anticipation - stray kids

hypophrenia

(n.) a feeling of vague sadness, seemingly without a cause

sailor song - gigi perez

"i sleep so i can see you, and i hate to wait so long"

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

6 years ago

changbin lay motionless in his bed within the noctis citadel, the castle that loomed over the vampire kingdom like a sentinel of eternity. built of ancient obsidian stone, the citadel was a marvel of power and permanence, every inch of its towering walls a reminder of the royal family's unmatched authority. yet within these cold, grand chambers, the silence felt suffocating to him. the weight of his legacy pressed down, but even that couldn't fully explain the heaviness in his chest.

his legs were curled to his side, his body tense, though not from physical strain. his ruby eyes, sharp as ever, traced the intricate carvings on the vaulted ceiling above him, but his mind wasn't present. instead, it was tangled in thoughts, lost in that familiar ache that seeped into every quiet moment, gnawing at him like a shadow he could never outrun.

it had been worse lately. ever since that day in the library.

changbin could still recall every detail of that moment with painful clarity, as if it had been burned into his mind. the dim light of the library had cast a soft glow over the towering bookshelves, the scent of old paper and leather filling the air. he had been wandering the aisles, not for any particular reason—just to escape. he often found solace in the quiet, hoping that the world of fiction might distract him from the emptiness he carried inside.

but then he had seen him—seungmin.

it wasn't even the moment they had first met eyes through the bookshelf that stood out to changbin, though that had been enough to startle him. it was when he saw him fully, standing there at the end of the aisle, that his world had shifted in a way he hadn't anticipated.

seungmin was beautiful. painfully so.

changbin remembered the way seungmin's cherry-red hair had caught the dim light, each strand gleaming like threads of silk, too soft and too perfect. his hair was longer than changbin expected, constantly falling into his eyes, forcing him to run his hand through it in an almost habitual motion. that simple gesture had drawn changbin's attention to seungmin's hands—long, delicate fingers that seemed almost too graceful for someone so withdrawn.

then there were his eyes. changbin had seen countless vampires with red eyes. it was an attribute they all shared, yet seungmin's were different, not just in colour, and changbin was only just realising that. there was something deeper in them, a sadness that mirrored his own, but masked beneath a veil of quiet strength. they weren't just red—they burned, like smoldering coals, intense and hypnotic, making it impossible for changbin to look away.

changbin had never been particularly interested in appearances, but something about seungmin's presence unsettled him. maybe it was how small and fragile he seemed at first glance, dressed in an oversized black shirt that practically swallowed him whole, with denim jeans so long they dragged on the floor. yet, there was an aura around him, something that drew changbin in against his will. he was lanky, yes, but not weak. there was a quiet intensity about him, as though he had endured more than his appearance let on.

changbin had tried to ignore the way seungmin's shoulder bag clung to his slender frame, how every step he took seemed careful, as though he were trying to take up as little space as possible. but those eyes, those impossibly deep, soul-piercing eyes, never left his mind.