Running in My Veins: Jicheol SVT AU ✓

Chapter 23

Hi, hi! Another update! Yay! But, it's also a super short chapter. I decided to post back to back cause I skipped a week a while back. And cause I just had to post again cause I'm on that SVT high. For those of you who didn't know. I went to see them in concert and it was everything. This is the second time I've seen them, but this time it's with OT13 and let me tell you. SVT hits different all together. Anyway, enough of my fangirling. Please enjoy this new chapter!

"I find that rather circumstantial," The King states.

Seungcheol frowns, "What? It isn't. Father, you know hunters. You know they would never do anything like this. Garlic? Wooden stakes? Please, they know silver works the best. This is proof that the hunters aren't involved." After returning to the palace, Seungcheol went directly to his father. He had to tell him about what Jihoon had mentioned during their date. This would convince him to stand down and search for the real culprit behind these murders. When Seungcheol had entered his father's study and explained though, the King didn't seem to find it good enough to stop him from prepping for war. "Seungcheol, do you know that there is a lot of pride that comes with being a vampire?" The King asks.

"Of course I do, but father what does this have to do with-," Seungcheol starts only to silence himself when his father holds up a hand.

"The hunters know full well of our proud stances," The King states, "They know how infuriating it is for us to be able to be taken down by pieces of a tree. Even more aggravating is that common belief that a mere herb will weaken us! Do you understand how damaging it is to our image!? Garlic and wood! That is something that can take down a vampire!!! I say not!"

"Father," Seungcheol sighs, "Where are you going with this?"

"The hunters know the offense we take to being seen as weak. They used stakes on purpose. They left garlic there to taunt us," The King states.

Seungcheol scoffs, "That is a major stretch. Don't you think so?"

"Just as much as your silly theory is," The King says, "Don't bother me again unless you have real evidence. Go." Seungcheol hands clench into fists and he bites on his lower lip to keep himself from bursting out at his father. The man hadn't even given the idea much of a thought. Seungcheol should have expected this to be honest. Even though the King is letting him search for evidence, it doesn't mean he has to regard it. He can continue to brush it off, even if it's true. Seungcheol bows before exiting the room, knowing that his father is too gung ho for this war. It is going to take a lot to convince him otherwise.

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"You don't think it's ridiculous, do you?" Seungcheol asks Wonwoo.

"No," Wonwoo states, "I don't."

"What about the rest of you?" Seungcheol asks, turning to look at the rest of his friends. Following his conversation with his father, Seungcheol made his way to his most knowledgeable friend. Wonwoo was in the middle of a book and much to his annoyance had to deal with the pouty crown prince. It was only a matter of time before the others began to gather in the library which thankfully was empty, Wonwoo's father off on an assignment from the King. "It's actually pretty clever," Seungkwan says, "I never would have thought of something like that."

"It's all thanks to Jihoon," Seungcheol says, "He's the one that brought it up."

"That makes sense," Minghao comments, "You could never have come up with that on your own." Seungcheol frowns and gives the vampire an annoyed look. "It doesn't matter who came up with it," Seungcheol says, "Either way, my father isn't considering it."

"You know he's stubborn," Jeonghan states.

Seungcheol sighs, "Of course I do. I just don't know what I'm supposed to do. If he's this stubborn, is anything I say going to convince him? Why even bother doing this if he's just going to ignore every piece of evidence I present him with?"

"Then, you need to find something that he won't shoot down," Mingyu says.

"Easier said than done," Seungcheol says, "There's no leads..."

"There is. There always is," Soonyoung says, "You're just missing something."

"We'll help you," Hansol says, "I'm sure that with all of us searching we'll find something."

"You guys don't have to do this," Seungcheol states.

Jeonghan scoffs, "Of course we do. One, you're our friend. And two, I don't want a war against the humans. None of us do. So, we'll find who is really behind all these deaths. There's nothing we can't do together. And as cheesy as that sounds, it's true, isn't it?" The others all nod their heads and turn to look at Seungcheol with determined looks on their faces. It isn't going to be easy. They all know that, but they're willing to do whatever they must to find the truth.

It's time to dig into this mystery and find out whose really to blame. Do you think it's the hunters or someone else? Let me know in the comments. This chapter is extremely short and I apologize if you see it as a filler, but it's an important stepping stone to the rest of the story. So...I hope you enjoyed it regardless of it's length. I think this is the shortest chapter in my fic but I can't remember. Anyway, if you could please vote, comment, follow me, add this story to your library, and check out my other fics here on Wattpad. I will see you all next time, Carats ❤️