Journey's End (Chapter 3)
Title: Journey’s End
Pairings: Yunjae as a main, but there will also be: JaeChun, HoMin, Minsu and maybe some Yoosu.
Rating: PG to NC-17
Genre: Adventure, angst, romance, drama
WARNINGS: This story will contain adult themes such as sex between two men as well as violence, gore and nonconsensual sex.
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“What the hell is going on?” Yunho breathes as he finds himself placed on his own wobbling legs. Changmin and Jaejoong had stopped after five minutes of running, coming to rest in a large clearing with three grey tents pitched off to the left.
He’s badly shaken, his entire body trembling as he reaches out to brace himself against a tree. Nothing makes any sense anymore.
“I knew I heard you guys running.” A cheerful voice floats out from one of the tents, a head soon poking out of one of the flaps. “Oh good, you found him!”
Yunho felt his head spin badly as he saw the male who’s head is sticking out of one of the tents. So not only is it Changmin and Jaejoong, but now it’s Junsu as well?
“Yeah, the mutts had him.” Changmin responds in a lazy manner as he plops onto the trunk of a fallen tree. He seems completely unfazed by the running. His skin is still completely dry and his chest is rising and falling at a normal pace, even his brown hair is still perfectly situated.
“You’re lucky the didn’t sell him before you got there.” Junsu states as he steps out of the tent and makes his way closer to the group.
“He’s got a pretty distinctive odder. I’m sure I could have traced his stink into the next county.” Jaejoong responds coldly as he strides to the middle of the dim clearing and begins to pile up logs and leaves.
Yunho feels anger wash over at the cutting words, his eyes narrowing as he lifts his gaze to glare at Jaejoong. He wants to say something cutting, but he can’t quite get the words passed the lump of fear in his throat. His mind keeps flashing pictures of Jaejoong easily ripping apart metal and Changmin moving with such speed that he’s nothing but a blur.
“What’s going on?” He finally questions again upon realizing that nobody’s about to jump in and speak to him.
“It’s a bit complicated.” Junsu turns to him with a kindly smile, his childish face alive with a curious light.
“How did all of you get off the boat?” Yunho questions, shrugging off Junsu’s response. His eyes are locked on Jaejoong’s back, willing the male to turn around and answer him.
“Didn’t your mother ever teach you that staring is rude?”
Yunho feels a slight shock as he turns puzzled eyes on Changmin. Déjà vu. “I imagine she informed me about staring as much as your mother informed you about respecting your elders.” He fires back in an almost mechanical voice.
Changmin’s brow quirks slightly, lips twitching with a slight smirk. “Elders?” He hardly get the word out before his head is thrown back and he’s letting out a deep laugh of amusement.
Yunho frowns slightly at the other man’s reaction. He turns to spot Junsu giggling behind an upheld hand and even Jaejoong has turned to give an amused smirk.
“Elders. Oh that’s rich.” Changmin slaps his knee slightly, reigning in his mirth in order to address Yunho.
“If you’re even half of my age, then you’re quite the exceptional human.” He states smoothly as he stands from his seat and brings himself within a foot of Yunho’s frame.
“You’re nothing but a baby.” He coos softly, lips quirked in a smirk.
“That’s enough, Changmin.” Jaejoong’s command brings a quick end to Changmin’s teasing.
“We need to explain a few things to him before he goes insane from his confusion.” The lithe male motions for Yunho to come closer, his face a stony mask of hidden emotions.
“I’m not moving until I’ve gotten the answers I want.” Yunho returns in an obstinate voice, his hands gripping the rough bark of the tree behind him. He’s stung from Changmin’s words and slightly confused by the way Changmin had called him a “human”, as they weren’t humans themselves.
“I wasn’t asking you. Come here.” Jaejoong snaps, black eyes cold and commanding. He looks deadly.
Yunho finds himself responding as if on survival instinct alone, his feet shuffling across the dirt to deposit him in front of a very scary looking Jaejoong. He feels like the cornered mouse before the hungry cat.
“Sit down.” His voice is slightly more gentle, but no less commanding.
Yunho sinks to the ground, his tired muscles relaxing as the strain of standing is removed. He wants to ask for an explanation, but something tells him that Jaejoong isn’t someone who deals with impatience well.
He watches as the three males busy themselves with making a fire. He hasn’t really noticed, but his fingers are slowly beginning to grow numb at the fingertips due to the cooling air of the evening.
“That should do it.” Junsu states with a satisfied clap of his hands. “Never really thought I’d have to use that skill again.” He chuckles slightly as he sinks to the ground, smiling face turned towards Yunho.
“He looks so tired. Should we wait to tomorrow to talk to him?” Junsu questions softly, his eyes gleaming concernedly in the flickering light of the fire.
“No.” Yunho quickly jumps in, shaking his head vehemently. “I want to know what’s going on. I’ll be fine.” He assures them, even though he can feel his eyelids growing slightly heavier.
Jaejoong takes a seat on the other side of the fire, head tilting to the side slightly as he gauges Yunho’s expression. “Where would you like to start?” He questions, voice a smooth lull against the gentle pop of the flames.
“Where am I?” Yunho blurts out the first thing that comes to his lips. His mind his abuzz with questions that had plagued him that entire day.
“You’re in Pullus, the Infestus county to be exact.” Jaejoong responds smoothly, his gaze flickering around the clearing for a brief moment, as if he’s looking for something.
