Block A 「Nishimura Riki」

9

"The only thing was that I wasn't," Sunghoon commented.

Once again, Eiko was confused. Soon enough the emotion would permanently paint over her face in enough time. "Huh?"

"It's a long story. But I wasn't born a vampire. It happened later on, only a few years ago. And people who are turned can never fully be a vampire, it's a myth. We hold some aspects but we're not vampires. So that's why I can't explain it." He sighed after a while. "By technicality, I am. But by blood, I'm not."

"Woah," Eiko mumbled. "That sounds...cool."

At her childishness, Sunghoon laughed. "Didn't you hate the idea just a day ago, what's with the switch up?"

Eiko elbowed him in the side particularly hard. "I had an epiphany," she joked. "But no, I still kind of hate it. Block A isn't meant for people like me. It'll give experiences that aren't pleasant. But your story was cool."

Through an unsure grin, Sunghoon replied. "Thanks?"

Eiko trashed her cup. "I guess we couldn't avoid the serious talk huh? Eh. Come on, we're here. Entry is on me."

===

The place was spacious and pretty much vacant. More people went to inside ice skating rinks when it approached fall and winter, regular rinks were at least half of what the population used to be.

That could also be why Eiko saw at least five couples already. It offered a lot more alone time for them. Eiko just hoped they wouldn't act all lovey dovey in public. PDA was not her thing.

"I do want to warn. I have no clue how to skate," Eiko informed him. She stood up on shaky legs once she tied them.

"Then why did you suggest this place?" Sunghoon questioned, already about to step on the floor.

Eiko crossed her arms. "Wanted to see if you were actually good or some phony." She pointed to the floor. "A true ice skater would know how to do both. So get to skating."

"Okay," he hummed. Sunghoon skated over to her with an amicable expression. When he reached her though, Eiko wasn't fully expecting to be dragged into the floor along with him.

"Sunghoon, you piece of— hey!" She groaned as she lost her footing as her feet slipped forward. It wasn't a painful fall, but it was annoying. Especially when Sunghoon skated effortlessly to the center and laughed at Eiko the entire time.

Eiko grappled onto the railing and kept her grip tight. She stumbled getting up and let out every curse in her head.

"Practice makes perfect." He went around the rink in a couple of swift moves before he came back to her. It was easy for him. He had been skating for a while after all. But skating around people was a different feat.

Eiko scoffed. "Help me then."

Sunghoon smugly shrugged. "I'll give you a piece of advice then."

Eiko waited to hear what he was going to say.

"Baby steps."

And it only made her a bit more petulant.

===

Eiko was first to compliment the moment despite all of her past complaints. "It was fun after I got the hang of it," she said. "I used to go skating with my friends when I was younger and I never really picked up how to skate no matter how many times we went. I guess I'm improving now albeit a little late."

"Only a little," Sunghoon remarked.

Eiko only rolled her eyes. If this constant teasing marked the beginning of a friendship between her and Sunghoon then she wanted to go back. "You take the fun out of it." She crossed her arms.

Nonetheless he was entertained by her response.

"But I'm guessing this adds to your memories, right?" Eiko stated almost with a joyful cadence to her sweet voice. "Along with the one yesterday, and the few you made with Jay and Jake."

They were walking back to the café now. It had only been two hours or so since they met up, meaning it was around five. Not bad timing, seeing as the sun set during seven. Eiko slowly began to work a schedule around the pattern.

Sunghoon agreed. "It does." Eiko noticed a soft and very subtle semblance of a satisfied beam coming across his lips. As cliché as it was, it made Eiko wear content across hers as well.

"I never told you," stated Sunghoon as he focused his gaze forward.

"Told me what?" Eiko asked back.

"How I met Jake. I guess you're still clueless on how we became friends." Sunghoon pocketed his phone securely. "We met as soon as I entered year 11. Jay and I went to the same high school and we met Jake the same way. Vampires have a keen sense of smell when it comes to detecting who is one of them and who wasn't. It gets a little blurry for people who were...switched but it's still noticeable. He met Jay first because he could detect him the best. The me after. You can say from there Jake and I clicked."

He continued, "our personalities were the same so we related a lot. Then we became close and here we are now."

Eiko hummed a constant, almost buzzing note. Vampire revelations were beginning to become nothing new to her. They were casually thrown into conversations and she didn't have enough time to even think about it. Eiko didn't even know if she should care about it anymore. There's a lot more to worry about than revealing who the next vampire was. It would be pointless to stagger on it.

There were more important things than worrying about it.

"So why do I need to stay away from Jake— no, vampires in general? It's not like I can avoid them," Eiko inquired.

"You would die." Sunghoon put it simply. "It's why we need the routine back as soon as possible. Have you ever questioned why you've gotten sudden aches when you were around a vampire?"

The first statement flew over her head as she avoided it and she thought back. He was right. In the beginning, she would get headaches that short-circuited her brain but recently she didn't feel them as much.

She nodded gingerly.

"Those are the starting stages of it all. You'll get used to them eventually, but when you get used to them the worse they'll get, you'll just never notice them yourself." Sunghoon told her everything he knew. As straightforward and as helpful as it could be. "The more around them you are your rate quickens. You'll die faster."

Eiko pulled up short in her steps. Sunghoon halted when he noticed.

She looked at him with fear melted in her eyes. "You're not lying, right?"

Sunghoon shook his head, apologetic. "No. Unfortunately."

And Eiko felt a stinging apprehension lick up her spine, like venom sinking into her skin. "And do you know any alternatives if I can't fix the routine?"