Are You There - Chapter 53: Chapter 53
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"Why won't you just come to the party tomorrow? Eh?"
Changkyun gasps for air as if he has been without oxygen for months. His feet, tucked beneath the familiar table of his favorite cafe, jut out as his entire body spasms. His left foot kicks Jooheon's from beneath the table, earning a shout of unrest from the blonde. Changkyun gasps again, tears in his eyes as he attempts to rise from his seat. He can feel his body's composition changing as he topples, now weaker than he has ever been since his change.
The world spins around him and he hits the ground, his right shoulder taking the brunt of the fall. Groaning in pain, the dark-haired man rolls onto his stomach, gasping once again for the coffee-flavored air of the cafe. Jooheon is on his feet behind him, worrying over his best friend with wide eyes and a hand in his hair.
"Kyun- Changkyun what the hell is wrong with you?" Kneeling beside the darker man, Jooheon is careful to roll the younger over onto his back. He does not know if this is some kind of seizure, or perhaps a panic attack, but he does not want to risk hurting his best friend. The younger has been known to tense up and black out in crowds, Jooheon takes no chances as he simply cradles the younger's head. "Kyun, talk to me-"
Changkyun, with red cheeks and empty lungs, cries out at the sight of his best friend. The blonde's hair, shorter than it had been when he had last seen the man, is unwashed and damp from the early October mist outside. His thin eyes, wide now out of fear, find Changkyun's own in a rush. Changkyun opens his mouth to speak properly, but his mind is flooded with too much.
So much. Months of too much.
"Changkyun, please get up-"
Changkyun shakes his head, rolling from his best friend's touch. He sits himself up onto his knees, a hand on a nearby table to stabilize himself. He has to remember his plan. He can forget everything else that has happened, he just needs that damned plan.
"Work," he blurts out when he can find his voice. It is hoarse, as if he has been screaming for ages. Maybe during it all, he had been. "I have to go- go to work-"
"No way!" Jooheon stands, rushing forward to help Changkyun when the younger attempts to do the same. "You just had some kinda attack-"
"I'm going." Changkyun finds his footing, the clouds in his mind fading out for the moment. He has found his balance, and he knows exactly where he is. Today is the day. Today is the day before the end. "I'll see you. Bye." Jooheon's hand moves forward to grab for his best friend, and Changkyun lets him.
He lets the blonde make contact. He lets Jooheon hold him there for a moment. He remembers today too well, and he remembers how it had ended the first time. He hates today.
"I love you," Changkyun blurts, licking his lips nervously as he locks eyes with the blonde. Jooheon's cheeks are flushed in an instant, clearly shocked by Changkyun's outburst. "Wait no-" The younger shakes his head with a heavy sigh. "That's not right."
Jooheon loses the color to his cheeks as quickly as he had gained it. "Are you okay?"
Changkyun shakes his head again, sighing as he drags his hands away from Jooheon's touch. He takes a small step towards the older man, a surge of confidence rushing through his body as he remembers the time they had had together in another reality. Changkyun wants that this time. He wants it right now. Reaching out nearly too quickly to be seen, the dark man grabs Jooheon by the front of his shirt and drags him forward.
Jooheon yelps in fear, but the sound is caught against Changkyun's lips, stifled and short against the softest of velvet Jooheon has ever felt. Just like before, Jooheon tastes of honey, sweet and real and alive. But this time, Changkyun can feel that he is the same. In this moment, Changkyun has never been more alive.
The younger breaks away with a gasp for air, his cheeks flushed as he realizes he has just drawn his best friend into a kiss. "I'm in love with you," he reiterates before he can lose the thought. "And I really need to go now." Changkyun lifts a hand in a shallow wave, turning on his heel and rushing from the cafe before Jooheon can say anything. Before he can call Changkyun back. Before the younger can forget his plan.
Rushing through the streets of Seoul is no fun without vampiric speed. It becomes even worse when Changkyun realizes he can no longer fade in and out. He has no pocket change for a cab, and no pass for the bus. He is going to have to run the entire way there.
The door to the Jade Palace shop is open when Changkyun reaches it, the scent of dust obvious to even his mortal nose. Mortality. Changkyun is still reeling as he stalks into the antiques shop with his plan stuck firm on his mind. He has not taken a breath as a human in six months. He has not run about and broken into a sweat over it. He has not even felt the stifling air of this shop as a living, breathing mortal.
He relishes in it as he stalks down the farthest aisle on the left. Changkyun knows exactly what to do. Hyungwon had given him the idea just this morning- or what was this morning six months from now. The dark man cannot hear his old Master anywhere within the store, but that does not mean that the vampire is not lingering close by.
Scouring the shelf before him, Changkyun does not exactly know what he is looking for, but he hopes to know when he sees it. He does.
