I open my eyes and I greet darkness. My hands and legs are tied, while my mouth is gagged.
"Ouch!" I groan softly as I hit my head because of the pot holes on the street. I must be out of Seoul. I hope that the security officers saw from CCTV in the building that I was kidnapped.
As a hematoengineer, or I usually called myself as a blood engineer, I am a valuable company's asset. The search for me has definitely started.
The car stops, and trunk is opened. They pull me out and throw me to the ground. I feel the small rocks are hitting my arm and chest, making me scream in pain. My body is very easy to bruise. Tomorrow, there must be many bluish marks on my skin if I am still alive.
Someone grabbed my body and made me knees, I looks around, try to find a way out.
"Good evening Miss Sara Yong." A man with a fat body is standing in front of me.
I look up to him and I know that he is a human, but why a human is kidnapping me? We should be on the same side. However, in hard time like this, many human choose a dark path just to survive.
"Doctor! Doctor Sara Yong!" I look sternly at him, trying to hide my fear. "Let go of me, and maybe I'll help you in court. Right now, everyone must be busy looking for me."
"Too bad, Miss Doctor. But we have to kill you and burn your body to ensure that the vampires can't resurrect you from the dead."
My heart beats faster and my adrenaline flows through my body, especially when I start to feel the heat from behind my back, signifying the fire was ready.
The man then grabbed my arm and pulled me towards the huge bonfire, which is blindingly eye-catching. I squirm and yell loudly, try to fight them with all my power. But their strength are stronger than me and the heat of fire touches my skin.
I scream in agony when the fire start to burn me. I know that my time is coming.
When I believed that I finally will greet the death, suddenly my body is pulled away from the fire.
I cannot clearly see who my savior is, but before I faint. I can hear a voice from a man in an annoyed tone, "I told you to hop in to the black Rubicon on P3, you stubborn girl."
He lifts my body carefully to his car and drives away.
***
I open my eyes and look up at the plain white ceiling above her. Just a bad dream, I thought, but why the pain is real?
I sit on the bed and look around, I do not recognize this room. I touch my forehead and my arm, they are on bandaged. 'Not a dream', I whisper to myself.
I see a woman, maybe on her middle 40s, "Good morning Dr. Yong", she says. "Does your arm hurt? Your burn isn't too bad, only grade one, but if you want I can give you some morphine to take the pain away."
"Where am I?", I ask confusedly, "who are you?"
"Just call me Ji-eun, I'm a nurse here. You're safe in this resistance camp."
"I want to go home. I have to get back to my lab. There is an important meeting that will save the fate of humanity from the exploitation of the vampires." I stubbornly move my body off the bed, but my legs are as weak as jelly. Ji-eun, immediately helps me back onto the bed.
"Too bad," Ji-eun picks up a newspaper and shows the headline on the front page, "it seems you have to work somewhere else." I need a snippet of news about an explosion and a large fire in the building where my lab is located. "Connell! Your girl is awake." Ji-eun stares at the entrance.
A young man came in with a tray filled with a bowl of warm oat porridge and a glass of milk. I recognize him as the man who bumped into me in the lobby of my facility last night. "He's still confused, make sure she finishes his food," Ji-eun instructs Connell as she left the room.
Connell places the tray of food on my lap and I just stared at the food. My mind is still raging with all the results of my research that lost on fire.
Connell stares at me with a deadpan face, "we don't have much here. I know this food is very simple compared to what you usually eat in that vampire-infested city, but you have to finish it." Connell orders as he pulls up a chair so he could sit next to me. "My name is Connell Kim Tae-hyung, call me Tae."
I look at Connell and try to hold back my laugh. "Tae? But your name is Connell."
Connell rolls his eyes, "I prefer to be called by my Korean name."
I nod, I understand he must a very traditional man. It is now common for Koreans to have a western name as their first name, followed by a surname, and then a Korean name. For example, my full name is Seraphina Yong Ha-Rin, but because Seraphina is too long, I choose to be called Sara and often introduces myself as Sara Yong.
I watch Connell, his well-built body, broad shoulders, broad chest and perfectly sculpted handsome face made me stuns. "You saved me last night. Thank you"
He nods quietly. "They've been after you for a long time. They don't appear to be related at all to your vampire friends." Connell says sarcastically.
"I'm not friends with vampires!" My voice suddenly rose, "I am the same as you! I fight to liberate humanity from the colonization and exploitation of vampires. With my own way!" Suddenly anger filled my chest, "Did you and your people blew up my facility?"
Connell tilts his head and rolls his eyes, "I'm not stupid. I know how important your research is to the survival of mankind. I wouldn't destroy the slightest chance of liberating the humans, though, I have to admit I'm glad the 7 vampires died in that building because of the fire." Connell chuckled unconcernedly, "that's if you can call them dead, considering they don't have souls." Connell says coldly and sarcastically.
"I have to go back to Seoul," Sara glares at Connell, "I can sort this thing out."
Connell folds his arms across his chest and leans back lazily in his chair, "Finish your breakfast, you have something important to do."
"What?" I ask confusedly. I do not remember that I made any appointment with him.
"You," Connell looks at me seriously, "are going to marry me, tonight."
"What!" I almost yells in a surprise. I almost spills the tray in front of me. Fortunately Connell swiftly and deftly catch the tray without spilling the slightest.