Joy set out in the dead of night, dressed fancily in a white sweater dress, white stockings, red flats, and a red fur coat to keep herself warm. Even though it was now early May, the weather was still chilly and it had stopped raining only an hour before. She ran a hand through her straight, black hair self-consciously, undeniably nervous yet determined to find Jimin again.

All of a sudden, zoooom! A figure moved past her so quickly that he or she seemed only like a blur or a whip of lightning. Joy hid in an alleyway and waited for the vampire to pass, covering so she wouldn’t dare make any noise. The sound of voices filled her ears; it seemed like some of the vampires were chatting with one another while on their nightly hunt through the Dark City. She was just about to exit the alleyway when another figure appeared out of the shadows.

It was him.

Park Jimin. He was dressed in a black, silk collared shirt with ruffles around the neckline and matching black pants. With silver earrings dangling from his ears, he looked like the most perfect person Joy had ever laid eyes upon. His beauty was surreal.

He moved at lightning speed towards Joy and shoved her against the brick wall, his body merely inches away from hers. “It was luck that I found you. If any other vampire had smelled your scent first, you’d be seriously injured right now.”

“But I wouldn’t be dead.” Joy was aware of his hands placed on the wall around her head; she realized for the first time how small and pale his hands were. They looked almost like a child’s.

The vampire sighed and hit the wall with his fist before reluctantly edging away. “I’m a monster just like the ones that hurt Yeri, you know. I’m no different than them.”

“If you were the same as them, you would have never talked with me the way you have.”

His dark eyes flashed up to meet Joy’s; they were like two dark arrows piercing straight through her soul. “I have been living as a creature of the night for 122 years, Joy. But I too was once a weak human being. I ran with the wrong crowd back in high school. We used to get in trouble with other gangs and fight with them, but the girls thought we were so cool. They called us their heroes! Ha.” He chuckled darkly. “One day we got caught by our main rival gang and they demanded one of our members to pay their leader back because he had stolen something valuable. The guy refused to pay him back and things turned violent fast. I defended my gang members by knocking out a few of that gang’s guys. Their leader grabbed me by my collar and punched me so hard that I out, but not before seeing my friends run away. I came back to reality when those bastards continued beating me and I had no more strength left; I was the worst fighter in our gang, after all. One of them stabbed me with a knife right in my gut, and I was bleeding out all over the ground. All of them followed their leader and left me there to die. But as soon as they disappeared from view, a stranger came my way and found me.”

Joy had covered half of her face in horror from listening to his story. It was more painful than she could bear; she despised those guys for hurting Jimin so badly. Perhaps he had been nothing more than a misled human, and he didn’t deserve what had happened to him. But Joy couldn’t comprehend why she cared so much about him. What was he to her? She was simply here with him to gain answers to her own mystery, the one about Yeri.

“He knelt down by my side, picked up the knife that the gang had used to stab me, and slit his own wrist. He held out his wrist that was dripping tears of blood to my mouth and forced me to drink against my will. The taste was awful, like copper and metal that had been warmed until they melted, but I drank out of fear that he would hurt me if I disobeyed. After I swallowed enough of his blood, he laid his head down on my knees without saying a word. I had lost all sense of logic and no longer understood what was happening to me; it was like I was stuck in a trance. I suppose I slipped away while watching the sun dip low behind the hills in the west. I died like that, without any of my gang members by my side, but instead with this mysterious stranger. When I awoke, I found myself in a dimly lit bedroom, and immediately peeked out the window. Outside, it was the early dawn, the hour when the world seems to be covered in a faint blue light as if the fallen angels themselves are down paying a visit to the souls who roam this planet. I could sense that something was different, that I had changed. The stranger from earlier entered the room as if he had sensed that I was awake, and took my hand in his.

“I’m Jung Hoseok,” he introduced himself rather cheerfully. “But here I’m known as J-Hope. I’m everyone’s angel, everyone’s hope in this evil world. And what’s your name, little one?”

“I’m Park Jimin…w-where am I?”

“J-Hope smiled then, and it was the most dazzling smile I had ever seen in my life. I couldn’t find any other words to describe him at that moment except for beautiful. “I took pity on you and saved you with my blood. You fell into ashes but you’ve risen up and you are now born again into a different life. I have brought you to my home, the one I share with the other members of my clan. The Bangtan Boys clan. You are in the Dark City now.”

“The Dark City? But that’s miles away from where I live. My family’s home is near the sea…”

“We are your family now, Jimin,” he said to me. “You are our newest Bangtan brother.”

"I remember thinking it was odd of him to call me ‘little one’ when he seemed to be about my age. Little did I know that by that day he had already lived 63 years as a creature of the night. Yes, J-Hope had turned me into a vampire. A monster. But he didn’t tell me everything right away, as he waited until I confronted him with the unbearable burning deep in my throat a few hours later. He explained to me that I was thirsty for…blood.” Jimin looked as if he was lost in his memories, replaying everything over in his mind and suffering like it was the first time all over again. 

Joy quickly moved closer to his side and wrapped her arms around his back, giving him a hug. “You’re so brave for enduring all of that. I wish I could erase your pain, but the most I can do is comfort you. Now I know you’re truly a beautiful person, on the outside and on the inside, too. I could never be frightened by a beauty like yours.” She rested her head on his shoulder.

