Hyunjin didn’t remember falling asleep. Maybe it was so fast she didn’t even notice it, and when she opened her eyes again, the morning sun peeked through the window, leaving a dim orange light in the room.

But a thing she remembered, though, was that she didn’t fall asleep being a big spoon, with her arm around Heejin’s waist, keeping her body pressed against her own. Trying not to panic, or move too fast, Hyunjin got out of bed, pulling the sheet up to Heejin’s shoulders. After grabbing some fresh clothes and whatever she needed, she headed to the bathroom for a much-needed shower. And a cold one, since Hyunjin’s body seemed to be burning.

She did just not sleep... while spooning with Heejin.

Oh Goddess, she did.

Hyunjin wasn’t a teenager, for the love of the moon. No time to be all mushy remembering how Heejin snuggled so close, and how good it felt.

Why would she even feel mushy about it? And what in the moon was she smiling for?! Shaking her head, she turned the cold faucet on, splashing the almost freezing water against her face, making her hiss from how uncomfortable it was. Yes, it was summer, and even though she still enjoyed her baths warm at that time of the year, it was the first thing she thought of to stop her own mind.

She headed downstairs after getting dressed, slowly as to not wake Chaewon and Hyejoo up. They were still fast asleep, their breathing slow and steady, and their bodies close to one another under the blanket, with Hyejoo hugging Chaewon and resting her forehead on the back of her neck.

Was this what Hyunjin and Heejin looked like just now?

Pushing the thought to the back of her mind, Hyunjin refilled Selene and Diana’s water and food bowls, and checked the fridge. Less than ten bottles left. She checked the time on her phone, and it was barely eight in the morning. Perfect time to go get more blood, and if she was fast enough, she could even go get food for Heejin and Chaewon before they woke up.

After the fifteen-minute drive to the farm, Hyunjin parked Bumblebee and walked towards where she would find him. The strong smell of the animals’ feces had reached her nose even before she arrived, and it didn’t matter if she had gotten used to it, it didn’t make it any less unpleasant.

Hyunjin banged on the barn door. “Hey, Yuta.”

The tall, strong-built man showed up a couple seconds after, raising his eyebrows at Hyunjin as he cleaned his hands on his already dirty pants. “Hyunjin! What brings you here?”

“Blood, what else?”

“Again? It’s like the third time this month. Who in the world are you feeding?”

“None of your business.” Hyunjin crossed her arms.

Yuta chuckled. “I’ve known you for three years, and I still don’t know a thing about you.”

“And it shall remain that way. Now, get me twenty liters, please.”

“Another twenty? You’re lucky there’s never a shortage around here.”

Hyunjin rolled her eyes, and he laughed again as he walked back inside. A minute later, he was back with four boxes, two under each of his muscular arms. “Here you go, ma’am, I’ll help you carry it to Bumblebee.”

Hyunjin held two boxes and walked ahead, setting them down in the trunk box, then the other two on top.

“Thank you, Yuta,” she said, hoping on Bumblebee.

“No problem! Should I have another twenty prepared in like, a week or so?” he asked, a hint of teasing in his voice.

“Yeah, you probably should, actually.”

“Alright, I’ll keep that in mind.”

“How’s the business going?”

Yuta widened his eyes, taking a hand to his chest. “And for these years I’ve known you, it’s the first time you ask me about it.”

“Wow, fine, I won’t try and be nice, then.”

Yuta cracked a loud laugh. “It’s great. Koreans really love meat, I tell ya, and of course I only bring them the best of the best. Just like your blood.”

“It’s called ‘Yuta’s finest meats’ for a reason, right?”

“Damn right!” Yuta playfully punched Hyunjin’s bicep. “Hey, thank whoever you met, they’re doing wonders to you.”

Hyunjin’s eyes grew for a second, before she the engine. “You still stink, by the way.”

“Oh, there she is, good old Hyunjin!”

Hyunjin rolled her eyes and kicked the ground, driving away and still hearing Yuta saying goodbye.

