Bloodline | Maknae Line (21+)

24:

It was hard to decipher if what he had been saying was true. You did believe he was sorry, but you weren't sure if it was for the right reasons. Was he sorry because he felt remorse for making you feel bad? Or was he sorry because making you feel bad went against Lazarus' orders, and therefore whatever reward he was promised wouldn't come to pass? It was all just too confusing with him. He made your head hurt.

You snuggled under the covers, ready to have a good night's sleep. You were feeling tremendously better after you'd been pulled from your depressive episode. Although you still had those dark thoughts in the back of your head, you also had a bit of light and hope that kept them at bay. You were going to find out the truth, and you had some friends that had your back along the way.

You'd been so focused on the friends that you'd lost, you hadn't realized that there were people right here that could be your friends too. Taehyung, with his volatile nature and yet gentle hands. He was unpredictable at best, but you had a feeling he would never hurt you. not anymore, at least. And Jungkook, the apathetic, indifferent vampire who'd shown you small glimpses of emotion and affection that you never thought was possible at the beginning. He'd fought for you, had protected you from yourself and had even warned you again Jimin. The memory of his hand on your cheek was enough to chase the bad thoughts away.

You smiled and closed your eyes, thinking about how his eyes had softened for you and the half-smile he'd given you.

You blinked awake a couple minutes later when you heard the rhythmic sound of someone pacing outside your door. You sat up and looked at the door, listening to the footsteps that padded up and down the hallway in front of your door. You waited, wondering if whoever it was would stop eventually, but they didn't for several minutes. Finally, you got up out of bed and walked over to your door. As your walked, the footsteps stopped abruptly.

You swung the door open and looked up in surprise to see Jungkook himself standing outside your bedroom, his eyes wide and his hair disheveled.

"Jungkook? What are you doing? It's the middle of the night." You said curiously, looking up and down the hallway.

"Yeah, well... vampires don't sleep so..."

"They don't?" You blinked in surprise. You didn't know that. Jungkook shook his head, looking around nervously, avoiding your gaze. "So, wait, what have you all been doing every night, then?" Jungkook shrugged.

"I paint. Taehyung usually goes hunting. I don't know what Jimin does."

"Taehyung goes..." You trailed off and let out a long huff. So he'd been feeding on humans a lot more than you initially thought. He probably never stopped, even when he said he had. You closed your eyes and shook your head. You had to remind yourself not to judge him. This was just what vampires like him did.

"So... then, what are you doing out here? I could hear you pacing up and down." You asked, wringing your hands together. You looked back to see Jungkook was avoiding your eyes again.

"I was... I don't know, I'm restless." He ran a hand through his hair, drawing your attention to the disheveled nature. You clenched your fist, feeling an urge to smooth out the fly-aways. "The last few nights have been... really difficult for me." He added, pausing when he couldn't think of the right word.

You tilted your head. "Difficult? How?"

Jungkook was quiet. He looked to the side, then the other side, then just below your eyes. You patiently waited for him to answer even though you were getting more and more antsy as his jaw clenched and unclenched nervously.

"This hasn't been the first time you've cried since being here." He admitted finally. You blink and your eyes widened in surprise. That was not what you were expecting him to say.