Untitled

For alphas, they are known to have short-temper, a high tendency to claim their respective territories and the list goes on. It doesn't help that most of the alphas are males. But, that doesn't mean female alphas doesn't exist. And that's how you come about—one of the few, extremely rare female alpha, was born into this world.

Safe to say, your parents were extremely disappointed when they heard the results after your check-up. They have the old, traditional mindset that females shouldn't be born as alphas or even, betas. They should be born as omegas—the perfect role for them as it allows them to get pregnant, carrying the alpha's child and being able to carry on the legacy as well. At first, your parents tried to force you to learn and adapt the ways of an omega but you were stubborn, refusing to budge an inch.

It didn't help that your older brother: Nishimura Ni-ki, a famous model that every brands fight to get their hands on, was hellbent on protecting and defending you from your parents' antics. However, the amount of power and influence your parents had was way higher than your brother.

This resulted in you being one of their pawns and there was nothing Riki could do to save you from them. At that time, he was only seventeen while you're fifteen. The last thing he remembered was you screaming at the top of your lungs, struggling to free yourself from your father's grip while you were being dragged away. The way you begged your brother to save you, to free you constantly haunts him, even till this day.

"Good morning, Ma'am."

Your staff greeted you, bowing at ninety-degrees sharp as you walked past them, ignoring their greetings. It wasn't because of any petty reasons. No, you were borderline fuming. The last thing you want is for you to unleash your pent-up anger on someone who clearly doesn't deserve it. You headed to your office, slamming the door shut behind you, startling the living lights out of your employees. But they were smart enough to pretend they heard nothing.

Bam!

You slammed your hands down on your desk, causing your keyboard and the other things to momentarily shoot up from their respective spots. You were busy drowning in your anger that you didn't registered someone entering your office, without permission or bothering to knock.

"Did something happened between you and that husband of yours again?"

You raised your head, unamused with your personal assistant's question. Remaining where you are, your eyes tracked his movements as he stopped before you, placing your standard to-go cup of coffee on your table. Scowling, you snatched it up, stabbing the straw through the small hole and sipped from it.

"What else is there, Choi Beomgyu? I swear, I hate him so much I just want to—" You paused, wildly waving your free hand about, imagining yourself choking your said husband.

As someone who had seen you at your worst and best, Beomgyu was unfazed. He merely hummed, sipping from his respective cup of coffee, "Well, that's not what you told me a few days ago. When you mentioned how and I quote 'good-looking in his uniform'—"

"One more word and I'll fire you," you threatened, pointing your left index finger at him.

Your assistant smirked; smug. "Yeah right. If you fire me, who's going to tolerate that temper of yours? Your husband?"

"Choi Beomgyu!"

After that, the two of you had just finished your meeting with the board. The meeting is scheduled on a monthly basis—a simple check-in on how the business is doing. At least, that's what they want you to think.

You knew the board disliked you ever since you took over the company. It's due to one simple reason—you're a woman.

To them, having to listen to someone of the opposite gender hurts their ego and pride. It's already hard for you to deal with your husband at home and having to watch your back at work.

Clearing your throat, you leaned back in your seat with your left leg elegantly crossed over your right leg. You rested your chin on the palm of your left hand, eyes jumping from one face to another. Beomgyu sat on your right while the rest of the seats were filled with members of the board. You can tell from their eyes that they wished it was anyone else but you sitting in that seat right now. The thought nearly made you smirked.

"So, now that today's meeting has ended, does anyone else have anything else to share? If not, we're done for the day," you said, opening the floor to them.

As expected, one of them raised his hands and you nodded, giving him permission to speak.

"Ma'am, while we acknowledge the… effort you've put into the company, perhaps certain decisions require a more experienced hand. One with, say… deeper understanding of the history."

The words he chose were carefully measured, but the unspoken meaning wasn't lost on everyone. He wasn't questioning the decision—he was questioning you. And it's directly toy our face. You remained calm, merely arching an eyebrow in response. Another board member took this as a chance to add in, being the brainless fool they are.

"And of course, we really do appreciate your… boldness. But boldness and recklessness are separated by a very thin line."

A few chuckled under their breath, not bothering to conceal it. You kept your chin resting on your palm, expression unreadable. Beomgyu squirmed uncomfortable beside you, clearly sensing the hostility and how the air shifted.

"So what you're really saying," you replied smoothly, voice calm but laced with steel, "is that numbers and profits don't matter. The growth we've seen in the past quarter doesn't matter. Why? It's because I'm the one leading the company."

A ripple of unease passed across the table. Some pointedly avoided your gaze, having the audacity to look guilty. Some smirked to themselves, as if to think she finally admitted the truth. A man at the far end scoffed, leaning back in his chair.

"Don't twist our words, Ma'am. We're merely suggesting that perhaps your methods don't align with the traditions this company was built on."

Traditions.

A pretty word they loved to hide behind. But when in reality, it was nothing more than just a mere excuse to allow them to have and taste power. To let them conquer and no one else should touch them. You couldn't helped but let out an amused snort. The sound immediately gathering everyone's attentions. You slowly uncrossed your legs, leaning forward with both elbows resting on the table, eyes sharp as they cut through everyone like a blade.

If looks could kill, they would've been dead on the spot.

"Let me make this crystal clear. If you have a problem with my leadership, that's your burden to carry. Not mine. I was placed in this position because I was the most capable and not because of your approval. And as long as I'm here, the only thing that matters are results—something I've constantly delivered. The rest of you, on the other hand, chose to sit back and enjoy the show while waiting for me to show the first sign of weakness."

The man who had spoken first shifted in his seat, his smugness faltering under your sharp gaze. You tilted your head slightly, letting a small, knowing smile curve your lips.

"And if you're truly desperate for 'tradition', perhaps you should remember one of the oldest traditions in business: adapt or get left behind. Now tell me, gentlemen—do you really want to risk being the ones slowing the company down, especially when your salaries allows you to live your luxurious lives to the fullest?"

Your assistant smirked from his seat, clearly enjoying the way with how the board aren't able to reply.

"Good," you said, rising to your full height with effortless grace. Beomgyu was quick to stand as well, holding his iPad tightly in his left hand. "Then unless someone here has the courage to admit they're against the company's success, this meeting is over. Have a good day, gentlemen."

And just like that, you walked out, heels clicking against the floor as you left them in stunned, furious silence.

~

"Hello, this is your pilot speaking. We've officially touched down at Incheon International Airport. The weather for today seems to be fantastic, not too hot and not too cold. Temperature's ranging from twenty-five to twenty-nine degrees. To foreigners, welcome to Seoul and I hope you enjoy your time here. To the people of Seoul welcome home."

The plane came to a stop as the airport staff get to work on latching the transportable door to the plane while getting the luggage out. In the cockpit, two pilots remained where they were. They did a quick but detailed check on the plane's systems, ensuring everything isn't out of place or anywhere in the danger zone before stepping out, once all of the passengers have alighted the plane. Jay couldn't help but snort at how some of the air stewardess' faces fell when they noticed the silver, glowing wedding ring snugly wrapped around his friend's ring finger.

Jungwon glanced at his fellow co-pilot and friend from the corner of his eyes, bemused. The two were the last to alight from the plane, their respective luggage being dragged behind them. "What's so funny, hyung?"

"Thought I've gotten used to seeing you crushing every woman's dreams of marrying you, but turns out I'm wrong. Their reactions are priceless," he wheezed, reaching out to comfortingly rest his hand on the younger's left shoulder.

Jungwon rolled his eyes, "The hell are you talking about, hyung? You know our marriage isn't like that."

Jay hums, a knowing look glimmered in his eyes, "is it, though? But whatever, I'm just jealous that you get to marry the Nishimura (Name)."

Jungwon chose to remain silent, lips sealed shut as they smoothly passed through customs without any difficulties. They had finished their final leg of the day and are free for one week before they have to fly again. Being a pilot means spending most of your times traveling around the world. It was also his dream since young. To him, the thought of being able to fly to different countries—exploring their cultures and witnessing how different people lived different lives, it's an life-changing experience. And he wouldn't have it any other way.

However, his family doesn't have the same view as him. Jungwon comes from the Yang family—a family lined up with promising and talented doctors. His parents are the owners of a major chain of hospitals, with a promising group of staff that are able to perform feats that were deemed impossible.

Jungwon was supposed to follow his father's footsteps—taking over the business when his father retire. But, he didn't want that. He didn't want to spend the rest of his life wearing the white coat, conducting surgeries after surgeries and spending the rest of his life on solid ground.

He wants to be free, to be able to do whatever he wants without anyone holding him back.

The pilot returned to his shared apartment with you. It was only four in the afternoon, which means you won't be home until three to four hours later. This means Jungwon has the whole house to himself for the time being. The thought of that was enough to put his mind at ease. He made quick work of his uniform, tossing them into his laundry basket that was placed beside yours before stepping into the bathroom to take a much-needed shower.

Once he was done, he stepped out shirtless with a pair of comfortable, gray sweatpants and a towel draped around his broad shoulders. Jungwon didn't bother wearing a shirt, heading to the kitchen while drying his hair. Only for him to pause at the sight of you returning home.

"You're back early," he commented, leaning against the wall.

"Shut up, I'm not in the mood," you retorted, dumping your bag on the couch as you stormed to the kitchen, nearly ripping the fridge's door off with how aggressive you were.

Jungwon rolled his eyes, "You're always not in the mood. Makes me wonder how did you even become the CEO of your own company."

You froze, looking at him over your shoulder as you poured yourself a glass of water. "Excuse me? Yang Jungwon, I dare you to say it again."

He didn't backed down, didn't flinched when you fully turned to face him with the nastiest scowl on your face he had seen. "What? Are you deaf or something? I said, makes me wonder how did you even become the CEO of your own company."

He sneered, words dripping with disdain and continued, "Omegas like you shouldn't even be allowed to run your own business—"

You slammed the glass down on the kitchen counter with a harsh, abrupt force. It gave a sharp crack before bursting apart with a violent crash, water exploding across the surface. You didn't cared that your hand was bleeding and how the floor was getting soaked. You were too furious to care about the lingering, numbing pain.

"Yang Jungwon, may I remind you that I am where I am now because of my hard work and dedication. Unlike you, I didn't have to kiss my way up."

This time, it was Jungwon's turn to narrow his eyes, jaw tightening. "What are you talking about?"

You returned the sneer with equal amount of pettiness, "you know damn well what I'm referring to. I bet it's thanks to your parents' influence that lets you become a pilot. Must be nice to have a family who supports you."

Jungwon's eyes darkened and you smelled it before you sensed it. The way he lost control of his pheromones. It was feral, raw and impossible to ignore. The kitchen thickened with the scent—musky and wild, laced with something sharp that clawed at your lungs. It was the kind of presence that can make someone's instincts go on high alert, causing invisible alarm bells to ring. Most would have cowered on the spot, tail hidden between their legs and bowed their heads—a form of submission.

But, you weren't like them.

Your gaze never wavered. You met his eyes head-on, steady and unyielding—a silent challenge sparked between the two of you. Jungwon sighed, regaining control of himself and calmed down. His pheromones were gone, vanishing into thin air as he pushed himself off the wall, ready to walk away but he paused, turning his head towards you.

"You know, you're awfully brave for an omega. But you should think twice before you speak, unless you're asking to be punished," he said and left you alone in the kitchen without waiting for your response.

~

It has been three days since that brief and intense argument with Jungwon. Both of you simply refused to speak to one another, acting like two immature children, despite how you're literally two mature, grown adults.

You had told (more like ranted) to Beomgyu about how infuriating, how annoying and how tiring it is to deal with him for the past one hour or so. The two of you are on the way to a work event—to attend a fashion show that your company had taken part in. After all, it was only right for the owner herself to make an appearance.

"..I just don't get it. Would it kill him to serve his duty as my husband just for a single fucking day?" You spat, furiously tapping your finger on the armrest of your seat as you watched everything moved past you in a blur.

Beomgyu sat beside you, humming while his fingers flew across his screen at lightning speed. You turned to him, snatched his phone out of his grip, much to his dismay.

"Hey, give that back!" He exclaimed, reaching forward with the intention of taking back what rightfully belonged to him.

You merely moved away, raising your hand behind you, "Nuh uh, as my personal assistant, it's your job to listen to your boss when she's talking to you."

Beomgyu scoffed, "Please, I'm not getting paid enough to listen to you whining about your marriage problems. I already have enough to deal with."

Smack!

"Ow! What was that for!?" He yelped, rubbing his upper left arm—the very same spot that you had smacked him at.

"That was for disrespecting your boss," you retorted, finally handing him his phone when the car came to a stop, arriving at your destination.

Beomgyu muttered something inaudible under his breath as he got out, walking around the car to open the door for you. You accepted his hand, allowing him to help you out of the vehicle as you wrapped your hand around his right arm. Blinding cameras flashes greeted you the moment you were out, nearly making you see white with how bright it was, despite how you had gotten used to it. Your assistant, on the other hand, made a strangled sound at the back of his throat, caught off-guard with the flashes.

Plastering a professional smile on your face, you leaned closer to him so you can whisper to him, "Please smile for the cameras or I'll kick you in the balls."

"…Isn't this work abuse?"

After having your pictures taken, you were guided to the venue where the event was held. Or more specifically, where you have to spend the next hour or so mingling about in the crowd as you talk to different guests and celebrities who were invited. Everyone's eyes were on you the moment you entered, making your grip tightened on Beomgyu's arm. The way he lets out a pained, startled hiss went unnoticed by you.

"Well, look who it is! Nishimura (Name) has blessed us peasants with her royal presence!" A familiar voice caught your attention. A voice that instantly made your shoulders sagged with relief.

A young woman dressed in a black, glimmering dress approached you with a wide, friendly smile on her face. She opened her arms and you accepted her hug offer, allowing yourself to be embraced by her. You were the first to pull away, hands resting on her shoulders as your eyes scanned from head to toe.

"Hey Karina, good to see you. How was Europe?" You asked, laughing at the way she rolled her eyes, not bothering to hide her frustration.

"Ugh, don't remind me about that. It was a pain in the ass. Imagine having to spend two weeks in a foreign country where their staple food is bread, bread and bread," she bemoaned, acting as if she's about to faint.

"I see you're still the drama queen you are," Beomgyu commented, approaching the two of you with three glasses of cocktail held in his hands.

Karina accepted one of the glass with a playful scowl, "I see you're still employed," she paused to turn to you, "if you need another assistant, I'm available."

"Yah! Don't steal my job," Beomgyu protested, his eyes widening as he handed you a glass of cocktail, to which you accepted it while laughing at your friends' antics.

Karina and Beomgyu go a long way back. The three of you have known each other since college, despite taking different majors. It was thanks to some common modules that you took that made you befriended one another. The three of you are glued to the hip but despite that, they were clueless about your secondary gender, assuming that you're an omega. There were times when you secretly envied Karina, as she too, is also a female alpha. Unlike you, she didn't have to hide.

Beomgyu's a beta—something that shocked you and Karina but he wasn't upset about it. He had even made some jokes, about how he didn't have to deal with Karina 'stinking up the whole place when she's in rut', leading to her delivering a well-deserved smack to his poor shoulder.

"As much as I wish to keep talking, I need to walk around and talk to other people," you sighed, reluctantly pulling yourself away from the conversation.

Karina whined, hands grabbing onto your wrist—a poor attempt to stop you, "Are you sure you need to?"

You flashed her a what you hoped was an reassuring smile, nodding as you gently pried her hand away from your wrist, "I'm sure. Gyu can stay with you. I can handle this myself."

Your assistant arched an eyebrow but nodded, "If you say so, boss. But let me know if if you need help."

You hummed before turning to walk away. Being a CEO means you have to maintain your current business relationships and at the same time, build new relationships too. It's all part of survival—one of the basics you had learnt and how your company was able to survive and reached where it was today.

"Excuse me, you must be Yang (Name), right?" An unfamiliar male voice snapped you out of your thoughts.

You looked over your shoulder, to see an unfamiliar man wearing a customized Prada suit. Still, you didn't want to come off as rude—not in a place like this where one wrong move means it's the end of your career. Which was why you plastered on a fake, professional smile as the man stopped before you, leaving some distance between the two of you.

"Hello, and you are…?" Your voice trailed off, unsure of how to address him.

"Ah, I'm Minjae. I'm here on behalf of my father's company. Here's my business card, if you're keen to collaborate in the future," he introduced himself, reaching into his breast pocket of his suit to pull out his name card that contains his contact information and hands it to you.

You accepted it with a thankful smile on your face, bowing slightly. "Thank you. I'm sorry but I didn't bring my card with me."

Minjae laughed, waving off your words with his hand. "It's fine, don't worry about it," he paused, shoving his free hand into the pocket of his pants, "I've heard a lot about your company. People say you're difficult to impress, but I think they are wrong."

You returned the smile but it doesn't reach your eyes. "Well, I'd like to believe professionalism isn't the same as being difficult, Mr MInjae."

He chuckled in, leaning in as if he's about to tell you a secret. "Of course. Still, you seem…different in person. Warmer and more…human." His gaze lingered, eyes scanning your features in a way that had your shoulders stiffening.

You shifted slightly, taking a step back but Minjae was quick to follow, closing the distance by stepping forward. “You know,” he continued, voice dropping low, “it must be exhausting, holding up such a perfect image all the time. Don’t you ever get tired of it?”

"Thanks for your concern, but I can manage on my own," you replied, tightening your grip around your own glass of half-empty cocktail.

He smirked, amused by your reaction, and leaned closer still—close enough for his cologne to mix with the faint tang of his pheromones. “You don’t have to hide it with me. I can tell there’s more to you than the CEO mask. I can almost…” He tilted his head, his nose brushing dangerously close to your hairline, “…catch your real scent.”

"…(Name)?"

Your body went as still as statue at his voice. The practiced smile you wore slipped. The voice was painfully familiar, one you haven't heard in years but one you could recognized in a heartbeat. You turned, body moving on autopilot mode and there he stood. Nishimura Riki, your older brother. He was older, taller and sharper now. Unlike before, he was dressed in designer clothes from head to toe—a sign he had achieved his dream.

For a split second, the memories came rushing back—the way he stood there, watching without lifting a single finger, the way he remained silent when you needed him most and the way he watched as you were dragged away by your parents. That was the last time you had seen him. And now, here he was, at an event, calling out to you as if those years of abandonment and silence didn't exist in the first place.

Your brother's eyes flickered between you and Minjae, only for them to narrow when he noticed how close the man was to you. Riki closed the distance with six large strides, shoving himself in between the two of you. He protectively stood before you, shielding you from Minjae's view.

"I'll suggest for you to walk away and leave my sister alone," he snarled, losing control of his pheromones for a split second. But it was enough for the people nearby to pause in whatever they were doing, subtly listening in on the conversation.

Minjae scoffed, stepping back—no doubt intimidated by your brother. He didn't spared you a second glance and walked away, leaving you with yoru brother.

Your grip on your glass tightened. The professional facade you wore wavered, threatening to crack at any moment. Every instinct screamed at you to keep walking, to pretend you didn't hear him. But his eyes—your brother's eyes—were pleading, begging you to stay. You nearly laughed out loud at the irony. At how the tables had turned. You snapped back to reality, tearing your eyes away from him and turned, ready to walk away but Riki was faster. All it took was six large strides to close the distance.

He grabbed your wrist, his fingers touching, "Wait, please," he begged, voice cracking at the end.

You couldn't turn to face him. Or maybe, you didn't want to. You squeezed your eyes shut, pointedly looking ahead. "…Riki, let go," you demanded, your voice soft but audible enough for his ears, fully aware of how some people were watching.

"No, I'm not making the same mistake again," he insisted, his grip tightening slightly, enough to elicit a pained hiss from you.

"Oh, really? That's what you think this is? Just another mistake?" You barked out, spinning around to fully face him. Your cocktail spilt from the glass but you ignored it, focused on your brother.

Riki faltered. "No, I—"

You did a quick scan of your surroundings, sighing and grabbed his wrist with your free hand, tugging him forward. "Come with me."

He tripped over his feet as he matched your pace. "Wait, where are we going?"

"Somewhere quiet so no one can see me beating the shit out of you."

You ended up dragging him to the open-aired garden located behind. Thankfully, there weren't anyone around as most were enjoying their time in the part. Most except the two of you, that is. You released your grip on Riki's wrist once you were certain no one's able to eavesdrops on your conversation. Your previous glass of cocktail was returned to a passing waiter and now your hands are free. Crossing your arms, you cocked your head to the side and raised an eyebrow.

"Well? Start talking, I don't have all day for this," you snapped, tapping your left foot impatiently on the ground.

Riki scratched the back of his head. "..I'm sorry for everything. I really am."

You scoffed, "That's it? After all those years, that's all you have to say for yourself? You think one lousy apology is going to fix anything? To make up for what you had done?"

His hands curled into fists, the familiar restlessness he always carried visible in the way his shoulders shifted. “I know I should’ve done more. I should’ve protected you. I should’ve—”

“You should’ve been my brother!” you snapped, the words tearing out of you before you could stop them. Your voice cracked, but you didn’t let it falter. “Do you know how pathetic it felt, begging you over and over to say something, to stand up for me? And every time, you just—” you laughed bitterly, “you pushed me away like I was a burden.”

Riki's jaw tightened, guilt flickered across his face. "I thought if I distanced myself, they won't keep targeting you anymore."

You shook your head, feeling your anger rising. "You weren't protecting me, Riki. You were protecting yourself. And you left me alone in the house with them while you get to walk away and live your life, forgetting about me completely."

His lips opened then closed. Like he wants to say something but he didn't know what to say. Like words had failed him.

"I don't accept your apology. You don't deserve forgiveness from me, not when you came waltzing back into my life, like nothing happened."

You sighed, running a hand through your hair. "Just… go back to your world, Riki. And leave me to mine. We're already strangers and it's best to keep it this way."

And just like that, you walked away without waiting for his response, leaving your older brother there, in the shadows where he had chosen to stay the entire time.

~

You regrouped with Karina and Beomgyu as it was time for everyone to take their seats, due to the fashion show about to begin.

They frowned when they saw your expression, knowing something had happened the moment you left their sides. But before they could say anything, you silenced them by shaking your head, not wanting to talk about it in public, where anyone and everyone can hear. All of you took your respective seats by the runway. Karina had to sit at the front with her boss while you and Beomgyu sat at a few seats down the first row.

The lights dimmed, a hush falling over the audience as the first beats of music pulsed through the venue. You elegantly crossed your right leg over your left leg, back straight—giving the impression that you were calm, cool and collected, despite how you had shouted at Riki a few minutes ago.

The spotlight shifted, illuminating the first model striding down the runway in the upcoming season's most anticipated pieces. The audience shifted into soft murmurs of approval, flashes from cameras scattered across the catwalk. You couldn't help but leaned forward slightly, the faintest trace of satisfaction curled in your chest. This is your world—where you rightfully belonged, where you can breathe freely without anyone watching your every movement.

And then your breath hitched.

The next model to appear was none other than your brother. From where you sat, as the audience, you were finally able to understand why Riki was one of the most sought models in the industry. It was the way he carried himself, with full confidence. It's the type of confidence that demands people to look at him, to have their eyes focused on him—like he's the main attraction of the show. It was the way he walked—like he owns the runway.

You went still when his eyes landed on your face for a split moment as he stopped at the end of the runway. You were the first to break eye contact, unaware of how your action made your brother's heart ached as he walked back, disappearing to the backstage. The rest of the event past in a blur of an eye and soon, it was time for you to head home. You didn't say anything, resting your head against the window while Beomgyu drove you back. You thought he won't say anything but you were wrong.

"..Did you talked to him?" He asked, voice soft and laced with concern.

"Depends on who you're referring to," you dryly replied.

Beomgyu sighed. "You know who I'm talking about. Your brother."

You visibly flinched, like the words were poison. You parted your lips, wanting to protest or lie but one look from him tells you otherwise. "He's the one who approached me first. He told me he wanted to apologize for not keeping in contact and is asking for forgiveness."

