Chapter 44 : Unexpected Crush

1721 ; Moonlight City, near Hell

—

Jimin

"Alright. Yes grandma. I'll do my best. Be safe. I love you too." I said into the hell-ophone before ending the call.

What the hell is a hell-ophone you ask? It's only a cell phone. For hell.

No biggie.

With a sigh, I sat back down on my little throne that grandma provided and began to play the never ending waiting game.

I'm on arrival duty for the new recruits that say the spell and is the one who 'welcomes them here to hell' or whatever.

I'm here because my parents thought that I was "too lazy, irresponsible, and a bad example" when they found out that my younger brother Jihyunnie was holding a job as one of grandma's temple officials.

After a bunch of scolding and monologues about how powerful I am and that I should use that power for good, my parents and grams hooked me up with this bellboy job.

It's not so bad but I don't really like it either. There's rarely any recruits these days since many mortals are loyal to the other three big gods, and the entertainment department is more of my type.

But these days grandma persists that there will be a new recruit soon and decided to call me just now. 

I don't get paid for this but I do get some luxury in this place since I'm grandma's favorite grandchild out of tens of hundreds of grandchildren.

Illegitimate? No. More like a huge family...

Since we're all vampires, we're all basically related to each other one way or another but it's all good down here.

Walking towards the edge of the floor, I looked down and tapped my foot in the open air in front of me, arms out to the side to balance myself, and hit an invisible shield. So grandma put a shield here in case any recruits wanted to jump into the Black Sea below me.

Oh and all the way in the back of the Black Sea is hell, which you could definitely see from its black and red and orange hellness in all its glory.

'Vampires, living near hell? What kind of logic is this? I thought they lived in the human world because they feed on humans! This isn't Twilight!' is what you may think right now.

Well yes this logic is different than what we're used to but I mean we did live "up there" for a few generations but then moved down here since more and more humans were being born and we were also getting killed more often and that we got lazy from trying to hide from the sun.

So grams, being the worshipped goddess Mae Ri she is, negotiated with her good friend uncle Sae Tan and he let us move in the unused land besides hell, which we spent a few weeks building our castles and mansions and stores so it's liveable.

You can say that this is the world of leisure and luxury for vampires.

Oh and I love how this place has no sun and that I could go out any time I wanted to. And we also have unlimited animal+human blood, which I could always use on a boring day like this one. 

With my shoes tapping on the polished white and light turquoise gold (grams chose the colors, not me) checkered marble floor, I plopped down on my soft, velvety red throne and pressed the black button on the left arm chair and voila!

"Pig's blood with a hint of AB negative, just how you like it sir." my trusty butler said as he brought a large glass with a straw to my side.

"Thank you very much Daeyeol."

"Are you alright sir? This is the fourth glass you've asked for in two hours."

"I'm totally fine Daeyeol. I eat when I'm bored, which isn't a good sign for those abs I've been wanting."

"You already do have abs sir."

"What? How do you know?" I asked, surprised, as Daeyeol sighed.

"Yesterday's shirtless singing and dancing performance when you had too much sugar from the polar bear blood?"

"Oh. Right. Polar bear blood does make me a little bit kukoo..." I muttered the sentence to myself before adding, "Well that won't happen again so... you may leave now Daeyeol."

As Daeyeol's footsteps trail farther away, my right arm props my head up in habit and I sigh.

The lights in hell were starting to brighten a bit, and I winced and covered my eyes with the back of my hand as the orange yellow light grazed our dark black sky.

Where was the moon?

With grandma being our ruler, we had a "fake realistic moon" put in for her since she was the one who created our kind.

You know, as tribute.

"I'm bored~" I sang softly and closed my eyes.

I began to doze a little bit but I felt a tingle in my ears and I was sure that a portal opened in the human world.

Usually, I get a few guys who say the spell out of curiosity and send them back into the human world after scaring the shit out of them, which is usually pretty fun for my part.

I haven't gotten many girls yet, which is always strange since it's a majority of girls who pray to grandma.

Where can they be...

Hearing the crack of the portal, I cracked an eye open and sat up. A huge portal opens up, creating a rip in both worlds.

So grams was right.

From what I see, I caught a glimpse of our angry human-world cousin before someone flew in.

