The Chaser is what we call it.  We will forever be excluded by the shadow of the Chaser.  Mortals will forever be its target.  It's the cycle of life, the Chaser will eventually hunt down a mortal and take away it's soul, however those mortals have a different name for what we call the Chaser.  They call it death.  Death will come to them eventually and it is inevitable.  What am I?  Why I am a vampire.  We're immortal and will live forever.

The Council is a group of our leaders.  The Council monitors our every move and takes note of it.  One strike and you'll be punished one way or another.  Affairs with mortals are forbidden, as that human will merely die off and we vampires have our prestigious image to keep, even if mortals don't know of our existance.  Turning a mortal into a vampire is sketchy and dangerous, and should only be done so by the purest of bloods.

It's not promised their personality and life will ever be the same.  It's best for them to stay a mortal, and stay a victim of the Chaser.  Yet Tiffany Hwang is an exception.  Our past together is something I have yet to mention, and is far too painful.  I broke her heart.  With her heart, also went mine, and I'm planning on mending both of our hearts.  Who knows, maybe I'll go chasing for that Chaser because of her.

The Chaser (One-Shot)

A certain blonde haired girl found herself treading the edge of the woods.  On her left, a park was left peaceful – after all, it was well past midnight.  On her right, there lay the woods which were teeming with life and action.  Yet she stayed in the middle.  She herself didn’t know why she was out in this place, or why she was out in the first place.  Perhaps she had wanted to get her mind off things.  Perhaps she just felt like a stroll.  Perhaps her thoughts from the past were now controlling her present, which forever lingered in her mind, and will for eternity.

“I’m sorry…” She muttered to herself, looking up at the moon in the sky.  Luckily the moon wasn’t full this night.

A particulat redhead kicked the dust of the park, idly walking about. As much as she tried to push them away, memories didn't fail to run through her mind. She gritted her teeth in hatred at some, yet her heart softened and she found herself longing at others. Mixed feelings -- something she had been feeling ever since a certain day in her past. One she didn't want to remember.

Soon Tiffany found herself in the heart of the Woods and took a breath of... well nothing really. That is until she spotted a blonde on nearby. Then she pulled a smirk from her bag of uncountable unreal expressions and strode in that direction.

These two souls had an interesting connection.  At first glance, you would think they hated each other to death, and that’s what they wanted each other to think.  Yet there was more to that hatred than what meets the eye.

Taeyeon situated herself on the ground, near the b pond.  She sighed, what had she done wrong in her life?  Why had she been born into a life of pain?  Why couldn’t she be normal?  Love could’ve come easier; a lot of things would’ve come easier if she were human.  She wouldn’t have minded being a victim of the Chaser if she was human.  Taeyeon scoffed to herself.  The Chaser – it was strange how she seemed to be running from the Chaser, but would fall in its clutches for one mortal girl. 

Tiffany didn’t understand.  She didn’t understand what this would do to the both of them if their relationship prevailed.  If it had continued they both would’ve been in pain.  It was better this way.  Taeyeon continued to tell herself this but it didn’t help the wound in her heart.  The wound was too deep, and she had to live with this for the rest of eternity.  She had no death to look forward to, as the Chaser kept a blind eye for her.

Speaking of that redhead, she walked towards Taeyeon, watching as the older girl took a pebble and harshly threw it into the shallow waters of the pond.  There was something different about Taeyeon that night in Tiffany’s eyes.  The Taeyeon she knew was cold, harsh, and dangerously mysterious and her words could whip you, however tonight, with the moonlight on her, she looked innocent and vulnerable.

That’s why Tiffany hated herself.  Her heart softened at the sight of Taeyeon in this state, no matter how many times her mind told her to hate the girl.  Because of Taeyeon, Tiffany no longer knew how to smile and she no longer knew how to give any emotion.  Each and every expression she made was never there.  She merely pulled it from her bag of expressions, all of which were fake-looking and merely masks.  Looks are deceiving.  Tiffany knew that all too well.  Yet this time, she was the one deceiving with her looks.

Straining to keep the deviled smirk on her face, Tiffany approached the other with a pebble of her own on hand.  She chucked it, watching it whizz by Taeyeon’s head, a centimeter away from knocking the other on the temple. Noting the other failed to react; she truly thought Taeyeon was fearless.  Instead, the pebble skipped a few times across the water before it sliced into the liquid at a wedge, “You know you’re supposed to skip those.”  She said, however she didn’t realize the small cut that the rock’s sharp edge had made.  Nor did she realize that cut drew blood.

