Chapter 7: Psycho

Diamond Crush

Jinsol was starting to wonder how long it would be before Sooyoung got herself killed. Not that the current situation wasn’t bad, but Jinsol already knew how it was going to end. It was always like this with her; the only difference was that Sooyoung was more serious this time. Or that was the thought that was running through Jinsol’s mind when her friend started talking.

“You say you want me to suffer,” Sooyoung started, her whole face draped in shadow, “But I have something you want even more.”

The woman in front of her scoffed. “And what could that possibly be?”

“Power. Give Jiwoo’s soul back to her and take mine instead.” Sooyoung lifted her head, and even though the two women were the same height, she was looking down on the other vampire.

Jinsol gasped, “Sooyoung, you—”

She was cut off by the other vampire, who snarled. “No! You don’t mean that, you can’t. You’re too selfish to sacrifice yourself for some pathetic human!”

But she was wrong. Sooyoung meant it with every ounce of her being, and the woman knew it. Sooyoung felt the breath leave her lungs with a rush and she felt the seal around her neck start to dissipate. She felt the snakes writing around, trying to constrict, trying to hold on to something. The vampire in front of Sooyoung watched in horror as everything she’d worked so hard for started unraveling right there. She couldn’t believe it; where had the Sooyoung she’d known gone? The Sooyoung who was an arrogant narcissist, the one who would use people and throw them to the side just as easily? The Sooyoung who would kill for fun, the girl who would never care about anyone seriously?

 

Sooyoung, on the other hand, was finally free. She was free because she cared about someone else, Jiwoo. With a new determination, she tackled the other vampire and easily overpowered her. She wrapped her hands around Jiwoo’s soul gently and wrenched it from the woman’s hands. And at that time, Sooyoung wanted nothing more than the satisfaction of killing this woman— actually killing her, but she found she physically couldn’t. And she realized; somehow, in the handful of months that she’d spent with Jiwoo the girl had rubbed off on her. Whether it was her humanity or her personality, Sooyoung wasn’t one to guess. So she didn’t kill the vampire. Instead, she left the woman confused and bleeding on the ground and went to return Jiwoo’s soul.

“Why? Why aren’t you killing me?” she asked Sooyoung, anger laced in her voice.

Sooyoung, who was now next to Jinsol and Jiwoo, only threw her a glance. “You’re a waste of my time, that’s why.”

 

Even after returning Jiwoo’s soul to her body, it would take time for her to wake up. So Sooyoung opted for carrying her friend, and she and Jinsoil left the other vampire to return to Jiwoo’s apartment. Unfortunately, instead of an empty apartment, they were met with the sight of Jungeun sitting on the couch. Jungeun slowly looked between Sooyoung and Jinsol before her eyes landed on the unconscious Jiwoo in Sooyoung’s arms. The two girls under scrutiny were suddenly acutely aware of how they must look, disheveled and covered in blood. Jungeun stood up and narrowed her eyes, walking over to them.

“Since none of you is obviously hurt, I’m not even going to ask,” Jungeun crossed her arms and turned back to the couch, but muttered under her breath, “Vampires be damned.”

Sooyoung’s eyebrows shot up and she turned towards Jinsol so fast she might’ve gotten whiplash. Jinsol wasn’t looking at her and if Sooyoung hadn’t known any better, she might say her friend was a shade paler. She made a mental note to ask Jinsol what the hell just happened later because they obviously had more pressing matters at hand. Jungeun had long since flapped back down on the couch, and as Jinsol went over to talk to her, Sooyoung went to put Jiwoo in her bed.

 

When Jiwoo woke up, she had a splitting headache and a patchy memory at best. She looked down and saw Sooyoung as if she’d fallen asleep watching over Jiwoo. She marveled at the role flip; not long ago it had been Jiwoo watching over an injured Sooyoung. But she also wanted answers. What was the point in waiting for her memory to catch up when she could just ask, after all?

“Sooyoung? Sooyoung, wake up. What happened?” she shook the girl beside her.

Sooyoung shot up and blinked a couple of times, trying to wake up. Jiwoo almost felt bad for waking her, they both probably needed the sleep.

“Well?” Jiwoo tilted her head in curiosity, “Are you going to tell me? Don’t bother lying, by the way, I just need to fill the gaps in my memory.”

Sooyoung sighed and gave her a small smile, “Alright.”

Honestly, Sooyoung hadn’t even thought of lying at all.

 

“Well, I guess I’ll start from the beginning, then,” Sooyoung yawned. “There’s probably more questions you have that I can answer by starting from the beginning. When Jinsol and I first came to the human realm, we were looking for a way to undo the curse and break the seal on me. When cursing another vampire, it comes at a higher cost because it requires more strength, and the easiest way to go about it is to set the terms of release. Of course, meeting the terms of release is only one way to undo the curse. The caster can revoke the curse, or you can find magic stronger than what was used to cast it. That’s where you came in. Er, initially, that is. Because I thought I’d killed her before finding out what the terms of release were, two of my three options were exhausted. Unless I accidentally triggered the terms of release, I’d have to find a source of magic stronger than the magic she used to seal away my powers.”

