episode_0007

The incident all began with a single thick fishbone.

[Tuduri], the solo apartment he arrived at, after getting Jae-hyuk’s permission to crash for a few days.

Since he had no luggage with him, after arriving, I found myself staring blankly for a moment, feeling the hunger pangs from not having eaten properly back at home start to hit me.

“…Is there nothing to eat?”

Knowing it would take at least over six hours for the guy who worked nights to return to his place, I headed to the kitchen thinking of snacking on some cookies or drinks while waiting, only to discover leftover braised fish that I hadn’t finished from before.

Living messily and haphazardly, then a moment when I was about to help with the cleaning, that’s when ‘it’ caught my eye.

A thick fishbone spike as sharp as a needle.

“Yikes!”

As they say, startled by a chestnut burr, I took a step back in horror, only to find a rice container right there.

Crash!

In a defiant act against the cruel violence that tormented me, the rice I held back forcefully spewed out from the container, plunging me into despair.

“Oh…”

Seeing the scattered grains on the kitchen floor triggered my obsessive-compulsive disorder.

But it’s okay!

There’s still plenty of time until the landlord returns, right?

Quickly tidying up, putting everything back in its place should do the trick!

Well, what luck! At least I won’t be bored until Jae-hyuk, that guy, comes back, right?

Thinking positively, I started counting the rice grains with a large bowl from the sink, but contrary to expectations, not even two hours had passed when I heard the sound of the door lock.

Click-click-click-click-!

…What? Why is he back so soon?

Didn’t he say work ends at seven in the morning?

Distracted by the surprise, I forgot about counting the rice grains and as I stared at the front door, the landlord who entered looked at me with a puzzled expression.

“What the hell are you doing…?”

Sharp profanity.

But I couldn’t possibly argue with that statement.

Even to myself, I felt like a fool.

With a forced smile, I said to [Tuduri],

“Well… roughly estimating, there seem to be around 300 left, right? Just wait 8 more minutes, I’ll finish counting these and explain.”

“…”

His gaze towards me became even more pitiful.

—–

After spending about 9 more minutes counting a total of 7124 rice grains, I immediately began explaining everything to Jae-hyuk.

From turning into a vampire the day after the meteor fell, to losing the apartment to a dragon mutant who lived in the same building.

As I spoke, I felt like a pathological liar, but surprisingly, he easily believed me.

“There were a few non-human guests at the bar. They’ve seen magic and sorcery firsthand, so there’s no reason not to believe it.”

“I see.”

Thinking there was a valid reason, he munched on dried squid thoughtfully.

Having finished a can of beer during that time, he asked me with a concerned tone,

“…But can you lead a normal life? It seems like everyday activities are nearly impossible for you, judging from what I heard earlier about counting rice grains.”

“Well, it’s not entirely impossible. I manage to get by despite having weaknesses.”

“Wait, don’t you have any strengths then? Usually, with that many weaknesses, there are also many strengths. Isn’t there a saying about high risk, high return?”

“Well… I haven’t really thought about it.”

Or rather, I didn’t have the luxury to think about it.

There was a lot to handle, and I had been quite busy adapting to the vampire’s body.

Being a species where one wrong move could mean death, it was only natural to focus on weaknesses first.

Taking a new piece of dried squid in hand, I began searching for the advantages of being a vampire on my phone.

“Alright, I guess you’re right. I should try to find some advantages too. It’s a bit strange to only have weaknesses.”

“Hurry up and find them. Honestly, that’s what I’m most curious about.”

“What?”

“Whether it’s possible to stop time and lift a road roller effortlessly.”

“Oh…”

Upon Jaehyuk’s words, I immediately imagined stopping time, but unfortunately, such a remarkable ability seemed out of reach.

Instead, he was strong enough to lift a road roller. As a test, he tried lifting a washing machine, and it felt as light as lifting a pink dumbbell.

“It seems like we only have abilities commonly known to the public, right? Like creating subordinates through blood-sucking or charming opponents.”

“…Those aren’t abilities we can test like before. They might be more suitable for medieval times; they don’t seem very practical in modern times, do they?”

“Yeah, who would want to become such a weird species? Charming abilities… Ugh, just the thought is dreadful.”

As a man, the idea of charming another man is dreadful.

Charming a woman would make the picture even weirder.

“This is so pointless.”

