Chapter 3: Halloween

Diamond Crush

It took a few days for Jiwoo to notice that things at the studio had subtly shifted. After hearing of the incident from Sooyoung, Jinsol had made sure that Jiwoo was no longer in charge of the lead actor’s makeup, and for this Jiwoo was grateful. It wasn’t that she was worried for her safety around him, it’s just that she was too exhausted to deal with him more. That change was obvious from the start, but there were other things she noticed as the week progressed. Not only did Jungeun watch her like a hawk, but she thought she noticed Jinsol keeping an eye on her as well. Jungeun being overprotective was a given, but she couldn’t figure out why Jinsol was suddenly so concerned. Of course, Jiwoo wasn’t stupid. She knew it probably had something to do with Sooyoung, but why was Sooyoung so concerned. She wasn’t even sure what had happened after Sooyoung had dragged the lead actor out of the bathroom. All she knew was that he would come within ten feet of her without scampering away as if she’d kill him. She reminded herself to ask Sooyoung about it later.

 

By the time the Friday after the party had rolled around, Jiwoo was pretty much accustomed to her new situation. Instead of it just being her and Jungeun all the time, Jinsol had started spending more time with them. Jiwoo definitely didn’t miss Jungeun’s interest either. Not that she was trying to meddle in Jungeun’s love life, but that’s exactly what she was going to do. Jinsol was interesting, and not terribly unlike Sooyoung. She was a little more aloof than Sooyoung was, but it seemed to click with Jungeun and her unfortunate comedic timing. Jiwoo was often tempted to ask Jinsol what Sooyoung was like when they were in school. She was curious not only about Sooyoung, but her newfound friend as well.

 

Jiwoo didn’t think of herself as particularly devious, but that night as she was lying in bed, a brilliant idea hit her. Perhaps she could kill two birds with one stone. What was the best way to test the waters between Jungeun and Jinsol while also learning more about her two new friends? Movie night. Glancing at the clock on the nightstand beside her, she decided it wasn’t too late in the night to message the three girls. Jiwoo was thoroughly unsurprised when she got an immediate response from Jungeun. Regardless of whether Jungeun knew she was up to something or not, she had agreed to come on Sunday night. Jiwoo was surprised, however, when both Sooyoung and Jinsol responded only a few minutes after she had messaged them. She wasn’t much of a phone person, so getting used to having more than just Jungeun’s messages took some time. They both also agreed to meet on Sunday night at Jiwoo’s apartment. To say she was excited was an understatement. For once, it was Jiwoo’s turn to be semi-conniving.

 

All of Saturday was spent preparing; Jiwoo cleaned the whole apartment from floor to ceiling, picked out some movies to choose from, and went out to get snacks. As Jiwoo looked at the aisles of snack foods, she realized that she didn’t really know much about Sooyoung or Jinsol personally. What were their favourite colours, or their favourite foods? Did they listen to music or read? How did they spend their time unwinding? It was almost surreal, looking at their relationships from the outside. Even though Jiwoo’d spent plenty of time with Sooyoung, and now Jinsol too, she didn’t know such simple things. But she didn’t not know them either. She reminded herself of what had happened at the party; had Sooyoung not rushed to her side? Had Jinsol not kept the lead actor away from her? Jiwoo had to stop thinking so hard before she ended up with a headache. It didn’t matter anyway. Jiwoo was going to get to know them over time, starting tomorrow.

 

Sooyoung was the first to arrive, which was appropriate given she only lived across the hall. She caught Jiwoo as she was setting up.

“So,” Sooyoung startled Jiwoo after a long period of silence, “What’re you up to?”

“What—”

Sooyoung cut her off, holding her hand up. “Before you try to protest, I already know you’ve got something planned here. It’s the first time the four of us will be together, so there’s a reason, right?”

“I can’t invite my friends over to hang out?” Jiwoo saw Sooyoung’s resolve crack a bit as she deflated a bit.

“Sorry I—”

This time, Jiwoo interrupted Sooyoung. “I’m just messing around, I do have a plan of some sorts.”

“Jiwoo!” Sooyoung protested.

“Well, I do but,” Jiwoo sat down on the couch. “I really do want to get to know you and Jinsol better,”

Sooyoung thought she would like to be blinded by Jiwoo’s smile any time. “And your plan?”

“Well, thanks to you I’m sure, Jinsol has become a permanent part of mine and Jungeun’s circle, so I’ve been . . .” Jiwoo paused thoughtfully, “observing them.”

Sooyoung casually ignored the first part, “Oh? And you’ve found what, exactly?”

“Jungeun seems to have taken a liking to Jinsol, and they click so well together. I thought maybe it was my turn to play matchmaker.” Jiwoo giggled.

“Jungeun and Jinsol, huh? Never thought I’d see the day,” Sooyoung muttered.

Jiwoo threw her a questioning glance before the sound of knocking filled her ears. To both Jiwoo and Sooyoung’s surprise, Jungeun and Jinsol were standing at Jiwoo’s door, together. Jungeun, who picked up on Sooyoung and Jiwoo’s shock, rolled her eyes.

“We got here at the same time and walked up together,” she explained, pushing past an unmoving Jiwoo.

Sooyoung only smirked, and Jinol smiled at Jiwoo before following Jungeun inside.

