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Scrawled on a black invitation in beautiful, gold coloured handwritten calligraphy is the date and time of the party, as well as one of Vena's addresses. Beautiful waterfront property just outside of a nearby city. The time on the invitation is listed as 8PM. Vena's attempt to accommodate any guests who may not be able to face the sun. Vena has a preference for nighttime anyway.

The home, itself, sits on a large piece of land with a well manicured and expansive garden on one side, and the harbour on the other. Inside, the home is very open, with plenty of space for party goers to lounge, and plenty of rooms for them to disappear into. There are only two bedrooms closed to the guests: Vena's own and one that that he keeps for his partner. There are floor to ceiling windows that look out over the large deck (where there's ample seating and a fire pit that will have a fire burning all night) and the harbour.

The decor and furnishings, themselves, are all dark shades (and not all white like in the picture!) of varying colours. Greys, blues, reds, and black, of course, with gold and silver accents and the occasional white showing up in a variety of places to break up the darkness.

There is a vast array of finger foods and an open bar, as well as a chef in the kitchen should anyone desire something a little more substantial to eat. He may even have a few humans set aside who are willing to be fed on, should that be what someone wants. Well, more like they're willing to do anything Vena asks, but to Vena, it's all the same thing.

As for the actual guests, an invite has gone out to anyone who isn't human, from demons to mythical creatures and everything in between. That isn't to say that humans aren't permitted (as more than snacks and servants) because they are, but as a +1. They must have something not human to accompany them, who will then be responsible for them for the evening. Don't let you humans get out of hand and ruin it for everyone else. The dress code is semi-formal and the colours are black and gold, just like the invitation.

Vena, himself, is dressed a little more than usual, with a few pieces of gold jewelry and some simple black around his eyes to fit his chosen colour scheme.

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Though Jaeseok is a part of this world, he's not always invited to these sorts of functions. His human side often gets him overlooked by other monsters. The curse of being a part of two worlds but not really belonging to either. So while there are some familiar faces here, there are a lot more than he doesn't know. Which just makes those familiar faces stand out to him all the more.

Especially one in particular.

At first, Jaeseok isn't sure that he wants to go over to talk to Kun-woo or even be noticed by him. He's spent their entire friendship lying to him. Well, a lie by omission and can that really even be considered a lie? Barely. While he tries to figure out what it is he actually wants to do, he simply stands there, staring at Kun-woo, an act which feels like it all but makes the decision for him.

Jaeseok puts on a bright smile and waves to his friend as he approaches. "Kun-woo, hey!"

This entire evening has been one filled with eager excitement for Kun-woo. He's done his very best to fit in (not ask everyone instantly ever detail about themselves) and keep his excitement retrained (barely). But when he sees someone he's been friends with for such a long time, the mask slips and he actually looks shocked. Utterly, unabashedly shocked. Aghast, even! If they were cartoon characters, his jaw would be on the floor. He's that Spider-man pointing meme right now.

"Jaeseok?! What are you doing here?"

Kun-woo's officially seen him. Kun-woo's acknowledged him. There's no changing his mind now. There's no suddenly deciding to spend the rest of the night going fully unnoticed by his friend. It's probably for the best. Avoiding Kun-woo all night sounds exhausting and like the least enjoyable way to spend his time at a party.

Jaeseok laughs a little awkwardly at his friend's reaction and digs around in his pocket, pulling out the invitation with his hand on it and holding it up for Kun-woo to see. "Oh, uh, I was invited."

"Invited?!" he splutters. So much for behaving nicely! "How...? Why?! This party isn't for huma..." And there it is: the dawning realization that his best friend isn't and probably never was throughout their acquaintance, a human person.

Jaeseok gives an almost apologetic smile as he shoves the invitation back into his pocket. "Isn't for humans. That's what you were going to say, right?" Sorry Kun-woo, but Jaeseok has never been human. To be completely fair, though, he's never been entirely inhuman either!

"This isn't really how I thought you'd find out."

Gaping like a fish. That's what Kun-woo is doing while his mind replays every single interaction it can recall to search for clues that his friend wasn't human. Is there something amiss about his shadow? Too many teeth? Limbs slightly too long? There has to be something he overlooked! But then Yesung's words cut through the memories, echoing in the currently hollow space of his head: Think as long as hard as you like, but I'm sure you won't figure out who was really human and who wasn't.

And that's when he snaps back to the place and time he's currently at with a frown.

"You never expected me to find out, did you?"

No matter how much Kun-woo thinks of it, no matter how hard he searches his memories, he won't find what it is that sets Jaeseok apart from every other human. For all intents and purposes, he looks perfectly human. He's not like some of those here, he's not a shapeshifter just playing at being human. He is human, but also not.

