004.

All his life, Mingyu were never really fond of strangers. Well, at least that's what he remembered ever since the day he was turned. He would prefer sitting in a nice, small cafe that located in the corner of the town, sipping hot coffee and finishing his paperworks than going to the local pub and get wasted. People would find it odd, because really, not everyday you could find a good-looking man wasted his life away by doing paperworks and drinking coffee. Call him oldfashioned he didn't really care because he had already given up everything ever since that damned day. All these years living in a white lie did not bother him as much as it was before. Though in the small corner of his mind, he often wondered about how his life would be if that day didn't happen. Would he have his family then? What about lovers? Did he ever had any? He would never know.

He was alone. He's always been alone. If it weren't for Jihoon, he wouldn't be able to go through what he's been through so far. Even if the shorter male was cranky, mean and sadistic at times, he was, undoubtedly the best companion he ever had and he was thankful for that. Not that he would admit it, of course.

Jihoon was one of a kind, a mystery, he supposed, that kind of mystery that no matter how deep you try to look into, the further away you were from the answer. It felt like, he knew him for a lifetime, yet felt like a stranger at the same time. He knew the fact that Jihoon was his boss, lived alone with his cat in a house near the border of the town and always came to work earlier than anyone else. There were few trivial informations about him but so far, that was all he knew. Jihoon was not exactly the most sociable person out there and neither was he, so seeing that they got a few things in common, Mingyu never made a big deal out of it. As long as he didn't meddle with his life, he wouldn't meddle with his.

The thought of Jihoon had been lingered on his mind longer than it should have. It felt like there was something missing. Like, how he remembered that morning when the latter texted him that he wanted to meet up for a coffee. It might seem normal, but for someone who known Jihoon for nearly his lifetime, he couldn't shake that gut-wrenching feeling he got, no matter how hard he tried to ignore it. His voice too, not the usual cold or annoyed tone he often heard. The voice on the other side of the line almost sounded like a scared child and whatever it was that Jihoon was going to say scared Mingyu as much as it scared him. And to even add the burden, Mingyu somehow managed to get himself stuck in a, literally,  creepy doll mansion with equally creepy owner. Jihoon would've thought that he blew him off and Mingyu was sure that he would lose his job for that, if not his head for a start. He groaned mentally at the thought.

"Is there anything wrong with the food?"

A honey-soft voice broke his reverie and Mingyu looked up from his untouched soup, catching Joshua stared at him with concern clouded his once gleaming eyes. "N-no! not really. There was nothing wrong with the food. They are fantastic!" Mingyu smiled nervously.

Joshua tilted his head in confusion and pointed at the soup. "You didn't even touch it. I mean, If you don't like it, then perhaps Seokmin can change it with other dish. Like pancakes, or waffles? Or maybe you like the classics bacon and eggs?"

"No, the soup is perfect." The vampire said in fake enthusiast and seeing the raised eyebrow from the young master, Mingyu could tell that Joshua wasn't buying it. He gingerly grabbed the spoon and dipped it to the warm soup that was sitting nicely in front of him and slowly, settled them on his mouth, eyes still matching Joshua's gaze to proved his point.

"It was delicious!"

"Really?" Joshua asked and Mingyu nodded fervently. The vampire watched the owner grabbed his own spoon and continued to eat. "I'll let Seokmin knows. He'll be delighted to know that our guest take a liking to his food."

"Who's Seokmin?" Mingyu asked, "is he one of the staff here?"

Joshua took a bite-size of bread and dipped it to the soup, "He's the mansion resident head chef."

Mingyu watched the latter with eat with so much grace, almost mirroring one of a prince and he felt a bit schlumpy in comparison. The owner was wearing a crimson coloured velvet coat with black ascot hugged his neck perfectly. Underneat the coat was what-it-seemed-to-be white dress shirt that looked like it cost more than his whole wardrobe combined. And that top hat too. Joshua really seemed to like wearing it because it was the second time in less than twenty four hour Mingyu had seen him with.  He wasn't sure what centuries did the owner lived in but everything about him screamed aristocracy and elegance. And here he was, sitting awkwardly in a large dining room that could probably big enough to feed an army, in his worn out jeans and equally ugly black hoodie.

Mingyu hated that feeling. He hated how small he felt compared to everything in this mansion. He hated how everything was too big, the ceilings were too tall, the table was too long,  and overall, he hated how gloomy the mansion became, especially in the absence of light. Maybe it was because how he was so used of everything within his reach in his cramped apartment. It was small, yes, but Mingyu was happy with it. He didn't need big space when he had no one to share it with.

