~ Kim HyunA ~

The next morning, Hyuna awakes along the forest line, lying in the brushes unclothed. It takes her a moment to gather her senses, trying to remember what had happened the night before. She slowly sits up, pressing her palms to her temple, squeezing her eyes closed as the memories come bombarding back to her. She sees CL in the bakery, BiRain at dinner, and JunHyung in the alley…being tackled by other men as he shouts for her to run.

The memory pulls the fatigue out of Hyuna’s body as she gasps and looks around. She spots her bag lying next to her, forgetting how or when she had gotten it out of the tree she had hidden it in. She grunts as she pulls on the hoodie and the pair of frayed shorts that she was left with, slipping her necklace under her hoodie, the string being long enough to have fit her neck even after shifting. Her other clothes must have been torn up from shifting the night before, her black t-shirt, jeans, and tennis shoes were most likely gone.

Hyuna jumps up and tosses her bag and what she has left into the bushes. She glances around for BoHoJa only for a minute, but when she doesn’t catch sight of the dog, she makes a run for the meadow, assuming that he was out hunting or still in the mountains. The most important thing on her mind was finding JunHyung.

Tears fill her eyes as she sprints through the meadow, ignoring the pain of the pebbles and sticks that jab her feet with each step. The morning sun already seems to have made its way to its midway point, and the heat along her cheeks as she runs doesn't help to keep her body cooled down. However, with the images of JunHyung fighting in an alley keep her heart and lungs working at an intense rate already. She imagines finding him in some alley, either dead or extremely injured.

Her feet begin to scorch on the hot concrete as she makes her way back into the city. Now, Hyuna doesn’t even seem to notice any other people on the sidewalk, though they move out of her way or glare as she runs past them. She swipes away the tears that have begun to streak down the side of her face as nears the street that she suspects the men were the night before. Because she had run a bit and it was dark, she couldn’t remember exactly which alleyway she had been taken down earlier. Just to be sure, Hyuna runs down each alley and looks around for any signs of a fight taking place recently. One alley gives her hope of finding something, as well as the fear of what that may be, when she stumbles upon what used to be her tennis shoes, now torn up and ripped, along with shreds of her former jeans and shirt. She abandons them to the alley dumpster and hurries down to the next alley.

Stone alley after stone alley, Hyuna’s panic only grows as each one ends up being empty of anything but trash. Sobs start to uncontrollably shake her body as her run turns into a fast-paced walk, her muscles feeling more and more difficult to move with each step. She takes a ragged breath in as she stands at the front of another empty alley. She squeezes her eyes shut and tips her head back, feeling as if the breath will turn into a desperate scream to the sky when she turns and hears, “Hyuna?”

She opens her eyes to the soft, quiet voice in front of her to see Yong JunHyung standing on the street, part of his body still within the doorway of his apartment complex. He stares at her with bewildered eyes and a gaping mouth. He has a black eye, bruises along his arms, and dried blood around his knuckles, but he’s breathing. He wears a wrinkled white t-shirt with brown and red stains on it, a black jacket, and dark jeans.

“Hyuna!” the exclamation barely makes a sound as he exhales and closes the distance between them in seconds, grabbing onto her wrist and yanking her forward into his chest. His arms wrap around her as her face is buried into his shoulder. Her eyes stare widely ahead, her body still unable to move from the shock of actually finding him. His breathing is slightly out of rhythm and his body feels warm. She can hear the soft beat of his heart pick up pace and feel his warm breath in her hair. His arms hold her tight, not offering any room for her to move between them.

“I was so worried,” he breathes onto the top of her head, unintentionally squeezing her tighter, “I…I didn’t know what happened to you! I ran around the city looking for you all night. Eventually, I assumed that you got back to your place since I saw you run out of the alley. But one guy…he was going after you. I tried to follow but I couldn’t make it out right away. I heard…so much.”

Hyuna suddenly worries that maybe he did see what happened to her that night. Maybe he saw more than he heard, although he didn’t mention it.

“I walked to every motel, hotel, and bath house I could find,” he continues, “But no one had even seen someone like you.”

