„어둠 속에 찾은 너의,
빛에다가 적셔 날,
𝐘𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞,
네 미소와 목소리 다,"

𝟐𝟑𝟎𝟔𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒, 𝐒𝐞𝐨𝐮𝐥 - 𝐊𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐚, 𝟎:𝟓𝟕
Life flashes in front of the eyes of the one who though she had nothing left. A heart stops beating, then starts beating twice as fast.

„Now who the hell are you?!"

Y/N was a calm, collected person.

...Sometimes. This was not one of those times.

She had to grab onto a wall for support, her other hand holding her chest frantically as she looked up at the man.

„Did I startle you?" he snickers. To Y/N, he seemed to be around the same age as her, especially since he spoke so casually towards her.

„Not at all," she frowns deeply, her face showing how many of the three words were truly heartfelt.

„My bad," he said, taking a step closer.

Y/N whipped out her pepper spray, pointing it at the man. „Stop right there."

„Why?"

„Tell me your name."

„You didn't ask the grandma for her name, but you ask for mine? How charming."

She huffed in annoyance and sprayed a bit of the pepper spray in the air as a warning, „Answer me."

„Tell me yours first." he crosses his arms.

„No, I'm definitely not telling you mine, creep."

„For all I know, you could be the creep here, since you're walking alone at night," he scoffs.

She scoffs right back, her eyes piercing the mole on his nose. „I'm a foreigner who doesn't talk to anyone. I don't think anyone around would mistake me for one."

„Fine. It's Solon." he rolls his eyes.

„Y/N. Anyway, Solon, you're also here, alone, at night. Care to explain why? Don't you believe in vampires?" Y/N raises a brow, pushing her hair back as it was starting to annoy her.

He seems to tense up slightly. His small smirk disappears. „No." he replies.

„No what?"

„I don't believe in fairy tales," he shrugs, „and I'm not alone."

„Erm.. Are you schizophrenic by any chance?" she grimaces slightly, trying to make it not sound as offensive as she frantically looks around for the people.

„My friends are inside the nearby store. They'll be back soon. And to be honest, I wasn't even going to approach you, but I overheard the conversation and couldn't resist." Sunghoon points behind him, and she notices the small neon sign at the end of the street, barely glowing.

Y/N nods a few times, „Okay then ..? I don't really care."

„Wait," Solon says, exactly as Y/N drops her phone by accident, and he catches it, handing it back to her.

She tilts her head to the side, inspecting the man, as if waiting for something else to happen. For him to loose balance, or mention bad knees. His reaction time was so fast it caught her off guard. „What the...?"

„Do you believe?" he said out of nowhere.

Lost in thought, she forgot for a moment what they were talking about. „In vampires? Really? Of course not. Now, if that's all, I'll get going," she shakes her head with a smile. She then walks away, without another word said. But her gut was telling her to keep her guard up. Why did he feel the need to ask her that question? Wasn't it obvious already, since she asked him first?

Even when she looked back over her shoulder, he kept standing there, zoned out, staring at the store. She was passing by it, since it was on the street she came in through, so that gave her the chills. It was as if he was staring into her soul at the same time.

She passes the shop. Nothing really happens. She mutters some comments about how weird that entire encounter was, and looks back once more only when she hears the door open in the distance. When the door of the shop opens, the neon sign goes dark. She wasn't even able to see how many friends Solon had with him. What?

How many of them were really there?

Could she have faced real danger there? What if he was just waiting for backup? Could she have fought off multiple men at once? Could she have found out more if she stayed? So many questions flooded her mind...

Solon's friends didn't seem to actually notice her, though. She sighs and convinces herself that it was probably for the best. These were the first people she's seen outside ever since the rumors started spreading. It was possible that since there haven't really been any updates to those, people might've stopped believing in them.

But during this time of day, the city was still a ghost town. She saw one or two people on their balconies while on her way back home, possibly those that got woken up by the barking dog, but none in the streets themselves. Even if people have stopped fearing the vampire rumors, it'll take a while until everything restores back to normal. She thought, and let her worries go with the light breeze hitting her face.

•

𝟐𝟑𝟎𝟔𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒, 𝐒𝐞𝐨𝐮𝐥 - 𝐊𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐚, 𝟏𝟔:𝟎𝟕
Sleep without nightmares is like sleeping on clouds. You get lost somewhere between the Earth and the sky, but you don't mind. The world could collapse, and you wouldn't notice. At least that's what Y/N's great-grandma used to say.

The alarm broke through the beautiful, soft clouds like lightning though, bringing Y/N back to where she fell asleep. Her nap did not last long. With a loud groan of annoyance, she slowly got up, her third alarm finally doing it's job. Why her alarms happened to be set is a question she'd also like an answer to.