It was quiet too and somehow, the silence suffocated him so much that he would've had died long ago if he weren't already dead. He could only hear the occasional clanking sound of the silverware that echoed throughout the large space of the dining area.

"So," Joshua started, eyes bored to Mingyu's sharp ones. "Tell me about yourself."

Mingyu nearly choked on the spoonful of tasteless soup before clearing his throat. "Um, well, I'm a boring person and there isn't much to tell about me really."

Joshua wiped the corner of his lips with the napkin as his eyebrows furrow in amusement. "Oh really?"

"Yes really."

"Well, I've been dealing with merchants and doll collectors before and trust me, Mingyu, they weren't exactly the most interesting bunch either." Joshua said as a playful smirk came across his flawless complexion. "So, enlighten me."

Mingyu placed his spoon back on his plate and he rubbed his neck awkwardly. "Well, as you know, I'm Mingyu. I live in a apartment somewhere in the town nearby. I work as a journalist. I spend my time hanging out with my TV and couch on the weekend. I mostly work on weekdays."

"Interesting." the latter hummed. He set the soup aside and Mingyu watched one of the servant took it away and served a large plate of many kinds of fruits on the table. "How did you manage to get lost then?" Joshua asked.

Mingyu looked into the owner's curious brown orbs and sighed. "It was the stress. So, when I stress I take a walk in the forest. It had became a habit really. But this time I was so stupid that I didn't pay attention to the weather forecast about the storms, hence here I am." the vampire explained. "And sorry for troubling you. I promise to get out as soon as the storm abate."

Joshua glanced over at the large window on the side that display the outdoor view of the garden were now covered with white blanket of snow. "It doesn't look like it's going to end anytime soon though." he observed.

"Sadly." Mingyu added dejectedly. "and here I was hoping I could go home by morning."

"Rest assure. You are welcome to stay in this mansion as long as you need, Mingyu." Joshua offered. "I've heard that the storm will last for the whole weekend."

Mingyu groaned at the information and was about to slam his head on the table if it wasn't for the half-empty soup sitting innocently on the table in front of him. This was not happening. He had paperwork he need to finish by the end of the week and he was nowhere near done. He could totally imagine Jihoon holding up a butcher knife and ready to skin him alive. Even if he was part of the undead creature, he would appreciate if his body did not get mutilated, thank you.

It seemed that his misery did not go unnoticed by the owner so when he heard a light chuckle, he looked up to see the owner grinned at him. "What?"

"You look pathetic."

"Well, thank you for stating the obvious." Mingyu grumbled, setting the soup away to the side so he could properly slam his head on the table this time. "Jihoon's going to kill me." he muttered.

"Who's Jihoon, if I may ask?" Joshua questioned.

"No one." the vampire replied, "He's just my sadistic boss that has a thing about cutting me in pieces." A picture of angry Jihoon flashed on his mind and instictively, his stomach churned. "And probably going skin me too." he added miserably. "Special dish of the day: Mingyu soup."

Cheery laughter rang across the large dining room and Mingyu found himself staring at the owner of the mansion, who nearly doubled over laughing at his misery. He looked around and noticed the stunned look the servants gave them. it was as if they never heard of the young master laughing for a very long time.

"Oh dear, that was funny." Joshua said as his laughter subdued. "It's been a while since I had a good laugh."

Mingyu raised his eyebrow. "How come?"

Joshua paused for a moment and the vampire spotted sadness lingered on his gentle orbs. "This mansion has seen so much sadness in the past years." he said softly. "Sometimes it feels like the mansion and its residence had lost the ability to smile."

"What do you mean?" Mingyu questioned, his mind were running a hundred miles per second. He wasn't trying to push his luck but pressing the owner with questions, but he couldn't help but ask anyway. The mansion held something bigger, and even darker secret that lurked around in every corner and it was unnerving.

Mingyu wasn't sure why but the moment his gaze met with Joshua's, it reminded him so much about the butler's eyes when he saw him this morning. Dark and unreadable; and whatever it was, it couldn't be a good thing.

Joshua glanced at the grandfather clock in the corner of the dining area and stood up abruptly. "Tick-tock. It's time to go. Let's just save that question for another time, yes? You could spend the rest of the day in the library if you want. We have a quite collections of classics. They are marvellous and I'm sure that you'll love it."

Mingyu's frown deepened at the sentence and was about to protest when he spotted a familiar butler, Wonwoo, stood by the door frame with an unreadable look adorned his pale complexion. He didn't said anything, merely bowed as Joshua walked past him. "Joshua, wait!"Mingyu made a quick dash to follow the owner of the house but was stopped by a familiar cold hand, his grip was as tight as the last time, if not tighter.

