Chapter 1
The dust of the village road clings to your worn-out shoes as you trudge toward the small, crumbling shack you call home. In the distance, you can see your little brother chasing a stray dog, his clothes patched and two sizes too small.
Inside, your grandmother is coughing, the sound echoing against the thin wooden walls. She's trying to stir a pot of watery broth, her hands shaking from age and exhaustion. Your heart aches. You are all they have, and the few coins in your pocket from cleaning the village market aren't enough to buy medicine, let alone a decent meal.
"I got a call," you whisper to your grandmother, helping her sit down. "A catering agency in the city. They need extra waitstaff for a massive gala tonight. The pay is more than I make in a month."
She looks at you with worried eyes, but you just squeeze her hand. You have to go. For them.
The bus ride into the city feels unreal-the lights too bright, the buildings too tall, the people too polished. You clutch your cheap uniform, wondering how you'll blend in with servers who probably sip champagne for fun. The agency woman barely glances at you before thrusting a tray into your hands. "Stick to the edges," she says. "The VIPs don't like eye contact. "
---
The gala was a dizzying blur of gold and shadows. You kept your head down, weaving through the crowd with your tray, thinking only of the medicine your grandmother needs and the small shoes you promised your brother. You didn't recognize the three men at the center of the party, but everyone was whispering their names: Jungkook, Jimin, and Taehyung. They were the most famous actors in the country, but to you, they were just guests who looked far too beautiful to be real.
As you worked, a guest handed you a drink. You were so exhausted and thirsty that you took a sip, thinking it was just water. Within minutes, the room began to tilt. The music slowed down, and the last thing you remember was a pair of dark eyes watching you fall.
You wake up to the feeling of heavy silk against your bare skin. A sharp, rhythmic pulsing pain radiates from your neck, and your entire body feels incredibly weak, as if your very strength has been drained away. You try to sit up, but your head spins violently.
You turn your head and gasp. Three men-the famous actors from the party-are in the bed with you.
Terrified, you try to scramble away, but the rustle of the sheets wakes Jungkook instantly. His dark eyes snap open, pupils dilated with something feral. He sits up, his dark eyes instantly locking onto yours. There is no warmth in them. "How did you get in here?" he demands, his voice a low, dangerous rasp. "Are you another obsessed stalker? Did you drug us?"
"I-I don't remember," you stammer, clutching the sheets to your chest as you tremble.
Before you can finish, Taehyung is suddenly there. He moves with a speed that shouldn't be humanly possible. His large hand clamps around your throat, pinning you against the headboard,his eyes glowing a haunting, deep crimson."Give me one reason why I shouldn't snap your neck right now," he growls.
Your pulse thrums wildly against his fingers, legs kicking uselessly against the silken sheets.
Jimin's delicate fingers suddenly wrap around Taehyung's wrist, his voice honeyed but firm. "Release her," he murmurs, tilting his head with feigned concern. "Look at her collarbones, Taehyung-ah. The bruises from last night-she's clearly not lying."
Taehyung lets go, and you collapse back, breathing heavily and sobbing. Jungkook scoffs, running a hand through his hair. "Literally, my choice couldn't be worse. Look at her. Yah! How did you even come to our room?"
"I... I told you, I don't remember!" you cry out.
Jimin leans in, a sweet, deceptive smile on his face. He locks his gaze onto yours, his pupils dilating. "It's okay, little bird. Let me help you forget this whole mess." He tries to use his power to erase your mind, to cloud your memories But as the seconds tick by, nothing happens. You are still staring at him, crying and fully aware.
Jimin blinks, stunned. His fingers twitch at his sides. "That's... weird." His voice is barely above a whisper.
Taehyung narrows his glowing eyes. "What the hell do you mean 'weird'? Just wipe her."
"I can't." Jimin snaps back, voice losing its usual honeyed charm. "Something's blocking me."
Jungkook exhales sharply, raking a hand through his tousled hair. "Great. Just great. Now we have a human who knows-"
You don't wait for the rest. You scramble off the bed, stumbling as your legs give out. The plush carpet does little to cushion your knees as you crawl toward the door.
Jungkook is on you in an instant, his grip like steel as he hauls you up. "Yah, where the hell do you think you're going?" he growls, his breath cold against your ear.
