When Seulgi wakes up the next morning, the first thing she thinks is about the man and the gory image of his shoulder which resulted her to jump off her bed and seeks for the bathroom to vomit her last night’s dinner. She trembles on the cold tiled floor when she’s done retching. She clutches her head with her shaking hands. No, it must be a dream. Just a nightmare. Yes, just a nightmare.

She stands up and cleans herself. She cries softly when she rubs clean her hands that stained with red. She doesn’t need to ask what it was and how did she get it. She stands under the running water for an hour. She leaves the bathroom and starts dressing up. Her phone is vibrating somewhere in the room. She looks for it all over and finds it under the blanket. 12 missed called by her boss. He probably is at the restaurant and goes berserk to find the state of the uncleaned kitchen. She doesn’t want to go there. She’s not going back, no matter what.

She’s lost in her own trance when the next time her phone vibrates she jumps as though she’s seen a ghost. She looks at the screen. Her heart hammers to her chest.

It’s the number from last night.

She throws the phone on the bed and steps back from it as if it might explode. The phone vibrates for a moment before it stops completely. The next thing she knows a message comes. With her never stop trembling hands, she picks back her phone and reads the message.

‘Come to this address. We should meet and you should know the reason.’

Reason? What reason? She shakes her head. She’s not going even if her life is counting on it. But the swelling in her heart tells her she should go. She closes her eyes and sighs.

She gets off the cab after she pays the driver. She then finds herself standing in front of a clinic. A veterinary clinic to be exact. She frowns at it. Why is she doing in front of vet clinic? Why does the man wants to meet her here? She surveys to her left and right. An old woman gives her a look when she passes by. Trying not to make herself look awkward and lost, she makes her way to the clinic. She then pushes open the glass door and it hit the bell. A woman behind the counter across the entrance looks up and smiles at Seulgi. Instead of coming to her, she goes to the room on the right of to the counter and disappears behind the door that has a plate reads ‘Dr. Choi’ on it, leaving Junghee at lost at what she should do next.

She then decides to check a few dogs and cats that are kept in glass cages against the clinic’s glass walls so that passer-by can take a look at them.  She crouches down to meet a very cute and fluffy white puppy. It’s so small, she thinks can fit in her palms. She smiles at it widely and would baby-talk with it.

The sound of a door being shut straightened herself from her previous position. She turns and meets the woman has return with a man wearing the doctor’s cloak by side. Both of them are smiling genuinely at her that she feels rude if she doesn’t reply them. She bows at them, knowing well she’s younger than the both of them.

“Hello, my name is Minho,” the man introduces himself and points to the woman, “this is my wife, Gwiboon. We are very pleased to see you.” The smiles never leave their faces.

“My- my name’s Seulgi,” she croaks. She’s very nervous and scared. What do they want for her? Compensate for the injury man? Well, too bad because she’s too broke to pay them. She wriggle with her hands and finds the shiny floor is very interesting than the couple who are smiling genuinely at her.

While she studies the floor, a pair of legs comes to view. She looks up and the woman is standing in front of her. “Don’t be scared, Seulgi. We are not asking to meet you because we want to scared you. We want to help you.” She then put her hands around Seulgi’s shoulders. Gwiboon nods to her husband and leads them to the door on the left side of the counter that Seulgi doesn’t realize it’s there before.

He opens the door for them and Seulgi finds herself standing in a hallway. They walk inside and by the end of the hall, another door greets them. Minho opens it and there’s a flight of stairs leading to the basement. Seulgi shudders at the sight of it.

Here’s a thing, Seulgi hates the stairs to the basement, and she even hates the basement more. She has a painful memory about basement that she doesn’t want to recall.

Gwiboon rubs the side of her hands when she feels Seulgi shudders and her reluctance to move forward. “It’s okay. There’s nothing to be scared of.” How is she not going to be scared? Two strangers are taking her down to the basement, who knows what they are going to do her next.

“Seulgi, we swear we are not going to hurt you. We are not serial killers. We are just vets who treat animals,” Minho says with a tone that makes Seulgi believes him. She closes her eyes and nods. Minho again leads them downstairs, Seulgi next and Gwiboon comes later. She makes to close the door behind her.

It was deeper than she thinks it would. She thought it’s going to be at least ten steps but no. There are probably about 40 steps until they reach the landing. Seulgi who is already sweating and quivering due to her being claustrophobic is relief to find the basement is very bright and wide as though they are never in the basement.

She’s too busy calming herself that it’s taking her some time to notice the room on the other side of the room. The pair led her to the room and when Minho opens the door, she finds a man lying on a hospital looking very sick. She gulps down the lump in . Both Minho and Gwiboon are already the man’s side. The looks on their faces tell her she needs to come closer. She does and stops a few steps from the bed.

The man is very much unconscious, his shoulder is bandaged and the wounds on his face and body she doesn’t notice last night have been treated. His left hand is being connected with the IV tube. He’s breathing softly.

“First of all, we would like to thank you for not calling the ambulance,” Minho says. “And we are sorry that we left before we could explain to you but we have to leave.” Seulgi looks up from the unconscious man to Minho.

Seulgi is about to say something but Gwiboon cuts her off. “Can we ask you something, Seulgi?” Seulgi meets with her eyes and nods. “Anything,” she mutters.

The pair looks at each other before turning back to her. Gwiboon takes a deep breath and sighs, “Are you or are you not aware that you’re a…” she reluctant a bit. Seulgi raises her eyebrows. “A what, Miss Gwiboon?” she sounds panic.

“A Healer,” Minho continues.

Seulgi eyes widen twice than its normal sizes. She steps back from them, shocked.

“She’s very aware of her ability,” says Gwiboon, eyes never leaving the panic young girl in front of her.

Seulgi looks from Minho to Gwiboon to the lying man. She contemplates on running away until Minho speaks, “Relax, Seulgi. We swear we’re not here to hurt you or force you to do anything. We want you to listen to us, to trust us. Can you do that?”

She wants to tell them she can’t. How can she trust strangers, really? But when her eyes caught the man on the bed, she thinks otherwise. She nods her head and sit on a chair after being offered to by the both of them who choose to sit on both sides of the bed.

“How… how did you…” Seulgi speaks and again, Gwiboon cuts her. “How did we know you’re a Healer?” Seulgi nods.

Gwiboon turns to look at the knocked out man before turning to Minho, as if to tell he should be the one to explain. Minho gets the message and says, “You see, this is Taemin. He’s very much a younger brother of us. And last night, if it wasn’t for you, he’s more likely to lose his hand.”

“But, I only meant to clean the wound.” She remembers much how she doesn’t even intend to heal him, the thought of using her power didn’t even come to her mind at all.

Minho grins, “You did but maybe you’d healed him unintentionally. You’re not aware of it, that you’ve healed him while cleaning the wound.”

Seulgi opens to say something, anything, but she couldn’t form any word. She’s blank. She hasn’t healed anyone in years. In fact, the last time she ever healed anyone was some 10 years ago and she regretted it that she healed that person. Then it hits her. She eyes the couple suspiciously. “How did you know I’m a Healer – No I mean, how did you know someone like exists? Are two Healers as well?” her heart gives a jolt, anticipating on hearing their answers.

Gwiboon at last tears her eyes away from the man, Taemin, and smile at Seulgi. “No, we’re not Healers. We’re normal humans. We’re very qualified vets. Of course, we wouldn’t know who you’re unless…” she looks down back at Taemin.

Unless?

“Unless you’ve been hanging around with a werewolf,” she continues.