His insistence on coming along wasn’t entirely unexpected. Lately, he’d been sticking to me like glue, making it uncomfortable to speak about this all day until now.
But Yu-geon couldn’t come. Not only did I go to Emily’s to feed, but we also shared information about the antibiotic research.
Emily had promised to look into the whereabouts of the researcher and investigate the recent attack. Even though Yu-geon knew my secret and we had become pairs, I didn’t want us to get more deeply involved.
If my identity as a Cremon was revealed at the center, Yu-geon would be considered an accomplice just for hiding it. Sharing more information could put him in greater danger, and that worried me.
“Don’t you remember? I took care of all those Cremons that attacked that day. Even if there’s another attack, it won’t be a problem. Stop with the nonsense and just give me your watch.”
“No way. If you don’t take me, then you can’t go either.”
“So, there’ll be an interesting spectacle of me transforming into a Cremon right in the middle of the center. Wow, that’d be fun.”
I spoke sarcastically, knowing he’d get annoyed. I knew he wouldn’t back down easily, so I was trying to provoke him.
He sighed deeply and tried to persuade me again.
“Why not just let me come? Don’t you trust me yet? If I wanted to report your friend, I would have chased her that day.”
“I don’t want anyone to see me feeding. It’s embarrassing and humiliating.”
I added this weakly as an excuse, trying to seem vulnerable. In reality, I wasn’t embarrassed about him seeing me feed.
Initially, I felt shame, but now I was used to it, feeding regularly and even considering my preferences.
I had no desire to impress Yu-geon. Whether he found it disgusting or not didn’t matter to me.
“You’ve already had a taste of my waist, biting down deliciously. Isn’t it a bit late to be saying you’re embarrassed now?”
“…”
He saw through my excuse immediately. I had been too focused on my desires back then to be embarrassed now.
I didn’t think I had bitten down that hard. Was he exaggerating just because I drank a little blood? Feeling sheepish, I avoided his gaze.
“Besides, I don’t find your feeding strange. Just think of it as a peculiar taste. Even regular people eat weird things sometimes.”
“How can you compare that? They eat it for the taste, while I…”
I eat because I’ll die if I don’t. He dismissed it too lightly.
“If I need to keep your secret, I need to know where you go and what you do. I agreed to pair with you knowing all this, but you asked me to pretend I didn’t know. You’re responsible too.”
I knew this. Knowing my secret put Yu-geon in a tough spot, too. That’s why I didn’t want to burden him further, but he wasn’t cooperating.
“Let’s go together. I promise I won’t say a word and stay quiet. You did a great job ignoring me at the center. Do that.”
He grabbed my arm, pleading. He was already entangled in my situation, making it hard to ignore him. But I still didn’t want to take him.
‘How can I shake him off?’
A thousand thoughts crossed my mind, but then Yu-geon added as if giving in.
“Fine. Today, I’ll even let you have a bit of my blood.”
I instinctively flinched. The offer was tempting enough to make my mouth water. Though my mind screamed no, I couldn’t help but inhale deeply, savoring Yu-geon’s sweet scent.
When I glanced at Yu-geon, he glared at me.
“See? How is this the attitude of someone embarrassed? You don’t care at all about biting me.”
Sometimes he’s annoyingly perceptive.
“Let me ask my friend.”
“Call her now.”
“If she says no, then it’s really no.”
I decided to defer the decision to Emily. She’d definitely say no. He nodded, and I texted Emily asking if Yu-geon could come too.
「He’s your paired friend, right? Bring him! I’ll make something tasty. What does he want to eat?」
But Emily’s response was a betrayal. She enthusiastically welcomed Yu-geon’s presence.
She even offered to prepare food for him. This couldn’t be right. Were they conspiring together?
I stared at the message, then looked back at Yu-geon, who was watching me expectantly. It seemed there was no avoiding it.
“Emily says you can come.”
“Great. Let’s get going then.”
With no other choice, I reluctantly led the way, wondering how this unexpected development would unfold.
‘Did they actually meet that day?’
I frowned at the reply, and Yu-geon tilted his head to sneak a look at my phone screen.
“What did she say?”
It was annoying how he asked even though he had clearly seen the message. Emily was friendly and cheerful, but this felt excessive.
‘Does she not understand the risk of exposing our secret?’
Yu-geon waited eagerly for my response, smiling. I had no choice but to mutter what I had already said.
“Meet me in front of my dorm in 30 minutes.”
“Great.”
“But you have to keep quiet the whole time.”
“Sure.”
“And don’t even breathe.”
“Got it!”
Even though I was being petty out of annoyance, Yu-geon answered confidently. His confidence made me even more uneasy. I had a feeling he was going to cause trouble.