With a new stack of blood, Hyunjin drove back, stopping at a nearby supermarket to get Heejin and Chaewon food. Maybe she should have asked Yuta for some of his finest meats, but she didn’t want to give him a reason to believe she had human friends now. Not that she disliked him or something, but to her, Yuta had always been, since they met, her blood supplier and nothing more.

The front door of her house was open with Hyejoo leaning against the frame as Hyunjin arrived and stopped Bumblebee.

“Where were you?!” Hyejoo asked.

“You smelled me before I arrived?” Hyunjin asked, hopping down.

“Yes.”

“That’s amazing, Hyejoo!”

“Okay but, where were you, and why didn’t you answer your phone? We were worried.”

“.” Hyunjin reached for her phone in her backpack, with missed calls from the three of them. “I went to get more blood and food for them and I didn’t even remember to check my phone.”

Hyejoo shook her head. “I’ll help you with it.”

Both girls carried two boxes each, and stepping inside the house, Heejin walked down the stairs. Their eyes met, and Hyunjin halted, almost making Hyejoo bump against her.

“Hey!”

“S-Sorry.” Hyunjin blinked away from Heejin’s eyes and rushed to the kitchen, her face already warming up as the memories flooded her mind.

“Good morning,” Heejin’s voice sounded behind her.

“G-Good morning.” Could she stop stuttering already?! “Did you guys sleep well?”

“We did!” Chaewon said, joining them in the kitchen and help with the groceries. “Where were you, Heejin?”

Heejin almost choked on the water she was drinking. “W-What do you mean?”

“I remember you falling asleep on the couch, but me and Hyejoo have been awake for almost half an hour and you weren’t here. Were you in the bathroom or something?”

“We switched,” Hyunjin blurted, taking several empty bottles from the cabinet. “Heejin slept in my bed and I slept on the couch.”

Chaewon and Hyejoo exchanged a look.

“Hyejoo, help me transfer the blood to the bottles.” Hyunjin pulled Hyejoo closer. “You girls can eat breakfast, I brought cereal and bread, just eat whatever you want.”

They knew, for sure, she was lying. And it honestly was even worse, now they would wonder why she lied when she could just have said that they slept in Hyunjin’s bed. Since it was big, there was enough space to sleep without even having to cuddle, but would that really be their default thought? Now they were going to ask her about it and--

“Hyunjin!” Hyejoo called, bringing her back to reality just before she overfilled a bottle.

“, sorry. I spaced out.”

“Yeah, I could see that. Is everything alright?”

“Sure. They’re arriving,” Hyunjin said, moving to the front door, both to actually welcome Jiwoo and Jungeun, and to avoid the conversation.

“Good morning!” Jiwoo shouted, waving her arms, even a few meters away from reaching her house.

Hyunjin let them approach. “Good morning. Just in time to join us for breakfast.” She went back to the kitchen, with the two of them following and greeting the others.

“Oh, wow, so much blood,” Jungeun widened her eyes at the several already filled bottles, and the two boxes at the kitchen counter. “Where do you get it from?”

“I have a supplier.” Hyunjin shrugged, handing each a bottle.

“A supplier?” Jiwoo irked an eyebrow.

“Yeah. He has a farm, and let’s say me and Jinsol got him out of trouble once, and in return, I have blood.”

“What... trouble?” Chaewon asked before biting on her sandwich.

“A couple vampires attacked his farm, and some people heard something weird, like screaming, so they called the police. Jinsol went there, called me, I took care of said vampires, and Yuta didn’t have to testify and go through an awkward situation.”

Heejin scoffed. “Blackmailing people since ever, I see.”

“Hey.” Hyunjin glared at her, gritting her teeth. “We helped him. He had only been attacked and did nothing wrong, but it would have been a terrible experience to try to explain the whole situation while hiding the truth. We both benefitted from it.”

“I know, it was a joke. Sorry.” Heejin looked down at her cereal.

The atmosphere got heavy, with everyone exchanging looks.

