Chapter 42 :

<42>

Seoul on Christmas Eve is so excited that it makes one suspect Christianity might be the state religion of this country. The red crosses coloring the city were adorned with countless decorative lights in tribute to Him, illuminating not only the church rooftops but the entirety of Seoul.

If, like in Bram Stoker’s Dracula, merely looking at a cross could harm a vampire, then the species would have dried up completely in the Republic of Korea. But the vampires still existed in the darkness.

In the upscale residential area of Yeoksam-dong, where the narrow streets make it difficult for vehicles to pass, there stood a mansion large enough to give proletarians a stroke from sheer envy. It was the home of Kim Young-ha, the Korean branch manager of the massive foreign capital corporation Flex Medical, so such grandeur was not surprising—but the one seated in the living room was not Kim Young-ha. Instead, it was a Latin American man with dark crimson hair slicked back in a refined style.

“So. Gerder is dead? That kid called Han Se-gun must be fairly skilled?”

He muttered as he reviewed the documents. To respond to Tetra Anax’s one-sided surveillance with a show of force—no sane hunter would do such a thing. Except perhaps the much-rumored True Vampire Hunter.

But for a mere brat who wasn’t even a True Vampire Hunter to challenge Tetra Anax—this was the first time in his several hundred years of vampire life he had seen such a case. At this point, rather than anger, it was more curiosity.

“What shall we do? Being beaten and then curling up in tears isn’t exactly our motto, is it?”

A human silhouette spoke from the shadows. The man shrugged as if annoyed.

“I didn’t expect a hunter capable of taking on three alone to exist in such a small country. Well, this detective doesn’t seem inclined to reveal our identity any further… but since Christmas is approaching, wouldn’t it be nice to give him a present?”

“A present? What would be appropriate?”

“For instance… immortality?”

He said it with a cruel smile. When vampires speak of immortality, they of course mean drawing someone into their own kind. It is called false immortality, or spawning, or an embrace—but whatever the term, it is far closer to the essence of the word than what religion promises. After all, vampires truly do live long lives.

“How vile… You really are vile.”

The shadow muttered in apparent disgust. Yet even in the voice condemning his vileness, there was a slight tremor.

“But that’s exactly what I like. Well then, I’ll go carry out the mission.”

“Wait.”

The blond Latin man stopped the disappearing shadow.

“Merry Christmas.”

“Pfft.”

The shadow let out a quiet laugh and then vanished.

* * *

Se-gun climbed into the van driven by Detective Sim Gu-jin and pulled on his jumper. Fighting the vampires had been exhausting, but cleaning up afterward was just as tiring. The rifle had broken, the katana had broken, and the money spent on making various homemade explosives and surveillance equipment amounted to a small fortune. The vampire that spat out spiders had been burned, leaving not a drop of blood; the one blown apart by explosives left only its lower half; and the one shot down by rifle had been left too long to extract much blood.

“At this rate, I’ll be in the red.”

There was no real deficit, but Se-gun joked anyway. Detective Sim Gu-jin responded with something close to a complaint.

“Fine. I’ll break my savings and give it to you. But didn’t we just poke a sleeping lion the wrong way?”

Of course Tetra Anax would not let this pass quietly. But then again, had they ever intended to spare Detective Sim Gu-jin? The ability to control beasts existed in Sylvester as well, but using it so diligently for surveillance was more like a game to them. Like a cat toying with a dying mouse…

“Damn. I originally planned to negotiate.”

Se-gun had to admit he had made a mistake. As seen with the True Vampire Phantom, vampires were not particularly rational. Even after terrifying Detective Sim, they continued surveillance. It wasn’t as if Sim were Agent Mulder—would he risk his life to uncover the truth? Their continued monitoring was little more than a hobby. It would have been better to pretend ignorance, but having become involved, there was no choice but to keep fighting Tetra Anax.

“Once we get back, make a fuss about not being able to continue the investigation. Get some psychiatric treatment too.”

“So you’re telling me to quit being a detective and become a lunatic?”

“It’s the only way to survive. If you’re in a mental hospital, the vampires won’t touch you. Saving your life is what matters, right?”

