Lovers in the Night | Yang Jungwon

VII

"You seem to be in a better mood than yesterday," Jungwon points out after Danah happily skips to her seat early the next morning after sitting at the back of the class for fun.

The teacher was late to class for whatever reason, so the students were celebrating. Haruto was basically instigating a party and everyone else was supporting him by blasting music.

Wonyoung, Sullyoon, and Minji were entertained by the scene and even joined in with the singing. It was only Danah and Jungwon who were minding their own business.

Danah drops her bag by her chair and gives him an enthusiastic look, "I am." Yesterday, she was saddened by Sheep. Today, she's euphoric cause of him.

"Because of what?" Danah knew that Jungwon wasn't the type to ask questions and that she should've been skeptical at this, but she brushed it off, too excited about Sheep to think about it.

"Sheep," she giggles right after saying his name. Haruto begins playing Justin Beiber songs.

"The the Vampire that saved you from a couple nights ago?" Jungwon pursues with more questions.

Danah nods before plopping onto her chair. "I don't even know what he looks like because he seems to hide his appearance, but I just know that he's so sexy."

This catches him off guard. "How can he be so sexy if you've never seen his face before?" he raises an eyebrow.

"He's so selfless and considerate," she could blabber on and on about him. "It makes him very attractive to me."

Jungwon seemed taken aback by this. "Are you implying that you have a crush on a Vampire?" He enunciates the 'Vampire' part.

Danah's shoulders droop after hearing that question. She didn't really think about it until now, is she forming feelings for a Bampire? How would that even work? Furthermore, she didn't even know Sheep's age. Hell, he could literally be a thousand years old while she's stuck with dying at probably 70.

"Cat caught your tongue?" Jungwon makes a pun, everyone at school would call him a 'cat' because he resembled one.

"I don't know how to answer you," she honestly answers. Her back was towards him since he sat behind her, so she didn't know what facial expressions he was making.

"Guys, Ms Song is at the end of the hall!" a student exclaims. At this, everyone in the classroom immediately calms down and returns to their seat.

Danah was amused by the scene, impressed by how fast her classmates turned off their music and fixed the desks and chairs just by hearing the teacher's name.

Just in time, Ms Song arrives, a bit overwhelmed. "Sorry, kids. The bus came late. Let me take a moment to get myself together." She drops her bag on her desk and begins sorting things into place.

While waiting, the students silently whisper to themselves as if their class wasn't just turned into a nightclub a few seconds ago.

Minji turns around from her seat, facing the friend group. "You guys wanna go to the mall today? The new Air Jordan's dropped and I wanna cop one."

"I was planning on going too anyway to run errands for my family." Sullyoon accepts while eating her breakfast from her bento.

Wonyoung joins, "I'll check out the shoes with you, Minji. I do want a new pair."

Danah hadn't been going out these past few nights for herself since November 30, so she decided she wanted a change. "I'll tag along." She hadn't been seeing vampires other than Sheep recently, so she assumed that the vampires dispersed back into hiding.

"Great, the whole gang can come!" Minji celebrates. "For extra precaution, don't forget to bring your umbrella along, Danah."

"Oh my god, when will you guys move on from that?!" Danah exclaims and everyone laughs.

≡

The four girls were strolling around the mall, Minji and Wonyoung ended buying the new J's like the rich girls they are. Sullyoon was also able to finish her errands.

"Are you going to get anything, Danah?" Minji asks her best friend, whilst they walk out of the shoe store.

"Nah." I only came for fun since I haven't wilfully gone out for a while. However, she wasn't fully at ease, knowing that Vampires could still be lurking. "The sun is setting soon, so I might head off in a bit."

"What?!" the three girls simultaneously share their disappointment.

"It's only 6:30pm, why not stay a bit longer?" Wonyoung hopefully bargains.

"Yeah, aren't you having fun?" Minji pouts, recalling how Dana and her used to stay up together until 2AM. Of course it was fun, but Danah valued her safety more.

"I am!" Danah assures them. "It's just that there could be Vampire coming out now. They're always more active at night."

Danah had been beginning to dread the night due to the fact she tied it to Vampires. She only felt safe in the sun and used it as her cue to come or leave.

Their mouths open, finally understanding Danah's side and remembering what she went through. "Ah, you're right." Wonyoung starts. "Sorry, we've forgotten."

"It's fine," Danah tells them with a smile.

"So, since we're all anti-Vampire here, I have an item I suggest we all buy." Sullyoon gestures the other three to follow her. They give each other confused glances before following along.

Sullyoon leads them to an outdoor-looking shop, one that seemingly focuses on wildlife survival. The three couldn't understand why their friend would bring them there, but they trusted her to keep them interested.

Sullyoon drags them to an isle at the side of the store. She then picks up one of the items, "I present to y'all Vampire Repellant."

"Wow!" Wonyoung exclaims, taking one and reading its info. She reads, "#1 Vampire Repellant in the country."

"Ooh, this seems cool." Minji simply eyes the product, intrigued by it.

"It's equivalent to pepper spray, except made with lots of garlic." Danah reads a portion of its ingredients. "It can also spray until 20-30 feet away."

"I think we all should have one," Sullyoon advises. "This was one of the reasons I wanted to join shopping with you guys."

Danah approvingly nods, "I second you on that." She didn't want Sheep to feel the need to come to her rescue if she were ever to get attacked by a vampire again — she wanted to show that she can defend herself... and not with just an umbrella.

"The last thing I'd want is to experience a vampire attack unarmed and defenceless," Wonyoung grips the one in her hand. She sighs while looking at her Nike shopping bag, "I'm seriously going to go broke after this."

"I guess I'll take one too," Minji finally grabs one. "The price isn't too bad."

The girls then head to the self-checkout corner, each paying for their own repellent. I hope this'll make me feel less anxious, Danah sighs to herself.

But then again, Danah remembered that Sheep told her that not all vampires were bad... just the stray ones.