▫ cafeteria

@✠ jeon wonwoo Jaehyun broke into a laugh, shaking head. His tone was condescending, amused look in his eyes, "You think curfew is for vampires as well?"

Jaehyun was certain this human was new to the facility because everyone knows vampires were the ones to monitor the live stocks, not the other way around. A vampire can put a human into difficult position if they desire so — the options are so many.

"I can put you into disciplinary room for wandering in the facility alone. And that's not wasting time. Anyways, like you said, I'm not gonna waste time, boy?"

At that moment Jaehyun pondered whether he should chase the human away that moment or offer the little left overs from the dinner. "Why did you miss dinner, anyway?"

@† jeong jaehyun Wonwoo froze as a voice cut through the air, the distinct lack of noise signifying what it was that he was dealing with: a vampire. Ugh. It wasn’t as if he had not expected for there to be bats awake at this time of the night, it was just that he’d thought they’d have better things to do than to hang around a cafeteria that was, for the lack of a better description, only equipped to feed humans and not their overlords. So what was this one doing her? A cursory sweep over the red on his hands suggested that Wonwoo maybe didn’t want to exactly find out what was going on there. (Which, by the way, a total waste of a pretty face to be stuck roaming around the kitchen of all places.)

Spend hands clutched the load of bread ever closer to himself, subconsciously hunching in on himself to protect his treasure for the night. Death? Punishment? That was less of a concern— he could handle himself just find if things ever got physical. But hunger, that was a sensation he rather disliked. And if this vampire was going to get in his way, well. Then they might have a problem here. “…It’s past curfew. I hope you’re aware of that, dear mister vampire,” he parroted, voice ever so slightly challenging. A good idea? Maybe not. But he had to figure out where this one’s limits lay.

“So let’s not waste each other’s time, shall we? Nothing you could use human food for anyways.”

@✠ jeon wonwoo "Who do we have here?" Jaehyun emerged from the kitchen, dressed in the white uniform and his black apron while his hands were bare and reddish — a sign he was handling something that didn't fall under vegetables. He is used to staying up late in the kitchen as nobody bothered him though couldn't even if they wanted to: hierarchy and power exists in every society.

He appeared amused with a curious raise of his brow as he dawdled his way across to the human —no, a criminal. It wasn't that he had any problems regarding this behaviour but it never hurt to be cautious with the amount bad news he had heard.

"It's past curfew time, I hope you are aware of that, human."

And as far as he was aware, that was a new face.

@† jeong jaehyun It wasn't Wonwoo's fault that he hadn't been able to eat dinner tonight, having been dragged to the infirmary for yet another inconsequential scratch. Namely: the long cotton gauze bandage wrapped around his left forearm was absolutely a product of the overly concerned vampire nurse and did not, in his professional opinion, warrant such a fuss. He didn't even know that bats were capable of producing so much concern for their livestock. But that had been too unfortunately close to the dinner bell and for starters, the hunter hadn't had to live off of other people's leftovers ever since he started making enough coin nearly a decade ago. He wasn't about to start again, not when this place clearly could provide better.

Curfews were meant to be broken anyways. It was almost a shame to see the security so loose on his way to the cafeteria, no guard nor caretaker nor innocent sleepwalker in sight. Besides himself, that was. He wouldn't have minded dispatching a few in his way- not that it would have been a good idea when his stomach was already beginning to protest from the lack of food. A shame he'd let himself grow so soft recently. Still it was all too easy to push open the door to the cafeteria and then the back kitchens, deserted for obvious reasons. Not that it was a problem, since they had left the food behind, hadn't they. His gaze settled nearly immediately on the loaf of pre-sliced bread, and so did his arms. But there was a jar of what appeared to be jam, too, and perhaps-- perhaps he could make enough room for little luxuries.

