~ Yong JunHyung ~

JunHyung had prowled around the outside of the city, furious that Hyuna had disappeared into the concrete jungle with BoHoJa at her heels while he was stuck outside. Hyuna had been the black horse, the black wolf, the black cat, and the black bird. She could shift instantaneous from one form to another.

How? JunHyung ground his teeth together, I’ve only ever shifted directly into a leopard, I’ve never even tried anything else.

The reason for this was that when JunHyung had awoken in the forest a year ago, he knew something was wrong with him, and his first night upon entering a city, he had been proven right. Getting into a fight with a street gang, he had uncontrollably shifted into the wild cat, which sent the other men running. At first, JunHyung liked the power that he received from that, but later, his power only made him different than the others and separated him. He got into fight after fight, feeling as if he had a natural right that made him better than others, but eventually, he only wanted to be on their level. That was when BiRain found him and took him in, and JunHyung finally decided to give up the anomaly of his genes and to try to fit in with society.

But now…now JunHyung saw that his abnormality may have been different from the most of society, but he was not actually alone…there were others like him. And the girl who had captured his heart…was truly one and the same as he was. Unfortunately for him, a man that he greatly disliked had also turned out to be more like him than he imagined.

A growl escapes between his clenched teeth as his lips rise over his fangs and his tail twitches with impatience. He paces along the meadow line, staring into the city, wondering where BoHoJa…or YongGuk and Hyuna had gone off to. Can YongGuk shift like Hyuna can? he wonders, putting panic in his limbs with the idea of them running off together while he has to wait to shift back outside of the town.

Finally, JunHyung closes his eyes and stills his body, tensing his muscles and creating the image of a man in his mind, concentrating on each part in effort to force the shift occurrence to happen…but it doesn’t.

Time had felt as if it had stopped as JunHyung waited in the meadow until finally his body shook and his cries were mixed with the thunderous sound of his shifting experience, and he arose again as a man. He sighs as he looks down to himself, thinking about how he should have forced himself to go back into the city before he shifted so that he wouldn’t be caught in the awkward moment of trying to go back in . What’s worse, he asked himself, a giant wild cat prowling the streets, or a man running through them? At that moment, he couldn’t find the answer, but he had run back to find scraps of clothes along the forest line, using them as temporary cover until he reached his apartment.

Now, JunHyung races along the city streets, calm and abandoned after the day’s rain as he makes his way to the bakery. He stops outside the window and peers in to see it abandoned, just as they had all left it; no customers, no YongGuk, and no Hyuna. He grunts as he pushes himself around the corner to the side alley and he spots YongGuk in human form, brown shirt and blue jeans without shoes as he looks up to the fire escape just out of his reach.

“Hyuna!” he calls up to the window, and JunHyung scowls at him.

“What are you doing?” JunHyung practically growls to him as he walks up.

YongGuk glances to him and then shakes his head, turning his attention back to the window above. JunHyung follows his gaze and looks to the dark window, wondering where Hyuna could have gone if she wasn’t with YongGuk. JunHyung smiles to himself, looking down to hide it from Guk, enjoying the fact that at least she didn’t run off with him and leave JunHyung behind.

JunHyung sighs and turns to the man, “Listen,” he tries to keep his voice calm, “Obviously, we all need to talk about this.”

YongGuk turns to him as his lips curl in annoyance, “We don’t need to talk about anything, we are done here. Hyuna and I, on the other hand, have some catching up to do.”

JunHyung grits his teeth, “Are you blind?” he growls, pointing his thumb to himself, “Didn’t you see that we are all the same, and we all need to figure out what’s going on.”

YongGuk turns his body to JunHyung, crossing his arms over his chest. “Hyuna and I have been the same from the beginning, you’ve only come into the picture to complicate things.”

“Me? You’re the one that came into our picture!”

YongGuk rolls his eyes, and JunHyung has to restrain every muscle in his body to keep from knocking the giant down.

“Obviously we all are part of some picture here, and we need to figure out what it is.”

“I agree,” Hyuna’s voice reaches them, as she comes around from the back alley of the store.

“Hyuna,” both JunHyung and YongGuk breath in unison, and then glance to each other with scowls.

Hyuna’s eyes are red and puffy, clearly upset about the situation, and why not? Everything felt like a dream and confusing.

Hyuna takes a deep breath, wrapping her arms around her stomach, “We all need to talk this through.” She says with soft eyes as she looks between them.

~ Kim HyunA ~

Hyuna leads the boys into the store, taking advantage of the storm making the city life nonexistent. She locks the door behind her and turns the sign to closed as she takes a seat. JunHyung and YongGuk look to each other before they pull out a chair and sit at the same table with her, being sure to keep from touching each other.

