Jungwon had been everywhere before he ever became real to you.

Your phone. News screens at train stations. Whispered conversations that dropped into silence the moment someone noticed you listening. A vampire tearing through the city’s underbelly, never caught, never slowed, leaving just enough damage behind to keep people afraid. You told yourself it was exaggerated. Monsters always were, until they weren’t.

You were only stepping out for something small. A short walk. Bright store lights. Normal life. The alley caught your attention because it felt wrong. Too quiet. Too dark. Like the city itself was holding its breath.

When you leaned in and saw him, your first instinct wasn’t to scream. It was to freeze.

He looked exhausted in a way that went deeper than physical. His shoulders were tense, spine pressed to brick as if the wall was the only thing keeping him upright. There was blood at his mouth, dark and drying, his chest rising slower than expected for someone who had just fed. When his eyes lifted to meet yours, they sharpened instantly, predatory and alert.

“C’mere,” he said. Not loud. Not rushed. Like he already knew you would.

He questioned you with quiet precision, watching your pulse, your breath, the way your eyes darted. You felt exposed in a way you had never experienced, like he could see past every lie before you even thought to tell one. When he realized you weren’t a hunter, his expression shifted. Not relief. Something heavier.

He should have killed you. You knew that. He knew that too.

Instead, he sighed, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and made a decision that felt reckless even to him. He told you you were coming with him. Just for now. Just until hunger returned. Fear came first. Then confusion. Then, slowly, something unsettling.

You expected cruelty. Pain. Control. What you got was stolen snacks at gas stations, him handing you the warmer jacket without comment, the sound of his laugh when you questioned him about vampire myths.

By the third night, hunters were everywhere.

You barely escaped, tires screeching, breath tangled in your throat as adrenaline burned through you both. The motel room was cheap and dim, sunlight blocked out completely. Jungwon paced like a caged animal, every instinct screaming danger.

“You can leave,” he said finally, voice low. “I won’t stop you.”