“So, Kai,” says Sehun, nudging Kai’s elbow with his own. Oh, boy. “How was showering yesterday?”

“One more word and I’m gonna stuff this apple down your throat,” Kai threatens, hissing. Sehun cackles, but visibly leans away. Jieun sends both of them a weird look, and that’s when you choose to show up at the cafeteria, sweating.

“Hey,” you greet, breathless. “Did I miss anything?”

“Just Sehun being erted,” Kai informs. You look down at her and smile when you see her wearing your black hoodie. You saw her in the morning, but it was still cute. “Stop it.”

“I wish Krystal was here,” Sehun admits. “She’d tell me what the hell you’re thinking.”

Kai kicks him under the table. Jieun jumps, startled, and you send Kai a glare.

“Sorry,” she says, looking at Jieun apologetically. She nods and looks around, suspicious.

“It that they’re ghouls,” you say, sitting down next to the witch. “They could look like anyone. And they smell like the person they look like, too. Only their eyes are different.”

“We’ll spot them,” Kai assures. “Though I’m afraid that we’re going to have to pretend that Jieun is alone for them to show up.”

“Yeah,” you mutter, glancing at the girl. “Are you okay with that?”

Jieun sends you a distressed look. “Whatever it takes to get them off my back, honestly,” she says quietly, almost whispering.

“Ayoo!” someone shouts. You look to your left to see Seulgi nearly running towards your table. She stops midway, her eyes stopping on Kai, and you watch as she opens breathlessly.

Irene catches up to her. “Seulgi, you’re not supposed to run in the cafeteria, doesn’t matter how hungry you are,” she says, stopping next to her friend. She eyes her up and down, then follows her gaze and frowns when she sees new faces. “Oh.”

“Dal,” Seulgi says, approaching the table passionately. Apparently, it’s possible to do that. She puts her backpack on the table, making it shake, and she puts her hands on the surface, leaning towards you, looking very serious. “I specifically asked if you had any hot single girl friends.”

You nearly fall off your chair and Sehun laughs. He collapses on the top of the table, and Kai’s eyes go wide; he looks at Seulgi like she’s mad. Seulgi snaps her head towards him, and Irene stands behind her, concerned.

“He’s straight!” you yell. Sehun sputters, and so do you. “I m-m-mean, she!”

“Did you just ing stutter?” Sehun gasps.

“Did you just swear?” Irene counters. Sehun looks at her wide-eyed, busted.  

“Found you!” a new voice says. “We could hear you from the entrance,” Amber says, appearing behind Kai. Baekhyun, Sulli, Suho and Taemin are with her, and they totally take Seulgi’s and Irene’s focus off Sehun and Kai. Seulgi’s eyes widen.

“Well damn me,” she whistles. “How come you’re all this attractive?”

“Thank you,” Baekhyun says, grinning.

“She’s a lesbian,” Irene informs quickly, pointing at her best friend.

“And I have a girlfriend,” Baekhyun shoots back, winking at her, and wrapping an arm around Amber.

“Whew, all the secrets are out!” you yell, banging your hands on the table. “Who wants food?!”

They all greet each other, introduce themselves, and you end up eating lunch together. You almost feel like you’re back in high school.

Seulgi is bluntly flirting with Kai. Kai keeps on sending you these distressed looks, but you can’t do anything besides laughing at him with Amber and Baek. Suho, Irene, and Taemin get engrossed in a conversation, and Sehun and Sulli are laughing about something together, whispering between each other. Jieun is the only one that looks nervous and out of place.

You stand up and your pack immediately looks at you, like dogs that just heard some weird noise. You snort at them and tell them that you need to go to the toilet.

You motion Jieun to stand up, and she follows after.

You turn the corner and stop her. You keep your distance, seeing how anxious she is; she seems like someone who’s afraid of touch. Like a scared little animal that’s about to get hunted down. It’s not that far from the truth, honestly.

“Are you okay?” you ask her, whispering. “I’m sorry we bombarded you with—all these people. I know they can be overwhelming.”

“It’s not—you’re all very nice,” Jieun replies, shaking her head. She keeps on glancing around. “I just—I feel like they’re close by, and it makes me feel really scared. They almost suffocated me a few days ago, and yesterday…it’s just scary, you know?”

“Yeah,” you nod. “Yes, yes, I do. Been there, done that, I assure you,” you say softly. “Believe me, we’ve all been through it. Except for Irene and Seulgi. They don’t know anything. But the rest of us—we’re used to this. I told you already. The boys can hear everything. If someone tries to attack you, I promise, they’ll hear them and see them. They’ll protect you.”

