Wednesday 1:00pm The Number 9

Soyeon had escaped home and was now in the office at The Number 9. At such an early hour she knew it was the only place where her clan mates (or anyone else for that matter) wouldn’t bother her. She was currently flipping through pages of one of the many demonology books she kept. This one in particular was all about felathropes, and also the only book she had that solely focused on her kind.

She was carefully reading through a chapter that went into detail about soul matches. “Every felathrope has a soul match,” Soyeon read aloud, “though whether the demon finds theirs, or if theirs is even alive at the time the demon is living, is a whole different question. For unknown reasons felathrope soul matches always seem to be born into slayer families. But also be aware that few studies have been done; so this might not always be the case.” The leader continued reading, and only became more troubled as the text exactly described Hyomin’s attachment to Sunny.

Soyeon sighed as she slumped in her computer chair. If what she had read was true the two needed to be together. If they weren’t they would both continue to be depressed; possibly even to the point of suicide. As the text had said, the slayer would die eventually (though their life spans did tend to be a bit longer than the average human’s), but it had also said that demons would recover from it; knowing that they had loved their soul match as well as they could. There was also something in there about the slayer eventually being reincarnated; with no memory of their previous life of course.

The leader shut the book. “What to do now….” She thought with a sigh.

                                                       2:00pm the T-ara mansion

Hyomin shook in pain as another jolt of hunger shot through her body. Boram, who was sitting beside her and watching a movie looked at her with concern, “Is something wrong?”

Hyomin shook her head, “I can’t feed from anyone else… No one’s energy will ever be as good as Sunny’s. Anyone else’s tastes so cheap in comparison. Besides, maybe if I don’t feed I’ll just wither away to nothing. That sounds pretty good at this point.”

Boram studied Hyomin silently. She could see how pale her friend was, how she was shaking, and how she was biting her lip and grasping at the sheets in pain. Boram could tell that she was hungry, but knew that Hyomin wouldn’t say so. “I’ll be back.” Boram said as she stood up and shut Hyomin’s room door behind her.

Boram went into the living room and called Ga-In. Before Sunny, the witch used to be Hyomin’s favorite person to feed from. She use to say that energy from witches had a certain, magical taste to it that made her body feel like it was buzzing with happiness. So Boram figured that Ga-In was the best choice.

At 3 Hyomin heard the doorbell ring. Boram went to answer it, and came back into Hyomin’s room with a slightly smiling Ga-In. “I’m just going to leave you two alone now.” Boram said before walking out and shutting the door.

Ga-In sat on the end of Hyomin’s bed, “You look like .”

Hyomin smirked a little, “Thanks. I’m sure glad to hear that. Why are you here?”

“Boram was worried about you. She said that you needed to feed, so she called me. She explained to me what was wrong.” Ga-In explained.

Hyomin frowned, “I guess everyone just has to know, don’t they. Anyway, I’m fine. I don’t need to feed. ”

Ga-In shrugged, “She just wanted me to know so that I understood what was up with you. You do need to feed. You’re too pale; you’re sweating, and shaking.”

Hyomin shook her head adamantly, “I’m perfectly fine. You can leave.”

Ga-In sighed; her facial expression turning angry, “Now listen here you little , I didn’t come here for fun, I came here to make sure you were okay. I don’t want you to feed off of me for pleasure, I want you to feed off of me so your little emo doesn’t die. Understood? Now stop getting all sassy and make the out with me already!”

Hyomin couldn’t help but crack a small smile. Ga-In was always very blunt and to the point.

“You gonna kiss me or what? I have other things to do besides sit in this room and deal with your depressed .” The witch crossed her arms and flipped her hair to emphasize her point.

Hyomin sighed, “It’s just not the same… Sunny’s energy was special. Feeding on anyone after her is just unsatisfying…”

Ga-In looked offended, “You saying I’m not good enough now, kitty-cat?”

