Night Kiss

by E. T. Malinowski

  Ki-tae was immediately by his side, staring at him intently. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Bullshit.”

  “Fine, but I don’t want to talk about it, so just fucking let it go, okay?” Cheongul growled, feeling as if he was going to split at the seams. He headed into wardrobe, having to make a concerted effort not to shove Jin-woo aside when he came to the door. “Excuse me.”

  Jin-woo didn’t say a word but quickly moved out of his way, and for that, Cheongul was grateful. He had to get this day over with. He was deteriorating fast. He yanked the clothing down, thankful at the last second it didn’t tear. Was he going to be able to sit still for the makeup artists? It wasn’t as if he had an option. He was going to have to. Cheongul sighed. He hated when this happened to him. It was as if the control he’d built up over the years just eroded, leaving him raw and broken and angry at everything, especially himself. The worst part about it was knowing it was happening but not being able to stop it. He could fight, could push it off, but in the end, his rage always won out. It was the beast inside of him, the master he fought so hard against. He could hear Ki-tae’s whispered words sending Jin-woo away and knew the moment Ki-tae entered the room.

  “What? You’re my guardian now? Or my warden?”

  “Both,” Ki-tae said. “You don’t want to talk about it, fine, but I know if you lose it and hurt someone, you’ll never forgive yourself. I won’t let you do that to yourself, not now, not ever.”

  “And you’re going to stop me.” Cheongul laughed. “We’ve been down this road before, Ki-tae, and it wasn’t pretty.”

  “Yes, I am,” Ki-tae said softly, “if need be.”

  “We are,” HanYin added as he walked into the room and closed the door behind him.

  “You called HanYin-a? I didn’t hear that part,” Cheongul said.

  “I didn’t say it,” Ki-tae said as he moved farther into the room.

  Cheongul glanced between the two of them. They’d flanked him in just that one move. Good, because he was close to losing it. He was shaking. The thing of it was, there was really no logical reason for him to be like this. It wasn’t like the first time because Min-su and he didn’t have any sort of romantic involvement. Hell, it wasn’t like the fifth or sixth time, but at least those hadn’t ended in death, and love hadn’t been involved then either. Why were they doing this anyway? What the fuck did it matter? Didn’t HanYin and Ki-tae get tired of going a round with him whenever he got too upset?

  Cheongul’s mind spun in circles, trying to figure out what else could have caused the beast to stir within him. It wasn’t Min-su; he knew that. Yes, he found her incredibly attractive, but she always kept her distance from him, even if they were standing right next to each other. Of course, now he knew why. It wasn’t as if he was in love with her, so this was nothing like before. He liked her a lot, but love would never be in the cards for him. He tried that once with disastrous results. He’d tried it what felt like a hundred times, but it always ended in pain. He was too dangerous to love. Even his family, his brothers, were cautious right now.

  Rationally Cheongul knew Ki-tae and HanYin loved him. He knew Soon-joon loved him. They were a family. They had been for the last seven centuries as their household had grown to first include HanYin and then Ki-tae. He knew he could trust them with anything and everything. He knew he wasn’t a bad person, but the rage didn’t care. It wanted the violence, the blood. It wanted the pain and anguish that happened when he lost control. It wanted the death that would result from the snapping of the reins. It made him feel like a passenger in his own body, able to think, but not control the things he did. The haze settled over his eyes like a hot blanket, dulling his mind but sharpening his senses.

  The door slammed open, startling him and drawing everyone’s attention.

  “What’s wrong with Cheongul-a? Why does he need help? Someone damn well better tell me what’s going on!”

  A switch flipped inside him and Cheongul stopped thinking. He flew at Min-su, taking her to the ground. He grunted as she planted her foot in his stomach and grabbed his shoulders, rolling with their momentum until he was on his back. The only thing that prevented them from rolling a second time was Min-su. She stopped the motion and then slammed him back into the ground, his head hitting so hard black dots danced across his vision, her eyes a blazing red.

  “Bitch, please. I will rip you apart if you ever try that shit with me again,” she snarled.

  Cheongul’s eyes widened as he saw fangs in her mouth, not two like his, but four: two on top and two on the bottom, long, glistening white fangs. What. The. Fuck?

