Chapter 35: This Wasn't What I Was Expecting.
"I knew you were awake... Just didn't think it'd take you this long before coming to find me."
"Take me this long?" I muttered in disbelief.
'You're the one who barged in, besides, what are you even talking about?'
For a moment then, I thought I might've drunk a bit more than I intended. Ophelia gave me a sarcastic apologetic look that made my eyelids twitch.
"But from the looks of it, you've still got a lot more to spare."
"Ophelia, I really don't understand you. What on earth are you talking about?"
"Feigning ignorance? Really? That's the best idea you could come up with?" she retorted in a contemptuous manner.
"Idea? Drinking blood? I don't even know what sort of nonsense you're talking about. If this is your plan to mess with me, it's not working," I replied with furrowed brows; she really was confusing me more and more as she spoke.
Ophelia finally paused and gave me a silent stare before her expression faltered.
"You really had no idea?" she muttered, this time sounding skeptical.
"Again... whatever shit you're trying to pull, I have no intention of playing along... All I want to know is why you knocked me out back then. I understand that I snuck into your room without permission, but is that really a good enough reason to inject someone and knock them out cold–" I retorted, but my words turned into a gasp when she walked up to me and placed her ear on my chest.
"What on earth are you doing?" This time it was my turn to look at her as if she was the weird one.
"Your heartbeat didn't change... You really aren't lying... Oh no... so that means you actually had no idea." For the first time, Ophelia's expression began looking worried.
"Mom's going to kill me..."
"Ophelia... what are you insinuating?" I probed; her worried look had me feeling worried as well.
"It's nothing, and for your sake, you better forget everything that happened..." she muttered in a frustrated tone while giving me an icy glare before turning around and walking off.
"W-What are you doing!" Her voice hitched when I grabbed hold of her hand and stopped her from leaving.
"You want me to forget everything that happened? After you knocked me out?" I exclaimed, sounding vexed myself. Honestly, I was; I thought the both of us shared some kind of understanding, but the fact was that I believed she'd gone a bit too far this time around.
"I said let go–"
"No." She tried intimidating me with her cold glare again, but this time I stood my ground.
'I'm done letting you push me around.'
"I don't care what's got you all scared right now, but all I know is that you don't want Aunty to know about what you did. Which means this time, I've got one over you."
"Ha!" Ophelia scoffed. "Do you really think this is enough to get you out of that photo? Fat chance!" she sneered, but her sneer faltered when she heard my chuckle.
"You really are like an open book," I muttered while chuckling lightly.
"What do you mean?" she asked, her brows furrowed.
"I've been with you long enough to understand that you only make threats like that when you're in a really sticky situation... Meaning that I'm sure you don't want Aunty knowing about this far more than you care about me holding your dirty panties."
"What did you say?" This time around I felt a cold chill from her gaze, which had intensified several-fold, but I gritted my teeth beneath my lips and continued.
"That's not gonna work anymore... If you don't want me telling Aunty about this, first, you're gonna tell me why you don't want me telling her in the first place."
"Huh?" Ophelia paused for a moment, looking taken aback. I mean, I understood her reaction; anyone else in my position would've asked her to erase the photo instead. But I, on the other hand, was far more curious and worried at the same time.
Contrary to what she expected, I had no intentions of revealing this vague incident to Aunty. After all, from her reaction, I knew it would cause a problem between the both of them, which was something I never wanted to happen. Of course, Ophelia didn't seem like she knew that. Nevertheless, the secret was something I was curious about as well.
"Before I tell you, I need you to make a promise to me..."
"A promise?" Her sudden proposal wasn't something I'd expected, but seeing her serious expression, I decided to go along with it.
"Sure, no problem, just tell me already."
"Promise me you won't see my mother differently once you know. I don't care what you think of me, but if you start avoiding her after learning of this... I promise you, I won't forgive you." This time around, there was a hint of vulnerability on her serious face.
"Huh?" This time I turned silent, taking a while to truly process her words.
'It's actually something this serious, and from what she just said, it has something to do with both her and Noona.'
'It can't be a business fraud; the both of them wouldn't be able to do something like that. But... even if it's something worse, I'm sure I'll understand so long as they explain it to me. Who knows, maybe I could even help.'
"Alright, I've decided. I still wanna hear it, so go on," I said with calm. Ophelia studied my features silently before nodding lightly.
"My mother and I aren't human. We're vampires."
"What?" This time it was my turn to be taken aback once more.
"I said we're vampires. Do I really need to repeat myself to you?" And there was her usually contemptuous tone again.
"I heard you the first time... I... well... how... I don't understand." I mean, I'd noticed the oddness—well, only the difference in strength and the eyes—but to outright call someone I've known since childhood a vampire was beyond unbelievable.
"That's... but... aren't you supposed to be afraid of sunlight?" I said, recalling that the apartment itself looked like a sunlight tapestry.