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For all vampires, reintegrating into society can go one of two ways. One: go solo—find a supernatural-friendly apartment and figure out the rest on your own. Two: move in with a coven—this means everything’s taken care of, from blood bags to shelter to friends.
Anyone born with a vampire gene—which basically means having a vampire in your bloodline—has a fifty percent chance of presenting as one, usually during their early to mid twenties.
After a few too many confused vampires couldn’t get into their own homes, and after a few too many shapeshifting hybrids were temporarily taken in as pets by their neighbours, a system was put into place to help new supernaturals get used to their new lives.
Vampires go to vampire camp. It’s not actually called vampire camp. It’s called Camp To Help You Live When You’re Dead, a result of one vampire named Kim Namjoon who thought the name was catchy, punny and an all around Good Name. After being validated by his good friend and wolf hybrid Kim Seokjin, he pitched the name to the vampire committee.
Though to be frank, vampires aren’t technically dead and they don’t live forever like in the stories, but no one had anything better and no one vetoed it, so the name stuck (at least, on all the flyers and brochures).
But still. Almost everyone calls it vampire camp.
Jeon Jungkook is twenty-two when his fangs start to come in. He gets sent a reminder every month to fill in a form to say if he’s noticed any symptoms of presenting, like throbbing gums, red eyes, or a sudden thirst for tomato juice (only because it looks so much like blood. The brain latches onto funny things).
As soon as Jungkook’s gums start to hurt, he fills in the form and sends it off. That night, someone comes to bring him to vampire camp. He calls himself Kim Taehyung and the first words he says to Jungkook are, “You poor thing. You’re forever twenty-two.”
The entire ride to camp, Taehyung plays the Taylor Swift song on repeat in the car.
The car ride lasts two hours.
The lucky thing about the supernatural system in place is that Jungkook doesn’t have to explain to his new boss (he only just graduated, only just got hired for a job) why he won’t be coming in for his second week of work. The vampire committee works hard to make sure all vampires are excused from formal duties, and humans accept it because it keeps them safe.
For four weeks, Jungkook learns how to cope with his new instincts. It’s not an easy thing, going from being human to suddenly thirsting for blood from the very thing you used to be. But Jungkook gets an A+ on all his tests and even gets given a cash prize by the end of it from one of the counsellors, who tells him not to spend it all on blood bags.
The morning of the day he’s to be reintegrated into society, he looks at himself in the mirror. He really looks like a vampire now, his eyes a permanent red, his fangs fully grown in, his slightly lengthy hair though not a result of having turned still adding to the overall look. And then, lastly, the white shirt with a ruffled collar he acquired from lost and found after learning the camp didn’t have laundry facilities and all his other clothes were dirty.
(He’ll complain about that in the feedback form.)
At around noon time, he meets Taehyung by the camp’s entrance. The older vampire says to him, “I heard you declined Bangtan Coven’s invitation to join. That’s not very nice.”
“Why does it matter to you?” Jungkook asks.
“I’m in Bangtan Coven.”
“Oh.”
Jungkook would feel bad, but he doesn’t know many vampires and he’s always been bad in new social situations, so why would he join a coven? Living in a supernatural-friendly apartment on his own sounded much more inviting.
So Taehyung brings him back to his original home to pick up his stuff, and then he takes him to his newly acquired apartment. He even helps Jungkook carry his stuff up, all the while telling him stories about what the coven is like.
“We live in this gigantic penthouse apartment. My boyfriend Hoseok is a snake hybrid but he lives with us. And there’s Namjoon, who’s famous for being the first vampire to pitch a thousand ideas to the committee on how to be better, even though he’s not even on it. He’s, like, an honorary member though.
“Seokjin is a wolf hybrid and lives with us six days out of the week. He’s Namjoon’s friend, but we all think they might be dating. And then there’s Yoongi. He’s the oldest vampire among us and likes to keep to himself, but when he hangs out, he’s the life of the party. We haven’t invited another vampire to join us in ages, and you turned us down.”
Taehyung tsk’s, eyeing Jungkook up and down.
“Shame.”
Jungkook finds himself blushing—which is to say he’s not blushing at all. Well, maybe on the inside he is.
Once all the stuff is in, Jungkook waves Taehyung off from the curb, then turns around to head back into the apartment, only to come to an absolute standstill when he spots a cat sitting on the steps, its bright gold eyes trained his way. He’s got patches of orange and black on white fur, and Jungkook would think him pretty if his eyes didn’t look so sharp.
