He was a mess. He was a mess, the dhampir thought as he paced the room for the 5th time in the last hour. Jae wasn't sure he had ever been quite so nervous about anything as he was for this particular night. And the stupid part of it was that there wasn't even anything to be nervous about. They hadn't even called it a date, just plans to meet up, Hanseol told him there was a place he wanted the dhampir to see and without a second thought, Jae had accepted. Except after everything that happened at the dojo just a week ago, it felt like a date. Hell, it was the first time the celestial had actually used the number he gave him the first night they met, that was a big deal in it's own right. 

He paused as he caught sight of himself in the mirror, running his hands through his still bright blue colored hair, he let out a frustrated sigh, he knew he was making a bigger deal out of this than he needed to but he couldn't stop himself, he hadn't been on anything that resembled in a date in years, what was he expected to do? Was there something specific he needed to wear, was he supposed to bring a gift. He sighed shaking his head, a mess, that was the only word for it. Jae turned his eyes on the clothes he had laid out for the evening, finally giving up on deliberating and starting to change. There was no way in hell he was gonna go through all this panicking and then end up being late too. In the end, he decided on a pair of black skinny jeans which he paired with a white shirt which he tucked into the pants and then an oversized denim jacket to cover his shoulders knowing it was pretty cold out there in Evermore. 

The dhampir scolded himself in his head, he didn't know why he was letting himself get so worked up over something so small, it was like all the confidence he had gained when it came to his thoughts about the fallen star had gone out the window. He just really wanted things to go well, he wanted a night both of them would be able to look back on and smile and that pressure was eating away at him. Shaking his head he turned around the mirror so that he didn't need to look at himself before grabbing his phone and tucking it away into his pocket and his wallet in the other. He eyed his house keys before picking them up, while the front door was unlocked most of the time it was probably wise to keep them on him just in case. 

And before he could doubt himself any further he stepped out of the room, waving a half-assed goodbye to dumb and dumber, who responded by giving him a once over and then wolf whistling "Who's the lucky girl?" they jeered which only elicited an annoyed grunt from the dhampir as he closed the door a little harder than he needed to, the last thing he was doing was getting into that right now. He did his best to shrug it off as he headed out of the building, shaking his head a little. He waved hello to a couple of neighbors who passed him by on the way out and did his best to get a handle over his mood, this was going to be a good night, he reminded himself.

He grabbed his phone, pulling up the Uber app and ordered a lift which arrived about 5 minutes later, the air was crisp this evening but not completely unbearable in the clothing he had decided on, so at least he wasn't going to freeze to death. Climbing into the back of the car he leaned his head back taking slow breaths as he reminded himself over and over that he was putting too much pressure on himself. 20 minutes later and the driver was pulling up outside the celestial's home. Jae gave thanks to the male who had been pretty chatty the whole way here, probably sensing the nerves coming from the half-vampire in the air. Once he got out he tipped the male on the app and rolled his shoulders back.

Before nerves could swallow him whole he started walking towards the now familiar building and made his way up to the door with one last breath he reached up and knocked.

Views: 1042

Replies are closed for this discussion.

Replies to This Discussion

Finding out that Jae was not as graceful as he might've appeared to be, Hanseol had to admit he was slightly taken aback by the confession. He never thought Jae was a reckless person, possessing a nature much similar to the celestial himself. Of course he remembered the first time they met, which was when the dhampir accidentally trip on his feet. Though it was quite random for them, he learned to understand how things really did have surprises hidden underneath every capsule.

“Could've fooled me for a second there. You don't look reckless. Not that there's an actual look for anyone who is reckless and careless..” There he goes babbling again, a frequent trait of his that often occurs whenever Hanseol was finding himself wanting to make his words sound a bit better than the first. Stopping halfway on his breath, he pursed his lips slightly before letting out a sigh. “I mean, uh- you look graceful. That's what I mean.” Closing his eyes momentarily, Hanseol cursed himself internally for being such a blabbermouth at this moment. Way to make a fool out of yourself, he thought. “Wait- really, how does one fall up the stairs? Isn't it supposed to be the the other way around?” Much like what Jae noticed the littlest things that formed a habitual right for Hanseol, Hanseol's orbs grew bigger by the second as the confusion sets in. “Eh, nevermind, don't answer that.. I got it.”

Shaking his head profusely, he denied all that the dhampir has said about gremlins. “I know they're supposed to be grumpy and of course, I'm not saying you're grumpy or anything. But as long as you don't feed them after midnight or expose them to light, they're not aggressive at all. Granted that you are exposed to me-- a literal ball of light, I think it only kindled the cutesy fires in you rather than make you act out, no?” There is no actually knowing how the celestial even had the time to watch the 1984 movie, but he did. “I'm saying under our kind of circumstances, you're a cute gremlin, but when exposed to light aka me, you become more cuter. Just my logic, it doesn't make sense but what do I care.” he said diffidently while covering his face with his hand after saying them. The quick shift between the two demeanors did not went unnoticed by them, though.

The more time Hanseol spent with the dhampir, the more light-hearted every situation turns out to be. Even the rain, yes. That was unexpected and caused a rupture to his initial plan, but still, he couldn't get upset at it because what mattered was that Jae is still with him. And that mindset alone is enough to tell him that there was no need for him to plan so meticulously to make this work. Doesn't mean he's going to stop being ‘Captain Romantic', but for sure he knew that every effort was worth every second of seeing the dhampir. Hanseol Park was utterly smitten by the blue haired male named Jaesung Moon, and he adored the fact that he does. The fluttering sensation in the pit of his stomach made its way everywhere until it was no longer possible to be controllable or navigated moderately.

“I feel like I know you too, Jae. Truly. And considering the fact that I don't even bother mingling to be a social butterfly all this time, says a lot. It means only you caught my eye, and that only you managed to get inside here.” he stuck out his tongue playfully as he pointed to his heart. The childish demeanor that was radiating off Hanseol could be refreshing at times, so much that even he himself needed to be reprimanded that he's a grown person and not a child. He never was. Even when the celestial fell, he was already assuming the physical vessel of an 18 year old guy.  “Well, I don't know about you, but when the thought and sound of hearing your favorite person remembering you easily on his daily life, really boosts your ego up.” His heart did swell up in delight upon hearing the statement coming from Jae.

As if it wasn't anymore possible for Hanseol to be more happy. He was sure at that moment, he was already glowing a tad lighter than usual. All because the dhampir complimented him. See how easy it is to get to him? “You are a literature major, an author, who literally lives off the intricacies of philosophy itself, I'd say this isn't too far fetched to start with. Besides, I like hearing you speak. The timbre in your tone really just correlates with everything.” There was that other distinctive feature of theirs; Hanseol had a rather higher pitched tenor voice that tends to sound very light and bright, whilst Jae was a definite baritone. If the dhampir was a writer, the celestial would be the composer. Slowly as he studied the languid style of Jae's work, he also imitated a few parts where he found his voice to suit certain tones very well.  

“I can understand why. Unpredictableness and ambiguity itself is a hard concept to grasp so willingly. It's not one I am used to, either way. But over time, you learn to adapt to it since it was a literal prerequisite to your survival skills. Anyways, the only surprises I've only gotten was that a punch to the gut in a dark shady alley somewhere.” Once the memory crossed his state of mind, the fallen star shuddered at the mere thought of it. It wasn't a walk down the memory lane that he wished for. “As for the mundane part, I might look mundane, but I wonder what a mundane life would be like. One where you don't really have to worry about dying or losing time. It's interesting to see how non-immortal beings live their lives, I even developed a study on them. Not that I was trying hard on being creepy or anything..” he backhanded the statement as quick as he originally released it. He understood how easily it was to misinterpret one's words, and he didn't wish to be one of those people who offered nothing but vagueness.

The rarity of Hanseol acting very forward was counted and kept in a tally, just for himself. He only could seem to showcase such a side when it comes to Jae, much to his delight. There wasn't anyone else he actually wanted to witness this playful side of his. Mostly because he was afraid of being taken advantage of this vulnerableness, not the opposite where he refused to show this out of spite. If there was only one person that could see him this way, he'd give that right over to the blue haired male, any day without a sliver of hesitancy. “I take pride in you telling I'm me so things work, Jae. Remember not to feed my ego too much, or it takes over. And I don't think you would really be able to tolerate my egoistical side who's a big narcissist.” Truly, his fatal flaw was hubris, one that derived directly from the root of pride itself, so as it manifests itself on him, it grew gradually.

