The sun was already up when Hyunjin opened her eyes. Heejin was still sleeping next to her, probably still exhausted from the night before. Moving as slow as she could, she stood up from the bed without waking her up. She would wake up thirsty, and there was no blood in the house. Hyunjin should visit Yuta's farm and come back fast so everyone could be well-fed before going back to Jiwoo's house.

And, as Hyunjin walked down the stairs, she wondered if they needed to go back. But the thought was interrupted when her eyes landed on Hyejoo, leaning against the kitchen counter with a bottle of blood in her hand, lost in the depths of her mind, because she didn't even notice her presence. Without a word, Hyunjin rushed to the girl, crashing their bodies together in a tight hug and earning a yelp from Hyejoo.

"H-Hyunjin."

"You're here."

"You scared the out of me," Hyejoo said, still hugging her back.

"Well, you scared the out of me last night."

"I just needed some air."

Hyunjin pulled away and narrowed her eyes at her, noticing again the new scar that adorned her face. "You got me worried sick, but I'm glad you're back."

Hyejoo dropped her head. "Sorry."

"Are you feeling better?"

"I don't know. I just want Gowon to come back."

"Is she still at the hospital?"

Hyejoo nodded, gripping the bottle in her hand.

"Where did you get the blood?"

"Jinsol went to Yuta's farm before sunrise, and I went with her to help," Hyejoo said, motioning with her head somewhere behind Hyunjin.

She turned, finally noticing Jinsol sleeping in the couch, and Jiwoo and Jungeun sleeping in the mattress on the floor, where Hyejoo and Chaewon used to sleep. Hyunjin smiled. Sometimes she wondered if she deserved Jinsol in her life.

"Thank you, I was going there now because we need to feed and, well, Heejin is gonna wake up thirsty. Didn't you sleep?"

"Couldn't. H-How's Heejin?"

"Managing. Don't worry, she's not mad at you."

Hyejoo sighed, like she was holding a breath all this time. "I was really out of my mind."

"You'll talk when she's awake."

"How did... that happen?"

"We'll talk when everyone's here. A lot happened, and we need to gather and decide what's coming up next. Do you know what's going on at the Silver Blades?"

"No clue." Hyejoo gulped, and Hyunjin could only guess her sister had popped up in her mind, but she wouldn't ask.

Hyunjin leaned against the counter next to Hyejoo.

"Aren't you gonna feed?" Hyejoo asked, a full bottle in her hand for her.

"Oh, no, I'm actually not hungry. I fed before going to bed." And she had drank way too much of Heejin's blood.

They heard a door opening, but it wasn't the front door. Hyunjin looked at the stairs, waiting for Heejin to make her way down. A couple seconds later, there she was, slowly going down each step, peeking at Hyunjin and Hyejoo with her pink eyes as she did.

"Good morning." Hyunjin smiled at her.

"H-Hey."

Still slowly, as if shy, she joined them. That was way out of character for her.

"Your eyes," Hyejoo said, staring at them with agape.

"Yeah, I've seen them."

"I'm sorry about yesterday." Hyejoo didn't waste time.

"No, I am sorry, Hyejoo. I was only thinking about myself." Heejin looked around. "Chaewon's not back yet?"

"She's still at the hospital."

Taking a step closer, Heejin crashed her body against Hyejoo's. "I'm so sorry about what happened."

Hyejoo melted into her embrace. "Me too. But we're all here to help you through this, and believe me, it's not that bad. Some things are pretty awesome, even."

"I know." Heejin pulled away. "I can't wait to be as strong as you."

Hyunjin couldn't help but smile as she observed them. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but Heejin, you need to feed."

"R-Right."

Fetching a bottle, Hyunjin handed it to her. Hesitantly, Heejin grabbed it, staring at it for a bit before opening it.

"Don't be scared." Hyunjin held her free hand.

Nodding, Heejin brought the bottle to her lips, closing her eyes and scrunching her nose as the liquid filled . She took a few gulps before pausing, frowning even harder.

"Is it that bad?" Hyejoo chuckled.

"It's... not, but it's also not great. Kind of like when you go out for a long run and you're desperate for water, but when you go drink it, it's warm. It's still water you needed desperately, but it still feels weird. Of course, I won't drink water anymore, so there's that."

"Animal blood feels kind of like that. You'll get used to it," Hyunjin said. "You actually can drink water, by the way. Your body won't reject it since after all, blood is 92% water. But you just don't need it, because your body gets what it needs from blood."