After a quiet moment, he sighs and Hyuna twists her face away from his shoulder, suddenly feeling a bit dizzy from his scent, a musty unique smell. He then slowly starts to release her, first allowing her enough room to bend back and look up to his face. His eyes still seem worried, but something else in them says that he feels a sense of being relieved. He looks into her own for a bit and then blinks and glances around the street, letting her go. Hyuna backs away a few feet and looks around the road as people glance their way and put their noses to the air in disapproval.

JunHyung runs his hand through his hair as he looks back to her, “I’m really glad you’re okay,” he says softly, his eyes taking in her appearance, “What…happened…never mind,” he shakes his head, “You don’t have to talk about it.”

Hyuna looks down to his feet and nods. “I…don’t want to talk about it,” she says quietly.

She keeps her head down, letting her hair fall around her face as a shield from his eyes, but she glances up under her long lashes to see that he looks hurt by her words. He sighs again and looks away before speaking.

“So…you went back to your place last night?”

Hyuna nods in response, closing her eyes in the guilt of lying.

“What happened to your shoes?”

“Oh I um…lost them last night,” Hyuna looks up a bit but her eyes keep darting around the road in uncertainty.

“And your clothes?” JunHyung looks down to her with a hard expression.

“I…lost those too.”

JunHyung’s lip slightly curls in disgust and he purses his lips together as he nods and turns away from her. Hyuna stands still on the street, wondering why he looks so angry now. Did I do something wrong? Say something wrong? Does he know I’m lying? These thoughts run through Hyuna’s mind.

JunHyung looks to her again and glances down to her feet on the street, seeing how dirty they are from running through the woods and black concrete. He scowls and quickly turns around from her, smacking his palm against the brick building of his apartment complex. Hyuna jumps slightly and looks up to him in fear of his strong emotions.

JunHyung breathes into the wall for a moment before turning around and grabbing Hyuna’s hand and dragging her down the road where she has just come from. She stumbles to keep up with his pace, causing him to glance back at her, noticing her bare feet again and then slowing down for her to reach his side.

“Why are you doing this?” Hyuna asks with a squeaky voice, her hand trying to pry his grip off of her other one.

JunHyung pulls her around in front of him, letting go of her hand. He stares into her eyes, wide with fear but deep with innocence. He nods over her head, “Take me there.”

Hyuna looks behind her at the empty road and then back to him. “Where?”

He points a finger over her shoulder, “To wherever you’ve been staying.”

Her eyebrows flicker and she stumbles over her words, “Why- why do you need to go there?”

He looks to her with eyes that seem full of anger and pain at the same time. “You’ve been lying to us this whole time!” his voice huffs, “Yeah, you’re backpacking through but you haven’t been staying somewhere in town. You’re out there,” he points to the woods, “somewhere, I don’t know. But you’re taking me there now.”

“Why?” Hyuna’s voice grows stronger, suddenly feeling a little angry in response to his anger.

JunHyung laughs once in aggravation, “Because you’re going to pack up whatever it is you have with you and bring it into town!”

“Why do I have to do that?” Hyuna’s voice picks up tone.

“Because you’re not going to live in the forest, Hyuna! You’re not going to walk out in the dead of night like that and risk your safety each time! And I’m sure as hell not going to walk all the way out there with you each night to make sure you get back okay.”

He looks at her now with more worry than anger, and Hyuna understands what he wants. He doesn’t mean to try to control her or to find out anything about her, he wants to make sure that she’s safe. She looks from his black eye to the bruises on his wrists down to the blood on his knuckles.

“You may not care much about yourself,” JunHyung continues in a softer voice, looking down to her feet, “But there are people who care for you.”

He glances to her eyes just as she looks to his, feeling sad for him. His expression is soft and his concern seems genuine. A strange feeling that she hadn’t experienced before starts in her heart; a weird sense of pain and ache.

She sighs and looks towards the woods for a moment, feeling torn. “I have no where to stay.”

“Yes you do,” JunHyung answers quickly, “You can stay with CL! She lives right above the bakery!”

Hyuna looks back to him with a face of annoyance, “I don’t want to!”

“Why not?”

“Because! She’ll wonder why I all of a sudden have to move in with her!”
“Just tell her what happened! She’ll let you stay.”

