( log ) you'd be singin' to her, like lah dah dah dah

[likehoney]

they weren't even supposed to be here, but somehow, as an aberration of nature, they simply just are. they just have to make do of what they have and need. and what they need right now is to hunt. going without feeding for more than three days wasn't recommended but between the council meetings and personal schedules, jongin was having a hard time putting his foot down, prince of the damned or not.

there was joohyun too. jongin wasn't her sire as he was not sanctioned to sire anyone without the permission of the council. but joohyun was under his care and he made it a point that he would by her side to teach her the ways. it was a lot more difficult now, the emergence of social media and the hyper vigilance of humans. during the war, bodies could easily pile up, and vampires made the earth its banquet.

jongin pushed at the thoughts of blood lust, guilt easily swimming in because he was going to face joohyun in a few minutes. jongin hazard parks -- illegal parks -- in front of their building, taking long quick steps to the lobby to find joohyun, a small smile playing on his lips as he taps her on the shoulder. "lady," he starts, voice deep yet full of mirth. "let's go or i'll get towed."

Comments

[violetine]

'more human than a vampire', she thought. jongin was right. he was always right. there was always a part of joohyun that couldn't quite adapt to vampirism. it was that same part within whatever was left of her soul that longed to experience life in the daylight again, or the ability to just eat food and feel full from it. unfortunately; not many vampires looked upon humans in a pleasurable manner. a concept she could never understand - because they were all human at one point, right?

her insides twisted at the fact she hadn't fed in over two days. it's normal, apparently. even more so for those like her who hated the concept of 'hunting'. donated blood was more of her thing, but that was in limited quantities nowadays as the royal families were weeding out illegal blood harvesting practices as result of new hunting rules. those rules and all the action being a big reason jongin was so busy. bless him and all his patience.

she was twirling about the empty lobby of their apartment building, her skirt fluttering up in waves as she had spun. joohyun waited for her partner-in-crime to find her. her back ended up turned towards the door as she surveyed the decor. they didn't change things up too often in there, but irene was always quick to notice it when they did. the tap on her shoulder pulls her away from her thoughts - and she turns to see the tall devil she's come to claim as hers. "sir," she begins. "perhaps you should have parked in the parking lot like you're supposed to." she jokes, hooking her arm onto jongin's before practically tugging him out the door, waving bye to the staff as she cooed. "how was the meeting, darling?"

[likehoney]

light on her feet, his mate was, and jongin could only chuckle when she scolded him about his habit. it would not be good if he was trying to be a good citizen -- and avoiding paper trail as much as possible. he would do it for the latter. he wrinkled his nose, ushering joohyun inside the car, pausing before he closed the door to press a kiss on the top of her head.

"awful," he replied, starting it again, waving at the valet attendant who wasn't impressed with jongin's methods. he would give him a hefty gift for christmas this year, he mentally noted. "the prince wanted wider hunting grounds for the royal family. of course it was vetoed left and right. limiting it to us would--" jongin paused, lips pressed into a thin line as he drove into the heart of seoul. "nevermind politics, what about your day? did you go see friends?"

[violetine]

"awful? let me guess..." irene leaned in her seat, tapping jokingly on her chin as she imagined the mess that must have happened that evening. "well, limiting it to us wouldn't be bad...for us." she sighed. the prince was always difficult; but to call him a crybaby wouldn't do her or anyone else much good. "the park family in busan must be howling at you guys. no offense, of course." politics weren't really her thing - of course, it wasn't a choice for jongin, either. but it was his job. her position in society as a vampiric socialite was practically fueled by the fact her mate was a side-step away from being the head of korea's council in full. joohyun didn't mind hearing him rant, however, she actually enjoyed it. besides, as jongin's mother would say, it's was a 'good wife does'.

what did she do, today? other than have long conversations with her closest vampire friend seulgi about meaningless gossip? "not much beyond that of my normal day..." she laughed. jongin wouldn't care about what they talked about. his concern was obviously placed in whether or not she socialized with people or sat in a slump in the penthouse instead. "people are apparently in fear of werewolves. there's no shape-shifters in east asia, correct?" her question tears her eyes from the light-dotted scenery of seoul's nightlife right onto her companion's face. "it's so ridiculous."

