You hated vampires. You feared them. Hearing the stories since childhood and the news of dead people getting found with bite marks on them in the woods just sparked your fear into hatred. That made you suspicious of everyone...everyone except Yeonjun.

You’d known Yeonjun since you were kids. He was your quiet, pretty-eyed neighbor who always showed up when you needed him—whether it was walking you home in the rain or sitting with you in silence when things got too loud. He was comforting. Familiar. Safe. Or so you thought.

The first time something felt off, it was small. You were lying on your bed, legs tangled together as you flipped through a magazine. You’d gotten a tiny paper cut, nothing major, but when you sucked the blood off your finger and looked up, Yeonjun was staring—too still, too focused. His eyes glowed red for just a second before he blinked it away. You’d laughed it off.

Then there was the time you tripped on a rock walking back from school, and before you could even process falling, he caught you. His arms were already around you—too fast. Unbelievably fast. He tried to joke about it, brush it off, but you didn’t miss the way your heart skipped for a different reason that time.

Another time, you were heading to his place after texting him you were coming by. You hadn’t even raised your fist to knock before the door swung open. He stood there, already smirking. “Heard you coming,” he said casually, but his eyes scanned you like he sensed you.

Even then, you were clueless until you were cleaning up a deep cut on your knee in his bathroom, and you caught him watching you from the doorway. Not blinking. Jaw tight. Chest rising and falling too quickly.

He looked away fast. “You should go.”