NAPE - 62

As night deepened, Bibi lay in bed, waiting for Doyoon. He had a habit of checking on her in the middle of the night to make sure she was sleeping well. Normally, she would have fallen asleep peacefully, but today she had something to ask, so she waited with wide-open eyes.

Around the time the clock hand pointed to the number one, the door clicked open as expected. Like Dracula coming to devour a sleeping maiden, Doyoon approached silently. Bibi felt the rustle of the blanket being pulled back and the slight dip of the mattress. She turned her head to look at Doyoon.

“Were you waiting for me?” he asked playfully, noticing she was awake.

“Yeah, I was.”

Doyoon, who was getting into bed, paused slightly at her honest answer.

“How exciting,” he said, one corner of his mouth curving upward. Doyoon stretched out his arm, pulled Bibi’s small body close, and inhaled her scent deeply. Bibi, in turn, breathed in his scent as well. She was so happy to see the vampire who had come to her in the middle of the night.

She wanted to discuss this feeling with him, but now wasn’t the time. Bibi had something to ask Doyoon.

“How old are you, Doyoon?”

“Hmm... I was born when the Vampire War was nearing its end, so I’m well over 200. Not quite 300 when rounded up.”

“You’ve lived a long time.”

“In this world, I’m still a rookie.”

“I’m the rookie. I don’t know anything. That’s why Doyoon can’t trust me with tasks...” Bibi sighed sadly.

“What are you talking about? Why do you think that?”

“I’m completely excluded from the work Doyoon is doing right now. I’m not complaining. It’s true that I’m not helpful...” Bibi listed her shortcomings without any change in tone. Doyoon, who had been listening quietly, let out a chuckle.

“Were you perhaps disappointed?”

“Yes. And I’m angry. At myself, for not being able to do anything.”

Doyoon tightened the arm he had around Bibi and gently swayed her, as if comforting her. “Bibi, I’m not asking for your help because I don’t trust you... How should I put it? I’m trying to court you, in a way. Showing off that I’m good at handling things.”

Courtship? Did he mean like how animals offer food and adorn themselves to win over a mate they like? Doyoon nodded, indicating that Bibi’s understanding was correct. Bibi couldn’t understand.

“But I... I like Doyoon.”

Now Bibi was certain. She liked him intensely. Doyoon didn’t need to win her favor separately.

“Yes. But I like you even more now. So I’m going to court you harder. I want to put revenge in your hands.”

“...Revenge?”

“We can’t compensate for the past, but I want to give you a chance to repay what was done to you.”

At this point, Bibi grew curious.

“Why do you care so much about what happened to me? Honestly, I... I don’t know if I want revenge on them or not...”

Of course, thinking about the past made her heart inexplicably race and her fists clench. But she wasn’t angry enough to go and directly repay them. To be honest, she was afraid of the trainer and her former masters. She never wanted to meet them again.

“I’m angry,” Doyoon said, his face shadowed. “I could guess what kind of life you’ve lived from your words and actions. Thinking about that...”

Doyoon swallowed his next words. He seemed calm, but his heart was beating faster. Bibi unknowingly squinted her eyes and smiled. Could it be so heartwarming for someone to be angry on her behalf? She truly felt that she wasn’t alone.

“And Bibi, don’t worry about anything. You don’t need to care whether you’re a descendant of the Servant family or anything else. You’re safe no matter what.”

Furthermore, he never tired of reassuring Bibi. Even the fact that she was from the Servant family, which had made her depressed for days, felt insignificant because of how reliable he was.

Come to think of it, had she ever thanked him? Bibi realized that she hadn’t shown Doyoon any gratitude. For awakening her to the truth when she was a hunting dog, for going out of his way to find her origins, for being so angry on her behalf...

Expressing it simply with words wasn’t enough. What should she do for him?

“Doyoon.”

Come to think of it, Doyoon endured his thirst every day with iron supplements, blood packs, and marijuana. Wouldn’t he be pleased if he could drink her blood, which was his natural food, to his heart’s content?

“Do you want to drink my blood?”

Bibi put her arms around Doyoon’s neck and snuggled closer. As she nestled deeply into his broad chest, his body stiffened. She could see his Adam’s apple bobbing intensely and the veins in his jaw tightening.

“You don’t have to hold back. Huh? Don’t hold back.”

Doyoon looked at Bibi with intense eyes and bit his lip. She could feel a strong, thumping heartbeat all over her body where they touched. Just a little more persuasion, and he seemed like he would give in...

