three ;

It was as if there was nothing but the tall trees protectively standing around Hyukjae. They were huge and imposing, true masters of the woods as they owned and protected everything within their vast territory with the sole power of their majesty. Silence possessed the place, inspiring peacefulness and awe to anybody who had the chance to venture inside this heaven. Only the cute sounds of tweeting little birds would break the absolute quietness of the woods, and sometime a small animal running away into the bushes. The thin branches of the trees only began until a few feet above his head and were devoid of almost all their leaves, having fallen off at the arrival of winter. Some of them were still there, though, colored with a delicate gold tone within the brown. Their bark was cold and humid, almost frozen and peeled off but still stubbornly keeping the plants away from the cold like a natural shield.

When Hyukjae lifted his head up, he saw the branches sticking out in all directions, letting the sunlight softly shine through. The bright rays were subtly illuminating the woods, the sky painted with a nostalgic grey-blue that made his heart swell. It was almost as if the sky and white clouds had blended together, unconsciously bringing up old memories of similar days from the past with only one shade of blue. On earth, snow was almost sparkling under the shy sunlight. A thick layer of white powder had endlessly covered the grounds of the woods, some snowflakes having piled up on high branches.

The scenery was purely enchanting. Hyukjae didn’t know any word strong enough to describe the feelings eagerly stumbling one upon another in his heart, but he knew there was nothing to say – all he needed was to look around at the shimmering light and at the leaves hanging on the branches like feathers. The robust and high trees were slanting afternoon light while the glittering air seemed to possess a color of its own.

Wind blew around the boy, faintly hissing as it hit his body. Snow twirled around at his feet while branches swayed above his head. A few birds he couldn’t see chirped softly before he heard the feathery sounds of wings flapping away. Standing still in the middle of the woods, Hyukjae admired everything he could distinguish with sheer fascination and awe shining within his single-lidded eyes. The boy didn’t even dare to breathe too loudly, holding his breath back in fear of breaking the magic gliding around. He felt himself being carried away with no limits, amazement firmly possessing his fluttering heart. The afternoon light gleamed upon the woods like the fragments of a gentle dream, one that nobody would be willing to let go of. A content warmth invaded him, akin to feathery touches softly skimming around his heart and making disappear the coldness surrounding him, as he lost himself further into the wonder of the place.

Hundreds of animals might have taken the very same path as him, but Hyukjae only cared of one – his blue-eyed wolf was somewhere in there, hidden within the shadows of the trees. He could picture him prudently pawing around, his beautiful orbs sharply scrutinizing the deepness of the woods without a word. Hyukjae could imagine without a single difficulty how beautiful the wolf must be, as majestic as the trees around; strong and unflinching. Maybe, just maybe, he might have the chance to see him again – to touch him again – just like this one time at the courtyard of his house. Even a week after the unforgettable event, Hyukjae still felt adrenaline madly coursing through his veins. Excitation and amazement were still soaring in his mind every time he thought back at this perfect moment – he would never forget about it. It was his secret, one that he would be greedy to keep away forever.

Although coldness was slowly piercing to an even higher pitch with every minute going by and that threats could be hidden everywhere around him, Hyukjae had never felt as warm and safe as this precise moment.

“Care to remind me why we’re here again?”

A familiar, low voice broke Hyukjae out of his thoughts as the words distinctly resonated around them. The student startled with a quiet gasp and twitched an eyebrow in annoyance as he glanced back at his best friend standing behind him. Not immediately replying, he blew hot air on his cold hands as a shiver took him, taking away the enchantment of the woods with it. The colors and the sensations were already fading away, colder and paler in comparison.

Hyukjae longingly stared at the woods, wishing that he might lose himself into this other, better world once again, before he slowly turned around on his heels. The reflex camera hanging around his neck slightly tilted around and softly bumped again the front of his chest; the boy absentmindedly raised a hand to steady it as he finally looked at his best friend. Kyuhyun was standing behind him, his hands shoved deeply inside the pockets of his thick coat while half of his face was buried into a warm scarf. He squeezed his eyes shut and shivered when another blow of wind hit the both of them, before whimpering.

“God, it’s hella cold,” he mumbled. “Come on, Hyuk. I still don’t understand the reason why you needed to come here in the first place.”

Hyukjae huffed in annoyance and glared at his best friend. The other only rolled his eyes as he bounced a little to try warming up.

“I never asked you to come with me, did I?” Hyukjae grumpily stated as he tightened his own scarf around his neck. He glanced at the woods, yearning still noticeable in his single-lidded eyes as they scanned around the trees. “You’re the one who decided to tag along.”

Kyuhyun shrugged but didn’t deny. He also looked around the woods with halfhearted curiosity, shivering without a stop. “Are you done with taking pictures, though? Did you find something interesting or something?”

The other sniffed in contempt and haughtily crossed his arms on his chest. “You’re hopeless,” he grunted, though not unkindly. “Photography is an art, you dumbhead. It’s not this simple.”

Ignoring his best friend’s blatant roll of the eyes, Hyukjae turned around again as he clutched on his camera. There was only small chances of success, but Hyukjae had gotten used of coming to the woods for a particular reason; catching glimpses of the wolves and hopefully etching it onto a picture. He knew it was an almost impossible task but it made him happy to try nonetheless.

However, it had already been around two hours that Hyukjae was scrutinizing the shadows of the trees and there wasn’t a single trace of the wolves around. Disappointment was slowly building up at the bottom of his stomach as he looked around him for a last time. He sighed lowly, making a move to turn around and face Kyuhyun, when the latter let out a sudden gasp.

“Oh my ing God,” he breathed.

