Random Rambles: Hey guys~ how did you like the previous chapter? I felt like a devil writing it, but it was soooo much fun (>u<). New chapter is a bit more toned down and serious (and plot related...???), hope you guys still like ~ <3

***

In case you were wondering what I was doing after the locker room fiasco, well...Make an educated guess. 

That's right; I ran. Oh, I ran like hell. 

I bolted out the door, adrenaline rushing through my body as I ran towards the girls' locker rooms, grabbed my belongings from the storage room and ran back out again. I just wanted to leave, I wanted to go home. 

"Jae-sshi?" Lili called from somewhere behind me, but I didn't grace her with a reply. I kept running, still in my P.E. uniform, trying my utmost best not to think about what happened in the locker room. 

"No, no, no, no, no!" I chanted, crushing my eyes shut now and then while I ran over the campus without really knowing where I was going. "Argh!" I exclaimed when flashes of moist skin and muscles and heated glares entered my mind. I quickened the pace out of pure frustration, still in utter disbelief that that actually happened. 

"Ugh, this ! Oh my God, I'm going to have to go to another school!" I screamed at myself, feeling my face heat up when the memory of a pair of hands rested on my- stop it, Jae! I shook my head fiercely and jumped around the abandoned area, trying to literally shake off the horrid images. 

How did this even happen? Why did this even happen?! I groaned and felt like screaming my lungs out. I saw stuff that I really did not want, nor expect I would see on the first day at a new school. No innocent girl should ever have to suffer through something like that, unless, you know, you're into that kind of stuff, then hey! Eat your heart out, but for me? Uh-uh, no thank you! 

I dropped my stuff on the ground and plopped down beside it, taking deep breaths. How was I ever going to face any of them again? Would they start telling people that they found out that I was a girl now? Would people start teasing me over it? Why didn't I just opened up my mouth to correct people when I heard them assume I was a guy? Oh, right, because it was my first day here and I was a total newbie who was too awkward to function. 

Should've, could've, would've, Jae...

I sighed and pulled my knees up to my chin. "Worst day ever..." I breathed, finally becoming aware of my surroundings. I was pretty sure that I was still on the school grounds, but I must've taken a different turn and ended up in some kind of garden. It was actually quite pretty here. There were all sorts of flowers planted in perfectly kept beds at the side of the green grass and there were rose bushes. A lot of them. 

When I inhaled, I could smell the sweet scent of roses lingering in the air. The smell calmed me down and I allowed myself to relax, to be careless about what had happened. A gentle breeze picked up and trailed over my skin. The touch soothed me and I looked up when the leaves rustled. I hovered one hand over the bending grass and was immediately hit by a feeling of intense nostalgia. 

For the briefest of moments, I was back home in my meadow. I felt rooted in the earth, could sense the energy of life buzzing all around me. The only things that were missing were my twelve stars in the sky, but other than that, I nearly felt- at peace. This secluded, quiet little rose garden was a decent substitute. 

I managed a smile when I caught sight of a butterfly, happily flitting around. I followed its movements with my eyes, how it moved freely about and even hovered over me. Since the butterfly flew so close, I could nearly touch it. I held out my hand to it, not expecting it to come near it, of course, but was rather surprised when it meekly landed on the palm of my hand. 

The butterfly lazily opened and closed its wings while I stared at it in awe. It was light as a feather and its paws tickled my skin. Of course I was far too afraid to move now, so I just held out my hand awkwardly, looking at the creature. The butterfly was gorgeous and so delicate-looking. It may have had a rather fat body, but its wings were big enough to compensate that. They were almost entirely black, spotted in a pale powder blue color, with hints of red. 

I was so enthralled by this little creature that I was too late to notice someone sneaking up from my side. Naturally, I startled, but remained extremely careful in handling the butterfly in my hand. 

"Shh, shh, it's okay, I don't mean any harm, just- just stay very still," the man said in a distinct deep voice that was surprisingly pleasant to hear as he kept his almond-shaped eyes focused on the butterfly. He approached me carefully, a net in hand and I realized what he was trying to do. 

"You're not going to hurt it, are you?" I asked quietly and he beamed at me.

