Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

If there were a contest for who hates their job the most, Chan would be first in line. He got paid mostly on tips, and although for most dancers in the club that could be a lot, Chan didn’t attract a lot of attention. He was hired because of his smaller, lean figure, but the club wasn’t a gay club. It was a hit or miss most nights on when he got attention, and oftentimes when he did, it was from a rude down-low guy who wanted him to pretend he was a girl in the alley with him. So it was safe to say he had been job hunting for a while.

Art school was expensive. He was currently a contemporary dance major at the local university, and tuition aside, he barely had enough for a cup of ramen most nights. Considering he needed energy to sustain his education, something had to give. There had been a single job opening that caught his eye after months of searching, one that seemed too good to be true. It was a job as an in-house cleaner, cook, and assistant to twelve undisclosed men. On the application, it showed pictures of the house, as well as contact information if someone were to have questions before applying.

Chan didn’t really care about that. Scam or not, the pay alone was enough to make him think it was worth the risk. Two months of working there would easily cover his tuition for the rest of the semester and then some. So, Chan found himself applying fairly easily. He had expected some kind of interview, or at least confirmation that he was a real human, but nothing of the sort happened. Instead, he got accepted a week after his submission, and was told that the date he submitted he could start working was his first official day. The only person in his personal circle who rang caution alarms to him was Wooyoung, who somehow despite being boy crazy, greatly opposed his best friend going to live with twelve random strangers he had never seen.

He accepted the offer.

“Dude! This needs to go downstairs!” Mingyu complains, throwing the sealed packet of blood towards Wonwoo’s face. He caught it easily, grunting in annoyance. The entire house was prepping for their new human to move in, and that, by Jeonghan’s standards, meant essentially ‘human proofing’ the entire place. They had already done three sweeps, but even meticulous supernatural beings forgot some things that aren’t natural to see for humans. The only safe place was the last room on the basement level, which was only accessible through Soonyoung’s magic lock.

“Sorry, I didn’t even know that was in there,” Wonwoo mumbled, disappearing in an instant. Mingyu sighed, turning back to the fridge with a satisfied glance. It now looked normal. Stocked just enough to look lived in, but not enough to make it painfully obvious they had just stocked to prepare for his move-in. Of course, a lot of them did eat human food. They just sucked at running errands and making time to take care of themselves, hence why they had the job position open in the first place. Centuries of being alive, unfortunately, didn’t solve ADHD and procrastination.

“He arrives tomorrow,” Seungcheol calls out from a different room. Seungcheol and Jeonghan were the only two who knew more about the human than just his name. They hadn’t been secretive on purpose; it had just happened so fast that they hadn’t had time to brief everyone. There were twelve people in the house, for crying out loud. It had been a text alert, and they spent most of their free time trying to make themselves look as much like normal humans in the house as possible. The last time a human had lived with them…hadn’t ended well. They had tried to act human, but they were amateurs back then. It ended up making the human go insane, and he ran away. Mingyu had eventually tracked him down, forced to erase his memories so he could properly recover.

“Do humans like rocks and sage?” Soonyoung asked, suddenly entering the hallway. Jun scoffed, looking up from where he was leaning against the wall within the kitchen entrance.

“Do you not remember living as a human at all?” He asked, eyes narrowing at the collection in the others’ hands.

“Well…these aren’t like the ones they sell in stores. They're enchanted, I’m not sure if a human can tell the difference though…” Soonyoung frowned, glancing down at his hands.

“It’s fine. Even to my eyes, it’s hard for me to tell the difference between your rocks and basic ass gravel-” Wonwoo mumbled, quickly dodging Soonyoung, throwing a bundle of sage at his head. “Hey!”

Suddenly, Joshua came barreling down the stairs, his phone held out towards the others. “Emergency! Are we human-proofed yet?” He asked, shoving the phone towards the nearest person. Jun flinched, squinting to see the message as his eyes adjusted to the sudden screen.

“Seungkwan is bringing home a human…that’s apparently in bad shape? Huh?” Jun reads, frowning. Joshua nods, scrolling down his texts to show the pictures Seungkwan had sent to the group chat. The group crowded around him, peeking at the phone. It was obvious Seungkwan was a bit panicked; the pictures were just simple enough for them to understand why he was bringing him in the first place. He rarely did this, as usually he could heal them on his own. If he could not, that must mean the injuries were beyond his control. He would need Joshua or Soonyoung to help him.

The boy in the picture had dark brown hair, pushed out of his face by Seungkwan’s hand. His cheek was red, obviously close to bruising. A few scratches littered the skin that was visible, and his shirt, which was peeking up, revealed dark bruises on his torso as well. He seemed to be unconscious, which was very concerning, considering that from the pictures alone, he didn’t seem that bad.

“The house should be fine. Other than Wonwoo’s snack, we haven’t found anything else,” Seokmin mumbled, staring at his own phone.

“Wait,” Seungcheol’s face twisted into a frown. He zoomed in on the picture, tilting his head as he did so. “Fuck!” The others stilled, all turning to look at him.

“What…is it?” Joshua hesitated, feeling a bit intimidated by how angry the other looked at the moment.

Seungcheol clicked his phone off, pushing his hair back with his hands as he did. With an exasperated sigh, he looked up at Joshua, immediately softening his expression. “That’s our human.”

Chan’s last shift was not going well. He could barely keep himself upright on the dance floor; he wasn’t receiving that many tips, and there was an obviously creepy guy staring a hole into his head from the bar. He was grateful when his shift was coming close to an end, and he could make a weird stumble off stage to get changed. Hopefully, to the others, he just looked a bit drunk.

He was exhausted. Chan had two energy drinks, had taken a nap during his break, and even had a shot for the fun of it, but nothing was working. He wasn’t even confident he could make the usual walk he made home at this rate before collapsing on the street.

He was moving fast because of that. Chan quickly changed back into his sweatpants, throwing his hoodie over his body before slinging his tote bag over his shoulder. There was a back door to their dressing room that he could exit out of in order to not be noticed by the customers, and running on autopilot, he quickly sped out of it.

It wasn’t until he was almost out of the alleyway and about to turn on the street that led to his house that he noticed something off. The air around him was far too still. It felt as if a pin dropped; it would echo for ages. Despite it being the weekend and freshly into the night, the lively street was quiet. Not a single car was driving by, or a random person loitering in the shadows. Chan turned, his eyes scanning the area. Nothing. He was alone in the street, a single light post shining on his body. Chan bit his bottom lip, drawing a faint bit of blood from how chapped they were.

Just as he was about to turn and walk again, a flash passed his eyes out of nowhere. It was too fast for him to process, far too fast for him to dodge. His body was flung against the brick wall of the club, landing with a painful crunch on the street’s pavement. Chan gasped, his eyes squeezing shut from the pain. A surge of adrenaline flew through his body, his brain screaming at him to get up, to run, but he couldn’t move. When he did manage to open his eyes, he couldn’t see anything. The street lamp had flickered out, and in the few seconds it took for his eyes to adjust, something lifted him up in the air by his neck.

Chan sputtered, clutching at the hand around his throat with a rising feeling of panic. He couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t move properly, and he couldn’t see. The world around him was a blur in the darkness, and the earlier exhaustion was rising by the second. He was quickly feeling lightheaded; even the blast of faint music from the club seemed to become duller by the second. Chan hated his job, but he didn’t hate his life. He wanted to fight, to push the person who was unnaturally strong off of him, but he couldn’t. His hand was useless; if anything, the movement tired him out quicker.

“Hey!” A voice yelled out, making the hand flinch. It opened just enough for his body to drop, Chan quickly gasping for air as he hit the floor for a second time. A flash of light flew into the alleyway, blinding almost. Chan was officially going insane. He wasn’t exactly religious, but maybe he was seeing the light. Was he dead? He couldn’t really tell. Someone was yelling, and then the light faded. Chan tried to stay awake; he really did. It was useless.

“Hey!” Seungkwan yelled, stopping in his tracks. When he wasn’t helping the others at home, he tried to scout around the city. Seungkwan’s abilities allowed him to help others, and he got antsy if he didn’t scout for too long. The others had tried to get him to stop, saying it was too risky, that he would expose himself eventually, but he wasn’t too worried. There were so many ways around getting exposed, he was certain he would be fine.

This night seemed like it was going to be another successful, easy night. He had helped two cars avoid hitting each other, had pushed a squirrel out of the way as a car was scarily close to it, and had watched a group of girls make their way to their apartment safely. He was about to head home, but the energy was off. It was an immediate shift. An obvious shift, something he hadn’t run into in a while. An energy vampire.

They were feasting close, especially if Seungkwan could feel it. He wasn’t the strongest by any means, but he knew one thing about energy vampires from Wonwoo’s teachings. They did not leave their victims alive. Energy vampires went after people who were either full of energy or almost out. Individuals who lack energy apparently taste amazing to them, as their last bit of energy becomes exasperated and desperate. Afterwards, they tend to feed on their blood as well, just out of pure greed. Unlike Wonwoo, a turned vampire, energy vampires didn’t need that much blood to survive. They often feasted for fun rather than survival, killing their prey in the process.

Down the alleyway, a dark-haired vampire held a small human in his grasp, the boy he was preying on barely seeming alive. His hand that had been fighting at his throat had now dropped, and he was paling by the second. Seungkwan could feel his presence fading alarmingly fast. He acted quickly, creating two balls of bright light before flashing them in his direction, causing the vampire to flinch out of shock. He dropped the boy, hissing in pain as the light burned his skin. In an instant, the vampire was gone, apparently not in the mood to fight with an angel.

Seungkwan breathed a sigh of relief, rushing towards the boy who was now lifeless on the ground. He quickly turned him over, cupping his face in his hands. The boy blinked for a moment, but he clearly wasn’t present. After a few seconds, he drifted off, his energy fading even more. “No…No, no, wait, don’t die…” Seungkwan panicked, quickly pressing his hand to the other’s forehead. A faint glow passed through their skin, but it did little to help the human in his arms. Seungkwan’s powers only did so much. He wasn’t necessarily a healer; he was more of a staller. He could hold off a person’s fate until they got help, but he couldn’t help them, not fully. If Seungkwan left him, he would die.

“Oh geez,” Seungkwan breathed heavily, quickly texting the group chat. Hopefully, they would understand. He couldn’t leave him. Not without trying, the boy seemed so young. After snapping a few pictures, Seungkwan easily picked the boy up, running out of the alley. Every second counted now.

“Put him on the bed, hurry!” Joshua instructed, clearing the path for Seungkwan as he laid him down. Everyone was home now because of the news, crowding the bedroom and the hallway as Seungkwan entered. Seungkwan backed away as he let the boy go, stepping back for Joshua to look at him.

As he turned, he stopped. “Why…does everyone look more stressed than me?” He asked, scanning their faces.

“It’s Chan, the human we hired,” Jeonghan spoke up from the desk chair, not tearing his eyes away from the bed. Seungkwan’s eyes widened, turning back towards the bed.

“That’s Chan?! He’s like-”

“Almost dead…” Joshua mumbled, quickly turning his wrists over. The boy, no, Chan, was even paler now that Seungkwan could see him. “What even happened?”

“Energy vampire. He was feasting, but I stopped him before he could take his blood too.” Seungkwan explained. Joshua shook his head, his eyebrows furrowing.

“He shouldn’t be this bad from that,” He mumbled, mostly to himself. Seungkwan turned, looking at Seungcheol and Jeonghan expectedly. The two always conducted their own version of interviews for their hires. Of course, they had only had two, but it was the same process. They would analyze the applications and then observe the applicants for a few days. It was like their own personal screening. Not everyone fit there, of course. However, with the two being wolves, the duo tends to get attached quickly.

“He seems not to take care of himself that well. While we were observing him, most of his time was spent in school and in that club rather than sleeping or eating properly. He likely was already in bad shape, and the vampire was attracted to that,” Seungcheol explained with a sigh.

“Of course, we get the human on death row,” Jihoon mumbled, ignoring the scattered glares he received.

“Okay, this should work!” Soonyoung rushes into the room, pushing in between the small gap between Jun and Minghao to get to the bed. He holds the potion out towards Joshua, smiling when the fae takes it quickly. Joshua perks Chan up, pushing the bottle against his lips as he slowly forces the liquid into his throat. It was a waiting game now. Chan was breathing normally now, but they still weren’t certain his condition wouldn’t worsen overnight.

“I don’t like the idea of him staying here. He’ll be confused as to how he got to his new job that’s already sketchy.” Jihoon mentioned, watching as Chan’s pained expression slowly relaxed.

“But…what if he…” Seungkwan trailed off, but the others knew what he was concerned about. What if he dies in his sleep?

“I’ll watch over him at his place,” Wonwoo offers. Seungkwan glances up at him, his eyes brightening.

“Really?!”

Wonwoo shrugs, nodding towards the bed. “It’s easy for me to stay hidden, plus if the vampire is a tracker and comes back to finish the job, I can fight him easier than you.” He points out, smiling at the pout that appeared on Seungkwan’s face.

“Well, let’s get him back quickly before he wakes up,” Joshua mentions, standing up from the bed. Wonwoo makes a move to pick him up, stopping when Seungkwan grabs onto his arm.

“Um…thank you,” Seungkwan whispers, perched on his tiptoes before quickly kissing Wonwoo’s cheek gently. Wonwoo smiles again at the kiss, resisting the urge to attack the other with kisses. Time and place. With a bit of struggle, he turned back to the bed, gathering the now sleeping human in his arms.

“Oh, for fuck's sake, three out of twelve of my boyfriends are already in love with this kid?” Minghao whined, squirming as Jun pulled him away from the door’s entry. Wonwoo rolled his eyes, quickly leaving the room without a word. “You didn’t deny it! Hey! Wonwoo!”

Seungcheol sighed, squeezing the bridge of his nose. They tried. They really did. However, the only people who could work for them were people who matched well with them. With that, there was always a risk of them caring about the person they hired, sometimes deeper than they should. Although there was no rule in their relationship that they couldn’t, it was always complicated when the person ended up being a human.

A human, of course, likely wouldn’t want to be bound to twelve monsters.

Chapter Text

“So…You don’t know where that came from?” Wooyoung asked, frowning as he stared at the gigantic bruise on Chan’s cheek. He had woken up early that morning to the sound of his roommate screaming, only to discover Chan looking like he had changed careers to boxing instead. Furthermore, his cheek was not the only thing that was bruised. His waist was also bruised, even though from the hour Chan had been awake, it seemed to be fading alarmingly fast.

Chan shook his head, sighing in the mirror. “What do I do? Today is my first day at my new job. I can’t…look like this.” He frowned, his hand hovering over his cheek. He wasn’t sure if he was brave enough to touch it.

Wooyoung rolled his eyes, sitting on the edge of Chan’s bed. “Ah, yes. Your lovely job that is definitely not filled with cannibals. Do they let you out for air, or will I need to file a police report to see you again?”

