“How are you doing?” Eunsook asks once they are out of the temple and under the warm afternoon sun. Once, as they had followed an Avowed down the corridor, she had looked back at him, her eyes still hidden beneath her mask.

Now they are outside and his veil and gown are billowing gently in a breeze.

“I’m fine,” he answers quietly. The Avowed bows and the door closes behind them. It is only then that Eunsook removes her mask.

“We are alone now,” she says, taking in a deep breath of fresh air, “you can take your veil off if you would like.”

“I can wait,” Kibum answers, suddenly self-conscious. He looks around the yard. There is a singular, black truck parked nearby. All other vehicles are hidden behind a high wooden fence that is guarded on the opposite side by an alpha who will only open it when Eunsook asks them to.

“Alright.” She pats at the hair that was knotted tightly at the back of her head while she wore the mask. Halfway to the truck, it falls in waves down her back and she’s shaking it loose as she opens the cab door for him.

“Thank you,” he says meekly, holding his gown awkwardly with one hand as he climbs in.

“No need for formalities, Kibum,” she says with a laugh. She waits until he is settled before closing the door.

He watches out of the corner of his eye as she walks around the truck, turning his gaze to his hands folded in his lap when she opens her own door. With ease, she climbs in, fastens her safety belt, grabs a key from the visor above, and turns the engine over. Within minutes they are a mile away.

“How is your wrist?” she asks with a glance, concern lacing her tone.

He looks down noting that the color and form of the mark has not changed. “It is the same.”

“Does it hurt?”

He shakes his head, his veil weaving back and forth. “No. It only hurt for a second or two.”

“I’m sorry.”

He nods. They travel on in silence, Kibum eventually looking up and out the window at the passing scenery.

They’ve left the city where Minho lives and are now on a road he does not recognize. He actually doesn’t know where they’re going. He doesn’t know where she lives. Where he will live. He should ask.

“We’re stopping in the woods outside of Halows. That is where we will stay the night.”

“The night?”

“Yes,” Eunsook says with an amused sigh. “It is both tradition and convenience that finds us camping this evening. Alphas historically showed their worth of making a bond claim by protecting the omega through the night in the woods. Similarly, it is far too late in the day for us to drive and there is nowhere on the route for us to stop: My home is in Whilde Osern.”

“That’s the city, though,” Kibum says in wonder. “That’s…that’s a true city.”

Eunsook laughs. “As opposed to a false city?”

Kibum looks down at the pool of veil in his lap & mumbles, “Minho’s city is much smaller.”

“’Minho’s city’?” she asks curiously, “Not yours?”

The veil makes a soft swishing sound as he shakes his head. “My village was smaller than Taemin’s.”

“Ah,” she says, seemingly to understand. “So you did not grow up in the same area as either of them?”

Kibum glances at her in surprise. “Did the Chois not tell you about me?”

“They did,” she concedes. “A bit. However, I would like to hear it from you.”

“No,” he says, looking back down at his hands. "My grand dam and I moved there two years ago.”

“Why?”

“I..what?”

“Why did you move?” He shrugs, the veil shifting beneath the movement.

“She wanted to be nearer to her friend. She was cousin to Minho’s grand dam and they were raised together. She was quite elderly, elderly even when she began raising me. And I think…” he stops, tilting his head as a connection he’d never made suddenly clicks.

Eunsook glances over with a raised brow. “What?”

“I think she might have known she would not live another year. I never thought of it before.”

“And she wanted to make sure that you were already settled with family?”

Kibum blinks back a tear and the veil shifts as his arm lifts, a thumb pressed to his lip. “Yes.”

“Did she know of Taemin?”

Eunsook’s tone is warm, gentle, and curious in a way that is almost hopeful, as though it is her want that Kibum’s grand dam knew that Kibum had found love with Taemin. And it is Eunsook’s right to ask, her right to know: She is his alpha. Yet she is also a stranger and Taemin has been his and his alone for so long. Their bond has been a secret kept closely hidden, one that they instinctively knew not to reveal and yet here an alpha is asking him to speak of it. The duality of instincts, submission to his alpha, and wariness of a foreign alpha, have him confused and he shifts self-consciously. “She knew of him, I don’t know that she knew what he is to me.” He smiles, blushing beneath his veil. “Though I did speak of him enough that she may have suspected.”