Whilst he was changing in his own room, he stopped halfway as he threw his shirt on the laundry basket in his room, near the bathroom door, before glancing at his reflection in front of the big mirror placed next to the wardrobe. Taking a towel from the side, he dried his dark locks while searching for proper and comfortable clothes in the closet. He had to handpick one by one off because of the pile of mess he made earlier this morning was not nearly folded yet. Blame him blacking out and forgetting how time was meant to be golden. So much for being a species who could alter time. He discarded the wet clothes away, leaving it to dry ingredients he spacious space before wearing a pair of track bottoms. He was just threading his hand between the hung clothes inside when he forgot the sketchbook he left opened lying around on the couch, the very place he didn't want Jae to be at. Great. Without even thinking twice, the celestial tossed the white t-shirt aside with the towel he used to dry his hair and scurried outside, hoping that Jae was still in the bathroom changing, while he take the time to sneak the book away from all prying eyes.

Unfortunately, it didn't work as well as he thought it was going to. By the time he got there, Jae had already gotten his hands on something-- a particular book that he was sure was his, considering that's where he placed it earlier. As he cursed silently and massaged his temples in distress, he didn't realize that he wasn't exactly decent on the upper side. Way to make an appearance, Hanseol. “Uh.. I thought I um -left something. I guess not.” he mumbled sheepishly before running back to his room after suffering the embarrassing point where Jae turned around to meet his eyes.

Jae laughed softly when Han called him reckless, well that was one way to put it he supposed, Jae wasn’t purposely like that, it was like a second nature to him, it tended to just happen at the worst moments “I’m not sure it’s those things, I just have zero coordination” he answered with a laugh “That’s why I started ice skating, gotta find a way to tackle it right?” he reached up to scratch at the back of his neck, okay that hadn’t gone as well as he hoped if he was honest but he willing to put the work in, good balance certainly would help anyway. It was nice though, to hear that his klutzy nature wasn’t something people expected from him, at least that meant he had a shot of getting past it “Appearances are deceiving I guess” he shrugged as he raised his hand and clasped his hands together as if to show how Jae had managed to face plant while walking up stairs, his expression showing amusement, Jae knew how to laugh at his own mistakes at least.

Jae found it adorable, the way that Hanseol kept explaining his rationale behind calling the dhampir a gremlin, he had a soft smile on his lips the whole time that the celestial was explaining himself, nodding a little at each point he made before giving back a witty rundown of what the fallen star had said “So essentially I need to stop eating midnight snacks and spent lots of time around the light and then I won’t be grumpy?” he teased running his tongue over his lip, Jae had seen the movie so he knew what Hanseol was talking about, but he couldn’t stop himself from pressing it, it was unexplainably adorable. When Han covered his face with his hands, Jae leaned in closer, pulling at one of Hanseol’s fingers with a chuckle “You still in there?” he asked as he peered through the tiny gap made.

Jae had always been a think on the bright side kinda person, he was the type who would relentlessly try and make someone laugh when they were feeling down or care for others before his own needs. He hated the idea of the star feeling disheartened by things he couldn’t control because as Jae kept trying to say, he didn’t believe you should just take your lot. There was always something you could do to try and better a situation and if you could, why not do it right. And he really hoped Hanseol knew that knew that it didn’t matter to him that they had gotten rained on, he would still remember this evening, their first date, regardless of where they were or what they were doing. He’d still remember that topsy turvy feeling in the chest that mixed feelings of excitement and nerves, the same one that knocked his breath from him every time the two of their gazes met for longer than a few moments.

He was glad that his admission didn’t come across as weird, he knew the two of them had only known each other for a relatively short time and there was so much more to learn, but there was something about the celestial that he felt drawn to, always had if he was honest with himself, from the moment he had fallen head over heels in that park. As the fallen star spoke Jae found himself hung up on the words ‘only you’ which made the dhampir go quiet, watching where the star pointed to. Why did it feel so good to hear those words, making his heart feel like it was soaring in his chest? Why was it so easy for the celestial to make him feel this way. When Hanseol mentioned his ego being boosted Jae laughed “Not that you need a boost on the ego front” he teased remembering all the comments Hanseol had made in the past about how good he looked “But it’s true” he added with a shrug, Jae really was speaking a lot of mind lately.

The dhampir chuckled softly as Hanseol talked about him and his way of talking and using words, words were Jae’s thing, he loved finding new and interesting ways to use them, ways to tell stories, ways to capture his feelings down on paper and immortalize them before they were forgotten. When Han subtlely brought up the low tone of Jae’s voice the dhampir smiled softly “My voice wasn’t always something I liked very much” he commented with a shrug, after his voice broke it had been a big change for him and there had been times when others teased him over it, but now he saw it as another part of himself. So it was kinda a big deal to know someone else liked the sound of his voice, complimented it even.

“I guess you could say, not knowing scares me” he surmised with a half shrug, he knew that you couldn’t live your entire life in fear of that or you’d literally never get anywhere but it was still a work in progress with him “People who can just accept what happens, happens confuse me” he scratched behind his ear a little with a puzzled expression. He liked to have plans, even if they were flexible, which he guessed made him unspontaneous. Though the more time he spent with Hanseol the more he felt that shifting, he found himself looking forward to the twists and turns the celestial threw his way and seeing how he managed to handle them, it was thrilling. He gave a concerned look when Han spoke about his past on the run though, he still felt endlessly protective over the male in front of him, he hated the idea of things like that happening to him, part of him just wanted to wrap his arms around Hanseol and not let go, as though that could protect him from those who wanted to hurt him.  

Jae had to wonder what side of himself Hanseol showed to other people, Jae had been pretty lucky so far to be on his good side, he had seen a lot of the best parts of the other male but he imagined Hanseol could be pretty mean and snarky to those he didn’t like. Jae arched an eyebrow at Han’s warning and shook his head in response, a wry smile on his lips “I think you overestimate your confidence” his voice was low and husky “Even you aren’t immune to blushing, sunshine” the dhampir reached up to move a strand of hair that had fallen over Hanseol’s forehead thanks to the rain and right it’s placement, Jae was probably more modest out of the two of them, especially when it came to public settings but he’d seen those moments of vulnerability in Han too.

Despite the fact that he heard Hanseol down the hall he couldn’t stop himself from getting closer, pulling the book onto his lap as his eyes studied the pages wide-eyed. Was this how the other male saw him? Jae’s fingertips ran over the paper, he could feel the heat rising in his face, furiously and his heartbeat sped up. So this was what the celestial was hiding huh? Jae sank his teeth into his bottom lip, the drawing was so beautiful and Han had done this without even having Jae in his presence to model it, his talent was incredible. He was just about to flip to the next page when he heard Hanseol’s voice.

By now the dhampir’s cheeks, really his whole face was flushed bright red, so when he turned to face the other male to find his eyes fall on his completely bare torso he gasped a little in shock. He only had a few seconds to take in what he was seeing, his eyes falling over the defined muscles of the celestial and his almost too perfect to actually be real physique if Jae wasn’t sitting down his legs probably would have given out. Still looking utterly stunned, his mind on overdrive he looked up to meet Hanseol’s gaze for no more than a second before the star bolted from the room. Jae pushed to himself to his feet in response “Hey” he protested but the dark-haired male was already gone from vision. Jae sucked in a long confused breath, this was a lot to process at once. Without overthinking it he followed the way Hanseol went until he got to the closed door and he lightly knocked on it with the back of his hand “Are you okay?” he asked concerned, the dhampir reached up to run a hand through his tousled blue hair as he waited for a response.

Scrunching up his nose, he wiggled his eyebrows together, inadvertently creating a simple confused frown while his doe eyes grew bigger as the second passes by, the celestial tilted his head to the left. “So.. You're not reckless or careless, but literally just not balanced? You should probably have that checked up, dhampy. Might've been a slightly fused wire in the cerebellum.” he teased vehemently, his ring of laughter coming out soon enough for him afterwards. Tapping where the area of cerebellum was located just as he placed a warm hold on the back of his head, he grinned. “I would help, but I don't have legal license to play neurosurgeon. Guess I should probably get to learning legally and obtain them after finishing my dissertation.” The idea bulb came back straight at the star, the thought of him enrolling as a university student was beguiling.

