NAPE - 87

Namwon packed his bags and left as soon as he managed to control his vampire thirst. He even swore that he’d cook his own intestines if he ever had to live with Kwon Doyoon again.

“No, how well have I looked after those rabbits, and how much more do I have to do? What about her not eating her food, are you going to nag me about that too? The three of you can eat and live well on your own! Besides, I’d rather live out my natural lifespan and die without consuming that strange poison or whatever!”

Doyoon was dumbfounded by his junior’s rebellion. To extend their lifespan, ordinary or half-blood vampires had to drink pure-blood vampire blood, or the poison that only came from their fangs, once a month.

He’d kindly taken out a wine glass, spit in it, and mixed it with a drink, and Namwon was horrified. If it had been the servants in London, they would have knelt, bowed, and savored every sip. Who decided he was going to live out his natural lifespan and die? Since things had come to this, they might as well stick together to the end.

Anyway, that was a problem for later. Since he was finally alone with Bibi again, he needed to make up for all the little things they’d done cautiously before. Doyoon was immensely pleased at the thought of being alone with her.

Now, life before he met Bibi was unimaginable. He felt as if he had been reborn. Ah, how political, boring, and dry his old life had been. He knew pleasure, but not passion, nor the joy of affection and devotion.

His main purpose in life had simply been to consume and seek stimulation. It was like filling an empty jar with water. The feeling of fun and joy was fleeting; once the stimulation that filled him drained away, his emotions evaporated instantly.

Thus, he suffered from chronic meaninglessness and emptiness. He didn’t wish for death, but he did think an endless life could be boring.

Vampire assimilation into human society was an aberration for him. He secretly hoped that if he used the possibility of vampire extinction to create change, something would be different. He thought that escaping the stagnant vampire world would finally end this feeling of being trapped in life.

At an unexpected moment, Bibi, who appeared before him, was pitiful and touched his heart. Thinking about it now, that was the beginning. Paying a little more attention to Bibi, being more generous with her actions, and the small things like laughing loudly at anything she did, took root in his barren land and bloomed. Every moment with Bibi was joyful and vibrant.

The fact that they had compatible tastes in food, and that only she could lower his aggression, made Doyoon feel it was fate. He loved his lover, who no one could replace, so very much.

“Bibi, I’m here.”

Doyoon, having finished moving Namwon’s belongings to his new apartment, quickly returned to their shared home. Contrary to his expectations, an empty void greeted Doyoon. Bibi had definitely been there when he left... She must have gone somewhere alone in the meantime. Doyoon let out a self-mocking laugh and placed the bouquet in his hand into a glass vase.

Lately, Bibi had been going out alone more often. When he asked her what she was doing outside, she wouldn’t answer properly. Come to think of it, she had been keeping a lot of secrets from him lately.

She made a separate account for their shared Net*flix and set a password (her watch list was full of anime), put a safe in her room, and plastered numerous vocational school pamphlets on one of her walls.

It was true that he was both surprised and secretly a little disappointed by the changes in his lover, who used to follow him around like a puppy. He wished she would at least share what she was thinking. Would she consider it meddling if he grilled her with questions? He didn’t want to make her feel pressured...

Lost in thought, Doyoon tidied the house and took steak out of the refrigerator to defrost. He prepared the finest wine and even lit candles on the dining table. He expected Bibi to be back before dinner.

“I’m home!”

However, Bibi returned around nine in the evening. Doyoon, who had been idly watching the melted candle wax clinging to the candlestick, stood up and smiled warmly.

“Are you hungry? Wait. I’ll grill it for you right away.”

“I already ate. You eat, Doyoon.”

As he was about to grill the steak, Bibi widened her eyes and shook her head.

“You ate?”

“Yes.”

“What did you eat?”

“Tonkatsu.”

“You ate something delicious. But I waited because I wanted to eat with you, Bibi.”

“Huh?”

“Leaving your lover alone on a Friday night.”

Doyoon feigned a sad expression. He had never acted coy before, but he deliberately swayed and lay down on the sofa. Bibi rushed over with a surprised expression. Barely suppressing a mischievous smile that threatened to appear, he continued to speak in a somber tone.

“Namwon’s moved out, so I thought we’d have some rare time alone, and I set the mood. But... when I came back, there was no one. I had such high hopes. I even bought that bouquet over there.”

“I didn’t know there was such a rule for Fridays... Are you disappointed, Doyoon?”

