*Warning: mentions of abuse and suicide*

The boys were getting restless. The house practically vibrated with it. Marcus had said that the contact would be at the cabin within the week, but it had already been over a week and a half with no sign of any other living soul in the vicinity. There was still plenty of food in the house so that wasn't something to be worrying over. Yet.

But what if the contact never arrived? What would happen then?

If Marcus was still here, Yerin wouldn’t have worried so much. He’d have a way to contact someone from his department. Get the boys out of here. But Marcus wasn’t here.

It’d taken a while, but now Yerin could think about her friend without breaking down. His bullet wound and the way his body slumped to the ground after his heart had stopped still haunted the balckness behind her closed eyelids, but she could push the bubbling emotional away for later when necessary. Tears were now controllable.

There wasn’t much to do around the house. Baekhyun had found a few board games stored in a hall closet, but that only kept their attention for so long. Depsite being free from the their cells, Yerin wondered if being cooped up here was somehow worse.

Of course it wasn’t. They still had their free will. But it was like dangling a carrot in front of a starving donkey, keeping what it really wanted to just out of it’s reach. Yerin didn't want them go outside in case they were spotted from the air or from within the trees. The area was far from civilization, but she couldn’t risk it. One mistake could be fatal for all.

On a particularly claustrophobic afternoon, Yerin had snuck into one of the spare rooms that was set up like a study on the second floor. The windows gave a nice view of the woods; the flittering leaves and occassional rabbit. Sitting on the bench under the ledge, she stared out at the nature on the other side of the glass, absentmindedly rubbing the scar on her wrist.

Birds were zooming in and out of the pine needle branches, singing to each other as they went about their day. Occasionally, a squirrel would venture out and jump from one trunk to another and even a doe could be spotted leading her young bambi away from the house.

It was strange, how at peace she felt in this moment. As much as she worried about the future, in the current hour, she was content. She didn’t miss her work or apartment. The boys were the reason she had kept going to the lab after finding out the truth. Now that they were out of there, she never misssed running blood work everyday or straining her eyes on multiple bblue-light monitors.

Rather, Yerin felt rejuvenated by the forest, away from society. Like this had been what she was really striving for in her life. The boys made it more like home, helping with chores and making her laugh as some of them still prone to more childish antics. Chanyeol, Baekhyun, and Jongdae often played tricks on the others, with varying results. Whether appropriate or not, Yerin couldn’t help but laugh at some of their schemes. They reminded her of happy, clumsy beagles more than ferocious wolves.

“Are you all right?”

Junmyeon had snuck into the office without Yerin noticing, closing the door behind him softly before sitting across from her on the nook, joining in on the peace and quiet.

“Yeah, I’m fine," Yerin insisted. "I'm just not used to being surrounded by people twenty-four seven.”

Junmyeon laughed. “Yeah, they’re a bit much sometimes.”

Shrugging, Yerin chuckled a bit. “Most of the time, I enjoy everyone’s company. I just... my time used to be spent alone before all this. I was never really outgoing.”

That new information about herself made Junmyeon frown. “Why not? You seem to interact with us just fine.”

“I don’t think you guys really count,” Yerin replied. Sighing, she shifted her gaze back out the window. “I used to not be so afraid of people, but-” She bit her bottom lip. This is was something she had been afraid of. They made her too comfortable. And now had ran off without her brain.

“But what?” Junmyeon shuffled closer. “Yerin, you can trust me.”

Yerin shook her head, her gaze dropping down to her hands. “It’s not about trust. I just don’t like talking about it.”

“You were about to.”

Of course she was. She’d barely stopped herself in time. Anxiety in overdrive, her thumb was rubbing against her scar so hard she could feel the burning friction between the skins. Junmyeon placed his hand over her own and brought her wrist to him, inspecting the now red surface area. In any other situation, Yerin would have yanked her arm back and ran for the hills, but the warmth emanating from Junmyeon’s eyes as he took in the detail of the scar, grazing it oh-so gently with his fingers tips made her pause.

“What happened?” he asked softly.

“I was thirteen,” she answered, nearly startling herself. But once that one little fact was released, everything else spilled on after it. “My best friend was being abused. At first, she wouldn’t tell me. She’d lie and say it was an accident when I asked about the bruises. She fell or ran into something.”

“A boyfriend?” Junmyeon guessed.

Yerin shook her head. “Her dad. She was the only girl and the youngest. Her older brothers were gifted. Smart. Athletic. He had the same expectations of her, but she didn’t meet them. She was under so much pressure. It took a lot of prodding from me, but she finally told me everything.” She swallowed back the building tears, remembering how shaken her friend was as Yerin held her, taking in everything that had been revealed.

“I thought I was helping. Everyone said that if your friend told you something was going on at home then you told an adult. So, I did. I told our teacher. The teacher called the authorities. She’d seen the bruises too, but now she had me to back her theory up. Child services came and looked everything over, but her father was able to charm them off. Then he beat her some more for being ungrateful.” Junmyeon was right next to her now, rubbing her right arm up and down to comfort her as she let it all out.

“What happened?”

Taking a deep breath, Yerin finished out the third act of the story. “I thought she’d hate me forever, but she didn’t. She said that she understood. I was just trying to help. When her family was out of town, she invited me over for a sleepover. Everything was fine. Until we went to bed. After I’d fallen asleep, she’d snuck downstairs and turned the gas stove on. The police say she must have coated a washcloth in grease left from dinner and threw it on the stove along with a lit match, starting a fire. I woke up coughing from the smoke. The bedroom was on the second floor. Black smoke was everywhere. I ran out to the hallway. I couldn’t find her. I didn’t understand what was going on. All I could think of was getting out of the house, away from the fire. A piece of the ceiling that was on fire fell and hit my arm as I was running for the front door. The burns were so bad that I still have the scar.” Yerin closed her eyes, trying to push away the images. “I can still hear her screams sometimes.

