient? I have places to be, and I'm sure you have too," Minho reasons, back against the kitchen counter as he looks at Jisung. "You can't be tailing me like a… lost dog or something."
Jisung shrugs, continues to look awkward between the space of Minho's kitchen and living room. Minho wonders why Jisung just doesn't cross into the kitchen here. "Well, I don't have anything to do in the afternoons - I usually spend my time in the rooftop gardens here. I live here too, you know. That's how your cat caught me."
"What?!" Minho says, and thinks that he's receiving too much information for one morning. He hasn't even brushed his teeth yet. "You live here - you tend to the rooftop gardens? Oh, my god, I'm so sorry, my cats like to rampage through the gardens up there, I -"
"It's fine," Jisung says over Minho's nervous spluttering. "They usually just laze around in the sun, it's really cute! They never get in my way or destroy the plants often, and their company is nice."
"... I see. Then - how did Doongie catch you?"
"Oh! Well - it's a bit embarrassing to say this, but I got caught up in a fight with this drunk siren and I think she meant to sing me to sleep but she was drunk so instead she sang me to turn into my bat form until the sun rose. It took a while for me to fly back to the gardens and by the time I did, I was really tired. I think your cat - Doongie, right? I think Doongie thought I needed help so that's how I ended up in your living room."
Minho blinks a few times, slowly processing everything that he's just been told. “So… it was a long night for you last night?”
“Basically,” Jisung says.
“Please sit down here,” Minho says, finally having had enough of Jisung’s awkward behaviour. “Make yourself comfortable, I think you’ve been through enough.”
“... You’re really nice,” Jisung says bluntly after he sits down at the small table in the kitchen. “I don’t think most people would react nicely to a stranger appearing in their living room overnight and then the stranger turns out to be a vampire.”
“You just sound like you’ve been through a lot,” Minho says, deflecting the compliment entirely. “Do you want - breakfast, or something? I don’t know anything about vampires, I’m so sorry -”
“You’ll just have to learn, right?” Jisung says, smiling for the first time since he’s appeared in Minho’s home, and Minho convinces himself that it is the suddenness of his smile that causes his heart to jump twice. “Vampires aren’t too different from humans - we have the same nutritional requirements and all that.”
“Then… what about the blood, and the sunlight things I’ve heard?” Minho asks, a little worried that he might be insensitive.
“We take blood pills! Have you heard of them? No? It’s basically pills containing the nutrition that blood contains, so we don’t need to go around getting blood from people. I know some vampires get blood from their partners sometimes if the partner is willing, but that’s up to the individual!”
“Hmm,” Minho says, not liking how his mind immediately goes to possibly offering his neck to Jisung when he doesn’t even know Jisung yet. “I didn’t know that, yeah - that’s cool though! Are the pills any different from real blood?”
“Real blood has a taste to it,” Jisung says, shrugging. “It’s got like - a flavour. Not because I’ve bitten people before, I’ve had blood bags sometimes when I’m particularly weak. That’s most of the difference really, it isn’t anything much.”
“Ah… then - the sunlight?”
“Sunlight won’t kill us, we’re just sensitive to it. It also depends on each person - I’m not particularly affected by sunlight, which is why I spend a lot of time in the gardens. And for my job too - I’m in the sunlight a lot.”
“Oh! Speaking of the gardens - I haven’t been up there a lot, but it’s always so pretty. I know the other residents like it too, so thank you for keeping it so well.”
“It’s nothing,” Jisung says, waving a hand, but he looks pleased with the compliment. “I have my fun keeping the garden, even though some plants are harder to grow than others… and your cats keep me company quite often too, so it’s even nicer. I didn’t know these were your cats by the way, I’ve been meaning to find their owner for a while now.”
“Why, have they caused trouble to your garden?” Minho asks, bending down to scratch under Dori’s chin when she meows around his ankles.
“No, I just wanted to thank the owner for their company,” Jisung says, and when he smiles Minho smiles back unconsciously, suddenly hyper aware of his every movement. “They’re so cute… but I think the owner is cuter.”
“Let’s go back to talking about my cats,” Minho says hastily, feeling heat building rapidly in his chest. “And - this repayment thing. You can’t be sticking around me until I find something that I could ask you to help me with.”
