NAPE - 32

“Save the rabbit.”

Leaving behind the instruction that he would return in the afternoon, Doyoon left the house.

While Doyoon was gone, Bibi tried hard not to touch the rabbit in the box. She focused on the television, took out pudding to eat, and concentrated on the scenery outside the window.

“Last night, police were dispatched to the heart of Seoul due to a power struggle between organizations. A total of 34 gang members were arrested en masse, and the remaining 20 members are currently being tracked.”

It seemed like an interesting incident had occurred, so she paid attention to the news and tried to divert her attention all day. So that kind of thing happened in Seoul last night. The city is truly fascinating. And there’s so much delicious food.

The most delicious of all was Doyoon’s blood. The rabbit with that blood on it... was right there in that box.

Lying on the sofa, Bibi swallowed hard and approached the box. She peeked inside. Innocent eyes that knew nothing stared back at her, ears twitching. The white fur, slightly matted with Doyoon’s blood, smelled truly delicious.

He had said she could refuse his favor... so wouldn’t it be okay to just eat it? He had said he wasn’t her master. Bibi thought he couldn’t hit her or get angry if she ate the rabbit.

“Yeah, let’s eat.”

Bibi succumbed to the temptation before her. She grabbed the small creature from inside the box, which was constantly nibbling on bits of hay. Warmth wriggled in her palm. She could feel its terrified heartbeat thumping.

She felt no guilt. Bibi had no qualms whatsoever about killing the rabbit. For her, all living things except her master, trainer, and other vampires were food.

Just as humans smack their lips at the sight of pigs on television, vampires also feel an appetite for all beings with blood.

In that they don’t raise humans as livestock, vampires could be considered much more ethical. It was extremely fortunate for humans that vampires, as apex predators, didn’t think of skinning them to make bags or extracting their bones for decorations.

Come to think of it, there was an interesting owner she had once. A female vampire who felt guilty and scared about eating living things. She would put the blood of the humans Bibi brought in a wine glass and drink it while crying. Then she would curse Bibi for attacking humans.

Bibi couldn’t understand such an owner. Even if she used someone else’s hands, why couldn’t she see that the moment she put blood to her lips, she became the same kind of killer?

“Let’s eat quickly.”

The guiltless killer, Bibi, opened her mouth, ready to bite down hard on the bloodied neck first. Instantly, Doyoon’s disappointed face flashed before her eyes. She remembered him saying he liked rabbits and would be sad if it died. A favor... he had definitely said it was a favor. He had said he wasn’t her master, that he was asking as an equal.

Bibi shouldn’t grant Doyoon’s favor. That would mean acknowledging that he wasn’t her master. It would be much more advantageous to eat the rabbit in front of her and then blame him for not giving her an order. Doyoon would immediately regret it and take on the role of master again.

Yes, she just had to eat it.

Bibi repeated to herself and opened her mouth wide again. The rabbit’s innocent eyes looked into her wide-open mouth. Her sharp fangs touched the neck of the creature, which was still twitching its nose innocently, unaware of anything.

Hah.

Bibi clamped down on the rabbit’s neck. Warm, soft flesh felt against her tongue. Now all she had to do was sink her fangs in. But this time, just before she fell asleep last night, Doyoon’s voice echoed in her ear.

“Lovers can do even more than this. But master and hunting dog can’t.”

Remembering yesterday made her heart sink. Her neck felt inexplicably hot. To do that act again... did Doyoon have to refuse being her master?

She stood at a crossroads of two choices. Bibi lightly gnawed on the rabbit’s neck for a long time, deep in thought. The rabbit wriggled as if urging her to decide quickly, adding to her frustration.

“Okay. I’ve decided.”

Bibi tightened her grip on the rabbit with both hands. Sensing the danger to its life, the creature’s struggles intensified.

“Wow. What is this?”

Doyoon returned around 8 PM. Before even taking off his coat, he checked the box and exclaimed in surprise. His eyes widened like moons, astonished by the unexpected result. Bibi looked down at Doyoon from where she sat on the refrigerator.

“It’s alive?”

Doyoon carefully took the rabbit out of the cage. The rabbit was completely fine. Except for the fur near its neck being wet and slightly matted, it was exactly as he had seen it in the morning. In fact, it was wriggling even more energetically.

Bibi, who had come down from the refrigerator unnoticed, stood beside him. Her eyes held an expectation of praise. But today, Doyoon had no intention of saying she had done well.

