hey y'all! welcome to my masterlist that will be your guide to everything natalics, and primarily the seventeen x 14th reader au.
i am a wattpad writer before i am anything on here. in fact, i barely know how to use tumblr. DNI if you are under 18. no posting schedule as this is all for funsies!
requests are 'technically' closed, however if you send in an idea and i happen to really like it, i might do it. regardless, my ask box thingy is open to talk about anything related to the svt14 au<3. everything i talk about will be under #nats thoughts and #natalics thoughts. any fics i particularly love will be under #nats recs
tag list is in development (aka i don't have one)
everywhere to find natalia (me!)
misc. masterlist
SEVENTEEN X 14TH MEMBER
Y/N is a fictional american singer and dancer based in south korea. managed by pledis entertainment, she debuted as a member of the south korean band SEVENTEEN on may 26, 2015 with the song adore u. she is also a member of its performance team. she made her solo debut in 2024 with her first solo album starlight. she then went on to release her second album dreamgirl in september 2025.
disclaimer: this is a fictional reader-insert au. y/n has no face claim & all images used are placeholders from pinterest or instagram. picture her however you want. whether that's yourself or an idol idc. if you don't like it, then keep scrolling<3
ABOUT
k-profile | background | hair discography | throughout the eras | solo career | filmography | written works
RELATIONSHIPS
hip-hop unit | vocal unit | performance unit | friendships | dating rumors
SOCIAL MEDIA
instagram | weverse | youtube | stan twitter | fan compilations | interviews | variety shows | news & articles
ENTERTAINMENT
Going Seventeen | In The Soop | In The Soop 2 | Nana Tour | Nana bnb | Our Chapter
i feel like this should go without saying but don’t copy any of my works!! i DO stalk the hashtags i write for as a reader so there’s a solid chance i WILL see it. if you’re truly wanting to write a bunch of stories & such, don’t copy people’s works to do it. it’s lazy and also illegal!!! if my idea inspires you or something, then i don’t mind with credits given. just be a decent human being.
credits: while i’ve definitely made xmember fics in the past on other platforms i still wanted to give credit to accounts on here that inspired me to start writing these kind of stories again. i probably haven’t in…5+ years WHICH IS WILD. but accounts like ynnova, koyagifs, svt-luna, svt-essie, sevsevteen, and ateezmiyeon are just a few accounts that i LOVE rn and they’re definitely running the x member!oc fics atp. i’m not tagging them cause i don’t wanna be perceived (LMAO) but they’re all amazing writers and so creative. & while i’m sure i would’ve done this eventually anyways because…i’ve written 5th member of 5sos fics before so it was a matter of time before i did it with a new group, their stories and their ocs have definitely pushed me to do this sooner rather than later
i have work at 8am (it’s currently 12:20am i need to go to bed soon) and i have to move into my new house the next couple days BUT when i finally get time to sit down i wanna work on something sooo tell me what i should dooo
what should i finish first
In The Soop Ep3 (prob almost done idek)
HITS DIFFERENT (y/n goes through a breakup & the boys help her)
2016 | a wardrobe malfunction @ a show
Moments where Y/n didn’t care she’s the maknae
GoSe episode The Trap
GoSe episode Water Battlegrounds
Times where Y/n scared the industry with her love for SVT
i’m goooood! finished my first semester of college with 3 B’s and an A-! signed up for next years classes.
this weekend i start moving into my new house! very excited. we won’t be there til monday BUT we’re hoping to get the keys tomorrow and start moving stuff in saturday & sunday.
i’ve been wanting to get back into writing and doing the y/n stuff but i’ve been so busy, so unmotivated. i haven’t even finished going seventeen from last year or watched any like kpop stuff recently. but im getting back into it. i’m hoping to finish in the soop ep 3 and remember wtf i was doing LMAO. and i do need to write more y/n & the group because i want to eventually post a love interest poll!
nats notes: IM BACK! i’m so sorry for not posting while in school. i was focused heavily on my first college semester, working, adulting, all the things. i might be posting some old posts i never got around to posting. aka i had a christmas post i never got to & it’s ready just needed more comments. maybe some birthdays i missed, etc etc. i also am going to get back to in the soop. i cant promise it’ll be regular as i ammmm preparing to move into a house with my friends but i am finally getting some free time!
y/n has no faceclaim! all photos used are meant to be placeholders / representative of things like hair color & stuff. all photos are found on pinterest or instagram
♫ SEVENTEEN . Love Letter
liked by ho5hi_kwon and 2.3M others
y/n: 11 years with my boys, with carats.
thank you for always loving me. thank you for always supporting us. i couldn’t ask for a better family. i wouldn’t be here without my leaders, my brothers, carats.
seungcheol, the leader who pushed me to be better every day. jeonghan, the angel who let me into his family without a second glance. joshua, who struggled learning korean with me. junhui, my special actor who has always been by my side. soonyoung, the tiger to my cheetah. wonwoo, who shows me his latest favorite game. jihoon, the mastermind who believed in me when nobody else did. seokmin, my sunshine who has never failed to make me laugh. mingyu, my favorite giant puppy to fight with. minghao, the star in my night sky. seungkwan, my first friend in PLEDIS, my other half. hansol, who'd probably forget english without me and joshua. and chan, im sorry for making you not the true maknae but i'm so glad to call you my older brother.
i love my family.
xoxo, y/n
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yoonzino: she’s been MIA for how long now and she comes back TO SHARE THIS?? IM SOBBING
cinnamonshua: happy birthday, seventeen🤍
killayn: MY BABYYYY
foreversvt: 11 years in this fandom and i love you the same as day 1
sound_of_coups: ❤️
feat.picheolin: Y/N IM CRYING.
got17: Debuted at 15, now she’s turning 27 this year😭
starlightyn: those of us who’ve been watching her since her jyp days are feeling VERY old
cxmdoubleup: the picture at the end i’m sobbing
sanriosvtgirl: the soonxcoups pic<3
wonwooboi: they've grown up so much😭
jihanniehae: HBD SVT🎉🎉
bononboo: the most beautiful girl
maestrojihoon: to forever♾️
darlingyou_u_u: I LOVE TOU
togethersupremacy: IM SOBBING AT WORK WTF
dinorama: The simple love note to all of them is so sweet
rockwithcoups: thank you for everything ynnie🫶🏻
ynonline: to whoever she’s dating, TELL HER TO COME HOME HER WIFE (me) AND THE KIDS MISS HER
svtmaknaeline: i just know seungkwan cried reading this (after y/n translated it)
i stayed off tumblr and wattpad because i needed to catch up in shows & focused on my first semester of college & working but it’s officially summer and i AMMM working on a y/n svt 11th anniversary post to hopefully have up tonight and then figure out what the hell i was writing & working on!
congrats on the move, that's so exciting! could we possibly get a picture of the cat? 👀
- 🌱
of course!! here’s my sweet angel boy, jinx<3 this was taken move in day so boy was SCAREDDD and cold cause it took a while to get the heat going in my room
sooo life update; i moved into my dorm yesterday with my cat (i got him registered as an ESA and i got a single room accommodation!) & i start classes tomorrow!!
i hope to get back into writing and stuff soon i just have been SO BUSY preparing for school and i definitely will be busy this next first couple weeks of class while i get into the swing of being a student for the first time since i graduated in 2021. but im gonna try to pop in here and chat with yall when i can and try to get writing done when i can!!
and pink haired s.coups will be living in my head rent free in the mean time
SEVENTEEN X 14TH MEMBER READER: THROUGHOUT THE ERAS
YOUR CHOICE
summary: seventeen releases their 8th mini album “your choice” on june 18, 2021. The mini album contains 6 tracks, 3 group songs and a song from each unit. explore a breakdown of their album as well as maknae y/n’s lines, looks, and experience behind each track.
nat’s notes: honestly i almost had this done but i needed to do the mv descriptions (which i half-assed, sorry). anyways I GOT MY LICENSE TODAY WOOHOO. hoping ill be able to get more out soon! but i’m having some weird ass glitch with saving my stuff? like i could not add mf pictures it was weird idk
HEAVEN'S CLOUD
1:07-1:11 (original, dino)
Give me your, give me your
Give me your love, love cloud
3:06-3:10 (original, jun)
There is no sadness in me
Because my world is you
3:26-3:30 (original, jeonghan)
Give me your, give me your
Give me your love, love cloud
READY TO LOVE
The title track for this comeback, Ready To Love, is an R&B pop song with a synth-driven groove. It explores the transition from platonic to romantic love, with lyrics of both nervousness and excitement. The song is upbeat, yet emotional, a confession. The pop and R&B blend gives both a danceable rhythm and a sentimental warmth.
The music video is a visual exploration of the song itself’s theme. It uses telephone booths labeled “Friends” and “Lovers”, the male members are seen interacting with a female character who represents the love interest, while Natalia is seen interacting with a male character.
The video is filled with pastel and floral themes sets, giving the entire video a dreamy, summery vibe. The members described the video as a more refined and mature take on their earlier, more “youthful” concepts. Y/n, who stars in the music video with red hair, shines in her own way amidst the pastel and dreamy sets. With her hair in long waves with braids, their wardrobes casual yet thoughtfully styled with pastels and soft tones, the video is a perfect visualization to the songs story..
A memorable moment in the video is the synchronized rain dance performance near the end, the group all wearing black and white as they perform the final chorus. The group blends their vocals and synchronized choreo perfectly, leaving another perfect music video for fans to remember.
0:00-0:07 (original, joshua)
I’m ready to love
Tell me, can we stay together? Can we stay together?
0:44-0:52 (original, dk)
I’m ready to love
Tell me, can we stay together? Can we stay together?
1:58-2:02 (original, jun)
Run away to the other side of the world
Take my hand
ANYONE
On July 23, 2021, SEVENTEEN releases a special video for “Anyone”. The video is set on a race track, focusing on a powerful group performance. The members are dressed in sleek race car driver or motorsport-inspired outfits, including Natalia with her long red hair and black and read racer jacket. The video is a darker, edgier energy in comparison to the rest of the album.
The song itself is a hip-hop, electro rock influenced track, with heavy bass and beats. The song is about confidence, unity as strength, and individual agency.
bro are you alive????? I’ve been 😢 missing you 😔 pls come back!!!!
hi!! i’m alive i promise!!
yall i’ve been SO EMOTIONALLY AND SOCIALLY DEAD THESE LAST TWO MONTHS.
i’ve just been focusing on getting ready to go to college in january, working, and binging random youtube videos (mostly steve wilkos, boze, and dazgames for some reason?). i literally have a christmas instagram post that i meant to put up last week and just got too lazy to do the comments??? like idk man i suck.
BUTTT i have been slowly getting back into things because i tell you i haven’t even had the energy to like talk to my friends and family or even scroll on tiktok these last few weeks like it’s been ROUGH. but i am starting to feel like my normal self, started doing some writing again, SOOOO hopefully i’ll be back to posting my chaotic content soon.
i’m gonna do some makeup posts. aka post woozi and joshua’s birthday posts (i haven’t made either tho), post the ready to love era, another in the soop, and idk i probably have more to do but i kinda forgot LMAO.
anyways SORRY IVE BEEN GONE I SWEAR I WILL BE BACK SOON</3
gonna have another “throughout the eras” post for yall soooon!!
it’s the “your choice” era and i thought it was fitting cause im posting in the soop rn LMAOOO. anyways here’s the sneaky peaky like intro header thingy for yall because i love to yap as much as humanly possible
it’s cute righttt??? i have lines and images & all that picked out i just gotta do the actual WORDS of that makes sense!?
gonna try to finish in the soop episode 3 at least before posting this and then MAYBEEEE if i can speed run the series the love interest poll will be able to go up!?? and then idk what era i’ll do next, maybe love&letter orrrr going seventeen. i also have her first solo album era to finish (i have it mostly done i just need to do the layouts & stuff for the post).
idk none of this really matters i just wanted to yap a lil before i get ready for work. but i don’t work again for a few days sooo maybe ill get some writing done then teehee!!
nat’s notes: happy minghao day!! y/n has no faceclaim! all photos used are meant to be placeholders / representative of things like hair color & stuff. all photos are found on pinterest or instagram
♫ THE 8 . Star Crossing Night
Liked by xuminghao_o and 1.6M others
y/n: happy birthday my hao🤍 no amount of photos, words, lyrics, or art pieces could capture how grateful i am for you. thank you for making my starry nights🤍
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readytolovesvt: NOW IM CRYING
ynstan4ever: HAPPY BIRTHDAY MINGHAOOOO
happyhaohao: they are forever my favorite svt duo
backbackbackitup: She kept it short and sweet and yet i’m tearing up
starlightcrossing: OH how i love them. happy birthday, the8
yndreamer: the first photo they’re so fine and they KNOW IT
horanghao: I will never move on from them! THEY ARE SO SPECIAL TO ME. she loves her seventeen so much🥺😭🩷
cheecheehana: she didn’t call him old this year! a miracle!
poongpoongie: So it’s just naturally revealed who took these photos? OKAY!
nonvernon: people died after this post. i’m one of them.
leftrightenthusiast: Another birthday another day where Y/n is nice to her members!
jeonghanseyebrow: the cutest ever fr
picheolinsup: HAPPY BIRTHDAY HAOHAO!
dokyeomsunshine: The last photo is me
tangerkwan: lethal face cards OH LORD
kilayn: y/n’s favorite it’s true
joshuji95z: happy birthday the 8!
caratdeulyn: TODAYS A BEAUTIFUL DAY WE GET YNHAO CONTENT
wontonwoo: “thank you for making my starry nights” JUST STAB ME IN THE CHEST WHY DONT YOU???
seventeencaratmagic: i want someone to love me the way ynhao love each other…or just how seventeen loves seventeen…
the8sfavoritefrog: when you’re in a “minghao’s biggest fan” competition but the competition of y/n l/n
everybodylovesyn: happy birthday🩷💙
mingyatt: mingyu’s crying in a corner, filled with jealousy, except he doesn’t know if he wants to be y/n or hao.
moonyjunny: HAPPY BIRTHDAY MYUNGHOOO
woozisrice: day 80382 where i miss woozi
deekayisdokyeom: me too diva
jihanniehae: i want them both. this is the greed they talk about in the bible.
xoxoxuhao: happy birthday minghao🤍 thank you y/nnie for always supporting him!