“Hmm.” He looks over and is pleased to see that she is smiling. “What else can you tell me about her?” Kibum freezes. Eunsook will need to know in time why he was raised by his grand dam, but he does not want to discuss it now, not when everything is still so unfamiliar between them.

“Her garden was beautiful,” he answers truthfully, proudly. “Every color you can imagine was at one time was planted and bloomed there.”

“A skilled gardener?”

“One of the best.”

“And did you inherit any of her talents?”

Kibum laughs as he thinks of how he and Taemin had compared horticultural thumbs and his was decidedly green while Taemin’s was most certainly black. “All of them.”

“Then we will have to get you your own spikes and wires. We can share tools.”

“You garden?” Kibum asks in surprise.

Eunsook laughs. “I do. My dam did and she taught me. Not flora so much. Just some vegetables for autumn, berries in the summer. That sort of thing. I have a few fruit trees as well.”

“We won’t have to share gardens, will we?” Kibum asks seriously.

Eunsook bursts out laughing, looking over at his veiled face. “No, no. I…no, we won’t have to share gardens. You can have your own plot.”

“Good.” He can hear her stifling a chuckle. They ride in silence a while, the passing scenery turning from city sidewalks to small town roads.

“Are you sure you want to continue wearing your veil?” Eunsook asks in concern.

“Oh!” Kibum exclaims, surprised. “I had forgotten about it.” He lifts the veil over his face and lets it fall behind him. It is attached to a small crown that Minho’s dam had pinned to his shorn hair. A flip of the visor before him and a brief struggle with the crown, and soon Kibum’s head and face are veil-free. He stops with the crown in his lap, eyes staring at his reflection.

The collar he had seen in Eunsook’s hands and felt be fastened around his neck now sits stark against his throat. He reaches up and watches in the mirror as his fingers touch it: The material is smooth, black. They reach back and feel at the fastener, feel the smoothness of the adjusters, and move forward again to rest at his chest just beneath.

“I hope it’s alright,” he hears Eunsook say quietly from the other side of the cab. “I wasn’t sure what to get so I went with something simple.” Kibum doesn’t answer, turning his head first to the left and then to the right.

It’s not just the collar that has caught his eye. He has been kept away from mirrors since the night of his ceremonial shorning. Only twice has he seen his reflection, neither times very long. Now he sees his face as it is with hair less than a quarter of its original length and his throat with a black collar that signifies to anyone who cannot see his wrist that he has an alpha who has claimed him.

Suddenly, he begins to cry.

Immediately, the truck is stopped and one of Eunsook’s warm hands is at his back. “I’m so sorry, Kibum.”

He shakes his head and bites his lip, turning to look at her. “It’s not you. It’s not the collar. The collar is perfect. It will go with anything. I just wish they hadn’t cut my hair.”

Eunsook lets out a long, deep breath and nods. “I see. Well I…I’m glad that at least I haven’t made it worse by buying a bad collar.” Kibum shakes his head again. Her hand rests on his back as he continues to cry, embarrassed now at his reaction. He rubs his eyes and takes a deep breath, feels the warmth of her hand disappear as he straightens. “Are you ready for me to start driving again?” He nods. She nods as well as she starts the truck back up and turns onto the road.

They ride in silence. Soon, he falls asleep.

Kibum wakes up to the truck bumping against something on the road. The truck hits another bump causing an unseen box of metallic supplies to ring from somewhere in the back. Kibum’s arms fold so tightly around his waist that it’s beginning to ache in his biceps: It’s nearly a relief when Eunsook turns off the main road and takes a path that ends quickly in a clearing with a stunning view of the valley below.

