Chapter Text
Hyunjin woke up the morning of his birthday to a large bundle of tulips- his favorite flowers- at his bedside table. The smell filled his senses upon first blinking awake, overpowering the scent of the acrylic paints that littered his room. (Because even if he had his own studio now- he still painted In his room everyday.)
Hyunjin smacked his lips and shuffled around under his thick weighted blanket some more in a poor attempt to go back to sleep because the more he moved around, the more flowers he noticed that were set up in his room. They were hard to ignore but they were endearing, even if Hyunjin just wanted to get his beauty sleep. A birthday present to himself would be sleeping in.
And just as he was about to slip back under into blissful unconsciousness, nuzzling his face into his silken pillow, there was a soft knock at his door and Felix poked his head inside. Felix and all of his vampiric glory with freckle smattered cheeks and a big smile on his face- like it was his birthday instead of Hyunjin’s. And how could Hyunjin possibly be mad at him when he had a tray of Hyunjin’s favorite breakfast in his hands?
“Morning, Jinnie,” Felix said, in that dashing low voice of his that Hyunjin loved so much. He entered the room, avoiding tripping over the carnations and then the white roses to set the tray on Hyunjin’s bedside table next to the lamp and his other flowers. It smelled just good enough to have Hyunjin’s stomach growling with interest.
Well- he was awake now.
Felix sat on the edge of the bed and carded at Hyunjin’s bed hair. Hyunjin leaned into it like some kind of house cat and Felix chuckled fondly. “Sorry if I brought your food too early. I heard you shuffling around from downstairs so I assumed that you were waking up.”
Right. Vampire hearing. Hyunjin would never get used to that. The others probably heard everytime Hyunjin decided to go on a sexcapade with one of them. It should have been annoying but it was really only hot, in Hyunjin’s humble opinion.
But he couldn’t be thinking about sex this early in the morning (ten o’clock)- no; not when Felix was staring down at him adoringly and patiently waiting for him to fully wake up. Hyunjin decided to sit up and lean against his headboard a few moments later once he gathered himself, knowing that he looked fairly unattractive with his swollen cheeks and half closed eyes.
But that didn’t matter to the others, because they seemed to think he was the most attractive thing even when he was in nothing but a wrinkled sleep t-shirt with crazy hair. Even when he was snotty and sick. Even when he snored because his nose was stuffy.
“Good morning,” Felix repeated, scooting closer so that he could lean in and plant a light peck on Hyunjin’s plump lips. “Happy birthday.”
Hyunjin smiled, ignoring how he probably had bad morning breath as he leaned forward to connect their lips again- this time for a longer amount of time until Felix laughed breathlessly against his mouth and they were forced to pull apart.
Vampires didn’t really celebrate birthdays- which made it just the sweeter that they always remembered to celebrate Hyunjin’s human one when it came around. He had been with them for two years of his life now, and it was safe to say that Hyunjin wasn’t planning on going anywhere.
“I love you, Lixie,” Hyunjin said when Felix grabbed him by either of his cheeks and poked at them. They were still puffy from sleep. “Thank you for bringing my breakfast, you didn’t have to.”
There was an almost devilish glint in Felix’s eyes when he leaned forward, as if confessing a secret for Hyunjin’s ears only. “To be honest- we all fought over who got to bring it. We didn’t want to all at the same time because we’d overwhelm you, but I won. They’re all fuming downstairs, really jealous.”
Hyunjin cocked an eyebrow upwards, his lips curling upwards into a half smirk. “Oh yeah? I think I know how we can make them even more jealous.”
“How so?”
Hyunjin smiled innocently, “eat all of my food, of course.”
Felix, even though he had probably expected Hyunjin’s halfhearted taunt, pulled Hyunjin close by the collar of his oversized shirt to brush their lips together ever so slightly in a way that had Hyunjin’s toes curling with anticipation. “Forget about the food. We can microwave it later.”
And then he was diving in to eat Hyunjin whole and take him apart with his mouth and that talented tongue of his. Hyunjin felt floaty from sleep and pleasure when Felix tugged at his tangled hair to deepen the kiss, introducing tongue to push past Hyunjin’s lips and explore the inside of his mouth and teeth like it was unmapped territory. Hyunjin couldn’t help the breathless groan that was punched from his chest when he was pushed back down to his plush pillow and Felix moved down to lick at his neck and kiss at it gently, with tongue, until he was sucking a hickey right at his pulse point.
