Chapter LXXX – Why I Hate Horror Movies

Another sunny day came to an end as Arthur finished taking a shower. Wearing nothing but shorts, he walked downstairs as everyone agreed to watch a movie late at night. Some of the girls were still changing while Don and Tjay sat on the deck geeking out over games. Hyun wasn’t among them yet again as he spent most of his time glued to Nabi. Some found it annoying but never voiced their opinions.

Maybe it was the age difference but Amelia also often kept to herself apart from talking to a select few. She never missed out on group activities, but if there wasn’t anything major going on she’d find a quiet spot to chill. Arthur couldn’t blame her since he had times he wanted to do the same, but his advantage was that he could just grab Irene’s hand and drag her off wherever and she’d follow.

However, the one who kept to herself the most was none other than Iseul. While it always felt like she was around, Iseul never missed an opportunity to sneak away and grab a book to read. Arthur always wanted to ask her what kind of books she liked since every time he saw her, she held a new one.

Arthur entered the living room and saw Iseul laying on the couch with her legs dangling over the side, reading a black hardcover novel. Max sat across with his feet on the table and arms behind his head, whistling at Arthur which surprised Irene as she left the kitchen.

“Damn bro, you looking fit. . . Feels like you were the scrawny kid just yesterday. Might even get me to start working out again,” he gave Arthur a nod of approval before glancing at Irene who wore a bikini top and cut off shorts. “Talk about a power couple.”

“Thanks,” Irene said, pressing against Arthur’s side and kissing his cheek. “Now please take your feet of the table. . .”

“Too loud. . .” Iseul mumbled, flipping a page.

Irene chuckled as she slapped Arthur’s butt before walking over to Iseul.

“Reading anything fun?” she sat down next to her.

Looking up, Iseul wiggled closer before resting her head on Irene’s lap. While Amelia was her sister and she treated Sophie like one, the person closest to Irene out everyone was Iseul. Their friendship became noticeably stronger to the point where she could easily refer to her as her best friend. Arthur thought that it was kind of funny that the two reunited awkwardly.

“Yeah, ‘The Curse of Love’. It’s a horror, romance trilogy. You should give it a try,” she said as her eyes darted over the page.

“Oh! We should watch a horror movie,” Max suggested, devilishly grinning at Arthur.

“Sounds like fun,” Sophie said while walking up behind Arthur with Yeona and Ari, all in their pajamas. “Or is Oppa too scared?” she teased, leaning on his shoulder.

“Fine by me,” Arthur let out a sigh.

“You sure?” Irene looked worriedly.

Arthur assumed she asked because of his recent nightmare.

“Yup. . . Just a good old horror movie,” he shook his head.

“We watching horror?” Don asked surprised as he and Tjay entered the house. “If that’s so I have a killer vampire movie we could watch.”

“It’s Dracula, isn’t it?” Tjay asked.

“That’s not horror. . .” Don pointed out. “It’s a newer one called ‘True Vampire’.”

“Well, whatever we watch, we should move the couches to face the TV,” Irene sighed, knowing she’d have to get up.

“Come help me Tjay,” Max said, standing back up.

“Art, want to help me?” Irene asked waiting for Iseul to let her go, but the couch suddenly moved.

“Watch your legs,” Arthur said, pulling the couch into a better position with them still on it.

Irene blushed as he showed off his strength which she always found alluring, meanwhile Iseul simply flipped a page.

“Thanks. . .” she whispered smilingly before tapping next to her, showing him where to sit.

“I’ll call the others,” said Ari, running upstairs.

Eventually, everyone gathered and agreed with Don’s movie pick. Iseul got up and went to the kitchen to make snacks with Max and Sophie helping her out. They baked chocolate cookies which melted in Arthur’s mouth every time he took a bite, proving once again that Iseul was a goddess in the kitchen. It was enough for everyone in the house to worship her. Tjay even commented how he hoped his wife could one day cook like her. However, Max was quick to smack him over the head saying that he shouldn’t be getting any weird ideas.

Amelia and Don set up the movie together while everyone sort of picked their spots to sit. Nabi used the opportunity to lay down on Hyun while Sophie managed to convince Ari and Yeona to caress her back by being overly needy, cute, and outright annoying.

Once everyone was ready, Tjay turned off the lights and the movie began. The moonlight was the only source of light they had which set the atmosphere perfectly.

It was Iseul, Amelia, Irene, and Arthur on a couch. Irene grabbed a blanket to cover the two up as Arthur wrapped his arm around her, allowing her head to rest on his chest.