Why not, right? It was a win win situation for him. He'll get to learn more about the neurons surrounding their body and alongside a side of extra bonus, he'd get to see Jae's beautiful self sometimes.  Though their affectionate ways might not really be so much exposed under the prying eyes of the public, mostly because Hanseol wished to keep the latter comfortable with their relationship, there are other ways to make up for it. Just sitting in front of Jae while the two of them study on their respective subjects together, just the thought of that made his heart flutter, so much it soared up to the sky so high up and is continuing to do so. The sudden involvement in his train of thoughts were interrupted when he heard the dhampir was taking ice skating lessons. “Oh? I must say, I did not expect to see you take that. Maybe next time I'll come by and watch.” he exclaimed, with his tongue stuck out and a wink sent her way, as he lets out a laugh rumbling from his chest. “You know, just so I could film and record.. And obviously make a bundle checklist for everything time you fell. That'll be a fun documentary, no?”

Understandably, Jae seemed to understand and figure the celestial so easily, and it gives a sense of comfort towards the fallen star himself. He didn't need to hide himself away from him and how relieved he truly was upon finding that out. He was honestly a bit skeptical to see just how easily the dhampir had managed to get him, but the thought of it became tender, over time. Jae's presence was a gift to him, he was sure of it. For all the misfortune and sufferings he'd endured, perhaps Jaesung Moon is his retribution to come back to the path of light he initially was on and to make sure he stays there, permanently. Since Hanseol believed a lot in fates and destinies, it wasn't surprising to see him pour deep heights into the concept of it, despite it being foreign to the latter. Maybe, just maybe, Jae would be his anchor. And he desperately wished that would be true. Reverting back to his state before would only fuel the decades long of the need for vengeance in him.

“You can eat midnight snacks and fill those chubby cheeks up. Do you know, I think your not from earth… you can't be. You're too unearth. Too ethereal. In another sense, too pretty. It's unreal. I swear your face is like sculpted by a Greek God. You know, the male equivalent for Helen of Troy?” His eyes glanced over to examine every single outline of his facial structure, training his own dark orbs on him, trailing from the eyes to the nose and of course, the lips. You can’t miss the lips. It was the feature that evidently caused the male to lose his breath every time. “Without the whole people fighting and killing over you, please. I don't think I need one of those, nor am I confident I'd be able to beat them all.” Sometimes, Hanseol could be modest and exude humility, but other times when his ego is stroke right, it went over the roof with all the army of smugness and narcissism.

When he was hiding his face, he wondered what he looked in Jae's eyes. Was he anywhere close as the same gaze he plastered on the dhampir? The look of adoration filling the air until it was too stuffy to breathe it in? The insecurities only kicked in slightly, where the celestial found himself questioning if the other was as smitten as he was. “Hey, every guy needs an ego boost sometimes, okay. It's like essential to a homosapien's life. Mostly, a primate species called neanderthal but eh, it works.” With his appearance, Hanseol could pass off as one of those people just as easy. “I wouldn't mind hearing all those compliments just stringing out from you. It makes it sound even much better and gives twice the effect.” There he goes around flirting. Hanseol swore he actually kind of favored this side of him. You won't see him flirting so shamelessly with strangers or anyone else but Jae. It gives a deeper depth into his significance level regarding the dhampir.

Shaking his head while still frowning, his lips formed a pout with the bottom one jutting out. “I like your voice. It's calming. Gives you goosebumps occasionally but who doesn't like the excitement it entails? I do. It's a whiff of fresh air too.” Hanseol absolutely adored the timbre in Jae's husky and deep voice, it makes him even more distinctive than usual, which was yet becoming another trait of his that was slowly added to the celestial's hall of fame-- aka his hall of Jae. The dhampir wasn't the only one paying attention, after all. It was one of the reasons to why he was able to draw the blue haired male perfectly with precision by just imagining his face. Each drawing was different, catering to the dhampir's personality individually. It was still amazing how he was able to pinpoint them and brush them into life to the drawing, but he was pretty proud of himself on it. He loved drawing and painting, what better way to inspire his muse more by sculpting his biggest love ever?

“Sometimes, surprises are good. Not for the health if it ends up being anywhere near euphoric, but you get what I mean. It's a trigger to your gears.. It's astonishing to see how easy it could impact someone with a little spontaneous here and there. Like what we are going to do? That's spontaneous.. And improvisation.” he beamed softly, the crinkles of his eyes forming a crescent smile, where the smile reached his eyes first before settling fully on his lips. “I just accept them in time, because I think there's so much more for me laid out than just this. It's thrilling perhaps. At times.” he assured, when he wasn't afraid for his existence and life, it was a good revelation. Lowering his voice to an octave, the deep rumbling from his chest ends up becoming a laugh, well- a chuckle. “I don't see why I shouldn't. A wise man said confidence is the key, no? I wouldn't mind being this confident around you. Practice makes perfect, maybe then I wouldn't have to make a fool of myself and stutter the next time you sweep me off my feet.” The scrutinizing gaze he had on his was hooded and gives a whole new aura and look around it.

“Oh and, just saying, you can make me blush anytime, sweetheart. Doesn't matter where- or when.”

He's a flirt, he admitted it the first time. The way he leaned in to meet his eyes was a bold move. He couldn't fathom how it would've been nerve-wracking for him if the dhampir was to find his sketchbook lying around so openly. That can't happen. But he was a bit too late to make sure it doesn't come down to that, and to make things worse, he came out undressed on the upper body too, where he had inadvertently showed himself to the dhampir who seemed just as shock as he was, though he wasn't sure if it was the drawing or him. Maybe both, because why not? The minute Hanseol closed the door behind him, he closed his eyes briefly before groaning to himself, not forgetting to mutter sufficient amount of profanities under his breath as he did so. Leaning against the door, with the top within his grasp, he could hear Jae on the other end, asking if he was okay. “No.. I'm not okay.” he mumbled incoherently, making it only viable to hear from himself. “Come on, don't be shy. What happened to your confident boost, Han. Dude, get out there and make sure the evening isn't screwed up entirely.” he told himself and pulled on the t-shirt over him before taking a deep breath and unlocking the door.

His gaze fell first on a concerned Jae, to which he only replied with a soft smile. “Don't worry about it, I was just caught up in the moment, I forgot I had a guest and that they don't honestly want to witness anymore form of nudity, be it as may seem half.” he remarked sheepishly. “Anyways.. Come on. I need to find what I want to cook.” While leading them both to the kitchen, and him taking out ingredients from the fridge, he can't help but to let the curiosity peaking. “So.. I hope you don't think those drawings are creepy.. I just visualize very well. Thought I'd practice..”

Jae allowed a slight smile to take him over as Hanseol called him dhampy, it was a cute nickname he had to admit and one that he’d never been called before by anyone else, though his teasing about something being wrong with Jae medically did cause the dhampir to frown a little, Jaesung was pretty content with his own coordination, some people just were clumsy, he’d concluded “I think my approach to tackling it is just fine” he responded with a half shrug, there was also no way in hell he was letting anyone go poking around in his brain over it.

Jae reached up to scratch at the back of his neck, he was actually really enjoying ice skating, despite spending more time falling than actually skating on his last visit to the rink, he felt a sense of determination to get past it all, get better. Who knew, maybe one day he could be one of those really great skaters that glided across the ice with ease. Well, he could hope anyway. “Me neither, it was kinda a last minute thing, though I met a new friend there and I guess we stopped one another from giving up” Jae would almost have certainly have given up if not for having someone else there. When Han mentioned coming along and filming Jae’s eyes widened and he held his hands up a little defensively “I think the one video of me falling is plenty” he defended with a shake of his head, there was only so long you could keep laughing at your own mistakes until you felt annoyed at not getting better.

The dhampir got it though, despite the strange ways he offered it sometimes, Hanseol seemed to want to help him, wanted the best for him, which Jae appreciated, that’s why despite some of his suggestions being out there or setting the dhampir on edge, he still had a smile on his face in response to them. Jae really did think he was beginning to understand to other male in a way he didn’t pay mind to others, the fallen star tended to have an unorthodox approach to most things but his heart tended to be in the right place. Han was a bright and highly intelligent person, Jae saw that much, he knew if he studied at the university he’d fit in with ease there, hell the blue-haired half-vampire could picture it without even trying, late night study sessions, both of them spurring one another on, challenging one another. It brought a warm smile to Jae’s lips.

