one ;

The wolf was told to never approach the house again; the alpha of the pack had angrily scolded him with menacing snarls and growls, making him lower his head down in fear and submission. He tried really hard to obey to the direct orders, doing his best to avoid the path that led to the small human's house and anything that could remind him of him. Days went by throughout which all he filled his mind with was hunting and mates and forest. Wolves were animals, nothing more and nothing less – they weren't supposed to get close to humans because those were evil and dangerous creatures; they could hurt, and they could kill. Humans were their biggest threat.

Yet, a week after their first odd encounter, the dark wolf came back. He shouldn’t have, and he perfectly knew it; two parts of his mind were furiously battling one against another, actively trying to get him to decide between obediently obeying the orders or letting free will to his want. It was already dark and the night was as cold as a November day should be. A shiver ran along his spine as he scrutinized the night. Carefully coming nearer the house which now strangely looked familiar in his lupine mind, he stopped at the edge of the backyard, hidden behind the tall trees like the very first time he had came. It was silent, almost peaceful yet nerve-wrecking as the wolf stared at the blue house with a mixture of reluctance and impatience. The animal stood there on his four legs, not daring to sit down in case a danger would suddenly appear. Minutes, then hours slowly went by as the weather got awfully chiller, the wind furiously playing with his thick fur. Although he didn't have a proper notion of time, the wolf knew he had to go back to his pack mates soon. And the smell still wasn’t there. The kid still wasn’t there.

Confused and frustrated, he let out a grunt, glancing back at the familiar darkness of the woods every once and then.

But then, as he was about to turn around and run away from the house, the kid finally appeared, stepping out on the deck. Time seemed to stop abruptly as their eyes came in contact. Only the rueful sound of the wind could be heard as they stilled, meters away from each other. Again, they stared at each other, as if continuing their silent first contact, a few nights before. The small human then tilted his head to the side as he sat down at the edge of the deck, childishly swaying his legs while intensely staring into the animal's eyes.

Despite his prior reluctance and suspicion toward the kid, the wolf never dared to break the odd contact the both of them held. Keeping his senses on alert, he finally sat there, on the ground at the edge of the wood at the backyard of the house, staring back at the boy.

Here, everything smelled so much more wonderful than in the woods.

=

The wolf was the kid's secret. It was something only he knew about. And that was exactly the way he wanted it to be; the wolf was his, and only his. Every night, whenever his parents wouldn't pay attention at him anymore, the single-lidded eyed boy sneaked outside to stand at his usual spot on the deck, shivering when the piercing cold hit him. There would be a short moment of anticipation and nervousness upon which he would wonder whether the wolf was there or not, if he would appear like he had the night before, and the night before and all the nights prior those ones, waiting for him as it always did. And then he would find it, at the always same spot behind the trees, partially hidden into the dark shadows. Relief would wash over the kid as he sits down on the deck, staring at the animal and admiring the deep and unusual blue of his orbs.

As much as the situation was dangerous, the kid was too young and naive to understand that the wolf could simply make a swift jump and rip his head off within the short span of two seconds.

However, he was never afraid because the wolf was one of his friends, and he didn't fear his friends.

*

It took a few years for the kid to realize that the wolf never came as soon as the cold seasons ended. The first time his friend hadn't came, he had been utterly disappointed, almost waiting throughout the whole night until his parents ushered him back inside. He had waited and waited, slowly going through summer and then autumn, wondering if his friend didn't want to see him anymore. This thought made him upset and sad, close to tear up with frustration at the sudden gap he could feel in his heart without their secret meetings in the garden. The wolf was his best friend and best friends never left each other.

His best friend came back a day of early November however, as the boy decided for the last time to come back on the deck and wait, thinking that if the wolf didn't came that day then he would never do so again ; a familiar shadow suddenly appeared behind the line of trees. He snapped his head up, his eyes hopeful and excited, until he let out a happy squeal upon recognizing the blue eyes of the animal.

His friend was back.

