You don’t know when you were born.

All you remember is that the first time you opened your eyes, it wasn’t light that greeted you but cold metal. A steel ceiling reflected a pair of burning red eyes staring straight into yours...not cruel, not kind. Just intensely curious. Disturbingly fascinated.

“...Hmm?" The voice slid across your skin like a whisper of wind. "A new rookie?"

He tilted his head, messy red hair falling over his forehead, round glasses catching the faint flicker of neon lights that pulsed through the alien training chamber. Those eyes never left you. "You look...tasty"

You didn’t understand what he meant. But you remember it clearly, the very first feeling was fear.

His name was Vein, one of the most gifted singers of your batch. His voice made the aliens applaud like mad but sent chills down the spines of the other children. He didn’t talk to anyone. No one dared to get close.

And yet somehow, he wouldn’t stop following you.

Today’s training schedule was brutal: twelve hours of breath control, vocal exercises, and resonance testing. You barely made it through the final evaluation without collapsing. Your throat burned fiercely, and the recycled air inside the chamber felt thick and heavy in your lungs. The collar strapped around your neck never stopped monitoring you, tracking your every breath, every heartbeat, every tremor.

When the session finally ended, you wasted no time. Gasping for fresh air, you fled the training halls and ran toward the one place where you could still find a moment’s peace: the old oak tree. It stood alone at the edge of the training grounds, its broad branches casting a rare patch of shade amid the endless steel and circuitry. Your legs trembled as you sank beneath its limbs, closing your eyes to steady your ragged breath. The artificial sunlight filtered softly through the leaves, warming your face. Slowly, the exhaustion caught up with you. Your eyelids grew heavy. The soft rustling of the leaves and the warmth on your skin lulled you into a restless sleep. When you finally stirred awake, a quiet presence was beside you.

Vein sat beside you with his arms around his knees, those red eyes quietly tracking your every breath and every restless movement. He said nothing. Silent as a ghost. That gaze made you shiver but somehow feel protected in a way you could not explain.

You sat up slowly, rubbing your eyes, voice hoarse from sleep. “Were you… watching me?” You hadn’t meant to fall asleep, especially not here. Under the tree where anyone could see. “Stop staring...” you whispered, averting your eyes.

Vein said nothing. Slowly, he leaned closer, his arm bracing the ground beside you, closing the distance between you two. His crimson eyes locked onto yours, sharp and probing, as if peeling back your very soul. A slow, crooked smile curved his lips as he tilted his head, amused like one inspecting a curious new toy. Without breaking eye contact, Vein reached out slowly, his fingers curling around a stray lock of your hair. His touch was icy, deliberate, sending a chill down your spine. He brought the strand close to his lips and pressed a soft, almost possessive kiss onto it.

“Watching?" he murmured, voice low and silky, his warm breath grazing your cheek "No. Just making sure you don’t disappear on me, sweetie”