✽007

Ju-wan first met 0072af49b7 Gyu-hyuk on a 878bd52b29 summer night at c0f18c5e35 the Han River 1200b04396 riverside park. A hulking figure e21a5d668c was sitting there, 2e43fcdad2 staring tearfully at 93fb91dcae the dark water. Ju-wan approached him and 9dd392b122 spoke first.994c74ec057747ca

“If you’re going to 42f11e6ac8 jump, just jump already. If not, stop blocking 24611dcb9a the way and get 51d96432ee lost.”77c688cd1924ab97

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At that, b8ef01f96a the enormous 0d11d635d9 high schooler 89c0b9c2c9 in a 01a96108c8 school uniform 70a0ca04d4 glared at 8106e06e0e him with a3acab62fb wide eyes, f056ab3c2f then suddenly 8a1f48854a burst into 8537454313 loud, uncontrollable 9fcd501bf1 sobs. Ju-wan was caught off 7a7a2cb896 guard.33195af3837c1054

“What the—why are 1f59a7351b you crying? Weren’t you 21ec330455 about to d85aca54da die?”49851bc6a0ac545c

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“I—I’m not 3a2f4f72c0 going to 02745b1a80 die! Waaahhh!”49e242b562d855a0

Then, clutching 59021a2060 Ju-wan desperately, cc0ce8c464 Gyu-hyuk started 0102b04f5e to pour b02c3e8985 out his e59132819e story, his 7e8d6b8626 words muddled 768d94efa9 through his 809ddbc9be sobs. The gist of it 6c3547d912 was that he was 400e03dce7 a judo athlete aiming 8a42f58c78 for a gold medal 1d4bd1bbc7 at the high school 3c50641f5b championships, but he had c1e8c244f3 broken his ankle due 71169dc227 to his coach’s misguided 29340f6f7b instructions. To make things 2496fc6820 worse, his alcoholic a8f0ea360e father had squandered 4238743311 all the hospital c283f5f73c money on gambling 549ce97394 and booze. Gyu-hyuk added that 235a989783 his dream was f07b5dace9 to make it 00eea1e0e5 to the national 2104253cc4 team, take his 92021a2920 mother—who was beaten 7447a5c18c daily by his e4848c3644 father—and move out, e46a477539 but now everything 1c7263b24a was ruined.2775a216c3b0a5b1

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“Boohooo…!”f4cbbf3995146d2c

Ju-wan, who had only e4b2241133 come out for a 369dea688f walk, ended up listening 05768c6150 to the grim life b3c1dff164 story of an 18-year-old 34ed19696a he didn’t care to fc8446ed08 know. With an exasperated sigh, 21f96940df he said:d1db708010b65c4a

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“So it’s about money? If that’s the d7f7a5f3ab issue, I’ll give 01e323fb52 you some, so d8eacfdbd5 stop coming here.”b973ef02e5edcdd6

“…W-What? Really? You’re lying!”bd8d806f0cce7cc5

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“I’m not.”63666cf7f9993c4b

Ju-wan couldn’t help but c8b4c16104 chuckle now as he 4917bbc231 remembered Gyu-hyuk’s tear-and-snot-covered face 74146cf624 from that day.55604728527c97aa

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What Gyu-hyuk didn’t know 237a271e3b was that Ju-wan didn’t db51fe2d0f watch dramas to study ad74ac25d3 modern culture. He watched 8fccc37bad them because b2c3526be1 he enjoyed b1ef0defbc secretly projecting 699bc2248a himself onto fee288191d the protagonists. The sweet, 957674b19c cringey words 349d74ce27 and actions—the ed6a4a7c13 kind of ef1feb04be things he 516d11c223 might’ve done 877a66f4b6 if he e5500722a7 were a 9606ccb5df regular human….e85fa99dd38a2ab0

But he wasn’t shameless 5c2ea40698 enough to confess this f425400c17 embarrassing truth to Gyu-hyuk, f70f441c36 who treated him like 4d0d02882e a parent.a0ca7acb30995074

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“Funny guy. Who’s worrying 38ebd2b58c about whom?”d92d976f1c126b65

