Taeyeon, unlike her parents, was never a religious person. So when the front door opened, revealing a tall, pale, black-haired girl whose face was hidden under the hood of her navy blue jacket, Taeyeon surprised herself by uttering a prayer she couldn’t even remember learning from her parents, with her hands clasped together. Everyone turned to look at her and she could feel her insides flipping and the words to her prayer got stuck as the girl took a step forward towards the group. Taeyeon closed her eyes, expecting the worst.

“Juhyun-ah,” she heard Sooyoung say. “What happened to you?”

Taeyeon immediately opened her eyes, remembering it was not the name of the supposed vampire. “J-Juhyun?” she uttered in embarrassment.

“Yes,” Hyoyeon said, trying so hard to stop herself from laughing. “Yoona’s friend, Juhyun.”

Sooyoung broke into uncontrollable fit of laughter then, making the blush on Taeyeon’s cheeks deepen as the tall girl fell into the floor with her hands pressed to her stomach. “Have you.. have you seen T-Taeyeon’s face?” she said in between breathes. “She.. she l-looked like she.. she was ready.. to run for her.. her life.”

“Unnie?” Juhyun spoke, taking the hood off of her head. She looked at the group before her eyes stayed on Taeyeon. “Hi,” she said in a shy voice before politely bowing. “My name is Seo Juhyun, the people from my school call me Seohyun, the elderly man at the farm calls me Hyunnie, the people here calls me Juhyun, the guy at the diner calls me—“

“It’s okay, Juhyun, I think Taeyeon knows your name by now,” said Sunny, pulling Juhyun to sit beside Yoona.

“She’s...” Taeyeon whispered to Hyoyeon, trailing off.

“One of a kind, I know,” Hyoyeon whispered back, patting Taeyeon’s leg. “Wait until she shows you how she dissects frog and how we should always talk to plants so they will grow faster.”

“That’s like... a contrast of personalities. Is she always like that?” Taeyeon said with obvious curiosity.

Hyoyeon chuckled then grinned at Taeyeon without answering her question.

“So why are you here at this time of the night?” Yoona asked Juhyun.

“Mr. Park called me to check on Bruno earlier, the poor dog fell ill. I was supposed to get back home but I missed you guys so I thought I would drop by to say hi,” Juhyun explained, her eyes still trained on Taeyeon, making the older girl feel uneasy.

Sunny noticed how Juhyun’s eyes never left Taeyeon since she arrived. Or if she looks at the other girls, her eyes would always fall back to Taeyeon. “Right,” Sunny said. “You haven’t met Taeyeon yet.”

Taeyeon extended her hand towards Juhyun. “Hi, I’m Kim Taeyeon from Seoul.”

Juhyun took Taeyeon’s hand before shaking it. “Seoul. I like Seoul!”

Juhyun looks like a sweet girl, Taeyeon thought, but she obviously is interesting. Although she felt uncomfortable under Juhyun’s scrutinizing stares, Taeyeon thought it was just normal because she was new to the house, an addition to the group that Juhyun cares about.

Their conversation went on. Taeyeon learned that Juhyun is a veterinarian and that she was younger than all of them. It amazed Taeyeon, but she was not really surprised because Juhyun gave off that responsible-kid-vibe. Juhyun was born and raised in the town, she spent her childhood and most of her teenage years there. She only went away for college when she started studying in Seoul, opposite to Yoona who moved to the town to study in the local college instead of studying in Seoul where she was born and raised. “The city gets so tiring,” Yoona said when Taeyeon asked why she chose to study in a small town instead of the city. “Plus, this town is so beautiful. It’s like an escape to reality.” Taeyeon thought it was quite deep and she wondered what Yoona was going through in the city, or if she was going through something. She decided not to ask further about it, though. Sunny also came from another town, it was only her second year in the town. Hyoyeon was there for almost a year now, coming from a town in Busan.

“It’s almost one in the morning,” Juhyun said with a shake of her head.

“Do you want us to take you home?” Taeyeon said, smacking a yawn with her palm.