Se-gun muttered as the wipers scraped against the windshield with a gritty sound.

“Ah… it’s snowing.”

Snow on Christmas Eve—those with lovers would be dying of happiness. Se-gun looked up at the sky with that crooked thought in mind.

“You said you have a daughter, right? How old is she?”

“Why? Interested? Sorry, but I can’t send my daughter to a criminal punk like you.”

“I was just asking. What do you take me for?”

Se-gun tapped lightly on the window. Detective Sim Gu-jin let out a small chuckle.

“She just turned thirteen.”

“…At that age, what do you mean ‘send her’?”

“You brat. You have no idea how pretty my daughter is. Don’t be too shocked when you see her.”

Detective Sim sighed.

“I should get her a present.”

“Ah. If you don’t, she’ll hate you.”

“When a punk like you says that, it just sounds cheeky. Have you even raised a kid?”

Detective Sim glanced at Han Se-gun. After fighting vampires and suffering various injuries, this young man could hardly be called a mere brat. More than anything, it had been he who trembled behind this young man’s protection. And now that he looked closely—wasn’t this kid young enough to pass for his son?

“Even if he’s the Republic of Korea police’s headache, at this point it’s not a matter of being unfit as a cop, but unfit as a human.”

Detective Sim sighed and pressed the accelerator.

By the time they arrived in Seoul, the snow had piled up to ankle height. Turning on the radio, the weathercaster announced in an excited voice that snow would continue nationwide—except for Jeju Island—through tomorrow evening, meaning all through Christmas.

“Damn it. What’s so great about snow!”

Grumbling, Detective Sim returned the rental car and switched to his own Accent sedan. Se-gun transferred his belongings onto his motorcycle, the XR-250, parked in the lot.

“Maybe I should install a trailer on the back like an LPG gas delivery guy.”

He muttered as he mounted the bike. Since Detective Sim had to report to the station, Se-gun couldn’t accompany him further.

“Let’s stash the illegal equipment first. No stabbing me in the back. If anything happens, call me.”

Se-gun rubbed his neck. Detective Sim nodded. When fighting, he was like a malevolent spirit incarnate—but like this, he still seemed young. Wasn’t he just about the age to graduate high school? How had someone so young ended up living such a brutal life? The thought stirred reluctant pity. But Se-gun had already ridden off.

“Am I even in a position to worry about that guy?”

Sim muttered and started the engine.

As expected, headquarters was in an uproar. No matter how seasoned Detective Sim Gu-jin was—or how much he had handled this case—going down to the provinces without his superior’s permission was enough to cause chaos.

“Senior. This is bad.”

Detective Jo glanced toward the commissioner’s office.

“You said you were going and just left on your own. The commissioner completely lost it. And now orders have come down from above…”

“Enough. Quiet.”

Sim stepped inside. The commissioner’s mood was unmistakably stormy. Sim walked forward and stood before him.

“So. Was your business trip productive?”

“Yes. I believe so.”

“Who told you to move on your own like that? Thanks to you, the higher-ups are in an uproar! Lieutenant Sim.”

“……”

Detective Sim Gu-jin hated being called Lieutenant Sim more than anything. It had been years since he graduated from the Police Academy, and yet he was still only a lieutenant—there was no reason he would enjoy hearing that. But since the two of them were not far apart in terms of career length, the commissioner did not press his anger any further.

“An order has come down from above. You’re out of this case.”

“Not cut from the force entirely, I hope?”

“In any case, I’d like you to go back to babysitting the rookies.”

“And who’s my replacement?”

“No one’s been assigned yet.”

The commissioner closed his mouth after saying that. Detective Sim Gu-jin let out a hollow laugh.

“Hah hah. Even if I’m a mangy bastard of a cop, this is going too damn far. It hasn’t even been that long—are you already shelving it as an unsolved case? Pulling the entire team off it too?”

Of course, it doesn’t actually take that long for an investigation to be closed. If police clung to a single case for too long, they would drown in a shortage of manpower. Still, to bury a case without any conclusion simply because media interest had faded—was the vampires’ influence that strong? Or was this simply the nature of the Republic of Korea’s police? It was hard to tell.