"No, I never expected you to find out. I didn't really want you to, honestly."

"Ah!" A new epiphany has him wagging his finger before he finally calms himself enough to be still. "You didn't know I would be here!" There's an unspoken did you in that statement that leaves it more as a question. Did Jaeseok know Kun-woo isn't a human person anymore?

Jaeseok reaches out to grab the wagging finger, holding it between them as he watches his friend. Are they still friends? Does Kun-woo still want to be his friend after learning that Jaeseok's been lying to him the entire time they've known each other? Well, Jaeseok would argue that not telling him isn't the same as lying (he disagrees with the idea of lying by omission) and that not telling him was actually to keep himself safe but who knows if Kun-woo will agree.

"Well, no actually. I had no idea you'd be here. I didn't know you knew anyone who'd-" Invite Kun-woo as their human guest was the rest of what Jaeseok was going to say. It never gets out, though, as something seems to dawn on him. Another possibility. His eyes go wide and he releases Kun-woo's fingers to grab his shoulders instead. "Did someone do something to you?? Are you not human anymore?" Because he was definitely human before, right? Jaeseok didn't imagine that?

Of course they're still friends! How could Jaeseok think they're not??? Kun-woo could be so pained if he even suspected Jaeseok thought they might not be friends anymore! Rude, bestie. Kun-woo's not a fickle friend!

Whoa, calm down, bestie! Kun-woo's eyes go wide when Jaeseok grabs hold of him. Since they're not out among normal human people, he supposes it's okay to just be blunt about it. "I'm a vampire now." He tries to say it calmly, but the enthusiasm for his new life bubbles right up to the surface. Don't worry, Jaeseok, You were right. Kun-woo was definitely human until very recently.

People can get weird when they find out their friend isn't who they say they are, so it's probably worse when someone isn't what they say they are, right? He's just mentally preparing for the possible worst. He really likes Kun-woo and it would be awful to lose him over something like this! As though 'this' isn't kind of a big deal.

Jaeseok's hands slip from Kun-woo's shoulders as he so easily announces himself. 'I'm a vampire now' like he just switched over from drama club to book club or something. 'I'm a book club nerd now'. Insane. "Why didn't you tell me sooner??" A pause, and then he snorts out a derisive laugh. "Right. Because you didn't know you could. So what happened? How'd you get yourself snatched up by the vampires?"

What? It's not like Jaeseok was hiding who he is as a person. Or did he? Is his human identity tantamount to a Witness Relocation identity that's so far removed from who he really is? Oh my god! What if it is???

"Well, it's a recent development," he admits, twisting his foot on the floor. "I got friendly with one and I guess he liked me enough to keep me around for a while!"

Wouldn't that be exciting!? There's nothing like that though. Jaeseok's been pretty honest about who he is as a person. It's not like who he is could've ever pointed to his inhuman nature. Humans come in enough different flavours that there aren't exactly a whole lot (if any at all) of personality traits that would immediately say 'not human'.

So worry not, dear friend. Jaeseok wasn't hiding anything about who he is as a person.

Jaeseok moves to Kun-woo's side and throws his arm over his friend's shoulders as he leans in almost conspiratorially. "Friendly? Or like 'friendly'?"

See? Jaeseok has nothing to worry about! Discovering his friend isn't human is about as life altering as learning he's from one city and not some other. No big deal at all!

Oh the sidelong judgy look Kun-woo gives him could wither weaker men. "Friendly. Without the emphasis. Do I seem like that kinda guy to you???"

Edited 2025-05-13 18:00 (UTC)

But is that only because he learned it now, while he's also not human, or would it have been the same sooner? Could Jaeseok have avoided all of this and just have been honest with him from the start? Well, not the start start. 'Hi my name is Jaeseok and I'm not as human as I look' is kind of a weird introduction.

The look makes Jaeseok laugh and he pats his friend's shoulder. "No, but you didn't seem like a vampire to me either. So you could've had some secret love affair with a vampire who ended up getting attached to you!"

Maybe he could've been honest sooner? Definitely not from the start start. Kun-woo might have written him off as a crazy person at the start start. But after their friendship was pretty well established? That would've been okay-er.

He hardly believed it when Yesung told him what he was!

"It's not like that!"

Unfortunately, it's hard to know when it's the best time to tell your human friend that you're not human. And it's hard to gauge how they might react. But Kun-woo knows now and he's perfectly fine with it so... problem solved? Crisis averted? His no longer human friend is perfectly okay with him also not being human. It's an odd thing, to think of Kun-woo as anything other than perfectly human. It might actually take him longer to come to terms with this new information about Kun-woo then it seems Kun-woo will about him.

