Tuesday was back, as were the students who had gone home to spend the weekend with their families, and the girls were all in class except for one: Chaeyoung.

Mina had simply answered her friends' worried questions with simple sentences, implying that her girlfriend was not well but that she was not too bad.

However, it was Professor Min who broke the news to his students "good morning girls, I hope your rest days have been helpful to have some fun. I have to give you some not very pleasant news, so I would like your full attention" he waited that they were all ready to listen before opening his mouths "there was an attack inside the campus and, unlike the other times, the author was a vampire with red eyes and a mind out of control. The empty desk is such because your friend needs some time to get used to her new vampire status, she has been transformed"

"You are kidding, I hope" Nayeon froze, feeling herself seething with anger "how did that bastard walk into our school and act undisturbed?"

"We don't know, the cameras went off inexplicably during his presence here. We only know that his body was found torn apart in an alley near the main gate"

Jihyo had looked at Momo "did you know?"

The brunette simply shook her head, noticing the tension in the shoulders of some of her classmates "but they did and they didn't tell us anything"

"It was Chae's decision, get that annoyed look off your face" Dahyun was turning an empty vial in her hands to keep herself busy "she didn't want to worry you during your days off and we respected her wishes"

"How is she now?" it was Tzuyu who spoke, keeping her voice very low.

"She is stable, but she has to feed often and practice simple actions like walking or grabbing objects" the professor was as sorry as the girls "vampires can visit her if they want, but I have to ask you humans to stay away from her until she will be used to the smell of blood"

Jeongyeon seemed thoughtful "on the night of her transformation she was perfectly able to control herself in Mina's presence and in my opinion you are hurting her in this way. Keeping her away from the people she loves will not improve her condition, she needs support and love"

The man sighed "I agree with your words, but we cannot put our students and Chaeyoung's mental stability at risk. If she were to kill someone the emotional burden would demolish her completely, making her dangerous for herself and for others"

None of them wanted to reply anymore and they just thought of possible solutions during the short breaks between one lesson and another.

There were just two hours left of the school day and it was time for hand-to-hand combat. The couples' decision was always haphazard and often disadvantageous for some, but none of them had ever backed down from a challenge and the same thing happened that day.

It had been easy for Nayeon to knock Mina to the ground and it was the same for Dahyun in regard to Jihyo. Sana and Tzuyu were almost equal, as were Momo and Jeongyeon.

The latter two had opted for an approach that did not leave time to rest, unaware of the disadvantage in which the hybrid found herself. In fact Momo, after being landed, was unable to get up.

"Are you all right? Are you feeling weak because you haven't fed?" the pureblood had lowered beside her to push the bangs off her forehead "I don't believe it, you're even sweating"

"I'm not feeling very well, can you take me to the bathroom?" she clamped tightly, removing her hand as soon as Jeongyeon had placed her on her knees in front of the toilet.

The other girl had stayed with her to keep her hair "man, you're the first vampire I see throwing up blood. Did you drink holy water again?"

"No, I shared a vial with Dahyun" she let go backwards, basking in the warmth emanating from her friend and closing her eyes.

"So what's wrong?" Jeongyeon's arms were strong but gentle around the body of the hybrid "you can tell me if there's anything"

Momo, despite the pain she was feeling, had never felt so good "don't leave me, it's nice to be like this"

"You're delirious and this is even weirder, I'm taking you home" she picked her up in her arms, walking effortlessly to the gym to alert the professor and ask Dahyun for the code to open the door to their apartment.

Arriving at their destination the first stop was the bathroom "take a shower and then brush your teeth, you stink of blood gone bad"

"You can't ask me, I'm too tired and I can't even think right now"

"Don't blame the tiredness, you are not able to think even when you are in great shape. Come on, I'll help you"

Momo let herself undress without making a fuss, clinging to her with both arms "do you think I am pretty?"

"What kind of question is this? Get in the shower" she pushed lightly, sighing "don't let me lose my temper" she pushed her in, struggling not to stare where she shouldn't.

The hybrid had made up her mind to listen to what she was being asked to do and turned her back to have her back soaped, but it was at that moment that Jeongyeon's hand had stopped in midair, heedless of the slipping foam along her arm.

"What is this?" she had pointed her finger at a precise point on her back, tracing that strange drawing with curiosity "I didn't know you had tattoos, you don't look like the type"

"In fact, I don't have any, I like them on others but not on me"

The pureblood paused again to look at that symbol, remembering seeing something similar on Nayeon's shoulder. She tried as much as possible to reconstruct the image of her in her mind and make a comparison, feeling a hollow in the stomach "tell me the truth.. did something happen between you and Nayeon?"

