NAPE - 16

“However, you have to cooperate. Tell me when you were born and how you ended up with the Trainer.”

“If you’re going to ask about the Trainer, I won’t say anything. I’d rather not find that woman.”

Bibi shook her head firmly. Obeying the Trainer was more important than finding her roots.

“Your identity as a hunting dog is quite strong… Annoying.”

Doyoon irritably ruffled the back of his head before looking directly at Bibi. “Anyway, I’ll find your mother for you.”

“What’s the condition?”

“Accepting me as your master.”

“…….”

Bibi bit her lip. Accepting a new master without the Trainer’s permission. That was also a violation of the rules.

But wasn’t it better than betrayal? This was a special situation. Her previous master was gone, and there was no one controlling her, the hunting dog. Temporarily having a new master probably wasn’t something that would warrant being put down. Would she get whipped a hundred times? Bibi unknowingly thought and judged for herself.

“...If you become my master, what will you demand of me?”

There was no such thing as a free favor. Especially a deal with a hunter had to be approached with caution. Bibi narrowed her eyes and stared straight at Doyoon as he got up from the bed and approached her.

“From now on, only drink the blood I give you, Bibi.”

He said, grasping Bibi’s chin with his fingertips.

“Only follow my orders. Always prioritize me.”

His clear yet dark eyes shone intensely. Suddenly, her throat felt dry. Bibi swallowed.

“...Th-that’s all?”

“Can you do it?”

“...Okay.”

The contract was sealed. Bibi slowly knelt down. And then, she prostrated herself and kissed the instep of his foot. It was a ritual of obedience as a hunting dog.

When she raised her head, his cold, dark eyes were staring straight at her. A chilling elation was felt in the black darkness. Her nape prickled. It felt as if she had become a human sacrifice.

Had she done the right thing? Accepting a new master of her own will without the Trainer. It was the first time a human, a hunter no less, had become her master.

What exactly would change? Bibi couldn’t predict anything.

________________________________________

Drizzling winter rain fell. A black figure darted back and forth like a bat between the coldly frozen earth and the coniferous forest. The breath that spread in the air and quickly disappeared suggested that he was in a critical situation.

“Hah, hah!”

The man, who had been running madly, finally stopped after confirming that no one was chasing him anymore. He exhaled his ragged breath like a barrage. His clothes were very shabby. The soles of his sneakers were coming apart, and fallen leaves and twigs clung thickly to his green field jacket.

“Why do you keep slipping away?”

A hissing voice came from an unknown direction. The man flinched and looked up. A tall figure in a black raincoat suddenly appeared.

He knew he had to run, but strangely, his legs were paralyzed, unable to move. Perhaps his body had realized before his head did. It was no use running anymore.

“Stop! Stop chasing me! I told you, I don’t know!”

Cornered, the man yelled desperately, throwing stones and dirt he could grab. It was a futile resistance.

“You need to specify what exactly you don’t know.”

“That girl… If you’re looking for that hunting dog, I don’t know. Sob, a hunter suddenly barged in…! I barely managed to save my own life.”

“What was Bibi doing when the hunter came?”

“Bi… Bibi? Ugh!”

A bony, emaciated hand shot out from the black sleeve and fiercely grabbed the man’s chin.

“The hunting dog I lent you. My loyal dog.”

“I-I don’t know… Those guys did find her in the cage… but I didn’t see what happened after that.”

“...You’d better remember well. Because I’m quite angry, you see. I lost my precious hunting dog because of a hybrid vampire.”

Eerie glints of light shone from under the raincoat hood, like the eyes of a grim reaper from hell. The hybrid vampire froze, unable to even open his mouth.

“Spit out any details about the hunter’s appearance, you stupid bat bastard.”

The certainty that he would die if he didn’t speak properly slowly enveloped him. Terrified, the hunting dog’s former owner squeezed his memories as much as possible. He tried to recall any features of the hunter he hadn’t properly observed because he had been focused on escaping.

“O-one of them had red hair and was incredibly tall and bulky. The other one… had a good build and was handsome, ugh!”

The grip tightened like a compression press. A groan escaped his lips at the pain of his jawbone being crushed.

