Hi! I'm back with a new chapter. It is December and I'm getting close to the end of the semester. I may not post for a bit as a I finish up some last minute projects and study for finals, but after that I think I'll update every week since I'll be on break. Please be patient with me and look forward to what's to come for this fic! With that out of the way, I hope that you enjoy this new chapter :)

Hey, how's the research coming along?

Slow

I'm guessing that means u haven't found anything

Bingo. You would think finding a secret faction would be easy. Then again why would you call it a secret if it was easy to find.

Want to come over? It would be a good excuse to get out of searching

I would but I don't want to leave the others to do all the work

They should take a break too

I don't know...we don't really have time to waste. We need to find the culprits

Drilling yourselves until the very end isn't going to be good for anyone. Want me to call and yell at them? Bet I can get all of you to take a break for a couple of days

Be my guest, not sure how efficient you'll be tho they are still a bunch of vampires

And I'm one scary ass human

I don't doubt that for a second

Good. Now call me.

Jihoon is sitting in his car, preparing to drive home from his early morning shift at the cafe. He has to stop by the grocery store on his way back, but before heading there he decided to check his phone. He's been texting his boyfriend for a bit now. And any second now, he should be getting a call from him. Jihoon taps at the screen as the call pops up, answering it immediately. He puts the phone to his ear and waits for Seungcheol to speak. "Hey, Jihoon," Seungcheol says over the phone, "You're on speaker."

"Hi, hyung," Mingyu says in a shaky voice.

Jihoon smiles as he sits comfortably in his seat, "Hi, Gyu. Why do you sound so scared?"

"Well, Seungcheol hyung says that you want to yell at us," Mingyu states, "I feel like I should sound scared."

"Definitely," Jihoon hums, "What did the others think about the way you reacted?"

"They thought I was freaking out over nothing," Mingyu says, "I insisted that I wasn't, cause you could find a way to add garlic to the list of things that kill us, but they didn't believe me."

"Let me guess, it's cause they're a group of vamps and I'm a human," Jihoon says.

"Yup," Mingyu says.

"Well, I guess I'll just have to prove them wrong," Jihoon states.

"Have fun," Mingyu says, "You know I'm on your side, so no need to waste your breath on me."

"Thanks, Gyu," Jihoon says, "Now...everyone else...how long have you been searching for this other faction of vamps?"

"Couple days now," Wonwoo answers.

"Did you get any rest during the span of the past few days?" Jihoon questions in a calm tone.

"We don't need rest," Minghao states.

"I'll take that as a no," Jihoon says, "Now...how much have you been able to find on this secret faction?"

"Basically nothing," Hansol says in a dejected tone.

Jihoon nods, "Well, you probably won't find anything else anytime soon."

"That doesn't mean we should just give up though," Soonyoung says.

"I never said anything about giving up," Jihoon says, "I merely think that you should take a break for a bit and come back to it. Who knows? Maybe some time away will help you find something that you missed."

"I don't know," Jun says, "We shouldn't waste time..."

"I do know," Jihoon states in a tone that sends chills down anyone's spine, "And I wasn't really asking. So, all of you take a freaking break." The group of vampires fall silent after that, taking in the words of the human. For some reason, his words do freak them out a bit. The way he spoke is sort of unsettling even for a group of supernatural creatures. "Do I make myself clear?" Jihoon asks.

Seungkwan coughs a bit, "Yup."

"Crystal," Wonwoo says.

"I understand now why Mingyu was so scared," Jeonghan says, "It's like the devil just spoke to me."

"I feel like he's staring down at me," Minghao shivers.

"You have yourself a scary ass boyfriend, hyung," Hansol says. The sounds of moving chairs and closing books can be heard over the call as the group of vamps shuffle out of the library. "I know," Seungcheol says with a shake of his head, "I guess this means I'm coming over."

"Yes," Jihoon says in a brighter tone, "If you get to my place before I get back, you can use the spare key I keep underneath that loose brick. I need to make a quick stop to the supermarket."

"Alright," Seungcheol says, "I'll see you later."