@☩ hwang hyunjin Unfortunately for the young man, peacocks were just bigger pheasants in Sanha’s eyes. Bigger birds, more meat, a better kill. All, metaphorically, of course. Maybe he’d even enjoy his job a little more if given the opportunity to… wring the neck of a few things. Metaphorically, he reminded himself, in the depths of his mind. He clasped his hands together and rested them on the table, the almost eerie smile remaining painted across his lips. A messed brushstroke to ruin a perfect painting. “You’re so funny.” There was no human behind his gaze- he didn’t even give a high pitched, laugh of pity more than anything else. “Right, well… I imagine you’ll know why I’ve called you, hm? I’ve received some complaints from… friends of mine, that some of your fellow residents have had some important belongings going missing. Each time, they’ve given me an answer, a little idea of who it could be.” He smiled again, giving pause in his words to let them sink in for little pheasant. “The name I’ve been given time and time again is yours. So, Hyunjin, what are we going to do about that? Would you like to admit to anything first, before I have to begin looking into it further?”

@† jeong jaehyun [ tw/cw: raw meat consumption, nonual dubious consent ]

“A pig’s wha—,” stop. She shudders at the idea that it was another liver, but this time it was /grey/. The clear substrate spread on the morsel made it even more disgusting to think about—what part of a pig could it be? No part of a pig that she had ever eaten before resembled anything like this.

‘Was it an eye?’ She gulped. Her trembling hand takes the fork so gingerly—it clatters clumsily against the neatly arranged plate. But these dishes, just like their maker, had sick twisted secrets hidden under their pleasant look. If this had been a picture, Somi might find it appetizing, but there was another offputting smell that stunk of *death*.

“Nevermind. Don’t tell me…” Her naïve hubris takes hold, her pride burning through the knots in her stomach—nothing could be as bad as the day before, right? Liver. He ing fed her raw liver by his own hands. Anything right now was better so long as this leech kept his hands to himself.

“And I’m not a fricken /child/.” Somi’s last act of defiance is to take a bite of the gelatinous mound, trying her hardest to conceal the near-instantaneous gag that seizes her hold body. Shaking, sweating, somehow she pushes it down bpast where here throat closed and she swallows the tears that well up again.

This was so much worse… she fists her sweatshirt till her knuckles blanch. “What the **… You’re going to kill me, aren’t you?”

@† yoon sanha Hyunjin looked at the man from head to toe momentarily as if he was trying to read him before he faked a smile, white teeth showing. It seemed like the guy wasn't someone he should be messing with, he could sense a dark energy coming from him, especially by the way he eyed him right before getting straight to the point of their meeting. However Hyunjin was too ignorant to be dominated, foolish like a peacock with too much attitude which was most likely the reason he got himself into so many troubles.
"What can I say, my reputation precedes me. Should I call my lawyer?" He chuckled as he leaned back on his seat, half sitting half laying on it and then rested one ankle over his knee, to get more comfortable. "Just kidding, I don't have one." He added, laughing briefly at his own joke in an exaggerated manner as he patted the man's thigh playfully as if they were close friends instead of complete strangers.
"Yeah sure, let's straighten them out, I wouldn't like my perfect image to be ruined just because a couple of malicious ers can't keep their mouths shut." He finally said, placing an arm behind the back of the man's seat as he proceeded to stick his gum under the table with his other hand, contradicting his own words.

@☩ hwang hyunjin Sanha sighed as he took a seat in the cafeteria. Let them settle in an environment that was familiar, that they associated with a good thing like food, and they were always more willing to talk. That was his reasoning as he got comfortable on one of the chairs that were really quite impossible to get comfy on. As his victim- no, his misguided young individual- approached, Sanha sat back, a toothy smile on display. It didn’t look any different to the average human’s, if his canines weren’t just a little sharper. His eyes shone with friendliness, but behind them lurked something darker - experience, age and restrained coldness. This wasn’t his first day on the job. Nonetheless, the grin persisted as he beckoned the young man to take a seat. “There you are, there you are. Hyunjin, yes? I’m Sanha, the human relations guy. It’s lovely to meet you.” He promptly ignored the request, sitting forward to affix him with a less friendly look, pointed, straight to the point. “I’m sure you know we’ve got a couple of things to talk about, right? There’s been some rumours going around, and I wouldn’t want you to get into trouble for anything false. So we’re going to straighten them out together, okay?”

