Night Kiss

by E. T. Malinowski

  “Why would anyone do that?”

  “Because he’s an idol,” Min-su said. “While a fangirl or boy will obsess over an idol or group, a sasaeng will fixate on an idol and take it the point of invading the personal and private lives of their idols. They’ve been known to cause car accidents while following or chasing their idols, break into the idols’ homes, tap their phones, all sorts of crazy and sometimes illegal activities. They’re stalkers and can be dangerous.”

  “Have you ever reported these people?”

  “Only the ones who do something illegal,” Ki-tae said. “It’s irritating to have them follow me everywhere, but as long as they don’t cross that line, there’s not much I can do about it. It’s why we have a security detail.”

  “And where’s yours right now?”

  “Right here.” Shin-bai entered the room, looking huge and intimidating. Ki-tae gave him a smile, and he nodded. “I am Cho Shin-bai.”

  It took another twenty-five minutes before the officers left. Ki-tae didn’t think they were going to do much, but he knew Shin-bai would.

  When the lights pulled away and no longer flashed on the ceiling, Shin-bai bowed to Ki-tae. “I’ll be downstairs. Please don’t take off like that again. It takes years off my life that I can’t spare, watching you drive like a maniac!”

  Ki-tae chuckled. “I’ll try. That’s all I can promise.”

  “It will have to do.” Shin-bai sighed before turning to Jin-woo and handing him a business card. “If you need me, call. You are part of the family now. I do not take kindly to threats to my family.”

  “Thank you, Shin-bai hyung,” Jin-woo said as he took it with both hands. “That means a lot.”

  Shin-bai nodded and then left the room. Ki-tae turned Jin-woo to face him, gently cupped his face, and kissed him. Then he pressed their foreheads together, feeling a sense of calm surround him and settle Jin-woo.

  “Better?” he whispered softly.

  “Yes, thank you,” Jin-woo said. “I… I can’t stay here tonight.”

  Min-su came up behind Jin-woo, watching Ki-tae carefully. “You don’t have to. You can stay with me if you want. Or you could probably stay with Ki-tae hyung, right?”

  “Of course.” Ki-tae smiled at Jin-woo, hoping to get a response. While he got one, it wasn’t Jin-woo’s usual smile, and that bothered Ki-tae—a lot.

  “I don’t want to be a bother,” Jin-woo said. Min-su immediately smacked him upside the head. Ki-tae couldn’t help the growl. She just raised an eyebrow at him.

  “I reserve the right to smack him when he says something that freaking stupid,” she said with a huff. “I don’t care how fangy you get at me. Mine are sharper, and I have four.”

  That got a bigger smile from Jin-woo, and Min-su stuck her tongue out at Ki-tae. In response, he reached out and flicked her nose lightning quick. She actually yelped and jumped backward. “Ow, you evil little bloodsucker!”

  “That’s not all I suck,” Ki-tae said, leering down at Jin-woo.

  “Oh, gross!” Min-su snapped. “Not an image I want in my head, damn you! At least not with you and Jin-woo-ya!”

  “She’s very visual.” Jin-woo chuckled.

  Ki-tae smirked at Min-su before turning back to Jin-woo. “Why don’t you put a bag together for a couple of days. I’ll take you to my apartment. It’s near headquarters, so you won’t have far to travel to get there.”

  “Do you have a lot scheduled this week?” Jin-woo’s voice seemed small, and Ki-tae pulled him close once more. “I…. It’s stupid, but I don’t really want to be alone.”

  “It’s not stupid, Jin-woo-ya,” Min-su said as she rubbed his back. “Someone broke into your home and did some nasty and decidedly weird shit. It’s understandable to be scared.”

  “I’ve never had this happen before. They trashed my living room and cleaned my bedroom. They stole all my sketchbooks but left the drawing of Ki-tae-ya torn to shreds in the living room. Why would they do that?”

  “For right now, you’re going to stop thinking about it as best you can,” Ki-tae said. “You’re going to grab some clothes and necessities and come to my place. We’ll worry about cleanup later.”

  “Okay,” Jin-woo said. “I’ll just throw some things into a bag. I’ll be back in a minute.”

  Ki-tae watched Jin-woo slowly climb the stairs to his room. When he was out of sight, Ki-tae turned to Min-su. They walked farther away from the stairs. Then he glanced around, inhaling. Something niggled at his senses, but he couldn’t place it. There was an overlying chemical scent that was masking a lot of scents in the room.