“I’ve never heard of Pullus.” Despite having his question answered, Yunho finds himself more confused than he was at the beginning.
“I’d be surprised if you had.” Changmin adds, eyes locked on the leaf he’d just thrown into the fire.
Yunho sits in perplexed silence, dithering between asking more questions about where he was and moving onto a new line of questioning.
“W-What are you?” He finally breaths, his palms growing most as the anticipation mounts in his body.
An amused smirk tilts Jaejoong’s lips up, one of his eyebrows arching upwards slightly. “We’re known as Lamia here, but I believe that you’re kind knows us as vampires.”
His words bring waves of shock and disbelief crashing down on Yunho. Vampires? He couldn’t be serious. There was no such thing as vampires. Was there?
Yunho feels his chest constrict as he tries to comprehend what he’s being told. How in the world had he fallen off a boat and ended up in an unheard of land with vampires running amuck?
This could not be happening. Vampires were nothing but fictional characters made up to scare little children.
Yunho feels his stomach churn violently.
“I think he’s gonna be sick.” Changmin states with a slight smirk, his eyes alight with an interested gleam.
As if that simple statement is his cue, Yunho hastily stands on shaking legs, just managing to take a few steps before he’s doubled over and spilling the contents of his stomach onto the ground.
There’s not much to empty, considering that he can’t remember the last meal he had, but that doesn’t seem to keep his body from trying.
“Not very sturdy, is he?” Changmin chuckles in an unconcerned manner, earning himself a slight chuckle from Junsu.
“What did you expect?” Jaejoong’s tone is a light sneer, his mouth twitching upwards into a slight smirk.
“Someone a little less…human.” Changmin responds with a shrug of his shoulders, casting Yunho a disinterested glance.
“This can’t be real.” Yunho moans as he stumbles back to his spot by the fire. He’s much weaker now and his hands are shaking slightly.
“Yeah, maybe you just died and now you’re in hell.” Changmin bobs his head slightly, amused eyes flicking to gauge Yunho’s reaction.
“Stop being so mean to him, he’s just confused.” Junsu jumps in, scooting closer to Yunho as if to offer him moral support and comfort.
Yunho can’t quite see past the fact that he’s sitting right next to a vampire. A blood-sucking, cold-skined vampire.
A sudden terror washes over him and he goes scuttling back, reality crashing down on him in a rather sudden manner.
“S-Stay away from me.”
Changmin snorts softly, just managing to keep back a full chuckle. “Yeah, that harsh command is really gonna do a lot to protect you.” He rolls his eyes and stands up from his seat on the ground. “I could snap you in half before you even have time to realize what’s going on.” He adds in an almost off-handed manner, the fire lighting up his face just enough to show the smirk across his lips.
“Shut-up, Changmin.” Jaejoong snaps, quickly brining a halt to Changmin’s taunting words. “We need him to trust us in order for this to work.” He adds in a slightly bland voice, seeming to have forgotten Yunho’s presence in the clearing.
“I want to leave.” Yunho barks across the fire at Jaejoong, getting the feel that the other male is the leader of the group.
Jaejoong turns contemplative eyes on Yunho, his face cold and unfeeling. “If you leave, you’ll be dead within the hour.” He stats blandly seemingly unbothered by that fact.
“How do I know I’m not going to get killed here? You’ll all a bunch of blood-suckers!” Yunho can feel the hysteria edging his voice. His legs were too weak to really carry him very far and he felt sure that the three of them could get him back before he even reached the edge of the clearing.
“Well, if you’re not willing to take my word for it, then be comforted in the fact that we haven’t killed you yet. Either way, you’re stuck with us.” Jaejoong shrugs his shoulders before lifting himself smoothly off the ground.
“Why didn’t you just let me go with the others?” Yunho breathes, fright still coiling tightly within his chest.
“Because we need you.” Jaejoong states as he rubs his hands together to remove the particles of dirt from his pale skin.
“Why?” Yunho can’t think of anything else to ask at the moment. He still doesn’t believe that they’re not going to simply attack him in the middle of the night and suck all of his blood out. It’s total paranoia, but it’s not exactly devoid of reason.
“It’s complicated and you won’t believe me when I tell you. You ‘re going to come with us so we can show you the evidence that proves our claim.” Jaejoong speaks as he makes his way around the fire, the air around his body completely calm and in control.
“Go with you?” Yunho just manages to keep the stutter out of his voice as Jaejoong draws closer to him. The other male is as intimidating as he is beautiful and Yunho’s not sure whether to feel attracted or afraid.
“I’m not going anywhere with you.” His words come out sounding like a child’s obstinate refusal and he almost cringes from that alone. In the back of his mind, he already knows that he has no option but to go with the three other men.
“Shall I make your life a little bit easier, Yunho?” Jaejoong growls darkly, taking a slight step closer to him, “From this moment on, I am in complete control of you. If I say that you’re coming with us, then that’s the final word. Do you understand?”
“Yes.” The word slips out of Yunho’s mouth before he can even begin to stop it. The other male is beyond terrifying at that moment. He’s deadly and beautiful and completely controlling; there’s no room to defy him.
Even though he’s not exactly thrilled at the idea of being Jaejoong’s puppet, he can’t voice his protest in the face of such danger.
