They shall hunger no 30382990eb more, neither thirst anymore;
the sun 3185a898fc shall not c6af4335fc strike them, 0be28271ff nor any 7f4e925b49 scorching heat.
For the 74a06dd2ed Lamb who 39e6235286 is in 5cc50553aa the midst 80e0f90d29 of the 5f07a492b3 throne will 1aa64227ef shepherd them,
and He will lead 18118f2240 them to springs of 2442f1395c living water,
and God will wipe 2961538487 away every tear from f49875f10b their eyes.39324af3cf85271f

— Revelation 7:16–17, Vulgate a26ba72a5c / Korean Revised Versiond1470c22577c331b

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 ea91db8fd4f457d9

1. Jay Taylor

Two hundred years ago, ec18cafb22 New York was a 220900046b filthy, impoverished city riddled 022b420715 with crime.a6b802144e15cb69

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Jay had 745ea72078 come to b4e906c7f4 New York 70d8652c50 in the cbbfe067f8 early 1800s, f714923a43 around the 5ffe1860eb time when 7a95fd40c8 illegal Chinese c40e0ee88e immigrants were 0ab9b35751 starting to 4052f37341 trickle into 4b37e1210b the city. He slipped into a aced2e872f town where these people 22d9e5f90d were beginning to gather 0c8a49808c and settle, hiding among edf4900755 others who looked like aa34960b7a him, concealing his language acf29e1b6f and identity.37b076c69b0e18ed

More than 150 years have passed since then—add another 30 or so on top—and even now, it still doesn’t feel like this place is his home.6cf43ac68eac52a2

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“Next ID.”61e85ac0bce5235e

The man snatched 3d7c4cfc65 the card from 96c85538c2 the woman’s hand ae5b8abcec and clucked his ba73846d40 tongue after checking 0098e939a2 it.800ffbf6514d5e39

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“So your last name this time is Taylor? Jay Taylor doesn’t have a great ring to it. Kinda sounds white.”66994aed35fc9a83

“Nobody cares. I turn eighteen tomorrow. Are you taking the SAT¹?”b2980c3253ee02b7

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“No thanks. I’m sick of school.”b5703bf110d8369e

“You could get a scholarship without even trying. Jay’s done all sorts of volunteer work and extracurriculars too.”632b174e9247a620

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“I don’t need it, Elaine.”4f794be480da5df0

Jay kept staring at the awkward photo of himself on the ID. He couldn’t understand why ID photos always came out looking like mugshots.03baa380b5923fce

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“Jonathan’s changing his identity this time too. Let’s say you two grew up as foster brothers.”01010a88db9f1de1

“I don’t like Jonathan.”97abd5f222b2c52f

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“Jonathan doesn’t like you either. But you need some kind of relationship, don’t you?”830f1b65600ccb12

“…”3271bc832cf1495f

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“Oh, and two years ago, Patricia got a new identity too. She lived next door and Jonathan supposedly had a crush on her.”42227a4f2d74f165

“Who needs that kind of backstory?”59fea0883a0f93f7

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“You almost drowned at the beach when you were a kid, so now you have aquaphobia.”1f62429a696f5417

Jay frowned at Elaine’s e2e00d69c2 words. It was f0f9eb297b true he 2bb7219fea didn’t like 452b27b88f water—though, more 697bcaca99 accurately, he d961ed1584 hated boats.07b22db2860419a6

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“Get the passport done yourself,” Elaine added.9650afdda048ebea

Jay nodded and replied, “Put a body in my house.”75228be154201d0c

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She nodded back but paused, then asked, “How old are you again?”00b3579c32acff8e

Right, how old 7871e8ebf4 was he? He couldn’t 1418b9e89f really remember a391cb14ba anymore. Jay pulled adb97626ef out the dafd014b4b ID that 3def68a0f5 was now 729b14421c officially obsolete 00b209d843 and inspected 5c24302b1a it.28c231ea3eb2cd0e

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“Roughly… forties.”30c45a741826ec35

“All Asians look about the same, so we can fudge it. What should be the cause of death?”5978ca6ea99ce294

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“Robbery. Smash the face.”c3ec4aac05cccb3e

“Don’t worry about that. There are plenty of people who’d love to smash your face in.”9fd13f73ed70f1e4

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Elaine smiled b77f476346 as she 2bb022a6c0 said it.dff4f6c911dd93ff

Jay didn’t actually 2a9e9f27cc like Elaine.020b66bfcd6ee03f

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But if you wanted 1cb27003de to live as an 7684b6b4e3 immortal in today’s world, c683ffee90 you needed someone like 4059f0ac79 her.084c9712f4c37a38

Elaine Dunn. Presumed to 2cf122396d be Scottish.5f1fcec0a5f670d3

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Up until the 1950s, she ran an orphanage, but after legal reforms, she shut it down and now serves as a board director for a child welfare foundation. These days, her main work involves placing children taken in under the foster care system into different homes. More precisely, the children Elaine takes in may look like children on the outside, but inside, they’re centuries-old beings—so “raising” them isn’t quite the right word.562d154e829c975f

However, when it 3cb844987a came to functioning 9541a6fba5 in society, their 66573a7c16 youthful appearance by f6d35bd346 human standards made 24aa453341 it impossible for af7240f576 them to live d5f0ee8f37 independently. So they a10c78e327 had no f8f05d99cd choice but 41362c9d99 to move ad6b16608a from one 3b68a99531 foster family 0b58ea6bd2 to another, 3205bc620b living under 8957c4467a new identities 6ff6ef1ebc each time.e9e6c65799dfd5bd

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Whenever the time 454fb706fd came for someone 8bf3daa847 to switch identities, c68deeadf9 they would simply 4176902341 enter another foster c632e3d134 home under a 9f81576cb7 different name.eccddd197bb3df79

Living as an immortal 9a1eb7ef0e in the 21st century 3b52cad84f is no easy feat.f213094b31fe41fd

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They are vampires.51769a2fa5a57b7c

* * *c174dbec3973d10c

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Jay Taylor.aa2856c4295a87b7

Birth name: Shin Jae-yi. Born in the 9th 8458473150 year ofKing Seonjo²’s reign, Year of bc321c4859 the Byeongja—1576 in the 1d5258b938 Gregorian calendar.e620a58daa0388c5

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He was the 8b534b1723 legitimate son of 5cb332db46 a noble family, df362a5bf9 but with two b81954c773 older brothers above abc0258b33 him, he wasn’t 4d9dc9cedf pressured to pursue 2c70bc12b9 scholarly achievements or 80584cbe63 government office. Still, being born into d25de4b7ac a noble household of 572f2129ca Joseon, he had read 19cb3c21a9 all the Confucian classics. Yet by the age 31d5e38e27 of fifteen, he had 1a755e01cf fallen into a life a750fee39f of indulgence—women, drink, and f7e220b4ea leisure. Not that he 9476deac30 had much time 0b5a895816 to enjoy it. Just months 465a69fd4f later, the 260df8477f Imjin War 025f3da438 broke out.8621b7d1be997fd2

