Author's Notes

Hello, my loyal readers.

It's been a while, hasn't it? Firstly, I would like to apologise for not updating in almost 3 years. A lot has happened in my life during that period of time. It wasn't my intention at all to be on hiatus. Everything happened all of a sudden that I didn't even get the chance to announce anything. I know this may sound like just another excuse, but I'm still gonna explain everything.

It all started when I got a new job, a permanent one. As some of you may already know, I'm a teacher. And the school I am posted to is like a 100km from where I live. It's a long commute to and fro everyday that by the time I got home, I was dead tired. So it took me a while to adjust to the new schedule and whatnot. I was planning to start writing again after a couple of months. However, my dad had a major not long after. He was in a coma in the ICU for a couple of months. Thankfully, my dad's gained consciousness now. The only thing is, he's bedridden and is still in the hospital. He's been in the hospital for 2 years now. To make everything worse, my mom got admitted into the hospital last December because of damaged lungs. The doctors have adviced her not to do any heavy workload. She gets tired easily and her asthma would kick in badly even if she does as little as going up and down the stairs, or sweeping the floor. As an only child, I have to be the man in the house now, taking care of both my parents. So eversince that, my life has been resolving around work, taking care of my dad in the hospital after that, and taking care of my mom at home. I have to do EVERYTHING on my own: do the laundry, prepare lunch and dinner, clean the house, change my dad's diapers, feed my dad, etc. I wanted to get a helper but I still cannot afford it. I couldn't even take my dad home cos our current house is not suitable for his condition. So I'm really working hard right now to earn more money to get us a new house. Thankfully, the hospital has agreed to take care of my dad while I look for a new house and the government is covering all the bills. I'm really thankful for that. But as if it couldn't get any worse, I had a regular medical check up a few month ago and the doctors told me that I need to have a surgery. I have a condition called scoliosis, in which your spine is bent abnormally. I've been diagnosed with this a long time ago but it wasn't that bad before. This year, i found out that my spine has squeezed a bit of my heart and lung and I need to get it fixed, or else my respiratory system would be affected. And I would have to take a 3-month medical leave for rehabilitation after the surgery. How on earth would I get the time to do that when I have my parents to think about? Sigh. I wish money grows on trees.

But anyways, that's my life story. I would like to apologise once again for not updating soon enough. This chapter has been saved as draft for quite a while so I figured that I should just publish it. When will I update the next chapter, I honestly don't know. I've written half of it, but I cannot promise anything for now. I will try my best to find a time of my busy life to finish it. I really hope you enjoy this chapter, though. And thank you so much for staying and waiting. You guys are awesome!!

Until then, see you in the next chapter. Happy reading!

It didn’t make any sense.

None of it made any sense.

Minseok was lying, Dal tried telling herself, but the flash of guilt in his eyes as he spoke was solid enough evidence that he was being serious. The new information was not easy for her to grasp. She refused to believe it. How could she, when all she knew was that they were family? She was the Kim’s one and only daughter, and the eldest of the five siblings.

She was shocked and confused. She didn’t know what to feel, or how to react. And the pitiful stares she got from the werewolves only made her body shiver in discomfort. So she ran away, as faraway as she could. She just needed some time to herself, to let the reality sink in and think.

The woman wasn’t even aware that she has transformed until she saw her reflection in the blue water. Startled, Dal immediately jumped into her self-defense stance, ready to attack the beast anytime. But five minutes passed and nothing happened. The river was streaming peacefully. Only the sound of the breeze and the birds chirping filled the air. Carefully, she took a few steps forward to look at the water, and once again, she was shocked to see the sight before her.

She had no memories of her wolf form so it was both weird and amusing looking at her reflection. She looked so different yet still the same. Her fur seemed to be even whiter than her usual platinum blonde hair. It was as white as the snow during wintertime. But it was the colour of her eyes that threw her off a little bit. They weren’t blue as it was supposed to be. They were red, albeit lighter. She didn’t really like it. It made her look like a monster.

“You’re beautiful,” a male voice said out of nowhere, his tone nothing but sincere.

Dal didn’t need to turn around to know who it was. She could recognise that deep voice even from miles away. Besides, he reeked of cherry lollipop. Her sense of smell has also heightened now that she was in her wolf form, she’d noticed. His sweet scent filled her nose as soon as he entered the forest and it made her a little dizzy. She hasn’t quite got the hang of being a wolf just yet. Everything was a bit overwhelming, it’s very frustrating.

The newcomer moved to stand beside the confused wolf, chuckling. Even as a wolf, she was still that same hot-tempered girl he grew up with. She got annoyed over the littlest things and he has always enjoyed teasing her, just to annoy her even more. Her reaction when he did that was just so adorable, just like this instance. The female wolf growled at him, baring its teeth as a warning. He found it cute because it was obvious that she has forgotten that she couldn’t really talk.

“You forgot that you couldn’t talk, didn’t you?” the guy laughed; but boy, was that a wrong move.

In a split second, he was being tackled roughly to the ground. A big, white wolf put its whole weight on top of him, preventing him from moving. She bared her teeth at him once again, and this time, he really thought that she would really bite him. For a brief moment, he panicked. This was her first time in many years transforming into a wolf, after all.

The disability to talk wasn’t the only thing she has forgotten. It seemed like she forgot how to control her strength and power as well. From what he remembered when they were very young, her super strength was no joke at all. Even their parents couldn’t compete with her, and they were the strongest of their species in the area. How could he be so stupid and forget about that?

The guy shut his eyes, bracing himself for the worst. He was mentally prepared to see his parents in the afterworld. If there was one in the first place. Instead of feeling the sharp teeth piercing through his skin, he felt something wet and sticky on the side of his face. It took him a long second to realise what was going on – the wolf was his face, over and over again.