“Well that was easy.” Changmin chuckles, strolling up next to Junsu in order to throw his arm over the boy’s shoulder. “Looks like we’ve got ourselves a new traveling buddy.” Something in his tone doesn’t exactly sound too thrilled at the idea.
“Oh come on, Changmin, I’m sure you’re going to like him.” Junsu turns a bright smile towards Changmin, his optimistic mood seeming completely intact.
Changmin lets out a long suffering sigh and moves away from the smaller male, “Thankfully, I don’t have your ever-optimistic outlook on life, Junsu.” He dodges a playful smack from the smaller male, easily leaping to stand on the other side of the flickering fire. “Besides, there’s no way I’m going to get closer to him when he smells like he’s been sleeping with the pigs for a few years.”
Junsu snickers at the comment, shaking his head slightly, “All he needs is a good bath.”
“Or twelve.” Changmin mutters, earning himself a sharp glare from Jaejoong.
“Both of you go to your tents. I don’t need a bunch of babbling children getting in my way.” His voice takes on a harsher edge, immediately earning himself Changmin and Junsu’s attention.
Junsu looks slightly stung, while Changmin’s face pulls back with a soft smirk. Neither of them offer a reply beside a quiet “yes sir” before they go shuffling off to their separate tents.
A long silence falls over the clearing at the two leave, the only sound is of the fire crackling softly as it begins to die down.
Yunho finds himself unable to meet the gaze that is pinned so steadily upon him. He feels overpowered and whipped by the smaller more delicate looking male. He has always been the dominator in his life, the people around him submitting to his knowledge and power. But now, now Jaejoong is the one with the commanding power. He doesn’t even have to demonstrate his strength in order to Yunho to realize it’s there.
“If you don’t get on my bad side, I can promise you that I’m a very even tempered person.” His voice is low and reassuring, as if he knows the fear that’s nibbling at the edge of Yunho’s heart.
“So am I like your slave now?” Yunho breathes the question that’s been eating away at him. If Jaejoong had complete control over him, then it brought about the natural conclusion that he’s some type of slave or servant to the other male.
Jaejoong’s eyebrows arch smoothly, a small smile pulling at his lips. “Only if you want to be.” He shrugs his shoulders, shifting slightly so he can look into the flickering flames. “I prefer to look at myself as a leader, rather than a master.”
Yunho isn’t convinced, but he keeps his disbelief to himself and decides to go on a new track of questioning. “Why were you on the boat in the first place?” It’s a question that was ignored earlier, but Yunho wants his answer.
“We were never on the boat , Yunho.”
“But I remember you and Changmin from the dining hall. I saw Junsu in the bar hardly an hour after we left port. I talked to all of you, I know you were there!” Yunho wonders if this is the feeling of losing one’s sanity. That feeling of self-doubt that begins to make him call into question the rest of the things he’s experienced. What parts can be trusted as reality?
“I don’t know how to explain it to you, Yunho, but it is what it is.” Jaejoong looks sympathetic, if not slightly confused himself.
“This can’t be happening.” Yunho groans as he sinks to the ground, hands tangling in his messy hair. He feels as if the day has lasted a thousand year and taken every drop of strength from his body. He’s drained and confused and he can feel frustrated tears beginning to sting the back of his eyes.
“You need to sleep, Yunho.” Jaejoong breathes softly, simply staring down at Yunho’s huddled form. There’s the smallest glint of compassion within his dark eyes, but for the most part he seems completely detached form the situation.
“You can stay with Changmin or Junsu, though I imagine that Junsu will be a bit nicer than Changmin.”
Yunho glances up at Jaejoong, his heart constricting fearfully at the thought of being left alone. Somehow, having Junsu or Changmin’s presence didn’t offer him much comfort.
“Can I stay with you?” He breathes the question into the night air, immediately regretting the needy tone that edged his voice.
Jaejoong’s face tightens slightly, eyes darkening with a strange look. “No. Stay with Junsu.” His voice is soft, but that commanding edge leaves no room for negotiation. “Junsu’s tent is the one on the far right. Good night.” Jaejoong breathes as he turns and makes his way towards his tent. Just as he’s about to push aside the tent flap, he pauses and glances back at Yunho. “If you leave this clearing, I can guarantee you that you will die before morning breaks. I’ll also know if you leave.” He doesn’t wait for Yunho’s response before he ducks into his tent, leaving the other male alone in the dying light of the fire.
Yunho’s left slightly confused for a moment before he stands and glances at the blackening forest around him. He has the fleetingly insane idea to go running into the forest; however, he squelches that thought and turns to make his way towards the tent Jaejoong had mentioned.
“You can come in, Yunho.” Junsu’s voice floats out of the tent just as Yunho’s opening his mouth to ask permission to enter.
“Uh, thanks.” Yunho mutters as he pushes into the tent. He’s greeted by the sight of Junsu sitting cross-legged in the corner of the small tent. His eyes are closed and his hands are resting on his knees.
Yunho’s curious about what the male is doing, but he finds himself a bit too timid to ask, so he simply lays down on the blanket and pillows his head on his arm.
“Sorry that we don’t have any pillows. We don’t sleep, so we never need them.” Junsu states in a low voice, eyes never opening to look over at Yunho.
“What are you doing?” Yunho questions, deciding to ignore Junsu’s words.
