Why hello there. 😃
It's been a while.
I apologize. I've had the nastiest case of writer's block.
Anyway here's the chapter y'all were waiting for!🤗
I'll try my best to be more regular in updating for you guys.
Enjoy!
Stream BUTTER 🧈
Now onto our usual broadcast-

            ========================
Eunhee's POV

"What- what do you mean by that?" I asked.
Gwi smiled, tilting his head.

"Lovely girl...", he drawled, raising a hand to my face. He liked to do that a lot.

"Don't worry your pretty little head about that, alright? Besides-", his gaze followed the finger he trailed down my cheek, before he cupped my chin and met my eyes again, "-you'll find out soon enough."

He let go of me and began to walk off towards the pool. "We have plenty of time after all, don't we?"

My gaze followed his tall figure as he strolled to the place where he had first fed from me. It felt so long ago...

I was so distracted by my own thoughts that I didn't notice him taking off his robe. Inhaling sharply, I turned away. The sound of rippling water soon reached my ears and I averted my eyes until he spoke again.

"You can look at me you know?", he chuckled, "I'm not naked."

I hesitantly turned back to him. He had his cheek propped up with his hand, his elbow resting on the edge of the pool.

"You've seen me half-dressed before...why are you flustered now?"

"I'm sorry."

He chuckled, then lay back and closed his eyes. I'd seen him do this before. Over the months I'd been with Gwi I'd been learning more about him. One thing was this.

This was the third time I'd seen him do this. The first time was quite a number of weeks ago

~flashback ~

I came into the cave, closing the door behind me. I stood still for a while, waiting for the familiar voice calling my name. Nothing.

I frowned. I didn't find him in the throne room or the library... so I went to the bedroom. I stood in the doorway staring in confusion. He told me he didn't need sleep... right?

I suddenly began to panic. Squatting at the side of the bed I put my seuggae chima aside and shakily placed my hand on the bed right beside his face.

"My lord...?" I whispered. He didn't stir. I stretched out a trembling hand to brush a stray hair from his forehead, "My lord... please say something..."

I had never seen him so devoid of life, ironic considering that his heart never beats. The tips of my fingers lightly brushed his smooth pale cheek, grazing his jaw... then all of a sudden his eyes shot open.

I drew in a sharp breath at the sight, pulling my hand away. His eyes gleamed a vivid crimson before dimming to his usual dark -almost black- brown. I scrambled to my feet as he sat up and watched me.

"What are you doing?"

"I apologize my lord. I just- you were so still... and I had no way of telling whether you were alright or not so I- I got..." my rambling trailed off as I realized what I was saying. Gwi cocked a sharp brow.

"You got what?"

"I..." I licked my lips, "...worried. I got worried... my lord", I said, bowing my head.

"Hmm. Worried."

He tested the word out, like it was unfamiliar on his tongue. I had a feeling it was.

"At least I know your devotion to me goes that far then"

~flashback end~

"Your father isn't here?"

I jolted, blinking. "He- I came without him. He was running a bit late so I decided to take the lead..."

I did not want to leave you alone.

I pursed my lips, "I do not know where he is, my lord. I am sorry."

Gwi hummed. "So you came by yourself?"

"...Yes."

"Mm. I'll allow it because it is still daytime, but do not attempt such a thing during the night. It is dangerous out there", He met my eyes with his piercing ones, "Do you understand, Eunhee?"

"Yes my lord. I understand."

"Ah-", He suddenly sat up, "Let me give you another chore."

"Yes, My lord?"

"You saw where I stored the blade, didn't you?" I answered in the affirmative.

"Good. Reach to the back of the cabinet and pull out another sword. They're in awful need of a cleaning so find a cloth for that on your way back here."

"Yes, my lord", I complied, walking back to the inner chamber. The sword I ended up with was as beautiful as the first, but differently. It was, to put it lightly, simple.

A smooth black scabbard with simple silver details at the tip and hilt of the sword, brown cords adorning each piece. It was unfortunately quite dusty. It must have been there for a while. I found a clean cloth conveniently left in the cabinent and grabbed it before leaving the chamber.

"My lord", I said as I returned, showing it to him. His gaze lingered on it when he saw it, then he looked back at me with a faint chuckle.

"Ironic." I blinked, confused. He shook his head and waved his hand to the wider edge of the pool, "Sit. Let me teach you how to clean a blade."