You let out a bitter laugh under your breath at the end of your sentence. You could feel the way your friend and personal assistant eyeing you with concern. Beomgyu knew about your rocky relationship with Riki. But there wasn't much he could do, not when he was considered an outsider and doesn't hold the Nishimura name.

It didn't took you long to reach home and you paused when you saw Jungwon seated on the couch, his laptop resting on his lap. He wasn't dressed in his pilot uniform, now dressed like he had been home for a few hours. He wore a comfortable, grey long-sleeves shirt with a pair of black sweatpants. There was a pair of rimmed glasses resting on the bridge of his nose. You were able to see he was typing an email, due to his glasses reflecting his laptop screen.

"What happened to your flight?" You asked, removing your high heels, groaning at how you were finally able to touch solid ground as you padded, barefooted to plop yourself down on the other, empty couch.

"It got cancelled and moved to next week," he answered, eyes never leaving the screen.

You hummed, not bothering to voice out your response as you remained seated—

"…What's that smell on you?" Jungwon asked, voice unusually cold and laced with something else. Something you couldn't quite put your finger on.

"What are you talking about?" You answered, bemused.

Snap!

It seems like your response had rubbed him the wrong way. Your husband closed his laptop with a loud, resounding snap that echoed in the living room. Setting his laptop aside, he got up and slowly approached you. Jungwon stopped until he was standing before you, between your parted legs. Your breath caught when he leaned down, resting one hand on the left of your head while the other rested on the armrest—blocking off any possible exits.

With how close he was, you were able to get a whiff of his pheromones—woody mixed with faint vanilla and… baby lotion? You blinked, taken aback by the unexpected discovery. But you didn't get a chance to bring it up, not when Jungwon was looking at you like… that. Like he was actually looking at you.

"Don't play dumb with me," he murmured, voice lowering an octave and oh, you've never heard him speak in such a low tone before. Just hearing it made your heart skips a beat. You were tempted to close your thighs and rubbed them together for some form of friction—but you couldn't. Not with him standing in between your legs.

His eyes trailed painfully slow down your neck, lingering longer than usual on where your scent gland was located before it went up to your lips and then last but not least, your eyes. "You reek of it."

You frowned. "Reek of what? Stop talking in riddles."

Jungwon's jaw clenched, eyes narrowing into slits. You could tell the alpha residing in him was slowly stirring to life and he's fighting against it. For now. "Someone else. Someone else who's not me, managed to lay their hands on you," he spat, venom evident in his tone.

The tension in the air thickened and you could smell his pheromones being unconsciously released into the air. It invaded your senses, just enough to make you feel light-headed and for heat to start pooling in your stomach. You were sure if you're an omega, you'll already be leaking and dripping over the couch. You dryly swallowed, trying to ignore how your body was all tingling and fuzzy.

"I was at a event. People brushed past me. It happens," you explained, trying to maintain an even tone. But the way your husband's eyes darkened tells you he doesn't believe it.

"You expect me to believe this—" His hand flexed against the armrest, knuckles turning white and you swore you saw the muscles in his arms moved, "is from someone who was just brushing past?"

You parted your lips but he was faster. He leaned in closer, ducking his head to brush his nose against the outline of your jaw. You couldn't help the gasp that left your lips when he audibly inhaled your scent. "It's too strong," he growled, "too deliberate. Like he was too close."

You went still, heartbeat pounding in your ears.

"And I don't like it."

Out of pure instinct and habit, you stood your ground and flashed him your signature smirk—taunting, coy and sly. "And what are you planning to do about it?"

Instead of answering verbally, your husband chose to reply via actions. His hand moved, gripping your chin, tilting your head in just the correct angle for him to crash his lips against yours in a intense, fiery kiss. You gasped, taken aback as Jungwon pressed you further into the couch until you had to tilt your head back, with how pushy he was. Your husband rested his right knee on the couch, eliciting another gasp from you when he moved his knee closer to your clothed core.

"You piss me off so much. Walking around like you own everything," he growled against your lips, his hands now moving like they have a mind on its own, struggling to get rid of your clothes.

"But I do and that includes you," you retorted and flames of anger ignited in his narrowed eyes.

In one smooth, fluid movement, Jungwon flipped you over and forced you down to your knees.

Your mind spun, unable to comprehend that a few seconds ago, you were seated on the couch. He gripped onto your chin, nails borderline digging into your skin with his thumb resting on your bottom lip. He tugged it down, smirking in approval at how you let him do what he pleased. Your husband stretched out his long legs, leaning further back into the couch with his free hand resting on the couch.

"Since you like to act bratty and smart, why not put that mouth of yours to good use, hm?" He cocked his head to the side, lifting an eyebrow—challenging you to take the leap of faith.

You paused, looking up at him with your hands clenched in fists, resting on your lap. You didn't expect him to snap but something about the way he looked, the way he sat and the tone he used made your stomach tighten. Your ears turned red when you realized that your panties were already wet. And you can only pray that Jungwon won't be able to notice. You felt him moving his hand up, tracing your face and then—

He tugged you closer, until your face was squashed against his cock. You were able to feel the outline of it, hanging thick and heavy between his legs. The thought of him filling you up, splitting you into half made you clenched down on nothing and your panties were sticking onto your damp pussy, like it's your second skin.

Your eyes darted up, to see him waiting with an expectant look on his face. Ignoring how your face was heating up, you raised your trembling hands, about to pull the zipper down when he tugged at your hair, drawing a pained yelp from you.

"Ah ah, I didn't say anything about using hands, did I?" He clicked his tongue.

You were almost tempted to tell him off, to say something snarky but the look in his eyes made you think twice. Hence, you dropped your hands, leaning forward and used your mouth to nip onto the edge of the zipper. Your eyes flickered up, seeing how he didn't stopped you as he watched, gaze unblinking and unwavering.

You slowly moved your head down, the soft sound of the zipper coming undone being the only thing heard in the spacious living room. You subtly gulped when you saw the visible bludge, his cock poking against the restraints of his boxers. There was even a dark stain on it.

"Go on, take it off," Jungwon commanded in a soft, firm tone and it was only right for you to obey.

This time, you were given permission to use your hands. He lifted his hips off the couch, aiding you in removing his boxers and pants, leaving them to pool around his ankles, not bothering to toss it aside. You were immediately greeted with his hardened cock standing upright. The tip had already turned a ferocious shade of red.

You decided to test the water first by giving kitten licks to the mushroom tip, causing Jungwon to sharply inhale at the mere contact. He tightened his grip in your hair, nails digging into the couch as he fight against the urge to rock into your mouth.

"Shit, your mouth," he groaned, tilting his head back to expose his neck. You had to tear your eyes away from how his Adam's Apple bobbed up and down.

Filled with newfound determination to make him crumble, you took him whole without stopping. Warm, salty tears prickled the corners of your eyes as you fought to adjust to the grith and size of his cock. But you were rewarded with him gasping and choking out your name. His thigh muscles flexed and unflexed. You made a gagging sound when you felt him hitting the depths of your throat, the vibration making him let out a low moan, causing goosebumps to form.

"Wonder how the public will react if they see you like this. On your knees and sucking your husband's cock, like the desperate whore you are," he sneered, tilting your head back slightly, chuckling at how your eyes had turned glassy with a singular tear droplet trickling down your cheek.

Jungwon used his thumb to rub it away—the action so sweet despite your current situation. However, it ended as fast as it started. He tugged you closer, spreading his legs further apart until he feels the faint burning from his thighs muscles. He couldn't take it anymore, fucking into your mouth as he greedily chased after his incoming climax. You had no choice but to sit prettily on the floor, slackening your jaw as much as possible and wary to not let your teeth accidentally graze against him.

The usual quiet living room was filled with the lewd sounds of his cock sliding in and out of your mouth—almost as if he's actually fucking your pussy. Just thinking about it made you whimpered, the sound muffled and sending a wave of vibrations that made him moaned.

"You're gonna let me cum in your mouth, don't you?" He groaned, his thrusts growing sloppier as every second passed, feeling the invisible rubber band threatening to snap into half.

You subtly nodded your head, tilting your head up to look at him with teary, doe eyes and Jungwon swore, spilling down your throat. He pulls out with a soft 'pop', forcing you to open your mouth and smirked, satisfied when you had swallowed his cum without wasting a drop. He gently patted your left cheek, treating you like you're his pet.

"Good girl, guess you've found another usage of your mouth," he croons, pulling his boxers and pants up while tucking his now soft cock back into his boxers. Jungwon ran a hand through his hair as he rose to his full height.

Your hand shot out before your mind could think, grabbing onto his wrist. He looked down at you—still kneeling on the carpeted floor. "Yes?"

"W-What about me?" You stammered, swallowing your pride and dignity.

Your husband blinked twice and laughed. Leaning down, he cupped your chin with one hand, tilting your head up to look him in the eyes. "If you really think I'm gonna help you, you're wrong. Do it yourself."

And just like that, your annoying, infuriating and good-looking husband retreated to his room, leaving you in the living room, desperate for some form of release for your pent-up state. You had to wobble your way back to your own room on trembling legs. And if you spend the next one hour or so fingering yourself even though it can't be compared against the real thing, then that's only for you and your room to know.

~

"What's up with you?"

"Huh?" Jungwon blinked, snapping back to reality when his fellow co-pilot asked.

They were already in the cockpit of the plane, ready to embark on their first and only leg of the day. Normally, Jungwon would prefer to spend a few days in another country but this time, he chose to take a flight back to Seoul instead. The pair have completed their required check of the plane's systems, ensuring everything was in top condition and are now waiting for passengers to board the plane. If Jungwon listened closely, he can hear the crew greeting them one by one while giving them directions to their seats.

"You've been spacing out lately. Please don't do that when we're flying later," his friend and co-pilot pointed out in a half-joking tone, an attempt to lighten the mood.

The younger rolled his eyes as he leaned back into his seat. "I won't, don't worry hyung. I'm just…" He paused, hesitating on how to finish his sentence and that got Jay's attention.

"Just what?"

Jungwon lets out a long, heavy sigh as he ran a hand through his blond hair. "..There's something weird about (Name)."

Jay arched an eyebrow, faint curiosity seen in his eyes. "Oh? What kind of weird are we talking about here? Does it involve the bedroom?"

His cheeks turned red as he shoots the older a glare. "No, it doesn't, get your mind out of the gutter. But seriously, we've been married and lived under the same roof for a while now but I realized she's never been in heat."

Silence.

"Isn't she an omega?" Jay questioned and Jungwon nodded without hesitation, chewing on his bottom lip while he's deep in thought.

"Yea, she is. But I don't get it. The way she acts is more of an alpha rather than an omega," he replied, thinking back to the way you stood your ground, never bowing or showing any signs of submissions to him and that only intrigued him further.

Jay hummed, glancing at a screen to see that the door had been slammed shut—a sign that all of the passengers had boarded and are ready for take-off. The two immediately got to work, pressing on buttons and moved the plane down the runway.

"I won't think too much if I were you. Right now, I need you to focus," the older commented, slipping on the headphone that has a mic connected to it, hovering near his mouth.

Jungwon rolled his eyes as he does the same. "Yes mom."

"Don't call me that!"

~

While Jungwon was about to embark on his flight, you have spent the past two to three hours coped up in your office.

Being the CEO of a company means you have countless reports to read through, documents to sign and approve and many, many unnecessary meetings to attend. As it was a new month, the monthly meeting with the board will be happening in an hour from now, after lunch. But with the way piles of papers kept appearing on your desk, you knew you won't have the time to head out to grab a bite.

"I knew you'll still be here."

Beomgyu deadpanned, barging into your office without bothering to knock. You didn't have the time or luxury to even retort, eyes glued to your monitor as your fingers flew across your keyboard at lightning speed. He dumped a takeaway plastic container right in front of you, ignoring the annoyed glare you thrown his way.

"Gyu, seriously?" You practically hissed like a cat.

Your assistant was unfazed, plopping down in the chair opposite of you and pulled out a container for himself. "What? I'm feeding you so stop looking at me like you wanna kill me. Now eat, before I shove food down your throat."

He threatens, a dangerous glint in his eyes. His words made you remembered how he had done something similar, back when you were in college. That made you gulped, fearing for your life for a moment and you obediently dug into your food, feeling the flavors exploding in your mouth with every bite you took. The two of you ate in silence until Beomgyu broke it by him awkwardly clearing his throat.

"By the way, your brother texted me."

You choked on your food at his words, repeatedly whacking your chest with your closed fist. Beomgyu cursed, rushing to your side and patted your back while aiding you to stop choking on your food. He handed you a plastic bottle of water, to which you gulped it down without hesitation. Coughing, you wiped your mouth with some pieces of tissue papers.

"What did he text you for?" You asked, wincing at how hoarse your voice sounds.

Beomgyu swallowed his mouthful of food. "..He wants to talk to you, (Name)."

You sighed, about to say something but he cuts you off. "No, I know what you want to say. I get it, you have every right to be mad at him but look, give him a chance, please? There's no harm in hearing him out."

"But—"

He shots you a pointed look and that's enough for your shoulders to slump in defeat. "…Fine, I'll hear him out."

"Great!" His face lit up and the drastic change of his behavior gives you whiplash.

Once you were done with lunch, it was time for you to head to the meeting room. You and Beomgyu were the first to arrive and while waiting for the board, you chose to scroll through your phone, only for you to freeze when you see a message from Jungwon. It wasn't rare for him to text you but you weren't sure why your heart stopped beating when you saw his name in your notification. You clicked on it and the text was sent a few hours ago. You can only assumed he had sent it before he flew off.

Jungwon: We need to talk when I'm back. It's important and it's about you.

You nearly dropped your phone when you read the message. It was simple and straight to the point. You couldn't help but wonder just what he wants to discuss and how it was related to you. Putting your phone away, you tapped your fingers on the table as you bit down on your bottom lip.

Unless.. No, it couldn't be. He doesn't know about my secondary gender yet.

The board chose that time to enter as they take their respective seats and soon, the meeting begins. But you couldn't find it in yourself to listen to a single word of what the speaker was saying. About fifteen minutes into the meeting, you were starting to sweat. You were also starting to grow restless, unable to stop fidgeting in your seat—a rare occurrence for you as you're perfectly capable of sitting still while pretending that you're paying attention to the meeting.

"…Before we continue, Ma'am, do you have anything to add?" One of the board turned to you, apparently taking note of your current state.

Everyone's eyes were on you. Normally, you were able to keep your cool and reply smoothly but today, something was wrong. Your mind wasn't working as it should be. Your body was tingling all over, mind spinning slightly and your clothes were starting to stick to you. Your breathing was ragged and haphazard, fingers curled into tight fists with your nails digging into your palms.

The board however, were mildly amused with your dilemma. "Ma'am, is something wrong? Are you feeling unwell? Your face's unusually red."

They asked, faux politeness laced in their tone. You snarled before you could control yourself.

Silence.

The meeting room went silent and everyone went still, not even the sound of breathing was heard. The board shared a quick look among themselves and invisible alarm bells rang off in your mind. You knew they were up to something when one of them begin speaking, clearing his throat.

"Ma'am, forgive us if this is a rude question: are you an alpha?"

Your throat tightened. Every instinct screamed at you to keep your facade up, to continue playing the act, the role you were forced into. Because once the truth is out, there is no going back. The damage done to you, your hard-earned reputation and the future of your company will be washed down the drain in a blink of an eye.

You forced out a sharp laugh, cocking your head to the side as if the words hadn't made your stomach churned in anxiousness. "What kind of question is that? Are you questioning your boss?"

But the edge in your voice betrayed you. To make matters worse, it was your body that was betraying you—heat prickled beneath your skin, your pulse racing as the telltale haze of rut was beginning to cloud your mind. You could feel it pressing against your control and if this were to drag on any longer, you feared you might lose control of yourself, right in front of the board.

And you knew they have been waiting for a chance to overthrow you. Right now, you were practically giving them a rare opportunity that's served on a silver plate.

"I'm clearly not—" The words caught, your breath coming out even more uneven than it already is. The weight of the board's gaze pinned you down onto your seat, like a pack of hungry wolves, waiting to pounce on you.

Before the silence could begin again, Beomgyu pushed his chair back with deliberate force, the scrape against the marbled, polished floor resonated among the walls. "That's enough."

The board members flinched at his tone, their murmurs dying instantly. He straightened himself, his expression calm but his eyes were dark, holding an unspoken warning that none of them have the courage to go against or disobey. "We'll continue when the boss is in a better condition. The meeting is over."

He didn't wait for a response, already guiding you out of the suffocating room with a gentle grip on your arm. The heavy doors shut behind you, muffling the whispers that immediately erupted the moment you stood up. Beomgyu managed to bring you back to your office and your composure shattered. Your chest rose and fell in ragged breaths, hands trembling as you clutched at your blazer.

"Gyu—I—I can't," your voice cracked, panic clawing at the edges of your heart, voice and mind. The rut was coming too fast, and the humiliation of it happening now, when you're at work, made your vision blur and head spin.

Cursing, Beomgyu steadied you while gently forcing you to sit down on the couch. He knelt before you, hands firmly resting on your shoulders. "Hey, hey, look at me. Breathe with me. You're not alone in this. You got me, alright?"

You frantically shook your head, eyes looking at the floor. "They know. They're going to use this against me—Fuck, I can't—I can't breathe—"

"I know," he said quickly, tightening his grip just enough to anchor you but not to hurt you. He will never hurt you. His eyes did a quick, calculative scan of your office and then he swore under his breath. There was only one person who could help you through this, even if you hated the thought.

He pulled out his phone with his right hand while his other hand continued resting on your shoulder, punching in a familiar string of numbers—numbers that belong to someone you have never contacted before.

The caller immediately picked up on the second ring.

"Riki, it's your sister. She needs you. Now."

It only takes the model approximately fifteen minutes for him to reach the office. He stormed into the room, slamming the door open with intense force that it banged against the wall that startled Beomgyu. His usual cool composure was nowhere to be seen. His eyes scanned the room until they landed on your seated, trembling figure on the couch. The next thing he knew, your brother was immediately by your side.

"(Name)," he murmured, crouching low, his voice edged with something akin to urgency. "Hey, your rut's starting, isn't it?"

Beomgyu, who was silent the entire time, blinked in disbelief. "Wait, hold on. What do you mean by her rut's starting? That doesn't make any sense. She's an omega and omegas can't—"

Riki shot him a sharp glare that's efficient in silencing him. "That's because she's not an omega."

The words dropped like a bomb. He froze, mouth opening and closing, like he wants to say something but he doesn't know what to say. Beomgyu looked down at you, taking note of how you were trembling like a fallen leaf, how you're trying to regain your composure.

"Then, is she—"

Riki nodded and that was all Beomgyu needed to know. "But, why didn't she tell me?"

The younger sighed, moving to carry his sister in his arms, letting you buried your face in his chest as you inhaled his scent to calm you down. "Because it's safer this way. I'm taking her home."

He didn't wait for the man's reply, already leaving the office as he headed to the car park, where his car was parked and where no one was able to see him and your current, vulnerable state.

By the time you reached home, you were tempted to rip your clothes off. Just the mere feeling of the fabric touching your skin is enough to give you the irk. Your rut was pressing down harder, your thoughts blending into instincts, shredding your usual self control to scraps. You pressed the heel of your left palm against your temples, groaning as you attempted to block out the heat that has been crawling under your skin for the past few hours. But your efforts prove to be futile.

"Sis, stay with me," Riki said firmly, placing you down on the couch. Your pheromones flared wildly, flooding the spacious living room with a sharp, dominant tang that made even he himself shift uneasily.

Riki could feel his pheromones acting up as well, out of pure instinct. But he didn't want a repeat of last time. He didn't want you to be alone again. He's grateful to Beomgyu for contacting him but this was as far as his assistance could go. Which was why he pulled out his phone, scrolling through his contacts list before tapping on a certain contact.

The line rang once, twice and then it's connected.

"Jungwon," Riki's voice was low and urgent, eyes never leaving your figure as you clawed at your own blazer, ready to tear it off your body. "It's your wife. She's in rut and she needs you, now."

There was a pause on the other line, followed by what sounded like an announcement in the background. Then Jungwon's voice came through, clipped and cut through. "I just landed."

Riki heaved out a sigh of relief, comfortingly rubbing circles on your back as you cling onto him like he's your lifeline. "Good, now get your stupid ass here before she loses it. And hurry, you don't have much time left."

~

The wheels of the plane barely kissed the runway when Jungwon's phone started buzzing in his pocket. He didn't think much of it, that was until he checked the Caller ID. Frowning, he answered it, remaining seated while waiitng for the plane door to be opened from the other end.

"Hello? Riki?"

"Jungwon, it's your wife. She's in rut and she needs you, now."

Hearing those words was enough to make his world flipped upside down. Right now, the pilot's currently stuck in the immigration. He kept checking his watch and then his phone, to see if there was any update from Riki. But all he got was silence. He tip-toed, checking the line of people ahead of him to see and then, he acted without thinking. He pushed his way through, ignoring the startled, offended gasps thrown his way as he bumped shoulders into the people around him.

He knew he wasn't acting professional but thankfully, he wasn't wearing his uniform so no one knows he's a pilot. He shoved his passport to the officer, ignoring how his hands trembled when the officer stamped and returned it to him. Jungwon was already sprinting down the concourse, weaving past the crowd as he headed to the pick-up point and practically leapt into the first cab he sees, slamming the door shut.

Jungwon gave the driver his address, hands curled into fists as they rested on his knees. "Drive, now."

When he reached home, he was greeted with your pheromones. It was so sharp, intense and heavy that it nearly knocked him off his feet. He could practically taste your pent-up frustrations and desperation and how you had been holding them back, for who knows how long.

"(Name)!" He called out your name, stopping a few feet before you. He scrunched his nose as every step he takes, your raging pheromones merely grew stronger in return.

Riki was crouched by the sofa, trying and failing to restrain you as you writhed, hands clawing at your own skin as though trying to tear the fire out of yourself. Sweat dampened your hair, your eyes blown wide and glassy, lips parted in broken, delirious gasps.

"She's about to be in her rut. Hyung, I trust you with her," Riki said, voice rough and strained.

Jungwon felt his chest tightened. You were already well past the point of reason—your actual rut had already started and had already engulfed you completely. He moved without hesitation, closing the distance in five large strides as Riki moved away. Woody warmth laced with vanilla filled the air—steady and grounding as it fights against your own scent.

The effect was instant. You stopped struggling, your frantic gasps caught in your throat as you raised your head, revealing your silted, hazy eyes. "J-Jungwon.." You called out, voice borderling trembling and fuck, the way you said his name made his breath hitched.

Riki's eyes flickered between the two of you before awkwardly clearing his throat. "I'll leave you to it. Just.. remember to use protection or else I'll kill you." The model patted the pilot's shoulder before scurrying out, not wanting to spend another second breathing in the same, suffocated air any longer.

He wasn't sure who was the one that closed the remaining distance but your mouths met in the middle, in a ferocious, intense and filthy kiss. Although, it can't be considered as a kiss, not when the both of you are fighting for dominance, trying to turn the tide to your advantage.

Jungwon wasted no time in sweeping you into his arms, carrying you bridal-style as he brought you to the bedroom, swallowing your startled gasp. You cling onto him, thighs subtly rubbing together to get some sort of friction at how he was able to carry you easily, like you weighed nothing.

He tossed you onto the neatly-made bed, tugging his knotted tie free with one hand and climbed over you. He grabbed your wrists, pulling them over his head and wrapped the fabric around your wrists, tying them into a tight knot. It's not tight enough to hurt but it's tight enough for you to know that you shouldn't disobey him.

He made quick work of your clothes, flinging your clothes over his shoulder until you're bare beneath him. You whimpered when he shoved his clothed knee in between your legs. A low groan was heard from Jungwon as you shamelessly grinded down on him, soaking the fabric of his pants wet with your slick.

