Meridian ◈ Seungjin

36 ◈ Upside Down

Seungmin laid still on his mattress.

His breaths were steady. Each exhale, gentle.

From the center of the room, he observed the closed eyelids flutter in their shut spots with ease. Locked in the darkened silence of the dorm room, the human was unaware. Completely innocent, and vulnerable, to the creature lurking with raked claws and poisonous eyes. A dragging tongue, curling around the salivation dripping off ivory fangs and smirking lips. The human was left unknown to it's boney shoulderblades, piercing through the skin like the horns resting on the beast's head. The beast's head, and mind, left weaker and weaker underneath the presence of the human. Like the hellish creation was of no true nightmare. Like the chains dragging behind the bastardized monster weren't a disturbance, like the narrowed flecks of blood stained on it's cheeks were a mistake.

The blood-stained tissue in the vampire's hands began to weigh heavy.

He tossed the disposable wipe in the small garbage bin set near the desk, afterwards coming to carefully prod it farther into the trash to ensure that it's hints of existence were buried deep underneath the other debris carelessly thrown into the container. Once triple checking that the cotton wipe had firmly disappeared, he pressed from the ground, and stalked to the bedside. Narrowed eyes, gaze falling behind as easy as the cracking steps the monster's rigid ankles took, hands tightened, clawing through the air as easy as a predator's nails aching for an appetite, back hunched, spine riveted with the daggered bone spikes.

The creature trudged over and slowly sat at the edge of the bed.

Hyunjin's hand reached for the human's shoulder to jostle him lightly. The bed shook underneath them.

Slowly, those closed and unfocused eyes peeled awake to the conscious and living world. They carefully search the area, the dull pupils glancing around cautiously as they attempted to orient themselves in the wobbling room and rediscover the reality of where he was currently laying. His brown hair shifted against the crystal white pillow case they were laid considerately across, the swinging rotations beginning to gradually decline in frequently until the human eventually saw the vampire offering him a sympathetic smile. The human stared for a few beats before bringing a delicate hand to his neck. His fingertips lightly pressing into the deep teeth marks and the purple bruises surrounding their punctures. Slowly, as he stared back at the vampire, Seungmin quietly asked, "How am I supposed to cover the bite?"

"You shouldn't have let me," Hyunjin mumbled underneath the drone of the air conditioner unit struggling to chill the sweat on the back of the human's neck. His hand squeezed at the human's shoulder.

Another breath,

Slightly strained,

And the throbbing of his proud heart locked within his ribcage,

Both echoed viciously in the vampire's eardrums. Like a reverberant rhythm tapping on his mind. Languidly. As if it knew. It could tell the prompting power which it held. 

Seungmin's eyes narrowed at Hyunjin for a brief moment, his gaze hardening into an arrogant scowl unbecoming of him waking from the sluggish hold of exhaustion. His hand shifted, gracefully drifting from the scabbed spot on his neck to rest on and monitor the rise and fall of his own chest. As if ensuring he truly was alive. As if ensuring this was the truth, the full, and total reality of the world developing around them. His eyes sharpened and trained through their evident blur to focus on the older. He told, "It was bound to happen, one way or another. The bites on my wrists have been struggling to heal recently, I figured it should be the proper time to give them an opportunity to heal."

"I don't know how you're going to get by without questions," The vampire murmured back.

Another breath.