Rain is pouring hard in the dark night. The roads are quiet. A car speed through the forest, running over the bumpy ground.

 

"Neh, aunt. I understand. I'm almost home, so..."

 

In an instant, something runs right out in front of the car and she hits it, coming to a stop. The rain pours loud. Daheun groans while clutching her head and sits back against the seat.

 

"Daheun? Dear, hello? Is everything alright?"

 

She looks over the dashboard and sees a person laying there as her lights shines at it. The door opens and she steps out to check on it. Being caution, Daeheun slowly approaches it.

 

"Excuse me? Are you okay?"

 

There is no reply. She looks around first, then kneels down to turn the person over. Lightning flashes through the sky.

 

 

 

The car drives into the garage and her aunt comes in after the lights . Daheun parks the car and comes out.

 

"What happened? You didn't answer my call" her aunt says.

 

Daheun opens the back seat and her aunt comes over to look. She pulls the guy up into a sitting position.

 

"W-What is this?" her aunt asks, shock to the sight.

 

He has huge cut marks on his body and scratches on his knuckles.

 

"I'll explain later. First, help me bring him inside" Daheun says to her aunt.

 

She pulls one of the guy's arm over her shoulder as her arm wrap from his back to his side waist.

 

"Are you crazy? What if your dad finds out about this? What would I tell him?" her aunt says.

 

Daheun manage to get him out of the car. She looks at her aunt.

 

"I'll take responsible for whatever happens later. Now, help me"

 

Her aunt exhales, and then goes over to help. They both moved the guy into the basement that night till morning.

 

 

 

Daheun puts on a long sleeve shirt and rolls it up. A knock comes from her door. She turns to see her dad step into the room after the door cracks open.

 

"Is there something you need?" Daheun asks.

 

He stops and looks at her.

 

"No. But I saw your car earlier. The front was dented. Did something happened last night?"

 

Daheun stays silent for a while. She smiles softly though inside she feels uneasy.

 

"Ah...about that. I hit a deer last night on my way home"

 

Her dad appeared relief as she could tell from the expression on his face.

 

"Luckily it was a deer. However, you should still be careful when you're out by yourself. What happens if it wasn't a deer that you ran into?" her dad says.

 

She could see the worried look in his eyes. Daheun goes to him and takes his hand.

 

"Don't worry. I can take care of myself"

 

Her dad nods and then his hand pats her head. A smile forms his lip.

 

"Alright. Go downstairs for breakfast. I'm going out for a bit" he says, taking his hand back.

 

Daheun becomes quiet. He knows that she is curious.

 

"I got a call this morning, saying that some vampires broke into the neighborhood. So I'm going to check it out. You and your aunt stay put while I'm gone" her dad says.

 

"Neh" Daheun reply.

 

Her dad leaves the room and she stands there. Something hits her mind. The truck drives off as Daheun goes downstairs. Her aunt comes up at the same time. They both stop to see each other.

 

"Oh, you're here. I was going to call you down for breakfast" she says.

 

Daheun peeks out the window to see the truck entering the road to the woods. She turns back to her aunt.

 

"Aunt, where are the keys?" Daheun asks.

 

"Keys?"

 

"Neh, the keys for the basement"

 

 

 

The keys rattle as Daheun is trying to unlock the lock.

 

"I can't believe it. You brought a freakin blood er home with you and now we're gonna die" her aunt says.

 

Daheun switch the key and tries opening the lock again.

 

"I never said that that person is vampire" Daheun says.

 

The door unlocks and opens. They both walk down. The room is dim, yet still able to see the objects inside. They reach to the bottom and stop. The bed is empty as they see it.

 

"Oh...great. Now, we're really in big trouble" her aunt says, concerningly.

 

Daheun puts her index finger up to her lip and her aunt becomes quiet. In the corner of the room where there is a dark shade catches her attention. She goes over to the shelf and grabs a flashlight.

 

"What are you doing?" her aunt says in a whisper.

 

Daheun turn the switch on and shines the light to the corner. It brighten a bit to see a figure.

 

"Oh god" her aunt says, her face becomes pale.

 

The man hissed viciously and attacks. Daheun nudge her aunt aside and is tackle down by him. She hits the floor.

 

"Daheun ah!"

 

The man tries to bite her, but her arm is extended out; her hand holding him back. His fangs are long and sharp as she sees it. In the corner of her eyes, she notice the needles in the box. The man continues to snarl and his hand swings at her. A sting burns her cheek as blood expose.

 

"Daheun!" her aunt calls, unable to do anything as she watches.

 

She pulls back to let him through as she uses her arm as bait. The fangs enter her flesh at the same time her other hand reaches out to the box. She gets a grip of one and turns back to him as the needle pierce his neck and the drug insert into him. He lets out a scream as he release her. Daheun push him aside to get up.

 

"Daheun. Are you okay?" her aunt asks, taking her arm.

 

She shakes her head. They turn to see him calming down. After locking up, they settle in the livingroom. Her aunt treating her wound. The holes are deep as the bleeding won't stop. Daheun looks at her aunt.

