Jimin went through the streets at vampire speed, silent and deadly. The only thing on his mind was finding someone to snack on. He desperately needed the burning in his throat that left it feeling raw to go away. It had been three whole days since his last meal, which was the longest he had ever gone without feeding. The rule of the Dark City was that any human outside from midnight until dawn was food, but they could not be killed during the feeding. Only one bite mark was permitted, and they had to keep just enough blood so that they survived the attack. If by any chance a human was found dead and the cause was a vampire, the truce between the vampires and humans would be called off. This peace that had finally come after centuries of war proved to be a nuisance for the vampires in the city. Now they had to be careful when they fed, and of course they could only go out after dark, since the sun burned them. Jimin shuddered at the thought of turning into a crisp under the sunlight.

            He spotted a girl all by herself, walking in an empty alley with a small purse in her hands. Jimin watched from the rooftop above, then swept down and blocked her path. The girl, who couldn’t be any older than a middle schooler, trembled in fear. The purse dropped from her grip and fell to her feet. “Take my money. Take anything, but don’t kill me, please!”

            “You’re what I want.”

            “Please just let me go! I don’t want any trouble.” Her eyes were wide, staring at his vampire form. He could smell the scent of terror coming off her.

            “You’re out here after midnight. I don’t care who you are or what you were doing,” he said matter-of-factly. “I won’t kill you. I just need your blood.” Unable to wait any longer Jimin pushed her against the stone wall, puncturing her skin with his fangs and drinking her blood. Tonight he was too thirsty to play with his food. The hot liquid flowed into his mouth at last. He paid no attention to the girl’s screaming, which could surely be heard for miles. Let all the humans that were holed up in their houses nearby, whether they were sleeping or awake, hear her and quiver in fright. She was an example to them, and she would be living proof, just like many other humans who survived vampire attacks, of what goes on after midnight. That was their own fault for breaking the law. It was their punishment.

           Jimin shuddered from the ecstasy, for he had never tasted a girl so innocent and pure. Her blood was untainted. It was all the self control he possessed that allowed him to break away from the kid. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and pushed her in the opposite direction. “Run along now, little one, unless you want to become another vampire’s meal, too.”

            Blood trailed down her neck and dripped onto the front of her pink jacket. She scurried away, reminding him of a mouse. He felt better now, but his throat still ached. Jimin jumped effortlessly from roof to roof, along the way witnessing other humans being fed on down below in the streets. Their relentless shrieking echoed throughout the city. He fed on another human, this one a e whose blood wasn’t nearly as sweet as the schoolgirl, but she was almost enough for the burning in his throat to go away. He still needed one more, he decided.

            After he fed from his third victim, a girl caught his eye. She was maybe seventeen, with long dark hair and fair skin. Her beauty was classic. Jimin felt the urge to go closer, to find out who this girl was. She wasn’t a vampire. She was merely human. And before he could find out, another creature swept down into the street in pursue of her. She looked behind and came face to face with Jin, one of the oldest vampires of the Bangtan clan.

            Jimin watched as his friend terrorized the human girl, as Jin was known to the hunt. He was all about playing with his food; no matter how many times Jimin and the others reminded him of the new laws in the Dark City. 

            The teenager struggled to break free of his strong grip. “Let me go! Don’t you dare touch me, filthy vampire!”

            He chuckled, amused at her choice of words. “Filthy? The only one here who’s going to be filthy  is you when I’m finished.” Jin yanked the girl’s hair back, making her cry out in pain. 

            Jimin’s head whipped around and he felt like he had to do something. He had no idea why, but he just couldn’t bear the thought of Jin hurting her. This girl was different. Jimin sensed it- there was something special about her. His eyes darted around, searching. They were only a few blocks away from home. If he somehow distracted Jin, the girl could get away.

            Jimin grabbed the lighter from his jeans pocket, lit a match, and threw it a few feet away. Flames started rising along the edge, until gradually spreading and sending curls of smoke up in the air. Down below Jin cursed and called out.

            “Who’s there?”

            Jimin made a show of shouting and struggling to put the fire out, and within seconds his friend appeared on the rooftop to help him. The fire was out, and when Jin looked back into the street, the girl had vanished. “I didn’t need her,” explained Jin. “She just looked good to eat.”

            “I know,” answered Jimin, his heart racing from what he’d done. He felt shame for caring about a human. “Let’s go home, Jin.”

