“Lee Sungmin! Where the hell is my pair of black lace heels?” Heechul’s voice boomed through the house, making Sungmin cringe as he rolled his eyes at Ryeowook across the dining table.

“Hyung, look for it later! Dinner is ready!” Calling in his sweet, coaxing voice, Ryeowook stood up from the table, walking over to pop his head out of the kitchen.

“It was a limited pair!” Heechul’s yell echoed amongst the loud sound of his footsteps thumping down the staircase of the house that doubled as their agency’s office. “I swear if you lost it, I’m going to mark your mission a failure and suspend your salary for three months even though you got that memory card the client wanted!”

Sungmin rolled his eyes at Taeyeon, who smiled in return, since the frequent receiver of his eyes-rolling was now busy pacifying their hyung that barged into the kitchen.

“Taeyeonnie took so damn long and spent so much money to get that pair last time,” Heechul huffed, almost stomping his feet childishly.

“Don’t worry, Oppa,” Taeyeon responded with her lovely smile, “I can get another pair for you.”

“And I’ll help!” Tiffany added excitedly, seemingly eager to spend money. Sungmin wouldn’t be surprised if the bill turned out larger than necessary because Tiffany just couldn’t keep her eyes and hands off another pair of heels or piece of clothing or fashion accessory.

Sungmin yelped when there was a strong yanking at his ear, forcing him to stand up from the chair. “H-Hyung! Let go!” He complained, but Heechul only twisted his ear further, causing him to yelp in pain again.

“Where. Are. My. Stilettos,” Heechul demanded.

“There there there!” Sungmin pointed in the general direction of their shoe cabinet. “I placed it in there when I returned!”

Heechul released him, leaving a sulking Sungmin rubbing his ear and grumbling about how the old man only remembered about his precious heels one week after the mission. The rest chuckled, grinning when a happy Heechul returned with said pair of heels and a cleaning cloth, plopping himself down on the head of the table.

“Oh please, Oppa. We’re having dinner here,” Tiffany palmed her forehead. “Must you clean the heels now?”

“Dinner comes first, hyung,” Ryeowook reached out for the pair of heels, but Heechul instantly dodged and pouted like a five-year-old kid. Sometimes, Sungmin suspected that his boss suffered from Dissociative Identity Disorder.

Heechul released an elated cheer when the ringing doorbell drew Ryeowook away from the task of taking away his heels, Taeyeon playing along with the childish cheer. There was a muted conversation between Ryeowook and the supposed visitor – likely a client –, before Heechul shouted out while cleaning his heels, “Tell the client to come back later, Wook! Dinner comes first!”

There was the sound of the door closing, before Ryeowook appeared at the entrance of the kitchen with a suited man whose face was blocked behind him. “But hyung, he says he’s from the VHA.”

“Vampire Hunter Associa—” Heechul’s questioning of the official Vampire Hunter Association was cut off abruptly when he turned his head and the neatly attired guy came into view. Surprise painted Sungmin’s face as he recognized the hunter’s face as well – Leeteuk.  

There was a silent exchange of gazes between Heechul and Leeteuk, before the hunter nodded his head, flashing a smile with deep dimples. “It’s been a long time, Heechul.”

Heechul’s face immediately hardened, pushing his chair backwards as he threw his precious heels onto the floor. “You’re not welcomed here. Send him out, Ryeowook.” Rising from his seat, a rarely seen serious-and-fuming Heechul flung the hunter’s hand away when Leeteuk grabbed his wrist.

“Heechul,” The hunter barely started before Heechul cut him off again.

“I already told you the last time you came here that you’re not welcomed, right?” Heechul lifted an accusatory finger at the hunter, making Sungmin wonder how the two knew each other and what Leeteuk had done for Heechul to hate him that much. “Get out, or I’ll make you.”

“I’m sorry, Heechul,” the hunter apologized with a frown. “But I’m actually here for Sungmin instead.”

Heechul shot a glare in Sungmin’s direction. “He was one of the guys who handled my family’s case,” Sungmin explained, immediately noticing the softening in Heechul’s gaze.

“It’s been a long time too, Sungmin. I have been looking for you since you left the orphanage,” Leeteuk smiled gently, and Sungmin nodded politely in acknowledgement.

~

“I understand you have handed the retrieved item to your client and it’s only right to protect your client’s privacy, so I wouldn’t push you any further regarding TOP. The VHA and VEB will investigate from other leads. But do consider our offer, Sungmin. I know you have always wanted to become a vampire hunter, and attending Eden Academy will definitely hone your skills. Eventually, when you work at VHA, you might be able to gather more information regarding your family…”

“Minnie?” Heechul’s voice disrupted the silence of his room, the latter entering as usual without asking for permission. With a flick of the light switch, brightness filled the room, blinding Sungmin’s eyes for an instant.

