[A/N]

I just want to let you guys know that this chapter was edited by @DripDropBlop of SMTown_SNSD.
All credits for editing goes to him. *clap clap clap!*
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Because I'll always be waiting for Bryan's edit, it might take a while posting the next chapters. But don't worry, that'd be fine, right?
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“So you’re on the list?” Yuri asked Seohyun. She was putting on her makeup after donning a glamorous glittery dress that she accentuated her slender frame and picture-perfect curves.

“I actually thought of skipping the games this time but I changed my mind.” Seohyun replied. “Maybe I could visit my parents’ grave and run away after,” she added, giving a light chuckle.

Yuri knew how Seohyun was hurting after her parents died; even now she would still occasionally miss having them around and wondered what it would be like if she still had them. 

“You can never run away, I’ll chase you to death if you do.” Yuri said after checking on her eyelashes. They shared a soft laugh as Seohyun stood up from her chair.

“Where are you going?”

“I’ll go hunt, I shouldn’t be thirsty later.” The maknae replied as she tied up her hair.

“You’ll be there later, right?”

“Yes, we’ll all be there. But I’ll be a little late.” Yuri answered as she leaned her back on the dresser.

“Why did you skip the game?” Seohyun asked, “Dating schedules?”

“I have a dinner date, so yeah… I’ll be missing the first part of the competition.” Yuri answered.

“I think the others registered as well though, it should be exciting.”

“I should be thankful no one will outrun me later.” Seohyun winked playfully at her sister before leaving the room.

The vampire went hunting by herself in the middle of the day. She was being very cautious; after all, like what Krystal had said, there might be humans around at time of the day. She was walking amongst the towering trees when she heard the rustle of dried leaves on the ground being stepped on.

Seohyun stopped in her tracks. Something was not right; someone was following her.

Without a second thought, she quickly jumped to one of the trees’ branch and looked down. No one was there. She sighed in relief as jumped down again from the branch but an imposing figure blocked her path as she started to move forward.

It startled her so much that it almost started her stone heart.

“Kyuhyun-seongsaengnim.” Seohyun mumbled at the sight of her mentor. Kyuhyun’s eyes were gleaming in a sapphire blue hue. All the Super Junior members have sapphire blue eyes when they shine, as a mark of being mentors. It represented authority over the other vampires. Leeteuk, though, had light gold sparkle in his eyes with the sapphire blue still dominant. It was symbolic of the superior strength he possessed over the other mentor. His superiority in physical terms however, was less apparent as Kyuhyun and Heechul had the most wits and were very competitive which led to the misconception of their powers.

“You are not supposed to hunt when the sun is up, I’m sure you know that.” Kyuhyun said in a serious tone.

“Humans could see you and we all know the consequences of that.”

Seohyun swallowed, looking down in respect to her mentor. She knew, more than others, the risks of being caught out by mortals.

“I-I’m sorry. I thought of preparing for tonight’s mock battle games…”

“Look at me.” Kyuhyun said, Seohyun slowly looked up at him expecting a punishment or a never-ending lecture from her mentor. “Your expression is always so precious when I trick you.”

The playful mentor burst into laughter.

Seohyun made a face and hit her mentor’s arm. “Yah~! That is so not funny!!!”

Kyuhyun held onto his abdomen, still trying catching his breath from laughter. “You never fail to amaze me,” he tried to it with a straight face. But he ended up bursting into another fit of laughter.

“What a childish mentor.” Seohyun sighed as she started walking along the woods again when somebody calling out her mentor’s name from afar. She looked towards the direction of the sound and she saw Taemin holding two dead deer with his bare hands.

“Seonsaeng-nim! I’ve got two!” Taemin ran towards Kyuhyun.

Seohyun’s eyes widened in surprise, “You asked your student to catch deers for you?!”

Kyuhyun slyly smiled, “Well isn’t that nice of him? You never gave me anything as a gratitude for being a good mentor to you.”

“You never fail in tricking us…Do you get a kick out of doing it or something?” Seohyun shook her head.

“Well, actually, I rewarded a hunt for Taemin.” Kyuhyun said making Seohyun walk back towards her mentor. “This little boy is joining the event tonight.” He put a hand over Taemin’s shoulder.

