Are You There - Chapter 24: Chapter 24

Kihyun wakes to a dark room, the scent of ginseng hanging in the air, sharp and warm. He recognizes the scent almost immediately, and groans as he turns his head to find the source. He is lying flat on his stomach, a deeply sunken mattress beneath him with his back bare to the warm room. He can feel a slick sweat dampening his hair to the skin above his eyes, but he feels too weak to to push it back from his face.
Instead, Kihyun only turns his head as much as his body will allow, searching for Hyunwoo in the darkness. He groans again when he realizes he is alone, surely in Hyunwoo's apartment rather than his own. Should've given the big oaf my address before I blacked out, he scolds himself. The door opens, Hyunwoo having heard Kihyun's muffled groans from where he had been washing up in the bathroom. "You're up," he sighs out, thankful to see the red-head struggling to push himself up onto his elbows. "Stay down," he tells Kihyun, flicking on a lamp on the bedside before kneeling on the edge of the bed.
Hyunwoo's hand presses to Kihyun's lower back, an open patch between the man's cuts being the safest place to touch right now. Kihyun still groans in pain, the pressure enough to make him feel faint all over again. "Why am I here?" Kihyun asks groggily, fighting against his lungs and begging them to function.
"You said to take you home. No hospitals." Hyunwoo pulls his phone from his back pocket, pulling up his latest searches again. "I uh, I had a basic first-aid kid. I cleaned up your back and wrapped you."
Kihyun wonders if that is why his chest feels so tight. He lifts himself up just enough to peek down his front, seeing the white bandages wrapped all around his middle. He collapses a moment later, sighing. "Thanks," he whispers into a pillow in an attempt to conserve his energy.
Hyunwoo watches the small man's back rise and fall rapidly, breaths too shallow to be healthy yet somehow wracking his entire body. "What happened?" The mortal blurts, the curiosity eating at his insides. He still desperately wants to drag Kihyun to a hospital, have an actual professional look over him, but that thought soon begins dwindling as Kihyun's abilities keep a hold on the elder's mind.
"Nothing important," Kihyun murmurs, using all his strength to roll himself onto his side so he can face the larger man. "I'm sorry you had to find me," he whispers. He feels smaller than usual in this hulking bed, with a rather hulking man hovering so close. The look of worry and pity in Hyunwoo's eyes does not help any, and Kihyun feels like crying now more than ever.
"Well I'm glad I did," the older man admits. His large hand comes down to push Kihyun's hair back from his face, resting the back of his hand against the smaller man's temple. "I think your fever is breaking. You were fucking burning earlier."
Kihyun can only imagine how high his body's temperature had gotten while it fought against the lashes and their poison on his back. He still feels shiveringly hot now, like the flu has just swept over his body and he cannot shake enough to be rid of it. "Good," is all Kihyun can muster as his eyes drift closed. Though he hates the pity he is receiving, it almost feels nice to be cared for. It has not much happened in his long life of hunting and loving others.
He has been alone for over three hundred years, and he hates that this is the kindest moment he has ever experienced.
"Are you gonna tell me why you've got belt-marks all over your back?"
Kihyun shakes his head, pressing himself deeper into the mattress for comfort. "It was a wire," he mumbles, feeling wiped of all energy. His back hurts far less now, but there is still the burning sensation of his body's fight against injury. He hates this part of healing. "And I don't wanna talk about it."
"Is it gang-related?" Hyunwoo's curiosity cannot be fought off, and Kihyun can only shake his head after each question he is suddenly given. "Parents? BDSM? Demon possession?"
Now Kihyun freezes, wondering if Hyunwoo will get any closer to the right answer. "Please stop," he mutters, lifting his hand to his face to swipe away his sweat. It hurts to use his muscles, but he cannot lie still for too long lest his body give up completely. "I'm sorry for wasting your time," Kihyun adds after a long moment of silence. "I'll leave as soon as I can stand."
"And what? Go find Jooheon so he can make you feel all better?"
Though Kihyun's heart tugs a bit at the mention of the blonde man, something in Hyunwoo's tone keeps him from nodding his assent. He cannot place the emotion Hyunwoo is speaking around, but it does not sit right with Kihyun. "I can't exactly stay here," Kihyun mutters, furrowing his brows.
Hyunwoo wonders if he should tell Kihyun. Tell him that Jooheon and Changkyun had run from The Fourth Wall hand in hand this afternoon. Both flushed, giggling, and completely lovestruck. He shakes his head at the smaller man, deciding against it. "Whatever, do what you want I guess. I still think you should go to the hospital though."
Kihyun wants to reach out and blink that thought right out of Hyunwoo's head, but he cannot find the strength to trail his fingers over the divots in the bed's sheets. Instead, he stills against the mattress and only stares at the dark man before him. "I'm sure you did just fine with my bandages. I heal quickly, I'll be alright."
