DAY TWENTY-FIVE

Hissing, snarling, gnashing teeth grind against the iron bars of its cell window. Drops of rain patter down relentlessly on its fur, soaking ithe matted strands down into a mangy-looking pattern. The beast howls, as it always does, lonely and hungry for more.

Jinsoul’s eyes shot open to see the inside of a cell. Her cell, at least for the summer. She sighed in relief. She was always worried she was going to wake up somewhere indecent, someone’s else’s blood on her lips. Jungeun made sure that never happened.

But something was wrong. Whenever it was just the two of them, Jungeun usually came in to unshackle her and tuck her into bed before she woke up. The jangle of chains between her wrists meant that that had clearly not happened. Where was she?

“Hey, Jungeun? I’m back….”

No answer.

Jinsoul pressed her ear up to the cool iron of the door. She could hear the faintest sound of snoring, upstairs. Did she really fall asleep on me?

Jinsoul turned around and started pounding the door with her fists. “HEY! JUNGEUN! I’M AWAKE DOWN HERE!!! YOU CAN LET ME OUT NOW!!!” Jinsoul wasn’t sure, but she thought she heard the snoring stop. She pulled back and sat against the back corner of the cell and waited.

It must have rained during the night, because her skin was drenched in moisture, and a small puddle had formed in a divot on the floor. She’d need to ask Jungeun about putting some glass up in between the bars and the outside world.

Jinsoul peered into the puddle at her own reflection. It was the first mirror she had seen in a while. The ones in Jungeun’s house had all been covered up, and Jinsoul tended to avoid mirrors as a rule after her accident. She didn’t like looking at herself.

She was hideous. That was the kindest thing Jinsoul could say about her face. She poked the crater that was her left cheek with her index finger. It went almost all the way in before hitting skin. Jungeun had it wrong. It wasn’t once a month, this transformation. It was all the time, and in every aspect in her life. Even in the relationship between the two of them. It was an invisble barrier that was always up. The wolf was just the most visible sign of it.

She hated how Jungeun lied about her beauty just to make her feel better. She shouldn’t have to lie. She shouldn’t have to be with someone like her. Just breathe. Those are the bad thoughts. Push them out of your head and focus on the good.

The good. Jungeun loved her. She knew that wasn’t a lie. Her friends loved her too, although she couldn’t figure out why, for the life of her. She squeezed her eyes shut and did her best to supress the angry, bitter thoughts that lurked in the darkest corners of her mind.

The door opened with a loud creak to reveal a red-eyed, tear streaked Jungeun. Jinsoul’s heart dropped. She hated seeing Jungeun like this, and she hated knowing it was her fault. Silently, she climbed to her feet and pulled the younger girl into her arms, pressing her warm body against her rain-soaked one.

The two of them stood there for a little while, neither of them daring to break the silence. Finally, Jungeun spoke.

“Sorry.”

Jinsoul took a couple of steps backward. “Sorry for what?”

Jungeun bit her lip. “For falling asleep”, she said, but Jinsoul had an inkling that it was something far deeper than that.

“No, that’s fine. You have nothing to apologize for. You were tired, it happens.”

“You woke up in a cell.”

“I could have woken up somewhere worse. And I think--” Jinsoul stopped. That familiar itching feeling at the back of her nose was acting up. She tried to hold it back, but it came anyway. “AH-CHOO!”

She wiped the snot from her upper lip with the back of her hand. “Ugh, god. I think I’m sick. It rained last night--pretty hard, apparently. Can we put some glass up?”

Jungeun nodded, and the two of them made their way back upstairs. Jungeun pulled a couple of microwavable meals out of the freezer and stuck them in the microwave, setting the time for a few minutes.

JInsoul sat at the table and tapped it with her index finger. “Jungeun. I’m the one who should apologize. I-- AH-CHOO! I, ah, uh-- AH-CHOO!”

Jungeun’s face dropped, and with much concern she made her way over to Jinsoul’s side. “Hey, you okay?”

Jinsoul waved her off. “It’s nothing. It’s just a cold.”

Jungeun ignored her and placed her palm against her forehead. Her hand was ice cold. “Oh. You’re burning up! You need to lay down.”

Jinsoul protested. “No, I’m okay! Really. You already take care of me enough, you shouldn’t--”

Jungeun shushed Jinsoul. She pulled her out of the chair, one arm around JInsoul’s shoulder, and half-dragged the girl over to their plush couch. Against Jinsoul’s wishes, she sat the girl down on the couch and ran off to the kitchen.

Jinsoul rolled her eyes. This was way too much. She was fine!

Jungeun came back with a sock full of ice. She pressed it against Jinsoul’s forehead. “Hold onto this while I make some soup. My mother’s recipe.”

Jinsoul winced. “Uh, are you sure that’s a good idea? The last time you tried to cook you nearly burnt the kitchen down.”

Jungeun smiled reassuringly. “All I need to do is boil some broth and cook some noodles. How hard could it be?”

Very hard, as it turned out. There was a racket in the kitchen for about twenty minutes before Jungeun came back, bowl in hand. An off-putting smell streamed off the surface of the liquid. She placed the bowl in front of Jinsoul and took  a couple of steps back, her eyes peering expectantly at Jinsoul.

Jinsoul looked down at the contents of the bowl and winced. Jungeun had clearly burnt the noodles, and the broth was a strange orange color that didn’t resemble anything edible. Ah, the things I do for love.

Jinsoul spooned some soup into and gagged. It was even worse than she had thought. “Can I pass? Not that I don’t appreciate the effort, but it’s not for me, honey.”

Jungeun nodded. She didn’t seem the slightest bit offended. “I tried.” She sat down on the couch next to Jinsoul and put her hand into her lap. “I missed you.” Jinsoul used her elbow to push herself up and look into Jungeun’s eyes. “Missed me? I was only gone for a few hours.”

Jungeun visibly blushed. “I miss you every second you’re not with me. Is that dumb?”

Jinsoul brushed a strand of hair out of Jungeun’s face. She shook her head. “I don’t think it’s dumb at all. I love you, too. More than I can show you. Sometimes I wish...I wish I wasn’t sick. I wish you didn’t have to go to all this trouble for me.”

Jungeun shook her head furiously. “It’s no trouble if it makes you happy, Jinsoul. It doesn’t bother me to take care of you. It shouldn’t bother you to be taken care of, if you need it. I would do anything for you, sweetheart.”

Jinsoul smiled.

Now that, she believed.