Answers to the previous QOTD
Nyle: Silver all the way but otherwise all kinds of light brown are beautiful on her... or blonde... or... xD
Cristina: Grey hair all the way
The same morning, Handong woke up feeling a huge weight on her chest. She had barely slept all night and she couldn't stop thinking about Gahyeon and Bora. She tried her best to be strong, not to show that she was worried because the group was slowly falling apart but she was worried sick and she needed to let go. She was able to act strong in front of Minji and Siyeon, but now that they weren't there... she could let go. She tried to cry silently, not letting out her sobs because she was sleeping in Chaesol's bed with her.
Truth was that she felt horrible ever since Gahyeon was gone, and now Bora being gone as well didn't make it better. She cared so much about the tiny vampire and the tiny hunter was growing on her as well. She didn't want to appear weak because that would mean that Minji or Siyeon had to comfort her and the Chinese thought that to be a waste of time.
She wiped away the tears from her cheeks but she wasn't able to stop crying. She needed to let it all out but after 10 minutes she still wasn't able to stop. She had kept it hidden for way too long and now she was paying the price of that choice. The Chinese girl was used to cry alone, in silence but right now she felt like she needed someone.
She felt something shift beside her, knowing that Chaesol was probably starting to wake up. Handong used the covers to hide her face so that if she did, she wouldn't notice anything.
The Chinese girl held her breath, hoping that Chaesol wouldn't wake up right now because of her crying. There were a few seconds of complete silence and shortly after Handong felt an arm wrapping around her shoulder, pulling her closer. She panicked a little, thinking that Chaesol was hugging her in her sleep, when she was startled by a soft voice.
"It's okay" the other girl whispered, gently stroking Handong's arm with her hand.
Handong didn't know what to do or say, the only thing that did happen was that she started blushing. She realized that she hadn't slept in anyone's bed since Minji, and that it was really unusual to be hugged in the morning.
"You can let it all out" Chaesol whispered again "You have the right to" she added, knowing that Handong was trying to be strong for everyone else, but she was falling apart inside. In this aspect, they were really similar.
Handong pressed her back into Chaesol's front, basically asking the girl to hold her, without using words.
Chaesol replied to her silent request by pulling the Chinese woman closer, daring to wrap her arm around her waist.
"Is this okay?" she asked, to be sure that Handong was comfortable.
"It's okay. It's warm. You're warm, Chae" Handong whispered, closing her eyes.
"Am I?" Chaesol whispered, sounding a little bit surprised. "No one ever told me that... well, it's not like I've slept with many people" she whispered with a chuckle.
"You stayed loyal. But yes, your body feels really warm against mine"
Chaesol couldn't help but blush at those words... and she wasn't one to blush.
"Well I... I tried to be loyal. Sometimes I slipped... But it wasn't anything more than sex so... there wasn't really the chance to cuddle" she whispered.
"You slipped? I really didn't expect that" Handong replied, not even knowing why she said that.
"Seven years... are long" Chaesol whispered, feeling a little bit ashamed. "We promised each other not to love anyone else... but we said we were free to, you know, have 'relationships' " she added, "I've kept my promise... I never loved anyone else. But yeah, I had sex with other women"
"Seven years are indeed long..." Handong sighed, remembering that's when she first met Minji and never saw anyone else until some time ago. "And... you had to fulfill your 'needs'. It's normal"
"I don't even know if it was about 'that' kind of needs" Chaesol whispered. "Sometimes I just... nevermind, it's stupid" she said, shaking her head, lightly.
"No, it's not stupid. You can tell me... this talk actually... calmed me down a little bit" Handong whispered, wiping a tear away.
"Sometimes I just needed to feel like she made me feel. So I tried... but it wasn't anything like that. So I... tried again, thinking that maybe there was something 'wrong' with the first person" Chaesol whispered. "But then I realized every single person who wasn't Yuyu, felt 'wrong'... and I stopped".
"You tried to find a girlfriend that understood you, you mean?" Handong asked.
