An arrow whizzed through the air as it was aimed at the back of the running male. The male didn't stop to look behind him as his hand cradled a bundle about the size of a baby. He dodged the branches in his way as he dove into the deep darkness ahead of him, only pushing himself to move faster than his pursuers which would have been easier if he wasn't carrying the weight in his arms that felt as if it was his whole world right now. He could only think to get to safety and only ever stopped to catch a few quick breaths before running away. 

Seonghwa had no idea for how long or how far he had run that night but when he finally stopped to rest, he fell to his knees and looked down at the bundle. Gently pushing the cloth aside to expose the baby in the bundle, he could only stare at the little one without expression. Why did he do something like this? The baby opened its eyes and stared back at Seonghwa who twitched a little before the baby made a noise and lifted its arms. He held onto its tiny hand and it held back. Seonghwa gritted his teeth and shook his head free of thoughts before he collected all his energy to continue running. 

And running. 

18 years passed since that day and the baby was now a young adult in his first year of college. His name? 

Choi San. 

"Appa, I'm going out now," the young adult said to Seonghwa who looked like he hadn't aged a single day. He picked up the lunchbox that was prepared for him and gave his dad a quick hug. 

"Take care, San ah. Don't forget to make friends, okay?" Seonghwa said as he returned his son's affection with a pat on his head. 

San smiled his little crooked smile and waved to his dad before leaving, feeling a wave of enthusiasm. After months of begging his dad, he was finally allowed to attend college. After all, he had been mostly homeschooled. He didn't have a single friend since they moved a lot and while he wasn't sure how to make one either, he was excited about meeting new people. He grabbed his bicycle and quickly headed off to class. 

He was a nervous wreck as he sat alone in the middle of the class, taking glances all around him to see if there was anyone who looked friendly enough to interact with but after so many years of avoiding people, his judgement was a little off. In fact, many thought he was scary looking instead with his slight head down tilt and glaring eyes. 

"If you keep doing that, nobody would approach you," a perky voice said and San finally moved his head up to look at the person who spoke to him first. He felt his heart jump as his eyes gave him a fearful look instead. The male with large doe eyes sat down beside him and smiled before holding his hand out. "Wooyoung, that's my name! You better remember it!" 

That was how he met his best and only friend on the first day of college. Wooyoung was friendly and almost like a boom box. He was also crazily annoying at times but San has the patience of a Saint. He always played along with Wooyoung's antics, only ever stopping him if he thought it was too dangerous or outrageous to go along with. After all, his dad's warnings to stay out of trouble always gnawed at him. He never really understood why but he had stopped questioning his dad a long time ago. The male was too much of a maze for San to unravel despite only knowing him for 19 years. San knew his dad was filled with all sorts of secrets that he would probably never come to know and he had also come to terms with it since he didn't want to get on his dad's bad side. The male had been nothing but kind to him and San loved him too much to break his heart or hurt his feelings by accident. 

For the following months that led to a whole year, San attended college like a regular student. He never knew that making friends was this difficult since he hadn't been able to make another friend after Wooyoung since people avoided him. He didn't know why and maybe he was too afraid to find out either. What if people thought bad of him? He only wanted to be nice to people but he guessed his eyes were one of the problems. Wooyoung had said this to him before, "San ah, stop looking like you want to kill someone." 

He had no idea what the other meant by that since Seonghwa had never told him that his eyes looked scary. In fact, San was more afraid of Seonghwa's eyes when he accidentally break something or make a mess. Still, Seonghwa had forgiven him every time which only made San more fearful for the day that his dad snaps. 

"So, are you going on the field trip?" Wooyoung asked as they had just finished their class for the day and were headed to the gate. It was already quite late in the evening too. 

"Crap. I haven't asked my dad yet. I'm afraid he might not let me," San sighed. As much as he loved his dad and knew his dad loved him, asking him things like him going somewhere alone was still difficult. He had never run an errand alone until he was 16 years old too, not because Seonghwa was strict but San had become a homebody without realising. He wasn't too keen on going out since Seonghwa barely left the house either. He had everything he needed at home too. A laptop, a phone, games. What more could he ask for? He even had some gym equipment to keep himself fit and if he ever needed anything, Seonghwa would get it for him so he was quite spoiled in that regard. 