"Well, I didn't know that." Heejin raised her eyebrows. "I will get used to it, don't worry."

Maybe it wasn't Heejin's intention, but that sentence sounded so sad Hyunjin couldn't help but squeeze her hand.

"Can you hear that?" Hyejoo said, eyes bigger in her face.

Hyunjin focused a bit more on her hearing, and she could definitely hear it. The sound of an engine approaching.

"What? I still can't hear anything better," Heejin said.

Hyunjin dashed to the door, expecting Hyejoo to do the same, but she stood frozen in place. Opening the door, Haseul's car approached, coming to a stop in front of her house. She frowned when she thought she had mistaken a certain scent that reached her nose, but she was right all along. The back door of the car flew open, and Hyunjin had never seen Yeojin running so fast in her life. She jumped to Hyunjin, her petite body crashing against her with such force Hyunjin almost fell on her , but she managed to stay on her feet, catching the girl in her arms.

"Yeojin, what are you doing here?"

Yeojin didn't answer, she just squeezed the life out of Hyunjin. When she was done, she pulled away, glared at her, and started punching Hyunjin's stomach.

"Why didn't you tell me what was gonna happen?!"

"Why would I?"

"Because I could have helped!"

Hyunjin grabbed her wrists, stopping her in place, and smiled at her. "That's exactly why I didn't say anything. There wasn't any way you could have helped."

"I can fight!"

"Not a fight like that."

Yeojin softened, sighing and lowering her arms. "I'm just glad you're okay."

Hyunjin finally looked ahead again. Chaewon walked towards the house, head down, with Haseul and Yerim by each of her sides, Yerim with an arm around her shoulders. Her eyes averted automatically to Chaewon's right hand, and the sight didn't hurt any less than the previous day.

As if scared to get in touch with reality, Hyunjin stood in the same place. Maybe Hyejoo felt the same way, because her normal behavior would be to run and hug and check on Chaewon the second she felt her scent.

"Is everyone here already?" Jinsol's voice sounded behind her.

Hyunjin peeked back, to a still very sleepy Jinsol, scratching her eyes, and Jungeun and Jiwoo were up as well, standing by Heejin and Hyejoo.

"Yes," Hyunjin said.

Chaewon finally raised her head, looking back at Hyunjin.

"Hey, Chaewon. Come in, everyone."

Hyunjin pulled Yeojin with her back inside, with the others following. For a few moments, silence took over, only looks exchanged between the girls as they all scattered around the living room and kitchen. Hyejoo kept her head down, unable to look back at Chaewon as she walked towards her.

"Hyejoo," she called in a whisper.

Still unable to look at her or say anything at all, Hyejoo pulled her into a hug instead, hiding her face in the crook of her neck.

"Bring some chairs from the dining table and let's take a seat, everyone," Hyunjin said, urging them to let those two have a moment alone.

Hyunjin sat in her armchair, Heejin sitting on a chair she brought next to her. The other girls sat in the couches and other chairs, still silent, no one knowing what to say.

"Are we waiting for them, or...?" Yerim asked.

"Yes, we all need to talk. I mean, Yeojin is just an intruder here, but let's fill her in as well." Hyunjin smirked.

"Hey! You all hid things from me, of course I want to know!"

"I also didn't know anything," Haseul said. "And I'm still as confused as you are."

"How was it at the hospital?" Heejin asked.

"I took her to Jihyo," Yerim said, and Heejin nodded, like she knew who she was talking about, but everyone else just gave her confused looks. "Let me explain. The Silver Blades have people in lots of different sectors, like me and some others at the police, so there are people at the hospital as well. Jihyo is one of them. She's a brilliant doctor, so I took Chaewon directly to her. We didn't have to come up with an excuse for what happened to her and Jihyo took care of her better than anyone else could have."

"That's great, thank you for helping us so much, Yerim," Hyunjin said.

"I'm just glad Chaewon got surgery fast. She needed urgent help."

"The Silver Blades really are a huge organization," Jungeun said. "Maybe there are far more humans knowing about us than we expected."

"Oh, for sure."

"Can we join you?" Chaewon said, earning everyone's attention.

"Of course, we saved you the best seats," Jiwoo said, pointing to the empty couch next to her.

Chaewon and Hyejoo sat, hand in hand, Chaewon keeping her right one in her lap, staring at it continuously, just like the others did, but no one dared to say a word yet.

