Kihwa didn't know about this hotel. It was a little strange. Dingier than he first imagined that it would be. Of course, he was slumming it here in America. Even with the likelihood of being noticed wasn't that high in comparison to his homeland, it was still something of a danger.
It didn't matter. Soon he'd be elsewhere; he was only stuck here for a short time--before he could make it to his loving boyfriend and stay with him. That would be far better than this hotel. He smiled to himself.
Soon.
It would happen. Soon.
But for the time being, he was sitting on the edge of the bed in the dingy room, kinda thinking maybe he should call Dayen now and maybe... maybe ask him to come and whisk him away now.
That thought only multiplied by five when the lights suddenly flickered and then died. Quickly, Kihwa stood up, grabbing one of the bed's decorative pillows as if it was a shield.
Slowly he moved over to the wall and slid his hand over the wall. Where was that switch? His fingers caught it. Snapped the switch... and nothing happened. He flicked it several times, up and down. Nothing. His heartbeat quickened and his mouth went dry.
Outside his room, he heard a scream. Should he investigate or stay hidden? He didn't know! Agonizing over the decision, he finally hurried to the door and peered outside the peephole. Somebody his age was standing in the hall. He looked all... heroic. Biting his lower lip, Kihwa gathered his courage and opened his hotel door.
Jasper heard a scream and immediately jumped up to investigate standing in the hallway listing to what way the scream came from. He turned when he heard a door open, "Did you hear it too?" He asked as his eye adjusted to the darkness and he got a better look at who he was talking to.
Jasper was alone in this shit hole when the power went out and a scream broke the silence. He was always looking for the supernatural in his day to day life. Most of the time it was his mind running wild he would read into things too much.
He was grasping for answers, he needed to know the truth. How could they hide so well and keep themselves a secret for this long? There were myths and stories told all over the world yet still hidden from man. But Jasper was going to expose them, humans had the right to know and coexist with them.
"Scream?" he asked the heroic looking guy. He understood some English but his own English was terrible. He did hear something, though and it sure sounded like a scream so he nodded.
"Yes."
He looked down the hall, in the direction he'd heard the sound. The other guy looked ready and eager to face down whatever it was. Meanwhile, Kihwa was still clutching his pillow like it was going to save his life.
Another shout, this time accompanied by the sound of something crashing against the wall. Kihwa's eyes widened and he looked over at the other guy for answers.
Jasper jumped as he heard the crashing sound, his heart was racing, is it supernatural? "We should go check it out they might need help." He said looking over to see Kiwah eyes bulging, he could tell he was scared there was a good reason too. But he didn't want to frighten him more.
Walking the direction from where the noise came from, each step bringing him closer to whatever was in there. Taking a deep breath in as he faced the door from where the crash and scream came from. Jasper knocked on it and called out, "Hello." He looked to Kihwa, "Are you okay in there?" He knocked again.
He could hear something, but no one answered him. He tried opening the door but it was locked so he knocked again. He was ready to bust the door down his mind ran wild to what was going on behind the door.
"Yes... check it... out."
He really didn't want to, though. What he wanted to do was pretend he'd heard nothing. He should have hidden but instead, he was following behind this brave person. Kihwa lowered his head and bit down on the corner of the pillow to silence any sounds of fear or discomfort.
After the other man's knocks went unanswered, Kihwa wavered.
"Maybe we should..."
He fell silent. He thought he heard something behind the door. He stared at the peephole, even though he couldn't see through it. It was too dark to tell if anybody was at the door but he could hear the handle moving from the other side.
Quickly, Kihwa backed up, holding the pillow like he was ready to throw it at the thing behind the door.
The door opened.
The door opened, Jasper's eyes widened and his heart raced. He had no idea what was going to be behind the door. It was a young girl, she had blonde hair she looked to be 12 years old. She looked so cute and innocent but he knew what she could be, a vampire! "Hi, there." He choked the words out. "Are you okay in there?" He tilted his head to get a look in the room. But the little girl caught him and started to close the door. "The power is off and we heard a scream." He continued to say.
He placed his hand on the door to stop her from closing it all the way. He wanted an answer before he left. He could live with at least trying to help. But the not knowing got to him.
