Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Shura and Youngjae are friends. More than friends.

They’re family.

They never expected to be so close when Youngjae picked a call from a girl who was looking for a shared apartment. They met the same day in order to show the place to Shura. He lived alone in a quiet neighborhood, in a small house with two rooms and one bathroom. He came to the city and lived alone to study computer engineering at university, so he was renting the other room. When he met Shura, he was at his last year at the age of 22. Both had the same age, but Shura told him she worked as a café waitress.

When he opened the door, the brown haired girl in front of him tripped over him, and both of them fell on the floor. The girl’s face was red from blushing, and Youngjae couldn’t help but laugh at how cute she looked, making her blush more and stand up quickly while repeating ‘sorry’. He got up and told her it was okay, but Shura just thought she made the worst first impression ever.

She was so surprised when Youngjae told her the same evening that the room was hers. After the incident, she was sure he wouldn’t choose her. But he did, and it made her so happy. He even helped her moving and the first day he cooked for her. They spent all the time together since then, knowing everything about each other, becoming friends and best friends so quickly. After three months they felt like they knew each other since forever. They felt like a family. With one exception.

The second month they lived together, there were a few nights Shura spent alone in her room. Full moon nights. She knew how to control the change into a werewolf, his father taught her before he and his wife were killed by a werewolf pack when she was 18. But however, it wasn’t easy to hold the beast inside her, her body shaking, bones trying to break and turn into animal ones. She couldn’t let Youngjae know, so she locked herself in her room and cried silently till everything stopped. Of course, Youngjae heard her, feeling himself useless while his friend was in pain. He thought Shura was like him: a human with psychic powers. When he first knew about his situation, his powers got out and made a mess in his room. He tried hard to control his powers, because moving things with his mind could make a disaster. Maybe his friend was trying to control her powers, but he wanted her to tell him instead of him telling her he heard everything. When Shura came out of her room the next day, they acted like nothing happened.

It was the first days of December when Shura came home from work and found a note glued at the front door. At first she didn’t pay attention to that, but she saw Youngjae’s bag lying on the floor, little red marks on it. She was worried; she picked the note from the door and looked at it angrily.

Join the pack. And a wolf footprint painted with blood.

She ripped it and threw it away, now truly worried, and opened the door. She froze when she found Youngjae’s body lying on the sofa. She run at his side and put a hand on his chest. His heart was beating and Shura sighed in relief. She looked at him. He had bruises on his arms, some cuts in his cheeks and little wounds in his handsome face. He was breathing like he was asleep, but Shura could tell the boy was a mess. She bent down on her knees and placed her head near to Youngjae’s arm.

“Sorry” she said, tears now running through her face. She buried it on the sofa while crying, feeling broken inside. His friend was hurt because of her, of her desire to not join any pack because it was one who killed her parents. And she felt weak, because when she ran away from her home to the city to make a new life, she knew it would be dangerous if a pack found her, so she was moving from town to town, not talking to anyone, not feeling attached to anything, and now she found Youngjae and loved him like her new family. She decided to stay at his place and stop running away, she promised herself to protect Youngjae, but at the end she wasn’t there when he needed her. She couldn’t protect Youngjae.

After a while, she stopped crying. Now, she was more angry than sad. She was, first, angry at herself because she was gone when Youngjae was attacked, and also because it was her fault. But she was now angry at the people who hurt her family. When she felt his body shaking, she got up and moved away from Youngjae. The boy opened his eyes a little, just to see his friend becoming a trembling mess and going away from him. He called her name, but she ignored it. Then he got up with pain, placing a hand on his stomach and followed his friend as fast as he could in his condition. They were now at the garden, and when he reached the back door, Shura was kneeled down, hugging herself, digging her nails in her skin, trying to stop the change. But at her state, she couldn’t. Youngjae knew, and started walking faster towards her direction.

“Stay away, Jae!” she shouted without looking at her.

But Youngjae took another step. He wasn’t afraid of her. He wasn’t afraid of the nails that grew bigger like her teeth, of the hair growing from all her body, and definitely not afraid of her now yellow and angry eyes. But when she turned her head to him, he saw something in her gaze that made him stop and stare at her. Then she understood that the boy wasn’t going to move, so she got up and ran to the forest near their house while her clothes were being ripped.

Youngjae looked at her until her bob hair disappeared into the woods. He realized now that his friend wasn’t like him, but was special anyways. He wasn’t afraid of her, instead he was worried. He knew his friend wanted to be alone for some time, but he couldn’t help but wonder if she was going to be fine out there. What if the guys who attacked him were there? It happened so fast that Youngjae wasn’t really aware until he was dragged into the house and thrown at the sofa, his body suffering from the multiple punches and tears forming in his eyes. Then some male said “tell your friend to join us or we will kill you both”, and something hit him, making him collapse.

Hoping her friend would come back later, he walked inside the house. He picked a blanket from the sofa, and placed it near the back door so when Shura came back she would have something to cover her body. He didn’t want to go inside her room, so instead he took a blanket they normally use when it’s cold and they cuddle to watch tv. He went to the bathroom to pick the first aid kit and healed his wounds.

It was dark when Shura returned to the house. She saw the blanket near the door and covered herself with it. She smiled at her friend kindness. She walked to the living room and saw Youngjae sleeping with the tv on. He touched his hair softly, and then went to her room to pick some clothes and then she took a shower. When she exited the bathroom, Youngjae was at the kitchen cooking some food. She folded the blanket, placed it on the sofa and walked to the kitchen.

She hesitated before calling the male’s name. He turned his head in her direction and she sighed.

“I’m sorry”.

Youngjae smiled, and she felt warm in her heart. Her friend’s smile was so precious to her, something she wanted to see every day.

“It’s okay. I thought you will be hungry, so I made dinner” he placed the meat on their plates and took them to the table. Shura just sat while Youngjae was finishing settling the table. He just sat opposite her and started eating. She did the same. She finished the meat quickly, and Youngjae handed her a bowl of rice.

“Youngjae, I…” she started accepting the bowl, but was interrupted by him.

“I said it’s okay, Shu. Just eat” then he smiled and started to eat again.

“But-“

“I knew”.

Shura just stared at him trying to know what it meant.

“You knew…about me?”

Youngjae nodded. “I knew you were special, but I thought you were like me.”

Shura was more confused than before.

“What do you mean by ‘like me’?”

“I have psychic powers, like, I can move things with my mind”. Shura raised a brow, and Youngjae stared at her glass and it suddenly moved a bit from where it was. She blinked. “How?” was all she could say.

“I don’t know, I just woke up one morning and everything started to move. I made a mess of my room, and since then I’ve been trying to control it. I thought something like that happens to you”.

“Well, it’s a bit different” she started to eat again, decided to tell him the truth now. “I’m a werewolf, Jae. I know it sounds unbelievable, but it’s the truth. You saw it”.

“I believe you, but you know, you’re still my best friend, my half-sister. I don’t mind what you are; I love you for who you are. Human, werewolf, vampire, whatever. So please, don’t hide anything from me. Let me be by your side”.

Shura felt like she was going to cry. But instead of it, she placed a hand over Youngjae’s.

“Same goes for you, Jae. Don’t hide secrets anymore. Let’s be honest. I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you this time, it won’t happen again”.

Youngjae intertwined their fingers.

“About it, don’t worry. I can defense myself, it was just unexpected. Anyways, they were saying something about a pack. Can you explain about it? I don’t want you to get hurt”.

Shura sighed.

“Every werewolf has to belong to one pack. Renegades are dangerous to the pack system and are pursued by them. By what I had heard, there is a place where you can get yourself a pack. I have run away so much time I didn’t think I needed to belong to one, and honestly I don’t want it. A pack killed my parents. I just wanted to live in peace; I didn’t think it was going to affect you”.

Youngjae only nodded. He cleared his throat. “What about now?”

She looked at him and their eyes connected.

“I think I’m going to join one”.

“Are you sure? Shu, I’m okay. You don’t have to worry; I won’t let anyone touch me or you. I can fight. I understand why you don’t want to join a pack. I just want you to be happy”.

She smiled.

“Youngjae, you’re so sweet” he blushed, although it wasn’t the first time his friend told him something like that. “But when I saw you injured I felt like I was going to die. I want to join a pack, for me, for you, for us. They will keep us safe. Or at least I hope so”. She seemed hesitant, so Youngjae smiled at her.

“I respect your decision. But don’t be afraid to show me about your entire world. I don’t fear you. I’m not afraid of what I can discover. Just let me be by your side. Please” he put his puppy face and Shura couldn’t say no to his face.

“Okay, tomorrow we’ll go there. We should rest.”

They cleaned everything and she helped him going to bed. Youngjae asked Shura to stay with him and she accepted.

So here they are.

Loud music, the smell of alcohol all over the place. They are at a discreet bar at the city suburbs. There are a lot of people, so Shura is holding Youngjae’s hand. She doesn’t want to lose him in the crowd. The guard at the door just let him be there because a werewolf was by his side. Only werewolves were allowed. She feels deep inside like she has trapped Youngjae in a place full of hungry animals wanting to eat him alive.

“So, what’s the plan?” the male asked once they are near the bar counter.

Shura doesn’t know. She heard time ago of a place where un-packed werewolves go to find a pack, but she doesn’t know exactly how they do it. She’s about to answer him when she hears a laugh coming from behind Youngjae. She sees two males looking at them and laughing. One has light green hair and the other brown hair.

“Hey!” she shouts. Youngjae tries to stop her because he doesn’t want troubles with anyone, but he fails as the two males stop laughing and look at Shura. She approaches them, dragging Youngjae with her.

“What’s so funny?” she asks. Normally, Youngjae admires his friend for being so brave, but now, she seems more reckless than brave.

“You don’t have to be dragging your little princess everywhere, you know” the brown haired male says.

“How selfish, wanting the human just for you, how unfair” the other says.

She can feel her blood burning inside her. Youngjae feels the increase of Shura’s body temperature, so he frees his hand and places it on her shoulder.

“Leave it, Shu. Let’s get out of here” he whispers.

The boys start to laugh again, so without thinking she pushes Youngjae away and grabs the shirt of the brown haired one, closing her fist.

“Stop it or I’ll make you stop” she says.

The green haired approaches them but the other raises a hand telling him to stop.

“Okay girl, we’ll stop. But before you have to beat me”. He says.

“Huh?” is all Shura can say.

“Namjoon” the other guy calls “are you sure? I can manage it”.

“It’s okay Yoongi. I’ll leave it to you” he frees himself from Shura and smiles at his friend. The called Yoongi takes her by her arm and drags her to an empty spot in the bar, Youngjae and Namjoon following him. Then he frees her, and suddenly people starts to approach them shouting things Shura can barely hear as ‘fight! Fight!’ and ‘there’s gonna be blood!’ A circle of people is settled now surrounding them. Shura knows now. This is the way people get in a pack. Fighting for it. If she wants a pack to take her, she has to make a good first impression.

Great, I’m terrible at this.

She chuckles at the memory of the first time she met Youngjae. She sees Yoongi taking off his jacket and giving it to Namjoon. Shura is only wearing a normal T-shirt with leggings and sneakers. Ideal for a fight, she thinks. She prepares herself for what’s about to come, Yoongi doing the same. She looks at Youngjae. The boy raises his thumbs up and smiles at her while he mouths ‘you can do it’. She can tell he’s worried, but he’s smiling and it’s enough for Shura to be strong.

“Girl, you should focus on your enemy” Yoongi says, but by the time he runs into her to bring down Shura, she lifts her leg and kicks him between his legs. A cry of pain is heard upon the music. She doesn’t waste time and punches him at the stomach. He stops the second punch, and she quickly pushes him away using her leg.

Yoongi runs into her again, this time she just lets him approach before hitting him at the chest with her fist. He stops for a moment and Shura moves her leg to make him fall. He resists and kneels down, so Shura twists and hits the back of his neck with her elbow. Yoongi lets a cry get out before collapsing on the floor.

Everyone was shouting and cheering like crazy, but now everyone is silent. Only Youngjae jumps in joy, smiling and then running to his friend to hug her. Shura hugs him back, panting heavily for the effort.

“You’re incredible” Youngjae says. Shura murmurs a ‘thank you’ before breaking the hug. She grins at Yoongi, knowing he’s not dead, only unconscious and now being treated by his friend. After checking him, she takes Youngjae’s hand and exits the place, heading home.

Chapter Text

Shura yawns. Last night she got tired after the short fight but when they arrived home and she had a shower, she couldn’t sleep. She was thinking about if it was okay or not to beat that guy. She knows the boy was holding himself because she was a girl, and it kind of bothered her. She wanted a fair fight. It wasn’t her first fight. Her parents taught her how to fight and she had beaten some werewolves that found her in some city. She fell asleep late and she was called early today for work.

She finishes cleaning a cup when she hears the door open. She goes to the counter and smiles at her customer.

“Good morning, sir. What would you like to have?” she asks smiling. She can’t help it; she likes her work and being nice with people.

The guy in front of her places his hand on his chin, thinking about it. The boy is young, Shura thinks is a bit older than her and he’s definitely handsome. He has brown hair and plump lips.

“I think I know” he finally says, looking directly at her. “I want you”.

Shura blinks at him.

“Sorry…?”                         

“I’ve said I want you. Isn’t Shura your name? Your tag says it”.

She looks at the tag in her shirt. What is this all about?

The guy suddenly laughs and Shura is beyond confused now.

“It’s a joke, girl! Don’t be like that!” he pats her shoulder and she blinks in confusion. “I want a cappuccino and maybe some talk” he says.

“Sure” she says, not so sure about the talk.

He prepares his drink and then offers it to him. He pays for it and sits at the counter near her. Shura pretends to be cleaning the counter when the guy finally talks.

“Okay, I’ll start. Hi! My name is Kim Seokjin but everyone calls me Jin. What’s your name?”

“You already know”.

“Oh come on, you’re killing the magic”.

“What magic?”

“The magic of the moment”. Jin takes a long sip before he adds “Congratulations! You’re on the pack!”

Shura jumps a bit at the mention of the pack. She looks around to check is anyone had heard him, but no one seems to be paying attention and there isn’t many people anyways.

“What are you saying?” she asks. Of course she knows about it, but she wants Jin to explain a little more to her.

“You’re now a member of Namjoon’s pack” he says. Wait, wasn’t Namjoon that guy…

“I-It can’t be!” she blurts out.

Jin finishes his coffee and licks his lips.

“It is. You know, you did great last night. I saw everything. Yoongi deserved some punishment, always making jokes about everyone. When we were back at our place, Jungkook just proposed you to join our pack. He was beyond amazed by you. He really likes you, you know”.

She blushed even when she has no idea who this Jungkook is.

“But I beat your partner”.

“That’s incorrect. You beat Namjoon’s partner. Jungkook is my buddy, and he proposed you so I agreed with him”.

“But why-“

“Because you’re an amazing fighter and you don’t have a pack, do you?” She shakes her head. “I know the things they do to people who don’t have a pack. If I were you, I’ll join our pack”.

She looked into Jin eyes, but all she could see was true kindness and honesty.

“I have to call my friend” Shura says.

“Of course. I’ll be right here”.

She walks to a lonely spot and call her friend Youngjae, who quickly picks up the phone.

“What’s up, Shu?” he asks happily.

“Hey Jae, some random stranger came here and asked me to join his pack”.

Some seconds passes before Youngjae speaks again.

“And what are you waiting for? Accept it and end your worries”.

“There’s one problem”.

“What is it?”

“He’s from the same pack those guys last night”.

“WHAT??” she moves away her phone from her ear at the sudden shout.

“Yeah, it seems like his partner liked me or something like that and then proposed me to join them and they apparently agreed”.

Youngjae sighs before speaking again.

“Okay Shu, do what you want, I’ll be by your side no matter what. What are your impressions about the guy?”

“He seems nice”.

“Follow your instinct. Werewolves do that, no?”

She laughs a little.

“Yah, Youngjae! You read a lot!” she can hear the male laughing through the phone “I will take the offer. I’ll call you later, okay?”

“You sure?”

“Have I another option?”

“Okay, take care! Bye~”.

“Bye Jae”.

She finishes the call and comes back to the counter. Jin is still there playing with his cup.

“Hey” she calls him, and he stops playing to smile at her.

“So?”

“I’ll join your pack. But I have a few conditions”.

Jin nods. “Tell me”.

“Packs have to stay united, so if I’m moving I want my friend Youngjae to be with me”.

“We talked about it last night and we agreed to accept your friend not as part of the pack but as an ally. We’re going to give you an apartment at our block of flats to live. Something else?”

“I want to keep my job and Youngjae will continue going to university”.

“Of course, it will be the same. You’re just moving, your life stays the same”.

“Then that’s all”.

“Whoa, I have to call Jungkook. He’s going to be so happy to know you’re in. You have to meet him. He’s a charming boy”.

“Yeah, I should thank him for proposing me”.

“Sure. I’m going to let them know about your decision. Can you give me your number?”

Jin offers his phone to her and she quickly saves his number.

“Oh and please, can you give me a portion of that cheesecake? Jungkook loves it”.

This boy has some kind of problem with that Jungkook.

“Of course. You don’t have to pay me for it” but when she packs it for Jin to take it away, he just places some coins on the table, grabs the food and runs to the door.

“Nice to meet you, Shu! Thank you for the cheesecake! See ya~!” he shouts before exists the café.

Shura just looks at him climbing onto a motorcycle with the bag in his arm. She blinks some times while the boy disappears in the streets.

The hell just happened in here?

When she comes home, she founds Youngjae waiting for her to know about the pack issue. She tells him everything, and when she finishes she gets a call from Jin telling her that tomorrow two of the pack members are going to help them to move. They decided to make a special dinner for their last day in there.

After work, Shura gets home fast so she can pack everything. When she opens the door, she founds two strangers sitting in the sofa with Youngjae while dinking something.

“And then she just punched him! The poor boy was so scared…Oh, hey!” Youngjae says noticing Shura. She just blinks at the scene in front of her. He stands up and hugs her. She returns the hug glancing at the other two males. They are both tall, one with reddish brown hair and the other –who seems to be younger- with dark brown hair. She breaks the hug and stares at Youngjae waiting for an explanation about the strangers.

“Shu, these boys came to help us moving” he says, and the guys get up and walk to their direction. Suddenly the younger one offers his hand with a huge smile in his face.

“Hi! My name is Jungkook! Nice to meet you!” he says lively. So this is the so called Jungkook. At first, Shura thought by the way Jin was talking about him that he was a kid. Oh well, he really looks young, with his bunny face and energetic moves and talk.

“It’s my pleasure” she says, shaking his hand. “I really wanted to meet you” she smiles at him and then he blushes. “You wanted to meet me? Oh my God, this is incredible. You are amazing!” Jungkook shouts.

“Ya, fanboy! Calm yourself!” the other male says, making Jungkook to free Shura’s hand and look at him a bit disappointed. He shakes her hand then. “I’m Im Jaebum. Namjoon send us to help you”.

“Nice to meet you” she says.

“You’re welcome” then he turns his face like he forgot something. “Thank you, Youngjae, for the drinks”.

“It’s nothing” the boy says.

“Can I help you, Shu?” Jungkook says. She smiles at how cute this boy is. She nods and he jumps in excitement.

“I’ve already packed everything in my room” Youngjae says, “I will pack the things from the kitchen”.

“I’ll help you” Jaebum offers, and Youngjae murmurs a ‘thank you’ before going to bring some boxes. Jungkook and Shura go to her room and she instructs him to pack the things she has on the desk while she packs her clothes.

“Wow, your room is awesome” the younger says.

“There’s nothing special about it. I decorated it with things Youngjae gave me. Most of the books and things I have are from him”.

“Also the clothes?”

She laughs. They boy seems to be so curious about her. They continue packing things until a question pops in Shura’s mind.

“Hey, Jungkook-“

“You can call me Kookie”.

“Okay, Kookie” Jungkook seems to be so pleased with that “can I ask you something?”

“Of course!”

She stares at him and he does the same. She doesn’t know how to ask it properly, so she just asks “Why me?”

Jungkook blinks a little, not understanding what she’s asking, but then he realizes.

“Oh, I just…I don’t know. When I saw you came in with your friend holding hands, I felt envy. Both of you seemed so close, so much like brother and sister. And I saw your eyes, so determinate to protect him from everything. Then I saw you fighting and I couldn’t help but be amused at how good you moved. I thought you were special. Don’t ask me why, I just got that feeling. I lost my family so early. I have a pack now and I will always feel grateful to them for giving me a new home after that, but it doesn’t feel the same”.

Shura now realizes the boy is near to cry, so she walks to his side and hugs him.

“It’s okay, I just wanted to know. I can’t believe someone likes me and feels so amazed by me. You kind of make me happy with that, you know? I will always be so thankful to you for choosing me”.

Jungkook hugs her tighter and it’s about to ask what she mean by ‘choosing me’ when she continues speaking.

“I can’t do much for you, but I can be your family. Do you want me to be your sister?”

Jungkook stares at her, and she smiles so widely he’s about to actually cry.

“Yes!” he screams, a little louder than he expected, and he lowers his voice before talking again “I will be you’re little brother. Can I call you sis?”

“Of course you can”.

“Yay!” Jungkook is so happy, and seeing that smile in his cute face makes Shura also happy.

“Group hug!” Youngjae shouts running to their direction dragging Jaebum with him by the arm. They all hug, and Jungkook starts to think that if Shura is his sister, then Youngjae is also his brother, a really nice one, judging by the minutes they spent together before Shura came. He feels warms. He feels part of a family.

And then there is Jaebum, just a friend of the family.

They are all now at the car, Jaebum driving it to the pack’s home with Jungkook as the co-driver. Shura and Youngjae are sitting at the back seat, the trunk full of boxes. They are laughing at some joke Youngjae made, when Shura suddenly asks:

“Hey, Kookie. Jin told me you are his buddy. What does it mean?”

He remains quiet for a second, his face serious.

“In the pack, everyone has a partner. They have to take care of each other and learn together. When we go to the fight bar, we go always with our partners to be safer”.

“Can Youngjae be my partner?”

“I’m sorry, Shura, but only pack members can be partners” Jaebum says, smiling sadly.

“It’s okay, Shu. I’ll be fine” Youngjae says when he sees her disappointed face.

“There are some people like you with us, Youngjae” Jungkook says, “they practice with their powers and sometimes they accompany us in missions or tasks”.

“I want to be useful” Youngjae says.

“I can train you” Jaebum says. Youngjae’s face brightens at that. “There isn’t anything else I can teach my partner and he’s always out anyways, so I can do it”.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, of course. I have nothing else to do and it could be funny”.

Youngjae jumps a bit, happy, and Shura laughs at his action. Jungkook sees Jaebum smiling a little.

They park in front of the building. It seems more like a hotel than an apartment block. They carry all the boxes to the second floor where they apartment is. Jaebum gives Shura and Youngjae the keys and they come in. The kitchen is the same room as the living room. Then there is a room next to the kitchen, and three more doors at the other side of the living room.

“There are three rooms” Jaebum says, “one of them has a bathroom inside. That door is a bathroom” he points at the door at the right.

“We’re sharing the bathroom” Shura says and looks at Youngjae for confirmation. He nods. They’ve been sharing the bathroom before and none of them has any problem with it.

“I’ll take the room next to the kitchen” Youngjae says.

“Then this is mine” Shura says and comes in. It’s a simple room, with a window, desk, bed, nightstand, closet and some shelfs. She walks out and takes the box with her things, and Jungkook quickly helps her. Youngjae asks Jaebum to help him and he nods.

Soon everything is placed at his right place and they lay on the sofa. Jaebum tells them he is going to move the car to the secret parking they have a few inches before the building. Jungkook sit with them and talks about where the shared dining room and the nursing are. He tells them also that near the place there is a supermarket where they can buy resources. They have brought some supplies they had in the previous apartment, but agree in going in the next days.

The doorbell rings and Jungkook is the one opening the door although it’s not his house.

“Hi Kookie~” Jin salutes him happily. Jungkook replies giving him a ‘seriously?’ face and then he sees Namjoon standing beside him.

“Hi Namjoon” he says. Namjoon returns the greeting and Jin looks at him in disbelief.

“Don’t ignore me, Kookie!”

Jungkook rolls his eyes before finally greeting him. Jin smiles at him and this time is Namjoon who rolls his eyes.

“Can we come in?” he asks.

“Of course” Jungkooks lets them in, Namjoon entering first while Jin stays by Jungkook’s side smiling.

“Did you have fun today?” he asks, and Jungkook nods lively.

“Yes! Thank you for letting me go” he says and hugs Jin, who returns the hug.

Namjoon clears his throat and both of them break the embrace.

“Hi everyone! My name is Namjoon, welcome to my pack!” he says, smiling.

Youngjae and Shura look at each other, not believing what is happening in front of their eyes.

“Um, hi…” Shura says.

“Oh, come on! Don’t be shy! You weren’t so shy in that bar” Namjoon jokes and laughs at it.

Shura relaxes a bit and laughs too.

“Well, thank you for accepting us even when that happened”.

“You deserved it. I was reticent at first but then I realized that you did such a great job and I want people like you with me. By the way, Youngjae, I heard that you are special. Come with me, I want to introduce someone to you”.

Youngjae looks at Shura, insecure.

“She can come, too” Namjoon adds.

Shura holds Youngjae hand following Namjoon out of their place. Jin and Jungkook follows them until they reach their house and both say goodbye before disappear. Namjoon guides them to the nursery. In front of a desk with a laptop there is a girl with blonde long hair.

“Bonnie” Namjoon calls, and the girl looks at him. She stands up and walks to them.

“Hi” she says.

“This is the people we talked about, Shura and Youngjae. This is our doctor, Bonnie”.

“Nice to meet you” Shura says and shakes her hand. Youngjae imitates her, but when he touches Bonnie’s hand he feels something strange and looks at her. Bonnie stares at him and smiles.

“Did you feel it?” she asks, Youngjae frees her hand and nods, “that’s because we have the same powers”.

“Woah, really? We can sense each other?” he asks.

“Yes, people with psychic powers can feel each other. If you have any doubts you can tell me”.

“Thank you, you are very kind” Youngjae says, happy to find another person like him.

“Guys, I want you to do some medical analysis” Namjoon says.

“Yes, of course” Shura agrees, “we can do that now”.

“Great. Tomorrow we are making a welcome party to you guys at the evening, today you should rest”.

“Thank you, Namjoon” Shura says.

“It’s nothing. I want my pack working like a real team. You will meet everyone in there. I have to go now, see you around!” he says and everyone says ‘goodbye’.

“Who wants to start?” Bonnie asks.

After the analysis, Youngjae and Shura come back to their place. They are a bit tired for the day, so they decide to make dinner quickly and go to bed. Through the time they were doing the analysis, they got to know Bonnie more. There was nothing wrong with their tests, but Bonnie told them it’s necessary in case they have some type of disease. Bonnie joined the pack a year ago and has the power to control the emotions.

The next day they go to the supermarket to get some supplies, Jungkook joining them. He doesn’t have to buy anything, but wants to be with them. Shura and Youngjae don’t complain about it; they know the younger for about a day but it feels like they know Jungkook since forever. Also, the boy is really funny and they find amusing how he finds everything extremely awesome.

When they come back, Jungkook informs them that he is going to pick them for the party later. When he leaves them, they put everything on the cabinets and start to get ready for the party. Shura picks something simple; a shirt with black and red squares, black skinny jeans with red converse and a black beanie. Youngjae wears a grey sweater and black skinny jeans with grey converse.

“You look really good, Jae” Shura compliments him when they meet at the living room.

“I’m wearing something simple” he says, “but thank you. You look beautiful as always”.

Shura smiles and hugs him. The doorbell rings and Shura opens the door only to find Jungkook dressed just like her. Both keep staring at each other until Youngjae approaches the door.

“What happen-…oh” he says, looking at the scene in front of him. Jungkook starts laughing, followed by the other two.

“I swear I didn’t know what you were going to wear” he says.

“Oh, it’s okay. We really seem like brothers, do we?” he asks Youngjae, and he nods.

“Both of you look nice with the outfits” Jungkook smiles at how kind the boy is.

“Come on! Let’s  go to the party!” Jungkook shouts, dragging Shura and Youngjae with him.

They arrive at the shared dining room. It’s a very large room decorated with orange stuff. There are some tables and chairs, and a large table with a lot of food and drinks. There are large windows too, so you can see everything outside. Some music is played, loud enough to dance but also to talk. They stay at the entrance, Jungkook searching for something. When he sees it, he takes Shura and Youngjae with him. Soon, they are with Jin, who is placing a plate with food on the table.

“Jinnie~” Jungkook says, “look who’s here”.

Jin looks at them and smiles.

“Welcome!” he says hugging Shura and Youngjae, “we have just finished preparing everything”.

“Woah Jin! Have you done all of this?” Youngjae asks, looking at the large table with food.

“I got a little help. Being the second head of the pack means responsibilities. But don’t worry guys, I have all the night for you!” he says. Jungkook smiles at him, being followed by Shura and Youngjae. Jin suddenly takes a guy by his arm, and this guy drags with him another one.

“Guys, this are Taehyung and Hoseok. They helped me doing all this” Jin says. Everyone shakes hands and Shura and Youngjae thanks them for everything. Then Jin is called by someone and leaves Jungkook, Shura and Youngjae. Jungkook seems a bit disappointed, but understands that Jin is a busy man.

“Hi, guys” Jaebum salutes them.

“Hi, Jaebum” says Youngjae smiling at him. Jaebum looks at him for a moment, then turning his head to Shura. “How are you?” he asks.

“Fine, and you?” Shura answers.

“I’m good, thank you”.

Youngjae stares at him. Jaebum wears a blue shirt and white skinny jeans. Jaebum notices Youngjae and takes a quick look at him.

