“Again, Mysterie!” I didn’t know how many times I’ve heard that merciless voice of Yoonjie’s. I didn’t know how many times I’ve run through the ways of the maze. I didn’t know how many fake preys I have killed. I didn’t know the highest score I’ve received. Everything I knew was that my lungs were gasping for air, my brain was demanding to be set free from the stress, my legs were trembling uncontrolably, and my entire body was burning because of a strong, undeniable desire. It made every sense of mine froze, and at that moment, things were crystal clear. I could only feel my strong heartbeats as I attack the preys and pushed the vampire dummies aside. Time began to freeze as I ran along the way to the exit, which I have known for too well. Finally, I saw the flashing like at the exit, so I jumped up and pressed on it. As the bell rang, I tried my best to keep my eyes open and almost jumped up in joy as the computer announced:

   “Mission completed. Total elapsed time: fourteen minutes. New training session will be ready in twelve hours. Prepare for system mainternance.”

   The door cracked opened and Junhyung sticked his arm out. I took it and let him pull me inside. Yoonjie was sitting near the controlling board, a grin spread across her face. Hyunseung gave me an encouraging smile as Yoseob handed me a small piece of paper.

   “You did a perfect job this time.” He smiled. “All of the twenty-five preys are killed, no fellow vampires were harmed and you finished the task in almost one third the time given, so I will give you a 300. Congratulations, Mysterie! You are now a Level Two vampire!”

   “Yeah!” Hyunseung cheered excitedly. I gave him a V-sign and a faded smile. Heading to the comfortable single bed in the corner, I collapsed down and fell asleep before any of the four could say anything.

            ♥

    Now I remembered about that.

   It happened right after we moved. Dad was a journalist, so the newspaper office sent him away every quarter to different locations so that he could find a subject that was interesting enough. That was the reason why I didn’t have many friends. I remembered Dad being everything I had. He was my only friend through all those years. He was the one who took me to the prom when I was ten. He was the one who took me to the dentist for the first time and the one who comforted me after I had my tooth pulled out. He was the one who dressed me up and comb my hair. My first part-time job was in his company. Everywhere I go had something related to him, something that made me feel safe even though I was just a foster child. Dad didn’t mention a lot about it, but I knew that I could be sent back anytime. That was the reason why I spent most of my childhood clinging on Dad’s side. But that was the only time I saw Dad that way.

   I opened my eyes. It was still dark. The smell of paint was still floating in the air, and I took a deep breath of it. We had just got there a few hours ago, so the only thing we did was to put the bed in. I was surrounded by cardboard boxes, and the bed faced the dark, scary forest outside, but everything would be fine if Dad was around…

   “Daddy?” I stood up and looked around. No one else was in the room. Dad probably went out for a midnight snack or something, so I decided to leave for the kitchen. But a flash of light distracted me. It came from the forest. I had a strange feeling that Dad was there, so I wore my boots and walked outside.

   I remember that is was cold. The light breeze stretched its finger, my face. As the light inside the forest became clearer, I saw some familiar figures. It was Dad, standing face to face with a masked man. Some gentlemen were standing behind Dad’s back. They were strangely familiar. Maybe I will get to know them in the future. The one with his hair dyed blonde turned around and saw me.          

   “Doojoon…” He halted while walking towards me. I let him lift my feet of the ground and carry me to where Dad was. I wanted to be there with you. “Is she your little girl?”

   “Uh huh.” Dad replied in a nonchalant way, as he raised his gun and shot the masked man. The man staggered back and took out something that looked like a reaper.

   “Junhyung!” The gentleman carrying me shouted, as another one punched the ground. Everything shook and a blue shield began to form around us. The masked man drew a circle with the reaper, and a jet of air headed towards me. I screamed in terror and hid my face in the gentleman’s chest with my eyes closed. It was simple child logic: if you can’t see people, people can’t see you.

   “__________!” Dad cried out my name as he jumped in between me and the jet while firing his gun. The jet pushed him aside, but his bullet injured the man too.