He looked back at the young man that had followed him. He was trying to get his attention to help him with the door. They needed to see what was in there. He looked back to the little girl. "We are just here to help." He was trying to gain her trust.
But if she was a vampire she could be 100's of years old and see right through him. She could attack them at any moment. Or it could just be a frightened little girl. He kept his guard up and waited for the kid to help.
"Oh," he said. "It's just a little girl."
Blinking, Kihwa stared at her for a long moment, then moved over to help his new friend with the door. He smiled reassuringly at the little girl.
"Are you the one who was screaming? We're just here to make sure you're all--"
His words were cut off as he glimpsed something beyond the girl, inside the room. A woman's slumped over body, bleeding all over the carpet.
"Oh my god," Kihwa said, taking a step back. "Is that a... is she... is..."
Just as he said that, the little girl lunged at the other guy.
Jasper saw what Kihwa saw but before he could react the little girl was lunging at him. "Shit!" He yelled as he tried to fight her off. She might be a little girl but a vampire and vampires are pretty tough. He was not about to let this little brat bite him.
Grabbing both of her arms was the best way to keep her out of reach but now the other one was coming over to help and Kihwa didn't know what to do, "RUN!" He shouted and he threw the girl on the floor and took off running from the vampires.
Jasper followed Kihwa into his room he locked it behind them. "Holy fuck what is going on here?" He asked aloud knowing Kihwa had no idea what was going on. The vampires were pounding on the door and if they didn't get out of there or hide they would be dessert. "We need to get out of here." He said breathlessly his heart was pounding and his thoughts were a mess and he started to talk to himself he flashed back to the night as a child. "I knew they were real." He muttered, "It was just a matter of time till I found them."
"I need my bag from my room," He remembered his kit. He was scared at first but this is what he has been looking for and what he has been on the hunt for but he ran from it like a coward. He needed to gather his thoughts and do things right. He was just still in shock to what he had just seen.
"Wh-wh-what?!" Kihwa asked, running his free hand agitatedly through his hair once they were safely locked behind his room's door. Kihwa quickly moved away from the door--just in case.
His heart wouldn't stop pounding so hard that it made his head spin and he felt slightly sick.
"What do you mean, they're real? What bag? What are you talking about?!"
"Vampires! you just saw them." He said frantically, "I have a bag or a kit whatever you want to call it. It has everything from wood stakes to holy water." He paced the room they had very little time before they broke the door down or something. "I hope you can fight." Looking over at Kihwa, there could be more and having someone that couldn't fight might weigh him down and get the both killed or worse turned.
"I need my bag I will not let these bloodsuckers kill anymore," Jasper said heroically with his chest puffed out. He was not going to back down from this fight he had searched long and hard and they were here at the same hotel. He thought he would feel better after finding them but he still had that empty feeling inside. Maybe after killing them, he would feel closer?
"We can't just stay here, let's go." He walked to the sliding glass door that leads to the balcony. "We can sneak into my room and get my bag and we will fight them off, okay?" He then muttered under his breath, "I hope it's just the two of them." As he made his way out.
"I... I don't know what I saw," he said faintly. Vampires?! Vampires, though?! That couldn't be true. That little girl was just... she was just really strong for a little girl. And that stuff around her mouth probably wasn't blood. She probably just ate some... strawberry jam or something!
Kihwa's eyes widened further as the other guy started to climb from the window.
"Fight them? But that's... murder! Isn't it...?"
He was on his way out as he called to Kihwa, "You coming? And it's kill or be killed?" He didn't want to leave him behind what they had to get out of there they were sitting ducks. Jumping from the balcony he did a little ninja roll.
He needed to get back into the hotel so could get his bag and fight off the vampires. "So you're not from here are you?" He asked as he scoped out the entrance. His Engish was not the best but he seemed to get what Jasper was saying about vampires.
Silently, Kihwa would rather not be killed OR do any killing. Couldn't he just... hide under the bed until this was all over? At the same time, if somebody else was being hurt, he could hardly turn a blind eye. He certainly didn't want to be a coward, even if deep down, he was scared to death of this entire situation.
"A-araso," he said as he shakily climbed out behind the other man. "Okay, I mean."