The dhampir was completely knocked from reality as the celestial starting babbling about Jae’s facial structure, especially because of how close Hanseol came to study it as he commented, truly Jae had always known that he had a ‘pretty face’, back home it was kinda impossible to not know that, since people often talked about it honestly. But to be described the way that Hanseol described him, that turned his stomach in knots. Jae felt a swell of happiness through his entire being as he listened to the words pursing his lips as he tried to find words to respond, he was lost for them, which was strange for the dhampir considering he always had words. His dark hues spoke a lot though, looking back at the celestial with a level of admiration and contempt he didn’t show anyone else. When words finally did return to him, his voice was soft “You don’t have to fight for me, I already told you the other night I choose you” and he had meant it, Jae was sure now that Hanseol Park was ‘his person’, someone he wanted to ride this roller coaster alongside, regardless of what might be along the track.

Jae knew he probably wasn’t the best at showing his emotions, something he had gotten from his father’s constant insistence from a young age that men shouldn’t show them. It was proving to be a hard habit to break and he still had his moments, that’s why this felt so raw and new to him, he had no idea how to act or how much he should and shouldn’t show. All he knew was he wanted to keep this person at his side for as long as possible, wanted to make him happy by whatever means necessary, even when that meant facing things that scared him to do so. Han’s flirty comments made Jae laugh softly, man it was so hard to breathe when the dark-haired male acted like this, confidence surrounding him in swirls that you could almost see in the air “Alright how’s this for an ego boost” he commented before he closed his eyes for a second “His light, so magnetic and profound, it turns the eyes of almost all those who pass it, but his gaze remains to the ground. His eyes glimmer, like onyx in the sun, so much more depth than I’ve seen from anyone. And I realize, as his gaze turns to me, with a smile which illuminates his entire face, that perhaps there’s things he doesn’t see. Like the way the light seems to follow him as he walks or the way melodic tone I hear when he talks. He is the sunlight in every way and together, we are the night and day.” Jae’s hand was shaking a little as he quoted a little bit of his own work, it was hardly finished but he was proud of it and scared as hell to see the celestial’s reaction to it.

On the topic of Jae’s voice the dhampir smiled softly, everyone had parts of themselves they were a little insecure over, his voice had always been one for him, so for Hanseol to say he liked it was important to him, made him wonder whether he should like it more himself. Though the way that Hanseol spoke about surprises was beautiful, Jae had never really thought about it that way, always focused on the parts he didn’t know rather than what exciting future it could lead to. Even if Jae didn’t believe in fate and destiny, he could appreciate the idea of good things happening to good people after all, even if that wasn’t always the truth, it was a nice thing to hope for “Your optimism can be a little addictive Han” he admitted with a lopsided smile in the celestial’s direction. Honestly, Jae couldn’t believe he got lucky enough to know someone like the fallen star, much less for it to go deeper than that. It was moments like this that made him want to hold on and not let go, almost in disbelief that this was real.

Jae rested his hand against the door as he waited for the celestial to response but he heard nothing, the dhampir furrowed his brow wondering if he had overstepped, was Hanseol angry at him for looking at the sketches? Was he embarrassed because he’d come down without a shirt. Jae was confused, he thought things were going well and now he felt a lurch of worry in his chest. It was short lived because the celestial pulled the door open which in turned cause Jae trip forward, almost headbutting the other male as he did so, but he managed to stop just before their foreheads collided. The dhampir sucked in a long breath as he listened to Han speak but he still got a feeling there was more to it, he didn’t miss the nervous tone that had returned to the celestial’s voice either, nor the way he changed the subject and stepped around Jae to lead the way to the kitchen.

Jae still felt like he’d done something wrong as he followed the star into the kitchen, his mind was so occupied with it that he didn’t even properly take in the celestial’s question until he was waiting in silence for an answer. Jae bit on his bottom lip for a moment “No one’s ever drawn me” he responded realizing he should say something “No one’s ever seen me the way that you see me” he added, his heart felt like it was racing in his chest as he spoke “It scares me, trying to live up to the way you do because I don’t want to let you down” he met the fallen star’s dark gaze as he spoke that part. He was so afraid of screwing this up “Much like you told me the other night, you’re the best thing to happen to me too” he admitted, his gaze was vulnerable, Jae didn’t do well with emotions but he figured this was a good place to start.

Hanseol was, at most times, a really simple person when it comes to everything. It might not be as interesting as it could've been, considering how mundane it would end up becoming, but the celestial really wanted to experience something so realistic and raw, something that would leave an impact in him for more days to come, so that a day will never come where he forgot any of them. Holding on and clinging to the memories of the past and present, it's hard. It has always been a challenge to the fallen star, who still struggled to find his purpose and his presence in the world. He was convinced that in order to function properly into the laws or order itself, he needed to have a role to play out, to ensure the peaceful terms were upheld. Leading a simple life seemed to be very entrancing for him, an experience he wished to have the chance to go through, even if it was only a minute of the day.

However, after meeting Jae, there was nothing normal about it no more. Everything became overwhelmingly surreal, in a good way. The previous thoughts of wanting a life like that disintegrated like it wasn't even there to exist in the first place, where it was then replaced with the want to have a more ‘interesting’ flair to his current one. Around the dhampir, Hanseol could find himself being more optimistic unconsciously without even noticing it growing gradually the more time he spent with the male. His protective side grew another swell that was enough to engulf the both of them in a big bubble wrap, or in his case-- a shield. The celestial couldn't forget the day he successfully projected a shield to push its way through him, and he understood at that point, the emotion needed to trigger him was not what neither one of them had in mind. It wasn't rage, which should come easy to him. Nor was it fear, that became his daily to-go. But, it was love. Or whatever it was that Hanseol felt deeply for the latter.

Upon finding out that Jae had made a new friend there while doing something he likes, the celestial beamed enthusiastically, with the thoughts of watching the blue haired male skate around being his next wish to fulfill. “I'm glad you found someone. Well- I mean in the sense of acquaintances.. Uh, friendship. Because you already have me.” he stuttered, suddenly finding it very hard to form his words again. The dhampir had a knack on making him speechless, so much he wasn't even able to find words, much less form them. “Besides, I just don't think they could beat me in terms of it.” The smug smile made itself present on the corner of his lips as he proudly grinned. Jealousy wasn't something colloquial to the fallen star. He knows nothing of it, and honestly hoped to never find out what it truly meant, as he knew it has been stated countless times over and over again, how it broke the trust and faith people have in one another. That'll be the last thing he ever wanted to occur between the two of them.

He liked this relationship that they have now. He cherished it with all his heart. He wasn't going down without a fight, like any other times. The fighter spirit in him urged him to claim what was his, and it's been proven already that the both of them had similar mindset to their belonging. Hanseol was Jaesung's. Jaesung was Hanseol's. It was simple as that. He was now more interested in spending time with the dhampir daily, as if they haven't been seeing each other frequently for the past few months now. If it was up to him, he wanted to see the male's face first thing he gets up. So the prospect of him residing in the same place as him, was almost too tempting. Sure it might fluster them for a good while, but that's the good in the game. “Believe me, I will enroll one of these days, just so I could kill two birds with one stone. If it's too morbid, I'll go with win two prizes  in one shot. I get to study in more depth, and I get to see my favorite person every day at lunch, minimum.” he giggled gently, filling his head with the happy thoughts.

As if things couldn't get better, hearing Jae omit how he is his, once again had made his heart soar to the sky. His ego was boosted to a whole new level too, a level that even a temperature measurement would be defeated with. His cheeks started to form a faint blush as he bit down his lip, while refraining from actually smiling until his jaw would eventually be sore. Not that he'll mind. Hanseol heard every single word pouring out from the dhampir attentively, his ears perking up at every single adjective used in the morphology. His doe eyes softened even more as he could feel himself getting lost on the other male's eyes. Their eye colors were the same, but with Jae, Hanseol could pinpoint the small distinction. His eyes were always slightly hooded, producing a more darker gaze for most, whilst his were a bit twinkled that speaks a lot of words.

It was unknown to him when he started paying attention to every single detail on the dhampir, but he was an artist-- a painter. Drawing was a rather meticulous job where the artists needed to assure themselves of its complexity. They take pride in their works, and so does the celestial, who even took more credit of it when he saw how touched Jae was when he found out he drew him, not once nor twice but at least 4 times already. 4 different portraits that portrayed his traits perfectly. “You're addictive.” he mumbled softly, easing the awkward air slowly. Hanseol usually couldn't help the compliments from stopping itself out, so it was interesting how he was able to keep everything filtered and bottled up. Jae enticed him so much that he found himself wavering around his usual habits and making them better.