Hyuna folds her arms over her chest and leans back in her chair, staring at the table, thinking about what they could possibly say or do at this moment. She takes a breath and closes her eyes.

“I always thought I was alone,” she says softly.

“But you were never alone,” YongGuk replies, reaching forward and resting his hand on top of hers, “I had always been by your side.”

Hyuna glances to him with a light smile, seeing how correct he was.

“But you lied to her,” JunHyung voices, leaning forward and looking to Hyuna, “He had been by your side this entire time but led you to believe that you were alone!”

Hyuna’s eyes betray the hurt that comes with his statement as she recognizes that truth. She slightly pulls her hand out from YongGuk’s hand a bit, and when JunHyung sees, he reaches over and throws the man’s hand off of hers completely. Then, he takes her hands and places them in her lap, as he folds his own and leans on the table.

“I had to,” YongGuk says through his teeth, “I had no choice. In her eyes, people were the animals and I was her only friend! Just the way I was…she accepted me and looked away from others. I became what I had to in order to stay by her side.”

“You hid as a mongrel, a lie in itself!” JunHyung counters.

“I was happy living as a dog just to be next to her!” YongGuk shouts with hard eyes.

“Stop it!” Hyuna shrieks, slamming her hands on the table and glancing between the boys on her sides. “I know that, now!” she looks to YongGuk with a softer expression, “I see now that I was never alone and that YongGuk was always by my side,” she turns to JunHyung, “But also that JunHyung accepted me when I was at my worst.” She sighs and sits back, looking down to the table, “Everything is just…so confusing right now, I don’t want to argue between you…I just want to find out…the next plan of action.”

YongGuk smiles, but JunHyung looks to her with worry in his eyes.

“Let’s break this down bit by bit,” JunHyung offers.

Hyuna looks to him and YongGuk follows her gaze. JunHyung looks to YongGuk and she can see his jaw tighten as he clenches his teeth, not letting the hatred reach his eyes.

“Okay,” Hyuna says with a nod, “Let’s figure this out.”

~ ~ ~

JunHyung had started, telling how the farthest back that he can remember, he had awoken in a forest, blackened with ash. He told how he was alone and unclothed, his body burned and scarred along his back and how he could only remember his own name, and nothing else. He said that he raced to the nearest town, where people shielded their eyes from him, not even lending a helping hand. An elderly homeless man had been the only one to offer a blanket to him. After that, he had been forced to find his own clothes and food, walking aimlessly around the city streets, attracting strange stares from the other people. The first time he knew for certain that he was different was when a street gang surrounded him in an alleyway after he had tried to take on of their men’s wallets. In that moment, JunHyung realized that he was quite skilled in martial arts, as he managed to protect himself at best. However, the gang’s numbers were too much for him, and he found himself on the cold ground as they surrounded and beat him. After one man’s foot landed against his rib cage, his heart had been slammed into palpitations as his body wracked trying to bring in air to his lungs. He described the heat and pain he had felt, feeling as if he was dying. And then he shifted into the white leopard, and the men had staggered backwards, calling him a demon. When JunHyung stood, he saw the terror in their eyes and had chased them through the city, only to be driven out by the police. After a day of being stuck as the leopard, JunHyung had awoken the next morning again as a man.

He went to a new town and started again, gathering supplies and stealing for his food. He got into many fights, but most of them he won as a man, as a few he had been forced to shift. After a while of traveling, he found himself in Chinju, where BiRain took him in and gave him clean clothes and good food. Rain had encouraged him to change his ways, and offered his own home to JunHyung as long as he would stop fighting and look for a job. The deal was made and he ended up trying to blend in with society and hide his differences.

Hyuna had nodded all through his story, seeing so many similarities between them now. Her heart felt the pain that he must have had when he was traveling alone, not even a guardian by his side. She had taken a breath and then began on her own story.

She mainly stared off into the distance as she recounted her story. She told how she, too, had awaken in the forest, unclothed. The wolf, BoHoJa, had been lying at her side, but when she stood, the dog awoke and looked to her with his warm eyes. However, behind her a great fire tore through the trees, frightening her and pushing her North. She had run as fast and as long as she could, the fire creeping on her heels and the wolf running by her side. The heat from the fire and the adrenaline in her body had forced her to shift and she found herself running as a black stallion, able to race away from the heat of the fire. BoHoJa followed her out of the forest fire and stayed with her as she neared the city. She had collapsed outside of a town in the north, and awoke as a girl again, but the wolf had disappeared. She looked around the forest and then BoHoJa reappeared from the woods, a shirt and shorts in his jaw. That was when Hyuna accepted the dog as a companion, and she smiled as she looked to YongGuk with appreciation. From that moment on, she and the wolf traveled together. She told about the cold glances and words of the people in the city, how the men would approach her, how elderly woman would hit her with a broom, and how she had never felt the same as the people. She felt more comfortable away from society, where nothing was expected from her and she could just be herself. In the woods, Hyuna had learned how to shift voluntarily into the stallion, and she and BoHoJa would run side by side, as if unstoppable. She told about how she discovered that she was not limited to the stallion, but in order to sneak into some stores, she could shift into other beasts.