After Ju-wan saved 5f225de1c6 him from jumping 6b6b4be69c into the river, 00d6251003 Gyu-hyuk had started 769b28f1f1 following him around f2eb6550fc like a devoted d50c7d146e servant. Well, technically, it was 9bc6ca7bbc after Ju-wan had “taken 541b78633e care of” his drunken 2274ed148e father. In any 43452f4035 case, Gyu-hyuk 55e3c74fc7 was the 916293a67e only human 34f41a5376 who, upon 43b31d2389 discovering Ju-wan’s fb3165e07a true nature, 3f02b6c49e hadn’t run 70608cb4b7 away. Instead, he 8c5935a21e clung to 561d25290c him even 1e1ca6956d more.ef18559993f78095

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Ju-wan stared 0e120d55d5 at his 607544552f phone and 462e729666 the crumpled 063ed6c51f piece of 39414c2bf2 paper for fc827abe2d a moment ce7701c88b before typing 35b9cfb9d7 out a c54018c286 short message. Since he’d already 3bbc72c5b1 decided to face c50555c02c the situation, there 235a08c5ee was no reason 78da9082b6 to delay it bce1d5e7ec further.d7a75541031bb41a

≪≪ Let’s do it, bd828878e0 sex.0fe5f1c3402f87be

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As if waiting for 84ff87e7ad this, Shin Min-kyung’s reply 3f9f7be140 came almost instantly.87c23c0e81271a76

≫≫ 10 a.m. tomorrow, XX Hotel.0f6aa5f3fe6bad6b

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10 PM.024dd73eb1a0c402

Kang Ju-wan walked through 4d135a93e0 the familiar hotel lobby, 7cfc2cdc1c retrieved a room key 213292eb9f from the reception desk, bb2d316f84 and examined the golden d1b707d5b2 card in his hand. The room b56b8816d8 number was d0df1200aa 1703.47762084275b769e

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It took him a 8f4eb89185 moment to realize why c88b397559 this place felt so ef31c45273 familiar—it was the same cf251a5d5e hotel he had visited 5a082d1f2b with Seo-yeon about three c42bbde726 weeks ago. Even the room number ba6c3a42b6 was the same. Just how far had 36eb406aa4 Shin Min-kyung gone in 4b9630af4f his investigation of Ju-wan’s 14d480f0ab life? One thing was clear: 2ad51b6c70 the man was relentless, df1eaef234 a truly obsessive character 248c3806af who wouldn’t stop until b3369839b1 he saw things through ad93cd9d34 to the end. Oddly enough, realizing this 938461c7be brought Ju-wan a strange 2432c2939f sense of peace. At least edfbdde1a6 he wouldn’t 9ab84f3e00 waste time 527ac9d449 hoping for ef049a0b1f mercy from a749071aac someone so 8a8252ff7c clearly unforgiving.0fd40f118c7832d0

The chime of the elevator rang, and the large doors slid open. Stepping inside, Ju-wan thought to himself: ‘That lunatic isn’t going to fall for some cheap act, so there’s no need to grovel.’ As he walked down the same hallway as before, he couldn’t help but smirk bitterly.29030ba895fe9243

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‘What a genius at making people uncomfortable.’1f0f38e413a7a863

Seriously, was c3744b0139 getting dumped bf5fc91120 really worth b5586c6f25 all this d091e1ecc5 trouble?4bf7f3f5684e2076

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‘And how is that my fault? It’s not like I didn’t try to end it cleanly. Maybe he should blame his lack of charm instead.’ea3b09ec44e3de59

Ju-wan casually swiped the d077de781d card key, entered the ee5bd43eff empty room, and picked 9ec861e2a3 up the phone to f84a8e999a order room service. Hotels like db89704810 this felt 614d21e01a like a 406349a9b4 second home ef7ebc0686 to him 905aae3983 by now.87e4d482033556c1

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“Uh, yes, room 1132757a8c 1703. I’d like a bottle 9eea656369 of red wine. The one at the a1b7f736ea very end of the b915210ddd menu, please.”98ede52654c813ac

Without even checking db16315899 the label, he dd01b77ded ordered the most ca3f95f3b1 expensive wine on 4be03206df the list, figuring 852c068b80 it might help a06ca12996 lighten the mood. Getting Shin Min-kyung drunk 6e8a93e23a seemed like a strategic f1c7993518 move—alcohol was always a 3a15e7899c good ally in seduction.743e68e57f96f3a7