“Where did you get the blood before?” Hyejoo asked, breaking the silence.

“Hunting.”

Another silence.

“What? As if you humans don’t kill animals to eat meat. It’s the same, I just don’t eat the meat, and drink the blood instead. And I always apologized before making the kill, and thanked my Goddess.”

“Your Goddess?” Jiwoo asked.

“The moon,” Heejin answered instead, looking at Hyunjin’s neck with a small smile.

More eyes drifted to her neck as well, to her moon phase tattoo. “Eat and drink up, everyone. We're training today.”

“Already? It’s so early,” Chaewon said.

“We can wait for Yeojin to start.”

The girls talked among themselves as they had breakfast, but Hyunjin was still thinking about Heejin's reaction. She used to make fun of her for her ‘weird obsession for the moon’, but now she smiled and even answered for her?

Slowly, they finished eating and drinking, then cleaned everything.

“You can rest or do whatever you feel like, I’ll be heading to the training grounds,” Hyunjin said, walking to the front door. “Heejin will explain the way there, you can join me when Yeojin arrives.”

Before anyone could say or ask anything, Hyunjin darted out the door. Even if someone was to ask her if she was okay, if something was going on, she would answer – I don’t know.

Because she didn’t. It felt like something was troubling her, but she couldn’t put a finger on what. So instead, she chose to be alone, even if for a bit, and let go of those feelings on the punching bag.

But she was foolish to think she would have a chance to do so.

It wasn’t long until she could feel Heejin’s scent, ever so sweet, approaching. And before she could step inside, Hyunjin had turned already, eyes fixed on the door, meeting Heejin’s as she came into frame.

“Hey, mind if I join?” Heejin asked.

“Didn’t you want to rest before we start?”

“I was worried.”

Hyunjin irked an eyebrow. “About?”

“You.”

Maybe the others didn’t notice. Maybe they did, but they wouldn’t ask. But then there was Heejin.

“Why?”

“You seemed... weird. Did something happen?”

“No, not really.”

Heejin sighed, approaching her. “I also wanted to apologize for the joke, you know, about Jinsol. I was really just joking, but I know how much she means to you and I was mean. I don’t resent her or something, I like her a lot, in fact, and she’s been doing nothing but help us all this time.”

“Oh, hm, yeah.” Hyunjin wasn’t expecting that. “Thanks.”

“I was worried you were mad because of that, and I couldn’t shake off that feeling. That’s why I came here.”

Hyunjin smirked, and with the right impulse, she lunged at Heejin. It took her less than a second, but still, Heejin was fast enough to cross her arms to protect herself.

“Amazing reflexes,” Hyunjin said, holding on her forearms. “Since you’re already here, I won’t let you go.”

“I wasn’t expecting you to, anyway.” Heejin smirked, throwing Hyunjin away and counter attacking with a fast punch to her right, which Hyunjin blocked easily.

“Not bad, not bad at all.”

“Oh my, I’m being praised by my senpai.”

Hyunjin flared her nostrils and grabbing the arm she blocked, she twirled Heejin around, pressing her arm against her back.

“Take this seriously,” Hyunjin mumbled near her ear.

“Ouch, okay!” Heejin hissed in pain, but laughed at the same time.

And only then Hyunjin noticed how her own body was pressed against her back, so she quickly let go and took a step back, clearing and ignoring the heat behind her neck.

“Alright, let’s warm up and work out,” Hyunjin said.

She wouldn’t go too hard on her right in the morning, so a basic routine of abs, squats, and pushups should be fine for now.

“You keep surprising me,” Hyunjin said, as Heejin was reaching the thirtieth pushup.

“I may not have the same strength and all, but I still trained to fight. They weren’t easy on us.”

“Okay, twenty more then, and we can take a break.”

Heejin nodded and kept going, but slower now, as her face showed how hard it was getting. But without a complaint, Heejin finished the fifty pushups with her. They dropped their bodies on the bench, and Heejin took the water bottle she had brought with herself to her lips and took long gulps. The silence felt awkward, like the both of them wanted to say something, but they didn’t. Maybe Hyunjin was seeing things, or maybe it was just her that wanted to say something. Ask her if she slept well and didn’t have any more nightmares? Ask her what she meant when she answered about the moon? But why did it even matter?