Jieun nods, pursuing her lips. You sigh. You look at her shoulder; she took her backpack with her.

“Do you have a sharpie? Or a highlighter?” you ask. Jieun nods wordlessly. You reach out. “Give it to me, please.”

Jieun looks surprised at first. Then she takes off her backpack and looks for her pink highlighter. She hands it to you looking worried.

“Give me your hand?” you ask, reaching out for her. She’s unsure at first. She eventually places her wrist inside your palm, and you begin to write runes on her skin.

You use a Fehu rune that stands for survival, Thurisaz and Algiz for protection, and Eihwaz for endurance. You mutter a protection spell during drawing them, over and over again, until the words feel almost unfamiliar to you. You can feel your magic seep into Jieun’s skin together with the runes, and once you’re done, you exhale. You let go of your hand.

She looks down at her skin in awe. Then she glances up at you, her eyes filled with something akin to respect.

You feel some pain spreading through your hand, up to your shoulder. As if someone electrocuted your nerves. You shiver, rubbing your hands together.

Jieun doesn’t let that escape her attention.

“Thank you,” she whispers, reaching out towards you like she’s about to squeeze your hand. She doesn’t, in the end, but she smiles a bit; it’s probably the first time you see her smile sincerely, and so softly.

You smile back.

You go back to the cafeteria, and you can’t help to notice a look that Irene’s giving Sehun and Sulli.

*

“Poor girl,” Suho says next to you. You’re low-key spying on Jieun, keeping your distance but still being close enough to her to help her if the shapeshifters decide to show up. “She’s so scared all the time. I can scent anxiety on her all the time. I don’t think she can focus on anything else.”

“I’m not surprised,” you say. “I just hope they don’t try to kill her.”

You glance to your right to see Kai walking by on the other side of the street. She’s wearing a beanie, and it fits her just like it fits her in her male form.

You giggle at the thought.

“Kai swapped genders,” you snort. “It’s ridiculous.”

You feel your phone buzz in your pocket. Suho moves from his spot, and you follow him as you open up a message from Sehun.

From Prince:
[received 6:02 pm]

Tell me, does that make him genderfluid?

“Oh my Goood,” you drawl out.

“Sehun’s being stupid, isn’t he?” Suho asks. “I can hear him giggling from the rooftop.”

You look at him in disbelief, a smile splitting your face. “Seriously?”

“It’s hard to miss,” Suho says. “He sounds like Ron Swanson.”

You bursts out laughing. You look to the side to see that Kai has stopped in the middle of the road and is laughing as well, her shoulders shaking, face hidden behind her palms.

From Prince:
[received 6:03 pm]

I DONT??????>>??

And then someone lands heavily behind you. Neither you nor Suho startle, since you can both feel that it’s Baekhyun. He nods to where Jieun is walking alone. There’re traces of tears on his cheeks, and he’s just jumped off the rooftop.

“As funny as I find this conversation, I suggest we keep an eye on Jieun,” he says. “There’re two people following her. They keep on getting closer.”

“Call her,” Suho says. “Tell her to turn into an alley.”

You pull out your phone. At the same time, Baekhyun dials Taemin’s number, and you move, coming out of the shadows. You head straight ahead, Kai out of sight, Jieun’s head and colorful clothes visible among the crowd of people in front of you.

“Hey, keep an eye on her now, yeah?” Baekhyun says to Taemin just when Jieun picks up.

“Turn into an alley,” you say to her. “Don’t freak out. Taemin, Luhan and Kai are with you.”

You hear a whoosh over your head. You know for a fact that Sehun just jumped from one rooftop to another. You pick up your pace, trying to catch up to Jieun without making it look weird. You see her turn left, into an alley, and right after that, you get a glimpse of Kai’s long hair.

Two people follow Jieun into the alley.

The three of you break off into a run, and it takes you ten seconds to reach the alley. Once inside, you see Taemin swinging a bloody baseball bat around, and Kai sitting on a guy, his head bashed on the ground. There’s an unconscious girl lying a few feet away from Taemin, and Jieun is currently going through something that looks like a panic attack.

The two ghouls immediately turn into black goo. Kai manages to slide off the one she got before it turns into a poodle of blackness. Suho turns around to see if anyone saw something; there’s someone standing at the end of the alley, squinting their eyes at you all, and especially at the puddles at your feet.

It’s a man in his thirties, and he looks very confused.

Amber then materializes out of thin air (well, almost) and you can see her saying ‘hi’ to the guy. She touches his shoulder in a friendly manner, and the man looks lost. She pushes him towards the street, and he obliges like a puppet. You raise your brows, awed.