Hyunjin felt languid and relaxed as Felix worked him apart slowly with his tongue and teeth only to build him back up with his soft lips and sweet voice. Hyunjin couldn’t ask for a better way to be woken up on his birthday.
Hyunjin was sure that he was letting out loud enough breathy moans for the entire estate to hear with their freakish senses, because not even a moment later there was a knock at his doorway and a disapproving clearing of the throat. Oops.
Minho stood, looking unfairly attractive as he leaned against the doorway with a perfectly arched eyebrow and his arms crossed over his chest. Hyunjin wanted to ravage him too- later. Minho rolled his eyes as Felix smiled innocently and rolled off of Hyunjin’s body. “I sent you to deliver the food- not let it get cold at his bedside while the two of you make out.”
“Sorry,” Felix said- even if he didn’t sound very sorry at all.
Minho narrowed his eyes. “Don’t let it happen again. I cooked that with care.”
And if Minho was the one who cooked it… Hyunjin quickly scrambled away from Felix to grab the chopsticks and practically shove the omelette into his mouth. “Mmmm,” he moaned, borderline obscene as he licked his lips. “This is so good, thanks Minho hyung.”
Minho, terrible with compliments, probably would have been blushing if he had the capability. But he was nothing but a sly cat and smirked as he told Hyunjin to finish the entire thing before he was turning away to leave. Felix was laughing at Hyunjin’s little stunt as he slapped his rear playfully- and even if Hyunjin was now a year older, he only felt younger around the vampires.
Hyunjin, that morning, was pampered by all of his boyfriends whom had all called into their works to take the day off. Whom had all spent the night setting his favorite flowers in his room and even along the hallway as he traveled down the stairs that morning.
Hyunjin accepted their caring because he knew they loved it- he knew they liked to treat him like some sensitive thing because he was a human- even if he wasn’t weak. Even if he was a man of strong opinions and morals. Sometimes, though, he really did like to feel small in their arms. It was something that he had never felt with any other boyfriend he’d had before.
He knew, about a year into their relationship, that he discovered he wasn’t going anywhere. No matter what happened- he would be staying with them.
When Hyunjin trailed into the restroom sleepily to take his morning soak, the porcelain bathtub was already full with water, Suds from Hyunjin’s favorite lavender scented bath bomb, and even rose petals. Steam rose from the water, telling Hyunjin that it had recently been drawn.
“Are you trying to seduce me?” He asked, turning back to Changbin who stood at the doorway and looked at him with large, hopeful eyes.
“Is it working?”
“Don’t be silly,” Hyunjin scoffed as he started to strip his clothes, pulling his large sleep shirt over his head and tugging the sweatpants down. Changbin tracked each movement carefully with his eyes. “I’m already seduced, Binnie.”
Changbin’s face broke into a huge smile and he jumped forward with a “yah! Happy birthday!” As he wrapped Hyunjin securely in his strong arms and rocked him back and forth. Hyunjin giggled into his shoulder, slightly pouting when Changbin let go of him. “You should get in the water before it gets cold.”
“Hmm,” Hyunjin eyed the soapy water, then looked back to Changbin. “But it’ll be lonely if I get in there all by myself…”
Changbin was quick to lose his clothes at Hyunjin’s request- tossing them aside in ten seconds flat before he was wrapping his arms around Hyunjin’s waist and dragging the two of them into the bathtub until Hyunjin was situated. His back to Changbin’s supple chest. Just how he liked.
He didn’t even need to ask Changbin to wash his hair and gently scrub at his body for him. Hyunjin twisted between Changbin’s legs to rest his cheek against his collarbone as Changbin hummed and continued to wash his skin wherever he could reach. If Hyunjin was a cat- he would be purring.
Changbin kissed his hairline, sending water rippling around them. “Is there anything in particular that you wanted to do today?”
Hyunjin nuzzled even closer to his cold body- because the contrast of his vampire skin against the warm water around him was heavenly. “Hmm. I want to sleep a lot.”
Changbin snorted and patted at his head. “You’re too sleepy for your own good.”
“Mm. But I also want to eat. And I also want to go to the warehouse today to finish my sculpture.”
Changbin rested his chin on the top of Hyunjin’s head. “You seriously want to go to work on your birthday.”
“Just got a few moments so that I can do a few finishing touches.”
Changbin scoffed and the movement of it made Hyunjin’s head bounce against his chest. “We should have never gotten you into sculpting as well as art. You’ll bury yourself in work.”
