Yoohyeon was no London Tipton. She just happened to land this front desk job at a three star hotel off the main highway thanks to her best friend, Bora. Who was no where to be seen when their shift just started thirty minutes ago. If her calculations were right, tonight would be a slow night, thankfully. 

 

“Sorry, I’m late! Got caught up in traffic.” Bora shuffled through the employee entrance and joined her behind the counter. 

 

She raised an eyebrow out of suspicion. “Traffic this late?” Yoohyeon glanced at the wall clock, it blinked 9:30 pm. Bora shrugged, oddly quiet. 

 

Time passed by extremely slow, making it harder to keep her eyes open. Yoohyeon felt Bora get up from her chair. “Want some coffee? We finally got some quality K-cup pods after I complained to Yubin last week.” She chuckled, already making her way to the staff room without even waiting for Yoohyeon’s response.

 

Just as Bora left, the front entrance of the hotel opened, a rush of cool air seeping through with the familiar presence that blesses her every other week. And, of course, the plus one. 

 

“The usual.” 

 

Yoohyeon scoffed, knowing the drill like the back of her hand. She swiftly handed over the key card to the penthouse suite. “You ought to just buy that room entirely if you’re going to be here so often.” 

 

The other girl peeked over her stupid sunglasses, giving Yoohyeon that silly little look she always gives her. “Is this your way of asking me to move in?” Why was she even wearing sunglasses this late at night? 

 

“Shut up, Minji. You better get going before someone recognizes you.” 

 

That’s right. The Kim Minji. Star singer, star actress, star everything according to the nation. Yoohyeon couldn’t believe it at first either. 

 

She rolled her eyes at the flirty smile Minji shot her way, refusing to watch her go up the clear glass elevator with another random girl. Yoohyeon’s already seen it a billion times. 

 

“How does she manage to be so sneaky?” Bora reappeared with two mugs in hand, offering her one as she took her seat. “She’s been showing up here for an entire year with different girls every time yet there’s never a peep about her in the news.”

 

Yoohyeon has thought about that, wondering how a top celeb evades scandals her entire career. “It’s not exactly a crime to be sleeping with people.” She reasoned, “but for her to be sleeping with girls… that’s a whole other story.” 

 

Bora gasped dramatically. “You wouldn’t spill that to the tabloids, right?!” Yoohyeon knew she was kidding around, they both swore themselves to secrecy about Kim Minji… doing whatever she was doing at their hotel. Besides, the hotel had a privacy policy they had to follow. 

 

As Yoohyeon dozed off during the last hour of her shift, her mind brought her back to the first time she met Kim Minji. 

 

 

Ding ding! 

 

That damn bell. Bane of Yoohyeon’s existence. 

 

Bora stepped out for a small break, which she constantly does whenever the two have shifts together, so she had no choice but to watch the front desk all by herself for the time being. Yoohyeon was feeling particularly funky that night, sitting on the ground with one airpod inside her ear playing upbeat music to keep her awake. She heaved herself off the floor to address whoever disrupted her time. 

 

“Welcome! How may I—“ she stopped mid sentence, a gasp getting caught in . “—help you?” 

 

Kim Minji, standing in front of her, wide grin and crescent moon eyes, irises a mysterious dark brown with hints of red. Yoohyeon’s never seen anything like it. Must be contact lenses, she thought. 

 

“Yes. Two for the penthouse suite.” Yoohyeon’s first instinct was immediate curiosity. She looked around the empty lobby and furrowed her eyebrows. Minji must’ve caught on to the question the employee wanted to ask. “Can you keep a secret?” 

 

Yoohyeon last remembers Minji’s eyes sparkling and her pupils dilating. 

 

 

A slam on the counter jolted her wide awake. Yoohyeon faced the culprit begrudgingly. “How may I help you, sir?”

 

“I would like to file a noise complaint. The room above me, there has been all sorts of noise throughout the entire night and I couldn’t get a wink of sleep!”  

