Night Kiss

by E. T. Malinowski

  Jin-woo dropped back onto his bed, his eyes wide with shock. “It wasn’t a dream. My Ki-tae is a Vampire. He… drank from me and… oh my God.”

  Heat flamed in Jin-woo’s face. The things he’d allowed Ki-tae to do. He was shameless. He should have…. Well, Jin-woo didn’t know what he should have done in the face of a Vampire, but it probably wasn’t a good idea to let Ki-tae rub against him like that. Letting Ki-tae drink his blood, yeah, that probably hadn’t been a smart thing either. How was he ever going to watch his favorite idol? How was he ever going to look at those pouting lips and those soulful brown eyes and not remember how Ki-tae had made him cum so hard he passed out… from frotting?

  “If that’s what frotting did to me, what would sex do?” Jin-woo whispered, covering his face with his hands. “No, no, I am not, absolutely not going to think about that. It would probably kill me…. Heck of a way to go, though.”

  Jin-woo giggled, actually giggled, and that sobered him up quickly. He was a man; he shouldn’t be giggling like some high school girl with a crush. Glancing at the clock, Jin-woo swore softly. He was going to be late for class if he didn’t get his ass in gear. He jumped off his bed, stripping his clothes off as he did so. Forty-five minutes later, Jin-woo was out the door and on his way to Jeonjin University. He made it to Pungson Station by 7:20 a.m. Granted, he’d had to jog most of the way, but he didn’t miss his train, and that’s all that mattered. Another thirty minutes later, the train stopped at Jeonjin University station in Mapo-gu, Seoul. Jin-woo had another ten-minute walk until he reached the campus, but he didn’t mind. Well, in the spring, summer, and fall, he didn’t mind. Jin-woo glanced at his phone and groaned. Fourteen degrees Celsius? Seriously? He loved his country and adored Seoul, but January weather sucked and it wouldn’t start to warm up for another two months. Jin-woo pulled the hood of his parka tighter around his head and kept walking. The sooner he got to campus, the sooner he could warm up.

  “Jin-woo-ya!” a familiar voice called, and he paused on the sidewalk outside the station, his boots making a squishing sound in the slush. He waved as his best friend, Yi Min-su, came running up to him, her ponytail bouncing in time with her backpack. “Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine, why?” he asked as she hooked her arm with his and they walked to class.

  “You disappeared last night. I waited for over an hour, called your phone a billion times, and sent you message after message. You didn’t respond, so I got worried.”

  “No, I, uh…. I’m sorry, Min-su-ya,” Jin-woo said, blushing. “I—I got really sick and, uh, and headed home.”

  Min-su punched him in the arm and then hugged him. “I forgive you, but don’t do that ever again.”

  “I missed the rest of the concert,” Jin-woo said, rubbing his arm. She always hit so hard. “How, um, how was it?”

  “Oh my God, it was amazing!” Min-su bounced. “I so want to have Cheongul oppa’s baby!”

  “You’re such a fangirl,” Jin-woo teased.

  “Ki-tae oppa was pretty amazing too.” Min-su looked at him sideways. “He did this slow dance. The things that man can do with his body. He’s like walking sex!”

  “He certainly is,” Jin-woo murmured.

  “Well, fortunately for you, I filmed it.” Min-su smiled brightly. “I sent it to your email this morning. You can watch it at lunch and drool to your heart’s content.”

  “Would you mind keeping it down, please?” Jin-woo said, looking around as they entered the university. “I’d rather not advertise that particular bit of information.”

  “I don’t know what you’re afraid of,” she said softly.

  “Yes, well, people are stupid, and while I don’t deny it, I don’t advertise it either,” Jin-woo answered. Min-su hugged his arm once more. She’d done the same thing when she first found out he was attracted to men. That was an interesting conversation. He should have been more careful when watching the older boys in PE, especially Jae-wook hyung. Man, Jin-woo crushed on him so bad.

  “I know,” Min-su said. “So you can watch it when you get home or find a private spot. We have a club meeting today, and Seonsaengnim said we would be having a special visitor to our class, so don’t be late.”

  “I won’t,” Jin-woo said with a smile as he tugged on her pigtail. “And if I am, it’s usually your fault!”