  “I can’t get a clear mark on anything,” Ki-tae said. “I mean, I can smell Jin-woo-ya, but his scent would be the strongest and the hardest to disguise. I haven’t been here before, so I don’t know what scents are supposed to be here and what aren’t.”

  “Whoever did this cleaned more than just his bedroom,” Min-su said. “They wiped down the place to get rid of fingerprints, and they used some sort of chemical to distort what couldn’t be wiped away. That’s one smart bastard… or someone who watches way too many crime dramas. I can’t get a clear scent either, which pisses me off even more. Everyone needs a place where they feel safe, and this bastard just took away Jin-woo-ya’s.”

  Ki-tae pulled out his phone and tapped out a message. “That’s my address and home phone. You have my cell. I’ll put you and Jong-in dongsaeng on the list at the security desk. On Sunday we all have dinner at Soon-joon-nim’s house. When he’s feeling a little more settled, I’ll see if he wants to come with me. I don’t have anything scheduled for tomorrow, so I can stay with him if he isn’t up to going in.”

  “Thanks. I feel better knowing he’s not going to be alone,” Min-su said. “Hopefully this was a one-time thing. I want to say it was random, but there’s no way.”

  “What are you two plotting?” Jin-woo asked as he came down the stairs, a small suitcase in one hand and his backpack on his shoulder. He looked exhausted.

  “Nothing,” Ki-tae said with a smile. “I just gave Min-su dongsaeng my address and phone number. I’ll also put her and Jong-in dongsaeng on the security clearance list so they can come visit you when you want them to.”

  “I really feel like….”

  “If you say the word ‘burden,’ I will hit you twice,” Min-su growled. “You’re my friend, Jin-woo-ya. This is what friends do.”

  “Is it?” Jin-woo looked at Ki-tae. “Is this what friends do?”

  “Well, I’ll be honest. The idea of having you in my home makes me very happy. I just wish it wasn’t under these circumstances,” Ki-tae said, rubbing his hand through his hair with a chuckle. “I’ve been dreaming about you in my house for a while now.”

  “And there go the pheromones,” Min-su grumbled with a sneeze. “Can’t you two contain it until I leave at least?”

  “Then go already,” Jin-woo said with a halfhearted smirk. Min-su hugged him and then bonked his forehead with hers.

  “Call me when you get there, okay?” she said. “Don’t make me come searching, because I will not respect a closed door in this case.”

  “Nothing is going to happen,” Jin-woo protested.

  “Then I will lose all respect for you,” she teased. “I’ll talk to you later.”

  She gave him another hug and then walked out the door, leaving Ki-tae and Jin-woo alone among the chaos. Ki-tae held out his hand. He didn’t like how Jin-woo’s hand shook as he took it. “Come on. Let’s get you out of here.”

  Once Jin-woo had closed and locked the door, Ki-tae pulled him to his side and wrapped his arm around him. He didn’t say anything. There was only so much to say in this situation. No matter what, Jin-woo’s haven had been taken from him. They took the elevator down. Ki-tae leaned against the corner, Jin-woo held firmly against him. Outside Shin-bai was waiting by Ki-tae’s car. He took Jin-woo’s suitcase and stored it in the trunk.

  “You will drive more responsibly on your way home, correct?” Shin-bai
said. “Do not shave any more years off my life.”

  “I will,” Ki-tae said, giving Jin-woo a side hug.

  Shin-bai nodded and then opened the passenger door for Jin-woo as Ki-tae slid into the driver’s seat. He closed it and then tapped on the roof before getting into his own vehicle. Ki-tae waited until Shin-bai was ready and then slowly pulled out onto the street, his speed much more sedate than when he arrived earlier.

  “I always wondered,” Jin-woo said absently.

  “Wondered what?”

  “What you listened to in the car,” Jin-woo said. “I mean, do you listen to your own songs? You sing them for weeks on end. Do you ever get tired of hearing them?”

  “Not really,” Ki-tae said as he checked his mirror and then changed lanes. “I mean, I listen to other groups. I like 2NE1 and Big Bang, Rain, and BTS. B.A.P. is pretty good too, and Block B, they’re funny as hell, but when they get serious, it’s still damned good music. I also listen to Mozart and Bach, and I like Wagner.”

  “What is the one band you listen to that no one would ever picture you listening to?” Jin-woo asked.

