In the course of the following year, things returned to pretty much how they were when Rei first joined the gang. They continued joggling their second year of University with their everyday jobs. Aotaki moved back to the house the next day she and Jimin got back together and they went back to being the sickeningly sweet couple they were before and without a care in the world of the others' opinions.
They were three months into that year and Jungkook kept having sudden flashbacks of the time he was compelled. Every night he'd remember a new day and every day after the revelations he'd avoid Rei more and more, keeping their interactions to a minimum which meant that ultimately he'd be avoiding Taehyung as well. He was ashamed of facing his hyung anyway but he didn't want to make anyone suspicious.
However, Taehyung figured it out the second Jungkook stopped looking Rei into her eyes when he'd answer her questions, every reply getting vaguer each time. The two best friends have been unseparated for the past three months, playing together and helping each other out at the club and talking about Kook's latest conquests jokingly, so to see him stop all of that was concerning.
It was when he started avoiding Taehyung as well that the older stepped in, deciding to have a small chat with the younger and help him as much as he could. The only way he could get Jungkook to get past it was to face Rei and talk about the unfortunate and embarrassing events.
And so, on a Friday night before the club would open for the young college students ready to find their partners for the night or maybe life, Taehyung took his girlfriend by the hand and went downstairs to the bar to see Jungkook busying himself with some boxes of hard liquor, filling in the blank spaces under the counter.
Although Rei protested at first because she knew how uncomfortable the maknae would be when they'd bring that up, she caved easily when Taehyung convinced her that it was the best solution to get it over with.
At the sounds of footsteps approaching the aisle, Jungkook looked over the counter to see the pair heading towards him and tried to tiptoe his way to the back room, walking like a dwarf to avoid getting caught but he didn't realize that they'd see the door getting open when he pushed it and that caused Taehyung to call his name for attention.
"Jungkook-ah, wait a minute." They walked around the bar to get to the small entryway and past the small barrier. "We have to talk."
"Um, about what?" Jungkook said as soon as he was at the same height level as the two.
"I know." The older sighed, a hand pinching the bridge of his nose as he exhaled a little louder than he wanted.
"Know what?" He stalled again. He really didn't enjoy being put on the spot and especially about this subject.
"Jungkook! Stop playing. We need to talk about this." Taehyung said sternly, frowning at the boy's stubbornness.
"There is nothing to talk about. I screwed up and that's it. I'm sorry." Jungkook said, leaning back against the door as he took in a deep breath.
"You didn't screw up anything. Jungkook, this stuff happen and it's not your fault, okay? It's nobody's fault. I'm not mad and neither is she. Just talk to us, please." Taehyung tried convincing the younger.
"But there really is nothing to talk about. I had a small crush on her the first few months she joined us, before you two got serious and I kept it to myself because there was no reason to voice it out and possibly break you guys apart when I saw how much you liked each other." Jungkook glanced at Rei shortly to see her throwing him a look of pity which only lit up a spark of anger in him before he averted his eyes to Taehyung who was trying to look as if those words hadn't been heard.
"But I don't anymore. I guess that was all it took for Aotaki to use it to their advantage. And the reason why I didn't want to talk about it is because I know how awful it is to hear that others might want your partner to do things only you can and I'm sorry for every time that I kissed her and even thought about other stuff and most importantly I'm sorry for being jealous, when it wasn't my place to be, and punching you, hyung." He had tears in his eyes by the time he stopped talking, looking at Taehyung's sad face. He did his best to used the tears away, he had to be strong. He had cried for an eternity in the past year and was done with it.
"You should've said something if that's how you felt about me and maybe we would've done something about it and Aotaki wouldn't have used it against us." Rei spoke softly, fidgeting to get rid of the nervousness that took over her body.
"I doubt it would've changed anything aside from the embarrassment and rejection you'd put me through but thanks." He laughed forcibly to maybe lighten up the mood but it didn't really work. "I'm sorry for pushing you into doing anything you didn't like. You're an awesome best friend and I really don't want to lose you but at the same time, I can't be around you right now. I need some time to forget about all this. I want to focus on working right now, something to keep me busy." He glanced between the two of them for approval.
"It was understandable, so you don't have to apologize for anything. What happened, happened. But do you really think that burying yourself in work is the solution?" Rei asked, looking around the club and already imagining him doing every chore possible to keep himself away from home.
"For now, yes. I need to focus on other problems than my own for a while." He sighed, looking at the unopened boxes of beverages and supplies that needed to be arranged in their places. The merchandise truck had just unloaded their cargo and everything was waiting for him to be dealt with.
"Well, I have an idea that might make you happy." Taehyung smiled gently, proud of himself for thinking of it in such a short amount of time.
