Dead eyes met a broken mirror.
Levi's hands gripped both sides of the sink, his chest heaving. The first thing he did that morning was empty his stomach, his insides burning and twisting as if ready to burst.
Fuck that scammer.
He realized that the strange concoction he'd bought from the black market, the one that promised to turn a man into a vampire, was nothing but a scam. He'd followed every instruction, yet his money, effort, and hope had gone to waste.
He splashed water on his face and stared at his reflection. Damp strands of black hair clung to his forehead, framing the faint scowl pulling at his brows.
His eyes narrowed. Or maybe it works for others... just not for me.
He sighed. It wasn't the first time an experiment didn't meet his expectations. He'd spent years chasing his obsession with becoming a vampire, letting two of them bite him, injecting himself with strange blood-based drugs sold in the underground markets, all of which claimed to have the power to turn a human into a vampire.
Even knowing that only four out of ten humans could be successfully turned, Levi never cared about the odds. He would have taken the risk again and again. Yet all his efforts led to nothing.
He didn't want to stay as a weak, fragile mortal in a world ruled by vampires.
He wanted what they had: beauty, strength, eternity. Anything but this hollow, ordinary life.
"Mr. Sartori."
A heavy hand slammed against his desk barely ten minutes after he sat in his cubicle.
Levi looked up with his usual empty stare. Mr. Keg towered over him, nostrils flaring, his face flushed an angry red.
The face of an angry man. Levi had seen it countless times. He didn't feel anger himself, not really, but he recognized it well. It was the one emotion his superior's face seemed permanently carved with.
"What is this proposal supposed to be, huh? Are you kidding me? This is child's work!" Mr. Keg shouted, slamming a folder onto Levi's desk hard enough to make his pens jump.
"Can you point out what exactly you dislike about it, Mr. Keg?"
That calmness in Levi's voice only stoked his superior's fury further. Mr. Keg's jaw twitched, his lips curling in contempt.
"If you tell me what part doesn't please you, I can revise it," Levi added.
Mr. Keg opened his mouth, glanced at the papers, then clenched his teeth and roared, "I dislike everything, you fool! Everything! Did you hear that?"
Levi nodded, his gaze dropping to the proposal he'd spent the entire night preparing. He knew it wasn't trash but Mr. Keg was the kind of man who thrived on laziness. Levi doubted the old fool even bothered to read two full pages of it.
Mr. Keg was the manager, and there had been one occasion when he had been scolded by the supervisor because of Levi. Ever since then, the man had made it his mission to bully him every chance he got.
"Why are you silent? What will you do? Tell me!"
Levi looked up at him, calm and expressionless. "I will do as you wish, Mr. Keg."
When the manager finally stormed off, Levi returned to his seat.
Almost immediately, the whispering began.
"Look at him. He doesn't even look embarrassed after that humiliation."
"He just nods like some idiot. How funny."
"Shut up. Haven't you heard that people like him tend to be violent deep down? What if he's… a psychopath or something?"
Levi heard them. He just didn't care. To him, these people were the real fools.
Pathetic humans wasting their short lives on gossip and meaningless chatter. Always busy doing things that led nowhere. Always pretending their existence mattered much.
But the truth was, humans existed for one reason only—to feed vampires.
***
It was nearly midnight when Mr. Keg stumbled back to his apartment. After work, he'd gone drinking with a female coworker before driving home, half drunk and humming tunelessly.
When he entered the dimly lit unit in his rundown subdivision, he paused. A strange scent lingered in the air. The lights were off, yet a soft, flickering glow came from the living room.
Frowning, he stepped closer… and froze.
Someone was sitting on his couch!
Levi's black eyes gleamed with a faint red reflection from the scented candle burning beside him.
"Why the hell are you here?!" Mr. Keg barked, his voice cracking slightly. A chill crawled up his spine beneath Levi's unblinking stare. He had always felt something off about the young man, something that made his skin crawl. "How did you even get in? This is trespassing!"
Levi tilted his head slightly. "I'm not good at climbing, so I came through the door. Your passcode was easy to guess."
Mr. Keg's face twisted with fury. He hurled his bag to the floor, the sound echoing through the room.
"I never asked you to come here, you freak! What the hell is wrong with you?! Are you insane?!"
Levi's lips curled upward, imitating the smiles he'd seen countless times from others. But on him, it looked wrong.
"I came here to submit the revised proposal, Mr. Keg," he said softly, his voice low and cold as the breeze drifting through the half-open window. "I worked very hard on it. I hope this time… you'll like it."
Mr. Keg groaned, pressing his fingers to his temples.
"We're not in the goddamn office! You should have sent it earlier! Why the hell are you bothering me here? Get out before I lose my patience!"
Levi didn't move.
"Talking about patience, I waited patiently for you here. Why can't you extend the same courtesy?" Levi's voice was calm, almost polite, but there was an undertone that made the air feel colder. "You lack proper manners, it seems, Mr. Keg."
He rose from the couch, papers clutched loosely in one hand.
Mr. Keg instinctively stepped back as Levi began to approach with lazy strides. The young man was in his twenties, tall, about 186 cm, with a lean, athletic frame. Mr. Keg, by contrast, was pushing fifty, short and soft around the middle, his confidence thinning with every step Levi took.
"Isn't that the face of someone afraid?" Levi mused, tilting his head. "What are you scared of, Mr. Keg?"
He stopped directly in front of the man. Though taller by a head, Levi didn't bother to stoop down. He simply stood there, straight and still, eyes narrowed and fixed downward with quiet dominance.
"Get out, Levi!" Mr. Keg barked, trying to sound firm.
Mr. Keg wanted to punch Levi, but he hesitated, afraid the man might retaliate. Levi had always seemed meek and compliant in the office, yet Mr. Keg had always suspected there was something off about him. What were the odds he'd end up being the one beaten instead?
"Should I teach you how to read?" Levi asked.
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"You never read my proposals," Levi replied, his tone turning sharper, colder. "Yet you keep demanding I submit them anyway. Is it because you can't read well? Don't be embarrassed, Mr. Keg. Everyone has their shortcomings." He smiled faintly. "I won't judge you for it."
Color rose violently to Mr. Keg's face.
"Did you enjoy yourself tonight? When you groped Ms. Jensen during your drinking session? I bet she was disgusted."
"You piece of—AMMPH!"
Mr. Keg's insult died in his throat as Levi shoved the crumpled papers into his mouth, forcing his head back with one hand. A sharp kick to the knees sent the older man collapsing onto the floor with a dull thud. His muffled cries filled the room.
Levi held his face steady, staring down.
"With how corrupted you are," he murmured, "your blood must taste divine to a vampire."
He could imagine it. The taste of sin in the man's blood.
He couldn't wait to become a vampire.
He would feed on the most corrupted humans to grow powerful, and corrupt other humans so they would serve their purpose.