"No that... that would have broken the promise" Chaesol whispered, shaking her head. "I meant... someone who made me feel like she did, just during sex. But then I understood that it was love, that made it different"
"Oh... so you slept around for some time? Well, I think that's pretty normal to be honest, Chae"
"I did" the girl admitted, not really proud of that. "There is something I didn't understand and I've been wanting to ask you but... you don't have to answer if you don't feel like it"
"What is it? I'll try to answer" the Chinese girl replied with a little smile, still liking the backhug she was getting.
"You told me you were in love with Minji" Chaesol said, hoping not to make the Chinese girl uncomfortable. "Were you a couple? Or has it always been... you know... like this?" she whispered, not wanting to say the word 'unrequited'.
"I only confessed to her about a month ago... I kept it all inside because I know she... you know. But when I told her... I 'had' her for one time" Handong explained, still sounding embarrassed about how she handled that. "She uhm... t-took my first"
"So you... waited for her for 7 years?" Chaesol whispered, honestly surprised. "You've never been with anyone else?" she asked, suddenly realising that it could be taken in the wrong way. "I mean... not just physically speaking. No one before or after her?"
"I told you about my past. I came to Korea as a Chinese girl, lost everything, got in 'that situation' and then inherited this bar and basically did everything on my own until they came along. I didn't exactly get a chance to be with someone. And then Minji came" she whispered.
Chaesol nodded her head, daring to rest her forehead against Handong's head.
"Same for me... I've never really had anything stable before or after Yubin" the girl admitted with a little sigh. "It's kind of tiring, isn't it? Not having... a person there for you, all the time. Someone to go to when you want to say something good that happened or someone who comforts you when you are at your worst"
"Tell me about it... I think you can imagine how happy I was when those three vampires appeared in my life. But I think I'm slowly getting over Minji. And my first may have been without love but... I loved her and that's enough for me" the Chinese explained.
"I wouldn't say 'without love', you know" Chaesol said softly "I really think she loves you, not in the way you loved her but... it's still love, right? Your first wasn't with some stranger you'll never see again. It was with someone who loves you and will be with you no matter what"
"Well... you're actually right" Handong chuckled. "It would've been awful it was some customer from my bar"
"Yeah, it definitely would" Chaesol chuckled as well. "And hey... you are chuckling! You're not crying anymore" she realized with a smile.
"I surprisingly am not... you eased my mind a little bit by distracting me I guess. Thank you" the bartender smiled, melting into the embrace.
"You shouldn't hide yourself to cry" Chaesol whispered, lightly combing the Chinese girl's hair. "You are hurt exactly like the others, you don't have to push down your feelings"
"I know, I just don't like crying in front of them. I want to be strong for them, you know" Handong replied, leaning her head back a little.
"I know but... I feel like you are taking everything on yourself to help them. But who's going to help you?" Chaesol asked, speaking her mind. "They are going crazy over finding Gahyeon and Bora and they are fighting, allowing themselves to let go sometimes. And I feel like you are just... bottling up everything trying to be perfect for them"
"I... I have you now? But usually I help myself. I've always been an anchor for them so... I want it to stay that way"
"You help yourself?" Chaesol whispered "How? By crying alone under the covers?" she dared to ask with a little chuckle.
"Well yeah actually. I just let it all out so that I can go and be strong in front of them again" the Chinese admitted, shifting a little bit closer to Chaesol.
"That's not healthy, Dong" Chaesol whispered, hugging the girl closer. "You are basically using yourself as a... pain container? You bottle everything up and then you empty yourself by crying so that you are ready to bottle up again"
"That's... perfectly put into words" Handong said, turning around to face Chaesol, backing off when she noticed how close they were.
"Was I too close?" Chaesol asked, feeling Handong slowly shifting away from her arm. "I'm sorry... I didn't expect you to turn around"
"No, no, you were perfectly fine. I liked it. Like I said, it was warm. I just didn't expect to be so close when I... turned around" the Chinese girl smiled.
Chaesol chuckled, nodding her head.
"You blush a lot, you know that?" she decided to tease a little, just to lighten the mood a little.
"You just give me a lot of reasons to blush, that's all" Handong shyly laughed.
"I literally didn't do anything" Chaesol laughed, raising her eyebrows.
