LOVE BITES -Jeongcheol

22

Present~

Seokmin stood before Jeonghan, panting and drenched in sweat, the weight of the night pressing on him like a vice. His wide, frantic eyes searched Jeonghan's face for any sign of recognition, any hint that the vampire understood the gravity of what he'd just said. Words had spilled from him in a torrent—everything, every shred of information he could give. And now, there was only silence. No reaction. No flicker of concern. Just Jeonghan's cold, unreadable expression.

Frustration boiled over as Seokmin took a step closer, his voice trembling but sharp. "I don't care how long you've been hiding in your bubble, Jeonghan. If you know something—anything—you better speak now. I'm done being patient. Done waiting."

Jeonghan blinked, startled by the raw anger in Seokmin's voice. This wasn't the calm, collected hunter he was used to. This was someone on the edge, desperate, his composure shattered.

Before Jeonghan could respond, Seokmin grabbed his wrist, his grip tight and unyielding. "If they're dead, then tell me! But if you know where they are, where my goddamn boyfriend is—you better fucking help me, or I swear—"

"Stop!" Jeonghan barked, his heart raced, struggling to process the chaos swirling in his mind. "Stop, Seokmin—this isn't helping!"

His chest tightened with the weight of something he couldn't let break—not now, not when everything was falling apart. His vampires, his family—they were out there, somewhere, bleeding, suffering, or worse... dead. No. They wouldn't die. They better not be dead. He couldn't let that happen. He wouldn't let it happen. He wouldn't let that be the end.

He felt the weight settle, heavy and familiar. There was no room for panic, no space for hesitation. Not now. Not when everything was on the verge of falling apart. The fragile threads that had held him together until now wove into something stronger. He couldn't be the broken one—not when they needed him.

His mind sharpened, his resolve crystallizing. He had been many things in his long existence—manipulator, survivor, loner—but he had also been a prince. A leader. The one who stood unshaken when the world burned. That was who he needed to be now.

"I'm not asking," he said, his voice low, fierce. "Take me to the hunter base. Now."

★★★

The drive to the hunter base was tense, Seokmin gripping the steering wheel like it was the only thing tethering him to reality. Jeonghan's thoughts drifted back to a conversation he'd had with Joshua long ago, on one of those rare, quiet nights. It was only a couple of days after Joshua had confessed to the others that he was in love with Seokmin. Now, it was just the two of them in Jeonghan's room. Joshua was curled up on the couch with a book resting in his hands, though he hadn't flipped a page in the last ten minutes. Across the room, Jeonghan sat by the window, sharpening his blade with slow, deliberate strokes, the soft rasp of metal against stone filling the silence between them.

Joshua finally broke the silence, "What do you think about my relationship with Seokmin?"

Jeonghan didn't pause, didn't even glance up. His tone was calm, matter-of-fact. "Didn't I already say? I have no problem with it. I trust you."

"That's not what I mean," Joshua pressed, closing his book and leaning forward. "I want you to be honest, Hannie. It's just us here."

Jeonghan sighed, the steady rhythm of the blade against the whetstone faltering for just a second. The truth was complicated. He did trust Joshua—he always had—but the idea of one of his vampires falling in love with a hunter came with its own set of fears. What if it ended badly? What if Seokmin turned on him? On all of them? Jeonghan didn't voice those thoughts outright, but he gave Joshua a look—sharp and unyielding.