First Memory (2)
His stomach churned.
It felt as if something deep inside him was tearing through his chest.
His rough, constricting heart was in turmoil.
"Yuria...?"
"Y-yes...?"
Seowoo's voice, asking the name, carried a faint tremor.
Without knowing why he was acting this way.
He stood there blankly, reminiscing about the past.
Even at the ball.
The woman with glasses he saw in the fragments of memory.
The person the boy in the dream mentioned.
All of them converged into one person named 'Yuria'.
"Uck...! Aaaah...!"
It started again.
A headache that seemed to stroke his brain pierced through his spine.
Seowoo collapsed with a thud, his legs giving out as if without blood flow.
Yuria, who had been thoroughly scared, had a panicked look on her face.
"...It's okay."
"Hic! Y-yes!"
It might just be a namesake.
After all, he didn't know her face well, and she wasn't wearing glasses now.
Nothing was certain.
"Hoo..."
Seowoo, forcing his body up, headed to the classroom where Lize was.
"What? Why so late?"
The moment he entered the classroom, the first thing he was greeted with was the reprimand from the cheeky pink-haired girl.
"Lize, sorry. There were circumstances."
"You said you'd come every day, but you didn't come yesterday... Huh? Seowoo-ssi, your eyes...?"
"Huh? My eyes?"
"What? You didn't even know you were like this?! Go check a mirror quickly!"
"Ah... okay."
He had to introduce Yuria waiting outside the door too.
Why was Lize making such a fuss today?
Thinking such trivial thoughts, as he stood in front of the mirror in the classroom.
Seowoo's expression hardened.
After all, Seowoo's eyes were especially red.
Even the artifact that only reflects vampires, the Demonic Mirror, showed it.
"Eh...?"
Why.
There was no reason for this.
He couldn't hide his bewilderment.
He rubbed his eyes and tried to wipe his face, but the result was the same.
He looked at his fangs peeking from between his trembling lips.
The length and sharpness to pierce human flesh and embed into blood vessels.
Yoon Seowoo was a vampire now.
No warning, no trigger.
Wasn't he the only successful experiment in Nectar?
He hadn't drunk vampire blood.
He hadn't had his body taken over by a boy.
The facts he had believed until now were all being negated.
If not, he might be transforming completely from human to a complete vampire.
An unease gripped him with the phenomenon whose cause was unknown.
Upon belatedly realizing he had become a vampire, he felt his senses heightened more than usual.
He could even tell that Yuria standing outside the door was fidgeting.
"..."
...Even if he realized it now, it wouldn't change anything.
For now, focus on the immediate matter.
Seowoo, gathering his mind, turned from the mirror and approached Lize.
"Lize, today there's a friend I want to introduce."
"More importantly, are you okay? You don't look well...?"
"...Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for worrying."
At the moment he grabbed the handle to open the door, a thought suddenly came to him.
Would it be okay to show myself as a vampire to the person I was trying to approach as a human?
"..."
It seemed he shouldn't show it.
Seowoo extended only his hand through the slightly open door so his face wouldn't be visible.
A silent communication to come in.
Soon, a small hand grabbed him.
The lukewarm warmth covered his cold hand.
Unable to face Yuria, Seowoo took her with him and settled her in front of him.
With both hands on her small shoulders, she looked like a little kangaroo.
Lize and Yuria facing each other.
"Yuria, how is it? This is the brother I mentioned. Her name is Lize."
"Nice to meet you. I think I've seen you passing by once or twice."
Lize, who had sensed how things were going, extended her hand first.
She had intuitively sensed why Seowoo was late and thought it was unavoidable.
She didn't mind much that the time with just Seowoo was taken away.
She just didn't want to see him looking troubled or in pain.
"N-nice to meet you...?"
Even though they were from the same unit, since there was no prior acquaintance, Yuria also greeted shyly.
No matter how same age, meeting a stranger was a bit difficult, so she grabbed Seowoo's hand resting on her shoulder.
"Hmm... Hmmm...?"
"Why, what's wrong now?"