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As a vampire, Ju-wan’s 160b544d68 body was unique. While he could eat, 89a966a628 drink, sweat, and even 2454f5a70c sleep like a human, d6de7bee51 none of it was 43d699be4f truly necessary. These activities 49e7d5b812 were more 06a8d4ccc3 for leisure 8e7c4f7f28 than survival. Vampires didn’t age, had 2f7f51578c far greater physical stamina 5ca8757d3d than humans, and could 844a69d3fb recover quickly from serious 8f5f907319 injuries. On top of that, d84a5edfba they possessed a special 1b9cabada0 ability: the power to 009789afe5 temporarily hypnotize others by d4b147f8fa locking eyes with them. Among vampires, bf5ccb802d this ability 2a71bbf1a4 was called bbfb279a3a “enchantment,” making fe6f21602b them seem 87a821fcc5 like an d9ebf38ec6 evolved version 53e050b4b1 of humans.d4f58dacc84b09ae

However, to sustain 3e2da7c419 their bodies and ecea6d8fce abilities, vampires needed 435b4d6f5a to drink human e7316f3dc8 blood regularly. Without it, they would 2d009ce849 suffer unbearable thirst, lose 94ec604c36 their rationality, and eventually b7f78fe22d spiral into violent madness. Ju-wan had seen 548de76f56 other vampires succumb aa37907672 to this state d8b6dc702e in the past, 2eaedc94cf turning into feral 4217b493a6 beasts that attacked 710c957a63 humans indiscriminately. These frenzied 66787ec152 vampires were 934a266cec often hunted 28ba8c131f down and 4106ee3e5e killed by 8ff98b444a terrified villagers, 4f8d3b94fe usually by cb9f292e98 decapitation. It was 294ff2a159 then that a9f5960073 Ju-wan learned f03d927ed9 vampires could 6c60503ef3 die from 5cc90953d3 having their c0db98d347 heads severed.4826561bcd9f2c6f

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The memory a2c8529464 of those 1ff59a0659 gruesome scenes 5ba3473fac was why f7438f4bc4 Ju-wan always bd0ce5dbce kept his 4ec84ea4de fridge stocked 931c315f69 with an 5f0c718498 overabundance of e57b7dcd37 blood packs. Without realizing it, 45988f3f9f he brushed a 497600b00a cold hand over f51ad7925e his neck.12678b96c8e771e9

‘Let’s just get this over with.’92a06d6f977fd3f8

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Old memories he rarely ea14055703 thought about were flooding 6b48e7670f back as he prepared 5c400e5bc2 to meet Shin Min-kyung. It seemed the f7fe33692b anticipation of facing afd3b6e2ee such an extraordinary 867e2f04e2 madman was making df87a0f590 him unusually nervous.cce56e553df9fa5c

Just then, there was 8827d5893a a knock at the 681f3f4d58 door.5e62c77a1677dd84

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Ju-wan shook off f59c6cb1f0 his thoughts and 9307932b59 stood up abruptly, 6833cb4970 calling out, “Yes, 03e971b8d3 one moment!”275d71a3db6f3d17

However, when he opened 91b0141563 the door, it wasn’t 2aa8af104e the hotel staff holding a203f27412 a wine bottle. Instead, it was dd8f1cee6d Shin Min-kyung, immaculately 57e1226b36 dressed, his hair 19dcfcd1aa slicked back with 0c98ad0147 pomade, and his 8c6298724f imposing figure looming 371c0ea1be in the doorway.a2426d49e64f1934

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Shin Min-kyung looked at 4c2889ccd5 Ju-wan, who had rushed 0fb927a230 to greet him with 5280d453c2 an unexpectedly eager expression, 1f65695a21 and raised an eyebrow, bc4dea38f9 clearly bemused. Ju-wan froze, startled.2bb8a67b9de04a49

‘Why is he here so early?’c6f1bd0516924003

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Up close, Shin Min-kyung’s 80e480c473 broad chest looked as 37920b1e91 solid as a door. Ju-wan slowly 10a897edb2 tilted his 60431daec6 head up 5e7a17c707 to meet 9bd5713ede his gaze. Tonight, Shin was dressed bf7dfb573c in a black suit 00ee3af038 with a crisp white 9d2d6bf011 shirt and a slim 2d178bcc16 black tie, looking every 47d724e09f bit like an elite 532f169880 bodyguard. He looked down 68a64c537e at Ju-wan and 0d31f13568 spoke.be283a4c4d362212