For the most part, she felt in control of her shifting abilities, but there were still times where it was hard not to fall into the shifting process.

After a moment of quiet, Hyuna and JunHyung glanced to YongGuk for his story. He had sighed and looked to Hyuna as he told.

Unlike them, he had awoken in wolf form, feeling confused and terrified. But Hyuna was there, a beautiful girl with hair darker than the smoke that rose from the fire. He had seen her run off into the trees and followed after her, wanting to escape the blaze for himself. Truthfully, YongGuk didn't know whether he was an animal or a person, but he followed Hyuna to the towns, and when she collapsed in exhaustion, he saw her body change back. YongGuk had looked to the town and run off down the slope, finding a shirt and shorts in a shopping bag by a bench. The woman to whom they belonged had run screaming upon his entrance, and he took the clothes back to Hyuna to clothe her.

After that, she had looked to him with soft eyes and he knew that he would stay by her side no matter what. Still, though, the YongGuk had not shifted back into human form, but he was sure that he and Hyuna were the same. He became envious of her as she shifted into different forms during their first day of traveling. On one day, as Hyuna slept at his side, his body shook and he awoke from his sleep as a man. He raced off into the forest, embarrassed of himself, not wanting her to see him. When she awoke and found the dog gone, she seemed so heartbroken. She cried into her hands and then ran to the town in search of food. When some men approached her on the outskirts of town, smoking at a campsite not far from civilization, YongGuk’s anger rose inside of him and he uncontrollably shifted into the wolf form again, and he ran to her rescue.

After that, Hyuna openly voiced her hatred of men, and her fear of people in general. YongGuk knew then that he could not be a man and stay by her side, but that he would have to settle to be only a friend to her. When she went into the towns by herself, he would pace along the line and listen for her, and pick up her scent in the wind. YongGuk had a great ability to track, able to be away from her for miles but still have an idea of her whereabouts. At times, he would change into a man form, but as soon as Hyuna approached, he could change back.

Many times, when he was in the towns by himself, trying to follow Hyuna, his anger would get the best of him and he would shift uncontrollably and attract attention from others. He decided that it was best for him to stay as a wolf with Hyuna in the wild than as a man in the city of people.

YongGuk sighs as he looks to JunHyung, “I admit that I became jealous,” he says, “I saw that Hyuna was staying in the town longer, and that she was becoming used to people. And I saw that she walked with you easily by her side and I worried that she was starting to accept you as a man.” YongGuk shakes his head, “You were able to be something that I had longed to be for so long. You could be yourself and be by her side. Finally, I just couldn’t take it any longer,” YongGuk looks to Hyuna, “I decided to change and try again. I cleaned myself up and I came in to this wretched town just to be by her side again. But then…I wanted more than just to be a companion following her around, I wanted to be the one she looks to and finds favor with.” He looks back to JunHyung, “I was envious of you, and I gave up a lot to do this. I won’t leave now…nor ever.”

JunHyung grinds his teeth as he stares to YongGuk. Hyuna sighs and nods. “We all awoke in a forest and went our own ways,” she says calmly, “But there’s still so much that doesn’t add up. Where did we all come from? Why are we different from the other people? How did we find each other like this? And what do we do now?”

“We fill in the holes,” JunHyung states, “We do some research and find out why we are the way we are and then we can find out what to do.”

“No,” YongGuk scoffs, “We just move on with our lives. Hyuna and I will continue our way and you yours.”

“Why should I be the one left behind?” JunHyung scowls.

“Because you fit in with society and we don’t! You want to be here and we want to move on!”

“Hyuna wants to be here, right, Hyuna?” JunHyung looks to her with pleading eyes and opens but no voice comes out.

“Hyuna, these people have never accepted you! You heard what JunHyung said just a while ago, he wishes you left!” YongGuk challenges and she looks to him.

“You know I didn’t mean that!” JunHyung growls, his fists clenching on the table.

