The ensuing darkness, the shrill cries for help, and the rumbling of the thunder roused Yoohyeon from her deep sleep. She seldom ever gets any real sleep, but on this special occasion, which was her birthday, her mother held her in her arms and swayed her gently while singing her a soothing lullaby until it was finally time for her to drift off to her own personal dreamland. But Yoohyeon wasn't able to get much rest because she ended up venturing through the dimly lit hallways of the very first establishment that her father had ever founded.

Usually, the corridor lights were on even if it was late at night, as Yoohyeon’s father never rests because he has always been a hardworking businessman who only wished for his hard work to successfully grow so he could give a better future to his only daughter. But on that specific night, it was dark and much colder. Yoohyeon walked even further, following the sound of the painful cries, until her feet led her to the stock room, where a huge "employees only" sign welcomed her.

Yoohyeon exhaled a long and heavy sigh. She was aware that her father would reprimand her for entering the premises without receiving his permission. Nonetheless, her mind was b with curiosity, which compelled her to turn the doorknob and enter the room in concern.

"For how long have you been hiding this sin of yours?" It was a voice coming from someone Yoohyeon was never familiar with. Because the vampire was solely kept concealed inside her room from the very beginning of her life, she had never actually interacted with anyone other than two of their most trusted servants. She was never allowed to walk out of her door, not even once. Her mother would only visit her when it was time for her to feed, at which point she would inform her that she had very little time left before she had to return to work.

When she was a child, she was never given an adequate explanation for the fact that neither of her parents ever had the opportunity to spend time with her, either by hanging out with her or at the very least by engaging in an extended conversation with her.

But as she stood in the corner with a terrified expression on her face, she watched her mother being tied up in one of the metal bars with blood streaming out of the dreadful injuries she had received, and she suddenly understood why it was necessary that she be kept hidden.

"You know better than to form a deeper connection with one of your mortal slaves," said the man in an all-black suit. "If you want your immortal daughter to live a good life, follow my orders and kill this woman."

"Father, please, it doesn’t have to be this way. I don’t want my daughter to grow up without her loving mother," he begged, kneeling on the concrete floor.

"You have left me no choice! What do you think the higher-ups would say if they discovered that you had been having ual relations with a human and that those relationships resulted in her bearing a child? This brings shame not only to your family but also to your entire generation! You are aware of the rules, and as your father, I have never neglected to bring them to your attention."

"I love her, father!" He exclaimed, his voice almost breaking. "I don’t just see her as someone I can fool around with. I knew damn well that the relationship we shared would have a child growing inside of her, but I’ve never once regretted any of my decisions. Yoohyeon and my wife are the best blessings I’ve ever received in my thousands of years of being in this world."

"Silence!" Yoohyeon felt even more frightened as a result of the man's voice, which boomed throughout the entire room. "You don't have enough power to go against me, so if you want your precious daughter's life to be spared, kill this woman at this moment."

"No!"

Yoohyeon rushed to her mother’s position and engulfed her in a tight embrace. Both her father and grandfather were taken aback by her actions.

"Grandfather, please don’t make my dad kill mom," she pleaded, choking in between her cries. "Please, please don’t let my mom die. I’ll do anything."

When the man learned that Yoohyeon was no longer a child, he made the remark, "I see you've been hiding your wrongdoings for so many years now," exhibiting disdain in his demeanor. She had reached the age of full adulthood, twenty-one, and was able to make decisions on her own at that point. 

"When your colleagues discovered this in your own house and reported it to me, I opted not to believe them because I knew my son would never disobey me. I negotiated an agreement with them so that they would keep quiet about it and not involve any of the other members of the authority until I had personally investigated this matter and found out what was going on. I suppose that I should have had trust in them right from the beginning. You make me sick!"

The man rapidly removed the sword from its sheath and pointed it directly in the direction of Yoohyeon and her mother. 

"If you don’t kill this woman right now, I’ll have her and your daughter’s heads instead," he coldly stated.

Yoohyeon’s father didn’t have a choice. He was too weak at that time to go against his father since he was one of the higher-ups and one of the most prominent vampires. His heart broke into a million pieces when he grabbed the sword from his father and pulled his daughter away from her mother’s tight embrace to deeply stab the weapon in his wife’s chest, instantly killing her. Blood splattered everywhere as he held Yoohyeon tightly so that she couldn't come close to the dead body of her mother, and the only sound that was heard inside the stock room was his daughter's agonizing sobs.

"I’m sorry, my Yoohyeon..."

Yoohyeon became awake when she felt a shaking sensation run through her body. She opened her eyes, and although the clarity of her vision was a little hazy, she immediately recognized the person who was looking down on her with concern written all over her face.

"Minji," she softly called out, tiredness evident in her tone. She slowly sat up and rested her back on the headboard of her girlfriend’s bed, feeling like her head was being drilled from the inside. "What happened?"

"I think you were having a nightmare," she replied. Yoohyeon suddenly remembered that she stayed at Minji’s house for the night, and she ended up falling into a deep sleep because of her sweet and angelic singing voice. That was the first sleep she has ever had in so many years, and that was also the first time she was reminded of what took place during her 21st birthday. It has always been her worst nightmare.

The vampire heaved a sigh before putting her arms around Minji's waist and tugging her closer to her. When Minji was finally able to sit down on the vampire's lap to give her the hug that she needed, Yoohyeon instantly felt safe and comforted.

She heaved another sigh and then buried her face in the chest of her lover, closing her eyes to prevent the tears from pouring down her face. Because Yoohyeon despised showing how vulnerable she truly was and because she did not want Minji to become worried either, she decided that it would be best for her to just keep the suffering she felt to herself.

"Is everything okay, Hyeon? Do you want to talk about what’s bothering you?" Minji asked, gently running her fingers through Yoohyeon’s hair.

"I’m alright," she lied. "I guess I slept so much that I ended up seeing weird things in my dreams."

"Are you sure?" 

"Positive," she replied with a smile before leaning closer to her girlfriend’s face and capturing her lips with a chaste kiss. Minji just smiled in between the kisses as they deepened, closing her eyes to feel how loved she was by Yoohyeon. They only pulled away when they needed to catch their breath.

"I love you," Minji whispered as she planted a light kiss on her girlfriend’s nose. "You can always freely talk about anything with me, okay? You don’t have to bottle things up because you have me now."

"I love you too, and of course, I’ll keep that in mind."

That same morning, Yoohyeon received an email from her father informing her of another business meeting. As much as she disliked being separated from Minji, she had no choice but to leave immediately because of the notification.

She despised how the man kept getting her involved in things that she didn't care about, but as the sole heir and successor, the vampire had no choice but to comply. As she stepped out of the elevator and was greeted by her father's secretary, she let out a sigh of frustration that was audible to others nearby. 

"Your dad is on his way, so you can just take your seat inside the conference room," she prompted. Yoohyeon just gave her a nod before entering the room and making herself comfortable on the chair that was assigned to her. She rolled