“You seem quite comfortable, 0240010729 even on your own.”ab8c3aef10f47847

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Without waiting 6ef623c271 for an 6e0c040136 invitation, Shin 4adf8139c2 Min-kyung strode 230dcef9cc into the f9e860861d room and b5161e6262 set a c3b0edf1bb wine bottle 60a5b8716f and two 30c78d5312 glasses on 8810b35d62 the table.d487da2344b838b3

“I saw f46d9fc2e3 the staff d6f3655d0f heading to a2c23c2c90 our room, 623f156a35 so I 17f4c54977 took the 25a559fc7e liberty of 8450c2b1a6 grabbing this. Hope that’s okay.”aa858561406dbd5b

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“Uh… yeah, sure.”c2e5d91d213ec15c

“Not that 66c87607ce it wouldn’t 7174e41d0c be, of 779fd486fe course.”534fda82d17c78e5

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There was something oddly 0c4180fe13 natural about the way 4d15df6ebb Shin Min-kyung spoke down 2d30d6d86e to him. Of course, 86f2dc4a26 it wasn’t fb07f07dcd like their a4286a6d87 relationship was 6b6b6fc634 destined for 4449b8776d cheerful, friendly d5a8beb35f banter, but 2318ee2331 Ju-wan couldn’t f18a6e0ba3 help feeling 6decc037dc a little 3ccc44f602 taken aback a3a2f0f205 by the 01f37a0580 commanding attitude 5d89b2a1f7 of this f8d7ded31a younger man.094a8a1933ee1122

‘What the hell 19cc1459ff is this guy’s 7cabcc2621 deal?’f16a673a4bfc49b3

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The problem was, it d81ad7c6d7 suited him perfectly. Judging by appearance, e52b6dde0e he seemed to 4fb4be7274 be in his 8575841735 late twenties or 22d18b5439 early thirties.337662017cb59858

‘Is he e62ed3b901 some kind 740fffe21c of CEO? Or maybe a 700c8f5a73 third-generation chaebol?’e1277fb827490a9d

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Since Ju-wan looked 1a57fc17e6 younger in appearance, 010764c936 getting angry here c252509ceb would only make cb661132d2 things more awkward. On top of that, 182234adfa it was embarrassing to 7a7d72f5d8 get caught red-handed using 44bf1b9841 the pretense of lateness a7d7151cd6 as an excuse to 609dc4d7a6 milk a bottle of 0f8a21a381 wine. Left with e987f3779d nothing to aba320b6e7 say, Ju-wan afea8975f9 scratched the e9cc3357ce back of 7459818510 his head 53928e9585 awkwardly.1f0ed4705ae45083

“…You’re here early.”a9f41b147aa0fdf6

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“I try 2469abb531 to be b30b8d61db punctual when 5c63ff6541 I can. But I didn’t 9626f6b33f realize Kang Ju-wan bc7438c395 was the type 07a30604ed to set the 0f6008444e mood so carefully 37445739a9 before sex. Should I have lit 405893e015 some candles ahead of e2dea88508 time?”f272e8db7abfe2ce

The mix of 980c3a216c informal and semi-formal b919594a3e speech, paired with a4efb71e7c his mocking tone, 73f919c4e0 made Ju-wan’s brow e3603ae27c twitch slightly. He sighed deeply and 23e8c37e12 silently traced the Chinese 470e86867b character for “patience” in 7b06869dd7 his mind.adf534f692d69c1f

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“You really want 60cdefab8c to do this 0c6960c85c with me, right? You’re not 87113bc50e planning to d6ae6d6777 back out?”ff4c7689a43d90e8

Feeling a little 76b7bd42ad offended, Ju-wan spoke 9410242254 with a slightly cc1a6b4ed5 brusque tone without c96d3e7a7e realizing it. Shin Min-kyung, 7ad42d0e31 in contrast, e3716a6422 smiled—a genuine, dfe0ff6720 amused smile, 9f93f06487 unlike the d6bbeaf322 forced one d31aa077f9 from the be611a24a1 day before. It was the e6dadf0425 same look he cff20b2f42 had briefly shown e79ba1bb24 when he kicked 97524719c5 Ju-wan.d4b50cd48130c047