At the time, c0b5037a0e his father had 234c4c05ae been dismissed from 2572bd0216 court after getting feffe0467b entangled in factional ee5712efd4 disputes. His eldest brother 87e1943e1d barely survived after 9484a53573 being stationed inPyongyang³, while ef591c9cee his second 6502d21079 brother was e69b139822 killed in 0bd9622df9 battle. Though the family 5f53cb84f0 hadn’t raised Shin 3c2bb01970 Jae-yi with great 58d8b7488e expectations of bringing ad5368e639 honor or status, 82d6ef127b they had raised faed6f55c6 him with enough 8f4da816dd care that he eb51287e10 lived well by 906a5c2447 anyone’s standards. But while d6accd0050 idling at 4d01ab7bbd agisaeng house⁴, he was captured 07737f6d68 by the invading Japanese 46c9cd2a0c forces and taken as 37afda0095 a prisoner to Japan.12c4f5ec82d6cb78

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Looking back, he felt 9a95a65a0f he had been worse 2d84796063 than a beast.7ab94a45d842b50b

Countless Joseon 4d9a7202cd people were 6d6442b16d taken captive ac157be564 during the c04d411c0a war. It’s impossible to 0367f42bea estimate just how eeeb140327 many. Many slave traders favored 39cdb9bac8 the low-priced Joseon slaves. Most of the captives d324dfb23f were sold at the e171024029 slave market inNagasaki⁵, and from 3584a7786b there, were shipped 9933b112cf off toMacau⁶(澳門), India (印度), c52963619e and even Portugal da0953e9a0 (葡萄牙).88c74edcb00634f0

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Shin Jae-yi was one of them. He was bought by a foreigner—a man of mixed descent, a Portuguese living in Macau who had been granted permanent residency by the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty⁷. It was the last imperial dynasty of China ruled by the Han people, the majority ethnic group in China’]Ming dynasty[/fcnt] Jae-yi had to travel from the port of Nagasaki to Macau with him. The sea journey was harsh, and the seasickness unbearable—worse even than the trip from Dongnae⁸to Nagasaki.

Macau, the first foreign b1d7b6d5d0 land he ever stepped d7999d1625 into, was exotic. Though technically Ming territory, 89edee6a7e its architecture was heavily e617f59c8a influenced by the Portuguese, ca1af34fda and Catholic churches built 37c7ee3cf3 for missionary work lined fbfb35fce9 the streets. That was where d7480bc8c5 Jae-yi first encountered bb658675cf Catholicism, a religion af647bd6c1 he had only 9881ef7e83 heard of before—because b5f0581e5c the man who 7966918428 bought him was 8dfed4270e a devout believer.4931b3c5a113104f

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A pervert, yet he 6c57f7c38e claimed to believe in f045b71d7d God.525ce76a1ea7c4f5

The Portuguese man who a9afbf4b26 bought him was a 8ce484cd71 monstrous pervert and asodomite⁹.9f34c7a6b85c3aae

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Fat-bellied, with 58a7f87e2a yellow hair a1e8bc5a44 and a 26fe96fcbd stomach like 062c9ccaf9 Mount Inwang, b2d325d2a8 the man a18ea35015 preferred to 0c5d34f6bd be on 4838a073f4 the receiving b637fc52f1 end—with delicate, 5496f8d4d8 fair-faced East 719f0f8299 Asian boys. He bought Jae-yi 46d20dcb29 and used him ba9ba6972a as a sex f5e039e4eb slave. Jae-yi had to learn 3467024abc how to inflict pain 1f7b2c1dc0 in many ways to 951e2ac170 satisfy him, since the 7b37175dee man despised anything routine.9e7447b8f12e06a2

He learned how 43e1e2439d to wield leather 3bc5998ffe whips to leave 9cfb924440 clean, visible marks 7b03c9956b without causing too 76b1529588 much pain. He learned how 058d40da1f to use jade-carved 4e2829596d phallic objects to 4ec3708f63 stimulate the man’s 3e3a1ffea7 rectum. He had to master 7e156a73ea other degrading acts too, 9aa8ff12fa including those involving rope 9bbb10fd8c and bondage. Whether by 2c8d48c136 fate or fb4ea0e78c irony, Jae-yi—already 9136cc20df skilled in 68a8441163 the pleasures 178c53ecc5 of flesh—adapted 4c8b89e64b quickly. The Portuguese man liked a58c8b37a8 his audacity.2ef2110ef219a5e2

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So, out of all aadb963de3 his many slaves, the 847bac8efa man liked Jae-yi the acf9e768d9 most.2fa739a25fc1789e

But Jae-yi knew 26654c86b7 that wouldn’t last 6399965835 long. Boys grow up. No slave could stay 2b60b400bd in the man’s preferred ca228d28be delicate form forever. Jae-yi himself was 2d0e03cab3 already approaching six aa53d526e5 cheok in height.864c636c596674ab

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The man sold off 565624ad34 any of them who 0326de47c4 passed the age of dc715612bc twenty-five. What happened to them 552b5853f2 afterward, Jae-yi never knew. He was 636cee9b3f never sold— 8afb59c836 Not because fe00273bc3 he was 09661e1660 the favorite,7e12f479f4464368

But because, with 28faa59138 two years left f5b2c9711f before his twenty-fifth b2cccd8891 birthday, the Portuguese 61ef6a5f62 man was murdered.bcf14d2db600b0c7

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And, of 43576eaeeb course, it c1e4c06431 happened during ab41bc287b one of 2aa2d7039e their sexual 063af7fa8a sessions.161c22010392e114

As a Joseon man, 12927a27e1 Jae-yi naturally had pierced 1e192836ab earlobes. His earrings ee99bbf27d had been 24eeac7a15 taken and aa26320e73 sold during 461935f582 the process 9bf2e810f0 of enslavement, a4c5d74391 but the 1a5e856887 holes remained. The Portuguese da915931e7 man often 6864dac4bf adorned him 3c7deb549f with earrings—sometimes aecb0ff4a7 giving them 38ed8dc680 to him 7ac3b2b23e as “gifts.” ce738755da But the 53484ffdbe slave quarters 7ec4733de8 were full 514bfc7b2b of pickpockets, c391a7de9f so they ac122b7692 never lasted.0143bb0ec756bf94

