Chapter 1: Welcome to the Night

No smut for Chapter 1 - 3.9k words

"Another murder," Jimin sighed, placing the tablet down at the desk.

"Let me guess," I began. "Werebeasts again? Or a warlock botching another sacrifice?"

"Neither," Jimin replied, "victim's blood was drained, bite marks on its neck and wrists."

I turned my head towards Jimin, her glasses rested upon the bridge of her nose, her hair tied in a messy bun — she was always pretty, even if exhaustion was evident in her now pale face. "Vampires?" I asked, reaching for the tablet to read the article. "Now that's — not new, but—"

"Infrequent," Jimin finished for me, she laid her arms on the desk and placed her head upon it.

"And sloppy," I said as I finished reading. The victim was left in a garbage bin, his complexion as white as porcelain, two separate photos showed bite marks on both sides of his neck and both his wrists — the pulses, I thought, I can only hope that the death was quick, but it normally isn't with vampires.

"Yeah," Jimin drawled. "Vampires don't leave bodies, that's why most disappearances are often credited to them."

"Or the cops are just lazy," I added.

"Or that," Jimin echoed wearily.

The halls of the Archive were empty, well, aside from Jimin and I. The glass windows reflected faint gray light from the afternoon sun. It was bleak to say the least. Jimin's company was the only consolation, she was beautiful, with a figure most men — and women — will kill to have. She was normally talkative, never running out of things to say, but on the days when she's not, the silence is as loud as our collective boredom.

"You know..." I began. "You could pass for a vampire, Jimin."

Jimin raised her head and scrunched her face, "Was that a lousy attempt at flirting, Seren Vale?"

My soft chuckle echoed across the emptiness, "How about me giving you a genuine compliment, Yu Jimin?"

"Well if it was —" she sighed again. "It's bittersweet, Vale. On one hand, they're known for their everlasting beauty, but on the other hand..." she tapped the tablet thrice and I got the message.

"Not into blood?" I teased.

She rolled her eyes, "I get those every month, why would I want any more?"

I tilted my head curiously, unsure of what she meant.

Jimin looked at me incredulously, "Menstruation man, duh," she grabbed the tablet and playfully smacked it over my head.

We both laughed, the sounds insignificantly brightening the dim halls of the Archive.

"So," I decided to push her further. "Aren't you on one right now? You seem to be — moody?"

The tablet hit my head again, followed by Jimin's annoyed yet adorable laughter. "This is why you don't have a girlfriend, you sometimes ask the wrong questions at the wrong time."

"Hey! I thought we were friends!" I protested.

Jimin kept laughing, "I tolerate you, there's a difference."

"Your laughter says otherwise," I quipped back.

We laughed together for quite a while, the noise preferable to the otherwise eerie silence of the Archive.

"Well anyway, if you wanted to be one of the Night Folk, what would you be?" I asked after our laughters died down.

"Hmmmm..." she hummed, placing a pen next to her lip, and with the light shining through the windows, I thought she was first love incarnate, the ones you fall for during college — which technically we both are.

"You first," she replied after a moment.

"I asked you first."

"Well I'm asking you back."

"Ladies' first."

"Oh. So you're chivalrous now?" Jimin smirkingly said.

"Yeah," I replied, huffing my chest playfully. "I can be your knight in shining —"

"You can't even afford a coat, Seren, and now you're talking about armors?" Jimin interrupted me, her arms clutched her stomach as she laughed, her laughter made her lean forward, sunlight tracing the curve of her chest.

I must have been staring for a while, because she placed a finger on my chin, raised my head and held my gaze. "Eyes up, my knight," she teased in the most seductive voice she can muster, and I felt blood rush to my cheeks as well as — other parts I'm not gonna say.

Not wanting to be outdone, I tried for a witty comeback, "You could be a siren with a voice like that," I tried to be cool, but I guess the compliment came out as a breathy whisper.

Jimin giggled as she withdrew her fingers from my chin. "You really should step up your flirting game. You're lucky I tolerate you, otherwise you would have gotten a red hand print on your cheek."

"Thanks, I guess." My brain was short circuiting, was Jimin flirting back?

Then suddenly, the massive iron doors of the Archive swung open. Jimin and I craned our heads. The day had been quiet, so someone coming in was a bit of a surprise. She was of average height, with long wavy, brown hair. She wore leather, like, all leather — leather jacket, leather pants that hugged her slim thighs and legs tightly, and leather boots with heels. She wore black shades, which I thought was unnecessary considering how dim the Archives building was. She looked like a biker from the waist up, a model from the waist down, and over all — she looked like trouble. Her heels clacked against the tiles as she slowly made her way towards the reception — towards us.

"I bet rockstar," I whispered towards Jimin who leaned in closer.

"Nahhh... I bet.... detective," she replied.

"How did you get that, from all of that?" I asked, gesturing to the guest.

Jimin smiled at me as the guest reached our reception area, "Intuition," she replied before facing the woman. "Pleasant afternoon —" Jimin began her greeting with a pleasant smile that could have brightened the otherwise dark and bleak world.

Then the woman raised a badge, "Detective Kang Seulgi, Crimes of the Night Folk Division of Verrath, I'm here to research about," her gaze lowered towards the tablet, and she continued, her voice low and cautious, "vampires."

Jimin looked at the tablet then back to the detective, "Sure, detective, my colleague, Mr Vale, will escort you to the appropriate aisle," she said with smug calm. We made eye contact, my eyes wide because she just volunteered me to lead this detective.

"Why me?" I whispered hopefully out of earshot from the detective.

"Because I won the bet," she whispered back.

"What bet?"

"You said she was a rockstar, I said detective. Now go." She whispered with a triumphantly teasing grin.