Even though Joshua did his very best to pray for Mr. Hwang's no-show, nobody listened to his prayers. And further adding insult to injury, Mr. Hwang entered the classroom with huge grin on his face. However, Joshua was still positive. Due to the fact that Vampirology was one of his favorite subjects and the lectures were usually interactive and interesting, he was expecting for time to just breeze through.
"Good afternoon, class," Mr. Hwang greeted and the class responded. "We will be having our second Vampirology lecture today."
"Yes! I was really looking forward to this," Mingyu smiled at Wonwoo; his eyebrows moving up and down teasingly. Wonwoo broke into cold sweat.
"So, what are we going to discuss today, sir?" Zico was curious.
"Have you heard the news about the Super Blue Blood Moon this coming weekend?" Mr. Hwang asked the class.
"Yes, sir. I think everyone knows about that. It was all over the news," Jihoon stated.
"Good. What we are going to talk about is connected to that phenomenon," Mr. Hwang started. "Our topic is about the Moon's effects to all vampires. Now, our vampire companions, especially the Princes, must have an idea what are these effects but for the sake of young vampires and humans and also since some of you are soulmates with vampires, I decided to tackle this topic with regards to the upcoming lunar event."
The class erupted into murmurs of excitement. The Paragons, however, were on the fence about this. They did not want their soulmates to know about it this way but considering the near future, they decided it was for the best.
"Unfortunately, though, this topic is a little bit sensitive for the part of the vampires. Judging on your faces, I think only the Princes know what we are going to talk about. More or less, I expected this considering most of you are newly-born vampires," Mr. Hwang cautioned. "But let me tell you right now. It's not going to be pretty."
The class became slightly serious and nervous with Mr. Hwang's warning.
"Okay, including the upcoming astronomical spectacle, we are going to discuss five types of moons and their individual effects on vampires. Are you ready to listen, class?"
"Yes, sir."
"So, I am going to start with the Full Moon and Super Moon since they only have similar effects," Mr. Hwang started. "Full Moons and Super Moons are the calmest moons for the vampires. During a Full Moon or Super Moon, vampires will feel the thirst for human or vampire blood. However, this is negligible and vampires can usually shrug the thirst off, although newly converted vampires may not be able to suppress their thirst during their first Full Moon. Another effect Full Moon and Super Moon have on vampires is that it augments their powers a bit. Meaning vampires gets a little power boost under the Full Moon or Super Moon."
"How about during the New Moon?" Jieun raised a question.
"During the New Moon, their powers remain as it is. However, as the Moon slowly turns full, their powers are slowly being boosted. After the Full Moon, as the Moon slowly reverts back to being a New Moon, the power boost also starts to decrease. On the other hand, when the Moon is not in its closest distance from the Earth, it has no effect on them."
"Oh..." Jieun reacted.
"Now, let's go to the not-so-good but also not-so-bad Moon, the Blood Moon," Mr. Hwang continued. "Does anyone know how a Blood Moon occurs?"
"During a total lunar eclipse," Renjun responded.
"Correct, a Blood Moon is a term used to refer to the Moon during a total lunar eclipse," Mr. Hwang explained. "The Blood Moon is in the middle in terms of severity. Under the Blood Moon, vampires' eyes glow because it triggers their vampiric traits. Unlike Full Moons or Super Moons though, Blood Moon makes the urge to drink human or vampire blood stronger, albeit still manageable. The thirst, however, can be quenched by drinking the blood of their soulmates, if they already found theirs. But vampires can still manage to get through the Blood Moon even without drinking any blood, though it takes a lot of willpower."
"Except the Princes, does any of the vampires here have experienced a Blood Moon?" every other vampire in the classroom raised their hand.
"Of course, since a total lunar eclipse occurs every two and half years on average so it's kind of expected for you to have experienced it," Mr. Hwang reasoned. "So how was your experience?"
"It's kind of difficult but we managed," Chan recalled.
"These two almost killed me that one particular night," Renjun rolled his eyes as a joke.
"Yah, Injunnie, we already said that we're sorry," Jaemin pouted and was followed by Jeno. Renjun and the rest of the class laughed.
"On the brighter side, Blood Moons double the strength of vampires' powers so they become twice as powerful under the Blood Moon."
"Interesting," Zico muttered. "But sir, how about those lunar eclipses that are not full?"
"Good question. During non-full lunar eclipses, like the penumbral and partial lunar eclipses, the moon only affects vampires like a regular full moon. One research suggests that vampires are affected by the total lunar eclipse since it reminds them of blood; however, in my opinion, whether that is true or not, that is not the entire picture as there are still many mysteries left unsolved between the relationship of vampires with the moon."
"I never knew our relationship with the moon is very complex," Jisung realized.
"Okay, now let us proceed to the worst kind of Moon for vampires – The Super Blood Moon and Super Blue Blood Moon. Technically, these two are one and the same since they both happen during a Full Moon, a Super Moon and Blood Moon altogether. The only difference is that Super Blue Blood Moon occurs during the second full moon in a month while Super Blood Moon occurs during a regular full moon." Mr. Hwang elaborated.
"But why are they the worst kind of Moon for vampires?" Jessi went straight to the point.
"Since they have adverse effects to vampires."
