I didn't want you to see me like this - Michael

Two months had passed since Gabriel turned him, and Jun-ho wasn't at all used to his new life as a vampire, yet. He'd been confused enough, seven years ago, when he'd suddenly woken up an angel after being murdered, and now, he was an entirely new race yet again, and one almost as far from his previous one as possible. His conscience pleaded with him to not attack people, to never kill someone, as he still didn't really want to hurt anybody. But the new instinct his mind was constantly assaulted with, told him the exact opposite - Kill. Kill. Kill!

But, he refused to listen to that. Yes, he was hungry, but he didn't want to kill anybody. And he didn't have the money to spare, that was needed for buying blood from the blood bank - so he was left with just one option. Seducing or compelling people into willingly letting him drink their blood, and then he had to keep a hold of himself while drinking from them. Sounded easy enough in theory, but the reality was vastly different. Learning to use the vampiric compulsion properly had been incredibly difficult, but due to sheer stubbornness, and his wish to not kill people, he'd managed to learn it.

So, here he was, at the corner of an alley that led up into the pedestrian street of Gaia. A few minutes ago, he'd found a lone girl, and the moment he got eye contact with her, her will wasn't entirely her own. Utilizing the compulsion, he got her to go with him into this alleyway, and as she was leaning back against the nearest wall, he'd leant in, baring his fangs, and sinking his teeth through the soft skin of her neck. A soft gasp escaped the girl - seeing as the enzymes in Jun-ho's spit made sure she didn't really feel the pain, but rather, she got a small high from him biting her, which just made it even easier to slowly feed from her. Slow and calm - to make sure he didn't drink too much, even though the instincts were still yelling at him to simply rip out her throat and drink as much as he could. He was still in control - for now, at least.

Outfit

He'd been walking the streets of Gaia for a few hours now. He’d only had a single encounter with a demon. Someone out for his blood. He’d stabbed him through the heart, watching the body disappear as the soul descended to hell. Then he went inside the first bar he saw, heading straight for the bathroom to wash the blade and his hands, looking at himself in the reflection. He saw short flashes of previous kills, feeling like the blood on his hands could never be washed completely away. He looked at the people in the bar, having a good time and laughing with each other, thinking how he’d never be able to live a life like that.

He continued down the road until he sensed blood and automatically headed towards the scent. “Jun-ho?” he said, as he looked in disbelief at him feeding from a girl, like some blood-craving monster. “What the hell has happened?” he asked as he neared them. Shifting his gaze between the girl and him. He didn’t have his angelic aura, but he knew it was him, he’d never forget that face. He placed a hand on his shoulder to get a closer look at him, confused to what this was. How he’d let this happen to him. “I’m so sorry,” he then said in a lower voice, before laying his arm around his shoulders, dragging him away from the girl. Even if she didn’t seem to mind his feeding session. “Who did this to you?” he asked looking into his eyes, before moving his arm away from him as they were now at the end of the alley. He felt like he’d let him down. Blaming himself for letting someone turn him into a creature of death.

Jun-ho had simply been concentrating on the sweet, perfect taste of the blood... No matter how much he denied it, his body craved it, after all, and with the way his taste buds had changed, too, it tasted better than anything else he'd ever eaten or drunk in his entire life. He didn't notice anything until he heard a familiar voice, making him immediately pull his head back from the meal he'd been busy with - and the very moment his eyes landed on Michael, was the moment he also seemed to finally notice the sound of that second heartbeat - Michael's, slow and steady, while the girl's was a bit faster than it had been before he'd started feeding off of her.

Quickly, he let go of the girl, who just slumped a bit back against the wall, still conscious, and seemingly in some kind of ecstasy from the feeling she'd gotten from Jun-ho's feeding. Quickly, Jun-ho used the back of his hand to wipe away the worst of the blood from his lips, and almost immediately retracted his fangs as well - he'd finally learned how to do that properly, now. "... Michael?" he then said, sounding - and looking - like he couldn't quite believe it... Of all people... Damn, he wished he hadn't just seen this, knowing how Michael usually felt about vampires.