Chan pursed his lips, swiveling his chair around to face the other. Wooyoung had recently dyed his hair black again, and with that, it felt like his dark sense of humor had somehow worsened. “Hardy har. I don’t work on the weekends unless I accept overtime, and they know my class schedule, so I can still go to school. I also was told it’s not as strict as the application sounds…But I haven’t met them so…” He sighs, running a hand through his hair. “And they might fire me with a face like this.”

“Nope,” Wooyoung raises a finger, immediately standing up. “You will not be fired on my watch.”

“Huh?” That was all Chan could manage to get out before Wooyoung was grabbing his wrist, tugging him out of the room and into the hallway. He followed clumsily, narrowly avoiding smacking into the wall as Wooyoung flung the door to his own room open.

“I cover soooo many hickeys, I can cover that thing. You just worry about protecting your tummy and your dignity. That I can’t help you with.”

“Hey!”

“Why do you want to go after an angel? They glow so bright when they’re angry, it pisses me off,” Eunyu whined, shaking the vampire off her shoulders. He had been clinging to her for half a day now, sulking about a failed meal that, in his own words, had left him unsatisfied.

“That stupid angel ruined everything! You should have been there, it was the most delicious meal ever, and then bam! A beckon of fucking sunshine came out of nowhere. Since when do angels even loiter in this area? It’s filled with dark creatures.” Sangha complained, plopping onto the couch instead.

“Oh boohoo. I am not starting another war with you. The last time we did, we pissed off those pirate wannabes and only got let off the hook because you looked like their omega. I need a break.” Eunyu was always quick to shut his adventures down. Sangha was a bit mischievous, but he at times forgot that, despite being immortal, he could die. Sure, an average human probably wouldn't be his demise, but at this rate, Eunyu would kill him herself.

“Please? Just this one? We don’t have to get the angel; I just want to find the human again. I can still smell his scent; he isn’t dead yet.” Sangha leaned forward, making his eyes as big as possible. Eunyu closed her own, refusing to fold under the pressure of puppy dog eyes.

“I said no.”

“But-”

“Why do you reek?” The sudden voice has the two of them flying up, Eunyu straightening her back as she turned towards the door. Beomseok stood there, an unamused expression on his face and his eyes trained on Sangha’s arm, still recovering from the burns from the night before.

“Ah…Hi Seokie…When did you get back?” Sangha laughed, moving his arm behind his back.

“I leave you alone for a month, and you nearly get killed. If you hate immortality that badly, I will gladly drain your life source for you,” Beomseok spoke in a monotone voice; it was hard to tell if he was joking or not. Scratch that, he wasn’t. Beomseok never joked about ending a life.

“I…It’s just a scratch from an angel. It’ll heal in no time!” Sangha reassured, letting his arm drop back down to his side.

“An angel?” Beomseok questioned, placing his bag down by the door as he began to shimmy his shoes off. Sangha nodded, ignoring the sigh Eunyu released in the meantime. “Well…not my problem. In the meantime, we do have serious matters besides your need for trouble. Eunyu.”

“Yes!” Eunyu perked back up, stiffening to attention.

“How hungry are you?”

“Cannibals.” Wooyoung frowned, looking up at the house in front of them. It wasn’t in the middle of nowhere, which was comforting, but it was jarringly a different aesthetic from the other houses around them. From the outside, it appeared the house was three stories, littered with white stone, black trims, and far too much greenery for one person to handle.

“Shut up before I regret asking you to help me with my bags. They aren’t going to eat me.” Chan rolled his eyes, walking forward to press the button on the gate. It buzzed, making a small ticking sound in the meantime.

“You say that, but then somewhere in the middle of the movie someone is going to clip this scene and your ass is going to be on the news-” Wooyoung’s tangent is immediately cut off by the gates opening, the ticking of the buzzer dying down with it. The two exchange a quick look before Chan starts walking in, ignoring Wooyoung’s whine of protest.

Wooyoung wasn’t raised in a wealthy environment. He had always been lower middle class, enough to where a roof was comfortably over his head, but they still had to be careful with money. Chan was the opposite. He was raised in luxury; he was used to how wealthy people acted and carried themselves. However, it had been two years since he had last talked to his family or spent their money. It was an adjustment, and going back into that world would be as well.

When they reached the front of the house, the door opened, which could only be explained by coincidence or the big camera staring at their faces. “Hi! You must be Chan,” The boy staring back at him was blonde, with wide cheeks and an even wider smile. What was shocking was that he seemed to be close to their age. Chan didn’t know much about the people he was working for, but for some reason, he had assumed they would be older. Much older. “I’m Seungkwan.”

“Nice to meet you,” Chan bowed his head slightly. “This is Wooyoung. He was helping me carry my bags over.” Chan gestured towards Wooyoung, who snapped himself out of a trance and plastered a smile on his face instead.

Seungkwan nodded, stepping into the doorway to make room for them. The two followed behind him, the door automatically closing behind them. Inside matched the outside’s aesthetic. Most of the furniture was modern, creme and black colored with hints of greenery in every corner and random clutter. It was clean already, with a large amount of open space in the main entrance.

“Ah, the others are busy at the moment, but I can give you a house tour and where your room is when you’re with us. We also have a spare car if you need to drive for any errands or to use it whenever you go back to campus and home for the weekend. If you can’t drive, we can also compensate for taxis if you don’t use regular public transportation,” Seungkwan explained as they walked, going deeper into the never-ending hallway.

“I can drive,” Chan spoke up, watching as Seungkwan’s face lit up again. Handsome. He was just downright handsome.

“Perfect! Well, we can drop your bags off here. This will be your room,” Seungkwan opened the door on the left side of the hall, stepping back to let the two of them enter. Chan entered first, his eyes struggling to process what was in front of him. Unlike the rest of the house he had seen so far, this room was a completely different aesthetic. It had a light blue aesthetic just like his room at home, with games and art supplies littering the bookshelves. Lived in. “Ah, it used to be a guest room, but it suits you!”

Chan nods slowly, dropping his bag at the edge of the bed. Wooyoung copied him, remaining as close to his side as possible. Seungkwan gave him a soft smile, staying by the doorway. “I’ll let you settle in for a moment. Just yell for me when you’re ready for the tour, okay?” When Chan nodded, the blonde headed off, leaving the two alone. For a beat, it was quiet, then Wooyoung turned to him again.

“Rich, hot, cannibals.”

Oh, brother.

“What the hell is wrong with you? You were fine last night.” Jihoon frowned, watching Wonwoo cover his nose. Mingyu and Minghao lingered behind him, watching Wonwoo’s movements. Jihoon was the only one in the house who could easily keep up with Wonwoo if he was out of control, and right now, he was teetering on the line.

“Geez…his scent wasn’t this strong last night. I see why that guy went after him,” Wonwoo groaned, squeezing his eyes closed. “He smells delicious.”

“You’ve been immune to humans for so long. Why are you acting like a newborn?” Minghao frowned, crossing his arms. Wonwoo looked up, glaring in his direction, but he didn’t argue. Wonwoo wasn’t impacted by humans’ scents anymore. He had gotten used to drinking from packs, only drinking from an alive being when it was dying or he was meant to kill them. They never tempted him, hadn’t been in years, and yet here he was, hiding in the basement.

“Anything on Seungcheol or Jeonghan?” Jihoon asked, not taking his eyes off the vampire in front of him.

Mingyu shook his head. “Still hunting. Seokmin and Jun, too. Hansol and Soonyoung are home, though, but pretty sure Seungkwan is going to just give a tour today and leave introductions for later. Might be easier…” He stopped, watching as Wonwoo groaned, gesturing towards the corner. They had metal cuffs latched to the ground, sealed so that once they were on, only Soonyoung could get them off. Mingyu could probably try, but it would likely bite him in the butt.

“Tie me up,” Wonwoo breathed out, sounding like he had run a marathon.

“You cannot be serious-” Jihoon jumped as Wonwoo groaned again, much louder this time.

“God damn it Jihoon tie me up before I drain both of them!”

Jihoon swallowed, his eyes widening at the tone. Wonwoo never yelled at them like that. He hesitated, but in the same fraction of a second, he quickly grabbed the rough metal off the ground. They burned his hands even to touch, a low tingling feeling that wasn’t harmful, but was uncomfortable. Jihoon made quick work of tying it around both of his wrists, helping Wonwoo sit by the wall afterwards. His eyes were closed, his chest rising and falling as he struggled between not breathing in to avoid the scent, and breathing to control his urges.

Jihoon slowly backed away, feeling Mingyu and Minghao’s hands support his shoulders as he did. The three of them stared at Wonwoo, unsure of what to do, especially with most of their clan gone to charge. “Jesus…” Mingyu whispered, looking towards the door where Seungkwan’s voice could be heard. “Who the hell did Seungcheol hire?”

Chapter Text

There were two things that Chan realized. One, the house was going to take forever to understand. Two, it was going to take even longer to understand the people the house belonged to. Chan zoned out for the majority of his tour, understanding where the main areas he needed to be in were, such as the kitchen, living room, bathrooms…He was told not to worry about cleaning their individual bedrooms. There were indeed three floors: the basement, first, and second levels. He tuned back in when Seungkwan finished the tour, the two of them standing at the entrance of the basement.

“Hopefully, you’ll be able to meet all of us soon. It’s rare that we are all together at one time, but we do try to get together twice a month at the same time. Wonwoo isn’t feeling well at the moment, so he might be the one you meet last.” Seungkwan explained, gesturing towards the basement. “There’s nothing but activity rooms down there. You can clean this if you get bored, but it never gets too bad. The last room there, however, is off limits; it’s a room Soonyoung doesn’t like to be opened too often.”

Chan nodded, his hands behind his back. His fingers were moving nervously, his new job anxiety catching up to him. Not only was it a new job, but it was a lot of new people to meet at once. “Is there anything you’d like me to do today?”

Seungkwan perked up, walking back down the hall they had just come. “Come with me! We made you a day-to-day schedule to help out. Of course, you don’t have to follow it exactly, but it just matches how we move around.” He stopped in front of a door decorated with stars, looking sheepish for a second. “This is my room.” He pushed open the door, beckoning Chan to come in when he saw him hesitating. “Um…give me a second, I printed it out.”

Chan stood in the doorway, watching as Seungkwan went to his desk, messing with the folder lying in the middle of it. His eyes scanned the room, once again shocked at how different it was from the rest of the monochrome home. Seungkwan’s room was very pastel. His sheets were a light yellow, similar to the stars on the door, and different pastel character collectibles were scattered around in various places. Books and bundles of yarn littered the floor, stacked neatly despite being random.

“Ah! Here it is,” Seungkwan takes a laminated sheet of paper, closing the folder before returning to him. “You can just use today to settle in, but for the other days, this should help.”

Chan nods, taking the slip of paper with a small smile. “Thank you.”

“Wonwoo, you need to feed.” Minghao frowned, leaning forward in the chair he was sitting in. None of them had left the basement, not with the predicament he was in. Wonwoo was already pale, but he seemed to somehow pale even more the longer they were down there. He had stopped breathing as heavily, but it was clear he was still uncomfortable. “When did you eat?”

“Two days ago,” Wonwoo mumbled, his eyes still closed.

“Two? Let me get your food,” Jihoon stood abruptly, pausing when Wonwoo made a noise of disagreement.

“I don’t want it,” He slowly opened his eyes, making the three freeze. His usually dark brown eyes were starting to melt into a dark red. Usually, Wonwoo had three eye colors. Dark brown, golden, and bright red. Dark brown was normal; it meant he was fed and physically fine. Golden meant he was weaker, not feeding for a while. Bright red typically occurred when he lost his temper, caused by anger more than anything else.

“What is…what does dark red mean?” Mingyu asked, glancing at Minghao. He only shook his head, unsure.

“What do you want?” Jihoon chose to ask, causing Wonwoo to scoff at the question. “Other than Chan.” He took a cautious step forward, sinking to his knees in front of him. Wonwoo watched his every move, staying as still as a statue. He was close enough to where Wonwoo could reach him despite the chains. “You can feed off me, if you’d like?”

Wonwoo shook his head, closing his eyes again. “No, it’s too risky right now. I don’t feel in control at all.”

“You might need fresh blood. The packs might not be enough.” Jihoon tried again.

“And if I can’t stop?” Wonwoo challenged, his eyes flying open again. Jihoon blinked, the dark red swirling obviously within the brown of his eyes. It was beautiful, if it wasn’t making him extremely worried for his boyfriend.

“We’ll stop you,” Minghao promised, crossing his legs. “You’re weaker in those cuffs, anyway.” Jihoon nodded, agreeing silently with his words. The others were on their way home, but if this would help Wonwoo at least get some control back, he would try it. Wonwoo’s face contorted, clearly conflicted. For a moment, it appeared he would reject them again, his word being final, but he sighed instead.

“Ten seconds.”

Chan decided not to unpack yet. After all, all he had brought were toiletries and clothes. He could unpack that as slow or as fast as he liked. Instead, he chose to try to memorize the schedule in front of him. It was more so a list, sorted by specific days and times for tasks. It reminded him of Stardew Valley, listing things his bosses normally did and when.

“The only allergy in the house is peanuts; Hansol is allergic. On Mondays, Jeonghan wakes up the earliest. Please make sure he eats before he leaves for work around 7 am…Joshua is in school and likes to skip his Tuesday class…if you can persuade him to go Seungcheol will love you forever.” Chan read off the list slowly, tilting his head curiously. It was notes, suggestions, and little quirks about each of them in summary. It was odd, reading things about people he had never met or seen. The further he went, the weirder it got. “Jeonghan and Seungcheol share a room, but they both have terrible immune systems and get sick often…please make balanced meals for them.” Chan hums, kicking his feet out. He was spread-eagled on the bed, the list hovering just above him.

With a sigh, he let the schedule fall, it smacking him in the face on the way down. Not only was reading the notes not making him feel better, but it was making him feel overwhelmed. Now that he was convinced it was indeed not a scam he had gotten himself into, reality was kicking in. He had a high-paying job that, in his opinion, was as easy as studying. In theory, it was easy, but it grew complicated. The twelve men were peculiar. Chan could only hope he would adjust quickly, that he wouldn’t want to run from this job as well.

A small knock on his door sent him flying up, catching his breath from the sudden shift in position. “Come in!”

The door slowly creaked open, revealing two boys in the doorway. Shockingly, they also looked similar to his age; one was a spiky-haired blonde with obvious dimples, and the other sported a hat that almost hid his face, but effectively hid his hair perfectly. “Hi!” The spiky boy greeted, waving enthusiastically. “We wanted to introduce ourselves. I’m Soonyoung, and this is Hansol.”

Chan stood up, bowing his head slightly as he did. “Nice to meet you, I’m Chan, the new in-house assistant.”

“Don’t worry about being too formal, it gets pretty chaotic around here, and honestly, a lot of us are immature,” The taller one, Hansol, spoke. Soonyoung pouted, looking up at Hansol with big eyes. “Especially him.”

“Hey!”

Chan laughed slightly, quickly covering his mouth before he could get too loud. Soonyoung was wearing crazy colors, his shirt neon yellow, whereas his pants were white with pink speckles. Hansol, on the other hand, was in a black tank top and grey sweatpants, the exact opposite of Soonyoung. It made him wonder… “What do you do for work?” Chan asks before his brain could stop him from asking.

