“But why did you suddenly change your mind?”
Song Hanyeong’s eyes narrowed as he was making coffee. He fell into thought while taking a sip of the strongly brewed coffee.
Why did he suddenly think of biting Jin Surim directly? There was no particular trigger. He had coincidentally been caught by Jin Surim drinking a blood pack, impulsively bit his tongue to drink his blood, and afterward seeing Jin Surim avoid him had twisted his mood. That was why he had plotted to use the recorder in the flowerpot to make Jin Surim submit.
The plan had worked as intended, leading Jin Surim to offer his blood on his own. What happened differently from the plan was afterward. Watching Jin Surim pant while flushed red, a deep impulse had colored him.
“…….”
Seeing Song Hanyeong silently drinking coffee, Lee Myeongho grumbled inwardly. Anyway, when he doesn’t want to talk, he just shuts his mouth.
In any case, it was a good thing. No matter how much blood he drank from blood packs, it couldn’t compare to drinking directly.
‘Besides, he hasn’t been eating much.’
For the past several years, Song Hanyeong’s meals had only been a little bit of blood left over from experiments. Even for a vampire’s body that didn’t need to eat every meal every day, it was a somewhat small amount of food. Occasionally, when problems arose with experiments, there were quite a few times when he went completely without food for two weeks to a month.
Lee Myeongho discreetly examined Song Hanyeong’s sturdy body. For such circumstances, he was strangely healthy.
This was a thought he had because he didn’t know that when his physical condition was poor, Song Hanyeong would visit Jin Surim in the form of a cat. Song Hanyeong would unnecessarily scratch or bite Jin Surim’s hands or arms and lick a few drops of blood that oozed out to calm his hunger.
Of course, it would be difficult to call that a ‘meal.’
“Ah, what happened with the mark?”
Lee Myeongho asked as if suddenly remembering. Song Hanyeong lightly shook his head.
“…What? But….”
“He’s not that level of opponent.”
When Song Hanyeong dismissed it decisively, Lee Myeongho rolled his eyes with a strange expression.
“Well, it’s not like the old days, nowadays the trend is to mark them first even if they’re not that significant an opponent.”
“Why bother?”
A cold sneer formed at the corner of Song Hanyeong’s mouth.
“It’s just bait that will be devoured within half a year, is there any need to put in such effort?”
“It’s a bit troublesome and requires some effort, but in return it improves blood production, and there’s also the effect of driving out other guys. You can also worry less about unexpected death.”
A mark was like a sign they engraved on their prey’s body. Through the mark, the prey became closely connected to them, and the prey gained some side effects and power.
That was precisely why old stories mentioned that those close to vampires became monsters similar to them. When a mark was engraved, depending on the compatibility between the two, strength, agility, recovery ability, or all of them improved.
Lee Myeongho, who had been discreetly observing Song Hanyeong’s expression, noticed that he had begun to seriously consider his suggestion. And also the subtle reluctance in between.
“Ah. Come to think of it, when you engrave a mark, they suffer from side effects for a while. Jin Surim-ssi’s body still doesn’t look too good. It’s not a good time to mark him.”
Even though he was diligently bringing and offering meals, strangely Jin Surim wasn’t gaining weight. Considering the calories of the rich foods he deliberately chose, he should have gained more weight.
“It might be because he’s been having blood collected for too long. If you’re concerned, it would be better to let him rest sufficiently for a few days.”
“Do as you wish.”
Song Hanyeong spat out with a displeased face and left the break room with his coffee. Walking down the corridor and entering the research lab, Jin Surim was seated at the desk deepest on the right. Song Hanyeong stood still for a moment, looking at his prey.
Sunlight shone on the young man’s hair as he inputted something into the computer, making it sparkle. His slender wrist, his gaunt cheeks caught Song Hanyeong’s gaze. Despite feeding him well for a while, his body was thin with nothing to show for it. Jin Surim’s body, which had been drained of blood twice a month for a long time, might have been damaged beyond repair.
“…….”
It didn’t matter. In half a year he wouldn’t be needed anyway.
Song Hanyeong thought this and moved his steps again. The research was truly nearing its end. With just a little more effort, he would be able to perfectly replicate Jin Surim’s blood, and after that, Jin Surim wouldn’t be needed either.
Sitting down, Song Hanyeong noticed a flashing message notification window on one side of the monitor.
[Jin Surim] Manager-nim, I’m going to go pick up a package. I think the snacks I ordered last time arrived.
