The cold hallway stretched endlessly in front of him as the dim light of a torch reflected in dark-brown wood and grey stone. It flickered over large golden frames, pale faces and lifeless eyes. A dreary sight, but one he was used to. Thick, blood-red carpet muffled his steps. The air tasted stale, unfitting of the glamorous surroundings. Before, there had been the sounds of conversation, occasional laughter, the smell of flowers and people, but now there was only silence and dust.

After walking further, he arrived at a dead-end. A portrait hung there, far away from the others. This woman looked different from the ones in the portraits down the corridor – instead of blond or light-brown, her hair was as black as the night sky and so were her slanted, mono-lidded eyes. Her dress was comparatively simple, although made of silk, and only a single piece of jewellery adorned her pale neck, sitting prominently between delicate collarbones: a teardrop-shaped ruby on a silver necklace.

He stared at the empty face and tried to imagine it holding a hint of her usual smile.

"It’s been a while."

Gently, he wiped away the dust from the frame that had gathered over the years. He wanted to do the same for the portrait itself but he was worried that he would damage the only remaining picture of his mother.

“Unfortunately, Annette has passed away two years ago but Marie is doing well. She married a young man from a neighbouring village some time ago and is living a quiet life. You can already see that she’s pregnant, her belly has grown so big… three more months, I’m guessing.”

Subin. Giselle. Aaron and Annette. Marie.

Subin, his half-sister, had been entrusted to him by his mother before her death and he had made it his mission to keep her family safe. So far, he had been able to protect them from harm due to the money and influence of his own family; and although Subin had been dead for long decades by now, he found solace in taking care of her ancestors – from the shadows.

After all, Humans feared vampires.

It had been difficult to keep his father’s clan away. Subin had been considered a ‘loose end’, a Human who knew too much. Seungcheol’s father had held no interest in the human child, the last remnant of his wife’s first marriage; he had only tolerated her because Seungcheol’s mother had pled for Subin’s life. But his conditions of keeping her alive had been harsh: Keep her away, don’t let her know anything, don’t meddle. Therefore Subin had gotten sent away at the tender age of three, one year before Seungcheol had been born.

His mother had brought him whenever she had secretly visited his sister at her foster home. Unlike with the half-siblings from his father’s side, Seungcheol had bonded quickly with Subin, who looked similar to their mother and him, with coal-black hair and dark eyes. But after his eighth birthday, when Subin had already turned twelve, she had started to question why her brother was different from other children. He looked young, younger than eight, maybe four or five at most, but his way of speaking and thinking was far more eloquent than hers. His reflexes and strength were superior too, although, after a scolding from his mother, he had tried to reign himself in. But despite everything, he had only been a child back then so sometimes, while playing with his sister, he had done things that were unusual. Unnatural for Humans.

Afterwards, his mother had never once brought him along again, regardless of how much he had whined and begged, but she had continued visiting his sister until her early death a few years later. And, as far as Seungcheol knew, Subin had never found out that their mother had been turned into a vampire shortly after she had gotten sent to the foster home.

Subin had been nineteen when she had married and Seungcheol had been there, hiding in the shadow of an old oak tree, and had watched from afar. She had been twenty when she had given birth to her only child, Giselle, who had shared her dark hair but had inherited the blue eyes of her father. Seungcheol had been in the hospital, in the room next door, his hands curled into anxious fists after enduring her pained screams. He had blocked Beings from getting too close, had taken care of matters for her, had supported her small business with investments and had made sure she was living a peaceful and undisturbed life. He had been there during the death of her husband, the birth of her grandchildren, her quiet death at the age of 81 and her solemn burial but he had never once shown himself regardless how much he wanted to. The knowledge would only endanger them.

Afterwards, he had watched over Giselle, over the twin siblings Aaron and Annette and now, seven years after Aaron's and two years after Annette's death, over Marie. And he planned to continue this tradition because nothing gave him more pleasure than seeing his Human relatives live the fulfilled life he couldn’t have.

While he had watched three generations of his family come and go, he had matured into a young adult. He had learned to ignore the derogatory remarks of his vampire relatives; had fought with his father, who was cruel and unforgiving towards Humans despite having taken a human wife himself; he had handed over his position as the potential heir to his half-brothers who had been born from pure-blood mistresses. And once every five years, he returned to the abandoned wing of the villa where his mother had lived to report back to her.

After spending some time with his mother's portrait, he left towards the village Marie had moved to. He had no desire to meet his father or the rest of his father's arrogant clan – it never ended well. They held contempt because he was the son of a class two vampire but he loved his mother more than anything else in the world; while he was indifferent towards their insults directed at him, a single insult towards his mother was enough to make him lose all reason.

It takes at least a day to return to the village. Why does it feel like no time has passed at all?

Seungcheol stood in the shadow of a tall pine tree, eyes focused on the one-story house in front of him. It looked simple but clean, with white walls and a small vegetable garden. No different from the other houses in the distance. And no different from usual. But something wasn't right; his instincts were stirring.

No.

Narrowing his eyes, he crept closer to the door, careful not to make a sound. He didn't want to be seen by Marie or her husband. But to his surprise, he found the door unlocked and the house empty.

Why? It was unlike her to leave the house since she was pregnant.

He stalked through the rooms, his gaze gliding over furniture and