Jimin was a hunter. Always had been, always would be. He killed his first vampire at 8, burned ghosts, and exorcised demons for even longer. Jimin liked it, found joy in saving people and killing monsters. Like most hunters, Jimin's family had lost someone when they got into hunting. His brother was killed by a vampire while camping before he was even born. Monsters killed without reason, so his parents swore to fight without rest until they disappeared from the face of earth.
At 18, he separated from his parents to continue hunting by himself. He preferred being by himself. Liked the solitude and freedom that came with it. The constant presence of his parents had been suffocating at times, constantly criticizing his hunting style. They also disapproved of his way of living and thought he was drinking too much alcohol and sleeping around. Living by himself helped, and even if his parents wouldn't ever admit it, he was one of the best hunters out there.
Seven years later, that hadn't changed.
Like most hunters, he lacked friends or a partner, which never bothered him. He talked to his parents every few months, which was more than enough for him. He only ever spent time with people when they were fucking. The hookups were quick and dirty in sketchy motels or in his car. Jimin liked it that way. After all, it was what he knew. Growing up as a hunter meant always being on the move. There had never been time for Jimin to form connections with kids his age.
"You're still with me, boy?" The rough voice of his latest hookup asked from behind him as he slowly pulled out of Jimin. "'Course," he grunted back. They were both panting, but as soon as the significantly older male had pulled his now flaccid cock out of him, Jimin was out of bed and getting dressed again. The sex had been okay, his partner attractive enough to let loose for a few moments.
His clothes were scattered around the room, but he quickly got into them, ignoring the burning gaze of the man whose name he had forgotten already. Jimin knew he was pretty, used it to his advantage on various occasions, but right now, it bothered him. He didn't enjoy the lust still radiating from the other male.
"Anyone ever told you what a great ass you have?" The man asked while lighting himself a cigarette. He was still laying in bed, not a tad bit uncomfortable, his body practically boneless from the post-orgasmic bliss. Jimin could only roll his eyes at the question. If he'd got a dollar for every time, someone asked him that he'd be a rich man by now.
With a sigh, he answered, "I think you know the answer to that," still focused on getting dressed as quickly as possible.
While Jimin enjoyed sex, he certainly didn't appreciate what followed. His hookups always seemed to expect something from him after they were done. Would ask for his number, a second round, or for him to stay the night. Jimin never said yes, never would say yes because spending more than a few hours with others made his lungs feel like restricting his heart beating fast in panic.
As soon as both his pants and shoes were on, Jimin walked over to the door. "I'll get going then, bye," he said while pulling on his shirt. Without another glance, he fled to his car, and a few minutes later, he was on the road again. Driving brought him comfort, left room for his thoughts as cities passed in a blurry mess. While he regretted not taking a shower before driving off, he still enjoyed being back where he belonged.
After driving through the night for about an hour, his phone rang. It was his mother, as the caller ID notified him. He wasn't really in the mood to talk to her now. He was tired and still feeling a little raw emotionally, he even considered ignoring her, acting as if he was asleep, but he heavily doubted that she would believe him.
"Hey Mom, any reason you called?"
"Took you long enough, son. I've got a case for you near Gyeongju. Six bodies were found, all without a single drop of blood left in them. I want you to check it out. Something seems wrong."
"What do you mean weird? Sounds like a typical bloodsucking asshole." While it wasn't weird for his mother to call him about cases, it definitely wasn't usual. Jimin liked to find his own cases, and his parents did the same. He figures that they are maybe getting old.
The other end of the line was silent for a few moments, and Jimin wasn't sure his mother would answer him at all. "It's complicated, Jimin-ah." She says, at last, as Jimin listened closely, his mother sounded exhausted, nothing like the strict woman he knew. "I sent a hunter there a few weeks ago when your father and I were hunting a poltergeist in Chuncheon, but I haven't heard back from him for the past two weeks. He's one of the best, and it's not like him to not update regularly."
Jimin stiffens in his seat, holding the steering wheel hard enough for his knuckles to pop out harshly. There were only a handful of hunters in Korea, and even fewer were any good. To narrow it down even further, there was only one person his parents could be worried about enough to call Jimin. The sinking realization made breathing harder by the second, and he knew that stopping at the side of the road would be safer, considering his current condition.
"It's Jeongguk, right?" it was more of a statement than a question, and the lack of an answer confirmed it for him. He turned his car quickly, driving off in the opposite direction, back south towards Gyeongju. "Send me everything you have about this case. I should arrive there in about 4 hours." He hung up everything said that needed to be said.
