Hyunjin didn’t return home that night. She stayed at her training grounds, releasing all her anger, all her unknown and mixed feelings until she dropped to the bench and didn’t even remember when she fell asleep.

The sun hadn’t shown up in the sky yet when she woke up. Her body felt like she had been punched and kicked all night long, when in fact she was the one punching and kicking the punching bags and the training dummies.

She wondered how the others were. Did they stay the night? Without realizing it, she left all that responsibility on Jinsol. She got up on her feet and walked back home.

Hyunjin could see a body on the couch, and two on the ground through the big glass wall. Careful not to wake anyone up, she opened the door and slid inside. Heejin laid on the couch, a blanket up to her neck. Hyunjin approached, not stopping herself from observing her from up close. Heejin looked so peaceful, like the previous day had never happened, and she was dreaming of pretty night skies and big, bright full moons.

She still couldn’t understand why Heejin protected her the night before. She knew she had broken the most important rule, and she was aware that she could be banished from the Silver Blades.

Before she could dwell too deep into that thought, she peeked behind the couch, to find Jungeun and Jiwoo laying down on a mattress on the floor, their bodies so close to each other under the blanket Hyunjin could swear only one person was laying down.

Jinsol was probably sleeping in her bed, but she didn’t want to risk waking her up, so she walked to the kitchen instead to get a bottle of blood.

But even trying her best, and with everything going around in her mind, the same question still lingered there.

Why did Heejin do that? Didn’t she hate her? Didn’t she throw a fit when Jinsol told them to work together? Wasn’t she disgusted, terrified when Hyunjin confessed she had drunk human blood?

“Hyunjin.”

She jumped with a yelp, turning on her heels to find Heejin standing by the table.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you. Didn’t you sense my scent or hear my steps or something?”

“It’s okay. I was too deep in my own thoughts, so no.”

“Too much on your mind?”

Hyunjin nodded, finishing the blood in the bottle before rinsing it with water to keep it clean.

“Did you manage to sleep?" Hyunjin asked.

“Not really. Where did you go last night? We were worried.”

Instead of answering, Hyunjin walked past her, towards the front door.

“Where are you going?”

“To show you. Come with me.”

Heejin nodded after a couple seconds and followed her outside. They walked in silence, Hyunjin occasionally peeking at Heejin, and she kept looking around.

Soon, a wooden house came in sight.

“Welcome to my training grounds,” Hyunjin said as they approached it.

“Training grounds?”

Hyunjin opened the door and let Heejin step inside first, following her. Heejin took small, slow steps, her head turning in every direction, observing with agape at all the punching bags, training machines, and targets. It was like a very well-equipped, yet very sinister gym.

“Where did this come from?" Heejin asked.

“I built it.”

“You what?”

“I’m strong, remember?”

“Wow.”

“I’m sorry for worrying you. I really had to leave, and came here to release everything I had inside me.”

“Why did you leave like that?”

Should she let it out?

“The sun is almost up. Wanna go watch the sunrise?”

Heejin showed a small smile and nodded, following her again outside.

Hyunjin had a perfect spot for that. Just a bit further into the woods, and there was a small hill with no trees ahead, where the whole sky was wide open to them.

They sat down on the grass, and the horizon was a bright shade of yellow, the sun almost there.

“Did Jinsol stay?” Hyunjin asked.

“Yes. She said there was no problem in sleeping in your bedroom.”

“It’s not the first, second, or even third time she did.”

“You seem very close.”

“We are. She told you how we met, right?”

“She told me you saved her from another vampire.”

“That’s right. I was hunting that vampire, and I was just in time to stop him from feeding on her. Since she had seen vampires, right in front of her, there was no way to hide it from her, so I told her everything. She was shocked at first, of course. But she chose to stay by my side, and help me with my job, since she’s a detective.”

The sun showed up, the bright light illuminating the scenery.

“It’s beautiful,” Heejin mumbled.

Hyunjin turned her neck and stared at Heejin instead. At how the sun shone on her face, creating an aura around her perfect side profile.

“Why did you protect me yesterday?”

