Eunkyung dropped her textbook filled backpack onto the ground by the front door and groaned as she tried to rub the stiffness from her shoulders. There were way too many textbooks she was required to bring to class for how far she has to walk to and from her truck every day. She stretched her arms above her head as she walked to the living room and flopped down onto her couch, not even caring about taking her socks off.

The cushions on the couch were worn in from years and years of Eunkyung laying on the couch reading books and knitting for hours. It was so comfortable and inviting that Eunkyung instantly relaxed into the comforting cushions and her eyes fluttered close. Exhausting seeped into her bones and weighed her down and she was pretty sure that if she even tried to move to get dinner or even go to her bed upstairs she wouldn’t be able to move at all.

With a satisfied sigh, Eunkyung buried her face into one of the throw pillows she had on the couch and drifted off to a dreamless, well deserved sleep.

***

Yugyeom sat on the front porch of the packs house and looked off vaguely into the forest. There was a dampness in the air and the scent of rain on the horizon. He distractedly picked at the old wood of the porch and pulled off splinters. His eyes never left the woods though.

The front door opened and closed and Yugyeom could sense someone sitting down quietly next to him. A quick sniff told him it was Jr coming to pester him again. 

“What are you doing outside?” Jr shoved Yugyeom playfully with his shoulder before putting his around around the pup’s neck and bring him close. “Are watching the leaves grow? I hate to break it to you, but they’ll leave you hanging for a while.”

“Of course not,” Yugyeom sneered at him. “I’m not you, Hyung. I actually have things to do.”

“How dare you talk to your Hyung like that!” Jr shifted his arm around Yugyeom’s shoulder and put him in a head lock. While Yugyeom cried out weak protests, Jr gave him a nuggie. “We raised you better than this!”

Yugyeom finally shook him off, huffed, and stood up. “Hyung…” He whined and looked down at Jr. “Stop bothering me! Aren’t you older than me? Don’t you have important adult things to do? Go balance your check book or clean your dentures or what ever you do in your free time.”

“Hey!” Jr raised his eyebrows at him but stayed seated. “I’m just trying to spend time with our pack’s pup! Is it a crime to do that?” Yugyeom made a face at him and Jr made one back at him.

Yugyeom lean up against the post that held up the roof over the porch and looked back toward the forest.

Jr watched him quietly for a while. He seemed to be considering something with furrowed brows. Everyone in a while, he’d open his mouth before closing it again. After a few minutes he seemed to have come to a conciliation and spoke up.

“You seem pretty attached to Eunkyung.” Jr carefully watched Yugyeom’s expression but the pup didn’t even blink. He had been pestered about this too much to even react anymore. “Why?”

Yugyeom looked down at the ground. After staying quiet for a moment, he inhaled deeply an sighed. He looked up and watched the first few drops of rain hitting the tree leaves and begin to trickle down to the forest floor.

“… She’s a nice thought.”

***

After a peaceful, dreamless sleep, Eunkyung woke up to the soft, melodious tapping of rain falling through the forest around her house. It’s familiar beat and the warm of the cushions tempted her back to sleep. But Eunkyung resisted and pushed herself up laboriously into a seated position. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and sat still for a moment, trying to wake up and preparing to stand up.

Then she got up and stumbled over to her closet for a rain jacket. It took a few attempts to put the right arm in the right sleeve, but once she had gotten that figured out, she stepped into her rain boots and walked out the front door.

The rain was familiar to Eunkyung. 

It was almost an old friend at this point. 

The forest she lived in was nourished by it’s frequent rain storms. The trees and other plants were always bright green and healthy because of it. It was a cleansing ritual for Eunkyung as well.

The day her mother had dies, it was raining. The day of the funeral was rainy as well. It was a fitting farewell for someone who died so young and ruthlessly.

Eunkyung ran down the path between her cabin and the boys next door. The cemetery was on the other side of their property and this was the quickest way there. Besides, she knew they wouldn’t mind her cutting across their property; they used the path to get past her property as well.

The path way muddy and it was slow going to get through it. The mud was sticky and it grabbed at Eunkyung’s boots and tried to pull them off her feet.  The normally shirt walk took much longer in the rain and by the time Eunkyung was at the end of the path, she was out of breath and her boots were covered in mud and some rain had gotten in her rain boots. 

But Eunkyung still kept going.

She had almost reached the edge of the forest where the cemetery laid.

After a few more minutes of walking, the trees began to clear up. The first few monuments and statues could been made out if you knew where to look. The first few rows were old. Their stones were crumbling from age and the words had been worn away so much you had to get vary close to make out the engravings. As you moved away from the protection of the forest, you went forward in time to the newer graves.

When she got to the very last row, Eunkyung stopped and knelt in front of a grave.

“Hi mom,” Her voice broke slightly. “I’m home.”

A/N: I love the subtle character devlopment in this chapter!!! I can't wait till we're further in the story so I can tell guys everything!! Ahhhh I need to write faster I'm dying to get to certain parts!!

I hope you guys enjoy and have an awesome weekend!!