  “Oh, not true!”

  “Very true,” Jin-woo said. “Now, pull up your hood. You’re making me cold. How can you run around in this weather with no hat or gloves and your coat unzipped? Are you trying to get sick?”

  Min-su shrugged and looked away. “I don’t feel it.”

  “I’d kill to have that ability,” Jin-woo grumbled.

  “No, you wouldn’t.” Min-su’s voice was odd and Jin-woo looked at her sideways. What was up with that?

  “Well, well, what have we here?” Jin-woo sighed as Ki-bom’s voice cut through the air behind them.

  “Doesn’t she have anything better to do?” he asked Min-su. When she would have stopped, Jin-woo pulled her along. They didn’t have time for Ki-bom’s attitude this morning. If they stopped, they’d be late, and Jin-woo didn’t relish the idea of standing in the hall or extra cleaning duties.

  “I’m talking to you,” Ki-bom called out.

  Min-su tried to turn around once more, but Jin-woo kept a tight grip on her arm, pulling her along the graffiti-covered walkways toward the campus. This section of the city was a little… gritty, but the small areas of evergreens and barren trees were kind of pretty in their own way. He liked it better when the trees were in full bloom and gave some color to the otherwise boring gray concrete and cement. He wished the city would put more of them in. Seoul needed some nature to counter all the industry and urbanization in his opinion. “She is so not worth being late for class, Min-su-ya. Just ignore her.”

  “I cannot stand that bitch!” Min-su hissed. “Who the hell does she think she is?”

  “I’m not a psych major, so I don’t care about her mental deficiencies. I care about getting to class on time because I hate cleaning classrooms!” he said.

  Finally Min-su gave up trying to go back to face Ki-bom. From what Min-su had told him, she and Ki-bom had been friends in elementary school. Then Ki-bom moved away for a short time. Min-su said they hadn’t gotten along since Ki-bom came back. She didn’t go into detail about it, and Jin-woo didn’t press. It seemed to be a sore subject for her. Of course, she also said she didn’t care because now she had Jin-woo, and that was just fine with her. Jin-woo smiled. Min-su was his best friend, and there were so many things he could tell her. Honestly, she was the only person who knew the real Jin-woo, about his dreams, about what he wanted to do with his life, and about his past.

  Ki-tae

  KI-TAE GAVE a little purr as he languidly stretched beneath the silk sheets of his bed. The floor-to-ceiling windows allowed sunlight to filter through the dark blue sheers. He hadn’t felt this relaxed, this sated, in a very long time. He let loose a happy chuckle. He felt really good, and he could, more than likely, lay that at Jin-woo’s feet. Something about his blood had given Ki-tae this energy, this pleased feeling. He had been so responsive, so vocal in his pleasure. There was nothing Ki-tae enjoyed more than knowing he was pleasing his partner, and Jin-woo had certainly let him know how good he was feeling.

  “Too bad he’s human,” Ki-tae murmured. “Otherwise I would consider playing with him for a few centuries.”

  After a couple more moments of fantasizing about Jin-woo in his bed, Ki-tae rose and padded, naked, to the shower. He had dance practice, a voice lesson, and several interviews ahead of him, and he needed to get moving. Otherwise Soon-joon, his manager, might have kittens. Well, he was more than just a manager, but he took all his roles very seriously.

  Once he was clean, Ki-tae threw on a pair of worn jeans with holes in the knees, followed by a long-sleeved T-shirt and his black Chucks. He grabbed his bag, shoved several bottles of water inside, along with some snacks, and he
aded out to the studio. The sun was just peeking over the horizon, and he had to be at the dance studio in thirty minutes. His apartment in the capital wasn’t that far from headquarters and he would be taking company transportation to his interviews, but at the end of the day, he didn’t want to walk back to his place. It would be too damn cold. Their choreographer, Rah Goo-ji, was a slave driver, but Ki-tae had to admit the results she pulled from them were phenomenal.

