episode_0101

Was it all thanks to letting out all the built-up stress?

Despite the cloudy weather, I was able to greet a refreshing afternoon for the first time.

Looking at the standby screen of my phone, the current time was two in the afternoon.

Should I sleep a little more? I hesitated for a moment, but my mind was too clear to go back to sleep.

I slowly got up from bed and opened the door, walking out into the living room.

Saeak… Saeak…

As soon as I entered the living room, my eyes fell on Jaehyuk, deeply asleep.

Seeing him lying defenselessly, I was drawn towards the bed as if under a spell.

“…Seems like yesterday was really tough for you.”

If he, who usually wakes up early and prepares for the day, is in such a state of exhaustion, how tough must yesterday have been?

Looking at him with pity, I let out a sigh, feeling a rising sense of frustration.

“Annoying.”

Seeing Jaehyuk peacefully asleep with a gentle smile, memories of what happened in the early morning kept coming back to my mind.

Playing a prank with a big heart, only to receive the same treatment and then running away in defeat, that memory.

The feeling of losing to him, as if giving and receiving.

I wasn’t pleased with it.

“He wasn’t like this.”

He was someone who complained about everything to the point of being called a whiner by family and friends.

Far from the word ‘relaxation,’ he was quick to anger when provoked, which made teasing him quite enjoyable.

Yes, that’s who he was.

But how did he end up like this?

“Bah…”

Already looking like a cheat code just with his face, why did his personality have to improve as well?

Clicking my tongue in regret, I shook my head and started thinking of ways to tease Jaehyuk.

It would be such a waste to let this good opportunity slip away.

“…What method would be good?”

I didn’t think Jaehyuk would be flustered by ordinary actions or words.

I called him ‘honey,’ and he took it in stride, didn’t he?

So.

“I need to be a little bolder.”

To see him at a loss, I had to do something more daring than that.

It might be embarrassing, but what can I do? To catch a tiger cub, one must enter the tiger’s den.

After steeling my resolve, I carefully lay down in the empty space on the bed to avoid waking Jaehyuk.

And then, until he woke up, I started gazing at Jaehyuk’s face intently.

“…”

The original plan was like this.

Wait until he wakes up in a place where our breaths meet closely, then greet him with a big smile and ask if he slept well.

Thinking back, theoretically, it couldn’t have been a perfect plan.

No matter how much a person changes, their nature doesn’t change.

Knowing Jaehyuk, he would definitely show a reaction beyond my expectations.

But.

“Hm?”

That was all just a theoretical story.

As soon as I put it into action, I encountered a major obstacle.

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

I never thought that facing Jaehyuk up close would be this difficult.

It was like adding fuel to the fire.

“Hmm… What? Why is Han Jiwoo in front of me? Is this a dream?”

“Uh, uh-huh!?”

Feeling his gaze, Jaehyuk, who had momentarily woken up, mistook me for Han Jiwoo and hugged me tightly, thinking it was a dream.

Due to the warmth of his embrace, a warm heat slowly rose.

Completely short-circuiting, I had no choice but to obediently nestle in Jaehyuk’s arms.

Until the startled Jaehyuk stood up again and let go of me, I had to stay in his embrace.

And until he realized it was me, not Han Jiwoo.

As expected, the reaction was really delicious.

But unfortunately, it didn’t feel like a real victory at all.

…I teased and teased until Jaehyuk asked if I was okay, so I said everything.

In the midst of such bitter defeat, I stammered and made a promise.

Next time, I will definitely grasp a clean victory.

—–

“…”

“…”

An awkward atmosphere flowing between us as we sat at the lightly set dinner table.

The uncomfortable silence that had lasted for a long time finally came to an end as Jaehyuk, unable to bear it, picked up his spoon.

“Let’s eat.”

“Uh, yeah…”

Why did I really do that?

Regretfully gripping the chopsticks, I started my meal with a sigh as Jaehyuk ate his meal.

Watching him eat, I opened my mouth to change the mood with a light topic.

“Hey, how was the meal I prepared yesterday? It was pretty good, right?”

“It was delicious. I ate it all without leaving anything.”

“Heh, of course it would be delicious if I made it! If you want, I’ll make it again today. Is there anything you want to eat?”

“I’ll think about it and let you know. Oh, right. I forgot to mention something yesterday…”

It seemed like Jaehyuk was not the only one who didn’t like the awkward atmosphere, as he calmly continued the conversation in response to my attempt to change the topic.

