nightfall || minsung

Chapter 16

"Like Raven from That's So Raven?" Minho said.

"Yup, that's him."

Minho laughed. I was thankful for the useless TV Guide in my brain if it meant I'd get to hear him laugh.

I continued. "Felix says he made the smallest decision, to turn left instead of right, and he saw himself becoming a part of our family. He had no idea we existed. He had no idea Changbin existed when he saw him in the same vision and instantly fell in love with him. The two of them found us in nineteen twenty-two, they've been with us since."

"Does Changbin have a power?"

"Changbin's gift is... unique. He can manipulate a person's emotional climate, excite or sooth a crowd at will. He acts like he's gonna take over the world, but we know he's too fluffy." If he ever tried, Seungmin would punt him straight into the afterlife. Besides, Felix preferred the world to be free, and Changbin would never upset Felix.

"Do the others have powers?"

"Theirs are more subtle. Everyone carries with them a few traits or talents from their human lives, and becoming a vampire strengthens them."

"So you could already read minds when you were alive?"

"I could get a read on people easily. I think. Human memories fade." They faded the way dreams fade, leaving an obscure feeling in the pit of my stomach, the longing for a maternal touch from a woman I don't remember, the release of a needle in the soft of my arm.

"Oh. Do you wanna talk about it?"

"Um, no, thanks. That's sweet."

He smiled. "What about Seungmin? What can he do?"

"Seungmin has charisma. It's impossible not to love him." Despite his constant one-liners. He bonded with people easily, made relationships that weren't always... mellow, but were trusting and loyal. With Seungmin, words weren't necessary.

"Hyunjin?"

"Hyunjin can look at any given situation and find the good in it, hold on to the positive. He sees the world through rose-coloured glasses." In sharp contrast to me. That was why we fit well together. Somehow his light could brighten my shadow.

"Jeongin?"

"Jeongin can cheer anyone up simply by being himself." I wasn't entirely sure if that was a vampiric superability — maybe he was just like that. He cared in the quietest ways, a solid hand to hold, a coolheaded voice. Half the kind things he'd done only occurred to me years afterward.

"Dr. Bang?"

"Chan is compassionate. He's worked hard his whole life, only thinking of others." He knew what it was like to be alone — he had been for 150 years before he'd found Haseong. Sometimes he'd sit back, watching us bicker and bumble around, and love would light up in his eyes. Our companionship meant everything to him.

"Mr. Bak?"

"Haseong is caring, loyal, protective — he's fierce in his love." Some of the first words he ever said to me were 'You are not alone. We're here for you now. You will never be alone again, okay?'

"And Chan and Haseong are together?"

"Yes."

"And Felix and Changbin?"

"Yes."

"And Hyunjin and Jeongin?"

"And Seungmin."

"Like... the three of them?"

"Yes."

"Whoa," Minho said. "Cool. So, basically, you came together to form a family of vampires who don't eat people."