[CONTENTID1]Choice: Check the kitchen.[/CONTENTID1]

[CONTENTID2]The appetizing smell engulfed Haera's senses which made her nose twitch in approval. Her stomach, as if it had a mind of its own, responded with a resounding growl not a second later. Although Haera ate at the bonfire before the scavenger hunt started, the events that led to where she currently stood must have used up all the energy the food converted earlier. At least that's what she thought to herself.

“Mmm, what is that delicious smell?” Wanting to find the root cause of the enticing aroma, Haera decided to move towards the path that emitted the strongest scent.

In doing so, she turned to her left and started walking down the long hallway that stretched into an unknown end. The hallway consisted mostly of the intricate white and gold wall designs on the right and the tall windows on the left. Aside from the small rectangular wooden table by the wall in the middle of the hallway, there wasn’t anything else she could see. Regardless, there was one thing that she knew that was enough to motivate her to push through - there will be food at the end of the tunnel.

As she reached the end of the hallway, she entered a round room that had three doors that led to what seemed like paths to other parts of the castle. 

Haera looked up the high ceiling and noticed a similar enormous chandelier gracefully hanging above her head. The intricate gold and white designs were reminiscent of the earlier decorations that adorned the entrance hall the moment she entered the castle. Aside from the small tables by each door that were decorated with different types of flowers in translucent vases, there was nothing else in sight. 

Haera walked towards each door one by one and scanned where the path led. The first door on her left looked like the same hallway she just emerged from. The door in the middle had transparent windows on each side which lead to a room that was lit at the end of its path. And finally, the door on the right had stairs that led to the next floor.

After thinking for a full two minutes, Haera went back to the middle doorway after much consideration. Noticing the light at the end of the path, she figured that there must be someone using that room. Considering that the other paths looked deserted, Haera made up her mind to see what or who the tunnel leads.

As she walked through the hallway, she looked left and right to see what lied over the transparent windows. Contrary to the rough rain by the forest, only remnants of night time dew decorated the other side of the windows. On her left was a small outside patio that had a mini garden on the sides of the walls compete with a wooden round outdoor table set. There were a couple of dried leaves on top of the table and benches which were artworks left by the slightly swaying trees around them. The slightly damp ground had five times the amount of fallen dried leaves along with other smears nature painted herself. 

After a few more steps, she looked to her right and her heart almost jumped out at what she saw. Right outside was an enormous ancient-looking tree. Its lifeless branches drooped at its sides which made the long, snake-like vines and leaves it carried seem to come out from a horror movie. Haera stopped for a moment and looked intently at the center. There seemed to be a hole of some sort about six feet above the ground on the trunk. A pair of strong yellow eyes stared back at her, making her step back and catch her breath.

“What is that?” And as if the owner of the yellow eyes was just as curious at the visitor, it took a few careful steps and poked its head out the hole, revealing a feathered head and large, round eyes. “Is that an owl?” She raised an eyebrow and continued to stare at the creature, unbelieving at the revelation. “They have an owl?”

A loud burst of sound startled the curious woman which broke the staring contest the two of them unknowingly started. The sound, she gathered, definitely came from the end of the pathway.

“Jeepers creepers!” She placed a hand on her chest and felt the fast pace of her heartbeat. She looked back at the unsuspecting owl one last time then faced the end of the hallway. “I guess that’s one way to get back on track.”

As Haera made her way closer to the end, she noticed that the door was left ajar which explained the light that seeped through and guided her path. The white wooden door had gold engravings on its indentions as well as the door frame that held it together. There was a metallic sign that dangled outside the door with a hamster-looking bear wearing a chef’s hat and uniform. A speech bubble was placed on top with the words ‘Chef Kihyun’ and a sliding ‘In’ and ‘Out’ indication beneath it. The ‘In’ was circled with a separate magnet. 

Haera heard a muffled hum coming from inside as she took a few careful steps closer to the door. She took a peek in between the crevice and noticed that a dark brown and black haired head was bobbing up and down behind the kitchen counter. As she stood there to observe for a while, the head stopped moving and slowly came up from behind the counter. That’s when a pair of piercing light brown eyes stared back at her. 

Haera immediately stepped away from the door and placed her back by the wall as she caught a breath. She was so sure she didn’t make a sound so how could that person know she was there?

“Okay, okay,” she tried to coach herself to calm her nerves. “Pull yourself together. What’s your next move? Think, Haera, think—”

“Welcome to the kitchen of MX castle, Miss Haera,” a chirpy voice beamed beside her. 

“AH!” She screeched when the same pair of eyes appeared at her side. 

The man propped an arm slightly above his head by the doorway and leaned against it. He wore a vampire ensemble with an open black suit and his white button down shirt was neatly tucked in his black slacks. His black cape, which was red on the inside, was securely tied into a ribbon under his collar and almost touched the floor. His dark brown and black highlighted hair was slightly messy as his bangs just reached the top of his eyelids. His ears were pierced with flat pearl-like studs.

“Now, now,” the man chuckled. “I may be a chef, but I’m not going to cook you or anything. That’s what the creepy old witches do and they haven’t been here in decades. No need to be so scared.”

“Y-You’re not going to murder me?”

“Heavens, no!” The man gave a hearty laugh. “Vampires don’t really murder people. Well, at least not without a purpose.”

“Well,” she gulped and gazed to his other hand which held something shiny. “That knife doesn't seem reassuring.”

“Oh, my apologies,” he excused himself for a moment while he slipped back into the kitchen and placed the knife down. His presence didn’t get missed as he came back out not a second later. “I was in the middle of cutting some onions until I accidentally bumped into a now spilled plate of chopped vegetables,” the weary chef sighed. “Anyway,” he regained his smile as he placed a slender hand on his chest and gave a little bow. “Let me formally introduce myself. I'm Kihyun, head assigned chef of MX castle.”

After Haera formally introduced herself as well and explained how and what she was doing at MX castle, a thought lingered in her head. “By the way, how did you know I was outside the door? I thought I didn’t make a noise.”

“We’re quite perceptive,” Kihyun responded as he welcomed and guided Haera inside the kitchen. “It’s one of the abilities we possess as vampires.”

The moment she stepped foot into the kitchen, she couldn’t hide her amazed expression. Considering the old exterior and antique styles of the castle, one would think that the kitchen would look the part. However, the kitchen’s interior looked completely separate from the walls outside.

“Oh my word!” A gasp escaped her lips as she took in the unexpected sight. “This kitchen looks marvelous!”

“Right?” Kihyun gave a proud smirk, his nose and shoulders a bit high in the air. 

What immediately snagged her attention upon entering the kitchen was that the room had a high-rise