Chrissy's feet ached from the long, strenuous day. She had managed to find a job teaching dance lessons at Dong Cheng Dance Studio. She taught the little kids ballet, jazz, lyrical and hip hop from Monday to Friday.
Apart from a decent salary, she also received lessons. The manager had seen her potential and suggested she learn traditional dance, that way she could join the Dong Cheng dance team, who performed during special events.
"One, two, three," Li Wei, her instructor, counted.
Chrissy raised her right arm above her head, the ornate fan tense in her hand. She développéd her right leg, extending it up and out to reach the height of her head.
Woosh! The fan snapped open to reveal summery pinks and reds.
"And one and two and three and four!" Li Wei yelled, nodding at some points, shaking his head at others. "Too fast! Breathe through the music!"
Chrissy did a leap, reaching full splits in the air.
"Right arm above your head!"
She glided gracefully into a roll, coming back up to stand. Now for the hardest part.
Everything was sharp. Her jumps, the complicated footwork and constant switching. Legs crossing in front of one another. Changing in mid-air.
"Build some resistance when you land!" Li Wei advised.
Chrissy sank deep into the plie, her knees bending outwards for a second before she executed a one-hand front walkover.
"And.....stop," Li Wei finished, turning off the music.
Chrissy panted, giving her left leg a tender rub where she had landed a bit funnily.
"Better," Li Wei complimented. "Your movements are very clean. Just remember to take your time at certain moments. Create some tension and suspense. See you next time!"
"Thank you, Master Wang!" Chrissy bowed respectfully before exiting the studio. In the changing room, she slipped out of her dance shoes and into normal shoes, tugging a dress over her leotard.
The sky was a blend between blue and sunset. It was hazy and foreboding. She felt so sapped of energy, and home felt so welcoming. As she was nearing the front door to her house, she knew her form was slipping away, so she burst into a run.
A pale green light surrounded her, and she felt bare. Raw. Too real.
She had unlocked the door, locked it safely shut behind her. She didn't even make it to her bed before she collapsed onto the ground, crumpling so gracefully, it was like she was still dancing.
******
Weak....so weak. Hungry....so hungry. It was like her body was eating itself-it was. Somehow, even with all the food she was consuming, she was still in the late stages of starvation. Dragging herself to the little kitchen with delayed movements, she poured herself a glass of water and scarfed down a few slices of bread.
It's getting worse. She found it harder and harder to muster the strength to even get out of bed on some days, and having a very physical job didn't help.
Her bed looked too comfortable, the crisp linen and fluffy pillows beckoning. But everytime she was just about to drift off to sleep, the thought would strike her that she might fall into a deep slumber and never wake up.
So she stayed awake instead, munching on a bread roll and pondering what to do. "You'll have to take love to survive. You're nothing more than a parasite".
That was what the Wish Granter told her. Take love? How? Falling in love, finding love in friends and her hobbies. That was what first came to mind.
But she and Yu Jin had already been dating for a month. Seunghee was a devoted friend to her from the beginning. And she'd danced almost every day for two weeks. A gut feeling told her she couldn't wait any longer.
"How the heck do you take love anyways," Chrissy mused to herself. She'd recalled reading a mushy romance book where a girl sold love potions. Did she need to take a love potion? Or give someone a love potion?
"Ughhhhhhh this is so hard," Chrissy whined. Having a time limit, along with death staring her in the face didn't help.
Even though she'd been thinking about the issue in every spare moment she had, she hadn't come to any conclusions. Nothing that wouldn't result in other people getting hurt, at least.
Yu Jin was stereotypical love, so she supposed starting with him would be the best idea. Maybe she wasn't feeding off love the right way, and needed to be in her true form!
The Wish Granter said something about people not loving her for who she really was. Telling Yu Jin would change everything. What if he left her? What if he leaves like they always do? Whenever I take off my mask, they don't come back.
She supposed she should ask Seunghee for advice tomorrow. She was way better at romance stuff.
Meanwhile, Chrissy decided to have a little fun. Hey, if I'm not gonna gain any weight, I should at least make the most out of the situation. I can eat whatever the heck I want!
She crammed a fistful of chocolate chips into her mouth and cracked open a romance novel. She resorted to eating them one by one slowly, as she read. Right when she was getting to a particularly juicy kiss in the book, she realized the bag was empty.
