?“Here. Take this.”

  ?Vaughn was sitting behind his expansive mahogany desk, looking bored as usual. He slid a sleek, matte-black card across the surface toward me.

  ?“What's this?”

  ?I picked it up. It felt heavier than a normal card, cold to the touch, with a silver chip embedded in it. But other than the lack of a bank logo, it looked like... a credit card.

  ?I held it up to the fluorescent light, squinting at it, flipping it over, checking for hidden runes or micro-chips.

  ?“Is this some kind of magical artifact? Do I need to inject Ichor into it to activate it?”

  ?Vaughn stared at me over the rim of his espresso cup. His expression was a mix of pity and questioning my sanity.

  ?“What are you doing? Stop embarrassing yourself.”

  ?He sighed, setting the cup down.

  ?“That card is where your salary will be deposited. It’s tied to a shell corporation under The Ichor’s umbrella. Over time, your alias and the deposit routing might change to avoid IRS detection, but don't worry—the accounting department handles the money laundering.”

  ?My jaw dropped slightly.

  ?“Really? Honestly... I didn't think I would get paid. I thought I was conscripted.”

  ?“The human Kang Eun-Woo might be legally dead,” Vaughn said, leaning back in his leather chair. “But the vampire one still needs to wear clothes, eat—well, consume—and blend in. Besides...”

  ?He smirked, a glint of ancient greed in his eyes.

  ?“It wouldn't be very dignified to live for centuries and end up penniless, would it? Immortality is expensive, kid.”

  ?“I see... you’re right.”

  ?I looked at the black card in my hand. In other words, this was my first paycheck as a monster.

  ?A strange feeling washed over me. It reminded me of the joy I felt when I received my first paycheck from the delivery app—that sense of survival, of earning another month of life.

  ?But there was a stark difference. Back then, I had a list a mile long of things I needed to pay. Now? I didn't even know what a vampire bought.

  ?Vaughn slid a piece of paper across the desk.

  ?“Here. Your login credentials for the secure banking app. The details have also been sent to your encrypted email.”

  ?“I see…”

  ?“What’s with the long face?” Vaughn raised an eyebrow. “Don't tell me you're one of those old-school types who prefers payment in gold doubloons?”

  His sound actually made it quite clear that he hoped it would be so.

  ?“No, it's not that,” I muttered, pocketing the card. “It’s just... weird. Standing here, talking about salaries and banking apps. For a second, I felt like I was just a normal employee at a normal company. Not a blood-drinking anomaly.”

  ?A lot had happened since the truck hit me. Losing my humanity, losing my limbs, eating my own hand... and yet, here I was, getting an HR orientation.

  ?“I see,” Vaughn said, his voice dropping to a serious, warning tone. “Enjoy the normalcy, Eun-Woo. But just try not to forget who you are. Money buys comfort, not safety.”

  ?Five Minutes Later - The Hallway

  ?I walked out of Vaughn's office, the black card feeling heavy in my pocket.

  ?The hallway was empty. I leaned against the wall and pulled out my phone—a new, high-end model Vaughn had "issued" me to replace the one Hana supposedly stole (or didn't).

  ?“Login credentials...”

  ?I navigated to the banking app, typed in the complex username and password from the paper, and waited. The loading circle spun for a second.

  ?Please let it be enough for rent. Just enough so I don't have to sleep in that damp room anymore. Maybe enough to cover next semester's tuition so I don't have to take another loan.

  ?[Face ID Recognized. Welcome, Mr. Kang.]

  ?The screen flashed, and the dashboard appeared.

  ?I blinked.

  ?[Current Balance: $8,000.00]

  [Transaction: Monthly Stipend - Rank E]

  ?“...”

  ?My thumb hovered over the screen. I counted the zeros just to be sure.

  Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

  ?Eight thousand dollars.

  ?In my delivery job, I had to bike through rain, snow, and heat for twelve hours a day, dealing with rude customers and reckless drivers, just to scrape together $2,000 a month. And that was on a good month where I barely slept.

  ?This... this was one month of my blood, sweat, and tears, deposited in a single second.

  ?I slumped against the wall, sliding down until I hit the floor. I stared at the screen, a breathless laugh bubbling up in my throat.

  ?It wasn't millions. I couldn't buy a private island or a sports car.

  ?But for Kang Eun-Woo, the broke college student?

  ?Tuition fees? Manageable.

  Overdue rent? Paid instantly.

  Student loans? I can actually start paying them off.

  My parents' old debts? Erased in a few months.

  ?For the first time since I turned, the crushing weight of financial anxiety—a weight I had carried since I was a teenager—vanished.

  ?I didn't feel the hunger for blood right now. I felt a hunger for... pizza. Premium, extra-cheese, expensive pizza that I didn't have to use a coupon for.

  ?“Being a vampire...” I whispered, clutching the phone like a lifeline. “...might not be so bad after all.”

  ***

  ?“...and therefore, while the regenerative capacity of hematopoietic stem cells is high, the metabolic cost of accelerated hemostasis typically results in systemic failure in non-augmented subjects. As shown in the data...”

  ?My voice echoed steadily through the lecture hall. I stood at the podium, clicking through the slides of my presentation on Advanced Hematology.

  ?The irony wasn't lost on me. A month ago, in this very room, I was struggling to keep my eyes open, dreaming about red blood cells while Professor Miller droned on. Now? I was lecturing on the very thing that fueled my existence.

