She heard a whimper echoing right by her ear. The crying finally made her eyes flutter open just to have a muzzle right in front of her face and have her nose suddenly by a dog’s tongue.

She pulled her face away, caught off guard by the sudden caress of the animal, and slowly sat up as she ignored the ache that ran through her body from having slept on the grass overnight.

Cross-legged, she gave a more attentive gaze to the dog, a beautiful blue eyed and white fur majestic wolf, which was sitting in front of her, panting loudly with his tongue hanging out his mouth. She rubbed her eyes and ran her fingers through her leg before resting her hands on her shoulders. She took a minute to herself before stretching out her arm and gently petting the animal. Liking the soft caress, it approached her until she had the ability to use both hands to the dog across its body, as she enjoyed the feel of its fur.

“There you are!”

The voice caught both creatures attention with Sora lifting her head up just as the dog escaped from her grasp to go back to its master; she caught sight of an older lady holding a bouquet in her hand with an umbrella in the other. She was smiling back at Sora while getting up on her feet and dusting the dirt off from her bottom.

The stranger noticed the puffiness and redness in the younger one’s eyes. Her smile disappeared as it turned into a worrisome look. “Are you alright dear?”

“H-hmm, yea…”

The lady glanced towards the tomb before looking back at the girl, finally having figured out what she was doing. “Visiting a loved one?”

Sora dropped her head down, her hands gripping onto her jeans as she nodded to the old woman. She held in her tears until the lady marched towards her and gently lifted her head up, catching the tears in the corners of her royal blue eyes. “Oh, sweetheart, it’s okay to cry. You don’t need to hold yourself back-”

Once again, the young one burst into tears. She held onto the woman with her head resting on her shoulder while hugging her tightly. The response was a gentle pat on the back, soothing Sora’s cries the best she could. “Why don’t you accompany me back home so I can prepare you a nice pot of tea, hmm? I can even cook you breakfast.”

She didn’t let her respond as the old lady took Sora’s hand in hers and gently dragged her away from one grave before arriving to another where she placed the bouquet of flower right on top of the stone and gave herself a moment of mourning before they finally parted, back to where she had come from.

The way back was a quiet one. Sora had finally calmed down, distracting herself with the wolf’s presence as it tried to catch her attention.

Within the next few minutes, they arrived at the lady’s home, a beautiful house outside of town; portraying an old and vintage look from the outside just like on the inside.

Led to the kitchen, she sat down by the table while the stranger started preparing the tea, leaving her pet to play with her new guest.

“I hope I’m not prying by asking this, but did you spend the night at the cemetery?” Her soft voice soothed Sora in the strangest way; it was a different sensation than the one she used to feel from her beloved fiancé but still good enough to calm her down.

“I did… I didn’t feel like going back home alone…”

She was still moving by her counter, preparing something to fill up her stomach. “How long has it been?”

“Eighty-two days… You?”

“One thousand days.”

“Is it still hard as the first days? Does the pain fade away? Does it just ever stop hurting?”

The lady slowed down in her movements, the pain from the girl’s voice ringing in her ears.

“The pain fades away eventually but it doesn’t mean that the hurting completely stops. It is there, and it’s always going to be present, you just have to learn how to live with it.”

Silence fell on both of them as the heavy words of the lady left a sting inside Sora’s heart. “I don’t think I will be able to survive without him.”

The lady turned around with a tray of plates and walked over to the table, taking a seat next to Sora, giving her the cup of tea she had prepared.

“You have been doing it for the past eighty-two days, haven’t you? I know it’s hard, but you are still so young! It shouldn’t be the end-”

“It is the end. He-he is the love of my life. No one is ever going to take his place. I don’t care if I grow old and die alone.” She was trying to convince herself with those words, the memories of her unfaithful night creeping up her skin. Just then, she realized the harshness of her voice, making the atmosphere turn morose. She apologized for her rudeness, knowing that she was losing control of herself again, and looked down at the table where her eyes stared at the surface of her drink.

The older woman looked at her guest with pity in her eyes. She was in the same position as she had lost a loved one of her own and knew of the anger and resentment it came with it.

“It’s okay dear, I understand your frustration, but believe me when I say that the more you dwell on the pain that his death brought you, the more you will distance yourself from the happy memories his life gave you. Cherish the moments you had with him-”

“But it hurts.”

The woman was speechless. She knew of the pain and understood her emotional state but she didn’t know what to say to make her feel better.

“I know it hurts. I’ve been there, but you can’t let that take over your life. You can’t keep feeding the pain or it will just get bigger and so strong, you will never be able to vanquish it and move on. You will be stuck on that same page in your life and miss everything that awaits you. You have a destiny of your own, child. You have your own life to live. I am not saying to forget him; use his memory as inner strength, as a way to survive.”

