by Geli Cake
"You've grown quite a bit, Haylan. We'll need to buy you new clothes again."
"...Isn't it strange?"
"You're still cute in my eyes."
I patted Haylan's back reassuringly as he fidgeted anxiously. His little toes, peeking out from under the white blanket, were still small and adorable.
I was playing with his bare feet when I felt his gaze and met his eyes. His cat-like, upturned eyes were staring intently at me.
"You're strange."
"Suddenly?"
"You're rarely surprised by anything. You didn't even say my appearance was strange. You seem more composed than I am…"
"I hear that a lot."
Because I'm an adult. Adults don't get surprised easily. I chuckled.
"Aren't you a little too indifferent about other people's affairs?"
At his words, I recalled what I had said to Christine before.
'I'm not really interested in other people's affairs. It's hard enough taking care of myself….'
So he was still holding onto that. Those words were just an excuse to hide the fact that I already knew the original story, and that's why I wasn't surprised.
But the current situation was different. Haylan didn't grow at all in the original game. This was the first time I had seen Haylan grow taller.
"Don't I seem like a monster?"
"Is there such a thing as a beautiful monster?"
I meant it sincerely, but Haylan just pursed his lips at my words, looking unconvinced.
'Who told him that?'
Sometimes, I felt that Haylan severely lacked self-esteem. Haylan was kind, beautiful, and even cute. He didn't seem to realize how great he was.
I reached out and gently pinched Haylan's cheek, and he finally blinked. I asked playfully,
"So, who appeared in your dreams?"
"...None of your business."
"Our young master is so healthy~"
"You… if you breathe a word of this to anyone…"
No one in this house would dare tease Haylan, but he'd probably be embarrassed if others found out. Still, I was grateful that he had sought me out for help.
I was thankful that Haylan came to me first. It felt good that he relied on me, that I could be of help to him.
"I won't tell."
I even held out my pinky finger as a promise to keep it a secret from others. I linked my pinky with Haylan's and pressed our thumbs together, explaining that this was a gesture of promise.
"...."
Haylan didn't reply but finally looked relieved.
─── ⋆⋅☼⋅⋆ ───
Haylan had never found festivals enjoyable. Dozens of loud music tracks blaring from all directions, and people were overly excited. Haylan disliked loud and boisterous things.
"I want to go see the festival together."
But why couldn't he refuse Chahyun's request outright?
Was it because of the single answer he received when he asked Chahyun, who spoke as if he knew everything about him, what he liked?
"There's a big market, and lots of delicious food."
Whether he ate or not didn't matter, and large crowds were just tiring.
"And fireworks are more fun to watch live than from afar, right?"
Why did he have to go all the way there just to watch some gunpowder explosions? Festivals were just ordinary days with fancy names, all the same.
…He thought so inwardly, but Haylan didn't say it out loud. The only excuse he could come up with in front of the excited Chahyun was,
"...Crowded places are dangerous…"
It was a flimsy excuse.
The Half-Hunt began about three years ago. Other half-vampires, while more cautious than usual, didn't shut themselves away as drastically as Haylan.
'Oh my, Haylan. Did you really buy that house again?!'
Snow was the only person who knew where Haylan had moved and a woman who had become a monster around the same time as him.
She had met Christine at an all-girls school, as a senior-junior pair. On the day of that disastrous wedding, where everyone died, she had also become a monster like Haylan and Odin, due to the incident.
Haylan and Snow became monsters around the same time, but their lives were completely different. Haylan always stayed in the same place, while Snow seemed to have a restless spirit.
Snow constantly traveled. And when people started to find it strange that she wasn't aging, she would leave, settle down elsewhere, and take on a new name.
This mansion was a villa that Christine had intended to gift to Odin. In the end, she never got to live in it even for a day… Haylan only found out by chance that Snow had started a new life nearby after moving in.
"It doesn't suit you. Why are you a priestess of all things?"
