The town’s bookstore was filled with calm. It was exactly what a library should be like, but this one sold you the books. She turned to thank Momo for bringing her here when school ended, but was stopped by the look in her eyes. 

“I mean this in the best way possible,” said the vampire. “But you are such a nerd.” Momo poked her cheek. 

Dahyun laughed. “You’d know why if you felt the same thing I did.” Then it dawned on her. “Perhaps you can.” She held out a hand. 

“Really?” Momo didn’t hesitate as she put her hand in Dahyun’s. If she was reading her expression correctly, there was only trust in her eyes. It both warmed her heart, but also reminded her that she was still hiding so much. What would the girls say if she told them everything?

“Wait,” she said before closing her eyes. Going into the emotional world, she took hold of some of the calm. She let it blossom. Then she passed it to Momo. She heard her sigh. Wonder accompanied the newfound peace. 

“Wow.” 

Dahyun forced her eyes to become brown again, then she opened them. She saw that Momo had also closed her eyes. She wore a serene smile on her face. Dahyun knew then that she never wanted to forget this moment: watching someone she trusted wholeheartedly experience a piece of the emotional world. Her recent realisations about feelings only strengthened the value of this moment. Her eyes burned at the possibility that it might be fleeting, but she let herself enjoy this warm feeling. Let herself enjoy this time with Momo. 

“Okay, I get it.” The vampire grinned. It was such a bright expression that Dahyun had to return it. “Now, let’s get what we came here for.” Their hands were still connected. She liked it. 

Momo dragged her to the section titled: Fiction. It had taken all of lunch today for the girls to explain to her what that truly meant. She had had some understanding for it, especially though literature class, but it still took her time to wrap her head around it. Nayeon and Jeongyeon had been very much in favour that she just accept that it was made up. Tzuyu had been adamant that she learn what science fiction was (apparently not all scary). 

“You never told me what story type you like,” Dahyun said. Her voice was barely a whisper, but she knew the other girl would be able to hear it. 

Momo looked back over her shoulder. “It’ll surprise you, but I really like romance.” 

Her eyes were pink. Dahyun still didn’t know if that tied her closer to desire, or if it was just a coincidence. She wondered why Momo didn’t have someone in her life. Perhaps relationships with humans were always fleeting due to their mortality, but why hadn’t she met an immortal and ‘fallen for them’, as some of the other girls had? She hadn’t needed to understand love to know it existed between Nayeon and Jeongyeon, as well as a blossoming one with Mina and Chaeyoung. It was difficult to pick up on, as she didn’t know the little giveaways, and not much ever seemed to match the romance movies.

The thought of Momo finding someone gave Dahyun an echo of that feeling—jealousy. Did she want to be that immortal? It would be impossible. Wouldn’t it? Her kind had rarely interacted with the world, let alone found love in it. If they had, it would have been taken out, by themselves, and used for research. From what she had seen of love, she didn’t know if she’d be able to give it up. Not voluntarily at least. 

Not for the first time, and certainly not for the last time, Dahyun asked, “why?”

“It’s lighthearted, even if it’s sad. There’s something about watching two people fall in love that I just, well,” she chuckled, “love.” She turned to look at her. “Did you figure out the genres you wanted to check out?” 

“Fantasy,” Dahyun replied. “Magic in a different world, with different rules,” she struggled to find the words, “I just want to see how that can work.” How could there be so many individuals capable of making their own magic? Magic had rules in Dahyun’s world. It existed just as the laws of physics did, but this magic existed on the pages of a book. She was excited to see how that worked. 

“I know just the thing.” They started walking through the shelves. 

Dahyun let herself be pulled along. Momo had an unbridled enthusiasm and it was contagious. She admired her for it. That gave her pause. If someone like Momo knew what Dahyun had done in her life, what she had done in the past year, not decades or centuries, she would be appalled. Doubt came over her like a wave. Why had she agreed to stay with them? Disappointment would inevitably come.

“Hey,” a squeeze of the hand, “everything okay?” Momo was scanning her face, a frown threatening to form. Dahyun was catching on to facial expressions. 

“Just thought of something,” she said. “So, what books did you have in mind for a beginner?” 

She didn’t look convinced, but didn’t pry. Dahyun appreciated it. “The classic would be Harry Potter. It’s about a magic school, but I’m not sure if they have fairies in there. There’s one mention of a vampire, but it’s not great,” she wrinkled her nose, “there’s also The Hobbit, which has elves, and is one big adventure.”

Digging around in her bag for her wallet, she said, “I can try both, can’t I?”

“Of course.” Then she winked. “Just know that there are seven books for Harry Potter, and another trilogy in the world of The Hobbit.” Dahyun must have looked confused at the word ‘trilogy’, because Momo added, “Three more books.” 

The vampire gave her a small tour to show her what the different genres actually looked like on the shelves. Then they paid and left the shop. 

“I’m still feeling calm, how long does that last?” 

“Does it bother you?” Dahyun was ready to take it if it unsettled her. 

“Nope!” Momo grinned. “I like it. It’s like what I feel around you.” 

“You feel calm around me?” That was unusual. Her aura was a subtle one, nothing to notice unless you had a strong connection to the emotional world. “Do the others notice?”

She shrugged. “I know Sana and I do, you can ask the rest later.” 

“You’ve talked about it?” That was something encouraged. In the few romance movies she’d seen, honesty and communication were crucial to the film coming to an end. It was also important, apparently, to the relationship. Did that apply to other human relationships? Her people might have valued communication, but they still did not do it as was done in the films.

A small smile appeared. There was a hint of nervousness in the air. “A little.”

Dahyun felt the urge to reach out, so she took the girl’s hand. 

Momo’s eyes widened ever so slightly, but she squeezed back. A smile was growing on her face. It was beautiful. 

That was when she felt it, something immortal. Something predatory. It had found its prey. She let go of Momo, the latter’s carefree attitude had disappeared. The air had turned cold. She was already poised to fight without knowing who might be after them. Dahyun knew then that she couldn’t let anything happen to the vampire. 

She looked to the left, out and into the trees. She couldn’t see a figure, but she saw the emotions flowing through the air. She reached out and pulled on their hunger, pink and red, drawing it closer to her. Then something knocked her flat on her back. There was something warm on her neck. Blood. 

Dahyun put a hand to her neck, her fingers tracing whatever had cut her. The marks were laid out as a mouth was. They had bitten her. A vampire. 

She felt lethargic, each limb of hers was heavy, but she saw the emotional world in perfect clarity. Only her eyelids wanted to close. She reached for the presence without the excitement and happiness of Momo. Her ears could only faintly hear the sounds of fighting and ice shattering. She needed to know why they’d been attacked, so there would be no emotional coma for the attacker. Not yet