구구단 (gugudan) - 사랑일 것 같더라 (Perhaps Love)

The tension in the morgue rose as sudden as Minwoo's appearance. Even upstairs in the lobby, nurses frowned at each other, having a very bad feeling.

"Who did you meet?" Dongwook asked very calm for how angry he really was. "Was it that young Dohwan?"

"No. It was a man of different quality than us; a man who knew Yerin before she came to Asia." Minwoo replied meekly. "I didn't know what to do. I just- I-"

Dongwook waited patiently for the man to explain himself, even urging him to do so by raising an eyebrow. But Minwoo couldn't even remember why he gave out Yerin anymore. It was stupid and he was going to pay for his mistake.

"I've been thrown from one miserable place to another for my whole life. I thought after Joon left me to rot under the sun, she will too when I won't be needed anymore."

"For how long have you been thinking about this? A year? A month? A-"

"Ever since she saved me. It's been 60 years..."

Hearing that, Dongwook's eyes flickered with hatred, feeling his canines threatening to grow at work. He had to grab the corpse table in order to calm himself down.

"When did you tell them about her?"

"We were in Beijing when I saw him. We were visiting Jiwon's inheritor and I saw him. He was amazing. He was this character taken from fantasy movies or books with long golden locks and bright blue eyes. He was tall and imposing and very, very old." Minwoo explained, looking down at his fingers. "He grabbed my hand and I could feel this immense power run through me. It was like electricity slipping into my body and I felt it...for a brief moment, my eyes became red."

Dongwook frowned.

"Only original vampires have red eyes. If Erin's father is dead and his brothers are too, then-"

"Exactly. They're not dead. Her father is alive and this man I met, he's most definitely part of her family."

"So, I walk into my father's office and I see his secretary with a man. He was the general manager in pediatrics. I couldn't help but admire how brave they were to consume their relationship in there." Ji Soo told one of the very many affairs that took place in his father's hospital. Somehow, the listeners were really interested in what he had to say.

"Did your father kill them?" Asked one of the listeners, a young woman that looked like she barely graduated high school.

"No, though he did look like he wanted to. He fired both of them."

It strangely seemed like they were disappointed. Well, it didn't matter because Ji Soo had a lot of stories and the listeners seemed eager to hear more.

At the bar, a few feet from the table where Ji Soo was the main entertainment source, Seojoon and Jiwon were sighing.

"I can't believe he doesn't feel anything wrong. He's surrounded by blood ers yet he talks about affairs." Jiwon mumbled, frowning when she saw one hand crawl up Ji Soo's thigh.

"He's a big boy." Seojoon replied amused when he noticed the hand crawl upwards. By now even Ji Soo seemed to notice the position he was in.

"He's a stupid human. Just wait until one of these ers draw him out and-" she hissed and copied the movement that vampires do in most movies, as if they want to hover over you yet you stink thus they scrunch their noses in disgust.

Seojoon's eyes squinted, suppressing really loud laughter.

"If you're so worried, you should just go there and claim him as yours."

If it wasn't already funny enough, hearing his last statement, Jiwon almost fell over her stool.

"Are you insane? No. Let him walk out with whoever he wants."

As if destiny was messing with her, it so happened that Ji Soo got up and walked towards the bar with a girl following close behind. Jiwon bit her lip, trying not to hiss at the young vampire. The human only had the bartender apron on and he quickly untied it before giving it to Seojoon.

"I'll take the rest of the night off. I don't have to officially work until Friday anyway, right?" He smiled coyly and waved at Jiwon before he grabbed the hand of the girl and left.

"He's going to get bitten." Jiwon assured her friend, "Just wait, tomorrow he'll return a different man." She added her eyes set on the front door.

"Maybe-"

"I'll only do him a favor once." She interrupted before she literally zoomed out the door.

Seojoon shook his head and returned to preparing drinks, having quite a lot if vampires glance at him. It was uncomfortable but knowing that Liu Wei was in the back, made the younger vampire feel safer.

When Dongwook arrived home, he found the lights on and clothes thrown all around the living room. It was a mess and even the kitchen seemed used.

He found her in the bathroom; the door was wide open while she was standing crouched in the bathtub. He couldn't see her face but he could feel something was bugging her.

Standing with her back at him, Dongwook could also see the mark. It was a tree with branches that seemed to grow into her skin, especially her spine. 

"Yerin? Are you alright?" He asked walking closer to her. He was one step from bending behind her when he stopped and took a step back instead. "Yerin..."