≫ ──── ≪•◦ ❈ ◦•≫ ──── ≪

Jihoon walks up the staircase with bags of groceries in his hands. He wonders if Seungcheol has already arrived or not. He wouldn't doubt that the vamp has made it to his apartment before him, super vampire speed and all. As he nears his door, a frown slowly appears on Jihoon's face. The door is a crack open due to the fact that it's been broken. The wood of the door and the doorframe is splintered and scattered around on the ground. "Just when I fixed my door," Jihoon mutters. He pushes the door open, wondering if this is the work of his vampire boyfriend or a burglar. He did tell Seungcheol where the key is, so why would he even bother breaking down the door. Is something wrong? He slowly walks into his house, careful to be as quiet as possible. He slowly places his bags of groceries on the floor and creeps deeper inside. His eyes slowly widen as he enters his living room and sees two people crouched on his carpet. "Daniel?! Seungcheol!?" Jihoon exclaims as he takes in the scene. Seungcheol has a streak of blood dripping from his mouth and he is gripping tightly onto the arm that holds a weapon up to his throat. Daniel is behind him, holding Seungcheol close to him with gritted teeth and his machete tight in his grasp. "What is going on?!" Jihoon shrieks, trying to comprehend the situation.

"You need to leave," Daniel states, "Now!"

"No way! You have a freaking weapon pointed at my boyfriend's neck!" Jihoon shouts.

"He isn't who you think he is, Jihoon!" Daniel yells.

"Jihoon..." Seungcheol mutters.

"Shut up!" Daniel shouts, pressing the weapon against Seungcheol's throat making blood drip.

Jihoon eyes the blood and says in as calm as a tone as he can muster, "Cheollie...are you okay?"

"Yup," Seungcheol murmurs, glancing at the machete, "Could be doing better..."

"I said to be quiet!" Daniel snaps. Seungcheol closes his mouth and looks at Jihoon with an urgent expression. Jihoon looks back at his boyfriend with pursed lips, trying to figure out how to defuse this entire situation. "Get out of here, Jihoon. You don't want to see this," Daniel says.

"Daniel, put down the machete," Jihoon says, "Please." He carefully walks closer to the two, his hands out in front of him. Daniel shakes his head and presses the weapon deeper into Seungcheol's throat, making the vampire wince in pain. "I can't do that," Daniel says in a firm tone, "He'll hurt you if I don't do what I need to do."

"He won't hurt me!" Jihoon exclaims, "He's a good person."

"He's not," Daniel says, "You have no idea what's going on, Jihoon. Please just go."

"I know what's happening here, Daniel," Jihoon says, "I know everything!"

"What?" Daniel questions with a confused look on his face.

Jihoon nods, "I know what Seungcheol is. I know he's a vampire and you're probably a hunter...right? I know, okay! So please, put down the weapon! Seungcheol would never hurt a fly...I promise you that. Trust me, Daniel, please." He flashes his friend a look with pleading eyes, hoping that the hunter will drop the weapon. Daniel looks back at him and slowly lowers the weapon. When he does, Seungcheol bursts to his feet and rushes at Jihoon. The vampire wraps his arms around the human and buries his face into the crook of his neck. "Thank you," Seungcheol murmurs.

"Guess we're even now, huh?" Jihoon says, "You saved me from vamps and I saved you from a hunter."

"I guess so," Seungcheol says, "But, let's try not to make saving each other from danger a constant thing."

"Agreed," Jihoon says, wrapping his arms around Seungcheol and hugging his boyfriend, "I was really worried about you."

"Were you now?" Seungcheol questions.

Jihoon nods, "I don't know what I would do if Daniel had cut your head off..."

"Well, he didn't," Seungcheol says, "Thanks to you."

"Yeah, I'm glad," Jihoon says, "My heart is beating a mile a minute."

"I know, I can hear it," Seungcheol murmurs, "It's okay, I'm safe now...you can relax..." Jihoon hums and leans his body against his boyfriends, melting into his hole and letting himself slowly calm down. His eyes fall shut and he begins to drift into his own little world. He's quickly yanked out of it by the sound of Daniel clearing his throat. "Want to explain to me what the hell is going on?" Daniel questions. The couple quickly breaks away from each other and turns to look at the resident hunter. Seungcheol sighs, "Why do you have to be friends with people that are related to the vampire community?"

"I guess I just have an affinity for supernatural beings," Jihoon says, "I am dating one after all."

≫ ──── ≪•◦ ❈ ◦•≫ ──── ≪

"Sorry," Daniel says after Jihoon and Seungcheol explain everything to the hunter, from their first meeting to how the truth had come out. The three all sit on the couch. The couple close to one another and Daniel sitting upright with a guilty expression on his face. "It's all good," Seungcheol says, "You didn't kill me and I heal quickly."

"Still, I jumped you and stuff," Daniel mutters.

Seungcheol shakes his head, "You were worried about Jihoon. It's fine. You were being a good friend."

"Yeah a good friend that broke my door," Jihoon says, "I just got it fixed from the last time Seungcheol kicked it down."

"Sorry about that," Daniel says sheepishly, "I'll pay for it."

"You better," Jihoon huffs, "Also, how come you never told me you were a hunter?"

