Who is ready for some angsty overdramatic love? That is what this chapter is mixed with a whole lot of reunions. It's been a hot second since Jicheol interacted, but they are finally going to talk again and you'll just have to read and find out how that goes. Enjoy!
Jihoon opens the front door to his apartment and immediately slams it shut after seeing who stands outside. He walks away from the door with his hands clenched into fists. He lets his head slowly fall and he lets out a shaky breath. His heart tugs in his chest with yearning. To make things right. To fix the mess he made. And at the same time, a stubbornness that tells him his anger is warranted. That he should yell some more. That he should just walk away from the one person that didn't do anything wrong, but had ruined his entire life. "Jihoon, please let me in," Seungcheol shouts, knocking on the door again. The human freezes, not knowing what to do. He glances back at the door and shakes his head. He turns back around, but stops himself as Seungcheol slams on the door with his fist. "I have something to tell you," Seungcheol says.
"I...I don't want to hear it!" Jihoon calls out, his back still turned from the door.
"Yes, you do," Seungcheol says in a calm tone, "Please open the door."
"The last time we spoke...I told you that I hated you," Jihoon murmurs. Seungcheol doesn't speak after that and Jihoon wonders for a second if the vampire has left. He slowly walks towards the door and stands on his tippy toes to look out the peephole. He gazes at Seungcheol for a moment, who has his eyes locked on the floor and his mouth set in a firm line. Jihoon lets out a shaky breath and lowers back to his feet. He leans against the door and waits for Seungcheol to say something. "You didn't mean it," Seungcheol states.
"I did," Jihoon murmurs, guilt eating at his chest for his harsh words.
"You didn't," Seungcheol repeats with a firmer tone, "You were upset, Jihoon. There were probably a million emotions running through you. You needed someone to lash out on." Jihoon purses his lips together and presses his head towards the door. "You know I don't regret it," Jihoon says, "I'm still freaking pissed at you for not bringing him back..."
"Yeah," Seungcheol murmurs.
"But, I'm also mad at myself for saying that to you," Jihoon says, "You didn't deserve it. You're right...I don't want my brother to become a vampire, but if I can have him back what does it matter what he is..."
"Open the door, Jihoon," Seungcheol says in an urgent tone.
"I don't want to," Jihoon says, "After what I've said...cause of how I still feel about you and what you did....this door...it needs to stay shut...I need this space between us..."
"Jihoon," Seungcheol mutters, "If you think I'm mad at you...I'm not. I don't hate you for what you said to me. I still care about you. You're still my boyfriend...."
"You're an idiot, Seungcheol," Jihoon huffs, "How can you still care about me? I told you that I hated you and I meant it."
"You didn't mean it," Seungcheol exclaims, "You keep saying you did, but you didn't. Not really. I know you, Jihoon. I know that you don't hate me. I know that you think I'm upset. You think that I've come here to break up with you or something, but that's not true. Please open the door, Jihoon. A door isn't going to fix whatever you're feeling or keep me from coming to see you...my feelings for you haven't changed. Our relationship hasn't changed. Not in my eyes they haven't at least."
"But in mine, I screwed everything up," Jihoon mutters. Things between them were going well. They were happy. That is until Jihoon let his emotions get the best of him and told his boyfriend he hated him. It doesn't matter if he meant it or not, the point is he said it. You don't say those kinds of things to the person you love. You don't say it the way Jihoon did. Yelling and with as much anger as possible. You don't say it and hang up the phone right after. You don't say it and never apologize. You don't say I hate you and expect for the relationship to be okay. Cause it's not. It's not something that Jihoon can just brush over. Not like Seungcheol can. "We should break up," Jihoon says.
"Do you want to break up?" Seungcheol questions in a calm tone.
Jihoon frowns, "No...but we should..."
"Why?" Seungcheol asks, "Cause of what you said?"
"Yes," Jihoon murmurs, "Exactly cause of what I said...you can't just brush it off like it's nothing! Don't be stupid, Seungcheol. When someone says they hate you, it isn't lollipops and rainbows."
"I can cause it wasn't anything," Seungcheol says, "Tell me, Jihoon. Do you hate me? Are you disgusted by the very sight of me? Do you loathe the sound of my voice?"
"No, of course not," Jihoon states.
"Then, we have no problems here," Seungcheol says.
Jihoon scoffs, "How can you make something like this seem like no big deal? Like it isn't something that could make or break our relationship..."
"Cause it isn't," Seungcheol says, "I think you're overreacting, Jihoon. What you said to me back then...you didn't mean any of it. You feel bad for saying it too. I can't be mad at you cause of that. This is nothing, Jihoon. There are a billion other things that could break our relationship and I don't think for a second this is it...but if you do...then we can talk about it later. Right now, I want you to open the door so that you can speak with someone..."
