Chapter Text
Bae Joohyun’s way of dressing for soirées had been the same the last three centuries: Black was always in fashion.
Her wardrobe looked like a Black Hole and the vague colors of anthrazit at the end of her long row of clothing looked almost happy in comparison to what else was in her walk-in wardrobe.
She had changed into different outfits several times and finally settled for a long, tight dress, thin, long earrings that ended in tear-shaped diamonds and a single, similarly shaped drop of a necklace in the middle of her chest.
She looked - well.
Ravishing. Of course.
She was the Queen of Vampires, what else would she look like?
And yet - she felt for some reason that it was not enough.
Wendy came in and placed a Starbucks tumblr on the glass table that contained Irene’s watches. “How are we doing?” Wendy asked.
“Fine,” Irene said, trying to avoid the other f-word that had been spooking in her head the last few days. “Fine.” She smoothed down her dress. “Fine.”
“So fine?” Wendy asked.
Irene didn’t cast her a dark glance. Her friend was completely resistant to it. “Yes.” She turned. Wendy wore a short, sleeveless dress in dark red that ended just right above her knees. As friends, they complimented each other well - with Irene’s more icy personality and Wendy’s more cheerful one. “This has to go well. If we don’t prove that we as a species can live peacefully alongside each other, tensions might rise and all the old souls will forever say that our species are too different - and will try to find a way to push their superiority.”
“I am well aware,” Wendy said lightly. “I am slightly concerned as to your choice of participants, though.”
“I am not,” she said. “They are kind, pragmatic and when I started to push for vegetarianism, Jihyo and her coven followed me first. They have an aversion towards the smell but not towards the people - I think just the right amount of disinfectant might make them get along.”
“They are insane.”
“They have Jihyo and Mina,” Irene said. “It’ll be fine.”
“And Kang Seulgi?”
Irene straightened herself. She made a point not to look at Wendy. “What about Kang Seulgi?”
“She’s a werewolf and you invited her,” Wendy said.
“We don’t know if she’s a were wolf . She could be anything, as far as we know,” Irene said.
“Were person ,” Wendy said. “Many apologies.”
Irene shot her a long, sharp glance. The darkness behind Irene would usually have rolled and hissed behind her, but it liked Wendy, so it just curled happily. “I have to be a role model. What I expect of my subjects, I have to do by myself first. This is why I have my personal wereguest.”
Wendy inhaled, exhaled. “Rrrright.” She directed her attention at her writing pad. “Whenever you are ready.”
Irene straightened herself and nodded. “I am ready.” She cast herself a last glance at the mirror, then she strode out of her rooms, down the corridor and towards the staircase.
Her mansion, a two level-ed penthouse located conveniently in not the most popular area in Seoul, had her personal rooms in the second level and the ones reserved for guests and official functions on the first. She had removed cobwebs and heavy, dark, wooden furniture for clean, steep lines.
This was the twenty first century and plus, even surfaces without too many ornaments were much easier to clean. Yet, the older vampires didn’t like her idea of modernism very much. They didn’t like that she disapproved of sucking humans dry, when they considered vampires clearly the next step in evolution (and werewolves the next step backwards).
Most stayed at home, in their crypts, in some basements they had rented and decided to mope. It made things easier, Irene found.
Some of her friends had already come - she said hello to Jiu and to Dami, to Heejin, Haseul and elegant Vivi. Heechul arrived, drunk, happy and with a violet poofing sound effect, right by the buffet. His face was covered with lipstick kissing marks.
“Dark Greetings, dark greetings. Went for a snack by the park,” he slurred as he made his way towards the buffet that was decked out in Blood Fruit varieties. “No idea what that guy had ingested, but dude, it’s hitting hard. Also, incoming.”
Irene’s face was still blank, but her right eye twitched as Heechul wandered by. She straightened herself and then five swarms of bats made it in from the balcony. They were a chaotic mass of wings and teeth initially, until they formed five separate, circling dust devils that formed, with a start and rolling fog, five bodies.
Jihyo and Mina were dressed fairly regularly, in long, dark, flowing dresses that sparkled. Tzuyu’s outfit was a bit more modest, as she loomed in the back. But Sana had chosen a blood-red ensemble the same color as her lipstick.
