The Turning

(Twenty- Nine)

I.M nibbled at his bottom lips as he paced the room. Earlier in the day, Hangil requested Jooheon to train as usual. A sigh left his lips as he stopped walking and rested his back against the wall. Every single time Jooheon stepped out of the door he was worried. Hangil had been giving constant praise to the new vampire. Jooheon was improving, slowly, but at a faster pace than before and this worried I.M. He didn’t know if Hangil’s training was harming Jooheon even more. There was a huge possibility that Hangil’s training was making Jooheon’s emotionless state worse.

The door opened.

“Changkyun.”

I.M winced at the sound of his name. He turned to look at Councilman Ji, eyes narrowed. The older vampire stood in the doorway arms crossed upon his chest. I.M wished for one day of peace. He was tired of the constant visits from the council. The only visitor he wanted was Jooheon and his human friends if possible.

“Hangil wants to speak with you.”

“He always wants to speak with me.”

Ji eyed him. “Don’t annoy me. The last thing I wanted to do with my free time was talk with you.”

I.M snorted.

“He wants to meet you in his office so come along quietly. I don’t want to hear anything from you.”

I.M looked at him, suspicious. Hangil never called him to his office. He wasn’t sure he liked the new change of scenery. He had gotten used to sitting in the room and waiting for others to come to him. This new change in routine worried him. He wanted to decline but he decided against it. Ji seemed to be in a bad mood, and he didn’t have the strength to provoke the other by saying no.

“Fine.”

Ji narrowed his eyes at his response and then gestured for him to exit first. I.M toyed with the idea of escaping, but he knew his idea was dangerous. There were two humans in the council building and he still didn’t know their exact location. He imagined the council would rip the humans to shreds if he tried anything. And the last thing he wanted was to hurt Jooheon anymore than he already had.

“So, you aren’t going to tell me why I am being summoned at least?” I.M asked, focused ahead.

“I told you I don’t want to hear your voice.”

I.M rolled his eyes. Councilman Ji had never been a pleasant individual. In all their council meetings he was quick to gift him with insults. He knew the older vampire despised him just as much as Hangil did.

They didn’t walk for long before they arrived at Hangil’s office. On their right was the conference room where all the clan meetings were held.  I.M returned his focus to the door in front of him. Councilman Ji reached out, knocking on the door. The older vampire stepped back and waited. The door opened.

“Come in.”

I.M hesitated in the doorway. A nudge to his shoulder pushed him into the room. He glared over his left shoulder at Ji. He wished the other hadn’t shoved him but there was nothing he could do about it. He entered the room, ignoring the tiny spike of fear within him.

“Have a seat.”

I.M glanced at Hangil who sat at the desk, fingers laced, a bright grin on his lips. He narrowed his eyes at the smile on the other’s face. Hangil didn’t deserve to be happy about anything. He wished he could remove the smile from the other’s face.