Third Vampire Shadows (An Urban Paranormal Romance Novel) (5 page)

They shared a hearty laugh as
Hyeon
Jin
got more and more infuriated by the minute.

“
Pest
,” she muttered angrily. Without any warning, she stomped hard on Mun Oh’s left foot.

Instead of retaliating, Mun Oh simply snaked his way out of her sight and placed himself in front of Shin Erin. There was something happening inside of him. A familiar tingling sensation that could only mean one thing.

He had found his ideal catch
.

His insides churning madly, his blood rising, and his heart pounding in his ears, he leaned closer to an amused Shin Erin. Mun Oh was about to whisper something in her ear when he felt a hand grabbing his hair from behind and pulling him away with incredible force.

“Oww!” he groaned aloud, looking over his shoulder. “What the heck is your problem?”

“You were just about to kiss her, weren’t you, you pervert?”

“
Hyeon
Jin
! Stop it.” This time it was Shin Erin who spoke. She looked annoyed now. She turned to Mun Oh and said, “You have to forgive her. She has no concept of hospitality whatsoever.” She giggled nervously as he played with her hair.

Hyeon
Jin
mouthed wordlessly as Mun Oh arrogantly placed his arm around Shin Erin’s shoulders and led her out of the building.

“HEY! Where do you think you’re going?”
Hyeon
Jin
yelled after them as she followed them outside.

Mun Oh simply smirked at her. “I’m taking this beautiful lady on a date.”

Hyeon
Jin
ran after them and blocked their way.

“What? You want to come?” Mun Oh asked irately.

Shin
Erin
seemed to be entirely hypnotized by the young bloodsucker’s charms, for she appeared to be dazed and not herself as she chuckled sweetly.

“Where are you taking Shin Erin?” she demanded.

“None of your freaking’ business, big foot.”

“But—”

“Move out of the way,
Hyeon
Jin
! We’re going on a date, okay?” Shin
Erin
said. “Just go home and do something fun by yourself.”

Hyeon
Jin
bit her lip, admitting defeat. “What the hell? Fine! If that pest does something bad to you, don’t come running to
me.
” With that, she stormed out the school gates and went her way home.

“So…” Mun Oh said, turning to Shin Erin. “Know of a good place to eat?”

Shin
Erin
grinned. “Of course! I know a place somewhere
private
.”

The bloodsucker inside of him was fighting to come out. Mun Oh gulped air to control himself.

Not yet… It’s not yet time… I need her to warm up to me first… Otherwise, it’d be disastrous.

Not long after that, they were walking down a narrow alleyway five blocks from school, toward
Hyeon
Jin
and Shin Erin’s favorite eatery.

•••

A fuming Hyeon Jin was already in front of their house when she admitted to herself that she couldn’t just leave her best friend with that slimy pest. Besides,
Kim
Junjin
and Ji Sun would definitely interrogate her regarding Mun Oh’s whereabouts, so she might as well know what to tell them. Lying would do her no good in this situation.

Leaving her bag and books by the doorstep, she trudged down the street again, trying to think fast of a place where Shin Erin would take that pest. She was just passing the village gates when a particular place flashed before her. She broke into a sprint, 99% sure that Shin Erin and the pest would definitely be in T
hat Place
by now. She knew her best friend better than anyone else, and the eatery called "
That Place"
was their favorite hangout because there was good food and it had a quiet, private atmosphere.

She couldn’t understand why she was doing this, running all the way over there just to fetch that pest. She suddenly thought that perhaps she was indeed worried about him, or both of them, for that matter.

No way!
she thought.
I’m just gonna let him know that he needs to be home by seven, coz that is Dad’s rule. And I need to make sure Shin
Erin
is okay.

She was covered in sweat, her hair disheveled, and she was almost out of breath when she finally arrived at the eatery thirty minutes later. That Place was a small el-fresco eatery with a few plastic tables and chairs surrounding the long service table where the all the food was displayed. The great thing about it was that it was well hidden beside an abandoned park that now resembled a mini forest. So you could just take a walk right after eating and discover the beauty of nature right in the middle of a busy district. The owner of That Place never bothered trimming the grass or cutting the trees around their eatery after deciding that it would be a refreshing view for their customers.