He flinched slightly, feeling Michael's warm hand take a hold of his own ice cold shoulder - he was cold as a corpse, after all - and then the arm slipping around him, to steer him away from the girl. For just a moment, he'd looked back at her, as he hadn't managed to get quite full yet... But he wasn't really all that hungry, either, now. He gently shook his head. "Don't be... You had nothing to do with it..." he muttered, not caring to answer his question with what had happened, since he guessed it should be pretty obvious by now. "And... I can't tell you." his first instinct had been to tell him, but then he thought about it - knowing Michael, he'd go about doing something to Gabriel, then, and Jun-ho really, really didn't want that right now. The guy was actually pretty okay in the end, psychotic tendencies put aside, and... Well, he sort of needed someone to teach him everything about being a vampire. So... He needed him. And that was why he couldn't tell Michael who turned him. "I want to, but I can't."

He looked a bit down at the street as he told him not to be sorry, but how could he not? He felt like all angels were his responsibility, seeing how his father barely did anything to help. His green eyes looked into his with a melancholic expression. “But I should have prevented it,” he said, not thinking that he’d understand the guilt he felt. That he easily could’ve prevented it, had he just been there. He looked doubtfully at him as he said he couldn’t tell him who did it. “So you don’t want me to hurt your creator…” he assumed, looking a bit to the side as the girl walked towards them unsteadily, before continuing down the main road. "I get it," he added. He knew how strong the bond between a vampire and its creator was, but also that he didn’t have to depend on that person. “But how could you do that?” he asked, hinting at the girl as she disappeared around the corner. He knew that there were other options, blood from donors, even though it probably wasn’t the same, it was by far the better and more morally right option. He only risked taking someone’s life by feeding on people like that. “When did you get turned?” he then asked, looking back at him.

His dark brown eyes met Michael's for a moment, before he looked off to the side, and sighed. "You couldn't know it would happen. I didn't even realize before it was too late, so how could you have known? Don't beat yourself up over it." it was bad enough that Jun-ho himself was already beating himself up over having made such a stupid mistake for the second time, no need for Michael to worry himself sick over it, too.

And of course, the older angel hit it right on the spot - so Jun-ho simply sighed and nodded, that, yes, it was that he didn't want anything to happen to his creator. Not just yet, anyway. times might change, but he was way too dependent on him right now, to want anything to happen to the guy.

"I didn't really have a choice..." he muttered. "Do you know how much they charge for blood bags at the blood bank? There's no way in hell I can afford that on a damn student budget," he muttered,idly kicking a random rock in the street - however, flinching a bit as his new strength got the better of him, and it flew down way farther the street than he thought it would, almost hitting someone. Alright, he was stopping that, right this instant. No kicking random rocks, check... "...Two months ago, give or take a week." he then answered, with a sigh.

He looked a bit away from his eyes as he thought about it. Michael knew he was right but he couldn't help blaming himself. He hated every time he couldn't save someone and far more when that person was an angel. “I just wish things had gone differently,” he said as he looked back at him. Vampires were the fastest creatures, so it was hard for anyone to see them come, but most of the time they didn't drink with the goal to turn someone. Jun-ho was unfortunate in that regard.

He tilted his head when he said he didn’t have a choice. He had a hard time believing that was the case. That there weren’t plenty of good people donating blood free of charge, but perhaps the vampire population had gotten worse while less people donated their blood. “I didn’t think they charged anything… but just promise to be careful then, if you kill someone, I won’t be able to save you from the consequence,” he said with a serious expression and looked as he kicked the rock towards a person. He looked back at him with a worry when he said two months. He just hoped that his maker treated him well and that he managed to stay away from the darkness. “Is there anything I can do to help?” he then asked. He couldn’t give him money but he would do almost anything for the former angel, only wishing the best for him in this new life.

"You're not the only one wishing that..." he muttered, then sighed, as he brushed a bit of his platinum blonde hair behind one ear, before looking up into the sky a bit - inwardly sighing at the fact that, for now, this was the only sky he could see - the night sky. He didn't know any witches, so getting a daylight ring would prove extremely tricky. At least, getting one without going through whatever shit the witch would deem fair, which could be... Quite a lot, depending on the witch.

