Hi! I am back! How are you all doing? Believe it or not, we are officially halfway through this story. It's nuts and I am so excited at the same time. The second half is filled with craziness, so I hope you are ready. With that said, let us get into this chapter. I hope you enjoy!
"I can't take it!" Seungcheol shouts as he bursts into the library. His friends look at him with exasperated expressions. They are all gathered at a table, stacks of books and other papers scattered around them. Some of them have phones in their hands and others are typing on a laptop. They've been busy researching all day and haven't even bothered to take a break. Proven by the bottles of blood scattered around the floor. "Just because we are the only ones in here doesn't mean that you can yell," Wonwoo says, "We're still in the library." Seungcheol nods his head and takes a deep breath, trying to rein in his emotions. "What happened?" Jeonghan asks, "And where is Mingyu?"
"We got the newborns. I brought them here to be tested, which was useless by the way. As for Mingyu, he's in the human world. I told him to protect Jihoon," Seungcheol answers.
"That's one less person to help us search for clues," Minghao mutters.
"It's not like we were having much luck with Mingyu anyway," Jun sighs as he pushes away a stack of papers.
"I want to know more about those two newborns," Soonyoung says, "What do you mean useless?"
"As in the test found nothing," Seungcheol states, "Just like the last time, they couldn't connect this newborn to any vampire in our society."
"Again?" Seungkwan says in a surprised tone, "I get if they weren't able to find who that first newborn belonged to. There's a chance of that happening, but again? With both of these newborns? They weren't able to identify either of them. That's kinda fishy.
"Tell me about it," Seungcheol says, "I was telling the scientests to do the test again just in case, but my father stopped me."
"Why?" Hansol asks.
"Who knows? He's too relaxed about this whole situation!" Seungcheol exclaims, "I mean this is the second time someone's broken a law and turned a human. It's been less than a month since the previous incident! He should be doing something instead of covering it up and imagining it doesn't exist!"
"Well, he does have the deaths to worry about," Wonwoo states.
"I know, but this is an issue as well," Seungcheol says, "He can't just imagine this one never happened in order to focus on building up his army!"
"This is all too much for me," Jeonghan mutters, "Between the deaths and now the newborns. We lived in peace. For a very long time, why is this all happening now?"
"Exactly, hyung," Minghao says, "Why is this all happening now?" The others stares at him in confusion, wondering what their friend is going at. "Do you know something that we don't?" Soonyoung asks.
"I don't know anything," Minghao says, "But, I have an idea."
"And that is?" Jun questions.
"What if these two things have to do with one another?" Minghao says, "What if whoever is behind all these vamp kills are also behind the newborns? It would make sense why it's happening now. The same person is doing both the deeds."
"For what reason though?" Hansol asks, "Why turn humans and kill vamps?"
"No clue," Minghao says, "It was just an idea. I have no evidence to prove it."
"It's a good hypothesis though," Seungkwan says, "It's not impossible. It's highly likely that what's happening recently could be because of the same person."
"Whether it's the same person or not, we still need proof," Seungcheol says, "Our theories mean nothing without evidence. Let's keep looking." With that said, the group all turn their attention back to the books. They dig through them, flipping through the pages in search of something that could also be a threat to vampire kind aside from hunters. As they look, time passes and the sun slowly sets. The doors to the library make a noise that turns all of their focus to the doors. Mingyu smiles and waves at them as he walks over to the table. "Did you get Jihoon home safe?" Seungcheol asks.
Mingyu nods, "That human is something else. He's got a pretty tall personality. Lots of snark and I'm pretty sure he threatened to injure me. But, other than that he's a great guy. I'm actually kinda surprised you fell for him, hyung. He doesn't seem like someone that would click with you."
"Why do you say that?" Seungcheol asks.
Mingyu shrugs, "He's a bit brash, a bit rude, and cold sometimes. Then, again, he is kinda like you."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Seungcheol says, "He's been nothing but sweet to me from the second I've met him."
Mingyu chuckles, "Well, he's a whole other person if you spend a couple more hours with him. Especially, when he's at work. Man...he's like a drill sergeant. You know he had me clean the toilet."
"Are you complaining to me about my boyfriend?" Seungcheol asks.
"No, no, I'm just making an observation," Mingyu says, "Jihoon hyung and I bonded. I love the guy to death. I mean I call him hyung even though I am older than him...technically..."
"Will you two stop making small talk and help us?" Jeonghan huffs, tossing a book at Mingyu's head. The vampire catches it and quickly opens it, heading his hyung's words. The library falls silent again as they begin to research once more. After a couple more hours pass, Seungkwan slams the book he's holding shut. "I give up," Seungkwan exclaims, "I can't find anything."
"Ditto," Hansol sighs, "There's absolutely nothing in any of these silly books."
Jun shakes his head, "It seems like the library doesn't have much regarding a possible suspect."
"What about the past King's papers and journals?" Soonyoung suggests, "Do you think your father would let you borrow them?"
Seungcheol scoffs, "As if...he always lectures me on how they are for the eyes of the King and since I won't have that title for a very long time, it is not something I am allowed to see."
"Well, there goes that idea," Jeonghan mutters.
"Wait a minute..." Wonwoo murmurs, "That reminds me of something I read..."
"Something you read?" Mingyu questions.
Wonwoo nods, "Hao...do you remember that time when we were younger and we were playing hide and seek?"
"You mean over a couple millennium ago?" Minghao asks.
"Yes," Wonwoo says, "We hid in the King's study." The others look at Wonwoo with raised eyebrows, surprised that he would do such a thing. "I was a kid, okay. I wasn't thinking about the consequences. I just didn't want to get caught," Wonwoo says, "But that isn't the point of this story. Hao and I hid underneath the King's desk. When we were trying to get under it, I hit a journal on his desk and knocked it onto the floor. I read a bit of it out of curiosity. It mentioned something about a group of vampires that left the society."
"That's a thing?" Jun questions.
"According to the journal, it is," Wonwoo continues, "It's supposedly a bunch of vampires that couldn't stand the new laws in place and left the society."
"Do you think they're the ones behind all of this?" Soonyoung asks.
"I don't know," Wonwoo says, "Possibly. I mean who else could have turned humans into vampires. That would explain why none of the newborns matched with our people. As for the killings, maybe it's out of anger with our people. They left for a reason after all. I doubt they're on good terms with us."
"Wait, wait, wait, before we make any more assumptions like this," Seungcheol says, "Are you sure you read that correctly? Are you sure you remember that?"
"Pretty sure," Wonwoo says, "But, I was young, I don't know how much you trust my mind was back then."
"We should try to get our hands on the journal to make sure," Jun says, "It's better to confirm that they actually exist before pinning them as the culprits."
"I said it before," Seungcheol says, "I'm not getting anywhere near any of the King's journals..."
"Then ask your father yourself," Jeonghan states, "What proof is better than that of the King?"
"You really think he would answer me. No one knows about this supposed other faction of vamps," Seungcheol says, "If they actually exist, they were hidden. Most likely by my parents. They wouldn't just reveal the truth to me."
"You don't know that for sure," Hansol says, "You're still the crown prince. You're going to have to find out about the secrets of the society eventually."
"Ask him, Seungcheol," Wonwoo says, "You'll never know until you do."
The boys have a lead. The question is...will it take them anywhere? You'll just have to keep reading and find out. Let me know if you have any theories. I'd love to hear all your thoughts. While you're at it please also vote, follow me, add this story to your library and check out my Romance One-shots. I post a lot of Jicheol in there, so go give it a whirl. Anyway, that's all I have for you all today. I hope you have a wonderful day and a great rest of your weekend.