And Nayeon … Irene could tell that the group side-eyed her critically.
She looked good - that wasn’t the question, however she had chosen to wear a living black wave as a dress, that moved and danced with each step and bloomed into a kind of curly flower, out of which Nayeon’s upper body grew.
“She caused a traffic accident when she left the house,” Jihyo said. She eyed Nayeon. “Unnie, this is an icebreaker, not a funeral.”
Nayeon flicked her hair. “Same difference. Now. Where are the furries?”
“They are not furries,” Irene said. “We are going to be polite.”
“Meh,” Nayeon said.
“We will,” Jihyo said.
Irene eyed them all with a critical glance, then inhaled. “Alright, everyone. Be on your best behavior! No eating the furries - I mean, the werepeople, no howling, no comments on shedding fur and for God’s sake, don’t throw sticks for them. We can’t have a repeat of that one.”
Various vampires in the room nodded. Heechul had passed out on the couch and slept.
The elevator doors dinged open. Irene was in for a surprise.
“And then,” someone in the elevator said. “I had two smoothie machines stolen. I can’t explain it.”
Irene first noticed Seulgi of course. The veterinarian gave a happy smile and a wave when they met eyes. Joy, next to her, looked like a well-dressed, annoyed stick. They were surrounded by the entire delegation of werepeople that had been sent by the Howlery.
Irene recognized their prime ambassador and took a deep sigh. She generally liked Howlery people - and that meant she liked them a whole lot more than regular vampires did. They were … charming, if you liked the drooling kind of variety, and even she couldn’t deny them their physical prowess and the wild, animalistic strain of blood thundering through them.
But the Prime Ambassador …
Moon Byulyi was cunning and clever and Irene liked her to an extent - but she also oozed a sleazy kind of charm that made her want to leave the realm of mortals, never to return.
Today, Moonbyul led them as well, and Irene could already tell that she did so with gusto. When Moonbyul noticed Irene, her smile widened to a smirk, her eyelids grew somewhat heavy and there was Moonybul’s very loose and brave definition of ‘charm’ coming in. “Your Dark Majesty,” Moonbyul greeted Irene. “Dark Greetings. And don’t you look ravishing tonight.”
Irene sighed. She felt her eye twitch again. “Thank you, Your Excellency. As … do you.”
Moonbyul grinned and winked at her. “Just for you.” Her leather jacket had an enormous collar made from fur that made her look almost lionesque. “These are our ambassadors,” Moonbyul said and motioned to those around her.
Three werepeople were standing close to her, and Irene recognized them from the dossiers the Howlery had send her:
Yoo Jeongyeon, tall, blonde, likes to clean. Hirai Momo, not as tall, dark-haired and often confused. And Chaeyoung, tiniest of the bunch, with short hair and a sharp disposition. They had been vague as to what there wereforms were, but Irene hoped it would pop up as a conversation breaker.
Who she didn’t expect was tall, happy and already confused Matthew, Big Matt, who stood in the back, towering over all of them, and who seemed to wave in sync with Seulgi.
Wendy materialized next to her, seemingly out of nowhere. She never panicked and this was as close as she got. “A human ? What is he doing here?”
“Waving at us, apparently.”
“He’s fast food!”
“He’s an example to us of civility,” Irene whispered pointedly.
“You are insane,” Wendy whispered, her eyes wide.
Irene threw her a sharp glance. It contained all sorts of unspoken information: What am I supposed to do? Throw him out? It will cause an eclat! We can allow for any kind of errors! Plus our guests brought him! “We will manage.” Then she stepped forward. “Dark Greetings. Welcome to my apartment.”
Her ears were good enough to hear Chaeyoung whisper to Momo: “If she would have said abode or realm, I would have left immediately.”
Momo grinned.
Jeongyeon stepped forward. “Ah, yes. Dark Greetings.” She frowned as the words left her mouth. She turned to Momo and Chaeyoung. They both gave enthusiastic thumbs up. Much to Irene’s ever growing confusion, Seulgi also gave a thumbs up, as did Joy, albeit with way less enthusiasm.
