Eyes open to welcome the soft rays of the sun quietly invading the room through the small cracks between the drawn curtains. She now fully understood the plight of her remaining family. Her gaze shifted to the figure clinging to her for dear life in her sleep. A tear had popped at the corner of the sleeping one’s eyes. Taeyeon gingerly wiped it away with her thumb.

She knew why Jessica cried to sleep. She knew what the younger twin had gone through. She knew why she, herself, felt sad upon waking up. The dream told her everything and it was heart-wrenching to see for herself. What more if she had experienced it firsthand?

Taeyeon slowly got up from bed taking care not to wake up the girl sleeping beside her. She stretched her body before heading to the bathroom to wash up her face.

But when she saw herself in the mirror, she froze.

Her eyes were ghostly sapphire and her complexion as blanche as snow. Her flowing brunette hair was turning blonde starting from the tip and it gave her enough indication that her angelic genes were beginning to take over her body. It was like a gradual disease spreading throughout her entire system and she needed to act fast to stop the progression of the change.

Without causing too much noise, Taeyeon hurriedly went out of the room and headed towards the kitchen where she unceremoniously opened the fridge and took out a blood pack. Opening it, she drank the sour crimson fluid with much gusto only stopping after half emptying the bag.

She then eyed her hair for any indications of change. Much to her relief, her blonde tips have returned to their human brunette color. A sigh escaped her lips upon seeing the positive change before a voice disturbed her moment.

“It seems you have changed overnight…” the all too familiar melodic voice mused.

Taeyeon’s eyes landed upon a brunette now wearing her robe with the tie loosely hanging on her waist. Jessica’s face still looked angelic and although Taeyeon could still see the pain her eyes conveyed, there was now a hint of comfort in them much to her relief. The brunette vampire seemed to glow under the light that swept through the room. Jessica’s calm countenance gave out an aura of comfort which made Taeyeon marvel her twin more. A sheepish smile came onto Taeyeon’s face.

“Yeah… I guess I forgot to take my share of blood last night… Want some?” Taeyeon replied as she held the bag over to the vampire who had just woken up.

Shaking her head, Jessica smiled softly. “No thanks. I don’t need that much blood. In fact, I don’t drink that ever so often…”

Taeyeon’s eyes widened in surprised. “Really? I thought you feed often…”

Jessica giggled, “No. I’m different. I don’t depend much on blood unlike your regular vampires…”

“I can see the longing thirst in your eyes, Sooyeon.” Taeyeon pointed out. “You cannot lie to me…”

The vampire smiled, her fangs protruding. “I’ll be honest with you. I AM thirsty but whenever I drink blood, I become less human and less of an angel than I was. I draw myself closer to the darkness the more I partake of that bag of rouge liquid that you’re holding…”

“But I know for a fact that the thirst is also eating you up from the inside. Sooyeon, you need this to survive…” Taeyeon argued as she gingerly waved the pack of half-filled swirling liquid in front of the vampire.

Jessica slowly walked towards her startling Taeyeon for a moment before she soon relaxed when her twin was only a few inches apart from her face.

Dark brown eyes met faintly carnelian-colored ones. Their faces were so near that both could share the air between them. Their breaths tickled each other’s skin as silence persisted between them. Then Jessica spoke, “Taeyeon… before I succumb to your offer I want you to make a covenant with me.”

Not leaving her eyes on her twin, Taeyeon opened to reveal her thoughts. “Name the terms of our covenant, Sooyeon.”

“I will heed your requests and orders for as long as you watch over my sister. I will only live in your apartment if you keep Soojung safe during my absence. You know, when it isn’t our scheduled meeting for the week… Lastly, when the time comes that I’m at my limit… please do the favor by taking my life and that would also be the time when you reveal my dark secrets to my dongsaeng… I get an idea that you have seen the nightmares that I’ve had while I was asleep…”

Taeyeon shifted her eyes to the ceiling in contemplation. She thought for awhile before meeting her twin’s gaze once more. “I’ll fulfill this end of the bargain in exchange for what? You do know that we both sacrifice something to seal the terms of the contract. Making a covenant requires giving up something from both parties as you have experienced firsthand. It depends on the methods of sacrifice though.”

Jessica nodded in understanding before saying her piece. “I’ll give you a part of my soul, Taeyeon. And you offer me yours. That way, our oath will be unbreakable that neither light nor darkness could dare to destroy it.”

At this, Taeyeon nodded before both girls proceeded to fulfill the necessary rituals to seal the divine pact. It was to be the ultimate pledge between light and darkness.

In fulfillment of the sacred vow, Taeyeon leaned forward sealing the gap between their faces.

