[Tomorrow X Together Yeonjun/ Yeonjun Soobin] Red Nest

[Yeonsup] Red Nest Episode 2

The pitch-black darkness that had filled his vision slowly went out.

Subin first felt a strange sensation in his dazed consciousness.

What rested against his back wasn’t the damp, cold earthen floor. What brushed against his skin was the smooth, silky comfort of something gliding over him, and the blanket pressing down on him was featherlight yet cozy.

‘Am I... alive?’

Enduring the dull throb of a headache, Subin slowly opened his eyes.

The first things that came into view were a lavish chandelier hanging from the high ceiling and the heavy Gothic interior bathed in a soft candlelight. Beyond the enormous window, a dark forest stretched out into the distance, so deep that even moonlight couldn’t reach it.

 

It was the inside of a vampire’s mansion, one he had only ever heard about.

“...Ugh.”

Startled, Subin hurriedly tried to sit up. But no strength came to his body.

His limbs trembled sluggishly, as if he’d been given a paralytic.

Only then did Subin check what he was wearing.

The hunter uniform that had been smeared with dirt was nowhere to be seen, and all he had on was a loose, thin white shirt.

“Feeling a little more awake?”

A low, languid voice broke the silence.

Subin flinched and turned toward the sound.

There, beside the bed, Yejun sat sunk deep into a velvet sofa, holding a wine glass and looking at Subin. The red liquid in the glass could have been wine or someone’s blood, but more overwhelming than that was Yejun’s gaze.

A crimson as deep and clear as anything under moonlight. Yejun sat with his long legs crossed, studying Subin as if he were observing a rare ornamental bird.

“Where... how far did you put your hands on me?”

Subin tried to raise his voice as he pulled the blanket up to his chin.

But his voice came out pitifully cracked from instinctive fear.

“My hands?”

Yejun gave a snort of a laugh and stood up. With every step Yejun took toward the bed, the pleasant scent of roses that ruled the mansion and the cold air tightened around Subin’s breath.

“If you call taking off your dirty clothes and washing you ‘putting my hands on you,’ that hurts a little.”

“...What?”

“The smell of dirt was stronger than the smell of blood. I couldn’t let anything dirty into my mansion.”

In an instant, Yejun perched on the very edge of the bed. Subin scooted backward on all fours and pressed himself against the headboard, but Yejun’s long fingers were faster, lightly catching Subin by the tip of his chin.

“Hng...”

From under the chin where those fingers touched, a cold warmth slowly seeped in.

Yejun lifted Subin’s chin slightly and examined his face closely. On the outside he was a human man bigger and broader-boned than Yejun himself, but his bloodless face and smooth nape were so harmless it was almost ridiculous.

Especially the way Subin’s pale ears turned rosy like sunset the moment Yejun touched him never got old, no matter how many times he saw it.

“Choi Subin, the hunter family’s ‘failure.’”

The moment Yejun spoke his name, Subin’s pupils shook as if an earthquake had struck.

“How... do you know my name...”

“It was written very kindly on the silver emblem attached to your clothes. Together with the Choi family’s brand.”

The corners of Yejun’s mouth curved into a crescent and twisted upward cruelly.

“I got curious, so I sent people out to look around. That great hunter family of yours, and how it’s moving now that Subin walked out on his own and disappeared.”

“......”

“Funny enough, no one was looking for you. I didn’t hear a single person calling your name anywhere in that huge mansion.”

Subin’s heart sank. It was something he already knew.

In the family, he was practically nothing, and it would probably be better for the family’s honor if he simply disappeared.

But hearing that cruel truth directly from the vampire holding him captive sent a sharp ache deep through his chest.

When Subin bit his lip and hung his head, Yejun slowly stroked his cheek, looking satisfied.

“You were abandoned.”

“...Stop it.”

“If it’s a child no one’s looking for, then there’s no one who can complain if I take you.”

Yejun bent his head down toward Subin’s ear. The sweet, chilling breath drifting from that near-but-not-quite distance made Subin’s body go rigid. Resting his lips lightly against Subin’s nape, Yejun murmured in a low voice.

“Don’t even think about running away, Subin.”

“......”

“The moment you leave this forest, you’ll be torn apart and killed by the teeth of the lowly beasts under me.”

Behind Yejun’s gentle-pretending voice, the overwhelming pressure of an unforgiving predator weighed heavily.

After gently soothing Subin’s reddened earlobe as if to nip it, Yejun stood up.

“Rest. Starting tomorrow, you’ll be busy.”

After Yejun opened the door and left, the massive wooden doorthudclosed with a heavy sound. The weighty noise of the bolt locking echoed through the room.

It was a perfect imprisonment.

Left alone, Subin seemed to lose all strength and collapse onto the bed. The despair of having been utterly cast aside by his family, and the unknown fear of Yejun’s cold yet gentle hands tightening around him.

Clutching at the blanket hard, Subin let out a quiet breath into the cold night air.