Keeping himself occupied with the ingredients within his hand and placing them on the kitchen counter one by one, the fridge shielded them away, and it was honestly for the better, because the celestial couldn't stop blushing. Regardless, he could feel the tension in the air, and how it didn't stick well with the usually-optimistic exuberant bunny that he was. Closing the door to the fridge, he met Jae's eyes and placed an encouraging hold on both of his shoulders while looking deeply into his eyes. His eyes were tender with adoration. “I would draw you any moment of the day if I could. You're my muse, Jae. And I've never had one before. I intend to keep that around for a little while longer. It just makes me wonder just how lucky I am to get someone like you.” If it was up for the star, he would've kissed away the sadness, much like how people kissed their boohoo's away. “I'd kiss that sad frown away. But if I do that, I don't think I'd ever start cooking because I know I won't be able to stop this time. I would prefer to not waste any of those on the counter.” he jester lightly, patting his shoulders twice before washing the eggs on the sink.

Jae knew one thing for sure, his emotions were a jumbled wreck around Hanseol, he could go from feeling so happy he was practically walking on the clouds one moment and confused and stunned to silence the next. Jae had never really done relationships, as he told Hanseol that night his mother was in the hospital, he’d never been in love. Sure he’d kissed a few girls, mostly because of the pressure from his friends to get a girlfriend but nothing made him feel the way he did when he was around Hanseol. Hanseol made him nervous, he struck chords in Jae that the dhampir didn’t even know he had, the celestial challenged him to break out of the box he had built for himself and Jae liked the freedom, he felt like a better person because of it. He didn’t have a word for it, but he reveled in that feeling, wanted to surround himself with it.

Jae chuckled softly over the cute way that Hanseol reminded him that the two of them were walking down towards the path of exclusivity, it wasn’t like Jae had eyes for anyone else at this point, but actually putting that into words and asking was harder, he was hoping to be able to bring up the courage by the end of the night, he cleared his throat a little “Yeah I never was good at self-motivating” he laughed softly though it sounded just slightly fake over his nervousness of what he had just been thinking of. Han seemed to get his confidence back before Jae who was still panicking a little over that idea in his head but he smirked in response to the statement that came from the celestial’s lips “There’s really no competition sunshine” Jae responded, there was really nothing to be jealous over, the dhampir quite literally didn’t notice anyone else now that he had his star.

And the reality of it all was setting in for the blue-haired male, how he didn’t want this to just be flirtation and tension, how he wanted it to be a relationship, something they shared proudly. And while that might sound obvious considering the way the two of them were together, to Jae, it was a bigger deal than he could put into words. He’d never truly wanted a relationship before, he hadn’t been looking for one when he came to America and yet someone the celestial had just breezed into his life and quite literally changed everything. Jae never saw himself as that guy who fell in love in college but now he realized that was the exact path he found himself wanting. Needing. To hear Hanseol say how he wanted to see Jae every day only strengthened that feeling stirring in his chest “I look forward to the day you do” he admitted with a soft smile, the giggle escaping the other male’s lips captivating him for a few seconds.

Jae had been nervous to share any part of his writing with Hanseol, especially ones that spurred from the feelings he had for the other male but he realized he didn’t have anything to worry about as he looked back at the celestial, though his reciting did hiccup just a little when he saw the other male biting on his lip, by now the fallen star must know what that does to him right? Despite stumbling on the words he continued until it was done and then he smiled softly, he swore the way that the celestial looked back at him filled him a sense of opia he couldn’t explain. Every time their eyes met like this he felt a magnetic pull towards the other male, wanting to get lost in, but it also made him feel a sense of vulnerability that scared him because he knew how easy it would be for this male to hurt him now.

Honestly, Jae was just so impressed by Hanseol’s talent, he had so much attention to detail in his works, if it wasn’t for the fact that it was painted, it would almost be like looking in a mirror, though the clothing choices were far from Jae’s usual style. It took an amazing amount of skill to be able to draw from memory like that, it made him wonder if the celestial had a photographic memory or if he simply really was that good at studying detail. Jae didn’t think it was creepy though, as long as he didn’t sell the images to some random stranger “I have my moments” Jae responded with a half smirk in response to the celestial’s returned compliment, Jaesung did think he was as a whole, a decently likable person to be around after all. Hanseol kept coming back for more anyway.

Jae felt a little lost, standing in the kitchen as the celestial got to work on organizing out the ingredients, the dhampir wasn’t exactly bad at cooking but with what the fallen star had laid out, he had literally no clue how to help. Shrugging he made his way over to the sink and washed his hands, that was probably a good start right. As he turned back he felt the dark-haired male’s hands upon his shoulders which planted their eye-line level. Looking back at Hanseol this close, his eyes naturally wandered over the features of his face, though his words kept bringing him back to the male’s doe eyes. Jae drew in a breath at the male’s admission and he swore he could feel a shiver roll through his entire body. Hesitantly he reached up a hand to rest gently against the celestial’s cheek, his eyes meeting the other’s gaze before dropping down to his lips for a moment. How badly Jae wanted to lean in and claim his lips at that moment and as if Hanseol could read his mind the celestial mentioned it too “I’m the lucky one” he muttered under his breath to himself.

Jae gave a wry smile as the male tapped his shoulders and the dhampir dropped his hand from against Hanseol’s face, though his flushed skin definitely spoke more for Jae’s intentions. Internally rolling his eyes at his own lack of self control he moved to stand beside the celestial and tilted his head a little confused as to what he was doing “You’re going to have to give me a hint on how to help” he commented with a slightly blank expression “Most of my meals lately consist of using a microwave so” he hung his head a little in shame “I have no idea what to do”.

Rolling his shoulders over a few times, he craned his neck to the left side slightly before eventually stretching out his limbs, somewhat a warm up so he wouldn't feel so stiff and experience painful muscle cramps afterwards. Really, it was just an excuse not to feel so awkward around the dhampir because the times he found himself being taken aback by him was too frequent that he still haven't devised a plan on how to get through it without ending up a flushing mess. The inflammation within his cheeks gave one too much credit, not that he hasn't earned it. Literally everything that Jae does, caused the celestial to fall head over heels deeper than he initially was. And that was saying something, if not a lot, considering the level of adoration he held over the dhampir. He was just as good as a melting puddle whenever the latter made him putty like his legs were Collagen Hydrolysate all over again.

He felt like a teenager, even though technically with his appearance, he would pass easily as a high school senior or by far, a university junior. But his feelings that were mainly revolved around maturity, had no effects whatsoever when it comes to Jae, surprising enough. “Well, if it makes you feel better, I can be the guy who motivates you. You are my muse, after all. Gotta give credit when it's due. It's only fair if I give the same sufficient amount back, no?” he mused, the corner of hips curving up into a small smile as his eyes twinkled when he revelled in the likes of Jae. Anyone who was seeing this, could see very well, that Hanseol was literally and evidently smitten by the blue haired male that stood across him. “I'm glad there's no competition, not saying that I won't take it and excel in them, but just saying. I like to make sure I win.” The playful wink did not escape the dhampir's gaze as the star cracked his knuckles before breaking the eggs into half in the bowl.

Just thinking about becoming a university student who's always filled with hectic schedules did make him think twice about it. It wasn't that he didn't want to bother himself with it, he just needed to sort out his own before committing to yet another. The only exception seemed to be Jae alone, where the celestial was sure he would be able to drop 100% everything and anything on the spot if it meant he could meet him again. He had a decent life at the moment, occupying himself with treating the animals, making use of his specialties and gaining good sum of wage to keep him going. A veterinarian's pay is quite the catch, with getting over $10,000 at least per month, especially since he worked in a private sector, whilst his pay was lower than physicians, it was three times more than other technicians. And that was considering he didn't take the offer to study further to make dissertations and researches, where the department and bureau was more than happy to send him over while sponsoring.

Colorado is a small state compared to most, so the living costs didn't go as much. He was able to live a decent life because of it, spare from all the private vaccinations and treatments given at the local pound every month because they wanted him to. “They pushed me to learn more about veterinary medicine.. Conducting my own research, it's tempting. But they'd go as far to relocate me to Honolulu or Connecticut since that's where most prodigal vets gain high paid salaries. I don't want that. I'm glad I didn't take that offer, that would've mean I might never met you.” Granted, it would've been more open for Hanseol, who preferred a smile and low-profiled life. “But I guess, I should talk around the topic if I'm going to study, eventually.” Unknowingly, Jae had given Hanseol a chance at discovering more of his abilities,  and not just in species term, but on a wider scale altogether.

