11: Exquisite Torture
Four vampires were outside a club in the shadier side of Seoul.
"Get him in the car." Ji Hoo ordered as he crossed his arms.
"We're trying, but he keeps kicking and punching." Woo Bin complained, trying to keep Joon Pyo's legs together as Yi Jeong hooked his arms under Joon Pyo's armpits. They tried to lift him, but the drunk vampire kept struggling.
"What has he been drinking?" Yi Jeong moaned. "Four bottles of absinth? Why weren't you keeping an eye on him?" He berated Woo Bin. His friend raised an eyebrow in return.
"Yo, I wasn't the one frolicking with a human girl." Woo Bin snapped back as Yi Jeong shoved Joon Pyo in the back seat. Thank god they weren't driving a sports car today.
"I wasn't frolicking with a human girl." Woo Bin let out a snort as he stuffed Joon Pyo's legs in the car and threw the door shut. Ji Hoo watched them bicker from a distance.
"Come on, admit it. You don't want to kill her, you want to marry her." It was Yi Jeong's turn to roll his eyes. It had been a while since he had heard something so absurd.
"Don't talk rubbish." Yi Jeong scoffed.
"You're so hot for her, you can't think about anything else, can you!?" Woo Bin kept baiting him.
"Yah, have you gone mad, you gangpae [gangster]? Have you forgotten who I am?" He snarled in return.
"No, but I think you have." Woo Bin retorted. "You're a vampire, not some lovesick human."
"Idiot." Was all he could muster to say in return.
"If she keeps messing with your head like this, I'll end it for you. Stop seeing that chick, Jeong-ah." Woo Bin warned, but Yi Jeong didn't appreciate being treated like a child.
"I'll decide that for myself." He simply replied, feeling annoyed that his friend kept on nagging him. Besides, if anyone was to end it, it would be him, whenever he felt like it.
"You're so hung up on her." Woo bin started again.
"Fuck this, I'm going home." Yi Jeong turned his back to Woo Bin and started to leave.
"Yo, bro! Don't leave me here with him. I can't control him by myself!" Woo Bin pleaded.
"I don't care. Unless you tell me what all this is about, you're on your own."
"Forget it then. I'll just ask Ji Hoo.." But Ji Hoo had already left. "Fuck!" Yi Jeong kept walking. It was quite unusual for him to fight with his best friend, but it happened sometimes. Woo Bin had his maddening moments. When he reached his own car, he sat in silence for several minutes.
Was it true, what Woo Bin had said? Was he feeling something he shouldn't be feeling for that girl? Even if Woo Bin was overreacting, he couldn't take that risk. What if, subconsciously he was growing attached to a human? It was a crazy thought, but if that was the case then he should end it now. He couldn't let himself fall into that deathtrap. There was only one way to overcome it. Firing her would probably do the job. Yes, he'd fire her and never see her again.
He'd never see her again.
He'd never see her again. After tonight.
Yi Jeong started his car and drove away into the white night.
***
Before going to bed, Ga Eul looked outside the window, watching the snowflakes as they made their way towards the ground. She opened her window and stuck her head outside. It was so peaceful at this time of the day and the snow only added to that feeling. Ga Eul liked how snow would always cover the ugly things on the ground and muffle all the sounds. Snow was a sheet of silence.
She yawned and stretched her limbs. Even though she had been robbed of her precious blood, she didn't feel too bad. He probably hadn't been able to drink much. Ga Eul knew she should be feeling relief, but actually she wanted more of it. She slapped her forehead when the thought surfaced. Was there a girl in the world more stupid than her? Falling for a vampire, how could that ever end well?
As much as she scolded herself for being an idiot though, her body still longed for him.
She crawled under her warm sheet and fell into a deep and satisfying sleep.
It was Christmas Day, but instead of opening her presents at home, she found herself in the hospital.
"Her father died from cancer two years ago. I'm all she has." The woman with a perm and a shiny forehead told the nurse. "But I have it hard enough to make ends meet living alone. How can I take care of a teenager? They cost so much money."
"At least take her in for the time being. It's too cold now to have her on the streets." The nurse tried to convince her.