Relishing the endearing kiss that her twin had initiated, Jessica responded to the intimacy as they both offered their souls to one another. The bag of blood was soon forgotten on the table. Its seal capped to prevent it from spilling.
 

***

White flakes fell on thick black wool that covered the person’s shoulder. They soon melted due to the body heat as the individual walked on. She was not alone on this harsh winter day where the sun failed to rise above the gloomy clouds that spread through the sky.

A gloved hand held hers. Security blanketed her as she looked at the person owning the hand that had its fingers intertwined with her own. “Unnie…” a smile crept over her face as she addressed the older person.

“Yes, Soojungie?” Krystal smiled at the delicate reference to her name.

“Nothing.” Krystal simply smiled before her hands made their way to the other one’s arm. “I’m just thankful to have you around.”

The older girl smiled at her remark before they both proceeded to their usual hang out. Comfortable silence engulfed them as they stood marveling at the coffee shop from across the street.

Taeyeon momentarily took a deep breath when the soft yet chilly breeze blew past her and Krystal. She caught a familiar scent in the breeze and as she opened her eyes, the heavenly scenery of snow-covered edifices and roads flooded her sight. It was surreal.

Towering a few feet from the ground, Jessica smiled at the two figures entering the café. She stood up to leave from her place on the roof deck of the building and as she was about to head off, the lingering scent of another being disturbed her senses.

“Little demon, I thought we’d never meet again…” a voice called out.

Jessica turned her sights to find a monster standing atop the roof right next to the building where she was in. Her eyebrows furrowed to a frown once her eyes registered the being. The appalling smell of death invaded her sense of olfaction as the newcomer jumped onto the cemented railing of the building she was currently leaving.

“What do you want, demon?” Jessica demanded, her tone hinted her annoyance of the unexpected visitor.

A chuckle that came from the said demon further irritated her. “You seem displeased to see me. But do hear me out, Jessica Jung. You, yourself are now a being of darkness and you’re supposed to fight for evil. Don’t tell me that you have forgotten about our agreement a few years ago…”

Jessica clenched her fists. This one was reminding her of the covenant that she had made to save her sister. “The terms of the covenant only turned me into half a vampire, demon. I do not fully belong to the darkness as you have thought. Besides, I can do as I please since you did not place me under your direct command. You only turned me into one of you…”

“Wise enough. But do be careful, Jung. We warned you not to meet her too often. If she finds out about the dark secrets on the reason for your turning into one of us and about you killing off your entire family, the covenant will be null and void. And you do know what happens after that…”

Jessica gritted her teeth in anger. Her fangs protruded and her nails elongated. She was prepared to strike down the demon who was taunting her. But there was something holding her back.

The demon before her laughed. She was clearly amused by Jessica’s hesitance. “You cannot dare to hit the one who sired you, Jessica. You know that very well.”

In a flash, the demon gripped her neck leaving Jessica in a vulnerable state. She was made to lean against the concrete that served as a border on the roof deck. The demon whispered into her ear, “But I can hurt you just like how I’ve made those scars and that mark on your back. So be careful with your attitude towards me, little one…”

Jessica swallowed the lump in as she struggled to keep herself calm under such a dire circumstance. She was after all, the demon’s subordinate. Slowly, the grip on her neck loosened and the female demon who had turned her years ago stepped away. A smile can clearly be seen etched on the demon’s face.

“Be careful, Jessica. You might break your own end of the covenant. Your sister is, after all, just half an angel and she doesn’t even know it. You might want to pay attention to the growing thirst brewing up from inside you… And that angel cannot save her from you.” the demon mused before disappearing from her sight.

Jessica slumped down to the cold concrete floor, her hands wrapped around her knees as a sigh escaped her lips. Snowflakes fell and the soft winter breeze came upon her. She stared up into the heavens that were now covered by dark looming clouds. A tear fell from her cheek.

‘Heaven, why must you forsake me?’ she silently cried. 
 

***

Inside the café, Taeyeon was mulling over a cup of hot chocolate until Krystal, who had just taken a sip of her cold frappe, pulled her from her thoughts.

“Unnie-“

Taeyeon looked up to meet the younger girl’s eyes. “Yes?”

“Something bothering you?”

“Uhhh…” Taeyeon stared listlessly onto the younger girl’s cold frappe to which Krystal took notice.

A smile came upon the younger one’s face. “Weird, isn’t it?”

Taeyeon gave her a questioning look. Krystal gestured to her frappe. “It’s cold and yet here I am drinking a cold frappe.” The younger one chuckled at her own remark as she made an attempt to dampen the thickening atmosphere that Taeyeon was creating between them.

“Err… Soojung…” Taeyeon stuttered as she thought twice of the words she had wanted to say.

The young one gave the older girl her undivided attention. “What is it, unnie?”
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