Hyunsuk

Jihoon saw to it himself that he could watch the body burn. While vampires can’t come back
from having their head cut off, we’d never come across a vampire like Gon before. Sadly, we
didn’t have much on him due to Kwang’s death. We still don’t know much about the origin of true
vampires or how they came to be even with Kwang’s tale. None of it seemed realistic, but then
again, we had vampires who could turn humans by giving them their blood.

By the time we returned to the house, Papa was nearly fully healed. He grabbed me and
apologized to me again and again, like any of this could have been his fault. We have no idea
how long Gon had been watching me. He knew my mother, so there’s a chance he started back
when I was young and would go with my mother to her work. But Papa feels like he put Gon into
my life no matter what I say. Hopefully, time will help him see that there’s nothing he could have
done. Papa was just trying to find the best doctor for me; there’s no way he could have known
what lay beneath the surface. Hell, we all trusted him. For years, I believed he was a lifesaver
because, without him, I never would have been able to walk.

Papa explained that Gon told him that he needed more time with me and my arm and that he’d
run me home when he was finished. When Papa pulled into the driveway, he was immediately
attacked. He thinks Gon had been planning on killing him and then staging it to look like we
were both already home when I’d been taken. Thankfully, his plan didn’t work out.

Though I’ve lost the man who made it so I could walk again, Chaewon spent many years of her
life studying under Gon. With Gon’s passing, all of his belongings will be turned over to her
since she plans to continue his work and research, which means I don’t have to go without a
doctor to repair my arm and leg.

“Got the cookies?” Jihoon asks as he comes out of the bedroom. We’ve moved back home, and
while I think Papa misses us and I miss his huge TV screen and housekeeper, I’m glad to be
home.

“Did I eat the cookies?” I pause with one aimed toward my mouth.

“You were supposed to put them in the container.”

“I did. Then I reopened the container and ate them. It’s not like most people from the party can
even eat cookies. So I was just helping.”

He snorts. “Let’s go.”

“Yes, yes, McFangerson.”

He sighs and heads out to the car, leaving me behind to grab the present, dogs, and the
cookies. I guess that’s what I get for calling him by his real name. I juggle everything as I head
out to the car that I find backing down the driveway without me in it.

“You’re not funny!” I shout after him.

He rolls the window down. “I can’t hear you.”

“Come back for me!”

“I’m not sure I want to!”

I try to flip him off, but nearly drop Haeun’s birthday present, so I stop jostling everything around
just for a fun ol’ finger flick. “If you don’t come back, we’re going roller skating on my birthday
and you can’t say no.”

He slams on the brakes and I sigh as I head out to the car. He mockingly glares at me. “How
could you even joke about that? You know that stresses me out.”

I grin at him as he takes the bags from me. “The words ‘roller skating’?”

He shudders like it physically pains him. “Please, stop. Do you just like hurting me?”

“I… I do,” I admit.

He takes the cookies that he made after I told him that I couldn’t make cookies or follow recipes,
but I could eat the cookie dough. When he threatened to put blood into them, I had to take over.
Thankfully, by then they only needed to be placed on the baking sheet.

“Everyone’s going to love the cookies I baked,” I say.

“You’re going to lie to everyone?”

“It’s not a lie. I baked them.” Which is technically true.

He glances over at me as I pack the dogs into the back. “You’re pure evil. They say vampires
are evil but they’re not. We become evil when we have to deal with people like you.”

“Good. I like it when you’re a bit evil.”

I get into the passenger seat, deciding it’d be best for him to drive. Once into the driver’s seat,
Jihoon backs out onto the road before heading toward the lake house. I guess Jihoon and me
talking about it made Haeun miss the childhood vacation spot.

“I’m not sure how I’m going to feel when I walk in and think about all the places you tried making
me taint,” I say. “You even tried sticking me in the fridge.”

He beams, which is weird and kind of creeps me out, but he’s clearly proud of himself. “I hope
when your dad pulls the watermelon out of there you think about my balls.”

“No… please… don’t.”

“And when they lay the cake on the table—”

“Dammit, McBitey, stop!” I cry as I cup my hands over my ears. “Happy thoughts, happy
thoughts.”
Hela leaps into the front seat, thinking that I’m being funny, and begins biting at my fingers.
“Save me, baby!” I cry as I lift her in the air and kiss her stomach. She wiggles around and then
bites my nose as Romy decides licking me in the face is the perfect way to fix this situation.

“Hey! Gang up on him, you two, not me!”

“Nah, they worship me. They will never go against me.”