I was wondering if you’ll write about when they were on the show one fine day and one fine day in Japan
good question!! i don’t know yet tbh!
i actually haven’t sat down and watched those shows start to finish yet, but i plan on it soon!! i’ve only seen some clips and random moments thus far.
so i can’t give a straight answer until i really sit down and watch the entire series, but i AM open to it! at the very least maybe moments will get mentioned in like…compilations and stuff.
currently focusing on in the soop season 1, so maybe after that i’ll look at one fine day & decide if i’ll write it too.
summary: seventeen continues their first night in the soop. they dive into different ways to relax; sleeping, hobbies, food, and more. some members even start to reminisce on old times, sharing an emotional moment together.
word count: 6.1K
warnings: written in the format of in the soop eps, english is italicized, post-soop interviews are italicized but pre-soop isn’t but i specify them anyway, use of y/n, fem!reader, mentions of insecurities, picky-eater habits, body shaming, self-esteem, sexualization, industry struggles, chaos, fluff, minor angst?, hurt, comfort, y/n loves ramen as much as i do, lemme know if i missed any!
nats notes: didn’t expect me here so soon huhhh??? i’m actually almost done with episode three so i decided to throw this out for you guys!! i feel like not MUCH happens here but there’s LOTS of exploring y/n’s dynamics with members (it’s very seungkwan, dino, mingyu, & joshua dependent today). this one has some more emotional touchy things going on, that kinda hints at some stuff that will be brought up again in other works, so yeahhh. idk i hope you guys like it! hoping to get ep3 finished and out soon!
DK and Mingyu are on their own adventure, building a brick oven in hopes to use it to cook some meals. For the teams first night in the Soop, they decided to try and make tomahawk steaks.
With some chaos regarding fire wood, the fire being too low, too high, smoke trying to take out their lungs, Seungcheol dropping a steak, and the usual expectations when it comes to the members, they are on the right track to a beautiful meal for the members.
Seungkwan steps out of the lower house. “Are you awake now?” Seungcheol asks with a laugh.
“I’m alive.”
[IT’S CONFIRMED THAT SEUNGKWAN IS ALIVE]
“Y/n is still asleep though.” Seungkwan mutters as he walks closer. He looks at all the food, “What’s that? I want some too! It looks great,” He admires.
“Seungkwan, where were you?” DK asks, genuinely curious.
“I fell asleep in the room for a moment.” Seungkwan explains as they start heading into the dining hall. “Y/n is still asleep, should I wake her up?”
The members get easily distracted, cooking up things like pork belly, kimchi, and ramen, and anything to help prepare for their first dinner during their stay.
[MEANWHILE…IN DREAMLAND]
The video cuts to Y/n, curled up in an unfamiliar blanket in Minghao’s bed.
[WHERE DID SHE GET THAT? 20 MINUTES AGO…]
When Seungkwan woke up from his nap, he had noticed the way Y/n had curled into herself, as if trying to warm herself without climbing under the blankets on the bed. But she was cold, Seungkwan noticed almost right away. He sighs, moving slowly towards the living room.
“Where’s Y/n’s stuff?” He whispers to Vernon, who’s dozed off himself on one of the couches.
“Which,” Vernon trails off, craning his neck to look around the room, silently asking himself which bag was the girls. “One bags here,” He gestures to a bag in the corner.
Seungkwan steps over him to get to Y/n’s second bag, and he quickly pulls it open. Almost immediately he finds Y/n’s pillow and blanket she purposely packed for the trip. He tugs out the blanket, staring at it. “Is this a Harry Potter blanket?”
Vernon looks at it and starts to laugh. “It is.” He mutters.
Seungkwan chuckles under his breath, padding his way back to the bedroom. The camera zooms in on him placing the blanket over the maknae, tucking her in sweetly to keep her warm. She doesn’t seem to stir, lost in the land of sleep and dreams.
[SHE SLEEPS A LONG TIME]
When Y/n finally stirs, the sun is already setting. She pads out of her room, waving at Vernon who also started to wake up from his nap.
She steps out into the cool air, squinting to see who was around. She walks further down the path, smiling at the members who are sitting at the tarp. It’s Jeonghan, Hoshi, Dino, and Mingyu.
Jeonghan reaches for her hand as she passes him. “Did you eat?” He asks.
“I ate lunch,” She mutters, leaning into him and his chair.
“We saved you some food,” Mingyu says as he stands up. Y/n blinks at him, surprised.
“What is it?” She asks.
“DK and Mingyu made steaks in the brick oven,” Hoshi explains. She perks up at that, steak being one of her favorite foods.
Jeonghan looks up at her. “We wanted you to sleep, so Mingyu cut up your plate and put it in the microwave. We were going to come get you soon.”
“Oh, thank you,” Y/n says as she follows Mingyu towards the dining hall.
[Y/N DOESNT LIKE BONES, SO MINGYU CUT HER STEAK]
Mingyu heats up her plate as she sits down. He looks over at her. “Did you sleep good?” He asks her. Y/n nods, wiping at her face. “Have you ridden the ATV yet?”
“No, but I want to!” She blurts, eyes wide at the idea. Mingyu laughs at the burst of energy, even if it’s momentary.
“We can ride it together tomorrow,” Mingyu suggests. “Or the next day, cause it might rain.”
Y/n smiles and nods, thanking Mingyu as he places her food in front of her. She thanks him again and he simply pats her head as he heads back out and towards the upper house to wash up.
When Y/n starts finishing her plate, she looks up from her phone to see Vernon and Minghao wandering in. “Are you guys making something?” She asks, both boys humming in acknowledgement.
Vernon, who was slightly sad he slept through the tomahawk steaks, looks around. “Did the members finish all of the meat earlier?” He asked,
“We only have this,” Minghao points at what’s in the fridge, Vernon coming closer.
“They ate all of the ribs?” The two are both shocked and not at the same time, knowing that their members could truly eat a lot if they’re hungry enough. And more often than not, they’re plenty hungry.
Y/n looks up, “Vernon, I have some of mine left,” She calls out. The boy looks over. “Mingyu cut it for me.”
“Are you sure?” Vernon approaches quickly, his eyes laser-focused on her plate now.
“You didn’t get any,” Y/n says simply, picking up a piece of meat with her chopsticks and bringing it to his mouth.
“Vernon, the meat is over here!” Hoshi’s voice calls out.
Y/n and Minghao watch as Vernon quickly rushes outside, realizing there was some meat leftover, just needed to be heated up again. Y/n laughs, fond of the members.
“Y/n!” Dino’s voice catches Y/n’s attention. “Come sit outside!” He calls for the other 99 liner.
It takes a few moments, but Y/n comes basically waddling out with her nearly empty plate, smiling wide. “You two look so cute at the fire,” She says. Jeonghan was gone, likely back at the playhouse to build his lego set.
Vernon and Minghao cook their food on the fire, sharing the meat with Dino and Hoshi.
[A BLACK SILHOUETTE WAKING UP TO THE SMELL OF BARBECUE? WHO IS IT?]
Y/n turns as someone makes peculiar vocal sounds, spitting Woozi jumping out or the camper. He places a hand on Y/n’s chair, looking at the pot of meat and mushrooms and whatever else they had decided to add. “Such great food you all are eating,” He mutters. “Meat is always right.”
The members move further under the tarp to eat at the small table instead of around the fire. Y/n picks up a piece of meat with her chop sticks as Hoshi and Woozi talk about the meat being too hot, turning in her chair to hand it to Woozi. He takes a bite, nodding his head in appreciation.
“Eating meat makes me want ramyeon,”
Y/n gasps, “Me too,” She mutters, looking at the others. “Can we have ramyeon?”
“I know the best way to cook ramyeon,” Dino blurts, sitting next to Y/n. “As soon as you add the noodles in, you know the kimchi I brought?” Everyone nods, knowing about Dino’s kimchi. “Finally dice the kimchi then add enough for the ramyeon. Then it basically becomes kimchi jjigae ramyeon.”
Y/n is squealing at the thought while Vernon simply wows in amazement, both of their stomachs basically rumbling at the mere idea. “I know a great way to cook ramyeon too,” Hoshi says, leaning forward. “The best ramyeon is when you cook it.”
Everyone starts to laugh, cleaning over the pot to eat more food while they convince Dino to make ramyeon for them. Hoshi and Dino disappear into the dining hall to prepare the pot.
Y/n sits up, “Can I check on the playhouse?” She asks.
Vernon, Woozi, and Minghao look at her. “Sure.” Woozi shrugs.
“Why’d you ask for permission?” Vernon laughs.
“Cause I want you to tell me when the ramyeon is ready,” She explains, “I want some,” Y/n points, standing up and wandering up the path towards the playhouse, which she hadn’t really been in since they first looked around.
[PRE-SOOP INTERVIEW]
“I like crafts.” Y/n said to the staff when they asked for activities she’d like to do. “I like to paint, I like to draw, I like photography. I just feel like I’m too much of a perfectionist and I never learned enough about it to be proud of my work.” She explains. “So any fun crafts like that would be nice to have.”
[THE GROWN UPS LOOK LIKE THEY’LL STAY UP ALL NIGHT AT THE PLAYHOUSE]
The floor is a chaotic mess of pottery, legos, and more in the playhouse. Jeonghan switching between pottery and his lego car, Joshua making another tray, Wonwoo finally finishing up his lego space station, and Seungcheol who’s starting to read a book.
Y/n walks in, blinking at them, “This looks fun,” She mumbles as she walks further inside.
“Look, look,” Wonwoo smiles as he gestures to his space station. Y/n steps closer.
“Oh, it’s cool!” She says, “You finished it quickly.”
Wonwoo nods, “Jeonghan said it was an easy one.”
“It’s still cool,” She compliments, sitting next to Seungcheol who’s curling up with his book. “Are you really gonna read?” She asks, raising a suspicious brow. Seungcheol hums, flipping a page. “I don’t think so,” Y/n leans onto his shoulder, watching the members do their things. “What crafts do we have?” She asks, catching Joshua’s attention.
“Lots of things,” Joshua tells her, gesturing to the boxes.
Y/n gets up, stumbling over limbs and legos as she sinks down to look. She hums to herself in thought, pulling out a sketch book. She smiles at that, starting to flip through the pages and reaches for a case of pencils. Y/n still couldn’t believe how much the staff and crew had prepared for them. So many different activities, and yet still felt relaxing in some way.
She looks up, peering around the room. “Wonwoo,” She mumbles, catching his attention. “What should I draw?” She asks.
Wonwoo hums, contemplating. “Draw Jeonghan,”
Y/n starts to giggle, shaking her head. “I’m not a good drawer,” She explains, waving a pencil at him.
“Draw a tree, cause we’re in the forest,” Wonwoo quickly changes his answer, smiling at her as she listens intently.
“Oh! I like that!” She says, turning to the page and settling in more.
[AND JUST LIKE THAT, Y/N FORGETS ABOUT HER RAMYEON]
Y/n sits, curled up with the sketchbook in her lap as she starts drawing a tree. She listens to the members' small talk, looks up to smile at DK’s daily journal, compliment Joshua’s pottery, or giggle at Seungcheol as he dozes off. For the first time in a long time, Y/n started to wonder if this is what relaxing is. Maybe it’s not vacations with massages and resorts and the things she saw in movies (though she was sure that would be relaxing too). Maybe it was being in a shared space with people she loved without the pressures of the outside world. All of them are able to co-exist without really interacting. Sitting in quiet, just enjoying each other's presence.
The thought settled on her as she continued to draw with a pencil, shading the imaginary lighting, sketching in detail into the tree's trunk, even going as far as to add roots down at the bottom. The branches escape the page, leaves scattered all over the top half and falling down the page.
DK eventually leans over her shoulder to look at what she’s doing. “Oh, it’s good!” He says, eyes wide with surprise. “I didn’t know you could draw.”
“I can’t, it’s really simple,” Y/n shakes her head, looking back at her page instead of the others who now seem curious at what she’s doing.
She doesn’t say anything, but there’s a faint blush across her cheeks and a smile threatening to crack. Her phone begins to buzz, catching her attention. She reaches for it, “Hello?”
“Y/n-ah, come back to the tarp zone for ramyeon.” Mingyu’s voice on the other end of the line catches her attention.
Y/n closes the sketch book, “Is it cold?” She asks as she realizes how long it’s been.
“I made a batch for us.”
