Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

“Leader is coming home!”

It was the news of the century.

In the main hallway of the estate hung a large centerpiece of a lone portrait of a woman, a fair lady well-refined, rich in class and beauty.  Her robes akin to that of old royalty and the jewelries portrayed in the foreground were of expensive splendour, reflecting the majestic gold frame that embraced the canvas, itself.  And she seemed too human, too absent of any evil; her subtle smile, too pure.

Siyeon was convinced the painter must have portrayed what they wanted to see, or hoped to see, rather than the cruel reality of such existence.

The curious image had led Siyeon here every night for the past forty years of her residence in the estate.  Some moments stayed a passing glance, yet some nights had her entranced, on pause, stuck on too much thinking for her liking.  She was drawn to the portrait, or the subject thereof.  Ironically so, it reminded her of her human days.

Siyeon had heard the stories many times over, from one clan to the next, about the woman in the portrait.

They called her “Leader”, born Kim Minji.  A Pureblood, equally respected and feared.  

“She does not act like one of us, but don’t you dare wish to see when she does,” written in a tale, sung in songs after The Plague, and following shortly after, The Civil War, of which both were conquered – or subdued, as she would correct – by Leader and her armies of followers.

Vampires had hidden their existence long enough to be a myth.  The Plague, however, had brought upon a pandemic, wide-spread in the human race, one that had an unexpected effect among the vampires who had close relations with the humans they would call “companions”, sometimes “friends”, and most, “lovers”.  It was a taboo that became too common to be worth addressing, but an issue arose as the blood became “impure”.  Before an actual cure had rolled over a few years later, vampires had already turned some – too many, Purebloods argued – of their humans to the blood as the only way to cleanse the disease and save their lives.  “A vampire boom,” said in jest, but was later coined to be the actual reference to the event.  Soon, disagreements turned to a Civil War that extended for two decades, and became a fuel for the deep-rooted hatred for non-Purebloods and humans, both.

The age of the Civil War had long ended, yet the prejudice against non-Purebloods remained, albeit more subtle, if not less, with the Leader in power.  Taking seat as one of the heads of the Council, an organization that reigned control of the justice and judgment system built by the earliest ancestors, Leader Kim Minji had slowly, but surely, maneuvered her agenda of “peace among Purebloods, non-Purebloods, and humans alike” to manipulate the perspective of the mass over the course of two centuries.  Also controlling a manufacturing of consistent, ethically-sourced food supply for their kind (among other side products of concoctions, medical necessities, basic equipment, etc.), Leader also held a relentless grip as one of the most influential business beings with a wide network of connections among vampires and humans as the founder of Jiu Company.

Those who would choose to act on their disagreement with Leader risked a threat to their immortality and social standing, if not by Leader, herself, then by her loyal, devout followers, whose lives would be greatly affected if she were to be exterminated or even dethroned.

For a vampire of almost three hundred years of age, she was well-liked, a rare reputation, and those who believed otherwise placed their faith on the possibility of being spellbound rather than admitting they were hopelessly charmed.

And there were, of course, many that had attempted to be her suitor.  After all, Kim Minji was of incomparable grace and beauty and riches.

Among many other properties, this entire estate was hers, a safe haven for a selected few.  And after half a century of “important business” ventures, she had sent a letter with a simple note: “I am coming home.”

Young vampires, mostly orphans, were often sent to the right wing that had been treated as a schooling ground and a boarding house until their Prime age.  

The left wing resided Leader’s closests, her family: Kim Bora, her best friend and right-hand; Handong, a renowned potions specialist; Yoohyeon and Yubin, two of the first right wing orphans who had excelled in their class and were now professors of the later generations; and Lee Siyeon, a young vampire of only forty-five years with an intimidating reputation of the “The Wolf”, the only non-Pureblood among the left wing residents, and the only who had never met Kim Minji.

As a non-Pureblood, Siyeon was subjected to the same prejudice, although only mild due to her belonging in Leader’s select few of the household.  Even her nickname, despite her own war merit and ruthless hunting records that supported its valor, was given almost as a joke founded on hate as vampires had never gotten along with the wolves.  (She rolled with it however; as a human, she had always taken a special liking to them.)  The disease was far from the reason Siyeon had turned, but beyond the left wing were only gossips and rumors.  She was brought into the estate by Bora, and all else was kept hidden from the public.  The fear’s turning to respect eventually had led others to accept that she was one of the untouchables, although Siyeon personally believed the major part was still because she’s one of Leader’s people.  

Like all the nights before, Siyeon was here again, in the main hall at the break of dawn, staring up at Kim Minji’s portrait.  And she felt uncomfortable.  “Why?” was a question she had asked herself for almost half a century.

Driven by a stubborn curiosity to make sense of the logic in her head, the stories she heard, and the things she saw in the portrait, Siyeon had felt stuck in an unsettling loop.

Tomorrow.

Maybe she could finally let this go.

---

Hours before Leader’s arrival, words had already spread of the companion that she had brought along, and the one she would bring home with her to the estate.

“Right wing?” Siyeon asked Bora, knowing well she would be the first to know the truth.

“She’ll be living with us, actually,” Bora confirmed as she continued to busy herself with the welcome home arrangements in the family room.  It was an excuse for the vampire to host a party.

“Explains the talk of special treatment.”

“Minji seems very fond of her.  And she’s like you.”

“A non-Pureblood.”

But of course, the gossip had already reached Siyeon before she was being told.  The talks were similar to the first time she arrived.  The curiosity remained, but at least the judgment had dissipated by far – at least, within the estate.

“Before or after the Plague?”

“During the war.”

Siyeon nodded; must have been some other cause unrelated to the vampire boom, she assumed.

“This is the first time you’re meeting Minji,” Bora said, a hint of teasing in her voice.  “Nervous?”

“Why would I be?” Siyeon scoffed, crossing her arms.  She remembered about the portrait, and mentally shook the thoughts away.

“Because she’s sexy, charming, and cute, and you seem to like that type,” Bora winked, earning an eye-roll and a slap on the arm from Siyeon.

“Aren’t you lucky that you can get away with anything you say about her.”

“Oh honey, this is exactly the thing you say to get her good side.  Besides, it’s true.”

The doors suddenly burst open, jolting Bora from where she stood and making her drop all the decorations on the ground.  Entered abruptly were Yoohyeon and Yubin, still dressed in their professor attire.

Clearly displeased by their behavior, Bora crossed her arms and glared at the two youngsters who immediately froze in their spots at the threatening aura sent their way.

“I’m going to let you both try that again,” Bora said with the most lovely, deadly smile.

Without a single word of refute, the two professors quickly exited the room, knocked on the doors, waited patiently for a call of approval, and then entered gently and quietly the second time.

In moments like this, Siyeon was scared of Kim Bora.

“I swear I’m switching to Team Minji when she’s home,” the taller of the two professors mumbled under her breath, slumping her body on the sofa as she played with the strands of her silver hair.

“I’m not sure she’s any less scary, Yoohyeon,” said Yubin, tying her short hair into a tiny ponytail as she began to clean up the litter on the floor.

“Leader’s kind.  I like her,” Yoohyeon replied, recalling the few, fond times she had encountered the older vampire.

Kind, Siyeon replayed the word in her head.  Descriptions of Leader as told by fellow vampires always seemed so contradicting with how she should be.

“How about you be quiet, get your ass up here and start taping the balloons,” Bora demanded, throwing a random decoration piece at Yoohyeon.

“Just admit you need me because you’re short.”

The two started their usual banter, which ended up with Bora launching herself at the sofa and strangling Yoohyeon’s neck as the younger vampire struggled to escape from her frightening grip.

Nonchalantly, Yubin shook her head as she continued to clean.  Siyeon stood watch, smiling to herself.  

None of them would admit it aloud, especially Siyeon, but everyone in this left wing wouldn’t trade this family for anything.  Deep down, the conflict was there: she wanted to see the woman from the portrait, yet want nothing of what she had now to change.  And things would change, inevitably so.

“By the way, where’s Handong?” Siyeon asked, suddenly remembering the only remedy to saving them all from Bora’s fury.

