***I switched this to a oneshot.*** 

Boston

January

According to office chatter, he was a child prodigy in mathematics. A wiz with numbers that translated those gifts into computers and net security. He was in his mid twenties, but the blonde hair and pale skin made him look a fragile, sun deprived teenager. A lot of people around the office had to be shown his exceptional skill to believe that one so young could be so good at his job. Writing complex codes in weeks that would take an average person years to perfect--some were envious, more were intimidated. Hana liked him though. She thought he was cute. Hana had always thought Jiyong was handsome with his slender frame and gummy smile.

Jiyong was shy with the bank employees generally. Quiet, but not unfriendly. He spoke when spoken to, seldom sought anyone out. When he and Hana would find themselves alone in the elevator, he always spoke to her and smiled. She knew it was likely because they were the only Koreans that actually spoke Korean in the building, but she'd take a smile from him no matter the reason.

Hana really liked his smile.

* * * * *

When the quarter ended, bank management was so thrilled with the numbers that they rented a restaurant and told everyone to come. The 'or else' was implied.

Hana stood with a few of her female co workers sharing harmless gossip when she noticed JiYong walk in. He was dressed in a blazer, jeans and a turtleneck. She noticed how he looked around while standing awkwardly inside the door.

“Isn't he just the cutest little thing,” Daniella whispered and held her hand over her heart dramatically.

“Oh, look at him. He's like a lost puppy,” Laura added.

    “Or a shy kid on his first day of school,” Joy said lastly. She looked at Hana, snatched her drink out of her hand and moved it out of reach. “Let him buy you a drink.”

    “Wait. What?” Hana was still processing the abrupt loss of her beverage and missed what all was said.

    “Look at him over there. If he's there a minute longer, it'll get embarrassing. Go talk to him!” Joy gestured in Jiyong's direction, Hana's eyes followed. As she watched, a group of guys walked in around Jiyong and didn't acknowledge him. “Go on. Save him!”

    Hana felt herself get rudely shoved from behind and had no choice but to move in Jiyong's direction. She was within steps of Jiyong when he looked up at her and smiled in that way that twisted her heart.

    “Hey,” she mumbled.

    “Hey,” he mumbled back. After that intelligent exchange, they both looked down at their shoes. "Can I buy you a drink?"

    "Sure," Hana agreed. With a little distance between them, Jiyong led her to the bar and held out a stool for her to sit on. At his prompting, Hana asked for a SoCo and Coke. He had a beer, and passed her her drink with a shy smile. After several beats of awkward silence she asked, "Did you find the place okay?"

    "I did. I only live a few blocks from here.” Jiyong sipped his beverage and toyed with the paper label. Another exhausted subject . . . . “You don’t have to stick with me. I wasn’t planning on staying long anyway.”

    “No, no. It’s fine. Actually, I’ve been dying to ask you . . ,” Hana racked her brain for a question to ask. She had been content to admire him from afar, but since she had his attention she asked, “What’s the absolute worst movie you’ve ever watched?”

*****

As it turned out, Jiyong had the same deep and tortured love affair with bad movies that Hana did. Movies with terrible acting and ridiculous plots that they sat through just hoping that there would be something in them to redeem the film. Both were frequently disappointed.

“But have you watched ‘Sharknado 3’ yet?” he asked while leaning on the bar an hour later. Hana shook her head.  

    “Not yet, but I’m looking forward to it. Based on the trailers, it might be the worst one yet,” she confessed with a wide grin, sounding positively giddy at the prospect. She swallowed the last of her drink and set the glass on the counter.

    “Would you like another?” he offered, already in the process of waving his hand to get the bartender's’ attention. Hana shook her head and lightly grabbed his wrist to stop him. She snatched her hand back when she saw him looking down at it.

“I can’t. I have an early flight in the morning and, of course, waited until the last possible moment to pack.”

“Where are you headed?”

“To Miami. My favorite cousin is getting married and I can’t wait to see her. And the sun,” she joked. Hana turned her phone on and checked the time. “I should get going, actually.”

Jiyong pouted his lip and looked dejected. But when Hana giggled, he quickly changed his expression to a smile. “Come on, then. I’ll walk you out.”

