Ten years later.

Ave Maria Academy, the biggest and only academy for vampires, just entered its summer term. Under the transcendental light of the full moon, groups of teenage vampires made their ways to their classes. They were all coming from different clans and families in the vampire world. Gathering in the same place for one purpose only, they were all training to become a powerful vampire in the future. Chatter and laughter filled the atmosphere.

However, soon later, the presence of a certain brunette silenced the whole campus. The locks of blonde highlights flew along with the wind. Perfect curves of a teenage girl passing her puberty swayed with every single step her long slim legs made. Tugging her wavy chestnut hair behind her right ear, her golden eye sparkled under the moonlight. Even the black eyepatch was not enough to cover her beauty. Walking confidently, the mysterious beauty made all of the boys drooling and the girls envious. Always wearing a black face, she was known as the Ice Princess. As mysterious as her name, no one caught her being friendly to anyone. Even though she had been rejecting many love letters and confessions from both boys and girls in the campus, her popularity never dropped.

Observing from the second floor, two girls looked at the Ice Princess making her entrance, with all the boys around having their jaws hanging. The shorter girl among them grinned mischievously at the scene. Fixing her black bob hair, she looked at her companion, who seemed to be uncomfortable about the situation.

“What’s with the face, unnie? Isn’t you who was the one that taught her to act like that?”

“It seems that my plan backfired on me. I thought it would help her to avoid the attention, not the other way around.”

“On the bright sight, no one bullies her, or even questions about her eye patch. So I guess it’s alright.” The bob hair girl grinned, leaning on the fence of the balcony to give a closer view at the brunette below. “And I think you just forgot to consider the case where a timid girl would become such a stunning beauty. Not a big deal, by the way.”

The blonde girl sighed, taking a sip of her glass of blood she had been holding on her hand. The famous Ice Princess was no one else but her younger sister, Jung SinB. And of course, Yerin was the culprit for everything. It was her idea to create another personality for SinB on the first day of school. Since both Yerin and Eunha were already famous in their academy for being friendly, cheerful and bubbly behavior, she thought the opposite would attract less attention from others, saving SinB from lots of troubles. She had considered many ideas and came up with a plan to turn SinB into a cold and unsociable person. However, what she forgot to include in her plan was the fact that her younger sister was already a natural beauty. The boys easily got attracted to her cute face. After puberty hit her, it was just getting worse. Her matured V-line face rarely showed any expressions, not even a smile. The boys were dying to get a chance to see the Ice Princess’ smile for once. That was how the timid girl got herself a fan club.

To be honest, being the person who watched the young girl growing up every day, Yerin was the most fazed by the change of SinB. The brunette she used to know was a shy and social-awkward girl who would hide behind the blonde’s back whenever there were strangers around them. A girl who could not sleep in the dark without the presence of candles or Yerin’s warmth. But everything was the past. When Yerin was fourteen, she decided to join the Vampire Council and became a member of the special reconnaissance squad, just like her father was. Because of that, Yerin tended to be sent off to the human world on her missions, leaving the young brunette alone in their big house most of the time. Although Eunha visited to look after the girl quite often, SinB eventually learned that she could not depend on Yerin all the time. Therefore, she chose to become a new person and adjusted to her new life without the protection of Yerin.

Being busy with her missions, it took the blonde two years to finally notice it even though they were living under the same roof. She saw how the SinB started making friends by herself in the academy. She saw how the brunette would not beg her to sleep together like they used to anymore. She saw how the girl grew stronger and more independent days by days.

Catching the blonde staring at the young girl, almost forgetting to finish her drink, Eunha grinned playfully, nudging on the older girl’s arm softly.

“Yerin-unnie, don’t tell me you’re jealous of your own sister.”

“What? Of course not. I’m just... worried...”

Yerin turned away, hiding her red cheeks which made the shorter girl laugh loudly.

“Come on. You know all of that is just an act. SinB is going to become a puppy once she is alone with us. If you want to blame anyone for her bipolar personality then blame yourself.”

