It was Sunday again and Mina, in order to pass the time quickly and to keep her hands busy, had started cleaning the room with extreme care. However, despite her efforts to do everything with studied slowness, the hands of the clock had moved very little and it had taken her less than an hour to do everything.

She threw herself heavily on the bed with her face pressed against the pillow of her girlfriend "It's been a week already, your absence is starting to get unbearable"

After saying that sentence a continuous noise distracted her from her depressing thoughts, prompting her to get up with annoyance to open the window, ready to scream at the idiot who had disturbed her.

No sound came out of , she was frozen in place by the sight of the girl crouched on the small windowsill. Chaeyoung was smiling and looking healthier than ever "can I come in? If you're afraid to be alone with me I'll wait for you at the park"

The human shook her head before grabbing the shorter's shirt to pull her inside "don't be ridiculous, I could never be afraid of you, but I'm surprised to see you here"

"Professor Min, in agreement with the school staff who took care of making me adapt to my new condition, said that I am perfectly capable of controlling myself and that I am a prodigy. Becoming a vampire was my destiny, it is as if I were born to be like this"

"Are you sure you're okay? Is something hurting you?" Mina's eyes had focused on her girl's neck, where she herself had been able to see the deep wounds caused by the vampire's fangs that had transformed her.

Chaeyoung kissed her tenderly on the lips, smiling again "I've never been better, I'm serious. My throat doesn't even burn and I already know how to handle the blood that is provided to me. My diet is perfectly balanced and my instincts are under control, I would say that there are no problems"

"Welcome back then, I missed you so much" they hugged, rocking slightly and remaining silent for a while, both too excited to speak.

The vampire took her arms from the girl's waist to be able to sit on the bed "I also missed our little home, the room they gave me was cozy, but only here I can feel at home"

"Did they already tell you when you will stop getting old?"

"Exactly in three years, I'm a common vampire who gets stuck from aging after turning twenty-five" she was looking at her seriously, highlighting a new trait of herself: her usual cheerfulness, easily mistaken for stupidity, was greatly attenuated and her slouching posture had become perfect and elegant.

"I see"

"Are you afraid to know that we won't grow old together?"

Mina bit the inside of her cheeks "a little, but that won't stop me from being with you"

"I guess I'm the only one terrified at the thought of losing the person I love. I would like to be with you forever"

"This is not possible for humans, you know" she had walked over to kiss her on the forehead.

Chaeyoung had pushed her onto the bed at an impressive speed, taking advantage of the moment of dismay to get on top of her "there would be a way, but I would never force you to change for me"

Mina's hands had sought the vampire's face "I still have three years to think about it, if you like to give me some time"

"I have all the time in the world and I'm not afraid of waiting" she was smiling "I already know you'll be mine, I feel it"

"Now you're being braggart"

"No, I'm just telling the truth. I feel everything in an almost exaggerated way and I have the certainty that we will never leave each other, that our love will be stronger than anything else"

Mina's smile had never been more sincere "I'm interested, you know? I would like to know what you have in mind for us"

"It will be a surprise, but I already know what we could do in the near future" she was smiling mischievously and her fingers were already directed to a specific point "do you trust me? I swear I'm not going to stick to your neck"

The human was blushing and the accelerated beats of her heart had not gone unnoticed in Chaeyoung's attentive ears "I blindly trust the person I love"

Nayeon stood in front of the bathroom mirror, her hands clenched on the cold sink and her wet hair on her "how did I forget the monthly tests to check my mental state? The professor scolded me for half an hour"

A light hand was steady on her shoulder "it wasn't your fault, with everything going on it's natural to forget some things. You should relax a little or you'll go crazy"

"I know, I swear I know, but I can't help but feel confused at any time of the day and I'm also sure I've forgotten many other things" her eyes had lost the light that had always characterized them and seemed empty, as if they could no longer contain all the images that the vampire snapped blinking.

Tzuyu had taken the brush and was devoting her attention to her girlfriend's hair, combing it gently in order to make her relax "I think you need to rest properly, you are not sleeping much lately and I'm worried about you"

"I'm sorry, I don't want to worry you" having her hair brushed had a calming power over her and she was already feeling better "you have your problems to think about and you don't have to take on mine too"

"I'm your girlfriend, remember? I have every right to worry about you and be close to you, just like you do with me. I don't accept any objection, today I'll take care of you"

The vampire had not objected and she had let the taller to dry her hair, as well as allowing to drag her to bed. Taking a shower and throwing yourself into the freshly changed sheets could be a priceless feeling even for those who can live forever, and Nayeon was no exception.