The truck stops and the engine whirs down and her door opens and closes followed by the door of the seats behind her opening and closing. Kibum stays where he’s seated until she tells him to get out. When she comes back, she tugs out a canvas tent and then leaves him again. He can see her setting it up on the ground and so he quickly turns behind him to unlock his safety belt and open his door. He watches her work and he picks up the next peg she’s reaching for, handing it to her wordlessly.

“This won’t take long,” she says, sticking it in the ground, “and then you can change out of your gown.” Kibum looks down, surprised to realize that he hadn’t, until she’d said something, even thought about what he would be wearing while they were in the woods.

“I don’t-”

“I know,” she interrupts. “I do. They’re in the back of the truck. A pair of boots too,” she adds with a little laugh. “I don’t think those slippers will keep your feet warm for very long. And they won’t hold much traction in the dirt.” When the peg is in the ground she grabs another and moves to another corner. The tent is small and she is right: It won’t take very long.

He watches in admiration. Her hair gleams in the sunlight and the silver threads in her suit sparkle. He sees that her feet are encased in slippers very similar to his own.

“How do you know to do that?” he asks curiously.

“The Hunts,” she answers, as though it were obvious. He blushes, embarrassed. Of course. He himself had never been.

“There,” she says, the final peg in place. He nods appreciatively. “You change clothes and I will set up camp.” He nods again and follows her to the truck. A pair of pants, a long-sleeved black shirt, and a heavy olive-green jacket are handed to him. “You may not need the jacket now, but as the evening cools you will be grateful for it.” A pair of thick socks and heavy boots are added to the pile.

The inside of the tent smells of materials he is unfamiliar with. His nose scrunches at the scent. The gown is not easy to unbind, it was not made to be undone by his own hands, but he struggles alone until Eunsook’s voice is heard just outside the entrance asking if he is alright. He waits until she asks again to answer.

“The gown is…unyielding.” He hears her laugh and it’s as awkward as he feels.

“Would you like help or…?”

He does. Just not hers. “Yes.”

The door to the tent slowly opens and Eunsook’s head emerges. “What is-”

He turns quickly, his back to her, looking over his shoulder. “Bands. It’s tied together in bands. I cannot unbind them all. Not enough.”

“Ah.” He turns his eyes forward and keeps them at the wall of the tent while her fingers tug at the ribbons keeping the gown on his body. Abruptly, it becomes loose enough to fall forward and he grabs it to his chest. “There,” she says softly, stepping away. “It has yielded.”

He looks over his shoulder, murmuring a quick, “Thanks” and watching as she disappears through the door.

When he emerges with his gown over one arm and his slippers in his hand, there are two purple canvas chairs set up not quite next to each other, though not quite facing each other either. In front of them sits a trowel and a small pile of firewood.

“I brought it with me,” Eunsook says, pointing to the wood, a pile of clothes in her own hands. “I didn’t want to have to search for it while we were here.”

“Good,” Kibum remarks. “I would have been of no help on such a task.”

She laughs as she passes him. “There is a bag in the cab for you to put your gown and shoes in.” He finds it easily and then hurries back to take a seat in one of the chairs.

When Eunsook emerges her hair is bound loosely and her clothes are similar to his. It crosses his mind then that she may have brought along pieces from her own wardrobe to lend him until they arrive at her home and he can have his own clothes again. He leans in and smells at the collar of his shirt but can’t be sure; everything smells of Eunsook after being in her truck.

When her own bonding clothes are tucked away, she returns and kneels on the ground, taking up the trowel in hand and beginning to dig a hole beside the pile of wood. Kibum watches in fascination. “What are you doing?”

“Building a fire pit. A simple one, we won’t need it for more than a few hours. I just wanted to get it done.”

“Like planting a garden.”

“I suppose so,” she answers with a nod of her head. “Yes, that’s a good way of looking at it. The firewood are the plants. They even have their own fragrance once they bloom. Hmm. I never thought of it like that. So you’re a creative type.” The smile she flashes him is amused and pleased.

He blinks, flustered. “I…suppose so.”

“What other things do you like to do, other than gardening?”