Bora freed Yoohyeon, standing up from the sofa.  (The professor made eye contact with Siyeon, mentally thanking her for the helpful mention.)  

A smile appeared on Bora’s lips, more sincere and genuine this time, as she paused and closed her eyes for a brief moment.

“She’s in the halls… and walking in right about… now.”

As if on cue, the doors swung wide open, just as loudly as before.

Walking in gracefully was an orange-hair woman, both her hands busy with a cellphone in one and what looked like a crate full of letters in the other.

“My baby!” Bora exclaimed in her highest pitch, her voice squeaking excitedly like a child as she jumped from where she stood to throw an embrace at the vampire that had entered the room.

In the corner, Siyeon could hear the two young professors talking in small whispers.

“How come only we get yelled at?” Yoohyeon complained, smoothing out her hair that had been violently messed up by the older vampire.

“Because she could sense Handong’s presence, unlike ours,” Yubin answered as a matter-of-fact.

“Ugh,” Yoohyeon groaned loudly, “soulmates privilege.”

“Bora, I will hug you once you help me set this down,” Handong reprimanded, gently, as Bora weighed down on her shoulders.

Whipped as ever, Bora did as told and released her grip to lift the crate from Handong’s hold, tumbling a bit when it was heavier than she expected.

“What the fuck,” Bora complained, dragging the pile and setting it aside temporarily by the campfire, “is this just from today?” 

“They’re expedited,” Yubin commented, picking up a few on top to examine the overnight certified postages that could easily be worth a human’s one week of minimum wage.  

“Words got out that she’s coming home,” Handong explained, still busy scrolling on her phone with her brows scrunched.

“You must be kidding me,” Yoohyeon said in disbelief at the surplus volume.

Curious at the commotion, Siyeon walked over to the group, observing over Bora’s shoulder as the older woman quickly sorted through the mail.

As usual, they were letters to Kim Minji; love letters, mostly.  

Posted from Paris, Rome, Japan, even Las Vegas… Each carried its own personality, some thick in pages of handwritten confessions penned on the highest grade of parchment paper.  While some were more modest and straightforward in intent, others were crafted beyond extravagance, finished with exquisite ribbons or sealed with gold wax stamps or tied to the stem of a single flower.  A flaunting flamboyance of the author’s personal richness.  There were also others that were much more plain, typed even, the ones that didn’t quite get the (rumored) memo of How to Court Leader Kim Minji 101.

Siyeon knew of the Leader’s popularity, but this… this was just over the top.  She mentally thanked the protection protocol Leader had set up for the estate, which rendered the entire building’s presence invisible to the eye and visitors were only granted entry per invitation only.  If not, she was sure they could have easily built an entire army for Leader with just her suitors, alone.

“Shall I get you a paper and pen so you can throw your confession to the pile, Yoohyeon?” Bora teased, still holding a grudge over the younger girls’ comment from earlier.

“Might wanna get in line,” Yubin added, patting Yoohyeon’s back.

“Let’s burn them,” Yoohyeon said, and the group was convinced she was half-serious.

Yubin shook her head.  “Sure, if you want to be burned at the stake with them.”

“Minji can be very possessive.  Don’t mess with her temper,”  Bora reminded, wiping down her hands after the cleanup.

Growing disinterested, Siyeon turned to Handong, who was still busy reading whatever she thought was more interesting than the sack of letters she had just retrieved from their overflowing mailbox.

“What’s wrong?” Siyeon whispered.

“Wolves sighting.”  Handong showed Siyeon the news feed on the screen.  “By our hunting grounds.”

“The Pack?” Siyeon asked, mildly concerned.  Afterall, the vampires always had an unsettled rivalry with the werewolves, especially for land.

“No, regular wolves.”

“Why?”

“I’m guessing, Leader’s return.”

“What would they want with her?”

“Her blood.”

It was uncertain as to when the rumor had started (and which dumb idiot had spread it, Bora often said) but the mass grew to blindly believe that the Leader’s blood was of a gold mine for power.  Some wanted a taste out of spite, and others wanted it like a trophy prize to boast.  Even if it held no real power, just the privilege and victory of feeding on the Leader’s blood had just as much value.  Either way, none alive had the luck to confirm nor deny such presumptions.

Interrupting their conversation, Bora jumped in front of the two, her arms throwing open wide and her pout was back on her lips as she looked at Handong.  

“Can I get my hug and kisses now?”

Handong smiled sweetly at her other half, seeing the other side of Bora that she knew was reserved for her, and walked closer to embrace the smaller woman in her arms.

The other three quickly dispersed to the other side, leaving the two lovebats to their very long, loving exchange that could easily turned to a shameless makeout session right in the middle of the family room.

“How much longer do we have to see this honeymoon phase?” Yoohyeon remarked, making faces at the couple.

“Since she’s my soulmate, that would be forever,” Bora said, only hugging her wife even tighter as she continued to plant kisses on the woman’s cheek.

Rolling her eyes at the comment, Siyeon retorted under her breath, “What is forever to a non-believer?”

Soulmates, the concept of it never made sense to Siyeon.  Not as a human, and especially not now as a vampire.  Having once lived through the mortal life, Siyeon perceived eternity as a curse within the gift of immortality.  To spend a forever with another who had been decided by some otherworldly power, the idea didn’t sound as tasteful to her.  Besides, how could you be so sure?  Love always had a way of validating its own bias.

“Not believing in something doesn’t erase its existence,” Bora said.  

This was not the first that they had discussed this, and every time Siyeon was looped in a full circle of the same reasoning and “logic”.

“I’ll believe in facts,” Siyeon replied with a shrug.

“Who knows, Siyeon,” Handong turned to her, speaking casually, “maybe you’ll find your soulmate, too.”

---

It was the night to be celebrated.

Members of both wings had gathered to welcome the return of their Leader, some honored to meet the great vampire for the first time.  Leaving the rest of the left wing members to handle the frontline, Siyeon had withdrawn to her preferred view by the center stairs, right beside the portrait.  

And Bora was right about Kim Minji.

The Leader was all of that and more.  

Leader Minji walked through the main doors with great finesse, elegance, and power altogether, dressed in sleek modern business attire of a black suit over a leather body harness and a white button-up shirt.  Beside her was a young woman, introduced as Lee Gahyeon, who did not seem to have yet reached her Prime vampire age when she stopped aging altogether.  And followed behind them were cases and cases of fresh supply, contributed and funded by Jiu Company as a whole.  There were conversations, lots of words, exchanges of some sort, maybe even gifts.  

Then Kim Minji looked straight at her, passed the crowd – just a shot of a second – but Siyeon swore she saw red in those eyes.  The deepest color of bloodthirst.

An overwhelming aura, an overwhelming scent, and an overwhelming presence.  Everything about Kim Minji was so overwhelming.  And her smile was like the damn sun.

Siyeon fought to recompose herself, feeling a sudden lightheadedness that grew increasingly overbearing.  The uncomfortable tug at her chest became a violent pain that burned throughout her body.  Her senses, heightened and stimulated in extremes.  Noise, even the white noise, became so blaringly loud.

She had not last felt like this since she was first turned, and the heat marked every part of her skin.  It was not long before she hurled to the ground, sweating like a fever-struck human.

The only thing she remembered before everything faded to black was Kim Minji’s face and a strong scent of fresh blood not of her own.

---

“How is she?”

“Still unconscious, but her condition is better.”

“Has this happened before?

“When she first turned, but not ever since.”

“So she’s the one you told me about in your letters…”

“Wait, what happened?  Are you bleeding?”

“It’s a scratch.”

“That does not look like a scratch.  Go to Handong to get this treated.  And change your shirt.  The children are not all well-trained to cope with the smell.”

“Okay.  But call me when she wakes up, please.”

---

Siyeon’s eyes fluttered open, noting first the intricate patterns on the ceiling that she recognized to be her own bedroom chamber.  And with just a small flicker of consciousness, the fatigue immediately crashed her entire body in waves.  She struggled to overcome the weight like stacks of iron bricks pressing against her chest, groaning as the pain rushed through her veins with every slight nudge or movement.

Then there was the persistent itch in her throat that ate away at her senses, crying out to be sated at once or it would consume her whole.