“You look good” Youngjae says, taking Jaebum aback.

“You too” Jaebum says. Youngjae is smiling at him. Jaebum couldn’t help but smile in response. Gosh, this kid is like sunshine, Jaebum thinks, and mentally slaps himself. The hell are you thinking, Jaebum?

“Have you come here with your partner?” Youngjae asks, seeing Jaebum a bit troubled with his thoughts.

“Yes, I’m going to introduce him to you. Wait a moment”.

Jaebum walks towards a few people, so Youngjae approaches Shura and whispers to her “Have you seen it? He was nervous”.

But she isn’t paying attention to Youngjae. She isn’t paying attention since a while ago, when she noticed the boy with striking red hair wearing black clothes. She asks herself how could have missed it. His hair can be seen from afar and stands out more with the black clothes he is wearing and the orange decorations. She can’t stop looking at him, until he disappears from her vision. Then she shakes her head and looks at Youngjae.

“Were you listening to me?” he asks.

“Sorry, Jae. I had seen a guy and…”

Before she can continue, Jaebum approaches them again accompanied by the boy with striking red hair. Jungkook, who has been eating and ignoring everything else since a while ago, waves a hand at him and the guy does the same.

“Youngjae, Shura, this is my buddy Yugyeom” Jaebum says.

“Nice to meet you” Yugyeom says while offering his hand. Youngjae thanks him and shakes his hand.

Shura is again stunned at the boy’s hair. Youngjae shakes her arm a bit and points Yugyeom’s hand. Shura understands it, but when she’s about to take his hand, her hand instinctively goes to Yugyeom’s hair and touches it.

Youngjae looks at her in surprise, and also does Jaebum. Even Jungkook is staring at her with his mouth full of food. Yugyeom looks at her in confusion.

“Your hair…” is all Shura can say.

“Yeah, it has this effect on people” Yugyeom jokes, bringing Shura back to reality. She sees what she’s doing and apologizes quickly while retiring her hand, but Yugyeom catches it and shakes her hand.

“It’s okay” Yugyeom says, and Youngjae sighs in relief. Jaebum just stares at them while Jungkook comes back to his duty.

“How could you get it?” she asks, retiring her hand from Yugyeom’s.

“With a lot of work. I’ve dyed it recently”.

“You will be this flamboyant when you change into a werewolf?” Youngjae says innocently.

Jaebum lets out a little laugh, covering it quickly with his hand. Yugyeom notices it and raises an eyebrow at his partner. Jaebum avoids visual contact with him and looks to the other side.

“I haven’t tried yet” Yugyeom answers, “would you like to see it?”

“I’ve never seen any change before”. This attracts Jaebum’s attention, staring at the younger.

“Not even hers?” Yugyeom asks. Youngjae shakes his head. Shura looks at the ground like if the thing was something intimate. No one says anything for a while until Jungkook shouts “let’s go dance!” and drags Shura and Youngjae few meters away and starts dancing. Shura and Youngjae look at each other before joining him.

Chapter Text

Mark Tuan has spent almost his life in a jail. Since he remembers, his life has always been like that. He knows what he is: he is a werewolf, and probably dangerous to normal people. That’s why he has been locked on a jail, some people freeing him only to do medical analysis to him and some other things Mark doesn’t want to know what they were. When he was 19 the company who enclosed him hired him as their personal debt collector. Since he was a kid, he has been taught how to fight, and with all the years of practice he gained agility and strength. He sometimes had to use violence to collect the debt, and at first he didn’t mind; he had suffered a lot and it kind of make him happy to see others suffering. When some years passed, he felt awful by doing that. When he was 24, he asked for another job, and the head of the company agreed of giving him a simple job at the office. The company was a secret agency that was studying the werewolves’ issue. Mark was only a subject of experiments. When he realized, he wanted to give up on life. And then it happened.
He met the most wonderful person in the world, in Mark’s opinion. At first, Mark didn’t want to talk to him, but the guy was so clingy that he ended telling him everything. And the boy, instead of be afraid of him, held him in his arms while saying beautiful things to him. Since that day, they became inseparable and Mark never thought of giving up on life again. He had a very good reason to stay alive. He was now waking up happy, because at the office he would be able to see and spend time with his best and only friend. The boy was a criminologist; and he knew everything about werewolves and also about Mark. And that’s what Mark valued the most about his friend: that even knowing what he is, he wanted to be by his side. He felt loved. The boy told him one day that he also was special; he has psychic powers. Mark felt so happy that his friend trusted him so much to tell him something like that. Mark understood him too well. At that point they felt like they definitely knew everything about it each other and were so close friends.
A year later, he is on his spot waiting for his friend to come. Mark only needs his smile to feel full and warm again, and sometimes that feeling scares him, but he lets it be. He’s happy with what he has, so he doesn’t care about the butterflies on his stomach he feels when he sees the younger.
A girl approaches him and tells that his boss wants to talk with him. She guides him into the boss’ office and leaves the two alone. His boss salutes him and offers a chair to Mark. Mark sits and looks at him, worried about the news.
“I have good news for you, Mark” he says, making Mark relax a bit, but he keeps serious. Since the morning he has been having such a bad feeling about the day.
“Tell me” Mark says.
“We’ve finally found the place where the packs meet. We want you to go there and get information about it”. Mark stares at him, wondering why that is supposed to be good news. Maybe is because finally Mark would be able to meet people like him, even know what a pack truly is. He knows a bit about it, but the things he had had in his life are very different of the feeling of being a pack. He can only feel it when he is with his best friend.
Mark finally nods and the boss smiles at him, not happy but satisfied with the answer.
“Good. You’re leaving now, you need to prepare yourself for whatever happens in there and go there the sooner as possible”.
His boss stands up, pointing at him to leave the room. Mark abruptly stands up too.
“What? Now?” he asks.
“Yes, you have to go now”.
At this point his boss is practically dragging Mark out of his office and taking him to the principal door. When he passes by his spot, he sees his friend is not there yet.
“But I have to see-“
“You can see him tomorrow” his boss cuts him, “don’t get yourself into trouble. Just obtain some information and leave before you became suspect”.
Mark nods, defeated. He has to leave without telling his friend, because for him, every new technology is forbidden. His boss goodbyes at him and he gets into a car that will drop him near the place to not generate suspicion.
When they arrive there, he gets out of the car. He just walks until he finds the bar, and continues walking until its dark and people start going there. He tries to encourage himself because he has no idea how he’s going to get information in there. He finally enters in. The place smells a lot like alcohol, and Mark has to breathe heavily to catch fresh air. He searches for something that could give him a hint of how to obtain information. Then he sees it: two people fighting while other people surrounds them and cheers. When the battle is over, he sees the winner talking to other man, and he picks some money from his pocket and gives it to the winner with an angry expression.
Mark catches the hint, and looks for someone to beat. He knows he is strong and has the chance to win; however, he has never fought against one of his kind. When he sees a thin guy, he starts walking to him to challenge him, but then someone bumps into him.
“Sorry” the male with reddish brown hair says. Mark wants to reply that everything is okay, but he decides to take the chance.
“Look where you put your feet, you idiot” he says roughly. The other frowns, and then the male with striking red hair besides him approach him with an angry face.
“What the hell do you think you are?” the guy says.
“And you, who you think you are? Just a kid” Mark says, he doesn’t like to say things like that to other people, less when is nice people like these guys seem to be.
The male with striking red hair grabs Mark by his jacket collar and gives him a little push. He’s about to yell at him when the other guy takes him by the arm.
“Yugyeom, stop. I can handle this” he says, and the called Yugyeom frees Mark, still angry.
“Look,” the guy continues, “I really don’t want to get myself into trouble, but today I’m not in the mood and you have annoyed my friend, so if you came here to have a fight, you succeeded”. And without advice, he takes Mark by his arm and drags him to the fighting spot, freeing him with a little push.
Mark tosses his jacket of, showing how well built is. Like if this is going to scare him. The boy really looks strong, more now he is visibly angry. The guy just prepares himself, and Mark takes the same position. On the inside, he’s very frightened. Maybe this is the bad feeling I had this morning. Mark can’t think more because the boy gives him a punch, and Mark luckily avoids it. He tries to counterattack, but his fist is stopped by the other guy and gives Mark a punch in the face.
I can still win.
Mark wobbles a bit before recomposing himself. He kicks the guy’s leg and he falls on his knee, so Mark tries to kick him in the head, but the guy takes his leg before it reaches his head and smacks Mark on the ground. With a quick jump both boys are again standing up fronting each other.
The guy jumps to him and Mark dodges him rolling on the ground. He stands up quickly but the other throws him a punch on the chest he can’t avoid. Mark is hit hard and his chest hurts a lot. He still tries to hit the other guy but it’s too late, the boy makes him fall by kicking his leg.
I can’t win.
While Mark is still on his knees, the boy gives him a poke on the back of his head. Mark finally falls into the ground, unconscious.

Jaebum breathes heavily. It was a short fight, but one of the most intense he has ever had. He stares at the blonde boy lying on the ground. He has a bad feeling about him. The feeling only gets harder when the time passes and nobody comes to help the boy. He looks everywhere, anxious. If nobody helps him, he can die. He decides he has to do something; in the end, it’s in part his fault.
He sees Yugyeom approaching him. He takes Mark from the ground and carries him. Yugyeom looks at him confused, but quickly he walks before him opening the way for him. They come out and Jaebum puts Mark on the back seat, siting himself beside the blonde boy. Yugyeom sits on the driver’s seat and turns on the engine.
They are driving fast to their house. They keep silent, Jaebum trying to heal some of the bruises Mark has and stopping the blood that comes from Mark’s nose.
“Why?” Yugyeom suddenly asks. Jaebum looks at him while pressing some tissues on Mark’s nose.
“I couldn’t let him die” he answers. Yugyeom just nods, understanding. He knew before asking, he was just trying to erase the tension inside the car.
“Do you think he has no pack?”
“I think he has no one”, Jaebum says, staring at Yugyeom, who puts a sad face.
“That’s sad” he says, and Jaebum nods.
They have practically arrived when Yugyeom asks again.
“Do you think Namjoon will let him stay?”
Yugyeom stops the car and Jaebum opens the door and carries Mark out, Yugyeom helping him.
“I hope so” he answers.
They reach the nursery. Bonnie is awake in there; she’s always awake when the guys go to the fight bar in case they return injured. She quickly stands up at the sing of an unconscious body in Jaebum’s arms.
“What happened?” she asks, indicating Jaebum to drop the boy at the stretcher.
“I beat him, but no one came to help him” he says, hoping it would be enough to Bonnie to heal him. She just nods; helping the others has always been her dream and he’s happy with being able to heal people.
“I think there’s nothing serious” she says while touching Mark to examine him. “I’ll heal him. Do you need any help?”
“I’m okay” he says, but he sits on a chair, Yugyeom looking at him worried.
Bonnie starts to heal Mark when Namjoon comes in.
“What happened?” he asks. Jaebum tells him and Namjoon stares at Mark, thinking about something.
“I think we should accept him” Jaebum says. Namjoon looks at him doubtful.
“Are you sure? We don’t know anything about him; besides, we have just recruited Shura and Youngjae”.
Jaebum remains silent looking at the floor. He’s right: they don’t know anything about the boy. But there’s something inside his eyes that tell Jaebum the boy needs this.
“Yes, I’m sure” Jaebum says decided. Namjoon is still doubtful. He looks at Mark again, then at Yugyeom who has now a hand on Jaebum shoulder like he agrees with his partner.
“I don’t know, Jaebum…he will need a partner, and everyone in the pack has one already”.
“Not everyone” Bonnie suddenly says. She finishes putting Mark bands in his chest before turning to see the boys, “I mean, Shura doesn’t have one”.
They turn to look at Namjoon again, who thinks about the situation.
“Shura is already good at fighting”, Jaebum says, “she doesn’t need to train and by the way the boy was fighting, he doesn’t need much more”.
“Okay, I will allow him to stay only if Shura agrees on being his partner”.
Jaebum sighs in relief before looking at Yugyeom.
“Bring her here” he says, and Yugyeom nods before going out.

Shura and Youngjae are watching a movie on the tv when the doorbell rang. They look at each other, wondering who could be at this time. Youngjae stands up before Shura can do it and opens the door.
“Hi”, Yugyeom says and Youngjae salutes him as well, “can Shura come with me?”
Shura walks to them; something in Yugyeom’s face tells her something is wrong.
“What happened?” Youngjae asks, worried.
“Jaebum got into a fight with a guy who has no pack. They want to talk with you since you arrived the last”.
Shura wants to ask what it means, but Youngjae speaks before her:
“Is Jaebum okay?”
Yugyeom stares at him; the boy is truly worried.
“Yes, he is” Yugyeom wonders if he should tell the other to come with them, but decides it’s better not to. Youngjae seems a bit relieved, then goodbyes at Yugyeom and leaves them alone, returning to the sofa. Shura closes the door behind her and walks with Yugyeom downstairs.
“I thought you weren’t talking to me ever again” she says, looking at the ground embarrassed.
“Huh?” Yugyeom looks at her, confused.
“You know, about yesterday…” Yugyeom understands she’s referring to the party and quickly says “It’s okay. It was unexpected but funny anyways. I wasn’t annoyed, so don’t worry”.
“Uhm, I’m still sorry”.
They reach the nursery and Yugyeom says “I told you, it’s okay” and smiles at her before entering. They walk next to the stretcher and Shura looks at Mark, then Namjoon.
“Hi” she says, checking Jaebum to know if he’s really okay, but the guy seems to be well, “Yugyeom said that you wanted to talk with me”.
Namjoon nods.
“Jaebum brought this guy here. We think he has no pack, so we are wondering if he should join us. We have a huge pack now, so we are only accepting him if you agree to be his partner”.
Shura stares at the blond guy. He doesn’t seem to be a bad guy. She looks at Jaebum, who is also looking at her, his eyes telling her ‘please’. She stares at the boy a bit more before finally speaking.
“I agree to be his mate”.
Jaebum smiles at her and shakes her hand saying ‘thank you’. Yugyeom smiles a bit too, and Shura can’t help but smile too. Namjoon claps his hands, gaining all the attention.
“Well, when he wakes up we’re telling him about this. Now you should rest, I will stay here for the night. If he wakes up I’ll tell you”.
Everyone nods and everyone says goodbye before going out. Yugyeom, Jaebum and Shura go upstairs, and soon Jaebum and Yugyeom arrive home and wave at Shura. She returns to her place, Youngjae is still awake, waiting for her. She tells him everything and he seems okay with the idea of Mark staying.

When Mark wakes up, he doesn’t recognize the place where he is. He is covered by a blanket and the place seems to be a nursery. He turns his head to find a girl with bob brown hair standing next to him.
“Hi” the girl says, “are you okay?”
Mark is unsure about all this, but nods anyways. The girl offers him her hand.
“My name is Jeon Shura” she says, waiting for Mark to shake her hand. He stares at her before finally saying “my name is Mark Tuan”. He feels like he can trust the girl, so he shakes her hand.
“That’s a strange name” she says, freeing Mark’s hand, “are you a foreigner?”
Mark nods. He doesn’t know a lot of things about him, except for his name, his age and his nationality.
“I’m actually Taiwanese”.
“Oh, I’ve never met a foreigner before” she says, realizing later that maybe it was a weird thing to say. But this makes Mark laugh, he doesn’t know why, but he finds it kind of funny. She feels embarrassed and blushes “I’m sorry” she says.
Mark stops laughing and looks at her. Maybe he has made her feel bad laughing. “No, it’s okay. I’m sorry. I was just surprised about it”.
“Yes, I’m much known for my great first impressions. You can ask anyone in here” she says, more relaxed and smiles. Her smile is truly gentle, and Mark feels warm again, like when he is with his best friend.
“Where am I?” Mark asks, suddenly remembering about last night.
“You’re at Namjoon’s pack nursery” she answers. Mark panics a bit at this, and Shura sees him. “Don’t worry; they agree to accept you, if you want to”. Mark doesn’t know. Should he? He was at that bar just for information; he didn’t have any and ended being beaten and carried to a pack. But a part of Mark wants to stay, to forget about the company and be free. He thinks then about his best friend, probably if he stays he’s not going to see him again. Mark decides to stay a bit and get some information.
“Yes, I want to” he hopes to not have sounded a little bit excited, but Shura smiles at him and claps her hands.
“Yay! This is amazing! You will be my partner and also my new roommate”.
“Partner?”
“I will explain to you later, I have to find Namjoon”.
She leaves and Mark wonders if it’s really okay to stay, but it’s interrupted by Shura coming back with two guys. One of them it’s the boy from last night. Mark instinctively sits on the stretcher, afraid of him.
“Relax, we are not going to do anything to you” he says, but Mark stares at him unsure.
“My name is Namjoon and I’m the leader of this pack. Don’t be afraid, we are here to help you” Mark relaxes a bit, and Shura puts her hand on his shoulder comforting him.
“I’m Im Jaebum” says the other boy, “I’m sorry I beat you. I didn’t know you haven’t a pack”.
“It’s okay” Mark finally says, “I was searching for one, so it’s okay”.
Namjoon lets out a little laugh.
“Seems like you and Shura are the perfect partners. Looking for trouble with my pack only to join it” Mark sees Shura blushing a bit.
“So,” Jaebum speaks, “are you joining us?”
Mark nods, and Jaebum smiles at him.
“Good. Bonnie says you can leave now you’re great. I’ll accompany you to your new home”.
“New home?”
“Yes, you are staying with me and Youngjae” Shura says while walking out of the nursery and waving at Namjoon. “We can help you with the moving too”.
Mark looks at the ground and whispers “I don’t have a home”.
Shura stops walking to look at him. When he returns the gaze, he sees that she’s staring at him empathetically.
“I understand” she says before walking again, “I spent a few years being alone in the world with no home”.
Mark feels bad for lying to her even when it’s partially true. The girl seems to have suffered a lot.
When they reach her place, Shura opens the door and they are greeted by Youngjae.
“Oh, hello!” he lively says, “My name is Youngjae. Shu told me about you yesterday, how are you feeling?”
Mark stares at him, now knowing what to say. He didn’t expect anyone to be so concerned about him when they have just met.
“I’m fine” he answers, and Youngjae smiles at him brightly.
“I’m happy you are” the boy seems genuinely happy. Mark never met anyone like him, only his best friend who spends most of the time smiling.
Then Youngjae sees another person besides Mark and Shura.
“Hi Jaebum!” he exclaims while smiling, “How are you?”
Jaebum looks at him and blinks a few times before looking to the other side, blushing a bit. God, why has this boy to be so cute and happy all the time. “Hi” he says shyly, “I’m okay, you?”
“I’m fine, thank you” Why has he to be so kind and polite. I’m going to punch him!
Jaebum doesn’t reply, he just nods a bit. Shura leads Mark to his new room and tells him where everything is.
“I don’t have any clothes” Mark says when Shura suggests him to take a shower.
“I can lend you some!” Youngjae says, “Maybe they are a bit large for you but I think they will fit you”. He enters his room and starts searching for some clothes. Jaebum looks at him, shocked even he doesn’t know why, and quickly says “I’m going to bring you some, too” before running to his house.
Mark and Shura looks at each other, confused. Shura tells him she’s going to make something to eat and Mark goes to the bathroom to take a shower. His room is the one with a private bathroom, but he doesn’t have any towels or shampoo, so Shura told him to shower on their bathroom instead.

Yugyeom is making sandwiches when Jaebum enters like a rush. He stares at him while still doing the sandwiches. Jaebum runs to his room and starts picking random clothes. When he has some he exits and looks at Yugyeom.
“I need you to give me some clothes for Mark”.
Yugyeom stops doing anything to look at his mate confused.
“What?” he asks, Jaebum actually running to Yugyeom’s room to get some. “Hey!” Yugyeom shouts, “Why do I have to lend him some clothes?”
Jaebum is about to answer when he realizes there isn’t a reason at all. He stops taking Yugyeom’s clothes and comes back to the living room, Yugyeom staring at him raising a brow. Jaebum doesn’t know why he has reacted like that when Youngjae said he was lending Mark some of his clothes. He murmurs a ‘never mind’ before leaving some of the clothes in his room.
“I’m making some sandwiches for us” Yugyeom says. Jaebum nods walking to the door.
“I’ll come back soon” he says before exiting.
I have never seen him like this. What’s going on? Yugyeom thinks, the he shrugs and starts making sandwiches again.

Youngjae opens the door when the doorbell rings. Jaebum is in front of him, panting while handing him some clothes. The younger smiles.
“Oh, Jaebum, how kind you are” Youngjae says taking the clothes, “thank you”.
Jaebum only nods and tells him goodbye before running down again. Youngjae looks at him disappear before closing the door. He gives the clothes to Mark and helps Shura setting the table. Mark goes to his room and puts the clothes in his wardrobe. He wears a sweatshirt and some jeans from Youngjae. When he returns to the living room, everything is settled and they eat while talking lively. They explain Mark everything and they talk about random things. Mark values that no one of them is asking him private questions about his life. They end laughing at the most silly things and Mark thinks he can get used to that.
When a boy named Jin comes that evening telling them they are going to throw another welcome party for him, he is sure he wants to stay forever.

Chapter Text

Jungkook doesn’t like parties. He feels suffocated with a crowd around him. But at the last party he had Shura and Youngjae by his side and he felt good. So he was now staring at his closet thinking what he should wear.

“Jungkook, I’m leaving” Jin says, appearing in Jungkook’s room.

Jungkook nods with his gaze still on his clothes. Jin looks at him, truly amazed on how focused the younger is on picking an outfit. After a while, he decides to leave.

Jungkook then realizes that probably Jin was waiting for a goodbye or something from him and feels bad for ignoring him.

“Hey Jinnie”, Jungkook says. Jin returns to Jungkook’s room happily.

“Yes, Kookie?”

Jungkook blushes a bit. He doesn’t like the nickname because it makes Jungkook feel like he’s still a kid; but when Jin calls him that he’s also happy.

“Uh, eh…” Jungkook murmurs, scratching his neck, “if it’s not a problem, can you pick an outfit for me?”

Jin has done it before. They had been living together for 8 years now, so it’s not a problem for him. Jin nods and starts searching in his closet. He has already an idea for the outfit. Jin picks a white T-shirt, a pair of ripped jeans and a green and black shirt.

Jungkook looks at Jin’s choice. He has no idea why Jin picked it, but he made a good outfit. Jin picks then a pair of light brown boots and places them besides the outfit.

“Do you like it?” he asks the younger.

“Yes, thank you” Jungkook says. Jin smiles and is walking out when he feels warmth on his back.

Jungkook is back hugging him. It has been a while since the younger back hugged him, or showed any kind of attention to him. They were used to hug each other, but recently Jungkook has been less affectionate to Jin, and it makes him sad.

Jungkook knows Jin is a bit mad because he’s not as affectionate as he was before. But Jungkook is just trying to not be so clingy to Jin; but it doesn’t mean he doesn’t want Jin’s attention.

“If you wait for me a few minutes I’ll help you” Jungkook says against his back.

“Jungkookie, you don’t have to”.

“But I want to”.

Jin can’t say no when the younger is like that. So he nods and claps his hand against Jungkook’s before breaking the hug and goes to the living room to wait for Jungkook.

Jungkook bites his lip and closes the door. He started crying the moment he back hugged Jin. He wants to be like that with Jin all the time; but he just can’t. So he dries his tears and changes his outfit.

Jaebum is waiting in front of Youngjae’s door. He came to ask Youngjae about training with him tomorrow, but for some reason he feels nervous about it. He hasn’t trained someone like him before. What if he hurts the younger?

He’s still lost on his thoughts when the door opens and Youngjae appears. He stares at Jaebum in confusion before smiling at him.

“Hi, Jaebum!”

Jaebum is taken back to Earth and he realizes he’s probably looking like a fool. He clears his throat.

“Hello, Youngjae. What a surprise!”

He wants to slap himself for the stupid thing he just said. But Youngjae is still smiling at him.

“Yes, well, I live here, you know…”

“O-of course…”

Jaebum face-palms himself mentally. Why does this guy make me feel nervous?

“Do you want to come in?”

Jaebum thinks is better if he just asks the younger and leaves; but Youngjae is looking at him with his puppy face and he can’t say no to that. So he nods, ashamed at himself for agreeing at a cute face. Youngjae leads him in and closes the door.

“Do you want something to drink?”

Jaebum wants to say no, but his head suddenly nods. Jaebum, you’re really a fool.

“I have beer if you want”.

“Water is fine” he says.

Youngjae pours a glass of water and offers it to Jaebum. Their fingers touch for a moment, making both of them feels shivers across their spines.

“Thank you” Jaebum says, drinking quickly.

“It’s nothing”.

Youngjae is blushing for the sudden contact. He never had physic contact with anyone besides his family and Shura; but he loves it. Giving and receiving love are the most favorite things in the world for Youngjae.

And the fact that is Jaebum who touched him only ameliorates it.

“I wanted to ask you something” Jaebum says. Youngjae stares at him expectantly. Is he going to ask me out? But we barely know each other.

“How about training tomorrow?”

“Ah...”

Of course he wasn’t going to ask you out, you stupid Youngjae! Why are you even thinking about it?

Jaebum is confused by Youngjae’s disappointed face, but the younger quickly smiles again.

“I was going to your house to ask you the same” he says.

“Great, I’ll pick you”. Okay, maybe Jaebum had said it more excitedly than he should.

“Perfect”.

Jaebum puts the glass on the table and walks to the door.

“I’ll be going” he says even when it’s obvious. Youngjae accompanies him to the door and opens it for Jaebum.

“Thank you for coming” the younger says. Jaebum nods and smiles at him.

“See you” he says before leaving.

Youngjae just stands on the door watching Jaebum go when he calls the other’s name. Jaebum turns around and looks at him.

“Will you be at Mark’s party, will you?”

Youngjae knows everyone will be there, but he just wants to make it sure.

Jaebum nods and waves to him before continue walking.

Yugyeom is eating some muffins when Jaebum comes back. He had just finished his daily routine of watching the perimeter and he’s hungry. Jaebum says hi to him and he simply nods because his mouth is full.

“I’m going to take a shower”.

Jaebum comes to his room to pick some clothes. Yugyeom gulps and takes another muffin.

“Are you okay?” he asks. Jaebum’s face was red when he entered.

“Uh? Of course” he answers from his room. He comes out holding fresh clothes, “why do you ask?”

“Your face is red”.

Jaebum stares at Yugyeom and the younger wonders if he has said something wrong. Jaebum shakes his head.

“It’s warm outside”.

“It’s December, Jae”.

It’s not for that kid.

“I felt hot”.

“Uh, you sure you’re okay?”

Jaebum loves Yugyeom. But he feels that if the younger continues like that he’s going to kill him.

“Yah, why are you so worried?” he asks, sounding a bit mad. “I’ve said I’m okay, so stop asking!”

He slaps the door entering at the bathroom.

Yugyeom is still staring at the door, not understanding anything. But he shrugs his shoulders and continues eating.

He’s acting weird since Youngjae and Shura came. What’s wrong with him?

“Wow, Mark. You’re truly handsome” Shura says.

“Thank you” Mark says while blushing. The clothes Youngjae lend him fit him perfectly. He’s wearing a simply T-shirt with skinny jeans and his boots.

“Are you blushing? How cute!”

Shura smiles at him while Mark tries to hide his embarrassment. He had only heard it once before. He suddenly feels sad. He has left the person who said it behind. Mark doesn’t know if he’s coming back. What if they met? Will he still be his friend?

His thoughts are cut when he hears a shout.

“Oh my god, you both look so good I’m jealous!” Youngjae says.

Sometimes Mark wonders if Youngjae is crazy. Since he had arrived there, the younger seems amazed with everything that surrounds him. He’s too nice and happy that Mark wants to ask him what kind of drugs he takes.

Shura is wearing a black sweater with skinny jeans and a shirt tied at her waist. She has light brown boots too. Youngjae on the other hand is wearing a T-shirt, a black jacket and black trousers.

“Wow, Jae, you look truly sexy with that” Shura says. Mark looks at her, surprised by the girl’s honesty.

Youngjae blushes and slaps Shura slightly.

“Don’t say things like that! People could misunderstand…”

“Oh, come on. I’m just complimenting my friend”.

Youngjae laughs loudly and Mark laughs at that. Youngjae has a peculiar laughter no one can resist.

Once there Shura spots Jungkook helping Jin with the food. She feels happy seeing Jungkook and Jin interacting with each other. Both of them seem so close but distant at the same time. Mark and Youngjae attack the food like they haven’t eaten on years while Shura comes to talk with Jungkook.

“Hi, lil’ bro!” Shura says. Jungkook smiles at her and finishes putting the food on the table.

“Hello, big sis! How are you doing?”

“I’m good. I saw you helping with the party. It’s amazing!”

Jungkook is going to say something when Jin comes to them and salutes her with a big smile.

“I’m glad Jungkookie helped me with this. He’s a good child” he jokes while ruffling Jungkook’s hair.

Suddenly, Jungkook’s face turns sad and he pushes Jin’s hand away. Shura looks at him in confusion, Jungkook going away for them.

Jin sighs. That is happening a lot recently, and he doesn’t know why it does. He feels like he’s failing Jungkook for making him sad; but he doesn’t know what else he could do to make him happy.

They stare at Jungkook until his figure disappears, going to the restroom.

“Hey, Jin”.

Jin looks at Shura. She’s still looking towards Junkook’s direction; her face a mix of confusion and sadness.

“Since I came here, I’ve been hearing comments about Jungkook, saying that he’s a bad kid and cold-hearted. But he’s kind with me, also with Youngjae, Yugyeom, Jaebum and you”.

Jin knows about it. Even when he has scolded the persons he caught talking bad about his Jungkookie, it seems never-ending.