Just as Taehyung steps forward, the hotel door swings open-a reporter with a camera already raised, mouth agape at the scene: three of Korea's most famous actors half-dressed in a rumpled bed with a trembling, bruised girl. Jimin sighs, long-suffering. "Literally, could this get any worse?" His voice is light, but his eyes flash dangerously as he steps forward, pupils dilating unnaturally wide "You guys see nothing here. This room is empty. Go back to the lobby."
The reporters' eyes go blank. They turn around in a trance and shuffle away as if they've been brainwashed.
You watch this happen, unable to understand what is going on.
"Wait, what?" You gasp, looking at the reporters who just walked away like zombies. Your voice trembles. "What did you just do to them?"
Jungkook clicks his tongue, annoyed. "She really doesn't get it, does she?"
Jimin sighs, rubbing his temples. "You saw that, and you still don't understand?"
You flinch back, pressing yourself against the wall. The cold silk of Jungkook's robe brushes your arm as he steps closer, his dark eyes flickering with something inhuman. Then-your gaze catches on his reflection-or rather, the lack of it. The gilded mirror above the dresser shows only empty space where he stands.
A strangled gasp escapes you. "Y-you don't... have a reflection?"
Jimin sighs dramatically, twirling a strand of your hair between his fingers before you jerk away. His touch lingers-unnaturally cold-and your hand instinctively presses against his chest in protest. The realization hits you like ice water. No warmth. No steady rhythm beneath his designer shirt. Just... nothing.
"Your heart-" you whisper, fingers trembling against his still chest.
Jungkook barks out a laugh, fangs glinting under the chandelier light. "Not breathing, not beating. Because we're not human, little lamb." He steps closer, shadows stretching unnaturally long behind him. "We're vampires. Surprise."
Your knees hit the plush carpet before you consciously decide to move. "Please," you choke out, pressing your forehead to the floor like they're feudal lords and you're a starving peasant. "I won't tell anyone-I'll forget everything-just let me go home-"
Taehyung's fingers wrap around your throat before the last word leaves your lips. He lifts you effortlessly until your toes scrabble against empty air, his crimson eyes burning through your tears. "Cut this pathetic begging," he sneers, tightening his grip just enough to make black spots bloom at the edges of your vision. "Let me kill her. She's a liability."
Your fingernails claw uselessly at his wrist as your lungs scream, but his grip is iron-unrelenting. The room tilts, colors bleeding together like wet ink.
"Taehyung-ah." Jimin's voice cuts through the haze. He presses a palm against Taehyung's chest, forcing him back a step. "No violence. Remember?"
Taehyung grip loosens just enough for you to gasp in a ragged breath. The room tilts-Taehyung furious glare, Jungkook's bored yawn, Jimin's saccharine smile-all smear together like wet ink. The last thing you feel is your knees buckling before the world vanishes.
----
The marble floors of the mansion echoed with Taehyung's sharp footsteps as he rounded on Jimin, his crimson eyes flickering like embers. "Why did you stop me back there?" he demanded, voice low with barely restrained fury. "More importantly-why the fuck did you bring her to our mansion?" His fingers twitched at his sides, itching to wrap around something fragile again.
Jimin traced the edge of his wine glass with a fingertip, the blood-red liquid swirling as he spoke with deliberate calm. "We agreed-no violence. More importantly, we need to understand why my power didn't work on her." His gaze flicked to the hallway where you'd been taken, unconscious and limp in a servant's arms. "That's never happened before."
Taehyung's lip curled, fangs glinting in the firelight. "If you can't erase her memories, then what's the point of keeping her alive?" He took a step forward, the floorboards creaking under his weight. "Let's just-"
"That's not how this works," Jimin interrupted, his sweet smile never wavering. "We need to find out how she got into our room in the first place-and why I can't erase her mind like every other human." His fingers drummed against the armrest of his chair, betraying his irritation.
Jungkook leaned against the grand piano, arms crossed, watching Jimin with narrowed eyes. "I know why you're being so gentle with her," he drawled, his voice dripping with accusation. "It's because she reminds you of-"
Before he could finish, a frantic maid burst into the room, her hands trembling as she bowed. "Masters-the human girl-she climbed out the east window!" The words barely left her lips before Jungkook was already moving, a blur of dark fabric and coiled fury.