He moved to the side and called a cab while she spoke to her friends and hugged them in turn. Though his eyes were averted, he knew he was being looked at and talked about by the wormen. Hana came back to his side, he helped her put her coat on. Even held the door for her on the way out.

On the street, Jiyong held his blazer close to his body for warmth. The move didn’t go unnoticed by Hana. “Go back inside. You’re not dressed for this.”

“I called them already. I can stand it out here for a few minutes.” They both turned shy again and looked away from each other. Jiyong cleared his throat and stated boldly, “It was great talking to you tonight.”

Hana toyed with her hair and glanced up at him. “Yeah, it really was.”

“Maybe . . . we could talk again when you get back?” he ventured.

She barely managed to suppress the smile on her face. “I’d like that. A lot.”

“Great.” Jiyong wanted to slap himself for sounding so anxious. He cleared his throat again and his lips. “I don’t have my phone on me, so how about--”

“I’ll give you mine!” Hana dug into her purse for a pen and ended up writing her number on the back of a receipt. She put it in his hand right when the cab pulled up. Both of them hesitated, not wanting to leave the other. But alas . . . .

“Where am I taking you?” the cabby asked with the window down. Hana leaned in to tell him her address.

Once she saw that it was correct on the GPS, she stood straight and turned. Jiyong was right there, though, so they ended up doing some awkward shuffling until he finally put his hands on her shoulders to get her to stop moving. Jiyong held the door open for her and closed it securely after Hana slid into the seat. She rolled the window down and leaned out a little.

“Get home safely, okay?” she spoke.

“I will. You do the same. And have a great trip.”

“I’ll try to.” Hana bit her lip as she waved to him. “Goodnight, Jiyong.”

“Goodnight, Hana.”

*****

    The party was pointless with Hana gone, so Jiyong paid his tab and grabbed his coat. He waved to one of his supervisors who pretended to not see him.

Jiyong started walking home with the hood of his coat up to cover his head. After a few blocks, he can hear heavy steps behind him. He ignored them at first. Then he stopped, pretended to tie his shoes, and the other person stopped too. He rolled his eyes, not wanting to deal with stupidity. He had been having a great night. On top of that, how had they found him?

Swearing under his breath, he tipped his chin down and altered his route. Jiyong turned a corner and saw a guy across the way, all in black. Jiyong changed directions again. He knew both men were following him now. The only place he would be truly safe was at his home, and there were many blocks between he and it since he kept changing directions. Damn.

Faster, he moved. A block away from his home at last, he looked ahead and saw a woman in black pacing near the door to his apartment building. .

    Jiyong knew what was coming. He would rather avoid it, but knew that they wouldn’t leave him alone now that he had been found. So he took a deep breath and resigned himself to the coming confrontation. Jiyong turned to look the two men behind him in the eye, ducked into an alley and waited.

He put on a cool facade and leaned against a dumpster. The three in black came at him in a line, like a pack of wolves approaching prey. Jiyong threw his hood back and let them see him clearly.

“We don’t have to do this, you know,” Jiyong said loudly. They kept coming. “This won’t end well. For you.”

And still they came.

Fine, he thought, be that way. Jiyong stood his ground, shifting his eyes constantly to keep track of their movements. The first man lunged at him. He let the man's own weight propel him to the wall head first. So sloppy.

The other guy came next. He attacked fast and tried his best to pin Jiyong’s arms to his sides. While Jiyong tussled with him, the third person, the woman, came forward and stabbed Jiyong in the stomach with a long, silver blade. He screamed in agony and shuffled back to remove the metal from him body. Looking back and forth between his bloody fingers and the knife dripping from the woman’s hand, Jiyong saw red.

*****

Hana had music on low while she packed last minute toiletries for her trip. She danced around her little apartment, head filled with thoughts of warm weather, mojitos and sand. Going into the living room, she looked around for her other red flip flop by the door. The knock on it startled her enough to make her scream.  

“Hana?”

She stood and took several steps away from the door. “Who’s there?”

“Please, Hana. Let me in,” the weak voice called.