And if he hadn’t just had an entire three-day course on how cats are demon spawn and want to bring vampires to hell.
The cat’s tail flicks.
Jungkook finds himself running.
Okay.
Okay, in his defence, he thought the cat was going to pounce on him. It’s only once he’s raced two blocks away and found an alley to hide in that he replays the memory in his head. So maybe the cat had barely moved. Maybe… Maybe he didn’t want to bring him to hell.
Right?
Cats are a vampire’s mortal enemy.
No, not right. Jungkook takes his lessons very seriously, and he’s not going to dismiss any of it just because the cat was, he’ll admit, cute. He’s a vampire now, and he intends to be a good one who follows the rules.
But he’s also a predator. That’s what they told him. And he insisted on living alone, so he can’t just be running away from things. He’ll face his enemy with everything that he’s got. He refuses to go to hell (wherever that is), and he intends to be as brave and independent as he can be.
Nodding to himself, he starts to exit the alley, only to trip over something he couldn’t see and nearly falling flat on his face. A snarl has him staggering to his feet, and he twists around to see the cat there, its fur standing, glaring at him.
Jungkook runs again.
In his defence—
Knowing what he knows now, facing a cat is scary.
He makes it to his new apartment in record time—his vampire legs have increased his speed twofold—and shuts the door, breathing heavily against it.
“Okay, Jungkook,” he says out loud. “It’s fine. Everything’s fine. So this neighbourhood has cats, so what? You’re stronger than them. You’re faster than them. This is a part of the vampire gig, right? Right.”
Once calm, he spends the rest of the day unpacking and decorating the place. It’s one of the things he loves to do, sorting things out and making things look nice. He barely gets tired doing it, since his stamina has increased too. Later, he’ll go out to buy some blood bags, and maybe he’ll treat himself to some blood wine at a bar he heard about from one of the camp counsellors.
Forget about crazy cats. Today will be a good day.
At around 5pm, he gets a knock at the door. Jungkook’s on the toilet when he hears it—that’s right, vampires still have some basic human functions even after they turn—so by the time he gets to the door, there’s no one there.
There is, however, a jar of what looks like blood jelly and a note on top that says:
Welcome to the neighbourhood, neighbour :) –Jimin, your next door neighbour
Aside from too many uses of the word neighbour, Jungkook finds the sentiment sweet. He blushes (inwardly) and brings the blood jelly to the kitchen, where he proceeds to dip a spoon inside it to give it a try.
It’s absolutely delicious.
Afterwards, he goes to the only other apartment on his floor and knocks on the door, heart in his throat in excitement and nervousness while he waits for his neighbour to answer. Only no one does. After a few minutes, he deduces his neighbour must be out, so he writes a note to slip under the door:
Thank you for the blood jelly, neighbour. It’s delicious :) –Jungkook, your new neighbour
Jungkook tries some blood wine later that night, then returns to a note slipped under his own door:
Anytime, neighbour. See you around :) –Jimin
Jungkook falls asleep with a smile on his face.
🐈
Over the next few weeks, Jungkook and his neighbour Jimin exchange a series of notes, at first simply because knocks on each other’s doors keep ending up with them missing each other, but afterwards because it becomes sort of fun to write to each other.
Besides, talking to someone without seeing their face is sort of Jungkook’s style. This way he can think about what he says, and he can correct himself if he needs to. He’s not the most socially clued in kind of guy, so letters are a good way for him to get to know someone.
