Chapter 48
Running With WolvesThe next day Sunrin woke up later than she expected. Taking a quick shower, it had e O’clock in the afternoon by the time she had finished her usual morning routine. She changed out of her pyjamas and into an over-sized cream sweater and a pair of dark denim shorts. She looked around her childhood bedroom where she had slept that night, memories running through her mind of all the time she had spent in this very room in the past. She couldn’t believe she had actually forgotten how much she loved living in this house.
Minah had slept in Sunggyu’s old bedroom last night but it was strangely quiet in the house. Surely Minah wasn’t still in bed. She wasn’t an early riser but staying in bed past noon had never been Minah’s style either.
Making her way down the staircase, She saw that the living room of the house was near enough in the same state as it was the night before. All of the house’s furniture that the Werewolves had left behind years ago were still hidden under big white sheets, protected from dust. Minah and Sunrin had agreed that they would remove the sheets sometime today. It was then that Sunrin had noticed that one sheet had already been removed.
The sheet that had been covering the side table by the couch was gone and now a scrap of paper rested on the dark wooden surface. Picking up the paper, Sunrin recognized the writing to be Minah’s.
‘Woobin came over offering to show me around town. Tried to wake you but you were dead to the world. Will be back soon, Love Minah x’
Sunrin re-read the letter before shrugging her shoulders. If Minah and Woobin were out together then Sunrin had the opportunity to do the one thing she had thought she would not have the chance to do this weekend.
Visit her Umma.
Skipping breakfast, Sunrin made her way to the front door. Taking off her slippers, She replaced them with a pair of white Sketchers.
Stepping outside, Sunrin felt the warm breeze as it weived through the tree that surrounded the house. The weather was nice today. She heaved out a sigh. She knew she had promised Minah that neither of them would end up going too deep into the forest but Sunrin knew it to be the fastest way to get to her Umma’s place of rest. Besides, she visited the place every year and she had yet to run into a wild wolf. She figured that she had spent that much time with the werewolves that she lived with that their scent might have rubbed off on her, a scent that warned the wild wolves to stay clear of her. With this new air of confidence about her, Sunrin began to make her way through the forest.
It didn’t take her long to find the route she would usually take to get to her Umma’s grave. She knew that if she walked this trail it would be ten minutes before she was stood in front of the small lake that her Umma’s grave stood beside. It sounded morbid to think that a seventeen year old’s Umma already had the sign of death planted on the earth above her. R.I.P
Once she reached the place her Umma was buried, she began to clean the headstone. Getting rid of the dead flowers, the flowers she and Sunggyu had left last year.
“Hey Umma. I know I’m here early this year. Are you surprised? I know I don’t have any flowers with me but I promise to bring some next time I visit.” She said, whipping the stone with her sleeve. She would put her sweater in the washer when she returned home.
She sighed as she read the gold engraving on the stone which the guys had all agreed upon when Sunrin was too young to even understand what a headstone was.
‘Rest In Peace. Now gone but never forgotten. Beloved Umma and Devoted Friend. Park Sunri’
It seemed like she had read the engraving a million times before.
Looking away, she found herself staring out across the lake in front of her. Sunggyu had told her that this lake had always been her Umma’s favourite place and she could now see why. It always seemed to have a calming effect on her.
Sunrin spent the next hour there. She told her Umma about her year, How the pack were doing, About her relationship with Myungsoo, and most importantly about her decision to transition into a Werewolf and her reason why. She knew her Umma had rejected that life for herself but Sunrin hoped that her Umma would understand her decision.
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After spending a little longer there in silence, Sunrin decided it was probably best to return home. She whispered her goodbyes to her Umma before turning away to start to make her way home. She inhaled a deep breath as she made her way through the large tree trunks. Saying goodbye was always the hardest part for Sunrin because she knew that she could not return to visit as often as she would have liked to. One of the cons of living in Seoul.
She carried on walking, her hand reaching out and grazing the side of a tree trunk. It was at that moment that she heard the sound of something snapping. She looked down at her feet to only find fallen leafs.
Then she heard a low rumbling sound. It was a familiar sound. The sound Sungyeol would usually make when he found out Sungjong had ate the last of the ice cream in the freezer, or the sound Myungsoo made when he thought so
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