“No! Don’t tell her what happened! Then she’ll get worried and she’ll know that I haven’t been going home at nights.”
“Who cares?” JunHyung raises an eyebrow, “I’m pretty sure she and BiRain already suspect as much.” Hyuna sighs and looks away. After a moment, JunHyung exhales audibly and says, “Fine! You don’t have to tell her anything! Just tell her that you’re not able to afford a place in town anylonger and that you’re wondering if you could stay with her for the last couple nights. Or, she can let you go now.” Hyuna raises her eyebrows and nods, agreeing that that may be a good idea. JunHyung smiles, “I mean, or you could avoid telling her anything…and you can stay in a room at my place.”

“Uh, gross!” Hyuna’s lip curls in disgust as she moves away from him.

JunHyung laughs and raises his hands, “It’s up to you! CL or my place!” he smirks.

Hyuna glances down the street as she thinks about the options. Finally she turns back to him with a smirk, “Let’s make a deal.”

“Uhh, okay…” JunHyung watches her suspiciously.
“I’ll ask CL if I can leave early, using the out of money for rent excuse. If she says no, then I’ll ask if I could stay with her. If the answer is still no, then I’m staying in the woods.”

JunHyung looks at her with a stoic expression, thinking over the possibilities. His eyes narrow, “Okay, but why wasn’t my place on the list?”

“Huh!” Hyuna scoffs and shakes her head as she walks away towards the forest.

“Hey, I asked a question!” JunHyung shouts as he follows behind.

Part of Hyuna hopes that CL will let her leave early, having worked off most of the damages made, yet, part of her also wishes that CL will at least let her stay with her a couple days so that she can efficiently clean up the mess that she made. The JunHyung idea did not even count as an option, but the thought of leaving the town rather than bothering with any of it anymore was a little tempting. But a fear still lied inside of her of leaving the town with people who might look for her in the future. They had her full name by this time, which Hyuna decides is the worst part of the situation. Therefore, just finishing the agreement seems to be the safest choice, which means that she needs to stay in town until Sunday. Worst comes to worst, she’ll tell JunHyung that she can stay in the woods a couple more days, although he seems pretty determined to make sure that she moves into town.

As they near the outskirts of the city, Hyuna looks out to the golden meadow and BoHoJa comes to mind as Hyuna stifles a gasp. The dog hated people almost more than Hyuna did. She remembers back to when BoHoJa had tried ripping the man in the alley apart right before her eyes. What if the dog attacked JunHyung? He was used to seeing her everyday at least once, what if she couldn’t go out to see him? Would he leave?

“What are you doing?” JunHyung brings Hyuna out of her thought process as she blinks and looks up to him.

“Nothing?” she answers it in the tone of a question.

JunHyung looks from her to the meadow ahead and then back, “Well, you’re just standing there. Is it this way or not?”

“Oh!” Hyuna hadn’t realized that she stopped walking and just faced the open meadow and forests ahead. “It’s…this way…but…” Her mind starts working again on her options.

“But…what?” JunHyung asks, his eyes showing worry again.

Hyuna stares at him for a second and looks at his bruised eye again, thinking that he’s done a lot for her and that maybe she shouldn’t cause him so much trouble.

“I uh…haven’t been traveling alone.” She answers as she carefully strides into the field, picking each step with caution.

“What do you mean?” JunHyung laughs as he follows.

“I mean…I have a dog that I’ve been traveling with…a pet!” she glances to him but keeps her eyes forward and her head down.

“Oh! That’s great, I love dogs!” JunHyung looks down to her feet as he goes, watching her carefully walk on her toes, wincing as she goes.

“Well, my dog is, ouch, kind of…well…”
JunHyung laughs, “What?”

“Well, ouch, he’s big. Really big, ouch.”

“Oh, well that’s fine too.”

Hyuna can’t help but laugh now too, “I don’t think you fully, ouch, understand what I mean…”

Before she can say anything more, JunHyung steps in front of her path and squats on the ground, his back to Hyuna. He glances over his shoulder and pats his back. “Get on,” he says flatly.

“Excuse me?” Hyuna raises an eyebrow.

“Get on my back and I’ll walk you through this part.” He turns and looks towards the meadow, talking over his shoulder.

“I don’t think so.” Hyuna moves to go around him, but JunHyung slides in front of her path again. Hyuna tries the other side, but again he moves in front.