“I can,” Jisung says, almost like it’s a challenge, “and I will. I’m free most afternoons because I work as an assistant at the college in the mornings - and you’re wrong if you think I won’t bother you when I have time.”
“Assistant?” Minho asks, choosing to ignore the rest of Jisung’s sentence.
“Yeah, I work as an assistant for the Physical Education department. I coach a volleyball team too, I love them. Vampires - good strength and stamina and all that, you know?”
I absolutely don’t , Minho thinks to himself, but nods at Jisung’s half-question. “Well, I work as an advisor in the firm near here, you might have heard of it. Which also means I don’t have a lot of time for you to be tailing me, Jisung-ssi, because of this repayment thing. Are you sure you can’t just… let it go?”
“With you, I can’t let it go,” JIsung starts, then realises what it sounds like. “Wait - I mean like, with creatures of your type, I’d rather repay you straightaway.”
“What do you mean creature of my type? I’m a human , Jisung-ssi, I’m not going to do anything to you.”
There is a prolonged silence in which Jisung stares at him, disbelieving. “You - you think you’re a human ? Well, I guess you can say that you’re human but you’re also not - I can smell it on you! Has no one told you about this?!”
Minho presses his lips together. “I’m a human,” He says, voice level and cool, “I haven’t been anything else my whole life. And to answer you - no one has mentioned anything about me not smelling like a human.” That might have to do with the fact that most of his friends are also human, but he isn’t about to tell that to this home-breaking, species-accusing vampire.
Jisung eyes him for a while, then relaxes into the chair, apparently letting it go. “Well, it’s none of my business, really. This is something you should take up with your parents, not me. Right now, I just want to repay what you have done for me, something preferably of equal value.”
“Why don’t you just tell me? You can’t just say things like this and then not continue what you’re talking about!”
“Sure, I can smell it on you, but I’m not about to dip my foot into the cesspool of why you’ve grown up thinking you’re a full human.”
“Full human? Are you saying I’m a halfling or something?”
“ Damn ! You - I really don’t know why you don’t know what you are. I’m not saying anything else, you’re going to make me say it.”
“C’mon, just tell me already! Can’t you consider telling me what I am as repayment?”
“I’m not saving you or helping you by doing that, so no, I can’t.”
“Please,” Minho says, curious enough to plead, “can’t you just tell me? I’m not even visiting my parents until Chuseok so I can’t know until then!”
“You get really whiny when you want something, huh?” Jisung says, and there’s a smile playing on his lips. “It’s cute but - I’m not going to be the one who tells you this. You should ask your parents about this thing, Minho-ssi, I’m just someone who wants to repay you.”
“Fine, fine,” Minho relents, “I’ll ask my parents. And… I guess we just have to spend time together if you want to find a way to repay me. There really is nothing that I need help with right now.”
“That’s perfect with me,” Jisung says, smiling a full smile, and the sunlight streaming in through his windows catch on the sharpness of his canines. It doesn’t scare Minho, but he would rather not think about the strange feeling that is swirling in his chest.
Jisung doesn’t stick around too much for the first few days. The weekend passes fast, and then they both have work to go to when the week starts again. In fact, everything seems so normal that Minho wonders if a bat-turned-vampire was really brought in by Doongie, except that on a Thursday evening there is a single orchid lying on his doorstep when he returns.
There is also a note attached to the flower.
‘I realised I forgot to give you my number when we met last time, so here it is! Hope you’ve had a good day, cutie :) - Jisung, 175-xx00-21’
Is it possible to block someone even before you enter their number? Minho wonders, and resolutely ignores how his cheeks have become flushed. He takes his time as he enters his apartment, greeting his cats and going to wash up and change into comfier clothes, stalling the time until he has to enter Jisung’s number and text him.
And he takes way, way too long to do it. He ends up halfway through cooking dinner before remembering that he’s supposed to text Jisung, and he sets the stove fire to low before he picks up the orchid again and carefully inputs the correct number into his phone.
Why are his hands shaking? There shouldn’t be a reason that his hands are shaking - this is just Jisung, it’s literally just a friend that he got to know because Doongie brought a bat back in her mouth - and yet his hands shake enough that he makes several typos as he composes a message to Jisung on KakaoTalk. He’s planning to send the message then leave it so he can continue cooking, but he isn’t expecting for Jisung to reply straight away.
