[CONTENTID1]Red Tulip[/CONTENTID1]

[CONTENTID2]Chapter Nine[/CONTENTID2]

[CONTENTID3]

Her shop did not look as Yoonhee remembered it. It didn’t retain its inviting appearance without the colorful flowers behind its windows. The inside was dark, the blinds shut, and a closed sign hung at the door. She heaved a sigh as she unlocked the door and stepped inside, turning on the lights.

Empty shelves and an equally empty counter greeted her. Everything had been cleaned up and was spotless—all that was missing were her flowers and some vases that had been smashed. She stopped in the middle of the room, her eyes skirting from a picture on the wall to the tables near the windows where she used to display some of her creations.

“Thank you for your hard work,” she said and threw a glance over her shoulder at Baekhyun who had followed and remained behind her. “You cleaned everything. It looks as good as new.”

“It’s no big deal. I’m glad I could help.”

She walked to the counter, brushed her hand over its wood, and tried to imagine what this place would look like if it was not empty. When she would reopen her shop, she would make sure it would become an even prettier place than it had once been. She wanted to fill it with all sorts and colors of plants so that it wouldn’t look so lonely and forlorn anymore.

“I think freesias would look nice on this shelf,” she mumbled to herself. “Camellias near the windows… and daisies right here.”

Baekhyun’s vigilant gaze followed her as she padded around, mumbling something while she made plans for the future. She checked the backroom and memorized which things needed to be replaced and what was still usable. Fortunately, Sooyoung had left the backroom alone—the items here were untouched. When she returned to Baekhyun, she looked somber and thoughtful.

“You will turn this place into something beautiful in no time,” Baekhyun said and put his hand on her shoulder. “Trust me, I know it.”

“I hope you’re right,” she said with a tentative smile on her lips. “I took care of everything, let’s go.”

He nodded and followed her outside, waiting for a moment until she had locked the door.

Next on their list was shopping for new clothes and other items that she would need in her new home. Since she had left nearly everything behind in her ex’s flat, Yoonhee needed many different things. They started their shopping spree by visiting one of the malls in Myeongdong.

It wasn’t the first time Yoonhee was in town with Baekhyun, but it was the first time she noticed how many interested looks he garnered. As they passed through the aisles of a clothing store, some human women unabashedly stared at Baekhyun. Yoonhee wasn’t blind, she knew how good-looking he was, but their behavior pissed her off. Wasn’t it obvious Baekhyun was with her? Some people had no shame. Yoonhee agitatedly browsed through the shirts and blouses in front of her. She turned her back on Baekhyun for only a moment when suddenly, one of the humans approached him.

“Hello there, do you have a moment?” the woman asked and painted a sugary smile on her lips.

Yoonhee’s head snapped around. She glared daggers at the stranger who didn’t acknowledge her at all. Fed up with her attitude, Yoonhee decided to interfere. And she did this by grabbing Baekhyun’s wrist and moving on to the next section which coincidentally was the underwear section.

Baekhyun watched her in surprise when she guided him past several displays with and bras without batting an eye. He caught her throwing dark glowers over her shoulder, but he didn’t understand why she was agitated. However, he was soon distracted anyway.

“Buttercup, what about this one?” he asked with a smirk and picked up a red bra, dangling it in front of her nose. He intended to fluster her, but for some reason, he achieved the opposite which frankly confused him.

“Perfect, I will buy it,” she chirped and took it, grinning victoriously at someone behind him. “Thanks for your help.”

He couldn’t believe his eyes and watched her cackling quietly while she picked up matching red . She muttered something under her breath that sounded like, “Serves her right.” His eyebrows rose, but he didn’t dwell on the strange remark since his eyes fell on something that captured his interest.

“What about this? You would look very tasty in it,” he commented, his eyes darkening a tad. Red flickered through them like an ignited flame. She turned to look at what he had picked this time—and couldn’t stop the blush that formed on her cheeks. It was a transparent bra consisting solely of white lace.

“That’s…” she trailed off. Very risqué, she wanted to say, but the words got stuck in .

“y,” he ended her sentence. “Did I pick the right size?”

She reluctantly took it and checked the size, her blush darkening. “H-How do you know this?!”

“I guessed,” he shrugged. “You look like a B-cup.”

“B-BAEKHYUN!” she exploded and threw the bra at him. “What the hell?”

“So you don’t want it? Shame, it would have looked good on you,” he sighed and put it back. Shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans, he sauntered to the next aisle. “What about blue? Do you prefer blue?”

She followed his gaze, absolutely mortified when she saw another scandalously skimpy bra. “ert,” she grumbled and chose one of the more comfortable sets of underwear that didn’t involve lace.

“I like buying pretty things for my pretty soulmate,” he smirked. “Are you sure you don’t want that bra over there? It would look delicious on you.” He had the audacity to his lips. At this point, she didn’t know anymore whether she should be embarrassed or . Her stupid brain drifted into the adults-only section with some not-so-innocent thoughts.

“F-Fine, hand it over,” she said and he gladly fetched it for her with an obnoxious smirk on his face. “You’re… unbelievable,” she added.

“I’m helping you with very important decisions, my flower.”

“Mhm, sure,” she countered. “Sure you do. It’s not like you would actually see me wearing this, so don’t get any ideas.”

“I beg to differ,” he grinned lasciviously, playing with a lock of her ebony hair. “My flower is shy, but she doesn’t need to be because she is gorgeous. You don’t have to hide your body from your soulmate.”

“I’m so done with you,” she snorted, hitting his arm. “How can you just say that without blushing?”

“Because I’m serious?”

“You’re serious about seeing me ?” she asked with raised eyebrows.

