Chapter 4
Chapter 4
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Did You Dodge?
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“Did you dodge?”
The woman muttered in some incomprehensible language. Then she glanced slyly at Doyoung before quickly picking up a long branch from the ground.
Doyoung gripped his knife tightly. It was his first time facing a vampire barehanded—literally wearing nothing but his underwear—without so much as a firearm, but he had a real blade on his side, so it was worth trying.
He read her movement as she stepped forward with one foot. The branch whistled past his arm by a hair’s breadth and slammed into the ground.
Thud!
“What….”
Doyoung stared in astonishment. How could a mere stick make a sound like that? But he had no time to think.
The branch embedded in the ground sprang up. Even a graze would surely cause serious injury.
Doyoung threw his body back almost on pure instinct. The branch sliced through the air with a chilling whistle no ordinary stick could produce. As he dodged again, the woman’s eyes widened in surprise.
A cliff loomed behind him. If he could push her just right, he might send her tumbling over.
This time, Doyoung swung his knife. The woman blocked with her arm. Flames of murderous intent flickered in her red eyes as she looked up at him. Then she seized his arm and swept his legs out from under him.
There was a sharp crack, like a plank snapping.
“……!”
The bone-rattling pain left Doyoung speechless.
But he gritted his teeth. The agony was fleeting. If he couldn’t endure this moment, death would be eternal. Doyoung aimed for the woman’s throat.
The woman seemed surprised that he pressed on despite his clearly broken leg.
But she had no intention of falling for it twice. The vampire ducked low, her eyes leaving an afterimage in the air.
She grabbed Doyoung in a bear hug. Then spun him around and let go.
“Putain….”
Airborne, Doyoung spat a curse.
Before he could do anything, his body plummeted from a dizzying height. He plunged into the water.
The underwater world was eerily calm, as if the chaos above had been a lie. He wanted to stay conscious, but whether from the head impact or something else, his awareness faded. He’d been fine after jumping from that height in the sky.
It was like a phone that survived countless drops only to shatter irreparably from a single fall off the desk—whatever the principle, it fit the description.
‘Am I fish food now?’
As he stared blankly at the rippling surface, a shadow flickered faintly.
Thud.
Something heavy, like rebar, crashed in, churning the water wildly.
As the bubbles cleared somewhat, the woman stretched out and swam toward him. Even vampires, being land creatures, couldn’t breathe underwater; her puffed cheeks and tightly shut mouth made her look determined.
Not fish food after all, but vampire chow.
Doyoung lost consciousness.
***
Gamal dragged the man ashore. She laid him on the damp soil and quickly retreated a few steps, hiding beneath a broad leaf.
She watched him for a while like that. He lay there soaked to the bone, unmoving. He seemed to have passed out. His muscles were fully relaxed—no sign of faking it.
She’d been startled by his sudden attack. She was amazed he’d even noticed her following him, but he’d just been watching his surroundings.
Gamal approached cautiously. She circled to his side and prodded his sideways-facing cheek.
“Mm….”
Unconsciously, the man turned his head forward. Water droplets scattered like startled fish schools, trickling down his face.
Gamal examined him more closely. His features were unfamiliar. His face was pretty like a woman’s, but his body was that of a warrior. He didn’t fight like a human, yet he was one.
‘This one’s not a mistake, right?’
He was human, after all. Tilting her head, Gamal leaned toward his face. She could hear his steady breathing.
A water droplet trailed from his sun-bronzed chest toward his armpit. Water pooled in the defined ridges of his firm abdomen.
Gamal raised her head like a meerkat, ears perked for any other presence.
Rustle. Rustle.
Only the familiar chirp of insects from the brush.
Soon, Gamal hoisted the man onto her back. Since he was larger, his body slumped awkwardly over hers. She adjusted him, lifted once, and headed into the forest… only to emerge again and pick up the T-shirt that had fallen to the ground.
***
Regaining consciousness, Doyoung cracked his eyes open. Something sparkling brushed past his vision.
The first thing he saw was a mobile hanging from the wooden ceiling like dried persimmons. It was made of colorful glass, stones, and shells. The glint near his eyes came from sunlight filtering through a crack and reflecting off one of the glass pieces.
Sweat trickled down Doyoung’s temple.
The darkness and muggy air made him momentarily think he’d been tossed into an oven to be slow-cooked. Sous-vide style, perhaps. The shade kept the space filled with lukewarm heat.
Doyoung lifted his head. The hut where he lay in one corner was empty, and sunlight still streamed through gaps in the wooden walls—it was daytime.
‘Where….’
