CW: subtle mentions of abuse; mentions of blood and vampire things

December 27, 1882 — Mahoutokoro grounds, Japan (13 yrs)

The Tōji holiday (Dongji for Jin) was longer than the little vampire had hoped it might be. A full week home meant a full week of tip-toeing around Abeoji, hiding in his room, and not seeing much of anyone, particularly his friends. Moon-ssi, for what it was worth, had become a staple in Jin’s life almost like breathing oxygen. He woke up and Moon-ssi was there; he had a rough day, and Moon-ssi made him laugh; he was hungry? Moon-ssi was always ready for a snack no matter what time of day or night. The little yangban that had once surprised Jin at every turn and caused a tremendous spike in his suspicions had since entrenched himself so deeply in the vampire’s life that Jin found it difficult to do— or want to do, anything alone anymore. There weren’t many secrets Jin kept from him either. They were like two dried jujubes at the bottom of a rice sack.

The day the holiday ended however, Jin found himself back on Mahoutokoro grounds praying to every spirit above that he wouldn’t run into Moon-ssi. His face was a little swollen and his side ached, but the secret he held under his tongue was burning its way through every last prejudice Jin had ever heard about vampires and beings, and emblazoning itself into his soul like a hot iron brand. There was no way he could ever share with Moon-ssi what had happened over the break. Or how he felt about it.

The grounds were covered in a blanket of snow. Jin selected a quiet little corner in the cold near an old, unused hanok in the hopes that he might blend into the frigid landscape and remain anonymous at least for the remainder of the day before bed. He’d skipped the return banquet knowing full well he would have been easy to spot and now could only hope that he might be successful in avoiding Moon-ssi until he could forget about what happened or find a way to force it aside. Until then— he couldn’t risk facing the happy little quidditch player. Jin didn’t trust himself to keep such a tremendous problem to himself.

He summoned a low table and settled himself around it, casting a heating spell on the ground and arranging a clay dish with a small blue flame inside. Then Jin pulled out his textbooks and began to re-read the homework he’d already finished. It would be dark soon. Perhaps then he could escape to bed early and avoid not only Moon-ssi but all the other third years as well.

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Ahn-Bo Jeong & muse song
*winter solstice (Japan / Korea) usually around Dec 21-23

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* Jin takes potions and enchantments at times to give his voice a persuasive quality.
His performances, or even a simple conversation, can sometimes suggest thoughts
and ideas to his audiences.

Ahn-Bo had mostly enjoyed the break from school—it was nice to not have to go to classes and do homework, though he missed being at his best friend's side. And quidditch. Definitely quidditch. But mostly Jin-a. Just as they did every year, the palace had invited Ahn-Bo's father to the palace's festivities. This year was the first year his father decided he was mature enough to attend. He'd spent the entire day with eyes as round as saucers, taking in the lavish decorations and people of the court. There'd been a feast, which had been his favorite part, of course. Back home, his mother had had the cook make patjuk so she could spread it around and ward off evil spirits. He ignored the fact that she'd put a lot more around the door of his room than his brother's and sister's.

The return to the academy was also enjoyable—Ahn-Bo did enjoy food, and the return banquet had plenty of it. At first, he'd thought Seojin-a was simply running late. The quidditch player had eaten his meal seated at their usual table. He'd kept his head on a swivel, eagerly watching for the appearance of his friend. The minutes ticked by. By the time the banquet ended, he still hadn't shown, and a concerned frown had settled on his lips. It wasn't like the little vampire to be so late. After pestering the teaching staff, he was told that Jeong Seojin had returned and was somewhere on the premises.

His frown only deepened at that. Something was wrong, but he didn't quite know what. After checking their dorms, the library, and their usual spots, the only place left was outside. It was cold, though that didn't bother Seojin-a much. Ahn-Bo wrapped his fur-lined durumagi tightly around himself—and then trudged out into the snow. There was no plan as he wandered around the grounds. He had no idea where Seojin-a could have gone (or if he really was outside), but until he covered every last section of the grounds, he was going to continue.

It was nearly dark by the time he'd found him. He'd made a cozy little nook for himself, his head bent toward his lap—undoubtedly reading like the academic he was. Ahn-Bo breathed a small sigh of relief. His frown only deepened as he approached the vampire from behind. "Did you forget about me while you were away, Seojin-a?" It had meant to sound playful, but the light tones he usually had were replaced by heavy notes of concern. "Why are you all the way out here?"

patjuk: red bean porridge. It was believed the red color of the porridge had the power to repel harmful spirits. Some people would sprinkle the porridge around their house, on walls, or on the main gate to ward off bad luck.