  ?My posture was straight. My voice was clear. My skin, usually pale and sickly from malnutrition and exhaustion, now had a healthy, almost luminous glow.

  ?Professor Miller was nodding approvingly from his desk—a rare sight from the man who usually looked at me with professional pity. The students, who usually ignored the "broke scholarship kid," were actually taking notes.

  ?It had been two weeks since the incident at the construction site. One week has passed since I jumped on A- Blood Quality .

  ?Adjusting to this "Double Life" was surprisingly easier than I expected.

  ?Being a vampire came with perks that no self-help book could teach you. The biggest one? Time.

  ?Humans need eight hours of sleep to function. I needed three. Maybe four if I pushed my limits. That gave me an extra twenty to thirty hours a week. While my classmates were chugging energy drinks and crashing in the library,

  ?As for the "Company" business? It had been surprisingly quiet. They only called me in for a few routine check-ups—checking my vitals, ensuring I hadn't eaten a neighbor—and then let me go. Apparently, I was still in the "Societal Integration" phase. They were testing my ability to live among people without snapping.

  ?So far, so good.

  ?I clicked to the next slide.

  ?“However, the volatility of the market remains a primary concern...”

  ?Speaking of volatility, I mused internally, it’s been quiet on the real front, Vaughn front.

  For some reason, my sadistic mentor hadn't called me since last week's "Gym Fiasco." I think he was serious when he wiped the floor with me and said, 'I'll pass on training you until you learn to stand on two feet.'

  ?Honestly? I wasn't complaining.

  ?I touched my ribs instinctively. They were fully healed, but the phantom memory of Vaughn’s "Kinetic Strike" still made me ache. I was excited about my new A- Rank potential, sure. I could feel the power humming under my skin like a coiled spring. But was I eager to test it by becoming Vaughn’s punching bag again?

  ?Hell no.

  ?I’d happily take boring lectures over getting my internal organs rearranged by a centenarian in sunglasses any day.

  ?“In conclusion,” I said, wrapping up the presentation, “stability is often just an illusion created by temporary surpluses.”

  ?I looked down at my new watch. It wasn't a luxury brand, but it was sleek, expensive, and definitely not something the old Eun-Woo could afford.

  ?The monthly stipend. $8,000.

  ?I had moved out of that damp, moldy room. I hadn't rented a penthouse—that would draw too much attention—but I now lived in a clean, modern studio near the campus. I ate premium food (when I ate human food). I wore clothes that actually fit.

  ?If an E-Rank grunt like me gets $8,000 a month...

  ?I looked at the professor, imagining him as a vampire.

  ?What does a C-Rank like Jin get? $20,000? And Vaughn? Does that guy own a small country? Or maybe he gets paid in gold bars?

  ?The thought was dizzying. For the first time in my life, I wasn't calculating the price of my next meal. I was wondering if I should invest in stocks or just buy a better gaming PC.

  ?“Thank you for listening.”

  ?I bowed slightly. A ripple of applause broke out.

  After becoming a vampire, I didn't know what would happen to Eun-Woo, my human part (or act in this case). Everything was in ruins, from university to debts. And I couldn't really care about them either because I had bigger problems to face. And now…

  ?It was so easy, I thought, feeling a wave of satisfaction. I can do this. I can live like this.

  ?“Dude, seriously?”

  ?As we walked out of the lecture hall into the bright campus sunlight, Leo slapped my back hard enough to make a normal human stumble.

  ?“Your presentation was insane! What did you do, stay up all night memorizing the textbook?”

  ?I looked at Leo. He was grinning, his backpack slung over one shoulder, bouncing on his heels with his usual caffeine-fueled energy.

  ?“Something like that,” I lied, forcing a smile.

  ?I would have loved to tell him the truth. I wanted to see the look of surprise on his face if I said, 'Actually, I didn't sleep because I was busy learning how not to eat people.'

  After the incident, Leo's only loss was his phone. Apparently, Hana hadn't returned it, and he cried and complained about it for a few days, but eventually he got a new phone and was able to recover his files from the cloud.

  It's truly a miracle that he managed to escape from such a life-threatening situation. Just because Hana didn't actually kidnap him didn't mean the others wouldn't do the same.

  I clenched my fist. Jin, Mina, and many others whose names I didn't know could have done the same. This time for real.

  I was trying to be extra careful about this. As long as there is no one watching it should be fine.

  ?“Well, I’m starving,” Leo announced, pointing at the burger joint across the street. “I’m gonna grab a double cheeseburger. You coming? My treat, since you crushed the presentation.”

  ?I looked at the burger joint. Then I looked at my phone.

  ?“Nah, I can’t,” I said, feigning regret. “I have... a new internship thing. Gotta run.”

  ?“Suit yourself, Mr. Intern! Don't work too hard!”

  ?I watched him run across the street, dodging a taxi—reminding me of the night my life changed. As his silhouette vanished into the crowd, the warmth of the "normal life" faded.

  ?I was alone again.

  ?I reached into my pocket and picked up my phone to turn off the timer I had set for the presentation.

  ?Buzz.

  ?The screen lit up. I expected a "Good job" text from a classmate or maybe a spam email.

  ?Instead, the screen turned a harsh, flashing crimson. The Ichor App had overridden my lock screen.

  ?[PRIORITY ALERT]

  ?[SENDER: SYSTEM (VAUGHN)]

  ?[MESSAGE: Break time is over, Cinderella. Get to the HQ immediately. We have a situation.]