Beast, Blue Blood - Chapter 64

Chapter 64

The fresh scent of grass wafted through the open window. Si-woo, stepping out of the room, put on the shoes that were on the steps. As he was about to leave, he almost bumped into a maid who worked at the house.

“Young master.”

She called out, looking worried.

“Are you going to see that young lady again?”

Si-woo smiled faintly.

“It’s a secret.”

When Si-woo opened his eyes, he saw the familiar ceiling of his room. He sighed and sat up. It felt like he had dreamed of the old days again, a feeling both nostalgic and painful that lingered.

Then, he heard a sound outside the room that caught his attention. It seemed Ha-yeon was already awake. Si-woo got out of bed and called for her as he left the room.

“Miss…”

As he lifted his head, he froze. In the morning sunlight streaming through the window, a woman in a black bikini was stretching, facing the window. The fine hairs on her slender arms glistened in the light.

The line of her arms traced down her bony spine, flowing to her round hips and long legs. Though she looked slightly thin, her body overall exuded a soft and lovely aura.

She looked beautiful, but Si-woo couldn’t help but stare, puzzled as to where she had come from. If she were an intruder, she wouldn’t be stretching in a bikini right there.

Sensing his presence, the woman turned around. Her light brown hair shimmered in the sunlight.

“Awake?”

It was Ha-yeon.

Si-woo felt like he’d been hit.

“Miss?”

He asked, astonished.

“What are you doing there?”

“I was stretching before swimming.”

She replied nonchalantly and then walked toward the veranda where the pool was. Watching her, Si-woo asked.

“Where did you get that swimsuit?”

Ha-yeon rarely left things at the house, and a bikini was not among the few items she had left.

“Of course, I always carry it with me.”

She said as she stepped out onto the veranda.

‘Why would you?’

Si-woo was bewildered.

Looking back at the veranda, he saw Ha-yeon diving into the pool. It felt like he was entranced by a tiger, but he couldn’t just stand there, so he decided to take a shower.

Standing under the shower, water began to pour down. He ran a hand over his face and looked at the powerful stream.

‘Come to think of it, she always loved swimming.’

He remembered how Ha-yeon had always loved swimming since she was little, diving into any body of water she could find. It must have been influenced by her mother, who was once a swimmer. And in Africa, where nature was abundant, swimming was not difficult.

On the other hand, Hisha didn’t like swimming much. He said, ‘The shock when you fall into the water is terrifying,’ as if he had experienced a fall from a great height.

‘Anyway, we’ve been apart long enough to forget those things.’

He suddenly thought about why Ha-yeon sometimes felt like a completely unfamiliar woman. Three years ago, when Ha-yeon came to Seoul, he wanted to be as close to her as they used to be and even planned for it. However, the young lady, now grown up, found adult interference annoying and eventually moved out to find her own space.

After finishing his shower, Si-woo was in the kitchen brewing coffee. Outside the window, Ha-yeon was still swimming. The pool wasn’t very large due to the limited space on the veranda, but she swam back and forth almost like a professional swimmer.

[Coffee extraction is complete.]

Announced the AI assistant and the freshly brewed coffee emitted a fragrant aroma.

Just then, Ha-yeon stopped at the end of the pool, pushing her hair back. The sunlight made her dark brown hair sparkle.

As Ha-yeon came out of the pool and entered, wrapped in a robe, Si-woo asked.

“Would you like an omelet?”

“Sure.”

Passing by, she grabbed Si-woo’s coffee and took a sip. Water droplets fell from the ends of her wet hair, sliding down the curves of her chest between the folds of her robe. To Si-woo, it felt like seeing the baby sun from Teletubbies grow into a woman.

“I’ll go wash up.”

She said, handing the coffee cup back to Si-woo before heading to her room. Si-woo glanced outside the veranda. The foggy, grand view of Seoul unfolded before him.

He put the cup down, tied up his hair, and opened the refrigerator.

While Si-woo was cooking, Ha-yeon finished getting ready and came out, placing her backpack under the island table and sitting on a stool.

“It’s nice that I can swim in the morning at your place.”

Si-woo turned and smiled faintly.

“Feel free to come anytime.” 

He then focused back on cooking.

Soon, Si-woo placed an artistic omelet on the table, one that could have been made by a five-star hotel chef. He took out some milk from the refrigerator. The milk carton was labeled with “Flos contained,” certified by the Food and Drug Administration.