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{Ahn-Bo speaks in Korean to his family unless otherwise stated in posts.}

Set by the amazing Fox!

The sound of Moon-ssi behind him made Jin startled in his skin. He should have known to expect the other; when had he ever been able to successfully hide from Moon-ssi for any kind of extended period? But this time he’d needed to. This time it was imperative that he keep his mouth shut! Regret instantly filtered over Jin from the crown of his head down. Maybe he should have faked an illness...

Moon-ssi’s tone made him feel even worse as the other came up behind him sounding hurt. Jin felt like he’d done something mean on purpose and the regret deepened. Was he selfish to keep his secret to himself? Definitely. He couldn’t bear to see the face Moon-ssi might make if he told the truth though. What if his friend finally decided he was too much of a vampire to be friends anymore? What if he was grossed out and scared? Spirits. Jin couldn’t imagine how terrible it would feel to actually scare Moon-ssi away… He swallowed the thought down and turned towards his friend, voice quiet and laced with guilt.

“Moon Ahn-Bo-ssi, annyeong…” he greeted softly. They’d grown a bit closer in the last year to where (especially alone) Jin felt comfortable dropping some of the formality in his speech. Not entirely; he still refused to drop the honorifics or call Moon-ssi by his first name. (If he got a funny feeling in his belly every time the other called him by his own name, that was nobody’s business.) But it was progress.

“Of course I didn’t forget you,” he continued, offering a sad little smile. Oop. He hadn’t meant to do that. Jin cleared his throat. “I just… I wasn’t very hungry,” he continued, looking away and out over the grounds. His cheeks heated at the statement and he frowned at himself for thinking about his secret. He’d never be hungry again, eici. Rushing to breeze over it, he shifted in his seat to make room and waved Moon-ssi over. (He was here now wasn’t he?) “How was your Dongji? Did you eat many good things?”

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Ahn-Bo Jeong & muse song
* eici = a more casual expression of frustration, similar to saying "dammit" or a mild curse

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* Jin takes potions and enchantments at times to give his voice a persuasive quality.
His performances, or even a simple conversation, can sometimes suggest thoughts
and ideas to his audiences.

With the sun setting and the soft blue flame silhouetting him from behind, Ahn-Bo couldn't make out Seojin-a's expressions. He sounded... sad, maybe? Ahn-Bo wasn't particularly skilled at defining emotions, but whatever it was felt wrong. He could almost see it, as if it were a great dark puddle of black ink. Mixing with the snow as it crept out from underneath him. This wouldn't do.

He took the offered seat in the snow next to Seojin-a, the movement fluffing the snow up around them into a thin dust that sprinkled their faces. "Of course I did. Abeoji let me come along to the feast at the palace with him this time. You wouldn't believe how much food they had there. And it was delicious. Definitely one of the best meals I've had in my life." It was a bit warmer here thanks to the little setup. His cheeks and nose were reddened from the cold air, though he didn't mind. It had been worth it. They could huddle together around the little flame for warmth if they really needed to.

He grinned and turned to face Seojin-a, "I brought you–" His dark brows furrowed as he took in the little vampire's face. It looked swollen and bruised. "What happened?" he demanded, bringing his icicle like fingers up to gently cup his friend's chin, wanting to turn his face toward the fire so he could get a better look.

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{Ahn-Bo speaks in Korean to his family unless otherwise stated in posts.}

Set by the amazing Fox!

When Moon-ssi settled next to him up against the little hanok, Jin felt an instant warmth bloom inside. He wasn’t any physically warmer, per se, but the omnipresent anxious feeling of being forgotten that gripped him every time they parted had eased back. He didn’t dare throw his arm around Moon-ssi and relax into it, but he let out a soft breath that felt like relief. He smiled as Moon-ssi expounded on his palace adventure; it sounded lovely and Jin was always impressed still at just how important Moon-ssi’s family really was. His Abeoji was one of the men that quite literally ruled the country, or at least— got to eat with the king who did!

“Whoaaa,” Jin made an impressed noise and nodded along. “That must have been so interesting to see! What is the palace like?! Did you have a favorite dish?” The questions bubbled up faster than he’d imagined. Jin had never had a desire to visit the palace or be seen beyond its walls but he knew his Abeoji did. And he couldn’t help but be curious.