Lize looked at the hand Yuria was gripping tightly and put strength in her eyes.
"You two are already that close? What? Then I'm already bored... I'm so sad...?"
"Bored? Sad...?"
"...Today is the first time I've seen her. Please don't say things that could be misunderstood."
Seowoo grabbed Yuria who was trying to get into Lize's face.
Yuria looked up at him with eyes full of curiosity.
But Seowoo tried to lift his head to hide his red eyes.
He was very worried if they could be left alone like this, as he might get used to Lize.
"Oh my, oh my! Seowoo-ssi, look at that. Look! She's trying to make eye contact! You're completely different from how innocent you look!"
"Hic! S-sorry!"
Seowoo placed his hand on his forehead.
Was this also part of getting to know each other...?
...I don't know.
"Hehe..."
A gentle smile naturally came out in the seemingly peaceful daily life.
"Eh...?"
"...?"
Lize with rabbit eyes looking at Seowoo's smile, and Yuria tilting her head at her.
"Seowoo-ssi, I've never seen you smile."
"Really? I have smiled, I just haven't been seen."
"No way!"
In fact, he didn't remember when he last smiled.
But since Lize said that, it must have looked nice.
As they chatted about such trivial things, Seowoo realized that his body had returned to human form.
And he felt no side effects.
Not fainting or stiffening like before.
Should he be happy about this?
Or sad?
Unlike before, a bitter smile came out.
"Yuria."
"Yes."
"This place seems nice."
"...It does."
"...Good, when you're in trouble, come play in this classroom. Lize will probably be here too, and I will be too. Of course, not at too late hours."
Seowoo stroked Yuria's long black hair as he said.
At first, even lifting a hand would squeeze her head, but it seemed the mental wall had cracked a bit, so he felt relieved.
He wondered if it was okay since Yuria had followed him, feeling some comfort.
But in the end, it seemed good, so he felt happy.
The ones who abuse the kids are disgusting.
But overflowing anger leads to death.
I must not be swayed by personal emotions.
It seemed like he had heard someone say that.
Of course, if he had such power, it would be another story.
"Ah, I understand. Uncle."
"Okay."
"What? Why are you calling him uncle?"
He lightly ignored Lize's words.
"You didn't hear me?"
"I did."
"But why aren't you answering?"
"That's my heart."
Lize, whose cheeks puffed up because she was angry.
She had no separate squinty eyes.
"Ah, uncle, this one's scary...?"
"What? It looks creepy just by looking."
"...Be careful with your words when talking to friends."
"But we're not friends?"
They say three knocks on the door can avoid murder.
But for Lize, it seemed he couldn't even get angry.
Thud!
Finally, Seowoo gave a light punishment as if locking her up.
"Aaaah!"
"I didn't even give strength. Don't be spoiled."
But he was serious.
Lize lying on the floor having a fit.
"Creepy...?"
Yuria, perhaps bothered by the words, was shedding tears like chicken pox.
Why are you like this too.
"Haa..."
Seowoo, who suddenly became a father with two kids, had a dark vision in front of him.
* * *
Meanwhile, Lucia, sitting in the office and reviewing documents, sensed an eerie feeling.
Like splitting one body into two, a heartbeat felt from very far away, as if there were two hearts.
"Aaa..."
This was the sound of the blood sleeping inside Seowoo waking up.
The hand holding the pen trembled.
Like a newborn taking its first steps.
Seowoo's body would be different from now on.
He would crave blood.
He would crave strength.
The waves from the small ripples would accelerate and accelerate until they could no longer be contained.
The relationship between Lucia and Seowoo.
The slightly clearer blood bond made her chuckle.
The ball too, and the coming celebrations.
Today was a good mood.
"...Seowoo, I'll wait."
She knew it couldn't be reversed.
Forgiveness was faster than persuasion, same here.
Now, lay the foundation for him, and when the day comes, give a sincere apology.
Yes, by leading them together, share the future.
If he really wants it, she is willing to marry him too.
Lucia imagined such happy days and picked up the pen again.