IX: Anima
Nocturne Academy
"Hin, are you alright?" Yoseob can't hide his worry tone. He holds his breath, looking at Hin's pale face while they are waiting for the result of the second test at the backstage.
They performed pretty good on the stage but Hin was hiding her pains all the time. Her head aches, her face is pale, and her hands are cold. She can't even focus at anything right now but she has tried her best for the performance.
But all of them know it's not her best; Hin could do so much better.
"Do you need something?" Eunjung sits next to Hin. She was going to hold her shoulder to show her support but Hin quickly stands up from her seat, avoiding any body contact with Eunjung. It's not that she hates Eunjung but she doesn't want to make unnecessary body contacts with someone else, especially because she is a human and she never knows what will happen if she is too careless around students from other races.
Gikwang was trying to read her mind when Yonghwa suddenly shows up behind Hin, holding her to prevent Hin from falling. Yonghwa has blocked Hin's mind now.
"You need to take the medicine," Yonghwa mutters calmly. "Let me help you to the secretariat."
"But the result-" Eunjung tries to protest but Hin cuts it without hesitation.
"I already knew the result."
With that, she bows slightly to her group members, leaving the backstage with Yonghwa, heading to the secretariat while Joon and Jieun are sitting on the front row of audience seats, waiting patiently for the result.
Yoseob and Gikwang leave the backstage, following Hin and Yonghwa. Both of them don't care about the result; they want to know about Hin's condition right now. They are sure enough they will lose tonight's test and they can't help it.
Since the night Yoseob found out the fact that Hin is a human and Gikwang noticed that Joon often drinks her blood, Hin always looked paler every night they trained and she refused to talk about her condition, telling them to focus with their training.
Yoseob was going to knock the door but Gikwang, without any hesitation, opens the door and steps in the secretariat to face Hin and Yonghwa. Hin is sitting on her usual seat with a glass of water in her hand while Yonghwa is handing her some medicine tablets.
"You need to knock," Hin mutters calmly, having her usual monotone. She closes her eyes as she takes a deep breathe.
"What did Joon do to you?" Yoseob blurts out his question. He knows that Joon is the person behind Hin's worse condition; Hin shows the symptomps of someone who lost her blood due to a vampire.
"Nothing unusual," Hin takes the tablets from Yonghwa, the medicine that she always takes whenever she is feeling down due to the loss of blood, the special medicine invented by Yonghwa and Jieun for their human President of NASCA.
But Hin is trying to act that there is nothing happened.
Joon drank her blood every night since the night Yoseob protected her. He was enraged because a mere human like Yoseob dared to stand up against him, the Vice President of NASCA. He let his anger to consume him and Hin's blood was the only thing that could keep him calm.
He used to drink Hin's blood once a week, not every night, because Hin is an ordinary human and her body can't handle the loss of blood caused by Joon's hunger. Hin almost died when Joon drank her blood too much around two months ago, the night when both of them were officially selected as President and Vice President of NASCA.
"There is nothing you need to worry about," Hin puts down the glass carefully, looking at Yoseob and Gikwang calmly. "We just need to focus with our next performance."
"Why do you let him to drink your blood?" Gikwang frowns. He doesn't understand why a girl like Hin, who looks completely wise and strong, let herself to be a prey of a vampire? "Is he really your boyfriend?"
Hin doesn't change her expression. She intertwines her fingers together and speaks, "I never recalled myself as his girlfriend."
Yoseob blinks in confusion. What does she mean? But he is sure that Joon called her as his girlfriend that night. And Hin let Joon drank her blood anyway.
"Joon was the original one who selected to be President of NASCA," Yonghwa explains, taking a step closer to Hin. "But his dangerous trait of blood lust was a big flaw, making him to lose the chance to be a President of NASCA. Hin was chosen instead of him but there was a negotiation between Hin and Joon."
"Enough," Hin gives a warning to Yonghwa. "They don't need to know about anything. All you need to know that I have Yonghwa and Jieun as my team. That's all."
Yonghwa has been the one to take care of Hin's condition whenever her body system is breaking down because of Joon. He is the one in charge to protect Hin since she is an ordinary human and, this is an unexceptional fact, that some parties don't want to admit that a human can be a president of NASCA.
NASCA is an elite organization and some parties believe that human is totally not an elite race to be a part of NASCA.