“Yes, hyung?” Sungmin pulled himself up, making space for Heechul to sit on his bed.

“Knew you would be awake,” Heechul commented, making himself comfortable as he wiggled his backwards till the headboard, settling beside Sungmin. “Thinking about the offer or your family?”

“Both,” Sungmin answered honestly, fidgeting with his fingers.

“You should take it up and enter the academy, you know.”

“But I don’t want to leave here,” Sungmin recounted one of the reasons for not taking up the offer out of the list he drew up.

“But you want to go there too,” Heechul echoed his thoughts. “You’ve always wanted to become an official vampire hunter, isn’t it? This is it. You enter the academy for two years and you can become one.”

“I’m a vampire hunter here too,” Sungmin insisted, making Heechul chuckle.

“Ah, so flattering,” Heechul’s laughter faded into silence, “Join the academy and VHA, Sungmin. You will be able to find out more about your family’s murderer there.”

Sungmin cringed internally at Heechul’s words. It was essentially the same advice as Leeteuk’s, but his boss had always been direct in his words and never bothered to sugarcoat them.

“Even if you aren’t able to kill that bastard pureblood by yourself,” Sungmin felt the mark on his left shoulder burning as the words sank into his mind, “You can make more friends who would be able to do it for you.” Heechul took his hand carefully, establishing eye contact. “I joined VHA for the same reason too, Sungmin.”

Sungmin couldn’t help but widen his eyes slightly at Heechul’s revelation. The few of them had always suspected that Heechul was once a vampire hunter under VHA considering his skills, but nobody had dared to ask Heechul after knowing he had flipped once at his favorite little sister, Taeyeon, for asking about his background.

“I entered VHA as a hunter-in-training more than ten years back with the goal of seeking out my family’s murderer, which you know is now dead.” Heechul had revealed that a vampire also massacred his family when Sungmin had turned up at the agency, begging for Heechul to take him in and spilling his own story. “Before I could complete training, I found information through the organisation on his whereabouts and sought out the bastard. I almost failed, but a vampire enforcer saved me and completed my revenge for me.”

“Is that why Leeteuk—”

“Yes, we trained together back then,” Heechul scowled, pulling his hand away abruptly. “But let’s not talk about that guy, I hate him.”

“Why though?”

Heechul looked ready to murder him when those words slipped out of his mouth, but his boss still replied. “Because he betrayed me.”

Sungmin nodded, knowing he shouldn’t push Heechul any further if he wanted to stay alive.

“Anyway,” Heechul shook his hand dismissively, as though the action would sweep the distasteful thoughts and conversation away. “My point is, go ahead and join the academy. It would aid you in your revenge.”

“You would let me go?” Sungmin asked, despite knowing it was a silly question. He had found a family here, and he had always hoped they treated him as family too.

“As much as I don’t want to, I just gave you permission, idiot. The rest would support your decision too. And you’re welcomed to come back any time,” Heechul grabbed his nose, pinching and pulling it as Sungmin yelped helplessly. “But don’t you dare take any of my heels and dresses there!”

“Yah! I won’t! Hyung, let go!”

Heechul released him with a grin. “Good.”

Pouting, Sungmin nursed his tender nose carefully with his fingers. “I hate you, hyung.”

Instead of feeling offended, Heechul chortled loudly and ruffled his hair. “And we love you, baby Sungminnie~”

~

Old and gothic.

That was how Sungmin always found Eden, having grown up in an orphanage in this hybrid city for the main part of his youth. It was a city inhabited by a good mix of vampires and humans, unlike other towns and cities where an overwhelming percentage of either humans or vampires had claimed each piece of land after the indefinite peace treaty had been signed.

Aside from Eden that was inhabited by an almost equal percentage of vampires and humans, the only other neighbouring hybrid city was Scanaldin, where Heechul’s agency was located and Sungmin had lived in for the past three years. He had since gotten used to the more modern housing and infrastructure, including the leisure area for pleasure-seekers comprising several casinos, hotels, motels and endless pleasure providers.

Eden, on the other hand, was simply old school. Sungmin often regarded it as more of a town than city, and in the middle of this town, stood the largest establishment, Eden Academy. Now in its tenth year of operation, the Eden Academy was set up as part of the efforts to step up on collaboration between the Vampire Hunter Association (VHA) and the Vampire Enforcement Bureau (VEB).

Confusing it may seem for young children who lived in pure-human cities, the human race had mostly gotten used and recognized the acronyms of these two great organisations that maintained peace between the human race and vampire species. VHA, the official human hunter organisation under the government, was the one that recruited Sungmin and sent him to the academy for training. VEB, on the other hand, was like a vampire constabulary that carried out law enforcement on their own kind, while protecting the interests of vampires at the same time. Due to the overlapping nature of the two organisations, hunters and enforcers from each side often collide in missions and case investigations, resulting in counter-productiv