"Look at you, pathetic little thing, grinding down on me and soaking my pants. Who'll have thought the confident and well put together (Name)'s just a needy little slut for her husband," he croons, voice dripping with faux sweetness.

Jungwon clicked his tongue when you attempted to hide your face. He reached out, cupping your face with his left hand with his thumb resting on your bottom lip. He gently tugged it down, satisfaction curling around the edges of his heart when you obeyed—parting your lips in pure submission.

And then, he spits into your opened mouth.

"Swallow it," he demanded in a firm, soft tone. Jungwon watched with pure fascination at how you obliged, your throat bobbed up and down as you swallowed. He tapped your cheek with his index finger and you opened your mouth. He tilted your head side to side, humming with approval written all over his face.

"Good girl," he purrs, noting the way your body shivered at his praise.

You mewled, tears prickling the corners of your eyes. "W-Wonie.." You called out his name, not even aware that you had used one of his nicknames instead of his full name. He chose to let it slide, knowing you're saying things due to your current state.

"Yes, baby? C'mon, use your words and tell me what you need," he coaxes, his free hand moving like it has a mind on its own, sliding his hand underneath the obstacle of your clothes. He's able to feel how hot your skin feels the moment his palm came into contact.

“W-wan’ more..” you begged, doe eyes full of pleading and want. You just wanted to feel his thick cock slide in and out of your velvety walls, filling you up—why does he have to be so difficult, damn it?

A low chuckle reverberates deeply in his chest at the view of how fucked out you already are simply by a few feather-light touches from his ice-cold fingertips against your warm skin, reminding him how he practically has you all wrapped around his finger without even trying. Jungwon’s calloused palms crawl their way up to the swell dip between where your breasts lay, fingers tapping against the heated skin provocatively, eliciting a sigh of frustration from the capsule of your pillowy lips.

“Come on..” you roll your teary eyes in annoyance, already fed up with his mean antics and to just get it over with.

“So bossy, where are you manners, missy?” He dramatically raises an eyebrow, forehead sightly wrinkling as a knowing grin etches across his stupidly attractive face that you wanted to rip off so badly.

“I think you need to be reminded who’s in control here,” his voice was laced with disappointment and amusement by your brattiness, clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth. You were about to murmur out a complaint when his fingertips finally caressed your nipples, immediately hardening at the soft brush to them.

“See?” Jungwon said matter of factly, as he began to proceed with his excruciating but pleasureful torture of twisting and pinching at your sensitive nub, whines and moans leaving the tip of your tongue as you writhe and spasm underneath him—red imprints appearing on your wrists by the tight bondage.

"F-Fuck you," you stammered through your snarky remark, flinching as he gave a mean, light pinch to your hardened nubs. You squirmed about on the sheets but there isn't anywhere for you to run or hide from him, not when your tied down.

"Yea? I'm sure you'll want that," he sniggered, shuffling down the bed to support his weight until he's situated between your legs. You attempted to close them, cheeks turning red with embarrassment at how Jungwon was looking at your dripping, throbbing pussy.

He lets out a low, breathy chuckle. "Are you sure you're an alpha? With how you're dripping like a faucet, I'll think you're an omega."

"You—ngh!" You snarled, your pheromones flaring up for a moment, only for it to die down when you felt a wet, rough muscle delivering a slow, fat stripe up your cunt. Your legs instinctively shot out, nearly kicking him in the face if Jungwon didn't held you down by your hips.

He rested his thumb on your clit, gently pressing down on it before rubbing it in slow, lazy circles. You swore you could feel his nose directly poking at your leaking hole as he gave kitten licks to your pussy, which flutters at every lick. The bedroom was filled with the lewd sounds of him eating you out and your moans that sounds nothing more than music to his ears.

"Fuck, should've done this a long time ago if I knew you taste this good," he groans, voice muffled with how he buried his face in between your legs. Every word he spoke sends vibrations down your body, drawing breathless whimpers from your bruised, swollen lips.

"Hah, t-too much," you moaned, struggling against the bondage. If your hands were free, you could have easily pushed him away but it wasn't, leaving you no choice but to take what your annoying husband is giving you.

You weren't even aware that Jungwon had released his grip on your hips or how you started grinding against his skillful mouth, back arching off the bed with your head tilted backwards, exposing your unmarked scent glands and the clean, unblemished skin of your neck. You panted, feeling a imaginary rubber-band slowly being stretched past its limit as Jungwon worked his magic on your pussy.

"G-Gonna cum, fuck," you moaned and then—

He pulled away.

You couldn't hold back the pure needy whine that left your lips at the loss of his slimy muscle that was pressed adjacent to your creamy walls. Your body twitched and convulsed in displeasure as the coil lies deep in your stomach gradually fades away, with every second that passes.

"N-No!" You protested, desperate for any type of release as your hips jerked upwards. Your throbbing, drenched cunt glistened and shines due to the sheer amount of slick dousing the dirtied, stained bedsheets, mixed with his spit—creating a filthy combination.

Jungwon barks out a low, mean laugh. His eyes twinkled in a dark, twisted satisfaction. "Needy little thing, aren't you? Not satisfied with my tongue?"

His words made you whined out loud, your pussy clenching down on nothing but thin air as a thick glob of slick trickled down your core. While you were too busy squirming and begging for his mercy, you weren't aware of how he had hopped off the bed, how he had headed to the bedside drawer, opening and closing it once he found what he was looking for. Fat, salty and warm tears droplets rolled down your cheeks as you sobbed, annoyed and aroused at his rough treatment—

Bzzt, bzzt.

And then, you heard a faint buzzing sound.

The pink vibrator that you swore you had hidden it well enough to avoid curious eyes and prying hands was now held in your husband's hand, standing tall and proud too. You stared at it for a moment, eyes darting between his face and the toy. Your mind immediately connects the dots, knowing what his intention was.

You hurriedly shook your head, squirming away as you moved up the bed but there wasn't much room for you to run to. "W-Wait, don't—"

Jungwon ignores your weak protests, now sitting on the edge of the bed. Grabbing you by your ankles, he tugged you towards him, eliciting a squeak from you. Jungwon hovers the vibrator directly over your dripping clit, drawing a loud, whorish moan from you—something you never thought you're capable of, as it vibrates against your swollen nubs.

He grinned, watching as you spasmed about. You attempted to close your legs but he was faster. Jungwon hooked his left leg over yours, firmly locking it against the edge of the bed. He pressed the vibrator more firmly against your clit, cooing at how you were reduced to a moaning, squirming and flustered mess.

"Fuck, if only you can see yourself right now," he breathed out in awe, drawing invisible horizontal lines on your bare ankle. "Imagine how the board will react if they were to see their boss like this," he paused, increasing the speed. His action made you cried out loud, the vibrator nearly entering your gaping pussy.

"Moaning and crying like an omega in heat, desperate to cum," he sneers, emphasizing on the words and kept increasing the speed until it reached the max.

"J-Jungwon—c-can't!" You whimpered, thrashing your head side to side when you felt the familiar feeling coming back. But this time, it was much more intense.

"Yes, you can. You wanna cum, don't you?" He coaxes, sounding like a siren as he hypnotize you to do his bidding and obey his words.

"P-Please!" You wailed, looking at him with your doe-like, hazy and clouded with lust eyes.

"Then cum," he demanded and you whined, blabbering words that sounded like 'thank you' and some curse words as you greedily and shamelessly rocked against the vibrator. Just when you were about to tip over the edge and all you needed was one final push—

Jungwon pulled the vibrator away.

You swore you have never felt this frustrated before. You raised your head, mustering the remaining strength you have left in your already pliant body to glare at your smirking, attractive husband. But the effect wasn't as effective as it would be, not with how you were sniffling and sobbing. Jungwon cocked his head to the side, acting all innocent and coy. He tossed the dirtied, soaked vibrator that's covered in your slick to the side.

"I did say cum but would you rather cum on that shitty pathetic excuse of a toy or," he grins, tilting your chin up to face him, "would you rather cum on my cock?"

Hearing the last two words was enough to make you nod your head at lightning speed. It's a miracle that you didn't dislocate your head from your neck. Jungwon chuckled, not bothering to fully undress himself as he only tucked down his pants and boxers, low enough to reveal his already hardened and neglected cock. It stood tall and proud, upright against his shirt, leaving a stain of precum on the pristine, white clean shirt.

Jungwon pushed you back, moving to his knees. He didn't bother grabbing the condom nor did you bother reminding him. All you could think about now was how you want to be filled on his cock. You watched, biting down on your bottom lip as he aligned himself against your entrance—

But, he didn't push in.

Instead, he rubbed his tip along your folds, collecting your slick as a lubricant. "Don't even need lube when you're fucking dripping all over my cock," he groaned.

"W-Wonie, please.. just.." Your voice trailed off, squirming as you attempted to move down so he could slide in but he clicked his tongue, raising his eyebrow—a silent and unspoken warning. You have no choice but to stay still, pouting and huffing your cheeks.

"Please what? Use your words, darling."

The sudden usage of the pet name makes your mind spins. "Please.. just fuck me already."

As much as Jungwon wants to keep teasing and edging you, he was reaching his limits. The moment you opened your mouth, about to retort with something was when he chose to enter in a solo plunge. Your overstimulated pussy reflexively squeezed around him at the painful but delicious stretch, earning an approved snarl that rumbled deep from his chest.

Your mouth dropped open, forming a silent 'O' shape at how you were being split apart. You swore you could feel his cock hitting the entrance to your womb. You mewled out loud at how his tip was pressing against that one spongy spot that's located against your delicate walls. Jungwon, on the other hand, felt like he was in heaven with how your gummy, velvety walls were clinging onto him with a vice-like grip, not wanting to let him go.

"Shit, you're so fuckin' tight," he groaned, ducking his head and bury it in the crook of your neck. His lips hovered right over your scent glands, causing goosebumps to form. One audible inhale from him and your sweet, aroused scent washes over him. It's so strong that he nearly cum right there and then.

Jungwon moved his hands, resting them on your hips to stabilize himself, starting off at a harsh, unrelenting and unforgiving pace. A breathless but loud moan was ripped from the back of your throat—needy, carnal and downright erotic. Your pussy was comically stretched wide around his member to accommodate the unusually large, girth size. The coil in your stomach enlarges as every second passed, by how heavenly full you felt, as he slides in and out of your soaked core.

As your wrists were still bound above your head, you could only lay beneath him, taking what he's willing to give you. His hips aggressively snapped against yours, balls slapping against your ass cheeks with every deep, harsh thrust from him. Jungwon grits his teeth, feeling them grinding down at how you tightened around him when he hits that one spongy spot, making you let out a gasp.

He wasted no time in using the newfound information to his advantage—changing the angle a little and threw your right leg over his broad, sturdy shoulders. The bedroom was now filled with the loud sounds of skin slapping against skin. You were certain that you could be heard all the way from the living room or the kitchen too.

"Look at you, taking me so well. It's like you're made for me, don't you?" He groaned, eyes trailing down to how your pussy lips are spread apart and how you easily take him in with no form of resistance. He smirked when he saw a ring of white, thick liquid forming at the base of his cock.

"Ngh, J-Jungwon—hah, please, moremoremore," you chanted, your rut taking over your mind, words and senses as you demand for more from your husband. And who was Jungwon to say no to his pretty, submissive wife?

With a growl, he threw your left leg over his shoulders as well, practically bending you into half. "You want more? What, this not enough for you? Maybe you should quit your job and stay at home, so I can fuck you anytime I want."

He lets out a breathless chuckle when you mewled at his crude words, cheeks red. "You like that, don't you? I'll have you spread out on any surface in the house—the dining table, the kitchen counter, anywhere I want. You'll let me eat this sweet little pussy of yours anytime I want, won't you?" Jungwon's left hand trailed down to give a mean pinch to your clit, laughing at how you visibly twitched at the sudden sensation.

"Jungwon!"

You whimpered, eyes rolling to the back of your head as his cock kept hitting the same spot, over and over again until you were seeing stars. "G-Gonna cum, p-please."

At first, you hesitated—having been denied your much-needed orgasm twice but unlike before, Jungwon didn't pulled out. Instead, his thrusts were growing sloppier and more erratic as he chases after his incoming climax. His hand moved to fondle with your poor, red and overstimulated clit, drawing high-pitched, hoarse moans from you.

"Then cum for me."

At his words, you cum with his name spilling from your lips, smooth like water. Jungwon was quick to follow suit, delivering one final, sharp and hard thrust that buries himself deep to the hilt as he spills thick and hot semen while painting your creamy walls white. He looked down when he felt something wet landing on his shirt, only for him to realize that you had actually squirted. The thought of him making you squirt made his cock twitched, even when he's still inside you.

You, on the other hand, was already long gone. You laid on the stained sheets, body twitching violently in aftershocks—blissfully unaware of the thoughts running through your husband's mind. The only form of warning you got was him flipping you over until you're awkwardly forced onto your hands and knees. You squeaked, knees trembling as you struggled to support your body weight.

"Jungwon—hngh!" You protested, but the words died down in your throat when he rocked his hips against yours.

He leaned down, mouth grazing against the shell of your left ear. You shivered when you felt him spreading your pussy lips apart from underneath. "If you think we're done here, then you're wrong. We're only done when I have you screaming my name until your voice's gone."

~

It has been one week ever since you had your rut.

One week for you to recover and regain your strength. One week was enough for things to change between you and Jungwon. This time, you were able to tolerate being in the same room as him. An prime example would be the first day after your rut was over, was when you woke up to his presence behind you. You looked over your shoulder, going still to see his sleeping face. This is the first time the two of you have slept on the same bed ever since you got married.

Your legs are intertwined underneath the sheets and one quick glance down your body tells you that you were dressed in one of Jungwon's shirt. The article of clothing was so big it completely engulfs your body, the hem reaching your thighs as it keeps slipping off your right shoulder.

You weren't sure why but you couldn't tear your eyes away from his face, shamelessly drinking in his features. With how close you are, you could literally see how long his eyelashes are—something most women envies. In a trance, you reached out to cup his right cheek with your right hand, breath hitching at how smooth his skin feels underneath your palm—

"What are you doing?"

You flinched, jerking your hand back but Jungwon was faster. He grabbed your wrist in a gentle grip as he stares at you with half-opened eyes. His voice was lower than usual, slightly rough around the edge, enough for you to squirm about, flustered.

"N-Nothing," you stuttered, internally cursing yourself when he chuckled. Not breaking eye contact, he pulled your wrist towards his lips, turning it to press a kiss on your palm.

Your face heats up, a sound that's a mixture of a squeak and a squawk left your lips at the sudden display of affection. You could feel him smirking against your palm, amused with your reaction.

"Y-You—!" You stammered, your mind lagging.

"I what? Cat got your tongue?" He interrupts, a devilish glint in his cat-like eyes. "You weren't this shy yesterday night."

At this point, you were certain your face had turned as red as a tomato and out of reflex, you grabbed the pillow underneath your head and threw it at him. And since this is Jungwon, he's able to knock your pathetic excuse of a weapon out of your hand before you even get the chance to throw it. He laughed at your reaction, pulling you closer so he could bury his face in the crook of your neck. You automatically stiffened up when he brushed his lips against your scent glands.

"You know, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I won't judge," he murmured, hands sliding underneath the shirt to draw circles on your hips.

You knew what he was referring to, despite how vague he was. "..No, I need to tell you—"

Knock knock.

The two of you went silent when you heard someone knocking on the locked door.

"Uh, hello? Are you two still alive? God, I can fucking smell the stench from here. You're gross," Riki's voice was heard from the other side of the door.

The moment you heard him, you shot up from the bed, attempting to throw on some clothes, only to get tugged back by Jungwon. You squeaked when your back hits a firm chest. "Don't make a sound," he murmured, sending goosebumps down your spine when he teasingly planted kisses down the expanse of your hickey-covered and marked skin.

"W-Wonie, he's outside—ngh," you harshly whispered, only to whimper when he bit down on a spot that made your mind blanks out.

Your husband hummed, forcing himself to pull away even though you tried to tug him back. "C'mon, you should get dressed and talk to Riki. He's been worried about you."

You averted your eyes upon hearing the last sentence but obliged nonetheless, getting out of bed with trembling legs. It's embarrassing with how you had to hold onto the wall to stabilize yourself. Seeing this, Jungwon snickered and you sent him a glare over your shoulder.

Knock knock knock.

"I swear, if you're still fucking, I'm gonna—"

"Oh my god, can you just wait in the living room!?" You cut him off, ears turning red as well.

Riki didn't replied but you managed to hear him mumbling something along the lines of how he's going to kill Jungwon as he walks away until you were greeted with silence again.

"So, I take it it went well?" Riki asked, jumping straight to the point as he leaned back, making himself comfortable on the couch with his arms crossed and his annoying long legs stretched out, like he owns the house.

You sat beside your husband, who merely shrugged his shoulders. "Well, we're able to tolerate one another now without having the urge to throw hands. So that's that."

You resist the urge to facepalm at his words. Your brother arched an eyebrow. His eyes flickered between the two of you, trailing down and he grimaced when he saw how you failed to hide the hickies on your neck. "Oh yea, for sure. I can tell there's a huge mosquito here too."

"Ni-ki! Why are you even here?" You hissed, attempting to change the topic.

Your brother's eyes lingered on your face longer than usual before he sighed, running a hand through his blond hair with a rather grim and solemn look on his face. "..I'm here because I think Jungwoonie deserves to know the truth."

You went still, feeling your husband's curious eyes moving to your direction for a moment.

"What do you mean? I only know she's not an omega but she's actually a alpha," the pilot pointed out, furrowing his eyebrows.

Riki nodded, "You're right about that. But there's more to that. And I know my sister will rather not bring it up, which is why I'm here, so she can tell you about it."

You narrowed your eyes, realizing this was his plan the entire time. "Ni-ki, you—"

"(Name), please. Just tell him," your brother begs you, his voice softening as he looks at you pleadingly. You were hit with a flashback of how he had looked at you the same way, back when the two of you were young.

You dug your nails into your palms, bitting down on your bottom lip. "..Fine, but this will take a while."

Jungwon nodded, "It's fine. I have time."

You inhaled, taking a deep breath and begin explaining.

~

You were nine when you realized something about you was different. You were unique and you're in another league, as compared to the other kids in your class. Your fellow classmates had started presenting—delicate little omegas praised for their softness, precocious betas encouraged for their balance.

You, on the other hand? You were restless, sharper.

Your instincts didn’t crave protection—they screamed dominance. You already knew what the results would be and the same can be applied for your parents. However, you could tell they were in denial, not wanting to accept the truth. Not wanting to accept the sheer fact that their daughter will be given a different fate, different than what they have planned for her.

But when the test results confirmed their worst fears and greatest nightmares—Alpha, your parents' faces went rigid and void of emotions. Just that one, single word was enough to turn their pride into something cold, ruthless and clinical.

"Alphas are reckless. They are unrefined and unfit for the image of our company. It will be a disgrace when the public finds out you're an alpha once the company's been handed to you," your mother had said, her voice clipped as she smoothed the wrinkles on her skirt.

Your father didn't disagreed. Instead, he simply ordered the doctor to change your medical record, to erase all signs of the results and to provide a fake version instead. To prove that you're an omega. The moment you got home, it was drills after drills.

They hired and assigned you many different instructors—lower your gaze, soften your tone and keeping your pheromones sealed tight until your glands ached. Every form of instinct you had was crushed under the heavy weight of rules, punishments and constant reminders of what you should be and must become, no matter what.

To make matters worse, Riki had witnessed it all. He had seen the way you cried yourself to sleep at night after hours of 'training', how you had clawed at your palms until they bled just to maintain your soft-spoken, delicate composure. Just for you to become someone you're not.

"O-Oppa, please.. help me.." You begged through your tears. Your small, trembling hands gripped onto the edge of his pants as you looked at him with your child-like, wide and teary eyes.

"Help me, Oppa. I.. I don't want to do this anymore.. It hurts…" You sniffled, weakly tugging at your older brother's clothes, hoping he will be able to help and to protect you from your parents.

Instead, you were roughly shoved backwards. You landed on the floor, watching from where you sat as Riki didn't spared you a second glance—like you're not worth his time as he walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

~

Your throat was burning and you were fighting the urge to break down right there and then when you finished recalling. You didn't dare to look in Jungwon's or Riki's direction, forcing a watery, bitter and broken smile on your face.

"They forced me to play the role of a perfect omega. To be soft-spoken and submissive—when everything about me is the exact opposite of what they wanted. I tolerated their torture until I was in college, where I met Karina and Beomgyu. That was also when I decided to move out and stay on my own, freeing myself from the prison I was thrown into. And Riki…"

You paused, raising your head slightly to look at your brother, who had nothing but pure shame and remorse written all over his face. "He didn't contact me after the day he pushed me away. The next thing I knew, he was already on the plane, flying to another country."

Jungwon narrowed his eyes. There was anger and something else you couldn't name, burning in those eyes. "So all this time.. you were alone?"

You let out a long, heavy sigh. "I was."

Riki's jaw tightened as he finally looked at you, but when he finally spoke, his voice was quieter than you had expected. "You think I didn't care. That I had abandoned you," he paused, letting out a shaky breath as he stared at the ground, "but that's not the truth."

~

Riki was twelve when he first realized just how brutal, heartless and cruel your so-called 'trainings' was. He had came home from school, walking past a room with the door not fully closed, allowing him to have a sneak peak inside.

Only for him to stop on the spot when he saw his precious younger sister, who was only ten at that time, curled into a small ball on the marbled, polished floor. Seething with rage, he had barged into the room without hesitation, protectively standing before his sister as he snarled, hissed and threatened to sink his fangs into the instructor.

"She's just a kid! Leave her alone!"

The instructor was frightened, fleeing from the room without bothering to put up a fight and Riki brought you to your room, hugging you close to his chest as he noses at your scent glands, scenting you to calm you down. That night, he had sneaked into your room when your parents were asleep, giving you food to eat that he had made in the kitchen. He knew you haven't had a proper meal for a while, considering how you are always spending most of your life 'training'.

Ever since that day, your brother took it upon himself to be by your side—he took your place, letting him be punished instead of you, argued with tutors and even fought with some of the people who dared to mock you. It was only a matter of time when his father demanded to see him in his office.

The room was dark, lit only by the amber glow of a desk lamp. The man didn't bothered raising his voice—he didn't need to. For his words were cold and loud enough to demand nothing but pure obedience.

"Do you want to throw your future away for her, Ni-Ki?"

He had stood still, fists tightly clenched as his shoulders trembled with rage. "She's my sister. You have no rights to—"

"No rights? I should be saying that to you. Now listen carefully, this is how it's going to go," his father cuts him off, leaning back in his seat with the faintest smile on his face, "if you're going to keep meddling and keep protecting her, you can kiss goodbye to your modeling career. I know you've worked hard to earn an internship with Prada. I'm sure the last thing you want is for them to revoke their contract with you, all because you couldn't stop poking your nose into someone else's business."

At that point, Riki was already eighteen. He stared at the man who he can't believe is his father, his own flesh and blood. "…You'll do that, all just for her to live a fake life?"

The other barked out a dark, humorless laugh. "Son, you don't know the harsh reality of the outside world. But, I never expect you to understand it. So, what will you choose?"

Riki felt nothing but pure fury burning in his chest. As much as he wished to do something, anything, he was too powerless to defy the weight of those words. Hence, he wordlessly nodded his head and the older man grinned in approval. He remembered entering your room late at night, seeing you fast asleep with dried tearstains on your cheeks. All he felt was nothing but regret, threatening to swallow him whole.

Which was why three days later, he had booked a flight and flew out of Seoul, unable to face you in the eyes anymore.

~

Riki swallowed hard, his eyes glossing with something dangerously close to regret. You were stunned as you have never seen him acting like this before—openly showing his feelings to you and what he had gone through on his end, without you knowing.