[likehoney]

jongin laughed with her, giving his mate a side-glance before shaking his head. he wanted to share everything with her, whine about his work, talk about the mundane details of paperwork and water cooler gossip but part of him didn't want joohyun to worry. the part about her safety too, he couldn't just brush it off. knowing too much could put her in jeopardy -- being with him was already risky, knowing that they could use her against him had jongin's jaw tightening. he reached for her hand instead, squeezing gently.

he brought it to his lips, grinning playfully. of course there were werewolves, but there were recent activity in france according to reports. the thin folder sat on his desk earlier. he cleared his throat, his expression softening. "my father said they smelled like wet dog." jongin chuckled, letting go of her hand. soon, he was pulling over the entrance of an upscale bar. the kim family had shares here and he could technically convert it to a blood den if he wanted but human laws had prohibited feeding in public 20 years ago.

illegal blood dens, they had that, scattered all over underground seoul but he would never bring joohyun there. jongin was a hypocrite after all. so to hunting they turn. human laws did not cover that. they were still ignorant of vampire abilities that were added aside from enhanced senses and fast healing. jongin opened the door for her, handing his keys to the attendant this time. "do you remember the basics?"

joohyun needed to learn to hunt; her sire didn't teach her anything, he supposed, fleeing soon after she turned and that was how jongin met her. blood bags were not scant in this time but he couldn't let joohyun exist without being attuned to her instincts. he lead her inside, the soft jazz music punctuating his question.

[violetine]

of course there was danger in joohyun knowing things the council talked about; while there was little she could ever do with it all on her own, there was always someone trying to get at the leaders of their people. humans, werewolves and even other vampires. joohyun wasn't a fighter, so what would she even be able to do in order to defend herself? she can't even complain to maintenance without feeling like a horrible person. when given a sliver of a chance, she pulls his hand closer to her, bringing it up to her face for a quick kiss - leaving behind a small remnant of the red lipstick she was wearing, to which she chuckles. "...oops?"

"the...park family? how interesting." she nearly chokes. the image alone of his father saying anything like that is more than enough to make anyone crack up. of course, there was the much more likely chance that he didn't mean the other royal family. "your father always had a keen sense of smell, huh."

the basics of hunting? barely. irene could hardly remember and describe the day that she got turned. memory loss is common with trauma. she's been told many a time that one day she'll be able to remember everything; joohyun, however, doesn't like to be reminded of the fact she can't recall any of her life prior to being turned. she makes up for it by being about to recall practically any law she's asked, the way the prince takes his coffee on mondays, jongin's favorite cologne. for all she knows, her sire could be long dead by now. "hmm? oh, um." she blinks a few times.

"fake name, fake job, if they ask if we're from seoul, speak in dialect?" she shoots him a raised brow, a grin to assure him that she'll follow his lead, whichever direction he may go. "and more wasted, the easier to trick...but usually more sloppy." the last part was a joke. the music adding some sort of ambiance; joohyun found it a bit ironic. jazz was so nice and soothing. it always reminds her of home, being in bed and lazing about on jongin's days off. "i like this piece..."

[likehoney]

the lipstick jongin didn't mind. it was a nice reminder, grounding him, a brand of his own to wear. tonight wasn't about work; perhaps, in a deviant way, their own interpretation of a date night.

"don't say that. i'll lose my appetite," he countered with a playful scrunch of his nose. jongin had a hand on the small of joohyun's waist, guiding her towards a private booth -- their backs against a solid wall, looking out, a paranoid's seat, just like jongin. he ordered a rum and coke for himself, and a watermelon vodka for joohyun. alcohol does nothing to them anyway, but it was for show.