"What kind of person do you think I am?" Her aunt said with an insulted voice. "I may be poor, but I'm not so coldhearted as to throw my own niece out. First my poor brother and now that whimsical wife of his. The skies are not kind on the poor girl." And with that she looked at Ga Eul and sighed deeply.
Ga Eul had gone mute over the past few hours, her face red and blotchy from all the crying and her lips bleeding from biting on them constantly. The doctor had told them she was in a state of shock. Well, who wouldn't be, after finding your mother dead in her bed in the morning?
A finger grazed against her sore lip, wiping of the red fluid. She looked up, a handsome man with a pale face and a bright and seductive smile looked down on her as he licked the blood off his cold fingers.
"Ga Eul-yang, gwenjana [are you ok]? Want me to heal all your wounds?" He asked, the tone serious, but his face mocking. She wanted to turn away, but couldn't. "I'll take you out to dinner." He started to pull her away from the hospital ward and into the dark night.
"No! Take me back to umma! I want my umma!!" She yelled, but he just dragged her along into obscurity.
Ga Eul felt like she was suffocating. She looked up, but there was only darkness. What was happening? Then she realized something heavy was on her, making it hard for her to breathe.
"What.." She said breathlessly. "Can't breathe." As she struggled for air.
"Well, neither can I." The alluring voice sounded. It didn't take her long to figure out just who that voice belonged to. Her heart jumped at the recognition.
"Sunbae. Is that you?" Realizing he was pinning her against the bed, keeping her arms tightly in place. Cold lips found their way to her shoulder blade and she automatically arched her back at the sensitive touch.
"You taste so good." He let go of her arms to stroke her bare stomach and work his way up to her humble breasts, taking in all of her warmth and scent. Ga Eul tried to shove him away, but found herself involuntarily buckling against him every time he licked her belly button or the sensitive skin above it. "I'm going to taste all of you." He grunted before he took her erect nipple in his mouth and eagerly sucked. She squealed as he bit the tender flesh, but not hard enough to cause wounds. When he was done with one, he worked his magic on the next one.
His hand slipped under the band of her pajama bottoms and started rubbing through the cotton of her underwear against her sensitive clit. Ga Eul felt herself getting wetter with every stroke, cursing herself for letting him do this to her, but lacking the will to stop him.
"Sunbae." Her voice faltering.
"Hmm?" He let go of her breast and increased the speed of his fingers working on her swollen bud. She yelped out in agony and pleasure, her hands gripping his hair and pulling hard.
He took it as a sign to go a step further and took off her pants and underwear entirely before he went down her. Ga Eul gasped as she felt his cold mouth on her clit while his fingers worked at her entrance. His tongue flicked and swirled for what seemed like an eternity until she felt her whole body pulsating and then centering between her legs. She came for the second time that night, but with more force this time as she clasped the dampened sheets.
"The fun isn't over yet, you know.." A voice in the dark sounded.
***
Yi Jeong positioned himself between her legs. She had tried to clench them together, but he had simply pried them apart.
"I'm not sure I'm ready yet." She croaked. "it still hurts..a bit." Even though she wanted him to continue as her fingers caressed his back. To have him inside her was something she could only begin to imagine.
"Embrace the pain. You'll be rewarded afterwards." He coaxed her, stroked her face and kissed her anxious lips until he realized that it was a bit too caring for his taste. As if to cancel out this last action, he forcefully pushed his tongue in her mouth, causing her to moan into his mouth.
Ga Eul cupped his face as he devoured her and moved down to lick her neck and massage her thighs as he placed himself between her waiting thighs. He felt he had given her enough time to recuperate and proceeded with his plans.
With more force than he knew he should, he pushed his erection into her moist opening. She cried out in pain, her fingernails digging into his flesh. He slowly pistoned in and out of her, as she eased into the rhythm. He felt so hungry, not only for her blood but also for her cries that were now saturated with pleasure.
Yi Jeong placed her legs over his shoulders, allowing to invade her even deeper. He knew just what speed to go to make this feeling last the longest, to give both him and her the deepest delight.
His mouth automatically moved to her awaiting neck. Feeling the marks he left on her earlier that evening, he moved to the other side. His fangs were already out, there was no way of keeping them in when he was having sex.