Jieun is the one who is being charged to take care of Joon, to control his lust and to fulfill Joon's appetite whenever Hin is not around. Jieun is Joon's second favorite after Hin since mermaid's blood is indeed delicious for vampire. Jieun's blood is both delicious and rare, making Joon to love her for her blood.
But Jieun can't win over Hin's position for being Joon's favorite prey.
Yonghwa has been the one to take care of Hin's condition whenever her body system is breaking down because of Joon. He is the one in charge to protect Hin since she is an ordinary human and, this is an unexceptional fact, that some parties don't want to admit that a human can be a president of NASCA.
NASCA is an elite organization and some parties believe that human is totally not an elite race to be a part of NASCA.
Jieun is the one who is being charged to take care of Joon, to control his lust and to fulfill Joon's appetite whenever Hin is not around. Jieun is Joon's second favorite after Hin since mermaid's blood is indeed delicious for vampire. Jieun's blood is both delicious and rare, making Joon to love her for her blood.
But Jieun can't win over Hin's position for being Joon's favorite prey.
"Will you let me drink your blood then?" Gikwang approaches Hin, slamming his palm on the table with a smirk. "I'll do whatever the negotiation is."
"Please behave yourself in front of President of NASCA," Yonghwa gives him a deadly glare. "You have the warning beforehand."
"Why do you want to drink my blood?" Hin gives Gikwang a question; something that he didn't think he will get from Hin.
"What do you think if I say that it's because of love?" Gikwang lets a playful smirk to play on his lips. "I know human girls like to be loved."
"Since when did vampire love?" Hin mutters without any doubt in her tone. She meant it. She knows that vampires don't love; only lust of blood.
"Since when did human know everything about vampire?" Gikwang replies with sarcasm, making Yonghwa to stare at him in silence.
Yonghwa is really good at hiding his expressions. He doesn't want to involve Yoseob and Gikwang in the conflict within NASCA but he knows that both of them care about Hin... in different ways.
Yonghwa doesn't believe in Gikwang as much as he believes in Yoseob; probably because Gikwang is a vampire while Yoseob is a human, just like what Hin is.
Elves are really loyal. Once they dedicate theirselves to someone, they will serve the person until the person doesn't want to be served again by the Elves. And Yonghwa is one of the most loyal Elves.
Hin stands up from her seat, fighting the aches in her head. She walks pass Yonghwa to reach the door but then Yoseob suddenly stops her, holding her hand gently.
"Hin," Yoseob touches her right cheek softly. He locks his eyes with hers as he holds her hand tighter. "You need to tell Joon to stop drink your blood. Who knows what will happen to you."
Gikwang gives him a deadly glare. Yoseob feels it even though Gikwang is standing behind him. Yoseob quickly releases his grip and blushes madly because of his blunt action, something that he didn't plan to do before.
Yoseob can't hold himself from caring about Hin, especially after he found out that Hin is a human, just like himself. He still can't believe Hin is an ordinary human because she doesn't look like one.
Yoseob expected her to be a Veela or Elf or Fairy or something else, but he was wrong; Hin is a human.
A part of him is proud that a human can be the President of NASCA but another part of him feels that Hin must be really suffering because of this kind of environment, where everyone around you is special compared to you yet you don't have any special power.
"Thank you for your consideration about Hin," Yonghwa puts his blazer on Hin's shoulder. He knows that Hin is feeling cold now because of the side effect of the medicine. "I will take care of her from here."
"Does the Elf fall for the human as well?" Gikwang scoffs, looking at Yonghwa with challenging expression. It's not like he doesn't like Yonghwa or else but he can feel that there is something between Hin and Yonghwa, somehing different from the relationship between Hin and Joon.
No, Gikwang doesn't fall in love with Hin. There is no way that a vampire falls in love with someone, especially a human. But he needs to admit that Hin has a really tempting scent; probably the reason why Joon agreed to be her Vice President despite the fact that he was the first nominee for being President of NASCA.
Gikwang wants to taste her blood. The blood that makes a vampire like Joon to be hungry every night. The delicious blood of the most influential student in Nocturne Academy.
"Never complicate your feeling within NASCA's business," Hin stops the conversation with obvious tone. "If two of you are going to be the major representatives, you need to remember that."
Hin opens the door. She stopped for seconds to warn Yoseob and Gikwang once again before leaving the secretariat with Yonghwa.
"You have the warning beforehand."
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Glossary #9
Anima: feeling
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Glossary #9
Anima: feeling
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