I stare at him, clearly not convinced as I set Hela down on my lap. Jihoon reaches over and
holds his hand out. I almost give him my prosthetic hand but I stop. Not because I don’t want
him to hold it, I’ve gotten so much better about that, but because I want to feel his touch, so I
reach out with my right and take his. He squeezes it gently as we drive.

When we arrive, we park and head inside. Junkyu greets us first now that he’s wormed his way
into my family. Basically, Haeun thinks he’s hilarious and amazing and invited him, but I don’t
mind.

“Hey, beautiful,” Junkyu says and then plucks Hela out of my hands.

“He was talking to the dog and not me,” I say as I narrow my eyes. “Whoa… Junkyu… do you
have a victim… I mean partner?”

“Ruto and I might have gone on a date.”

“Ruto told me you tricked him into it.”

Junkyu snorts. “I did not! He’s lying now!”

I snicker because Junkyu really does seem convinced that he had a great time. I honestly think
they would be great together if Haruto could handle being with him.
Papa rushes over to us and grabs me in a death hug. He does this every time he sees me, like
it’s now mandatory to risk my life for a hug even though I’m safer than I’ve ever been. But I’m
always so happy to see him well that I really don’t care and hug him back just as hard.

“It’s good you’re here. Do you want to move back in with me?”

“Not yet,” I say.

He pulls back and gives me a serious look. “Can I move in with you?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Come on. Just for a little bit.”

Jihoon shakes his head. “You know, at one point I actually wondered if you were a creep
because you were following Hyunsuk everywhere. I’d just hear the pitter-patter of your feet the
entire time we’d move around the house.”

Papa stares at Jihoon like he’s contemplating how hard it’d be to get rid of him. “Anyway.
Haeun’s not here yet because she loves being late. Said she’ll be here shortly which could
mean five minutes or five hours.”

“Of course. I’m going to take the dogs out to stretch their legs. We’ll be back for the party,” I say
as I put the cookies down and Jihoon literally tosses the present toward the present pile.

We head outside and start walking toward the lake together. “Did you think about your naked
ass on that counter when you put the cookies on it?” he asks.

“I bleached it.”

“That’s not what I asked.”

“Shhh, Jihoon. Just be handsome. This… cocky thing you have going on isn’t very cute. It’s kind
of cute but not super cute.”

He unhooks the dogs from their leashes and they take off running. Romy just gallops around
while Hela runs as fast as her tiny legs can go to keep up with him. She’s failing miserably.

“You know you love it,” Jihoon says as he grabs my arm and pulls me in for a kiss. I lean into
him as I press my lips against his before giving him a grin.

“Only a little bit. I’m so excited to be back at work next week. Did you guys miss me?”

“Yes. I cried every day while you were gone. Haruto even caught me in the bathroom sobbing ‘I
have to wait four more hours to see my love. How will I ever survive?’” He says it so dryly that
it’s clear he didn’t give a flying fuck.

“That’s sad.”

“I know. But sometimes life is just devastating when you’re not there to annoy me.”

“I don’t know if I ever thanked you enough for sticking with me. You didn’t have to stay with me,
but you never hesitated. Even after your life was in danger, you stayed by my side.”

“That’s because I love you,” he says. “And I would give up everything to keep you safe.”

He’s always been too wonderful for me. “I’m glad you didn’t have to.”

“Me too,” he says before kissing my cheek. “Your sister’s here.”

“Ew.”

“I know.”
“Let’s go.”

As we head toward the house, I hold on to Jihoon’s hand and just breathe in the fresh air. I
never realized how much Gon had invaded my life, my thoughts, and my dreams until he was
gone. I don’t know that I’m back to normal yet. I don’t know if the nightmares will permanently go
away, but I know that every time I’m upset, every time I wake from a bad dream, Jihoon will be
beside me.

“Let’s hope she brought her boyfriend to torture,” I tease.

Jihoon grins at me. “I like how I’m steadily making you more evil.”

“I was born evil. It just wasn’t until I met my soulmate that I was able to show it.”

I lean in and kiss him, thankful that we can continue our lives together without that threat
hanging over us. But I know that if our relationship could make it through that monster
terrorizing us, it could make it through anything.

“We’ve made it through so much together,” I say.

“Of course. We could make it through anything,” Jihoon says.

“Anything?”

He looks over at me. “Of course.”

“You’d do anything for me?”

“What part of ‘of course’ don’t you understand?”

“Guess where we’re going tomorrow?”

He narrows his eyes before realization hits. “No. I will never roller skate with you ever again.”

“The couple that roller skates together stays together.”

Jihoon sighs, which instantly starts making me laugh, and soon he’s laughing as well.

“But seriously. No.”

“We’ll see.” Still laughing, I bump into him before pressing a kiss against his cheek, feeling
happy to face a future with the man I love by my side.