Areum was not athletic by any means.

She never took up sports in highschool unless it was mandatory in gym.

But ever since she entered university she found solace in running.

Maybe it was because of the bullying, but there was just something helpful about running around the street at night, alone with her thoughts.

It helped clear her mind and get herself sorted out. Ara always complained that just watching Areum come home sweaty and out of breath made her tired, but Areum disagreed.

It made her more awake.

Which was why she was running down her regular route with her earphones in and her running clothes hanging loosely against her body. The few hours since Jackson was taken away was one of the worst hours of her life. 

Everything reminded her of him but she felt so numb that she couldn't make herself feel sad or heartbroken. It just all felt surreal, like she couldn't actually believe that he wasn't going to come back. 

In her mind she'd think that he was on vacation or on a trip and would be back soon but she'd have moments of realization that he was really gone. He'd never get to share the future parts of her life. He'd never be there for anniversaries, birthdays, holidays, good news or bad news, he wouldn't be there for any of it.

That was what scared her the most. 

Her future without him seemed so bleak and uncertain.

Her arms were flexed as she moved them in rhythm with her speed to push her to go faster. 

Jackson would've had fun going on a jog with me in wolf form.

I should've asked him to go running with me more often.

This was one of the times that Areum thought that she was going crazy.

She start imagining scenarios as if Jackson was still alive. She felt delusional, but it was the only thing keeping her from breaking down every five minutes.

Right now, for example, she was imagining a tall black wolf running beside her. Sometimes she'd stick her hand out and pretend like she can feel his fur between her fingers.

She'd imagine his tail teasingly wrap around her calf, trying to trip her or his nose poking her back, urging her to run faster.

She was going bat insane.

She blinked away her thoughts, rubbing the threatening tears away and continued pounding her feet against the asphalt.

Jackson wasn't coming back. Jackson was gone.

She had to force herself to come to terms with that.

She had laid motionless in bed, just mourning, until Mark yanked the covers off and told her to stop moping.

She almost threw him out the window.

But to an extent, he was right.

She needed the fresh air.

She was never someone that let her emotions take hold of her. She wasn't going to sit around, crying every time she smelled him on her sheets or saw his clothes in the laundry pile.

She was going to make him proud.

-----

It wasn't until the sky started to get dark that Areum noticed that her feet had taken her off her regular route and down a less common one. She must've been so lost in thought that she wasn't paying attention to where she was going.

Her footsteps slowed down and she entered a familiar clearing.

Her eyes roamed across the grassy knolls until they landed on a tree that had large chunks of its bark missing.

Then it hit her.

This was where Jackson slammed Mino into a tree when she was kidnapped, which meant…

Her eyes widened when she stared at a house that was camouflaged under vines and leave.

…she was at the panther's house.

She had run there without even realizing it.

She gasped when the front door opened and quickly ducked behind a tree, shoving her body against the soil.

Areum peak up from her spot and watched as 4 boys raced out of the house and leaped into the air, turning into panthers on their way down.

They circled around each other,  words being exchanged, as she held her breath.  One of the panthers stiffened and started smelling the air before looking over in her direction.

Areum squeezed her eyes shut, praying that they didn't see or hear her. She covered and curled into a ball on the soil. Jackson mentioned that panthers have a strong sense of hearing and she was regretting every stepping into the clearing.

She counted to ten before cracking her eyes open. The panther was still looking in her direction, confusion in its eyes when one of the other felines pranced away, averting his attention.

She let out a sigh of relief when the four of them leaped into the thickets and slowly sat up when a thought crossed her mind.

Only 4 of the panthers had come out, which meant one more was still in the house.

She wasn't sure, because they transformed so quickly, but she was positive that Mino was the one that got left behind.

It's too late. There's no point now. Her mind was saying to her, but she repressed the annoying voice.

Areum her dry lips before she stood up. She quickly tucked Jackson's collar under shirt, away from plain sight and sped walked towards the door.

Jackson would probably hate her, right now, but she was a little ed up and her rationality wasn't as clear as it used to be.

It was a fair assumption that Jackson leaving was making her a little reckless, but before she could list the risks she was taking, she was already knocking on the door.

Areum, you are the dumbest person alive.

Her heart started to race when she heard footsteps grow closer to the door before the sound of locks turning filled her ears.

She took half a step back when the door started to open and took a deep breath.

She couldn't back out, now,  she didn't know how many chances she was going to get like this.

And she didn't know how long the others would be out.

She slowly lifted her head but kept her eyes away from his, as Mino balked at her.

She wasn't going to look at him. She couldn't risk it now that she learned about his powers.

"A-Areum?" He glanced over her shoulder in panic, "What are you doing here? Did the others see you? They're going to be back soon."

"Can I come in?" She blurted out.

Mino's mouth opened but nothing came out as he stared at her. Her skin was glowing with sweat and her hair was a bit of a mess, but there was one thing he noticed the most.

The scent of werewolf wasn't as strong as he remembered.

Which meant that she must not have been around Jackson for a long time and now she showed up at his door asking to come in.

This had to have meant something.

He stepped aside and gestured her into the cabin, "The others will be back soon."

Areum tried to look at ease and not like she wanted to vomit, "I wasn't planning on staying for long."

He watched her walk deeper into the house, "What are you doing here? I doubt your friends are happy about you bein