NAPE - 89

Fire was still unfamiliar and terrifying. She just couldn’t get used to it. Helplessly, she stood as far away from the barbecue pit as possible, trying not to look at the glowing red heat.

Still, she had gotten much better compared to before. In the past, she would have shrieked and darted away already. Now, she probably just looked like an ordinary person afraid of fire.

“Here, I’ll bring it to you. Eat.”

Doyoon personally carried the cut meat to Bibi, who was standing far away. He didn’t force her to come closer to the table.

The Association Head, looking at Doyoon and Bibi with a puzzled expression, went over to Namwon, offering to cut the meat herself. As she was cutting the meat with large scissors, she accidentally let go of the handle and almost dropped them.

“Oh, just barely saved it. Ouch!”

She let out a short yelp, having gripped the blades of the scissors with her hand. It seemed her finger had grazed a sharp part.

“Ow. It’s bleeding. Why are these blades so sharp?”

A faint smell of blood permeated the smoke. Bibi’s eyes widened, and she licked her lips, but she didn’t feel much appetite. Her true “food” was right beside her; there was no way her eyes would wander to anything else. But... Namwon was a different story.

“Damn it.”

Doyoon dropped the plate he was holding and rushed towards Namwon. Namwon’s pupils were greatly dilated. He looked as if he wanted to bite off the Association Head’s finger right then and there. For him, a recently turned vampire who was still adapting to iron supplements and blood packs, human fresh blood was a powerful stimulus.

Doyoon reached Namwon, who had bared his fangs, and raised his hand, slapping Namwon hard across the cheek. A sharp, stinging sound echoed loudly in the air.

“Lee Namwon. Snap out of it.”

Doyoon said in a stern voice.

“...Ah. Right.”

“Go inside.”

Namwon, who had been standing there with a dazed expression, belatedly nodded and scurried into the house. The Association Head looked at Namwon and Doyoon with a bewildered expression, not understanding what was happening.

“What’s wrong with you two?”

“Namwon burned the meat.”

Doyoon casually brushed her off with an annoyed expression.

“You slapped your junior for burning a little meat? Are you crazy?”

“Don’t you know burnt meat is bad for you? It’s a carcinogen. Attempted murder.”

The Association Head, unaware of the situation, looked dumbfounded. In her eyes, Doyoon seemed like a lunatic who would hit someone for burning a bit of meat, calling it attempted murder. The atmosphere plummeted. Bibi approached the Association Head and examined the wound on her hand. At this rate... it would heal quickly, and Namwon would calm down and be able to come out soon.

“Oh. It’s okay. It’s not badly hurt.”

The Association Head mistakenly thought Bibi was worried about her and laughed dismissively. She continued to gaze at Bibi’s face curiously, then smiled faintly.

“But are your eyes contacts? Aren’t they uncomfortable?”

“They’re not uncomfortable. Sir.”

“I see. Are you mixed-blood? Your way of speaking is unique.”

“My mother is British. Sir.”

“Hmm, no wonder. I thought your aura was unique. Almost like a vampire. Haha, just kidding. That can’t be true. If it were, you would have lunged to drink the blood from my hand right away.”

“...”

“Oh, I’ll show you something fun. I brought this.”

The Association Head pulled a long wire from her pocket. As Bibi looked puzzled, Doyoon, who had been tidying the barbecue pit, turned around.

“If you do that...!”

Before Doyoon could finish his sentence, the Association Head lit a lighter and touched it to the end of the wire. And then...

Sizzle!

“Kyaak! Ae-oh-woo!”

Startled by the sudden sparks that erupted before her eyes, Bibi jumped and shrieked. After falling on her bottom once, Bibi frantically scrambled to find a place to escape. Doyoon quickly approached, extending his arm to shield her head. Bibi trembled and gasped.

“What, why... why is she like that? Has she never seen fireworks before?”

The equally startled Association Head blinked and tilted her head. Doyoon, holding Bibi, frowned.

“Why on earth did you bring something like that?”

“It’s a party. The mood was a bit down... I just...”

“Put it away. She’s afraid of fire.”

“So that’s why she was standing far away during the barbecue earlier...”

A scrutinizing gaze fell over Bibi’s head. Bibi looked at the sparks in the Association Head’s hand with a pathetic expression. They emitted star-like fire in all directions and slowly died down.

“Your lover is peculiar. She’s like a wild animal...”

