The moon reflects upon the pond next to us. Its blurry image mirrors all the thoughts in my head as I hold these cold hands tightly. “I’m sorry,” I mutter as I gaze into those green eyes.

  He leans forward, not hearing what I just said, “Wha-”

  All at once, men hiding from the shadows surrounds us. They're all faces I recognize,  but the names are just not coming up. I don't want to remember their names.

  I avoid those green eyes and constantly repeat, “I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Luca.”

  The men caves us in, grabbing Luca by the arms.

  He doesn't even resist and I can feel his gaze on me. I don't want to look. I can’t. If I do, I know I will immediately regret my decision. Please, just take him away. Don't let me see him looking at me with clear disappointment.

  There's no sound except the sounds of the men shuffling in the grass. It confuses me. Why isn't he resisting? Why isn't he yelling at me? Why is he letting them do this to him? With these questions in mind, I can't help but raise my head.

  I shouldn't have.

  Those green eyes are blank as he's being dragged away. Stop. Stop looking at me like that. I had no choice! I had to do this or else… or else…

  I break down right then and there, screaming out his name and reaching out for him, but more hands grab me. They pull me back and shove me far away from him. I resist, but no matter how much I thrash around, their strong grip never leaves me. Soon, Luca was gone and I was too tired to even move.

  I wake up feeling a lot better than a few days ago when I had that stomach ache but the dread is still there. I sit up, hugging my knees and resting my head on top of them. These dreams are recurring more than usual, and each time, the pain returns. Heaving a sigh, I let myself stare out at the dark room, but through the little crack from the curtains, I can see that the Sunlight is still out. Part of me knows I should go back to sleep, but the other part of me doesn't want to. I trace the bruise on my neck and recall the feel of Daehyun’s lips pressing against my skin. I close my eyes and just imagine him and his peppermint scent that constantly reminds me of Luca.

  I don't know what comes over me, but I find myself climbing out of my bed and leaving my room. My head swivels from side to side, seeing the candles flickering in the dark hallway. In front of me, Daehyun’s door is fully shut. I take a few steps forward and stare at the wooden object in front of me. I raise a fist and I'm about to knock, but my hand grabs the doorknob instead. I push the door, finding Daehyun underneath his covers and wrapped up like a baby. I watch as he breathes steadily. His face is like an angel's as he sleeps peacefully. Maybe I should go back.

  He shifts and his eyes flutter open as if feeling my presence. “Youngjae?” his voice is rough as he calls out my name.

  “Ah, Daehyun.”

  He peers at his window. “It’s so early. What are you doing up?”

  “Nothing. I'm just going to go back.”

  “Did you have a nightmare?” There he goes again with that same smug look on his face despite being groggy from just waking up.

  I say nothing and fiddle with my fingers. Why did I come here in the first place? I should've just stayed in my room and force myself to fall asleep.

  Daehyun scoots over and pulls the covers back, inviting me in. “Come.”

  “Oh, no. I'm just going to go to my room now.”

  He doesn't move.

  Daehyun, don't do this to me. If you continue this, I'm not going to be able to resist you anymore. I hesitate. I always tell him I will never sleep next to him. Hell, I even told him that last night when he was teasing me, and here I am, crawling into his bed.

  I keep my back facing towards him as I lie nearly at the edge of the bed. My heart pounds loudly in my chest and I shut my eyes tightly while having a death grip on the covers. There’s a slight tug coming from Daehyun’s side, but I still don’t let go as I’m so preoccupied with not thinking about the fact that I’m lying next to him.

  The bed shifts as Daehyun rolls over. I can feel the cold radiating on my back and the peppermint smell engulfs me. “You’re really holding onto my blanket real tightly. Are you that cold lying next to me?” He whispers in my ear.

  I let go. “Sorry.”

  Daehyun chuckles as he takes part of the blanket to wrap himself in. His voice is still near me, “Either way, I won’t be warmed, but just the feel of the covers around me is comforting. It’s like someone is hugging me.” His voice trails.

