Yeojin had calmed down, especially thanks to Diana and Selene that came down from the upper floor and were now both snuggled on Yeojin’s lap, receiving lots of attention. They had moved to sit on the couch, where they could be more comfortable, with Hyunjin sitting at her right side and Jinsol at her left side.

“Are you feeling better now?” Jinsol asked, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

She nodded, keeping her eyes down towards the cats.

“Was it a rough day?” Hyunjin asked, joining her in petting her cats.

“Yes. I felt my teeth grow mid class before lunch, and I got so nervous. I had to lie to my friends, saying I was not hungry so I didn’t have lunch with them. I went outside to get some air, and felt my teeth again, and my eyes hurting. I hid where I thought nobody would find me and...”

“And you fed,” Hyunjin finished for her. “But Heejin was likely watching you already. I can’t believe she followed you in school, and all the way here...”

“I’m sorry,” Yeojin mumbled, her fists curling into shaking balls.

“You don’t have to apologize, you didn’t do anything wrong.” Jinsol grabbed her hand, and she relaxed, holding Jinsol’s hand back.

“Heejin is a vampire slayer. I don't know that many details about them, but they're an organization that, well, hunt and kill vampires,” Hyunjin explained. “Thing is, I also hunt vampires. But the ones I know are dangerous, not all, because I know there are vampires out there trying to live normal lives and don’t even drink human blood. Like me, and you. But they don’t see it that way. They believe they’re all the same.”

“Do you hate them?” Yeojin asked.

Hyunjin smiled. “When they do stupid things like Heejin did, but generally, no. In the end, our goal is the same. It’s just the way we do things, our ideals and morals that are different. But I can’t forgive Heejin for what she did.”

“Hyunjin, don’t make it harder on yourself. Remember what you agreed on,” Jinsol said.

“I know. I can work with her and still not forgive her, can't I?”

Jinsol rolled her eyes. “As long as it doesn’t get in the way of your mission.”

“As long as she behaves. Anyway, ready for a lesson?”

“Lesson?” Yeojin frowned.

“I’m teaching you what is there to know about vampires. It’s not a lot, honestly, because as far as I know, nobody’s actually studying us. I have no idea where vampires came from or exactly how our bodies work. But basically we don’t age, wounds heal super fast, and we have increased strength and much more accurate and empowered senses.”

Yeojin’s chin could reach the floor. “W-We’re like super heroes. But... I didn’t feel any changes.”

“Because it also requires training. It’s like a skill, you know. Just like some people are born with a natural talent to draw or dance. But if they’re not born with it, they can still become great at those things with practice. I was really strong right after being turned, and because I decided I wanted to kill vampires, I trained a lot and had to learn how to control my strength and senses. Also, you were turned yesterday, your body is still adapting. That’s why I told you yesterday to be careful with your strength now. It’s natural if you start being able to grab much heavier things, or if you punch a wall, you actually break it. You need to learn and practice how to control it.”

Yeojin stared down at her own hands. “How?”

“You’ll get used to it. If you also practice and focus on your senses, you can sharpen then even further. Listen and smell things that are much further away, catch on quiet sounds and faint scents. If you activate your eyes at night, you’ll see much better as well.”

“Activate?”

Hyunjin closed her eyes, focusing for a second until she felt them shift, and opened them again. “You saw mine yesterday, didn’t you? Mine are yellow. Yours are orange.”

“How can I do that?”

“It can be hard to control at the beginning. You’ll feel them change if you get too hungry, or when you’re about to feed, just like your teeth. But with time and training, you can learn how to make them appear, both the eyes and teeth, whenever you want. Not that that’s a very useful skill, but I promise you’ll look a lot cooler and more intimidating when you want to.”

Yeojin fell silent, but her eyes stayed in Hyunjin. “You said wounds heal fast. Why do you have scars, then?”

“These?” Hyunjin ran a finger down the scars on her left eyebrow. “Vampires have a weakness. For some reason, silver can hurt and potentially kill us. That’s why the slayers’ weapons are made of silver. And these scars were made by a slayer. All wounds will heal fast, unless they’re caused by silver. Even if someone pierced your heart or your stomach, if the blade wasn’t made of silver, it couldn’t kill you.” Hyunjin paused and looked into the distance, attempting not to tap into the memories related to her scars. “But if it’s silver, they will take time and possibly scar, just like normal humans every time they’re wounded.”

