Sana was late today. She might have spent a little too much of her morning with another person. Going into Chemistry, she felt her cheeks warm at the look Chaeyoung gave her. Even Mina was fighting a smile. 

“I’m so sorry, sunbaenim,” she bowed to the teacher, who should have been calling her that, “Something came up.” Not wanting to bother with any irritation, she put more weight into her words. It was only for a second, but she saw the teacher’s eyes lose focus. She felt slightly guilty for using her abilities for something as small as this, but she wasn't asking for much.

“No problem, Sana,” she smiled, “just take a seat.” 

She bowed her head as she went to her desk. The forest scent greeted her. This time she felt it tug at her hunger. 

Dahyun shot her a questioning gaze. Sana found she couldn’t hold it. It was like the girl was judging her. Had she been able to feel the effects of the compulsion? Then again, she hadn’t figured out that they were vampires when being asked to show her ears. Ears that were slightly elongated and pointed. Probably against her better judgement, Sana found them absolutely adorable.

Leaning over, she whispered, “Morning.” 

Dahyun looked slightly taken aback by the proximity. “Hi.” Then she raised a hand, pointing at her lips. “It’s smudged.” 

Looking down, she couldn’t help but smile. “Wanna fix it?” 

The other girl raised an eyebrow. “It’s not that bad.” She lowered her arm, looking back to the front of the class. 

Sana took the time to look at Dahyun's hands. She still hadn’t figured out how she had hurt herself. Had she collapsed more than once? Even if it explained the cut, it didn’t explain how the other one got hurt. There wasn’t even a scrape on it. What could have led to her hurting the muscles in it that badly?

It felt wrong not to trust her, but Sana couldn’t shake the feeling that there was a steel wall between her and Dahyun. Whatever gaps she had found had been sealed tightly since Saturday. She knew she shouldn’t expect a full explanation after knowing her for— 

Sana frowned to herself. Time could be hard for her to gage, but this was a new level. Looking at the girl next to her, she tried to go back until the day Dahyun first arrived. The days all blurred together for her.

“How long have you been here?” 

Dahyun straightened. She’d been slouching. Unusual for her. “What do you mean?” Her voice was below a whisper, but Sana heard it fine. “Are you asking how old I am?”

“N–yes,” she said. If she was ready to tell, then why not ask?

Her eyes fell to her desk. She had her hair in a ponytail. It exposed her neck, but Sana felt no longing for her blood, even if she did have an incredibly appealing scent. Her hair had started taking on a dark blue sheen. There were strands of grey here and there, but they looked like they belonged. The stuff she’d choked her and Momo with had been light blue. Did that mean Dahyun was calm? Or was this just another illusion? Either way, Sana was impressed. Even her ears were completely round. She really wished that they’d be pointed again. 

She was interrupted from her thoughts when she felt something brush her fingers. It was a small piece of paper. Sana looked at it. When had she written something down?

≥ 400y. At least four hundred years. She didn’t know how old she was? She decided against asking her more. 

Instead, she wrote her own note down and passed it over. You still have to call me unnie. Even if this girl was older than her, except for a couple of the other girls, she wasn't about to address her like she was. Also, she found the way Dahyun struggled to remember to use the honorific endearing. There was a side of her behaviour that seemed younger than Sana.

When the fairy looked back at her, Sana winked. Her response was an amused huff. That counted as a victory. She turned her attention back to the front, only to realise that she hadn’t listened to a word the teacher had said. 

_____
The change in the school was noticeable. Momo was surprised at the power Dahyun held over people. She’d felt it the week before, when the blue had been wrapped around her neck. It had been clear that the fairy hadn’t meant to kill anyone with the move, but Momo had still felt her control over herself slipping. It hadn’t even scared her, she’d just given in to the feeling of calm. It was like having two parts of herself: one that lost itself to the bliss, while the other stuck with her, focused on finding out what was wrong with Dahyun. That was the scary part. Only after the calm had faded had Momo felt weak. In the moment, she hadn't had any qualms with it.

When they had caught up with her, Momo had felt a terrible anxiety grip her whenever she took a breath. Like her body had been afraid of her surroundings, but her mind wasn’t catching up. She thought she’d seen that same anxiety in Sana’s eyes. The pink-haired vampire had also said she'd felt that way. Momo'd also stopped feeling like she wanted to find the girl, and yet she knew she still had to look for her. Dahyun was undeniably powerful, but she wasn't sure where the fairy's reach ended. She controlled emotions, but what did that mean? Emotions weren't supposed to control your mind like that. Even as a witch, Momo hadn't known spells that could have those effects. As a vampire, she could make people do anything she wanted them to do, or make them forget anything. But she couldn't be compelled herself. Dahyun's powers did something else, but they could have an effect on a vampire.

She pushed the thoughts away, instead thinking about the quasi-chase through the forest. She couldn’t forget the look in Dahyun’s eyes when she'd turned to face them. Her emotions had shown through, right before an eerie calm settled over her expression. It had only been for a second, but it had been enough to see that she was terrified of them. Of them? Or someone else? She clearly hadn’t expected to see Sana and Momo. One thing was for sure and that was that Momo didn't believe a word of Dahyun being here for curiosity's sake.

Even so, there wasn’t a shred of that uneasiness in Dahyun’s posture now. Jihyo had invited her to have lunch with them. Dahyun, surprisingly, had accepted. 

She was looking around the cafeteria. “Is it unusual for others to be sitting with you?” 

“What do you mean?” Momo followed her gaze. She also listened more closely to the other students. Some were whispering about Dahyun, wondering what it was she did, why she was, “special”. That last one made her smile. “Well, usually if we’re with someone else, we sit with them separately.”

“Usually,” Chaeyoung cut in, “that someone is being dated.” She wrinkled her nose. “And some people love PDA.”

Dahyun’s eyes furrowed. “What’s PDA?”

Sana grinned. “This.” She tried to kiss Chaeyoung on the cheek, b