Eun Neugdae had a pretty mundane morning routine. It consisted of waking up, showering, eating breakfast and leaving the apartment to catch the bus to school. Today however the rather pleasant bus ride was being inconvenienced by a police blockade forcing traffic to one lane on a narrow road. The reason for this became apparent to him as the bus passed by what appeared to be a hastily set crime scene. Hasty in the sense that a group of officers were attempting to cordon off the area but a loose crowd of people had already formed directing their attention to the entrance of an alleyway where a tarp was placed over a corpse.
"Hey, no pictures!" shouted one of the officers to a student who quickly made himself scarce.
"She was attacked by a vampire wasn't she!?" shouted an older man all but demanding an explanation.
At that exclamation the murmurs in the bus became more pronounced and Neugdae scowled. A decade ago frequent and rampant attacks in Korea revealed the existence of vampires to the public and since then they have become an unfortunate fixture in the daily lives of every citizen. In recent months however it seems as if the vampire attacks have began to pick up to the point where the news was reporting an attack or sighting every day.
This however was the first time someone was killed this close to
his neighborhood and he did not like it one bit.
"That's my daughter!!" a woman shouted as she attempted to storm pass the officer to no avail
A scowl made its way to his face as he regarded the situation before the bus eventually moved on but his mind was still on the topic of vampires. Even after a decade no one really knew much about their origins. Debates are still being waged on whether or not vampires are the result of a viral infection developed in a lab or were actually a species that kept hidden until recently. The government has done well enough to keep their citizens informed and protected. Along with giving out lengthy PSAs about the dangers of vampires they have even installed early warning systems across the city that blare out sirens and an automated voice over.
Moving away from these thoughts things picked up afterwards in his class as most conversation was taken up by the the usual things talked about by students in their final year of university. Eun Neugdae is no different in this regard as his concern/annoyance at the possibility of dangerous vampires being in the next neighborhood over from his apartment was put on the backburner for the time being.
Having only come back to Korea a year ago Neugdae had to go through a lengthy process to prove his eligibility to transfer and complete his studies in Korea. It took a lot of work to get his grades above average and just thinking about what he went through had Neugdae wincing something fierce.
It wasn't just the studies that came to mind but other issues. Eun Neugdae is an introvert by nature who reveled in his solitude then throw in a love for videogames and otaku culture (anime, manga, webtoons, light novels, comic books etc) and you have a textbook definition of a nerd. Fortunately or unfortunately depending on how you look at it his 'nerdiness' is offset by his general appearance. Unlike the average Korean Neugdae was fairly tall for his age standing at over six feet tall with broad shoulders, a muscular build, short black hair and brown eyes.
He is also handsome and it is for this reason why despite not being a social butterfly not putting in an effort to make friends people approach him anyways. It's something he's been dealing with for most of his young adult life even overseas and because he spent so long outside the country people are even more curious about him. As it stood he could either adapt to the attention or ignore it and since he didn't want to come off as a bastard he chose to do the do former.
It was by no means a simple thing as it made go outside his comfort zone and many lessons were learned over the years but he believed he ultimately picked the right choice. Nowadays he has more or less mastered how to navigate the social stratum and has even come to enjoy some of the benefits. Case in point, today he was invited out to a restaurant bar by his classmates to celebrate…again.
There are so many reasons why this is a bad idea. It was in the middle of the week so they all had classes the next day meaning that it is ill advised to spend the night drinking alcohol and most importantly with the rise in vampire attacks lately making nights especially treacherous.
Everyone is aware of these factors, no one cared.
For Neugdae it definitely isn't the most productive way he could have used his time but damn if the stress of university wasn't getting to him. He usually loved to read books but he's been studying so much that the thought of reading words made him feel ill. He
needed to unwind and clearly he wasn't the only one to think this as the establishment was filled with more than his classmates. There were students from other years present, a couple of friends out on what appears to be a group date and a few salary men in the corner complaining about their jobs.
Neugdae was fully immersed in playing therapist to his peers and making genuine complaints in turn.
'This is fun' he decided after two hours with copious amounts of food and alcohol in his system.
Speaking of alcohol the group conversations were interrupted by an announcement "hey we're doing a game over here! Drinking contest, Jang vs. everyone at the table, loser has to pay the tab."
Neugdae couldn't help but snort at that blatant scam. Jang is a massive bear of a man with a barrel chest and bushy beard.
"Is he even Korean?"
'The better question is whether or not he's even human?' Neugdae thought as he counted
14 soju glasses stacked on top of each other at the side of his table
'damn!'