“You idiot. Who told you to give a facial review?”

“It’s true. It’s true…! He just looked perfectly flawless at first glance. You’d notice him right away. Really! That’s his defining feature. I’ve never seen such a well-built guy among hunters, no, among humans.”

Had his desperate answer been satisfactory? The Trainer released the other’s chin, stood up, and looked up at the sharp treetops of the forest, like fangs.

“A hunter… What could a vampire hunter have done to my hunting dog? Killed her?”

“P-probably. He tried to kill all of us at the scene!”

“Even if he knew Bibi was a pureblood?”

“...What? Pureblood?”

The hybrid vampire’s jaw dropped at the unexpected word. He looked up at the Trainer with an incredulous expression.

“Yes. Bibi is a pureblood.”

“Then… why on earth would such a noble being. Something like that,”

Bang!

His mouth, which had dropped open in surprise, would never close again. Wisps of white smoke curled from the end of the gun barrel. Red blood spurted from the gunshot wound in his chest like a fountain. The hybrid vampire looked down at his chest before collapsing forward like a deflated balloon.

“I should find the association’s location first.”

The Trainer stepped over the vampire’s rapidly ossifying corpse, as if accelerating time. He placed the old silver gun in his coat, pulled down his black raincoat hood, and advanced steadily. His direction was Seoul, where the Hunter Association was located.

In the darkness-covered landscape, his obsession with the stolen dog shone intensely.

________________________________________

To Bibi, Doyoon was no longer a dangerous hunter. He had delicious blood, didn’t ask for much, and was a peculiar individual who wanted to be Bibi’s master. Bibi no longer guarded herself against him as she had before.

As long as a hunting dog had free hands and feet, it had to become its master’s shadow, protecting them without leaving their side for even a moment. From the moment she accepted Doyoon, Bibi had greatly narrowed the distance between them.

When Doyoon read a book on the sofa, she would look at the cover next to him. When he ate, she would climb onto the refrigerator and watch to make sure he ate well. When he showered, she would wait in front of the bathroom. While unintentionally observing him for several days, she had come to realize something. Kwon Doyoon was a very strange human being.

A chronic boredom was etched on Kwon Doyoon’s face, and a long-standing weariness was also faintly visible.

He generally really liked to sit and watch something. Dramas, movies, books, comic books, and so on. Once he settled in a sunny spot and started focusing on a book or video, he wouldn’t even uncross his legs until the moon rose, seeing it through to the end.

Surprisingly, even with such intense concentration that should dull other senses, it wasn’t the case. As if he had another sense, he had the skill to swiftly catch and put back a casually placed water bottle cap or pen that rolled off the side table. It wasn’t a clumsy scramble, but rather an elegant and stylish move.

His eating habits were very peculiar. Unlike other humans who ate a balanced diet, if he fixated on one food, he would pile it up like a mountain and eat only that.

Last week, he bought a whole container of jelly and ate only that instead of meals for two whole days, and this week, he bought a whole box of yogurt and constantly opened and drank the small bottles. Like an alcoholic lining up bottles of liquor, empty plastic bottles piled up in one corner of the house.

Despite such an unbalanced diet, Doyoon had a good physique. He was the type with very developed muscles. Even when wearing a thin knit, the contours of his chest and forearms were clearly visible. She couldn’t understand how he maintained such a large body despite such severe picky eating.

While there were one or two peculiar things about him the more she watched, there was something else noteworthy about Kwon Doyoon. The things listed earlier could be dismissed as just one of this human’s quirks, but this was truly a mystery.

Once in the middle of the night, Bibi would quietly enter Doyoon’s bedroom to check if everything was alright.

Doyoon, who slept curled up on his side, exuded an atmosphere opposite to when he was awake. When his eyes were open, especially during the day, Doyoon usually had a healthy complexion like ordinary humans and a languid yet weary air. Occasionally, when he was in the sunlight, he would sparkle as if his whole body was outlined in gold.

But… when she saw him sleeping in the dark… he seemed like a completely different species. His skin was bloodless and pale, and the area around his eyes was slightly dark and decadent. His hair, which had a slightly brownish tint, was as black as if it had been soaked in darkness.