“I like music. And…decorating. Sort of. Colors. I like colors.”

“Oh,” Eunsook says, her tone laced with disappointment. Kibum’s fingers flutter to his collar as her eyes fall to his chest. “Then a black shirt was not the best choice.”

“It could have been better,” he teases, hand falling to his lap.

“Could it have been worse?” she asks, looking up. “Truthfully.”

“Yes, much,” he answers quickly.

“Good.” She turns back to her work. “You can ask me anything. I’m sure you have questions. I know I do. And there are no guardians now to keep us from asking them. They said we would have plenty of time to speak. Now is that time,” she says with a laugh.

“What do you do as a trade?” he asks curiously.

“Architect. I design buildings. I build them myself on occasion. The house I live in. That we will live in. And another, much smaller one on the river.”

“You have two homes?” Kibum asks in surprise.

“Yes,” she answers shyly. “The river is visible from the main house but is too far away to travel by foot and back. It is nice to spend an evening there and easier to have a home to spend it in. And more pleasant than this,” she adds, gesturing at the tent. “There. Finished.” She puts down the trowel and takes a seat in the empty chair. “What else do you want to know?”

Kibum curls his fingers in his lap, fighting the urge to press a thumb to his lip. “Why were you not bonded already? Did you not ever have a Covenant?”

“I…that’s complicated.” Eunsook’s face is inscrutable and Kibum’s fists tighten in worry. “I met the omega when we were very young. They were only four. We were put into Covenant, I agreed to Intention, and we were to meet in a few months to prepare for bonding.”

He nods. “What happened?”

She shrugs with a smile. “They fell in love.”

“Oh,” Kibum murmurs. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Eunsook says with a soft laugh, eyes turning to the view of the valley below. “We had only met the one time. Everything else had been done by screens, no ceremonies. My intention was to give them freedom to choose and they did. They’re very happy now.”

“So…you would have been bonded with a stranger either way?”

“Yes. I would have had more time to meet with them,” she says with a shrug, “but this way I’m able to keep a love bond in tact.” She turns to him then with a smile. “A fair trade, I think.”

“Thank you,” Kibum says earnestly.

Eunsook nods. “You can ask me anything, Kibum. And I do want to know more about you. I want you to know, though, that I won’t ever ask about Taemin. And it’s not that I don’t want to hear about him, it’s that I want to know you before I meet him. We only have a little time together before he comes. And I will have so many others to tell me stories about him. I will not have that with you. So I will not ask questions about Taemin, though I will listen if you tell me stories. I only wanted to explain early on.” Kibum nods, biting his lip. He had wondered a little how much she would want to know and how much he would be forced to share. He didn’t want to share at all. “May I ask a question now?”

Kibum shakes his head in surprise. “I…are alphas supposed to ask permission?”

Eunsook laughs. “If I am in charge of everything than I am the one who determines whether I am allowed to ask permission and I say I am. So in answer to your question, yes.”

“Oh.” He pauses, not sure what she’s just said, but certain that he’s supposed to say yes as well if her teasing smile is of any measure. “Then yes.”

She leans forward conspiratorially, an elbow propped up on one knee, chin resting on a fist. “Can you swim?”

“Can I…yes,” Kibum answers in confusion, glancing around the thick forest surrounding them.

“Good. It’s too cold now, but between the spring equinox and the summer solstice it should be warm enough to go to the river. Do you enjoy hiking?”

“Oh.” Relief and anxiety flood over him in equal measure and it takes him a moment to answer her second question. “I…no.”

“Then I will have to go by myself.”

Unsure if the way she shrugs in resignation is truly as sad as it seems, he chokes out, “I…can try.”

Eunsook’s eyes widen. “I was joking.”

“Oh.” Kibum laughs nervously as Eunsook smiles.

“What did you think of the ceremony?” is her next question.

Kibum takes a deep breath. “I did not expect so many to be in attendance.”

“Did you not?” Eunsook answers with raised brow. “The Chois seem to care for you greatly. It is no wonder they invited so many.”

“The Chois?” Kibum asks in surprise.