Neugdae didn't think there was anyone drunk or stupid enough to challenge Jang…or so he thought but just when no one seemed to be willing to participate in the farce a challenger made herself known.
"Jang-Sunbae!"
All eyes turned to one who spoke, a student from the first year who held up a full soju glass with a cocky smirk before draining the thing in one smooth motion as if it were water.
Then sitting herself at the other end of the table she spoke "challenge accepted~"
Naturally this mystery woman's brazen actions created an uproar amongst the students.
"Damn!"
"Is she crazy?"
"Jang-Sunbae is gonna take this no shot."
"Who is she?" Neugdae found himself asking.
"I know her she's Hwang Soyun, the cardinal girl" spoke someone beside him.
He wasn't the one to ask the obvious question "cardinal girl?"
"Because she used to literally greet everyone she meets, spinning round like a needle on a compass."
"That's weird."
'I think I heard about someone like that but I've never seen her before.'
Half an hour later and Jang collapsed on the table leaking from the mouth with swirls in his eyes leaving Soyun as the winner.
"How the hell did you drink all that!?"
'Good question' Neugdae thought with a frown as he nursed his own drink.
After that the previously unknown Soyun practically got swarmed by her peers and even a few impressed Sunbaes. Neugdae himself kept his distance and the night continued on as normal for another few hours until it was abruptly interrupted by the sound of a very loud siren blaring.
"That's the siren, let's go" someone
"Is it already eleven?"Someone from his table questioned.
Neugdae wasn't really paying attention to the time at all and a look at his phone confirmed his fear "yeah."
"Shit" pretty much summed up the feeling of everyone present.
Neugdae too since he wasn't really planning on staying out so late himself but he got distracted. The manager of the establishment came in and announced that they will be closing and kindly asked them to exit after paying the bill.
"Aw, I don't wanna leave yet~"
"Don't be an idiot."
"Craap why didn't you tell me it was so late, I'm never gonna make it to the bus home."
"You can stay over at my place."
"You have a spare toothbrush?"
"Have a safe trip~"
"Yeah see you tomorrow."
"Hey did you hear? There was a vampire attack on the freeway that caused a five car pileup."
"Oh my god!"
"I saw that-"
Neugdae let the myriad of conversations wash over him even as he said his farewell to his own compatriots for the night. His gaze was surreptitiously fixed on Soyun who appears to be attempting to leave incognito…and failing. Shaking his head slightly he approached her while also demonstrating true stealth since he appeared to have surprised her with his sudden appearance.
"Hey."
"Eep!" tensing the woman turned then had to tilt her head upwards to make eye contact "um…Sunbae?"
"Eun Neugdae" he introduced himself.
Her eyes widened in recognition "ah…I'm-"
"Soyun right?" he interrupted "I saw your match with Jang, impressive stuff. Pretty sure he's not going to hear the end of it losing to a Hubae one foot shorter and half his body weight."
"Hehe, yeah" she laughed bashfully.
"Do you live close by?"
That caught her off guard for a bit and to be honest he sounded a bit too forward but this was important.
"Huh?"
"Sorry, what I mean is allow me take you home."
"Um, a-are you sure? It's getting kinda late, it could be dangerous."
Neugdae raised an eyebrow and nodded "fair point" she seemed to visibly deflate "here's my counter. Who is more likely to be in danger between the two of us if we encounter any trouble?"
That took the wind out of her sails and as Soyun opened her mouth to retort she seemed to think better of it and instead said "if it's not too much trouble."
"Escorting a Hubae home can never be any trouble."
It also helped that Soyun is one of the prettier women he's met standing at roughly 5ft 6 inches with fair unblemished skin, lustrous brown hair tied into a ponytail, pink pouty lips and large brown doe eyes.
'If she dressed less conservatively she would be really popular.'
Not that Neugdae planned to make any moves on her. He is by no means a playboy plus he wasn't really interested in a relationship at the moment after his last one turned into a quintessential disaster.
Deciding to play it cool he changed the subject "so where did you say you lived again?" She gave him an answer and Neugdae couldn't help but voice "huh, that's a coincidence that's on the way to my apartment" he began with genuine surprise.
"It is?"
"Yeah" he gave her the street where he lived.
"Huh…that is a coincidence."
Was that suspicion he heard in her voice.
Later on as the two made it to the bus stop Soyun made a startling discovery.
"You accidentally spent all your bus money without realizing it?"