“Thank you. For granting my favor.”

He expressed his gratitude.

Bibi’s face showed bewilderment at the unexpected words. She had heard words of praise before, but this was the very first time she had heard “thank you.” That single, simple word pierced deep into her heart. Her decision had been something to be grateful for to someone. A feeling other than accomplishment surged within her. Perhaps a sense of certainty and pride in her own decision.

“It must have been hard. How did you endure it?”

Doyoon asked, stroking the rabbit.

“I played games on my phone.”

“Games?”

“Yeah. The one Doyoon bought me. There were games on it.”

Bibi showed him the game screen on her phone. While waiting for Doyoon, Bibi had debated hundreds of times whether or not to eat the rabbit.

Restless, she had a feeling she would do something she would regret if she couldn’t overcome the urge. She needed something to distract her, and she remembered the new phone. Bibi turned it on and clicked through various apps before discovering the game.

The game was simple. Various shapes and sizes of figures slowly descended from the top, stacking up on the bottom layer by layer.

She would select the placement with the arrow keys, and if she stacked them well, the perfectly aligned parts would disappear with cheerful music, and her score would increase. Its simplicity made it easy to play. Moreover, the exhilaration she felt when she fit a long piece through the blocks stacked to the top was indescribable.

Having become engrossed in the game, Bibi spent the entire day playing it until sunset. She even forgot about the rabbit in the box.

“Tetris? You played this all day?”

“The number went up this much.”

Bibi proudly showed him her high score at the top.

“...You might even get ranked?”

Doyoon’s eyebrows rose, as if this was more surprising than her not eating the rabbit.

“Did I do well?”

“That’s amazing. You got into the top 100 in just one day...”

Bibi was surprised. It was strange to have something she was incredibly good at besides hunting. Doyoon felt a strange emotion looking at such a Bibi. Given that she had no past memories and her awareness of being a hunting dog was quite strong, he had been assuming she had been brainwashed since childhood.

Such individuals had difficulty making their own decisions and didn’t follow anything other than commands. In fact, the reason he was surprised to see the rabbit alive when he returned home was because of that.

Bibi had more self-control than he had thought, and she had acted quite proactively to keep her “favor.” Tetris. He kept thinking she was cute, and she was becoming even cuter. And her score was this high. He chuckled softly. He had been laughing more often since meeting Bibi.

“Let’s keep practicing like today. Let’s keep enduring the thirst while taking iron supplements.”

Bibi made an uncertain face at Doyoon’s words.

“It’ll get easier as time goes on. If you build self-control, you won’t pounce like a hungry beast when unexpected things happen, and you’ll be able to handle the situation. It’s essential for adapting and blending into human society.”

Had vampires who grew up properly like Doyoon all trained this way? Bibi wanted to try it once, even if it was difficult. She had never even imagined living by blending into human society... Had she developed a fantasy about human life while watching television? A desire to mingle among them raised its head.

“Okay. I’ll try my best.”

Bibi nodded eagerly. Doyoon patted her shoulder encouragingly.

“Alright. Now tell me. Since you saved the rabbit, I’ll grant you what you want.”

“There is something I want...”

Bibi’s eyes sparkled.

“What is it?”

“...Do it for me.”

“Huh?”

“Kiss me.”

Doyoon dropped the phone he was holding, and it fell to the floor. He seemed slightly dazed.

“Do it the same way you did yesterday, Doyoon.”

Bibi’s face reddened as she made her request clearly.

“...I can’t. Yesterday was a special case.”

Doyoon rubbed his lips with a troubled expression. Bibi openly showed her disappointment. She wilted like a deflated balloon.

“It’s difficult for me. Let’s think of something else.”

Bibi couldn’t think of anything else. The kiss they had shared last night and the touch of Doyoon’s hand on her were as thrilling and wonderful as drinking blood. She had endured not eating the rabbit just for that one thing. He wouldn’t give her blood, wouldn’t kiss her. What was even allowed then?

Having all her desires blocked, Bibi felt upset. She pretended not to hear Doyoon trying to compromise by saying he had bought new desserts and went into her room, sulking in a corner. Heartlessly, Doyoon didn’t follow her to comfort her. Bibi swallowed her sorrow alone. Did she have to back down like this?

“No, no.”

Bibi had granted Doyoon’s favor. He had clearly said it wasn’t an order but a favor, so she deserved to receive a reward in return. A reward that mere pudding couldn’t satisfy.

