'Come show me your true colors. Paint me a picture with your true colors. These are the questions of a new lover'
~

Jaebum groaned in his sleep, turning his head side to side in the deep plush pillow. He slowly opened his eyes only to be met with a bright white ceiling. He furrowed his brow in confusion. He carefully sat up and looked around the unfamiliar room.

The room was fairly bright with the sun beaming through the window. It was a simple clan room with papers and books stacked against the corners and a backpack right by the door. “What the heck hap…” his voice trailed as the memory of the other night returned to him. “Youngjae.”

“I need to find him.”

Before he could climb out the bed, the bedroom door opened. “Oh! You’re awake!” The boy grinned, looking relieved. Jaebum looked at him in even more confusion. He was the guy from last night. “Did you bring me here?” He questioned. The stranger nodded and sat down in the chair next to the bed.

“You passed out last night. You had lost a lot of blood. You insisted that I not take you to the hospital, so I took you here and patched up your wound the best I could.” He explained.

Jaebum reached for his neck and felt the thick bandages with his fingers. “Thankfully the bleeding stopped, but you’ll need to go to the hospital to get it stitched up.” The boy advised.

Jaebum opened his mouth to decline but stopped himself. He couldn’t tell him that his injuries were already healed. There was no way he could explain to the human that he was a wolf. Nor could he openly reject the idea. He’d most likely become suspicious or try to force him to go. It was best to say nothing at all. “Thank you.” Jaebum thanked him instead. “How were you able to stop the bleeding?” he asked curiously.

The stranger shrugged. “It was nothing really. I’m a med student, so I had a basic idea of what to do. But you owe me new towels and sheets.” He teased. Jaebum nodded, “I’ll go ahead and buy some. I’m sorry for the inconvenience.” He was about to stand when the stranger quickly stopped him, “I was just kidding. You don’t have to.”

“I do. You helped me when you didn’t have to.” Jaebum said, remaining monotonous. “Eh, well, I couldn’t leave you there to bleed to death.” The human rubbed the back of his neck bashfully. “I still owe you.” Jaebum tried to stand, only to have the boy stop him again. “But! You can’t leave yet!”

Jaebum narrowed his eyes at him suspiciously. “B-Because you need to rest. Like I said, you lost a lot of blood from the time we bumped into each other to when I got you here, and who knows how much you lost before then. You were out for a day and a half.” He explained.

Jaebum’s eyes widened at the news. I was out for that long? “That’s why you need to rest a little longer. Your body is exhausted.” The stranger told him. Jaebum felt perfectly fine, but he had no choice but to go along with it. He could always sneak out at night anyway. “Fine.” He sighed. This was the last thing he needed. He needed to see Youngjae.

“Good. You can leave in two days.”

“What?” Jaebum was thrown off by the given time limit. “I might not be a doctor or med student, but I doubt I have to rest two days just to go home.” Jaebum casted his suspicions. The stranger laughed uneasily, “Well…I kinda want to use you for my presentation. I uh, took a picture of your wound while you were out cold, and I want to track you healing and recovery over the next few days. That’s when most of the healing action occurs. I already took notes so far and everything.” The stranger showed him his notes that were on his lap.

Jaebum stared at him in disbelief. Is he serious right now? The boy noticed this and rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. “You must think I’ weird or stupid.”

“Why would you want a stranger to stay in your house for a few days? You saw my injury. You don’t know what kind of business I’m in.” The wolf questioned. “That’s kinda what I wanted to ask you.” The stranger responded.

Jaebum raised an eyebrow.

“How do you know who I am?” The stranger asked.

“What?”

“You were calling my name the other night, like you were looking for me or something.” He explained.

“I wasn’t looking for you. I was looking or someone else.” Jaebum answered plainly. The stranger’s cheeks burned red. “Oh. Hahaha! I guess it was just a misunderstanding.” He laughed.

Jaebum was taken aback by the human’s laugh. It was contagious and completely warmed the atmosphere. “Well, my name is Choi Youngjae.” He beamed, holding his hand out for a handshake.

Jaebum blinked dumbfounded but took the human’s hand anyway. “You can call me JB.” He said, not wanting to give away his real name to the weird stranger. “Its nice to meet you Jb.” Youngjae smiled. Jaebum nodded, “I guess I can stay for two more days. He muttered.

“Really?” Youngjae brightened up.

“Yeh.” Jaebum nodded. He didn’t understand why he gave in, but he found it strangely difficult to turn down the bright-eyed boy. “Great! I’ll make you something to eat and then I’ll check your blood pressure.” Youngjae jumped from his seat and ran out the room.

Jaebum ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. “What the heck am I doing?” He looked around and found his phone on the night stand. He picked up the device to see that he had several missed calls from Jinyoung and a few from Changkyun. He texted his cousin to inform hi m that he was okay and then called Jinyoung, knowing that a simple text message wouldn’t appease him.

“Where the heck are you? What have you been doing? Do you know how many time’s I’ve called you? I was starting to think the worst.” The beta answered.

“I’m sorry Jinyoung.” “Sorry my . Sorry isn’t gonna cut it Jae. You really had me worried.” Jinyoung sighed. “I know. I’m kinda stuck in a weird situation, but I’m fine. I’ll be back in the village in a couple of days. I’m in the city right now.” Jaebum informed. “What happened?” Jinyoung questioned. “I’ll explain when I get back. It’s too weird to explain over the phone. But how is everything over there? How’s Zelo getting along? Did Yongguk and Shownu get back? And is Youngjae there?” Jaebum quizzed his own questions.

There was an unsettling pause on the other end. “A lot has happened Jaebum. We just had Ms. Choi’s funeral this morning, and Zelo didn’t take it well. He’s doing better now that Yongguk is back though. And as for Shownu…he didn’t make it back. He…he was killed by someone from Midnight Shadow.” Jinyoung informed regretfully.

Jaebum froze, not believing his ears. “What?” “His funeral is at the end of the week.” Jinyoung said, not wanting to go into detail. “Okay.” Jaebum decided not to push it. It was still sensitive, and he’d find out more later. “And Youngjae?”

“He’s been…weird.” Jinyoung confessed. Jaebum was relieved that the omega was back at the village. “I think he knew about Shownu’s death before anyone else, but I feel like there’s more to it.” Jinyoung explained. Jaebum hummed in agreement. They both had a hunch that it had something to do with the alpha of the Eastern province.

“I couldn’t even tell him about you missing. He asked me if I’d seen you. I told him that I met you in the city yesterday and that you were staying at your apartment. I was honestly afraid of what might’ve happened if he tried to call you and find out that you weren’t answering. This morning he was starting to grow suspicious of my lie. You should probably give him a call later today.” The beta advised. “I will. Thank you for covering for me.”

“Jaebum, I’m not going to lie for you guys anymore.” Jinyoung suddenly said, his tone stone serious. “I’m worried. After hearing about Shownu’s death, I’ve been doing some thinking. We’re not as safe as we think we are. Any one of us can be gone like that. I don’t want to lie and put you in danger. I want you to be okay and alive.” Jinyoung’s voice faltered toward the end. “I understand Jinyoung. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize to me idiot