Hyeon
Jin
scanned the eatery, looking for Shin Eric and Mun Oh. Only two tables were occupied; one by a couple in their twenties and the other by three noisy students sharing a plate of rice cakes. She headed toward the far end of the eatery, where a gap big enough to accommodate two people separated two wide oak trees. After squeezing her way in, she hastily searched for Shin Erin and Mun Oh. As she walked a little to her left, past the tree with the tire swing, she heard some strange sounds. Soon enough, she caught sight of the clearing where she and Shin Erin liked to lie down and sleep after a delicious meal at That Place. She could barely hear the sound now, so she stepped closer to the clearing, curious to see if anybody was in there. The sky was now getting darker, so it was difficult for her to see clearly.

She hid herself behind a tree, just in case, and craned her neck to scan the clearing. Somebody moaned.
A girl.
Hyeon
Jin
listened intently. It was coming from the right side. She edged closer to it and saw the silhouette of two people, their bodies pressed against each other.

Hyeon
Jin
felt herself blush. Although it wasn’t the first time she had witnessed some couple doing “something” behind the dark recesses of this park-turned-forest, it was still embarrassing for her to see something like this.

She was just about to turn away and go look for Shin Erin and Mun Oh on the other side when she noticed something. There, on the girl’s right wrist, glistening in the dark was a very familiar silver chain bracelet with a dolphin and star pendant. She inched closer as quietly as she could, her heart pounding loudly as a horrible thought overwhelmed her.

Could this girl be…?
she thought, appalled as a follow-up question filled her mind.
If it is her… then the guy is… Oh. My. God!

She was now only a couple of feet away from them when she noticed another thing. The girl seemed to be unconscious. And they weren’t kissing at all. Mun Oh seemed to be kissing her…

Neck?
she thought, perplexed.
But why would he kiss her there?

She waited for another minute or so, letting them finish up, but he was still glued to her neck.

Hyeon
Jin
averted her eyes, obviously revolted.

Is that how they kiss in Ougaagadougoo?
She wondered with a disgusted shiver.
Come on… wrap it up… It’s not the end of the world… You could go kiss her neck all you want tomorrow—

She halted in the middle of that thought, sensing that something wasn’t right. There was an otherworldly feel to this scenario. Even though she could only see the side of Mun Oh’s face, she still felt a different aura emanating from him.

Just when she was about to deduce something, Mun Oh finally pulled his head away from Shin Erin’s neck. At that very moment, a split second before he closed his mouth,
Jin
saw something she should never have seen.

Fangs.
Long, sharp, pointed fangs. A pair of them.

A chill swept over
Hyeon
Jin
as her suspicions heightened. She didn’t realize that she was slowly backing away from the clearing, her mouth opened as widely her eyes, appalled.

She made sure that she was out of hearing distance from the clearing before taking in a sharp breath.

“He’s a… He’s a… Mun Oh…
The
Pest
… He’s a…” she muttered under her breath like a crazy girl. “VAMPIRE!” she said excitedly, her eyes gleaming with malice and amazement.

Hyeon Jin walked home, her
mind still reeling with images of Mun Oh and his pointy fangs.

She was so preoccupied with these thoughts that she almost collided with their front door. She scratched her head, wondering how the hell she had gotten there. With a shrug, she knocked twice and waited, staring blankly at the door.

During those few crucial seconds, Shin Erin's face suddenly flashed right in front of her eyes, as a sinking thought occurred to her.

"If he's a vampire... and he bit her... then..." She took in a sharp breath as a horrible thought overwhelmed her.

She was... Shin
Erin
was... DEAD?!
She thought frantically, but then scratched her head as another idea came to light.

Or maybe... she turned into a vampire, too!

Feeling an odd mixture of worry and excitement, she turned on her heel. She was just about to run back to check on Shin Erin when someone opened the door.

"You're late. It's past seven," a familiar voice called out.

Hyeon
Jin
froze on the spot.

That voice...

She spun around and came face-to-face with a bored-looking Mun Oh, who was still wearing his tux.

"YOU!"
Hyeon
Jin
screamed, unable to control herself. She pointed a finger so close to his face that Mun Oh had to jerk his head back. "What did you do to Shin Erin?!"

Mun Oh studied her curiously. "We went on a date. It was fun. Mainly because you didn't come along to spoil it," he answered automatically.

"HA!"
Hyeon
Jin
scoffed at him. "You think I don't know?"

It was Mun Oh's turn to freeze on the spot. A sweat broke on his forehead as he stared at her with mingled astonishment and trepidation.

"I know your secret, pest."
Hyeon
Jin
sneered at him.

Mun Oh tried to contain his astonishment. "I have no idea what you mean by that," he said with a shrug.