“Oh! Okay!” Y/n hops over the couch as she heads for the door, leaving the others in the playhouse to return to her food.
She prances down the path, smiling wide at Mingyu who is still sitting under the tent. He watches her, giggling at the way she’s practically bouncing with every step, excited at the idea of ramen.
“Is it good?” She calls out curiously. Mingyu hums in agreement, Y/n sitting across from him. “Where did everyone go?”
“Getting ready for bed,” He explains before leaning into his bowl and slurping up noodles.
“Everyone’s dressed for bed, huh?” She says thoughtfully. She leans over to take her first bite, her eyes widening as she looks at Mingyu.
“Do you like it?”
She nods eagerly, humming loudly in appreciation. Mingyu starts to laugh as she sits up straight, finishing the bite in her mouth. “I love it,” She breathes out.
“I used to make you food a lot when we lived in dorms together,” Mingyu recalls.
Y/n sighs thoughtfully. “I should come over to your place more, make you cook for me.” She teases. Mingyu laughs, nodding as he takes another bite.
Eventually, Woozi and Dino end up back at the tent, and Y/n moves to sit between them. She’s eating her ramen, offering bites to the others despite them already eating plenty themselves.
“It feels like wild animals will really come out,” Says Woozi.
As if on cue, a howl is heard in the distance. Mingyu snaps his head up, “Did you hear that?”
Y/n, mouth full, looks around, nodding her head. There was a second one, and she straightened her posture. “Did you hear that?” She turns to Woozi. She blinks at him, eyes wide and almost cartoonishly.
[A MYSTERIOUS SOUND HEARD IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT?]
“It’s an animal. This is an animal for sure?”
The howling gets louder, the group of four looking at each other in alarm. Y/n shifts nervously, leaning down to take another bite of ramen despite some nerves creeping up her spine.
Their phones start to go off, Y/n digging hers out to see videos sent to the group chat from Wonwoo and Jeonghan of DK and Seungkwan sitting in the stream and howling at the moon.
“They’re so loud,” Y/n laughs, letting the members take her phone to see. “I thought we had to start running!”
Woozi laughs, “You were about to take the ramyeon and run!” He says as she takes another bite of her food.
Dino cackles, throwing his head back. “She would’ve!”
The camera zooms in on Y/n, cheeks stuffed full of ramen as she looks between them. She brings her small bowl close to her chest, protecting it.
[RAMEN DEFENDER]
Eventually, Y/n is inside the kitchen, offering to clean up their dishes as Mingyu had cooked for them. She finds Hoshi, who’s cleaned up a little himself and is just relaxing inside. “Did you eat?” He ask.
“Mingyu made me some,” She says, “You all forgot about me!”
Hoshi laughs as she shoves past him towards the sink to wash dishes. “We didn’t! Jeonghan sent a photo of you drawing to the group chat and we didn’t wanna disturb you!” He digs his phone out, scrolling through texts. Sure enough, Jeonghan had sent a photo of Y/n, curled up in her spot at the playhouse, focused on her drawing. Y/n blushed, shaking her head in dismay.
“Yah, why does he take photos like he’s my dad?”
“He is your dad,” Hoshi teases. Y/n merely shakes her head, continuing to clean up while Seungkwan and DK play ball outside.
Within moments, Y/n and Hoshi turn just in time to see the ball fly into the air, and never come back down. DK and Seungkwan are frozen, staring up at the roof of the dining hall.
[LETS HAVE FUN AND PLAY WITH THE BALL- THE END]
[WITHIN FIVE SECONDS, THE BALL GAME COMES TO AN END]
Y/n giggles. “They’re both fools.”
“Why are we the two quiet ones right now?” Hoshi asks. Y/n blinks, thinking about how some members are outside singing and talking, some are (trying) to play ball or apparently howl at the moon, some are asleep, but most shockingly two of the most loud members are quietly chatting in a kitchen…when neither of them can cook.
The two stare at each other, blinking, before bursting into a fit of laughter.
Hoshi leans into her, the two clutching onto each other as they laugh at themselves. “We’re not supposed to be quiet!” Y/n counters, shoving at him. “Quick, do something loud!”
Hoshi stares at her, unsure what to do. Y/n stares back. Blink. Blink.
“I’m not funny right now.” Hoshi gasps.
Y/n laughs again, covering her face with her hands. “I’m leaving!” She says as she walks towards the doors. “I need to get pajamas on!” Hoshi laughs, waving at her as she steps outside and heads towards the lower house.
[AT THIS MOMENT, EVERYONE HAS THE SAME DREAM, THE SAME FEELING, AND THE SAME NIGHT]
Y/n is in Minghao’s room, wearing gray sweatpants, a white t-shirt, and a black fluffy jacket as she prepares to head back outside. She looks at Minghao, who’s relaxing in his bed, reading.
“Are you going to bed soon?” She asks, peaking over at him. Minghao doesn’t look up, only humming a yes in response. “I’ll stay out of here til morning then,” She says, reaching for her phone charger and a couple things from her bags that were next to his.
Minghao looks up then, “Are you sure you don’t wanna stay here?” He asks, soft and gentle now that the other members aren’t around.
Y/n shakes her head. “I’m a night owl, and I don’t wanna keep you awake,” She says, reaching over and patting his head. Minghao scrunches his face. “I’ll see you in the morning,”
[THEY’RE ENDING THEIR DAYS IN THEIR OWN WAYS]
While Minghao reads alone, other members are doing their own things. Also in the lower house, Joshua is curled up on his futon on his phone, Vernon is turning off the lights, and Y/n quietly sneaks outside.
In the upper house, DK, Wonwoo, and Jeonghan all do face masks while Seungcheol watches tv on the floor mattress. The face mask trio takes photos, sharing their ridiculous looks. Jun and Mingyu, who were previously outside, join the upper house members to get ready for bed themselves.
Y/n, armed with a fluffy jacket and her Harry Potter blanket, joins two of her closest friends back under the tent outside.
Dino looks up, smiling wide. “You returned!” Seungkwan looks up, cheering with the youngest male member.
“I just changed,” Y/n says, standing between them. Seungkwan starts to laugh at Y/n’s clothing choice, reaching forward to tug on her jacket.
“You look like a teddy bear.” Seungkwan comments as Y/n moves to sit next to Dino, across from the ‘98 liner.
Y/n curls up in her spot, pulling her blanket up to her chest. “It’s gonna be colder at night,” She reminds them.
The three of them fall into an easy, natural flow of conversation. Sometimes, it’s simply quiet, each of them on their phones. Other times, it’s a little chatter as one leans over to share what the other saw on social media, little giggles littering the air as they do.
[PROLONGING THEIR DAY AS THEY DONT WANT TO LET GO OF IT YET]
Dino looks across from him and Y/n, looking towards the blond man who’s on his phone. “When are you leaving?”
“On Sunday,” Seungkwan says, putting his phone down to bring attention back to the conversation. Unfortunately, he still had a pre-scheduled shoot in the middle of their trip. “But after my shoot, I’m returning here,”
Y/n clicks her tongue, “I wish you didn’t have to go back and forth, though.” She says, “I’m worried you won’t be able to rest the way you should,” Y/n has been close with Seungkwan since the day she came to PLEDIS, and she’s never been afraid to show him her worry and care for him. It was natural for them. The love and care they both had for one another is evident after many years.
“We’re here for a vacation, to rest, but you still have to go to work,” Dino lists off, scratching his shoulder in thought. “That wouldn’t exactly feel like a vacation.”
“Right, but it’s okay,” Seungkwan shrugs as he rests his head on his fist. “What can I do? However I think about it, I’m just thankful. It’s just what it is.”
Y/n frowns, shifting in her chair. “I also worry about this,” Dino says, leaning forward in his chair. Y/n looks up, blinking in surprise at Dino’s tone. “In my eyes, you’re such a great guy. But in a way, just as a third person, I sometimes wonder,” Dino looks to the side in thought. “Is he taking care of his feelings as well as he is taking care of his work?” Seungkwan nods in understanding, his gaze shifting to Y/n.
[BOO SEUNGKWAN THROUGH LEE CHAN’S EYES]
“I’m not doubtful. I’m just worried,” Dino clarifies. “As your little brother. Y/n and I have talked about it before.” He gestures to the girl with cherry-red hair, who nods casually.
Seungkwan shifts in his seat, his hands tucked in his pockets. “It’s not easy nowadays, I must admit.” The other two chorus in agreement. “I’ve had times when I was completely crushed and when I was feeling perfectly fine. But to have my body and mind running all the time, constantly exhausted, I’ve been more on edge lately.” Dino hums in understanding, his attention fully on their older member as he talks. “Now, I don’t want to let those fleeting emotions take control of me,”
“Do they control you too much?” Dino asks at the same time.
“But we’re human. And we have the capability to feel strong emotions like that,” Y/n points out. “And you feel things so strongly, you have a big heart, and that’s one of my favorite things about you, but I know it can be very overwhelming.” She explains. “And so it’s all about balance, I think.”
Seungkwan looks up, “That’s why I’ve been journaling.” He tells them. “I think it’s been about two to three months.”
Y/n leans forward to take some of Dino’s snacks. “What do you write about?” She asks.
“Just about my day, four to five sentences each. Just about what I did that day. Or if there’s anything memorable, I write about how I felt and what happened.”
Y/n and Dino both hum. Y/n sits back in her chair. “That’s a really good idea.” She says. “I think that will be very good for you to be open with yourself and feel emotions without feeling like they’re also controlling you,” She explains, causing Seungkwan to nod in agreement.
Dino looks between the two, shifting in his chair as he speaks up. “When we first debuted, watching you do all sorts of things for SEVENTEEN, I learned so much,” He says to Seungkwan. Y/n nods in agreement, but otherwise stays silent to let the other youngest member talk. “As time goes on, I’m in more admiration. Now I want to be there to support and respect you more. A part of me feels like you must have a sense of responsibility to do all of this. At the same time, you don’t have to do that, but I’m also very thankful for you. I feel both ways.” He expresses the conflicting feelings he’s had, growing up in this group while also realizing how much work Seungkwan has done for them over the years, the feelings of both guilt and gratitude. “But if you’re having a hard time, tell us.”
Seungkwan cracks a smile, “I’m very vocal about my struggles,” He teases.
“He’s very loud,” Y/n jokes, scrunching her face. Seungkwan and Dino laugh.
“I wouldn’t talk about it if things were really hard,” Seungkwan clarifies. “I think I’ve only ever talked to Y/n during those times.”
“Succeeding and struggling are very different.” Dino points out. “I think your happiness is all that matters. So, if you’re exhausted, take a break. I hope you’ll be able to do that.”
The members fall into a momentary silence while Seungkwan tries to think of what to say. “This is how I feel.” He leans back in his chair, staring down at the table before looking up at the youngest male member. “When something happens, and I need to talk about something serious, it’s the hardest for me to talk to you about it.” He says. Y/n watches Dino’s face, listening silently. “You’ve grown so much that you’re thinking about all of the things that you just said. You’re not at all this immature and thoughtless little brother. You’re not the baby of the group like that, neither of you are.” Dino and Y/n share a playful look, before Dino focuses back to Seungkwan. “You’ve grown so much and think so maturely. That’s why we, the older ones, find it harder to approach you now. We want to tell you so much, but it’s not easy to open up to you.” Dino adjusts his position, wiping stray tears from his eyes as Y/n pats his shoulder reassuringly. “Even as we talk right now, how you think is so mature. I even feel like I can learn from you. But you’re always like that.”
Y/n awe’s as Dino wipes tears again. She leans forward, using the sleeve of her jacket to wipe at his cheeks. “Dino, don’t cry, I’ll cry,” She whispers.
“You can just be a baby at times. Both of you.” Seungkwan counters, catching their attention again. “Has anyone scolded you for being a baby?” Dino looks down at his lap, feeling Y/n lean into him. “Sometimes, you should take advantage of being the youngest.”
“You’re right,” Dino mutters, his mind swimming with thoughts.
Seungkwan pauses the music playing, “I think you can let go a little. I hope you can let yourself go a little. But I’m afraid you’ll say ‘it’s not like i can’t let myself loose. I can let myself go’. I feel like you’d say so, which is why I couldn’t tell you.”
Dino looks up from his hand, which Y/n reaches for it to link their hands together. “I think that’s why I fear people too.” He replies. “I’m traumatized about being judged after seeing just one side of me.”
“I can imagine how frustrated you must’ve felt.” Seungkwan nods, the conversation giving all the members new perspectives on each other.
For a second, Dino is sitting in silence, before he inhales sharply and looks towards the girl next to him. “I think something I think about too is just how different our experience was with her,” Dino gestures to Y/n, him and Seungkwan looking at her now, the only member younger than Dino, as well as the only girl of their group. The girl lifts her head off of Dino’s arm, blinking in surprise that she was dragged into the conversation. “Your experience is a lot different than ours,” Dino says, “And you didn’t really complain or anything. Even when it was harder than what we did. I worry sometimes that you hold it in too much, because I know you dealt with a lot for us.”
She hummed at that, lifting her head to the air in thought. “I don’t want to say it was harder, because we all had our hardships and things we struggled with. But I do think my experience was different, which made it harder to relate to each other.” She says. Dino nods in understanding. “I think that I felt like I had to prove myself a lot in ways maybe you guys didn’t, and I felt like I had to prove to other people that I belonged in SEVENTEEN.”