"I never wanted to abandon you. So, when I heard you started your own company, I was really proud of you. I told the people around me that that's my younger sister right there, that she built her own empire with nothing but her own blood, sweat and tears. I wanted to reach out to you," he paused, letting out a choked laugh. Just hearing the sound was enough to make your eyes teared up.

"Gods, I really did wanted to but I was scared. What if you don't want to see me anymore? What if you had pushed me out of your life, not wanting to talk to me forever? When I was invited to attend the event, I had a feeling you would be there. And, it turns out I was right."

He sniffled, not bothering to wipe away the singular tear droplet that trickled down his face. "It really killed me. Watching you suffer when I couldn't do anything and having to live with the rest of my life, knowing you had thought I didn't care about you."

Your nails dug crescent-shaped wounds in your palms but you couldn't stop the tremor in your chest. Everything Riki said—his point of view, the memories spilling out—it had cracked the walls you spent your entire life building. You had told yourself that he didn't care, that he had abandoned you and chose to live his own life, cutting ties with you. Back then, it was way easier to hate him as compared to now. Now that the truth was finally out, he was placed in the same position as you.

Your throat burned as the first sob tore free. You pressed your hand over your mouth but it was futile. Your vision blurred, shoulders shaking as the weight of everything came crashing down. Before you could think twice, you stumbled forward, throwing yourself at Riki as you wrapped your arms around his figure.

"O-Oppa—I thought you didn't care about me anymore. I'm so—"

"No, don't apologize. You shouldn't be saying that to someone like me," he cuts you off, voice muffled as he clutched onto you tightly, as if he's afraid that you might slipped from his grasp for the second time.

For a long moment, the two of you just held each other—siblings who had once been torn apart by fear and control, clinging together like you could bridge the lost years in a single embrace.

After that, Riki spent the next few hours catching up with you while you updated one another about your life. If you were to tell your younger self that you will find yourself chatting and laughing with your brother, you were certain that your younger self would have scoffed, calling you insane about how easily you had forgiven him. Eventually, it was time for Riki to take his leave and he hovered by the door after slipping on his shoes.

"You should talk to Jungwon," he murmured, hands shoved into his pockets.

"..There's nothing to talk about," you muttered, fiddling with your fingers as you avoided eye contact with him.

Your brother chuckled, reaching out to ruffle your hair, drawing a squeak from you as you light-heartedly whacked his shoulder. "Sure sis, if you say so. But seriously, talk to him and besides, I think he had already won you over with all of…that." He pointed at your neck and you scowled, shooing him out of the door while ignoring his laughter.

Once he was finally gone, you headed to Jungwon's private office, knocking and only entering once you were granted permission. There your husband sat, by the desk with a pair of glasses resting on the bridge of his nose. He glanced up, only to do a double take when he realized it was you and straightened himself in his seat.

"Did Riki left already?" He asks, leaning back in his seat as you stopped on the other end of the table.

"Yea, he said that we need to talk," you mumbled.

Jungwon sighed, gesturing for you to move towards him with two fingers. You gulped, walking around the corner and when you got close enough, he pulled you over. You would have made a complete fool of yourself if he didn't steadied you in the nick of time, allowing you to straddle his lap. Your hands awkwardly landed on his broad shoulders.

"Jungwon—"

"Shh, let me speak, princess. I'm not mad at you for hiding the truth from me. I feel bad for being harsh to you when we got married," he paused, resting his warm hands on your hips as he looks at you with a soft, loving smile on his face—something you never thought you'll be able to see.

"I remembered being furious when I was told I'll be marrying a woman who I've never met before. Which was why at first, I tried to push you away, to see whether you'll be able to listen to me. But, you didn't. Instead, you stood your ground and fought back. You looked at me, eye to eye and time and time again, you never fail to impress me with your courage. I know you had gone through horrible times during your childhood and the last thing you wanted was for an arranged marriage with a stranger."

He inhaled and then exhaled, leaning forward to rest his face against your stomach. You flinched, wanting to pull away but was stopped when he silently tightened his grip.

"You know, I actually respected you when I went to did some research. To see you managing to come this far with nothing but your own effort, that makes me see you in a different light. When Riki called me, telling me about how you needed me, I felt my world turned upside down. I had to shove my way through lines of people, forcing my way through immigration, just to get to you."

You were rendered speechless, listening to what he said. Jungwon raised his head, pulling you closer and closer until your practically breathing in one another's air.

"I thought I had lost you before I even had the chance to get to know the real you," he whispered, his hand lifting to cradle the back of your head. His thumb drew small circles on your cheek, grounding you in the current moment. "Seeing you like that… it broke something in me and I never want to feel that, ever again."

Your breath hitched in your throat, emotion swelling so thick that you almost choked on nothing but thin air. All the years of restraint and hiding—they were beginning to loosen, just a little, under his utmost sincerity and heartfelt words.

"Jungwon…" You breathed out, your voice barely above a whisper.

That was all it took. His lips was pressed against yours, in such a sweet, gentle kiss that you thought it was a dream for a moment. You melted into him instantly, fingers curled into his shirt as you clung onto him like an anchor. The kiss deepened but unlike before, there was no usage of tongues. Unlike the previous kisses you shared when you were entangled between the sheets, this was full of unspoken promises—of safety, of acceptance and most importantly, a love that goes beyond duty.

When you finally pulled apart, foreheads resting against one another, Jungwon was the first to break the silence.

"I got you. Today, tomorrow and for the rest of your life. And that, is a promise I intend to keep, until my final breath."

Sunoo blinked once and twice. You can tell he's surprised, with how he widened his eyes temporarily, taken aback with how confident you were. Just like everyone else, he knew who you are the moment he arrived at the cafe. After all, anyone would be a fool if they didn't recognize you, not when you're the daughter of the influential families in Seoul.

"If I want you to pay for my uni fees, will you do it?" He asked.

"Sure, if that's what you want."

"What about paying for my driving license?"

"That's easy."

"Will you say yes if I ask you to sponsor a three months vacation?"

"Yes, why not?"

Sunoo paused, taking the chance to sip his beverage, only speaking when he was done.

"I don't get it. Why are you asking me? Why not ask someone from your fan club? Surely someone is happy enough to take on the role. Why go through the trouble of downloading an dating app, creating a profile and matching with strangers?" He asked, bombarding you with a series of questions.

Instead of being offended or brushing him off, you chuckled. "That's for me to know and for you to find out, Sunoo."

The man scowled, shooting you an annoyed look. "Being vague won't help you, (Name). But fine, I'll do it."

You blinked. "Really?"

"Yeah, I don't see any harm in accepting this contract. Besides, there's nothing interesting happening in my life and I've always wanted to see how people like you live. It must be nice to have everything handed to you on a silver plate," he answered, shrugging his shoulders.

His words made your heart tightened. You let out a soft, barely audible chuckle under your breath as you looked out of the window, watching as people of all ages walked back and forth.

"Trust me, you'd be disappointed once you know the truth," you muttered to yourself.

"Did you say something?"

You snapped back to reality and shook your head, straightening yourself. "Nope, just talking to myself. Let's lay some ground rules, shall we?"

Sunoo groaned, shoulders slumping slightly. "Seriously? We're just fake dating. It's not like we'd fall in love or something."

~

Six months.

Six months was all it took for you to realize the painfully, horrifying truth. The truth that you have fallen in love with Kim Sunoo. If the past you were to see your current state, you're certain the past you will be wheezing until your face turned red. It's one thing for you to pretend you didn't feel anything towards him. But it's another thing for him to give you mixed signals.

The way he looked at you, like you're the only person he sees, even in a room packed with people. The way he ran his thumb along your knuckles as he stood beside you, engaging in a conversation effortlessly with strangers. The way he held a hand at your back while directing you through the crowd, his touch possessive, warm and lingering.

It didn't help that your parents had stopped bringing up your engagement with Hajoon. They had told you the engagement was placed on hold indefinitely, which was what you aimed for, since the beginning.

That's the reason why you agreed to fake date in the first place.

And yet, why does your chest feel so unbearably heavy? Almost like you didn't want this to end at all.

The cafe was unusually quiet for a Friday evening, save for the soft hum of chatter drifting from nearby tables. Sunoo sat across from you, stirring the melting whipped cream and ice in his drink with a plastic purple straw. You, on the other hand, haven't taken a sip from your mug, boring holes into it like it had personally offended you.

"So…" He started, glancing up at you, "your mom called me this morning."

You swallowed dryly, able to see your reflection in the warm tea of your mug. "Oh, did she?"

He smiled, all sweet and happy, like he truly meant it. "Yup. She asked if I'd be able to join your family's charity gala next week. Sounds like she really wants me there."

Your heart sank. That was exactly the problem. You continued looking down at your tea, countless thoughts running through your mind at the speed of a bullet train. How every day passed meant it's a step closer for your parents to discover the truth. The truth that your relationship was an lie.

And if they did, you wouldn't be able to protect Sunoo.

"…Sunoo."

"Hm? Are you feeling alright? You looked a little pale," he asked, reaching out to touch your forehead but you jerked your head back, ignoring the pained look in his eyes.

You swallowed the lump in your throat, fingers curling around your mug. "I think it's time we stop this."

Silence.

The previous carefree smile on his face dropped instantly. "…Stop?"

You inhaled and exhaled. "I meant, we should stop our relationship."

He released the straw, letting it go limp in his drink. "What? Why?"

"This has gone on long enough and the engagement's been called off. My parents aren't pushing it anymore," you replied in a steady tone, forcing yourself to meet his eyes.

"So?"

You swallowed the rise of frustration, wondering if he's playing dumb or he genuinely doesn't know where this conversation is heading.

"So, we don't need to keep pretending anymore," you concluded in a firm, resolute tone.

Sunoo frowned, crossing his arms. It's times like this where you get reminded that apart from the sweet, soft and glowing side of him, there's also a more… sensible side of him. The side where he's able to read your mind like he has a secret ability and you didn't like that one bit.

"You're not telling the truth," he said after a few seconds of silence, eyes locked onto your face.

It took all of you to not flinched at his sharp observation. "It is the truth. Sunoo, you're free now. You can go back to being a uni student and finished your studies. I'll transfer the agreed amount later."

He barked out a cold, humorless laugh. The sound was enough to pierce through your heart.

"You really think I did this for money? Do I look like that kind of person to you?" He scoffed.

No, of course not. You've never seen me as (Full Name) of The Family. You've never treated me like some sort of royalty. You see me as who I am.

You remained silent, unable to say a word. Not because you didn't know what to say. But because you couldn't. How could you, not when you're this close to blurting out the truth? The truth that somewhere along the journey of your fake relationship, you've fallen for him? That you're scared? That you're doing this to protect him?

Sunoo stared at you for a long moment, his sharp and fox-like eyes searching every inch of your face for an answer you refused to give. But your intention was clear—you've locked it up and tossed the key aside.

"So this is it? This is how it came to an end?" He asked, voice sharper and colder than before.

You looked away, unable to face him any longer and that was more than enough.

"…Right, I guess this is it then," he said quietly, rising from his seat and the chair was pushed back, it's four legs scrapping against the floor much louder than he intended.

"I hope that whatever reason you're hiding is worth losing me over," he said quietly, slipping his hands into the pockets of his jacket.

Hearing this, you snapped your head up, ready to protest but your voice died down in your throat when you saw his expression. How there's nothing but sadness glimmering in his eyes. How the smile he had doesn't reached his eyes. How there's a small part of him still waiting for you to tell the truth.

But, it's clear you have long made your decision.

Sunoo spared you one final glance before leaving, walking out of the cafe. He didn't care that it's raining cats and dogs, simply walking in the rain with the hood of his jacket pulled up to shelter his head.

You, on the other hand, remained seated in the cafe, fingers still curled around the mug. Something warm and damp trickled down your cheeks. Your vision blurred. It was only when you raised your hand to touch your right cheek was when it hit you.

You're crying.

Crying because you're heartbroken. Crying because you've pushed someone away, all because you're nothing but a coward. Crying because you've pushed the one and only person who has brought you happiness in your seemingly dull and still life.

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Every time someone walked past or entered the cafe, his eyes darted to the door's direction instinctively. He couldn't helped but feel a pang of disappointment when the person wasn't you but rather, a random stranger. After what felt like forever, you finally arrived. Riki can sense your presence the moment the door was pushed open.

He watched, breath hitching in his throat as your eyes scanned the cafe, searching for him. It took all of him to not outright flinch when they landed on him.

He saw the way you pursed your lips, an unreadable expression on your face as you approached him until you sat opposite of him. For the first few seconds, it was awkward. None of you said a word—Riki avoiding eye contact while your gaze was boring holes into his head.

He wasn't surprised when you made your first move, having known you're the brave and confrontational type.

"So?" You asked, arms crossed and arched an brow while cocking your head to the side, "are you planning to talk or what?"

Riki chewed on his bottom lip. "…I'm sorry."

You scoffed under your breath, the sound barely audible but not to Riki. Not when he had paid close attention to you ever since he first saw you.

"Sorry for?" You echoed.

He swallowed, eyes focused on a random spot of the table. "..For lying to you. I know the general stereotypes of people doing… this kind of jobs. Some people is fine with it while some isn't. I didn't dare to tell anyone about this side job, other than my two friends. If the school were to find out, everyone will view me differently. They won't see me just as Riki. They'll see me as Riki, the student who's a fucking cam boy."

A brief silence.

At least, that's what he thought.

Seconds bleed into minutes until Riki was certain it's been a solid five minutes of awkward and tense silence. He plucked up his remaining courage, lifting his head to look at you. He expected all form of reactions—anger, disappointment or even worse, nothing. What he didn't expect however, was how you were—

"..Why are you smiling at me?" He asked, the words slipping before he could stopped himself.

You chuckled. "Why not? Did you expect me to be mad or something?"

He blinked owlishly. "Uh, yea? I mean, I did lie to you and any normal human will be angry or disappointed."

You shrugged your shoulders. "I'm not normal in the first place. Look at me, I have a long record of dating questionable men with questionable behaviors. You being a cam boy is the least of my worries. It's not like you're committing a crime."

He blinked once. Twice and one more time, to ensure he wasn't hearing things. When it's clear you weren't going to lash out at him or do something violent, his shoulders sagged with relief. The boy even heaved a long and heavy sigh. It's the kind of sigh that spoke volume. Heck, he could even feel the weight on his shoulders significantly decreasing too.

"Thank god, you have no idea how worried I was for a moment. I thought you were planning to kill me," he joked.

You flashed him a closed-eye smile and Riki sworn he felt the temperature of the cafe dropping an notch. "Oh, I might do that if you do this again."

He swallowed, his palms starting to sweat. "Yes, mam."

"I'm serious, Riki. This is the only second chance you're getting. Don't screw this up," you continued in a rare serious tone.

He stretched his hand across the table, placing it over yours and gave it a reassuring squeeze. To his relief, you didn't pull away or showed any negative reaction to his touch.

He smiled, all soft and genuine. "I won't screw us up again, trust me."

You snorted but returned the action, squeezing his hand back. "You better remember what you said, Nishimura Riki."

series masterlist

Not when he hasn't done anything as bad as compared to your exes—flaunting their branded items and their always full wallet, being self-centered and the list goes on. In fact, when you think about it, the only bad thing (although it isn't even bad) was him being a cam boy.

And honestly, you had spent the last three weeks juggling between spending quality time with Soobin and Ningning while working on the project. Sure, you didn't want to talk to Riki but that doesn't mean you're giving up on it, not when it's either you ace or flunk the module. The last thing you wanted was having to retake it from scratch, which will be a waste of time.

As it's a group project, communication is required to ensure you and Riki are on the same page. You treated him like he's your group partner and not your boyfriend.

Your messages was simple and polite—a huge contrast to how you used to be with him. Riki did the same too, but you can imagined him hesitating here and there, with how he replied a few minutes later, like he's rethinking every message he sent.

"So, are you planning on doing anything yet?" Soobin asked, breaking the silence. He yelped when Ningning elbowed him roughly.

The three of you were at Ningning's home with a random cringe-worthy movie playing in the background, acting as white noise. The coffee table was covered with empty Chinese takeaway containers along with a few empty bottles of soju.

"What the hell's wrong with you? You know it's a sore topic," she chided and proceeded to jab him continuously at his sides.

Each jab growing more aggressive than the next until the poor boy kept squirming about, trying to move away from her relentless attack.

You rolled your eyes, taking another swing of the Peach flavored soju from your paper cup. "It's fine, Ning. I've thought about it."

Your words piqued your friends' attention and they immediately turned to you, filled with anticipation.

"I'm gonna talk to him, give him a chance to explain and redeem himself. Depending on his answer, I'll make my decision," you stated.

"What are your options?" Ningning inquired, curious.

You shrugged your shoulders, finger tracing the rim of the cup. "Either forgive or ghost him."

Soobin blinked. "Wait, but I thought he had already told you his reasons via text?"

You shot him a look. "He only explained because he got caught rather than him willingly admitting the truth. There's a difference here, Soobin. And besides, I want to hear what else he has to say."

Ningning hummed, looking thoughtful. "That make sense. Whatever decision you end up making, just know we got your back."

Soobin nodded in agreement. "Yeah."

Your features softened and you flashed them a grateful smile. "Thanks, you two. Seriously, I wouldn't have know what to do without you."

"Yeah, you should be grateful for us to stick with you despite your horrible taste in men."

"Alright, let's not go down there, thank you."

013 | series masterlist

But he wasn't moving at his usual speed, due to how weakened he already was. Which only made the hunt all the more easier for you—a vampire hunter.

And now, your position had been flipped—with you being the predator as you stalked your prey—the pathetic, trembling and frightened vampire who was half-crawling and half-dragging himself across the damp floor, on his elbows and knees. This chasing game went on until there was no strength left in his body, leaving him uselessly laying on the moist ground, his clothes soaking the rainwater and dirt.

Eventually, you stopped, standing with your figure hovering over him. The vampire looked over his shoulder, with wide, quivering and fearful eyes. The sight almost made you laughed—dark and humorless.

"P-Please.. let me go. I didn't mean for this to happen," he begged.

You didn't blink, merely cocking your head to the side. "Why should I? Your victims said the same thing too but you didn't," you paused briefly, raising your blade and pierced it through the vampire's right shoulderblade, drawing a pained and monstrous-like roar from the creature.

You watched with no remorse as he squirmed and wriggled about beneath you, trying to free himself from your blade but his efforts was futile. You drove it deeper, earning a series of satisfying pained grunts and moans from the vampire. Thick, black liquid trickled down his mouth as it rolled down his chin.

You rested your right foot on the vampire's stomach, purposely moving it left to right—treating him like he was dirt. Below and beneath you, a mere human being.

"Vampires like you don't get the right to beg for mercy," you hissed, pulling the blade out, not blinking even when some of his black blood landed on your face.

"No—wait!" The vampire exclaimed but it was too late.

You dove the blade neatly through his opened mouth until the end of your weapon popped through his head. The vampire immediately went still, eyes dimming and his limbs went pliant. You pulled your weapon out, flipping it to get rid of the blood as it landed on the ground, only to be washed away by the rain.

The vampire's body gradually disaggregated into dust until he was gone, like he was never there in the first place.

"Damn, you're ruthless, you know?" A familiar laid-back voice said, interrupting the brief silence as they stopped beside you, sheltering you with an umbrella.

You turned to your co-worker and friend—Xander looking at you with an impressed look, left eyebrow raised and lips curled up in a faint smile. You rolled your eyes as you accepted the umbrella while sheathing your blade in a fluid, smooth movement.

"Shut up, they don't deserve to—"

"—to live after what they had done to your parents. Yeah yeah, I get it. I've heard you retold your background way too many times that I can say it again with my eyes closed," he cuts you off.

You scoffed but the way your eyes glimmered in amusement said otherwise. "Shut up. Did you managed to kill your target?"

Xander nodded, readjusting his grip on the umbrella. "Yeah, it was easy. We should head back, gotta report to headquarters and then we can go home and sleep. What about that husband of yours? Think he's awake waiting for you?"

You let him lead the way, easily matching his pace as the two of you walked side by side in the rain. "Nah, he's asleep. I told him to stop waiting for me but he refused to listen."

Your friend chuckled. "God forbid a man from wanting to wake for his wife to come home."

"…Do you ever shut up?"

"Nah, pissing you off is my hobby—woah, no need to pull out your weapon."

~

The journey back to the headquarters took you thirty minutes. The two of you left the drenched umbrellas by the main entrance so it could dry off, placing them with the other umbrellas as you entered the main building. Even though it was close to three in the morning, there were many hunters around you. All of them—be it male or female, were dressed in the same black attire from head to toe, armed with a different variety of weapons—swords, dual blades and so on.

You nodded your head to hunters who walked past you, acknowledging their presences while returning the unspoken greeting to them. Xander inched closer until your shoulders brushed against one another, hands shoved into the pockets of his black pants.

"You wanna change first or just get this done and over with?" He asked, gesturing at your soaked outfit.

"It's fine. The sooner we get this done and over with, the sooner I can go home and cuddle with my husband," you answered, shrugging off his question.

Xander let out a sigh. "Must be nice to be married."

You sent him a playful smirk. "Hey, you know you have a fan club, right? Just pick someone and marry them. Easy."

Your friend shot you a judgemental look. "I'm not marrying someone who I barely know, no thank you."

"Loser."

"Fuck off."

The two of you continued chatting—well, bickering would be the more accurate word here as you headed to the directors' office. Xander and you go way back. The two of you met one another in Squad 54—one of the many squads out there after passing the entrance test of becoming a vampire hunter. You were only eighteen years old back then, while Xander was twenty-one, with a three years age difference.

He treated you like a younger sister—always guiding you and giving you advice whenever you were stuck. Xander was always there for you, listening when you told him the reason why you became a hunter—to avenge your parents who died during an incident. The details weren't revealed to you but all you knew was that a vampire had killed them.

And to you, that was enough reason for you to become a hunter.

Xander, on the other hand, chose this path because he loved the thrill of fighting. The adrenaline pumping through his veins and how he could act as a protector of the town you lived in. You remembered teasing him when he told you his reason, calling it 'cliche' and 'too noble for his own good'. But despite his words, you actually respect him.

Not that you'd say it out loud, for his ego would rise till no end.

Eventually, you arrived at the director's office. You glanced at one another, nodding in unison and you stepped forward, raising your right hand that was curled into a fist and knocked twice, each sound firm and resolute.

Knock knock.

"Come in."

The doors were opened from the inside, with two guards opening on each end. The director room was a stark contrast to the rest of the building—quieter and heavier, like sound itself knew better than to linger too long.

Dark wooden panels lined the walls, polished to a dull sheen, only to be interrupted by framed marks marked with red pins and handwritten annotations that tracked vampire actives across the city. A massive desk dominated the center of the room, carved from old oak and scarred with years of usage.

The surface was cluttered with neatly stacked files and a single lamp that casts a warm and low glow. The air faintly smelled of ink and something metallic—blood, perhaps, soaked into the history of the place.

The Director—a man in his late forties sat by his desk. You could feel his presence the moment you stepped foot into the room, causing your shoulders to tense as your body instinctively entered fight mode, even though there was no form of danger.

Your boots echoed softly against the floor with Xander falling into stride beside you with complete ease. His posture was relaxed, almost careless too but you could recognized the tension behind it. The doors closed behind you with a heavy and loud thud, sealing the room off from the rest of the building.

"Hunter (Name) and Hunter Xander, report," the Director ordered, voice firm and authoritative.

Xander took a step forward, hands now resting by his sides as he goes first. "Sir, I have managed to eliminate my target without causing a scene. The vampire didn't get to kill anyone else once I arrived at the scene."

The Director curtly nodded, eyes flicking to you. "Good. And what about you, Hunter (Name)?"

You did the same as Xander, raising your chin slightly higher. "Sir, I have eliminate my target as well without causing a scene."

"Good, as expected from the both of you. Hunter Xander, you may leave but," he paused for a second as he pointed at you. It took all of you to not flinched, "Hunter (Name), I need you to stay for a while. There is something important I wished to discuss with you."