Of course, Yerin knew that. The three of them had been spending lots of time together during those ten years. The youngest girl had opened her heart more to them, completely getting rid of her old shy self. Like sisters, SinB was actually a playful and carefree person, never missing a chance to tease Eunha about her height since she had grown taller than the bob hair girl last year. Furthermore, SinB was always Yerin’s partner in crime in all of their pranks around the campus. To be honest, SinB only smiled at her sister and cousin when they were alone. Once someone else was present, she would turn back to the cold Ice Princess. Eunha sometimes teased that she had a reverse charm but the young girl did not mind about it. She only wanted to show this side of her to Yerin and Eunha, whom she cared for and cherished more than herself.

However, Yerin was bothered by the popularity that she accidentally created for her beloved sister. After years of living together, she had made a few conclusions about SinB’s strength and abilities. Her vision, hearing, and physical strength was on the same level as a regular vampire. Her appetite was the same as a human when she did not drink a single drop of blood since the first encounter. However, SinB was struggling with vampire’s special powers. For a normal pure-blood vampire, Apparate spell was the basic spell that any vampire could do. They were taught in the academy since middle school and it was the only method for them to move around in an emergency. Vampires could not transform into bats and fly away so Apparate spell was their only way to escape during an emergency. Furthermore, summoning and controlling bats was another basic vampiric skill which SinB also could not do. Considering the fact that each vampire was born with a special ability, for example, Eunha’s telepathy or Yerin’s aerokinesis, SinB was given none of it, leaving the girl a huge disadvantage towards other vampires.

This caused Yerin to be a little over-protective over the younger girl whenever boys approached the brunette. She became even more of a worryguts when both she and Eunha graduated from the academy. However, Eunha convinced her that SinB was doing fine by herself, judging from how the young girl went through easily when Yerin was away on a mission for almost a month before the blonde’s graduation.

Suddenly noticing the flash change in the older girl’s pupils and the tense grip on the half-empty glass, the baby face of a certain bob hair girl frowned. Taking a sip of her own glass of blood, she sighed while looking at the moon upon them.

“Yerin-unnie... When do you plan to tell her?”

Yerin flinched but her facial expression did not change. She stared at the glass in her hand, seeking for an answer but nothing came up. Eunha bit her lower lip. The younger girl then glanced at the youngest Jung girl who slowly disappeared around the corner of the hallway. Her pair of golden eyes turned into crimson color for a second before it went back to normal.

“You know, both of us were supposed to have our coming age ceremony right after our graduation day. But how pathetic, we can’t. Even though we’re the most powerful vampires in our clan and yet we can’t transform into our ultimate form. On top of that, ironically, we share the same secret.”

The blonde’s brows furrowed. Her pupils changed it colors rapidly as an image of a certain girl flashed through her brain. Almost breaking the glass in her hand, Yerin held her temple, forcing herself to stop thinking about the girl. Weakly smiled at the reaction, Eunha calmly drank her glass since she understood the feeling. The struggling that both of them were going through.

“We don’t have much time left, do we? I heard from my father that Han Yunkyu conquered all the land in the human world already. And now, our world is the only one he thirsts for. The peace is almost over, unnie. We need the power to protect our family, our beloved.”

“I know...”

“I’m still curious about what is holding you back, unnie. But I trust you to make the correct decision. After all, you’re the one who knows it better than anyone else.”

Eunha finished her drink then turned her back to the blonde, walking away from the room. Before she disappeared, the bob hair girl left some last words that haunted Yerin for the rest of the day.

“He is looking for SinB, unnie. Han Yunkyu is looking for our dear sister.”

***************************************

That day, after the meeting with Eunha, Yerin decided to come back to her home and lock herself in the library. Having too many concerns and thoughts, the only thing she could do to distract herself was reading books. She had already read and remembered almost every book stored in the library. After skimming a book that she had read four times, she finally admitted that reading the same book over and over again did not help her from her current bothers. The blonde absentmindedly returned the book back to the shelf. Taking a small stroll around the shelves, she searched for any unfamiliar titles, anything that could catch her interest, saving her from the gloomy night.

