𝐵𝓁𝑒𝑒𝒹 𝐹𝑜𝓇 𝑀𝑒

𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 04

I had to skip lunch with my friends because the lady wouldn’t stop harassing me, so by the time I park in front of the HBC building, I’m starving. I consider stopping at the pizza place across the street, but at last I decide against it: curiosity beats the hell out of hunger, apparently.

As soon as I pass through the clinic’s door, the lady at the front desk —Lisa, right?—jumps up and strides toward me in big steps, her face contorted into an expression that screams

“uncomfortable but doing my best to hide it”.

“Thank you for coming here on such short notice” she says, almost out of breath. “How are you?”

“I’m fine, but I don’t think you should be the one asking questions” I point out, arching an eyebrow.
“Why am I here?” She quickly glances behind her back, suddenly tensing even more.

“Well… There’s been a situation.”

“You’ve already said that. On the phone.” I cross my arms, growing impatient. “What kind of situation are we talking about?” She doesn’t answer immediately: she looks down at her pointy, glimmering shoes, her shoulders trembling under the cream shirt.

“You need to know that we tried to avoid it, Miss Kang. We tried to withhold the information from him, but… bu—”

“Avoid what?” I cut her off, my voice louder than I had expected. “And who is him?”

“I believe Miss Binn is referring to me.”

My gaze shoots up, following the deep, rumbling sound of the voice. It belongs to the man standing in the middle of the lobby, occupying a space that not even two seconds ago was empty. Otherwise, I would have noticed him: he’s not exactly the type of person who flies under the radar. Dark suit, black, slicked back hair, irises of midnight… in contrast, his skin is extremely pale.

I know the moment I meet his gaze: he’s one of them. A vampire. But it doesn’t make sense: they don’t come out in broad daylight, never, not when doing so could lead them to their death. During the day vampires move across the city through underground passages, if they need to be somewhere, and usually the somewhere in question is a Night Building. The clinic definitely isn’t.

Somebody could accuse me of lying, when I say this, but I’m not: I’ve never seen one of them. The places where I study, work, and hang out aren’t popular among vampires. It’s not like I do it on purpose, I’m not trying to avoid them as many people do: I’m not scared of vampires.

But right now, my firm belief is shaking.

“Hello, Miss Kang. It’s nice meeting you, at last.” His voice is deep and runs like poison in my system, paralyzing me.

I can barely think, and all I’m able to think about at the moment is the possibility to flee the clinic. The thought he couldn’t follow me outside is comforting, and yet short-lasting: even now, he’s standing in broad daylight.
One ray of sunshine brushes over his forearms, exposed by his rolled-up sleeves. Running outside wouldn’t make a difference.

“Is she mute?” he asks, turning his head to face Lisa. “Or simply slow?” She takes a deep, trembling breath, her eyes darting between the two of us.

“Mr. Jeon, I—”

“Neither” I cut her off. “But surely, you’re very rude. Why am I here?”

“Miss Kang, as I told you on the phone, there’s been—”

“I believe I’m more than capable of explaining the situation myself.” Mr. Jeon’s voice is deep as a rumble of thunder.