To prove his point, Kihyun decides to shove himself up into a sitting position. He bites back a scream when the motion causes a cut across his chest to tear open again, dampening the bandage across it. Kihyun, though successfully upright, is neither proud nor happy. "Shit," he curses under his breath, staring down at the dark stain that blossoms across his white wrapping.
Hyunwoo sighs, waving for Kihyun to sit still while he rises and leaves the room. He crosses back into the bathroom, retrieving his first-aid kit again. He is out of rubbing alcohol, so hydrogen-peroxide will have to suffice. He hopes Kihyun can handle the pain a little better now that he is fully awake. Hyunwoo does not want to have to hear the man whimpering again, as he had while asleep. Moreover, he does not want to feel that dangerous tug at his gut again, making him feel worse for the smaller man.
Returning to his bedroom, Hyunwoo is shocked to find Kihyun standing and turned away from him, hovering over an open top drawer in his dresser. "What're you doing?" He nearly shouts, dropping the kit onto the bed as he crosses the space towards the small man. "Get back into bed-"
"I'm looking for a shirt to borrow," Kihyun murmurs, rifling through the top drawer before sliding it shut and moving towards the next. "Why're all your shirts fucking huge?"
"Because I'm fucking huge," Hyunwoo quips, reaching for Kihyun's arm to stop him. "Could you just sit down? You're bleeding again. I wanna look at it and clean you up again."
Kihyun shakes his head, his free hand still rummaging around for something suitable for his small frame. "Is this from an ex?" He asks when he finally finds something small enough, something in English written across the front.
Hyunwoo blushes, snatching the garment from Kihyun's small hands quickly. "No, it shrunk in the wash a few months ago." Kihyun reaches out for it again, put off by the snatch, but Hyunwoo holds it over his head away from Kihyun.
"What's the problem? You've already seen me shirtless, and probably grabbed at me while I was sleeping. Why can't I just borrow a shirt?"
"You can borrow it once you let me check your cuts." Hyunwoo's words leave Kihyun with no room to argue. He only sighs, dropping his arms to his sides in defeat. Hyunwoo smiles at the sight, motioning for Kihyun to go back to the bed where his fallen first-aid kit still rests. "Sit back down please."
Kihyun listens, begrudgingly, and flops onto the mattress dramatically. The jolt of his landing aches all through his back, but he controls his expression as best he can. He does not want to look any weaker in front of this jarringly tough man before him. He has already cried, whimpered, and bled all over. Nothing more should be given to this man.
Hyunwoo settles beside Kihyun on the bed, pulling the first-aid kit onto his lap and prying open the plastic lid. The mortal's dark hand sifts through small potted solvents, ointments, and finally tugs out a slim bottle of peroxide. Kihyun almost hisses at the sight, hating the way the fizzing liquid feels against wounds.
"Can't you just kiss it, make it better?" Kihyun puckers his lips up at Hyunwoo jokingly, hoping to avoid the cleaning solution in the larger man's hand. No such luck.
Hyunwoo finds a clean cloth wrapped in plastic, and removes the thin film before wetting it with the peroxide. "Hold this," he instructs Kihyun, passing the cloth to the smaller man. Hyunwoo's hands work to tear at the tightly bound bandage around the red-head's chest, peeling it back carefully to keep from breaking any healing skin.
Both men sigh in relief when the air hits the cut and nothing happens. Kihyun feels like he can breath to the fullest without the bandage around his chest, and he smiles in gratitude. Without a second thought, he presses the damp cloth to his chest himself, eager to just clean himself up and get dressed so he can leave quietly. Hyunwoo tsks at Kihyun though, taking the cloth from the smaller man's hand and cleaning him up himself.
"I was a boy scout you know," Hyunwoo murmurs, his tongue poking out between his lips as he concentrates on his task.
Kihyun stares at those full lips now, startlingly close to his own in the barely illuminated bedroom. Kihyun is overwhelmed with the scent of ginseng, and he wonders if the larger man bathes in the stuff, or uses an infused soap with the root. It infiltrates all his senses, and warms the small man to the core. "What does being a boy scout have to do with right now?"
Hyunwoo glances up at Kihyun, his eyes heavily lidded as he stares through his lashes before focusing on the wound once more. "They taught us how to clean wounds with just about anything. If we were in the woods right now, I'd be using moss."
"Don't put the bandage back," Kihyun breathes out when Hyunwoo reaches for a new wrapping. "It hurts more like that," he admits. Hyunwoo nods before passing the smaller man the old and shrunken shirt. "Could I uh-" Kihyun pauses, shaking his head instead. "Never mind."