Seohyun’s eyes beamed, “Really? That’s great! Congratulations!” She smiled at the grinning teen.

“We just finished our training.” Kyuhyun said, “You can go drink that somewhere. Fill yourself for tonight and get some rest.” He nudged at Taemin who smiled and disappeared. Kyuhyun turned back at Seohyun, “I was preparing him for tonight. I mean I’ve been working a lot harder than usual.”

“Taemin’s a good guy, he’s very sweet and charming. All the noona like him.” Seohyun said and they started walking.

Kyuhyun nodded in agreement, “His reflexes aren’t bad, his fighting skills could be something also. I cannot underestimate him.” Then he sighed, “But his brother, Jonghyun, has joined the event tonight.”

Seohyun’s eye brows furrowed, “Isn’t Jjong eye hue gold—well, his eyes aren’t gold yet but it’s metallic pearlescent ocean blue or whatsoever that is…”

“Yes, he’s the strongest among the SHINee members.” Kyuhyun clenched his fists on his side.

But Seohyun noticed it.

“You’re worried.” Seohyun mumbled. “You shouldn’t be, trust me. All your trainees are good. You’ve worked really hard in training us, we believe in you so you should believe in us in return.” Seohyun patted her mentor’s back.

Kyuhyun sighed again and smiled meekly, “Whether we are humans or vampires, we still either win or lose. We are similar in that way at least.”

“Well let me tell you this,” Seohyun said as she stopped in her tracks and faced her mentor.

“Think of it this way. I might get picked to be the one to battle against Jonghyun. Gwaenchanha? It will be me. I’m pressing on that one.”

“It doesn’t have to be you, just not Taemin. Jjong’s his brother. Even if Taemin’s strong enough to fight Jjong, he will not be able to do so.” Kyuhyun said as they resumed walking, “Let’s hope for the best.”

“If Taemin loses, I’ll do sure to win mine. Don’t worry, you can take my word for it” Seohyun said. After a few moments of silence, she turned to Kyuhyun. “I think I’ll be heading this way.” Seohyun pointed towards the east. “Have to feed before tonight’s game.” She said as Kyuhyun nodded. She made her way towards the other side of the forest to hunt.

After a satisfying hunt, Seohyun stood at the edge of the cliff. The sea was beautiful and the view from where she was just made it all the more breathtaking. At times, she felt that it was unfortunate that only birds can be on top of the beautiful blue oceans. Even as a vampire, she couldn’t be hanging over top anything. She might be able to move extremely fast, but even she could not stay airborne for more than a mere second.

The ocean breeze ran through her entire body. That feeling was blissful, it gave her peace of mind. As her eyes drifted towards the shore, she found a lonely figure brooding into the vast ocean.

“Kris.”

She grew curious and delighted at the same time. What is that stiff vampire doing down there? Without any second thoughts, Seohyun stepped back and then ran as quickly as she can down the cliff.

Kris noticed a presence behind him and he quickly turned around. They made eye contact. Seohyun thought to herself, “If someone came on to me like that, I’d probably tear that person into shreds.”

But Kris wasn’t like that, he seemed almost at ease when he noticed Seohyun behind him.

“What are you doing here?” Kris asked.

“Well I was about to ask you the same.” Seohyun replied, moving towards the water. “I didn’t know it’s so nice down here.” Seohyun felt the wind blows on her hair.

Kris just gazed at her. “I’m trying to free my mind and this place does just that for me.”

Kris had been bothered since Heechul informed him that he enlisted his name for the mock battle for that night. He was all unprepared. And he didn’t like the idea; the return of Jaejoong did not make things any better. It was bothering him too much.

“Free your mind from what?” Seohyun asked but Kris avoided her gaze. It won’t be easy to tell her. “So have you heard about the event tonight?”

Kris nodded. He was being so silent again.

“You should be prepared to watch. Everything that you’ll witness is nerve-wracking. Especially to as new as yourself.” Seohyun said but she noticed Kris wasn’t interested at all. “I-I should go. I must be disturbing your peaceful thought. I’m sorry.”

But before Seohyun move, he spoke. “How about a participant,” Seohyun stopped on her tracks and looked back at Kris. “How does someone registered in the game prepare?”

Seohyun tilted her head slightly, “Your mentor…”

“Teach me.”