A small pillbox of gorgeous wood craftsmanship; Changkyun knows this will hold whatever piece of his soul he can spare. He remembers the night Hyungwon had told him about his ability. The ability to feel too much. To read the pieces of his shop and feel the shreds of souls attached to them. Changkyun prays that he can do just that now. Leave a few shreds of himself here for Hyungwon to find though this possession is not his to feed into.
Clutching the small box to his chest, the young man stands in silence at the far end of a strangely empty store, pressing as much emotion into the wood as if the pores of it could grasp his mind. He is not a vampire anymore. He does not know just what he can do anymore. He knows that he will not be able to reverse time now. He can feel that the energy has fizzled and evaporated. He is stuck here in this new reality.
You will turn me tomorrow. The Fourth Wall comic store, you'll turn me there. In two days, I'll draw from my first mortal. Your survival is in my hands. I'm not going to let you die this time.
Every memory. Every ounce of pain. Everything he had done right or wrong, beautifully or terribly. Everything he had seen. Heard. Felt. Changkyun gives Hyungwon absolutely every experience he can. Right down to their last moments together.
Changkyun takes a long breath in before setting the pillbox back onto its shelf, convinced that he has done about all he can do. He blinks a few times, letting the breath go just as a throat clears from directly behind him. Shouting in fright, Changkyun jumps a few inches before turning on his heel.
It is a flood of relief to see his Master stood still behind him, arms crossed with that classic stoic expression. "Were you intending to steal that, young man?"
Changkyun guards his expression, knowing any sign of recognition will trigger a response from Hyungwon. This vampire does not know Changkyun. Not yet anyway. So the younger forces a gulp and a head shake. "No Sir, just looking."
Changkyun side steps away from his Master, bowing his head in respect before gesturing towards the front of the store. "I'll probably come back in a few days, but I have work now. Sorry."
Hyungwon's eyes, narrowed on Changkyun's face, do not waver for an instance as he watches the young man depart. The vampire does not move until the dark man is past his shop door, outside in the sunlight, and finally gone from his sight. Shifting his gaze to the object the young man had been holding so tenderly, Hyungwon is surprised to see his own heirloom.
With gentle hands of his own, the vampire reaches out to grasp onto the familiar box, a smile warping his lips as the memories he knows will remain stretch out to him. And somehow, that strange smile works into a grin when memories he has never seen before pour into him. Memories from another life.
Glancing back the way the boy had gone, Hyungwon cannot fight his manic grin. Hyungwon has found him.
His new disciple.
Changkyun gasps for air as if he has been without oxygen for months. His feet, tucked beneath the familiar table of his favorite cafe, jut out as his entire body spasms. His left foot kicks Jooheon's from beneath the table, earning a shout of unrest from the blonde. Changkyun gasps again, tears in his eyes as he attempts to rise from his seat. He can feel his body's composition changing as he topples, now weaker than he has ever been since his change.
The world spins around him and he hits the ground, his right shoulder taking the brunt of the fall. Groaning in pain, the dark-haired man rolls onto his stomach, gasping once again for the coffee-flavored air of the cafe. Jooheon is on his feet behind him, worrying over his best friend with wide eyes and a hand in his hair.
"Kyun- Changkyun what the hell is wrong with you?" Kneeling beside the darker man, Jooheon is careful to roll the younger over onto his back. He does not know if this is some kind of seizure, or perhaps a panic attack, but he does not want to risk hurting his best friend. The younger has been known to tense up and black out in crowds, Jooheon takes no chances as he simply cradles the younger's head. "Kyun, talk to me-"
Changkyun, with red cheeks and empty lungs, cries out at the sight of his best friend. The blonde's hair, shorter than it had been when he had last seen the man, is unwashed and damp from the early October mist outside. His thin eyes, wide now out of fear, find Changkyun's own in a rush. Changkyun opens his mouth to speak properly, but his mind is flooded with too much.
So much. Months of too much.
"Changkyun, please get up-"
Changkyun shakes his head, rolling from his best friend's touch. He sits himself up onto his knees, a hand on a nearby table to stabilize himself. He has to remember his plan. He can forget everything else that has happened, he just needs that damned plan.
"Work," he blurts out when he can find his voice. It is hoarse, as if he has been screaming for ages. Maybe during it all, he had been. "I have to go- go to work-"
"No way!" Jooheon stands, rushing forward to help Changkyun when the younger attempts to do the same. "You just had some kinda attack-"
"I'm going." Changkyun finds his footing, the clouds in his mind fading out for the moment. He has found his balance, and he knows exactly where he is. Today is the day. Today is the day before the end. "I'll see you. Bye." Jooheon's hand moves forward to grab for his best friend, and Changkyun lets him.
He lets the blonde make contact. He lets Jooheon hold him there for a moment. He remembers today too well, and he remembers how it had ended the first time. He hates today.
