Author's Note:
Wrote this mostly fandom blind for a Secret Santa event on discord. And I say mostly fandom blind because I already read a couple of Bennoda fics before I started writing. I also did some basic research too
I'm on the Bennoda train now lol
I had a lot of fun writing this as well and I actually want to write more in this universe already sometime sooner then later
I also wouldn't mind writing more Bennoda fics too in general
Also want to mention beforehand for anyone that needs it that there is mentions of death and thats cause Mike temporarily thinks Chester is dead. Also rated it mature to be safe cause of that and the small description of them drinking blood towards the end of the fic
Title is the name of a Jungkook song created for the webcomic 7Fates Chakho
“Go to Korea,” They said.
“It’ll be fun,” They said.
Well no it is fun let’s be real. Both on principle and in the grand scheme of things. Going to Korea, just like going to any other country, was a lot of fun. New culture, different foods, opportunities to try out words you learned in a different language. For Chester and Mike, not only was this gonna be for leisure but for practical reasons too.
See, the Asian leg of their 30th Anniversary World Tour was set to start in Seoul, for two shows. All sold out. And as luck would have it, the day the two officially became boyfriends happened to fall in the middle of the band’s week-long break. Happily dating since 2008 if you wanted to know. So it was decided they would take the opportunity to turn it into a romantic getaway cause why not?
Chester and Mike flew ahead the night before the break started, Joe said he would come down the next day. The rest would arrive towards the end of vacation. And, for privacy reasons cause nobody wanted to be mobbed by fans in their private time, they would stay with Joe’s cousin Minyong. For the time being,
The plan was flawless, nothing noteworthy was supposed to happen. Just kisses, sightseeing and Mike preventing Chester from doing anything too crazy. Like sneaking into an abandoned home hidden in the woods for instance because, according to Chester, the fans would love it! Who wouldn’t want to see two members of Linkin Park try out urban exploration? They can even make a video series out of it.
Mike wisely vetoed the idea. They’ve gone this long without any sort of international incident, no reason to start now.
As it turned out however, Chester did get his wish.
Sort of.
There was an abandoned mental hospital hidden in a rural part of South Korea. Old, decrepit, haven’t seen people for at least half a century. Given the high possibility of horrible treatment for the people within, it was great that it was left to decay. Left for nature to reclaim via cracks in the walls and broken windows.
And unfortunately a nefarious group has started to use it as a prison once more. This time by a bunch of jaded, morally corrupt scientists to house those kidnapped to fulfill their world domination plans. Apparently they were unhappy the world at large had dismissed their idea to create a worldwide military unit made up of super soldiers. Like Steve Rogers from the Marvel movies, only more unhinged and there’s no cryogenic sleep involved.
It was a blur of events after they were led astray by a taxi driver who wasn’t all he claimed to be. Neither Chester nor Mike were familiar enough with the language and the layout of the city to realize something was up until they were literally out of the city. Plus add in the fact they weren’t completely fully awake in the beginning due to jet lag.
They eventually arrived, stabbed with a syringe full of chemicals designed to to knock them out and shoved into a makeshift prison with a few others. It was honestly all a mess of events.
The first clear memory Chester would later recall was staring up into the ceiling in a large room. His limbs felt heavy, he was sore all over and there were remnants of a headache in the back of his head. His vision was trying to get into focus as he breathed in and out, slow and steady. There was a cool breeze felt over his head and the faint sound of birds in the background. There were also the barely audible grunts and groans of pain in the otherwise dead silence that came from his other side.
Chester turned his head over once he felt a sudden light touch on his right wrist. Only took a second to realize there was no imminent danger to be had. This stranger, or cellmate if you rather, was a prisoner. He wore the same drab light grey uniform the scientists made them all wear. And he looked just as worse for wear as he was.
And a noticeable sound of relief rippled through the air as the other man collapsed perpendicular to him.
“Oh thank god,” The other man said, voice deep and so quiet Chester would’ve missed it if he wasn’t paying apt enough attention.
