Third Vampire Shadows (An Urban Paranormal Romance Novel)

by Zhu Hsia

“Don’t ‘what’ me, you twerp!” she snapped back, placing her hands on her waist. “When did she find out? HOW did she find out?”

  Mun Oh sat up straight. He knew his sister wasn’t that stupid. But he didn’t really wanna admit that he had been caught in the act, especially by that retard Hyeon Jin.

  “I don’t know how she found out. I was just as surprised as you were,” he said. It wasn’t a complete lie. He really had been surprised that she found out about it.

  “You know the rules, right? You know you couldn’t just let her run around freely with our—your secret…”

  “Are you telling me to bite her? That’s ridiculous. I don’t even like her,” Mun Oh replied with revulsion.

  “Since when did it become a rule that you have to like someone to bite them?”

  “That’s MY rule. Besides, I wouldn’t want to have even a drop of her blood inside my system,” he added with a shudder.

  “You’re right. I couldn’t just let you bite her. It’s not right. I mean, it IS the right thing to do in our world. But here… it just doesn’t seem right. She’s as good as my daughter now. I couldn’t betray her.”

  Ji Sun covered her face with her hands in confusion and exasperation. Mun Oh felt sort of sorry that she had to be dragged into this. What should’ve been a peaceful and uneventful reunion between him and his sister had turned out to be a disaster, thanks to that big-footed girl.

  “I’ll fix this up in no time. Don’t worry,” Mun Oh assured her, standing up.

  “No. I don’t want you to do anything to her. Just… let me handle this,” Ji Sun said frantically. “I’ll talk to her and explain everything.”

  “I already did that. Why do you think she never told her father? She might despise me and everything, but she still respects you.”

  Ji Sun gave him a wan smile. “But,” she said as she stared at him with those round eyes, “you still have to bite her eventually. You are aware of that.”

  Mun Oh sighed. “Yeah. I guess so… Look, I’m sorry for causing you all this trouble—”

  “What trouble?” a third voice interrupted. The two of them spun around and found a confused Kim Junjin straightening his shirt.

  “Oh! You’re here! That was before… We were talking about our past—you know how troublesome he was when we were younger… and… oh! We’re gonna be late! Let’s go,” Ji Sun said, hurriedly dragging Kim Junjin out of the house before he could utter another word.

  She gave Mun Oh a meaningful glare before closing the door, which probably meant behave yourself, don’t do anything stupid and we’ll talk later.

  But Mun Oh was already thinking of a wily plan, something to get back at Hyeon Jin for all the humiliation she had caused him.

  He had learned from his father that when you wanted a sure victory, you had to find out your opponent’s weakness and attack it relentlessly. Without changing into normal human clothes, he went out of the house with a devious smile on his face.

  •••

  On Shin Erin's neck were two tiny, almost inconspicuous holes, which could've been nothing but moles. But Hyeon Jin knew better. She was well aware that those weren't just moles on her best friend's neck. Those were bite marks from that vampire, Mun Oh.

  She had tried to squeeze information from Shin Erin regarding that night. To her dismay and surprise, Mun Oh wasn't lying about the whole memory modification thing. It seemed like he’d pressed an invisible delete button inside her head, removing every single memory Shin Erin had of him. When Hyeon Jin attempted to refresh her memory and convince her that she'd been bitten, she called her a lunatic. End of story.

  The bell rang, finally ending another miserable and boring history class. Hyeon Jin quickly placed her empty history notebook back in her bag and followed Shin Erin out of the room.

  "Are you sure you don't remember anything at all?" she asked, catching up to her.

  "What is wrong with you? Are you on crack or something? For the hundredth time: I have no idea what you're talking about!" Shin Erin said, stopping in front of her locker.

  "Maybe you have to see him. Come with me to the house! Once you see him again, you'll definitely remember everything," Hyeon Jin said breathlessly, like a crazy fan girl talking about her obsession.

  Shin Erin shook her head and sighed heavily. It was so unusual, even for someone like her, to see Hyeon Jin like this. It was as if she had totally lost it or something. Since she really had nothing much to do that afternoon, she decided to give in to Hyeon Jin's demand.

  They heard loud noises when they arrived at Hyeon Jin’s house. There seemed to be a commotion inside.