"I wouldn't follow him If I were you." Wonwoo spoke firmly, hand still gripping the taller male, "Remember the rules, Mingyu-shi."

Mingyu yanked his hand away for the second time today and glared at the butler. "I want answers Wonwoo, and if none of you are giving me that, then I'll just have to ask Joshua myself."

"I told you to stop meddling around, didn't I?" Wonwoo said coldly.

"Do I look like I'll listen?" Mingyu countered, patience growing thin.

"You know what." Wonwoo sighed, "Do what you want. Don't blame me if your get in trouble." With that he took his leave, the other servants followed after him. The dining room fell eerily quiet, leaving him alone with his thoughts.

.

.

.

'Hang on, did he just said something about my ?'

****

Reading was harder than what Mingyu had originally thought. He had spent a good few hours inside the huge- library, trying to cure his boredom and hopefully, distract him enough from thinking about a certain pale butler and his warnings. And he didn't know that it would turned out to be a major failure. Here he was, sitting in one of the luxurious armchair with a copy of Dracula placed nicely on his lap. It's been a few hours but he couldn't even pass the first page without having Wonwoo lingered on his thoughts.

'Stay away from that room, he said.' The vampire muttered as he play with the wrinkled edge of the book. 'Stop meddling around, he said.'

Mingyu heaved a tired sigh as he closed the book and placed them on the side table. He got up and stretched his endless limbs, feeling a few cracks here and there due to staying in the same position for hours. The grumbling noise in his stomach was now harder to ignore and it seemed that the meagre soup he ate earlier did nothing to ease his hunger. His headache was making a comeback as well. Bad news.

Maybe he could sneaked out to the stable, since the staffs were too busy carrying out their daily tasks they'd surely wouldn't notice if he stole an animal or two. Joshua would be busy with whatever it was that he was doing, so, it was unlikely for him to notice the missing animals. It was risky business, but then again, he was reaching his limits and if he didn't feed soon, he would've lose what left of his control over his bloodlust and would've jump at the first living person he sees. A bigger problem he would definitely like to avoid.

Mingyu was about to leave the library when he sensed another presence in the room. It was odd. He couldn't sense them at first because they were so subtle, but apparently his sense sensitivity increased dramatically when he was hungry. His eyes widened at the realisation.

Blood.

His eyes sharpened and his steps were faster. It felt like his body was moving on his own as he expertly dodged rows and rows of book shelves. As the smell got clearer, his steps slowed down. It wasn't what he expected. The same floral patterned Victorian dress was now tainted with blood. Unlike her closed eyes before, the vampire now could see the tear-stained, hazel-coloured eyes staring back at his soul, pleading for help.

"Y-you..." Mingyu breathed, "Y-you're-!"

"Please!" The girl cried as she flung her bloodied-self right to Mingyu's arms. "You've got to get out of here!"

"E-eh?" Mingyu frowned upon the girl's plea as he held the trembling figure securely in his embrace. His mind was a haze, everything jumbled up together and the strong smell of blood were so tempting he almost surrendered. His headache was stronger now, he blinked a few times, wishing that it would be gone somehow. Mingyu turned his gaze away and closed his eyes. The girl in his arms were trembling mess and Mingyu never felt this hopeless. He wasn't good with girls, especially crying ones, yet he felt an odd sense of familiarity with her.

"Hey, It's okay." he whispered softly, his right hand found its way to the girl's soft, brown locks and he patted her gently. "Everything's going to be fine."

"No, it won't!" the girl shrieked histerically, "He's going to come back and kill you! Please Mingyu, listen to me for once and get out of here!" She pleaded.

Mingyu's eyes widened at the mention of his name. He never mentioned his name so how did she--

The double wooden door of the library were suddenly slammed open, revealing Joshua, still clad in his usual attire, smiled at him. Yet there was something odd behind that smile, the way his smile curved in the most unnatural way he had ever seen and the familiar gleaming brown orbs were replaced by ominous black. He could feel his stomach whirled around.

"So you've meet Jeonghan."

To be continued . . .

*****

Aila's note : I deeply apologise for the massive amount of grammar mistake that could be find here. I don't have time to proofread this story and I don't have a beta reader. Yeah I lame like that :|

Aila's note II : Honestly I nearly gave up. I rewrite this chapter for at least, seven times and it still didn't turn out like how i expect it to be D: I'm sorry for the crapiness :_____;

Aila's note III : So, new character introduction! /cheers

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