With one bite, he cut through her soft skin, the metallic fluid poured out of the damaged veins and into his eager mouth. He sucked and swallowed, his sense of control was slowly fading. His whole being was slowly wavering. He grasped her neck to keep her in place as he thrust in and out of her. The climax wasn't far away.
Blood dripped on the white sheets as he took in more of her essence. For a little while he too would feel alive again. For a moment, a mere few seconds, he could forget that his life had ended centuries ago. But as with all drugs, the aching withdrawal would inevitably come afterwards.
Yi Jeong increased his speed until he came inside of her, filling her with his sinful being. He collapsed beside her, as Ga Eul tried to figure out what had just happened.
***
A strip of light came through the curtains. Ga Eul blinked a few times and let out a big yawn as she felt the cold of winter against her body. Her naked body. What had happened last night now came back to her conscious with the speed of light. She shot up and looked around.
There was nobody there. Of course he couldn't be, because it was morning now. He could have said something before leaving though, she thought. He had just left without saying a thing. She dropped back on the pillow, still feeling a bit weak.
Then she realized: it was a workday. She looked at the digital alarm clock. If she hurried, she could still make it. She quickly washed herself, noticing the bite mark on her neck as she stood in front of the mirror. Wasn't it on the other side before? She checked the other side, and sure enough, two little marks were still visible, albeit not as much as yesterday.
He was making quite a habit out of biting her and even worse: she was letting him. No protest whatsoever. She should feel horrible –he had assaulted her in the night-, but she couldn't. If it was the price to pay to be with him, she could do it. She could give him her blood. Even the sight of the dark brown stains on her sheets didn't scare her anymore.
Fifteen minutes later, she ran out of her house, heading for work. Nobody could say that she wasn't a dedicated PA. That still didn't mean, however, that she could keep on working there.
***
Ga Eul had been holding her letter of resignation all day, ready to turn it in at any moment, but unable to actually do so. For the hundredth time that day she sighed and went back to her seat. She had to check things for the upcoming fan meeting.
It had been a few days since she had received the call that she had passed the audition for the part in the sageuk and would soon have to start preparing since the shooting would start taking place in three weeks. She had not mentioned this to sunbae last night, in fact she herself had forgotten about it entirely. Still, there was no way that she could combine this job and the acting. She would have to quit.
She yearned to talk to her best friend, but Jan Di was still in the country side, only sending messages every few days to tell her she was doing fine. Ga Eul couldn't help but feel something had happened, but every time she called, Jan Di wouldn't pick up and just send a text saying she was busy fishing and whatnot.
Jae Kyung unnie was also there of course, but it just wasn't the same. For one, Jae Kyung didn't like complex matters and just went with the simplest solutions, which here was to just quit and go with the acting. But for Ga Eul, this matter was more complex. The mere thought of not seeing her boss, no sunbae, anymore, made her short of breath.
Not that she really wanted to continue working there. Hyo Joo was sticking to her like glue, following her everywhere. She couldn't even eat her lunch in peace. Ga Eul wanted to say something, but she was too nice a person to tell somebody else off. Well, unless it was So Yi Jeong.
Yi Jeong, the one that had stolen her first time and the one that had given her her first orgasms ever. It had been such an intense feeling and even thinking back of it made her toes curl. Now she knew what the deal was about sex. She knew she wanted to have it more often and she knew she wanted to have it with him only. If only he wasn't such a rotten bastard. If only he was just like any other human that could just confess that he liked her. That would probably never happen anyway.
" Sunbae?" Hyo Joo started a Ga Eul poked her rice as they sat together in the company cafeteria. Yes, even KVC had normal food to serve the human employees. She looked up at the pretty face and remembered all the smears of blood that had been on it at the time of the Christmas party.
"Yeah?" She replied.
"I have something to tell you. Or rather ask you." Ga Eul merely stared at her.
"Is Yi Jeong oppa dating anyone?" Hyo Joo asked innocently.
"Why are you asking?"
"Because I want to know." She smiled sweetly.
"I.. I don't think so." Ga Eul replied with an insecure tone.
"Do you think he'd go out with a human girl?"
"I.. I don't know." Ga Eul focused on her food again.