“Meditating. It kind of helps with urges and stuff.” Junsu’s lips twitch upward in a small smile, his head tilting to the right slightly.
“Sorry, Changmin, I’ll shut-up now.”
Yunho furrows his brow, wondering if Changmin can actually hear Junsu’s low words.
“Can he hear us?” He finally asks, making some attempt to keep his mind off of his current situation.
“Yeah. Jaejoong can, too, and he wants us to shut-up.” Junsu whispers, his brow twitching forward slightly before he falls into a stone-like figure.
Yunho’s rest is fitful and full of nightmares. He finds himself jerking awake during the night, as if to make sure that Junsu and the rest aren’t leaning over him with hungry eyes.
Overall, it’s not a restful night and he finds himself stumbling out of the tent the moment the sun begins to light up his tent.
He exits to finds Changmin and Jaejoong sitting before a fresh fire, both of them chuckling lightly.
Jaejoong’s face is even more beautiful when pulled back in a smile. His features still seem hard, but something about him is inviting and comforting when he’s smiling and laughing.
After taking a moment to stare at Jaejoong, Yunho then notices the chunks of meat that are roasting over the fire, his stomach giving a hungry rumble at the sight and smell.
“Hey, Kid.” Changmin greats with a slight wiggle of his eyebrows, smile still dancing around his lips.
Yunho narrows his eyes slightly at Changmin’s address and does nothing but nod his head in return.
“Good morning, Yunho.” Jaejoong greets, leaning against the logs that had been dragged around the fireplace to create make-shift chairs.
“Morning.” Yunho greets softly, finding himself slightly subdued under the intense gaze of the other male.
“I assume that you’re hungry.” Jaejoong continues, motioning towards the sizzling meat. “You can help yourself to as much as you want.” He adds, eyes flickering towards the carcass of a deer that’s laying next to the fire.
His mouth waters at the sight and he quickly falls upon the meat, jerking it out of Changmin’s hand and quickly bringing it to his mouth. It burns his tongue, but he still sinks his teeth in, ripping apart the meat as if it’s the first thing he’s eaten in weeks.
He feels a groan of pleasure echo at the back of his throat as he sinks to his knees and slowly chews the morsel of food.
“Leave the campsite, Changmin.” Jaejoong suddenly growls, causing Yunho to open his eyes and glance towards the snarky male.
Changmin’s watching him like a hungry animal, his eyes zeroed in on a line of juice that has snuck it’s way down Yunho’s throat.
His eyes have turned a shade of deep red and his entire body is tensed as if he’s ready to pounce.
“Now, Changmin.” Jaejoong snarls, standing to place himself between Yunho and Changmin.
Yunho blinks and startles slightly when he finds Junsu easily hefting Changmin off the ground and pushing him towards the edge of the clearing. The smaller male had still been meditating in the tent with Yunho had left.
Jaejoong doesn’t move until a few minutes after Changmin has been dragged away. It takes him a moment, but he eventually relaxes his stances and moves back to his spot by the fire.
“You made a lot of noise last night and it made it hard to meditate.” Jaejoong states as if that’s supposed to be enough explanation for Yunho.
“What was I doing?” Yunho breathed, his heart still beating madly within his chest. He felt very sure that he had just managed to escape the jaws of a very dangerous monster.
“Moaning, groaning, calling for help…a lot of stuff.” Jaejoong turned emotionless eyes on Yunho seeming to look straight into his soul. “Who’s Camilla?”
Yunho stiffens at the mention of his wife. He can feel his protective walls going up as he retreats into himself. “Thanks for the food.” He changes the subject, bringing the meat up to his mouth to blow on it softly. His tongue still burns from his first bite of meat.
Jaejoong’s left eyebrow twitches slightly, an amused light dancing over his eyes before he falls back into his contemplative stare.
“We’re going to be traveling all day. Are you up to it?” It doesn’t really seem like a true question, more of a curtsey.
Yunho wants to say no, his body still tired from the lack of rest he’d gotten the night before, but he doesn’t want to show weakness towards the ever-powerful Jaejoong. “Yeah, I’ll be fine.”
Jaejoong snorts slightly and shakes his head, “If you need time to rest then I’ll give it to you. You can trust me not to pick at your weakness.” His voice is so gentle sounding, but seems to always hold a sort of condescending edge. It’s like a mother addressing a small, stupid child.
“I can handle it.” Yunho snaps before taking a large bite of the meat on the stick.
“Forgive me if I don’t believe you.”
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A/N: So yeah, answered some questions in this chapter.
Ah yeah, did I forget to mention that this story will feature Yunho was the weaker of the relationship? I figured that since I gave Jaejoong such a hard time in Soul’s Requiem, that I’d give Yunho a little taste of the same. Hopefully that doesn’t turn everyone one off the story.
The meditation thing is totally made-up by me. It just came off the top of my head when I was trying to explain why they had tents. I figured that it was a pretty plausible reason. I’ll explain it a little more in the next chapter.
Also, Yoochun will make an appearance in the next chapter. Yes sir, he’s going to have more of a role then he did in Soul’s Requiem. So yeah, fun times.
A big thank you to everyone who has commented so far! I really appreciate it.
Ah, before I forget, if anyone is interested in a downloadable version of Soul’s Requiem, then just follow this link and enjoy:
Soul's Requiem PDF
Aside from that, I’ll see you guys on the next chapter!