He tried to recall his name, he heard it spoken in all this debacle. Apparently he and Mike weren’t the only famous celebrities kidnapped. Someone from a kpop group? BTS? From all the context clues he can remember of the several days stuck here, it was a well known band. Famous worldwide just like Linkin Park. Sounded about right.
On that note, Chester realized the kidnappers have royally fucked almost immediately. No way this wasn’t gonna make the headlines around the world. Sealed their fate to rot in jail forevermore once they’re caught and brought to justice.
The two laid in silence for the next few minutes. The other man eventually mustered enough energy to lift his head up and admitted, “I thought your friend was the only other survivor.”
“Mike?” Chester asked, voice rough from the obvious lack of energy. Then his stomach violently rumbled. Oh right yeah he was pretty fucking hungry. He and the others haven’t had a proper full meal since before being stuck here for the last several days.
There was a nod in response. Oh that’s right his name was Hoseok wasn’t it? Chester’s mind finally cleared up just enough after a second or two long glance of his face. His hunger pains were widely overtaking his focus, the immediate goal became apparent. Get full, worry about other shit later.
“Hoseok, right?” Chester wasn’t sure if he got the pronunciation right. He was pretty sure since he and Mike heard it enough times by now for it to stick well enough. Still always good to double check.
“Yeah that’s-” Hoseok began before he clutched his stomach and rolled over to his back. He let out a low frustrated groan. Like Chester, his stomach also complained about the lack of food, “Shit, need something to eat.”
An eerie quietness filled the air around them for a moment. Shortly after, Chester mustered up the strength to pull himself up into a sitting position. He looked around and shouted the best he could without being at peak strength as he looked around, “Mike? Hey Mike, where are you?!”
To his dismay he only got silence in return. The words bounced off the walls around him until it was dead silence once again. And this did nothing but to increase the panic in his voice. Chester visibly tensed up while he yelled out once again. This time with a bit more force, “Mike where the fuck are you?”
He stared down the open doorway and into a corridor. His question got fainter and fainter with the same result as before.
“He left,” Hoseok replied and Chester swiftly turned around to face him. Hoseok straightened himself up and sat cross legged. He gestured to the big open hole in the wall. So that explained the breeze and the sounds of nature.
The fact Hoseok and Chester were able to understand each other just fine even though they weren’t fluent in English or Korean respectively didn’t register until way later in retrospect.
Which was understandable. There were much more pressing concerns to prioritize at the time. Questioning how they managed to achieve a feat without a long time of hard studying can wait until later.
(Later on it was discovered there were microscopic translator bots included when the hostages were injected.)
Hoseok continued, “He thought you were dead so he went after Changmin.”
Kim Changmin, the person Hoseok referred to, was the one who enacted this whole thing. The one most determined to see his plans become a reality through any means necessary.
Chester froze. A cold sense of dread swelled up inside him. Well fuck that explained why Mike wasn’t there. Although it was sweet in a way to know yet again his boyfriend will go after whomever did him wrong. Does something to him whenever Mike goes into protective mode.
But in any case this was a level of misunderstanding that had to be rectified immediately. Preferably yesterday.
Chester exclaimed with eyes wide open, “...What!?”
“He transformed and-” Hoseok abruptly stopped and his eyes dilated. He stared straight ahead past Chester with focused eyes. There was something new in the air. A smell, which wafted into the room.
This in and itself wasn’t odd. The fact it was something weirdly delicious was. Sweet despite the metallic quality to it. It would send massive alarm bells ringing if it was under any other circumstances.
Chester looked at Hoseok, expectant gaze as he waited for the rest of the sentence. It didn’t last too long. Once his brain latched onto the smell a second later, nothing else mattered. The world can wait. Right now all he can think of, and presumably Hoseok too, was he was finally able to fucking eat.
Chester turned his head towards the source and there stood someone in the doorway. One of Changmin’s friends. He saw him here and there. Acted more as a lackey than anything but still committed to the cause. Poor bastard probably didn’t even realize he was nothing but a grunt.
At least from his observations.
