Settling in
"Oh, how I miss the sound of silence…" Hyunjin whispered to himself, sitting on the couch with one leg crossed over the other. He held his book in one hand while resting his other arm on the back of the couch.
Jiyu’s giggles and Kkami’s barks disrupted his peace as they played together—her running after Kkami around the floor, pretending she couldn’t catch him.
Kkami suddenly stopped running, turned to Jiyu, and ran toward her. She immediately understood—he wanted to be carried after all that running, like the little king he was.
She picked him up with a smile and walked over to the couch, plopping down beside Hyunjin and getting comfortable with her legs crossed.
"The amount of sugar you gave me for breakfast is no joke," Jiyu sighed.
Hyunjin hummed in response. "You're welcome."
She lifted Kkami so he was facing her.
"Now that I played with you, where's my kiss?" she cooed, grinning before pouting her lips playfully.
For the first time, Hyunjin moved his gaze away from his book, side-eyeing them.
His eyes widened when he saw Kkami licking Jiyu's lips, making her giggle.
"Kkami! Why do you love her more than me already?!" Hyunjin exclaimed, making Jiyu roll her eyes.
"Hah! Look at that oldie getting all jealous," she said to Kkami (who didn't really give a damn) before turning to Hyunjin with a smug, teasing smile. "It’s because you're not half as funny as me."
Hyunjin scoffed before leaning toward Kkami. "Kkami, gimme a kiss too."
Kkami jumped off Jiyu's lap.
"I swear to God, if you laugh…" Hyunjin warned, narrowing his eyes at Jiyu, who was trembling as she buried her face in her hands, trying to hold it in.
She managed for only a second or two before bursting into laughter, clutching her stomach.
Hyunjin sighed and turned back to his book.
Eventually, Jiyu calmed down, wiping away her tears of laughter as she glanced at Hyunjin's book. She blinked.
"Yo, are you seriously reading dark romance?"
Hyunjin shrugged. "Dunno what it's called. My friend recommended it. I'm still waiting for the plot, though. They've been having concerning kinky sex since page one."
Hyunjin raised an eyebrow when Jiyu grabbed his hand. He looked at her and found her pursing her lips.
"Sir, that's the plot."
"Oh…" Hyunjin blinked. And once again, Jiyu burst into laughter.
With a sigh, Hyunjin closed the book and tossed it onto the couch, leaning back as he stared at the ceiling.
"Damn, I actually miss Pliny the Elder's days," he said calmly. That was enough to make Jiyu stop laughing.
"And what century was that?"
"The first," Hyunjin sighed as he stood up. Jiyu mouthed a wow as her eyes followed him.
"He died before I was born, though."
"From reading about natural history to reading dark romance—what a downfall."
"Well, I don’t need to read history," he said, looking down at her with a faint smirk. "I am history."
Jiyu almost showed how impressed she was, but that would happen over her dead body.
"Damn, you're old old."
"Damn, you're annoying annoying," he scoffed before walking toward the stairs. Midway, he stopped and lazily turned to her.
"What’re you doing there? Follow me."
Jiyu motioned to herself in confusion. "Me?"
Hyunjin rolled his eyes. "No, the sexy ghost behind you."
Jiyu refused to look behind her, jumping off the couch and running after him upstairs.
If vampires exist, ghosts could be real too, she thought.
"There wasn't actually a ghost, right?" she mumbled.
Hyunjin chuckled faintly. "I don’t remember inviting any."
Jiyu's scream echoed through the mansion.
"They’re real?!"
"Calm down, jeez. I've never seen any ghost, and I've been living for a good while," he reassured as they walked side by side through the hallway.
"But if one attacks me, you'll protect me, right?" she asked, grinning as she tilted her head to catch his eyes.
"Hm? Probably." He opened her room’s door.
"Sir!" Jiyu whined.
Hyunjin chuckled and poked her forehead with his index finger, making her pout slightly.
"Didn't I tell you my name?" He raised an eyebrow, and she nodded.
"I know you're not that polite—stop with the sir thing," he said as he sat on the edge of the bed, leaning his forearms on his thighs.
"Okay… Hyunjin," she mumbled.
Hyunjin smiled. "Much better. Now," he motioned with his eyebrows toward the closet. "open this."
Jiyu looked at him for a second before doing as he said. The moment she opened the closet, she gasped, her eyes lighting up before she turned to him in disbelief.
Plenty of the nightgowns she loved so much were inside. She could swear she saw heaven.
"You're joking…" she muttered.
Hyunjin shrugged. "Nope. Consider them yours."
"Oh my god…" Jiyu looked between him and the closet, her smile widening as she nearly jumped for joy. "Thank you so much!"
Hyunjin smiled calmly. "We still need to get your stuff, though."
"Oh, I'm not going. You said you’d bring them," Jiyu said casually.
Hyunjin raised an eyebrow. "You're okay with me going alone to your house?"
Jiyu nodded. "Yeah, it's not that hard to bring my clothes, right?"
Hyunjin stayed silent for a moment.
"By the way…" he locked eyes with her. "why did you agree so easily to be my… blood bag?"
"Well… a few blood drops are way cheaper than new house rent."
"I could kill you. I'm a vampire, Jiyu."
Jiyu’s expression stayed calm.. to a point that annoyed Hyunjin.
"I guess you could," she said nonchalantly.
Hyunjin furrowed his eyebrows. "You're so casual about all of this—"
"My address!" Jiyu cut him off, grabbing her purse and taking out a tiny notebook and a pen. She quickly scribbled something down.
"It kinda pisses me off…" Hyunjin whispered under his breath.
Jiyu stayed focused on the paper. "Did you say something?"
"…No."
"Here." She handed him the paper, smiling. "Thank you in advance."
Hyunjin hummed in response, his gaze fixed on the paper as his eyes slowly turned red.
"You don’t need anything but the clothes?"
"Yeah. Try not to steal an underwear or two," she said slyly.
"Shut the fuck up." Hyunjin’s red eyes remained locked on the paper before he disappeared into the same dark aura, leaving behind those dark feathers.
Jiyu’s smile slowly faded, her eyes glued to the feathers.
"It pisses me off too…"
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"Outfit check!" Jiyu exclaimed, running downstairs all the way to the kitchen, where Hyunjin was.
It was her third day living with him and her first day back at work.
Hyunjin looked up from his coffee machine, eyeing Jiyu, who wore a white top, a black pencil skirt, and a grey trench coat. She also had on black high-heeled boots, matching with a black purse.
He motioned with his index finger for her to spin, and she did, maintaining a straight, expectant smile.
"Not bad," he said with a nod.
She groaned, grabbing Kkami off the floor.
"The vampire's opinion doesn’t matter. What do you think, baby?" She smiled brightly at Kkami, who just stared at her calmly for a few seconds. Then she nodded with a satisfied smile. "He approves."
Hyunjin scoffed as she placed Kkami back on the floor.
"There’s a sandwich on the counter. Eat it on your way before your coffee."
"I don’t wan—"
"I can literally use my ability to make you eat it, so eat it willingly."
Jiyu rolled her eyes before taking the sandwich and turning on her heels to leave.
"You," Hyunjin’s voice stopped her midway. She turned as he continued, locking eyes with her. "No one knows about this."
Jiyu smiled. "Well, since you asked with brown eyes, I’m taking this to my grave."
A faint smile made its way to Hyunjin's lips.
"You better."
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To be continued...
A/N:
We're getting new characters next chapter, who do you expect?