   “You are good, Yoon Doojoon.” He praised before dissapearing into the darkness. “But I will be better. See you next time.”

   My feet met the ground again as the gentlemen headed towards Dad. I followed them, but they didn’t let me see him. I cried. And I heard his voice.

   “Princess,” He said. “Please don’t cry. I’m okay now.”

   “But Daddy…” I sobbed. “He hit you because of me!”

   “No, it was my fault.” The gentlemen moved aside and I got close to Dad. He sat up and kissed my forehead. “Forget everything you saw. You were still asleep. It was just a nightmare.”

   “Only if you said so…”I leaned on him, feeling the warmth from his broad chest made me home again. 

   “This spell will only be broken if Yoseob meets you again.” Dad began to say weird things as his eyes were slowly closing. “Ten years later or more. I will try my best to stop time until my wound is healed. See you soon, Princess.”

   “Daddy? Daddy!” I sat up with my eyes opened in terror. Dad opened his eyes and my hair.

   “It’s okay, Princess. I’m here.” He gave me his special smile as I sighed in relief. It was all just a bad dream.

♥

   “Have you finished dreaming, sleepy kitten?” A familiar voice went through my ears. I looked up and realized that I had fallen asleep in the monitoring room. But I didn’t saw anyone else except from an extremely familiar figure. Dressed in his old checked shirt and blue jeans, Dad was standing right in front of me with a wide smile on his lips. He embraced me in his arms and poked my cheek just like the way he used to do. I pulled away from his hug and looked at him again. Dad hasn’t change that much since the last time I saw him at the funeral.                 

   “Am I still dreaming, Dad?” I asked him.

   “Yes, Princess, I’m afraid you are still in a dream. Two dreams in a row.” He answered with a gentle smile. “As you can see, these days we are being hit by many ugly facts. Especially you, Princess. All of those training pushed you to the limit, and that is the reason why I can see you here. But this first time will also be the last time. The Committee has been very strict lately, and I’m afraid that I can only sneak out only this time.”

   “Daddy, I remember everything now. You know when we moved to the North? I saw you with that masked guy and the spell you put over me… Yoseob-ssi came to find me yesterday and now I’m here, in the vampire’s world. I thought that it’s going to be difficult, but things were freakily normal, Dad? Is there anything wrong?”

   “Listen, Princess.” Dad sighed and took my hands. “I know that you have many questions, but I will only talk about the main point. I visited Yoseob lately and he promised to tell you everything if you just ask, so go and see him right after you wake up, okay?”

   “Okay…” I began to swing my arms gently. Dad looked me and sighed.

   “Princess… There are three things I need you to do. First, find a contractor. A contractor is a person from whom you will get the supply of blood for the rest of your life. The stronger the contractor is, the less you will have to depend on them. I’m afraid that’s the reason why I adopted you. You are my contractor, Princess; and I have to tell you that I have been using you all the time. Please forgive me. I also recommend that your contractor should be one of the knights, but I was just saying so, so maybe you can consider that idea.

   Secondly, get stronger as soon as possible. You need to become the fifteenth E Class. That’s the only way to find me. Be strong, Princess. I know you can do it.

   Thirdly, please don’t mess up with any of the illegal hunters. You will be able to recognize them easily thanks to their masks. They represent the pieces of a chessboard. Don’t touch them. Especially Pawn and Bishop. It’s all for your safety, Princess. So remember these clearly.”

   “Yoon Doojoon! Come back here!” I heard a man yelled. Dad let go of my hands and gave me a bear hug. I could feel his hot tears on my head, but I didn’t say a word.

   “Goodbye, Princess.” He kissed my forehead and disappeared. I stood there, alone in the empty space of the monitoring room which was getting blurry all of a sudden. “I hope to see a new you soon…” His voice echoed back inside my head, just like a bittersweet symphony.

   Someone shook my shoulder. I opened my eyes, realizing it was Hyunseung. Well then, it was just another little dream of mine, I thought and closed my eyes, although all those hot teardrops were burning on my face.