“Did you not notice their seating? Oh, of course.” She shakes her head in embarrassment. “Why would you notice such a thing? I’m afraid I did not have time to invite my own friends and kin, not that I have many beyond Jinki and Minjung. Who they invited sat on one side and the Chois the other. It was not too unevenly split, but it was clear that the Chois did not hold back in their invitations. You will see when Minho is bonded to Jongin. I would not be surprised if there is an equally large gathering.”

“It did seem similar to when they were made Intended,” Kibum murmurs, eyes shifting to the ground. “You are right, though. I only noticed when they laughed.” Eunsook chuckles then and Kibum’s eyes rise in mortification. “Not you too!”

“No, I did not laugh. In truth I am amazed that I was able to answer as well as I did.”

“Did…” Kibum pauses, tilting his head to the side to think of the question he wants to ask. “Did they prepare you for the ceremony? For the questions and steps?”

“There was no one to give me direction, I have been to bonding ceremonies before,” Eunsook answers with concern. “Have you not?”

“No.” Kibum shakes his head sadly. “I was not prepared for the priestess to ask if I was to refuse today. I was not aware that was an option. That is why I only shook my head.”

“Ah. Well,” Eunsook stands, patting her thighs with both hands, “it is good you found your voice. I have another question to pose.”

Curiously, Kibum answers, “Yes?”

“Are you hungry?”

The chair creaks and rocks gently on the uneven earth as she stands up. Kibum watches in fascination as the pile of wood that Eunsook had left beside the fire pit are arranged in a pile within the hollowed ground. A long match ignites when Eunsook swipes it against the black strip of a cardboard box and soon the pile begins to shimmer with burning embers. On impulse, he leans in, stretching his open palms over the warm air rising from the flames and he catches the way she smiles at him.

The truck door opening echoes against the silence of the trees & the slam has Kibum flinching in surprise where he sits. She sets up a metal contraption whose function he understands but whose form he doesn’t recognize, the slow growth of a meal warming his senses. The bowl she hands him is cold but the stew is warm & he eats as much as he can on a suddenly nervous stomach.

They eat in silence for a few minutes, only Eunsook’s smattering of questions about the warmth and taste of the stew filling the space between them.

Kibum’s chewing on a bite and staring out at the valley, thinking about Taemin and wondering what he’s doing at that same moment when he hears her say, “You said your grand dam raised you.”

He nods, swallowing his bite. “Yes.”

“You are an only?”

Kibum nods again, holding his spoon tightly and turning in his seat so that he is facing her. “Yes. You?”

Eunsook chuckles. “Did they not even tell you that much about me?”

He shakes his head. “I know only what you have told me.”

The smile on her face falters and the shadows from the flames are mimicked in her eyes. “I am an only as well.”

“Are your guardians unliving?” Kibum asks curiously. The smile falls completely and he finds himself swallowing beneath a sharpened gaze. Without thinking, he lets the spoon fall into the bowl and his fingers tap absently against his collar, the bite mark still red pressed against his thumping heart. The action catches her attention and her eyes immediately soften. She glances away and her lips before taking a breath and looking back up with a sad smile.

“My dam is unliving. My sire still breathes.”

“It is only that Jinki-sire stood for you in everything,” Kibum says hurriedly. “Apologies, I-”

“No formalities, Kibum,” she interrupts wearily. “It was an obvious conclusion to draw.”

He nods. “I mourn to hear of your dam,” Kibum murmurs softly.

Eunsook nods in reply. “I should explain the absence of my sire, though,” she says quietly. “He was occupied in trade. He abhors screens, and getting word to him often takes a long time, especially now during harvest season. You would know the name of his fields if I said it to you,” she says with an amused smile when Kibum raises his brows in interest. “Luna.”

“That’s-” Kibum sputters, shocked.

“Yes,” she says with a laugh, “as I said, they are very well known. And that is why Jinki stood for him in everything. That and Tae-” she shakes her head. “That is why he was not there. We will meet in winter. He will attend Jongin’s Ceremony of Bonding.”