 

"You're not going to tell dad about this, are you aunt?"

 

She stops and her eyes shoot up.

 

"If I don't tell your dad, that means I'm stupid. I almost lost you just earlier" her aunt says.

 

Daheun remains quiet. Her eyes looked away to the floor. Her aunt continues to wrap her arm.

 

"When your dad gets home, I'm telling him. I don't want that thing in our house, do you understand?"

 

Daheun didn't say a word as her aunt finishes up and leaves the room afterward.

 

 

 

Later that day, Daheun goes back into the basement while her aunt is in her room. The lights shine on and she sees the empty bed again. Her eyes scan around.

 

"I...don't know if you can understand me or not, but don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you or will anyone else is. So don't be scare"

 

The room stay quiet. The sound of a car comes up to the driveway. Daheun listens to hear doors close and voices speaking.

 

"I'll come back"

 

She goes up after turning the lights off. The door locks and she puts the keys into the cabinet. Her aunt steps out of the house to greet the others that come along. Daheun hurries after them. Her dad opens the back trunk of the car and they unload the weapons.

 

"Dad"

 

He turns to see Daheun come out of the house. Daheun stops when her aunt they exchange looks. Her dad goes over to them.

 

"Was everything alright around here?" he asks.

 

Her aunt averts to eyes to him including Daheun's too.

 

"Everything was fine, oppa" she reply.

 

He nods. And then he notices something different.

 

"Daheun? What happen to your face?"

 

Her aunt turns to her. Her dad reaches to touch the scratch on her upper cheek, but she kind of slant backwards and laughs nervously.

 

"I'm fine, dad. I was clumsy this morning and fell. I wasn't hurt much" Daheun says.

 

He slightly frowns and turns to her aunt. She flashes an uneasy smile.

 

 

 

That night the family has a discussion in the livingroom. They pulled out a huge map and lay it on the table as everyone gathered around it.

 

“Everyone will be divided into groups. First team; Raechul and Il-sung will head out west. Second team; Yumi, Yuhan and your uncle will go east. And third team; Mun Hee (Daheun’s aunt), Daheun and I will go north. We’ll meet up here…”

 

Her dad points to the place on the map. Everyone looks closely.

 

“...in Geonggi”

 

They all nodded without disagreeing. A little while later, the elders are in another room while the younger ones stayed behind in the livingroom.

 

“What did you say?” her aunt says, shocked.

 

The twin’s uncle and Raechul listens to Daheun’s aunt and dad’s conversation. Her dad turns around to face them three.

 

“She’s here. I can’t let her get near my daughter”

 

The twin’s uncle and Raechul both appeared confuse. Yet, Daheun’s aunt seemed extremely worried when hearing what he had said.

 

“What do you mean “She’s here?” Raechul asks.

 

Daheun couldn’t stop fiddling with her fingers. Something inside her makes her worry. She stands up and everyone else in the room turn to her. At the same time, the elders return back to the room. Her dad looks at everyone.

 

“We’ve decided to move by the end of this week. Therefore, I want every single one of you to pack your belongings beforehand” her dad says.

 

Daheun takes a step forward and opens , but her aunt glance at her. She stops herself and remains silent like the others. After everything is settled and the day becomes darker, Daheun makes her way downstairs without a sound. The door unlocks and she creeps into the basement with the door closed behind her. Afraid that the light will give away everything, she takes the risk by going down with no light to shine her way in. Touching the bottom of the surface, she feels a sudden rush of coldness down her spine. She shakes it off and remains calm. The room is pitch dark and only the light of the moon brighten her vision.

 

“Hello?” she says, almost in a whisper.

 

There is no response or sound. She stands and listens, though all she could hear is her heart pounding against her chest. Giving a few breaths, she manage to easy a bit and open to speak.

 

“Since I don’t know your name, what should I call you?”

 

Again, no voice answer her question. She too continues to stay in silent for that minute, hoping it would say something. However, an idea pops into her mind.

 

“My dad always wanted a boy named Soohyuk, but I happened to be the only child in the family. How about I call you Soohyuk?”

 

That moment, she is sure she sees a movement in a distance to where she stand. A smile forms her face.

 

“Soohyuk it is”

 

 

 

Birds are chirping and the sunlight beams through the solid windows of the basement. It shines at Daheun’s face, waking her up. She sits up to stretch and stands up afterwards to see him. He backs against the wall. Daheun is stunned at the sight of him. His eyes are big and dark.

 

“Now that its morning, I can see you clearly. But...you don’t look like them (referring to vampires)”

 

He just stares at her. Abruptly, her walkie-talkie goes off which alarmed him into attacking her that instant. Daheun hits the ground as her device slides under the bed. He is on top of her and snarls at her as his eyes glowed blue. Just when he dives for her neck, Daheun turns her head away with her eyes shut tightly. Stopping himself, he draw his fangs back to look at her. He could feel her heart beating rapidly near his chest. She peeks a bit and finally widen her eyes to see him. The color of his blue eyes are solid, yet hazy at the same time. The door of the basement creaks open and footsteps enter. Behind the tall shelves, Daheun hides low with Soohyuk behind her. They both didn’t dare to move a muscle. In a short minute, the footsteps head back up and the doors close. Daheun lets out a sigh and turn to him.

