"I told you, you had to turn left on the intersection, now we're lost in the middle of nowhere." a woman complained from where she was sitting, on the co pilot seat of a minivan.

"We're not in the middle of nowhere we're... uuuh..." The man who was driving took a peek at the sign in front of their slow moving car, “We're in Hampvein. I think it's a town or something..."

"Julius please, it's the middle of the night!" The woman huffed beside Julius, rolling her eyes before fixing them on the view outside even though she couldn't really see much as it was already dark. "We were supposed to be at your cousin's three hours ago."

"Calm down Tina,” Julius tried to soothe the woman's anger, “We'll just have to spend the night here. I'm sure there must be a hotel around here somewhere." He said, the white minivan slowly picking up some significant speed.
 

For a moment, Julius was thankful Tina didn't have anything to say after. But Tina couldn't bring herself to make out words, was just completely agape — there was an enormous dog in the middle of the road. Or at least that's what they thought it was.

"JULIUS, WATCH OUT!" Tina yelled making Julius halt the car to a sudden stop.

"What the hell?!" Julius spoke out in frustration.

"There was a dog on the road, I swear it was there just now..." Tina answered still startled by the way the minivan had stopped. "Oh Jesus, you probably hit it..."

"I did not." Julius said, taking off his seatbelt in order to go out of the car just to be sure.

Both people yelled and jolted when something fell down on the hood of the car, orange eyes staring at Julius from outside of the minivan.

Turned out it wasn't a dog but a wolf, a big blonde wolf was staring back at them, its breath hitting the windshield.

"Julius, start the car." Tina said calmer than she actually was although she could clearly feel her hands trembling and sweating. She swallowed. "Julius, START THE CAR!" Tina repeated herself, louder this time and shaking the man beside her realising Julius was caught up in some sort of trance looking at the wolf's eyes; he was being hypnotized.

Soon, she was, too.

And in the middle of the silent night, desperate shouts could be heard, shouts that called out for help, but it never came.

*

Tzuyu was waiting for her coffee to be done, she had just bought a new coffee machine the other day and she was using it for the first time today.

While she waited she was sitting on the head of her dinner table, playing with Gucci Gang after picking him up from the floor, despite the dog's clear discomfort.

"My cute little baby, I love you so much." Tzuyu said hugging the small dog close to her face and then attacking him with kisses on his tiny head.

After practically barging in, Seungcheol threw today's newspaper in front of Tzuyu, startling Gucci Gang and making him jump off Tzuyu's lap.

"What the hell? You scared Gucci Gang away," Tzuyu complained, frowning at him.

"It's not like he wanted to be here anyway," Seungcheol answered. "I just wanted to tell you that you need to be more careful next time you go hunting.” He crossed his arms over his chest, Tzuyu's glare didn't waver his upright posture.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Tzuyu asked, confused.

"Read the headline." Seungcheol told her pointing at the newspaper that was laying on the table.

And she did read it.

Horrible Deaths : Murder or Animal Attack?

It caught Tzuyu's attention enough to make her pick the newspaper up and dig deeper into the article. Her eyes narrowed as she read further, her frown slowly getting replaced by shock.

"This wasn't me," Tzuyu spoke up after, shaking her head and pushing the newspaper away.

"Oh c'mon, I doubt there are anymore vampires in this crappy town aside from us, and we both know you still feed on humans.” Seungcheol said. "Just admit you were too careless to clean up your mess this time.”

"The nerve of you to come to my house unannounced, uninvited, and if that wasn't enough, blame me for something I CLEARLY didn't do," Tzuyu said as she stood up from the chair and started walking towards Seungcheol, the paper was now again in her hold. "Besides, these people were gutted, I don't do that." She slammed the newspaper against Seungcheol's chest, making him jolt back a little.
 

He heaved a soft sigh and bowed his head, acknowledging his mistake. But Tzuyu just wasn't done yet.

"Next time you accuse me of something, at least get your facts straight.” She finished as she entered the kitchen and started pouring coffee in a cup.

*

Tzuyu was sitting as she always was in the far right corner of the classroom, feet set up on her desk. This time she wasn't wearing her favorite cap and she wasn't a lollipop, simply because she had no classes with Nayeon today so there was no use for either of those things.