"Vampires don't date humans, they just have sex with them and suck them dry, then leave them to die." Woo Bin's PA said smiling as she joined them for lunch. "Vampires only think of humans as toys they can use and abuse whenever they feel like it. This isn't Twilight, Hyo Joo-yah, there's nothing romantic about it. Vampires don't fall for humans."
"So.." Hyo Joo refused to give up now.
"Just because you screwed So Yi Jeong once, doesn't mean you're engaged to him. If that were the case, he'd be having one hell of a harem right now." Ga Eul felt her blood, or what was left of it, drain from her face. Because she didn't want to act suspicious, she just kept eating, even though she was feeling nauseous from the impact of the news.
When the other girls excused themselves, Ga Eul stayed put and kept munching on the last bits of rice. If she stopped now, she was sure the tears she was trying so hard to fight back , would come pouring down.
Like a zombie, she finally stood up and cleared away her dishes. Had she been silly enough to believe that what they had was special? Was she just another toy? Had her first time gone to waste, just like that?
"Ga Eul-sshi." Manager Ma had popped up in front of her. His face had a pained look on it, like he was struggling with something. She looked up at him, even before he said anything, she knew what was coming. "I'm sorry to have to say this, but I have been informed by So Yi Jeong that he's no longer in need of a personal assistant. He has requested that I take over the duties that you were assigned to do."
Ga Eul just looked at him with a blank expression. Before she had been able to resign, she had been fired. He really liked to humiliate her, huh?
"You can still end this week and you will receive payment for it, but after that.. I'm sorry Ga Eul-sshi."
Ga Eul regained her strength and got her resignation letter out of her bag. Pretending like she wasn't hurt, she handed it to manager Ma.
"Don't worry, I was about to quit as well. I have an acting job. It's not the lead or anything, but I do have a lot of lines. It might be my breakthrough." She reassured him, though her voice was cracking. "Now, I have to go to the restroom." And she excused herself, telling herself not to cry. If she'd cry, he would definitely win. She would never let him see how he hurt her.
***
2005
"I can't stand this!" Joon Pyo belted. "Who does she think she is!?" Woo Bin tried to restrain him, but Joon Pyo pushed him off. "Nobody calls me an 'idiot'! I'll teach that bitch, bleed her dry and have her beg for my mercy." With that he ran off.
"Yah! Where are you going?" Woo Bin yelled after him.
"I guess this will be her last day on earth, huh?" Yi Jeong remarked casually, remembering the four girls they had passed only a few minutes ago. One of them had a nice scent on her and he had been half inclined to single her out, but well.. there were plenty of fish in the sea.
"I'll go after him. He'll get into trouble if he's like this." Ji Hoo said, finally breaking through his own passivity for once."
Woo Bin and Yi Jeong watched the two guys run with a speed unknown to men. Yi Jeong stuffed his hands in his pockets.
"Let's go clubbing. I'm feeling peckish." Yi Jeong finally said.
"Aiight." And together they headed the other way.
***
The phone rang.
Yoboseyo?" She answered.
"Is this Ga Eul? Chu Ga Eul?" An older woman's voice sounded.
"Ah ye, who is this?"
"It's..it's Jan Di's emi [mother]."
"Oh! How are you? How's Jan Di? She told me she went to visit you!" Ga Eul replied happily.
"Ga Eul-ah.. eotteokhe [what to do].. how do I.. I just.. can't" Jan Di's mother started to cry.
"What's wrong?" Ga Eul asked, her voice barely a whisper.
"Jan Di-yah, she.. she.. they found her."
"Found her? Found her where?" Ga Eul asked, confused.
"The girl on the news. It was her." And from then on, Jan Di's mother was unable to speak any more. Ga Eul racked her brain, trying to make sense of what she had just heard. Then it dawned on her. The Jane Doe case, the girl that was found on the river bank.
Cause of death: Unknown.
"No, it can't be." Ga Eul stammered. "She just texted me yesterday! It can't be her!"
"We.. we saw her. It's her. She's dead." Cries followed by more cries. Once again, all sound had been drowned out, but not by snow this time. Now, there was only sorrow. Ga Eul could only sit there, holding the telephone tightly, as she listened to the weeping mother. The mother crying for her child. She had once been the child crying for her mother, but for Jan Di it was all reversed now, wasn't it?
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