"I love you," Changkyun blurts, licking his lips nervously as he locks eyes with the blonde. Jooheon's cheeks are flushed in an instant, clearly shocked by Changkyun's outburst. "Wait no-" The younger shakes his head with a heavy sigh. "That's not right."
Jooheon loses the color to his cheeks as quickly as he had gained it. "Are you okay?"
Changkyun shakes his head again, sighing as he drags his hands away from Jooheon's touch. He takes a small step towards the older man, a surge of confidence rushing through his body as he remembers the time they had had together in another reality. Changkyun wants that this time. He wants it right now. Reaching out nearly too quickly to be seen, the dark man grabs Jooheon by the front of his shirt and drags him forward.
Jooheon yelps in fear, but the sound is caught against Changkyun's lips, stifled and short against the softest of velvet Jooheon has ever felt. Just like before, Jooheon tastes of honey, sweet and real and alive. But this time, Changkyun can feel that he is the same. In this moment, Changkyun has never been more alive.
The younger breaks away with a gasp for air, his cheeks flushed as he realizes he has just drawn his best friend into a kiss. "I'm in love with you," he reiterates before he can lose the thought. "And I really need to go now." Changkyun lifts a hand in a shallow wave, turning on his heel and rushing from the cafe before Jooheon can say anything. Before he can call Changkyun back. Before the younger can forget his plan.
Rushing through the streets of Seoul is no fun without vampiric speed. It becomes even worse when Changkyun realizes he can no longer fade in and out. He has no pocket change for a cab, and no pass for the bus. He is going to have to run the entire way there.
The door to the Jade Palace shop is open when Changkyun reaches it, the scent of dust obvious to even his mortal nose. Mortality. Changkyun is still reeling as he stalks into the antiques shop with his plan stuck firm on his mind. He has not taken a breath as a human in six months. He has not run about and broken into a sweat over it. He has not even felt the stifling air of this shop as a living, breathing mortal.
He relishes in it as he stalks down the farthest aisle on the left. Changkyun knows exactly what to do. Hyungwon had given him the idea just this morning- or what was this morning six months from now. The dark man cannot hear his old Master anywhere within the store, but that does not mean that the vampire is not lingering close by.
Scouring the shelf before him, Changkyun does not exactly know what he is looking for, but he hopes to know when he sees it. He does.
A small pillbox of gorgeous wood craftsmanship; Changkyun knows this will hold whatever piece of his soul he can spare. He remembers the night Hyungwon had told him about his ability. The ability to feel too much. To read the pieces of his shop and feel the shreds of souls attached to them. Changkyun prays that he can do just that now. Leave a few shreds of himself here for Hyungwon to find though this possession is not his to feed into.
Clutching the small box to his chest, the young man stands in silence at the far end of a strangely empty store, pressing as much emotion into the wood as if the pores of it could grasp his mind. He is not a vampire anymore. He does not know just what he can do anymore. He knows that he will not be able to reverse time now. He can feel that the energy has fizzled and evaporated. He is stuck here in this new reality.
You will turn me tomorrow. The Fourth Wall comic store, you'll turn me there. In two days, I'll draw from my first mortal. Your survival is in my hands. I'm not going to let you die this time.
Every memory. Every ounce of pain. Everything he had done right or wrong, beautifully or terribly. Everything he had seen. Heard. Felt. Changkyun gives Hyungwon absolutely every experience he can. Right down to their last moments together.
Changkyun takes a long breath in before setting the pillbox back onto its shelf, convinced that he has done about all he can do. He blinks a few times, letting the breath go just as a throat clears from directly behind him. Shouting in fright, Changkyun jumps a few inches before turning on his heel.
It is a flood of relief to see his Master stood still behind him, arms crossed with that classic stoic expression. "Were you intending to steal that, young man?"
Changkyun guards his expression, knowing any sign of recognition will trigger a response from Hyungwon. This vampire does not know Changkyun. Not yet anyway. So the younger forces a gulp and a head shake. "No Sir, just looking."
Changkyun side steps away from his Master, bowing his head in respect before gesturing towards the front of the store. "I'll probably come back in a few days, but I have work now. Sorry."
Hyungwon's eyes, narrowed on Changkyun's face, do not waver for an instance as he watches the young man depart. The vampire does not move until the dark man is past his shop door, outside in the sunlight, and finally gone from his sight. Shifting his gaze to the object the young man had been holding so tenderly, Hyungwon is surprised to see his own heirloom.
With gentle hands of his own, the vampire reaches out to grasp onto the familiar box, a smile warping his lips as the memories he knows will remain stretch out to him. And somehow, that strange smile works into a grin when memories he has never seen before pour into him. Memories from another life.
Glancing back the way the boy had gone, Hyungwon cannot fight his manic grin. Hyungwon has found him.
His new disciple.
End of Are You There Chapter 53. Continue reading Chapter 54 or return to Are You There book page.