She was standing there with water falling over her head from the shower, gripping her knees close to her chest and staring at the tiles on the wall. It was scary to be honest; Dongwook had to think carefully how to move her inside the bedroom.

"Is it the mark?" He asked just to be sure. She blinked once which he took as an approval. "Do you need blood?" 

"No." She answered in an empty voice. She turned to look at Dongwook and that's when he saw it. "I ate already." 

"I...can see that." 

She probably washed up the blood on her body but still had a bit around . The smell from his bath lotion was so strong that it covered the smell of blood completely so he didn’t catch any suspicious smell when he arrived. 

"Did they come to you?" He asked and she nodded, "Did you kill them all?" Dobgwook asked already knowing the answer. 

"It was a group of four fresh vampires..."

"Why did you kill them?"

"They said my father is alive. Even worse, he entrusted my cousin with taking me back. If not, he can kill me." 

It was something he had done before. It was easy to lure a woman to his place, have fun for the night and wake up in the morning feeling content. What Ji Soo didn't consider was his newest conquest seeing him as more than a one night stand; as food, to be precise.

"So want to take a taxi to my place or should we-" Ji Soo was shocked when the girl pulled him against the wall and kissed him. It was very fast and surprising but he liked it.

Giving in to her, they started to kiss more and more ardently to the point Ji Soo felt a knee groping his manhood.

"No matter how much I enjoy this we should seriously get a room into a love hotel." He whispered breathing heavily.

"You don't like this?" The girl asked innocently though her actions were anything but.

"No! No, I do! But-" He didn't even finish when she kissed him again. "Really-what-if-someone-sees-us?" He asked through the pecks.

"No one will. Trust me. I'll take good care of you." She mumbled her eyes looking straight into his as she cornered him against the wall.

In the spur of the moment, Ji Soo's mind went blank and he let himself led by lust. She was very pretty so the temptation to try and do something crazy with her was, well, tempting.

While kissing and fumbling with each other's clothes, the girl succeeded in letting him shirtless. Ji Soo was not an ugly man and his body was well sculptured. He had every right to be self confident in a society where both men and women were objectified. What he didn't quite understand yet enjoyed anyway was how the girl started to kiss his neck and didn't return to his lips. He tried to catch her lips once or twice but she was avoiding it, concentrating on letting butterflies kisses on the crook of his neck.

It was pleasing but at the same time static. Of course that changed when he felt the tip of her tongue his soft spot. Unconsciously, he moaned which surprised him. She once more before she bit him lightly. It was new, to be sincere. She bit him again making him close his eyes in pleasure. He was fully enjoying it when someone slapped him hard against his face.

"What the-" He couldn't finish his sentence because he was witnessing some strange sight.

"Wake up and see the world as it is." Jiwon advised, having her hand tight around the girl's neck.

"Are you out of your mind?! You're killing her!"

Jiwon scoffed before forcing the girl's head towards the rich boy.

"Look closely. Don't you see something strange?" She asked.

Only then did he really look and he wished he didn't. In front of him was a thirsty creature with eyes narrowed and fangs. He gulped and took a step towards Jiwon, hiding behind her.

"What's that?"

"An immortal; you call it vampire." She explained, tightening her grip on the girl, "She obviously targeted you and planned to you dry."

"Of my blood?" He asked his eyes widening at the revelation.

"What else? Believe me she didn't fancy you at all."

The tone Jiwon used and the way she glanced at the man made him feel offended. He turned to the vampire and glared at her even if she did please him up to some point.

"I manage my love life well, thank you very much," But the vampire chuckled, annoying him even more.

"You want me to kill her then?" Jiwon asked bemusedly.

"Yes. No, wait-" Too late because Jiwon already gripped her harder and plunger her available hand through the vampire's chest. "Oh my God, you ripped her heart out." Ji Soo had to say those words out loud in order to assure himself he wasn't insane.

"Of course I did. How else would I have killed her? Gently squeezing her neck?" She retorted before she realized he was far more shaken than he sounded, "Do you want me to take you home?"

Ji Soo thought about it for a moment before he nodded; to Hell with his manly pride after what he witnessed.

"So vampires are real." Ji Soo started once they walked inside his apartment.

Really, he didn't lie when he said he has a lot of money. Jiwon believed him to be an extravagant man, but the place was tasteful in his simplicity.

"Yes."

"And you are one too." He added.

"Obviously."

