Irene

 

Vampires.

 

Vampires in school.

 

Vampires in school in Gangnam.

 

Why the bloody hell are there vampires in high school?!

 

Then again, I planning to go to a high school as well, so it shouldn't have came as a surprise. Only that, it was not one, not two, but five.

 

A coven.

 

A damn coven of vampires in Gangnam High School.

 

Now you see, to have a coven of vampires is a rare thing. Vampires in general are very territorial, possessive and aggressive as that's their nature. To have five, or possibly more, vampires willingly share living space and territory is unfathomable.

 

A mystery that I never was able to understand. Why share when you can have it all? But that's not the point.

 

The fact is that I came to Gangnam, Korea, all the way from Singapore, for the sole purpose of avoiding vampires, hopefully settle down for a year or so, and this. An entire damn coven of them here.

 

The odds of this happening baffles me. Truly, I am amazed by the possibility that the one place that I choose to go and avoid vampires, is the one place I find a whole nest of them.

 

Running the events of what just happened through my head, I reviewed my options. I drove to Gangnam High, ready for my first day of school, until I came across faint scents of a vampire. Vampires. And here I am, still perched on my sleek black motorbike, wondering what did I ever do to make god hate me so much that he placed a coven of vampires smack in my path.

 

I sighed deeply. This was going to be a problem. Unless, an idea struck me. Unless, they didn't know I was a vampire.

 

It was plausible; I haven't hunted in this area yet so there won't be any dead or missing bodies for the vampires to link the deaths to my appearance. My shield is always active, so the vampires couldn't have noticed my scent.

 

This could actually work.

 

I mean, think about it. I wanted to avoid a certain vampire, and what better way to do that than to hide in plain sight? He would have never thought of me willing to settle down, much less in a place where vampires already reside. He would very obviously assume that I'll be always on the run, avoiding all supernatural beings at all costs - especially vampires.

 

I let the corners of my lips curl up in a grin as I formulate a plan. The vampires has yet to arrive, considering I couldn't detect them with my keen sense of smell.

 

Keener than that of a young vampire. Young vampires.

 

I leant to the side of my bike, checking my irises in the side mirrors. They were black. I am thirsty, but I can't feed now. If I did, there would be no way to explain the crimson irises. Black is a more believable human eye colour, much more than red.

 

The next was my vampiric scent. I would have to somehow manipulate it into becoming less ‘vampirish’, in a sense. Vampire scents are ‘created’ from having varying blood scents present and the lack of actual flowing blood. Since all vampires consume blood, the mixture of all the different blood scents will create a unique scent of vampires.

 

Having a heartbeat and body temperature, together with human sensory responses would also help with my act. Maybe I should go on full blush mode all day, to deter the vampires.

 

Then again, having a heartbeat will truly set the case in stone. While scents and temperature is one of the factors of identifying a vampire, the main one is the lack of heartbeat. With a heartbeat, the vampires would definitely be convinced that I'm human.

 

With that being the case, I could simply go with my natural scent. There's no need to alter it, it can just be passed off as an extremely alluring blood scent.

 

Meals would be a problem though. I can't risk killing any locals in this area since the coven could link the disappearing bodies to my appearance. It'll be too suspicious for them to not investigate. And if they do, my cover would be blown. Huffing slightly, I gingerly removed my helmet and dismounted from my bike.

 

I placed the helmet atop my bike and ran my fingers through my hair that was messed up from the annoyance of a helmet. I would have opted for not wearing it, but to keep up the facade of being a fragile human there was no choice.

 

I did pull some strings and had a human forge some documents for me, but it would simply take some digging to discover Bae Joohyun did not exist prior to last week. A little investigation into Singapore High School, the school I supposedly transferred from, would also reveal that there was no such student in there. My documentations were shallow, and I had to be extra cautious to not sabotage it.

 

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Stepping over the threshold into the school, I shivered as a gust of wind welcomed me in. I've been observing the humans before me, and mimicking a shiver would be befitting for a thin, fragile human girl like me, I mused. Noticing that the people around have twinges of red on their cheeks, I added in a blush in my illusion for as an extra measure.

 

My abilities were simple, really. It's a shield, one I can manipulate to my own liking. There are two layers to it; one being always active, consciously or subconsciously - it blocks other vampire’s abilities from working on me. The second being the ability to mess with minds around me.

