Mina was uncharacteristically unsettled, the supernatural fog rolling in from the town was causing her distress. The change in Mina's demeanor had not gone unnoticed by the redheaded Thai, who was nervous enough already. "I don't think this is a good idea" Lisa uttered. The Japanese girl nodded in agreement, "of course it isn't, downright stupid if you ask me but the slayers will die if we don't help them". "And you care about that?" Lisa asked. "No" Mina replied bluntly, "but you do and I can't let you die either".
Lisa and Mina had been sent ahead of the group to sense danger as the more experienced of the vampires. Chaeyoung was with the group, and Sunmi was locked in the cage back in the warehouse.
"How are you feeling?" Mina asked, attempting to distract herself. "I don't think I can bring myself to fight Queen Sandara and the clan, they have been my family for decades" Lisa answered honestly, "I don't know how much use to everyone I'm going to be". Mina sighed, "they aren't your family Lisa, they're the people that murdered you". Lisa shook her head, "you don't understand what being part of a clan is like. We care about each other". What Lisa said was true, Mina hadn't experienced being part of a vampire clan, she had always been one of the Lonely Ones. The Japanese girl didn't respond. The mysterious fog grew stronger as the vampires lead the group closer and closer to the town, but as the fog grew stronger, so did their doubts. Though Lisa's concerns were far beyond just that of everyone's safety, she had one thing, or one person, in particular to worry about.
Bangkok, Thailand, 33 years ago.
Street merchants from every direction were eager to get the attention of the many potential customers in this overcrowded marketplace, the heat making things very uncomfortable for people trying to walk through. Lots of shouting and everyone bumping into one another. Not that the young brown haired woman collecting groceries cared much, few things bothered her in fact, especially today. She bought vegetables, fruits, meats, everything that was written on a long shopping list that her mother had given her in the morning. Though it was the sweets on the list that the woman was particularly interested in.
The sun shone brightly in the woman's face as she grinned at the sound of her best friend's voice in the distance.
"LISA!" a young man yelled as he raced to catch up with the woman, "Lisa wait up". Kunpimook, or BamBam as his friends called him was a tall man with dark brown hair, hair that bounced up and down as he ran quickly towards the woman. "H-how...how did" he panted furiously, desperately attempting to catch his breath, "how did it go?". The woman grinned, she had a smile so bright that it rivalled the sun, a sun that was forcing her to place a hand across her eyebrows, shielding her eyes from the rays. "It went really well" she responded in a cheery tone of voice, "I knew the answer to every question, didn't get stuck on anything once!".
BamBam and Lisa high-fived each other.
Today was the day that many students across Thailand took their exams, something that for months now Lisa had been studying very hard for. "What about you?" Lisa asked. "Fairly certain I'm going to fail" the man replied with a light chuckle. Unlike Lisa, BamBam hadn't focussed his efforts in examinations, with excellent sporting abilities his aspirations lay outside of the academic area. Lisa rolled her eyes and laughed, "Typical. Are you sure your parents are going to let you out tonight?". The tall boy nodded, "of course they will, I have the perfect technique to ensure they never know that my exams were a disaster". "Which is?" she enquired. BamBam grinned widely, "lie!".
Lisa returned home with the groceries that she had promised her mother she would collect after her exams were over, not that her parents were currently thinking too much about groceries. "Well, well?!" her mother badgered excitedly as her daughter entered the house, not even waiting until the door had been closed. The brunette couldn't contain her smile, her excitement matching her mother's, "it went really well. All the questions were about things I've studied lots. Honestly if anything it was easy!". Lisa's mother squealed and ran to embrace her daughter.
Lisa suddenly felt her feet lift from the ground as her dad appeared, locking her into a bear hug and spinning them both round in a circle. "Proud of you princess" he cheered, "my little genius". The Thai giggled as she grew dizzy from the spinning, "I haven't got my results yet, lets not get ahead of ourselves". "Nah you've aced them" her father replied as he finally put his daughter down, "I can feel it, you've aced them" he continued as he placed a kiss on her cheek. "Now then" the tall man announced with a loud clap of his hands, "dinner time".
