Highness (Jeongcheol)

Jeonghan

"Do you think someone could actually die by coffee?"

Jeonghan rolled his eyes, pulling Myungho forward into the café. He was keeping one eye on the gym across the street and one ear on his phone. There had been no more signs of Hendrick—no threatening texts, no scent of him in the streets—and Jeonghan had agreed to let Seungcheol work out at his usual spot before his shift at the hospital.

Jeonghan knew he hadn't done any real damage to Hendrick, so he had to assume it was the act of rebelling in itself that had him backing off. He tried not to get lost in self-loathing at the thought. Was this all it would have taken for him not to be stalked and harassed for centuries? Just a single instance of fighting back properly?

A familiar voice sounded in his head. Pathetic. Weak. Cowardly.

It lacked the usual sting though. Because Jeonghan had other words running through his mind now. A different voice, full of affection. Strong. Fierce. Perfect.

It was a strange thing, having someone see him—all of him—and insist they liked every bit of it.

Jeonghan didn't know what to do with himself. He'd successfully seduced Seungcheol, he supposed. More than seduced. They were...together? And now Jeonghan had fought off Hendrick. So where did that leave him? What was next? He'd never let himself fully consider it.

Seungcheol was his mate. Jeonghan knew it. Had known it.

But...what did that mean?

Jeonghan didn't have the same fear of going feral as Seokmin once had. Jeonghan and his inner vamp vibed together very well, all things considered. He'd never had to fight it for control. He knew it was inevitable, that eventually he'd go down the same road as all the others, but it could be centuries more before that became an issue.

Everything came to an end at some point, right?

And Seungcheol wanted normal. He wanted a normal human life. Could Jeonghan give that to him? He could, couldn't he? He didn't have to ask Seungcheol to turn for him.

Jeonghan could love him as he was, for however long he was allowed.

If Seungcheol stayed in this town, Jeonghan would have to leave sooner rather than later, with the whole never aging thing. But Joshua and Seokmin would eventually have to leave for the same reason, right? Maybe Seungcheol would want to go with them, and Jeonghan could stay close.

Seungcheol would be a hot silver fox; that was for sure.

And once Seungcheol hit the end of his mortal life... Jeonghan felt a sharp stabbing pain in his chest at the thought. For the first time since the early days of his vampire existence, he felt his inner vamp rebel—a twisting, itchy sensation under his skin.

His inner vamp really, really did not like the thought of Seungcheol dying.

Well, what do you want us to do? Scare him away? He finally thinks of us as something other than a monster. You want to ask to take his humanity away and reverse all that progress?

Ugh. This was terrible. Jeonghan had been reduced to a poor man's Seokmin, actually talking to his "demon" like it was a separate entity.

"Jeonghan, we're up!"

Jeonghan was pulled out of his maudlin thoughts by Myungho's enthusiastic warning. Alicia was at the counter again, and Jeonghan nodded his greeting before opening his mouth to order—he was graciously inducting Myungho to the world of overly sweet coffee drinks—but Myungho spoke first. "You guys are hiring?"

Jeonghan looked to where the other vampire was pointing. There was indeed a "Hiring Now!" sign propped up on the counter.

Alicia smiled warmly at Myungho. "We are. You interested?"