Jiyong let himself fall onto the couch, he had no energy left. He was determined not to regret his actions. It was Seunghyun who had been the unreasonable one. Granted, throwing his phone on the ground, thereby ruining it, had maybe been a bit much, but what was he supposed to do? If he hadn't done it, the cabin would've been filled with police and rangers by now, questioning him till dawn, no doubt putting Daesung in some kind of hospital prison. Jiyong looked at Daesung who was sitting on the floor, patiently trying to his own elbow, not having much success. How was that poor boy supposed to survive in the system? His babo-ness made him an ideal target for bullying and manipulation. In any case, Jiyong was not going to be the one to apologize. He was going to wait until Seunghyun came to his senses, begging him to forgive him. Only then he would give him the time of day, he decided stubbornly. But what if Seunghyun never came back? What if he decided Jiyong wasn't worth the fight, that he'd have a much easier life without him? Tears started silently streaming down Jiyong's cheeks. He never felt as alone as when he and Seunghyun were fighting. He hated the feeling. He liked being in control of his feelings, but standing at the edge of the void of loneliness, he could control nothing. He could only hold on for dear life, hoping he wouldn't fall in.

Daesung suddenly jumped up onto the couch, watching Jiyong's sad expression closely. He reached out his hand and carefully poked one of the tears that was running down Jiyong's face, examining the wetness that remained on his finger after the tear had disappeared. He brought his finger up to his mouth and stuck his tongue out, having a wee taste. He was a regular Sherlock Holmes, leaving no stone un his quest to solve this mystery of all mysteries. The case of the vanishing tear. Absolutely riveting stuff. Jiyong half-snorted, too sad to have a proper laugh. Out of the blue, Daesung placed his hand on Jiyong's head, ruffling his hair awkwardly about, getting his fingers stuck and ripping them forcefully out in a slight panic, taking a few of Jiyong's hairs with them. “Ouch!”. That clumsy attempt at comforting Jiyong actually worked wonders. Without over thinking it, Jiyong reached out and hugged Daesung tightly, burying his nose into his neck. The dark abyss in his brain would have to wait, he had his kindhearted wolf boy to take care of.

“Jiyo.” Daesung said softly into Jiyong's ear. Jiyong broke free from the embrace, overcome by surprise. “What did you just say?” he asked with scrutinizing eyes, wondering if he had just imagined it. “Jiyo.” Daesung repeated, smiling. That manipulative little mongrel, now he could say it?! But earlier, when Jiyong had begged him to say it, had he said it then? Nooo, he'd just played dumb, like he had no idea what Jiyong had been going on about. Somehow, Daesung knew exactly how to play on Jiyong's heartstrings. It was eerie since there weren't many people in the world that possessed that skill. Seunghyun was the only one Jiyong knew with that ability. Seunghyun had a PhD in heart manipulation, having graduated with honors, Jiyong thought grudgingly.

“You're smarter than I give you credit for, aren't you boy? Jiyong said in a cutsie voice, like he was talking to a baby, or a dog. Right at that moment Daesung stuck his finger deep into his nostril, deforming his nose completely. After thoroughly exploring the innermost crevices of his nose, he finally pulled his finger back out. It had struck gold, sporting a huge green slime ball on its tip. Daesung eyed the ball of snot with the smirk of a predator sizing up its prey. “No! NO! Don't you dare!” Jiyong stopped Daesung's hand before it reached Daesung's mouth. “Waaait... waaaaaaait..!!” Jiyong ran to get a tissue, probably breaking a few world records, he was that fast. But it was too late. Jiyong shivered out of disgust. He used the tissue to wipe Daesung's nose and hands, at least they would be clean for the time being. “So everything you do is pretty much gross, huh?” Jiyong sighed with a frown on his face.

