A Changed Friend (5)
I quickly changed the subject after realizing my careless words had upset Zeta.
“By the way, where did you get all that money to sponsor me? It wasn’t just me either—you helped several people at once. Even for me alone, it wasn’t a small amount.”
“I told you, I have a lot of money. Well, technically it’s not me—it’s my family that’s rich. Our house has been around for hundreds of years. It’d be weirder if we didn’t have money, wouldn’t it?”
Zeta quoted something she’d seen on the internet once.
If you are a vampire who has lived for hundreds of years and still have no money, you might as well burn away in the sunlight right now.
Of course, it wasn’t Zeta herself who had lived for hundreds of years, but her family line. Still, the logic more or less held up.
She wasn’t lacking in ability. For someone with special powers to not make money would be strange.
The more I listened to her, the more I felt that Zeta truly belonged to a completely different world from mine. The vague things I had glossed over before were slowly being revealed one by one, leaving me with a strange feeling.
From what I’d heard, she seemed to possess considerable wealth. So why would someone like her spend over fifteen years sticking by my side?
As if sensing my question, Zeta asked at just the right moment.
“Aren’t you going to ask why I followed you around all this time?”
“You’re going to tell me anyway. So I was just waiting. Since you’re talking, tell me everything. Honestly, it was pretty weird.”
“I received a request.”
“A request? From who?”
“I don’t know that either. It wasn’t given to me—it was given to the sixth family head. There’s no written record, and it wasn’t even delivered in writing. All I know is that I was told to watch over you carefully.”
Zeta said that speaking these words was something that should never have happened in her lifetime.
After saying that, she moved her lips as if she had more to say.
Soon, she called my name.
“…Hyunwoo. Do you still want to know about your parents?”
“Out of nowhere?”
When I asked in confusion, Zeta nodded.
“Are you asking because you really know something? Or are you asking because you’re curious about what I think? If you knew anything about my parents, you wouldn’t have kept it hidden until now. So I’m guessing it’s the latter.”
“You’re right. It’s just that… I had a feeling the person who made the request might be connected to your parents. It’s only a hunch, though. That’s why I couldn’t speak carelessly to you.”
When she admitted it was nothing concrete—just speculation—my energy completely drained away. I swallowed a sigh and turned my head. Through the window, I saw the shattered sky.
There’s a saying that trust is like a ceramic bowl. Even if it breaks, you can glue it back together. But if it keeps breaking over and over, eventually it can never regain its original shape.
When I was young and first realized I had parents, there was definitely a time when I wanted to solve the mystery of who they were and why they had left me here.
But as time passed, I gradually stopped caring. The vague hope that they would return someday had already shattered. Just like that sky out there.
Not that there had ever been any trust built up in the first place.
“Then forget it. I don’t want to hear it. Whether it’s about Mom or Dad. They weren’t there from the beginning. I’ll live as if they don’t exist in the future either. No… I was going to. Just tell me this one thing, Zeta. Since you received a request to watch over me, you must know. Is there some kind of secret about me?”
“……? A secret? Like I said earlier, I was only asked to watch over you. I don’t know anything else…”
“…You really don’t know? Like, some hidden bloodline secret or something? I’m being completely serious.”
“Hyunwoo… Did you hit your head? No… your head doesn’t look injured…”
Zeta made a distressed face and stood on her tiptoes, patting my head all over. She was treating me like someone who had banged their head somewhere and started spouting nonsense.
“………”
Zombies had appeared, my childhood friend turned out to be a vampire, the sky itself had shattered, and I had been protected because of some secret request. Was it really that strange if I awakened some special ability?
I had secretly hoped there might be something, but this was how she treated me. Feeling like the sky had fallen on my heart, I asked again.
“……So you followed me around just because of that one request?”
“Yeah. I kept telling you. Oh, the original request was to watch over you without getting caught. But… you smelled so delicious that I couldn’t help myself…”
“I’m really disappointed in you, Zeta.”
“But the time we spent together was real! Yesterday was my first time drinking blood! And I’ve always been sincere with you!”
“Let’s take some time to think about our friendship.”
“But…!”
In the end, the reason she had revealed herself to me was simply because I looked tasty. I couldn’t hide my disappointment.
I still hadn’t given up on the idea that there might be some secret in my blood, but in the end I had no choice but to accept reality.
If even Zeta didn’t know, how could I?
I had lived until now without knowing anything, and even if the world suddenly collapsed, that fact wouldn’t change.
“Hyunwoo, are you mad?”
“Why would I be mad?”
“You are mad.”
“I’m not. I’m just a little disappointed, that’s all.”
