A new world. There was a time when the girl needed and desperately wanted such a thing.
At that time, where was Im Se-yun and what was he doing? Why appear now and trample her wish so mercilessly?
"What kind of world are you giving me? A world where I suck human blood and only go around at night?"
The girl was displeased by Se-yun, who let out a deep sigh and looked at her with a pitying gaze.
"I have no intention of being pitied."
"I'm not pitying you. We never harm humans or suck their blood."
Even hearing those words, the girl's anger-filled voice did not diminish.
"You don't drink blood?"
"That's right. We mainly drink alcohol or beverages. We do drink blood packs, but it's extremely limited."
"So you do drink it."
"...I know you feel repulsed by the act of drinking blood. But it's for survival, and drinking blood packs is a rare occurrence."
The cold wind scatters her hair. However, it had no effect on the girl, who didn't feel the cold at all.
"I have no interest whatsoever in the world you say you'll give me."
"You should have had friends, which you deserved. And people to replace your family, too."
The girl wears a bitter smile.
"You're telling me to find happiness in a pseudo-family? Vampires are going to be my pseudo-family? Will the satisfaction gained from fakes truly heal me?"
Se-yun, casting his gaze down, shakes his head.
"They aren't non-existent characters from a movie. They will actually be by your side, and they will spend a long time with you."
The girl wasn't interested, so she wasn't listening properly. Her interest turned in another direction.
"Since when have you been stalking me? Why me, of all people?"
He suddenly felt the urge to tidy up the girl's hair, which was fluttering wildly in the wind. But instead of tidying her hair, he answered the question.
"If you say you will accept your life as a vampire, I'll tell you then."
"Tell me now."
"For now, calming your agitation and accepting your destiny comes first."
Chewing on every single syllable, the girl spoke.
"Right, my destiny of becoming a bloodsucker."
Something flashes through the girl's mind. A psik (chuckle) grazes her lips. The girl continued.
"A bloodsucker, huh, that's great. It's become even easier to die. I just have to run out into the sunlight. I'll turn to dust right away."
Horror covers Se-yun's face. Strangely, his fear was transmitted to the girl as if it were a contagious disease.
"You'll go out into the sunlight, you say? Do you know what that's like? Do you think you just turn to ash and disappear in an instant like in the movies or comics? No."
Se-yun takes a step closer and places both hands on the girl's shoulders. For some reason, the girl couldn't refuse it.
"The moment the sunlight touches your skin, it's agonizing, as if your skin is on fire. And it takes 10 minutes for your body to burn up completely. The sunlight will melt your flesh with fire until you die."
A vision of hell unfolded before the girl's eyes. She no longer wanted to die like that.
"There must be a way to die."
Se-yun, who removed his hands from her shoulders, stepped back slightly.
"The ways for a vampire to die are: getting beheaded, having their heart pierced, burning to death, or dying in the sunlight. These four. Among them, which do you intend to choose?"
There was nothing worth attempting. Taking pills and cutting her wrist belonged to the milder side of things.
"Just let me... die. You rotten bastard."
Se-yun, who was cursed at, crossed his arms and said to the girl.
"Go inside and rest. You're probably tired right now. Vampires have strong physical abilities, but their mentals tend to be weak. They're vulnerable to stress."
"I still have things to ask."
"Whatever it is, say it tomorrow. You need to rest."
Saying that, Se-yun turned his back.
"Tell me everything before you go. Just why did you save me? Since when have you been stalking me!"
Se-yun entered a warehouse-like building right next to the factory. He had certainly spoken softly, but his words were heard clearly by the girl's ears.
"If you decide to live your life as a vampire, I'll tell you then."
He went inside the warehouse and closed the door. The girl thought about dragging him out, but then she suddenly felt tired.
Her body was in top condition, but her mind was complicated and chaotic. The words about being vulnerable to stress felt real.
'Why is he trying so hard to save me?'
It seemed she would have to spend quite an arduous time to find the answer to that question.
When she opened her eyes, the time was 8 PM. The girl realized today was Christmas Eve. If things had gone as planned, the girl should have been a corpse, lying in the snow-covered mountains.
She groggily gets up from the bed and looks around. It wasn't a dream. To become a vampire and be saved at the hands of an incredibly handsome stalker.
If one even has a dream like this, they call it a gaekkum (an absurd or nonsense dream).
Her gaze suddenly turned to the clothes she was wearing. The clothes she had on were caked with dried blood. She wanted to change, but what should she wear?
First, she goes to the dressing room. Rummaging here and there, she found a light t-shirt and training pants. She put them on and was about to go out, holding the blood-stained clothes in her hand.
The girl's reflection was visible in the full-length mirror. The girl glanced at the mirror for a very brief moment, intending to pass by.
'Huh?'
She goes back in front of the mirror. The clothes she was holding fall to the floor. The girl, shocked almost to the point of horror, re-confirms her reflection in the mirror. Who is that woman?
It was a truly pretty face. It was like looking at the member in charge of visuals in a girl group.
Her large, round eyes were jet-black and sparkling, even without wearing circle lenses. Her jawline was sharp, and her lips, glossy with a red color, were plump.
Her arms and legs were long, to the point where she could be called a model. The girl's glossy and soft hair shimmered around her collarbones. Every line of her body was mystical.
Only by looking closely could one find traces of the face that God had carelessly crafted before.
She didn't know how to accept this. Not even once had she ever resented her own not-so-pretty face.
