I want to hug her. Regardless of how dangerous she might be. How ruthless she could be. I want to hug her with all my might.

“Please untie my wrists,” I say, when I realize that my arms are still restrained. “Please.”

She stares at me for a moment, then obliges. As soon as my arms are freed, they wrap round Ms Pink and I hold her to me. As tightly as I can.

“Princess Pan Ni,” I murmur in her ear. I don’t know what to expect from volatile Ms Pink after hugging her but neither is it a complete surprise when she hugs me back. “Umpf.” But being a vampire, her strength is supreme and the air is squeezed out of me. “Ms Pink, I can’t breathe.”

She pulls away and rolls onto her back beside me. Her eyes are closed when I look at her and I wonder what she’s thinking right now. Is she angry? Sad? The pain she had experienced in that moment is unimaginable to me. The terror of it all is still tremoring in my heart and I know that there is no way I can fathom the extent of trauma she had to suffer at such a young age.

I also want very much to know what happened to her after the man took her away but I don’t think it’s a good time to ask. My question will have to wait.

“You weren’t kidding when you said you liked pink from a very young age.” The statement pops out from my mouth before I can stop myself. I’m about to kick myself for being such an insensitive dumbbell when Ms Pink laughs.

“Taeyeon.” She says my name but adds nothing more. Somehow, I am encouraged by that and gain the courage to ask her another question.

“How did I manage to see into your past?”

Without looking at me, she says, “I claimed you. That creates a bond between us.”

“But I had flashes of your name even before you claimed me.”

Ms Pink turns to me. “That’s the part I don’t understand.”

“You don’t? But you’re Ms Pink.”

“Stupid human.”

I pause, wondering if Ms Pink can be pushed with more questions. I decide to wing it. “You said I’m not an ordinary bait. You said I’m the first of my kind. You know something.”

“No other bait I’ve claimed has ever come so close to killing me.”

I’m shocked into silence. Other baits? She has claimed other baits? “How many?”

“Your question is incomprehensible.”

“How many baits have you claimed before?”

“Eight.”

“I’m the ninth?”

“Your question is redundant.”

I sit up with some difficulty since my legs are still strapped to the bed frame but it is effort I’m willing to expend if it means I don’t have to lie next to Ms Play-bait Pink here. Better still, I’ll just unstrap myself and leave. But all it takes is the blink of an eye for my wrists to be swept into Ms Pink’s hands and pulled away from my ankles.

“You will not unstrap yourself without my permission.”

I know I will regret it but I have to say it anyway. “I will unstrap myself wheneverI want. If you’re not happy about it, bite me.”

Ms Pink flips one leg over and straddles me, her hands pinning my arms to the mattress. Her eyes glow a ferocious pink and she snarls, her fangs emerging from nowhere, sharp and gleaming despite the dimness of my bedroom. And in a moment of what must be utter insanity, I tilt my chin to expose my neck. Another snarl pierces my ears and the sharp points of her fangs are testing the elasticity of my skin. Out of my mind or not, I don’t cave in. instead, I close my eyes and hold still, leaving my neck exposed and totally vulnerable. But her snarl fades into a low growl and her fangs leave my neck.

Heavy breathing sounds are all I hear for a moment. Then, her voice, husky, gruff. “You.”

I open my eyes. What?

Ms Pink closes her eyes for a moment. “Log on to the internet.”

“Why?”

Ms Pink unstraps my ankles and yanks my legs up, giving me a resounding slap on my . “Don’t question me. Do it.”

Grumbling under my breath about dominant princess vampire masters and their poor human slaves, I hobble to my writing desk with Ms Pink’s help and log on to my laptop while she rustles around my closet. “What now?”

Ms Pink pulls a big, loose t-shirt over my head and tosses me the pair of shorts she pulled off earlier. “Put your shorts on,” she orders. I stick my arms out the sleeves and bend over to do just that as she takes over the laptop much like how she’s taken over my life. A moment later, she moves out of the way, and my professor is on my screen? What? Why?

“T-This is my professor.”

“You are not missing your lecture because of a vanguard bite.”

“B-But—”

“Pay attention.” Ms Pink’s eyes flash devilishly. “Or I’ll enjoy punishing youthoroughly.”

Oh crap. “I’ll pay attention. Don’t spank me again.”

“I’ll spank you if I want to, stupid human.”

Those are her parting words as she leaves the room. I have no wish to be spanked again, so I open my eyes wide and listen hard.

X

Ms Pink disappears for the rest of the day. It’s safe to presume she’s back at work since this is the real world and work has to be done, vampire or stupid human. In the spirit of being a good student, I download the relevant readings for the week and read them. The readings are long and while some of them are interesting enough, most of them are way longer than they should be. Sometimes I wonder if academics deliberately try to make their writing as difficult to comprehend as possible to make us feel stupid. Or maybe, it’s just me and I’m a stupid human just like Ms Pink calls me.

Anyhow, I manage to complete my readings and answer the tutorial questions put up on the university’s student portal. Not bad for a few hours’ worth of hard work. My stomach growls as I shut down my laptop. Man, it’s way past lunch time already and I’m starving, but with my leg in this state . . .

“Taeyeonie, I’m home. And I brought you lunch.” In sweeps a muffled version of Sunny’s sing-song voice and I heave a sigh of relief. What a life saver.

“I’m in my room!” I yell.

The door opens and Sunny sails in with Summer trailing behind her. “Is your leg better? Did Ms Pink take good care of you?”

The smile on Sunny is a little too wide but I let it go with an inner sigh. “I can’t walk properly without help but it’s not hurting as much now.”

“Alright. Let’s get you out to the dining table then.” Sunny helps me up and with Summer supporting me on the other side, we make our way out of my bedroom. “Were you eating your toast with the spatula or something?” Sunny asks and I almost choke on my saliva. Oh God. The pink spatula is right where Ms Pink left it after spanking me. Oh my God. Oh my God.

“I, er, I’m not sure why it’s there. Ms Pink must have left it there after making breakfast for me.”

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