Oh well. I supposed whipped cream will do. She headed to the fridge, grabbing it and squirting it straight out of the can and into her mouth, completely forgetting the book. Nothing beats sugar.
*******
"Seunghee, I have a question. It's about relationships," Chrissy started as soon as she and Seunghee met up the next day.
"Go ahead! Wait. it's not about toxic ones, right? Those tend to hit a little too close to home."
"No. Um....let's say you have a secret that no one knows. And, you're getting to know a guy better. You really need to tell him, but you're scared what he might think . What do you do?"
"What kind of secret?" Seunghee asked. "The kind of secret that could change up the entire dynamic of your relationship?"
"Yeah. Something that might even cause a breakup."
Seunghee nodded, pondering the issue. "Look, girl, it's totally fine if you have lots of pimples under the makeup. Trust me, Yu Jin seems like a nice guy, and I think he loves you for you. If a guy only likes you for your looks, he isn't worth fighting for."
"What if it's not about looks?"
"Oh, I see what you mean. The foreboding parents in law who hate you for no apparent reason? Happened to my sister two years ago. Sheesh! The whole situation was a handful!" Seunghee exclaimed. "Yeah, getting your in-laws to like you is hard. Though I don't see why anyone could hate you. You'd be a great daughter-in-law!"
Chrissy smiled, touched by the compliment. "Thank you! You would be too!"
Seunghee shook her head. "Girl, no! I cannot have a serious conversation to save my life. I once laughed at a funeral, because I couldn't stand the tension."
"Well, back to my question. What if the secret isn't about looks or family? And it's about part of your identity?"
"Unless you're a spy or a lost princess, I think you should tell them the truth. The sooner you get it off your chest, the better things work out. People tend to be more mad when you hide something for a longer period of time," Seunghee explained.
"What if...it could risk a break up?"
Seunghee sighed. "Oh, that's always hard. But you should still tell them. Honesty is something that's very rare in this world. They'll be happier if you tell them the truth, rather than hiding it. And even if you do break up, at least you can part your ways in a much less heartbreaking manner."
"Wow! Thanks, Seunghee! You're so good at this!" Chrissy beamed. "You should be a therapist-"
Seunghee chuckled. "Nope. Not allowed. There are only three rules in my house: you can't marry someone with the last name Yoo, you can't be a therapist, and..no keeping skeletons in the closet."
"WHAT?!" Chrissy shrieked.
Seunghee waved her hand casually. "True story. I swear, my great uncle was crazy. Digging up a grave at two AM? Who knew?"
******
An eventful dream sequence had left Chrissy dazed and unprepared for what was to come. She looked in the mirror, but instantly wished she hadn't. Stressful nightmares had left purple bruising under her eyes.
"How can they be so puffy," Chrissy muttered, as she slipped slices of chilled cucumber over her swollen eyes. "This should be illegal.
She brushed her long, blue-green hair. Minus the fangs, her gnarled right hand, her insect-like wings and her malnourished appearance, she didn't actually look too bad.
We'll start with figuring out how to feed off love. That takes care of the starvation problem. My hand....well, I never really liked magic anyways. Besides, the Dusks have fangs but they're getting plenty of dates! She reminded herself.
The mint green lip tint sat on the sink. She applied a nice thick coat. When she revealed her true form to Yu Jin, she wanted to look like she put in just a little effort.
I'll see you later, real self.
********
"Hey, Chrissy! You look great," Yu Jin greeted her. He wore a simple beige coat, and his red hair was stylishly unkempt.
"Thanks." She blushed. The green dress with floral swirls was from Seunghee.
"Let's go get something to eat. I'm starving," Yu Jin suggested.
"That sounds great! I've wanted to try out that octopus place. I heard it's imported fresh every day!"
"Ah! Don't make me hungry when we're so far away," Yu Jin groaned.
Chrissy gasped in mock surprise. "You mean we'll have to walk?"
"Here, I'll carry you instead," Yu Jin proposed, already picking her up.
Chrissy slapped his hand away playfully. "Yu Jin! I can walk. My legs function," she pushed back, but she was laughing too. "Kind of," she muttered, which caused him to crack up.
By the time they got there, the sun hung low in the sky, like it was too lazy to hoist itself up any longer.
"How many skewers? One for you, three for me?" Yu Jin asked her.