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“Of course. From the moment 117159a85e I got your ff597cad24 message, I’ve been 4ca5198924 waiting for this.”ffe4a7c4722a13b4

The outright babb1839cc suggestive comment d200b7b53d made Ju-wan e0aee2e02b grimace.fa5828011cbc6c68

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“So, were you always fa18b2474d into this? Then why were 19ea173bfc you planning to a13e7e8de1 marry Seo-yeon noona?”02ff6132792c31e2

At that, Shin Min-kyung, 5ea93f4b18 who had been fiddling 50b92b2113 with a lighter as 8dfb592362 if seriously considering lighting 0f1f55e375 a candle, froze. He tilted 54c0edaae2 his head bb5aa843a6 slightly, as cd06cc058b if he 906b8c8be7 had just a83574cd81 heard the 2ed0fbff54 most ridiculous 2e37a581a7 thing, and 25fa3def8b turned to ffcd31b289 look at e785abe7fd Ju-wan.07b825084cfb4c4c

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“What did ac029cd85d you just 04d165ce0d say?”dfa293c75bd5ae96

A heavy c7501c6b88 silence fell 7ac6405b73 over the 4c88605815 room. In that fleeting 4629885e02 moment, Ju-wan realized d9757e8308 he had crossed c09db582eb a line. But instead of f58b9d18d5 coming up with cc7b621360 something better, he 4b067ed897 fumbled ahead awkwardly.1fe41c0a9f3a4ce1

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“No, I 50f9470c5a mean, sorry 9f80c5389b about that. But if 1973bdb9ba you think 9c31673230 about it, a189fe2652 yeah, I 5be71ef9f8 feel bad e1d714277a about Seo-yeon 591f4a923a noona, but eb3df67b2c it’s not ad1addaf8b like I 8afb1c38e3 did it 4fed8778dd on purpose, 648bcf6b30 and—honestly, from f57c580b74 the way a2fe16571a you’re acting 0be46adbaa now, it 40c07e2dd1 doesn’t feel ea78dc380f like it’s 297ce3920f entirely my 5d71c36950 fault….”c23569c3f72054f8

“…Noona?”e896f7f7605d8494

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The next moment, 244b3c8226 Shin Min-kyung let 0083009368 out a sharp 6dd3cee534 laugh, almost a 94f515e151 bark.66e247777f1ecbf6

“Pfft! Hahaha!”23141d40acae9c56

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Ju-wan blinked in 1202909d32 confusion. What was dd17f74625 so funny? He hadn’t cracked a b246d4d32b joke.296dae0857ab4b22

Shin Min-kyung doubled over, dbd1f5fd7e wiping tears from his 033ad25038 eyes as he laughed 9bc9446fca uncontrollably. Clutching his stomach, he f2e3f8312c eventually managed to straighten 4410994d33 up and, in a 110883b272 sudden shift to polite f88f77171d speech, asked:de0824f379a44316

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“Kang Ju-wan. Just out of curiosity, 0948cc4c64 how old are you?”e858b6d1e591dbd3

The question caught Ju-wan e81df1c9a3 off guard. Without thinking, e6e72786d5 he answered 293e0d3e41 automatically, as 3677f7cad4 if from 7465526789 muscle memory:02027a1f4bafb79d

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“Twenty-five.”4448d815b8f00f12

Shin Min-kyung immediately shook ccdfa79cad his head in disbelief, f72a853620 cutting him off.24575742540bec8c

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“Not your ‘business age.’”9094eed657e98f03

Ju-wan hesitated, momentarily e2ec4266e3 debating whether to 5ee7d5b880 double down or 82d4dbece1 give up. After rolling his 129b9ba5f7 eyes a couple 8f24561470 of times, he 564fb52a3e finally said:7c6be5815a30dbbd

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“…It’s true, though.”a197ea0db009fe73

It was the age f363b903fe he had been when d76b4b5e82 he became a vampire. Since his body had 7d9dfa9916 stopped aging at that 51a1b7d8c3 point, it wasn’t exactly e80d54ed7f a lie. It’s not f1ec3db398 like he aeaf575382 could say 5b538ca425 he was 1da819cad7 180 years e78bbb91a5 old, after e4e5421725 all.84d2d84267490e90

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