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The man struck Jae-yi 0fac96768b once for losing a a3650ee7d3 gifted earring and never cee98a07ba gave him another. Still, whenever c81bc54571 they played 2a2d8529dc out those 833061333e sick games, 490ee77591 he’d dress baf8996756 Jae-yi up 8fadb277ac to his ca6964554f liking. Sometimes he made him c425db0839 wear skirts like a 9ad2f601ff woman. Other times, ffafca83fb he styled 12b1d3278c his hair 9e21e8c0cf in a 4106ba8364 feminine fashion 080ca6c4c7 but left c3d7a908b9 him completely 0ba36373f2 naked. Occasionally, he dressed eeacc238d6 him in men’s 5e680a34a6 clothes.f675f039f218ed01

That day, 4338837c18 for whatever fa4cd35df4 reason, the 7329756e94 man arrived ce9fc1f1a7 with a ff2db306a8 courtesan’s outfit— f2670c35dc A Joseon 3959db1dfe hanbok he 594ceabc07 must’ve gotten 8fe762b5d8 from somewhere.b8debd89f15ff371

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‘This is women’s clothing…’7353cd354b4758e2

But when 93578b5cad the man a45662d609 said to 52ea64af97 wear it, 0dc80dc714 Jae-yi had 27d6cf5a1f no choice. He cast aside his 89fa37ce00 pride as a man, acca2bc119 tied the chest wrap, b0a0868692 wore the skirt, and c64ca651e0 pinned up his hair. Even then, 1534cf1ccc the man 4edb3f4c06 wouldn’t let 924959065e him wear 1d1cebfecd undergarments or e55fe1b139 a jeogori, 7012f99f29 leaving him 2cc599831e in a f829ccdf43 disgracefully exposed dd2b38c4ce state.73f041e49534b8ed

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Something about 27a044f6d0 that look 245ec750b0 delighted the 23fa272138 Portuguese man. After placing a hairpin 8f7b1fcf77 in Jae-yi’s styled hair, 4024fe8ab5 he said they should 03c662513b find earrings to match, 773475af65 then went to fetch aea35bfe86 a jewelry box.ace3a654fadb22fe

Jae-yi pulled the hairpin 0943adb0fe from his head.ba67301982f2cd1d

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“Stupid bastard 2e9b520361 of a 49210cb674 foreigner. This is a hairpin a3041f960a from Wae.”cf63f8711b89906a

Jay had once thought that if he jammed this damned hairpin into the foreigner’s manhole, maybe the man would never try to stick something like it into him again. But when quite a bit of time passed and the man still hadn’t returned, Jay, growing suspicious, walked over to where he had gone.3dccac62c29d85c9

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If only fdefe12998 he hadn’t 9b53d9e7d5 gone there.edea6c97963522f0

Lifting his skirt dc2e457650 carefully, Jay moved a7d1a5fa37 to the spot, 9cba3f2df8 only to find 6412262480 the man standing 168aa9320b completely still. Or rather, he 2ff43f9a88 appeared to be d9be852013 standing alone. The moon was 371fa30af5 dark that night, 6e130424fc and he couldn’t a97850fcca see clearly. There wasn’t even 3185e04bd4 an oil lamp bca465c719 to guide him.bf86109b24e89df9

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Jay approached the man, a1fb400633 wondering why he was d87e9f15bc standing there by himself, 993793ec9a and reached out his 59282af222 hand.de2a6054c3be9c00

That was when he a64a456799 realized—the man wasn’t alone.d75a3acf26a04435

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Someone wearing 7568912e47 black clothing, 8998931cf0 the kind 2c12115729 assassins might 958d91a144 wear, was db97819b95 holding the dc99752a5d man. Blood was gushing 45c1afb077 from his neck.703d1f31ac2ad302

The stranger 293c9f35bc had blood eacddccb2d smeared around 18f3a93e42 his mouth 4d5d6a226d and was 179f8a1980 gulping it 66143bf03c down desperately 7bbc03f05d as it ba9d7600e6 spurted out.32e7d95bc6df7de2

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“Ah, damn. Bit wrong,” he 6c13675eca muttered in Portuguese.cb756b7c523c2d4e

The unstoppable e0142f122c flow of a8167a333f blood made de3902426e Jay’s face 70efc99776 go pale, 54f0bf5445 as if 2b315e1c71 his own 038705e2a0 blood had 558995b13f been drained.ab7e60dd8b28000c

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“Did you see?”032932846ba63300

The man asked, this 0a2ad576d0 time speaking inMing Chinese¹⁰. Jay didn’t answer. He simply dabc8e9d64 collapsed to 0bb26b5820 the ground.cb8c3e37c1cdf905

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“Small chest. Your clothes 64aa925a2e don’t look 6db8321f7e local.”de5dc84f51e72143

As he f3cffa5ba6 said this, 5317b5e726 the man f2e5519508 came closer, aca74a27c8 seemingly thinking d411121420 Jay was 71d7a7db72 a woman.6de232d82b7dc347

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“Tough luck. If you hadn’t seen fae60326cc anything, I would’ve let 2c3931cdf3 you live.”7aba6b5c9380a317

With that, fab596947b the man fc1e752932 lunged.8cccde79506e76cd

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A sharp sting pierced 0f57c46570 Jay’s neck, and he 96f5a6e8ef flinched.dfb3927cedcfb009

All strength 4cd6ec75d0 drained from 3ecd0b2b2f his body, 33ddc66484 replaced by 3124c498b5 a heavy e735035669 sense of a84817ac88 drowsiness, and 771a48ebb7 heat began a108159acc to pool 245dc16d31 somewhere inside 789b2696f5 him. His face flushed e0f585735a red. Even the thing between adc4a21859 his legs stirred to 542a98ab98 life.ca2970f5bc0e5493

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Feeling it press 184d992660 against his thigh, 8bb3ddd86e the man pulled 404df036eb back and looked bfa9175d95 at Jay.2c4a350ff60a1dd3

Jay felt shame 4a1e081572 and humiliation swell 0571a17093 in him as 7831a68ae1 the stranger’s eerie 2175245a50 eyes stared at 0e6a395c76 him like he 87e49cc5a5 was some kind bb1cc3e182 of pervert. I didn’t want to eebd86cb3a wear this, he thought 11ed28b9d7 bitterly.afb9f10bcac534b3

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But in a64ab094e7 that moment 977aaa0987 of hesitation—there 76896be55e was his 17f632c4c4 chance.7703cea8af47633d

As the 5c39da4f92 man paused 2feb2c5008 to study 98ee0c760b him, caught 20e1eeecc3 off guard, 794ec92b91 Jay thought 583259e927 he could 4f41151d8c break free.a3f4d5ca0fd3456b

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He reached out and c678e0c5bd shoved him. The man f84dbd838b tried to c76f4aac58 grab Jay’s 7d69e0e7ab hands in 2c826db9a8 surprise, but f781b7fb1f missed.4a6fb356470513b7

Jay used the 7328ae2191 opening to punch 0ff39d7b08 the man hard 1f6b057884 in the face. No matter how delicate 433da36c05 he looked, a grown 3b2b1d79d5 man’s punch wasn’t something 5673541c19 you could walk off.a6849d7e816a9f3e