Pairings: Yunjae as a main, but there will also be: JaeChun, HoMin, Minsu and maybe some Yoosu.
Rating: PG to NC-17
Genre: Adventure, angst, romance, drama
WARNINGS: This story will contain adult themes such as sex between two men as well as violence, gore and nonconsensual sex.
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“What the hell is going on?” Yunho breathes as he finds himself placed on his own wobbling legs. Changmin and Jaejoong had stopped after five minutes of running, coming to rest in a large clearing with three grey tents pitched off to the left.
He’s badly shaken, his entire body trembling as he reaches out to brace himself against a tree. Nothing makes any sense anymore.
“I knew I heard you guys running.” A cheerful voice floats out from one of the tents, a head soon poking out of one of the flaps. “Oh good, you found him!”
Yunho felt his head spin badly as he saw the male who’s head is sticking out of one of the tents. So not only is it Changmin and Jaejoong, but now it’s Junsu as well?
“Yeah, the mutts had him.” Changmin responds in a lazy manner as he plops onto the trunk of a fallen tree. He seems completely unfazed by the running. His skin is still completely dry and his chest is rising and falling at a normal pace, even his brown hair is still perfectly situated.
“You’re lucky the didn’t sell him before you got there.” Junsu states as he steps out of the tent and makes his way closer to the group.
“He’s got a pretty distinctive odder. I’m sure I could have traced his stink into the next county.” Jaejoong responds coldly as he strides to the middle of the dim clearing and begins to pile up logs and leaves.
Yunho feels anger wash over at the cutting words, his eyes narrowing as he lifts his gaze to glare at Jaejoong. He wants to say something cutting, but he can’t quite get the words passed the lump of fear in his throat. His mind keeps flashing pictures of Jaejoong easily ripping apart metal and Changmin moving with such speed that he’s nothing but a blur.
“What’s going on?” He finally questions again upon realizing that nobody’s about to jump in and speak to him.
“It’s a bit complicated.” Junsu turns to him with a kindly smile, his childish face alive with a curious light.
“How did all of you get off the boat?” Yunho questions, shrugging off Junsu’s response. His eyes are locked on Jaejoong’s back, willing the male to turn around and answer him.
“Didn’t your mother ever teach you that staring is rude?”
Yunho feels a slight shock as he turns puzzled eyes on Changmin. Déjà vu. “I imagine she informed me about staring as much as your mother informed you about respecting your elders.” He fires back in an almost mechanical voice.
Changmin’s brow quirks slightly, lips twitching with a slight smirk. “Elders?” He hardly get the word out before his head is thrown back and he’s letting out a deep laugh of amusement.
Yunho frowns slightly at the other man’s reaction. He turns to spot Junsu giggling behind an upheld hand and even Jaejoong has turned to give an amused smirk.
“Elders. Oh that’s rich.” Changmin slaps his knee slightly, reigning in his mirth in order to address Yunho.
“If you’re even half of my age, then you’re quite the exceptional human.” He states smoothly as he stands from his seat and brings himself within a foot of Yunho’s frame.
“You’re nothing but a baby.” He coos softly, lips quirked in a smirk.
“That’s enough, Changmin.” Jaejoong’s command brings a quick end to Changmin’s teasing.
“We need to explain a few things to him before he goes insane from his confusion.” The lithe male motions for Yunho to come closer, his face a stony mask of hidden emotions.
“I’m not moving until I’ve gotten the answers I want.” Yunho returns in an obstinate voice, his hands gripping the rough bark of the tree behind him. He’s stung from Changmin’s words and slightly confused by the way Changmin had called him a “human”, as they weren’t humans themselves.
“I wasn’t asking you. Come here.” Jaejoong snaps, black eyes cold and commanding. He looks deadly.
Yunho finds himself responding as if on survival instinct alone, his feet shuffling across the dirt to deposit him in front of a very scary looking Jaejoong. He feels like the cornered mouse before the hungry cat.
“Sit down.” His voice is slightly more gentle, but no less commanding.
Yunho sinks to the ground, his tired muscles relaxing as the strain of standing is removed. He wants to ask for an explanation, but something tells him that Jaejoong isn’t someone who deals with impatience well.
He watches as the three males busy themselves with making a fire. He hasn’t really noticed, but his fingers are slowly beginning to grow numb at the fingertips due to the cooling air of the evening.
“That should do it.” Junsu states with a satisfied clap of his hands. “Never really thought I’d have to use that skill again.” He chuckles slightly as he sinks to the ground, smiling face turned towards Yunho.
“He looks so tired. Should we wait to tomorrow to talk to him?” Junsu questions softly, his eyes gleaming concernedly in the flickering light of the fire.
“No.” Yunho quickly jumps in, shaking his head vehemently. “I want to know what’s going on. I’ll be fine.” He assures them, even though he can feel his eyelids growing slightly heavier.
Jaejoong takes a seat on the other side of the fire, head tilting to the side slightly as he gauges Yunho’s expression. “Where would you like to start?” He questions, voice a smooth lull against the gentle pop of the flames.
“Where am I?” Yunho blurts out the first thing that comes to his lips. His mind his abuzz with questions that had plagued him that entire day.
“You’re in Pullus, the Infestus county to be exact.” Jaejoong responds smoothly, his gaze flickering around the clearing for a brief moment, as if he’s looking for something.