 

Yoohyeon knew which one it was instantly, recalling that she gave the man the room directly below the penthouse suite. “I apologize for the inconvenience. I will personally go check to see what’s going on.” Curse you, Kim Minji. You promised not to be too noisy after the last incident!

 

The man muttered to himself, walking away as Yoohyeon checked the time. She still had half an hour left to her shift. She nudged a passed out Bora next to her, how did she sleep through that?!

 

“Watch the front, I’m going to check on something.” 

 

Her friend mumbled and waved her away. Yoohyeon took this chance and bounded towards the elevator. She rode all the way up to the penthouse suite, strolling down the long hallway leading to the double doors. She raised her hand to knock, pausing when she heard whispers coming from inside the room. 

 

Yoohyeon attached her ear to the door and listened intently. 

 

“Kim Minji, you will be the death of me!”

 

“Oh, please. You say this every time.” 

 

“It has been one too many times! How long until they find out?” 

 

Yoohyeon was beyond confused. If her memory serves her correctly, she had never seen Minji with the same girl twice. So who was the celebrity talking to? Her question was answer when the door swiftly opened, revealing a face she has never seen, definitely not the same person Minji brought earlier. The girl rushed past her, not even giving her a chance to say anything. 

 

“To what do I owe the pleasure?” Minji appeared in front of her, tying a red robe around herself, giving Yoohyeon her usual flirty grin. She tried not to stare, turning her attention to the room instead. 

 

“Another noise complaint. You made me a promise!” Yoohyeon furrowed her eyebrows, realizing something. “Are you alone?” 

 

There was an unreadable glint to Minji’s eyes. “Yeah.” No further explanation. Yoohyeon understood, the celebrity had the right to her privacy. 

 

“Please try to keep it down, this is my last warning!” Yoohyeon tried to be serious, finger wagging and everything, but the other girl only laughed. 

 

“How else am I supposed to get your attention?” 

 

Yoohyeon went home that morning, snuggling into her own warm bed, thinking about how uneventful her life has been the past few years having no idea what lied ahead of her. 

 

~

 

Kim Minji was an orphan. Siyeon was the closest thing she had to a family ever since they met that fateful night in 1951. 

 

She doesn’t like to think about it often, her life before becoming a vampire. Memories of their earlier adventures come and go into her mind whenever she reminisces and she smiles. Death breathed life into her. 

 

It was like she had already lived many lifetimes. 

 

But technically, she was still only twenty seven. That was when she turned, on her twenty seventh birthday. 

 

Minji had met a captivating woman at a bar, dark red eyes that pulled her in and reduced her to complete submissiveness. That was how she met Siyeon. 

 

Flash forward seventy years later and Siyeon was still saving her . 

 

“How many times do you think you could get away with this?!” 

 

“I said I was sorry! You know how I tend to go overboard.” Minji shrugged, turning away when Siyeon gave her an incredulous look. 

 

They stared at the unconscious woman laying limp on the couch, bite marks on her neck. “God, could you not be any more obvious.” Her friend mumbled. “Do you not have any qualms about this? You’re a celebrity now, you have to be more careful than ever.” 

 

Minji crossed her arms, not wanting to linger on negative vibes when she was coming down from a feeding high. “Don’t worry about it. I’ve got it all covered.”

 

Siyeon worked her magic. She snapped the girl out from her deep slumber, healed the bite mark Minji carelessly left, and compelled her memories away before kicking her out of the room. The usual.

 

“I swear, Minji, if one of these days I can’t bring these girls back… it’s over. The Society will come for you and I won’t be able to stop them.” 

 

“Will you stop being so dramatic. When have we ever had any trouble with them?” Siyeon stayed silent, avoiding Minji’s eyes. This caught her attention. “What’s going on?” 

 

Her friend sighed, running a hand through her hair as she paced around. “I’ve been hearing whispers, Minji. Something bad is brewing and now is not the time to be so reckless.” 

 

She stayed silent, deep in thought over what could possibly happen. There was never any vampire drama in her time, like ever. But she knows the stories. Siyeon made sure Minji knew every bit of history no matter how much it bored her. 

 

“Please, just be careful.”