“But that’s what happens,” YongGuk states, “People come and go in your life, cause pain and struggle. Relationships end. It’s best to just avoid them altogether, Hyuna.”

She thinks that YongGuk might be right…that’s what she had thought up until she met JunHyung…a relationship that she found she couldn’t give up nor did she want to.

“I’m not sure,” she mumbles.

“Stop it,” JunHyung shakes his head as he looks to YongGuk, “Whether you like it or not, I’m not leaving either. Relationship are part of life, you can’t avoid them.”

“We can try.” YongGuk scoffs.

JunHyung rolls his eyes at him and then turns to Hyuna. “Listen,” he says softly, “Who knows how many there are like us in this world. We’ve just discovered each other…you can’t just leave now. We need to stick together.”

Hyuna sighs and looks to him, trying to comprehend it all. “He’s right,” she says to YongGuk, “We can’t just split up now. Not when we’ve found each other like this. Relationships like this…are rare. We can’t just give it up, YongGuk.”

YongGuk looks away, grinding his teeth. “This is only going to cause pain.”

“Then we’ll have to learn to live with it.” Hyuna states, and JunHyung smiles.

A knock on the window disrupts their conversation, and they look to see BiRain standing in the street, looking in to them. He points to the door and Hyuna lets him in.

“Closing up early again, Hyuna?” he smiles as he pulls off his wet jacket, “You’re starting to slack off.”

Hyuna smiles and shakes her head, “It’s been a slow day…” YongGuk and JunHyung look to her, “For customers I mean.”

“I can imagine, that storm was insane!” BiRain looks to the boys at the table and he smiles. “You sure are around a lot these days, YongGuk.”

YongGuk smiles back to him, “I won’t be leaving anytime soon,” he states, glancing to JunHyung with a smirk.

“The more the merrier,” BiRain comments as he puts his hands on his hips. “Well, I don’t know about you kids, but I sure am starving. Due to the weather, I could go for some good seaweed soup, what do you think?” he glances around to them with a smile and everyone returns it.

“Sounds perfect,” Hyuna laughs.

~ Yong JunHyung ~

BiRain left them shortly after finishing the meal, claiming he had some unfinished work to attend to with MBLAQ. Hyuna, JunHyung, and YongGuk were left to walk back together in the awkward atmosphere.

“YongGuk, where have you been staying?” Hyuna asks.

“Outside of town,” he replies.

She sighs, “You should find a place in town I think…”

YongGuk breathes out and glances down the road. “I hadn’t been planning on staying long, but I’ll look into it.”

“I think that’s best.” Hyuna agrees as she looks to him. She forces a smile and he returns it, reaching out and tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

“If you need anything,” YongGuk says, glancing to JunHyung, “Just call to me…or come find me.”

“Okay,” Hyuna nods and YongGuk heads down the road, not looking over his shoulder, but his body seems tense.

JunHyung looks to Hyuna as she unlocks the back door to the apartment. He reaches for her arm before she enters and she looks to him, “We need to talk,” he says and she nods.

JunHyung comes up to the apartment with her and stands by the counter as she cleans some old dishes.

“JunHyung, what did you tell YongGuk that made him so angry that he shifted today?” Hyuna asks, glancing up to him.

JunHyung smiles, leaning forward, “I told him that I kissed you.”

Hyuna’s mouth drops and she pauses from her cleaning, “JunHyung!” she exclaims.

He laughs, putting his hands up, “What? It’s true! I kissed your cheek the other night.”

Hyuna’s eyes narrow to him as she shakes his head, looking back to her cleaning.

“I need…to tell you something,” JunHyung says, leaning on his hands on the countertop as he feels his body weaken with nervousness.

“I know what it is,” Hyuna states, not looking to him, “You don’t want me to go out by myself, and you don’t want me just running off on my own.”

JunHyung purses his lips, “There’s that…but there’s something more.”

“You don’t like YongGuk.”

“I don’t. And I don’t trust him.” JunHyung shakes his head, “But that’s not it either.”

“Then what?” Hyuna asks, looking up to him with clear eyes.

“Hyuna…there’s a reason I don’t want you out by yourself. And there’s a reason I don’t like YongGuk. And there’s a reason why I don’t want you just leaving town,” his voice feels shaky as he speaks.
“What is it?” she asks quietly, walking around the counter and looking to him.

“I…just don’t know how I should say it,” JunHyung laughs nervously, running his hand through the back of his hair.

Hyuna watches him, eyes waiting, as if she knows already.

