章節 1: Prologue

Eli Sanguine squints his eyes at the bookstore. Does it have what he's looking for? If he doesn't find it, he will get something else. His younger sister has nothing better to do. She could ask for a human heart, but she wants a book written by a human author.

When did he become a smuggler for his younger sister?

Let it be. It's her coming of age ceremony. He is going home after a long time. Who knows? His philanderer father might have more surprises for him.

With such thoughts, he gets out of the car and walks to the bookstore.

"Mr Sanguine, you are here." Mr Emerson greets him with joy on his face when he enters the bookstore. This man was one of his patients. Since Mr Emerson is knowledgeable about books, he might be able to help him find the book.

"Mr Emerson, I hope that you are doing well."

"I am doing well, thanks to you." Mr Emerson grins at him. "If you hadn't --"

"It's my job, Mr Emerson." Humans are easily moved. They are quite emotional and fragile. They are most afraid of death, even though they know that death is the unavoidable ending. "I am hoping that you could help me with something."

"I will do anything for you, Mr Sanguine." The man grabs his hands. "Just tell me what you need."

Before he could speak, a pleasant scent wafts into his nose. The scent of the faint glimmer of rays of moonlight in the surface of the ocean after the storm during the frigid winter. He turns his face in the direction of the scent. A petite light-skinned woman with pale hair and hazel eyes emerges from the shelves while holding a pile of books in her hand.

"Mr Emerson, where should I put them?" Her clear yet emotionless voice sends shivers in his body.

"Put them in the storeroom," Mr Emerson tells her.

Eli is stumped for words. The woman is human for sure. Then, why does she have that kind of scent? He rarely meets humans who appeal to his other side.

She doesn't give him a single glance and walks to the back of the store.

"I recently hired her. She is new, but she's quite hardworking like her stepfather. But she doesn't know that I used to know him well." He hears Mr Emerson sigh. "Her mother and stepfather died in the terrorist attack five years ago. She doesn't talk much; however, she's a good child."

He doesn't ask any questions. He gives the name of the book to Mr Emerson. Mr Emerson orders the woman to find the book. After a few minutes, the woman comes back with the book. When she gets closer to him and Mr Emerson, he takes a step backwards to keep a distance from her instinctively.

A human manages to make him feel nervous for the first time in his long life.

She glances at him. There's nothing in her eyes except for a disinterest toward everything in the world. She turns her head towards her boss and gives him the book. He doesn't hear another word from her and watches her leave with a complicated expression.

***

Standing behind the bookshelf, Eli peeks at her. He can't stop himself from coming here once in a while. Though he has a thousand reasons to not do this, she keeps invading his mind. He's just curious. Honestly, he has seen many broken souls.

This is the first time when he's seeing someone who is being protected by a motherly blessing from the goddess of night. The human female isn't aware of it. He wonders how she managed to get the blessing of that extremely moody goddess.

She's so tiny and weak. He can swallow her in a single gulp. She won't even feel the pain.

Eli shakes his head. He can't eat her. She's not dead yet. Besides, he changed his profession.

But the darkness of her mind is pulling him to her. He lets out an exasperated sigh and picks up a random book. He won't come here next time for sure.

He puts the book on the counter. She scans the book's barcode and packs the book. As always, she says to him the same word with the same artificial smile, "Please visit again."

Though he knows that she is speaking the word that her boss told her to say to the buyers, he doesn't have the strength to deny the request of this woman. So, he ends up visiting her again.

Spring blossoms in his heart for the first time. It doesn't make sense that a ghoul is falling for a human. Somehow, he's always looking forward to seeing her. He smiles when he sees her smiling when she's reading. He becomes affected by her sadness.

He wants to get to know her more. But a 632 years old ghoul doesn't know how to start a conversation with the woman he likes. She makes him so nervous whenever he gets close to her.

Should he get closer to her or not? He's a ghoul. She's human. She might pass out if she finds out that he's a ghoul.

"Sir, the card machine is not working." She asks him with an anxious tone, "I apologize for the inconvenience, but can you make the payment in cash?"

For the first time, she shows him a different expression. He blinks at her in surprise. "I can make payment in cash. It's not a big deal."

"Thank you." She lets out a breath of relief and smiles at him. It's not the usual artificial smile. The ghoul doctor finds himself in a daze.

He will take a chance. After all, he's a doctor. If she passes out of shock, he can take care of her.

But Eli is not an expert when it comes to these things. He asks his human colleague who knows a lot about women.

"They like men who can cook," Dr Dylan Parry tells him. He leans closer and whispers to the ghoul who is clueless about how to start a conversation with a certain woman with a wicked look in his eyes. "You know, they love getting breakfast in bed after that."

"After what?"

"After thaaaaaaaat, Dr Sanguine, thaaaaat."

When Eli realizes what 'that' is, his face turns flaming red. He hasn't thought that far.

***

When he visits her again, he goes for the recipe book. He even practices cooking human meals at home. Though that kind of future is nearly impossible, he still wants to be prepared. Since he doesn't know what kind of food she likes to eat, he keeps buying the recipe books. Maybe she will ask him a question or strike a conversation out of curiosity.

If people from his past could see Eli now, their jaws would have fallen to the floor.

"Merry Christmas." He hears her say, "Please visit again."

The depressed Eli is surprised to hear her say something else other than the usual words. Though it doesn't mean much, he still wags his non-existent tail and manages to keep a calm expression. "A Merry Christmas to you too."

Two years have passed, but there's been no progress in their relationship. However, Eli is still happy and content.