It was at that moment that Moon-ssi turned to look directly at him and Jin felt the energy change. Golden eyes widened a bit and he looked up at Moon-ssi innocently, unaware of whatever he’d been about to say. It wasn’t until the subsequent question that he realized— ssibal! He’d forgotten his face was still swollen. Too late to pull away, Jin let Moon-ssi tilt his chin gently towards the fire for a better view as he scrambled to think of an excuse. His fingers were unusually cold against Jin’s pale skin. He must have been out in the snow for awhile himself.

A soft pang hit Jin in the chest, worsened by the lie that rolled off his lips. “Oh it’s nothing,” he said gently. “I fell off a broom over the holiday and landed ungracefully on my face.” He tried for sheepish before pulling away and adding “and I hurt my side too,” for good measure. “Gwenchana,” he waved Moon-ssi away dismissively.

A brusque wind lifted the snow and sprayed them a bit, fluffy puffs landing on their robes and in their hair. Jin made to cover his book and closed it to protect his homework wondering if his little performance had been enough to convince his friend. Moon-ssi could read him pretty well. Sooner or later he would catch on that Jin was hiding something, but hopefully not yet. Not until Jin could find a reason to explain his odd behavior that was anything but the truth.

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Ahn-Bo Jeong & muse song

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* Jin takes potions and enchantments at times to give his voice a persuasive quality.
His performances, or even a simple conversation, can sometimes suggest thoughts
and ideas to his audiences.

The excitement over Dongji was entirely forgotten as he studied Seojin-a's face. He'd always been on the lean side. Over the last year that they'd known each other, they both had lost some of their childlike features. Defined cheekbones and jaws were beginning to emerge. Ahn-Bo had certainly begun to notice how beautiful his friend was. He'd always been handsome—maybe it was just their closeness that had him more biased. He hadn't expected to see the greens and faint bluish-purple bruises on the face he'd come to know as well as his own.

Ahn-Bo's lips twisted at the vampire's explanation. He knew the moment he heard it that it was a lie. He felt a pang in his gut—if Seojin-a wasn't telling him the truth about something like this, it was because something awful had happened. "You fell off a broom?" He repeated skeptically. The anxiousness morphed into anger, his body beginning to feel warmer than it had just a moment before.

Seojin-a had waved him off and turned away, protecting homework that Ahn-Bo knew without looking had been completed days ago. Unlike the quidditch player, the third year took their assignments and deadlines very seriously. He was never up against the wire, unlike Ahn-Bo, who put it off until the very last moment and then completed it in a whirlwind of stress and chaotic energy. No matter how much cajoling his friend did to get him to start it early, he still hadn't been able to break that particular habit of his.

"You are lying Jeong Seojin. We both know you've never fallen off a broom in your life and you're better than some of the kids on the quidditch team," His eyes narrowed in accusation. Had he been older and more mature, he would have approached this with much more grace. But thirteen-year-old Ahn-Bo knew no such thing as a gentle approach, so it was with a cold anger instead.

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{Ahn-Bo speaks in Korean to his family unless otherwise stated in posts.}

Set by the amazing Fox!

The skepticism in Moon-ssi’s voice grated on Jin’s nerves, fraying them like a knife against silk. He didn’t know what else to do but nod reassuringly as his friend’s face twisted into a frown. Jin hated when he frowned. There was too much joy and life in the little quidditch player for him to ever have a good enough excuse to frown like that, especially on Jin’s behalf. He turned away, refusing to stare at it any more, and waved his hand dismissively again. Jin was on the cusp of asking anew about Dongji when Moon-ssi’s angry assertion caught him in a vice grip.

A little shiver raked down Jin’s spine at the outrage that his friend displayed at being lied to. He’d know almost immediately and Jin frowned back at him, nonplussed. How could Moon-ssi be so sure he’d been lying! It’s not like Jin did it often enough for him to tell! His cheeks heated at the compliment laced in there and Jin silently cursed his own broom skills. He had been practicing too much. “You don’t know that,” was the returned parry, a hint of annoyance laced in there. “Everyone has to fall at some point, Moon-ssi. And it was embarrassing so I don’t want to talk about it anymore!” There. That ought to shut him up.

