Chapter 1: The Boy in the Rain
The rain poured endlessly over the quiet streets.
Emma pulled her hoodie tighter around herself as she hurried home from her part-time job at a small café. It had been another long day—burnt coffee, impatient customers, and aching feet.
"I swear," she muttered, kicking a small puddle, "if one more customer asks for extra whipped cream five minutes before closing, I'm quitting."
A faint rumble of thunder echoed across the sky.
She laughed at herself and continued walking, hugging the paper bag that held the leftover strawberry cake the café owner had let her take home.
"I guess tonight isn't completely terrible."
As she turned into the narrow street leading to her apartment building, something caught her eye.
Someone was sitting on a wooden bench beneath a flickering streetlight.
A boy.
He wore a black hoodie soaked by the rain. His head hung low, and he didn't move.
Emma stopped.
"Seriously?"
She looked around.
The street was empty.
"Hello?"
No answer.
She stepped closer.
"Hey... are you okay?"
Still nothing.
She sighed.
"Please don't be dead. I don't have money for hospital drama."
Carefully, she touched his shoulder.
The boy suddenly lifted his head.
Emma jumped back.
His face was unbelievably handsome.
His skin looked almost too pale, his black hair clung to his forehead, and his bright crimson eyes stared straight into hers.
For a second...
His eyes glowed.
Emma blinked.
When she looked again, they were a normal dark brown.
"I must be exhausted..."
The boy smiled weakly.
"...Sorry."
His voice was soft.
"I think... I got lost."
Emma frowned.
"You've been sitting in the rain all this time?"
He nodded.
"I didn't know where else to go."
She sighed dramatically.
"Great. Mom always said helping strangers would get me into trouble."
The boy tilted his head.
"But... are you going to leave me here?"
Emma looked at his soaked clothes.
Then at the heavy rain.
Then at the piece of strawberry cake in her bag.
"Oh, forget it."
She held out her hand.
"Come on."
The boy stared at her hand as if no one had ever offered him kindness before.
Slowly...
He smiled.
It was the cutest smile Emma had ever seen.
"My name is Kai."
"I'm Emma."
She helped him stand.
The moment their hands touched...
Kai froze.
His heartbeat stopped.
Or at least...
It should have.
A strange warmth spread through his body.
Impossible...
He looked at Emma in disbelief.
Why does her touch feel different?
Emma noticed him staring.
"What?"
Kai quickly looked away.
"Nothing."
But deep inside...
He already knew one thing.
Meeting Emma tonight was no accident.
And Emma had no idea...
The adorable boy she had just invited into her home wasn't an ordinary stranger.
He was a vampire..