Hi Jungkook. How are you enjoying your new apartment? I heard vampires are sensitive to smell. I hope the last guy cleaned it well. He used to grow these pungent plants that I could smell all the way from my apartment! xD –Jimin
Hello Jimin. It was cleaned well. I hope you like smells like lavender or citrus because I have these scented candles that smell even better with my newly enhanced nose. If you don’t, let me know and I’ll try to contain the smell to my room :) –Jungkook
Oh? Are we the same person? Those are two of my favourite smells!! I thought I could smell lavender when walking past your apartment the other day. What other kinds of things do you like? Do you have any hobbies? –Jimin
I’m glad to hear that! I’ll be sure to light my candles closer to the door so you can enjoy them too. Hobbies? Well, it feels like my life has been entirely upended since becoming a vampire, so I’m still figuring out what I can physically do. But I used to enjoy boxing. And I love to sing in the shower. I hope you like show tunes? Haha. I haven’t painted in a while but I want to get back into it. How about you? –Jungkook
That’s so sweet of you :) I do love show tunes! Sadly I’ve missed your singing as of yet, but I’ll listen out for it :P Don’t judge me, but I like sitting on the window sill or on the steps and just watching the world go by. I guess you can say I like to people watch. I even saw you a few times, though I’m not sure you knew it was me. –Jimin
Why didn’t you say hi? We’ve been sharing letters and I still don’t know what you look like :P –Jungkook
You ran off before I could! But maybe next time I’ll introduce myself if you’d like. What do you do for work? –Jimin
I’d like that, Jimin :) I just started work in a marketing company. I don’t know if I like it yet, but my boss and coworkers are all nice. They even threw a little congratulatory event for me after I presented as a vampire. I was completely taken by surprise. I’m not the most social guy, so it was all a little overwhelming. But I appreciate them for the gesture. What do you do? –Jungkook
Wow, what a warm welcome. And don’t worry, I had a feeling you might be a little shy. I’ll make sure when I approach you next time that I do so gently :) I’m a teacher. Or, well, a teacher’s assistant, but I’m getting my teaching degree on the side. Though to be honest, I think my kids like me better than the actual teacher. They love to admire my tail and ears ;) –Jimin
Tail and ears? Oh, are you a hybrid? That’s cool! What kind? It seems fitting kids would love you. You seem like a very nice person to me. –Jungkook
You’ll have to meet me to find out, Jungkook. That’s a really sweet thing to say. I wonder if you’ll think the same thing when we meet. –Jimin
Why wouldn’t I? If you’re anything like you’ve shown in these letters, I think I’ll like you very much. Unless you’re hiding something from me? :O –Jungkook
I just think you might be scared of me :( –Jimin
I’d never be scared of you. –Jungkook
It’s been two weeks since Jungkook moved in and he’s getting more and more used to living as a vampire amongst humans. His days are more or less normal, and his craving for blood feels more like mild hunger most of the time, but he has plenty of access to blood bags and there are lots of restaurants catered towards vampires in the area, so it’s never felt bad.
The only thing that puts a damper on things is that damn cat. It’s still here, around, seemingly following him. Jungkook thinks he gets good at dodging him, always spotting him out of the corner of his eye, his feet ready to take off as soon as he does.
That cat’s got nothing on him.
Nothing.
Taehyung checks up on him once or twice, calling him on the phone to make sure he’s settling in alright, and asking him if he’d like to reconsider that invitation to join Bangtan Coven. But Jungkook’s adamant about staying on his own.
He’s also adamant about not talking about the cat. Jungkook chose to be here; it’s a problem he’ll figure out on his own.
And anyway, now that he’s talking to his neighbour daily, he doesn’t want to leave. There’s something about Jimin that he likes a lot. Maybe it’s the way he writes or just the things he says, but he seems like a really good person who Jungkook thinks he would get along with really well.
He can’t wait for their first meeting.
Despite what Jimin says about introducing himself one day, a third week and then a fourth passes where they remain neighbourly penpals.
So tell me the basics. What is your favourite colour? Your favourite place? Where are you from and who in your family was a vampire? Are you close to them? Do you have siblings? Sorry for the crazy mix of questions. Feel free to answer in whatever order you desire, or to not answer at all. –Jimin
Don’t be sorry! Let’s see… My favourite colour is usually black but lately I’ve had a thing for red. I suppose it’s a blood thing :P I’m from Busan but moved to Seoul when I was young. I have a brother but he’s human, at least for now, and I actually don’t have any living relatives who presented, so I’m a bit of a lone wolf. I’d say I’m close to them, but I haven’t seen them since I got back from camp, so I’m not sure how we’ll act around each other anymore. It’s a little scary. –Jungkook
I can imagine. My mother is human and my father’s a hybrid, and it’s not often that a human-hybrid mix ends up with hybrid offspring, but I was an exception. All my siblings are human, but at least they understand, and I always have my dad to turn to if I’m struggling with it. –Jimin
Do you struggle with it a lot? –Jungkook
Not really. A little. It’s hard to explain. I think there are lots of people with misconceptions about hybrids, but that goes for all supernatural creatures. I’m glad you’ve had a pleasant experience so far. If anyone gives you a hard time though, just let me know, okay? I’ll beat them up for you. –Jimin
I’ll be sure to let you know. I bet you’re a strong kind of hybrid. Will you really not tell me what kind? –Jungkook
I really won’t :P I’m excited to see your reaction when you find out though :) –Jimin
And on and on their letters go. It’s strange because they don’t even run into each other in the hall. At some point, Jungkook wonders if Jimin’s actively avoiding him. Or maybe he’s a hybrid with an animal form so small, Jungkook never noticed him before.