Modern-day vampires, who had started to coexist with humans, no longer drank blood. Contrary to the misconception of bloodsucking, they consumed “Flos,” a non-blood substitute extracted from flowers, similar to how mosquitoes drink plant sap.

Flos liberated vampires from the image of bloodthirsty monsters and enabled the coexistence of humans and vampires. It was developed by the pharmaceutical company under the ISLE Group, operated by the Ivanov clan.

As Si-woo, the head of the group, poured the milk, he asked.

“Is school fun?”

“No.”

Ha-yeon replied without hesitation as she picked up her fork. Si-woo, removing his gaze from his milk glass, looked at Ha-yeon, who was eating the omelet as if nothing was amiss. He slid the milk glass over to her and asked.

“Is it not interesting?”

“Everything is the same. The boys are all in heat, and the girls are blinded by envy and jealousy.”

“Is someone bothering you?”

Si-woo asked, concerned. Ha-yeon looked up at him.

“Do I look like someone who gets bullied?”

Of course, no ordinary Luax could stand against her, let alone human kids. So, no one would dare to bully her, but Ha-yeon had always struggled to get along with other children. Human kids instinctively feared her, and Ha-yeon never had the will to resolve that situation.

However, Hisha had shown that it was possible to become friends despite instinctive aversion. Hisha got along with everyone to an excessive degree, earning him the nickname “Sheepdog.”

“If anyone bothers you, let me know.”

Ha-yeon raised an eyebrow at Si-woo’s words.

“Why? So you can teach them a lesson?”

“Messing with an Ivanov is a sure way to get screwed.”

Si-woo replied.

Ha-yeon snickered.

“So sly.”

Si-woo felt relieved, and happy with the improved atmosphere between them. After they finished eating, Si-woo brought a box containing blood collection tools. He turned his chair to face Ha-yeon and began preparing the equipment. Watching him skillfully get ready, Ha-yeon asked.

“Any progress with your research?”

They had been sending blood samples for research since they were young, but recently, the focus has been on developing the Luax virus using the blood of Ha-yeon and Hisha.

“No significant progress yet.”

Si-woo replied. Ha-yeon watched him place the blood collection tubes on the stand. A loose strand of his hair flowed over his shoulder.

“Isn’t your hair too long? Should I cut it for you?”

“You, Miss?”

Si-woo asked, surprised by her offer. Ha-yeon picked up the end of her own hair.

“I’m good at cutting hair. I cut my own.”

She seemed quite confident about it. Since Ha-yeon rarely talked about herself, this was a new side of her. However, Si-woo wondered why she would bother cutting her hair when money wasn’t an issue.

“Are you short on allowance?”

Ha-yeon immediately made a disgusted face.

“Why are you so capitalistic when you were born before the concept of capitalism even existed? Do you think I cut my hair because I lack money?”

Running a company for so long had indeed made him equate everything to money. Si-woo chuckled.

“Then, may I ask you to cut my hair sometime?”

He didn’t particularly need a haircut, but he liked that Ha-yeon wanted to do something for him, so he agreed.

Ha-yeon appraised him for a moment, then suddenly wrapped her finger around the hair tie holding his hair, and pulled it loose. She lightly ran her fingers through his hair and muttered.

“Well, long hair wouldn’t be unfamiliar to you, given that you were born in the Joseon Dynasty.”

“That’s true.”

“Did you ever wear a topknot or something like that?”

Ha-yeon asked. Her question was so cute that Si-woo couldn’t help but laugh.

“Well, I was from that era.”

But then, Ha-yeon suddenly brushed aside his hair as if losing interest. She seemed to have become bored.

“You’re such a fool.”

With that, she picked up her backpack from beside the table and stood up. Si-woo looked at himself in the cupboard door, trying to figure out what was so foolish about his expression. But his face seemed perfectly ordinary.

“I’m leaving.”

Ha-yeon said, and it seemed like something had upset her.

“I’ll see you out.”

Si-woo offered, but Ha-yeon looked at him as if he had just said the most idiotic thing ever.

“Just go to work.”

As she walked out the front door, she added.

“The name Selena really doesn’t suit you.”

The door closed behind him. It was strange to hear that, considering he had been using that name for centuries.

Si-woo was puzzled about why the mood had soured when it had seemed so good before. He had never been told he lacked perception, so he wasn’t sure where things had gone wrong.

He sighed slightly. With things like this, it seemed unlikely that he’d get close to Ha-yeon anytime soon.