[Jisung (garden vampire)]
[ 18:32 ] hi, this is Minho!
[ 18:32 ] you left an orchid and your number on my door so i thought i’d just say hi
[ 18:32 ] hey!!
[ 18:32 ] i hope you liked the flower
[ 18:32 ] did you just finish work?
[ 18:34 ] i did it’s really pretty, thank you!
[ 18:34 ] i just came back yeah
[ 18:34 ] i'm actually making dinner
[ 18:34 ] oh please don't let me disturb you
[ 18:34 ] i'll text you again when you finish your dinner ^^
[ 18:35 ] sure!!
[ 18:35 ] see you
[ 18:36 ] enjoy your dinner :)
Minho goes back to cooking his dinner with significantly less shaky hands and much warmer cheeks. Now, he isn’t stalling anymore. He goes through cooking and eating and washing up with a sense of anticipation; he feels like he’s a pre-teen again having a first crush, but the realisation doesn’t quite slow him down like it might have.
Like always, he packs away the leftover of his fried rice to take into lunch tomorrow, but instead of going to relax and play with his cats, he picks up his phone again and sinks into the couch, legs folding underneath him as he goes. He lets Dori jump up into his lap and he pets her gently, feeling a little less anxious about continuing his conversation with Jisung.
[Jisung (garden vampire)]
[ 19:22 ] hey i’m back ^^
[ 19:22 ] i hope you ate well too
Jisung takes a while to respond, but Minho doesn’t mind - it allows him to coo at his cats, and by the time Jisung texts back, he’s on his stomach on the couch with Dori on his lower back and Soonie around his shoulders. Doongie is sitting next to him, butt faced towards him and tail slowly swishing back and forth; Minho wonders how much Doongie would hate him if he patted Doongie’s butt right now.
[ 19:45 ] hey!!
[ 19:45 ] sorry i was playing a game
[ 19:46 ] i ate well too, thank you~~
[ 19:46 ] so not to rush you but have you thought about anything you need help with
[ 19:46 ] [ Jisung (garden vampire) sent you a sticker ]
[ 19:48 ] don't worry!!
[ 19:48 ] oh what games do you play?
[ 19:48 ] and no i'm sorry i haven't thought about that ㅠㅠ
[ 19:50 ] no no it's okay!!! dont worry about it
[ 19:50 ] oh i currently play this rn
[ 19:50 ] [ Jisung (vampire garden) sent you a link ]
[ 19:51 ] if i asked you to get dinner with me tomorrow would you say yes?
[ 19:54 ] oh that game looks really good!!
[ 19:54 ] i think i’ll start playing it too
[ 19:55 ] if by dinner you mean takeout, then yes
[ 19:57 ] oh if you’re playing it
[ 19:57 ] i recommend you get more base action points to start
[ 19:58 ] and if you can get action cards that give defense that's even better
[ 19:58 ] takeout it is then!
[ 19:58 ] when you come back tomorrow, just knock on my door
[ 19:59 ] i'm on the top floor, unit 3
[ 20:00 ] noted!! thank you :>>
[ 20:00 ] i'll tell you how my playthrough goes ^^
[ 20:00 ] okay sure!!
[ 20:00 ] is there any reason you want to have dinner together tho?
[ 20:04 ] i want to get to know you better
[ 20:04 ] i’m going to repay you after all
[ 20:04 ] and also i want access to your cats
[ 20:06 ] i don't control my cats just so you know
[ 20:06 ] my cats decide who they want to meet
[ 20:06 ] if they like you they like you
[ 20:06 ] fantastic i just need to bribe your cats
[ 20:07 ] cat thief!!!!
[ 20:07 ] oh would you look at that
[ 20:07 ] it's time for my
[ 20:07 ] night time vigilante duties
[ 20:07 ] sounds fake but okay
[ 20:09 ] i've been caught out oh no~
[ 20:09 ] but i do need to go now ^^
[ 20:09 ] my group of friends will come yelling for me if i don't
[ 20:09 ] i look forward to seeing you tomorrow night
[ 20:10 ] okok go!!!
[ 20:10 ] me too ^^
[ 20:10 ] see you!!
