NAPE - 10. New Master

Why had the hunter Kwon Doyoon declared he would become her master? Should she accept this? No, absolutely not. The trainer would not want her master to change without his consent. And especially not to a hunter.

But… the trainer wasn’t here.

A sliver of doubt flashed through her mind. Bibi’s brain, now well-nourished, no longer gasped for air due to hunger. Freed from starvation, she was even able to grasp cause and effect and reason about certain events.

Thanks to this, Bibi dimly realized. The trainer didn’t know her situation. Even if he had a rough idea, he couldn’t possibly imagine her being in a luxurious building in the heart of Seoul.

The fact that he hadn’t come looking for her while she was locked in the villa for a month, and that Bibi was still alive even though she had already broken the rules three times, was evidence of this.

This meant that the trainer was not omnipotent. Nevertheless… Bibi had no intention whatsoever of betraying him and cooperating with the hunter. No, she couldn’t. She was a hunting dog, and the trainer was her eternal master.

As if to prove her unwavering belief to herself, Bibi poured all the blood on the table down the sink.

At six o’clock in the evening, Doyoon arrived without fail, as usual. He took a blood pack from the freezer, slightly thawed it in a special microwave to prevent coagulation, and poured it into a wine glass. Bibi hid behind the living room curtains, watching his movements.

Broad shoulders and a height that seemed to reach the lights. He had a physique advantageous for combat. She had confirmed his strength last time. If a fight broke out, she would definitely be at a disadvantage. A surprise attack would be better than a frontal assault.

“Bibi, you keep throwing away the blood, don’t you?”

While she was contemplating a surprise attack, Doyoon turned his head towards the curtains where Bibi was standing. Suddenly called by name, Bibi was startled and held her breath. She had definitely hidden herself well without making a single sound, so how had he noticed?

“It should be about time for you to get thirsty, so why aren’t you drinking?”

“…….”

“Just so you know, if you go berserk due to bloodlust, I will use my gun. I’ll shoot any part, whether it’s your heart, eyes, or mouth. After all, purebloods have good regenerative abilities.”

The expression on Doyoon’s face as he uttered those chilling words was as calm as if he were mentioning the dinner menu. It seemed that shooting someone with a gun was an ordinary and unremarkable part of his daily life.

He picked up the wine glass and slowly approached the curtains. Bibi, watching the large figure drawing closer, timidly revealed herself. Since she had already been discovered, she might as well not look pathetic and try to be dignified.

“Hmm.”

Doyoon tilted his head, looking at Bibi who had appeared after a week. His meticulous gaze swept all the way from Bibi’s head to her toes. It felt as if every single cell was being examined.

“So that’s your taste in clothes?”

“…….”

“You should have at least put something on your lower body.”

Doyoon looked at Bibi’s exposed legs. Perhaps because her skin was so fair, they had turned a complete pink color in the evening sunlight streaming through the window. He felt a precarious sense that they might melt and disappear in the solar heat.

“Drink this first.”

Doyoon held out the wine glass filled with blood. Bibi looked down at the liquid in the glass. The dark red blood swirled enticingly. Of course, she was starting to feel thirsty. A scorching hunger was beginning in her throat.

Usually, drinking a few mouthfuls of blood would allow her to endure… but the problem was that she didn’t want to drink what was in front of her.

It was ridiculous to think about the times when she couldn’t even get congealed blood, but she couldn’t help it. The thought of drinking that liquid killed her appetite. She felt it would be better to starve.

When had it started? It had been like this ever since she drank that man’s blood. The blood of that person she had tasted briefly was too sweet. It was as if she had been granted the ability to see another dimension.

What was she thinking? Bibi clenched her fist tightly, trying to shake off the taste she had felt then. A hunter’s blood was dangerous. To be precise, the man named Kwon Doyoon himself was. She couldn’t keep weakening towards that blood…

“Senior! I’m here!”

Suddenly, a booming voice echoed. Bibi was startled and quickly hid behind the curtains. Namwon strode into the living room.

“Ah, I’m thirsty. Why is it so hot in this house even in winter? If that’s wine, give me some.”

“It’s blood.”

“Blood? Ugh, that’s disgusting. Why put blood in a wine glass? Do you think a miracle will happen and it’ll turn into wine?”

Namwon, looking disgusted, sat down on the long leather sofa with his legs wide apart. Doyoon placed the glass on the side table.

