Eyes red like roses

8 You don't have to fear me

Yeji was lost in Lia's eyes. They vibrated warmth and a sense of home.

"Can I have your number, so that we can stay in contact?" Yeji asked not breaking eye-contact. She felt how her face automatically lighted up at Lia's smile.

Lia's crescent eyes seeping into her, burning her heart like a signet. To scar and to be remembered.  A wine stain on a white sweater.

"Yeah, of course." Lia replied averting her focus to her pocket, taking out her phone and exchanging numbers with the vampire.

Yeji displayed a warm smile. "Next time we meet I want you to meet my friends properly."

"Sounds beautiful" Lia answered. She decided to be bold today.

"Even if you are totally enough for me." The hunter whispered, kissing Yeji's cheek.

"Goodbye Yeji", slowly walking away, Lia left the older dazed next to the bench.

"Good-goodbye" Yeji called out, finally coming back from her freeze.

As soon as Yeji was out of Lia's view, she started to walk the same path the woman went. Lia wanted to keep an eye on her. Fearing that something bad could happen, she hoped to find the woman soon.

She took her phone out and texted Ryujin.

to Ryujinie: I left Yeji. There was a drunk vampire woman in the park so I decided to follow her. Come here immediately and bring your gun with you.

She sent her location to Ryujin hoping the girl would get the message quickly.

to Jisu: Coming. Please wait for me.

Lia put her phone back in to her pocket and kept her attention on the streets. She tried to find out where the woman could go in that state, looking around in the slowly darker getting alleys of the city.

What Lia didn't know was that Yeji had also decided to follow the woman.

The black-haired girl had jumped on a roof, using the open space to locate the vampire's smell. She quickly found a lead and followed it until she found the woman in front of a bar, secluded from the public eye. It was located in the corner of a side street and Yeji had a perfect view from her position.

She decided to first send Chaeryeong a text of what she was doing and her rough estimated location. Yeji explained that she would take a little longer, hoping that her friend wouldn't be worried.

Focusing back on her surroundings, she immediately sensed a familiar scent and tried to identify it. She recognized Lia, standing at the corner of a house door, clearly hiding from someone. Yeji panicked, fearing that Lia was following her, but after inspecting the girl, she concluded that assumption to be false. Lia was looking at the bar, having her eyes fixed on the woman.

Yeji crouched down, deciding to stay low for now, not being sure what Lia was even doing here. Though, she didn't have a lot of time to start speculating about that, when another figure walked into the side street. It was a woman, Yeji concluded, her breathing fast,  stance slightly crouched.

Yeji focused on her hearing and started listening to the conversation.

"Come here, Ryujin!" Lia whisper yelled. Waving at the new girl.

So that's Ryujin, Lia's friend Yeji thought trying to make sense of this situation.

"Hey Li-ia, give me-e a sec I ran a-all the way-y here-e." Ryujin panted, joining their hiding place. She had short ash brown hair, that was now falling into her face, her hands on her knees trying to catch her breath.