Are You There - Chapter 34: Chapter 34

Changkyun is thankful to find a confused and shivering Jooheon still lain out on his bedroom floor when the vampire arrives home. Changkyun is quick to snatch his blankets from his bed and drape them around the blonde's shoulders, cradling him close to his warm chest.
Jooheon does not struggle, disoriented from the odd dream he had while asleep. His fingers, poking from his blanket and fiddling with the soft fabric of Changkyun's shirt, stutter over a small tear in the cloth. In his dream, he stabbed through the dark man's skin with a pocket knife and left a tear about here in the shirt. "What happened here?" Jooheon wonders, his cold fingers against Changkyun's equally cold skin.
The vampire glances down, having long forgotten of the tear and the small stain of blood left behind across his shirt front. Far more dangerous things have happened in such a short amount of time, he cannot even keep track of what is real anymore. "I dunno," he answers simply, tugging Jooheon's hand away from his skin. "You slept all morning," he tells the blonde tentatively.
Jooheon is lost enough to believe the vampire without any help from a glamour, his mind foggy and his heart slow. "Did I?" Changkyun helps the blonde to his feet, the blankets falling from his shoulders slightly and tugging his shirt collar with them. Changkyun tries not to notice a rather startling mark across the blonde's pale skin, a bite he must have forced restraint on himself while in the moment.
Changkyun had gotten closer to losing control than he had realized last night, unable to even remember biting Jooheon, yet there it is. "Does that hurt?" He asks before he can stop himself, a dark finger coming down to poke at Jooheon's collarbone. The blonde flinches away when the shades of red and purple are prodded at, proving that it does indeed hurt. "You must have had some crazy dreams," Changkyun comments offhandedly as he nudges the blonde towards the bed to sit him down.
"What d'you mean?" Jooheon lifts a hand to his head, still groggy. Minhyuk's hold on his mind fell away long ago, but his body can still feel the aftereffects of a grip he is not aware was ever there.
"I mean I left for an hour or so and you were suddenly asleep on the floor when I got back. Unless you managed to knock yourself out and just landed there." Changkyun smiles down at the blonde, standing before him with a glamour waiting at his fingertips. He does not know if the mortal will need one; Jooheon's mind seems susceptible to just about anything, so Changkyun eases into the harder part of the conversation with just his words to start.
"Do you remember anything?"
Jooheon shrugs, wondering if he really had dreamt everything from that morning. It had all seemed so vivid, clear as if in high definition. But then again, he could not have possibly stabbed someone. He would be waking up in jail right now, and Changkyun would not be standing before him so easily. "I swear I stabbed you," Jooheon whispers, pursing his lips a moment later.
Changkyun chuckles, playing up the act easily as he realizes that Jooheon is already convincing himself of false facts. "Well I'm pretty sure I'm fine, not a wound on me." Changkyun had made sure to reclaim his jacket before leaving the tea shop, carefully hiding the scarred gash down his arm. He does not know how he will hide the jagged line across his right forearm forever, but he hopes to keep it quiet for the time being.
"Yeah..." Jooheon yawns, stretching his arms above his head like a child. "I guess I couldn't have actually stabbed you..." Yawning again, he peers up at the vampire with bleary eyes, scanning his features in the early afternoon light. Changkyun had been beautiful at dinner last night, but in the sun, he is riveting.
Deep shades of beige, brown, and silver cast over one another like an oil canvas; each shade is more pristine than the last, and Jooheon finds it hard to find a single imperfection. From the deep set of Changkyun's brow, to the wide curvature of his nose, he is a plain featured man with somehow striking visuals. Jooheon cannot understand how a man with typically average looks can still leave him enamored.
Changkyun stares right back, more in gratitude than revelation. He cannot believe the blonde has so easily dismissed the entire morning. Had he still be a human with little to no knowledge on the other half of the world, Changkyun imagines he would be far more skeptical of things that had happened earlier that day. But he knows now that his world and Jooheon's are separate, and should remain that way.
The less Jooheon knows, the better.