Bundled in a bunch of white and blue hued fabric, a figure flew in as if being kicked from the other side. I quickly run up to catch her before she fell and saw that she was unconscious.

Catching her in my arms, I smelled her and something interesting happens.

"Half human, half vampire. Weird. Did grams give her—?" I mumbled before finding one of her fists clenched tightly.

I carefully pried her hand open, and found a vial containing just one small drop of our blood. So grams did help her out. Well she must be pretty loyal for grams to for her something like this before even turning.

"She said the spell and has the letter..." I said, looking around the girl's puffy hanbok as I plucked the letter tucked into the ribbon that was wrapped around her waist.

The letter is one of the fundamental pieces to confirm the human to vampire transition, the spell the second, and the person's consent the third. You need all three for the transformation to become complete and become one of the goddesses' children.

The fourth, trust is established when the human trusts the letter's contents and their decision to enter the portal. Once that's done, I need the person's consent to turn them after receiving proof.

But the thing is that she's not conscious right now...

What should I do?

Eyes turning red, I blinked and turned the girl on her side and saw the large cut that slashed her right arm to her right thigh.

That cousin of mine, whoever he is must've done this with all that superhuman strength. You see, a diet consist of just pure human blood grants you the access to our full potential vampire abilities, but that comes with a price. The more you consume it, the more you become a crazy thirsty monster you are. Oh the irony, since that's what we're seen as.

But here, in Moonlight City, us dark vampires (since we live with no light— err artificial light) drink a mixture of animal and human blood. We honestly don't need that much human blood but a little is just fine. I don't see what's the point of killing and sacrificing your life for some human blood that'll drive you insane.

Speaking of insane, if this girl doesn't wake up soon, all that blood she's losing can kill her now. The vampire power in the blood that grams gave her had already ran out when she flew in. Then does that mean she outran my powerful distant cousin in human form?

Putting my middle and index finger together onto her neck, I felt a low pulse. I examined her wound and swiped a tiny drop of blood from her arm for a test.

"Type A negative, healthy body, ooh someone's been drinking... but is that..." I said as my sight confirmed her hidden illness.

My eyes then landed on her face. "Based on her pretty looks, I'd say she's in her very late teens, almost an adult." I mumbled.

I picked up a piece of pale yellow and saw that it was a nail stuck in the heart of her wound. "Oh distant cousin of mine... why would you do this to a pretty girl? You ruined her right side... But she'll be fine once she turns.

Hopefully she'll wake up soon...

—

Ae Ri

"Hello? Excuse me?" I heard someone say closely to me as I tried to open my eyes.

As I did and blinked, I saw a slender, pale hand adorned with thick and thin gold rings. He took his hand off of my cheek and waved his hands in front of my face.

I was on something soft, and then my eyes focused on the ceiling, which was dressed with pretty obsidian columns and a white marble design.

Turning to the source of the voice, my face shifted to the left side and I saw a pale handsome face.

"Hurry, you're losing blood." he spoke quickly. "You won't live for much longer. I need your consent to turn you into one of the goddessess' children."

His dark yet warm eyes connect with mine, waiting for an answer.

"Do you give me consent to turn you, Ae Ri?" He asked, his words more harsher this time as I nodded before blacking out.

But from the moment I heard his voice call my name, I had this thought in my head although I don't know why.

'The way he says my name sounds so nice... I want to hear more...'

—

Jimin

"It's been at least 20 minutes already... shouldn't she have turned already?" I asked myself, pacing nervously in front of her limp figure.

When a person turns, it usually takes about 5 minutes for the blood to be drained and my blood to fill the body. Then comes the painful transition for about 7 minutes, and the rest is when they wake up, bloodthirsty. But depending on the person, each transition is different. Some people turn faster than others, others slower.

"Why isn't she waking up?" I asked worriedly, and paced in front of her dormant body as she slept on my velvet bed.

(I often sleep here instead of home and coffins are uncomfortable. Yes, I'm claustrophobic and I like my space).

"What's the matter Jiminie?" I heard a familiar voice  say as I stopped my pacing.

"Grams!" I called and ran over to her. Grabbing her arm, I led grams to Ae Ri, who was still not awake. "What if she didn't turn and she's dead and—"

"Jimin. There's no need to panic. I'm sure my guest will wake up soon. She will turn, sick or not; I made sure she would. Now... we wouldn't want to ruin her dreams now, do we?"

