When Blood Meets Silver

Chapter 15

"Oh, yeah, I do. I used to play the piano, back at home. But after... my parents died and I moved in with the Silver Blades, I never played it anymore."

Hyunjin stood up. "Let me listen to it."

"Oh, no, it's been a while. I'm super rusty-"

Hyunjin grabbed her hands and pulled her up, guiding her to the bench and pushing her down. "Doesn't matter. I played for you, it's only fair you play for me."

"Fine, but don't expect much, really."

Hyunjin sat where Heejin was sitting previously. She observed as Heejin looked down, hovering her fingers near the keys, as if trying to remember where to start. Lowering her fingers, she pressed down the keys, and Hyunjin recognized it the same second. Rusty, as Heejin had said, a wrong chord here or there, but it was unmistakably...

"Moonlight Sonata, the first movement," Hyunjin said when she was done.

"My mom always played it for me when I was younger, and then I asked her to teach me. It was the first song I learned and the one I practiced the most, so it's still very present in my mind."

"I had no idea you even knew that song."

Heejin smiled, and Hyunjin could imagine how past memories flooded her mind.

"You know," Hyunjin said. "I played that whole song in the night we met. After our... unusual first encounter, I came home, and I couldn't stop thinking about why in the moon you didn't report me to Chaewon and Hyejoo."

Heejin's lips came apart. "I also couldn't stop thinking about why you didn't attack me. It was the first time in my whole life a vampire did not try and straight up kill me. And not just that... you saved me."

"It's part of my job." Hyunjin shrugged. "Even if it means saving an ungrateful ass."

"Yah!" Heejin stood up and took a step closer, towering over the still sitting Hyunjin.

"The only way you will ever be taller than me." Hyunjin smirked, looking up at her.

Heejin launched at her with gritted teeth. Laughing, Hyunjin protected herself with her arms over her head. "Help, I'm being attacked by a terrifying slayer!"

"Weren't you the one saying you would never lose to me?" Heejin gripped on her arms and pushed Hyunjin down, and instead of fighting back, Hyunjin kept laughing and let her body fall until it hit the couch, but Heejin didn't let go of her arms.

So when Hyunjin's eyes met Heejin's, their faces barely an inch away and Heejin's body on top of hers, Hyunjin stopped laughing.

"Was I really an ungrateful ass?" Heejin's tone suddenly became serious, and Hyunjin wondered how her voice could become any deeper.

And Hyunjin had heard it, the question. But in that moment, she couldn't come up to answer anything. Not when Heejin looked so effortlessly pretty it was almost unfair. And she was right there, so close, and she smelled so good, and her heart was beating so fast, and her deep tone still rang in Hyunjin's ears--

Someone cleared their throat. "Are we... interrupting something?" Hyejoo asked, as Heejin and Hyunjin rushed to get on their feet.

"N-No, nothing at all, what would you be interrupting?" Hyunjin said, trying to sound as casual as she could.

Jungeun facepalmed, shaking her head, and Jiwoo visibly contained a laugh.

"Where's Jinsol? I'm hungry," Chaewon whined.

"She's arriving, actually. And she brings chicken," Hyejoo said.

Chaewon looked up at her, big eyes shining at her. "Wow, Hyejoo, you're amazing."