Morning came with birds chirping outside Rein's window, on the tree. Her eyes squinted at the sudden brightness that's intruding from the gap of her curtains. Blinking, she tried to turn her body but realised she was locked in arms of someone. She lifted the blanket and looked into it before seeing an arm around her waist. Looking up to her left, Jinki's sleeping face came into vision and it took her a while to register what had happened last night and the last thing she remembered was Jinki singing into her ears as she laid in his arms on the kitchen floor. So she had fallen asleep there? Then how did she end up on bed? With him?

              Taking a deep breath, the smell of Jinki infused into her nose and it kind of made her dizzy for a moment. He smells so nice. Unknowingly, her hand reaches out to push the fringe away from Jinki's face before tracing his neat eyebrows. Followed by the bridge of his nose, to his cheek, and finally his jawline. His skin was so smooth, just like a girl's. Her eyes fall on his lips as she her own lips.

              "What am I doing?" Rein questioned herself as her hand retreated in a hurry upon realising what she was doing. Just then, the muscle under her head moved and before she wonder where was Jinki's other arm, it was under her head serving as her pillow.

              Jinki softly moaned as his eyes flutter opened. He smiled as soon as Rein's face appear before him, "hey...you're up."

              "Yeah, hi...I mean...morning."

              For once, she was shy. Who won't? Breaking down in front of a person that she knew only for days and then waking up to his face the next morning.

              "You okay?" Jinki asked as he plopped himself up on his arm and running a hand through his tousled hair. "Yeah. Thank you," she smiled.

              Silence falls between them that made both of them awfully awkward. Jinki cleared his throat as he looked around the room that he didn't notice last night. It was painted red in colour with simple furniture that he didn't thought a girl should have.

              "So...today's Saturday, we don't have to go school," he tried to strike up a conversation but he knew he failed as soon as Rein nodded her head. End of conversation.

              "I...I should get going," Jinki stood up from the bed before straightening his shirt. Rein felt disappointed but she didn't know why. The bed bounced a little when Jinki got up from it and that's when she felt empty, both inside and out, like she didn't want him to leave.

              "Wait...can you get me my bear?" she looked at him with pleading eyes, hoping that he could get her message which was she doesn't want him to leave. "Yeah sure, living room right?"

              "Yeah..." She slapped herself mentally, who the hell was going to get her hint when she phrases it that way? "Wait Jinki,"

              "Hmm?" He turned around just as he was about to step out of her room.

              "I..."

              Rein stopped as soon as she realised what she was going to say. It's not like Jinki was her boyfriend or something, like how could she actually ask him to stay with her? Even though she wanted to be best friends with him, there's a limit to it too. She hung her head low without completing her sentence.

              After a while, which she thought that he had already left, the Rilakkuma bear landed on her lap. She looked up and saw Jinki sitting on the bed, in front of her. 

              "You wanted me to stay?" He asked quietly, earning a hesitant nod from the girl.

              "Alright then," he smiled as he tugged himself inside the blanket again. This time, putting his arm straight across the pillow as he signaled for her to lie down.

              Rein laughed, hugging the bear close to her chest before lying down on his arm, close to his chest.

              "What does your dad work as?" Jinki asked, staring at her ceiling as if it was the most amazing thing right now.

              "Some researcher? He wanted to publish a book. Some legend or something I forgot. I mean, it's kind of pointless," she sighed.

              "You don't sound like you're on good term with your dad,"

              "I certainly don't. But he's still my dad, that fact will never change."

              Jinki laughed as he ruffled her hair with the hand that she's lying on. "You know, I'm not on good term with my dad either. Taemin too,"

              Rein's ear perked up at the topic. As far as she's concern, Jinki never talk about his family. Well, at least not in the past days of their meeting. But come to think of it, who will talk about their family as soon as they met new friends?

              "Why?" She questioned, playing with the foot of the bear while staring at the ceiling too.

              "He was like...superior. We don't dare to talk back to him."

              "You're afraid of him?"

              Am I? Jinki asked himself.

              "No, I'm afraid for him."

              "And why?"

              "Because he's so superior that...I couldn't do what he's doing. I mean, I won't do it as good as he did so I'm...kind of afraid for him, like..." Jinki sighed, hovering an arm over his face to stop himself from thinking about it. He's supposed to be human right now; it's not a time to be thinking stuff regarding foxes.

              "Relax Jinki," she speaks in a motherly way, removing his hand from covering his face. "Everything will be fine when the time comes," she smiled.

              Jinki felt somersaults in his tummy when he saw her white pearls flashing at him. What is this feeling? He was yearning for her, wanting her to be in his arms. He never felt this way before. It was a totally new feeling, whole new world for him.

              Jinki turned his body so that he was facing her. "So when will your dad be back?"

              "No idea. He might just pop up," Rein haven't notice Jinki's change in posture. She was still concentrating on the ceiling as if something was going to drop out from it. "And what if he saw us lying together, on the bed?"

              "Then," Rein tilted her head to where Jinki was lying, she gasped when she realised how close his face was to hers with his eyes staring right into her soul. "-we will be dead."

              "So I guess, if I want to..." He whispered, letting the scent of Rein's hair invade his nostrils. "-kiss you, then it will be now?"

              And with that, he pressed his lips up against Rein's before closing his eyes.

"Hongki—"

              "Stop, just stop it."