As much as she tried, she couldn’t keep the images off her mind. The face of the one that left two scars on her face, the one that took what was most important in Hyunjin’s life. The one that killed-

“You were attacked by a slayer before?!” Yeojin’s voice boomed.

“Yeah. Only that time, and I managed to escape.”

Yeojin gasped.

“I think this is pretty much it." Hyunjin shrugged.

“How was I turned? How does a vampire turn people? Was it with the bite I got?”

“No. Only biting won’t turn a person. To turn them, one must drink vampire’s blood.”

Yeojin’s eyes bulged out. “D-Does that mean I...”

“Yeah, but you were unconscious, so you don’t even remember it. He must have fed you while you were knocked down.”

“Why? Why does a person need to drink vampire’s blood to transform?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think anyone knows, in fact. Do you want to ask something else?”

Yeojin fidgeted in her seat.

“It’s okay, ask away,” Hyunjin encouraged her.

“What happens if we don’t feed?”

“First of all, don’t even think about not feeding. If you don’t, you’ll become dangerous.”

“Dangerous?”

“You’ll lose your consciousness. You’ll enter bloodlust, and that means that you’ll attack the first person that your eyes land on, even if it’s a friend or a family member. You won’t be able to tell as much when you’re in that state.”

A certain terror mirrored in Yeojin’s eyes. “Have you ever...?”

“I have seen it happen. I haven’t experienced that myself and I’m not the slightest bit interested in knowing what it’s like.” Hyunjin shook her head. “But don’t worry about it. You will not become dangerous if you feed every day. There’s no way.”

“How is Haseul?” Jinsol asked, and Hyunjin understood she wanted to change the subject. “How’s she dealing with this?”

“She’s making an effort, I think. She drove me to school in the morning, like always, and I didn’t notice any differences.”

“Oh, I’m glad.”

“Speaking of which, I should go, it’s getting late and I don’t want my parents asking me where I am.”

“I’ll take you home,” Jinsol said, standing up.

Hyunjin moved to the kitchen and grabbed a few bottles, frowning as she noticed her blood stock was running out.

“Here. This should last for three or four days.” Hyunjin handed her the bag.

“Thank you.” Yeojin bowed at Hyunjin.

“You still have enough for you, right?” Jinsol asked, peeking inside the bag.

“A few, but don’t worry, I’ll stop by Yuta’s tomorrow to get more. Stay safe.” Hyunjin laid a hand on Yeojin’s shoulder and tried to give her a smile, but she knew it came out awkward.

“Heejin is coming tomorrow,” Jinsol said, her tone lower. “I’ll be coming as well, to make sure you don’t go and kill each other, alright?”

“I wouldn’t expect anything else from you.”

Jinsol pinched Hyunjin’s cheek before planting a kiss there, and then left with Yeojin.

A deep sigh escaped Hyunjin’s lips. She waited for the front door to close to walk towards the big glass window. A smile grew on her lips as the moon greeted her, shining so bright in that night’s clear sky. She sat down, crossed leg, and stared at her. It was when it came down to her, and she didn’t know how it took her this long to realize it all made sense.

All the strong emotions, Heejin showing up in her life right on that night. Couldn’t be a mere coincidence. If she had to work with Heejin, so be it. She never doubted her Goddess.

—

“I have a plan,” Jinsol said. “I don’t know if it will work, but it’s the only thing we can try. As I explain, fell free to ask questions or give suggestions.”

Hyunjin crossed her legs and leaned back on her vintage, but incredibly well preserved deep red velvet armchair, petting the arm rest to invite Selene to jump and keep her company. Diana insisted she would lay on the couch instead, close to Heejin, who sat beside Jinsol.

“Go ahead,” Hyunjin said.

“I’m sorry, but you look like a villain in their throne with their cat.” Jinsol snorted. “Why are you being so formal?”

