"I'm sorry," Taeha whispered as he got even closer to Seojin's neck. He slightly opened his mouth, revealing his sharp fangs. He was still trying so hard to fight it back, the monster inside him.
No. I can't do this! I can't be doing this, his thoughts fought against his instincts.
No. Someone please stop me… Please, he pleaded.
He was struggling to restrain himself, but his body was being controlled entirely by his instincts. He was losing himself completely, drowning in the darkness. But_
"Mr. Kim!"
"Huh?" Taeha snapped, coming back to his senses. That was when reality hit him, the seriousness of the deed he had almost committed. He could hear Seojin's heart beating fast in fear. He shoved Seojin aside, stepping back. She fell to the ground, hitting her head hard against the door. Seeing that, Taeha reached out to help her out of concern, but he hesitated. Instead of helping her, he looked down, hiding his eyes and fangs.
Seojin stared at Taeha in both fear and confusion. She had no idea what she was seeing. She wanted him to explain what in the world had just happened. Enduring the pain in the back of her head, she gathered the courage to speak.
"Mr. Kim_" She couldn't finish. Just then, the door swung open and Il-soo entered the ECU room, panting. Both Seojin and Taeha looked at him. He was shocked beyond words and terrified to see Taeha in that desperate state: red-eyed and baring fangs. Am I too late? That was the first thing that crossed his mind. He shot a glance at Seojin, who was still on the floor. Then, without a second thought, he ran up to Taeha, removed the jacket he was wearing, and covered Taeha's face. While Seojin watched, they dashed out of the room, leaving her completely puzzled. She exhaled sharply, as if she'd been holding her breath the entire time.
She was still thinking about what happened as she walked to her ward. What in the world was that? she thought. Was he going to… KISS me? No no… no way. She slapped her cheeks, snapping herself out of that thought. But something was off.
She forced herself to focus as she arrived at her ward. Everything was as usual. No one knew what had happened in the Emergency Care Unit. With a long sigh, she got back to work.
"Doctor Kang, here are the reports you asked for," said Miss Wang.
"Oh… thank you. Are all the files included?"
"All done, Doctor Kang," Miss Wang said with a nod. "I thought you weren't coming today," she added.
"Looks like someone was happy that I'm not coming," Seojin teased, while Miss Wang tried to deny it. They went through the reports and examined a few patients whose recovery progress wasn't good. Seojin prescribed them some medicine that might help. She was wrapping up the ward round when Miss Wang finally spoke.
"Uh… Doctor Kang, is something wrong?" asked Miss Wang, noticing Seojin's sulking face.
"What do you mean something is wrong?" Seojin asked, playing along. She wondered if Miss Wang was referring to what happened in the Emergency Care Unit room.
"Doctor Kang, you don't have to take it seriously. I just asked because you've been in a bad mood for a while now."
"Ah… Don't worry, I'm fine. I'm just a bit tired today." Seojin brushed off the question with a forced laugh.
They were packing up the reports and files, getting ready to leave the ward, when some doctors burst in. They walked up to Seojin, and one of them showed her his ID. They were from the Special Project Unit.
"How can I help you?" Seojin asked uncertainly. She had never seen them before. Miss Wang looked confused too.
"We'll be taking a blood sample from you. You too," he said, glancing at Miss Wang, who gulped.
"A blood sample? But I didn't request one," said Seojin.
"You don't have to. It's part of hospital policy. We need to add your details to the hospital system. All new recruits undergo this process."
"Really?" Seojin was genuinely surprised that such a rule existed in the hospital. She wanted to ask more, but stopped after seeing the serious expression on his face. So she let them do whatever they needed to.
*************************
Back at Taeha's apartment, things weren't going well. After escaping from the hospital, Il-soo had driven Taeha straight to his place. Later, the other members rushed over too. Everyone was tense because of what had happened including Taeha's father, as they discussed the situation in the living room.
"I can't believe you almost killed her," said Il-soo, rubbing his temples in frustration. Taeha didn't say anything, so Il-soo kept going.
"Why don't you say what happened?" Still, no reaction from Taeha.
"If it weren't for me, you would have killed her." Il-soo paused for a second. "Why are you so stubborn, Taeha?"
Taeha sighed and finally spoke. "Hey, stop it. I'm not in the right mind to listen to your lecture," he said.
"Not in the right mood, you say? Do you even have any idea how worried we all were because of you?"
"Il-soo, that's enough," said Kang Mooha, and the others nodded in agreement. They didn't like the direction the argument was heading. But Il-soo wasn't ready to stop.
"Mr. Kang, we can't let this go easily. What if something had happened....something worse? Why doesn't he understand that we're doing all this for his own sake?"
Taeha finally stood up. "Aren't you going to stop?" he said, staring Il-soo in the eyes. "I told you to stop, didn't I? This nonsense you're spouting, it's not helping."
"What?" Il-soo was furious.
"That's right. It's not helping. You're just talking nonsense because you think you can. No one gave you the right to do that. Not even me!" Taeha shot back. Il-soo smirked cynically. Everyone else stayed silent as tension thickened. Taeha and Il-soo stared at each other for a few seconds before Taeha turned to leave the living room. He'd only taken one step when Il-soo spoke again.
"What about your adoptive father? Haven't you even given him that right, after all the sacrifices he made for you? He could have just left like his wife, instead of raising someone ungrateful like you."
Silence.
That was it. That was the final straw. Taeha had been holding back, but Il-soo's words pushed him over the edge. A sudden rush of adrenaline surged through him as he clenched his fists. His sharpened nails dug into his palms, drawing blood. Kang Mooha and the others sensed the danger.
"Taeha, calm down," Mooha said, but it was too late.
Suddenly, Taeha charged at Il-soo at lightning speed.
"I said STOP!" Taeha snarled. He grabbed Il-soo by the collar, dragging him close. His other hand, fingers curled into sharp claws, hovered just inches from Il-soo's throat, ready to end it all in an instant. His eyes burned crimson, and his lips curled back, revealing the deadly edge of his fangs as he gritted his teeth in sheer anger.
Everyone froze, including Il-soo. But he didn't look away. "You think you're better than a monster?" Il-soo asked challenging him.
With that, Taeha's grip trembled with fury as he stared deep into Il-soo's eyes. After a tense pause, he finally released him, panting heavily, as if letting go took more strength than holding on. He shoved Il-soo aside and left for his room, leaving the living room thick with upspoken tension.
********************************
Later that day, Seojin arrived at her apartment after work. She couldn't help but glance at Taeha's door while unlocking hers. The memory of the incident at the hospital was still nagging at her. She sighed in exhaustion, walked in, and tossed her handbag onto the sofa, only to hear the doorbell ring
Is that him?
She opened the door.