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It had been a month or so since Jisung had any fruitful results. The hunter’s life was arduous, even more so in a world as lost as the one they lived in. Jisung downed his alcoholic drink, grimacing at the bitter taste burning his throat.
A month without any other appearances nearby, apart from the same vague description. Perfect attacks, leaving bloodless victims behind, completely pale corpses, or victims that the vampire attacking made sure to go with their lives hanging by a thread. Jisung hated those types, and he was stuck with the same vampire, only one target, and nothing more.
He stood up, irritated. He grabbed his weapons and left the bar after leaving some coins to pay for what he had consumed. Time was precious, money too. Living as a hunter wasn’t easy, but at least the Church and the exorcist association paid well. Monthly, instead of after each hunt, because if the hunters don’t have the means to live, there’s no one to defend them from the creatures of the night.
Minho would laugh at Jisung’s arrogance, saying that the hunter’s ego would one day kill him or bring him to ruin. A horrible thing to say to someone, but Jisung considered him his friend, perhaps his only friend in that sinful world. Minho was a former hunter who gave it all up after one of his greatest hunts, after a slippery creature. The creature eluded Minho so much that when he finally caught it, Minho gave up his career.
Jisung didn’t know what had happened, and Minho also refused to say, preferring to live in a solitary cabin in the hills, far from civilization. How long until Jisung could visit him again? Traveling for work always tired him, but traveling without clues was even worse.
The problem with the hunter’s job wasn’t just the lack of set hours. It was the fact that living was already his job. And worse, living was difficult, because sometimes his target could become his hunter too.
“Missed me?” the familiar voice taunting him every night asked in his ear, the shadow moving fast as Jisung turned around to shoot at nothing.
It had been a month or so, and Jisung felt like a rat in a cage with that one.
A pale man walked from the shadows, his posture perfect, and his cynical smile was enough to show he wasn’t from that world. The world of living.
“It’s you,” Jisung said, accusatory. He knew the man was his target, if not by how fast he moved and how his form made one with the shadows, then by his unnatural beauty, one that even Jisung was drawn towards.
“I’ve been watching,” the vampire said dismissively, gesturing with his hand like it was nothing, “Drinking that much surprised me. Tell me, will you remember this encounter tomorrow when you wake up? Or will you just be feeling the pounding on your head?”
Jisung tried to shoot again, missing by a few inches. The vampire laughed, his eyes turning into crescents and giving him a youthful beauty. Jisung blinked, thinking how pretty he was until the vampire attacked. Jisung’s back hit the wall of the alley, and the vampire was all over him. Red blood eyes staring back at Jisung with monstrous fangs showing.
“I won’t let you forget it, though, hunter,” he growled, his hands forcing Jisung against the wall with a superhuman force. “I want you to remember my name, so look at me. Look at me.”
Jisung knew vampire tactics. He knew vampires tended to use powers to mess with humans’ memories, using the power of suggestion with their charmed eyes. Jisung tried to look away, but the vampire grabbed his chin, forcing him to stare at his face and be surprised by a flash of bright white staring at him.
“You will remember this when you wake up. My name is Jeongin, Yang Jeongin, and I know who you are, Han Jisung, and what you’re doing here. But I will be kind and let you know that either you go away tomorrow morning or I won’t let you go back. Understand?”
Jisung nodded, charmed by the vampire smell. Jeongin flashed his fangs in a creepy smile.
“Good. Now, go to sleep.”
Jisung closed his eyes and blacked out.
Jisung woke up in his bed, dressed in the same clothes from last night, and the window was wide open. The November cold seeped in through the window, sending shivers down Jisung’s spine. He frowned, confused about how he’d even made it to the inn he was staying in before feeling a pain in his wrist. He looked, seeing a clean bandage placed there. Jisung hadn’t been injured recently, so his curiosity led him to remove the bandage, and therefore, he almost fainted when he noticed the perfect scar of two holes on his wrist. Fangs. The vampire had fed on him, leaving behind evidence of reddened skin and a bandage.
Flashes of memory then invaded his mind. The threat from the previous night telling Jisung to give up the hunt or he wouldn’t return home, knowing the name of his target, and the fact that Jisung had become the monster’s prey. Nausea hit him so quickly that it was a miracle Jisung had time to run to the bathroom and vomit up everything he’d drunk and even a little more, frowning and crying when he noticed the green of bile in the remains he’d expelled.
He needed to eat, he needed to think about whether he should take the threat seriously, and, most importantly, he needed to research Yang Jeongin, if that was even his real name or just a fictitious one. There were creatures who liked to play with their prey, offering false names to delay the hunters’ investigation. It was lying for the sake of lying, yet another sin for the monsters without any light in their lives.
For a start, Jisung bathed before anything else. He observed the mark in his wrist, his fingertips caressing the tiny scar as he was deep in thought. Vampires have the ability to heal skin and leave it spotless, which meant Jeongin purposely left him a mark. Was it a statement?
“I’m thinking too much about something too little,” Jisung muttered to himself, shaking his head and resuming his bath.
The thing about working as a hunter was about accepting the dangers of the job, and that included unfounded threats like the one Jeongin had made to him. It wouldn’t be the first or last time Jisung had been threatened by a vampire, but it was definitely the first time he’d been intrigued by his target.
Before the sun could reach the top of the sky, Jisung was already inside the ancient archives of the town’s church. The good thing about living in a foolish society like theirs is that all the necessary and suspicious information is found in the exorcists’ files. The priests’ association did a good job of cataloging supernatural appearances for hunters like Jisung, men of faith willing to put their lives on the line to protect people.
Now, Jisung stood before endless layers of dust, sneezing and scratching his nose with a frequency that suggested he’d been in the church basement for too long. He was searching for any clue to a vampire, but the last sighting of one in that region had been over a hundred years ago. It was a quiet little town, with the minimum number of inhabitants to be considered a civilization. These places were the ones that most attracted creatures like Jeongin, yet it was impressive how his attacks had only been noticed now. Jisung was certain that Jeongin hadn’t been there recently. He moved familiarly through the alleys, dodging his silver bullets. He knew the way well.
“Time to rest, sir,” a cardinal said, refilling the oil in the lantern Jisung was holding.
The hunter barely glanced at him, “In a bit. I’m almost finished.”
Jisung stared at the book before him, huffing in annoyance before he closed it and finally walked away from that dark place. When he walked out of the church, his stomach growled loud enough for him to notice it had been hours since he last fed. He wondered what meals his inn could offer when he saw it. A flash of hair so black and a skin so white it shone like marble in the dim sunlight. It was a cloudy day, but the fact that Jisung recognized that figure in the black overcoat walking down the street left him breathless.