"Please, Yu Jin! I can eat way more than you," Chrissy reckoned.
He raised his eyebrows in amusement. "Is that a competition?"
Chrissy flicked her hair over her shoulder. "What do you think?"
"Chrissy, my love, you have to know that if we're going to have an eating competition, I don't mess around. I dare you....."
She drew in a breath.
"To eat something from every stall in the market!"
"Game on," Chrissy declared.
"Two octopus skewers please."
By the end of the night, she was stuffed like a giant cream puff. There were a few distinct highlights. First there was the grilled octopus drizzled in a chorizo vinaigrette. It lived up to its reputation, impeccably cooked and flavoured with a creamy spice.
Then came the ribs glazed in balsamic and seasoned with basil. Tender, moist, filling. Messy but worth it.
Lastly, they got thick, sticky bars of chocolate, hazelnut and toffee topped with caramel.
"So.....how did I do?" Chrissy asked as they walked back to her house.
Yu Jin pretended to look serious for a second. "You did fine."
"Yu Jin!"
"Just kidding. That was pretty damn impressive."
Chrissy unlocked the front door, waiting for Yu Jin to enter in behind her before locking it securely.
They sat down on the couch, Chrissy kicking off her shoes to curl up next to him.
"Um, Yu Jin? I have something really important to tell you."
Yu Jin's soft brown eyes were filled with curiosity. "What is it?"
She hesitated, suddenly unsure of what she was doing.
"Hey, you can tell me."
Chrissy grabbed his hand. "Do you promise you won't run away from me?"
"What's going on?" Yu Jin asked apprehensively. "You sound really nervous. I want to help."
"Do you promise you won't run away from me? Do you promise you won't leave?" Chrissy begged. Losing people never got any easier.
Yu Jin exhaled. "Do you promise you're not a spy or a murderer?"
Chrissy nodded. "Yes. I'm neither of those things. I guess I should show you what I mean, then. Please don't be scared of me! I won't do anything to hurt you, ok? It might be a little surprising."
She imagined "taking off" Evie's appearance, like she was simply taking off a dress. There we go. Nice and easy.
Yu Jin's tan skin appeared a sickly shade of green. "Chrissy? What are you...."
"I'm a changeling. I can change my appearance to those of others', but this is my real form. I didn't want to show you earlier for obvious reasons, but now that we know each other...I think it's best to tell you the truth."
Yu Jin's throat bobbed as he gulped. "Chrissy, are you ok? I don't mean to offend you, but...you look like you're about to die......this doesn't make any sense."
She took a step towards him, wincing internally when he flinched slightly. "Well...the thing is....real food doesn't nourish me. I feed off love. That's why I look this way."
Yu Jin's shoulders slumped in relief, and he broke into a nervous, but determined grin. "Love? That's not too bad. We can do this, Chrissy, you and me. Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
And she couldn't help but smile too. Maybe the reason she grew thinner was because she had to be in her real form to feed off love! Because that represented true love!
"I've never really tried this before," Chrissy admitted. "I didn't want to scare or hurt anyone. None of my previous methods worked, so this is kind of a last resort."
"Hey, it's ok. Now the question is....how does this work?"
"Kissing, maybe?" Chrissy guessed. Before she could say anything more his lips were against hers and her hands around the back of his neck and it felt so good. Like, better than any of her other kisses.
The hunger was clawing away at her-she needed to do something! A thousand hands tossed her a rope. Just grab on! Just pull on the rope!
So she did and she felt all the warmth, the happiness, the fuzzy feeling where everything comes together seeping into her. It fed her, it nourished her, she could see the red-pink strands swirling around her and she grabbed onto them!
She thought she had had enough but then a month's1 worth of hunger struck her in the face hard and that animal instinct was back. She didn't just need a little taste. She needed it. All of it.
It was so refreshing, so satisfying, and it was better than anything she had ever tasted. The last wisp of love was sucked out, and she let go, determined to see her new form in the vanity mirror.
She was pretty. The effects malnutrition had had on her body were long gone. Her toned arms and legs were healthy, her chocolate skin glowing with health. Even her insect wings seemed a little more sparkly. Still a changeling, but pretty nonetheless.
"Chrissy...." Yu Jin breathed from the ground. "It worked! Holy freaking smokes that actually worked! You're healthy now!"