“Though I'm not sure if us spending time together for study sessions might turn out well. Y'know.. We might abandon the idea entirely, since we're quite random and there's not telling what we'd do. Or the study sessions could go on to be very delectable.” Stirring the eggs around the bowl until it was fully liquefied into a puddle of yellow, he handed Jae a bowl filled with vegetables. “You can wash and rinse off the veggies and fruits. I would ask you to cut them, but.. Even though you're handy with sharp stuff as dhampir, my instincts just wanted to put you far away from a kitchen knife that is supposed to be used for cooking.” he sheepishly exclaimed because In all honesty, the star was worried Jae might cut himself. Better safe than sorry. Even rapid healing won't help put his worries and woes to rest, at this point.

“I thought we could have some home-cooked meals. Just something from home. Where are you from? Gyeongsang-do? Daegu? The dialect seemed familiar when you're speaking in Korean.” Admittedly, Hanseol also spoke much like a native Busan male, but considering he didn't live there for long, his accent switched around being a Seoulite in between. It depends on his current emotion. He also tossed Jae an apron as he too, wore one. Hanseol is very meticulous. As he washed off the potatoes, he took out the knife and started cutting it down and it didn't take him long to get the fire kindling the heat under the pan as he poured both potatoes and egg mixture into one. He made the eggs for the purpose of a batter to wrap the potatoes around.

It was strange for Jae, being able to turn the tides and embarrass someone else, he’d never really been able to do that before or perhaps more accurately, he could have, but he never really showed enough interest in someone for that to even be an option. It was kinda thrilling, being able to cause that kind of reaction in someone else, it gave you a sense of confidence and purpose that was almost indescribable and the dhampir liked the way it made him feel like he mattered, like he was important enough for someone to care what he thought. Jae knew he was way over his head, none of this was familiar to him and so every literally detail seemed to just stick with him, every gaze, every smile, every touch.

Jae nodded slightly, well he didn’t need Hanseol to even try to give him motivation but it was a nice sentiment all the same. Hell, him spending forever to choose clothes to wear only to get rained on and change into complete others was enough to attest to the amount of effort Jae was putting in. Which then reminded him that he was currently wearing Hanseol’s clothes, the two of them seemed to be of similar size because they were comfortable against the dhampir’s body, soft and held the light scent of sandalwood. It was nice, being surrounded in the familiar scent that reminded him of the star, though it also felt a little strange. The playfulness as they spoke made the dhampir grinned, he liked being around people who knew how to laugh and joke, that was when he felt most in his element “I would never do that to you” he admitted with a shrug, he wasn’t a play the field kind of person, hell he hadn’t even been looking to meet anyone at all before Hanseol came crashing into his life and since then he’d barely noticed anyone else.

Jae certainly hadn’t reached his goals yet, he was pretty far from it in fact. While his family were not poor they were not especially wealthy either and all of his parent’s money had gone into sending their four children to college, Jae being the youngest, was the last to go. He’d known up front that he’d need to get a job in order to stay afloat here, especially if he didn’t intend on going back home. Not to mention that the moment his parents got wind that he wasn’t intending on leaving America they would likely cut him off and he would be on his own. His part-time work at the convenience store was a good start and Jae had other plans, an internship he’d applied for at Everectronics, working on his own personal writing on the side, plus he had recently restarted his blog.

Jae listened as Hanseol spoke about the conflict he had between wanting to study and the expectations that were being put on his shoulders, it sounded like the celestial had a lot of paths he could take, ones that could send him all around the world “You don’t ever think you missed an oppotunity?” he asked curiously, staying in one place after running for so long must be strange for Hanseol “The kind of work I hope to do doesn’t require me to be in any one place” he commented as he ran his tongue over his bottom lip “I think that’s what I’m looking forward to most about it, the freedom to just go and write wherever I want to” that was somewhat of a pipe dream right now, but Jae’s blog had always gotten good viewership and he was hoping to turn that into something monetized “You shouldn’t tie down your dreams” he explained his point to the other male, he could tell the other male was endlessly smart so it seemed a waste to give up any part of what he wanted.

A knowing smirk did take over the half-vampire’s lips as Hanseol spoke about studying though “I thought we were literally just talking about being one another’s motivation” he teased as he moved a little closer to the celestial, his voice getting quieter as he got nearer “Can you not handle staying on track and not getting distracted?” he teased softly, leaning on closer to the other male’s ear before he turned and took the bowl he was given. Jae pouted a little when the other male told him to stay away from the knives “I’ll have you know I only ever cut myself once whilst cooking and I was 7” he shrugged a little as he moved over to the sink and started running water over the vegetables that Han had given him. “Okay I haven’t tried much since then but you know” he laughed softly, the cool water over his fingertips reminded him of the rain outside, which he could see crashing down through the kitchen window. He hummed a tune softly as he did as he was asked, watching the rain run down the glass pane.

When Hanseol asked where he was from, Jae chuckled softly “Seoul born and raised” he answered honestly, though it could be easily mistaken because he tended to mimic other people’s accents around him when he spoke “Always been a city boy at heart” he added with a shrug “Your accent always fluctuates a little, but I’m going to guess Busan” he arched a brow wondering if he was right, Jae knew a lot of accents because he had a lot of friends who came to Seoul from all different regions. Catching the apron that the dark-haired male tossed him, Jae smirked, giving him a questioning look before he shrugged and put it on, purposely doing a dramatic twirl to make a point before he set down the now washed vegetables next to the celestial.

“So he can draw, he’s smart as hell, he claims to be a good dancer and sings, he loves animals and he can cook” Jae reeled off all the things in his mind that he’d learned about Hanseol in the past few weeks “You have to tell me the things you’re bad at because at this point I don’t believe you’re a real person” he smirked softly nudging the other male gently with his shoulder and then reached to grab a chopping knife from the block. Well, he was never going to learn without trying right, he looked down at the silver reflective blade before setting down some of the vegetables onto the board. Just like his mother had always told him, he used his knuckled to protect his hand and hesitantly he started to slice some of the carrots, so far so good.

Normally, Hanseol was at the end of everything. He remembered his last encounter with someone that was not particularly decent to be around, considering the mannerism he held. The celestial was full edged blown to snark and saltiness itself. There wasn't a moment that went by without getting any sarcastic retaliation from him, so to see him being so bright, more so around Jae, than the others, it was a refreshing thought. If it was possible to measure up his heart beats, he was sure it would've went across the world leaping off every time he felt a fluttering sensation in the pit of his stomach. He was guessing, that was what people called butterflies. The clueless celestial had no idea what that truly meant.

Regardless of being more on the scientifically smart side, Hanseol was very foreign to other art concepts that wasn't drawing or painting. He's slowly learning about composing, but he was an utterly hopeless fool when it comes to directing his writing on a piece of paper. That is where Jae came with reinforcement. The blue haired dhampir had a talent for literature and philosophy itself, and he found it enticing. There was just something so attractive about the kind of people Jae hailed from, if he could pinpoint the category properly. Even so, the star was sure he could hear Jae speak mindless stuff and he'd still have heart eyes. He's a hopeless fool who would do anything means necessary to protect the ones he cared about, no matter how reckless he might end up being. Of course, the celestial was still around the clouds because he didn't realize how ‘accident-prone’ he was to calamities itself.

“I know you won't. You gave me a lot of reassurance to play me that way.” he pointed out, the brief smile tugging on the corner of his lips, making a full blown grin coming into sight. “But it's nice to be sure, sometimes. It gives you an egoistical boost. To know you've been affirmed.” Ambiguity and vagueness remained disturbing for both males, and though Hanseol liked doing surprises for the sake of being able to get a rise out of a reaction, he always made sure to get down to research, just to be sure. Could you blame the kid? He's been plagued with paranoia and struck himself with nothing more than self-preservation skills for quite some time. "I'd rather be safe than sorry.. You losing a finger from that beautiful hands of yours are not worth the risk."

He had to stop his cooking for a split second when he pondered briefly to what Jae had asked earlier. Did he think that way? Maybe so, it just never bothered him as much as it would to others. “Perhaps. But Jae, you know it as well as I do, my life isn't really viable nor ideal. I guess I just wanted to focus more on making the most of my time focused on one thing before the other. At the moment, I'd rather that be you. I have it well here, I don't need luxury as much. When you live for a while, you kinda just get a stump saying you should just focus on being happy. And that- is exactly what I intend to do. What I am doing.” he replied cheekily before dragging his sleeves by ¼. “You want to travel the world, for a journalist or an author, such experiences are vital to their writing. I can understand that. But I had enough time travelling the world in the past, I guess I just wanted to know what it feels like to be home.” Granted, Evermore wasn't his home. Supposedly, it should be Busan, the place he fell at, but first step into making everything fall into place, is to have a home. He stuck around for two years already, surely that meant something.