Looking at the clock, it was 9 PM. About four hours until Doyoon fell asleep. She just had to wait.

As soon as it turned 1 AM, Bibi quietly slipped out of her room, just like yesterday, and headed to Doyoon’s bedroom. Her heart pounded as soon as she saw him sleeping defenselessly. She smelled the air in the room and quickly approached, but a blunt, low voice spoke.

“I knew you’d come.”

Doyoon’s eyes were open. Why wasn’t he asleep? Bibi deliberately wore an innocent expression.

“Are you going to keep barging into a man’s bedroom like this?”

“Yeah. I’m going to sleep next to Doyoon.”

In the darkness, she could see Doyoon’s face making a troubled expression. His skin, even whiter than during the day, and his deep eyes were incredibly alluring. Bibi felt saliva welling up in her mouth.

“Doyoon, I’m really just going to sleep.”

Afraid of being rejected, Bibi quickly approached the bed, took a spot in the corner, and lay down. She gripped the sheet tightly, afraid she might fall off if she tossed and turned even slightly. Doyoon sighed and moved over, giving her space. It was as good as permission to sleep together. Bibi quickly snuggled up to his side, pressing her body close.

“Doyoon, are you asleep?”

She spoke, looking at Doyoon’s firmly closed eyelids. There was no reply. Was he really asleep?

Bibi pressed her lips together and rolled her eyes around before slyly grabbing Doyoon’s hand and pulling it closer to her. The moment she tried to place his hand on her chest, he suddenly exerted force and pulled it away.

“You... your intentions are so obvious, so stop here.”

Doyoon finally became serious. In the past, when he made such an expression, it had scared her... but for some reason, she wasn’t afraid now. She knew Doyoon wouldn’t hurt her. He wasn’t truly angry.

“I’m just going to sleep while smelling Doyoon’s scent.”

“...Wouldn’t you rather just go back to your room?”

“If you don’t want me here, Doyoon, give me an order.”

“Huh. Weren’t you afraid of me...?”

Doyoon let out a dumbfounded sigh. Using the fact that he wasn’t her master in this way. This vampire knew how to make things difficult for a person.

Well, he didn’t dislike it. No, he actually liked it. It was as if someone who had been brainwashed like a machine was gradually regaining their own individuality and vitality. As Bibi became more like Bibi, Doyoon was falling more and more for her.

Did she even realize that he was gritting his teeth and pushing her away? Probably not. That’s why she was approaching him like this, like torture.

“Doyoon. You taught me how to kiss yesterday.”

“Yeah.”

“Can I try practicing it?”

“...Practice?”

Doyoon turned his head to look at Bibi. Her sparkling eyes and plump lips were as beautiful as a siren. She was so pretty he wanted to kiss her right away. It wasn’t just because of her looks; it was because he felt attracted to her that these impulses arose. Doyoon barely managed to regain the self-control he had almost lost.

“Doyoon, stay still.”

Before he could even answer, Bibi rushed towards him. She abruptly tried to press her lips against Doyoon’s. Because she was too hasty, their teeth clinked.

“I told you not to.”

Doyoon pushed Bibi away. But he wasn’t as cold as he had been just now. Rather, he was so dumbfounded that he chuckled.

“...How was it?”

Bibi asked with innocent eyes. How was it? Terribly bad. It was a really awful and clumsy kiss. What just happened could hardly be called a kiss; it was more like their mouths bumping into each other.

...But well, she was cute... and pretty. He didn’t dislike it. In fact, it aroused him even more. Enough that he barely managed to stop himself from wrapping his arms around her waist and lunging. Should he teach her how to do it properly again?

“...Hah... what’s there to teach?”

Not now, really. He couldn’t teach pleasure to someone who didn’t even know how to control her own emotions or distinguish between desire and affection yet. Honestly, yesterday... he had rationalized it and couldn’t resist. Today, he had to resist.

“Was it bad?”

“......”

“It was bad.”

Seeing Bibi’s disappointment, another fuse lit in his self-control. In the end, Doyoon couldn’t resist and fiercely kissed Bibi, taking off her robe. He overturned everything his reason had been telling him just now and started rationalizing again. He just wouldn’t go all the way. Yeah, if he gritted his teeth and just didn’t go all the way, wouldn’t that be okay?

Doyoon touched Bibi with his fingers, just like yesterday, and soothed his raging desires in the bathroom.