We did it. I told you you were wrong! She gave the finger to an imaginary Wish Granter. Look at me now.
Chrissy turned to face Yu Jin, smiling ecstatically-before she caught sight of his new appearance.
Deathly skinny, sickly, insect wings. He was a changeling. He had become exactly what she had hoped to avoid. She let out a shrill scream.
"No, no, no! How could this be happening? No!" She wrapped her arms around Yu Jin tightly. "Yu Jin I'm so sorry I don't know how this happened and please forgive me-"
He caught sight of his own reflection in the vanity, and he drove his fist into the ground. "What the hell?! What the actual freaking hell?!"
She shook her head, tears already falling. She had hurt someone else. Her actions had consequences. So this was the true effect of the curse. To save herself, she would need to sacrifice someone else.
"Chrissy....what did you do to me?" Yu Jin rasped. "I need answers. What happened-"
Unable to stop herself from crying, she wailed harder. Searching for the right words. "I.....I've never done this before.....I think...somehow I may have taken too much love...it was an accident ok?! You knew I would never do this on purpose! But we'll figure this one out. Together, you and me."
She took a step towards him, and her heart snapped when he cowered slightly.
"I'm not going to hurt you!" She screamed, tears streaming down her face. "Do you really think I'd do that?"
Yu Jin paused, clutching his head. His face told her he was unable to process the horrific transformation. A pacifist at heart, he hated conflict. Especially with the ones he cared deeply about.
"Yu Jin! Answer me!" She demanded, grabbing onto his wrist.
"Let go of me!" Yu Jin shook her off.
Oh no. It was falling apart. It was falling apart and it was all her fault again. But...you did all the right things. You never could've predicted this would happen. You don't need someone to blame.
"Chrissy...I'm sorry....I just-" he gasped to take a deep breath in, on the verge of hyperventilating. "I-I need some air," he wheezed, running to the front door.
That's the excuse they always use. He's going to leave you right now. He's going to abandon you, like they all did when they had no use for you.
Be a nice girl, they told her. Don't be so selfish. That was all she was told in this world. To put others before herself. To wear a smile, even when she didn't feel like it. To be nice.
But she was done being nice. She was so. Freaking. Tired. Of. Nice. It was time to take what was rightfully hers. This time, she wasn't going to be a doormat. She wouldn't let him leave. She wouldn't let him slip away. She'd lost too many people already.
"Don't you dare run away from me!"
He was fast, even in his weakened form but she was faster. A blinding flash of green light and the terrified scream of a young man was all that disrupted the neighborhood on that otherwise uneventful night. And it was the last the people would ever see of Wang Yu Jin.
********
The brilliant green cocoon was massive in size and impenetrable; another road less traveled of the changeling ability. Who knew I could make such beautiful creations?
She had spent the last few minutes experimenting with different shades of the gooey substance. It may have been slimy, but once dried, looked beautiful, like newly cut emeralds.
But inside the cocoon was what intrigued her the most. Yu Jin was equally, perhaps more handsome when he slept, the worry lines all gone. Don't worry Yu Jin! Once you wake up, we'll get you back to normal soon! I'm sure you won't look too bad with turquoise hair. Perhaps this time, feeding off love would be easier.
A small part of her thought she had made the right decision, and it tormented her. She had ruined his life. How was that something to be proud of?
But now, she knew he would never ditch her for a prettier girl. She had stood her ground and avoided hurting herself. This is self defense. She was all he had. There was simply nowhere he could go. His best chance of surviving was with her.
Yu Jin opened his eyes. He pounded on the cocoon, bubbles rising from his mouth, his words inaudible. Each pound created a faint thump, and the cocoon trembled a little bit.
But Chrissy wasn't weak anymore. She had wiped her tears, done her makeup, and put on a nice dress she knew he would like. She smiled at his raging form, placing a manicured hand on the silky outside. "You're mine, Yu Jin. And you won't ever run away from me again."
P.S. Seunghee's crazy family rules are based off my family house rules. (Yeah. My relatives dig up graves in the middle of the night. Deal with it).
Also, a lot of the food in this book has been heavily based off the menu of my favorite restaurant Tar and Roses.
Wow!! This is the longest chapter I have ever written! What do you guys think of what Chrissy did? Was she in the right? What will happen next? Remember to vote if you enjoyed it, and comment ANY thoughts!