Hunter, Thank You For Your Blood Donation!

today?

≫ ????

≫ Weren’t you the one who said vampires don’t do friendship? LOLOLOL

≫ Where did the “I’m going to live alone forever” attitude go? Doing some image management now, are we? LOL

≫ Wow~ What a kind vampire!

≫ Who was the one who hogged all the items during the game and stole from others again?? LOLOLOL

≫ Image marketing x Noise marketing O

≫ Cherry-

, Citrus-

!! Don’t trust Vampi-

!

As Si-wol anticipated, introducing a real vampire elicited disbelief and laughter among viewers.  Only then did he finally allow himself to relax, having been nervous about receiving suspicious messages in the chat.

However, it was still too early to feel at ease. There were many hurdles to overcome before the broadcast ended. Pushing down his anxiety, Si-wol had the vampire, who he introduced as Citrus, take a seat next to him.

“Over the next three weeks or so, I’m planning on introducing you all to some other vampires. So, for all of you who kept saying I had no friends, you better be ready to eat your words.”

Siwol said playfully, then snuck a glance at Citrus. It seemed like he had been starved for quite some time, as he stared at the monitor with unfocused eyes.

His first impression of the vampire had not been good. He wasn’t sure of the exact circumstances, but the vampire, who had shown up in a disheveled state, had frowned upon seeing Si-wol. 

「Ryu Je-mun told me about this… but he never said it was going to be such a stinking half-breed.」

The man covered his nose dramatically, insulting Si-wol right to his face. Si-wol fought back the urge to scowl, forcing a pleasant smile instead. It was a kind of treatment he was all too used to.

Every single one of those so-called purebloods had been unbearably rude. At first, he had been bewildered by their disdain, silently enduring it with tears in his eyes.  But not anymore. Si-wol, hardened by his long years, let out a deep breath as he turned towards Citrus, who was seated beside him.

“Citrus-

, would you mind briefly introducing yourself to the viewers?”

Citrus, who had been slumped listlessly against the back of his chair, opened his mouth as if in a daze.

“Uh… I’m roughly a thousand years old. No job. I came here because someone said they would give me blood, but this is disappointing.” 

“Excuse me?  What do you mean?”

“You should know this already. Vampires have different preferences when it comes to taste. Personally, I prefer young and beautiful women, not some dark-skinned man like this.”

“

,

… You’re right.  I guess I was thinking too much about my own preferences…”

Si-wol chuckled awkwardly, and Citrus shrugged, implying there wasn’t much choice.

“Well, nothing I can do about it now. I’m the one who came here hungry. Guess I’ll just have to bear with the unpleasantness and drink.” 

“C-Citrus-

, you seem chic! Your bluntness makes you seem so strong and confident.” Si-wol said, wiping away the sweat gathering on his brow as he glanced at the chat. But the viewers, already sensing something was off, had begun to assess Citrus amongst themselves. 

≫ Huh? What chic? He’s just plain rude;

≫ What did Cherry-

do to deserve this? My poor baby;;;

≫ I thought all vampires were like Vampi-

… Guess not.

≫ Isn’t that guy being a bit too much of a jerk?

≫ Vampi-

is working hard LOLOLOL

≫ You see, folks? This is how tough it is to earn money~

≫ Can’t you just have the broadcast together with Cherry-

, Vampi-

?

Siwol, picking up on the discord spreading through the chat, quickly jumped in to mediate. 

“Hey, everyone. Let’s not be too harsh. It’s his first time on stream, he’s just a little nervous and awkward. Remember how I was during my first broadcast?

≫ No no, Vampi-

is too nice

≫ No no no, Vampi-

is just a fool

≫ No no, Vampi-

is just airheaded and cheerful;

≫ LOLOLOL Hate these viewers LOL Always gotta find something to tease about LOL

≫ LOLOLOLOLOLOL

Fortunately, thanks to Si-wol’s efforts, the atmosphere in the chat quickly improved. Si-wol swiftly continued the broadcast.

“Everyone! Don’t you have any questions for Citrus-

? I’m only a half-vampire, but Citrus-

here is a pureblood. This kind of opportunity doesn’t come around often.”

The viewers finally started pondering questions following Si-wol’s prompt. It was a stark contrast to their reaction during Yi-eon’s previous appearance on his stream. Back then, they had eagerly bombarded him with inquiries without any prodding from Si-wol, but now, even with his encouragement, their response was lukewarm.He quickly masked his surprise.

