Zhan and I went to my office in the morning as usual. However, since we don't know if the homicide department might be monitoring us to see if we were really working on the cases they forced us to work on, we took off in the car and pretended to investigate. We drove back and forth a little bit, looked at where the four bodies were found, and drove past the woods where the black wolves were doing their thing.

I really should demand more money for these cases. After all, I'm on the road during the day for this and constantly run the risk of getting a painful sunburn. And besides, we weren't about to accept those two cases anyway!

In the afternoon we were back in the office and wrote down where we were and what we did. Just in case the homicide detectives asked. And then we dealt with my new client from yesterday. She sent me pictures of her husband's credit card statement and asked us to take a closer look.

Of course, we immediately took a look at it and noticed that he had been making purchases at the same stores at different times, over and over again. And that was suspicious because it was also at times when he was supposed to be sitting in his office working. And, because these stores are not even close to his office or home.

Zhan marked the stores on a map of the city and then pointed to a spot. "I think he is unemployed. There is an employment agency here that often places workers at one-day construction sites. So it's always for a day or a week. And considering the stores he used to shop in, the employment agency is located in the center of those stores enough." He said.

I took a closer look at the city map and had to agree with Zhan. The man is obviously not cheating on his wife with another woman, but lying to her about his work instead." I replied.

"We should go there tomorrow morning when the employment office opens. Then we'll see if the husband is among the job seekers."

"Good idea ZhanZhan."

"Maybe we can close the case tomorrow then."

"Yes. Although I don't know how our client will react when she learns the truth. But she'll probably be relieved that he didn't spend the money on another woman. I'll just assume now that he used it to pay for regular costs. Rent, electricity, and so on."

"Probably yes." Replied Zhan.

Since I got a phone call, our conversation had ended at that point for now. The caller was a reporter who wanted to know if I would be interested in an interview where I could tell from my point of view how Zhan and I managed to catch the serial killer. It would have been fun, but I declined. After all, according to the contract, we are not allowed to talk about it with anyone.

At 6 pm we left the office and wanted to go home. But then we ran into the property manager and he told us that the apartment next to my office had just become available. Last year when I rented the office, I had already shown interest in the apartment. Precisely because it is right next to my office. It is also very bright and spacious. There are two bathrooms and two bedrooms.

The manager offered me that we could take a look at the apartment. And we did. Even Yizhan, who I always have with me in his bag, had been quite curious. Everything had just been renovated and therefore a move-in would be possible immediately. But, I already have my apartment and it is my property.

When I told the manager that, he suggested that I sell my apartment and use the money to buy this apartment. And I think I will do that. Also already because of my little Yizhan. I can't carry him around in a bag all the time. Eventually he'll be full grown and I'm sure he won't want to be dragged from place to place by me all the time.

So if I were to buy the apartment right next to my office, then I could leave Yizhan in the apartment and go over to him whenever I wanted. I wouldn't have to worry about anything then. And Zhan liked the idea too. "I'll do that when you move in here with me." I said to Zhan with a grin.

"Sure. And I can share in the purchase of the apartment too. I have enough money saved." Replied Zhan.

"I wasn't thinking about the money at all. I just want you to be with me."

"Okay my cutie. Let's talk about it again later in peace." Said Zhan. The manager offered to hold the apartment for a month before putting it on the housing market.

When we arrived home, Youn had been there. He was sitting in the living room watching TV. We greeted him and said nothing at first. We hadn't thought of a new strategy yet. And besides, Zhan wanted to cook his delicious meat soup for us first, since I had asked him to.

So we went to the kitchen and Youn made a phone call to Wooseok. I helped Zhan with the preparations and when Zhan was cutting the meat, he accidentally cut his finger. Yes, it was really just an accident since I had distracted him.

And although neither Zhan nor I said anything, Youn suddenly called out to us from the living room, "Band-aids are in the bathroom in the small closet."

Zhan and I looked at each other and shook our heads in disbelief. Had Youn just revealed himself? How could he know that Zhan cut his finger when we're in different rooms? Especially since the living room door was also closed so Youn could talk to Wooseok undisturbed.

Instead of getting a band-aid, I sucked on Zhan's finger until the wound closed up again. A little snack in between haha. We continued as if nothing happened and then when the soup was on the stove, Zhan and I went into the living room to Youn and I asked him straight out, "Since when are you a vampire?"

Youn stared at me in horror and stuttered, "What, what are you talking about?"

"About you being able to smell my husband's, I, I mean my boyfriend's blood!"

"I'm your husband?" Zhan asked me with a grin. I got all red in the face. But I nodded, just a little bit and quite embarrassed. But then we immediately focused back on Youn.

"This is crazy Yibo. You know me. You know that I'm a human. And as a human, how would I be able to smell when Xiao Zhan cuts his finger?"

"Who said anything about Zhan cutting his finger? I just said you smelled Zhan's blood."

"You, you did..."

"No Youn. Neither Zhan nor I said anything. Why don't you stop fussing and finally tell us the truth?"

"What truth? The truth is, I'm human!"

"You're not! Zhan could smell the vampire on your clothes! And how else would you have known right then how to help me when I was bitten? You knew right away that I needed blood and how much and that it had to be warm. If you've never had anything to do with vampires and supposedly aren't one yourself, how could you know?"

"You don't understand Yibo do you? I am neither a human, nor a vampire. I am both. I'm a half-blood vampire!"

"What?"

"Yes. I was born that way! My mother had an affair with a man. And she got pregnant by him. And as it turned out, that man was a vampire. But since I had no signs of also being a vampire after I was born, my mom and always believed I was human. And in fact, I found out the truth by accident. And until I start drinking blood, I will never become a full vampire."

"And how did you find out?"

"Through you Yibo."

"How?"