“You’re still experiencing thirst, aren’t you? If you drink me, it’ll all be solved.”

“...That’s,”

“We like each other, don’t we? We clearly promised that if it became mutual, you would drink my blood.”

Bibi reminded him of their past promise and rubbed her face against his neck. The boiling heat from their touching bodies felt so good. Ahh. She truly wanted Doyoon to bite her and drink her blood.

“Later. Let’s do it later.”

Biting his lip, Doyoon barely managed to push Bibi away. Bibi made a face full of dissatisfaction. Seeing that, Doyoon smiled languidly and stroked her chin.

“I... I get a little violent when I drink blood. I don’t want to do that to you.”

Doyoon recalled Bibi’s appearance after being attacked by Choi Haejin. He never wanted to see Bibi hurt by anyone again. Moreover, hurting her with his own hands was absolutely out of the question.

“So you’ve drunk the blood of other vampires,” Bibi asked, and he readily nodded.

“...But I’ve never given my blood to anyone else. You’re the first person to ever drink me.”

He hadn’t intentionally saved it, but somehow Doyoon had never offered his neck to anyone else. Thinking about it now, it was fortunate. Bibi’s expression was softening.

“Bibi, there’s something I need to tell you. You’re probably going to be very surprised.”

“What is it?”

“I’ll tell you once everything is resolved.”

Doyoon laid the groundwork in advance so Bibi could prepare herself. Bibi wanted to press him to tell her immediately, but she decided to back down for now.

There was a time when she also kept her mouth shut and swallowed all her thoughts and information. At that time, Doyoon had waited for her without forcing her to speak. This time, it was her turn to wait.

“Alright, alright. It’s time for vampires to go into their coffins,” Bibi said, using an idiom she learned from Richard, as she moved away from Doyoon. Was it just her imagination? A sigh of relief escaped him.

“Tomorrow, go fishing with Namwon. Or hunting. Oh, but please avoid jumping between tree branches. Humans will be surprised if they see you.”

“Doyoon, you’re going to the charity event tomorrow, right?”

“Yes. I promised to pay Isabel for the information.”

“Can I go to the charity event too?”

“No. You can’t.”

Again, she couldn’t. It seemed Doyoon had more secrets now than when she was a hunting dog. Should she press him again? Bibi turned on her side and then decided against it. There must be a reason why he didn’t want her to come...

“Instead, you can explore the mansion as much as you like,” Doyoon said gently, tidying the hair on her forehead. “Oh, just don’t go to the basement. There are a lot of crows down there.”

With his warning, sleep soon overtook Bibi.

She woke up when the sun was high in the sky. Bibi immediately checked the spot next to her. Sure enough, the bed was empty. Doyoon was nowhere to be seen in the room. It seemed he had gone to the charity event alone after all.

Her hope that he might have changed his mind and taken her with him was dashed. Bibi pushed aside the surging wave of disappointment and went to the terrace window.

Looking out, she saw dozens of cars already lined up, crossing the garden. They were undoubtedly visitors attending the charity event. The people who got out of the cars all had a mysterious aura that made their nationality hard to pinpoint.

Without anyone telling her, Bibi knew they were vampires. And purebloods at that. This was the first time she had seen pureblood vampires other than Doyoon. They all looked strong and uniquely beautiful.

She wanted to see them up close, but they headed straight for the mansion’s basement stairs instead of the main entrance. Unless Bibi went there herself, she wouldn’t encounter them. Her chest felt tight. Bibi paced like a dog that needed to relieve itself, then headed to the room at the end of the second floor. Namwon was there.

“What brings you to my room? Want to go hunting?” Namwon, who had been cleaning his firearms, widened his eyes when Bibi suddenly burst in. Seeing the silver bullets on the table, Bibi felt the hairs on her body stand on end. She tiptoed carefully around the room and then hopped onto the top of a cabinet.

“Why are you cleaning weapons in a vampire mansion? You might get into serious trouble,” Bibi warned, but Namwon scoffed.

“So why did you come?”

“To ask something.”

“Oh, what do you want to ask?” Namwon looked slightly smug that Bibi wanted to ask him something.

“Doyoon is strange.”

“What, that’s anticlimactic. Hasn’t that guy always been strange?”

“No, it’s not like that. Something is subtly different.” Bibi made a frustrated face and clenched her fists.