Chapter Text
“Look to the left of you. Across the bar, the one with the black shirt,” Heejin said slowly. Her leg was bouncing under the table, the vibrations making their drinks spill over.
They were seated at two booths, Heejin sitting against the wall with Jinsoul next to her. Choerry, the youngest, was seated across from Heejin. She craned her neck to see over Jungeun’s head.
“Don’t make it so obvious! Be subtle!” Jinsoul kicked her under the table. Choerry grumbled, slouching back in her seat.
Jungeun shook her head at the comment. The four of them stood out like sore thumbs in the small town bar. While all the men at the bar wore flannels and greased-stained jeans, Junguen was dressed in a business casual blazer with a tie. Her entourage was dressed for the club, adorning fishnets, fur, and heavy, dark eyeliner.
Jinsoul casually scanned the room. “She’s cute. Not my type, though.”
“It’s my turn, anyways,” Junguen scowled. Jinsoul gave a teasing smile in return.
Jungeun flicked her fork off the table and leaned down to pick it up, nonchalantly glancing up as she did so. There, across the bar standing at the pool table was the girl. Tight black shirt that tied in the front, with a little necklace hanging down her neck. She was short, having to stand on her toes to reach across the pool table with her cue. Jungeun watched her tilt her head to rest her head on her arm to take the shot, her dark hair spilling onto the table. A loud crack rang through the room as the cue made contact with the ball. The people she was playing with cheered, and she did a curtsy in her pleated mini skirt.
“LIP!” Jinsoul snapped in front of her face. “Stop staring, it’s rude.”
“I was not staring, I was just observing.”
“Well? What are your thoughts?” Heejin said with her fingers clasped tightly. She blinked a few times more than necessary. Her silver bangs hung in front of her eyes, and yet Jungeun could still see they were wide with anticipation.
“I don’t know, don’t you think it’s kind of…unethical to prey on the weak?” She played with the prongs of the fork, bending them easily as she tightened them into the palm of her hand.
“You think she’s weak?” Choerry raised an eyebrow. She didn’t miss the way Jungeun slid the mangled fork under the napkin when a waiter walked by.
“She might be drunk, I don’t know,” she whispered, mindful of the waiter still in ear shot. “Wouldn’t it be like taking advantage of her state of mind?”
“She’s not that intoxicated, I would be able to smell her blood alcohol level from here,” Jinsoul corrected, not nearly as careful about her volume. Heejin peered over the booth to make sure nobody had heard that.
Jungeun rolled her eyes. Jinsoul was exceptionally smart, to an annoying extent sometimes.
“You’ve killed people before, why are you questioning the morality of it now?” Jinsoul poured some salt out onto the table and started playing around with it. She dragged her finger around in the salt, making a smiley face.
“It just seems unfair. Why does it have to be someone so young? Why can’t it just be like an old hag that’s going to die anyways?” Jungeun argued. She knew they weren’t going to change their minds, but at least she could buy the girl enough time to finish her pool game.
“I was turned when I was 17. At least she got more time than me,” Choerry said passive-aggressively. She blew away Jinsoul’s salt drawings. “I’ll never have an 18th birthday.”
“Sorry,” Jinsoul mumbled. “It’s not like we had any say in it, either.”
Heejin checked the booth behind them yet again to make sure it was still empty. The bar wasn’t exactly quiet, but it certainly was still a public place where anyone could be eavesdropping. Her paranoia was reaching a new level, dilating her pupils until they were two black holes where her eyes used to be.
“It’s cute that you want to pretend to care about humans now, but we don’t have a choice. That’s who I saw in my dream. She’s the one Mother wants,” Heejin pointed to the girl.
“Heejin, you need to relax,” Choerry patted her hand until she put it down. “Lippie and I are going to go over there and handle it.”
Heejin was too volatile in this state. One misstep and she’d end up on the news. Choerry used to be like that when she was first turned, but with time she got used to it. Years have passed and the girls have become numb to the cruelty of the world because they no longer have to endure it. They walk the streets fearlessly knowing they are stronger than anyone lurking in the alleyways.
Choerry particularly holds herself with more confidence. She pushed Junguen out of the booth, ignoring her protests. She made her way to the billiards room like it was a runway, her blonde ponytail swinging over her fur coat. Everything from her style to the way she talked had changed once she accepted that this was her new life after death.