"What? She's sleeping?" I asked, confused.

"See for yourself." Grams chuckled. "She's dead tired, this poor girl. Her story is much too sad. The powers from the vial I gave her wasted all her human energy. Let her rest, my grandson. We'll talk more when she wakes up." Grams said and vanished, leaving me alone.

"Dreaming, huh?" I mumbled and threw one last look at Ae Ri's sleeping figure before walking away.

—

Ae Ri

Gaining consciousness in my senses, the plush and soft surface I'm lying on seems familiar. The marble ceiling, as I opened my eyes, was still the same. But I was wearing something that wasn't mine— a silky, long sleeved dress that flowed down to mid-calf.

But the question is, where am I?

"Good evening moonbeam." a serene voice spoke as I sat up, revealing a white cushiony bed and a wine velvet blanket covering me. "Here, my dear, drink this."

I turn to my right and I'm greeted by a glass of dark red black liquid. Famished, I down the drink in one go and a hand takes the glass.

I now look up and I'm greeted with a beautiful timeless woman with kind gray eyes, voluminous white hair, and rosy red lips. There's an aura around her that feels familiar but I can't explain it.

"Thank you." I say and bowed my head before my tongue picked up a metallic tang. "Wait, is this—"

"Blood?" the woman asked as my eyes widened. "Yes, it is. However, I'm sure you'll get used to it soon. After all, is it your new main diet now, as you have crossed over to my world."

"Your world?" I asked as a wave of realization slapped me in the face.

Gray eyes, white hair, red lips.

It all makes sense.

I quickly got out of the warm blankets and got down to the floor and bowed.

"My dear, you don't have to bow—"

"Goddess Mae Ri, thank you!" I said, immediately jumping up to hug her.

"You recognize me?" She asks, a surprised look on her pale complexion.

"Of course I do! Even if I've never met you in person, I'll always recognize the goddess I worship." I said as she lets out a chuckle.

"I'm very flattered, Ae Ri. Thank you my dear." As we let go, a chime noise suddenly calls for attention from the pocket of Mae Ri's cloak.

"Oh, I have errands to do." the goddess makes a face. "I'm afraid that we won't be able to talk much longer Ae Ri dear, I apologize for that. However, my grandson Jiminie will help you with everything. Jiminie? Where are you, my darling?"

I hear the click of shoes travel across the marble floor, a white shadow illuminating his figure.

My eyes widen as I am shocked to see a handsome man walking towards me, his smile playful and subtle.

He has hair as dark as the shadows of the night, and smooth, pale skin as white as the moon. As he was walking, it seemed as if he was floating above the floor, a mystic aura surrounding his suave figure.

"I'm here, grams." He said, his voice melodically soft and sweet. "Oh? You're awake!"

"Jiminie dear, I ask you to take good care of Ae Ri and show her around, to get her accustomed to her new life." Mae Ri says and pats his shoulder as he nods. I find the goddess missing in sight a split second later, and the handsome guy blocks my vision as he stands before me.

"You know that you almost didn't survive, right?" He asked after looking at me for a while.

"I-I didn't? What happened?" I questioned as he turns around and gestures at me to follow him.

We walk onto this platform with the open sky above us, and the white moon was high in the sky.

"Sir, what are we doing?" I asked as I felt his cold hand touch mine.

My vision suddenly changes back to the time I was back at home, and his soft voice explained everything along the way. This vision was like a person watching me do everything I did before I arrived here.

There I was, sitting in the gazebo with Minki Kiwoo. Then, Mi Jung and I talking, the letter I left on my desk, and then my last encounter with Kiwoo.

As I drank the vial, I saw that my eyes had also turned red like Minki's, and then into a striking gray.

I could see myself running as swift as a horse. No, much faster than that.

Then, I entered this realm, all bloodied and unconscious.

I could see him carrying me to the bed, and when i saw that he bit me, the handsome guy started speaking.

"You didn't wake up for a long time after that. I was really worried that you might not survive."

"Why?" I asked, as he released my mind, his face blank with something that wasn't exactly sadness— it was pity.

"Because you were severely injured and sick, near the point of death."

