My mom was in the wooden hut when I came back, and ran toward me to make sure I was okay. My dad had gone to look for us in the car, and returned a few minutes later. I do not know how I acted so naturally when I told them that Jinyoung had gone home before the rain. But anything would sound more plausible than telling them that he was a fox. It did not make any sense.

You know when you're so scared of something that the only thing that makes sense is to ignore it? This is what I did. I completely ignored what had happened, pretending it was nothing. Jinyoung went to work at my mom's bakery every day, from what I've heard. I dared not go there, and whenever I heard his voice in my house, I locked myself up in my room and pretended to be asleep. I wanted to walk away from everything and move on, but I did not know to what extent he was a danger to my family. So I stayed still, attentive to everything, like a shadow.

On a hot Tuesday afternoon, I decided to leave my room and get some fresh air. Jinyoung would be working at the bakery at that time so there was no chance of bumping into him. I my laptop and I sat in the garden on the back of house, facing the forest. I was talking with some classmates in a chat for so long and I was so focused that I did not see it when someone sat down next to me. My heart almost came out of my mouth when I realized who it was.

- Are you avoiding me?

Jinyoung was sitting in a chair, holding his own knees and looking at me seriously.

- No - I said, nervous.

Then he came closer, his face so close to mine that I could feel his breath.

- So why haven't I seen you in over a week?

- Busy - my hands were shaking slightly and I avoided looking at him.

Jinyoung sighed, standing up.

- I knew you were going to reject me. Damn, my parents warned me about it so many times.

- I'm not rejecting you. We would have to be friends first for me to reject you.

- We are not friends? - His eyes were full of sorrow.

- No - I tried to just nip it in the bud.

- But you saved me that day...

- I did not know you were a monster.

Jinyoung's eyes widened in shock, and I felt awkward suddenly. Maybe I had crossed the line.

- I'm sorry.

He turned and walked away without saying anything. I knew he was not coming back, I had hurt him permanently. But deep down it was good, it was right. I did not know what kind of danger a creature like that could represent for me and my family.

I had done the right thing, but why did I feel bad?

The information I expected came a few days later by my tearful mother who wailed in front of me as if it had been her own son who had left.

- Jinyoung moved to another city so suddenly, I couldn't even say goodbye - she almost sobbed.

- I'll miss the boy - even my dad was sad.

- He was so helpful in the bakery, I don't know how I'll survive without him.

"If only you knew that you're more likely to survive away from him ..." I thought, and kept it to myself.

But it was not easy. It was not as I expected. Over the next few days, Jinyoung wouldn't get out of my mind. I began to contemplate the possibility of having been too hasty, I did not let him say anything. I knew nothing about him, how and why he turned into a fox, and what dangers he, in fact, could offer us. I was so anxious to get it out of my life that I might have done it too quickly. After coming to the conclusion that I had acted like a fool, I knew what I had to do. There still might have been a way to fix it, or at least to try to understand.

Jinyoung had moved to another city. The trip was long and tiring, but if I'd made the mistake I was the only who could fix it. My mom gave me the new address of the place he said he worked at, a small grocery. It was not easy to find it, I had to run all over the city, and when I finally found the place, it was late afternoon. I ran through the halls and found him behind the bakery counter, handing  a pie over to a customer. It seems that the time he had spent working with my mom had given him experience.

I watched him for a while, he was so normal - and human - that sometimes I wondered if it all hadn't just been a dream. Yes, he was a little crazy, but physically perfect. Impeccable. A beautiful and healthy young man and not a boy half man half fox. My brain was almost burning when he saw me. He could not hide his astonishment and took some time to decide what he would do. Finally, he took off his apron and approached me cautiously.

- What are you doing here? - His tone was not friendly.

- I want to talk to you - I said, honest.

- You came all this way just for that?

- Yes.

He did not seem happy to see me, and I could not blame him. The word "monster" still echoed between us.

- I don't know if it's safe - he said, looking so upset that I could not help feeling worse.

- I didn't come all this way for nothing.

- I still have to work for an hour - he sighed, looking at me - meet me in front of the shop then.

And without another word, a serious Jinyoung, different from the cheerful one of the past, turned his back on me and left. I might have done something worse than I thought.

- Are you sure about that?

It was 6 in the afternoon and Jinyoung was looking at me as he put the key in the lock of his apartment. As we could not talk about this in public, the only place left was his home.

- You think I'm so afraid of you? - I asked.