The conversation was filled with bitter content.

How many guests had come to see me yesterday.

What special measures the boss had taken because of my appearance.

And how pitiful the bartenders looked when the business was over.

As the stories became more depressing, I had to change the conversation topic once again.

I didn’t want to start feeling down from the beginning of the evening.

Anyway, the atmosphere finally returned to normal after a while.

After heaving a sigh of relief internally, was Jaehyuk considering the contents of the apology message he would send to the group chat later?

It seemed like Jaehyuk was curious about the details of what happened in the afternoon, as he cautiously mentioned it after observing me closely.

“Hey, I’m not teasing you, I’m really curious.”

“…Is there no option not to ask?”

“If you want?”

“Then just don’t ask.”

“Got it.”

Nodding readily, he silently grabbed a snack.

Watching him suppress his boiling curiosity, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for Jaehyuk.

No, but this is really inevitable!

Did I tease him because I wanted to see his embarrassed reaction? How do I say it out loud!

Would a vampire play a prank by crawling into bed next to you?

If it’s not indirectly expressing that I like it!

Of course, I want to hear the confession again.

But I’m not ready to accept it yet.

Just hearing the word ‘sweetheart’ makes me shy and want to run away!

Just being held in your arms made me almost faint with joy!

If I hear ‘date me’… how would I react…

“Phew, haa…”

“Are you okay?”

“Uh, yeah… I, I just suddenly got thirsty, that’s all. I, I’ll be fine after drinking some water!”

“…Was it really because of thirst.”

As I headed to the fridge to quench my thirst due to the vampire impulse, I heard Jaehyuk muttering behind me.

It seems like he concluded that the cause of the afternoon incident was the vampire impulse.

If he’s willing to misunderstand, I should be grateful, so I picked up a packet of water with a slightly relieved heart.

Plop!

Swoosh –

As I drank through a straw, the familiar stimulating and bitter taste hit my taste buds.

Getting quickly tired of that miserable taste, I asked Jaehyuk while drinking the water.

“By the way, is it okay to start soon?”

“…What?”

“Sucking blood. It should be okay now…”

“Not yet, Ille. Look at the calendar, it hasn’t been two months yet.”

“Tsk.”

With a firm refusal, I checked the calendar while licking my lips.

Today is July 18th.

There were still a whopping two weeks left until the date Hyunhyeok mentioned for blood donation.

“I feel like I’ve been waiting forever…”

If I’ve gotten this healthy, wouldn’t it be okay to just taste a little?

Complaining inwardly, I vigorously shook my head.

A vampire should have some dignity!

I almost went crazy and sucked too much blood a month and a half ago, almost putting myself in danger, and on top of that, with so much debt hanging over me, how could I entertain such thoughtless ideas?

I was about to gather up the nonexistent patience to apologize, but the words that came out of my mouth were sadly.

“I, really can’t?”

“…”

…It was a far cry from what I truly felt.

“I-It’s a mistake! Yeah! I-I misspoke! You don’t have to worry about it!”

I tried to recover quickly, but spilled water cannot be gathered up again.

Hyunhyeok, who was looking down at me with a complicated expression, let out a deep sigh and slowly approached me.

And then.

“Do you really want to suck blood that badly?”

“…!”

“Then let’s do this. I’ll choose the spot to sink my fangs into, and I’ll let you suck.”

With a mischievous expression, he made a somewhat uneasy proposal to me.

Is it okay to accept this?

After a moment of hesitation, I quickly made up my mind and faced Hyunhyeok.

It’s clear that the spot to be punctured is not in a strange place.

After all, it’s about making a hole in the body, how could he ask me to do it in a strange place?

I nodded silently, and Hyunhyeok tapped my shoulder.

Only then did I realize his mischievous intent, and I sighed, touching my forehead with my hand.

To bite the shoulder, I have to cling to him due to the height difference.

Otherwise, he should bend down a little to accommodate me…

“You’re not going to bend down.”

“Of course not.”

From his stiff demeanor and indifferent attitude, it seemed like he had no intention of bending down at all.

…It seems like he really planned to give me a hard time.

You, you’ve seriously misjudged me, Yoon Hyunhyeok.

Do you think I can’t cling to you?

The time for revenge in the early morning and afternoon.

I started to approach Hyunhyeok with determination.