“Detective Sim.”

“No. No. I understand, Commissioner. Then I’ll be heading home.”

Sim left the office. Perhaps it was for the best. The sooner he untangled himself from the vampires, the longer he might live.

“Good grief, what a headache.”

Once Sim was gone, the commissioner sighed. Sim Gu-jin—older and more experienced—was an uncomfortable subordinate. All of his academy classmates were serving at headquarters, so he couldn’t exactly belittle him as a mere lieutenant. But giving him special treatment would undermine authority.

“Still… this is strange. Why would such an order come down?”

The commissioner examined the directive once more.

“Haah……”

Outside, Detective Sim Gu-jin let out a long sigh. Detective Jo and the other officers’ gazes gathered on him.

“What are you staring at? I’m just a salary thief anyway—might as well go see my daughter! Damn it!”

He turned away from their looks. He hated himself—at this age, accomplishing nothing properly, becoming more and more of a burden. But at least there was one consolation: vampires truly existed. The world he had known was not all there was. Something else still lingered in this world—and that realization was strangely exhilarating.

Even if it was the petty joy of a defeatist, the idea that vampires stood above society’s so-called winners was oddly satisfying. No matter how much humans strutted about, they were pigs raised in the same pen. That thought brought a perverse thrill.

“Damn it. Khah, ptui!”

After committing an act that could easily earn him a 50,000-won fine, he walked down the night street. Divorced for several years now, he suddenly found himself missing his daughter terribly. In the Republic of Korea, custody often defaults to the father in a male-centered society—but as a man who couldn’t even get promoted and barely functioned as a detective, he had no means of raising a child. So he left his daughter with her mother and continued living alone in loneliness.

“Haah!”

Outside the station, heavy snow poured down. Choirs wandered here and there singing merrily, and the cheerful ringing of Salvation Army charity kettles filled the air. It truly seemed like a blessed day.

Countless Hollywood films speak of family love, and countless psychologists claim that unfulfilled familial affection becomes trauma. But this was the 21st century. Thanks to the development of IT, children’s social identities form quickly—whether rightly or wrongly—and by elementary school, many are already emotionally independent from their parents.

As a result, parents become little more than sources of money. Even if children are emotionally independent, they are not economically independent—and in modern times, that is only natural.

Detective Sim’s daughter, Sim Ae-jin, was one of those modern children. Her parents divorced five years ago, and she was raised by a single mother—but the emotional impact was minimal. Jung and Freud might foam at the mouth and faint at such a notion, but to her, it was normal.

“Mm… but this is a problem.”

Ae-jin muttered as she looked out the window. From the high-rise apartment complex in Bucheon, the view resembled a snowstorm from some frozen kingdom. The higher you are, the wider your view—and the more snow you see.

“Dad’s the only one who’ll buy me a present.”

She muttered resentfully about her Buddhist mother. Not receiving a Christmas gift like everyone else, not being allowed to roam the streets late at night—such things were unbearable for a thirteen-year-old girl.

At times like this, it was better to have a father you rarely saw. A man who failed at family life was easily swayed by guilt into buying extravagant gifts. Of course, she had not reached such a cold analysis consciously—it was simply an instinct children possess, like anticipating New Year’s allowance.

Rrrring.

The phone rang. Her mother hurriedly picked it up in the living room and soon handed it to Ae-jin.

“It’s your father. Take it.”

Her expression openly displayed disgust. But to Ae-jin, it was a call from a source of funds—she could not answer carelessly. She picked up in an exaggeratedly cheerful voice.

“Hello! Dad!”

On the other end, Detective Sim’s voice still sounded weary, and for a moment she felt a twinge of guilt. But that guilt could not overcome her desire for a computer camcorder.

“Dad! You have to buy it for me!”

“Uh, right. A cam…corder?”

“A computer camcorder! You know, the thing that takes pictures!”

“Ah, um. That one?”

Detective Sim Gu-jin spoke on the phone as he drove.