Chapter One _THE HUNT

The rain had turned the city into a blur of black streets and silver reflections by the time Kim Taeyung arrived at the abandoned church.

He stood beneath the broken stone archway, staring at the building in silence. The church had been abandoned for more than a decade, yet according to the report in his hand, someone had been living there recently. Seven people had been found dead within a few kilometers of the area over the past two weeks, their bodies drained of blood.

The Hunter Order had already decided who was responsible.

Jeon Jungkook.

Taeyung folded the report and slipped it into the inside pocket of his coat. He didn't need to read it again. He had spent years learning how vampires operated, and the information the Order had given him was enough to make one thing clear: Jungkook was dangerous.

But Taeyung wasn't afraid.

He had been trained since childhood for nights like this.

The Kim family had served the Order for generations. His father had taught him how to recognize vampire tracks before he was old enough to hold a proper weapon, and by eighteen, Taeyung had already participated in his first hunt.

He had learned one rule above everything else.

Never underestimate a vampire.

Taeyung pushed open the church doors.

The smell hit him first.

Rainwater. Dust.

And blood.

He stopped just inside the entrance.

His eyes adjusted to the darkness as lightning flashed through the broken windows. The old wooden benches were covered in dust, and pieces of shattered glass glittered across the floor. Somewhere deeper inside the church, water dripped steadily from the ceiling.

Taeyung reached beneath his coat and wrapped his fingers around the handle of his silver blade.

Then he noticed a faint trail on the floor.

Blood.

He followed it.

It disappeared near the back of the church, where a narrow staircase led to the upper floor.

Taeyung climbed slowly, listening carefully.

Nothing.

No footsteps.

No breathing.

That was the first thing that made him uneasy.

A vampire could hide many things, but silence like this was deliberate.

He reached the top of the stairs and stopped outside a half-open door.

“Jeon Jungkook.”

His voice carried through the room.

For several seconds, there was no response.

Then a quiet laugh came from the darkness.

“You took your time.”

Taeyung pushed the door open.

A man stood beside the broken window, looking out at the rain.

He turned slowly.

Taeyung had seen photographs of Jungkook in the Order's records, but none of them had prepared him for the real thing.

Jungkook looked completely relaxed.

There was no fear in his expression.

No panic.

Only a faint amusement that immediately irritated Taeyung.

“So you're the hunter,” Jungkook said.

Taeyung drew his silver blade.

“And you're the vampire.”

Jungkook glanced at the weapon.

“That's a very obvious observation.”

“I didn't come here to talk.”

“I know.”

Jungkook turned fully toward him.

For a moment, neither moved.

Taeyung studied him carefully. There was blood on Jungkook's sleeve, but there was no sign that he had been seriously injured.

“You're Jeon Jungkook,” Taeyung said. “Last surviving member of the Jeon bloodline.”

Jungkook's expression changed slightly.

“So you've done your research.”

“Enough.”

“Then you should know better than to come here alone.”

Taeyung raised the blade.

“I don't need anyone else.”

That finally made Jungkook smile.

“That's what all confident hunters say before they realize they're in trouble.”

Taeyung moved first.

The distance between them disappeared almost instantly.

Jungkook barely avoided the silver blade as it swept past his neck. He stepped backward, then twisted away from Taeyung's second strike.

Fast.

Too fast.

Taeyung adjusted immediately.

He attacked again.

This time Jungkook caught his wrist.

The strength behind the grip surprised Taeyung.

Jungkook's eyes darkened.

“You're better than the others.”

Taeyung pulled his arm free.

“And you're weaker than I expected.”

Jungkook laughed.

That was a mistake.

Taeyung attacked again.

The fight moved through the room, knocking over broken furniture and sending dust into the air. Taeyung was skilled, precise, and relentless. Every movement had been trained into him until it became instinct.

But Jungkook wasn't an ordinary vampire.

He was faster.

Stronger.

And he seemed to understand Taeyung's movements before they happened.

Eventually, Jungkook caught him off guard.

Taeyung hit the wall hard enough to knock the air from his lungs.

Before he could recover, Jungkook was standing in front of him.

One hand pressed against Taeyung's chest.

His other hand caught Taeyung's wrist and held it firmly against the wall.

Taeyung struggled.

Nothing.

The difference in strength was obvious now.

Jungkook leaned closer.

“You should have brought someone with you.”

Taeyung glared at him.

“Get away from me.”

“Why?”

“Because I'm going to kill you.”

Jungkook's lips curved into a slow smile.

“Even now?”

Taeyung tried to reach for the blade he'd dropped.

Jungkook noticed.

He kicked it across the floor.

The silver weapon slid beneath an old table.

Taeyung's expression hardened.

Jungkook looked at him for another moment before finally stepping back.

Taeyung immediately pushed himself away from the wall.

Jungkook could have killed him.

They both knew it.

Instead, the vampire simply walked toward the broken window.

Taeyung retrieved his weapon.

“Why are you running?”

Jungkook looked over his shoulder.

“I'm not.”

He stepped onto the windowsill.

Taeyung raised his blade.

“Stop.”

Jungkook smiled.

“You're still giving me orders?”

“Next time, I won't let you escape.”

Jungkook looked at him for a long moment.

Then he said quietly, “Next time, hunter, don't come alone.”

Before Taeyung could move, Jungkook disappeared into the darkness outside.

Taeyung rushed toward the window, but there was nothing there except the rain.

He stood still, breathing heavily, his hand tightening around the silver blade.

He had failed.

Worse, the vampire had spared him.

Taeyung hated that more than losing the fight.

He looked down at the city below.

“Jeon Jungkook…”

There was no answer.

Only the rain.

Somewhere in the darkness, Jungkook watched from a rooftop several buildings away.

He looked down at the blood on his hand—the blood he'd taken from Taeyung during the fight.

A small smile appeared on his face.

The hunter was dangerous.

Interesting.

But next time, Jungkook wouldn't be so generous.

...And neither of them knew that their first encounter had already changed the course of the lives they thought they understood....

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