The soft hum of the air conditioner filled the silence of the small apartment, where Kim Ye Rin moved quietly, careful not to disturb her boyfriend, Kang Si Wan, who lay on the couch with an arm lazily draped over his forehead.

"You sure you're okay?" she asked, crouching beside him and placing a hand on his arm. His skin felt warm.

“I’m fine,” he replied, his voice low and raspy. “Just a little headache.”

Ye Rin bit her lip, concern clouding her features. "Maybe we should go to the hospital. Just in case."

Si Wan shook his head, a faint smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. “No need. I know exactly what I need. There’s a herbal medicine from a specific shop in Seokju-dong. It always works.”

Ye Rin blinked. “Seokju-dong? That’s really far. It’ll take hours by bus.”

He sat up slightly, pretending to wince. “If I could go myself, I would. But I can’t even stand up properly. Just do this for me, okay?”

Her heart softened. Even though he could be overbearing sometimes—telling her not to work, not to go out often—she always told herself it was because he cared. She nodded slowly. “Okay. I’ll go now.”

He didn’t even say thank you, just closed his eyes again.

With her coat on and bag over her shoulder, Ye Rin stepped outside. The cold spring breeze stung her cheeks as she made her way to the bus stop. The journey to Seokju-dong was long, uncomfortable, and tiring. The bus was packed, and when she finally arrived at the herbal shop, there was a long queue. It took her another hour to get the medicine. Then the same exhausting ride back.

By the time she returned, nearly five hours had passed. Her legs ached, and her head throbbed from fatigue. She fumbled with the keys at the apartment door, already imagining how she’d help Si Wan take the medicine, maybe even cuddle next to him on the couch like they used to.

But the moment the door creaked open, her world shattered.

Laughter.

It came from inside. A woman’s laughter—light, flirty, and intimate.

Frozen, Ye Rin stepped inside quietly. The living room was dimly lit, and she heard whispers coming from the bedroom. Slowly, cautiously, she walked closer, her heart pounding.

Then she saw it.

The bedroom door was wide open. Inside, Kang Si Wan lay in bed, shirtless, with a woman straddling him, her long hair cascading over his chest. Their lips were locked, hands roaming over each other like lovers who had no care in the world.

Ye Rin’s body turned to ice.

The bag in her hand slipped to the floor, the medicine bottle rolling out and stopping near the door.

Si Wan looked up, and for a moment, his expression was blank—caught, but not guilty. The woman turned around, startled, but didn’t bother to cover herself.

“Ye Rin…” Si Wan said, his voice eerily calm, as if she had just walked in on him watching TV.

“W-What… is this?” Her voice cracked.

He stood up, not even bothering to explain. “You should’ve knocked.”

“Knocked?” Her eyes widened, trembling. “This is my home too!”

“No,” he said, looking her dead in the eyes. “It’s not. Not anymore.”

Tears welled up in her eyes. “I went all the way to Seokju-dong for you. I stood in the cold for hours—”

“I didn’t ask you to,” he snapped, pulling on a shirt. “You chose to go.”

The woman behind him snickered.

Ye Rin stared at them, feeling like the walls were closing in. The betrayal, the shame, the utter humiliation—it was too much.

“I want you gone by tonight,” Si Wan said, his voice emotionless. “This is between us now. You don’t belong here.”

She wanted to scream. She wanted to throw the bottle at him. But all she could do was stand there—silent, broken.

And just like that, everything she had clung to was gone.

The cold night air brushed against Ye Rin’s face as she stood at the edge of the apartment complex, her suitcase rolling behind her with a quiet squeak. Her heart felt hollow. Her limbs, weak. It was hard to breathe, harder still to believe that the man she had loved for years had so easily replaced her ike she meant nothing.

She turned back one last time, looking up at the window where warm light still spilled through the curtains. She could almost see him there, laughing with that woman as if Ye Rin had never existed. Her throat tightened. A sob escaped, and she quickly covered her mouth.

She had nowhere to go. No family to call. No friends to turn to.

Her phone was dead, and she didn’t even have a power bank. All she had were the clothes on her back, a half-filled suitcase, and a heart that had been shattered into a thousand silent pieces.

The streets were eerily empty, bathed in the pale yellow glow of flickering streetlights. It was already 11:30 PM. Most stores were closed. No buses. No taxis. The city had gone quiet, the kind of stillness that made her skin crawl.

She walked aimlessly, her feet aching and her fingers numb from gripping her suitcase handle. Her mind screamed questions Why did he do this? What did I do wrong? Where do I go now?but there were no answers. Only the sound of her own footsteps echoing down the lonely road.

Then, up ahead, something caught her eye.

A twisted wreck of metal—barely visible from a distance—sat beside the road, half hidden by the trees. The front of the car was completely crushed. Smoke hissed from under the hood, and the windshield was shattered like spiderwebs frozen in time.

Ye Rin stopped in her tracks, her body stiffening with fear.

An accident…?

She looked around—no one in sight. No cars, no pedestrians. Just silence.