"But what better job is there than the temple for siphoning off blood? Make a good impression on me, Haylan."
"Blood is something you can get if you have the money."
"That's true, but… Would you be alright? I heard from your sister that you're still scared of blood."
"That was ages ago."
Snow was worried about Haylan returning to that trauma-filled house. Haylan scoffed as if it were nothing and shut himself away in the mansion.
He paid a hefty price to cast confusion spells on all the access routes to prevent anyone from finding him. So that no one would accidentally stumble upon his location.
As a result, Haylan achieved a very quiet life. He wasn't uncomfortable at all. He thrived in isolation. He felt like he could endure this for another hundred years.
However, it was a little bittersweet that the people around him kept changing.
"…So you like festivals?"
A noisy thing that suddenly barged into his quiet life. He became fond of it quickly. He started to care about Chahyun more than necessary.
Chahyun was too good at drawing people in. Before he knew it, he was actually at the festival. The city had grown much larger, and even more crowded than when the villa was first built.
It couldn't be helped. He would just endure it for a few hours. Contrary to his initial expectations, Haylan actually enjoyed the festival.
It was still crowded and noisy, but thanks to being perched on Chahyun's shoulders, it wasn't stifling and it gave him a good view. The food stalls weren't bad compared to his memories, and…
"...!"
The sky, seen from above, was vast and dark, generously embracing the fireworks.
Bang! Red, yellow, and white fireworks painted colorful pictures on the empty canvas of the night sky.
His ears rang with every explosion. The air vibrated intensely. Even his usually faint heartbeat seemed to pound along with it.
If it weren't for the person who interrupted this moment, he would have probably continued gazing at the sky for much longer.
"It was a meaningful outing."
He was relieved that he wasn't the only one who felt that way. Upon returning home and seeing Chahyun sitting by the window, gazing outside, he felt a surge of warmth.
"It would have been nice if Lena had come with us too…"
Chahyun smiled faintly as he said that. Haylan asked, his face bewildered,
"You thought of me while you were out?"
From midnight until just before sunrise. The time he and Lena could meet was far too short.
But with those words, Haylan transcended time. Lena's trace was left in the hours that should have solely belonged to 'Haylan.' He had encroached upon Chahyun's daytime.
"...."
At that moment, Haylan saw a vision. Fireworks echoed in his ears, and his fingertips tingled. Boom! The largest firework yet exploded, shaped like a white snowflake.
The world turned white, centered around that bright light. And in that space, there were only the two of them, him and Chahyun.
And Haylan… just like Chahyun had done to him, impulsively lowered his head. The moment their lips touched, he snapped back to reality.
"Why did I do that?"
"...?"
He hadn't intended to do that. His body just instinctively moved towards Chahyun upon seeing him gazing at the sky.
Chahyun didn't answer, but Haylan soon found the answer.
[At the moment of being absorbed in love, one hears a loud trumpet sound in their ears. The world becomes silent, and only you and them remain. Your heart races, and your fingertips tingle.
And so on… A person in love can never mistake their feelings!]
A sentence from a book he had read countless times flashed through his mind.
'I see.'
I wanted a part of me, even just a little, to exist in your heart.
He had read it somewhere. Some love brings happiness, but at the same time, it's incredibly painful and exhausting.
'Where did I see those words?'
He had a dream last night. In the dream, Chahyun was hiding under the dusty stairs in the library. It's dirty there. He pulled him out from under there, and Chahyun pulled him into a hug. Chahyun kissed him all over his face. The places where his lips landed felt ticklish and warm. And at some point, his body had grown.
The ticklish sensation spread throughout his body. Wherever Chahyun's warmth touched, his skin felt hot, and his mouth went dry. Chahyun, hugging him, whispered in his ear,
'Haylan.'
The moment his name was called, the world turned upside down, as if he had been pushed off a cliff.
Gasp.
Air rushed into his lungs. Haylan woke up with a start and immediately realized something.
"...?"