And so the long awaited chapter is here :3

Enjoy~!

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"Jonghun! They're here!" A familiar voice shrieked. Sunkyu, her short blond hair bouncing along with every step, stood in front of them. Her eyes travelled up and down Hyomin.

"What is she wearing?" She whispered rudely to Jaejoong.

"'She' is standing right here," said Jaejoong, cuffing her lightly on the shoulder.

"Jaejoong?" Hyomin looked over Sunkyu's head to see a tall woman with long brown hair coming towards them. She wore a long silky-looking shift dress with what looked like a piece of hewn leather around her waist as a belt. On her feet she wore elegant suede moccasins. Her skin was pale, and her eyes were dark like Jaejoong’s and Sunkyu’s. She craned her head as she came nearer, gently placing her hands on Sunkyu’s shoulders to move her to one side.

Up close, Hyomin saw she had red streaks at her hairline. And her eyes, a rich hazel-brown, were almond-shaped. She was beautiful.

“Hello,” she said, extending her hand. “My name’s Seungah. You must be Hyomin?” She glanced briefly at Jaejoong, who looked a little tense. “I’m so pleased to meet you.”

“Likewise,” Hyomin said, then blushed. “I mean ... I’ve heard so much about you.” She didn’t dare to look at Jaejoong.

“I have prepared some food,” said Seungah, turning and gesturing for them to follow her.

Sunkyu scampered past them and down a long corridor, at the end of which Hyomin saw a man, an older version of Jaejoong, waiting in what had to be the kitchen.

“My mother’s favourite flower is the lily,” Jaejoong whispered behind her. “And she doesn’t eat meat.” Hyomin nodded subtly, wondering how exactly it worked out for a vegetarian werewolf at the full moon.

They walked through into a large but homely room, with rough-pointed walls and a large window. A huge stove glowered in the corner and a pale wooden trestle table was set with wooden platters. There was no cutlery, but earthenware mugs next to a jug of water.

Jaejoong’s doppelganger stood placidly at one end of the table. He beamed from ear to ear.

“Welcome Hyomin,” he said, as Sunkyu clung on to his arm adoringly. He stepped closer to her, taking Hyomin in. “I’m Jonghun. What a fine-looking girl.” He leaned forward slightly. “Unusual ...”

“Hyomin is still wearing her workwear,” said Jaejoong, not looking at her. “She came straight from her father’s farm.”

Hyomin nodded, frozen in a clueless grin.

“Good girl,” said Seungah approvingly. “Family loyalty and a strong work ethic. So encouraging to see it in the younger ones.” She gave Jaejoong a wry look and turned to attend to a pot on the stove.

Hyomin stole a baffled glance at Jaejoong, but he wisely refused to meet it.

“I do what I can,” she found herself saying. “I apologise for not being smarter.”

“With beauty like that, I hardly think it matters.” said Jonghun, winking at Jaejoong.  “How is it down south, Hyomin? It is so long since we have visited our cousins.”

Hyomin stared hard at him, hoping for the correct answer.

“They are well ...” she said at last. “Getting on with things .... you know.”

Jonghun nodded, seemingly satisfied with her response. He bent down and placed a large kiss on Sunkyu’s cheeks.

“I must get over to see them more often,” he said, straightening up. “Before I entirely lose track of my relatives.” He studied her. “You know, you don’t have the look of the Hunter about you, Hyomin. You have a more rounded face than is customary.... heart-shaped... and bigger eyes. Rather unusual.”

She held her breath for a second, wondering if she had been busted. How stupid, she swallowed.

But Jonghun’s attention was elsewhere now. He tousled Sunkyu’s hair and asked his wife if he could help her with anything.

Jaejoong took the opportunity to flash an encouraging smile, but Hyomin felt nervous. Her mind begins to race with the potential for all of this to go horribly wrong.

The sound of the main door banging made them all turn to see a boy of around fifteen striding noisily down the hall.

“Changmin.” Seungah shook her head, a small smile on her lips, defying the firmness in her voice. “Late ... as ever.”

The boy walked through into the kitchen. Like Jaejoong, he was slender, with the same delicate features, but his hair was lighter, curling slightly and he had Sunkyu’s deep brown eyes. He started taking his boots off, his eyes on Hyomin as he spoke to his mother.

“Seungho had me hacking down the hedges inside the palace gates,” he said. His voice, not quite broken yet, was husky and a little petulant.

Seungah smiled. “This is Changmin,” she said, turning to Hyomin. “He has spent the morning at the Celestial Palace, preparing the grounds for the Great Ball ...” She glanced at Jaejoong. “He could have done it with some help you know, Jaejoong.”