Taeyeon was not scared when a rock flew by her head; she was alarmed – but not scared.  As soon as Tiffany’s husky and low voice bounced against her inner ear, she sprung up as an instant, spinning on her heel rather sharply, using unnecessary force in the action.  She hid her grimace and groan of pain as she steeled her glare at the other.  It pained her to do so also, but as long as Tiffany didn’t feel any pain, it was alright.  But she was wrong, with their constant meetings and cold words, they were only hurting each other more than they imagined.

“What are you doing here?”  The blonde growled, trying to get the other to leave.  She stole a quick glance at the moon which was hidden by a few layers of light clouds.  That gave her time, but not enough.  To keep her secret, Taeyeon had to get rid of Tiffany, immediately.  And that meant taking out what might have been the harshest mask she had ever been ever to create. 

Tiffany studied the older girl’s actions as she leaned against the tree next to her, “Can I not talk to an old friend?”  Tiffany was careful with her words.  She leveled her vulnerability and her wit, adding a bit more despicable words than necessary – a dangerous combination that would only render you baffled and hurt.

“We were never friends,” we were lovers and you were my best friend, thought Taeyeon as she flexed her trembling jaw.

“Then you’re one hell of an actress, Kim Taeyeon,” Tiffany breathed, raking a hand through her hair, hatred coating her words once more.  She couldn’t forget what Taeyeon had done to her; neither of them could, maybe that was why neither would be able to move on and would continue to meet each other in such ways.

Taeyeon was struck hard with those words, however if she was hurt she failed to show it.  Rather, her eyes darted towards the moon once more and hissed to herself.  Why, on all nights, must they meet during a full moon?  The Council would not be pleased one bit.  Only few knew of the existence of creatures of that kind, and the members of the Council intended to keep it that way.  Taeyeon could already imagine the rather violent and rash decisions in store for her, and she could imagine their haunting voices fighting over an appropriate punishment.  She shuddered as a sudden chill added to the fear of her impending future.

Tiffany stood on her own, without leaning on the tree, her arms crossed over her chest, “Can we talk?” Her voice was no longer that cold voice that seemed to whip Taeyeon’s heart, now the soothing and tired voice seemed to nurture Taeyeon’s broken heart, even if it was just for a moment.

There was a pause before there was another answer.  In that silence Tiffany steeled herself for rejection and Taeyeon contemplated the odds.

“Leave, Tiffany,” Taeyeon hesitated for a moment, the moon was beginning to emerge from behind the fog, “please.  There’s nothing to talk about.  What’s done is done.”

Tiffany was surprised.  Taeyeon’s tone of voice changed drastically.  It brought back the hope she had within.  All of Taeyeon’s actions in the past, all of her words, they never struck Tiffany as… fake.  That hope had been diminished every time the blonde said harsh words and left Tiffany in the dust.  Now was her chance to figure out the secrets of the past.

“Why?”  Tiffany asked, advancing on a scared Taeyeon.  A scared Taeyeon was what she saw, and oh, was that sight rare, “There is much to talk about, Taeyeon.”

Taeyeon gulped, taking a step back only to feel ice cold water creeping up her ankle – she was trapped, “Tiffany, please, leave.”  She pleaded in a voice as low as a whisper, however it was too late.  The changes already were taking place.  Her eyes began to change from their natural dark onyx color to a cool, crystal, sapphire blue.  It stood out greatly from Taeyeon’s pale face.  The blonde immediately clamped her eyes shut, a hand over to cover the showing fangs.

“Tiffany, leave!”

Now the redhead was interested.  Of course she was scared, but her curiosity overrode that feeling as she grasped hold of the other’s shoulders, eager to finally learn why the other was acting strangely since that dark day of the past.  Taeyeon kept her eyes shut tightly, her body stiff and strong, yet her heart was broken, and finally she let all that pain out.  Not once in her life had Taeyeon felt as weak as to cry this much.

Tiffany was shocked, stunned even.  Instead of her hands grazing the other’s shoulders, they now were wrapped around the older, tightly burying her head in the crook of the other’s neck.  They both needed comfort, they both needed this, but neither admitted to it.  But Tiffany had yet to see Taeyeon’s now fully blue eyes and her fangs which were barely covered by her lips. 

