The abandoned Museum of South Korean History in Seoul had been closed for several decades by now. The once crowded full-of-life halls of the said museum are now far from its original architecture. Yes, the great Gothic ambiance which had told the cachet of the old museum through all those years is still there, but things have changed as time deteriorated its pure grandiose: the high spiky gates which surrounds the museum was coated with rust as they got oxygenated by time, the once sturdy and strong walls which safeguard the precious artefacts and books were crawled with cracks and scraped painted wallpapers all over, the skyscraper-like glass windows which usually gave the museum its magnificent image are now close to shattering into sparkling shards and pieces. After several years, it is now far from its usual splendid. Once it was a place of just South Korean’s colourful history, but now it seems like a cave of the depths of the unknown.

The eerie mood inside the lonely uninhibited museum was intensified by the darkness of the night, the pitch black lingering anywhere but the nightlight casted by the full moon above finishes the spooky touch. The unnerving dim light inside the building was matched by ten shadows stretched on the ragged carpeted creaky floor, these belonging to the sons of the remarkable night.

Everyone’s eyes are surveying each other, glaring without using words. Nothing can be heard inside the museum except the patterns of breath from the men standing in different positions and the rustling of the falling leaves outside the museum.

“I guess you all know why we’re gathered here.” Kim Jongin’s voice echoed down the hallway, breaking the ghostly silence.

There was an abrupt quietness before he continued, “Shin Yoonjo is a victim. We all know that no person, even a psychopath, can kill like that.”

“I thought we had an agreement?” Kyungsoo finally spoke, disappointment in his voice heard.

Everyone fell silent once again.

“It’s in our nature.” The meek voice of Tao whispered.

This time, upon hearing his statement, everyone looked at him. “But I’m not the one, I swear! I’m just stating a fact.”

Chanyeol backed Tao up, “Yeah, he’s right. We all know that the agreement made was pure bull!”

“Watch your words, Yeol!” the late Baekhyun scolded, not with his cheerful voice though, but his serious one.

It was Lay’s turn to speak, “But the agreement was clear, and we all swore to abide by it. By far we’re doing well, even surviving. That’s why I can’t see the reason behind Yoonjo’s…”

Lay stopped, thinking for the right word.

“Slaughter.” Chen’s usual teasing tone all gone, as if he’s a new person inside this museum.

Everyone fell silent once again, pondering…as if grasping for the meaning of the word, vivid thoughts of gore fresh in their minds.

“I agree with Lay, actually,” Suho said and continued, after earning Lay’s childish smile, “we are barely surviving every meal without eating what we were taught to eat.”

Xiumin found this funny, and sarcastically replied, “Don’t act as if you haven’t ever killed, Suho. Just say fresh meat: human meat. That’s what our ancestors, even us, have been craving for all this time!”

Baekhyun found this offensive, “That had been the case before! It was changed since we’ve had that pact.”

“Why the tears, Baek?! You forgot your real identity, huh?! You’re a werewolf, we all are!” Kris finally erupted; sick of Baekhyun’s teary eyes every time they talk about these things in particular.

Kris’ voice bounced through every cracked wall in the museum, making Baekhyun almost jump from terror. Seeing this, Chanyeol went by his side and grabbed him by the shoulders, whispering comforting words. Among them, Baekhyun is the most reluctant one about their real identity – their being werewolves – which is why everyone in EXO calls him “pup”.

Kris continued his rage, yet his voice still remains calm, but audible enough for everyone to hear. “Chanyeol was right. The agreement was nonsense, even from the start. I can’t even remember what made me settle with that! A werewolf will always be a beast, and it is in our nature to kill.”

Kai had been silent for a while, listening to everyone’s defenses and complaints, but upon hearing what Kris said, he let go of what a compromise is. “Yes, it is in our nature to kill, but to kill a human? That’s against the rule, everyone knows that! We all agreed to consume human food, and if that hunger arises, we had decided to consume cattle! After the agreement, we all made it clear that feeding on human meat is a crime!”

Chen burst after hearing Kai’s insistence, “Be honest, Jongin! We all want meat. Fresh human meat! We can’t live by just eating cattle and deer. There’s not enough food supply for us here in Seoul if we’ll continue living by the rule.”

“But not everyone wants meat…” a still crying Baekhyun, wrapped in Chanyeol’s protective arms, whispered.

Tao answered him, everyone surprised how calm he is, “But not everyone is like you, pup. Not in this group.”

Xiumin chuckled, his laughter also reverberating up the ceiling of the museum. “What group, Tao? There are no other group, in any part of the world. The all mighty EXO is the last surviving pack of wolves. We are our race’s last hope, the wolf-god Fenrir’s last sons.”

Chanyeol silently agreed to this. If not for Baekhyun in his arms, he might as well back up what Xiumin had just said.