Jungkook’s shyness is a big contributor to them not meeting. If only he could knock on Jimin’s door… Could he? Maybe he should. He’s comfortable enough talking to him. He should do something about these budding feelings.
It seems they may never meet at this rate unless one of them steps up. Might as well be him. He’s twenty-two and he’s a vampire and he shouldn’t be afraid of anything. So he takes a shower and dresses in fresh clothes—that same white shirt with the ruffled collar, because he’s grown attached to it—and then steps outside the door.
Only to immediately rush back in.
The cat is back. In all its demonic glory, tri-coloured fur and all, it’s back.
“I haven’t done anything to go to hell!” Jungkook shouts through the door, almost hysterical. “Leave me alone!”
The cat meows.
Jungkook doesn’t hate cats. As a human, he would go to cat cafes just fine. As a human, he had nothing to worry about. As a vampire, he’s prey, and he just wants to stay safe is all. It’s not that he hates cats.
In fact, when the cat meows, Jungkook coos.
“Why do you sound so cute?” he whispers under his breath.
It meows again.
“You’re making it very hard for me to hate you. Is this what you do? You make cute sounds and lure vampires in and then you sink your claws into them and drag them to the pits of hell?”
When Jungkook doesn’t hear anything again, he slowly opens the door, poking his head out.
It’s still there.
Shutting the door again, Jungkook prays, “Vampire gods, if you can hear me, send me strength. I just want to get out of this alive. Is this a test? Tell me, what should I do? How do I prove I’m worthy?”
He was just spewing whatever words came to mind, but he hears them back in his head and grows red (inwardly). If anyone heard him now, he would be embarrassed down to his toes. Good thing it’s just a cat outside the door.
(Not just a cat. Demon’s spawn, he reminds himself.)
“Look, kitty,” Jungkook says. “I just want to meet my neighbour, okay? You’re in the way. Will you leave if I tell you you’re cute? Is that what you want? Okay, demon’s spawn, you’re cute. But this is where it ends.”
There’s no response.
Of course there’s no response.
Jungkook opens the door to an empty hallway. He looks left, then right, then left again. Huh. He can’t believe that worked. With a relieved sigh, he makes his way to Jimin’s apartment, just about to knock when he notices the door is ajar.
That’s odd. Maybe Jimin just got home? Maybe he chased the cat away? Maybe, just maybe, he’s Jungkook’s saviour?
If Jungkook liked him before, he likes him even more now.
“Jimin?” he calls, fingers rapping on the door only to accidentally nudge it open. Accidentally nudge it open and notice the very same cat that’s been haunting him since he moved here sitting atop a round table, tail flicking, staring at him.
Jungkook can’t take this anymore. This cat isn’t just following him; it’s mocking him.
As he turns tail to run, he can’t help thinking, is Jimin okay?
He’s just made it to the top of the stairs heading down when the cat sweeps past his feet and blocks the exit. There seems to be a glint in his eye (an evil glint, Jungkook thinks), and Jungkook’s suddenly a hundred percent sure that this cat is here to bring him to hell.
He stumbles back, trying to make it to his door while keeping an eye on the cat. Fumbling for his key in his pocket, he holds out another hand. “Stay right where you are.”
The cat inches forward, paying his words no mind.
“I mean it! I’ll call the vampire committee on you!”
Suddenly, the cat makes a weird sound. Jungkook freezes, thinking something magical is about to happen. Instead, the cat’s body shakes, his face contorting a little as it seems to… laugh. It’s… laughing?
Jungkook’s hand falters. “What…”
And then the cat changes. It drops onto its front paws and its eyes glow and then instead of a cat, there’s a man. A man with dark hair and ears sticking out—one orange, one white—and wearing the kind of grin that could make any man weak. He’s cute. Cuter than his cat alter ego, and Jungkook should be very afraid.
The cat isn’t just demon spawn. He is a demon.