Soyun looked dejected as she nodded "yeees"
"Even though you had Jang pay for your tab?"
"He only paid for the rounds up to the drinking contest."
"You were going hard on those bottles" he chuckled a bit "I'm pretty sure a weaker person would have died from alcohol poisoning."
Soyun glanced away with a sweatdrop "don't remind me."
"Hey it's not like I'm any different" he shrugged at her questioning look "I wasn't really paying attention either and ended up burning through my budget."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
That's a lie he is much too careful with his spending to make a mistake like that but he only had enough for himself. He couldn't very well leave her alone plus it was worth it with how happy she looked at not being the only shortsighted person between the two of them. From that point on the conversation flowed a lot smoother between the two of them. Much to his surprise he found her company to be rather pleasant. This is one of the very rare conversations he's had with a girl without there being some weird sexual tension.
'This is not how I thought this would go' he thought but ultimately didn't mind.
A Bit Later…
"So you live in a church?" he mused.
"Actually I live in the orphanage next to the church."
"Wait it wouldn't be that same orphanage belonging to the crazy priest would it?"
"Crazy pri-are you talking about Father Joseph?"
"Yeah him."
"He's not crazy!"
He raised his hands up in surrender "sorry, it's just I've heard rumors about the guy."
Soyun's frown became pronounced "what kind of rumors?"
"Oh you know, that he used to be an enforcer for a foreign mob."
"Pfft wh-what?" Soyun sputtered.
"I take it that the gossip a few wives were circulating about someone from another neighborhood is wrong?"
"Yes! So wrong, Father Joseph isn't working for a mob."
Neugdae stared at her for a bit "he means a lot to you huh?"
At the question her expression softened into something wistful "Father Joseph took me in when I was wandering the streets as a homeless child. He saved my life" she spoke softly with a fondness that had Neugdae staring at her for a bit.
"So you live with Father Joseph by yourself?"
"I have two siblings."
"Really?"
"Yeah" she smiled fondly "they're both very energetic."
"Sounds exhausting."
"You have no idea but they keep the place lively" she smiled before looking to him "what about you?"
"I don't have any siblings and I live by myself."
"What about your parents?"
"My dad's back in America and my mom is …deceased."
"O-oh, I am so sorry."
"Its fine, it happened a long time ago."
An awkward silence ensued only to be interrupted by the sounds of sirens again. This time it is followed by an automated voice over the speakers announcing the commencement of the midnight curfew and urging everyone to come off the streets. With said announcement the general bustle from the few people still roaming the streets turned into a frenzy as they made more fervent attempts to leave the streets.
The duo even caught a few people chasing down a bus.
"Driver wait!"
"That's the last bus, hurry!"
Eventually the bus peeled out like a getaway car leaving the two young adults all alone in the middle of the night at a bus stop.
"It's times like these I wish I had a car" Neugdae mused.
Soyun did not share in his humor instead she was hyper-focused on the situation they found themselves in.
"Oh man it's
really late now" she spoke while increasing the pace of her walk.
She did have a point though
'I didn't even realize the time was going by so fast.'
"Time flies when you're having fun."
Soyun gave him a sideways look but averted her gaze forward when he matched it "y-yeah, I guess."
"Afraid Father Joseph will be mad?"
"Yeah that too but" and she looked around.
"Worried about vampires?"
"Aren't you?"
He shrugged "not really, I mean what are the chances-" he cut himself off with shake of his head "nope I'm not saying it."
"Saying what?"
"Something to tempt fate."
"Huh?"
Before he could speak again the sound of a voice interrupted their talk.
"You rat bastard!"
'No freaking way Neugdae thought with mild incredulity
'what are the chances?'
Right before them a man was suddenly thrown onto the ground from an alleyway. He looked like he'd seen better days with how ruffled and pale he was. Coming into view was another larger heavyset man wearing a black suit with a red shirt looking for all intents like a thug.
"So this is where you've been hiding! I told you I'd follow you to hell if it means getting the money you owe us."
"That guy…" he heard Soyun mutter but it was a muted thing as he stared not at the thug but at his victim.
"Please, I'm begging you. Just leave me alone" the man said lowly "it'll be better for the both of us."
The thug unheeding of his plea hoisted him up by the scruff of his shirt "you don't want any trouble?" he slammed his back against the wall "then gimme my money!"
"We should go" Neugdae whispered with urgency.
"Eh? Ah!"