“Hey. . .” she whispered so quietly that even Arthur had a hard time hearing her. “I have to ask. . . Do you hate horrors because they make you remember things?”

She was worried they made Arthur uncomfortable which was why she was initially against the idea.

“We’ll talk later, but no. . .” he whispered back, smilingly kissing her on the forehead. “I just get too invested and being unable to help while they act like idiots gets me anxious. It’s not like I’m afraid of things like that. Ghosts on the other hand are frightening. . .”

The movie itself wasn’t all that scary at first as a group of young men who were journalists went to a remote village in Croatia. It was supposedly where the first ever tale depicting a vampire started. The village appeared normal at first and they stayed there for a few days but then things started to get weird. The villagers kept asking them when they were going to leave and one of their friends ended up disappearing. It was later revealed that he was attacked as they found his body withered from being drained. The long and final night started when a girl realized that the villagers weren’t normal and it turned into a nightmarish hunt where everyone in the village was secretly an undead in service to the true vampire.

Arthur twitched more than once during the movie but tried to keep it in the best he could. There was even a point where the innkeeper that rented them rooms tried to bite one of them and Arthur felt uneasy as they kept avoiding the obvious solutions. Irene found it cute so at one point when the tension got high, she used the opportunity to lean closer to Arthur’s neck and give it a bite.

There was no way of knowing how Arthur would react and in her position, many wouldn’t risk triggering some hidden trauma he might’ve had. However, she trusted him and it paid off as he simply gasped for air. He bit his lips and turned red as he almost let out a moan which made Irene’s eyes go wide with excitement. Arthur felt her hand touch his inner thigh where the shorts didn’t cover. They were covered with a blanket so she could do whatever she wanted. She used the opportunity to drag her nails across his skin while nibbling on his neck.

“Stop. . .” Arthur managed to whisper, having a hard time telling her no.

Irene eased up before pulling away, leaving a hickey on his neck. Luckily everyone was too focused on the movie to notice what they were doing.

“Tasty. . .” she teased, sitting back properly.

Arthur let out a sigh, closing his eyes. He ended up missing a jump scare where they revealed the first vampire to be the village elder.

Arthur wasn’t the only one who was bad with horror movies. While Amelia was jittery during jump scares, Iseul who sat next to Irene had reactions that were on par with Arthur’s. Noticing, Irene offered her the comfort of the blanket which she gladly accepted. Seeing her curled up like a ball, Irene looked sympathetically and asked Arthur if he was fine with losing her attention for a bit which made him chuckle. Until the end of the movie which wasn’t that far off, Irene got closer to Iseul wrapping her arms around her. She wondered why Iseul even accepted if she was so afraid of horror movies.

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With the true vampire defeated in an epic action sequence, the movie came to an end with a few survivors able to tell the tale. However, the post-credits scene showed one of the presumably deceased undead waking up with their eyes purple instead of blood red which meant the awakening of a new true vampire.

“Fuck. . . There’s gonna be a sequel,” Iseul let out a sigh.

“Alright, that’s it for me. . .” Sophie got up, stretching her arms back. “I’m off to sleep guys, you have fun.”

“I’m gonna go as well,” Yeona mentioned as she had her eyes closing up from exhaustion.

“Anyone wanna hang out longer?” Tjay asked.

“I’m down,” Nabi spoke up.

“I’m gonna go shower and sleep in early as well,” Amelia mentioned. “I have to drive to town early in the morning.”

“Oh? What’s up?” Irene asked surprised.

“Balam asked me to help her out,” she explained.

“Need any help?” Arthur offered.

“Thanks, but she just needs someone to drive around. It’s just that she needs me at six in the morning, so I have to get at least five hours of sleep in.”

“Want me to make sure you’re awake?” Iseul offered since she woke up around that time every morning despite how long she stayed up.

“If you don’t see me in the kitchen drinking coffee, please do. . .”

“Got it. What about the rest?” Iseul asked. “I’m fine with staying up.”

“Guess I’ll stay. . .” Hyun mumbled, looking somewhat disappointed.

“Art?” Irene looked at him, allowing him to pick if they go to bed or not.

“I’m down, but I just need to get something to drink. . .”

“I could use a cold one as well,” Max spoke up.

“Not gonna drink alcohol, but I’ll bring you one,” Arthur pointed out.

“Ari, you staying or?” Yeona asked since they shared the room.

“Yeah. . . I’ll make sure to be careful and not wake you up.”

“’’Kay,” she said, heading toward her room.

“We could tell horror stories. . .” Don suggested. “Mix in a bit of ambient music as well.”