He ran up the church steps, stumbling a few times and trying not to make a fuss. It was well past noon, but some people were still strolling, enjoying the last moments of warmth mixed with the cold breeze. After all, December promised a snowstorm.
“Jeongin!” Jisung shouted without thinking, noticing the figure standing in the middle of the narrow street, hesitating to look back. That was enough for Jisung to catch up, grabbing the man’s overcoat.
However, as soon as his hands gripped the garment, his physical body dissolved. His shadow vanished, leaving behind a heavy, expensive fabric. The overcoat, worth a fortune, was now held between Jisung’s fingers, who felt the color drain from his face as people walked around him. He hoped that no one had noticed, because explaining the inexplicable to ordinary people always gave him a headache.
It was rare for vampires to venture out while there was still light in the sky, and even rarer for vampires to have such control over their bodies as to pull off these tricks. Jisung gripped the fabric, looking around. He couldn’t have gone this far, not with the sun shining above.
However, he found nothing, no trace of the vampire he had spent so much time hunting. He felt treated like a toy, played by him.
“Damn him!” Jisung thought, wishing he could tear that coat to shreds in pure rage. He didn’t like being played like that. With renewed determination, he marched back to his inn, the vampire’s overcoat still in his hands.
November nights were growing cold and rainy. Jisung watched the changing weather through the closed window of his room, while the floor lay in disarray. All the reports his superiors had given him were scattered, along with Jeongin’s overcoat and his own notes. The old book he got from the archive lay in the middle as Jisung pondered the vampire who disturbed him.
Yang Jeongin. It wasn’t a name one heard every day. It had a pleasant, different sound, but certainly not enough for Jisung to dismiss the possibility of some trace of that name in any sort of official document.
Was Jeongin a nomadic vampire? Moving from town to town? In that case, searching the town archives would be useless, but still, the way he behaved disturbed Jisung. Perhaps Jeongin had lived there forever, perhaps he was visiting his hometown, perhaps… that was already his lair, but he decided to act recklessly to get some attention.
But why? Would a vampire like him desire the attention of someone like Jisung? Nonsense, that would get him killed.
Jisung considered the thought so mediocre that he closed his books and gathered his notes, storing them in his silver chest, protected by symbols of the Church. He felt lost, cornered back at square one. His brain begged for a break, and Jisung didn’t deny himself walks after a warm dinner, mainly to help digest the food.
The overcoat lay on the bed as Jisung got ready to leave. He watched the streets gradually light up with yellow incandescent lights. He couldn’t linger outside. Jisung knew it would be a cold night, and he needed to keep warm.
The small-town lifestyle appealed to Jisung. His whole life, he had dedicated himself to the churches because of his father, who had become a hunter, and Jisung proudly followed in his footsteps. The cross he wore on his chest was inherited from him and served as a protective and lucky charm. Jisung smiled, holding onto it and stopping in front of a house that seemed to be preparing for the winter season, contemplating a life where he would retire from hunting and perhaps live in a house like that. Neither too simple nor too flashy. Living far from the big town, but in a Catholic town with a good and loyal community, seemed like a good plan.
“I see you’ve made your choice,” a familiar voice said, and Jisung could swear his cross necklace almost burned his hand when he looked back.
Jeongin was there, in the flesh with his surreal beauty. Jisung fumbled in his pockets, cursing when he realized the only weapon he had was his silver dagger, but the wound it inflicted was only lethal if it struck Jeongin’s heart. His eyes drifted to Jeongin’s half-exposed chest, where he confidently displayed a cross, just like his own. It was the first time he ever seen a creature like him using a holy symbol.
“Aren’t you cold?” Jisung asked, trying to feign normalcy and not think about the threat he had been given the day before.
Jeongin observed him silently, as if seriously analyzing him before walking closer to Jisung, stopping a few inches from him to observe the house.
“I am always feeling cold, but my body is used to it now,” he said in a sordid tone.
Jisung’s instincts were heightened. It was his first time near a vampire like Jeongin. Usually, his hunts were based on hitting his silver bullets in the head and heart, or simply his pure wooden stakes. He didn’t stop to observe or talk to them, treating them as the monsters they were, and his mind told him that the man beside him was one of the worst.
However, compared to that, Jeongin also seemed like just a boy. His appearance showed that he hadn’t been transformed so soon after reaching adulthood, frozen in the face of a 20-year-old, Jisung supposed. He did look much younger than Jisung. How old was he when his transformation happened? Does that even matter?
“An old woman lives in this house with two granddaughters. Twins. The parents work in the neighboring town, but the house itself doesn’t have much security. She lets anyone in if they seem like they’ll help her. The evil of faith is trusting monsters.” Jeongin then spoke bluntly, as if throwing information into the hunter’s lap.
He turned to face Jisung, grinning with his fangs and his eyes glowing red. It was diabolical. The information wasn’t given without intent, and Jisung wasn’t stupid. He feared for them far more than he feared for himself.
His hand ripped the dagger from his waist, a movement so swift he was certain it would strike Jeongin’s exposed chest in that fool’s black winter outfit. But the vampire was faster, the fastest monster Jisung had ever seen in action. Jeongin groaned as he touched the blade, but managed to throw it away into the street. Jisung grunted too, angry and frustrated.
“You cheeky little hunter. Idiot.” Jeongin growled, grabbing Jisung’s wrists and pinning him down, preventing him from moving his arms against his super-strength. "Besides choosing to stay in the town, you’re even trying to kill me. You’re even more foolish than I thought. I should end your life right now.”
Jisung’s heart raced. The threat Jeongin had made the day before replayed in his head over and over again. He didn’t even notice Jeongin’s gaze changing, his smile becoming sly as an idea formed in his mind.
“Stay still,” he said, looking into his eyes, and Jisung’s body obeyed the request like an order, making the hunter groan at the vampire’s mercy.
Jeongin licked his lips, releasing Jisung’s arms and caressing his face, touching his jaw with his thumb and then his cheeks, then his lips. Jisung was paralyzed, trapped watching Jeongin study him.
“But that would be a shame, wouldn’t it? Ahh… You would be a good lackey. Your blood tastes so good. I’d like to taste it again,” Jeongin said seductively, his voice trailing off almost as if he were aroused by it. He grabbed Jisung’s left hand, exposing his wrist, and Jisung watched in horror as Jeongin brushed his fangs into his skin. Two sharp points on the scar he had left.
“Promise not to make a scene?” Jeongin asked rhetorically before biting the wrist and piercing the skin with his fangs. Jisung’s whimpering moan brought a smile to the vampire’s blood-stained lips, who reveled in sucking Jisung’s blood fervently.