*

Now the kid knew better than to vainly wait during the warm seasons for someone who wouldn't come at all. They only met during late autumn and winter, but that was okay. Because the wolf was his friend and his secret.

Now that Hyukjae had successfully managed to go through the long year throughout which he had hit puberty, he was mildly satisfied to claim that his rebellious phase was behind him; although a part of him was rather delighted to have more freedom and power over his own life since his parents believed he could behave on his own, he still secretly missed the glorious days of his youth when he would sneak out of his house only to piss his parents off. However, now that he was a proud university student, Hyukjae felt too old – although he was barely twenty-one – and lazy to do all those sorts of crazy things anymore. He highly preferred the calm of his home and the sweet company of the TV and his computer. Moreover, his parents had grown so indifferent about him and what he did with his life that all the fun he usually earned of it was now ruined; the lack of risks made it quite less thrilling now that he was able to do whatever he wanted whenever he decided so. As long as he didn't come home completely drunk or kill someone.

Yes – rebellious or not, Hyukjae definitely appreciated the small perks of a student's life.

As if to emphasize this point, Hyukjae stared blankly at the ceiling of his room, sprawled on his bed in such a manner that one could think the brunette would never want to get up again. He was lethargically laying across the mattress of his large bed, his phone forgotten next to his head while his mind seemed to have completely shut down. He could have stayed here forever, he distantly noted in his head, and be proud of the laziness that unmistakably came with age – although he was only twenty-one.

However, the student did get up shortly after despite his obvious reluctance, heaving a lazy sigh as he glanced out at the windows. There weren't much days left until it would be November, Hyukjae noted as he watched the tall trees he could distinguish behind the dusty panes; the branches were frozen while all the leaves had already fell on the ground and died. It wasn't a particularly happy sight to witness and Hyukjae would usually have let out a depressed groan, but even after all those years a familiar feeling of excitement spread in him as he got nearer to the window. He looked at the dark woods, letting his mind wander around as he wondered when it – he would finally appear. Although the weather was definitely one of winter, his friend didn't come to see him yet, despite all the times Hyukjae sat on his usual spot on the deck, snuggling into warm blankets.

Letting out a disappointed grunt, the brunette carelessly ruffled his hair before he grabbed his backpack and went out of his bedroom before going down the stairs to the kitchen. As usual, the house was empty; his parents were too busy working at the other side of the small town to even wait for their son and take breakfast – or brunch, judging by the clock wall – together like a family. Rolling his eyes in exasperation, Hyukjae pushed those dark thoughts to the back of his mind as he settled down on a stool of the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of milk in the fridge. Directly sipping from the bottle, the brunette propped one of his elbows on the main counter fitted in the center of the room. Taking his phone out of his pocket, he unlocked the screen of the device and scrolled through his received text message without truly looking at them, only enjoying the end of his morning; it was a Thursday, the only day of the week when he could fully relish into doing nothing.

His status as one of the best students of his university didn't come from nothing; Hyukjae was hardworking and studious enough to know when to work and when to relax. And Thurdays mornings were relax mornings. All he usually did was aimlessly wander around his house with his phone or simply sleep until it was time to go to class, which only started in a few hours – two and half, to be exact – and that was the way he liked. Moreover, he was a perfect student at doing it, so who was to complain?

Absentmindedly humming under his breath, Hyukjae's gaze landed once again on the forest surrounding the back of the house. It was as dark and mysterious as it had always been, making him curious about what kind of secrets were held behind this natural border, but not enough to risk the many dangers he knew were hidden within.

All he truly wanted, he realized after reflection, was to know where his wolf was. Hyukjae could remember the many childish dreams he once had about the big animal – that one day, miraculously, the wolf would transform into an actual human and they would became best friends. He had wished for it so much as a kid that the glow of hope was still somewhere in his mind – but Hyukjae knew how ridiculous it was to wish for this kind of impossible thing to happen. It only was a dream, something that only would happen with something akin to a miracle. Although, it still didn’t stop him to wonder what the wolf exactly did during the warm seasons – where did he go? Why? With who?

