The door buzzes open and clangs abruptly, sending chills down my spine. I walk into a room with a florescent light that casts a sickly shade of yellow on everything in the room. It smells like rubbing alcohol and stainless steel and maybe something sinister.

As I take my seat the door rings again and Jongin saunters in, confident smirk and all. He leans on the wall to my right and crosses his arms, eyes following my every little move. I find it hard to keep my gaze from flitting to him and each time I chance a look, his grin widens.

For a third time, the metal entrance is opened. The vampire from earlier walks in, hands tightly bound behind his back and a number printed onto his gray shirt. The file in front of me tells me his name is Reeve.

He looks sickly, even more so in the lighting, and bones stick out from under his skin. They’ve been starving him, I realize.

“Where are the others?” I start.

“Others? I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”

“No?” I nod my head and an Official walks in carrying a tray. “How about now?”

The tray contains the thing the vampire has been deprived of: blood. A sheen of sweat shines on his forehead, his Adams apple bobs, and his knees shakes violently. It’s cruel, I know, but it’s better than drowning over and over again like the usual protocol. Because vampires don’t ‘die’ from a little water in their lungs. Their hearts sputter, turn off, and then wake up to face the whole thing again.  

I place a hand on the vampire’s trembling one, hoping to either calm him or to enhance his thirst so he’ll give in and spill the info I need or maybe both. His eyes flit to my wrist and then something unexpected happens. He smiles.

“Ah, so you’re the one he always talks about.” The stutter, the shake in his voice is completely gone. “The girl with a mark in the shape of a four pointed star on her wrist.”

“Who told you that?” I retract my hand and ask, my wrist burning. Although the certainty I once had is no longer here.

“He wants to see you again; misses you dearly. He went back home to see you, but you were gone. The house was in shambles when he got there. Asked around, and found out your parents had moved closer to the city after you disappeared. Poor Sehun. He was so sad.”

The room starts to close in on me. It darkens, scoots closer. Puts ice in my bones. Places a heavy lump in my throat. Then the sensation of someone holding my hand brings me back and I can breathe again, and it’s Jongin. 

“You’re lying. He died a long time ago.” I mumble.

“Is that what your mother and father told you? Gullible little girl.” The man leans forward and Jongin tenses. “He didn’t die.

A vampire saved him from that tragic fate.”

He gains the confidence to stand and pace the room with a smile hanging from his lips. 

“He’ll be so pleased to hear that I’ve found you. Just wait till I tell him.” Suddenly, Reeve doesn’t look as weak as before when he forces the metal door open. Distant shouting and blaring red lights push me out of my trance and I’m running with Jongin racing ahead in some inhuman speed. Just before he leaves my field of view, he calls back, “East wing. Top floor.”

And I’m rushing to the place he designated. Running up flights of stairs, passing through doors, climbing more flights, until I finally reach the top floor of the department in the east building. Jongin’s there just as he guaranteed. 

Both are struggling. One trying to escape out of the broken ceiling to floor window, and the other blocking that exit. Just as my revolver clicks into place, all movement stops and Jongin is holding onto Reeve’s neck with the crook of his elbow. The trigger is pulled, and the bullet goes flying, but it hits nothing and Reeve uses the brief hesitation to jump through the window and then he’s gone. 

“You don’t normally miss with that much target. You weren’t even under pressure.” Jongin says.

“Yeah.”

We fall into a long silence that burns every time I breathe it in. I can’t face him, can’t look him in the eyes. It makes me feel vulnerable, the way it seems like he can read into my head and pick out all the details of my thoughts. 

“Sehun...he was your brother, right?” He asks.

“Mmm.”

“I thought he, uh-”

“Died? Yeah. I thought so, too.”

The room is quiet again. The smell of asphalt and methane flits through the open window and flowing maroon curtains. 

“Daeun?”

“Yes, Jongin?”

“Do you think,” He slings his legs over the arm of the couch and rests his head on the other end. “Do you think that maybe you missed the shot because you wanted Reeve to escape?”

“And why would I do that?” I sigh as I sit on the ground next to the couch.

“Because you want to know if Sehun’s alive or not.”

“Maybe.”

“Jongin. Jongin!” I shout as I race out of my bedroom.

“What?” He asks, panic flushing his face.

“It’s huge. And it kept staring at me. So I went to get my shoe to kill it, but then it just disappeared.” I rush. My heart pounds in my head.

“Daeun, seriously, when are you going to get over spiders.” Jongin says as he walks into the room, lifts the cover of the bed,

checks all along the floor, the walls. 

“I swear, it was the size of my fist.”

“Liar. You’re exaggerating.”

“I’m not! It was hanging around like it had no damn care in the world.”

“It’s a spider. I would be surprised if it actually did care about much at all.” He turns and shakes his hands in the air to show that he hasn’t spotted the beast. “Oh look, now you’re hallucinating.”

“Cross my heart I saw a spider the size of cookie in here.”

“Oh so now it’s the size of a cookie?”

“You know what I mean.” I hiss, crossing my arms. “I’ll just sleep in the living room.”

Jongin laughs and plops onto the bed. “The spider, along with it’s friends, are more likely to be out there, than in here.”

“Thanks.” I mutter sarcastically. 

“If it bothers you that much, you can sleep in my room until I find it, and I’ll sleep in here. All better?” With a brow raised,

he stands.

I nod in agreement and then words spill out of my mouth before I can stop them. “Can we sleep in the same room?” He looks shocked. “I mean, uh, because what if it decides to follow me? Shouldn’t you be there to stop it?”

“Right, sure. If you want.” 

And then for some reason, the ground becomes such an interesting subject to stare at.

“Aren’t you cold?”

“Nope.”

“Are you sure your back won’t hurt?”

“Nah.”

“Really?”

“Daeun, what are you trying to say?”

“I don’t know, I feel bad that you have to sleep on the ground I guess.”

Jongin laughs. “Then you sleep on the ground and I’ll sleep on the bed.”

“No. Never mind, I don’t feel bad anymore.”

“Or,” He leans against the mattress, chin resting on his hands. “We can just share the bed.”

I scoot to the furthest edge of the bed, against the wall, and wave to the empty space. “Go ahead.”

“I was kidding, Daeun.” I hear Jongin say.

“I wasn’t.” I speak into the wall, my eyes flitting close.

A few moments pass until the bed shifts under Jongin’s weight. “Night, Daeun.”

“Goodnight, idiot.”