Jisung was his captive, held still by his charm. Anyone who saw him could report him for breach of the code of conduct, feeding a vampire he was supposed to kill.
“Jeongin.” Jisung gasped, moaning, and Jeongin moaned too, clearly fighting against himself as he pulled away from the wrist, not before licking up any remaining blood and wiping his own mouth.
“Be quiet. People will hear you.” Jeongin reprimanded and let go of Jisung’s wrist, the wound already scarring and vanishing the mark he left.
It was weird, Jisung thought. Facing a monster like Jeongin would usually leave him shaking in fear or something like that, but his heart was unusually calm now. He wondered if it was part of the vampire’s charms or something like that.
When Jeongin cupped his face again, forcing him to stare at him, it made Jisung feel warm where his fingertips touched. The vampire’s expression was soft when he talked to him next. Perhaps Jeongin sucked too much blood, and now Jisung was getting hallucinations.
“You will close your eyes and open them once I’m away from you,” he said, and Jisung’s eyes obeyed it. He could hear the steps of the man as he walked away from him. Jeongin was walking slowly on purpose, so Jisung could know when to look.
By the time he felt Jeongin’s charm vanish, the vampire was nowhere to be seen, and the scar on his wrist was healed as if the encounter had never happened. Except that it did, and Jisung’s body was feeling Jeongin’s poison take action. He had a few minutes before he got paralyzed.
Against his will, he retreated back to the inn, oblivious to the pair of eyes that still watched him.
Yang Jeongin was like a bloodthirsty ghost. Jisung found another victim in the back of the Church, right at the cemetery. It was an old Church by the way it was built. A poor woman who had the misfortune of meeting the vampire. She was lucky Jisung liked to pay respects to the past victims of monsters weekly, many of whom had no one to take care of their graves. Every time he was assigned a new mission, he made sure to see the town’s history.
The nuns came running to help the woman. The convent hospital next to the church was favorable for these moments. Jisung watched them take her there, knowing she was in the right hands.
It was a bad feeling of powerlessness that he felt. Jeongin seemed to be attacking less now that he had Jisung’s attention, but his victims were left to die almost completely dehydrated. It was sadistic, malicious. And worse, he made sure to leave them with plausible motives so that the population wouldn’t find it strange. He knew how to choose his victims carefully. A mere conversation with the nuns was enough to know that the woman from this case had been at the hospital as a hysteric. The injuries on her arm were considered her own fault. A single look at the women told Jisung they considered her insane.
Idiotic, Jisung knew it was idiotic, but it was brilliant at the same time. He hated Yang Jeongin. His tracks were difficult to find, and he was only found if he wanted to be. Damn him, the smart monster.
Jisung sat on the grave where the woman had been found by him, a nameless grave. Indigent. Strange, considering that behind the Church, everyone had their due importance. There was still blood splattered on the stone, and Jisung pretended not to notice. After years in that line of work, at some point, you just stop caring.
He stayed there, watching the movement around him, feeling himself be watched, but no one came close. His senses were heightened, and he was on alert, but still, no one came close.
Late in the afternoon, Jisung tightened his coat around himself, grunting and walking into the church. It was too cold to stay outside, and the evening mass was about to begin. He preferred to go inside.
The church’s structure seemed frozen in time. A few scattered lights and candles gave it an air of sacredness and safety, just what Jisung needed. He grew up attending mass with his mother, and there was a comfort there that no other place had ever given him. The priest’s words were comforting, and the people seemed to relax as well.
At the end of the mass, when Jisung stood to greet the others, he saw him. A flash of a smile with fangs, staring directly at him from across the room. Jisung’s blood ran cold, and Jeongin’s figure vanished immediately. A strong wind surged through the rows of pews, and the back door leading to the cemetery opened. Some people screamed in fear, and some laughed, saying the weather was simply changing.
Jisung knew better. He ran out of the church, finding the vampire he hunted sitting on a tombstone. The same nameless tombstone. Jisung looked at him suspiciously, his hand feeling for his belt where his loaded pistol lay. He approached, feigning relaxation, but knowing the vampire could hear his breathing and heartbeat.
“Do you know why I didn’t kill her?” Jeongin asked, surprising Jisung with his honesty. “She asked me to kill her, but she called me a murderer. I don’t consider myself one.”
“You’re a sadistic beast.” Jisung spat and heard Jeongin laugh genuinely. His eyes turned into crescents, and his face looked innocent as he laughed, with a youthful air. Jeongin was gorgeous under the moonlight, and it shocked the hunter for a moment.
“You’re quite dramatic, Jisung. I’m not heartless, in fact, I have one beating right here.” Jeongin said, and Jisung snorted, rolling his eyes, picking up the gun, and pointing at him. Jeongin’s eyes followed the silver gun and then to his face.
“Liar, vampires don’t have beating hearts. You are dead.” Jisung said with conviction.
“Wanna feel it?” Jeongin asked, standing up and facing him, Jisung’s gun pointed directly at his heart. His finger on the trigger trembled, and Jisung stared at him. Jeongin smiled, confident that everything was fine and that Jisung wouldn’t shoot at that moment. Jisung moved his finger until he felt the icy touch on his wrist.
Jeongin squeezed it tightly, and Jisung groaned in pain, reflexively dropping the gun. Jeongin took the opportunity to pull him closer, his red eyes gleaming in the darkness for a second, like a nightmare monster.
“Feel it,” Jeongin said softly, his voice devoid of charm. It was a request from him, not a desire to control Jisung.
The hunter couldn’t say what possessed him at that moment when he actually touched Jeongin’s chest, right where his overcoat opened. Perhaps curiosity mixed with a darker desire, more deeply buried beneath his principles.
There, in that cemetery, Jisung could feel Jeongin’s heart beating, and Jisung’s eyes widened, meeting Jeongin’s gaze at that instant. All his life, he had believed that vampires were naturally dead, creatures of the night devoid of humanity, but there, at that moment, he felt Jeongin’s heart beating strongly and rapidly beneath his palms.
“It’s like a drum,” Jisung murmured, “It’s strong. Why is it strong? Are you nervous?”
“I am.”
“Why? You disarmed me,” Jisung asked, curious to unravel the human ghost before him.
“Even in the afterlife, we still have human feelings that affect us, I suppose. Lately, they’ve been affecting me quite a bit.” Jeongin confessed, and Jisung blinked, without knowing what he meant by that. Not understanding why Jeongin was so sincere to the one who was supposed to kill him.
Silently, Jisung thought.
“The grave. You left her here on purpose. You wanted me to see it,” he concluded.
