✽014

A needle-like silence densely settled between the two. Kang Ju-wan lowered his head briefly, then looked up with a calm expression and replied.

“…Mr. Shin Hwi-kyung, you have quite the imagination.”

“I’m not one to hold prejudices either. So, I’m right, aren’t I?”

A heavy silence followed. Shin Hwi-kyung smiled coldly and continued.

“Honestly, I thought if I left that guy there, you’d devour him ravenously. But then you called 119 and even asked us to save him? That was…unexpected. It worked out well for him, though. He thought he was as good as dead, but thanks to you, he’s alive. Kang Ju-wan, you’re building quite a lot of karma for your next life.”

Somehow, his use of polite speech made him all the more infuriating.

Kang Ju-wan’s teeth ground audibly. A dangerous tension filled the room as the two men stared daggers at each other, as if trying to kill with their gazes alone.

A few seconds later, Ju-wan’s eyes suddenly turned a brilliant crimson, glowing fiercely. In a chilling voice, he commanded:

“…Hey. Untie this.”

From a distance, Shin Hwi-kyung, who had been smiling confidently, slowly froze.

After a brief silence, he stood up leisurely from the edge of the bed, his expression dazed. Step by step, he walked toward the vampire with glowing red eyes.

Shin Hwi-kyung stopped directly in front of Kang Ju-wan and, dropping to one knee, locked eyes with him—eyes filled with an intent to rip him apart.

For a moment, he gazed at Kang Ju-wan with an almost entranced expression. Then, wrapping his arms around Ju-wan, he reached for the handcuffs binding his wrists behind his back. However, instead of undoing them, Shin Hwi-kyung stayed in that position for a long moment before suddenly turning his head and whispering softly into Ju-wan’s ear.

“No.”

Ju-wan flinched, startled as if burned, and looked sideways at him.

“What… what?”

For the first time since being captured, Ju-wan was genuinely flustered. Shin Hwi-kyung smirked, his eyes narrowing with amusement.

“You know, it’s fascinating. Yesterday, in the warehouse control room, the two guys watching the screen with me suddenly bolted out. You have no idea how surprised I was. But you… didn’t seem to mind that there was a CCTV in the middle of it all, huh?”

At that moment, Ju-wan felt as if all the blood in his body had drained away. He stammered unconsciously.

“W-what are you…?”

“I mean, Seo-yeon didn’t even realize her neck was that badly injured. I had my suspicions since then.”

“What are you… talking about?”

“But that doesn’t work on me. Isn’t that fascinating?”

Ju-wan silently froze, his eyes wide in disbelief.

“…?!”

“From the night we spent together at the hotel—since that day—your powers haven’t worked on me.”

Ju-wan stiffened like stone. His mind went blank, unable to process anything.

Watching his reaction, Shin Hwi-kyung laughed again, casually walking back to the single armchair next to the bed and sitting down with an air of elegance.

“Back then, I thought you were just spouting nonsense. But now I see, you had your reasons for being so confident.”

Cold sweat trickled down Ju-wan’s back. For the first time since becoming a vampire, he felt a true sense of danger.

My powers don’t work on him? Why? How?

At the same time, an old memory surfaced faintly in his mind—something Theodore had once told him.

‘Sometimes, there are people our powers don’t work on. Those people are…’

But damn it, he couldn’t remember the rest of what Theodore had said. Kang Ju-wan felt as though his heart was being squeezed in a vise. Damn it, what are they? What’s the deal with those people?!

“Kang Ju-wan, you look surprised. Your expression isn’t great,” Shin Hwi-kyung mocked him openly, but Ju-wan couldn’t say a word.

In truth, throughout his long life, Ju-wan had often been exposed, hunted, and even faced threats to his life. There probably weren’t many like him who had escaped, suffered, and survived as much as he had.

But what had always saved him at critical moments was his hypnosis.

“You’re dead.” “Forget about me.”
Those phrases were his magic bullets that solved everything.

But the man in front of him now…

Ju-wan had no idea how to deal with someone immune to his powers. He had never experienced this or been taught how to handle it. All he could do was make his glowing red eyes even fiercer, as if trying to assert dominance. It was an expression of his fear.

When Ju-wan froze, saying nothing, Shin Hwi-kyung looked disappointed, almost bored.

“It’s no fun when you’re this tense. See, if you’d just done as I asked from the start, this wouldn’t have gotten so messy.”

Ju-wan kept his mouth shut, unsure of what to say. Shin Hwi-kyung crouched in front of him, meeting his gaze directly.

“So, any thoughts about working with me now?”

“You… Are you a vampire?”

