The Mystery of Mr. Lee (True Beauty Vampire AU)

To Catch a Vampire

Lee Suho struggled with himself, keeping his distance as he watched Lim Jukyung from the window of her house. He stood on the gabled roof of her neighbor, perched like a crow as he watched Jukyung cramming for her upcoming exam in her bedroom.

He knew the college entrance exams were coming up and Jukyung was retaking it. She not only had to study for beauty school, but also the regular high school subjects to get good enough grades for the standardized exams that all students took.

Suho could have helped Jukyung out. All his life he had been praised for his intelligence, having an aptitude for mathematics, especially what was later referred to as calculus. And having lived through history gave him firsthand knowledge of all of the major events, especially the wars. He should have mentioned all this to Jukyung when she was still working for him. She might have asked him to tutor her instead of torturing herself over her books as she was right now.

Suho knew he had to stop this... whatever this was.

Most nights he did. He kept himself inside, telling himself he should not be seen by anyone.

But some nights, the heaviness in his chest weighed too much on him. Some nights, even his diary entries to Jin Yi weren't enough. And since Kang Sujin was still mad at him, he had nothing to hold him back but his own self-control.

And his self-control was always lacking.

It started with a simple need to walk around. First, he paced the halls of his house, visiting each room, wondering what it was he was looking for. He couldn't put a name to it, but he longed for something, like an ache that wouldn't subside.

Then, his house began to feel too small. The rooms weren't wide enough. The air wasn't fresh enough. He needed to be outdoors, feeling the wind in his hair, breathing in something other than his own stale scent.

Then, he found his feet leading him all the way across the town to here, in front of Lim Jukyung's house. And that was where the ache would finally subside.

Suho convinced himself this was nothing but concern for the welfare of an employee. He simply wanted to know if Lim Jukyung was doing well or not. If she managed to achieve her dream with the final payment he had made to her account.

Satisfied that she was doing well, Suho returned home. He spotted a corner of one of Kang Sujin's fur coats flapping away and around the corner when he went through his iron gate. He knew she would be lurking around his house, waiting for him to chase after her.

They would often fight like this. Sujin hated the restrictions he put on her—not the restrictions themselves, but the fact that he was telling her what to do. But then Suho would go out looking for her and she would return like nothing had ever happened. Sujin normally needed a week to calm down. Any attempts on Suho's part to reconcile would always prove vain.

Being as distracted as he was, Suho forgot how many days had passed since they had fought.

Three? Suho tried to recall. Or has it been four?

He shook his head, giving up. He would go and get her in five days. That should be enough.

But he forgot again the next night when he visited the café where Jukyung worked. He only passed by it, stopping only to see Jukyung smiling to a customer behind a counter. That appeared to be enough to assuage him till the next day, when he lathered himself in sunscreen and visited the playground where Jukyung was having lunch at a picnic table.

Their picnic table.

The table where he had treated her to dinner under the pretense of throwing out food.