It was on the first day of winter that Jaehwan found his fourth target.

The relentless rain hammered against his umbrella as he strolled through the streets of Manhattan. Crowds of people surrounded him. There was always so many people there, and Jaehwan hadn't decided whether or not he felt lonelier among them. Most walked with a purpose, making the everyday commute to their mundane nine to five jobs. Others were tourists who stumbled around in awe. They all were incredibly oblivious to the reality he knew. Ever since Jaehwan arrived in the city, he spent most of his days walking around for as long as he could. Only a week into his New York adventure and he was about ready to invest in a bicycle. So far, he'd been lucky. Two days at Bangkok earned him an easy first point. Another at the airport, then a third in a London train station. It wouldn't be as easy for him from here on out—the game he played was solely for those with real skills.

At once, the decrescendo of voices came to his attention, followed by a particularly loud set of footsteps that drew him to an alleyway. All other sounds were muted to his ears when his glaring red eyes locked onto the human leaning against a brick building, eyes trained on her cellphone as she scrolled through notifications. Jaehwan stood still, letting the voracious bloodlust invade his thoughts. He could hear every breath the woman made, every beat of her delicate heart that dutifully kept her alive, and it was so intoxicating. The kill would be a cakewalk for him. He analyzed his options; it seemed as if he would have to do some manipulating in order to finish cleanly, for they were in public and he didn't need unnecessary attention (if he got arrested, it was game over). Aware of the eyes following him, Jaehwan casually approached the female with a perplexed expression, fumbling with his coat once she looked at him.

"Hey, sorry to interrupt. Do you know which subway I'd have to take to get uptown?" He inquired.

The woman pocketed her phone. "Um. There's different ones, actually. You'll want to take a train going to the Bronx. Any of those will lead you uptown."

"Right, thanks. I'm not a foreigner or anything, I just moved here recently."

"Still not used to the train system?" She seemed amused.

Good. He managed to trap her into conversation, like a spider slowly weaving a web around its prey. Now, he just needed to gain her trust. Chatting a bit more, Jaehwan learned that she was single, liked sports, and didn't have that many friends. Not that he cared. She twirled her fingers in her hair when she listened to him talk, eyes glistening every time he let out a laugh. He interpreted that as a positive.

"You're not in a hurry, are you?" The woman suddenly asked. "I like talking to you, maybe... we could get coffee?"

Bold, he thought, smirking just a little. He disguised it with a toothy smile.

"I'd love to! Hah, my favorite cafe is right near here, we can go to that one. Hope you don't mind if we take a shortcut."

She nodded obediently and started to follow him with a slight skip in her step, just before they exited the alley she paused, cheeks blushing when she realized an important detail. Jaehwan turned to face her, finding that her head was ducked down into her scarf.

"I don't have an umbrella!"

All Jaehwan wanted was to get the killing over with, but he needed to keep his patience. He reached across the space between them to take hold of her wrist, turning it over and transferring the umbrella into her open hand. Her peachy lips pulled upwards as her slim fingers closed around the handle of the umbrella.

"Thank you," she mumbled, batting her eyelashes.

Jaehwan nodded.

Her body was laid out on the rainy pavement behind a small business building, where the city offered a break from the busier streets of Manhattan. Long, precise slashes tore her flesh from neck to ankles, the lower half of her body so mangled that it appeared to have gone through a meat grinder, or perhaps one could assume some wild animal attacked her. Jaehwan was hunched over her corpse still, catching his breath from the energy exertion. The short horns on his forehead tingled from the adrenaline rush. He only bore a few gashes from stab wounds inflicted by the pocket knife the female carried, but as expected it was nearly healed by the time he felt the pain.

A monster loses its glamour when it initiates the attack on its target. Unlike him, many chose to dine on their targets to rid of the leftover body. Jaehwan found those kind of beings to be despicable. Killing was just a job, no matter how it was done, because the monsters would all get the same prize in the end. In addition to that, humans tasted just foul.

His lanky arms brushed against the ground when he stood up straight, with his razor claws scratching a trail behind him every step he took. It was getting dark. He needed a plane ticket, whatever could get him out of the city fast enough. Hell, whatever could get him out of the country. His glamour slipped back into place once he caught his breath, conveniently disguising the blood that stained his tracks, allowing him to quickly slip away from the scene without suspicion. Jaehwan hailed a cab headed to the airport; he was more than happy to kiss New York good-bye. Sure, it was likely that his fifth target would be from a large city again, but he needed a place to relax. Somewhere he could collect himself.

It wasn't hard to decide. The next flight out of the country sufficed, and fortunately enough it was one destination he hadn't gotten the chance to explore. Stockholm, Sweden. Security eyed him strangely after he claimed to have no luggage other than the leather-bound sketchbook held under his arm. An explanation was demanded, though he didn't get hassled much after he rambled on about how it was their service that caused him to lose his briefcase when he arrived in the city. He finally boarded the plane a quarter to midnight, sighing in relief once he sunk into the seat he'd be occupying for what would end up feeling like an eternity.

I've only seen one monster other than me so far. What if there's more in Stockholm? Will I even get a chance to be assigned a target? His thoughts swam with questions while his eyes were fixed on the dreary view outside the rain-splattered window.

A strong presence beside him caused his eyes to be dragged away. A tall figure in a black petticoat stood expectantly in the aisle, raising a dark eyebrow when Jaehwan failed to respond.

"Sorry, I wasn't paying attention. Repeat?" He chuckled nervously.

The man didn't find him to be funny, at all. His lips formed a straight line. "Move your book? This is my seat."

Jaehwan repeated, "Oh! I'm sorry."

He moved his sketchbook into the seat pocket where it was less likely to cause problems; he just hoped he'd remember to grab it before exiting the plane in the morning. Petticoat man glanced at him curiously before the takeoff. To avoid making things awkward, Jaehwan decided to get on his good side. They'd be together for a good while, and he rarely got the chance to talk to humans who weren't targets, so why not?

"Why are you headed to Stockholm?"

Petticoat man looked past him out the window into the distance, as if his human gaze allowed him to see the pleasant city. "I live there."

"That's nice," Jaehwan said. "I've never been. Not until now, I guess?"

"And you're an artist?"

The petticoat man's voice was so quiet, Jaehwan strained to hear him. It was a contrast to the loud sirens in New York. Perhaps, like the petticoat man, he could expect Stockholm to be a whisper.

"I suppose you could say that. I draw a little here and there."

The man hummed. "You'll enjoy Stockholm. We have a lot of artists visiting there, and they always stay."

Jaehwan couldn't imagine himself staying anywhere. How he wished he could, but it just wasn't in his game plan. The plane took off at last, setting his mind at ease. He made a mental note not to watch the news the next day. Inside, he enjoyed doing the work, as it was the sole purpose he existed, however that didn't mean he needed to revisit those moments. Once it was over with, he moved on.

"Maybe I'll stay," he lied.

Four down, six to go.