  Ki-tae glanced at him and smiled. “You really want to know?”

  “Yeah, I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t.”

  “I listen to Motionless In White and Asking Alexandria,” Ki-tae said and then hit Play on his stereo. “This is one of my mixed playlists. The first song is called ‘Reincarnate’ by Motionless In White. I usually do about three songs in the same genre and then change to a different one, so the next two should be either Asking Alexandria, probably ‘Death of Me’ or Five Finger Death Punch ‘Jekyll & Hyde.’ It’s pretty eclectic.”

  “I’d say so,” Jin-woo murmured as the music began to play. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes, taking in the heavy guitar and drums and the deep screams of the vocalist. When Ki-tae glanced over again, he was bobbing his head to the beat. For several minutes the car was filled with nothing but music, and that seemed to soothe them both.

  “So what do you listen to that no one would suspect?” Ki-tae said as he made the turn onto his street.

  “You really want to know?” Jin-woo shot his words back at him.

  “Of course. I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t.” Two could play that game.

  “I listen to Right Said Fred, Shakira, and Paul Young,” Jin-woo said. Ki-tae chuckled. “What? What’s so funny?”

  “I love the song ‘You’re My Mate,’” Ki-tae admitted, turning into the parking garage. “Paul Young I haven’t heard, but Shakira dances like a dream. No one should be able to control their body that well. She has a unique voice too. I always thought she looked like she was having so much fun doing her thing.”

  “I think the really good ones do enjoy it. I mean, what’s the point if you don’t love music?” Jin-woo asked.

  “I couldn’t even begin to answer that question,” Ki-tae said as he parked the car. “We’re here. You ready?”

  “Yeah. I’m so tired, Ki-tae-ya,” Jin-woo said. His voice sounded distinctly watery.

  “Come on. Let’s get you upstairs.” Ki-tae leaned over and gave him a gentle kiss.

  By the time the elevator reached Ki-tae’s floor, Jin-woo was practically asleep standing up. Ki-tae chuckled softly. He carefully shifted Jin-woo until he could squat slightly and get him on his back. Ki-tae hoisted him up and then grabbed his suitcase before wrapping his arms securely around Jin-woo’s thighs. If he didn’t have to grab the suitcase, too, he would have just hooked his hands under Jin-woo’s ass. When he reached his door, Ki-tae dropped the suitcase to fish for his keys without dropping Jin-woo. That would not be an auspicious start to Jin-woo’s stay.

  As tempted as Ki-tae was to put Jin-woo in his bed, he was a good boy and put him in the guest bedroom across the hall. After removing only his shoes, he tucked Jin-woo in and left the small lamp on the nightstand on so there would be some light if Jin-woo woke up. He tiptoed out of the room and put Jin-woo’s shoes by the door. Then he padded, barefoot, to his own room.

  This was his home away from home. He grabbed the cordless phone on his way and, after taking the two steps down into his living room seating area, he curled up on the couch and dialed the security office. It didn’t take long to get that squared away. Then he pulled out his cell and sent a text message to Min-su, letting her know they’d made it and that Jin-woo was out cold. He’d call Soon-joon in the morning and let him know what was going on. Right now he was beat and wanted his bed, preferably with Jin-woo in it, but he would have to deal with that disappointment for right now.

  Ki-tae was not necessarily a neat person. His clothes ended up strewn over the soft leather chair set at an angle about three or four feet from the foot of his bed. Everything in the room was a shade of that dove gray, with darker gray and black accents. His bed was a platform style in a light pinewood. The headboard was padded and covered in almost the same shade as the wood. His linens were a darker shade of gray, not quite the same color as a stormcloud, but rather the medium gray of a storm building. He had matching nightstands, with a single shelf and two box storage slots underneath, on either side of his bed. Pillar lamps sat on each nightstand. Perhaps Ki-tae’s favorite piece in his room was the cherry blossom tree branches stretching across the ceiling and down the wall behind his bed, giving an impression of lying beneath the trees. He really liked that sensation.

  Ki-tae sighed as he slipped, naked, between the soft sheets of his bed. He was exhausted. He might be a Vampire, but it wasn’t like in the movies. He got tired, had to eat food as well as consume blood, and could get hurt, just not as easily as a human could. He’d been on the go all day, starting with dance practice at eight in the morning. Then interviews, guest appearances, radio shows, and a photo shoot for a new clothing line. Plus the minute he sensed Jin-woo’s distress, he went into heightened defense mode, making it hard to function without doing damage to people who were in his way. He was beat. Five minutes after his head hit the pillow, he was out.