Kyungsoo found the courage to topple Xiumin’s arguments, “That doesn’t mean that we have to kill. We survived years by not causing harm to any human, so what’s the difference now?”

“There is a big difference. One of us is a traitor.” Lay said.

“Yes, which basically means that we really can’t live by that rule.” Kris counterattacked.

Suho’s analysing mind processed all of this information, him having a logical guess as to who killed Shin Yoonjo. Despite the hint, he decided that this is not the right time to proclaim what he hunched. “So what now? I can’t really see where this whole bickering is heading.” He asked instead.

Kai spoke, “It is clear that one of us craves for blood and for flesh. But that doesn’t mean that we will stop living by the rule.”

Kai’s statement caused a big commotion from the members of the pack. Suho, Lay, Kyungsoo, and obviously Baekhyun agreed with what Kai had just decided upon. Kris, Tao, Chen, Xiumin, and a silent Chanyeol on the other end of the imaginary line. Within a fraction, the museum was filled with irked and frenzied upheaval.

“Who gave you the right to decide what this pack has to do?!” Kris shouted directly at Kai’s face, which made the other man raged as well.

“I’m not being a leader, Kris. I’m just doing what’s best for everyone! This pack doesn’t need a leader. It’s nonsense, we all know that! I don’t need to repeat what Xiumin said, right?” Kai retorted.

“Then don’t act like one!” Kris screamed.

Kai bellowed at this, “I’m not acting like one!”

And with the heat of their uproaring conversation, under the full moon, Kris and Kai uncontrollably unleashed the beast lying within their veins, the monster within their blood, as they transformed into their real forms: a wolf howling with the night, jagged dagger-like canines within their nuzzle, sharp claws ready to slice through their paws, fur-covered mongrel bodies and bloodshot yellow eyes glaring with natural fierceness and ferocity. If a by-passer would see them in their inborn appearances, he would picture larger-than-the-ordinary wolves in the forests, but this one will have to be devilishly vicious, which makes this abandoned museum a perfect place for a pack of wolves, for no one ever dares to open its gates.

Whether in their human bodies or wolf selves, Kris is incomparably taller and heavier than Jongin. But in this pack, the last one of their canine line, both of them are of equal strength, speed, and deathly knacks. From the time that the two of them were still little kids up to now that they are full-grown werewolves, no one in the pack had seen them battle out one another, for they both know that it is never a win-lose thing for the both of them.

No one in EXO hesitated to turn into beasts of the night like Kris and Jongin, for it will be useless. The indignation and fury between them is so intense that they are not sure if they will both survive after this bloody and deathly match. Anyone that dares to go in between will be surely killed, for Jongin and Kris are the best hunters of the pack, their innate abilities to kill a prey almost that of the legendary werewolves.

With their stealthy and claw-equipped paws, they circled the center of the hall, sniffing each other’s monster scent, thinking of ways on how to outmatch the opponent. Everyone witnessing this happening hopes that it will end as soon as possible, for they can’t afford to lose one member of the pack. Ironically, they can do nothing but to watch and anticipate what fate has in store for their two friends.

Kris’ growl was matched by Jongin’s howl, once again filling the abandoned building. Kris was the first one to advance, claws ready to slice through Jongin’s flesh, but his agile opponent was able to nudge his attack by jumping with his hind legs. Jongin’s turn was also a miss, for Kris’ speed was also no joke.

In between monstrous barks and snarls, the both of them had managed to successfully endanger each other. Kris had bitten Kai’s right front leg, which was now covered in blood, the crimson red liquid mixing the greyish black color of his thick fur. As revenge, Jongin tried to bite Kris by his neck, where his fur seems like a dark mahogany brown mane of a lion. But with his now injured leg, he only managed to scratch Kris’s back. He thought he had not done any harm, but he was satisfied to see that his talon-like claws made Kris crumple from the pain.

Both are not satisfied, and this whole process went on and on as the night lingered, Kris trying to attack Kai, and Kai trying to harm Kris. The brown carpet of their small arena are now covered with blood, it’s stinking and nauseating scent enough for Kyungsoo to gag. Kris once again tried to bite Jongin, by the neck this time, but he failed as Jongin sensed his plans and went to his right. Leaving Kris confused, Kai pushed his own body with all his might towards Kris, both of them falling breathless on the ground.

The both of them drained all of their energy in the heated battle, exhaustion coursing as they turned into their human forms. Not everyone’s sure if they’re still alive, or if one was unfortunate to be called upon by the hallows of the underworld. With their entire beast gone, Kris and Jongin are slumped by the ground, bodies covered in bleeding lacerations and cuts caused by one another’s teeth and claws.

Once everyone was sure that both of them were lying unconsciously, the other members of the pack managed to somehow rescue them from what evil they had just gone through. After several years of silence and building heat inside their pack, the most-anticipated confrontation of the two werewolves had been finished…but it was not put to an end, for they’re sure that this marked the new phase to their clandestine brotherhood.

