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"No, sweetheart. It's still there but it doesn't beat anymore." he sounded... almost sweet, like he had meant the nickname he'd used, like he had used it with all the emotions he had.

Jungkook was surprised that he couldn't stop reacting the way he did. His heart was pounding and he had trouble thinking straight. As he panicked, he felt the need to divert his attention.

It's just his words playing with his brain. Yes, that had to be it.

"How does this vampire thing work?" Jungkook saw Taehyung's eyes flicker; he wasn't expecting it. Taehyung wasn't expecting a question in return. "Uh, I mean, you have a heart but it doesn't beat, then how do you stay alive? And if your heart doesn't beat," he gulped, knowing that the next words he speaks will expose him, "you don't breathe as well, as I've observed."

Taehyung swallowed the urge to let out a 'pfft' sound, because Jungkook wasn't even trying to hide the fact that he paid attention to the small things about Taehyung and things related to him.

"Don't laugh," Jungkook ordered, however, it sounded cute, harmless, "so if you don't breathe, the blood wouldn't be able to filter, you'd die if you were a human, so how does this work?"

Jungkook interrogated him and Taehyung listened with full attention.

"As it seems, you're really curious about vampires, Jungkook."

the position they were in, Jungkook had no escape route in sight, not that he had an escape plan either. He had let his guard down which can be a real problem for him.

Taehyung continued, "why don't you become one and see for yourself how it works, how it feels and stuff?"

There was a book which stated that if you get bitten by a vampire and still stay alive, you'll become a vampire too. Now, who knows if that was true or not?

Every word Taehyung spoke was threatening Jungkook to somehow change his mind and let loose in Taehyung's trap. He never left a chance to plant a seed or two of his manipulative thoughts into Jungkook's mind. While Jungkook had to remind himself over and over again, Taehyung was having fun playing with his mind.

"Your words aren't going to work, you know that, don't you?" Jungkook's hands were still on his chest and without him realising, they were drawing closer to Taehyung's shoulders. The surface was so smooth that he didn't realise when he had slid them up towards his neck but they came to a halt, changing their path and went beyond his eye sight so that his hands now rested on his shoulder blades.

"My words might be a slow poison but my body sure seem to have taken your interest quickly, huh?" with that said, he tightened his hold on Jungkook's waist, knowing all so well that Jungkook would try and move away from him as the realisation hit him.

It was funny for him as he tried to suppress a laugh.

And Jungkook did the same as he expected, "What? No- is that one of your tricks?" he struggled to set free but couldn't, "let go of me."

"How stupid of you to think that I'll let you go after you felt me up and down by your hands so easily!" he was having fun at this point.

"No,"

"Exactly-"

"No, I mean, I didn't do it, let me go." was it only Jungkook or the conversation seemed childish and even fun?

"As you wish!" and Taehyung let go of him, letting Jungkook, who had previously put all of his weight on Taehyung, fall right into the lake without any warning.

Feels like deja vu?!

Water surrounded him and his mind went in a frenzy panick before he started flailing his hands within not more than a small fraction of second and there came Taehyung's laugh, drumming onto his somewhat water-filled eardrums which felt so annoying to him that he wanted to stomp right out of the lake if only he wasn't butt-naked!

"Argh!" Jungkook came back to surface, not that he was close to drowning or something, the water was pretty shallow, "I hate you."

"Aw!?" Taehyung hadn't laughed this much in years. He was just having fun, playing with Jungkook like he was a kid, but it wasn't a play for Jungkook who had to save his friends.

"You don't hate me, darling. A beautiful, soft-skinned, sweet vampire, who is taking care of you right now can not be worthy of the hate of a cute guy like you, can he?" he just confirmed the soft skin part, but Jungkook wasn't sure about everything else he said.

Jungkook finally freed himself, stepping back as the water whirled around, splashing on Taehyung's face in the process but the latter stayed unfazed.

"And what if I do? I don't want to like you so there's only one other option left which is to hate you."

Taehyung clicked his tongue, disagreeing, "there is one more option which is to love me." Taehyung smiled, it looked sweet, "you can do that instead of hating me."

"I'm not interested." Jungkook avoided looking at him, it was his turn to stay unfazed. He ruffled his hair now that Taehyung was silent and wasn't hell bent on convincing him to willingly give up and become his blood sucking pacifier.

Well, the way Taehyung was behaving at the moment, he was no less than a baby in Jungkook's eyes. What type of vampire says, "but hey, Jungkook, have you washed your hair?" with innocence dripping off his voice?

"What?" that made Jungkook turn to him again.

"See, it looks lifeless," Taehyung pointed at the base of his neck, on the nape where his hair curled into soft locks because of being wet.

Jungkook tried to see and touch what part of his hair Taehyung was talking about as he looked for it, without literally looking at it.

"There, look!" Taehyung had to take a step forward, again closing the gap between them as his hands slowly reached upwards to tangle his fingers into Jungkook's hair on the nape which, according to him, looked lifeless.

"I think lifeless is a bit too cruel of a word," Jungkook touched them himself, feeling the need to defend himself and his hair from being insulted, "they're not that bad."

"They are; look at mine!" with one swift motion, Taehyung grasped Jungkook's wrist in his hand, guiding it to his hair so that he can touch and feel it.

Just like his body and skin, his hair were extremely soft and smooth like silk threads tangled together in a beautiful, drenching wet mess and honestly, Jungkook didn't want to let go of the soft feeling of his hair around his fingers.

"You're a vampire and I'm a human, you can't compare anything you have with anything I have!" he defended himself again.