“Being paired with thirteen guys must’ve been strange.” Seungkwan thinks out loud, his empathetic heart showing even now.
Y/n nods. “It was.” She laughs. “But I wanted to do it. It felt right, once we all started talking, and practicing, and working. Even when there were days you all annoyed me, it still felt like SEVENTEEN was the right choice for me. And I still feel that way.” She leans back in her chair, scratching the side of her face. “It was hard. Especially the early years. Listening to the negative feedback, what people said about me, my body, my clothes.”
“They were harsh.” Dino winces, remembering the days he’d scroll through social media, seeing the cruelty Y/n faced. Slut-shaming, body-shaming, people accusing her of sleeping with the members or higher-ups to be in the group, people critiquing every movement she made on stage, every interaction she had with the members, it was like she was under a microscope, and everything she said or did was wrong.
Y/n nods. “I hated it. I still do.” She squirms in her seat. “I didn’t want to be known as the girly girl of SEVENTEEN, or like…SEVENTEEN’s girlfriend. I just wanted to be known as Y/n from SEVENTEEN.” She rests her head in her hand. “I hated the shipping, the objectification. It made me scared to interact with you all after Mansae. I felt like I couldn’t even be friends with my members.”
Dino has a slight pout on his face, remembering the days where Y/n pulled away from the group. Where she only really interacted with him, Seungkwan, Vernon, and Joshua. And even then, she cut off contact when they were on stage or filming and kept it strictly business. Everyone hated it, including Y/n who felt she had to filter herself and hold herself back from the people she trusted most.
“I’m glad we talked through that back then.” Seungkwan says, “We wanted you to know that, no matter what the articles or the people say, you’re a part of SEVENTEEN.” Y/n nods, listening to the blond talk. “And that while we may not understand your struggles, and while we may not relate the same way, we want to back you up, hold you when you’re struggling, and be there by your side even when you don’t want us to be or feel like we have to.”
Y/n smiles, wiping at a tear that slipped. “You guys have always been there for me. I’ve always felt like I have to be as strong as the rest of you.” She confesses softly.
“You don’t have to be strong. None of us do. When one feels low, the others will lift us up.” Dino says, honest and gentle. “Besides, I don’t think needing support, or being upset, or stressed is being weak, no? You’re strongest in those moments because you’re allowing yourself to feel it. Being vulnerable is hard. You and I know that better than anyone.”
Y/n smiles faintly. “I genuinely believe with full confidence that I wouldn’t have debuted if it weren’t for you two.” She says, looking between the boys with tears still threatening to pour. “You guys were my best friends, you still are.”
Seungkwan lifts his head in thought, “You don’t need to prove yourself anymore. You proved yourself when you debuted with us and you proved yourself every day since. You don’t need to worry about it anymore.” He tells the girl, who nods as she swallows the lump in her throat. “You’ve done enough. You’ve carried the weight enough. You’re meant to be the baby, Y/n-ah. It’s okay to be the baby. It’s okay to be the girl of SEVENTEEN because you’re still SEVENTEEN.”
Y/n nods, smiling, “Thank you,” She whispers, wiping at her face. She sniffles, laughing shyly. “I think that’s something I’m still learning.”
“You’re better than us,” Dino shrugs. “We’ve all told you that. You’re one of the strongest members. Strongest people. And you always have been.”
[Y/N IN SEUNGKWAN & DINO’S EYES; STRONG BACKBONE OF SEVENTEEN]
After a moment of quiet, Y/n wipes at her face again before groaning. “You guys made me cry too much and feel so many feelings that now I’m tired.” She whines.
“You should go to bed, you’ve been working hard,” Dino points out.
Y/n pouts but she stands up from her chair. She pouts at Dino as he stands up, giving her a high as she tries to swallow him with her blanket. “I love you, Y/nnie,”
Y/n holds back tears and giggles as Seungkwan gives her a hug too. “Sleep well, and don’t cry anymore,”
“No more crying once I get inside,” She points at her face and then the lower house. The boys laugh and coo at her as she pulls away, leaving them to continue their talks alone.
Y/n creeps back into the lower house, stepping over Vernon who’s set up his and Dino’s beds on the floor.
[WHERE IS Y/N GOING?]
Y/n skitters through the living room, walking into the small room where Joshua is, already fast asleep. It’s the same room Hoshi and Woozi had been relaxing in earlier in the day, a coat rack filled with clothes for the members brought by the SOOP in the corner.
Y/n closes the door, her phone being her only source of light. She turns it in front of her, lighting her path to where Joshua lays asleep.
“Oppa,” She whispers, but Joshua doesn’t stir. She steps closer, “Shua,”
A low guttural groan is heard in the room. Joshua turns his head slightly. “Hm?”
“Can I sleep in here?” She asks softly, in english, her voice coming out with a gentle shake.
Joshua lifts his head, “Are you crying?” He asks, starting to wake up now.
“I had a deep talk with Seungkwan and Dino,” She says simply.
The explanation behind her actions was simple; Y/n wanted a quiet comfort. Sure, she could wake up Vernon, but then Dino would walk in and she’d feel awkward crying to Vernon in front of Dino about their heartfelt conversation. She wasn’t going to wake up Minghao, she wasn’t going to climb into the camper with Hoshi and Woozi, and she didn’t want to feel so emotionally exposed if she went into the upper house to get comfort from one of the others there. Joshua felt like a safe answer; a comfortable safe space with a closed door and wouldn’t ask too many questions.
Joshua shifts, “Do you know where your floor mattress is?” He asks, “We can try to fit it in here and push them together.”
“I don’t know,” She mutters. “I slept in Minghao’s bed earlier,” She explains. “I can sleep out there, I’m sorry for waking you up,” She switches back and forth between korean and english, something she’d done with Joshua and Vernon for years.
As she turns to leave, Joshua sits up more. “No, come here,” Y/n turns, watching as Joshua shifts. “Come sleep here.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m not having you go to bed out there upset.” He says, honest and sure.
Y/n awkwardly comes closer, sinking to sit down on the edge of the mattress. “I’m not upset I’m just…sentimental and thinking.”
“About?”
“How different my life would’ve been if Seungkwan and Dino hadn’t convinced me to stay with SEVENTEEN, and how proud I am of all of us,”
Joshua hums, laying back down with his pillow, “You’re right, that would make me emotional too,” He says. “Lay down, do you have a pillow?”
Y/n shyly lifts up her pillow she brought for the trip, and her and Joshua continue to shift on the small mattress until they find a comfortable spot. “I won’t force you to share with me tomorrow,” She tells him in the dark.
“As long as you’re safe and comfortable, I don’t care where you sleep,” Joshua deadpans. “Goodnight, Y/n,”
“Goodnight Shua.”
And the two of them, facing away from each other, eventually found a natural rhythm and drifted off to sleep, while some members fumbled around longer outside, and others drifted to sleep on their own terms.
[SEVENTEEN’S FIRST NIGHT IN THE FOREST IS HOTTER THAN DAY]
A witch who's keeping centuries old secrets. A vampire who doesn't care about anything other than himself. An unconventional alliance that draws you both closer than you should be. But being good at keeping secrets comes with a price.
pairing: vampire!wonwoo x witch!reader
au/genre: supernatural au, magic au, forbidden romance, strangers to reluctant allies to lovers, angst, eventual smut.
word count: 12,8k
content warnings :blood, fucked up family dynamics, talking about death murder and sacrifices, implied killings, secrets, vampire feeding, thoughts of self-harm, threats.
note: hello! first order of business, thank you so much aeris @aeristudios for taking the time to read this over for me and reassuring me and supporting my crazies ily <3 my obsession with the vampire diaries has led me to this point! I had to write a vampire au! it's my calling!
this is part one! I'll post the second part on november! I promise!
THIS FIC IS FOR +18 READERS ONLY! MINORS CAUGHT INTERACTING WILL BE BLOCKED.
check out my main masterlist ♡
read this post for a more detailed explanation of the lore and what inspired me to write this series!
I love to yap about tvd and this au, so, you're welcome to come scream in my inbox ♡
If you had to define your life with one sentence, the phrase “wrong place at the wrong time,” would be the most fitting, you think.
Whether by the eyes of reincarnation, fate, or the randomness of birth giving, there's no denying that whatever higher power made way for your birth on earth didn't care about your soul, it just needed a vessel to destroy.
Just one day. If you were born a day earlier, reality would be unthinkably better. You would've been just another normal newborn witch in the coven, learning mischievous spells with your friends and getting in trouble with the Wise Ones. But it couldn't happen that way. Life made sure of that. Otherwise, you wouldn't have been conceived.
“It's for the coven,” or “you should be honored to be a part of something so important,” your parents would say every time you'd ask them why they did it, in between sobs. It was hard, learning to live with it. But, little by little, day by day, you stopped caring, set on living the most you could before the time came.
The oh so powerful Moonlit Coven. The rulers of living magic for centuries, in charge of keeping it safe from the evil underworld. They wouldn't let anything happen to you before it was necessary. With a centuries old spell protecting you, nothing can kill you, yet, but can you be hurt?
Doing the grimy dishes you were careless to not clean early in the morning before closing, you're tempted to test its workings. What could happen if you accidentally grabbed a fragile glass with excessive force and it broke in your hand? Would it hurt? Would you bleed? Would it alert your family? It's a recurring intrusive thought that you never let win.
After all the years of living carelessly, building ephemeral relationships and getting emotionally wounded after they inevitably fall apart, that's the one thing you've always been careful about.
Force field spells were the foundation of your teachings, and you overused the hell out of them until you mastered them. Hence now, admittedly, you're scared. Getting physically hurt is something you never experienced, and you avoid it at all cost.
Laying low was the most important promise you had to fulfill in order for the coven to let you live in Ever Burn.
You purposely chose a ghost town as far away from your coven as possible. If you started getting hurt and healing rapidly, filling the bar with the smell of your blood for nothing to be there after, it would draw too much attention.
The couple hundred people living in town were weary of you at first, and the reason was as clear as the purified water you kept under the bar. As soon as you entered the same bar you’re standing in, looking for a job and a place to stay, you could smell the underworld injected in every corner, which the working hours of the bar being from sunset to sunrise should've alerted you of.
Not only the bar has tons of regulars who are vampires and a few werewolves here and there, but the town as a whole. The feeling of hundreds of supernatural creatures living in one place gave you goosebumps. It was hard getting used to it at first, that constant chill running down your spine at the underworld energy, but now that most of the regulars warmed up to you, it became your new normal.
Regulars that in any second are going to come knock on the locked door asking why you haven't opened if the sun already set.
Walking to the entrance with the key in hand, you partly regret choosing to get a job. You could’ve lived on a paradise-like beach with the money from the Coven, free of supernatural elements. But you weren't willing to live off your family's money for any longer. Getting a low paying job like normal people seemed like the way to go.
For the most part, the bar is a decently neutral place. The clients don’t come to make a fuss or to have something—or someone, to eat. Instead, they get drunk and flirt with you knowing they’re at least a couple hundred years older than you.
The bartender course you took still proves to be the best investment you made. You love hearing all the gossip in town. It’s incredible what amounts of illegal things people—mostly vampires, because werewolves have a higher tolerance, admit to doing to the bartender when their inhibitions go away.
A cold breeze on the back of your neck puts your thoughts on hold as you get back behind the bar. Vampires. Judging by the hour, you can guess who’s coming in.
The door creaks open, revealing the same group of friends that come in every day like clockwork.
You put all the yearning for a life you will never have behind you and your best waitress smile. A group of vampires is easy to handle on your own. As long as you're polite but not too flirty, they'll stay out of your way. This group in particular never spares you more than a glance.
From what you've gathered from sneakily listening to their conversations and from their drunken rants at 4 am, they're not murdering anyone in the plans they're whispering between themselves daily. Mostly keeping to the feed & erase process.
You’re walking forward to take their order when you feel it. There’s someone new with the two young looking vampires and their werewolf friend you’re used to seeing in the afternoons. When you lock eyes with him, blinding bleach blond hair and big eyes, you both instantly feel it in your veins. He’s a witch too.
It's a millisecond where your mouth dries incomprehensibly quickly. The last thing you wanted was for every creature in town to learn you're a witch. Underworld creatures can't recognize someone from the living magic world, and you've been good at hiding it so far, even refraining from doing any dumb spells to make your tasks easier to do. Now, it could all be at risk.
“You’re a waitress now?” The werewolf, Mingy, asks to the witch's side, managing to get your nervous system rolling again after the initial shock.
“Rob’s not here, yet.” You’re dry with your response. Small talk be damned for now.
The four guys exchange looks before the vampire with long hair speaks up. “We’ll wait for him, then.”
Normally, you'd think twice about why they'd be so adamant on wanting your boss to take their order, but at the moment, you don't trust yourself to be around this witch you've never seen before for any longer.
Why would he be hanging out with underworld creatures? It's an unspoken law that witches can't engage in relationships of any kind with the supernaturals. Every practicing witch knows that they mean nothing good, even the nice looking werewolves. Your kind always gets caught up in other supernatural creatures’ messes. And, of course, you always end up saving the day. That's why your Coven decided to live in a guarded community, away from any manipulating underworld people and keeping magic safe.
If they're together, there must be a plan of his interest happening.