Xander spared you a curious glance as he bowed, turning to walk to the door. The guards opened it for him and closed once he was gone, leaving you alone with the Director. You remained where you were, watching as he pulled out a folder from the drawer beneath his desk. It was only at his signal—a simple nod of his head, was when you approached him to pick up the folder.

You flipped it opened to see details handwritten in black ink by someone:

Name: Park Jongseong (Jay).

Species: Vampire.

Birthday: Unknown.

Ability: Able to possess bodies.

Strengths: Unknown.

Weaknesses: Unknown.

You flipped to the next page, expecting to see a sketch of how he looked like—which was the standard procedure.

But it was blank.

You furrowed your eyebrows and raised your head, noting how the Director had been observing your reaction for the past few minutes.

"Sir, what is the meaning of this?" You inquired.

He let out a sigh, leaning back into his comfortable, oak brown chair. "I have sent many capable hunters after him but none of them were able to come back to me alive. As far as I am aware, this vampire is highly dangerous."

You stiffened, knowing where this was going. "You mean he is classified under Code Red?"

Code Red meant vampires that are extremely hostile and dangerous. Only a small percentage of hunters have the skills to go against them. Of course, you are part of the said percentage.

The Director nodded. "Yes, which is why I'm assigning this mission to you, Hunter (Name). I have never seen a vampire as ruthless as he is. I do not have that much information on him but I had collated them into the folder you are holding now. I hoped it will be helpful for you."

You closed the folder and bowed from waist-level, at a sharp ninety degrees. "Understood, I will not disappoint you, Sir."

You turned, heading to the doors and the guards opened it. You were about to step out when you stopped at the Director calling out to you.

"Hunter (Name)."

You looked over your shoulder, peering at him from the corner of your eyes. "Yes, Sir?"

"Please, be careful. This vampire is not like the others you had faced before," he warned you.

If you were to hear closely, you could detect the faint concern in his voice. That shocked you. As far as you were aware, the Director was someone who rarely showed emotions. There were baseless rumors, whispers and gossips among the many, faceless hunters—wondering if he was a robot or worse: a human being born without a heart.

Whatever or whoever he was, you didn't cared. To you, he was someone who had gave you the chance to seek revenge for your deceased parents.

Nothing more and nothing less.

Your eyes lingered longer than usual on the Director's face, trying to find something behind those cold eyes but there was nothing. You merely nodded and finally stepped out of the room, the guards closing the door behind you, leaving you alone in the long, still and quiet hallway. You glanced down at the folder and sighed as you ran a hand through your hair.

"First thing first, I need a shower," you muttered as you left headquarters, ready to go home and changed out of your wet clothes.

~

You returned to a dark and quiet small house located North of the headquarters. You carefully closed and locked the door behind you, not wanting to wake your husband, who was fast asleep a long time ago. With how dark it was, you could barely see anything further than your hands stretched out before you, leaving you to blindly navigate your way through the dark.

THUD!

"Ow! What the fu—"

You hissed, barely managing to contain yourself as you stubbed your right socked foot against one of the sofa's legs. Bending over, you rubbed at your poor foot until the pain gradually subsided until you could walked again.

To your relief, your husband wasn't awaken by your clumsiness. You wasted no time in hopping into the bathroom, finally able to peel off your heavy clothes as you took a quick but refreshing shower.

When you were done, you changed into a more comfortable and breathable set of clothes—a loose sleeping gown and threw on a pair of pants, due to the cool weather. Instead of going to sleep, you sneak past the bedroom, only pausing for a few seconds to peak inside—making out the silhouette of your husband's sleeping figure before you headed to the dining table, where the folder was located.

You lit candlestand placed on the dining table as poured yourself a cup of warm water before sitting down on the nearest chair. As much as you wanted to sleep, curiosity got the better of you. You were intrigued to know more about your newly assigned target. This was something you always do at the start of every mission—collecting and digging for information.

The more information you have, the higher the advantage you have should you encounter them.

During your past five years as a vampire hunter, you had encountered different vampires. Some were easy to handle. Some required a decent amount of effort. Some, on the other hand, were leagues above the rest. They were smart, cunning and sly. Like they knew how to blend in with humans, making them almost invisible to the naked eye.

The thought of a vampire being able to pull off as a human sent shivers down your spine. You pulled the candlestand close enough until you could see the content. Flipping open the folder, you skipped the first two pages, landing on the third page where an ex-hunter had written an report:

To whoever is reading this in the future, I hope this report will be useful to you.

I had spent the past one week trailing after the target. I'm no longer in town and had ventured somewhere far from home. Until now, the target has not noticed me yet. But, I suspect he knew I had been following him the entire time. I don't know why he didn't kill me. It's like he wanted me to follow him, like he wanted to show me something.

Here I am, hiding in my temporary base as I quickly write down what I managed to find out. He is not working alone, that is a fact and not an assumption. He has accomplices and there are a total of seven of them. All of them are vampires. Nothing is known about the rest of them, except for the fact that they have a leader—someone who they listened and followed orders from.

My target's name is Park Jongseong or Jay, according to how the other vampires addressed him as. I don't know what his ability is as I have yet to witness it with my own eyes. I will write when I gather more details.

The report ended there and you knew what had became of the hunter as there was nothing else after that. Sighing, you flipped to the next page, showing another report. But this time, the handwriting was more italic, like the person used to be an author before switching to becoming a hunter:

It had been four days since I was assigned to this mission. I had decided to take whatever free time I have to write this down, hoping it will be useful to someone in the future. I have discovered something shocking and why the hunters before me failed to eliminate him.

He is different from the others. He has the rare ability to possess a body. It can be anyone's body—be it a human or a vampire. I don't know the exact details of how it worked but one moment, one of my teammates was with me. The next moment, he started attacking the rest of us, blindly swinging his weapon about, like he was on a rampage.

I was the only one who managed to escape from him. Barely alive but still in one piece, for now. I don't know how it or when it happened but I hope this information will be useful.

You paused, staring at the report with your lips pursed in a thin line with your head resting on the palm of your left hand. Based on the two reports you read, you still didn't know enough about Jay and as much as you wanted to continue reading, your eyelids were growing heavier as every second passed. Your head was also slipping from your palm and you nearly banged your head against the edge of the table.

"(Name)?"

You visibly flinched from your chair, startled when a sleepy voice broke through the silence of the night. Or morning. You swiveled your head over your shoulder, to see it was none other than your husband standing at the doorway. His hair was messed up and his eyes were barely opened as he squinted at you.

"What are you doing? Don't tell me you're still working," he lets out an exasperated sigh.

Hearing the faint frustration in his voice made your left eyebrow twitched. "And what if I am? What does it matter to you? You were the one who told me that we'll mind our own business in this marriage."

You couldn't help but spat at him, throwing the words he directed to you back at him without hesitation. Something unreadable flickered in your husband's face before his shoulders tensed, the remains drowsiness leaving his body as anger started pouring in.

"Why do you always do this? Turn a normal conversation into an argument?" He fired back.

You stood up from your seat, not caring how the chair's legs scrapped loudly against the floor at your action. "Me? Oh, that's rich, coming from someone who treats this marriage like a partnership!"

You didn't cared that you were raising your voice at the late or early hours of the morning and how your neighbors will be knocking on your door when they woke up. You clenched and unclenched your fists, letting your nails dig into your palms to ground yourself.

"We're married for three years and not once did you looked or treated me like your wife. You treated me like I was invisible, some sort of ghost while all you do is keep to yourself!" You continued, letting out your pent-up frustration and annoyance.

Your husband opened his mouth and for a moment, you thought he had changed. You thought he would fight back, finally telling you the real reason but then—

"…Forget it, it's useless trying to talk to you when all you're doing is screaming and yelping like an animal. I'm going back to bed," he said, retreating to the bedroom without sparing you a second glance, leaving you standing there, seething with rage and heartbreak.

~

"Are you sure this is a good idea?"

A tall man dressed in black from head to toe asked as he stood beside another man, whose cat-like eyes were watching a pair of vampires arguing among themselves, behaving like immature children despite the fact that they had lived for centuries. The shorter of the two hummed in acknowledgment as he stared at the papers messily scattered across the long table before him.

"What is?"

Riki sighed and jutted his chin to where the two vampires are. "I'm talking about those two idiots over there. Are you sure assigning the mission to them is a good idea? I bet Jay's gonna get exposed once he finds out the human doesn't know how to cook."

Jungwon snorted under his breath, resting both hands on the desk as he stared down at the papers, trying to connect the dots of the clues presented before him. "Oh, I'm sure that'd happen without doubt. But, I need the two of them to work together on this mission. It's crucial for our goal and besides."

The leader paused for a moment, leaning over to grab a particular piece of document that had a female face on it, along with her personal information. Jungwon's eyes lingered with an unreadable look on his face.

"Besides what?" Riki prodded, curious.

Jungwon slowly and deliberately smiled, something unsettling, dark and knowing hidden behind it. "Besides, we need someone to get close to her and that annoying boss of hers. The sooner they are dead, the sooner we can go home."

The taller sighed, eyes drifting towards Jay and Sunghoon—who had finally stop fighting. Instead, they were now laughing as they chatted gleefully, pretending like they weren't going at going at one another's throat a few seconds ago.

"I hope you know what you're doing, hyung. Because unlike the rest of us, Jay has a fragile heart," Riki pointed out, hands shoved into the pockets of his black, long coat that had a silhouette of a snake on his broad, strong back.

Jungwon chuckled, the sound humorless and dark. "Doesn't matter. When the time comes, I'll test his loyalty. I only hope he knows which to pick."

~

You spent the next two to three weeks juggling between your newly-assigned missions while digging for more information about your target. You went to the library located in the South building of the headquarters, hoping the large collection of books would be able to provide more clues than the reports you had read multiple times.

But to your annoyance and disappointment, there was nothing.

You couldn't find anything about Jay or his accomplices stated in the reports. You couldn't stopped thinking about how there was no sketch of his appearance. That was something rare, something you had never encountered in your five years of being a vampire hunter.

It's like no one had seen his true appearance before. That thought alone made something akin to unease settled in the depths of your stomach.

"…llo? Is anyone still there?"

"Ow!"

You yelped when something light but sharp hit your forehead, snapping you back to reality. You raised your head, rubbing at the now sore spot as you glared at Xander, who couldn't hold back the grin that stretched across his face.

"Did you just flick me?" You deadpanned, dropping your hand.

"Hey, I was calling out to you for the past six minutes but you weren't answering me. So I had to resort to physical force," he shrugged his shoulders, letting out a dramatic, pained cry when you jabbed at his side, causing him to jump on the spot.

"What was that for!?" He exclaimed, steering his horse slightly away from yours, not wanting to get jabbed the second time.

You rolled your eyes at his reaction but your lips curved upward. "That was for flicking my forehead, dumbass. Now come on, we have a vampire to catch."

The two of you were sent out on another mission—nothing new or nothing you haven't seen before. The details was simple—a small group of vampires were on the rise recently. They were reported moving from one village to another, sucking the villagers' blood dry—be it elderly, children, men or women.

Should this were to continue, there was a chance they might grow stronger as they gradually get closer to the town you're living in. The last sighting of them was reported to be in a village located far from town. Traveling there by horse would required at least a day. You had packed light—some food, water, a medical kit and some emergency supplies.

Better to be safe than sorry.

Xander looked up to the gradually dimming sky. "You wanna camp out here tonight or keep pushing forward?" He asked, waiting for your decision.

You hummed, eyes looking forward. "Let's keep going. Any second we waste means more innocent people are going to die."

"Got it, boss."

"Don't call me that."

~

After about forty-five minutes to an hour, the two of you finally arrived at your destination. It seemed like you had made the right choice as the village was in chaos. Villagers were screaming at the top of their lungs as they fled, not wanting to the next victim. You squinted your eyes, managing to locate a fast-moving silhouette chasing after a young girl. You didn't wait for permission, instantly leaping off your horse and unsheathed your blade.

"(Name)!" Xander called out to you but you ignored him.

Right now, you were focused on saving the girl before she became the vampire's prey.

You dashed across the field at breakneck speed, getting close enough to see something strange and inhumane.

His hands—nails, to be exact, grew long until they were slightly curved at the end and is silver in color, glowing under the moonlight as it shone down on it. He raised his left hand, throwing it out and the curved nails flew towards the girl, who was defenseless and vulnerable.

You jumped into action.

Gathering enough strength in your legs, you closed the distance between you and the girl in a blink of an eye, moving at a speed that was hard for the naked eye to follow. You stood between the girl and the vampire, easily deflecting the incoming barrage of attack.

Shink, shink, shink!

Every deflect made a 'shink' sound as you sent it flying in different directions. You didn't dared to look behind to find the girl, only praying that Xander was quick enough to escort her to safety. You had a mini staring contest with the vampire, who hasn't moved an inch from where he stood. Instead, he eyed you with poorly concealed interest, like you were fascinating to him.

"Oh, it's you," he breathed out, sounding in awe.

You frowned. "Do I know you?"

The vampire blinked then chuckled. "No, you don't. But it doesn't matter."

"..What the hell are you yapping about?" You snapped, patience growing thinner as every second passed.

The other tilted his head to the side. "You'll find out in due time. But for now, you've let my prey ran away. How are you planning on making it up to me?"

"You can go to hell," you hissed.

He smirked, ready to jump on you when he stopped, like he was listening to something you couldn't hear. Whatever it was, he seemed to listen as he clicked his tongue, not bothering to hide his dissatisfaction and straightened himself. His long nails shrunk until it was gone, making him looked human.

"You're lucky you get to walk away. See you next time," he casually bid you farewell, like the two of you are friends. He was about to walk away when he paused, remembering something and looked at you over his shoulder, giving you a knowing and uneasy smile that doesn't meet the look in his eyes.

"Oh, and a word of advice for you, human. Don't put too much trust in the people around you."

"Wha—"

You didn't get to finish your sentence as his body was split into bats. You watched from where you stood, your sword slightly lowered as you watched the bats flew away. Their wings flapped nonstop until they were out of your sight, leaving you behind to dwell on the sentence that felt more like a warning rather than a threat.

A warning, but for what?

"(Name)! Thank god you're safe!" Xander called out as he rushed towards you, scanning you from head to toe and heaved out a sigh of relief when there was no signs of injuries.

"You nearly gave me a heart attack! You need to stop rushing into fights like that! Have you forgotten what we had learned!?" He exclaimed.

You scoffed, trying to ignore the vampire's sentence that was now lingering in the back of his mind. "Oh, sorry for not asking for permission, mom. I'd be sure to do that next time."

Xander lightly whacked your shoulder, making you let out a pained yelp as you held onto your left shoulder, looking at him with betrayal and an incredulous look on your face.

"Did you just hit a woman?" You gaped.

Your friend shot you a deadpan look. "Not funny."

You sighed, dropping the act as you sheathed your sword. "Fine, I got it. I'll be more careful. I promise."

Xander eyed you, looking like he wanted to say something but ended up sighing with a final shook of his head. He reached out to ruffle your hair, making you scowled as you slapped his hand away.

"Seriously, someone needs to keep an eye on you. Won't want your husband to come after me for letting his pretty wife's face get scarred," he joked.

You knew he didn't meant anything behind it, how he was merely joking and wanted to make you feel better. But you couldn't helped the faint ache in your heart. How he was oblivious to the truth—how your marriage was nothing more than a facade, simply something to make your parents happy, knowing that should anything happened to them, you will not have to spend the rest of your life alone.

What Xander and your parents didn't know was how the marriage was anything but happy. It felt more like a contract, like you and your husband were nothing more than strangers, treating one another like strangers who were forced to sleep under the same roof. Your husband worked as a hardware store manager.

His personality at work is very different when he's at home. At work, he's more friendly, warm and approachable. Heck, you had even witnessed him laughing at a joke one of his co-workers told him. But when he came home, it's like the life was suck out of him. He became cold and distant, always sticking to himself.

You couldn't remembered the last time you had a meal together, held his hand or even share those small, little romantic displays like quick and chaste pecks on your cheeks. There were times when you envied the couples you see on the streets, watching as they were so lovey-dovey with one another that it physically pained you.

You wanted what they had. But how could you, when your husband refused to look you in the eyes?

~

What was supposed to be a quick mission ended up with you and Xander helping the villagers in rebuilding their homes. They even cooked up a feast for the two of you, ignoring your rejections as they stubbornly insisted for you to have their food. To them, you were their savior and it was only right for them to provide a feast for someone who had saved their lives.

Xander being Xander, wasted no time in diving in, shoving food down his throat, acting like a famished beast, much to your utter embarrassment. Thankfully, the villagers didn't laughed at him as they merely refiled his plate, making him on cloud nine.

You ended up joining him but unlike him, you had the basic manners to eat properly and without making a mess.

Once your stomachs were full and both of you were feeling the food coma gradually setting in, it was time for you to sleep. You didn't brought a extra pair of clothes, which made you groaned as you mentally prepared yourself for the stench you'd wake up to tomorrow morning.

The villagers were generous enough to provide a house that wasn't knocked down during the sudden vampire ambush for you and Xander. There were two separate beds placed vertically against the two walls. You made yourself comfortable, not bothering to pull the thin blanket up as you weren't feeling cold.

You rested your head on your arms as you stared at the ceiling above you. On your left, Xander had knocked out the moment his head hit the thin pillow and was already snoring, like he was in the comfort and softness of his bed at home. Sighing, you got up and stealthily stepped out, deciding to take a walk to clear your mind.

"Oh, and a word of advice for you, human. Don't put too much trust in the people around you."

"Who was he referring to? What did he meant by the people around me?" You mumbled to yourself as you walked through the quiet village where the villagers were peacefully asleep.

Everyone except for you.

What was more important was how none of the reports stated that vampires had the ability to grow certain body parts. As far as you were, whoever that vampire was, you suspect he must be in the same league with Jay.

You groaned, running a hand through your hair in frustration. "Fuck, this isn't good. I can't even find him in the first place. How am I supposed to kill a target I can't see?"

You shook your head rapidly to get rid of the thought, not wanting to further distract yourself. You let your feet aimlessly led you around as you stayed within the village, not wanting to get lost or even worse, die due to vampires lurking in the shadows. When your feet were starting to ache, you took that as your sign to return to the house.

Xander had turned onto his left, his back facing you as he slept soundly. This time however, he wasn't snoring anymore.

You removed your combat boots, placing them at the end of the bed. This time, you pulled the thin blanket up when you felt a gentle gust of wind, making you involuntarily shivered. Despite taking a walk to clear your mind, you felt even more troubled than before.

It was safe to say you didn't get any sleep that night.

When morning came, you were beyond exhausted but you didn't let it show on your face. You woke Xander up by repeatedly whacking him with your pillow, drawing a groan from him as he attempted to go back to sleep. But you continued whacking him until he has had enough. Both of you washed up to the best of your abilities with whatever was provided and headed to where your horses were resting—in a small stable.

You led your horse out as Xander does the same with his.

"Wait!"

You had jumped onto your horse, ready to leave when a young girl's voice stopped you. Looking down, you recognized the girl from yesterday. It was the girl who you managed to save and she was holding a folded piece of paper. Curious, you got down, bending so you were eye-level with her and you flashed her a smile.

"Hi sweetie, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with your parents?" You asked.

She giggled and handed you the paper, a wide smile stretching across her round, cute face. "I wanted to give you this, to show my thanks for saving me!"

You felt touched by her words as you accepted it, unfolding the paper to see it was a hand drawn art of a woman—who you assumed was you, protecting a girl from a vampire. Xander looked over your shoulder, only to cough to hide his laughter when he saw it.

"Damn, you look kinda hideous—!" He didn't finished his sentence as you sharply elbowed him in the stomach without looking behind you, making him let out a pained wheeze as he bent over while clutching at his sides.

You turned to the girl with the smile still on your face, pointedly ignoring Xander's pained groans in the background. "Thank you, sweetie. You're really talented in your drawing. You should head back to your parents now."

She pouted but nodded nonetheless. "Alright.. please come and visit us someday, Miss! Byebye!" She cheerfully waved before skipping back home, leaving you there as you stood up while pocketing the paper into your breast pocket.

"If only she knew how much of a violent person you are," Xander complained as he hopped onto his horse with you doing the same.

"Shut up. You deserved that," you retorted, flicking the reins and your horse began galloping. The village gradually grew smaller and smaller until it was out of your sight as you headed back town—back to where home was.

~

Xander chose to report to the Director, stating how you were "close to falling asleep on your feet" and you didn't had the energy to argue with him. Not when he was right. You bid him farewell as you headed back home, leaving your horse under Xander's care as he brought it back to the headquarters while you walked back. You didn't expect anything and had zero thoughts about your husband.

Which was why you were surprised when you saw him preparing lunch for you in the kitchen.

A fresh and strong fragrance of creamy mushroom soup filled your senses, making your stomach grumbled out loud. You stood at the doorway, looking like an idiot with how shocked you were at the sight before you. From where you were, you could see your husband standing before the stove in the kitchen, with his back facing you as he hummed something under his breath.

Like this was normal.

"Ah, you're back already. How did the mission go? Well, I hope," your husband spoke up, acknowledging your presence.

His question snapped you out of your daze as you entered, closing the door behind you while slipping off your boots, placing them neatly against the door. You blinked when you saw how his shoes were neatly placed near the door—something he never does in your three years of marriage. But you didn't questioned it, not when you were close to falling asleep right there and then.

"…It was fine, we managed to save the villagers before the vampires could get to them," you replied as you headed to the dining table, ungracefully collapsing into the nearest chair.

Your husband hummed, raising the ladle to his lips to test taste the soup and when it was to his satisfaction, he turned off the stove. He grabbed a bowl he had taken out beforehand, scooped a generous amount of soup into the bowl and placed it on a tray before stepping out of the kitchen.

He placed it before you, looking down at you and then, he does something so unexpected that it made your breath hitched in your throat.

He leaned down to kiss your forehead.

Your body stilled, like you didn't know how to react to the sudden display of affection. Your head robotically snapped up to him, noting how he was still looking at you with a warm and loving smile on his face.

"Y-You… What are you doing?" You asked, stuttering over your words.

"Hm? I don't know what you're talking about," he smoothly answered but you weren't dumb.

"You're acting weird. Why are you doing all of this?" You asked, widely gesturing to your surroundings.

"You're supposed to be at work and not at home. You don't even care about what I do or whether I get killed one day when I'm out on a mission. So, why are you doing this?" You asked, hating how your voice trembled at the end of your question, hating how weak you sounded as you looked at him, furiously blinking to get rid of tears threatening to slip.

Your husband's features softened and guilt flicked across his face. He rested a hand above yours where it was placed on the table.

"I know I haven't been the best husband for the past three years. I neglected you, didn't see you as a equal and my wife. No words can let me make up for my mistake so please, give me a chance? I want to prove to you that you didn't made the wrong choice. Let me prove to you that marrying me isn't something you should regret," he said, utmost sincerity evident in his voice.

You were taken aback by how genuine he was. You never thought he was capable of feeling, with how cold and distant he had treated you. You didn't know what to say, rendered speechless. Seeing your reaction, your husband chuckled as he reached out to pat your head, like you were some kind of stray dog he stumbled upon on the streets.

"And how do you planned on doing that?" You asked, finally regaining your composure.

He pursed his lips as he moved away from you. You pointedly ignored how your heart was aching, wanting him to come back as he sat opposite of you.

"Well, first thing first, I'm taking you out on a date," he said, raising one finger, like he had planned this out and had even made a list in his mind.

"Secondly, I'll make sure to pamper you, giving you the love and attention you deserved," he continued. You swore you felt your cheeks turning warm at the implications behind his words as you picked up the spoon, taking your first sip of the soup.

Your eyes widened at how flavorful and creamy the mushroom soup was. Your eyes flicked between your husband's expectant look and the soup, noting how he was eagerly waiting for your reaction. Clearing your throat, you schooled your expression, although it was too late for that.

