I am back with the next chapter. New town, new story and new guest appearances! I'm excited for this chapter and hope you all are too! Please enjoy.

Then: Anyang

"Yah, Kim Yonghee!" A boy with black hair huffs as Yonghee swipes a piece of popcorn from her bowl. Yonghee, a boy with dark brown hair that hangs over his forehead, smiles happily and tosses the kernel into his mouth. He hums as he chews, much to the annoyance of his brother. "Thanks, Seunghun hyung," He says in a sing-song tone. He is garbed in an oversized shirt and shorts. There are polka-dot socks on his feet that tap happily. "I didn't offer you anything. Why do you have to steal my food?" Seunghun questions, "You can make your own popcorn." He is garbed in a tank top and pajama pants. His feet remain bare unlike his brother's. "It's too much work," Yonghee answers, "It's easier to just take." He reaches for another piece, but Seunghun slaps his hand away. He whirls around with his bowl and clutches it protectively, "No."

"Ow!" Yonghee exclaims, "Why did you hit me?"

"Cause you're a thief!" Seunghun exclaims. Yonghee scowls at this and crosses his arms over his chest. "Boys, don't fight," Their mother calls out as she enters the room garbed in her own striped pajamas. The siblings whirl around to face their mother and let out similar exasperated sighs. They begin to talk over one another, making their mother shake her head. The woman can't make out what either of her children are saying, but it didn't really matter to her. Their argument was most definitely about something stupid. "Your appa and I sent you two into the kitchen to deal with the snacks for movie night, not to start bickering," The woman says loudly with a raised eyebrow. The boys fall silent at their mother's words and slowly lower their heads in shame. "Sorry," Seunghun murmurs.

"Yeah, sorry," Yonghee mutters.

"It's fine," Their mother says, "Just try to finish up here so we can start the movie. I'm sure your appa has already started watching, he's so impatient." They both nod their heads and start to shuffle around the kitchen, grabbing more bags of popcorn and bowls to place the popped kernels inside. Seunghun slips one of the bags into the microwave and presses the button. He sighs as the soft popping of the corn echoes as the microwave tray spins. After a couple of seconds, the microwave dings and Seunghun takes out the steaming bag. He tugs it open and Yonghee holds a bowl near him so that he can pour the popcorn in it. They repeat this process again with their mother watching them with a small smile on their faces. The microwave dings again, but at the same time as this noise echoes so does the sound of a gun being fired. The three all tense and look at one another with fear in their eyes. "A-appa..." Yonghee stutters. The boys look over to their mother, who holds up a finger to her lips. She creeps out of the kitchen and towards the source of the sound. Their house is fairly big, some may even call it a mansion, so the sound of the gun echoed, but they've lived in this house for a long time and they can tell where the noise came from. Seunghun and Yonghee creep behind their mother as they all make their way to the living room. As they enter, they are greeted by a shadowy figure garbed in all black and a face mask snug over his face. The figure is sitting on the couch beside a man dressed in a red shirt and sports shorts. His body is slumped to the side and partially covers a part of the couch that has this weird black-red stain that looks fairly new."Appa..." Seunghun whispers, his face turning white. Yonghee leans close to his brother, grabbing onto his arm for support as his eyes become watery. Their mom stares at her husband with a blank expression. The woman takes a deep breath before staring down at the figure sitting comfortably on the couch. "Hunter," She says with venom.

"Hello, Kim family," The hunter says as he turns to look at them, "I have a gift for you. Silver bullets." He lifts his hand up and fires three shots at each of them. They each drop to the floor as they get hit. The hunter stares at them for a second to make sure they don't get back up before slowly standing from the couch and walking towards the kitchen. He enters the room and makes his way over to the microwave. He opens it up and grabs the bag of popcorn. He rips the bag open as he walks out of the house, leaving the family that he just killed behind.

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Now

"I found a case in Anyang about the dead coming back," Chan reads from Wonpil's journal. The two are sitting across from one another at a cafe. They both have iced drinks in front of them and Felix is enjoying a very large chocolate chip cookie. "Another zombie?" Felix questions, "Are those common in Korea?"