"No, of course not, I wouldn't dare," he replied in the same quiet tone, stepping carefully towards me. He moved purposely slow and still, and since he was so focused on the butterfly, it gave me the opportunity to study this stranger. He was obviously older than me, but not that much. He could be a college student, if I squinted my eyes. His hair was dark with light brown highlights, groomed neatly into a coif. His jawline was impressively sharp and I couldn't help but grin when he stuck out his tongue a little through bow-shaped lips as he focused on the butterfly.

He carefully grabbed his net and ever so gently moved it over the butterfly that was still sitting meekly in my hand. The creature got startled by the sudden touch and flew, giving him the opportunity to lead it into a wooden box framed with something that looked like gauze. The man had a huge grin on his face as he studied the butterfly inside the box and made sure to handle it with the utmost care when he set it down next to me before he sat down himself. 

"You know, I've been out here looking for a specimen like that for the last hour," he admitted, grinning sheepishly. There was something rather dorky about him now that he was at eye-level, but that didn't make him less handsome. 

"You know what this species is called?" he suddenly asked and I blinked at him. 

"Um, a butterfly?" I guessed and he chuckled, shaking his head. 

"I mean, yeah, it's a butterfly, but this little guy is also known as the Common Jay. They're very difficult to catch. I'm a little amazed that you got this little guy to settle down on your hand so easily," he explained in his smooth voice. 

"Oh, well, maybe it was because it knew we have the same name," I quipped and the stranger lifted his eyebrows at me, a surprised smile on his tanned face. 

"Your name is Jay? J-A-Y?" he asked. 

"J-A-E, but yeah," I chuckled, momentarily forgetting about the locker room disaster. 

"Ha. Well, whaddaya know? That makes complete sense to me," he laughed wholeheartedly. "Say, you don't happen to be the new student by any chance?" he then asked, looking at me questioningly. 

I flushed and looked away from him. Guess the momentary amnesia was over again. "Eh, yeah. I started today." 

"Ah, so you're the one Kyungsoo had to show around. Hope he did a good job," he suddenly said and I looked at him. 

"You know D.O.?" I asked and the man nodded. 

"Well, I sure hope so, he's only one of my best students," he chuckled and my eyes widened. 

"You're a teacher?" I asked, stumped, as I appraised him again for good measure. This guy seemed way too young and way too good-looking to be a teacher in my book. What was he doing being a teacher when he could just as easily been an actor or model or something?

"Seunghyun Tabi, I teach biology. But don't hold it against me, though, it's only parttime," he introduced. "It's nice to meet you, Jae." He extended his hand and I snapped out of my bewilderment to shake it. 

"Nice to meet you, sir," I muttered, wishing I had taken a shower after all. Bacon in the house! ... The unwanted memory floated in without me being able to stop it. Nope, never mind, taking it back. I'm happy I'm probably stinking right now, I can live with this.

"So, Jae, any particular reason why you're out here by yourself in your P.E. clothes?" Mr. Tabi suddenly asked in his low-timbre voice and I wasn't sure how to respond to that. I was not about to explain everything that happened to a teacher. 

"I do hope the other students are behaving themselves?" he asked, a little concerned. 

What, do you need help taking off your clothes? 

I cringed at hearing the ghostly voices of the memories in my head and tried to get rid of them. "Yes, sir. Everyone is very nice," I ended up saying, but I doubted whether I actually sounded convincing. 

"Buuut?" he offered and I couldn't help but find him charming. He seemed like a nice guy and a good teacher, based on how easy it was to talk to him alone. 

"I guess I'm just having an off day," I decided to say and to this, he nodded understandingly. 

"It being the newbie, right?" he prompted to which I nodded. 

Brother, you've no idea...

Mr. Tabi continued looking at me, a playful glint in his eyes. I squinted a little at him, since I couldn't tell what he was thinking. Then, he clacked his tongue and got up to his feet, walking to the nearest rose bush. He picked a beautiful, red one, reached into his bag and took out a pair of floral scissors. He cut the rose neatly, smelled it and then walked back to me. 

I frowned a little at him when he handed the rose to me. "Here, to brighten the day a bit. A lovely rose for a lovely young lady who helped me catch a Common Jay."