A phone vibrates on the bedside, and Changkyun realizes that he recognizes the ringtone as his own. He abandons the small staring contest he and Jooheon have silently entered and crosses the room to retrieve the device. He is surprised to see Kihyun's number onscreen, the photo one he had snapped of a garbage truck as it trundled down the street.
"What?" He answers quietly, his eyes on Jooheon's back as the blonde stretches again.
Kihyun sounds worried when he speaks, his voice in a rushed whisper that puts Changkyun on edge. "I need you to come into work now."
Changkyun glances at his bedside, the clock reading just past one in the afternoon. His shift today does not begin until four, and then he will close up in the evening. "Is something wrong? I've got a friend over-"
"Send Jooheon home please, he has work soon anyway."
Changkyun grimaces, not surprised that Kihyun knows he is with Jooheon. "Just tell me what's going on. I'm not going in three hours early for no reason." Jooheon shifts in his place on the bed, glancing over his shoulder at Changkyun who shifts his gaze quickly so he is not caught staring.
"Please, Changkyun." Kihyun sounds desperate enough, which worries Changkyun to no end. He has never liked the incubus. Not in the years since he has known him, not even now while he spends his days fawning over Hyunwoo and giving less than half a care for Jooheon. Changkyun still does not entirely trust him. "You already know I don't want to beg you for anything, but I'm scared, and I need help. Please come in."
Sighing, Changkyun nods to himself. "Yeah, sure. But I need some kinda explanation when I get there."
"I swear," Kihyun mutters before abruptly ending the call. Changkyun's phone beeps in his ear with a dead line, and he sighs again as he faces Jooheon.
"I just got called into work," he admits slowly, rounding the bed to stand before the blonde. He does not want to kick Jooheon out, but if he really does have work today, then it is the only sensible thing to do. "I can call a cab for you and send you off with something to eat, but I guess it's an emergency."
Jooheon nods, understanding without a reason. He stands from the bed, Changkyun's blankets still tight around him for warmth. He spots his jeans on the floor and stoops down for them, spotting his pocket knife open not far from the denim. His brows furrow, but Changkyun is already moving about, unable to catch the moment before Jooheon swiftly snatches the blade and dresses. He tucks the knife into his pocket where it belongs, his mind whirring to life suddenly as his dreams reach out in a fresh eagerness.
Had he been sleepwalking? Had the blade just fallen when he had stripped himself of his pants?
"Here," Changkyun calls suddenly, fumbling with his wallet to offer money for a cab.
Jooheon shakes his hands at the younger man, feeling his own wallet still secure in his pocket. "I'll be fine. I don't wanna hold you up so I'll just head out now." Jooheon walks around Changkyun, giving him a wide girth as his unease returns.
Changkyun wants to stop the blonde, but Jooheon seems lost within his own mind and the vampire does not think he will be able to get through to him without a glamour. He does not want to play that game today. "Okay, I'll walk you out then."
[ x ]
Kihyun is pacing the store front when Changkyun arrives, pale fingers tugging at his lower lip hard enough to draw blood. The vampire's nose wrinkles at the scent of tainted life, a demon's blood like coal smoke in the April air.
"What's the big emergency?" Changkyun asks when he steps inside, startling the incubus that had not heard him arrive. This surprises the vampire more than the sudden call. Kihyun's ears are just as perceptive as his own, and should have caught his arrival from a block away. Changkyun looks a bit closer at Kihyun, taking in his flushed cheeks and damp brow. His eyes are red and dart about, the blood on his lip dripping once onto the back of his hand.
"Thank you so much," Kihyun rushes out. His small legs carry him towards Changkyun in one quick movement, but Changkyun backs up towards the door again to try and ward the incubus back.
"Don't touch me," he hisses, his arms held up in an 'X' to block the smaller man. Kihyun rolls his eyes, but is too distressed to take hard offense to the gesture.
Taking a slight step back, Kihyun takes in a deep breath before pushing it out between his teeth, working himself up to explaining what has happened. "Hyunwoo's in love with me."
