Sooyoung rolled over in her bed as a horrible beeping filled her ears. had it really been only 4 days since her birthday and the news? it felt like an eternity, zoning her friends out and ignoring Kris. she felt like her heart was being wrenched apart, both by the pain she had felt and the pain she had inflicted on others. right then and there, 6:27 AM, with the alarm clock throbbing in her ears, she decided that it was time to get back up. it was 6:45 when she descended the stairs, rubbing her eyes. her father was sitting at the table, staring into a cup of coffee with a vacant expression that was replaced with false cheer when he saw Sooyoung.

 

"morning, Sooyoung. you're up earlier than usual today," he said by way of greeting. Sooyoung shrugged noncommittally and poured herself a cup of coffee from the night before. her dad watched her worriedly. "did you sleep well?" he asked her. 

 

"it was okay, Dad. I'm barely hanging on, knowing the only time I can be with her is..." Sooyoung paused. she didn't know if her dad knew about it. but then again he was her dad, so she went ahead and said confidently, "the night, when she tells us what to do so that we can conquer Hei An Du and the Red." she swallowed. maybe it wasn't such a good idea. surprisingly, her father only nodded. "wait, appa, you knew too? this whole time and you never even said a word about it!" 

 

he rolled his eyes. "Sooyoung, my child, do you think I wouldn't know? I'm the trainer after all. that's why you have dreams in the night and you can talk about things in the morning. remember this: morning is their moment of weakness. then, anything past noon is a high risk. she never told you?"

 

Sooyoung shook her head in wonderment. "last night was just about the history, nothing else. can you tell me more about the training? is it just for werewolves? when does it happen?"

 

her father chuckled, holding up a weary hand. "Sooyoung, we are in your dreams. dreams are where everything is revealed. you have to go to school now. you can ask all of your friends if you want to know more about everything. just remember that what happens in the morning stays in the morning."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sooyoung pushed through the crowds, graciously accepting the boxes of chocolate that her fans handed to her. despite herself, she grinned. maybe having fans isn't so bad after all, she thought to herself, already slipping into daydreams of chocolate-filled afternoons with Kris. she shook herself out of her reverie. focus, Sooyoung, focus, she chanted to herself as she trudged through the crowd. Sooyoung sighed. it was going to be a long day.

 

but the day passed and it was soon time for her lunch, which she conveniently had with all of her friends. secondly, it ended just before 12 PM, so there was no way she would say something that would risk being overheard by any spies for the Red. she spotted all of her friends sharing two tables and made her way over, holding her gifts over her head like a bizarre balancing act. 

 

the chatter at the table died significantly as Sooyoung neared. she smiled weakly. "guys, I'm fine, don't worry. I've got all of you to thank for it. without your support, I don't know what I would be able to do," she said, feeling a rushing wave of love in her gut. applause met her small speech, and she grinned abashedly at Kris, who was looking at her like she was the only one in the world.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I didn't know females could be werewolves too," Sooyoung muttered, feeling dazed. it had only been 5 minutes into lunch and her head was already throbbing with a plethora of information. Amber had told her that all of the 12 boys, Victoria, Amber, Sulli, Luna, and Krystal were all werewolves. "I mean, I knew already about Kris, but all of you? when do you guys get your training?"

 

"whoa there, Sooyoung, take it easy," Amber laughed, throwing her arm nonchalantly around Krystal, who giggled and rolled her eyes. "well, first of all, girls can be too. it's just that you and your crew - that is, Tiffany, Taeyeon, Jessica, you get the point - you guys are human. us 5, on the other hand? we're werewolves through and through, so we already know how to use our brains on full moons but we transform far more quickly than hybrids, which would be the 12 guys. they're in the middle. they take longer to get used to their wolf bodies, so that' probably why Kris was more obvious for you. think of it as a spectrum for Blue. the same goes for training: humas with Blue train only once, which is one dream per night because they don't have the nocturnal abilities to concentrate well in the night. wolves also train once per night because their minds don't need as much training and because we're also the morning. hybrids train twice, which means that they have dreams simultaneously, but they absorb the information just as well as us because they're nocturnal."

Sooyoung listened, intrigued. "so if Blue is wolf, then what is Red? are they like owls or something?" her joke was met with a punch. "no, you idiot, for them it's dragons."

"dragons?" Sooyoung asked, her heart sinking. "but I love dragons, I don't want them to be bad."

"dragons aren't bad," Amber replied. "just because sides are known for the choices that majority doesn't mean that all of them are like that. you'll have to remember that." she glanced around and then leaned closer. "be careful too, I'm sure everyone here got the message that there's a spy for the Red in our midst. tread lightly, Sooyoung. it would be horrible if we were to lose yet another person."

Sooyoung pressed her lips together in a grim nod and checked her watch. it was almost the end of lunch. she stuffed a final truffle into and turned to Kris, who had been patiently waiting for her to speak to him. she collapsed onto his shoulder and he patted her hair softly. "are you okay?" he asked into her hair. she nodded, grateful for his presence.

Kris sat there her head, feeling like the ground had dropped out beneath him. he vowed that no matter what he would always be there for his one and only love, Sooyoung. he would protect her from the intruder, wherever and whoever he was.

lunch was over. it was 12 PM. as the group stood up and exited the cafeteria silently, the same thought occupied everyone's minds. it was a pity that they couldn't see the pair of eyes that followed every single one of them.