  He looked into her red eyes, saw the horror filling them. She slapped her hand over her mouth. “Oh… oh no!”

  Without another word, she bolted. Cheongul had never seen her move so fast. He sat up, staring in the direction she went. Ki-tae and HanYin were immediately at his side. Soon-joon stepped through the door, taking in the scene in a single glance. He merely raised an eyebrow.

  “She’s a Shifter,” Cheongul whispered. “Min-su-ya is a Shifter.”

  Jin-woo

  “SHE’S A what now?” Jin-woo said from the doorway. “Where’s Min-su-ya?”

  Everyone was staring at Jin-woo, and as he looked from one man to the next, he noticed something very important: save for Soon-joon, they all had Ki-tae’s silver eyes. Soon-joon’s were gold, a beautiful shade of bright gold.

  “Jin-woo-ya,” Ki-tae whispered.

  “Well, that makes a hell of a lot of sense,” Jin-woo said. “You’re all the same, and Soon-joon-nim is the… what? Sire? Leader? Master? Work with me, people. I just learned my bestie is not completely human and I’m trying not to pass out because that floor looks like it will hurt… a lot.”

  HanYin burst out laughing as he turned to Ki-tae. “Does anything faze him?”

  “I haven’t found it,” Ki-tae said with a smile as he helped Cheongul off the ground.

  “I wondered how Ki-tae-ya kept his secret around all of you. Now I get it. He didn’t have to,” Jin-woo said. “And while all of this is really fascinating and I have hoards of questions I want to ask, should have asked Mr. Bites First over there, but didn’t want to be rude, I have to find Min-su-ya.”

  “Where would she go if she’s upset?” Cheongul asked as he wrapped his arms around his torso. He was still shaking. “Because it’s a safe bet she is really upset.”

  Soon-joon moved over to Cheongul and took him by the chin. He raised Cheongul’s head, their gazes meeting. Jin-woo could have sworn they were speaking to each other without words, and it was kind of cool and just a wee bit creepy.

  “It depends on how upset she is,” Jin-woo said. “She’ll either go to my place, head to Jong-in-a’s, or disappear for a day or two. I’m really hoping it’s not the latter.”

  Cheongul looked down at the ground as Soon-joon moved to his side and rubbed his back, making Jin-woo tilt his head in curiosity. This didn’t strike him as the Cheongul he had come to know. “I… I hope I didn’t hurt her.”

  He’d never heard Cheongul speak in that tone of voice, low, hesitant, almost timid, and scared, definitely scared. Jin-woo walked over and hugged him, causing Cheongul to stiffen up. Was he shaking? He kept at it until Cheongul relaxed. “She ran out of here. Safe bet she’s fine, and you were the one laid out on the floor.”

  “True.” Cheongul sighed. “I just….”

  “Hey, stop it,” Jin-woo demanded. “Don’t beat yourself up. Sometimes things happen that are beyond our control, and sometimes people get hurt because of it. All we can do is try to be better next time. You may be supernatural, but you’re just as flawed as the rest of us, so knock it off, or I’ll find a way to kick your ass. Got it?”

  “You really need to keep him,” HanYin said as he threw his arm around Ki-tae’s shoulders.

  “I will talk to the director,” Soon-joon said. “We will see how long we can delay filming for today.”

  “Thank yo
u, Soon-joon-nim. I greatly appreciate it,” Jin-woo said with a bow. Soon-joon nodded and then walked out the door.

  About thirty minutes later, Jin-woo walked into his and Min-su’s favorite coffee shop. He went to the very back corner and found her curled up on the bench, her hands wrapped around a steaming mug of some frothy beverage high in whipped cream and sweet as hell. He slid into the booth next to her but didn’t say a word. She would tell him when she was ready.

  “I’m surprised you bothered to come looking for me,” she said quietly.

  “You’re my friend. Of course I came looking for you,” he said.

  “I’m a monster,” she whispered.

  “You’re Min-su-ya, the best friend a guy could ask for. You’re always there for me, and I will always be there for you. So, you have some… extras. Doesn’t bother me a bit because, when all is said and done, you’re still Min-su-ya, my best friend since forever.”

