*a/n: got 2 new banners!! hahah.. this one's from accidie!! uwaa!! kamsa so much, luv luv it!! (esp. the scars of Jiyong! *wink wink) the other banner will be in the next chap!! keke

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~JIYONG’S POV~

 

“WAAH!” Dara’s terrified scream entered my ears. I kicked the door open, prepared for any attacks thrown at me.

 

“Dara!” I called alertly the moment I entered the room. I paused in the doorway as I saw that they were all gathered by the fireplace, looking. . . . fine.

 

“Jiyong! You’re back!” Dara cheerfully greeted and bounced to me. I welcomed her in my arms in relief. “Jae was telling us some scary stories about shadows”

 

I cupped her face and kissed her, ignoring CL’s scoff. I can tell Dara’s surprised with the way she was holding herself and the way she gasped. But knowing her, it would only take a few seconds for her to be immerse with the kiss. To prove me right, I felt her arms around my neck as she started kissing me back.

 

“Chaerin! Are you al-?!” Seungri’s voice burst in. I pulled away from Dara and looked behind me. I stopped him as I saw that he was about to have a go for Jaejoong.

 

“Can you turn into a crow for a second?” I turned to Jae.

 

“Why?” he asked.

 

“Just do it” I said.

 

“What’s going on?” I heard Dara asked. I just planted a soft kiss in her hair in response.

 

With a shrug, Jaejoong transformed in front of us. I sighed as I saw his black eyes. I gave a wave, signalling him to turn back to his previous state.

 

“What’s going on?” Jaejoong asked.

 

“Youngbae’s not the masked shadow” I sighed. “He was put under some kind of. . . spell”

 

“But how’s that possible?” CL joined in. “I thought shadows can’t be possessed by another shadow?”

 

“It wasn’t possession” Jaejoong answered matter-of-factly. “It was manipulation or what the elders call, mind poisoning”

 

“How does that work?” Dara asked.

 

“When a shadow got some unmet needs or unfulfilled desires, he can be vulnerable to whispers. Another shadow can plant stuff in his mind, like poison. The vulnerable shadow will lose sense of what’s right or wrong and what’s true and what’s false. But of course, most shadows don’t really recognize what’s right, do they? It’s like having a dark attack only, the victim is like a puppet. And of course, you don’t really lose control to the point that you want to have a killing spree”

 

“Oh” Dara mumbled.

 

“So, it’s Bom’s fault” Seungri said. “I mean, we all know how Youngbae feels for her but since she don’t feel the same, it made him vulnerable”

 

“How could you be so tactless?” CL snapped. “It’s nobody’s fault”

 

“I’m hearing ghosts again” Seungri puffed and left the room.

 

“What’s the matter with him?” CL asked darkly.

 

“So, the masked shadow’s still out there?”

 

“Yes” I sighed then looked down at Dara. She was looking up at me while her arms were around my waist. I have to put an end to this. But how? Where am I going to start? And who am I going against for?

 

I’ve never felt this helpless before. But only one thing’s for sure, I have to keep this child-woman in my arms ALIVE.

 

o=o=o

 

“I just realized” Dara started. “We haven’t went out for a REAL date, yet”

 

“So?” I asked with raised brows.

 

“Why don’t we go out this weekend?” she grinned.

 

“You’re not really thinking, are you? Do you even know what’s going on around you? You’re in D-A-N-G-E-R”

 

“I know that” she sighed. “But that’s exactly why I want to go out this weekend. I don’t want to die without experiencing what normal couples do”

 

“This isn’t a joke!” I gritted.

 

“Jiyong, please?”

 

“No” I refused.

 

“Please, Jiyong?” she repeated, with puppy eyes this time. “Pancake please, please, please?”

 

! Why is she so stubborn? And persistent? And. . . and. . .

 

I sighed. “What do you want to do?”

 

“Yes!” she celebrated. “I want to go watch a movie then eat dinner in a restaurant”

 

“That’s boring” I scoffed.

