Chapter 1

I swung my feet freely as they dangled off the tree branch I was perched on. The sun was playing peek-a-boo with the clouds and the wind blew softly, making my hair dance with it. Birds were singing happily as they flew around me and the squirrel next to me was enjoying its lunch while I did the same. I took one glance at my watch and then took the final bite of my sandwich before jumping down from the branch. The sound of leaves rustling was soon hear and then the next thing I knew, a cub jumped out at me and I caught it effortlessly.

The cub started whining and I looked at it unimpressed before I put it down and patted its head. I looked up at the sky and noted that the grey clouds were starting to roll in. A whine followed by a high pitched bark made me look down at the cub and I sighed before gesturing for the cub to follow me.

Rain started to fall from the sky and I did not pick up my pace as I continued to walk leisurely back to my house. By the time I reached my house, the rain had picked up and I was soaked to my bones. As soon as I locked and opened my door, the cub ran by me and nearly knocked me over. A small chuckled escaped my mouth and I shook my head slightly at the small creature.

Right before I could shut my door, my nosy neighbor pushed it back open, causing me to stumble slightly. “Baek, you’re back,” she greeted and then walked in. “I would’ve expected you to be back hours ago, but…” she trailed off and glanced at my appearance.

“Mrs.…uh…look ma’am, I am able to take care of myself just fine and I need to go change and dry off Chen. Can we talk…” I was interrupted when she pushed pass me while looking around.

“That’s all nice dear,” she said dismissively. “Go do whatever and actually bathe that mutt. Really I have no idea why you picked up that stray.”

“Chen is a wolf, not a mutt. Look can you just come back tomorrow…or never,” I said the last part quietly as she sat down and made herself comfortable. I sighed and shut the door before walking upstairs. “I guess we have guest Chen,” I said to the cub lying in front of my bedroom door. The cub raised its head and released a huff and I rolled my eyes. “I tried, but you know she’s stubborn,” I said and he only stared at me for a few seconds before turning his head.

I frowned and leaned over the cub to open the bedroom door. The cub got up immediately and went into the room. I followed silently and shut the door behind me before heading to my closet and grabbing a towel. After stripping and drying myself off, I quickly changed into a pair of faded blue jeans and a light green sweater. I looked over at Chen and noticed he made himself comfortable on his bed and was sleeping. A soft smile graced my face as I looked at him sleep and I went back to my closet to get another towel for him. After wrapping the cub up, I went back down stairs and took a deep breath before forcing a smile.

“So Baek, what did you do today? Did you go the interview? Did you get the job? What about your school? Are you doing better now?” my neighbor asked before I could get the chance to say anything. I opened by mouth and then she cut me off with a, “Of course everything went smoothly and your grades are up. Why wouldn’t they be?”

“I didn’t go to the interview you set up because I have a job. Two jobs in fact and I am doing fine in school. Today was my only day free so I went on a hike with Chen,” I said as I sat in front of her.

She looked at me slightly annoyed and then sighed. “Well I guess quitting those two jobs and having one wouldn’t work anyways. It’s good that you’re doing well in school. Have you thought of what you wanted to do as a profession?”

“Veterinarian science.”

“Why not become a real doctor instead?”

“I will be a real doctor,” I said annoyed.

We stared at each other silently and I broke our eye contact by turning look at the stairs when I heard a bark and then a thud. I smirked slightly and then looked back at my neighbor.

“Anything else that you would like to talk about?” I asked and she frowned.

“Look, I promised your family that while you lived here…”

“You’ll look after me and help me when I need it,” I finished for her and mirrored her expression. “Checking up on me is fine, but trying to control my life is not.”

She stood up and I watched her as she stormed out of my house. I released a deep sigh before getting up and walking back up the stairs. When I walked into my room, I was met with a glare from Chen. He was on the floor still wrapped in the towel. I smirked and a low growl came from the cub.

“I was only trying to help you dry off. Not my fault you move in your sleep,” I said and he made a noise equivalent to a scoff. “Yah, I can always stop feeding you,” I said and he rolled his eyes before struggling to get up.

I walked up to the cub and released him from the towel and then he bit my hand lightly. I pouted and he looked at me expectantly. We stared at each other before I sighed and picked him up.

“I swear, you are so spoiled,” I said and he barked.

The next day I woke up to my phone ringing and Chen howling along to the ringtone. I groaned and reached for my  phone without looking. When I grabbed it. I answered the call without looking at the caller ID.

“Hello?” my voice was muffled from the pillow.

“Open the door,” a deep voice said and then the call ended.

I sat up and looked at my phone. I couldn’t recognize the number that called, but then I heard loud knocking coming. Chen started growling and I looked at him while he was looking at the door to my bedroom. The knocking got louder and I flinched before jumping out of the bed. Chen stopped me from walking towards the door and I bit my lip.

