March 13, 2010 – Seoul, Korea 12:15 p.m.


“Where’s Seung Hyun?” 

Bom finds Mir alone in her living room area. She throws a pillow at Mir’s head. He still does not wake up. She walks over and shakes him vigorously. This time he wakes up. He looks around then looks at Bom, “Where’s Seung Hyun?”

“I’m supposed to be the one asking you that question…and why were you sleeping? You’re supposed to be watching him!” Bom pulls him up and drags him out the living room. She brings him into her garage and pushes him next to his car door, “Go find him!”

“Can you use your powers and help me locate where he is? I’ll go fetch him.” Mir smiles his puppy eyes at her. She smacks the side of his head.

“I have no control over my powers. It shows me what I need to see and right now it’s not showing me where Seung Hyun is at. That’s why I need you to find him! We can’t have him roaming around alone…” Bom let’s go of Mir. She cups her chin and thinks.

“But you said earlier no vampire or guardian would ever recognize he’s the ONE. Why are you worrying so much about his safety?” Mir pulls out his car keys.

“I’m worried that it’s not the right time for them to meet…”

“Seung Hyun meeting vampires? Or him meeting other guardians?” Mir unlocks his car door and takes a seat. He rolls down his window.

Bom leans her head in, “No not them…just get him back here pranto! We have his crash course lessons to teach. And please don’t get sidetracked again, ok?”

Mir nods his head. He starts his engine and rolls his window up. Bom opens the garage door and he revs his car engine. Bom watches her cousin leave her house, “Hmm…he’ll see her but Mir will be his distraction…it’s not time yet…I’ve seen their first meeting…sorry Seung Hyun but it’s not today…”

12:35 p.m.


“Ma’am welcome!” A young waitress bows her head at Sandara as she enters the restaurant. She returns the bow and smiles. The waitress guides Sandara to her desired seat at the bar. She hands a menu to Sandara and leaves her alone to get her iced tea.

“Hmm…” Sandara reads the menu. She puts the menu down for a moment to observe the atmosphere of the restaurant. The restaurant has a long, dark glossy wood bar and the red booths in the restaurant make the place look classy. Three young men sitting in a round booth on her right side draws her attention. They’re dressed in black modern tailored suits. Her curious gaze bores an uneasy feeling with one of the men. While still conversing with his fellow friends - he briefly looks at Sandara with his piercing eyes. He smirks and returns his gaze back to his friends. Vampires! I can smell their arrogant blood from here! Argh, why do I have to be off duty! Sandara slams her menu onto the table. 

The waitress returns with her drink, “Ma’am you ready to order now?”

Sandara shakes her head, “5 more minutes please.” The waitress leaves her again. She stares at her menu trying to take her mind off the vampires. Please control yourself, do not disobey orders…


Seung Hyun walks into the restaurant. This place looks good for me to eat at… A hostess welcomes him. She guides him toward a booth at the opposite side of the bar. His mouth gapes open, “Sandara?” He sees her sitting at the other side of the bar with a menu slightly covering her face. It can’t be her… maybe she just looks like her but she looks exactly the same.. His brows burrow. Suddenly he’s whirled around.

“There you are!” Mir grins.

“Mir!” Seung Hyun pushes Mir’s hands away and turns around. He stretches his neck searching for her. He looks left then right, “Where did she go?”

Mir steps in front of him, “Who are you looking for?”

Seung Hyun frowns, “No one. I thought I saw someone I knew…but it can’t be ‘coz that person is dead.” He faces the hostess, “I apologize, I’m not hungry anymore.”

Mir shrugs his shoulders at the hostess and wraps his arms around Seung Hyun’s shoulder, “Let’s go back to Bommie noona’s place…I’ll call her to cook something delicious for you. We need to leave…” They both walk out of the restaurant.


Sandara picks up the napkin she dropped on the floor. As she was about to take a seat on her stool she felt someone tug the napkin that was in her hand. She turns her head at the person and her eyes widen.

“Miss, you shouldn’t use that…it’s dirty.” The young man his thick full lips before releasing the napkin. 

Sandara puts the napkin on the table and looks back at the young man. She looks at his slick dark reddish hair slightly raised up making his hair style look cool. His dark circles around his eyes makes her wonder. He looks tired…wait why am I concern? He’s a vampire! “It’s because you touched it with your filthy bloody hands.” She mumbles.

“Pardon me?” He tilts his head.

“Thanks for the concern. I’ll ask the waitress for a new one. I think you’re friends are waiting for you…” Sandara looks back at their booth. She’s surprised to see it empty. Where did they go? Was I staring at the menu that long?