Texting Jisung - is incredibly easy. Texting Jisung also makes him smile, and Minho doesn’t quite want to think about what that means right now. The game that Jisung was talking about has downloaded by now, and so he sits up, gently dislodging Soonie from around his shoulders so he can sit up and stretch his back as the game loads.
Taking Jisung’s advice as he starts playing, he quickly becomes absorbed by the game. It’s a type of game he hasn’t really played before - it’s a deck-building role-playing game, and the art and story is all so incredibly interesting that he easily spends a few hours playing the game before he realises that he needs to go into work tomorrow morning.
Regretfully, he exits the game after defeating the third final boss, and begins to get ready for bed. Just as he’s brushing his teeth though - he wonders if he should just text Jisung quickly to say that he loves the game. It couldn’t hurt, right?
Leaving it to the last thing before he goes to bed, he checks the locks and turns off the lights and makes sure his alarm is working before he pulls the blankets up around his body, reaching for his phone that’s lying on his nightstand. He replies to a few messages and notifications on his social medias, and then hesitates on the short chat history he has with Jisung before deciding to just go for it.
After all, Jisung’s just recommended a game to him that he’ll probably be playing for a week straight.
[Jisung (garden vampire)]
[ 23:11 ] hey i just wanted to say that
[ 23:11 ] that game you recommended to me
[ 23:11 ] i really love it!!! its so fun to play i've been playing it for hours now
[ 23:11 ] thank you for recommending it and giving me advice
[ 23:11 ] im sleeping now so ^^ goodnight
Satisfied, he turns his phone to silent and plugs the charger into it, making sure it’s charging before he turns his night lamp off and and pulling the blankets more securely around him. He can hear the gentle jangle of his cats’ collars echoing through his apartment, and the familiar sound lulls him to sleep.
There is also the matter of how warm his chest feels, like his heart is fuller than it usually is; Minho doesn’t quite want to think if it is Jisung that might have caused him to feel this way. For now, he falls asleep easily, and so much more warmer than usual.
The messages come in when he’s fast asleep.
[ 00:44 ] i’m glad you like the game!!
[ 00:44 ] tell me which class you like the most~
[ 00:45 ] goodnight
[ 00:45 ] you’re really cute, sleep well [ ! Message not sent due to network failure. Retry or Delete? ]
(a moment of hesitance. then - the delete option is selected.)
MInho is terribly excited for someone that is going to have takeout with someone who is practically a stranger. It might also be that it’s a Friday, and with Friday brings the weekend, and he knows he’s going to spend the weekend playing his new game so he can find out which class he likes playing the best. His excitement is palpable enough that even his coworker comments on it.
“You look unusually happy for a Friday morning,” Chan says, frowning at a stack of files on his desk. “Have something you’re looking forward to?”
Three, actually . “Just the weekend, you know,” Minho says instead, because he knows Chan is going to start teasing him the moment he mentions that he’s going to have dinner with someone later.
“A weekend where we have to spend chasing SPO for the recordings,” Chan reminds him, and Minho groans.
“Oh, stop that. Don’t even go there - didn’t SPO email back saying that the officer who did the confession is a rookie so he didn’t record it?”
“They what ?!” Chan says, and his voice echoes in their small office.
“Perks of being an advisor, I guess,” Minho says, slightly listless now that he recalls the devastating email he got yesterday.. “That makes the confession and evidence quite useless but that’s not for us to go and worry about. The prosecutors will have a hard time with this case, I really don’t know what else we can do.”
“... I’m going to see SPO next Monday,” Chan sighs. “Do you want to come with me? I need to and pick up a few more things as well that I’ve been asking them to send over to us but they haven’t. You don’t have any meetings after lunch, do you?”
“No, I don’t. I’ll go with you - two is better than one, especially with SPO.”
The rest of the day is the usual - work and bitching about SPO and hoping the dreaded email of we lost the case doesn’t land in their inboxes. By the time he gets off work, he’s so brain-dead that he ends up going to his own apartment before remembering that he has a takeaway dinner planned with Jisung.
Deciding that he hasn’t lost anything by coming to his own apartment first, he puts his work things away and changes into more comfortable clothes, filling the water and food bowls for his cats before bidding them goodbye again for a while. He takes the stairs instead of the elevator - the top floor is only three floors up from where he is, and he wants to stretch his legs a little.