Jimin's heart was pounding against his ribs, adrenaline rushing through his body, making him feel lightheaded. Jimin never had a friend, but Jeongguk had been once closest to what could have become a friend.
They met for the first time when Jimin was 14, hunting with his parents in Busan. A demon had killed a couple while their son had survived. The boy, who was 12 then, didn't have any other relatives, so Jimin's parents decided to take him in. After the demon was dead, Jeongguk begged Jimin's parents to train him, too, to which his parents agreed. From then on, the two grew up together, training together and spending every minute of the day with each other. Back then, they had promised each other to stay together, hunting monsters as a team as soon as they were old enough.
Now Jimin rarely thinks about Jeongguk anymore, only a fleeting memory of his childhood. His mother and father also tried to avoid the topic of Jeongguk whenever they talked to their son. The fact that his mother called him specifically because of Jeongguk and even wanted him to look for the younger could only mean one thing. The chance of finding Jeongguk alive was slim.
After a little more than three and a half hours of nonstop driving, Jimin finally arrived at the motel Jeongguk had supposedly stayed at for the past weeks. It looked like the typical motel a hunter would choose. Sparsely visited and right on the outskirts of the city.
After securing his gun under his jacket, Jimin stepped out of his car walking to the reception, where a young girl was lazily scrolling through her phone, radio music playing from somewhere in the room. Only after Jimin walked right up to her did she glance at him. "Hey, could you give me some information about one of your guests? His name is Kim Himchan. He must've checked in about four weeks ago." In moments like these, Jimin was thankful for his looks, which seemed to attract women and men alike. While the girl was hesitating for a second, one look at Jimin's most charming smile, and she nodded with red cheeks.
"I'm really not supposed to do this, but maybe I can give you a little information about him. After all, you must know him, so it should be alright."
"Thank you so much. I owe you." He flirted, building eye contact with her, only for her to turn an even brighter color of red.
Ten minutes later, he had all the information he needed. Jeongguk did check in four weeks ago, paying for ten days in advance. After ten days, he returned to pay for another 21 days. That day was also the last day anyone had seen him or his car anywhere near the motel. Nothing seemed to make sense anymore. Why would Jeongguk extend his stay for that long? Ten days were usually more than enough to find and kill a vampire, especially for an experienced hunter like Jeongguk.
The girl at the counter had also told him which room was Jeongguk's, so Jimin decided to check there next. Room 112 was at the far end of the corridor, right by the emergency exit. While Jimin didn't expect an answer, he still knocked on the door first. "Jeongguk, it's me. Open the door." Expectedly no one answered, so Jimin went on with plan b. One glance left, and right confirmed that no one was in sight and that no camera was pointed towards the door, so Jimin quickly got to work. Two minutes later, Jimin opened the door, and the hunter was able to enter the room.
The scent of mold hung heavily inside the room, the lack of fresh air almost choking Jimin as he quickly opened the window. Apart from the stench, the room seemed neat, the bed made and Jeongguk's clothes folded inside his bag. Jeongguk had always been a neat freak, and Jimin had often teased him about that in the past. However, now he was thankful for it. It made it easier for him to look through all of Jeongguk's stuff.
Underneath the clothes, Jeongguk hid two guns and a bottle of what Jimin suspected was holy water. Nothing unusual for a hunter to carry around.
On the small dining table, Jimin found the younger's laptop, but nothing happened as he tried to turn the old thing on. "The battery must be dead...." Jimin mumbled to himself, looking around the room to find its charger. Thankfully he got lucky by the nightstand. He quickly plugged the laptop in, continuing to look around the room for any hints. Next was the closet empty apart from the usual safe one could find in any motel or hotel. While Jeongguk certainly didn't have any objects of material worth, he owned a notebook he wrote in religiously. When he wasn't writing in it, he usually hid it somewhere no one could access it.
"Alright then. Let's open this thing."
Easier said than done, Jeongguk had seemed to learn from his past mistakes. Back when they were kids, Jeongguk had sometimes tried to hide his stuff from Jimin inside safes, but the older had managed to guess the four-digit code every single time. He had often used combinations like his own birthday or the birthdays of those around him. Those were Jimin's first guesses now too. 0901, nothing happened. The number combinations of his parents' and Jeongguk's parents' birthdays were also wrong, and Jimin was left clueless.
After guessing for what felt like an eternity, Jimin accepted defeat. That stupid thing didn't even think of opening up.