He chuckles, “My friends just left and I’m on my way out. Sorry if startled you but I can’t allow a beautiful lady like you use a dirty cloth. Anyways enjoy your lunch!” He waves farewell and heads toward the door.

Sandara watches him leave. Forgive me! I can’t help this urge to follow him…There’s no harm in following? I won’t fight with him…I want to see if he’ll do any harm to any humans… She immediately gets up and bows at the waitress. She hands her a few bills for the iced tea and leaves the restaurant. 

1:05 p.m.


Seung Hyun chews on his steak while he watches Mir adjust the screen projector. Bom turns it on and a blank screen appears. Mir takes a seat beside Seung Hyun. He pokes the fork on his plate grabbing a slice piece of steak. He too starts chewing, “Noona, thank you for this lunch!”

“I’m sorry for leaving earlier. I needed some fresh air. I wasn’t trying to escape you two.” Seung Hyun takes a sip of water from his glass.

“It’s alright. I know this day must be overwhelming for you. Anyways shall we begin? You two can still eat while I talk and show you our history.” Bom clicks the next slide showing ‘Guardian 101’. Mir laughs.

“Guardians and vampires existed ever since the beginning of time along with humans. When both kinds first arrived on earth they had wings.” Bom shows a slide of an artistic drawing of a Guardian with bird like wings but huge while a Vampire had like a bat like wings. Both kinds were in human forms with wings attached behind them. 

Seung Hyun raises his hand, “Question, why don’t we have wings now? Can we make it appear?”

Mir laughs. Bom smiles, “Evolution. We lost our wings through time. I guess our bodies wanted to blend well with humans. I don’t know how it disappeared but it did happen at the same time for both kinds. Strange, I know but it happened already. And no we can’t make it appear if we wanted to.”

“How about the first of our kinds? Do they still exist? Can we ask them how do they feel without their wings? Was it difficult for them not having them?” Seung Hyun pushes aside his plate and leans forward on his table. His mind is filled with a million questions.

“Slow down with the questions.” Bom laughs, “Yes they’re still alive but they’re very old now. They’re called ‘White Angels’ because they’re first of our kind. We’re called ‘Guardians’ because through time their genes has been passed on and evolved. Our blood is not full blooded ‘White Angels’. Don’t worry if we’re not ‘White Angels’ because we are like an upgraded version of them.” She giggles.

“Kind of like technology. New gadgets every year?” Seung Hyun looks at Bom’s laptop.

“Wait, we don’t age right? Why did you say they’re very old? I noticed I haven’t aged for 100 years now. I still look 17…” Seung Hyun touches his face.

“You were 17 when you first turned into a full ‘Guardian’ right?” Bom looks at Seung Hyun. He nods his head, “Actually you just aged this year! You’re a year older in Guardian time.”

“Huh?”

“When we’re first born into this world – we age the same as humans until we turn into a full ‘Guardian. Usually we change around the ages 16 or 17. After that we don’t age a year older until 100 years later. So basically it’s every 100 years we get older. You were asking why I said the ‘White Angels’ were very old. Well remember I said they were here since the first humans existed and how long ago is that if you can calculate?” Bom laughs at Seung Hyun’s facial expression. He looks like he’s thinking hard.

“Ah! Too much numbers! I don’t think I can count!” He laughs, “So we’re immortal? We can never die? And we basically age super duper slow? Hmm..”

“Oh yeah vampires age the same way as us too. And bullets to our brain or heart don’t kill us. Obviously you figured that out we can heal with what happened to you earlier. Our bodies can regenerate broken bones and wounded organs in minutes. Yes we’re very strong but we can still feel pain. Pain is like a human side of us. It keeps us grounded and it helps us understand the humans much better unlike vampires. Vampires that get hurt don’t really feel pain. For them it’s like a small needle prick to their body. They also heal like us but not as fast. A vampires’ venom is poison to our system. It’s death for us once we’re bitten. There’s no cure. Also if a vampire snaps our head off it’s also death.” Bom looks at Seung Hyun for any reaction.

“It’s not like we can regenerate a new head.” Mir laughs then pats Seung Hyun’s shoulder.

“We don’t have any venom in our system that can kill a vampire. But we can kill them by also snapping their heads off. An advantage for us is our speed – that’s why we can kill them easily. Vampires are strong and fast but not fast enough to catch us. If we get distracted even for a millisecond it’s not good because for them it’s a golden opportunity to take a bite. It’s hard for them to snap our heads off with our speed.” Bom clicks the next slide.