“What kind of destiny do I have? We had it all planned out and he was brutally murdered before we even got the chance to do anything! I would do anything to get him back… I would even sell my soul to the devil if that is what it takes to have him back.”

“Be careful with what you wish for, dear, you never know who might hear you.”

Sora lightly chuckled at the words that slipped out the woman’s mouth, not having the slightest thought of its reality. “I’m sorry, but I don’t believe in that kind of thing. I’m not superstitious.”

The old lady decided to let this part slide; she knew that one day the young woman sitting in front of her would find out the truth about her life and what hidden secrets have been erased from her memory.

The next hour flew by with the pot of tea empty as well as the plates of food. Looking at the clock hanging on the wall, Sora knew it was time to go. As reluctant as she was, she had a promise to fulfill. “Thank you for your hospitality, but I think I should get going…”

“You are always welcome to stay if you still feel lonely to be all by yourself.”

“Thank you.”

As Sora stepped out of the house with the brown leather jacket tightly embracing her body, the old lady watched her go before closing the door and walking to her kitchen. While she was cleaning up the table, she turned to her familiar and voiced out her order.

“Go and keep an eye on her. I need to know of that demon’s undoing to her.”

She was back into her home after nights of being away.

The silence was heavy as it hung on every single speck of dust that floated around the premises.

The only light was the one from the morning sun, but even at that, their home was still as dark.

It stung her heart with such depth, she could already feel the bridge holding her tears away slowly break down.

Taking the woman’s words into account, she tried to distract herself from the ache by thinking of the happier moments she had lived in the past ten years.

It didn’t work though.

Having to rethink about those memories all by herself was just as painful as knowing that she will have to live the rest of her life without the man that had brought her such joy into her own pitiful life.

She walked across the living room, ignoring the pile of mess that had filled the wooden floor and the rest of the furniture. She made her way to the bedroom where her eyes landed on their bed, still perfectly undone with the covers, the pillows and bed sheets flying all over the place.

She clenched and unclenched her jaw, ignoring at her best the sight in front of her as she diverted her steps to her closet, fishing out a new set of clothes. She constantly kept the thought of the strength she needed in order to bring justice to her boyfriend’s death; she made a vow and she was going to stick by it no matter what.

In the next hour or so, she cleaned herself up and as she wore back his jacket, she stepped out of her apartment, more determined than ever to fulfill her quest.

She stepped out into the streets, unaware of the shadow following her ever so gently, and decided to walk instead of taking the bus or even the subway; stepping out into the fresh air of the season might as well calm her down with the soft wind embracing her.

Step by step, she could feel the pacing of her heart accelerate.

The anxiety was running high through her veins, the same queasiness lingering in the pit of her stomach at the thought of going back to that spot. But she didn’t have a choice; she had to get this done.

The closer she got, the more flashbacks flew through her brain, haunting her with dead imagery; she had to stop several times to conceal her discomfort by breathing in deeply until it went away.

It took time, but she finally made it.

Once she stood by the entrance of the alley from the club, she stared into the dark empty route, gathering the inexistent courage into moving forward.

The yellow tape was still hanging around, as it was prescribed as a crime scene.

She didn’t want the cops help either way; she knew that they wouldn’t do anything for someone like him, which is why she decided to work on her own into solving the mystery murder.

She took small steps as her feet took her closer and closer into the pool of dried blood that was still present and painted fiercely across the cemented ground.

She crouched down and retraced gently with her fingertips the red stain. She could feel the nausea settling in, but she tried to ignore it in order to put her full focus onto the matter at hand.

From the ground, she lifted her head up and looked around to see if she could spot something that was out of the ordinary; even the smallest hint that could help her into holding up her promise, but she found nothing of the sort.

She reached a dead end.

The biggest question still remained unanswered and despite how many unwanted attention they had created over the years, she couldn’t tell who was brave enough to confront Seungho, or even who was strong enough to kill him.

She knew it was no accident.

Not when a heart was violently ripped out from its confinement.

“Well, well, well, look who we have here~”

Sora tilted her head around and spotted two familiar faces. She got back up on her feet and turned around to face them.

“What do you want?”

“We should be asking you the same question.”

“I’m here to figure out who the hell murdered Seungho, since you guys don’t seem to be doing your job.”

“It’s funny you say this because we were here on the same account.”

The two cops started to approach her; she was prepared for the run.

“Really?”

“Well, how can we ignore such a case when the target we are looking for to arrest is right in front of us!”