“Yes.”
“Why in this grave? It doesn’t have a name.”
Jeongin blinked slowly, and with his hand over his heart, Jisung could feel his heart slowing down before racing superhumanly. Jisung didn’t even have time to react before Jeongin threw him onto the dirty stone, his head only not hitting the surface because Jeongin put his hand underneath to absorb the impact. However, the sudden change of position shocked Jisung. He was disoriented when the vampire positioned himself between his legs, pinning him against the grave and leaving him at his mercy.
“Are you going to kill me?” Jisung asked when his eyes met Jeongin’s again.
“No,” Jeongin said curtly and moved closer to Jisung, sniffing the air around him as if it were perfume. “You smell good, you know? It’s not fear, it’s something different.”
Jisung felt a pang of terror when Jeongin licked his neck, even more so when his hips shifted as he tried to break free and grinded against Jeongin’s. It was an awkward position for two men, compromising.
“You’re a pervert,” Jisung grunted, and Jeongin laughed, kissing his neck beneath the bloody pulse, sending a shiver through Jisung’s entire body.
“Don’t pretend you don’t like this, Jisung. I already told you I’ve been watching you. I know you.”
Jisung squirmed again before he felt the pang of pain. Jeongin sank his fangs on his neck, and his venom hit his heart stream faster than when he bit his wrist. He tried to resist, to get the pistol that was a few inches from the place they were on the floor, before his body went completely limp.
Despite being almost paralyzed by the poison, Jisung still felt everything happening to his body, and even more intensely. Jeongin moved his body as he fed. The sound of him sucking his blood was almost like that of a wild animal. The nameless grave was far from the church entrance, both lucky and unlucky for them, because that way no one would easily see what was happening there.
“Jeongin.” Jisung moaned, and Jeongin stopped feeding, pulling away just to look at him.
The full moon illuminated the cemetery beyond the church lights and candles the gravedigger had lit. Blood dripped from Jeongin’s mouth, so much blood that his chin and neck were completely stained with the vivid red of Jisung’s blood. He would have seemed dangerous if it weren’t for the flash of brown eyes and the youthful gaze. The moonlight made Jeongin look his human age, and Jisung’s heart leaped and broke at the same time. He was really young when he died. If somehow Jeongin was still his human age, then Jisung was sure he was older than him.
“I was supposed to be your hyung, wasn’t I?” Jisung asked, his voice choked with emotion, and Jeongin seemed visibly surprised that Jisung could move his hands, choosing to cup his face and caressing his cheek. “You were young when it happened.”
Jisung should have known better than to sympathize with a demon, but it was difficult when Jeongin was right there. And Jisung couldn’t understand what Jeongin’s intentions were when playing with him.
“You…” Jeongin began to say, his gaze drifting for a moment before he lunged forward. Jisung closed his eyes, expecting death, and received something he himself wouldn’t know if it was worse than that, because in an instant, there was a pair of bloody lips against his.
Jisung wasn’t a complete virgin. He had kissed in the past, but only women. The thought of kissing Jeongin made him repulsed at first, the metallic taste of his own blood making him want to spit it out. But Jeongin kissed him more gently than he expected, and Jisung, though mentally resisting, immediately melted in his body.
Jisung’s hands tentatively intertwined behind Jeongin’s neck, and Jeongin gripped his waist, deepening the kiss and licking Jisung’s mouth with the proficiency of a lover.
Tomorrow, Jisung would regret lying down with a man, but that night, he allowed the vampire to kiss him until he was breathless, and then Jeongin left more marks on his neck. Not from feeding, but something else.
Jisung woke up with a sore neck, and its cause wasn’t unknown to him. Jeongin had left him at his inn again when he passed out in the cemetery, except this time he hadn’t bothered to put on bandages, much less try to make his bite heal faster. Jisung was stuck with that bite mark on his neck and a hickey.
Jeongin was really a beast, and Jisung felt unclean… Something inside him had changed.
Perhaps it was the bitterness of having succumbed to earthly desires and the charm of an undead monster, but Jisung left the inn with an anguish and hatred that he was sure would succeed in his hunt that day. Whether Jeongin wanted it to happen or not.
The church’s records were useless at this point. Jeongin either erased his presence before Jisung got there or created a whole new identity. It was better to give up searching for the past and focus on the present. The hunt was the priority.
Jisung passed by the building’s facade and stared at the door for a while, thinking about going in to at least talk to the priest. However, a voice spoke louder in his head, “You’re losing time. He’s leaving you behind his trail, that’s what he wants.”
He wouldn’t let this happen.
Hunting vampires after years was more of a hobby than a job. Jisung profiled his targets on each hunt. Jeongin could be a difficult target because he was unpredictable, but Jisung now felt he knew his methods. Finding him was easier. He just had to act as if he needed to be found, and Jeongin would fall for the bait. The vampire hadn’t lied about observing him. He truly followed Jisung’s every move to the point that the hunter felt he was doing it on purpose, trying to get caught.
That time, Jisung had gone for an evening walk in the forest next to the town, “casually.” Although it was obvious it was an ambush, judging by how Jisung carried garlic in his bag, a stake, daggers, and his second weapon with silver bullets was on his waist for easy access. His main weapon, made entirely of silver, had disappeared after the day at the cemetery. Jisung was sure Jeongin had made it disappear.
“Well, whatever. I still have silver bullets to use, so any weapon will do,” Jisung thought as he loaded his other pistol.
Ambushing Jeongin in the forest had been purely strategic. He couldn’t shoot without a plan and preparation in a residential area, especially near the church. Maybe God would be overly upset by his violence, besides his regent sinful behavior.
Jisung heard a sound in the bushes nearby and fired, startling a rabbit that ran out of the bushes and went to the other side. He looked seriously at the bushes and, hesitantly, began to put away his weapon.
“Almost killed the poor rabbit, hyung,” a familiar voice said, a voice that haunted Jisung’s dreams.
He turned, already firing, and the silver bullet burned the trunk on the other side. Jisung was sure that Jeongin used the superhuman speed of vampires to dodge, because he seemed to smile more openly like a cynic.
“It was supposed to be you,” Jisung spoke, and when Jeongin opened his mouth to reply, Jisung shot again, seeing in real time the vampire disappear into a shadow and reappear on the other side.
“Don’t talk like that. You’re hurting me, hyung,” he said, feigning a pout.
“I don’t care about that, and stop calling me hyung. We have no connection whatsoever, Jeongin.” Jisung spoke coldly and fired again.