“I’ve never heard of Pullus.” Despite having his question answered, Yunho finds himself more confused than he was at the beginning.
“I’d be surprised if you had.” Changmin adds, eyes locked on the leaf he’d just thrown into the fire.
Yunho sits in perplexed silence, dithering between asking more questions about where he was and moving onto a new line of questioning.
“W-What are you?” He finally breaths, his palms growing most as the anticipation mounts in his body.
An amused smirk tilts Jaejoong’s lips up, one of his eyebrows arching upwards slightly. “We’re known as Lamia here, but I believe that you’re kind knows us as vampires.”
His words bring waves of shock and disbelief crashing down on Yunho. Vampires? He couldn’t be serious. There was no such thing as vampires. Was there?
Yunho feels his chest constrict as he tries to comprehend what he’s being told. How in the world had he fallen off a boat and ended up in an unheard of land with vampires running amuck?
This could not be happening. Vampires were nothing but fictional characters made up to scare little children.
Yunho feels his stomach churn violently.
“I think he’s gonna be sick.” Changmin states with a slight smirk, his eyes alight with an interested gleam.
As if that simple statement is his cue, Yunho hastily stands on shaking legs, just managing to take a few steps before he’s doubled over and spilling the contents of his stomach onto the ground.
There’s not much to empty, considering that he can’t remember the last meal he had, but that doesn’t seem to keep his body from trying.
“Not very sturdy, is he?” Changmin chuckles in an unconcerned manner, earning himself a slight chuckle from Junsu.
“What did you expect?” Jaejoong’s tone is a light sneer, his mouth twitching upwards into a slight smirk.
“Someone a little less…human.” Changmin responds with a shrug of his shoulders, casting Yunho a disinterested glance.
“This can’t be real.” Yunho moans as he stumbles back to his spot by the fire. He’s much weaker now and his hands are shaking slightly.
“Yeah, maybe you just died and now you’re in hell.” Changmin bobs his head slightly, amused eyes flicking to gauge Yunho’s reaction.
“Stop being so mean to him, he’s just confused.” Junsu jumps in, scooting closer to Yunho as if to offer him moral support and comfort.
Yunho can’t quite see past the fact that he’s sitting right next to a vampire. A blood-sucking, cold-skined vampire.
A sudden terror washes over him and he goes scuttling back, reality crashing down on him in a rather sudden manner.
“S-Stay away from me.”
Changmin snorts softly, just managing to keep back a full chuckle. “Yeah, that harsh command is really gonna do a lot to protect you.” He rolls his eyes and stands up from his seat on the ground. “I could snap you in half before you even have time to realize what’s going on.” He adds in an almost off-handed manner, the fire lighting up his face just enough to show the smirk across his lips.
“Shut-up, Changmin.” Jaejoong snaps, quickly brining a halt to Changmin’s taunting words. “We need him to trust us in order for this to work.” He adds in a slightly bland voice, seeming to have forgotten Yunho’s presence in the clearing.
“I want to leave.” Yunho barks across the fire at Jaejoong, getting the feel that the other male is the leader of the group.
Jaejoong turns contemplative eyes on Yunho, his face cold and unfeeling. “If you leave, you’ll be dead within the hour.” He stats blandly seemingly unbothered by that fact.
“How do I know I’m not going to get killed here? You’ll all a bunch of blood-suckers!” Yunho can feel the hysteria edging his voice. His legs were too weak to really carry him very far and he felt sure that the three of them could get him back before he even reached the edge of the clearing.
“Well, if you’re not willing to take my word for it, then be comforted in the fact that we haven’t killed you yet. Either way, you’re stuck with us.” Jaejoong shrugs his shoulders before lifting himself smoothly off the ground.
“Why didn’t you just let me go with the others?” Yunho breathes, fright still coiling tightly within his chest.
“Because we need you.” Jaejoong states as he rubs his hands together to remove the particles of dirt from his pale skin.
“Why?” Yunho can’t think of anything else to ask at the moment. He still doesn’t believe that they’re not going to simply attack him in the middle of the night and suck all of his blood out. It’s total paranoia, but it’s not exactly devoid of reason.
“It’s complicated and you won’t believe me when I tell you. You ‘re going to come with us so we can show you the evidence that proves our claim.” Jaejoong speaks as he makes his way around the fire, the air around his body completely calm and in control.
“Go with you?” Yunho just manages to keep the stutter out of his voice as Jaejoong draws closer to him. The other male is as intimidating as he is beautiful and Yunho’s not sure whether to feel attracted or afraid.
“I’m not going anywhere with you.” His words come out sounding like a child’s obstinate refusal and he almost cringes from that alone. In the back of his mind, he already knows that he has no option but to go with the three other men.
“Shall I make your life a little bit easier, Yunho?” Jaejoong growls darkly, taking a slight step closer to him, “From this moment on, I am in complete control of you. If I say that you’re coming with us, then that’s the final word. Do you understand?”
“Yes.” The word slips out of Yunho’s mouth before he can even begin to stop it. The other male is beyond terrifying at that moment. He’s deadly and beautiful and completely controlling; there’s no room to defy him.
Even though he’s not exactly thrilled at the idea of being Jaejoong’s puppet, he can’t voice his protest in the face of such danger.