“It’s not work if it's fun, hyung.”
“I suppose,” Changbin continued to pet his wet hair, massaging the soap into it. He nearly fell asleep then and there with the steamy water clearing his morning sinuses and Changbin’s chest against his face, but all good things came to an end and he was forced out of his sleep by Chan standing over the bathtub and holding out a towel in wait for him.
Huh. Hyunjin really must have fallen asleep then because he couldn’t remember him even entering the room.
Changbin wrapped his hands around Hyunjin’s waist and helped him out of the tub and Hyunjin let himself be wrapped up by the fluffy towel and dried off by Chan. The older looked so fond of Hyunjin that it nearly made him want to cry at his tenderness, so he leaned forward to kiss his cheekbone. “Thank you, Hyung.”
Chan’s duck lips formed into a smile and he pressed his nose against the pulse point of Hyunjin’s neck, just breathing there for a moment before planting butterfly kisses. Right over Felix’s hickey. They always liked his neck- it must have been a vampire thing.
“Can I dry your hair for you?” Chan asked as Changbin got himself out of the bathtub and started to drain it. Hyunjin liked how Chan always asked before doing anything, even something as small as taking care of him. Hyunjin’s heart felt heavy as he nodded and let Chan help him into warm clothes once he was dry, and then led him downstairs to sit on the couch while he plugged in the blow dryer and meticulously dried his hair.
The stream from the blow dryer was warm and welcoming, brushing away the wet droplets from his hair as Chan carded his hands through it to de-tangle it and leave it fluffy like a baby bird. Even when Hyunjin’s hair was more than dry enough, Chan still continued to massage his scalp until Hyunjin was leaning against the couch cushion, nearly passed out back to sleep.
Minho shoved even more yummy food into his mouth- all of Hyunjin’s favorites.
Both Seungmin and Jeongin left him boxes of presents and even a ‘Sexy birthday’ sash for him to wear around for the entire day. Hyunjin didn’t have the same sense of humor that they had, but he still posed for the camera and blew kisses to it as Jisung took pictures and laughed at him.
Ultimately- Minho carefully packed Hyunjin a lunch because Minho knew Hyunjin and he knew that he had been planning to go in and work on his art. He wordlessly passed the food to Hyunjin, and Hyunjin gratefully took it only after kissing him and exclaiming what a wonderful boyfriend he was.
“I should only be gone for a few hours. Then I’ll be back and we can all have dinner together and a movie night.”
“You don’t want to go clubbing?” Jeongin taunted, wiggling his eyebrows, and Hyunjin shook his head.
“I’m not in the mood to bring out the hot leather shorts tonight. Maybe some other time.”
As Hyunjin left, he could practically see the others drooling at the thought of his club outfit- probably kicking themselves that they wouldn’t get the chance to see it anytime soon. Maybe, when Hyunjin was feeling particularly teasing, he would wear the shorts around the house just to fuck with him.
Tomorrow, he decided. He will do it tomorrow.
Hyunjin ended up staying at his studio for a bit longer than Intended.
His studio was a grand place- a large warehouse only a ten minute walk away from the estate and Hyunjin’s own apartment. Of course, the vampires had offered him all of the room in the mansion that he could possibly want to store his art and work on it- but Hyunjin had started to feel too trapped staying there all day. Too frozen stiff and uninspired.
The other must have noticed without him even saying anything because a few days later they led him to his own large workspace that they furnished with new floor, lights, and even a kitchen. A security system with cameras and a lock. It was a huge place for him to store all of his art and even work on bigger pieces that wouldn’t normally fit into a small room.
Like the giant sculpture he had been chiseling and working on for the past month. He already had a buyer lined up for it, and he was excited to be working on something so different.
Only three days into moving into the work space, Hyunjin painted the ceiling like stained glass above him- making it his own. His second home.
He loved his studio. The smell of acrylics and other paints. The music that he always played through the overhead speaker system that Chan helped him install. The stray animals that hung around because he always fed them half of his lunch until he started to bring actual feed for them. The candles he kept lit whenever he worked to cover the paints with the smell of cinnamon.
Outside, the sun was starting to set and Hyunjin’s phone buzzed in his pocket. He set down his hammer and wiped sweat away from his forehead where the bangs of his hair escaped his ponytail. He answered without bothering to look at the caller ID because it was always one of seven people.