  Several hours later, he was not so fond of their choreographer. His entire body ached, and sweat slicked his skin, and it took a lot to make him sweat, reminding Ki-tae why they had nicknamed her Gojira. He wanted to chug the bottle of water in his hand but forced himself to drink it slowly. Stomach cramps would not be fun. He might be a Vampire, but his body didn’t function all that differently from a human’s. He had greater endurance and could take way more damage than a human before being incapacitated, but everything else was pretty much the same. Well, except for the additional need to consume blood. Cheongul dropped to the floor next to him. He handed one of his best friends—brother, really—a bottle without a word.

  “You smelled like sex and blood when you came back last night,” Cheongul said after taking a long pull off the water bottle. “And you had an early costume change.”

  “My two favorite scents,” Ki-tae said with a smirk.

  “Dongsaeng—”

  “Nosy,” Ki-tae said, elbowing Cheongul. “I had an… encounter with someone backstage. He caught me having a little snack, and I chased him through the stadium to the loading dock.”

  “Shit, he knows?” Cheongul said and sucked air through his front teeth as he pressed his tongue against them. Ki-tae realized he made that noise a lot when they talked.

  “Yes, he knows,” Ki-tae said. “I don’t think he’s going to say anything, though.”

  “Why not?”

  “First, who’s going to believe him? Second, if anyone did believe him, there’s no proof, and third, frotting with me definitely ruins his credibility, don’t you think?” Ki-tae said, raising his eyebrow.

  Cheongul stared at him, his mouth hanging open. “You’re shitting me.”

  “Not in the slightest. Plus he tasted absolutely fucking delicious,” Ki-tae said before taking another swig of water.

  “You’re telling me you chased this guy through the Seoul Olympic Stadium after he caught you feeding, cornered him in the loading docks, and he let you drink from him and get off?”

  “Well, the last was definitely mutual.”

  “Even so, dongsaeng, Abeoji’s not going to be happy someone knows we exist,” Cheongul said with all seriousness. “And you know Seung-gi hyung has to tell him.”

  “I’ll tell him. I don’t want to put Seung-gi hyung through that,” Ki-tae said, looking down as he fiddled with the bottle cap. Their sire could be… intimidating, but he wasn’t an unreasonable man. “Abeoji will at least listen.”

  “He’s still not going to be happy. You know how he feels about keeping us safe,” Cheongul said.

  Before Ki-tae could respond, Gojira came in and put them back to work. They would practice another two hours, followed by his voice lesson, and then it was off to interviews, after a shower and clothing change, before rehearsal in the evening. Afterward they were supposed to meet their sire for dinner, as they did every month. Ki-tae loved what he did, but it was hard work. Perhaps that was why he loved it. Work gave him purpose, something to look forward to, something to make it worth getting out of bed. Immediately an image of Jin-woo came to mind and Ki-tae smiled. Well, maybe there were more reasons to get out of bed in the morning.

  Jin-woo

  JIN-WOO CURLED up on the window ledge, sketching. His morning classes were done for now, and he had a few moments before his last class started. Then it would be off to the studios to work on his various projects. Min-su had yet to arrive, so he figured working on his storyboards was a good way to pass the time. Honestly, he loved his faculty, loved the combination of art, music, and technology. That’s what had drawn him to Jeonjin University and why Jin-woo chose the School of Design and Media. He could indulge in both his passions.

  Jin-woo jumped as Min-su slammed her books down on the desk next to him. For a moment he couldn’t breathe. Then his heart slowed and he could focus on her. She looked mad as hell.

  “What’s happened?” he asked, setting his drawing pad aside.

  “Ki-bom seonbae happened,” Min-su snarled. “I don’t get her. Why can’t she leave me alone?”

  “You have to ignore her.”

  “It’s hard when I get cornered by her and her cronies in the girls’ bathroom,” Min-su said, crossing her arms over her chest. “It took forever to get out of there without punching someone.”

  Jin-woo smiled. “Well, I am proud of your show of restraint. It proves you’re the better person.”

  “Thank you.” Min-su looked slightly mollified. “Did I miss anything?”

  “Not really. I’ve just been working on my storyboards while waiting for everyone to arrive.”

  “Really? Can I see?” Min-su asked, a smile blossoming on her face. She practically bounced with excitement.

  “They’re not very good, just preliminaries. I won’t be able to do more until we hammer out the story itself,” Jin-woo said as he handed her the pad.