  “Is Cheongul-a okay?” she asked.

  “Yes and no,” Jin-woo said, really thinking about the answer. “Physically he’s fine, as far as I can tell, but emotionally, mentally, I think he’s all sorts of hurting. He was really upset at the idea he might have hurt you.”

  “You guys are usually pretty breakable, and I slammed him pretty hard,” she muttered.

  “Let’s just say you and Cheongul hyung have a lot to talk about and leave it at that,” Jin-woo said, bumping her shoulder. “So, what happened?”

  “No fucking clue,” she said after taking a sip of her drink. “I overhead Shin-bai hyung on the phone, saying something about Cheongul-a needing help and I just, I didn’t stop to think about it. I just ran into the room. Next thing I know, he’s launching himself at me from halfway across the room and I just… acted on instinct.”

  “Well, I guess we can safely say that Cheongul hyung has a fight response when startled.”

  “Are you mad at me for not telling you sooner?” Min-su asked, looking at him.

  “Are you mad at me for not telling you I prefer men?”

  “No.”

  “There’s your answer,” Jin-woo said. “Some things are still really big, even if we trust the other person. It’s hard to say them, and it’s not because we don’t trust, but because we’re afraid. It’s like Jong-in-a. I really wish he would talk to me about all the shit he’s going through, but I only get bits and pieces, and I have to kind of put together a puzzle of what’s going on inside his head. I know he trusts me, but he’s the type to think he’ll burden his friends if he tells us his problems.”

  “I hate that,” Min-su said. “He’s not a burden. You two are a blessing to me, and I hate when I’m not able to help you.”

  “We feel strongly,” Jin-woo said. “That’s why we get so upset when we can’t help.”

  “I made a complete ass out of myself, didn’t I?” Min-su said. “Running off like that. I didn’t know what else to do. I didn’t ask for this, and it’s a big secret to keep. It makes a lot of things hard. Cheongul-a probably thinks I’m a freak.”

  “Trust me when I say he’ll be more understanding than you think,” Jin-woo said with a smirk. “But if you don’t go back to the set, you’ll never know.”

  “Do you have any idea what it’s like for me there?” Min-su sighed. “I feel so wound up it’s not even funny. If I let myself go for even a second, I’m going to jump him and ride him to the ground… in front of everyone!”

  “He might not mind,” Jin-woo teased. “Are you kidding me? Every time you walk by, he stares at your ass and does that lip thing you love so much!”

  “You lie!” she said, smacking his arm.

  “Would I lie about something like that?” Jin-woo tried his best to hold a straight face, but the look on hers was priceless. He burst out laughing. “I love that dazed expression you get when you fantasize about him. But truly, he does watch you.”

  She snarled at him and then took another sip of her drink. “I guess I could go back. I mean, I really should apologize, right?”

  “Definitely.” Jin-woo managed to keep a straight face this time. He really could picture her riding Cheongul to the ground, and the expression on Cheongul’s face would be worth the scarring of his retinas. He wouldn’t be able to unsee that shit. He thought she would get up, but instead she just stared at him for several moments. “What?”

  “How come you’re not freaking out?” she demanded.

  “I’m going with shock.”

  “Shock?”

  “Yup.”

  “That’s your theory?”

  “Yup,” he said. “I figure at some point I’m going to have just one too many surprises or this is all going to hit me at once and I’ll pass out, hopefully on something soft.”

  “And you don’t have any questions?” she said raising an eyebrow.

  “Oh, I have so many questions for all of you, I don’t know where to begin,” Jin-woo said. “But I think I’ve filled my quota of boo-shit today.”

  “Boo-shit? Really? That was a horrible pun,” she said with a laugh.

  “It was awesome. Now, hurry up. We have to get back to work before something else weird happens, like gremlins come out of the kitchen dancing the waltz.”

  “Okay. I’ll get this put in a to-go cup.” She pushed him out of the booth and hurried to the counter.

  Jin-woo shook his head. Sometimes Min-su was so serious it almost hurt, and others, like now, she was so damned adorable. He was pretty sure Cheongul didn’t stand a chance of resisting. That she was smiling was his primary goal, and he’d accomplished that. Now they just had to get back to the set and finish work. It would be interesting, to say the least.

