a heavenly way to die (a time to be alive)

6th

Hyunjung had never kissed anyone before.

She had thought about it. On cold nights, curiosity about touch has overcome Hyunjung and made her imagine the very feelings that she usually dismissed as illogical. For a hunter so famous who worked almost exclusively alone, the thought of someone else so close to her was as terrifying as it was intriguing. Arms holding her close, a gentle hand at her back, even a kiss against her mouth— these were daydreams she rarely let herself sink into. But Hyunjung couldn't deny to herself that she had thought about it before.

Against her better instincts, she'd kissed Jiyeon. She'd surrendered herself to instinct and taken Jiyeon's cold cheeks in her hands as if it were easy. Hyunjung replayed the moment again as she strolled through the streets of Seoul. She imagined the ghost of Jiyeon's hand against her back. It was infuriating, and it has everything she despised and loved at once. She'd confessed so much with a simple touch. Her attraction to Jiyeon, sure, but also her belief that maybe, despite everything— they were the same..

So she had decided to throw herself into the case. Now that Jiyeon's past has been revealed, Hyunjung could move on to the most important aspect of the hunt— Jiyeon's behaviour in Seoul. It didn't matter now how clean Jiyeon's past was. What mattered was her present behaviour. And a selfish part of Hyunjung wanted Jiyeon to be the manipulative, violent vampire that Hyunjung had expected to be in the beginning.

The process of the hunt was different for every vampire. Some were obvious, and they left a trail of bodies across their city to show off their prowess. Others slinked amongst the shadows and left only a few tiny clues in their wake. Jiyeon was not the type to hide herself, but nor was she going to advertise any wrongdoing. Hyunjung knew there would be a trail of anything that was Jiyeon across Seoul, revealing just enough that she could piece together the full story.

Hyunjung suspected Jiyeon probably had one or more humans she fed off. Several eyewitness accounts remarked that they had indeed seen an ethereal woman dressed in an elegant, extravagant dress walking beside a tall, slender woman with long blonde hair. Hyunjung contacted several women matching this description online until she finally came across who she was looking for: Nam Dawon. Dawon was a theater actress and teacher living in a small flat on the edge of Seoul. They'd arranged to meet.

Hyunjung turned up her collar and then knocked on the door of the Nam residence with three sharp raps. Inside, she could hear some tiny barking sounds, then the door clicked open.

Whatever Hyunjung was expecting, it wasn't this. Dawon opened the door with a smile. Her skin was not pale as snow— unlike vampires and their victims, she was not haggard. She was beautiful, and her eyes glittered warmly as if she were the sun herself. A tiny beagle dog was behind her.

"You must be Hyunjung." Dawon said warmly. "Please, come in. Take off your coat."

Hyunjung gave an uncomfortable nod and stepped gingerly inside of the flat. Her eyes flickered around the hallway to find family photos, with two dogs, and old wallpaper. She could smell warm cookies, too, fresh from the oven. It smelled like home. Nostalgia twitched inside of her. Her mother used to bake.

"Cup of coffee or tea?" Dawon called over her shoulder to Hyunjung.

"No, thank you."

"You sure?"

Hyunjung gave a small nod. Dawon chuckled.

"You really are as stern as Jiyeon says." She said. Her eyes crinkled at the mention of Jiyeon's name, and Hyunjung felt a hot surge of irrational jealousy. "That's fine. Come on through to the living room."