“This would go a lot faster if you just get on,” he shrugs. She scowls and crosses her arms, waiting for him to move. “I’m a patient man.” JunHyung nods.

Hyuna scoffs and looks at him sitting on the ground, waiting for something to happen. She looks off to the left and taps her foot. She takes a breath, and then runs for it, jumping over JunHyung like a game of leapfrog and then bounding through the cattails of the meadow. Her smile fades as she hears JunHyung’s pace right behind her. Before she can turn, he grabs onto her arm and twists her around, having her land up against his back. He heaves her up by her arm and wraps them around his neck, and then starts walking for the woods with long strides.

“Let me down!” Hyuna cries as she tries to kick him.

“We’ll be there soon,” JunHyung says as he walks, pulling her higher onto his back, “You don’t feel like anything!” he exclaims as he lets go of his arms and holds her with no hands. Hyuna shrieks with the sensation that she’ll fall, and her arms grasp his neck tighter. “Don’t choke me!” he cries as he pulls her arms free a bit with a laugh.

Hyuna stares ahead, feeling defeated. She doesn’t wrap her legs around him, but lets them lay limp on his back awkwardly. He grunts as he reaches behind himself and pulls her legs around his waist. Hyuna’s eyes widen at his touch of her legs and she suddenly wishes that she could have showered earlier.

“It’ll be easier for me if you hang on a bit,” he says softly as he holds her legs at place at his side.

“I don’t want it to be easier for you.” Hyuna states.

She feels JunHyung’s shoulders rise and fall as he chuckles and shakes his head. The two trample through the meadow in this way, nearing the entrance of the forest. Hyuna sighs as they come up on the forest opening, when the silence of the forest suddenly breaks with the low-throated howl of BoHoJa, who leaps out from the darkness of the trees and bears his teeth, snarling and snapping at JunHyung.

“Whoa!” JunHyung cries as he jumps backwards, tightening his grips on Hyuna’s legs as he tenses to run.

The dog lunges forward, his teeth snapping shut inches away from JunHyung’s white t-shirt.

“Stop it, stop it!” Hyuna shouts as she kicks free from JunHyung’s grasp and jumps down. She quickly places herself between the wolf and JunHyung, her hands out towards the dog and her eyes pleading with him. “BoHoJa, stop!”

She dog stands firm, his legs planted apart as if to make another jump for them. His lips curl over his white teeth as his tongue wipes across them. A low growl rumbles out from his chest with a long breath. The hairs on his back are raised and his ears lay flat against his head. He stares at Hyuna and then glances to JunHyung, his growl growing inside of him.

“BoHoJa…” Hyuna scolds lightly, “Please, don’t do this. Trust me.” She pulls her necklace out of her hoodie and dangles it in front of her for him to see. The dog’s growling stops as his eyes lighten and his posture relaxes. He moans as his ears come forward and the hairs start to lay back down. “That’s right,” Hyuna encourages. She smiles and crouches down as she puts her hands out to him.

The dog sighs and steps forward, placing his head in her hands. She smiles and rubs the dog’s fur, pulling him in for an embrace. BoHoJa looks over her shoulder and bears his teeth and starts to growl at JunHyung.

“Easy, boy,” Hyuna laughs as she pats his back, “He’s a…friend.”

The dog whines as she lets him go and stands up to see JunHyung. He stands back toward the meadow a few feet, eyes and mouth wide open.

“I thought you liked dogs.” Hyuna smiles with a pat on BoHoJa’s head.

“Yeah… I said dogs but that’s…that’s not a dog! That’s a… he’s a…”

“He’s a wolf.” She states as she turns and searches for the spot where she tossed her bag.

“Right,” JunHyung whispers as the dog turns and faces him, lips twitching over his teeth in a silent snarl.

“BoHo, where’s my bag?” Hyuna asks as she looks around.

The dog turns to look at her, his expression suddenly friendly. JunHyung turns his head at the absurdity of it all. “Um, BoHo?” he asks, pulling the dog’s attention back to him.

“Yes,” Hyuna answers, still searching, “BoHoJa.”

