Mino reaches the bottom to find the front door opening and in walked the rest of the Society’s hunting dogs. 

“Since we’ve already been found, I called in for help.” Jiyong announces.  

Following Youngbae and Daesung, the rest filed in from behind. “The Society knows you all allowed Jeeun to slip away again.” Youngbae says without wasting a second to get to the point. 

“Yeah, because that was a choice.” Mino sarcastically retorts.

“And the human – “ Youngbae subtly tries to sense for her. “They know she is still here…” Or was she already gone? 

Ignoring the fact that Youngbae wouldn’t be able to smell her, Mino sighs tiredly. Why was the Society so damn fixated on Haneul? “Why is everyone so interested in the human?”

“Look, we’ll never hear the end of it.” Jiyong bluntly puts it. “Either you change her or kick her out.”

From upstairs, Haneul opened her bedroom door quietly to listen onto the transpiring conversation that had no room for her to join. 

“Why?” Taehyun wonders. “She isn’t a liability.” Last night was enough to prove it. 

“She survived yesterday out of pure luck.” Jiyong replies. “The next time we encounter Jeeun, the situation will be different.”

“And she’ll survive then.” Mino adds. “Leave her out of the conversation – she is not the problem.”

Jiyong breathes out and stares at Mino and with the man also returning the attention. There are some unspoken words and Jiyong decides to save it for another time. 

***

“Whoa.” Mino exclaims upon opening the bathroom door. He throws the small towel over his shoulder and looks back at the young woman before him. “Didn’t I say to stay in bed?”

“What Jiyong said – “

She overheard that? “I’m not going to kick you out, darling.” Mino looks at her when she offers no response. “Do you not trust me?” But the moment he asked it, he realized the flaw in his words. “Don’t answer that – that was a bad question.”

“What I said earlier, I was just joking. I don’t wish to be changed either –”

“What are you worried about?” Regardless of his words, Mino could still see the terrified expression upon her features. With a sigh, he continues. “I wouldn’t want to wish that upon you either.” 

He says that in all seriousness and it takes Haneul aback. There was something about the way he said it that she couldn’t even get herself to ask. Instead, she merely nods her head. 

Mino lifts the towel to dry his wet hair before moving around her. “You should take a shower too.” It’ll wash away the hawthorn. He didn’t want to be surprised like that again. It was like having a ghost in the home. 

Lifting the neckline of her shirt, Haneul curiously pressed her nose into it. Did she smell? Suddenly realizing, her face instinctively contorts. It must be a hundred times worse for Mino and the others. 

Mino makes it downstairs and heads for the fridge. They were running low again. After pulling out the last of the blood bags, he closes the door – “What do you want?” At least he knows his nose is still working. 

Jiyong leans against the fridge and watches Mino rip the plastic bag open. “Don’t tell me that you’ve developed an attachment to the human.”

Pulling the bag away from his lips, Mino is sent into a coughing fit. “What?” He managed to choke out. 

“Why do you insist on having her here?”

Setting the blood bag aside on the table, Mino returns his stare. “Unlike you, I don’t like taking orders from the Society.” He answers once his coughing subsided. “Why don’t you go back to playing with your buddies?”

“That’s not it.”

“I don’t care about what you want to believe.”

“Then…should I change her, myself?” Jiyong tests the playing field and immediately, he could see the irritation upon Mino’s face.

“Should I rip you to shreds?” Mino didn’t want to hear those words coming out of Jiyong’s mouth again. 

“I heard you had a craving for her blood so I thought maybe that’s why you’re keeping her around.” He thought Mino was just planning to make a meal out of the girl but at this point, he’s just playing with his food. “But, not once this entire time did I see you touch her.” 

“Jiyong, simple –“ Mino responds. “It’s none of your business.” Snatching his blood bag off of the table, Mino heads towards the back door and leaves. 

***

The shower was more refreshing than she anticipated. Kneeling down, Haneul cleans up the small plant pot in the bedroom and the spilled soil. Standing back up, Haneul’s eyes immediately fall on the individual who was back to lying out in the bright sun.

How curious. The guys at the Paranormal club would surely be surprised to find a vampire tanning and not a pile of ash. 

“What are you staring at?”

Haneul flinched and spun around to find Bom just inches behind her. “You surprised me – “

“It doesn’t feel too good, huh?” 

“No.” She softly answers. But, she didn’t sneak up on Bom on purpose. 

“What is your relationship with Mino?”

With the switch in topic, Haneul found herself delaying to answer. “We’re…neighbors.” At the moment, she could find no better appropriate description.

Bom chuckles as she takes a seat on the bed. “Neighbors? Would neighbors go this far for one another?”

Haneul didn’t understand the motive behind Bom’s questioning or curiosity. 

“Listen, girl.” The woman calls out. “You have already entered a dangerous world…do you want to go any deeper?”

“I don’t know what you’re trying to say.”

Bom stands to her feet once more. “As this drags on, your options are dwindling.” Leaving Haneul with those vague words, Bom goes to join the others downstairs. 

And predictably, Haneul was troubled by Bom’s words. Though she didn’t understand the true meaning behind them,