From afar, the unknown witch doesn't seem to be as interested in you as you're with him. He listens closely to what the werewolf is telling the others. You can breathe, for now. It'll be best if you work while figuring out what he's doing, but not meddle in their business too much. It should be easy.
After Rob and the other waitress miraculously show up kind of on time for their schedules, you can relax a bit more. If the blond didn't say anything, you trust he doesn't want to expose you to anyone. You certainly trust him more than his companions.
As you pretend to organize the dishes you did before, making noise so the vampires don’t hear you, you whisper a spell to amplify your hearing. They’re usually funny to listen to—always loud while talking, but tonight, they’re muttering nonsense to themselves, talking about finding an unfamiliar stone. The witch is surely doing a protecting spell around them, because you’re only getting broken words that make little sense.
There's only one person from that group you ever spoke to outside of the bar. Not that you would trust him, but it could be possible to get information from him.
Hansol bumped into you outside the local library a few weeks ago. It was your day off, and when he recognized you, you nearly cast a spell to make him pass out and give you time to run away. But he didn't seem to care much about you as a whole.
You sat together at an illuminated corner and drank a cup of coffee in silence as you read your respective books. You'd enchanted the 'History of Covens' book you were holding to appear as if you were reading a common romance novel. He stared at you every now and then, and you had to pretend you weren't trying to figure out why he was reading a town history book if he's a thousand years old vampire.
"Memory failing you?" You asked after he caught you reading the title.
"Just doing some research." He shrugged.
"I'm sure you lived through everything you're reading about."
You didn't care if he saw through the uninterested persona you tried to put up. You mastered the acting of looking clueless. If he tried to erase your memory, you'd be okay.
"Reliving the old times, then," he joked, and you realized he wasn't going to give you more. Or at least he thought he didn't give you anything to work with.
It could be all connected. The new witch, the sudden history lesson, their need for your boss and a private place to chat. But dwelling on it for longer would be a waste of time. The place gets more crowded every second that passes, and the line of clients waiting for you to tend the bar increases with it.
"You're new here," a low voice directs at you, sitting in the farthest stool at the corner of your bar.
You stay focused on making the green drink Rob ordered to take to a table before locking himself and the others you were watching in his office.
All this time and you never saw anyone but him going in there. He always kept the key in his pockets, with his hand never uncovering the opening. Rob knew everyone in town, but for him to trust a few random men to go in there for hours, it means something. Something that draws you in, calls you to uncover.
"I've been here for a while," you respond without retrieving your eyes from the office door and leaving the drink with the correct client.
The person chuckles, waiting for you to come back from the table unfortunately too close to the bar. "I didn't know they hired witches around here."
Your neck cracks from how fast you turn your head to finally take a look at the stranger.
He's sipping on a whiskey you don't remember pouring, with a mocking smirk that narrows your eyes. You haven't seen him in the time you've been in town. You'd remember the stereotypical leather jacket he's wearing.
"They don't," you assert.
A quick glance around the room serves to calm your nerves. It's too late in the night, or early in the morning, for any vampire to be sober enough to assimilate your conversation. The 180 your head did at his accusation may have put you on the spot, but a bump on the road has never hindered your persuasion tactics before. It's just one annoying vampire against you.
"I'm sure Rob would love to know more about your background then," the stranger challenges.
You let out a loud chuckle at his empty threat. "You don't know Rob."
"I know everyone here." He gulps down the rest of his drink without getting his eyes off yours.
There are two possible options on why this emo vampire is so intent on getting you. Whichever it is, only one thing's for certain. You're not falling into his trap before knowing his identity and what he's looking for.
Racking your brain for any possible memory of encountering him is pointless. You remember everyone that comes even a step close to you. One can never be too careful, you learned.
"Not everyone. I've never seen you here."
He smirks again. "Few years ahead of you, sweets."
You just roll your eyes. He's clearly not going to give you any meaningful information. Why waste your time? He's just another already drunk vampire trying to mess with you.
"You're not getting a tip with that attitude," he continues, clearly not done with the bothering session. "Is this how you treat your clients?"
"You're not my client," you scoff. "I never served you."
He shakes his empty drink at you, the ice clicking against the glass enhancing his mocking smirk. A white fang claws on his bottom lip, reminding you what he is. You need to be careful. Revealing your identity could endanger the last few weeks you have ahead in town.
"You must've done your fast running thing and served yourself while I was busy."
"Sure, let's say I did." His stare stays on you as you surveil the office door once more.
It's as silent on the other side of the door as it was when they got in. You're sure if it opened, clouds of white smoke would fly away. A hard to master, but ultimately the most efficient way to turn away any prying ears.
"Well, don't do it again. I won't hesitate to stab you."
"So threatening!"
You watch as he leaves a couple of bills on the counter. At least he pays for what he has.
"Anything else I can do for you?" You portray a smile that both of you know it's just politely fake.
From the corner of your eye, you catch a glimpse of Hansol leaving your boss' office, with his hands in his pockets and heading decidedly to get out the door. His empty eyes catch yours in an instant, but he gives you no time to interpret what it means.
"How about a little locating spell?"
The words fly out of his mouth before you get the chance to shut him up. It's of little importance to him if the one thing important to you gets aired out in the open. Vampires… they only care about their business, no matter who they hurt in the process.
"And why would I help you?"
"If you don't want everyone in town to find out what you are, you will."
"You vampires and your incapability to get someone's help without blackmailing."
Admittedly, deep within you there's an insatiable curiosity that wants nothing more than to find out what the stranger is hiding. What he's after so secretly. Why he'd desperately track down a witch that knows nothing of him.
"Just need some witchy woo-hoo and we'll be done. Trust me, the last thing I want is to get involved in this godforsaken town's gossip."
"How do I know you'll hold your end of the deal?"
"I'm not planning to stay here for long." He looks smug, aware that was your way of accepting. "I'll be out of here as soon as I find what I need."
"I'm assuming you're not telling me what you need this object for, am I right?"
"You are very much correct."
Weighing your chances, you come to realize there's no need for you to follow coven rules anymore. The path formed behind you, filled with magic laws and worrisome threats, doesn't affect you as long as you're away from that life. And you can't die at the hands of anyone that isn't one of the Wise Ones.
This plan you're being sucked into might be the most entertaining thing you've been a part of in a while. Following implicit norms when nothing in this world can hurt you is foolish. You chose the way to spend the last of your life, to live freely. You always choose for yourself and make mistakes. Whatever this deal brings you, it wouldn't be worse than your prescribed fate.
"Thursday's my day off," you mention after some thought. "But I need to know more about you before agreeing to any of this."
The vampire smirks, once more, analyzing your figure up and down as you pretend to work. The bar has been oddly calm since he came onto you, but something tells you if you give him your full attention it can result in something disastrous.
"Call me Wonwoo," he extends his hand over the bar. You shake it with doubt, but knowing he won't relent. "I'll find you on Thursday."
Your boss' office door opens once more, letting out the rest of the group one by one. In the second your eyes stray to catch the men leaving, Wonwoo vanishes from his seat and into the night.
Just under an hour for the sun to fully come out, every client leaves in different states, be it angry, sad or quiet drunk or hungover. Rob joins you during the closing tasks after your other coworker ends her shift.
Your lips itch to ask Rob about the urgent meeting, about this strange vampire that claims to know him but disappears at the sight of him. For the first time in a long time, your mind wanders around this mystery instead of the sadness of your life. With purpose.
"Another round?"
Every once in a while, you find yourself pouring coffee instead of the dirtiest alcohol concoctions the supernaturals order, to feel something other than the dread of being alive for centuries.
"Thank you," Hansol replies without looking up from his ink-stained journal.
You fill his mug with black coffee, taking another look at the empty seats around him. His friends didn't come in with him tonight, and for once, he didn't have a drop of liquid that wasn't the bitter coffee your dirty machine pours.
"Alone tonight?" Your curiosity wins as you play the friendly waitress.
He rests his chin in the pale palm of his hand, not bothering to cover the writings he's been staring at with confusion since he sat down many hours ago. You read them shamelessly, recognizing the language most common witch spells use since the rise of earth magic.
"They got busy, but I needed the quiet," he explains.
Hansol, from what you've gathered, doesn't seem as vicious as the rest of the vampires you're so used to serving. Where others don't care to show up with blood stained clothes from their victims, Hansol always looks as if the thirst for blood doesn't trouble him. Or at least he cleans up after feeding.
It's odd that he surrounds himself with friends like that. They tend to spend nights at the bar telling stories about their latest catch, what lies they got in their head after feeding off their blood, all while cackling at themselves. All except for him. Of course, your perspective is skewed by simply being the bartender and watching them only during their drunk hours. He could be as in need for blood at all costs as the rest of them and you'd never know.
"I can tell Rob you're here," you intend to pry out, knowing your boss hasn't shown up all night.
He stares back at you, expressionless. "No worries."
You smile politely, slowly heading back to your station in case any vampire near passing out orders another drink. As the bar's motto says: no one is out of their mind enough if they still need something to drink. Or something like that Rob told you when he hired you. And, as you couldn't care less about vampires' well being, you serve them everything they ask.
"Actually, can I ask you a question?" You turn around at the sound of his unsure voice, which he takes as a way of agreeing. "Come, sit."
"I shouldn't." You look at the bar full of customers with a chill running down your spine, but he shrugs.
"Do they look like they'll be needing you for anything?"
Of course, he's right. Rob's nowhere to be found and the other waitress finished her shift three hours ago. There isn't anything else to do, and you have the slight suspicion that Hansol won't let you go that easily.
"I don't think I can be of much help," you gulp.
"You don't know what I'm asking you, yet." Hansol's face is void of any emotion. And that might be scarier than him being a blood-sucker.
His eyes, dark reddish brown, scan your trembling form as you sit down. There's no knowledge on vampires being able to sense people's emotions –if they were, your coven would've been the firsts ones to know– but, for a second, you fear he's able to smell your reluctance to talk, hear your heart pumping blood faster through your veins.
"You've been here for a few months already," he asserts. It's not a question, but you nod regardless. "Most human girls don't last this long here."
"Well, I'm careful," you shrug. "I knew where I was getting myself into."
"You did?" His brow lifts, changing his expression for the first time all night. "You don't seem like one of the crazies obsessed with us."
"Didn't say I was a fan, only that I know what goes on."
Hansol nods, amused by your answer.
"Is your questioning done? I can't be seen sitting if Rob leaves his office," you lie again. You've perfected the technique after so many years. Your heart stammers the same, telling a lie or walking two steps. Even less than.
"If you know so much about us, I assume you know we can't walk outside during the day."
This is the time to downplay your knowledge, at least a tad bit. You can't know too little, but knowing too much is also dangerous. Say something true while appearing clueless to everything else.
"Yeah, that's why the bar opens only after sundown."
"Well, there's something I need, but can only be retrieved at midday," he explains, still analyzing every one of your moves. "I wouldn't request anything from anyone normally, but Rob said I could trust you."
Damn Rob. "I'm not sure I'm the best fit for whatever you need."
"It's not dangerous," Hansol explains.
He might not notice, even with his vampire abilities and otherworldly senses, but the wind outside picks up with every word of his, the floor boards creak louder under a drunk man's walk, and every one of your veins scorches with warnings. The earth is showing you the signs, and it's your choice to listen to them or not.
"You know nothing about me." It's not a question, but Hansol nods. "Why are you getting me involved?"
"You won't get involved," he says, beginning to be exasperated by your lack of commitment. "Your help will remain a secret, only if you get me what I need."
Hansol seems not to know your true identity. Whatever the reasoning is behind asking for your help, it doesn't have to do with your powers. It could be true, that he simply needs someone able to walk under the sun and prefers it being a stranger. You'd prefer him not revealing how much you know about the town, helping you not to draw any more attention from hungry vampires.
"No one can know I helped you, nor that I'm aware of what happens in town," you whisper, crossing your arms in front of your chest.
"My lips are sealed," he promises, and you have no other choice but to trust him.
"So? Are you telling me where it is? How does it look like?"
Hansol surveys the obscure bar, as if now realizing you aren't alone, before flipping pages of the book-looking journal sitting on the table. The words written in every page he's passing, you know by memory. That exact witch book is no stranger to you, each visible crease and mark were made by your own desperate hands.
Near the end, on the pages you only got through on your most hopeful days, he carefully takes notice of everything drawn on them, until he finds what he was looking for.
"This." Hansol's finger taps on one of the few colorful drawings ever found on a magic journal. A ruby stone with a disc shape you've never seen before.
"That thing?"
"Yes."
The image isn't new to you, but the rock has so little importance within the magic you practice, you barely pay attention to it on your routine check ups. There's a tiny description under it, but nothing of use. Your little care of it tenses Hansol's jaw muscles. Was he hoping for more of a reaction?
"Okay, no need to go all dark on me." You roll your eyes. "Where can I find it?"
The taste of the bitter tea remains on your tongue as you wake up from your nap. Even after weeks of drinking the same concoction to give your body and mind sufficient energy, you haven't gotten used to the lingering taste, or found a solution for it. It's a small price to pay to be able to endure sleep for so little hours. A nap after drinking it activates the spell drawn in the tea leaves, and it allows you to spend the night working and the morning investigating.
How Wonwoo found out about you is still unknown. You've been careful all around town not to show even a sliver of your capabilities. With your neighbors thinking you're merely a curious human learning about the underworld, like many before you, it's not a hard part to sell, but something tipped him off. You must’ve done something wrong.