 

For example, I didn't actually have the physical attributes of a human. Beating heart, flush on my cheeks, body temperature were all illusions. My abilities made it so that I can tweak the image of how I would appear to their minds, creating a false image and them perceiving me as such. The only exception was my eyes. I couldn't change the illusions of my irises and hence I have no choice but to remain hungry so my eyes would appear as black instead of crimson red.

 

Though the ability to block powers is always active, the ability to manipulate minds requires me to be ever conscious of the illusion I'm creating. If I was heavily distracted, I would lose control of the senses of the people, and my illusion would fade away.

 

The best part of the shield though, is the extent of control I can have over people's mind. I am able to make myself ‘disappear’ of sorts, to their minds. I can completely cloak my physical body and my scent from their sense of sight, smell, touch, hearing and taste. Basically they would never know about my existence beside them. However that requires quite alot of mental concentration and I would not be able to hold the disguise indefinitely.

 

Amidst my inner monologue, I finally found my way to the office to sign in. With that over and done with, I began the trek to the first class of the day with my new schedule in hand. As I did so, I noticed many students gaping at my inhuman beauty. An annoyance, but nothing more. I would be just another pretty face in the crowd of students to the coven.

 

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The day progressed without a hitch, with many comments about my fair skin, and my hailing from the Lion City. Nothing I couldn't handle.

 

However, there is a very persistent human that cannot seem to get the hint. Park Bogum. My polite rejections had been naught and I do believe he has half a brain functional to not understand I am not interested in his courting.

 

I had to several times reign in my homicidal tendencies to not dispatch him where he stands so as to not blow my cover. Frustrating, really as I thought about his advancements and my silent misery.

 

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It wasn't until lunch did I make contact with the vampires.

 

I was sitting at the table with a group of humans I met throughout the day consisting of Yoona, Taeyeon, Suho and very unfortunately Bogum and we were talking about the ridiculous amount of work the math teacher shoved on us when I smelt them.

 

I have been smelling them around the whole day, but this time their scents were strong and fresh. At the sounds of their heavy footsteps, I instinctively looked up to see their entrance. There were five.

 

The first to enter, had grace and arrogance in her steps. Her head was held high and her beauty breathtaking to humans. She could easily pass off as a goddess with the inhuman beauty she possessed. Her hair was a rose-gold at shoulder length, and I wouldn't be surprised if she was the subject of affection and envy in the school.

 

The second was a tall and thin female. Her body type couldn't be described as scrawny. Although thin, it fit her doll-like face perfectly and the flair in her strides could be described as that of a model.

 

The third to enter had her arms hooked around the fourth, and her eyes glittered with mirth. It was comical to see the two side by side, as the third easily towered over the fourth. She had fiery-red hair reaching her chest, and she practically dripped confidence. It wasn't hard to see why, as her body was an sensual shape, a compliment to her face.

 

The fourth had golden blonde hair, framing a baby face. She had a mischievous glint in her eyes, a definite sign of a troublemaker, and her smile was blinding. She was definitely the definition of the girl next door.

 

The last to enter was monolidded, with well defined features and brown hair. If merely observed alone, I would say that she was a girl crush, with the way she moved and the look in her eyes. However, the physical appearance starkly contrasted the actions of this vampire.

 

Her face was scrunched up as she playfully bounded behind the two, stealing the blonde away and teasing the red head, sticking her tongue out at her. The fluid motions however opposed the childish act.  

 

They had the classic flair and grace of a vampire as they made their way to a table in the corner, but what really intrigued me was the golden eyes they all sported. Had it not been their unbeating heart and vampire scents, I would have doubted their existence as vampires.

 

I suppose my act of observing them was less subtle than I wanted it to be; when I turned back to the table Yoona had a knowing look on her face.

 

“Staring at the Kims, eh?.” A full out smirk has replaced the grin on her face as I arched an eyebrow in response.

 

“The Kims?”

 

“Uh huh. The first to enter was Chaeyoung, followed by Lisa, Joy, Yeri and Seulgi. They are all orphans adopted by a couple. Chaeyoung and Lisa are a couple, and so is Joy and Yeri.” Yoona swallowed her mouthful of food before continuing.

 

“Caused quite a huge scandal in the school, really. Being in the same family and all. But I mean they're all adopted, so it's not exactly you-know-what so I guess its fine.”

 

I gave Yoona a smile. I'm really starting to like this human more and more. She's far more accepting and open minded about issues than most of the humans from this small town would be.