"You hugged me out of nowhere and pulled me really close"
"You were crying... what was I supposed to do?" Chaesol asked with a little pout. "And I didn't pull you close until you 'asked' me to"
"And you look beautiful and you make me blush by your words. So don't say you didn't do anything"
"I'm b- beautiful?" Chaesol mumbled, totally not expecting it. She tried to find something to say, but... nothing. And now she was the one who was blushing... again.
"Don't you think you shouldn't be the one to call me out on blushing a lot though?" Handong smiled, poking one of the girl's cheeks.
"You are lying... I don't blush" Chaesol lied with a little pout, wrapping her hand around Handong's finger who was poking her cheek to make it stop.
"Can I please get my finger back? I kind of need it for a lot of things"
"You should have thought about that before starting to poke my cheek. Now it's mine" Chaesol teased with a little grin.
"And what does miss Chaesol plan on doing with it?" Handong chuckled, locking eyes with the girl and trying to get her finger out of her hand.
"I don't know yet, I'll have to think about that" Chaesol chuckled, pretending to think. "I guess I'll have to keep it here until I decide"
"Fine, I can wait" the Chinese girl smiled, just staring at her hand.
"Or maybe I'll take more" Chaesol teased, taking two more fingers in her grip, looking in Handong's eyes.
"I think you're pretty greedy. You already have 10 fingers... why do you want mine?" The bartender pouted.
"I'll just take the whole hand then. I have only two of those after all" Chaesol chuckled, holding Handong's hand.
"But what do I need to do now? I can't do my job with one hand, Chae"
"I guess I'll have to help you then" Chaesol said "The problem is... I'm not able to make even the simplest drink" she chuckled.
"I can teach you" Handong smiled, intertwining her fingers with those of the other girl. "We both have each other's hand now after all"
"I guess we do" Chaesol replied with a smile, locking eyes with the Chinese girl. "Promise me something"
"Sure, what is it?" Handong asked, tilting her head a little.
"From now on, when you feel like you need to let go, when you want to cry or vent or whatever you need... don't do it by yourself" Chaesol replied, with a serious expression. "Come to me"
"I... I'll definitely do that if it's possible" the Chinese girl whispered, locking eyes with the girl. "Thank you"
"Don't thank me... I'll do the same with you" Chaesol said with a smile. "It will help the both of us. And... what do you mean 'if it's possible'?"
"I mean if you are physically near me. I can't really come to you if you are not near me"
"You have my number though" Chaesol smiled. "And in this situation... I don't think we will be 'free' to go somewhere else... Minji said we have to stick together. And honestly... I would stick with you anyway" the girl admitted, looking down at the pillow under Handong's head. "Since people keep disappearing"
"Hey, I'm not going anywhere! I'm staying right here with you guys. I already told Elkie she has to do the evening shift on her own for the time being" Handong smiled. "And I'd rather stay with you as well"
"Why?" Chaesol blurted out, not really meaning to do it. It just escaped her lips.
"Because it feels good? Warm? I don't really know why"
Chaesol smiled, nodding her head. It was weird but she could understand what Handong meant. In all this mess, they had found each other and in some way they were walking through it together. They spent almost a week together, 24 hours per day, walking in the city and asking information to people and then at home as well.
"You know... it's fun that you keep defining me as 'warm' " Chaesol said with a little smile "Do you know what the end of my name means?"
"The 'sol' you mean?" Handong asked as Chaesol nodded her head. "I actually do. Isn't it Latin or something for 'sun'?"
"It is... both for 'sun' and 'warmth' " Chaesol replied, locking eyes with the Chinese woman.
"Well... you're my little sun then!" Handong chuckled, patting Chaesol's head with her free hand.
"W- What?" Chaesol stuttered, moving her eyes away and blushing again. She could swear that the last time she blushed with someone was 7 years ago.
"You're my little sun, it's a nickname?" The Chinese clarified.
"A long one" the other girl replied with a smile. "I have to find a nickname for you too then" she added, looking up and thinking about the day they spent at the mall. "You'll be my little flower then"
"You're too cute! Anyway... do you want to tell me something else or should we go down?"
"We can go down" Chaesol replied with a smile, slowly sitting up on the bed and letting go of Handong's hand.