  “Okay, it’s driving me crazy,” she said, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk. They were about ten minutes from the studio and she just stopped.

  Jin-woo turned around. “What is?”

  “You, your reaction, or lack thereof. This is a major thing you’ve learned and you haven’t asked me a single question. It’s not natural, Jin-woo-ya.”

  “I’m not asking because I don’t know if I want to know the answers,” he said throwing his hands up. “I wonder how it happened. Were you born this way? Were you changed? Are there others? Does it hurt you to… change? Would you still be you if you did? I have so many questions, but I’ve been pretending nothing’s changed because I don’t want it to. I liked how things were before I found out myths walk among us looking just like everyone else. And why in the hell would someone with that type of secret go into such a fucking public career? Does that even remotely make sense?”

  Why did she have to poke at his little shell of alternate Jin-woo-friendly reality? So many things spun around his head, never leaving him alone until he pushed them into a mental closet and locked the door.

  “Jin-woo?”

  “I thought I knew you so well and you have this huge thing,” he said quietly. “Ki-tae hyung has this huge thing. Hell, they all have this huge thing, and I… I feel small and… weak, and insignificant. I’m not…. I don’t have a secret. Yeah, it’s a little overwhelming. I was perfectly content walking around in purposeful ignorance, and here you go, popping my bubble of happy.”

  “Joesonghaeyo, Jin-woo,” she said, and he could see the tears shimmering in her eyes.

  “Dammit, I didn’t mean to make you cry,” he said as he pulled her into his arms and hugged her tight. “I guess I still need to process and am just not ready to ask all the questions in my head.”

  “I’ll answer what I can when you are,” she said. “I don’t know how informative it’s going to be. I’m sort of stumbling along figuring things out on the fly. I don’t know if there’s anyone around here who can answer the questions I have, let alone the ones you have.”

  “Does your mom…?” He didn’t even have to finish his question before she nodded.

  “To answer one of your questions no, I wasn’t born this way,” she said quietly. “Let’s get back to work.”

  Cheongul

  CHEONGUL SI
GHED, wishing Soon-joon had been able to delay the filming a little bit longer, at least until they knew if Min-su was okay. As it was, he was having a hard time concentrating on what he was supposed to be doing, and it showed. He could feel himself getting worked up, but then the strangest thing happened. Cheongul inhaled deeply, filling his nose with the most delicious scent he’d ever smelled, and it all seemed to melt out of him.

  He looked up to see Min-su and Jin-woo approaching. He held his breath, waiting for her to look at him. When those beautiful chocolate-brown eyes lifted and caught his, Cheongul felt the tightness in his chest ease. She was okay. Well, as okay as anyone with such a secret could be after unwittingly outing themselves. Min-su gave him a tentative smile, and he nodded. They would talk later. Now was not the time, and if there was one thing he learned about Min-su in the time they’d been working on this project, it was that she was a professional. Everyone had their off moments when they just wanted to run away, and earlier had been one of hers. It was going to be hard enough to talk about it in the first place without adding a poorly chosen, public location.

  Once everyone had greeted Min-su and made sure she was okay, they got back to work. Cheongul found he could focus once more, and by the pleased look on the director’s face, it showed. They danced in perfect sync, each movement precise and sharp as they went through their choreography. The music played over the speakers, and they managed to hit each cue right on time. It was, for lack of a better word, perfect. Cheongul felt it deep inside. They had nailed it.

  “Cut!”

  The applause began immediately after. Cheongul smiled, feeling the heat in his cheeks. He enjoyed what he did, and he wasn’t as prone to blushing when hearing such things from their fans, but when the crew did it, it made him feel a little self-conscious. These were people who knew him on a more personal level, people he saw frequently, and it just seemed weird when they applauded. He felt as if he didn’t deserve their applause as much as the crew did. After all, they made it all possible. Still, he should accept the compliment, and so Cheongul bowed to them. Then after their applause died down, he turned to his brothers and nodded. They clapped for the crew. “You all are awesome!”