 

However useful the information Yoona just gave me, it didn't solve the burning question of why they had golden irises. It was definitely unusual. In my whole existence, I have never seen vampires having gold eyes. Black, red, even grey and white but never such a shade of honey gold. It was a matter I had to investigate into quickly, and thoroughly lest it leads to undesirable consequences.

 

“Who's the new human?” A high pitched voice broke my train of thoughts. The person wasn't shrieking, or speaking loudly. In fact it was a whisper, but the voice remained high pitched all the same, strangely enough.

 

I looked up from my food and in their direction in reflex at my being mentioned.

 

“Bae Joohyun. Heard she would rather be called Irene,” A person whom I now know as Chaeyoung, nonchalantly remarked, her tone sounding very bored and uninterested.

 

“What's with that voice? You sound like you dislike her already. Scared she'll steal Lisa?” Yeri playfully directed at Chaeyoung. In response, she merely scoffed and rolled her eyes.

 

“You can't deny it Chae, she's really really really pretty. She stands a chance!”

 

“Oh ho, sounds like someone has the hoots for the new girl. Joy, you better guard your girl before she strays,” Seulgi wiggled her eyebrows at Joy suggestively before turning to glance at me, throwing in a wink in my direction.

 

I instantly ‘blushed’, ducking my head and hiding my face behind a curtain of hair.

 

“Guys. I can't read her.” The red head I assume to be Joy spoke up, face contorted into a grimace.

 

A series of gasps sounded around the table as I smiled inwardly.

 

The fact that she said ‘read’ establishes the fact that she is a telepath. Her inability to read me comes as a surprise though. My previous encounters with a telepath wasn't pleasant, and he was dispatched of before I could clarify my questions. It would have been troublesome if she actually could read me.

 

“What do you mean by that?” Chaeyoung demanded, voice laced with anger and fear. The turn of events amused me, the once proud and arrogant vampire now sounded fearful and uncertain.

 

“I can't see her thoughts.”

 

“Her? Irene?” Seulgi's deep mellow voice graced my ears and she turned to look at me.

 

Keeping my expression passive and neutral, I focused my attention on a particular interesting spot on the table as Joy hummed an affirmation.

 

I turned my attention back to the table, I noticed Yoona and Taeyeon mouth's were agape.

 

“Someone got the attention of the Kims,” Yoona sung, eyes glittering with unspoken mirth. Taeyeon merely looked impressed.

 

“It's no surprise. Her beauty can rival that of theirs,” Bogum smirked, slinging his arm over my shoulders. I instantly tensed up.

 

Noticing my stiff posture, Taeyeon thankfully threw me a lifeline. “Lunch time is almost over. Do you want me to bring you to your next class?”

 

I gratefully nodded, hurrying to stand up and join Taeyeon and Yoona at the door of the lunch room. I noticed Bogum had a forlorn look in his eyes when I threw his arm off me, but I couldn't be bothered.

 

He made to follow me to the door, but Suho sprung into action at Taeyeon's glare and dragged Bogum elsewhere instead.

 

Taeyeon and Yoona mouthed a silent apology for what I assume as Bogum's behaviour as we made our way out the canteen. They didn't seem surprised by the way he acted around me so I guess it isn't the first time they had to fend him off.

 

After exchanging ‘goodbyes’ outside the art room, I strode into the class and settled on an empty table. It was better to be alone than to share a table with someone who might try to hit on me. I shuddered at that last thought. Bogum was too much for me to handle already.

 

Someone, however, didn't feel the same. Kim Seulgi appeared soon after, striding into the classroom such confidence and grace, only an immortal could possess. Watching her from my peripheral vision, she didn't even think twice to walk over to the empty chair beside me.

 

I realised this is the perfect chance to convince their coven beyond doubt that I am a human, and feigned surprise when Seulgi stopped near me.

 

“Can I seat here?” She softly inquired. It would seem that my acting was a success as her voice was soothing and soft, probably trying to calm down the scared human.

 

I nodded quickly and hastily cleared my scattered items on the table at human speed, setting them down beside me. For added effect, I allowed a blush to creep up my cheeks.

 

I carefully observed Seulgi, waiting for the moment she smelt my ‘blood’. It was always interesting to test how strong a vampire’s control is. Though physical strength is important, a mental strength of a vampire ranks higher in importance. A vampire’s control over their bloodlust exhibits their grit and mentality. Mental state aside, I find humour in seeing vampires lose control to their inner demons. They might be strong on the outside, but what's on the inside is what determines a vampire’s worth.