"This is really good," you complimented him, trying not to cringe at how awkward you sound. One would think this was your first time learning how to praise someone.

Thankfully, your husband didn't point it out. He smiled, somewhat satisfied and pleased with your words. Nodding his head, he leaned back in his chair as he stretched his arms above his head, revealing the rolled-up sleeves that had his lower arms exposed. You hated how your eyes moved to the newly exposed areas, acting like a Victorian man seeing an ankle for the first time.

If you choked on your soup when he cracked his fingers, then that's only for you to know.

At least, that's what you think, unaware that your husband's unusually sharp hearing caught it. He had to stifle urge to grin, not wanting to get his cover blown. He stood up and headed to the kitchen, giving him the much-needed privacy to let him smile.

All he needed to do was to maintain this facade while playing the role of your loving husband and soon, he and the other vampires will be able to return home.

~

For the next few days, you found it awkward and hard to adjust to the drastic change of your husband's behavior. Your previous quiet and gloomy home was now more lively, more brighter and more… comfortable. Never in your life would you found yourself living the life you desperately wanted. The life of being treated as an equal, as someone's wife and more importantly, with utter love and devotion.

Your previous routine to get ready for work was quick and efficient—you get dressed. After ensuring your weapons are sharpened enough to your liking, you were out of the house, without bothering to bid your husband farewell. After all, he wasn't home most of the times.

But it's different this time.

"You're leaving for work already?"

You looked up in the midst of cleaning your weapon, already dressed as you sat on the couch in the small living room, to see your husband approaching you with a slight frown on his face. You blinked when you registered the rectangular, thinly-framed glasses resting on the bridge of his nose, feeling your mind malfunctioning on the spot.

Your husband, on the other hand, paid you no mind. Or maybe he didn't voiced it out loud. Whichever it was, you were grateful. You watched as he stood before you and then, sank to his knees. Heat crept up the back of your neck, feeling both flustered and mortified at what he wanted to do—

Only for him to help you tie the shoelaces for your combat boots.

You couldn't moved, staring down at him with wide eyes, parted lips with your hands awkwardly frozen in mid-action from cleaning your weapon. You remained in that position until he was done tying your shoelaces but he didn't made any move to stand. Instead, he remained there—kneeling between your legs as he eyed you with an unreadable expression on his face.

Somehow, the way he looked at you made you felt small. Like he had you right where he wanted you to be. Your breath caught in your throat as he rose until he was bent at waist level and he leaned in, one hand braced against the back of the couch while the other rested on your right, fingers dangerously close to touching your left knee.

"..What are you doing?" You asked, mentally wincing at how your voice shook at the end.

The way your husband knowingly smirked sent shivers down your spine and the all-too familiar sensation of heat pooling in your stomach. You could only prayed he couldn't hear how your heart was beating rapidly against your chest.

You leaned back, wanting to maintain distance between the two of you but he merely followed, until you're pinned against the couch with his hands blocking off any forms of exit.

"Nothing, just wanted to admire my pretty wife," he murmured, voice low and raspy, making you unconsciously clenched and rubbed your thighs together.

His eyes darted down, the left corner of his lips tugged upward in a faint, amused smirk. Like he knows the effect he has on you. Like he could read your mind, venturing into the deep, deep corners of your mind. Your breath stuttered when he leaned in closer, tethering between the lines of teasing and making you begged for it.

He saw the way your eyes flicked down to his lips, to how you were fighting against yourself to not give in to the temptation. Your husband chuckled, choosing to push you further by now resting his right knee between your legs, on the edge of the couch. If he were to move it higher, he could have it pressed directly against your clothed and soaked pussy.

"You look like you want something," he pointed out, feigning innocence despite how he was the one responsible for starting this in the first place.

You nervously swallowed, unable to find it in yourself to use your voice. "I…"

"Go on. Use your words and tell me, sweetheart," he purred, voice lowering an octave.

The sudden usage of a nickname made you let out an involuntarily whimper before you could swallowed it down. He took that as a sign of victory, lips parted and was about to say something when—

Knock knock.

"(Name)? You in there?" Xander called out, his muffled voice heard through the door as he stood outside, oblivious to what was happening on the other side.

You flinched, accidentally lurching forward and roughly knocked your forehead against your husband's, who was way too close for your comfort. The two of you let out a pained yell at the same time, clutching your heads as you groaned while rubbing the now sore spot. You were the first to recover, shooting up from the couch the moment the pain faded away.

You quickly grabbed your weapon, sheathed it and fled from your husband, like your life depends on it. You stepped out, slamming the door shut behind you and Xander stood a few feet away, owlishly blinking his eyes at you when he saw your flushed face and how you were gasping for air.

"You alright? You look like you've ran a marathon," he commented.

Running a hand through your hair as you slung your weapon by your waist, ignoring how your hands were borderline shaking, you cleared your throat.

"I'm fine, don't worry about it," you replied, thankful that your voice was steady.

But Xander had known you long enough to read through your flimsy and futile attempts of pretending. "You're clearly not fine, if your hands are shaking like you're about to take your first exam. Come on, tell me."

The last two words made your body stiffened. Your mind reacted before your body did—bringing you back to the way you were pinned against the couch a few minutes ago. To how your husband looked at you, like he was about to kiss you and the way he said it, like he was seducing you. Before you could stopped yourself, thoughts started running through your mind at the speed of light.

What would happened if Xander didn't knocked on the door? Would he had kissed you? Would you have let him? Would the kiss lead to something more—

"…llo? (Name)?"

"H-Huh?"

You blinked, snapping back to reality when Xander waved his hand in front of your face. The man sighed as he dropped his hand, stepping back to give you distance.

"You didn't heard a single word I said, did you?" He dryly asked, not bothering to wait for your response with how you opened and closed your mouth, struggling to formulate a sentence.

"Never mind, we should get going. The Director said he wanted to talk to us and it's urgent," he said.

You nodded as you walked down the street with him, unaware that a certain group were already making their first move in the cover of the shadows.

After all, the human eye can't see things that are visible to a certain species.

~

"Hyung, what the hell was that? Were you about to kiss or kill her?"

Jay closed his eyes, letting out a long and heavy sigh as he felt the familiar surge of frustration when Riki's voice echoed in his mind. He could hear the annoying, rapid and nonstop multiple tapping on the window. He already knew who was behind it without looking in their direction. The vampire moved through the house like he had lived here for a long time.

Wrong.

He only 'moved in' a few days ago, seizing his chance after trailing the oblivious man. Jay spent the past few days watching him while hiding in the shadows, using the night to conceal his presence. He wanted to make sure he found the perfect target—not because he doesn't trust Jungwon's judgment, but because he wanted to ensure that everything was moving according to plan.

Should they failed a mere, minor step, they could say goodbye to returning home.

"Shut up, Riki. Why are you here in the first place? Shouldn't you be helping Sunghoon?" Jay sighed, heading to the window as he opened it, allowing the youngest to fly in as he settled on Jay's right shoulder.

The bat—Riki, cocked his head to the side while looking at him. Jay won't admit it out loud but seeing the youngest vampire like this—small and cute, gives him cuteness aggression. But he knew Riki won't like to be babied, which was why he kept the comment to himself.

"Sunghoon hyung's fine. Sunoo's with him and you know how those two are when they work together."

Jay only made a face at that. "Unfortunately, I do. So, are you here to help or bother me?"

Riki flapped his tiny wings and if he was in his human form, Jay could perfectly visualized the playful grin on his face. "Why I'm here to bother you! Watching you trying to act like a human is fun."

"Piss off."

Jay rolled his eyes but made no move to flick him off his shoulder, letting Riki sit on it as he headed to the master bedroom. The vampire wasted no time in digging through your things, trying to find what he was looking for. But, it seemed like it wasn't as easy as he thought. No matter where he searched—left and right, up and down, he couldn't find it.

At some point, Riki had returned to his human form, dressed in black from head to toe. "Hyung, do you know what you're looking for? It's—"

"The fragments," Jay cut in, voice low but edged with steel. He slammed the drawer shut, harder than necessary. The sound echoed too loudly in the bedroom.

"And one of them has to be here."

He paused, breathing out slowly through his noise, as if reining himself in. The master bedroom felt wrong—too intimate and too lived-in. Your things surrounded him—folded clothes that still carried your scent, trinkets placed with careful intention. All of these doesn't belonged to him.

A life he was only borrowing and already staining with his mere presence.

Jay moved again, slower and more deliberate this time. He knelt beside the bed, fingers brushing along the frame as he narrowed his eyes. "They aren't just pieces of a map. Each fragment is part of a compass—seven shards etched with old blood and ancient magic."

Individually, they were meaningless. But together, they formed a mechanism older than this world with its needle forged to seek only one thing—the way home. When aligned, the compass will turn on its own, dragging the bearer toward the hidden threshold—a secret door carved into the bones of the earth.

It's invisible to humans, sealed by blood no longer spoken and spells long forgotten. But to the vampires, it was their only form of escape and salvation. They had gathered four fragments and were only missing three. The sooner they could find it, the sooner they will be able to go home.

"She wouldn't hide them somewhere obvious," Jay continued, forcing himself to move as he kept searching. "But she wouldn't risk losing them either. This is her safe place."

His fingers pressed against the mattress seam, eyes sharp and narrowed. "If she kept it close, they'd be somewhere she touches without thinking."

His jaw tightened.

"We can't leave without all three. Without them, the compass stays broken. Without the compass, the door remains sealed," his voice dropped as he clenched his fist.

"And without that door, all seven of us are trapped here—rotting in a world that was never meant to be ours."

~

"Sir, you called for us," Xander said, announcing his arrival as the doors were slowly opened from inside as the two of you entered the room.

"What I'm about to tell you is not a new mission," he started.

You frowned and Xander shuffled his feet on the spot.

"It is a failure that this organization and every hunter before you, had been trying to bury," he continued.

He reached into a locked drawer and withdrew a file—thicker than most, its edges worn as if it had been handled far too often. When he opened it, you caught sight of diagrams sketched in dark ink—fractured shapes, incomplete circles and seven shapes that looked as though they were meant to fit together—but never had.

"Seven fragments. They were never meant to exist separately. Long ago, we were tasked with destroying them. All of them."

Xander crossed his arms, pursing his lips in a thin line. "Let me guess, that didn't happen."

The Director shook his head. "No. We couldn't destroyed them The vampires were too strong for the ex-hunters to handle. And now that they have four of it, they only need three more before it's completed."

He paused.

"The remaining three were… lost. Hidden and protected. Every attempt to locate and destroy them failed."

You were more confused than anything else. "Then why tell us now? What does this have to do with us?"

"Because, you, are already involved. One of the remaining fragments is hidden in your house."

Silence.

Xander snapped his head towards you. "Your house?" He echoed, disbelief seeping into his voice.

The Director nodded. "It was placed there years ago, long before either of you knew where it was. Hidden in plain sight, passed off as something mundane. You lived over it and slept beside it while never knowing what it truly was."

Your nails dug into your palms. A thousand images rushed through your mind—drawers, shelves and keepsakes you had never questioned as you kept them. And yet, all this time…

"Which means you are no longer just a hunter. You are a variable. A walking target."

Xander swore under his breath. "So the vampires aren't just searching the town. They're searching for her as well."

"Yes, and one of those vampires is her target," the Director paused, eyes flicking to your direction, "Jay's ability to possess human bodies…"

He lets the sentence trailed off, the implication settling heavily between you. Your stomach twisted, already knowing what he meant to say despite the words not being spoken out loud.

"You are to return home immediately," the Director said. "You and Xander will locate the fragment and destroy it. No delays and no mistakes."

"Wait, but we don't know how it looks like," Xander protested.

The Director's eyes turned cold. "I am afraid I cannot help you with that. The fragments varies in shapes, sizes and appearances. All I know is they all respond to proximity—blood, intent and magic. It may not look like a weapon or an artifact. It could be anything. A trinket. A keepsake. Something personal."

His gaze lingered on you. "Which is why it has remained hidden for so long."

Xander uncrossed his arms. 'We'll find it."

"You have to," the Director sharply said. "Destroy it before Jay finds it. If he found it, they are one step closer to completing the compass. One step to the door opening for them. One step to them making their escape."

As you took the file and left the room with Xander beside you, the weight of the mission settled into your bones—not as duty but as dread. Your home. Your life. Every familiar corner now felt compromised.

And to make matters worse, you still haven't found Jay and he was already moving.

Or worst, he might have already made his move, without you knowing.

~

You returned home with your mind full of clouded thoughts. Your husband was nowhere to be seen and you assumed that he must have gone to work, giving you the much-needed alone time for you to wrap your mind around the huge chunk of information that was dumped on you without warning. You changed out of your clothes, plopping down on the couch—sitting on the very same spot where it happened this morning.

The nearly kiss. The things he made you felt with how close he was and most importantly, the look in his eyes. Raw, unfiltered and desire.

Just thinking about it made your cheeks flushed as you leaned forward, placing the file on the coffee table situated before you as you flipped through it, wanting to take the chance and time to look through whatever information you have. The sooner you get started, the sooner you would be able to figure out where the fragment was located in your house.

You didn't know how much time had passed. It could had been minutes or hours. You were so engrossed in trying to understand just what the hell you were looking at, that you didn't hear the sound of the door opening and closing, followed by a pair of footsteps heading your way from behind, slow and steady, like they were about to ambush you from your blind spot.

However, you weren't vulnerable even without your weapon.

The moment you felt someone near you, you instantly whirled around. Your hands shot out, grabbed their wrist and upper shoulder. With an incredible display of strength, you flipped them over your shoulder with ease, like they weighed nothing to you. Your abrupt action drew a startled, human-like yelp. The sound of it was enough for you to blink, eyes refocusing, only for you to let out a horrified gasp.

"Oh fuck, I'm so sorry! I didn't know it was you!" You exclaimed, frantically flailing your arms about before you bent over at waist level as you helped your husband up to his feet.

He allowed you to help him up as he groaned, holding his back while the other was still holding onto your hand.

"Damn, I know you're strong but isn't a bit too much to throw your defenseless husband over the shoulder?" He joked, only to grimace when he attempted to straighten his back.

You let out a weak chuckle as you helped him to the couch, gently coaxing him to sit down. "I'm really sorry. I acted without thinking and besides, it's also your fault. Why were you sneaking up on me like that?" You scowled, delivering a light but sharp smack to his shoulder, making him yelped in pain.

"I called out your name but you weren't listening. You were too busy staring at…" His voice trailed off as his eyes drifted over your shoulder to the coffee table that thankfully, was still in one piece after you flipped him over.

That's when you saw it—the way he stilled for a fraction, the way his eyes lingered on the two pages that were showing seven different fragments required to fix the compass. You observed his reaction, playing it off as you checking him for any physical sign of injuries. The Director's sentence echoed in your mind, especially the sentence where he mentioned Jay's ability to possess human bodies.

Could the person sitting right before you is not who you thought it was?

You didn't know what to think. You didn't want to jump to conclusions, not wanting to look like those wives who doesn't trust or fully know her husbands well. And for the first time as a vampire hunter, doubt gradually begin creeping in. It wasn't major but you could feel it slowly implanting itself in the back of your mind.

And with a life like yours, doubt can be wielded like a double-edged sword.

Clearing your throat, you feigned what you hoped was a believable smile, leaning forward slightly to gain his attention. "You alright? You spaced out for a moment."

Your husband blinked, tearing his eyes away from the coffee table as he turned to you. "Huh? Oh, I'm fine. Just let me rest a little. You're lucky I didn't sprained my back."

You light-heatedly rolled your eyes as you sat beside him while leaving some distance between the two of you. But you were close enough for you to feel the heat emitted from his body.

"If you're so eager to sprain your back, that can be arranged," you replied.

Your husband stared at you with an incredulous look on his face. "…You're scary, have I ever told you that?"

No. You never bothered talking to me for the past three years.

Swallowing the bitter words threatening to slip from the tip of your tongue, you merely chuckled. You didn't said anything else, choosing to resume your previous task—which was to examine the file the Director had gave you. None of you said a word for the next fifteen minutes or so. You sat there with your husband near you, who was stoning as he stared into space.

It was quiet and comfortable, with the both of you enjoying one another's presence until—

"Mind telling me what you're looking at? It looks interesting."

Your husband spoke up, voice soft but gentle, in a rare way that it caught you off-guard.

You glanced at him before back to the two opened pages—the very same pages you were at for the past thirty minutes or an hour. You quickly closed it, messily shoving them into the folder, not caring that you had messed the papers up during the process.

"Work," you automatically replied, which wasn't wrong.

He hummed, leaning closer until his forearm brushed against yours. "I didn't know work involved whatever that is. Those symbols don't looked like your standard reports."

His eyes lingered on the folder, not pushy but observant. Too observant for your liking.

Your fingers tightened around the file. "It's classified information."

"Since when has that stopped you from venting to me?" He asked lightly, a small smile tugging at his lips as he looked at you. There was no mockery behind it—only genuine interest. "You've been frowning at the pages for the past fifteen minutes."

You hesitated. Something about the way he said it—so soft and patient felt unfamiliar. Your husband has never paid attention to you or your work like this before. Never noticed your expressions and never cared enough to ask.

Maybe this was what he meant when he wanted to amend things…

"They're… fragments," you finally said, choosing your words carefully. "Pieces of something dangerous."

His eyes flickered—just for a second before settling into that calm, attentive gaze. "Fragments of what?"

"A compass," you answered, your gaze dropping to the file despite yourself. "Seven pieces. When they are assembled, they point to something that should never be opened."

"…And someone's looking for all seven of them?" He asked after a brief moment.

You shook your head. "No, there's only three left. The other four is already in their hands."

He leaned back against the couch, thoughtful. "Sounds important."

"It is."

His fingers brushed against the edge of the folder, light and almost absentminded. "And do they know here the three remaining fragments are?"

You swallowed. "No."

A pause.

"Well, I hope you find it before they do," he said and flashed you a smile, smiling in a way that made your chest ached for reasons you couldn't explained.

You nodded, unaware of the way his gaze lingered on the file long after you closed it again. His gaze was sharp, calculative and far too knowing for someone who was supposed to be nothing more than an innocent bystander and someone who was supposed to be left in the dark, unaware of what was about to happen soon.

~

Now that you were branded as a walking target, the Director had removed you from missions, which meant you weren't allowed to take on anymore missions. Instead, he gave your missions to Xander, who was being worked to the bone. You were furious when you found out but you couldn't do anything. You couldn't go against the Director's order as that itself was the same as eagerly seeking for death itself.

In your work, the Director's words must be obeyed, no matter how unreasonable it was.

Which brought you to your current situation. Since you couldn't stepped out of the house, it was up to your husband to continue working to support the two of you. All you could do at home was to laze around, stare at the documents in the folder for hours or busied yourself by doing some chores.

You were in the kitchen, deciding to make dinner for the both of you. You were in the middle of slicing the vegetables when your ears registered the familiar sound of the door opening and closing, followed by what sounded like a long, heavy and exhausted sigh.

"I'm home," your husband called out, announcing his return as he padded to the kitchen, leaning against the counter-top, observing you moving like you owned the place.

"What are you making?" He asked, curious.

You hummed, not turning to face him as you dumped the now sliced vegetables into the pan. "Just some simple dishes. Don't expect too much from me, though. I'm not a chef."

He snorted, pushing himself off the counter he was leaning on and looked at it over your shoulder. "I think it looks fine. You might want to flip them before they turned brown," he pointed out.

You were quick to do as he says, hating how your heart skipped a beat at the way he chuckled, no doubt amused with your flustered reaction. You shooed him out of the kitchen, threatening to whack him on the head if he doesn't take a shower. Thankfully, he obliged as he leave, his footsteps gradually getting softer until you couldn't hear him anymore.

You made two more dishes—sweet and sour chicken and scrambled eggs with onion and dinner was done. You set the table, scooping rice onto the two plates and took your seat. At that moment, your husband had came down after taking his shower. You glanced up, only for your breath to hitch in your throat at how… handsome he looked.

Just like you, he had changed out of his work clothes and was now dressed more comfortably—a plain, black long-sleeves shirt and a pair of gray loose pants. Your eyes lingered longer than usual on the pair of glasses he wore—the very same glasses he wore this morning. You instantly looked to the side, not wanting to get caught red-handed as he pulled out the chair and sat opposite of you.

"These look good," he commented, eyes jumping from one dish to another and they twinkled with mischief, "hopefully they taste as good as they look too."

You couldn't help the offended gasp you let out as you played along. "Hey! I'd have you know that I'm a decent cook!"

The man arched an eyebrow in skeptical. "Right," he drawled, slowly nodding his head and picked up his utensils. "Just because I complimented you doesn't give you the right to act like you're the better cook here."

You scowled as you copied him, digging into the food. "Unlike you, who takes ages to cook, I prefer efficiency over unnecessary theatrics."

He let out a short laugh, clearly unbothered, taking his first bite with exaggerated care. "Theatrics? It's called craft. You rush everything like the world's about to end."

"Because something it is. Some of us don't have the luxury of standing around waiting for flavors to develop," you shot back, pointing your fork at him.

He hummed thoughtfully then swallowed. "And yet, you still managed to make this edible. Impressive."

"Edible?" You sputtered. "I will poison your plate next time."

"That would defeat the purpose of dinner," he calmly replied as he took another bite. "Besides, if you really wanted to posion me, you'd have done it by now."

You narrowed your eyes. "You sound awfully confident for someone who just insulted the cook."

He flashed you a smile—soft, teasing and far too charming. "I trust you."

The words caught you off-guard, lingering longer than they should have. You cleared your throat and focused on your food. "Well, don't get used to it. Because next time, you're cooking."

His eyes gleamed. "Deal. But when I do, you're not allowed to complain how long it takes."

"No promises."

He chuckled, reaching for his glass of water. "Marriage is all about compromise, is it not?"

You rolled your eyes but there was a small smile tugging at your lips as the two of you continued eating—friendly bickering between the two of you as you ate, the easy rhythm of domestic banter settling in.

For a moment, everything felt… normal. Like this was how your life was supposed to be—warm, domestic and simple.

What neither of you noticed however, was how dangerously natural it felt to be like this. Once dinner was over, you stood to clear the dishes, already holding the short pile in your hands. But your husband merely took them from you, drawing a confused look from you.

"You can go and shower. I'll wash the plates," he softly said, resting his free hand on your back to guide you away from the kitchen.

You blinked, looking at him with even more confusion. "Wha— No, it's fine. You don't have to do this," you protested but he merely shook his head.

"No, I insist. Just go and shower," he said, voice firm and leaving no room for objections.

You sighed, nodding your head and headed up the flight of stairs.

~

The moment you were gone, a bat revealed himself from his hiding spot—behind the couch as the small creature landed on Jay's right shoulder.

"Didn't know you're the type to play house with humans," Jungwon's voice echoed in his mind as he looked around his surroundings.

The older vampire rolled his eyes, entering the kitchen and pulled the sleeves up to his elbows before placing the dirtied plates in the sink. "Shut up. You know I'm only doing this to avoid any detections from her. She's not like the other humans. She's strong."

Jungwon snorted. "Yeah, but you're stronger than her, hyung. You were the one who willingly let her flipped you over. You're lucky Riki didn't seen it or you won't hear the end of it."

Jay merely sighed, knowing the leader was right. If Riki was here, he would have done nothing but merely laughed at his misery. He turned the tap handle to the right and began washing the plate while keeping an alert so you won't come down to see your beloved husband not being who he normally was.

"Is there any progress?" Jungwon questioned, slipping into his leader mode now that they were talking about business.

Jay clicked his tongue, eyes focused on the task as he scrubbed the plate clean. "Not much. But I do know that Director of hers have given her the file that has information about the fragments. She's trying to understand it and judging from the look on her face, she's just as clueless as I am."

Jungwon hummed as he raised his left wing, head cocked to the side. "You need to hurry, hyung. We can't wait here forever."

Jay let out a long, frustrated sigh. "I know, Jungwon. I know."

"What will you do once she found it?"