Just as he’s reached the third unit on the top floor, his phone chimes with a message from Jisung, asking if he’s back yet and what he likes to eat - instead of replying, he reaches forward and rings the doorbell.
“ Coming !” Minho hears from the inside of the apartment, and there’s hurried shuffling and what sounds like a stiff lock being turned before the front door opens and reveals Jisung. A Jisung with damp, messy hair and his phone held loosely in his hand; the thought that Jisung is actually really attractive crosses Minho’s mind before he stamps that down.
“Minho-ssi!” Jisung says, beaming. “You’re here, I just texted you!”
“I know,” Minho says, and lets Jisung’s enthusiasm infect him. “I came just as you texted me. And if you wanted to know, my favourite food is basically everything - but I like sushi a lot today.”
“Sushi it is then,” Jisung says, opening the door wider and beckoning Minho to come in. “I’ll go and make us something to drink, do you want to order the food for us?”
“Sure! Do you have any allergies? Or foods you don’t like?” MInho asks as he sits down at the dining table.
Jisung disappears into the kitchen. “I think I’m pretty okay with most sushi things, I’m not too fussy. Do you have anything you want to drink in particular?”
“Do you have tea?”
“I have this really nice green tea, do you wanna try it?”
“Yes!”
The next few minutes are spent companionably, with Minho ordering sushi for the both of them and Jisung boiling the water and getting mugs for their tea. Minho is done faster than Jisung, and he spends a few minutes looking around at Jisung’s apartment.
It’s a little messy, but there is charm in it. Music sheets and guitar picks are sprawled on the coffee table, and there’s a guitar stood up next to the window, with a keyboard set up on the other side of the window. Then, in the other corner of the living room, there’s a pile of athletic equipment, from volleyballs and basketballs to tennis balls and badminton racquets; it reminds Minho that Jisung works as an assistant in the Physical Education department.
The smell of warmth is both from sunshine and the water that’s boiling in the kitchen, and underneath all that Minho thinks he can smell something like coffee. It’s such a welcoming scent that Minho feels more and more at ease as he sits at Jisung’s small dining table, wooden and chipped in places with chairs that are a little wobbly.
“Sorry it’s a bit messy,” Jisung says as he comes to Minho with two mugs of tea in his hand. “It’s Friday, I haven’t had time to organise anything before you came over.”
“I’m here to have dinner, not critique how you keep your apartment,” Minho says, accepting the mug of tea gratefully. “Besides, it’s clean, and I like how you keep it. And thanks for the tea, it smells great!”
“It’s green tea with roasted brown rice,” Jisung says, smiling. “You’re welcome.”
Minho ends up spending the half an hour it takes for their food to arrive by showing Jisung how far he’s progressed in his game, and Jisung takes him through another playthrough, giving him tips on which are the best cards to get and that if his character dies, he should resurrect because that’s a free blessing he can get.
“I don’t like to get the double-edged cards,” Jisung says, “like the ‘Ticket Auction’ card. I think that’s a shitty card - but other cards are great!”
“What does ‘exile’ mean?” Minho asks, and then Jisung launches into a spiel on what those cards do and how he should deal out cards so he gets the most of his turn.
It’s endearing and cute, and they keep talking about the best card combinations over dinner. The main reason why Jisung invited him over - to talk about the whole repayment arrangement - is completely forgotten as they continue to talk about the game. Somewhere between cleaning up after they eat and migrating to the couch, Minho shivers a little, wishing he had brought a jacket to wear over his t-shirt.
“Oh, are you cold?” Jisung asks. “I’ll turn up the heat, but it might take a while. Do you want to borrow a jacket?”
“It’s fine, I’ll just wait for the heating to kick in,” Minho says, assuring.
“Don’t be silly, I don’t want you to be cold when I have so many jackets,” Jisung says, and goes into his bedroom for a second before he reappears with a faux fur coat, black with white stripes splashed over it randomly. “Here you go, have this.”
“Thank you,” Minho says, putting the jacket on and tugging the sleeves past his fingers as he follows Jisung into the living room.
