- Jeong Taeui’s pov

“Ugh..” I groan, smelling the

stench of blood.🩸

“Seriously, this is the main factor on why I hate being a wolf.” I scratch the back of my neck in frustration and cover my nose.

Well anyway, I need to carry this back to my pack. I carry the corpse of the deer on my back and began running back.

“I’m back!” I shout cheerfully as I open the door to our home.

“Oppa!””Hyung!” A small group of 8 kids scurry to the arms of Jeong Taeui.

JEONG TAEUI

An outcast among his peers. He couldn’t fully turn into a werewolf, and even had difficulty just trying to turn one of his arms or legs.

Infamous for this inability, he was given the nickname, “Wolf” as inferior to werewolves.

“Oppa! Oppa! Is that food on your back?” A petite young girl with gold pigtails asks, wagging her tail in excitement.

I smile, “It sure is! Let’s all have deer meat tonight!”

All kids cheer in joy, except for one.

“Ugh! Deer, again? Seriously-.! I’m tired of eating the same livestock over and over again..!” One boy with hair as black as charcoal exclaims, his eyebrows furrowed.

“………” The whole room went silent. The rest of the kids stare at the boy with mixed feelings.

“Oh..I- uhm..” The boy stammers and stumbles, losing his balance,

but before tripping onto the floor,

“Hup! Careful there, Jin.”

I quickly catch Hyujin, the boy with hair as black as charcoal.

“Ah..Hyung..I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Hyujin starts bawling his eyes out, and tears began to blur his sight.

Surprised, I quickly wipe his tears away, “It’s okay Jin! Haha, don’t cry. No one here has ill towards you.”

Hyujin glances at the rest of the kids.

The kids all hurriedly run towards him, “Why are you crying!?” “Are you okay?” “Don’t be sad!” They all give out their concern towards Hyujin.

“See? I told you.” I chuckle softly.

I clap my hands three times, “Alright kids! It’s dinnertime! And make sure after dinner, you all go to bed!”

“Yes Hyung!”

“ Yes Oppa!”

I’m glad everything’s going well.

******

AT THE DINING TABLE

I should probably hunt other livestock starting from now on, they are all probably

*tired from the same food these past few weeks. Though, it’ll be risky since deer is the only livestock close to our home, to get other livestock…It’ll definitely be a long journey, close to other territories. Like humans, other werewolves, and…and..! *cough* vampires.*

*****

“Goodnight Hyung!”

“Night night, Oppa!”

The kids all say as they head upstairs to go to bed.

I smile, replying with, “Night, kids!”

…..”Phew! Well, I guess I’ll get going now.”

I lock all the doors except for the back door and run off to the wilderness.

*I’ll catch some livestock now since if I wait tomorrow, it’ll probably be bustling with other species. I need to go when every other species is asleep. Well.. Except for vampires. But it’s fine! I won’t go close to their territory anyway.*

I continue running, far from my home.

…….

- Taeui’s pov

“Let’s see, there’s a quiet town behind these rocks.” I mumble as I sniff around my surroundings.

I move around the rocks swiftly but keeping it to a minimum to avoid noise.

Those darn werewolves think I’m good for nothing, but I still have werewolf senses intact! I’m not useless. I pout while thinking.

Well, there’s no use thinking ‘bout it anymore, it’s all in the past anyway. I jump up from the last rock and found myself at the entrance of the town. “I could smell dozens of livestock in this town, I hope my senses don’t fail me!” I whisper to myself.

I quietly roam around the town, sniffing everywhere until I spot any livestock. This is good, all the houses have their lights shut off. I picked the perfect time! Huhu, I’m so smart. I proudly rub my nose as I continue roaming around.

After roaming around for a couple hours, I finally found livestock, **“Jackpot!” **I mutter in joy, there wasn’t just one or two livestock, it was a whole farm of food! There were cows, pigs and sheep, their scents all mixing in with one another. Geez! Why do humans need so much livestock? Do they have big appetites like werewolves too? Well, I guess I can’t judge them.

I softly hum to myself as I kill off each livestock, I’ll feel bad if I take all of their food, so I’ll just kill five or six , just enough to feed my pack for a few days, then I’ll come back here, well probably.. I kill off the last sheep and smile, feeling contented.

*I’m so glad Mother taught me how to kill as quiet as a snail moving, well, I wonder how she’s doing now. She probably already forgot about me and took care of Jaeui. That’s okay though. It’s been a longtime since I got kicked out of that pack.*

I thought, with a depressing expression filled to the brim with sadness and longing.

*“Oh? What’s with the long face?” **A *cold voice rang out from behind.

I immediately got goosebumps all over my skin, my eyes widen and I shudder in fear. Just from that smell, I can tell it’s neither werewolf or human.