            The house was in chaos when they returned. Suga was shouting, his face an angry twisted mask, while J-Hope was trying to calm him down. Rap Monster sat in the leader’s chair, along with the vampire leaders who ruled the other two clans. They ignored Suga and continued discussing whatever topic had unsettled the other vampire.

            Jimin frowned, going over to Suga and J-Hope, while Jin approached the leaders and joined in on the conversation. The rest of the vampires were only just now coming in from their hunt. “What’s going on?” he asked J-Hope.

            “The humans have threatened to declare war on us if we don’t cooperate with their investigation in that human’s death,” he explained. “We must help them. Rap Monster wants exactly that, but they,” he pointed his finger towards the other vampire leaders, “could care less about the murder. They don’t want to help.”

            “So they’d rather want a war?”

            “Apparently so,” sighed J-Hope, leading Suga upstairs.         

            Jimin was dumbfounded. How could they possibly prefer a war with the other side over cooperating with them? Were they in their right minds?

            “It’s in our best interest to cooperate with the police force and do whatever they ask of us,” Rap Monster was calmly explaining in the living room.

            The leader of the 4Minute clan, Jihyun, rolled her eyes and let out a slow breath as if she was bored. “Why should we care about that? She was just a human. Many humans have died at the hands of vampires. This is only one more. So what?”

            “You’re only trying to cover for Hyuna,” Rap Monster shot back.

            At the mention of the member who had gone rogue, Jihyun’s expression darkened. “Hyuna is no longer a part of 4Minute. Why would I cover for her mistakes?”

            “Because you’re still working together. She and those dogs convinced you to join their side. Am I right or wrong?”

            “I don’t need to explain myself to you. I’m the older one here.” Jihyun absentmindedly inspected her black polished fingernails.

            “We should go to war with them,” Doojoon urged, his black eyes hard and unreadable. “We’re vampires. We can team up with the werewolves and Hyuna, and we can defeat the humans. We can take back our city. It’ll be ours once again!”

            “You’re crazy! You’ve lost it!” Jimin shouted.

            Doojoon’s head whipped around to look at him. “Stay out of this, boy.”

            “Are you so blind that you can’t see the real problem here?! They will attack us one day! And when they do, will we be able to win? We need to prepare for that, and we should also cooperate with the humans. Don’t make us go to war, Doojoon!” Jimin was in a rage. V came up and restrained him, pleading with Jimin not to argue anymore. He relented, but shook V off and headed to his room to be alone for awhile. This was messing with his head, and so were his thoughts about the girl he’d saved earlier. Why had he done that? What was so special about her? Even though he’d been so sure about it then, he started doubting himself now. Idiot. With the lights off, Jimin lay in bed with the covers pulled over his head, just wanting to be away from the world and his problems. Here, he was safe. Nothing could get him. Nothing could bother him. After all, the darkness had always been his home.

            The old 80’s rock music blared from the speakers, making the walls vibrate and Hyuna could only imagine that if she was a living human being, her heart would be racing in this moment. The boy she was feeding from went slack in her arms, and she forced herself to stop feeding. He was passed out on the floor. Bathed by the glowing light of the candles, she felt herself slipping away in the intense pleasure. That had been her seventh victim today. Yes, she’d become spoiled by this new lifestyle of luxury, with the youngest werewolf bringing her countless victims every week. At least she was good enough not to kill a single one. She had control, which most vampires lacked, which was why they’d left the Dark City after the new laws. Beyond just feeding, the werewolves had an abundance of the best brands of wine and cigarettes. She had a mountain of money. Hyuna had all she could ever ask for, right here in this camp. Why should she ever go back to her old life, the one she had left behind? There was no need for that, and there was nothing to worry about.

            Hyuna was a badass.  

            There was a knock at the tent. “Come in,” she called, leaning back in the cushions she’d arranged on the floor. “Why, hello, my dear Kai. Aren’t you looking just fine today.” She gazed at his chocolate skin and tousled brown hair.

            “I could say the same for you, Hyuna,” said Kai, smirking as he crossed the tent and picked up the unconscious boy. “You sure have an appetite this week. It’s the highest number of meals yet.”

            She laughed. “What can I say? I’m always thirsty.”

           Kai slung the boy over his shoulder and carefully opened the slit of the tent so that the sunlight didn’t hit Hyuna. “I’ll check in on you later, then.”

            “I’ll be looking forward to it.” She was alone in the tent now, full and feeling energized from the late afternoon snack. It was time to make plans for the night. She flipped out her phone and dialed her favorite number. “Ah, Hyunseung. Get ready for tonight. We’ll hit the town, alright?”