Siyeon was desperately bloodthirsty.

“Hey hey, take it easy.”

A voice rang in her ears –  soft but somehow echoed so loudly in her brain – as a hand soothed her with gentle strokes.  Bora came into view, her expression clearly worried and her face lacking a few days’ rest.  She had been crying a bit, Siyeon noted as she could visibly see how swollen the older woman’s eyes looked.

“How are you feeling?”

“Couldn’t be better,” Siyeon answered sarcastically, her voice just as weak as her state of being, but Bora took the joke as a sign of comfort. 

“Do you remember what happened?”

“...Kind of.”  

Siyeon nodded, recalling specifically the red from Leader’s eyes but not all that went under after.  The pain that was ripping through her body was enough to distract from the embarrassment of the situation.

“How long have I been out...?”

“Three days.”

Bora helped Siyeon to sit up in a more comfortable position, placing a pillow on her back.  The hand that rubbed soothing circles on her arm never left, only gripping more tightly as if Siyeon could disappear to dust at any moment.

“I’m sorry, Siyeon...” Bora whispered, her head hung low as if she was too ashamed to face the younger vampire.

Having been through this conversation a few times before in situations similar to this, Siyeon recognized that look on Bora’s face, and exactly where her apology was directed.  She placed a hand on Bora’s, allowing the older woman to really feel her presence.

“Don’t.  Don’t be,” Siyeon said.  She softly cupped Bora’s cheek, making the latter face her.  “I don’t regret it, and neither should you.”

“But–”

“I was happy, Bora.  Were you?”

“Yes,” Bora leaned into Siyeon’s touch.  “Still am.”

“Me, too,” Siyeon smiled, “and I am happy for you.”

“Thank you…”

Interrupting their conversation, a sharp pain flushed through Siyeon’s veins and scratched violently in her throat.  Her eyes glistened red before fading back to its natural brown.

“I think I need blood,” Siyeon said, already pressing her fingers along her neck and choking it here and there as if that would help.

“Okay, let me go get you a pack–”

As Bora hurriedly stood up, a gust of wind slammed open the windows, shutting the lights from the lamps in a blink and almost strong enough to shatter the glass.

In the presence of the two vampires suddenly appeared Leader in her sleeping robe, her hair loose and slightly disheveled.  It was as though she had just awoken from her slumber.

“For fucks sake, Minji!” Bora exclaimed, startled enough to automatically bounce back onto Siyeon’s bed.  “Just use the doors next time–”

It didn’t take long for them both to notice the tool in Minji’s hand: a shockband, the Council’s control protocol for “vampires going batshit”, as Yoohyeon liked to describe it.  Triggered when a vampire would reach a dangerous level of heightened bloodthirst, one zap was enough to knock an average human being unconscious.  Enough times and it could kill.  A last resort, supposedly.

“What are you doing with that?” Bora asked, naturally protective of her friend as she moved her small body in front of Siyeon.

“Bora, can you please wait outside.”  Leader wasted no time to chime her order.

The latter hesitated, eyes flickering back and forth from Siyeon to the device in Minji’s hand, not knowing exactly what Leader was up to and very concerned for her friend’s wellbeing.

“I won’t hurt her,” Minji reassured.  “It’ll only take a moment.  Hopefully.”

“...Alright.” 

Placing her trust on what she knew about her best friend, Bora obliged and stood up, stroking Siyeon’s hand in comfort when the younger woman lightly tugged at her sleeve, then she walked to the exit. 

“If anything happens, I’m breaking down this door,” Bora threatened before leaving the two alone.

Minji quickly closed the windows she accidentally swung open during her teleportation and then immediately strode to Siyeon.

“Hello, Miss Lee.” 

“Hi...”

“May I?” Minji asked, glancing at the empty space on Siyeon’s bed that Bora occupied earlier.

“Do I have a choice?” Siyeon retorted sarcastically.  

With Siyeon’s mood as sour as it could get, they were definitely not off to a good introduction.

“You do, actually,” Minji replied calmly.  “Either you get on your feet, or I can make this easier for both of us.”

Siyeon scoffed in disbelief.  Her body was too weak to take on the challenge, even though she very much wanted to wipe that smug look on Leader’s face when the latter took her subtle, defeated nod as an approval.

“We can save pleasantries for another night.  Right now, you’re hungry,” Minji stated as a matter of fact as she settled beside Siyeon, moving too close for her comfort.

Leader was only observing her without breaching boundaries, but Siyeon still felt like a headless chicken on a silver platter.

“And you just delayed my feeding,” Siyeon said, almost growling as she emphasized on the blame.  She sounded more aggressive than usual, which was not the most wise thing to do considering who she was talking to, but she was not particularly in the best state to be patient.  “If we wait any longer, I might have to make you my meal, Leader.”

Minji smiled at the threat, and it just made Siyeon more annoyed.

“That’s why I’m here.”

As if things were not already escalating into a weird direction, Minji started loosening the ribbon on her robe, and Siyeon quickly realized that the woman was casually stripping off one of the only two layers she was wearing right in front of her.

“W-What are you doing?” Siyeon stuttered in panic, attempting to back herself as far as she could into her pillow.

“Feeding you,” Minji answered casually, letting the robe hang loosely just right above her chest.

“W-Wait–”

“Listen to me,” Leader said; there it was, again, that authoritative undertone to her soft voice that could demand attention in almost complete willingness.  “You need to do this if you want to get better.”

Nothing was making sense at the moment, and Siyeon was fully aware there were plenty of blood packs in the fridge as an option.  But as strange as the situation became… Kim Minji – with her long purple hair swept over her shoulder, her milky bare skin glowing beautifully in the moonlight peeking through the curtains, her face appearing too ethereal to be neither vampire nor human – looked undeniably appetizing right now.

Just as the portrait had done to her for the past forty years, Siyeon felt hypnotized.

“Don’t try to fight it.  Your eyes are red and your fangs are out.”

There was a bit of a teasing, a bit of flirting, as Minji pointed out Siyeon’s obvious bloodthirst, noticing the younger vampire’s eyes accidentally averting too far down her body, where the fabric still barely hung onto her skin, then nervously darting back up.

“Where would you like it?”

It sounded more suggestive than it should be and if Siyeon could blush, maybe she already had.

“Bite area,” Minji clarified smugly, knowing exactly what her question implied.  “Everyone has a preference.”

In response, Siyeon tapped on her throat as her eyes trained on Minji’s neck.  

As Minji moved to turn her back and adjust her position, Siyeon reached for the older woman’s thigh to stop her, then withdrew her hand just as quickly when she realized what she had done.

Amused by the gesture, Minji asked, “From the front?”

Siyeon nodded, cursing under her breath when she saw the smirk on Minji’s lips as the latter moved even closer than before.  She was already reaching her worst stage of bloodthirst, and this woman was just driving her more insane with her siren behavior.

From her peripheral vision, the tool in Minji’s hand caught Siyeon’s attention again.  She hadn’t forgotten about that, not after having experienced it once in her life; neither had Minji.

“This?” 

Minji held up the shockband, and Siyeon subconsciously flinched, flashbacks from half a century ago replayed in her mind.  The fear, however, quickly dissipated and was replaced by confusion as she watched Minji strapped it on her own wrist, tightening the device and placing the deactivator in Siyeon’s open palm.

“You hold the key,” Minji winked as she closed Siyeon’s hand into a fist.

Their skins brushing, even only by a little, was only doing more to make Siyeon incredibly sensitive.

“What’s in this for you?” Siyeon asked, still suspicious of the Leader’s intent.

“You’re my family, so I’m going to take care of you,” the older woman answered simply.

Minji moved her hair back to reveal more of her neck, and Siyeon subconsciously swallowed at the sight.  She gripped at the bedsheets in restraint, almost tearing through it.  Really, she hated how beautiful this woman looked.

Growing impatient, Minji tugged a hand behind Siyeon’s back and pulled the latter closer, closing the stubborn gap between them.  Startled, Siyeon couldn’t understand how a vampire with so much strength could still be so gentle with her touch as she balanced Siyeon’s weak body in her hold.  The heat in her veins intensified as she started paying attention to how Minji’s robe was dangerously falling off.