From your window, you see the sun beginning to hide behind the horizon, indicating your manipulator's about to show up and demand the locating spell he wants.
A vampire tracking down a witch for selfish reasons is almost as common as killing a human to feed off their blood. It comes inherently with becoming a blood-sucker, dragging everyone down with them. The thing is, under the nonchalant attitude and easiness to manipulate you into helping, stands a desperate vampire in need of something. He didn't just ask you, he found out about you, somehow, and disappeared at the sight of another witch.
Wonwoo's hiding something from the people in the town. People he claims to know.
A knock on your door takes you out of your thoughts. The darkness of your room, only illuminated by the single candle you maintain on all hours, gives the clues necessary to realize who it is.
"How did you know where I'm staying?" You ask a grinning Wonwoo as you open the door.
He lets himself in with a chuckle and doesn't answer, his eyes going over every corner as if it would give him more information about you.
The Coven would freak out if they found out you're letting a stalker vampire into your life, or worse, into your room. If this would've happened years ago when you were entering your rebel phase, you'd be praying to the universe non-stop. But you learned, through making mistakes and trusting the wrong people, how to do what you want, how to play around with strangers, without consequences.
Wonwoo's not as sleek as he thinks he is. If he thinks he tracked down any witch, he's going to find out just how mistaken he is.
"Have everything you need?" He questions at the sight of your empty abode.
From your awaiting past life, you weren't sentimental enough to bring anything that would remind you of it. It's enough with fate creeping behind you at every step.
"I don't need much, just information about the thing you want," you shrug, trying to pry anything you can out of him.
"Don't you need those weird leaves and fire and stuff?"
So, he knows about spells other Covens around the world perform. Not bad from a vampire of his age. And he doesn't know what kind of magic you perform, so it's unlikely he knows to which Coven you belong.
"If you need my help, then you'll have to trust me."
"I could get any witch to do this. Don't test me."
"Then why didn't you?" You probe. "I'm sure you know plenty of other witches here in your hometown who you trust more than a stranger."
Wonwoo catches your defiance, glaring you up and down. You realize you've been keeping a large distance between you when he takes a step forward and crosses the line you've drawn.
"You're good," he smirks. "I see the character you're playing, prying information out of me thinking I don't notice. It's not gonna work on me, love."
Vampires are the coldest of creatures. Warm blood doesn't run through their veins, they don't sweat, their bodies don't work normally. If it were any other creature before you, even from the underworld as well, you'd feel their bodily heat at the distance Wonwoo's standing at. But he's as cold as ice, so close to your form you fear it's contagious.
"I'm just curious about how and why you came to me." You don't let him scare you. "Especially when your brother's here working with another witch."
"Hmm—" Instead of him taking you more seriously, his smirk widens, amused. "Smarty did some research."
"Like I said, curious," you shrug.
Neither of you take a step away, challenging each other without taking your eyes of the other. One way or another, you'll get what you want from him. Thinking you were an easy catch was his first mistake. Giving in to his threats, he'll soon find out it has nothing to do with him.
"My little brother and I," he begins, "haven't been on the best terms."
"You've been following him around for decades."
"Let's just say he has something I want, but I can't ask him for it." He's vague with what he gives, but each word clings to your mind like a bug. "Is that enough for you?"
"This object you want me to find, is that it?"
Brothers who hate each other but can't seem to get enough of the other. Wonwoo probably doesn't know his brother is aware of his every move, constantly tracking him as well. Blood or no blood rushing through their system, they're connected no matter what.
"It's not really, but it'll help." Wonwoo crosses his arms, doubting you again as he takes another look at your desk behind you. "All the witches I've seen do spells a different way."
"Then, you haven't seen witches like me," you answer with pride. "Now talk. Describe the thing or I won't get even close."
"How do I know it's going to work and you're not scamming me?"
"Scamming you out of what? Are you paying me?"
"Your payment is a nice long life in secrecy." Wonwoo rolls his eyes. "Need proof, witch."
"Okay, damn!" You sit on the desk, dust blowing over the clutter of the few things you kept. "Then, tell me about something you do know where it is. You'll see."
Wonwoo stares and stares, skepticism showing all over his expression. You let the silence speak for itself, arguing pointless.
He relaxes his posture, slipping his hands into the leather pockets of his jacket. "A bright pink lighter with a tongue sticker."
"Classy."
Wonwoo's chuckle reaches your ear as you turn around, fluttering your eyes closed. His ever-chilling presence does little to calm your nervous system, a technique you long mastered but have trouble presenting when the very person you're supposed to be concentrating on is the same as the threatening force driving your decisions.
You focus on the smell of the wind slipping through the window, moist and salty, surrounding both forms in the room. Wonwoo's lungs fill with the very same air you connect with, his underworld magic mixing with the earth that gave you life and reaching the deepest parts of your brain as you seek what he's after in your mind.
Whispering passage after passage of the spell you know by heart, the picture being painted on your eyelids becomes full with color with every word. The bright pink takes form on the center, slowly, surrounded by a dark blackness and a smudge of pale brown. But the dubious sight is not to worry, as every one of your five senses work in unison to find what is needed.
Its surroundings ruffle with a wind-like shake, and the pale brown moves closer to the small pink plastic object. It's silent, the sight that becomes clearer the more you let it live, only a gush of familiar wind as a clue.
"It's in your right pocket." Your voice sounds full again.
"Even with direction accuracy!" Wonwoo reveals the lighter before he claps his hands together in irony. You see it all happen in your mind. "I'm impressed."
"Do you trust me now?" You don't bother to open your eyes and look at him.
The longer a spell took, greater the danger of a decay in quality of your next sighting. If you tune out of it, it'll be hard to gain the energy back. The test was a needed waste, but your focus will have to be placed on the object and not so much on its surroundings now.
"Trust is a very big word," he smirks with the blurt of the joke. "I'll trust you when you direct me to what I actually want."
"Then, I'm going to need more than the color this time. Tell me something about what you're looking for, a clue about who it belongs to, if you know. Or what magic it uses. Anything."
Your eyes keep closed, focused on the moon, bright on the dark blue sky, and the cold light it casts over the town. Wonwoo steps closer behind you, the zip of his jacket grazing your right shoulder.
His curious breath fans over the top of your head as he speaks, "It's a dark red rock with eroded edges."
The familiar description accelerates your heart, your interest piqued. Such a coveted rock, laying somewhere only you'll find out. You have no knowledge of what it can do, what promises it made to these two vampires who, unknowingly, both requested your help.
"I need more, vampire, common."
"It's been lost for decades, the last owner long gone by now." His mocking tone disappears with each word as he finally shares meaningful information. "It is said that it was from a witch who could communicate with the underworld."
Wonwoo's dark magic electrifies your senses, connecting with the earthly whispers leaving your mouth. Your mind travels between wood cabins in town, across every conversation being had between magical creatures. Blurring images paint your eyelids once more, dark green, gray and dry leaves being stomped over.
"I have no clue who put it there, wherever it is, but the legend says the witch was on her way to hide it before she disappeared."
A window to the underworld, locked by a key in the form of a ruby stone. The smell of the mixed magic systems prickles at your nose the closer you get. Dark and moist, you hear the wind making way between trees, tall leaves ruffling against one another the taller they get.
It's impossible not to miss, even with your limited magic, the aura embedded in the area where earth and underworld collide. The gray shape, a cave deep inside the forest, glows in the distance, but you can't go further. A barrier within you not letting you any closer.
"There's a cave in the forest by the apothecary." Adjusting to the warm light it's difficult, and you find Wonwoo hasn't moved from behind you. "I couldn't get closer, but it's definitely there."
"Are you sure?" He asks, eyeing the wide open window you used to let your spirit through.
"Yes, I'm sure. Underworld magic looks different to me than it does you. It's there, I saw it."
"I've been there in person and it's empty." Wonwoo shakes his head with a sigh.
You can't control the glare you throw his way. "You told me you had no idea where it could be."
"Why don't you do the thing with the map?" He ignores you, scanning your room in search of what he believes you need.
"It can't work if I don't use something belonging to its owner." His brewing desperation reeks of anger, not at you, but you can't help but feel at the receiving end of it. "Besides, it'd just show me what I just saw."
"You have no idea what you're doing." He's deaf to your explanations. "It has to be somewhere else."
Wonwoo paces back and forth, considering his options while you're careful to explain how your magic works. But it's as if you weren't there, a mere object he's using to get what he wants, not someone who deserves his respect. As he stares at the floor, unfocused and unfearing, only one option comes to mind.
His cold, dark blood running through his lifeless veins is easy to get a hold of. Another way of protecting you against threatening vampires you were taught early in life. You concentrate on the flow of blood up his body, your energy flying from your mind to his, engorging one of the veins inside his brain and making it explode.
The vampire, all mighty and resistant, falls to his knees with a scream, his hands gripping the sides of his head as if to control the pain. You repeat the process over and over. His powers heal the internal wound and you pop it again.
"Answer my fucking question," you demand after the tenth spell in a row. "How did you know?"
"I got a lead a few months ago and it turned out to be fake," Wonwoo moans out, pain slowly fading as he straightens back up. "Or at least that's what I thought then."
You cross your arms, unapologetic under his seething eyes. "So, you trust what I saw?"
"You make it hard not to."
"I'm going to make one thing clear, blood-sucker." You take a step forward, invading his personal space just like he did before. "I might be helping you because you threatened me, but I'm not letting you step over me again. You're getting that rock and then you're getting the hell away from me and this town, got it?"
"You talk a lot of big words," he smirks, unflinching.
"I'm not scared of your underworld kind," you spit out. "The second I was able to do magic I was taught how to defeat you. You might be irresistible to time, but you're not immortal."
"You think I'm irresistible?" He smirks, but not for long as you pop one of his veins again. "Fine! Fine! Stop with that! You won't see me again after we get it."
"We? You know where it is, you can get it yourself."
"Nope! You're coming with me and you'll see just how empty that cave is."
When the sun comes down and darkness reigns over the town of Ever Burn, every creature comes out of hiding and dances their way through the shadows, living free of judgement and fear.
On the nights when you're not needed at the bar, avoiding the empty streets and the groups of vampires eager to go out, you hide out in the deepest parts of the library, going over most of their available catalogue. Tonight is the odd one out.
Wonwoo sneaks you around the alleyways, he himself also avoids being seen. The smell of midnight dew and wet grass fills your senses the closer you get to where your vision showed you. The apothecary's worker waves her hand through the window as she sees you passing by, her gaze narrowing on Wonwoo a second too long before you return the greeting. He grabs your arm and forces you to walk faster.
"Does she know you?" You shake your arm off his hold.
"Who?" Wonwoo pretends to have not noticed the glow from inside the shop and looks forward to the tree line ahead.
The view in front kick starts a chill going down your spine. Alluringly familiar and as unknown as any place you've never set foot in, you could walk along the path with your eyes closed, following the images you saw painted on your eyelids earlier.
You point back to the store, now meters behind you as the trees grow closer. "Abby, the owner."
"We've been acquainted," Wonwoo gulps down a smirk after you both step into the tall trees. No going back now.
"Ew!"
"Don't be mean to her!" Wonwoo lays his hand on his chest, feigning being offended. "She used to be in great shape."
"I mean you!" Unfortunately, you chuckle as you say, "I'm going to puke! Poor Abby."
"She was the one who danced her way to my bed." Wonwoo swooshes his way ahead of you, giving you a bow with zero courtesy.
"Imagining you dancing is way worse, actually." You push him by the shoulder, and he budges out of your way with not much resistance. "What did you do to such an intelligent and hard-working woman to get her to be interested in you, huh?
You leave him chuckling behind and point your flashlight forward to scan for any clues. Alive with nature, the forest seems void of any life. Even animals seem to stray away from the parts close to town. Vampires in need of feeding are a danger to every life form.
From the blurry rendering, you can't decipher any particular spots on the ground or odd-shaped tree branches, but you're sure of what you felt. It was a warm glow calling for you, illuminating the way for it to be found.
There's no light source other than your flashlight, with Wonwoo being able to see in the dark, but you can almost feel the different temperatures on the way.
"It's this way," you remind Wonwoo, who's whistling an old Christmas carol and kicking rocks to the sides. "Are you always this loud?"
"Only when I'm asked to," he jokes. You give him an aneurysm in his brain and pop it again. "Stop! I'm bored! And this isn't the way I remember."
You stop on your tracks to sense the energy, just in case. Wonwoo crashes into you, a head taller and paying attention for any danger. This is where the spell took you, you're sure.
"You said you were at a cave near here." You move on, walking in between thick trees, searching for the source of warmth.
"It wasn't as shallow in the woods," Wonwoo explains, exasperated.
"Maybe your head can't handle having speed and a sense of direction at the same time. I know it's around here."
"Hey, witch, I didn't say anything!" Wonwoo throws his hands in the air in his defense, but, already done with him after being alone for over two hours, you ignore him and keep looking. "If you don't get us there in the next ten minutes, I'm leaving you alone here and finding someone who actually knows what they're—Whoa!"
The ground shakes underneath your feet, wind picking up and rustling the tree leaves as the earth caves in and swallows you whole.
For a few seconds, you feel nothing under you as darkness envelops you. You crash onto solid ground, damp dirt staining your clothes and getting under your nails. The fall will grow painful bruises along your legs, but you stretch and stand up as best as you can regardless.
