Chapter Text
Seventeen was in the middle of dance practice. They had a comeback coming up so most days were spent practicing until late at night, going home to eat and sleep, then going back to the company building to start practice again. Minghao was used to this by now, this was far from their first comeback and would be far from their last.
The thing was Minghao had a secret he had kept from everyone. He was a vampire. Supernaturals were known and mostly accepted, but there were still some prejudices against them, so he figured it was better to just hide it. The company and staff knew, but his members didn’t.
His boss obviously had rules for him and he had agreed to them a long time ago so he could continue to be a part of Seventeen. He got a set amount of blood at the beginning of each month and he was responsible for making it last. He kept the blood in his own personal water bottle that no one but him touched. It was made to where you couldn’t see what was in it. He wasn’t allowed to feed from any one of the members or staff. That one wasn’t hard to follow since he never planned on doing that. He also had to talk to management if he wanted to go public with the information. Another one that wasn’t hard to follow.
Soonyoung had just called for a break and Minghao was grateful. He was struggling to keep up today and he just hoped that no one noticed just how much he was struggling. There was only a week left in the month before he got his refill of blood, but he was running dangerously low. He knew he had been eating more to try and keep up with the demanding schedule a comeback entailed. He had been eating less to try and make the amount he had left last.
He grabbed his water bottle and peeked inside after making sure no one was paying attention to him. He sighs softly when he sees the low amount that was in his bottle. He takes a tiny sip and then sets it back down. Hoshi calls for practice to start again and Minghao gets in his spot. He knew he was struggling more than he thought when he got lightheaded.
He knew not eating was dangerous, but he would never hurt any of the members. He would never hurt anyone. His stomach growls and he sighs softly. His stomach had been growling more over the past few days since he wasn’t eating as much. His fangs, which he had shaved down just the other day, and his gums were killing him. His throat was also dry and scratchy more than he would like.
They finish practice early and Seungcheol suggests a team dinner at one of the others’ favorite restaurants. Minghao groans internally at the thought of forcing human food down his already dry throat and then having to throw it up later. He doesn’t protest though, afraid of bringing attention to himself.
They go to the restaurant and get settled. Minghao orders a soup, hoping it would be easier to eat and wouldn’t be as bad when it came up again later. He doesn’t really listen to the conversations that were happening around him. He sees his leader looking at him and gives the other a small smile.
“You ok?” Seuncheol asks quietly
Minghao nods and tries to keep from frowning when the food arrives. He starts slowly eating the food, just listening to everyone talk about how excited they are about this comeback. He was also excited, he was just struggling with managing his blood with the amount he got from management. He finishes about half the bowl of soup before he can’t force himself to swallow any more. He contently listens to everyone talk and waits for everyone else to be done with their food.
It’s about ten minutes later when his stomach gives him a warning flip and he excuses himself to the bathroom. He comes back a few minutes later and sighs as he sits in his seat again. He’s focused on finding his glass of water among all the glasses that he doesn’t see the oldest member grab his personal water bottle. After he finds his glass and takes a drink to try and get the awful taste out of his mouth, he finally realizes that a lot of the members have gotten quiet.
He looks around the table and panics when he sees the leader with his water bottle. He had opened it and was staring at the contents in shock. Minghao quickly snatches the water bottle from him and closes it, holding it close.
“Minghao, what is that?”
“It’s just water, what else would it be?” Minghao lies quickly.
“That’s not water. Please don’t lie to me”
Everyone’s attention was on the interaction between the leader and the youngest Chinese member. Minghao sighs and bows his head, knowing he’s been caught. He sets the bottle back down beside him and takes a deep breath, letting it out before looking at his leader.
“What do you think it is?” he mumbles.
“Blood”
Minghao just nods and looks at the table, not wanting to see any of the others’ reactions. He figured now they would be scared of him and kick him out of the group. He tries to prepare for that, but feels a hand on his shoulder instead. He looks up and sees the hand belongs to Seungcheol.
“Are you a vampire?”
Minghao just nods again. The leader nods as well, taking a moment to think of his next words.
“Are you planning on hurting us? Or anyone?”
Minghao shakes his head quickly.
“Never. I would never hurt anyone”
He looks around and tries to show how serious and sincere he is to everyone. He gets nods in return and then everyone goes back to eating and talking. Minghao looks around in shock, turning his gaze to the oldest.
“That… that’s it?”
Seungcheol nods.
“That’s it”
Everyone finishes their meals and then they head home. Minghao gets in bed and stares at the ceiling for a bit. That had gone better than he could have ever imagined it would. His stomach growls loudly and he sighs. He was so hungry, but he couldn’t risk drinking all his blood and not having any. He rolls onto his side and slowly falls asleep.