Somewhere in this talk, Handong began feeling something unusual in her chest that was way too prominent.
"Chae wait I-... no, nevermind, let's go downstairs" Handong smiled, standing up as well.
Chaesol turned around, tilting her head and looking at the Chinese girl.
"You promised to tell me everything... what were you saying?" she asked with a soft smile.
"Just a thank you" the bartender responded, opening the door and walking out.
"You already... " Chaesol was replying, but the Chinese girl had already left the room "said that" she whispered with a little sigh as she followed Handong downstairs. Was it stupid that she hoped Handong wanted to say something else?
-=-
In the afternoon, Siyeon and Yubin and Handong and Chaesol had gone out to search again while Minji and Yoohyeon stayed home. They decided that it was best to always keep 2 people at home and alternate resting.
Minji was sitting on the couch and couldn't help but think that this whole kidnapping thing was done on purpose now that they were training for the big mission.
She raised her head and looked towards the kitchen, where Yoohyeon was. Since Bora went missing, the taller girl had been so distant and looked so in pain that it was physically hurting Minji. She knew how important Bora was for Yoohyeon and the older vampire hated not to be able to make her feel better.
"Pup?" she called "We'll do the dishes later, together... come here" she asked, even if she knew that the dishes were an excuse. The taller hunter just wanted to be alone and cry. Minji could hear her from the couch.
"Okay... let me just... clean the counter and the table then. I'll be there after that" Yoohyeon replied.
"I'll do it later... just come here, Pup... please" Minji said in a soft voice, hoping to convince her.
"Okay" The silver haired girl sighed, walking out of the kitchen and standing behind the couch. "I'm here"
"Come here" Minji whispered, patting her lap turning around to face the hunter. Yoohyeon nodded and walked around to sit on her lap, facing Minji and resting her head on her shoulder.
"I miss her, babe. The house is so silent without her. Where are they?" She whispered.
"I know you do... but we will find them. I promise you" Minji whispered. "I will kick down every single door of every single house in this city if I have to, but we will find them"
"We might fight a lot but... she's so important for me. She was there for me in all my difficult moments, she dedicated her life to me and now she's gone. I need to find her, Minji. That woman is my everything, she was even my first love"
"She..." Minji whispered, locking eyes with the hunter "She was? You never told me that. You were a couple? I thought it was... just sex"
"No, we never were a couple and I... I confessed on 'that' night... but it was one-sided. She kissed me though as a friend. To show she loved me, but not like that. The sex came later" Yoohyeon explained.
"I'm glad she has always been there for you then" Minji replied, caressing Yoohyeon's cheek. "We will find her, be sure of that. We will find her and Gahyeon safe and sound"
"Yeah we will, we have to stay positive" the hunter smiled, kissing Minji's lips. "I'm really sorry for distancing myself, babe. Just know I love you alright?"
"I know, and I love you too" Minji smiled, pecking the hunter's lips. "And it's okay pup, I know that you are hurt, don't apologize"
"Do you think we caused this by infiltrating that Nightshade outpost? Maybe they caught onto our plan and... did this?" Yoohyeon asked with a shaky voice.
"I don't think it's that. It looks like someone is targeting one of the group that they can't physically reach. I thought it was me, when Gahyeon disappeared. But now, with Bora... They might want Siyeon but I can't understand why" Minji whispered.
"Who would do such a thing?" Yoohyeon whispered. "And are you sure? They clearly don't work alone"
"I thought about options... it could be the Nightshade clan, it could be survivors of the Phantom clan, but you are right, it's not a single person. It's a group"
"We'll find them... and I'll kill them with my own bare hands" Yoohyeon said, sounding determined.
"Let's stick with the gun, Pup" Minji said, holding Yoohyeon's hands in hers and kissing them.
"If they tortured her... the gun is the last step" the silver haired girl stated.
"Yoohyeon" Minji whispered, locking eyes with her and squeezing her hands "You know that's... likely to happen. Bora is strong headed... she won't answer questions"
"Then I'm getting my fucking revenge for her Minji, no one touches my small friend, no one!"