"Since we're all here now, and before we start our talk," Hyunjin said, and getting up on her feet, she bowed. "I want to thank everyone for your hard work, and deeply apologize for everything that happened. There's no way I can-"

"Sit down!" Jinsol said. "Stop being so formal, and once again, stop taking responsibility for everything. We literally talked about this a few hours ago, didn't anything enter that brain of yours?"

Hyunjin straightened herself, and looking back at the worried faces, she cleared . Heejin grabbed her arm and yanked her down, forcing her body to fall to the armchair.

"Sorry." Hyunjin sighed. "Since Haseul and Yeojin didn't even know about the attack, I'll start from the very beginning."

Taking her time, she explained how they knew about the attack and how they chose to proceed. And as she was reaching the part where they were taken and chained down, she stopped, the images of that room popping up in her mind like a swarm of insects, buzzing in her ears and making her dizzy. With so much to think and worry about, her mind forgot about that for a while.

"Hyunjin?" Haseul called. "Are you okay?"

Hyunjin shook her head, and exchanged a look with Hyejoo. The terror flashed in the girl's eyes as well. Should Hyunjin talk about it? They had so much in their minds already, bringing it up could only make things worse for everyone. But she wanted to find out about it sooner or later, and hiding it could also make things worse in the long run.

"When I woke up, I was in this room..." Hyunjin started. "Me and Hyejoo were chained down by our wrists and ankles, completely unable to move at all, because that dart they fired at us injected some kind of serum that conceals our powers."

Yerim's eyes could jump from her skull. "A serum that what?!"

"So not even you knew about it," Hyunjin said.

"I know there is a scientific department at the Silver Blades, but I have no idea what they've been researching or doing there. It's highly classified and not even us at the central intelligence know what goes on in there. I didn't even know such thing could exist! Much less that it was in our hands."

"So, you are also clueless about countless other unconscious bodies chained down to metal stretchers, right?"

"What... What are you talking about?" Yerim's face lost all color.

"The room we were arrested in," Hyejoo finally said something. "that's what was happening there. I still cannot believe we were living there, where things like that were happening and we had no idea about it."

No one said a thing, and the images in everyone's minds mirrored as terror in their faces.

"And you were chained down in a room full of other chained-down people?" Heejin asked, like she still couldn't believe it.

"We were too," Jungeun said. "Just in a different room. But exactly like what you're descibring."

"I was wondering if I should tell you about this part or not, but I think there shouldn't be any secrets between us, so I decided to tell you. I still want to find out what that is, but that's something for another time. And going back to what happened..."

Hyunjin resumed the story, on how Yves was the one helping them, with Heejin and Chaewon joining the story and telling what happened in their side.

"When the guards at the entrance took us inside, we thought we had a chance to talk to someone," Heejin said. "We waited for a few minutes, until a higher rank slayer joined us and took us to a room to listen to what we had to say. We were telling him about the attack, when the door barged open and more guards took us, saying there were armed vampires outside. We tried to explain, but they took us to cells at the lower levels. We tried so hard to tell them, to warn them again and again, but they didn't care, they threw us inside and locked us up. They thought we were trying to distract them and that we were the ones trying to attack."

"It was so scary," Chaewon said. "the way they treated us like we were criminals. We couldn't do anything there, but then, like an hour later, Yves suddenly showed up."

"I thought I was seeing things." Heejin chuckled, shaking her head. "But she was really there, handing us the key and our weapons to escape if the attack happened."

"She didn't mention us?" Hyunjin asked.

"She said she talked with Hyejoo first, but didn't tell us where you were. So, when the attack started, when the first explosion happened, I opened the cell and we ran."

"Explosion?" Jinsol widened her eyes.

"Yeah, they literally blew up part of the building," Hyunjin said. "That was when Yves went back to that room, released us, and guided us down the building. We were in the higher levels, in some highly secured area. She opened the doors with her ID or something."

"So, whatever shady is happening in there, Yves knows about it," Jinsol said, baffled at her own words.

"I confronted her about it," Hyunjin said. "She said she's not proud of it, but it's for the greater good."

"Greater good my ," Hyejoo spat.

"Let's not get too distracted from what happened," Haseul said, calming the atmosphere down.

"You're right. So, we joined the fight, but our main goal was to find Heejin and Chaewon. Yves said they were probably out already, so we looked for them where we could, until..." Hyunjin stopped, and now came the worst part.

"We couldn't run much," Heejin said. "Since the attack started near where we were, we were stuck there, so we had to fight. Until we heard Hyejoo calling for Chaewon, and we thought we were safe, but then someone grabbed me, and everything went dark. I don't remember anything else."

