The first thing that SinB did when she returned back to her apartment was plop down on her bed, drained. She may have slept for more than 12 hours in the “Sisters of the Night” headquarters, but SinB was still physically and mentally exhausted.

But, the reminder of not bathing in more than a day, prompted her to lazily get up from her cozy bed to take a shower.

SinB did a lot of thinking when she was in the shower. And, when she was drying her hair. And, when she was brushing her teeth. Though she continued with her daily rituals, she was consumed by thoughts. Primarily, how she was going to tell Yuju and Sowon, her two best friends in the whole wide world, that she ran away from home, lied about taking her dad’s job offer, and has been selling adulterated photos of dancers in their most vulnerable state.

Refreshed from the shower and a new change of clothes, SinB sat on the edge of her bed with her phone in her hand. She turned it on, checking the time. Saturday, 12:56 pm. There were also several notifications of text messages from Sowon. SinB tapped her passcode to reveal the message, feeling uneasy.

12:17 pm

“SinB-ah!!!! How was your ‘date’ w/ Yerin-ssi? ^^ Pls don't tell me u just stared at her blushing all day -_-”

12:28 pm

“SinB-ah!!!!! R u there?”

12:29 pm

“Me and Yuju r gonna steal Yerin-ssi from u if u don't respond!!!!! ><”

12:33 pm

“Aish... Ur probably still sleeping -_-*. Text me back!!!!”

Turning off her phone and throwing it carelessly on her nightstand, SinB curled up in her bed, hair still slightly damp.

She was growing uncertain about the plan. Never in a million years did SinB want to hurt her friends. She couldn't stand the thought of erasing the smile and joy off their faces when she reveals what’s really been going on for the past three months. But, she was mostly fearful of losing their trust.

Trust. It was the hardest thing to gain, but the easiest thing to lose.

She rolled herself to the other side of the bed, closing her eyes. Suddenly, though, she was struck with the memory of Eunha kissing Yerin. SinB heavily sighed in exasperation.

Yerin. SinB’s perception of her changed drastically in a span of 48 hours. She drooled at the first sight of her in Destiny Dance Studios. She blushed madly just from her smile. She even thought that she was falling in love after only a day of awkward exchanges.

But, something changed in between. Was she suddenly turned off by Yerin because she was actually a vampire? The same formidable species as her boss? No, Yerin was a good vampire who wanted to help SinB out of her predicament. Plus, SinB always thought it would be cool to date a vampire.

Several words come to mind to describe the Yerin that SinB first met: cheerful, innocent, and serene. SinB never met a person like that. Someone who could make her feel nervous, yet calm all at the same time.

The Yerin that SinB saw at the manor, though, was stern, mature, and professional. The smiles that use to give her butterflies in her stomach, now just made her question if everything she knew about Yerin was all an illusion. A ploy to earn her trust.

There it was again. Trust. SinB lost her trust towards Yerin when she noticed the lack of warmth and sincerity in Yerin’s smile and how every response felt polished and practiced as if she has told those things to past clients hundreds of times. And, that's what SinB will ever be to Yerin. A client.

Unfortunately, SinB did not want to keep a professional distance between her and Yerin. Not when she envied the enchanting Eunha and her lovey dovey interactions with Yerin.

After tossing and turning in her bed for almost an hour, SinB decided to enact the plan by calling Sowon and Yuju. Her heartbeat quickened with every unanswered ring, until finally…

“Yah, SinB! Why didn’t you reply to my text? It’s been almost two hours,” Sowon abruptly answered. SinB could hear the distant sound of chatter in the background, and figured that Sowon was in a public area.

“Mianhae, Sowon-unnie,” SinB sheepishly replied. “I’m still feeling a bit sick.” She coughed a couple of times to make it sound authentic.

“Eh, I guess that means you don't wanna go outside today. Yuju and I are eating at that hamburger restaurant near Destiny,” Sowon responded, chewing her food. “Let me put you on speakerphone, so you could talk to Yuju.” She pressed the button for speaker and held the phone out for her and Yuju to both listen and talk to.

“SinB-ah, are you still feeling under the weather?” Yuju spoke up with a hint of concern.

“Yes, Yuju-ya. I’m sorry that I can’t join you guys today. I would have treated you guys,” SinB tried to sound jovial, despite knowing that everything will change between her and her friends tomorrow.