Taeyeon found her arms around the other, embracing the other with the force that showed her hurt, her longing, her pain, her sadness, and everything else she had hidden just to protect the other.  Moments passed as the couple were in each other’s arms, memories flashed through both of their minds and they didn’t know what to feel: happy that this could be the chance to relive them?  Or saddened by the fact they could never come again?

“What’s wrong, Taeyeon?”  Tiffany’s vocal chords vibration made Taeyeon open her eyes wide, realizing where she had her face located – dangerously near Tiffany’s neck.  No, Taeyeon thought as she closed her eyes and backed off into a direction away from the pond.  It was too late; Tiffany had caught sight of those blue eyes that resembled crystal waters.

And as Taeyeon opened her eyes once more, her eyes were no longer only blue.  A dark, rich, thick and bloodshot red began to seep into her iris, eating up that beautiful blue.  Taeyeon moaned to herself once more, this was not happening.  Her heart began to race at an alarming speed as she continued to back away, cursing to herself because Tiffany only seemed to follow.

The blue eyes were a sign of a vampire exposed to the intensity of the full moon.  Normally she would pass this off as a pair of extremely expensive contacts, but she knew she couldn’t fool Tiffany this time.  Red was a sign of blood, thus that red in her eye was a sign that she wanted blood -- which means, she needs to get as far away from Tiffany as possible if she wanted the latter safe.

According to myth, if a vampire were to bite a human, that particular human would go through an uncomfortable changing and would have to have a feeding of some sort before becoming perfectly fine and a full vampire.  No, thought Taeyeon once again, that wasn’t true at all.  Humans failed to realize what a vampire bite could do to them and the dangers of it.  If being a vampire was according to common legend, humans would be searching for a vampire, a key to immortality.

There was more to being a vampire than simply being bitten and biting.  There was only one known way to become a vampire, and that was the process Taeyeon had experienced.  The process was excruciatingly lethargic; making her cringe and squirm in pain, the action subconsciously told others that she wanted to wring the feeling from her system.

If you’re hopes are to become a vampire by randomly selecting one, you’ll usually be out of luck.  Only pure blooded vampires can convert mortals into the world of immortality, any bite from another vampire not of pure-blood is like venom, a toxin to the human body.  To become a vampire, you would first need a pure-blooded vampire, who are often proper and have high standards on who to convert.  Even then, it is not guaranteed you’d make it into vampire hood.  There are two outcomes: if the ceremony went correctly, and your body was able to adapt to the increased number of white blood cells and the enchantment that naturally came with it – congratulations, you’re a vampire, just not full blooded; and the other, if the ceremony failed to work, then you’d die an extremely painful and slow death, it was as simple as that.

 That is exactly the reason why the Council forbids any affairs with mortals.  If that vampire were truly blinded by love, they would break the important rule of exposing their immortality, not to mention they would try to convert their lover to vampire hood also.  The rule wasn’t always there, but when too many humans began to die because of it, the Council soon banned it for eternity, that way the human race could continue, have offspring and prosper.  As for the vampires, well they’ll always be there, unless, you’re skilled enough to kill one.  Not all myths were a lie, the myth of killing a vampire by piercing its heart with a wooden stake, although if you’re lucky enough, a silver stake might just be more effective, as silver is a toxin to vampires.  Otherwise, if you’re too modern, a silver bullet would do the trick.

“Stay back, Tiffany,” Taeyeon pleaded, tears beginning to form and falling unto her cheeks, “I don’t want to hurt you, please.”

Seeing the tears gleam in the moonlight, which was now powerful enough to send a prism of pale, white light among them, Tiffany halted.  Whatever she was doing, she was causing the other pain.  “Why?” Was the only word she could seem to mutter dumbly before grasping the situation, “Taeyeon, what have you been hiding all this time?”

Tiffany took it as natural that the other was extremely paranoid and avoided skinship often.  She also took it as a trait of personality that Taeyeon was quiet and mysterious.  Now she was going to find out why.

Taeyeon shook her head, the punishment for both Tiffany and her would be unbearable, and the closer she got, the more Taeyeon could smell the blood on that small seemingly insignificant cut on her finger, “I’m begging you, Tiffany.  Please, I love you too much.”