@☩ jeon somi "What makes you think I don't know?" he quirked a brow at her, settling his left elbow on the table and rested his jaw against his knuckle while made no attempts to close the distance between them and put the fork near her, "child."

She was nothing but a little babe in his eyes. And you don't name your live stock — maybe if she climbed to the status of a pet, he might consider using her name. Right then he decided that if she could survive that far, he would respectfully use her name.

"Become something I should not forget." He pointed at the plate she held, stretching his mouth a little wider.

"This," eagerness to display his amazing feat took over him — for a vampire with three hundred years worth experience, his ego was still similar to that of a newborn that hunted a orey without a mess, "a pig's; a quarter of it was all I managed to get. This little thing was set for some higher-ups banquet today. I don't know why these stupid folks even pretend to enjoy human foods for appearance sake since we get zero nutrients — the blood is another thing, my favourite you see. Anyways, enjoy."

Maybe the last part was kind of an statement though he wouldn't take that back. Hopefully, that did not damaged her will. Raising a human is difficult than he imagined.

@† yoon sanha Hyunjin was no fool, even though he was called to have a chat in the cafeteria he knew that whenever the head of human relations was involved, it meant he would most likely be in serious trouble. Not that he wasn't pushing his luck already, by stealing even from vampires with the most prestigious of pedigrees, he just couldn't hold back himself. His hand constantly slipped either in their pockets or sneaked to their ears as he complimented them with his most charming smile. Some of the jewelry were worth a lot, considering the fact that the majority of the pieces were vintage. But recently he had only managed to get a couple of fake imitations that were certainly not worth the trouble of getting the human relations department involved. However he was no unfamiliar face to them, since he was quite known among the low life donors who were hired there. As soon as he saw a well dressed man sitting on a table, he run towards him enthusiastically. "You must be the human relations guy. I guess you already know who I am." He didn't bother introducing himself as he sat besides the man, chewing his gum rather loudly as if to annoy him. "Buy me some coffee? Had to cancel a couple of leeches appointments to be here." He said absentmindedly referring to the vampires even though he was already aware that the man next to him was one as well.

@† jeong jaehyun Jaehyun. Jae. Hyun. Jeong Jaehyun.

Somi can’t forget the name of her new nightmare. She can’t be disillusioned into thinking of him as anything else but a nightmare not matter how pleasant his demeanor is now. His dancing, his humming, his god awfully ‘pleasant’ smile couldn’t fool her. Her food and intake was completely in his control, and she couldn’t risk Gran or Pawpaw’s health in sudden selfishness. Somi was up all night just thinking about it—she hasn’t even let Jaehyun feed from her yet, but she was sure he could end his experiment with her in any given moment.

But he could pick it up with anyone else, anyone else more willing. Somi had more to lose in this situation, and anything other than slight reluctance wouldn’t be taken lightly.

“Somi,” she curtly corrects, “My name is Somi.” Again, she scoots her chair away from him, putting distance and taking the plate. “Please… put the fork down… What is this?”

@☩ jeon somi Somi did not disappoint Jaehyun.

The kitchen was then filled with a joyful hum while he finished up his preparation. And if he danced a little; swaying his hips, delicate hand gesture while arranging the thinly sliced meat, or foot taps when squeezing out a like and sprinkling salt.

"You came." It was rhetorical. He glided over to her and placed the plate next to her all the while baring a dimple adorned smile (he's told they make him look harmless). "Good decision. You are smart, little one."

He took the liberty of finding himself a chair next to her. This time he held up a fork, gestured at it with his eyes. "Do you want me to feed you? I don't mind."

@† jeong jaehyun The ghastly taste of blood and the gummy texture of the meat clung to every inch of no matter how much she brushed her teeth that night. It took her four gargles of mouthwash to feel like it did anything, and two glasses of water for her to feel okay enough to lay down. Her stomach turned over itself, unsure how to take this meat and making sure her night felt as long and painful as possible: but Somi merely played it off.

“Somi-yah, what happened?” Gran asked, holding her room’s dorm ajar, allowing a stripe of light to cut through the darkness. Somi curled up tighter, faced away from the door and assuring her softly. “Nothing, Gran - just period pains.”