 

Not surprisingly, the moment Seulgi settled down on the seat, her golden eyes was engulfed by pitch black as her thirst reared its ugly head. I watched on in amusement as her frame stiffened and her breathing cut off. I internally heaved a sigh of relief at her reaction, as her dark irises enforces the fact that they are indeed vampires. Seulgi closed her eyes to calm herself down, and to her credit started taking small breaths.

 

I was thoroughly impressed. She had more control than I gave her credit for. Soon, her irises lightened to dark gold as she shot me a wide smile. For fun's sake, I increased my heart rate and threw in a blush. Her eyes darkened, but soon returned to the odd shade of gold. With a beaming smile on her face, she shot out her hand enthusiastically (too enthusiastically if you ask me)

 

“Hi. I'm Kim Seulgi. It's nice to meet you.”

 

I managed to stop myself from quirking an eyebrow at her greeting but instead accepted her hand. “Irene,” I managed in a small voice. Seulgi was certainly an anomaly. Her cheerful and enthusiastic tone contrasted the awkward pauses she had between her sentences.

 

“I heard your name was Joohyun.”

 

“Irene seems to be more befitting.” I gave a wry smile. Her grin, unlike mine, doesn't seem to leave her face. In fact, it only seems to widen.

 

“Very few names are able to befit someone such as yourself.”

 

I gave a shy blush, and observed the darkening of her irises. It was strangely satisfying to watch, to know I have such an effect over her, to know that I in a sense have a degree of power over her. Her breathing momentarily stopped, before starting once more after my blush has gone.

 

Oh, this going to be so much fun.

 

“So, this is a cliché question starter. How are you finding Korea?”

 

I huffed, letting the sides of my lips curl upwards in a smile. It was cliché indeed. It's only natural that such questions would be asked, but still cliché. “It is indeed cliché for you to ask such a question. It is a change in scenery, many things are different, but a good different, I would suppose.”

 

Her laughter was like chimes, like how wind chimes would sound when a slight breeze comes along.

 

“Yes, I can imagine how different the Lion City is from Korea. If I might ask, why did you transfer over?”

 

This question was bound to come up. Having expected that, I did spend hours prior to coming to this school forging documents to backup my story. I laced my answer with a twinge of sadness and resignation.

 

“Oh, that. My parents passed away, so I made the decision to move to Korea, where my parents used to live before having me.”

 

I must praise my skills, it sounded so forlorn and grief-stricken that even I was nearly fooled. Seulgi, of course, took the bait. Her hands gently wrapped around mine in an consoling manner, tender and sympathy for my pain.

 

“I'm really, really sorry.”

 

“You didn't know.” I forced my lips up into a slight smile.

 

A comfortable silence ensued. We were assigned individual work and no further words were exchanged between us. While our interaction was brief, I find Seulgi tolerable. She was agreeable, her personality just attracts people.

 

But I knew better. Much as I enjoyed her company, vampires are not to be trusted. Too much was at stake for me to get attached to her.

 

The class was soon over and as I stood up to leave, Seulgi gave me another dazzling smile.

 

“Enjoy the rest of your day! See you tomorrow!”

 

I smiled in return. Her enthusiasm was really starting to wear me down.

 

Strolling into my biology class, rose gold locks caught my attention, and a scent of another vampire assaulted my senses.

 

Chaeyoung instantly stiffened at the sight of me, mouth clamped down and her breathing ceased.

 

Oh, this is really going to be so much fun.

 

I made my way to the only empty seat beside her, silently observing her reaction. A glare so menacing was shot in my direction, that a human would run away from her. But unfortunately for her, I was no human. Raising a mocking eyebrow in response, I took no heed of her silent glares and settled on the seat beside her.

 

The one thing that caught me off guard was the fact that Chaeyoung’s irises merely darkened, and didn't turn black. Her control quite exemplary.

 

Deciding to test the waters a little, I created full on blush. Chaeyoung went rigid, pressing on the table and leaning her nose away from me. A crack sounded. Or not, I internally mused. Her control is not what I thought it would be. Forcing my face to remain quizzical and ignorant, I faced the front to listen to the teacher drone on about the topic, turning my face away from her so she couldn't see my expression. I lifted my blush from my cheeks as well, deciding she had enough.

