Crunch crunch crunch.

Taekwoon wrapped his cardigan around his body tighter in the cool evening air as he walked through the darkening forest, the sounds of the dry leaves beneath his feet the only noise around.

Now that he thought about it, it was probably a dumb idea to come in here to begin with, but he couldn’t bring himself to care too much.

He wondered if he’d see ‘it’ tonight…

As always, his parents had been scolding him for his grades, and after having a long day Taekwoon just wanted them to shut up – which he had sort of told them, causing them to yell, the fight ending with the teenager storming off out the back door and running into the forest behind their house.

He froze solid when he saw something pale lying on the ground in the distance. He swallowed nervously.

It… wasn’t what it looked like, was it?

Steps more stiff than before, Taekwoon slowly approached whatever it was, heart dropping, his stomach feeling sick as he neared it, his suspicions confirmed.

It was a person.

He sped up slightly, moving closer to the figure and peering over at them cautiously.

They were still breathing. Taekwoon hurried to their side and dropped to his knees.

Wait a minute, he thought, brows furrowing.

He knew this person. This was a student at his school. He recognised the delicate face and long hair that belonged to Lee Hongbin, a boy a few grades lower than him.

What was he doing, lying unconscious on the forest floor – and with no clothes on?

Taekwoon wasn’t even embarrassed, instead just worried for what had happened.

He gently poked Hongbin’s shoulder. The younger didn’t stir. Taekwoon nudged him harder, accidentally rolling him onto his back. The brunette leapt up into a sitting position suddenly, causing Taekwoon to fall back in surprise.

“Wh-What happened?” Hongbin said, alarmed. “Where am I?”

“You’re in the forest on the edge of town,” Taekwoon replied, moving back to rest on his knees, trying to keep calm. “I found you unconscious here.”

“What were you doing alone in the forest?” Hongbin asked, his eyes wide.

Taekwoon opened and closed his mouth a few times. “I was running away,” he said eventually.

Hongbin winced, moving his hands to his forehead and gripping his hair.

“Are you okay?” Taekwoon asked nervously.

“Fine…” Hongbin whispered, his voice tired. “Which way is back to the main road?”

“You’re just going to walk back to town, and dirty at night?” Taekwoon asked, brows raised and eyes wide.

Hongbin blinked. “Do you have another suggestion?”

“Don’t do that? My house is nearby, why don’t you come with me and we can drive you back to your place?” Taekwoon said. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to be walking around in your state. Especially on your own.”

Hongbin smiled. “Well, thanks for the concern. What’s your name again? We go to school together, don’t we?”

“Jung Taekwoon,” the raven answered, standing up and holding a hand out for Hongbin to take.

“I’m Lee Hongbin,” the younger answered, taking Taekwoon’s hand and letting him pull him to his feet.

“Uh, here,” Taekwoon said quietly, slipping off his cardigan and handing it to the other. “It’s cold.”

“Thanks…” Hongbin said, taking the clothing and pulling it onto his small shoulders, suddenly looking awkward at the situation.

Taekwoon wondered…should he ask what happened?

“Erm… do you remember how you got here?” he said at last, after a while of walking.

“No,” Hongbin said.

“What’s the last thing you remember?”

“Um… walking home from school…”

“Do you live near this forest?”

“Yeah, pretty close. Though I guess you’re right, it probably would be stupid of me to walk back on my own. Thanks, you know. For… finding me and everything.”

“It’s nothing,” Taekwoon said quietly. “There’s my house.”

“I don’t… particularly want to walk into your house in front of your parents stark ,” Hongbin said, sounding nervous, though his tone was joking.

“Right,” Taekwoon said, face flushing. “Um, I’ll let you in at my window. Around the side here.”

Thanking the heavens that his house was one storey, Taekwoon lifted up his –thankfully unlocked- window, hopping up and climbing in first, looking away as Hongbin climbed through after him.

When the younger boy was safely in his room, Taekwoon moved over and shut the window, shivering slightly at the chilly autumn air.

“You can borrow something to wear,” he said, moving to his wardrobe, “then I’ll drive you home.”

“If you can drive, why didn’t you take the car when running away?” Hongbin asked, slightly amused.

“Well I wasn’t planning on staying gone,” Taekwoon frowned. “Besides you need money to pay for fuel…”

Hongbin laughed, though strangely Taekwoon found himself not embarrassed like he usually would if someone was laughing at him.

“You shouldn’t go into the forest alone again,” he warned.

“You did.”

“I was being dumb…” Taekwoon said.

“Why shouldn’t I go in there?”

“There’s a w- Um, it’s just, not safe…”

“There’s a what?” Hongbin asked, the humour gone from his voice.

Taekwoon turned around with a pile of clothes for the younger. “Nothing.”

“No, what is it?”

“A… wolf…”

“You’ve… seen a wolf in the forest?” Hongbin clarified.

Taekwoon nodded, wanting to kick himself now.

“There aren’t any wolves in South Korea,” Hongbin said.

“I’m aware of that.”

“Are those for me?” Hongbin changed the subject. Taekwoon nodded, holding the clothes out for him and turning around to let him change. After a moment he spoke again, “I’m decent.”

Taekwoon spun back around to see the long-haired teen dressed in the clothes he’d lent him; denim jeans and a plain T-shirt. Somehow he still looked pretty in such simple clothes.

“Come on, I’ll drive you home.”

Hongbin nodded. “Thanks again, Taekwoon-hyung,” he said sincerely. “I really… I really appreciate this.”

Taekwoon swallowed, staring at Hongbin’s face for a moment. “It’s fine, no problem,” he said, shaking his head slightly.

The sooner this night was over the sooner everything would be normal again.

I live for comments pls tell me if this is any good because if I don't get people telling me they want more I will literally abandon this.

Also since this is just a feeler, I haven't meticulously gone through and checked and edited everything like I usually would, so who knows if there's spelling/grammar/consistency errors.