Much to her relief, the others were arriving. Jungeun peeked inside, and after seeing Heejin and Hyunjin there, she stepped inside, with the others following behind, everyone looking around and letting their chins drop.

“Wow,” Chaewon mumbled. “Where did this come from?”

“Hyunjin build it,” Heejin said, standing up and walking towards the others.

“You did?!” Jiwoo gasped.

“I did.” Hyunjin stood up as well so she could receive Yeojin in a hug, like she always did.

“It’s amazing!” Yeojin said.

“Glad you all like it, because we’re going to be training here often. First of all, I’ll be spending some time with Yeojin and Hyejoo, teaching them how to control and empower our senses. Jiwoo and Jungeun, can I entrust Heejin and Chaewon to you for now?”

“I thought you were the teacher,” Jungeun rested her hands on her waist.

“And I will be, but how can I do anything with two vampires who don’t know their own strength? I don’t want one of them to accidentally punch you so hard you’ll be sent flying out of here.”

Jiwoo chuckled. “No problem, I’ll take care of them. May not seem like it, but aside from being an old vampire, I’m a taekwondo black belt.”

Heejin and Chaewon widened her eyes at her. “You are?!”

“She is.” Jungeun nodded. “I’m yet to beat her in a one versus one fight.”

“Just give up, Lippie.”

“Never.”

“Great, teach them some cool moves. I know Hyejoo here is used to close combat, but those two lack the experience for sure,” Hyunjin said, and Jiwoo gave her a thumbs up. “Alright, come with me.”

Hyunjin headed outside, Yeojin and Hyejoo following, and walked until she couldn’t hear the others’ voices.

“Why are we here?” Hyejoo asked.

“Senses. As you know, and have noticed by now, you can now see, hear, smell, feel things much more accurately, even if you aren’t focusing on that,” Hyunjin said, and they nodded. “But if you actually focus on it, you’ll empower them much further.”

“How?”

“Close your eyes.” Hyunjin waited for them to do it, and then did it herself. “Now, focus on your hearing. Listen attentively to the wind, the leaves rustling with it, the birds. Forget about what you can smell, or anything else. Bring all your attention to what you can hear.”

And as Hyunjin did the same, more sounds came into hearing. Jiwoo’s voice coming from inside the training grounds, explaining some defense technique, the engine of the cars working on the main road.

“What can you hear?” Hyunjin asked.

“Chaewon whining that it’s too difficult,” Hyejoo said, and Hyunjin could hear the smile on her lips.

“Cars,” Yeojin said.

“You’ve been a vampire for longer, you probably already did this on your own, right, Yeojin?”

“Yes.”

“I can’t hear cars. I guess they’re too far away,” Hyejoo said.

“That’s normal, this takes practice, like any other skill. Now, keep your eyes closed, but shift your attention to your nose, and take deep, slow breaths. With each, you should be able to identify more scents, stronger and further away.”

Hyunjin let the silence reign for a bit, as she did it herself. “What can you smell?”

“Their scents, grass, dirt,” Yeojin said.

“Cotton candy,” Hyejoo mumbled.

Hyunjin smiled. Somehow, Chaewon always smelled like cotton candy. Maybe a perfume or something?

“Vanilla,” Hyunjin found herself saying. Even though it was her own shampoo, it smelled different on Heejin. Better, sweeter. “Good job, you two. Open your eyes.” She did so as well. “Your eyes are different, though. You have to activate them.”

“I can do it!” Yeojin said, beaming. She closed her eyes, with her eyebrows drawing close, and when they opened again a few seconds later, they shone bright orange.

“Oh, wow, Yeojin, you've been practicing alone, I see."

Yeojin have her a thumbs up with a shy but proud grin.

“I guess you haven’t seen yours, Hyejoo.” Hyunjin turned to her.