Wonwoo screams your name in the distance, above you by at least three meters. His head appears on the hole you fell from, an oddly perfect circular shape that gave in under your weight.
"I'm fine, but you better figure out how to get me out of here!" You shine your flashlight over the walls, a tingling sensation on the back of your neck urging you to do so.
"You're bleeding, I can smell it from here," he asserts with confidence.
"Ow, are you worried about me?"
You feel nothing if not sore, except for the warm liquid dripping down your arm. He was right, you are bleeding, but your arm is numb to any pain. If Wonwoo hadn't smelled it, if you hadn't bothered to check, it would almost be as if nothing happened. So, this is what the protection spell is like.
"I'm worried about not finding my rock."
Wonwoo drops down into the cave with you, examining you the second he stabilizes himself. The skin around your left arm is covered with reddish smudges and dripping scarlet down to the soil below. The wound is pulsing, throbbing even, but it's painless. If you concentrate on the rugged flesh, you can feel a burning sensation, but it's so faint it could be your imagination. Without a word, he bites down the veins on his left wrist and urges you to drink from it.
"I'm not doing that, weirdo."
"You'll heal faster." Drips of cold vampire blood paint your lips before you gather the strength to push Wonwoo's arm away. "Stubborn fucking witches," he mutters.
"I'll be fine! I don't need your disgusting—" you're left wordless as you check where the wound was just located.
Wonwoo shuts up instantly as well. You both stare at your arm, a mix of dirt and blood covering your skin from shoulder down to your nails, but the open cut is nowhere in sight. You draw a circle and your muscles move like normal. Like there wasn't just a deep cut bleeding down your arm.
"You know your healing spells well," Wonwoo compliments, his interest already lost to your surroundings.
It must be another of the doings of the protection you were given at birth. No other explanation comes to mind other than it being the proof you've been looking for. Too much of a coward to do it yourself, you had to get tangled with a vampire and fall meters deep in the middle of the woods for nature to show you the makings of your destiny.
The faint burning on your arm disappears with the cut, but the warmness guiding you along the woods gets stronger. Wonwoo, not bothering to communicate what he does, goes into a tunnel just behind where you fell. Every step, the temperature rises more and more, and everything starts looking, feeling, too familiar.
They weren't leaves crushing under your feet that you heard, it was water, slipping between broken rocks at the bottom of the pit you fell into. The green wasn't bushes or trees, it was alive, bright moss covering the walls that glowed under the led light.
No more than one step ahead, Wonwoo stares at everything in awe, and you can't resist the irony. "I'm assuming this isn't the cave you checked out."
He rolls your eyes at your teasing and continues searching for what he's been looking for.
It's close. Intoxicatingly powerful, the mixed magics colliding in a bundle of energy flood up your senses. You can smell it, hear it, even touch the difference in spirit. It should be worrisome, that an object so much like the underworld sits so peacefully in your world, connecting the two.
"Do you see it anywhere?" Wonwoo interrupts your thoughts.
"I would if you stopped bothering me," you reply with your eyes closed.
You kneel on the ground, your hands against the dusty mixture of dirt and stone, feeling for any clue. The tips of your every finger tingle with energy, increasing the more you move ahead in search for it.
You crawl on the rubble, uncaring about how foolish you look. Everything's dark and wet, the floor and the cold walls you're budging against and the underworld magic exuding from pores all around you, but you follow the image on your mind, more sure of it than you were of anything the spell ever showed you. More intrigued.
The feeling of a new hard material under your hands shoots your eyes open. A brownish wooden box with a yellow glow all around. It's hot to the touch, electrifying, so different from the ambiance it's sitting in you doubt it was purposely placed there.
Against everything you've ever been taught, against the laws of the living world and against the rules of earth magic, you unlock the leather that shuts the box closed and take a look inside.
Blinding red light emerges from the opening, but before you get the chance to slip your hand inside and feel what's calling to you, a gush of wind startles you and the heavy case vanishes from your hold.
"Don't steal from me, now."
Wonwoo stands tall just steps before you, unaffected by the rays the rock expels. He examines what was just in your hands, the box just as newly discovered to him as it was to you. Yet, he refuses to act like he doesn't know something. He reaches for the stone sitting inside with no fear.
"Be careful of—" you begin to warn him about the jump in temperature, but it doesn't seem to affect him.
"This thing?" Wonwoo takes the ruby stone, now opaque as the light dimmed down at his touch, and inspects it. It's so much smaller than you imagined, almond shaped and blood red. "This is what everyone has been searching for centuries?"
"Everyone?" You ask, as you've never heard of the stone or what it is said it can do.
Now that the rock it's out of its confinements, the warmth all around drops back to normal, as if it never changed. You shiver at the switch, eyes focused on understanding what could Wonwoo be thinking as you get up.
"For a witch, you seem to know very little about your folklore."
"It's because I don't care about it," you lie. It could be convincing, according to how he sees you spend your life. "I stay away from underworld business."
"Well, since you asked so politely," Wonwoo's words are laced with irony, "it helped an old witch communicate through the barrier, but it wasn't the only thing she used. This should be enough to find them all."
"What do you want with the underworld?" It's not likely that he would share even more information with you, but every reaction counts.
"Is it wrong to want to know my birth place?" Wonwoo closes the box, confining the ruby once again.
"Never met one of you who wanted that." Your curiosity doesn't cease at his lack of an answer. On the contrary, his avoidance of the truth only makes you crave it more.
"You'd be surprised." He raises his eyebrows, not bothering to look your way.
You eye him as he walks away, mind elsewhere. He doesn't need you anymore. His wide back you wouldn't be able to miss retraces your path, and you follow him, drained steps, through the chamber until the hole you fell from stares down at you again.
The veins running through your body tingle in remembrance of how it felt to hold the ruby stone so close. It felt almost… yours. As if it wasn't the spell you performed that showed you the way, but the stone. It was unique, but far from troubling. Familiar.
"How are you planning to help me up?" You ask, seeing him ready to jump out of the hidden cave.
Wonwoo glares back, as if he'd forgotten you were there as soon as he lay his fingers on what he was looking for. Wheels turn behind his empty eyes, so gray and lifeless they appear incapable of transmitting emotions.
"Can't you do some of that witchy woo-hoo and get up?"
"You've run me dry," you answer, and his raise of eyebrows makes your eyes roll. "There's a limit to how much time I can do spells. I've been using magic for the past two hours, I need a second to recharge."
"You can wait it out here," he nods in a smirk, a show of his boastful ego.
Despite your tiredness, you find a sliver of energy left along your spent muscles. In a matter of seconds, weak electricity runs through your veins and Wonwoo's gripping at the sides of his head again, feeling his veins pop with your last efforts.
"How come you can do that?"
"It doesn't take much," you shrug, taking the chance at Wonwoo's frozen stand and marching towards him.
"I can never understand you wizards," he shakes his head.
"Witches," you correct. "For me to jump that high, I'd need to manipulate not only the ground down here, but also the air outside to hold me, and I just spent hours tracking this for you. Now you get me out."
Wonwoo sighs again, but for someone who claims to care so little, he still asks a bunch of questions. "Aren't you supposed to be mega powerful, blood oath to the earth and all? Just eat something."
"What? Grass? Or are you bringing me dinner?" Ignoring his grunts, you step in front of him, forcing him to look your way, to not leave you behind.
From the corner of your eye you catch Wonwoo's arm tucking behind his back, the coveted box now hidden behind his icy body. However, no matter how many walls there are between you and the stone, its warmth manages to envelop your body ever so slightly, tingling each of your senses. You can't lose it. Not now.
Wonwoo straightens before you, his thinking expression morphing into something not quite nice. Amused at what races through his mind.
"Hold tight."
You scoff, the unbelievable thing he's asking of you leaving you wordless. "You're joking, right?"
"I can't pull you up from that high," Wonwoo points to the cave ceiling as if it was obvious. "My arm doesn't stretch kilometers long."
You glare back, face almost morphing into a constant state of exasperated glaring his way. "It's not that high."
"What shouldn't be that high are your expectations, witch," he spits out. "Why do you think you have the right to ask me for anything? I got what I wanted and I'm leaving."
"Then, why are you still here?"
"Ugh,"he gets a better hold of the box and prepares to jump. "Better hope you don't cross paths with me again."
Wonwoo squints at the circle of sky above, considering one last time the ideal way to get through it. Your ears pick up the faintest ringing sound, screaming for help. There's no time to understand what it means, only a second where Wonwoo hisses at the box and fixes his grip so as to not touch the metal seal. It's getting hot again. Just like when it was calling to you.
The need to have the ruby stone skyrockets, overpowering your witch boundaries and all that you were ever taught. Your eardrums pulse in unison with the ringing, connected by the rhythm and your lungs screaming for air. It's both suffocating and relieving, knowing how to stop it but being so afraid to do so.
You'd never forgive yourself if you let the ruby go. Somewhere along the tracking spells and your touch over the box, you felt a connection, a reason to give to all your void past and short future. You're not scared of anything, you never were after learning what you were born to do, nothing's stopping you from following this hunch. This energy boils the blood running through your fearless veins, a purpose brewing deep besides the one thing you were fated to accomplish. How could you let it go?
"Wait!" You manage to scream out and prevent Wonwoo from leaping.
"What now?" Against his better judgment, his arms drop and he stays down. He lowers his jaw for the last time, furrowed eyebrows at your sudden concern.
You take it as an agreement, his previous offer still stands. "Just don't touch me," your hands raise in warning before you wrap them around his neck.
"Hard to do if you're hanging on for life, little mage."
Wonwoo chuckles seeing your bodies so close together. Hard to think he finds the touch of another woman simply funny, but maybe him thinking you're scared can be advantageous.
"You can't be trusted!" Your voice shakes, and you look around to avoid his stare. "I'm making sure you get me to high ground."
"'Cause I'm such a bad vampire, yeah, yeah, just hold tight before I regret it."
His cold arm sneaks around your waist, keeping you further against him so as to not lose balance. He needs not more strength, vampire powers provide him with plenty, but he secures you regardless, in case your little trust on him falters on the jump and he has to hold on to you without you holding on.
You take a deep breath, adjusting to the idea of letting someone else help you out of a situation. A once in a lifetime occurrence, since you never allowed the Coven to come close to you in a moment of need. Never.
Wonwoo flexes his legs as he prepares to jump, with one last look at you sporting a smug smirk before a gush of cold dustless air envelops you both and your nose fills with the smell of dew covered tree leaves. It's so quick, you feel the ground beneath your feet again before even taking a breath.
"That was quick," you joke, masking your little care for his powers with your eyes going wide.
You stumble against a thick tree, the coarse wood digging against your palms and feeding you with little energy. You take a deep breath, feeling it run through your veins, so quickly you realize how spent you were.
"If you're getting sick you better go hide behind that tree. Do not want to see that." Wonwoo dusts himself off after checking in on you. It worked.
You disguise a forming smirk pretending to cool down your face with your hands. "Don't be so full of yourself," your eyes roll before walking ahead of him. "I'm fine."
"A little jump puts out a witch, whoa, I should write this down."
"Do you want me to show you your weaknesses again, old man? I can do it no problem."
"Thank you for asking, but no, I don't think I need that." Wonwoo turns around in his walk over the same path you took earlier, his leather-covered back no longer facing you as he walks backwards. "And I'm not old."
"The years might be getting to your head, but for normal people half a century is old."
"That's where you're wrong." His pace slows, matching your speed and spreading his arms wide. "My life just started! Every day that I don't age is a day where I'm more free than ever."
"Finding that rock got to your head," you chuckle.
"Maybe, but this thing," he shakes the box on your face, "this just got me one step further to true freedom."
Freedom is a concept you've lived away from your entire life. Even now, in a town in the middle of nowhere, responsibilities chase you every waking hour. No matter how little you care, how many things you accomplish in the meantime, everything will inevitably come to an end. You understood that from a very young age.
Which is why you're getting in the middle of vampires going after the same object. Figuring out what they're after when they trust you so blindly. What is it if not another way to entertain your gray life as time inevitably passes?
"Will you tell me why you want it? It's just a rock with a pretty color."
Wonwoo thinks about his answer for a second, his fingers twirling around the lock holding the stone's confinement closed. There's no reason he'd want to tell you, a well kept secret until now couldn't be easy to keep under wraps just to undo it the second he can finally begin.
"I don't plan on seeing anyone from here ever again after this," he starts, testing the waters. "So, let's just say, it will give me what every vampire wants."
"That's bullshit, you creatures are after anything and everything." You follow behind him, skipping skew branches and being wary of wandering supernaturals. "Satiating your thirst can't be what you're after. You love the hunt."
"You have to think deeper," he doesn't deny the latter statement. "We used to be the most powerful creatures standing, but we now have things holding us back."
"That's how the Earth keeps the balance." Every lecture on the History of Magic comes rushing in, strings of words burned on your brain from beginning to end.
Centuries ago, witches were hunted for sport, terrorized into hiding by the underworld creatures. They were unstoppable, driving the planet into decay with their sacrilegious lifestyle. Human population reduced their numbers year after year, stories of bloody serial killers that left no trace behind flooded the news; the smell of blood and rot was embedded on every corner. Witches had to be resourceful and careful in their practicing. They couldn't be found, heard, seen, smelled.