Heejin met her eyes, but averted her gaze to the sunrise again. “How could I let her attack you?”

Hyunjin irked an eyebrow. “Isn’t it your job? Her job?”

“To kill people who did nothing wrong?" Heejin met her stare again. “No.”

Hyunjin opened to answer, but nothing came. She looked down, as if trying to come up with something to say, but in fact was to hide how her eyes suddenly stung.

“Yesterday, I left because of what I learned,” she ended up saying. Changing the subject was the best for now. “The name Jiwoo mentioned... Jaebum.”

“Their leader?”

The sun was too bright, it almost hurt to stare directly at it. But Hyunjin still did. “He’s my sire.”

Hyunjin peeked at her, and Heejin’s chin hanged low.

“The... one that turned you?” she asked, and Hyunjin nodded. “And the one... that killed your family.”

“Yes. I saw him, Heejin. When we were running away, when someone shouted and I stopped. When I hurt you from how much I held on you and when I was walking back. It was him, there, standing, right in front of me eyes.”

“I-I’m sorry, I had no idea. It must have taken everything you had to keep your focus on running.”

“My priority was to bring you, Jungeun, and Jiwoo here. I couldn’t break the promise I had made them, and I didn’t have anything to fight with. I know now that he’s the one behind all of that, and my objective is clear. I will take them down, take him down.”

“We, Hyunjin. We will.”

“No, Heejin. They’re not ones to joke around. You saw what they’re capable of. So easily they got you and me, I don't wanna put anyone at risk-”

“You asked me if it was my job," Heejin interrupted, making Hyunjin look at her again. “It’s not my job to kill innocent people, but it still is my job to slay dangerous vampires.”

“I don’t care. Those are not vampires for you-”

“I trained for this! I can fight them!”

“You don’t even have your blades now! Do you intend on showing up like, oh, hi, I’m just here to grab my blades, I’ll be joining a vampire on a suicide mission!”

“If it’s a suicide mission, why are you getting yourself into it?”

“Because they can’t kill me! But they can kill you, and I can’t afford to have anyone else killed because of me!”

The words flew from before she could think about them. Heejin's features softened. “What do you mean, anyone else?”

Hyunjin clenched her jaw, but forced herself to relax, and sighed.

“My brother.”

“You had a brother?”

“Two. One of them died that same night my parents did, and I was turned. But my other brother... he survived, like me. And he was also a vampire.”

Heejin didn’t say anything, so Hyunjin went on. “We were both turned, so we had each other to go through everything. We had no idea what had happened to us, but at least we were there for each other. We never fed on humans, we learned right from the beginning that animal blood was enough to survive. We learned about ourselves together, started hunting vampires together. Until the day he…”

“Was killed,” Heejin finished for her.

“We were hunting, just like a slayer also was. She found us, but it didn’t matter how much we tried to talk to her, to tell her we wouldn’t attack her and we were actually also hunting for the same vampire. She attacked us, and even though we were two against one, she was extremely skilled and strong. This," Hyunjin pointed to the left side of her forehead, to the two scars that marked her skin and eyebrow. “was her doing. We weren’t fighting back, because we didn’t want to hurt her, so we were just trying to defend ourselves. So he… he told me to run.” Hyunjin’s voice quivered, and she cleared . “He told me he would catch up to me, but he never did. To this day, I regret my decision. I shouldn’t have left him. I should have stayed with him, tell him to run instead-”

“If you had stayed, you would have been killed. Would you want your brother to go through what you did?”

Hyunjin widened her eyes at her. “I would rather give my life for his.”

“So did he. Don’t regret your choice, don’t feel guilty. You both did what you could. And that slayer…” Heejin gritted through her teeth.

“It was Yves.”

“What?”

“Yves killed my brother.”

“No.” Heejin shook her head. “You must be mistaken.”

“I’m not. I know that face, I know that rapier. I know that name. I heard other slayers calling her that night.”

Heejin stared at the void, her chin low. “Yves, I mean, Sooyoung, she… she’s my master.”

“Your what?”