Hyomin shook her head, “No! Not at all! It’s just… I don’t know. Part of me just wants to starve myself to death rather than not feed from her again.”

Ga-In sighed in frustration. She put her hand on Hyomin’s chin and looked deep into her eyes, “listen to me, kitty-cat, if you keep being a little about this whole situation and starve to death then you can be assured that you will never be with this Sunny girl again; never get to hold her, kiss her, feed from her, or do lovey-dovey romantic with her ever again. But, if you wait a bit, let her recover, and stay alive, maybe then you’ll get somewhere, got it?”

Hyomin did smile a bit, “Ga-In, I don’t think you understand. She said she hated me, and that I disgust her…”

Ga-In shrugged, “She probably said it in the heat of the moment. Just do what I told you, okay? Besides, I’d kinda miss you if you died. I think your clan mates might, too.”

Hyomin relented, knowing that Ga-In wouldn’t leave until Hyomin fed, “Fine. Just kiss me, let’s get this over with.”

                                                8:30pm Taeyeon and Tiffany’s apartment

Hyoyeon sat nervously in Taeyeon and Tiffany’s apartment. She had no clue why the two had called her over, but judging by their serious expressions it couldn’t be anything good.

Taeyeon cleared before talking, “As you know Sunny was in pretty bad shape this morning…” Hyoyeon nodded her head, “well her and Hyomin broke up.”

Hyoyeon was surprised; they had seemed like such a happy couple, “But why!?” she asked.

Taeyeon sighed before looking at Tiffany. “Hyomin was demon.” Tiffany said. Hyoyeon was stunned. Hyomin had seemed like such a nice woman…

Tiffany bit her lip before continuing, “Which means that the rest of the owners of The Number 9 have to be demons as well.”

Taeyeon and Tiffany watched as the realization crept onto their friend’s face. Hyoyeon laughed anxiously, “Wa-wait you guys… you can’t be telling me that Qri’s a demon, too. That can’t be possible.” The two continued to look at her with sad but serious facial expressions. “She can’t be! She’s so kind and good to me! She loves me!”

Hyoyeon stormed out and slammed the door.

Taeyeon sighed before leaning her forehead on Tiffany’s shoulder. Tiffany ran her fingers through Taeyeon’s hair to comfort her. Neither to them wanted to tell her, but it had to be done.

                                                           9:00pm Kahi and Bekah’s mansion

“!”, Kahi hissed as Bekah applied a thick salve to her wounds. Bekah had applied the same substance the night before, but it still burned. It was supposed to help heal the wounds that the cat demon had caused. If they were left untreated they might be deadly. Had the cuts been from any regular knife they would have healed flawlessly in minutes. But it seemed like the felathrope’s claws secreted a skin eating toxin. The pet Kahi had brought with her to capture Sunny was already a goner.

“Agh! Can’t you be a little gentler? Damn!” Kahi yelled at Bekah.

Bekah sneered at her partner, “Can’t you shut up for a second and let me do this? I’m being as gentle as I can.” Kahi winced away in pain; Bekah sighed in frustration, “Would you rather your skin get infected and rot like Taewoo’s?” After that Kahi was quiet and still.

When Bekah was done applying the salve she looked at Kahi with a smile and received a small smile back. Bekah gave Kahi a quick peck on the lips before saying, “See? It wasn’t so bad. It’ll get better soon, I promise.”

“I’m sorry I yelled, it just hurts…” Kahi said with a child-like frown.

Bekah laughed a little, “my poor little baby. I’ll just have to make you forget, won’t I?”

A mischievous smile worked its way onto Kahi’s lips, “Nurse Bekah make Kahi all better? Make Kahi forget all about her boo boos?” Kahi asked in a voice full of aegyo as she looked down shyly, and twiddled her thumbs.

Bekah laughed and playfully nudged Kahi, “Aish, for claiming to be such a badass you sure are adorable.”

Kahi smiled back and continued to talk cutely, “Bekah gonna make me feel better now?”

