NAPE - 7

Vampires were cursed by God. Bibi deeply empathized with that statement.

If a creature became so frail that it could no longer sustain life, death was the natural course for organic matter. Yet, only vampires continued to exist like inorganic matter. Unless fire completely obliterated their form or a hammer pulverized their bodies into dust, they stubbornly survived like cockroaches. And in such hideous states.

Bibi hated her current state—starved, ugly, and clinging to life. When she was first left alone here, she tried ramming herself against the windows and throwing furniture at the front door. But it was all useless. As if trapped within enormous bars, she was confined here, unable to move.

Growl.

Her stomach growled again today. She didn’t know how long it had been since she last drank blood. If there was a human in front of her, she could immediately pounce and tear at their neck.

She knew there was blood stored somewhere in this villa, but no matter how much she searched, she couldn’t find it. If not the refrigerator, then where could it be? Bibi withered away pathetically, like a plant that hadn’t been watered. With each passing day, even the strength to move disappeared.

Her vision spun, and she collapsed onto the floor with a thud. She even wished for a fire. That way, she could be extinguished without feeling the seemingly eternal hunger and isolation. This had happened before. When her owner had abandoned her… and when she had first met the trainer.

Would the trainer come looking for her this time too? Ah, she hadn’t wanted to long for him. But now, she missed him more than ever. However… the trainer didn’t know she was here.

Bibi could sense it instinctively. No one here would help her or take care of her. Bibi was utterly isolated in this world. She was in a state worse than that of a lowly ghost.

Bibi thought about the hunter named Kwon Doyoon. For the first time, she missed him. Unlike the other owners, he had consistently given her plenty of blood. Of course, there was the downside of him talking to her. Kwon Doyoon only asked her difficult things.

What her name was, if she was a pureblood, where she was born, who her trainer was, why she had become a hunting dog. Bibi couldn’t answer any of them.

There was a rule that she shouldn’t utter anything about the trainer, and words were human language. A hunting dog shouldn’t use them. If she accidentally let out even a single word, she might have to wear an electric shock collar around her neck again, like before.

But… but at this moment, her heart weakened. Bibi was so hungry. If she could get blood with just one word, she was willing to endure the electric shock collar.

However, she wouldn’t be able to say what he wanted to hear. Bibi had no memories of the past. The only thing she remembered was being with the trainer.

Even the strength to keep her eyes open was fading. Bibi lost consciousness on the cold floor.

________________________________________

There was quite a bit of work to do. It had been a month since Doyoon had returned to the villa. There was nothing to worry about. The hunting dog, that female vampire, would still be locked up in the villa. Occasionally receiving blood packs thrown by Namwon.

Judging by the fact that he hadn’t heard anything much from Namwon, she was probably still only hissing and not speaking human words. Alright, no need to waste time. Let’s take her to the lab.

Doyoon suppressed his annoyance and drove. He passed the nameless mountain behind Bansan Reservoir, where he had first found her, and approached the villa. The sun had already completely set. It was winter, so even though it was only five-thirty, it was pitch black all around.

The exotic two-story villa was enveloped in deep darkness, looking eerie. Doyoon took a deep breath of the cold air and entered the password at the front door, stepping inside. The villa, with the heating off, was as chilly as the outside temperature.

“Why isn’t the boiler on?”

Doyoon frowned. As a vampire, she wouldn’t freeze to death, but she would still feel the cold. No matter how much of a vampire she was, it was unsettling to see a female, a bitch, being abused and neglected.

He pressed the switch next to the front door, and a dim light illuminated the straight hallway. The villa was as quiet as a grave.

Only a cold silence flowed without any sign of life. In movies, this kind of stillness always foreshadowed something ominous. Working as a hunter, Doyoon had experienced it several times. Someone turned into a vampire hiding in the darkness and attacking, or a close colleague lying sprawled out as a corpse.

Of course, none of that posed a significant threat to Doyoon.

First, he needed to confirm the vampire’s location. Doyoon took out his gun and slowly searched the house. He checked the small room and bathroom first, then headed to the living room. As expected, there was nothing. The second floor? He took a deep breath and slowly climbed the stairs.

Creak.