“The police ruled it a suicide. Her mom tried to take her own life a few weeks later. Took a whole bottle of pills but they got her to the hospital in time. Sometimes, I wonder if I had just kept my mouth shut, if I hadn’t told anyone, she might still be here.”

“No, Yerin.” Junmyeon carrassed her face with the back of his hand. “You did what you thought was right. You wanted to save your friend. You can’t blame yourself. She made her decision. I’m honestly thankful that you at least survived. Because I got to meet you.”

Yerin's eyes met his and the heart under her sternum started beating erratically. Those brown eyes steadily stayed on her, reading her like she was the most sacred text that was bringing light into his life. Since the day Yerin walked into his cell, Junmyeon always seemed to be able to see right through her. He opened her up as easily as a worn out paperback and it terrified. Never in his presence had she ever felt fear or in danger. His presence was calming and his skin against her own… felt like home. And he trusted her completely.

“I almost didn’t do it,” she confessed in a whisper.

Junmyeon knit his eyebrows together, dropping his hands to his lap. “Do what? Tell your teacher?”

“No,” Yerin countered, now unable to meet his eye. “I almost didn’t agree to break you guys out.” Holding her breath, Yerin waited. Waited for the verabl lashing. Waited the storming out. She thought maybe he would pull away from her, become angry at what almsot wasn't. But he didn’t.

“It couldn’t have been an easy decision,” he replied. “But what matters is that you did. You’re a strong person, Yerin. I admire that.”

Yerin sniffed. “Do you have any sort of flaw?”

Junmyeon laughed, caught off guard by the sudden playful comment. Even though it did lift the mood, Yerin was serious. She felt like a repeating sinner in the presence of a saint.

The door to the study opened. Chanyeol peaked his head in. A large, toothy smile had been on his face when he first saw Yerin, but noticing Junmyeon’s closeness, it faltered.

Suddenly feeling self-conscious, Yerin slipped off the nook and stood to her feet, putting space between her and Junmyeon. “Yes, Chanyeol?”

He blinked, taking a few seconds before answering. “Yixing and Kyungsoo made dinner. We wanted to wait for you first.”

Yerin smiled at the thoughtfulness. “Of course. Let’s go.”

Not looking at Junmyeon, Yerin passed Chanyeol, grabbing his arm and pulling him towards the stairs. Her turn of attention to him seemed to bring his mood up once more.

Everyone was already gathered at the island. There was a decent sized dining table in the next room over, but the boys didn’t care for it. Neither did yYerin, to be perfectly honest. Eating around the kitchen island helped all of you feel closer. Like a family.

They were her family now. While there were moments where she missed her parents, she felt that if she was suddenly ripped away from the boys, it would completely and irrevocably devastate her. It was the kind of loss that could kill.

“Bbbuuuurrrrrrppppppp.”

“Oh, now, that’s just disgusting,” Yerin complained with a grimace. A terrible side effect for some of the boys was their lack of manners. Well, one particular boy’s lack of manners.

Baekhyun merely let out his signature laugh Yerin could recognize on a whole different floor. Some of the others laughed as well, while a few were on her side. Yixing frowned. Kyungsoo rolled his eyes and Junmyeon only sighed. Chanyeol was laughing as well until he caught Yerin's disapproving glare. His mouth shut with an audible clamp.

Minseok shook his head. “I was going to ask why you’re acting like a caged animal, but then I realized what a dumb question that was.”

Yerin choked on her food holding back a laugh. It shouldn’t have been funny at all given their circumstances, but she couldn’t help it. Especially given the one who had made the joke. Confused eyes trained on you.

“You know,” Jongdae chuckled, “I didn’t know you had a sick sense of-”

He stopped. All the boys froze, their ears visibly strained, hearing something Yerin's own failed to pick up on. Collectively, they all jumped up, scrambling over each other to the hall. Yerin was several steps behind them, nearly running to Yixing’s back as they all crowded in the front parlor around the door.

Stepping around the gentle wolf, Yerin stepped towards the door, still unable to understand what was going on. Jongin jumped forward, wrapping his arms around Yerin's waist to keep her from going any further. He lifted her feet off the ground, taking her back away from the door. Chanyeol and Junmyeon stood on either side, creating a three-man wall in front of her.

“What is going on?” Yerin whispered.

“There’s someone outside,” Junmyeon whispered back.

“Their scent….” Chanyeol murmured. “There’s something familiar about it.”

They all sniffed the air, trying to put their fingers on what they could be smelling.

Sehun’s eyes widened. “Wait. I know-”

He ran for the door, pushing past his smaller brothers.

Baekhyun tried to stop him. “No, Sehun-”

It was too late. The young, impulsive wolf threw open the door. Everyone - save Yerin - gasped.

Standing on the square cement porch was a young man with light blonde hair and a soft face. A crooked smile adorned his lips, recognition in his eyes. Sehun threw his arms around the newcomer’s neck, his own shoulders shaking slightly as quiet sobs escaped.

Yerin's eyes widened. Several of the boys had mentioned the missing members in detail during the therapy sessions, but by Sehun’s particular reaction to the visitor’s presence, you knew he could only be one person.

Number Zero-Seven.

Minseok fell to his knees in disbelief.

“Luhan.”