11 Caught in a lie

Taehyung's mind experienced a minor explosion when he heard that statement. There were too many questions flitting around in his mind to pick up on a singular one. Maybe staying quiet was the best thing to do. His silence might be the thing that would keep him alive.

"Please get back to bed. I'll do some final checks before I take the IV out and sign you off for release," the mysterious doctor instructed him. "You had quite a blow around the head."

Numbly Taehyung returned to the bed and climbed back in. The vampire woman took the stethoscope from around his neck and measured his heartbeat. He knew she could hear how fast it was beating from all his panicked feelings. Instead of finding it strange, she acted like it was normal.

"Your heartbeat is constant," she observed.

Next she felt his clammy forehead. That was also nothing unexpected either.

"Temperature is fine."

She gently picked up his hand and then scratched his wrist with her sharp nails. Taehyung flinched and looked down. She had left a nasty scratch that was even worse than the one from his stepsister.

A scratch that was healing as he watched...

"Vampire healing is fine," she said and wrote something down. "You can go home now. How does your head feel?"

Taehyung put his questions and shock to the side to focus on his original injury. It didn't hurt at all to be honest which was odd because it had been enough to knock him out. Did this woman know he was supposed to be on a school trip and was caught in the server room?

She certainly wasn't acting like it.

He had a feeling the key to getting out of here was to put on an unsurprised act. He just had to hold it all together.

The vampire doctor deftly removed his IV and helped him put on his shoes. Taehyung stood up and tried to hide how shaky he felt. He was supposed to be fit enough to go home.

Where was home?

His home was a Type AB household not AB+.

"Your parents live close by," she said. "I can just walk you there."

His parents lived here?

Were they his true parents?

He was confused to say the least.

She escorted him out the door and through the facility. Taehyung knew he wasn't in the government office anymore, this building was completely different. It was more gleaming white and sterile than the grey plaster walls of the government office. He got the impression from the decor that it was quietly expensive which wasn't Type AB style.

The government office had gold statues in the entranceway, this one had a fountain. They were definitely on different levels.

He was longing to ask what this building was, but he knew he couldn't without being suspicious.

His suspicion that he was in the SKY Castle area increased when they walked outside. There was no way that he was in the normal Type AB district. There were plants everywhere and cobblestone streets instead of LCD screens and tarmac. It was a view he would have appreciated in different circumstances.

They passed a short row of plush looking apartment blocks and came upon a row of neat terraced houses. They were small houses, but for Taehyung who lived in apartment block, they looked impressive.

The doctor knocked on the door and it was opened by a woman completely unfamiliar to Taehyung. She had the same paleness as the doctor and again something didn't feel right about her. Her hair was brown and she had very wide eyes.

"Mrs Choi, I have returned your son," the doctor said with a laugh. "Minho is all better now."

Taehyung blinked. That woman was certainly not his mother and his name wasn't Minho. He waited for Mrs Choi to say she didn't know him.

She didn't say that, she pulled him in for a hug instead.

"Minho!" she declared enthusiastically.

Taehyung knew he had to go along with it. He hugged her back and waved goodbye to the doctor.

"Tell your son not to go to the government office again," she said cheerfully. "He's only getting away with it because he's a vampire."

She walked away and as soon as her figure had turned round the corner, Mrs Choi led him inside. She let go of him the moment the door closed.

"I'll answer any questions you have in the study," she said. "Would you like any tea?"

"Please," Taehyung said and allowed himself to relax a little.

A drink would be welcome as his mouth was dry from all the panic and stress. How long had he been unconscious anyway? The sun had been setting on the walk to he house so maybe it had been half a day?

Mrs Choi pointed him towards the study. The house was decorated with lightly colours and lots of plant pots unlike his own and it felt surprisingly reassuring. Who would have guessed vampires liked plants and light colours? He sat down in the plush armchair in the corner and let out a long sigh. He was safe now, but how was he going to get home?

What had even happened?

Mrs Choi soon returned with a tea tray. Taehyung accepted the tea and drank a deep gulp. It was much more flavourful than anything he had tasted before. He finished the cup and looked straight at her.

"...Are you a vampire?"

"I am," Mrs Choi confirmed. "I am not going to hurt you. When it gets dark, I'll help you get into the right place. For now, you need to stay here."

Taehyung looked out the window. The sun was still setting so he had a while to wait. Mrs Choi poured him another cup of tea which he readily accepted.