  “Your work amazes me every time I see it,” Min-su said softly, flipping through the pages. “Even your rough sketches are awesome. You have such a natural talent.”

  “I’m not all that,” Jin-woo muttered, ducking his head to hide the blush he knew was on his face.

  “I swear every creative thing you touch, you excel at, Jin-woo-ya,” Bak Jong-in said as he plopped down in the desk next to Min-su. Jong-in was the only other person he felt close to. A quiet man, Jong-in was a god on the soundboard. “You play several instruments, the artwork is amazing, even the writing—although you don’t get involved in that part too much, you’re good at all of it.”

  “That’s not unusual, and I only play two. You play drums, guitar, bass, and piano. And if you saw the marks I got on my last 3-D art project, you’d realize I’m not good at everything. And have you seen me trying to balance my checkbook? Math is not my forte. Really, I’m not—”

  “Stop,” Min-su said with a smile as she grabbed his arm. Jin-woo smiled at her. It made him feel good when they liked his work. It meant he was doing things right.

  “Most of us are really good at one aspect of digital media production, maybe two,” Jong-in said. “You’re really good, and it’s nothing to be ashamed of. You have natural talent.”

  “Until you put me in front of an audience and I pass out or puke. I just… you all do great work,” Jin-woo said. “It’s not just me.”

  “We do better work with you,” Mei said, joining their little group. She moved close to Jin-woo, almost touching. He shifted away slightly, her proximity making him uncomfortable. He wished she would stop standing so close to him all the time. “So does anyone know what this special announcement is?”

  Jin-woo gave her what he hoped was a polite smile but didn’t respond to her compliment. He always felt slightly unsettled around Mei. He wasn’t sure what, if anything, to do about the blush that colored her cheeks. He really hoped it didn’t mean she liked him liked him. She was guaranteed disappointment on that front. Before he could think further on it, the teacher entered the classroom and called for everyone’s attention. They took their seats.

  “Good afternoon, everyone,” he began. “As I mentioned last week, we have a special visitor today. He is an alumnus of Jeonjin University and a dear friend of mine from my own school days. Currently he is one of the most successful managers at BL Entertainment. Please welcome Park Soon-joon-nim.”

  As the distinguished gentleman entered the room, Jin-woo nearly fell over. Park Soon-joon was known as the God of K-pop. Every group he put together never failed to soar to the top of the charts. He was known for managing bands that were a strong cohesive unit in talent and
personality. Park Soon-joon just had the gift. He knew who to mix with whom, how many members, what would work and what wouldn’t. There was no one with his success rate in the industry to date.

  Jin-woo stared wide-eyed at the man responsible for bringing Ki-tae and Bam Kiseu into his life.

  Ki-tae

  KI-TAE ARRIVED at his sire’s home in one of the more affluent districts of Seoul. Beyond the walls, it was as if he’d stepped from the city to the country. In the spring, summer, and fall there was greenery everywhere. Zelkovas, alders and birch trees, though they were bare of leaves at present, abelia shrubs and camellias in various shades creating a transitional rainbow affect when they were in bloom. Snow blanketed the entire area at the moment, but the soft burble of water could be heard in the quiet of the night. He truly did enjoy coming to his sire’s house. It made him feel… safe, secure, and that was a feeling he cherished. There was a time when he wasn’t either of those things, and Ki-tae never wanted to go there again. A chill danced up his spine, and he immediately shook it off.

  He turned off the main walkway and followed the stone path curving around the right side of the house. It took him through a small garden and over a little wooden bridge spanning a decent-sized koi pond. A sheet of ice covered the surface, but the pond had been installed with a heated edge used only during the winter which kept the pond from completely freezing and allowed for ventilation with the use of the aerator. The path continued between two peach trees standing to either side, as if they were sentries guarding the emperor’s castle. Ki-tae chuckled. He paused long enough to remove his shoes and place them on the tidy wooden shelves nearby, noting three other pairs already settled. Then he walked through the open doors and into a spacious sunroom. He continued through, weaving around the low table and cushions into the dining room. The room was a long rectangle, its walls showing serene landscapes of Korea, China, and Japan, all places they had lived at one point or another.