When A Ghoul Falls In Love

She ignores him and walks away from him.

Eli Sanguine finds it strange that she won't sleep with him when she is betrothed to him. He knows that she is attracted to him, but she is somewhat mad at him for saying that she should sleep with him and avoid her husband. 

It does sound… not right. 

He trails behind her lazily. After they cross the road, her phone rings. She picks up the call.

"Hmm." She mumbles, "I am going to stay in the hotel for a while."

Eli quickens his steps to get closer to her. 

"I know." She says, "Baek Joon Woo, I am sorry but I need some time --Okay --I know… No, it's not your fault -- I get it -- Tell Nabi that I am sorry -- Okay, I will come back tomorrow…. Sure, I will send you the address of the hotel."

Finally, she hangs up. 

Eli reaches her side. He can sense that she is still upset with him. The human is bad at hiding emotions. Rather, she isn't bothering to hide it much. Why would she keep a poker face if she isn't upset with him? Does she mind it that much? Baek Joon Woo and Nabi are not real. Why does it matter if they are dead or not?

It's better if they are dead. 

"Why do you care?" Nell questions him.

"Hmm?" He glances at her. "What are you talking about?"

"You are thinking why do I care about Baek Joon Woo and Nabi."

"How do you know?"

"I don't need to stare at you to understand what's going inside your head."

Eli laughs. "Are you a telepath now?"

"I am not." She stops and raises her head toward him. "I told you to find me tomorrow."

"I want to stay next to you," He replies casually. When she frowns at him, he changes the topic. "Have you seen my son?"

"Your son?" She blinks her eyes. "Yeah, you did say you have a son. How did you end up having a son?"

"Some woman took advantage of me when I was unconscious." He tells her honestly, "She hid away from me. Then, she reappeared suddenly with my son. I am not sure if things are like that in the other world. Everything feels like a lie. My son might be a fake too."

Nell contemplates for a moment. "Before I came here, you didn't have a son. I don't know what happened after I came here. My life is different here, but there is no reason why your life should be different."

"And you are okay if I have a son?" He stares into her eyes. "Will you accept him?"

"You told me that she took advantage of you when you were unconscious." She lets out a sigh. "I am not someone who will hold it against you. It's not even your fault. And it's not the child's fault either. But I might do something to that woman if you start having feelings for her."

He didn't expect a small weak human to say that. Eli clasps his hands behind his back, walking beside her in the winter. Then, he hears footsteps behind him. The scent is familiar. Eli steps closer to her and says, "She is way stronger than you are."

"I can ask Devil to eat her alive."

Who is this Devil? Eli wraps his arm around her shoulder and bends down his head. He brushes his lips against her ear. She trembles weakly as heat rushes to her face. He notices all the changes in her. And it piques his interest. How can anyone resist someone with such a delicious scent? Now, he wants to know the taste of her lips.

She widens her eyes when his lips crash against hers. Freezing in his arms, she presses her hands against his c.h.e.s.t. However, she doesn't have any strength to push him away. He is hesitant at first. She senses his cautiousness when he moves his lips against hers, biting it slightly before pulling it. The tip of his tongue teases her lips. 

Nell doesn't respond to his kiss. 

Unsatisfied and starving for more, he pulls away from her. Eli takes a deep breath. Nobody has made him feel like this before. Is it the effect of the l.u.s.t charm? "When did you get the l.u.s.t charm?"

"A while ago," She steps back and tells him. "Are you done testing?"

"No." He licks his lips, trying to savour her taste. "I want you."

"No matter which world it is, you are always vocal about what you want." Nell laughs. "But if you kiss me again, I am going to bite your lips off."

"You like me," Eli states calmly. "You also want me. In fact, I can sense all the changes in your body. The rise in certain hormones or the change in your heartbeat. Your pupils are dilated too. And the temperature of your skin has arisen. Lastly, you are giving off pheromones. The l.u.s.t charm is also stronger. So, you want me too. I don't know why you would try to hide it from a ghoul."

Then, she realises that nothing must have been hidden from her 'Eli' too. He must have known when she wanted him or when she was horny. So, he has been acting like an innocent shy v.i.r.g.i.n wife waiting to be eaten by her while he is a wolf inside. 

The corner of her lips twitches. She did know that he isn't that simple, but he's been fooling her in this way. 

"You seem angry again." Eli places his finger under her chin, raising her face to meet his eyes. "Don't tell me… you haven't done it with him either."

"You claimed that you didn't know how to do it." She glares at him. "You didn't even know how to masturbate."

Eli lets out a laugh. "You believed that? I am more than six hundred years old. Did you not even know that?"

"I know that," She exhales. "Let's not talk about it anymore. I would hear it straight from him. I don't like how honest you are."

"I guess I know why I would be interested in you." Eli cups her face. "Delicious to kiss, interesting to listen to, intriguing me in strange ways, oddly fearless, keeping me on my toes for you in a single day… I am afraid that your copy, whom I met earlier, didn't do you any justice. She was too different and too cold. I don't believe that even the goddess created the perfect copy of you. If she was even one percent of who you are now, I would have stolen her away from her husband."

Nell's heart skips a beat. She blinks her eyes while trying her best to keep her expression straight. 

"I guess you have your answer." He pinches her cheek. "It doesn't matter which goddess manipulated the fates. You and I are going to be together because you are my reality."

There are many ways to say 'I love you' to someone. She likes these words more than the actual words. "Anyway, you aren't him."

"Ah." He nods his head. "I have a few theories about that. But let's get you to some warm place. You will freeze to death at this rate."

"Okay." She rubs her nose. "But I won't sleep with you."

"I can seduce you in a minute," He says as he takes the coat and muffler from her. "But I don't want you to face an unnecessary dilemma. I guess I want to know your heart first."

And why he's being followed too. There isn't one person, but two men who are hiding in the shadows. One of them is Baek Joon Woo. Eli can't recognise the other person. 

As for the goddess, she will come to find this woman for sure. 

Eli throws the coat and muffler in the garbage bin. Nell scowls at him but says nothing. Smiling at her, he takes her hand and says, "I am an extremely jealous person."

"I know," She murmurs. 

***

On the other side of the mirror, Eli Sanguine stares hard at the mirror of acrimony. 

"You heard her voice in your head," Se Ye repeats Eli's words. "How is that possible?"

"I know what I heard," Eli replies solemnly. It's strange that he has an unexplained connection. What kind of world is inside this mirror?