Lisa and her mother spent much of the evening looking at possible universities Lisa could attend. The Thai was especially keen on studying abroad, Australia being her preferred destination. She grew more and more excited by the idea as the pair researched various universities. As Lisa got ready to go out with friends, she fantasised about life as a student in Australia. The Thai's big passion was photography, and in a country as beautiful and picturesque as Australia, she would have no lack of inspiration.
The sun had set in Bangkok and the city was teeming with nightlife, the streets almost as busy as they were in the day time. Lisa sat a table with friends in a popular nightclub that was a common spot for tourists. Lisa's parents wouldn't allow her to come here normally but what they didn't know couldn't hurt them.
"Hooray his mommy let him out!" Lisa joked as BamBam approached, all dressed up smartly. "So did you lie to them about the exams?" she asked as the boy sat next to her. "Lets put it this way" he began, "I really wouldn't want to be me on results day". The brown haired woman patted her friend's head, as though he were a dog. The pair both laughing about his impending doom and probable murder at the hands of his soon to be annoyed parents.
The friend group spent the night celebrating the end of their studies, well until they started university anyway.
"Your turn to get the drinks in Manobal" a half drunken boy slurred across the table. Lisa giggled "ok ok". The young Thai proceeded towards the bar to order a new pitcher of cocktails for her friends. The brunette huffed impatiently as she waited for the barman to reach her.
"Pretty busy in here tonight huh?" a female voice said from the bar. Though the woman spoke Thai very well, she had a distinctive accent. She wasn't from round here. "I guess it's all the students" the mysterious foreigner added. The Thai girl turned to reply but was suddenly stunned by the woman that now met her gaze. She was breathtakingly beautiful, pale skin and jet black hair, a black dress that looked expensive if not a little promiscuous. "Y-yeah, we had our exams today" Lisa stuttered, "I guess a lot of us want to blow off steam".
The foreign woman leaned on the bar against one arm and smirked, "drinking is a good way to relieve stress, though there are other fun ways too" she said in a tone that the Thai could swear was flirty. Lisa gulped, the presence of this foreigner made her skin tingle, but she didn't know why.
"Sorry for the wait" the young barman uttered, "what will it be?". "Another pitcher please" Lisa replied as she presented the empty jug. He nodded and took the jug away to refill it.
"So how did you do on your exams?" the mysterious woman said inquisitively. Lisa looked back at her and smiled, "pretty good actually" she replied, "maybe a bit too good". The woman tilted her head, "too good? What makes you say that?". The brunette played with her fingers nervously, "I'm kind of scared, I'm not used to things going this well, it feels like something's going to go wrong you know?". Lisa surprised herself at how honest she'd been, she had said any of this to anyone and here she is telling a complete stranger, "and I guess I'm scared because there's no going back now, no excuses to hide behind, time to live my life on my own now".
The Thai was confused, maybe it was the alcohol, but something about the foreign woman's eyes made Lisa feel like she could tell her anything, that she'd never be judged, that any secret would be safe. "I'm sorry" Lisa said suddenly, snapping herself out of whatever mood she was in, "you're here on a night out, you don't want to hear about this". The woman smiled, "it's fine, besides talking to you helps me practice my Thai". The brown haired Thai smiled, "you're from Korea right?". The Korean winked, "bingo".
"You guys have great food!" Lisa blurted out a little louder than she'd intended, a weird compulsion to keep the conversation going. The woman laughed, "thank you", she glanced around at the people in the club, "Bangkok has some pretty good things to eat too" she replied with a strangely sinister grin.
A full pitcher of cocktail was placed at the bar beside Lisa. "Here you go" the barman said as he waited for payment. Lisa reached in her pocket to obtain some money, but before she was able to produce her wallet, the Korean woman had handed over money to the barman. "I'll get it" the Korean said in a charming tone. "But" the Thai stuttered in bemusement, "I can't let you do that". The pale woman lifted a hand, waving away Lisa's protest, "it isn't a bother, you were so kind to let me test my language skills with you. It is the least I can do".
The rather stunned brunette accepted the generous offer courteously as the Korean began to walk away, the Thai not noticing that the woman had not ordered any drinks for herself. "Wait" she called out, "I'm sorry I don't know where my manners went, I let you buy my drinks and I don't even know your name!", she bowed politely "my name is Lisa, Lisa Manobal, and you are?". The woman smiled tenderly, "Jisoo", she returned the bow, "nice to meet you Lisa Manobal".