The Association Head, with an embarrassed expression, dropped the extinguished sparkler onto the ground and covered it with dirt. Only after confirming the sparks were gone did Bibi feel safe enough to emerge from Doyoon’s embrace.

“Are you okay? I won’t do it again.”

The Association Head approached with an apologetic look. But Bibi now disliked her. She narrowed her eyes and quickly distanced herself, sending a silent warning not to come closer.

“Why are there no normal people here...”

The Association Head couldn’t hide her exasperation. This was the messiest barbecue she had ever experienced. Namwon had suddenly been slapped and disappeared for burning meat, Doyoon was hitting someone like a madman, claiming burnt meat was attempted murder, and his lover acted like a wild animal just seeing fire. With a dumbfounded expression, she emptied her remaining wine and called a taxi.

“Oh, Kwon Doyoon. You’ll have to go to Thailand soon.”

Just before stepping out the gate, the Association Head raised an eyebrow and turned to Doyoon, who was seeing her off.

“I don’t want to.”

“We’ve received reports that a group of half-blood vampires is forming a force and running wild there.”

“Why send high-value personnel like me there?”

“It’s a matter that needs to be handled decisively. Hmm... That trainer you dealt with in London, you know? It seems his pack of hunting dogs has flowed into Thailand. And strangely, they’re causing trouble there with some kind of drug? They’re supposedly developing something that can kill pure-blood vampires.”

Doyoon, who had been about to flatly refuse, paused and rolled his eyes. The trainer’s hunting dogs, the drug he was making. He had been secretly investigating that, and now it was in Thailand? And for the Association Head to receive a report first? What was going on?

“I’ll send you the details by email. Decide after you read it. I’m leaving now.”

The Association Head left without a trace of regret, as if her duty was done. Doyoon returned to the garden with a troubled expression. Bibi, who had been examining the remnants of the sparkler on the ground and sniffing, looked up. Having been listening intently, she had heard everything the Association Head said. She instantly understood what he was worried about.

“Take me too, Doyoon.”

“...Bibi.”

“Take me. Please take me. Don’t leave me behind.”

Bibi stood up abruptly, looking anxious and pleading, and Doyoon readily nodded.

“Alright. I won’t leave you alone. Let’s go together.”

“Really? You promise?”

“Instead, you’ll have to undergo hunter training. Can you do it? You’ll have to handle hunter guns too.”

“That... I’ll, I’ll try. I’m used to training.”

At Bibi’s words, Doyoon smiled with a frown. He found Bibi, who spoke so confidently, cute and admirable, but also felt a pang of pity and sadness.

“Haa. I wish you wouldn’t get involved in complicated things and just live leisurely, spending my money and playing.”

Doyoon sighed heavily and embraced Bibi.

“You sound just like Isabel.”

“I can’t help it, my little Kkul-beol. Because I cherish and love you.”

Bibi joyfully wrapped her arms around Doyoon’s neck. Despite the lingering smell of burnt meat, a very fragrant and delicious body scent emanated from his neck.

“Rather than living leisurely, I want to live side by side with you, my honey.”

At the word “honey,” Doyoon’s face flushed intensely. A heavy sensation settled in his lower core, where their bodies met. He lowered his eyes and lightly licked Bibi’s earlobe.

“Before we do something nice at home... shall we drink some blood first?”

“Okay.”

Without another word, they offered their necks to each other. Sharp fangs pierced delicate skin, and warm, sweet blood flowed down their throats.

With every gulp, their entire bodies thrilled ecstatically. At the same time, they felt the pleasure of their own blood leaving their bodies and entering their partner’s lips. Bibi gasped and hugged Doyoon more deeply.

“Haa...”

Doyoon also let out a shallow moan, gripping the back of Bibi’s head and pulling her closer. He could feel his center swelling as if it would burst. He wanted to rip off their clothes and roll around right there, but he had to hold back since they were at Namwon’s house.

“From now on, blood will be spilled on every path we walk together. But don’t worry. You are a vampire, and I’ll let you drink it all.”

A low, dizzying voice whispered into Bibi’s ear.

In the heart of Seoul, bustling with tens of millions of humans. The dazzling nightscape brightly illuminated the night. In this incredibly realistic world, the two vampires bared their fangs and drank blood to their hearts’ content, ready to step out of the shadow world.

<Continues in Side Story>