Bad Blood [NoRenMin] ✔

08

The place seems huge from the outside.

After Jaemin found a parking spot, he and Jisung climbed out and made their way over to the building and to say that it was huge was like saying a palace was big. The building is bigger than any other bar Jaemin has seen before (not that he could ever compare the inside of it to the insides of bars.) Jisung walks in like it's nothing and Jaemin can't believe there isn't a bouncer like the bars he's seen, read or heard of.

The inside is a little smaller than the exterior of the building but it's still quite huge and Jaemin just stops as they walk through the doorway and he looks around, taking it all in. For a bar, it was actually quite exquisite. From it's wooden floors shining up at him to the tables all positioned couples of feet apart from each other on the left side of the room. Pillars aligned the right side of those tables and some of the seats were occupied. In the far corner of that side of the room was a couch (an actual couch set, actually. Two one seaters on either end and the two-seater between them; in the middle and what they all faced was a coffee table covered with books and coasters and there was a man seated there on his laptop.) And when Jaemin turned his head a little, the right side of the room divided. Half of it was the bar counter that ran up and then turned, continuing on down the other half of the room that only seemed to go further on. There were tables there too and if he squinted, Jaemin could make out a set of stairs. His eyes flickered over to the bar counter where seats aligned and behind it were tons of machines and cupboards and all sorts of menus along the wall and there were pillars (thinner than the ones near the tables) that seemed to divide every few seats.

A man stands behind the counter, wiping a glass. He's tall and pale and his hair and eyebrows stood out against his skin. When he looked up, his eyes narrowed on Jaemin for only a second before he looked away.

"'Sup boss!" Jisung exclaims, taking a seat at the counter. Jaemin follows behind him awkwardly and after a moment of hesitation, he takes a seat beside the younger. "Jaemin-ah," Jisung says, "This is Taeyong. He's the bartender here and one of the best. Taeyong-ah, this is Jaemin. He's a friend."

"Nice to meet you," Taeyong says; the sound of his voice surprises Jaemin. It's soft and melodic and much different to what he would have tried to guess based on the male's outward appearance. He wore a metallica sweater with an image that had Jaemin scrunching his face. Taeyong snickered.

"What can I get you guys?" Taeyong asks, then looks at Jaemin. "Jisung doesn't bring many friends around," he informs.

"Were you friends with his brother?" Jaemin asks before he can stop himself. The way both males tense has him regretting his decision to ask the question in the first place. He should have been more wary and aware. He starts to apologise but then Taeyong smiles.

"Yeah, I was."

Jaemin nods. "Do you only have alcoholic drinks or can I order a coke?" He asks and again, Taeyong laughs. It's odd because when first seeing him, he had one of the most serious expressions Jaemin had ever come across so to see him laughing was something entirely unexpected. A glass of coke is placed in front of him a moment later, and a glass with clear, sparkling liquid is placed in front of Jisung who accepts it with a smile.

"He always orders sprite," Taeyong supplies when catching sight of Jaemin's expression. Jaemin looks at him and then they're looking at each other. Taeyong's eyes are remarkably dark but the aura around them; around him is something between comfort and alertness. It's like Jaemin didn't know whether to keep his guard up or place it down. Taeyong moves back. "You sure you don't want a drink? An actual one? You look like you've had a rough night."

Jaemin wants to remind Taeyong that it is night, but then realizes that he must be referring to the night before. He stands up and takes a step back. His actions are automatic as his brain flies into process mode. Surely it's a coincidence that Taeyong was referring to the previous night; there's no way he could possibly be a vampire, much less the one from last night. That vampire Jaemin barely caught sight of; he wouldn't be able to recognise in broad daylight. He only remembers fangs. As he lifts his gaze from the floor, he sees Jisung standing between the seats, a look of concern crossing his face. When Jaemin looks at Taeyong, his brows meet at his forehead and there are creases along it as he frowns.

"Jaemin?"

He clears his throat. "Sorry," he mutters. "It's just a little unsettling that you're talking about last night."

"Jaemin-ah, did something happen?" Jisung asks him and although he tries to shrug it off and take his seat again, Jisung doesn't let him. A hand firmly grips his shoulder and he and Jisung are face to face as the other glares at him. When Jaemin tries to move, Jisung's grip tightens. He sighs and lowers his head.

"I got attacked, okay?" He murmurs, trying to keep it between the two of them and not include Taeyong. Jisung's eyes go wide for a moment before they return to their normal size and his mouth pulls.

"You got attacked?" Jisung asks, and he doesn't bother lowering his voice; he doesn't seem to mind that Taeyong can hear them. "Last night?" he demands. With much reluctance, Jaemin nods.

"Where?" Jisung asks. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Last night," Jaemin says again. "In the dorms."

"In the dorms?"

"Yes," he says and then he sighs. "I went to check something and nearly got attacked. I wasn't hurt and my roommate's friend got to me in time. We got to the room before anything could happen," he explains. By now Jisung dropped his hand from Jaemin's shoulder and he took a step back. He sits back down in the seat and looks at Jaemin as if to tell him to take his seat again as well. So, he does.

"You're sure you didn't get hurt?" Jisung murmurs, looking at Jaemin again. His eyes are so intense that Jaemin almost flinches. "Did you see your attacker? What did you see?"

Jaemin spares a sideway glance at Taeyong. "A flash of white," Jaemin says as he looks back at Jisung.

Jisung frowns. "A flash of white?" He asks, eyes calculating and his eyes move quickly as he seems to take in every aspect of Jaemin's face. He bites his lip and it's like you could see the way he was trying to figure something else. What it was, Jaemin didn't really know.

Until he hears Taeyong snort. Jisung and Jaemin turn to him and Taeyong smirks.

"You saw a vampire."