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"Papa, no!"
The heavy front door opens with a loud bang as Dahyun's father rushes past the doorway with a shovel held with both hands. Tightly gripping the tool, his knuckles are bone-white, half from anger, half from fear.
Dahyun hurriedly followed after her papa.
Both father and daughter carefully stepped around the fresh deer carcass that was left in front of the doorway. Underneath their feet, despite how hard Dahyun and her mama had been scrubbing the wooden floor surface, an auburn stain stubbornly remained. A constant reminder of her.
Her. Sana.
The one who has been leaving dead animals at their doorstep.
The Kims do not come from a hunter's lineage and thus, are dependent on meticulously laid traps to catch any straying animals for their meat source. They do rear chickens in a coop, but a horribly unfortunate incident occurred right at the start of the winter season: foxes managed to get into the coop and left the family with nothing but mangled, half-eaten chicken carcasses.
Thick snowfall also hampered Dahyun's papa from leaving their home to set traps. Small animals like hares became scarce as they too sought shelter by hiding away from the cold. Meat sources drastically dwindled. Her family are scraping through their food reserves; not much of their planted vegetables were able to survive the cold. The possibility of starvation seemed imminent until they encountered their unwanted and unwelcome saviour.
***
But it was Dahyun who saved Sana first.
She had kept their first encounter a secret from her parents.
Would her parents have believed her if she told them how she met her and... did not end up dead? Of how she came across Sana when she was picking berries and wildflowers. Dahyun thought she stumbled upon a dying woman ("You always have a kind heart, even back when you’re a young girl," her mama told her before) and rushed forward to kneel next to the bloodied body on the forest ground, wanting to provide help.
When she carefully turned the body over (it was cold to touch), the first thing that caught her eye was a pair of fangs. Dahyun doesn’t consider herself a brave person and her papa always said to run first if she senses something is amiss. But right there and then, she was frozen.
She should have run. And judging from the bloodied gashes on the older woman's body, she was clearly too hurt to even move a finger, much less harm her (but one should never throw caution to the wind), so Dahyun would have made her escape quickly and unnoticed.
The thing is, she did notice a human's presence: Dahyun's.
A pained groan slipped past the woman's lips, seeking Dahyun's attention.
Seeking her help.
Dahyun had brought along a small knife to cut wildflowers. It's measly but it's all she had to protect herself if there's a need for it.
And indeed on that day, Dahyun's knife drew blood. Her own.
Dahyun told no soul about what happened that day. Because again, nobody would believe that such a creature would let her escape with her life intact.
The thing was, Dahyun did not escape. After wetting the woman's lips with a few drops of her blood, a hand raised up weakly to grip her wrist. Unfocused red eyes stared back at her.
In time, Dahyun would grow to recognise Sana's steely pair of red eyes from afar. Her parents find the redness abnormal and intimidating. While Dahyun can get lost staring into Sana's gaze, getting pulled in—
"St-stop."
Before Dahyun could react, the woman pushed her hand away. Dahyun stumbled back.
"Enough..."
The woman closed her eyes, slumping her head back onto the ground. Still incredibly weak but no longer at death's door.
Dahyun knew. This was her chance.
Scrambling back up to her feet, she picked up her knife and ran away as fast as she could. Not sparing a glance back.
Dahyun did not know what happened to that woman after that day. Until she sees her again at her doorstep along with a few dead foxes and hares. That was the first time Sana 'visited' the Kims.
The floor at their doorstep is stained from the blood of these dead animals left by Sana. For them. For their daughter. During her first visit, Sana gave her own name (that's how Dahyun learnt it) and left without a word.
Later on, Dahyun also learnt that Sana had already found out her name with her sharp hearing; when she overheard her mama calling her.
Her papa hated Sana. Her mama told her that Sana isn't acting out of gratitude nor generosity.
"Do you know what she wants from us? From you?!"
Dahyun knows.
"My blood."
But Dahyun doesn't believe Sana wishes to kill her by draining her dry. Nor does Sana wish to kill her parents. They are living in a cottage at the edge of the forest in the middle of winter. If Sana wished to harm, it would have been terribly easy and swift.
Unbeknownst to her papa and mama, Dahyun secretly finds the older woman to be oddly charming, showing up every now and then with fresh kill, supplying her family with valuable food resources amidst the bleakness of winter. If Sana was simply just another young man from the nearby town, she would clearly be deemed a resourceful provider and one could compare her actions to those of a courting ritual.
Though, courting danger is more like it.
***
Both Dahyun and her papa know the shovel is more theatrical than useful. They are a poor family; they do not own anything made of pure silver. Sana isn't afraid.
She never lingered long outside. Catching Dahyun's pleading eyes, she takes her leave.
Her papa and mama did not need to know Dahyun sneaks out of their house (on the rare nights when the snowing has stopped) to meet Sana under the moonlight in the nearby forest. Her papa and mama did not need to know how both Sana and she felt drawn to each other. Her papa and mama probably would not understand that she feels safe when she is with Sana.
Her papa and mama often mistake Sana's piercing eyes as sharp and heartless but when she looks at Dahyun, her sharpness loses its edge. Dahyun's favourite gaze is when Sana looks at her in a way that is akin to adoration. Nobody has ever looked at her like that... like she is something precious to be kept close.
Sana made her feel weird and experience weird things. The tingle in her belly. Her heart beating fast. The anticipation of seeing Sana every time. The pleasant camaraderie they both share when they are together. Conversation flows easily. Silence is comfortable and not awkward. Sana never demands anything from Dahyun. Though Sana also does not deny that her blood is the sweetest she has ever tasted, letting Dahyun steer the course of their relati—whatever they have right now.
And right now at this moment, Dahyun wants to lean her head against Sana's shoulder, looking at the flickering flames in front of her, sighing contentedly. Sana has build up a habit of making her a fire each time they meet in the forest.
"To keep you warm."
And so for the time being, her papa and mama do not know that their daughter is in love with a vampire.