Part 3: Chapter 21

Later, after telling Master Kwon goodbye, Seulgi walked slowly to her car, lost in thought.  Master Kwon had been a part of their lives for so long that it was heartbreaking to think of a future without him.  To think about facing the coming conflict without him.  To think about facing the conflict with only Daewon to help guide the children.

When Seulgi reached for her car door handle to open it, a body crowded behind her and placed a hand on the door to keep it in place. 

“How long are you going to avoid me, Seulgi?” Daewon asked, his breath soft against her cheek. 

Her grip on the strap of her purse tightened until her knuckles turned white.  “Don’t do this, Daewon,” she begged.  She didn’t turn to look at him.  “Not now.”

“Whatever we face, Seulgi, we face it together,” Daewon said.  “And we can’t do that with the past hanging over us.  For the sake of the kids, we need to put the past behind us.  Talk to me, Seulgi.  Please?”

“Not now,” Seulgi said, her voice full of tears.

“Then when, Seulgi?” Daewon said, anger edging his voice.  “If not now, when?”

She shook her head.  “Just- not now.”

Daewon scoffed then backed up.  As soon as his hand left the car door, Seulgi had it open and was inside. 

She didn’t look at Daewon as she drove away.

Just that quickly, it was decided.  Kai and Kyungsoo (the only other two besides Luhan that had been through their First Turn) headed out to meet Baekhyun, Chanyeol, and Lay just in case they met with trouble while bringing Sohee to Luhan’s place.  Luhan and Xiumin, on the other hand, were in charge of securing Ryehyun.  They wanted the safest environment possible when Sohee arrived.

Luhan and Xiumin took their time deciding how to secure Ryehyun but eventually decided on tying him to the chair.  They used a length of rope and wrapped it around Ryehyun’s torso, arms and the back of the chair, insuring that he’d be forced to take the chair with him if he decided to move.  They also tied his ankles to the chair legs.  He seemed so weak and didn’t fight the restraints that Luhan felt a little bad treating him like this.  But he wasn’t taking chances where Sohee was involved. 

Ryehyun was so exhausted that he fall asleep when they’d finished with him.  The bindings were the only things that kept him upright.

Luhan went to his refrigerator.  Kyungsoo had turned off the stove when he left, but the soup still sat there.  Luhan searched the fridge for more food, but came up empty.  He actually wasn’t sure where Kyungsoo had even gotten the soup. 

He was trying to find a way to pass the time until the guys returned with Sohee when Xiumin spoke.

“I didn’t really believe him, you know,” he said.  “When Kai first told us about all this wolf stuff.  It didn’t really hit me until Ryehyun started talking about turning into wolves too.”

Luhan had nothing to say to that so he kept quiet. 

“My birthday’s next, did you know that?  March.  Chanyeol will be last, in November.  I still can’t wrap my head around the fact that we’re all going to be furry by the end of the year.”

“’Going to be furry,’” Luhan repeated with a smile.  “That’s what Kai calls it, huh?  I had forgotten that.”

“Can I ask a personal question?” Xiumin asked.  He seemed more curious than hostile so Luhan nodded.  “What’s going on between you, Kai and Sohee?  To us she’s always been Kai’ girl.  Even if