Jaejoong grunted, watching as his younger brother tapped mud from his boots to the stone floor.

“I had other plans today,” he said calmly. But for the first time, Hyomin detected a slight edge to his voice. “And you know I’m not much good at manual work.”

Changmin gave a short laugh and slapped Jaejoong lightly on the shoulder. “Not much good, or not much interested?” He said jovially before turning to Seungah. “I like to do it, Mother. Jaejoong is a delicate soul. You know that.”

Though some years younger than Jaejoong, Changmin had the authoritive air of an older brother. Seungah smiled indulgently at him, before moving back to the stove.

Jonghun came forward. “Introduce your guest, son.” He said lightly.

“Oh ... yes.” Jaejoong flushed a little. “Changmin, this is Hyomin. My friend from the south.” He glanced at her. “Hyomin, this is my little brother, Changmin.”

Changmin and her nodded in greeting and she felt his appraising her, not very subtly.

“Lucky Jaejoong,” he said slowly, coming closer. “She is wolf ... I presume?”

“Of course,” Jaejoong said. “What else would she be?”

Changmin shrugged. “I just don’t recognize her, that’s all.”

“You don’t know everybody in the whole world,” piped up Sunkyu, to Hyomin’s relief. There was something too clever about this boy.

“True.” Changmin’s eyes lingered only slightly on Hyomin before he turned to survey the table. “What’s for lunch, Seungah? I’m hungry.”

“Roasted vegetables and braised owl,” she said, stirring something in a pot on the stove.

Hyomin blanched. Braised owl?

Jaejoong nudged her gently. “It tastes like rabbit.” He whispered. “If you’ve ever sampled that.”

Hyomin nodded. She had. She hadn’t like it much either.

“The meal is ready,” said Seungah. “Take your seats.”

Jaejoong and Hyomin were sat side by side, while Changmin and Sunkyu briefly squabbled about their own seating.

“I want to sit next to Jonghun,” she whined.

“Very well, brat,” Changmin said sharply. “Have it your own way. Again.”

“Changmin,” said Seungah. “Mind your temper.” She frowned at him as he pulled his chair in roughly.

“He’s all male,” she told Hyomin, not without a hint of pride in her voice. “With the impatience that goes with it, too.”

“Whereas Jaejoong’s more like a girl,” Sunkyu said idly. “I mean that in a good way.”

“Why thank you,” said Jaejoong dryly, but he looked quite affectionately at his sister.

A bowl of something paled looking under blackened vegetables in gravy was place in front of her.

“This looks delicious,” she lied, prodding at a slimy pepper-like thing on top. There was still not cutlery anywhere on the table.

Seungah handed the bowls to everyone, putting only a heap of vegetables on her own plate. “We must go back to the physician soon, Seungah.” Said Jonghun, gesturing at her food. “You will grow weak again if we run out of supplement.”

"Oh, don't fuss, dear," said Seungah. "I am perfectly well.”

“Seungah takes a pto-supplement,” explained Jaejoong. “Her red blood count suffers because she does not like meat.”

“I will not eat my brothers and sisters,” said Seungah firmly. “That is why I go to the locked caves at full moon.” She raised an eyebrow at her older son. “It has been thus since long before you were born, Jaejoong ...” she turned to Hyomin. “And are you a meat-eater, Hyomin?”

“Uh ... I am,” she said, deciding not to elaborate. She suspected that the notion of killing and then eating an animal raw was far more alien to her than it was to Seungah.

She nodded, accepting this. “I am a bit of an oddity, I admit,” she sighed. “But I have very strong principles in that regard. And I won’t be shaken.”

The table fell quiet. No prizes for guessing who the boss in this house was, she thought, feeling wistful about her mother. She and Seungah would get on like a house on fire.

Jonghun picked up a piece of meat with his fingers and tore at the flesh, his strong white teeth making short work of chewing. Hyomin was riveted by the sight. The others, she noticed, ate in a similar way. Of course. They were animals. Sunkyu bent forward and at the gravy on her bowl unselfconsciously. Her long tongue lapped like Bobby’s at his water dish.

As her eyes travelled around the table, she realized, blushing, that Changmin was regarding her with some amusement. When their eyes met, he too lifted his food on his hand, attacking it hungrily. As a large piece of owl disappeared into his mouth, he wiped his chin slowly with the back of his hand. His eyes never left her.

Seungah looked over at her, anxiously. “You don’t like your food, Hyomin?” She gestured at Hyomin’s untouched food.