“Do you wanna know some other deck-building games I like?” Jisung asks, and if Minho is sure of himself, he thinks Jisung’s eyes drop to his shoulders, then to his hands which are swallowed by the sleeves. When he opens his mouth again, there is the flash of his canines, sharp in the fluorescent lights of his living room and Minho pulls the jacket around him more securely, suddenly flustered.
“I - sure! I’m always up for good games.”
The rest of the night is spent going through games together and for some reason, he ends up going back to his apartment at nine with Jisung’s jacket.
“It’s cold from here to your place,” Jisung reasons, “and you need that jacket more than me right now. Just give it back to me the next time I see you.”
Minho can’t quite find an excuse in himself to return the jacket, and so he returns to his apartment with Jisung’s jacket wrapped around him. It smells like warmth and coffee, but soon the scent dissipates in his nose and he can’t smell it anymore.
(he can’t. but that doesn’t mean the smell goes away.)
Somehow, Jisung convinces him to go out again on Sunday to eat together. Maybe it’s because of the fun time they had together on Friday night that Minho agrees easily, and once again he wakes up on a Sunday morning full of anticipation for the day. They had settled on a ramyeon bar near their apartment, so there isn’t a need to dress nicely; Minho wears a big hoodie and some old jeans and waits for Jisung to text him.
Jisung messages him a few minutes later and they meet in the foyer of their apartment. It’s a lovely autumn’s day, warm as the sun shines down, and they’re immersed in gamer talk again, this time about old-school role-playing games and visual novels. Somewhere along the walk, the conversation turns to Minho’s cat, then Jisung’s garden, and their conversation carries all the way through lunch.
Jisung pauses to take a blood pill - “I don’t know why I have to take them after meals, I just know that I do, but I always forget,” - before their conversation resumes, with Minho chatting excitedly about one of the games he had found that was inspired by DND.
It’s been a while since Minho’s made new friends, and having Jisung with him now feels like a breath of fresh air.
For all that superstition about vampires not being able to resist the sun, Jisung looks gorgeous in the sunlight. He looks like he was made to live in the sun against everything that he is as a vampire, and for a moment when he smiles at Minho and the sunlight catches on his canines, Minho wonders if this is what a date might feel like.
He immediately shakes that thought out of his mind.
“Oh, I wanted to stop at the convenience store before I went back,” Minho says, spying the store at the end of the street. “You can go back first, I -”
“No, I’ll follow you,” Jisung says immediately. “It’s a nice day to be out, let’s go together.”
Jisung’s company being more than welcome, they continue their walk down the street to the convenience store, and Jisung offers to wait outside for him since he wants to enjoy the sunshine, and also because he has nothing to buy.
The convenience store blasts cold air as he enters, and he tucks his hands into the pockets of his hoodies as he enters the depths of the aisles. Shouldn’t they change the air-conditioning to heating already? He only really wants to stock up on some snacks and maybe see if they stock his favourite brand of dried seaweed.
They do not .
Minho is disappointed, but not as disappointed as he is when the door of the convenience store opens again and someone with a familiar tuft of brown hair walks in. He would recognise that hair anywhere he was. "What are you doing here," He says, scowling as he emerges from the convenience store aisles. "Thought I wouldn't see your face again after last time."
"Thanks for ruining my day," Seungmin says, mirroring the scowl on Minho's face. "Am I not allowed to visit the convenience store now?"
"Isn't the full moon in two days? Thought you're supposed to be home, waiting," Minho returns, but throws a packet of chips at Seungmin. "Wouldn't want a werewolf rampaging through the streets doing vigilante work, would we?"
"Or what, you'll bail me out again?" Seungmin scoffs, squeezing behind Minho to get to the fridges. "I don't need your help, Lee, you're always just in my way."
"Watch your mouth, Kim," Minho warns.
"Whatever," Seungmin says. "Also - you smell different. Are you spending a lot of time with someone?"
"What?" Minho says, "Are you saying I smell bad?"
"If you want to take it that way, sure."
Despite all of their banter on the surface, Minho is actually friends with Seungmin. He had met the younger werewolf a couple of years ago and their relationship had always been enemies on the outside but friends deep down. Somewhere very deep down. It isn't unusual for them to be squabbling about something until they almost start fighting, and it is also no wonder that other people think they are archenemies.
