bite me once, shame on you. bite me twice...

lesson fifteen: when caught, fight back

Yongbok followed Hyunjin around the lower level of the gallery, listening to his insight on many of the pieces. He made everything sound so fascinating. Yongbok was used to being kind of bored when learning about art like this but Hyunjin was passionate.

"How did you learn so much about all of this?"

"When I would get laid up in bed, I didn't have a lot to do besides drawing and reading. My parents wanted me to be comfortable so they would get me art books from the library. I read a lot about technique, famous artists. Now... I suppose I've got nothing but time to learn all I can." Hyunjin mused, brows furrowed together.

Yongbok felt his heart ache in sympathy. "How many artists were vampires?"

The question startled Hyunjin by the way he snapped to look at Yongbok. He shrugged, tucking his hair behind his ears. It sounded like a dumb question when he repeated it in his head.

"Not many. The thing about so many artists is like... the time and the resources needed to make a lot of these pieces," he explained as they started walking again. "So many pieces could only be made in a short amount of time. I don't think many artists would really... react well to eternal life. Too much time, not enough things in the world to create. At some point... the inspiration runs dry."

"Muses die." Yongbok added. Hyunjin smiled though it was tinged with sadness.

"That's another thing. I... I'm afraid of what will happen... when I reach into my eighties, nineties, when I become hundreds of years old and everyone I loved fades."

Changbin had mentioned as such, the loneliness that could come from it. The way it almost drove Chan insane.

"You have Chan, the others." They walked to the center of the museum where they had a statue on display surrounded by velvet ropes, crowds of people moving around them. There was a school tour, children's voices piercing the otherwise serene area. Yongbok saw parents and kids, couples, groups of people who may or may not even know each other. All coexisting, experiencing everything together.

The ceiling high above them was stained glass, sunlight illuminating everything, gold rays spanning across the marble floor. The second floor mezzanine kept much of the lower floor shaded.

"Yeah... but what about Jisung? Seungmin? You?" Hyunjin stopped walking as Yongbok stepped into the sunlight, hesitating at the edges. He was nervous to step into the sunlight.

Yongbok realized he wasn't following, then looked around. He wasn't sure how to approach the fact Hyunjin put him level with his other humans. He returned to Hyunjin's side, just barely in the path of the light. People passed around them, faces Yongbok would likely never seen again.

"Well... I can't speak for Seungmin and Jisung's vampires... but I think they would... give them the choice. So they can enjoy their company for as long as possible."

Hyunjin's eyes flicked all over Yongbok's face as though he was looking for something.

"What would you do if Minho got hurt on a hunt? Badly hurt."

The thought made Yongbok's stomach roll, bile rising up in his throat. He knew Minho put himself in danger but the idea that he could die out there...

"I... Chan could help him, right? Like he did for you?"

"If Minho consented to it. But then what? Minho's a vampire, then what happens to you?"

Without his notice, Hyunjin's fingers wrapped around Yongbok's hand. He felt them squeeze, a modicum of comfort. He noticed in the back of his mind how large Hyunjin's hands were, the way his fingers wrapped entirely around his wrist.