“They drink human blood right?” Seung Hyun stares at the slide of a vampire with fangs out attempting to bite a young girl.

Bom nods, “Yes they do. The only thing both our kinds seem to be on the same page is keeping our identity on the down low. I guess our first original kinds taught both kinds about not being too conspicuous. They did say humans were appalled seeing half human like beings flying with wings. Those stories now are only myths with no concrete evidence they ever existed. So since then vampires quietly kidnap their victims and drank their blood in secluded areas. Still humans feared them even telling stories to their children to stay at home at night. Now in this new era, vampires found new ways to drink their blood. We too found ways to stop them and save innocents. Oh yeah that’s not a picture of a vampire biting a human but a guardian.”

“What? I thought we die when bitten…” Seung Hyun drinks his water.

“But young guardians that haven’t changed yet can change into vampires. Wait, let me finish. I know you’re going to ask how. If a human was to get bitten by a vampire you’d think they change into a vampire like what humans believed would happen. It’s just a myth because humans did not know the ones getting bitten and changing were guardians and not their human kind. We look like humans remember. You’d think vampires would not blend in but they do. I guess we were both born to look like them so we can mix well and do whatever our heart desires. Guardians desire peace and love while vampires desire blood and power. I feel sorry for the humans not knowing we existed. It’s like they’re a school of fish minding their own business in this huge ocean then all of a sudden a huge whale gulps them into their stomach. Sorry, I think I’m kind of getting off topic with your question. Anyways, have you noticed how protective your father was with you when you were younger?” 

Seung Hyun nods. He touches his backpack that’s sitting next to him. Bom continues, “All ‘Guardian’ parents are like that because young guardians don’t have powers. They’re vulnerable and helpless. Parents waits until their children are around the age 14 to tell them about their true identity. They prepare them for their transformation and also warn them about vampires. Vampires figured out that they can change young guardians into their kind. It’s a plus for them to mix their blood into young guardians because their hidden strength will be used on their side. We call those changed young guardians ‘Dark Angels’. It’s heartbreaking for ‘Guardian’ parents to see their child leave them. Once bitten the child’s whole personality and identity turns into a soulless person full of greed and thirst. They’re not the same child anymore. It still wasn’t enough for vampires to change young guardians they still wanted more power and that’s when their theory of conceiving the ONE came into mind.”

“That’s very sad…I’ve always wonder why we lived so far from town…may I ask how do we distinguish a vampire from a human and also likewise with them with us? And what are our characteristic as a ‘Guardian’ and what are our powers?” Seung Hyun is so eager to learn more about his kind.

“We can easily distinguish a vampire from a human with their scent. We can smell their dull blooded scent anywhere. While its easy for us its difficult for them because our blood smells exactly like humans. The only way they can figure out we're 'Guardians' if they cut us and see our navy blue blood. But that's impossible for them to do with our speed. And Guardian powers? Well our skin is sensitive. I bet you noticed your human like senses changed once you turned into a full ‘guardian’. Have you notice your senses are so intense? You can hear the littlest things within a 10 mile radius and your vision…you won’t need a pair of glasses ever. Amazing huh? It’s like were animals with sensitive senses. Next is our powerful strength that can do impossible things for humans. Lastly our incredible fast speed makes us look magical. Appearing in another place before a human can even blink. We also are good with making potions. Well only healing and sleeping. We don’t want to take too much advantage on humans and never ever do we want to hurt humans by creating poisons. The number one motto in our ‘Guardian’ lifestyle is keeping the peace. The goodness in this world must always be maintained. Our parents taught us that and I believe your father has with you.” Bom looks at his back pack next to him.

“Yes he has…but I am half vampire…do you think I also have the vampire traits and thinking?” Seung Hyun looks down at his hands.

“I believe you’re ‘Guardian’ side of you is much more over powering because of your father. I’m afraid I cannot answer your question about your vampire traits. What do you feel in your heart?” Bom clicks the next slide revealing an infant with vampires and guardians behind him.

Seung Hyun feels his heart pound, “I know I don’t feel anger nor do I feel greed to gain power. All I want is to live at peace and not hurt anyone.”

Mir pats his shoulder again, “For me you’re a true ‘Guardian’ even if you are half vampire.”

Bom turns off the screen projector, “You can take a break. We’ll continue later on tonight. I need to speak to Mir alone. Mir showed you my guest room earlier feel free to take a nap.”

Seung Hyun picks up his back pack and exits the room.

“His heart is good.” Mir walks up to Bom.

“Yes it is.” Bom pulls out her cellphone and texts Sandara. Where you at?