Perhaps that is also why Jisung - who had been waiting for him outside the convenience store - takes one look at him and Seungmin arguing about the strawberry milk that Seungmin bought and throws himself between them, snarling at Seungmin.
" Stay away from him," Jisung says, and his voice is grounded so deep like Minho has never heard before. "Why are you talking to him?"
"Woah," Seungmin says coolly, tearing open the carton of milk in his hands. "Calm down, vampire. I'll talk to anyone I want to… including him. Did you think just putting your scent all over him would stop anyone?"
"Fuck off, werewolf," Jisung growls. "Respect territory and I'll respect you. You're arguing with Minho and I see that as a threat."
"Excuse me? I can take care of myself," Minho interrupts. "Stop picking fights for me, Jisung. I know you do your vigilante thing well but I'm fine ."
"Fine," Jisung repeats, crossing his arms. "But if I see you arguing with Minho again it's on sight, werewolf."
"I will find Minho just to argue with him," Seungmin replies, smiling as he does so. "Nothing's going to work unless you actually stake your claim, vampire. See you around, Minho, Minho’s boyfriend."
“We are not dating!” Minho yells after Seungmin, a little flustered, then turns to Jisung. "Hey, you," He says before Jisung can make a lunge at Seungmin. "Seungmin is my friend. I know it doesn't look like it but he isn't going to hurt me. But you - why'd you act like that? I can take care of myself, I don't need you to fight anyone for me."
"... I was just looking out for you," Jisung mumbles, now looking a bit sheepish. "I want to repay you and I guess I've been hanging around you quite a lot these days. You - well, I don't know if you'll understand this but - you’re familiar enough to me that I want to keep you safe.”
Minho pauses, wonders where he’s heard this before; he tries not to think about how Seungmin thought they were dating. “You mean like you think I’m one of your pack or something?” He asks, when he finally places that he’s heard Seungmin talk about his boyfriend in the same manner. He wonders what this means.
“Kind of,” Jisung grimaces. “Sorry, I know it’s kind of weird, seeing as we haven’t known each other long and all. It’s probably cause I’ve been hanging around you a lot these days… and I really like your cats. And the jacket. You've been wearing my jacket too… also - I don’t have a pack. Vampires don’t really have a pack nowadays, so like, this kind of protective feeling is transferred onto people close to us instead.”
“It’s okay, you weren’t acting out of a bad place,” Minho says, and makes a mental note to himself to read up on vampires. Especially if he’s going to have one hanging around him until said vampire repays him or something.
“I’m sorry, by the way, for how I treated your friend. And for leaving my scent on you. It’s all a bit much for you… considering you don’t even know what you are.”
“ Rude ,” Minho hisses. “You’re the one who won’t tell me what I am! I’m not going to see my parents until chuseok so I can’t know until then, why won’t you just tell me?”
“I’m not supposed to be the one who tells you this,” Jisung says, suddenly stern. “If your parents haven’t told you what you really are then I suppose there’s a reason why. Why don’t you call your parents or something?”
“The line is always bad, and their hearing isn’t that good, I don’t want to trouble them,” Minho grumbles. “Anyway, let’s go home. I’ve got what I need, and what I don’t need.”
It takes a while for Jisung to process that. “Hey!” Jisung cries, “Rude! I just want to repay you!”
Minho laughs; he doesn’t notice how the people surrounding them snap to attention, looking over at him like they’ve been pulled by a puppet string attached around their necks. “You’re so dramatic. I have things to do, and you have a garden to attend to, if my cats haven’t trashed it already.”
“How many times do I have to say that your cats never trash my garden? They really just sit there and lie under the sunlight.”
“Then why do they keep coming back dirty? With their fur full of leaves? They were really dirty like, the day before.”
“... So they might have rolled through the compost -”
“ Han Jisung !”
Strangely though, ever since Seungmin pointed it out and Jisung admitted to it, having the vampire around him - or even just his scent, though Minho honestly can't smell anything - is enough to keep most trouble away from him.
At work, his coworkers are unusually easy to work with, and even his fussy clients don’t give him such a hard time as they usually do. When he’s walking on the streets at night, he’s given a wider berth and people don’t meet his eyes. He isn’t sure if it’s a placebo effect or something similar, or if having Jisung around him really does keep trouble away.