“Ah! A little of everything. We help each other out a lot here, but I like fashion. He likes to talk to himself,” Soonyoung smirks, his smile growing cheeky as Hansol rolled his eyes.

“Streaming. I play video games online occasionally,” He clarifies. “What about you, Chan?”

Right when he was about to answer, a loud crash disrupted them, making Chan flinch from the noise. Someone’s voice shrieked, followed by a shuffling sound that seemed to be from the main floor. Hansol sighed, hiding his face in his hands with a groan. “Why is he so loud…”

A pair of stomps comes up the stairs, a figure quickly rounding the corner before a lean, tan man appears, appearing out of breath. “Is he here?” He asked, his eyes pushing past the two in front of him before they locked onto Chan. “He is! Hi! I’m Seokmin!”

Chan blinked, a bit star-struck. So far, this might have been the most attractive person he had ever met, and it was just worsening the longer he stared. He was beginning to wonder if models or celebrities were living in the house as well. “Hi, I’m Chan.”

“Are you a hugger?” Seokmin asked, which made Soonyoung open and close his mouth in protest. Chan nodded, but before he could verbally answer, Seokmin was already entering the room, easily swallowing his entire body in a warm embrace. Chan gasped, a bit shocked by how fast he moved, but quickly found himself relaxing. He was warm and smelled like mahogany. Chan moved far more slowly, but eventually, he got his limbs to cooperate and hug Seokmin back. Seokmin swayed them back and forth a bit before letting him go, keeping his hands on the top of his shoulders. “Welcome!”

“T-Thank you,” Chan mentally cursed himself for stuttering, but god was he gorgeous.

“You’re going to give him a heart attack,” Soonyoung complained. Seokmin grinned, turning to face the two for the first time since he had laid eyes on Chan.

“That’s okay, I’m not afraid of ghosts.” He joked, taking a step back.

“Well, I am, so can we not kill him yet?” A new voice asked, this one a bit higher than the others. The room was getting a bit crowded in the doorway, but Hansol stepped further into the room to make space. Chan straightened up again, a new duo appearing. It seemed a lot of people were coming home around the same time, but he wasn’t sure how they were so quiet. So far, the only one who had made noise was Seokmin.

One had shorter silver hair, an obvious sleep build to him. He looked like a teddy bear, but also appeared strong enough to crush Chan in an instant. Beside him was someone who looked like they walked right out of a magazine. He was beautiful, with long black hair falling to his shoulders and skin so flawless he almost looked like a doll. Chan was way out of his zone here.

“Hi, I hope they haven’t scared you off yet. I’m Jeonghan, I reviewed your application.” The literal angel stepped forward, extending a hand to Chan. Chan found himself once again having to will his body to move, quickly shaking Jeonghan’s hand before his body could turn into stone. When he pulled away, the silver-haired man stepped forward as well, doing the same. “This is Seungcheol, he also helped look over it.”

“Thank you for the opportunity,” Chan said quietly, bowing his head again. When he looked back up Seungcheol had a smile on his face, but it went back to neutral fairly quickly as he stepped back.

“No need, we’re all family here. The position has been open for a while, but you caught our eye. We kind of just need someone to help…maintain everything. We’re all pretty busy and all over the place; it’s a job in itself to just do that. You’re very much needed.” Seungcheol smiled again, this time the smile lasting longer than just a few seconds. “We’ll get out of your hair. For the first night, I was going to cook for all of us. Do you have any preferences or allergies?”

Chan was quick to shake his head at that. “I’m not picky at all.”

Seungcheol nodded, snaking a hand around Jeonghan’s waist. Chan couldn’t help but follow the gesture with his eyes, looking back up as the two exited the room. “We’ll head out too! See you at dinner,” Seokmin flashed him another bright smile, reaching forward to take hold of Soonyoung’s hand before he pulled him out of the room. Hansol left silently with them, and before he knew it, Chan was alone in his room again. The silence felt so lonely after all that had happened. Even so, Chan found himself smiling. Maybe he would like it here after all.

“Fuck, don’t move,” Wonwoo groaned, unable to stop Jihoon’s movements at all. Jihoon had decided that the perfect position was to sit in his lap, and Wonwoo was only so strong. Especially considering he couldn’t hold Jihoon still, and he was a squirmer when he was getting bitten. “You’re driving me crazy.”

“Your eyes are normal,” Jihoon whispered, wiping a small trace of blood from Wonwoo’s mouth. He quickly pulled back, both of their heads turning as the door behind them opened. Seungcheol quickly entered, closing the door behind him as he made his way towards the middle of the room.

“Have you guys met Chan yet? He is intoxi-what the hell is happening here?” Seungcheol stopped, frowning at the sight of the cuffs.

“Not whatever you’re thinking. Wonwoo had an extreme reaction to his scent; we had to tie him up,” Jihoon explained.

“And how does that explain your current position?” Seungcheol asked, half amused and half confused.

“His eyes went dark red. We weren’t sure why, but feeding from Jihoon calmed him down,” Minghao filled in, playing with the faint curls from Mingyu’s hair. Seungcheol frowned, glancing over Wonwoo. He seemed almost normal now, his regular tone returning and his dark brown eyes staring back at Seungcheol. Calm.

“The human you hired seems to be a monster magnet. Everyone is attracted to his scent,” Mingyu pointed out, looking up at the alpha. “Even you.”

Seungcheol flushed, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “He does…smell good.”

“Are we sure he’s human? I’ve never seen Wonwoo like this,” Jihoon asked, shifting to stand up off his lap.

“Human through and through. Didn’t sense any magic from him at all, and I could hear his heart,” Seungcheol sighed, crossing his arms. “Will you be okay?” He asked, this time directed towards the vampire chained to the floor.

“Give me a day, and I’ll be fine. Not the first time I wanted to eat someone in the house anyway,” He makes a pointed look, halfway rolling his eyes.

“Well…off topic, but…what should I feed him?” Seungcheol chuckled nervously, rocking on his heels.

“Seriously? You came down here to ask us what to feed a human?” Wonwoo’s face was back to tired in an instant.

“It’s been a while! All I eat is meat, anyway. What’s popular now?”

“On second thought, just leave me down here forever.”

Chapter Text

Only one person was missing. Chan had gone around the table, trying to memorize everyone’s name and face. Seungcheol and Jeonghan, who he swore were dating or at least interested in each other. Seungkwan was easy, a literal sunshine. Seokmin, the cheerful man who always made Chan blush on sight. Hansol, the pale streamer who dressed the most casually out of everyone else. He later found out that both Hansol and Joshua, the med student, were American. Continuing, Minghao and Junhui were also foreigners. Everyone’s Korean was immaculate, so Chan would have never known if they hadn’t randomly switched languages mid-conversation. Soonyoung and Jihoon had sat together when he met Jihoon, the two bickering over the food in front of them in such fast words that Chan couldn’t keep up. Mingyu was tan and buff, but also seemed to zone out during their meeting. It made sense, after all, someone was missing.

Wonwoo. The others described him to Chan, showing him a picture on Seungcheol’s phone so he could recognize him later. Wonwoo was tall and pale, wearing black glasses and styling his dark hair backwards out of his face. Handsome. Everyone was so handsome it made Chan on edge. He was having thoughts he typically didn’t. Did he need to go to the gym? Work on his style? Learn better skincare and makeup routines? Chan tried to shake it out of his head. These were all established people in their individual industries, even Joshua, who Chan had thought was almost on his level, at least education-wise, had a crazy internship experience already under his belt. To be blunt, Chan felt behind.

He had little time to dwell on it; however, his responsibilities came in quickly. The following morning, he woke up early to prepare everyone’s meals ahead of time. Chan never had problems having an odd sleep schedule, and it was finally coming in handy. He had just finished a morning stew out of the groceries he found in the kitchen, knowing from the notes that most of the household preferred protein-heavy meals, when Jeonghan entered. Chan immediately brightened, hurrying over to the counter where he had packed Jeonghan’s breakfast and lunch together.

“Oh! You prepared it already?” Jeonghan asked with a small chuckle, happily accepting the bag as Chan handed it over. “Did you sleep?”

“I wake up easily, but I slept well. This was easy to make, too. I packed it up in case you didn’t have time to eat breakfast here,” Chan explained, rocking back and forth on his heels. Jeonghan smiled, reaching forward to ruffle his hair. The faint touch made Chan stop in place, eyes widening slightly.

“Thank you, I appreciate it. The others should be slowly awake soon. Do you have class today?” He asked, adjusting the bag on his shoulder.

Chan shook his head slowly, blinking as his thoughts slowly came back to him. “I did want to ask, though, which room is Wonwoo’s?”

Jeonghan blinked, glancing down the hallway. “The last one on the right. Why?”

“I made him some soup since he is still not feeling well. I figured I could drop it off later once everyone is awake,” Chan mentioned, turning back towards the kitchen. He hears Jeonghan hum quietly before the jingle of keys makes him look back.

Seungcheol emerged, stretching his arms above his head. “That’s thoughtful of you. Wonwoo doesn’t eat much, though, especially when he is sick.” He warned, leaning forward to plant a soft kiss against Jeonghan’s temple. The act made Chan’s eyes widen again, but he quickly looked away, hopefully, before either of them saw. Definitely dating.

“Got it…I’ll eat it if he doesn’t want it,” Chan forces a smile on his face, slowly pouring the rest of the stew into the last bowl. Seungcheol nods, gesturing towards the door.

“We’ll see you this afternoon. Have a good day!” Jeonghan waved, following the other as the two exited. Once they were gone, Chan took a deep breath, steadying himself on the counter. It was just his first day. His first day in a house filled with incredibly talented individuals, who all happened to be loaded. And hot. Extremely hot.

Chan shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut. Get it together, Chan. You came here for a job, not a boyfriend.

“Joshua?” Chan knocked on the door, holding his ear up to the door. No sign of movement. Now that he thought about it, how was he even supposed to be sure Joshua was inside? Sure, he had seen him go to bed, but he could have left at any point since then. Chan wanted to make sure he was awake and ready for class, but at this rate, he was certain there was only one thing he could do. He opened the door and-

Immediately fell.

Right as he moved to open the door, Joshua had the same idea, causing Chan to fly forward before either of them could react. Chan landed in his chest with a huff, Joshua stumbling backwards a bit but luckily catching him before both of them could fall. Chan straightened up quickly, blushing as he did, Joshua still holding onto both of his arms.

“Oh. You’re awake,” He mumbled, glancing down at his hands. Joshua let him go slowly, an amused smile appearing on his face.

“Good morning,” Joshua stepped forward, Chan following him as he closed the door. “Don’t worry, I’m not as bad as the others make it seem with getting to class.”

Chan laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. “Right, uh, I made you breakfast and lunch! It’s in the kitchen, let me go get it.” He didn’t give Joshua time to respond, being far too flustered before he rushed back down the hall.

Joshua stared after him, laughing to himself before he followed him at a much slower pace. By the time he entered the kitchen, Chan had finished tying the bag with both containers together in a neat little bow, holding it out. Joshua took it slowly before dropping his arm. “Thank you. By the way, would you ever be interested in a study session with me?”

“Studying together? We are different majors,” Chan questioned, cocking his head to the side curiously. It reminded Joshua of a puppy.

“Yeah, but just to do work together. Like accountability buddies,” He explained, which made Chan make a small ‘O’ shape with his mouth.

“Of course! Wooyoung and I try to do that every once in a while, but it always ends in boy gossip…” Chan trailed off, sighing to himself.

“Great, I’ll get your number later. I woke up, but I am late,” Joshua waved, quickly rushing out of the door as Chan waved back, catching his own breath. Two for two. Was Chan easy? No. So why was he so attracted to everyone? It had only been a day, and Chan was imagining his futures with every single man he had laid eyes on. Maybe he needed to go clubbing with Wooyoung more. Wooyoung was always trying to convince him to put his dance skills to use there; now may be the time to take him up on that offer.

Chan slapped the side of his cheeks gently, picking up the small bowl of soup he had prepped. It was simple, just warm enough to soothe the throat, and filled with easy nutrients. He slowly walked down the hall, stopping in front of the last door on the right. It was insanely quiet, not even a sound of a video from someone’s phone playing. He was struggling to get used to that.

Chan knocked cautiously on the door, waiting for a moment. “Wonwoo? It’s Chan, I brought you food.” Quiet. Chan nibbled at the bottom of his lip, glancing down at the soup in his hand. He had met Joshua the day prior with everyone else. The brief encounter made him more confident about opening his door, but Wonwoo was the only one he hadn’t physically met. Before he could dwell too long, the door cracked, revealing a shirtless Wonwoo, dressed only in black sweats. He adjusted his glasses, his hair dripping slightly onto his skin as if he had just showered. Three for three.

“I…N-Nice to meet you, I’m Chan. Um…the boys told me you weren’t feeling well, so I…brought you soup.” If Chan could copy Spiderman in that one movie and slap himself, he would. Never in his life had he fumbled the way he was now, especially not in front of someone who was technically his boss, same age be damned.

Wonwoo glanced at the soup, his face contorting a bit before he nodded, cracking the door open more. “I’m not sure I can stomach it now, but thank you.” He reached forward, gently taking the bowl from Chan before laying it on the desk beside the door. As he did, he stumbled a bit, knocking his leg as he pulled back. Although he didn’t wince, Chan did from just watching the impact.

“Are you okay? Do you need me to dry your hair?” He offered, worried over Wonwoo’s dizzy composure. He must have had a cold for a while, or maybe the lack of food and water was catching up to him. Chan knew whenever he got sick, he was practically bedridden for a week until he recovered.

“No, I-” Wonwoo paused, sharply inhaling. He thinned his lips, closing his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, he glanced towards Chan, taking in his appearance. Chan was dressed casually, already smelling exactly like the mix of their home and the ingredients in the kitchen. His hair was fluffy against his skin, still unstyled. Wonwoo could see faint freckles against his skin, ones that Chan probably didn’t even know existed. On top of that, he smelled delicious. He was the first human Wonwoo had ever been drawn to, and he didn’t just mean for food. Wonwoo was getting an odd desire.

It had first begun when he took Chan home. He had spent the night hovering over him, making sure Chan was breathing and wouldn’t get a visit from the energy vampire that had previously feasted. The entire time was a game to Wonwoo and his body. He not only was getting urges to feed from him, but he was getting urges to touch him. To run his fingers through his hair, to hug him, to simply lie by him instead of standing by his bed as he was. It was even worse as his energy returned, as his scent deepened at the same rate. At this very moment, Chan was Wonwoo’s biggest temptation. He could only resist for so long.

“Can you just dry it a bit with this?” Wonwoo asked, gesturing towards the towel that was lying on the bed. Chan nodded without a second thought, happily bounding over to the object as Wonwoo sat at the desk.

As Chan approached from behind, Wonwoo went rigid. He stayed as still as possible as Chan began to run the towel through his hair, letting the cloth soak up any remaining moisture that was clinging to him. It felt nice, and to Chan, he felt helpful. Chan loved to prove himself useful, a little too much if he admitted. He hated feeling as though he was a burden, and sometimes that meant he overcompensated beyond his means. It also meant little things such as this made him insanely happy, even for someone he had just met. His hand slipped, grazing the back of Wonwoo’s neck gently. As he did, his finger tingled.

