Sunggyu Kim and Hyunjoo Song enjoy relative ambiguity. Attempting to define their relationship after what may or should’ve been fell through proved impossible. Hyunjoo scaled the otherwise insurmountable wall of polite exchanges a year prior. Sunggyu is the problem—he always has been.

“If I can’t touch it, then I’d at least like to look,” Sunggyu pleads. Uncharacteristic of the Purebred’s newest symbol. “Kyung refuses to describe it; whatever it is, it’s okay.” He got used to the Human Faction’s tendency to beg for forgiveness. 

A bonafide half-breed, Hyunjoo asks for permission to skip the teenage, dream boat sentiments, “Don’t flex your alpha male muscles at me. This damsel is in a state of undress and would like—at the very least—five minutes to groom herself.”

Sunggyu steps away from the bathroom door. Hyunjoo exits moments later. Her growth spurt sends established power dynamics into voluntary upheaval. But a matter more pressing than the collective tightening of Sunggyu’s musculature prompts, “Is there anything left in Springfield to make my trip worthwhile?”

Hyunwoo Park escaped the nest hanging atop the Park Family tree. He insisted Hyunjoo fly with a better flock. Springfield werewolves accept any and all drifting strays. Sunggyu took great pride and many pains in convincing Hyunjoo to join his pack. Yet here she stands, proving blood thicker than friendship—a Park through and through.

The girl of every wereboy’s hopes and dreams drops a bombshell worth traveling to Mars and back, “Myungsoo broke up with me last night.”

They made the perfect pretend couple. Small town small talk spent undue time discussing the ins-and-outs of the implicit love affair between Sunggyu Kim and Hyunjoo Song. Myungsoo never bothered being bothered by assumptions; “She crashed her cherry red buggy straight into his heart,” Dongwoo often jokes. Hyunjoo’s feelings remain unaccounted for. 

“Kim, yea or nay?” Jessica Jung, leader of the Human Faction, asks again. Yuri Kwon and Eric Nam sit with hands raised. The latter has a peculiar grin on his face. Sunggyu remembers where he is: Elite Headquarters, Denmark. 

“Nay,” he responds. “Ms. Kulkarni seeks shelter from prosecution for her impure brethren. She is a den mother for many packs, and she will be an incredible asset in garnering support for Woo Jiho”—Eric guffaws at Sunggyu’s latest theatrics—“who currently prepares for a seat on this prestigious committee.”

“To summarize, the budding alpha male wishes to on her teats.” Eric awaits appreciation for his wit. On the receiving end of a rather rude audience, he relents, “Who am I to strip a growing boy of his nutrients?”

“Stop talking in circles, Eric,” Yuri Kwon, leader of the Purebred Faction, reprimands. “Say what you mean.”

“I mean—nay!” he cheers. “Nay—we shall not abandon the to the hungry, hungry hunters!” 

Jessica later thanks Sunggyu for swaying the Committee’s verdict. Eve Kulkarni united the eastern hemisphere’s impure breds. These efforts allow stray packs to enjoy safety in numbers, greatly decreasing cases of the Hunter Faction’s illicit mass culls. Her request to fold her forces into the new Impure Faction would secure Elite protection for Zicos and Myungsoos alike. 

But Eric flipped too easily. His penchant for unpredictably may surpass the bombshell that is Hyunjoo Song. Another day, another curious exchange, and Sunggyu wonders if generosity kills more than cats. 

“What exactly does she want me to do about it?” Woohyun coincidentally voices Sunggyu’s complaints to their glorified guardsman. “Yuri Kwon wants to orchestrate a cave in, but the Containment Zone’s a historical landmark:” Hyunjoo’s infectious ideology at work. “Hundreds of wolves disappeared without a trace 42 years ago. And what exactly does she want me to do about it—destroy the evidence!”

“Saving face: a top priority around here,” B-bomb agrees. “Similar logic went into Ms. Kwon’s initial refusal to grant Eve Kulkarni an audience.”

“Growing dissent within our species is the cause for her embarrassment,” Sunggyu reasons. Rethinks. There was always dissent, but it had never knocked on the front door before. “Is there anything left in Springfield to make this all worthwhile, Woohyun?”

Woohyun Nam signed a contract with a construction company three months prior. His Master’s thesis of Science in Historic Preservation includes the study of high profile restorations. Yuri Kwon’s interest in Springfield’s industrialization funds his many round trips between Canada and Denmark. Sunggyu thinks no one is more qualified than Woohyun Nam to answer his question. 

Woohyun answers with a smile, “Hyunjoo’s single now.”

The Committee Chamber fills with grand optics; cameras flash, skin shines like plastic, pleasantries enjoy the appearance of greater understandings. Eve Kulkarni’s hair sits tall. Coiled black entangles into an updo. Sunggyu feels itchy all over.

“Thank you for considering peace during these turbulent times,” Eve professes, humbly keeping handshakes brief. “To quote our Lord’s Prayer, ‘Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.’”

“Absolutely riveting,” Eric compliments, positively fascinated by the nest atop her head. “How many men have you caught in that snare?” 

“Three so far.” Eve matches him wit for wit, assuming, “This must be the young man who stole my fourth.” Sunggyu isn’t aware she’s addressing him until, “Did you promise Myungsoo to hell and back?”

“Nothing all so grand,” Sunggyu lies through clenched teeth. Family, friends, and a future fall just short of a Conqueror’s bounty. But humble is as humble pretends to be—Sunggyu decided to be better than absent mothers 14 years ago. 

“Relish in the moment; it suits you to sit so still,” Eve praises the contentment that keeps perfect couples playing pretend. She disappears into the Committee’s private chambers. Sunggyu waits hours for another chance to speak with Myungsoo’s biological nightmare; 10-year-old Sunggyu remembers those sleepless nights.

“Sunggyu,” B-bomb interrupts Sunggyu’s stationary guard duty. Distress evident in rolling perspiration, he informs Sunggyu of the latest tragedy to draw blood, “There’s a fire at the Seo House.” Due to go through Hell, to Mars, and back, eligible Hyunjoos had no business getting Sunggyu sidetracked.