“Of course.” Understanding that years of mortal table manners would have to be dispensed with, she picked up a large chunk of meat and put the whole thing into , swallowing as fast as she could. At least this way she would not actually taste the owl on its way down to her stomach. She took a large drink of water and tried chewing on the next piece of meat, hoping her inadequate teeth would not let her down.

As it turned out, eating like an animal was liberating. If Hyomin could just rid herself of her mother’s horrified face, it was a sensible way to eat. Tearing at meat with your teeth – particularly when it is attached to bones – means that not a single morsel is wasted. Her mother would approve of that at least.

“I expect Jaejoong has told you about the impending Great Ball, Hyomin?” Jonghun changed the subject, pouring himself a glass of water. “You should come ... I don’t think a southern wolf has attended for some time.”

“Not for years,” put in Seungah. “Not since Jonghyun offended Gyuri in the last quarter.” She looked across at Hyomin. “You’ll know Jonghyun, of course. The Patriarch of the south.” She sighed. “He has a temper on him worse than Changmin’s.”

Changmin widened his eyes in mock outrage.

“And as you know,” added Jonghun. “Gyuri abhors all forms of aggression.”

“Oh yes,” Hyomin said, nudging Jaejoong’s foot with her’s under the table.  They were heading for deep water, conversationally speaking, and any minute now her mortal ignorance would be revealed.

But Jaejoong simply gave her a serene look in return.

“Well, Gyuri is the Queen,” he said, helpfully. “Sees of it as her duty to set an example.”

“She didn’t do a very good job with her great-son,” said Seungah. “And where is he now?”

“He’s locked up, isn’t he?” said Changmin. “Changsun was locked up when he went on that rampage ... About since years ago, I think.” He turned to me. “He had a tantrum because the food was not served quickly enough. He tore through the palace and destroyed every piece of glass he could get his hands on ...”

Changmin was clearly enjoying relating the story. Hyomin saw Jaejoong looking a little impatient.

“And his great-mother ordered him to be institutionalized, “Changmin finished, taking an enormous portion of meat and vegetables. “Crazy.”

“And we haven’t seen his father for decades.” Seungah sniffed. “Gyuri’s handmaid is very tight-lipped about the matter, but there are only so many excuses one can make for a man who is supposedly the Legal Enforcer for the land.”

Legal Enforcer? Must be like a lawyer, or a judge or something, she thought, chewing on another chunk of grey meat. Noting that owl was indeed as disgusting as rabbit.

“I heard he went mad too,” Changmin added. “Physicians couldn’t do anything for him.” He looked around the table and settled on me. “And eventually he faded away.”

“That’s just gossip.” Jonghun looked disapprovingly at Changmin. “I met Byunghee, he was a good man. It’s a tragedy if he has truly lost his mind.”

Sunkyu was observing all of us with a rapt expression.

“He died,” she said in a horse whisper. “I know that can happen if ---“

“Of course he didn’t die.” Jaejoong rolled his eyes. “Nobody dies here.”

Seungah and Jonghun exchanged a strange look.

“Who did you saw your father was?” Changmin asked Hyomin casually.

“Peto,” Jaejoong said before she could open . “He runs a farm .... Practically in the wilderness in Hallacre. Unlikely you’ll have met him ... Or his family.”

“Peto?” Changmin narrowed his eyes, thinking. “No, I don’t believe I do know him. Must be as antisocial as you, Jaejoong.” He smiled wickedly at me. “I’m amazed my brother managed to strike up a conversation with you, Hyomin. He’s not known for his silver tongue.”

Changmin was a little obnoxious, she thought protectively

“Maybe, he doesn’t feel there are many people worth talking to?” Hyomin eyed the boy boldly over the rim of her mug.

Jonghun glanced from Jaejoong to his brother and then to Hyomin, and gave a loud, good-natured laugh. “Now, children.” He said, then, winking at me, “behave.”

“Don’t mind Changmin,” said Seungah. “He likes to stir up trouble.” She cuffed her younger son gently over the head. “And he loves his brother really.”

Hyomin smiled, but the friction between Jaejoong and his brother had not passed her by.

Sunkyu was not the only troublemaker in this family.

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My apologies for not updating for decades. School has started and it's my final year. So many stress. I need a club banger

I was gonna continue the chapter, but it was getting too lengthy for me. So i shall continue in the next chapter :3

So anywaiz, i was listening to Sunny Hill's comeback song, so i guess you guise would know where did Seungah appeared from. Hehehehe :3

So .. uhm, yea. Hope this chapter didn't disappoint you guise :B

Xoxo, Eezah.