Big Matt didn’t pay attention. He eyed the buffet in the background hungrily. Some vampires watched him, mirroring his expression.
Jeongyeon continued. “Thank you for welcoming us to your home. I’m Yoo Jeongyeon, this is Son Chaeyoung and Hirai Momo.” They both nodded when their names were called.
It was Moonbyul who motioned towards Joy and Seulgi - and Big Matt. “And … we met them in front of the elevator.”
Before Irene could say something, Nayeon emerged from the crowd behind them. Her dress shivered in righteous anger. “You!” She pointed at Jeongyeon. “You are a were person?!” She looked terribly disappointed with herself.
Jeongyeon eyed her. “Oh, hello. Fancy meeting you here.” She paused for a moment. “I like your dress.”
Nayeon trembled with anger. “You shed all over the lawn last week! I had to hypnotize six people to tidy up your mess!”
Jeongyeon’s eyes narrowed. “Did they break into our home and clean? And stole our smoothie machine?”
“ Two smoothie machines,” Sana supplied.
Mina elbowed her.
“Or so I’ve heard,” Sana said.
“Alright,” Jihyo said, her best kindergarten teacher voice firing from all canons. “How about we move this to the third library. Irene unnie.” She gave the Queen of the Night a sharp nod and then managed to herd most newcomers away from the center of attention.
It left Irene and Wendy with Joy and Seulgi.
Joy eyed Irene with barely masked disdain. Seulgi was all smiley.
“Your friend seems drunk,” Seulgi said and pointed at Heechul who tried to make out with one of Irene’s five-hundred-dollar pillows.
“Or he really likes your pillows,” Joy added.
“Yes,” Irene said. “Both options are equally likely. Do you want a tour of this place? The third library might be unavailable at this time.”
“Sure!” Seulgi said.
“Are you feeling well?” Wendy whispered, genuinely worried, when Seulgi and Joy passed them.
“I am perfectly fine,” Irene said. Her voice resembled Nayeon’s earlier tone of complete disappointment in herself as she eyed veterinarian Seulgi’s back.
“Alright,” Wendy said.
“Your living room is bigger than my entire apartment,” Seulgi said. “And it has an echo.” She turned to Irene. “I like your dress. You look pretty.”
“Thank you.” Irene felt panic well up inside her. She needed a good, equally nicely delivered compliment that made her look dignified and approachable at the same time. “You look pretty as well.”
Failed. She had failed.
“Your suit. Your suit looks pretty. Handsome.”
Irene felt all of her ancestors were disappointed in her. Back to when the Mongols attempted to invade China. She was a disgrace for her title of Queen of Night. Next to her, Wendy groaned.
Seulgi smiled at her, her eyes crescent shaped. “Thank you. I assumed you would like black.”
“Well. Yes.” Irene took a deep breath. She led them further into the room and some vampires eyed Seulgi curiously. “Are you hungry? We have food. Human food. That is digestible by … the … living.”
Seulgi eyed the large piles of fruit and the equally big heap of sushi right next to it. “The sushi pile has the form of a human body.”
“To make it more appetizing,” Irene said.
Seulgi frowned. “It’s very … creative.”
“And one hundred percent digestible by humans,” Irene added helpfully.
Seulgi’s smile was dazzling as she directed it at Irene. The older vampire felt like the sun had shone upon her and lit up her dark and agonized soul.
“That’s good to know,” Seulgi said.
Behind them, Moonbyul leaned against the buffet table, gave a wave with two fingers from her forehead towards the person standing opposite of her. Her smirk was so greasy, Wendy would categorize it as a fire hazard. “Hi, I’m Moon. Byul. Yi. Big honcho of the Howlery. How are you doing?”
The person opposite of her, the three hundred year old vampiress Solar, scoffed. Despite her lack of blood pressure and a heartbeat, her ears were suspiciously red. “Solar. And I’ve been better.”
Moonbyul’s production of grease increased. She waggled her eyebrows. “Maybe I can help you feel better?”
Joy groaned. “Someone stake me, please.”
Wendy looked around, confused. “Where’s Big Matt?”