Hyukjae had never heard of or seen the wolf’s packmates. He wasn’t sure that the animal had some. He could only remember seeing a menacing grey she-wolf wander around the house a year ago, until it disappeared with a silent but threatening snarl. Hyukjae was only thankful he had stayed inside instead of going out to greet the wolf as he would have done if it had been his wolf.

It was with a small snort that Hyukjae unconsciously noted the difference he made between his wolf who he referred as a he while the she-wolf was only a it. Shaking his head in disbelief, the student threw the empty bottle in the nearby trashcan before he glanced at his watch and grabbed his backpack. Although he still had around a hour before having to be at the university, he decided that staying at the house any longer would drive him insane – he could always go to the library, after all.

Exhaling with a shudder upon stepping out of his warm home, Hyukjae unceremoniously slammed the door shut behind him and locked it, before he lazily made his way toward the nearest bus stop.

He lived in a small town of Korea, somewhere famous enough so that some Seoul citizens would spend their vacations there but not so for foreigners to know about it. Here, everybody knew everybody, even if it only was through gossips. And gossips, there were a lot. Sometimes Hyukjae wished he was living in a bigger city like Seoul where everything seemed to be awake at any time of the day and that nobody would ever get bored. But small towns like the one he was living in assured him calm and conviviality; in a way, they were all friends bounded thanks to a strange friendship that already linked their own parents together. It wasn't as bad as it sounded, but mostly because he was already used to it.

However, the fact that he basically knew everybody and therefore was forced to greet everybody even in his worst days made it sometime quite difficult to appreciate; for example, he didn't feel friendly enough to smile back at Heejun's enthusiastic wave who was strolling around with her evil dog (it had bit him at least four times).

The only real friend that would understand his mood, Hyukjae realized as he sat down on the bench of the bus station, was his wolf. Or “friend” between quotation marks because he still wasn’t sure if befriending with an animal was actually humanly possible. On happy days, the animal would sit down and stare at him with his big, bright blue eyes while his tail would softly sway from left to right – when the brunette felt too awful and frustrated, he would lay down, staring up at him with what looked like comforting, warm orbs. It made Hyukjae feel safe and almost loved.

Hee glanced a last time at the dark trees he could vaguely distinguish behind his house.

I hope he will come around tonight... He let out a small sigh before getting on the bus.

*

Donghae glared at the window, securely wrapped within thick and warm duvets. Snuggled up in the bottom of the armchair, the charismatic teenager tightened the grip he had on the covers around him, a long and uncomfortable shiver coursing through his shuddering body. Although he had put on all the heaters of the house, it seemed as if the cold was piercing through his every limb, making it difficult for him to even walk around without having his teeth chattering. It was the worst time of the year for Donghae; the season when it was cold enough for his body to violently convulse and be on the edge of a painful changing but warm enough to keep Donghae as Donghae. He was stuck in middle of both worlds, his sanity too weak yet too strong to definitely be dragged into one – at least until the cold seasons were over.

The teenager sometime wondered whether he preferred warm seasons or cold ones. There was humanity one the one hand, and freedom on the other one. However, walking on his two feet and running through the forest on four legs weren't comparable and he had to admit that both situation were pretty incredible. He simply wasn’t sure if it was a good or a bad thing. However, being stuck in the middle of both wasn't exactly enjoyable either.

As another long shiver ran along Donghae's spine, the latter let out a frustrated sigh while staring out the window. The forest encircling the house looked sad and almost dead, all leaves fallen and the bark of the trunks frozen with cold. If he was bound to go back to the woods by the night, it probably wouldn't be worth it to stay at home and mourn alone, Donghae decided. After finally letting go of the amazing warmth of his duvets, the raven haired teenager hurried himself to the entrance of the house, faintly hearing cheerful chattering at the second floor; only the youngest ones had enough willpower to choose by themselves of their situation during winters. Pushing his slight jealousy aside, he tightly covered himself into a thick coat, securely wrapping a scarf around his neck as he carefully opened the door and stepped out.

Coldness pierced him from everywhere. It made h