Why would I be angry? The time for getting angry over not having special powers had long passed. A moment ago had just been a bit of sulking. I had become certain that the world I would have to live in from now on would be harsh.
Zeta smiled faintly and said,
“Don’t be too disappointed. Your body has gotten stronger, you know.”
“What do you mean?”
“Try moving your right arm.”
“Is it okay to move it already?”
I had deliberately avoided moving it or putting any strength into it, thinking there was literally a hole in my forearm. But Zeta urged me to try, saying my injury must have healed somewhat.
A wound like that shouldn’t have healed in a single day.
My suspicion was reasonable. I had been prepared to live without my right arm for at least several months.
Yet she was telling me to move it. When I hesitated with an uneasy expression, Zeta looked frustrated and reached out to unwrap the bandages herself. Her hands moved so fast that it was done in the blink of an eye.
“See? The flesh has already filled in this much.”
“………”
It really was astonishing. The hole that had gone straight through my arm was now about half filled in after just one night’s sleep. And when I clenched and opened my fist, I only felt a slight stiffness. There was no strain at all.
“How did this happen?”
“The blood I gave you yesterday boosted your regenerative power. Normally it doesn’t show this much effect, but I guess we’re really compatible.”
“……So does that mean I’ve become a vampire too?”
“No, not that. It just made your body a little tougher. Honestly, you’re the first person I’ve ever drunk from, so I don’t know the details either.”
Zeta said she had heard from her family that sometimes people who were bitten became lesser vampires, and sometimes they didn’t. She added that I seemed to be the latter case.
Only after hearing her explanation did I understand the phenomenon, but that didn’t stop the strange feeling from lingering.
“……Flesh filling in. Zeta, when you say it like that it sounds kind of weird.”
It sounded like she was saying I’d grown nicely into something good to eat.
Zeta met my sour gaze and laughed awkwardly.
“……It’s a misunderstanding, Hyunwoo. I’ve never looked at you that way. Not even now. We’re friends, aren’t we? Don’t you trust me?”
“Really? Then I guess I don’t need to say you can drink my blood whenever you want.”
The moment I said that, Zeta—who had been rewrapping the bandage—flinched. After hesitating for a long while in that state, she suddenly grabbed my collar.
“R-really…? Can I drink your blood again? You don’t find it gross?”
“See? See? Got you. You said earlier you weren’t looking at me like you wanted to eat me. Who told you to stare with eyes like that? Your eyes are completely glazed over right now.”
“But…! You tempted me first! It’s your fault! I was trying to hold back! Even when you were sleeping I held back because I didn’t want to touch you!”
Shouting that it was all my fault, Zeta grabbed my wrist in a death grip.
……Huh?
Only then did I realize things had taken a bad turn. I was shocked at how much strength could come from such small hands. She really is a vampire.
“Z-Zeta?”
When I unconsciously called her name in a trembling voice, Zeta swallowed hard without answering. She seemed to be holding back her bloodlust for now, but I had no idea how long that would last.
They say a late-blooming urge is the scariest. It looked like that saying was true. After holding it in for fifteen years and finally letting it out once, it seemed she could no longer control it.
First, I tried to calm her down.
“Zeta, calm down and listen to me. I was joking earlier, but I was serious when I said you can tell me if you need more blood. I don’t find it gross.”
I had accepted that Zeta was a vampire and understood that she needed blood to use her strength. There was also the rational thought that offering her my blood was the best choice if I wanted to survive.
“But not right now. I really haven’t washed since yesterday and I feel gross. I’m covered in dirt and dust—I look like a total beggar.”
“……I don’t mind.”
“Well, I do. I’m too embarrassed, okay? Look, my clothes are covered in dust.”
When I pulled out the collar of my shirt to show her, Zeta hung her head. My face turned slightly red at the thought that I must look so filthy she couldn’t even bear to look. When I glanced down, the cloudy layer of dust really was quite dirty.
I stayed quiet, thinking she would back off on her own soon. But instead of retreating, what Zeta said next was outrageous.
“Hyunwoo, do you have a thing for being taken by force?”
“……? What kind of crazy nonsense is that?”
“If not, then why do you keep tempting me? I told you I’ve been holding back since earlier.”
“When did I tempt you?”
“That’s what they all say.”
She gripped my wrist even harder and slowly drew closer. I frantically shook my head, but my wrist didn’t budge an inch.
“H-hey? Don’t come any closer. I said don’t—aaack…!”
“Slurp… Delicious…”
Zeta climbed fully on top of me and sank her teeth straight into my neck. Then she began gulping down my blood.