“Hi, are you new?”

A voice to your left startled you back to reality.

You turned to your left to see a boy around sixteen or seventeen smiling at you. “Um...Yeah.” You stammered, still feeling yourself tremble as you spoke.

“Are you okay?” He asked with concern. “You look really pale.”

You nodded. “I’m fine.” You mustered up a queasy smile. “Just fine.”

He chuckled quietly. “Okay, cool. I’m Kevin. Nice to meet you!”

“__________.”

“Is it okay if I sit here?” Another beautiful smile.

You shrugged. “Sure.”

As he sat down, you took a good look at him.

He had a slender build, but you could still tell that he was quite strong. He has a bright blue tattoo in the shape of a the sun on his left cheek. It was a plain blue, with no other colours. He has a smooth baby face and you were sure that if he had longer hair, he could possibly pass for a girl.

You sighed as you took out the school’s notebook and began taking notes on the lesson about the general expectations of the werewolf society.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

You sighed wearily as you exited the classroom and into the busy hallway.

“!”

Your senses grew alert as you recognized the shrill voice.

Sun Hee came storming over as she glared at you.

You stood your ground with clenched fists, your backpack balanced on your left shoulder.

All the students in the hallway spread apart, letting Sun Hee come over to you.

She stood in front of you. “You’re a .” She spat in your face. “Did you know that?”

“If anyone is a here,” You replied calmly with satisfaction. “it’s you, Sun Hee.”

Her eyes flashed. “What the hell did you just say?!” She raised her hand at you and you realized she was about to do what she had done to you earlier in the changeroom and mortify you in front of everyone.

“‘I-”

Somebody pushed you away and stood in front of you, protecting you from Sun Hee. “Sun Hee. STOP.”

Kevin Woo stood in front of you, his brown hair falling over his eyes as he spoke. “You need to stop, Sun Hee.”

“Get OUT of my way, Kevin!”

He shook his head. “You’re always the same, Sun Hee.”

You blinked, confused.

Whispers rose from the student spectators crowding around the scene.

“Kevin..” You murmured quietly. “This is between me and Sun Hee. There’s no need for you to get involved.”

He was silent for a moment before stepping back to stand beside you.

You stayed emotionless as you turned and walked away, Sun Hee still glaring as Kevin followed you out of the scene.

“__________.” You felt Kevin gently touch your arm.

You turned to see him looking at you with concern.

He looked you in the eye. “What’s with you and Sun Hee?”

You sighed and reached for your ponytail, pulling out the elastic, letting your hair fall over your shoulders and your face. “I...Don’t know.”

He put his hands on your shoulders comfortingly. “I just met you, _________, but I like you. You’re different.” He smiled. “And I really don’t want you to get hurt.”

There was a comforting silence that fell upon the two of you and you felt yourself trembling.

Kevin, with his hands still on your shoulders suddenly pulled you into a hug, your head falling on his chest.

His steady heartbeat made you feel calmer and you let him hold you like that in his comforting arms.

“I’m here for you,” Kevin murmured quietly. “whenever, wherever.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You saw Dongho on your way back to the girls dorms a few times, but you quickly ducked away into the busy crowd of students.

When you entered the empty dorm, you rushed to your room and locked the door behind you. You leaned against the back of the door and slid to the ground, feeling dizzy and uneasy.

I really don’t want to fight Sun Hee...

Your hands turned into fists.

But I’m going to have to.

You bit down on the side of your cheek.

And it’s up to me whether I want to stay in this school or not.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By the time Nana had returned, it was already 5 in the evening. She came in and avoided eye contact, not saying a word.

And it remained like that for the rest of the evening, even all through dinner in the cafeteria.

When the two of you returned to the room after dinner, you changed into your sweatpants, ready to go to sleep.

“___________?”

Slightly surprised at her sudden voice, you hesitated a split second before you answered. “Yeah?”

“I’m...I’m sorry.”

You blinked and sat cross legged on your bed, facing her. “For...what?”

“Today.” She said quietly, crossing the room to sit on top of her own bed, her long pale legs dangling over the edge as she faced you. “I ignored you because... I wasn’t sure. It was really sudden, with you being an alpha and everything but...”

“It’s okay.” You said as you sighed. “I don’t really want to be an alpha anyway.”

“M-mwoh?” She stammered. “Why would anyone not want to be an alpha?”

You shrugged. “I’m going to sleep, Nana.” You climbed under the soft blankets, wrapping yourself in warmth.

She continued to sit on the edge of her bed, staring at you.

Finally, after a few minutes, she climbed into her own bed. “I just want you to know, that if you’re ever in trouble or you need help, I’ll be here for you.”

You let silence settle over the two of you before you spoke again. “Why are you so nice to me, Nana?”

She paused before she spoke and you could tell she was smiling in the darkness. “It’s  because I’m your friend, ________. And friends don’t leave each other. Ever.” She turned away. “Good night, ________.”

You shivered and let yourself sink into a comforting darkness as you closed your eyes. “Nana?”

“Hm?”

You bit your lip. “Why does Dongho dislike Sun Hee so much?”

“Everyone dislikes Sun Hee.”

You shook your head, your eyes still closed. “Dongho seems...to dislike her for a different reason.”

Nana sighed. “I don’t know if I should be telling you this...” She hesitated. “But I can trust you not to tell anyone, right?”

“Yeah.”

“When Dongho first arrived at Dal’s, he fell for Hana. She was the school’s female alpha and not surprisingly, she was crushed on by many boys of our school.” Nana paused, and for a moment, all you could hear was the sound of her quiet breathing. “However, she chose Dongho out of all the people. They loved each other a lot, you could tell. Half a year later, Sun Hee arrived at our school.”

“And?”

Nana continued. “When she was discovered to be an alpha, they immediately put her under training to face Hana in a fight at the end of the school year. Everyone expected Hana to win, she was very powerful and strong.” She paused again. “But Sun Hee was stronger. After the fight, Sun Hee had won, and not only had she won, she had killed Hana in the process too.”

Your breath caught in your throat.

“I still remember. When it was clear that Sun Hee had won, Dongho jumped from his seat and rushed out into the arena. He was crying and holding Hana in his arms. He held her like that until she died. Of course, there are no rules about killing another alpha if you already are an alpha. And when Hana died, Dongho turned into a different person. He started to hate people and he wasn’t as nice as he was before.”

You swallowed.

“Hana meant everything to him and Sun Hee had just taken her away from him without even feeling bad about it. And now...” She sighed. “He’s better, I guess, but he’s never fully recovered.”

You gulped a fresh breath of air. “I...never thought that would happen to somebody like Dongho.”

“I shouldn’t have told you this, _________.”

You shook your head. “I won’t tell.”

“You should sleep.” Nana said quietly. “But now that I think of it, you look a lot like Hana. I can tell Dongho likes you a lot.” She turned around. “Good night, __________.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~