“You know,” Jin says, Shura finally staring at him, “Jungkook is not a bad person. I’ve been with him since the day he arrived. We practically have grown together, and in those years he was never like this. He has friends here like Taehyung, Yugyeom, Jimin, Hoseok, Yoongi… He’s always been kind and happy. Maybe a little hyperactive, but he has never done anything bad”.

Jin talks with his heart, Shura can see it.

“You love him a lot, do you?”

Jin nods, knowing that Shura doesn’t know how he truly loves the younger.

“But recently he has become serious and sad, and I’m worried about it. He doesn’t want to talk about it, and I know I shouldn’t push him; but he’s worrying me so bad”.

“I’m sure whatever it is, it will fade away. Don’t worry Jin, everything will be fine”.

“Thank you” Jin says, but he’s not convinced about it.

“Dancing time!” Youngjae screams while approaching them, dragging Mark with him.

The tension disappears and Jin is glad the younger had erased it.

“Hi, Jin! Are you joining us?” he asks.

“I think I’ll get some drinks before. I’ll catch you guys. Have fun!”

They wave at him and go to the dance floor.

After a while, the dance floor is crowded. Youngjae loses Shura and Mark, and someone pushes him, making him trip out; but before he touches the floor a strong arm catches him.

“Thank you” Youngjae says standing up and smiling at the guy with striking red hair.

“Are you okay?” Yugyeom asks.

“Yes, I just need to get out of this”.

Yugyeom offers his help, but Youngjae insists on going out of his own.

“Have you seen Shura?” Yugyeom asks.

“I’ve lost her, but I think she’s that way. I’ll return in a while”.

Yugyeom nods and lets Youngjae go, making his way towards Shura’s direction.

Youngjae gets out the crowd and takes a glass of water. He’s panting and sweating a bit, so he takes off his jacket and ties it at his waist. Then he spots a familiar face on a corner.

Jaebum is wearing a dark blue sweater with jeans and black shoes. His hair is styled, giving a beautiful view of his handsome face. Youngjae takes a huge breath and walks to him, but before he can reach Jaebum a girl appears and talks to him. Jaebum smiles gently at her, but then she asks him something and Jaebums shakes his head. The girl smiles sadly before going away. Jaebum looks to another side and takes a sip of his beer.

“Hi, Jaebummie” Youngjae says. Jaebum chokes on his beer and spits it out a bit almost in front of Youngjae. He wasn’t expecting the younger giving him a nickname so quickly. But he doesn’t dislike it.

“Sorry, you took me off-guard”.

“Are you okay? I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to scare you”.

Jaebum wants to punch himself for making the younger feel bad.

“It’s not like that. I was just thinking about something and got distracted. Are you feeling okay? You’re breathing heavily”.

“Yes, I’m okay. I just needed some fresh air”.

Jaebum nods and finishes his beer.

“Why are you here alone?” the younger asks.

“Not a big fan of dancing”.

Youngjae lets an ‘ah’ scape and looks at the crowded dance floor. He spots Shura trying to talk to Yugyeom above the noise and Mark standing in embarrassment, surrounded by girls trying to get his attention.

“I should rescue Mark” Youngjae says, decided to help his new friend getting out of that weird situation.

Jaebum looks at him disappointed.

“You’re going that soon?”

The question surprises both of them; Jaebum curses the alcohol for taking control of his body.

“I mean, we can talk for a while, if you want too…”

Youngjae smiles lovingly at him, and Jaebum feels something weird on his stomach.

“I really want to, Jaebummie. But I’m afraid if I don’t rescue Mark he’s going to die of embarrassment”.

It breaks Youngjae’s heart having to reject Jaebum when he’s the first willing to spend more time with the elder; but Mark looks like if he continues like that he’s going to have a heart attack.

Jaebum nods, understanding. But for some reason he also feels sad.

“You can come and dance with me”.

Jaebum almost jumps in surprise. There’s no way I’m dancing with a guy.

But he’s already nodding and smiling like an idiot.

Those puppy eyes again. Damn it!

Youngjae is currently dragging him through the people. Jaebum simply can’t resist Youngjae’s puppy face. Even when his mind tells him to refuse, his body acts of his own and obeys those puppy eyes. Plus, Youngjae is holding his hand while guiding him through the crowd. Youngjae’s hand feels warm and soft on Jaebum’s skin, the latter enjoying the sensation until Youngjae suddenly frees his hand and soon he misses the younger’s touch.

“Mark, are you okay?” Youngjae asks.

“Yes, I’m just not used to a crowd surrounding me” Mark answers.

Jaebum salutes Mark and he does the same; then Youngjae grabs Mark’s and Jaebum’s hand and starts dancing awkwardly without letting any of them go. Mark doesn’t know how to do: he has never been on that situation before. He tries to copy Youngjae, and when he sees that Mark actually does well, he frees him; still holding Jaebum.

Jaebum doesn’t know how to do either; it’s not like he dislikes dancing, but if he can avoid it he doesn’t dance. But the fact that is Youngjae who is holding him while dancing makes him feel weird.

“C’mon Jaebum! I’m sure you’ll do well!” Youngjae cheers him, and soon Jaebum is dancing randomly. He actually enjoys it, and among the music he can hear Youngjae’s laughter. He laughs too. They look at each other, not stopping to laugh; Jaebum admiring how handsome Youngjae is. He has nice brown hair, beautiful eyes that disappear when he smiles brightly. And the cute mole under his eye. Jaebum suddenly pulls Youngjae closer to take a better look at it.

“Jaebummie…” Youngjae says.

And then is when Jaebum realizes that maybe he has gone too far. So he pushes Youngjae a bit, wondering how he has gotten that close with the younger. He’s not supposed to be like that. A flashback crosses his mind, making Jaebum’s blood to boil.

Youngjae pretends that he isn’t sad about Jaebum’s behavior. He was expecting something like that anyways. He doesn’t have a stop and not everyone enjoys physic contact as much as Youngjae does; and Jaebum is probably one of those people.

“I’m sorry, Jaebum” he mutters.

Jaebum feels bad. Youngjae is always saying sorry to him even when it’s not his fault. He doesn’t want to hurt the younger. He smiles and pats his shoulder.

“It’s okay, I just felt dizzy. Maybe we can take Mark and go get some water?”

Youngjae smiles at him and then approaches Mark to tell him about it. Mark nods and grabs Youngjae’s hand; Jaebum does the same quickly and drags the others out of the crowd.

Although Yugyeom was enjoying the dancing so much, he has seen the scene near them. His body is still dancing while his gaze is following the three guys escaping from the crowd. Then he suddenly feels a pull on his shirt and turns his gaze to Shura.

“You okay?” she asks, panting a bit.

“Yeah, it’s just…never mind” Yugyeom is not sure he should tell Shura about Jaebum’s latest behaviors. It’s not like he doesn’t trust her; but he’s sure it has something to be with her and Youngjae.

“Is Youngjae again, isn’t it?” she asks, and Yugyeom looks at her in surprise.

“Huh?”

“Youngjae likes the physic contact. He’s so friendly and open to everyone because he loves giving and receiving affection. I tried to tell him that not everyone likes that, but he continues doing it. I think it bothers Jaebum”.

“I think you’re right. He’s been acting weird from a while” but Yugyeom feels that it isn’t the cause from Jaebum’s behavior; but it’s a possibility.

“I think I need a break”.

Yugyeom nods; they’ve been dancing heartily for a while and both are panting. Instinctively, he grabs Shura’s hand and makes a way for them to exit. The action surprises her, but she doesn’t say anything. He can’t blame Youngjae for being so touchy, because she’s like the same.

Jungkook is resting against the wall. He wants to enjoy Shura and the others, but he feels weird for what happened before with Jin; so he stands like that, watching as the others have fun. Some people passes in front of him giving him disgusting looks.

Why does everyone dislike me that much?

Then he sees it: Jin being perfect as always. Smiling and greeting to everyone for coming to the party. He talks and laughs with almost everyone, and Jungkook feels happy for Jin. Everyone loves him, but who can resist him? He’s a cute marshmallow with perfect smile and good body. Realization comes to Jungkook as he sees the same persons that looked at him with disgust smiling friendly to Jin.

Everyone dislikes me because I’m not Jin, because even with all the years we’ve been together, I’m not like him.

Jungkook turns his gaze to another side. He doesn’t want to see Jin being busy smiling to everyone but him. He doesn’t want to see everyone liking Jin that bad and no one caring about him. He doesn’t want to see the others receiving all those words and smiles that belonged to Jungkook.

If growing up meant stopping being clingy and receiving all of Jin’s love, Jungkook regrets to have matured; even when everyone still treats him like a kid, though.

Suddenly he feels a hand on his shoulder. He turns to see the owner of the hand and for his surprise, it’s the face of all his worries.

“Hey, Jungkookie” Jin says, smiling at him a bit sadly, “why are you here alone? Don’t you want to join Shura and the others?”

“I’m not feeling well tonight”.

“Can I help you?”

Jungkook wants to say yes; he wants Jin to go home with him and cuddle like they used to do before.

But even with all that, Jungkook doesn’t want to be possessive towards Jin, first because he’s not a possession, and second because Jungkook has no rights to stop Jin from being friendly.

“I think I’ll go and sleep. It would be a pity if you don’t enjoy your own party”.

Jin looks at him worried. Why can’t Jungkook just tell him what his problem is? Jin is more than willing to help him; but with all the tension between them he knows he shouldn’t push the younger.

“But Jungkook… “

Jungkook stares at him; Jin is looking at him so intensely that he feels like doing anything he’s going to say.

I want you to stay.

“Let me help you go home”.

Jungkook smiles at the offer, but Jin seems happy with the party, and Jungkook doesn’t want to be the one to ruin it.

“It’s fine, Jinnie. I can go home of my own”.

Jin sighs. He’s not going to change Jungkook’s mind, so before the younger can go he ruffles his hair.

“Take care, okay?” Jungkook nods widely, “when it ends, I’ll go check on you”.

Jungkook agrees, taking Jin’s hand and holding it a bit before letting it go.

He waves at Jin and smiles before disappearing. And even with the entire crowd in there, the room feels empty to Jin.

Chapter Text

Jaebum likes to wake up early in the morning. Usually he makes breakfast and runs in the forest for a while. Then he showers and offers anyone his help. Yugyeom wakes up earlier than him to work patrolling the pack’s territory but he never takes breakfast.

Today, Jaebum is waking up a bit too happy. He makes a lot of breakfast and even sings a bit while doing it. He changes into sportswear and packs the extra breakfast he made, and then he heads to the training room. And why is he happier today?

Because he’s going to train with Youngjae.

Jaebum is not a fool. He knows he likes being with the younger. Even when he has other friends, Youngjae has something that attracts Jaebum and makes him crave for more of it. They know each other for a few days, but it’s enough for Jaebum to want to be friends with the younger and to want to feel the happiness the other boy irradiates.

To his surprise, Youngjae is already in there. He’s also wearing sportswear and a headband that makes him look cuter if possible. He’s fixing his shoes when he spots Jaebum and smiles widely at him.

“Good morning, Jaebummie!”

Jaebum wonders how he has all that energy in the morning when last night they were having a party and they went home late. Even when Jaebum is on the same situation, his body feels a bit tired; but the younger dared him to do this early today and he gladly accepted.

“Good morning, Youngjae” he replies and returns the smile. Youngjae’s smile gives energy to Jaebum’s body. Jaebum likes to be happy only being with him.

“I made breakfast for us” the younger says.

“Me too” Jaebum says, lifting his bag a little.

Youngjae laughs at it and Jaebum can’t help but laugh too.

“Let’s eat, then”.

Youngjae takes two cups and serves coffee. Jaebum sits in front of him and unpacks the breakfast he made. Youngjae unpacks too and they start eating.

“So you did it” Youngjae says.

“Of course. This dare is nothing to me”.

Youngjae smiles at him.

“You didn’t have to. I was joking, you know”.

Jaebum smiles and takes a sip from his coffee.

“It was just an excuse to have more time with you”.

Jaebum chokes on his coffee and spits it out. Sometimes the directness of the younger surprises him. Youngjae quickly reaches Jaebum and pats his back until the elder stops coughing. Youngjae grabs some napkins and cleans Jaebum’s disaster.

“Sorry” Jaebum says, a bit embarrassed for almost spiting something on Youngjae for the second time.

“It’s okay; I guess the coffee is still a bit hot, isn’t it?”

Jaebum nods even when it isn’t the cause of the accident. They continue eating in silence. But it isn’t an uncomfortable silence. It’s quiet and peaceful and Jaebum is able to get rid of his embarrassment. When they finish, they clean everything and save the leftovers for later.

“Okay, let’s go for the real thing” Jaebum says. Youngjae nods and stands in front of Jaebum.

“What do you want me to do?” he asks. Jaebum scratches his neck.

“I don’t know. I’ve never done this before. How about telling me how your power works?”

“I just have to concentrate on the object I want to move. It’s easy with small things, and I can move huge things but it requires a lot of mind power”.

“I see. Have you tried on a fight before?”

Youngjae looks at the floor with a dark face, making Jaebum worry.

“Yes” he says after a few seconds of silence. Jaebum wants to ask what is wrong, but when the younger lifts his sad face, the elder thinks it’s better not to.

“Okay. It gives you advantage in long distance, but if the other person is close you might not have the chance to do it. We’ll practice combat and then we’ll think of a way to involve your powers in it. Do you agree?”

Youngjae is about to reply that he actually knows how to fight and how to do it close-distance with his powers. But it will ruin the main objective of all this: having time with Jaebum. So he nods and prepares himself for what is about to come.

Jaebum runs to him without warning, attempting to shoot Youngjae down; but the younger quickly grabs Jaebum waist and with a hip turn Jaebum is the one laying on the floor. Jaebum looks at him surprised, and Youngjae takes the opportunity to sit on top of Jaebum, pinning him down.

“I thought you needed to practice?” Jaebum asks. Youngjae smirks at him.

“Please, Jaebum. That was a basic attack. You can do better”.

That sounds like a dare on Jaebum’s ears, so he smiles wickedly and with one leg he takes the impulse to roll his body, throwing Youngjae to the floor and sitting on top of him. Youngjae can’t stop laughing even when the situation is against him. Jaebum takes Youngjae’s wrists with one hand and places them above Youngjae’s head.

“I can do better, huh?” he jokes while raising an eyebrow.

Youngjae feels so embarrassed he can’t move. Jaebum has completely pinned him down, making him unable to move with the elder on top of him. The pressure Jaebum is doing to his wrists is suffocating and the fact that he is sitting on Youngjae’s belly with both of his legs on Youngjae’s sides only makes it worst. Now Youngjae regrets all this, he’s close to have a heart attack.

Jaebum stares at the beautiful male under him. He’s panting and Jaebum knows he can’t do anything with him on top because of his weight. Jaebum smiles playfully, enjoying a bit having a submissive Youngjae under him. You weren’t expecting this, huh? This is for making a fool of me all these days.

The tension between the two erases as Jaebum starts tickling Youngjae. The younger tries to resist but he can’t. He starts laughing loudly, the elder still smiling at him. He frees Youngjae’s wrist and tickles him with both hands. Youngjae is such a mess under him, but doesn’t make anything to stop Jaebum.

Youngjae can’t believe what’s happening. Jaebum is tickling him with his beautiful smile on his face, his eyes disappearing as the smile increases. The view is breathtaking, and Youngjae can’t take his eyes off of him. Youngjae knows from the first day that he likes Jaebum. The first time he saw the elder was mesmerized by his handsome look, but during all the time they’ve spent together with the moving and the parties they have known each other better and there’s nothing about Jaebum that Youngjae dislikes. Jaebum is precious to Youngjae, and he’s ready to do anything just to make the elder happy, even if he hurts himself on the process. The pain will be worth it, in Youngjae’s opinion.

Youngjae knows it’s difficult for someone like Jaebum to fall in love with him. Jaebum doesn’t seem the type of guy who likes boys. Youngjae could tell that the elder doesn’t like physical contact with other guys. But Youngjae is more than willing to love the elder unconditionally, to make him happy, and to stay with him in hard moments or in happy ones. Youngjae loves with all his heart and doesn’t care if it gets broken. He doesn’t care if Jaebum breaks his heart; he’s already preparing himself for it. But in the time until it happens, he’s going to enjoy their moments a lot.

Youngjae’s laugh makes Jaebum incredibly happy. The younger boy is the cutest and happiest thing alive. He’s a living sunshine. The sunshine Jaebum wants to see every day. Jaebum stops tickling him when Youngjae starts to cough. He stands up and offers a hand to Youngjae. The younger stands up too and Jaebum pats his back until Youngjae is breathing normal again.

“You won’t survive a tickling attack” Jaebum points, grabbing some water for him and Youngjae.

“I don’t think someone is going to attack me like that”.

“What if I do?”

“Why would you attack me?”

Jaebum stares at the ceiling, thinking.

“Maybe you get on my nerves with your sassy comments”.

Youngjae hits Jaebum’s arm playfully.

“I don’t do sassy comments”.

“Yes you do. And you make me choke because of them”.

Youngjae wants to reply that they aren’t sassy comments but small flirtations. But he would be exposed and he doesn’t want Jaebum to know about his feelings because he’s afraid Jaebum would despise him and never talk to him again.

“But I’m just trying to be funny, not sassy” Youngjae pouts, and Jaebum laughs at the sight.

They remain silent for a moment, both drinking water and catching breath until Jaebum speaks again.

“If I hurt you in our practice, just tell me”.

“You won’t hurt me, don’t worry”.

Youngjae smiles at Jaebum.  The latter catches something lingering in Youngjae’s eyes, and quickly adds:

“But if it happens, just tell me. Not just in here. If you’re hurt, tell me. You can count on me”.

Youngjae is melted by Jaebum’s words. He nods and Jaebum returns the smile.

“You can count on me too. If you need someone to talk, just tell me”.

Youngjae then pats Jaebum’s shoulder and stands up, ready to continue the practice. Jaebum stands up and follows him.

“I’ll go easy this time” Jaebum says. Youngjae pouts and fakes a hurt face.

“I’m not a little princess, just attack me”.

Jaebum laughs before going to attack Youngjae again.

Sorry Jaebum. But I will never tell you if I’m hurt because of you.

Yugyeom is making dinner when Jaebum comes back. He’s grinning like a teenage in love and is all sweaty.

“Hi, dinner will be ready soon” Yugyeom says.

“I’ll take a quick shower” Jaebum says.

Yugyeom nods and continues with his task. When Jaebum is finished, dinner is already served on the table. They both sit on the sofa and start eating.

“So, how was your day?” Yugyeom asks.

“Funny. But exhausting as well. How about you?”

“Like all days. Something happened today?”

“I practiced with Youngjae. He surprised me gladly. We eat launch together and practiced more lately until now”.

“So, you spent all the day with him”.

“Are you jealous?”

Yugyeom laughs a bit and shakes his head.

“Of course not. It’s just that you seemed uncomfortable with him”.

Jaebum frowns and stares at him.

“Why do you say that?”

“Last night, you seemed awkward with him. And since he arrived you’ve been acting weird”.

For some reason Jaebum feels flustered. Has he been acting weird? Well, if he has been it’s completely Youngjae’s fault. He keeps making Jaebum a fool with his sweet words and his care towards him.

“But I’m not uncomfortable with him. It’s just we barely know each other”.

Yugyeom stops eating and stares deeply into Jaebum’s eyes.

“Sure that’s the reason?”

“O-of course! Why are you staring at me?” Jaebum stares at the floor, hoping that Yugyeom will stop looking at him like that.

But Yugyeom only raises an eyebrow and looks at him suspiciously.

“Could it be that maybe you feel embarrassed when you’re with him because you like him?”

Jaebum hits Yugyeom lightly on his face, making the younger stop staring at him.

“Hey! What was that for?” Yugyeom complains, touching the damaged area.

“You’re saying bullshit. How can I like him if I barely know him? And c’mon he’s a guy!”

Yugyeom gives Jaebum a questioning look.

“What’s wrong with liking a guy?”

Yes, Jaebum, what’s wrong? He asks himself. He really doesn’t know. But anyways, how can he like Youngjae? He feels attracted to him, but in a friendly way. But he certainly has been doing weird things because of him. Maybe he likes Youngjae?

Yugyeom seems to be aware of Jaebum’s intern conflicts, so he laughs a bit to distract the elder. And because he finds hilarious how he has realized about the entire situation before the main person involved.

“Aish, Jaebum. Stop thinking so much, your brain is going to explode.”

“Huh? It’s your fault for making weird questions!”

They’re washing the dishes when Yugyeom talks again.

 “Hey, Jaebum. I’ve thought that maybe tomorrow when I finish working we can go to the forest to see my transformation with the others”

“Sure, I’ll tell them”.

“You’re going to practice again with Youngjae?”

“No, but I’ll tell them, ok?”

Yugyeom nods. They finish and go to bed. But before they enter their respective rooms, Yugyeom calls Jaebum’s name. The elder stares at him while holding his door.

“I’ll always support you, no matter what”.

Jaebum wants to ask why is he saying that, but Yugyeom is already inside his room with his door closed.

Its afternoon the next day when they are outside the house, waiting for Yugyeom and Jaebum to arrive. Shura and Youngjae are talking with Jungkook while Mark is chatting with Taehyung and Jimin. Yoongi, after making peace with Shura, is just sitting under a tree half asleep while Hoseok keeps talking, ignoring that he’s doing it to himself. Jaebum and Yugyeom finally arrive and everyone greets them.

“Well, time for the show!” Taehyung exclaims, then points to some trees near them, “That place is what we call ‘the fitting trees’. When we’re out on the forest we keep our clothes on a secret box that is hidden between these trees, so when we’re back we can change on our outfit again. There are extra clothes in case you lose yours. So, who wants to start?”

Everybody looks at each other before Yugyeom speaks.

“I think it has to be Shura, since Youngjae has never seen any change. Shura should be his first”.

Taehyung laughs at the statement, but the others just look at him, not finding funny the joke. Yoongi just sighs and gives Taehyung a hit on the head. Taehyung pouts at him while faking that he’s hurt, but Yoongi only rolls his eyes and ignores him.

“Are you okay with it?” Shura asks Youngjae, and he nods. Shura gives him a smile and goes to take off her clothes behind the ‘fitting trees’. Then a growl is heard and everyone waits for the wolf to appear.

Youngjae is amused at the view of Shura. She’s an average wolf with bright brown hair. Shura approaches Youngjae to know her friend’s opinion, and he strokes the wolf’s hair.

“You’re beautiful, Shura”. He says, although he’s not sure she can understand him.

“She can understand you” Jaebum says, standing by his side. Jungkook approaches them and looks at Youngjae with pleading eyes.

“Can I?” he asks, like the simple fact of caressing Shura’s hair was something intimate.

Youngjae smiles at him and tilts his head, telling Jungkook that is Shura’s approve what he needs.

Shura touches Jungkook’s hand with his nose. Jungkook smiles at it and strokes her hair.

“Well, I think it’s Yugyeom’s turn” Jaebum says. They all nod; after all they came here just to see it.

Yugyeom goes to change himself. When they hear him growl, everyone is waiting desperately for him to appear.

The wolf that appears has brown hair with some red hair on his head. Taehyung, Jaebum, Jimin and Hoseok start to laugh. Jungkook stares at Yugyeom, thinking if he would look like that if he decided to dye his hair. Yugyeom approaches them and Shura looks at him, letting him know that she’s okay with the change.

“Yugyeom, don’t dye your hair ever again” Jaebum says.

Yugyeom seems confused. He wants to look at himself on a mirror to see if it’s really that bad, until Youngjae speaks.

“I think it’s great. You look wonderful Yugyeom. I like it”.

Shura nods her head, agreeing with her friend. Jungkook smiles at him supporting the statement and Mark lifts his thumbs up. Yoongi smiles a bit before hitting Taehyung for the second time. The younger stops laughing and looks annoyed to Yoongi, and then apologize to Yugyeom. 

“I’m starting to dislike you” Taehyung whispers to Yoongi.

“As if you could” he answers.

“It’s true. You’re so cute” then he pinches his cheeks. Yoongi sighs and smacks Taehyung’s hands away.

“Stop it. I’m going to punch you”.

“You’re breaking my heart” the younger says, placing his hands on his chest pretending to be hurt.

Someone coughs loudly next to them and they see Hoseok staring at them with serious face.

“Can you two stop flirting? We’re going to run a bit, do you want to come?”

Yoongi wants to complain and say that they’re not flirting, but Taehyung and Hoseok are already gone.

“Are you coming?” Jungkook asks him.

“I think I’m staying. I’m tired, you know”.

“You’re always tired”.

Yoongi smiles at him and ruffles his hair. Jungkook smiles too. Yoongi has been like an older brother to him, taking care of him when Seokjin was out and spoiling him with sweets even when the latter told him not to.

“Take care, okay? Don’t make Jin worry”.

Jungkook nods at him. His heart flinches a bit at the mention of Seokjin, but he ignores the feeling. Jungkook runs to the forest following Mark to get changed. Yoongi says goodbye to all of them and goes to his house.

Shura and Yugyeom are still beside Jaebum and Youngjae. Shura looks at her friend, asking if it’s okay to him. Youngjae caresses her hair.

“It’s okay Shura, go have fun. I’ll be waiting at home”.

Shura seems still doubting about it, but Jaebum takes a step and touches her nose in a caring way.

“I’ll take care of him, okay?”

Shura nods her head and looks again at Youngjae before turning and running to the forest beside Yugyeom.

“You can go too. I don’t mind” Youngjae says to Jaebum, but the elder shakes his head.

“I don’t really want to go. I had enough yesterday, you know”.

Youngjae laughs and hits him lightly on the arm.

“Thank you” he says, and Jaebum smiles at him widely.

“Do you want to come to my house and talk?”

Youngjae quickly nods and they head to Jaebum’s house.

Seokjin is organizing some papers on the office when Yoongi comes in. When Namjoon created the pack, he used the money he had to buy the territory and to found an enterprise to work and earn money in order to maintain the pack. That way they can interact with humans and keep in touch with everything that happens outside. He’s alone in there, Namjoon went out to talk with somebody and he was left with the work. Yoongi sits lazily on the small sofa at the other side of the room. Seokjin doesn’t seem to notice the presence of the latter, so Yoongi yawns loudly and greets him when he has his attention.

“I thought you were out with the others” Seokjin says, gaze still on the papers.

“I just wanted to see Yugyeom. You know, the simple fact of changing it’s just exhausting for me. I prefer to rest.”

“And how was it?”

“Kind of funny. But the boy has courage and I admire that”.

“How was Jungkook?”

He has barely seen him these days. The annual trip is about to come soon and Seokjin has a lot of work organizing it.

“He’s okay. He was happy with the others”.

Seokjin’s heart breaks a bit when Yoongi says ‘the others’. He knows his friend didn’t mean it, but he feels like he’s the only one who’s not able to make Jungkook happy.

Yoongi sees the change on Seokjin’s mood and slaps himself for saying that. He doesn’t know what’s going on with his two friends, but he knows it’s a thing between them and he shouldn’t interfere. But seeing his friends in pain is torturing him.

“Jin, are you okay?”

Seokjin nods, and starts working on the papers again. Yoongi wants to help them desperately, but he doesn’t know how. Maybe it has something to do with Seokjin working a lot. Yoongi looks at him, thinking of a way to make them spend more time together, until he gets it.

“Jin, why don’t you take Jungkook with you on the trip?”

Seokjin lifts his head from the papers and stares at him.

“The trip is for the newbies”.

“But you never brought Jungkook. Besides, he can help you”.

And Yoongi has a plan to make them share a room together so they can enjoy their time together and be happy again.

“I don’t know. Maybe he doesn’t like teaching the others”.

“If you tell him, I’m sure he will go just to be with you”.

Seokjin thinks about it. Will he? I really want to fix everything with him.

“Okay, I will ask him. We’re going to take Mark and Youngjae too, so maybe he would want to go with them”.

“Not taking Shura?”

“We think she already knows everything. She beat you, remember?”

Yoongi growls a bit, but smiles.

“What an interesting fight we had. She really deserved to win”.

“You could have won if you weren’t such a lazy ass”.

“Maybe. But I didn’t regret it”.

Yoongi starts to fall asleep when Seokjin talks again.

“I’m sure that if Taehyung had been there cheering you, you would have won”.

Yoongi doesn’t say anything. He moves a bit on the sofa to have a better position to sleep and smiles.

“Maybe”.

When Yugyeom comes home, Youngjae is still there talking with Jaebum. He greets them before taking his pajamas to change after taking a shower.

“Are you having dinner with us?” he asks Youngjae.

It’s pretty late and Youngjae is still in their house, so he guessed Jaebum invited him to stay. But Youngjae shakes his head, thanks Jaebum for taking care of him and goodbyes to them. Jaebum tells Yugyeom that he’s going to make dinner and Yugyeom finally takes his shower.

Yugyeom lets the water fall as he keep thinking about that evening, when he was running with Shura by his side. The girl caused a big impression on him when they met, and through the days, even when they only have small talks, they get along well. But that evening he felt a special connection with her, like if being by her side is the only thing he needs to be full. Sure he likes Shura, who doesn’t? The girl is just cute and funny, and always has a way to cheer up the others. Yugyeom thinks that maybe Jaebum isn’t the only one who has trouble with the friends.

He dries his hair before sitting with Jaebum to have dinner. Jaebum asks about his day and Yugyeom tells him about the race at the forest, telling him too about what he felt with Shura. Jaebum smirks at him.

“What?” Yugyeom asks.

“Maybe you feel that way because you like her?”

“Of course I like her. Everyone does. But I don’t have a problem on telling you”.

Jaebum frowns. “What do you mean?”

“You spent your day again with Youngjae”.

“And what’s wrong with it?”

