Grace tried hard to break down the toilet door where Lucas was because Lucas did not respond to her repeated calls. Grace thought that Lucas might have fainted or even died on the spot.
Finally, the door opened after her body felt excruciating pain from repeatedly hitting it.
Grace was shocked to find Lucas curled up on the floor, with blood coming out of his mouth and nose. So stunned by the sight, Grace froze and couldn't speak, even though she desperately wanted to scream for help.
"Lucas, you…" Grace tried to snap out of it.
"Don't come closer!" Lucas said firmly, whom Grace thought was unconscious or dead.
Lucas lifted part of his body, breathing heavily. He had been enduring the pain for weeks because he was drinking his blood. That was his most fatal mistake.
"Go and don't tell anyone about this," Lucas tried to speak clearly so Grace would understand.
"But why?" Grace asked.
"Just follow my orders!"
Instead of obeying after being startled by Lucas, Grace approached him with full awareness, kneeling in front of Lucas and staring intently into his eyes. She showed her frustration at Lucas's stubbornness.
"I'll call an ambulance," she said.
"Don't..."
"Look at yourself, Lucas! You're sick. You don't have to care about the people around you, but don't hesitate to ask for help if you're in trouble!" Grace muttered angrily.
Lucas bent his legs, burying his face there so his eyes wouldn't look at Grace. He didn't want his body to move and attack Grace to relieve the pain. Grace's proximity to him was hazardous for her.
Grace's phone tried to connect several times, but it seemed to be malfunctioning as it kept failing.
With his blood-stained hands, Lucas grabbed Grace's hand, stopping her from seeking help. The medical team wouldn't help him because what Lucas needed wasn't medicine.
"I'm fine. I don't need an ambulance," Lucas said without lifting his head.
"What kind of situation would you consider very bad if you said you were fine now? You're being so stubborn!" Grace stood up, intending to call someone, but Lucas stopped her by pulling her back.
Lucas immediately closed the stall door and wedged it shut with his foot to prevent it from opening when he heard footsteps entering the bathroom.
"I think I heard a commotion from here earlier."
"Maybe you heard wrong."
Two people could be heard talking outside the toilet cubicle. Following Lucas's signal to remain silent, Grace covered her mouth tightly. Grace could have asked for help from the people who came at that time, but for some reason, she chose to obey Lucas, who told her to remain silent.
"Lucas, I can ask them for help," whispered Grace.
"I told you I'm fine." Lucas continued speaking while maintaining his poker face. He didn't want anyone else to know how bad his condition was.
"You could die from losing so much blood."
"That won't happen."
"Why don't you trust others?"
"Why do you want to help me so much?" Lucas replied.
Lucas's question silenced Grace for a moment, but it also made her mind race as she thought about how to answer his question.
Grace didn't know why she wanted to help Lucas, nor did she understand why she was so worried. They didn't communicate much and weren't even close, but Lucas, who was always alone and didn't talk much, had sparked Grace's curiosity to learn more about him.
Additionally, it might have been due to the kiss that had occurred earlier.
Unconsciously, Grace had become tied to Lucas.
"Go away. I don't need your help, Grace." Lucas let go of Grace's hand.
Lucas hit his chest several times, which still hurt. Again, something from his stomach felt like it was being pushed out. He held it back with all his strength because Grace was still there.
What was coming out would be blood, and that was extremely painful.
Lucas's energy hadn't weakened at all. It could be said that his energy was unstoppable, except when Lucas couldn't control it. He was just exhausted from feeling the extraordinary pain.
"What illness do you have?"
Lucas hit his forehead because Grace didn't understand the situation he had to deal with on his own.
"Why don't you understand and instead ask questions?!" Lucas snapped.
"I just want to know."
"You have no right to know that. We're not that close that you need to know so much about me!"
"We kissed, Lucas. Don't forget that!"
Now Lucas was silent. He didn't know Grace would bring that up again. Besides, Grace had seemed to dislike what Lucas did before, but now she was saying it as if she thought the kiss meant something.
Attacking and hurting anyone was a vampire's instinct that Lucas couldn't deny. He had tried to avoid anything that could hurt someone, but he couldn't. He could only reduce the number of people he hurt.
"After you hear me out, you can leave me alone. You can tell me how much you hate me and do whatever you want to me as long as you don't tell anyone else." Lucas leaned back.
Grace just listened, wanting to hear the rest of Lucas's words.
"I'm a vampire. Yeah, you can call me a murderer because I have to kill even though I don't want to. I've been holding back from drinking anyone's blood, and I drank my blood when you were bleeding from your nose that time." Lucas said it in a heavy voice.
Not wanting to hurt Grace, Lucas had no other choice but to speak honestly.
Grace was shocked by Lucas' confession. She remembered the creature she had seen when the incident occurred in her neighborhood. She had thought the vampire she saw was just a figment of her imagination.
But now it was standing before her in human form.
"I needed blood at that moment, and I drank my blood because I didn't want to hurt anyone. This is what happened." Lucas continued.
"I can't describe how much it hurts, but it's driving me crazy." Lucas looked up at the sky and laughed reluctantly.
With the pain he was feeling, Lucas couldn't possibly laugh. It would only be a dream for the rest of his life.
"Do you understand, Grace? Go before I put you in danger."
"How do I get rid of the pain?" Grace asked cautiously.
Lucas lowered his gaze, staring at Grace in disbelief. He knew Grace just wanted to know, but he was frustrated because he had to fight the growing urge to lash out at her.
"I have to have a sufficiently intimate relationship with a human."
"Why don't you just do it?"
"I'll only hurt that woman if she knows I'm doing it, not out of love."
As if drawn by a magnet, Grace moved her face closer to Lucas's and pressed her lips against his. Her eyes closed, signaling that she was surrendering herself to be the remedy for Lucas's pain.
Lucas's eyes widened in shock. He honestly didn't feel like he had tempted Grace into kissing him without hesitation.
A few moments later, Grace broke the kiss.
"I'll help you get rid of that pain. Let's do it," Grace whispered, lowering her head in embarrassment at saying it.
"Why do you want to do it with me?" Lucas asked, his hands reaching out to embrace Grace tightly.
Grace pushed Lucas away. "I don't know."
Despite knowing the terrible news that Lucas wasn't human, Grace acted as if she were insane, allowing Lucas to take her into the world of darkness by giving her body to him.