  I bite my lip. Don’t turn around, Youngjae. Don’t you dare turn around.

  I roll on my other side and find myself getting lost into those dark brown eyes.

  Daehyun smiles, reaches his ungloved hand to me, and runs his fingers through my hair. Just this simple gesture comforts me and I can’t help but lean into his hand as he pets me like a dog. If I was a cat, I would probably purr. I close my eyes.

  His finger trails down my eyes to my cheeks to the bruise on my neck. I know he regrets biting me, but there’s no turning back. If he wants to bite me again, right now, I won’t mind. As long as I can keep him healthy and happy, then I’ll do anything for him.

  My eyes flutter open as his thumb caresses the bruise. We lie there, staring at each other and with the sound of my heartbeat. What is with this beautiful creature? How can someone who I thought I would hate turn into someone I admire so much and want to protect? This time, I promise to protect you. I won’t let anyone take you away from me. I think to myself.

  “Will you tell me what is troubling you?” Daehyun asks under his breath.

  I tear my gaze away from him. “I’m sorry. I can’t. I’m just not ready,” I confess. Let me just enjoy this moment and pretend that he’s mine. Let me just pretend that I didn’t hurt Luca and I came here because I committed a different crime than the one I’m accused of. Just let me pretend.

  Daehyun pulls his hand away, leaving me to feel empty. “I hope one day you will be able to share your pain with me. For now, I will wait patiently until you’re ready.”

  Sadness fills me. Yes, when I’m ready, I will tell him. For now, I just want to forget the past and live in the future. I want to make sure what I have right now is what I will keep until my dying days. “Can I hold you?” I plead, rather than ask.

  Daehyun’s eyes widen for a second before they soften. He nods his head.

  I move closer to him and wrap my arms around his waist. I bow my head to press my forehead against his chest and nuzzle against him. Taking a deep breath, I inhale as much of the peppermint scent as I can, reminding myself that this guy next to me is Jung Daehyun. I shut my eyes.

  Daehyun holds me close and rubs my back, making me feel even more comfort. He hums the tune Zelo taught me. I didn’t realize he could sing until this moment. His voice soothes me - I can listen to it all day. By the time he’s halfway through the song, I find myself in a deep sleep.

  I wake up, not finding Daehyun next to me except for a note on the pillow where he lay. I pick it up and it read:

  I have to meet with my father today. If you wish to visit the bank, just ask Zelo and he will take you there. I will see you later tonight.

- Daehyun

  I’m surprise he didn’t comment about seeing my sleeping face because knowing the past Daehyun, he will definitely tease me about that. Instead of getting up and returning to my room, I sit on Daehyun’s bed and observe through the darkness.

  I wonder if this darkness reflects how vampires view the world since they are never able to step out into the sun. Even though I’ve been here for a little over a month now, I can still go out and see the Sunlight. I have a chance to wander when it’s Day or Night, but for them, they have to stay indoors and simply believe what people say about the world during the day.

  Even with the curtains pulled back and the Moonlight spilling in, the light is nothing like the sunlight. After all, the moon is visible only because the sun casts a light on it.

  I leave Daehyun’s room to return to my own and change for the Night. Tonight will be a nice night to visit Jongup. It’s been a while and I hope he didn’t get into trouble during the Blood Moon. Knowing him, he must have been frightened.

  Downstairs, Zelo is pacing around the foyer, making sure everything is in place and dusted off. He doesn’t notice me, so I slip by to grab something to eat from L. Like always, his food is great. When I return to the foyer, I find Zelo dusting a potted plant with his tongue sticking out in concentration. I laugh.

  “Oh, you’re finally awake, Youngjae. Did you eat?” He asks.

  I nod. “I did. I even walked passed you, but you were so busy throwing orders, you didn’t notice me.”