That did it.  Tiffany immediately advanced and grasped the other’s shoulders once more with a fierce gaze and a strong grip, one the currently weak Taeyeon could not escape.  The older blonde was taken aback, instantly both her hands went over , preventing her fangs from showing, her nose from smelling, hoping that would dampen the passion for blood.  Yet she opened her eyes, and Tiffany immediately dived into the mystery.

Taeyeon’s eyes were still a dark red that seemed to shine even without the light from the moon.  Tiffany blinked a few times, her mind not understanding what she was seeing.  In that silence, Taeyeon had calmed down, the punishment was inevitable, and she had to accept that.  She steeled herself for the future, and she was going to protect Tiffany at all costs also.  She fought a battle within herself, suppressing her need for blood.  Her efforts proved effective as her eyes began to change back to their crystal blue, they weren’t going to be dark brown until the full moon had passed.  However next the new moon came, there came wasn’t a change other than the intensity of their eye color.

And like that, Taeyeon was forced to tell Tiffany everything about her past, about that past and how it linked to their past.  Tiffany was baffled, not once had this occurred to her, but she took in every word with confidence and hope, trying her best to hide her fear.

The Council was going to be a problem.  That night, the bright-blue-eyed Taeyeon walked a new Tiffany home, bidding her a sweet goodnight and a kiss on the forehead once she had hidden her fangs.  A second later, Taeyeon was no longer in front of Tiffany’s house.  The place was cold, a gust of wind made Taeyeon shudder as she looked around, taking much note of whatever she could.  The sound of a distant dripping and its echoes, the room and its solitude, the ice cold feeling that send a chill down Taeyeon’s spine, the acoustics present that seemed to intensify everything, and the ominous and eerie wave of silence.  Taeyeon couldn’t seem to figure out what kind of room she was in.  The edges of the room were blocked by a strange darkness that the moonlight couldn’t seem to creep through, and Taeyeon found herself in that pentagon of pale light.

The young (young vampire, in mortal time she was a number greater than what she looked) vampire was going to make of more note, when a voice suddenly boomed, loud and clear, sending Taeyeon’s heart into a beating frenzy.

“Kim Taeyeon,” the voice bellowed.

Taeyeon fought back another shudder as she stood a bit taller and knelt down towards what seemed like the source of the voice.  Correct to her suspicions, a pale slim figure came forth from the shadows, his hair messy and covering his forehead and his eyes a bright red.  That was when Taeyeon noticed his action of wiping a red substance from the corner of his devilishly curved mouth, his fangs still visible.  Someone had a nice feeding; Taeyeon thought as she closed her eyes and rolled them under the lids.

It was then another figure emerged from that creepy shadow, his light brown hair swept to the side, his eyes an enchanting blue as he eyed the first vampire in disapproval.  He then faced Taeyeon with a click of his tongue, “We warned you, Kim Taeyeon.”

“That was the past,” Taeyeon retorted, surprised by her own calmness.

The first vampire, who had hidden his fangs, looked at Taeyeon in sudden fury, “What makes this any different from the past?”

The second vampire whipped a hand across the other’s chest, earning a shriek of pain from the first, “Jaejoong, calm down.”

“I-I’m sorry, it’s the feeding,” he muttered under his breath as a third vampire with equally intense eyes came into the scene, retracting his fangs quickly.  Taeyeon recognized this as the youngest of the members, Changmin.

Changmin eyed Jaejoong idly before turning to the one who had scolded him, “Don’t blame in, Yunho, you know what the feeding does to him.”

Two more figures emerged and purposely ignored the bickering three, now eyeing Taeyeon with interest.  Soon the room was filled with silence and glares, as well as a few growls.  Taeyeon had already prepared herself for their treats and punishments, however she was going to take them all and regret nothing, or that was her mindset so far.

“Give her up, Taeyeon,” said Yoochun, his arms across his chest as if this matter was another petty argument from Yunho and Jaejoong.  Taeyeon stubbornly answered back, her glare unfading, “No.”

“Why?” This time Junsu spoke, the one Taeyeon was most fond of.  Taeyeon’s eyes wavered as they fell upon him.  Instead of that look of confidence, Taeyeon shot him a look that pleaded for his help, but her hope was lost when Junsu turned a blind eye.