              "No wait—"

              "Seunghyun, really. I'm sick and tired of all the bulls. Stop telling me what to do with my body,"

              The black fox had its eyes wide opened as it stared hard at Hongki, "I mean, I'm just trying to say that the water is boiling."

              Hongki's tensed up face soften as he realised that he had been boiling water in the kitchen. Sighing and running a hand through his hair, he stood up from the couch and walked over to the kitchen before turning the stove off.

              "Mianhae," he mumbled, leaning against the counter, covering his face with his palms.

              "Hongki, relax. Things are not as complicated as you see-"

              "No, things are complicated. Seunghyun, you've no idea."

              "I really have no idea. I mean, it's tough on you I know but-"

              "Seunghyun, I'm really sorry but can you please leave me alone? Whenever I thought that I can quiet down, people just pop up one by one and talk to me about s that either I'm not interested or I don't want to talk about it."

              "So they came right? It's faint but I could still smell it. The princes were here aren't they?"

              Hongki dropped his hands and heaved a defeated sigh, "yeah they were here."

              "So Jinki came and talked about Emma?" Seunghyun padded slowly towards Hongki and lay down in front of him, with his body against Hongki's foot.

              "No. Not about Emma," Hongki gritted his teeth. "No one talks about Emma, no one. Including you."

              He turned to the basin and scooped water onto his face after turning the faucet on. With water still hanging off his chin, he rested his hands on the either sides of the sink.

              "You really do need time alone. Call me if you need me. I'll come," and the fox disappeared.

              Hongki his lips, wiping water off his chin with the back of his hand before fishing out his cell phone.

              "Rein? Are you free?............. I'll be waiting for you at the usual spot,"

              He thought about her the moment everything quiets down. It's like she was part of his life already and that every time he's either troubled or sick, he will find Rein and talk to her about it. He likes her, that's why he trusts her. But will the like ever turn into love? Maybe, just maybe, Rein might be the girl after Emma to bring another genuine smile onto Hongki's face.

              Taking long strides into the cafe that Rein and him usually went to after school, he sat down at the usual spot which they claimed that it was their table. It was in the utmost left corner where no one will enter because everyone just sit at some place where they can conveniently come and go. But not both of them, they somehow preferred to stay in a corner so that they can have their own privacy.

              Staring out from the glass wall that was dividing the cafe and the main road, he saw numerous couple passing by hand in hand. Sighing, he leaned back against the seat casually.

              "Hongki!" Rein slapped his shoulder before going to the seat opposite of him.

              "Anything? Why did you ask me out?" She asked after pulling her seat in with her bag on the lap. Digging through her bag, she pulled out her cell phone and unlocked it; staring at the screen and smiling like a fool.

              "I...I just want to see you," he had noticed Rein's mood the moment she came, why was she in such a good mood?

              "What?" Rein raised an eyebrow, taking her eyes off the screen for a second. “What did you said?”

              "I said I—"

              "Look, I took this picture with Jinki. Isn't he cute?" She grinned widely while pushing the phone into Hongki's hand where he blinked and took it hesitantly.

              "With Jinki?" He asked, looking at the wallpaper which used to be him and her. And now, it's Jinki and her, with Jinki's arm over her shoulder and both smiling like there's no tomorrow.

              "You were with him before this?" His tone changed, it became more firm and low and it somehow finally caught Rein's attention.

              "Yeah and, why did you find me for anyway?" She raised an eyebrow, taking her phone back from Hongki's grip but his grip on the phone tightens just so that Rein couldn't take.

              "Rein. I like you," he confessed.

              It's now or never. He's going to get her before Jinki does, he doesn't want to lose his girl to Jinki twice. No way.

              "What?" Rein blinked, shocked by his sudden confession. All her good feelings about him was gone in an instinct because she thought that he doesn't want to confess was because he sense that Rein doesn't feel the same way. But now? It was like he was forcing her to say something, even if it means to hurt him.

              She sighed, keeping her hands to herself, with the phone still in Hongki's possession. "Hongki, you know—"

                            "Rein, you can not like me. But you can't stop me from liking you."

Hongki's determined eyes pierced right into Rein's guilty ones. She doesn't want to hurt him. Not in the past, not now, not in the future. She always thought of Hongki as her best friend. Always.

              "I'll prove to you, Rein. I'll make you fall in love with me."

              With that, Hongki placed the phone gently on the table before standing up and left the cafe.

"So you had a night with Rein?"

              "Taemin, I just slept with her and we didn't do anything. Stop phrasing it into so...ually weird," Jinki rolled his eyes while leaning against the kitchen counter. Pixie was brushing her furry body against Jinki's leg with her tail swinging left and right on the ground.

              "Whatever." His dongsaeng scoffed, "and I went to find Hongki yesterday. Hyung, I have something to discuss with you. About Hongki."

              Taemin dragged a chair out and sit in it with his elbows resting on the table. Once Jinki took note of how serious Taemin's expression was, he carefully stepped over the wolf and went to the table as well.

              "Hongki. I don't know if you had notice but," he took a breath before continuing. "-there's a fox developing in his body and it's threatening to take over him."

              "What??" Jinki leaned in, not sure if he heard it correctly. How can he not know about this? Hongki was his best friend.

              "You sure? And he knows about it?"

              "He knows. Hyung, he knows. He even knew that if he keeps on battling with the beast inside, his soul is going to tear apart." Taemin leaned back against the seat, crossing his arms across his chest. "-and by that time, it's the end for him."

EMIZ's Dungeon

Hi readers /waves/