Lisa watched Jisoo walk away towards two other Koreans, a man and a woman who were both impossibly pretty and all looked similar to each other. "Siblings maybe?" Lisa uttered under her breath before returning to her friends with the now full jug of alcohol.
Weeks passed by and results day grew closer, something Lisa should be thinking more about but her mind was elsewhere, as it often was these days. Lisa's sudden change in behaviour hadn't gone unnoticed by her parents, or her friends.
"You haven't touched your lunch" Lisa's mothers said half with concern, half with annoyance. "Your father made us this lovely picnic so we could enjoy outside and you barely seem interested". "Hm?" Lisa mumbled having not paid attention. "This is important you know?" her mother continued as she pointed at university brochures laid out on the grass, "you seemed so excited a few weeks ago and now it's like you don't even care about photography anymore". "Of course I do" Lisa responded "I just don't want to rush into anything".
Lisa's mom sighed, "rush into what? I thought you had this decided months ago, your father and I spent a fortune on a brand new camera so you could practice to get into that Australian school you wanted. I don't understand why you are so on the fence about it all now". Lisa shook her head, "I know but Jisoo said-". "Oh here we go" her mother interrupted, "Jisoo said this, Jisoo thinks that. Honestly ever since you met these Korean friends of yours it's like you are incapable of thinking for yourself!".
This wasn't the first time Lisa had heard the disapproving speech about Jisoo, Irene and Jinu. Lisa's mom did not like her new Korean friends, though she couldn't understand why, Jisoo was funny, and pretty, Jisoo was super smart, Jisoo was really fun to be around and Jisoo only wanted the best for Lisa. Jisoo was perfect.
Jisoo. Jisoo. Jisoo. Jisoo. Jisoo.
Lisa's mind was consumed with the black haired Korean. She was too weak to resist the enthrallment of such a powerful and experienced vampire, she was only human.
Almost every night Lisa skipped family time and hanging out with school friends to instead hang out with The Triplets. Only ever at night though, Jisoo was somewhat of a night owl.
Her friends and parents didn't understand, Lisa had to be with Jisoo, she could barely breathe when the elder girl wasn't around, and when she was she was all Lisa could see. Lisa hung on every word, mirrored every smile, her stomach would churn and knot with every glance and her heart would pound with every touch. She was obsessed.
"Mom! MOM!" Lisa yelled in panic as she raced into the kitchen, sliding across the floor as she tried to stop herself from crashing into the island. Lisa's mom almost dropped her tea with fright, "what is it?! What has happened?". "THEY'RE HERE!" the young girl yelled, brandishing an envelope in her hand. Her exam results.
"Breathe sweety" her mother said calmly. Lisa's hands were shaking as she opened up the envelope and removed her results. Silence fell in the house, the two women staring at the paper with open mouths.
Lisa had passed every subject, with impressively high marks. With grades like these she could get into any university she wanted, including the uni in Sydney she had her eye on.
"Wow" the Thai girl said breathily. "You know what this means don't you?" her mother said. "Yeah" Lisa nodded before stopping suddenly, "wait no. What does it mean?". Her mother drew a large breath, "WE ARE GOING TO HAVE A BIG PARTY!". Lisa grinned, "a party?". The elder woman nodded with a grin, "and we are going to invite all the family, and your friends of course". The brunette's eyebrows raised, "can I invite Jisoo?". Her mothed nodded slightly, "I suppose so yes, I'd be interested to finally meet the mysterious Jisoo".
Lisa stood in front of the bathroom mirror, checking her makeup. She wanted to make sure she looked perfect before greeting the guests to her party. Lisa wore a relatively tight red dress, not something she'd normally ever wear but Jisoo bought it for her, said she liked her in red. Tonight was intended to be a celebration about her results and getting into the University in Sydney but Lisa was more excited about her friends and family meeting Jisoo, and getting to see how wonderful the Korean was. Lisa just knew they'd love Jisoo too when they meet her.
The party was supposed to start a little earlier but Lisa convinced her mom to arrange it after sundown, as Jisoo wouldn't be able to make it until then for some reason. Though Lisa didn't tell her mom that part.