“Speaking of treat,” Sowon chimed in, “what did you and Yerin do after we left? Anything in particular that would cause you to not call or text us last night?” Even though SinB wasn’t in their presence, she knew that Sowon was wiggling her eyebrows in a teasing manner.

SinB rolled her eyes at Sowon’s suggestive question. “We went to the park and played on the monkey bars. I walked her home, we said our goodbyes, and I went back home,” SinB quickly summarized, not wanting to mention how Yerin revealed herself to be a vampire. How Yerin’s hot breath and teasing fangs on her neck was the last straw that made SinB faint. She definitely didn’t want to go into detail about that.

Sowon clicked her tongue, clearly unsatisfied with SinB’s response. Yuju laughed at the sight of Sowon’s annoyance. “Yah, SinB!” Sowon sternly replied, “I gave you the chance to spend time with the girl you’ve been blushing over all day, and all you two did was go to the park? I’m disappointed in you. I was so sure that you had better courting skills than that.”

“Sowon-unnie,” Yuju cutted in, “don’t be so hard on SinB. She’s sick. I’m sure she wanted to use her girl-crush-charms, but her congested nose made her sound too weird,” Yuju jokingly reasoned.

“Thanks, Yuju,” SinB said with a sarcastic bite in her tone. “I also didn’t want to get Yerin-unnie sick. Don’t want her to be subjected to you two’s unsympathetic comments,” she mused.

As much as she wanted to continue the friendly banter between her two dorky, but loveable friends, SinB reminded herself the real intention for calling them.

“Actually, guys,” SinB interrupted before anyone could quip back, “I think I may be well enough to hang out tomorrow. Perhaps, we could go to the park that Yerin-unnie took me to yesterday.” SinB tried to sound as calm as possible, despite her heart thumping loudly.

“Cool,” Sowon replied. “I need a new scenery and a break from Yuju’s face. You know, this girl actually made me study?” You’re the one who said you needed help in math, SinB heard Yuju justify. “Yeah, but it was suppose to be an excuse for us to leave so that SinB and Yerin could be alone together,” Sowon fired back.

“I have to go. I need to take my medicine,” SinB announced, giggling at Sowon and Yuju’s little argument. “I’ll text you guys the location.”

“Bye, SinB-ah. See you tomorrow,” Sowon used her aegyo to bid adieu.

“Get well soon, SinB-ah,” Yuju cheered.

SinB smiled bittersweetly. “See you on Sunday, guys. Take care.” She ended the call and released a breath, dreading what tomorrow may bring.

The next day was far more gloomier than how SinB hoped it would be. It was as if the world was playing a cruel joke on her by reflecting the way she felt into the weather. It was chilly and the sun was blocked by gray clouds. No matter what the weather was going to be, SinB still had a task to complete.

She was at the park, waiting for Sowon and Yuju to arrive. Sitting on top of one of the concrete tables, SinB thought about her life before Yerin and her ‘Sisters of the Night.’ Before she even ran away from her parents.

SinB grew up in the more wealthier side of town. Her father ran a successful company and spent most of his time in the office. Her mother ran an online jewelry boutique with a close friend. At the beginning, SinB’s parents would make up excuse after excuse for why they couldn't attend her dance recital or competition. It wasn't until SinB was twelve-years-old when her father told her directly that she shouldn't waste her time on learning “silly dance routines.”

Being the headstrong girl she was, SinB rebelled and continued to teach herself the latest dance techniques, improving with each year. She was able to convince Yuju, who she's been friends with since elementary school, to accompany her to that new dance studio. On their first day at Destiny, they met Sowon. Though she was several years older than them, the three of them soon became inseparable.

Unlike her parents, Yuju and Sowon actually believed in her aspirations, actually took the time to get to know her, and actually gave her something that she desperately needed: love.

“SinB-ah!”

Concentrated in her thoughts, SinB snapped out of her reverie when she heard Sowon and Yuju playfully yell out her name. They were running towards her with the brightest smiles ever. She tried to look happy, but it took all her emotional strength to form a lousy closed-mouth smile.

“Hey, are you feeling better?” Yuju kindly questioned, giving SinB a hug.

“Yeah, I don’t feel so bad, now,” SinB shortly replied, trying not to look directly at her friends. It was getting difficult to breathe, and she feared that she might just explode in tears right there.

“So, this is the park that you and Yerin-ssi hanged out at,” Sowon joined in, looking at her surroundings. When she spotted a swing set, an idea came to mind. “SinB-ah, you could have offered to push Yerin-ssi on the swings. Earn some skinship points.” She raised her eyebrows in a teasing manner, earning a slap on the arm from Yuju.