Chan shakes his head, "No, it's not. And he definitely didn't deal with any zombies here." Felix tilts his head to the side as he takes a sip of his drink. "Then what?" Felix asks, taking another bite of his cookie.

"It says here that the case spoke of lost loved ones coming into homes only to take jewelry, TVs, anything of value and never return," Chan says, "The victims are so taken aback by the return of their dead families that they don't realize what's happening until it's too late."

"So...shifters?" Felix suggests.

Chan flips the page in his old friend's journal and nods, "Yup. A whole family of them. Apparently, they go back generations in this town. The Kim family. They're filthy rich, but no one knows exactly how or why..."

"Well, if I was stealing everyday then I would be bathing in cash," Felix states.

"It says here that Wonpil dealt with them with no issues and then went on his merry way," Chan says.

"Hm," Felix hums, "I say we check out the Kims' house just to be sure things went down like he said they did." Chan nods and takes his phone out. He taps on the screen before showing it to his cousin, "It's about a couple of miles from here."

──────●◎●──────

The two pull in past the open gates to a large old mansion made of brick. There are a variety of other cars parked around and people garbed in black milling about. The front doors are wide open and beside them are portraits of four individuals standing on easels. "Okay..." Felix says as he looks around the place, "Considering the family were shifters, why does it look like they're holding a funeral for them? Since when do monsters have funerals?" Chan doesn't say anything as he pulls to a stop in an empty spot. The cousins get out of their vehicle and head towards the door, not really knowing what to expect. When they enter the house, the two are blown away at the size of it. The inside is huge with a high ceiling and spacious layout. There's a grand staircase that leads to a second floor and a hallway with beautiful tiling. The sound of voices come from a back area which the two slowly gravitate towards. It's a large porch area that opens into a wide backyard garden. There are four caskets propped up amongst the flowers and groups of people gathered around with their heads tilted down. The cousin awkwardly shifts to the side, knowing that they stand out like a sore thumb amongst the mourning. "So, what the hell is going on?" Felix whispers, "Are all these people part of the Kim family? Does that mean their shifters too?"

"I don't know," Chan murmurs, "But, they can't be a part of the Kim family. Wonpil says he dealt with all of them."

"Dude, our grandma lives somewhere in the Bahamas," Felix states, "Wonpil may have gone after this household, but I doubt he got every single living relative of the Kim family."

"Wonpil?" A voice says, "It was Wonpil hyung that did this?" Felix stiffens and whirls around. His hands are clenched into fists and his eyes narrow at the person standing in front of him. He has brown hair with bright red highlights at the top. He is garbed in a black button down with matching pants and shoes. "Han Jisung," Chan says as he stares at the person that overheard his conversation with his cousin.

Jisung looks at Chan with surprise, "Hyung? You're back?"

"Yeah," Chan says, "What are you doing here?"

"I could say the same thing to you," Jisung says.

Felix frowns as he looks back and forth between the two, "Uh, Chris, who is this?"

"I'm Jisung," The boy answers, flashing Felix a tight-lipped smile, "Why don't we go somewhere else to talk so we don't bother them?" He beckons for the hunters to follow him. The group makes their way around the side of the house and towards the front. Jisung leads them through the house and into a large room with a huge master bed in the center and a desk near a window. Felix shuts the door behind them and leans against it. Chan grabs the seat sitting near the desk and plops onto it while Jisung makes himself comfortable on the bed. "Okay," Jisung says, "What are you doing here? And what did you mean that Wonpil hyung went after the Kim family?"