Jeongin moved, dodging the bullet and quickly closing in. Instinctively, Jisung drew a dagger and threw it with precision. Jeongin dodged with a grunt, staggering backward as he pulled the silver dagger from his own hand. He groaned when he had to touch the handle, and Jisung watched the blood trickle down his hand, blood that was the same color as Jisung’s, if not slightly darker, just to demonstrate the venom that also coursed through his veins.
That was his chance. When silver comes into contact with a vampire, it slows the effects of rapid healing. Any shot he fired could be fatal, regardless of whether Jisung hit the heart or head, which were a vampire’s vulnerable points. He raised the weapon and fired.
Jeongin dodged only by ducking, still holding his hand and looking at Jisung with red eyes and dilated pupils. He was the very image of the devil before him. Jisung didn’t hesitate to use another bullet.
“You’re irritated today… right after we had such a good night.” Jeongin said and smiled, his fangs bared, sending a shiver down Jisung’s spine. For a second, he could feel the vampire’s hands on him, the taste of his kiss, the blood, and the sensation of the fangs against his lip.
“You’re shameless,” Jisung said and fired another shot, his hand trembling from being disconcerted.
The silver’s effect had already worn off. A young vampire as well-fed as Jeongin should have a fast metabolism. The vampire straightened his posture and ran towards Jisung, stopping right in front of him and cornering the hunter.
“Does that make you want to shoot me?” Jeongin asked then, tilting his head and walking closer in slow steps. The closer it was, the more Jisung felt nervous with his calm.
He smiled at him as Jisung shivered and pointed his gun at him. The poor pistol looked unthreatening next to him, but his silver bullets could really hurt him. Jisung was certain that if he got it right, he would kill him.
“Then, just do it, hyung. Shoot it.” Jeongin said, voice sultry as he rested his forehead against the gun barrel.
Jisung gulped, his finger hesitating on the trigger, something that didn’t go unnoticed by Jeongin. The vampire giggled, like that was endearing to see. Then, he pulled away just a tiny bit, opened his mouth, and wrapped his lips around the gun, sucking it like… it was something else.
Jisung knew that if he shot, he would blow his brains out. It was impossible not to kill Jeongin that way. Jeongin continued to maintain eye contact while sucking on the gun barrel. His eyes, red and provoking, dared Jisung to follow through with his request.
“Shoot. Shoot. Shoot.” Jeongin’s voice screamed in his mind to the point that Jisung didn’t know if it was his conscience or one of the vampire’s tricks.
He pulled the trigger. The click sound deafened them both, silence erupting soon after. Jeongin smiled, holding Jisung’s hand and pulling away, saliva connecting the gun to his mouth, and those fangs were still there. He was still there.
“Hyung, you need to learn to count. Didn’t you realize you were out of bullets?” Jeongin laughed again, and Jisung trembled so much that he dropped the gun on the floor. The vampire wasted no time in grabbing both of the hunter’s hands, his bright eyes looking at him with interest.
“You’re a cynic. You’re a fucking cynic.” Jisung spat, but his voice sounded too shaky to convey any strength or confidence.
“You’re the one who pulled the trigger. I just stood here.” Jeongin justified his actions, which only fueled the burning feelings Jisung harbored inside.
He yelled, drawing his stake and lunging at Jeongin. This time, Jeongin let himself be knocked down, Jisung on top of him, one leg on each side as he sat on his lap. His bag fell to the ground with the movement, as did his weapon, which he dropped. Jeongin stared at the solid, pure wooden stake.
“Are you going to kill me, hyung?” Jeongin asked, then made eye contact with Jisung. His eyes were no longer red, much less with his dilated pupils. He looked human.
“I want to. Very much.” Jisung replied, his hands gripping the stake with all his emotion, a tremor running through his body to his legs. “It’s what monsters like you deserve.”
“We’re not very different from each other, you know,” Jeongin said, his hands resting on Jisung’s thigh, caressing it and making Jisung’s body burn.
“Stop using your charm to make me spare your life!” Jisung said, closing his eyes for a moment, not wanting to be affected by Jeongin again.
“I don’t use it that way. It’s just a power of suggestion. If you wanted to resist me, you could easily break it…” Jeongin said calmly, his hands smoothing Jisung’s body, from his thighs to his hips and then inside his shirt.
Jisung trembled.
“Drop the stake, Jisung.”
“No.” Jisung shook his head and opened his eyes, “I said no.”
Jeongin stared, his cold hands in direct contact with Jisung’s skin, and he squeezed his waist, making Jisung moan.
“Hyung… drop the stake. I know you want to. I feel it.” Jeongin said, returning to groping him. “Let go, hyung.”
Jisung yelled, lowering his arm angrily and driving the stake deep. His whole body trembled with the sound, and Jeongin’s laughter softened Jisung.
“Well, hyung. Feeling better now? It’s a burden holding these things, isn’t it?” Jeongin said, the stake embedded just inches from his face, in the ground.
Jisung had shifted his aim to the side at the last moment and now just stared at the vampire with a turmoil of emotions. He didn’t even bother to answer, grabbing Jeongin by the collar and kissing him angrily. He was stupid doing that when Jeongin might as well be the devil incarnate. Jisung wanted him dead as much as a dangerous part of his being desired him.
Jeongin returned the kiss immediately, holding him by the waist and pulling him closer. It was chaotic and sinful. Jisung sighed against Jeongin’s lips as he pulled away to breathe, and the vampire kissed his neck before biting it, his fangs tearing his flesh as he drank more of his blood. The sound of the vampire feeding was terrifying, but Jisung already felt too dizzy to care.
Jeongin then pulled away, licking and kissing Jisung’s dirty skin. Murmuring against it, “I told you, hyung. We’re not so different. You and I like the same thing. I gave you the chance to escape that day, but you’ve made your choice. You’re mine now.”
When Jeongin sank his fangs into him again, Jisung was already losing the strength to stay conscious. Perhaps the blood loss and the adrenaline rush from hunting the vampire had worn him down, but Jeongin carefully laid him on the ground when he noticed Jisung was losing consciousness. He kissed his lips one last time before Jisung passed out.
“Goodnight, hyung.”
Hand touching him. Gasps. A mouth on his. Tongues intertwining, and another man’s naked body against his. Jisung felt something wet between them with each thrust. Initially, he thought it was sweat, but realized it was his own blood.
Jeongin thrusted inside him while biting and sucking his blood in various places. The pain merged with pleasure. The venom made everything more delicious, and Jisung saw Jeongin for who he truly was. Entirely black eyes like demons stared at him, and fangs. He wore a cross necklace on his bare chest, which occasionally brushed against Jisung’s skin.