“You think I did it? Are you out of your ing mind?! Why would I deliberately kill my own boyfriend?!”

“We need a suspect, and you are the only one that witnesses saw.”

“I can’t believe this…” From one cop to the other, she kept glancing on both men trying to figure out how to outrun them. The more they walked towards her, the more steps she took, walking backwards in a discreet manner. “You can’t seriously think I did this, right?” She turned to the one she knew the most, heartbroken to see betrayal in his eyes. “Guk… You knew how much he meant to me! What makes you think that I would be evil enough to murder somebody? Let alone my own fiancé?!”

“Let’s not make this any harder than it already is… J-just come with us.”

“No! You have no right to do this!”

“We do.” She glanced towards the other cop, her eyes piercing with such anger through his, she was ready to burst out her frustration straight at him. “We have a warrant for your arrest.”

“You’re lying. Guk, tell me you guys are lying. P-please- you can’t do this to me.”

She had tears in the corners of her eyes from the overwhelming emotions that were piling up one by one. The look in her eyes was hurting his heart, but he had to do his job no matter how much he hated doing this to her, as he knew just how much in pain she was at this moment.

He had to ignore the bond that linked them both in order to fulfill his duty as an officer.

He didn’t have a choice.

“Sora, please. Listen to me. It doesn’t have to be this difficult-”

“I’m making it difficult? You’re the one barging in on me and accusing me without any proof! The worst of it all is that you know I’m innocent! I get that we don’t have the best history of all, but you know me better than this Yongguk. You know I would never hurt him. You knew him for sake. He was murdered! For all we know it could’ve been your stupid partner over here who did it!”

“Hey! Who gave you the right to insult a cop?!”

“H-Himchan. Calm down. Give me a moment with her.”

“Whatever.”

The man in question walked back out, leaving the other pair within their own privacy.

“Run.”

“Wh-what?”

“Hit me and then run. I can let you go but if he catches you, I won’t have a choice but to bring you in at the station. I’ll pay for the bale money myself if it comes to this, but please, I’m giving you the chance to escape, so go for it. I’ll cover for you.”

She stared at the younger man, astonished by his plead. “I-I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. Just do it… Fast.”

Barely a chuckle escaped from when she punched the cop right in his face, leaving him with a bloody nose as he stumbled backwards and fell on the ground. He cursed loudly from the impact giving the chance for Sora to run just as the other came back. Without a second thought, he started running after her, leaving his partner on the floor.

As for Sora, the only thing that mattered right now was to escape the grip of the cop that was behind her; she needed to find a place to hide but had no location in mind that could help her do so.

She was lost in her thoughts when the echo of a barking dog caught her attention. Just then, she spotted the animal right in front of her as it stood several feet away from where she was. It barely took a second to realize, from the white fur and blue eyes, whom it was.

As she got closer, the dog ran back to where it came from giving Sora the chance to follow it as fast as she could. But unfortunately, Luck wasn’t on her side.

Just as she was about to reach for the corner and turn, she tripped, causing her to fall straight against the concrete. She cried out from the impact as she landed sideways, crushing her body against the pavement. She rolled on her back as the immensity of the pain numbed her nerves; her eyes were shut close with her lungs coughing loudly and her heart beating at an irregular fast pace.

People were either passing by and ignoring her or trying to help; the sight of the cop running straight towards the small crowd caught the public’s attention making them back away. Just as he was about to reach out for her, the dog abruptly reappeared, showing his set of canines as he violently barked at the cop, setting a barrier with his body with Sora behind, protecting her.

“Damn you stupid dog, get out of the way!”

Whenever the cop moved to a side, the wolf mirrored his movements, not backing out.

In the end, he finally gave up and simply walked away, leaving a bruised young woman with her enraged pet.

Once he was out of sight, the pet turned around and caressed Sora with his muzzle, wanting to get her back up. She stayed on the floor and stared at the dog, trying to figure out what was going on; as much as she tried to think about it, her mind was left completely blank. She simply breathed out with the corners of her lips moving upwards, thanking the wolf.

Once again, she had a spectator watching from afar yet another dramatic scene unraveling in front of him.

The sight of that white wolf sent shivers down his spine.

He could sense fear building up from the pit of his stomach; he knew where that damned animal came from and he wasn’t ready to face his owner. ‘It’s that damn witch again… I’ll have to kill that dog if I ever want to get Sora back.’

As if he had heard his thoughts, the blue-eyed wolf whipped his head towards the demon, and on cue growled, his white canines once again showing aggressiveness and warning.

Cheondung walked away slowly, eyeing the pet until he was far enough and disappeared within the crowd.