DrinkyL C13

Chapter 13

 

Thirty minutes earlier. Arriving late to the ceremony hall, Ban Dayeong swept his indifferent gaze over the venue.

He could sense the silent battles of wits among those striving, even desperately, for an excuse to exchange a word with him—but he felt no inclination to entertain them.

There was but one person Ban Dayeong sought: the half-blood elf, Baek Seolgu.

Though he’d been told Seolgu was working today, he could not spot even a single strand of the boy’s hair in the crowd. Where could he be hiding?

With a crooked lift at one corner of his lips, Ban Dayeong made no attempt to disguise his displeasure.

“Vice President, it’s time for your address.”

Beside him, Secretary Yang murmured quietly. Having failed to track down a sign of Baek Seolgu, Ban Dayeong clicked his tongue in mild irritation and strode onto the stage.

A vampire born of pure darkness had become leader of his clan. The time it takes for a vampire to emerge naturally from the shadows ranged from twenty to a hundred years.

The first vampires to set foot in Korea had crossed the seas in pursuit of a new leader, seeking to broaden their clan’s territory; and only after seventy years did they welcome a successor.

That pure-blooded vampire—was Ban Dayeong.

From the outset, he commanded the reverence of all vampires, swiftly becoming their spiritual anchor. With his blood, new vampires came into being, obtaining eternal life as their birthright.

When Ban Dayeong’s will, embodied in his blood, was sown into the earth, ancient spirits twined and knotted underground, spawning new life. The first of these, born with his blood, were Ban Jinyeong and Ban Haeyoung.

While they were publicly known as his cousins, in truth, they were his children.

In a similar fashion, vampires brought forth by the Ban siblings claimed the names Yang Hyunsoo and Yang Hyeonji, becoming loyal hands and feet in their service.

Thus began a new chapter in the history of Korean vampires, all stemming from Ban Dayeong. After his appearance, vampires in Korea soon surpassed any other race in stature and strength.

It was for this reason that the country’s entire vampire clan had gathered tonight—to glimpse even once the face of Ban Dayeong. Such was the gravity of his influence.

Ban Dayeong, unmoved by the gazes riveted to him, mounted the stage with a look of faint annoyance.

Dozens of crimson eyes fixed upon him, glinting in the dusky light.

“Good evening. I am Ban Dayeong, Vice President of the VAN Group.”

His low, husky voice reverberated across the vast hall; the audience’s expressions dissolved into a rapturous softness, as if lulled by a spell.

Unconditional devotion toward their leader saturated the air.

Yet, none of it interested Ban Dayeong in the slightest. He coolly dismissed their thirsty stares, delivering his address with a brisk, businesslike brevity, as if eager to dispatch an unwelcome chore.

Drawing forth every pleasant word he could muster, he soon realized he had nothing more to say.

It was then, from a shadowed corner at the edge of the room, that he locked eyes with Baek Seolgu, who was staring up at the stage in a daze.

Found you.

Ban Dayeong, beholding Seolgu for the first time in so long, raked him up and down with his gaze, stifling a small smile.

With genuine warmth, he let his gaze linger, but Seolgu—completely unprepared to meet his eyes—quivered like a prey animal caught by a predator’s stare.

To make matters worse, the precious pot Seolgu cradled slipped from his grasp. Though the fall was muffled, Seolgu could be seen, clearly startled by his own mistake, hiccuping uncontrollably.

What a foolish, half-breed elf.

Ban Dayeong, scowling in distaste, prepared to wrap up his address as quickly as possible. From afar, a sweet scent suddenly washed over him, flooding his senses.

He’d only encountered that fragrance once before. Seolgu’s sweet blood.

All at once, Ban Dayeong felt a mounting impatience. Instinctively, he surveyed all the vampires gazing at Seolgu, defensively screening him from their admiration.

He could discern the subtle shift—the other vampires, too, had caught the faintest trace of that sweetness.

Ban Dayeong’s cold, piercing glare swept over Seolgu, who was cleaning up the broken flowerpot, and the vampires beginning to circle near him.

What are you doing? He had to stifle a fierce urge to shout at Seolgu to abandon the pot and escape at once. Marshaling his control, Ban Dayeong hurried to end his speech.

Thunderous applause erupted, but none of it registered in his ears; only Seolgu’s hurried, retreating footsteps toward the staff corridor rang out to him.

Descending from the stage, he ignored the elders who reached for a handshake and followed in Seolgu’s wake.

He felt the confusion of those he’d snubbed, but he didn’t care—a glazed look already clouded his vision.

Navigating the crowd with long, fluid strides, he quickly entered the staff corridor, where he saw Seolgu breathing a heavy sigh right at the threshold.

