DH´s and 3rd POV

The strong wind took the picturesque scenery of Suffolk by surprise one October day. The short apple trees in yards were tossing around their browning leaves and the ubiquitous drizzle made it even harder to come out of the warmth of the house. When the wind calmed down in the evening, the meadows were taken over by a mass of fog. Thick white cover enveloped the orchard and the whole north bank of the River Stour. On the hill a single fog- silhouette appeared. It was the Black Shuck.

The daredevil soul of a large hound. One look into its eyes and you are clear that this beast is free. Only the Black Shuck decides where it wants to go, what it wants to do and when. It has even the freedom to choose its own path, it´s neither the Devil´s sprout not the Heaven´s messenger. The beast belongs to the land and the land belongs to the beast. The Black Shuck is the history, the tradition, the mythology, the folklore but also, and surprisingly, the present.

The first time I arrived at Clare, I thought the place was cut out of a picture book. Clare just as well might be the smallest and the prettiest village in Suffolk. I came from the train station in Sudbury from where I was picked up by a colleague. He drove me to The Swan, possibly the oldest inn I have ever seen. The bedsheets were white and crisp, contrasting with the dark wood and dusty walls. From the window I could see old houses, some of them dating back to the 16th century or even further. This place was breathing history and I took a deep breath.

It was my first evening in Clare and my colleague took me down to the pub. I was half excited and half worried, trying to not let any of these emotions show on my face. My colleague introduced me to some locals and ordered a larger for me. I´m not a good drinker, my face becomes red after only few sips. And that´s why I believed I was drunk when I took notice of an Asian sitting on a barstool. Except for his genes, everything else about him felt local. From his casual clothes to his comfortable posture and half-finished beer. I didn´t try to talk to him, it didn´t even come to my mind. Everything was new for me and I had to get used to it first.

Donghae came to Clare to meet with the Historical and Archaeological Society connected to nearby Cambridge. It was a group of people with interest in the early history of Cork and Clare and Donghae has been in contact with them since he began working at the university in Seoul. This was the best chance for him to go out into the field and feel the history. His colleague from the Society was just as excited about the young Asian in the town and tried to show him only the best of what was available. Starting with the lager, although most people in Clare preferred the ale. It seemed though, that Donghae wasn´t the right person when it came to alcohol appreciation. He didn´t even finish one glass but it was apparent he was tipsy. Time to go back to the inn then.

They walked together and Donghae inhaled the cold autumn breeze. It just stopped drizzling and the town was quiet. He was looking around, taking in the foreign view. He was in love with this place, at first sight. Drowsily following the dark road with his eyes, he suddenly noticed something. A large shadow on top of a hill. At first, he thought it was a shrub as he was unfamiliar with the landscape but after focusing on the shadow, he realised it was actually an animal. It looked like a large hound of a sort or maybe wolf. Donghae wasn´t sure if there are wolves in Suffolk. Nevertheless, he was amazed by the beast.

“What are you looking at?” Donghae´s colleague was surprised with his little visitor stopping and staring into nothing.

“There´s a dog out there,” Donghae said unsure, “or so it seems.”

“Where? I don´t see anything,” Donghae´s colleague wasn´t convinced and really, the large shadow disappeared from the hill.

“I guess I´m tired,” Donghae felt embarrassed, “travelling and you know,” he chuckled awkwardly.

“Sure, tomorrow I will introduce you to other people from the Society,” he grabbed Donghae over the shoulders and they began walking back to the inn. “Let´s call it a day.” Donghae felt that the start of his little adventure was quite alright. He went to sleep with content written all over his face. But the Black Shuck could sniff it, the change this man would bring to his territory. With a low growl, it vanished in the darkness.

The Historical and Archaeological Society meets the 1st Friday of each month at 7.30 p.m. from October to May at the Bell. I thought that this kind of set up was just perfectly British. And so was the weather in the evening when I confidently strode directly into the white fog. It took me about twenty minutes to completely lose my sense of orientation and end up on a path leading up the meadows instead of the pub.

“Now what,” I sighed hopelessly looking at my blank phone with no reception. It all looked like a conspiracy all of a sudden, strange coincidences placed me alone into the middle of nowhere without any possibility to ask for help. And apparently, that was only the beginning.

He heard a long feral howl and his body shook with the tugging of his basic instincts. Donghae tried to look around but the thick fog moving gently over meadows was effectively covering his view. Something was there though, Donghae was sure. And the large paws softly swept the dry leaves with each careful step. The Black Shuck wasn´t confused even for a second about who was in front of him, the foreigner in his sight was troubles but it was something new. It´s been a while since there was anything new in Clare.

A signal to the strong hinder legs and the ominous black dog jumped over the path with such a speed that the fog almost dispersed. Donghae was flabbergasted, he was supposed to feel scared but he wasn´t. As if he could tell that the large beast wasn´t there to hunt him down but to save him. He didn´t say a word, only blankly stared in those wild magical eyes. This wasn´t a normal dog, this was something else.

Then the Black Shuck gave Donghae a stare, it really didn´t mean to attack. Not this time. It had a better idea. The large hound suddenly turned around and began slowly running downhill. That brought Donghae back from his reverie and almost as if charmed, he began following the Black Shuck on the grassy path. He had no idea where he was going, especially when his guide disappeared into the thin air, as if it became a part of the fog. The white darkness was then interrupted by a strong strip of yellow light.

There was a house in front of me, it was an old house standing at the end of a gravel walk. The door to the house opened even so slightly to reveal a man that looked familiar to me. It was the Asian from the bar, the local man that looked anything but local. Yet, he felt like that. I looked around but I saw no dog, the man in the doorstep noticed me. When our eyes met, I suddenly had an urge to run to him and give him a hug. As if he just brought me back from this confusing foreign country into the familiarity of my own keen. It was stupid but I decided to compromise. Instead of throwing myself into his embrace, I began walking towards him with a small smile.

“I´m sorry to bother you but I seem to be lost,” I began in English.

“Come in,” the man said in Korean, introducing me to his warm house.

While Lee Hyukjae, apparently Korean, was making us each a cup of tea, I was trying to lead a small talk on the topic of our homeland. It didn´t really work. Either Hyukjae wasn´t very social or he didn´t feel any attachment to his origins. Maybe I shouldn´t have invited myself over but at the same time, I didn´t feel unwelcome. Even if the owner of the house was a little cold, I couldn´t shake off this strange aura he gave off. It was crawling on me, making me unbale to leave.

“I will walk you back to the inn when the weather gets better, now it´s not the time to loiter around.” Hyukjae said and placed two cups of tea on the coffee table in his living room. The whole room was warm and cosy. Hyukjae picked up a blanket that was spread under the table and put it away. Then he sat down on the sofa not that far from me.

“Why not?” I asked because it sounded like he had a unique reason for his remark.

“It´s not safe,” he just shrugged, keeping his secrets for himself.

“Because of the black dog?” I burst right into his defence. “Have you ever seen it?”

Hyukjae was caught off guard. Standing up, he walked to the window, looking out. I saw his reflexion in the glass and found myself intrigued. He was handsome, for the first time in my life I was admiring a man. Pale skin, smooth black hair, lean, strong jawline and mischievous eyes. Maybe he wasn´t