“Well that was easy.” Changmin chuckles, strolling up next to Junsu in order to throw his arm over the boy’s shoulder. “Looks like we’ve got ourselves a new traveling buddy.” Something in his tone doesn’t exactly sound too thrilled at the idea.
“Oh come on, Changmin, I’m sure you’re going to like him.” Junsu turns a bright smile towards Changmin, his optimistic mood seeming completely intact.
Changmin lets out a long suffering sigh and moves away from the smaller male, “Thankfully, I don’t have your ever-optimistic outlook on life, Junsu.” He dodges a playful smack from the smaller male, easily leaping to stand on the other side of the flickering fire. “Besides, there’s no way I’m going to get closer to him when he smells like he’s been sleeping with the pigs for a few years.”
Junsu snickers at the comment, shaking his head slightly, “All he needs is a good bath.”
“Or twelve.” Changmin mutters, earning himself a sharp glare from Jaejoong.
“Both of you go to your tents. I don’t need a bunch of babbling children getting in my way.” His voice takes on a harsher edge, immediately earning himself Changmin and Junsu’s attention.
Junsu looks slightly stung, while Changmin’s face pulls back with a soft smirk. Neither of them offer a reply beside a quiet “yes sir” before they go shuffling off to their separate tents.
A long silence falls over the clearing at the two leave, the only sound is of the fire crackling softly as it begins to die down.
Yunho finds himself unable to meet the gaze that is pinned so steadily upon him. He feels overpowered and whipped by the smaller more delicate looking male. He has always been the dominator in his life, the people around him submitting to his knowledge and power. But now, now Jaejoong is the one with the commanding power. He doesn’t even have to demonstrate his strength in order to Yunho to realize it’s there.
“If you don’t get on my bad side, I can promise you that I’m a very even tempered person.” His voice is low and reassuring, as if he knows the fear that’s nibbling at the edge of Yunho’s heart.
“So am I like your slave now?” Yunho breathes the question that’s been eating away at him. If Jaejoong had complete control over him, then it brought about the natural conclusion that he’s some type of slave or servant to the other male.
Jaejoong’s eyebrows arch smoothly, a small smile pulling at his lips. “Only if you want to be.” He shrugs his shoulders, shifting slightly so he can look into the flickering flames. “I prefer to look at myself as a leader, rather than a master.”
Yunho isn’t convinced, but he keeps his disbelief to himself and decides to go on a new track of questioning. “Why were you on the boat in the first place?” It’s a question that was ignored earlier, but Yunho wants his answer.
“We were never on the boat , Yunho.”
“But I remember you and Changmin from the dining hall. I saw Junsu in the bar hardly an hour after we left port. I talked to all of you, I know you were there!” Yunho wonders if this is the feeling of losing one’s sanity. That feeling of self-doubt that begins to make him call into question the rest of the things he’s experienced. What parts can be trusted as reality?
“I don’t know how to explain it to you, Yunho, but it is what it is.” Jaejoong looks sympathetic, if not slightly confused himself.
“This can’t be happening.” Yunho groans as he sinks to the ground, hands tangling in his messy hair. He feels as if the day has lasted a thousand year and taken every drop of strength from his body. He’s drained and confused and he can feel frustrated tears beginning to sting the back of his eyes.
“You need to sleep, Yunho.” Jaejoong breathes softly, simply staring down at Yunho’s huddled form. There’s the smallest glint of compassion within his dark eyes, but for the most part he seems completely detached form the situation.
“You can stay with Changmin or Junsu, though I imagine that Junsu will be a bit nicer than Changmin.”
Yunho glances up at Jaejoong, his heart constricting fearfully at the thought of being left alone. Somehow, having Junsu or Changmin’s presence didn’t offer him much comfort.
“Can I stay with you?” He breathes the question into the night air, immediately regretting the needy tone that edged his voice.
Jaejoong’s face tightens slightly, eyes darkening with a strange look. “No. Stay with Junsu.” His voice is soft, but that commanding edge leaves no room for negotiation. “Junsu’s tent is the one on the far right. Good night.” Jaejoong breathes as he turns and makes his way towards his tent. Just as he’s about to push aside the tent flap, he pauses and glances back at Yunho. “If you leave this clearing, I can guarantee you that you will die before morning breaks. I’ll also know if you leave.” He doesn’t wait for Yunho’s response before he ducks into his tent, leaving the other male alone in the dying light of the fire.
Yunho’s left slightly confused for a moment before he stands and glances at the blackening forest around him. He has the fleetingly insane idea to go running into the forest; however, he squelches that thought and turns to make his way towards the tent Jaejoong had mentioned.
“You can come in, Yunho.” Junsu’s voice floats out of the tent just as Yunho’s opening his mouth to ask permission to enter.
“Uh, thanks.” Yunho mutters as he pushes into the tent. He’s greeted by the sight of Junsu sitting cross-legged in the corner of the small tent. His eyes are closed and his hands are resting on his knees.
Yunho’s curious about what the male is doing, but he finds himself a bit too timid to ask, so he simply lays down on the blanket and pillows his head on his arm.
“Sorry that we don’t have any pillows. We don’t sleep, so we never need them.” Junsu states in a low voice, eyes never opening to look over at Yunho.
“What are you doing?” Yunho questions, deciding to ignore Junsu’s words.
“Meditating. It kind of helps with urges and stuff.” Junsu’s lips twitch upward in a small smile, his head tilting to the right slightly.
