PART ONE: EVERYONE THOUGHT WE WERE EXTINCT
The world had a way of making monsters sound like history.
Dragons went extinct in 1920.
Vampires went extinct in 1985.
It was repeated by scientists until nobody questioned it.
But the world was wrong. There were two left.
Jeon Jungkook was nineteen.
The last dragon hybrid alive.
And every night, from midnight until morning, he worked at a twenty-four-hour laundromat on the edge of the city.
It wasn't exactly his dream job. But it was quiet.
Nobody asked questions.
Nobody cared why he wore oversized hoodies in the middle of summer.
Nobody noticed the faint scales beneath his sleeves.
At least, that's what he told himself.
His wings were harder to hide.
They were small compared to the wings of the dragons described in ancient books. His wings were black, leathery, and completely useless for actual flying.
They were also incredibly annoying.
Especially when he forgot to strap them down.
"Come on..." Jungkook muttered, struggling with the straps beneath his hoodie. "Stay still."
One wing twitched. A basket of folded towels fell off a shelf.
Jungkook stared at it.
"...I hate you."
His wing twitched again.
"I said I hate you."
From upstairs, a door opened.
Jungkook froze.
Someone was coming down.
He quickly pulled his hoodie over his neck.
A pale figure appeared at the bottom of the stairs.
Kim Taehyung. Twenty years old.
Quiet. Beautiful in an almost unfair way.
And weirdly pale.
Jungkook had lived in the same building as him for eight months.
They had never spoken. Not once.
Taehyung walked toward the laundromat entrance, holding a flashlight.
"Hey."
Jungkook blinked.
"...Hey."
"Is the power out for you too?"
"Yeah."
Taehyung looked around.
"Great."
Jungkook frowned.
"Great?"
"I was hoping it was just my apartment."
"Why?"
"My fridge is full of blood."
Jungkook stared. Taehyung stared back.
A beat passed.
Then Taehyung laughed.
"I'm kidding."
"Oh."
"Mostly."
Jungkook wasn't sure if that made things better.
Taehyung pointed the flashlight toward him.
"You okay?"
"Yeah."
"You're breathing weird."
"I'm fine."
"You sure?"
"Yep."
Jungkook smiled nervously.
"I'm allergic to the dark."
Taehyung laughed.
"I'm allergic to the sun."
Jungkook looked at him.
Really looked at him.
There was something strange about Taehyung.
Something familiar.
Something... cold.
"You are REALLY cold."
Taehyung raised an eyebrow.
"You are REALLY hot."
"What?"
"You're literally steaming."
Jungkook looked down. A faint mist curled from his sleeves.
"...Something like that."
Silence.
The dryers sat motionless behind them.
Then Taehyung smiled.
"Want to come upstairs?"
Jungkook blinked.
"What?"
"My apartment has emergency power."
He held up a flashlight.
"I have instant noodles."
Another pause.
"And I haven't talked to a human in two weeks."
Jungkook looked at him.
"I'm not really human."
Taehyung's smile slowly widened.
"Perfect."
He held out his hand.
"Me neither."
Jungkook stared at it. Then took it.
And that was how it started.
