Aanchal smiled so hard her dimples might fall off. Hoseok was right next door! It was a dream come true, honestly – she had always wished, that one day, he would be able to live with her family instead of all by himself.

Of course, the best thing would have been for him to live with his own family, but well... that wasn't happening.

Dinner was finished, and Hoseok was helping her mother wash the dishes. He had actually looked happy to help. As she got to know him more, she was able to differentiate between his two smiles – she was able to identify a real smile, and the smile he always wore like a mask of happiness.

More and more often, his mask slipped. It revealed pain, scars, and tears. But it had also revealed the real smile – now, it adorned his lips almost as often as his fake one. Soon, he would always wear his real smile. One day, she knew he would be able to cast his mask aside.

He had already taken an enormous step. Standing up to his father and getting kicked out... she had seen the way he froze around his father. She had seen him sneak away that morning when Mr Jung was threatening to fire her. At first, she had been upset he hadn't defended her, but then she realized he couldn't defend her back then. It wasn't his fault – he turned into someone else around his father.

Aanchal knew that feeling well. At school, she very often had to pretend to be interested in things if she wanted to keep the few friends she had. No one cared whether she played the guitar or wrote her own songs, no one was content to sit and simply enjoy nature – they had to at least take photos of it and upload it on social media. Why couldn't people simply enjoy the moment, without taking a photo? One can relive their memories thousands of times in one's memories – in fact, in one's memories, everything is alive, and a photo can only capture one scene.

Hoseok was the first person who had displayed a genuine interest in her guitar and song-writing. He was the first person with whom she could enjoy nature with – no, he was the only person. He was the only person who would bother to write the lyrics to a tune she had composed. He was the only person whose face lit up with happiness when he saw her.

It was odd, because she in turn felt happy to be around him. He had issues, she had always known that, but instead of turning away from him and seeing a pathetic person, she saw someone craving things he had never had the opportunity to recieve. She saw happiness struggling to overpower his inner shadows. All she had done was give him a little nudge.

That little nudge was enough, though. A shoulder to lean on, and someone to get comfort from, can mean the world to a person. Was it strange that she could feel so happy around a person with so much pain?

Out of habit, she went and looked at the rose she had been growing in a small pot on her window sill. It hadn't been growing well at first – it's leaves had all fallen off, but then they grew back, greener than they had been. It was going to bloom soon – there was a little rosebud.

Come to think of it, she had planted this when she had first met Hoseok. She could remember her father clipping the roses in the garden, and she had taken one of them and planted it.

When you plant something, you are basically creating a life. You water it and nurture it, and watch it grow and eventually blossom. In a way, it is similar to people.

Hoseok reminded her so much of this rosebush – even when she had watered and made sure it had enough sunlight, she was reminded of him. He should have it now – he should see it when it blooms.

She took the pot and went outside. The dishes were done, and Hoseok was in the guest room right now – no doubt he would come looking for her afterwards.

Hoseok had needed a bit of time to himself. He needed to take a deep breath, and take a reality check. To be honest, this day had too much in it for him – the end of exams, standing up to his father, getting kicked out of his house, and then being taken in almost immediately by the Parks. Hoseok had never been very good in keeping up with events – more often than not, when he looked back on what had happened, he felt as though it had been another person, and he was a silent spectator in someone else's life.

But no, it was his life. It was his life, and those things were happening to him.

From now on, he would live as he pleased – he wouldn't try so hard to please someone else, because that was simply not worth it. Life is too short to be anyone else other than yourself.

A knock at the door made him snap out of his thoughts and get out of bed. "Yes?" he called.

"I have something for you!" said Aanchal, entering. In her hands was a little pot containing a rose bush, ready to bloom. The bud was nearly half open, as though tentatively peeking out into the world it was about to enter.

"You should take this," said Aanchal, holding out the small pot to Hoseok.

"Huh?"

"I think you should take care of it from now on."

Hoseok took the pot and held it carefully, suddenly thrilled. He had never taken care of a plant before... sure, he had watered the garden and stuff, but being given a rose bush that Aanchal herself had planted and cared for... that was special.

"I'll take really good care of it," he said, and set it down on window sill, where it would get some sunshine.

"Thank you, Hobie," said Aanchal. She touched the rosebud gently. "This rose is ready to bloom beautifully, don't you think?"

Hoseok watched her fingers gently touch each leaf, as though encouraging the plant to grow.

"It is," he said. "It's ready to bloom into a beautiful rose."

That night, before going to bed, Hoseok watered the plant, sprinkling it on the soil carefully with his fingers. Like Aanchal had done, he touched each leaf very gently.

When he woke up, the rose had bloomed into the most beautiful red rose Hoseok had ever seen.

****

Su Ji and Yoongi woke up late that morning. Since there was no school, they caught up on all the sleep they had lost in preparing for the exam. In fact, it was lunch time when they woke up.

"Hello, sleeping beauty!" Gandma greeted, when Su Ji made her appearance in the kitchen as Yoongi snuck away.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" asked Su Ji. "Oh yum! Is that fish cake stew?"

"Take a seat," said Grandma. "And honey, you needed all that sleep."

Su Ji thought of Yoongi eating alone. She also thought of the time Grandma had welcomed him so readily... she seemed to like him. Hiding her relationship with Yoongi was burdening, to be honest. It was time to come clean. Hoping she wouldn't invoke Grandma's wrath, she took a deep breath. "Grandma?"

"Yes?" Grandma set the steaming bowl of stew on the table.

"Um... you remember Yoongi?"

"Ah," said Grandma. "That friend of yours that you invited over for dinner the other night?"