His wrists were bound with rope. Roughly twisted from vines, with the end tied securely to a post. He was wearing his T-shirt, but his legs—still in just underwear—had a wooden splint strapped on.
‘How long has it been?’
His wounds had all been treated with primitive methods, and within reach of the ropes sat bowls of water and food. Beside them, his combat pants were neatly folded and dried.
‘Did that vampire leave these…?’
It seemed the one who’d broken his leg—like the ogre fixing the magpie’s—was that female vampire.
‘Why the hell is there a vampire on this uninhabited island?’
What rotten luck. He’d barely escaped a vampire terrorist, only to land in a vampire’s lair.
And no matter how he looked at it, that female vampire didn’t seem bound by the recent laws imposed on Ruas forbidding blood-drinking and murder. Plenty of Ruas hid in jungles or underground because they hated those rules—she might be one of them.
‘But….’
Doyoung glanced at his splinted leg. She’d tied him up, but treating his wounds meant she had no immediate intent to kill.
To be fair, he’d attacked first. But in an unfamiliar place, when you realize a dangerous entity is tailing you, you don’t exactly offer a handshake, do you?
Then a dark thought crossed his mind.
‘She’s not keeping me alive to drain my blood bit by bit, is she?’
Like a bear farmed for its bile.
Doyoung sat up to inspect the rope around his wrists. He was floored.
‘Am I seriously a bear?’
It was thick enough to restrain even a bear—no way a human could break it.
Either way, whether for blood or something else, the key point was that the vampire wasn’t planning to kill him right away.
Which meant his priority was figuring out what she wanted from him.
So Doyoung decided to wait for her return. Meanwhile, he surveyed the hut.
A few mismatched wooden crates sat against the walls, and shelves held all sorts of items. On second look, it was more log cabin than hut.
Unclear if built by someone who knew architecture—the overall shape was solid, but the finishing was uneven.
‘This is….’
More precisely, it had the look of something built by ‘someone who knew nothing about architecture but had more time than anyone.’
The glass mobile caught the sunlight, casting slowly undulating light patterns on the floor. His gaze lingered on the ceiling.
At first glance he hadn’t noticed, but the mobile filled the ceiling, each piece intricately knotted like primitive tribal crafts. Making all that must have taken ages.
The mat he lay on had woven patterns, like handmade. If this was a vampire’s den, the term fit oddly, but it felt like a rustic yet tidy countryside grandma’s house.
Doyoung eyed the door. Quite some time had passed, but no vampire appeared.
‘Gotta meet her to figure this out.’
He felt like food forgotten in the oven.
Doyoung rolled onto his side.
***
Creak.
The door opened cautiously. A pale foot slipped in quietly.
Doyoung lay with his back to the door, appearing asleep. He was wearing pants now.
Only then did Gamal relax and step inside, reaching for the empty bowl.
“Not that I think you’re planning to kill me, but—”
Doyoung spoke up. Her hand froze just shy of the bowl.
Gamal turned. Doyoung had his eyes open, watching her. She flinched back and bolted for the door.
“Wai—!”
Doyoung shot up but winced from the pain in his leg.
“Damn it.”
Gamal hesitated at his rough mutter. She lingered at the door, unsure whether to leave or stay, watching him drag his leg up. Doyoung finally managed to sit.
“If you’re just gonna stand there staring, how about helping?”
Gamal hesitated once more, then approached and helped him lean against the wall. Doyoung looked her up and down.
“You understand me?”
Gamal nodded. But that was it. No more words, so Doyoung asked again.
“Then why aren’t you talking?”
Gamal hesitated before speaking.
“Haven’t… spoken in a long time….”
Her voice was beautiful too. He could’ve piled on flowery descriptions, but “beautiful” seemed made for her.
‘Can’t let her looks sway me.’
Doyoung refocused and asked,
“How’d you know I speak French?”
“You said bad words in French.”
That checked out.
“Does your leg hurt?”
Gamal eyed him and asked carefully.
“Think it wouldn’t? After kicking it like that.”
Doyoung huffed incredulously. Gamal fidgeted before asking,
“You… human?”
“Hey, who’s the obvious vampire here? Who’s asking who?”
Gamal shook her head slightly.
“Never seen a human as strong as you. Surprised me. Kicked your leg. Sorry.”
Doyoung studied her intently. Her French wasn’t native—sounded like a foreigner who could communicate. Her looks made nationality hard to guess.
“Where you from?”
No answer. She just clamped her mouth shut and stared at Doyoung. No intention of saying.
“Can I at least ask your name?”
Doyoung asked cynically, expecting silence. But Gamal nodded and said,
“Gamal.”