"We will get revenge for her and for Gahyeon" the vampire replied with a nod, caressing Yoohyeon's cheek. "At least now... Gahyeon won't be alone anymore. If they are together... maybe they can help each other"
"That doesn't really ease the worry, Babe. Now they can use one to torture the other..." Yoohyeon sighed, kissing Minji's lips to feel a little better.
"I know" the vampire whispered, weakly, pulling Yoohyeon closer and resting her head on the hunter's shoulder with a sigh. "I feel lost, Pup. For the first time in over 200 years... even Siyeon is doubting my decisions. We talked and we fixed everything but... still" she whispered.
"This is just something none of us have experienced" Yoohyeon reassured her, combing her hair. "Did they still not leave a message or anything?"
"Nothing" Minji replied, shaking her head when she started to look at the door with a curious expression.
"What? What's wrong?" The hunter asked, noticing her weird expression.
"I thought the others were back" Minji said, tilting her head a little. She clearly heard steps from behind the door "but they went away"
"Minji! Get after them! Maybe that was the abductor checking if we were home" Yoohyeon yelled, jumping from her lap.
The vampire quickly stood up, running to the door and opening it. She noticed an envelope on the ground, in front of the door. She quickly closed her eyes, trying to hear if they were still close. That's when she heard it, the noise of steps on a roof. Minji snapped her head up and she saw a vampire running away, fast. He was fast, but she could get him. She could get him, torture him and find Gahyeon and Bora. But at the same time she couldn't... she couldn't leave Yoohyeon uncovered. This might be a trap... make her move so they could take her.
"Minji? Did you find someone?" Yoohyeon asked, running to the door and staring at her girlfriend with an envelope in her hands.
"Just the envelope... I didn't see anyone" she lied, knowing that Yoohyeon would blame herself if she knew that Minji could catch that vampire but chose not to.
"Maybe it's from their abductors! Open it and let me see" the silver haired girl pushed, rushing Minji to open it.
"Go to the kitchen" Minji said in a firm tone "We don't know what this is. I'll open it and if it's safe, I'll call you"
"Don't be ridiculous, it's an envelope, not a weapon. Open up"
"I said go to the kitchen, Yoohyeon" Minji repeated, locking eyes with the hunter.
"Fine, you're just worrying about nothing again" Yoohyeon said, entering the house.
Minji slowly opened the envelope, taking some papers out of it. She wasn't even surprised to see the picture of Bora in it... that's exactly what she was expecting when she saw the envelope. She clenched her hand on the envelope, debating about what to do. Showing the picture to Yoohyeon, Siyeon and Yubin would break them completely... but she couldn't lie. Not about this.
"Babe, what's in the envelope?! You're taking so long! I'm sure it's safe right?" Yoohyeon yelled.
Minji stepped inside, closing the front door behind her.
"Come here" she whispered, knocking lightly on the kitchen's door. There was no simple way to do this. "You might want to sit down" she whispered again, moving to the couch.
The silver haired girl sat down on the couch and stared at the envelope.
"So what did the note say? I'm sure there was a note, right?"
"It wasn't a note" Minji whispered, handing the picture to Yoohyeon. "We... we will get them, I promise you. They will pay for this"
"B-Bora?!" Yoohyeon whispered, tears filling her eyes as she looked at Minji. "They... made cuts on her skin... and... is she dead?"
"She's not" Minji replied, shaking her head. "I'm sure she's just unconscious because of... that" the vampire replied, taking the picture away from Yoohyeon's hands and hugging the girl close, making her hide her face in the crook of her neck.
"S-she must be really... hurt... Minji we have to find her! What... do t-they want? Did they not l-leave their demands a-anywhere?" Yoohyeon sobbed.
"They didn't... I think they just wanted to be sure we knew they have a way to hurt us... so now we have to play their game" Minji whispered, combing Yoohyeon's hair, trying to calm her down.
"What do we do? Minji, what do we do? All of this isn't working, we have nothing!" The hunter cried.
"We call the others and we organize something different" Minji replied, sounding more confident. "I might have an idea" she whispered, looking at the picture of Bora.
"What? What's your idea? Did you find something?" Yoohyeon asked, grabbing the picture out of Minji's hand and desperately searching for clues, letting her tears fall on it.