At first, it was a faint tingle, but then it grew. It made Chan pull his hand back, frowning to himself. The towel, still in his right hand, paused as it lay on top of Wonwoo’s hair. Chan slowly lowered his hand, resting it against Wonwoo’s bare shoulder as he continued. When he did, the tingle was instantly back, taking over his entire hand. It felt like someone had attached a massage gun to his body, sending ripples through him at the rate of a heartbeat.

Chan pulled his hand back as quickly as he could without being suspicious, dropping the towel back on the desk when he felt like he had done all he could. “Uh- are you not going to dry it all the way?” He asked, hoping that whatever weird sensation had just happened to him wouldn’t get noticed by Wonwoo.

Wonwoo shook his head, Chan noticing his jaw was visibly tensed. “I let it air dry as much as possible,” He explained, looking up from the chair. “Thank you for that, I’ll try to eat the soup in a minute.” His tone was a bit dismissive, so Chan backed away from the desk with a small nod.

“No problem, let me know if you need anything. I’ll be home all day,” Chan whispered the last part, quickly pulling the door behind him as he left.

Outside of Wonwoo’s door, Chan leaned against the wall, closing his eyes with a sharp breath. What was that? It felt like every time he grazed Wonwoo’s skin, his body reacted. Not in the way Chan was used to. Chan was used to being anxious and clammy around people he was attracted to; wasn’t everyone? This was different. Electrifying. As if Wonwoo could shock him, like an open wire. It scared him just as much as it intrigued him.

That was it. The next time Wooyoung invited him out, he would say yes no matter what. Surely, he just needed a night out. A hook-up up maybe, or a date if the right person came along. He was losing his mind from being single for so long, and the sudden surrounding environment of people who all matched his type. That’s what it was. That’s all it was.

Wonwoo stared at the door, not turning his attention. “I want him,” He whispered, turning towards the bed. Seokmin materialized, leaning on his knees as he sat on the bed. He had made himself invisible seconds before Wonwoo had opened the door, watching in amusement as both of the boys fumbled around themselves.

“Care to elaborate? Want to kill him, eat him, kiss him, fuck him, be him?” Seokmin grinned, giggling when Wonwoo side-eyed him.

“He’s so…” Wonwoo sighed, groaning as he placed his hands on his head. “Odd. I’ve never been damned by a human before.”

Seokmin hummed, staring at the door as he did. The shadow in front of it moved, alerting him that Chan had finally left. “Maybe he is a lure born. That would explain why everyone is so attracted to his scent.”

Wonwoo shook his head, releasing it from his hands. “Seungcheol did a thorough background check. He isn’t in contact with his parents, but they are well-known in the construction industry. He would have found out if either of them had magic in their blood to create a lure born.” A lure born was a rare occurrence for mankind. Two things needed to be true. The person had to be human, and they had to be born to non-occults who happened to have magic in their blood. It’s a symptom of hybrids, those who weren’t born with their parents’ abilities, but kept their magic within them instead.

“Well, you didn’t answer my question. I’d be glad to help,” Seokmin suddenly appeared in front of Wonwoo, floating until he wiggled into his lap, much to Wonwoo’s dismay.

“I don’t know. All that I know is it takes all of my self-control and focus around him, and even now his scent is maddening,” Wonwoo admits, letting his hands rest at Seokmin’s waist. Seokmin grinned, a familiar glint appearing in his eyes.

“Need a distraction?” He asked, his voice becoming a whisper. Wonwoo inhaled, holding his eyes as Seokmin teased his hand against his bare skin, both of their contact cold. Fuck it.

“Yeah.”

Chapter Text

Chan was cold. He shifted, groaning as he pulled himself up. His body was heavy, weighed down. As Chan looked down, he went stiff. His body was covered in a weird black goo, the substance moving and twisting around his body as if it were alive. It started at his feet, twisting up slowly as it made its way towards his arms. Chan panicked, but no matter how much he tried, he couldn’t run away. His feet were firmly planted on the ground.

“What…” Chan trailed off, trying to keep himself from panicking as he reached down to grab his leg, tugging. It did nothing. The substance attached itself to his arm, pulling him back down towards the ground. As he fell, he braced himself for the impact, squeezing his eyes shut. It never came.

Chan woke up to the sound of his ringtone going off, his forehead glistening with a faint sheen of sweat. He groaned, fumbling around his bed until he could find his phone, holding it up to his ear.

“Dude, you’re sleeping and it’s like eight pm?” Wooyoung’s voice crackled on the other line. Chan rolled his eyes, sighing.

“Nap, thank you very much. What’s up?” He asked, slowly sitting up as he rubbed his eyes.

“San is throwing a party, wanted to see if you wanna go together,” Wooyoung continued.

“San…hot frat boy San?” Chan asked, swinging his legs off the bed. He had already told himself he wouldn’t say no, so now he needed to find an outfit.

“Cute, sexy, funny, hot frat boy San,” Wooyoung’s smile was so obvious on the other side that Chan could practically hear it.

“Yeah, yeah…I’ll start getting ready. When are we meeting?” Chan stretched his arms above his head, sighing in relief as some slight tension left his body.

“Oh, my god! You’re for real coming?” Wooyoung gasped, shocked. Chan couldn’t blame him. Typically, Chan was working when Wooyoung would go party or clubbing, sometimes swinging by Chan’s old job to see him.

“Yeah, I need to burn some stress. You think the mesh crop top is appropriate?” Chan asked, shuffling through his clothes that were still loosely packed in duffel bags on the floor.

“Oh, for sure! Let me go get dressed-wait. FaceTime me!”

“Jun! Are you gonna finish that?” Hansol asked, leaning backward over the couch. Jun jumped, somehow not hearing him being creeped up on. He was holding his own small, packed dinner, one of the twelve packaged dinners that had been sitting in the fridge.

“Did you…not eat yours?” Jun asked, frowning as he set his chopsticks back down inside. Hansol got a sheepish smile on his face, making Jun roll his eyes half heartedly. “Insatiable. Here,” He handed the box over, smiling in amusement as Hansol hurried to sit the right way on the couch, taking the container.

“He’s such a good cook,” Hansol mumbled, his words muffled by the food in his mouth.

“Thank you,” Chan’s voice makes both of them jump, their heads swiveling back towards the entrance of the hall where he stood. Chan was wearing a mesh see-through crop top, tight black ripped jeans, Doc Martens, and a dainty silver necklace. It made Hansol almost choke, Jun’s eyes widening.

“Where…Are you…?” Jun trailed off, unable to get a question out properly. Chan smiled, not realizing what was happening.

“I got invited to a party! Don’t worry, I’ll be back in time to cook breakfast for everyone in the morning. I’m glad you like dinner,” He made a small noise of happiness, quickly walking past the two as he made his way towards the front door. Hansol blinked after him, mouth almost wide open. Jun reached over, forcing his jaw back up.

“You will not do what you’re thinking of doing right now,” Jun lightly scolded, leaning back into the couch as he crossed his legs. Hansol whined, turning back towards Jun once Chan was out of his sight.

“But-” Hansol protested.

“No buts. It’s not right,” Jun mentioned, locking eyes with him.

“What if he’s in danger?” Hansol asked, quirking his head to the side.

“Danger?” Seokmin materialized, once again making the two practically jump out of their skin.

“GEEZ! Breathe or something, Min!” Hansol complained, clutching the bowl for dear life. Seokmin laughed, turning to look out the window as Chan walked down the driveway, beelining towards a car that awaited him.

“Han is thinking of stealing someone’s face again?” Seokmin asked as he turned back, causing Jun to nod. “Yeah, probably not cool.” Hansol groaned, throwing his head back. “Plus, did you see that outfit? He’s totally gonna get picked up by someone.”

Jun froze, Hansol’s head slowly turning in his direction. “You’re considering it.” Hansol accuses, pointing at him.

“No, still wrong. Stop stealing people’s faces to investigate,” Jun shakes his head, ignoring Seokmin’s gleeful smile. “And you, stop sneaking up on us. You might be dead, but we aren’t.”

“Kill joy…”

“It’s just a regular house party, Chan,” Wooyoung mentioned, reaching over to place his hand over his best friend’s knee. It had been bouncing for practically the entire ride, and at a certain point, he was getting worried.

“I…I know, but…Can I be honest?” Chan asked, glancing at him. He was whispering, not wanting their driver to hear him. They had chosen not to drive themselves, just in case the night ended with one too many drinks. When Wooyoung nodded, Chan continued. “I’ve been…attracted to my bosses. Like all of them. I know we are kinda the same age, or maybe a few of them are older than me, I’m not sure, but it’s bad.”

“Wait, really? Are any of them single?” Wooyoung asked, perking up.

“That’s not the point! I can’t hook up or date my bosses, Woo,” Chan whined.

“Why not? There are twelve of them. I pick you, Pikachu?” Wooyoung laughed as Chan nudged him, not amused by his jokes. “Okay, fine. So what? You need a distraction or something? I can see if San knows anyone who can set you up if you need an assist.”

Chan shakes his head as the car stops, thanking the driver quietly as the two get out. San’s house was relatively still big, but far more modest. It was only one floor, a regular two-bedroom home he was renting with his friend Jongho. Luckily for them, they both liked to party, so this was Chan’s second time over. “I can figure it out. Last time, there were definitely people who were my type after all.”

Wooyoung shrugged, taking hold of Chan’s hand as he guided them both towards the house. It was just finally feeling like they were there as they stepped inside, the music that wasn’t able to be heard from outside instantly blasting with the door opening. All the lights were off, the room lit by LED lights and strobe lights on the ground, rotating colors. Red cups already littered the floor, dozens of bodies dancing to San’s infamous playlist. Seriously, Chan didn’t understand how San knew all these people. Maybe he didn’t. “I’m gonna go find Sannie. Do you want to stay with me?” Wooyoung asked, turning towards Chan.

Chan shook his head, letting Wooyoung head into the crowd. Whenever those two were together, Wooyoung became insufferable for him. Chan could only handle his friend flirting in front of him for so long before he began to feel unbearably single. Plus, Chan didn’t have time to tell him the full story of why he was nervous. Chan did need a distraction, a sexual one. Luckily for Chan, his type was yes. Chan never had a physical type he was drawn towards; he found all kinds of people attractive. It came in handy in times like this, when he was just extremely horny and wanted to get laid in any kind of capacity.

However, Chan also had anxiety. So, was he going to approach someone first? Absolutely not. Laughable even. Instead, he made his way towards the kitchen, glancing at the island. There were tons of different alcohols waiting on the sleek marble, both opened and unopened. Chan sighed, not really drinking enough to know what he wanted. He didn’t want to get drunk, just a faint buzz to help his confidence. He reaches forward, grabbing the nearest silver tequila before pouring two shots' worth into a cup, downing it instantly afterwards. He exhales as the warmth spreads through his body, heading back to the living room with a small pep in his step.

From the corner of his eye, as he danced, he recognized some people. A known couple in his department that were constantly getting yelled at for PDA, Yeosang (who Chan knew had tons of admirers), his name twin Christopher Chan (another foreign exchange student), and even saw Wooyoung find San, San’s arm around his waist as he talked to a girl in front of him. Chan closed his eyes, letting himself get lost in the music to pass the time, halfway forgetting everything as he did. This was always his favorite part of a night out, when he got to let loose and let music take over his body. He knew he looked good doing it, too. Chan had his moments when he was insecure, but he was arguably the most attractive when he was dancing. Anyone who thought otherwise could argue with a wall.

Chan didn’t know how long he was dancing before he felt a hand press against his back, hesitant. Chan didn’t pull away, keeping his eyes closed as he continued to dance. The person behind him took that as a sign, letting their hand stay until Chan was against their back. Chan could tell the person was taller than him, could feel it in the way their bodies were moving against each other. He let himself open his eyes after a few seconds, turning around to look up at the stranger.

It wasn’t someone he had met before. He had dark black hair, styled almost as if he were Wolverine. A piercing against his eyebrow stood out to Chan, as well as his dark, smoky makeup around his eyes. His gaze was intense, looking like he wanted to eat Chan alive. Sexy. The man was downright sexy. To make matters worse, his free hand that held a red cup was littered in rings, one of Chan’s weaknesses. Bingo folks, Chan had a winner.

“Hello,” Chan said with a small smile, fully turning his body now to face him. He let the stranger pull him forward, instinctively wrapping his arms around his neck as he did. The stranger smiled at that, leaning his head down a bit to help Chan hear him.

“Hello,” He copied, making Chan shudder a bit. His voice was deep, with a bit of a rasp to it. Whether that was because of the environment they were in or if it was always like that, he wasn’t sure. “I’m Mingi. What’s your name?”

“Chan,” He responded immediately, feeling himself get lost in the other’s eyes. He felt drawn in, as if Mingi was a drug he was addicted to. “Why’d you come find me, Mingi?” Chan let the other’s name drip off his tongue, catching the way his gaze darkened as he did.

“You…” Mingi let his gaze drop, his hand slipping lower down Chan’s back. “You are very seductive when you dance.” He admitted.

Chan giggled, biting at the bottom of his lip. That was the whole point, so he was amused that it worked so well. “Have you been to a Choi party before?” Mingi shook his head. “Do you want to go somewhere quieter?”

Mingi quirked an eye up, surprised. “Forward, huh?” Chan shrugged, not as shy as before. Mingi was hot. What could he say? “Lead the way, beautiful.”

Chan smiled, pulling away briefly before taking Mingi’s free hand in his own, pulling him out of the crowd. There was a perk to being Wooyoung’s friend at a Choi party. Wooyoung and San weren’t official yet, but he allowed both of them into his bedroom with no questions asked. Everyone else knew it was an unspoken rule that San would rip their head off if they went inside, but because of the amount of pouting Wooyoung had done, Chan got access too. He hadn’t used it, feeling too shy to, but now was the perfect opportunity. Specifically, the bathroom in San’s room, where Chan pulled Mingi inside.

He shut the door behind them once Mingi came in, locking it. Chan already got a sense of adrenaline from them being in public, but someone walking in on them would be a bit too much for him at that very moment.

“Do you bring everyone here, or am I lucky?” Mingi asked, leaning against the door.

“I could ask the same question,” Chan countered, leaning back into him. He loved their height difference, loved being able to look up at him. Mingi raised his hand, cupping the side of his face.

“Nah, you don’t have to answer. I’m lucky,” Mingi smirked, his eyes dropping to Chan’s lips. “Can I?”

Chan might melt. He nodded, and within the next second, Mingi leaned forward, closing the gap between them. He could taste a faint bit of bourbon against his lips, making him groan into the kiss as Mingi stood up straight, both of his hands holding Chan’s face in place. Chan let his eyes flutter close, Mingi taking control of the kiss. His lips parted, Mingi somehow being gentle and rough as he deepened the kiss, dropping his hands almost immediately afterwards.

