A soft wind blew through the calm night as the trees whispered and sang a tune of their own. The full moon shined its light through the trees, falling on the dried leaves on the floor of the forest. Small critters moved along in silence and peace, each engrossed in their own work during this calm autumn night.

It was through the trees that a wolf, made its way, running and weaving skillfully through the foliage. It was closely followed by a small grey pup, struggling to keep up with the longer bounds of the much older animal.

Eventually, the pup tired and came to a stop, panting deeply. The older wolf stopped in its tracks and turned back to the younger.

"Is everything alright, son?" she asked.

The pup sat on his haunches. "I'm tired, Mom," he said in a tiny voice.

The mother walked over to her pup. "Are you, now?" she asked, sounding amused. "I didn't expect you'd give up so easily."

"I'm not giving up!" the pup exclaimed. "I'm just...taking a break."

"How long are you going to need?" she asked.

"Just a couple of minutes," the pup said. "I'll be fine."

The older wolf's eyes softened. "It's not good to push yourself too much," she said. "If you're tired, we can easily stop for now."

"No!" he stood up, wobbling slightly because of the sudden movement. "I won't give up, Mom! I want to be like you!"

She laughed, leaning down and rubbing her nose with his. "You have plenty of time to do, little one," she said.

The pup, opening his eyes after nuzzling his mother, suddenly drew back when he spotted another wolf in the moonlight. 

"Rhea," the other wolf said.

The mother wolf turned to him, narrowing her eyes slightly. "Go back home, Hongbin-ah," she told the pup. "I'll be right there."

She then walked over to the other wolf, who turned and walked away once she caught up. Within moments, his mother's shadow faded, and the little grey pup was left by himself in the moonlit forest.

"Are you sure about this?" one of the girls said.

"Of course, I'm sure," another one said. 

"It's not like we have a choice," the third grumbled. "We lost the bet fair and square."

"Who makes girls go into a scary forest anyway?" the first girl grumbled.

"Our friends," the third pointed out.

"Anyway, can we focus here?" the first girl asked, her voice trembling slightly. "I want to get in and get out as fast as possible."

"Let's do that!" the second one agreed.

"Um..."

"What?"

The third girl patted the hand of the second girl, eyes fixated on a spot in front of her. When the other two turned to her, silently asking her what was wrong, she quietly pointed. The other two followed her finger and froze.

In front of them was a massive wolf, fur glowing silver in the moonlight and its golden eyes glistening. Its tail swished slowly as it kept its eyes on the three girls.

It then growled, and the three girls screamed and ran back the way they came.

"Have you heard?" 

Hongbin looked up to see the face of his very excited friend leaning over the table in the library. He had come in with such vigor that he'd gotten shushed by the librarian. Quickly bowing in apology, he turned back to his friends.

"So, did you?"

"I'm not sure what you're referring to," Hongbin told him. 

"I'm not sure even he knows," the boy on his side told him.

"Hey!" The standing boy said. "I bring actual news this time!"

"Yeah, yeah, go ahead," the friend on Hongbin's side said, waving his hand dismissively.

Ignoring him, he turned back to Hongbin. "Some girls went into the forest because they lost a bet," he said.

Hongbin's eyes widened and he closed his book. "What happened?"

"I'm not really sure, but I hear they keep saying they saw a wolf."

Hongbin exchanged a quick look with the guy on his side. "This is bad, Taekwoon," he told him.

He nodded and then turned to the standing boy. "Where did you get this information, Wonsik?" he asked.

"It's all over the school," Wonsik said. "I'm surprised the two of you didn't know."

"I'm surprised too," Taekwoon said, turning to Hongbin. "Know anything about this?"

Hongbin shook his head. "I'm hearing this for the first time."

"It could get dangerous," Taekwoon said. "If people actually believe them-"

"They won't," Wonsik cut in. 

The other two looked at him. "They've gotten the girls to admit it was a late night delusion, that they hallucinated something. I don't think anyone's going to believe them."

Taekwoon leaned back in his chair, relaxing. Even Hongbin's shoulders released the tension built up in them. 

"Of course, there are no wolves in Korea," Wonsik said, pulling up a chair and looking at the other two boys. "Everybody knows that."

"Yeah, everyone knows wolves don't exist in Korea," Taekwoon said.

As he said that, he turned his head to look at Hongbin, who sat silently, not responding.