“Are you okay?” Suho asks, approaching Jieun. The witch has collapsed onto the ground and is clinging to her shirt, staring at the poodles of goo at her feet. She’s breathing hard. You stand next to Suho, then crouch down. You touch her head softly and her hair once; she jerks in surprise, but then calms down.

“Acougo,” you whisper, your magic warming your fingers as you comfort her. Jieun takes a big inhale, looks up at you, tears in her eyes. “Acougo.” You repeat.

Amber shows up at your side.

“Should I take her somewhere nice?” she asks.

“I think she’s had enough for today,” you smile. “Amber, you were great. You totally tricked that man into—I don’t know what you did, but it was awesome.”

Amber sends you a smug smile and nods energetically.

“Duh,” Baekhyun says. “I wouldn’t date a loser.”

“Because you’re one?” Sehun asks.

“Because I already have you,” Baekhyun counters, throwing his arms around Sehun and trying to kiss him on the cheek. Sehun yells and tries to get away from him.

You help Jieun up.

“Problem solved,” you grin at her. “For now, at least.”

She nods shakily.

“My legs feel like they’re made of clay,” she admits, a small smile appearing on her face. Baekhyun and Sehun stop fighting when they see it, and Suho looks positively blissed-out. Luhan smiles so wide he looks like he’s posing for a toothpaste ad.

These saps.

*

You stretch out, yawning loudly, and your t-shirt rides up, revealing your stomach. Sulli takes that advantage to pinch you on your belly as she walks past, and you yell, reacting with a jump. She throws her head back in a laugh.

You look at her and the rest, all sitting in the living room/Sehun’s room. They’re watching Top Model and are very invested in it.

You feel arms wrap around you, and you turn a little to look at Kai. She places her chin on your shoulder.

“I kinda want to be a man again,” she says. You chuckle, wrapping your fingers around her forearms and kissing her on the jaw.

“I like you even when you’re a girl,” you assure her.

“Ew,” Sehun says from the couch. “Get a room, we’re watching something here.”

Jieun is squeezed between her and Sulli. She still looks uncomfortable – it doesn’t seem like she’s going to get used to the pack this quickly – but she’s happier now. And seeing as Suho is keeping a close eye on her and not worrying, you assume she smells happy, too.

“Stay for the night, yeah?” you ask, turning your head towards Kai again, your nose brushing her cheek. “We’ll see if the spell will worn off till the morning.”

“What if it never wears off?” Kai asks, sounding worried. “Girls are super, but—“

“Hey, oh!” you say, jumping away from her. “Can you make your eyes glow?”

“What?” Kai asks, confused. You realize that she’s worried, and you just got excited, completely ignoring her worries. Oh well. “Why?”

“Just do it,” you say. “I want to see it.”

So she complies. She looks at you and makes her eyes glow red, and you feel your stomach twist.

“Whoa,” you say.

“Agreed,” Taemin says from the couch. “Do you guys think she’d be smaller in a wolf form?”

“I wonder,” Suho says in wonder.

“Wait,” Jieun says, “he can turn into a wolf?”

You all grin at her.

*

You wake up slowly. You blink your eyes open. The sun is coming through the window behind you, soft and gold; it’s probably around nine am. Kai is sleeping with you, his face inches away from yours, and at first, you don’t realize what you’re seeing. But then, as your system slowly reboots, you tilt your head back and squeal in joy.

You reach out towards Kai’s face – Kai’s manly face – and trap it between your hands. Then you start to kiss him all over, peck after peck, and he wakes up with a startle, his eyes shining red in alert.

“Wh—what? What?”

You straddle him and continue to kiss his face like it’s the end of the world. Kai sputters, tries to say something but fails, finally gives up. You straighten up, looking down at him with a huge smile, and Kai just looks up, disturbed.

“What.”

You laugh and bend down to kiss him on the lips. Kai is too confused and sleepy to kiss you back, but it’s still awesome.

“You’re back!” you announce.

“Dal, it’s morning and you’re wiggling around on my lap,” he deadpans, disgruntled and concerned. You can hear someone laughing in Sehun’s room.

“Whoever laughs doesn’t get to eat breakfast!” you shout, sliding off of Kai’s lap. The laugh stops abruptly and is followed by some muffling. You look down at Kai to see him patting his now flat chest; he lets out a relieved sigh.

“Thank God,” he says. “It was so hard to run with those.”

“Hey,” Baekhyun says, entering your room, “do you think that if he stayed a girl long enough, he’d eventually get a period?” 

If you don't know who Ron Swanson is, or what his laugh sounds like, here you go. Watch it, listen to it, embrace it, bless it