In Another Life | TK (ONGOING)

19 | 'Pink Hair'

The relief that Taehyung experienced after getting out of the vampires' nest couldn't be described with words. The weather was chilly, and he could feel the cold wind stabbing through his exhausted body. The pain in his shoulder had ceased to a mere dull which he later learned to ignore. It didn't matter how much his limbs hurt because he was finally free from that bloody cage. And he would be forever grateful to the vampire who showed such a big compassion towards him and Jungkook.

Never in his years of hunting had he thought that a magical creature would be the key to his own survival (excluding Jungkook who, apparently, had a reason to help him). Sure, Yoongi looked a tad scary with his burgundy eyes and razor-sharp incisors, but the silly smile and affable personality compensated for his other flaws (or that was how preferred Taehyung to name them). While he was helping them escape, Yoongi would make jokes and laugh along with Jungkook and Taehyung would stand humbly in the back, observing how the two conversed merrily.

Though, Taehyung wouldn't consider their kin as normal, he couldn't help but think how humanly those two acted. There was nothing dangerous or disgusting in the way they behaved around each other, and for the biggest part of the night Taehyung struggled to maintain present and at the same time have this existential argument in his mind. It was as if a voice unbeknownst to him had crawled its way into his head and now it was forcing him into believing things that he'd always deemed aberrant.

When it was time for them to separate ways, Taehyung stood in front of Yoongi and simply stared at his pale face, vacillating between apologizing for pointing a gun at him and not saying anything at all. Eventually, he pushed the thought aside and shook his head, opting to remain silent.

Much to his surprise, the vampire didn't look at him weirdly, neither did he seem confused. In fact, there was a small smile plastered on his face, and it made Taehyung feel even guiltier for being such a big asshole to him when all Yoongi did was to help them get away without asking for anything in return.

"Come on, tough guy," Taehyung almost tripped when Jungkook's big palm collided with his back. Somehow, the action helped him get rid of the lump that had been clogged in his throat for hours, refraining him from voicing his thoughts. When he turned to look at him, Taehyung saw a glint of mischief dancing in Jungkook's pitch black eyes. "Fuck that pride of yours and apologize for acting like an asshole." If it wasn't for the smirk he'd been wearing then, Taehyung would've believed that Jungkook was actually mad at him.

"It's alright," Yoongi said, calmly, and Taehyung noticed how he was getting closer and closer, breaking the distance to the point there was no room left for him to breathe. Before he could wrap his head around what was happening, Taehyung felt two arms sneak around his body in a warming embrace, completely sending him off the edge. "I don't mind helping a hunter," he heard him whisper in his ear, the words coming out as sweet and sinister simultaneously, and the premonition of disaster felt bitter at the tip of Taehyung's tongue.

***

Taehyung sat behind the wheel of his currently parked car, smoking a cigarette, and puffing out vapors of thick gray. Beside him Jimin stared at his phone, going through the recent news, reading pages about yesterday's brutal murder. Not even a day ago the national TV flared with the news of two brutally killed men – burnt alive and then left in the cold with no traces of the person who'd done this. The exact same morning after the announcement of the alleged assassination two people of theirs were reported missing. The victims still hadn't been identified, and Taehyung had a reason to think that the two people who had been killed were actually hunters.

"Well?" He spoke, a rumble to his voice, feeling his vocal cords scratch with the effort of speaking. Taehyung threw the burning stick out of the open window, finally putting an end to Jimin's suffocation.