Jin let out a little huff feeling annoyed and embarrassed both. It was frustrating to lie to Moon-ssi in the first place, but even more so because if he had actually fallen flat on his face, he’d probably have told Moon-ssi almost immediately with a laugh. And not spared any details of his own fault. But this was a coverup and he couldn’t let the truth slip through the cracks. Even if that meant pushing the little quidditch player away a bit.

Jin’s stomach ached at the thought. He was hungry too, but still too disgusted with himself to eat anything properly. It had been almost two days since he’d had more than a few sips of water. The incident had been two nights ago and all day yesterday he’d spent curled up in a miserable cocoon of self-loathing. He would not eat. Not until this craving passed and he was back to normal! Jin’s stomach rumbled in mutinous protest.

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Ahn-Bo Jeong & muse song

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   Ahn-Bo Jeong

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* Jin takes potions and enchantments at times to give his voice a persuasive quality.
His performances, or even a simple conversation, can sometimes suggest thoughts
and ideas to his audiences.

The blush and annoyed tone that Seojin-a responded with had his jaw clenching. Something was horribly, horribly wrong, and his best friend wouldn't even tell him what it was. How could it get fixed if he wouldn't even say what was wrong in the first place? Ahn-Bo didn't buy the broom excuse for a second. Of all the things he could have picked to explain his injuries, he'd picked the least possible option. Whether it was on purpose or not didn't matter. Ahn-Bo would get to the bottom of it, because how dare he.

Throughout their short friendship, the two would get into spats and bicker like an old married couple. One would hurt the other's feelings unintentionally, the other would be upset and snap back, and they'd spiral into the back-and-forth. Eventually, one of them would be calm enough to initiate their making up, and then all was right again. Sometimes it lasted a few minutes, sometimes a few hours. Once it had been almost an entire day, and it had been awful. Ahn-Bo didn't know how much he enjoyed having Seojin-a by his side until he suddenly wasn't. But even through those, the vampire had never lied. At least if he had, Ahn-Bo hadn't noticed. It had never been like this.

"Gura chiji ma!" A frustrated glare was fixed on the back of Seojin-a's perfect little head. The back of his throat began to burn. No! He would not cry over this. (At least not in front of anyone.) Crying was for babies, and Ahn-Bo was nearly grown! "I thought I was your jjak-kung."

Before he could continue any more accusations, Seojin-a's stomach outed him—loudly. Full stomachs didn't growl like that, especially at that volume. Hadn't he told Ahn-Bo he wasn't hungry? "Deo geojimariyya?" He growled and scrambled to his feet, throwing snow everywhere, including on the other boy's homework. If they hadn't been fighting, he would have felt guilty and set it right immediately. But now, if Seojin-a didn't want to be his friend, then he wasn't going to be Seojin-a's either!

Gura chiji ma: stop bullshitting • Jjak-kung: best buddy, partner in crime • Deo geojimariyya?: (casual) "more lies?"

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{Ahn-Bo speaks in Korean to his family unless otherwise stated in posts.}

Set by the amazing Fox!

Jin knew better than to protest if he wanted to calm Moon-ssi down. He’d long since learned that offending the other and then sticking to his guns was the fastest way to infuriate Moon-ssi— but Jin didn’t feel he had much of a choice here. He didn’t want to fight. He hated the very idea of being at odds with his best friend, because ne, they were jjak-kung! But for that reason specifically Jin couldn’t acquiesce. He could tell Moon-ssi the truth. He didn’t dare.

A furious blush stole over his cheeks accentuating his frown at the sound his ridiculous stomach made. What horrible timing… Jin clutched at it quickly hoping to twist in a way that would make it stop but the growl had already been heard. Moon-ssi barked at him again and Jin turned a wounded look at his friend as he shot up kicking snow everywhere. His heart was thundering in his chest but all Jin could think about was how badly he wanted to fix this. He wanted to just brush past it like it was some small blip and keep talking about Moon-ssi’s holiday (not his own) and then wander back to the school together. But now he felt trapped. He knew there was no breezing past. He either confessed the awful reality of what his home life entailed or he pushed Moon-ssi away again, possibly for good. Jin felt the corner of his eyes prickle as an anger washed over him.

“I don’t have to tell you everything,” he hissed darkly.

(The words were out before Jin could recall them back and the shock of it resonated on his face.)

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Ahn-Bo Jeong & muse song

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* Jin takes potions and enchantments at times to give his voice a persuasive quality.
His performances, or even a simple conversation, can sometimes suggest thoughts
and ideas to his audiences.