“Have you seen your face when you’re with him? You seem like a teenage in love. You even glared at me when I came like if I had ruined something intimate”.

Jaebum doesn’t remember doing that. But he admits that he was a little pissed off when Yugyeom came and Youngjae left.

“I didn’t”.

“You did. I felt like my head was going to explode because of it”.

“I didn’t do it!”

Yugyeom sighs.

“Why can’t you just admit that you like Youngjae?”

“I told you!” Jaebum exclaims a bit annoyed. “That’s ridiculous! I can’t like him!”

Yugyeom shakes his head. Someday you will realize you like him. I only hope it’s not late then.

“What if I like a boy? Would you despise me because of that?”

“Of course not! You’re my brother”.

“And Youngjae? Would you despise him if he likes a boy?”

Jaebum thinks about it. He still doesn’t have an answer to why loving a man is wrong. To him, it feels impossible for some reason. But he could understand if Yugyeom does. But thinking of Youngjae, he feels a bit annoyed by it. What if Youngjae likes a man? He would still be his friend, right?

“I wouldn’t despise him. He’s my friend”.

“Then why can’t you like a boy?”

“Because I don’t like any boy! I don’t like anyone. Things like love are just imaginary things. Love does not exist”.

Yugyeom sighs. He’s trying to change Jaebum’s mind and make him realize that he likes Youngjae, but when the elder says things like that he only wants to punch his face and shout at him.

“Someday you’ll fall in love and you’ll regret saying these things” Yugyeom finally says, cleaning the table.

Jaebum knows Yugyeom is mad at him. Yugyeom is a sensitive person even with his looks, and Jaebum knows he has hurt his feelings saying things like that. Yugyeom believes in love, and Jaebum wants to believe too. But life has proved him wrong, so he made a shell to protect his heart to break again. He stands up and goes to help Yugyeom, but he refuses his help and finishes washing the dishes.

Yugyeom is not really mad at Jaebum. What bothers him is that Jaebum has the chance to be happy, to be loved by someone and to give love to that person in return. Yugyeom knows that Jaebum has suffered a lot, but he still cared about him, so he naturally wants the best for his older brother. But Jaebum keeps neglecting any happiness he could have and that really makes Yugyeom to want to yell at him how a fool he is for not taking the chance. And he has seen it, the way Youngjae looks at him like Jaebum is the most wonderful and amusing thing on the world to him, like he wants to love and worship him with all of his heart. He knows that Youngjae makes Jaebum happy and the elder craves for more time with him. He’s sure Youngjae would make him the happiest man on Earth, so he doesn’t understand why Jaebum keeps denying his own happiness.

“Yugyeom, I’m sorry” Jaebum says. Yugyeom dries his hands before giving Jaebum’s shoulders a little squeeze.

“It’s okay, Jae. I’m not mad at you. I shouldn’t press the matter if you don’t want to talk about it. But you should think about it”.

Jaebum smiles at him, glad that the younger is not really mad at him.

“I’m going to sleep” Yugyeom says, yawning.  “Today has been a tiring day”.

“You should go for it” Jaebum says before the younger could go.

“Huh?” Yugyeom gives the other a confused look.

“Shura. You should go for her”.

“I’m not going to force anything. If it has to be, it will happen”.

Jaebum smiles at him before going to sleep too. He lies on his bed, thinking about all the things Yugyeom has said to him. His mind shifts to Youngjae, recalling all the times they’ve been together. He smiles remembering the younger’s smile. He definitely wants to protect that smile, and a part of him wants to keep it only for him.

So yeah, maybe he likes Youngjae.

Jungkook wakes up in the morning with the smell of pancakes. He sleepily gets out of his room to see Seokjin placing the last pancakes on a plate. The latter spots Jungkook and smiles at him.

“Good morning, Kookie”.

The younger walks to him and stares at him with his sleepy face.

“Don’t you have to work today?” he asks the elder. Seokjin motions for him to sit on the table and places a plate with pancakes in front of him.

“Yes, but I’ll be a little late today. I want to talk with you”.

At this, Jungkook is fully awake. He gulps, wondering what is that important for Seokjin to stay at home instead of going to work early. Seokjin serves the younger a cup with hot chocolate and sits opposite to him with another cup of hot chocolate and a plate with pancakes. Jungkook smells the hot chocolate and smiles. Everything that Seokjin makes is delicious.

“Smells really good, Jin” Jungkook says, smiling widely at him.

Seokjin is dumbfounded. If he knew that with only having breakfast with him would make Jungkook happy, he would have done it before. He mentally face palms himself for being that silly.

“Thank you. Let’s eat”.

They start eating, Jungkook savoring every pancake and every sip of the hot chocolate Seokjin has made for him. Seokjin always makes breakfast for him, but he leaves before Jungkook wakes up and he has to eat alone. Even when Seokjin’s food is delicious, Jungkook doesn’t have all the appetite for it. But now that Seokjin is with him, he’s really hungry and truly enjoys the meal. Seokjin barely eats, staring amused at Jungkook eating like he’s been hungry for decades. And he has been; he has been hungry for Seokjin.

He stops eating like an animal when he sees the latter staring at him with a lovely smile. Seokjin is beautiful. He has light brown fluffy hair and those pinky plump lips Jungkook wants to kiss every minute of his life. And suddenly he feels full, thanks to Seokjin’s smile. He has been craving for it. He’s the most important person for Jungkook, and he wishes that he could make the elder happy the way he makes the younger feel. But he knows he’s not good enough.

“What do you wanted to talk about?” he asks, trying to push those thoughts away from his head.

“Do you know about the annual trip for the newbies?” Jungkook nods.

“You’ve never brought me there”.

There’s something sad in Jungkook’s eyes when he says it, and Seokjin doesn’t miss it. For some reason he regrets it.

“I didn’t think you needed it”.

“But I could have gone only to be with you. To help you”.

Jungkook didn’t want to say it loud, but he couldn’t resist it. He avoids Seokjin’s gaze, feeling a bit embarrassed. But Seokjin is melting at the sight of his precious Jungkookie telling him he wants his attention and feeling flustered because of it.

“Oooh, Jungkookie. You’re so sweet” Seokjin says, pinching one of Jungkook’s cheeks.

Jungkook blushes harder even when he should be used to this. He lifts his head, letting Seokjin caress his cheek after pinching it.

“I’m sorry” Seokjin says, now looking serious to Jungkook. “If I knew, I could have brought you with me”.

“It’s okay, Jinnie. Don’t worry”.

Seokjin smiles at him, and then they return to eat breakfast.

“Do you still want to go, Kookie?”

Jungkook nods. “But only if you go with me”.

“How about we go this year? I’ve already booked two spots for us. Mark and Youngjae will be coming too”.

Jungkook smiles widely at him.

“What about Shura?”

“She’s strong enough. But if you want I can ask her to come”.

Even when Jungkook wants her to come, he wants to spend all the time possible with Seokjin, so he shakes his head.

“It’s okay; I don’t want to bother her. And for me it’s enough with being by your side”.

Seokjin has missed this. The sweetness in Jungkook’s voice and his cute smile.

“It’s done then. We’re going!”

Jungkook suddenly jumps off his seat and comes to hug Seokjin. The latter is surprised by this, but he wraps his arms around Jungkook’s body nevertheless. They both feel the warmth of each other, and they stay like that for a while until Seokjin lets Jungkook go and hurries him to finish his breakfast.

When Jungkook and Seokjin visit Shura’s house to tell them about the trip, Youngjae jumps in excitement, and also does Mark. Shura smiles at them. Mark and Youngjae have got along truly well for the few days they know each other, and Shura loves the good vibes they have in their apartment. Suddenly, Youngjae realizes that they didn't mention Shura and looks sadly at them.

“Can Shura come to?” he asks.

“It’s okay Youngjae. I have to work anyways”.

Youngjae pouts at her.

“Then promise me you’ll be fine” he says, raising his little finger to make a pinky promise.

“I promise” she says, entangling their fingers.

Jungkook smiles at them, and Seokjin smiles at him. Mark can’t help but feel a little jealous of the friendship they have, but he smiles too anyways.

They decide to throw a little party before the trip at Seokjin’s house. Some of them prepare a meal and the others bring drinks. They cheer for the trip and start to eat. When they finish Hoseok aims for a dance play and everyone agrees. In the end, it’s mostly him, Jimin and Taehyung dancing while the others laugh at them. Then they play a girl group song and Yoongi and Seokjin smirk at Jungkook, who blushes.

“C’mon boy! You know you want it!” Yoongi exclaims while patting Jungkook’s back.

“You’re good in dancing to girl groups?” Shura asks, impressed by the hidden talent of his ‘brother’.

“He’s the best” Seokjin says, smiling proudly. That’s enough for Jungkook to stand up and dance incredibly well at the song. Everyone cheers him as he’s the only one dancing. He’s motivated only with Seokjin’s smile, but now that everyone is laughing and clapping their hands for him, he does his best for them. When the song ends they continue with the dance play, now Seokjin and Shura playing with the others too. She motions for Yugyeom to join her and he drags Mark too, knowing that Jaebum doesn’t like to dance in public and purposely leaving him alone at the table with Youngjae. Yoongi is not a problem because he’s already lying at the sofa, ready to sleep even with all the noise, but someone grabs his hand and drags him to dance with him. He glares at Taehyung, who still holds Yoongi’s hand trying to make the other move. Yoongi sighs, knowing that the other is not going to let him go, and joins him.

Youngjae laughs loudly at the view in front of them. Practically all of them are dancing playfully and doing everything wrong, but everyone is happy and also is Youngjae. Jaebum smiles at him, and then he feels something on his thigh and gasps when he realizes its Youngjae’s hand. The younger is searching for support, weak from all the laughter.

“Are you okay?” Jaebum asks concerned. Youngjae nods and takes some water.

“Hey, Jaebummie. Can you do me a favor?”

And he’s again looking at him with his puppy eyes, and Jaebum knows that he’s going to do it whatever it is.

“Of course”.

“Take care and smile when I’ll leave”.

And then he smiles at him. Jaebum blushes, not expecting something like that. He can’t hold it anymore, so he hugs the younger. Youngjae feels so warm on his arms that Jaebum swears something is melting inside him. Youngjae on the other hand is surprised by the action, and his heart starts to beat so quickly he prays to Jaebum not to notice.

“You too. Take care and never lose that smile of yours” Jaebum says, a tear actually formed on Youngjae’s eye. He nods against Jaebum’s shoulder and holds him a bit tighter before pulling away, ready to cry.

“Thank you, Jaebummie” he says, and smiles widely at him.

“I’ll take care of Shura, okay? So you don’t have to worry”.

“Promise?” and he raises his little finger.

Jaebum stares a bit at it before entangling their fingers.

“Promise” and it’s the first time on Jaebum’s life that he pinky promises something with all his heart.

Youngjae takes the opportunity to grab Jaebum’s hand and drag him to dance with the others. Jaebum is surprised, but he’s more surprised that he actually enjoys dancing with the others. Yugyeom gives him a questioning look and Jaebum just shrugs his shoulders. Yugyeom smiles at him before giving all his attention again to Shura, who is doing a weird and funny dance with Jungkook and Seokjin.

Everyone forgets about their worries for that night, letting themselves go with the flow.

Chapter Text

The day of the departure they’re all at the building entrance, putting their stuff on the cars. Mark and Youngjae are going to share the car with Jungkook and Seokjin. When they finish they start to hug their friends as a goodbye. When Youngjae stops in front of Jaebum, he smiles at him and before he can say anything the elder is pulling him into a hug. Youngjae blushes but returns the hug.

“I’ll miss you” Youngjae whispers, almost wishing that Jaebum hasn’t heard it. When they break the hug, Jaebum smiles at him and whispers an ‘I’ll miss you too’ before giving him a little squeeze on his shoulder.

Youngjae feels like he’s about to cry, so he walks to Shura and hugs her. When they’re all done they get in the car and Seokjin starts driving, Jungkook giving him indications visibly excited about the journey while Mark and Youngjae sit on the back.

They head to Namjoon’s remodeled second house, which now is a second base for the pack. It looks similar to the pack’s residence, but is a bit smaller. When they arrive they take their things and go to their respective rooms. Youngjae and Mark are sharing one while Seokjin is sharing with Jungkook. They don’t mind. Seokjin and Jungkook are living together for 8 years already while Mark is more comfortable with Youngjae by his side. They enter and unpack everything. They’re only staying for a week, but Youngjae has packed a lot of things like he’s spending a month in there. His suitcase is full with ‘just in case’ things. Mark laughs at how caring and careful his younger friend is. He reminds him of his best friend, and he starts to feel guilty. Has he the right to call him ‘best friend’ when he’s sure he’s not going back? He left him behind. Maybe he should return and beg him to come with him, but he’s sure that if he goes back he would get caught and be locked again.

He’s out of his thoughts when Youngjae pulls him out of their shared room to go to the main area where Seokjin is about to give an introduction speech for them. Usually, it’s Yoongi who does it, but this year he has gladly given the chance to his friend. They spot Seokjin at the front of the room and he waves at them.

“Where is Jungkook?” Youngjae asks when they reach Seokjin.

“He’s setting everything in the room. I had to leave first, but he should arrive by now”.

Just when Seokjin finishes talking, Jungkook appears at the door and searches for him. Seokjin doesn’t see him, as a guy has approached him to ask him something. Youngjae and Mark spot the younger and wave to him. Jungkook sees them and looks around him worriedly. Youngjae and Mark feel like something is wrong, but Jungkook starts to walk to them. The place is getting crowded and Jungkook has to be careful with his moves. 

Mark and Youngjae stare at him, then they look at each other in disbelief and Youngjae pokes slightly Seokjin’s broad shoulders. The elder looks at him and hums to let the other know he’s listening.

“Is anything wrong with Jungkook?” he asks. Mark and he are looking at Jungkook with worried faces. Youngjae points at the front and Seokjin’s jaw falls wide open.

A group of girls approaches Jungkook and he almost jumps far away from them, just to stand besides another group of girls. He quickly walks away from them, his face full of terror. He keeps avoiding girl groups, and by the time he arrives with the others, he’s actually panting. Seokjin forgot about Jungkook’s little problem with girls. For some reason he’s afraid of them. Seokjin thought he had got over it since he’s friends with Bonnie and Shura; but he hadn’t. He face palms himself for being that stupid to put the younger on that situation and gives him an apologetic look. Jungkook notices and smiles at him, letting the latter know that he’s okay. Youngjae hands him a bottle of water while Mark pats his back to comfort him.

“Thank you” he says.

They remain silent until Seokjin finishes his speech. Jungkook is amused seeing Seokjin managing the situation so well. They have lunch and since it’s the first day, they decided to just go around the house and relax for the day.

Two days has passed since they arrived and they have been training since then. Mark spends a lot of time with Youngjae. They are both mated at practice while Jungkook is helping Seokjin monitoring everything while keeping a safe distance from girl groups.

It’s been more than a week since Mark left the company, and he’s missing his friend more than ever. He keeps asking himself if the other is doing well, if he’s worried for him, although he’s sure he is. Youngjae has noticed the way Mark spends his time staring at the infinity, like he misses something. He’s aware of it since the first day, he has the feeling that the elder is keeping something from them, but by his sad face Youngjae could tell it’s nothing that can put his friends in danger, so he lets it go. Youngjae is fond of Mark. Even with all, he’s sure Mark has suffered a lot, and Youngjae truly wants to help him and make him happy.

The third day Youngjae comes a bit late from the practice, and Mark is currently showering. He messages Shura, knowing that she’s working and he can’t call her yet. He’s laughing at some bad joke his friend made when he hears sobs coming from the bathroom.

Mark has lost it. He has been keeping this feeling for so long it has burst finally inside of him. Mark has cried before, when they hurt him and did experiments with him. But he stopped crying thanks to his friend. And now he is doing it again because he lost him. He thought he could endure it, but in fact, he misses the other more than he has expected. After all, the other is the first person he had ever loved.

Youngjae’s heart breaks a little by hearing his friend cry. He wants to open the door and hug Mark, but he knows he can’t. So he returns to his bed and pretends that nothing has happened, while Mark is currently sitting on the shower cubicle, letting the water go and also his tears.

The next day he can’t concentrate on the exercise, and Youngjae hits him hard unintentionally. Mark loses his balance and falls to the ground. Youngjae bends down and starts to panic even when Mark tells him that he’s okay. The rest of the people are so busy with their own things to notice. When Youngjae pulls Mark up, the elder hisses in pain. Something on his hip is not right. Youngjae panics even more and drags Mark to the infirmary where the nurse gives him some treatment and tells Mark to rest. Youngjae accompanies him to their room and leaves Mark on his bed. He grabs some water and puts it besides Mark.

Youngjae goes to shower while Mark tries to rest. But he can’t, his mind always shifting to his precious friend he left behind. Tears start to roll on his cheeks again, and he tries to cover them from Youngjae. By the time the younger comes back, Mark has calmed himself a bit, but is unable to rest yet.

“Are you okay?” Youngjae asks.

Mark wants to say yes, but Youngjae’s worried look reminds him of his best friend, and he starts to sob again. This time, Youngjae quickly runs to his side and embraces the other taking care of not hurting him. He keeps repeating to the elder that everything is going to be okay, even when he doesn’t know what it is. Mark lets everything go out and sobs harder on Youngjae’s shirt.

A few minutes later Mark relaxes still in Youngjae’s arms. The other starts humming a song Mark doesn’t recognize but makes him relax. When Youngjae finishes, Mark whispers a ‘thank you’ to him, obtaining a bright smile on response.

“Are you better now?” Youngjae asks.

But Mark shakes his head. He feels that he can trust Youngjae, and even if he’s wrong about it, he’s going to tell him the truth. He breaks the hug and stares at the other right in the eyes.

“I lied, Youngjae. I’m sorry” Mark says, closer to cry again. Youngjae pats his shoulder aiming him to continue, and Marks tells everything to him.

Youngjae listens carefully to everything Mark says, and he can’t be mad at him. He can see by the way Mark is telling him his story that he has suffered a lot. He understands him, and if he was on his position he probably had done the same thing. Now he is sure that they have to protect Mark no matter what.

“I feel really bad for lying to you, but I was afraid you would reject me and I really like to be there with you, with a real pack. It really feels good and I feel finally free”.

“Honestly, I knew something was wrong with you” Mark looks at him, worried about what Youngjae is going to say next, “because sometimes you keep staring at nothing like you lost something”.

Mark sighs, more relaxed.

“And I lost something. I lost my best friend. He’s like you; he has a special power and was always taking care of me. He can heal people; do you know how amazing it is?” Mark smiles while remembering him, and Youngjae stares at him amused. He lets the elder continue speaking about his friend. “Even when I was rude to him at first because I thought he was like the others in the company, he kept smiling at me and making me feel happy. I wonder how he is now, and if he’s mad at me for leaving him. Maybe I should return and take him away from them. I’m afraid something bad could happen to him if they discover his power”.

Youngjae hugs Mark again when the face of the latter was fading into a sad one.

“You know, maybe we can do something about it”.

Mark removes in his embrace to look at him.

“Can we?”

Youngjae gives him a doubtful look, but then he smiles.

“Well, I don’t know. Just let me think something. Maybe we can convince the others to recruit your friend. You said he could heal people, he sure is going to be useful for the pack”.

Mark nods happily, even when he’s not sure it could happen. But it’s a possibility, and Mark is more than willing to take the risk.

“Thanks, Youngjae. For everything. I’m glad you don’t despise me even when I lied to you”.

“It’s okay Mark. I’m not mad. I’m only sad that you had to suffer all that. I can’t figure how anyone is able to do something like that”.

“They’re afraid, I guess”.

“But it’s cruel” and Youngjae pouts. Mark laughs, the younger is incredibly cute.

They remain like that for some time before Youngjae speaks again, freeing Mark.

“Hey, Mark. What’s your friend’s name?”

Mark smiles at the thought of him. By his smile and all the cries Youngjae could tell that the other is pretty important to him.

“Jinyoung. Park Jinyoung”.

Jungkook thought he would be happy with this trip. But turns out that the only time he spends with Seokjin is at eating times and to sleep. During the day he’s constantly requested by the newbies to help them. Jungkook wonders why it has to be specially Seokjin, when there are other monitors and Jungkook is also one of them. Seokjin tries to dismiss everyone quickly so he can have time with Jungkook like he originally planned to, but everyone keeps asking for him.

It’s already the fourth day of the trip, and Jungkook is beyond pissed off with the situation. He takes a cold shower to erase his bad mood, but it doesn’t work well thought. He frowns and goes out. Without paying attention at what he’s doing, he lies on Seokjin’s bed and falls asleep, finally finding peace through Seokjin’s scent on the blankets.

When Seokjin comes in, he finds Jungkook half-naked sleeping on his bed. He smiles at how cute he looks like that, so he changes into his pajamas and gets in the bed next to Jungkook. He covers themselves with the blanket and caresses Jungkook’s face softly, not wanting to wake up the younger. He carefully wraps an arm around Jungkook’s waist pulling him closer.

Seokjin strokes Jungkook’s hair, massaging it. It’s been a long time since they slept together. When Jungkook was a kid they used to sleep together every night; the younger afraid that Seokjin would leave him, even when the elder assured him that he wasn’t going anywhere. When Jungkook grew up, there were still moments when the younger asked him to sleep with him, and he gladly accepted, not finding it weird. When he realized his feelings for the younger he tried not to do it anymore, but the younger never asked again, making Seokjin wonder why.

Sometimes Seokjin wishes that Jungkook would be still a kid so he can cuddle him and spend all his time with him like they used to. But now it’s late, and Jungkook seems to not want any affectionate things from him.

Why, Jungkook? Don’t you love me anymore? I don’t care if you don’t love me the way I do, but stop pushing me away from you. It hurts so badly…

Suddenly, Jungkook is tugging on his shirt and Seokjin freezes, afraid that the other would wake up and throw him off the bed. But Jungkook is still sleeping peacefully. Seokjin is about to return to what he was doing before when he hears Jungkook mumbling something.

“Asdj…Ji…Jin” Jungkook mumbles, and Seokjin’s eyes widens at the mention of his name. The other grips his shirt tighter, almost pinching his nipple and he was afraid of it for a moment. He caresses Jungkook’s back, trying to relax him because he has started to shake a bit.

“Don’t…don’t leave me. Ji-Jin…please…”

Seokjin can’t contain himself anymore and without thinking pulls Jungkook even closer, hugging him tightly, almost crying.

“I’m not going anywhere, don’t worry. I’m here, with you. I won’t leave you, never” he whispers near Jungkook’s ear, even when he knows the other is still asleep and unaware of it.

But Jungkook has waken up with the hug. He remains silent, his eyes closed, still tugging Seokjin’s shirt. His eyes start to get teary from hearing the latter’s words.

“I love you, I won’t leave you” he says when Jungkook’s breath comes normal again.

He says nothing and keeps pretending that he’s asleep.

I love you too, Jin.

The next days, Seokjin is with him all the time, and Jungkook can’t be any happier. Besides, they spend time with Mark and Youngjae too. They both seem to be having fun there, and Seokjin is so pleased hearing the youngers enjoying the trip. When he sees the smile on Jungkook’s lips he’s so glad that he came there with him.

Mark is more open now to Youngjae, and they talk a lot through the days about their past, and searching for a way to bring Jinyoung back to Mark. Youngjae still cringes at the thought of Mark being tortured and forced to do things he really didn’t want to do, and even when the elder tells him that everything is okay, Youngjae sees he’s still sad. He definitely wants Mark to have the happiness he deserves, and he knows the first step is going for Jinyoung. But the younger thinks it’s better to not tell anyone else about it, afraid that they won’t understand Mark truly and throw him out of the pack.

Jungkook has been requesting Seokjin to sleep with him again. Even when the elder wants to ask why he is behaving like that again, he accepts. Sleeping with Jungkook relaxes Seokjin, and when the younger hugs him in his sleep Seokjin’s heart melts, and he loves that sensation. The sensation of the younger’s body close to his, his warmth and his sweetness. Jungkook hugs Seokjin tightly, afraid he will go away. But he never does, and every morning he wakes up with the precious sight of his beloved Seokjin sleeping peacefully by his side. Jungkook loves it, and tries to resist when Seokjin suggests they should move and do their task. In the end, Seokjin has to fight a little with the younger, bodies rolling on the bed as they struggle and laugh like crazy. When Seokjin finally wins, Jungkook pouts and pretends to be sad; but it doesn’t last long as Seokjin hugs him again, stroking his hair and promising him he will be with him all the day. And he does.

The last day, Jungkook plans to tell Seokjin about his real feelings. These days they have been practically glued to each other and Jungkook feels like the urge to tell the other everything. He’s thinking about a way to make it special for Seokjin, when he walks near a half-closed door and hears Seokjin’s voice. He doesn’t understand what he’s saying, so he brings his ear close to the wall, avoiding to be seen through the door. He doesn’t recognize the voice of the person Seokjin is talking to, but now he can hear them clearly.

“Raising a kid is one of the most amazing sensations one can experiment” Seokjin says confidently, and Jungkook’s heart almost drops with that. What does it mean? That he knows the feeling because he has raised Jungkook? Because he’s a kid to him? Or something like a little brother?

His eyes start to get teary, and he’s near to actually cry when the other voice speaks.

“You have been through it with Jungkook, haven’t you?”

Jungkook doesn’t wait for an answer. He starts to run to his room. He closes the door behind him and lets his body drop to the floor, finally burying his head in his knees and letting the tears flow.

Seokjin is preparing everything to go back tomorrow in the main office when one of Namjoon’s friends approaches him. The man is another monitor of the trip, but Seokjin barely knows him. It’s been a time since he last saw him. The other starts to talk to him and suddenly says that his wife is pregnant. He’s so excited that makes Seokjin happy too. He congratulates him and the other begins to show him photos of the ultrasounds of his baby. Seokjin is amazed by it. He likes kids, and in a future he hopes to have one at least. But only if Jungkook is his partner.

“Raising a kid is one of the most amazing sensations one can experiment” Seokjin says, pleased for the upcoming member of the pack.

“You have been through it with Jungkook, haven’t you?” the other asks Seokjin.

The latter shakes his head. He’s been asked a lot about it, and he always gives the same answer. Which is the true, by the way.

“I haven’t raised him. I’ve grown with him. He has learned from me as well as I’ve learned from him. I’m not like a paternal figure to him and nothing like that. We’re just buddies that had helped each other through the time. And we’ll continue like that, hopefully”.

The other is dumbfounded by Seokjin’s speech. He can tell that the latter knows clearly what he wants in his life, and he admires him for it.

“Wow Jin. You’re truly fond of the boy” the elder says patting his back. Seokjin can only nod, because it’s true. He loves Jungkook with all his heart.

When he goodbyes to the elder and makes his way to his room, he thinks about Jungkook. Maybe it’s time for him to tell the other about his true feelings. Seokjin knows what he wants: he wants Jungkook to be forever part of his life. He wants to grow up old with him, to marry him and build a family together, to stay by the other’s side until the end. He’s decided to ask the younger about his feelings.

But when he reaches the door of their dorm a bad feeling roams his body. He tries to ignore it and enters in. The room is empty, but he can hear water falling from the shower. He smiles, Jungkook must be using it. He’ll wait until the younger is ready and then will ask him to go to the garden and he will confess. He’s daydreaming about it when the door opens and Jungkook gets in the room.

The first sign that proves Seokjin that something is wrong is that Jungkook is fully dressed after the shower. Usually the younger exits half naked with only his pants on or with only a towel around his waist. But he has his pajamas on, and he’s drying his hair without looking at him. Seokjin coughs loudly to make the other notice him, but Jungkook just ignores him. He tosses the towel away and yawns visibly. Seokjin frowns, finding Jungkook’s behavior weird.

“Oh, Jin, I didn’t hear you come” the younger says, and something in his voice tells Seokjin that he’s mad.

“I just arrived a while ago, but I see you didn’t notice” he says, a bit annoyed.

Jungkook only nods and sits on his bed. Seokjin looks at the clock and sees that is still early to sleep. He’s sure the younger didn’t have his dinner, but he’s now lying on his bed, covering himself with a blanket.

“Jungkook, what are you doing?” Seokjin asks.

Jungkook turns to the other side, not wanting to face Seokjin because if he does, he’s sure he’s going to cry again.

“Jungkook”.

Now Seokjin is worried. Is Jungkook sick? He knows that Jungkook gets a bit angry when he’s sick because it makes him feel weak.

“Yes?” the other answers, clearly mad.

“Are you going to sleep so soon?”

“Yes”.

“Have you eaten yet?”

“No”.

“Then why are you going to sleep so early?”

Jungkook sighs before answering.

“Because kids have to be on bed early”.

This upsets Seokjin to the top because he doesn’t understand what’s really going on with Jungkook and why is he saying that out of the blue. But he’s not having any of that tonight. He wakes up angry and opens the door.

“I don’t know what’s going on with you, Jungkook. But I don’t deserve your bullshit. If you want to act like a child then do it. But I think you’re mature enough for that”.

And with that he slams the door closed, leaving a confused and teary Jungkook behind.

When he comes back again, Seokjin regrets to have told all that things to the younger. He’s going to open the door and apologize to the other when he hears Jungkook’s sobs. His heart breaks into pieces, but instead of coming and hug the other like he wants, he only stares at the door, mad with himself for hurting the other to that point. So he lefts and searches for a place to stay that night.

Needless to say, the next morning Jungkook and Seokjin both had puffy red eyes and don’t utter a word to each other, what makes Youngjae and Mark worried about the two. The journey to home again turns to be the opposite of how it started. The car is filled with silence and an awkward tension between the driver and his co-pilot.

Chapter Text

Kim Yugyeom has always been a good guy.