The small talk made him feel only slightly less uneasy so he tried to do his best to follow along. He knew it was something about being here long and he sort of half laughed (no mirth) and said, "No, not here long."
The power was still out so it was dark in the lobby so the two hide behind a short brick wall while Jasper looked around for any movement. He whispered over his shoulder to him, "Where are you from? I know a little Korean but it's not like the best." Once in foster care, English was what he spoke. He understood it more than he could speak it. He sat on the ground and looked to him so they could chat while they wait to make a move.
He thought it would be nice to know more about his partner before they die. Well he hoped they wouldn't die tonight but this was his first fight it was all research till now and this young man happened to be a part of it.
"South Korea," he said. He didn't want to elaborate on that too much. This guy didn't seem to recognize his face, which was just as well. That made him feel even stupider for choosing this place. Or maybe this was the reason he wasn't recognized. Maybe he was right all along.
He still regretted his choices. He wished Dayen was around.
Shivering, he looked over his shoulder. It felt like they were being watched.
"I am from Los Angels I am making my way to Hazleton to find vampires." He laughed, "But I guess they found me." Jasper was traveling by car from what he heard Hazleton was the hub of supernatural activity. Jasper wouldn't call himself a hunter he just wanted answers.
He noticed as Kihwa looked over his shoulder and heard rustling he looked in the same direction, "Did you hear that?" He whispered, his body tensed up as the sound came closer.
Jasper needed to over come this fear of vampires that haunted him his whole childhood. But over coming seemed to be a bigger feat. He only read about how to kill a vampire he had never killed before and he wasn't sure he could.
"Hazleton? For.... vampires?"
Was Hazleton famous for them? Really, Kihwa was only familiar with places that were famous, like LA or New York. As far as he knew, vampires weren't real but this guy seemed totally serious. Kihwa let out a nervous laugh.
"L-let's hurry."
--
"Wh--wha..."
He was breathless and he couldn't get the words out but he kept turning and looking over his shoulder as they ran off and headed to the other man's room. Kihwa didn't like it; he shouldn't be alone with another man in his room. He had a boyfriend. A loving boyfriend. One of whom he missed so, so badly.
Where was his phone when he needed it?
He left it back in his room. His heart thumped erratically as he moved further into the room. He turned, just barely reaching out to fumble-grab the bottle tossed toward him.
"What--?" Holy Water. He mouthed the words to himself. Holy water. Stunned, he watched as the other man readied himself for apparent combat against vampires.
He's crazy, he thought but he was too nervous not to follow him out of the room and into the hall. It was better to be with him than to be alone right now... At least... he hoped so.
Brandishing his bottle of holy water, Kihwa swallowed hard and he prayed in the back of his mind. He willed himself to remember his boyfriend. He wished he was here so badly. All he wanted was for him to come and save him, as pathetic and childish as it sounded.
The sound of something stirring from behind them caught his attention and with his heart in his throat, Kihwa immediately spun around and let out a shout.
Stevy was eager to get to the hotel and fight. He had been training with his papa it was now time to see if the training paid off. Storytelling was something Stevy looked forward to, his papa shared with him is past hunts when he was younger.
The stories helped Steven connect with his papa and there was a lot to learn. The thing with Stevey and his dad is they did a lot of talking there was never a quiet moment. They missed out on so much time they made the best of any other time they had.
"How old were you, Papa when you had your first vampire hunt?" He was nervous but he knew his papa had his back and nothing would happen. As soon as Steven found out his papa was a hunter that's what he wanted to be. His mother kept him away from his dad but she never broke his spirit of becoming a hunter. He was going to carry the Won name proudly.
Pulling up to the driveway of the hotel they could see all the lights were out, he looked at his papa with big eyes, "Looks like they are hunting." Grabbing the large duffle bag he put it up front for him and his papa to weapon up. He tried his best not to look nervous he gave his papa a nod before the stormed the entrance.
Walking down the hall he saw something moving in front of them he nudged his papa," Looks like we got two up here." His steps became faster and he right behind one of them when he shouted in his face. Steven jumped he didn't expect it to be a human let alone a vocal on, "Shit, what are you doing out here?"
