Jinhwan startles into wakefulness. His muscles seize tightly in a panic before he remembers his bargain yesterday, and that he’s safe as long as the vampires keep their word. Only then does his heart beat eases back to normal.

Uncurling from fetal position, he shifts over to the edge of the bed to sit upright. A cool draft in the room made him aware of his state of undress, and not remembering how he got this way. He vaguely remembers eating something, and then his body gave out from exhaustion. What happened after that felt like a dream.

Idly scratching an itch on his waist, he notices that the wound on his shoulder is now dressed with cotton and gauze. That explains the need to undress him. Upon further examination, it doesn’t look like any other part of his body is injured in any way. Jinhwan shrugs to himself. Right, take care of the basics first.

Instead of dwelling over what he can’t control, he needs to adapt. Focus first on recovering and gaining his strength back, then tackle more complex goals such as finding his weapons and sending a carrier pigeon when the opportunity arises. There’s a set of neatly folded clothes waiting by his bedside. Shivering from the chill in the room, he buttons up the oversized shirt which fits his broad shoulders fine but the long sleeves dangle annoyingly over his arms. A pair of equally oversized trousers goes on next, along with suspenders to keep them stay on. He’s just about to cuff up his pant legs when he hears and groaning down the hall.

Jinhwan walks toward the sounds coming from the room at the end of the hall. If he has half of his wits back, he’d know better than to wander around with no orientation of where he is. His confidence and curiosity get the better of him, however, and before he changes his mind, the door pulls away as though the master inside has been waiting for his arrival.

He passes through a set of heavy curtains into the bed chamber. Lush carpet cushion his feet as they carry him forward to the four-poster bed. Its curtains are drawn closed, but Jinhwan can see through the thin linen to the body laying inside. The vampire he saved lies beneath thin blankets, and he pants and moans as though his lungs were rattling with dry leaves.

It’s odd, the sense of moving against his own will. Jinhwan imagines this must be what it feels like to be under a glamour but fully aware of it at the same time. He parts the curtains with the back of his hand even as every hair on his body prickles.

I’m not concerned, he tells himself, I just want to know whether it worked.

Holding his breath as the vampire rolls over on his back, he edges forward again until his knees touch a corner of the bed. Jinhwan stares at him. The sharp lines of his profile stand out even in sleep. Blood, most likely from Jinhwan’s donation last night, has since dried, leaving rusty flakes of red around the corners of his mouth. The paleness of his skin rivals the whiteness of the sheets. And still, he’s beautiful.

He watches as the vampire’s slim chest rises and falls with each labored breath. What is this strange pull he feels toward the creature? It is not contempt, nor admiration or sympathy. He felt it when they fought against one another. It is more than pure adrenaline. There was his answering strength against his, pulling him from death toward life. They did that for each other.

Belatedly, he glances down to see himself kneeling and his hand brushing strands of hair away from the vampire’s closed eyes.

Jinhwan jolts away with his heart pounding.

Before he can fully retreat, the hand beneath his grabs him in place. 

Run, his muddled brain shouts at him.You’re no coward, his pride argues back.

Unable to pull himself nor his gaze away even as the vampire opens his eyes, Jinhwan freezes in place. In a ragged voice caused by slumber and pain, the vampire named Hanbin asks him, “Are you here to take my life?”

“No.” Jinhwan answers with widened eyes, surprising himself.

He has to be under a glamour.

Hanbin’s lips twitches into a knowing smile. He replies with another question, “Then what is it you desire?”

The question sounds familiar. A déjà vu.

“Why do you assume that I want anything from the likes of you?” Jinhwan asks back, snapping out of his trance.

“Because you keep coming back to me.” He answers readily, gaze remaining soft on Jinhwan’s face.

“Willingly.”

Jinhwan glares. “To kill you.”

“To save me.”

The vampire draws himself upright, his other hand reaches around to cradle Jinhwan’s neck, ignoring his flinch. “I won’t let you deceive yourself,” he presses, eyes turning dark and molten, forcing Jinhwan to stare back.

“I know what you want.”

“No, you really don’t.” Jinhwan insists. Fear slowly grips Jinhwan’s heart and twists inside him like a snake. Not the fear of death, but something else that he doesn’t want to name, even in the privacy of his own mind.

Jinhwan has never felt more afraid in his life.

Perhaps the vampire already knows this as well. Hanbin’s hand move from the back of his neck down to the front of his throat, lightly encircling it where the bruises are still healing. “Say it,” he demands, his voice now rings crisp and clear.

