~Chapter Three~

Sungmin knew something was wrong the moment he turned to see Yesung standing in the doorway of the kitchen. Normally, the vampire would sleep all day, this must not have been that day.

“May I help you?” Sungmin asked, he was weary, his usual chores were going well, had Yesung thought of another for him?

“Remember the vampire I told you about?” Yesung asked, stepping into the shadowed part of the kitchen. Sungmin nodded his head focusing on his morning chores.

“He has a human he has taken a fancy for. I want you to befriend her and use her.” Yesung commanded. Sungmin nodded again, trying hard to ignore his conscious. Yesung smiled as he noticed the humans reluctance.

“If you can’t do this, then maybe I should send Kyuhyun to Ryeowook. But, I can’t promise he will live.” Yesung smiled. Finally turning to look at the vampire, Sungmin sighed.

“I’ll go.” He responded defeated.

“Good, here is her routine.” Yesung explained as he handed over a paper. He had been tailing her all yesterday, the cloudy sky perfect for a vampire.

Sungmin grabbed the paper and nodded as he moved to gather his things.

“And Sungmin,” Yesung called making the other pause. “Do not fail me.” He warned making Sungmin nod and leave the house...

Amber yawned as she heard Hyukjae and Donghae rummaging around in the main section of the house. Slugging out of bed, she made her way to the bathroom, ignoring the two men tempting fate with the oven, as she began to get read for her day. When she reemerged, Donghae was glaring at the table.

“Where’s Hyukjae?” Amber asked as she took a seat beside the older male. Donghae pointed to the bedroom with a pout.

“I was told to watch the oven for sparks.” Donghae commented. Amber nodded as she debated a muffin and some OJ. Eunhae worked in sales, the two spending most of their days behind a desk.

“I thought the oven was still broken from last time?” she said as she retrieved her muffin.

“It is, but we wanted rolls.” Donghae smiled. Of course, when it came to food, the two of them were effective hunters. Amber finished her breakfast before gathering her bag.

“Heading out for the day?” Hyukjae asked as he appeared from the room. Amber nodded as she pulled on her light jacket.

“Yeah, I’ll be home late tonight. You know how Fridays are at the bar.” she beamed before hugging both men and giving a weak two finger salute to them. Both men waved back as she left the house. August was one of those months were Summer and Fall just had to fight. Yes it was the last month of summer, and the heat was sweltering, but, Amber knew of a place where she could avoid the heat. Problem was, the place she ventured required a jacket or she would end up freezing in August. Taking the bus, she placed on her earphones and closed her eyes as the bus ventured into town. Stepping off the bus, Amber began her usual path towards the small cafe she had grown accustomed to writing in. Entering the place, she was greeted with the familiar smells of cakes and foods that made water.

Taking her usual seat, Amber pulled out a laptop and notebook and closed her eyes.  Just three hours here, leave a good tip for taking up space, and then get ready for work. With a plan laid out, she opened her eyes, and began her day....

Ryeowook sat in his apartment sipping his blood. Henry was moving about cleaning, oblivious to the vampires thoughts. With Yesung in town, chaos would follow. The vampire had a history that followed him. One this city didn’t need.

“If you are so worried, then why not go back to the force?” Henry asked as he waved his feather duster around in the air. Ryeowook glanced over as small dust particles rained down on the human.

“You know why.” The vampire replied boredly. Henry pouted before resuming his cleaning. He hated day lighters, well, he was jealous of them. Able to walk around in the sun or stroll in the moonlight. Not limited to just one of the two.

“Oh, don’t forget Siwon is coming tonight so don’t run off to the bar.” Henry warned making Ryeowook groaned and down his blood. Great, Ryeowook had a love hate relationship with the odd creature of the night. Mostly though, it was annoyance that drove the fights during visits.

“I don’t know why that giant headache refuses to let me be.” Ryeowook moaned. Henry chuckled at the others choice of words before shaking his head. The elder vampire didn’t seem all that bad, and he was a colleague of Ryeowook’s at the police force.

“He is just worried about you. I for one am grateful, I can’t be around all the time to make sure you don’t do the vampire equivalent of dropping dead.” Henry chastised as he continued to clean. Ryeowook rolled his eyes, he had enough of listening to the human. Standing up, he placed his empty glass on the table and made his way out of the living room, and to his own bedroom. Sometimes, when it came to Henry, Ryeowook debated breaking the law....

Sungmin fidgeted outside of the cafe. Inside was his target, a young human girl who had nothing to do with the world of Shadows. Just a poor innocent who Yesung deemed interesting. With a deep breath, Sungmin entered the cafe. The immediate smell and warmth of freshly made cakes and food made his stomach growl. It was the type of place he would come and enjoy with Kyuhyun.

“Just find a seat and we will be right with you.” a lady called making Sungmin nod as he looked around. He spotted Amber near the back at a window seat and smiled. The chair beside her was open.  Walking over, he debated what to say, how to start the conversation to gain her trust. How had he done it with Kyuhyun? Wait, no, he didn’t want to date her.

He took a seat, focusing on his hands. This was going to be harder than he thought. He had to succeed though, Kyuhyun depended on him. According to Yesung, Ryeowook was plain evil. Or, at least that was how the vampire made it sound. Sungmin didn’t really know much about the other vampires, he only knew Yesung, and Yesung had been the one to save he and Kyuhyun. A heavy sigh of frustration left him as he sunk into his chair.

“Whatever problem you are having, don’t worry about it.” a voice stated making Sungmin look over.

“Excuse me?” Sungmin asked.

“Worrying just puts you in an early grave.” Amber replied as she continued typing as if nothing were happening.  Sungmin blinked as he watched her for a moment. She seemed oblivious to the world around her, yet she was also still very much aware. Her attention never wavered from the computer screen, fingers speeding across the keyboard.

“What are you doing anyway?” Sungmin asked as he continued to watch the girl. Amber smiled as she finally paused and looked over, her eyes narrowed.

“Killing people.” she stated with a simple reply before a lady walked over and asked for Sungmin’s order. She was silent as Sungmin ordered a coffee. Even when the woman left, Amber was silent. Sungmin shifted, thinking between restarting the conversation, and remaining silent. He was tapping his foot, when she stood up. He had to stop her, had to figure out how to keep talking. Sungmin was so focused on his thoughts, that he failed to notice Amber leave the building, leaving him alone at the cafe....

Leeteuk sat at the table and eyed the officer across from him. The city would need to be informed soon. Yesung was a vampire with a record, a being the humans needed to be made aware of.

“So, Ryeowook approached him?” Kangin asked slightly amused. Leeteuk nodded his head before getting a notebook from his desk.

“I believe Henry is trying to convince Ryeowook to rejoin the force.” Leeteuk smiled. Kangin looked over with a raised brow. He chuckled after a moment before frowning again.

“Has the human had any luck?” Kangin asked. Leeteuk shrugged, Ryeowook had left the force on bad terms, for him to return seemed unlikely.

“Siwon said he would speak with the daylighters. Hopefully all of this will be taken care of without incident.” Leeteuk smiled as he began writing things down.

“The humans who work for you, make sure they stay safe.” Kangin ordered before standing up and eyeing the still sunny sky outside. The darkness of the house reminded him of the what he was. Leeteuk gently walked over, placing a hand over the others arm. The two shared a smile before parting ways. As Kangin left for the upstairs, Leeteuk frowned, eyeing the scars on his hand. That incident, the horror.

“I’m so sorry,” Leeteuk whispered, it had been the last straw for him, and apparently Ryeowook as well.

They had been so optimistic, so young. So stupid. So naive.