  "Is there a party or something?" Shin Erin asked, hesitating at the door. Hyeon Jin gave her a slight shrug as she pushed the door open.

  "Of course!" Kim Junjin screamed, followed by a chorus of laughter from the other three people in the living room.

  "You snore louder than me!" Kim Junjin went on merrily. Nobody seemed to have noticed the two girls' arrival.

  "Of—" Ji Sun started to say, but thought better of it. She then stared daggers at a chuckling Kim Junjin. "Excuse me! I do not snore louder than you!"

  Another round of boisterous laughter as Ji Sun tried to explain herself.

  Shin Erin glanced sideways at a stupefied Hyeon Jin. Following her stare, Shin Erin instantly realized why she looked as though she was being forced to eat something nasty. Aside from Kim Junjin and Ji Sun, two other guys were in the scenario. One was laughing his head off while the other was simply smirking handsomely. Shin Erin recognized the one laughing as Park Juno. Hyeon Jin's ex-boyfriend. The other one, though, was completely unfamiliar to her.

  Unable to stand her curiosity anymore, she cleared her throat quite loudly. The noise ceased at once. All eyes were on her. A bit shy, she slowly pointed a finger at Hyeon Jin, who was right next to her.

  "Oh, you're home!" Kim Junjin said, breaking the silence. "And this pretty young lady is... Er..." he paused. "Shin Erica?"

  "It's Shin Erin," she corrected with a giggle.

  "I knew that," Kim Junjin replied, quite embarrassed. "Come and join us. We're having an 'Of Course' game here."

  "Tch," Hyeon Jin scoffed, kicking her shoes off. Neither Park Juno nor Mun Oh had taken their gaze off her.

  "Don't 'tch' me, young lady. You're next. Let me just finish off Ji Sun."

  Ji Sun made a face before saying she was out, declaring Kim Junjin as the winner. Kim Junjin eyed a humiliated Hyeon Jin and motioned for her to join him in the middle of the room.

  "Dad, I'm not playing this stupid game anymore... especially with these people around," Hyeon Jin stated, quite irritated. "And why the hell is he in here?" she added, glancing at Park Juno, who was still looking at her.

  "Mun Oh invited him over. I don't see anything wrong with that," Kim Junjin said nonchalantly.

  WHAT? Since when did they become friends? Is this a joke? Hyeon Jin thought angrily.

  Hyeon Jin gave her father a death glare, but he was too busy rolling with laughter to notice. She motioned for Shin Erin to come with her as she walked away from the living room. But before she could totally escape, Mun Oh spoke in his deep and suave voice.

  "Maybe she's afraid that I'll beat her ass this game; that's why she's running away."

  Okay, he did not just say that, Hyeon Jin thought, turning to look at him. The ‘Of Course’ game was a game of wits, popularized by a variety show on TV. It involved insults, sarcasm and lies. Whoever got sour and pissed off first lost.

  Mun Oh simply shrugged and flashed a teasing smile.

  "Listen, you pest. I'm the QUEEN of this game. No one beats me here. So you better take back what you said," Hyeon Jin threatened.

  Mun Oh stood up. "I ain't taking back anything, big feet."

  Hyeon Jin strolled back to the middle of the room and halted, inches away from a smug Mun Oh. Shin Erin went to sit on one of the couches, looking excited, along with Park Juno and Kim Junjin. The only one who looked somewhat concerned was
Ji Sun.

  "You ready, big feet?" Mun Oh said.

  "Whatever, bloodsucker," Hyeon Jin mumbled before she could stop herself. Ji Sun choked but Mun Oh simply smirked.

  "Hyeon Jin, no swearing in my house," Kim Junjin said after a while.

  Hyeon Jin turned to look at him. "I wasn't swearing, I said bloods—"

  "Stop. I said no swearing."

  "Fine!”

  "Let's get this over with," Mun Oh interrupted. "I'll start." He moved his head left and right, quite smugly before continuing. "I heard that this guy right here," he glanced at Park Juno, "dumped you."

  Shin Erin chuckled but was instantly quelled by one death glare from Hyeon Jin. Kim Junjin and Ji Sun looked as if they were deliberating whether it was advisable to laugh. Park Juno simply gave a wan smile.