JunHyung sighs as his lip twitches into a smile. He turns away from her and breathes slowly, “Okay, I’m going to need you just to listen for a bit. Don’t talk, don’t even comment, just wait until I finish.” Hyuna opens but JunHyung turns to he and holds up a finger, “Ah, just let me talk.” She closes and he smiles at her innocence. He walks to her and takes her hand, leading her to one of the bar stools that sits at the counter.

“Hyuna…” he begins, quietly, “The reason why I don’t want you to out by yourself, or being with YongGuk, or leaving Chinju is all the same.” He blinks and takes a breath, “It’s because I don’t want to lose you,” he smiles to her, watching her expression change. “Hyuna, I’ve been wanting to tell you…hoping it might change your mind into staying here. But…” she glances away, and he takes a step closer to her, leaning his hands on either side of her against the counter so that his face comes close to hers. “I’m afraid that YongGuk is going to complicate things now. You don't…like him do you? Because you’ve found out that he’s BoHoJa?”

She blinks and opens , waiting a moment before she speaks. “I don’t know,” she whispers, her eyes watering as she turns away.

JunHyung sighs and glances away, not exactly expecting that answer. He nods before looking back to her, and he reaches forward to take a hold of her chin, forcing her to look at him, “But…do you like me, too?” he asks quietly.

She waits a second, and then nods in his hands, making him smile.

He exhales in relief, “Then just know, there’s nothing I won’t do for you. You can try to run from me, but I’ll find you,” he smiles, “Nothing has to change just yet…I can wait.”

She smiles faintly and nods. Her lips part and she looks up to his eyes, and he finds that his heart thuds inside of him, his pulse reaching his fingertips as he holds her chin. His breath catches as he looks down to her, time seeming to stand still.

He moves closer to her, to see that she glances down to his feet and then back up. He turns his head slightly and moves in, sliding his fingers along her jawline to the back of her head, his fingers tangling in her soft, smooth, dark hair. He pulls her face in the extra distance and lightly touches his lips to hers, moving slightly so that they align. He presses his against hers with more pressure, his eyes closing as hers do. He pauses and pulls away just a bit, “I like you, Kim Hyuna,” he whispers into her lips, “And you like me too.” He smiles before pushing his lips to hers again, this time with more force and passion. He kisses her as he pulls her in, feeling her hand reach out to touch his chest. Their lips begin to move together as she kisses him back, making him smile as they move. She whimpers into his lips and begins to push him away slightly.

He pulls away to look at her, but she turns her face to the side, opening her eyes. He looks to her as her face twists into sadness, him not understanding. She breathes in, glancing to him and then quickly jumping down from the stool and running down the hall, closing the door to her room and locking it.

JunHyung sighs and turns to follow her, “Hyuna,” he says as he nears her door and lightly knock, “Hyuna, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you.”

He can hear her faint cries from inside, and wonders why she is so upset. She kissed me back, he reasons.

“Hyuna, please open up. I won’t do it again, I promise.”

He hears the sound of her crying stop, and he waits for the door to open, but nothing happens. He sighs as he puts his ear to the door, listening for the sound of her breath. Nothing.

“Hyuna?” he calls to her, putting his knuckles to the door with more force. “Hyuna, just open the door and I’ll say goodbye.”

Still, he doesn't hear anything.

He laughs to himself, “If you don’t answer me like this, it makes me worry that something is wrong…like you’ve fainted or something.”

She doesn’t respond in any way.

“You’re making me worry a little and over think…” he continues trying to wiggle the handle, “Hyuna, let me in please or just respond and I’ll leave.”

He holds his breath and strains to listen, but he can’t even hear the sound of her breathing.

“I’m coming in,” he warns, before slamming his shoulder into the door. “Hyuna?” he slams into it again with more power. “Open, the door, Hyuna!” he shouts, knocking on it quickly and then shoving into the handle. “On the count of three, I’m breaking your door down…one…two…” he backs away, “three” and runs into the door, putting all of his weight into his shoulder against the side of the door, breaking the handle and swinging it open to reveal an empty bedroom and an open window.

JunHyung yells into the empty apartment as he turns and runs for the door, knowing exactly where he needs to go in order to find her.

~ Kim HyunA ~

With everything changing all at once, JunHyung’s kiss only clouded Hyuna’s mind even more, sending her to the bedroom in effort to clear up her thoughts. He liked her…and she liked him…but YongGuk was there now, her guardian. What should I do? Where can I go?

Sitting in the kitchen after he had kissed her, having him breathe in her face…she couldn’t possibly think clearly. The bedroom had seemed like a quick escape at the moment, but with him talking to her through the door and pounding against the wood, she couldn’t think straight. In the end, she slipped out the window and down the fire escape, looking again for the solitude of the forest…and the company of YongGuk. 

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

~ LC ~

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