It had been a week since the village had been thrown into uproar with the slaughter and disappearance of Minji. It had been a week since Hwayoung had smiled. 

       Every night the wolves sang to the moon, and every night Hwayoung looked up at the horizon above the barrier and imagined that they were calling to her, as if beckoning her to come out and meet them.

       Come out, sweet Hwayoung, the wolves seemed to call. Come out and show yourself to us, for you are next.

       Every crack of a twig in the forest when she was dragging the water home and every bird call she heard on her way made the hairs on the back of Hwayoung's neck stand on end. The poor girl got little sleep, for every time she closed her eyes,  another yellow pair greeted her from behind her lids. They glowed with malice and teeth snapped at .

       Every night she heard her sister's screams.

       Hwayoung had become paler than usual in the past week, and her eyes were rimmed with grey. Every day was mechanical for the girl, and no more did she sneak into the woods to meet a certain woodcutter who waited for her despite knowing that she would no longer come.

       It was one week after Minji's death when Hwayoung's parents announced Hwayoung's engagement to Lee Jinki, the son of the Blacksmith. His family was very prominent within the village, with his father's mother on the council.

       Such a match was very fortunate indeed, the villagers agreed, for a kind boy such as Jinki would allow a girl such as Hwayoung to want for nothing. Hwayoung accepted the news with a blank face and a nod more bleak than any of the winters on the mountain could ever have been.

       Her family was shocked to see an untamed girl such as Hwayoung take the news sitting down. It was common knowledge throughout the villagers that Minji was the golden child, and Hwayoung ran wild. Now that Minji was no longer there to secure the good status of the family name, it was more important than ever that Hwayoung protect it.

       Hwayoung felt empty.

       "Yes," Hwayoung found herself saying to her parents. "I have no problem with this. If you are happy, then I am happy."

       And with that, the girl had stoically gone to the well to fetch water. The woods seemed chillier to the girl, but perhaps it was because of the fast approaching autumn. In the old folklore, the wolves migrated down from the peaks of the mountains during the fall through early spring, and with the spring melts they disappeared until the next autumn.

       The waxy leaves on the fir trees had become tougher- winter was soon in coming, Hwayoung drily noted as she hauled the wagon up the path. She thought of anything but wolves and her marriage set for the day of the winter solstice celebration.

       The quieting of the bird calls alerted Hwayoung to a presence by her well, and the girl felt her fingers go numb in terror. Whatever color there was in her face left it until she saw who it was leaning on he edge of the round stone formation, idly plucking the rope for the bucket.

       "Taemin," Hwayoung breathed.

       The boy startled, his elbow slipping off the rocks clumsily. He jerked to face her, his eyes wide and sincere.

        "I came," he said shakily. He seemed unsure of himself.

       "What are you doing here?" Hwayoung breathed, drawing closer to the skinny boy. He, too, was paler than before.

       "I needed to see you," Taemin told her, reaching for her hand and holding it close. "I heard about you and Jinki."