When he was a kid he didn’t create any problem and was obedient to his parents. When he grew up, he had a lot of friends on his pack and he was successful on high school. He was a good friend too, the responsible one that didn’t drink to take care of his others friends. His parents were proud of him and he couldn’t be any happier.

Until that day.

He was at home, filling his college application when he heard gunshots outside. He looked through the window and saw a few people dressed on in black shooting everywhere. He was going to search for his parents when his father came into his room.

“Yugyeom, you have to go! Hurry!”

But Yugyeom didn’t move. He wasn’t going to leave his family behind.

“Where’s mom?” he asked.

His father then put a sad face and Yugyeom knew. He brought a hand to his mouth, trying not to cry. Everything was happening so fast that seemed unreal to him.

“Yugyeom, you have to go. Run, I’ll cover you”.

“But dad…”

“Go, now!”

He was going to refuse again, but the serious tone on his father’s voice told him not to. He was very mad and Yugyeom understood he had to obey him whether he liked it or not. He approached his father and hugged him, his father pushed him away quickly when they heard shots again. Yugyeom opened his window and jumped to the nearest tree. He observed while his dad tried to resist. A shot was heard and his father’s arm started to bleed. Unable to keep watching it and with tears on his eyes, he run through the forest. He knew he couldn’t do anything for him now. He looked behind, some houses were on fire and he heard screams and shots. He knew he was a coward, running away when his pack was dying, but he couldn’t do anything.

He heard a gunshot near him and instinctively he turned right. He continued running and another gunshot was heard. He tried to avoid it, but it was late and a bullet passed near his face, leaving a scar in his cheek. He couldn’t take it more, so he changed into his wolf form and run away.

At some time he passed out due to exhaustion. He tripped a few times and rolled on the floor. His head hurt and all his body was in pain. He finally opened his eyes. He was on a white room, in what seemed to be a nursery. He saw a girl with blonde hair and a tall guy walking towards him.

“You’re awake” the girl said. “How are you feeling?”

Yugyeom didn’t know who those persons were; but they treated his wounds so at least he had to be polite.

“My head and body aches, but its tolerable. Thank you for taking care of me”.

The girl smiled at him and went to a closet to take some medicines for his pain.

“My name is Namjoon” the guy said, helping Yugyeom to sit on the stretcher. “I found you yesterday passed out near my territory”.

“I’m Kim Yugyeom. I ran away from my pack because it was attacked”.

“Probably you’re not comfortable with this, but I have to know. Who attacked your pack?”

The girl handed Yugyeom some pills along with a glass with water and Yugyeom thanked her before taking it.

“I don’t know, but I think they were humans. It didn’t seem like another pack’s attack.”

“It can be. I heard that recently some humans are starting to catch us. We call them ‘hunters’”.

Yugyeom nodded.  The girl, Bonnie, checked him and told him about his diagnostic. Namjoon informed him about his pack and Yugyeom gladly agreed to form part of it.

That’s how he met Im Jaebum.

After two days at the nursery, he was told to live with another guy who was going to be his partner. Even with all the past events, Yugyeom was still an open and friendly person, so it wasn’t difficult for him to befriend Jaebum and other members of the pack.

Yugyeom admired Jaebum since the first day they met. The elder seemed to understand him without talking, and they discovered that they were more alike than they thought. He knew everything about Jaebum: how was his life before Namjoon’s pack, how he was against the use of violence and who his biggest enemy was. Yugyeom always supported Jaebum in all his decisions and he didn’t regret anything.

He took the job of controlling the pack’s territory. For him, it wasn’t boring even when he had to see every day the same; he loved the sensation of freedom when he walked peacefully through the forest or watched the birds fly. He admired little things in life and simple things made him happy.

What also made him happy was the sweetheart that moved with them days ago.

He was interested in her, not only because he defeated Yoongi on a fight but also because Jaebum acted a bit weird after meeting her and his roommate. He wondered what she had that caused that reaction on his always disciplined partner.

At their welcoming party he understood. Shura was just sweet like a candy, a person you want to have close because one way or another she can make you smile.

Days after he understood that Jaebum’s nervousness wasn’t incited by Shura’s sweetness, but by her friend Youngjae. They affected their lives differently. While Jaebum was always suffering and getting anxious about the living sunshine, he just let it be. He let the girl enter his life and enjoy every moment they shared together.

Yugyeom and Jaebum decided to spent time with Shura now that Youngjae, Mark, Seokjin and Jungkook had gone on a trip so she won’t feel alone. Shura told them that it wasn’t necessary, but they kept having lunch and dinner with her and sometimes they stayed at night with her watching a movie or just talking.

Sometimes Jaebum had something to do and left the two alone. Yugyeom is glad to his friend for the help, although he wants to do the same to him, unsuccessfully. Those moments are the most valuable for him. They talked about casual things, sometimes about the others. Yugyeom wanted to talk about Jaebum and Youngjae with Shura, but Shura never said something about it, so Yugyeom discarded the topic.

Four days have passed since the others departure and Jaebum and Yugyeom are requested to go to the fight club. They aren’t very fond of the idea; first, because Jaebum doesn’t want any kind of problem and neither does he, and second because the last times they had gone there, has happened something. Last time they got Mark and anybody regrets about it, but previously they had some unlucky encounters.

Even when the rules don’t allow a person to go there without his partner, Namjoon gives Shura permission to go there with them since her partner is on a trip. It’s the first time she comes back after the night she fought there. This time she wants to enjoy it, without worrying about fighting.

The night passes calmly. They merely have some drinks and watch some combats, but the three of them are having a good time. They are getting to know each other better now that they’re alone. It’s almost midnight when they exit the club to catch some fresh air. They walk near the club, still talking about some funny stories about the pack before Shura came.

Then, the crush of a branch startles them. They turn around and some dark figures appear in front of them. It smells like problem, but before they can run the opposite direction, another group of people is already there cutting the exit. They don’t recognize their faces, until a particular one stands in front of the others, making Jaebum growl and Yugyeom’s blood boil.

“Look what we have here” the man says, “if it’s none other than my dear friend Im Jaebum”.

Shura looks confused at Jaebum. They obviously know each other, and she can tell that Yugyeom knows too. But in the pack no one mentioned any certain enemy of the pack or something like that.

“What do you want, Jeonghan?” Jaebum asks angrily.

“Can’t we talk? It has been a while since the last time we met. You’re still walking that puppy, uh”. Yugyeom glares at him, and then Jeonghan’s eyes travel to the girl next to him. “Oh, you have a new friend? Or is she your girlfriend? I can’t believe that little Jaebum got himself a girlfriend”.

“Leave her alone” Yugyeom warns, making Jeonghan look at him.

“Is she your girlfriend then? It has more sense. Jaebum has always been a coward faggot”.

“What do you want?” Jaebum repeats, this time raising his voice.

“Some fun, maybe? You know, it’s been a while since the last time we had fun together”.

And before Jaebum could say anything, Jeonghan’s minions are launching themselves against the three of them. They react quickly and start fighting against them. Jaebum always wanted to avoid conflict, but tonight, just his luck, he can’t avoid it. And he feels responsible for Yugyeom and Shura. They’ve been dragged to this mess, although Yugyeom knew about it from the beginning. But Shura doesn’t even know against who she is really fighting; and more important: Jaebum promised Youngjae that he was going to take care of her, and now they’re on that situation.

When Jaebum has a chance to breathe, he watches Shura. The girl is doing well, so Jaebum decides to get Jeonghan and end the problem like he should have done many years ago. But before he can reach him, Jeonghan smirks evilly to him and other minions try to catch Jaebum. Jeonghan disappears and Jaebum growls before freeing himself from the minions.

One minion jumps over Shura, throwing her down. She tries to remove the man and gives him a strong kick, but the minion unfortunately impacts against Yugyeom and both of them roll some meters away through the forest. Yugyeom gets up quickly and gives the man a kick, knocking him off. He’s about to return with the others when he sees movement at his side and turns around ready to fight.

But he finds a familiar face staring at him. And Yugyeom’s heart stops beating, because right in front of him is his father.

“Dad?” Yugyeom asks. He is not sure if this is reality or if he hit his head and now he’s dreaming.

“Gyeomie?” his father asks, with the same voice Yugyeom remembers from the past. He blinks and pinches his arm, and dam, it hurts!

“Oh my God, Yugyeom! I thought you were dead!”

His father tries to approach him, but he steps back, still not believing what he is seeing.

“This can’t be. You’re dead! You’re not my father!”

His father looks at him sadly.

“But Gyeomie, it’s me”.

Yugyeom flinches at the nickname. He remembers his father calling him like that on the past just how he has done right now. His father approaches him and this time he lets him do it. He feels the warmth of his dad when he hugs his son, and Yugyeom starts tearing a bit before hugging back.

“But how?” Yugyeom murmurs. All this time, he has believed his father was dead. But he’s alive, right there. Maybe he survived somehow? His father releases him a bit before answering.

“Some time after you left, another pack came and saved us. I tried to look for you, but you weren’t anywhere. I thought they captured you and you were dead. But you’re alive. Oh God, I’m so happy to find you”.

At that, Yugyeom frees him and stares at his father with a questioning look. Something about that story doesn’t smell good to him.

“Which pack?”

His dad stares at him before answering.

“Jeonghan’s”.

That’s it.

Yugyeom knew there was a trap. It was too easy, too good to be true.

“Dad, he is just using you. He wants to hurt Jaebum and is using us to do it”.

“That’s not true. He’s the rightful heir of the Alpha of the pack”.

“What?”

Yugyeom knows the whole story of Jaebum, and the latter wouldn’t lie to him. When Jaebum told him, he was nearly crying and Yugyeom could see that Jaebum suffered a lot.

“Jeonghan lied to you. Jaebum is the rightful heir of the Alpha, that’s why Jeonghan wants to kill him”.

“No, son. That Jaebum lied to you. He’s the one who wants to steal his position”.

“No dad, that’s not true”.

“Then why did Jaebum left if he was the successor?”

“God, dad! Jeonghan killed his family to be the Alpha! Jaebum had no option but to run away!”

“You’re wrong son. Come with me, that Jaebum has fooled you completely. Come with me, and we’ll help Jeonghan together”.

“YOU’RE THE ONE WHO IS WRONG!” his dad flinches when Yugyeom raises his voice. He is so angry. How could Jeonghan tell those lies to his dad, to put him against his own son?

“Dad, you’re the one who needs to come with me. He’s just using you. Come with me”.

His dad stares at him for a minute before answering.

“I can’t, Yugyeom. That man saved us. I refuse to think he is a bad person”.

Just then, a woman comes and tells his father that they’re leaving. His dad nods and the woman disappear.

“This is your last chance, Yugyeom. Come with me”.

Yugyeom studies him. He is really his father, but although he wants to run to him and hug him, he knows this isn’t right. Jeonghan is only using him against Jaebum, and he can’t betray his friend, buddy and role model.

“I’m sorry dad. I can’t”.

They stare at each other in silence, before his father turns around and walks away. When he’s out of his sight, he kneels down and lets the tears flow.

Shura and Jaebum are looking for him. They ended pretty well that fight. Jaebum feared that he couldn’t keep the promise to Youngjae, but the girl only got superficial cuts, nothing to worry about, same as him. Jaebum knows that the minions were only a distraction. Jeonghan isn’t planning to kill him fast. He has been playing the same game for a long time and knows the other very well. Jeonghan is still trying to find more ways to hurt him before giving him the last hit.

They find Yugyeom kneeled down and sobbing. Shura is about to run to him, but Jaebum knows better and catches her before she can approach the boy. She looks at him confused, but soon they hear a weak growl and look at Yugyeom. The boy is hugging himself, but his head is still low.

“My father is alive” he says. Jaebum and Shura stare at him. His voice is filled with something Shura can’t decipher; but she’s scared about it.

“Jeonghan is using him to get me. He’s fucking using my dad against me!” his voice is louder now, and when Yugyeom raises his head, his eyes are red of fury and is starting to change into a werewolf.

“I FUCKING HATE HIM!”

Jaebum is still hugging Shura to stop her. But she can’t let Yugyeom like that. He’s suffering and she has the impulse of helping him.

“Yugyeom, I know. But you have to calm down” Jaebum says serious.

“SHUT UP!”

Jaebum is surprised at Yugyeom’s outburst, and Shura takes this chance to escape and approach Yugyeom. When Jaebum reacts it’s already late, and it happens in front of his eyes at slow motion.

Shura tries to hug Yugyeom to stop his transformation while repeating ‘don’t let the wolf control you’, but Yugyeom at that state doesn’t listen to anything, so he sharply pushes her away, with so much strength it hurts her on the stomach. Yugyeom gets up ready to leave, and Shura uses all her willpower to get up as well and stop him. She catches his arm, and Yugyeom looks at her with eyes full of hate. Suddenly Yugyeom isn’t there, but she can feel warm blood running through her cheek and a burning sensation on her arm, where Yugyeom has hit her to free himself before giving her a cut in the cheek.

Yugyeom runs away, now half turned into a wolf, and Shura bends down, all the emotions consuming her. Jaebum watches from afar, feeling hurt to see his friends like that. But what hurts him the most is that he couldn’t keep his promise to Youngjae, and is afraid of his reaction.

Jaebum is driving home while Shura remains silent. They decided to go home and let Yugyeom alone for a while. Well, more like Jaebum decided it, because Shura is still in shock. Jaebum doesn’t mind because he’s the same. His thoughts are a mess: his partner is hurt and running somewhere, his friend is hurt as well and he’s sure Youngjae is going to hate him forever for that.

Losing Youngjae is what Jaebum fears the most. He has already lost important people, and in his new pack he thought it would be different. Then Youngjae came and turned his world upside down. The boy makes Jaebum feel a lot of things, and losing him now that he was truly living again is his worst nightmare.

“Jaebum”.

Shura wakes him up from his thoughts. He doesn’t look at her, but hums to let her know he’s listening.

“I’m sorry”.

Jaebum takes a quick look at her. She’s looking as lost as him, the blood in his face already dyed.

“Why are you sorry? I’m the one who has to be sorry. I should have put more attention to him tonight”.

“You couldn’t know what was happening. I should have stayed quiet and let him be”.

“He’ll be fine. He will come back and we’ll sort out things”.

Jaebum gives her a reassuring smile and she smiles a bit too. They remain silent until they arrive to the secret parking lot.

“Don’t tell anyone, much less Youngjae”.

Jaebum looks at her confused.

“I-I can’t. I-“

“Please. He will worry a lot and I can manage it on my own. I don’t want him to suffer too”.

And Jaebum can’t say no to that, because he also doesn’t want Youngjae to suffer; although he thinks it’s not right.

The rest of the trip is silent. When they arrive they go straight to the nursery. Jaebum helps Shura to walk because she’s weak from the hit on her stomach. When Bonnie sees her state she runs to them worriedly, and helps Jaebum placing Shura on the stretcher.

“What happened?” she asks. Jaebum and Shura look at each other before she finally replies.

“I just got into a fight”.

Luckily, Bonnie doesn’t ask anything else and hurriedly starts treating her wounds. The cuts Jaebum had aren’t visible anymore. Shura looks at him like saying ‘this is going to be the official story about what happened’, and Jaebum nods, understanding.

“Well, you’re stomach is going to hurt some time but it’s not serious. You’ll recover fast. And for your cut, it doesn’t seem deep but you have to apply this cream to cover it” Bonnie says, giving her the cream. Bonnie insists that Shura should stay the night at the nursery, but she says she’s fine and Jaebum helps her reaching his place.

“Thank you, Jaebum” Shura says before entering his house. She doesn’t want to deal with anything else for the night. Jaebum remains in front of her closed door a moment more, thinking how he’s going to deal with Youngjae when he’ll come back.

When he’s finally at his house, he waits all the night for Yugyeom in the living room. Meanwhile, he still thinks about Youngjae. He feels disappointed at himself for not being strong enough to protect Shura and fail Youngjae. He feels ashamed, so ashamed he thinks he won’t be able to look at the younger’s handsome face again. And he doesn’t want to talk to him, because if he looks at him with his puppy eyes, Jaebum is going to tell him everything and he and Shura had agreed in not telling him. But in his heart, he feels Youngjae deserves an apology.

But Jaebum is really afraid of telling Youngjae that he failed him. He’s scared the younger would throw him away from his life and never smile to him again. And it really breaks Jaebum’s heart.

It’s already morning when Yugyeom comes back. At some point, the tiredness invaded Jaebum and he fell asleep while waiting for his buddy. Yugyeom is glad Jaebum can’t see him, because he had to steal some clothes before coming back to the pack and Jaebum wouldn’t be proud of his action. Yugyeom goes to his room and showers before changing into his clothes. When he goes out, Jaebum is awake drinking some water. Yugyeom doesn’t want to talk with him, even when it’s obvious that the elder has been waiting for him all night. But Yugyeom is ashamed because he couldn’t control his inner wolf and let him out. And worst: he remembers clearly how he hurt Shura. And that is something he can’t forgive to himself.

“Yugyeom-“Jaebum starts talking, but quickly is interrupted by Yugyeom opening the door hurriedly.

“I’m sorry Jaebum, I have to go patrolling. See you”.

And he’s gone. Jaebum is staring still at the closed door and running a nervous hand through his hair, thinking how he’s going to deal with all this. There are only two days left before Youngjae and the others come back and the situation is far of being good.

Yugyeom casually finds Shura when he goes out. She’s heading to the nursery, and it only reminds Yugyeom that he is the cause of it. Shura notices him and tries to talk to him, but Yugyeom is already gone.

The day passes by, Yugyeom still avoiding both Jaebum and Shura putting excuses that he has to work or he is tired. They don’t try to pressure him, but the situation is too tense and the others are starting to notice.

There’s only one more day before Youngjae comes back, and Yugyeom is avoiding them again. Jaebum and Shura spend their time rather alone or together but without much talk. Both of them head to the nursery to check how Shura is doing. The cut is still visible, although her stomach doesn’t hurt like before.

Bonnie leaves Shura to put again her clothes and walks to Jaebum, signaling that she wants to talk with him privately. They separate a bit from where Shura is and Bonnie starts talking.

“Do you know who did this to her?”

Jaebum furrows his eyebrows. What’s with the question? Is she searching revenge?

“I mean, the cut on her cheek isn’t serious, but it should have healed by now, at least a bit. But it isn’t and I was thinking that maybe…”

Jaebum looks at her, curious. Bonnie sighs before saying:

“…maybe her mate did it?”

Jaebum is taken aback for that. He wasn’t expecting anything like that. He can’t tell her it was Yugyeom; but Bonnie has no reason to lie about the cut. Jaebum knows Shura is trying to cover it with makeup, but it only means it isn’t healing. But wait, does that mean that Yugyeom is Shura’s mate?

“Why do you think her mate did it?”

“Because when someone hurts his mate, his wounds heal slower. They are affected by the other a lot. Look, I told Namjoon long time ago he should talk to all of you about the mating issue; but he said the pack wasn’t ready yet and he needed more time. I think he should tell you now. Mating is an important issue for werewolves; you all should know the perks and flaws of being mated. But is not me who has to tell you. I’ll talk with Namjoon”.

Jaebum nods, Bonnie still looking at him a bit suspicious. Is really Yugyeom Shura’s mate? And how is he going to tell them? As the son of the Alpha of his previous pack, he knows about mating. But nobody has told Yugyeom and probably Shura either. Not everyone knows about mating, and not all the people finds their mates in his entire life.

Jaebum accompanies Shura back to her house. None of them says anything, Shura wondering how come his wounds aren’t healing quickly and Jaebum thinking if he should tell her about what Bonnie said or not. He hasn’t decided yet when they arrive at Shura’s door and he’s left alone outside, not hearing Shura’s ‘see you Jaebum’. He returns to his house still thinking about it; Yugyeom is nowhere to be seen.

He falls on the sofa lazily. Should he tell Shura and Yugyeom about the possibility of them being mates? But, aren’t they supposed to find out alone? By telling them, Jaebum thinks he is forcing the thing between them, and that idea disgusts Jaebum. But how are they going to find out if they don’t talk to each other?

Jaebum grabs his hair in frustration. He wants to help but he can’t tell Shura, Yugyeom doesn’t talk to him and he’s sure the entire pack can feel there is something wrong. And he hasn’t decided yet how he’s going to face Youngjae again. There are a lot of things inside his head that he thinks he’s going to explode.

He sighs, and leads his thoughts to another direction. He thinks about the mating thing. He remembers being told by his father that mates can sense each other when they’re separated. Mating gives strength to both parts, but if one dies by unnatural causes, the other dies too. Wounds and minor illnesses heal faster, but if one of them hurts the other the wound would heal slowly. They become really sad when they’re separated and it’s more difficult to control your inner wolf; but when you’re together you feel full and happy, you even forget that there’s a beast inside you. Before mating, you can feel all that things, but in lesser extent. To mate, one has to bite the other during sex. That way they are tied to each other, and this bond can’t be broken.

Jaebum is curious about how it happens. You already have a mate when you’re born? You can’t choose the person? Or you decide who it is through that thing people call ‘love’? Or you love the person after you mate? And can you mate a human person?

He wonders if it’s possible to live a life with a human mate. The human can also feel you? Can they have the same abilities they have when they mate? Can the said human feel the bond even before mating? And Jaebum catches himself thinking about the possibility of Youngjae being his mate.

He shakes his head, thinking that it’s impossible that a human and a werewolf can be mates. So, he can’t love Youngjae? But if he can’t, why he feels so attracted to him? Or is he mistaken his feelings?

Jaebum buries his head in his hands. Great Jaebum, if you hadn’t had enough now you have more headaches. Suddenly the door opens and Yugyeom comes in. Seeing Jaebum like that makes Yugyeom sad. When Jaebum raises his head, he knows Yugyeom is going to disappear like the other times and won’t talk to him.

But Yugyeom just closes the door and sits beside Jaebum. The older looks at him surprised, but smiles a bit at the thought that maybe the time to sort things out has come.

“Are you okay?” Yugyeom asks him.

“Yes, I’m just tired. Don’t worry about me”.

Yugyeom nods and they become silent again. Finally, the younger sighs and starts to talk.

“Jaebum, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to act like that, I was just so angry. I know I disappointed you, and the reason I’ve been avoiding you is because I felt ashamed. You’ve been always so kind to me; you’ve taught me a lot of great things. And I threw them away and acted badly. I snapped at you and hurt Shura. You’re the most important persons to me right now, but I messed up everything. I’m sorry”.

Jaebum looks at Yugyeom’s eyes, full of honesty and determination. He pats his shoulder in a comforting way and smiles a bit.

“It’s okay Gyeomie. I’m not disappointed or mad at you. And I’m sure Shura isn’t too. We were worried about you. I understand it was a complicated situation and I didn’t want to pressure you. But you could have talked to me after instead of avoiding me. I’m here for you, you know. You’re like a brother to me. I felt really useless because I couldn’t help you”.

“I know, Jaebum. I just wanted to be alone, but when I came back I just felt really bad. I didn’t not only hurt you and Shura; I bet when Youngjae comes back he’s going to totally hate me”.

“I don’t think Youngjae could hate you. He’s too sweet, you know? I don’t think he knows what ‘hate’ means”.

Yugyeom raises an eyebrow at him. When Jaebum finally realizes what he has just said, he turns his head so he’s facing the floor instead. Yugyeom gives him a small smile.

“I just made things more difficult to you now, didn’t I? Gosh I’m so sorry. I’ll explain to him that you didn’t have anything to do with it, that it was all my fault-“

“You can’t tell him” Jaebum tells him seriously, making Yugyeom shudder.

“Why not?”

“Shura made me promise I won’t tell Youngjae about what happened. So you are not going to tell him”.

Yugyeom feels a bit relieved seeing that Shura doesn’t hate him and doesn’t want others to know about his mistake. But Youngjae is her best friend. He deserves to know. And Yugyeom feels the urge to apologize to him too. He already feels bad because he knows all of this is going to have a bad effect on Youngjae’s relationship with Jaebum. The older is already having a bad time processing all that is happening, and Yugyeom doesn’t want to burden his partner more.

“But he deserves to know”.

“I know. But it’s her decision and we can’t change it. So don’t say a thing”.

“But what are going to do? I can’t just talk to him normally again, knowing I hurt his best friend”.

“I don’t know!”  Jaebum raises his voice a little, startling Yugyeom. When he sees him, he buries his head in his hands. He’s on the verge of tears, but he can’t let Yugyeom see it. The younger knows the other is having a very bad time and feels guilty, so he puts a hand on the older’s shoulder and strokes it a bit. They remain on that position for a while, in silence, before Jaebum feels he’s going to actually cry and stands up abruptly. Yugyeom understands, so he watches in silence how his friend goes to his room covering his eyes.

“I’m sorry” is the last thing Yugyeom hears before the door of Jaebum’s door closes and everything becomes silent again.

Chapter Text

Even when it’s not his power, Youngjae has a special talent to sense when something is off.

And when he comes out of the car, he knows something it’s definitely off.

Well, the awkward travel they have just experienced was a signal. But what is also a signal is the lack of friends that have come to welcome them. He finds Taehyung, Jimin and Hoseok welcoming Seokjin meanwhile Yoongi comes to greet Jungkook first. But the younger just says a weak ‘hi’ before taking his belongings and rushing to his house. Yoongi looks surprised and worried at him before glancing at Seokjin, who has seen the scene and just shakes his head. Yoongi understands that he’s not in the mood to talk, so he just lets it be and welcomes Mark and Youngjae.

Youngjae is grateful that they’re here to greet him and Mark. But there’s no Jaebum, no Yugyeom and what worries him the most: there is no Shura either.

“You’re really okay now” Bonnie says after checking Shura. Everything is normal now, the cut is gone and she starts to think that maybe she mistook the issue about her mate. But when she touched the place where the cut was, she felt something weird. She can’t say clearly what it is, but is definitely not normal.

“Thank you” Shura stands up from the stretcher and puts her clothes well.

“If you feel discomfort again come see me, but everything should be fine” Bonnie says, giving Shura a bottle with pills in case she feels bad again. Shura thanks her before going out of the nursery.

She comes where everyone is welcoming the travelers. She looks for Youngjae and Mark, and soon she finds a bunch of blond hair that is clearly Mark’s.

“Shura!” Youngjae exclaims when he sees his friend finally coming to him. He hugs her tightly.

“Jae, you’re suffocating me” she says, and Youngjae quickly frees her muttering apologies. Shura hugs Mark then.

“Where’s Jungkook?” she asks.

Youngjae and Mark look at each other, wondering if they should tell her now.

“He left first because he said he wanted to take a shower before Jin. The journey has been really tiring” Youngjae answers.

Shura mutters a small ‘ah’ before welcoming Seokjin, who tells them he’s going to rest a bit and goes to his house. And even when he was smiling, Shura knew there was something bittersweet on it.

“Where are Jaebum and Yugyeom?” Mark asks.

Shura shrugs. She hasn’t talked with Yugyeom yet and she hasn’t seen Jaebum since yesterday.

“Yugyeom is probably patrolling, and maybe Jaebum had something to do” she answers.

To Mark its fine; but Youngjae can’t hide his disappointment and he looks to the ground sadly.

“But I’m sure they will be coming by later to greet you, so don’t worry” she quickly adds seeing her friend so off.

Youngjae looks at her with eyes full of hope, and Shura prays that she isn’t wrong about what she has just said.

“Okay, let’s get home! We have a lot to tell you!”

Youngjae takes Mark and Shura by his arms and leads them home. They unpack all the things while Shura makes lunch for them. Mark comes to Youngjae’s room to talk about how they’re going to tell her about Jinyoung.

“Let me talk, but don’t worry. I’m sure she’ll understand”.

Mark nods, but still feels insecure.

“Wait, Youngjae. Can we do it tomorrow? We have just come and I’m sure you’ve missed each other a lot and have a lot to tell each other. I don’t want to mess things up this soon. We can leave it to tomorrow”.

“Are you sure?” Mark nods, and Youngjae gives him a smile. “Okay, let’s do it tomorrow!”

Youngjae closes his laptop. He’s been trying to concentrate on the university tasks, but the sensation that something is off is still there. Mark is taking a nap and Shura left for work. During lunch they talked about the things they did when they were separated. Youngjae and Mark hadn’t say anything about Jinyoung or the thing about Jungkook and Seokjin; but Youngjae is sure there is something Shura is not telling them too. She’s usually as cheerful as Youngjae, but today she seemed a bit off. And the fact that he hasn’t seen Jaebum and Yugyeom only worsens it all.

They aren’t as close as Shura and he are; but Youngjae thinks that they are close enough to want to greet each other when they come back after a week away. Especially Jaebum, with who he felt he had a special connection.

Determined to find what is going on, he gets up and comes to Jaebum’s house. He sees Yugyeom at the door, trying to open it. Youngjae calls him and Yugyeom suddenly drops the keys without having opened the door. Yugyeom’s face is full of terror, like if he has been caught doing something he is not supposed to do. Youngjae waves at him and Yugyeom’s face softens.

“Hi, Youngjae! You’re here again” he says while picking the keys from the floor.

“It seems so. How are you?”

“Fine, and you?”

“Well, I was a bit sad, you know. I didn’t see you two this morning and I felt worried”.

“Oh, eh…” Yugyeom fights a bit with the keys to make them enter the door lock, visibly nervous. Youngjae sees it but doesn’t say anything. “There’s nothing to worry about. It’s just I was out and Jaebum was probably asleep”.

Youngjae frowns. Shura said he was ‘probably doing something’, and now Yugyeom says that he was ‘probably asleep’. What version should he believe? And why are they lying to him? Hadn’t been they together these days to know what they were going to do today? And didn’t Jaebum know that he was coming today?

“Oh, I see. Can you see if he’s still asleep? I want to talk with him”.