“I was a little lonely.”

“I didn’t know Doyoon felt things like that too! I didn’t mean for this to happen!”

Bibi, flustered and unsure what to do, clung to Doyoon’s back. Poor Doyoon. She truly hadn’t known he felt such emotions. He seemed like the type who would leisurely enjoy life even if the world and humanity were destroyed. But to feel lonely, and because of her, of all people!

Guilt washed over her. Bibi couldn’t see Doyoon’s cunning eyes and fidgeted nervously. Watching Bibi, Doyoon barely suppressed a burst of laughter. He straightened his lips and lifted his head.

“You’ve been going out a lot without me lately, and I’m curious what you’re doing. I’m not trying to meddle. Can you tell me?”

Silence hung for a long time. Doyoon quietly watched the hesitant Bibi. Bibi, debating what to say, slowly sat back against the sofa and, with difficulty, began to speak.

“So... I never had the concept of freedom, right?... Doing things on my own was impossible. Going to a cafe to drink coffee, driving a car by myself to go somewhere, all of it felt unreal. Things that are easy and simple for others are so incredibly special to me.”

“...”

“So I wanted to adapt. I wanted those things to feel normal to me too. And by doing that, I want to quickly erase the traces the trainer left on me. Because of that, I left Doyoon alone. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have left you lonely...”

So that was what she was feeling. Doyoon, who had been sulking, felt his heart melt. He sat up and looked down at Bibi. Bibi’s dejected appearance was pitiful and beautiful.

...The original plan had been to shed all their clothes and fully entwine in pursuit of pleasure, but hearing Bibi’s true feelings was more interesting. He lowered himself and sat beside Bibi.

“Bibi, I understand how you feel. But I wish you’d include me a little too. I’ve been a bit hurt lately, feeling like you’re keeping secrets from me.”

“...I’m going to have my private life too.”

Bibi, whom he expected to agree, looked defiant.

“Huh?”

“Doyoon, you did that in London too. You kept a lot of things from me...”

Bibi now knew how to cunningly play mind games. Aside from adapting to human society, she had also put a lot of thought into her relationship with Doyoon. She had kept in mind the things Doyoon had kept secret from her, the parts of his past he had hidden. So, she decided to create her own secrets too. Her intention was to exchange them one by one for Doyoon’s secrets when necessary.

“Honey?”

In this situation, Doyoon was fixated on a different word. Honey, huh... that’s alluring.

“Bibi, do you know? Lovers need terms of endearment.”

“Terms of endearment?”

“Yes. Calling each other by your preferred terms makes your relationship closer. Humans all do that.”

Bibi’s eyes sparkled at the interesting fact.

“What do you want me to call you, Doyoon?”

“Honey.”

Bibi nodded with an “I see” expression.

“Do you have a term of endearment you want to hear, Bibi?”

She looked like she was about to say something, then closed her mouth. Bibi’s face immediately turned red. So there was one. Doyoon, noticing this, asked actively.

“What is it?”

“It’s... No, it’s nothing.”

“Tell me, I’m curious.”

With repeated requests, Bibi reluctantly decided to tell him.

“Kkul.”

“Kkul?”

“Yes.”

Why ‘Kkul’ all of a sudden? Doyoon tilted his head in confusion. Then Bibi added an explanation.

“In movies, they all call each other that...”

“Ah, ah.”

He finally understood. Bibi, who had recently been watching foreign movies and dramas without subtitles, seemed to have directly translated the word ‘honey’.

“Should I call you ‘honey’?”

“Not ‘honey’, I like ‘Kkul’. The meaning has to be clearly heard in Korean.”

Bibi thought ‘honey’, or ‘Kkul’, was a very romantic and good term of endearment. To call her beloved with a sweet word. It truly conveyed affection. If someone called her that, she, who had only been a hunting dog, would feel shy but also incredibly happy.

Since this was Korea, she wanted to be called by a word that was accurately translated in Korean.

“Okay... I’ll call you ‘Kkul’.”

Doyoon chuckled and nodded. If she wanted it, there was nothing he could do. However, just ‘Kkul’ didn’t sound quite right, so he planned to add other words after it. Like ‘Kkul-beol’ (honeybee), ‘Kkul-boksoonga’ (honey peach), etc.

“By the way, you’ve been collecting various pamphlets lately. Is there something specific you want to do?”

Since Bibi was honestly sharing her recent thoughts, Doyoon asked her more of what he was curious about.