"Was that when..." Jiwoo started, but couldn't even finish.

"It was Jinyoung," Hyunjin said, after finally mustering up enough courage to speak. There were gasps and shock in the girls' faces. "He caught Heejin and ran. But I knew his target was me. He stared at me right before disappearing, so I followed him, exactly where he wanted me to go. Two other vampires were there, they got me, and the serum was still running in me, so I wasn't strong enough to fight them. Jinyoung had Heejin, and he was saying all sorts of twisted, weird things, until I realized what he wanted to do. He..."

Hyunjin didn't know if she wanted Heejin to finish for her, or if she wasn't strong enough to say it. Speaking of it, hearing it out loud, seemed to ignite the rage she had felt just a few hours ago.

"He turned me." But Heejin still said it herself.

The silence was heavy, dragging the seconds away.

"He what?" Yeojin blinked.

"I'm a vampire."

"You're not," Chaewon said.

"But my eyes-" Heejin said.

"They deactivated after you drank blood," Hyejoo said.

"Oh." Heejin sighed. "How do I activate my eyes, again? I still haven't tried."

Even the ones that knew and had seen her eyes stared at her, waiting as if Heejin was about to do a magic trick.

"Uhm, close your eyes," Hyunjin said, and she complied. "Focus on them. Picture them in your head, think about how it feels when they shift-"

Heejin's eyes came open, and Yeojin gasped so loudly she almost choked. Even Hyunjin was surprised at how easily and fast she did it on her first try, now able to look at them in awe, and for the first time, stopping to truly marvel at their beauty. At how beautiful that bright shade of pink was, and how much it suited her. And Hyunjin thought she couldn't possibly become any prettier.

"Do you believe me now?" Heejin asked.

Chaewon sulked in her seat, staring at Heejin with her face unreadable, unable to breathe.

"I'm fine, everyone," Heejin said. "I've been living with vampires for some time now, I don't hate myself or anything like that. It alright, but what good will come out of it if I let myself be down because of this? I'll use this new power in my own favor, to become stronger and fight even better."

"That's amazing," Jiwoo said, a smile in her lips. "And remember, you're never alone."

"I know. But going back, please go on, Hyunjin."

"Yeah. He did that, and I snapped. I was able to set myself free, and I was blinded by anger. I just wanted to kill him in that same second, but Heejin was my priority. I broke his nose, grabbed her and ran. I couldn't believe he had done that, I didn't want to believe it. So, I tried to save Heejin."

"What, how? Is that even possible?" Chaewon asked.

"I bit her to try to his blood out," Hyunjin admitted, and some more gasps erupted between the girls. "But needless to say it didn't work. I called Haseul, asking her to come as fast as she could and bring blood. I thought Heejin was dying."

"If I was already a vampire, I wouldn't have died anyway," Heejin said.

"But I didn't know if it had worked. Imagine I was able to somehow clean your blood. You would need a transfusion, that's why I asked Haseul to come and give you some."

"In fact, I think Haseul fed her," Jungeun said.

Haseul widened her eyes. "Fed?"

"Heejin was probably a vampire by then already, and you gave her blood. So, you fed her. Either way, Heejin's alive, that's what matters."

"And thank you, Haseul." Heejin gave her a smile. "And also, I'm sorry. I was kinda rude to you when you were helping me. And for nearly puking on you."

Haseul waved a hand. "Oh, please, I can't even imagine going through what you did last night. Don't worry."

Silence followed, as everyone knew the only thing left to know was what happened with Chaewon. She knew it herself, but she seemed way too scared to even remember about it.

"When Hyunjin went after Heejin, I was left with Gowon," Hyejoo talked instead, everyone focusing on her. "In my almost seven years of fighting vampires, I had never witnessed a fight like that. Not even the one at the Blood Alliance. And over there, we were fighting two enemies at once. The serum was also still running in me, and stronger, since it takes longer in newer vampires to wear off, so I couldn't take care of everything at once, so... Suddenly, I heard Gowon scream. It was gut-wrenching. I knew something had gone terribly wrong."

Tears appeared in Chaewon's eyes, running down her cheeks, but she still stared at her injured hand.

"I made sure the vampire paid the price for what he did, but..." Hyejoo clenched her jaw. "This can't be undone."

"What now?" Heejin asked. "You had surgery, but what did Jihyo tell you exactly?"

"Since it wasn't exactly a... clean cut, there's a high risk it can infect," Yerim explained. "But let's hope for the best, and that it heals fast and well."