To think that among the numerous weaknesses we’ve discovered, all we gained was an incredibly strong grip.

If that doesn’t bring on feelings of melancholy, then that would truly be a lie.

Sighing softly, lost in melancholy, I found solace in devouring squid legs silently, surprised by how comforting his words were.

“Hey, cheer up, man. What if there’s some incredible ability hidden within you that you don’t know about?”

“…You think so? Besides strength, there must be other abilities, right?”

“Yeah, it’s only been a week since the change. Don’t get too disheartened; take your time to explore, okay?”

If he shows me this side of him instead of always complaining, how pitiful must I be?

Despite that, receiving comfort lightened my heart, and I expressed my gratitude to him.

“Thanks.”

“Why are you being so sentimental? Instead of sympathizing, just curse at me, you whiner.”

“Maybe I’m just a whiny guy.”

As we exchanged coarse insults over drinks, curiosity suddenly struck me.

If I saw these different species at work, did I ever converse with them?

I grew curious about how other mutants were living, so I asked him a question.

“You mentioned that some of these species came as guests.”

“Did I?”

“Which species visited as guests? And did you talk to them?”

After pondering for a moment, Jaehyuk slowly began to speak.

“About three of them came, right? A fox beastman, a pixie, and an arachne… I only talked to the fox beastman and the pixie.”

“How was it? Was there anything uncomfortable?”

“Well… The fox beastman guest didn’t say much. Overall, they seemed relaxed and laid-back. On the other hand, the pixie guest…”

His face crumpled instantly.

He shook his head and spoke in a disappointed tone.

“So, there’s a cat at the bar, right? Its name is Nero.”

“…?”

“After drinking a sip of cocktail, it got drunk and turned into a cat toy. It was quite heartbreaking to see it desperately begging for mercy while being chased by Nero.”

“…”

There wasn’t a hint of exaggeration in the community posts, Pixie.

I never thought there could be a more despicable species than vampires.

With a smug expression from the slight sense of superiority, Jaehyuk, seemingly remembering something forgotten, asked me a serious question.

“Wait a minute. Didn’t you mention getting a new room earlier?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you think you can find a new place to stay? Your old place got wrecked because of those mutant roommates.”

…”

Caught up in urgent matters, I had overlooked this aspect. Realizing that the situation was worse than expected, I fell into deep thought.

It had already been a week since the large-scale mutant crisis unfolded.

The news has been covering various incidents caused by different species day after day, leading to a not-so-favorable perception of these species among people.

Although I didn’t like the nickname attached to these species, honestly, I somewhat agreed.

After a series of incidents, not exactly a downfall but a significantly worsened perception.

Already in a bad situation, a dragon with anger management issues burned down an entire building.

Upon hearing this news, which building owner would allow these species into their property?

Of course, there might be a slight possibility if the building owner had a mindset akin to hahae, dismissing it as a hasty generalization error.

“…Definitely, finding a room is completely impossible. It’s even harder with school starting tomorrow.”

As that guy said, at this point, finding a place of my own was practically impossible.

Even if there were vacancies, the other party might not meet my conditions.

“Ugh… damn lizard brat.”

Cursing under my breath, I pondered.

Should I just go back to my hometown?

I won’t be able to participate in the internship anyway.

A species that occurs once in every ten individuals.

And there are no guidelines accommodating the minority nocturnal species among them.

“Sigh, I should just head back home as soon as it gets dark tomorrow! After all, it’s online classes, so it’s weird to have a room booked!”

Due to turning into a vampire, interference will be inevitable, but what can I do? Since my place exploded, there’s no other way.

Lying on the floor with arms outstretched, I weakly chuckled, and Jaehyuk stared at me blankly.

“Do you really hate being at home that much?”

“It’s awkward. It’s a bit complicated to explain, but it’s like feeling not fully accepted as part of the family yet.”

“Hmm…”

Tap. Tap. Tap.

He drummed his fingers on the table as if contemplating something.

Curious about his thoughts, I turned to him, and shortly after, Jaehyuk spoke up.

“Just for one semester, okay?”

“What do you mean?”

“The housing issue, just solve it for this semester.”

With his arms crossed, he extended a sturdy lifeline to me, looking puzzled.

“This is a two-room, right? If we somehow clear it out, one room will be left.”

An unexpected cohabitation proposal.

Seeing the crimson-faced guy, I thought to myself.

This guy.

He’s got guts.