“Judging by how confidently you came in, you must have found something out?”

“Yeah. While you were raking in money with your capitalist ventures, I was running around all over the place alone.”

“So? What’s the information?”

Namwon leaned forward to begin a serious conversation. Doyoon sat opposite him, crossed his long legs, and turned his head towards Bibi, who was hiding behind the curtains.

“Bibi, listen carefully to what Namwon is about to say.”

“Bibi? That woman is here? The one who bit my wrist and didn’t even apologize? Where is she?”

“She’s behind the curtains.”

“Where… Ah, damn, you scared me!”

Namwon belatedly found Bibi peeking her head out from behind the yellow curtains and clutched his chest.

“Why is she standing there like a ghost without making a sound? Ah, my heart is pounding.”

As expected…

Bibi felt relieved that Namwon hadn’t noticed her presence right away, but she judged Doyoon to be even more dangerous. He had found her hiding place instantly, hadn’t he? Namwon gestured threateningly for her to come over and apologize properly.

“Lee Namwon.”

“Okay, okay, I understand.”

At Doyoon’s warning tone, Namwon gave up on receiving an apology and cautiously furrowed his brow.

“Let’s see, right. First, I conducted inquiries all over Buyeo. Retired vampire hunters, hybrids we caught before and brainwashed then released, etc. I went to all the places I thought might know something. And then, just one guy said he had heard of it. About three years ago, he saw someone raising a young hybrid vampire as a hunting dog near the mountains. When I checked the location, it was a place you couldn’t approach carelessly.”

“Did you take drone footage? Let’s see.”

Namwon took out his phone and showed the photos and videos he had taken. Doyoon’s eyes sharpened.

Rural Human Resources Development Institute

A shabby, unconvincing sign was visible. A barbed wire fence with a “No Trespassing” sign surrounded a fairly large area, and the inside was obscured by a dense forest. Various pieces of construction equipment and a small building that looked like a detention center were glimpsed through the thick trees.

The drone, soaring into the sky, passed through the forest and approached the building more closely. Cracks in the walls, thick wires sticking out like snakes, and broken windows began to come into clearer view. A dismal atmosphere, untouched by human hands, emanated from it. Doyoon zoomed in on the building, which was no different from a derelict house, and took in the entire surrounding landscape.

“The inside is all empty. I don’t know if they noticed we were tracking them, or if they just leave periodically.”

Doyoon got up from his seat and went in front of Bibi. He suddenly held the paused screen out in front of Bibi. Bibi’s eyes widened. The place visible on the screen was… her home, where she had lived since her forgotten childhood. A place she didn’t want to go back to, but a place that pulled her back like a heavy gravity.

“You were raised as a hunting dog here, weren’t you?”

Doyoon asked, keenly observing Bibi’s reaction. He, who had been languid, had become much sharper.

“Do you remember the trainer?”

“…….”

“How did you become a hunting dog?”

Bibi pressed her lips tightly together and shook her head, pretending not to hear the questions flying at her. She herself didn’t know anything about the trainer. Even if she did, she couldn’t say. She shouldn’t utter even the smallest, most insignificant thing.

“That trainer bastard is a real vicious piece of work. You were used, you know? If you remember anything, you better spill it while I’m being nice!”

Impatient Namwon yelled, displeased with Bibi’s silence. Nevertheless, Bibi stubbornly shook her head.

“It doesn’t look like she’s going to open her mouth easily.”

Doyoon took a step back for now. He had no intention of interrogating her forcefully. Although he sometimes tortured vampires depending on the situation… that was a last resort and not to his liking.

“Senior.”

Namwon, who had been glaring at Bibi, turned his gaze to Doyoon.

“Just out of concern, don’t give her blood ever again. A hunter giving blood is taboo. I don’t know why you’re keeping it a secret that you have a pureblood vampire, but don’t do anything that will cause problems.”

“Just keep your mouth shut.”

“Aish, seriously, even when I give sincere advice… If there’s nothing else to order me to do, I’ll be going now.”

Namwon grumbled, put on his jumper, and left the house.

Bibi checked that the sun had set outside the window. Soon, Kwon Doyoon would probably leave too. She hoped he would leave quickly. Being in the same space as him made her thirst even more intense and difficult to bear.

Feeling thirsty, Bibi glanced at the wine glass on the side table and shook her head. That wasn’t what she wanted to drink right now.