Seohyun popped her knuckles. She wasn’t sure why knowing that Kris was included for the games tonight bothered her so much. Maybe because as far as she can remember, newcomers aren’t signed up in such games unless they’re a year or more old in the town.

“Be quick, be alert and make sure you are up for it. Those three things are going to be vital if you are dreaming of coming up on top tonight.” She said. “No one dies from mock battles, they don’t allow that. But it’s a serious competition. You need to focus.” She said.

Kris listened to her well. “Now, try attacking me.” Kris raised his eyebrows. “Never mind, I’ll do it.” Seohyun said, as she then started throwing punches at Kris and using her mobility to shift between various positions.

Kris tried to keep up and to shield himself from the relentless punches he had been receiving from Seohyun. She was incredibly good. She never got tired from attacking Kris, who could only put his arms in front of his face for protection. He soon learned Seohyun’s patterns as he managed to catch Seohyun’s arms. For a second they looked at each other. But in a blink of an eye, Kris was struck down and pinned to the ground.

“Never get distracted.” Seohyun said.

The session continued. Seohyun kept on giving advice to Kris which made Kris admire her for. She could talk and fight at the same time. It was totally surreal. Kris was at all ears while defending himself, but could do nothing to fight back. She was not even panting.

“Is your mentor out of his mind?” Seohyun asked.

“What do you mean?” Kris asked bluntly.

“He shouldn’t have signed you up. I’m pretty much sure your brothers weren’t,” Seohyun sighed and spun Kris around pinning him on the sand once more. “The mock battles are far more brutal than this. Your seniors might take you for granted. They would surely take you lightly.” Seohyun got up and let Kris dust himself off.

“So you think I’d lose?”

Seohyun’s eyes widened, “Of course not! It’s not that.” She’s afraid that her poor junior vampire might get kicked in the so hard by Jonghyun. It’s hard for someone to make an outstanding image. Or not, maybe it’s because she cared. What the hell was she thinking, Kris should not be her concern.

“You should go. There’ll always be some room for improvements but right now, you need to rest.”

Kris’ eye brows cringed, “Are you concerned about me?”

“Let’s say it’s more of a sunbae-hoobae relationship and my belated welcome gift to you.”

She got up walked towards the shore again. But Kris didn’t want to leave or do nothing at the Exo house. He’s not in the mood to play along with his brother’s pranks and games. Well he’s off from any dates as well because he needed the time to prepare for tonight.

“Swimming with shirt and denim pants; seriously now? That’s totally crazy.” Seohyun said as she was walking side by side with Kris on the shore with sunset almost upon them. She was holding her boots by their laces, feeling the softness of the sand brushing against her feet.

“Well whose brilliant idea was it again?” Kris said as he walked beside Seohyun, hair soaked from swimming across the ocean. “It was actually fun. The sea was so refreshing.” He shook his head causing of the water to drip onto Seohyun.

“Yah!!! Stop doing that!” she said, with a little smile on her face, hitting Kris lightly on the arm as they chased each other playfully along the shore.

 “It’s getting late, I should go prepare for tonight. It’s getting a little chilly too.” Seohyun said as the sea breeze blew, she immediately felt chill.

“I’ll see you tonight at the stadium?” She asked, while slowly walking towards the cliff.

“Yes, tonight. I’ll see you there.” Kris said as Seohyun bubbly waved goodbye and ran towards the cliff and all the way up.

Kris watched as she departed from his side, amazed by the grace and intensity in which she moved with. He liked how easy both of them could get along, smiling to himself and he watched the sun set. Maybe this could be considered to his second date with her for the mission they both share unknowingly.

Later that night, the stadium was filled with vampires from all across the town. Everyone was present; even the helpers and the likes. The centre of the stadium was a huge platform, surrounded by a thin glass-like dome. This dome marked the boundaries of the sparring arena and also doubled up as a form of protection both for and against the crowd.

Seohyun was in the locker room tying her hair up. Jessica was actually signed up by Donghae, her mentor. Sunny and Hyoyeon were also there with her in the locker room preparing themselves. Donghae kept on lecturing Jessica but she just nodded at everything he was saying. She was too lazy to even pay attention to her own mentor who was helping her stretch her arms.

