***

“You’re late, Miss park” the old lady raised a thin brow to RinNah as she entered the big doors.

“I’m truly sorry, Miss Shin!” RinNah said bowing 90⁰.

“Make sure it never happens again!” the old lady said grooming her own tailor-made suit. “If I’d got one won every time I had to cover up for you youngsters, I’d be filthy rich by now!” she kept on babbling, leaving RinNah alone in the big half empty reading room. 

RinNah sighed relived, then got to her desk, politely bowing to everybody from the tables.  Today was merely the first day she was late. She thought about her poor room she had left totally unorganized, with bloody bandages and medicinal alcohol all over the place. She smiled bitterly remembering the pain she felt this morning while cleaning her wound. Speaking about pain, where did she put the painkillers?! She took a deep sigh seeing them with the eyes of her mind, somewhere on the nightstand near the bed. She quietly sat on her chair but suddenly jumped up making everybody to look at her.

“I’m sorry…” she shyly smiled then stopped in front of a big shelf. She took  a thick book and carried it carefully to her desk.

***

“Kid?...” Ji said a little shocked after he answered the knocks on the door. “I thought… I thought you’re…” he babbled until Seungri got inside the room.

“Are you alone?” Seungri asked rolling his eyes around.

“Yeah” he nodded.

“Where’s TOP-hyung?” this was Seunghyun’s nickname.

“He… said he wanted to…”

“…come see me?” Seungri interrupted.

“Yes…” Ji watched the floor for a second. “But why aren’t you…”

“I left. There was no point for me to stick around. I’m all good” Seungri said rolling his scarf better across his neck.

“I don’t know… I really can’t understand T.O.P.-hyung’s behavior…” Ji said suddenly.

“It’s ok! You’re not responsible for his idiocy…” the youngster said dropping an eye out the window.

Ji was mesmerized. He had never heard Seungri talking like that about their senior. Actually none of them ever dared to anyway.

“Kid, are you OK?” he asked in low voice when he failed to find any excuse for the youngster’s vocabulary.

“Why do you ask?!” Seungri startled.

“You don’t need to fake it when you’re around me” Ji said unwarping Seungri’s scarf.

“W… what?...” he barely managed to ask.

He kept wondering how Ji figured it out, when and what gaved him away.

“It’s so obvious you’re not alright” Ji continued until he took off the scarf. He checked his friend’s neck following the bruises with one finger.

“Oh… no… I’m really fine…” Seungri tried to speak.

“No you’re not. You’re sweating and you have big circles around your eyes… And now you’re shaking…” Ji said reaching a small place behind his ear. The first reaction was to quickly withdraw his hand, but the he grabbed the younger’s collar: “Let me see!” he worried.

“No! it’s ok! It’s nothing!” Seungri stepped back several times.

Ji tried to stop him by catching his sweater when his eyes doubled.

“Cut it out!” Seungri shouted.

“What… what is that?...” he tried to reach him again but he couldn’t.

“I’m fine! Leave me alone!” the younger shouted again, slamming the door behind him.

“Kid…” Ji managed to whisper without being able to stop seeing the ugly looking black wound on Seungri’s abdomen. “Kid, wait up!” he shouted after a short while, running outside the room. He was nowhere to be found on the big hallway, but the elevator’s ding unveiled Seungri’s direction. He rushed over there, but it was too late – the elevator started climbing down already.

***

The black boots stepped one in front of the other without caring to much about the big puddles they always splashed around; they stopped in front of a big glass door.  His gloved hand pushed the door with one secure move. He couldn’t care less about the people’s looks or the whispered “Oh, my God, is that T.O.P from Bigbang?...” and the quietly pokes they exchanged; he walked straight to the main desk and took a slight bow.

“Good evening!” the old lady said with her biggest smile on.

“Good evening” he replied softly.

“How may I help you?” she asked in her sweetest voice ever. “If I’d only knew I’ll have such important visitors today…”

“I’m off duty…” he replied in an elfish smile. “I’m looking for…” he looked for the small wallet, then he read out loud: “Park RinNah”.

“P… Park?...” the woman lost her sweet voice. “Of course! Please follow me! She’s in the folklore and mythology section” she said trying to gain back the sweet voice.

“Miss Park!” she thundered entering RinNah’s lyceum.

“What have I done now?!” RinNah freed her eyes from under the domination of the big reading glasses that she almost dropped when she raised her head.

“You got a visitor” the old lady hissed.

Rin tried to vocalize something but it didn’t come out. Seunghyun smiled shyly, lowering his eyes to the floor but instead they got stuck on the table. He stared long at the black and white picture from the big book she was reading. He quickly looked for her  sight. When their eyes met, she suddenly smiled wide.

“Om my GOD!” she said in pitch voice, discreetly closing the book. “Oh my God! T.O.P.?!? T.O.P. from Bigbang?? Looking for me??” she started shouting and laughing drawing everybody’s attention.

Seunghyun almost stepped back, wondering if he really came to the right person.

“Please! A pen! Quickly a pen!” she wouldn’t stop screaming and over reacting.

“I have a pen!” one of the girls quickly said, running up to her desk.

Everybody else followed her.

RinNah made him sing a random paper she had on the table, encouraging everybody else to ask for autographs. She waited quietly until he quickly got overwhelmed, then she slowly took the book from the table and got lost behind a small wooden door.     

Seunghyun signed a few papers before he decided to check once again the girl. His eyes quickly rolled around looking for her. She wasn’t there anymore, just the small wooden door. He quickly bowed politely, waved around to everybody apologizing and got to the door. As soon as he found himself on the other side of the door he took a deep relived breath giving up on his forced smile. A quick examination of the stairs and a long breathe took him upstairs towards the building’s roof. He reached it in no time, stepping really careful, quietly closing the access door behind him. Even though he moved without any noise whatsoever, Rin got to see him on time. She hid behind some bricks heights until he reached the other end of the roof. Judging that now was the right timing to escape; she rushed to the access door. She got lost behind it and for an entire floor she wouldn’t even look back once. On the second’s one half she turned around for a second, just to make sure he wasn’t following her. She smiled victorious, and got ready to continue her run. Instead she crossed her arms in front of her and fell on the stairs, screaming for hurting her bottom.

“I’m sorry I scared you…” Seunghyun said almost amused. He got up the book she dropped and calmly skimmed through it a little even though the girl resumed her running again upstairs.

She got on the roof again. She jammed the access door with a big rock she found in there and took a deep sigh. She leaned on the door happy she got rid of him. Another scream left her astonished mouth when Seunghyun eyes pierced her. She squatted covering her head with her arms.

“Can’t you understand I need your help?” he leaned to reach her eyes level. “look…” he sat next to her, crossing his legs underneath him. “You seem to be the only one who…” he stopped a little understanding where would the words ‘the only one who survived after meeting me’ might lead and he changed it into “you are the only one who remembers me and, by the looks of it, possibly the only one who can help me understand…” he spoke calmly without haste.

RinNah hung on the picture he pointed. A light smile covered her lips.

“Lycanthropy…” she whispered and stared at him. “You’re nuts, man!” she burst all of a sudden. “This is just fiction! It’s no truth in it!” she said getting up, looking for the door’s handle at her back.

“Please…” he whispered without being able to take his eyes off of the rising full moon.

“Yeah right!” she laughed turning around to grab the handle. “Now you’ll start howling and…”  she mocked him when a groan froze her. She quickly looked for him and she found him curled up on the floor fighting an agonizing pain.