"Why not? You're not some princess who needs to be locked up and protected," Wooyoung said with pouty lips. "Come on. It'll be fun and it'll be with me so you know it will definitely be fun because I'm fun." 

"Is that supposed to be a convincing reason?" San asked jokingly and Wooyoung gasped, smacking him on the arm. "Ow..." 

"Of course it's the most convincing thing ever. Besides, you said you've never gone out camping or things like that unless your dad was there. You're already 19 now." 

San rubbed his neck and made a squirmish look as he gave it some thought. They stopped at the bus stop and continued talking while waiting for it. "I'll try asking him but don't get your hopes up." 

"I'll definitely put my hopes as high as I can, you bet your , Choi San." 

"I'm not betting my for anything," San scoffed and Wooyoung used his to nudge San who could only laugh as he returned the nudge with his own . He stared at Wooyoung who was giggling and felt his heart flutter. He tried to push down the stifling feeling that crawled up his throat as felt a slight haze in his mind every time he looked at Wooyoung's smiling face with the evening light gently bouncing off him. He didn't know when it started but nowadays when he looked at Wooyoung, his heart would race and the other seemed to shine so brightly that it made his chest and head hurt. San wondered if there was something wrong with him. 

"San~ San? Yah! Don't ignore me," Wooyoung cooed and threw his arms over San who flinched. 

"Huh? What was that?" 

"Why do you keep blanking out nowadays?" Wooyoung sulked and San felt his nerves break down around him but kept a hold on them as tightly as he could. 

"No reason. Anyway, we have to part ways now," San replied quickly as the bus came to view, stopping at a red light down the street. 

"Nooooo. I want to stay with you forever," Wooyoung whined and San felt his heart squeeze him again in that uncomfortable sensation. 

"We are just going to see each other tomorrow," San said as he tried to separate his best friend from him. 

"Why don't you ever invite me over to your place? We have been friends for over a year and my parents like you too but you have never invited me over."

San froze and his pupils shook as he tried to think of an excuse. He blinked and smiled to make himself look less nervous. "I already told you before, my dad doesn't like visitors, especially surprise visits." 

"If it's an invitation like next week or something, it won't be a surprise visit, right?" Wooyoung said, trying to persuade San who was firm and shook his head. 

"I'm sorry, Young ah." San felt guilty as he looked at Wooyoung's sad eyes. He did want to invite the other over, maybe even once but his dad had always told him not to bring anyone over. 

"San, tell me the truth. Are you being abused?" Wooyoung asked firmly and held San's hands. There goes his heart again and now even his stomach. San coughed and shook his head quickly. 

"No way. My dad is the nicest person I've ever known."

"Then...what's with all these secrets and rules? You barely ever go out and no one is allowed to go over. It's all just too suspicious. Maybe he's a hitman? Or an assassin? That's why he doesn't want anyone else to see him?" Wooyoung said and San pursed his lips. He sighed and shrugged after some thought. 

"Even I can't answer what I don't know, Young ah. My dad must have his own reasons and me not liking to go out is my own problem, not my dad's. I still came out and hung out with you before. Can't you just forgive me for not inviting you to my home?" San said.

"Hah... Fine. But once we start saving money, you remember our promise, right?" 

"Of course. We will find a place to stay together and work together too," San replied with a genuine smile. Wooyoung beamed and they exchanged their handshake. 

"Good. I'll see you tomorrow then. Remember to ask your dad about the field trip!" 

"I will. Take care on your way home." 

