The first night Hyejin came to audition for her new job, she had to wait 20 minutes outside in the cold before the business owner remembered that he needed to invite her inside. The owner had been hesitant to hire her, stating, not too bluntly, that he was worried she might scare his human customers away. She had tilted her chin up, then, and held the mic a little tighter as she sang. When the audition had ended, she had been fully ready for him to wave her aside, instead he hired her on the spot.

That had been three months ago; now, as she strolled up to the jazz club, the first thing that greeted her was the club manager, pacing frantically outside the entrance as he tapped furiously on his phone,

“Good evening,” Hyejin greeted, bowing slightly. When manager caught sight of her, he pocketed his phone and walked up with a frantic look in his eye. “Ah, Hyejin-ssi. Excellent timing, I need your opinion on something.”

When they entered the club, Hyejin had to bring a hand up to her face to mask her initial reaction. 

The Blue Cosmos was a jazz cafe and bar. During the day it served artisanal lattes, pastries, and paninis, with fusion jazz streaming from the speakers and various indoor plants and succulents hanging from the ceilings or decorating tables. 

Late in the afternoon, the cafe would close for a few hours. The barista was replaced by a bartender, the sandwiches swapped for easy finger food, fairy lights were strewn about the hanging plants,  and the Blue Cosmos would open in the evening as a club with a live jazz band that played until the early hours of the morning.

That evening however, instead of the usual fairy lights, Hyejin was greeted with the unfortunate sight of paper bat cutouts dangling from the ceiling, and instead of the succulents on the tables, there were now tiny plastic skulls and black candles on every table.

“What do you think?” the club manager asked, he sounded distracted. From the corner of her eye, Hyejin could see him fiddling on his phone again

“It’s March.” She replied instead, for lack of anything else to say. 

“What? Oh. Yes I know, but it’s only for tonight. The club has been rented out by the Seocho Coven, and I wanted to make it seem more hospitable.”

Hyejin wasn’t sure what to say to that. Behind her mask, she grit her teeth. On one hand, she was a bit touched that her boss seemed to be opening up to the idea of other supernatural patrons. On the other, she didn’t know how to break it to him that his design choices were questionable without losing her job.

“I think that,” she said carefully, “if the head of the Seocho coven chose our club for their gathering, it would be best to show them the Blue Cosmos’ unique charm.” She stared at him meaningfully, hoping he got the message.

Dong-Hyun looked from her to the main area of the club and sighed, “It’s a bit much, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” Hyejin said, chuckling, “But I think it’s a good effort. Uhm.” She hesitated, before taking a deep breath and going for the plunge, “Maybe we lose the paper bats? Not all of us like using that form.”

“Ah,” Dong-Hyun looked at the decoration before nodding, “Yes that can be arranged. Thank you for letting me know.”

She bowed again, before heading inside for her soundcheck with the band. Right before she took the stage, she took a picture of the shoddy decorations, sent it to their apartment group chat with a bit of context for a laugh and forgot all about it.

When the Seocho coven arrived later in the evening, Hyejin couldn’t help but feel a little intimidated. It hadn’t been that long since she left her own coven back in Jeonju, but the feeling of being a part of one was still strong. The sense of security and community that came with those of her own kind.

During one of the breaks, Hyejin was cooling herself off by the fans nearer the bar when--

“Hello.”

She turned around, coming face to face with a vampire woman with a thinner face and a kind smile. Hyejin bowed awkwardly in response.

“My name is Choi Soo-jung,” the other vampire said. Her fangs flashed briefly in the club’s dim lighting. “I wanted to come over and say how really good your performance was earlier.”

Hyejin bowed again, her smile growing a little wider. “Thank you for saying so. Uhm. I’m Ahn Hyejin.” After a beat, Hyejin adjusted her chair so that she was facing the other vampire properly and motioned for her to sit down too.

Soo-jung smiled again, taking the chair opposite her and folding her hands neatly on the table. “I thought I knew most of the vampires in this part of town, but I’ve never seen you before, are you from a different district’s coven, Hyejin-ssi?”