Jimin sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as if dealing with unruly children rather than a potential security breach. His delicate fingers curled into fists for the briefest moment before relaxing.
Taehyung scoffed, turning toward the fireplace as if the conversation bored him. "Let her go," he muttered. "The jungle will kill her faster than we ever could." The flames cast jagged shadows across his sharp jawline, his crimson eyes reflecting the firelight like twin pools of blood.
Outside, the humid night air clung to your skin as you stumbled through the overgrown gardens, bare feet sinking into damp earth. The mansion loomed behind you, its Gothic spires cutting into the moonlit sky. Branches snagged at your thin gown, thorns drawing beads of blood along your arms. You didn't dare look back.
Jungkook materialized in front of you so suddenly you collided with his chest. His hands clamped down on your shoulders, cold and unyielding. "Running?" His lips curled into a smirk, fangs glinting. "Cute."
"Let me go!" You twisted in Jungkook's grip, nails raking down his arms hard enough to draw blackish blood. He didn't even flinch. "If you were so eager to die," he hissed, dragging you closer until his fangs brushed your earlobe, "then why waste perfectly good blood?" His tongue flicked out to catch a stray droplet trickling down your neck from earlier wounds. "Might as well be useful before you-"
The damp earth pressed into your cheek as Jungkook shoved you down, his knee digging into your spine. His breath was cold against your neck before his fangs pierced skin-a sharp, searing pain that sent your fingers clawing into the grass, roots tearing loose in your grip. Your vision blurred at the edges, the world tilting drunkenly as he drank deep, but with a desperate sob, you twisted and shoved him off with strength you didn't know you had.
Staggering to your feet, you ran-past the manicured hedges, into the wild tangle of the jungle. Behind you, the crows erupted from the trees in a cacophony of wings, their cries sharp as knives. One dive-bombed your shoulder, its talons slicing through fabric, and suddenly you weren't in the jungle anymore-you were kneeling in the village mud again, clutching your brother's feverish body to your chest, rain soaking through your threadbare clothes.
"Pathetic." Taehyung's voice cut through the memory like a scalpel. In the vision, he stood over you, backlit by moonlight, the hem of his tailored trousers pristine despite the mud. His fingers twitched toward your throat. "This miserable life you're clinging to..." The disdain in his voice was colder than the rain. "Let me end it for you."
Your foot slips on the rain-slick edge of the cliffside, sending loose gravel skittering into the abyss below. Panic claws up your throat as you scramble backwards-only for the ground beneath you to give way completely. For one heart-stopping second, you're weightless, fingers grasping at empty air.
Then-bone-jarring pain. Jimin's hand snaps out, catching yours with inhuman speed. His grip is cold as iron, halting your fall so abruptly it feels like your shoulder might dislocate. The sudden stop sends a sickening *crack* through the ancient tree root he's anchored to-it splinters under the force, bark peeling away like rotten flesh. "You're such a troublemaker," Jimin sighs, voice dripping with false sweetness even as his eyes glow crimson in the dark.
The root gives way entirely. You brace for the crushing impact of rocks below-but instead, the world flips. Jimin twists mid-air, his body slamming against yours as he somehow maneuvers himself beneath you. The breath is knocked from your lungs as you land hard *on top of him*, his arms locking around you like steel bands. Moonlight catches the jagged gash torn across his ribs where a protruding branch raked him-blackish blood oozing unnaturally slow. "Get up," he commands, shoving you off with a grimace.
Your legs tremble as you push yourself up, the damp earth sticking to your palms. A dark smear catches your eye-Jimin blood, ink-black against the pale roots. *Vampires bleed too?* The absurd thought barely forms before you shake your head. *Run. Just run.*
"Humans are really selfish," Jimin sighs behind you, his voice laced with something between amusement and disgust. He presses a hand to his ribs, fingers coming away glistening. "I just saved your life, and you're already scrambling away like a startled rabbit."
Something twists in your chest-guilt or desperation, you can't tell. Before you can think better of it, you extend your wrist toward him, pulse fluttering visibly under thin skin. "Take it," you whisper.
