(POV: Kim Sa-rang )
The sidewalk was a graveyard of discarded cigarette butts and late-winter slush.
"He was definitely trying to kill us," Woo Ara complained, her blue hair swinging as she gestured wildly. "Who puts a recursive function like that on a mock exam? It's a practice test, not a hazing ritual."
Park Min-kyu laughed, tucking his hands into his pockets. "Maybe the professor wants to see us break before the finals actually hit. It's psychological warfare."
I adjusted my tote bag, my mind still tracing the logic gates of the exam. "It wasn't that bad, Ara. The function was just a loop. If you simplify the base case, the rest of the code falls into place like a puzzle. You're overthinking the syntax and missing the structure."
"Easy for you to say," Ara sighed as we reached the sliding glass doors of our usual barbecue spot. "You think in binary. Some of us still speak human."
We claimed our corner booth, the air thick with the comforting, heavy scent of sizzling galbi and roasted garlic. It was a mundane sanctuary. As the first round of soju hit the table, Min-kyu leaned back. "Let's just drink the night away. There's nothing to gain from dwelling on the past."
I tilted my glass, watching the clear liquid swirl. "That's ironic, isn't it? The whole point of a practice test is to reflect on past mistakes so the future doesn't repeat them. If you don't look back, you're just walking into the finals blind."
"Tomorrow's problem," Ara declared, raising her glass. "Cheers to forgetting today!""Don't go overboard," Min-kyu joked, nudging her. "I don't want to carry you home again. Remember last month? You tried to explain blockchain to the convenience store clerk at 3:00 AM."
"He was very interested!" Ara defended, her face flushing. "And besides, you didn't have to carry me. You chose to."
"It's part of the job description," he teased, his voice dropping into a softer, more intimate tone. "Plus, you're lighter than a laptop."
"Flattery will get you everywhere," she whispered, leaning into his shoulder.
They began to talk about the upcoming semester, their voices merging into a low hum of shared plans and private jokes. They discussed a trip they wanted to take during the summer break. Jeju or maybe Japan. Ara wanted the beach; Min-kyu wanted the food. They debated back and forth, their laughter ringing out over the sound of the sizzling grill.
"Sa-rang, you should come with us," Ara said, looking over. "You need a break from your schedules."
"I have my internship during the summer," I replied, flipping a piece of pork on the grill. "Logic dictates that a summer of experience is worth more than a week of sunburn."
"You're hopeless," Ara sighed, but she was smiling.
Min-kyu reached across the table, his hand finding Ara's. "You look really pretty tonight," he said. The noise of the restaurant seemed to fade for them. "The blue hair… it suits the neon out there."
"I never get tired of hearing that," Ara replied, her voice losing its edge.
I watched them. Min-kyu's gaze softened, his hand finding hers on the table. He leaned in, whispering that she looked pretty under the amber glow of the grill. He kissed her knuckles, a small, intimate gesture that made the air in the booth feel suddenly too crowded.
The weight of their affection pressed against me, a frequency I couldn't tune into. It was uncomfortable, logical, but alien.
"I'm going to get some fresh air," I said, sliding out of the booth before they could protest.
Outside, the cold air was a relief. I leaned against the brick wall, letting the bass from the nearby clubs vibrate through the soles of my boots. But the peace didn't last. In the shadows of the alleyway, I saw them.
A silver-haired man was practically devouring a girl against the wall. It was intense, messy, and entirely too public. I found myself staring, my irritation rising like mercury. It was the lack of discipline that bothered me most, the raw, unrefined hunger of it.
He noticed. He pulled back, a smirk dancing on his lips as he looked me up and down.
"Hey," he called out, his voice a smooth, arrogant rasp. "Would you like to join us? I'm sure she wouldn't mind."
The logic of the moment snapped. I didn't feel flustered; I felt a cold, clinical disgust. I walked up to him, my boots clicking rhythmically on the pavement. I didn't stop until I was in his space.
Then, I kicked him.
I buried my toe hard between his legs. The air left him in a sharp, wheezing hiss. As he doubled over, I leaned in.
"Maybe you should try using your other head for once," I said quietly. I turned my gaze to the girl, who was gaping at me in shock. "And you? You should have more self-respect than to be a public buffet."
I didn't wait for a reply. I turned on my heel and walked back into the restaurant.
"I'm tired," I told Ara and Min-kyu as I grabbed my coat. "I'm heading home. Don't stay out too late."
"See you at the apartment, Sa-rang!" Ara called out, already leaning back into Min-kyu's side.
I walked toward the subway, my mind already resetting. I had a schedule to maintain.
(POV SHIFT: Kim Ye-jun)
I was crouched on the pavement, the world spinning in a haze of sudden, sharp pain.
"Are you okay?" the girl whispered, reaching for my shoulder.
I waved her off, a short, breathless laugh escaping my throat. My groin throbbed, but beneath the pain, there was a spark of something I hadn't felt in decades. Amusement.
"I haven't had that much fun in a long time," I muttered, straightening up slowly.
I watched the woman in the baggy blazer disappear into the crowd. She was sharp. She was dangerous in a way that had nothing to do with silver or fire. I made a mental note of the line of her jaw and the cold green of her eyes. I would remember that face. I would find a way to entertain myself with it again.
"Hotel?" the girl asked, her voice hopeful.
"Hotel," I agreed.
The hotel room was a cage of glass and expensive silk, overlooking a Seoul that never stopped screaming.
Inside, the air was suffocatingly human, thick with the scent of her floral perfume and the sharp, grounding heat of her skin. I didn't look at her face; I didn't care for the expression she wore.