Tzuyu was waiting for Professor Kim to come, she was just silently looking at everyone in the classroom as she waited. A girl with orange hair took a seat to her right. Tzuyu had seen her before, and she was often in the detention room, too, she just couldn't recall what her name was.

But then again, she wasn't really interested in her so there was no reason for Tzuyu to remember her name.

"Hi, I'm Lisa." The girl began after a few minutes. Tzuyu took it the girl was just bored and Tzuyu just nodded in response, it was more than the girl would've expected. "I always wondered," she continued, "Why Literature Majors have to take a Chemistry class, I mean, what does Lit have to do with Chem? Is it because Chemistry is lit? LitChem?"
 

It was then clear to Tzuyu that whoever this girl was, she hadn't come here to talk about Tzuyu's choice of major. Lisa was literally just blurting out whatever that came to her mind, and Tzuyu hated small talking.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" Tzuyu cut to the chase, taking the girl by surprise. She rolled her eyes onto Lisa and looked her dead in the eyes.

"Well, I know you have a, umm, hobby of poking fun at one of your teachers." Lisa started explaining, Tzuyu's mind drifting to Nayeon and her frustrated hamster face, her breath hitched. "And as you probably have noticed I, myself, have the same hobby as well, so I was thinking we could join forces, help each other out, y'know?" Lisa finished. The way she was gradually leaning closer and closer to Tzuyu showed how eager she was to hear her answer.

"I work alone." Tzuyu simply said.

"You don't have to be so serious about it, it's not like I'm asking you to help me murder someone, c'mon, we could do great stuff together. Or maybe-”

"I hate repeating myself." Tzuyu answered coldly and Lisa took the hint. The latter immediately pressed her lips tight together and sat properly on her chair.

"I'm sorry to inform you," everyone's heads turned to the door of the classroom where the principal was standing, "Professor Kim won't be able to attend class as she was assigned to do an important task today so I'm covering for her.”

And while the other students had nothing to respond to it with, Tzuyu saw from the corner of her eye, Lisa's visible disappointment after listening to the news. This girl was way more invested in her teacher than Tzuyu was with Nayeon, that's for sure.

*

"That's not fair! I came here first!" Nayeon whined to her friends, scowling.

It was their lunch break and Irene suggested they played a silly game: whoever got to the cafeteria first would get a treat from the losers. And Nayeon did win, but Irene pulled her out the moment she stepped into the cafeteria to make it look as if Nayeon came second.

"Nope. I got here first. You believe me, right, Jen?" Irene lied then faced Jennie with her not so effective puppy eyes.

"She cheated! It's me who won." Nayeon still argued. She clung on Jennie's other arm and pressed her cheek against it which only annoyed her friend more.

The girl in the middle let out an irritated sigh, "What are you, 5? One Lisa is enough to ruin my entire week, I don't need two more of her."

"Of course one Lisa would be enough for you." Irene teased, and Jennie wasn't stupid not to know that it had double meaning.

"Ugh, seriously? We're doing this now? Can we eat first before this, please? And stop clinging, I feel grossed out." Jennie then shook the both of them off her before walking so much faster than them, leaving the two behind her.

"So grumpy. Is she on her period?"

"Isn't she everyday? The only time she's in good mood is when she's roasting the two of us."

Both of them giggled and decided to catch up on Jennie. They got in line, and after having enough food on their trays, they went to find a table which wasn't too hard because there weren't many people in the cafeteria.

Irene and Nayeon sat next to each other while Jennie took the seat across them.

"Have you two watched the news?" Jennie spoke again after her long silence as if she didn't scold them like a mom minutes ago.

"About the two women who pulled each other's hair over a tupperware? Yeah. It's insane."

"Not that, Irene, why would I care so much about that?" Jennie said, looking so done with her friend. "It's the other one."

"Ooh... I get it. Well, what about it?" Irene asked.

"My mom is overreacting. She said I can't go home late until this town is safe again. So no more late night bars for me. I don't even know if I will be attending the Hampvein Halloween."

"Ah, now that explains why you're being such a menopausal woman this morning." Said Irene. Jennie, still pissed, didn't reply after. "She just wants you safe, Jen. She's your mom." Irene tried to make her friend feel better.

