CREATURE OF THE SHADOWS

No longer a Secret

The air in Namjoon's house crackled with a tension thicker than the heavy scent of cinnamon candles burning in the living room. Jin, perched on the edge of a plush armchair, watched his twin brother, Jinnie, sleep soundly on the sofa. His gaze shifted to Namjoon and RM, who sat across from him, their faces impassive.

'So,' Jin started, his voice tight, 'you're finally going to tell me what's been going on?'

Namjoon, the werewolf, sighed. His amber eyes flickered with an unspoken grief. RM, the vampire, remained silent, his face an unreadable mask.

'It's not that simple,' Namjoon said, his voice low. 'We tried to keep it from you, Jin. We didn't want to hurt you.'

But Jin wasn't buying it. 'Hurt me? You've been hiding secrets from me since we met!. You've been sneaking out at night, returning with strange bruises and scratches in university!. You always smelled different, like… moss and earth, or… something else, something metallic and cold". " You noticed many things?' namjoon frowned.

Jin stood up, his voice rising. 'What are you? Who are you?'

RM, still silent, suddenly shifted in his seat, his eyes, the color of polished obsidian, fixed on jinnie. The air in the room seemed to freeze. Jin felt a cold hand grip his heart.

Namjoon reached out, his hand hovering just above Jin's shoulder. 'It's alright, Jin. We're not going to hurt you.'

Jin flinched, withdrawing from Namjoon's touch. 'You're lying.'

'I'm not,' Namjoon insisted. He turned to RM, his eyes pleading. 'Tell him, RM. Please.'

RM remained silent. Finally, with a sigh, he spoke. 'You're right, Jin. We're not who you think we are.'

He paused, allowing the weight of his words to settle. 'Namjoon is a werewolf, and I am a vampire.'

The words hung in the air, thick and heavy, as if the very atmosphere in the room had been poisoned. Jin felt a wave of nausea wash over him. RM's twin brother – a werewolf? And RM, jinnie's friend since – a vampire? He had always suspected something was different about them, but this… this was beyond comprehension.

'But...how?' Jin stammered. 'How is that even possible?'

'It's a long story,' Namjoon said, his face etched with pain. 'A story we should have told you a long time ago.'

'Tell me,' Jin demanded, his voice shaking. 'Tell me everything.'

Namjoon hesitated. 'It all started when we were children….'

He began his story, his voice low and strained. He spoke of an ancient curse, of a family secret passed down through generations, of a night long ago when he and RM were transformed because their parents are werewolves and vampires,transformed into creatures of the night. He spoke of his struggle to control his beastly urges, of the burden of his secret, and the fear that he would one day lose himself to the wolf. He told Jin about RM, about his thirst for blood, his eternal hunger, the loneliness that gnawed at his soul.

Jin listened, his mind barely able to absorb the torrent of information. It was so unbelievable, though he researched. He saw the pain in Namjoon's eyes, the vulnerability in RM's rigid posture, and he realized that they weren't simply monsters, but individuals struggling to come to terms with their own nature.

And then, RM remembered Jinnie. 'What about Jinnie?' He asked, his voice barely a whisper. 'Is he…?'

Jin's eyes darkened as they are looking into his brother. 'Jinnie is different. He's not cursed. He's not a werewolf or a vampire. He's… he's just human.'

'But he's weak,' RM interjected, his voice a harsh whisper.

Jin's heart lurched. He remembered how pale Jinnie had been, how fragile he had become. He realized with a sudden, chilling certainty that

'No,' he said, his voice firm. 'You won't touch him. I won't let you.'

Namjoon looked at RM, his eyes filled with a sad look.

RM stared at Jin, his eyes burning with a hunger that sent a shiver down Jin's spine. But for a moment, Jin saw something else flicker in his gaze – something like remorse, something like… regret.

'I will not hurt him,' RM said, his voice a low growl. 'But he must not be a burden, Jin. You must protect him.'

Jin nodded, his heart pounding. He didn't understand everything, didn't understand how this curse had fallen upon his brother and his friend, but he knew one thing. He would protect Jinnie. He would protect his family, even if it meant facing the darkness that threatened to consume them all.

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