*
Nayeon found herself on a couch, squeezed between Momo to her left and Wereperson Jeongyeon to her right. The rest were lined up next to them.
Nayeon sneezed. “I’m allergic! Do I have to sit next to her?”
“You weren’t allergic when we met the other day,” Jeongyeon complained.
“Well, I’m allergic now.” Nayeon jutted out her lip and tried to get up.
“Sit down,” Jihyo said, her eyes blazing red for a moment.
Nayeon fell back onto the couch. “You are no fun at all.”
The room was calmer than Nayeon had anticipated. Indeed, Jeongyeon, whose scent bristled all the time, was the only one who broadcasted some excitement, the others were either bored or hungry.
Tzuyu showed slight interest in Chaeyoung, who inspected the oil painting by the fireplace.
The only thing Nayeon could think of was that Jeongyeon she had met the other day had been nice and human - and the Jeongyeon she had met today was grumpy and non-human.
Werewolves had a similar life span to vampires, being supernatural beings and all, but they lacked the greed for all living things, unlike vampires, who thrived upon life essence itself. Things changed, thanks to the Bloodfruit, of course.
But their instincts were there, dormant and slumbering, ready to rise.
And Werepeople … well.
Their life force fiercer, on average, than humans. Nayeon could feel a smell so sweet and so potent coming off of her, she knew she had to eat some Bloodfruit soon.
Jihyo started to pace in front of the line of seven people, all sitting on the couch.
“You smell like a wet dog!” Nayeon hissed at Jeongyeon.
“You smell like rust!” Jeongyeon shot back.
“And whose fault is that? If you mortals didn’t have iron based blood -”
“You two! That’s quite enough!” Jihyo snapped. She looked at Sana. “And you! No biting the mortal! I’ve seen you eyed him! And you two!” She pointed a shaking finger at Tzuyu and MIna. “Try to be less - less -”
Mina lifted an eyebrow and a gentle smile at Jihyo. “Less what?”
“Less lovely!” Jihyo snapped back. “I’ve seen how Heechul eyed you! We can’t have even more suitors line up at our mansion! It’s getting suspicious!”
Momo turned to Mina. “I actually know Heechul way better than I should. I can break his kneecaps for you if you want.”
Mina blinked back. “I - if the occasion arises, this is an excellent offer to fall back on. I shall consider it.”
Momo nodded. “Please do. He can be a serious pain in the ass.”
Chaeyoung leaned toward Tzuyu, sitting next to her. “Serious question. Is Jihyo your babysitter?”
Tzuyu turned her dark, blood red eyes at the smaller girl. “She is Nayeon unnie’s babysitter,” she said seriously. “And Sana unnie’s. On occasion."
Sana swatted Tzuyu. “Hey!”
“What. It’s true.”
"It is enough now!"
Jihyo’s voice thundered off the walls, the shadows growing, dipping the room into darkness. The whispers of a thousand voices grew louder and louder, to a screaming crescendo, as the occupants on the couch sank further into the pillowy depth, as Jihyo glared at them, with the glory of her century old life.
"This is a peace project!" she hissed. "We are all going to behave and we are going to be good roommates and we are not going - and in no particular order - steal smoothie machines, try to cut each other’s heads off, dump the household chores on other people in the vicinity and eat humans, just because we can or have any repeat of Howlery Vampirekind Massacres of the past!"
She stepped closer.
They all pressed against the back of the couch.
"Am I clear?"
They all nodded in unison.
“Good.” The shadows ebbed away and the whispers faded away. She gave them a tiny, encouraging smile, so sweet and gentle Nayeon wasn’t sure if she was the same person. “Talk to each other. Get along. I’m going to inform Irene unnie that I onboarded you for the venture.”
Then she left the room.
“Your babysitter is scaaaaary, ” Chaeyoung managed.
“Just wait until you see what she's like when you don’t recycle properly,” Nayeon said.
*
“Is there any room that doesn’t have an echo in here?” growingly cute veterinarian Seulgi asked.
They were in the gallery - a dark and elegant affair made from polished wood, and golden-framed paintings of Irene’s ancestors. She had removed some of the more colorful plaques beneath them - like Changmin the Impaler - and instead let the art speak for themselves.