"Someone?" Jihoon questions, pushing the issue of his and Seungcheol's relationship to the back of his mind. It's something that Jihoon wishes to talk more about, but it would be better for them to do it face to face. And definitely not in front of another person. "Yes," Seungcheol says, "He's been waiting to see you, but you've refused to open the door so..."
"I'm not really in the mood to talk to anyone," Jihoon mutters.
"I promise you that you're going to want to talk to him," Seungcheol says, "Open the door." Jihoon takes a deep breath and slowly takes a step back, a tad but curious as to who it is. He unlocks the door and slowly pulls it open. Seungcheol flashes him a small smile and takes a step to the side. Jihoon eyebrows furrow in confusion as the vampire gestures to look straight. Jihoon does as he says and his mouth falls open when he sees who it is. A young man with dark brown hair is leaning against a car. He is garbed in a large oversized t-shirt and form-fitting pants. His eyes are locked on the human and there's a wide smile on his face. "S-Seokmin?" Jihoon stutters, gripping onto the door to keep himself steady.
"Hi, hyung," Seokmin calls out, waving at his brother.
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"I've never seen you cry this much in my entire life," Seokmin murmurs. His hand being clenched to death by Jihoon, who has tears running down his cheeks rapidly. Seungcheol is watching the reunion of the two brothers with a soft smile on his face. The three sit in Jihoon's living room, the brothers by each other's side and Seungcheol off to the corner. "Well, how would you feel if I died only to waltz back into my living room like nothing had happened!?" Jihoon exclaims, sniffling a bit. Seokmin pats Jihoon on the back and gently wipes his tears. "I think I would be a mess," Seokmin says.
"Exactly, so shut up," Jihoon huffs.
"Same old hyung," Seokmin says, "I thought that after losing me you wouldn't be so harsh on your favorite dongsaeng."
"You've never been my favorite," Jihoon states as he starts to regain his composure. He releases Seokmin's hand and wipes at his tears. He takes a deep breath and looks to his brother, who looks offended at his words. "What happened to not choosing favorites?!" Seokmin exclaims.
"I'm your older brother. I don't need to be impartial if I don't want to," Jihoon says, "I'm not your parents who say they love all their children the same..."
"Fine, fine," Seokmin says with a pout.
"So, you're a vampire now," Jihoon murmurs.
Seokmin nods, "Yeah, after the accident, my boyfriend turned me..."
"I can't believe you were dating a vampire and didn't tell me!" Jihoon says.
"Hey, I could say the same thing to you," Seokmin protests, "Seungcheol hyung is the crown prince of the vampires and you never thought to tell us this when you were introducing us to him."
"I'm older, I can date whoever I want," Jihoon says, "You on the other hand are too young to date a creature of the dark."
"It's a good thing that I did though," Seokmin murmurs, "If I hadn't...I wouldn't be here." Jihoon falls silent at that and looks to his younger brother. He looks the same, minus a couple little changes that come with being a vampire. It's insane. He was mourning the young man in front of him and now he's back. Living, breathing, sitting in his living room. "Yeah," Jihoon mutters, "I guess I have Soonyoung to thank for saving you. How long have you been a vampire anyway?"
"Oh, a couple weeks now," Seokmin answers.
"A couple weeks!?" Jihoon exclaims, "How come I'm just finding out that you're still alive now?" He turns to look at Seungcheol, who holds his hands up in defense. "Seungcheol hyung didn't think it was a good idea to tell you until he knew I was safe," Seokmin says, "You know turning a human is against the law...the King was going to have both me and Soonyoung executed..."
"Executed!" Jihoon shouts, "Executed?!" He turns to look at Seungcheol, who nods his head with a grim look on his face. "It's okay," Seokmin says, "Seungcheol hyung pardoned both me and Soonyoung."
"I can tell," Jihoon mutters, "Considering you're sitting right in front of me."
Seokmin sighs, "Wow...one second I think you care about my well-being and such...the next you're being dry and acting as if my return isn't a huge deal..."
"Part of my charm," Jihoon says with a grin which makes Seokmin groan.
"Never do that ever again," Seokmin states, "Anyway...that's enough about me...let's talk about you two..." He points at Jihoon and Seungcheol, who don't seem to understand what the Seokmin is talking about. "What about us?" Jihoon asks.
Seokmin grins, "I heard your entire conversation. I was standing right there after all and you know...super vampire hearing and all." Jihoon sighs and massages his temples, great now his younger brother can listen in on all of his private chats. "Okay, okay," Jihoon says, "You were being nosy, so what?"
