"Jimi!" Doojoon yelled angrily. "I'm sick of seeing you like this!"

I looked up. "What are you talking about?" I asked, trying to put some emotion into my voice. It didn't work. It came out sounding as flat and deadpan as a blank sheet of paper.

"You being like....this! Ever since Yoseob stopped being friends with you, you've moped around and did nothing! You're not even eating properly anymore!"

My eyes filled with tears. "I'm sorry, oppa...."

Doojoon frowned, but his expression softened at my tears. He  my hair. "Hey, I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. But this is ridiculous, Jimi. Why do you think Yoseob hates you?"

"I don't think." I sniffed. "I KNOW."

"What do you mean, you 'know'?"

"Well....I never told you this, but....one time, when I went to the summer guidance councelor about a week ago, I ran into Yoseob along the way....."

I gulped. "It was strange. He was just about to leave the office when I walked in. He sort of stiffened up and turned around really slowly and when he saw me he looked angry. And suddenly he jumped out of his chair and ran out of the room as if the Devil was after him!"

"So....are you saying he's avoiding you on purpose?"

"He can't stand being in even the same room with me, oppa!" I sobbed. "He must hate me, I just don't know why! He doesn't go anywhere anymore. He's locked himself up in his house, day in and day out. I've gone there countless times, but he refuses to open the door or answer the phone!"

Doojoon tried to control his anger. Dammit, Yoseob, I thought you were going to protect Jimi until she died! I thought you were going to care for her forever! What happened to all those promises you made about being with Jimi?

"Go there now." He suddenly said.

"What do you mean?" I asked, drying my eyes.

Doojoon ran into the kitchen and came out with a key. "Recognize this?" He tossed the key into the air, and I caught it.

My eyes widened. "T-this is Yoseob's spare house key!"

"That's right. Remember he gave it to you in the seventh grade in case you wanted to go to his house but it was locked?"

I smiled and couldn't help but giggle. "Then you said he only gave it to me because he might lose his own key so he would need a spare."

"That's right. This key was still left with all the others in the drawer. Go to his house now. Don't care if it's rude -- walk right in. Find him, and demand some answers from him. You are Yoon Jimi, his best friend for eight years. He can't just suddenly hate you without a reason. Push the answer out of him, even if you have to commit violence if necessary."

I raised my eyebrow. "What happened to you, oppa? Since when were you this pushy?"

He grinned. "Since my beloved dongsaeng got her heart broken. If he pushes you away, I'll come over. Now go, Jimi!"

I nodded, smiling, and ran off.

Oppa was amazing. He always knew exactly what would make me happy.

It was my first time doing something so pushy and ridiculous, barging into his own house. But I was willing to risk everything to get his friendship back, and I didn't care if he hated me in the process.

*******************************************************************************************************

Yoseob's family was very rich. They had their own land, lots and lots of acres of land. His parents were always traveling abroad and Yoseob didn't want servants, so he basically had the whole house to himself.

I was in and out of there so much it was practically my second home. Doojoon stayed there all the time too. Sometimes, if we were there late into the night, we just slept there.

I marched up the long, winding road that led to Yoseob's mansion. The afternoon sun was slowly dimming to a burning scarlet sunset. The fountain still trickled water as I passed by, the sound always soothing to my ears.

Blood-red roses were blooming in the garden. That was new -- did Yoseob put them in there?

They were so beautiful, so enticing....I had a sudden urge to pick one and keep it with me. I bent over to touch one of the stems........"Owch!" I quickly drew my hand back, and on my finger. Stupid thorn pricked it.

I forced up my courage and walked up the long, marble steps to the front door, my stinging finger still stuck in my mouth.

The front door itself was made of polished wood. I didn't bother knocking. I grabbed the key and fumbled to put it into the lock with one hand. Aaaaaargh, my finger hurts like hell....

I finally managed to unlock the door. I pushed it open. The mansion's front hallway was dark. All the curtains were closed, and all the lights were off.

I walked in, my footsteps echoing eerily in the dark silence.

"Yoseob, I know you're in here!" I yelled. "It's me, Yoon Jimi! I'm here to talk to you!"

Silence.

I started to get angry. How childish could this boy get? "Yoseob, if you don't answer me, I don't care! I'll search every room in this house until I find you! I'll even search the basement cellar!" That was saying a lot -- I was scared to death of the basement cellar. It was cold and damp and pitch-black in there.

Still silence.

"Jerk." I muttered, accidentally biting my injured finger. "Owch!"

I drew out the finger from my mouth and examined the cut. A single tiny droplet of blood oozed out of my finger.

"Dammit, I'm bleeding." I groaned.

A gust of wind came from the open door behind me, blowing my hair around my face and wafting through the entire house.

"Yoseob!" I yelled again.

I felt something move past me.....a gust of wind? No....it was just my imagination.

"Yah, YOSEOB!!!" I screamed angrily. Still no word.

"Fine, if you want to do this the hard way, let's do this the hard way." I growled.

The front door suddenly slammed closed, bathing me in darkness.

"What the....? Stupid wind!" I turned around to open the door again, at least to give me some light so I could find the light switch in this dratty front hall.

I froze when I felt a hand wrap around my waist. I screamed, and the sound was immediately muffled by a hand that clapped over my mouth.

Yoseob?

"Ssssh....be quiet." A voice hissed.

No.....it wasn't Yoseob. This person's voice was deeper, and the arm around my waist was definitely a lot stronger.

Who was this man? I felt cold fear trickle down my stomach. Was he a kidnapper? A murderer? A ? What was he doing in Yoseob's mansion? A burglar?

I shivered when I heard the voice next to my ear again.

"I was drawn here by your intoxicating scent." The voice whispered huskily.

Say what? I didn't smell.....did I?

The hand on my waist moved slightly to grab my arm. He held it up, and I realized it was the arm with the bleeding finger.

"Just a tiny drop of blood.....and that was enough to be smelt from across the mansion." He chuckled low into my ear, and I shivered again. "Kikwang won't be pleased I got to your first."

What? Who was Kikwang? Who was this person?

I tried to scream, but the sound was instantly muffled by the hand over my mouth.

The man's cool lips pressed against the base of my neck -- I could feel it, it was ice-cold and send electric sparks tingling down my body.

"Tonight........I shall feed." He whispered joyfully.

I felt something sharp pierce my neck, and I gasped out loud at the slight pain as my skin broke.

Something hot and wet trickled out of my neck. Oh my god. Did he slice my neck with a knife? Was I going to die?

Instead of blood dripping onto my clothes, I felt another strange sensation.

My blood wasn't going onto my body. It was going into that man's mouth.

He was my blood.

My eyes shot open with revulsion. What? What kind of sick person is this?

A strange feeling in my gut asked me quietly....Are you sure this is a PERSON?

My eyelids fluttered. I was getting lightheaded. I wanted to beg this person to stop, but I was losing strength......

"What's going on here?" Someone asked, shocked. The voice sounded like it came from the banister above us.

There was a click, and the lights in the chandelier suddenly , and I squinted at the sudden bright light. I was better off than the person my blood. He yelled in pain and broke away from me.

I turned around to look at the freak, and this is what I saw: the captivating, inhumanly handsome face of the man who grabbed me. His chestnut-coloured hair looked perfectly styled, even though it was messy. As he stumbled away, his dark and intense eyes squeezed shut tightly with pain.

But you couldn't miss the blood-covered fangs visible from in between his full, blood-smeared lips.

I screamed. My eyes rolled into my head, and I fainted from blood loss.

The only thing that ran through my mind before I lost all consciousness was: It's a vampire. It's a vampire. It's a vampire. It's a vampire. It's a.............