"What do you mean, sir?" Sunmi gulped.
"For the milder effects, first is the glowing of their eyes and the involuntary manifestation of their fangs. As you know, vampires can retract their fangs but during a Super Blood Moon, they involuntarily come out." Mr. Hwang laid out. "The other mild effect of these types of Moon to vampires is that it triples the strength of their powers. Those are the less dangerous effects of Super Blood Moon to vampires."
"How about the dangerous ones?" Donghyuck was getting nervous.
"Under the influence of the Super Blood Moon, vampires will have borderline uncontrollable thirst for blood. This means that when these Moons are up in the sky, every vampire really wants and needs to drink blood," Mr. Hwang elaborates. "And because of this strong desire to drink blood, there is a tendency that vampires may lose control of themselves just to get their hand on any blood. For this particular reason, as long as the Super Blood Moon is up and the vampire does not get any blood, the vampire will experience excruciating pain. Furthermore, every time this moon is up in the sky, the kingdom made a policy that every vampire should bind themselves securely so that they won't cause any troubles or inconveniences due to the effects of the Super Blood Moon."
The vampires gasped at this point of the explanation.
"But there no need to worry, though. Similar to the Blood Moon, the thirst and the pain can be easily dealt with when you have your soulmate," Mr. Hwang reassured. "Thankfully, most of you have already found your soulmates. And according to the kingdom's policy, vampires who already found their soulmates does not need to be bound anymore as the presence of their soulmates alone can put the whole situation under control."
"Still, soulmates, particularly human soulmates, are also in danger during a Super Blood Moon or Super Blue Blood Moon."
"Why is it, sir?" Mingyu inquired.
"Because like I said, vampires lose control of themselves because of blood but on the other hand, a soulmate's blood is the tastiest blood for your vampire soulmate. This means that while you could offer your blood to subside his pain, the vampire may also lose control of themselves and may be unable to stop themselves from sucking your blood. It takes a lot of willpower and restraint for a vampire to be able to stop themselves from sucking too much." Mr. Hwang revealed. "This is what almost happened to Renjun-ssi. Am I right?"
"How could I even forget," Renjun sassed playfully.
"Hey, we said that we're sorry, Injun," Jeno clinged to Renjun's right arm. Jaemin also followed suit.
"And if you think that is the end of your worries, you are greatly mistaken," Mr. Hwang mentioned. "Under the influence of the Super Blood Moon, once your vampire soulmate or the more dominant vampire in the relationship, had your blood, they will become... uhm... let's just say, 'highly aroused' for the lack of better terms."
"What do you mean, sir?" Chungha questioned.
"Throughout the whole night, once they had consumed your blood, they will become clingy, very affectionate and extremely flirty to you as their soulmates. Of course, how lewd they can be and the extent of lasciviousness depend from one vampire to another. However, the moment your blood is consumed, just expect a lot of sexual tension on that particular night," Mr. Hwang clarified. Everyone with soulmates blushed at the words.
"Another bad thing about Super Blood Moon is the Barbarians. Since they are also affected by the Moon, humans and vampires alike are advised to stay inside and to take extreme measures to make sure their houses are 'Barbarian-proof'," Mr. Hwang added.
"Now, that's scary," Jieun mumbled.
"So, to those with vampire blood, I advise that you should start planning about what to do this coming weekend," Mr. Hwang advised. "And for the soulmates, I think you should start preparing yourself for this coming weekend. Deny as they might, your vampire soulmates will be needing you that night. This upcoming weekend is the perfect opportunity for Soulmate Bonding."
Mingyu grinned at Wonwoo, "Finally, you will get bite me."
"Are there any questions? If there are none, then class dismissed and I wish everyone good luck for this upcoming weekend."
Mr. Hwang left and everyone prepared themselves to leave the university.
"Guys, let's hang-out!" Seungkwan offered.
"Sorry, guys but I need to go home immediately," Joshua left as soon as he said those words.
Greatly confused as to how Joshua was behaving, Seungcheol and Jeonghan followed him. Thankfully, they saw him enter a bathroom and so, they also entered.
Meanwhile, Joshua did not know he was being followed. He entered a bathroom cubicle and started to cry a little when voices disrupted him.
"Shua?"
"Joshie?"
It was the voices of Seungcheol and Jeonghan. Joshua ultimately decided to postpone his emotional breakdown. He quickly stood up but instead, he felt slightly dizzy.
"Seriously, Joshua, get a hold of yourself. Your doctor told you to just take it easy now, didn't she?" Joshua internally scolded himself as he held on the cubicle's walls to steady himself.
After a short while, he pretended and flushed the toilet, went outside and was confronted by the two.
"Shua? Are you okay?"
"Is everything alright, Joshie?"
Joshua opted not to answer the question. Instead, he asked a question to the two.
"Aren't you hanging out? Why are you here?"
"We are worried about you. You are acting strange all day," Jeonghan told him.
"I understand but I need to go home now," Joshua gently passed in between Seungcheol and Jeonghan.
"Okay," the two could only follow him through their eyes.
"By the way, congratulations on becoming soulmates," Joshua said flatly before exiting the bathroom.
Joshua's words sent a jolt throughout Seungcheol's and Jeonghan's whole body.
"How did he know?" the two faced each other.