"The bathroom is out the door and just to the left. You can shower if you need to." Hyunwoo, somehow having understood Kihyun's unasked question, stands with the first-aid kit in both large hands. Kihyun swallows sharply as the muscles in the larger man's arms flex and move beneath his long sleeve, a sight for sore eyes.
"Thanks," Kihyun murmurs, feeling beyond grateful for the dark man. "Thank you," he says again as he stands, bowing his head slightly. He does not know what else to do, and he wants to hug Hyunwoo close, but he knows showing outward affection will just lead to Kihyun hurting himself. "Thank you so much," he murmurs with finality before grabbing at the old shirt and scurrying out of the bedroom.
Kihyun has never felt so cared for in all of his lives. He can feel emotions building in his gut as he strips himself down and undoes the wrapped bandages. He can feel how appreciative he really is as he checks his back in the bathroom mirror, shocked to see that his skin had been thoroughly cleaned and disinfected. His heart swells at the thought of anyone caring that much. And then everything falls again as he recalls just why he has these marks across his back and sides.
Because the way he feels is a sin. A crime against his nature.
"Give it up, Kihyun," he tells his reflection. "Stop loving. You're no good at it. It will only get you killed."
Kihyun has never been more thankful for the thundering sound of a shower's water hitting the walls. He does not want Hyunwoo to hear him crying.
[ x ]
Hyungwon marches himself down the dark corridor with Hoseok in tow. The messenger, a rather pale young woman, had come along to retrieve them at just past five in the evening. She leads them through the tunnels of City Hall, Hyungwon familiar enough with the passages himself to cross through them safely. He lets her lead them anyhow, understanding that her orders are to be followed or she will have a worse punishment than silence.
"Thank you, love," he whispers to her as he and Hoseok step out into the deep entryway of the Counsel's judgement hall. She bows her dark head, motioning towards the door before scuttling back the way they had all come from. "Ready, fae?"
Hoseok glares up at his new Master, furious still about having to come out for this. "No, Master." The sinister edge to his tone does not go unnoticed by Hyungwon, but he chooses to ignore it.
"Well too late. I'm not giving you a moment to prepare yourself." Hyungwon steps forward in the darkness, leaving Hoseok alone to push open the hunk of wood that separates them from the Counsel. "Come on then," he calls to his newest disciple when the light from the judgement hall spills over the fae still lingering a distance away. Hoseok would not admit it to Hyungwon, or anyone he is sure, but he is just barely fighting the shake in his knees as he steps forward to trail after his Master. Hyungwon, without being told, reaches out a thin hand to take Hoseok's arm, steadying the man on his feet. Hoseok wants to shrug his Master off, but he is too grateful for the stability. He only lets a small smile tug the corners of his lips up at the edges.
The room, lit by wall sconces that stretch out from the cement like arms, resembles a tomb of sorts. Hyungwon, with his keen eyes, can see the hidden doors that line each wall around the board table in the center. He knows that at any moment, this room could flood with servants and messengers to restrain he and his disciple. He does not like the feeling of knowing.
"Good evening, Chae Hyungwon."
The aged vampire bristles at the voice, a raspy gravel that sounds like a growl from the center of the table. "Kim Si Dae," Hyungwon replies just as casually, motioning for Hoseok to stop lingering behind him. "I believe you already know of my Claimed."
"Shin Hoseok," the table murmurs as one, startling the fae back behind the shadow of his Master. They chuckle as one as well, making Hoseok blink in fear. Hoseok has never had to face the Counsel. His father however, has many times stumbled into this room for healing a creature that was meant to die, or using his fae methods on humans without warrant. Hoseok knows the gist of what happens here, and he does not want to linger too long.
"You're aware of why you've been called." A woman speaks this time, and Hoseok gasps when he recognizes the voice.
"Soyou-" He blurts out, peeking out from behind Hyungwon to stare at the young woman sat at the end of the table. She sits on the far left, where Hoseok's father had said the fae sit. "Soyou, you're-"
"My name is Kang Jihyun," she informs her inferior calmly, a firm smile on her thick lips. "As the head of your bloodline here, I'll be delivering your judgement, Hoseok."
Hoseok is almost comforted by the famous singer's face. He has watched her career for years now, as a humanitarian and artist, and assumes that she will be gentle to her own kind. He is wrong.
"Shin Hoseok," she calls out, reading from a sheet on the table before her. "You are being charged with becoming a willing Claim to a vampire while belonging to the fae bloodline. Is this correct?"
Hoseok shakes his head, suddenly defiant and unafraid as he steps towards a small podium to make his defense. "I wasn't willing," he calls back, his voice echoing about the room and hitting him a few times before dying out. "He was trying to Claim a damn cat."
Hyungwon coughs at Hoseok's curse, knowing the Counsel will be less inclined to listen to his defense if he is uncouth. "Watch your language," Hyungwon mutters down to his disciple, despite the slight pride in the broad man's defiance.