A faint smile lingered at the corner of Song Hanyeong’s mouth as he confirmed Jin Surim’s diligent report.
* * *
“Let’s have a meal.”
At Song Hanyeong’s voice, Surim sprang up from his seat with a face full of firm determination. He had meticulously checked the conference room blinds, and fortunately they were closed without even a small gap. Perhaps because it was a research lab where security was important, they seemed to have paid quite a bit of attention to it.
The problem was soundproofing, but when he left his phone playing music loudly inside the conference room and checked, that part was also fine.
‘Whatever happens, it’ll be okay.’
After confirming safety, confidence overflowed.
“What’s wrong?”
“Ah, n-no. It’s nothing….”
Surim trailed off and approached Song Hanyeong.
“What’s on the menu today?”
“Fried eggplant.”
“Fried eggplant! I’ve never tried it before.”
“It’s a bit oily but it should be delicious.”
“Yes. I think it’ll be delicious.”
The shopping bag had already arrived in the conference room. Surim ran over, took the lunch boxes out of the shopping bag, placed them at his seat and the seat across from it, and sat down in a chair. Song Hanyeong, who had approached in the meantime, pulled over the lunch box placed across from him and sat in the seat next to Surim. Then he asked with a crooked smile toward Surim, whose mouth was hanging open.
“Why? Is that not allowed?”
“N-n-no! Of course it’s allowed….”
Flustered, Surim nodded his head frantically with a reddened face. All sorts of thoughts ran through his mind. This was the first time Song Hanyeong had sat in the seat next to him during a meal. There was no reason to sit next to him while eating.
A reason. If there was a reason, one came to mind. To bite his neck, he couldn’t be across the table. It must be as he thought. Song Hanyeong intended to have a ‘meal’ during lunch time.
Surim ate his lunch box while stealing glances at Song Hanyeong. Occasionally their eyes met, and he would smile with his eyes slightly curved. Each time, Surim would look away in embarrassment.
“Did you eat well?”
When he finished eating, Song Hanyeong asked that, but Surim couldn’t remember the taste of the fried eggplant. No, he wasn’t even sure if he had really eaten fried eggplant. He had no idea what state of mind he’d eaten his meal in.
“Y-yes. It was delicious.”
“I see.”
Then now it’s my turn to eat. It was when Surim looked up with a tense face, anticipating such words.
“I’ll clean up today, so please go out first.”
“…What?”
“It would be good to go rest.”
“I don’t need to rest though….”
“Jin Surim-ssi.”
“Ah! Yes, yes! I’ll go rest.”
Startled by the sharp gaze, Surim quickly greeted him and left the conference room. Then he looked back at the sealed conference room with a bewildered face.
“…Was this not it?”
Then he must be planning to eat after work. In a broad sense, lunch time was also work hours. It was break time, but he was still at the company.
Surim nodded and returned to his seat.
“Ugh. I got nervous for nothing….”
Why was he getting nervous over this? With his excitement cooled and his head clear, Jin Surim realized how absurd his thoughts had been.
The fact that he had checked the conference room blinds and the soundproofing meant he had anticipated something worthy of that happening inside. And it also meant that Surim had no intention of refusing it.
This wasn’t a normal train of thought. It was natural that Surim couldn’t refuse Song Hanyeong right now. But desiring it first was a different matter altogether.
Surim looked at himself reflected in the dark monitor with a dumbfounded face.
It seemed like the stalker inside him was awakening in a bad direction. Surim, who had squeezed his eyes shut, dry-washed his face.
Surim tried to steel his resolve, telling himself he must not become an active stalker, but whether his heart would follow his will was an unknown matter.
‘Ah, this really won’t work….’
Surim, who had been distracted all afternoon, realized that quitting time was approaching and his heart began to race. It wasn’t lunch time, but it was because of the thought that perhaps such a thing might happen after work.
Surim stole a glance at Song Hanyeong. He was busily looking at some materials, then furrowed his brow and stood up from his seat. The man, who had put on his coat and held his bag in hand, began moving toward the exit without even greeting the researchers.
When the flustered Surim jumped up, he did turn his gaze toward him, but it was only a light greeting with his eyes.
“Not after work either…?”
Perhaps everything Song Hanyeong had said was all just out of courtesy. Or maybe Song Hanyeong’s and his own standards were a bit different, and for Song Hanyeong eating once a month or once every six months was sufficient.
“I guess it wasn’t delicious after all….”
Surim, whose shoulders drooped, began preparing to leave work. All the way home, his drooping shoulders didn’t know how to straighten.
