the lost king [ hongsang ]

008

❝ and so it goes, the sheep fell into the lion's den. ❞

"FOund you, little one," yeosang whispered lowly. hongjoong jolted, suppressing a shiver as his bottom lip trembled.

before hongjoong could react, the vampire's arms were encircling his middle and waist.

the human thrashed in the vampire's tight grip, his adrenaline spiking. his mind was empty of all thoughts, except surviving.

get out, get out now. you cannot live like this. survive. you have to survive.

his thoughts kept repeating in a constant mantra. he was desperate.

"stop resisting me," yeosang gritted. "you will never escape me and you are very well aware of that."

the human was stubborn, however, in his feeble attempts. for the sake of his own sanity, he could not give up. he only fought harder against the king's iron grip. "i will never stop trying to get away from you," he spat, venom laced in his words. "i don't care if it take the rest of my life!"

"kim hongjoong," yeosang thundered, having enough. the human flinched and shook violently at the volume and authority in the vampire's words. "you will stop fighting. you belong to me. your life is here. you answer to me. there is no sense in trying to run from your destiny—

the vampire king paused, snapping back to reality as the fragile human went limp in his arms. he grew confused for a moment until he heard the first broken sob.

and yeosang could not figure out for the life of him why his heart clenched in sorrow. for the first time in his unnaturally long life, his gaze softened and he consoled the boy in his arms.

"oh, sweetheart," he spun hongjoong around, lifting him so he sat on the vampire's lap, facing him.

"i didn't ask for this, i can't live like this! i don't want to," hongjoong wailed loudly, words barely decipherable.

yeosang's palm came to rest on the human's head delicately, his other gently wiping his falling tears. "i know," the vampire whispered softly, lowering his gaze to meet the human's. "but you do not have a choice."

"i have to get back, this isn't my home," hongjoong hiccuped.

"get back to what exactly, my dear," the king tilted his head in question. "barely surviving? a lousy place to live? parents that do not exist?"

and that was when hongjoong's heart shattered. he realized yeosang was right, he had nothing. no one would come looking for him, no one would care, or perhaps even notice.

"just kill me," hongjoong at last succumbed to what he believed, was inevitable. "i have no purpose."

"my dearest pet," yeosang caressed the human's cheek. "you have no idea how utterly incorrect that statement truly is."

there came no verbal response from hongjoong, only bitter tears that seemed to come in never ending waves.

"my hope is that one day you will see how truly spectacular you are, dear one. now come," the vampire hooked his arms under the boy's knees and backside, scooping him from the ground as if he were a feather.

"shut your eyes, darling," yeosang coaxed.

hongjoong did as told and when he was told to open them once more, they were stood in front of the castle.

the human gasped in awe, his mind unable to comprehend yeosang's inhuman abilities.

"it is time for you to meet your new family, my pet."