“V-vampire..” I mumble as my teeth began to tremble.

“Haha, was it obvious? Well I suppose a werewolf does have a keen sense of smell.”

*Shit! Why did I meet a vampire here!? Isn’t this a human town? No, I’m sure it is, actually, what’s a vampire doing here!? *

The vampire, as if reading my mind, says, “If you’re wondering why I’m here, I’m here for a similar reason as you. I’ve been hungrier than usual these nights.”

Do vampires posess mind-reading abilities too!? Crazy.. Vampires are crazy..Always.!

The vampire sighs, “Listen, we can’t have a conversation if you just keep facing me with your back.”

“It seems as though I’m the only one talking here. Isn’t that a bit rude?” He added.

Who would want to have a conversation with you!?

This shitty vampire. He sounds around my age, why should I be scared of him!?. I turned around, glaring at the vampire.

“Oh..” I mumbled, seeing a taller figure, pale skin and with grey hair seemingly matching the tone of the cold wind. But my eyes fell to his hands.

Hands that are clear and pretty as glass, with fingertips like frosted snow. Delicate yet belonging to the most lethal species known.

The vampire lets out a low laugh, “Do you like my hands?”

My face immediately stiffens and I revert back to my senses, !!! What did I just think.? Snap yourself out of it Tay!

I muster up the courage and open my mouth, “Well, for the likes of you, no! Those pretty hands don’t belong to your species.”

“Pffft..Haha! So you are saying that my hands are pretty. That’s nice, I never thought I’d come across someone who would find my hands pretty.”

Feeling embarrassed, I quickly open my mouth to argue, but his hands are pretty.. and I end up mumbling, “Well.., they’re nice.”

A smile appears on the vampire’s pale face, “You’re looking at my hands the way a predator stares down its prey.”

“Maybe, would you let me take them if I asked?” I jokingly asked.

The vampire reaches out his hand towards me, “Sure, but you have to give me blood from your hands if so. It would be a pity if you’re the only one on the receiving end.”

“I was joking! Geez..What kind of savage joke is that?” I look at him with a puzzled expression.

but my eyes were immediately attracted to his hands and shamelessly stared.

The vampire looked at me with an indifferent expression,“You can touch them if you want.”

“Eh!? Really?”

“Yes, ****Its only right for me to reward someone complimenting me by giving them what they want.”

I probably shouldn’t even be close to a vampire, let alone touching them. But, it’s just touching his hand. Why not?

I gently poke the white hand, unlike this vampire’s smooth hand, mine are rough. I should only admire his hands, I don’t want to ruin those pretty hands of his.

“My hands have gone through bloodshed aswell, you don’t need to worry.” He spoke in a low, reassuring tone, he grabs my hand and holds it with his hand. Our fingers intertwining with eachother.

“E-EH-!!!” I almost yell out, flustered and began heating up.

“Shhh, those humans will hear us.” The vampire quickly covers my mouth before it rang out.

“Oh, and I’m Ilay. Ilay Riegrow.”

.

….

….

“Ilay..Riegrow? Did..I hear that right?”

I ask, with cold sweat dripping from my forehead.

“Mhm.”

I awkwardly smile, and turn around to gather my thoughts,

*ILAY RIEGROW!??? THE RIEGROW?? No way..Haha am I so unlucky to meet a RIEGROW at my first hunt far from my home? Jaeui!!! Give me your skill to get out of this situation!!! *

“Are you alright?”

“Oh, yeah..”

Pleasedontkillme pleasedontkillme pleasedontkillme

I’ll just reply with whatever..!

It’s a bit rude if I just keep my back faced at him..Dammit! I turn around to face him,

Making eye contact with Ilay. Deep in those eyes of his, I start thinking about the past.

...(Flashback)...

“Have you heard?”

“There’s this vampire..”

Murmurs could be heard outside of the cabin, I rub my eyes, getting out of my bed, I head outside and eavesdrop on the other werewolves.

“The vampire, Riegrow, reached a killing of a thousand, some victims being human, other species and even his own, but majority of the killings were werewolves.”

“Really!? That madman!”

“Yeah, and while I was scouting for food, I saw a smaller figure of him! The same grey hair and eyes!”

“Darn! That must be his offspring then.”

“Heh, we should kill that offspring of his then. Then he’ll know the pain when he killed those families.”

That’s a bit mean..

”Uhm..Hyung, you should kill that- that Riengrow instead of his son because his son didn’t do anything wrong..”

They all stare at me with annoyance, one opening their mouth.

”Tsk, what would YOU know? You’re sheltered in that little cabin. You wouldn’t know the pain of losing those you love.”

Another werewolf glances at me,

”Can’t even pronounce his name right, it’s RIEGROW, get that right because it might be the name of the next murderer that kills your brother yeah?” He laughs.