Her first instinct was to call for help, but when she reached into her coat pocket and pulled out her phone, the black screen stared back at her. Dead.

Her hands trembled. A chill ran down her spine.

This was the second time in her life she had seen something like this.

Her legs nearly gave way as a memory surged forward—uninvited, sharp, and raw.

Nine years old. Back seat of her parents’ car. Her mother humming softly. Her father smiling at her in the rearview mirror. Then—screeching tires. A blinding flash of light. Metal crushing. Glass flying. Her mother’s scream. Blood. Silence.

She squeezed her eyes shut, her breath coming in short gasps.

“No... not again,” she whispered. “Not again…”

But something pulled her forward—some aching part of her that couldn't walk away. Someone might still be alive.

Carefully, hesitantly, she approached the wreck.

The closer she got, the worse the damage looked. The front was crumpled beyond recognition. One of the tires had rolled off and lay yards away. The smell of burnt rubber and blood lingered in the air.

Peering through the broken driver’s side window, she saw him—a man slumped over the steering wheel. His face was cut, blood trailing down his forehead, staining his collar. He looked unconscious. Maybe dead.

Ye Rin gasped and covered her mouth.

Her whole body began to shake. She hated blood—she always had since the accident. But this time, there was no one else. No help. Just her.

“I-I can’t just leave you…” she whispered.

Her hands trembled as she reached for the car door. It was jammed. She threw her suitcase aside and used both arms to tug it open. The metal groaned, and finally, with a creak, it budged.

She leaned in, coughing at the smell of smoke. “Hey… can you hear me?” she asked, voice barely above a whisper.

The man didn’t move.

She grabbed his arm, trying to lift him. He was heavy—taller and broader than her. Panic rose in her throat as she felt the warm wetness of blood on her fingers.

“Come on… please…” she cried, eyes stinging with tears. “Wake up…”

With all her strength, she pulled him out, dragging his body away from the wreck, her legs buckling under his weight. Her knees scraped against the pavement, and her coat was soaked with blood.

Once she got him to the roadside grass, she collapsed beside him, gasping for breath.

The man lay motionless, pale in the moonlight, his lips slightly parted.

“Please don’t die,” she whispered, pressing her hands over the deepest wound to stop the bleeding.

For the first time since she left that apartment, Ye Rin forgot about her own pain.

Ye Rin sat beside the unconscious man, breathing hard, her hands stained with blood. Her coat clung to her skin, damp and cold. The air felt heavier now, colder—almost unnatural.

She reached out with shaking fingers and gently touched his face. Her hand was shaking, her body was weak, strangely something roll down his pocket a strange stone glowing she picked the stone and put it back in his pocket and thought it was his belongings. His skin was cold, too cold for someone still alive. His lips had lost their color, and the gash on his forehead kept bleeding, staining the grass beneath him.

Ye Rin’s hand trembled as she brushed strands of hair from his face. “What happened to you…?”

But as her fingers lingered, a strange sensation crept over her. Her heart raced faster. Fear began to rise again. Something was wrong—very wrong.

She looked around desperately. The road was still deserted. No cars. No lights. Not even the sound of wind. Just stillness. Complete, unnatural stillness.

“Why is no one passing by…?” she whispered. “It’s not even one in the morning…”

She glanced at the man again, pressing her fingers to the side of his neck to feel for a pulse.

Nothing.

Her breath hitched. “There’s no heartbeat…”

She crawled back slightly, horror spreading across her face. “Is he… dead?”

The wind suddenly picked up. A soft breeze brushed her cheek, but it carried with it something she couldn’t explain—an unseen presence, like the darkness itself was watching.

Then—

His hand twitched.

Ye Rin froze, staring at him with wide eyes.

His fingers curled slightly… then more. His chest rose with a sharp, sudden breath. Slowly, unnaturally, the man turned his head toward her.

And then… his eyes opened.

Not the eyes of an injured man. Not even human.

Crimson.

Glowing, inhuman crimson.

Ye Rin’s breath caught in her throat. She couldn’t move. Couldn’t scream. All she could do was stare as the man—who should have been dead—locked eyes with her.

Before she could react, he lunged.

His hand gripped her wrist, pinning her down as he tilted her head back. She gasped, struggling, kicking, trying to break free. “W-Wait—stop! What are you doing?!”

But it was too late.

His mouth met her neck, and pain exploded across her body as his sharp fangs pierced her skin.

Ye Rin screamed, her voice echoing into the empty night. Her body jerked as she tried to push him away, but his grip was like iron. She felt his mouth drinking, pulling the warmth from her veins.

Her vision blurred.

Her limbs weakened.

Everything around her spun like a dream turned nightmare.

“Stop…” she whispered, her voice barely audible now.

The pain faded into numbness. Her arms dropped to her sides. Her eyes fluttered open, wide in disbelief, before slowly falling shut.

And then—darkness.

Her body collapsed to the cold grass beside the wrecked car, motionless.

And the man who drank from her… now fully awake… stood tall under the moonlight, wiping the blood from his lips, his crimson eyes gleaming.