A few moments passed in tense silence. Uncertainty and fear charged the atmosphere to an ominous degree. It was as if time stilled and both parties waited for the other to make a move. After what felt like an eternity, Chester caught movement out of the corner of his eyes. Hoseok had stood up, his focused eyes never wavered in the process.
It wasn’t a moment longer before Chester followed suit. Slowly got up to his feet as he too zeroed in on the trembling figure ahead of them. Then there was a deep, feral growl from the man next to him. If this were any other circumstances, Chester would realize Hoseok didn’t seem to be all there at the moment. However he paid it no mind due to his desire to satisfy this unorthodox craving for blood.
It was a gap in his memories from this point on. Chester can’t tell you any details from this point on to the next he woke up. Point simply he blacked out.
Next time Chester became somewhat aware of the world, it was enough to notice he was in a new location. He was up against the wall as he stared blankly ahead towards the place where he was before. Chester was the most relieved he ever felt in a while. He was rejuvenated, newly energized to the levels he doesn’t remember being before, and most importantly, he was full.
If he was still a little out of it then it was because he was in a blissful haze brought on by satiation.
It wasn’t until Chester heard a high piercing shriek when he sobered up. When he turned his head around and noticed the very real body in front of Hoseok, he too mirrored his reaction.
“Holy shit!” Chester exclaimed in complete horror as he stood behind Hoseok. His eyes were blown wide open as he stared at the scene before him. He noticed there were a couple of bite marks, one on the neck and another one on the wrist.
Chester really didn’t want to process the implication of what might’ve transpired. Not right now. Yes the guy on the floor was part of the problem and took part in a heinous act of crime. But fuck all Chester wanted justice wise was all of the perpetrators to rot in jail for the rest of their lives. That was apt enough for him.
“He’s alive,” Hoseok blurted out as he turned around to face Chester, “Barely but he’s not dead.”
“How’d you know he’s alive?!” Chester asked almost instantly as he grabbed the idol’s shoulders. The volume of his voice equaled the amount of adrenaline fueled panic he had, “You didn’t even check!”
“I don’t know!” Hoseok matched the level of loudness from Chester, which was a feat in and of itself considering the patent Bennington scream. Needless to say, the two men in the hallway were more anxious than calm and collected, “For some reason that’s what my brain is telling me. I don’t know how to fucking explain it, but it's like I can sense the life force within him.”
“Fuck,” Chester uttered, this time at a quieter level. He glanced around both sides of the hallway to see if his boyfriend was around. Where was he? He wished like crazy Mike was here. Mike would know what to do. He would be calm and level headed enough to take charge.
But then he was hit with a sudden recollection of the conversation that happened right before he blacked out. Chester was stricken with a horrified realization, “Oh shit Mike thinks I’m dead!”
With that Chester bolted straight into the big room towards the hole in the wall. He might’ve as well been out of there in a blink of an eye.
It was only a brief few seconds. After a quick glance to the fallen kidnapper, Hoseok decided the best move was to follow after.
Meanwhile Chester ran through surrounding woods. He didn’t stop until he reached the end of the path from the asylum. He looked widely both ways to see where Mike could’ve gone. There wasn’t anything to blatantly indicate where he went. Time was of the essence. Wouldn’t do anyone any good if he went down the wrong way now would it.
Too bad it wasn’t winter. The footsteps in the snow would’ve made this so much easier.
Suddenly he heard the sound of a car horn in the distance behind him. Chester stopped in his tracks for a moment before he looked towards the highway. However, much to his confusion, there were no cars to be seen. The juxtaposition to what he expected startled him.
Chester walked up to the edge of the road and gazed down both ways. There were no cars or any kind of vehicle to be seen. So how the hell was he able to hear a distinct, albeit mildly faint, car horn? It should be humanly impossible for how empty the highway was.
A moment later and it happened again. This time several other cars joined to make it a cacophony of car horns. Chester didn’t realize it but he subconsciously moved onto the road a couple steps from the edge. He stared into the horizon on the right side of the road.
