That Fire In Your Eyes | Cat Jihoon& Vampire Mingyu

New Roads

It's early in the morning when Jihoon's woken up by Mingyu telling him that it's time to leave. Jihoon's half conscious so he doesn't remember how he got dressed (it was Mingyu) or how he got to the car (Mingyu carried him). What he does remember is that he didn't find the car seat very comfortable so he climbed in his mate's lap and fell asleep.

He's woken up again by Mingyu when they arrive to their destination. Jihoon's grumpy and refuses to let go of the vampire so he's carried. 

"Jihoon, we're about to meet your father's friends. I think you should wake up." Mingyu chuckles as he whispers into Jihoon's ears. The cat's ears flinch before standing straight. He peeks through his lashes while carefully unwrapping himself around Mingyu. Mingyu places a kiss on his forehead and he smiles as he looks up at him. 

Mingyu looks behind him and sees a group of people their age coming closer. He nods for Jihoon to see. The cat turns around and leans against Mingyu a bit. The vampire's fingers brush against Jihoon's before he wraps them around the cat's. Jihoon purrs for a moment but as the group comes closer he stops himself and nudges his mate playfully.

"Hello. You must be Jihoon." One of them smiles brightly and holds out a hand for Jihoon to shake.

"Yes, hi." Jihoon smiles back and shakes his hand. 

"I'm Taehyung." He looks at all of them with a smile. "It's nice to meet you guys. Let's head inside." They boy looks around, his pupils dilating to have a better look of their surroundings.

They were told to come to a part of the city where not a lot of people lived in. Apparently not even bad guys come here so it's safe for them to talk and teach Jihoon some things before taking them to 'headquarters'.

The abandoned house is filthy but in a good shape, taking in consideration the first impression it gave off. 

"So, why did people leave this part of the city?" It's Seokmin who asks the question. Jihoon pays attention to Taehyung who's checking every corner of the house and his friends do the same.

Taehyung sighs. "It's been like this for some 7 years but people had been leaving slowly for decades. The reason lies in the government's plans for this area. It took us a few years to realize that but it's pretty smart."

One of his friends pulls out a chair for him and Taehyung thanks him. Mingyu does the same for Jihoon. 

"This area was overpopulated. It became a problem for the people in charge. Too much work, too much contamination. So, they got people to leave by giving people lower wages, increasing prices on products, apartments, increasing interest rates. People were forced to leave."

Jihoon's saddened by Taehyung's story. The city outside looks like it's in ruins, like it's been through several wars. The government did this? How come no one ever talks about this?

Taehyung sighs, a sad and helpless smile on his face. "There's nothing to do really. But we tried to tell people about it - tried to make them see the government's true face- but we were ignored every time. People have become trapped mouses in this world. Just work, think about the money and the riches, think about the cars and luxury. This ruined world we live in is like this because people want power. No matter the race, our origin - it's all meaningless unless you've got the money. But the moment you start waking up and telling people about it, those guys come for your throats."

Jihoon's ears turn towards Taehyung, alert and attentive. He can't help but be enchanted by Taehyung's story. It's also unbelievable that people refuse to think about this. 

"While Jidae was here, we made a small difference in our numbers. He was a very convincing wizard who got a lot of people to join us. Then they passed their knowledge to their children. We've become rather suspicious of everyone who wants to join but the fact that you're Jidae's son means a free pass ticket." Taehyung chuckles.