Jasper heard Kihwa shout he spun around and was faced with two others that looked to be hunting as well. "What are you doing out here?" Jasper questioned back brandishing his blade.
"Older than you," he said, because he had just passed through his rebellious teen years when he stumbled through the whole hunter thing on his own. At least Stevey had somebody to help him through it all. And not to toot his own horn or anything but he had one of the best to help him in the form of his father.
Entering the hotel with weapons at the ready, Ki Jun calmly took in the situation. His gaze slowly moved around the lobby before they began walking the halls.
Definitely here. He could feel the dark crawl of the vampire's darkness. It ate at him, spread under the skin like an infection.
Unlike Stevey, he expected to meet others in the hotel. Maybe other hunters but probably victims.
These looked like victims, from the looks of it. At least, until he saw what they were holding.
"Holy water?" he asked, arching a brow. "You two little kids are hunters?"
They seemed to be hunters these others that Jasper and his Kihwa bumped into but the old man was an ass,"No! I am more of a researcher" Jasper barked back, "Are you, hunters? The power went out and I heard a scream so I left my room and that's when I bumped into him." He pointed over his shoulder with his thumb to Kihwa. "That's when we decided to check it out we knocked and a little girl answered and to our horror, she was a vampire with another one feeding on someone." He explained to them they could use the help Jasper was in over his head.
He had thought it would be easy to expose vampires for what they are and bring light to humans but this was a war he couldn't fight on his own he was now learning. Maybe these hunters could help Jasper and his quest? "We only ran into the two, I think for the most part people are staying in their rooms but the vampires might be picking them off. But I know nothing I was just staying here for the night as I made my way to Evermore." Where Jasper had planned to set up shop, his plans were to hire a few others and film them and then expose the vampires.
Bad on Jasper's part to bring attention to the group with all his small talk a group of vampires moved in on four of them. Jasper was as ready as he was ever going to be it was time to fight for his life.
"Yup." He was a hunter, all right. But these two... They really took the cake. A researcher, huh? And some quivering little sidekick? The two of them were the most inexperienced pair he'd seen in a long time. Knowing about the supernatural put them at risk now, however. Somebody was going to have to take these kids under their wings and train them, if not to be a hunter to at least know how to fend off creatures of the night and such.
Ki Jun already had his own son to mentor; he didn't necessarily want more of them. He loved his kid. Other kids, not so much.
This frickin' kid, for example. He didn't shut up. He just kept talking and talking and Ki Jun raised a hand to his temple momentarily. Just as he was about to tell him to can it and tell them his life story later, vampires began to circle around them. Ki Jun sighed and turned, letting loose a bolt carved into a stake. It struck one of the vampires in the heart.
If it weren't for awakened sensitivity to them, he might have just killed a random woman.
"Enough chatting," Ki Jun said. "If you want to live, you might want to actually fight."
Steven didn't have much room to talk he was new to hunting but these two looked like a joke. He rolled his eye at the one for calling himself a researcher. He did happen to catch him saying he was heading to Evermore so there was a chance they would run into him in town.
While Steven was analyzing the two he was caught off guard a vampire came in and grabbed him. He swung his arms trying his best to get free and maybe injury it with his bat that had 10-inch nails protruding from it. Before he knew it he was out. They had chloroformed him, the bat slipped from his hand and hit the floor. They moved in fast and Steven didn't have a chance.
Jasper was frantic but the adrenaline helped his fight off his attackers. Or the big guy scared them off Jasper was unsure but they seemed to back off pretty fast. He was unaware that they had taken one of them he was kinda looking out for himself. "That's right! Bitches run off." Jasper shouted with his blade held high.
One of the vampires was dust; Ki Jun killed it with a stake to the heart, shot from his crossbow. Grimly, he looked to the children as he started to reload... and then realized with a start that one kid was missing. And that the one kid missing was his son.
"Where did he go?" he demanded.
The one with the holy water looked at him with wide eyes and said in a startled voice, "I... I... I think they took him."
"Who?" Ki Jun stepped in close to the kid, who quailed under his intense stare.
"I d-don't know! The... vampires."
Ki Jun let out a frustrated sound. "Where? Which way?"
"I don't know."