Once she reached a dark corner of the library, where the candlelight could not reach. There was only one shelf with a few torn old book covering in dust and spider webs. Yerin was surprised by her discovery. She had spent more time in the library than anywhere else but why she did not know about this shelf before? Blowing away the dust, she coughed lightly while using her hand to wipe off the thick layer of dust and spider web on the spine of the books. Once the titles were visible, she skimmed all of them. Most of the books were historical records, of both the vampire and human worlds. Some of them were too old that the letters already faded away. However, what caught her attention was an untitled book, with a pitch black cover and a red cross engraved in the middle of the cover. Curious, she grabbed the book. The cross looked too familiar to her. It was the same one on SinB’s eye patch. Considering that, the blonde guessed this book belonged to her family. Wiping away dust on the book carefully, she opened it but once again was surprised and confused by it. The content was empty. Blank. All the pages were blank. She flipped over pages to pages but no words, not a single letter was found.

Yerin tried to think of an answer to her questions but there was no logical explanation for the existence of the book. It was a mystery and whoever was the writer must not want anyone to know whatever was inside this book. Something really important and secret. However, before her curiosity allowed her to investigate further, she heard her father calling for her outside of the library. The voice sounded more urgent and distressed than she could ever imagine. Returned the mysterious book back to its original place, Yerin hastily exited the library to find her father.

Her father’s voice never stopped calling for her, which only made Yerin be more panicked. Yonghyun never summoned her unless he needed her to discuss something important. However, he had been a calm and dignified man in any situation. This was her first time ever to listen to such an anxious voice coming from her father. And Yerin would never imagine there would be a day that her father would greet her in an injured state. Leaning on the living room’s wall for support, the man was covered in blood. His blond hair was messy and wet by his own sweats. His clothes were torn and burned. But the view that terrified Yerin most was the noticeable silver blade stabbed through his chest. Horrified, the blond girl immediately ran toward her father, already crying in worry and pain. Seeing his daughter was untouched, Yonghyun smiled weakly as he let his trembling legs to give up and fall into the supportive arms of the young girl.

“Father! What happened to you?!? We need to get you to the medical center now!”

“Y-Yerin-ah...”

“You’re bleeding too much. We need to go now!”

“Yerin-ah...” Yonghyun called again, louder than the last time. Touching his daughter’s cheek gently by his bloody hand, he finally stopped the girl’s babble. “It’s OK... It’s already too late...”

“Father...”

The tears fell down more heavily, along with the pain grew stronger and stronger inside her heart. Yerin held on her father’s hand, chanting silently in her head that this was not the truth. Everything was just a dream.

“Listen carefully, Yerin-ah... You don’t have much time left... Yunkyu is coming... The vampire world will be gone in a few minutes... You must flee now...”

Right at that time, the whole mansion vibrated violently. Explosions and screams could be heard from outside. Behind the thick crimson curtains, Yerin could see a big and furious army storming toward them. For some reasons, Yunkyu had broken the barrier protecting the vampire world. And now he came to take everything into his hand. Slowly taking off a ring with a red cross engraved on it from his finger, Yonghyun placed it inside the girl’s palm, immediately getting his daughter’s full attention once again.

“Protect this ring and Eunbi with all you have, Yerin-ah... Do not let Yunkyu lay his hand on any of them... This is my last request from your father... Can you fulfill my death wish, my dear daughter?”

“Father... Please... I... I can’t...”

“Yes, you can... You’re Jung Yerin... My beloved daughter... I have my faith in you...” He tenderly the blond hair. “Time is running out... You need to find Eunbi and run away... You two need to hide, far away from the human world... Do everything it takes to protect Eunbi or else... It will be the end for our race...”

“Father...”

Bitting her lower lip to prevent herself from sobbing, she reluctantly nodded her head. Satisfied, Yonghyun smiled one last time. He slowly placed a kiss on the back of the girl’s palm before his torn and bloody torso turned into ash. After a moment of mourning, Yerin wiped away the remaining tears coming from her golden orbs. Her father was gone. She could not change that fact. The only thing she could do was to carry on his death wish. Looking outside, the rampage was getting closer and closer every time. The vampire guards were losing since the human army knew exactly their weakness and took the advantage of the rising sun to be their power.