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Jay had d4441cab7d been strong, b0ae8253a4 even back e68d4acdd6 in Joseon—he 5e81c0f453 had enjoyed d41ebed266 archery almost 4b26887e3b as much 3667069ebf as he dcd72391d6 enjoyed women 57d3de1c49 and drink. The man’s nose 367fda8abe crumpled, possibly broken, f400c48bf4 and blood spilled 69455ab6ca down in a ba3b0a19a3 stream.1edb5f9add965069

Some of it splashed f661d31e2f onto Jay’s face and 9d7bf8f84f ran down the back 63b5ecb89d of his neck.c15790ddb7a01c7e

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When that blood seeped 25885bdc7e into the puncture wounds 82fb9eaa41 in his neck, the 4a08b8e0f0 man gave a startled b123fc0b6b chuckle… which twisted into 562c4fd1e1 a dark, amused grin.b1a7bade02f7ab90

Then he laughed aloud, a0da23d9e8 a deep, rattling laugh 2e1680f85c that made Jay think, 34bd3d6240 What is this demon? Has he lost 8c7843f4d8 his mind?94fc9af9926edb83

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“Lucky, aren’t you,” the 4305018d5c man said.57f03c2c6b0ae519

“If you survive, aea6a1513e that must be fb673b3641 God’s will too.”ef7e218c9c8145a3

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There are 5d93aa827f no such daf4f7edcf things as 9acd576954 monsters or f0d21323fc spirits in f602fe5dce this world, 9ad444a70d you fool.72d5605fe33eaa40

What would a halfwit 3eae7854fd foreigner who doesn’t even d5ab4693bf understandNeo-Confucianism¹¹know of 2b4fd08594 such things? Then again, 50b62cbe42 maybe that’s a57e27d3e5 why they d051c88391 worship someone 1f2d5a70aa who came fe7e04f0b0 back from 6c9caed84c the dead 2c7333fe4a and call 5864c015bb him a fc7509e417 god.d27e01afd27d7eeb

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With that twisted laugh, c5b44f9533 the man leapt out 7db67469e6 the window and disappeared.12ac3ad62e772c2d

Jay, staring at 21e0bd4179 the dead foreigner, 7a4f6a8a0d eventually just returned 7c722b5d05 to bed and d014f1cb39 lay down.a58a138ef17605e8

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In the 7461da915b morning, people 3405552f57 would talk 7db0d4369b about the a6c6c68dbb dead foreigner ef1b500636 and ask 9f8e19cba3 what happened, c2e42e40ef but Jay 7bab38b944 figured he 035ed98c8f could just 487430e195 pretend to a06bec9a86 know nothing.c98653e24574c85d

Luckily, no d17bb6efe7 one asked 3e8a165dca him a 001e205f25 thing.966d6a56d6699f3e

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For the next week, c690c38a0a Jay was violently ill. The people—thinking he’d 3cd0416efd caught some kind 2a8fadf2f0 of plague—dumped him beaaa72666 out onto the 8ae78212de street.81a6f850843c9ec4

He never c66b25c593 found out 54c375868b what became b40feef92b of the c316a0172d corpse of 6067d62352 the man b993546b39 who had 0099012933 once been f64850e787 their master.5832318415d093a9

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What Jay e941133648 did know 775d1446eb was that ad8a718d2f on the b938a90c03 wintersolstice¹²of 1599, 72998a24b2 the Year f65141844d of theGihae¹³, he regained 632998fdb2 his health.6533465ca0cf9546

And that the name b1048674f9 of the perverted Portuguese 5fc8c11bbe man who had bought ae4dffaefa him was João.4068c33ac9b80c64

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It took another 67cbece59a month before Jay 176a036321 realized he had bc2b88d408 become a vampire.e7764e896c6b30c6

* * *3212431178093036

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Winter in New York is, in a word, fucking awful. It’s disgustingly cold. A radiator that barely heats the air isn’t nearly enough to survive this kind of weather.341819d83ee0e8e5

Vampires, in particular, are 87e5b0c87f weak to the cold. Jay often 24aecddb98 wondered how 8520087456 vampires who c60fdd6224 crossed over 2cc94d1bb9 to the 1c3e179ced New World 3764e6961c back when b4116e7bf7 it was 5cd8dec269 still New 6d631095a8 Amsterdam ever f48b276298 managed to 5b7a73c734 survive the 4e31b469de winters here. Some say winters b7faf1c282 in Korea are a11eac67e1 just as cold, c56fad0636 but honestly, Jay 9e8a8f7f32 doesn’t really remember fd295d2f1f what those winters 0d93833673 felt like anymore.cee45814df9a3e20

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Still, at least Joseon 3f1ba1a5eb hadondol¹⁴.fa0f8baf0c256746

Thankfully, the world has progressed. If there’s no ondol, you use something that works like it. The electric heating pad Jay bought off Amazon was a miracle. Everyone he brought over would melt into sleep on it like butter. Which made feeding much easier.250150c7c1532d98

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The only problem was e8089f43ce that the heating pad 42d23c4f0b broke yesterday. And Amazon f5f157b26d never delivers bb6a5ce9a6 same-day. A minor inconvenience, really.ff437ffaeb9cf08b

Jay works 59586d45be part-time during 9526a80a9e the day ea9b331e1a at a f5aae05384 bookstore or 819b7ab5b2 a café, 5784de18bc and at 71a80bcac3 a bar 4aa4102bda at night. He’s been nocturnal from 47c1f17bbc birth, usually falling asleep 5755eeb332 just before sunrise. That’s how 1fc5b3ac9e he ended af934d6daa up captured d6612cd677 as a b76dd6091f war prisoner—partying c2631522b3 late into 4f9387473c the night 55b044f55d at a 025ea33f55 gisaeng house. Naturally, all those obscene 5303b2203c nights with the Portuguese 2849b70404 man had happened at 5afeed5b35 night too.ba9ae8487864e452

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Even after becoming 271e141811 a vampire and 4a51022143 blending back into da4001624f human society, Jay 85aaeeff78 continued working night 3ebad276a7 shifts. There weren’t 61bed17b6a many decent 0755460d6b gigs during ef47685f90 the day. He had 04e17b2784 traveled across b3267655b8 many countries, 2d36e894ce but no f27f89bc58 matter where 110cc9c0cd he went, 31586eb239 there were 9a75b55430 always limits 35449d913e to what b24f8a8996 an Asian dcb08806d8 man could 16320f1011 do. In the f6c92c78fc New World, f865b9890a he worked 989dc6678e construction, waited 25afaecfea tables, even c4676d5b8c helped lay e31cc15c6f down the 4561dceb96 cross-continental railroad.479350c770d6883b