"I have questions too," Felix says, "Why do you know my cousin? And why are all these people here mourning monsters?" Jisung eyes Felix weirdly for his use of the word monsters. Felix looks back at him with a judging glance of his own. Chan looks back and forth between his friend and his cousin before letting out a loud sigh. "Okay, let's take this one thing at a time," Chan says, "I'm back cause my cousin and I are trying to find what Wonpil was doing before he died. This was the first place that Wonpil stopped at. According to his journal, he handled this shifter family cause they were stealing from the entire town by pretending to be their dead loved ones. As for Jisung, he is a friend that I met through Wonpil. He's a shapeshifter and if my assumption is correct...so is everyone else in this place." Jisung purses his lips together and his forehead creases as if he's trying to process Chan's words. There's clearly a lot going on in his head as he tries to make sense of this all. Felix, on the other hand, doesn't keep his reactions to himself. His hands clench into fists and his eyes start to shine with a murderous glint. "He's a what?" Felix hisses, taking a step towards Jisung. The shifter is snapped out of his thoughts at the angry tone of the freckled hunter's voice. His eyes widen and he takes a tentative step back. Chan quickly places a hand on Felix's shoulder, "Hey, don't."

"What do you mean don't?" Felix says, "We're freaking surrounded by monsters. We have to act quickly since we're outnumbered."

"I wouldn't say monsters," Jisung cuts in, "Shifters are probably the least monstery of all the creepy crawly thing you two hunt. We're actually a lot more like humans..."

Felix glares at him, "You are nothing like us."

"Felix Lee," Chan states in a firm tone, "Remember that things are different here in Korea. Not all things that aren't human are evil, Jisung is a perfect example of that." Felix huffs and shrugs Chan's hand from off his shoulder. He steps closer to Jisung and looks at him with narrowed eyes, "I still don't trust you. I have no idea why my cousin does."

Jisung sighs, "You're one of those hunters...aren't you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Felix questions in a harsh tone.

"Just that you don't believe anything that isn't fully human can live normal lives," Jisung says.

Felix nods, "Yeah and it isn't a bad thing. All monsters go bad eventually."

"They don't," Jisung says, "And I know you don't believe me, but I'll do what I can to maybe convince you otherwise..."

Felix scoffs, "Don't bother wasting your breath." Chan massages his temples, knowing that his cousin will be stubborn about this. On the bright side, at least Felix hasn't attacked Jisung. Yet. "Chan hyung," Jisung says, "You said that Wonpil killed this family...are you sure he did it?"

Chan shrugs, "He wrote it down...I don't see why he would lie about it."

"But, why?" Jisung asks, "This family never did anything wrong."

"I highly doubt that," Felix states.

Jisung shakes his head and says in a firm tone, "They haven't. I can promise you that. Seunghun and Yonghee were friends of mine. They've never done anything wrong and Wonpil hyung knew this."

"Well, maybe they changed their ways," Felix says, "I mean look at this place...there's no way shifters could live in a place like this."

"Why not?" Jisung questions, "Their parents own a major company. They made good money living a respectable life." Felix frowns at this, still not used to or willing yet to believe than any monster would just try to live like they were a human. "If that's true, why would Wonpil go after them?" Chan murmurs.

"That's exactly what I'm asking," Jisung says, "Then again...he was being a bit weird the last time we met...."

"You met with him?" Chan asks.

Jisung nods, "A while ago...honestly around the same time that this incident happened...we met up at this old bar and just chatted. He wanted to know about all the shifters that I know about."

"Why would he ask you that?" Chan questions.

"I don't know. I chalked it up to curiosity then," Jisung says, "I was a bit tipsy at the time, so I didn't think much of it by telling him, but now that I think about it...I told him about the Kim family. What if he found out about them and went after them because of me? Oh gosh...that would mean this entire thing is my fault." The shifter face contorts with distress and he wrings his hands together nervously. Felix watches him with a look of confusion, finding his apparent guilt odd to him. Jisung is still a monster, he tells himself. Just cause he appears to feel bad, doesn't mean he actually experiences emotions. Monsters don't feel. They're just terrible, horrible beings that do just as bad things to undeserving people. "There's no way," Chan states, "I know Wonpil. He would never in his life go after innocents. There has to be an explanation to this."

"Maybe, this family did do something bad that warranted their deaths," Felix says, "You can't know what they're doing all the time. If they slipped up, Wonpil had every right to go after them."