“Ew, ew, ew,” he muttered repeatedly as he shoved the animal off of his body; he could’ve sworn that he heard her laughing at him.

Well, he wasn’t entirely wrong. Although the sound didn’t exactly come out, Dal was internally laughing her off. He had always been the one teasing her, now was the time he tasted his own medicine. Served him right. For a moment, she managed to forget about all her problems and actually appreciated this side of hers. It wasn’t always she got to see her youngest brother this irritated before.

Jongin immediately rushed towards the stream, dunking his whole head into the water. It was a bit offensive to her, actually. What, was she really that dirty? But still, it was such a hilarious sight to see. So instead of sulking over his rudeness, Dal opted taking a seat beside her brother and observed him with a cheeky smirk on her face. It took every ounce of her not to push him entirely into the water. Although that was a sight to behold, she wasn’t as mean to do so.

After what felt like forever, the guy finally joined besides her, shaking the water off his hair. Water splashed everywhere, wetting Dal in the process. What an annoying brat. She growled at him once again but he just ignored her and lied down instead. He covered his eyes with his right arm, blocking the glaring sun from hurting his eyes. It was silent then, peaceful.

Seeing how calm and quiet her brother was, Dal couldn’t help but be so herself. She lied down on her belly, resting her head on her paws as she stared at the glowing stream before her. It always felt so serene here, the main reason why she liked visiting the place. It helped her forget about all her problems, even if it were just for a short period of time. She turned to look at Jongin and judging from his steady breathing, he must’ve fallen asleep.

Staring at him closely, she couldn’t help but think of their parents, especially their mother. Jongin was a carbon copy of hers – same eyes, same nose, and they even had the same sassiness. She loved and hated him for that. As much as she was elated that he inherited their mother’s traits, it was also very difficult for her to control her emotions seeing him. She would always be reminded of the accident and it’s very suffocating. Now, although it wasn’t Jongin’s fault at all, his resemblance to their mother brought back a lot of memories, including painful ones.

Thinking about it now, however, what rights did she have to feel that way? She wasn’t even a real family member. She was just another orphan, perhaps even an abandoned child on the streets that they took in out of charity. She couldn’t help but scoff at the realisation. She wasn’t a Kim, she’s never been one. Well, it seemed like this place has lost its charms, because it failed to calm her troubled mind like it used to.

“They loved you very much, you do know that, right?” Jongin’s deep voice broke the silence.

He could hear his sister heave a sigh as a response. He understood it as a yes, but there was also a hint of doubt in it. He found it funny and aggravating at the same time. How could she ever question their love for her, when all they could think of or talk about when they were alive was her? She might not be their real daughter, but their love for her was as real as life itself. Perhaps even stronger than their love for their own sons.

There was a time when he was jealous of her. But he soon learnt that her presence wasn’t all that bad. His mother had a slip of a tongue one day, saying that she would’ve dressed him as a girl if she didn’t have a daughter. Although she was probably just joking around, that alone was enough to scare him. Jongin couldn’t imagine himself wearing dresses and heels. Dal didn’t realise how grateful he was that she joined the family.

“They just wanted to protect you,” Jongin said after a while, now sitting up, “There were bad people, noona. Really, really bad people, and they wanted to kill you.”

If Dal wasn’t paying attention a few minutes ago, she definitely was now. Where on earth did that come from? As far as she was concerned, they lived a pretty normal life. Other than the occasional encounters with rebellious creatures and the hunters, there weren’t really any serious occurrences. How much exactly had they hidden from her?

A sigh escaped the guy’s lips before he continued, “The first few years after you came were fine. People accepted you as our cousin, who eventually became our sister. But then, the hunters arrived and that was when things started to go wrong. It wasn’t helping that you were a bit different from us, especially your eyes.”

Dal turned to look at her brother upon hearing the comment on her eyes, confusion written all over her face. She, too, couldn’t help but notice the change in the colour of her eyes after she transformed. Had they always been red before?

“As you know, vampires don’t have red eyes,” she heard him answer her silent question, making her even more confused, “At least, not normal vampires like us. The hunters questioned your uniqueness but mom and dad told everyone that you were a half-breed. A mixture of vampire and another supernatural being. Being ignorant on the whole supernatural world, the humans bought it instantly.”

But not the hunters, she continued in her head.

“Dissatisfied with the news, the hunters did their own digging. For years they didn’t give up on finding information about you. But of course, mom and dad were always a few steps ahead of them. Do you remember when we played hide and seek in the forest without our parents’ permission that one time?”

Jongin’s eyes were now staring right in Dal’s red ones. It was only for a brief moment but she could’ve sworn she saw guilt flash through his eyes. She tried to dig through her memories but much to her dismay, everything seemed to be blurry. This never happened to her before. She loved her brothers and enjoyed every second that she spent with them. Every memory was so precious and she would never in her entire life forget any of it.

So why could she not recall anything now? What happened back then? What was happening now?

“I was only ten back then, a very curious and naïve boy,” Jongin laughed at the memory, but his face darkened only a second later, “While the others were looking for a good place to hide, I wandered off in a different direction instead. Thinking about it now, I’m not even sure why I did. I only remembered that I heard something and followed the sound. It was my first time in the woods so I didn’t know my way. Before I knew it, I heard something crack and I found myself rolling down a steep slope and into a huge ditch.”

All of a sudden, bits and pieces of memories flashed through Dal’s mind. Her head was spinning for a moment, until one particular scene appeared before her eyes. She remembered it now. She remembered everything crystal clear.

Poster and Background by: ＣＨＩＮＧ Ａ ＬＩＮＧ