The cat-turned-man climbs to his feet. He’s dressed nicely, a soft blue sweater over jeans, heeled boots on his feet. And Jungkook would run. He should run. But now that the man is looking at him, gold eyes and all, he finds he can’t move, not even an inch.
“Hello, Jungkook.”
Jungkook swallows in fear. How does he know my name? “Please don’t bring me to hell.”
The cat man grins like this is all very funny. “What makes you think I’m here to bring you to hell?”
“That’s what they taught me in vampire camp. Cats bring vampires to hell.”
“They’re still teaching that there?” The cat man pouts. “I’ll need to write a strongly worded letter to the committee. Those outdated theories are not good for hybrids like me.”
Jungkook blinks. Then blinks again. “H- Hybrid? You’re a— But you’re a—”
Oh.
The man swishes his tail once, giving Jungkook an amused grin. Tail and ears. Tail and ears. Tail and ears.
If he could blush, he would be blushing head to toe. He almost doesn’t want to ask it. Doesn’t want to but kind of has to because he needs to know.
“Jimin?” he asks, voice all hushed.
“The one and only,” Jimin says.
Jungkook runs away this time for an entirely different reason, breaks the lock on the doorknob (because getting the key would take too much time, of course), slips into his apartment and shuts the door.
That was not at all how their first meeting was supposed to go.
🐈
Jimin’s a good chaser, Jungkook will give him that.
As soon as the door shuts, Jungkook hears a knock, followed shortly by Jimin’s voice. “Jungkook, come out. Let’s talk. Don’t run away again.”
That’s really all it takes for Jungkook to open the door, though he only does so a crack, peering out with a single eye. “What if you’re lying to me? What if you really are a cat demon and you’re here to take me to hell?”
“Don’t be silly, cat demons don’t exist,” Jimin says.
“But at vampire camp, they told me—”
“Like I said, it was just a theory, and barely one at that. Some vampires who were scared of cats a long time ago came up with it so they had an excuse to be afraid.”
“We had a three-day course on staying away from cats.”
Jimin gives him a sympathetic look. “Then the counsellors at your camp were playing a really bad prank. May I come in so I can prove to you I’m not a demon?”
After a moment, Jungkook nods, then opens the door wider so Jimin can come in. They end up in the living room. Jungkook spots some of Jimin’s letters still lying around on the coffee table and he hastily tries to clear them up, gathering them up in his hands.
“I was just— They were just—” He fumbles for some words and ends up getting nothing coherent out.
Jimin just giggles as he goes to sit, crossing his legs. “I read your letters a lot too,” he says.
“Oh.” Jungkook sets them back down, a little less embarrassed, but only a little.
He’s just sat his butt down too when he remembers one of the first things he learned about Jimin. Shooting straight back to his feet, he finds his lavender scented candle and lights it up, then brings it to the coffee table so they can bask in it.
Jimin smiles the whole time. He’s got a nice smile, Jungkook notices as he sits down, slowly because he can’t look away.
A really nice smile.
“Okay,” he decides. “You’re not a demon.”
Jimin’s smile turns into a full fledged laugh. “I haven’t even said anything!”
“I just know these things. I have really good instincts.”
“Oh yeah? The same instincts that told you I was here to bring you to hell?”
Jungkook goes red again, though not really (he’s kind of glad vampires can’t blush). “No… different instincts.”
“I see,” Jimin says with what looks like a giddy smile. “It all makes sense now.”
Jungkook pulls on the sleeves of his shirt, trying to hide his embarrassment. “As it should.”
“So…” Jimin says, elbow perched on his knee, fist beneath his chin. There’s that glint in his eye again, the one Jungkook definitely didn’t think was evil before, not at all. “You think my cat form is cute?”
“Did I say that?”
“I believe your exact words were, okay, demon’s spawn, you’re cute.”
“I never said that,” Jungkook says, even though he most certainly did.
“Okay, baby vampire, lie to me all you want. But just so you know, I heard everything you said. Did the vampire gods hear your prayers?”
Jungkook wants to disappear.
Jimin’s eyes roam all over him. “You’re very cute, you know.”
Jungkook decides he actually does not want to disappear. “Really?”
“Very.”
Jungkook finds himself sitting up straighter. “Well your human form is just as cute as your cat form.”
“Oh yeah?” Jimin asks, grinning.
“Mhm.”
“So you’re not… scared of me?”