 

“I think it’ll be sweet” she said.

 

“It’s disgusting” I grimaced.

 

“I so love you!” she laughed then hugged me. “That’s a yes, right? Hehe”

 

“You’re so corny”

 

“I don’t want you to wear black” she said.

 

“I only wear black” I told her”

 

“No you don’t” she said, pulling back. “This pendant’s white but you’re wearing it” she added, showing me the angel pendant she made.

 

“I will NEVER wear white clothes” I told her. “This necklace would be the first and last white thing I’ll wear”

 

“I didn’t say I wanted you to wear white clothes” she said, rolling her eyes. “I just said I don’t want you to wear black clothes. Spot the difference?”

 

“And who are you to order me around?”

 

“I’m your GIRLFRIEND” she emphasized.

 

“I’ll do what I want” I snapped.

 

“No” she stubbornly refused. “You’re going to do what I want this weekend because it’s MY date”

 

“If it’s YOUR date, why don’t you just go by all by yourself?” I gritted.

 

“That won’t be a date anymore” she said. “And besides, you already said yes”

 

“I didn’t say yes”

 

“You didn’t LITERALLY say yes but you figuratively did” she reasoned out, making me growl, since when did she become this. . . .witty?

 

“You’re becoming more impossible and difficult everyday”

 

“I’ve only become wittier” she corrected. “Anyways, I’ll be going out with Sulli Saturday morning. I asked her to go with me to the printing shop. It’s been a while since we last talked”

 

“What are you going to do there?”

 

“To print pictures, of course” she said. “Then, we’ll eat lunch together. After that, I’ll go back here to prepare for our date”

 

“If something happens, don’t blame me”

 

“I won’t” she said. “I promise. Oh, by the way. While I’m gone, can you fix my car?”

 

I glared at her.

 

o=o=o

 

Weekend. . .

 

“What are you doing here alone?” CL asked the moment she saw me lounging in the couch.

 

“Dara’s out with Sulli” I said.

 

“Why aren’t you watching over her?”

 

“The attacks usually take place at night” I said. “Where’s everyone anyway?”

 

“Bom’s with Youngbae in the dungeons, trying to find some things out” CL said. “Seungri’s with his playmates, shagging them”

 

“Girl playmates again?”

 

“Yes” she nodded.

 

“He doesn’t get tired of playing around, does he?” I scoffed.

 

“Playing’s the only thing he knows how to do right”

 

I kept my silence. It’s not really in my nature to meddle with other people’s business. If Seungri chose to be like this with CL< it’s up to him. If CL prefers to remain single for the rest of her life, so be it.

 

I closed my eyes. Involuntarily, my mind wandered to Dara. I think that girl can do hypnotism. How come I can’t get her off my mind? Aish! Up until this moment, I’m still wondering why I made that pendant for her; why I’m wearing the necklace with the white pendant and I’m still wondering why I care for her in the first place. Yes, I admit that she makes me feel special, that she makes me feel like I somehow deserve to live inspite of my true nature; that she makes me feel that life’s worth living for. But do they have to do something with how I care for her?

 

I care for parents, yes. Eventhough my father was like that, I cared. I care for Bom, Seungri, Youngbae and CL. But the care I have for the girl was something new, making me ask myself a million questions of why’s what’s and how’s.

 

“Jiyong!” Bom’s familiar voice called. “Good thing you’re here”

 

I opened my eyes and straightened up. “Why?”

 

“You’re not gonna believe what I just found!” she said. “Crap, if I only knew earlier and if they only told me I could have-!”

 

“Hold it!” I stopped her. “Go straight to the point”

 

“My late late late late late grandfather actually did some sort of investigations on masked shadows! Can you believe it? And nobody even told me that-!”

 

“Bom” I sighed wearily. “Spare me the rants”

 

“Okay, here. Take a look at this” she said, handing me some brown, crisp and dusty papers. I looked at it and barely understood the faded penmanship.

 

“What am I supposed to look for?” I asked her.

