The Turning

(Thirteen)

On a bright and sunny Tuesday afternoon, Hyungwon accompanied Jooheon to their local grocery store. It was time to stock the cabinets and fridge. Jooheon wanted him to stay back, but Hyungwon ignored him. He knew why his friend was so weary of the outside. There was still a chance the council could come for him any day, but so far nothing had happened.

Hyungwon stuffed his hands into his pants pockets, trying his best to avoid the curious glances as they walked across the street. Vampires weren't considered rare around their district, on the contrary, their kind had been around for centuries. But he couldn't blame humans for their curiosity. There was still so much to know about them.

"I wish they would just mind their own business," Jooheon said, eyeing a couple who were staring. "They've seen vampires before. Why are they acting like vampires are so new to them?"

"It's okay, Joo, I'm fine."

"I mean being a vampire is hard enough," Jooheon said. "The stares probably don't help. If they only knew how great you were than they wouldn't look at you like you're a freak."

Hyungwon glanced at the serious expression on Jooheon's face. He threw his arm around his friend, pulling him into a side hug. He smiled. The couple walking nearby seemed shocked by their closeness. Good. He didn't mind getting rid of the stigma connected to vampires. He wished he had seen more human and vampire relationships growing up. Unfortunately, humans and vampires only coexisted with each other. His family and friends had never had any kind of relationship with vampires.

On the right, their local grocery came into view. Hyungwon remembered how often they used to visit the grocery together. They would tease and poke at each other while their baskets were overflowing with sugary sweets and salty snacks. Not too much had changed since that time except he left the apartment less and he was on a different diet. Despite his vampire nature, he still snuck some snacks from the cabinets at home. If he could still taste his favorite foods, he would continue to eat them.

"I'll make this trip quick, hyung," Jooheon said, walking through the sliding doors.

"No rush. We haven't been able to go to the store in a while," he said. "I mean you have, but we haven't come together in a while."

"There is a good reason for that," Jooheon said. "I don't like how things have been lately."

They stopped in front of the seafood section. Jooheon leant forward, finger on his chin. He smiled, arms crossed over his chest. He was happy his friend had the ability to purchase the food he wanted. Despite Hyungwon's depleting savings, he would continue to pay his half of the rent. He didn't want to jeopardize Jooheon's ability to buy food.

"Should I get squid? I haven't had that in a while," Jooheon said.

Hyungwon shrugged, arms crossed. "If you want to buy it, then do it."

Hyungwon glanced around as Jooheon was making his decision, his eyes fell upon a teen standing in the bread aisle. He smiled, showing his warmest smile to the youth. The boy's eyes widened, and he disappeared down the aisle. He frowned at the behavior but decided not to question it. Jooheon stood up, a package of squid in his left hand. Hyungwon placed his hands on the cart and pushed it forward. They traveled down the bread aisle next. Maybe he would run into the funny teen from before.

He heard footsteps trailing closely behind him. Hyungwon didn't think too much about it. After all, people got too close on accident all the time. He continued to move forward and frowned when he realized the person was still too close.

"I'm very surprised that someone of your kind would even need to go grocery shopping? Or is this a different kind of grocery shopping for you?"

He froze at the sound of the voice. Up ahead, Jooheon stopped at the other end of the aisle unaware of the person whispering into the back of Hyungwon's head. He licked his lips and looked over his shoulder. Behind him was a man, possibly a little older than him, with dark black hair and sharp cheekbones. His eyes scanned over the newcomer, landing upon a stake. The other man had a stake in his left pocket and was standing super close to him.