“Oh, no.” Hyejin ducked her head a bit, “I just moved here a few months ago, from Jeonju.”

“Ah!” The other vampire’s eyes widened infinitesimally, “You parted with your coven?”

Hyejin nodded.

“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to pry.” Soo-jung said, lifting both palms up in a placating manner. “I know it’s not uncommon for other vampires to try and live apart, but I’ve been part of the Seocho Coven for centuries, so I can't imagine what it must be like.”

Hyejin ducked her head again, feeling a bit self conscious. “Ah well, it’s probably because I’m still young. I just want to figure things out on my own before I think about pledging to a coven again.”

Soo-jung nodded, her smile was an understanding one and deep down, Hyejin felt relieved. She hadn’t interacted with many vampires since she came to Seoul, and she knew her roommates would never really be able to understand her as a vampire.

“Do you mind my asking how old you are?” Soo-jung asked, she motioned for a waiter with a flutter of her fingers and smoothly ordered them a plate of fries.

“I was turned in 1920, which was my 26th year.” Hyejin replied.

“You are young!” Soo-jung replied, laughing lightly. Their fries had arrived and she pushed the plate toward Hyejin as they talked.

Soo-jung told her about how she was turned during the start of the Joseon Dynasty, before they moved on to other things. Hyejin learned that the Seocho coven was a major stakeholder in some of the country’s best hospitals which was where the coven received their blood supply, and in turn, she told Soo-jung about the vampire-only festivals held in Jeonju. 

Before long, Hyejin’s break was up, and she had to perform again, but Soo-jung had promised to speak with her one last time before the night was up.

A part of her felt lighter during her second set. It was nice, she realized, suddenly, to speak with other vampires again. Like an unknown space she wasn’t aware of being briefly filled. 

When she had finished performing for the night, dawn was about two hours away. On a normal day, Hyejin would leave as soon as she could, just so that she could be home before sunrise. This time, however, she hung back smiling when she saw Soo-jung walk over again.

“Congratulations on a good set!” The older vampire said with a brighter smile and Hyejin bowed again, laughing this time.

“Thank you Unnie,” she replied teasingly.

“Oh, am I your Unnie now?” Soo-jung replied, laughing too. “I suppose that makes us friends, huh?”

Hyejin smiled a bit wider, “I’m certainly glad to have Unnie as a friend.”

Soo-jung nodded, looking behind her for a moment before turning back to Hyejin, “We’ll be leaving soon, but I’ll definitely come back on my own and maybe we can hang out some more?”

Hyejin nodded, already excited at the prospect of it. “I’d like that!”

“And,” at this the older vampire hesitated a bit, glancing away for a moment before turning back, “I know you said you wanted to find your own way, but if you ever want that feeling of being part of a family again, the Seocho coven would welcome you with open arms.”

The invitation gave her pause. She looked past Soo-jung, toward the other vampires in the club, most of whom were chatting jovially with one another, sharing jokes and stories that were probably hundreds if not thousands of years old. 

She looked back and smiled sheepishly, bowing again. “Thank you for the offer, but I think I’ll remain on my own for now.”

Soo-jung smiled, nodding in understanding, “Okay, but the offer stands. It was good to meet you Hyejin-ssi!”

Hyejin waved goodbye before turning to fix her own things. When she was halfway out the door, she burst out laughing. “What are you doing here?”

Wheein was leaning against the side of the club, scrolling absently on her phone, when she saw Hyejin she smiled, fixing the bucket cap on her head. “I thought you would want some company on the walk back home.

“This is certainly new,” Hyejin said, looping her arm through Wheein’s as they walked, “you must really miss me when I’m away at work, huh?” She teased, taking pleasure in the cringe that took up all of Wheein’s face.

“Don’t flatter yourself.” The werewolf replied easily, “Your head won't fit through those tight-fitting crop tops you like so much.” 

They walked in companionable silence for a long while before Wheein sighed. “I don’t know if I’ve told you this, but I was from Jeonju too.”