My jaw dropped at the gesture, but mostly because he was the first person in the entire school that actually called me a lady! If I was the hysterical type, I would've been crying tears of joy right now.

"Wow, t-thanks, sir..." I took the rose from his hand and looked at it, whilst tugging a loose stray of hair behind my ear. "You... you can tell I'm a girl?" the question flew out of my mouth before I even realized I had said them out loud and was met by yet another stare of surprised and confusion.

Then, Mr. Tabi laughed. "Wow, kid, I don't know what kind of day you've been having, but I hope you'll take it easy. No need for so much stress on the first day, huh?" he guffawed, patting me gently on the shoulder. "Of course I can tell, pretty girl like you, I mean, come on," he stated easily and truthfully, I could hug the guy right now - not that I did, or anything. 

"I bet you're a really good biology teacher," I remarked jokingly and he laughed.

"I try to do my part," he shrugged humbly and gently grabbed the box with the Common Jay still flitting around in it. I sensed that Mr. Tabi wasn't the type of guy that would harm the butterfly, but nevertheless, I still felt a bit sorry for the thing, being cooped up in a box like that. "You'll take care of it, right? The butterfly, I mean?"

Mr. Tabi looked at the box before directing himself towards me again. "I'll do so until it dies, which, unfortunately, may not be very long since they don't have a very long lifespan," he explained. "But, who knows?" he shrugged, another playful glint in his eyes as he looked at me. "This Common Jay might not be so common. Something tells me that you two are similar in that aspect as well," he winked encouragingly and I blushed. Mr. Tabi might be a teacher, but he was charming and charismatic. I wondered how the girls managed to pass his classes. I knew I'd be screwed for biology if he was the one that would teach me. I probably wouldn't stop looking at the guy.

I shook my head. ... Did I just think about that?! Ugh, damn you, girl-hormones! First the locker room, now this? J'accuse! Traitor, traitor!

"You look tired, Jae," Mr. Tabi remarked, snapping me awake from my thoughts. "Why don't you go home and relax, huh? You still got the rest of the week to survive," he suggested and I quickly nodded.

"Yeah, I think I'm definitely going to do that," I agreed. "Thank you for the rose," I mumbled rather shyly.

"Thank you for the butterfly," he gestured at the box. "Perhaps I'll have the pleasure of seeing you in my class."

"Eh, yeah, maybe," I nodded, hoping fiercely that that was the case. Mr. Tabi seemed like a really cool guy. We greeted each other and as I watched him walk away, I was still holding the rose. However, as soon as he disappeared from sight, the locker room fiasco came flooding back into my mind with a vengeance. Goodbye, peace and quiet.

"Ugh, that is going to haunt me for eternity," I muttered and grabbed my bag. I could definitely use some rest at home now-

A freaking dude...

My stars- don't fall. 

The Common Jae... 

We'll take care of him... 

Trouble.

I gasped and grabbed my head when I thought I heard the nasty, angry growl of a wolf nearby. I don't know what the heck that was, but I don't want it to happen again. I shook my head and looked around me, but there was no one there. When I felt that familiar burst of panic again, I dropped the rose. 

"Come on, not now, don't be an idiot, this is useless, Jae," I talked to myself and took deep steady breaths. I pushed my hair back, grabbed the fallen rose and started walking briskly away. Being home will do me some good, gather my thoughts. I nodded to myself at the decision and found myself at the back of the school. I was pretty sure that Mom drove past here this morning, so I guess I should just follow the road back. I mean, this island isn't that big, so it shouldn't be so hard to find the house...Right?

***

A pair of green eyes watched the lonely student walk on the abandoned road through the forest. The white wolf watched carefully, its snout when it saw the student holding a blood red rose. 

It kept low as it followed the student, watching her every move. It growled softly upon seeing her smelling the rose and humming quietly to herself. The white wolf flicked one of its ears when it smelled danger. The small contraption, made to ensare it, buzzed with electricity and the wolf snarled. 

It looked up only when it heard the student muttering to herself, her voice gentle and sweet. Then, the white wolf disappeared.