"Oh, really?"
Hyeon
Jin
said. "How about biting me...
right here
?" she said, pointing at her neck.

Mun Oh's jaw dropped, his eyeballs almost popping out of their sockets. For some reason,
Hyeon
Jin
seemed to be taken aback by his reaction. They stared at each other for what seemed like forever until a voice broke the silence.

"Mun Oh? What's taking you so long? Is that
Hyeon
Jin
?"
Kim
Junjin
called out.

In one swift move, Mun Oh grabbed
Hyeon
Jin
by the wrist; within five seconds, they were already three houses away.

"How the hell did you do that?"
Hyeon
Jin
screamed at him, apparently more terrified than surprised.

Mun Oh simply stared at her, unable to think of what to say or do. One thing was for sure, she was
NOT
lying. She already knew.

But how... how did she find out about it?
He thought anxiously.
If she saw me biting Shin
Erin
then I would’ve sensed her presence! Or at least smell her—WAIT! That’s it! She must be bluffing coz I didn’t smell anyone at that time…

He studied her closely. The bloodsucker in him was quite a good lie detector.

Dang. She's not bluffing. Why wasn't I able to smell her earlier?
He wondered.
Hang on…

He closed his eyes and concentrated.

Nothing…? Why can't I smell this human girl?
He thought madly, trying again and again, but to no avail.

Just when he was about to sniff her out again, he felt a hand forcing his mouth open. He opened his eyes, not moving an inch, to find
Hyeon
Jin
examining his mouth with utmost curiosity.

"Whaddayoodooin...?"

"I wanna see your vampire fangs again,"
Hyeon
Jin
replied in a curious tone.

Mun Oh slapped her hand away. "What did you say?!"

Hyeon
Jin
folded her arms across her chest. "You're a
vampire
, right? So I wanna see your vampire fangs. I've never seen one up close, you know," she explained.

Mun Oh's dark eyes seemed to turn red with fury as he glared at her. "How dare you call me a vampire, you dirty little scumbag!"

Hyeon
Jin
’s right hand flew right up to his face, delivering a hard smack.

“I’m five months older than you so don’t speak to me that way, you pest,” she said.

Mun Oh appeared to have swallowed his tongue.

“So…”
Hyeon
Jin
went on, rather cheerfully. “Is Shin Erin gonna be all right? Or is she gonna turn into a vampire like you?” She stroked her chin thoughtfully. “She’s not really dead, right? I mean, you might be a pest, but I don't think you're that stupid to kill her when you know she's my best friend. And I don’t really think all that stuff about vampires sucking their victims dry is true at all. So I guess Shin Erin might become one of you, eh?” she babbled on.

Mun Oh stared at her in total disbelief. He had never met anyone who found something like this highly amusing and exciting. She was supposed to at least be terrified, like a normal human. Now Mun Oh was really having doubts about whether she was even normal.

“Oh! If you’re a vampire… then that means Ji Sun is…?” She left her words hanging, observing his reaction.

“I SAID STOP CALLING ME A VAMPIRE! I’M NOT A VAMPIRE!” Mun Oh bellowed, his fist clenched tightly.

“Then WHAT ARE YOU?”
Hyeon
Jin
yelled back.

“I’m a bloodsucker, dammit!”

The words instantly flew out of his mouth.

Hyeon
Jin
raised an eyebrow.

“A
mosquito
?”

“Wha—?”

“You said you’re a bloodsucker. Mosquitoes are bloodsuckers,” she explained casually.

“You’re driving me crazy!” Mun Oh said. He sat on the sidewalk and buried his face in his hands—a gesture that he would’ve never done within sight of his fellow bloodsuckers, for it would definitely suggest weakness, or worse, that he was giving up.

Hyeon
Jin
sat beside him.

“What the heck is a bloodsucker?” she asked. “Are you like a human mosquito?” She giggled.

“This is not a laughing matter! This is serious!” Mun Oh said.

His words made
Hyeon
Jin
double up in laughter some more.

Mun Oh closed his eyes tightly, silently praying for more patience.

This is hopeless. Of all the people who could’ve found out my secret, why must it be this retard?
he thought desperately. He had never been THIS desperate before.
And I’ve got bigger problems than this! I still need Ji Sun to do the ritual before I can leave this place forever!

“Wait. I was wondering,”
Hyeon
Jin
said after finally containing her laughter. “If Ji Sun is also a bloodsucker, then why didn’t Dad and I notice it before? Hmm… Maybe she’s better at hiding it than you—”

Mun Oh suddenly grabbed her by the shoulders so tightly that she couldn’t move an inch. A fleeting look of terror materialized on her face, but it was gone as quickly as it appeared.

