Part [1/2]

“Donghae dear, can you be a sweetie and deliver some cherry pie to Granny?”

Donghae glanced at the clock and groaned. “But mom, I’ve got a date with Siwon in half an hour! I won’t be able to make it back in time if I go to Granny’s now.”

His mother pretended not to hear him grumble and continued packing the basket with a bunch of pastries and goodies along with the mouth-watering cherry pie. “Hush now, Hae, he’s not even your boyfriend yet. I’m sure he won’t mind if you pushed the date back by an hour.”

“But moooooomm…”

“No buts,” his mother said firmly, handing Donghae the heavy basket of food. “I’ll let Siwon know that you’re out on an errand if he does come on time. And if he does mind waiting for you, well then good riddance to him.”

Donghae sighed and obediently got up, taking the basket before heading towards the door. “Fine. I’m just gonna run to Granny’s and drop off the pie.”

“Don’t forget your jacket. It’s chilly outside.”

“Yes, mom.”

* * *

Clad in his favourite bright red hoodie jacket, Donghae quickly made his way into the woods behind his house to get to his granny’s place. A stubborn old lady, she had refused to move out of her tiny cottage in the middle of the woods because she preferred being ‘surrounded by nature’ — it literally didn’t matter that Donghae’s house was just a few feet away from the woods. Granny got her way anyway, and Donghae’s mother often sent him along with fresh pastries and baked goods every other week to make sure granny didn’t starve to death.

It was just bad luck that his mom decided to have him deliver granny’s goods today, especially since he’d been looking forward to his date with Siwon the entire week. Donghae’s mouth curved into a sweet smile as he remembered how the tall, dark, and handsome class crush asked him out in front of the entire school. It didn’t matter that Donghae very quickly became the most hated person in class; he could already imagine their dinner date going really well, maybe ending with a on the neck, a peck on the cheek, a kiss on the lips… and hopefully a night in bed… if things went his way.

Things didn't go his way.

Too absorbed in his daydreaming, Donghae missed a turn at the clearing and found himself in a deeper part of the woods where he’d never been to before. The sky was getting dark, and the weather was more chilly than ever. Donghae zipped up his jacket and cursed softly under his breath, trying to trace back his footsteps and get back to his granny’s house. At this rate, he was probably going to miss the date with Siwon… He could feel tears welling up in his eyes and quickly blinked them away. “Siwonnie…”

Just then, Donghae caught sight of a moving shadow in front of him and froze in fear. He knew there were some wild animals in this part of the woods, and he prayed to god that he hadn’t accidentally walked into anybody’s territory.

The shadow got bigger and bigger as it came towards Donghae with a menacing hiss. “What’s a pretty little thing like you doing in this part of the woods?”

Donghae could just barely make out the silhouette of a wolf and stood rooted to his spot. “I-I’m sorry,” he stammered, holding tightly onto the basket handle as if his life depended on it. “I didn’t mean to trespass, p-please don’t eat me.”

The ‘wolf’ stood up and towered over Donghae, who looked as white as a sheet. “You’re lost, aren’t you, kid?” He somewhat sounded a little sympathetic, although the deep rumble in his voice told Donghae that he was most probably a dangerous animal. Still, it probably wouldn’t hurt to ask him how to get to his granny’s house from here.

“M-mister wolf, my name is Donghae, but you can call me Red Riding-Hood. Could you please show me the way to my granny’s house?” Donghae mustered his courage and showed his cutest and most irresistible puppy eyes to the bright, amber wolf eyes. “I’ll even give you some cherry pie if you’ll bring me there.”

The wolf looked stunned as he stared at the boy’s huge, watery puppy eyes. “Dang, you’re too cute to be human. Fine, I’ll take you there. Is your granny the eccentric old bird lady who lives in the cottage next to the stream?”

“Yes, that’s her!” Donghae smiled widely and revealed his crooked teeth. “Let’s go, mister wolf!”

“Call me Hyukjae. ‘Mister wolf’ sounds so weird.”

“Oh, okay. You’ve got a pretty name, Hyukjae.”

“Um… Thanks,” Hyukjae blushed a little. “It’s this way; follow me.”

* * *

In the twenty minutes it took for them to reach Granny’s house, Donghae already told Hyukjae everything about himself, including having to ghost his crush on a date to deliver food to his granny. “I’m already sixteen and I still haven’t had my first kiss yet. It was supposed to happen today if I hadn’t gotten lost…”

“It’s just a first kiss though, it isn’t that much of a big deal.”

“But it is!” Donghae pouted softly, jutting out his bottom lip and puffing up his cheeks. “Especially if it’s with Siwonnie. I’ll never find love again,” he fake-sobbed. “Never!”

Hyukjae rolled his eyes and continued walking. “If you want, I could teach you how to kiss. That way, if you ever score another date with him, you’ll know what to do and how to do it well… maybe even get him chasing after you for more.”

“Could you?” Donghae’s eyes brightened up. “Wait, no, I didn’t know wolves kissed each other. I thought you guys just each other’s faces.”

“What do you know about wolves kissing? I know how humans kiss. I’ve had some experience before, unlike you.”

Donghae squinted at Hyukjae and wondered how much he should trust him. “Okay… but just one kiss. One. If you my face, it’s over.”

Hyukjae chuckled softly. “Deal. I’ll make sure to add some slobber.”

“Ew, gross!”

“That’s how humans kiss too!”

“No way!”

“Yes way. Anyway, that’s your granny’s house over there. I’ll just wait over here,” Hyukjae said, stopping by the stream and crouching down to splash some water on his face. He observed as Donghae skipped over to the cottage, delivered the basket to an old lady with two parrots on her head, and waved goodbye to her.

“Thanks, Hyukjae,” Donghae sm