[CONTENTID1]Choice: Explore the second floor.[/CONTENTID1]

[CONTENTID2]Feeling adventurous, Haera decided to check out the second floor to see if there was anything interesting up there. She walked towards the wide staircase and took a minute to admire the intricate design of the golden handrails. The delicate golden swirls that looped in various directions and varied in size looked so detailed that she almost missed a step and lost her balance while going up. Fortunately, her left hand quickly reacted and strongly held on to the cold marbled rails.

“Whoa there,” she took a breath and let out an embarrassed laugh just as she straightened herself and continued walking up. “I guess I got to make sure I survive the next five minutes first before hoping I survive the night.”

As she reached the landing, she scanned the area and looked up again at the portraits on the wall. There she noticed more details that she wasn’t able to see from far away. Some of the men had visible scars on their faces while the others didn’t. One noticeable detail was that each of their eyes were of different hues. Whether they were colored contacts worn just for the shoot or not, each of them had piercing gazes and unreadable facial expressions. One particular man on the second to the last portrait to her right caught her attention. He had a slim face and alluring silver-colored eyes. She walked closer and squinted on the nameplate below the portrait.

“Hyungwon,” she whispered. 

After a minute or so, she turned back and started walking up more steps towards the second floor. She remembered that she saw the figure a while ago disappear to the left side of the hallway. Despite others not wanting to interact or even see a potentially dangerous stranger, she did just the opposite and slowly crept deeper into the path. The light fixtures were barely doing their job in creating a safe place for people to walk on considering they were dimly lit. It was a blessing that there wasn’t much blocking the hallway aside from the scarcely distributed tables with little vases planted in between the doorways. 

“Not creepy at all,” Haera shook her head with a nervous gulp. 

As she reached the end of the hallway, there was another momentary decision she had to make. The path on the right looked eerily lonely and deserted. However, there was a slight stream of light that escaped from a single door to her left. Without much thought, she believed that’s where the figure she saw a while ago disappeared to. Although a shiver crept through her spine at what she’s about to face — albeit an unexpected turn of events that she in a million years wouldn’t even dream of doing one random night — her curiosity got the best of her. 

“My goodness. I can’t believe this.” She shook her head in disbelief. “Others would turn the other way, but why does it feel like I’m drawn to know what’s inside?”

Haera inched closer to the only door in the hallway that was ajar. The light, from whatever source it came from, streamed through the gap. She was about to take a peek when the floorboard under her made a small creaking noise. 

“If you would like to enter,” a low voice sounded from the other side of the wooden door, “then please just do so. I’m not the type who likes to have people creeping up from behind.” He paused for a while as a smirk played on his lips. “For their own safety.”

Haera’s eyes widened as her shoulders moved up a bit from the startling voice. With the voice’s warning in mind, she took a deep breath before placing her knuckles by the door, giving it a few taps to signal her presence. 

“S-Sorry,” she slowly opened the door to let herself in. “I didn’t mean to disturb you.”

The room was small and there wasn’t much inside. There was a dusty and filled bookshelf on the right and on the left was a small table with some journals and a desk lamp on top of it. As she scanned the room for the source of the voice, she saw a man in front of her staring out the curtainless glass window. He had a black cape behind him and from his back view, seemed like a tall, lean man. 

“Disturb?” The man chuckled. He lazily placed both hands in his pockets and turned around to face the visitor. “No worries. I wasn’t doing much that could have let a harmless human disturb me.”

With the man fully facing her, she took in the same silver-colored eyes she saw in the portraits earlier. The man wore a vampire costume, his white button down shirt tucked a bit loosely in his black slacks. His black velvet suit was ed and the cape, which was red on the inside, was tied neatly under the collar of his shirt. He had a simple black choker around his neck and his jetblack gelled hair was roughly styled and pushed back. 

“You’re Hyungwon, right?” 

“In the flesh,” he placed a hand on his chest and gave a slight bow. 

After Haera formally introduced herself and told her side of the story as to how she ended up in the castle, a wave of silence hit the both of them. Hyungwon’s gaze was unreadable as he continued to stare at the woman in front of him.

“I-I should go,” she awkwardly smiled then started walking backwards towards the door. “I think the rain died down by now.”

“No, it hasn’t yet actually,” he raised the side of his mouth into a curved smile. “I’ve been checking the forest below,” he pointed to the glass paned window behind him. “It’s still pouring down there.”

“Oh, I see.”

“But please,” he placed a hand on his chest again as if the words came from his heart, “feel free to stay at MX castle until then. We welcome those who need help.”

Haera looked up at the slightly smiling man. She didn’t want to aimlessly roam around the castle — at least, not by herself anyway. Considering the time of day and unfamiliar territory, it would be unwise for her to do so.

“Can I stay with you until it’s time for me to go?”

Hyungwon raised an eyebrow as if the question was unfamiliar to him. It wasn’t often that someone, much less a human, would want to stay by his side. “Well, Miss Haera,” there was a slight gleam in his eyes which seemed like it was of amusement. “I’m not sure I can provide you with much, seeing as it’s my turn to stay on guard tonight, but yes, I can keep you company if you wish.”

“Thanks,” she smiled back. “I’ll be sure not to be in your way.”

“Oh please,” he chuckled. “Don’t be so uptight. I’m fine with a little chat here and now. Plus, it’s been a long and boring night so far, so having someone to talk to would be splendid to keep the rest of the day fun.”

It took her a few minutes to discern whether it was safe and if this man that she just met didn’t intend to harm her in any way. Once she determined that the man didn’t feel dangerous, she walked towards the window and stood beside him. Hyungwon, on the other hand, went back to gazing at the forest below. 

“You mentioned you were on guard,” she began the trifling conversation to pass the hour. “What did you mean?”

Hyungwon nodded to the bustling trees outside that were dancing in the rough rain. “We’re more like caretakers for this part of the forest.”

Haera looked confused. From what she gathered on her way here, the forest didn’t seem like it needed caring. The whole place looked eerie, abandoned, and dead. And from the looks of it, didn’t have any sign of life. 

“Not to be rude,” she looked up at him, “but what are you guys caring for?”

“From the castle to the forest and even to the place where you humans visit. Everything.”

“You know about the Halloween event?” She asked in disbelief. It felt as if someone kept watching over them without them even knowing. She didn’t know whether to feel uncomfortable or weirded out by that fact. “For how long?”

“Every year,” he confessed without batting an eye. “We make sure nothing bad happens to this area. If there’s anything worth saving or containing, we’ll try our best to do so.”

“Wait,” Haera scrunched her eyebrows together. “What made it your responsibility to do so? It’s a huge area and it’s not like there’s anything out there to protect.”

“That’s why there are seven of us here,