...(Back to present)...

“Ha, I wondered what kind of face I made there.

I was really a wimp.”

“Hm\~? Were you thinking about something?”

The vampire asks with a curious face.

Oh, did I say that out loud? I click my tongue, “I should really stop doing that..”

“Well, having you react strongly to my name, you’ve probably heard about my father, well, probably not good ones.”

He’s keeping that indifferent expression, I can’t tell if he’s ashamed or proud..?

”I’m sure you’re well aware of your father’s actions then.”

Come to think of it, this vampire, well, Ilay to be specific, has gray hair too like how they described it. He really must be that man’s offspring. How unlucky..

*“Please do separate my father’s actions from mine, I assure you, we ***aren’t** the same.”

He’s giving that cold smile again. Should I even trust him? But I shouldn’t assume,

“Don’t worry, I’m a victim of a..Similar matter.”

Ilay stares at me with a hint of interest as to what I just said,

“May I ask-“

I already knew he was gonna ask that. So before he could get the chance to finish, I interrupted him and started walking back.

”We’ve been here too long, those humans will wake up. I’m going now.”

“Haha, okay then.”

...****************...

I walked my way back to the deep forest where my house resides in, then walked faster…And faster, and faster..!

Then I stopped,

“Okay seriously! It’s been like, what? two hours? And you’re still following me! What is your probelm!?”

I glare at him, irritated.

“Hm.”

He glances at the sky indifferently, seeming as to not hear what I just said.

This little-.!! Ugh! Fine, have your way then. I’ll just tire you out!

I start walking in circles around the deep forest, running and jumping around. Trying to tire him aswell as losing him in this forest.

How do you like that, Ilay! I turned around, expecting him to be tired out or has disappeared.

”!!!!! How’d you even-.?”

Ilay was right beside me, even slightly ahead of me.

“You’re slow for a werewolf.”

He chuckles.

“You’re just fast..”

“That’s what weaklings always say as an excuse.”

“Oh, shut it!”

This Ilay guy is really getting on my nerves!

I started sprinting and being faster than before.

Ilay notices it and runs even faster.

. . And that’s how our little race happened.

***

“Okay stop..I give up..”**** I said while panting and sweating profusely.

“Haha, that was fun.”

“Only for you…”

I click my tongue, damn! My whole plan backfired on me!

I glare at Ilay who’s smirking like a damn villain, before glancing at the way ahead, happily opening my mouth,

*”***Oh! My house!” **My eyes lighten up.

Ilay glances at the direction I’m looking at, “That’s your house? The little shack at the bottom of that tiny cliff?”

(img: credits to TinyHouseTalk from google)

I stare at him, “Shack? SHACK!? This..This is a whole house! What the heck do you mean shack!?”

“Hm? Oh, it wasn’t my intention to offend you or anything. I was just telling the truth.”

“You..YOU DAMN VAMPIRE!!”

I start attempting to hit him in the face, but he dodges every attempt.

*“***I made this house with my own two hands! And with my family!”**

“Hm, that’s actually quite impressive for a 15 year old like you.”

Woah, how did he guess that? Is he actually a psychic!? I look at him with a baffled expression

Ilay glances at me,

“Really..You-“

“Ah wait, you haven’t told me your name yet.”

Oh, right, I haven’t told my name.

I clear my throat, “My name’s Jeong Taeui, you can call me Tay!”

Ilay looks at me as if in deep thought,

“Tay…”

*“***No way! You’re actually the first one to pronounce my name right! Well, besides my parents of course. Haha, even my older brother couldn’t pronounce my name correctly the first time.”**

Ilay smiles, “Well, I have experience.”

Eh? What’s that supposed to mean? Does he mean he’s dealt with hard pronunciation names before? Good for him then. I assumed with no further thoughts.

“Tay, it’s almost sunrise, and my home is very, very far away from here, so I don’t have any shelter for when the sun comes.”

I could already tell what he was hinting at.

”Well it would be rude to leave you out here to burn, so I guess, since you did keep me company the whole night.”

“Oh and, help me carry these inside.” I lend him two bags of livestock meat while I carry the other two bags.

“Fair enough.” He carries the bags on his shoulder with one hand.

Ah, I forgot to tell him there are kids inside-

“Wait, I forgot to tell yo-“

But before I could finish, he opens the door with his other hand.

creak…..——

The kids run to the door to greet “me”,

*”***Hyung!! Oppa!!”**

They burst out the door and hug Ilay tightly.

……,

“OPPA..?”

”HYUNG!?”

Both the kids and Ilay stare at each other in silencewith puzzled and surprised faces.

“Pfffft…Hahaha!” I burst out laughing.

. .

…..

…..