Chapter Text
Yoongi had walked up and down the streets around the hotel looking for Amara after she’d left, but she had disappeared. Several days passed after that and they were all back to their day-to-day lives. However, Yoongi’s day-to-day was now full of worry and anxiety and nerves.
Jin was hardly around the apartment which only made things worse now that he knew Jin had killed someone. What if it happened again? Jin couldn’t handle the guilt of that. And if he was handling it, then that was a whole different issue all together.
It was late, around midnight, and Yoongi couldn’t sleep so he was up watching cooking shows on TV and stuffing his face with salty chips trying to get rid of the urge to rip into someone’s neck. Except it wasn’t really helping because the woman on the show was looking a lot more appetizing than the food she was making.
“Uhhhhhg snap out of it!” Yoongi yelled at himself. Jin wasn’t home, naturally. Yoongi ran his hands through his hair and picked up his phone.
In addition to being worried about Jin, he was even more worried about Tae. Before he could think better of it, he dialed Tae’s number. He was surprised when someone picked up. Unfortunately, it wasn’t Tae.
“Tae’s phone, not Tae speaking.” Yoongi recognized her voice instantly. He didn’t think he would ever forget it.
“Where’s Tae?” Yoongi growled.
“Calm down, he’s taking a shower or something,” Amara said. There was a smile behind her words and Yoongi found himself wondering if she was still wearing that red lipstick.
“Why are you at his house? Do you always answer his phone for him?”
“Uh, I’m his girlfriend,” Amara responded.
“Right, sure. Does he know you’re only his girlfriend to spy on me?” Yoongi asked.
“That’s awfully conceited of you. Not everything is about you, sweetie,” she said sarcastically. “But speaking of you, how are you? Feeling a bit hungry right now? I am. Hopefully Tae will be done with what he’s doing soon…” Amara trailed off thoughtfully.
“Don’t hurt him!” Yoongi jumped up from the couch. “I will come over there!”
“That would be kind of weird,” Amara said. “I mean not that you aren’t good looking but I’m not into sharing.”
“I swear—”
“Yeah, yeah. Cool it. And don’t tell me what to do. I do what I want, when I want, with who I want. Goodbye.” At that, she hung up on him.
Yoongi felt his grip on the cell phone tighten and then he heard a small cracking sound. When he looked at the screen, it was shattered.
~~~
Hoseok dragged his feet as he approached Jin and Yoongi’s apartment. There was no guarantee they would be there, or be awake, but Hoseok didn’t really care if he woke them up. The lack of sleep was making him bitter. If he couldn’t sleep, why should they?
He was near the building when he saw Yoongi storm outside and start off in the opposite direction. Hoseok stood in place for a moment. Then he made a spilt second decision to follow Yoongi. Things couldn’t get any worse than they were, right?
~~~
“I really think you should think about what you’re asking for,” Nari whispered to Jungkook shyly. He didn’t look at her, but he handed her a tissue, which she pressed to her wrist, over the two bite marks there.
“I have thought about it,” Jungkook said firmly. “He knows how to do it, he’s just saying he doesn’t, but he does. I know it.”
“Do you really want it? You’ll be different. You might lose yourself.”
Jungkook glanced at the girl Jin had taken captive. He wouldn’t do that to someone, he decided. What he wanted to do was bigger. More important.
“You want to leave here, right?” An idea popped into Jungkook’s head.
“Well, yes, o-of course.”
Jungkook smiled his most charming smile. “Help me, and I think I can help you,” he whispered conspiratorially. Jin was out, getting Nari something to eat, so it was just the two of them. Jungkook sensed that Nari had formed a bond with Jin, but no bond she had with him would trump her desire to see the outside world again.
“How can I help you? How can you help me? I don’t understand.”
“He trusts you. You have sway over what he does. If you help me, I will make sure you get out of here and that once you are out, you never have to work another waitressing job again. And all you really have to do is say a few words. Convince him,” Jungkook leaned in closer to her. “Come on, let’s help each other,” he held out his hand for her to shake. She looked at it and blushed. She reached out to take his hand when the door open and Jin came in.
“What’d I miss?” he asked, eyeing Jungkook suspiciously.
Jungkook was about to come up with something that would satisfy Jin, but before he could speak, Nari stood, took the takeout from Jin and said, “You didn’t miss a thing.”
~~~
The street light above him flickered ominously. A plastic bag floated across the street, despite the stillness of the air. Everything about this place made Yoongi uncomfortable, but it was the best link he had to Amara. And if she was with Tae, it meant she wasn’t here. Maybe he could find something on her and use it against her.
Yoongi sighed. Last time he’d been here with Hoseok it hadn’t seemed this intense, but tonight it was heavy and dark. And he still didn’t really know what he was looking for. He didn’t know anything about Amara other than that she’d turned him and that she was obviously keeping an eye on him. She was a mystery. Tae probably knew more about her than he did but he couldn’t exactly go to him asking about her. And what about Jin? What did Amara really know or not know about how Jin had become a vampire?
“You’re back,” a voice said from behind Yoongi. He turned around to see one of the teens from that night with Hoseok. It wasn’t the one who had given him the warning though. This one looked tired and defeated.
“I need you to—”
The teen laughed darkly, cutting Yoongi off. “I’m not doing anything for you. She killed that girl who spoke to you. And you’re an idiot if you think she isn’t ten steps ahead of you. She’s already here and she’s pissed.”
She was here? Yoongi looked around. How had she beaten him here if she was with Tae? There was no telling, but really, it didn’t matter. She was here and he was here and he was going to make sure she left his friend alone.
“Where is she?” Yoongi demanded to know.
