La Vie En Rose ~An IZ*ONE vampire story~

Side story - Being different (Chaeryeong focused)

Chaeryeong honestly couldn't believe what she had just heard. Her mother and sister had sat her down for a "discussion", which immediately sent red flags that she might be in trouble for something or that a serious family dilemma was happening.

But instead, she was told something her brain nearly couldn't process as true. That her mother and sister were actually witches and that she too was of witch bloodline. Whether or not she had the potential to use magic like them was another story, but regardless, she was basically just told that she and her family were something not exactly human, something of which she heard many rumors spread about through her school, and something she believed in her heart couldn't be real.

"We are different."

"I am different..."

Different. That word alone stuck in Chaeryeong's mind. She wondered what this could mean for her going onward. What did it mean to be a witch? To be "different"? Would people start to treat her differently if they knew she came from a witch bloodline? And what about Yuna? What would she say? What would she do knowing her best friend wasn't human? Would she even be able to tell her?

...

"Chaeryeong~"

Chaeryeong looked up as she heard her best friend Yuna call to her.

"Hey, you okay? You look troubled about something."

"O-oh, yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about it, Yuna."

Yuna pouted, her eyebrows scrunched up.

"Hey, Yuna! Come here," a new voice called.

"Coming Lia-unnie~"

Chaeryeong watched as her friend walked over to Lia, one of the members of the dance club. Yuna was particularly close with Lia since she joined the dance club, the two of them chatting often whenever they weren't practicing.

She looked over to the other side of the room, where two other members, Yeji and Ryujin, were going over some moves on their own. She found herself focused on Ryujin, how composed she was while she was moving. She was usually quiet in class, and people were often intimidated by how tough she looked.

But Chaeryeong and the others knew her as someone who was dedicated and hard-working, and underneath her tough expression was a kind heart.

"Hey." Chaeryeong blinked as she saw Ryujin approach her. "You alright?"

"Oh... Yeah," Chaeryeong blushed slightly as Ryujin sat beside her, wiping sweat off her forehead with a towel.

"You seem like you've got a lot on your mind," Yeji said, her sharp eyes glancing at her.

"It's nothing, really!"

"Okay, but y'know you can talk to us if something's bothering you."

"Yeah..."

"Yeji-unnie~ Ryujin-unnie~" Yuna and Lia approached the group. "Lia-unnie and I are going out for karaoke! You guys wanna join?"

"Sure! Sounds fun," Yeji smiled.

"Yeah, I'm in," Ryujin grinned.

"Yay! Chaeryeong, you wanna come too?"

"O-oh, um..."

"Come on, Chaeryeong, let's do it. We've been working our butts off, so let's have a girl's night out and relax," Lia said.

"Yeah! Girl's night!"

"What do you say?"

Chaeryeong looked around at the others, hearing Yuna softly chanting "Girl's night" under her breath. With how hectic things had become recently, she honestly felt like she needed a break to take her mind off things.