It occurs to Jungkook when Jimin leans closer in his direction that he’s flirting. That little grin, the way his ears twitch and those eyes seem to twinkle—it’s all telling a very compelling story and Jungkook is here for it.
Leaning towards Jimin, Jungkook says, “Definitely not scared.”
“Could’ve fooled me.”
“Maybe you should have introduced yourself like this instead of showing up as a cat at every corner.”
This boldness is so unlike Jungkook, but he kind of likes it. Jimin makes him feel all kinds of things.
“Ah, but it was so much fun to make you squirm,” Jimin says.
Their faces are only inches apart now. “You get off on that kind of thing?” Jungkook asks.
Jimin shrugs, pulling his lips into his mouth before they pop out again, glistening. “I didn’t expect to like it so much. But that first day after you ran away, I couldn’t help following you. I’d never met a vampire who got scared so easily before.”
“I don’t scare easy. I’m the scary one.”
“Okay, baby vampire. Keep telling yourself that.”
“I’m not a baby.”
“How long since you presented?”
“Two months.”
“Okay,” Jimin says, smiling. “So a baby.”
Jungkook realises as they’re about to kiss (at least, he thinks that’s what’s happening; the tension is so palpable, their attraction so real) that he should really apologise for yelling at Jimin and calling him a demon and running away every time he appeared.
I just think you might be scared of me :(
When Jungkook saw that letter, he didn’t understand why Jimin would think that. He thought—maybe Jimin was a scary hybrid, like a tiger or a lion. But even then, Jungkook would have been fine with it. If kids liked him, why wouldn’t he?
Before their lips can meet, Jungkook jerks back and blurts, “I’m sorry.”
Jimin blinks, a breath leaving his lips. His cheeks look kind of pink and now Jungkook can’t help staring at them.
And then he wants to say sorry again—for staring, but also for getting in the way of whatever was about to happen.
“Why are you sorry?” Jimin asks.
“Because I’m one of those people with misconceptions about hybrids, I guess? It didn’t even occur to me that the cat following me might be one. I just made all these assumptions and… I’m sorry. I probably hurt your feelings.”
Jimin gives him a soft smile. “At least you didn’t try to adopt me as a pet.”
Jungkook nearly chokes on his spit. “People do that?”
“Yeah! When I was just learning how to shift, I used to get stuck as a cat all the time. Dad had to rescue me at least three times.”
“At least vampires don’t have to worry about that,” Jungkook says.
“Yeah, but some humans get so weird about the blood thing. And the fang thing. Even some hybrids are weird about it.”
“How do you feel about it?”
“I’m of the mind that if you bite me, I bite you.”
Jungkook raises an eyebrow. His lessons at camp taught him that biting is absolutely not allowed without consent. It goes without saying, but there are still vampires who need reminders. He’s never been interested in biting, but now that Jimin’s brought it up, he’s intrigued.
“You’re thinking about biting me, aren’t you?” Jimin asks with a cheeky grin.
“Only because you’re thinking of biting me,” Jungkook barks back.
They both end up laughing. Jimin now looks him up and down again, but this time with something softer on his face. “Maybe before we talk about biting, we should talk about kissing. Because I kind of want to kiss you.”
“You do?”
“I wasn’t obvious?”
Jungkook laughs again. “No, you were. I… want to kiss you too.”
Even though Jungkook only got to know Jimin via letters, he feels like he knows him as well as he knows himself. He thinks he’s wanted to be closer to him ever since Jimin first left blood jelly on his doorstep. He thinks there’s something special here and he’s excited to explore it.
Their lips finally meet, Jimin’s so soft against his own.
When they pull away, Jungkook has a question. “Does this mean our letters stop?”
Jimin twirls a finger into Jungkook’s hair. “They don’t have to.”
“Okay. I like talking to you, but I like our letters too.”
“Me too,” Jimin says.
Jungkook smiles, all of a sudden grateful he thought Jimin was demon’s spawn about to bring him to hell—else this moment might not have felt quite as sweet.
🐈
One month later, Jungkook and Jimin are making out on the couch while some TV show plays in the background when a knock comes at the door. Jungkook pulls away, saying he should get the door, but Jimin just tugs him back.
“Just ignore them. It’s probably someone from the hybrid or vampire committees trying to sell something to us.”
“Oh, do they often do that?”
“Yup.”