Jaeseok grins and nudges Kun-woo with his hip. "My sweet little Kun-woo, falling into bed with some vampire! I never thought I'd see the day."

Of course he's okay with it! He probably would've been when he was still human, too. But Jaesoek had no way to know that. Neither did Kun-woo. He's taken having his eyes opened to the hidden creatures of the world with utter delight. Maybe because he hasn't met anything yet that's shown itself to be a danger to him. Yet. That might dampen his enthusiasm a little. Just a little.

"I didn't!" He whines, actually stamping a foot on the floor. "It's not like that! We met at the DMV! You know I get bored and talk to strangers!"

And just like that, Jaeseok is going to drop the false narrative about Kun-woo and his sire. Not because he feels any sort of guilt or anything about teasing his friend, but because of what Kun-woo said. It actually throws him off, which shows in his expression. His mouth hangs open ever so slightly in surprise and his eyes widen a little, narrowing soon after as his nose wrinkles and his eyebrows furrow.

"Huh? Seriously? Why was there a vampire at the DMV?"

Kun-woo smacks his hands together and nods enthusiastically. "I wondered the exact same thing! Maybe I guess he just wants to be a law-abiding citizen!" It never occurred to Kun-woo that expired tags could cause Yesung a lot more trouble than murder. Does Yesung actually kill his victims? Gosh, he never asked that either... oh no!

Edited (typo) 2025-05-16 23:56 (UTC)

Jaeseok lets his arm slip from around Kun-woo's shoulders and steps out in front of him, taking his best friend's face in his hands. "Kun-woo, babe, I don't know how to tell you this but vampires often attack and kill people. Pretty sure that disqualifies them from being law-abiding citizens. No matter how much time they spend at the DMV, or how up to date on their taxes they are." Though keeping everything on the up and up would keep them from being looked at too closely. It would allow them to fly under the radar for the most part so they can maintain their diet without too much issue.

Okay, it makes sense. Obey the laws that make their lives easier.

Releasing his friend's face, Jaeseok lays his hands on Kun-woo's shoulders instead. "Okay which one is he? Your fake law-abiding vampire lover, point him out to me."

Right? Tax evasion is what got that one mobster caught, not all his various and sundry violent crimes! Imagine some vampire getting pulled over and having an expired license? A night in jail could end up as pile of ash in the morning! So it's very important for survival to avoid run ins with law enforcement.

A cute pout pulls at Kun-woo's lips. "They don't... we don't have to kill people."

But he instantly forgets to be unhappy when Jaeseok inquires about his sire. He rolls up onto the balls of his feet to peer around (it really doesn't help him see over some of the taller guests), lighting up when he spots Yesung across the room.

"That's him! The blond over there." Everyone be proud he isn't pointing and shouting.

That would certainly make for an undignified end for a vampire. Surviving for what may have been centuries, only to die in a holding cell because of some expired tags or a license or something. Possibly let at least a police station's worth of people know that vampires are real. Centuries of flying under the radar, just to be done in by the Department of Motor Vehicles.

"You don't have to kill people but some of you do. Sometimes it's intentional and sometimes it just... happens." He's speaking from experience. He's intentionally and accidentally killed people before.

Jaeseok tips his head up, craning his neck a little to see over a few heads in an attempt to spot who Kun-woo's talking about. He grins and once more nudges his friend with his hip. "Bagged a hottie, huh? Good for you!"

If he were still capable of blushing, he'd be so red right now!!! He even stamps his foot one more time with his pout.

"Jaeseok," he whines, drawing out the vowels of his friend's name like a petulant child. "It's not like that! Besides! Look around! No one here is even mediocre looking, let alone ugly!"

Edited (capitaliztion) 2025-06-01 23:27 (UTC)

It's a shame that vampirism took blushing away from his best friend because Kun-woo really does look so cute that way. The pouting and the whining and the stamping his foot all make up for it though. Jaeseok can't help the way he bursts out laughing at the way Kun-woo really stretches out his name.

"Me calling Vampire Daddy hot doesn't negate everyone else's hotness. I'm simply pointing out his specifically." First, because it's true, but also because it seems to fluster his friend. "Also, there's at least some part of you that totally wishes it was like that, right? Don't lie to me."

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oops that was supposed to be 'with his NAME on it' LOL. but you probably figured that out

I did! Sometimes I can manage to be intelligent enough to get the idea from context.

sometimes?? pfft. often!

I did study literature in college. Maybe that helped! (lol)

that's gotta be it!! LMFAO

It makes sense, right? It makes sense to me

makes sense to me too!!

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