“Oh you really meant the beginning, I guess,” Jiwoo said.

“Jinsol met you first, at your studio. She’s the one who discovered you were . . . well a catalyst. A catalyst is something very rare, you see. In fact, before you, neither of us had ever met one in all our time being alive. To boil it down to the most simplistic terms I can, a catalyst is a soul with an incredibly high magical aptitude. I can’t tell you why you’re a catalyst because I don’t know, but that’s beyond the point. When Jinsol told me she’d found a catalyst, I thought that was the end of my problems. If I consumed your soul, it would give me enough power to undo my curse and free me. Unfortunately, my plans fell apart when I actually met you.” Sooyoung smiled sheepishly.

“So that vampire was right then, you only became my friend—”

“Wait, let me finish. Please.” Sooyoung cut Jiwoo off, and when she didn’t say anything else, Sooyoung continued, “I wasn’t actually planning on ever meeting you beyond the time it took for me to steal your soul. Moving in across the hall from you was a complete accident. Ironic, I guess. As time passed, I couldn’t ever find a good time to make a move, and I started getting to know you. You were always so kind to me no matter what, and becoming friends made it that much harder to just steal your life from you, y’know? I’m sure Jinsol already knew by that time. Of course, I had no idea that you would end up saving me and find out I was a vampire, that was also an accident. And I also had no idea that I hadn’t killed that relentless woman. So imagine my surprise when I get ambushed out of nowhere, and suddenly you and her are with me and Jinsol outside of the human realm. She realized I was in love with you before I did, but probably not before Jinsol. So she took your soul and tried to make me consume it. After all, she didn’t care about the curse, only that I suffered.”

“Sorry, hold on a second,” Jiwoo blinked. “What did you just say?”

Sooyoung looked confused. “What are you talking about? Haven’t you been listening? I said she wanted me to suffer, not to curse me.”

“Sooyoung, that’s not what I’m talking about!” Jiwoo sighed. “You do know you just admitted to being in love with me, right?”

“Oh,” was all that came out of Sooyoung’s mouth. “Sorry, I—”

“Just finish the story,” Jiwoo wasn’t looking at Sooyoung anymore.

“Well, the reason why my seal was broken and you're still alive is that I did something that I didn’t think would happen. I met the terms of release by accident. She had assumed I’d always be selfish, that I’d never ever put someone before me. But I offered her my soul if she gave you back yours. I would rather you live than die because of me, so I triggered the terms of release. I guess all the time I spent with you changed me for the better. I even left her there, alive and mostly well.” Sooyoung’s voice got quiet as she finished, “Realizing I was in love with you freed me.”

“Sooyoung, you can’t just keep saying that!” Jiwoo had her hands over her face, but Sooyoung thought she sounded like she might cry.

“Why? I’m not lying about anything, that’s really what happened.” Sooyoung said.

“How can you just say you’re in love with me so easily?” This time, Jiwoo looks at Sooyoung and her face is red and warm.

“Because it’s the truth,” Sooyoung said, just as easily.

 

Jiwoo was torn. Sooyoung confessing to her like this made it impossible not to confront her own feelings. She thought about all the feelings that had run rampant in her mind when she thought that Sooyoung had only befriended her to use her. Were those really feelings you would hold for a friend? The thought of losing Sooyoung, of Sooyoung not being by her side, could she say that about someone who was only her friend? She felt like she was going to pass out again. She looked over at Sooyoung, and she saw the adoration in her eyes, she felt the warmth radiating from her. And Jiwoo made up her mind. She slowly, cautiously, leaned closer towards Sooyoung. Before Sooyoung really knew what was going on, Jiwoo’s lips were on hers. It was short, not more than a couple of seconds; Jiwoo was testing the waters, but it felt right if that were possible.

“I think,” Jiwoo said slowly, eyes meeting Sooyoung’s, “I might be a little in love with you, too.”

 

When they finally made it to the living room of Jiwoo’s apartment, they discovered Jungeun and Jinsol huddled together on the couch.

Jungeun saw them first, in all their blushing, hand-holding glory, and elbowed Jinsol, “Oh my god, they’re holding hands!”

“You two are insufferable,” Jiwoo whined, turning to bury her face in Sooyoung’s shoulder.

“Well at least they’ll stop trying to get us together,” Sooyoung laughed.

“Yeah, now we can bother them until they get together,” Jiwoo said.

“Us?” Jinsol laughed, “We’ve been dating for the past month, what’re you on about?”

Both Sooyoung and Jiwoo’s eyes doubled in size, and Jinsol and Jungeun rolled around the couch in laughter.

 
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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-