Chapter 4. A Dream Within a Dream (1)
Cherry blossoms fluttered.
Spring was ending in the middle of Seoul, a city of ten million people. The weather was clear, and from the cherry tree branches lining the alley of the outdoor café, cherry blossom petals swayed in the breeze and fell. It was an utterly leisurely time, but I was a bit—no, quite a lot—unhappy.
Because of one vampire, and because of one phone call that came because of that vampire.
The content that Team Leader Lee Tae-woo conveyed in a tense voice, saying troublesome business had arisen, was something that would fit in an action thriller movie.
He’d just caught someone who’d been tailing us from the hotel.
“Tailing?”
I reflexively asked back, then realized where I was standing and looked around. Since I’d come out to the street to take the call, no one was watching me, but it wasn’t something to say at a café entrance where people were coming and going in broad daylight.
—They’re professional intelligence gatherers.
The conversation I’d had with the department head yesterday had become reality. Vampires existed, and a government organization that managed them existed. So naturally, intelligence gatherers who followed them and dug up information, or even hunters, existed too. Since a high-ranking vampire like Rashanin had officially visited Korea, flies gathering was a scheduled event. Since it had been well over three weeks since Rashanin arrived in Korea, you could actually say it was late.
I looked at Rashanin, who was occupying a seat at the outdoor café. The handsome man who stood out strikingly even from afar was no different from a popular star with paparazzi following him.
“Then are we withdrawing?”
A small hope welled up that perhaps I could distance myself from Rashanin using withdrawal as an excuse, but hope was only hope.
—No, it’s just tailing.
“How should I inform the VIP?”
—Tell him the truth. He might think it’s not a big deal. This is something he should handle himself. Why come to Korea with nothing to do anyway? And we’re attaching one more security team, so know that.
After receiving a few more instructions about the situation, I ended the call. I sighed long with my phone in my hand. Tailing.
Thinking that things were getting strangely twisted, I returned to my seat. And I told Rashanin truthfully that he was being tailed. As the team leader had prophesied, Rashanin elegantly lifted his teacup as if it wasn’t something to worry about.
“Tailing is a common occurrence.”
“Are you really all right staying like this?”
“Are you worried?”
“I’m an ordinary, timid public servant.”
At the words “timid public servant,” Rashanin chuckled.
“It’s not like I’m being chased by the Knights Templar, so what’s there to worry about?”
“…?!”
A particular word blew away my concerns all at once. The Knights Templar? So surprised, I widened my eyes and looked at Rashanin, and he nodded.
“That’s right.”
“You’ve really been chased…”
“Yes. Twice.”
It seemed to be true. The generational feud between the Knights Templar directly under the Pope and vampires was a very famous story. Vampires who attacked humans and drank their blood were nothing more or less than monsters, and since the Middle Ages, the Knights had officially hunted vampires. But that was also an old story.
After World War II ended, many things changed. To prevent crimes caused by vampires and safely protect ordinary people, various secret organizations and groups related to vampires began to emerge in each country. Vampires also each found their own way to survive. High-ranking vampires transformed into hidden power players in politics and business with the power they possessed, and attacking humans became taboo even within their ranks. The Knights were originally a supranational group. But recently, as it became difficult to meddle in other countries’ internal affairs at will, they had become relatively weaker than before. As a result, confrontations between vampires and the Knights also decreased.
Rashanin being chased must have been quite a long time ago.
“Tenacious bastards.”
I carefully observed Rashanin, who clicked his tongue as if recalling the past. Suddenly I became curious about his age. His passport said he was thirty-three, and he actually looked that way, but as a long-lived vampire, I knew that what you see isn’t everything. He said he’d been sleeping for thirty years, so that meant he was at least over sixty. And seeing him mention the Knights… how old was he?
“What is it?”
Perhaps because of my gaze, Rashanin asked what was wrong.
“This is a rude question, but… how old are you?”
It came out without my realizing it, and Rashanin raised one eyebrow.
“You’re quite peculiar too.”