"Wait, what news?" Nayeon butted in. Aside from the fact that she couldn't stand being left out for a second, the matter seemed to be serious. She then gained a look of disbelief from the two. "What?"

"You sure you want us to tell you? While we're eating?" Jennie asked her and pointed at her food.

"Yes, I am." Nayeon answered not understanding what her food had to do with this.

"Ask Irene, she's the one who's always watching news like the grandma that she is. Pretty sure she knows every little detail." Jennie stuck her fork out in Irene's direction.

Irene ignored the supposed-to-be insult and decided to just talk to Nayeon, "There's this gory crime that went down last night, the victims' bodies were torn apart. Almost everyone's talking about it. My God, Nayeon."

Jennie dropped her fork on the table and slammed her back on her chair, "Now I lost my appetite. Thanks to the both of you."

"No. Thanks to Nayeon's outdated , I had to tell such a story. I've lost my appetite, too."

"What the eff- actually, thanks to Jennie. She brought it up." Nayeon defended herself. After a few seconds of silence, she decided to speak again. "Who were the victims?"

"No idea." Jennie shrugged as she now just fiddled with the pasta in her plate using her fork. This matter obviously didn't interest her much. If it wasn't about her being jailed in a work-house routine everyday because of it, she could probably not care less.

"They said they're not from this town and they seemed to be just passing by." Irene immediately said as soon as Nayeon turned to her for an answer, "They also said they barely recognized the victims. Poor them..."

"Yeah, well... do they have any hint on who caused this?"

"Nayeon, I know it's hard to believe this, but surely nobody in this town could stomach doing such crime. And these victims didn't know anyone from here so why would a Hampveinee kill them? For fun?" Said Irene, making a point, and Nayeon almost choked on her food when her friend used the term "Hampveinee".

"Okay, enough. Please. Thank you." Jennie closed the discussion, obviously still annoyed. Irene laughed at her while Nayeon zipped close automatically.

"Well, look who we got here."

Irene's ears perked up, hearing the voice from behind her. She stopped munching for a moment despite being stuffed. She looked at Jennie and mouthed the words "is it her?". Jennie ignored her and instead looked at the person with a polite smile.

"Miss Kang! Taking rounds again, I assume?" She greeted her.

Miss Kang was now standing tall next to their table, looking at Jennie. She was in her coat and her hands were both tucked in the pockets of her slacks. Irene's sudden silence could be noticed; she immediately swallowed the sandwich in without bothering to chew it again.

"Yes, as always. And I'm glad for once I didn't come here to Miss Manoban stuck in detention." Miss Kang answered. Her eyesmile was too adorable for Irene to ignore. Feeling the teacher's stare, Miss Kang looked back at her. "Hello, Miss Bae."

Irene smiled and she swore she tried her best not to look constipated, but Nayeon and Jennie's bitten back laughter told her that she still did look constipated.

Kang Seulgi was the school president's daughter, and twice or thrice a week she'd visit the school to make rounds and check how everything was going. It was part of her training as she soon would be the one in charge.

Kang Seulgi was also Irene's crush.

"So," Seulgi clasped her hands together, still smiling. Irene liked it about her the most; she's always smiling, it's like her jaws never felt stiff. She radiated an aura that screamed positivity. "I suppose you three are already informed about the party that's gonna be held this Friday. Are you all coming to Hampvein Halloween?"

"Well, we hope we get to be there." Nayeon said and received a nod from Seulgi.

"I hope so, too. Can't wait to see you." She told them, but her eyes were fixed on the Literature teacher so Jennie and Nayeon figured that it was meant for their friend. "I gotta go. Thank you for this little chitchat, girls."

They smiled at Seulgi before she took her exit. Irene suddenly inhaled sharply.

"My God, she was looking at me!" She whisper-yelled out of extreme giddiness she felt.

"Yeah, we know that, she barely spared us a glance. Please don't scream." Nayeon said.

Jennie scoffed, "She may not scream but she'll probably think and talk about it for the next two years."