“Hello?” He asked, trapping his phone between the shoulder and the ear to free his hands as he walked to the sink to wash them.
“Jinnie,” a familiar voice- Jisung- practically whined in his ear, and Hyunjin should have turned the volume down before he answered. “When are you coming home? Minho hyung is already cooking up a good birthday meal for you. It’ll be done in half an hour.”
Jisung’s kind way of telling him to ‘get his ass home right now.’
Hyunjin dried his hands off at the sink and took a moment to look over his shoulder and observe the almost complete sculpture. It just needed to be polished, now. “I’ll be there even sooner than that. Hold the Hyungs back for me, huh?”
“Whatever, we’ll see you soon Jinnie.” Over the line, Jisung made an exasperated smooching sound which Hyunjin returned before hanging up and pocketing his phone. He still wore the ‘sexy birthday’ sash and it got in his way as he cleaned up his work space, but he didn’t take it off because it was a present. He always kept the presents that they gave him, no matter how small and no matter how funny.
Shucking his apron and hanging it on the hook by the door before sliding his shoes on, Hyunjin was met with the cold air when he stepped outside. Sometimes, he was jealous that his vampire boyfriends couldn’t physically get cold unlike him, because Hyunjin got the chills much too easily. Especially when the breeze brushed past his face with the incoming night and the sun lowering.
The warehouse was nestled in the city, just between two business buildings. At first, it had just been an auto shop that ran out of business until his ridiculous vampire boyfriends bought the entire place out and renovated it just for him. For their one year anniversary. It was more than anyone else had ever done for him, and Hyunjin couldn’t help but cry a little as they all laughed good natured and showed him around the place.
Hyunjin always kept the main warehouse doors shut, tending to leave through the side entrance of the alley instead. He clicked on the panel of the door to activate the security system before locking the door with chains and actual keys. Hyunjin’s work was important, and even if he thought the security that they placed was a bit obsessive, he appreciated them for it all the same.
The jingling of his keys always managed to attract the stray cats in the area, because when Hyunjin turned around, they all gathered to look up at him with big eyes. Their bowls, placed along the wall, were empty, so Hyunjin had mercy on them and refilled them with the feed he slept stored away.
They all meowed thankfully and brushed against his feet, and Hyunjun laughed to himself as he brushed through their fur and wiggled his fingertips as they licked at them. If Hyunjin could collect all of them and send them to Minho’s vet, then he would, but this alley was their home and he didn’t want to bother them. Maybe one day, he would make a cat sanctuary for them.
Maybe he could build a heated shelter for them before it got too cold outside.
And before Hyunjin could get up from his crouching position- a foot was pressed between his shoulder blades and he was forcefully being pressed harshly into the concrete below. The kittens all meowed in alarm and scattered away as he get the floor, and Hyunjin let out a short Yelp.
“What in the hell do you think that you’re?-“
He tried to turn his head to see his attacker, but a hand was fisting his hair and shoving his face down to forcefully keep him in place. The ground was cold underneath him and the alley grew dark; the sun lowering below the city line.
“You’re Hwang Hyunjin.” A voice stated- a fact instead of a question. “Just the man that we’re looking for.”
We?
Hyunjin blinked and he realized that there were multiple pairs of shoes in front of him- at least six sets. Whoever his attacker was, they weren’t alone. He squirmed under the man’s grasp, his arms trapped behind his back, because he refused to be taken down so easily. “What is it to you?” He tried to roll around and Buck the weight off, but it was all in vain.
The boots around him shuffled, almost as if they were creating a circle to hide him away from the rest of the world. Whoever was on top of him was leaning down to whisper, breath puffing against the shell of his ear. It felt like an invasion because the only people allowed so close to him were his boyfriends.
With a grunt, Hyunjin tried to rear his leg back to kick the man- but he couldn’t reach. Not even with his longer legs. He could move his fingers to grab for the pepper spray in his bag…
His body was roughly lifted and jerked harshly against the concrete once again, his face hitting it and leaving him dizzy with the impact. It would bruise, but Hyunjin couldn’t be bothered to care about that at the moment- not when someone was currently sitting on his back heavily.
Hyunjin’s chest constricted and his throat tightened with thick panic. “Leave me alone, you creeps-“
His ear was tugged harshly. “Are we the creeps here? Really?”
“…what?”
A pair of boots stopped in front of him, kicking right at his face to where the heel connected directly with his cheekbone. Hyunjin was so pumped with adrenaline that he hardly felt it- but he would in a few moments, he was sure. For the most part, he was just confused.