Jay glanced at the leader, furrowing his eyebrows. "What do you mean? Obviously I'm leaving and going home."

If Jungwon was in his human form, he would had rolled his eyes at his response. "No, that's not what i meant. Will you kill her?"

Jay stilled, one of the plates still held in his damp and soap-covered hands. "…I don't know."

He confessed, voice going all soft and uncertain. Hearing this, Jungwon hopped off his shoulder and shifted back into his human form. The younger narrowed his feline-like eyes, lips pursed in a thin line with disapproval written all over his face.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Jungwon asked, voice now colder as he stepped forward. The moment he does, Jay swore he felt the temperature in the room dropped.

"Don't tell me you're falling for her," he continued.

Jay flinched like a cat that got splashed with water. He snapped his head to the other's direction, eyes widening to the point that it might popped out of its sockets. He spluttered, actively and openly fumbling over his words, like this was his first time speaking.

"Wha- I—n-no! Of course not! Why would I fall for her?" He protested defensively, adding more when Jungwon merely arched an eyebrow.

"B-Besides, I'm only doing this so I can find the fragment!" He added.

Jungwon didn't say anything, choosing to continue eyeing him with that signature, unreadable gaze of his. It was times like these where Jay gets reminded that despite the fact he was older than the leader by a few hundred years, Jungwon wasn't afraid of being firm while still being respectful to the other older vampires.

In the end, Jungwon let out a sigh with his shoulders dropping along with the action. "I believe you, hyung. But I'm warning you: don't fall for her. If you know what's good for you, you need to end this before you get attached."

He paused briefly, letting his words sink in before he continued, saying something that made Jay felt like he got punched in the stomach.

"Unless you want history to repeat itself."

The moment he finished speaking, brief images flashed in Jay's mind before he could stopped himself from spiraling. He could see it—him roughly pressed into the damp ground with strong, firm hands as he watched his home burned, how a frantic voice was calling out his name, screaming for help but he couldn't moved. There was nothing he could do, not when he was forced to lie on his stomach, dirt smudged on his left cheek.

Jay's shoulders tensed, the grip on the plate tightened until there was a soft but audible crack sound.

"Are you threatening me?" He asked, voice low and eerily steady.

Jungwon cocked his head to the side, boldly meeting his eyes and accepting the challenge. "If I have to, then yes. I am threatening you. I'm doing this for your own good, hyung. Just remember that."

He glanced behind him, his enhanced hearing picking up the sound of your footsteps climbing down the flight of stairs. Jungwon took that as his chance to shift into his bat form, flying out of the house through the window—a small gap that was barely noticeable. He left just in the nick of time for you to reappear, completely oblivious to what happened when you were showering.

A towel was draped around your shoulders with your hair still wet, water droplets dripping from the damp strands. You frowned when you saw your husband standing there—in the middle of the kitchen with the tap still running behind him, holding a plate in his hands.

"You alright?" You called out to him.

Jay looked at you, like really looked at you and he noticed things he hasn't noticed before. The way you furrowed your eyebrows. The way you looked at him with raw, unfiltered concern and love. His eyes unconsciously followed the movement of a singular water droplet, watching as it slid down your hair and landed on the hem of your shirt, leaving a small, round water stain behind in its wake.

His eyes moved up and up, until it landed on your lips. How they were slightly parted and glossy. Jay assumed you must have applied lip-balm. He faintly remembered you mentioning how you had to apply lip-balm every night after dinner, due to you having dry and chapped lips. The vampire didn't thought much of it back then.

But now? Now your lips is distracting him.

He couldn't think straight, eyes focused on them. He felt something shifted in his chest when your tongue darted out, just the tip of it to wet your lips and that was it.

Crash!

The plate fell to the floor with a loud crash, instantly shattering into pieces the moment it touched the floor. Your eyes widened in horror, ready to call him out but Jay easily closed the distance in two strides. His hands shot out—one cupping the back of your neck while the other gently gripped your chin as he tilted your head to the side.

"Wha—!?"

You didn't get to finish your sentence, your voice dying down in your throat as he kissed you. The feeling of his lips against your own—soft and pillowy, made him groaned. The sound was low and guttural, sending shivers down your spine and heat pooling in your stomach. You let out a startled gasp—the sound swallowed by Jay as the man backed you up until you were pressed against the nearest wall surface.

The kiss was desperate and intense. It didn't felt like a kiss. It felt like you were getting devoured, like you had been caught and there was no room for escape. Jay's mind was spinning, with how impossibly soft your lips was. Your knees buckled at how his tongue slid out, sensually running it along the seam of your lips.

"W-Wait—"

You whimpered at something sharp and pointy nipping at your bottom lip. The pain was stinging, like you were getting stung from a bee. Something warm and metallic dripped into your mouth. Before your mind could processed anything, your husband forcefully parted your lips, tongue slipping in to get a taste of your blood.

Invisible alarm bells rang off in your mind. Your body instinctively tensed up, shoulders and muscles tight. You reached out, blindly and repeatedly whacking him in the chest, shoulder or anywhere that's part of his body. But it was like your husband was possessed. He didn't react or acknowledged your futile attempts of pushing him away.

Shivers ran down your spine at a particular harsh suck on your tongue, drawing a muffled moan from the depths of your throat. Saliva trickled down the corners of your mouth. The kiss was filthy and at this point, it was becoming one-sided. You couldn't taste anything else other than the bitter taste of your blood.

An idea hit you and you wasted no time in putting your plan into action. You raised your right knee and kneed him right in the stomach, hard. Hard enough for your husband to break the kiss, letting out a pained groan as he bent over, hands instinctively clutching his stomach. You raised your left foot, kicking him and sent him tumbling to the ground.

You didn't give him the time to recover, straddling his lap and used your weight to force him down. You pulled out the small pocket knife that was hidden underneath the barricades of your clothes, pointing the sharp tip at his chin. Your husband gulped at the sight of the weapon, jerking his head away from it, trying to put as much distance as he could.

"You're not my husband. Who or what are you?" You snarled, pure hostility dripping into your voice.

The man paused for a second and something flickered in his eyes but it was gone when he blinked. Instead, he let out a shaky laugh.

"I'm afraid I have no idea what you're talking about. I think there's a misunderstanding here," he attempted to lie but you merely narrowed your eyes in response.

You moved the pocket knife closer to his chin, gently resting the blunt edge against his skin. "You're lying. I heard you talking to someone."

You paused, letting your words sink in and how realization hit him with how his eyes widened momentarily before you continued, lips curled up in a faint, sly smile.

"What was it about again? Ah right. It has something to do with you and your fellow vampires friends wanting to go home. You're also searching for the fragment, aren't you, Park Jongseong?"

With how close you are, you had the front-row seat of watching horror that flickered across his face. For a split second, Park Jongseong vanished and in his place was something ancient, calculative and very, very cornered.

He moved.

The shift was sudden and violent. His hand shot up, knocking the pocket knife aside as he lunged for your wrist, strength far beyond human. You knew what his intention was—wanting to put as much distance as he could between the two of you.

But you didn't gave him the chance.

Years of training took over. You drove your knee into his other side, forcing the air out from his lungs and slammed him back down against the floor before he could recover. You managed to grab your pocket knife, this time with the sharp edge pressed flat against his throat—not enough to cut but enough to foreshadow what would happen if he pushed you further.

"Don't," you warned, breath steady despite the adrenaline surging through you. "You won't make it out alive."

His chest rose and fell rapidly, eyes faintly glowing in the dim light of the kitchen before they returned to its usual color again. Slowly and deliberately, his hands lifted in mock surrender.

"You're fast," he muttered, voice no longer carrying your husband's familiar edge. There was something else now—older, smoother and more honest.

Silence stretched between the two of you, thick and dangerous.

"You should've killed me already. You had lots of chances," Jay said after a moment, gaze flicking down to the blade at his throat.

You tightened your grip in response. "Not yet. I'm still deciding."

A faint bitter smile tugged at his lips. "Figures."

You studied him—really studied him. The way he held himself, tense but restrained. The way his eyes tracked every movement, not with fear, but with calculation. This wasn't a monster scrambling for survival. No, this was someone who knew when to stop fighting.

"Let my husband go. You're borrowing his body and I want him back," you spoke up, breaking the silence.

Jay barked out a humorless laugh. "You sure? After the way he treated you and you still want him back?"

His harsh words struck something in you and you flinched. You knew he was right but you pushed forward, not wanting him to get into your head, swaying your mind.

Your knife pressed in closer, ready to draw blood. "Then give me one good reason why I shouldn't end this now."

He swallowed. "Because killing me won't save him."

You stilled.

"If I die while being bound to him, his body dies with me. The possession is too deep. You'd be killing him too," the vampire continued, voice low and careful.

Your pulse thudded violently in your ears.

"And the fragments?"

Jay hesitated then sighed, shoulders sagging just slightly. "We're just trying to go home. That's all. No conquest. No slaughter. Just… leaving. Your organization never wanted that. They wanted us killed."

You scoffed. "Convenient story. Didn't know vampires know how to lie."

"I'm telling the truth and it's up to you to believe it or not," he replied.

Another stretch of silence.

"You know one of the fragments is here. In this house," he said quietly.

You scowled. "And you know I'm supposed to destroy it. Before you get it."

"Yes."

"And yet, here you are."

"I had to," he said simply but his response was vague.

You searched his face for any signs of deceit, that he was playing with you but there was none. Only desperation wrapped in restraint.

"…A temporary truce," you finally said.

Jay blinked, bemused. "What?"

"We can have a truce until we find the fragment. But on my terms. First, you don't touch it without me. Second, you don't hurt anyone in this house and town. Third, when all of this over and your people are safe, you leave my husband alive," you listed.

Jay closed his eyes, as if he's weighing centuries against seconds and then, he nodded.

"Fine, I agree to it," he nodded.

"A truce. Until one of us breaks it."

~

After that agreement, things were different. But you weren't sure if it was in a good or bad way. Unlike before when you were painfully oblivious to the fact that your husband was possessed, you took this seriously. You slept lightly, your weapon always within reach, instincts sharp even in the late hours of the night. You watched him the way hunters were taught to—tracking patterns, waiting for mistakes and cataloguing every movements for signs of betrayal.

But Jay made it difficult.

He still treated you the same like before—attentive to your needs, caring while respecting the terms you laid out for him. He followed the terms without complaints. Never crossed a boundary without asking. Never touched or made any attempt of searching for the fragment, even though you knew he can sense it, could feel its pull somewhere hidden in the house, beating like a second heartbeat.

You weren't sure what to think, that he actually kept to his words with an almost maddening patience, like time had stopped being precious to him centuries ago.

And there was also the little things.

You knew Jay's a talented cook, with how he was able to make a simple dish like the Mushroom Soup a few days ago, only for you to feel like you were floating with how flavorful it was. You came home one late night, after having a five hours meeting with the Director and Xander to discuss about the progress or any new information you had interpreted that would aid in the mission.

You expected to come home to a quiet home but the kitchen lights was still on. Jay stood at the stove, sleeves rolled up as he was stirring something in the pot. He wasn't surprised when you entered, already sensing your presence way before you walked through the door. Instead, he simply glanced at you over his shoulder and smiled.

"I wasn't sure when you'd be back, so I kept it warm," he said.

It was a simple but comforting meal—rice and soup. Your husband used to complain when he came home to no dinner left on the table, despite how you weren't home during dinnertime and how you didn't had the time to prepare. But Jay, on the other hand, waited for you.

You told yourself it meant nothing. That he was merely doing whatever he needed to do—keeping you alive while cooperating with you to find the fragment.

Days like that passed until you lost track. Quietly. Domestic in a way that almost felt too dangerous for your liking. Jay learned your routines faster than you liked, knowing when you preferred complete silence, when you needed noise to clear your mind full of thoughts and which mug you reached for without looking.

He never asked questions about your work, even lending a helping hand when he sees you struggling. He never made fun of you. Never dismissed you entirely. Never made you felt invisible. One time when you couldn't take it anymore—feeling the pent-up stress and frustration gradually building up, one by one, you broke down in front of him without warning.

At first, the vampire froze, staring at you with shock as warm and fat tears droplets trickled down your cheeks. He didn't moved, remaining where he was in his seat by the dining table. It was only when your sobbing grew louder was when Jay finally moved. He was instantly by your side, wasting no time and hesitation in pulling you into his strong, firm chest.

He didn't questioned you, letting you cry until your tears dried up, not caring that his shirt was getting soaked in your tears. The vampire held you in his arms, his chin resting on top of your head while he whispered reassuring words to you, telling you that everything will be alright. Jay didn't moved an inch the entire time. He even tucked you in when you fell asleep, exhausted from crying your heart out.

His behavior deeply unsettled you.

Your husband had been many things—sharp-tongued, dismissive and distant. Wanting affection from him was nearly mission impossible, even for someone who's both strong and skillful like you. For him, affection always came with conditions, warmth rationed out like a privilege you had to work for.

But when it comes to Jay, he offered it freely, without expectation and without keeping score.

Too freely.

You caught yourself watching him when he wasn't looking. The way he moved through the house carefully, like he doesn't want to disrupt the peaceful atmosphere you had worked so hard to create. The way he flinched—not from you, but from the thought of hurting you. How he thanked you for things no one else ever had before. How he apologized even when he took up space.

It doesn't make any sense.

One evening, you confronted him about it.

"This is an act," you said, arms crossed as he set a tea cup down in front of you. "Whatever you're doing, you're trying to get me to lower my guard. I know vampires like you."

Jay blinked, not even looking offended with your baseless and sudden statement. Instead, he was amused. "Vampires like me? Mind elaborating on that?"

You narrowed your eyes. "You're putting on this kind act and will proceed to turn your back on me once my guard's completely lowered. You're playing the waiting game."

The vampire chuckled, like you had made a joke. "If I wanted to manipulate you, I'd have done it a long time ago."

You scowled, hating how he was right. "So, what is this then? You decided to play nice and attempt to make my heart sway because you're living someone else's life?"

He didn't took the bait, steadily meeting your gaze. His expression was open in a way that felt far too vulnerable for someone wearing another man's face. "I'm trying to co-exist. You're not my enemy. You never were."

You didn't know what to do with that, hating how your heart fluttered at his words.

That very same night, you laid on your back as you stared at the ceiling with him beside you, leaving a respectful distance between the two of you. You wondered just when has the house stopped feeling like a battlefield. When the tension shifted from fear to something quieter and heavier.

Sometimes, you forget. Forget that the man beside you wasn't your husband. Or maybe you had forgotten who your husband had been to you at all.

That was the part that scared you the most. Because when Jay smiled at you—soft, genuine and warm, you felt something twist in your chest. And you could no longer tell whether was it because of him wearing a familiar face or because for the first time, someone was choosing to treat you with care—something you had been yearning for, a very long, long time.

And you were already hesitating, the seeds of doubts implanted in your mind starting to take its roots. If this was enough to make you hesitate and think twice, you didn't know what to do anymore.

~

The whole truce went on for what felt like nearly two months. Two months of stealing secretive glances at one another when you assumed the other party wasn't looking. Two months of refusing to acknowledge that both of you were more willing to spend time together, automatically moving towards one another the moment you're in the same room. Two months of playing a wild, reckless game—a game that you will be paying the price for in the future.

You could see the small but visible signs Jay was starting to lose his cool and collected composure. With how his eyes followed your movements, with how they lingered longer than usual on your lips whenever you applied lip-balm every night before you sleep, talking, chewing or doing anything.

With how he had to forcefully forced his fangs to retreat when you accidentally cut yourself on your finger when the two of you were preparing dinner.

The smell of your blood made his senses flared up instantly without warning. His eyes glowed bright red and the grip on the knife he was holding tightened until his knuckles were turning white. If you were sane, you would had done what anyone would had done—immediately finding something to stop the bleeding, like a tissue paper or something.

If there's one thing about you, it's the fact you love to play fire with fire.

Pushing yourself off the counter you were leaning on, you approached Jay slowly, not wanting to scare or startle him. The vampire inched backward, knowing what you intend to do. Only for his back to be pressed against the firm surface of the counter-top with shelves just behind his head level.

"What are you doing?" He rasped out, shoulders rising and falling unevenly. His breathing was already ragged.

The way he leaned against the counter, almost like he wanted to blend into it and the way he looked at you, eyes flicking between red and his usual colors made you realized that in this current situation, you have the advantage. The thought of you, a mere human, being able to overpower him, not in terms of strength, makes you feel… alive.

You slowly smiled, coy and sly. "What? I'm just walking towards you."

Jay narrowed his eyes, his jaw tightening as he was actively fighting against his thinning self-control and restraint. His hands was holding onto the edge of the counter-top, nails digging into it to ground himself.

"You know damn well what you're doing," he snarled, wincing at the all-too familiar feeling of his fangs peaking out before he could stopped it.

It had been a while since he fed, especially after he possessed your husband's body. But now, with your bleeding finger and you standing before him, it was hard for him to control himself. To not do something he may or may not regret. However, you were pushing him over the edge, with how you drew closer and closer.

Until you were now standing so close to him that he could smell nothing but the blood dripping from your index finger. Jay couldn't looked away from the hypnotizing sight of the thick, crimson liquid dripping from the small wound. His tongue darted out, licking and wetting his lips.

You saw it. Of course you did.

"Want it, hm? Want a taste of my blood?" You purred, unable to hide the snicker that left your lips at how he scowled, looking more like a black cat hissing at you when he does it.

"Stop," he hissed.

But you merely mockingly shook your head. "No. Don't tell me you're scared and you're all bark and no bite."

That was it.

In a blink of an eye, your positions was swapped—with you now being pinned against the counter as Jay rested his hands on both sides of you, cornering you off. You watched, breath hitching in your throat as he grabbed your hand, bringing your index finger to his lips and he sucked on it, like a child sucking on a lollipop.

Except in this case, it's more obscene.

Heat pooled in the lower depths of your stomach at how he hollowed his cheek, pulling your finger deeper into his mouth until you're sure you were hitting the depth of his throat. His small and cute lips were covered in red from your blood. Your legs threatened to give way when he hummed, eyes fluttering closed, like he was satisfied with how your blood taste.

You should do something, anything. Push him away or tell him to stop but you didn't. However, you let him, hating how you were getting aroused from the sight. Your heart was practically pounding against your chest and it was your turn to grip onto the counter edge so you won't fall. After what felt like an eternity, Jay pulled away with an audible "pop" sound.

Your eyes instantly zoned in on the thin, visible strand of saliva that snapped into half when he moved his head back. The pink tip of his tongue peaked out, licking up the bloodstains on his lips, his glowing red eyes never leaving your face. Heat crept up the back of your neck, making you feel unusually warm out of a sudden.

"What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?" Jay taunts, knowing what kind of thoughts was flowing through your mind.

Your limbs moved before your mind could catch up. You caught the brief and first signs of surprise on his face when your fingers curled into the front of his shirt, only for it to vanish when you tugged him forward, meeting him in the middle by crashing your lips against his. The vampire stilled for a few seconds but snapped back to his senses, eagerly reciprocating the kiss.

It was messy and filthy, with the remains of your blood lewdly exchanged. Shivers ran down your spine. It felt like he was claiming you, marking you as his. And somehow, the thought of belonging to Jay doesn't sound like a bad idea. He leaned forward until your chests were pressed against one another, forcing you to tilt your head back without breaking the kiss as he held a hand at the back of your neck, supporting your weight.

Your muffled moans and whimpers was swallowed by him, treating them like sweet nectar from a flower. His free hand rested on your waist, easily bypassing the barricade of your clothes. Jay smirked against your lips at the startled gasp you let out when you felt his cold hand against your warm skin. He moved to your spine, tracing the outline of it as he moved it up and up, until your shirt was being brunched up, revealing your stomach and the hem of your bra peaking out.

"Fuck, you drive me insane," he groaned against your lips, the sound drawing a whimper from you.

You couldn't speak or breathe, letting the vampire—your supposedly enemy, kissed you until your mind was spinning. You could feel your panties getting stuck against your pussy. And judging from the amused, knowing chuckle he let out, you knew he could sensed it. What you didn't expect was for him to boldly cupped your soaking cunt through the fabrics of your pants and panties, drawing a high-pitched moan from you.

Your hips instinctively canted forward, craving more friction but Jay clicked his tongue, withdrawing his hand from between your legs. His action made you whine in protest as he broke the kiss, mockingly raising an eyebrow when you chased after him.

"Ah ah, I didn't say you could move, did I?" He tutted, treating you like you're beneath him. Like he's better than you.

You shouldn't find it attractive but the condescending tone he used only made you whimpered. You attempted to cross your legs but Jay was faster. He slid one muscular thigh between yours, purposely angling his thigh just right for him to be directly pressed up against your core. Much to your utter embarrassment, he could feel how wet you were as he noticed the area near his knee had a stain on it.

"What's this? You're already dripping just from a little kiss? Pathetic. Are all hunters just like you, hm?" He cooed, faux mockery seeping into his voice.

Once again, you attempted to rock your hips forward but it seemed like you had pushed him to the limits. With a snarl, Jay's hand moved to grab your throat. He didn't squeezed it, merely letting his fingers rest against the side of your throat—letting your imagination run wild. If he could and desired, he could snapped your neck into half, way faster than you could even blinked.

The thought of that made you involuntarily shivered. The vampire smirked, noting how you were pliant in his grip. He leaned in so he could whisper into your left ear, purposely letting the sharp tip of his fang brush against your earlobe.

"You like that, don't you? Like the fact that your life's in my hands. All I need to do is to snap your neck and you'd die," he purred, getting the front-row seat of watching and hearing your breathing growing ragged.

Heck, he could even detect your heart beating faster, blood pumping through your veins and most importantly, how insanely sweet you smelled down there. His mouth watered, wanting to get a taste of you. Not wasting another second, Jay wrapped an arm around your waist while releasing his grip on your throat.

You didn't get any warning. One moment you were in the kitchen. The next moment, you're in the bedroom, with you laying on the clean sheets while he situated himself between your legs, spreading you apart. Your cheeks heat up when you knew what he wanted to do but you made no move to stop him. You raised your hips slightly, allowing him to slide off your clothes and tossed them to the floor without looking where they landed.

Now that your lower body was revealed and completely bare, Jay paused to take in the sight before him. Your puffy, glistening folds. Your cute clit peaking out from the hood. Your cunt begging to be stuffed full of his cock. He glanced up, noting how you had averted your eyes to the side, all flustered and shy to look at him. Wanting to change that, the vampire threw your right leg over his shoulder and dived in.

He ate you out like he's starving, like he hasn't feasted on anything for months. The tip of his sharp nose brushed against your clit as he gave flat and long stripes up with his tongue, occasionally using the tip to spread your slick around your cunt. Your back arched off the bed, one hand kneading and twisting the pillow beneath your head while the other managed to grab a fistful of the vampire's pitch-black hair.

You weren't even aware that you started rocking against his mouth as a series of melodic sounds endlessly spilled from your lips. You didn't know that he was planning something devilish, for your eyes were already squeezed shut as you found yourself drowning in the world of pleasure you were getting.

And then, you felt it—the sharp but stinging pain of something sharp and pointy nipping at your folds. Sharp enough to break through the thin barrier, drawing blood from the small, nearly invisible wound. Jay moaned, the sound making you clenched around nothing. He spread your fat pussy lips apart with two fingers, tongue sliding into your entrance.

You felt blood trickling down your pussy, some getting onto the tip of Jay's tongue as he slurped it up while some landed on the sheets, leaving small, red dots behind. The sounds making your ears turned red at how lewd it sounds. You squirmed about on the sheets, uncertain if you wanted to move towards or away from him.

Sensing this, Jay made the decision for you. He let out a low, desperate growl that sounded more like a warning than anything else, both hands tightening its grip around your legs. You squeaked when he tugged you forward, until your head had left the pillow as he buried himself deeper into your cunt, like he couldn't get enough of how intoxicating you taste and smell.