"Why are you helping me? I'm not your son."

Mrs Choi drank from her own cup before answering.

"I am somewhat sympathetic to the resistance cause," she held up her hand. "Not to the point of destroying my own race for you, however enough to help you and your group out. I haven't given them any information they didn't already suspect so I don't consider myself a traitor to my own race. I just think we've been unfair to humans."

Taehyung spent a minute digesting that and arranging his own thoughts. He'd had enough bombshells dropped on him today.

"Do you know why we are segregated?" he asked.

It was the question that he'd wanted answered for a long time.

"I'm going to answer this because someone from the resistance has already worked it out," she said with a small smile. "Vampires have the blood type AB+. That blood type can be created between two Type ABs if they are both carriers for the positive antigen. The chance of that is very low. It does happen though."

Taehyung nodded. It was as they had discussed. There was indeed a fourth blood type. It was odd to know that after only knowing three for so long and always thinking he was the superior type.

"You are all segregated to create the highest probability of producing an AB+. The chances would be almost nil without the segregation. Babies are always tested at birth and taken away from their parents so an AB+ vampire baby can come to our vampire families."

That definitely explained a lot of things. It was no wonder they weren't letting anyone from the O district get matched, they really didn't need them. The adoption and matching system made complete sense now. It was a little shocking to know that it wasn't for fairness like the government claimed.

Taehyung was beginning to get the sensation that his world had turned upside down in the past half an hour.

"Can't you reproduce between yourselves? Why do you need us?"

"We as a species don't find it easy to conceive. The conception rate is about equal with two ABs producing an AB+," she explained.

Taehyung sat there numbly. It was odd to finally know the reasons behind everything.

"Do you have a child?" he asked.

Mrs Choi nodded.

"He is called Minho and he's close to you in age. He is actually the child of my husband and I. We were lucky. He's upstairs in his bedroom at the moment and he's not going to come downstairs whilst you're here. I don't want anyone else seeing you today."

It would be good to know why he was able to get away with being called Minho, yet there were more pressing things to ask.

"Is Bang Si Hyuk a vampire?"

Mrs Choi simply stared at him with a judging look.

"I think you can guess the answer to that one."

Taehyung flushed red. He had just wanted to confirm that suspicion to be sure. Mrs Choi was right about it being obvious though.

"Does your species live for longer?"

"We do mainly because we heal from injuries. Old age is something that even our abilities cannot stave off, hence needing to go to a lot of trouble to populate."

That was very interesting to know. He was intrigued by it and then he reminded his mysterious healing ability from earlier.

Was he a vampire?

He couldn't be an AB+, he had grown up in the AB area. Taehyung was confused to say the least. Maybe the system had made a mistake when he was born. He saw Mrs Choi waiting for him to answer so he hastily asked something different. He didn't know what she knew about him and right now, she was his saviour so it was wiser to keep his mouth shut.

"If old age is what kills you eventually, how long does Bang Si Hyuk have left?" He asked.

"Our leader is a unique case so I wouldn't count on it," she said. "We also need to be at least over 80 to start feeling the strain of old age."

It looked like they couldn't count on Bang Si Hyuk dropping dead anytime soon.

"How is he a special case?" he asked.

Mrs Choi shrugged.

"That's all I know. I only know rumours. Apparently he gets regular blood transfusions; maybe that's the key to it."

They talked for another twenty minutes and Taehyung learnt a little more about vampires lived. It was fascinating to finally know about another species. Mrs Choi made him dinner as well and let him have a nap in the study.

When night fell Mrs Choi led him out the compound as promised. Taehyung walked through the empty streets to his apartment block. He'd never been so relieved to see the monstrosity of a building before.

He took the lift to his floor and input the code to unlock the door. What should he say to his foster parents about today? It was three in the morning, he had been expected back in the early evening.

What would the Bulletproof Boy Scouts think of him? He'd been supposed to meet them around one in the morning. That was also a concern, possibly more serious than disappointing his foster parents.

The door opened into a dark and silent apartment. He walked through and saw a light in the kitchen. He peeped in and saw Taeyeon sat at the table with her head resting on the surface. Had she been waiting for him?

"Noona," he whispered.

Her head shot up. "You're back!"

"I am," he confirmed.

Taeyeon looked him up and down and smiled at him.

"I saved your life today. You owe me a lot."