The kid pointed up to the building behind Yoongi. He followed the direction of his finger to see a window with a dim light shining out. Without another word to the teen, Yoongi stormed into the building. It looked abandoned and there were cobwebs in the corners. It smelled like mold and blood. “Hey!” he yelled and threw open doors until he found a staircase which he ascended noisily.
The second floor was dimly lit with candles and various pieces of furniture were strewn around. It was no place for someone to live. “Vampires are supposed to be much stealthier, you know.” Yoongi spotted Amara sitting at a rusty old fold-out table in one corner of the room. She had a bottle of some type of alcohol in front of her and her long legs were crossed elegantly. Her lips were red.
“I thought you were with Tae,” Yoongi said, crossing his arms.
“I was. And then I wasn’t,” she said and shrugged.
“I want you to leave him alone,” Yoongi said.
“I don’t want to. He’s fun,” she responded. Her voice lacked the cockiness that it had in their previous conversations somehow.
“I don’t care! I didn’t want this! You did this to me and I don’t want you messing with my friend! I don’t care who you think you are! You’re a…you’re a monster, so stay away!” Yoongi shouted. He really should have planned this better because it occurred to him that he sounded like an upset child. It wasn’t like he had anything on Amara. It was all empty threats.
Before he could shout anything else, Amara stood abruptly and in the blink of an eye she was in front of him, her teeth bared and eyes aglow. “Do you think I wanted to be burdened with making sure you didn’t screw up? Do you think I wanted to go get rid of your IDIOT FRIEND’S MISTAKE?” Amara screamed. “That’s right! If it weren’t for me, Jin’s victim would have been found! I took care of it! I take care of everything!” She shoved his shoulders and he staggered backwards. “I am hundreds of years old! I don’t want to deal with your juvenile mistakes! But I have to.”
~~~
“Do you know how to turn him?” Nari whispered to Jin.
Jungkook was gone, and it was just the two of them. Jin glanced at Nari.
“I said I don’t,” he answered.
“I think you’re lying, honestly. I think you do know how to do it.”
Jin shrugged. “What do you care?”
“I’m just curious. I mean obviously a bite alone doesn’t do the trick because I’m not like you and you’ve bitten me a bunch of times now.”
Jin sighed and clicked off the TV, which neither of them had been watching anyway. He looked at Nari, remembering the first time he saw her at the restaurant. She was just some girl. She still was, he didn’t know anything about her. Part of him wanted to know about her, but he knew if he did know about her then he wouldn’t be able to keep her. Keep her. Gosh. As if she were just an object. She wasn’t that. Not at all.
Jin stood up and held out his hand. “Let’s go,” he said. She looked at him quizzically and took his hand hesitantly.
“Go?”
“Outside, just for a bit. Come on.”
~~~
“Then why don’t you just stop?” Yoongi asked between gritted teeth. “I can handle myself and Jin if I have to.”
“No, you can’t! I’ve seen you, I’ve seen the bloodlust. I know the bloodlust.” Amara leaned close to him. Her teeth, her fangs, glinted in the candle light. “It’s euphoria, isn’t it, when you finally get a taste? But it’s nothing if it isn’t the fresh stuff. That’s what you really crave, but you don’t give in. One day, Yoongi, you’re going to kill again,” Amara said harshly.
He froze and felt his hands start to sweat. “Again?” he asked, his voice wavering.
Amara sucked in a breath and stepped back from him. “Yes. Again. Of course, you don’t remember the first time. I guess you blocked it all out.” She looked away from him and at the wall instead. Her eyes glazed over and for a moment she looked much more innocent. Then her red lips curled up on one side. “I remember my first kill,” she said. “It was bloody and violent and everything a kill should be.” She noticeably gulped. “I also remember wanting to die afterwards, but I couldn’t die. I can’t die. That’s our curse, I suppose. I remember all of it, I remember every time I’ve taken someone’s life, or their blood. Every time is different. Your friend, Tae, he doesn’t remember what I do after I’ve done it and, don’t worry, I won’t kill him.”
Yoongi’s hand formed into fists. “You should consider yourself lucky you don’t remember. But if you want to know, I’ll tell you everything.” Amara walked back up to Yoongi so that she was in his personal space and her green eyes were impossible to look away from. “Well? Do you want to know what happened that night?”
Without hesitation, Yoongi said, “Yes.”
~~~
The air was cool and Nari wrapped her arms around herself. Despite the chill in the air, she felt invigorated. Alive. She would gladly accept the cold.
“Your nose is turning pink,” Jin commented as they walked. He put his arm around her. He didn’t seem cold at all, and she wondered if he even got cold. She also wondered why he let her go outside. She still couldn’t leave his side, but still.
“I’m fine. This is great,” she said.
“I do know how to do it,” Jin admitted suddenly.
For several paces, they walked in silence. Nari adjusted herself so her had her arm linked with Jin’s. To any passing pedestrians, they looked like a couple on a late-night stroll. Her with her small frame, dark hair and pink nose and him with his broad shoulders and sparkly eyes and charming smile. Only he wasn’t smiling then.
“How?” she whispered finally.
“I would have to let him drink my blood, and then I would have to kill him. He would wake up a bit later and once he drank human blood, he would be like me,” Jin said carefully. “I would have to kill him…” Nari pursed her lips. She looked up at him and was surprised to see that he looked close to tears. “I can’t kill him, Lily.”
“You won’t,” she said quickly, squeezing his arm. “You don’t have to.”
Because if it meant her freedom, she would kill Jungkook. She would get some of Jin’s blood and then she would kill his friend. She would do it. She would.