“Don’t touch me there!” Jinhwan wants to push away from him in disgust, but his feigned displeasure only causes Hanbin to grin.

“Where do you want to be touched, then?” The vampire muses almost to himself.

“Here?” Hanbin asks in barely a whisper, his thumb across Jinhwan’s bottom lip as he his own lips. Jinhwan shifts away to break contact.

The vampire smiles playfully and presses a kiss on the inside of his wrist instead. “Or here?”

Jinhwan trembles against him, straining uselessly away from the touch. Fingers firm in Jinhwan’s hair, the vampire pulls him closer and closer. Finally within reach, Hanbin rests his mouth against the hollow of Jinhwan’s throat.

“Here.” His tongue lays heavy against pulsing jugular behind paper thin skin.

“Don’t.” Jinhwan rasps, rapidly losing his sanity to the madness.

Hanbin breathes in deeply and holds him like the way Jinhwan remembers his parents held each other before they died. The surreal moment unravels in slowed heart beats and caressing breath. Drunk and hazy. It goes on for what feels like an eternity.

Without another word, Hanbin bites.

Something hurts in the center of Jinhwan’s chest as though his very soul shattered. Jinhwan screams and emerges from his fevered dream.

Madness is, after all, just another form of nightmare.

*

As promised, Jiwon comes to him shortly after the sunrise. He does not tie Jinhwan up like they did when he was their prisoner. The blood contract is his shackle now.

“You good?” Jiwon asks gruffly, inquisitive eyes scanning down Jinhwan’s borrowed clothes which turns out to be as oversized as they were in his dream. When he insisted on wearing his own clothes, Jiwon told him they were in the wash, and unless he wants to walk around with in a wet leather suit, he’d just have to deal.

“Yes.” Jinhwan keeps his answer curt and averts his eyes until he feels like he won’t dry heave from a vampire’s direct stare.

Jiwon frowns at him but doesn’t push any further. “We fixed up your shoulder last night,” he comments to switch subject. Sticking to decorum because Jinhwan doesn’t want to be called uncivilized by vampires, he expresses his thanks.

The vampire abruptly stops in his steps.

“What?” Jinhwan asks, stopping behind him.

Jiwon scratches the back of his neck as though he doesn’t know how to react to Jinhwan’s compliance. “Never mind," he says. "We’re grabbing breakfast, then you’ll come with us to patrol.”

Jinhwan nods without thinking. The less he has to think right now, the better. They resume walking until the tall vampire abruptly turns around again, and Jinhwan braces his body.

“Hey,” Jiwon sighs, “I know you hate being here as much as we hate having you here. But, for gods sake, pull yourself together!”

Without waiting for an answer, he promptly kneels down in front of the shorter man. “You’re going to trip all over the stairs this way.” The impatient vampire rolls Jinhwan’s pant legs up to his ankles and sleeves to the crook of his elbows. Deft fingers working fast to tuck in and smooth out any loose ends.

“There!” He beams, satisfied by his own work. “Would be ironic to have one of the greatest vampire hunters die by toppling over the stairs.”

Jinhwan grins back despite himself. “Thanks,” he says, this time sincere. Jiwon nods, and returns to the front to lead the way, although any passerby would say he’d dipped his head shyly as he was doing so.

They made it down the grand staircase and file into a cozy kitchen. Two strangers work busily in front of a large hearth to prepare their meals. The warmth of it wafts pleasantly against Jinhwan’s skin. One of them catches their entrance and greets them.

“Good morning, children!”

Jiwon inclines his head and mutters something about warm biscuits and tea while butting his way beside the taller one to pick at the food.

“You must be...What should we call you?” The jarringly cheerful voice asks.

It never occurs to Jinhwan to disclose his name, considering he arrived with the intention to slaughter them only two days ago. “Jinhwan.”

“Yunhyeong,” the stranger introduces himself and motions at the tall one. “He’s Chanwoo. We were away on a task, so we didn’t know what happened until we came back. You can imagine our surprise.”

Jinhwan hums his acknowledgment. Another vampire, and so Chanwoo must be his fledgling.

“I must admit, I didn’t really believe that you’re a cold-blooded killer. You seem so...”

Don’t ing say cute or small, Jinhwan thinks tiredly to himself.

“Unassuming.”

Jinhwan relaxes slightly.

“We’re supposed to keep you alive until Hanbin gets better, and I’m really good at that,” Yunhyeong continues in an upbeat sort of voice that Jinhwan doesn’t mind hearing at the moment. Here’s another angel in disguise