“What are you waiting for?  A sample?”

In the most decisive motion, Minji clawed at her own neck, red seeping from the wound and dripped onto her hand.

The scent was at once overwhelming.  

Forfeiting all her sanity to her bloodthirst, Siyeon grabbed Minji’s hand and started licking off the blood from her wrist to the tip of her fingers, sucking on them clean of every drop as she savored the taste swarming her tongue.  Every bit left her wanting more, the craving sinking deeper in the pit of her stomach.  And she hated it, absolutely hated it, blaming the thirst rather than admitting to herself just how good Minji tasted.  

The blood from Minji’s neck hadn’t stopped flowing, trickling unattended from her throat, traveling past her collarbone, and threatening to reach down to her chest.  Siyeon wrapped a hand to Minji’s back, pulling her closer, completely aware that the woman’s robe was only barely kept in place by their bodies pressed together. 

Siyeon shot a glance at Minji; the Leader’s eyes were just as red as her own.  Kim Minji’s calmness was beginning to visibly falter underneath her own bloodthirst, and somehow that thrilled Siyeon even more.

All logic was far lost on Siyeon, now overridden with want.

Leaning in, Siyeon started licking any trace of red on Minji’s skin.  She could feel Minji’s breathing hitched, unevenly, as she grazed her lips in motions like slow kisses.  Threatening to tease the older woman out of pure spite, Siyeon traced her tongue just right above Minji’s bare breast, intentionally sucking on the skin there to drink off the blood that dripped dangerously close to intimacy.  A low moan then escaped from Minji’s lips, leaving Siyeon feeling the backfire as the insides of her churned with another kind of heat.

“Can you not make those sounds?” Siyeon growled, pausing briefly to recompose herself.

“Then maybe you should focus on feeding instead,” Minji replied, lifting Siyeon’s chin with a finger to make the younger vampire face her.  

It sounded like a warning, but Siyeon took it as a dare.

“I like foreplay.”

“Makes the two of us.”

The talks were only making it worse, Siyeon knew.  Minji was making her feel something else other than bloodthirst, and she dared not to put a name on it.  Afterall, the natural hunger was more tolerable than the insatiable heat between her legs.

“Come, take a bite, sweetheart.”

“Will you shut up.”

Siyeon tugged Minji closer, letting her hunger occupy her mind rather than letting her thoughts linger on how Leader’s robe had now slipped off completely.  Not thinking about it didn’t change the fact that she could feel Minji’s bare breasts pressing against her own through her very thin tee-shirt, and now having the urge more than just feeding on blood was making this all the more complicated.

Minji maneuvered the hand that had been supporting Siyeon’s back to her neck, gently inviting, urging, the latter to the right spot.  The subtle choking gave away Minji’s impatience, and Siyeon delighted in just the faintest idea that Leader was slipping on her upper hand.

With a burning warmth rushing on every part of her body, Siyeon kissed the fresh wound on Minji’s neck then dug her fangs deep into the woman’s flesh.  

Kim Minji’s blood was intoxicating.  Like the indulgence of absinthe at its perfect dose right at the climax of aphrodisia and the edge of mania.  

She could hear nothing first but the pulsing against her eardrums that sounded like a faux tantrum beating of hearts, completely overwhelmed by the warmth surging down her throat.  After having been deprived to instant blood bags and unconscious animals, she was reminded, instantly, of the exhilaration from feeding fresh from another being, the pleasure almost akin to the attending of physical needs.  She embraced Minji’s trembling body closer, now wrapping her arm entirely behind the woman’s back as her other hand still grasped tightly onto the key and tearing at the bedsheets.  From hunger to greed, she drank more than enough to fulfill, consuming every drop and more that spewed out from the marks she impressed, but it was not enough to satisfy a different need now seething at the core.  

A cold touch of soft skin and metal crawled underneath her shirt, drawing hesitant circles on her lower back, while the grip on her neck grew firmer every time she became more rough with her feeding.  Siyeon didn’t mind it, fully conscious of what Minji was doing, fully conscious of what they were both doing.  What she did mind, however, was the complete consciousness to her awareness.  She could hear Minji’s breathy moans, her breathless pants all suppressed but still sounded so loud in her moments of heightened senses.  Siyeon wanted more of it, all of it, her fangs sinking deeper and deeper, clawing her nails against Minji’s back and shoulders in a desperate need, not to feed, but to sate an addiction of taste.  This had gone beyond feeding, and if they don’t–

“Stop.”

Siyeon instantly pulled away at Minji’s demand that rang, as if in response, after a sharp jolt that felt barely above a tickle on the small of her back.  She glanced at Minji, a flash of red colored Leader’s eyes, darker this time than the last.

“...how– …how are you feeling?” 

Siyeon nodded.  At the assurance, Minji withdrew the hand that had been supporting her neck; it felt limp as it ghosted away from her body, distancing in a state almost as weak as Siyeon before the feeding.

The fatigue in Siyeon’s body was noticeably gone (replaced, now, by something else entirely different and she would rather not address to save her from the embarrassment).  It was almost strange to hear the question of concern from the latter, considering how Siyeon had just fed off from the older vampire – a high ranking official of the Council, the people’s most beloved celebrity, the Leader Kim Minji – like she was a full course meal reserved just for her.

Her senses, however, remained hypersensitive as she picked the scent of Minji’s blood mixed with burnt flesh.  She quickly glanced at the metal band, spotting a vague mark on the woman’s wrist beneath the iron before the latter tugged it behind her sleeve.  All attention was lost when Siyeon’s eyes subconsciously traveled to Minji’s undone robes, wrinkled from the mess they made, and the woman’s half naked body.

“Like what you see?” The Leader teased, seemingly unfazed under Siyeon’s baffled stare as she regained composure.

Out of sheer panic, Siyeon quickly reacted and pulled the robe back up to cover the woman’s body, realizing too late that the blood from the wound would smear the cashmere.

“Oh…” Siyeon looked at the Leader sheepishly.

“Ah, it’s my favorite…” Minji said, pouting a little at the stain.

Embarrassed, Siyeon ducked her head, whispering a muted “sorry” and sulking from her actions, on top of feeling guilty for taking advantage of the Leader’s offer and unable to restrain herself.  She then felt a hand lift her chin as a finger grazed the blood smeared on her lips.  

Minji leaned in closer to her ear, whispering in the most seductive tone that just made Siyeon’s particular discomfort felt even more uncomfortable. 

“You were a good girl, so I’ll forgive you.”

“You-!” 

Siyeon was about to fight back but Minji had already stood up and her body couldn’t find the right balance to follow after.

“Key?”

Choosing not to look at the older woman so that she wouldn’t have to be more frustrated by the smug look on her face, Siyeon blindly tossed the deactivator into Minji’s hand.

The Leader quickly unlocked the shockband, and hid her wrist behind her sleeve.  No doubt, Siyeon observed, there was a mark.

“Are you–”

“I will take my leave now,” Minji deliberately cut her off.

The sound of loud bangings from outside the doors, alarmed with Bora’s impatient yellings, somehow suggested that it was a good idea.

“Rest well, Miss Lee.  I’ll see you around.”

And with that, Kim Minji exited the room, closing the door behind her and leaving Siyeon alone to her thoughts, the aftertaste of adrenaline on her tongue, the feeling of cold touches and warmth she could still feel ghosting on her skin, and the unruly discomfort between her legs.

She’s so fucking annoying.

---

“I have not treated your wounds for a while now.  Twenty years?”

“And you’re still best at it.”

It was already way late in the night when Minji found her way to Handong’s lab.  Thankfully, the vampire was still there, studying up the samples Leader had brought back from her travels.  With the utmost willingness, Handong had dropped everything and tended to her Leader, her longtime friend.  Handong didn’t question the red scarring that was healing far too slow to be of a mundane cause, and Minji knew the woman could well read where it had originated.  Afterall, Handong had treated many with such wounds in the darker part of their past.

“And I would still prefer not to see you get hurt, for any reason.  It’s already twice this week since you came home,” Handong said, berating a little as she wrapped a bandage dipped in ointment on the wound.  “Was this one self-inflicted like the first?”