The hand on his ear tugged even harder and forced Hyunjin up into an almost trunk lift position with the person still on his back. Hyunjin’s body ached in protest, but he had no choice but to go along with it. He couldn’t see much though the darkness of the alley- only the completely clothed covered men blocking the lip of the alley and Hyunjin’s only chance for escape.
“What-“ his cheek stung, “what do you want?”
Finally, someone crouched down in front of him- his face covered with a dark mask, though Hyunjin took note of the curled scorpion tattoo on his neck. He would remember it for later, if he got out alive. The look in his eyes was one of pure disgust, and Hyunjin had been looked at in a way before, but never by a stranger. Just by his own father.
“You, Hwang Hyunjin, are nothing but scum. We’re ashamed that you’re even a human, because you’re just filth. A fetishizer.”
…what?
His attacker cocked his head to the side before he grabbed onto Hyunjin’s chin harshly and forced him to look up at him. His fingers digging into his already bruised face aches. “You’re nothing but a whore sleeping with vampires. How can you support them like that? You should be ashamed of yourself.”
Oh. So this was how it was going to be.
Hyunjin practically snarled as he shook his head out of the man’s iron grip, collecting the saliva in his mouth so that he could spit right in his face. Hyunjin watched gratified as he stumbled backwards to wipe at his face in disgust, like Hyunjin was some type of poisonous creature.
“So you’re humans who just really hate vampires?” He scoffed, because he had been attacked by some before- just not this bad. “Do your fucking worst,” he snarled. “You can hate me for dating vampires, but your opinion doesnt mean shit to me.”
The men all seemed to shift, not expecting his defiant attitude. They looked at each other, uncertain, until the man with the scorpion tattoo spoke. He sounded dark. Angry. “Be careful what you say- filth.”
And then another foot was aimed for Hyunjin’s face, forcing him down. The weight on top of him shifted and left, only to become heavier as the entire group started to join in and all that Hyunjin could do was struggle to keep his head covered until the group managed to pin him down with his arms behind his back, standing up.
This was the time he should call for help, because his entire body ached from the brutal assault, and the man in front of him was pulling out a long blade from his belt-
“Shush, you wouldn’t want to scare the other citizens. Just take it- this can’t hurt worse than when those vampires suck your blood- or maybe you’re into that.” The man holding his hands behind his back whispered, right against the hickey on Hyunjin’s neck.
Hyunjin opened his mouth to scream out of the alleyway for help, but something rough- a gag- was being shoved harshly into his mouth. Hit bit down on it and shook his head desperately to get spit it out, but the others only laughed as the saliva gathered at his lips and his struggle proved useless.
There was really nothing else that Hyunjin and his eyes that were swollen shut, his ribs that were cracked, and his head that was fuzzy, could possibly do. He felt like falling down to the ground as the man with the knife approached him, but Hyunjin decided that he didn’t want to look weak in front of these freaks, no matter what they did.
Even as they punched him over and over again until blood was pooling past Hyunjin’s lips and all he could whisper was “just- just leave.”
Someone from above laughed at him in a cruel way. “Oh- we won’t do that yet.”
And then that blade, the one that Hyunjin had been so scared of, was plunging in and out of his stomach. In and out, in and out, accompanied by the sound of flesh squelching. Flesh that was Hyunjin’s own. Blood that splashed down, staining the concrete floor of the Alley.
Hyunjin wailed at the sharp pain through the gag, but there wasn’t much else he could do as the knife impaled him roughly twenty more times. Not that he was counting.
“I cannot believe he’s late to his own party. The audacity of that man.”
“That extremely hot and sexy man who is our boyfriend.”
“It’s his birthday, give him a break.”
“Yeah- you know how he is. He probably got distracted on the way back by those stray cats again.”
…
“Hyung? How long has it been now?”
“…an hour.”
“His food’s getting cold.”
“I have a bad feeling about this. I think that something is wrong.”
“Has anyone called him lately?”
“No, but does he still have his location saved? Maybe we can look at that.”
“Oh yeah- it’s on my phone. It says here that he’s… at his studio still?”
“No- look closer. His pinned location is Just to the side of it, at the back entrance.”
“It’s… not moving.”
“This isn’t good. We need to go. Now.”
Chan had insisted that half of them stay at the estate to wait- but all of them were much too antsy after Hyunjin didn’t answer his phone even if they all called him ten separate times.
