Osiria Rose [✓] - MAJOR EDITING

8 - Wisteria

"You're not the angel of death and neither are you in my imagination, but they addressed you as royalty. What does that make you?" I ask.

We are sitting in an empty chamber that makes up to be a dining area. Several wooden benches and round tables are scattered around, yet there isn't a single person in sight. There are five big barrels containing freshly drained liquid, and human blood present in the room.

My stomach twists again and I close my eyes to regain my senses.

"I'm SeokJin, who else?" he retorts with a shrug.

Something lands gently on the surface and I open my eyes, not expecting to see a clear glass filled to the brim of thick human blood. The thick red liquid stirs in slow motion, tempting my desire to drink it in an instant.

I swiftly turn my head away, both nauseous and somehow attracted to the liquid. Both my human and inhuman sides are fighting for dominance.

He hasn't prepared me for this. Nothing has prepared me for this strange moment.

"You don't have to take this yet if you don't want to," he said.

I slowly look back and the glass of blood still sits in the middle of the table.

"Just imagine this as a thick red syrup. It's sweet and tasty if you don't think much about it," he adds on.

That just sounds worse. Even if I imagine the savoury liquid to be like my medicine, it's the way that it will leisurely ooze down my throat. The aftertaste will linger for a while and I'm afraid to gag it out.

I clench my fingers tight, my nails almost digging into my palms.

"MinYoung,"

I glance up at SeokJin, at this stranger that I've only met twice for a short period of time. It is weird. I don't know how I wound up here. I don't know how I came to this conclusion as a last resort. As much as I should be paranoid, I've never felt this relaxed before.

At one point, I needed help, a miracle if that was possible.

His facial expression is relaxed, his lips tugged up into a curved smile. His cheeks are so puffy that they resemble a chipmunk with a mouth full of acorns and nuts.

"As of right now, you're still in the process of changing. If you don't consume anything in the next few days, your body will disintegrate from the lack of nutrients it needs,"

The thought of slowly dying while I'm still alive is a recurring thought in the hospital. It is not a surprise anymore, no matter the encouragement that they give me.

"I know ... it's just that ..." I mumble.

His fingers reach out to poke my palms. I hadn't realized how much I was trembling from clenching my fists so tightly.

"To make it easy for you, take it in small sips. Get used to the texture and the taste. It'll be strong at first, like alcohol. It won't burn your tongue or throat, but it'll be a weird sensation as if you're drinking slime,"

"Yeah, no, your description isn't making this any easier," I said.

"You won't know until you try. Haven't your professors ever told you that?"

I ignore his remark and stare at the still-red liquid. It feels like I'm being mocked by the very thing in front of me for being a coward.

I reach out to the glass and wrap my fingers around the smooth cold surface.

"In this world, we operate a little differently than the humans. We have our own system of living and dealing with those around us. We exist with the same purpose that mankind has, but for a different reason," he said.