  What the—! Hyeon Jin thought angrily. She was on the verge of exploding. Who the hell told him about that? Goddammit. Okay, get a grip. It's only a game. Just beat him and get it over with.

  "Of course," she said in an exaggerated loud voice. "Pfsssh. It's only a game, anyway."

  "Yeah, keep telling yourself that," Mun Oh jeered. "You know the reason why he dumped you?"

  Could you lay off the whole dumping thing? HE DID NOT DUMP ME, OKAY? It was a mutual decision! Hyeon Jin wanted to scream in his face.

  "O-Of course..." she said in weaker tone now. Actually, she had no idea why.

  "Coz you're a mean bully and you're such a bad kisser."

  Kim Junjin and Shin Erin burst out laughing. Ji Sun chuckled lightly. Park Juno shook his head, smiling widely.

  Hyeon Jin was livid with fury, but she couldn't just give up yet. Not after getting humiliated in front of Park Juno.

  "Of course," she said in a deadly tone. The whole room went silent at once. Everyone thought she was gonna forfeit already. No freaking way. She flashed a foreboding smile at Mun Oh.

  "Whenever you wake up late, you don't take a shower before going to school," Mun Oh continued.

  "What?" Park Juno blurted out, chuckling.

  "Of course!" Hyeon Jin screamed. It was true.

  "Really?" Shin Erin piped in.

  "Shut up," Hyeon Jin snapped at her. "You don't eat garlic coz you're a vampire, a bloodsucker vampire!" she said to Mun Oh, quite madly.

  "Tch. Of course. I could eat garlic in front of you right now, if it makes you happy," Mun Oh replied nonchalantly. "You'd do anything just to get back together with Park Juno coz you're still madly in love with him."

  Silence. Awkward silence.

  "And that's a FACT," Mun Oh added with a smirk.

  It's only a game... It's only a game... Shit! How the hell could he know something like that? Hyeon Jin thought desperately. What is he, a mind-reader?

  She managed to smile nervously. "It's... it's only a game, right? I mean..." She looked around. All eyes were on her. They all looked dead serious. "I mean, whatever I say... it's just... you know... it's a freaking game! Haha... umm, right..." she stuttered stupidly.

  "5... 4... 3..." Junjin started counting quietly.

  "Wait... Don't count..."

  "2... 2 and a half..."

  "Argh! Of… course!” she muttered furiously.

  "Oh..." Kim Junjin, Shin Erin and Ji Sun said at the same time.

  "What do you mean by 'oh?!'" Hyeon Jin snapped at them, crossing her arms.

  There was collective laughter. Even Park Juno laughed.

  Damn. This is stupid. Hyeon Jin thought.

  "Okay, that's enough for now. Mun Oh won this round. Let's eat! I think the baked macaroni's ready," Kim Junjin said, walking to the kitchen. Ji Sun quickly followed him.

  Hyeon Jin collapsed on the nearest couch, but immediately jumped up, tripped on her own foot and landed flat on her face on the carpet. Park Juno was still sitting on the same couch, fumbling with his cell phone.

  "What are you doing there?" Park Juno asked indifferently, not looking at her.

  "Nothing..." Hyeon Jin breathed out, struggling to get to her feet. Dammit! That was so embarrassing! She could feel her face flush. "What..." She cleared her throat. “What are YOU doing here? I mean, how come you know that pest— Mun Oh?"

  "He was looking for you in school."

  "And…?"

  Park Juno glanced at her, getting to his feet as well. "He said he was your cousin or something... So I brought him here. Well, I think he invited me here. Something like that." He started to walk towards the kitchen.

  "I... what I said in the game..." Hyeon Jin suddenly said, making Park Juno stop in his tracks.

  She sighed but never continued. "I know..." Park Juno said over his shoulder and went on his way, leaving a confused Hyeon Jin in the living room.

  He knows? What the hell does he know? She thought, staring at his back. She recalled their short-lived relationship, thinking about how different she was when they were together. She was a better person. Still a bully, but a better person. Park Juno was the only one who truly understood her. He was the only one who accepted her and made her feel happy. That’s why he was the only one who knew the reason behind her bullying.

  « CHAPTER 6 »

  "Our 100th day anniversary is coming... you have any plans?" Park Juno asked from out of the blue.

  "Oh, really? Well, yeah... sure..." Hyeon Jin replied, doodling on a tissue absentmindedly.