"How come you never told me that you have a vampire boyfriend?" Daniel retorts.

Jihoon's eyes narrow, "Touché, Kang..."

"I would've mentioned it," Daniel says, "After all, it's not like I'm actively hunting or anything, but recently we've been getting a lot of issues with newborns causing trouble. The hunters clans all over have their hands tied with the massive amounts of changed humans. That's actually why I borrowed your car..."

"You used my car to transport a dead vampire," Jihoon deadpans.

"I cleaned up after disposing of the body," Daniel says.

"That doesn't make it okay," Jihoon states.

"Sorry...again," Daniel says, "I've just been really stressed. I mean it's been a long time since anyone has hunted anything. I was trained for this job since I was young, but I just got my first vamp kill a month ago. That's how bad it is."

"There's been more newborns?" Seungcheol questions.

Daniel nods, "Tons. The society is playing it off as they have no idea about them, but who else could be changing the humans? That's why I attacked you...I thought you were going to change Jihoon."

"I would never," Seungcheol states, "Changing a human is a law I will never break."

"Well that's a good thing to know," Daniel says.

Seungcheol frowns, "I can't believe there's this many newborns..."

"I'm surprised that you don't know about them," Daniel says.

"I've ran into a couple recently, but I had no idea there was a large amount of them in the human world," Seungcheol shakes his head, "My father really has been burying this..."

"Your father?" Daniel asks.

"The King of the society..." Jihoon answers.

Daniel's eyes widen, "You're the crown freaking prince of the vampire society?! Frick...you let me hold a machete to your throat!"

"I didn't let you do anything," Seungcheol states, "You did catch me off guard and just cause I'm the prince doesn't mean silver isn't also my weakness."

"Still, it would've been a big mess if I had killed you," Daniel mutters, "The peace treaty and all..."

"Well, if it makes you feel any better," Seungcheol says, "The society seems to think that hunters are killing our people."

"The only vampires that I have knowledge of hunters killing are newborns," Daniel says, "So...I don't know where the society is getting their info, but it's wrong."

"I don't doubt that for a second," Seungcheol says, "As for the newborns, they aren't any of our people's. I captured a couple and brought them back to be tested. They didn't match with any of the members of our society."

"That makes no sense," Daniel states.

"Yes, well, I am currently leading an investigation into the newborns and the recent deaths," Seungcheol says, "I don't think it's something caused by you hunters. I wish to find the actual culprit."

"Any leads?" Daniel asks.

Seungcheol nods, "We came across some information regarding a faction of vampires that left the society after the new laws were put into place. We believe they have something to do with all of this."

"You think they're the ones turning humans," Daniel says.

"Yes," Seungcheol says, "I'm searching for them, but so far we haven't found anything."

"Maybe, I can be of some help," Daniel says, "I'll let my clan and the other hunters know about this. We'll look out for this other faction of yours. If they are the ones behind all of this, they are the ones that we should be going after."

"That would be great," Seungcheol states, "Thank you."

"No problem," Daniel says, "I don't want war between us anytime soon."

"Agreed," Seungcheol states.

"Interesting," Jihoon mutters. The human has stayed silent for most of the time that the hunter and vamp were speaking. His face neutral as he listened to the two trade stories. But now, he looks as if he's in deep thought. Something on his mind. "What is?" Daniel asks.

"What both the hunters and the vampire society is dealing with," Jihoon says, "The hunters think that the society is changing humans and the society thinks the hunters are killing their people. It's almost like someone is setting you two up."

"You're on to something there, Jihoon," Daniel comments, "I mean these scenarios are only increasing tensions between our two groups.

Seungcheol frowns, "Do you think the person behind this wants another war between the hunters and the vampires?"

"Why would they want that?" Daniel asks, "There was so much loss in the last war. It wasn't good for either side."

"But, it would be good for the faction," Jihoon says, "Let the two groups take each other out, leaving behind room for them to step up." Seungcheol and Daniel share a look filled with tension and worry. If what Jihoon is saying is right, the hunters and the society are playing right into the hands of the faction. The war is going to happen unless they can do something about it. "We need to find the faction," Seungcheol states, "Fast."

Ooooo, we got scary vocal boss Jihoon, hunter Daniel reveal, and faction clues. It's slowly coming together and getting just as confusing as ever before. I hope that you look forward to it. I don't have much to say to conclude this chapter, so I hope that you have a great rest of your day. Please leave a comment, vote, follow me, add this story to your library, and check out my other works here on Wattpad. Until next time!

P.S. Congratulations to SVT for winning Top 10 and Best Male Performance at MAMA! Our performance powerhouse indeed<3