When Blood Meets Silver

Chapter 36

"She's saying she wants to be a vampire!" Hyejoo pointed at Chaewon. "She wants me to turn her!"

Jiwoo gasped, and Hyunjin only let her eyes grow bigger.

"Just let me explain!" Chaewon cried.

"There is nothing to explain, I won't do it!"

"Hyejoo, that's enough," Hyunjin said. "Chaewon, please explain."

Chaewon swallowed and sniffed, taking a relieved breath.

"What? Why aren't you telling her that's ridiculous?!" Hyejoo frowned at Hyunjin.

"Can you shut up for a second, please?"

Hyejoo clenched her jaw, her nostrils flaring. "Whatever, I don't wanna listen to this bullshit."

She dashed to the door, but Hyunjin grabbed her arm in time. "I won't let you run away this time. You'll stay and listen before calling someone's feelings bullshit."

Hyejoo rolled her eyes, but stopped fighting.

"It's about my hand!" Chaewon said, raising her right hand. "I talked to Jihyo today, she said it can take months to heal, but I also have a chance of losing my whole hand. But if I get turned, it will heal in no time. I know I won't have my fingers back, but at least I don't need to lose my hand or be incapacitated for months! We're going to battle in a few days and I want to make myself useful instead of a nuisance, a dead weight that needs to stay put or to be protected. I'm tired of being the weakling that always stays in the back and can't fight alone. I've been thinking about this the whole day, and I've made my choice."

Hyejoo pulled her arm away from Hyunjin's grip. "I can and will protect you-"

"I don't want you to! I can fend for myself, I can also be there for you! Can't you see that if you're always thinking of protecting me, you can't even protect yourself properly? Do you think I would find any joy in you getting hurt in my place?"

"And you need to be turned for that?"

Chaewon shook her head in disbelief. "You're being a selfish ass, did you know that? You started yelling at me before I even had a chance to finish. Why do you always think you know what's best for me better than I do myself? You're not my mother!"

"Selfish?" Hyejoo dropped her chin and scoffed. "I'm thinking about you, I'm putting you above everything else, and I'm being selfish?!"

"No, Hyejoo, you're thinking about what you want for me, and not what I want. You want me to stay human so you're the one protecting me. That's not what I want. I'm tired, so tired of it, I just want to be strong like you are."

"You don't need to become a vampire for that!"

"Yeah, but right now it's my best chance at keeping my hand, and possibly my life. Did you know such an infection has a chance of spreading throughout my whole body and I could actually die? Are you going to wait until that happens and my body is too weak to handle the transformation?"

"And you expect me to turn you? Voluntarily?!"

"If you don't do it, I will," Hyunjin said, earning widened eyes from everyone, except for Hyejoo, who threw her a glare that could pierce through her skin.

She took a step closer to Hyunjin, frowning so hard a vein popped in her temple. "You will not-"

"Get out," Hyunjin spat. "I changed my mind. Go get some air."

"Hyunjin, i-it's late," Jiwoo said, her voice quivering.

"I don't care." Hyunjin kept staring Hyejoo dead in the eyes. "I really care for you Hyejoo, and I know you can be a hardheaded, but you're crossing the line. You're making this a hundred times worse than it needs to be, and Chaewon has a point. If it can save her hand, then you should even be glad, not making a scene like this."