NAPE - 34

Bibi felt heat rise to her cheeks. She shrugged nonchalantly and pretended to focus on the woman’s words again.

Her mood took an upward curve. It was strange. When she served her previous master, she hadn’t been so easily swayed by a single word. Was it because Doyoon was handsome and charming?

“Professor Kwon! I have a question about retirement next year.”

“Professor, do you have a moment?”

As Doyoon stood up after the academic seminar ended, people suddenly swarmed around him. An unusual scene even unfolded where some people formed a line. Everyone was eager to exchange even a single word with Doyoon. Mostly women.

Bibi stepped back to avoid the commotion. It seemed that choosing the turtleneck for Doyoon had been a wise decision after all.

“Bibi?”

A young woman’s voice called out in a place where her name shouldn’t have been spoken. Called by name, Bibi flinched in surprise. Turning her head, she saw a young woman whose age and nationality were difficult to guess, striding between the chairs. It was a familiar face. Bibi’s heart sank.

“Bibi, it really is you.”

Seeing Bibi’s agitated expression, the woman seemed convinced of her assumption and furrowed her brows in a look of emotion.

“It’s me. Choi Haejin. Don’t you remember?”

Of course, she remembered. Bibi remembered all of her previous masters’ faces. Choi Haejin was a master she had ended her relationship with about 20 years ago. The end hadn’t been good, so meeting her here like this was unexpected. Why was she even here? Bibi wanted to ask, but she couldn’t. She was a hunting dog, after all...

“It’s been about 20 years, and you don’t even say hello properly. Well, Bibi is a hunting dog, so she shouldn’t speak, right?”

The woman laughed as if she had read Bibi’s mind.

“I work here. I told you before, didn’t I? That I wanted to live normally among humans. I was also curious about schools. So I achieved my dream by becoming a school cleaner, even if it’s just that.”

Haejin smiled awkwardly. Bibi remained silent. Meeting Haejin again brought back all the principles she had forgotten. A hunting dog shouldn’t speak.

Especially when reunited with a former master, she shouldn’t react in any way. In any case, right now, a sense of bewilderment was choking her throat, preventing any sound from escaping.

Suddenly, Choi Haejin grabbed both of Bibi’s hands. Bibi was startled and took a step back.

“I often thought of you.”

It was only Bibi, the hunting dog, who felt awkward and uncomfortable with her former master. Haejin, who had been in a superior position, approached Bibi without any hesitation.

“Why is that? Is it because you’re more vampire than I am? Both externally and in hunting skills. Anyway... I’m glad I met you even now.”

Glad she met her? Why?

Bibi couldn’t hide her bewilderment. Haejin... Haejin had clearly... not liked her very much. When Bibi brought back hunted humans, she would scream in horror and order her to pour the blood into a wine glass. After drinking the blood, she would suddenly become furious, hitting and locking Bibi up.

“Disgusting. All vampires are disgusting. Especially you...! How can you hunt without any qualms? I told you not to bring back the weak, don’t you have any conscience? Are you cowardly only catching vulnerable old people? I’m sick of you! Send them back quickly!”

Living with Haejin for three years, Bibi had endured all sorts of insults and violence. Still, with her unique resilience, she didn’t make a sound and just focused on her tasks. Perhaps that made her even more displeasing, as the intensity of the violence increased over time.

Their cohabitation ended one day when it rained heavily. Without any warning, Haejin locked Bibi in a narrow iron cage and abruptly left. What Bibi found most unbearable wasn’t the harsh violence and insults, but being trapped in the narrow darkness, endlessly waiting for her master.

Hundreds, no, thousands of times, she would lift her head at the sound from outside the front door, thinking her master had returned, only to be disappointed.

The reason waiting was so painful was because when expectation and hope turned into disappointment, she felt like her body was sinking deep into the ground. She realized once more that she had been abandoned and painfully replayed her mistakes from the beginning, trying to figure out what she had done wrong.

After a long time, Bibi realized she was completely alone. From then on, she just wanted to go crazy. She desperately wished someone would reach out to her. It was an empty and terrible time, so much so that she even missed her trainer.

After Choi Haejin, Bibi tried even harder to please her masters. She always tried to prove that she was a useful being.

“I wanted to apologize. I think I projected my disgust for myself onto you. I’m sorry. For everything.”