Jongin was the first one to wake up, his head resting on Kyungsoo’s lap. He had found that he was only in his pants, finding his top torn into pieces, and he recalled what just happened. Him and Kris almost killing one another, which Jongin had seen coming along ever since the last leader of their pack, Jonghoon, was killed at the last battle of the werewolves, leaving no one but the children of the pack, which were them unfortunately. Ever since then, they had been the last one. All of the werewolves gone because of one thing: forbidden love.

Jongin remembered their last leader’s doom like a bedtime story, almost like a legend among the young wolves during his time. The great Jonghoon fell in love with a human, Stephanie was her name if Jongin can recall, and had a child with her. Falling in love with a human, and having an offspring with them, is unwanted in both of the different worlds. A werewolf cannot love a human, his prey. This may not only result to a clash between the two species, but also an unfortunate life for the born child. Usually, the beastliness of the werewolf harms the humanity in the offspring, causing death for a half-wolf half-human breed upon birth. If the odds are with them, their child may survive, but there will be abnormalities in the genetic code, making him an outcast to both his parents’ family. Survival as a werewolf is impossible for a half-breed, and much more pressure and discrimination to be peculiar in the human world. This is the reason why both the werewolves and the humans lived a life separated from the shadows of one another.

But Jonghoon and Stephanie know no bound, for they found true love in one another. No rule or law can testify to their undying love and passion. Even from two different worlds, they still managed to showcase their affection. Legend has it that Stephanie had Jonghoon’s child, which was the cause of the werewolves’ great loss. Upon discovering what the lovers had done, the great werewolves hunted them. Alongside that, Stephanie came from a rich and powerful family, who hired skilled werewolf slayers to kill Jonghoon and to get their daughter back. Never did anyone foretold that the great werewolves and the hired werewolf slayers will end up meeting at a certain point, bloodbath on the way as both sides creased to death. With all of the claws meeting each silver bullets, in an instant the greatness of the family of werewolves was swiped away. After the battle which caused too much bereavement, no one ever saw the two lovers who stood up to everyone for the sake of their child.

Kris also woke up after a few moments when Jongin did. He was in Lay’s carress, on the other side of the room. He noticed that he and Jongin were tended at the far corner of the room, maybe the members of their pack had decided upon it for everyone’s safety. His battle with Jongin is enough stress for one night. He met Jongin’s gaze.

 We’re not yet done, Kai…

 After the clash, everyone fell silent, deep in their own thoughts.

Baekhyun had decided that it was time to break the silence, “Our number will decrease if we continue fighting.”

Everyone looked at him, then at Kris and Jongin.

“He’s right. All these years, we had done our best to make this pack running. We can’t afford to lose one member. We’re the last one of our kind.” Xiumin repeated what he just said a while back.

Kyungsoo asked, “What should we do now?”

“Like what Xiumin said, keep this pack running,” Tao answered, and added as he looked at Kris, “, and alive.”

“Can we look for other werewolves?” Chanyeol sheepishly asked the first question that popped up in his mind.

Chen snickered, “Don’t be foolish, Yeol. We saw the great bloodbath with our very own young eyes. There’s no one but us who’s left.”

Everyone felt silent once again, for the nth time this night.

“What should we do to survive? If we can’t eat…” Suho stopped, thinking if he can muster the words, “..human meat?”

Kyungsoo replied, “Why don’t we just reproduce? Thus making our family alive…”

“We can’t do that. Lucky us, there are no female werewolves left. Trying to mate with a human is too dangerous, we all know that.” Lay said with his calm voice.

Again, they were left with deafening silence, everyone pondering their thoughts about their sole survival, and about that traitor in the pack.

Together with the seemingly infinite night, not one of them had felt any sleepiness. They’re nocturnal in nature, more active by night. These active thoughts lead Baekhyun and Kyungsoo to recite a versed riddle, as if reading each other’s minds on the opposite corners of the hall, as they coerced every word like a chanting spell of the unknown, intensified its mystery just like the glooming night.

"Hidden in the woods is the deer of the dawn.

Nothing but a prey, or a wolf's last pawn.

Innocent and meek, tough no one can never tame,

Its heart holds the key, for the eternal life that you aim.

Guided by the moon, shaded by its mark,

The promise of immortality, in its blood is embarked.

Bounded by darkness, the deer is bound to fall,

The last hope of the wolf, the survival of them all.”

Not a single member of their pack had thought that at unnerving needs to survive will lead them to a millennium-long prophecy that no werewolves and humans can ever solve, for it is believed by many to just be a legend rather than a divination towards endless life.

EXO, the last pack of the werewolves, decided to do one thing that not a single werewolf had been successful of, for a dire need to salvage their existence.

Without passed and communicated words inside the resonating abandoned museum, all of them knew that they need to be ready…

…ready for the Hunt.