The Super Junior mentors were already sitting in their respective seats. In front of them were Yunho and Changmin, sitting on both sides of Lee Soo Man. The competitors for that night were seated across them. Seohyun was sitting beside her sisters—Hyoyeon, Sunny and Jessica while their other sisters were sitting with the crowd. Taemin, Jonghyun and Key were sitting on the bench next to them. The others like f(x)’s Victoria, Luna and Amber were sitting with Kris. His arms were crossed on his chest. They were wondering why there were eleven of them instead of twelve. That could only mean that the last competitor had the freedom of choice in choosing his/her opponent from the crowd.

The most entertaining match was the first one. It was Jessica to faceoff Key. Sica was just standing there on her side. While Key was doing everything he could to put Jessica off. But Sica was uninterested; she even yawned. She was waited lazily for Key to make his move.

The crowd made an ‘ohhhh-ed’ at Sica’s actions at the center of the platform. Key smirked at Sica and made his way to attack the lazy yet stunning lady, but instead, he found himself pinned on the ground in a blink of an eye making and Jessica received yet another round of cheers from the crowd.

It eventually ended in a boring manner, with Key getting tired from all his running and attacking so the lazy vampire won.

The next game proceeded.

Between Victoria and Hyoyeon, Hyoyeon won as expected, outclassing her opponent in every aspect; it was almost painful to watch the gulf in ability between the two.

In the match after, Sunny won in a somewhat cute manner against Luna. Their game was very close; partially because their sizes were similar, but also because they were matched in almost every area of the match.

Seohyun glanced at her mentor, Kyuhyun, who was looking increasingly nervous with every passing match. As it stood, Taemin could be picked against Amber, Kris or Jjong. A Seohyun Taemin draw would be impossible given that they were under the same mentor. As such, the only realistic draw that would calm Seohyun and Kyuhyun would be for Taemin to be picked against Amber.

“Lee Taemin, student to Cho Kyuhyun.” Yunho announced after picking Taemin’s name.

Seohyun glanced again at Kyuhyun whose eyes were pinned on Changmin who’s picking the other name.

“Amber Liu, student to Kim Heechul.” Yunho finally said, “Please proceed at the center.”

Kyuhyun let out a deep sigh of relief making Seohyun smile to herself as she sighed in relief too. But now, her mind was burdened by another new issue. Only her name, Jjong’s and Kris’ were left in the box.

Seohyun could not focus her attention to the Taemin-Amber fight unfolding before her eyes. The crowds were cheering at insane volumes, but it was not enough for her to jump with them with every attack Amber or Taemin made. The match was heating up and the crowd are almost jumping off their seats.

But Seohyun was quiet and bothered.

It was a unanimous decision that Taemin and Amber both won. Yunho and Changmin called it quits since both did great and no one was down even if they were bleeding and bruised. Taemin ran towards Seohyun and gave her a tight embrace because of happiness.

“You… you did great. Congratulations!” Seohyun stood up and returned the hug.

“Noona, I know you’ll do great too!” Taemin pumped his fist on hair and ran towards Kyuhyun who patted his back with a contented smile on his face.

Seohyun, Kris and Jonghyun. It’s either Seohyun against Jonghyun which can be a relief or a concern because Kris will have to pick his own opponent. Or Jonghyun against Kris in which Seohyun didn’t like the idea because Kris has a huge chance of losing. Seohyun against Kris would be by far the worst possible draw.

Seohyun glanced at Kris who was obviously not giving any signs of nervousness. Jonghyun waiting for his name to be called, smiling confidently as it happened.

“Kim Jonghyun, student to Park Jungsoo.” Yunho called. There were a lot of cheers from the crowd especially from the girls. Seohyun closed her eyes tightly expecting her name to be called next. Her fists clenched on her knees.

“Kris Wu, student to Kim Heechul.” Yunho finally said after Changmin handed him the piece of paper where Kris’ name was written.

Seohyun’s eyes popped wide open and she quickly looked at Kris who stood up from his seat and made his way to the center across Jonghyun. She stood up from her seat and looked for Heechul from her place. She shot him a look to call-off the match, but instead, the pretty boy just looked at her and completely ignored her after.

“Sit down, Seo, the game’s about to start.” Sunny said, tugging on her shirt as she forced herself to sit back down.