Something in his gut told him it was more likely Mike was down this direction. It sounded about right based on what he knew, Mike was off fighting Changmin to avenge his ‘death’. The only factor he was still baffled by was the fact Mike transformed. He wasn’t sure what that meant, but in any case Chester needed to find him pronto.
So with that Chester made a right and ran like hell down the road.
Along the way something inexplicable happened within him. There was a surge of increased adrenaline pumping through his veins. With a burst of energy Chester pushed himself to go faster and faster. Until he was faster than he thought humanly possible.
Did he gain superhuman speed by a metaphorical radioactive spider? He can wonder about that later, he had several other priorities right now. All of them are named Mike Shinoda.
It wasn’t until a line of cars came into view when Chester slowed down a bit. He didn’t want to crash into anything but he didn’t want to give up the momentum. Luckily the left side of the road was empty so he simply switched lanes and picked up speed. The car horns have gotten louder as to be expected, just mixed it in with the added bonus of people cussing their heart out. But thankfully he was able to tune it out, relegate it to nothing but white noise. He was used to the level of loud anyways from all his years in a rock band.
It didn’t distract him in other words, thank fucking god. Chester kept up the pace until a group of people entered his line of vision. From there he slowed down to a jog until he reached the back of the crowd. They were all engrossed in whatever was in front. Now that he completely stopped, he can hear the telltale sounds of a fight.
Chester tensed up with anticipation and a pang of relief, this had to be where Mike was then. He pushed through the crowd as he called out the name while apologizing to the other people around him. He noticed two things immediately once he reached the front. One, the crowd was in a loose circle around the main action. Two, he can finally, finally see what Hoseok meant when he said Mike transformed.
Mike’s back was towards him, still obviously human but there were differences. His hair was longer, almost halfway down his back and on the unruly side. His fingers looked more like claws. And were those pointed ears on the top of his head? If he had to guess the kind, he would say tiger ears. That was his strongest theory. Mainly because of the bright orange color and how it reminded him of the animal.
Chester’s first reaction was to comment outloud how fucking badass Mike looked. Honestly how can one not comment on how awesome he looked in this form. No one can blame Chester for being momentarily distracted by the badassery Mike exuded before him. Well ok maybe some but not him. Chester was not gonna blame himself for this lapse in action.
Plus the way Mike loomed over what appeared to be a knocked out and banged up Changmin sparked something deep inside him. Maybe this form of Mike was something they can roleplay with.
Wait no hold on. Now was not the time to think of new ways to spice shit up in bed. Chester can practically hear the voice in the back of his head, which sounded a lot like Mike, reprimanding him. There’s a time and place to daydream new sexual possibilities, but this was not it. Chester quickly came back to his senses and took a deep breath before he got on with it.
“Mike! Hey Mikey over here, it's Chester,” Chester shouted happily as he walked around Mike in order for him to see more easily. Chester moved his arms around in the air and jumped up and down in an attempt to catch his attention. There was a big smile plastered on his face, “I’m alive and well!”
Silence fell over everyone like a heavy blanket. There was tension in the air as Chester watched Mike with bated breath, the crowd’s attention fully on the two members of Linkin Park. Time stretched into an eternity as Mike slowly locked eyes with him. Chester felt a slight hitch in his breath, Mike’s eyes were terrifyingly blank. No brown pupils, just entirely white. Not to mention the sharp teeth and the nasty scratches on the sides of his face.
But despite all that, there was a look of pure joy in Mike’s eyes once it dawned on him.
Any sort of fright Chester had at the unexpected sight only lasted for a fleeting moment. And subsequently forgotten as Mike rushed over with a giddy smile and wrapped his arms around Chester in a tight, but warm embrace.
“You’re alive, oh fuck thank god you’re alive,” Mike exclaimed ecstatically accompanied by a giddy laugh, wet with an abundance of emotions. Chester returned the hug with as much fervor.
Only thing was, the hug might’ve been a little too tight, tighter then he remembered them being. But Chester was too overcomed with happy emotions to care. All he could do right now was melt into his embrace. Honestly he didn’t care about the world at large at this moment, all that mattered was Mike.