They go back to kissing. The knock comes again, this time harder. Jungkook pulls off once again. “Maybe I should get that.”
“Jungkook,” Jimin says, cheeks so red. Jungkook has found that the cat hybrid makes up for all of Jungkook’s lack of blushes. “Are you trying to get out of kissing me?”
“What? N- No—”
“Then ignore them. Come on, baby vampire,” Jimin says cutely. Jungkook knows that if he insisted, Jimin would stop immediately. But the thing is, Jungkook doesn’t really want to stop either, so he doesn’t.
They kiss until something bangs against the window, and Jungkook and Jimin both jump at the same time, twisting to look at the window only to see—
Only to see Kim Taehyung standing on the balcony, this look of realisation on his face. He seems to be talking to someone on the street, because he angles his head that way, lips moving.
Embarrassed at being caught kissing, Jungkook rushes to the window and swings it open, catching the tail end of what Taehyung’s saying, “—because he probably wanted to stay with his boyfriend!”
“Taehyung!” Jungkook hisses.
Taehyung turns to look at him, as if showing up at someone’s balcony isn’t an unusual thing to do. “Jungkook! Hi! Long time no see.”
“What are you doing here?”
“And who’s this? I see you’ve got yourself a boyfriend since we saw each other last.”
“I’m Park Jimin, Jungkook’s neighbour,” Jimin says, waving as if it really is a usual thing, showing up at the window instead of the door.
And then it occurs to Jungkook that Taehyung must have been at the door before but given up when no one answered. Jungkook will have to have a little talk with Jimin about ignoring people knocking if this is the consequence.
“Kim Taehyung,” Taehyung says, reaching forward to shake Jimin’s hand. “I’m a vampire. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“I’m a cat hybrid.”
“My boyfriend’s just downstairs. He’s a hybrid too. He’s a wolf but he was too scared to jump up here with me.”
“Are you telling lies about me again?!” shouts someone’s voice.
“Most definitely not!” Taehyung shouts back.
Jungkook can just make someone out standing on the pavement below. Things seem to be getting out of hand, so he says to Taehyung, “What are you doing here?”
“I’m here to invite you to our coven again. I thought by now you’d be used to the weekly invites.”
“I was used to them being over the phone, not in person,” Jungkook complains.
“I figured in-person might be more effective, but now I understand why you don’t want to join. You know we accept hybrids too,” Taehyung tells him.
They do? Jungkook didn’t know that. But he’s declined so many times that he would feel embarrassed if he suddenly said yes now. “We’re not interested in joining Bangtan Coven,” he says, “but thank you for coming all this way.”
Taehyung shrugs, seemingly about to leave when Jimin makes a strangled sort of noise. “Bangtan Coven?” he says. “The Bangtan Coven? Jungkook, you’ve been thwarting invites from one of the most famous covens in the city?”
This is news to Jungkook. “Famous?”
“They throw the best exclusive parties! They live in a penthouse! There’s even rumours they started a band and only play for their guests, but phones aren’t allowed at their parties so it’s all just hearsay. How do you not know this?”
Jungkook wants to make up an excuse but he has none. “No one ever told me that,” he pouts.
Taehyung’s staring at both of them with mischief on his face now. “So… I take it this invitation hasn’t been declined?”
“Are you kidding me?” Jimin says. “We’ll both accept. Jungkook, tell him we accept.”
Well, it might be nice to be a part of a coven, though Jungkook wants to say the rumours are probably exaggerated and the parties probably aren’t even that great. But then— he’s made assumptions before, and look where that led him?
So he says, “I mean, I guess we will—”
“Great!” Taehyung says. “Then we’ll come by with a car to bring you both to the penthouse tomorrow. You better get packing. You can make out all you want once you’re there.”
And then he leaps off the balcony, falling into his boyfriend’s arms.
Jungkook’s sort of stunned after all of that. Jimin sidles up to him sheepishly, draping an arm across his shoulder and kissing him on the cheek.
“So…” Jimin says, “You’re okay with all of this, right?”
Truth is, sometimes Jungkook doesn’t know what he wants, but he does know that he loves spending time with Jimin, and he does know that he looks forward to Taehyung’s calls every week, and being a part of a coven doesn’t sound so bad when he has Jimin by his side.
“Yeah,” he says. “I’m okay.”
He could even say he’s excited—every second with Jimin feels like an adventure, and their story has only just begun.