None of them knew. Ki Jun swore under his breath and stalked down the hall, banging on every door as he passed, shouting out to the vampires. No time for subtlety. They had his son!
Jasper followed after him, "Why are you doing this?" He asked as he caught up to him. They took the kid yeah he knew that but why call them out to kill all of them in the process? "It looked like they were after him they didn't take him by chance. So why do they want your kid?" Jasper was now curious to why they would want this particular guys son. Maybe he should stick around him if he was someone the vampires feared.
He joined in and started to pound on the door's calling for them to come out. He didn't want to run and hide from what he had been chasing all this time and he thought he could learn a few things hanging around hunters so he was going to hang around as long as he could. Safety in numbers, right?
Some doors opened, others didn't some were frightened humans but a few fleeing vampires as well. "Hey!"He shouted at one of them as he ran after him with his blade in hand ready to kill the fucker for taking the dude's son. This was the first time he ever wanted to kill something so much in his life before, he now had a reason to kill, he had to save his son. Jasper knew it, this was his calling he had been waiting all this time for this to happen so he could help. No, Jasper is not made he just needed a reason to kill otherwise he wouldn't kill even a vampire.
His heart raced, his breath was heavy, his body wanted to stop, but his mind told it to keep going. He pushed himself to ran, ran as fast as he could to catch up. But the vampire had its speed and got away. Jasper's mind now agreed with his body he could not run anymore. Collapsing to his knee's short of breath and tired like ready to pass out. He felt like he failed, why couldn't he catch the vampire and got him to tell them where they took the kid, why? Why did he couldn't he catch him why did he have to be so slow?
"I'm sorry," he said as he looked at the floor. He started to become angry with himself. Clenching his fist as he sat on his hands and knees. He tried to regain his strength so he could get up. He was embarrassed that he got winded running. He got to his feet but his legs were shaky "Man, I am really sorry." That was all he could think of.
Why did they go straight for his son? It all seemed far too convenient to Ki Jun now. Somehow, the bastards must have learned that he and Steven were going to be checking out their little hideout in this hellhole hotel. They must have arranged this ambush. It was far too fast and far too thought out.
So who was the rat? Who told the vampires they would be here? Ki Jun's blood boiled at the revelation that one of his hunter contacts could be responsible for this.
His fists balled up and he kept moving, kept shouting out but the anxiety was rising and threatening to undo him.
Steven was his boy, his son. When he came to him asking to learn how to hunt, Ki Jun's heart swelled with pride. He couldn't wait to show him his world, to bring him into his life the way he'd imagined he would if he and his wife stayed together.
That wasn't how it ended up, though. She was right. He had thrown Steven into harm's way by letting him hunt with him.
"Who are you?" Ki Jun asked the kid on the ground, then looked at the shaking one with the pillow shield.
(if you don't mind I don't)
"Jasper," he answered. "Jasper Nam." He looked up from the ground, disappointment heavy in his eye's. He read about this stuff he only in his wildest dreams did he think he would be right in the middle of it. But in the dreams, the vampires didn't get away. It was a big let down to know his first attempt he failed. It wasn't really the time or place to have a pity party. Jasper pulled himself off the ground and stood up, dusting himself off.
Jasper looked at the man and with little thought, he spoke. "If you'll let me I will help you look for him." He didn't have much to offer but he felt responsible in a way. And he wanted to help, plus the guy seemed to know what he was doing and Jasper could learn a few things.
"We're not only going to look for him," he said. "We're going to stake every single vampire we come across."
This was war as far as he was concerned. Whatever just happened, he had the unsettling feeling this was all a trap. The vampires didn't normally hole up here, did they? They just let the information circle around until it found the ears of a hunter, then stole what he loved most.
Unacceptable!
Sliding one of his crossbow stakes out, he handed it over to Jasper.
"Well, Jasper. You're learning a few new things tonight."
He looked at the other boy.
"And you?"
"I... I'm... Jeon Kihwa-ssi, seonsangnim...."
"You... just stay back." That one looked like he was about to crack and it was bad enough they had to cart him around.
"Let's go."
Jasper looked at the stake as it was handed to him and grabbed it, "Okay~" He said half scared half excited.