“I didn’t. But I can feel something weird on them when I drink.”

“Yes. They naturally activate when we feed, and when we get too hungry. Other factors can influence it, like being angry. But we can activate them voluntarily, just like Yeojin did. It comes very in handy at night.”

“What color are mine?” Hyejoo asked.

“I won’t tell you.” Hyunjin smiled. “You’ll see them for yourself. It’s very hard to do it at first try, but let’s give it a shot. Close them.”

Hyejoo nodded and closed her eyes.

“Focus on them. Feel them in your eye sockets, and now picture the same feeling when they shift naturally. Remember how it’s like, that uncomfortable itch, and try to mimic it.”

Hyejoo’s eyebrows came together, and her jaw visibly clenched. “It hurts a bit.”

“It’s a good sign! Don’t give up, keep going, keep all your attention in them.”

With her teeth gritting, Hyejoo kept trying, Hyunjin and Yeojin staring at her with expectant eyes. Then, with a harsh inhale, Hyejoo’s eyes came open.

A beautiful, rare grey, almost shining silver.

Hyunjin’s face lit up. “Grab your phone and take a look.”

Hyejoo hesitated, but reached for her phone on her back pocket, and after a few clicks, turned it in front of her face.

“Wow...” Hyejoo mumbled, letting her chin drop. “Did I do it?”

“You did. At first try. That’s amazing. Now you just have to keep practicing it. In no time, you’ll be able to do it in a second, with no effort or pain at all.”

“Can I see yours?”

Hyunjin closed hers, and a second later, yellow eyes stared into Hyejoo’s.

“A literal second,” Hyejoo said. “Is it normal that I... that I’m feeling kinda thrilled about this?”

Hyunjin approached her and laid a hand on her shoulder. “Being a vampire . But this part is actually quite awesome. So, yeah, it’s okay to feel excited about finding the silver lining in all of this, which is our abilities. And in your case, it seems, literal silver.”

“I feel like a super hero,” Yeojin said. “Can you imagine if we could actually fight criminals? Who would dare try and fight us? If only people knew and trusted us...”

“That’s very cute and pure of you,” Hyunjin said. “and I’m sorry to break it to you, but that would never be possible. If society were to find we exist, there would be nothing but chaos.”

Yeojin dropped her gaze to the ground. “I know, but a girl can dream.”

“We’re gonna be heroes in our own way.”

“You are, I’m not.”

“Exactly, because you’re still a high schooler and you're inexperienced. But who knows what you could be doing in a few years. If you want to fight bad vampires, no one is stopping you. Just, not now.”

Yeojin’s head shot up, gleaming eyes at her, but then the excitement in her features died down again. “Haseul will stop me.”

“She’ll always be worried about you, no matter what you do. She’s an older sister, after all.”

Yeojin huffed, and Hyunjin laughed, messing up her hair. “You know the basics, and there isn’t really a faster or easier way to master it but practicing a lot. And I’m also here to help you with what you may need.”

“Thank you, Hyunjin,” Hyejoo said.

“Let’s head back inside and join them?”

Hyunjin led the way, and she could already hear screams from the inside. Curious to know what they were doing, she rushed, and as soon as she stepped inside, she witnessed Chaewon, with her petite and fragile stature, throwing Heejin over her shoulder. Heejin hit the ground with a loud thud and a yelp, and Chaewon, alongside Jiwoo, jumped in pure glee.

“You did it!” Jiwoo told her, pulling her into a hug as they jumped around.

“Yeah, she really did...” Heejin muttered, still on the ground.

Hyunjin rushed, but Jungeun was already there, hand extended to help Heejin up.

“Thanks.” Heejin smiled at her, fixing her clothes.

“You okay? She really went full merciless on you,” Jungeun said.

“Yeah, nothing we’re not used to. We used to train with each other back at the Silver Blades.”

“Oh, Hyejoo!” Chaewon finally noticed the girl, standing and staring at her with parted lips. “Did you see that?!”