* * *
Our trip started off badly. When I came out of the dorm, he looked at my outfit and frowned.
“You’re going out dressed like that?”
“Why?”
“Don’t you think it’s a bit too revealing?”
I was wearing a square-neck t-shirt that dipped low and pants that accentuated my hips.
The center uniform was a form-fitting suit over a high-necked, bulletproof shirt or blouse.
I hated anything that choked my neck. As soon as I could, I’d change out of the suffocating turtlenecks and blouses of the uniform.
‘It’s not that revealing. What’s his problem?’
“It’s none of your business. Get in the car.”
“Wait a minute. If we leave by car now, it’ll take two hours to get to Zone B. Let’s take my motorcycle.”
“Why ride a motorcycle when we have a perfectly safe car?”
“Your friend will fall asleep waiting for us.”
“I don’t get why you ride that dangerous thing.”
“It’s not dangerous. I’m a great driver.”
“If you want to die, do it alone. If I get seriously injured, I’ll transform immediately.”
While it might seem extreme to equate riding a motorcycle with a traffic accident, I consciously avoided dangerous situations. A severe injury would trigger my Cremon transformation, changing my eye color.
“Fine, let’s go.”
Yu-geon, surprisingly, got into my car without further argument. He didn’t seem annoyed that I hadn’t agreed with him.
In fact, he looked excited as if he were going on a rare outing.
I glanced at him with displeasure before getting into the driver’s seat. The traffic was heavy, as Yu-geon had predicted, and by the time we arrived, it was already getting dark.
“Is this the place?”
“Yeah.”
Aside from being a Cremon, Emily led a normal life. She worked as a physical therapist and lived in a two-room apartment in Zone B.
I entered the elevator and pressed the 16th floor button. The high-speed elevator swiftly took us up.
Yu-geon, despite the mundane situation, kept exclaiming in awe. He seemed like a kid visiting an amusement park.
“Welcome! Was the traffic bad?”
As soon as the elevator doors opened, Emily greeted us. She was wearing a cute frilled apron over her long, wavy hair.
She must have come out from cooking after we rang the bell downstairs. The faint smell of something savory wafted to my nose.
Swallowing the saliva that formed instinctively, I looked at Yu-geon. He smiled silently, as instructed, and bowed his head.
“You must be hungry. Come on in.”
Emily, looking more excited than usual, ushered us inside.
I headed to the bathroom to wash my hands. As I dried them and looked closely in the mirror, I noticed the blood vessels in my eyes were burst.
If I hadn’t fed today, I might have transformed at the center tomorrow. My routine as a Cremon had been disrupted since Yu-geon learned my secret.
I thought I had stabilized my condition after becoming a Cremon, but guiding with sudden transformations and now being monitored even while feeding was exhausting.
His presence here was uncomfortable. Was it necessary to go this far just because I was attacked?
If it happened again, I’d handle it myself.
I sighed deeply and left the bathroom. Yu-geon was nowhere to be seen at the table.
“Is this how you do it?”
“Yeah! Press it down firmly!”
“Isn’t too much coming out? Is it supposed to be like this?”
“You’re doing great. Espers are strong, after all.”
Following their voices, I found Yu-geon helping Emily in the kitchen. He was extracting blood from the creature meat using a juicer.
“If it’s for you, add some fruit.”
“Which one should I add?”
“If you don’t like the fishy taste, try lemon or lime. What fruit do you like?”
“I like all kinds of citrus. Can I add everything here?”
“Sure. It’s your first time, so add plenty.”
Yu-geon grabbed a handful of tropical fruits and tossed them into the juicer. When one rolled away, Emily skillfully caught it and gave him a thumbs up.
They seemed surprisingly comfortable and familiar with each other despite having just met today.
‘Is Yu-geon actually planning to drink that? And when did they start speaking informally?’
My frown deepened as I watched them. Just then, Yu-geon noticed me and quickly shut his mouth as if caught.
“Sa-weol, everything’s almost ready. Have a seat.”
I bit back my retort and glared at Emily before returning to the table. Yu-geon continued to help in the kitchen.
I hadn’t expected Yu-geon to stay silent, but seeing him get so friendly with Emily so quickly was surprising.
I hadn’t been in the bathroom for more than 10 minutes. How did they become so close in that short time?
Soon, we all sat around the round table. There was lightly grilled meat and a glass of creature blood, prepared to suit a Cremon’s taste. Yu-geon, apparently intending to drink the blood, lifted the glass to his nose, sniffing it.
“Are you really going to drink that?”
“Yeah. It doesn’t smell that bad. Maybe because of the fruit?”
“Stop showing off. I believe you don’t find it weird, so don’t overdo it.”
Ignoring my warning, Yu-geon bravely tilted the glass to his lips. His expression was anything but pleasant.