Recalling the “scratches” three nights ago on her palm as a result from gripping too hard at her own hand, it was a rhetorical question, but Minji answered anyway, “Yes and no.”

They had gone far back, as far as Minji had with Bora, having met in Wuhan when Minji first started out Jiu Company and was in need of international connections.  Sharing common interests and perspectives, they became fast friends.  And little they did knew that, a couple of centuries later, Minji would somehow become a wingwoman for Bora and Handong when the two were introduced as part of Leader’s army for the war.

“You two look good together,” Minji said, genuinely.

“I guess it’s a soulmate thing.”

“Soulmates...”

Handong didn’t miss the way Minji fell into deep thoughts at the term.

“Does she know?”

Minji’s eyes widened for a moment, but softened just as quickly.  She smiled, shaking her head.

“Nothing’s ever gotten past you, has it?”

“Perhaps with some things, but not this,” Handong said, “What do the kids say, ‘been there done that’?”

“Your other half seem to have gotten no clue. She almost ripped me apart.”

“You know how she is, but it’ll catch onto her eventually.”  Handong peered at the bite marks on Minji’s neck.  “More importantly, is the job done?”

“Half.”

“Well, what do you think of her?”

Minji sighed.  “I’m afraid I have been feeling too much to be thinking properly.”

“Right.  And it would be so much easier if you’d just tell her.”

“What is the truth to a non-believer?”

Minji didn’t quite get why, but Handong laughed.

---

“Ah, you’re still up.”

“So are you...”

Siyeon glanced away from her laptop, spotting Minji debating by the door whether or not she should enter.  It was nearing the break of dawn, the time when all residents were quick to withdraw to their rooms and fall into a deep sleep to avoid the light.  Siyeon, however, had found these hours to be her favorite, usually roaming in the halls or the garden, or lounge about in the family room where she could get the best view of the nearby city from the windows.  She spent her time doing the most mundane things possible, entertaining the hobbies that stayed with her even after she had turned.  She was usually alone, undisturbed within her own company.  Yet, tonight was different.

“I quite like the sun actually,” Minji said, finally deciding to welcome herself inside the room when it didn’t seem like Siyeon would oppose.

And she didn’t, nor did she say anything to Minji’s comment, only silently acknowledging that she felt the same way.  Her sleeping patterns had never changed as a human to now as a vampire, ironically so.  The sunrise had a way of reminding her of the good days that she spent up to her thoughts, alone but not lonely in her solitude.

However, with Minji present, peace in silence was no longer an option.

“How are you feeling?” the older vampire asked.

It had only been a few nights after that incident.  Siyeon still couldn’t shake off memories of the event whenever she laid eyes on Minji, choosing instead to avoid the latter completely whenever she could.  It was still so raw in her mind, the scent of Minji’s blood, her milky skin, her soothing touches, the way she made Siyeon feel–

“Better,” she replied, sighing heavily at the sudden flashes of thoughts that overrode all others.

Peeking from her laptop, she stole glances at Minji.  The woman had walked over to the fireplace and began reading through all the love letters stowed away in her absence, paying extra attention to the ones she fancied more than the others.  They were usually the handwritten ones, Siyeon noticed, the ones that whispered sincerity rather than screamed of egoistic extravagance.

She focused on Minji’s wrist, now clearly wrapped in bandage, remembering the shockband the woman wore that night and the red scarring she saw in vagueness after her feeding.  It wasn’t the first time since their exchange that she had searched for the wound, happening sometimes in moments of stolen glimpses.  Somewhat, she felt guilty for it.

“...Are you okay?” Siyeon asked.  It was a slip, a question that had been reeling in her mind.

Minji turned to Siyeon, obviously surprised at the sudden concern and Siyeon’s initiation of a conversation.  She then followed the latter’s eyes to her own wrist, pulling the sleeve of her robe to cover it, just as she did on that night.

“Worried about me?” Not at all answering the question, Minji countered with a smile and a mischievous flirtatious tone carried in her voice.  

Siyeon almost dismissed her concern altogether, rolling her eyes and focusing back on her laptop.

They fell in silence for a few moments as Siyeon resumed her activity while Minji flipped through her letters.

Full of curiosities, Siyeon couldn’t help but notice whenever a grin befell Minji’s lips.  And really, she smiled like the goddamn sun, Siyeon repeated her first impression to herself.

“You know, text messages are a thing nowadays,” she said, not glancing up from her device.

“I prefer letters,” Minji answered, her focus remained on the papers in her hands.

“Is that just another way of saying you don’t know how to use technology?”

There was no response, and Siyeon smirked.

“If I said yes, would you teach me?”

And the smirk was replaced by a rough cough.  Siyeon avoided the question with another question.

“Do you actually read all of them?”

“I do.”

“Why?”

“Because someone took the effort to write it,” Minji explained, tearing open another letter with the silver knife, “the most I could do to return the sincerity is to read it.”

Siyeon looked to Minji. “You don’t reply.”

“I would rather stay true to my feelings than to indulge in shallow pleasantries.”

“Isn’t that what you always do in politics?  ‘Shallow pleasantries,’ you called it?” 

“That’s politics, sweetheart,” Minji corrected.  “Some of these may well be political, but some are not.  And I do not mess with that emotion.”

Siyeon understood Minji was referring to love, and she agreed in silence.  It was not an emotion to be messed with.

“But to your assumption, I do reply, but only to a few.”

“So even you have favorites,” Siyeon scoffed, earning an intrigued stare from Minji.

“Yes, I do.”

Minji held eye contact, not giving in nor looking anywhere else but at Siyeon.  Uncomfortable under Leader’s prolonged gaze, Siyeon looked away.

Another moment of silence entered the room.  Siyeon tapped away at the laptop, more furiously as the minutes passed.  Suddenly, she stood from the couch, swinging the laptop in her hands as she maneuvered aimlessly in the room while focusing on the screen until she stopped altogether at a perfect spot.

“Finally!” she exclaimed.

Entirely drawn to the subject of her attention, Siyeon didn’t quite realize that she had situated right beside another on the window sill until the latter shifted closer.  Minji’s scent always had a way to overwhelm her more than others.  Must be a Leader thing.

“What was that?” Minji looked to her, curiously and very bewildered by her strange behavior that might have made her appear possessed.

“Wi-Fi problems.  Haven’t had the chance to fix it,” Siyeon said, feeling the need to explain and slightly embarrassed.

She was hoping Minji would move away now that she was here, but it wouldn’t make sense for the Leader to get out of her comfort zone when it was Siyeon who invaded her space.  Siyeon, on the other hand, did not want to move away from her perfect spot of good reception.  So they both stayed by the window sill, neither giving up their spots.

“What are you doing right now?” Minji asked, watching as Siyeon typed and clicked away in a mess she couldn’t quite understand.

“Online shopping.”

A perk of being part of Leader’s family was having a heap of consistent, incoming salary that she didn’t quite know what to do with.  She didn’t want it at first, but the money never stopped rolling in, only increasing exponentially over the years, and eventually Siyeon decided that it was best to spend the majority on charity, and with a hefty amount still left over, on her personal shopping spree (and sometimes furniture replacements when Handong and Bora decide to make the family room their playground).

“I like that.  It’s pretty,” Minji said, pointing at a pink one-piece on the screen.

Siyeon’s breathing hitch at the sudden close proximity, nudging away from the Leader as she could feel heat rising on the back of her neck.  Minji started rubbing a hand on the back of her neck and withdrew back to her spot, and Siyeon let out the breath she was holding.

When Minji fell into silence, it was Siyeon’s turn to peek over, glancing at the envelope in the older woman’s hand.

“To my soulmate…” Siyeon said, accidentally reading the words that caught her attention aloud.

Minji looked at her, and Siyeon drew back.  The younger vampire didn’t question it, yet she kept stealing glances at the writing on the envelope.

“It’s what they think,” Minji clarified.  “Strong emotions could easily be mistaken for the symptoms of engaging with your soulmate, afterall.”

“So you’re not…”

Minji shook her head, and Siyeon just shrugged and withdrew back to her corner.  However, the topic sparked another conversation.