“Where did that come from?” Max asked, taking the drink Arthur brought him.

“Do you have a story in mind?” Iseul asked.

“I do, but I ain’t that good at storytelling. . .” he averted his gaze.

“What do you mean? I loved reading your stories,” Ari pointed out.

“You wrote stories?” Tjay looked at him.

“You weren’t supposed to tell. . .”

“Why not?” Irene interrupted. “Sounds cool. Mind if I have a look sometime?”

“Ah, sure but it’s really not that great. . .”

“How about you let me be the judge of that?” she smiled, leaning into Arthur’s arms.

“You got this Don,” Arthur encouraged him. “I’m intrigued by what type of stories you have to tell us. Might inspire me to tell one myself one day.”

“You’re gonna tell us a horror story?” Max started to snicker, making Tjay laugh.

“What’s so funny about that?” Iseul stared at Max.

“Oi,” Irene coldly glared at both.

While she didn’t mind people teasing Arthur and making fun of him for something silly he did, she disliked when anyone underestimated him.

“Fine, fine. . .” Max laughed. “You’re getting even more overprotective than before.”

Hearing him say that made Irene realize that she might’ve overreacted before about something she didn’t remember, making her overthink things. Truthfully, she never got mad for real and was just playing around, but didn’t think about it potentially becoming annoying.

“That’s fine,” Arthur wrapped his arms around her, smirking at Max. “Who’s gonna protect me if not her?”

Irene turned red as her eyes went wide for a second before she relaxed, closing her eyes and laying into him.

“Cringe. . .” Tjay mumbled.

“Jealous. . .” Iseul whispered back to Tjay teasingly.

“I’m not!” he defended himself.

“I am. . . Jeez. . .” Max sighed. Hearing him say that, Iseul got up and sat next to him, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him into a tight hug. “Noona. . .” He complained but didn’t resist at all.

* * *

“It was a dark and stormy night at the cabin hidden in the woods,” Don started telling a story after everyone settled down and sat in a circle, a candle resting in the middle being the only source of light apart from the moon. Nighttime forest ambient music played in the background. “A group of teenagers went on a trip during summer break-”

“Why is it always teenagers?” Tjay interrupted.

“Shut up. . .” Max smacked him over the head again. “If you don’t wanna listen, go away.”

“But this is where I sleep. . .”

“Let Don tell the story. . .” Nabi sighed.

“Fine, sorry. . . Was just a question.”

Arthur refrained from saying it, but he too wondered why it was always teenagers.

“Sorry Don, go on,” Ari spoke up.

“Alright. . .” Don glanced at Tjay before looking back at everyone. “Where was I? Ah. . . Right. . . A group of teenagers went on a trip during summer break. They too, similar to us, went alone to a remote cabin hidden away from the outside world. . .”

“We literally have neighbors not that far out. . .” Tjay mumbled.

Max was the only one that could hear him.

“What they didn’t know was that they were not alone in the forest. There had been rumors of disappearances occurring over the past few decades, but everyone always assumed it was either wolves or a bear. . .”

Don proceeded to tell a surprisingly vivid story about the group enjoying themselves until a masked man started circling the house for days. He’d watch their movements and look for an opportune moment to strike. Late at night, he ruined their car and cut off their phone line. Because they didn’t ride anywhere, they hadn’t figured out it was broken and assumed that the phone line was cut by some tiny critter. Eventually, he made his move by kidnapping a girl that went out to a nearby lake, the first victim of the story. The hunt began and over the next three days, panic and terror filled them as they had no way of escaping.

“That night, the rain started to fall as a flash of bright light warned them of a loud thunder that was to come.”

Sometimes nature had a sense of humor as a flash of bright light lit the room before a cracking sound of thunder struck a second later in the distance. It was enough to make Nabi scream.

“Woah!” Max and Tjay yelled simultaneously as rain started.

Irene got up and closed the deck door.

Nobody checked the forecast, but it was supposed to be raining all night as well as tomorrow.

“You okay?” Hyun asked Nabi who screamed moments ago, hugging him tightly.

“Still afraid of thunder, huh?” Tjay mentioned, feeling a bit awkward watching Hyun hold her.

He didn’t say it, but he was jealous more than he expected. While he tried to be cool about it and not make a scene, he would on occasion throw a glare at Hyun when nobody was looking. He believed that Hyun was aware and thus refused to hang out with them. But, if they were going to stay friends, he needed to get over it.

“Did you just summon a storm on us?” Max teased.

“I told you he was good at telling stories,” Ari chuckled. “They even manifest into reality.”

