Deep in the forest, an old stone well stood alone. It had withstood a lot of time and weathering. Hwiyoung approached with caution as he knew that Kai could jump out from behind something at any moment.

However, he was surprised to find Kai simply waiting against a tall tree. Keeping a distance between himself and Kai, Hwiyoung stopped by the well.

"So? What do you want?" Hwiyoung questioned in an annoyed tone. "You need to stop protecting that friend of yours," Kai warned. "It's none of your business. Stay out of it!" Hwiyoung fumed.

Kai walked over to the side of the well he was on and placed his hands on it. While leaning forward, he growled, "It's strange and disgusting for a werewolf to be friends with a human. It really angers me too that you're keeping me from my prey. So, it is my business. You're interfering."

"Shut up! Stay away from Taeyang and everyone else in the village!" Hwiyoung barked back.

Kai rolled his eyes, "This is why I should have taken care of you before I went to the village." With that said, Kai proceeded to leap over the well toward Hwiyoung. Before he reached the other side, Kai suddenly transformed into a large wolf with an ebony coat.

While the animal was still in the air, Hwiyoung rolled to the side and turned into a wolf as well. He quickly recoiled to avert the snarling muzzle of his enemy.

Hwiyoung bounded away from Kai in an attempt to find any weaknesses. Kai's actions were deemed to be unpredictable though when Hwiyoung attempted to strike back only to fall on his face as Kai dug a paw into his scalp.

Jerking away, the younger wolf wondered if he could even get to injure Kai at all. Hwiyoung decided that if he was to win, then it was now or never. He lunged at the black wolf and nipped at his leg. The animal howled in aggravation and deftly made a counter strike.

Viciously, Kai's teeth tore past gray fur and into flesh. Hwiyoung growled painfully as he fell to the ground again. With malice and defeat in his eyes, he looked up at Kai before disappearing into the darkness of the trees.

From behind Hwiyoung, Kai howled triumphantly long and loud into the night.

❦ ❦ ❦

Bright sunlight beams shown through the branches of the trees. Taeyang awoke to find that he and Chaekyung had fallen asleep on the grass.

Taeyang smiled fondly before slightly shaking the shoulder of her quietly resting form. Chaekyung blinked in a daze. When she finally realized where she was at, her face went red with embarrassment.

“Oh! W-we must have fallen asleep here...all...night,” she covered her face as she just couldn’t believe the situation they were in. It took a few minutes for Taeyang to realize what was going on, but he also became embarrassed when he finally understood.

“Well, I don’t think anyone would be around here at this hour,” Taeyang tried to reason while hoping that they wouldn’t have caused any rumors to start in the village. Everyone knew that they were seeing each other, but the two were also not married yet so the elders would not approve of their behavior.

Just as Taeyang spoke, an old man hobbled by them with a bundle of kindling on his back. He stopped only to look at them briefly and chuckle, “Ah, the joys of youth.” Then, he went on his way.

Taeyang then couldn’t help feeling even more self-conscious as he shifted his eyes back and forth between Chaekyung and the ground.

“I...I guess we should go now,” he moved to stand on his feet with Chaekyung following suit. After he picked up the basket for her, she tugged on his arm and pulled him into a sweet kiss. Taeyang felt his anxiety subside, and the two began to laugh at how funny their reactions had been.

❦ ❦ ❦

After a week, Taeyang began to wonder where Hwiyoung was. He was usually already back from a long hunt by now, but there had been no sign of him being in the village at all. He also hadn’t told Taeyang that he was going on a hunt- not that he had to though.

As he prepared loaves of bread for delivery, Taeyang decided to ask if his uncle had seen his friend. “Um, Uncle Kyungsoo?” he asked. The baker looked up from his work, “What is it?” Taeyang fiddled with the edge of the wooden counter, “Have you seen Hwiyoung around lately?”

Kyungsoo contemplated to himself before finally giving an answer, “I don’t recall. Why do you ask?” “I’m just worried if he’s okay. You know that he’s done hunting by now,” Taeyang replied. Kyungsoo simply sighed, “He can take care of himself. Why don’t you just stay focused on deliveries. I’m sure he’ll show up soon.” “You’re right. Thank you,” Taeyang sighed sadly. He finished getting ready and left the store.

❦ ❦ ❦

On the same day that Taeyang was wondering where Hwiyoung was, Chaekyung set out on a little mission to gather medicinal herbs not far from her home. Her father was out again today so she didn’t want to go too far from safety. She had heard about the wolves attacking the other villages. So, she made sure that she took a pointed walking stick along as well for protection.

Picking some small and useful herbs, Chaekyung spotted two rabbits hopping after one another. She smiled as she thought of the night she and Taeyang had their first kiss. He made her so happy just by breathing, but they had even exchanged their feelings to one another. She hoped that they could be together for the rest of their lives.

A few twigs made a cracking noise close by, alerting Chaekyung to another presence. She stayed knelt down where she was to see a wolf with an ebony coat standing behind some bushes. It didn’t seem to notice her for some reason when she noticed that it had blood clinging to its muzzle. She decided not to make a noise and see if it would leave peacefully.

The animal huffed once before falling down on its haunches and making a small growl. Within seconds, a man raised his head and was now sitting in the place where the wolf was. Chaekyung couldn’t believe what she had seen as the wolf had vanished. Upon studying his face, she knew that the man was Kai. She had seen him a few times when she was in the village.

She quickly turned her head when she came to the realization that the man had no clothes. Kai still didn’t seem to see her and started getting dressed with some clothes that had apparently been left where he was now.

When she saw that he wasn’t paying attention, Chaekyung silently crept away to her house. However, Kai knew that she was there and looked her way as she left.

Chaekyung slammed the door shut behind her as she entered her home. She still couldn’t comprehend what she had just witnessed and it disturbed her to no end. 

She waited until noon and figured that she would be able to stay safe for the rest of the day. Taeyang was going to see her when he was finished with his deliveries for the bakery. She sincerely wished that he would be okay on his way to her house.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. There was no way from the window to see who the person was. Hoping it was Taeyang, Chaekyung slowly opened the door.

Her heart fell upon setting her sight on Kai. He was smiling, but she wondered if he even knew that she had seen him.

"Can I help you?" she questioned while trying to keep a calm composure. "Yes, is your father at home?" he asked.

She hadn’t expected this, “No... What business do you have with him?” "Oh, I just wanted to let him know to beware of the wolves which have been attacking some villages nearby," he explained.

Chaekyung was relieved that he probably hadn't noticed her earlier. She nodded, "Oh, how terrible. Thank you for that information. I'll let him know."

"Yes, we wouldn't want anyone dying now. Would we?" he grinned. "No..." Chaekyung trailed off before starting to close the door, "Goodbye."

Without warning, Kai gripped the door to keep it from shutting. A wave of panic rushed through Chaekyung's mind. "I know you saw me," was the last thing she heard Kai say before he walked in the house and slammed the door shut.

🐺🐺🐺

I'm so sorry, Chaekyung and Kai. 😵 I wrote this story as if it was a drama, but it's still sad. I also don't think Kai is evil, but I think that he would play a good evil character. 🙃 Also, wolves don't actually go around attacking people.