Grabbing the baseball bat her brother insisted she keep in the umbrella stand, she took steps forward. She looked out the peephole and didn’t see anyone. “What do you want?”

“Hana, please help me. It’s me. Jiyong.”

“Jiyong?!” Hana threw the door open and immediately stooped to his height. His hood was up, his face obscured, but she knew his voice. “Can you stand? Oh my god, what happened?”

“Help me up.” Leaning heavily on her shoulder, the two made it to her couch where he dropped hard.

She catalogued the various bruises and cuts on his hands, the shredded fabric of his coat, the large red stain and slice on his abdomen. “We need to get you to a hospital.”

“I can’t, please. Just let me--”

“You’re going to need stitches and my first aid kit can’t cover this.” Hana looked on the coffee table and reached for her phone. Jiyong grunted, pushed her hand down and shook his hooded head.   

“No hospital, Hana. I’m . . . sorry. No where else . . . to go.” Jiyong’s vision blurred. He knew he had lost a lot of blood and wouldn’t be conscious for much longer. Taking a leap of faith, he pulled the hood back to his coat, pushed out his incisors and looked up at her.

The last thing he saw was Hana’s wide and terrified eyes before he passed out.

*****

Jiyong felt cramped and uncomfortable when he woke. Something hard and cold was pressed to his cheek that made him wince Sitting up, Jiyong looked around to see that he was in a bathtub. He had to blink a few times and take a moment to think about why on her earth he would be there. He stretch, felt pain in his side, and it all came rushing back.

Standing stiffly, Jiyong slid back the shower doors and stepped on the plush rug. The two windows of the small bathroom were not only covered with curtains, but with towels taped to the frame. It made him smile to see that Hana had taken such care to make sure no sun got to him.

Flipping the light on, Jiyong noticed for the first time that he was shirtless. A bandage was wrapped around his torso. Pulling it away, he checked the wound to see that it was mostly healed. The damage to his body was mostly gone, the pink line on his arm from the slash would be gone in hours.

As much as he wanted to stay in the bathroom, he knew he would have to face Hana. After several breaths and a pep talk about not being cowardly, Jiyong opened the door and stepped into the hallway. The curtains were drawn tight in the living room, the only light coming from a table lamp. Hana sat in the armchair, knees drawn up, facing the hall. She lifted her head when she heard the door open. He looked at her closely, trying to gauge her reaction.

She blinked slowly and her lips. Hana looked at him, then away, several times before clearing and attempting to speak. “You’re heavier than you look.”

Jiyong laughed nervously and crossed his arms over his chest. He asked softly, “Did I scare you?”

“Yes,” she answered simply.

“Am I scaring you now?”

“I’m not sure.”

He tilted his head while thinking through her answer. “How can you not be sure?”

“Shock? Insanity, maybe? One too many sci fi films has desensitized me? All of the above?” Hana mused. She ran her fingers through her hair and sighed deeply. “All I know is, you died on my couch. And it’s a good thing you showed me your teeth, or I would have called the cops.”

“Hana, look,” he said as he started walking towards her. She held her hand up to stop him.

“Don’t take offense, but please don’t come closer.” Understanding her feelings, Jiyong backed up, slid down the wall and sat. “I have . . . questions.”

“I assumed you would.”

Hana stretched her legs and sat in a more comfortable position. “What happened to you?”

“I was attacked on my way home.”

“By who?”

“We call them Stalkers,” he explained. ”Vampire hunters, really.”

“So they knew . . . what you are?” she asked. Jiyong nodded his head. “Why did they come after you?”

“Because I’m an abomination that should not exist among God’s creations. Or so they tell me,” he finished with a shrug.

“How did you . . . how long . . . have you always been a . . . vampire?” she got out eventually.

Jiyong his lips and hesitated. “It’s considered rude to ask about age because our powers grow with time. Knowing how old a vampire is can help you determine strength. For the first 75 years or so, vampires are essentially human. We have heightened strength and senses, but we’re far from immortal. The sun and silver can kill us in large doses. I cannot shape shift, but some of the older ones can. And since I know you’re curious, yes, we need blood to live, but we do not take what we do not ask for. We have a system of donors that we go to when we need to  . . . feed.”