Jimin's laugh is a soft, incredulous thing. "*Cute*," he murmurs, but instead of biting, his tongue darts out, tracing the shallow cuts on your arms with startling gentleness. The wounds seal under the cool swipe of his tongue, leaving only faint pink lines behind. You jerk back. "Wha-"
"Shh." His finger presses against your lips, cold and insistent. His pupils are blown wide, nostrils flaring as he tilts his head toward the jungle's oppressive shadows. "Every predator here can smell your blood from miles away." His hand wraps around your wrist, tugging you forward with deceptive lightness. "Follow me if you want to live. You won't last an hour alone in this place."
The jungle hums with unseen threats as you hesitate, torn between the devil you know and the unknown horrors lurking in the dark. Jimin is already several paces ahead, his silhouette barely visible through the thick foliage. Another crow dive-bombs toward you, its claws outstretched-only to recoil mid-air as Jimin clicks his tongue in a sound too sharp to be human. "Enough," he murmurs, and the birds scatter as if burned.
"Don't be scared," Jimin says without turning, his voice deceptively light. "They won't hurt you. Not unless I tell them to." The casual cruelty in his words makes your stomach twist, but the rustling in the undergrowth behind you decides it. You scramble after him, bare feet stinging as they slap against damp leaves and twisted roots.
Jimin doesn't slow down. "Hurry up," he calls over his shoulder, voice laced with mock amusement. "Or I'll leave you here for the things that hunt at night." You bite back a whimper as you push forward, branches snagging at your torn gown. The jungle seems to breathe around you, shadows shifting with unseen movement.
The jungle air thickens around you as flashes of memory slice through your mind-your brother's feverish whimpers, your grandmother's trembling hands counting coins that would never be enough. The visions claw at you, visceral and unbidden, until Jimin's fingers dig into your wrist, sharp enough to ground you in the present. "Don't," he murmurs, his breath chilling the sweat on your temple. "The jungle feeds on weakness. Let it in, and you'll drown." His grip tightens as if he could physically drag you back from the edge of your own mind. But the past is a riptide, pulling you under until your knees buckle.
Darkness swallows you whole. The last thing you see is Jimin's face-annoyance flickering into something akin to alarm-before his arms catch your limp body. "Useless," he mutters, but his hands cradle your head before it can hit the ground.
------
The morning sun doesn't reach this room. The windows are now reinforced with heavy, ornate shutters that bolt from the outside, turning the luxurious bedroom into a gilded cage. You bolt upright, fingers immediately clutching at your neck where twin puncture wounds pulse faintly beneath bruised skin. Silk sheets tangle around your legs-same bed, same nightmare.
Jungkook's voice slithers from the shadows near the canopy bed before you see him. "My food finally wakes up." He materializes at the bedside, shirtless and predatory, running his tongue over the tips of his fangs as he watches you shrink back. When you press yourself against the headboard, his nostrils flare at the scent of your fear.
"Don't-don't come closer," you stammer, voice cracking. Your fingers scrabble uselessly against the silk. Jungkook laughs, low and dark, crowding into your space until his knees bracket your hips. "Begging really suits you," he murmurs, tracing a cold fingertip down your tear-streaked cheek. "You had a lot of guts to hit me in the garden yesterday. I think I should punish you for that. Besides, you're crying so beautifully... cry more. I love to see it."
A thunderous THUD makes the entire room shake. Taehyung is standing in the doorway, his fist buried inches deep into the mahogany wall.
"Can't you do this quietly, Jungkook?" Taehyung growls, his voice thick with sleep and irritation. "I was trying to rest." He steps fully into the room, the shattered doorframe crumbling behind him. Sunlight glints off the jagged edges of wood where his fist had connected moments before.
Jungkook scoffs, rolling his shoulders with deliberate slowness. "Yah, you really ruined my mood," he mutters, dragging his tongue along the sharp point of a fang. His dark eyes flick back to you, still pinned beneath him. "I was going to fuck her first."
Taehyung's upper lip curls in disgust. "Disgusting. Your taste gets worse every century." His crimson eyes skim over your trembling form with clinical detachment. "Just drain her and be done with it."
While they are distracted by their bickering, you see a small gap between them. Heart hammering against your ribs, you bolt. You dive for the door, but you stop dead in your tracks when you run right into a solid, ice-cold chest.
Jimin stands there, perfectly groomed despite the hour. "Seriously, guys," he sighs, looking between the other two. "Can we not have one normal morning for sleeping?"