The feeling stuck with her right until she was back in the cafeteria, walking with the guards back to the kitchen to meet her maker. A seat was already awaiting her, allowing her to see his work between numerous stations. The kitchen was dark, dim, and as menacing as she had left it yesterday.

The familiar scrape of the chair against the floor does more than enough to announce her arrival and Somi slides into her seat… Reluctant.

@☩ jeon somi I don’t want it.

Jaehyun turned sideway, laughing softly, all pleasant. “It’s too late for second thoughts, princess. Tomorrow, come early to the kitchen.”

Jaehyun kept thinking about the way Somi’s face scrunched, jaws clenched, and the stench of fear at the mention of what he would feed her — he would not, that would be too much work (tigers are basically big cats and he adores felines) but it was interesting to see her still going on. She tried and held on well for a mere seventeen years old human child.

He assumed this time, it wouldn’t be a futile venture.

The next day, he was more than prepared. He knew humans could be handful; contradictory creatures, which were all theoretical knowledge mandatory for all vampires to know which they practiced rarely. The humans in the farm were obedient, content with surviving in exchange for a few pints of blood donations.

The same bland stock everywhere. Jaehyun was tired of the same taste. Not even the burnt holly offered him any solace.

And then she stormed in.

He knew a look of determination, felt her strength in the moment she barged into the kitchen.

I can change her. To the best.

And she wanted to be the best.

For a vampire, Jaehyun felt like thanking God or someone in higher power.

Jaehyun assuming she would be true to her words at first trial was a reach. Though he was certain she would come around eventually.

The next day, he waited for her in the kitchen while preparing her lunch.

@† jeong jaehyun [ tw/cw: (nearly) vomitting ]

The first few bites were the absolute worst. Nausea kept the food up in but with these fanged foes all around, there was no option but to take. She didn’t chew, she didn’t think too much about the taste—if she did, she wouldn’t be able to stomach it. Instead, she thought of Gran, of feeding her her favorite curry soup or spoiling her with an occasional treat. Somi focused on that and only that with her eyes screwed shut. Her vision blurred behind a fresh wave of tears.

She tried to be a strong kid, but that’s all she was: a kid.

*Goat. Dog. Tiger…* Somi wretched, the last piece catching in and it sends her into a coughing fit that nearly spills the contents of her stomach onto the table. Reject, reject, reject—bile creeps up again and Somi clamps a hand over to physically hold it back.

For the first time in what feels like hours, her eyes open, and the room stills—it isn’t spinning anymore and she notices something important: the cook wasn’t across from her anymore. He was *beside* her.

The realization shoots up her spine. As if she placed her hand on a hot stove, and her body reacted faster than she could verbally respond, her chair scraping against the floor unpleasantly.

In another life, maybe Somi would have liked that smile. In another life, she might have liked having his cooking, or obeying what he had to say. In another life, she might fancy his looks and notice what a handsome cook she was blessed to know. But Somi had made a deal with the devil: she was as good as dead.

“I d-don’t want it.”

@☩ jeon somi [ cw: nonual nonconsent, graphic descriptions of force feeding rawmeat ]

Jaehyun stared at her as she finally took the bite.

He remembered the day the human made a fuss and challenged his skill and had the audacity to claim she could be better if they provided. She was brave, he would give her that, but also a fool. She was fortunate enough it was Jaehyun and not some egoistic, vampire supremacy idiot on the duty.

She was also fortunate enough to possess what Jaehyun likes in his food. And has decided to see through this.

He focused his attention back to her.

It is a child. It is a child. It is a child....

A smart one.

"Good girl," he closed his eyes for a moment, mimicking the action of breathing which he found quite effective to loosen up tension (or give himself the false illusion of being a mature adult; he isn't, he is a baby compared to others) and smiled, "see, it isn't that bad. Is it?"

Jaehyun hummed with a smile. He asked one of his assistant to bring him a chair and he took a position next to her and made her face him. "Now, the rest of these. I promise, you'll finish them in no time."