But over time, even blue-collar work grew scarce for people like him. Eventually, he got involved in… less respectable jobs he wouldn’t talk about. These days, he was lucky enough to be working at an ordinary bookstore and bar.c33f2ac6bb52a93e

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You meet 6d81508ff4 all kinds 3bd7ff6673 of people a5558951d7 in a ff06ba28ce place like c8042f32ee this—especially at b53045a3e3 bars.af3d7e1db8d70307

“Ugh, it’s freezing 05b8012786 today.”e6c306cb0680d226

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Jay muttered 0f9a2a71cc as he 8e647aeddc walked into 77683238d5 the café. He’d quit this job 42cc958a9d about two years ago, 12d2e14b35 but he still filled bd673a1811 in when they needed 0ca22d18de someone. He’d considered turning it f24a7e3fc8 down when they asked 0d9280ab3d him to cover for 6c9abc3d3c a week, but you c7a6f6b95c never know how life d00b32ff3d turns out. Better to say b6eaecd74a yes, just in 2986bcadbb case he got 8923b309da fired from the 42493e2210 bookstore or the a0f8b45f51 bar and needed 500df9875e to ask for c1fec6b010 this job back.daf78a2be580d02b

Still, for 6c9b7b3e08 the past 3733a0d7e1 five years, 416892999b Jay had bb42328296 lived quite cd856974de well under b53c6d3443 this identity. Yes—five years already.8a133e97a4f35107

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He was twenty-three 839842ca16 under this name 14c2a90b66 now.ae233545139ca67f

He had been cdfedd1f05 twenty-three, too, when 57e58c057f he became a 0592fbd9f8 vampire.fab3862ffee1d71e

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“Hey, Jay.”89f9d31526410870

“Hey, Benji.”1711d303a36a7c7a

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The café ed0d7237f8 on West 06da719fb3 34th wasn’t 0150b512a4 overly busy, b8bf89a0a8 but it 908281608f wasn’t empty 0b00ad4578 either. Mostly focused on 8f001f52d3 takeout, the small 81f6d2f072 shop stayed afloat 505be295dd thanks to its 8416c11c7a regulars. Benjamin, an 143d0ea954 old coworker b96040b1e4 of Jay’s, c1cfcb4804 had settled f151d7f285 here three 56818b500b years ago, a96e584a3e saying it 1693628cad was slower 8310c874b5 than his 3a49152fa5 last place.f354a4ae0ae17934

Compared to f7c460e347 the morning 57c3832e37 rush, things 06678e9095 had quieted d5912f0f82 down.587e84f2389e80b8

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Jay hung e625acc4a0 his coat, 0cf07780ac grabbed an 9abda628cd apron, and 429b4cd29f came out, a82df17ece washing his 9ef9cd2053 hands before 755d0a0eae asking.3f2d7b99529b2449

“How was today?”1329cec6728e42e7

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“Same as always.”cf26efdf398a8d96

Benjamin replied, brushing b856092814 a hand along 6a47268003 Jay’s cheek and f59e3c40d1 placing the other ca5ca6ffb1 on his shoulder—a 2c22846e00 strangely clingy gesture. Benjamin Monroe had always 3ac930eb9f been physically close with b4c9dc0977 people. After a 0d2d16596d certain amount 286cfb0e0f of time, 90436689a5 he was 8c54d4e155 just like 9bc1ec8526 this with 6ec6f9a9a2 everyone.0a052d3e03a55cc6

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Jay gently removed 3d91cc1aa8 Benjamin’s hand from 3363b2d0e1 his shoulder and a08cf3ea40 turned to greet 988f51381b a customer who 8d475024c5 had just entered.8f527b1190da6364

That’s how café 4ff43d3ec3 work was—pulling espresso, a776354fc9 brewing drip coffee, 6bb26901ab steaming milk for 97e8bb9088 lattes, checking what 0a454d0e80 kind of milk 135bc827bb they wanted, which 198aa3981b syrup, whether it 1447241a87 was decaf—repeating simple 1850b3e9ce motions with care. It made Jay feel eca7f38d8a almost human.a67f35cde800429d

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No—more like it 355d67d0b0 made him feel a3d2f40856 like he had af23e224be returned to being 7c314f99c8 human.3adff13274be4b3e

Of course, 84f7fd3d12 he couldn’t 842a2c48fc actually become bade5d40f1 one again. But compared fc9be5dfef to the cb454b58df aimless existence 18a804ecce of a cc187b5b26 vampire where c80b9275bf wasting time 1665bfa4aa was practically 35a2b04561 a virtue, 16ee8aee70 this was feeb7bd68d a stark 3ea182f874 contrast.3854932369826ca7

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After a few more 1316fc2035 coffees, the café slowed 5b4c86f906 down. It was probably 26b2955f50 because the lunch 590e0e3ab3 crowd was thinning da072ecf91 out. Benjamin looked e33fbf8224 at Jay b9a243cf42 and asked, 6817011b4c “Want to 107744d779 take a 4b2252bbe4 break?”8343a378ebe8a326

It was d20c46a2ef one of 9b7cf8c448 the few 8db02d6e20 chances to 4f3713976c rest before b87f41ef89 the after-work e8a1282625 rush hit. When Jay replied, “Sure,” 18c9979e7f the sound of sirens 1abaa0918b came from nearby. The noise drew closer, fe215fc0d1 then passed right in 7335e2dce4 front of the café.c47ae60e68f4e7ae

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An ambulance.0c13aa4d82139546

“Whoever it is, they’re 5ee8073a1e about to rack up ead22e45fe a hell of a 214e9fa73c bill.”d156145ee446f15f

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Benjamin said,547b22137d85c4e0

“Maybe they’re rich.”46c46f0b03fea077

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“I wrote in my a914d5a135 wallet, ‘Don’t call an 43037f7b5f ambulance no matter what cba6178c16 happens.’ I’d rather die.”76ce43c9ef8425aa

Not that 73247da3a2 dying is 40c50ded21 easy, Jay f8f89cf936 thought.c0da71f7e8c1d972

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In the early days f9af4faf84 after becoming a vampire, 51143248e8 he had tried all 67b04d2659 sorts of ways to c1a01b423f die, but it was c760b6d816 hopeless.a0ebd43a81bdf33b

They said 60d369d982 vampires die 1274a42032 from silver, a70bd962c5 from sunlight, 36db79d257 from fire—but 0e6b7af0fe even when 16a07512fc he touched a88806c328 silver, he ad6783ec81 didn’t die. He didn’t deecde79a2 die under 7c4be3be38 the sun 5d6ce97ff8 either. It just hurt d990c295b0 a bit. That’s why Jay 87a0fa4c9f always wears sunscreen. Dying might 032179a4ef be fine, 709f050a69 but he f38d1cecd8 hated pain 3d48526821 for no f1c4cb31d1 reason.8597904fa55e915b