But, SinB kept her gaze firm on the ground and meekly smiled at the comment. Sowon and Yuju looked at each other in confusion over SinB’s lack of energy and amusement. They’ve seen SinB bounce back to her usual lively self after being sick plenty of times. But, there was something very different this time around.

“SinB-ah,” Sowon delicately spoke, bringing herself closer to the passive girl, “what’s wrong?”

“Did something happen between you and Yerin-unnie?” Yuju asked with much concern.

SinB got off the table, still restraining from making eye contact. She pressed her lips together before looking up and finally meeting their worrying faces. “Um. Actually, there’s been something that I’ve been wanting to talk to guys about. Maybe you two should sit down, first,” SinB tried to ease the conversation in as smoothly as possible.

Yuju and Sowon silently nodded their heads, sliding themselves in the table’s built-in bench. SinB sat herself in the bench on the other side, facing them. Taking a deep breath, SinB proceeded to let her long held secrets be known to her best friends.

“Remember when you guys told me that I should apply for that performing arts university, but I said that I couldn’t because I had my mind made up on working at my father’s company? Well, I actually really wanted to apply. I told my parents about it and my father and I got into a huge argument. That night, I decided to leave their house. I was homeless and lived off the both of you without telling you guys that I ran away.

“But, the real kicker and the part that I’m extremely disgusted in myself is how I was able to support myself for the past three months. There was this guy that I met on the streets. He asked me if I wanted a job, and I said that I needed one. So, he assigned me a dance studio to implant a camera in the locker rooms. That camera would take pictures for several days, and I would go back to retrieve the memory card and replace it with a new one. After that, the guy and I would make an exchange. I give him the memory card, he gives me an unbelieveable amount of money. So much money that I was able to rent an apartment.

“One of the dance studios was Stylez Dance Hall, the one that Yoon Bora-unnie choreographs at. Bora-unnie’s stalker was obsessed with the photos that I took of her, but I had no idea that all of that was going on. Of course, I’m still one of the people to blame for the torture that she went through. And, I hate myself for getting caught up in all these things. And, I especially hate how I never told you two about it until now.”

Tears quickly escaped SinB’s eyes during her confession. Telling her friends about all the lies and what she was actually doing with her life was far more difficult than telling Yerin and her colleagues. As she wiped her tears away, the unsettled looks on Sowon and Yuju’s faces came into focus. Brows were knitted and eyes were strained.

Sowon cleared to speak. “So, when you came into the dance studio the other day with your eyes all red, it was because you knew that you were partially responsible for Bora-unnie’s suicide attempt...not because you were feeling sick.” Her voice wavered, trying to connect the pieces together.

SinB nodded her head in response, too scared to say a word.

Yuju was staring down at her balled up fists; her knuckles were turning a ghostly white. “Why?” Yuju trembled out. “Why didn’t you tell us on the first day that you ran away? We could’ve helped you! All of this could have been avoided if you just told us before things got out of proportion!” Yuju’s voice was growing hysteric by the millisecond.

“How could you sleep at night,” Sowon angrily questioned, “knowing that sickos are buying these pictures and using them for God-knows-what?”

“Was a camera ever installed in Destiny Dance Studio?” Yuju pressed on with uncertainty.

“No,” SinB defensively replied, shaking her head. “I would never do that to Destiny.”

“But, you would do that to the other studios and their dancers?” Yuju scoffed. Standing up from the bench, Yuju crossed her arms and looked at SinB with disgust. “I’m leaving,” she huffed out; her breath was visible in the cold air.

“Yuju-ya, wait for me,” Sowon beckoned to her friend who was preparing to walk away. She glanced at SinB and clenched her jaw with disdain. “I feel sorry for you, SinB. For the mess you got yourself into. It hurts me to say this, but I don’t recognize you anymore.” She got up from the bench and, along with Yuju, turned their backs away from SinB, exiting out of the park.

SinB remained sitting at the table with her head down, trying to hide the overflow of tears. Deep in her heart, SinB knew that she would have reacted the same way if Sowon or Yuju revealed to do the same things that she has done.  

Without her friends, SinB felt truly alone.

Author’s Note: Sorry for the angst filled chapter. I know, I keep putting SinB in these sad situations. I can’t say that the next chapter is lighter, but the next one after that will center more on SinRin.