The other eight panelists turn to face Hoseok's judge, murmuring to one another and over the tops of one another. Their voices blend into one and Hoseok finds it hard to pinpoint what any of them are saying. "Hoseok," his judge calls back again, looking away from her paper and facing him properly from her seat. "We are willing to provide the services to remove the Claim from your souls. But punishment will still be doled out appropriately."
Hyungwon stiffens beside the broad man, and Hoseok glances up at him in worry. Though he does not like Hyungwon in the best of times, and is still quite furious after this morning, he would not genuinely wish death upon the man. Vampire or not, Hoseok's natural instinct is to protect, not destroy.
"I understand," he calls out anyway, facing the Counsel once more.
The Counsel murmurs again, a ripple of words that move down the line until only Ms. Kang is speaking again. "Shin Hoseok, your punishment has been decided." Shuffling a few papers about as if to look busy, his judge stares up at Hoseok through her lashes. "Because of your Master's previous aids to the people of this Counsel, we are awarding you one year of servitude to him under our laws."
Hoseok's mouth falls open, he and his Master dumbfounded. "Please just kill me," Hyungwon blurts, slapping his hands over his mouth to catch the words that have already slipped out. "My dear Counsel, it was an accidental Claim. Can we not agree to something different? What have I honestly done to deserve life?"
Ms. Kang, glancing at another sheet, hums before facing Hyungwon. "You have a pledge of interest to us, and if you promise to release her now, that will suffice and grant you escape today unscathed."
Hyungwon rolls his eyes. He cannot help it. He has become fed up already. He had prepared himself for hours today, saying goodbye to old friends of lives past, patting Minhyuk's head politely, even feeding his new kitten. He is ready to die, finally, after centuries of a torturous fear. "Who do you want? I'll make sure to kill them."
"Lee Seonhae." Hyungwon blanches, the name one he has heard too often as of late. "I believe she is the mother of another Claim you've taken in."
Hyungwon nods, the woman that speaks nodding back with a smile. "What do you want with her?" Hyungwon asks, nervous to gain any answer. While Minhyuk may have not understood years ago, Hyungwon had hidden the woman with him for protection. The vampire had taken her in after her husband had passed, and pretended he could not smell the death on her clothes. She had killed an incubus not long before he had found her, and while it was illegal to kill other creatures of the night, Hyungwon refused to turn her away from him. Her husband's family had been pledged to him for centuries already. He would protect her and her son no matter what she had done.
But now, under a direct order of the Counsel, he has no clue what he will do with her.
"There are old crimes of hers that we'd like to handle." Still speaking, Ms. Kang does not even look up at Hyungwon or his disciple. "Nothing of your concern," she adds before moving right along. "Now please separate for your brands."
"Our what?" Hoseok glances at Hyungwon, who merely takes one long step away from the fae and holds his right arm forward. It seems as if he has done this before, and Hoseok really does not like that.
"To ensure that you both are aware of the Counsel's sight on you and your actions, you'll both be pressed with a branding charm on the inside of your right wrists."
Hoseok's eyes go wide at the idol's words, shocked to hear that he would be burned over some accident. "Are you serious?"
"We understand," Hyungwon says a moment later, cutting a glare at Hoseok as a pair of pledges enter the room from their left. "Hold your arm out for them. It'll only hurt for a minute or so."
Hoseok shakes his head, frantic as a pledge, clearly of his own bloodline, grasps at the hand still dangling at his side. He figures it will just be a simple charm. Something easy that will wash away once it has been fulfilled. To his horror, the fae holding him removes a knife from their pocket and presses it to his skin.
He shrieks, attempting to struggle out of their hold, but Hyungwon commands him to remain still. It is all he can do as Hoseok's Master. He cannot take the pain away, or beg the Counsel just to kill him and make Hoseok go home. He can only make things end quicker. Hoseok's form shakes as the tip of the blade carves into his wrist, slicing what looks like a simple binding charm. A line of flames trails after the steel, sealing the wound shut as it moves along. Hoseok is mesmerized by the sight, held in utter fear when it is complete and his wrist is numb.
"Your punishments are now done. You may exit with your original messenger. If Seonhae is not brought in by the end of this month, Halloween oddly enough, Hyungwon will be transferred back and dealt with appropriately." Ms. Kang, standing, motions for both men to leave.
Hoseok turns first, tears in his eyes as he holds onto his wrist. He glares up at Hyungwon when the vampire tries to reach out and comfort the broad man. Hyungwon is quick to look away, ashamed in himself and his inability to help the fae. For the first time in quite a long time, Hyungwon wishes he had just died when he was a child like most others his age. Famine was rich then.
He should be here no longer.