Yugyeom opens the door, but bits his lip nervously. What should he do? Should he let Youngjae in and talk with Jaebum? But Jaebum is not in the mood and probably doesn’t want to face him now.

“Yes, I’ll be back in a minute”.

He doesn’t want to seem impolite and reject Youngjae directly, and besides the other has just asked if he can see if Jaebum is awake, not if he can come in. Yugyeom comes in and thanks Jaebum for not being in the living room where Youngjae could have seen him from outside. He knocks at Jaebum’s door and the older comes out. He’s still wearing his pajamas and he seems tired.

“What happens?” he asks lazily.

“Youngjae wants to see you”.

At this all the tiredness on Jaebum’s face disappears and is replaced by anxiety. Jaebum peeks behind Yugyeom and can see the other standing outside. He seems so lonely that Jaebum wants to take him and cuddle him forever. And maybe he would do it, but not in this circumstances. He starts to panic, and before Yugyeom can say anything Jaebum mutters a ‘tell him I’m not here’ and slams his door shut.

Yugyeom face palms himself at Jaebum’s stupidity, because he’s sure Youngjae has heard him. He sighs and comes out to see Youngjae looking at him with sad eyes.

“I’m sorry Youngjae, but Jaebum isn’t home”.

Youngjae ducks his head, and to Yugyeom he seems like an appalled puppy. He feels guilty for lying to him; but he isn’t ready to face him so soon like Jaebum.

“Maybe you can come to our house to have dinner later?” Youngjae offers.

Yugyeom already knows that they’re not going. But it feels so wrong to be rejecting Youngjae; more when he’s like that.

“I don’t think we can go. Jaebum and I have to do some errands early tomorrow”.

Youngjae sighs and Yugyeom feels his heart clenching at the sight.

“Okay. See you around. Have a nice day” Youngjae says smiling sadly. When he’s out of Yugyeom’s vision, the younger returns home and plops on the couch. Moments later Jaebum comes out and joins him. They keep looking at the ceiling like if there were the answers to all their problems.

“What are we going to do, Jaebum?”

The older doesn’t respond. He gulps, thinking about it. He nearly had a heart attack when Youngjae came before.

“When I met him I panicked, and I think he saw. And he seemed so sad, Jaebum. I had to reject him and I feel so bad… He only wanted to meet us”.

“I know but… I feel so ashamed. I promised him I was going to take care of Shura. If he finds out he’s going to hate me”.

“I think he’s going to hate both of us if he doesn’t do it already”.

They remain silent again until Jaebum sighs.

“We’re going to avoid him”.

Yugyeom looks at him, confused.

“What?”

“It’s the only solution. If we don’t talk to him we aren’t going to spill everything. And we both know we can’t act normal in front of him. He’s too smart to not know we’re pretending”.

“He’s going to hate us if we do it”.

“He’s going to hate us anyways. If he finds out, he’ll hate us. If we don’t talk to him, he’ll hate us. He’ll hate us no matter what”.

There is a pause before Yugyeom speaks again.

“I’m sorry, Jaebum. You’re going to lose Youngjae because of me”.

“Don’t be sorry. Things like that happen, and we still have each other”.

“I’m really sorry”.

Everything is quiet again until Jaebum finally says:

“I don’t deserve him anyways”.

And before Yugyeom can reply that it isn’t true, Jaebum is gone.

When Youngjae comes home again, Mark is awake eating some snacks while watching tv. Youngjae joins him, and the older offers the snacks to Youngjae who gladly accepts it.

“Where did you go?” Mark asks, eyes glued to the romantic drama on the tv.

“To Jaebum’s house” the reply comes dry, and Mark looks at him, confused.

“Something happened?”

Youngjae crosses his arms before speaking.

“I came to his house. Yugyeom was at the door and when I called his name, he looked at me like I caught him doing something bad. And he seemed nervous. Then I asked why they hadn’t come to meet us, and he said he was out and Jaebum was sleeping. Shura told us he was doing something. Isn’t it weird?”

“Well, maybe they didn’t meet each other yesterday?”

“But why? Shura said they met each other every day. Why didn’t they meet if Shura didn’t go to work?”

“Maybe Jaebum had something to do?”

“It can be” Youngjae thinks it can be true, but at the same time he feels that yesterday something happened that lead them to that situation. “But the thing didn’t stop there. I asked Yugyeom if he could see if Jaebum was awake. He came after and told me he wasn’t there; but I heard Jaebum’s voice and a door closing. And when I asked if they could come for dinner, he said both of them are doing something tomorrow”.

Mark stared at him, thinking about all the things Youngjae said. It starts to smell bad for him too.

“I think he’s avoiding me” Youngjae finally says, dejected. Mark pats his shoulder.

“C’mon Jae, maybe he was tired or naked and didn’t want you to see it. And we’ve just arrived, you can’t know if they’re avoiding you or they really have things to do”.

Youngjae looks at the floor, blushing a bit. Maybe he is exaggerating things; but the bad feeling is still there.

“Maybe it’s true. I shouldn’t think so much about it. Thank you, Mark”.

“It’s okay. And you’re going to see them at the welcoming party tomorrow anyways”.

Youngjae smiles. He totally forgot there was going to be a welcoming party for them, to celebrate the journey ended really well. At least for most of them.

“They really like parties in here. I like that” Mark finally says, and Youngjae nods at him. They fall in a comfortable silence watching the drama.

“What happened?” Yoongi asks. It’s 1AM and Seokjin, Namjoon and he are still working, revising what the newbies did at the journey and their development. Namjoon raises his head from the papers and stares at Seokjin, who continues reading papers and copying them on the computer.

“Nothing happened” he answers. Yoongi and Namjoon look at each other, knowing that there is something more Seokjin isn’t telling them.

“Then why haven’t we seen Jungkook today? He’s usually anywhere playing or running or bothering me” Namjoon says. He, like Yoongi, knows about Seokjin and Jungkook. They know the others since a long time ago, and they know when something is off with them.

“Maybe he was sleeping. He likes to sleep a lot recently” Seokjin says; but Yoongi and Namjoon aren’t convinced with that. Jungkook has always been an energetic boy. There is no way he could have stayed an entire day home resting.

“Seokjin” Namjoon says, this time in a serious tone, “seriously, what’s wrong? I’ve seen Jungkook grow up and he has never been like this. He’s been acting strange for a while now. I heard some commentaries about him being a bad guy, a cold-hearted one. And we all know he isn’t like that. Something happened that made Jungkook like this?”

Finally, Seokjin stops working and lets out a long sigh. He really doesn’t know why Jungkook is behaving like that. And why he is not telling Seokjin about it. They have done almost everything together, they have been through a lot of things; but this is the first time Seokjin feels left aside by Jungkook.

“I don’t know” he answers. “I haven’t done anything to him to be like that. And I don’t understand why people talks bad things about him. Something is wrong with him but he doesn’t let me help him”.

Silence takes the room. Seokjin trying hard not to cry, feeling all the stress and desperation he has been holding for a time now taking him. Yoongi and Namjoon stare at the ground, not knowing what to say or how to help their friends.

“We argued yesterday” Seokjin says. “I still don’t understand very well what happened, but I remember him saying something like he’s a kid and me yelling at him; and when I came to apologize he was crying, and I didn’t have the guts to talk to him. And he’s been ignoring me since then. He eats when I’m not home so we don’t have to see each other and he has his door closed all the time. When I knock he doesn’t answer. I know that he’s there because I can hear him doing things in his room. I don’t know what to do”.

Seokjin covers his eyes with his hands so the others can’t see him. Namjoon and Yoongi look at each other, searching for something to tell Seokjin to reassure him everything is okay. But nothing comes to them because nothing is right.

“Seokjin” Namjoon says lowly, “you can go home now and rest. I’ll take you out some tasks so you can stay home with Jungkook and talk with him”.

“No” Seokjin says, discovering his eyes. They’re red and puffy, and Yoongi can tell the man is tired. “He’s not going to talk to me anyways. I need you to put more work on me so I can be out and think what I have done wrong to him”.

“But Seokjin, that’s not the way” Yoongi says.

“Please, Namjoon. Do it, I need to clear my mind”.

“With more work?” Namjoon asks, raising an eyebrow. Seokjin nods, his eyes pleading to him.

Yoongi looks at the leader and shakes his head, telling him with his mouth to not give him what he wants. Namjoon doesn’t know what to do. Letting Seokjin do more work and not be with Jungkook isn’t right, but it’s what Seokjin wants.

“I’ll think about it” Namjoon finally says, and Yoongi looks at him, disappointed. “But for today go home and rest”.

Seokjin nods and stands up. When he closes the door, Yoongi turns to Namjoon, visibly mad.

“You can’t give Seokjin more work. They have to talk and sort things out”.

“I know, Yoongi. But is what he wants. You know Jungkook, he’s so stubborn. If he doesn’t want to talk with Seokjin he’s not going to do it even if Seokjin breaks his door with an axe. And I’m sure he doesn’t want to talk to us either. For the moment let’s just see how it goes and think a way to help them”.

Yoongi accepts it. He knows what Namjoon said is true. They continue working in silence.

“I can’t believe that there was coming a day when Jungkook and Seokjin wouldn’t be talking to each other. It seemed impossible”.

Namjoon hums in response, totally agreeing with Yoongi.

“Me neither”.

When Seokjin enters the house, everything is quiet and dark. He picks a bottle of wine that someone gave him for his birthday, opens it and takes a long sip. Seokjin doesn’t drink often; but with the situation like that, to him drinking is a way to relieve stress. He tosses his jacket somewhere and sits in front of Jungkook’s room, his back glued to the door. He can’t hear anything inside, so the younger must be sleeping. Seokjin takes another sip, and nearly spills it out. It doesn’t taste really good, but Seokjin needs the alcohol in his body. He leaves the bottle on the floor and stares at the ceiling, thinking about the good times when Jungkook and he were happy. When they were together and not avoiding each other, and wonders what had he done to make the younger like that.

After a while, he hides the bottle somewhere in the kitchen and goes to his room, tiredness taking his body and leading him to sleep. The alcohol makes it easier for Seokjin, and he’s glad by it. He can sleep in peace without thinking about how much his heart hurts.

Youngjae wakes up in the morning full of hope. There is no way Jaebum isn’t going to the party. He’s pretty popular and important inside the pack, so his presence is required. Youngjae isn’t going to come to his house again, he’s going to wait. He’s the first one to wake up, so he makes breakfast. Mark and Shura come out when it’s already made, and they eat calmly.

During it, Shura mentions that she has made a new friend at work. She says his new friend is kind but a bit sad, and Youngjae pouts, asking her if that boy is going to replace him as her best friend. Shura tells him that’s impossible to replace him, Mark agreeing to her, and Youngjae’s smile brightens everyone’s day.

Youngjae still thinks something is off with her. When he tries to talk to her about Mark and Jinyoung, she tells him she’s going early to work and to talk later. Youngjae nods and lets her be, but her nervousness doesn’t go unnoticed by him.

Jungkook wakes up in the morning only to find Seokjin’s jacket tossed carelessly at the sofa. Jungkook picks it and places it on the coat rack. When he’s searching for something to eat, he notices that something has been moved, but he can’t tell what it is. He shrugs at it, and he barely has time to come back to his room when Seokjin comes out of his. He glances at him before closing the door loudly. Seokjin sighs heavily and goes out, skipping his meal.

Jungkook opens his door a little, and notices that everything is on its place, meaning that Seokjin hasn’t eaten anything.  Even when he’s avoiding the other, he cares about him, so he makes a sandwich and some coffee and calls Taehyung to give it to Seokjin. The other asks him why doesn’t he go instead, but when Jungkook looks at him so helpless, Taehyung shuts his mouth and does as he’s told.

Yoongi is the one who receives Taehyung. He looks a bit dejected because the breakfast wasn’t for him, but the fact that Jungkook did it for Seokjin makes him a bit happy. Yoongi jokes about Taehyun making breakfast for him, and the younger shrugs it off before going home.

Seokjin is surprised when Yoongi tells him that Jungkook made it for him. At first, he thinks his friend did it, but he couldn’t know that Seokjin didn’t eat breakfast. That makes Seokjin’s day a bit better, and he wishes it will remain like that.

Shura, Mark and Youngjae arrive early at the dinner. They sit at the same table with his friends Jimin, Hoseok and Taehyung who were already there. Shura sits at the end of the table, Youngjae sitting by his side and Mark leaves a free seat between Youngjae and him for Jaebum. They leave the other side of Shura for Jungkook to sit.

Youngjae’s hopes of seeing Jaebum and talking to him falls when the latter chooses to sit at the other side of the table instead of sitting by his side, Yugyeom following him. Yugyeom isn’t sitting near Shura, which is also strange, and they keep stealing glances at each other nervously. Jaebum doesn’t even look at him, and Youngjae can feel his heart breaking into pieces. Seokjin takes a seat besides Mark, meanwhile Yoongi sits beside Taehyung and Namjoon sits at the other end of the table with Bonnie. Jungkook is the last to arrive, sitting beside Shura and talking to her normally. But when Seokjin interferes in the conversation, Jungkook turns his head to the other side and pretends not to hear him.

Youngjae wants to say something to Jaebum, but the other only talks with Yugyeom. Mark looks at him asking what is happening, and Youngjae mutters an ‘I don’t know’. Everything seems so out of place, Youngjae wants to run far away and only return when things come back to normal. But he decides to stay and stare at Jaebum to see if the older finally notices him, unsuccessfully.

It’s the weirdest and most uncomfortable dinner Youngjae has ever had. Jungkook isn’t talking to Seokjin, Yugyeom isn’t talking to Shura and Jaebum is ignoring him. There is no doubt something happened when they were away, and the fact that no one told Youngjae is starting to make him angry. He leaves the first, surprising almost everyone. Mark goes with him, the tension suffocating him. Shura and Jungkook leave then, but when she asks what’s wrong with Seokjin, Jungkook doesn’t want to talk about it. Jaebum and Yugyeom leave then, walking in silence to their shared house, starting to regret their decision to ignore Youngjae. Everyone leaves except Seokjin, who busies himself cleaning everything to avoid thinking how his day ended so badly.

Jaebum can’t sleep. He sits on the bed looking through the window, the moon lighting his room. He has his arms hugging his knees, and sometimes he hides his head there. The shame he felt a few days ago replaced by remorse. He thought avoiding Youngjae was going to prevent the younger from being hurt. But in the end, Jaebum still did it. That was one of the reasons why Jaebum didn’t want to like Youngjae: because all the people he loved ended hurt because of him. Jaebum hates himself for being a magnet for bad luck. And the last thing he wanted was to also be the one breaking Youngjae’s beautiful smile.

“Why cannot I be normal?” Jaebum asks himself softly.

The mistake he did in the past is still hunting him. He knows he has to end it soon. But it has lasted so long, Jaebum is not sure he can actually do it. He doesn’t have the strength to do it. He’s a coward. And it’s another reason why he doesn’t deserve to be loved.

The next day, Youngjae ignores everyone, including Mark. He knows the older is innocent, but he feels angry with the world, and isn’t in the mood to talk. So before he could hurt Mark with harsh words, he remains silent. He cooks for them, but doesn’t say a word. Mark doesn’t have a problem with it; he’s used to the silence. And honestly, he’s starting to be annoyed by his friends’ behavior towards Youngjae. But Shura isn’t used to Youngjae’s silence. She doesn’t say anything, knowing her best friend is mad.

In the afternoon, Mark decides to go out for a walk, feeling all the tension between the two friends. Youngjae and Shura sit on the couch and watch the television in silence. Suddenly their doorbell rings and Shura stands up to open the door.

“Hi” Yugyeom says awkwardly. He has spent all the night thinking about this, but he feels he has taken the right decision.

“Hi” Shura says.

“Can I talk to you for a moment? Is Youngjae in?”

“Yes, of course. Come in”.

Yugyeom enters and Youngjae gives him a little nod, and the younger understands the other is mad. He sits on the armchair, Shura taking the seat on the couch next to Youngjae. They stare at each other for a moment, before Yugyeom clears his throat.

“I wanted to talk to the both of you about what happened” Shura looks at him, panicked. For a moment Yugyeom loses his courage, but Youngjae stares at him with eyes full of interest and hope, and regains the strength again. “Sorry Shura, I know Jaebum promised to keep the secret, but I can’t continue with this situation. I hope you understand”.

Shura sighs, but nods to him, approving what Yugyeom is about to do.

“Few nights ago we went to the fight club” Yugyeom continues, “and we got involved in a fight. I was so angry I lost control over my inner wolf. Shura tried to stop my transformation but I couldn’t control it, so I hurt her. I’m sorry Shura, I didn’t mean it”.

Youngjae, who was hugging a cushion while listening to the story, holds it tighter. Yugyeom is anticipating the cushion hitting him, but instead he only hears Youngjae sigh. He turns to Shura.

“Are you okay? And why didn’t you tell me? I would have understood”.

“Yes, I’m fine now. I didn’t tell you because you would worry a lot and it was really nothing”.

“But I wanted to know”.

“Please don’t argue” Yugyeom suddenly says, and both stare at him. “All of this is my fault. I’m sorry, to both of you. But please Youngjae don’t be mad with Jaebum. He’s really bad talking about his feelings, but he feels ashamed because he broke the promise he did to you. He thought you would hate him. Please don’t hate him. Maybe he doesn’t show it, but he cares about you a lot”.

Hearing this Youngjae blushes a bit. He knows what the younger is saying is true, that he feels sorry. He can’t be mad with Yugyeom; he knows he didn’t do it on purpose. And moreover he’s the one finally telling him what happened. He can’t be mad at Shura for worrying about him, but he still feels a bit annoyed that she didn’t tell him.

And knowing that Jaebum cares for him a lot, he can’t be mad at him too.

“I wasn’t mad at any of you for what happened” Youngjae says. “I’ve seen Shura losing control. Maybe I’m not one of you, but it doesn’t mean I can’t understand what you feel. Yugyeom, there’s nothing to apologize. You did a mistake but you have acknowledged it. And you had the courage to tell me when no one did, and even when you thought I could be mad at you” he takes Yugyeom’s hand and gives him a little squeeze, earning a smile from the younger. With his other hand, he holds Shura’s. “And Shura, I was mad at you for not telling me. But you were thinking of me when you decided not to do it, so I can’t be mad at you either”. Shura smiles at him before hugging him. Yugyeom looks at them happy, until Shura pulls his arm making him join the hug.

“Are we fine now?” Yugyeom asks while looking at Shura. She smiles at him before saying:

“Yes, we are”.

Jaebum is washing the dishes when he hears the doorbell. He finishes before going to the door and peeking through the peephole. Outside is Youngjae, waiting for someone to open it. Jaebum is torn between doing it or not, and he’s already holding the doorknob when he hears Youngjae speaking.

“Jaebum, I know you’re there. It’s okay if you don’t open the door. I’ll talk anyways”.

There is a pause, Jaebum’s heart clenching in anticipation for what Youngjae is going to say.

“Yugyeom told me everything” Jaebum curses lowly, wanting to dig a hole and hide in it forever. “I don’t hate you for it. Look, the promise we made was more symbolic than anything. We can’t control Shura. She decided to go to Yugyeom, and we couldn’t do anything to change that. You didn’t have to keep it strictly. But I’m glad to know it was important to you to do so”.

Jaebum is speechless. So, Youngjae doesn’t hate him? He’s still thinking about opening the door or not, when Youngjae talks again.

“I was really mad at you for avoiding me. I felt hurt” at this, Jaebum’s heart starts to break. He knew it, but hearing the younger saying it is painfully hard. “But then Yugyeom came and told me everything. And for a moment I got angrier at you, because he’s the one at fault but he still came to tell me, meanwhile you avoided me like the plague. But he told me you’re bad expressing your feelings. He said you were ashamed you broke the promise, but you care a lot about me” Jaebum wants to fucking kill Yugyeom for saying that ‘a lot’.

Youngjae takes a deep breath before continuing.

“I can’t be mad at you knowing that. Jaebum, I don’t care about the promise. I only wanted you to talk to me. I thought we were friends, but Shura and you chose to hide it from me. Please, don’t do that again. Don’t ignore me like that. I also care a lot about you, so please, stop avoiding me. It doesn’t have to be right now. But please…do it”.

Silence falls between the two. Jaebum looks again through the peephole and sees Youngjae starting to leave. All his doubts fade away when he turns the doorknob and comes out from the house. Without thinking about it twice, he takes Youngjae by the arm and hugs him tightly. This catches Youngjae off ward, but soon he’s returning the hug.

“I’m sorry Youngjae” Jaebum says, still holding the younger. “I’m not going to do it again. Please forgive me. I’m sorry I hurt you”.

Youngjae smiles and caresses Jaebum’s back in a tenderly way.

“It’s okay Jaebum, I forgive you, don’t worry”.

They remain like that for a while, before Jaebum breaks it and Youngjae invites him to come to his house with Shura and Yugyeom. He accepts, suddenly feeling strong again. He acknowledges the fact that Youngjae won’t let him go, so he has to deal with it and become stronger so the younger won’t be hurt again.

For the first time in a long time, Jaebum feels like he deserves to be loved. And he’s going to give his best for Youngjae, to make the younger feel all the love and gratitude Jaebum has towards him.

An hour later, Jaebum and Yugyeom come back to their house. Shura goes to change before going to work for a short shift and Youngjae only rests on the couch. Suddenly Shura comes out for her room in a hurry, talking on the phone while looking for the keys of the car Seokjin lent to them.

“Is everything okay?” he asks when Shura ends the call.

“My friend Jinyoung is in trouble and I have to help him”.

At the mention of the name, Youngjae stands up and takes her by the arm before he comes out of the house.

“Have you said Jinyoung? Park Jinyoung? Tall, dark hair and beautiful smile?”

Shura looks at him confused, but nods.

“Do you know him?”

Youngjae starts to fear for him, so he quickly grabs Shura and drags her to the car.

“I’ll tell you on the way, but we have to hurry. It’s urgent”.

Shura obeys, both of them practically running to the park lot.

Chapter Text

Park Jinyoung had everything in his life: caring family, good friends, excellent grades… He was happy with all of that. Jinyoung was always a nice and kind person. He was always smiling to everyone and never felt sad.

After ending his career he obtained a job at a secret agency that was searching for young criminalists to join them in a special investigation. Jinyoung agreed, thinking that maybe in there he would know why he had those strange powers.

Jinyoung could heal people. He had only healed little injuries and wounds, but he didn’t know why it was happening. He didn’t tell anyone from his family or his friends. He kept it to himself, so he accepted the job to obtain more information.

The first day he went to the company, he was lost. He couldn’t find the place where he was supposed to have a talk with the boss, but he had previewed that something like that would happen, so he left an hour before. Feeling overwhelmed with the situation, he decided to exit to a terrace to catch some air. He leaned onto the wall and rested there for some minutes until he saw a figure siting on the edge of the terrace. The person was dressed all in black and had a hood put on. Jinyoung walked loudly to the stranger so he would know he was coming and prevent him to fall off the edge.

“Excuse me” he said when he almost reached the person.

The figure turned to his direction and Jinyoung stopped walking. It was a boy around his age with blond hair and brown wonderful eyes. He was eating a lollipop and gave Jinyoung an annoyed gaze.

“What do you want?” the other blurted out.

Jinyoung forgot how to speak for a moment. He was absolutely dazzled by the guy’s features. Jinyoung was handsome, with dark hair and plump lips; but that boy was absolutely gorgeous. And rude.

“Oh, I’m sorry…” Jinyoung said, “I’m new in here and just wanted to know where the boss office is”.

The other male stared at him. Jinyoung was starting to feel intimidated.

“Don’t mind. Sorry for bothering you” he said while turning to the door.

The boy murmured something and stood up. He caught Jinyoung’s arm and dragged him inside.

“I’ll lead you” he said while walking through the corridors.

“Uh, thank you. My name is Park Jinyoung, nice to meet you”.

The other took a quick vision of him and Jinyoung felt shivers on his spine.

“Mark Tuan” was all he said.

“Are you foreigner?” Mark simply nodded. They remained silent the rest of the way until they reached the boss office.

“There he is. Bye” Mark said. He was walking away when Jinyoung talked to him.

“Thank you again, Mark Tuan! See you around!”

Mark kept walking and Jinyoung entered the office.

When he reached the first corner, Mark leaned onto the wall and started to breath heavily. He started to feel strange. No one in the office talked to him more than necessary, but that guy even tried to have a talk with him. He remembered the encounter and smiled for no reason.

After the talk, Jinyoung’s boss took him to the office where he was going to work. There were at least six persons in there occupying various desks. His boss pointed an empty one and Jinyoung understood that it was his place now. Then he clapped his hands obtaining everyone’s attention.

“Good morning everyone! This is our new employee, Mr. Park Jinyoung. Please be nice with him and help him with anything he needs”.

Everyone welcomed him and when the boss left the office, all returned to their spots. Jinyoung sat on his desk and turned on the pc. He took some reports his boss gave him to start working and was reading them when he heard a familiar voice.

“Here are your tasks for the week” Mark said holding some folders and giving them to the employees.

Jinyoung observed him discretely. Mark was still wearing the hood and was distributing the folders with a sad expression. Finally he turned to Jinyoung’s direction and offered the folder to him.

Jinyoung smiled gently while accepting it.

“Thank you, Mark”.

The other simply nodded and turned, but then he faced Jinyoung again and murmured a ‘welcome Jinyoung’ before leaving and sitting on his desk.

Their spots weren’t far from each other. During the day, Jinyoung kept glancing slightly at Mark. For some reason, he was happy that Mark at least remembered his name. For his temper before, Jinyoung thought the other would forget him quickly. Jinyoung realized that Mark’s desk was the only one without a pc and wondered why, but he didn’t stop writing all day and organizing papers.

When it was launch time, the young woman next to Jinyoung told everyone to go to the cafeteria and have launch together. Everyone agreed and she asked Jinyoung to go there too. Jinyoung refused the offer because he wanted to organize all the things on his desk and he had already a lunch box made by himself. The woman nodded a bit sad but left him anyways. Jinyoung sat and took his lunch box when he noticed another person still on the office.

Mark was quiet at his spot. He was playing with a pen, his face a bit serious and sad. Jinyoung wondered why he didn’t go with the others. A few minutes passed and Mark hadn’t eaten anything. Jinyoung thought that maybe Mark forgot his lunch box so he stood up and walked to Mark’s desk. When he arrived there he placed his lunch box in front of Mark and he gave the younger a confused look.

“I’ll share if you don’t have launch” he said, smiling at the other.

Mark looked at the food, then at Jinyoung and again to the lunch box. The food really looked delicious, so he nodded and Jinyoung took a chair and brought it opposite Mark. They both started eating without saying anything; Mark wondering why Jinyoung was so nice to him and the latter thinking of something to talk with Mark.

Jinyoung wanted to be closer with Mark. They were the younger ones in the office and Jinyoung wanted Mark to help him like he did on the morning. The latter gave him a good vibe and Jinyoung was determined to speak with Mark.

In the end they talked about each other, mostly Jinyoung, but he learned that Mark was Taiwanese and a year older than him. Mark didn’t talk much, and when they finished he didn’t even say thank you to him, but it didn’t bothered Jinyoung either.

They continued like that for six days. Mark never brought any lunch, and Jinyoung always shared his but gained a talk with the older. With the days, Mark became more open and gentle towards Jinyoung but still serious and insecure about it.

A week had passed since Jinyoung was hired and today Mark was absent for work. Jinyoung was worried about him. He asked everyone in the office about him but they only shrugged their shoulders without answering him and it bothered Jinyoung. Why was everyone so cold towards Mark? He was serious all the time, but when he talked with Jinyoung he was nice and sometimes he even smiled a bit.

It was launch time and Mark wasn’t there yet. Everyone left the office to have launch except Jinyoung. He waited for Mark, but when he realized he wasn’t coming he ate half of his lunch and placed the other half on Mark’s desk a bit hidden in case someone stole it.

The next day Mark wasn’t there again. Jinyoung was a bit sad because he and Mark were starting to get along well and he was kind of missing him. He went to his spot and placed his backpack on the floor. He took his things out and opened the drawer to get some papers when he found his lunch box from yesterday cleaned. He picked it and found a sticky note inside it saying ‘thank you J’. He immediately glanced at Mark spot and froze when he saw Mark there, sitting on his chair while smiling widely at him.

It was the first time Jinyoung saw Mark’s smile, and he knew he wouldn’t forget it. His smile was dazzling, with canine teeth and bright eyes adorning his wonderful face. Jinyoung gulped and smiled back at him.

Later that day he was requested by his boss to go to his office. He offered Jinyoung a sit and he sat in front of him.

“Mr. Park, I’m happy to tell you that we watched you this week working to test your skills and we are amazed by it. Congratulations!”

His boss offered his hand and Jinyoung took it a bit confused. He wasn’t expecting anyone testing him after he got hired, like if they were questioning Jinyoung’s ability when he had already a degree.

“Thank you, sir” he responded, nevertheless.

“Now, it’s time to tell you about our real investigation”, his boss turned the computer screen to him. It showed some images from different cameras. His boss pressed a button and the images started moving. They were images of something like a clinic, persons lying on tables and some surgeons and medics doing analysis and other things to them.

“I’m sure you’ve heard about werewolves”, his boss continued; Jinyoung’s eyes fixed on the screen, “maybe this sounds crazy, but they exist and are between us. We are investigating them. If they are dangerous to us, we need to know how to defend ourselves”.

Jinyoung was confused. The images were a bit shocking to him. The persons in there really seemed like subjects of experiments. And they were suffering. Jinyoung’s heart clenched seeing their suffering. He was a sensitive person; he grabbed the fabric of his pants tightly.

His boss saw the disbelief on Jinyoung’s face and pressed another button. There was a girl who was shaking and growling in pain. A few moments later he turned onto a wolf and attacked a man. Some people approached her and kicked her with something, making her cry in pain and lie on the floor.

