ATEEZ Imagines

Hongjoong ✦ The Hunter Becomes The Hunted | Vampire AU

Word count: 6,380

Thank you to @walle237 who suggested a detail to this imagine to make the plot deeper and add a little angst to it

DO NOT read or interact if you're under 14

There was pain—so much pain. White-hot and searing like a blazing fire. It felt like a knife had been stabbed into your neck. Your assailant, a vampire, had kept you trapped in his iron grip as he fed on you like we were some kind of animal. When he had his fill, he discarded you like a piece of trash, your body falling limply to the damp concrete, your neck throbbing like the worst toothache ever.
Everything was a blur, your body weak and lacking blood, your pulse dangerously slow. You'd bitten off more than you could chew this time and now you were going to die for it.
Your weapon, which was deadly to vampires, laid abandoned just inches away from you, useless, which was exactly how you felt in that moment.

You trained years for this, carrying on the legacy of your late parents, beginning your practice in high school. While other people your age were learning how to drive, you were learning how to fight, taking lessons from your father while your mother taught you about stealth and honing in on your senses. You worked hard to get where you were now, and for what?
Maybe this was the fate of a vampire hunter. To be killed by the hands of what they chased. It's how your parents met their end, after all.
Some family legacy. You scoffed internally.

The world was slipping away, coming and going in waves. Then, blurry flashes of a man with concern etched onto his features appeared in your vision, a muffled voice reaching your ears, but you couldn't make out anything he was saying, just picking up fragments. His gaze drifted to your weapon before he took in your appearance, his eyes widening slightly. Your brows tugged together confusedly, the blood loss preventing you from thinking properly.
"Help." You managed to croak out, not wanting to die. You had so much to live for, so much more to do.
The man hesitated, a look of conflict on his face, which was handsome, even through your hazy sight.

A stained noise wheezed out of you when you felt a sharp pain in your neck akin to what you experienced while being drained of your life force, except this time it burned. You sucked in a sharp breath through your teeth, regaining enough clarity to realize you'd been found by another vampire. It didn't take a rocket scientist to know what the burning that spread through your veins was.

In a sudden panic, you realized what he was doing and fruitlessly tried prying him off you.
"No. N-no." You protested faintly, your arms falling weakly to the ground.
Your body felt hot and cold all at once, every cell in your body tingling and burning to a point of numbness as your consciousness slowly slipped away from you. Your eyes fought to stay open, but the blood loss and the venom coursing through your veins, a dangerous combination, was too intense and you succumbed to the darkness.

You gasped sharply, jolting awake. You survived the attack. You were alive.
You were... chained to a bed. You jerked, the chains jostling.
"Take it easy." A man's voice spoke and your gaze darted up to meet his.
"Who are you?" You questioned sharply, eyes narrowed at the stranger. "Why am I here?"
Things were still foggy and you couldn't seem to recall how you ended up in this room or what events occurred before your arrival.
"I'm Hongjoong." The man introduced himself, his hands raised in a placating manner, his brown eyes darting to different points of your face, taking in your mild confusion. "You don't remember what happened?"
"No." You responded.
"I suppose that's to be expected. You lost a lot of blood."
"What?" You blinked, a crease forming between your brows as they slowly pulled together in deep thought.
Hongjoong lowered his hands and released a reluctant sigh as if he were contemplating something.
"Why am I chained up? And why do I feel so weird? What did you do to me?"
"It's for your own protection. Trust me." He said.
"Answer me." You demanded in frustration, yanking sharply on the cuffs, jostling the metal chains that kept you bound to the bed.
"You asked for help, so I helped you."