“Yeah, I did.” Hyejoo approached her, patting her head, and Chaewon beamed.

Hyunjin looked away from Heejin and Jungeun, and found Yeojin shaking her head at her, the same judging eyes and pursued lips at her.

“What?” Hyunjin frowned.

“Nothing, nothing.”

Hyunjin only frowned deeper, but didn’t ask anything else either. “Good job everyone, keep at it. Hyejoo, Yeojin, come with me. I need to test out your strength.” Hyunjin guided them to the punching bags, the big, heavy one hanging on the ceiling. “As you also know, we’re much stronger. You need to practice a lot to be able to control it, or else you throw a punch at the wall and you’ll break it with no effort. Yeojin, try and throw a punch.”

Yeojin approached it, looked at it for a few seconds and, clenching her fist, she made the punching bag swing until it was parallel to the floor.

“Was that a full force punch?” Hyejoo asked, eyes huge.

“Nope. But it wasn’t that weak, either. I just didn’t want to break it.”

Hyunjin laughed. “You asked me to teach you, but you already have pretty good control over your abilities.”

Yeojin scratched her neck. “Thank you. But I still don’t know how to fight.”

“We’ll get there soon. Hyejoo, your turn. I know you were already pretty strong, so try and apply just a bit of force to your punch.”

Hyejoo gulped and nodded. She bent her knees, balled her hand, pushed her arm back, and threw a punch. To anyone’s eyes, it had been a pretty normal punch. But it was enough for the punching bag to fly and almost hit the ceiling.

“Holy ,” Hyejoo gasped, taking a step back.

Hyunjin grabbed the punching bag before it could keep swinging. “And that’s how strong we are. I advise you to not use it to the fullest, unless it’s extremely necessary. But don’t worry, with practice and time, you’ll be able to fully control your own strength.”

“How about speed? Aren’t we super fast as well?” Yeojin asked.

“It’s not like we’re fast, it’s also about our strength. You see, the impulse you apply to your jump or to take off in a run will determine your speed. For example, if I simply start running, I’ll run at a normal speed, but if I give my legs a bigger impulse...” Hyunjin bent her knees, put her left leg behind, and as she gave herself a big impulse with her right leg, she reached the other side of the training house in less than a second, then did the same to go back.

“You make it seem so easy,” Yeojin said.

“You’ll be able to do all of this. I’ll be here to make sure of it. Keep throwing some punches for now,” Hyunjin said before walking over to the other girls. “Now I’m gonna steal Chaewon for just a bit, rest for a couple minutes or watch us.”

Without a question, Chaewon joined her, everyone staring at her.

“Heejin told me your aim is amazing.”

“Oh, yeah. I trained a lot.”

“Do you like using a crossbow?”

“Yeah.”

“How about...” Hyunjin reached for her jeans and took out her gun. “A gun?”

Chaewon’s widened eyes jumped between Hyunjin and the gun in her hand. “A g-gun?”

“Try and shoot.”

“You want me to shoot?!”

Hyunjin chuckled. “Yeah. I want to see how you would do with a gun. If your aim is that good, I think it would be nicer if you used a gun instead of a crossbow. Easier to carry, faster to use.”

Hesitantly, Chaewon grabbed Hyunjin’s gun, taking a good look at it first, especially at the handle, where a moon stone was engraved.

“Don’t worry, I put rubber bullets in there. I never waste silver bullets for practice.”

“Silver bullets?”

“How do you think I kill vampires? A shot through the heart or the head and the job is done." Hyunjin shrugged. “Grab it with both hands first, you’re not used to the impact of the shot. I’m not experienced with crossbows myself, but I suspect the recoil of a pistol will be a bit heavier to take than that of a crossbow, so your accuracy might not be the best at first. Then you aim, and pull the trigger. In that sense, it works almost the same.”

Chaewon grabbed it with her right hand, and with her left, held it from below, to keep it steady. Then, she raised it and pointed directly at one of the targets at the back of the house.