Ju-wan knew how ridiculous the question was even as he asked it, but he had no choice. Vampires couldn’t hypnotize each other. However, considering he had fed on Shin Hwi-kyung’s blood without feeling sick, the man was clearly human. If Hwi-kyung had been a vampire, Ju-wan would have been repulsed the moment he tasted his blood.

As if reading his thoughts, Shin Hwi-kyung clicked his tongue.

“What a disgusting thing to say. Of course, I’m human. Vampires are the thing I hate most in this world.”

This time, Hwi-kyung sat down cross-legged right in front of Ju-wan and spoke casually.

“Because of you, I got dumped, and my entire life plan went off the rails. Don’t you think you owe me compensation?”

Ju-wan looked at him with wary eyes. If it was money he wanted, Ju-wan was ready to pay whatever amount. But the lunatic in front of him didn’t seem like the kind of person to settle for cash.

After a long silence, Ju-wan let out a strained laugh and suggested awkwardly, “How about… you hit me a few times and we call it even?”

“Do you think that’s enough?”

“Then… how much? I’ll pay whatever you ask.”

“Oh, so you’ve got money?”

“…Not that much.”

At this, Shin Hwi-kyung’s expression turned disinterested.

“I don’t need your money. What I need is for you to act as my fiancé for a while.”

“…What?”

A crushing silence fell between them. Ju-wan, stunned, instinctively switched to formal speech.

“…Why?”

“What do you mean, why? You got rid of my fiancé, so obviously, you need to take their place. Ever heard of equivalent exchange?”

Ju-wan’s face turned pale, his eyes trembling like an earthquake. He couldn’t believe it. Shin Hwi-kyung wasn’t just joking—he really seemed to be into men. Was this guy for real? He didn’t care about gender—or even species? And hadn’t he just said vampires were the thing he hated most?

Ju-wan’s voice quivered from the shock.

“W-what if I refuse?”

“Then you die. Atone with your death. Didn’t you say you were sorry? Kneeling in my bar, making a scene?”

Hwi-kyung glanced at the curtain nearby and deliberately raised his hand to check his wristwatch.

“Three o’clock. Plenty of sunlight. Hottest time of the day.”

Ju-wan swallowed hard, his mind racing.

Whoever this guy was, Shin Hwi-kyung knew too much about vampires.

Ju-wan couldn’t help but glance at the curtain. If that thick blackout curtain were to open, he, chained and drugged, would turn to ash instantly.

And those eyes! Hwi-kyung was clearly enjoying Ju-wan’s panic. Though his expression seemed playful, there was a deep undercurrent of contempt and hatred for vampires. Ju-wan suddenly sensed that Hwi-kyung might actually want him to refuse. If that was the case, there was no room for negotiation. Survival had to come first.

The moment he made his decision, Ju-wan spoke.

“I’ll do it.”

Refusing would mean death. He couldn’t fight back in his current state, chained and weakened. As humiliating as it was, Kang Ju-wan had always been adept at recognizing power and submitting to it. If he’d clung to his pride, he wouldn’t have survived this long.

Hwi-kyung’s expression turned slightly incredulous.

“…Weren’t you against it?”

“No, I love it. Totally thrilled.”

“……”

The man stared at him silently, almost regretfully, as if disappointed. Ju-wan realized he had made the right call and felt a small wave of relief. Hesitantly, he asked, “So… what do I have to do?”

Hwi-kyung looked at him with a mix of disdain and amusement.

“I’ll tell you tomorrow. I need to think it over myself.”

With that, he stood, stretched, and opened the mini-fridge beside the bed. Grabbing a can of beer, he cracked it open and drank deeply. After letting out a satisfied sigh, he muttered, “…You’ve lived long enough to get a good read on people, huh?”

The chilling comment made Ju-wan force a servile laugh.

“Yeah… that’s my strong suit.”

Hwi-kyung glanced at him, then finished the beer in one swig. The way he drank was so refreshing that even Ju-wan, who hadn’t had a drop of water since his capture, felt parched. He realized with discomfort that he hadn’t drunk anything since yesterday. While it wouldn’t kill him, the thirst was irritating.

Unconsciously, his gaze shifted to the beer can. Hwi-kyung noticed and asked, “What, you want one too?”

Ju-wan nodded.

“Unbelievable.”

Hwi-kyung looked at him like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. After a moment’s hesitation, he opened the fridge again and grabbed a bottle of water.

“Not beer, water.”

“Beer…”

“Shut up and drink what you’re given.”

Hwi-kyung moved behind Ju-wan and unlocked one of the chains binding his wrist. With the clinking sound of metal, Ju-wan’s arm was finally freed.