too fragile for your love (too strong for your heart)

and when i begin to dream of you (fate begins its serenade) pt four

     it’s only when ni-ki leaves for school, and jay, sunghoon, sunoo and jungwon remember that they have apartments of their own to return to, that he’s reminded of the package he’s yet to open. it’s been sitting on heeseung’s dresser, ever since they got back to his apartment, in the wee hours of the morning, and with the chaos and interrogations that had followed their arrival, it had slipped his mind, in favour of attending to more important affairs (for instance, sunoo’s sly suggestion that he should just shack up with heeseung now that he can’t use his rented basement as a safe living space, anymore).

     “okay, hyung, we’re leaving, now!” he hears jungwon call from the hallway. “want us to bring anything, when we come back?”

     “only ni-ki after his classes are over, thank you,” heeseung retorts, sounding distracted. “and, remember to be careful while you’re driving. don’t talk to strangers, don’t wander off, don’t get into strange cars even if their occupants offer you candy-”

     “oh god, you broke him-”

     “what do you mean? that’s just his inner dad talking-”

     “-don’t take shortcuts if said shortcut is through an alleyway-”

     “uh, hyung, i think we get it-”

     “no, let him talk. this is getting interesting-”

     jake rolls his eyes, amusedly, as he enters the living room and heads straight for heeseung who’s stirring a pot of ramyeon with utmost care, while shooting off road safety regulations for the benefit of the rapt audience clustered near the front door. gently pulling the pair of chopsticks out of the older vampire’s hold, he leans up to kiss heeseung on the corner of his mouth. “chill, hyung. let me take over, yeah?”

     “but, jake-ah-”

     “ni-ki’s forgotten his lunch, again,” he says, nodding towards the bright blue box balanced on the edge of the island. “hand that over to him, please.”

     heeseung sighs exasperatedly, as he grabs the box and raises his voice to get ni-ki’s attention. “yah, nishimura riki! get off your phone and come here!”

     “yeah, sure- what- no! i just passed this level! hyung, please-”

     “sorry, ni-ki but, heeseung hyung kind of looks like he’s about to blow his top; now, can you please go and get your lunchbox before all of us get grounded-”

***

     it takes a while for the apartment to fall into silence, once again, but as soon as it does, he notices the out-of-place item in heeseung’s bedroom, right away, while they’re slurping down individual bowls of shin ramyeon over the first few episodes of slam dunk! after they’re done and heeseung leaves for the kitchen to wash up, jake picks up the package and turns it over in his hands, searching for a billing address, or really, any hint that it wasn’t meant to be sent to him.

     there isn’t any.

     his curiosity piqued, he rips through the brown wrapping paper in one go. a small, framed painting, with bubble wrap wound around it, falls onto his lap. frowning, he sets about peeling off the protective layer, and when the painting is finally unveiled, lying proud and pretty under his gaze, all he can do is stare.

     there is a solitary person, reclining comfortably in the middle of a patch of wildflowers, in what appears to be a meadow. it looks like it’s late afternoon, judging from the rays of golden light brush stroked over the delicately outlined face of the peacefully resting person, and if jake’s not mistaken, then the person in question is none other than heli, one of the first vampires. the expertise of the painter is showcased by the vividly detailed contours of every single element in the painting, especially heli’s uniquely amber eyes, and the soft upturn of his mouth as he contemplates something out of frame. windswept locks of raven hair, fall over his forehead in a charmingly familiar manner, half-hiding a single silver earring shaped like a cross, from view, even as fresh grass stains scattered all over heli’s shirt and trousers look like they’ve been brought to life in shades of bright green.