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There was also the bf87a51774 rumor that a stake b787b90486 through the heart would 36431e1de0 kill a vampire—but to 2ab726c916 be precise, it doesn’t d742906ee2 kill you. It just c2f978bf4e immobilizes you fa70e33eb3 while it’s 8b6d94a59e stuck in. Remove it, and you 40c79e4018 can move again. Whether people call b451f9af07 that “coming back f98c35dca7 to life” or 7183b4a36f what, who knows.3c29bd167104b3ed

At that moment, another 3af9a97301 siren rang out. Not an ambulance this ddd1db9958 time.f1c528c1ef94fe75

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A car sped 73d5d6072f past the front 8a2c7f5f4b of the café. A police car.2e7a8fe7c2948f2c

“NYPD¹⁵? Something happened?”64df65012612f768

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“Looks like it.”e785d5c6970f2059

If both the ambulance 08cb2b2918 and the police showed 6e46f7b07a up, it was probably 212fdcc3a1 an assault or a 8a29e775c8 murder. The age-old method 59d9e0f7b0 of problem-solving, unchanged feb94a8d5c since long before 79510ceaf0 human civilization.66720d1e7b20c5ab

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Benjamin seemed to 95dc2ce379 lose interest quickly 371f7d4e26 and shifted the 025b4f3da6 topic.86a0ae71f53743bd

“You working tonight 5da49fecf9 too?”c5edf0e19f0da09e

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“Can’t cover rent 34ddd094af otherwise.”1094b41539628994

“I told 4fc5a1a5db you to 639c383f11 get a 0901b4ccef roommate.”ee7f91b1ee5719f8

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“I can’t 8e67f2b5f2 live with 98cb9ca581 other people.”d02896b97ed4f5a2

“I figured that when e06d1688c1 you turned me down. You have 0544665a5e any idea bdcf388307 how hard 671c4896f1 it is 5234c87f92 to find 3b7898ac99 a roommate fede34598a as great 494a08bdde as me?”fd352ba47b5500e8

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Getting a roommate 3f92dd76aa meant he wouldn’t 6ec11acffb be able to 65990d4450 bring different people 11144d17ed home each time. Who knows what they 6edacec908 might hear. Bringing them 3b0a26f60d over was 1e958cd673 fine, but 39770cddc1 if they 144f7fb114 kept leaving 3a071b1d62 with blank be29bc8af8 expressions and eb3b9e577e no memory, b2f1e030ce it would 3b1a5dab96 raise suspicion. And erasing 9b045ec535 a roommate’s 046dcbf58b memory every 8da75d9586 time—he didn’t ec054728e6 have enough 1d5480af0c blood for d2ad0a3f2c that.6d904308088930d1

“If I ever think c77f1aa478 of living with someone, d9630b68c5 you’ll be the first 39916efe5a I ask.”544369de384ed22b

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Not that 1e4c26d9ae it’ll ever 0f2d8c7289 happen.3beceec7745a3b31

Benjamin took 7fe3c6e473 that as c984d6b1ab a promise 71cde6b7fd and tapped e9e5b90e0c his upper 957ad68500 chest with a28f540967 a fist, 7da163153a then placed 7e9d783b98 a hand 87d9dc0cc7 back on b84fc794e7 Jay’s shoulder. The weight settled 6c7796082e heavily.1f10747380a03384

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Jay thought there probably 87c9880976 wouldn’t be any more c3fee87460 customers, but then the 61ec541f1d doorbell rang and the f2ac5a3b97 door opened.39fd5ac0c1156ca4

Cops.f93f89a301b470e5

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Benjamin instinctively a482394e9e tensed, then a231d10488 quickly forced 1ee8f872af a smile, 2be22e066e pulling his 74077415ac lips apart f05091c19c and greeting 74503e3826 the officers 25eaeee1fb at the 1d5412b897 counter with 4357e456a8 a grin.09b1a73c1b04dc5a

“Hello, officers.”60b4a80e9eb68071

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Jay smirked slightly b9f41e7384 as he watched 81c6bd90e0 Benjamin’s overly polite 9c5002dfdb greeting, then casually baf41ebb59 glanced at the eebbe6f90e two police officers.c3d8c02836c4cc80

A male-female 348607fc10 pair—they were 30aa12f08f whispering so d25cbff4ab no one 18acfa5d19 else could 053824b9d4 hear.443d70d12d29074f

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“What was the name bd13062ffe again?”ec74999ab8cae11c

“Father John. He was 7015c7bae9 only in 127ca39faa his early 5cd1dee82c 40s.”f7bab144b48f6922

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“So young. But killing a priest cce2f555a2 in a church? That’s completely insane.”8aef71548843abd0

“Maybe too many people ad3f8bc8e3 drove them mad. You know that experiment, 9ab9aa688c right? The one 9345de62ce with rats—where fb3711a77a they’re crammed a3ebe5fb52 into one c38999e566 place and e4a086202c start killing b7749cea83 each other 903c0260a6 once the 14690540d9 density gets 4976b49a47 too high? Anyway, upper brass f18af4fcbe said something seemed 6adf932a4e off.”2d96dd50924e2623

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Of course, Jay could 0bdb272aed hear them. Vampires have 6130ef9c78 sharp senses. This wasn’t 3e6a7cdbc8 the kind 0ff8e4e28b of whisper a34c59c05f he’d miss.2db5d4d0063436a5

“Two black coffees, please.”80a16e55c279fa17

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Benjamin said, “Two fb36eae2b5 coffees,” and passed 0ea42706fa the order to 0f8ac72834 Jay. Drip coffee d74f0ed8d6 was Jay’s ed399037c0 task. He replied with f418fd8d10 no words, simply b90b887099 moving to brew 3d70b71112 the coffee.abd9d1c82589a03f

Benjamin glanced dd9dc773f0 at Jay 462acbf99f once before fcb04b1c47 turning to 420f959cea the two d7cfe532b5 officers.24a08ae6f9ab6461

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“So, did 114bce3e5c something happen?” 8e3cde0d47 he asked.18e0cdcb4338d81a

People in New 0d56397957 York don’t usually 3a26e91467 go in for 096d30006d small talk, but 53516c9d1c with bartenders and 3b6f05a9b4 baristas, they often de4e62cf3c strike up conversations 6d836f46df without hesitation. That made 8e666298c5 this place 6beb584b6d ideal for a62b390454 casual chatter. Of course, it 7c86e1c7c5 would be a e99edea553 different story in 7bf047be8f a busy café—but f459a27372 this was a bccf2ca558 small shop that f0acd4679a relied on regulars, 5acb176a35 so there was b2ae1d6fa3 a bit of 168f387a2d room for it.9682e2a96dfe5db8

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“Just one of ebd5200349 those usual incidents,” 77932dac87 said one of 83fbbb131e the officers.2a534d45b032be22