Bibi hadn’t been able to shake off that time yet—no, she was still trapped inside it—but Haejin offered an apology as if she had attained enlightenment.

Her expression looked relieved. She seemed proud of overcoming her dark past and determined to add meaning to the present moment and move towards a brighter future.

Bibi looked at the hand Choi Haejin extended with sad eyes. A clean hand. Did she still not know how to hunt humans? Then where did she get her blood supply? Blood packs? Iron supplements?

“Do you resent me?”

As Bibi only looked at her hand, Haejin smiled strangely and tilted her head. Resentment? How could she? Bibi quickly shook her head.

“I see. You wouldn’t resent me, would you? Because you’re a hunting dog.”

“......”

“You’ll accept my apology, right?”

Bibi, who had been silent, slowly reached out and took her hand. She felt like she had become Haejin’s dog again. A heartless being who had to endure and accept everything her master gave her. A tool that existed like air and shouldn’t be obstructive. A biological machine used by vampires... that was her.

“Whose dog are you these days? If it’s okay, maybe again...”

“Bibi.”

Just as Haejin was about to suggest something, Doyoon, who had finished talking with the people, strode over. It was a situation where her former master and current master had encountered each other in one place. It was the first time this had happened, and Bibi was utterly bewildered.

“Oh my, hello, Professor.”

Haejin bowed to Doyoon first, acknowledging him. His eyes, which had been fixed on Bibi, slowly turned to Haejin.

“Ah, I’m... a cleaning staff member here in the auditorium. Choi Haejin is my name.”

Doyoon looked at Choi Haejin as if asking what she wanted and then looked at Bibi. Bibi stood there with her usual expressionless face, but something was dark. Just like when he had first found her.

“By the way, Professor, you know Bibi. That’s quite an unexpected connection. Bibi is a very useful friend. Isn’t that right?”

Haejin smiled as if testing the waters. She seemed very curious about the relationship between Doyoon and Bibi. No, to be precise, whether he was Bibi’s new master.

“Useful, huh... You talk about people as if they’re tools.”

However, Doyoon had no intention of falling for Choi Haejin’s petty tricks. He tilted his head askew, openly showing his displeasure.

“No, well, what I mean is...”

“Could you go clean up the rat droppings in front of the auditorium? That’s your usefulness, isn’t it?”

Doyoon smiled coldly. Haejin tried to say something more but turned away quietly. Doyoon put his hands in his pockets and stared blankly at Choi Haejin’s retreating figure.

“Was she your former master?”

“......”

Bibi didn’t answer. She herself didn’t know if she had become aware of being a hunting dog and returned to her former self, or if she was too surprised and flustered by the unexpected situation, or if she was keeping silent to protect a secret. She didn’t open her mouth until they left the auditorium and got into the car.

“Why did you clam up again?”

Doyoon, who had gotten into the car, stared intently at the silent Bibi. He looked like he had something he wanted to say.

“Do you still think of yourself as a hunting dog?”

“......”

“Are you okay with being treated like a tool all the time?”

“......”

“You’re not a pebble or trash lying on the side of the road. Someone treating you carelessly and like a dog is...”

The veins in Doyoon’s hand, which was holding the steering wheel, briefly stood out and then disappeared. Bibi felt that Doyoon’s emotions had become somewhat intense. She couldn’t understand it. It was someone else’s business, so why?

“It pissed me off. That woman treating you like an object.”

A wave of emotion spread through Bibi’s chest in an instant. It felt unfamiliar yet not unpleasant that Doyoon was angry on her behalf. It was as if he was taking her side.

“Think about what your trainer told you, even if it’s just a little. Consider what kind of treatment you actually deserve.”

With those words, Doyoon drove the car roughly.

________________________________________

The car didn’t head home. It drove endlessly on unfamiliar roads before stopping in front of a building standing in the middle of a mountain basin. The exterior looked ordinary, but the black windows tinted so you couldn’t see inside and the vines climbing high up the red bricks gave it an ominous feeling.

Where was this place?

She was curious, but she couldn’t ask as usual. Her throat had felt blocked since earlier, and no sound would come out. Moreover, seeing Doyoon’s strangely subdued mood, she couldn’t bring herself to open her mouth even more.

“This is the Vampire Hunter Association.” Doyoon said quietly.