That was his world at the moment, just him and Mike. Just the two of them in their own little world in their own little universe. Chester gently ran his fingers through his long black hair as he buried his face in his shoulder. He can stay like this forever, wanting to just bask in the comforting warmth and never let go of Mike ever again.
Few seconds later, Mike broke the hug just enough to crash his lips into his. Mike also gently caressed his cheek while Chester passionately reciprocated the kiss. They were like this for several seconds before they sadly had to return to the real world. The kiss was broken, Mike dropped his hand and it was time to get back to reality.
Damn you reality.
“Dude your nails,” Chester blurted out impulsively as he got a hood look at Mike’s fingers. His observation earlier was right, they were claws. Definitely not human.
“They look badass!” Chester said with a genuine smile which caused Mike to laugh.
“Thanks,” Mike smiled, a note of relief in his voice. Deep down a stupid part of him was overly worried Chester would have an adverse reaction. Of course there was no real doubt about it but, all the same, it was still good to get another confirmation he would love him no matter what.
Mike glanced at his hand then back at Chester before he continued, “Honestly I didn’t look too much. All I thought was getting revenge on the motherfucker over there.”
Mike lazily gestured with his head towards Changmin and Chester caught sight of him. There was also the same kind of tiger ears on his head only they were white as opposed to Mike’s orange ones. The kidnapper also sported a well deserved black eye, no doubt as to who was behind that.
Chester glanced back at Mike and realized he could pretty much make the same observations about him injury wise. A mixture of purple, yellow and red marked some spots on his face and arms. Not to mention the nasty wound on the side of his forehead. Thankfully it wasn’t worriedly bad.
“We put up a fight,” Mike explained after he took a breath. He spared a glance himself at the kidnapper before he continued, “He looked different too when we were fighting. He looked like a fucking werewolf. Or werecat I guess.”
“So do you,” Chester pointed out with a finger in his direction.
“I’m aware,” Mike rolled his eyes not unkindly. Just understandably freaked out if anything, “I’m just saying I didn’t think any of this shit was possible. Humans don’t have cat ears last I checked.”
“Well neither did I. I think I gained superspeed coming over here,” Chester added without too much of a thought. He then paused before he beamed with excitement, “Which is fucking awesome if you ask me.”
Just then, as if on cue, both Hoseok and a few other people showed up almost simultaneously. Two of them were Joe and his cousin, the others were those Hoseok recognized straight away. A couple of BTS members, took Chester and Mike a second to realize this, and an unfamiliar man.
And like Mike earlier, both Joe and Minyoung were happy to see Chester was relatively fine.
_____________________
Two things learned on the way to Minyoung’s place. This supernatural shit was a thing apparently. Something kept shrouded in secrecy from the majority of the world. Explained why the police weren’t notified.
And rock deities exist. Who fucking knew. That was who the mystery man apparently was, an honest to god rock deity in human form. But in any case, he promised to take care of Changmin and his goons and make sure no one would ever see them again.
Hopefully.
Mike was now back to normal too. Chester got to see his long hair and claws recede back to nothingness first hand as he became fully relaxed. There may or may not have been a slight disappointment on Chester’s part that said long hair ultimately didn’t stay. It was just as sexy long as it was short if you asked him.
Chester was currently in the back of the car with Mike while the other two were in the front.
“Sorry I’m afraid they’re permanent,” Joe apologetically explained from the passenger seat. He referred to, of course, the brilliant golden pupils Chester and Mike now have.
Chester’s first reaction was to grab his phone and turn on the front facing camera while Mike had a bit of a shocked expression.
“Whoa…fucking sweet,” Chester commented with a smile to himself. It wasn’t until seconds later his brain fully caught up to speed. His smile thus faded, “Wait permanent?! Joe, what do you mean they’ll be permanent?”
“Please tell me we can just cover them up with contact lenses or something,” Mike asked as he tensed up in his seat with palpable worry.