~
A way of dealing with the powerful emotions that Jungkook was going through was to hand over the club's responsibilities to the younger since he was so adamant to spend all his free time working. Meanwhile, Taehyung had taken Rei to his hometown in Daegu for the first time in their relationship where Yoongi, Jin, Namjoon and Hoseok were currently living in their own mansion where they had their own business, owning a few popular restaurants throughout the city.
The area they chose to start their career in was the most visited by foreigners since it is situated by low mountains. The fresh air is the most important feature when traveling and the average temperatures are perfect for any type of activities. Not too cold but not too hot. Just like Rei likes it. And while only Taehyung and Yoongi were originally from Daegu, the others joined in six years ago when Yoongi bought the first restaurant in town and with it came three more that needed to be supervised and while he held interviews for the jobs, he found his old childhood friend, Seokjin, who had his own team of business partners. Yoongi hired them on the spot, trusting the older with his life and through him the others as well.
Aotaki and Jimin were the only ones who remained in Seoul since Aotaki was complaining about being too sick to travel anywhere and the house was the only place she wanted to stay in for the time being. It was a good thing, though, for Jungkook to have someone waiting for him at home to remind him to eat and sleep and not completely lose himself in paperwork. Although, it rarely happened for him to actually leave the club before four in the morning.
It did help him to forget about his personal problems a lot quicker than he expected when he had so many deadlines and reports to fill in, orders to place and contracts to sign. He would be so tired when he'd arrive home that he'd fall asleep the second his head would hit the pillow.
With each day that passed, Aotaki's magic would start to get out of control little by little. One day, she'd set the kettle on fire when she'd try making herself a cup o tea in the morning. The other, there would be random rain showers starting in their bedroom, soaking the bed and everything in their room. But what concerned her -and Jimin mostly- was the time she accidentally put a spell over their own house to keep the other vampires off their property when Jimin was out at work and when he came home, he couldn't even get into his own house. His first thought was, of course, that she had gone mental but he didn't want to believe that that was a possibility. He was definitely worried and every time he'd ask her if something was wrong, she'd brush him off with a "I'm fine, don't worry." and he'd eventually let it go, afraid that he'd maybe do more damage.
And that was the reason the next day she was paying a visit to Queen CL to find out the source of her magical outburst. She had to find the answers there. The first time she felt a weird change in her powers was two months ago but she ignored it, thinking it would go away since at the time it didn't seem too serious.
"Aotaki-shi, what brings you here?" CL greeted, taking off the glasses she kept on the bridge of her nose as she set down the book she was currently reading.
"My Queen," She bowed respectfully as soon as she got in front of her. "I think something is wrong with my powers."
"What do you mean?" CL furrowed her brows confused. She had never encountered a problem like that before, nor did she have any knowledge of the cure.
"For the past two months, I can't seem to control my magic. And it's getting worse every day." Aotaki confessed, hoping to get some help.
"I have never heard of anything like this before. We'll have to look into it. Follow me." CL said, sitting up from her desk to walk the short distance to her private library containing every possible study about vampires that existed on the face of the globe, beckoning Aotaki to follow her.
~
Meanwhile, in Daegu, Rei was dealing with her own unusual health conditions. She started craving for blood more often, and not just any blood but Taehyung's. She was feeling nauseous most of the time and it was getting harder and harder to control herself when she was near her boyfriend as he made her feel more needier than ever. Taehyung didn't mind the mind-blowing sex they'd have every day and sometimes at night too when she couldn't stand being so far, yet so close to him.
Her emotions were all over the place, crying over the smallest of things that normally wouldn't faze her. Or laughing wholeheartedly at the cruelest scenes in the movies they'd watch. It was a little scary to witness an innocent, sweet girl act as if she was the reincarnation of the devil itself but at the same time acting like a little angel when she'd cuddle into Taehyung's chest, seeking his warmth.
"Rei baby, are you feeling alright?" Taehyung asked when she had started rubbing herself all over his body again as they were watching a horror movie. It concerned him because it was a horror movie, the least sexiest thing they could watch, yet she was aroused by the violence.
"Yes, my sweet prince Taetae." She purred into his ear as she dropped sweet, gentle kisses on his neck.
"W-what?" The nickname took him by surprise since she wasn't too fond of cringe-worthy pet names. And that was most definitely one of them.
"Hm?" She nuzzled his cheek affectionately, too busy to pay attention to the actual conversation Taehyung was trying to maintain.
"You're not acting like yourself and it worries me a bit." Taehyung confessed boldly, trying to put some distance between their bodies to watch her in the eyes to show her that he was serious about the subject.
"What do you mean? I'm fine." She waved a hand dismissively, trying to end the conversation and get back to the sexy time she was trying to initiate.
"You do realize you're dry humping me right now. We've just had sex two hours ago when you started blowing me while I was talking to Jimin on the phone. What is it with you and sex lately?" Taehyung laughed, amused by her lusty persona.