He did not answer, just opened the door and made room for me to enter. The apartment was very small and the room had nothing but an old sofa and a table. I sat awkwardly, and he sat next to me, as far as possible.

- Do you want some coffee? - he asked.

- No, thank you.

We sat in terrible and heartbreaking silence for a long time. It wasn't as if we were the most talkative people before, but now it was simply awful. I tried to start in the most obvious and sincere way:

- I'm sorry.

He did not answer, did not even move. So I looked at him and said it again.

- I'm sorry, really, I'm an . But please understand, I was scared.

- My father once told me that there would never be a person who wouldn't see us as monsters. I fought him at the time, I disagreed ... and now I see that he was right.

I felt my heart breaking gradually.

- I'm sorry for what I said. I don't think you're a monster. I just want to understand. If you can explain it to me, maybe I can understand what happens to you.

I had never been so sincere with anyone in my life, and still did not understand why at that moment it was so important that he believed in me. Jinyoung looked at me for a long time, as if trying to find out through my eyes if I was telling the truth. After a while he started to believe in me, I guess.

- My parents suffered from the mutation, and my grandparents, great grandparents and all my ancestors. I don't know how it started, I really want to give you an answer, but I don't know. I just know that ever since I was born, my body cannot stand the cold and then I turn into a fox. It has been like this my entire life, fox in the winter, human in the summer.

- It's the same with your parents? - I asked

- It happened. But there's something that changes with time - he paused and his face was paler now - Our lives as mutants are not eternal. Every year, our body gets closer to the animal than the human. Every winter, I have been a fox for longer, and even a little bit of cold, like that day, can make me shift.

- That means ...? - I tried to finish the sentence, but could not put the words together.

- Yeah, my parents will never return to being humans, they've been foxes for some years now - he said sadly.

- Is it going to happen to you too? - I could not hide the shock in my face.

- Yes. My body gets more fragile every year.

We remained silent as I tried to find something that could improve the mood a bit, but at the end I could not. So I decided to continue clarifying my doubts.

- And do you remember your human memories when you're a fox and vice versa?

- That's an interesting question, Dongwoo - he gave me a brief smile - Yes, I remember, I remember everything. Some memories are blurred, but important events I take from one body to another.

- Is it not agonizing to be trapped in a body of an animal and not be able to speak?

I do not know if my questions were stupid, because now he was smiling.

- A little. In the past I saw it as a punishment, but now I learned how to live like this. There are some advantages to being a fox, being able to run through the woods and go to unknown places. Let's say that it's interesting.

- Wow, you deal well with it - I said, dumbfounded.

- I suffered a lot to get to where I am - he stopped smiling - But I'm not dangerous, Dongwoo. I would never attack you or your family, I'm not an unconscious fox. I'm not a monster, believe me.

- Now I do - I sighed.

- Good - he smiled slightly and stared at his hands for a while.

And I believed. In a strange and inexplicable way, I believed him. I think I'd always known he was not a monster, but it was very difficult to accept it, and even now, after hearing everything, it is still difficult to accept it.

- Will you come back? - I asked.

He looked at me and his eyes shone like diamonds, such was his surprise.

- Should I?

- Please, I can't stand my mom crying anymore - I replied, rolling my eyes.

Jinyoung smiled so bright, showing all of his teeth and gums. It was the first time I saw him smile like that and I must say I was pretty shaken. He was stunning.

- Thank you for accepting me.

- All right - I also smiled awkwardly.

- No, really, thank you for accepting me. Thank you for not pushing me way, this means a lot to me.

- I think your father was wrong then.

Jinyoung nodded in confirmation. Yes, his father was wrong. There was someone in the world who had accepted that unusual boy. My heart felt confused because I was that person, but at the same time I felt happy. In a way that I could not explain, I wanted to be near him.

And so throughout the summer, Jinyoung was with us the whole time, helping in the bakery and spending his free time by my side. We went out to walk through the forest, and do all those things I used to hate before, like walking and hiking in the sun. He smiled from the feeling of the breeze on his face and I can say that it was not so bad.

That summer, Jinyoung taught me to enjoy all the things I did not like before, taught me to see life from another perspective and to appreciate my freedom.

But of all the things that happened that summer, what I was really not expecting, was to fall in love with him. And that feeling grew stronger every day.

The fewer days I could have with him, the more I loved him.

Unfortunately the winter was approaching, and so was our farewell.