"Is she dead?" A curious Chan nudged her with his foot.

Donghun scoffed at the younger male's foolish question, and he knelt down next to the lifeless body. His eyes roamed over her a few times, and he studied every detail.

"Well, it doesn't appear like she's breathing. Plus, if you look at her neck, there are two puncture marks there." Donghun turned her head to the side and presented the said wounds to his friends. "If this girl was bitten, she's now one of us, or her body couldn't handle the venom shooting through her veins and her organs exploded. Whatever one it is, the girl's deceased now, anyway." He nonchalantly shrugged and stood up.

Without another glance at the girl, he moved back to his earlier spot by Junhee's side.

"How did she even get here? Who was on night watch and didn't notice her get in?" Byeongkwan was the next to speak up, and he glowered at the prospect of someone neglecting their duties.

"It was me." Sehyoon raised his hands, guilt was written all over his face. "But I swear, I was doing my job!"

Byeongkwan sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose to get rid of the stress that was slowly building up.

"Yoon, if you were doing your job, how didn't you notice that someone had broken into our shelter? You know that we have to be extra vigilant. This girl could have been one of them, and you remember what transpired the last time they discovered us, right?" Byeongkwan lifted his fringe to reveal the faded scar that stood out on his pearly-white skin.

"I'm sorry," Sehyoon could only apologise for his mistake.

It had been his fault that Byeongkwan was injured. He had been on duty that night too. In a moment of distraction, one of the noble vampires had made it into the shelter and had sent one of their underlings to attack the group of lower-class vamps.

His best friend, Byeongkwan, had been the only one to be injured, and he would eternally blame himself for it. Sehyoon knew that Byeongkwan did too, even though he would never admit it.

"Stop reliving the past and move the girl elsewhere and give her one of the 'blood bags' for when she wakes up. Do it, now!" Junhee donned his leader facade and issued out clear instructions. "I'm going to rest, don't disturb me unless it's of vital importance."

Saying nothing else, Junhee exited the room.

"What's up with him?" Byeongkwan questioned and suddenly shot forward when a hand made contact with the back of his head.

"Don't worry about our leader, and concentrate on the tasks our leader has given you," Donghun chided him.

"Aren't you going to help?" whined Chan.

Donghun couldn't help but squeeze his cheeks. "I have something to take care of first. Be a good boy and help those two, all right?"

"Fine."

Chan puffed out his cheeks and took hold of the girl's arms, whilst Byeongkwan and Sehyoon grabbed her legs.

"Now let's see what's up with Jun."

☽

A lone figure that was bathed in shadows sat at an old, ornate desk and fiddled with a locket in their hands.

Donghun entered the room and strode over to his friend's side. "That was Nari, wasn't it?"

Junhee remained silent and hurled the locket onto the desk. It fell open to display a worn photograph.

It showed two people, one of them being Jun and one that bared a striking resemblance to the girl that had been laid out on their foyer floor. Their smiles lit up their faces as they posed for the camera, and they appeared to be an intimate couple.

"What was Nari doing here? Do they know? Who was dumb enough to bite her, when she's already one of us? In fact, isn't she one of the nobles?" Donghun fired off question after question, much to the annoyance of Junhee, whose anger was increasing by each passing moment.

"Shut up!" he boomed out, and he put all of his power behind his words, stunning Donghun for a moment.

He got to his feet and settled the locket back around his neck. He hunched his shoulders as he leaned over the desk. "No one can know that Nari is in this castle, understood?"

No response came from Donghun, who was finding it difficult to speak after his leader released his powers.

"Do you understand?!" Junhee faced the still-struggling male and swung his palm, releasing whatever was holding Donghun back. "Nari was never here, and we don't know her true identity. If they discover her, she'll be forced to go into an eternal sleep. Nari's existence must not be known outside of this castle."

"What about the others? What should we say to them?"

"We tell them nothing," Junhee replied. "This time, I will do everything to protect Nari. What happened in the past will never repeat itself."