"Are there still the marks of her bites? I told her not to overdo it, but I guess it's impossible to be careful when she's too into "

Jeongyeon was confused and could almost hear a sound of gears in her brain "there is something wrong, you can't pass a tattoo while having "

"Don't get mad, I thought a lot about you" Momo had stopped giving her back to take her face in her hands "I would have preferred to spend the night with you"

As much as that statement had made her heart beat faster, the pureblood did not lose her impassive gaze "if you didn't want to sleep with her then tell me why you did. Tell me or I won't believe your words" her tone of was voice harder than usual, taking advantage of the physical and mental weakness of the other girl.

"I.. I don't know. I wanted it at that moment, but then the desire disappeared completely"

After that revelation Jeongyeon rushed to help Momo finish the shower and brush her teeth, taking her to bed and covering her carefully. She waited patiently to be alone to reflect on what had happened.

"Nayeon had the same symbol and she refused to let me approach her, while for Momo it was the opposite. What could that mean?" she had made a little pattern on a piece of paper, on which she had marked the latest strange happenings concerning the two vampires and had drawn the symbol she had seen on both of them.

She was distracted by the words Momo had said to her, feeling deeply moved. In recent times she had been very interested in the hybrid, to the point of being able to define herself at least infatuated, and the thought of being able to be reciprocated had caused her brain to completely shut down, leading her to get into bed with the brunette to hug her.

Nayeon had asked Tzuyu to be together in the afternoon, intending to tell her about some events of the last few days. The human's room was becoming more and more welcoming to the pureblood, to the point of having regarded it as her safe place in the world.

"What did you want to talk to me about? I hope nothing serious happened over the weekend" she sounded worried.

"What I have to tell you isn't necessarily bad from my point of view, but I don't know how you could take the news and that's why I'm a little fearful"

"Just tell me, whatever it is we can solve it together"

Do you remember the message where I wrote that I was going to have a drink at a vampire bar? I bumped into Momo that night and we drank together for a while. As you know, I find it hard to hold back when it comes to having and, also taken by the euphoria given by the alcohol I had ingested, I suggested that we spend the night together in my hotel room. She was drunk too and accepted"

Tzuyu had to resort to a full minute of silence to assimilate what she was told "you and Momo have had , am I right?"

"It went just like that" Nayeon felt the urge to take her hand, but the fear of receiving a negative reaction prevented her from doing so.

"Did you like it? Well.. Was it better than what we usually do?" she had her head down.

The pureblood took courage, sitting down next to her girlfriend "it wasn't bad, but at the center of my thoughts there was only you. I don't know how to explain it without sounding like a horrible person, but I saw you and I felt like I was drinking your blood all the time"

"You also bit her, I understand"

"You have every right to be angry and I will accept any decision you want to make without saying a word, I promise"

"I'm not angry, I'm just so jealous" she was looking into her eyes "I thought we belonged to each other, but I see that it's not like that for you and this hurts me"

Nayeon's hands grasped Tzuyu's gently "I love you, I really mean it. I know that what I did with Momo is not well seen from the point of view of humans, but I assure you it had no meaning either for me or for her.. We used each other, we were a replacement because I wanted you and she wanted to be kissed and loved by another person"

"I know you are sincere, but I confess that I would have preferred not to know about this, however I appreciate that you wanted to tell me the truth. Also I know that for a vampire everything is different and that the weight of things is not the same, so I will need just a little time to process what happened. I'm not leaving you, but if I had to behave in a slightly unusual way it would be for this and I prefer to let you know"

"Take your time, I won't rush you. Do you want me to leave you alone?"

"No, today I feel good and I would like to feel loved. Would you like to?"

Nayeon smiled "I always want to please you"

"I am really sorry for Chae and I hope she can adjust as soon as possible, I must also admit I missed her idiotic questions today" Sana was finishing writing in the notebook, concentrating perfectly on both the conversation and the homework she had promised herself to finish.