Thankfully Joe nodded and reassured him contact lenses would do the trick. Mike let out an audible breath of relief as he leaned back into his seat
Anyone with even barely half a brain would realize having non-human eyes while being a famous musician wasn’t exactly a good combo. Wouldn’t be good for anyone in the entertainment industry actually. So this was great news to hear. A silver lining in a grand show full of shit.
“You guys aren’t exactly…uhh human any longer,” Joe explained in a careful tone. An awkward moment of silence filled the car before he continued, “I’ll explain everything once we get back. The rest of the guys are waiting for us and I’ll tell everyone then.”
A beat then Mike conceded with a nod as he quickly took hold of Chester’s hand. He took a deep breath, “Alright that’s fair.”
It wasn’t too long before all of the members of Linkin Park were reunited in the living room. Chester sat down in between Rob and Mike while the Hahn cousins in front of them.
It was Minyoung that began the explanation. She further expanded on what was previously mentioned about how there are a good few selected mythological creatures out there in existence.
“Honestly I can count the number of different mythological species on one hand,” Minyoung said.
Chester raised his hand then tentatively asked, “So what are me and Mike then? You said we aren’t human anymore.”
“Beoms,” Minyoung was straightforward which in hindsight was appreciative, “Or human born beoms to be more accurate. That’s why you got the golden eyes, it’s a signifier of one, both human born and non human born beoms have it.”
“And what are they exactly?” Mike further asked. By now Chester leaned against him while fully on his lap. Mike’s right arm was around his waist and gently held him in place.
This time Joe answered, “Bloodsucking tiger monsters with the ability to shift between a human form, a tiger form or a hybrid form. They also have heightened senses, superspeed and more strength compared to a human.”
“So they have to drink blood now like vampires?” Brad asked for clarification.
“Pretty much yeah,” Joe said with a nod before he shifted his gaze back to Chester and Mike, “Unfortunately blood is now your main source of food. You can still eat normal food but blood is gonna be what mainly sustains you.”
“I don’t know about the others, but I’m willing to help with that,” Rob immediately piped up as he looked at Chester and Mike then at Joe. The rest soon followed after with sharing the same sentiment.
“I’m more than happy to help as well,” Joe agreed before he moved onto the next part, “Now the good news is you only have to drink blood once a month. Technically you can go two months in between but I feel like that would be pushing it.”
“That sounds smart,” Mike agreed with a nod.
__________________________
“Mikey I have great news,” Chester announced when Mike walked into their dressing room. The lights on the vanity and the room in general were on at full brightness. And he had no shirt on, that was actually the first thing Mike noticed before anything else. Chester continued with aplomb and a big smile, “We don’t sparkle!”
“We’re not vampires Chester,” Mike said with a chuckle as he closed the door. He also made sure to lock it so no one could accidentally walk in on them. He turned around to face him, “Also you’re thinking of vampires in Twilight.”
“Yeah but I don’t know anything else about beoms. For all I know they could’ve,” Chester protested in defense. It was easy to see he hasn’t put in his colored contacts yet. His golden pupils shone brilliantly underneath the light.
The combination of his black framed glasses also made them pop out more. Mike’s brain decided to make a note of this. File it under his ‘Ways Chester is very attractive’ list.
“Point,” Mike had to give him that one. He unzipped his jacket to take out two blood bags and handed one to Chester.
Chester looked down at the bag then back at Mike with a confused look, “Where did you get these?”
“Jungkook from BTS, I got it from him. Did you know he’s half beom? Anyways he and Hoseok came down here to our concert to check on us and to give us a cooler full of these bags.”
“Oh, that was nice of them.”
Chester opened up his bag and hesitantly stared at it for a moment. It still felt strange having a vampire-like diet. Instead of smelling metallic and off putting, it smelled…well metallic still, but also weirdly delicious.
“Yeah. He also wants to add us to a group chat to make it easier to ask questions about our new status,” Mike said as he got right to it and took a swig. Chester was transfixed for the moment being at the sight. How did Mike just able to seemingly get over whatever hangups he might’ve had?