As if you’re the one who should be sighing.

“Mr. Baek Seolgu.”

Swallowing a string of curses and frustration, Ban Dayeong called out his name.

Seolgu’s small head jerked as if he’d heard a ghost, and he turned slowly to look over his shoulder.

Upon meeting Ban Dayeong’s eyes again, he let out a vacant, “Uh…?” of surprise.

“Ba—Ban Dayeong…sir?”

“What’s so shocking?”

At his question, Seolgu wavered and blurted out his guilt.

“I’m so sorry. I broke the flowerpot. The manager said it was a rare orchid… I didn’t mean to do it, truly!”

“You didn’t mean to?”

“Yes, yes! I’ll clean it up as best I can…!”

Certain that the stormy look in Ban Dayeong’s eyes was aimed at his own blunder—and irritated to have caused trouble despite being given a chance to work—Seolgu pleaded earnestly, promising to fix everything and cause no further harm.

Yet to Seolgu’s dismay, Ban Dayeong’s expression hardly changed.

I can’t even feed from you for fear you’ll faint, and despite giving you only the simplest tasks, you still manage to make a mess. Even I, if I were Ban Dayeong, would be thoroughly exasperated right now.

A useless halfwit.

Seolgu bowed his head in deep shame.

Clutching the bundle of soil and shattered pottery in his shirt like a kangaroo with a precious load, he let out a wet sniffle. All that could be heard in the silent corridor was the sound of Seolgu’s sniffling.

Who knows how long this lasted. After some time, as he continued to sniffle, Seolgu started to shift his gaze around.

…Why isn’t he saying anything? Is he so angry he’s just left? Tentatively, Seolgu lifted his head, but, glimpsing the wide chest before him, bowed it again at once.

Why won’t he say anything? Better to get scolded quickly—then he could hurry back and tend to the battered orchid before it wilted entirely.

As he watched the leaves wither in real time, Seolgu’s lips twisted in distress.

Suddenly, a large hand grasped both his wrists.

Thud.

Startled, Seolgu dropped his shirt, spilling soil, pottery shards, and the rare orchid in a heap at his feet.

“Ah…! Uh—uh!!”

A short cry burst from Seolgu’s lips. He tried to crouch down and gather the mess, but with Ban Dayeong’s firm grip on his wrists, he couldn’t move.

“P-please let go of my hands…”

“I don’t want to.”

“What?”

Ban Dayeong, his gaze still dark, ignored Seolgu’s plea.

Slowly, he rubbed the inside of Seolgu’s wrist with his thumb—a touch both soothing and chastising, setting Seolgu’s fingertips trembling.

“Are you well?”

Whether he expected an answer or not, before Seolgu could utter a word, Ban Dayeong lifted one of his wrists and pressed Seolgu’s palm against his lips.

Ah!

Another choked exclamation escaped Seolgu. His palm, smeared with dirt and marked by scratches from hurriedly scooping up the mess, was hardly in any state to be touched—let alone kissed.

Yet Ban Dayeong, apparently unfazed, pressed his lips to Seolgu’s muddied hand, seeming almost delighted by the act.

“It’s—It’s dirty…!”

Seolgu burst out, struggling to pull free, but Ban Dayeong’s hand did not loosen in the slightest.

“Mr. Baek Seolgu.”

Ban Dayeong’s lips moved slowly, caressing Seolgu’s palm as he spoke his name. Reflexively, as if to answer, Seolgu tried to respond, but only an odd, choked whimper spilled from his lips instead.

Aghast at the sound, he clamped his mouth shut.

Ban Dayeong, however, seemed far more taken by Seolgu’s ragged breaths than by any foolish reply.

Tasting the occasional bead of Seolgu’s blood, Ban Dayeong murmured,

“Do you know where you are right now?”

Seolgu kept his mouth tightly closed, nodding, not trusting himself to speak lest another strange sound escape.

“There are at least a hundred vampires nearby.”

Ban Dayeong extended his tongue, meticulously lapping over every cut and scrape on Seolgu’s palm.

It was as if a wild beast, capable of devouring him at any moment, was savoring him before the final bite—the notion sent tremors through Seolgu’s lips.

“And here you are, bleeding. Do you want me to eat you up right here and now?”

Though his tone was even, Ban Dayeong’s words were thick with reproach for Seolgu’s carelessness.

Hearing this, only then did Seolgu realize the true reason for Ban Dayeong’s anger.

“Ah—ah! I—I didn’t know.”

Seolgu floundered, shaking his head, but he could only squeeze out a feeble sound in reply. It was as if even his own awkward whimper mocked his ignorance.