Contrary to popular belief- vampires did not have the type of super speed that would allow them to jump from building to building like vigilantes. Like the vampires on ‘Twilight.’ Vampires like them just had increased strength and slightly enhanced beauty features since their bodies aged incredibly slow. Chan, himself, had been twenty six for a few decades now and he still looked the same.
It was faster for them to call their personal driver and all pile in, a tangle of limbs, until they were dropped off at Hyunjin’s warehouse. The lights were off. It was so silent that Chan could practically hear the pitter patter of the stray cat paws in the back. Ragged breathing.
“Where’s the entrance to the garage?” Jeongin asked- because it had been a while since he had been there, and Felix was quick to take the lead to the side alley next to the fifteen floor business building. “Along the side here…” he looked down at his phone, the bright screen lighting up his face. “It says here that he’s over here…”
Jisung followed right on his heels, anxiously, and since there was no light to illuminate the alley, Seungmin used the one on his phone to shine down on the grimy floor. It was unsanitary.
Vampires didn’t really have good night vision, either. Only good with heat signatures and hearing because it wasn’t like bats could see for shit either. Which is why Chan was surprised that he couldn’t sense much of anything in the alley, but he could smell it…
The thick, metallic scent of blood. A lot of it.
Chan aimed his own flashlight down to his feet to see the trail of crimson, looking like it had been smeared. Bright red in such a way that made Chan’s eyes dilate and his fangs instinctively elongate.
He was so focused on the blood beneath his boots and keeping his bloodlust to a minimum that he didn’t even notice the way that Felix gasped when he aimed his light up. The way he clasped a hand over his mouth like he was going to throw up. The way that Seungmin dropped his flashlight with a clatter to the bloody floor. The way that Jisung let out a short, anguished cry and covered his eyes like he had just seen the gates of hell themselves.
“Chan!”
He had never heard Minho sound so panicked before. So devastated. Distantly, a stray cat meowed and ran off and the streetlight flickered, but Chan put all of this behind him as he shone his own flashlight to where Minho had fallen to the ground.
And what he saw- he really didn’t want to believe, because to see someone that he loved so much in such a dehumanizing position made his blood run cold.
Hyunjin was tied on the ground- all pale skin and a barely fluttering chest. So still that he wasn’t even sure if he was alive- coated in blood like he had been birthed in it. Chan’s breath was punched from his lungs as he approached and Changbin ran after him, collecting himself for Hyunjin’s sake.
Chan nearly tripped over Hyunjin’s birthday sash in an attempt to get to him- because for some reason all of his clothes had been stripped from his body, leaving him bare and vulnerable to the cold air. Laying on his back with a gag shoved in his mouth and his eyes rolled to the back of his head.
“Is he-“ Chan choked on the pure smell of blood, costing the entire alley. “Is he alive?”
Minho was already checking for a pulse even before he asked the question, and he looked grim when he drew his fingers back from Hyunjin’s white skin. “His pulse is thready. He doesn't have much long left.”
And it made sense, because the lower that Chan’s eyes tracked, the more he could see the fatal stab wounds in his stomach- so deep, severe, and with so much hatred that he could practically see Hyunjin’s dying internal organs. Almost spilling past the gushing blood and the thready skin that held the injury together.
In the background, Jisung sobbed loudly and someone gagged.
There were carvings all over Hyunjin’s chest, done by a knife with cruel words and harsh obscenities. Whore. Slut. Scum. Vampire. Traitor.
A hate crime.
“What do we do?!” Changbin frantically asked, pressing his hands against Hyunjin’s stomach in a sad attempt to stem the bleeding, even if it was already everywhere. At this point, he had more blood outside of his body than inside.
Tears lined Hyunjin’s ashen cheeks.
Chan saw red- red everywhere.
This was their Hyunjin, beaten, who would probably be dead in just a few moments. So bloodied and humiliated that Chan couldn’t even recognize him underneath all of the injuries and the blood.
Minho’s eyes narrowed, “he won’t survive a trip to a hospital, and by the time an ambulance gets here- it’ll be too late.”
Too late.
Because Hyunjin will die.
Hyunjin was dying in Chan’s arms right now, even as he held his face between his hands. His skin was cold. Minho seemed to come to the same conclusion that Chan did, because he looked at him with a face of resignation.
“We need to turn him. Right now, while he’s still alive enough to have a fighting chance.”