It’s actually wonderful . For someone that had been repeatedly approached on the street multiple times and then was actually followed home by some particularly insistent people, this is basically heaven. No one bothers him, no one talks to him. He can easily finish his grocery store runs and go back without needing to worry that someone is following him.
This also makes him think about Jisung’s insistence on repaying him. Jisung had said that since Minho basically saved him and gave him safety, he wanted to do the same for Minho, except Minho didn’t really need any sort of saving at the moment. If Jisung could give him this strange protective scent for the next few days would that count as repayment enough? Surely it would be enough, and Jisung wouldn’t need to stick around him anymore - it’s already been more than a week since they met, and he doesn’t want to feel like he’s burdening Jisung by dragging his feet about this repayment.
So, it’s thirteen days after Minho first saves the bat from Doongie’s mouth that he goes to find Jisung and ask for his repayment.
“You want me to what ?” Jisung says, and he sounds a little incredulous.
They’re in Jisung’s apartment right now; it’s on the floor just below the rooftop gardens, three floors above Minho’s own apartment. It’s both familiar and strange at the same time, but Minho feels comfortable on Jisung’s couch, and he tucks his feet beneath himself.
“I want my repayment to be your… scent on me. Does that sound weird? It’s just that since you said you’ve been accidentally leaving your scent on me, I’ve had a lot less trouble wherever I go. And that counts as safety, right? You can just leave your scent on like - my jacket or something and then the repayment is done!”
Jisung pauses, runs a hand through his hair and sits down on the footstool in front of Minho. He looks serious all of a sudden, and Minho can’t help the feeling he has been pushing away for the past few days from rising into his chest - Jisung is attractive. He’s handsome and cute in equal amounts, sharp eyes but soft cheeks, pretty mouth and winning smile; he’s attractive in the way he acts too, thoughtful and caring and protective and even though he’s more than a bit clumsy he’s already caught Minho’s eye as he tripped over.
“This scent thing - I wasn’t meant to leave anything on you, that was my fault,” Jisung says, and he’s once again apologising. “Vampires - or any creature, really - usually leave our scents on the people close to us, and not just like a friend or something.”
“Like family?” Minho asks, and his heart sinks a little at the prospect.
“No - like, our partners. If we were dating, I would be more than happy to leave my scent on you, but if we’re not it’s kind of overstepping your boundaries…”
“But - but your scent makes me feel safe,” Minho blurts out, feeling his cheeks burn as he does. “My life - was so much easier, and you saved me from that guy down the road who likes to yell at me when I walk past his car in the evening.”
“There are people yelling at you?” Jisung asks, and it looks like he’s considering Minho’s suggestion already. “Why didn’t you say that in the first place?”
“Why would I? It’s not like I’ve known you for long… and I was also used to it, but with you around, everything is so much easier.”
“You’re right, we don’t really know each other - but if you want my scent then… we could pretend to date? I mean - your friend, the werewolf - he assumed we were dating, so I don’t think it’s too far of a stretch? Like, we can just remain as friends when we’re alone but outside if you tell people you’re dating me when they ask you about your scent, you won’t get weird comments too,” Jisung suggests tentatively, chewing on his bottom lip, hunched over on the footstool. He looks unfairly attractive.
“So we’re faking a relationship as my repayment?” Minho asks, feeling the laughter bubbling inside his chest. “I feel like I’m in a shitty movie or something right now.”
“Essentially,” Jisung agrees, laughing as well. “We can get to know each other as friends, and I’ll leave my scent on your clothes. If anyone asks why you can just say we’re dating! It’ll make your life easier, you don’t need to explain anything to anyone too. How about it?”
“How long are we faking this for?” Minho asks, leaning forward. His heart is thudding his chest - he isn’t sure if Jisung will be able to hear it.
“Until people learn to leave you alone without my scent?” Jisung offers, and he sits up straight too. Now he’s looking directly at Minho, and there is a light in his eyes that makes Minho’s heart stutter in the cavity of his chest.
“Might take a while,” Minho says lightly, means it as a joke.
“That’s fine,” Jisung says, and his smile glows. “We have time, don’t we?”
“Yeah,” Minho says, mouth dry.
It isn’t until he’s back in his own apartment that he realises that they never agreed on any ground rules about their fake relationship, and that everything is in the grey area now.