"They do... I think it might be because there's so many vampires in town. If they gave it away for free, they'd run out each and every day." he then said, shrugging but still seeming pretty bummed out about it. After turning into one himself, and having just taken a sneak peek into the bars that vampires frequented, he'd definitely learned that there were a LOT more vampires in these towns than he had originally thought. But then, his gaze turned back to Michael, a bit more concern to be seen in the deep brown eyes. "... Consequence as in suddenly getting on your hitlist, or? And, even if I don't do it intentionally?" morale was much more than one's actions after all - didn't intentions count a lot, too?

When Michael asked if there was anything he could do, Jun-ho rubbed the back of his neck a little awkwardly. "... Well... What I miss the most right now, is probably daylight. But I don't know any witches. I mean... If you have any way of getting a... Yeah, you know, a daylight ring... I'd be eternally grateful to you." it was really the only thing he could think of Michael possibly being able to help him with at this point...

He nodded when he said that they’d run out if they did. It was a shame. He usually wouldn’t give his own blood out because he didn’t want vampires to get addicted to the taste of angels. They were already hunted enough as it was. He gave him a condescending look at his question. It was only in the worst case that he’d kill him, but the possibility was there. If he changed and there wasn’t a way to save him, there was no other way out. “Involuntary manslaughter will still give you a couple of years in prison,” he answered, avoiding to answer if he’d actually kill him. “But don’t worry about it… As long as you do good in this world and only drink a small amount to survive, nothing bad will happen to you,” he assured him. At least he'd do what he could to ensure this, but the former angel had to do his part as well.

“Of course,” he replied. He only deemed it important that the vampire was able to walk in daylight. It would help him get a somewhat normal life. The night was always full of dangers. He looked to the side as he thought about who he could ask. He didn’t know many witches, but the few he knew would most likely get him a daylight ring. “It shouldn’t take me more than a couple of days… where are you currently living?” he asked.

Jun-ho immediately looked away when he saw the condescending look on Michael's face. Alright, maybe he shouldn't have asked so directly, but he needed to know what would potentially happen, right?? Especially as close as he'd already been to killing someone... The poor girl had ended up in the hospital... In the intensive care unit since she'd only been a shapeshifter... Still, he sighed and nodded - he still liked to help people, after all, that hadn't changed after he turned into a vampire. He still helped people whenever he could.

When Michael replied about the daylight ring, it was almost like seeing christmas lights light up Jun-ho's eyes, making it very obvious that it was really one of his biggest wishes right now. "Really?? I... Thank you so, so much... I... I don't know how to ever repay you for that... But... If you ever need me for something... Just... Just call me, yea? I mean, uhm... You might be able to use a vampire to something, sometime, Idunno..." he then said, and shrugged a little, If he could still blush, he would've... "I'm currently still living in the dorms at the school... Looking for a place of my own, though. But right now, I'm in a lone room at the dorm. No room mate yet,"

He wanted Jun-ho to hold on to his angelic past and never turn off his emotions. To stay on the righteous path, no matter how many in his community told him not to. He knew that being able to walk among others in the daylight would help ensure that, so it was something he wanted to do, even if he hadn't asked. He still believed his intentions were good, despite what he’d seen tonight. “Of course… I know you’d do the same for me,” he said with a sincere voice as he looked at him. Maybe some day he would need his help, but he always saw it as a last resort to ask for it. He didn’t want Jun-ho to get in trouble because of him. Jun-ho only confirmed his statement by telling him to call him if he needed him. “I appreciate that,” he said before he sent him a faint smile. It was always positive to have someone to count on, and perhaps a vampire would be helpful. He didn’t have close relations with many of them – mostly because of their tendency to act in an evil, irrational, or selfish way.

He nodded when he informed him that he stayed at school. “I can probably get you the ring by Sunday… but for now, do you want to grab a drink? It’s what you came here to do, right?” he asked with a small smile on his lips as he looked at the vampire, awaiting his response.