  “Oh.” His voice trails. Then, “Young Master told me that I can take you to the bank today to visit your friend. He even told me to keep an eye on you just in case you run away.”

  I roll my eyes. Does he not know that I won’t run away from him anymore? I think I’m now too attached to even think about leaving him. Where will I go anyways? I no longer live in that old, shabby home. Someone else is bound to be living there. “I will like to go whenever you’re ready,” I state while nodding my head at the pot he’s been dusting the whole time we’re talking.

  “Ah, yeah.” He pulls his hand back. As one of Daehyun’s servant passes by, he gives the duster to him. “Thanks,” he says when the servant gives him an annoyed look. “You ready?”

  I nod.

  We walk out and find the carriage parked in front.

  “Did you drop off Daehyun this morning?” I ask as I climb inside the carriage.

  Zelo holds the door. “Yes which is why he also told me to come back to take you to the bank if you wanted to. If not, I will have to leave and pick him up when he’s done.” He’s about to shut the door, but stops. “Do you want to sit next to me? Just don’t let Young Master know because he always wants you inside the carriage for your protection.”

  “I think I’ll stay inside.” It’s safer this way. Daehyun is probably already being the talk of this area because he has a Doll who is not marked and basically disappeared from the banquet after the Blood Moon passed. I don’t want to cause anymore trouble by sitting in the front when he’s not around.

  Zelo shrugs. “Alright.” He shuts the door and climbs to the front.

  At the bank, Jongup is as bored as ever, resting his head on his hand and staring off into space. There’s not many customers today and most are already being helped by someone else. I tug onto Zelo’s sleeve. “So what do you think about Jongup?” I ask.

  He gives me a quizzical look. “Uhm. Why? I don’t know him that well, so I have no opinion. However, I can’t tolerate it if he says bad things about Young Master again.”

  “Yeah, I know. Don’t worry. Last time we came, he behaved.”

  “Right.”

  We walk towards Jongup and he sparkles when he sees us. “Ah, finally someone I can talk to!” He exclaims. “What took you so long? It feels like I haven’t seen you in weeks! What was it like being with Daehyun during the Blood Moon? Did you get hurt?” His eyes shift towards Zelo who was giving him an annoyed look. “No offence. I’m just curious.”

  I laugh nervously while rubbing my neck. The bruise is still there, just not as prominent as before. “It honestly wasn’t that bad. I mean, Daehyun controlled himself.” . I don’t know what I’m saying, and I don’t know how to explain myself if Jongup presses this any further.

  “Lucky for you, then. You are immune to pheromones, so you probably didn’t feel sick when every vampire was leaking out their pheromones. The manager let me leave early since he knows my condition, but even though I was home, I felt sick to my stomach.”

  I did the next day. “I’m just glad to hear that you were safe.” I have never seen the streets here during a Blood Moon, and I wouldn’t want to. In the outside world, it’s very mild as there are only a few vampires roaming while others are in hiding so they won’t get caught. After all, they either get a choice of being sent to the Dome or death.

  “Yeah… What’s your name again?” Jongup nods to Zelo.

  “Zelo.”

  “Oh, yeah. Sorry about before. I shouldn’t have talked about Daehyun the way I did.” He taps his foot on the ground.

  “It’s fine. I understand. I probably would have said the same thing if I wasn’t under Young Master’s care,” Zelo explains and holds out a hand. “Should we start over? My name is Zelo. It’s not really my real name, but Young Master calls me Zelo to protect me from the other vampires.”

  Jongup doesn’t move for a while. Then, he takes his hand and shakes it. “My name is 6245, given by this bank.” He chuckles. “But my real name is Jongup,” he whispers just to make sure no one else heard.

  I grin, seeing that they can actually become friends if they tried. They just started off on the wrong foot. “Have you seen Daehyun come in?” I ask.

  Jongup lets go of Zelo’s hand and shakes his head. “No. Oh, now that I think about it, he’s not with you?”