Heejin laughed, and Hyunjin pretended she didn’t feel the warmth crawling under her cheeks. “What do you want me to do, then? Go grab some tea and cookies for you both? Sorry, you ate them all the other day and I don’t exactly have a habit of shopping for groceries.”

“No, but maybe relax?”

“I am relaxed.”

Jinsol rolled her eyes. “As you wish. So, my plan. That vampire mentioned a mission, right? If he had a mission, he had to have someone giving him the mission, which means, there are probably more out there with these... missions. So, we need to find those vampires and find out what they’re up to.”

“Right, and how do we find them, and what do we do if we do indeed find one?” Hyunjin asked, her hand buried in Selene’s black fur.

“Here comes the acting. When we manage to find some vampires in action, you two will come in and try to throw them off guard.”

“I’m no actress.” Hyunjin frowned.

“Hear me out first,” Jinsol said. “You two will get close to said vampire, and you, Heejin," Jinsol turned to her, and Heejin blinked. “will attack Hyunjin.”

“What?!” Hyunjin leaned forward so fast she scared Selene away. “Why does she have to attack me? And what am I supposed to do?”

“Let me explain, for ’s sake!” Jinsol clicked her tongue. “Heejin will attack you, you will run away from her, in the direction of the vampire. With that, you’ll be asking for help, because you’re being chased by a slayer-”

“Oh, please, me, running away from a slayer like her?”

Jinsol pinched her leg, so hard it made Hyunjin hiss, and Heejin was visibly biting back another laugh. “If you interrupt me again to whine about my plan, I will walk out of this house and leave you two to murder each other.”

“Thanks!” Hyunjin chirped. “That’s actually a good ide-” Jinsol’s glare was enough to hut Hyunjin up. “Okay, sorry, go on.”

“As I was saying, when Heejin is chasing you, and you running away from her in the direction of the vampire, that vampire will jump in to help, not because you were running away and asking for help, but because Heejin’s a slayer. So, no matter who that vampire is, they will intervene.”

“And then?” Hyunjin said, fighting her hardest not to say anything else about that plan of hers.

“And then Heejin will be against two, so she will retreat, and her job will be done. The rest, will be up to you, Hyunjin.”

“What makes you think they would intervene to help me? What even makes you think they wouldn’t jump at Heejin and chase her? This is not a plan, it’s a death wish. We’re taking a shot in the dark.”

“None of us have any idea what they actually want. What we do know is that his mission somehow involved turning Yeojin from a human to a vampire. If that’s what it was all about, he will indeed try to chase after Heejin. That’s why it helps to have both a human and a vampire. By luring them into this situation, we have a chance of scouting out their intentions.”

“Sounds fine to me,” Heejin said. “It’s the best we have at the moment.”

“Of course it does, you’ll be chasing and attacking me! That’s literally your job.” Hyunjin crossed her arms.

Jinsol ignored her, sighed, and continued. “You’ll hide your true abilities and strength, because let’s be real, a vampire like you would have no reason to run away from Heejin. I’m not saying you’re weak, but she’s really, really strong.”

Hyunjin raised her chin, expecting something from Heejin, but she only nodded. Wasn’t she supposed to fight back?

“The actress Hyunjin will be like a weak, lost vampire, who is hungry and was just trying to find a prey, but was almost killed by a slayer.”

“And what makes you be so sure that anyone would give a crap about me?” Hyunjin asked.

“I’ve been thinking about reasons why a vampire would turn a person and just... let them be. It doesn’t make sense, and Yeojin was the second case that I got in the precinct, like, someone that was attacked and woke up turned. There must be more to that mission of them, but it failed. If they’re transforming people, they must have somewhere to take them, or else it wouldn’t be a mission. They would be random vampires turning people for no apparent reason. There has to be a reason.”

Hyunjin rested her chin on her palm, drumming her fingers on her cheek. “But maybe they’re only interested in turning people for the sake of it, not because they need vampire numbers for whatever they’re planning.”

“Maybe. But we have to take a risk and find out for ourselves,” Jinsol said.

“If there is indeed something going on, like vampires turning people and collecting them, wouldn’t my organization already have found about it?” Heejin asked.

