Rain fell in a gentle hush over Seoul, tapping against the tall windows of the elite university library like a melody only two hearts could understand.
Yoon Ji-Ho sat curled in the corner of the dimly lit room, his worn hoodie pulled up, trying to disappear between the bookshelves. He wasn't studying. Not really. His eyes scanned the same page for the third time, unable to focus.
Han Seung-Woo had found him.
After their strange first night and Ji-Ho's panic-driven escape, Seung-Woo hadn't stopped looking. Ji-Ho didn't know how, but the vampire had managed to enroll him into this prestigious university. His part-time job had mysteriously upgraded. His tuition suddenly paid. Every time he looked over his shoulder, he saw red wine-colored eyes watching from a distance.
And now… he was here.
"Still hiding, my little fox?" came a smooth voice behind him.
Ji-Ho jumped, spinning in his seat. Seung-Woo stood there, not in a suit this time, but in a black turtleneck and coat, hair slightly tousled from the rain. He looked dangerously beautiful—like temptation in human form.
Ji-Ho scowled. "Stop calling me that."
Seung-Woo smirked, stepping closer. "Then stop running."
"I didn't ask you to—do all this," Ji-Ho said quietly. "Pay for my school. Interfere in my life."
"You're right," Seung-Woo replied, his voice softening. "But you didn't say no, either. Not that night."
Ji-Ho flushed. "I was drunk."
"And yet," Seung-Woo leaned in, brushing a raindrop from Ji-Ho's cheek, "you said yes to marrying me."
Silence fell between them. Ji-Ho's heartbeat thundered in his chest. Seung-Woo was close enough for Ji-Ho to smell the faint scent of cedar and something deeper—like old books and blood.
"You scare me," Ji-Ho whispered honestly.
"I scare myself when I'm near you," Seung-Woo replied. "But I've waited lifetimes for someone who made me feel this alive again."
The vampire's voice trembled slightly, a rare vulnerability lacing his words.
Ji-Ho blinked. "Lifetimes?"
Seung-Woo took his hand gently, and Ji-Ho didn't pull away this time. "There's something about your blood. Your soul. I recognized it the moment I saw you. You… you're not just any human. You're mine."
Ji-Ho stared at their intertwined fingers, his mind swimming. The logical part of him screamed to break away. But his heart—foolish and curious—stayed.
"Why me?" he asked.
Seung-Woo lowered his gaze. "Because you smell like moonlight and sorrow. Because I dreamt of you centuries ago. And because when you smile, even the hunger inside me quiets."
It was insane. Completely. But something about the way Seung-Woo said it, like a confession sealed in time, made Ji-Ho's chest ache.
"I still don't trust you," Ji-Ho murmured.
"I don't need your trust right now," Seung-Woo said. "Just a chance."
Ji-Ho hesitated, then finally nodded. "One chance."
A slow smile curved Seung-Woo's lips, but this time, it wasn't his usual smirk. It was softer. Grateful. Almost… human.
Outside, the rain stopped. The moon peeked through the clouds, bathing them in silver.
Seung-Woo offered his hand. "Walk with me?"
Ji-Ho bit his lip, then slipped his fingers into Seung-Woo's. His warmth—unnatural, eternal—wrapped around him like a promise.
As they stepped outside into the glistening courtyard, the world felt quieter. Closer. Ji-Ho glanced up at the taller man beside him, wondering if he'd just made the biggest mistake of his life—or something far more dangerous.
Neither spoke for a while. They simply walked.
Then Seung-Woo stopped under a flowering cherry blossom tree, even though it wasn't spring. The petals shimmered strangely, as if time bent around him.
"What is this place?" Ji-Ho asked.
"A memory," Seung-Woo replied. "One I've kept alive."
The tree was his creation—an old magic, tethered to love long forgotten. But now it blossomed again.
"For you," Seung-Woo said.
Ji-Ho looked at him, really looked. The vampire's eyes weren't just red—they were wounded. Lonely. Longing.
And Ji-Ho realized something.
He wasn't the only one scared.
"Thank you," Ji-Ho said softly.
Seung-Woo leaned closer. "May I?"
Ji-Ho hesitated—then nodded.
Their lips met under moonlight and magic. Gentle. Slow. Like the beginning of something neither fully understood.
But it was real.
And it was theirs.