Just like Michael wanted him to, Jun-ho also wanted to hold on to his sense of right and wrong.. That had been so strong when he was still an angel, but somehow... Blurrier after he'd gained the new vampire instincts, that realy wanted to take over at every time of the day, but he resisted, as he knew he shouldn't listen to it. He'd always had a strong will, which was probably extremely handy now that life had dealt him these cards, and he'd wound up being one of the few blood thirsty beings around. He just smiled and shook his head as if to say 'no problem', or 'don't think about it', when Michael thanked him for saying he'd be there whenever he needed him now - it was the very least he could do in return for Michael basically fulfilling his greatest wish right now, as he really just wanted to get back out in the sun, out and around people where he could also get used to control himself better.

"That's really.. Really great. I... I still don't know if I'll ever be able to thank you enough for it..." he muttered, smiling and looking down, slightly flustered. Earlier on, he'd have blushed, but as a vampire, without a beating heart, that wasn't something he could do anymore. "Oh. Uhm... Yeah, sounds good," he then agreed, when Michael asked if he wanted to grab a drink. He let the angel lead the way, to wherever he wanted to go have a drink. He knew of two places he probably wouldn't choose, because Jun-ho wouldn't have chosen them earlier on, either... As in, the two bars practically riddled with vampires, and a few blood demons, too. He only dared go in there now because of recent... Changes.

He was happy that the vampire still seemed loyal to him, but most of all he appreciated his gratitude. “Just do good by others... it's all I ask,” he said, placing a hand on his shoulder while looking into his eyes. He'd seen him do this in the past and he truly believed that he'd be able to fight the darkness. He wouldn't ask him to do him any favors. Michael had done far more for far less. It didn't matter that he'd changed species. His actions were all that mattered. He let go of his shoulder as he accepted his offer. “Great,” he said with a smile, before he started to walk down the street.

He turned his gaze to a few vampires as he felt them staring, for a second wondering if Jun-ho shared their thoughts regarding his scent. He continued further down to a regular bar, walking past the crowd to the bartender where he ordered a glass of whiskey. He knew that Jun-ho probably didn’t have a lot of resources, so he handed the bartender enough cash to pay for both of their drinks. “So, how have you been? You know, despite being turned into a vampire,” he asked, hoping that he was doing well, all things considered. When the bartender had prepared their drinks, he walked towards a table by the wall. He sat down and took a sip of the golden liquid, looking around at the many people in the bar. “I understand that you might not want to tell me who did this to you but... please let me know if you think your maker will do it again,” he said, looking back at Jun-ho. He hoped that he’d at least tell Michael something, if it meant he could prevent other lives to be taken in that way.

Jun-ho smiled and nodded - he'd already done so numerous times. People were a bit more reserved about letting him help them now than they had been earlier on, especially if it was someone who could smell or otherwise sense what he had become, but he guessed his still pretty innocent looks helped win them over to still let him help. Heck, he'd made sure someone with a heart attack, just the other day, got to the hospital faster than any ambulance would have let them - the vampire speed had proven really useful, there. He'd left the place rather quickly, though... Because, of course, the smell of blood had lingered heavily in the air of en E.R., so he'd hightailed it out of there as soon as he was sure the guy was going to be okay.

Jun-ho calmly followed along - even though, yes, he had to sometimes fight the impulse to sniff the air a bit more, since... Sadly, yes, he did share the other vampires' obvious thoughts about the smell of the pureblooded angel right next to him. He smelled better than anything he'd smelled before - but he fought down the urge thanks to both the meal from before, and the fact that, of course, he didn't want to attack his friend. But when the vampires noticed him, it seemed as though they tried to ignore the angel - maybe because they thought he had 'claimed' him or something? He knew a lot of vampires started to think as regular predators, eventually, after all. So that might be it... That they thought Michael was his prey and didn't want to have a fight for him. Sigh.

When they reached the bar, Jun-ho ordered a tequila sunrise... Yet again, pretty happy about the deal he'd made just a few days prior. Yes, it was a demonic contract, and probably not the best thing - but it had given him his normal sense of taste back, and all he had to do, was a favor for Caine somewhere down the line. He'd already been guaranteed it wouldn't involve killing or anything like it, so really, how bad could it get?