“She slayed the vampire that killed my parents. She brought me to the Silver Blades, she trained me, she taught me everything I know about vampires... she’s like an older sister to me.”

“You... protected me from your master?”

“I did.” Heejin looked back at Hyunjin, her lips a thin line now. “I did, Hyunjin.”

“At what cost? She saved you, didn’t she?”

“And you saved me, twice. No, three times, actually.”

“You wouldn't even be in danger if you weren’t with me. Sure, I saved you that first night, but as you said, you probably could have killed him easily.”

“Doesn’t matter. And it doesn’t matter at what cost I did it. I did it because I honestly felt like it was the right thing to do, no matter the consequence.”

“But you’ll probably be banned!”

“I already am.” Heejin shrugged. “Why does it matter?”

“What do you mean? I may not agree with how you, Silver Blades, do things, but they still saved you, and gave you a new home, and-”

“And we’re all murderers, Hyunjin!" Heejin's tone raised, her eyebrows drawing together. “How many vampires have I killed? Sure, I killed lots of dangerous ones, but who knows how many innocent ones I killed too? I was about to kill Yeojin if it wasn’t for you!" Heejin’s eyes shone, but it was not from the sun now. A tear ran down her eye, but she didn’t break the stare. “Are the Silver Blades really the good ones? Are the vampires really the bad ones? I’ve always believed we were the good side, the ones that protected humans from horrible creatures, and then... you appeared and made me question everything.”

“Is that why you said I’m different?" Hyunjin asked. The way Heejin had said it, the word choice, still rang in Hyunjin's mind. Heejin nodded. “But you said you didn’t trust my instincts the other night. Then why did you... help me yesterday? Not only with Yves, but when we were locked up. You were scared, weren’t you?”

“I was terrified. But I thought if I didn’t do anything, you would probably lose it, and then I would have nothing to protect myself with. If you were already going to attack me, wasn’t it better to at least try?”

“Am I really that different, then? Because I... could have still attacked you." Hyunjin didn’t bother trying to hide the pain in her voice.

“You could have. But with or without my help, you still didn’t. And I saw how much you tried and fought it back. No bad vampire would struggle like that to stop themselves from blood lust. And how bad you felt because you had to drink human’s blood, how you had already decided you would put an end to whatever was going on even before you knew your sire was the one behind it... You are different, Hyunjin, and for the first time in my life, I trust a vampire.”

Trust.

The word Hyunjin, deep down, most wanted to hear.

“I trust you too, Heejin. And thank you for helping me.”

Heejin smiled at her. This time, a real smile, and it was so beautiful Hyunjin felt her heart shoot.

“I didn’t use to be what I am today," Hyunjin said. “I used to be like slayers. Me and my brother, we used to kill vampires without knowing a thing about them. Without knowing if they tried to live a normal life, if they had a family, if they even fed on humans. We killed them like they were all the same.”

Heejin’s mouth opened and closed, but she didn’t say a word.

“It was when Yves killed my brother that I changed. Because I realized, it didn’t matter what we said, we would always be seen the same. So, like us, there were probably more vampires trying hard to live a normal live, without hurting anyone in the way. So, I don’t hate or even resent you, slayers, or Yves.”

“When did that happen?”

“Ten years ago.”

“I’m so sorry, Hyunjin. I know what it feels like to lose family, but you went through that twice.”

“Don’t be. All of this to say that there is not a good or a bad side. Just two sides fighting for what they think is right. Slayers trying to protect humans from vampires who feed on them, and vampires trying to fight for survival.”

“But this has to stop. Those vampires are turning people to create an army to fight the slayers, and the slayers keep on killing vampires. It’s a never-ending cycle!"

“I know. That’s why I’m going to-”

“We! Please, let me help you.”

Hyunjin stared ahead at the sun again, already on its way up the sky. “Ever since my brother died, I swore I would always be a loner. I was completely alone for almost five years, until I met Jinsol. She was the only one I allowed myself to be close to. Because I really don’t want to lose anyone else, Heejin.”

“But I’m ready for that. I’m already a slayer, I risk my life every day. Or at least, I was. Why is it so different? If no one will stop what’s happening, we need to. We need to be the good side in the middle of everything.”