‘They even asked Yi-eon-

about the color of his underwear…’

In the end, they had even revealed the color of his underwear on that broadcast. But what was important was that the atmosphere had been lively and fun.

Si-wol frowned, seeing viewers struggling to come up with questions. Turning his head, he took a long look at Citrus. 

Generally, vampires tend to have exceptional appearances. Although Citrus appeared slightly gaunt due to the inability to consume blood, he still possessed looks comparable to a model.

But still, the viewers treated Yi-eon and Citrus differently, even though they were both being equally uncooperative on the broadcast. Perhaps they had picked up on the subtle hostility Citrus seemed to radiate towards Siwol. 

“Half-vampire? Who even came up with that nonsense?” Citrus suddenly asked, fixing his gaze on Siwol as if hoping to pick a fight. Caught off guard, Siwol stammered out a response. 

“I… I used to be human before I became a vampire, so it’s kind of like being half-blooded…”

Citrus scowled deeply. “What kind of idiot calls a half-breed like you a ‘half’?  Don’t try to make yourself sound better.”

“

“

Si-wol’s guest, who had been sitting right next to him, gasped, covering his mouth with his hand. Fortunately, his voice wasn’t loud enough to be picked up by the microphone and heard by other viewers. However, if Citrus continued to behave with such open hostility, it seemed like only a matter of time before things escalated. 

“Uh, Citrus-

! Could you come with me for a moment? Everyone, keep thinking of some questions to ask Citrus-

! I just forgot to mention something important to him, so we’ll be back in a bit.” 

Unable to let things continue as they were, Si-wol excused himself from the broadcast, pulling Citrus aside. Leaving their guest alone with the viewers in the main room, Si-wol turned to Citrus, who stood stubbornly with his arms crossed, and said in a low voice:

“Citrus-

, I’m really sorry, but even if you don’t particularly like me, could you please try to hold back a little in front of the camera…?” 

“Why should I?” Citrus responded nonchalantly.

Citrus’ nonchalant reply made Siwol bite down on his lower lip. ‘Why? Because you’re the one who’s supposed to be here for my blood!’  Si-wol was already bending over backwards to appease this guy, but instead of being even slightly grateful, he was acting all high and mighty, throwing his weight around!  He wanted to retort, to argue back, but swallowed the urge down. 

However, Si-wol took several deep breaths, forcing himself to calm down. Pure-blooded vampires never listened anyway. No, they didn’t even seem to register him as a fellow being worthy of being heard. They saw him as less than the humans they preyed on, therefore there was no point in trying to reason with them. He knew he couldn’t win, so he always had to be the one to back down.

Siwol took several deep breaths, forcing himself to calm down.  Arguing wouldn’t work; he had to appeal to Citrus’s self-interest.

“It’s really no problem for me, but… the viewer who volunteered to donate blood today is a fan of mine. If you continue to be openly rude to me like this, it might upset him and he might decide to back out.  Then Citrus-

wouldn’t get any blood at all.”

“…Dammit.” Citrus ran a frustrated hand through his hair at Siwol’s calm explanation.  He hated that he had to listen to this half-breed, but he needed what this human had to offer. With a reluctant nod, he conceded.

“Fine. But only until this damn broadcast is over. I don’t want to waste any more time talking with the likes of you.”

“Okay.”

“Remember this clearly: The only reason I’m putting up with this farce is that I don’t want to cause trouble by revealing any weaknesses to the hunters. Otherwise, why would I even bother with a half-breed like you?”

“Yes… of course.” 

Si-wol let out a sigh of relief and returned to the main room. 

He wasn’t eager to continue the conversation with Citrus either. He was afraid that if they talked any further, he might slip up and his lies would be exposed. Besides, no matter how used to it he got, constantly being subjected to such open malice was incredibly draining.

On the one hand, Si-wol felt a strange sense of relief. Although everything he was doing was to protect himself, he couldn’t escape the guilt.

The act of using another vampire, a stranger no less, as bait for the hunters weighed heavily on his conscience. However, every insult, every cruel word from Citrus brought the pain of the past centuries, the pain of scorn and humiliation, back to the surface. The pain he felt now seemed to stitch his guilty conscience back together, thread by thread.

Whether it was something to be grateful for or not, the guilt was fading little by little.