“Well, if you word it like that, it sounds slightly less elegant.”

They passed an older woman who glared at them, muttering something about shameless young people before she walked on, disappearing around the next corner. Baekhyun and Yoonhee didn’t notice her as they were too busy with each other.

Once they had left the underwear section behind, she finally got a chance to breathe and moved on to look for pants—a less flustering endeavor. Or at least, that was what she thought. Reality was different from her expectations since she hadn’t counted in her clingy vampire soulmate.

While she looked at the kinds of pants that were on sale, he stood behind her and placed his chin on her shoulder, keeping his lips dangerously close to her neck. His hands came to rest on her stomach and the magic of their bond engulfed her wholly, making it impossible to concentrate on the pile of jeans in front of her.

“I love your smell, buttercup,” he uttered. “It’s so sweet.”

She wondered if he was thirsty, but it didn’t seem like it since his eyes were still blue. Then again, it had to be tempting to have her scent around him all day. She tensed just a little bit, but he noticed immediately.

“I didn’t mean to make you uneasy.”

“I figured,” she mumbled. “Sorry, I do trust you, it’s just that sometimes, I… I don’t even know how to explain it. I’m sorry.”

“You’re apologizing too much, buttercup. For things that aren’t even worth an apology. I understand that you require time to heal,” he murmured, his hand drawing circles on her stomach. “But why do you feel the need to apologize so often?”

She lowered her head, fidgeting with the jeans she had picked, rolling its fabric in between her fingers. “It’s because of Sooyoung. He used to yell at me when I did something he didn’t approve of, so I always felt like I had to apologize. And this habit just… stuck with me.”

Baekhyun remained silent for nearly five seconds, and in this period of tense quiet, she heard him exhale. His arms pressed her closer into his chest as if he wanted to shield her. “It’s an unhealthy habit, buttercup,” he muttered. And though his voice sounded gentle, she registered the underlying resentment for her ex. “Please try to let go of it, for your own sake.”

“I will,” she frowned. It was crushing how much of an influence her ex had on her.

“Good, and now I want you to enjoy the rest of the day,” he said in an attempt to cheer her up. “How about we get coffee when we’re done here? There is a café nearby.”

“I’d like that.”

When they were done with everything and on the way back to the car, the sky was turning purple and the first stars became visible. It was a little cold considering it was still summer, so Baekhyun lent her his jacket which she put on.

“Cute,” was his remark when he saw how big it was on her. She pouted at him but appreciated the added warmth the jacket provided her.

As they got closer to the parking garage, they passed another alley, and Baekhyun suddenly stiffened. He stopped and stood still as a statue, his eyes staring into space as he listened for something. Yoonhee was about to open and ask what was wrong—but then she sensed it.

A malicious aura awaited them in the next intersecting alley. Rabid and unnatural, so unhinged she shivered upon noticing it. A low growl reached her ears, and when she gazed at him, she found his eyes streaked with an intimidating shade of red. She did not like this… The person she sensed hiding in the darkness seemed to be a vampire. Her instincts told her to run. The familiar and debilitating coldness of fear crept into her. She instinctively moved closer to him, holding on to his hand since his touch calmed her.

“Let’s leave,” she whispered. Baekhyun hesitated, keeping his eyes on the alley from where they heard the strangest noises; snarling and growling as if they were dealing with an animal.

“I doubt it will let us leave,” he answered. “I assume you haven’t encountered this particular kind of creature before.”

“No?”

“It’s okay, calm down and stay close to me,” he answered. “We are dealing with a turned vampire who was once a human. It’s now a bloodthirsty monster.”

Her eyes widened in recognition—now it made sense why this aura seemed like that of a vampire yet different in some way. She had heard of these beings before but never had she encountered one. Pureblooded vampires were able to turn humans by completely draining them of their blood. However, the process was risky and often, the human would die. In the slim chance they survived, they would become controlled by their thirst for blood and a puppet to the vampire who had turned them. It sounded like a horror story—and she dreaded laying eyes on a creature that was neither alive nor dead.

Baekhyun’s senses were sharper than hers, so he reacted first, pushing her behind him and tensing his body in anticipation. The woman who rounded the corner and stepped out of the shadows had once been pretty, but now her eyes were bloodshot, framed by violet shadows. She appeared like a walking corpse, almost zombie-like, with the exception that her body was not decaying. An inflamed bite marked her neck, looking incredibly painful—and Yoonhee felt sorry for her. She must have been attacked by a vampire, dry, and left behind to die. The cruelty of her fate was harrowing. Even though she technically was still alive and breathing, none of her humanity remained.

The creature gazed past Baekhyun, her eyes glaring greedily at Yoonhee. She opened , showing grotesque fangs as she growled at her. A tremor shook Yoonhee’s body. She hid behind Baekhyun and averted her eyes from the sight. It brought back unwanted memories. The only reason she didn’t completely lose her mind in fear was Baekhyun’s proximity and the trust they shared. She was sure he wouldn’t let her down.

“I have to stop it before it attacks innocent people. Keep your eyes closed if you want to,” he said. “You don’t need to watch this.” She took his advice and closed them, hoping this would be over soon.

Baekhyun would have rather kept her away from an encounter such as this, but he couldn’t have foreseen this. His gleaming red eyes zeroed in on the creature’s neck—he chose the least messy way of putting it out of its misery.

It was not deterred by the sight of an enraged pureblooded vampire, foolishly staggering closer. Its thirst held it captive. He was not surprised when the creature pounced towards him, and he acted with the fast reflexes of a true vampire. His movements were sharp and precise, so fast a human eye couldn’t see them. Intercepting the creature, his cold hand grabbed its neck. I