“Maybe we can skip manifesting a serial killer?” Iseul sighed.

“I’m sure we’d be fine if we were them,” Irene proudly said, feeling safe next to Arthur after sitting back down.

“I’d rather not find out. . .” Nabi commented with a low voice.

“We’d totally kick his ass,” Tjay bragged.

“But he used weapons,” Don pointed out.

“How about we continue with the story?” Arthur suggested as he covered himself and Irene with a blanket again.

“Sure. . .” Don said before continuing.

The rest of the story was fairly predictable, almost as if it was following a movie script. The story’s main character found a weapon and managed to injure the masked serial killer before running off to an abandoned hunter’s cabin near the mountain. He and his girlfriend were the only survivors as they found an old radio they used to call for help. They tried to hide but the killer found them and captured the girl, forcing the boyfriend to save her by overcoming the challenge and beating the killer. Eventually, a rescue party came and took them home, ending the long-unsolved case.

Everyone clapped by the end of it.

“Damn, that was fun,” Iseul said. “You made it sound like one of the novels I’ve read not too long ago. Have you thought about writing for real?”

“I don’t know. . .”

“You should try it,” Nabi encouraged him.

“I agree,” Hyun said, trying to engage a bit more in the conversation. “If you’re not up for writing a full novel, you can always make short stories and post them on the web.”

“That could work. . .”

The discussion about Don posting stories online continued for a while before everyone went to their rooms.

Now that it was Irene and Arthur alone again in bed, rainfall still hitting the window, they could continue their talk.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Arthur smiled as Irene hovered over him.

“What do you mean?” she kept smirking, biting her lower lip.

Arthur blushed, averting his gaze and covering the neck with his hand where she left her mark.

“You just make me want to eat you up,” she whispered, nibbling on his earlobe before kissing his cheek.

Fed up with her taking the initiative, he grabbed her by the waist and rolled her to the side, ending up being the one on top.

“What should I do with you?” he kept smiling, looking at her lips.

“Art. . .” she whispered, looking like she had something to say or ask.

“What’s up?”

“I know I keep asking this a lot, but you truly don’t have anything that makes you act out?”

“You mean cuz of my past?” He asked to which Irene nodded. “No,” he chuckled. “Even when I was living through those nightmares at the time, I knew how to deal with my emotions. Training in martial arts teaches you how to overcome such trivial fears, and fighting makes you numb after a while.”

“But you were afraid to tell me the truth. . .”

“That’s a different type of fear though. I’ve never felt such a strong attachment to someone as I do for Sophie and you. Losing either of you would be worse than death. Trust me, I know. . .” he snickered, making a joke about his past which didn’t amuse Irene one bit.

“You’re impossible,” she sighed.

“Relax. . .” he kissed her forehead. “I’m perfectly fine. I’ve seen plenty of people suffering from trauma because of war and monsters that in this world can’t even be comprehended. Even if one were to appear now, I’d be calm since that’s what I’m used to. Telling you how I feel and revealing my secret that sounds unbelievable at the risk of losing you forever isn’t something I’ve ever experienced before. You should hear how much Sophie struggled to teach me how to use stuff around the house. To this day I stay away from the remote since I’m afraid I’ll break the picture.”

“What do you mean by breaking the picture?” she looked confused.

“Last time I played around with the remote, the screen started flickering on and off and I didn’t know what was happening. I just ended up turning the whole thing off.”

Hearing him say that, Irene burst into laughter.

“Sorry!” she kept laughing, struggling to calm down.

“I don’t mind you laughing,” he said with a soft smile.

“God. . .” she finally stopped. Cupping his face, she tilted her head slightly before whispering, “Don’t worry, I’ll show you when we’re alone. Ask me whenever you don’t know something, okay?”

Arthur nodded, savoring her warm touch.

“So. . . What about your nightmares?” she asked.

“Ah. . . They’re rare,” he explained. “I’ve had a few back home but Sophie helped me get through them. She’d come into my room and sneak up next to me. After a while, they stopped.”

“That’s sweet,” she smiled charmingly.

“I haven’t had one in a while, but I guess revealing my secret made me subconsciously worried that something might happen. While I’m not afraid to face challenges, regardless of what they are, I’m afraid of losing you. Once I accept that my old life is behind me, I’ll be no different than the others.”

“What a silly fear. Don’t you get it? You’re stuck with me forever,” she whispered, running her fingers through his hair.

Arthur leaned in for a kiss and the two soon fell asleep to the sound of rain.

Chapter End.

Thank you for reading.