"What? Sick?" I asked, confused. "I'm one of the healthiest girls in my village! I've always been healthy—"

"No. You were very sick. As a human. You had sickle cell anemia." He said as I furrowed my brows.

"S-sick cell anemia? I've never heard of it before."

"Of course you haven't. There's no cure and it's a rare sickness. Weren't you in a lot of pain before you came here? Were you tired easily as well, even doing normal activities?"

I blinked rapidly and thought about the times where his descriptions did happen. It was exactly those two things.

"You did." He answered softly for me.

"T-the doctors didn't know what was wrong with me. My friends and family suggested that I had the same blood disease as my uncle." I stated as he nodded.

"It could have been inherited." he mumbles before adding, " Well, look onto the bright side. You don't have that sickness anymore. You're free from the pain. You're free from your life before all this. And you're stronger than ever and stay forever young."

"Really? Is this the traits of all of Mae Ri's children?" I asked, snapping out of my sadness. "But wait, you're her... grandson?"

The handsome guy nods twice. "Jinja?!"

"Then... does that make me your..."

"Umm... I honestly don't know. But we refer to you human transformers as fires. I'm a true vampire."

"Born from... your parents. V-Vanfire? What is that?" I asked as he began to laugh.

"Vampires. That's the name for our kind. For all of grandma's children. We have a name for our own kind."

"So I'm a vampire, who is a... fire?"

(a/n: i honestly don't know what i'm writing about sometimes but whatever)

"Yes. You know, the -pire from vampire and the sun is like fire. So, fire." He explains as if the information was so simple.

"Oh." I say and turned around. The black sky was illuminated so brightly by the moon and orange sparks.

"Wow!" I said, skipping to the edge, feeling happy from the bright scenery. "It's beautiful."

"I know." He says and I turn to see him smiling next to me.

After a moment of observation, I turned to him.

"Ah, I never really got your name sir. Was it... Jimin?" I asked as he nodded with a smile.

"Ne. You're correct. And you're Ae Ri."

I nod.

"But please, call me Jimin. Sir just sounds uncomfortable."

"A-Alright then." I spoke as he nodded. I stare at the deep sky before me before sighing. I could see Jimin's face turn to me.

"So... I have a new life now, don't I? Living near Hell, away from my family. Away from... him." I whispered the last part as the brightness in the distance roared.

"Yeah. You have to drink blood to survive, stay out of the sun, beware of fire and sharp wood."

"Why?"

"Just cause. We vampires are like humans, but with superpowers. We need to run on animal or human blood, and we die from burning, the sun, and a stake to the heart. Even if we seem like gods, those are our sole weaknesses."

"Ah. So... I can also die again in this life. It's sad. Being someone with even more power but I can also die in a humanistic way. Well, it's sad that I won't see the sun again."

"But there's hell's fiery pit there. Uncle Sae Tan makes sure it's well lit for us." Jimin says awkwardly as I turned to him.

"And you have never seen the sun before. I wonder how must that feel. Even though it kills, it's beautiful in a way that you can enjoy it from somewhere far without it harming you."

"I assume you're homesick." Jimin says as I blinked rapidly and nodded.

"I'm afraid that Kiwoo will do something to my family now that I've run away." I spoke before adding, "He's a ruthless killer."

"Tell me, what did that land cousin of mine do?"

"He's taken many wives who've died in his arms. I was... supposed to be his next one in order for him to rule the village. My father, the chief, has been sick and he pleaded that I marry Kiwoo. And father didn't even know."

"But you ran away."

"So I could escape that. I only want to love someone I genuinely care about and someone who loves me back the same as I do wholeheartedly."

A silence fills around us, and I could tell that Jimin was feeling awkward by my words.

"Well, grams told to give you a grand tour of the Moonlight City. And I think that it'll take you mind off of things for a bit." Jimin said as I nodded.

"Would you take my hand?" I blushed— if I even could with this pale skin. "This is your first lesson." Jimin announced, pulling me in front of him after he grabbed my hand.

His soft and cold hands stop at the side of my shoulders.

We lift up from the ground, and I kick my feet around, shocked at the sudden lift off.

"Don't worry." He cooed. "You'll be safe. I'm right here." Jimin said as we went up higher and higher.

We were flying.