“I heard you don’t believe in soulmates,” Minji asked, “Why is that?”

“It doesn’t make sense,” Siyeon answered, like she had it recited from memory as to what she would say to that question.

“Because the choice is not yours, so you don’t believe it.”

Bemused and amused altogether, Siyeon glanced at Minji.  The woman did not seek for an explanation like others or went on a spiral to convince her otherwise, but she had managed to pin-point exactly of Siyeon’s reason as if she was just casually speaking her own.

“What about you?”

“Somewhat.”

“Why?”

“Sometimes I’m forced to believe in things when it happens before me.”

Siyeon thought, for a moment, Minji was referring to their friends.  However, Minji didn’t clarify nor say anything else, and Siyeon didn’t ask further, so the night went on until both parted with little words.

Yet, well into her sleep, Siyeon couldn’t stop thinking about what Minji said last.

---

“And then you go for the neck.  Or wherever you want, really.”

Siyeon instructed, pulling out the dagger she had jabbed right in the heart of the deer.

“Is it dead…?” Gahyeon asked, her expression distorting to that of disgust, but her body language spoke of curiosity as she crouched down to examine the deep cut and the blood spewing out.  “Do we leave the corpse here?”

“Yes.  Others will come for it.”

It was a beautiful dusk, and the Left Wingers had decided to go for an outing in their hunting grounds, a forest up the hills a few miles from the estate, a private territory owned by Leader and reserved solely for the residents of her home.  Handong had proceeded to collect plant samples for her studies with Bora following closely, just ‘cause.  Yoohyeon and Yubin found their interests in Minji’s storytelling, and had settled along the riverbank.  And Siyeon was with Gahyeon, teaching the younger vampire the art of hunting.

It didn’t take much for Siyeon to get along with the new girl.  They shared a lot of commonalities, not just in the way that they were both non-Purebloods under the roof of all Purebloods, no, although that surely had played its part in the history of their simple upbringing, the life they left behind, and the things they used to love that had now become so much more distant.  Thanks to the company they had been blessed to belong to, they had both escaped the worse fate that had fortunately missed them by barely a step at the heels.

“You, uh, might want to control that,” Siyeon said, tapping at her own eyes to signal to the younger vampire.

Puzzled, Gahyeon pulled her cellphone and turned on the selfie cam.  “Oh… oh.”

Siyeon chuckled.  It wasn’t a reaction she expected, but the younger vampire’s fascination over her own bloodthirst intrigued her, even more so when Gahyeon took a few selfies with her red eyes.

“I take it you don’t drink fresh blood often?”

Gahyeon shook her head.  “Jiu Company’s blood packs are more than good enough.”

Siyeon cradled the animal in her gloved hand.

“Go on.  You must drink shortly after its death,” Siyeon reminded; it was a basic lesson all young vampires had to learn early to avoid food poisoning, or just a bad tasting meal in general.

Siyeon watched as Gahyeon sank her teeth into the creature’s neck, sipping her fill in a minute.  When she pulled away, her mouth was covered messily with the blood, earning another chuckle from Siyeon who found this awfully amusing.

“How was it?” the older vampire asked, wiping the latter’s mouth with a convenient handkerchief she always carried during her hunts.

“...Raw,” Gahyeon said, making popping sounds with her lips as she let the taste sink in.

“Don’t like it?”

“I do, actually.  It’s just-...  It’s different.  I’m just not used to it.”

Truly, Siyeon thought, there was nothing about Gahyeon that she could dislike.  The young woman was quite amiable, and her company, pleasant.  She was very curious, however, as if she had specifically picked up from Minji to constantly ask questions, or maybe their similarities were the exact reason why Leader seemed to have personally favored her out of the others.  Nevertheless, Siyeon liked Gahyeon.  So much so that she had volunteered to mentor the younger vampire in her area of strength, excusing it as merely, “I have too much free time.”   Minji seemed to be quite delighted by the offer, and hurriedly sent Gahyeon off with Siyeon like she was sending her kid off to school.  Interesting dynamic the two had, Siyeon observed.

Gahyeon wasn’t at all intimidated by Siyeon like all the other young vampires once had (or still were); instead, she quickly grew attached to the woman.  Something about her eyes told Siyeon that this girl had seen more of life, the darker parts of it, than most would in their early years of vampire life.  And yet, it was as if she had been given a great gift, as if a garden of spider lilies had bloomed within herself, bidding goodbyes to the life of old in an absolute acceptance that there was nothing more she could have done.  Simply put, Gahyeon was full of appreciation for her new life.

“Did you choose it?” Siyeon asked after her own feeding.

“Sharp fangs, red eyes, cool powers, and oh great immortality?  Not really.  I chose to live.”  There was a bittersweet smile on Gahyeon’s lips as she answered, “Quite ironic, I know, since we are biologically undead.”

“Do you feel alive?”

Gahyeon thought for a moment, then she nodded, her smile brimming more sincerely than the last.

“Yes.”

“Then you are.”

It was as if epiphany had hit her from simple words, and her eyes lit up and her lips formed the prettiest grin.

“Yes, yes you are right!  I am.”

Siyeon smiled, feeling a sense of happiness surging from Gahyeon’s response.

She then looked to the deer; even now, she was not immune to death, especially the ones at her hands.  Offering a silent gratitude and prayers for its safe departure in her mind, she closed the eyes of the animal.

“I once thought being a vampire would somehow feel different.  That it would transform me,” Siyeon started, “but aside from the obvious, I feel… the same.  I think the same.  I see things differently, of course, I see more now.  My eyesight used to be so horrible that I had to constantly wear these ugly-looking glasses.  Kids nowadays have it so much better with fashion.”  Siyeon laughed, and Gahyeon seemed to nod in agreement.  “Who we were, it never left us.  The things we liked, the things we detested, our curiosities, our interests, our particularities, our emotions, everything we believe to be part of our core personality – the things that made us different from one another, the very things that connect us – stayed.  Maybe all that changed is the way we live now, our lifestyle.”

Siyeon sighed.  They were thoughts, self-reflections, that she had not shared with anyone, but Gahyeon gave her the impression the younger vampire could grasp what she meant.

“Looks like we’re all similar in the way that we are all different.  It boils down to who we are… individually.  As a being, human or not,” Gahyeon added.  

“Are you happy here?” Siyeon asked, genuinely concerned.  It was something Bora had always asked her when she first decided to live in the estate.

“Yes, I am, actually.  Everyone has been quite welcoming.  Sincere.”

“They are...”

“Siyeon, you…” Gahyeon started, looking into the latter’s eyes, “...you remind me of Leader.  When I’m with you, I feel – how should I say this – understood?  Connected?”

It felt strange, Siyeon thought, to be compared to Minji in such a sense.

“I’ll take it if that’s a good thing.”

“Honestly, I’m relieved you’re much nicer than rumors made you to be.  Leader’s curiosity for you always made me curious, myself.”

Distractedly, Siyeon glanced over her shoulder for a brief moment at one of the taller trees, then focused back on Gahyeon, seeking clarification, “Curiosity?”

“Leader wondered about you often.  She seems quite bothered by it even.  Sometimes I heard her mumble ‘Lee Siyeon’ to herself when she read Bora’s letters.  Leader Minji doesn’t like not knowing things, you see.  Like, know know things, not just through stories.  You’re like, an anomaly she had always been curious about,” Gahyeon went on, “but it seems you two are quite similar.”

Siyeon chuckled to herself, saying nothing to what Gahyeon just told her, only glancing briefly over her shoulder again.

“Oh shoot, that reminds me!”

From her bag, Gahyeon then pulled out an empty, expensive-looking wine glass.  She paused, staring at the dead animal in front of her, and then back at the glass, then back at the deer, and finally at Siyeon who was bewilderedly watching the whole thing.

“...What?” Siyeon finally asked.

“Leader asked me to get her some…”

Of course she did.   Siyeon stared at the wine glass, and really, she expected no less from the older woman.

“I’ll do it.  Turn away if you don’t want to watch.”

Despite Siyeon’s warning, Gahyeon watched with full attention, observing the way she made another skillful slit with her dagger, just big enough to fill two-thirds of the glass.  She then pulled another handkerchief from her pocket, cleaning the brim to make it appear more presentable.  As she was about to hand the drink back to the younger vampire, a voice – Yoohyeon’s – called out from the distance.