“If there isn’t a weird pattern you could catch on to, not really,” Jinsol said. “If that vampire didn’t mention this mission, you wouldn’t have suspected anything, right, Hyunjin?”

“Yeah, I guess. I would have assumed it was just a rogue vampire hunting for his dinner. So, if this all works out, I will end up right where whatever’s going on is happening. What if it does not work?”

Jinsol shrugged. “There’s really nothing else we can try, is there? If it doesn’t work, we’ll just try something else. We never know what can happen, who you can come across, what you can learn with this.”

“When do we start?” Heejin asked.

“First, we need to find a vampire in action. Just like you two were after that one the night before yesterday. I’ll do my job as I always do, and I’ll ask you two to do the same. When we have a lead, we’ll act on it.”

“But, Jinsol,” Hyunjin said. “Even if this all goes well, what then? What am I supposed to do if I really get there? Wherever or whatever it might be.”

“There’s no way to know what you’ll find, so we can’t think that far. I’ll just trust you and your judgment on what’s the best to do when the time comes.”

Silence reigned over for a few seconds.

“If you’ll excuse me, I’ll go to the toilet.” Jinsol stood up. “Don’t kill each other while I’m not here.”

It was the first time Hyunjin was entirely alone with Heejin, and sure the atmosphere was tense. If felt like she had so much to say, but nothing at the same time.

“You better not take advantage of this and go overboard while chasing me,” was what Hyunjin ended up saying.

“As if I would throw the plan away for that stupid reason. Now you, you better act like you’re supposed to, and not let your pride get in the way.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Someone was quite upset they had to play a weakling and be bested by a slayer.”

“As if that would actually happen in real life.”

“That’s why I’m saying, don’t let your pride get in the way.” Heejin smirked, petting Diana, who still laid beside her.

Hyunjin clenched her jaw, and her fists curled into balls, her nails digging into her palms. Heejin was doing it on purpose, and Hyunjin should know better than to answer her.

“I don’t need to prove anything to you. You heard Jinsol. A vampire like me would never have to run from you.”

“That’s okay, I know you are strong. I have learned to never underestimate a vampire.”

And for some reason, the fact that Heejin was accepting and acknowledging it so easily and without fighting back was pissing her even more.

“Wow, you are not clawing at each other’s throats!” Jinsol said, returning from the toilet. “I’m proud of you. Heejin, you hungry? I feel like ordering some food. How about we have dinner, and deepen even more out bond over food?”

Hyunjin clicked her tongue and leaned forward to fetch the tv remote from the coffee table. “Whatever, do what you want.”

“Thank you, but I think I’ll pass. I should head back to the headquarters, I don’t want to give them any reason to suspect me.” Heejin stood up.

“Awn, alright, but next time make sure to come with a bit more time! Oh, and we should exchange numbers, so we can talk if something new comes up,” Jinsol said, reaching for her phone in her pocket. “Hyunjin, you too.”

“Just give her my number, and then text me hers,” Hyunjin said, without taking her eyes off the cooking show.

Jinsol’s sigh was still audible to Hyunjin, but she ignored it.

“I’ll be going, then. I’ll be waiting for news, and if I find something, I’ll let you know,” Heejin said.

“Thank you. Do you want a ride?” Jinsol asked.

“No, it’s okay. It’s better if I go alone, but thank you. Bye bye, Diana.”

Hyunjin stared at Heejin petting Diana’s head, the cat leaning her head towards Heejin’s touch, asking for more petting.

Their eyes met, but Hyunjin didn’t break the stare.

“Bye, Hyunjin.”

“B-Bye.”

Now Hyunjin did return her eyes to the tv, but still spotting Heejin bow at Jinsol and walk towards the door from the corner of her eyes.

Why was she surprised that Heejin said bye? Did she expect her to leave without... a word?

Yeah, maybe. That was why she stuttered.

“Tsundere,” Jinsol said, plopping down in the couch again.

Hyunjin pretended she didn’t hear it.

---

A/N: A bit of info about how the vampires work, and, was that just a tiiiiiiiiiny bit of improvement? ^-^

I made a fanart of my fav scene from the previous chapter, if you wanna check it out, do it here!

Look forward to the next chapter, a new character will make her first appearance!