 

“Let’s go”

 

She takes his hand to pull him up and they hurry out through the back door. After a long time of running, she comes to a stop and looks back to make sure no one is around or follow them. Her eyes avert to him.

 

“This should be far enough” Daheun pants.

 

Soohyuk looks at their hand. She notice and takes her hand back. They stand there in the open field of tall grass with the wind blowing west. When a wandering butterfly catches their attention, their eyes meet each other. Just then, she realize that he is standing tall in front of her; his body is thin and his face is slim with a well-pointed nose and structured lip. Not paying attention to their surroundings, they are encircled by multiple of butterflies. The place seemed to spark with life.

 

“Pretty” Daheun smiles, admiring the small creatures.

 

The smile on her face makes him gaze at her deeply. And then, the sound of a gun echoes followed with a bullet piercing at the back of Soohyuk’s shoulder. The butterflies scattered off. The shockness is written on her face as he stands there.

 

“Soo-Soohyuk”

 

He collapse over into the grass. Just as she is about to go to him, something smash the back of her head hard, blackening everything out. Daheun awakens in her bedroom and automaticly sits up. The pain in her head aches that second. She holds herself up, clinging onto the side of her head.

 

“You’re finally up” a voice says.

 

Daheun turns to see her aunt come over and the confusion hits her.

 

“Aunt, what happened? How did I get here?”

 

Her aunt remains silent like the room.

 

 

 

In the basement, Soohyuk is chained by both arms and legs against the wall. Fresh wounds on him from the torture. Daheun’s dad grabs the metal stick from the blazing charcoal pot and it to Soohyuk’s chest as it sizzled. His eyes glow as he lets out a scream. The door flings open.

 

“Stop!”

 

The twin’s uncle and Raechul including her dad turns to see her come down. Her aunt follows in afterwards.

 

“What are you doing here? Go back to your room” her dad says.

 

She looks over to Soohyuk who is exhausted from the pain. His body could barely hold up any longer.

 

“Dad, you can’t be doing this to Soohyuk. He didn’t hurt me” Daheun says, looking at her dad.

 

“Soohyuk?”

 

Everyone in the room are at lost. Her dad set the metal stick aside and goes to her, yanking her arm to pull her sleeves up. Daheun looks at her dad in shock.

 

“If he didn’t hurt you, then can you explain this to me?” he raised his voice.

 

She couldn’t open to say a word. Her dad release her. He exchange looks with her aunt and she nods. She grabs Daheun’s arm and pulls her.

 

“Let’s go back upstairs”

 

Daheun gets drag, but she pulls herself loose.

 

"He's not like them, dad!"

 

Her dad stops before taking a new metal stick from the pot. Everyone looks at her.

 

"What are you saying, Daheun? Are you trying to protect this thing?" Raechul asks.

 

Her eyes avert to her. Daheun's dad glares at her aunt. She takes her arm again. He grabs the fresh metal stick and turns to Soohyuk.

 

“Dad!”

 

In a flash of an eye, the metal stick is pressed onto Daheun’s back and she screams while clinging onto Soohyuk. The metal stick falls to the ground and her dad’s eyes widen. The twin’s uncle goes over to him and grabs his shoulder. They turn to leave the room. As everyone is heading back upstairs, Daheun didn’t dare to move away from Soohyuk. He could feel her shaking uncontrollably against his chest. She grits from the pain when she draws back. Their eyes meet.

 

“Don’t worry. I won’t let them do this to you again. I’ll convince my dad somehow that you aren’t like those vampires out there” Daheun says.

 

He looks at her as she puts her head against his chest. She holds her shoulder, baring the pain on her back. And then, she stands back from him.

 

“I’ll come back”

 

Soohyuk watch her turn to leave. Something inside him feels hurt as he sees her back towards him. Her dad slams his hand on the table. Her aunt stands there watching him. A knock comes from the door and they turn to see Daheun. He turns his back on her. Daheun looks at her aunt who hasn’t say a word.

 

“In two more days, we will set out. Pack up your things and be ready by then” her dad says.

 

“Dad, listen to me..”

 

Her voice trails off when her dad turns to face her. His eyes are serious as they glared coldly at her.

 

“If you don’t do as I say, don’t come back calling me dad” her dad says.

 

Those words hit her hard. Her head hangs low as she is unable to speak up for herself. That night, the whole house becomes quiet and no one speaks to each other. Daheun lies in bed, unable to fall asleep. She slowly sits up and stares out the window. In the basement, Soohyuk remains chained up. The dim light beams at his face as he looks up and out to the window.

 

“The full moon is coming” Daheun says, worried.

 

The moon shines high above in the dark sky with no stars beside it.