Maybe Jiyong couldn't save Daesung from his own disgustingness, but he could at least make him a little more presentable. Jiyong fetched some clothes, this time he was set on succeeding. He got an idea. He stripped down to his birthday suit, even removing his boxers. There he stood on the living room floor, stark , watching Daesung with a faint glint of madness in his eyes. He had Daesung's attention, who joined him happily on the floor. “You are a regular copycat, aren't you?” Jiyong smiled as he handed Daesung a pair of fresh boxers, waving the ones he had in his hand around so Daesung could see he also had a pair. Daesung copied Jiyong, waving his pair around as well. “Excellent.” Jiyong said in triumph, this was going to work.

Jiyong stretched the boxers really wide, Daesung copying his every move. Then he slid his right foot carefully into the boxers, slowly pulling them up his leg. “Ah!” Jiyong looked at Daesung, who had managed to overcome the 50/50 chance of success, busily putting the boxers on backwards. Correcting him would be too much work, Jiyong decided just to continue. If Daesung found wearing them backwards too uncomfortable, then he would simply complain, right? Jiyong finished the demonstration. Lo and behold! The kid was wearing boxers! No more waving his willy around everywhere, making Jiyong have to watch out for it every time he got close to him, removing a load off Jiyong's shoulders. Yes, they were on backwards, but that was just a minor detail.

Overly confident by his victory, Jiyong continued. He picked up his jeans and put them on in slow motion, bursting out in laughter when he glanced to see how Daesung was doing. Daesung had managed to pick the T-shirt rather than the trousers. Understandable misunderstanding, after all, both had the required two holes. He was wearing it upside down, having pulled it up to his knees but not managing to get it any higher since the sleeves were too tight for his thighs. “Yeah okay, let's quit while we're ahead, shall we?” Jiyong giggled, helping Daesung take off the T-shirt-pants. “Although you could probably start a new trend like that.” Jiyong snorted, imagining going to the mall where everyone was wearing upside down T-shirt-pants. It was too funny.

Jiyong yawned, infecting Daesung with the urge, making him yawn as well. “I think it's time for bed!” Jiyong said decidedly. He took out the bandage-kit and without having to tell him anything, Daesung came and sat on the sofa, holding out his leg patiently. What a well brought up wolf boy, Jiyong thought to himself. A feeling of pride squeezing its way into his heart. They were becoming quite a good team. Daesung had probably connected the changing of the bandages with the fact that his leg was steadily getting better. The wound was closing rapidly and almost all the swelling had subsided.

Jiyong was about to put the fresh bandage on, after removing the old one, when Daesung shook his leg. “Jiyo, tsst tsst.” Daesung wrinkled his eyebrows, trying his best to communicate. “Oh! Sorry! Forgot the disinfectant, didn't I! Good boy!! Very very good boy!!” Jiyong was impressed, patting him excitedly as he praised him. Daesung chuckled, extremely proud of himself.

*grrrrrgguurgglll* Daesung looked at his stomach in surprise, like he couldn't believe the sound had actually originated from there. “Man, I haven't fed you since this morning, , I at this!” Jiyong scolded himself, he really shouldn't be responsible for another human being. He was a famous plant killer, he didn't fancy becoming a famous human killer as well.

Jiyong put a huge bowl of stew in front of Daesung, intending to teach him the art of utensil manipulation. However, Daesung was so hungry that the moment the bowl hit the table, he buried his face in it. “Yeah, that works too.” Jiyong remarked sarcastically as the kitchen table turned into a battle zone. Jiyong wasn't that upset about it, maybe he was developing immunity to Daesung's dirty ways. That was at least what he tried to tell himself. “Food.” Jiyong said, pointing at the bowl. “..ood.” Daesung copied with his mouth full, not even bothering to look up from the bowl. “No, fffffoood.” Jiyong overemphasized the f, trying to get Daesung to pronounce it correctly. Slightly irritated over this rude interruption while being so busy eating, Daesung repeated “OOoooood.”. Jiyong chuckled, “Yeah, this time you nailed it.”.

