Sorry for the long wait! You know how it is...

            Loud music and blinding lights filled the club as Nayeon walked inside and headed for the bar.

“Good evening miss! What would you—oh? Nayeon-ssi! Am I right?” Youngbae asked.

“Yeah. Hello, Youngbae-ssi.”

“Hey! Dara noona’s doppelganger!” Seunghyun greeted.

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

“Don’t mind him. He’s being his usual weird self. So, what brings you here? Jaehoon didn’t come here, if you’re looking for him.”

“Nope, I’m not looking for him. I’m looking for something to drink.”

          Youngbae took a step back and looked at Nayeon questioningly.

“Whoa, hey… Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.”

“Does Jaehoon know about this? I mean, you two are close, aren’t you?”

“Well, he should…” Nayeon scoffed.

“I smell a lover’s quarrel…” Seunghyun teased.

“We’re not lovers!” Nayeon snapped at him.

“Okay, relax…” Seunghyun raised his hands up.

“What would you have?” Youngbae asked, still hesitant.

“I’ll have a Margarita. Thanks.”

“Okay, here you go…”

          Youngbae grimaced as Nayeon downed the drink in one shot. Seunghyun had his eyes wide open.

“One more, please.” Nayeon said with a smile.

“This is going to be a long night.” Youngbae thought.

          Jaehoon barged in through the front door of the Kim’s mansion, startling his parents who were sitting at the living room.

“Jaehoon! What’s wrong with you?” Mrs. Kim asked.

“Where’s Nayeon?”

“She hasn’t come home yet. Why?” Mr. Kim answered.

“I need to talk to her.”

“What happened?”

“We got into a fight.”

“What did you do?”

“It’s a long story. I didn’t know what happened. It’s like there’s something raging inside my head and I can’t control it.”

          The couple looked at each other and then Mr. Kim spoke sternly.

“Jaehoon. Where’s your necklace?”

“I gave it to Nayeon before we fought. It’s still with her, I guess…”

“I told you to never take the necklace off.”

“You never told me why!” Jaehoon answered angrily.

“Son, relax… Take a deep breath. Control yourself.”

“Dear, I think it’s time for us to tell him.” Mrs. Kim said to her husband.

“Tell me what?”

“Sit down and we’ll tell you the story.”

          They all sat down and Jaehoon listened attentively to his parents as Mr. Kim told the story.

“A long time ago, a boy arrived at a small village outside of Seoul. Nobody knew where he came from, nor did anyone bother to ask. An old couple took him in and treated him as their own son. They named him Kim Youngmin and he grew up to be a fine gentleman. The people from their village loved him because he was kind, gentle, and helpful. Many girls from the village were interested in him, including the village chief’s daughter Sunhee. They both fell in love with each other and got married. When the chief died, Youngmin took his place and ruled the village in his father-in-law’s place. One night, during a full moon, the villagers came to their house asking for his help. They reported that huge wolves were surrounding the village. Youngmin went out of the house and to everyone’s surprise, he transformed into a wolf himself. The villagers, out of fear, attacked him mercilessly. He tried to flee from them but when they tried to attack Sunhee, who was pregnant at that time, he lost control of himself and started killing anyone who came close to him. But then, he was fatally wounded as he was trying to protect his wife. The wolves took Sunhee and Youngmin’s body away from the village and they were never seen again.”

“What does it have to do with the necklace?”

“The necklace’s pendant was one of Youngmin’s fangs. Sunhee took it as a memento of him. She, along with her child, lived amongst the werewolves in the mountains. When the baby was born, he had a strange tattoo on his hand. The boy was named Minwoo and he grew up well just like his father. The others weren’t surprised when Minwoo was also able to transform to a wolf when he reached puberty. He was the alpha male of the pack and was the fastest, strongest and the bravest of them all.  But then, at the midnight of his twentieth birthday, Minwoo suddenly woke up and went on a rampage. He attacked anyone on sight, not caring whoever it is. The others managed to restrain him after he injured several members of their pack. They tried all sorts of methods for Minwoo to regain his sanity, but to no avail. Then, Sunhee placed the wolf’s tooth necklace around Minwoo’s neck and he immediately returned to his normal self. The elder explained that Minwoo bears the Mark of Vengeance on his hand, as it was a curse from his late father. Every time he’d transform, he would go into a killing frenzy. The only way to prevent it is to never take the necklace off of him. The necklace acts as a seal that prevents the bearer of the mark to lose control of his own self.”

“What’s my role in this?”

“The necklace has been passed down to every generation of the Kim clan. The firstborn son of every fifth generation of our family bears the Mark of Vengeance. I am the forty-fourth generation. Jaehoon, I’m sorry but you’re the current bearer of the mark.”

“What mark are you talking about?”

“Look at your left wrist.”

          Jaehoon looked at his left wrist and saw a tattoo imprinted on it.

“Where did this come from?!”

“You had that when you were born but it slowly faded away as you grew up and reached three years old. It reappeared now because you took off the necklace.”

“Does this mean I can transform into a werewolf too?”

“Not quite. You see, the werewolf’s genes have weakened over the years. You won’t be able to transform but when the mark awakens, you’ll have five times the strength and speed of a normal human.”

          He was about to ask another question when his phone rang.

“Jaehoon here.”

“It’s Yunho.”

“What’s up?”

“Onew was attacked earlier. Come to the hospital as soon as you can. We’re at room 562.”

“Okay, I’ll be right there.”

          Jaehoon ended the call and looked at his parents.

“I have to go.”

“Where are you going?” Mrs. Kim asked.

“To the hospital. My friend got confined.”

“Be careful, Jaehoon.”

“I will, omma. Don’t worry about me.”

“We’re not worried about you. We’re worried about what you could possibly do.” Mr. Kim said.

“I’ll try to control myself, appa. I’ll also look for Nayeon and get the necklace back from her.”

“Good luck, Jaehoon.”

“Thanks.”

          He went to the garage, rode his motorcycle and headed to Yunho’s hospital.

“Another one!”

“Nayeon-ssi, are you sure you can drink any more?” Youngbae asked.

“Y-Yeah!! I-I’m s-sure!!” Nayeon slurred, obviously drunk. Her cheeks flushed in pink as she smiled.

“Okay, if you say so…”

          Youngbae handed her another drink but before Nayeon could drink it, she already passed out on the counter.

“Another one bites the dust.” He sighed. “Hey Seunghyun hyung!”

“Yeah?”

“Do you have Jaehoon’s number?”

“Nope.”

“Aish, where’s Daesung when you need him?”

“He’s out with his girlfriend again.” Seungri piped from behind t