No, unbecoming of a 17-year-old girl, she was indifferent to her appearance.
But this face? If she went outside like this, she would definitely be "street-casted."
Looking at the mirror, the girl pondered deeply about how successful a vampire would be if they ran a plastic surgery clinic.
No side effects, no need for re-operation, and they would live without dying or aging with a beautiful face, wouldn't they? They would make a fortune.
A knocking sound was heard at the factory door. She was amazed that the sound was heard so clearly, even though there was quite a distance between the dressing room and the factory door.
The girl shouted.
"Come in."
The sound of the factory door opening is heard. And the door to the dressing room opens. Of course, it was Se-yun. He looked at her wearing his shirt and training pants.
"Does it fit?"
"Barely. It was a relief the pants have a drawstring waist."
Se-yun, seeing the girl standing in front of the mirror, asked.
"How's the changed appearance? But you don't seem as surprised as I thought."
The girl, who averted her gaze from Se-yun, looked in the mirror again.
"No, I'm surprised. There's no way not to be surprised. My face has become that of a completely different person."
"Your voice sounds calm, though."
Come to think of it, although she was surprised, she wasn't shocked or feeling complicated. She thought about why that might be.
"It's probably because I don't place much importance on my appearance."
The one who was shocked was Se-yun.
"You're seventeen. You're not interested in your appearance?"
The girl nods her head.
"Yeah, I'm not. That's more of a high-level worry that normal, average high school girls have."
Se-yun wanted to say that it wasn't a particularly high-level worry, but he didn't say anything.
The girl asked Se-yun.
"Did you come to get clothes?"
"Yes."
"Isn't it uncomfortable staying in the warehouse?"
Instead of answering that, Se-yun picked out the clothes he needed to wear.
"I need to take a shower."
"I'd like to talk with you a bit before you shower."
"After."
He meekly replied "okay," and the girl went outside. She then scanned the books in the factory's library. About 70% of them were novels. It seems he's very fond of novels.
Other than those, there were humanities books related to movies, philosophy, or history.
Se-yun, who finished his shower and changed his clothes, approached the girl. A nice-smelling shampoo scent wafted from his wet hair.
"You need clothes."
"There's no particular need to buy them."
"You can't just wear my clothes. You need to change your underwear, too."
The girl was reluctant, as buying clothes felt like extending her time being alive, but she couldn't wear a single set of underwear for several days.
"Right, I guess I have to buy them. But there's something to resolve before that."
"What is it?"
As she spoke, it suddenly occurred to her that there was nowhere to sit in the factory.
"Why isn't there a sofa? The only place to sit is the one chair at the desk."
"We don't need to sit. Do you want to sit? That's just a habit from when you were human."
Come to think of it, she hadn't thought about needing to sit, except when lying down to sleep.
"That's not what you were going to ask, is it?"
"Obviously."
As if telling her to ask if she had a question, Se-yun tilted his head slightly.
"What is the relationship between you and me? Why did you save me?"
"Have you decided to choose the life of a vampire?"
"No."
"I'll wait until you feel that way. After that, I'll tell you as much as you want."
The girl didn't know any methods to force someone who wouldn't talk to speak.
"You said there were seven other vampires, right? What kind of people... no, what kind of vampires are they?"
"It's fine to say people. We just call each other people. But we don't call ourselves human."
The girl thought that was somewhat brazen.
"To tell you about us, I think it's proper to first explain the work we do."
"Work? You have a job?"
Seeing pride well up on Se-yun's face, the girl could tell that he loved his work very much.
"We are Hunters."
"Hunters?"
"Yes, another world exists here that you don't know about. It's the world of vampires and Beasts."
Beasts? Where did that suddenly pop out from? Se-yun was pleased that the girl was concentrating on the conversation.
"You can think of a Beast as another kind of vampire. But the two are completely different. Beasts don't discriminate and suck the blood of dirty animals, sick humans, etc. It's almost at an addiction level."
"My god, you mean they harm humans?"
"Yes, you can assume that the majority of humans who have gone missing became prey for the Beasts."
Something was strange.
"What do they do with all those bodies?"
"It's simple. Humans who have their blood sucked by a Beast become a Beast. If they are placed in the sunlight, they disappear cleanly."
This time, she was truly shocked. The girl covers her mouth with her hand without realizing it.
"The job for all of us is to take care of those Beasts."
"Do you ever... die while fighting?"
"Death is always with us."
Something was strange.
"Everyone's job is being a Hunter?"
"Yes."
"Can I choose not to have that job?"
"No. A Hunter is a vampire, and a vampire is a Hunter. There is no need for a vampire who is not a Hunter."
The girl is startled.
"Then I have to become a Hunter, too?"
He had intended to tell her much later, but since the conversation had flowed this way, there was no need to hide it.
"That's right. You have to become a Hunter."
It felt like being hit in the head with a hammer.
"You saved me so I could die fighting Beasts?"
Se-yun shakes his head, signifying a "no."
"No, you will absolutely not die easily."
"What kind of nonsense is that, again?"
He stood up silently and went out of the dressing room. Then, he peeked just his face in and motioned with his head as if to tell her to come out. The girl followed him.
"Shall we go for a walk? I'll tell you the rest of the stories, excluding the one about our relationship."
He opened the factory's iron door and said. The winter air, which felt refreshing, wrapped around the girl. The girl took a step forward into that air.