On a Sunday like this, naps the only thing she thought could help time pass. She wanted it to be nighttime again. She wanted to investigate more, since only yesterday was she able to apprehend some new information about the sudden lack of night life. It left her head dizzy, mind curious and body yearning to find out more.

While stretching, she tried to recall the details of last night. She remembered little of what the lady from last night said, but what she did remember was the number seven. Seven vampires. So specific. It kept floating around in her mind-palace, aswell as the black-haired man from last night, and his mysterious friends.

Wait. Y/N's brain finally flickered with a small spark of a pattern. „Seven. What if Solon had six friends with him? Then maybe they could be a gang... A gang that people would assume are vampires, for an unknown reason. Perhaps that's why the guy looked so uncomfortable. If he was listening in on the conversation I had with the grandma, possibly he could've overheard the number seven, and associate it with him and his friends, which if they were a gang would explain his sudden interest in my presence!"

She frantically waved hands, as if organizing and connecting everything in her brain. She kept muttering more out loud. „I could be right. Or I could be wrong. Maybe he was just a random guy, hanging out with friends. I should've asked him if they were a gang, ugh! But then again, if they were, they probably would've tried to steal my belongings immediately instead of waiting for the grandma to walk away. Or maybe Solon waited because of the dog? Or he wasn't confident enough to mug me on his own, which is why he was waiting for his friends, but by the time they came, I was leaving already, but also.. then like, why would he let me leave? Why would he tell me his name? No. They can't be a gang. It must've been some random college guys simply hanging out."

Y/N kept tapping her temples. She couldn't decide what to believe. Solon, the guy... He was definitely pale, but vampire-pale? Definitely not. If only she could've seen his friends. But the lights in that street just had to malfunction.

It was frustrating to think. Even more so, trying to crack a theory she has found out about yesterday.

„Let me get my facts straight. There are seven men that are suspected to be vampires. There aren't many people out at night because of that. But Solon and his friends were out last night. The grandma too. I've been out aswell. We didn't fight or argue... Or at least, we haven't participated an advanced-argument, I guess.. Which means that there might be someone else to take into account. Maybe like- OH! The shop owner!" Y/N snapped her fingers. Her eyes sparkled slightly, and a light smirk spread upon her lips. Apparently, she could be smart when she wanted to.

She grabbed her things and stuffed them in the pockets of her pants before quickly walking down the few streets she passed last night to the shop. It seemed the sign was still off. Whether it was still broken, or off since it wasn't nighttime yet remained a mystery.

Y/N walked inside and looked around for any signs of the owner there. Her footsteps were nearly silent, but her fear of the unknown reached the room even before she did. Any shady place like this could be a hideout, so she tried her best to keep her guard up, just in case.

To not seem weird, she grabbed some strawberries and water before going straight to the register, ringing the bell to hopefully summon the shopkeeper.

„Good afternoon to you, miss!" said a young, blond boy. He didn't look like a child, but he still had the aura of one. Or maybe it was his dashing smile. The boy went ahead and sat at the register, looking down to see what she's purchasing.

„Good afternoon," she nodded calmly, despite her eyes betraying her and showing her dread. They darted from the items to the boy and back multiple times.

He marked her items, tilting his head while looking at her purchase, „Is that all?"

„Yes, yes," she nodded, then shook her head. "although, I did want to ask a question."

„Ask ahead, though I can't guarantee I'll have the answers." he chuckled, hair falling into his face as he did.

„Have you seen any men here last night? Like a group of friends, y'know, just some suspicious looking men?" Y/N immediately wanted to slap herself after formulating her sentence like that.

„Suspicious looking?" he thought about it, then shook his head. "Nope."

„Really? ... I mean, maybe they didn't look suspicious to you, but just some friends, y'know?" she paid and then immediately drank all of the water.

He laughed again, fixing his hair. "I must apologize, but I haven't seen anyone like that."

„Come on, the light turned off when they left! It's still off now? It was about midnight when I saw them. A man I was talking to said they were his friends. I think his name was Solon. He said he was waiting for his friends, and I just wanted to ask them a few questions," Y/N was frustrated. How could this man not remember them? Was a different shopkeeper here last night?

„Solon, you say?" his smile suddenly sprang out even more. "That's our shopkeeper and main barista, ballet dancer and salesman!"

Y/N nearly choked on her own spit, „Hm?! Ehrm- Excuse me? He is?"

„Yes ma'am! Plus, he does a lot for the store itself in his free time." he added.

„That's.. yeah, great- good for him! Good to know, too," she tried to play it off, unsuccessfully. It almost seemed like she was a stalker.

„I can tell him to come down if you want me to.." the blonde said, picking up a phone.

She panicked, waving her hands frantically and dropping her phone. Again.