Jiyong watched Daesung affectionately as he finished the whole thing. Where he was keeping all that food was beyond Jiyong, he had never seen anyone eat that much. He must've been famished, Jiyong thought guiltily. There was so much Daesung had yet to learn. It was overwhelming how much he depended on Jiyong for everything. Seunghyun had a point, he hadn't thought this through at all. What was he going to do? Release him back into the wilderness or try to make him fit for society somehow? Wow, that would be a whole lot of work. Jiyong wasn't even sure if it was possible to rehabilitate Daesung to the point where he could function normally within society. This whole thing was bigger than him. Was he maybe doing Daesung a disservice by keeping him from the professional help he clearly needed? Daesung was already a grown man so he would only have to be in the system until he reached the point where he could take care of himself. Maybe Jiyong was letting his bad experiences and past scars cloud his judgment. It was too late to back down now. Or was it? He could of course just call the authorities right now, setting everything straight. He watched Daesung as he .. everything. Jiyong sighed.

He didn't want to call. He didn't really know why, but he wanted to be the one that showed Daesung the world, teaching him about everything, sharing his discoveries of the most mundane of things. Jiyong got a pang in his stomach. He knew he was being selfish. As well as completely irrational, his life would be much simpler and easier without this bundle of mayhem around. He could go back to his quiet rehabilitation. Jiyong realized he didn't miss it as much as he thought, after all it was just a bunch of boring walks in the forest, completely alone. Life with Daesung was messy, but it made him feel alive. Maybe he should just close his eyes, get over himself and call. Ah! His phone didn't work, oh how 'awful'. He could leave the decision for later, happy to push all those thoughts back in their dark little corner, hoping to conveniently forget about them.

Jiyong was exhausted. He barely managed to clean the kitchen after Daesung's massacre of the stew. Daesung sat dozing at the kitchen table, barely conscious. Daesung was in desperate need of some tooth brushing, but Jiyong doubted he had the energy for it. They had climbed enough mountains today. Daesung had lived for 20 some years already without brushing his teeth, what damage could one more night do? He sat down next to Daesung, watching him as he tried to hold his heavy eyelids open. Daesung yawned, his head almost coming off its hinges. Oh, that smell! Okay, perhaps the tooth brushing couldn't wait. Jiyong shook the tiredness off him, “Let's do this! Come on!”. “Cumong!” Daesung shouted, fully awake again. He was turning into a regular chatterbox!

Using his toothbrush, he demonstrated on himself how tooth brushing worked. Thankfully he had a spare toothbrush, something he had learned from his many years of traveling, it was always safer to carry a spare. “Alright, now it's your turn.” Jiyong steadied Daesung's jaw with his hand, showing his teeth, indicating that Daesung should do the same. Daesung grinned, showing all of his teeth. How were his teeth in such good condition? They were quite dirty, especially after the stew earlier, but they didn't appear to have any obvious cavities. Jiyong was amazed. He had always lain much emphasis on oral hygiene, as well as most other kinds of hygiene, but perhaps the secret to healthy teeth wasn't hygiene but going back to nature, life in the wild.

Jiyong started brushing the outside of Daesung's teeth when Daesung's tongue squeezed out of its imprisonment, the toothbrush. Daesung's face disappeared into a great big frown, coughing and spitting that god awful poison out. His spit had inadvertently ended up on Jiyong's cheek. Jiyong cringed. “Thanks.” he said coldly, trying to contain himself. Daesung chuckled at the sight of Jiyong and bent forward, the spit off his cheek. His satisfied expression saying 'There. All better.'. Yeah, because it just hadn't been gross enough having spit on his face, the dot over the i had clearly been missing. Thanks for that. Jiyong gagged.

