Crimison harmonies

chapter 12

Jisung opened his eyes in the middle of the night, gasping when he heard a loud banging noise. He got out of bed and cautiously stepped out of his room. "Hello? Jeongin?" he called out into the darkness. Seeing a shadow move downstairs, he hurried down to the living room. "Hello?" he repeated as he reached for the light switch, but the light didn't turn on. Suddenly, the TV flickered on, playing the news.

"This is Kunpimook, coming to you live from Mystic Falls with breaking news of another deadly animal attack. The wild animal terrorizing citizens has claimed another victim, local high school student, Han Jisung."

Jisung's eyes widened in shock as his own picture appeared on the screen, with the words 'Found Dead' written beneath it. "Police are certain that evidence will confirm this is the same animal responsible for recent attacks," the news anchor continued.

"You know what's coming next," a voice whispered behind him. Jisung flinched, recognizing Minho's voice. He spun around and bolted toward the front door, but when he opened it, he screamed. Minho was standing right in front of him. Slamming the door shut, Jisung turned around only to find Minho now standing in the living room. Panic set in, and Jisung collapsed to the floor, trembling. Tears filled his eyes as fear took over. He slowly looked up, but Minho had vanished. Before Jisung could catch his breath, Minho appeared beside him, baring his fangs. Jisung screamed in terror as Minho bit into his neck.

Hyunjin woke up with a gasp, his heart racing from the nightmare.
"Bad dream? Do you know how easy it was to get into your head just now?" Minho's voice was calm but mocking as he sat across from Hyunjin. "You really need some human blood. It might even the playing field. Football reference. Too soon?"

Hyunjin, filled with rage, used his vampire speed to grab a dagger and hurled it at Minho. The dagger struck Minho in the chest. "All right, I deserved that," Minho said nonchalantly, "but I just wanted to let you know, they caught the culprit. The animal responsible for killing Kim and all those people."

"What are you talking about?" Hyunjin asked, confused.

"A mountain lion. Really big one. It attacked a hunter this morning. It's all over the news, 'Deadly Beast Captured. All's Well in Mystic Falls,'" Minho replied with a playful tone.

"Why would you cover your tracks?" Hyunjin asked

"I've decided to stay a while, and I'm having way too much fun here with you and Jisung."

"You can't touch him now."

"Well, the vervain keeps me out of his head," Minho smirked. "Maybe that's not my target. Believe it or not, Hyunjin, some people don't need my persuasion. Some people just can't resist my good looks, my style, and my charm. And my unflinching ability to listen to Taylor Swift." Minho rolled his eyes as he stepped closer to Hyunjin, then suddenly plunged the dagger into Hyunjin's chest. Hyunjin grunted in pain.

Minho glanced down at his now-torn shirt. "This is John Varvatos, dude. Dick move," he muttered before leaving his brother on the ground, struggling to pull the dagger out..

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"I can confirm that a puma attacked a hunter and was subsequently killed. The hunter is in stable condition."

Hyunjin sat in his chair, his diary on his lap, as he watched the news report. He picked up his pen and began to write in his diary: "The real animal is still out there, waiting for me, challenging me to fight back, to stop him. But how do I stop a monster without becoming one myself"

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"To repeat, the animal terrorizing Mystic Falls has been caught," Kunpimook reported on the news.