Chan felt Mingi’s hands creep down, trailing circles into his exposed back before they stopped at the crook of his pants. He squeaked when Mingi squeezed his ass, accidentally pulling away from the kiss with a large inhale. Mingi chuckled, his eyes low as he pulled back. Chan wasn’t sure what he looked like, but he was certain that by now he was flushed. His eyes were so dazed he wasn’t sure they would focus enough to look in the mirror, and he didn’t have enough time to think about that before Mingi dropped to his knees.

Chan’s eyes widened, gasping when he was pushed against the door, hitting it with a small thud. “Y-You don’t have to-” He tried to start, a startled moan escaping his lips when Mingi’s hand grazed the front of his pants. He hadn’t even realized how turned on he was, but now that Mingi had touched him once, it was painfully obvious.

“Oh, trust me, this brings me more pleasure than anything. If you want me to,” Mingi stopped his hand, looking up at Chan for confirmation. Chan used the time to clear his head, catching his breath fully. Yes. No doubt about it. Chan blushed, nodding quickly before closing his eyes. He could hear Mingi laugh under his breath before his zipper went down, Mingi pulling his tight jeans down in the next movement.

Chan got the courage to open his eyes again, and he wasn’t sure if it was a blessing or a curse. Mingi leaned forward, kissing the front of his underwear before placing a wide open kiss against it. The act looked so dirty from Chan’s angle, he couldn’t help but groan, a small whine escaping his lips. Mingi’s lips crooked into a smile, tugging at Chan’s waistband before he tugged them down his legs as well. Chan gasped again as the cold air hit him, looking up towards the ceiling.

“Wow, pretty here too,” Mingi complimented, wrapping his hand around the base of Chan’s cock. Chan felt the back of his neck flush at his words, opening his mouth to protest, but all of his words were lost upon Mingi licking the tip, making a small noise as if Chan was delicious. Mingi’s head dipped, his lips wrapping around Chan before he took him completely down his throat, Chan’s body stiffening. Chan was average, but Mingi was so fast that he had no time at all to react before he was bobbing his head, twirling his tongue.

“A-Ah, fuck!” Chan keened, throwing his head back a bit too roughly. It hit the wooden door, making him wince slightly. Mingi’s hands were on him again, holding his hips in place that he hadn’t even realized were arched so far away from the door. Chan was close to falling. Chan moaned loudly, luckily, halfway drowned out by the music playing in the hall. Suddenly, flashes of moments played in his head before he could stop himself.

Wonwoo’s deep voice, his bare chest. Seokmin’s strong grip whenever he would see Chan, immediately pulling him into a tight embrace. Hansol and his never-ending collection of sweatpants. Mingyu’s arms and constant flexing, especially the previous day when Chan had caught him after a workout. The boy’s faces flashed in his mind one by one, and it was too much. He tried to pull Mingi off, feeling himself get closer and closer, his voice rising in pitch, but Mingi didn’t let him. The noise was obscene, spit spilling out from the bottom of Mingi’s lips. One tease against the top of his tip was too much for Chan, and his mouth fell all the way open as he came down Mingi’s throat, his right hand gripping at the top of Mingi’s hair.

Mingi didn’t let him go even as his orgasm passed, taking him completely in once again before he tightened his lips, pulling off with a harsh pop, swallowing all of Chan’s cum with ease. He looked satisfied with himself, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand as he stood up. Chan’s chest was rising and falling quickly as Mingi kept his eye contact, helping him pull his slightly wet boxers up along with his pants. Chan winced at the friction, letting Mingi fumble with his zipper and button easily.

When Chan came down, he reached forward, intending to return the favor, but Mingi stopped his wrist. “It’s okay,” He said, his voice even raspier now. “I get pleasure from giving to others,” Mingi admitted, lifting Chan’s hand to his lips. Chan held his breath, watching as Mingi kissed the back of his hand with a faint smile. “Thank you for the fun, you’ll see me around.”

Chan nodded, feeling his heart thud in his chest. They took a moment, fixing each other’s hair in the bathroom mirror before leaving the room, Chan pulling the door back as tightly as it had been before. Suddenly, the party was far more overwhelming, especially with the buzz of his previous alcohol wearing off. Mingi waved as he left back into the crowd, Chan waving as well before he yelped, a hand pulling him towards them.

Wooyoung laughed loudly as Chan’s body hit his chest, his voice immediately giving away that he was a bit drunk. “Yeah! Goooo Channie!” He cheered, holding his cup in the air. From the side, San was watching them, shaking his head a bit. That was something they could agree on. “My bestie got some, whoop whoop!”

“Woo, keep your voice down!” Chan complained, whirling himself around to cover Wooyoung’s mouth. The other kept talking, even with his hand over his mouth, but he wasn’t able to understand. He let his hand drop eventually, Wooyoung’s yap escaping.

“Well, did it work? I think it worked. Oh my god, that guy was so hot. He won’t be on the market for long. Think Sannie would like him? Wait, do you still want to fuck-” Chan slapped his hand back over Wooyoung’s mouth, cutting him off.

“Yeah, yeah. Let’s go dance, okay?” Chan tried to distract him, sighing in relief when Wooyoung cheered, dragging him back towards the living room.

Chan easily lost himself in the dancing again, but this time he wasn’t able to keep his mind relaxed. He kept thinking about the men at home, well, his job. It wasn’t his home. He had come from thinking about them. Even Mingi’s sexiness wasn’t enough. He was still thirsting over random men he had only known for a week. Chan was so screwed.

Chapter Text

“Did a train hit you?” A voice pulled Chan out of his own thoughts, making him look up. He was in class, well, class had long ended. He had been attempting to study, but the session turned more into him zoning out into space rather than actually getting any work done. Their newest assignment was like a smack to his system.

Choreograph a dance that represents the strongest emotion in your life at the moment.

What was the strongest emotion in Chan’s life right now? If you had asked him this question a few weeks ago, his answer would have easily been sadness. He didn’t have a sad life by any means, but he still felt that emotion the most. It had its moments when it would take the wheel of his life, not letting go for days on end. Now, however, lust. Want. Obsession. Chan felt like he was losing his mind.

“Yeosang?” Chan questioned, sitting up at the sight of the fresh blonde. He almost didn’t recognize him. Yeosang smiled, leaning over the desk to stare at Chan’s agenda. His hair was shoulder-length now, and he had dark blue contacts that worked really well with the look. He was wearing a light cream cardigan over a tighter brown tank top. Chan could feel his mouth run dry. No wonder Yeosang was so popular; he was gorgeous.

“I was passing by, I was trying to find San. He usually hangs around here, but no luck,” Yeosang pulled back, sitting in the chair directly in front of the desk. “Whatcha doing?”

Chan groaned, leaning further back while running a hand against his face. “I was trying to figure out what to do for our next assignment. I mean, I know what to do, but I don’t have the confidence to do it.”

Yeosang frowned, quirking his head to the side in confusion. He reached forward, picking up the agenda. The assignment was written in his notes beside the due date. “An emotion you’ve been feeling? Well, what emotion is it?” Yeosang asks, looking up.

“…Lust,” Chan whispered. Yeosang didn’t hear him, making a small noise in confusion again, causing Chan to repeat himself. “Lust, desire, that kind of thing.”

“Oh?” Yeosang grins, placing the agenda down. “Why don’t you have the confidence to do that? Is it because it would be sensual?”

“It…could be. For me, it almost feels heavy to even think about. I have a crush I shouldn’t have, and I haven’t been able to shake it,” Chan explains, leaning forward on the desk to rest his chin on the edge.

“Well…” Yeosang hums, crossing his legs. “You could make it an emotional portrayal of lust rather than a sexual one? I don’t know if that makes sense, but if you’re going down the forbidden love route, you could find a song that is a bit dramatic. I know a producer, if you want to collaborate with him for extra brownie points.”

“How do you know a producer?” Chan asked, looking up at him.

“I modeled for his boyfriend’s makeup company, and then kinda networked there.” Yeosang cupped his face, tapping his cheeks teasingly. Chan smiled, not able to hold it in. Of course he did. “Either way, I could call him and ask if he would be willing to work with you. I know that the company loves to pick up new talent through networking and things, to filter out people who don’t have passion and are only in the industry for the money. He would love you.”

Chan nods, sitting up. He didn’t see why not. It was out of his comfort zone for sure, but hell, it was a great opportunity. “Yeah, thanks, Yeosang. I appreciate it.”

Chan quickly did not appreciate it. A few days passed after the initial conversation he had with Yeosang, and on his day off, Yeosang scheduled a meeting with Chan and the producer to meet. Lucky for Chan’s nerves, Yeosang agreed to come with him on the initial meeting to introduce the two of them. Chan had been stuck on what to wear, so he went with a casual, dressy button-up that was slightly oversized so it would flow off his body and black jeans. Yeosang had told him he didn’t have to dress up, but he was meeting someone important in the industry he wanted to go into, so he felt the need to.

Now he wanted to kick himself. When he had arrived, the building was huge. It was a skyscraper, with the words S.C. ENT on the front of it. When Yeosang casually mentioned knowing a producer, he thought it would be someone underground. Someone who was known, but maybe had a lot of room to grow. They were college kids for crying out loud. Yet, no, once again he underestimated him. S.C. ENT, a.k.a. one of the largest entertainment companies around the area, and still growing. To make matters worse, Yeosang strolled in like he owned the place.

It was obvious he had been there a few times, as the check-in desk personnel all smiled at his approach. It was easy to get badges and access to the elevators, and Chan was trying not to kick himself and run out of the building screaming. His father had always emphasized the importance of knowing the right people and how far it could take him. Sure, he hadn’t meant it in this context or industry; he actually condemned everything Chan was interested in, but it had been useful advice.

As if the whole experience couldn’t get worse, when Yeosang and Chan reached the office their meeting was in, Chan felt his blood run cold. There were a few random people Chan didn’t recognize speaking with the individual sitting in the center of the room, but Chan paid them no mind. Sitting in the chair, oblivious to their presence for now, was Jihoon. Jihoon was the producer Yeosang knew? Did the world hate him? There was no way he could accept the collaboration. For one, he was already working for Jihoon in his own home. For two, the whole project revolved around his inappropriate feelings of everyone in the house Jihoon lived in, including Jihoon. Like, oh, yes, dear Jihoon, please help lonely Chan produce a song that conveys just how badly he wants to be dating one of your many roommates. The cherry on top of the cake was Yeosang’s words before this day. He met Jihoon because of his boyfriend. He was taken.

Yeosang took Chan’s hand in his own when he took too long to move, leading them both into the office despite Chan’s body protesting every step he was taking. Eventually, the three men speaking to Jihoon stood from the couch, bowing as they took their leave. It was that very moment that Jihoon finally turned his attention from the previous crowd, locking eyes with the two boys in front of him instead. Chan could feel himself wince at Jihoon’s reaction, watching as his eyes went wide.

“Chan? What are you doing here?” Jihoon asked, standing from the desk.

“Huh?” Yeosang asked, looking between the two. “You already know each other?”

Before Chan could speak, not that he even trusted that he could, Jihoon interjected. “Yes, he’s living with us,” Jihoon explained. Chan wasn’t sure why he didn’t mention he was working for them, or maybe he was overthinking again.

“Really? That’s perfect! I don’t even have to introduce you two,” Yeosang smiled, perking up when Jihoon turned his attention to him momentarily. “This is my friend who needed help with his dance assignment.”

Jihoon smiled, blinking as he processed for a moment. “Ah. I half expected you to bring the person you brought during Jeonghan’s event. Sorry, that’s why I was so shocked.”

“Oh, Jongho? He’s more into singing than dancing, if I am being honest. I was trying to convince him to get into modeling, he has the perfect build for it,” Yeosang sighed, his shoulders dropping a bit. “Jeonghan even extended an invitation last time.”

Pause. Chan’s brain was starting to hurt. The two continued talking for a few minutes, but Chan felt himself zoning out. He didn’t quite understand what was happening. Jihoon is a producer for a large entertainment company. Jeonghan is the CEO of a makeup company? Jihoon and Jeonghan are dating? He had got it wrong?

“Chan,” Yeosang’s voice once again snapped him out of his thoughts, Chan whipping his head in his direction. “I was just saying I’ll leave you two to talk. I’ll text you, okay?” He asked, squeezing Chan’s hand slightly. Chan nodded, still not able to form words even as Yeosang gave him a soft smile, turning to leave.

Chan felt himself exhale heavily as the doors closed behind them, Jihoon watching him carefully. It was like a switch flipped in his head, suddenly making him a functioning human being again as he turned back towards Jihoon.

“S-Sorry! I just wasn’t expecting to see you here,” Chan apologized quickly, dipping his head. Jihoon chuckled; it was almost too low for Chan to register it.

“I could say the same,” He admitted, gesturing towards the seat in front of his desk as he sat down. He waited until Chan sat down to speak again. “You need help with a dance assignment?”

“Well…it would be going beyond what the assignment asks. I was struggling to find a song that showcases the emotion I wanted to portray, so my inspiration was kind of nonexistent. That’s why Yeosang suggested working with you,” Chan tried to explain, holding his hands in his lap.

Jihoon nodded, humming in understanding. “He gave me an overview of the assignment in his message, but he didn’t tell me what you wanted to do. What emotion did you want help to produce?”

Chan was fucked. Everything in his life was just like some sick joke at this point. Maybe he was on a prank show? What would you do? The cameras needed to expose themselves immediately. Chan coughed, attempting to cover it up by clearing his throat. “…Lust.” He forced out. He wasn’t sure how Jihoon heard him; he had spoken so quietly. He could tell he did, though, as his eyes immediately appeared to thin, almost growing darker before his very eyes.

“That’s the emotion you’ve been feeling lately?” Jihoon asked, crossing his legs behind the desk. “Did anything happen?”

Chan swallowed, looking down at his lap. He had to be honest, right? “Um…well, I guess the best way to explain it would be that I developed a crush? But…I can’t really act on it. So it’s kind of turning into a lust and desire situation. I thought that would be best for the assignment.”

Jihoon inhaled, rubbing the top of his forehead. “I see. Why can’t you act on it?”

“They’re already taken,” Chan explained. Jihoon cocked his head to the side, almost as if he didn’t quite get it.

“Why is that a problem?” He asked. Chan blinked, unsure of what to say. What was he suggesting? That Chan homewreck? He definitely couldn’t do that-hell-it was Jihoon’s home that would be wrecked.

“I-He uh-Well-” Chan stuttered, unable to form words for the third time in such a short period of time. “I’m sorry?”

Jihoon leaned back in his chair, shrugging. “Sorry, it might be someone who only wants one partner. I’m in a poly relationship, so sometimes I forget that isn’t the norm for everyone.” He admits, making Chan’s eyes widen.

“Huh?!” Chan couldn’t stop his outburst, making Jihoon jump at the sudden noise change. “Sorry! Sorry, I just didn’t know…who are you dating?”

Jihoon blinked, appalled. “Wait. You didn’t know?”

“Know what?” Chan asked.

