“Hey, isn’t that your classmate? Choi Sooyoung?” Tiffany pointed to the still figure lying propped up with his back against the alley wall.

Jessica frowned, and averted her gaze to where Tiffany’s finger was pointed at. Those narrow eyes widened at the sight of the pale, weak Sooyoung who had his eyes closed, and his hands folded on his flat stomach.

“What’s he doing here? He wasn’t at school this morning,” Jessica muttered quietly, not wanting to wake the sleeping Sooyoung up.

To think of it, she had never seen Sooyoung in that state before. He was dressed in a grey hoodie, which was surprisingly clean, and was using the hood as a headrest on the hard, brick wall, with simple jeans and black sneakers. His face seemed to have a yellow tinge to it, and he looked anything but fine. The scar on his face was a bright red, bringing out the sharp and clear contrast. His chestnut hair was messy and straggly, his fringe drooping below his eyes, covering them. Jessica would have thought that Sooyoung was a beggar on the streets if she had not recognised him before. But something caught Jessica’s attention; one of his wrists was turned upwards, and Jessica could see the brown and greenish-blue blood vessels sticking out of it. The arteries, which should have been bright-red, were brown, signifying that they were dry. The blood vessels seemed to be moving on their own, shifting restlessly as they struggled to function.

“Tiff, I think you should go first. I’ll…call you later,” Jessica waved Tiffany away, and approached the emaciated Sooyoung carefully, going to her knees next to his sleeping form.

Tiffany arched an eyebrow and shrugged, but said nothing else and sauntered away. Jessica gently took hold of Sooyoung’s upturned wrist, startling the awakening Sooyoung. Jessica almost fell back to her haunches as Sooyoung jerked, his eyes snapping open; what scared her more was the colour of his eyes. They were the colour of congealing blood. But there was more to it; his irises were diluted and they glowed with an inhuman aura. Jessica was staring straight into those frightening eyes until she found herself against the wall, Sooyoung manacling her wrists to it. She blinked, and struggled to get free, but his cold grip wouldn’t let her. Faintly, she was aware of the distance between themselves and the main road. Sooyoung’s cold breath was on her neck, trailing upwards to her chin and her jaw. She shivered.

“Sooyoung...stop, it’s me, Jessica!” Jessica had stopped struggling against her restrains and was now deathly afraid of the untamed creature before her.

Sooyoung didn’t seem to listen, but his mouth opened slightly, giving Jessica a view of those sharp canines.

“What—what are you doing? Stop, please let me go,” she whimpered, tears streaming down her cheeks.

“Jessica, I’m really, really hungry,” Sooyoung’s voice was smooth and velvety; it was the voice of a predator.

Jessica felt something sharp prick her skin, underneath her chin, and yelped. She felt hungry lips kissing and the blood that flowed. She could feel his strong need and his desperation to stay alive. It was the natural call of beings, no matter what they are.

“Sooyoung, please. Stop,” Jessica whispered, and that seemed to have broken the spell.

Sooyoung staggered away from her, bright red arterial blood welling on his lips. Bright red arterial blood that was hers. His eyes snapped from the dark red to the same light blue eyes that Jessica had seen days before. They were haunting and yet alluring at the same time. Jessica stood frozen against the wall, too scared to move.

“Jessica,” Sooyoung breathed, his eyes looking up at her with a kind of regret and remorse that Jessica had never seen before.

Sooyoung fell to his knees before her, head bowed out of embarrassment, and hands lying uselessly by his sides. She could have turned away, she could have walked away and let Sooyoung suffer with his own guilt of harming her. Instead, she clasped a hand on the small cut on her neck and crouched next to Sooyoung. Sooyoung himself was surprised when he felt small, soft hands on his shoulder, and to his arm. But he was still too guilt-ridden to face her directly yet.

“Sooyoung, we have to get out of here,” Jessica tried to lift Sooyoung by his arm, but it was no use, he was too heavy for her.

At her second attempt, Sooyoung rose to his feet obediently. Gently guiding him to her dorm, she made sure that it was empty before letting him inside. Sooyoung was staring at the floor all the while, allowing Jessica to guide him as he blindly followed. Jessica tugged him over to her room, sitting on the bed to peek up at him under her lashes. With one hand still on the wound which was turning sticky with blood, she held his other hand. She noted that after he took some of her blood, his skin was not as cold as before, but was still freezing.

“What are you?” Jessica asked the question she had been meaning to ask for a very long time.

“I’m not human.”

Readers’ Note:

Hey, hey, hey! Finally, Jessica asks that question. This is dramatic irony, it is. You readers want to guess how Ms. Jung will react to Sooyoung’s confession? And what will happen to YulSic? Which do you guys prefer? (Just out of curiosity) SooSic or YulSic?

Yours Faithfully
Jazzign