A creaking sound, like the stairs of an abandoned house left unattended for a long time, echoed. Standing in the second-floor living room, Doyoon looked around.

This place was also unnecessarily quiet, just like the first floor. For some reason, it was even colder here than downstairs. The fact that his breath fogged in the air inside the house said it all. He even felt a little sorry for the vampire being alone in such a cold space. He reached out to the wall to turn on the light, but something caught his foot.

“Hmm?”

Looking down, Doyoon saw the vampire he was looking for, curled up in a ball and sprawled out. Cheeks deeply sunken and black as if darkness had congealed on them, a body frozen stiff. Hair that looked dry and brittle. She looked as good as dead.

Seeing this, he felt strangely deflated. Even though he had been sure she would be alive, he bent down and checked her breathing.

A faint breath, barely there, reached his ear. She was still alive, after all. Vampires didn’t die easily unless they were completely destroyed.

“Hey, wake up.”

Doyoon tapped the vampire’s shoulder with his fingertips. But she showed no reaction. The more he touched her, the more her head drooped like a withered flower, and her fragile breathing was as precarious as a flickering candle. Her small, thin fingers were stiff like those of a dead fish.

His mood soured. Abandoned alone in a cold, lifeless place on a desolate winter night. He felt a little sorry for her. Doyoon lifted the woman’s upper body into his arms.

Unlike when she would fiercely attack him with bared fangs even at the slightest approach, she yielded her entire body to the hunter. She hung limply like a rag doll, swaying back and forth. Was she out of her mind due to hunger and cold, or had she given up?

If left like this, she would die. She would definitely die. Not just from starvation and illness, but her soul would die. Would his heart have wavered less if she had begged him to save her?

Why had she been left like this? Utterly unable to understand, Doyoon immediately called Namwon.

• Oh, Senior, long time no see. What’s up?

A deep voice sounded nonchalantly.

“I’m at the villa now. About the vampire. Why is she in this state?”

• Huh? Is she… still at the villa?

Namwon coughed, sounding bewildered. Doyoon’s brow furrowed.

“Do you want to die? Don’t try to weasel out of this. I told you to take good care of her. Even though we decided to send her to the lab, you should have at least turned on the heat in the room and given her some blood packs.”

• …No, no, that’s not it… I thought when you said to take good care of her, you meant my wound, you know? And I thought you would deal with her quickly, so I let it go… I didn’t think it would take this long… I went to, you know, chase after the escaped one. I really thought you would handle it right away!

Namwon stammered. His ox-like face was flushed red with embarrassment as he flustered about.

With an irritated sigh, Doyoon pressed his palm to his forehead. So, this vampire had been left in the cold for a month without any blood. He wasn’t pleased. It felt like he had abused a small, weak animal.

• Actually, I got a separate room at the hospital that day, Senior. After that, I was so busy with work that I completely forgot.

Doyoon let out an irritated sigh and tossed his phone aside. He quickly got up, turned on the boiler, found a blood pack in the kimchi refrigerator in the storage room, and swiftly held it to the vampire’s lips.

However, the frozen blood wouldn’t flow, making it difficult to feed her. It would be better to tear open the bag completely, crush it into small pieces, and put them directly into her mouth.

Making a quick decision, Doyoon took out his pocketknife to cut open the plastic, but accidentally stabbed his palm.

“Ah, shit…”

With the pain, blood spurted from his palm. Doyoon muttered a curse under his breath and briefly placed the vampire and the blood pack on the floor before heading to the bathroom. Drops of blood he had shed as he moved formed a dotted line on the floor.

While Doyoon was staunching the bleeding, Bibi felt the warmth rising from the floor and slowly regained consciousness.

What… what is this?

Bibi took a deep breath of the scent floating in the air and groggily opened her eyes. It was a tempting scent of blood, enough to instantly pull her consciousness out of the deep slumber.

Swish, swish.

She heard the sound of water somewhere. Was someone in this house? It felt like no one had been here for twenty-five moonrises and moonsets.

More than that, she was terribly hungry. When her owners were around, she could at least drink a few mouthfuls of blood about once every fifteen days. Not having eaten anything for a whole month made her genuinely think it would be better to die.

“You’re awake.”

A familiar voice spoke.