“Sorry, Changmin, I’ll shut-up now.”
Yunho furrows his brow, wondering if Changmin can actually hear Junsu’s low words.
“Can he hear us?” He finally asks, making some attempt to keep his mind off of his current situation.
“Yeah. Jaejoong can, too, and he wants us to shut-up.” Junsu whispers, his brow twitching forward slightly before he falls into a stone-like figure.
Yunho’s rest is fitful and full of nightmares. He finds himself jerking awake during the night, as if to make sure that Junsu and the rest aren’t leaning over him with hungry eyes.
Overall, it’s not a restful night and he finds himself stumbling out of the tent the moment the sun begins to light up his tent.
He exits to finds Changmin and Jaejoong sitting before a fresh fire, both of them chuckling lightly.
Jaejoong’s face is even more beautiful when pulled back in a smile. His features still seem hard, but something about him is inviting and comforting when he’s smiling and laughing.
After taking a moment to stare at Jaejoong, Yunho then notices the chunks of meat that are roasting over the fire, his stomach giving a hungry rumble at the sight and smell.
“Hey, Kid.” Changmin greats with a slight wiggle of his eyebrows, smile still dancing around his lips.
Yunho narrows his eyes slightly at Changmin’s address and does nothing but nod his head in return.
“Good morning, Yunho.” Jaejoong greets, leaning against the logs that had been dragged around the fireplace to create make-shift chairs.
“Morning.” Yunho greets softly, finding himself slightly subdued under the intense gaze of the other male.
“I assume that you’re hungry.” Jaejoong continues, motioning towards the sizzling meat. “You can help yourself to as much as you want.” He adds, eyes flickering towards the carcass of a deer that’s laying next to the fire.
His mouth waters at the sight and he quickly falls upon the meat, jerking it out of Changmin’s hand and quickly bringing it to his mouth. It burns his tongue, but he still sinks his teeth in, ripping apart the meat as if it’s the first thing he’s eaten in weeks.
He feels a groan of pleasure echo at the back of his throat as he sinks to his knees and slowly chews the morsel of food.
“Leave the campsite, Changmin.” Jaejoong suddenly growls, causing Yunho to open his eyes and glance towards the snarky male.
Changmin’s watching him like a hungry animal, his eyes zeroed in on a line of juice that has snuck it’s way down Yunho’s throat.
His eyes have turned a shade of deep red and his entire body is tensed as if he’s ready to pounce.
“Now, Changmin.” Jaejoong snarls, standing to place himself between Yunho and Changmin.
Yunho blinks and startles slightly when he finds Junsu easily hefting Changmin off the ground and pushing him towards the edge of the clearing. The smaller male had still been meditating in the tent with Yunho had left.
Jaejoong doesn’t move until a few minutes after Changmin has been dragged away. It takes him a moment, but he eventually relaxes his stances and moves back to his spot by the fire.
“You made a lot of noise last night and it made it hard to meditate.” Jaejoong states as if that’s supposed to be enough explanation for Yunho.
“What was I doing?” Yunho breathed, his heart still beating madly within his chest. He felt very sure that he had just managed to escape the jaws of a very dangerous monster.
“Moaning, groaning, calling for help…a lot of stuff.” Jaejoong turned emotionless eyes on Yunho seeming to look straight into his soul. “Who’s Camilla?”
Yunho stiffens at the mention of his wife. He can feel his protective walls going up as he retreats into himself. “Thanks for the food.” He changes the subject, bringing the meat up to his mouth to blow on it softly. His tongue still burns from his first bite of meat.
Jaejoong’s left eyebrow twitches slightly, an amused light dancing over his eyes before he falls back into his contemplative stare.
“We’re going to be traveling all day. Are you up to it?” It doesn’t really seem like a true question, more of a curtsey.
Yunho wants to say no, his body still tired from the lack of rest he’d gotten the night before, but he doesn’t want to show weakness towards the ever-powerful Jaejoong. “Yeah, I’ll be fine.”
Jaejoong snorts slightly and shakes his head, “If you need time to rest then I’ll give it to you. You can trust me not to pick at your weakness.” His voice is so gentle sounding, but seems to always hold a sort of condescending edge. It’s like a mother addressing a small, stupid child.
“I can handle it.” Yunho snaps before taking a large bite of the meat on the stick.
“Forgive me if I don’t believe you.”
=-----------------------------------=
A/N: So yeah, answered some questions in this chapter.
Ah yeah, did I forget to mention that this story will feature Yunho was the weaker of the relationship? I figured that since I gave Jaejoong such a hard time in Soul’s Requiem, that I’d give Yunho a little taste of the same. Hopefully that doesn’t turn everyone one off the story.
The meditation thing is totally made-up by me. It just came off the top of my head when I was trying to explain why they had tents. I figured that it was a pretty plausible reason. I’ll explain it a little more in the next chapter.
Also, Yoochun will make an appearance in the next chapter. Yes sir, he’s going to have more of a role then he did in Soul’s Requiem. So yeah, fun times.
A big thank you to everyone who has commented so far! I really appreciate it.
Ah, before I forget, if anyone is interested in a downloadable version of Soul’s Requiem, then just follow this link and enjoy:
Soul's Requiem PDF
Aside from that, I’ll see you guys on the next chapter!