“I’ll sleepover,” Juhyun grinned before standing up, to which the girls followed suit.

Yoona grinned, her round eyes sparkling. It was too obvious that Taeyeon cannot hide the smirk that curved in her lips. She knew that expression too well. Yoona was obviously smitten by Juhyun.

“Okay, good night guys,” Taeyeon said.

“You’re not sleeping yet?” Sunny asked just when she was about to walk back to her room.

Taeyeon shook her head. “I’ll take care of these trashes first,” she said, pointing at the mess in the living room.

Hyoyeon subtly pumped her fist before shouting her thank you at Taeyeon. She was too tired to clean up.

“I’ll help you with it,” Juhyun offered when nobody did.

Taeyeon smiled at the kind girl. “No, it’s okay. You should rest.”

“I insist,” Juhyun said, kneeling on the carpet to gather the cans on the coffee table. “We should not let the guests clean up, you know.”

Taeyeon knelt on the carpet across from Juhyun as she started cleaning up, too. “I’m not really a guest,” she said. “I live here now.”

“Right,” Juhyun grinned. “I forgot you’re the new tenant.”

Taeyeon nodded, their conversation stopping at that. When they were done cleaning up, Taeyeon asked Juhyun if she wanted coffee, to which the younger girl politely declined. “Would you rather have a tea, instead?” she said with the intention of joking. When Juhyun’s eyes lit up, though, she drowned the idea of shouting a “just kidding” at the girl.

Juhyun watched Taeyeon as she moved about the kitchen to prepare the tea she promised. It amazed her how comfortable Taeyeon looked in the spacious kitchen. She even knew where the tea cups were hidden. “How long have you been here?” she asked as Taeyeon approached her with a tray.

“Just this morning,” Taeyeon answered.

“Hmm,” Juhyun said. “This tastes good.”

“Actually,” Taeyeon shyly sat on the chair across Juhyun’s. “I can’t remember making tea before.”

Juhyun looked at her with surprised eyes. “But this tastes like you’ve done this a couple of times before,” she said before sipping from her cup again. “I’m not even exaggerating.”

Taeyeon chuckled nervously as she took her cup of coffee. “I guess I learned it from my mom way before. Although I couldn’t remember.”

Juhyun chuckled, sipping from her cup once more before setting it back on the saucer. “What brought you here?” she asked Taeyeon. “I mean, this is not really a well-known town. I don’t think people even know this town.”

“My boss sent me here,” Taeyeon said, putting her cup on the table. “He thought I’d get inspiration from here.”

“Inspiration,” Juhyun said, nodding her head. “So do you think you will?”

Taeyeon absentmindedly rubs her index finger against the table surface. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “Maybe?”

Juhyun smiled at her. “I hope you do.”

Taeyeon thought it was the most beautiful and genuine smile she has ever seen in her life. It was so beautiful that she had the urge to get her sketchpad and draw Juhyun’s smiling face.

“Have you met Krystal unnie yet?”

Taeyeon looked at Juhyun with slightly wide eyes. It would have been easy to answer no, because she hasn’t really met the girl. But does she want to meet this Krystal? No, definitely not.

**

She sighed, opening her eyes to a sky full of stars. It was so beautiful. So mesmerizing. But it felt empty. She felt empty. Like a sky missing her stars. It was weird, Krystal thought, she already everything life could offer – a wealthy family, a fiancé who loved her so much – but it all was still not enough. There was something missing. A piece of her life she doesn’t even know exists.

She sat up on the sand, her eyes now looking at the lights on the horizon from far away. They looked like stars too. She looked over her shoulder, to the house she was currently renting. The lights to the kitchen were still on. Maybe Sooyoung is eating again, she thought, shaking her head with a smile before she stood up and ran to the ocean.

The cold water embraced her and Krystal relaxed as she sunk her body. Closing her eyes, she sees a sunset and a pair of bare feet swinging over the edge of a boardwalk. Before Krystal could make anything out of it, though, the image faded and her lungs ached for oxygen, urging her to get back to the surface of the water.