"you don't even have to talk to them, see. people are already looking at you." jongin sat back, a perfunctory jealousy loosening in his chest but he knew better. vampires always had something to their pallor that was tempting to humans. "choose your pick. usually the ones alone are the easiest." jongin leaned closer to his wife, breath tickling the shell of her ear. "take a deep breath. find the distracted ones, someone you can slip in and out of without being detected. let them think it's safe to come over here. have a drink. and that it's safe to come outside, with us."

jongin always preferred to go for females when hunting. usually mid 20s to early 30s with non-descript appearance. the woman in a plain dress and modest heels, he mused, his trained eye said secretary, faint smell of coffee and printer ink on her wrist, her eyes would look tired if not for the kohl expertly drawn over it.

but jongin did not offer any suggestions to joohyun. this hunt, she could decide for herself.

[violetine]

she leaned into jongin as they walked to their table; listening to his voice. the man could talk about anything in the world and joohyun's ability to focus on anything else would be rendered useless. perhaps it was the obvious fact he was the leader type: he would have made for a much better superior than the young prince, anyone could tell you that, but joohyun could feel it.

of course, people already did see him as the next-in-line until the prince finds an heir. she saw him differently. these dates of theirs were momentous, despite the common simple undertones of them all. this was a common thing: hunting dates, or dinner dates. joohyun preferred 'dinner' over hunting, a feeble attempt to forget that her choice of menu were people. humans. a thought that could make her insides turn. but alcohol helped, especially when it was watermelon flavored, drank in a cozy and tucked away corner. "distracted..." she whispers, or mumbles in truth, as she wasn't talking directly to anyone. her eyes originally following the gaze of her mates. the woman was a nearly obvious target, but as she sipped at her drink, joohyun surveyed the room.

the secretary sat by herself, her drink was simple, too. perhaps she wasn't here to do much other than de-stress a bit. another man sat at the bar; tall, slim, black suit that wasn't anything new - office worker, perhaps. he was too busy talking on his cellphone, mumbling whatever he may as he downed his whisky. "too busy." she stated as she tilted her head. the next on the menu was a much younger girl. her back turned towards the wall on the opposite side of the bar. joohyun would have passed her up if it wasn't for the fact the girl looked somber. "dress, makeup is a little runny, and her hair is coming a bit undone..." she sniffed, her heightened senses picking up on perfume. "date gone bad, probably. maybe he stood her up. poor thing." there's a small huff trailing the end of her sentence as she looks back up to jongin. "we don't kill them, right? maybe we could give her a pep-talk on relationships."

she was going to decide on heartbroken girl across the way before her eyes end up catching a share glance with another couple that just entered. they smelled human, warm and giddy for their date, holding each other's hands tightly as they just...stared. "we only hunt one at a time, right?" her curiosity peaking.

[likehoney]

age did not make a vampire stronger, but it was their resolve in between life and death. joohyun was strong in her own way, jongin was certain. she would not made it this far, though her age was young in comparison to his. but he loved her all the same, even with the humanity that was deeply instilled in her. she gave him hope, simply, amidst the cruelty he had witnessed -- the cruelty he had given too.

he followed her gaze, leaning back to give her the space to branch her thoughts out, flex her psychic muscles as his brother would say. too easy on her, he had said, allowing joohyun get frozen supplies from various hospitals in seoul when she could feed on a warm human. jongin quirked an eyebrow at the question before laughing, fondly petting her hair. "pep-talk," he echoed. "no, we don't kill them. we leave them confused for a few hours. they'll eventually forget about it."

jongin was about to motion to the waitress once again, would have asked her to send the heartbroken girl that joohyun chose a drink, something sweet, to soothe the ache of bad dates. strawberry daiquiri, perhaps. but, but.

jongin grinned. the other question had him reaching for his wife's hand, playing with her slender fingers. "what are you thinking? what do you want, wife? i'll make it happen."