Meridian ◈ Seungjin

20 ◈ Changing of the Guard

Hyunjin meandered down the school's cement pathway, a shuffle to his step and a downcast glare peaking from under his fluttering eyelids shielding his gaze from the penetrating world oscillating around his steps. Although he set bearings for the delicious smells of the sickly cafeteria wafting in his direction, his feet managed to carry him in every which direction that was incorrect. Footsteps followed him. He tongued at the back of his teeth, memorizing the sharpness of the edged fangs protruding almost uncomfortably from their places ripping through his stained gums. Faintly, he could still detect a hint of blood on his tastebuds from the prior night.

Predictably, that thought pulled his face into a deeper glare. One that tore through his features, hauling his nerves from the edges of his muscles and rendering them a useless mush of scrambled being within himself, amidst the frustration ranging from mild to earthquake causing. Somehow, simply attempting to recall the picture of Seungmin's face was enough to make his skin crawl like it were writhing with worms. A writhing, crawling, gooed pile of molded dirt littered with the slimy decomposers which thrived off his acquisition. He imagined one of those particular insects with multiple legs and beady eyes was Seungmin in all his glory; A cocky, intolerable, massive ball of ego and pretentious energy which claimed him to be better than everyone he stepped foot around. Yes, Hyunjin could swallow the admission that the other was at least clever.

If he wasn't so damn insufferable all the time.

The constant quips, irritating words degrading him, the sickness brought on because of Seungmin's ignorance, the attack, more of those same delusions, having to tolerate the other existing, and now this? Tracking a serial killer, when both of them could be focused on their own personal hobbies? Better yet, sleeping? Even better than that, not touching any hint of potentially uncovering and finding themselves trapped in a contorted mess of conspiracy? Not stapling them with a death sentence nearly guaranteed to be offered back to them. Sure, I don't need to worry as much about it but it's better for Seungmin to not be sticking his nose where it doesn't belong.

He sighed, another reluctant shuffle shackling his feet to the concrete slabs behind him until the footsteps echoing in his eardrums brought him to a stop.

Someone's been following me.

A hand slammed down on his shoulder.

Before he could turn around to knock off the intrusion, bear his fangs or hiss at the stranger as his instincts told him to do, an arm slung across his shoulders and pulled him close into the side of a friendly chest. Casually, Chan smiled at his friend, immediately guiding their brisk pace to pick back up to a tempered walk. Effectively chaining Hyunjin to converse with him. That, and the oppressive grip on his friend that had yet to be let up. Gingerly, the older asked, "Are you heading to the cafeteria? I heard there's a new student in your year."

"Is there?" Hyunjin muttered the response. He shifted his gaze away from the smile of Chan, a constant reminder as strong as the radiating beams of the sun that the other was a people person. Always smiling, joking, introducing himself, failing to mention the fact that same fluttering social butterfly had been tailing a lost bird for quite some time now. For whatever reason, Hyunjin didn't know. He didn't care to know why he was being followed, or if he was even being followed in the first place and his mind was instead jumping to the most suspicious conclusion. If it weren't for that fact, he most likely would've asked; But he simply didn't care enough to learn beyond the fact Chan didn't mention once that he had been stalking his friend. Only pretended to have suddenly bumped into him, randomly, supposedly, by happenstance.

Chan continued to chat. Words came from his mouth, syllables lined next to one another, ideas were becoming sentences and sentences into action. Truthfully, when Hyunjin shifted his eyes from the older, his brain checked out too. It went on vacation to a warm, tropical island, somewhere he could run his fingers through crystal clear waters and drink tomato juice all day long. Definitely not next to Chan, who was talking to himself at this point. Though he didn't know that. His friend continued to talk about this new person; A vampire, Jeongin is obsessed with him, Hyunjin couldn't catch more than that. Again, tomato juice.