“Guardian?” JunHyung looks down to the dog, who stares up to him with fierce eyes. “Fitting.” He takes a step forward, his hands up in a defensive gesture. “Good…dog...”

BoHoJa lunges forward with a loud snarl and a clashing sound of his teeth that seems to echo through the forest. JunHyung pulls back as the dog lands just a foot away from him.

“Stop that!” Hyuna scolds again, “Come help me find it!”

BoHoJa holds JunHyung’s terrified expression a second longer before turning and prancing to Hyuna’s side. He sniffs the ground and then walks off a few feet to some bushes. He digs around a bit and then returns with Hyuna’s bag.
She smiles and claps her hands together, “Perfect! Thanks, boy!” JunHyung rubs his head as he watches her hug the dog again. She turns to look at him. “What about BoHo?”

JunHyung’s eyes widen, “Wha- what about him?”

“He can’t come?”

JunHyung stifles a short laugh and glances around, “Where would he stay? Chaelin loves dogs but I think even this would scare her!” he shakes his head, “He can’t come.”

Hyuna nods, turning to the dog and rubbing his shoulders as she looks into his eyes. “You stay here, okay?” she says softly, just barely loud enough for JunHyung to understand what she’s saying. The dog’s full attention is on her and every word that she says. “I have to go with him for a little. I’ve thought about it…and this is what I have to do so that you will be safe and I will get out of here quickly and quietly. I can’t risk letting someone else know about you and find you.” Hyuna shakes her head with the image of someone coming and shooting BoHoJa out of the safety of the town. Allowing JunHyung to see the dog was the only exception since he may have seen or heard the dog earlier. At least if JunHyung knows that the dog is on her side, he wouldn’t mention the beast to anyone else. She turns to look at him, “You can’t tell anyone about this, JunHyung. Not BiRain, not Chaelin, not anyone. I’m coming with you because that is the deal we’ve made. If something happens to BoHoJa…” her voice trails off as her mind wanders to what life would be like then. She honestly had no memory of a life without the dog at her side.

“Okay, okay,” JunHyung nods, his eyes soft but serious, “I won’t tell anyone.”

Hyuna squints her eyes at him and quickly stands. She looks at him for a second and then sticks out her pinky towards him. “Pinky swear,” she demands.

JunHyung smiles and takes a step forward, offering his pinky.

Hyuna pulls hers back quickly, cocking her head to the side, “Don’t do it…unless you mean it.”

JunHyung lets his smile fade into a thin line as he nods, “I promise.” He says, reaching forward and hooking his pinky with hers and then bringing their thumbs together at the top.

Hyuna holds his eyes and nods, actually trusting his words. Their pinkies stay clasped for a while before she turns and walks to BoHoJa, letting their fingers slide apart softly. She leans back down to the dog, who sits by the forest edge with his eyes on her. “I’ll be back,” she says as she holds his head and looks into his eyes. “I promise I’ll be back soon. Wait for me, okay, my BoHoJa?”

The dog whines, his eyes looking almost as if they’re about to tear. Hyuna sighs as she forces herself up, her bag limply in her hand at her side. JunHyung purses his lips as he watches her trudge over.
“Is that all you have?” he asks quietly.

She nods her head, not looking at him, but staring at the ground.

JunHyung reaches forward and takes her bag to carry, “This is how you’ve been living?” he sighs and shakes his head, swinging the bag over one shoulder and walking in front of her. “Get back on.”

“I don't want to.” She states, without looking.

“Just get on,” JunHyung says as he stands and takes ahold of her hand.

At his touch, BoHoJa jumps up, teeth ready to take JunHyung’s hand off. JunHyung drops her hand and backs away a quick step.

Hyuna doesn’t even glance at the dog, but instead, she starts off into the meadow, leaving him growling and staring JunHyung down. JunHyung blinks and then walks by Hyuna’s side out into the meadow, looking over his shoulder at the beast as he paces the forest line, whining and crying while growling and howling.

Hyuna walks by JunHyung in silence, quiet tears rolling down her flushed cheeks as she stares at her feet, watching them carefully step between the cattails. Her heart feels as if it rips further and further apart with every step and every cry echoing from the forest side. 

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

~ LC ~

Chapter Five is up~ let me know your thoughts on any of it. ask questions. suggest something. ;)