Jinyoung was about to cry. Those images really shocked him and he didn’t know if he was going to be able to work with people who were causing such pain to the unprotected ones.

“Jinyoung”, his boss called him, “I hope you understand that this is essential to discover who they are and stop them for hurting us”.

Jinyoung was about to say that they were the ones causing pain, when the images changed and there were the cameras again. Then he spotted some blond hair and he stopped breathing. He observed how a man took a weak Mark by his arm and dragged him to a chair where a surgeon took a scalpel and cut Mark with it. The video didn’t have sound, but Jinyoung could imagine Mark’s scream, and he actually could see Mark’s suffering face. His heart clenched and his blood started to boil inside him from anger.

Jinyoung glanced at his boss and nodded.

“Great. Now you will continue working with us. We trust you, Jinyoung”.

“I just want to help” he said.

His boss nodded and let Jinyoung go with a smile. On his way to the office, Jinyoung went to the restroom and locked himself in. He finally let his tears fall while covering his mouth with his hand to not make any sound.

He didn’t want to stay, but he couldn’t go. He needed information about them and besides he just knew Mark was a werewolf. In another situation, he wouldn’t have believed it; but he had strange powers too. That people hurt Mark and a lot of different persons like him. Jinyoung couldn’t stand it.

But he couldn’t leave Mark there alone. He couldn’t let them hurt him again, so Jinyoung decided to stay.

After that, Jinyoung tried to be closer with Mark, and he succeeded. The older started to talk with him when they were having lunch and he even smiled a couple of times. But for those times, Jinyoung was already addicted. He needed that smile every day to enlighten his day, his life. Sometimes Jinyoung wondered why his smile had that effect on him, until it wasn’t only his smile. Everything about Mark fascinated Jinyoung and he was craving badly for more.

It was June when it started to get warm, so Jinyoung asked Mark to have lunch outside. Mark nodded and they went to the terrace when they first met, and surprisingly, it was Mark who suggested that place. When they finished they had some more minutes before their break had to end. They were looking at the sky when suddenly Mark talked.

“Jinyoung, I’ve never thanked you properly for sharing your launch with me”.

Jinyoung stared at the other and smiled to him.

“You don’t have to. But I wonder why you don’t have lunch. Are you trying to slim down? But you’re on a good condition…”

Mark hesitated and bit his lip. Jinyoung tried to not stare at his lip so he focused on Mark’s gaze.

“It’s not like that. It’s just…I don’t want to have it”.

Jinyoung was about to ask why, but then he saw tears started to form on Mark’s eyes.

“Mark, are you okay?”

Mark nodded, but it didn’t convince Jinyoung, so he put his hand on Mark’s back and massaged it a bit. Mark just let him do it during some time before he finally faced Jinyoung and stared at his eyes.

“I’m a monster, Jinyoung”.

He covered his eyes with his hands and Jinyoung knew he was finally crying.

“I don’t deserve your kindness”.

Jinyoung stopped caressing Mark’s back and looked at him, not understanding why he was a monster.

“Mark”.

The other ignored him.

“I know what you are”.

Mark stopped sobbing, but continued hiding his face.

“You’re not a monster”.

Mark removed his hands a bit, letting Jinyoung see his teary eyes. Jinyoung looked at him with a peaceful face. He kept staring at him until Mark removed his hands from his face completely.

“Aren’t you afraid of me?” he asked.

Jinyoung shook his head and smiled at him gently. He put his hand on Mark’s shoulder before pulling him into a hug.

Mark was surprised by the sudden action, but he let himself go in the hug. He started sobbing again against Jinyoung’s chest. He caressed his back while stroking his hair a bit. Mark’s hair was fluffy and soft. He didn’t mind his shirt getting wet; all that mattered to him was calming Mark and letting him know he was there for him.

“Mark, you’re not a monster. I know you only for a month, but I can see you are a good person. Maybe you’re a bit cold towards the others, but I’ve seen the kind side of you and I like you for who you are, not for what you are”.

Jinyoung continued complimenting him until Mark finally relaxed on his arms. He didn’t want to talk with him about what he saw in his boss office, but he was still decided to help Mark and make him happy. He understood Mark’s cold attitude towards the others and why at first he was hesitant to trust Jinyoung. Mark probably thought he was going to despise him, and Jinyoung couldn’t blame him. They treated Mark like he wasn’t a person or an animal, just what Mark had said he was: a monster. So he eventually believed it. But Jinyoung could see that Mark’s heart was hurt but gentle, and he hated that agency more for making Mark feel like shit and forcing him to believe he wasn’t normal.

“Thank you, Jinyoung” Mark whispered against his chest. Jinyoung stared at him and smiled.

“Do you feel better?”

Mark nodded and removed from Jinyoung’s embrace.

“Do you still want to be my friend?”

Jinyoung’s eyes met Mark’s and Jinyoung felt shivers through his spine.

“More than ever”.

Since that day they became inseparable. They didn’t spend together only launch time, also any free time they had and they kept glancing and occasionally smiling at each other along the day. Jinyoung felt like Mark finally let himself go and now that he felt secure trusting Jinyoung, he could finally expose his true self. Jinyoung couldn’t deny he was happy about that. He knew he was attracted to Mark from the beginning and now that they became friends he felt blissful.

Four months had passed when Mark and Jinyoung were having his launch together at the terrace where they met. It was still warm outside so they kept going there; plus, they wanted more privacy.

Jinyoung was immersed telling Mark an incredible adventure he had with his friends Jackson and Bambam. While speaking, Jinyoung was gesturing a lot, making Mark laugh. Jinyoung discovered it few months ago and it became his favorite song since then. Mark tried to eat but then Jinyoung made a funny face and Mark bit his lip hard unintentionally. His lip started to bleed and Jinyoung stopped talking to look at him pale.

Mark touched the cut lightly with his hand, but Jinyoung took it without thinking and placed his other hand on Mark cheek. The elder jumped a bit for the sudden action, but Jinyoung’s hand felt warm and soft against his skin. Jinyoung touched Mark’s injury with one finger, and Mark’s heart started to beat faster.

Suddenly Mark felt the little pain go away, and when Jinyoung removed his hand from Mark’s face, the other still holding Mark, he touched his own lip, but there wasn’t any cut. He touched his face with both hands, incredulous. Then he stared at Jinyoung.

Jinyoung was staring at him, his face pale and worried. He healed Mark without thinking. The moment he saw blood on Mark’s face, his body decided to act without his brain’s permission. His secret was exposed to Mark and he felt like dying.

“I can explain, Mark” he said, without the other really questioning him. Mark was curious about it but he wasn’t afraid.

Jinyoung sighed before speaking, avoiding Mark’s gaze.

“I can heal people” he whispered, so low he wondered if Mark actually heard it.

But Mark had heard it and nodded. How could he not believe Jinyoung’s powers when he was a werewolf? But it worried Mark, because if Jinyoung was different, then the agency could find out and do horrible things to him like they did to him. And Mark couldn’t let that happen.

Jinyoung was his only and best friend. He was a person Mark wanted to see happy every day. Jinyoung had a huge heart and was so nice Mark felt like he was happy only being by his side.

“How many people know that?” he asked.

Jinyoung finally stared at Mark.

“Only you” he said, blushing a bit.

Mark couldn’t believe he was the only one knowing about Jinyoung. He had a family and friends, but he didn’t tell anyone but him. His heart skipped a bit as he tried to hide the smile that was forming on his face.

They didn’t say anything for a few moments. Mark just stared at the sky and Jinyoung stared at him, wondering if the elder was scared of him or something.

“You’re amazing, Jinyoung” Mark suddenly said, scaring him a bit.

Jinyoung blushed. It was probably the first time Mark had complimented him.

“No, I’m not. I just have random powers and I’m weird”.

Mark smiled, not looking at Jinyoung; but his eyes had disappeared turning into two crescent moons, giving Jinyoung the best eye smile he had ever seen.

“You’re not weird. Well, at first I thought you were because you were talking to me while I was such an outcast. But you’ll never stop surprising me. First talking to me when I was rude to you; then sharing your lunch after the way I treated you, and you kept doing that even when I didn’t thank you. At that point I thought you were stupid for doing something like that”.

“Hey!” Jinyoung pouted while poking Mark a bit.

“But when I looked at you, you seemed so genuine I knew you were doing it because you’re nice people. And that surprised me, too. I’m not used to good cares, you’ve seen it” Mark smiled sadly and Jinyoung felt the urge to hug him, but he held himself. “But you came and changed my world. You made me believe in humanity again”.

“Mark…” Jinyoung put his hand on top of Mark’s, the other staring at him still with bittersweet eyes, “I don’t regret meeting you. Never. I’ve never met someone like you, and I’m glad you gave me the chance to get to know more of you every day. You make days in here a lot better”.

Mark was blushing hard as he tried to hide his embarrassment from Jinyoung; the younger smiling at him. When he calmed himself, he grinned at Jinyoung.

“I don’t regret that either. You’re the best person I’ve ever known, and now I know you have an amazing power. You can heal people, Jinyoung! That’s wonderful. I wish I had a power like that, but I’m only a werewolf”.

“A handsome one” Jinyoung pointed.

Mark slapped him on the arm sightly, and Jinyoung pretended to be deeply hurt. Mark laughed and hit him again, Jinyoung still pretending until Mark finally pulled him into a hug. They stayed like that for a while, feeling each other warmth and love.

“Hey, Jinyoung” Mark said, “you know, maybe we are different. But we’re special anyways”.

Jinyoung nodded against Mark’s chest.

If only you knew how special you are to me.

It’s been like a year since Jinyoung and Mark met. It was Sunday evening and Jinyoung’s friends came to his house for a visit. He lived alone in an apartment while his friends lived on the other side of the city. They didn’t meet usually due to their jobs or studies. They were eating pizza while watching some movies. Bambam was sprawled on the couch while Jackson and Jinyoung were on the floor. Jinyoung wanted Mark to meet his friends, but he knew the older was under the agency’s watch and couldn’t go anywhere. Just another thing Jinyoung hated about his current job.

“Hey, Jinyoung.” Bambam suddenly said. “You’re always talking about this Mark, but it has been a time and we haven’t met him yet”.

Jackson agreed with him and both stared at Jinyoung. He didn’t know what to say, he couldn’t tell his friends the truth about Mark. He hadn’t told the elder all the truth either.

“Yeah, that’s true” Jackson said. “I’m starting to think that he doesn’t exist”.

“He does exist. It’s just that he can’t go out because his family is overprotective” he lied. He felt bad for lying to his friends but it was necessary.

Jackson let it go, but Bambam frowned and stared at him like he could choke Jinyoung with the Force.

“I don’t believe you” Jinyoung started to panic, until the younger continued speaking “show us a photo!”

Jinyoung sighed in relief. Mobile phones in his office were controlled and only used if necessary; but Jinyoung managed to take at least few photos of Mark.

Well, maybe he liked Mark a bit too much.

Maybe he fell for him.

He searched through his phone for Mark’s photo. He refused to show it to his friends, but that night Bambam was so stubborn he didn’t have a chance. When he found his super-secret folder, he opened the first photo he took of Mark and showed it to his friends.

Both of them stared at it. It was a photo of Mark sitting on the terrace. The photo only showed a side of his face, but you could tell the boy was handsome. He had his hood on and was smiling while looking at the front, unaware of Jinyoung taking a picture of him.

“He does exist” Jackson said.

“He’s handsome” Bambam admitted.

For some reason Jinyoung felt proud, like he was showing his friends his wonderful boyfriend. Suddenly Jackson took the phone from Jinyoung’s hand and touched the screen.

“Woah, look how Jinyoung named it!” he showed the phone to the younger one and he could clearly read ‘Markiee <3’ as the tittle of Mark’s photo. Jinyoung watched it in terror and tried to get his phone back, but Jackson was stronger than him. With only one arm he was pushing Jinyoung aside while his other hand was touching the screen.

“He even saves Mark’s pictures on a secret folder! And they are all named the same!” at that point his friends were laughing hard at him while he was embarrassed like hell. I’m going to kill them!

“Cute Markiee eating, cute Markiee sleeping, handsome Markiee, Markiee being hot as-“  Jackson was reading the names of the pictures when Jinyoung slapped him hard on his chest. Jackson coughed a bit but started laughing like a hyena anyways. Jinyoung got his phone back and hid it as if it was the most precious thing in the world.

“You’ve embarrassed me enough” he said, a bit annoyed “I don’t know why I’m still friends with you”.

“Jinyoungiee, don’t be mad at us pleasee” Bambam said putting a cute face; Jackson doing it too.

Jinyoung couldn’t resist the amount of cuteness on the room and sighed before saying ‘okay’. Then the two guys struggled to hug him and the three of them ended tangled on the floor.

Maybe they were crazy; but happy anyways.

The next day Jinyoung woke up late. His friends went home last night and he had to clean everything before sleeping. He had troubles with his sleeping, thinking about Mark. They had been friends for a year and they were open to each other. However, Mark never said anything about liking boys or girls, but Jinyoung knew it was quite impossible since he didn’t talk to anyone besides him.

His phone died and that’s why his alarm didn’t ring and he was late for work. When he arrived, he apologized and went to his desk to work. Mark wasn’t there and Jinyoung frowned. There were days Mark went outside for work, but he always told Jinyoung first. But Mark didn’t say anything about that day.

“Hey, Tzuyu” Jinyoung called the young lady sitting on the desk besides Jinyoung’s, “have you seen Mark?”

Tzuyu frowned a bit and that annoyed Jinyoung; but he remained silent like the gentleman he was.

“The boss requested him to go out for work. He’ll come tomorrow”.

Jinyoung nodded and thanked the woman before starting to work. He kept glancing at Mark’s spot. Something wasn’t right. But if his boss requested him, Jinyoung couldn’t do anything about it. Except worry.

And that’s what he did.

And when Mark didn’t come the next day either, he was truly worried. But maybe work had gotten complicated.

So Jinyoung waited.

And waited.

Until after a week Mark hadn’t come back.

Jinyoung couldn’t wait anymore, so he went running to his boss’ office. The boss let him in and offered a sit, but Jinyoung refused it and suddenly blurted:

“Where is Mark?”

The boss remained silent, staring at Jinyoung. Jinyoung was now angry and worried at the same time, the second feeling fueling the first. But it disappeared all the moment his boss said:

“We lost him”.

Jinyoung understood what his boss meant. Mark was gone. His soul fell to the floor and he was breathing hard. He forgot how to talk. He felt like someone stabbed him in the heart and stole from him his most precious thing in the world.

And maybe it was like that.

“How?” was all he could say.

“I send him to obtain information about werewolves, but he never returned and we can’t find him”.

Jinyoung blinked a few times before supporting himself on the wall, tears starting to form on his eyes. He tried to hold them, but he sniffed anyways. His boss only stared at him and smirked a bit, before standing up and patting Jinyoung’s shoulder a bit.

“I know you were friends” his boss said, Jinyoung looking at the wall, panting heavily. “We think they kidnapped him”.

“They?” he asked, turning his face to look at his boss. He nodded.

“We send him to infiltrate at a werewolves’ place, so maybe they caught him and are using him to obtain information about us”.

Jinyoung couldn’t believe it. He couldn’t believe his beloved Mark was kidnapped by his similar ones and were probably torturing him to gain information.

Jinyoung recomposed himself before going out of the office. He went straight to his desk and started to pack all his things.

It’s they’re fault. They send him there. If Mark is hurt is their entire fault.

Jinyoung couldn’t stand there any longer. He stayed for Mark; but now he was gone and he didn’t have a reason for staying. He angrily kicked his desk and almost dropped the pc. But Jinyoung didn’t care. He was so angry at the entire agency; they only made Mark’s life a living hell and he couldn’t stand it anymore.

Everyone in the office kept quiet until Jinyoung was done. He was leaving when he felt pressure on his arm. Tzuyu was holding him.

“Let me go” he shouted angrily.

“Jinyoung, you can’t go. You can’t leave this job”.

“And why not?!”

Tzuyu bitted her lip. Jinyoung felt angrier than before.

“There are more people in here besides Mark-“

“I DON’T CARE! THEY HURT MARK, ALL OF YOU HURT MARK!”

Jinyoung didn’t care if he was screaming and the entire office could hear him.

“Jinyoung, relax. Have you ever seen everything around you? There are more things that matter in here. Have you eyes only for Mark?”

Jinyoung throw a punch to the wall at his side. Tzuyu jumped a bit on surprise but didn’t dare to move.

“Why?” she asked a bit teary. Jinyoung knew he should have felt bad for making a woman cry, but he didn’t care. She continued talking, “why can’t you see me, Jinyoung? I’ve been trying to speak with you since the beginning but you avoid any of us except for Mark!” Wait, was that girl confessing to him? Jinyoung held his desires to punch the girl. “What does he have that I have not? He’s just a disgusting monster while I’m-!”

She couldn’t end the sentence as she was slammed hardly against the wall.

“DON’T YOU DARE TALK OF MARK LIKE THAT! YOU’RE THE ONLY MONSTERS IN HERE! YOU DON’T KNOW HIM! HE’S A PERSON TOO. A BETTER PERSON THAN ALL OF YOU”.

“You’re hurting me!”

Jinyoung was going to scream more, but his boss called him telling him to let Tzuyu go. He freed the woman, still killing her with his gaze and walked towards the door.

“I think we are all a bit tense” his boss said, “I’ll give you some free days to rest”.

Jinyoung just smiled sadly and ran away from there.

He locked himself in his apartment for days, not wanting to face the world. Since Mark happened, he kept wondering how he had survived without him; and now that he lost him, he wondered how he was going to live without him. He pretended to be fine when his family or friends called him. He was indeed a good actor. But he wasn’t fine. His heart was broken and he felt lonely and sad.

Sad.

He felt sad.

He had never felt sad before Mark. But since they met, Jinyoung sometimes felt sad. But it wasn’t caused by Mark; it was caused by the things the world has done to Mark and was now doing to him. Jinyoung missed Mark so badly. Recently he realized his love for Mark was beyond his comprehension and beyond normality.

He was madly in love with Mark. And the loose of the other was killing him.

After a few days Jinyoung decided to go out. He went to a café to distract himself. He had never been in there before; but that’s what Jinyoung needed. He felt the warmth of the place when he only entered and he felt less sad, but sad anyways.

“Welcome, sir!” a cheerful girl welcomed him. He had brown bob hair and a bright smile. In other circumstances, he was sure he would have smiled in return instinctively; but he felt too sad to smile. “What would you like to have?”

“A cappuccino, please”.

The girl nodded and took his order. He brought his wallet and paid for it.

“Are you okay, sir?” the girl suddenly asked.

Jinyoung stared at her, surprised, but nodded anyways.

“You look sad” Jinyoung wondered if he really seemed that bad.

“I’m okay” he said, but the girl didn’t seem happy with his answer.

The girl gave him his coffee and Jinyoung went to sit at an isolated table. He was drinking his coffee while looking at the pictures he had of Mark. He was missing him so badly, and the fact that he couldn’t search for him anywhere was killing him. He didn’t sense the tear rolling through his cheek until it reached his lips.

He took it away with his hand and suddenly a piece of striking red colored cake appeared in front of him. He lifted his head and was met with the waitress from before, still smiling at him.

“It’s on the house” she said; Jinyoung was going to reply when the girl continued, “eat it. It will make you feel better. Red always does”.

Jinyoung wasn’t hungry, but the cake really seemed tasty. So he nodded and the waitress returned to the counter still smiling.

The cake tasted a lot better than expected in Jinyoung’s mouth. It was sweet and really good. He finished the cake and also his coffee and for some reason he felt delighted.

He stood up and went to the counter to ask for more to take away. The same girl smiled brightly at the sign and took a good portion for him. She put it in a colorful box and closed it. She offered it to him and he paid for it even when the girl told him not to.

“Thank you” Jinyoung said, without knowing really what for.

“It’s nothing. I just can’t stand sad faces. Everyone deserves to be happy” the girl said, and it reminded him of Mark.

“Yes, everyone does”.

They stared at each other before the girl offered him her hand.

“My name is Jeon Shura. Nice to meet you!”

Jinyoung gladly accepted it.

“I’m Park Jinyoung. It’s my pleasure”.

“Such a gentleman” she laughed, causing Jinyoung to smile.

“Hey Jinyoung, my turn ends in five minutes. Want to go for a walk with me?”

Jinyoung wasn’t expecting something like that, but the girl seemed so open and trustworthy that he couldn’t say no.

And that is how he ended having a walk and a nice talk with Shura. The girl was so friendly that Jinyoung forgot about his problems for a moment. They talked a lot about everything. They were both chatty persons, so the talk never stopped since they started walking.

They were resting on a bench still talking. Jinyoung felt like he knew Shura for a long time instead for a few hours. He felt comfortable with her, and she seemed to enjoy Jinyoung’s company.

“Why were you sad?” Shura suddenly asked.

Jinyoung had forgotten he was sad. They were so immersed on knowing each other that he just went with the flow. But he felt like he could really trust her.

“I lost an important person”.

Shura didn’t say anything. She stared at him, her eyes giving him an empathetic look.

“I’m sorry” she said, and he answered with a ‘thank you’.

They stared at each other, Shura starting to regret having asked about that. But the silence wasn’t bad for Jinyoung. In fact, he felt a bit relieved just saying it loud.

“Thank you, Shura” he finally said, smiling at her, “not only for the cake. You didn’t have to talk to me nor did cheering me up, but you did it anyways. I’m glad I met you. I really needed this”.

“Don’t thank me, Jinyoung. I wish I could give you your important person back. I just wanted to see your smile. I thought it would be wonderful, and I wasn’t wrong”.

Jinyoung smiled at her and she pulled him into a hug. Jinyoung hugged her back and they stayed like that for a few minutes. It felt really good feeling other person’s warmth again.

Finally, they broke the hug and Shura looked at his phone.

“Oh, it’s so late! I have to go, Jinyoung! We can meet another time if you want”.

Jinyoung nodded, and was going to say goodbye to her when he saw the red lines on Shura’s face. He wanted to ask about it, because it looked like an animal attacked her, but she didn’t say anything about it before, so he let it be. But before Shura stood up, he grabbed his cheek with his hand and used his power to heal her, thanking her that way for all she did for him, probably without her realizing how much the boy needed it.

Shura didn’t know what was happening, but the contact felt so good she let it be. After a few moments, Jinyoung let it go and kissed her cheek. Shura smiled and kissed him in the cheek in return, before finally went home.

Jinyoung went to his apartment then, and when he opened the box to eat the striking red colored cake, he saw a sticky note there saying ‘enjoy it! If you need more, here’s my number! Feel free to call :D’. Jinyoung smiled while saving the number on his phone.

Chapter Text

Jinyoung is just looking through the window when he sees the black car parking in front of his building. He quickly hides behind the curtains but continues looking out. From the car two men come out, wearing black suits and dark sunglasses. They are talking to each other and glancing towards the building. One of them enters the building, and Jinyoung is already dialing Shura’s number without thinking.

“Hello, Jinyoung?” says his friend through the phone.

“Hi, Shura. Look, maybe this sounds weird but can you come pick me up with your car?”

There is a pause on the line before the worried voice of Shura speaks again.

“Jinyoung, are you okay? You sound nervous”.

Jinyoung glances towards the street, where the other man has just come out again and is talking with his partner.

“I have a problem. Remember that I told you I was working in a bad company and that I left? Well, they’ve come to take me because I know too much”. Jinyoung thinks he isn’t making any sense, but his anxiety has blocked his ability to make a rational explanation. “I know it sounds like some line of a movie, but I swear I wouldn’t be calling you if it wasn’t important”.

“Jinyoung, it’s okay, I’m coming. Just text me your address, lock all the doors and hide on your room. I’ll be there the fastest I can”.

“Thank you”.

And with that, Shura ends the call. He sends her his address before running to his bedroom and locking the door, and then he moves all the furniture he can to block it too. He picks a bag and starts putting in all the important things he has and some clothes too. Suddenly his doorbell rings. Jinyoung ignores it and continues doing his thing. He takes a quick glance towards the window and sees a familiar man talking with the two men. He recognizes the male as the building’s janitor. The men in suits nod at whatever the janitor tells them, but when he comes again into the building, they look at each other before grabbing something from their pockets. Jinyoung panics when he recognizes the objects they’re now holding: guns. Jinyoung prays that they are going to let the janitor go and come directly for him. Probably the poor man came and rang his bell, and supposed Jinyoung wasn’t home because he didn’t answer. But the other men are better than that and prefer to check in person.

Jinyoung starts tying his sheets so he can descend later by them to the street and run away from there. He has only tied one when he hears his door opening with a loud bang. There isn’t a lot of time before they discover his position and the furniture against the door won’t last much. Jinyoung hurries tying the sheets while searching for a possible weapon in case Shura doesn’t get on time.

He has just tied the knot when he hears a gunshot. He quickly stands up and looks through the window, to see that another car has parked just below his window. He hopes its Shura’s. The house remains silent for a moment, Jinyoung thinking about the possibility of his friend attacked by the two men. He removes the furniture and unlocks the door, his heart beating like crazy. He’s armed with only a lamp, but still he opens the door.

At first he doesn’t see or hear anything. Suddenly there are footsteps and he’s ready to jump onto his attackers when a young male appears in front of him. Jinyoung stares at him, not knowing if he’s ally or enemy. The boy takes a few steps towards him and Jinyoung backs a bit.

“Jinyoung” the boy says, “are you okay? Did they hurt you?”

Jinyoung lets the other approach him and check on him, having a feeling he’s an ally. When the male touches him, he feels something like an electric shock travelling his body.

“What are you doing?” Jinyoung says while freeing himself from the handsome stranger.

“My name is Youngjae and I’m Shura’s friend. I won’t hurt you, I promise. I also have psychic powers like you”.

Before Jinyoung can ask how he knows about his powers he hears Shura’s voice calling them from the living room. Jinyoung takes the bag with his things and follows Youngjae. As soon as he steps on the living room, Shura is engulfing him into a hug.

“Oh my God, you’re okay!” he exclaims. “I was so worried we wouldn’t arrive on time!”

“She was driving like crazy. I thought we were going to die” the guy –Youngjae- says.

“Did they hurt you?”

“No, I’m fine. Thank you for coming. I didn’t know what to do. I’m sorry I made you come in this situation, I couldn’t call anyone else” Jinyoung says. When he breaks the hug he notices that the two men are sprawled on his floor, unconscious.

“Don’t worry. Now we should go” Shura says, dragging Jinyoung while putting his hoodie on. Youngjae does the same and exits first. Jinyoung puts his jacket and his hoodie too, so no one could recognize them. When they pass by the janitor, Jinyoung observes the man is sleeping on his desk, but he doesn’t seem hurt.

“He’s only unconscious, don’t worry” Shura assures him. They make it to the car without anyone seeing them and Shura takes the driver seat while Youngjae sits as the co-driver leaving Jinyoung alone in the back seats. Shura starts the engine and they are out of there in no time.

“Thank you so much for this, guys. But what happened with those men?” Jinyoung asks.

“They’re just unconscious. Youngjae knocked them down before they could even know what was going on”. Shura says, and Youngjae turns back to smile at him.

“I can move things with my mind. I hit them before they could see my face or do something”.

“But I heard a gunshot”.

“The other got scared when I knocked his partner down with my powers and he shot randomly. I would be scared too if suddenly a pan would come and hit me out of the blue”.

Jinyoung nods, but he’s still a bit confused.

“Maybe I should explain everything to you now” Jinyoung says, feeling like his saviors deserve an explanation of why those men were after him.

“You really don’t have to. We already know” Shura says.

“You know?” he asks, incredulous.

“Yes. We’re Mark’s friends” Youngjae says, still smiling at him.

Jinyoung’s heart skips a beat at the mention of his beloved’s name.

“You know Mark? Where is he? Is he okay?”

Jinyoung wants to know everything about it. He feels relieved knowing that Mark is still alive. His heart beats faster at the possibility of seeing him again.

“Why don’t you ask him yourself? We’re going to meet him”.

Jinyoung can’t hide the wide smile that appears on his face. He feels so happy. After what seemed like an eternity, he’s going to meet his Mark again. Youngjae notices and turns to flash a satisfied smile to Shura, who replies with an equally bright smile.

When they are inside the pack going home, they’re intercepted by Yugyeom, who came to check on the stranger that accompanies his friends.

“His name is Jinyoung. He’s a friend of Mark” Youngjae explains to him. Yugyeom continues studying Jinyoung from head to toe.

“I thought he said he doesn’t have anyone” Yugyeom says, and Jinyoung walks to hide a bit behind Youngjae. The latter gives him a sense of security and empathy, so Jinyoung genuinely trusts him.

“Well, you should come with us. We have some things to talk about” Shura says. Yugyeom looks at her questioningly, but follows them anyways.

Youngjae is practically dragging Jinyoung towards his house. He can’t contain himself. He knows how much Mark misses him and he’s looking forward to their reencounter. Jinyoung gives him good vibes, and he can see that Mark is as important to Jinyoung as Jinyoung is to Mark. Behind him, Shura is explaining the matter to Yugyeom calmly. Yugyeom seems confused, but nods at everything the girl says.

Finally they arrive to their house. Youngjae opens the door and finds Mark placing some food on the table.

“Finally you’re back. I thought we were talking seriously today” Mark says without looking at the door. He’s arranging the snacks and pouring water on three glasses. Jinyoung looks at Youngjae, asking him what to do, but the latter just puts a finger in front of his lips.

“I’ve been looking forward to this, guys” Mark continues, still not looking behind him. “I really wanted to talk about this, but every time there was an excuse” and he keeps rambling about how they have ignored his petitions to talk with them. They weren’t planning of ignoring him, but there wasn’t an appropriate moment to talk about the issue with Jinyoung.