“Gahyeonnie!  Come here!”

“Go,” Siyeon said, withdrawing the glass, “I’ll give this to Leader.”

Gahyeon hesitated for a second before another voice called out – Bora’s – even more loudly.

“Lee Gahyeon!” 

“I’ll be right there!” Gahyeon stood up, not without expressing her gratitude in a deep bow and a bright smile.  “Thank you, Siyeon.  Please teach me more soon.”

“I will.  Now go, Bora is not a patient person.”

Siyeon followed Gahyeon’s movement until the younger girl disappeared.  She then stood up, dusting off her pants with one hand as the other still held tightly onto the blood-filled wine glass.  Heaving a deep sigh and clicking at her tongue, she walked over to the tall tree.

“I didn’t peg you as an eavesdropper,” Siyeon said, handing the wine glass to the figure that had stepped out from the shadows.

Leader smiled, not acting at all astonished when exposed.

“Pardon my manners,” Minji said, accepting the glass, grazing her hand on Siyeon’s as she did.

“So is it true, what Gahyeon said?”

“Which part?”

There was a smug look on Siyeon’s face, as if she had won.  Over what, that part she wasn’t quite sure of, but it felt weirdly good nonetheless.

“You were that curious about me?” 

Downing the drink slowly, Minji’s eyes never left the other vampire’s.  Licking her lips, Minji returned Siyeon’s sly smirk with her own.

“I am.”

---

“Hey, I found only five today,” Yubin started, disappointed.

“Me, too…” Gahyeon said, earning pats on the back from Yubin.

“Ha! I won, I got ten,” Yoohyeon chimed in.

“Really, Minji, out of all the things you could give them!” Bora complained, hand holding a fistful.  She discreetly turned to Handong, whispering, “How many do you have, baby?”

“Twenty,” the orange-hair vampire answered, shrugging as if it was the easiest task.  

From across the room, Siyeon sat on the window sill, seemingly uninvolved with the situation and entertaining herself with a mobile game that she found to be more interesting.  

“What about you, Siyeon?” Handong asked, noting the silence from the other vampire.

“I’m not playing,” Siyeon replied, not even bothering to give a passing glance at the chaos before her.

“That’s a pity,” a voice next to her said in a low whisper.

Siyeon peeked up at Minji, who was now leaning against the wall by the window, keeping a respectable distance but still too much in Siyeon’s sight for her preference.  

The dynamic within their family had not changed much since Leader’s return or with the addition of Gahyeon.  It was just as loud, just as rowdy, just as… warm.  If not more.  Siyeon was starting to think it wasn’t so bad, until this happened.

Among all the useful and strange souvenirs Leader had brought home were stacks of her company’s palm-sized stickers with just the letters “JIU” in holographic print.  The kids of the right wing, thinking it would be funny (and under Leader’s own initiation, as they all later found out), had placed the stickers across the estate, hidden in the strangest places, and made it into a game against the left wing residents to see who could retrieve the most.  Despite the complaints of having to clean up their mess, the family seemed to have soon regarded the activity as fun competition.  And, surely, they became increasingly more competitive and serious when Leader had offered the prize at stake to be a full case of premium blood packs.

“Hey, not there!” Siyeon called out in her most threatening voice when a few youngsters attempted to graffiti those gaudy stickers onto what they thought would be the most appropriate place: Leader’s portrait.  

“I told you The Wolf would come!  Run!” one cried out before they scurried away as fast as they could, passing on the word to their fellow classmates as to not mess with Siyeon’s authority and laying off that area completely.

“Should I thank you?”

A voice asked as Siyeon peeled off the few stickers that managed to stick to the frame before she arrived.  Already knowing whose presence had greeted her, she turned around to face the subject of the portrait.

“Perhaps you should start by giving these kids some new toys that wouldn’t bother us so much,” Siyeon replied, gritting her teeth.

Intrigued, Leader watched the way Siyeon shoved the stickers into her pants pockets.  “Keeping those?” 

Rolling her eyes, Siyeon wordlessly passed Minji and walked off.

It was amusing, to say the least, when Minji received a package by her chamber’s door a few days later that was littered with countless JIU stickers, covering every surface of the box.  Inside was an entirely new cashmere robe, similar to the one she wore on the night of Siyeon’s feeding, and folded within the expensive piece of clothing was the pink one-piece she recognized to be the same one she had casually paid her compliments while Siyeon was shopping.  Beneath everything was a single nameless note:

“Thank you.  P.S. Also thank you for fixing the Wi-Fi.”

Minji smiled to herself.

“Looks like we have our winner.”

---

“There you are.”

It was surprisingly easy for Siyeon to find Minji, sitting with her book and a juice box in hand among the lilies and sunflowers.  She followed her senses to the Leader’s private garden, the view she could see from the windows of her own chamber; Minji’s aura had stuck out, overwhelmingly so, among the rest.

“...How did you…?”

Siyeon mirrored Minji’s puzzled expression, as if the woman was still taking time to acknowledge her sudden presence.

“Your scent…?”

Like a passing epiphany, Minji’s expression quickly soothed to a soft, welcoming smile.  She started fishing out an item from what appeared to be a 4-count variety pack beside her and extended it toward Siyeon.

“Want some?” 

Blood… in a juice box.  

Hesitant but curious, Siyeon accepted the carton from Minji’s hand.  An authentic, well-designed, well-manufactured item with specific breakdowns of “vampiric vitamins” and other nutrition facts from blood types to “best consumed before” date.  

A popular product by Jiu Company.

“Bora requested for you,” Siyeon said blankly, still examining the rather interesting box.

“Is it urgent?” Minji asked, flipping to another page of her book.

“It is.”

Minji peered up, seeking an objective answer.

“To Bora,” Siyeon added.

They both understood the implication and knew fairly well of their mutual friend’s typical behavior: if it was really urgent, Bora would have gone to meet with Minji, herself.

“Come, sit,” Minji suggested, tapping the empty space next to her.  “I have a few more pages left in this chapter.”

The refusal was at the tip of her tongue and the edge of her heel, but Siyeon wasn’t sure what exactly compelled her to oblige instead.  She occupied the space on the bench next to Minji, the gap between them much smaller than she had expected.

Poking the tiny plastic straw into the carton, Siyeon began sipping at the blood box.  Her eyes widened in surprise (and obvious delight) when the taste hit.  

Type B… Her favorite.

“How is it?” Minji asked genuinely, not looking away from her book.

“It’s like… late night instant ramyeon,” Siyeon replied, recalling the closest equivalent feeling she knew from her human days.

Even though she couldn’t have known what that felt like, Minji let out a small laugh to herself, amused nonetheless.

“I believe that is the best review I have ever received, Miss Lee.”

“You’d get hate comments from the Purebloods if that were to ever be posted online.”

(Siyeon didn’t miss the way Minji’s proud smile stayed brimming at the corner of her lips as she emptied the drink in less than a minute.)

Entertaining herself with the scenery of the garden, Siyeon kept her line of sight forward.  It had been looking healthier since Leader’s return.  There were more colors splaying across the field than just a dead brown, making it the most alive thing that lived in the estate.  She bent down to touch the coral rose drooping at her feet, not careful of the thorns that were quick to prick at her finger.  Her blood barely seeped from the wound as it healed in less than half a second. 

Siyeon then felt a shift from the bench, accompanied by what sounded like a harsh inhale of the juice box and a clearing of the throat that followed.  She glanced at the Leader, who now had her legs crossed as her eyes resumed focus on the book in front of her.  Siyeon could have sworn she saw a glimmer of red.

Still, it was not long until she started stealing more glances at the woman next to her, completely forgetting about the flowers that became a miniscule subject of interest.