"Well... It's sort of turned everything upside down. But at least I can still attend school, the moment they heard it, they changed me to the evening classes. The ones only vampires and a few demons take." he said with a small shrug, and then he took a sip of his drink. after it had arrived. He stirred his drink a bit as he thought about Michael's last question - then shook his head. "It wasn't even his intention to turn me. I think we've figured out I have some sort of ability tied to my blood. That's why he turned me and didn't just leave me to die. So no, I really don't think he'll try to turn anybody else." they still hadn't quite figured out exactly what it was his blood did... "But whatever that ability is, it might also be what makes sure that, according to him, my blood's still almost as sweet as it was before..."

Michael nodded when he said he could continue at school. It wasn’t all schools that were as accommodating of vampires, so he was lucky in this regard. “I’m glad to hear that,” he said with a warm smile. “What classes are you taking?” he asked, curious to know more about his interests. Michael wasn’t nearly as academic as most angels, but he had taken a few university degrees and read thousands of books, giving him broad knowledge about most things.

He was surprised to hear that he’d turned him because of an ability. He understood that he was grateful that the vampire didn’t leave him to die to some extent, but personally he’d much rather die than be turned into a vampire. However, he was probably biased in this opinion since nothing had been able to kill him. He just hoped that Jun-ho would find happiness and peace in his new life, since there wasn’t any way to change what had happened. “What ability?” he asked, rather curious to know what he meant. He said he didn’t think he’d tried to turn anybody else, but Michael knew that vampires tended to be quite selfish and did whatever the hell they wanted – including turning others against their will, if it was for their benefit. “I see,” he said as he explained that the ability made sure that his blood was still sweet.

He looked a bit at his drink, before taking a sip of his own. “Have you considered sticking to animal blood?” he asked. From an angel's point of view it was by far the preferred option. There was always a chance of losing control of the thirst and killing the victim.

Jun-ho smiled a little, since he did like going to school, it was nice being able to still attend even if he'd gotten turned. "I'm taking astrology, dancing, geography, music and psychology." he answered the angel, taking a sip of his drink, yet again savoring the taste - which was maybe a bit too clear from his facial expression... Whereas most vampires would just down their drink to get it over with, since it wouldn't taste like anything to them, really.

"Uhm... We haven't quite figured it out yet. But uhm. It does seem to remove all symptoms of his, well... Mental illness, every time he drinks from me..." he then said, shrugging, one finger running along the rim of his glass. As could be deducted from his statement, then yes, Gabriel had bitten him quite a few times - both because of the taste of his blood, but also for them to figure out what the ability did, a bit better than they might otherwise have, since it did seem like it had to be ingested - it hadn't been enough just getting some of Jun-ho's blood on him, at least.

He then leant back a little, blinking just a tad surprised when Michael suggested animal blood - why the fuck hadn't he himself been thinking about that??? ... Maybe he just hadn't considered it an option as he hadn't heard about any other vampires in town subsisting on animal blood. But now that Michael so casually mentioned it, it did seem the obvious choice to Jun-ho, too, and he groaned at his own stupidity, facepalming just a little. "... The thought hadn't even occurred to me," he muttered, a bit embarrassed, but he might as well be totally honest. Now he really regretted that sort of... Accident... That had been so close to being an actual murder. Fuck. Maybe that could've been avoided if he'd thought about animal blood, himself...

He nodded when he explained his classes. He especially considered psychology useful for everyone to take a class in. He narrowed his eyes slightly at the way the vampire seemed to savor the taste of his drink. As far as he knew, vampires didn’t have a sense of taste for anything other than blood. “Did you not lose your sense of taste?” he asked, wondering if he was wrong about this. Perhaps there were special circumstances that had let him keep that, just like the circumstances around his ability.