           ---------------------------------------------

I stared at the smooth sharp tip of the blade I had cleaned. It wasn't as dirty as I initially thought, the scabbard keeping it free from most of the dust. The hilt was a different story, but it cleaning it was easier when Gwi had helped me.

I turned to the vampire next to me. His eyes were shut and he looked to be asleep. He had explained this to me as he guided my hand to clean the sword in my hands.

"Vampires don't need sleep. That much is true. However, we do rest sometimes. But its not the same as sleep. It's more of a detachment. We are aware of our surroundings, but choose not to react to them.
We do hear and feel everything, but it's a bit muffled. Not as vivid as it would be if we were 'awake'", he explained. His long slender fingers held mine gently, helping to keep the sword in place.

"So there is no such thing as a sleeping vampire. We are either ignoring you... or dead. For good", he finished, meeting my gaze. My breath hitched and I swallowed. He tilted his head, amusement dancing in his eyes.

"Worried? You shouldn't be, darling. No matter how hard they try, I can never stay truly dead", he said with a faint smile. He leaned back into the pool where he promptly closed his eyes and began to rest.

  I turned back to the sword in my hands. It was pretty clean, so I took my time to admire it. As my eyes skimmed over the blade to the hilt, I caught a glimpse of something.  It looked like small lines of engraved characters, right at the base of the blade. I held onto the handle properly to get a firmer grip on it before holding it up and trying to read the words.

"To slay... the damned... and quen-"

"Han Eunhee!"

Startled, I jerked, losing my grip on the weapon briefly. I managed to grab it and place it on my lap, but the damage had already been done. I winced at the beads of blood already forming on the side of my palm.

"What do you think you're doing?!", my father yelled at me.

"What? I-"

"Have you gone mad-". The sound of splashing water cut him off, making the both of us turn to the man in the pool. Gwi blinked a couple of times before turning to me. He reached for my bleeding hand immediately and took the wounded area into his mouth, making me shudder when I felt his lips touch my skin.

He fed until the bleeding stopped, then placed my hand back to its former place in my lap. Finished, he turned to my father.

"What is wrong with you? Why are you making so much noise when you've barely just entered this place?"

Father's face turned pale and his eyes darted to the sword in my lap then to meet my eyes. That was when I realized why he had panicked.

"Please forgive me my lord. I misunderstood."  Gwi frowned at him.

"Foolish", he muttered under his breath as he got out of the pool, only loud enough for me to hear. His body was soaked, his pants clinging to his body, so I looked down to my lap to avoid staring. Shortly after, a hand appeared in my vision. I looked up to meet his gaze.

"Oh-" I reached for the scabbard of the blade and sheathed it before handing it over. He took it gingerly, his fingers wrapping around the polished wood. He turned back to glare at father before heading to the inner chamber. When he was out of sight, my father rushed to me.

"What was that?!" He whisper-yelled.

"It wasn't what it looked like I swear! I was cleaning it but saw some writing on it so I was trying to read it, that's all!"

I realized that the angle I held the sword looked like I was about to drive it into Gwi's bare chest. It wouldn't hurt him though? Regardless, I would never do that. I didn't fear Gwi as much as my father did, but it didn't mean I would want him dead.

Father held my gaze for a while before looking away and straightening up. He cleared his throat.

"Minister Han", we heard Gwi's voice call out. He was walking towards us, fully dressed. His eyes still held their fierceness as he focused on my father.

Reaching us, he stopped in front of him stared at him before turning to me. His gaze seemed... softer?

"Go inside. Do whatever you want until I send for you. I'll be in the library until then", he told me, his voice low and gentle. I stood up then, bowing.

"Yes, my lord." He then turned away and went straight to the library, not even glancing at Father who trailed after him.

I bit my lip and walked to the inner chamber. Halfway there, I stopped. I looked at the cloth I used to clean the sword and after a while, I made a decision.

Grabbing it, I rushed into the chamber. I stopped in front of the sword cabinet and opened it.

"Gwi would like me to do this", I told myself, ignoring the rush of excitement I got when I held another sword in my hands.

I bit my lip to hold in my smile and sat on the ground, in front of the bed. I unsheathed the sword and after a moment of staring at it, I shook my head, folded up my sleeves and got to work.