“I'm not tying down my dreams because I feel forced to. Maybe once upon a time ago, yes. But now? Not really. What's the point of being so high up if you can't find your way back down? I'll leave that opportunity for you, and for me to stay by the sidelines to keep supporting. It's time I stopped running, so it's also time I stopped thinking so much.” he laughed softly, just the mere thought of it etching itself into his cortex, made it seem much more beautifuler than it was. “Believe me, I'm content with my life now. Well.. Apart from the whole celestial hunting thing. But at least I have you. Let me put this way, you can have enough dreams and opportunities for us both, okay?” he mumbled sheepishly, the faint blush made itself known once again. It's becoming a normal occurrence for Hanseol to blush every once in a while if it came down to Jae. “Well, you're my motivation, also an anchor to keep me here.” he shook his head in retaliation when Jae leaned in closer, where his pupils dilated. “You're having way too much fun in this, Jae. And to answer your question, yes. Maybe? Depends on what it is-- or who.” he shrugged casually, hitting his temple with the wooden spatula lightly before resuming his cooking.

Humming to himself, Hanseol could've sworn he would be fooled easily, considering the slight dialect lacing certain words and enunciation from him. He would never have thought Jae was a Seoulite at heart, though it makes sense now. The pressure as a Seoul-born is much more intense. Expectations are a norm there, where competition are much more higher. “You're right. I'm from Busan. The satoori's too much huh?” Males from Busan had a certain way of how they talked, most of them drawling their tone like a sack of potatoes. Especially when they're angry or influenced by any strong emotion. He was flipping the potatoes on the pan as he stir-fried them but shortly after he flicked them with a wrist snap, he got flustered again and struggled to keep his focus when the dhampir shot him a question he never thought he'd hear.

Slowly placing the pan back, he gave the male a perplexed look. “Uh- I.. Do. Of course.. Every person has their own weaknesses and flaws-” Hanseol Park was a stuttering mess, and it wasn't even funny to him. There was really no reason for him to be so flustered by the question but somehow, he just was. Rubbing his hands against the apron because his palms were getting sweaty, he understood it was probably just the insecurity seeping in and kicking his confidence. “I'm a real person, Jae. My flaws mainly lies around my own fear predicament, and pride. When you got a guy who's fatal flaw is hubris, it doesn't say a lot about insecurities. But I do have them. I get jittery and nervous around people generally. I'm not sure it's either from the paranoia eating me up that they might end up becoming bad people that seeks to take advantage of me, or I'm just incorrigibly shy. I'm accident-prone, just like you. Just.. Not physically? Reckless as hell. Oh.. Right. My obliviousness and clueless state that really did render me hopeless when it comes to trusting people. You said it so yourself.” The shy demeanor came back at him with full force as he began pouring the rice grains on the rice cooker so he could wash and cook them afterwards. “I have plenty of flaws to me, so I don't see where you get the logic of me not being a real person.”

Jae had always had very few specific talents, but the things he was good at, he excelled at in a way that most couldn’t explain, the dhampir wasn’t excellent at fighting, he could dance but he was never the more graceful person in the room, he could carry a tune but he was never gonna make it as a pop star, some things he was just damn bad at, namely anything that required him to follow some kind of instruction because he had no patience with them or things that required an intense level of hand-eye coordination, especially sports. He was content with his level of ability though, being perfect at everything wasn’t his aim, being really great at what he loved doing, that was what he aimed for.

Jae was glad that his morals were clear to Hanseol, the blue-haired male wasn’t one for playing mind games with others, he didn’t have the time nor emotion to spend on anything that resembled a game, like Hanseol mentioned, he was in it to win and could you ever really win when someone was toying with your emotions? Jae had seen his friends do it time and time again, playing games with their respective others, fighting, cheating, it made him sick to the stomach to watch. Jae would never even dream of hurting someone he cared for like that “I’ve watched so many people ruin something good in the name of their dumb games, that isn’t me” he commented with a shrug, maybe that made him boring but he wasn’t sure he could live with himself if he purposely hurt someone. When Han mentioned Jae’s hands being beautiful he glanced down at them and flexed his fingers a little, were they? He’d never really taken much notice before he had to admit.

Jae would be lying if he didn’t worry for what his future plans meant for this relationship, especially now that Hanseol expressed his interest in staying put, the dhampir couldn’t say for sure that Evermore was his forever, it was a great city and right now he was content here, there was a lot going for him, but Jae was only 21 years old and there was a whole world out there to see, he wouldn’t make promises he couldn’t keep. It was the first time he had felt somewhat apprehensive about what entering into a relationship could mean, the last thing he would ever want to do is force the celestial to make a decision he didn’t really want after all. But then the other part of him knew they had months if not years to figure all of that out  “Okay” he responded with a thoughtful nod, Jae would never try and convince the celestial otherwise, he would never be the type to tread on someone else’s dreams.

And he understood it too, if he had spent 5 years of his ‘freedom’ running from place to place then he’d want to stay in one place for a while too and it wasn’t like Hanseol was short on time, he could live as many years as he wanted here and travel again when the feeling came over him, there was no sense of urgency, at least if you ignored the possibility of someone trying to kill him anyway. Jae swallowed that thought as quickly as it came, no bad thoughts. “I’m glad you’ve managed to find happiness” he commented surmising what the other male said “After everything you’ve been through, god knows you deserve it” he had to admit this was probably going to continue to weigh on his mind, but Jae was sure if anyone could get past such differing paths it was them. And he left the conversation there, there was no point worrying about it now, it was at least another 2 years before Jae finished university after all.

The dhampir had learned by now that the easiest way to set Hanseol on edge was to get into his personal space, whenever he did so there seemed to be a whole different air come over the fallen star, it was sweet really and it made the dhampir wonder if he’d really been that close with anyone before, except maybe the adoptive parents he had before being captured “Maybe I just enjoy being close to you” he admitted with a soft smile, his face so close to the other male’s ear that just a little more movement his lips would touch it. He broke away with a laugh as he felt the spatula against his forehead and he feigned hurt “Oh I see how it is” he commented with a dramatic pout as he moved across the kitchen and picked up a bag of flour from the side, with a devilish smirk he tipped some into his hand. Before the celestial could stop him Jae flicked some of the powder against the celestial’s cheek and retreated quickly across the room laughing.

Jae shrugged a little and smiled “Not too much” he responded with a chuckle, if anything when speaking English Jae had much more of a distinct sounding accent than Hanseol did, probably due to the lack of time he’d spent in an English speaking country “I’m just good at picking it up because you get to see a lot of different dialects in Seoul” being the capital it was where a lot of people moved to after all. Though it was much harder to pick out the sound when speaking English than it was in Korean. He’d never really met another Korean who spoke fluent English other than his teacher, so it was strange how he had already met two in the few months he had been in Evermore.

Jae was slowly making his way through chopping the vegetables as they talked, his focus entirely on doing it right and not cutting his hand in the process, he barely even noticed the nervousness in the other male because he was so focused on trying to do something right the first time for once. Once he had finished the third carrot he glanced over towards the male with a gentle smile, he really wished things came as easily to him as they seemed to Hanseol. He listened to the male talk through all of his perceived flaws, they were all things about his personality and nearly all of those were things he’d seen the other male overcome more than once. Jae gave him an amused look as he realized that the celestial really couldn’t think of anything he was bad at, or if he could he wasn’t gonna share them “You just named a bunch of personality traits, not a task you couldn’t do” Jae pointed out with an arched brow “Sounds like something a robot would say” he spoke suspiciously as he leaned forward, really Jae was pretty impressed, imagine being good at everything you tried, he couldn’t relate.

Throughout his time, Hanseol never had the opportunity to tackle any ability or hobby first hand, he didn't have the time or means to do it. He consistently learned new things whenever he was offered the chance to, but never really did delve into a practical depth. Everything was theories to him. Instructions, manuals, directions, and whatnot. This has placed him in a distinctive place against Jae, who seemed to excel in his fortes after working hard to achieve them. Maybe Jae was right in a way, the way Hanseol made it sound like, was as if he was a computer generated program- a robot, perhaps? However, such things never bothered him enough to think about it more than a hour of the day. Maybe it was the robotic nature to him, but as real as he makes himself to be, Hanseol only considered things when they are worthwhile.