“Put your right foot back, so you don’t lose your balance when you shoot,” Hyunjin said. “Remember to keep your weight evenly distributed.”

Positioning herself as she was told, she closed her left eye, and a few seconds later, with a trembling finger, she pulled the trigger.

The quiet, but still audible sound of the shot made everyone stop and turn their heads to its direction. The bullet went straight through the ring closest to the middle, and Chaewon didn’t even lose her balance.

“Wow,” Jiwoo said.

“Amazing, indeed.” Hyunjin clapped. “If you did that well on your first try, with a little practice you can hit the middle consistently. How about you learned how to use a gun, then?”

Chaewon’s eyes gleamed, fixed on the gun in her hands, and then she turned to Hyejoo. “Did you see this as well, Hyejoo?”

“I did, Gowon. You look even more badass with a gun.”

“I want one.” Chaewon looked at Hyunjin

“Of course you do.” Hyunjin smiled. “You can keep practicing. I’ll collect the bullets when you’re done.”

Chaewon nodded, a fierce expression on, even though she was too cute to look intimidating.

The girls kept on training, learning new things from Jiwoo and putting them in practice, but soon it was lunch time, and their energy was depleting.

“Alright, break time. Let’s eat and rest for a while and we can continue in the afternoon.”

Jiwoo and Chaewon jumped in happiness, storming out with Jungeun and Hyejoo.

“Hey, wait for me!” Yeojin whined, running after them, leaving Hyunjin and Heejin walking at a normal pace back.

“You okay?” Hyunjin asked.

“You mean my back?” Heejin snickered.

“Your back too.”

“I’m fine, just hungry.”

“Did you managed to do that move?”

“No, Chaewon whined that I would hurt her.” Heejin rolled her eyes.

“Alright, do it with me.”

“But you’re...” Heejin looked at her from head to toe.

“Big?”

“I mean, you’re tall and all... muscular,” Heejin said, her voice getting lower, and her cheeks redder. “I don’t know if I can do it with you.”

“You have to try. You know we’ll be facing probably even bigger guys. We’re practicing for a reason, right?”

“Right. But, what if I hurt you?”

Hyunjin chuckled. “You won’t.”

“Do vampires feel less pain?”

“Not really. Normal weapons may not kill us, and we heal fast, but I would dare say we feel even more pain because of our empowered senses. But I don’t remember what it’s like to not be a vampire, so I’m used to it. And I don’t really get hurt frequently, so.” She shrugged.

Heejin pouted. “That didn’t help.”

Hyunjin laughed again, louder this time. “It’s okay, really. If we were afraid of pain, we would never be on this path.”

“I guess you’re right.”

They arrived after the others, and Hyunjin went straight to the kitchen. “Rest a bit while I prepare you two food.”

“I can help,” Heejin said.

“No, it’s okay. Rest. We’re not done for the day.”

Heejin pouted, but after a glare from Hyunjin, she turned and went to sit with the others. In about fifteen minutes, Hyunjin had two bowls of stir-fried noodles she had cooked, and some kimbap she bought at the supermarket. “Lunch is ready!”

Chaewon jumped from the couch and ran to sit at the dinner table. “It smells so good!”

“And I bet it tastes just as good.” Heejin joined her, eyes scanning the food on the table.

Hyunjin fetched five bottles from the fridge and handed them to the other vampires. For some moments, they let the silence take over while they ate and drank.

“Who wants to watch a movie before we go back to training?” Hyunjin asked after cleaning the dishes.

Jiwoo gasped. “We didn’t finish watching Eclipse the other night!”

“Oh, ...”

“I heard that!”

“Why don’t we do a Mario Kart tournament or something?” Hyejoo suggested. “We have four controllers, four of us play first, and then the other three, and the four with the highest scores will compete next in a final round.”

“That’s brilliant, Hyejoo!” Chaewon squealed, running to set the game up.

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A/N: Hyunjin getting mushy because of Heejin and then embarrassed at herself, we love to see it kaka well expect even more fluff and tension in the chapter heheheheheheheh