I focused on the friction. I moved with a predatory, mechanical precision, my hands tangling in her bleached hair as I pulled her mouth to mine. The kiss wasn't a conversation; it was a consumption. I drowned in the tidal rush of her gasps, using the sheer weight of her body against mine to anchor my drifting, ghostly molecules to the mattress.
As we moved together, the unnatural fever of our collision seemed to boil the very air, fogging the glass of the windows with a thick, humid steam. For these few minutes, I wasn't a thousand-year-old glitch in the universe; I was a man of bone and burning blood. I could feel the pulse in her wrists, the frantic thrum of her heart against my chest—a drumbeat that sounded like a countdown.
I tilted her head back, exposing the pale, vulnerable line of her throat. The ache in my jaw was a dull roar now, a physical demand that drowned out the neon lights of Hongdae bleeding through the curtains.
"Look at me," I commanded. My voice was a low vibration that seemed to rattle the very air between us.
She obeyed, her eyes glazed with a mix of exhaustion and a hunger she didn't truly understand.
I didn't wait. I sank my fangs into the hollow of her neck, the skin giving way with a soft, wet snap. The first draw was a violent rush, a flood of copper heat that slammed into my senses, turning the world from a grey blur into a vivid, agonizing crimson. I drank until the static in my ears died down, until the marrow in my bones felt heavy again. I could taste her life, her mundane worries, the expensive gin she'd had at the bar, all of it distilled into a singular, intoxicating high that pinned me to the present.
She let out a soft, broken moan, her hands clenching in my silver hair as the euphoric fog of my venom took hold of her mind.
When I finally pulled away, my lips were stained a dark, visceral red. I watched her for a moment; her breathing was shallow, her spirit drifting in the pleasant lethargy I had gifted her.
"Sleep," I said, my eyes turning a dead, freezing silver as I pushed the Compulsion into her mind. I brushed a thumb over the marks on her neck, watching the skin begin the slow, sluggish process of sealing. "You will stay here until the sun is high."
Her eyes fluttered and closed, her body turning limp against the white linens.
I stood up, the silence of the room returning like a cold tide. I didn't linger. I didn't look back at the ruin of the bed. I dressed with a clinical efficiency, adjusting my coat and checking my watch. The "holiday" was over. The physical friction was gone, leaving me once again with the hollow weight of my own existence.
"Everything is paid for," I muttered to the silent room.
I walked out, the heavy door clicking shut behind me. I was a ghost again, drifting toward the elevator, already wondering how long it would take for the girl with the green eyes and the violent kick to cross my path once more.
(POV: Kim Sa-rang — Friday Morning)
(POV: Kim Sa-rang — The Next Day)
It was a cold Friday morning, the kind where the breeze slips through your sleeves and settles at the base of your spine before you're fully awake.
"New club opening in Hongdae," Ara reminded me as we walked toward the university gates. "Sa-rang. You promised."
"I remember," I said, checking my watch. "But after this weekend, the agreement stands. No distractions apart from your birthday party. I need to focus on midterms."
"You're so serious," Min-kyu laughed.
"And you're going to fail if I don't help you study," I countered. "So stick to the deal."
They groaned in unison, but neither of them argued. They both knew I meant it.
Later that afternoon, after finishing a long review session in the library, I returned to the apartment. I sat at my desk and opened my planner, the grid of the week laid out in neat, black ink..
I adjusted a few time blocks, rewriting one section so the lines aligned perfectly. The logic of the schedule calmed me. When everything was measured and accounted for, the world felt manageable.
I studied until my eyes burned slightly, then closed my notebook and slipped it into my bag. It was time to visit my parents.
The subway ride was familiar and steady, the muted announcements and rhythmic hum of the tracks forming a background I'd known since childhood. By the time I reached their building, the sky had darkened into a soft indigo.
My mother opened the door before I could finish punching the code in.
"You're thinner," she said immediately, stepping aside to let me in.
"I'm not," I replied automatically, slipping off my shoes.
My father was already setting bowls on the table. The smell of stew filled the apartment, warm and grounding. I sat down across from them, the steam rising between us.
"How are your studies?" my father asked.
"They're going well," I said. "We had a practice test this week. It was… intense. Harder than expected."
My mother frowned. "And?"
"I reviewed it already. I know where I slipped. If I keep at it, finals won't be a problem."
"That's good to hear," my father said, nodding once.
"I'm also going out tonight," I added. "There's a club opening in Hongdae."
My mother exchanged a glance with my father.
"You shouldn't push yourself so hard," she said gently. "We're always here if you need help. You don't have to carry everything alone."
"Studies aren't everything," my father added. "You're allowed to enjoy yourself."
I smiled faintly. "I do enjoy myself. My schedule isn't that hectic. I make sure there's time for everything."
They always said that.
They had always been kind. Supportive. If I wanted to try something new, they never hesitated. If I needed materials, books, equipment, they paid without complaint. I knew I could ask for anything.
That was why I worked at the coffee shop.
I could at least cover my own expenses for nights out, birthday gifts, small indulgences. I didn't want to take advantage of their generosity. I wanted to stand on my own feet, even if just a little.
After dinner, I helped clear the table despite my mother insisting I didn't need to. When I put my shoes back on, my father walked me to the door.
"Be safe tonight," he said.
"I will."
"Text us when you get home," my mother added from the kitchen.
"I always do."
I stepped back into the night air, cooler now, sharper against my skin. The city lights flickered to life around me, steady and predictable.
Everything was in its place.
Everything was under control.
And somewhere in the same city, something unseen was already moving closer.