Grabbing her hand Neugdae began pulling her away from the scene managing to cross the street before a horrible squelching noise reached their ears. It caused Soyun to halt in her tracks and gasp at what she was no doubt witnessing. Against his better judgment Neugdae looked across the street to find the previously helpless man's arm sticking through the thug's torso all the way through.
"I warned you" the man said dispassionately now having red eyes, pointed ears, fangs and his fingers ending in claw-like nails.
Soyun trembled next to him "v-v-vam-"
"Vampire" Neugdae finished with a groan before grabbing Soyun's hand and running "let's go!"
As he forced Soyun into a run the vampire took notice of their escape and quick as a gust of wind trailing before them he appeared with blood soaked arm and a smirk of euphoria causing the two to halt in their tracks.
"You both saw that" the man spoke licking some of the blood off his hand "for some reason I feel strangely excited by that."
Neugdae stood in front of Soyun his form practically shielding her from sight
'shit.'
"Where is it? Where is it!? I'm sure I brought it with me!" he heard Soyun mumble frantically while rifling through her book bag.
"What are you looking for? A cross? Garlic perhaps? Or maybe you have a taser or mace?" he chuckled "none of those work on us you know."
Neugdae held up a hand in warning as he addressed the vampire "we don't want any trouble."
"You saw me" the vampire muttered yet again "can't have witnesses."
At this Neugdae scowled lowering his hand to ball his fist "I think you should take your earlier advice and leave us alone" he threatened with a dark look "if you don't it'll end badly for you."
In response the vampire gave a fanged grin "oh really?"
Then as quick as a flash the vampire crossed the distance and backhanded him across the street causing Soyun to recoil and scream.
"Sunbae!"
For his part the vampire frowned for a bit as he looked at his hand but his attention was soon taken by the trembling form of Soyun and he regained his grin. Soyun backed away clutching her book bag as she looked about frantically
"Is anyone there!?"
No one answered and her gaze lingered on the prone form of Neugdae for a moment causing the grip on her bag to tighten.
"It looks like you're all alone now."
Soyun's back hit the wall as nervous sweat built up "you don't have to do this."
"Kukuku…" the vampire chuckled at her words before suddenly lashing out with a fist and breaking the wall beside him "do you see that!? With this power I can do whatever I want!"
And with that he lunged at her preparing to sink his fangs into her only to be halted by the feel of a vice grip around his throat.
"Agh!?" he choked in shocked confusion before it quickly turned to fear "y-you."
Hwang Soyun glared at him with eyes a deeper shade of red than his own containing vertical slits, ruby red lips and grey silver hair.
"You should have listened to Sunbae and left us alone" she growled with sharp fangs as she raised a pale hand tipped with red claw-like nails.
The vampire in her clutches scrambled with fear "w-wait!"
But it was too late and in the next moment her hand went through his head like wet tissue paper. Instead of viscera and brain matter sand was scattered instead as his body dissolved away leaving his clothes leaving Hwang Soyun the only one standing. For a moment Soyun could only rest her hands on her face and mentally curse before she remembered something
Turning away from the sand and discarded clothes Soyun turned to where Neugdae was sent flying earlier "Sunbae!"
"Sup?" is Neugdae's plain response as he stood there with one hand in his pocket and the other giving a small wave.
Seeing him unharmed the woman placed a hand to her chest and released a sigh of relief "thank god you're okay."
Neugdae stared at her for a moment before speaking "so…you're a vampire."
His words caused Soyun to visibly flinch with comical wide eyes "w-what?"
'Is she being serious right now?'
Glancing to the side Neugdae pointed at a glass window display that acted as a mirror in this instance.
Soyun turned towards it and "gurk!" she froze staring wide eyed at her reflection as if noticing for the first time.
'She is being serious' he thought with a deadpan.
Her gaze lowered to her clawed hands, running her tongue over her fangs and noticing the silver hair strands in her peripherals. The now ousted vampire then slowly turned to look at Neugdae who for his part regarded her with his lips pressed together and a contemplative expression on his face.
"…"
There was an awkward pause between the two of them and Neugdae could see Soyun's thoughts running a mile a second in her ruby red eyes with various emotions flashing over her expression. Tension began to build in the silence until finally Neugdae broke it spectacularly with his next words.
"For the record I-"
*Whoosh*
"Aaand she's gone" and in a literal blink too "great."
Then as looked at the mess both vampires caused including a rapidly cooling corpse and destroyed wall Neugdae couldn't help but pinch the bridge of his nose.
"This is why vampires are just so…ugh."
Then he too disappeared in a blink.
~To Be Continued~