The imagery was almost comedic: the great Leader sipping on a juice box of blood like a child all the while completely immersed in the fourth novel of the Twilight series.  It was a funny sight, surely, and Siyeon couldn’t stop staring.  How her long violet hair glistened, seemingly enchanting, under the dusk lights, as she gently tugged its stray strands behind her soft ear, revealing more of a perfect-portrait side profile that seemed fair like that of a young mistress than of a centuries-old dark entity.  How she would nibble her nails at moments of suspense, yet her red lips pursed in small, gentle smiles at the sweet, fictitious promises written on the pages.  How the look in her eyes shine, with so much life , unchallenged to the moonlight overhead.  The subject of the portrait that she had gaze upon night after night was here, in the flesh.  

“Siyeon.”

Siyeon broke away from her trance when Minji called out, the woman’s eyes now meeting her own.  The Leader had not called her by her given name, at least not to Siyeon ever since they had met.  It sounded so strange in her voice, so gentle, and yet, so…– The unsettling discomfort tugged at Siyeon’s chest again.  

“Thanks for taking care of Gahyeon, Miss Lee,” the Leader said.

“She’s a good kid,” Siyeon replied, continuing the conversation to deviate from addressing whatever that just happened.

“Her parents were caught in a crossfire before the Civil War, leaving her an orphan,” Minji went on. “She didn’t have long to live with the cancer in her blood.”

“So you turned her?”

“She wanted to live, and it was the only way.”

There was a sound of conflict in Minji’s answer, one that confronted the accusations of Siyeon’s question with a sad truth that sounded as reasonable as a vampire’s “good ethics” could get.  She remembered Gahyeon, of the young woman’s gratefulness for another chance, and Siyeon couldn’t blame her.

“How was life as a human?”

At the Leader’s unexpected chattiness, Siyeon turned to glance at Minji, who was still reading through the pages of her novel.  This was becoming a conversation, again.  Wary but curious as to where it could lead, Siyeon decided to go with the flow.

“Before or after the Plague?”

“Before.”

“Dull.”

“After?”

“Dead.”

“Do you regret it?”

“You make it sound like I had a choice.”

Minji placed a pressed flower on the page and closed her book, setting it aside next to the empty blood box.  She shifted her body to face Siyeon, looking right into the other woman’s eyes as if she saw right through her without having to actually read her thoughts.

“Was love not a choice?” Minji asked.

Siyeon scoffed, rolling her eyes and running a hand through her fringe.

“Be careful, Leader, I might have to kill you if you tarnish my reputation with what you know.”

“Mhm… Gossip on the The Wolf does sound tempting,” Minji teased, and Siyeon was not convinced the other woman even thought of it as a secret worth keeping. Still, she reassured, “But it’s safe with me.”

There must have been something in that blood box, Siyeon blamed, because she felt compelled to satisfy Minji’s curiosity; or was it to entertain the great Leader’s attention that was now hers and hers, alone.

“Falling in love with a vampire and choosing a life of eternity to follow her?  No, I don’t regret it.”

“Even if you’re not together anymore?” 

“I had nothing to lose, and we had our fun.”  That question usually followed, Siyeon expected no less.  “Bora is happy with her soulmate, and I’m happy for her.  Maybe things are even better now.”

“Did it not work out because she found her soulmate?”

“It’s because I’m not her soulmate,” Siyeon corrected; phrasing mattered.  It’s what she convinced herself for years, after all.  “But no, we had our differences and broke up years before they met.”

“I thought you don’t believe in soulmates.”

“I don’t.  But it made sense then.  And what made sense at the time was… comforting.”

Resonating with Siyeon’s words, Minji nodded to herself.

“Do you still love her?”

“No,”  Siyeon answered too quickly, and it felt strange rolling off the tip of her tongue even if it was true.  “I’m not in love with her anymore.”

The silence came back for a moment as Siyeon recomposed herself and struggled to understand her own reaction.  In the midst of her thought, another blood box was handed on her lap.

“Do you have Type A?” Siyeon asked.

“No, sorry.”  Minji held up the first empty box she had already consumed.  “Is Type A your favorite, too?”

Too.   

“No, um… Type A is my blood type.  I like Type B, actually.”

“Oh…” 

Minji rubbed a hand on the back of her neck; that was the second time she had seen the Leader do that, Siyeon observed.  A habit?  Out of nervousness– no, she doubted that.  

And then Siyeon could hear Minji mumbling to herself, and really, it just made things worse.

“That’s my blood type.”

Well, that explains it… Siyeon thought, chasing away the flashbacks of their first meeting.

Both quickly consumed the blood boxes in a short silence, hoping that it would somehow suck dry the awkward air.

“I heard you are fascinated with humans.  Why?” Siyeon asked, taking her turn to question so she could fill the void with anything but the aftertaste of their earlier exchange.

“Because humans have taught me fascinating things that I wouldn’t have learned otherwise.”

Minji looked up to the sky, searching among the constellations that were starting to shine brighter as the sun sank deeper beyond the horizon. 

“At least, one did.”

Siyeon pinched at her skin; it was starting to feel like she was stepping into something she shouldn’t have.  But she couldn’t resist to not ask, and to not know .

“Lover?”

Nodding slowly, Minji debated a little if that was exactly what she wanted to call the person, but decided that it was the closest to the truth.

“Something like that.”

“Then where are they?”

“She passed on.  For almost two centuries now.”

From the smile on her lips as she told of the story in the most simple way, Siyeon could read that Minji had already come to peace with it. 

“Could have turned her,” Siyeon said in jest.

There was something unreadable about Minji’s expression when she fell silent for a fleeting moment, before mumbling, almost muted, “She had too much to lose.”

Secrets.  They were sharing secrets, Siyeon realized.  It would have been a taboo otherwise, for their Leader to indulge in a romantic relationship with a human, yet this was the first she’d ever heard of it.  It reminded her of the times Bora would crawl into her bedroom’s window right before dawnbreak, dealing with the annoying sun instead to avoid gossip.

“Soulmate...?” Siyeon asked, with a tad playfulness spoken as a non-believer.

Minji shook her head with a chuckle.  “No.”

They both understood it didn’t make the love any less.

Siyeon turned her body to face Minji.  Not knowing exactly how far they had fallen down the rabbit’s hole with their questions, she couldn’t call it simple curiosity anymore, because maybe it wasn’t.

“Did you find yours?  Soulmate.”

Minji looked at her, and at that moment, Siyeon felt like she was staring at the subject of the portrait that she had grown to become so familiar with.  It was Minji all the same, but yet, it felt different.

“I did.”

It sounded raw, and honest, so much so that Siyeon felt tempted to break the rules and plunge into the Leader’s thoughts to dig deeper.  She didn’t know why, but she wanted to know.  Of the how.  Of the who-

A loud explosion sounded from the left wing, nearing the kitchen where Siyeon last left Bora alone to tend to her concoctions.  (Without Handong’s presence, she should have known that was a bad idea.)

“Seemed like it was more urgent than we thought.”  Minji laughed and stood from the bench.  “Shall we go?”

Siyeon stared at Minji’s hand extended to her, and without much thought, accepted it into her own.

---

“What took you so long?” Bora complained as she dust off the ashes that caught on her skin.

The Leader was at fair distance, busy fixing the solutions and cleaning up the mess that her best friend had caused.

“She wanted to finish the chapter of her book,” Siyeon shrugged nonchalantly.

“Where were you?”

“The garden.”

“The main court’s?”

“No, her garden.”

There was a pause as Bora tried to wrap her head around what Siyeon had just told her.  She looked just as confused as Minji when Siyeon walked up to her a few moments ago.

“Like you saw her walking into her garden…?”

“No, I followed her scent and found her there.”

“How… did you even find her?”

Bora was staring at Siyeon as if she was being ridiculous, and Siyeon was starting to think Bora was testing her sanity.

“What do you mean?”

“When Minji is in her garden, her aura and scent, basically her entire presence, are completely muted.”

“So you’re saying…?”

“In other words, it would be impossible to find her.”

---

Siyeon peered outside the window, watching as another unfamiliar figure exited the gates.  It was the third one this week, coming from the direction of the guestroom.

“Did you get it?  The invitation from Leader?”

Shaking off the conversation she last heard in the club, Siyeon attempted to focus back to her work.  Her moments before daybreak grew quieter with the lack of Leader’s presence.  Minji had not been stopping by for the past few nights.

Strange, how solitude felt so much colder than she remembered.