"That's your fault for being so irresistible." She giggled at her joke. "I'm just so happy we're finally having some alone time for ourselves." She tried to reassure him into dropping the matter.
And eventually, he did let it go because he couldn't resist his girlfriend's charms. A part of him really believed that her behavior changed because there wasn't any drama in their lives anymore. But her constant cravings made him still worry about her -physical and mental- health.
After only a week of laying low in Daegu, they decided to go on a small trip along the Asian territory. Going back to Tokyo for a few days and visiting China for a bit, maybe even The Philippines while they're at it.
It was Taehyung's idea to change the sights a little and get some fresh air. That way maybe Rei would get back to her senses. There wasn't any rush in going back to Seoul either since Jungkook hasn't asked for them yet from the phone calls he's been having with Jimin to check on their business status to see if Jungkook was really doing his job properly. He decided to give the maknae total freedom, expecting his call back when he would get over his personal issues and Taehyung wasn't mad about it. He, too, wanted to stay away from their house and clear his head while traveling with his beloved girlfriend.
~
Months have passed where they only communicated on the phone on short conversations, mostly with Jimin since Aotaki was spending her time either with CL or Jungkook. Her magic got back under control three months into searching the cure but she still wanted to know what caused it in the first place, so she continued helping CL looking through the studies she had when she wasn't checking on Jungkook every two days when he wouldn't come home at all. Not even to change his clothes and take a shower.
Rei, on the other hand, was acting as if she had a personality crisis. One moment she'd be herself, the Rei Taehyung fell in love with. And the next, she was talking to herself when they'd be alone in a room or even on the streets, complaining about someone to shut up even though nobody was addressing her directly or at all.
Soon enough, Taehyung started to realize that it was the effect his blood was having on her since Rei was his mate and started to carry on the crazy part of his personality. It was inevitable that it would happen sooner or later but it just took him by surprise since he completely forgot about that consequence.
"Tae, who is talking so loudly? I'm trying to sleep!" She turned around in bed, hiding herself in his chest as a frustrated groan fell from her lips.
"Just ignore them, baby. You want me to sing to you?" He'd kiss the top of her head as she nodded eagerly.
And that's how they got through the beginning of it until she got used to the new features in her life, becoming accustomed to them a lot quicker than he expected. What made them come back to Seoul in a rush was a call from Jimin, alerting them that Aotaki was in the hospital. Taehyung didn't even wait to hear the cause as he quickly hung up and booked them the first flight back available, regardless the price.
This was it. He was waiting for this phone call ever since Jimin told him the big news after he found out the cause of Aotaki's weird behavior. He was left speechless when he first heard the words. They didn't make sense. She was a vampire and physiologically it wasn't possible but Aotaki confessed to finding a new way of making it possible. A way for female vampires to remain pregnant after the turn.
It was one of the books she found in Japan when she was there with Hoseok, although she didn't tell anyone of it until she wanted to make sure it was real. It was a long shot to take but she took it. She wanted to start a family with her significant other and she would've done everything it took to make it happen. But thankfully, she only had to drink some horrible magical herbal teas she hardly found and a light spell cast over Jimin to liven up his swimmers. And that's why her powers glitched for a few months while the fetus was growing inside of her slowly.
When she first took the test, when she noticed her belly started growing after 3 months of pregnancy, and it showed the two blue vertical bars, she cried from happiness. Jimin spent the rest of his time staying by her side and made sure she had everything she needed.
As for Taehyung, words couldn't begin to explain how happy he was to be an uncle and play with the little child every day. He had always wanted a child and now that Aotaki has found the cure, maybe he'll convince Rei to try for a baby themselves. It gave him hope again and he couldn't be happier.
~
"He's here! He's here!" Jimin shouted as he ran out of the delivery room of the hospital. "Oh my God, you guys, I have a baby!" He had tears of happiness running down his cheeks as he jumped into the couple's arms.
Jungkook was talking on the phone near the windows and he turned to give Jimin two thumbs up with a large smile before he returned to the conversation to probably end it as he saw Jungkook nodding and trying to say his goodbye.
"Congratulations! Can we see him?" Taehyung jumped around excitedly with Jimin as Rei chuckled at their enthusiasm.
"Yes, of course. The nurse just took him to clean and change him. They should be back any moment." He ushered them to Aotaki's room.
The nurse came back with the baby wrapped in a pastel blue blanket and handed him to the mother for his first feeding time. Just in time, Jungkook joined the others to see the baby and he stopped the joke that crossed his mind, "Oh, look. He looks just like Jimin." He laughed as Aotaki glared at him.
"Yah, maknae! Do you want to die?" She growled as Jungkook started laughing at how offended she got.
"Do you guys have a name for this little buddy?" Rei asked, playing with the little hand that escaped the confines of the blanket.