"Are you feeling a little better?" Tzuyu's tone of voice had been deliberately low in order not to interrupt that moment of tranquility.

"I have to say yes, I obviously needed some cuddles" she huddled next to her, allowing herself the luxury of closing her eyes "Tzu, I realized that we have never talked about our life outside of this school"

"You're right, we're really bad" she smiled amused, starting to play with the older's hair "is there anything in particular you would like to know about me?"

Nayeon seemed undecided about the questions to ask: she didn't want to ask too many things, but still felt unable to choose among the string of requests that had come to her mind "how about we talk about what we want and ask questions only when we feel like to know more about a certain thing?"

The human seemed satisfied and she smiled again "it seems perfect and much less stressful"

"So I start" her eyes were open again "in my family there are four of us and no, I don't have a brother or a sister, but a grandmother who seems younger than me and who, despite her human age is eighty years, looks younger than me. Unfortunately she suffered a severe head injury during a fight and her personality varies from day to day"

"I was convinced that vampires were able to completely heal from their wounds"

"That's right, but as there are exceptions regarding aging there are others too and my grandmother's condition is one of them. For me it's like having an older sister and I don't mind at all, but my mother has suffered a lot the loss of her only parental figure"

Tzuyu looked sad "I'm so sorry, but I guess you're relieved not to have lost her completely"

"We can't complain because we were very lucky" she kissed her nose "what about your family?"

"It is quite numerous and very different from yours, we are not tied by love and everyone goes where it suits them. We have a hierarchy and I am the most important member among those left and my relatives only approach me when they need something; in short, I don't know what it means to have a real family"

Nayeon sat cross-legged, showing anger and sadness at the same time "if I had known about your suffering I would never have asked you to start this topic, I'm sorry"

"You don't have to be sorry, it's neither hot nor cold to me. I usually laugh about it and imagine myself as the boss of my personal hell, it makes things less ugly and makes me feel in control of my destiny"

"You have a fantastic way of thinking, how do you imagine your hell? Is it like Dante's?" the vampire had decided to divert the conversation, taking an interest in the singular way in which her girlfriend dealt with her suffering.

Tzuyu smiled, showing the adorable dimple on her cheek "you caught me, I got inspiration from him"

"I know you well and you are not a person inclined to imagine things that do not exist or of which you cannot ascertain their existence, so I assumed that you were inspired by something else" 

"You're right in saying that I don't know how to invent things, but I have a lot of imagination in a certain area" her cheerful gaze had turned to mischievous "I could share some with you, if you like the idea"

"You already know that I'm very interested in knowing what's on your mind, it's for science"

The human let out a short laugh "for science, we all believe it"

"I told the truth, I love learning new things that could be useful to save the world" Nayeon made the gesture of adjusting the glasses she was not wearing "see? I'm a nerd"

"Stop saying nonsense and let me kiss you, you stupid vampire" she had whispered softly on her lips before putting into action what she had thought about earlier.

The malaise that Momo had had throughout the week had subsided a lot and the vampire had resumed going out in the afternoon, even if in that case she had left her apartment to stay comfortably in Jihyo's room.

There wasn't even a hint of embarrassment between the two girls and it had been easy to bond like two friends, with no regrets about the relationship they'd had before.

"I would like to have a nice house near the sea, possibly two floors, a husband or wife who loves me and children running around everywhere" Jihyo had begun to fantasize, showing such enthusiasm that it made it contagious.

"You forgot to mention you would like a red cat so you can call him Garfield"

"You had a brilliant idea to say the least, I absolutely have to adopt one and make it fat enough to be worthy of his name. Can you picture me with a giant cat asleep on my legs?"

Momo had rested the chin on her fist, staring at her friend "I have to say no, but I can imagine you with a baby in your arms and your usual toothy smile"

The smile just mentioned by the hybrid had appeared on the face of the human, who was striving to have the same image imprinted on her mind "I would very much like to have a family to love until the end of my days, I want nothing else. My parents have never been affectionate and I wish I could give all the love I've had to repress all these years; do you think it's a stupid dream?"

"Absolutely not, it's beautiful" Momo replied sincerely "we all have at least one goal in mind and, as foolish as some may seem to us, we have no right to judge the wishes of others"

"I agree with you, we are all different and that's okay" she was lying on the bed and she was looking at the ceiling "what would you like?"

