Yoohyeon couldn’t help but flinch at the loud sound of her father’s hands slamming on his desk. She couldn’t even look him straight in the eyes because she feared he would lose his temper completely and be physical with her again. The reason she was inside his office after a couple of weeks of not seeing or talking to him was because Siyeon’s parents, who were also well-known in terms of business, told him about the incident a few weeks ago and how Yoohyeon somehow managed to give serious injuries to their daughter, who was only out to feed.

She attempted to explain what had taken place because she believed that Siyeon had likely twisted the narrative, but it appears that Yoohyeon only made the situation worse because she was unaware that her father had never known that her conflict with the pureblood had taken place because she was protecting a human. Because of this, it infuriated her father even more because, after the passing of his wife, he had sworn to himself that he would never again form any deeper bonds with mortals and had instead begun viewing them entirely as either slaves or prey.

"Have you completely lost your mind, Kim Yoohyeon? You injured your kind just to protect a frail and worthless human?" He exclaimed, his thunderous voice echoing throughout his office.

"She’s my friend’s sister, dad. Siyeon could’ve harmed Bora too if I hadn’t helped. Her parents wouldn’t be able to forgive me if something bad happened to both of them. You know how big Mr. and Mrs. Kim are—probably bigger than Lee Siyeon’s family," she protested.

"That family is now the talk of the town because of having a mortal child fake as one of us! What that human girl did is against the law, and if she hadn’t had those fake parents of hers protect her, she would’ve become prey for the wild sanguines by now. If I were to choose, I’d rather her be feasted upon in the cold streets."

"Don’t speak about Minji that way!" Yoohyeon shouted. "You may see her as nothing but a troublemaker or merely a body you could just drain and leave rotting in the streets, but to me, she’s someone really special."

Yoohyeon's father didn't say a word, but instead he smacked the side of his daughter's face pretty hard, which resulted in a deep gash on the side of her lip. Yoohyeon was visibly upset. The vampire groaned in discomfort, but it didn't affect him in the least. After that, she was dismissed from his office and instructed never to return again. She was further told to only try to reconcile with him if she stopped seeing Minji and her family, which Yoohyeon promised herself she would never do.

The vampire found herself running towards Minji’s house instead of her own. She had been pondering whether or not she should knock on the door or just leave at that point, as she had been standing close to it for a few minutes. She heaved a long sigh and was about to turn around to walk away when the door suddenly creaked open.

"Yoohyeon? What are you doing here?"

"Oh, Mrs. Kim!"

"Please, drop the formalities. Just call me Aunt if you wish," she prompted, smiling warmly. "Are you looking for Bora? Or Minji?"

"Minji," she replied, returning the smile. "Is she home right now?"

"Why don’t you come in first, dear? I can clearly see the bad cut on your face right now. Let me treat you first before we talk."

"Oh, right. Is it okay if I-"

Minji and Bora’s mom chuckled. She told Yoohyeon she was able to pick up her scent inside her household, so she knew the vampire had been inside while she and her husband weren’t around. Yoohyeon felt embarrassed and instantly apologized for barging in, but the woman said it’s okay since her daughters trust her a lot for them to let her in. She also treated Yoohyeon's wound and told her it would be gone in just a few hours since vampires like her have their injuries heal more quickly than others.

"Minji and Bora aren’t home today," she started.

"Yeah, I’ve noticed. Did they go somewhere important?"

The woman nodded.

"Their dad drove them to the hospital where Siyeon was resting because they said they wanted to check on her and apologize for the incident. I’ve heard about the conflict that happened, and of course I’m very thankful that you saved my daughters again, but what I don’t like is Minji disobeying her parents’ orders just to be able to see you."

Yoohyeon turned silent, but she still listened carefully. 

"Minji has never disobeyed us before, not even once. She has always been Bora’s role model, and she has been doing a wonderful job as her older sister for the past years."

"Mrs. Kim, I-"

"Yoohyeon, dear, if you're under the impression that I'm upset with you as a result of the unexpected change that my daughter has gone through, let me tell you that is not the case. In fact, her father and I are overjoyed that she is at last discovering how to interact with other people in a way that does not require her to feel terrified due to her knowing that she is different. You understand why it bothers me when Minji goes against our rules, don't you, right?"

"Of course, I completely understand."

The woman smiled and gently gave Yoohyeon’s head a pat to keep her from feeling tense.

"I’m not stopping you from interacting with Minji if that’s what makes the both of you happy. But just know that I’m not allowing her to leave the house when we’re not around and couldn’t come to your rescue immediately in case something bad happens again. Even if Bora’s around, as long as we’re not home, I forbid it," she commanded, but made sure to speak in a soft tone to not scare the girl off.

"Then, can I at least have permission to come over if Minji can’t go out?" Yoohyeon asked, and their mother couldn’t help but chuckle at how she looked. It was as if she had a pet puppy staring at her with those pleading eyes.

"You do like seeing my eldest so much, don’t you?"

Yoohyeon’s blood immediately rose up in her cheeks due to the sudden question. She wasn’t really ready to talk about the weird feeling she gets whenever she’s with Minji because she wasn’t entirely sure of what it was yet, but she guessed she couldn’t really deny some things anymore knowing that she had been an open book ever since she got close to the Kim siblings.

"I... I suppose I do love her company," Yoohyeon said, looking anywhere but the woman’s eyes. "Bora too, of course! They’re both fun to be with."

"Oh, what a coincidence!" Mrs. Kim suddenly blurted out when a familiar car slowly parked near the gate. Yoohyeon looked through the window and saw Minji in an oversized green polo shirt and a pair of white shorts and sneakers. She also had a cap on, and it was the same color as her shirt, which the vampire found adorable. "I guess they’re finally back from visiting Siyeon at the hospital."

"Mom, we’re home!" Yoohyeon could hear Bora’s loud voice from the living room. The woman told them that she was in the dining area, so the siblings rushed to greet their mother. Minji, who looked a bit tired from the trip, felt ecstatic when she saw Yoohyeon inside their house.

"Yoohyeon, you’re here!" Minji uttered, skipping towards the vampire. "What are you doing here? What happened to your face? Did you get into an argument again?"

Yoohyeon couldn't help but chuckle at the swarm of questions that Minji had fired her way. She motioned for the human to take a seat by tapping on the empty spot next to her so that she could take a little break. Minji complied with the request, and both her mother and her sister did nothing but smile at the sight before opting to give them a bit of privacy.

"So, what are you doing here? Did mom scold you?"

"I just dropped by to visit since I don’t have anything else to do. And no, your mother didn’t scold me. She just talked things out with me and gave me a couple of reminders for your safety," she assured. "I heard you went to visit Lee Siyeon."

"Oh, yes. Handong texted my sister and told her about her injuries from the fight you had. We somehow felt responsible for what happened, so we decided to pay a visit and apologize to her and her parents," Minji answered. "Anyway, what happened to your face? You look really dead too."

"Technically, I am dead," Yoohyeon corrected, and Minji just rolled her eyes.

"Okay, I’m joking. Why are you always so grumpy with me? Anyway, I just had