“Jeongin. Jeongin.” Jisung moaned, gripping his back and leaving nail marks that would heal as quickly as Jisung felt his orgasm coming. “Jeongin, please—”
“I like how you moan my name, hyung. I wanted to hear it while I kill you.” Jeongin said, and Jisung blinked, not quite understanding until Jeongin’s mouth opened completely, revealing frighteningly large fangs, and Jisung woke up with a scream.
A nightmare. They had become frequent since the hunt in the forest, where Jisung lost a stake and another weapon. He felt ashamed for having missed the perfect chance to kill the vampire. He had believed he was under Jeongin’s charm all along, but that day it had been confirmed that he wasn’t. Jeongin didn’t really use his powers that way. Everything that had happened up to that point was Jisung’s fault and his alone.
Guilt consumed him so intensely that his dreams transformed into the vampire’s domain. Rest became hell — perhaps it was divine punishment for entertaining himself by lying with such a monster. However, Jisung was ceasing to see him as one. He saw Jeongin and no longer saw him with the same hatred. It was mysterious, strange, and wrong, but Jisung felt and longed for something that only Jeongin could offer him.
How terrible this was…
Jisung distracted himself from his internal conflict by trying to hunt the vampire, but just as Jeongin longed to be found, he also hid better than anyone. Each night was another shot in the dark. Jeongin didn’t even show up most of the time, and his disappearance made Jisung feel obsessed.
The next day, Jisung caught a glimpse of the vampire in the church again, and he ran out in the middle of mass, only to find a coat instead of the man. He felt like a toy for the vampire, but while it irritated him, it also captivated him. It was exciting to go hunting with a loaded gun and manage to point it at Jeongin.
It didn’t matter if he missed or hit the target. The feeling of being there with him was addictive, and Jeongin seemed to share the same feeling. They always ended up the same way: Jisung would lose the gun at some point due to stupidity or human emotion, Jeongin would take advantage of this and feed on him, often after kissing him until Jisung lost his breath.
How many days had passed, trapped in this cycle? Jisung didn’t know anymore.
The people at the church didn’t comment on his hickeys, nor on the fact that Jisung didn’t seem to have aged a second in those weeks, even though most people around him had dark circles under their eyes and frightened looks. Because Jeongin hadn’t stopped his attacks and occasional killings, he had only reduced his need. Well, the vampire now had a regular food source. Jisung could hope that his blood would be enough to satiate him, but he knew it was more than that.
It was a cycle. Jisung was trapped in a vicious cycle, and Jeongin was the second most to blame because Jisung had been defeated by himself. Not even years as a hunter could have predicted this. He had grown fond of his target to the point that he didn’t want to kill him. He was trapped in a meaningless job. The most sensible thing to do was to leave, to withdraw from the town while he still had time, because it was no longer safe for the people or for him to be there.
Because vampires naturally don’t have hearts, they don’t feel… but Jeongin proved him wrong, and that made him the most terrifying of all. He looked human to Jisung’s eyes, and Jisung wasn’t one to end human lives.
So many days had passed with Jisung having his thoughts stuck on Jeongin that, only in that moment, he realized the Christmas lights and decorations were being put up on the houses. It hadn’t been snowing every day, but the ground was white, and even on sad days, the town sang Christmas carols with hope.
The Christmas atmosphere made Jisung long for someone to talk to about his problems, his thoughts leading him to Minho at his isolated house. He was sure his hyung would prepare a feast worthy of the holidays. Being a retired hunter, he would also be the best person to talk to about his situation. Minho should have the experience or at least the empathy to know what Jisung needed to hear.
Decided, Jisung prepared to leave a few days before Christmas. He forgot the promise Jeongin had made until he came face to face with the vampire right at the entrance to the town. Standing in the middle of the road.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Jeongin asked, pointing to the suitcase Jisung was carrying. With his black clothes, he almost disappeared in the darkening sky and the shadow that the surrounding trees made.
“Home. Well, what could be some sort of home… I don’t have one-”
“You do, it’s here.” Jeongin interrupted him, his eyes not leaving Jisung’s figure even for a second.
Jisung grimaced, shaking his head. He wasn’t there as a hunter anymore. He was there as Han Jisung, an ordinary man wishing to visit a friend.
“No. This was work, Jeongin-ah,” he explained, and Jeongin’s posture changed at the way he was addressed, looking at him seriously.
“You have a home, Jisung. And it’s here, because that’s what I say. I already told you, if you wanted to leave, you should have done it that day. You’re mine.”
Jisung’s heart pounded faster, and he thanked the cold for disguising the blush that rose to his face. The way Jeongin said intense words as if they were nothing surprised him. Even in a threatening tone, Jisung was affected by them.
“It’s nothing personal, I just want to spend Christmas with a friend,” he said, but it was the wrong thing.
Jeongin tilted his head, “A friend?”
Jisung had only a second to react before the vampire reacted and came running towards him, almost throwing him to the ground and causing him to drop the suitcase. The second attack was successful in making him fall, but this time, Jisung had already drawn an extra gun. It wasn’t the best he had, but he knew he still had three loaded silver bullets. It was his best defense.
He fell to the ground with Jeongin on top of him. That position seemed frequent for the two of them, except that this time the tip of the gun was pointed at his chest. A sure shot.
“Do it. Do it, and I’ll leave you.” Jeongin said, his eyes as black as in the dream, staring at him. “Prove to me that you’re not mine.”
Jisung’s finger gripped the trigger. All he had to do was pull.
“I can’t.” Jisung lowered the gun and let it rest on his chest. “I would kill you.”
“And that’s a problem now?” Jeongin asked, his face closer.
“I believe it always was. I was just blind to see it. You’re very human, Jeongin.”
Jeongin’s frown was just a warning. He opened his mouth, his fangs growing enormous as he made a menacing sound. Jisung felt his head go blank.
“No human could’ve done the things I did. Vampires are monsters, Jisung. I am a monster. You’re not so wrong to wish me death, but the thing is… that you’re the same as me.”
“I am not-” Jisung was quick to say, but Jeongin grabbed his face with both hands, forcing their eyes to meet.
“We’re the same. That’s why you need to stay.”
Jisung stared at him, eye to eye. There was a ringing in his ear. Jisung didn’t know what to say. Something inside him was churning. When Jeongin moved to bite his neck, something caught fire, flames burned inside Jisung, and, without anything stopping him, he raised the gun in the space he had and fired.
Jeongin’s blood splattered onto Jisung’s white clothes and face. Jeongin’s eyes widened at him, but he didn’t pull away. Eye contact remained until Jeongin moved quickly and bit Jisung with hatred. There was no tenderness in that bite. Jisung screamed in pain, writhing and feeling his strength drain away.