Jihoon sighed, leaning forward to hold his head in his hands. “I swear…Jeonghan and Seungcheol are useless.” He muttered to himself. For a few moments, it appeared Jihoon was thinking, staring at the top of his desk. Chan shifted uncomfortably, not able to read how the conversation was going. Had he said something wrong? Then, Jihoon straightened up again, holding his hands out. He beckoned forward, silently asking Chan to hold on.

Chan moved slowly, ignoring the rush of warmth that spread to his body the moment Jihoon held his hands. Now was not the time.

“Chan, we are all in a relationship,” Jihoon said. Chan didn’t say anything, staring back at Jihoon with a blank stare. “Everyone in the house. We are all dating.”

“Huh?!” Chan repeated, almost accidentally letting go of Jihoon’s hands. Jihoon smiled, finding his reaction cute.

“I thought it was obvious, especially with how long you have been around us now. Some of them are insufferable with their flirting. I’m not much of a physical touch person myself, unless I like the person, but the others are very clingy, kind of all the time. I also thought one of them would have told you,” Jihoon explained, slowly letting go of Chan’s hands. He hesitated as he did, but forced his hands back to rest on the desk. “Are you okay with that?”

“Wait…so you have a closed poly relationship? Like, everyone in the house?” Chan asked, trying to clarify his foggy thoughts, which were trying to understand what was happening. Not only did he not know how to feel about the situation, but this made his feelings even worse. Not only was he thirsting for multiple men at once, but the chance of them being single was now officially off the table.

“I wouldn’t say closed, but I would say exclusive. We all date each other, so if someone enters the relationship, we all like them and want them to like all of us back,” Jihoon explained. Chan nods, looking down at his lap. He felt like a wilted flower. If anything, this might have been information overload. Sure, he had noticed the lingering touches, cuddle sessions, and special care between the group. He had just figured that was because they were close. Maybe he was dense. “Would you ever try it?”

Chan looked up, feeling his heart skip a beat. “Sorry?”

“Dating multiple people, would you try it?” Jihoon asked, twirling a pen in his hand. When had he even picked that up?

“M-Maybe?” Chan was going to kick himself if he stuttered one more time.

“You can kick me if this is too personal, but your crush is someone in the house?” Jihoon asked him, making his blood run cold. He was dead. He was so dead. Did Jihoon see right through him? Had he been obvious? Chan couldn’t answer. A long, awkward silence took over them.

Jihoon watched as Chan squirmed in his chair, a heat spreading across his cheeks and towards his ears. Right before he was about to speak again, trying to take his words back, Chan suddenly bowed his head, almost hitting it on the desk.

“I’m so sorry! I know it’s totally inappropriate, and I hope I haven’t made any of you uncomfortable, but it just hasn’t left my mind since I came to work for you all! I tried to forget about it and go out, but that only made it worse and-” Chan was quickly beginning to ramble, and Jihoon had to snap himself out of his shock to reach forward, pushing Chan’s shoulders up quickly.

“Chan! It’s okay- I promise it’s okay,” Jihoon breathed out, watching as Chan’s chest moved in and out with his heavy breathing. “I…can I ask who it is?” No. No, Jihoon, you cannot ask who it is. That was even more embarrassing. There was no way Chan was going to be able to admit that out loud today. “Seokmin?” Chan didn’t move. “Seungcheol?” He tried again. Nothing. “Hansol?”

He wasn’t getting anywhere, and Chan’s body language didn’t change. “All of us?” Chan stiffened. Jihoon’s eyes widened, and he sat back in his chair. It was clear Chan was struggling with himself, with the processing of his emotions, and the new situation he found himself in. Jihoon wasn’t sure how much he could push him before the dance student broke into a pile of mush in front of him.

“Chan, that’s okay. Like I said, we are open if we all like the person,” Jihoon tried to coax him to relax, and it kind of worked. At least, it allowed Chan to look at him again, finally.

“What do you mean?” Chan asked, his voice so quiet it almost sounded like a mouse was speaking to him rather than a person.

“You should work on your listening skills,” Jihoon joked, trying to lighten the mood. “I don’t like touching people, unless I like them. What do you think that means?” For a moment, Chan didn’t react. Jihoon watched as the light flicked on inside his head, Chan’s eyes widening as he caught his eyes in shock. He could practically hear his panicked thoughts, and he could definitely hear his heartbeat increase.

“Oh-” Chan cut himself off, biting at the bottom of his lip. He was dreaming. There was no way any of this was real. Even though he was trying to convince himself that it was the truth, he felt the pain as his teeth dug into his lip. He could feel the blood rush into his mouth, could hear the ticking sound of the clock, and his own breathing. The chair beneath him, the leftover heat of Jihoon’s hands on his hands and shoulders. Oh fuck.

He was so screwed.

Chapter Text

“BACK UP!” Wooyoung yelled, holding his hand out dramatically. Chan paused, freezing in their hallway. “You have tea, spill.” Wooyoung dropped his hand, crossing his arms instead. Chan’s eyes widened, resisting the urge to gape in his direction. He had been in their apartment for literally negative two seconds before he was stopped, and he wasn’t even sure how that was long enough for Wooyoung to tell something was up with him.

Truth be told, a lot was up with him. His head was reeling from the past few hours, and since he was off the next day, he came back to the apartment rather than the mansion. Sure, the mansion had been closer to where he was, but after that conversation, Chan needed a break from all the attractive faces that house held. Now, another attractive face was bothering him: his best friend.

“If you want the whole story, I need a shot and a five-minute hug session,” Chan mumbled the last part, dropping his bag on the floor as he entered his room. Wooyoung gasped, rushing past him towards the kitchen. Chan waited patiently for him on the bed, sitting with his legs crossed. After a few moments, Wooyoung returned, holding a few bottles in his hands and balancing two shot glasses in his hands.

“Ok, I have tequila, vodka, and whiskey. You pick the poison, and spill!”

Flashback

Chan had thought surely he was imagining things. Or rather, he was sure he would rather be imagining things. It would make far more sense to him if he were being delusional rather than Jihoon actually meaning what he thought he meant. After all, all he had done was take his hands into his. At home, Jihoon seemed almost to avoid him in a sense. They had spoken little outside of Chan’s responsibilities, and even though it wasn’t awkward or anything, Chan couldn’t comprehend how Jihoon could return his attraction from it, especially with the people he surrounds himself with.

“You’re thinking too hard,” Jihoon spoke up, watching the wheels turning in Chan’s head. It was funny to him how bewildered the human looked; it was a new facial expression he had never seen before. Chan couldn’t speak, even though he wanted to. He tried to question what the other meant, but the words weren’t forming on his tongue. “Well, here, how about this?”

Jihoon stood up, closing the distance between them as he walked around the desk. He gestured for Chan’s hand, waiting to see if he would extend it. Chan hesitated but extended it towards him, allowing Jihoon to take his hand in his own. Jihoon deliberately moved slowly, waiting to see if, at any point, Chan would stop him. When he didn’t, he moved his hand towards his lips, gently kissing the top of it. Chan blushed instantly, resisting the urge to pull his hand away out of shyness. Jihoon’s touch sent a rush of heat through his body, a sense of attraction and excitement he hadn’t felt in a while.

“If…and no pressure, IF you’d like…I could court you. Hit on you? Whichever verbiage you prefer, really. Further, if you’d like, I can tell the others as well, or it can remain just between us. Warning, though, if I tell the others, they will also flirt with you.” Jihoon warned, slowly lowering his hand, but still holding it. He was warm, somehow warmer than Chan was at the moment. Chan was certain that if his body could showcase his temperature, he would look like a fire at this rate.

“But you…said…” Chan started, slowly gaining his voice back. “You said you all only pursue others whom everyone likes.”

Jihoon scoffed, resisting the urge to laugh at his words. “Chan, respectfully, everyone wanted you the moment you entered the house. It’s a bit concerning, really. I’m thinking of signing everyone up for extensive therapy before they corrupt Seungkwan’s pure brain.” He huffed, making his cheeks poke out in a way that Chan found adorable. It relaxed him a bit, enough to make him let out a small giggle despite still feeling shy. “But yes, they’re all interested, I’m sure. You can consent to our courting, or you can tell me to screw off; either way, our relationship and your job are not affected, I promise.”

Realistically, Chan knew that wasn’t the case. Unless Chan developed superpowers overnight, he would never forget this conversation, especially because he was the reason the conversation began. Chan hadn’t considered dating them a possibility. He certainly hadn’t considered dating ALL of them a possibility. Chan didn’t know what that would entail, and to be honest, that gave him anxiety. If he got heartbroken, would it hurt way worse if he was dating multiple people? Was he setting himself up for failure? Chan wanted to be selfish for once, though. He didn’t want to turn Jihoon down; that wasn’t even on his mind, despite how many things were running through his mind.

“Can you explain what would happen? I just, I guess, have anxiety about things I can’t predict,” Chan asked, his voice quiet. Jihoon gave him a soft smile, a smile that was so soft he was certain he would melt in the chair before he could even get an answer.

“I’d talk to everyone, explain what we talked about here, and then we would all talk as a group about everyone’s boundaries. You can consider it a talking stage trial period. Everyone flirts differently, for example, Hansol kind of becomes a puppy and likes to do activities together, and Wonwoo just randomly gives you things he knows you like or need. But yeah, everyone would court you essentially, and if you want to be in a relationship with us after that, then we go from there,” Jihoon did his best to explain things, but it was hard. A lot of their behavior was unexplainable.

“What if you guys don’t want me?” Chan asked, making Jihoon raise an eyebrow.

“I…highly doubt that would happen,” Jihoon responded. Chan frowned, feeling slightly self-conscious.

“If it did?” He asked, ignoring the small crack in his voice.

Jihoon sighed, rubbing the top of Chan’s hand. “If it did…we’re still here. We just didn’t work out romantically, but you wouldn’t be abandoned. So there’s no worry there, alright?” Chan nodded, attempting to smile back. He could do this, or at least he hoped he could.

End of flashback

“You…wait a damn minute,” Wooyoung squeezed his eyes shut, setting the shot glass he had in his hands down. He rubbed his forehead with his free hand, inhaling deeply. “You got a fancy ass rich job, get to live in this nice ass house, and now instead of being slut shamed for having twelve crushes, instead you discovered they’re poly and want in on you?”

“Stop saying ass so much,” Chan mumbled, hugging the pillow he was holding closer to his chest. “And essentially yes, I am internally freaking out, thank you.”

“Did you tell him yes?” Wooyoung asked, opening his eyes again. Chan nodded, causing Wooyoung’s eyes to grow even bigger. “Wait, so you have twelve boyfriends now?!”

“No! We’re just talking!” Chan blushed, hiding his face.

“Yeah! And soon you’ll be like San and me, so you’re so dating! Chan, what the hell! It’s been like a month! Have you even spoken to these guys all one-on-one?” Chan shook his head at Wooyoung’s question. “I’m all for this big ass relationship, I mean, it is gay as hell, but at least talk to them all individually. What if you like, hate one of them?”

“Hate is harsh,” Chan mumbled, looking up from the pillow. “They’re all sweethearts.”

“One of them could still be a cannibal! As your best friend, I only approve this message if you go on twelve dates with each of them before officially dating. Also, I want to know who’s the best kisser,” Wooyoung smirked, making Chan almost choke on the shot he had just thrown back.

“Woo! What the fuck?” Chan whined, throwing the pillow in his direction.

“It’s important! For research!” Wooyoung giggled, letting the pillow hit his chest.

“Research my ass!” Chan groaned, falling backwards onto the bed.

“Eh, well enough of that, you’re meeting up with him tomorrow for the first session of your project, right? Schedule a date, then,” Wooyoung suggested, crossing his arms. Chan nodded sleepily, throwing a hand over his eyes. That wasn’t nearly enough time to get all of his thoughts together, but realistically, Chan would never get them all on the same page. Wooyoung was right; he needed to spend more time with them. Sure, the little time he had spent with them made him adore them a lot, but what if it was all surface-level?

“Okay, so I have a few songs that I have in the production phase that could work for your project, as well as a few released ones. Perks for the ones in the production phase are that we can tweak them to fit the vibe more if you’d like,” Jihoon mentioned, typing away on his computer as Chan settled in front of him.

He was different in a professional mode. He wore glasses, a tight black compression shirt, casual sweatpants, and his hair lay in its natural state against his forehead. Attractive. Chan could feel his mouth drying; he was struggling to focus. Jihoon played a few songs for him, all in similar genres. When he finished the third song, Chan felt like he recognized the voice.

“Is…that Seokmin?” Chan asked, tilting his head towards the computer. Jihoon perked up, nodding quickly.

“He’s one of our singers; his voice is insane,” Jihoon explained, scrolling back through the song. “They set this to release in a few months.” Chan made a small ‘oh’, leaning back in his chair. Seokmin’s voice had sounded beautiful, like Chan was being enchanted while he was listening.

“I like that one…can we choose it?” Chan asked, making Jihoon look up.

“Oh, really? Yeah, that’s fine,” Jihoon smiled, seeming to be a bit surprised. “How did you want to go about choreography? I know it has to be original, and you should have creative freedom, but we also have choreographers here who could help.”

Chan nodded, sitting back in the chair. “I think that would help a lot, it’s my first major project.”

Jihoon nodded, turning back to the computer. “We can schedule something for that as well, then.” For a moment, they were both quiet, Jihoon working through a program Chan didn’t understand, and Chan sorting through his thoughts. He needed to gather the courage, and he could feel his nerves rising as he did. It would be okay, surely. He just had to go for it.

“Can we go on a date?” Chan blurted out, watching as Jihoon’s hands stilled almost instantly. He blinked, surprised, before a surprise laugh left his lips.

“Of course,” Jihoon agreed, turning his attention to him again. “Did you have something in mind you wanted to do?” Chan shook his head, biting at his bottom lip. “Are you okay with me planning something for us then?” He nodded again. Jihoon’s smile made him feel warm, as if he was being held.

Chan exhaled in relief, glad he had gotten it out. Their entire meeting, he had been thinking about it, and it had plagued his thoughts. Maybe he really did need exposure therapy. A lot, too.

“I have news, and I need you all not to jump me when I tell you,” Jihoon spoke as he came into the room. He got everyone to come home on time, the hardest being Seungcheol, who loved to overwork himself even more than Jihoon did. They were scattered in the living room, Seungcheol the last to arrive as he settled his bags on the floor.

“That sounds bad,” Seungkwan mentioned with a frown, raising his arm as Hansol nudged him to lay in his lap.

“It’s not, but I’m going to be a bit of a hypocrite,” Jihoon admitted, rocking back and forth on his heels. “So, Chan came to me a few days ago.” He started, watching as Wonwoo perked up. He still found that comical. Wonwoo barely had a facial expression, but it was so clear how awestruck Chan made him. “He wants help to make choreography for Seokmin’s new song, it’s one of his projects for the semester. So, we are going to be working on that together, but we are also going on a date in two days.” He finished, letting his words settle in. For a moment, everyone was quiet, then everything exploded.

“EH?!” Soonyoung yelled, almost knocking Jun over. “You’re what?! You didn’t even like him first!”