“Oh. Well. Okay then,” Hana replied, still processing all the information.

“Was there anything else you wanted to know?”

Hana her dry lips and look at him. “Just . . . Why did you come here?”

Jiyong smiled shyly and played with his fingers. “I don’t know, really. I  . . . trusted that you would help me. You seemed open minded when I talked to you tonight.”

Nodding in acknowledgement, Hana then rubbed her tired eyes and stood. She started walking to the kitchen and called over her shoulder, “You can get off the floor now. And I’ll get you a shirt, since I had to cut yours.”

Jiyong stood slowly and watched her moving around. After pouring a glass of water, she held it up to Jiyong, asking silently if he wanted some. He shook his head. She nodded, drank the water, then walked past him to get to her bedroom. She handed him a shirt on the way out and sank onto the couch. With her head back, she closed her eyes and sighed loudly. Jiyong sat down next to her and she didn’t flinch. He took that as a good sign.

“You’re taking all this unbelievably well,” he observed.

“You passed out and missed the good part,” she admitted with a little laugh. “It got ugly. And I won’t tell you how long it took for me to dress your wounds and move you to the bathroom.”

Jiyong laughed at her joke and looked around the apartment. That was when his eyes landed on her bags. “Oh, . You had a flight to catch.”

“It’s okay. I already told my cousin that something came up.”

“Do you have a computer?”

“My laptop is in the bag over there. Why--”

“Leave it to me,” he assured her. He fired up the device and started typing rapidly. “There’s a flight leaving on American in about 45 minutes. You need to be on it, so go shower and change fast.”

“But that flight--”

“Is full? I know. But there will be room for you by the time you finish in there. Hurry.” Hana opened to say something and he shoo’d her off. “Go!”

    “Fine, fine.” Hana left the room and took the fastest shower she could. Not wanting to get sick, she skipped washing her hair, though she felt gross about it. She dressed quickly and raced back to the living room.

    “All done,” Jiyong announced as soon as he caught sight of her. He closed the lid of her laptop and slid it back into the bag. “You’re on the flight, they’re holding your hotel room and the car should be downstairs in a few minutes.”

“How did you do that?”

“Network security is my job. Breaking into other people's is like market research.” Jiyong lifted her coat and helped Hana into it. While she fastened the buttons, he pulled a beanie down to her nose and smiled while she fought her way back out of it. Their eyes met and they shared a sweet smile.

“Are you going to be okay?” she asked with genuine concern written all over her face. “Do you need anything?”

“I’ll be okay. If you don’t mind, I’ll hang out here until sundown. Then, I’ll have to stay with family and move quickly before the Stalkers can find me again,” he confided. Then he huffed and pouted. “Damn. And I really liked that apartment.”

“Will you stay in Boston?” Hana asked quietly, staring at his collarbone.

“Should I?” he returned just as quietly. With a bashful look, Hana bit her lip and nodded her head.

“I won’t tell anyone about you,” she vowed solemnly. “You trusted me enough to come here when you were injured, trust me enough to keep your secret, okay?”

Jiyong stepped closer and laid his lips gently over hers. Hana leaned into him and kissed back. His lips weren’t warm like she was used to, but neither were they cold like she expected. Her hand slid up to grasp his jaw, while his moved slowly around her back, holding her tight. It was a nice kiss. Pleasant. Not fiery and passionate, but it did convey that the mutual attraction was there.

He pulled back and looked at Hana. It took her a few seconds to open her eyes, but when she did, she blushed furiously and covered her face. Jiyong shook her shoulders playfully and let her go. “I sent you an email with my phone number in it. Call me when you get back?”

“I will,” Hana promised. Jiyong opened the door for her and lifted her bag. On impulse, Hana reached back to kiss him again before going out. “And you better answer. Sharknado 3 is OnDemand and you owe me dinner.”

“Understood,” he responded with a grin and a chuckle. He stepped aside to let her out.

Hana headed to the elevator with a smirk on her lips. Where Jiyong was concerned, she had no idea what she was getting herself into. But she was open minded. And hopeful.

*****

*sigh*