*

Nayeon knew preparing herself for the party would take long, she just didn't have any idea that it would take this long. When she asked her mother for help, she didn't know she was signing up for a whole 3 hours in front of the mirror. Her mother was quite the perfectionist and critique, she never ran out of side comments and suggestions. She even told her to wear one of her ancient necklaces, which didn't match her outfit. At all.

And now she's attacking Nayeon's costume.

"Are you sure you're wearing that? It looks too much for me."

Nayeon decided to go for a catwoman outfit — an all black leather costume. It was long sleeved. She wore a belt around her waist, a pair of gloves that went up almost to her elbows, and a cat ears headdress to match her concept.

"If I was going to a funeral wearing something like this, your reaction would be valid. But it's a Halloween Party, mom. Everyone else will dress this way." Nayeon told her mom as if making a kid stop throwing tantrums, and she wished it was enough to make her mom stop.

But of course it wasn't.

"Look at your thighs, they're very exposed. And I don't know why you kept insisting to put on this much makeup. Jesus Christ, Nayeon-"

"Give her a break, Lucy." Her father told her mom. He was leaning on the open door of her room and Nayeon only knew he was there when he talked- her mom wouldn't let her face anything but the mirror. "Last year we let you pick her costume and she had to go in a powerpuff girl's costume. And it was Blessy- was it Blessy?"

"Blossom, dad."

"Robert-" Lucy tried only to get cut off.

"Oh yeah, Blossom. Anyway the point is, Nayeon knows what she's doing. Let her be."

"And Mom, would you rather I, your daughter, dress like Humpty Dumpty who sat on the wall in a Halloween Party while the others are having the moment of their lives in their cool costumes?" She asked her mom, looking at her reflection in the mirror.

For a while, Nayeon thought she won, seeing as her mom took a little while thinking of an answer. But then, "Yes, I'd rather see you in a Humpty Dumpty costume."

Nayeon's shoulders slacked, she quit. "You're unbelievably relentless." She said, making her mom and dad laugh.

"Will you stay the rest of the night at Jennie's again?" Asked her mom. She combed Nayeon's long straight hair, she had been doing it for minutes now.

"Probably." Was Nayeon's only answer. Ever since they became friends, it had been a tradition that the three of them would spend the night at Jennie's after the Hampvein Halloween: a party that was held every year. "Why are you not coming, by the way? You came last year."

In the mirror, Nayeon saw her mom exchange glances with her father briefly and in that split second, it seemed like they had already understood each other.

"It's just we're getting older for that, Nayeon. And what will we do there? Talk to people your age about Scavengers?"

"It's Avengers, mom. Please." Nayeon rolled her eyes while chuckling softly. Then she got up from her chair and finally turned around, facing her mom. "I better get going now. I'll be okay, mom. I promise." She assured Lucy who only caressed her arms and gave her a nod with a motherly smile in return. Nayeon kissed her on her cheek before looking at her dad. "Thank you for sympathizing with me. I appreciate your alliance." She joked then hugged him tightly.

He wrapped his arms around her small body and pressed a kiss on her head. "Yeah, anytime. Though your mom will probably hang me upside down later."

Nayeon laughed as a response. She shouted several bye's as she hurriedly ran out of her room.

*

Having a stronger whiff of Seungcheol's scent, which only meant he was close, made Tzuyu's eyes roll automatically. She pulled at her choker to fix it in place around her neck and let it land against her skin with a sharp flick.

"For 's sake, it's my room, Seungcheol. You can't even leave me alone in my own room now?!" She complained, making sure Seungcheol would get the hint that she was now actually annoyed. The fact alone that he was staying with her with no valid and serious reason was already too much for Tzuyu to deal with.

"I am-"

"Looking after me?" Tzuyu groaned, "How many times do I have to tell you? I'm no longer a kid!"

Despite the younger girl's use of high-pitched voice in talking to him, Seungcheol kept his cool as he looked at her from her bed. "You stopped aging when you were 20; you are forever 20. While me, I'm forever 26. That makes you forever a kid to me."

"I am 125 years old!" Tzuyu almost roared, she turned around and let him see her annoyed expression. She dropped both of her hands to her sides in a rather harsh way. "And I am a vampire, surely I can live with these weaklings safely."

"Well, the question is, wi