Bekah smiled before carefully tackling Kahi onto the bed which she was sitting on; she kissed her lover passionately. No matter how much she would try to deny it, Bekah could never resist Kahi’s aegyo for long.

A few hours later Kahi and Bekah lied in bed talking.

“What are we going to do about that Sunny girl?” Asked, Bekah, “I still want to play with her….” She frowned cutely.

Kahi laughed, “Well, from what I heard as we were running away she dumped Hyomin pretty harshly.”

Bekah shrugged, “So? Can we still have her?”

“I think so. It should be easier now that she’s away from that cat and it will still hurt the felines if we get her. We’ll have to wait until I heal up a little more, though, and I want you to go with me this time. Maybe Areum, too; she’s a pretty good fighter.” Kahi explained.

Bekah smiled like a little kid, “I can’t wait to play with her. She’s so cute, but at the same time she gave off this really y vibe. I think she’ll be my new favorite.”

Kahi laughed, “I think she’ll make a perfect pet.” 

                                                                      9:30pm The Number 9

Hyoyeon couldn’t believe what her friends had told her; she rushed to The Number 9 as fast as she could. She fast walked to the bar to find Qri talking with Boram. She smiled and waved when she saw Hyoyeon walking toward her. Hyoyeon felt and ache in her heart, “It can’t be true….” She thought.

The first thing Hyoyeon said when she got to the bar was, “Qri, we need to talk. Can we go to a place that’s a little bit more private?”

Qri’s happy facial expression quickly turned into one of worry and concern. “Uhm, yeah. Let’s go to the break room.”

The two walked there in silence. Once in the room Qri shut the door and motioned for Hyoyeon to sit on the couch; Qri sat beside her. Qri took Hyoyeon’s hands in hers only for Hyoyeon to pull away.

“What’s wrong, love? Did I do something wrong? What happened?”, Qri asked with a little panic in her voice.

Hyoyeon looked at her with a cold and determined gaze, “I need you to be 100% honest with me, Qri. You understand? No bull; just the truth.”

Qri swallowed back the lump in throat. The demon could feel her heart racing with real fear for the first time in a long time. Despite her fear she nodded, “Got it; no bull.”

Hyoyeon sighed, “You’re not human, are you?”

Qri’s heart felt like it was about to explode, and beads of nervous sweat covered every inch of her skin. She felt like she could barely breathe, let alone speak. But she had to, “Wha-what to you me-mean not human?,” She laughed nervously, “what else would a b-be?”

Hyoyeon gritted her teeth and gave Qri an intense glare, “a demon.”

Qri was dizzy and confused, “how could she know? Should I tell her the truth?” Qri sat silent for a minute while pondering these questions.

Finally Qri looked into Hyoyeon’s eyes with determination, “I am a demon, but I’m not a typical demon;  please hear me out.”

Hyoyeon felt like she was going to pass out, “so it’s true….” She thought. She nodded; though Qri was a demon she still loved her, and trusted her. Hyoyeon looked at Qri; waiting to hear some clarification of what Qri meant by her not being typical.

Qri looked Hyoyeon straight in the eyes as she explained “All of the other owners and me are a type of demon called a felathrope. Which means we can turn into these... cat werewolves, kinda. I guess that’s the best way I can explain it. We feed from humans.” Qri could hear Hyoyeon’s breathing catch in , but she continued, “We feed ually; energies found in saliva, , and l fluid are what drive us. Of course we could kill humans by draining them of all their energy, but we don’t. No member of my clan has ever killed someone by over feeding. We believe it’s wrong to kill humans for food. While we’re being honest, I might as well tell you that I’ve fed from other people while dating you. Not because I’m not satisfied with you, but because we can’t feed from the same person too often; I don’t want to hurt you so feeding from other people is necessary. However, I only love you.” Qri smiled at Hyoyeon who sat open mouthed in wonder. “There is more, but I think I should give you some time to digest what I’ve already said.” Qri took Hyoyeon’s hand in her’s and kissed it, “please don’t be mad.”