Jungeun conceded and followed behind her, shoving her hands in her pockets and trying not to strangle the men ogling at them.
“When’s the next round?” Choerry addressed the group of players when they reached the pool table.
“You’re just in time for a new game,” someone said. Jungeun wasn’t paying attention to any of the other people in the room. Their faces blended together with the trails of cigarette smoke curling throughout the air. The girl stood out like a porcelain doll compared to them.
“I’ll break,” Jungeun said. Someone handed her their cue and she walked around the table to position herself in front of the white ball. Conveniently, the girl was standing right at the corner watching her.
Everyone went quiet in an attempt to help her focus. Unbeknownst to them, it only distracted her more now that she could hear the sound of the girl’s heart beat. It was thumping through the wooden floor boards, like a bass playing through a speaker. Now that she was closer, she could single out her scent. She couldn’t help but glance over at her.
To her surprise, she was already looking at her. The girl didn’t look embarrassed being caught staring, instead she just flashed her a small smile, her eyes almost closing as she did so.
CRACK.
The triangle splintered off in three directions, none of the balls making it in the pockets. Choerry booed her loudly, earning her a few laughs from the other players. Jungeun pointed the cue at her chest, pretending to stake her.
They danced around the table for the next twenty minutes, Jungeun coincidently always taking the shot closest to the girl in the miniskirt.
When there was nothing but the 8 ball left, Choerry took the cue from Jungeun. She leaned in to whisper, “Take her home.”
Choerry got it on the first try, straight into the center-left pocket. The group of tipsy players erupted into a mix of applause and groans of defeat. She put her fur jacket back on and gave Junguen a nod. Then she left the bar, leaving Jungeun to finish the job by herself.
Jungeun approached her, more nervous than she anticipated.
“Good game,” she smoothly stuck out her hand.
The girl shook it, her bracelets jingling like tiny bells.
“Wow! Your hands are so cold!”
Jungeun didn’t know how to respond to that, so she just said ‘I know’. She was too focused on the warmth of her hands, and the steady pulse of her blood in her fingertips. She had such nice hands; delicate and dainty. Jungeun didn’t realize she was still holding them, and had to think fast to make a smooth recovery.
She interlaced their fingers, pulling her closer.
“What are you doing after this?”
The girl blushed immediately, even her shoulders turned pink. It made Jungeun feel angry somehow, like she wanted to squish her to death. She had to let go of her hand and grip the pool table instead.
“Don’t you have a girlfriend to get home to? Or several?” she raised her eyebrow.
“What- oh, Choerry?” she sputtered, “Choerry is not my girlfriend and the others–” she stopped mid sentence and gave her a look. “Were you spying on us?”
“Only because you were staring at me first,” she faked a pout. “Your friend literally pointed at me from across the bar.”
Dammit, Heejin.
“They are my roommates. They’re stupid around pretty women.”
“And you’re not?”
Jungeun laughed, “I’m the only one who’s talking to you, aren’t I?”
She waved her finger at her. “You’re going to have to take me out on a date first.”
“How old-fashioned. You must be older than me,” she said, knowing that she wouldn’t understand the joke.
“I was born in 1997, and if I were to guess…you are ’99?”
“Spot on. Are you some sort of psychic?” she said playfully.
She pointed to her forearm. “You literally have it tattooed.”
Jungeun looked down in confusion. Then realized and pulled down her rolled up sleeves to cover her elbows. “Oh right, I didn’t think you could see that.”
What she didn’t see was that it wasn’t two nines, but actually three sixes. But the sacrilegious tattoos usually don’t come out until the fifth date.
One of the players she was with– a girl probably around her age– waved her over. Jungeun tried not to glare at her with dagger eyes.
“I have to go, our Uber is here. If you’re going to ask for my number, do it now.”
Jungeun was taken aback by her boldness. She looked so shy and sweet from across the room, but up close she was really quick-witted.
The girl sensed her hesitation and reached into Jungeun’s pocket for her and pulled out her phone.
Jungeun bit her lip and snatched her phone out of her hand, unlocking it and handing it back to her. She cursed silently to herself, knowing that this wasn’t going to end tonight.
Her acrylic nails tapped as she typed in her number and handed it back to her. Jungeun looked back down at her phone and finally, she had her name.
Haseul.