The combination of your sweet slick and metallic taste of blood made Jay felt like he was floating. If he was still human, he knew his heart would still be beating rapidly, like he had ran a marathon. You felt the tightening sensation forming in your stomach as your body starts to tense up.

"J-Jay, fuck, g-gonna cum—" You moaned, throwing all ounce of shame out of the window. Not that you had any left in the first place. You were so close to tipping over the edge, thighs borderline trembling—

And he pulled away.

You let out what was probably the most humiliating sound in your entire life. Whatever it was, you seemed to have done something right with the low chuckle he let out, no doubt pleased with how needy you became. Jay pushed himself up, using his elbows to support his weight. Your eyes noticed how his lips was practically glowing and covered in the lightest shade of red, along with the bottom half of his face covered in nothing but your slick.

The sight was downright filthy, something shot straight out of a cheap pornographic movie but it still managed to have an effect on you, with the high-pitched and desperate keen you let out. You moved your hand down but Jay grabbed it like your hand had personally offended him, effortlessly pinning it down on your side without blinking.

"You're such a disobeying brat, aren't you? Since when did I say you can touch yourself?" He snarled, his fangs now freely protruding from his upper lip, not bothering to hide it anymore.

You whined. "P-Please…"

Jay cocked his head to the side and arched an eyebrow. "Please what? C'mon, use your words and tell me, pretty girl."

And fuck, the sudden usage of the nickname from someone who wasn't even your husband—for someone who was merely borrowing his body, voice and face, hearing it falling from another man's lips shouldn't have made your mind spin. Shouldn't have made you craved for more. Shouldn't have made you craved for the sudden and rising need of wanting Jay to call you as his.

"Please, just do something," you begged.

Jay hummed, pondering over your words. "Not good enough. Be more specific."

Now, you knew you were playing with fire with what you were about to say but at this rate, you couldn't care less anymore. You could feel the lingering, uncomfortable and persistent ache between your legs—acting as a constant reminder of your denied orgasm. A reminder of the fact that between the two of you, Jay has the upper hand now.

Despite all of that, a small part of you still wants to push him further. Just a tiny bit to see how he would react when he loses his composure.

"If you don't fuck me right now, I'll find someone else," you retorted.

Silence.

You saw the way the vampire stilled, letting your words sink in before he let out a low, dark laugh. It had no ounce of humor behind it, sending shivers down your spine. The laugh was cold and maniac-like, making him looked like a villain in a movie. His eyes glowed a bright shade of red as he traced his tongue along the outline of his fangs, lips pulled back to reveal the rest of his fangs, curling up into a feral grin.

Jay flipped your positions over, until he ended up leaning against the headboard with you seated on his lap, his cold hands resting on your hips. You let him manhandled you until you were in his desired position—your cores touching one another, through the fabric of his pants. You gulped when you felt the outline of his cock.

You've never had sex with your husband before but you knew that he wasn't this…. big. It made you wondered whether you could take him. Sensing your hesitation, the vampire chuckled, something akin to smugness gleamed in his eyes.

"Don't tell me you're scared and already regretting your words, sweetheart. Think you can take it, huh?" He taunts.

If there's one thing about you, it's that you will never backed down from a challenge.

You scowled, hands making quick work of his pants, tugging his boxers down enough to free his cock. You had to control yourself, not letting the surprise you felt when your fingers were barely touching as you wrapped a hand around his cock, drawing a hiss and the faint jerk of his hips at the mere contact. With your mind still fuzzy and light-headed, you lifted yourself up, aligning him against your entrance and sank down.

Both of you let out moans in unison as you were split apart on his cock, welcoming the stinging and burning sensation as your walls struggled to accommodate to the sudden invasion. You could barely breathed, feeling like his cock was so deep in that you could feel him hitting the back of your throat. You haven't moved yet but your thighs were already shaking as you rested your hands on his chest, with his shirt still on.

"Go on, pretty. Ride me like you mean it," he purred, voice low and velvety smooth. It was clear Jay has no intention of helping you, choosing to sit back and enjoy the private show you put up for him instead.

With a shaky exhale, you readjusted your hands so that you were now holding his shoulders and he lets you, eyes trailing down, watching the erotic and mesmerizing sight of his cock being revealed, inch by inch as you raised yourself up and up, until only the tip was still inside you. You slammed yourself down, your back arching at how huge he felt.

You continued the movement, although it was shallow and messy. You even ensured to move your hips in a clockwise motion every time you sank down, moaning at how he was able to hit spots where you thought it was impossible to. Jay absentmindedly chewed on his bottom lip, watching as his cock appear and disappear in your gaping pussy, with how well you were taking him.

"Shit, you're made for me, aren't you? Look at you, bouncin' on my cock like you're desperate for it," he sneered, reaching out his hand to roll your clit, grinning at how you whined at his action.

"Can your husband please you better than I can, hm? Does he know how much of a slut his wife is? Fucking a vampire when you're supposed to be killing them," he cooed, his free hand grabbing a fistful of your shirt and ripped it into shreds.

The sound echoed in the bedroom, seemingly loud. Jay tugged your bra down, freeing your breasts as he watched them bounced every time your hips slammed down against his. He kneaded one with his bare hand, alternating between flicking and pressing down on your already hardened nipple with the rough pad of his finger.

"Ngh, oh f-fuck, y-you're too big," you moaned, unaware of the effect of your words on him.

Jay sharply inhaled under his breath, eyes darkening a shade. He couldn't take it anymore, easily flipping the two of you around, returning you to your previous position—with you laying on your back as he towered over you. He didn't gave you time to regain your bearings, throwing both of your legs over his shoulders as he bent you into half, putting you in a mating-press position.

He thrusted into you at a ruthless and merciless pace, showing no signs of mercy, his heavy balls slapping against your inner thighs with every thrust. You tilted your head back, revealing your neck and it was only right for Jay to indulge himself, ducking to leave hickeys behind—a physical possession to show that you belonged to him.

A series of breathless moans and whimpers split from your lips, eyes rolling up to the back of your head as his cock kept abusing that one spongy spot sandwiched between your gummy walls. It's like he's rearranging your insides to fit the shape and outline of his cock.

"Too big, you say? But you're taking me so well," he cooed, hand snaking up to wrap itself around the base of your throat. He gave it a gentle squeeze, the implication of his action well understood.

You mewled, mind too far gone to even comprehend what you were saying. You could only faintly registered you saying something like "please", "more more more" and the chanting of his name, like he was a God when he was far from that.

Jay smirked at how gone you were, too cock-drunk to think straight. He continued fucking into you with new found vigor. All it took was one final sharp and long thrust as he buried himself deep inside you for you to reach your climax. Shivers ran down the entire length of your body, back fully arched off the bed as stars exploded behind your vision with his name falling from your parted lips.

The man was quick to follow suit, spilling deep inside of you as he painted your walls in the shade of his cum. You groaned at how full you felt. Vampires are truly different from humans, both on the inside and outside. Your body went slack against the now stained sheets, sweat covering you in a thin layer as you wheezed, gasping for breath.

However, Jay wasn't done.

"Wha—!?"

You gasped out when your vision was flipped upside down until you were forced onto your hands and knees, back arched as he pressed you into the mattress. Jay leaned over you, his bigger frame covering yours as he rested his chin on your left shoulder. It was then you realized that he didn't pulled out, cock still buried inside of you as cum trickled down the paths of your inner thighs.

"Don't think we're done yet, sweetheart. Need to prove that I'm better than that shitty husband of yours," he purred.

Hearing that, you could only pray for your legs and body…

~

Once again, things had shifted between you and Jay but this time, it was for the better. Jay was still the same—treating you with nothing but utter care, like how a proper husband should treat his wife. But when the two of you are in the bedroom, the demeanor was gone, only to be replaced by his real, vampire self. Not that you were complaining, with the numerous times of him making you cum from either by his tongue, fingers or a combination of both.

You knew by a fact that vampires do have insane stamina but experiencing it first-hand blew your mind away.

Literally and figuratively.

It's like you had unlocked something insane in him. Jay couldn't kept his hands off of you. Clothes weren't required anymore and with how often he had you moaning for him, you might as well walked around the house naked. Sometimes when he was needy enough for you, he would make you cockwarm him while you looked through the folder. Only for you to give in ten minutes later when he kept teasing you with light thrusts, resulting in you going at it like animals.

This went on for the next three to four weeks, until one day, you found the fragment.

You found it by accident. It wasn't hidden behind wards or locked away in some impossible place. It was in a small wooden box at the back of the hall closet, tucked beneath a stack of old photographs and documents you haven't touched or looked at in years. Things you had kept without remembering the reasons behind it.

Your fingers brushed against the cold metal the moment you lifted the lid and the air around you shifted. It was subtle but you felt it, like a breath had finally been released. Like it was relieved that it had finally been found.

The fragment was no larger than a compass needle, etched with symbols so fine they seemed to move when you weren't looking. Darkened grooves traced the surface. It was stained with something so old and alive. The moment you touched it, heat bloomed up your arm, followed by what felt like a magnetic pull.

Recognition.

Your knees nearly gave out from the weight of the pull and something else. From the harsh, unwanted reality that was gradually settling in.

"You found it."

Jay's voice was quiet. Too quiet for your liking.

You slowly turned, only to find him as he stood by the doorway, his expression remained impassive and unreadable. However, he wasn't looking at you. Instead, he was staring at the fragment held in your hand. For a moment, none of you moved. The house felt smaller out of a sudden, walls closing in around the truth you had been avoiding.

"This is it," you spoke up, "once it's destroyed, your compass remains broken forever."

"Yes," he said.

That one singular word should have brought relief but it didn't.

You dryly swallowed, reality crashing down on you, hard and unforgiving. The nights you spent together. The meals. The laughter you didn't realized you were craving for. The soft, adoring look in his eyes whenever he looked at you. The way he held you like you're precious to him. Someone worth loving.

All of it was temporary. Simply borrowed time stolen from an unavoidable ending.

"…I won't destroy it. You'll go home. That was always the plan," you said, more to yourself than him.

Jay didn't answered you immediately.

When he did, his voice was steady but there was something fractured beneath it. Something raw and human.

"I don't want to."

Your head snapped to him, eyes widening and lips parted in shock.

Jay stepped forward, never breaking eye contact with you. "I've lived centuries fighting to return to a place that doesn't exist anymore. This world was never meant to be permanent. Neither was this body and you."

The words hurt more than you expected but he pressed on, features softening.

"And yet, this is the first place that truly felt like home," he continued in a softer tone.

"Jay—"

The fragment trembled in your hand. Before you could respond, the lights flickered. The air shifted violently—pressure slamming into the room like a sudden storm. You spun around as two figures materialized out of thin air, shadows bleeding into forms.

Recognition hit you when you saw a familiar face among the two of them.

"You," you breathed out, staring at the taller man—vampire, as he casually leaned against the wall, arms crossed but his gaze was anything but relaxed.

"Oh? Looks like you failed to take my advice," he grinned, the tips of his fangs visible when his lips pulled back, eyes darting between you and Jay.

You didn't get the chance to question him as the other stepped forward, focused on Jay.

"I had enough of this. Make your decision, now," he said, voice firm and authoritative.

He must be the leader.

Jay stiffened before he narrowed his eyes. "You shouldn't be here, Jungwon."

"And you shouldn't be hesitating. The third piece is found and your mission's over. Why are you hesitating?" Jungwon snarled, stepping forward as his eyes glowed red—a warning.

Jay's jaw tightened as he shifted until he was standing between you and his two other friends. You caught the way they froze, surprise flickering across their faces at his action.

"I'm not going back."

Jungwon's eyes widened. "What?"

"I'm done running. I'm done chasing after a door that only leads backward. I'm choosing this world. I'm choosing to stay."

The temperature in the room dropped a notch. Jungwon's shoulders tightened, jaw tightening as he stepped forward, on the verge of losing his composure.

"Your words doesn't matter, hyung! There's seven of us and all of us are going, whether you like it or not," Jungwon fired back, forcefully jabbing his finger against Jay's chest.

The other vampire, who had been silent the entire time, spoke up as he pushed himself off the wall. "Make up your mind, hyung."

The room felt like it was splitting into two. You stood there, behind Jay with the fragment clutched tightly in your fist. You were caught between duty and desire, watching the man you were supposed to kill was now arguing against a fate he had been chasing for centuries. For as long as he was alive.

Jungwon didn't wait for an answer, fueled by his impatience and frustration. He surged forward, throwing his right hand—that was clenched into a fist, out, aiming it at Jay's face. The taller didn't dodged, letting the leader punched him on his right cheek. You couldn't help but let out a horrified gasp at the sight.

You hated how your heart tightened at the way he simply stood there and took the hit, not bothering to even defend himself.

"So that's your answer?" Jungwon snarled, eyes glowing an unnatural crimson as sigils burned into existence around his wrists. "You'd rather play house than remember who you are?"

Jay wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with his thumb and laughed—a sharp and humorless sound. "You always hated when I chose for myself. You never change, Jungwon-ah."

He lunged.

The air between them warped as blood magic surged, thick and suffocating. Jungwon blocked off Jay's attacks by shielding himself with his arms. But when it comes to a showdown of pure strength, Jay has the advantage. He grabbed the leader by the collar and drove him straight into the wall. Cracks spiderwebbed outward with plaster raining down.

Jungwon grunted and then smiled—slow and cruel. "There you are. About time you stop hiding."

He twisted—a feature impressive with how nimble he can be. He drove his knee into Jay's ribs hard enough to make something snap. Jay hissed but didn't let go, further pushing Jungwon into the wall, causing more cracks to form until it was on the verge of collapsing.

"You don't get to drag me back just because you're afraid of being left behind," Jay snapped.

Jungwon's left eyebrow twitched, managing to free himself from the older vampire's vice-like grip as he shoved Jay away. "Left behind? We survived together. We planned together. And now you're throwing it away for—"

"For a life," Jay interrupted, eyes blazing with fury. "Not an escape."

They collided again in another battle, the impact rattling the entire house. The floor groaned beneath their feet as they clashed—centuries of loyalty and resentment exploding in every blow exchanged. Jungwon fought with precision, calculated strikes meant to disable and kill. Jay, on the other hand, fought like a man who had already decided what he was willing to lose.

You didn't get to remain as a spectator any longer as something black and blonde shifted into your vision.

You felt him before you saw him. You spun around, just in time to see him lunged at you, claws slicing through the space where your throat had been a heartbeat earlier. Your back hit the cabinet as you managed to raise your arm to block off his follow-up strike.

"Don't take this personally. You're just in the way," he said, eyes glowing red.

"Funny. That's exactly what my enemies usually say," you sneered.

You ducked under his next swing, snatching the hidden knife you hide in the cabinet and slashed at his side. He twisted away at the very last second, causing your sharp blade to graze fabric instead of drawing blood. His elbow slammed into your ribs, hard enough to knock the air out from your lungs as you let out a pained wheeze.

You staggered backwards, back roughly hitting the wall. You ducked when the vampire swung at your head, letting his blade hit nothing but thin air. Your feet shot out, kicking at his to throw him off-balance but he was faster. He grabbed your wrist, strength easily overwhelming yours as he tried to disarm you.

You reacted on instinct, driving your knee into his stomach. He barely flinched but you felt the grip loosened. That alone was enough. You wrenched free and roughly shoved him back. The fragment burned hot against your palm, making you hissed as it reacted violently to his presence.

The vampire noticed it, eyes snapping to your hand—right where the fragment was. "Ah. There it is."

One second he was in front of you and the next second, he was behind you.

Pain flared up as he slammed you into the wall, forearm digging into your throat. The fragment slipped from your grip, clattering to the floor as it skidded a feet away from the two of you. Your vision blurred as pressure gradually built up. Stars burst behind your eyes and black spots were forming.

Over the vampire's left shoulder, you could make-out Jay and Jungwon. The two vampires were still going at one another.

"You really should've handed it over," the vampire before you muttered.

Your fingers closed around your blade and with the remains of your strength, you drove it upward.

"FUCK!"

He hissed as the enchanted steel from your blade dug into his shoulder. He recoiled instantly, tearing away with a sharp curse as pitch-black smoke curled from the wound. He grasped onto the newly-created wound while scowling at you, like a ferocious puma.

"You humans never fail to surprise me," he sneered, words dripping with evident disdain as his eyes flicked down to the blade.

You sucked in a breath, pushing yourself off the wall despite the pain and your limbs screaming through your body. "You'd be surprised what humans can do when they are cornered."

The fragment laid between the two of you and you moved at once. The vampire was the first to grab it. But the moment he does so, the room screamed. Symbols ignited across the floor, burning red-hot as it violently rejected him. He cried out, dropping it as more heavy smoke poured from his palm, the scent of scorched flesh filling the air.

"Damn it!" He snarled, clutching his hand with his eyebrows furrowed, clearly in pain.

You didn't hesitate, slamming your entire body weight into him to drive him back with everything you had. He caught you mid-strike, throwing you aside. But you rolled, coming up onto your knees with the blade pointed straight at his chest.

"Stay down," you warned, voice shaking but firm.

He froze. Not because he couldn't moved, but because he chose not to. He looked over his shoulder and you followed his gaze.

"…He's serious. He's really staying," the vampire murmured, sounding amazed.

Jay's angered roar cut through the room as he slammed Jungwon against the wall again. "I'm done following your orders. Done being your way out."

Jungwon laughed, breathless and broken. "Then choose right now. Make your decision."

Jay didn't hesitate. "I choose her."

For a split second, no one breathed. Jungwon's expression twisted, not with surprise but with fury. Pure, unrestrained rage flooded across his face and features. His eyes glowed brighter and brighter until they were the brightest shade of crimson you had seen in your life.

"You don't get to choose," he snarled, voice not even human anymore, making him sound like the true monster he is.

He surged forward again, crashing into Jay. The two of them slammed into what remained of the wall. At this rate, the house was on the verge of collapsing as blood sigils was ignited midair—a sign of Jungwon using his ability.

"After everything we sacrificed?" Jungwon hollered, driving his forearm into Jay's neck. "After centuries of running—this is what breaks you? Falling in love with a human?"

Jay grabbed Jungwon's wrist, veins glowing beneath his skin as he fights back against Jungwon's strength. "No. This is what ends it."

Jungwon laughed—sharp and broken. "Then be prepared to die with it."

You didn't wait to see who would win. Your gaze dropped to the fragment in your hand. It continued to pulse violently now, reacting to the clash of blood and magic. Somehow, you could feel it screaming to be completed, to be used. That's when the truth hit you at once, cold and merciless.

This will be the end of whatever fragile peace you had been living in. This will be the end of him staying—unless you make a choice.

Your grip tightened, fingers curled around the fragment.

"No," you whispered under your breath.

Before anyone could react or even blinked, you raised the fragment and smashed it onto the floor. The reaction was immediate. The house screamed. Ancient symbols carved deep into the long-hidden foundation ignited in blinding red. Veins of old blood and magic tore through the ground. The fragment shattered on impact, splintering into ash and lifeless metal as a violent shockwave was blasted outward.

Jungwon was thrown back, slamming hard into the opposite wall. Jay staggered, barely keeping his footing but managed to regain his balance in the nick of time.

And just like that, there was only two pieces of the fragments left with one destroyed. The compass remained broken. The path home collapsed in on itself, screaming like it had died.

Jungwon was the first to move, slowly pushing himself upright. He stared with wide eyes at the remains of the fragment scattered across the floor before moving to you at a slow pace, his mind struggling to catch up.

"You… You destroyed it," he said with a hoarse voice.

The vampire who attacked you froze, eyes flickering as he felt it—the severed bond and the absence of direction. "Without it, there's no way back now."

Jungwon's gaze lifted to Jay. "If you stay, you stay for good. You'd be considered a traitor forever," he said quietly, all the rage drained from his voice, leaving something hollow behind.

Jay didn't looked away or hesitate. "I know."

Jungwon closed his eyes as he slowly exhaled, like something inside him had finally broken into small, unrecoverable pieces. "…Then we're done here."

He vanished on the spot, leaving nothing behind. The other vampire, on the other hand, lingered a moment longer. His eyes returned to its usual color, flicking between you and Jay before he scoffed softly.

"Humans. Always ruining destinies."

Then, he vanished as well and the house was engulfed by nothing but silence. Jay turned to you, expression unreadable as it holds a mixture of emotions—fear, relief, guilt and something else. Something that was dangerously close to devotion tangled together. He approached you slowly, as if he was afraid you might changed your mind.

"You destroyed it, which means I'm not allowed to go home anymore," he pointed out in a quiet voice.

You nodded, looking at him with a tired expression. "I know. I did my job but you're stuck here now."

Jay shrugged his shoulders. "Hey, I'm not complaining. I get to be stuck here with you and that's all that matters."

Your face flushed as you reached out, delivering a light but fleeting smack on his shoulder. The vampire yelped, rubbing the same spot where you had just hit him.

"Ow! What was that for!?" He exclaimed.

"We barely came out alive after fighting your friends and you chose to be cheesy now?" You let out an exasperated sigh.

Jay chuckled, stepping even closer to wrap an arm around your waist as he pulled you towards him. "Well, call it a post-battle celebration or whatever you humans call it."

"You're weird," you teased and that's when it hit you, causing your smile to drop. "Wait, so what happens to you?"

"What do you mean?"

You gestured to him. "Well, you're still possessing a body and this isn't your true body."

Jay hummed, nodding. "You're right. Possession was only a means to survive, to blend in and to search."

"Then what happens when—"

"—when I leave it?" He finished gently.

"He'll live. Still human and whole. But he won't remember me. Just fragments of it. Headaches. Awkward gaps in time and dreams he won't understand."

Your throat went dry. "And what about you?"

Jay smiled. "That depends on how much time you give me."

Before you could respond, he stook a few steps back and the air shifted. Blood sigils bloomed beneath his feet, faint and trembling—nothing like what you had witnessed before. This was careful and controlled. He exhaled slowly and for a moment, you thought nothing was happening—

Then, his body went slack.

You quickly rushed forward as your husband collapsed, catching him before he hits the floor. His weight was real, human and most importantly, alive. His chest rose and fell steadily, face peaceful in a way you haven't seen in years.

"Hey."

You whirled around.

There he stood—a few feet away, no longer caged to borrowed flesh. His true form was different, not monstrous or frightening. It was simply just… him. Paler, edges slightly blurred, like the world hasn't fully decided to let him stay. His eyes were still the same though—warm and familiar.

"You okay?" He asked, acting like you were the one who had shifted out of a borrowed body when it was him.

Tears burned the corners of your eyes and they rolled down your face before you could stopped them. "You're still here."

"For now. But not in this town. Not when there's hunters watching. And definitely not with him waking up to questions we can't answer," he replied.

You looked down at your husband one last time, the man who treated you like nothing. As much as you loathed him, he deserved a quiet life. One that was untouched by fragments, vampires and blood.

And the same goes for you. You placed your husband on the bed, not bothering to tuck him in and took Jay's hand.

"Then we run. Run until we're out of breath. Run until they could no longer find us. Run until we reach the end of the world," you said.

His fingers tightened around yours, like he was afraid you might disappear. "I was hoping you'd say that."

After that, you didn't went back to headquarters, didn't filed the report or gave your required report to the Director. You didn't informed anyone about your whereabouts. The lesser the people knew, the better it was for the two of you.

By dawn, the road had swallowed you whole—two fugitives with no map, no fragments and no way home except each other. The two of you stood at a mountain that granted you an overview of the town from where you were. A gentle gust of wind blew past, lightly kissing your cheeks as you stared down at him.

"You gonna miss your home?" Jay murmured, squeezing your hand.

You turned to him, flashing him a smile as you returned the gesture. "Nah, home isn't a place anymore. It's whoever I choose to stand with and in this case, it's you."

The vampire's eyes widened slightly, taken aback at your words before he laughed, carefree and joyful. "And you call me the cheesy one. Well then, shall we get going then?" He asked.

You spared the town one final glance and nodded, turning so your back was facing it. So you wouldn't looked back again.

"We shall. Let's go."