Joy - Sooyoung - trudged behind them, annoyed but interested. Irene tried to ignore her.
“I don’t know. I have never noticed,” Irene said. She tried to come up with something clever and pointed at one of her ancestors: “Vlad impaled an entire village and tried to bathe in their blood. His wife, my grand-grand-grandmother, was so appalled that she was the first person to herald the Blood Fruit as the main food source for vampires.” Irene hesitated. “It’s also more easily made into a salad.”
“That’s fascinating,” Seulgi said and smiled. “I’ve seen the big selection of smoothies by the buffet.”
“Yes, she was ahead of her time. It’s a bit sad though that there is only one kind of flavor,” Irene said. She saw a movement in the back and when she turned, she watched Joy aimlessly kick one of the large pillars holding the ceiling. She felt her disposition dip from the warmth and friendliness she felt towards Seulgi to an endless icy abyss. “Is there anything I can do to entertain you?”
She heard Joy mutter: “Nothing legal,” then the woman spoke louder: “Nothing at this point of time.”
Irene looked at her with a long, cold glance. Then slowly wandered over. The darkness surrounding her licked towards Joy. Joy was not impressed. “You didn’t say why you are in Seoul?”
“That is true,” Joy said lightly. “I have not, as it is none of your business.”
Irene eyed her and was met with an equally blank and slightly annoyed gaze from the other vampire.
Irene knew what was going on in her city. She knew all the vampires and most werewolves living there. To have a wanderer, a stranger come here, for no apparent reason and one that Irene suspected to be powerful, worried Irene a lot.
Peace was a fickle thing. It had to be protected at all costs.
Seulgi cleared her throat and stepped between them. She smiled but it was a bit forced. “I am going to see a client on Thursday next week,” Seulgi said. “They have a litter of kittens I’m looking after. Maybe you want to accompany me, Irene-sshi?”
Kittens. Cats. The only animals whose souls could be potentially even darker than that of the Queen of Vampires herself, Irene.
“I would love to see kittens with you,” Irene said.
“You are allergic,” Wendy said.
“Only if I eat them!”
Seulgi frowned. “You eat kittens?”
“No!” Irene said. “No! Just - once, I had …” Wendy’s stare got harder as Irene struggled for romantic survival in Seulgi’s eyes. “... fur. In my mouth. And I developed … a slight reaction.”
“It was a rash,” Wendy said. “And she was very … red.”
“It was a slight blush,” Irene said.
“You looked like a scarlet cucumber.”
“I am not. In any way. Allergic to kittens.” Her tone was way higher than she had hoped for. Was panic ringing in her voice? Surely not. After all, she was the Queen of Vampires.
Behind her, both Joy and Wendy coughed. Irene very pointedly ignored them.
Seulgi smiled happily. “Then let’s see kittens soon!”
Was this a date? Was this what dating was like? Did Seulgi like her? Was this the beginning of a century-long romance? What kind of marriage proposal would Seulgi like? Would she like rings? If so, probably none made from silver, because werewolves didn’t like silver. Also, she had to go to the hairdresser before. Just in case.
Joy cleared her throat. Her expression still had that annoyed twinge to it that Irene was used to, along with her usual anger - but now a big dash of confusion had been added to the mix. She pointed. “Your - shadows look weird.”
Irene turned. Her shadowy aura had turned into a lovely, bright peach color. They seemed to try and lick at Seulgi.
Irene eyed them, her eyes harsh with the power of the centuries. “Yah.”
With a start, her shadow turned black again.
Seulgi laughed. Heu heu heu heu. “It’s very cute,” she said.
And Irene, Queen of the Night, Bringer of Shadows, the Bane of the Scarlet Life, tried very hard not to blush right here and then.
It was the only time when Heechul, the Bane of Irene’s Undying, Immortal Life, actually did something useful and saved her dignity.
Sort of.
*
Heechul held his nose, which was slightly crooked, as he sat on the floor in front of a couch, and pointed at Big Matt.
“He punched me!”
“He bit me!”