“I’ll go tell the person to leave. Don’t worry,” I told him and I mentally patted myself on my back for not stuttering.

Slowly I made my way downstairs and the knocking stopped when I was standing right in front of it. I felt my body shaking as I lifted a hand to open the door and then I took a deep breath when I grasped the handle. I lifted my other hand to unlock the door and when the lock clicked, everything became dead silent, except for the beating of my heart in my ears. The door opened I was met face to face with three boys.

The closest one to me had single lid eyes and slightly chubby cheeks. His hair was short and light brown and his skin was fair. Despite his soft features, he was looking at me with a cold glare and I quickly looked away from him.

The last two were off to the side and were talking quietly to each other. Unfortunately I couldn’t see their faces due to it being dark outside, but one of them were definitely tall.

“Are you going to let me in or just stare at my friends?” the one in front of me asked harshly and I flinched.

“Who are you?” I asked looking back at him and he raised an eyebrow before showing his wrist to me. I looked at him confused before looking at his wrist and my eye widened. “Quickly come in,” I said and moved out the way. He didn’t move from his spot and gestured towards his friends. “They can come in as well,” I said and left the door opened before running to get the first aid kit from the bathroom.

Chen stared at me from the stairs and then went back glaring at my unexpected guests. From the bathroom, I could hear Chen’s warning growls, but that was only it. Did they even come inside? I asked myself and returned to my guest with the first aid kit in my hands. The front door was closed and the three were sitting in my living room. Chen was still on the staircase and the three were looking at him amused.

I cleared my throat and the one I talked to turned his attention to me, but the other two were still looking up at Chen. “I’ll clean your wound, but can you tell me what happened?” I asked as I walked up to him.

“A wolf attacked me,” he said and I heard Chen growl louder.

“Chen go to the room,” I said looking up at the wolf and he looked at me. “You heard me,” I said and Chen made a whining sound. “They won’t hurt me now go,” I said sternly and Chen released one last growl before leaving the room.

“You can understand him?” a deep voice asked and I looked back at my guests to seem them looking at me amused.

“Oh, um…” I blushed as I turned my attention to the bleeding wrist. “I like to believe I can and that I’m not just having a one-sided conversation.”

“Don’t worry, you weren’t,” a soft voice said. I peeked up from my work to see the small boy smiling at me. He was definitely pretty and angelic-like. He had caramel brown hair, big doe eyes filled with curiosity and mischief, fair skin, and just the perfect smile. “Why thank you.”

“Huh?” I asked and looked at him confused.

“So what’s your name?” the deep voice asked and I looked at the tallest of the three. He was extremely intimidating. He was handsome, but his glare seemed to cancel it out. He had a sharp jawline, fair skin, light brown hair... “Are you going to answer me or stare at me?”

“His name is Baekhyun,” the one next to him said and I turned my attention back to the bleeding wrist.

“Byun Baekhyun,”  I said softly and then I started wrapping the wrist. “May I ask who you are and how you know me?”

“We go to your school,” the soft voice one said.

“I am in your literature and biology,” the one that I was wrapping said.

“Oh, can I also ask how you got attacked by a wolf?” I asked.

“Playing in the woods when I wasn’t supposed to. It’s only a scratch so it doesn’t matter. Your house was the closest and I didn’t want to go to the hospital or freak my parents out,” he explained and then I finished. “Thanks Byun, by the way, my name is Minseok,” he said as he looked at his wrist. “The short one is Han and the other one is Yifan. Thank you for helping me.”

“You’re welcome, but can I ask one more question?” I asked as I placed the things back in the first aid kid.

“He couldn’t sleep so he woke us up and went for a walk,” Han said and I looked at him shocked.

How did he answer my question without me asking? I saw him smirk and I turned my attention back to Minseok and took a deep breath. “How did you called me?” I asked and he laughed.

“You must not have a good memory. You gave me your number when we worked on a project together last year. It was more of a shot in the dark on whether or not your number was the same. I’m glad it is,” Minseok said and I stared at him confused.

“Okay, well do you guys need anything else?” I asked and the three shared a look before standing up.

“We’re fine now. Thank you for helping me at this ungodly hour. See you in at school,” Minseok said with a slight bow and I quickly stood up.

“No problem. I’ll see you guys at school,” I said and smiled at them.

After the three left, I locked my door and turned towards the stairs to see Chen looking down at me. He tilted his head and sat down and I nodded my head.

“Sorry I made you leave. I don’t know who they actually are, but they were lying. Next time, I’ll let you stay in case something happens.”

Chen looked at me before snorting and leaving the room. I made my way up the stairs and paused to look out the window. It felt like someone was watching me and I frowned at that before going to my room when I heard an insistent bark. I got back in bed and looked at my phone to see that I could sleep for at least four more hours before getting ready for school. Nodding to myself about that plan, I put my phone down and I laid down next to Chen. Within seconds I was unconscious again.