“You were literally complaining about us crushing on him,” Minghao agreed, but he sounded slightly amused. Wonwoo said nothing, but his stare told Jihoon he wanted him to continue.

“Wait, so does that mean he agreed to all of us?” Jeonghan asked, crossing his legs on the couch. “How did that even start?” Suddenly, they were all quiet again.

“The theme for his dance is an emotion he has been feeling lately. He told me his was lust, but he was struggling to get that out. I kind of assumed that meant he had a crush, so I asked him about it, and well…he said he did, on all of us. Jihoon shrugged, but then a small smile appeared on his face. “He’s actually really cute. He felt bad because he didn’t realize we were all together and taken. Then I had to explain that to him, and I told him the option of being with us was open. He didn’t really believe me, but it’s not a secret that everyone here is attracted to him, anyway.”

“Pinch me, I must be dreaming,” Seokmin waved his arm out, making Mingyu frown and bat it away.

“That wouldn’t work, dingus,” He said lightheartedly, laughing at the pout that formed on Seokmin’s face.

“So he wants all of us as well?” Seungcheol asked, mainly confirming. Jihoon nodded.

“He wants to go on dates, I think, so that he can get over his anxiety with us one by one. I told him even if it somehow doesn’t work out, his job and relationship with us is still the same. So…I mean, don’t all bombard him, but…” Jihoon gasped when Wonwoo suddenly stood, wrapping his arms around his waist before tugging him into a quick hug. “Ack! Don’t squeeze me so hard!”

“He’s just excited,” Joshua laughed, tilting his head. “He finally can let his feelings out.”

“Can he? Or will he eat him?” Soonyoung asked, ignoring the glare Wonwoo gave him.

“Enough, enough!” Jihoon whined, wiggling out of Wonwoo’s grip. “Okay! I did my job, I’m going to my room now.” He rushed away, avoiding any attempts the others made at grabbing him. Jeonghan sighed as he walked away, shaking his head.

“Well, that was unexpected. He comes back tomorrow too…do we act normal?” Mingyu asked, looking up at Seungcheol.

“Play it by ear. It’s new for all of us, anyway.” Seungcheol reassured, leaning down to kiss the top of Mingyu’s head. Hansol whined, sitting up in Seungkwan’s lap to be closer to Seungcheol. Seungcheol laughed, leaning down the rest of the way to gently kiss his lips. “You’re clingy today.”

“I think your dog behavior is rubbing off on him,” Seungkwan joked.

“Wolf!”

Chapter Text

“Your luck is laughable,” Yeosang mumbled, watching as Chan groaned and lay his head on the desk. He had received a photo from Jihoon earlier of the choreographer that was going to be helping him, as well as his contact information, and it had been none other than the man that he had hooked up with earlier that month: Song Mingi. To make matters worse, Yeosang knew him personally. Chan was less shocked at that; Mingi had been at his party after all. However, it did make his reaction to Mingi’s picture a bit more embarrassing, and far more amusing to Yeosang.

“So you’re making a sexy song with the guy who sucked your dick?” Wooyoung asked, gasping when Chan flew up, slapping a hand over his mouth. Yeosang burst out laughing, shaking his head at the two.

“Mingi’s chill. He enjoys pleasing others, so that doesn’t shock me. It won’t be awkward, don’t worry,” Yeosang tried to reassure him, but it just made Chan even more confused. Had they hooked up as well? God, he didn’t even want to think about that.

“Anyway, what about your date? Do you know what you’re doing tomorrow?” Wooyoung asked, moving Chan’s hand. Chan shook his head, sighing again. “Are you gonna jump him? I vote to jump him.”

“I vote don’t. What are their ages anyway?” Yeosang mentioned, making Chan groan again.

“I don’t know, Wooyoung add it to the list of things,” He waved his hand, closing his eyes. Wooyoung pulled out his phone, typing away. Yeosang’s eyes widened, watching him.

“Wait…you have a list?” He asked in disbelief.

“Things Chan does not know about his future partners,” Wooyoung started, reading from the notes app on his phone. “Most of their jobs, except for like four of them, their ages, how rich they are, their birthdays, their favorite things outside of food and clothing choices-”

“Enough,” Chan groaned, looking up. “I’ll start melting. Let’s just go.” He stood, grabbing his bag from the table. Yeosang chuckled, following after the exasperated boy.

They indeed weren’t acting normally. When Chan came in after class, the first thing he noticed was that everyone was loitering around the house. Typically, they stayed in their rooms. Chan considered himself a homebody, often never leaving his room, but they were worse than him. Their home was huge, and really, only their bedrooms got used. It was a waste if you asked Chan before, but now he has realized it has helped him a lot.

“Channie!” Seokmin squealed, coming up from behind him to hug him. Chan gasped, shocked as he felt his hands wrap around his waist, pulling him backwards.

“Where did you come from?” He asked, staying as still as possible. Seokmin giggled in his ear, nuzzling against the side of his neck for a moment before he pulled away.

“I heard you’re using my song for your project. Did you like it?” He asked as Chan turned around. Chan swore there was a sun sparkling in Seokmin’s eyes.

“I did, I felt drawn to it actually…” Chan admitted, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. Seokmin beamed, about to speak when he suddenly stopped, looking past Chan. Chan frowned, turning around to glance across the kitchen island. Wonwoo was lingering, hovering in the hallway. Chan hadn’t spoken to him much either; he often wasn’t home. When he was home, he didn’t speak much, and since Chan didn’t need to prepare his food, he often had no reason to pop in on him either. “Hey, Wonwoo, are you feeling better?” Realistically, the answer would be yes. There was no way he would be sick for over a month unless something more serious was going on.

He hesitated before walking into the room. He stopped at the kitchen’s barstools, leaning over the stool in front of him with a small nod. “Mmm,” He hummed as a yes. Well, Chan would take it. Seokmin giggled, crossing his arms.

“Did Jihoon tell you where you’re going tomorrow?” Seokmin asked, watching as Chan shook his head. “Typical. He’s always so secretive when it comes to things like that.”

“Uh…can I ask how old you all are?” Chan’s question made Seokmin falter, but since he was looking towards Wonwoo, he didn’t notice too big a difference.

“Seungcheol is twenty-six, Jeonghan, Soonyoung, Junhui, Joshua, and I are all twenty-five, Mingyu, Jihoon, and Seokmin are twenty-four, and then Seungkwan, Hansol, and Minghao are twenty-three.” Wonwoo listed off, Seokmin shooting him a grateful look.

“Don’t let him fool you, Wonwoo is truly the oldest,” Seokmin joked, yelping when Wonwoo swiped at him from across the island.

“Does an age gap bother you?” Wonwoo asked, changing the subject. Chan frowned, shaking his head.

“The biggest one is only four years; if anything, I should ask Seungcheol if he’s okay with my age…” Chan trailed off with an awkward laugh, rubbing the back of his neck. Just as Chan finished speaking, the front door swung open, revealing a less put-together Jeonghan. He was always collected, one of the most organized of the boys Chan had noticed, as well as the one who liked to tease the others the most. This time, however, he looked disheveled.

“H-Hi baby, can someone bring snacks and water to the room?” Jeonghan spoke in their direction, but for a moment his eyes were trained on Chan. Chan watched as he quickly walked down the hall, leaving Chan flustered between the other two.

Chan turned, pointing at himself for a moment. Seokmin chuckled, opening the door to the fridge. “Definitely was calling you that.” He said as he handed him a few bottles of water.

“Oh! We got those bars Cheol liked when Chan went to the store last,” Wonwoo realized, quickly entering the kitchen to search for them in the pantry.

“Is something wrong?” Chan asked with a small frown. The two paused their quick movements, glancing at each other.

“Cheol has a bad immune system; he also gets sick every once in a while. Honestly, we all need more vitamins,” Seokmin said with a small smile, handing over the water and snacks from Wonwoo to him. “Here, he might feel better if you see him for a second.”

Wonwoo frowned as Chan took the snacks, but he didn’t protest as Chan nodded, slowly retreating down the hallway. The door to Seungcheol’s room wasn’t closed just yet, simply cracked. He heard Seungcheol before he even got close, hearing a loud groan exit the room. “It’s hooooot!” Seungcheol’s voice whined.

Chan pushed the cracked door open, peeking his head inside. Jeonghan and Seungcheol both glanced at him as he did, cutting Seungcheol’s groans short. He was lying on the bed, his suit completely off besides the dress pants he still wore. It seemed Jeonghan was attempting to get him changed. Chan averted his eyes, placing the snacks and water he was holding onto the desk by the door. “Um…is this enough for now?” He asked cautiously.

Jeonghan glanced at Seungcheol, not speaking as he stood up. Seungcheol took a moment to steady himself, holding onto the bed for support. “I might be in here for a while, so…” Seungcheol hesitated, but his eyes didn’t move from Chan. Jeonghan sat on the bed, crossing his legs. In the time Chan took to get back there, he had somehow fixed his hair. “Can I hug you?”

Chan hadn’t expected that to be what he asked of him. Of course, he wasn’t going to say no. He really wasn’t lying to Seokmin when he said he loved physical affection. Chan nodded, stepping closer to Seungcheol since he appeared to be dizzy. He was red in the face as if he had just been working out, and despite not visibly sweating, his bare skin seemed shiny. He must have a fever at this point. Seungcheol took a step forward, closing the gap between the two of them. “Do you…need medicine?” Chan asked as Seungcheol leaned down, giving him a soft embrace. Chan stared back at Jeonghan, who was still watching the two with a careful gaze. Was this too much for Chan to be doing?

“You are medicine,” Seungcheol mumbled, deeply inhaling. Chan’s eyes widened, his legs stuttering for a moment. Out of instinct, Seungcheol held him tighter, preventing him from falling. He pulled away, looking him up and down. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“You startled him, sweetheart,” Jeonghan spoke up, watching in amusement.

“Startled? Why?” Seungcheol asked, still looking over his body. Chan made a small squeak of shock when his gaze returned to his face. It felt so intense.

“I-uh…Just wasn’t expecting that,” Chan admitted, looking up at him.

“But you’re okay?” Seungcheol asked, his eyes for a moment dropping. Was Chan going insane, or did he just look at his lips? No, he definitely didn’t. He was sick, that’s all. “See! You are hurt, where is it?” Seungcheol asked, turning Chan around.

“Ah! Wait- I’m fine! I promise!” Chan wheeled back around just as fast, holding his hands up. “I got lost in my thoughts again. I thought you looked at my lips, but that’s silly because you’re sick, so why would you-”

“I did.” Seungcheol cut him off. Chan paused.

“Huh?” He whispered.

“I did,” Seungcheol repeated, letting his gaze drop again. “You’re very tempting.”

“And that’s enough,” Jeonghan said, pulling Seungcheol back by his shoulders. Without another word, he pushed him onto the bed, Seungcheol letting his body fall without protest. Jeonghan sighed, turning back to Chan with a light smile. “Thank you, baby. I’ll let you know how he’s feeling later, okay?”

Chan nodded, bowing his head out of habit. “Okay…feel better soon.” He whispered, quickly turning and closing the door behind him fully. Once he was out of the room, he closed his eyes, tapping his cheeks quickly. It stung just the right amount, waking him up from the non-existent dream he was in. Yupp, still in reality. “What the fuck,” He mumbled under his breath, slowly walking back towards the kitchen.

Seokmin had vanished, but Wonwoo sat in the barstool, sipping a red drink in a clear cup. He looked up as Chan approached, raising one finger in greeting. Chan smiled softly, slowly sitting down beside him. He dug in his pockets for a moment before holding his phone out in Wonwoo’s direction. “Can you take a photo for your contact?” He asked quietly.

Wonwoo raised an eyebrow, taking the phone without question. He opened the camera app, positioning it slightly above his face before he did a small smile and peace sign towards it. Once he was done, he handed it back, satisfied. Chan smiled as he took it back, glancing down at the picture. Of course, he was photogenic.

“Where did Seokmin go?” Chan asked, looking up. Wonwoo took a long sip from his drink before responding. A bit of the drink remained on his lips until he used his tongue to lick it off.

“He likes to disappear; he will pop up again, eventually.”

“Sweetheart, you got a little too close to Chan’s neck,” Jeonghan scolded lightly, holding Seungcheol’s arms above his head. Seungcheol was still coherent, so he could still talk to him for the time being. “Luckily, he didn’t think it was too odd.”

“I couldn’t help it, he smells so good,” Seungcheol groaned, squirming under Jeonghan’s grip.

“Well, you’re lucky…” Jeonghan whispered, leaning his head down. As he did, he dipped his head, lowering it until he could breathe right against Seungcheol’s scent gland, teasingly blowing against it. Seungcheol hissed, squeezing his eyes shut. “If he discovered us this early on, you’d scare him off.”

“I’m sorry…” Seungcheol whined, feeling his body heat more than ever. Seungcheol typically had irregular ruts, mainly because whenever he was too stressed or even aroused by his mates, a rut could occur. Not only was he stressed during this time period, but his emotions were all out of whack because of the dynamic change Chan had caused. It was subtle, with Chan mainly being professional around them and doing his job, but the air with everyone was different. He could feel it even if only a few of them had admitted it out loud.

“It’s okay, I forgive you of course,” Jeonghan smiled, releasing his arms. He stood up, leaving Seungcheol on the bed, before he walked back to the door, locking it. “Well, just in case, you’ll spend your pre-rut with me until Chan leaves for his morning classes tomorrow. We can’t risk him hearing you, can we?”

“I can be quiet,” Seungcheol whispered, squirming on the bed without Jeonghan’s close presence.

“You can, but just in case, we have to stay here together until the others can soundproof this room.” Jeonghan shrugged his shirt off, slowly stepping out of the rest of his clothes. He usually wasn’t bad in early pre-rut, but it may be worse this time, with not being able to have everyone around him. Jeonghan could only hope that without him around, the others wouldn’t mess up.

“Eunyu! This is bad!” Sangha complained, stomping into her room. Eunyu groaned, kicking her feet in protest against her bed for him coming to wake her up. “Who the hell did you feed from?”

“What? Boss told me to,” Eunyu whined, raising her head slowly. Sangha looked completely exasperated, running his fingers through his hair as he paced back and forth in her room.

“The guy- I saw him walking with that omega from earlier! And you know who else was with him? This random human, so I thought I could get a meal out of him as well, right? Well, I followed him to his home, and guess who he lives with? The human I got attacked by an angel for!” Sangha complained.

“So…” Eunyu tried to process what he was saying, but she was extremely tired. She still needed regular sleep, as much as her previous feeding had helped her. “Basically, they all know each other?”

“Yes!”

“So you not only pissed off a supernatural clan, but I potentially just fed from the same clan you pissed off?”

“Yes!”

“And…the angel might be a part of the clan or their friend as well?”

“Yes!”

“Does the boss know about this?”

Sangha paused. “No…?”

“Good,” Eunyu sat up, wiping her eyes. “Come on, we have to go investigate.” She pulled on her shoes, deciding the comfy outfit she was wearing was enough to go out.

“Investigate?” Sangha questioned, watching as she got her things together.