Jimin was suddenly speechless, as this human girl held so much power over him. Why did he not push her away or feast on her flesh, taking in all of her blood? Where was the vampire part of him, and why did it seem to switch off around her? Why are you doing this to me, Joy…?

“I’m a monster. I’ve killed people, Joy, because when I first became a vampire 122 years ago the current laws of the Dark City didn’t exist. Vampires killed humans when they fed off their blood. I’ve killed people, Joy. And I e of the members of my clan into a vampire, the one who came after me.”

“People make mistakes all the time, Jimin, but our mistakes do not define who we are. We can be brought to the light once again.”

“When you die, your spirit will be admitted into heaven. I will never die a natural death, but if someone kills me by driving a stake through my heart or if I step out into the sunlight, I’ll fade away into nothingness. Everything will be over. And then my soul will be damned into hell.”

“Don’t think about that now,” she whispered in his ear. Her breath felt hot on his ice-cold skin and it made him tremble, giving him all of sorts of emotions that he thought he would never feel again after becoming a vampire. “You’re with me…”

Damn it. Jimin spun around, unable to stay still for even a moment longer, and gripped her shoulders. “I can’t control myself anymore than this…I’ve already tried my hardest around you…Why do you keep testing my limits?”

Joy didn’t break eye contact with him. “Your eyes…they’ve become a different color…sky blue…”

“Our eyes change colors when we feel different emotions,” replied Jimin, gazing at her exposed neck. It looks so pretty and soft…No…I can’t hurt her…

“Tell me how you feel,” she said, her voice low and dangerously seductive.

“I just want one taste,” he answered, hating himself for saying those words but unable to stop himself from doing so. “Please…just this one time, will you give yourself up to me?” How can I be so selfish?

She gave a hesitant nod, but the way she gazed up at him told Jimin that she trusted him with her life. He focused only on her now, blocking out every other scent and sound that filled his ears from miles away, and brushed his lips softly against her neck. He felt her shiver, and then he shut his eyes and dug his fangs into her skin slowly. He made sure to be gentle and not drink too much. Warm blood spilled into his mouth, more delicious than he had imagined, sweeter than heaven’s nectar itself. A quiet moan escaped her lips as he fed just a bit more, despising the moment when he would have to stop. He wanted to drink from her forever. It was addicting; she was like a drug. Or perhaps a wicked fairy that had gripped his soul and mind and refused to let go. Jimin finally regained his self control and stopped feeding. He his lips, tasting the last of her blood that was on his tongue, and was once again confronted with her gaze.

“Thank you…for trusting me, and for letting me…”

Joy’s expression was dreamy, and she looked faint. “It…didn’t hurt…It felt nice.” She seemed unable to comprehend it.

“Because I made sure you would feel good. But Joy, you have to be more careful from now on. I don’t want another vampire to feed on you, or worse, turn you. That thought worries me.” He couldn’t believe he just said that aloud.

She smiled. “I’m your secret.”

The way she said secret, it made Jimin think she said she was his. He felt himself blush, another thing that he thought he wasn’t even capable of doing. “Come meet me again when you want to. I’ll be waiting.” He left in a blur, traveling at vampire speed, thinking about her the whole way home.

V welcomed Jimin when he stepped inside, grinning his goofy smile. He wore his favorite red bandana around his golden brown hair, and he looked comfy and warm in his new white jacket. “The others aren’t back yet. Are you full already, Jimin?”

He laughed. “Full…? No, I’m yearning for more. That taste was out of this world. It was the sweetest blood I’ve ever tasted. I’ll be wanting more for the rest of my days…”

The younger boy seemed puzzled. “What are you talking about? Who is that human, whose blood tastes so sweet?”

Jimin shook his head, still unable to stop smiling. “You won’t understand. You’re still too young, V.”

He pouted, making Jimin laugh again. “I’m not a child anymore. I’ve already lived 102 years as a vampire.”

“That’s my point. You’ve still got plenty of things to learn and experience. I’m learning new things with each day that passes…”

V was dumbstruck. “What’s happened to you all of a sudden, Jimin? By any chance…I know it’s crazy…have you fallen in…l-love?”

“Yes.” Jimin grinned at his best friend. “I love you, Kim Taehyung.”

“Hey! Stop fooling around,” laughed V, and Jimin ruffled up his hair playfully.

“I’m going to rest in my room. Join me whenever you want,” said Jimin as he headed upstairs to his bedroom. He collapsed on his king sized bed, the silky sheets reminding him of Joy’s sleek hair. He closed his eyes only to see her face again, looking up at him in a way that nobody had ever done before to Jimin. She was seriously messing with his mind, making him want more and more of her, but he knew he shouldn’t. She was a weak human girl, and her life would be in danger if anything more happened. He remembered how Yeri lost her life because she was hanging around vampires and werewolves. Still, he looked forward to meeting her again and hoped it would be soon, and he told himself that what happened to Yeri wouldn’t happen to Joy. If she wanted to ask him more questions regarding Yeri’s death, he would gladly answer them.

She was his secret.