When Blood Meets Silver

Chapter 10

"I'm strong, remember?"

"Wow."

"I'm sorry for worrying you. I really had to leave, and came here to release everything I had inside me."

"Why did you leave like that?"

Should she let it out?

"The sun is almost up. Wanna go watch the sunrise?"

Heejin showed a small smile and nodded, following her again outside.

Hyunjin had a perfect spot for that. Just a bit further into the woods, and there was a small hill with no trees ahead, where the whole sky was wide open to them.

They sat down on the grass, and the horizon was a bright shade of yellow, the sun almost there.

"Did Jinsol stay?" Hyunjin asked.

"Yes. She said there was no problem in sleeping in your bedroom."

"It's not the first, second, or even third time she did."

"You seem very close."

"We are. She told you how we met, right?"

"She told me you saved her from another vampire."

"That's right. I was hunting that vampire, and I was just in time to stop him from feeding on her. Since she had seen vampires, right in front of her, there was no way to hide it from her, so I told her everything. She was shocked at first, of course. But she chose to stay by my side, and help me with my job, since she's a detective."

The sun showed up, the bright light illuminating the scenery.

"It's beautiful," Heejin mumbled.

Hyunjin turned her neck and stared at Heejin instead. At how the sun shone on her face, creating an aura around her perfect side profile.

"Why did you protect me yesterday?"

Heejin met her eyes, but averted her gaze to the sunrise again. "How could I let her attack you?"

Hyunjin irked an eyebrow. "Isn't it your job? Her job?"

"To kill people who did nothing wrong?" Heejin met her stare again. "No."

Hyunjin opened her mouth to answer, but nothing came. She looked down, as if trying to come up with something to say, but in fact was to hide how her eyes suddenly stung.

"Yesterday, I left because of what I learned," she ended up saying. Changing the subject was the best for now. "The name Jiwoo mentioned... Jaebum."

"Their leader?"

The sun was too bright, it almost hurt to stare directly at it. But Hyunjin still did. "He's my sire."

Hyunjin peeked at her, and Heejin's chin hanged low.

"The... one that turned you?" she asked, and Hyunjin nodded. "And the one... that killed your family."

"Yes. I saw him, Heejin. When we were running away, when someone shouted and I stopped. When I hurt you from how much I held on you and when I was walking back. It was him, there, standing, right in front of me eyes."

"I-I'm sorry, I had no idea. It must have taken everything you had to keep your focus on running."

"My priority was to bring you, Jungeun, and Jiwoo here. I couldn't break the promise I had made them, and I didn't have anything to fight with. I know now that he's the one behind all of that, and my objective is clear. I will take them down, take him down."

"We, Hyunjin. We will."

"No, Heejin. They're not ones to joke around. You saw what they're capable of. So easily they got you and me, I don't wanna put anyone at risk-"