  “No.” So, he really must be with his father. I hope he’ll be okay. I hope he’s not being forced to drink a human’s blood. But most of all, I hope he’s not being punished for acting up at the banquet.

  “I see. So update. I heard that Daehyun and his father had a little dispute at the Blood Moon ball or banquet or whatever. What happened?”

  I didn’t want to talk about it. That moment is only for those who were there, and Jongup will definitely not understand why Daehyun acted that way. “I don’t want to talk about it. It’s just too personal, and I’m sure you wouldn’t want people talking about you without your knowledge.”

  “Right.”

  And so, we continue talking and catching up with each other. Jongup basically complains about his new partner and how she rarely talks to him. Sometimes he would even have to take care of her customers because she’s just so weak. Other times, he would have to get someone else to do it because he couldn’t handle it. I can tell Zelo wanted to laugh, but he holds it in. I tell him a few things about Daehyun’s place and the food L makes, but I never mention the personal things. The things that not even Zelo understands. I want to keep that all to myself as it’s the thing that brought Daehyun and I closer.

  I don’t know how long we talk, but soon, Zelo taps my shoulder and points out, “Daehyun should be done soon, so we need to head out.”

  “Alright.” I pat Jongup on the head. “I guess we’ll talk more again. Hopefully, next time we meet, you won’t be complaining so much about your partner.”

  He squints his eyes as if thinking. “No. I think I’m still going to complain about her.”

  I laugh. “Whatever you say. I’ll see you again, 6245. Bye.”

  “See ya, 6256, and I’ll see you again, Zelo.”

  Zelo bows his head. “Yeah.”

  We part ways and arrive at the carriage.

  “We’re going to go to the office. You don’t have to go down because once Daehyun’s done, he’ll come down himself,” Zelo explains as he opens the door for me. He doesn’t need to do this every time. After all, I have my own hands, and I’m not with Daehyun.

  “That’s fine.” I climb inside. As I settle down, the carriage moves. It doesn’t take long until it comes to a full stop. Outside, I can hear vampires talking amongst each other, but I cannot understand their words as their voices are muffled. I sit and wait, letting my mind wander.

  The carriage door swings open and Daehyun enters without a word. Zelo shuts the door and we’re on our way back to the mansion. I get this uneasiness, not only because he came from visiting his father, but also because of earlier. I literally slept next to him when I constantly tell myself I wouldn’t! Oh, and let us not forget that I actually held him while I was asleep! I’m such an idiot.

  “Daehyun, are you alright?” Damnit. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t want to talk about it.

  He nods.

  Maybe I shouldn’t say anything else.

  “I refused to drink human blood in front of my father,” he mentions.

  We hit a bump.

  “Sorry!” Zelo shouts from the outside.

  Daehyun shifts in his seat and continues, “Of course, he punished me, but I don’t care. I’m starting to get used to being burnt.” He rubs his hands thoughtfully.

  Oh, how I just want to take those hands again and hold them close to my chest. I resist the urge and sit still and listen.

  “Would you be mad if I said that earlier when you were sleeping next to me, I had the urge to bite your neck again. I didn’t, but it was so tempting, watching you sleep so peacefully with your neck bare.”

  My body feels hot and my eyes widen. I don’t know what to do. Should I be angry at him for almost taking advantage of me or should I be embarrassed for letting myself be so vulnerable? But then, another part of me wonders if I should be relieved that he had enough self control to stop himself. “I-” I’m really lost for words. If he didn’t drink any human blood today, does that mean he’s starving? I pull down my collar and gulp. What is wrong with me? Do I really want him to think that I’m a ert? I mean, I don’t think he’s thinking that way, but I feel like it because him biting me didn’t feel that bad the first time. In fact, I slightly enjoyed it. Slightly.

  Daehyun understands my message and leans forward, but hesitates. His hand is underneath my chin and his lips are centimeters away from my neck. His breath tickles me, yet he doesn’t move. Pulling away, he clearly doesn’t want to do anything with me despite me giving him permission.