He does not mean to blurt it out like that. In fact, Kihyun has been preparing a long, drawn out speech about the effects of a human loving an incubus. How dangerous it can be for both men. How painful it will be for Hyunwoo when Kihyun is ultimately killed for living in sin right beneath the Counsel's nose. How dangerous Kihyun is to Hyunwoo.
Changkyun's dark face pales a shade, his brows finding one another in confusion. "You called me all the way out here just so you could tell me that?" Scoffing, Changkyun shoves his hands into his hair in a sudden fury. He keeps his voice low as he scolds the older man, aware that Hyunwoo is also in the store somewhere. "You do understand that people who date typically fall in love? You've been playing him like a fiddle for months now, and you're what, confused?"
Kihyun is on the verge of tears. He has never had this before. Nobody has ever loved him, not really. Not the way he knows Hyunwoo does. It's a pure, raw, unfiltered and uncensored love that has every ability to break him if it were to end. Kihyun is terrified.
"He can't love me," Kihyun spits out between his teeth, pacing again. He is going to drive himself mad at this rate, worrying at his lower lip with his nails just so he can feel something other than anguish. "Changkyun, I'll kill him."
The vampire's heart pauses in his chest as he takes in that simple sentence. There is a subject, a verb, and an object. The simplest of sentences, and yet Changkyun cannot understand it. "But..." Dropping one hand from his hair, Changkyun feels his brows completely meet over his eyes. "But why? Aren't you guys like... Mutual or whatever?" The vampire pushes both his hands together, motioning some sort of relationship.
Kihyun nods, sniffling at the ground. "If he loves me back, then he's basically giving up his heart to an incubus. He won't care if I'm draining him of every shred of life. He'll die loving me."
Kihyun's chest aches as he relays only have of his practiced speech. His eyes burn with tears that he refuses to shed. Months ago, he would hide them from Changkyun out of spite, but now he hides them from Hyunwoo out of love. He does not want to hurt Hyunwoo already. Surely the larger man would not be happy to see the incubus sobbing behind a comic standee only hours after his confession.
Changkyun understands a bit more now, but he still sees not the purpose of being called out to work early if the emergency is between the couple. They are both here together, Kihyun can work this out himself. "Why am I here then?"
Kihyun's dark eyes, no longer hidden beneath a red fringe, turn towards the vampire in surprise. "Well, I've gotta tell him."
Changkyun scratches at his new scar through his jacket sleeve, confused once again. "Tell him what?" He shifts his weight between his feet, uneasy as Kihyun stares a little harder, seeming as if the answer is obvious. Changkyun points a finger at the smaller man, pieces clicking slowly into place. "You don't actually mean-"
"I have to tell him," Kihyun states firmly. He nods his head once, as if convincing himself, before turning his body to face Changkyun fully. "But I'm not gonna do it here. I'll take him home, or his place, or someplace where he can understand me without worrying about other people watching us."
Changkyun now understands absolutely nothing. His day has been a mess of too much all at once. His night had been incredible. He can still feel Jooheon beneath him, and waking up to that warmth had been something like a miracle. Nearly dying hours later had been nothing short of terrifying, but this takes the cake. Not only is he confused, but he is confused and being forced into something he does not want any part of.
"Please just pick up the hours." Kihyun puts his hands together before his chest, scared that Changkyun will deny him. He would not blame the younger man, not after the years of attitude and torture Kihyun had put him through over Jooheon.
The vampire watches a single tear slip free of Kihyun's left eye, glistening against his cheek as he grits his teeth to fight the rest. The drop stripes down his pale skin before leaping from his chin to the floor between them, almost soundless. But both their ears catch it, solidifying it into reality.
Changkyun curses as he ducks his head, nodding a moment later when he forces his eyes to Kihyun's. "Fine. Just get out." Changkyun gestures towards the back of the store, where he can hear Hyunwoo paging through a novel. Kihyun sighs, more tears slipping free in a moment of relief. He wants to hug the vampire, but the threat of draining him in what Kihyun can tell is already a weakened state does not sound like a great ending.