  "You mind telling me?"

  Hyeon Jin looked up. "Huh?"

  Park Juno shifted in his seat. "Perhaps you'd like to have dinner in the mountains at midnight or go skinny-dipping in broad daylight, anything you like..." he said with a hint of sarcasm.

  Hyeon Jin sat up straight and stared at him with wide eyes.

  "Do you... do you wanna break up or something...?" she croaked.

  Park Juno stared out of the windows. They were having lunch at McDonald’s one rainy Saturday.

  "This... isn't working out..." he simply said.

  Hyeon Jin bit her lip but said nothing.

  "We've been together for like, two and a half months. For some reason, I never felt like you were having fun. I mean, you were having fun... by yourself. It seemed like this wasn't something really important to you."

  "So do you wanna break up...?" Hyeon Jin asked quietly, staring at her fingers.

  Park Juno gazed at her for what seemed like forever.

  Just then, a crewmember at McDonald’s put a CD in the player just behind where they were seated. Both of them froze when they heard the song play. Hyeon Jin's heart skipped. Park Juno smiled sadly. How ironic it was that the song that was playing when they first realized how important they were to each other was the same song playing at that very moment... When they had just realized how immature their relationship seemed to be.

  “Let’s still be friends,” Hyeon Jin mumbled, flashing a wide smile that was obviously forced.

  Park Juno’s expression didn’t change. He looked at her with the same sad smile, wondering what to say, what to do, and what to think.

  The song ended. Park Juno still remained silent. He wanted badly to say something, to say that it wasn’t what he wanted, to say that he just wanted her to tell him that he was still important to her. But she took it differently and it hurt him so much that she spoke those words—words that weren’t supposed to be spoken in the first place.

  Hyeon Jin stood up and collected her things.

  “I should be going now.”

  Park Juno was still quiet.

  She started to walk away, taking tiny steps in case he wanted to say something. But he stayed quiet.

  “I’ll… see you around.”

  With that, she headed outside, not daring to look back as she blinked away the hot tears. He didn’t know how shattered she was on that day. How difficult it was for her to put up her ‘I-don’t-care’ face and walk away from him like it was nothing. He was her first love and she thought she would never love the same way again. Ever.

  •••

  Hyeon Jin awoke with a start, as though an invisible for
ce had shaken her. She found herself in a sitting position, breathing heavily, and cold sweat had formed on her forehead even though her room was air-conditioned. It had been two days, but she still felt somewhat affected by that stupid ‘Of Course’ game. It was as if she had completely lost track of what she was supposed to do. She had even overlooked her plan of exposing Mun Oh with Shin Erin’s help. Although the fact that her best friend never seemed to remember Mun Oh’s face or even show any signs that she liked him was more than enough evidence that her plan wasn’t going to work out. Needless to say, seeing Park Juno more often than she intended to was like scratching closed wounds and letting them bleed once more.

  She looked around her. A sliver of moonlight shone through the glass window at the foot of her bed, giving off a lustrous effect to the quiet room. A movement right below her bed caught her eye, but she quickly realized it was only the sleeping pest—Mun Oh. They had a silent agreement that he would only enter the room one hour after Hyeon Jin entered. That way, any unnecessary arguments would be avoided.

  Slowly, she got up and carefully made her way out of the room, closing the door behind her. She headed toward the kitchen, wiping the sweat from her forehead. She pulled open the refrigerator door and searched for what her late mother would always give her whenever she couldn’t sleep: a glass of strawberry milk.

  Although she was way past crying her eyes out whenever she missed her mother, she would still shed a tear every now and then, especially when she remembered the little things her mom would do for her.

  Sighing, she raised the glass to her lips to drink, but almost spit it out when she saw someone watching her from the kitchen counter.

  “What the hell?!” she sputtered, wiping her lips. “I almost had a heart attack! Are you trying to kill me?”

  “Tempting,” Mun Oh simply said with a smirk as he walked towards her. “Strawberry milk in the middle of the night? You sure are a weird one.” He grabbed the glass and tasted it, causing Jin to make a face at him.

  “That’s mine, you jerk. Why are YOU awake?”

  “You woke me up with your crying and sleep talking.”

  Hyeon Jin was appalled. “I was not crying and sleep talking!”