"I'd like to keep in touch with all of you"

Jihyo had remained silent, so surprised by that answer that she felt her heart skip a beat "I don't know what the others will decide to do after graduation, but I want to have you as my children's aunt and this means that you will never lose me. I intend to grow old, but until then you can count on me and my friendship"

"Really? Aren't you going to run away to a place where vampires aren't allowed?"

"I won't, the only people I want to stay away from are my parents"

The vampire had looked at her curiously "about them.. You confessed to me that vampires had exterminated your family, but now and last week you mentioned your parents and I feel a little confused about it"

"I have been adopted by very strict people who have never considered me part of their family. I do not consider them as my parents, but legally they are and it is easier to name them as such than to give explanations every single time I talk about them" she replied without any hesitation, without stopping to pull a little skin on the thumb of her right hand "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, I don't consider it an important topic"

"You don't have to apologize because it's nowhere written that you have to tell me everything about you, but I really appreciate your sincerity and I feel a strong disgust for those two idiots. The way they treat you is absurd"

"By now I'm used to it and at least I know what I will never have to do with my children, I want to be a loving and present mother"

They had remained silent for a few minutes, both immersed in their thoughts, and it was the vampire who interrupted it, suddenly shy "I have to ask you a request that might seem indecent, but I swear I have no ulterior motives"

Jihyo's attention was totally on the brunette "tell me" 

Momo stood up and took off her shirt without warning, leaving the human with wide eyes in surprise "it's not what you think, look at my back and tell me what you see" she turned her back to her, feeling a little tense.

"You have chosen a very.. Singular tattoo" she stood up to take a better look at it "didn't you say you wanted a body devoid of ink? Maybe I misinterpreted your words"

"It's not a tattoo and I'm pretty sure about that, but I can't explain what it's doing on my back. Could you tell me what it's like?"

"How do you not know what shape it is? Didn't you look in the mirror?"

"No, I was afraid"

Jihyo had pursed her lips, visibly confused "how do you know you have something on your back if you haven't checked yourself?"

"It was Jeongyeon who made me notice" she had said it in a low voice.

"And how did Jeongyeon see this particular symbol perfectly located in the center of your beautiful and always hidden back?" there was malice in her words, much malice.

Momo felt strangely shy "do you remember when I was sick and she took me home? I smelled awful and she helped me take a shower. It was at that moment that I knew I had something on my back"

"Okay, I'll pretend to believe it and I'll just tell you how it's done. Stay still, I'll try to draw it" she took a pen and paper on her desk, trying to best represent the subject of their discussion: it was a simple black circle, but the peculiarity was given by the brambles that were around it.

They watched it together for a long time, failing to understand what it was and giving up in frustration. The vampire felt tired "I can't take it anymore, now it's a succession of strange and incomprehensible events"

"Look on the bright side: it looks a little faded and that means it will go away from your skin sooner or later. I have no idea what that could be, but I think a temporary back tattoo is the least of your problems"

"You're right, maybe I should stop thinking about it and go to sleep"

"You could go to Jeongyeon, you know?"

"That's out of the question" she was already at the door that led to the dorm hall.

Jihyo was sorry "why don't you want to? You like her and she probably likes you, I don't see the problem"

"There is nothing between me and her, she is definitely in love with Nayeon and frankly I don't think I can compete with her. In any way" she opened the door, turning to smile at her friend "it was nice to spend the afternoon together with you, next time I'll be the one to invite you. See you tomorrow to study together"

A few minutes later the door was opened again and it was Sana who entered: she had her head down and she seemed to want to cry.

"Are you okay? Did something bad happen?"

"Nothing you don't already know" she threw herself into the chair next to her roommate's desk.

"May I know why Dahyun broke up with you? There must be a reason"

The blonde had turned her back to rest her elbows on the wood and not to be seen in the face by her friend "let's say that she discovered some things I had omitted"

"I guess she didn't like it for ignoring you, she's too good a person to do that"

"Yeah, I deserved it" her gaze shifted to a slightly crumpled paper. She took it in her hands to better see what was drawn on it, instantly shivering "whose is this sheet?"

Jihyo calmly replied "Momo has a temporary tattoo on her back and she asked me to draw it for her to see, I guess she was so drunk she forgot she had it done" she was amused by the situation.

Sana, unlike the other girl, had her gaze fixed on that apparently harmless drawing, well aware of its meaning.

~~~

This chapter is a cross between past events and those that will happen in the next chapters. Now it's just a little while and a more "quiet" break was needed before starting the steep descent of events.