By now, the laptop had charged enough to be turned on again. At least Jeongguk hadn't changed his password after all those years. Jeonggukthegr8!! A great relief to Jimin, who had only been a few seconds away from smashing the safe against the nearest wall.
Three tabs were open. The first one was an article about the six murders describing where the bodies were found and possible connections between them, the second tab was the website of the local hospital. The site specifically introduced their newest addition to the team Dr. Byun Youngsook. According to the site, she had only started working in Gyeongju eight weeks ago, which was the time the murders began.
" She must be the vampire then." Jimin figured.
The third and last tab was the address of some blood donation center on the other side of town. The last tab seemed weird to Jimin. Why would Jeongguk look for that when he had already found the vampire? Like most vampires, she didn't seem interested in switching from fresh human to donated blood, as the found bodies proved.
Lastly, he opened Jeongguk's email. Two new messages since two weeks ago. Kim Taehyung, a hunter friend of Jeongguk's, had sent him an email 12 days ago asking about his experience with Changelings. Jimin answered him quickly without telling him about Jeongguk's disappearance, at least for now. The second email was sent by Kim Namjoon, who was the closest thing to a leader the hunter community in Korea had.
Hey Jeongguk,
everything seems usual. The last time someone saw him was about ten days ago at some bar.
Let's talk soon!
The mail was only three days old, but the content confused him. Who was Namjoon talking about? Maybe another vampire, or maybe Jeongguk was hunting some demon. The possibilities were endless, but he figured that he should first focus on finding that vampire Jeongguk had been hunting.
After a quick shower and changing into his suit Jimin was back in the car driving to the hospital where the vampire doctor was supposed to be working.
"Hello, Hwang Jihun, NIS (National Intelligence Service)." Jimin greeted the nurse by the front desk. She seemed to be in her mid-50s, clearly unimpressed by his appearance.
"Not one of you agents again, your colleague was here just two weeks ago, and now our doctor is missing. I don't trust you guys. Who knows what you are doing behind our backs." The nurse had one accusing finger pointed toward him. It was new information to him that the doctor was missing, but that could only mean either of two things. She could be dead, killed by Jeongguk after he found her, or she fled after killing Jeongguk, afraid that other hunters would come to avenge him.
Jimin decided to play it cool for now. Gathering as much information on the vampire as possible seemed to be the right choice for now. "That's exactly why I'm here. I'm investigating the disappearance of Dr. Byun and would request your cooperation."
Soon enough, Jimin was shown the camera data of Jeongguk's and Dr. Vampire's last day before they both disappeared. Jeongguk had supposedly wanted to talk to Dr. Byun about possible methods to extract large amounts of blood from a body, which the nurse told Jimin before returning to her desk. Unfortunately, the cameras couldn't pick up any sound leaving him with a silent video of Jeongguk talking to the vampire. They were sitting across from each other, talking calmly while Jeongguk showed her pictures of the victims.
It was weird to see the younger again after so many years. He had grown not only in height but also in muscle mass. Jeongguk was so bulked up that it made Jimin even more self-conscious about his inability to get broader. However, thinking about useless things like this wouldn't help either of them, so Jimin focused on the more pressing matters.
They talked for 15 minutes at most, and then Jeongguk parted ways, not seeming necessarily worried. The vampire didn't seem worried after the talk either and behaved like a normal human being would working at a hospital. Just before leaving her office at 6 pm, she picked up her phone to call someone exiting her office as if she were in a rush.
The hospital couldn't offer him any more clues after searching Dr. Byun's office led to nothing. Jimin's next stop was her apartment in a massive complex near the city center. The apartment on the sixth floor was empty, and a neighbor told him that no one had lived there in months which meant that the vampire lady had given the hospital the wrong address.
Worry was clouding his senses, and he wasn't sure what to do anymore. Something must have gone incredibly wrong after Jeongguk had met the vampire. The sheer possibility of Jeongguk not having survived the confrontation makes him shudder. He didn't like Jeongguk, but that didn't mean he ever wanted him to die.
He was back in his car when his phone notified him of a sudden message.
Unknown
Jimin, if this message ever reaches you, it means something must've happened to me. This message was sent automatically after not turning on my phone for 14 days. I know we haven't exactly been close over the past few days, but I'm figuring Mom and Dad must've sent you to look for me. You can find more information where I usually keep it. Until then, I'll keep thinking about the day I was the happiest.
While the message scared Jimin shitless, he was relieved to finally have a hint and some information about what he needed to do next. He finally knew the code for that stupid safe back at Jeongguk's motel room.