And once again, she was surprised to see someone catch it easily, this time the cute blonde. Holy shit. Is this a pattern?

„It's fine, really! Oh- thanks- whatever your name is... No really, sorry for bothering you, you don't need to do that at all, it's fine!"

„My name's Shion," he said, right before the phone was done ringing. „Sunghoon, come downstairs, please! We have a host."

Y/N wanted to die in that very same moment. She covered her face, embarrassed. That was NOT what she was going for. She wanted to get a bit of information about him from his friends, not about his friends from him!

She stopped. „Wait did you say Sunghoon?"

„No?" he looked at her with an almost confused facial expression. So close to it, yet his eyes told a different story. They were staring into her soul with a glare that stole her ability to even try to pinch the idea he might've said that.

Y/N shook her head, feeling faint. Was she actually going crazy? She thought about it, then snacked on the strawberries, deciding that perhaps she's just bad with names. Her head was pure chaos, but to overhear things, that'd be a whole new level... Maybe she just remembered someone else.

„Sun- Shion, who's the host?" the called for man stepped down the stairs slowly, slouching from obvious exhaustion.

Shion, or whatever the name was at this point, resorted to smiling innocently again. He angled his hands towards Y/N, as if presenting her to him. „It's her. She said you know her. She has questions."

„I've never seen her before, though?" he stared her up and down, then denied her appearance. Was he being sarcastic?

She got offended, just a bit. "We've literally met yesterday. On the street at night."

„Really?" he asked.

„Y/N? Doesn't that ring a bell?" she raised a brow, feeling a bit desperate.

„It does, but you don't." Solon shrugged simply.

Y/N muttered some things under her breath before thinking of what to do now. "Well, that's fine. You don't need to know me for me to ask you the questions I want to ask you."

„You could be a creep." he said.

„Or a stalker." Shion reminded the two of his existence, siding with Solon.

Her jaw slightly fell. She couldn't believe he quoted her while actively lying about knowing her. He's not helping the suspicion at all, she thought.

„Look. I just wanted to clear up some things. As bad as it might sound, I do need to ask— are you guys a gang?" she tried to explain.

„A what?" a new voice came in.

„A gang, really?" Y/N could've sworn she saw a small smirk on Solon's face.

She didn't pay much attention to him though. The new face got her whole being in the palm of his hand with the aura that followed anywhere he went. The platinum blonde seeped through the somewhat dark, barely lit shop and as he approached from behind her, she felt shivers go down her back. Something was off about him aswell. And it wasn't just the formal outfit, compared to the two casually dressed men.

Actually, all three men seemed on edge while talking to her. They were like sharks, staring at their prey, meanwhile she was just trying her best to explain. "By gang, I didn't mean it in a bad way. Or rather- I'm not saying you LOOK like one, of course, it's just that you guys were the only ones I've seen out at night and... Unless I'd place my suspicions upon the grandma I met, since she was out aswell, it adds up," she explained.

He got behind the counter, taking an almost protective stance behind Shion. Solon seemed to jab secretly at his side with his elbow, just as Y/N started speaking again. "Look, I'm just curious why the entire city is on a lockdown because of rumors."

„What lockdown are we talking about here?" the new face asked.

She huffed in annoyance, since they made it seem like she was talking nonsense. "It's not an actual lockdown, it's just that people are scared to go out because of some vampires or whatever, and I believe that a gang might actually be behind it."

The man raised a brow, looking at the other two. "Vampires?"

„Yeah, I know it's bullshit. That's why I'm asking you if you're a gang. Because if you are, I wanted to peacefully suggest, request if you will, for you to stop fucking around and go get a new hobby. You've scared an entire city into not going out at night, isn't it enough?" she said, leaning over the table with a slight eye twitch.

Solon folded his arms on his chest. "So you think we have time for all that?"

„Well-"

„I'm just saying, we've been busy lately, and I don't really see how this suspicion ties us to vampires, since you saw us out once?" he continued.

„I- you don't get me. This.. this is useless banter at this point. So you're not a gang, fine. Enjoy your evening. And I recommend fixing the lighting here, I can't see shit in here," she scrapped the entire idea of finding out more tonight, pissed off by the annoying black haired man. The only man Y/N truly wished a nice evening was Shion.

Y/N walked out of the store without looking back, regrets only hitting her as soon as she realized she had to go back to mindlessly roaming the streets to find out something, if anything. „Stupid Solon and his ballet dancer, salesman, shopkeeper and main barista self." she thought to herself.

„Argh! What now?" she said out loud, for a change. Her frustrations were getting the better of her, leading her to a different store to get a snack, then to an empty parking lot.

