Seungyoon stared aimlessly from his seat at the dining table. 

“Seungyoon, did you hear me?” Taehyun called out. “I just said there was another murder – this time, a bit messier.” More like, the killing was done for fun rather than food. “It wasn’t cleaned up like the last ones. It’s naïve to think that they aren’t connected in some way.”

“Where’s Mino?” Seungyoon questioned.

The younger takes a moment to think. “Aren’t you the one that usually knows where he is?”

Mino hadn’t returned to this home ever since their little scuttle a few days ago. “Contact him for me.”

“What for?” Taehyun asks. “Mino is old enough to take care of himself.” After finishing his statement, he looks away to find Jinwoo walking into the dining room to join them.

“You think Mino is behind it?” The eldest immediately voiced his wonder the moment he met their eyes.

“What?” Taehyun reacts before facing Seungyoon. “You think Mino is back to his old habit?” But, it was so long ago…and complicated.

“I didn’t say that.” Seungyoon denies. He didn’t want to be the one that points it out but everyone knows. These events that have been happening fit well with Mino’s previous history – it was his mode of action. 

“Seungyoon, have some trust.” Jinwoo merely states.

***

“Let’s have a movie night.” 

Upon opening her front door, Haneul is once again greeted by her neighbor’s smiling face. 

“Friends do this, don’t they?” He questioned as soon as he was met with silence from the young woman before him.

“…I don’t have any snacks.” She replies.

“That’s fine. Let’s go get some together.” 

After setting down the movies he have brought over, the two left the complex with the closest convenience store arranged as their destination. While walking beside one another, Haneul would take careful glances at the strange young man next to her. 

What a huge change in behavior. 

His emotions seemed kind of erratic if Haneul had to describe what was happening.

“Just ask whatever you’re wondering about.” Mino breaks the silence though he keeps his attention forward.

“Why did you let me keep my memories? You said no exceptions.” She responds softly, hoping she didn’t step into dangerous territory. Mino seemed like a man that acted on impulse. 

“I told you, life gets boring after a while.”

“How long is actually this ‘while’?” She asked next.

“Hundreds of years, possibly.” Mino answers. “Not like I kept count.”

Peering at him from the side carefully, Haneul grew more curious. “And you don’t age?”

“Of course I do. Just very slowly.”

Mino didn’t look a day over twenty. “Can you change people as well?”

“Why? No longer want to be a human?” He questioned back.

“Being a vampire doesn’t look all that great.” Haneul commented before looking forward, away from the young man beside her.

Mino chuckled. “I’ll have to agree with you – if you live long, you have many more chances to make a lot of mistakes, and then you’ll have to live a long time with it. Funny cycle.” He casually speaks but it felt like such a heavy topic to Haneul.

“You must have made a lot of mistakes then.” Haneul states back in a similar manner before realizing what she said. “I didn’t mean –“

“I’m a perfect man, darling.” Mino charmingly grinned before opening the door to the convenience store upon arrival. “After you.”

Haneul walks through and the two stroll from one aisle to another to check for the kinds of snacks they want. After gathering everything they could possibly hold in their arms, they appeared before the cash register. 

Like the gentleman Mino claimed he was, he paid for everything.

***

“Mino, there are only Dracula movies.” Haneul looked through the titles he brought over but they followed a similar theme.

“They’re like comedy to me.” He commented while shuffling through the bags of snacks. 

“Which one holds the most truths then?” She peered over her shoulder to look at him.

He looked over in thought. “The one with the blue cover.” 

Taking it as a suggestion, Haneul placed the disk in and returned to the seat on the couch. Mino also comes over and hands her a bag of chips as the movie begins. Noticing their close distance, Haneul subtly shifted further away but Mino easily caught on. Yet, chose not to say anything. There’s no point in mentioning the obvious. 

As the movie dragged on, Haneul found herself more and more absorbed in the scenes. “So, can you kill vampires with a stake to the heart?”

“There’s no need for a wooden stake, anything would do.” Mino catches himself. “Why am I telling you these things?”

Haneul glanced at him before shrugging.

Turning back to face the screen, she is suddenly distracted. “Oh! Can you turn into a bat too?”

Mino couldn’t help but chuckle. “Should I show you next time?” He joked.

Like he predicted, her eyes widened. 

“You really can?” The longer she looked at Mino, the louder his laughter grew. She finally discerned the real reason behind his response. “…You could have just said ‘no’.” She replied softly.

But, it was more entertaining for him this way.

The two focused back on the movie and after a while, Mino noticed the silence coming from beside him. Looking in Haneul’s direction, he found her sound asleep. 

A soft snort left his lips. “She’s still too trusting.” Being in the same room with him and she could fall asleep without any worries. But, a realization dawned on him. He could use this time to his advantage.

Straightening up on the couch, instead of his shallow breathing he had been exercising throughout the night, he was going to breathed in deeply. Taking large gulps, Mino breathed in the sweet aroma that continued to call for him, tempt him. 

The shaking in his hands has now turned into slight trembling. It seems he was on his way of curbing this craving.

He couldn’t wait to prove Seungyoon wrong. He took another glance at Haneul but found it to be a lot harder when he was breathing simultaneously. 

But, there’s progress.

He goes towards the TV and turns off the movie. Returning to the couch, he debated whether or not to wake her. When finding no reason to, he reached for the small blanket hanging off the couch and threw it over her carelessly. 

“That should be good enough.” He softly commented to himself. 

Locking her door and returning to his own apartment, Mino went straight towards his fridge. Another snack should distract him.

***

It was everywhere.

Every direction he turned in, he found pools of blood. Where was it coming from?<