Kibum frowns in confusion. “Not-”

“No,” she interrupts quickly, “he does not attend the Holy Day of Mourning.” Kibum nods. The fire crackles in the quiet and he looks out at the valley where the sun has nearly set. “That is everything,” Eunsook suddenly continues. “As for you, they told me that your guardians are unliving, both sire and dam.”

Kibum lets the lie sit in the air between them long enough that it might remain the truth in Eunsook’s mind if he doesn’t hurry to speak. He should tell her, he should. They’re bonded now. And the paperwork…

“No,” he says softly, keeping his eyes on her. For some reason, he wants to see her eyes when he tells her the truth. “They live. They abandoned me, like Taemin’s did him. Only mine made it official. I have the Confirmation of Release.” Eunsook’s thoughtful silence slips over Kibum’s shoulders like an itchy scarf.

“Then why did the Chois say your guardians were unliving?”

“It is what they believe,” he answers simply. “It is all anyone has ever known. My grand dam told no one. And I’ve told very few.”

“Taemin,” Eunsook says with a nod and a knowing smile.

“Yes,” he concedes, his cheeks warm.

Her eyes stay on him, watching him, reading him. “Orphans both but yet neither,” she murmurs and he wonders why she feels compelled to speak in riddles.

“Abandoned.”

“Yet chosen,” she points out quickly.

Kibum snorts and finally looks down at his feet, stirring what’s left of his stew. “That’s what Taemin said.” He waits for a response but Eunsook only watches him, the last of the sun setting and leaving them with only the flames of Eunsook’s fire.

Eventually, Eunsook stands and reaches out a hand to take the bowl from him. She moves away, gathering up the supplies that she’d brought out for their meal & putting it all back in the truck. He stands himself, stretching muscles & limbs that have grown stiff with tension & inactivity. When he asks if he can help the look on her face makes him think that it might not have occurred to her that he actually could. Most of the cookware is gone but she teaches him what to do with their fire once they won’t be awake to tend to it.

His focus is on the flames when she reappears. The mug she hands him is warm and he sips it gingerly while they watch the darkness finally settle its debt with the sun. Soon, the stars take the stage and begin to dance, a nearly full moon watching in admiration. The cups are taken to the truck, the chairs too, while Kibum follows her earlier instructions with the fire and, when she returns, a lantern in hand, she nods when he asks if he’s done it right.

“Very good. Are you ready for sleep or would you like to speak more?”

“I…” Kibum looks up at the night sky, stalling. “A little while longer. While it’s still warm.”

“If only we hadn’t doused the flames,” she teases.

He grimaces, arms tight at his chest. “Then I suppose…we should sleep.”

A beat of silence between them is time enough for him to catch the hesitation in her eye, almost masked by the darkness & her own determination.

The door crinkles beneath her hand & she waves him in, following him a bit too quickly & they nearly bump heads. Her shoes are kicked off into one corner & he mimics the action in another.

At some point, though he does not know when, a sleeping bag and two pillows were lain out on the floor of the tent. Its edges nearly touch each of the walls of the tent itself.

“Go ahead,” she says, waving him toward the bag that lies ped. He kneels down and awkwardly pulls aside the cover, shuffling toward the very edge and laying his head on the pillow. The pillow is soft but firm, and the ground beneath is cushioned by something hidden. His impulse is to turn with his back to her, but it feels unkind to do so. So he lies on his back and feels the cover shift beneath his hands as she lies down beside him, back turned to him. The light from the lantern she had carried in with her dims and then disappears. Suddenly they lie in darkness.

“Sleep well, Kibum,” she murmurs.

“Sleep well, Eunsook,” he replies.

The desire for sleep is overridden by his mind’s wanderings. He stares at the wall and tries not to think of the warmth of another body beside him.

The morning is colder than he expects, & damp in a way he doesn’t understand & doesn’t like. There’s a smile on Eunsook’s face in the sunlight that wasn’t there in the dusk & the coffee she hands him makes her laugh when the taste hits his tongue.