The two sat in silence for a few minutes before Hyoyeon finally said, “are there other demons that feed from humans but don’t believe in killing them?”

Qri nodded, “a lot actually. Now, It’s your turn to tell the truth; how do you even know about demons in the first place? And where did you get the idea that I was one? Humans aren’t even supposed to know that we exist.”

Hyoyeon gulped; this could turn out bad. She hesitantly began her explanation, “Well… you see… I’m not human. I’m a slayer.”

“What!?”, Qri said in disbelief.

Hyoyeon continued, “Sunny, somehow found out that Hyomin is a demon, which of course meant all of you guys were. So, our leader warned me about you. I just had to ask you of myself; I didn’t believe her.”

“You and your friends are slayers!?”

Hyoyeon nodded sadly, “I’m sorry.”

Qri put her face in her hands, “they’ve killed so many innocent demons…” Qri thought as a tear ran down her cheek.

Qri finally looked back at Hyoyeon, “Do you have any idea how many innocent demons your group of slayers has killed? Demons just like my clan; demons that do nothing to harm humans. In fact, two of you shot Hyomin multiple times, and chased her through the woods. She could have died!”

Hyoyeon felt tears sting her eyes; she remembered the night that Taeyeon and her had chased a cat demon through the woods. “It’s not like we knew any better! We had no clue that there were actually good demons! We aren’t taught these things in training! We’re taught the all demons are bad and deserve to die!” Hyoyeon collapsed into tears.

Qri held her girlfriend tight, “I’m sorry for yelling… It’s just… a lot of those demons were our friends. I know you didn’t know about peaceful demons, but now that you do, maybe we can fix this.”

Hyoyeon looked at her questioningly, “What do you mean?”

“I mean maybe we can work something out with you slayers. Maybe point out the good demons to you so that they can be left alone.”

Hyoyeon sniffed, “I don’t know if the others will like that…”

“Well, it’s worth a shot isn’t it?”

Hyoyeon nodded. As a slayer she didn’t want to trust Qri, but everything else in her was saying that she should. “what if this is all just a ruse? What if there really are no good demons? What if-NO! Qri is good. I love her, and she loves me. I believe her, and I trust her.” Hyoyeon’s mind raced.

                                                             Thursday 1:00pm the library

As soon as Sunny had said she was there for the job they had hired her and put her to work immediately. She was working at the checkout desk when a suspicious looking character walked in. The person was wearing a black wool trench coat, sun glasses, gloves, a black sun hat, and a dark red scarf that covered their mouth. The person silently handed Sunny five books that they were returning before looking for more books.

Sunny’s eyes followed the stranger all around the library as they wondered to different sections grabbing books. They eventually came back with seven books which they once again silently handed to Sunny.

“Have a nice day.” Sunny said as she smiled at the stranger. They nodded their head and walked out. “That was odd…” Sunny thought. 

AN: I feel like this chapter jumps around more than usual, but I hope it's okay :] Honestly my favorite part of writing this chapter was Ga-In's dialog.

So about Yoona and Sooyoung dating... At firsts I was like: WOAH! (upset; pretty sure I think I went through the 5 stages of denial) Then I like: Woah! (How is this going to effect the group?) Then I was like: Woah...(accepting. They are grown women after all. With a right to live, love, and be happy. Also, Taeyeon helped a lot). My heart definitely goes out to those whose OTPs just kinda got smashed (YoonYul, SooSun, YoonHyun, SooRi, ect). Already the author of one SooSun fic I was subscribed to said there would be no more updates. *sighs* So sad...

All in all I'm happy for the girls and hope the Sones will be able to support them more in the future :] I would much rather they just immediately come out with their relationships than feel like they have to hide from us.

As usual a big thanks to my readers, subscibers and commenters! :D Next update should be up around the 12th-14th.