"Yes. This is Jiyoon." Aotaki announced, pulling back the small hat he had on to allow him to see everyone in the room.
"He's so beautiful, you guys! I can't wait to play with him." Taehyung cheered as the baby started crying, his face scrunching up in discomfort. "Oh, no. What did I do?" Taehyung started panicking, "Did I scare him? I'm sorry, Jiyoonie." He hid behind Rei, pulling her close to his body to hide his face behind her back.
"It's okay, Tae. He's just hungry." Aotaki chuckled as she started unbuttoning her blouse to feed the baby, making Jungkook shout to get her attention.
"Yah, hey! What are you doing? He shielded his eyes in an instant.
"Relax, you big baby. I'm just feeding my son. It's a normal thing to do." Aotaki rolled her eyes at his antics and proceeded with the feeding.
"Maybe we should leave you guys be alone with your baby. We'll see you at home, okay?" Rei suggested, earning a nod from Aotaki who was too busy to look at her.
As soon as the three of them got back to their mansion, Jungkook pulled them into the kitchen where he motioned for the couple to take a seat at the aisle as he brought two bottles of water from the fridge to serve them and another one for himself. He was ready.
"So... I've been thinking and... I think I'm done being by myself." He played with the label of the bottle, an act of nervousness.
"Are you sure?" Taehyung asked.
"Yes! I miss you guys so much. It's really lonely without you here." He whined, circling the aisle to hug them both at once. "Ah.. So warm and cuddly." He sighed content as he gave them each a kiss on the cheek.
"I'm glad you figured it out." Taehyung chuckled, slapping his ass lightly.
"I mean, I still want to keep this job. Can I, hyung?" He turned to look at Taehyung with puppy eyes. "I really like it."
"We'll see how good of a job you did so far." Taehyung said but he was already convinced to leave the club in his hands.
"I can't wait to have Rei as my secretary and gossip all day long." He wiggled his brows jokingly, making Rei laugh.
"By the way, how is that cute bartender you kept talking about before? What was her name, Jisoo?" She tapped her chin thoughtfully as his cheeks turned a light shade of pink.
"Uhm... fine. I'm working tonight, so I'm gonna check on her on my way to the office." He shrugged, making it seem like he was indifferent although his body language told her otherwise.
"Does she know you have a crush on her?" Rei asked with an all-knowing smirk on her face, watching as his shoulder slumped down in defeat.
"No... I'm kinda waiting for the right time to ask her out. And I don't want to make it seem like I'm taking advantage of her because I'm her boss." He sighed.
"Technically, I'm her boss still." Taehyung interrupted, "And I can go back to work tonight with Rei to check what you've done so far while you take the opportunity to ask her out." He winked at the younger, watching his face light up at the suggestion.
"Okay. Then I better start looking for an outfit to wear. See you later. Thanks, Taetae." He fist bumped his hyung before storming upstairs to his bedroom.
~
"Are you sure you want to do this?" CL asked as she looked down at the body situated on the bed in Taehyung's bedroom.
"Yes. I want to spend my entire life with him. I love him." Rei confessed, looking away in embarrassment.
CL only nodded once before she turned to her brother, a stern look in her eyes as she asked the same question, "I hope you know what you're doing."
"Yes, Noona. I trust her." He said and with that, CL left their room to give them the privacy needed for the ritual.
Taehyung climbed into bed next to his girlfriend, pecking her forehead gently as he whispered an airy 'I love you' with more meaning that anyone would understand and get back the same response. The process of turning took quicker this time since they were mates. After he drained her blood, it took her fifteen minutes to come back to life and drown down a whole pack of blood as Taehyung held her through the whole process of coming back and get used to the new heightened feelings that were creeping up on her.
"It's okay, baby. I'm here, love." He kissed her head gently as he rocked her in his arms.
Unlike Aotaki, Rei had her lover by her side to guide her through it and she was very thankful for having such a caring boyfriend in her life. It felt like a blink of an eye before she was used to it all.
And so it all turned out for the best. Rei and Taehyung were finally gonna spend the rest of their lives in each other's company, Aotaki and Jimin were happily raising their little son, Jiyoon and Jungkook got to live his own love story with the sweet bartender he fell in love with, Jisoo while taking over the club since Taehyung bought another property to handle it together with Rei.
They've been through a lot of hardships but still came back to each other because that's what friends do. And they were convinced there were more problems to come but that's life and they'd deal with them when they'd come their way. But for now, everyone was happy as they were; together and in love.
THE END.
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A/N: Oh my god, it's finally over. Thank you guys for reading my story and I hope you enjoyed it all because I had a blast writing for it even though it took me so long to update, hehe. But now it's over and I feel content with how it turned out. Let me know what you thought of the ending if it surprised you or saw it coming.
Do you guys want me to do a separate chapter for Q&As or you don't have any questions because you understood the book perfectly?