"So, I am going to help you two fix all of this," Seokmin says.
Jihoon scoffs, "Please...I don't need relationship advice from my younger brother."
"Yes, you do," Seokmin says, "I'm not going to let you ruin something that could turn into an everlasting love story."
"Okay, romantic much?" Jihoon says, "You don't need to do this. We can figure it out on our own." He glances over at Seungcheol, who nods his head in agreement. "See?" Jihoon says.
Seokmin tuts, "Nope. You see I know you, Jihoon hyung. I know that you overthink things when they're not complicated at all. And Seungcheol hyung...from what Soonyoung tells me about you...you're very go with the flow when it comes to the people you care about. If Jihoon hyung says something, you'll go along with it. And before we know it that will be the end of Jicheol! I will not let that happen! Not when I'm sitting right here and can mend this beautiful relationship!"
"Jicheol?" Seungcheol questions.
Jihoon face palms, "You made a ship name for us? What is wrong with you?"
"Nothing," Seokmin says, "Now, moving on. Seungcheol hyung wants to keep going with your relationship cause he knows that what you said isn't the truth. Meanwhile, Jihoon hyung thinks that what he said will change your entire dynamic. Correct?"
Jihoon sighs, knowing that his brother isn't going to give this up, "Yes."
"Alright, well, I have to say I side with Seungcheol hyung on the matter," Seokmin states confidently.
Jihoon rolls his eyes, "You just don't want to see our absolutely beautiful relationship whither and die."
"You're right, I don't," Seokmin says, "But, that's not the only reason I think Seungcheol hyung is right. I mean...hyung...what you said. You didn't mean it. You've been nothing but smitten with Seungcheol since day one. That didn't change."
"I still said it," Jihoon says, "You don't say those things to your boyfriend."
"No, you don't," Seokmin says, "So, just apologize and move on."
"Why do the both of you make it seem so easy?" Jihoon asks.
"Cause, it is," Seungcheol states, "I don't want to let something you said when you were mourning your brother be the end of our relationship. It's silly."
"I don't think so," Jihoon mutters.
"Jihoon hyung, let me tell you something from someone who's dated a vampire before," Seokmin says, "When it comes down to it, something like this is nothing. You want to put your relationship on the line for something you didn't mean to say. That's silly. You'll face a lot more crap that's ten times worse than this. I mean if you want to talk about something that could ruin your relationship...how about almost being beheaded side by side? You saying that you hate Seungcheol hyung is stupid. Trust me." Jihoon sighs and purses his lips together in thought. Seokmin does have a point. He has a feeling that there's a lot crazier things along the road for him and Seungcheol. Something like this is like a mouse compared to an elephant. Maybe, he is being a bit overdramatic. Maybe, he is making a bigger deal out of this than he should. It's not like Seungcheol wants to end things with him. He definitely doesn't want to. So what's the issue here? "Hell," Jihoon mutters, "I'm so stupid..."
"No, you're not," Seungcheol says, "You just want our relationship to be right..." Jihoon looks at the vampire in wonder, thinking about how he got so lucky to meet someone like him. "I'm sorry," Jihoon says, "For saying I hate you and for freaking out over this. You were right...it's nothing. There's a lot more that could end our relationship and this isn't it. So, if you're sure...I want things to stay the same between us..."
"It's okay," Seungcheol says, "And I've never wanted anything else than to be with you." Jihoon smiles at the rather cliche choice of words given by the vampire, happy to have him back again. Seungcheol looks back at the human with a grin of his own. He stands a bit and gravitates closer to his boyfriend so that they are now a couple of inches apart. Their eyes stay locked with one another as love shines in their gazes. "This is absolutely disgusting, but so sweet at the same time!" Seokmin exclaims, "It's like watching a drama, but in real life! Gosh and to think I've saved this relationship! The fans should be thanking me right now! Ah!" Jihoon sighs and proceeds to grab a pillow and shove it at Seokmin's face. "Shut up," Jihoon grumbles before turning to Seungcheol and gently pressing a kiss to his lips.
Ack, so this chapter definitely has the Jicheol fluff that we were missing. It was sort of interesting to write this sort of chaotic nonsense Kdrama scene, but I felt like it fits with the characters in this moment. Anyway, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter and look forward to the next one. I won't tell you if we're getting more fluff or some angst. You'll just have to wait and see. Please vote, comment, follow me, add this story to your library and check out my Romance One-shots book. I will be hopefully posting that Jicheol one-shot soon (maybe not...I don't even know why it's taking me so long to write it 😅 but it will be out eventually). With that said, I hope you have a great rest of your day. Bye~