"But you agree that they're softer than yours!" it wasn't a question. Taehyung could read what was going on inside Jungkook's head, not literally but Jungkook was just an open book sometimes. His expressions gave everything away.

"Well, then," he fought to find proper words, "how do you make them soft like that?"

"Let me teach you the secret technique." he leaned inwards, reaching just beside Jungkook's ear as he started to whisper, voice low and that made him sound deeper than usual.

When Jungkook showed no response but also didn't protest, Taehyung proceeded with whatever he wanted to do, which was, to be precise, reaching up to Jungkook's head, gently pushing all of his fingers in his hair on the back of his head as he pulled his face closer.

Was that intentional? Jungkook wondered as he stared back at those sparkling eyes only to look away sooner than expected.

"You keep your fingers gentle on your delicate scalp," and he began moving his fingers, very slowly, on his scalp, making sure not to use his nails, "the water shouldn't be too hot," he scooped a hand full of water and when it touched Jungkook's skin, it felt cold. A lot more cooler than the water's original temperature.

It was like the water turned however Taehyung wanted when he touched it.

"Why did you try to do that ritual exactly?" Taehyung asked as he gently stroked Jungkook's hair, pushing them aside from his face.They didn't have shampoo or something so Taehyung was taking his time, playing with his hair and cleaning it thoroughly.

"I think I've told you before," he remembered telling Taehyung about something related to this. He can't help but suspect everything Taehyung does but still falls right into Taehyung's words.

"You did? But I don't remember properly. Tell me again, would you?" a hand wiped right across Jungkook's jaw, smoothening the water droplets into a flattened streak and he shuddered, eyes hesitantly meeting Taehyung's.

"I was just desperate. I wanted to save my dad and try to get him out of the coma, remember now?" he said, words blurring inside his head as he couldn't stop staring at Taehyung's eyes.

"Oh, yes, and I offered to help but you rejected me brutally." his voice was filled with fake hurt and concern, "that offer is still up though," he then trailed one of his hands down to Jungkook's neck, glistening under the mild sunlight and moist because of the mist.

"If you want to give up some of your blood for me to taste, I can probably help your father before it is too late, you know?" Taehyung wouldn't leave the chance to inhale deeply whenever he was close to Jungkook even though he was used to stay without breathing, he did it just because he wanted to take another waft of his scent.

Being in the water, drenched together, the scent was even more prominent and that almost drove him crazy, but he's got better self tolerance than anyone else.

Taehyung's nose grazed at the sensitive skin where his jaw met the neck, the sound of his breathing reverberating in Jungkook's ears like a chant or a spell which had bounded his hands. He could neither step away nor speak a word.

When Taehyung's lips gently landed on the skin, the prominent bones on Jungkook's neck suddenly went stiff, a gasp making its way out of his mouth. Taehyung's hand hadn't been out of his hair and had been playing with them all this time. His heart was being stubborn, not wanting to feel the emptiness when Taehyung would let go of him.

It's not looking good. This is no good.

"Wait-" Jungkook quickly distanced himself, the predicted emptiness in his hair leaving a patch of coolness after Taehyung's hand left his hair and stayed in the air, awkward at the sudden reaction of Jungkook.

"I wonder how long you can resist, sweetheart." Taehyung, as if saw it coming, smiled and put his hand behind his back, locking them in a disciplined manner.

"Come out quickly, we have to get moving soon." Taehyung keeps his face solemn now, turning around.

"Wait," there was a gap between his words, as if he were hesitant, "who is next?"

"I don't know," Taehyung sang, that specific smile back on his face. This smile was no way near to the one when he called him nicknames or even laughed at his own old-fashioned jokes, this one made him seem so distant. Like Jungkook didn't know him at all. A different person entirely.

Jungkook knew that, deep down he had softened for the Taehyung who smiled and laughed with, or at, him; but this other part of him was still as mysterious as ever and it was bugging him.

"Don't make me wait, sweetheart." because Jungkook was lost in thought, Taehyung exited the lake, leaving him alone with his long desired privacy.

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"It suits you just fine, Jungkook." Taehyung muttered at Jungkook's complaints.

"It's too old-fashioned."

"It is called classy." Taehyung corrected him.

Jungkook was just messing with him, trying to search for something that pissed Taehyung off. If you think he had any business caring for what he wore while his friends were at risk, you're wrong. The thought of pissing Taehyung off just felt really pleasing to try.

But Taehyung wasn't entirely wrong. The loose white shirt fitted all the right curves of Jungkook's body, wrapped around his chest firmly that highlighted his muscles. The pants seemed comfortable and hugged his slim waist perfectly, as if it were tailored just for him.

"The underwear fits you perfectly, right?" Taehyung asked, a mischievous glint present in his already glistening eyes.

"How do you- wait, what?" Jungkook's ears were turning red, but Taehyung was right.

"How do I know?" a nasty smirk crept up on his lips, "have you ever considered the thought that I might have an ability of seeing things beyond the barriers of clothes, curtains, trees, papers etcetera?"

All the colors from Jungkook's face drained as he looked at him, a horrified look on his face.

"Look at your face," Taehyung laughed, "I'm just kidding, but it's true that I guessed it. Being a vampire, I can't help but be smarter than most of the humans." he sounded arrogant. Taehyung was always like that and Jungkook was used to it.

"Your sense of humor is trash." Jungkook scoffed, leaving him behind as he picked up his speed, walking through the lined up trees ahead of them. It had been quite a while since they left the lake behind.

Now, Jungkook was only waiting for the next clue of the game.

Who is next?

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Added a little more fluff before we get into the game again.
Vote and comment!! <3