It was granted that the celestial didn't have any prior experience with friends. He never stayed back long enough to form a real friendship that knows more than their names, hell it would be somewhat a dime in a dozen kind of luck if they knew his full name, much less what he's like. With Jae, he feels like the dhampir was quite possibly the only person who ever knew more than what he would let on. Maybe he didn't know everything, but over the time he's spent with the male, the latter seemed to pinpoint everything perfectly, from inferences up to conclusions he's made about the celestial. Being paid attention to, it feels good. He's never had anyone care for him this way. And he's never cared for anyone but his adoptive parents the way he's cared for the blue haired dhampir. Jaesung Moon was a gift to his life. All he hoped, was that he too, could be considered a gift to him too.

The tragedy of being an unrequited subject hurts, it cuts deeper into the heart that he was sure even the sea couldn't match the pain in levels of depth. A day could pass by where Hanseol can stare at Jae all he wants, and the male would not even have to say a word. He was that whipped. A boy who knew nothing about mutual attraction or love was starting to conduct his own researches. The fallen star snickered when he saw Jae flexing his hands. “I see that I'm not the only one who's clueless all around here. Maybe I'm rubbing off you. That or you are just as oblivious as I can be but never noticed.” he prodded. “Well, if you didn't notice it the first time, now you have. Your hands are beautiful, they're artsy, Jae. If I am not cooking right now, I would outline every single detail of your handprint on my sketchbook. And measure them. They seemed as unearthly as your face.” If it was in another context, the usage of such an adjective might rouse up offense, but when it comes to these two, both of them knew it was a thread for a lighthearted joke.

Smiling vehemently as he turned to face the dhampir, he hummed softly. “I like to think I deserve this. No matter how short-lived it could be, just experiencing it alone would've been more than enough. At least I'd have good memories of hold on to.” he stayed, his hand making a twirl, indicating that this meant their current scenario. “What I wasn't sure I deserve, was you. You seemed to good to be true, I had to be sure it wasn't just a figment of imagination. That you're an actual person, someone real with feelings, and not just a memory I created in my head. That's why I drew you. Holding on to it seemed so serene. It brings me tranquility. The kind you see at the beaches where the waves washed over coolly by the sand.” Hanseol was not lying when he implied how lucky he has been from the moment he met Jae. There wasn't anything he would like to change. Not even the part where he was attacked and overpowered briefly by 6 people at his clinic. He knew when Jae rescued him without thinking about himself, was the starting point of their friendship going a lot further than the bounds of it.

He, of all people understood fully how commitment will scare people away. It scares him too. He has been a nomad all his life, living in fear didn't help. But the reason why he's done so well on his long run, was because he never got attached, which brings a clear correlation to never being committed. That's changed now. He would throw everything away just to support his current relationship. After all, he did say happiness mattered the most to him. He didn't go about his life worrying about living costs and other expenses. All he cared about now, is how well he spent his time. Shortly after he hit the male with the spatula, his eyes widened when he saw the hold Jae had on the bag of flour. Where the hell did that came from, he didn't remember getting that one out. As if the world has something to watch, the friendly banter between the two males resumed as Hanseol took the liberty to give back just as much.

Although he did took him a time on devising the plan while Jae was still cutting the carrots. “I'm a narcissist. That's exactly what I would say.” Setting aside the spatula, he cornered the dhampir by the kitchen counter and ran over him, tackling him slightly as he took the bag of flour away while holding a grip around the male's waist from behind. While still struggling against trying to gain the bag back from him, the balance countered and both of them fell. On each other, of course, Hanseol being the mattress. That, and the white mess they're in. “Well.. That escalated quickly.” he murmured, because even at the sight of a flour covered Jae, it was astonishing how he still managed to rock the look. It was corn flour, he noticed from the smell and packaging. Without really paying attention, he found himself reeling towards the dhampir. Connecting his lips on the dhampir's own was not what he expected to do, but he took the chance he received. Besides, it was corn powder. It went on for a while, since neither one of them seemed to actually mind in affections being shown,  until he could smell the burnt potatoes. “The potatoes..”

Jae didn’t actually think Hanseol was a robot obviously, the dhampir had seen the depth of the emotions that ran through the celestial with his own eyes time and time again, it only took one look into those deep brown hues and the half-vampire didn’t have any doubts. It was weird, how a single look could tell Jae everything he needed to know and more, he couldn’t even explain how, he just felt like he knew, a certainty in the pit of his stomach. The celestial, however, was so incredibly talented in many things and that did make the dhampir a little jealous, things just seemed to come so easily to the fallen star where Jae would have to try for hours on end to achieve the same results.

Of all the parts of himself that had been complimented or commented on in the past, his hands were a new one, he guessed people didn’t really look that closely. Jae had quite slim hands, this long fingers that would typically be something useful to an artist, except the dhampir had zero artistic talent, save for a few lessons on the piano which would he probably would have been pretty good at if he’d stuck with it for longer than the year his parents made him do. “Only you could call hands beautiful and live it down Han” he commented, his eyes still scanning curiously over his own fingers and then shaking his head a little a lighthearted laugh escaping his lips, well this topic had turned very strange indeed but Jae could accept a compliment at face value.

Jae sucked in a breath as he heard Hanseol express his doubts about how long things would last, of course the dhampir liked to think it wouldn’t be short-lived, that whatever they were beginning, or perhaps had already begun, was something that could run the test of time but he also had no idea what the future held and he didn’t want to make any promises he couldn’t keep to the celestial. The half-vampire was just staring at the celestial with a smile of disbelief on his face, he couldn’t believe the fallen star really thought he didn’t deserve him, if anything it was the other way around, considering the celestial was an actual superhuman talent machine “You’re kidding right?” he asked with a raised brow “I’m not some figment of your imagination Han, this” he pointed at the other male and then back to himself “This is as real as it gets okay” and the realness of it all was what was so scary.

Jae couldn’t help himself as his goofy side took over, the dhampir had always been an endlessly playful person, someone challenged him and he would rise to it and so when Hanseol hit him with the spatula his natural reaction was to find something to retaliate with. Admittedly, flour was probably the worst thing that he could have grabbed in his search for a weapon in this particular play fight but the celestial did look pretty adorable with the white powder puffed all over his cheek and the dhampir found it pretty hilarious. He was a little disappointed when the male didn’t fight back but he kept the bag in hand just in case the male got any ideas as he finished up chopping the vegetables. The moment he set the knife back down in the block, however, he heard the celestial’s footsteps coming towards him.

Jae braced himself for the attack, holding the bag of flour up as high as he could so that the other male couldn’t grab it, Hanseol’s grip on his waist, however, set the dhampir off balance and he tripped a little just as the dark-haired male managed to grab the bag. Jae was already laughing as he felt his weight go out from under him and they both crashed to the kitchen floor in a heap, followed by a spectacular cloud of flour. Jae coughed a little from some of the flour going in his mouth as he looked down at Hanseol. His signature box smile made an appearance before he fell into a fit of laughter, though he didn’t shift himself from off of the top of the male.

When Hanseol spoke Jae laughed again, though his gaze got tangled up in the other male, his eyes traveling over his flour-covered face, the more he looked, the more his expression softened until he found himself leaning in. It was unexpected, the way the two of them collided on the kitchen floor, covered in flour but Jae didn’t care. It felt right as the two of their lips met and the dhampir pulled himself up so that their faces were level, lifting his weight off the celestial as he pulled him up towards him. Jae still laughed softly between their kisses, his lips tasting cornflour between the sweet taste of the celestial’s kiss, it was the strangest kiss he’d ever had and yet he found himself not wanting to stop. Jae reached his hand up to run through the celestial’s hair, which was holding a lot of the white powder, he chuckled softly as he ruffled it sending another cloud of white to surround them “You’re even gorgeous covered in white dust” he teased as he leaned in for another. He could have stayed there on that floor for hours but he wrinkled his nose at the smell of burning just as the celestial spoke.

With widened eyes the dhampir pulled away and raised to his feet, sending a cloud of flour to crash to the ground. Jae had to press a hand over his mouth to try and stop laughing as he moved the pan off of the stove and over to one of the heatproof mats. Jae had the look of a child who had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar as he turned back towards Hanseol, his cheeks red and his whole body covered in flour and his whole body was shaking with him attempting to not laugh “I told you I’m good at distracting” and then he lost it again.

RSS

© 2024   Created by ✓ Ophelia Dreyvalian ~Admin~.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service