“What? You’re gonna bite me?”

“I’m not gonna bite you. That’s disgusting,” Mun Oh replied flatly. “Besides, I have my
taste
,” he added with conviction, then tried to establish eye contact with her. “I’m only gonna say this once,” he started in a grave tone. “You can do whatever you want—tease me about it for as long as you like. I don’t care.”

Hyeon
Jin
raised an eyebrow.

“I know I couldn’t ask you to keep quiet about this, seeing what a blabbermouth you are. Just… my sister, she’s technically not a bloodsucker anymore… so for the sake of your relationship with her…” He took a moment before saying the last few words. “
Leave her out of this.
”

Mun Oh stared into her eyes some more, hoping to let her see the sincerity in his words.

“Is that it?”
Hyeon
Jin
asked after a while.

Mun Oh stared at her. “What do you mean,
'is that it'
?! I actually talked to you seriously for a minute when I don’t even like you! And all you have to say is 'IS THAT IT'?!"

“Could you let go now? You’re kinda crushing my shoulder blades,”
Hyeon
Jin
replied calmly.

Mun Oh blinked and slowly released her. He then stood up.

“I do hope we’re clear about that,” he said.

Hyeon
Jin
stood up, too.

“About what?” she asked innocently.

Mun Oh hit his face with his palm. “I said, I hope that tiny little thing inside your head that you call a brain was able to process all the information I just told you, dimwit.”

Hyeon
Jin
gave him a wry smile. She just loved teasing this guy. He wasn’t so cold after all, and he sure had a sentimental and soft side, too.

“Sure,” she said with a shrug.

Mun Oh started to walk back to the house.

“I’ll be gone in a matter of days and Shin Erin’s gonna be fine, so no one really needs to know about this, understand?”

Hyeon
Jin
caught up to him. “But Shin Erin also knows—”

“No, she doesn’t,” Mun Oh instantly replied. “We have the ability to modify the memory of our
catch
.”

“Then why don’t you just bite me?”

Mun Oh stopped walking and stared at her in mixed incredulity and disgust.

“I thought I just told you that I have a certain TASTE. You actually think I just go off biting anyone I meet?! You think I’ll just bite a big-footed retard like you or some random bum on the street? You’re crazy.”

Hyeon
Jin
stepped right in front of him. “Okay, you know what? You really need to do something about your attitude.”

“What?”

“You see, you are in
no position
at all
to order me around and act like the arrogant pest that you are, since you’re the one who is making a deal with me.”

Mun Oh appeared confused. “A deal?”

“
Deal
—you know, when two people settle something—”

“Hey, I know what it means!” Mun Oh snapped.

“Good. Well then, I have three conditions before I agree to this deal.”

“Three?”

“Yeah, you know, the number right after two and before—”

“FINE! Just say them already,” Mun Oh roared at her.

Hyeon
Jin
smiled sheepishly. “First,” she said, holding up her index finger, “no more name-calling whatsoever, and you watch your mouth whenever you talk to me, okay?”

“You gotta be kidding—”

“SECOND,”
Hyeon
Jin
continued loudly, ignoring his reaction. “You can’t say NO to me. Just do whatever I want you to do and your secret is 100% safe with me. And THIRD… try to stay as FAR away from me as possible. I can’t stand being around you all the time,” she finished, slightly irritated.

Mun Oh burst out laughing. “First of all, there is no way I could stop with the name calling. Can’t you tell I’m having fun doing that? Second, I’m NOT gonna be your slave. You can kill me before that happens. And third, WHO THE HELL TOLD YOU THAT THIS IS A DEAL? I was merely telling you not to expose my sister, that’s all.”

“If this is not a deal, then it’s NOTHING,”
Hyeon
Jin
threatened, starting to walk away.

“
Wait
.”

Hyeon
Jin
glanced at him over her shoulder. “Yes…?”

A heated debate was taking place inside his head, driving him nuts. Should he take this deal or not? He never made deals with humans. Actually, he never made deals with ANYONE at all, even with his fellow bloodsuckers.

Hyeon
Jin
looked like a five-year-old who just got her first taste of ice cream. She was truly enjoying this moment.

I won’t acquiesce to the demands of a measly human
… Mun Oh thought grudgingly.
That would make me less of a bloodsucker… NO FREAKING WAY.