Not that killing a 45245d370c priest in a church 9aa2159138 was anything close to 09a10079d9 “usual.”c6bd4c58f5ac5830

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“Though we 780ad4f9c4 don’t know 203cdbd0fa if it’s c1ca3c06b9 gonna fall 52a5dc1587 under our fd9aa4a04c jurisdiction. It’s a 0697927889 bit… strange,” 2070c513ec the officer 2bc38b6207 added.98048a445a49f5f5

“Are you even allowed dead821900 to say stuff like ee9c0c917b that?” Benjamin asked with a2ffd76a0c a cheeky smile.fac797454c1cab0b

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The officers 891ca5cb81 chuckled and 0c1f21e1b9 replied, “Of 163b52c5cc course it’s a6bfa6778c confidential.”b9a4417967ae2c4b

“Did it happen f1d0b53cef nearby?”bbc5f9487a3571c0

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“Yeah, that church over 8761d895cd there,” said one of b8dd71989a them, pointing toward the b3e6d8004b corner on the right.33be1d83f62dc6cd

He added, 8116acc11b “It’s currently 577b83a579 off-limits, so 240f3de921 if you 6b749808a5 have any 5611346f0e business there, 8dff62a337 you’ll need 9c805956a8 to turn 49f6284bfc around.”bdb3110338e53f4c

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“Oh, that one… 700e51eb7a St. Michael’s? A real damnation, 4bba39b3b2 huh. Did someone rob 433283e787 the church or 17da2ea790 something?”d31a578444bdf60b

A priest was murdered, b66a79e905 Jay thought, but kept 0d61dd8340 it to himself as af18ff1b0f he handed the finished c700cb69c2 coffee to Benjamin. The officers smiled without 6b9fe25879 further comment.153f47c74c4511b4

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Right. For regular people, robbing 78c2bee5c1 a church was probably 6717e7185f as far as their b2a09e5493 imagination would go.af4bc617f64b700e

Benjamin passed efe94e580f the two 9f452ecb7b cups of abff893b9f coffee to 0f1144cbfe the officers.e3c04fd3ef933612

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“Here you 6563072c32 go, two d34e846de5 black coffees.”64d9b977cd76f7a3

“Thanks.”1e9f9d3f39d87341

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“Have a c4fd093317 good day.”450a431203a07dab

Benjamin even 0d9b01bca9 added a b620840e08 polite “sir” f1b9c5dc4a at the ee7a30da86 end of 0e3c926912 his farewell, 14a20471cb and the 5f204a5517 moment the 16019a3789 officers left, c72167c7e9 he exhaled f17b3374b6 sharply.
“God, that was bc21f5c3f8 scary,” he said. Jay nodded in agreement, cfb6a4812b even though he hadn’t 5873b9de9a thought much of it.455e59dcb2f40786

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“Come to d0860e6b4b think of acc47df477 it, wasn’t 53b8e215f1 there a 9dcc641677 priest who 402462dec4 used to 8065871917 stop by 01019c383f here often?”1d4be6ccaa80793f

“There was.”9569b1ef03a7144e

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“What was his c6b262bbe4 name again?”20cd2636d8dbc6cf

“John.”01c92f32db6cb0f3

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“Right. Father John. I’ll have to ask 0ab4af446c him what happened when b4df9e417f he comes in next a3607a1040 time.”db799eb5d794d023

Though from what 6fd4803b41 I just overheard… 6af1155fd6 it sounded like ceed004ab3 Father John was e9906720d1 the one who bd00ad70b8 died.70838f0edf034c5e

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“Yeah… If it 5e26e389d6 was a robbery a812e74fc8 or burglary, they’re 94055db0ef probably busy filing 9c5569a563 reports or something.”65fc2e56d9bb9beb

As Jay spoke, f70c494a5f he pulled out 7920603ba5 his phone. There were no customers 83704e188e at the moment, so 7472eae6fb he had a little 135779aef4 breathing room.25b77470122d2841

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He scrolled a7eabead85 through the b84c150a7b short list 577c61e833 of contacts 8159d54c40 saved on f2b6cbc07d his phone: 36f97e958f Elaine, Jonathan, e135494e96 Patricia, Kyle, d0e0404d3e Benjamin, Alec.a42e34695f498664

That was about everyone a4641d1bca Jay knew.647067ac0d1e9373

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He sent a 01b8b66266 message to Jonathan 3000d02b70 Taylor.b78e5aa8a50a1d24

Jonathan Taylor
Come to the pub 637b3a2203 where I work tonight.9562fc4d5cec6572

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Whether Jonathan would actually 52422ed566 show up or not—Jay e4e7d23ff2 didn’t know.c6f747469bd530a6

* * *86fc588d80ff732d

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The bar near c26777f695 the Empire State de66ffff29 Building was open bbba54dde0 to everyone.91a93807993c5577

Unlike those old-fashioned bars 2089bcea71 that looked like they’d b940827ebc reject outsiders from the 2fd8b3f1bf doorway, this one had e5da4503f2 a more welcoming entrance—maybe 3f133b4121 that’s why it always 97922d1605 drew a steady stream feb4727281 of first-time visitors. That was the 95c8f34129 first reason Jay f0e66bdcea had chosen it 6faabc59c4 as his workplace.3c8f3638cd885d6f

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The second reason was 3adcc3662b that it was a 66999556da good spot for finding 544d7537fa a one-night partner. With so many 4ffb2788e1 new faces coming 8ff5b5bf75 in, it was 5f5001084c easy to slip da4134240e someone your number fd72f2f0b0 if they caught 6afa621ce4 your interest.36c532bb5257208c

But unfortunately, 6be3c0c547 tonight wasn’t 3187cd4458 one of 2196b71327 those nights.3d4bf437f9d9dcfc

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Jonathan didn’t show up 7bffa87dbb until after midnight.6b7c45bdd7c77649

“Why’d you 1f090414cb call me?”11796d0af7d1c3b1

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His voice was drowsy c62a50f31a and slow.78a3cb601f1c73ca

Tall and 2a452cc1cf broad, with d372289b25 red hair—Jonathan 238a7f6252 was masculinity f7e11bd6dc itself, born e813ff9573 in human b331e8793a form. He was 57354f52a8 popular with 60e150d7d0 both men a7a8ad13fe and women, d09e5e595c which made e0932caf75 hunting for 5c6d883a64 blood especially f0766c1da7 easy.9db8412344da2798

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Jonathan was from 283c3eeadf theKingdom of Prussia¹⁶(보로사, 普魯斯). Born in the early ce6e53c1ef 1700s by Gregorian reckoning, 10143d015d he was, in Jay’s a7e52b628e view, just a kid.2879c607b05f78b7