“Ah, I’m sorry.”
“No need to apologize, I’m curious how old you are too.”
“But I asked first.”
Arguing about order was childish. Still, if I didn’t do at least this, the probability of just stating my age and moving on was very high.
Rashanin smiled with slightly narrowed eyes, then obediently opened his mouth.
“I stopped counting after three hundred.”
“Three hundred…?”
The number three hundred struck my head. Really?
“Yes. So how about you?”
“Thir… thirty-one years old.”
“You look much younger than your age. You have a baby face.”
The compliment didn’t sound like a compliment, but I couldn’t respond at all. To think the man before me had lived three hundred years. No, more than that—to think I’d been seduced by a three-hundred-year-old vampire.
Thinking that far, I clicked my tongue inwardly and glared at the coffee cup on the table. Men were fundamentally creatures of bravado, and pretending to be strong even when hurt, pretending to be fine even when troubled, was practically an instinct embedded in their DNA. Being seduced by the same sex, kissing, and yet despite all that, my heart raced.
Not only that, but since being attracted was a fact, I’d even thought about whether it might be okay to play with fire just once. It wasn’t like I’d become gay, and above all, it was obvious I’d be finished if caught by the higher-ups. But on the other hand, I also wasn’t completely without the feeling of “so what? As long as we don’t get caught, that’s all that matters.”
I knew it wasn’t like me, and I didn’t want to believe it, but still, it was the truth. Last night I hadn’t been able to sleep at all, tossing and turning over what to do. Whether I should give in to the seduction, whether I should shout that I was crazy, whether my legs would break.
Then I resigned myself. The only thing I could do was refuse when Rashanin tried to seduce me two days from now.
Having made up my mind that way, I pretended in front of Rashanin that it was nothing, that I was fine. Because the person who’d thrown this worry at me was endlessly composed. And Rashanin’s attitude, unlike mine, wasn’t the bravado of “pretending.” Everything was the same as usual, as if he’d completely forgotten he’d declared he would seduce me.
Even when we met face to face in the morning, he didn’t mention last night’s events at all. Rather, he asked me where I wanted to go. Coming to see the cherry blossoms was also because I’d suggested it.
I didn’t like that. Even putting on airs and pretending to be unfazed, I had no composure compared to Rashanin. The vampire before me was far too formidable.
I really didn’t like it.
“Are you very worried?”
I came to my senses at Rashanin’s voice. When I raised my head, I met Rashanin’s purple eyes.
“You’re frowning so seriously.”
“It’s my personality.”
“I know that. But if the atmosphere is hostile, I can’t talk to you, can I?”
“Aren’t you talking to me right now?”
“True. Hey, can you tell me what that person is doing?”
Even when I pointed out that he was talking to me right now, Rashanin didn’t pay much attention and gestured, asking what that was. A man sitting at a table across from us was video chatting with someone on his phone.
“I’ve seen that scene often since before.”
“He’s video chatting.”
“Video chat? On a phone?”
“It’s possible.”
“You said you can take photos with that too. Amazing.”
Even though it was natural, Rashanin was very intrigued. I remembered the fact that he’d been asleep for thirty years.
“Video calls are possible, you can watch videos, take photos, use the internet. Ah, the internet is a kind of information search program. Besides that, you can listen to music and watch TV.”
“All with that?”
Rashanin was genuinely impressed. Compared to thirty years ago, today’s technology was like a new world. Flip phones were now relics of the past. Now smartphones were standard. On top of that, watches and glasses were also in the smart era. If he had no interest in electronic devices, it would really look unfamiliar.
“Your phone is different from mine, so I didn’t even know how to turn it on. That’s why I couldn’t even turn it off when a call came. Won’t you show me?”
Rashanin suddenly showed interest in phones. I was about to refuse, but then it would seem too petty, so I eventually took out the phone I’d put inside my jacket and held it out to Rashanin.
“This is called a smartphone, and it’s the latest model. The screen is also relatively large, and since it’s a touchscreen, you don’t need separate buttons.”