 

Chaeyoung however, continued to lean her chair away from me. Her irises were back to the bright gold it once was, and I have lowered down my scent, so my confusion was understandable.

 

It didn't take long for me to realise she merely dislikes me. Insulting, but not unfamiliar. Throughout my years of living, I have had my fair share of having people judge me just on how I appear, and dislike me just for my existence. Chaeyoung was no different.

 

Biology moved slower than any other class, with the teacher, Mr Kang, was it? droning on and on about something I did not pay attention to.

 

The moment the bell rang, Chaeyoung shot out of her seat, took her belongings and exited in an almost inhuman record time. I sighed deeply and moved to pack my bag when I heard Bogum approach.

 

“Did you insult her family or something?”

 

“No. Though she seems to be much more judgemental than she appears.”

 

My response evoked a throaty laugh from Bogum, and he moved to swing his arm over my shoulder. I nimbly ducked under it, not wanting him to feel like it's appropriate to make any physical contact with me.

 

Slipping the last of my items into my bag, I swung it over my shoulder and left the classroom, with Bogum trailing behind. No doubt his pride would be bruised after my wordless rejection.

 

“See you tomorrow Irene!” He called out as I let the school compound.

 

As I made my way to where my bike was parked, I spotted Chaeyoung leaning against a hood of a pink maserati. The moment our eyes connected, she leapt into the car, peeling out of the school and onto the road, leaving a trail of dust behind.

 

Over dramatic much? She must really detest me or my scent. I casually strolled to my jet black bike and swung my leg over it.

 

It was a Ronin 47, sleek, futuristic, and more importantly, it had power and speed. Most motorcycles had either only speed or power, one having to be forgoed at the expense of the other. But this had a perfect balance of both, a perfect fit for me. I had to get a form of transport to school as there is no way for me to get to school each day without a car or a bike without raising suspicions.

 

Finally I pulled into the driveway of my new house. There is a large accumulation of dust and critters in it, so I spent my evening cleaning it out. The house was pretty bare, and I made a mental note to go to Seoul during the weekends and furnish the house. In the meantime, I decided to go check up on our new friends.

 

It wasn't difficult to track down their house, I just had to follow their scents and voila. Climbing up a tree, I raised my shield, preventing then from detecting me.

 

Their house was majestic, those Kims were definitely filthy rich. It had three stories, with a large front porch. A pebbled driveway stretched from the outside road to a large garage, housing their cars. Glass windows were quite prevalent around the house, one at each room and at the stairwell. There was a small garden with a shed outside the house, tended to by I assume the couple. The structure of the house was very modern and well designed - props to the architect that designed the house.

 

I decided that merely observing them from afar wouldn't help in my investigation and decided to slide down the tree. Crossing the large span of distance between the forest and the house in an instant, I clambered up the house to one of the windows.

 

Seulgi was casually sitting on a bed, reading a book. But that was not what struck me. Seulgi had a serene expression, calm and peaceful, nothing like the overly enthusiastic vampire I've observed in school.

 

I was inexplicably drawn to her face, mapping and memorizing it, unable to pull my eyes away from this scene. Her monolids enhanced the innocence she was giving out, and for a moment I believed she was nothing but a pure, innocent human.

 

The beauty she exudes seemed to amplify in this setting and I felt my throat dry up watching her. It felt like the world had tipped over into oblivion and it was just me and Seulgi in this moment.

 

The sudden sound of Yeri's shouts broke me out of the trance I fell into. Confused with the rush of emotions, I leapt off Seulgi's window and ran back to my house. Shaking my head to try and clear my mind, I was puzzled by the thoughts that are racing through my it.

 

What was that?

 

This was unfamiliar, I have never felt this ever before. And the fact that it was brought by a vampire I barely even know and only recently met made it all the more worrying.

 

Stepping through the door, I made a beeline to my room. There I settled on the musty bed, wracking my head for answers, to no avail. In a desperate attempt to distract myself, I reached for my bag, ruffling through it to find the homework that was given today. Since I won't get answers, might as well study up on the materials I'll be ‘learning’ this year than to ponder on it.

 

(a/n): Annnnnd end chapter!! Honestly I am horrible at description so forgive me for that horrible attempt of trying to describe the way they look. You'll realise that the writing style is like really formal or olden style, because Irene is an ancient after all and well duh she wouldn't know modern slang like SLAY QUEEN

Hope yall liked the update and have a great day!! -Yerisblondehair