"Can you move your other fingers?" Hyunjin asked.

Chaewon eyed her for a second, as if surprised by the question. Then slowly, raised her right hand, and with some apparent discomfort, moved her thumb, index, and middle finger.

"You're worried about how you're gonna hold your gun, aren't you?"

Frowns turned at her. But the way Chaewon dropped her head again told her she was right.

"Don't worry about that now-"

"How can I not?!" Chaewon snapped, her eyebrows drawn together in anger as more tears fell. "How am I gonna do with my hand like this now?"

"I'm pretty sure you can still do it, and I'm gonna help you."

"You can't! No one can! I lost two fingers, it's not like I just need to wait for them to grow back!"

Hyejoo burst out crying, hiding her face in her hands. "I'm sorry, I wasn't strong enough-"

"Stop!" Chaewon said, startling even Hyunjin. She had never yelled at Hyejoo. "It's not your obligation to protect me from everything, you're not my personal guard. I'm a fighter just like you, I am the one that's not strong enough to even defend myself!"

Chaewon got up on her feet, aiming for the door, but Yerim, who sat the closest, was fast enough to stand up and grab her arm. "Chaewon, please stay here. Let us help."

Looking at Yerim, Chaewon broke down in more tears, throwing herself at the taller girl, sobbing against her chest as Yerim hugged her around her shoulders.

"You're going to be fine," Yerim soothed, caressing her back and hair. "We're all going to help you find a way. You're much stronger than you think."

Hyunjin balled her fists, and the next second, a hand wrapped on her left one. She relaxed, opening her hand to held Heejin's. No one dared to say a word. The girls either avoided both Chaewon and Hyejoo, like Yeojin, who seemed to be about to cry any second now, or tried to calm them down. Jiwoo had a hand on Hyejoo's shoulder, slowly rubbing it.

Chaewon had calmed down, wiping her eyes and sniffing as she sat down next to Hyejoo again. "I'm sorry. Please, continue."

"Are you feeling better?" Jinsol asked.

Chaewon shrugged. "Just go on, really."

"Does anyone know what happened after we all left? How was the situation at the Silver Blades?" Hyunjin asked, attending to Chaewon's request.

"I do know," Yerim said. "I was just waiting for us to get to this part. I actually got called to go there early at dawn, and it looked... bad."

"But did the Blood Alliance leave, then?"

"They did. They eventually retreated, suffered a lot of losses, but so did the slayers. Half of the right building is in ruins, lots of injured, and dead as well."

"Did you find Yeji and Jisu and Chaery? Are they okay?" Heejin asked, her voice rushed and panicked.

"I talked with Jisu and Chaeryeong, they were alright, but Yeji had to be rushed to the medical wing. I think she was severely injured."

"Oh, no..."

"Don't worry, she'll be okay. She's not in a life-threatening condition."

Heejin nodded, the worry still in her features. Hyunjin squeezed her hand, caressing it with her thumb.

"Was Yves okay?" Hyunjin asked, earning some curious looks, one from Hyejoo.

"Yeah. She had some scratches and all, but she was fine. She asked me to help them with a full report on losses. And to figure something out to report to the police."

Even if quiet, Hyunjin could still hear Hyejoo sigh.

"Report?" Hyunjin asked.

"Well, you know, some accident happened, leading to an explosion in the building."

"So that's your job as a member of the Silver Blades, and working in the police."

"Pretty much."

Jinsol shook her head. "Wow, that's sneaky."

"Don't you file an awful lot of animal attacks too?" Yerim rolled her eyes.

"Did you ever suspect anything about me before you knew about that?" Jinsol irked an eyebrow.

"No, not really. I always thought amazingly of your work."

If that was a more appropriate time, Hyunjin would have said something, but she kept it to herself. No one seemed to know what to say or do next, but at the same time, everyone seemed full of questions.

"What now?" Yeojin asked the one question in everyone's mind.

"We go back to Jiwoo's," Hyunjin said. "There's not really anything else we can do now. We need to recover before we even think about what's coming next." No one opposed. "Does anyone want to say, ask, or suggest anything else?"

"Can Jinsol even take us now?" Jiwoo asked.

"Yeah. Yerim, tell the boss I'll be late today."

Yerim nodded, and it seemed things were settled.

---

A/N: Chaewonie :(((

They're going back to Jiwoo's on the next chapter, and something else is happening! Since I've tortured a lot already with the past chapters, rest assured, it's not something bad!

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