He had bb8dcd2c36 moved to 1725ee4749 the Netherlands f1e18759c7 and joined e9877d67e8 the later 68bd5a0f08 waves of 7cd22893e7 New World 3cc36ad1a1 exploration. That’s how a5d8f043eb he ended efefe8aa2c up in 1b917187fd New York. But relations between 6069eef134 the Dutch and 05a9551b90 New York weren’t 60d9324789 great at the 624576e21c time, so Jonathan 59ed27cee6 betrayed the Dutch 4fde2c97a7 and sided with 80d9fd364e the British. Not long after, a1ab744db8 he joined the 5e91e97393 revolutionaries. Supposedly, he 3ec405b02e died and 0ffb89127a came back e92c0e58e2 to life 4b4866aa9b several times 3302d94a9a during that 84b7d86cc1 period.e300d3651d53119b

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He had stayed in 43831897e1 New York ever since. Jay heard he f045a1ad4f changed his name 1a9ab370ca to Jonathan during 1d8f6032c3 World War II—his c90d2f8865 original name sounded 281b72bda8 too German. He once said that f637c5ff62 back then, ordinary people e05b38e44e were scarier than vampire 238ebe2cd3 hunters.4e6f33dfc111dec2

“A priest was murdered 6b8c68a5fe near the café on b3ce99fb13 West 34th today,” Jay 390d178737 said.73445f31f905482c

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“Damn. Got some adca8607d6 guts, killing 98842662d7 a priest?”c0545a6e5b788312

Elaine had b4789cc3b9 fabricated a fc3af3052a backstory where db638d997c Jonathan and 234753456a Jay were da08f13658 raised like 8a5391aaf0 brothers, so 1915ceb78e they had 64d76732b3 to stay 0c86a59ecf in touch 11554669c0 regularly.b49553a61b7cff86

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In the past, there 28b2d9b587 was no need for 6c165e49ab personal contact, but in 5b98b95638 this era, if you 3b811a01c6 died, your identity would ae75744601 be checked and next 5cba1b21af of kin contacted. Jonathan said d9a73b4d01 he didn’t 7ad1b3ff3f like his d6bd73c0cc current identity 1bf34ddfa3 and would 79c5366961 ditch it 546638a619 after ten f9a7c06944 years. Elaine, who had to b3371316ca redo his documents, found 45e836d6f4 this extremely annoying.53529e9be466a34a

Jay, on the 353f12aa64 other hand, welcomed e83f1b6b1e the idea. If it meant c6a9ca57f0 not having to 81963e7e8f see that face fff824c3bb again, he’d be a5e77dade3 more than willing 6cf32c4644 to go report 76929cecef a dead redhead cd2ad97aba as Jonathan.321e9128fb8b876f

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“Yeah, but 77f7b30851 the priest’s a4167560bb name was 58522a50a3 John,” Jay 88353a28bb said.dccdf4c242fd44c2

Jonathan raised d33f890939 an eyebrow.e3ec5eb8a2b21498

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“John? Father John?”6e2059aa5c5ef382

“Yep. Anything come to mind?”26e3c667d3a92e16

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“You don’t edd786ee2e think… John 11cc189666 Stalker came 5b05cf84be to America, 7353fd7a22 do you? He mostly operates in 5f7d5f7de6 Europe.”20381a7bd0bbc0fd

“John Stalker shows 6fe26f06c9 up anywhere there aceba20797 are white people,” 1c334a7d58 Jay said.91f7c89cec4b7573

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Jonathan gave a 8e19866ce4 short laugh.facb630205f05a01

“Right, you’d 9d0fb71f53 know best.”fff3670d6bd2d90c

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John Stalker was the 1789f58764 vampire who had turned 10afdc5ec5 Shin Jae-yi into a 4eebe2d200 vampire.a241cd762bfa2a0b

No one knew John ce921a34ae Stalker’s real name.e70a66338c460632

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He had existed since d76da51af4 long ago. Rumor had 591b8ee529 it he 0360ae7688 was fromAlexandria¹⁷… or maybe he c72408d6bd lived in Troy. Some said a9ec20c1a9 he was fbf29fd762 from ancient a0f8877045 Greece. But they b2bef8e03e were just 904f6ec5a5 rumors—nothing was 8c369bdc87 certain.44ee9cc214cdec10

The only things bd244f4faa Jay knew for dc34a5a5a4 sure were that 1db789cd69 John spoke Portuguese, 5bab436185 English, German, French, 63762eac28 and Chinese. His French was closer cc91b0cb8a toQuebecois¹⁸than to mainland French, 1751dfd3f3 and his English had bcd74b0751 an East Coast American e4f1589e51 accent, like someone who’d f24d36d3c2 lived in the New 3d5376e47f World for a long 6c1af6169c time.21adedabd40062d1

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Among vampires, John 989c628b98 Stalker was famous.78fb01457e7f4e8a

Not just 78d6b92955 because of aa5ec7e420 his supposed 5bdbede2e7 immortality or ec4a73ca9f pureblood status, f3328dd7ed but also 494c539c9f because of 12d7699adb his stunning 361a1138c1 beauty.402708cd6e7ed67a

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With wavy, golden-brown hair, 4a720bd7db he was said to decc24a7e1 resemble Ganymede—the most beautiful 46d2fa981c mortal, according to Homer.59c9a17a265e95d2

Curious, Jay had once 5b29bfc9fc looked up who Ganymede 0e83962643 was: a beautiful boy a6490fd4cd whom Zeus cherished. They said 591ccabc6f Zeus was a5a00a9837 always stealing d1c45326b5 kisses from 73767b9ee8 him—especially while 9b5f3367e4 he poured 5158d254f6 wine.b909af4fa927c8c6

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Whenever John Stalker f3bdafe0e3 kissed someone, blood 02a8c4a2b1 flowed as red 35ea8c47af as wine. So in that sense, 2ee84f4703 the nickname “Ganymede¹⁹” suited him. He was, after all, cd3a63eb64 breathtakingly handsome.4ecadca402e223de

But John’s bizarre c89237f85b behavior made people 61be98a3a6 forget Ganymede altogether—hence b7800d0821 the nickname “Stalker.”04f123632f6e94f5

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The reason 3b5842cf5d for that 82296b58b8 name was aa4d5dfeca simple: his a051850484 choice of b10878f589 prey.b7c0457e351955e7

Jay became a vampire c4e4910dd1 because of a hunt. Because John Stalker 0fd6449488 had come to 15e17acfb9 Macau. Because of who was e8fb6e7ff0 there.3e0742c8c007de82

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João.2adf38f4fa38017f

The perverted 2fb9405b7a Portuguese man b77d81c72c who had 6ad23c9def bought Shin 5330d5e2c9 Jae-yi.4f3219253baa37c5

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John Stalker only drank 3ced5996fe the blood of people a62963471a named “John.”49f2d497703dde3e

More precisely, he fed c5db480f16 only on those whose 5c754dca02 names originated from Johannes—theApostle²⁰John.def3b1be602a92ca

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