Taekwoon’s POV

    Before heading home, I stopped by the coffee shop across from the pet shop where Kyungsoon worked. I bought my normal latte, severely needing the pick me up. I’ll admit I was also worried about Kyungsoon. I didn’t want to leave her unprotected, but I needed to speak with the group for her sake.

    When I got home, I shuffled through the door, and made a beeline for the attic. I opened the door at the top of the stairs and pushed boxes of holiday decorations out of the way. Finding the false back to the wall of the storage closet, I gave a careful push and felt it give way. Entering the room, I closed the door and false wall behind me.

    I walked over to a large tinted window. There was a window seat made to look like a large log. Beneath the seat were six shelves.  Five held clothing. Good, I thought. They're all here.

    Hakyeon had the great idea a few years ago, to bring the great outdoors inside. The room didn’t have carpet.  Instead, part of the room had a lush crop of grass, and the other part of the room had dirt and mulch. There were four artificial trees. Not as good as the real thing, but as close as you could get while inside. Two were in the center of the room, and two in opposite corners. A hammock hung from one tree in the corner to one in the center of the room. Each tree had a hole at the base, and thick branches jutting into the room. There were three fallen logs in the room around a raised platform. In the platform was a small koi pond. The room was half the size of the house. He had really outdone himself with our safe room.

    I turned around and scanned the room. A medium sized Moon Bear sat in the hammock, swinging back and forth leisurely.  One hollowed log held a tiger keelback snake. The snake slid forward into the artificial sunlight displaying his blood red and pure black stripes on his neck, part way down his body the red gave way to the same greens as the grass. The hole at the base of the tree in the center of the room nearest to me held a red fox. He was napping, as all nocturnal animals should be at this early hour.

A black kite sat in the tree in the far opposite corner. He stretched his dirt brown feathers wide and let out a small screech in hello. The screech alerted the other animals to my presence. A small wolf pup launched himself out from behind another fallen log. He stopped just in front of me.

The bear pulled himself down from the hammock and began to shift. I turned my back exasperated, “Hakyeon! Can’t I get some warning?”

    “It’s not like it’s the first time you’ve seen me shift.” Hakyeon walked forward and reached past me.  “Here is your warning. The kids have shifted too.” Hakyeon chuckled.

    As Hakyeon began to dress I heard the four other boys scuffling to get dressed. Once everyone was clothed. We sat around the Koi pond, two boys to a log.

“So what do you have to talk about?” Hakyeon asked.

“Wedding bells?” Wonsik asked elbowing Hongbin who shared his seat. Jaehwan let out a laugh.

“We have a hunter in town.” I stated plainly. This stopped the jokes.

“What do you mean we have a hunter? How can you be sure?” Hongbin sat forward.

“ I know you know I followed you last night. After you left. I went to Kyungsoon. Her friend Chohee introduced her to someone new in her building. He was too interested in a rumor of a melanistic leopard.” I shot a glare at Hongbin. He smiled sheepishly in reply.

“I don’t think that’s enough to call him a hunter.” Hakyeon tried to reason.

“We have been really good. There is no way they knew we were here,” Hyuk defended.

“This morning when I left,” I started

“Oh! So you spent the night at her apartment.” Wonsik wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. He earned glares from three sets of eyes, and a chuckle from Hyuk and Jaehwan.

“He followed me. I managed to throw him off, but I heard him say that he suspected me of being a shifter.”

“Wait, that means you’re Leo!” Exclaimed Hongbin.

I rolled my eyes, “I told you I had been keeping an eye on her.”

“An eye yes, your paws no.”

“Wait, she calls you Leo?” Jaehwan asked chuckling.

Wonsik grinned from ear to ear. “And you let her?”

I closed my eyes and exhaled exasperated. “It’s not like I can tell her what to call me, when she thinks I’m a cat.”

Wonsik and Jaehwan both shaped their lips to call me Leo. I clenched my fists and stood.

Hakyeon stood placing one hand on my chest. “Back to the issue at hand.” He interrupted trying to settle the group. I sank back onto we shared, my fists still clenched. “Hyuk is right, we haven’t done anything to bring attention to ourselves. There must be others here that are drawing hunters.”

“Should we move?” suggested Jaehwan.

“We can’t we are all being drawn here. If we leave we will be drawn back.” Wonsik’s comment drew shocked glances.

“Are you actually taking this seriously?” asked Jaehwan.

“Hey, I can be serious when I need to, and the definitely seems like a good time to be serious.”

“So Hyung, what do you suggest we do?” Hongbin posed the question.

Hakyeon thought for a moment. He took a deep breath. “We need to find out who else, and what else is here. Once we know what the hunters are after, we should be able to drive them out, or give them what they want.”

“We need to have someone with Kyungsoon at all times. I don’t like her being alone.” I addressed the group, but fixed my eyes on Jaehwan. “I can’t always be with her.”

“Fine.” Jaehwan threw up his hands, both palms facing us, in surrender. “I can watch her when you can’t.”

“So I guess we are settled. Hongbin, Wonsik and I will put out our feelers for other supernaturals, Jaehwan and Taekwoon will keep an eye on Kyungsoon and the hunter.” Hakyeon clapped his hands together and stood.

“What about me?” Hyuk asked, sounding slightly offended.

“You?" Hakyeon grinned.  "Go to school. You’ve missed too many days already.”

Hyuk’s shoulders fell as the group laughed.