The incubus settles for a bow, his eyes blinking down at his shoes to try and clear them of the rest of their tears. "Thank you," he whispers before standing upright again. "Seriously, thank you so much."
Changkyun just nods, unsettled. He would much rather have Kihyun berate him for his attitude, or perhaps change forms and become Jooheon just to toy with him. Vulnerable does not look right on Kihyun, and the vampire has no idea how to react. "I'll see you later," he mutters before passing the older by.
Kihyun takes one long deep breath in through his nose, holding it there as he listens to the younger greet Hyunwoo at the back. Pushing out that same breath, Kihyun musters up all his courage and follows the vampire back, preparing to throw his entire life away for the man that waits there for him.
Kihyun hopes he is not preparing to save Hyunwoo's life and throw him away. Yet the parts of Kihyun that love the man hope that Hyunwoo turns himself away without Kihyun's help. He hopes that Hyunwoo can leave and save himself, because the incubus does not think he will ever be strong enough to do it himself.
[ x ]
Hyunwoo is admittedly surprised when Changkyun nudges him and his boyfriend from the store. The broad man had not been expecting Kihyun to actually call the younger and get away with his little scheme to escape to someplace private. Yet he finds himself being led by the hand from the comic store under the scorching spring sun now.
His apartment is not air conditioned, and he is thankful when Kihyun walks them instead to his own home. Jooheon is not around, which puts both men at ease, though for different reasons. Hyunwoo can sense that the smaller man is nervous about something, though it cannot be because they are alone here. After dating for months as they have, Hyunwoo knows most anything about Kihyun's little ticks.
He only fidgets the way he is now when he has something important to say.
Tugging Kihyun towards the small apartment's den, Hyunwoo settles himself and the smaller man on the long couch. There is plenty of room for them to stretch out, but Kihyun presses himself into Hyunwoo's side for warmth. He has never shivered so much, and it almost hurts when Hyunwoo's warm arm wraps around his shoulders. It is a shock of heat and chill that does not sit right against his sensitive skin.
"What's going on today?" Hyunwoo's voice is soft, his breath warm against Kihyun's temple, but the incubus wants not for the gentle man right now. He has no desire to come out and tell Hyunwoo the truth, to watch that gentle beast get swallowed up by something else. Something darker.
Something wrong.
Kihyun takes a deep breath. He is sick of breathing right now. He would love to swallow his own lungs and just never breathe again. In all his lives of fear, death, love, and loss... Nothing has ever haunted his heart like this.
He does not know how to begin. He has not ever had to do this. To tell someone that he is hazardous to their health. There was never a lesson in his bloodline lessons during his first life. His creator had never told him about the love of a human.
Humans are fragile. That had been the only words drilled into his first young mind. From day one, until his first death, he had been taught that humans would break under pressure. Snap in his hands like twigs during a storm. His feelings, his abilities, and his fear would do nothing but destroy.
"I don't wanna just say it and have you think I'm joking."
Hyunwoo smiles despite Kihyun's shaking voice. His arm tightens around the smaller man, not settling until Kihyun's cheek is pressed to his chest and his shivering ceases. Kihyun finds solace for only a few moments, not letting himself sink too deep into Hyunwoo's warmth. He does not want to give up. He needs to face the truth, and if not now, he knows he never will.
"I love you."
It is only the start. He had not said it when Hyunwoo had earlier, and he could tell that the larger man was uneasy about his confession. But Hyunwoo hums at the words now, content to finally earn a reply. "But that's not what you want to say," he murmurs into Kihyun's hair, breathing in slowly to keep his heart steady against the small man's ear.
Kihyun shakes his head, finding a sudden surge of courage. He cannot hold back any longer. He needs to say it. Pushing himself up and out of Hyunwoo's grasp, Kihyun takes a final deep breath. Through those dark lashes rest impossibly darker eyes, gems in the afternoon light that casts through the apartment windows.
Kihyun is calm. He can do this.
"Have you ever heard of an incubus?"