In the depths of the desert, the Moonlit Coven promised a new beginning, a new life for all who believed in them and their knowledge of the villainous creatures. They found their way into the underworld, convincing their rulers that, if they wanted to keep their race alive, their behavior of destroying their life force wouldn't suffice. A pact was born.
The planet was divided then, Earth and Underworld became separate energy sources. The underworld closed its access to above, and its creatures would each have a life-threatening weakness that would slow down the massacre. Vampires became allergic to the sun, werewolves lost their control to turn to the phases of the moon. In return, the Moonlit Coven allowed them to stay on earth and not banish them to their birth place.
"I don't care for the balance," Wonwoo whispers between the spying trees, "I want my freedom."
Dry branches crack under his stealthy feet, putting an end to voicing his wants. You couldn't expect him to be open, no supernatural ever is. They shut out at any minimal concern, untrusting of anything remotely different from them. You can't complain, you have been taught to do the same. But underneath the individualism, there was always a sense of belonging with every species. You escaped from your Coven, but you relate more to them than to a lone vampire. Wonwoo doesn't seem to have that sense of community.
"Only yours?" You dare to ask, curious about his unapologetic selfishness. But his attention has moved on from your questioning already.
"Doesn't everyone want that?" You probe again, only to be met with an icy finger against your lips.
Wonwoo traps you against the closest tree, sealing your mouth shut as his eyes go over every inch of space that surrounds you. You realize then, it wasn't him that made the noise just now, and it wasn't you either. The forest is a common hunting ground for any supernatural, and you haven't been weary of attracting unwanted attention.
Your heart rate picks up against Wonwoo’s unbothered chest, too close on a too dangerous space. Not a ray of light finds you inside the woods, and with no chance of whispering any spell, you depend solely on the vampire's ability.
His stare finds yours, a silent conversation between a roll of his eyes and the quirk of your eyebrows. Little you know about what's going on in his mind, he has a plan, that's for sure. You can't trust a vampire, he will protect his sacred object before a disposable witch. But his hands keep you in place, out of sight from the threat.
With a new swoosh of wind, you feel watched, closely, but barely a sound reaches your ears.
Both of your breaths synchronize as you wait for your tracker to slip again. Your eyes close, an attempt at sharpening your hearing for anything out of the ordinary. Wonwoo's hold on you persists, making sure nothing you do gets you in trouble.
Why isn't he moving? He could sprint and surprise whoever is here, rip them apart in warning for any others who might want to follow them, others who are after the very stone you feel pumping heat between your chest and Wonwoo's. He must be waiting. A good hunter knows not to precipitate, to wait for the best moment to attack, to let the opponent feel they have the advantage before attacking.
The tense moment switches quickly, before your mind catches up. In a second, your hands drop with a new weight. The brown box is with you again. Wonwoo is nowhere to be seen.
Grunts and thuds echo against the walls of trees, close to your hiding spot but far enough so you can't see the quarrel. Energy concentrates on your hands, the ringing in your ears coming back now that you’re alone with the stone. Whatever goes on outside the ringing’s reach takes a secondary role.
The irresistible need to touch the stone, to give in to its calling, finally wins. Coursing through your veins, you feed off of the familiar warmth expelling from the small ruby, its polish soft under your fingers.
The red shimmer contradicts its coldness. It’s not alive, it can’t be, but the mix of Earth and Underworld magic fuels you like no other. Your lungs fill with air, your body accustoming to the new.
How have you never heard of this before? A unique drive sets within your body, a richer, stronger magic you're certain no witch has ever felt. Your kind could rule the world if everyone grew as powerful as you feel at the moment, for real this time. No hiding, no falling for the supernaturals’ threats and feigning submission. You could be free.
But there's no such thing as freedom. Consequences reach those who abuse earth magic, those who tamper with the balance and scheme their way up the ladder. Maybe the warnings about this stone never reached the Coven because no one survived its use. Though, it's too late to worry about the unknown.
A few steps behind, the fight ceases, only deep breaths and wind rustling leaves cutting through the silence. But, it is not entirely quiet. If you concentrate, shallow and strained breaths sound over the drying leaves.
“Where is it?” A female voice asks. Rugged, urged.
“No idea,” Wonwoo struggles to answer.
Whispering few words, your sight travels not far, and you see it happen in your mind. A pale red-headed woman has a hand on Wonwoo's throat while the rest of her limbs trap him against the ground. He doesn't fight back, he can't.
“These woods aren’t for sight-seeing,” she continues. “I hope you didn’t steal from me.”
“I have nothing that belongs to you,” Wonwoo snarks back.
Taking one step forward in their general direction, your feet betray you and erupt the faintest noise against the dry branches, but loud enough for an older vampire to hear. The woman’s head snaps up, the quickest glance around the woods with powers you fear you may not know.
You freeze, the strange magic coursing through your system on alert as well, but you’re not afraid. A sense of security takes the wheel, upstaging any other possible feelings. The magic follows your wants, making you invisible to the vampire’s sight. Her worried eyes go over you, unaware of your frozen form, before they go back to warn Wonwoo.
“I’ll make sure you don’t get your hands on my key.” the last word you hear as an echo.
Wary of other possible unwanted seekers, you rush to his aid. Wonwoo struggles to get up after the woman flees, evidence of the imbalance of power between vampires of different ages.
“Who was that?”
“You thought I was the only one after that?” He points to the box, still on your hands and pulsing with energy only you can feel. “There’s your answer.”
“You need help.” Assessing him from up close, you realize the fight must’ve been rougher than you heard. For how much time were you hiding?
“I don’t.” Wonwoo stands up, grouting with every step he takes away from you and trying to get back to the way to take you back.
“She got you pretty good, I can help.”
Scratch marks go all the way up his arms, now naked with the leather sleeves nowhere to be seen. Wonwoo isn’t healing, which means she was ready to hurt whoever came on her path, whatever kind of supernatural she came across.
At your insistence, he approaches one last time, personal space not a thing for him.
“I don’t want any kind of witchy magic on me, got it?” His breath against your face mirrors the cold wind, but you stand your ground.
“You love being a vampire, don't you.” He won't let you heal him. He hates earth magic.
“As much as you love being a witch.” He got the double meaning of your question. You both despise the other's world, want it as far away as possible. “Now give me my rock and let’s head back.”
The walk back to the bar poses no threat. With only one hour left of moonlight, the town seems almost empty. No lights on inside the tiny houses, a few drunken creatures struggling to stand up straight on the street, and the few brave humans beginning their day.
You know the schedule by heart already, and it's easy to assume that the bar will have a similar late-night atmosphere.
Wonwoo looks, for the first time since you met him 48 hours ago, scared. While you move forward, with your eyes facing front and only caring about going home, he silently focuses on your surroundings.
You should be glad he shut up for once, but his clear nervousness shines a new light on the situation.
“You didn't know she was looking for it, did you?”
“Why do you think I know her?"
You throw a glare his way and he shrugs. “I heard you guys. It didn't seem like two strangers talking.”
“I wouldn’t say I know her,” he starts, and you pop one of his blood vessels again. “The woods recharged you or some shit? Stop! We're not close, but we've been looking for the same rock for ages. I didn't think he had the same leads as me. That's all!”
“What does she want it for?”
“We didn't have time to have a heart to heart.”
Admittedly, it was a dumb question. Whatever it does besides communicating with the underworld, that alone is enough for these creatures to want it. An undiscovered source of knowledge and the chance to see the world where they originated from isn't something vampires would ignore.
“Does she know why you want it?” You question again. He'll slip eventually.
“She wouldn't be alive if she did.”
“Do you think she's onto you, then? I don't want another one of you on my back.”
Wonwoo groans, “you have a lot of questions.”
“You put me in the middle of this mess!”
“There is no mess, there's no way she knows I was with someone. You were invisible back there.”
Not far, you catch a glimpse of the bar's led sign, still on.
“You won't tell anyone what I am, right?” You ignore the way his tone switched talking about what you did in the woods. Still unsure of how that worked, you can't stomach explaining your gut feeling to this vampire.
“Your secret's safe with me, little mage.”
“Rob can't know about this. I'm serious, he'll kick me out.”
You stop just by the door you closed so many times at this same hour. He needs to get your reasoning. This isn't just another deal, not for you.
Wonwoo tries to get the doorknob, but you block him with your body. He tenses his shoulders before relaxing into his posture, his eyes going from the door down to yours.
“The Rob I know wouldn't do that,” he says, trying to calm you down.
“He said he didn't want any more magic creatures working for him!”
“He's just being dramatic! If you don't use your powers to slack off you'll be fine.”
His annoying voice is oddly calming, his reasoning somehow makes sense. You don't have much time ahead to work for Rob, he would understand. You've never used your powers in front of customers.
You move out of the way, now more relaxed, and let Wonwoo step inside the empty bar. The first rays of sun will begin illuminating the sky in less than an hour, so he should be getting back after you terminate your deal.
But, before any of you can get what you want, you hear him muttering a curse.
“What happ—” one step inside the place you thought was safe, and the issue presents itself.
Four men stare you and Wonwoo down, with their arms crossed like they were waiting for you. Hansol's eyes fall on your hands, or more specifically, the brown box that holds what he was searching for. You lock eyes with the blond witch you saw days ago, a light smirk adorning his face. The suffocating silence does nothing to help your distress.
“Brother! So good to see you!” Wonwoo opens his arms and walks towards Hansol.
The younger vampire's eyes stop him in his tracks, making Wonwoo's act fall flat.
“I didn't know you were back in town,” he simply replies.
“I came by a few days ago and made friends with your very nice waitress! Good hiring Rob!” He turns to your boss and lightly bumps his shoulder, but the man's expression doesn't change.
“Don't play dumb, Wonwoo. I know what you were doing out there.” Hansol's stare goes back to you, a shimmer of disappointment flashing through it before speaking to you, “Is that the rock I asked you for?”
“I—” Your eyes stammer back to Wonwoo.
But he's not looking at you, rather, he's in a staring competition with the rest of the group. “My rock, you mean.”
“It's not anyone's rock,” the witch says, his voice exactly what you'd expect from him. Then, he finally directs his words at you. “How did he get you to help him?”
You take his challenge, walking up to them, leaving the frozen state you adopted the second you entered the bar. “How did they get you to help them?”
“Okay, okay,” Wonwoo gets between you two, “we can work this out.”
“I told you we could work together years ago,” Hansol retorts, words almost spitting out of his mouth in disdain.
“People change!” When Wonwoo sees no one moving from their spots, the wheels behind his eyes start working again. “Why don't you give me the rock,” he asks you, “and then we can talk about this, huh?”
“You're not touching that box.” After what feels like hours, the werewolf, Mingyu, talks.
“Okay, wolfie, no need to bark at me.”
They talk between themselves, their past more complicated than you thought at first. You'd listen to them, think of a way to get out of town and never return, but a cold stare forbids you from it.
Hansol rests his hip against one of the bigger tables at the bar, eyes never leaving the box you're holding. The intensity of his gaze is worrying. He seemed calmer the day he asked for your help, shrugging and going over the plan as many times as you needed, but now that he's closer to getting it, he seemed as desperate as Wonwoo.
When he straightens and walks up to you, you prepare the countless spells you know to force him to step back as needed. But with every step, his challenging demeanor fades.
“I'll put it on the table where everyone can see it,” he explains, his hands hovering over the brown case that appears to hold the secrets of the entire universe.
You let him take it, feeling Wonwoo's fiery gaze on your side. Everyone loses focus on their conversations and observe Hansol placing the confined rock on the table. Surrounded by creatures who would kill to have it, it looks so harmless, so nothing.
“Can we talk?” Hansol materializes in front of you, his cautious eyes masked by his voice, calm again. “I need to tell you some things you deserve to know, and you have a lot of explaining to do.”
hiiiii!! omg I can't believe I'm finally posting this!!
i apologize for not doing it sooner, i have no excuses :( but I hope you enjoyed! I'll try to update on november, i swear!
about to impulsively have yall vote on y/n’s love interest cause OHHHHHH DO I WANNA WRITE A ONESHOT OF HER & LOVE INTEREST INSPIRED BY ELIZABETH TAYLOR BY TAYLOR SWIFT THE THOUGHT HAS ME COLLAPSING
like i’ve said i’m kinda open to anything!! any suggestions for y/n’s love interest, especially regarding exes rn because that’s what i’ve been working on!! i already have two locked in (teehee) & im still looking for one that i can make like…the “bad relationship” because the other two aren’t quite on that level.
[ side note that’s not me trying to suggest taehyung as the “bad relationship” im just yapping about it cause it’s BEEN BUGGING ME THAT I CANT FIGURE OUT WHO OR IF I SHOULD MAKE A DUDE UP ]
anyways i’m not against taehyung as a love interest whether that’s a current one, an ex boyfriend, or like a popular ship/dating rumor/situationship. i don’t know a lot about him cause i am a casual listener of bts as a group and im more familiar with them all as solo artists (LOVE v’s solo work, another side note) so id have to do a mini deep dive but im down for that if that’s something we wanna do!!! whether its him or another member (cause you said that too) im down to incorporate something💃
but yeah i’ve been working on her romantic history (specifically exes clearly) & her dating rumors & so like im open to suggestions from the people cause i want yall included in this too BWHAHA
that’s all i have to say atm i’m trying to work on ep3 of in the soop!! ep2 should be out soon after some minor editing & stuff<3