"Stay safe kid," Jasper patted Kihwa's shoulder. "Aha, okay," He stuttered, he froze for a second then ran to catch up with the big guy.
"So, what's this talk of learning new things?" He followed like a lost puppy starved for attention.
This was good, he was sure of it. He had to be otherwise this is a death wish.
"If you don't learn something new tonight, you might not survive it," he said bluntly. Which was exactly why his ex-wife couldn't stand him. At the beginning of their relationship, they argued a lot but it turned into a passionate affair. Then as things fizzled out and she became more serious about living a real life, far away from monsters and things that went bump in the night, they really grew apart.
Sometimes, Ki Jun still missed her--it was natural, since he'd spent such a long time with her. He even still loved her, although he certainly was no longer in love with her.
And he loved his kids, too--fiercely. Now that they'd stolen his son and there were these kids crawling around this hotel, he would have to take them under his wing and treat them much the same. He glanced back at the one he'd told to stay back. Maybe keeping him at the back was a bad idea, in case they were attacked from behind.
"You know what, kid? Stay close to me," he said to him, gesturing for him to come toward him.
Just as he did, two of the hotel doors opened at once, unleashing a vampire from each one. They were bloodied--it was obvious they'd just feasted. With his heart in his throat, he lifted his crossbow.
"Take the one on the left! Aim for the heart!"
Shit! There were vamps still here and they looked like they were still hungry, Gripping the stake tightly he went after the one on the left. He missed the vampire was much faster, he fell to the floor on his hands and knees. Be pushed himself back up.
The vampire was toying with him. Jasper narrowed his eyes and ran at the vampire again. "Die, you piece of shit!" He yelled putting all of his weight into staking the vampire. The big guy made it look so easy.
Plunging the stake as deep as he could the sound it made was sickening. He did it, he wanted to be proud but he wasn't sure how he felt about killing. They might be dead but it still felt wrong.
He looked over at the big guy with ghostly eyes he felt sick to his stomach he felt like he was going to ralph. "I killed it," he said in a surprised tone. It was going to take some time for him to get over the fact that he was a killer, human or not it still didn't sit well with Jasper.
"Good," he said, but there was no time to sit around celebrating. He clapped his hand on the kid's shoulder and then urged him forward. He couldn't tell where they'd taken his son but he had to be here somewhere. They couldn't have whisked him out of the building yet!
He was giving serious thought to just burning the hovel of a hotel down but that would mean harming innocent guests and possibly Stevy himself. He took a few steady steps forward and that was when it came ghosting toward him--a slip of paper from down the hall.
Ki Jun swooped down and picked up the paper but didn't immediately look at it. He went for the hall--all that was left was the swirling coat of a vampire disappearing down another hall.
Swearing under his breath, he looked down at the paper.
"If you want him back, come visit us?" he read, voice growing angrier by the second. Attached was an image. A photograph of a place that wasn't the hotel. Ki Jun crumpled the page in his hand, jaw tightening.
"He's not here."
They continued down the hall when it came from the dark, Jasper readied himself to fight but it just dropped a paper then took off. Gone in a blink of an eye. Ki Jun was after it but it was too fast for him to catch it.
He watched as he read the paper and crumpled it. "What? Where is he?" he said rushing over to grab the paper to look at it.
He was ready to follow Ki Jun where ever it was to get his son back. They didn't have that much of a head start so they just needed to get to where ever it was.
Jaspers had no clue what he was walking into but his imagination ran wild. He wondered why they wanted his son? What did vampires want with a hunter? They could have just killed all of them but they wanted something from Ki Jun. What was it?
The best way to get answers was to follow along he was learning a lot more than he had hoped for.
Ki Jun looked the boy over. As curious as the kid was and as much as he needed a mentor, this wasn't something to entangle him or his friend in. The friend looked faint, as if he'd pass out any second. It was a miracle he wasn't hyperventilating.
"Not here," Ki Jun reiterated. They'd come in, absconded with his son, and left. Then they left their clue because they wanted him. Why not just grab him, then? Because he was more skilled than a mere boy? Ki Jun couldn't help feeling anger begin to boil just under the surface.
"Go back to your rooms," he told the boys with a grim expression on his face. "Stay in them until daybreak and then leave. Don't come back here."