“I am moving back to my castle,” Ms Pink announces the next day over breakfast.

“You are?”

Ms Pink sends me a frown. “This apartment is known to Yuri now. It is time to move out.”

I am surprised. “You don’t trust Yuri? But isn’t she—”

“She’s with me. But this space is no longer unknown to the supers.”

“You mean they didn’t know where you were the entire time?”

Ms Pink huffs with impatience. “Summer hails from a long line of practitioners of black magic. She put a hex on this place.”

“What?” Is this why Yuri was so disgusted with this place? “But you said she doesn’t know you’re a vampire. How is that possible if she knows black magic?”

“I am not a three-day-old vampire who can’t withstand a little hocus pocus. Summer’s hexes don’t have an effect on me.”

“But if it doesn’t affect you, it wouldn’t affect the other supers either . . .”

“I have properties everywhere. They would never guess I am putting up in this hexed up apartment right under their noses.”

“But won’t they try to track you down? Or stalk you?”

Ms Pink laughs. “Why would they? I’m not a criminal. They have better things to do.”

“So why put up here?”

Pink eyes flash at me. “I wanted our time to be uninterrupted.”

“Ah . . .”

“That time has come to an end however.”

“What do you mean?”

“My castle might not warrant us complete privacy.”

“Why not?”

Her eyes flashes without venom. “So many questions.”

I smile. “Humour me.”

“I told you my castle was being searched.”

I nod. “But you didn’t tell me what for.”

“I sensed a presence in my castle during the sixty days. It was a strange feeling, as though I was being watched. But I couldn’t find anything.”

I gasp. “That’s exactly how I felt that day in the lecture theatre.”

Pink eyes narrow. “What do you mean. Why didn’t you tell me about this earlier.”

“I thought it was just me. I had asked Max if he felt it too but he didn’t—” I halt, the rest of the sentence dying on my lips. “Max . . .”

“You did not mention this.”

“I really didn’t think—”

“Yes, you did not.”

“I’m sorry.”

Ms Pink taps furiously on her phone, presumably reporting this new update to someone out there. “You did not know campuses of education are supposed to be conflict-free zones. I cannot blame you for leaving it out.”

“Uh . . .” I utter too quickly to stop myself.

“What.”

My guts sink. “Actually . . . I knew that.”

Pink eyes are trained on mine, demanding more details.

“Yoona told me.”

Those pink eyes soften a fraction. “Stupid human.”

I sigh. “I’m sorry.”

“Finish your breakfast.” Ms Pink pats my head. “The Feds will investigate.”

X

My apartment is like a foreign place to me after leaving it for so many days. But I am glad to be home nonetheless. Even if I would rather be with Ms Pink in her castle right now. So apparently, moving back to her castle doesn’t involve me. That’s fine. I’m okay with that. Totally.

“You’re back!” Sunny exclaims and runs to be with open arms.

At least somebody is happy to welcome me home. “Sunny!” We hug for an extended moment, missing each other more than we realized. Or at least, that is the case for me. Finally, some human contact. No pink eyes. No superpowers. Just plain old powerless human interactions.

We sit down on our couch and Sunny drills me about why I moved back here and I have to skirt around the real reason, throwing nuggets about having her home re-decorated to keep Sunny satisfied. It isn’t until hours later that I finally get to my bedroom and flop on my bed, exhausted from the move and long chat.

I close my eyes, willing myself to get up and shower but my body refuses to respond to my brain’s demands. So I end up lying there, a foot on the floor, body slanted across my bed over the covers. I must have fallen asleep because my eyes feel heavy when they open again. My eyelids move in isolation, eyes blinking as my ears catch a strange hum that sounds like a very deep bass note. It is barely there, only just audible to me and I wonder if I’m hearing things because there’s nothing in my room that would make such a sound.

Sitting up with a lethargic push of my arms, I hang my head and try to chase the sleep out of me. The hum is persistent and it is bugging me. I get up to investigate. It’s not my phone. Not the fan. Not the laptop. Not anything. Outside the window, life is going about its business. With a perplexed frown, I reach for the open window only to find my hand is blocked by an invisible wall where the window pane would be if it were closed. What is going on? I try again and sure enough, I am obstructed by something I cannot—wait. Captes. No way. Did Ms Pink put captes at my window? And are they the reason for the low hum that is about to drive me nuts?

Even after all this time (a few months as calculated by the human calendar), I am still regularly surprised or shocked by the presence of the superpowers that a small number of beings possess. When I think about it like that, it frightens me a little. There’s nothing like the unknown to make me feel insecure. But Ms Pink will come to mind and suddenly, the unknown isn’t as scary anymore.

I miss her.

I miss my difficult, demanding, and at times domineering, princess vampire of pink.

So I decide to send her a diplomatic e-mail. I’m not about to take this lying down.

To: [email protected] Subject: Friends? Dear Ms Pink, It has come to my attention that I have some friends I didn’t know about. I’d appreciate it if you would let me know beforehand. Yours, Taeyeon Kim

It doesn’t take my princess vampire to reply. Of course, vampire speed.

To: [email protected] Subject: RE: Friends? Dear Taeyeon, The tone you are using on me is questionable. Fortunately for you, I will let it slide this time. Your friends serve a specific purpose. Be kind to them. You’re Mine, Tiffany Pink
Princess CEO
PINK Inc.

Be kind to them? Is she serious about this? Am I supposed to offer them food and water then? And what is with ‘you’re mine’. Does she think she’s being funny right now? I’m not in the mood for jokes after being unceremoniously dropped off back here without notice.

A great big sigh does not relief me of my pent up pissed off feelings. Neither does punching my pillow. So I stomp off to the bathroom and take a shower.

X

Sunny is having her brunch when I emerge from my room. I sit down to join her and soon we’re talking about graduation and job options (which have become much more complicated for me with my situation). Not surprisingly, Sunny fully intends to join the biggest media company in the country. It is somewhat to be expected when your uncle is not only on the board of directors but is also the founding chairman.

I’m thankful for Sunny’s generosity too. Thanks to her, I get to stay in this comfy apartment instead of having to shack up in a tiny little box people call a room because it has four walls. I mean, while I’m not exactly swimming in poverty, an apartment of this size and location would be beyond my accommodation allowance budget.

“Tiffany Pink wants you to join her company huh. Is she trying to keep an eye on you?