He held up another piece up for her, waiting. " You see, I personally got my hands bloody to secure this piece of meet. Also do you know how annoying it is to wake up at 4 in the morning? And fight against the higher ups to get you this much of /this/. Don't let anything go to waste."

And as she ate one piece after the other, holding back emptying out her inside and making a scene, Jaehyun kept praising her more.

"Such a sweet child. You wasted not even a bit." Jaehyun grinned, pulled out the kitchen towel from the front pocket of his apron and wiped his fingers clean. "Since you are a good girl, here," he reached for the pocket again and brought a small muslin pouch and placed it on the table, "something for you. It was a goat by the way. Don't worry about feeding you dog or cat or something crazy — though I do think I would love a tiger . They're used in Chinese medicine. Must be something."

And with a shrug, he left as his goal was achieved.

@† jeong jaehyun [ cw: force feeding, nonual nonconsent, graphic descriptions of raw meat consumption ]

Her hand at is tears away to try and push him out of reach as she shakes her head, but his challenge made Somi freeze—she understood the gravity of her situation as the strangely soft and slick tissue brushed her lip just as she took a sharp inhale. This time she couldn’t stop as her body revolted, another choked heave causing her to cough. Somi leans away from Jaehyun’s reach.

She had made a deal with the devil only a week ago. The food in the cafeteria was *dog*. Somi couldn’t take it anymore—not just for herself, but for her only remaining family. She bore witness to Grandpa’s gentle attempts to feed her food, and Gran swatting him away. Gran hadn’t eaten a morsel, instead Somi could only watch as Grandpa picked up each bite and would put it down, frustrated by the end of it all.

Gran was already losing weight, and Somi was sure that if feeding didn’t get her, the food (or lack there of) will.

Maybe Somi didn’t just have to just watch… And with haste, she gets up. The scene was a match to a flame, her voice raised and guards already taking her in: “I want to see the damn chef! I CAN’T EAT THIS DOG ANYMORE!” Somi said it loud and clear, kicking and screaming till her lungs gave out. “How are we supposed to provide if you won’t PROVIDE FOR US!”

And now, she experienced a completely different kind of dog. Who knew what kind of meat this was, or where it came from, or why it was uncooked—Somi whimpered against his hold, hot tears already spilling forth as she considers his words carefully. He might just go back to giving them the same flavorless gruel they started with. Or worse… less than that.

Gran’s fasting made her look the most feeble that Somi has ever seen her. Is this what Somi promised when she promised to protect her? Reluctantly, her lips open, accepting the gritty slice of bloody tissue into .

@☩ jeon somi [ cw : rawmeat force fed, vampire]

"You can't eat?" Jaehyun pursed his lips, a brow raised.

He repeated each word with emphasis, putting up a great amount of restrain the way his left palm landed with a small thud on the table surface as he did not wish to make a scene as well scare the human (his property, not that others or the property itself needs to know) "You. can. not. eat?"

"Look," he pushed the plate close to her, eyes fixated on her, mainting a gentle pitch, "Child, you think you can be the best just by thinking you are the best?"

"If you finish this up, you'll become somewhat better than the rest." He held up a piece to , nudging. "It's not that bad. Stop being a spoiled brat. You don't want to pay for this meat if it goes to waste."

@† jeong jaehyun [ cw: nausea, raw meat consumption ]

It didn’t look real, Somi thought as this purple-red mass was served to her in the cafeteria, but the smell told her it was very much so real meat. Raw meat. A neatly arranged array of deep ruby red slices spiraled out from the center of the plate, where a small block of that same red mass sat.

It was cruel in a sense: this was becoming no different from her own ‘feeding’: eating times were reduced to Jaehyun serving her foods without batting a lash, and the subjecting her to smells as bad as any careless feeding—vampires that left jagged wounds and blood pouring down necks. She hadn’t dealt with it yet, but the innumerable stories said enough.

“Hh- I— I c-can’t.” She pushes the plate and turns away, and nose covered with her sleeve as Somi bites back the burn of bile rising in —her eyes water as she heaves, drawing back from the plate in stubbornness.

The seventeen year old was beginning to regret the very deal she made with the devil.

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