“We need to figure out who these people are and how they’re related before it gets worse, or before the boss finds out. If he finds out, we’re all dead.”

Chapter Text

Chan had gotten a pretty clear message earlier. Jihoon had told him nothing about their date except for one thing: to wear something comfortable. Now, usually, this was a simple statement. Usually, Chan knew exactly what to wear in this situation. However, in this case, he was at a loss. His version of comfortable was sweatpants and a hoodie, not exactly first date material. To make matters worse, when he called Wooyoung, he didn’t answer. Chan was on his own. Eventually, he settled for a simple black V-neck that matched the vibe Jihoon wore often when he was working, as well as casual sweatpants that weren’t as baggy as his favorite ones. He wore nicer sneakers to try to balance the outfit out, not even bothering to look in the mirror as he left. If he did, he would be late.

Now he was waiting in his room at home. The apartment, not the mansion. The idea of getting ready for a date at their home unnerved him. He knew he wasn’t in the wrong, but it still felt like he was going behind their back with this being a solo activity. A part of Chan wondered how long it would take for that feeling to go away. He had gotten ready earlier than usual, overestimating how long his anxiety would preoccupy him. After about fifteen minutes of sitting in silence, a small knock snapped him out of his thoughts. Chan quickly flew up, grabbing his phone as he left his room and headed towards the door.

Chan opened the door to Jihoon, giving him a small smile, holding a bag out to him. He was wearing a very similar outfit, this time his compression shirt being a darker burgundy color to match the dark sweats he wore. Chan mentally sighed in relief that he had dressed similarly.

“What is this?” He asked as he took the bag from Jihoon. He slowly stepped out of the apartment, closing the door behind him.

“It’s a small gift, something I thought you’d like,” Jihoon explained, his hands going into his pockets. Chan chuckled, peeking into the bag.

“I thought you said Hansol liked to give things out,” He joked, slowly taking the small box out of the bag. Jihoon laughed with him, watching intently as he opened the box slowly. The box was silver, with a small crest sitting on the top. Chan didn’t even need to know what was inside to know it was expensive. Once he opened the box, he was greeted by a small charm, faintly attached to a silver necklace. The charm was in the shape of a moon, matching the silver necklace. “It’s…really beautiful. Thank you.” Chan whispered, staring at the jewelry.

“Do you like it? It reminded me of you,” Jihoon asked. Chan nodded quickly, taking the necklace out of the box.

“Can you help me put it on?” He asked, holding the necklace out towards Jihoon. Jihoon nodded, gently taking it from him as he turned around. Chan closed his eyes, fighting the wave of emotions that was taking over him. He was fine, he tried to convince himself. It was a weird feeling. He wasn’t sad; that wasn’t the right way to describe it. He felt happy, but he also felt this overwhelming urge to cry. Despite being from a well-respected family, Chan wasn’t treated like a child. He was treated like property, like something that needed improvements. He had never gotten a gift like this before, except from one person, Wooyoung. That was one of the main reasons he was so close to Wooyoung. Wooyoung loved so hard, he would go to the end of the world for Chan.

Chan felt the cold metal slip around his neck, the lightweight of the charm resting just above his collarbone. He looked down as Jihoon latched it, smiling at the jewel. “It’s so pretty…” He whispered, mainly to himself.

For a moment, Chan was distracted, and Jihoon was grateful. His hands lingered on his shoulders, brushing against the cloth of his shirt. He swallowed, frowning to himself. When Wonwoo had mentioned he felt a magnetic pull towards Chan, he hadn’t thought much of it. They had already confirmed Chan wasn’t a lure born, or magical in any way. However, the more he touched him, the closer he felt the pull dragging him in. It felt like a drug, but it wasn’t enough to make Jihoon pull away. Instead, he slowly moved his hands down until they were just around Chan’s waist. Chan looked up, staring at the wall ahead of them.

“Jihoon?” He questioned, staying as still as possible. Jihoon hummed, resting his head against his shoulder. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Jihoon affirmed, slowly letting go of his waist. “Just looking at the necklace. I’m glad you like it.” That was the only explanation he gave Chan. He wasn’t even sure if he had an answer for himself. “Ready to go?” He asked, waiting until Chan nodded to head down the hall, the two of them walking side by side.

“Which one is that?” Eunyu asked, peeking over Sangha’s shoulder. Sangha tsked, leaning down so she could see more easily.

“This is bad, the human I was looking for isn’t there. That’s the one I drank from before,” Sangha explained, watching as the two figures walked away.

“Which one? The shorter one?” Eunyu asked, squinting. “Wait, no, he smells funny.”

“No, I don’t know that guy. The slightly taller one is the human I drank from, but when I tried to track him down after the angel attack, his apartment had a barrier around it. It wore off now…maybe we could get in.” Sangha mentioned, gesturing towards the door. The hallway was now empty, but he could tell the apartment was empty. Their scents lingered, but it wasn’t strong enough for his newest target to be inside.

“I need pictures of these dudes,” Eunyu mumbled as the two of them walked towards the door. Once they arrived, Eunyu held the handle, staring at it until it warmed in her hand. After a few moments, it clicked, and she pushed the door open with ease. “Alright, come one, come all!” She joked, skipping into the open area.

Inside was a normal apartment. The two were far cleaner than expected of two college men, and nothing immediately stood out to them. There was a small picture on the side table of the two, posing with peace signs towards the camera. Eunyu picked it up, tilting her head at the small doodle on the bottom. “Happy birthday, Chan, love Wooyoung…” She read, squinting at the picture. “Okay, so the one you got first was Chan, then?” She asked, showing Sangha the photo. He quickly nodded, pointing towards the other boy.

“That’s the other one,” He confirmed with a small sigh. “Do you know the name of the guy you drank from?”

“Oh yeah, the boss sent me a text,” Eunyu let go of the photo, digging in her pocket for her phone. She quickly pulled up their texts, reading through her last assignment. “Yunho? Pissed the boss off somehow, but he was a delicious distraction. He’s probably awake by now.”

Sangha glanced at her phone, frowning at the taller boy in the picture. “Never seen him. He probably owed money, and Beomseok got it the dirty way.”

“Yeah, but if it turns out he has all these crazy clan mates, the boss is gonna be even more pissed,” Eunyu sighed, about to lock her phone. Just as her finger hovered over the button, the phone was snatched out of her grip, floating in the air. Eunyu yelped, jumping backwards into Sangha. “What the fuck-”

Suddenly, a tall, tanned man appeared, grinning at the phone. “Phew, this guy is a cutie!” He complimented, beaming in their direction as he looked up. Sangha frowned, grabbing onto Eunyu’s arm to pull her behind him.

“Who the hell are you?” Sangha questioned, wary. The guy looked friendly, so friendly that he actually looked insane.

“I should ask you that. After all, you’re the one trespassing, right?” The man pointed out, quirking his head to the side. “And, you’re stalking my mate’s friend. I’m warranted to be worried.”

“Mate? Neither one of the humans here is claimed,” Eunyu protested.

“Not yet, but the one who just left is already under our protection, claimed or not. Come on, the stench of a succubus is so strong. You didn’t think Jihoon didn’t smell you, did you?” The man laughed, stretching his hands above his head. “Silly girl. My name is Seokmin.” Just as quickly as the smile arrived on his face, it dropped. “Why are you here?”

Sangha frowned, feeling an odd chill run down his spine at the sight of Seokmin’s deadpan face. He almost preferred the creepy smile at this rate. “We were just seeing if the other human was here, that’s all. We weren’t after your mate.”

“Oh no, you weren’t today, but you did before. And…you came back. Which means…you’re bothersome,” Seokmin yawned, waving his hand. A gust of wind filled through the apartment, slamming the front door shut. The two stared at the door, frowning as a dark red glow took over the outline. “Oh, also…I’m just a wee poltergeist. I don’t really like fangs that don’t belong to my dear Wonwoo, so I brought a friend.”

“A friend?” Sangha questioned. Seokmin pointed up. Both of their eyes trailed towards the ceiling, where a small bat was hiding between the ceiling fan. It flew down, transforming the second its feet hit the ground. Just as fast as the bat disappeared, a broad, cat-like man appeared, waving in their direction.

“Hi,” He simply said, not as chatty as Seokmin was.

“Oh, come on! We weren’t even doing anything, and I hate fighting ghosts,” Eunyu complained. Seokmin feigned disappointment, his hand flying to his chest.

“Why? A dead man isn’t as appetizing?” He asked, pouting slightly. “San is just as dead…I fear we might not be to your taste.” Sangha clicked his teeth, keeping his eyes on the vampire that was drilling a hole in his head.

“Fine…let’s do this the hard way.”

“Oh my god!” Chan gasped, staring at the sign in front of them. Jihoon had made him keep his eyes closed once they had gotten close to their destination, but he truly didn’t need to. Chan had no clue where he was, but he was impressed by the sight in front of him. They were in front of a large apple orchard, and Chan was close to losing his mind. He loved apples, and it was hard for him to find the specific ones he liked in the grocery store. Here, they had multiple sections with different kinds of apples, freshly grown and ready for plucking. He was definitely going to cry by the end of the day.

“Like?” Jihoon asked, even though he could tell by the amazed expression that Chan was excited. Chan nodded quickly, barely even thinking as he took Jihoon’s hand into his own, excitedly jumping up and down a few times.

“Oh my god! How did you find this place?” Chan asked, still staring at the entrance in awe. Jihoon chuckled, leading him inside.

“It was on my list of things I wanted to try. I figured you deserved some kind of fun activity, you get stressed out easily,” Jihoon explained as they walked. Chan pouted, but he was right. Chan was easily overwhelmed; perhaps he was just more sensitive to his environment than others. “Here, I read the rules online. It’s one basket per person, and you can fill it up as much as you’d like.” He held the basket out to Chan, the small wooden basket swaying in the wind.

Chan gladly took it, picking up another one as he held it out to Jihoon. Jihoon took the basket with amusement, holding it in his non-dominant hand so as not to let go of Chan’s hand. “Do you have a favorite kind of apple?” Chan asked as they entered the farmland. Jihoon shook his head.

“I don’t, but Seungkwan is obsessed with all things you can grow. He likes to watch as they progress, so if we find any super big ones out here, he would freak out,” Jihoon mentioned with a soft smile. Chan nodded, making a small noise of motivation.

“Okay, new goal, find the biggest apples possible.” Chan’s eyes had a small flicker to them, and Jihoon had to cover his hand to quiet the laugh that was threatening to escape. “What?”

“Nothing,” Jihoon coughed, looking away for a moment. “It’s just cute. You’re doing something you enjoy, and you’re still thinking of what you can do to make one of us happy?”

“Well, yeah…” Chan paused, looking around. The trees surrounded them, filled with all kinds of apples in varying colors. “You guys make me happy all the time without realizing it. Like when you finish the food I cook, I know you liked it. Or when Joshua asks to study with me, or the random bonuses Seungcheol adds to my check, claiming it’s so I can buy coffee. Or even Seokmin’s loud singing in the shower. I didn’t realize how badly I needed to be around your energy until I moved in, you know?” He turned, locking eyes with Jihoon. “I hope that makes sense.”

Jihoon took a moment, but eventually he nodded as well. “It makes perfect sense. We all feel that way, too.” He mentioned, watching as Chan’s face flickered with confusion for a split second. “You brighten our house up. We can often get caught up in the things we have to do and forget that we are, in a sense, alive. We forget to live, and even though you’re still new to us, you’re so full of life. That’s why you’re so attractive to me.”

Chan blushed, struggling when he realized he couldn’t hide behind his hands. They were both taken, one by Jihoon and one by the basket. He cleared his throat, looking away. “Uh…apples! Let’s go pick the green ones!” Without another word, Chan tugged Jihoon to the left, towards the small patch of green apple trees. Jihoon smiled, shaking his head as he followed Chan easily.

Cute, that was definitely the right word to describe him.

“Stop sulking,” Seokmin mentioned, watching as San stared a hole into the door. They had struggled to fight without breaking everything in Wooyoung and Chan’s apartment, especially considering Sangha and Eunyu were obviously not the people they needed to go after. They worked for someone, and it would be harder to figure out who that was if they killed them, or worse, if Sangha or Eunyu killed San and Seokmin.

Seokmin had San ensure they didn’t leave the space, just until he could cast a spell that essentially made them vanish. It was temporary, but it sent them to a random place that previously held their essence. They likely spawned at home. The spell had one perk: they wouldn’t be able to enter through the apartment’s door ever again. It was a threshold spell, banning them from those walls. It would be the most effective against Sangha, with the other being a vampire as well. However, energy vampires played by different rules than blood vampires.

San, however, was sulking that he couldn’t kill them. Seokmin understood, after all, they had clearly almost killed Wooyoung. Even if they weren’t successful, the two were in the same position. “It’s good that they can’t come back here; we just have to be wary of their boss,” Seokmin mentioned, trying to cheer the grumpy vampire up.

San sighed, uncrossing his arms. “I’m worried.”

“You tell him yet?” Seokmin asked, plopping onto the couch. San shook his head, looking guilty. “Eh, fair enough. Although I think he would comprehend the whole vampire thing more than a clan. It’s kinda hard to explain to humans that supernaturals form magic family bonds, platonic and romantic. How big is yours again?”

“Six right now, but that’s likely gonna change. Mingi found someone the other day he really liked,” San mentioned, rolling his neck in a wide stretch.

“Mingi? Hopscotch, pleasure boy? Wow…never thought that would happen. He even tried hitting on our clan when he got really hungry,” Seokmin laughed, shaking his head. San rolled his eyes.

“Sounds like him. You think Wooyoung is gonna be okay?” San asked, worriedly looking towards the boy’s room.

“He’s got two clans and a loyal best friend behind his back, don’t worry. We’ll make sure nothing happens to him, okay?” Seokmin stood, patting San gently on the back. “I’m, however, gonna get back. If I wait another second Minghao might kill me for being late to my fitting with him.”

San nodded in understanding, sighing softly again. “Alright, you’re right. Let’s go.”

“Poltergeist! A fucking Poltergeist?!” Eunyu whined, kicking the side of her bed.

Sangha groaned, holding his head in his hands as he stooped to the ground.

“We have to play dirty,” She whispered, pacing her room again. “They could have anyone in that clan, and that boy, Jihoon? He wasn’t human either. We need to figure out what we are up against.” Sangha hummed, agreeing. Alone, there wasn’t much the two of them could do. Sure, they had abilities, but it was nothing compared to clan members. A powerful clan versus rogue nomads, they both knew who would win in the end.

“I have an idea, but if it fails…we have to tell the boss,” Sangha mentioned, looking up. Eunyu stopped, holding his gaze.
“I’m listening,” She agreed, letting him continue.

“Boss seems to need something from Wooyoung’s new clan, right? So he’s gonna keep having us target them until he gets it. We need to figure out what that is and who we can get it from. Which means…we need to go to school.”

“School?” Eunyu questioned, frowning. Sangha nodded, standing up.

“I saw a dancer tape in the living room. I think I know what building those two linger in at university,” Sangha smiled to himself, making Eunyu’s eyes widen.

“Ugh, I’m so not a dancer.”