  A few hours later, there was a gentle knock on his door. Ki-tae mumbled and then rolled over. The knock came again, a little louder, and then he heard Jin-woo call his name. Ki-tae was immediately awake. He called for Jin-woo to come in as he sat up and rubbed his eyes. He normally didn’t wake up well, but he’d wake up for Jin-woo. His door opened, and Jin-woo came around the corner.

  “Are you okay?” Ki-tae asked softly.

  “I, yeah…. No, no, I’m not,” Jin-woo said. “Can I….”

  Before Jin-woo finished speaking, Ki-tae held up the edge of the blanket. Jin-woo rushed to the side of the bed, shucked his jeans and T-shirt, and climbed in. He snuggled close as if uncaring Ki-tae was completely naked beneath the sheets. Ki-tae bit back a hiss as Jin-woo’s legs tangled with his, and he laid his head on Ki-tae’s chest. It was going to be a long night, but Ki-tae didn’t care. Jin-woo needed this, not sex, right now. He closed his eyes and went back to sleep, his arms firmly around Jin-woo.

  Sunlight filtered through the pale gray sheers covering the floor-to-ceiling windows. Ki-tae’s eyes snapped open, and he sucked in breath as hot, wet heat encased his shaft. Immediately he buried his fingers in Jin-woo’s hair as he dug his other hand into the sheets, his claws sliding from his fingertips, tearing them. He panted for breath as Jin-woo flicked his tongue against his frenulum, sending sparks shooting… everywhere. Ki-tae gasped, his fangs dropping, his neck arching, his eyes rolling back in his head. Jin-woo knew exactly what did it for him. The pinches to his nipple made Ki-tae growl, while the rolling of his balls between Jin-woo’s fingers stole his breath away. Ki-tae parted his legs wider, giving Jin-woo more room.

  And then the wonderful sensations went away. Ki-tae opened his eyes, searching for Jin-woo, only to find him straddling Ki-tae, completely naked. He grabbed Jin-woo’s hips and lifted, stopping him from dropping any farther.

  “Please tell me this isn’t gratitude for letting you stay,” he said huskily, trying to maintain control when all he wanted was Jin-
woo wrapped around him.

  “No, it’s not,” Jin-woo said with a smile. “Gratitude is the breakfast I’m going to make you once we’re awake again. This is because I’ve wanted to make love with you since our first kiss. This is because I want you buried deep inside me, making me feel so hot and sexy and desirable. This is because I know you want me too.”

  “Good,” Ki-tae growled before he surged upward and twisted, holding Jin-woo so he didn’t go flying off the bed and taking his mouth in a hungry kiss. Then he changed it, sipping at Jin-woo’s mouth, lightly licking his bottom lip until Jin-woo gasped, and then slowly thrusting his tongue deep. He gentled his hands, stroking lightly over Jin-woo’s arms, his sides, over his hip and thigh. Ki-tae hooked Jin-woo’s thigh and lifted it over his hip as he settled between Jin-woo’s legs. Then he stopped and looked into those gorgeous brown eyes.

  “Ki-tae-ya?” Jin-woo questioned.

  “Are you sure, Jin-woo-ya?” Ki-tae asked softly, nervousness filling him.

  “Yes, I’m sure,” Jin-woo said, cupping his face. Ki-tae turned and kissed his palm.

  He followed the line of Jin-woo’s arm down over his shoulder, pausing long enough at the bend of his elbow to give it a little lick, making Jin-woo giggle. He continued upward, nibbling along the line of his shoulder, then nipping at his neck, making Jin-woo arch and give him more access. Ki-tae chuckled against his skin, feeling the full-body tremor he caused. Jin-woo really liked that.

  “You want me to drink from you, don’t you?”

  “Not until you’re inside me,” Jin-woo panted, gripping Ki-tae’s shoulders and digging in his nails. He moved his legs restlessly.

  Ki-tae smiled. He definitely liked that answer. He reached over to his bedside table and grabbed the lube from inside the drawer. He paused at the condoms. He couldn’t transmit or carry, but he didn’t know how comfortable Jin-woo would be with bareback. “I can’t give you anything, but do you want me to use a condom anyway?”

  “Really?” Jin-woo’s eyes widened in surprise.