After cleaning up his face, Jiyong went in for a second try. Daesung closed his mouth stubbornly, refusing to open it, a dissatisfied frown on his face. Jiyong racked his brain for some useful tricks to make him open his mouth. Ah! Jiyong rummaged around in his pocket, but there wasn't much there. He took out a button and a packet of gum, very disappointed. Daesung eyed the packet of gum with great interest, it was silver and sparkled in the light. Haha! Jiyong held the packet in front of Daesung, “You can have it when we're finished. Say aaaaa.”. Daesung didn't listen to him, mesmerized by the sparkliness of the wrappings. He reached for it but Jiyong lifted it higher, shaking his head. He mimed brushing his own teeth and then happily fiddling with the packet of gum, hoping to communicate the idea of reward to Daesung. Daesung slowly opened his mouth, not taking his eyes off the packet of gum, “Aaaa.”. When the toothbrush was only inches away, Daesung snapped his mouth shut again, lunching at Jiyong's hand. Jiyong's reactions were quick, in one swift movement he put the gum behind his back, much to Daesung's dismay. “I wasn't born yesterday!” Jiyong said in triumph, smirking.

Daesung could see he was outmatched, he closed his eyes and opened his mouth. He was even holding his breath, the poor thing. Apparently toothpaste was not his thing. Jiyong tried to be as fast as he could, while being adequately thorough at the same time. “Okay, all done!” Jiyong said as he the water for Daesung to rinse. Daesung practically drowned himself in the sink, sticking his tongue out, letting the water rinse the bitter taste of the toothpaste away. While he was still ridding himself of that awful experience, he stuck out his hand, not forgetting what he was due. Jiyong put the gum in his hand, only then realizing giving him gum perhaps wouldn't be the best move. There was no way he could back out now though, so he would just have to watch him closely, ensuring he wouldn't spread stickiness over the whole cabin.

Daesung finally surfaced, ecstatic with his silvery goodness, his eyes sparkling as much as the packet of gum. When Jiyong was about to rinse the toothbrush, Daesung grabbed it. He looked at him cheerfully, “Aaaa.”. What? Was he actually intending to brush Jiyong's teeth? How cute and horrifying at the same time. Jiyong was not about to put that thing in his mouth, it had 20 years' worth of germs on it. Not a chance in hell! But Daesung was not about to back down, “AAAA” he insisted. Jiyong managed to get the toothbrush away from him long enough to rinse it, Daesung battled him fiercely as he added some more toothpaste to it as well. “Okay, do your thing. Aaaa.” Jiyong opened his mouth patiently.

*squeak* *squeak* Daesung was attempting to brush with the backside of the toothbrush and the plastic squeaked something awful as Daesung rubbed it against Jiyong's teeth. Jiyong took a deep breath, he had goose bumps all over. He showed Daesung how to properly hold the toothbrush and let him try again. Daesung was bursting from pride as he clumsily brushed Jiyong's teeth to his heart's content. “Yeah, great work boy.” Jiyong patted Daesung as he relieved him of the toothbrush.

Finally, bedtime!

“Come on boy, time for sleep!” Jiyong happily announced. “Cumong!” Daesung screeched, Jiyong's new echo. Jiyong made a bed for Daesung on the living room floor, making sure it was fluffy and cozy so he would get a good night's sleep. Daesung curled up on his new bed, snuggling under the blanket Jiyong put over him. Jiyong bent down and kissed Daesung's forehead lightly. It wasn't the kind of thing he'd normally do, but it had just felt natural. “Good night.” he whispered. “Gna-it.” said the echo.

As Jiyong let himself fall into bed, he could feel how utterly tired he was. How insane had the last two days been? He could hardly believe it. He was so tired his head didn't have the energy to bother him with complicated thoughts, there was only peace. As Jiyong started drifting off, the mattress under him started bouncing ever so slightly. Was he dreaming? He could feel as Daesung's arms sneaked around him, his face burying into his chest. Jiyong's heart grew a size bigger, spreading warmth all over his body. He drew him in tighter, snuggling up to him like he was his long lost teddy bear, sailing into the dreamworld with a smile on his face.