Jisung tried to push him away when he felt he was close to death. It was easy to tell that Jeongin wanted to kill him, judging by the hands that held him to the ground more tightly than usual.
“Wouldn’t it be beautiful, hyung? The two of us killing each other for love? Romantic.” Jeongin asked in his ear, pulling away just long enough for Jisung to see his mouth covered in blood.
Love.
That word resonated like church bells announcing one of the Christmas processions. Jisung looked at Jeongin and couldn’t resist. He was weak, and not from blood loss. The vampire knew how to read him.
Jisung shot him again, and this time the bullet hit his chest. Jeongin fell to the side, and Jisung crawled across the snowy ground, leaving a trail of blood. He didn’t bother to grab the suitcase. He just wanted help. He couldn’t die, even though a dark part of him wished he did.
He didn’t look back for a single minute. He didn’t want to see Jeongin’s body there, lifeless or not. He preferred to live in doubt rather than to be certain that the hunt had been successful. When Jisung reached the foot of the church, people screamed upon seeing his condition, and the nuns rushed to receive him at the convent hospital. His eyes closed, his heart broken.
Christmas Eve morning was lonely. The convent hospital was busy with most other people, so no company for Jisung besides the regular check-up hours. Jisung had lost a lot of blood. According to the nuns, it was best that he wait a few days before traveling far, which meant he spent his last days in the hospital. He took the opportunity to send a message to Minho, telling him everything as much as possible, and that he still wanted to see him. He received no reply.
The villagers had found his suitcase on the road, along with his weapon. Nobody nearby or traces of a second person. When asked what had happened, Jisung said a wolf attacked him. No one refuted him, even though they considered it to be more than that.
As evening fell, Jisung watched the sky turning orange and lilac. The nurses put bandages on his neck so he wouldn’t see the damage to his skin healing. It would definitely leave a mark, whether he wanted it or not.
“If you want to visit the church as you wished, Father Park is there to assist you.” A nun warned him after delivering his dinner. He thanked her.
Jisung walked slowly towards the church. The snow that December had spared seemed to have fallen all at once those days. The soft, white ground sank under his boot, and Jisung was grateful that the nuns at least allowed him to walk to see the mass.
From the bench where Jisung was sitting, he could see the enormous Christmas tree that the town had set up in the middle of a nearby square. The snowy ground made the world seem more like a caricature of a Christmas story. All that was missing for Jisung was the warmth and hope. He felt empty, lost.
“What do you need from me?” the priest asked after mass, greeting everyone. Christmas Eve was fast approaching, and Jisung had been waiting, sitting down, the whole time.
“I’d like to confess, Father,” Jisung said, bowing his head in respect.
“On Christmas Eve?” the priest asked, but without judgment in his voice, only out of curiosity.
Jisung thought about the sin he had committed and kept committing. In the darkness that consumed him, shaped as a smile with fangs and eyes closed in crescents, in possessive touches and kisses at midnight.
“Yes, I really need to, or else I won’t be able to sleep or anything else.”
The priest hesitated, analyzing him before nodding, “Alright. Come with me.”
Jisung entered the small booth, the partition between them preventing him from seeing the priest beyond his silhouette, which Jisung appreciated, because he wouldn’t know if he could say what he wanted if he saw him.
“For the longest time, I’ve been pretending I’m someone else. It worked, but… Someone saw through my disguise. He saw, he saw my flaws and successes, defects so intrinsically mine, he entered my intimacy without me asking… and I liked it."
The priest remained silent, and Jisung continued.
“I ask forgiveness from the Lord, because I let myself fall under his spell. He was a man, but not just any man. I’m sure he was the Devil himself. Lord, forgive me for this. I feel like I fell in love with him, and I should kill him, I know, it’s my duty. But I lived so long in lies, in the skin of someone who doesn’t feel these earthly desires, that the moment I tasted the fruit, I lost myself. Lord, I need help. I don’t think I can kill him. Not when I can’t stop hearing his voice and imagining his body…”
The priest remained silent, and Jisung despaired, banging on the partition between them.
“I need help, please. I’m lost. What separates monsters from humans? What makes us sinners worthy of absolution and not them? Tell me, Lord, please. He looked so human. There must be something I can do. Whatever it takes…”
The silence on the other side of the booth had reached an almost supernatural level. When Jisung opened the door, he found the priest’s booth door open, and his neck was slashed in a perfect cut. Jisung’s face paled as he saw who was standing beside him, holding a silver dagger.
“I am not human, hyung. I may look like one, but I am a monster created by another man. You accept me for who I am and stop lying to yourself. The Lord can’t save you. He couldn’t save me.” Jeongin said without looking at him once. The cross necklace on Jeongin’s chest made him think about the weight of those words.
“You’re here.” Jisung said, and Jeongin looked at him, “You didn’t die.”
“You missed the shot.” Jeongin said as if offended, “And ran to save yourself, leaving me there. What is this, hyung? Now you’re afraid of dying?”
“Lately it’s the thing I want most,” Jisung admitted, and Jeongin dropped the dagger to the ground, his head tilting to the side as he smiled.
“Is that so? Then run.”
Jisung ran, pushing open the church doors and running down the stairs as fast as he could. Jeongin walked slowly behind him, but he was still faster than anything else. The Christmas tree illuminated the entire perimeter with its lights, and the moment Jisung’s weak body sank into the snow with a weight on top of him, Jisung knew he had lost. His clothes immediately cooled with the cold, damp sensation of the snow. His sensitive skin made Jisung fear catching a cold, but Jeongin wasn’t worried about any of that.
“Do you still think I’m human, hyung? After everything I’ve done, after I’ve shown you everything?” he asked, his appearance resembling that of the demon from his dreams. If Jisung could undress him, he would have the complete look.
“Jeongin-ah,” he began, moving his hands to touch his face, but Jeongin held them, pinning him to the ground.
“No! Don’t act like this with me now. I want you to admit it. I want you to- I am a monster. Can’t you see Jisung? I have more blood on my hands than I can count. I’m a predator, born out of trauma, to hunt those who are weak like me. That’s what vampires are, you know better than anyone.” Jeongin said that each word cut Jisung’s heart even more than the previous words. As he spoke, tears of blood began to stream down his face.
Vampires didn’t cry, as far as Jisung knew, but Jeongin was different. He showed that not all the hunters’ beliefs were true. Vampires had hearts. They felt, they cried. He proved that the world was different every moment they were together. And, at some point, the vampire within him acquired such importance in his mortal life that Jisung was fully aware of it. He knew that the transformation process was almost always traumatic. Immortal life wasn’t happy.