He leaned back in his seat as he told him more about his ability. “That’s great… You could help a lot of people with that,” he said, smiling warmly at him. It was purely a good thing, as long as there weren't any side effects. He tilted his head as Jun-ho seemed surprised with his suggestion. Had he not considered it himself? Then he admitted that he hadn’t. It seemed silly, but perhaps it was so grounded in their nature to prey on humans that the thought of animal blood was repulsing. “I’ve met vampires who solely prey on animals,” he said, letting him know that it was possible to survive on it – even though it probably wasn’t as nourishing or tasty. “It ensures that they never murder humans and hence that nobody hunts them,” he said, hoping that he’d at least consider it.

... Oh crap. He should learn to control his facial expressions a bit more. He'd been enjoying that drink just a bit too much, hadn't he? And he was a horrible liar. Always had been. So he scratched his neck a little awkwardly while shrugging. "Well... I did. But... I met someone able to restore it for me. And really, it's fine, I just have to do something in return for him, somewhere down the line. I made sure he wouldn't ask anything horrible of me, too - I did cover my ass, don't worry about it," he then said, and shrugged, and smiled. He really did believe Caine wasn't such a bad guy - he'd seemed pretty upright and honest when he'd met him, and he trusted that initial instinct of his.

"I guess I could... But it's just... I don't know where to turn, with it. Like really...
The hospital? That's like a huge trap for me right at this moment. I can't stay there for too long, no way I'd be able to stay there long enough for them to get big enough amounts of my blood to test it with," he sighed, and ran the fingers of his right hand through his blonde hair. "Also, it seems like the effect is only temporary." a couple of hours, at most, with Gabriel, at least.

He listened with obvious interest when Michael explained about meeting other vampires subsisting only on animal blood - and the more he thought about it, the more appealing it was. Like, yeah, he could imagine it wouldn't taste quite the same as human blood - but he was more than willing to sacrifice taste for sparing lives, down the line. "... And lots of animals need to be kept at lower populations than they are right now, anyway..." he muttered to himself... Killing two birds with one stone...

“You met someone?” he said, raising his eyebrows. “Did that happen to be at a crossroads?” he asked, thinking that the circumstances sure sounded like it. However, he wanted to believe that Jun-ho knew better than to make a deal with the devil. It wasn't a minor thing he had to do in return - especially since he didn't have to give up his life. He told him not to worry about it, but he just placed his elbow on the table and rested his forehead in the palm of his hand. “But I do worry about it,” he said, thinking that it definetely wasn't something he should've done. “What did he ask in return?” he asked, removing his hand from his head to look at the vampire in front of him.

“I get that, but it’s worth looking into at some point,” he said. He didn’t have to do it anytime soon, and certainly not as a newborn vampire. It would be bad if he let his instincts get the better of him at a hospital. He took a sip of the whiskey and nodded to his statement. “Yeah and it spares me from having to arrest you in the future,” he said, slightly teasing and winked at him. Then he drowned the rest of his drink and looked out at some of the people in the bar. “I think there is a group of them living in the northern part of the woods,” he informed him, just so he knew where to go if he wanted to know other vampires living off animal blood.

"... No, it happened in the park...." he muttered, then sighed. "... Right after I'd... Well... Fed on someone." and he'd been lucky the guy had come around when he had, because it'd made sure he actually stopped, and didn't just keep going. The demon speaking to him had probably saved that girl's life, actually. "He asked for a favor in return. I don't know what it'll be yet, but we agreed that it wouldn't be anything along the lines of killing someone. He knows what I used to be. And he said he wouldn't force me to do anything like that." maybe he was still just a bit too gullible, just like he'd been when he was still an angel, but, the guy had sounded and looked sincere. Even if he was a demon and he knew they probably lied to the right, left and centre, then... He'd just felt a bit more honest than others he'd met. He didn't look at Michael at any time while saying all of this, obviously feeling a little bit stupid right now for having gone along with it. Maybe he was just a bit too impulsive at times, too.

"Really?" he then said, looking at him again, once he was speaking about the group of vampires living solely on animal blood. It might be really handy to seek them out. Get a bit help in starting out with all of it... They would have to have some good tips on how to keep from drinking human blood once in a while, too, after all. "... I might go pay them a visit, then..." he muttered, looking down at his drink, finger running along the rim of the glass.