"Hey, stop looking at it" Minji whispered, cupping Yoohyeon's face and wiping away her tears. "Your tiny hunter is a not-so-tiny genius. We know this person is a young woman with black hair. She wrote 'woman', not 'vampire'... and if they fought, I'm pretty sure she would know. So we are looking for a young female black haired human... who owns a place with a soundproof room" she explained, standing up from the couch and nodding her head. "Yes, this could work! Call Yubin or Siyeon and tell them to come back. I'll call Dongie, we need her and Chaesol too"
"Babe, that's not easy at all... do you know how many young black haired women run around these parts? I mean, you, Handong and Chae would all fit that profile" the hunter sighed.
"It's not about that, it's about the soundproof room" Minji whispered, walking back and forth in the living room. "Look at the picture, you can see the soundproof panels. We will walk in every single store in the city that sells that kind of stuff. We ask for that particular model. Who is doing all of this wouldn't choose a store far away from the place he owns, right? It has to be close. You need a lot of those to cover a room... and that room looks huge"
"You're right. You're right, Minji" Yoohyeon jumped up, hugging the girl. "I'll call Siyeon, we can do this" she cheered, wiping away her last tears.
Minji took out the phone from her pocket and called Handong, telling her and Chaesol to come back home as quickly as possible. The mind behind all of this wanted to give them a warning by sending that picture, but it gave them something they didn't have before... a lead.
10 minutes after they called everyone the girls who were out were back home, curious about the thing Minji had to tell them. The oldest vampire said she had a lead which of course made them eager to hear.
"We waited for Handong and Chaesol, now everyone is here! Can we know what the lead is about now?" Siyeon asked, sounding impatient.
"The lead is this" Minji said, throwing the envelope to Siyeon. "But before you open it, sit down and try to not freak out. She's okay"
Siyeon locked eyes with Minji, slowly sitting down on the couch. She slowly opened the envelope with trembling hands... she had an idea of what it could be, mostly because of Minji's words. Once her eyes were fixed on the picture, she gritted her teeth hard
"Bora..." she whispered under her breath. "H- How do you know she's fine? How... how should I not freak out?" She asked, raising her voice and letting the picture fall on the ground.
"They wouldn't show us a picture if she was dead. They would just drop her body in front of the door. She's just... hurt" Minji whispered.
"We will catch these people... and when we do... I want to be the one to kill whoever did this to Bora" Siyeon hissed, looking at Minji "And I swear to god, they will beg me to let them die"
"Singnie, I think we all want that. But we need answers first and... if it's a human we can't just kill them" Minji reasoned, going over to Siyeon to hug her.
"What?" Siyeon asked, shaking her head. "I don't care if it's a human. I will fucking kill whoever did this! If they are monsters enough to do this to someone, they will die as monsters"
"Fine... just make sure that if it's a human that you clean up then" Minji sighed. "Yubin... do you want to see as well? The clue is on there"
The blue haired girl already had her eyes fixed on the picture on the ground. She didn't want to see it from up close, she didn't want to see her sister hurt... but if the clue was in there, she needed to. She walked to the picture and picked it up, looking at it and letting the tears fall down her cheeks as Chaesol wrapped her arms around her, hugging her from behind.
"W- What's the... clue?" She whispered, looking up at Minji.
"Look at the walls, the pallets they used to make it soundproof" Minji pointed out. "We will not go around and ask people anymore, we will go around shops and ask if someone bought that model recently"
"You... you are right. It looks new" Yubin whispered, nodding her head, wiping away the tears. "We can find them" she mumbled, trying to convince herself that they were a step closer to having both of them back.
"So we will work like this, we take half an hour to look up all the shops that sell those things here and then we divide them between our three groups to go visit them. Does that sound good?" Minji asked, walking back to Yoohyeon and wrapping an arm around her shoulder, pulling her into her side.
Everyone in the room nodded and suddenly the air in the house felt lighter. The picture was something horrible, but they had a lead and they were eager to work on it to find the girls.
Thank you for reading, consider leaving a comment. Much love ♥
QOTD: What is your favorite Yubin hair color and style?
Both: Long blue hair
Cristina: Long blue hair with the braid thing at the side.