“What are we? The Justice League? The Avengers?” Hyunjin laughed, and then there was silence, and she turned to Heejin to find her with agape. “What?”

“It’s the first time I see and hear you laugh.”

“Oh.” Hyunjin felt her face warming up. “Yeah, I can laugh. Sometimes the corners of my lips raise a little.”

Even though Hyunjin always wanted to do things alone, she didn’t need to be alone now. And no matter how hard she tried to convince herself otherwise, she wanted to accept it.

“Alright,” Hyunjin said. “Join me.”

Heejin turned to her, smiling again. “I would still join you even if you didn’t want to.”

“Oh?” Hyunjin chuckled. “You’re pretty stubborn.”

“I’ve been told. Also, we have Jungeun and Jiwoo as well. They want the same as we do, so, let’s work together.”

Hyunjin scrunched her nose. “I was not used to having so many people around me.”

“Was? You’re used to it already, then?”

“A bit more.”

“Good. We'll be around now so, you better be.”

“You really just invited yourself to my house.”

“You officially asked me to join you, coming here was implicit.”

“Oh, was it, now?”

“Fine, I’ll find somewhere else to be. I don’t know, with some strangers, or I’ll just sleep on the streets.” Heejin pouted.

“Sure, suit yourself.”

“Yah!”

Heejin hit Hyunjin’s arm as she burst out laughing, and it felt like she had forgotten how it felt.

“I’m joking. Stay here. Diana will love it.”

The playful hitting stopped, and Hyunjin caught on Heejin’s heart suddenly beating stronger and louder, as she looked ahead, and her face got redder.

“Thank you. I may seem calm and relaxed, but... I couldn’t help but cry myself to sleep this night. Well, not to sleep, because I barely slept, but you know what I mean. It felt like only then it hit me, what I did, and the consequences of it.” Heejin’s voice went even lower than its normal chesty tone, with a certain melancholy to it.

“Do you regret it?”

“No.”

And somehow, Hyunjin couldn’t help but feel happy about it.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I’ll get you new silver weapons.”

“How?”

“I don’t know, but I will.”

Heejin chuckled. “Alright. Anything with a blade, I’m good with it.”

“Did you choose your weapons? Or are they assigned to you?”

“Both. They take your preference in consideration, but they assign you a weapon based on strength and speed. I’m not that strong, but I’m agile, so they gave me those twin blades. I love them. And I’m gonna miss them.”

Where could Hyunjin get that kind of blades for her? She would have to ask Jinsol about that later.

“Who’s Vivi?” Hyunjin asked, and Heejin irked an eyebrow at her. “Yves said she would let Vivi know.”

“She runs the whole thing. Yves said she would hear about what I did, and I took the hint. It’s pointless to even try going back. Not like I’m planning to, anyway.”

“What if they forgave you and understood? Would you come back?” the question flew from Hyunjin's lips.

Heejin pondered for a few moments. “No.”

And Hyunjin honestly didn’t expect that answer. “Why not?”

“It would be one thing for them to show me mercy. But even if they did, that’s just not how they do things with vampires. They think they can judge you as criminals solely based on your nature, but now I know better and I won’t get behind such black-and-white thinking anymore. I’m only a low-rank at the service of their cause, so I can’t even begin to think I could do something to change the way they operate on my own. In the end, I just don’t want to work with people who would kill vampires like you, Jungeun, Jiwoo, or Yeojin in the blink of an eye with no consideration for the fact that you, too, are people with your own thoughts and feelings, and not the brainless monsters they think you are."

Hyunjin had preferred to keep staring ahead, at the pretty morning sun and the scenery, and ignore the remark, but she couldn’t stop herself from meeting Heejin's gaze. And there they stayed, the silence engulfing them. And Hyunjin didn't know if she was waiting for an answer, because she didn’t have one.

“You know, to be honest with you, I thought you were never going to change. I thought you would always see me the same way, hate me, and hate being forced to work with me. But you changed."