  “What’s wrong?” I ask. I’m letting him drink my blood, but he doesn’t want to.

  He gulps. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

  I scoff. “You’re not going to hurt me. If it’s about the bruise, that’s really nothing compared to-” I stop. I’ve experienced way more pain than this. “Just do it, Daehyun. I know for a fact that you really don’t want to drink animal blood for dinner.”

  “I prefer not to, but I don’t want to take advantage of you.”

  “You’re not since I’m giving you permission.”

  Daehyun shakes his head. “Your blood will become my addiction, and if you keep this up, who knows how much I’ll drink next time. What if I get withdrawals?”

  “You’re thinking too much about this.”

  “I’m not. I’m doing this for y-”

  “Daehyun. I don’t care. You’re not going to hurt me.” And if he does, I deserve it. I deserve every pain after what I did to Luca. I don’t even deserve sitting in front of Jung Daehyun, allowing him to give me some sort of pleasure when he my blood. In fact, I shouldn’t be alive.

  We come to a halt.

  The carriage shakes and Zelo opens the door. We have returned to the mansion. Even then, I’m not going to give up. I grab Daehyun’s arm once we stepped out of the carriage and drag him inside without a word.

  I take him to his room, close the door behind us, and set him down. He watches me as I kneel in front of him and keep my eyes on him. Now that we’re alone in this dark room, his desire for blood returns and there’s a red glow in his eyes. I pull down the collar of my shirt and tilt my head to the side.

  Daehyun wants it, but he refuses to touch me. He chews on his gloved thumb.

  This guy.

  I take his hands and remove his glove. I prefer them off. There’s some kind of beauty in those scars and the feeling of his cold hands make him seem more human despite not being one. “Just do it,” I mutter under my breath. “I know you want to.” I release his hands. If he pushes me away again, I will walk away. I don’t want to force him if he refuses a third time.

  Daehyun leans forward. His cold fingers gently press against my skin as he pulls the collar of my shirt down. His lips touch my bruise before trailing down to a new spot. Just like the first time, he my neck, causing me to shiver.

  I grab his knees and shut my eyes tight. Just do it already.

  His fangs pierce my skin and I feel the warm liquid drip. He it off and on my skin. My grip tightens as I stifle a moan. My breathing becomes ragged and my mind blurs.

  Daehyun wraps his other arm around my waist and pulls me in. He squeezes me. Excess blood drips down my neck down to my collarbone. His tongue follows, giving me all kinds of sensations.

  I need to control myself. I bite my tongue, trying to distract myself from Daehyun.

  Before I know it, Daehyun pulls away and swipes a little bit of blood from my neck. He brings his thumb to his mouth and the rest of the blood off. He looks me dead in the eyes. “Thank you.”

  The air feels heavy. I’m doing this to prevent him from starving, not for my own enjoyment. He needs this to survive. That’s why he’s saying thank you to me. I stand. “You’re welcome.” I take a few steps back and bow low. “I’ll see you for dinner later tonight then.”

  “Yes. I will be there.”

  I smile and leave the room, closing the door behind me. I lean against the wall and groan. Yes, I’m doing this because it’s my duty. There’s no emotions attached. At least that’s what I need to believe.

Author's Note:

  I feel like so many things happened in this chapter, and I really hope this doesn't seem like some vampire o now. >.<

  Also, I've been reading a story on here called We Make It Work... Most of the Time. I honestly think this is such a cute BAP fanfic. Although, it doesn't have romance (based on what I read), and it's not really DaeJae, I feel like this story deserves some love. It's basically about BAP and dragons and how they interact with their dragons. I can see potential in the story (and it's well-written), but it has such little subscribers. I hope to help the author by saying that you should give this story a try to support her, considering she only has 3 subscribers (including me). It's cute and if you just need something nice to read, try this. (:

With Love,

     LokiCraze123