He looks down at you, and for a second, his expression softens. He reaches out, his thumb catching a stray tear on your cheek. His skin feels like polished marble. "Don't be scared," he murmurs, his voice a deceptive, honeyed caress. "We aren't monsters. We're harmless... as long as you behave."
"Please," you choke out, grabbing his sleeve. "Please let me go. My grandmother is sick... my brother... they're waiting for me. I'm the only hope they have. They'll starve without me."
Taehyung walks over, his gaze cold and indifferent as he looks down at your trembling form. He tilts his head, a cruel, thoughtful look crossing his face.
"Your grandmother and brother?" Taehyung asks, his voice low and dangerous. "If they're such a burden to you, if they're the reason you're so miserable... I can solve that. If you want, I can go to your village right now and end both of their lives for you. Then you'll have nothing left to worry about."
The heavy silence that follows Taehyung's offer is more suffocating than the locked room. You stare up at him, your breath hitching in your throat. To him, life is a flicker of a candle he can snuff out with a snap of his fingers; to you, those lives are your entire world.
"No!" you scream, the sound raw and desperate. You collapse at his feet, clutching the hem of his trousers. "Please, don't hurt them! They haven't done anything wrong!" Taehyung merely looks down at you, his crimson eyes devoid of warmth, as if your anguish is nothing more than an inconvenient noise.
Jimin sighed, long and theatrical, as if weighing the fate of a stray kitten rather than a human life. Jungkook's smirk widened at the sound, his fingers twitching where they gripped your wrist. "So my food has a weakness," he mused, thumb pressing against your frantic pulse. "Jimin-ah, why don't we keep her? As my personal snack. And most importantly-" His dark eyes flicked to Jimin's face, challenge glinting in their depths. "You can't erase her memories anyway. Might as well make her useful."
Jimin tilted his head, considering. The chandelier light caught the unnatural gold in his eyes as he stepped closer, cold fingers brushing a stray tear from your cheek. "Not a bad idea," he murmured, almost to himself. "She's already seen too much."
Taehyung's snarl cut through the room like shattered glass. "No." The single syllable dripped with venom. "We're not running a fucking orphanage. Kill her and be done with it."
You scrambled back until the bedframe dug into your spine, your voice cracking. "No-please, just let me go-"
Jimin's hand shot out, catching your chin with terrifying gentleness. "I wish I could," he whispered, lips brushing your temple in a mockery of comfort. "But there are only two options now. Stay with us until my powers work on you..." His fingers trailed down to your throat, lingering over the twin marks Jungkook had left. "Or I kill you where you stand."
Jungkook's laugh was a dark ribbon winding through the tension. "Think of it as... employment," he purred, fangs glinting as he leaned into your space. "Be my blood servant, and your precious grandma and brat brother won't starve. We'll even pay you." His grin turned wolfish. "In more ways than one."
Taehyung slammed a fist into the antique wardrobe, sending splinters raining down. "This is ridiculous." His crimson eyes burned with contempt as he glared at Jimin. "We're predators, not fucking philanthropists. Kill her and dump the body where the wild dogs will-"
Jimin's hand shot up in a sharp silencing motion. The air thickened with unseen power, making even Taehyung stiffen. "Enough." His voice was deceptively soft, like velvet wrapped around a blade. "She stays. Not for Jungkook's hunger-" He ignored Jungkook's offended scoff "-but because I want to know why my power failed." His fingers traced the curve of your ear, making you flinch. "A little human who resists vampires? That's... interesting."
Jungkook grinned, all sharp teeth and predatory delight. He pressed a cold kiss to your trembling wrist. "See? You get to live. For now." His tongue flicked out, tracing the blue veins beneath your skin with obscene precision. "Don't worry, I'll drink you slow-milked drop by drop like fine wine. I won't let you die so easily." His lips curled wider as your pulse rabbited under his touch. "Welcome to our world."
"Ridiculous," Taehyung spat, the word dripping with venom as he turned away from Jungkook's possessive grip on your wrist. His polished shoes clicked sharply against the marble floor, echoing through the cavernous room like a death knell. "We are not a charity for starvelings." His crimson gaze flicked over your trembling form with icy disdain. "She'll be dead within a week. Jungkook's never been able to control himself."
The golden light of the chandelier feels like a spotlight on your shame. You are trapped in a nightmare where the monsters wear the faces of idols. You've entered a world of eternal night, and the price of their lives is your soul.