“I thought I would never change the way I saw you, vampires, as well, because I never knew otherwise. I’ve been taught you’re all the same, but I never properly got to meet a vampire, and I didn’t even want to. So how could I know any different? And yes, I hated that Jinsol forced me to work with you.”

“Ouch,” Hyunjin said with a playful smile.

“As if you didn’t!”

“Alright, I kinda did. Because you’re a little brat.”

“Brat?!” Heejin gasped. “And you’re an entitled know-it-all! You sound like an old person all the time. I mean, you are pretty old though.”

“Me? You were the one wanting to do things your way, all the time, miss slayer! I swear to the goddess, you annoyed me so much,” Hyunjin said, and Heejin went back to hitting her arm. “By the way, your punching is pretty weak.”

“Train me, then.”

“What?”

“You’re stronger than me, in every way. I would never beat you in combat. You even have a training spot, so, teach me. Help me get stronger, if we’re serious about this.”

“I never trained anyone.”

“I’ll be your first pupil, then.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes. You said you don’t want to lose anyone else. I need to be prepared for what we’re facing. It’s not like I don’t trust my abilities, but there’s always room for improvement.”

Training someone...

“A vampire training a slayer, uh?" Hyunjin chuckled. “Kinda ironic. But I like it. Be sure of what you’re asking for, I won’t go easy on you.”

“When did I ever ask you to?”

Hyunjin irked an eyebrow, and in a speed Heejin would never be able to keep up with, she launched at her, grabbing on her wrists and pinning her down.

“What would you do if a vampire got you in this position?” Hyunjin asked, looking down at Heejin.

Heejin smirked at her, and rotating her arms outwards, she escaped her grip, and it was her turn to grab on Hyunjin's shoulders, turning on the positions, so that Hyunjin was the one pinned down.

“I think you’re underestimating me a whole lot,” Heejin said, the smirk deepening on her lips.

“Not bad, but I wasn’t even using ten percent of my strength.” It was Hyunjin's time to smirk now, as she easily released herself from Heejin’s grip. She pushed Heejin to the side, her back hitting the grass with a soft thud, and in less than a second, Hyunjin jumped on her, holding her wrists above her head, her legs forming a tight lock around her center and her hips, making it hard on Heejin to move her upper or her lower body.

“What now?” Hyunjin asked, seeing how Heejin struggled under her.

Someone cleared their throat, and they snapped their head to it, to find Jungeun and Jinsol, standing atop of the small hill.

“Are we interrupting something?" Jinsol asked.

Hyunjin released Heejin and jumped on her feet, and Heejin followed, almost stumbling as she stood up.

“I think so,” Jungeun muttered, but Hyunjin could still hear it.

“W-We were-”

“Training,” Hyunjin completed. “You’re awake. Where’s Jiwoo?”

“She went to scan around. Make sure no one is spying on us or something," Jungeun said.

“Good, good.” Hyunjin fixed her clothes. “Did you need something?”

Jinsol shook her head. “You disappeared last night and didn’t come back, we wake up and Heejin is missing. Of course we got worried!”

“Right, sorry.” Hyunjin gave them an apologetic smile.

“Let’s get back, I’m hungry.” Jungeun  her heels and walked back.

“Where were you last night?” Jinsol asked, as Hyunjin and Heejin approached her. “I know that what you learned was... shocking, to say the least. Even I got taken aback.”

“Training grounds.”

“Of course.” Jinsol sighed. “Are you two okay?”

They exchanged a look. “I’d say we’re doing pretty well for people who were locked up by psychos less than 24 hours ago,” Hyunjin said, and Heejin giggled.

Jinsol hit the back of her head. “No joking around about this.”

“Goddess, alright, sorry. Let’s just all talk back home.”

They let silence reign during the way back, but Hyunjin could feel Jinsol’s eyes on her. She eyed her, and there it was – the giant smirk on her lips.

“Not a word about that,” Hyunjin whispered, checking if Heejin was listening, but she seemed to absorbed in her own mind, paying attention to where she stepped.

“You’re the one mentioning it.”