However, he saw himself in Jeongin. The vampire cried blood, he could look and act like a demon, and Jisung couldn’t… How could he hate himself?
“You’re not a monster if you’re so simply craving something so human. You’re a man, Jeongin. Born out of pain,” he said with the same softness as before.
“What could I possibly crave that brings me so close to the living beings I kill?” Jeongin asked, his voice choked with emotion, releasing Jisung’s hands but still holding him to the ground.
“Love,” Jisung said, moving his hands again to touch the vampire’s face and wipe away his tears.
“Monsters don’t have feelings. I could very well have manipulated you until this moment to kill you,” Jeongin said, but Jisung doubted it.
Jeongin didn’t act to kill on purpose for entertainment—the priest had been an exception—, he acted like a hungry vampire, but he didn’t go after children, the easiest target. Much less the elderly. He went to nightly mass, even though he no longer believed in God and was a sinner. He carried a cross, even without meaning. He knew he wasn’t accepted where he lived, that he caused pain to others through his way of life, and yet he continued…
“If you’re a monster, maybe I am one too.” Jisung admitted it, and Jeongin looked at him as if seeing right through him, “Is this what you wanted to hear? If you’ve manipulated me this far, I let myself be manipulated. Isn’t that how your powers work? I didn’t want to resist you because you carried something I’d longed for for a long time, but never possessed before…”
Jisung’s thumbs touched the vampire’s lower lip, exposing his fangs. There was tension in the air. Jisung could feel it and knew it. Jeongin looked at him with desire, and Jisung looked at him with longing for something he lacked.
“You took away my purity, but I liked that,” Jisung concluded. “I like you.”
“You were never pure. You were always meant to be mine,” Jeongin said, taking Jisung’s lips in a kiss. In a rare occurrence, the blood Jisung tasted wasn’t his own, but Jeongin’s. He melted into the snow, but he groaned and trembled as he felt the cold consume him.
Jeongin noticed his grunt and blinked, “You’re cold… This isn’t good for mortals.”
The vampire stepped back and picked him up bridal-style, carrying him back to the church. Now that Jisung noticed, there was no one else there. He wondered if Jeongin had used his charm on them or if he had killed them all as he did with the priest, even though there were no bloodstains beyond the confessional.
“Jeongin-” Jisung said, the color returning to his cheeks as the vampire laid him down on the altar, caring little how heretical that was.
“There are candles around, it’ll make you warm,” Jeongin said as if it were that simple and kissed him again, his hands on either side of his face, placing himself between his legs. Jisung’s mind blanked.
The act of undressing each other occurred naturally. Jeongin balanced her desperation for him with a misplaced affection. At least for Jisung, who wasn’t used to such ministrations.
His heart raced with each kiss and lick from Jeongin, even though his bandages remained in place.
“You’re not going to bite me?” Jisung asked breathlessly as Jeongin kissed his jaw.
“No, I can feel you’re too weak for that. But it’s okay, hyung. I know other ways to make you feel good than with my venom.” Jeongin grinned mischievously, and Jisung felt his heart skip a beat with the next kiss, where Jeongin grabbed his thigh and began to move his hips against his. Only underwear separated them as Jisung groaned and felt his cock get hard.
Jeongin made him suck on his long fingers, pressing the tips down on purpose to see him gag. He smiled as Jisung’s eyes filled with tears, and Jisung wanted more of that. When that piece of fabric disappeared, and the fingers circled his rim, Jisung’s body already felt like it was on fire, his trembling purely from pleasure.
One finger at a time, Jeongin’s fingers entered him, the mastery of someone who had done it before, and Jisung asked him how many men had fallen under his spell. If he were just another one, or if he was special. He never thought of lying like this with a man before, much less on the altar of the Church. A huge cross hung above their heads, a reminder of the heresy they were committing. Jisung was completely lost. No salvation would save his soul anymore.
“Jeongin, please. Please-” he begged, writhing with the fingers inside him, and Jeongin licked his chin and kissed his lips. He continued fucking with his fingers until Jisung was crying, his orgasm near, and then he pulled out.
Jisung gasped and cried more. The sensation of something being taken from him ruined him inside. However, something better was to come. Jeongin’s hard cock was dripping with precum at the tip, and he smiled at him before thrusting it inside in one stroke.
Jisung’s cry echoed through the church, his legs intertwining around Jeongin’s hips to hold him there as he lost the only thing left of his humanity.
“Hyung, you’re so perfect,” Jeongin murmured. “How does it feel now being a monster like me?” he whispered in his ear and began to fuck him.
Jisung stroked Jeongin’s chest and strong body. He wasn’t as muscular as his strength suggested, but that made him more attractive to him. He wanted him for himself, wanted to devour him and destroy him piece by piece. Tear him in half with his hands that gripped his back.
He was going insane. The sensation of being taken by another man was nearly heavenly. Jisung melted with each thrust of Jeongin’s cock against his prostate. If this was the greatest sin he could commit, Jisung would be the proudest sinner of all.
“Kiss me, please,” he begged, apertando os ombros de Jeongin. “Please.”
The vampire took his lips in a fervent kiss. He sucked on his tongue and bit his lip, a few drops of blood falling onto his tongue, making him groan. Jisung licked his mouth to ask for more, and Jeongin did the same. Their fucking was dirty, just like both of them. Jisung’s morals were corrupted.
Orgasm hit them almost simultaneously. Jisung cried out for Jeongin, and Jeongin groaned against his mouth. A little bit of cum trickled down Jisung’s hole as Jeongin moved back for a moment to look at him.
“Made to be mine…” he said dreamily, gathering with his fingers some of Jisung’s own cum that had accumulated in his stomach and making him swallow.
Jisung sucked them, maintaining eye contact, and Jeongin smiled. In the distance, they could hear Christmas carols playing.
“It’s been a while since I last had someone spend Christmas with…” Jeongin confessed, looking to the side as if he could see people’s happiness from afar. Maybe he could.
Jisung watched him. He could imagine how human-Jeongin would blush, how warm he’d be under his fingertips. Present-Jeongin was cold, undead, but his expression was joyful, as if nostalgic. Someone who yearned, someone who also wanted to live.
“Merry Christmas, Jeongin-ah,” Jisung said, and Jeongin turned his face, looking at him in surprise before melting into an adorable smile. Not even the fangs could make him seem like an abominable creature.
“Merry Christmas, Jisung-ah,” he said, leaning in to snuggle into his warm arms.
They knew they couldn’t stay there. Not just in the church, but in the town. They had to go with the rumors that would surface with the priest’s death, but at that moment, they allowed themselves to simply live. Because living as a monster was also a way to be happy.