Some final last adjustments to her hair and Lisa was finally ready to go out and greet her guests.
The Thai's family and friends had bought gifts of congratulation and a lot of alcohol. Her dad had promised he wouldn't get drunk but her mom knew he wouldn't keep it.
"I think Jisoo has arrived" BamBam said as alerted Lisa's attention to the small Korean woman stood at the entrance. The Thai girl grinned brightly, her heart skipping beats as it always did when she saw the Korean.
Lisa skipped happily over to the front door but before she could greet her friend her attention was taken by the group of Koreans stood behind Jisoo. Irene, Jinu and many others both male and female were all stood at the door grinning at the Thai. "Uh, hi?" she said with confusion. Jisoo smiled, "seen as I will be meeting your family tonight, it seems right that should meet mine. I have told them all about you, and you will be going through a big change soon. They wanted to be here with you". Though still a little confused in naivety, Lisa felt touched that Jisoo's family wanted to support her in her move to university. The girl was of course oblivious to the fact that it wouldn't be happening. "Of course" she replied, "come in everyone".
The Korean family entered the house one by one, none of them much gaining the attention of the Thai, who was firmly focussed on Jisoo. One guest however did manage to steal the attention away from the aforementioned Korean, a woman. Lisa watched the woman walk by, this blonde haired Korean gave off very strong vibes, not good ones. Lisa shivered.
The party was going well, all the guests were in high spirits and Lisa's dad was only half as drunk as her mom expected him to be by this point.
Lisa was upstairs in her room, she had managed to sneak off in search of a jacket to wear. She loved her outfit but she was cold, she didn't understand how Jisoo and Irene could walk around at night in just their dresses. Lisa had lots of jackets to choose from but she needed one that suited the dress well, she had to look good for Jisoo, she didn't want to disappoint the older girl.
Lisa was so deeply in thought about what jacket would compliment the dress best that for a while she hadn't notice that the guests downstairs were screaming.
The Thai raced down the stairs, the jacket she had decided on fell to the floor as she ran to see what the commotion was.
In the matter of seconds Lisa's entire world was being destroyed in front of her. The horror of what she was witnessing was so foreign to her that her brain couldn't properly process what she was seeing. Panic, blood, sharp fanged teeth, purple and red eyes, her family and friends screaming in pain. It took a while but Lisa could finally grasp what was happening, the Koreans were murdering everyone, literally ripping out throats with their weirdly sharp teeth.
Her family were dead, her friends were dead. "Lisa, Lisa run!" her dad screamed, the last words he would ever say. Tears poured from the Thai's eyes as she witnessed the last ounces of life bleed from the people she loved.
"Lisa" Jisoo whispered as she approached the heartbroken Thai. Lisa diverted her eyes from the death and destruction and connected them with Jisoo's. "I don't understand, why would you do this" the younger girl whimpered. Jisoo stood now only inches from the Thai, "we are your family" she responded softly, "we are all you need".
"But" Lisa began to protest but the enthrallment was too strong, even the pain she was feeling right now wasn't enough to break the vampire's spell. "Look in my eyes" Jisoo ordered. Lisa obeyed. "Get on your knees" Jisoo ordered. Lisa obeyed. Jisoo gently placed her cold hand onto Lisa's tear soaked cheek, "who do you belong to?". Every fibre of the Thai's being tried to fight, tried to resist, but failed. "I belong to you" she whispered softly with watery eyes. The Korean grinned evilly, "there's my girl".
Lisa gasped in pain as Jisoo's fangs penetrated her neck. The younger girl's body slumped to the floor, a single tear rolling down her cheek as she lay dying. The final victim of a brutal massacre.
"We're nearly there" Mina called out to the Thai who was barely paying attention. One sharp fang scraped Lisa's bottom lip with nerves, her blue eyes struggling to see through the dense fog. "Yeah, we must be by now" the redhead replied, "though this weird fog is getting so strong, I can barely sense you anymore". Mina's sensing abilities were affected too "this has to be Sandara's doing, creating a mystical fog that blocks vampire powers". Lisa nodded, "she's attacking the other clans". Mina sighed, "so the war begins".
"Yeah" Lisa mumbled deep in thought, realising she would not be able to avoid battle with the people she has called family for 30 years, "the war begins".