"When you and I were in your room that time, we were about 15 years old at that point. I had spent the night at your place, as I often did. We lay next to each other and talked. I had been in love with you by then, so my eyes often wandered to your lips. I often imagined that I was simply kissing you. And that night, I suddenly felt this inner urge to finally kiss you for real and not just dream about it. I don't know what suddenly came over me, but I touched your cheek and looked deep into your eyes, I told you to hold still and you did. You didn't move or said anything. I kissed you and because you didn't return the kiss, I told you to move your lips like I did mine and you did. We kissed for minutes. Then I told you to forget what just happened and you did."

"You, you manipulated me then?"

"I didn't know it at first. I just acted on instinct and had no control over myself. It was only afterwards, when I realized that you had really forgotten that I kissed you, that I realized it. It wasn't intentional."

"Did that happen a lot?"

"Yes."

"What else did you do to me?"

"I um..."

"Say it!!!"

"We touched each other."

"Did you slept with me?"

"No! Never! I admit I thought about it yes. But I would never have done that to you. We just touched each other and satisfied each other. But nothing more. And at that time I had no control over my powers. I always understood what I had done only afterwards. You must believe me! I never meant you any harm!"

"Why did you keep it from me? Why didn't you tell me the truth back then?"

"Because I was afraid of losing you. I loved you and you were the only one I ever cared about."

"Why didn't you tell me after I became a vampire myself?"

"How was I supposed to explain it to you? I was afraid you'd turn and hate me if I told you the truth and you found out I'd always been half vampire."

"If you're half vampire, why do you smell so extremely of death? That's only with really strong vampires." Said Zhan, holding me in his arms.

"The smell is from Wooseok and not from me. We live together, so it's clear that my clothes take on his smell too."

"So he's a vampire too?" Zhan and I asked at the same time.

"Yes. But he also only drinks blood from blood bags. He is 130 years old therefore his smell is also strong. That's my guess, anyway. I don't smell it myself, after all."

"Are you covering up your own smell?" I asked.

"No. I don't know how."

Zhan told me it could be that the smell of death is very faint on him because he is half human. And that wasn't a lie. He let us touch his chest and his heart was beating normally. He also has a normal body temperature and he doesn't have fangs.

"I honestly have never heard that there are half-breeds among vampires. But I have been able to convince myself that you are a half-breed. You said that when you start drinking blood, you will turn into a real vampire?" Asked Zhan.

"Yes. My mom made contact with my dad and he was as surprised that I existed. He found out that half-blood vampires are rare, but they do exist. And also that they don't turn until they drink blood. Some live their whole lives with it without ever finding out. Others, like me, have powers that let us know who we are. So if it wasn't for Yibo, I probably wouldn't have found out myself back then."

"But if you found out that way, why didn't you stop staying at Yibo's place after that night, after your first kiss? You must have realized that something like that could happen again."

"Like I said. I loved Yibo and I was afraid of losing him. I was a teenager and driven by hormones. But I swear, I never slept with Yibo. Never!"

"But you coerced him with your powers to make you guys satisfy each other."

"Not consciously. I only learned how to control my powers through my real father."

"But you don't have complete control of those powers do you?"

"Yes, I do."

"Seungyoun, I don't think you can really control them. Because once you get into a rage or get jealous, you have little to no control over yourself. That's why you always wanted to meet Yibo alone. Because you were afraid of getting jealous and losing control. Isn't that right?"

"Yes."

"Did you know the vampire that bit Yibo?"

"No. Except for my father and Wooseok, and also Yibo, I don't know any other vampires."

"What do you think Yibo should do with you now?"

"I um..."

"Well, I'm really shocked right now, I have to say. I'm trying to figure all this out right now. I know myself how hard it is to control the vampire in me, so I believe you that you didn't intentionally manipulate me then. But still it makes me angry that you never said anything and kept staying over at my place. The fact that you lied to me and used me like that makes me pissed off. Yet I believe you that you never slept with me. And you were always my best friend. You were always there for me and helped me. You were the only one who took care of me when everyone else in my family abandoned me. And as a best friend, I don't want to lose you. But how will I ever be able to trust you again?" I replied.

"I promise you, I will prove to you that you can trust me again. I'll keep working on myself and never do anything like that to you again."

"You can't do that anymore either. Because since I've been with Zhan, you can't control and manipulate me anymore. But if you really want to prove to me that I can trust you again, I want you to talk to Zhan's grandpa. That you tell him about yourself and work with him on your self-control. And if you do that, I promise you in return that no one will hurt Wooseok and I will continue to be your best friend. But things have to change. It won't be like before. No more cuddling and kissing. No more sleeping in my bed. No more lying..."

"I already understand Yibo. And if it is your wish, I will talk to Xiao Zhan's grandpa. I'll do whatever you want to prove to you that I'm sorry and not to lose you as my best friend. I promise. And I also promise you Xiao Zhan that I will make an effort to befriend you. I know now that Yibo loves you and I see that you make him happy. So I want us to get to know each other. If you two can give me that second chance." Said Youn.

Right now I feel a little overwhelmed by all of this and I need to process all of this first. However, I know that I don't want to lose Youn as my best friend. Even after everything he did to me, I don't want to lose him. Maybe someone else can't understand that. But, that is what I think and feel.

We shook hands and ate meat soup together afterwards. The atmosphere was still tense and no one really knew how to act or what to say. But then we heard Yizhan calling for me in the bedroom. It almost sounded like he was shouting, "Mom open up."

I brought Yizhan into the kitchen to join us and gave him to Zhan. After a few minutes, lots of kisses and cuddles, Zhan gave our little Yizhan into Youn's hands. And little Yizhan purred and snuggled up to him. Does that mean Yizhan trusts him? I once read that animals can recognize bad people. So Youn is not a bad person?