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02

--

Sungjong was the only one to visit you every day while you were recovering in the clinic. He came by to talk to you, to tell you about the town, and not once did he ask about your past, how you got there, and what the metal bit on your arm was, something you were grateful for.

Occasionally, some of the more curious townspeople would come to visit you, bringing homemade food for you to try. They introduced themselves and smiled at you, not pressing you for answers at Sungjong’s request. One of the werewolf kids visited you with his mother and gave you a coin, saying it was supposed to help protect you and promote speedy healing.

“Wow! Does that give you super powers or something?” he asked when he saw your arm. Sungjong hushed him as you stared at your arm.

When they were gone, Sungjong saw you playing with the coin more than anything else and was glad that some of the people were warming up to you.

When you were well enough to leave the clinic, the doctors bid you goodbye and hoped they’d never have to see you again, something that almost made you smile. Sungjong gave you some of his old clothes to wear since your old clothes were in tatters.

“I’ll show you where we’ll be staying in town first, and then we’ll go clothes shopping, okay?”

You didn’t answer him, choosing instead to stick close to his side. The people you passed looked at you in curiosity while you looked at them in fear. They were all so large, and nearly all of them towered over you.

Sungjong managed a few one word answers from you, and if he was lucky, you’d answer in a sentence or two. Besides him and the doctors, you hadn’t spoken a word to anyone, especially Howon. You shrank away from him in fear every time he came by to make sure you weren’t ripping someone’s throat out.

“And this is it! It’s not gigantic or anything, but it’s home.” Sungjong stopped in front of a small town house and headed up the steps to open the door for you. You followed him up and looked around. There was a small living room and dining room on the right. The wall on the left held pictures of Sungjong and others you didn’t know, leading towards the kitchen. There was a flight of stairs leading up slightly beyond the living room.

“The kitchen is back there. The bedrooms are upstairs. I have a room and you have a room, so we’ll need some things to fill that out for you so you can be comfortable.”

Your eyes widened as you turned to look at him. “I can’t,” you said. Your surprise turned to worry in an instant, but Sungjong shook his head.

“Don’t worry about it. You’re a guest here. Consider the things for your room a welcome gift from me.”

You lowered your eyes, not wanting him to see your tears. It’d been so long since someone was kind to you.

--

“I’m not sure if they’re staring at her because she’s a stranger, or because they’re afraid of her,” Howon said to Woohyun as he watched you and Sungjong leave his townhouse to go shopping for supplies.

“I think it’s because she’s cute. Look at how close she’s walking next to Sungjong,” Woohyun said, laughing as Sungjong suddenly stopped, and you bumped into him from behind.

“She’s not cute,” Howon said, frowning.

“Oh, lighten up. She’s adorable. The only thing that’s stopping me from going over there and pinching her cheeks is the fact that she might have a panic attack and die.”

Maybe you should, it would save me the trouble, Howon thought. For some reason, he had the feeling that he couldn’t trust you at all. He felt like you were hiding something, and hiding something important from all of them, and he didn’t like it one bit.

--

You and Sungjong entered the clothing store, and you stared wide eyed at all the clothes in one place. Times had changed drastically since the last time you were allowed out in the world.

“Hi, welcome to- Oh. Hey, Sungjong. Did you bring…” The girl at the front counter stood up and leaned over it to get a better look at you.

“Yes. This is her. Meet Victoria. She owns the clothing shop here and will probably be a better help in picking clothes than I will. I’m just here to pay and carry the bags,” Sungjong said with a laugh.

“Oh, she’s so small and so cute! I hope I can find clothes her size,” Victoria said with a frown. You seemed a lot smaller than the rest of the population, something you duly noticed. Sungjong saw Victoria’s eyes fall on her arm, and she gave him a questioning look, but Sungjong shook his head.

“And something warm. I don’t think her body temperature is as high as ours.”

Victoria smiled and stepped away from the counter and extended her hand towards you. “Come on, sweetie. We’ll go find something that’ll fit you and keep you warm, okay?”

You stared at her hand for a moment before looking over to Sungjong. Sungjong gave you an encouraging smile, and you turned back to Victoria to carefully take her hand.

It’ll be okay, as long as Sungjong is there.

--

A lot of the clothes she picked for you were of a foreign style you’d never seen before and oversized, but she insisted it suited you, so you didn’t question her.

Everything seemed so different now, but the thought confused you. You’d been in the dungeon for so long, you could hardly remember what life was like before it,