“Chester,” Mike eventually broke the trance Chester was under. His voice was gentle, serious and emphatic at the same time. There was an air of resignation around them, “You’re just gonna have to get used to it. I get it, I do. And I know you don’t want to hurt anyone, neither do I. But what I don’t want is for us to risk going feral. That’s what Jungkook said would happen if we go without blood for too long.”
“So hence what Joe said the other day,” Chester finished as the memory of the initial conversation flashed in his brain.
“Exactly,” Mike said then stopped as a pensive look came over his face, “Actually I think Jungkook said we can go ten weeks between feedings but I don’t want to risk it right away. If it helps, I was told we don’t need a crazy amount of blood to be satiated. Nothing that will put anyone in the hospital.”
Chester nodded, that was good to know. He took a calming breath before he closed his eyes and took a generous swig, “Fuck. I feel like I’m trying to one up Ozzy Osbourn in crazy rockstar shit for some reason.”
Mike bursted out laughing and Chester smiled as he reciprocated the laughter. Soon it died down and in its place was a comfortable and easygoing vibe between them.
However it wasn’t too long before Chester noticed a sort of awkwardness in the other man’s demeanor. Apprehension filled his eyes as he looked anywhere but Chester. Like he wanted to say something else but didn’t want to at the same time. Didn’t take too long too for it to feel nerve wracking.
However before he questioned Mike, the latter heavily exhaled. Then he spoke, “I really don’t want to dwell on it, but I also don’t want to be an ass and keep it from you. Anyways, I was also told beoms have a longer lifespan than humans.”
A beat. The room grew so quiet they could hypothetically hear a pin drop.
Chester froze in shock. That was a lot to take about 15 minutes before they were to go on stage. He was gonna need an extra day or two on top of the time already needed to process all of this.
Chester continued with shocked disbelief written over his face, “Joe never mentioned that. How long do we live then?”
“Several thousand years. Jungkook said that goes for both born and created beoms by the way.”
“That…that sounds like something we should tell the rest of the band. Or at least Joe. He would know right?” Chester said as he walked closer to Mike.
Mike shook his head solemnly and the hopeful expression fell off Chester’s face. He then proceeded to relay the rest of the conversation he had earlier with the BTS member. Apparently there wasn’t a whole lot of easy to find information out there on beoms. And half of them weren't even true due to those who went and messed with humans over the years with fake news so to speak. For pure unadulterated entertainment.
Simply put, Joe and his cousin ran on false information. When Mike tried to ask more about what he and Chester now were the previous day, he was told they will live the same amount of time as humans. Maybe 50 years more.
“Assholes. Fucking assholes all of them,” Chester declared loudly as he waved his finger in the air for emphasis. Like Mike, he too didn’t want to dwell on it at this moment. He wanted to focus on giving the best fucking performance for his fans.
All the heavy crap can wait until later.
Mike leaned on the edge of the table with his arm as he finished up his food, “No argument there. They fucked over quite a bit of people that were transformed in the past. Luckily we have a little bit of time before we absolutely need to tell them.”
Chester quickly finished his before Mike took both their empty bags and put it in his backpack. Mike retrieved a couple of white containers from his jacket as he walked back over and held one out in front of Chester, “Our new essential contacts.”
A minute later and both of them were finally ready to face the world. However before Mike was able to lead them out the door. Chester reached out to pull him back. His voice was softer and more on the uncertain side than confident, “Wait, I just… fuck this is gonna sound so selfish of me and I wouldn't wish this on anyone, but I’m glad I’m not alone in dealing with this.”
Mike paused then turned back around as what Chester just said sunk in. The latter stared blankly at a random spot to the side before he locked gaze with Mike, his eyes filled with emotion.
Chester continued with a loving smile, “I’m glad you’re here with me. In more ways than one.”
Mike smiled back and pulled him into a warm hug. He admitted with slight shaky words, “I’m selfish too. I’m glad I’m not alone.”
The two hugged until a new voice startled them apart. It was Brad who told them it was almost time to start the show. Mike led Chester out by the hand towards the stage.
And, in more poetic terms, into the rest of their new life.