Hyunjin grunted, annoyed at how Jinsol laughed. She was just... testing Heejin’s reflexes and strength. They just arrived at a weird timing.

They stepped inside Hyunjin’s house, and Jiwoo was there already with Jungeun.

“Good morning!” Jiwoo chirped, a bottle in her hands, and Jungeun had one as well. “Jinsol said it was okay if we took one for us. Thank you so much for the meal.”

“Sure, go ahead.”

“Where did you get it?”

“It’s pig’s blood.”

Jungeun, with the bottle pressed against her lips, almost spit it all out. She forced herself to swallow the liquid, and frowned at her. “Pig’s blood?!”

“It’s the most similar to human’s blood. I know you were used to... another kind of blood, but in this house, there is none of it.”

“I barely notice any difference!” Jiwoo said. “Well, I’m used to animal blood, anyway. But... how can you live without drinking human blood?”

“I’ve always lived. What you said, that we need human blood or else we still enter blood lust if we only feed on animals, is a lie.”

Jiwoo gasped, and Jungeun looked down, suddenly looking gloomy.

“Lip?” Jiwoo asked.

“Sorry,” she muttered. “Didn’t mean to sound like I don’t like it or that I’m not grateful for it. I know I was used to... human blood, but I want to change that.”

“Awn, Lippie.” Jiwoo approached the girl and hugged her close, caressing her hair. “It’s okay, don’t feel bad! And I’ve always been told that we still needed human blood... but if you had drunk animal’s all your life, I will believe you.”

“Thank you. Aren’t you hungry?” Hyunjin asked Heejin.

“Oh, no, Jinsol got me food yesterday.”

“Do you want breakfast? I can go get some,” Jinsol said.

“It’s okay! I’m not really hungry, I can go get something later.”

“Okay, Hyunjin’s here as well, if you need anything.” Jinsol giggled, and Hyunjin glared at her. “Well, since you’re all okay, I think I’m gonna get going. I should be at the precinct soon. If you need something, just call me. I’ll be back later, anyway, and I’ll bring dinner, Heejin!”

Heejin waved her hands, but before she could say something, Jinsol went on. “I don’t accept a no for an answer. See you later!”

They bid their goodbyes as Jinsol moved to the door.

“Jinsol’s so sweet!” Jiwoo said. “We’re really lucky. Seems like fate brought us all together!”

Without thinking, Hyunjin averted her gaze to Heejin, and she did the same.

Then, two scents, somehow familiar, reached Hyunjin’s nose. She looked at Jungeun and Jiwoo. “Do you feel it too?”

“Yes,” Jiwoo said.

“Feel what?” Heejin asked, taking a step closer to Hyunjin.

Hyunjin darted to the door. “Jinsol!” she shouted, and Jinsol halted, turning around. “Come back, someone’s coming.”

“Oh, for ’s sake, it’s so early in the morning,” Jinsol cursed under her breath, as she rushed back inside.

“Stay behind me, everyone.” Hyunjin stood by the door, but Jiwoo and Jungeun stood by her side instead, focused expressions on.

Hyunjin’s eyes shifted as she squinted, trying to make out the figures approaching in the dirt road.

“They...” Hyunjin could see them, a tall girl, with long black hair, and a shorter, blonde girl, helping the taller one walk. And as their faces became clear, she recognized them. “Hey, aren’t they--”

“Hyejoo, Chaewon!” Heejin shouted from behind them.

Before Hyunjin could react, she darted past them and towards the two girls, running faster than Hyunjin ever saw her. They widened their eyes as Heejin approached them. She looked like she was going for a hug, but stopped herself right before it.

“What are you doing here?” Heejin asked.

“Heejin, we...” The shorter girl started, her voice threatening to break down at any moment as she was barely able to put together a sentence.

Something was not right. There was a weird, different smell to the black-haired girl. And then Hyunjin saw it – her eyes shifting, becoming silver, and her teeth growing on . In a swift movement, faster than a human could ever anticipate, the girl lunged at Heejin’s neck.

---

A/N: PART TWO OFFICIALLY STARTED AND HYEWON IS HERE AND OOP :)))