Ji Soo nodded, his eyes showing just how quick his brain was to register that a subject many believed was fictional was actually very real.

"And you kill people so that you can feed. You have fangs, red eyes and are afraid of sunlight."

"I am not afraid of the sun nor have red eyes. Only the original immortals have red eyes because they had direct contact to the source that created them." Jiwon explained, looking around at all the expensive objects around his living room.

"Which is Dracula?" Ji Soo was growing curious.

"No. Immortals have been created because they drank from the Blood Lake. The Blood Lake is a lake where many corpses were thrown after killed in the battle by Dracula." She explained when she saw Ji Soo's confused expression.

"I get it." He said as he started to change into his pyjamas. "So you only have fangs. Does that-does that mean the others know about vampires too or is it your secret?"

Jiwon felt like laughing but did her best not to.

"Liu Wei, Park Seojoon and Park Minwoo. Why don't you search their names on SNS?"

Ji Soo grabbed his laptop quicker than when he was talking to girls online. He first typed Liu Wei and the page that appeared was short. Liu Wei was sentenced to death after he committed treason. Also, he worked under the emperor of the Quing Dynasty. Next were Seojoon and Minwoo, both born in the 18th century. One was a conman and one was a student but Minwoo died earlier, murdered in his own house.

"They died. They are all dead."

"Or not." Jiwon pitched in, sitting on the black couch in his living room. It was very spacious for one man. "I died long before any of them as a slave in France."

Ji Soo's eyes widened.

"Who-who changed you?"

"Liu Wei and I, we've been changed by one of the original immortals. Seojoon was changed by Minwoo and Minwoo by the King of Thieves, Lee Joon." She replied nonchalantly, the subject being one of the most common in her point of view.

"Oh my God...that's insane. Wait, is that why your club has so few people? And why you mainly serve wine?"

"No. We bought the pub because we wanted to keep a low profile. Most of our clients are humans but ever since you came in, vampires came too."

"So everyone was there tonight because of me?"

"They smelled your blood yes. And we do mix wine with blood. We're old enough to know how to manage our blood supplies."

Jiwon watched how Ji Soo was taking the information in but not reacting accordingly.

"I...understand, I guess. Thanks for saving my life." He said, looking at her with genuine innocence. It took Jiwon by surprise, especially because he did look very attractive in that moment.

"You're welcome." She grumbled, trying to keep herself in check. It was hard with how strong Ji Soo smelled of pheromones. "You should take a shower and go to sleep. I'll tell Liu Wei that you won't stop by anymore."

Ji Soo never thought about that but now that she said it, it made him realize that everyone he befriended in the last few weeks were vampires. It was so surreal.

But nothing was said between the two. Jiwon watched the human enter his bathroom and waited for the water to turn on before she walked towards the door.

Inside, now and alone, Ji Soo closed his eyes and moved under the shower. He could still feel the vampire's hands and breath and how intoxicating she was. Then he couldn't help but remember the same girl with a look on her face that showed nothing but animalistic hunger. Realization was settling in and adrenaline was fading. The tremble started in his left hand before it went up and down his whole body. Steam was rising in the air and Ji Soo swore he heard something move behind him. He drew the door open but no one was there. He took one step out and looked in the mirror where he saw those hungry eyes and fangs. He screamed loudly, falling on his bottom against the wall.

"Ji Soo? Are you alright?" He heard Jiwon ask from behind the door. Meekly, he got up and opened the door, pulling her in by her hand.

"I think-I think I'm scared. Can you-stay with me tonight?" He asked, gripping her hand tightly.

Jiwon couldn't concentrate. The pheromones that Ji Soo was emanating were like kryptonite for her.

"You're . I'll just wait outside." she mumbled trying not to look down.

But he didn't let her go; he pulled her in his arms, hugging her tightly.

"Why aren't you affected by my heart?" He asked close to her ear.

"It's not your blood that affects me. Humans gain this strong smell when they are liked by a vampire." She mumbled in his chest.

"Do you like me?" He asked pushing her lightly and looking down at her. It was weird how she looked nothing like a vampire yet he saw her kill someone.

"Let's talk about this when you'll have a clear mind. You look for some kind of affection right now and-"

Jiwon's eyes widened when Ji Soo kissed her. His smell was so strong as he pushed her against the wall that she could feel her legs give in. The human helped Jiwon by scooping her into his arms and continued kissing her. Unlike the other vampire, Jiwon seemed gentle and genuine. It wasn't just for her, it was so much more.