 

“Look!” she pointed out. “This is a list! A list of suspected masked shadows through the well, I think centuries!”

 

“I can’t understand anything”

 

She groaned. “There’s Gae-in, Eun Hye, Hyunmi, Yuri, Soree, Eul Mi and so on!” she exclaimed. “Noticed something?”

 

“Those are girls names”

 

“Exactly!” Bom exclaimed. “There are two male names here, too. I don’t know how that happen but can’t you see? Masked shadows are GIRLS! We’re up against a FEMALE here”

 

“A girl” I muttered slowly. “A masked shadow’s a girl”

 

A sense of dread suddenly washed over my body. My mind went into a chaotic swirl of thoughts. A masked shadow is the least person you’d think would do bad things. A masked shadow can be nice, charming and as innocent as they can be. A masked shadow is a FEMALE.

 

And then it finally dawned on me. I quickly took my phone out and called Dara. The other line rang a few times before it was answered.

 

“Hi Jiyong” a deep voice answered.

 

I instantly felt all my blood dropped to my feet.

 

“Looking for your girlfriend?” the deep voice playfully asked. But I knew better.

 

“Sulli” I hissed.

 

There was silence.

 

“Oh well, I guess there’s no use pretending” she laughed in her normal voice.

 

“Where’s Dara?” I gritted.

 

“You’re hurting my feelings, Jiyong” she said. “You’re talking to me and yet you’re looking for a different girl? Now, now. You don’t really want to anger me, do you? I might, you know, slip and accidentally kill her”

 

“Where is she?” I repeated.

 

She clicked her tongue. “Jiyong, Jiyong, Jiyong. I wonder. . . .” she paused. “What are you willing to give for me to spare her life?”

 

“ you!” I hissed.

 

“Oooh!” she trilled. “I’d love that!”

 

“Stop playing games with me Sulli!” I shouted. “Where is she?!”

 

“But I love playing games” she whined.

 

“WHERE IS SHE?!”

 

“Patience” she said. “I still want to talk to you. You know what? I can’t understand why you like her. I mean, she’s really stupid and careless and dumb. . . she’s pretty alright but can she give you everything you want, Jiyong? Can she blow your mind in bed? Can she make you beg for more, hmm? Does she really understand what being a shadow mean? If I remember it right, she stopped you just when you were power surge through your veins, just when you were glorying in it, relishing it. Don’t you want to know your limits, Jiyong? I can give you pleasure, my dear. I can take you to heights that you’d never want to go back. I can help you, you know, I can show you things you’ve never seen before. I can teach you stuff that will make every shadow jealous. I can make you into someone every shadow desires to be”

 

“I doubt that”

 

“Why, I’m offended” she said in a sorrowful tone. “Oops! Err, I just dropped Dara down by the lake. If you want to feel a hero, go and save her. You better hurry up, time’s running. And oh, you’ll never regret coming to my arms”

 

“I’m not planning to-!”

 

“Oh, you will. You greed for power so much, Jiyong. It’s inside you. You actually stink of greed for power so there’s no point denying it”

 

The call ended.

 

“Jiyong, what’s going on?” Bom asked but I didn’t bother answering her; I didn’t even bother lingering around. I just took off immediately.

 

o=o=o

 

“!” I bellowed as soon as I stepped on the lakeshore. How am I going to find her?

 

I shoved the thought out of my mind and jumped into the air, transforming into a crow along the process. I circled around the lake and screeched out loud in frustration. I closed my eyes and continued circling around the lake blindly.

 

‘DARA!’ my mind screamed.

 

My heart skipped a beat then doubled up then went back to normal at some point. I opened my eyes and flew to the part where heart skipped a beat. Upon reaching that particular spot in the air, my heart doubled up again. Without thinking, I dived down the water, turning into human the moment I was completely immersed underwater.

 

I swam and swam while my heart went faster and faster against my chest. I swam and swam until I finally reached the bottom of the lake. And there she was, all pale and motionless.