Big Matt held his neck. Two long lines of blood were making their way down his muscled neck and into his generous shirt line. He hid behind Chaeyoung and shook like a leaf in the wind. Chaeyoung tried to position herself in front of him, but only reached up to Matt’s midsection.
“We said no to biting the human!” Jihyo hissed at Heechul.
“I thought he was the main course!”
“I am not the main course!” Matt argued.
“Well, I know that now,” Heechul whined. Heechul, when he had turned into a vampire, had especially mourned the loss of use of all reflective surfaces to admire himself. “I will lose my perfect nose!”
“I think you should be grateful that you didn’t lose your undead life,” Chaeyoung said.
Matt looked at her and nodded in a weird, wobbly way. He looked pale - and strange. His cognitive abilities were still there, Irene knew, when she arrived, but oftentimes those that had just been bitten were under a fog or haze that stopped them from questioning anything.
Given the size of poor Matt’s pupils, she assumed that he was in the haze up to his nose.
Heechul hissed at her.
Chaeyoung rolled her eyes. “Dude. Come on.”
Irene wanted to say something, but she felt a movement and then Seulgi stepped in front of her. “I’m certified for Discontinuing the Conversion from Living to Unliving,” she said. “Let’s get him to my Office.”
“You can take my car,” Irene said. “At least one of them. Wendy?”
Wendy nodded and followed them out.
Jihyo took one of his arms, Sana the other, while Chaeyoung cleared the way for them. The assembled vampires parted like the Strawberry Sea in front of them.
Matt looked at Sana and smiled, confused. “I know you. You recommended ice cream the other day.”
Sana smiled, her teeth blinding, like a reflective traffic sign. “That’s true.”
Matt smiled at her, happily, glad to have recognized someone familiar. He turned to Jihyo, whose expression was somber and concentrated. “You are pretty.”
Jihyo’s gaze whipped up to him and Matt looked at her, dazed and dreamingly happy. Sana giggled from the other arm.
“Thank you,” Jihyo said.
“I’m gonna marry you,” Matt said.
Jihyo inhaled, her smile like a teacher’s who was presented with a particularly creative take on a tree. “I - don’t think so.”
But Matt just smiled and they continued onwards.
Irene watched them leave and felt a presence next to her. A greasy presence. Moonbyul smirked. “He would have made a great wereperson.”
Irene inhaled, exhaled and then turned to exchange a glance with Moonbyul. In the back, she saw her friend Solar by the buffet. She fanned herself, her cheeks still red. “Apparently, werepeople don’t seem to be your preferred hunting prey.”
Moonbyul shrugged, relaxed, always relaxed. “What can I say, I think I’m in love.”
“How often did this happen this month?”
Moonbyul didn’t answer. She still smiled, then her gaze traveled to the elevator, where a group of werewolves, vampires and Matt the human had disappeared.
“I think they need reinforcements,” Moonbyul said.
“Who? The werepeople? The vampires?”
“Yes,” Moonbyul said.
Irene eyed her. There was something dancing in the ambassador’s caramel eyes that worried her - mostly because she knew that Moon Byulyi, of all people, was right .
It was indeed a night for the history books.
“I see.”
“He will be breakfast,” Moonbyul said. “You know this as well as I do.”
Irene’s shadows danced slowly, deep in thought. “I know what you are thinking but this might be too much of an intervention.”
“We have no choice. It is for the benefit of us all.” Moonbyul shrugged. “Plus I hear that …” She took out her cellphone, opened her contacts and read out aloud: “That the Bane of Seoul, the Pillar Eternal of the Silver Tower of Jinyoung, the Wielder of the Nine has been buried in research for over a century. Some fresh air and actual people might do her well.”
“She staked my grandfather,” Irene said pointedly.
“He staked 300 people and tried to eat a president,” Moonbyul said.
“Fair, I guess.” Irene breathed out. “Then please. Do summon her. Just make her be a bit - inconspicuous. They have tons of human neighbors.”
Moonbyul winked at her and shot her finger guns. Then she sent the Bane of Seoul, the Pillar Eternal of the Silver Tower of Jinyoung, the Wielder of the Nine, a kakaotalk.
In the back, Heechul complained:
“And what about my nose?”
end (2/?)