Parking lots were usually more fun to be in when Y/N didn't have to struggle with parking a car in the chaos that Seoul could sometimes happen to be in. It was almost nighttime again by now. She must've taken a longer walk than she intended to, but that was okay. There were no people to yell at her for coming home late at her age, so she could be wherever she wanted, whenever she wanted. And that included empty parking lots that helped her think. It was almost as if she was parking her own thoughts, putting each in it's own parking spot.

„This is useless. I should just mind my business, but I can't!" she chuckled in disbelief at her own behavior. "I'm too invested. I've gone from feeling lonely and wondering where the people were to trying to figure out if vampires exist and if so, where I could find seven of them."

She sighed and took another lap around the place. It didn't make sense at all. The only other theory that came to her mind in the past two days was that the supposed "gang of vampires" might've been some local homeless people just hanging out. Their appearance alone could've possibly been enough to scare some people into staying at home, right? Right?

„But then again, would the local hobos join forces? They're not the Avengers, they don't make bank and fight off bad guys. It's more probable that rather than fighting off a bad entity, they'd ask it for money, then fight each other instead, trying to get the money for themselves."

She shook her head, laughing at her pathetic attempt at thinking rationally. „Perhaps I could ask them what they'd do in that situation someday as a trivia question or something."

Another lap around the parking lot. Then two more. Then she subconsciously wandered off into the more hidden away streets of Seoul, those that weren't talked about as much exactly because of the... Less fortunate that resided over there. Though her inner and outer monologue about the locals there was a joke at first, she thought that it wouldn't hurt to just take a quick peak, as the sun was still up, though descending behind the buildings slowly.

The sound of Y/N's steps broke the comfortable atmosphere of those sitting by garbage fires, on benches and by the buildings. The older men felt disturbed by the presence of a somewhat-kind-of-well-dressed woman just walking out here without a care in the world.

„Should I try to like... Bribe them into giving me info?" she thought, then realized that maybe getting too close to these guys wasn't the best idea. She could fight, but still, she didn't want to beat up a poor homeless man, then walk away. That'd be like taking away their last bit of dignity, and she considered herself to be above the need of stripping the homeless of that.

Plus, bribing the homeless wouldn't do anything but bring in more trouble for both sides. Following her jokes was a reality check, that if she truly tried to bribe someone here, chances are the others would attempt to rob her immediately, and once they'd realize she wouldn't let them, they'd fight the "lucky" one.

Y/N sighed again. What a bad habit. Her look rose once more when she saw the reflection of a slightly bigger fire in a puddle. It wasn't big enough to make her call the fire department, but it was definitely bigger than those fires started with sticks only. This one didn't look like a birthday cake with candles, no. This one had flames lashing out of the bin, making her almost curious to see what was burning inside. Y/N walked a bit closer. She saw a man sitting beside it. That didn't surprise her. It was the fact that he was alone. There were no other people sitting by this big source of heat and light. That alone made her curious enough to approach the man despite the risks. „Yo. What's with the big fire man?"

„Tsk. What do you actually want from me, huh?!" he responded immediately, voice husky and deep.

„I'm just curious. All of this, just for one man? You must be feared, since no people are crawling towards this place at all."

„Obviously not enough," he coughed, glaring.

She couldn't help but roll her eyes. „What'd you burn?"

„Paper. What else?!" he raised his voice, annoyed by her questions.

She nodded, mostly to herself. „I'm guessing nobody's a fan of today's newspaper?"

„It's not just the newspaper. It's the stupid posters too." he grumbled angrily.

„What posters?"

„Those! Just go look at those instead, and leave me alone, bitch!" he pointed his finger, sick of her.

„Okay then! Jeez. So rude," she waved her hands, leaving the man to his own devices.

She walked over to the other part of the area, stopping in front of the mentioned wall. The Sun had already fallen behind the horizon, but spared enough light for her to be able to read through the posters.

And then it clicked. They were wanted posters. Fresh, wanted posters. And there were seven of them, three of them with missing photos.

Along with those was put up one more poster in the same style. A photo of a victim.

With blood on his shoulder that had seeped out from his neck.

That had a vampire bite.

•

_____
a.n.: i fear the album was too good

i bought it during an event at my local k-store and pulled two heeseung pcs, along with jay and jake💋

anyways, i'm free balling this fic as i myself have no clue what plot it'll have. i just hope it won't be too rushed, as opposed to the 175k word dazai fic in my concepts that has been lying in there unfinished for a year now.

hope you guys enjoy whatever will become of this, because i have no schedule and haven't written any major stories except the dazai fic🧍‍♂️ and some czech avengers fics back in 2018

english isn't my first language btw so please point out any mistakes if you see them (i'm also a bit of an insomniac that only writes at night so that might contribute to any potential typos)

anyways hope you've enjoyed the first full chap!