Taeyeon steeled herself once more as she turned her gaze elsewhere, looking Yunho directly in the eyes, “Because I love her.”

“Taeyeon, you know the Chaser will eventually make its mark and you’ll not only be left alone, you’ll be left in pieces.  Do you want to feel that pain?!”  In an instant Taeyeon was pinned against the wall with Yunho at her collar, growling curses into her ear.

The younger vampire knew all too well Yunho had also gone through the pain of loving a mortal, to the point where he had taken the risk of converting her.  Judging from his behavior, it’s obvious the process ended horribly with a broken heart, a horrified memory and an ended life.  However Taeyeon knew she would fight hell for a certain redhead as she pushed back, shoving the other into the arms of the other members, “Then I’ll die for her.”

Silence swept over them, cold as a plunge into ice waters.  “Die then.”  Was the last thing Taeyeon had heard until she was knocked unconscious.

 “I love you so much,” Tiffany found herself crying in Taeyeon’s embrace.  Even though her wounds were healing at a rather rapid pace, the sight of Taeyeon so hurt sent her into a state of shock.

Taeyeon wrapped her arms around the other girl and patted her head affectionately, “I’m fine, but you’re not at all safe, Fany-ah,” her voice was grim.  The Council was now after the both of them, which meant a few thousand years of torture for Taeyeon and a fast-lane for the Chaser for Tiffany, now that she knew and did nothing to stop it from happening.

She wanted so badly to prevent Tiffany from risking the chance of becoming a vampire.  She couldn’t lose her.  But as it seemed now, either way would kill Tiffany.  And that would kill Taeyeon mentally.

“I wish we could be together forever,” the redhead sighed, “why does everything have to be so complicated for us?”

Taeyeon stayed silent, “…I’m sorry I brought you into this.”

“Hey,” Tiffany forced a smile, “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”

“Yeah, but this just might kill you.”

Weeks have past, months even; Taeyeon and Tiffany were stronger than ever.  Finally, on this night of the New Moon, the two made their last decision.  The Council and the Chaser were bound to get them extremely soon.  Both Tiffany and Taeyeon, being prideful in their actions, intertwined fingers with tear-streaked cheeks as they nodded, promising their lives to each other, and together, this night, they were going to end all this.

That night, Taeyeon’s eyes were an intense blue as she cautiously looked about, as if she expected to see the Chaser embodied as a figure.  She met Tiffany by the pond, and the two shared everything they always wanted to about each other.  Midnight struck for the two, and they sit on the ground, back to back, leaning on each other.  It represented their sense of support.

“Are you sure about this?”  Taeyeon asked one last time, taking out the objects she had bought.  Tiffany was of course, sobbing.  She was scared.  Any normal person would’ve been scared at the situation however you would deem Tiffany as brave as to embrace this so openly.

“The Chaser was bound to get to me anyway,” Tiffany sent a bitter chuckle to the air before she reached back for Taeyeon’s hand.

The blonde slipped an object into the redhead’s hand.  It felt cold and heavy in her hands, much like her heart at the moment.  Yet when Taeyeon’s silent sobs began to echo in the air, Tiffany forced a smile for the both of them.

“I love you.”

“I’ll love you forever and in the next life,” Taeyeon said as she positioned the object over her heart, her other hand grasping Tiffany’s hand ever so tightly.

In the distance, growling, and the sound of rustling leaves were heard.  Taeyeon couldn’t tell if the Chaser was finally among them, or if the Council had beaten the force to it.  Nevertheless, she waited until she heard the click of both Tiffany and her weapons and leaned back, a bittersweet smirk on her face.

“Meet me in the afterlife?” Taeyeon said with an uncanny cheerfulness in her voice.

Tiffany nodded against the other’s head and turned to kiss her cheek once more.  The skinship left Taeyeon’s skin burning, her heart aching for more.  Secretly wanting the other to feel the same, Taeyeon mirrored the action, sending waves of emotion throughout Tiffany’s body.

“I’ll always be with you,” Tiffany smiled back.

And a silence fell over them.  Until the sound of two gunshots were heard, making the world stop for a moment.  Every sound fell, every movement halted, and time just seemed to stop as these lovers used the last beats of their hearts for love.

Congratulations, Chaser – you finally caught up to us.