“Really?” Hyejin didn’t bother hiding her shock, turning to her roommate with wide eyes. 

“Yuhp,” Wheein was staring down at her feet as she walked. Hyejin belatedly realized that she was wearing the sweatshirt and sweatpants she usually wore to bed.

“Did you walk all the way over here in your sleepwear?” She asked.

Wheein shrugged. “Jeonju’s only wolf pack is very discreet, so I’m not that surprised we never met before you moved here.” she said instead. Hyejin nodded, and waited, realizing there was something more that her roommate wanted to say.

“When I first moved to Seoul,” Wheein began, “I was very sad to part with my pack. Unlike vampires, not many of us choose to leave our packs you know.”

“But some do,” Hyejin said, the ‘so why did you?’ went unsaid between them, but she knew Wheein understood. Around them the streets were mostly quiet, and the wind was colder than ever, which made their conversation feel a little more intimate.

“Same as you,” Wheein replied, “I wanted to figure out who I was outside of my pack.”

Hyejin nodded.

“During my first few months here,” Wheein said, her voice growing a bit more wistful, “I was very lonely, and I missed my mother and my pack a lot. When I started making friends with other wolves in Seoul, I was jealous of them in their packs. I missed that feeling of belonging.”

Hyejin felt that empty space again, the one that was filled briefly when she spoke to Soo-jung. 

“When I saw your text message earlier this evening,” Wheein said, “I had a sense that you might be feeling the same way by being around other vampires.”

“Does it go away?” Hyejin asked, beside her she felt more than saw Wheein shrug in response. 

“I think that will always be a part of you.” Wheein spared a glance at her before continuing, “sometimes it will be hard but sometimes it gets better. And I know I don’t regret trying to live my own life.”

“That’s good.” Hyejin replied, smiling at her friend and gripping her arm just a little bit tighter.

“The Unnies helped me a lot, actually,” Wheein said, chuckling at distant memory now. Despite herself, Hyejin found herself chuckling too. “They did?”

“Yes,” Wheein nodded, they were approaching their apartment building. Around them, the night was turning from velvet blue to lavender, and Hyejin felt the familiar fatigue settle into her bones that told her she needed to be asleep. 

“They took really good care of me when I started renting here, and they made me feel less lonely. Now they’re like my family.”

Hyejin smirked, “and you give me flack for making cheesy comments, when here you are waxing poetic about The Unnies.”

Wheein rolled her eyes, shoving lightly at Hyejin as they got off the elevator to their floor and walked towards room 1031. As Wheein fit her key in the lock, Hyejin squeezed at her arm again until the werewolf turned to look up at her.

“Thank you, for picking me up from work, And thank you for talking to me about all of this. I think it’s what I needed to hear.”

Wheein nodded, smiling a dimpled smile. When she opened the door to the apartment, both of them were greeted by the smell of instant noodles and coffee wafting in from the kitchen. Upon entering, the first thing they saw was Yong and Byul, sitting together at the dining table, knees touching as they nursed two separate bowls of noodles. In front of Byul was a steaming mug of coffee.

“Why are you two awake?” Wheein asked as she shrugged off her jacket and hung it on the rack by their door. At the table, Byul’s eyes were still mostly closed, and her voice was still hoarse with sleep when she replied, “We heard you leave and Yong got worried, so she made me wait up with her.”

The angel glared at the demon indignantly, poking at Byul with her elbow, “Dont lie, you were a bit worried too.”

Hyejin shared a look with Wheein and smiled. She sniffed at the air before making her way to the pantry, grabbing two more packets of instant noodles. “We’ll join you, then.”

“You’re always so hungry,” Wheein complained, even though there was a smile on her lips as she took a seat beside Byul. Hyejiin smiled a little wider, pouring hot water into the two bowls before bringing them over to the table. 

Soon, the four of them were slurping noodles in silence. When Hyejin looked up from her bowl, at Wheein, at her two Unnies, she found that she didn’t notice the empty space from earlier at all.