Dahyun was lying on the bed with her eyes closed and her hands clasped "I hope so too, you should have seen the pain in her eyes when she realized she had been drinking blood. It was a horrible scene"

"I can only imagine the pain she felt and she is feeling, but I know that she is a tough girl and that she will be able to overcome this obstacle" she closed the notebook and looked at her girlfriend "tell me why you put yourself that way"

"I'm trying to recreate the image humans have of vampires"

"You're wrong because humans have their hands together, you vampires have your arms crossed over your chest, like this" she joined her on the bed, making sure that the vampire's arms were in the right position "now all you need is the coffin"

The younger smiled before opening her eyes "I gladly do without it, my bed is definitely more comfortable than a horrible pile of wood"

"What a bad way to describe things" Sana leaned over to give her a light kiss on her lips "I have to go, curfew is coming soon"

"You can stay here and sleep with me, you know"

"I don't want to leave Jihyo alone all night, today she got very scared and honestly I would like to be close to Mina and Tzuyu too, you never know"

"Okay, it's probably for the best and I'll have to take care of Momo, Jeongyeon said she was pretty sick today" she gave her another kiss before getting up and walking her to the front door "thanks for keeping me company, I appreciated it very much"

Sana opened the door, winking at her girlfriend before leaving the apartment. She waited a few seconds before walking in the opposite path from the one she would have had to take to get to the dormitory, reaching the statue of Count Dracula.

She had stopped in front of it, keeping her back straight and her hands at her sides "did you ask to see me?"

"You finally arrived, I thought our guardians had taught you to answer calls immediately" a boy with western features and blue eyes had nimbly descended from the imposing statue, landing without making a sound "what held you back for so long?"

"It is not easy to stay relaxed in the company of vampires, you are aware of the difficulty of my mission"

A brief nod was the only response to that statement "okay, then tell me how it goes"

"One of the humans in my class has been turned into a vampire and is currently in isolation, while the others are fine. As for vampires, there is a hybrid that has strange symptoms, but otherwise there is nothing to report"

"And the vampire we told you to subdue? What about her?"

Sana found it difficult to swallow, but was able to uncover her neck to show the patch that covered the small holes made by her girlfriend's fangs "she drinks my blood very regularly and is often in trouble when I have to get away from her"

The boy smiled satisfied "great job, keep it up and, when she is perfectly tamed, take her home for the experiments. There are not many vampires like her and as you know they are indomitable, but we need them to eliminate this threat. We must protect our fellow men at any cost"

"I am aware of it and I am doing my best. She will soon be mine, the manipulation of the blood is going very well"

"I'll report it to our tutors, the meeting ends here" he climbed the statue effortlessly, jumping across the wall that divided the school from the outside world.

The blonde allowed herself to release the air she had been holding, turning to go to her room and taking a few steps. She stopped almost immediately because of a slight noise.

Dahyun appeared from behind a tree, displaying a flannel and a notebook, as well as her tear-filled eyes "you forgot these in my apartment"

"Dahyun, what did you hear?"

"I've heard everything, you are a Hunter and you are making fun of me, as well as making fun of the people who have learned to love you"

"The things I've said are only partially true, my feelings for you are real, you have to believe me" she took a step forward to reach her.

The vampire's hands dropped the objects they were holding to the ground "don't come near, I don't even want to see your face. It seemed strange to me that you had taken a different route to reach the dorms, but now I understand many things"

"I was forced by my guardians and I admit I didn't have good intentions in the beginning, but then it changed everything and I realized I love you. I'm pretending I'm still on the side of the Hunters to keep them from doing anything to you or the others, I'm trying to buy some time to keep you all safe"

"Bull, if you had wanted to protect all of us you would have revealed yourself for who you are, without pretending to be any human eager to get stronger" she sniffed, wiping her tears quickly with her hands "you disgust me"

Those words were like knives planted in the flesh for Sana, but she didn't want to give up "I was wrong to lie and I am perfectly aware of it, but I never thought I could fall in love with you and when things got serious between us I was afraid to lose you"

"I would have accepted it, I would have overcome the shock of falling in love with a Hunter and I would have moved on. I would have continued to love you, but you have chosen to deceive me and bind me to you through your blood" wipe away the tears that slipped on her face became impossible for Dahyun, as was maintaining a detached tone of voice "I shouldn't have trusted you"

The human had taken a few more steps, stopping in front of the person she loved "Dahyun, please believe me. I've had countless opportunities to take you away or to kill you and I never did"

"That time in the park, when you grabbed me by the neck, did you have the urge to kill me? Tell me the truth, no more lies"

"Yes, my instincts told me to kill you"

"Now everything is much clearer" she was looking at the ground so as not to be pathetic "stay away from me and don't dare even think about hurting our friends. I won't say anything because dropping your horrible mask is not up to me, but if you try to get close I will scream at the rooftops" she turned her heel to leave, getting annoyed when Sana's hands had taken her wrists "don't touch me, you damned vampire hunter"

The nastiness with which Dahyun had uttered the last sentence had convinced the human to do what she was told, starting to cry silently as soon as she was left alone.