 

Jiwoo was immensely pleased with the way everything had gone. She had learned a bit about both Jinsol and Sooyoung and had successfully tested the water between Jinsol and Jungeun. With no help from Sooyoung, that is. Jiwoo was at least trying to be subtle about it, but she had to stop Sooyoung from ruining it at least six times. She knew Jungeun wasn’t stupid, so if she wasn’t careful, her friend was definitely going to catch on. If she was honest, Jiwoo wasn’t sure that they had spent much time watching movies at all. Not that she minded, watching movies had just been her go-to in order to get them all together. Most of their time had been spent talking about this or that. Favourites, good memories, the studio, hobbies, you name it. At one point, Jiwoo was afraid that the events of the Halloween party were going to be brought up, but Sooyoung saved her the embarrassment. What she didn’t know was that Sooyoung was just as reluctant to mention it.

 

November being a fairly quiet month, being the calm before the storm that was December, brought a sense of security to Jiwoo. Or so she thought. The first two weeks were nice; nothing of note happened at the studio, and they had almost completed the filming portion for the film. Jiwoo personally couldn’t wait for it to be over. The end of filming meant she didn’t have to work with the lead actor anymore, and she could move onto the next project their studio would tackle.

 

However, it was the third Friday of November when Jiwoo got the shock of her life. As things usually went, the day started off normally. It was the last day of filming, which meant she would be at the studio later than normal to make sure everything wrapped up properly. The Director had invited everyone to go for drinks after wrapping up, but after the Halloween party incident, Jiwoo, Jinsol, and Jungeun all decided it was better not to go. Though Jinsol and Jungeun had invited her to go just the three of them, she declined that as well. She wanted nothing more than to go home, take a warm shower, and settle down to a nice horror movie. Staying for longer in the studio with the persistent buzz of excitement was already exhausting enough.

 

Thankfully, filming went smoothly, and Jiwoo was home by half-past eleven. Too tired to cook, she ordered from whatever restaurant was still doing delivery and hopped in the shower. After a long and stressful day, there was truly nothing better than the feel of hot water slowly washing away all the tension. Did Jiwoo end up spending more time in the shower than she needed to? Probably. Did she care? Not really. She was hardly dressed and settled into the couch when she heard a knock. Apparently, it had been a long time since she’d last ordered delivery because Jiwoo didn’t remember it being so quick. Regardless, she dragged herself to open the door. Door wide open, Jiwoo surely stopped breathing. Sooyoung stumbled into her apartment and collapsed. Jiwoo, who had been lazily holding the door open, let it close as she rushed to her friend’s side.

“Oh my god, Sooyoung . . .”

Jiwoo’s voice just stopped working as she really looked at the girl in front of her. Her arms were covered in cuts— or maybe scratches, Jiwoo didn’t know, and her chest was moving so sharply that she couldn’t tell if it was her heart or lungs working overtime. Her friend’s shirt was shredded down the front, and there were long and deep gashes from her ribs to her clavicles. Jiwoo was sure she saw flashes of white, probably bone. But that wasn’t even the most shocking thing, no. Sooyoung’s chest, neck, and shoulders were covered in moving tattoos, and her eyes were the same shade as Jiwoo’s favourite red lipstick. Jiwoo wasn’t sure if she was dreaming or having a . She was pretty sure she hadn’t taken a breath in at least five minutes, and really, who could have a clear head in a situation like this?!

“Sorry, Jiwoo, I shouldn’t have—” Sooyoung gasped, trying to stand.

“No!” Jiwoo exclaimed, firmer than she had expected. “Let me help. Please.”

For the first time since Sooyoung had entered Jiwoo’s apartment that night, she looked at Jiwoo. Jiwoo felt panic well up in her chest; Sooyoung looked like she was in so much pain, and her eyes had something Jiwoo hadn’t seen. Conflict, maybe.

“Let me help,” Jiwoo said again, this time looking Sooyoung right in the eye to portray her sincerity. “How can I help?”

“I can’t—” Sooyoung winced and gripped Jiwoo’s elbow. “I shouldn’t—”

“Sooyoung!” Jiwoo cried in exasperation.

“I need your blood.” Sooyoung couldn’t even look at Jiwoo when she said it, as if it was the most embarrassing thing to ask of her friend.

But Jiwoo wasn’t going to just watch her friend choking and probably dying, so she took two seconds to think and that was enough. Pulling up her sleeve, she offered her wrist to Sooyoung. She should’ve at least been hesitant, but Jiwoo was so overwhelmed that caution was long out the window. Jiwoo was surprised when Sooyoung took her hand with a tremendously gentle touch, given the circumstances. They locked eyes, and Sooyoung, seeing no red lights, sunk her fangs into Jiwoo’s wrist.

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cepora
sorry for the delay everyone, i'm currently on a vacation (if you can call it that) so things are a little hectic!

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Luaxx03
#1
Chapter 7: Bella storia!
Peccato che sià finita 😔
justaboringwriter #2
Chapter 7: ohh-
justaboringwriter #3
Chapter 6: woah...
Luaxx03
#4
Chapter 6: WOW
Yerimiee
#5
Chapter 6: Shock
jesuispas #6
Chapter 5: So is Haseul a caster of some kind?
redpekoe #7
Chapter 5: loving the lore buildup in this chapter!!
justaboringwriter #8
Chapter 5: ohh no
Iceprincess_sica95
#9
Chapter 3: Sooyoung my poor girl :( Hope the injures is not so bad :(
redpekoe #10
Chapter 3: HERE WE GO-