"Shifters aren't like werewolves or vamps," Jisung says, "We don't kill or steal or do bad things cause we need to. If a shifter does something wrong, it's cause of human desires."

"Are you saying that shifters have a moral compass?" Felix questions.

Jisung nods, "Just like humans. I told you that we're similar. A human can choose to kill and so can a shifter, unlike a werewolf who is forced to if they wish to survive. But, most shifters know what's wrong and right in this world. They understand laws and they follow them. They choose more often than not to live a normal life. Like me...this is the face I was born with. I don't need to change it and I don't have an urge to either. The most I use my powers for is to play with hair colors." Felix falls silent at this as he thinks Jisung's words through. There's some truth to it. Some lore depicts shifters as people that start as humans only to realize their powers later in life. Once they have their powers, it's up to the shifter to decide what to do with themselves. But, does that mean that Jisung is a good guy? No. He can't be. Cause in the end, he's still a monster and nothing can change that. "Felix is right though," Chan states, "They had to have done something. You know Wonpil hyung. He would never have gone after a family of shifters that haven't done anything wrong."

"I've known this family for years," Jisung says, "They have movie nights every Friday. Mr. and Mrs. Kim stops by this little cafe every morning for Americanos. Seunghun and Yonghee argue about stupid stuff like who gets to use the TV first. They're the most normal family in town. You can asks any of the townspeople and they would tell you the same thing. These people would never do anything wrong. They're the model family." Chan shakes his head, not wanting to believe that his old friend went after a group of monsters that didn't deserve it. Wonpil was the one to teach him that not all monsters were bad guys. He was the one that taught him to be more empathetic and understand that they were also living beings. There's no way that he went against his own moral code. "I'm sure we're just missing something here," Felix says, taking notice of his cousin's silence, "We don't know what happened the night this family died. We weren't there. We're taking a firsthand account from a hunter, and you know that when hunters do a job they rarely share every little detail."

"Felix is probably right," Jisung pipes up, "I mean we both know Wonpil hyung. There's no way that he would do such a thing. It's just a coincidence that he asked about shifters and I told him about this family and then a bit later they ended up...you know. I'm probably just overreacting...this family was like my own, so their death hit me pretty hard. I wouldn't worry about it too much, hyung."

"Yeah..." Chan murmurs. Jisung looks over to Felix, who looks back at him with an expression that says why are you looking at me, I don't like you. The shifter rolls his eyes at the hunter's expression and discreetly points to the blonde. "Is he going to be okay?" Jisung mouths and says as quiet as he can. Felix shrugs, not sure if his cousin will be or not. Chan is strong, there's no doubt about it, but he's always treasured his friendships. He's always believed strongly in his bond and relationships with others. It's what makes him a better person, but if he were to be betrayed by someone he cared a lot about, Felix wouldn't doubt that it may break the Aussie. Just then, there's a knock on the door. Felix moves from his position and goes to stand next to his cousin, who is being fairly silent. "Jisung? You in there?" A voice asks.

"Come in, Byounggon hyung," Jisung calls out. The door opens and a guy with short black hair and dark clothes enters the room. He greets the hunters with a courteous smile even though he doesn't recognize them. He turns to face Jisung with a distressed look upon his face. "Is something wrong, hyung?" Jisung asks.

"I'm your friend, so I know that you're close with hunters and you take up the job yourself every once and awhile too," Byounggon says, "So, I need you to help me out with something..."

"What is it?" Jisung questions.

Byounggon frowns, "There's been an incident in town."

"What do you mean by incident?" Jisung says with a frown slowly forming on his face.

"Hyunsuk just died," Byounggon states. Jisung stiffens and his eyes slowly widen. He glances at Chan and Felix, who have similar shocked expressions on their faces, not having expected for a death to happen so suddenly and randomly in this town.

This was a long chapter with a whole lot of information. Lix is still suspicious of monsters, but Jisung just may be the one to melt his heart. You'll have to wait and see. I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. If you did, please vote, comment, follow me, add this story to your library and check out my other stories. I hope you have a great rest of your day and I'll see you next time :)

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