"You too, Sannie~!" Wooyoung waved before getting up the bus that had finally reached. San got onto his bicycle and rode home, feeling a heavy sinking feeling out of the blue. He was confused with his own emotions since he had just been happy with Wooyoung a moment ago. He brushed it off, thinking that he was just nervous about asking his dad about the field trip. He made it home and started to look for his dad, finding the door to his study room a little ajar. He walked up to it but paused when he heard Seonghwa's voice sounding a little annoyed. He hadn't really heard his dad use such a tone before and that made him sneak up to the room to see what was going on. He peeked and saw someone's back, someone who wasn't his dad since he had memorised how his dad looked by how. Seonghwa was seated with a frown on his face, glaring at the male before him. 

"I am never leaving San nor am I ever going back, not even for the selection of the next vampire lord. You can't convince me otherwise, Hong joong. Not after what you did," Seonghwa hissed and San's eyes widened, wondering if this was one of his dad's secrets. Vampire lord? Did he hear wrongly? A million questions ran through his head but they all dissipated as the figure moved forward and a hand shot out, curling around his dad's chin. San had every thought about charging in to push the man away but something about the tension made him stay put. He couldn't wrap his finger around it but his legs felt stiff. 

"I only ever did all these for you, Seonghwa. The one who betrayed me was you, not the other way around. You just had to save that filthy human son," the male scowled with a tone filled with venom. San gritted his teeth, thinking about how to stop the man but he couldn't move. He tried to but his limbs felt frozen in place. 

"How dare you call him filthy! Get out! I never want to see you ever again!" Seonghwa shot up from his seat and slammed his hand on the table, making San flinch and stumble back, falling onto his . He stiffened from the sound he made and the door shut itself as if to stop San from eavesdropping anymore. San stared at the door before it opened after a couple of seconds and his dad looked down at him with a worried expression. "San, when did you come home?" 

"Huh? A while ago," San said awkwardly as Seonghwa helped him up. 

"Why don't you freshen up? You're probably sticky from school stuff," Seonghwa said calmly, unlike what San had just heard. San shuddered and felt conflicted. He wanted to ask more but he couldn't find the words. He could only stare up at his dad, the person who raised him alone all these years with confusion running in his head. A vampire? He wanted to ask. Is that why he had never aged a day? Is that why they never had a single photo together? San just thought his dad just didn't like taking pictures but this revelation shook his entire reality. "San? Are you alright?" 

"Aah!" San screamed in a short tone before he rushed upstairs to his room. Seonghwa didn't give chase, just stood there as he watched San disappear up the stairs. The young adult shut his room door and dropped to the floor, feeling his whole world crash down on him. He couldn't even control his own thoughts anymore. Everything just made sense all of a sudden but at the same time, nothing ing made sense either. Was that why the curtains of the house were always closed? Was that why Seonghwa only went shopping for groceries at night and sometimes spent entire nights awake with movies? San had never given them much thought before but now he understood why. His dad, the man who had cared for him for 19 years, was a vampire. He curled up and felt like hiding himself from the truth, erasing it so he could go back to the way before. But how? Now that he knew, he understood why Seonghwa didn't want anyone to come over. He never aged. San had always thought about it but never thought of questioning Seonghwa since it was a waste of time. He had spent his younger years asking so many questions that he was just impartial towards the many things that Seonghwa did now. But the answer was so much more different than what San had thought. He even wished that Wooyoung had been right, that maybe his dad was just a hitman but no, a vampire. Of all things. 

San let out a battered breath and shut his eyes tightly, still wishing he could erase the day from his head. How was he going to face Seonghwa now? He knew what vampires are too. Blood ers who preyed on humans. Like him. He froze as he thought about it. Did his dad raise him to extract his blood? Had he been drinking off him this whole time? He shook his head quickly, no, not his dad. His dad would never do that. So he would go out and drink others? San didn't dare imagine at all but that couldn't be it. San had seen him eat human food, ate with him at the same table and drank the same thing. San had snuggled up against his dad as they munched on popcorn and watched late night dramas together. They had shared laughter and jokes that this just felt like a cruel joke to him now. Was it just a prank? Maybe it was just a set up? San got up to his feet and decided that he was too tired to think about it anymore as he dropped onto his bed, passing out quickly.