Su Ji nodded. "Yes, him... um, Gandma, there's something about him that I haven't told you yet..."

Grandma raised her eyebrows. "Oh? Somthing other than he is the white wolf?"

Su Ji's jaw nearly fell off. "How did you know that?" she cried.

Grandma laughed softly. "I know about the wolves, Su Ji. Mi Ho and I were very close at one point – I knew about her husband, too. I saw the boy turn into the wolf one day, when I was gathering herbs in the forest."

Su Ji stared. Now it all made sense. She had thought her grandmother was crazy for not being afraid of the wolf at first, and telling her not to be afraid either. She had known it was Yoongi. But that night at dinner, she had asked where Yoongi lived, and went to talk of the dangers th forest held now... was that her way of asking Yoongi to protect her?

"How come you didn't say anything?" Su Ji finally asked. "How come-"

"Because, from my experience with Mi Ho, I knew there was nothing much I could do. I also learned that the sooner you accept him, the happier you would be – you were very unhappy here at first, Su Ji, Yoongi is the one who helped you settle in. I was waiting for you to tell me, but you never did."

Guilt stabbed at Su Ji's stomach. "I'm sorry..."

"I suppose it's ok – although I am disappointed you didn't trust me enough."
 

"It wasn't you that I didn't trust," said Su Ji. "It was myself... I couldn't trust myself that I was sane, to be honest."

Grandma laughed. "You never picked up on the subtle hints I gave you – remember when I said that Namjoon was your boyfriend? I was hinting that I knew you had a deeper relationship with someone."

Su Ji shook her head. "You know I can't pick up on hints!"

"True, I should have been more open..."

"Doesn't it bother you, though?" said Su Ji.

"Not anymore... Mi Ho and her husband were my friends... I was the only one they had told."

"You must have been very close," said Su Ji.

"We were... but after he died, she changed a lot."

Mr Choi's death, Su Ji realized, had been difficult for everyone – it had affected his wife, Yoongi, Namjoon, no doubt Jimin, and even Grandma. It had affected Grandma's relationship with Mrs Choi – Mrs Choi had drawn away after that, and they became more formal with each other.

Su Ji bit her lip. Since Grandma knew about Mr Choi and Yoongi, maybe she knew about the other wolf...

"Grandma," she said. "You know, that wolf that went around attacking people... do you know who it is?"

Grandma shook her head. "I don't," she said quietly.

"Do you know about Jimin?" asked Su Ji.

"How do you..." Grandma's voice trailed off. "Of course – that Namjoon boy, isn't it?"

Su Ji nodded.

"It isn't Jimin," said Grandma. "He is too... it isn't him. Su Ji, he was sent away becausehe showed no signs of being a wolf – his parents wanted him to live like a normal human, away from any wolfish influence."

"But what if he was just hiding it?" asked Su Ji. "What if he was able to hide it all?"

Grandma shook her head again. "I held him in my arms when he was a baby... he was such a good child. It isn't him..."

Even well behaved babies could become not well-behaved when they grew older, Su Ji wanted to point out. But well, she had no proof that Jimin was the wolf, and Grandma obviously had fond memories of him.

"Su Ji," said Grandma. "You know, it was actually after the attacks that I became grateful that you had Yoongi – I knew he wouldn't let anything happen to you."

"Grandma, it isn't as if I'm oh-so-special and important that I'd be a target," said Su Ji, rolling her eyes.

"Still, it makes me feel more at ease." Grandma's tone became brighter. "Now why don't you call Yoongi in for dinner?"

"Shall I?" Su Ji grinned.

Grandma nodded. "And, if he wants, he can eat with us every day – he must eat alone at home, right?"

"Breakfast, lunch and dinner?" cried Su Ji, excited – this would be as though Yoongi were living here for real!

Grandma nodded again. "Yes! Now go call him."

Almost tripping in her excitment, Su Ji ran out on the porch and called his name. He would be able to hear her, even if he was in his house. As she waited for him to appear, Su Ji made a mental note not to try and trick her Grandma anymore – she was a lot smarter and knew a lot more than Su Ji thought she did.

****

"We need you, Namjoon!" whined Su Ji into her phone. "Come on, who else will give us a ride, huh?"

"I'm not a taxi company!" Namjoon retorted.

"Are you going to stalk Jimin to the ball?"

"Yes."

"He won't do anything tonight, I swear! He's just as tired as us and he'd want to go to this dance and have fun – he wouldn't want to go around attacking people."

"You don't know that."

Yoongi took the phone from Su Ji. "Hey, listen up! We both need a break – Su Ji's right, let's just take tonight off – Jimin will be going to the dance, and we can keep an eye on him there."

Su Ji heard Namjoon's reply about responsibility and how shocking it was that they both were slacking off and they should be thankful he was so responsible.

"How about this?" said Yoongi. "Hoseok said that Jungkookand Lisa were going to give Jimin and Jisu a ride – let's be ready early, and when Jimin comes out we can just follow him to the school."

"Stupid idea," said Namjoon at once.

"Not really," said Yoongi. "Let's just do it like that, ok? Even if we have to wait a long time, it's fine."

There was a long pause. Finally, Namjoon said, "Fine."
 

****

The dance started at six PM. Su Ji and Yoongi were ready by five – at least, they would be, if Su Ji didn't stand dithering in front of her mirror, taking in her appearance.

This dress Grandma had bought was gorgeous – it was a flowing dress of pale blue, whose skirt swept the floor. It hung off her shoulders and hugged her figure. Su Ji felt weird – she was neither used to wearing long skirts nor close-fitting outfits – comfortable oversized T-shirts made up most of her wardrobe.