Kyuhyun’s eyes were wide, fixed on something standing at around fifty meters away from them. He was stunned, holding his breath back with fear and wonder both painted on his features. Hyukjae only stared at him for a fraction of second before hope came back hard, his hands immediately going to hold on his camera.

“What?”

He impatiently spun around, blood loudly beating in his ears. Wind blew against the last leaves of the trees and made snow twirl around at their feet, until Hyukjae landed his eyes on the animal. He gasped, too, forgetting about taking pictures of it before it would run away.

It wasn’t his blue-eyed wolf; he couldn’t help but to be slightly disappointed but he also knew that it might be his only chance. This one was a little bit smaller but more muscled, its fur of a dark grey while the tip of its right ear and its legs were black. Its eyes were round and bright, but also intense and menacing. The wolf was staring right back at the two students, its glare steady on them. Neither the wolf or Hyukjae and Kyuhyun moved, too struck by its presence to react. It seemed like an eternity went by while everybody – humans and animals – stayed perfectly still. Wind still mercilessly blew around them but Hyukjae couldn’t care any less as he admired the wolf’s allure with avid eyes. Then, as his eyes swept over the animal’s wagging tail, it took a small step back as if ready to disappear. The student jolted as if snapping out of a daze before he hurriedly reached for his camera to take a picture of the grey wolf.

However, as soon as the click went off, it spun around and menacingly crouched down, as if startled and angered. It bared its teeth, ready to attack. Its eyes turned darker, shining with ferocity. Behind him, Kyuhyun squeaked in fear and took a surprised step back. The wolf snarled loudly, threateningly barking and howling at them. Hyukjae whimpered as he urgently wondered what he was supposed to do – his wolf would never have growled at him this badly.

Only the sounds of the wolf’s dreadful snarls could be heard in the woods as it tensed, looking as if it was ready to jump and tear their throat apart. The thought made Hyukjae quiver in fear as he squeaked, his hands badly trembling as he glanced back at his best friend. He should never have let him follow him in there.

However, before the huge beast could launch forward, a shape broke away from the shadows of the trees behind it. Another wolf appeared, calmly approaching its mate until it was standing just next to it.

Time really stopped around Hyukjae this time – it didn’t feel like a mere impression anymore; his brain was struggling to keep up with everything happening in front of his stupefied eyes and air was abruptly knocked out of him. He suddenly felt hot, drops of sweat forming onto his forehead as his eyes turned to land on the second animal with a painfully slow pace. This wolf was bigger and slender, its fur dark and its allure majestic. It was idly staring at Kyuhyun and him, its tail carelessly swaying from left to right. Then, it met Hyukjae’s eyes, and everything went blank in his head.

Hyukjae could only see blue in his orbs, which were steadily staring back at him. Nothing mattered anymore then, except the way his wolf looked right back into his own single-lidded eyes. The dark wolf wasn’t a random it anymore but truly his blue-eyed one. The familiarity of his eyes warmed Hyukjae’s heart and reassured him with a destabilizing force.

Next to the tall wolf, the grey one seemed to calm down a little because of his presence. It glanced at him before snarling again at the two humans. Seconds later, it turned around and swiftly ran away, back into the reassuring darkness of the woods. Behind Hyukjae, Kyuhyun let out a long breath of relief while he also let out a sigh of his own. The intense tension which had painfully grasped them was slowly fading away, quietness languidly soaring back.

The blue-eyed wolf didn’t immediately follow his mate. Instead, he curiously tilted his head to the side as he stared at them with fearless wonder. With a low grunt, the animal sniffed a little in Hyukjae’s direction, before a flash of recognizance crossed his beautiful orbs – or so the student thought. The wolf blinked, maybe too slowly to be purely animal before his ears drooped slightly then lifted again, and threw them a last glance before turning around.

Hyukjae only had the time to raise his camera and take a final picture before his wolf was already melting away into the undergrowth. A fraction of second later, the two wolves were definitely out of sight, no marks of their passing left behind, as if everything had only been a dream.

=

The dark wolf faded away in the shadows of the undergrowth without a single sound, going to reach his pack-mate. Idly wandering between the trees, his legs were buried into the cold snow while mist flew out of his muzzle every time he exhaled. His ears flickered slightly while his tail wagged lazily.

The woods were silent but not as peaceful as it usually was, slightly agitated after the other wolf’s fit of anger. Birds had flown away with scared tweeters since a long time while small animals were hidden into invisible nooks, trying to get away from the grey wolf’s wrath.

The blue-eyed animal grunted lowly, glancing behind him after making sure that his pack-mate was already far ahead. He still could hear the ragged breathing of the two humans, still standing at the same place where he had left them. Slowing down to a stop, he tilted his head to the side as his ears jerked slightly in some sort of curiosity.

His lupine mind was still struggling to recognize the odors he had smelled back when he was facing the two humans. One of the two had looked familiar in his eyes while a bunch of delicious, familiar fragrances had gently brushed past his nostrils – his animal instinct had been almost sure that it was the kid of the house. However, the natural perfume of the woods and the one of the other human’s had blended altogether with the boy’s scent, making it hard for him to decide whether they were a threat or not.

But as soon as the wolf had met the first human’s eyes, everything had clicked and he instantly recognized him. His way of thinking wasn’t complex enough for him to comprehend the reason of his trust into the boy but it had been enough to calm his survival instinct down.

The wolf sniffled as wind hissed around him, but his thick coat of fur protected him from the coldness. He stared at the blurry and vague figures of the two humans he could distinguish through the branches of the undergrowth separating them without moving an inch, until the grey wolf – Sungmin, a voice whispered in his ears – came back and grunted at him, as if telling him to move. The blue-eyed wo