Jinyoung just stares at his back. He has missed him so badly, thinking he was disappeared and possibly dead and he couldn’t do anything for him. But right now he’s in front of the other, and his voice is filling his ears and just hearing that melodic sound again elates Jinyoung. He feels alive again, like he hasn’t felt in weeks; every pore of his body oozing happiness.

“We’ll listen to you gladly” Youngjae says, smirking at Jinyoung. “But you should bring more glasses. We have guests”.

Mark stops preparing the table and finally turns around. His eyes seem to pop out of their orbits when they land on the figure next to Youngjae. Standing in front of him with a shy but full smile is his Jinyoung. Before Jinyoung can say anything, Mark has tossed whatever he was holding and runs to him, the others making way for him. He lifts Jinyoung off the floor hugging him tightly, surprising Jinyoung. Mark holds him close to him, feeling full now that he has his best friend in his arms again. Jinyoung laughs and tells Mark to put him down. When his foot touches the ground he returns the hug.

“God, Mark! You disappeared so suddenly and I was so worried something wrong happened to you!” Jinyoung says staring at Mark lovingly, and Mark can feel the honesty in his words. “But it turned out that you found a pack that loves you, and I’m so happy for you! But I missed you so much!”

“Aren’t you mad at me for leaving you, Jinyoungie?” Mark asks worriedly.

“No, Mark. I was worried like hell, but believe me when I say I’m glad you found a pack that treats you well. You deserve so much, Mark”. Jinyoung hugs him again and nuzzles his head on the crook of Mark’s neck. Mark blushes but hugs him tighter.

“Jinyoung, I wanted to come back for you. But you know it’s not easy. I’m sorry I couldn’t do it. I missed you so much, Jinyoungie. You’re so important to me”.

Jinyoung smiles against Mark’s neck while rubbing comforting circles on his back.

“You’re so important to me too, Markie. But now we’re together again. Let’s stay like this for a long time”.

“I’m not letting you go again, Jinyoungie. You’re stuck with me for now on”.

“It’s fine with me”.

They stare at each other and smile cutely, ignoring the three pairs of eyes that had watched and heard everything.

“I’m shipping it already” Yugyeom murmurs.

“Me too” Youngjae says.

“We should make a fan club” Shura adds.

Then Mark remembers that they’re not alone and that his friends haven’t said anything about it. He bites his lip, thinking if it’s really okay for them to keep him and Jinyoung there. He breaks the hug with Jinyoung, but still holds his hand.

“Guys, are you sure we can stay here? We should tell Namjoon the truth about us” Mark says.

“Oh, don’t worry. I’m sure all of them will understand. We’re going to protect you guys” Youngjae says giving them thumbs up.

“Yes, we should talk with Jaebum first and ask him to meet with the others” Shura says. Then all eyes are on Youngjae, with the exception of Jinyoung, who looks curious at them.

“Why are you looking at me?” Youngjae asks, confused.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Shura says. “Jaebum can’t say no to your puppy eyes”.

“You’re ignoring the fact that he was avoiding me just recently. I don’t think that’s effective anymore. And Yugyeom is his partner, why doesn’t he tell him instead?”

“Please Youngjae, we all saw how yesterday Jaebum was going to eat the last candy and with only one look the candy was already on your mouth” Yugyeom says while smirking at Youngjae. “And besides, I’m his partner but he doesn’t listen to me most of the time. You’re like 300% more effective”.

Youngjae pouts cutely. The others are looking at him with pleading eyes, even Jinyoung.

“Aish, okay” Youngjae says with a sigh, “but I’m doing this only for Mark and Jinyoung”. Shura claps and Yugyeom smiles at him.

“Tell him that Jinyoung also needs a place to stay” Mark says.

“Okay. I’ll go now. But you owe me” Youngjae says before closing the door.

“He pretends to be upset but we all know he wanted to do it” Mark says when the younger is gone, Shura and Yugyeom nod at him.

“What’s the matter with him and that Jaebum guy?” Jinyoung innocently asks.

“Oh, don’t worry. If you’re staying you’ll see with your own eyes” Yugyeom answers.

Mark sits on the couch and Jinyoung follows him, still holding each other’s hand.

“I have a lot of things to tell you” Mark says excitedly. Jinyoung smiles at him, and Shura and Yugyeom let out an ‘aw’ before making excuses to leave them alone for a while.

Jaebum is just watching tv when his doorbell rings. He gets up and lazily walks to the door.

“Hi Jaebummie!” Youngjae’s melodious voice greets him when he opens the door. Youngjae is adorably smiling at him, and his inner Jaebum screams for him to take the younger in and shower him with hugs and kisses.

“Hello sunshine” inner Jaebum takes his body and makes him greet Youngjae with a high pitched voice. Youngjae looks surprised for a moment, but smiles widely the next. Jaebum just stares at him lovingly until he recovers the control of his body. “I mean, hello Youngjae”.

“Aw, I preferred that ‘hello sunshine’” Youngjae pouts and Jaebum smiles at the cutie pie in front of him.

“Please come in” Jaebum offers, and Youngjae just starts walking when the other murmurs “sunshine”. Youngjae smiles at him when he passes beside him and sits on the sofa.

“Do you want something to drink?” Jaebum asks, remembering the first time they met, when the younger offered the same to him.

“Water will do, thanks” Youngjae says with a smile. That’s one of the things Jaebum loves the most from Youngjae: he’s always wearing the most beautiful smile the elder had ever seen.

Jaebum complies quickly, and Youngjae starts to wonder if he really has all that power over Jaebum. He knows he’s cute and his puppy eyes are the best; but no one agrees and complies with what he asks that easily as Jaebum does. It’s starting to scare him, but a part of him really likes it.

He takes a sip before speaking.

“Jaebum, we need to talk” he says, trying to sound serious. And it works; Jaebum is completely rigid on his seat, worry written all over his face.

“What is it?” he manages to ask.

“It’s about Mark”.

Jaebum clenches his fits, anger and jealousy starting to rise inside him. So it’s him huh? He sure took advantage of the week they were away, seducing him and trying to steal him from me.

Jaebum sees Youngjae fidgeting nervously with the hem of his shirt, and the sight makes him more anxious. What does he have that I don’t? I’m handsome. And I have abs. And I’m nice. And fuck it I saw Youngjae first, it’s not fair!

“We…” Youngjae starts to say nervously, not knowing clearly how to address the issue.

Jaebum flinches and starts biting his nails. Please don’t tell me you’ve kissed and worst, that you’ve reached the next level. You know what? Suck it, Mark, I’m not letting him go, not now!

“DON’T LEAVE ME YOUNGJAE!” Jaebum suddenly shouts, trying to erase images of Youngjae and Mark together from his mind.

Youngjae tilts his head, curious.

“What do you mean?” he asks.

Jaebum blinks several times before thinking straight again. Wait, WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK I’M DOING? Youngjae and I aren’t even dating, what’s wrong with me? He stares at Youngjae, the latter staring back. But please don’t tell me you’re dating Mark. I’m trying to be more open and caring for you, Youngjae. Don’t throw me away.

“Well, what do you mean?” Jaebum asks back, not knowing what he’s actually doing.

“Me? About what?”

“Mark” Jaebum answers, and Youngjae can clearly see that Jaebum is upset just by the unfriendly way he has addressed the other.

“Well…I meant…” Jaebum stares at him intensely. Youngjae gulps before saying “We found his boyfriend!”

Jaebum blinks repeatedly. Then the information starts to sink in. Boyfriend. Mark’s boyfriend. Jaebum can’t help but laugh at his own stupidity. Here he was thinking Mark was trying to steal his crush when Mark has a boyfriend already. Youngjae looks at him weirdly, not understanding his behavior.

“What’s so funny about that?” Youngjae asks.

“Mark has a boyfriend” Jaebum says between laughter. “He has a boyfriend! And I was here thinking that he…” Youngjae stares at him curious, and at that moment Jaebum recovers his usual self –well, his usual self with Youngjae that in fact differs a lot from the usual Jaebum- and coughs a bit. “Never mind. It was just nonsense”. Youngjae nods, but is still curious about Jaebum’s behavior. He knows Jaebum acts weird in front of him, and he hopes that this is the true Jaebum, because this Jaebum is really cute and smiles a lot; and Youngjae loves it.

Then it finally hits him and stares at Youngjae confused.

“Wait- boyfriend? What boyfriend? He said he was alone out there” Jaebum says, agitated by that information. Has been Mark lying to them? But why? He thought Mark was a good guy; even when moments ago he was swearing at him.

Seeing this, Youngjae puts a hand on Jaebum’s thigh to comfort him; causing the opposite effect. Jaebum gets more anxious now that his crush is touching him that way.

“Well, we don’t know if it’s really his boyfriend” Youngjae smiles, hoping the older will relax. And Jaebum does; he remains as relaxed as he can be with Youngjae’s hand still on his thigh. “Mark said he’s his friend. But then they were acting all lovey-dovey in front of us and now I’m not so sure”.

Please be his boyfriend. THE FUCK ARE YOU THINKING JAEBUM. STOP IT. YOU HAVE IT REALLY BAD. Collect yourself before Youngjae notices.

“I don’t think I understand…” Jaebum murmurs.

Youngjae sighs and starts the story from the beginning.

By the time Mark ends telling Jinyoung his adventures with the pack, the latter has eaten all that was on the table. He’s surprised at how hungry he actually was; but it’s normal since he hasn’t eaten a lot today.

“Are you still hungry?” Mark asks, seeing all the empty plates on display.

“No, I’m fine now. Sorry…I ate a lot” Jinyoung says and smiles with Mark’s favorite eye smile.

“Don’t be sorry. You could have died today…the tension you felt may have made you hungry. It’s okay Jinyoung” Mark hugs him and Jinyoung lets it be, because now that he’s in Mark’s arms he feels safe and sound. “You’re safe now” the elder whispers, making Jinyoung’s smile even wider.

“I missed you so much Mark” Jinyoung says for the hundredth time today.

“I missed you too Jinyoungie” Mark tights his embrace, feeling Jinyoung’s warmth.

They remain like that for a while until Jinyoung breaks the silence.

“Hey Mark” he says, and Mark looks down to stare at him, “can I ask you something?”

“Of course you can, Jinyoungie” Mark responds with a smile.

“Our friendship…” Jinyoung starts, and bites his lips. Mark noticing and biting his own lip by reflex. “It’s still like before? It has passed some time, and you have made new friends”.

“I don’t get it, Jinyoung” Mark answers, confused.

“I mean, if among all those friends…” Jinyoung considers not saying that, because in fact he knows it’s selfish; but he can’t help wanting to know “…I’m still a special friend to you?”

Mark stares at him wondering. Jinyoung has always been special to him; not only because he is his first friend, but because he wants with Jinyoung things he doesn’t want with other people. He likes the people in the pack; but Jinyoung it’s special. But on the other hand, he’s curious about Jinyoung’s concept of ‘special friend’.

“What do you mean by special?” Mark teases. Jinyoung didn’t expect the question to backfire him, but he answers with honesty.

“Like… I have other friends, but you’re the only one I want to be alone with, doing whatever, just you and me. And I want to hug you and hold your hand all the time. I love my friends, but not to that extend” Jinyoung says without really knowing what he just said. Mark stares at him smiling widely, glad that their concept of special friend is the same. And because Jinyoung just publicly announced that he loves Mark more than his friends. Love.

“Why are you smiling so widely now?” Jinyoung asks, seeing the other’s face, still oblivious at what he said.

“Because we have the same concept of special friend. I feel the same way about you” Mark answers, Jinyoung blushing madly at it, Mark doing so too. “And Jinyoung, you know…it’s the first time you say that you love me”.

Jinyoung mentally face palms himself at his stupidity. He has just exposed his secret to the person involved with it. He wants to dig a hole and hide in. But he only can cover his reddened face with his hands.

“Jinyoung, don’t cover yourself!” Mark says, trying to remove the hands from his beloved Jinyoung’s face. “It’s okay, I love you too”.

Jinyoung stops breathing for a moment. Mark Tuan, his Markie, his crush for almost a year has just said that he loves him, Park Jinyoung.

“You love me?” Jinyoung asks, not believing it.

“Of course I love you! You’re my special friend!”

Jinyoung is confused. Has that thing backfired to him again? He has described a couple’s relationship, but called it ‘special friendship’. Mark may be elder, but Jinyoung knows that Mark is still oblivious to some things, one of them being relationships.

So Jinyoung has just friendzoned himself. He face palms mentally at his stupidity. Great Jinyoung. You should have told the truth from the beginning and you wouldn’t have been friendzoned by yourself.

“Of course, special friends love each other” Jinyoung says, hoping that Mark someday will understand what ‘special friends’ really are. And hopefully he’d agree to be more than that.

When Youngjae finishes telling the entire story, Jaebum is pondering about it. They remain silent, Youngjae hoping that Jaebum would accept them and the latter wondering if that’s the actual truth or not.

Jaebum looks at Youngjae, searching for his reaction. Youngjae looks at him with his puppy eyes, and Jaebum loses it. He can’t neglect those puppy eyes. The sight is too cute to not comply with what they are requesting.

“Okay, I’ll have a meeting with Namjoon” Jaebum declares, and Youngjae smiles widely before throwing himself on Jaebum.

“Thank you, Jaebummie! Thank you!” he exclaims while hugging the elder tighter. Jaebum is blushing madly and his brain has definitely stopped working right.

“I-it’s no-nothing…” Jaebum stutters and he realizes then that he stutters a lot when it comes to Youngjae.

“If there’s anything I can do for you to repay it, just tell me” Youngjae says, freeing Jaebum, who is a bit disappointed it ended so soon.

“Actually, there’s something you can do” Jaebum says, Youngjae looking at him curious. “I want to practice again with you”.

“But I thought you didn’t have anything more to teach me”.

“There’s always more to learn. So, what do you say?”

Say yes! Jaebum mentally prays.

“Of course! It’s fine with me!”

Jaebum smiles happily now that he has found a way to have more private time with Youngjae again. Maybe during those practices he finally gains the courage to confess to the younger. But for now, he’s glad he has Youngjae all to himself.

“What do you think about Jungkook?” Shura asks Yugyeom.

They have been just walking around for a while, talking about Mark and Jinyoung and their friendship. Both of them agreed that there’s more than just friendship, and somehow they’re going to help it happen.

“Well, we used to be friends” Yugyeom answers, smiling sadly. “I’m not saying we aren’t now, but we were closer before. We were the younger ones when the pack started working, so we hanged out a lot. But you know, he always took all the chances he had to be with Seokjin. And it didn’t matter to me, because honestly, they make such a nice couple. I don’t know why they never dated”.

“Yes, I think that too. Seokjin seems to care a lot about Jungkook, but for some reason he’s always mad with him. I don’t understand anything. At some times they seem to love each other a lot, and then they’re avoiding each other like the plague”.

Yugyeom nods. He has noticed it too.

“I was wondering if you knew something that could have damaged their relationship, since you know them better than I do” Shura continues. Yugyeom stops walking and concentrates to find anything suspicious about them.

“Well, I heard people talking bad about Jungkook. But Seokjin always made sure that those comments didn’t get to Jungkook, and also punished the culprits. But maybe Jungkook knows, and he’s mad because Seokjin hide it from him?”

Shura thinks about it, and it seems logical; but something is still off to her.

“Maybe we should pay him a visit. I haven’t seen him in a while and I’m worried” she says.

“Want to go now?” Yugyeom asks. “You know, those lovebirds are probably still talking about how much they have been missing each other. And Jaebum has put his ‘operation Sunshine’ plan in action, so I rather leave them alone for a while. If I interfere he’ll kill me for sure. And I’m supporting him 100%”.

“Wow, Jaebum wants to get Youngjae? I thought he didn’t like him?” Shura asks, confused.

“What? Jaebum has always liked Youngjae. He was just denying it because he’s dumb. But he likes Youngjae. A lot, actually”.

“Well, I’m glad, because even when Youngjae never told me, I’m sure he likes Jaebum too”.

“So, you’re in the ‘operation Sunshine’ plan?” Shura nods and Yugyeom smiles at her. “We’ll succeed, I’m sure. If that works we should make more plans to help people get together, like Mark and Jinyoung or Jungkook and Seokjin”.

“We can create our little business as Cupid’s assistants” Yugyeom and Shura laughs at that, but they actually think it isn’t a bad plan.

“Let’s go meet Jungkook to see how are we proceeding with ‘operation bunny’”.

Shura raises her hand, ready for a high five, and Yugyeom gives it to her.

“’Operation bunny’ let’s go!”

“So, what you’re saying is” the man starts speaking, arms crossed in front of his chest, walking around the two ashamed men, “that something attacked you, but you don’t know who or how it happened. It just left both of you unconscious. And when you woke up, he was missing”.

The two men nod slowly. The man, their boss, just sighs and walks towards his desk.

“Well, I always knew that Park Jinyoung was hiding something. We have to find him, and discover who he really is”.

“What do you want us to do, sir?”

The boss looks at them and they raise their heads, determined to do things right this time.

“Track the entire town, and inform me if you find anything suspicious. Anything” the boss says roughly. The two men nod and leave the room.

The boss opens the folder on top of his desk and stares at the documents that lay in there.

“You think you can escape from me?” he asks to the photos of two young handsome males. “I’ll never stop chasing you. I won’t let you have your happy ending, I promise”.

 And with that, the man leaves the room; the photos still out from the folder. Below them are written two names: Mark Tuan and Park Jinyoung.

Mark, Jinyoung, Shura and Youngjae are gathered in their apartment, ready to have dinner together. They’re setting the table while waiting for Jaebum and Yugyeom to arrive.

“So, tell me Youngjae” Jinyoung says, he and Youngjae have made the dinner and are currently disposing it on plates, “how is this Jaebum?”

“He’s really a nice guy” Youngjae says, smiling a bit. “I’m sure you’ll like him. At first he seems a bit cold, but he’s actually kind”.

“I see” Jinyoung says, and decides to tease the younger a bit. “If you like him, he had to be kind. I won’t let bad guys approach you”.

Youngjae blushes, but is glad that Jinyoung is taking liberties with him. That means he trusts him, and Youngjae has trusted Jinyoung since minute one.

“Don’t say that. Even if I like him, I’m not sure he likes me too”.

“We’ll see” Jinyoung says when the doorbell rings, giving Youngjae a playful wink before placing the food on the table.

Shura is in charge of opening the door, welcoming their friends. Yugyeom puts the drinks he has brought on the table following Shura’s orders. Youngjae gets to Jaebum’s side and after greeting him and leaving Jaebum smiling like an idiot he introduces Jinyoung to him.

“Jaebum, this is our new friend Jinyoung” Youngjae says. Jaebum studies him a bit, but quickly gives him his hand for a shake.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Jaebum and I’m Youngjae’s friend” Jaebum says, saying the last part a bit more loudly, like warning him. Jinyoung gets the hint and just by that he knows this boy likes Youngjae too.

“You’re welcome. My name is Park Jinyoung and I’m Mark’s friend” he says, imitating Jaebum. The latter smirks, knowing that Youngjae was probably right when he said Jinyoung is like Mark’s boyfriend.

“Well that’s enough” Mark says, quickly reaching Jinyoung’s hand to hold it and separating him from Jaebum. He knows he doesn’t have a reason to be jealous of Jaebum when the latter is head over heels for Youngjae; but he doesn’t like other people touching his Jinyoung.

“Wow, so possessive” Jaebum says, smirking. “Relax man. He’s not my type” he jokes.

“I know” Mark lets Jinyoung go and sit besides Youngjae, who is diligently serving the dinner for them. “You like them more… chatty”. He adds, giving Youngjae a little stare, that doesn’t go unnoticed by Jaebum, who clenches his fits, consumed by jealousy.

“You shouldn’t look like that to other guys if your boyfriend is present” Jaebum says more loudly, and this time Youngjae notices what’s going on.

“Boyfriend? What boyfriend?” Mark asks, and Jinyoung pretends that didn’t hurt. “You mean Jinyoung?” Mark asks again, and Jinyoung’s eyes shine with hope.

“Yes, Jinyoung. If you already have him, then don’t look at other guys”.

“And why can’t I look at other guys? It upsets you?” Jaebum looks anywhere but Mark, and suddenly wonders why are they in that situation. Because you’re a paranoid and jealous guy for Youngjae, he thinks.

“You can do what you want, but it’s not polite to stare at people”.

“Then you should be imprisoned for all the time you spend staring at Youngjae”.

At that moment everybody remains quiet, waiting for Jaebum’s next move. Yugyeom prays to Jaebum to control his temper, because he knows all this can end really badly. Shura and Jinyoung are ready to jump in and stop the both of them before it’s too late; meanwhile Youngjae is all blushing and flustered to receive the news that Jaebum stares at him like a creep.

Tension starts to fill the room, and when Jaebum opens his mouth everyone is on guard.

“I appreciate art, okay?”

That really catches everyone by surprise. Yugyeom’s mouth hangs open, not believing that his always composed buddy just called someone a piece of art. Shura and Jinyoung turns to see Youngjae’s reaction, who is frozen in his spot. Has Jaebum just complemented him in front of everybody?

“Well, that gives me the right to continue staring, because I also appreciate art” Mark says with a smirk.

And Jaebum loses it.

“I SAID STOP STARING, YOU PERVERT! LEAVE YOUNGJAE ALONE!”

“WHY ARE YOU YELLING AT ME? AND I’M NOT A PERVERT! BUT JUST FOR YOUR INFORMATION, JINYOUNG IS THE REAL MASTERPIECE HERE!”

“WAIT, ARE YOU SAYING THAT YOUR JINYOUNG IS MORE BEAUTIFUL THAN MY YOUNGJAE? SORRY BUT I HAVE TO DISAGREE!”

They continue on a rampage about who is better than who. Youngjae and Jinyoung are trying to stop their bickering, still blushing because of the two males that have just claimed their properties. Shura calmly starts eating, thinking that letting all that precious food go waste it’s a pity. Yugyeom looks at the scene in front of him, amused.

“I feel like the oldest one right now” he mutters, and Shura gives him a nod, mouth full of food. “Why are they bickering like kids?”

“But it’s kind of entertaining, don’t you think so?” Shura asks him after swallowing the food she was chewing.

 “Yeah, it definitely is” he answers, accepting the food Shura is offering him. “I think ‘operation sunshine’ is going on pretty well, just like ‘operation masterpiece’”.

Shura laughs at the name of their new ‘mission’, and raises her hand for another high five.

“And we got dinner with spectacle. What a privilege!”

Both of them start laughing, meanwhile Jinyoung has desisted on stopping them but still pulls from Mark’s sleeve. Youngjae is still trying nevertheless, but suddenly Jaebum is pulling him close and saying something like ‘but look at this face, this is pure art’; Youngjae isn’t sure, Jaebum’s hand is on his waist making him lose his mind.

After several minutes, the discussion is over without a winner. But Jaebum and Mark are laughing and playing with each other, like if what happened before was all a joke. Jinyoung and Youngjae are looking at them in disbelief, bothered and flustered, while eating the now cold food. Yugyeom’s and Shura’s stomachs hurt from laughing hard.

“It’s not funny” Youngjae mutters a bit angry.

“I think it’s pretty funny how they now act like best friends but were ready to kill each other just moments ago,” Yugyeom says, earning a glare from Youngjae and Jinyoung, and carefully adds “just for you two”.

And Youngjae and Jinyoung can’t help but smile. Because yeah, Im Jaebum and Mark Tuan were arguing for them, Choi Youngjae and Park Jinyoung.

Chapter Text

Jeon Jungkook is not an indoor person. He has always enjoyed running through the forest, playing outside and going hiking. He likes the sensation of being free, the sensation of the nature surrounding him.

It’s the third consecutive day he’s trapped in his room and he’s starting to go crazy.

He only gets out to eat and use the bathroom; the rest of the time he’s in his room avoiding Seokjin. It’s not that he doesn’t love the elder anymore; it’s just that he doesn’t know how to approach Seokjin. He’s still collecting the pieces of his broken heart, trying to assume that to Seokjin, he’ll always be his little brother. Nothing else.

He’s also worried because Seokjin is not eating well and every night he arrives later. Jungkook wants to go out and find what’s wrong with him; but he fears the answer. And he’s sure he isn’t going to be able to contain himself if he stays by his side for a while.

And that’s the reason why he is hiding all the time in his room. He doesn’t feel strong enough to face Seokjin. He wouldn’t have even gone to that party if it wasn’t for Jimin.

The previous day Jimin came to visit him. At first, Jungkook wasn’t going to open the door. But he knows some of his friends are already worried about him and he doesn’t want to bother more.

“Taehyung told me you’re not talking to Seokjin” Jimin blurted out after Jungkook had assured him he was fine.

“That’s not true” Jungkook lied.

“Taehyung wouldn’t joke with something like that”.

Jungkook cursed Taehyung in his head. But it was also his fault for calling Taehyung and making everything suspicious.

“Also, you came back yesterday and you didn’t even see us when we went to greet you. And you’re not doing your thing. You know, playing outside with any poor soul that collides with you”.

Jimin went on a rampage about all the things Jungkook wasn’t doing that he normally do. Jungkook started to feel tense, and when Jimin pronounced again Seokjin’s name, he exploded. He told Jimin to shut the fuck up when he didn’t know anything. Jimin had never seen Jungkook like that, all angry and furious, so he ran away crying.

Jungkook regretted it the moment it happened. Although it felt good to relieve some tension, making Jimin cry wasn’t worth it. The latter has always been kind to him. They used to play together outside, and always offered him his help. He came because he was worried about him, and Jungkook just yelled at him. He knew Jimin didn’t deserve it, so he started to think of a way to compensate him.

20 minutes later his doorbell rang again. When he opened the door, he found a smiling Hoseok pulling a sulking Jimin by the arm.

“Hi, Kookie!” Hoseok greeted him. “I’m sorry to bother you, but someone here wants to say something”.

Hoseok poked Jimin’s head slightly, but the other didn’t stop the sulking. Jungkook stared at him curiously, and finally Jimin spoke after a sigh.

“I’m sorry, okay? It wasn’t my intention to make you angry; I was just worried about you. Sorry if I bothered you”.

 And Hoseok forced Jimin to bow to him, still smiling.

“That’s not necessary” Jungkook said seeing the way Jimin was wriggling uncomfortably in Hoseok’s embrace. “It’s okay; I’m the one at fault. I shouldn’t have yelled at you. I’m sorry”.

And Jungkook bowed to him like Jimin did. Then Hoseok clapped his hands and pushed Jimin against Jungkook.

“Now a hug” he demanded.

Jungkook and Jimin glanced at each other but complied seeing the proud face of Hoseok.

“We’re all friends again” Hoseok concluded. Jungkook and Jimin separated and Hoseok held Jimin’s hand to let him know he did well.

“You’re coming to the party tonight, right?” Jimin asked.

“I don’t know. I don’t feel like going” Jungkook answered, causing Jimin to pout.

“But you made me cry! You have to go to pay for it!”

Jungkook scratched the back of his neck. He really didn’t want to go; but he had to compensate the elder for his tears. He looked at Hoseok and saw him smiling pleasantly to him.

“Please” Jimin murmured putting his best puppy eyes.

Jungkook sighed. He couldn’t resist Jimin’s cuteness combined with Hoseok’s good vibe.

“Okay, I’ll go” he finally said, and Jimin let out a squeal.

“Well, now let’s go Jimin. Don’t bother Jungkook more” Hoseok said, giving Jimin a little push. Jimin started to walk away while saying goodbye to Jungkook. Meanwhile Hoseok gave Jungkook a little pat on his shoulder.

“Kookie, if you need anything tell us. You know Jimin and I are always here for you” Hoseok whispered before joining Jimin.

Jungkook closed the door and smiled to himself. He has been so concentrated on his problems that he nearly forgot he still had good friends like Jimin and Hoseok.

The party was a disaster to Jungkook. Everything was weird; not only he and Seokjin but also Youngjae, Yugyeom, Jaebum and Shura seemed awkward with each other. He tried to know what happened with Shura, but she didn’t say anything about it. And when she asked about him, he only shrugged and changed the topic. And he hated the tension between Shura and him. He felt a special connection with the girl. For some reason, Jungkook found their link familiar; like if they were actual family. But he didn’t want to worry her when she seemed to be already dealing with something.

He couldn’t sleep thinking about it. And also because it was 2AM and Seokjin hadn’t arrived yet. He shifted uncomfortably on his bed, wondering if he should just talk with Seokjin and tell him all his problems. It was 2:30AM when Seokjin came back and Jungkook was still deep in thought. He was pulled out of the trance when he heard a loud noise, like if something just collapsed with the floor. He got up and carefully opened the door, only to find Seokjin picking up a lamp from the floor. Seokjin didn’t see Jungkook; but the younger saw his flushed cheeks and the way he walked to his room. Jungkook closed his door and returned to his bed.

He didn’t sleep well that night.

That’s the reason why he’s currently in a bad mood. His hot chocolate isn’t making him feel better like it used to, but maybe it has to do with the fact that Seokjin was the one making it for him. He’s starting to feel the effects of his seclusion. And his inner wolf is growling inside of him, wanting to run wild through the forest again. But today he doesn’t feel like doing it.

Seokjin’s door is opened, signaling that his owner is not home. Jungkook wonders if Seokjin has slept a bit at least. He hadn’t had breakfast, and he’s going to feel like shit if he hadn’t slept either.

Abandoning his chocolate on the table, he quickly makes a sandwich and some coffee, and calls Taehyung. Five minutes later his doorbell rings.

“Good morning, Kookie!” Taehyung salutes him, and then he sees the black bags under the younger’s eyes. “Oh my God, you look terrible!”

“I know, thank you” Jungkook jokes. He lets Taehyung come in while he finishes wrapping Seokjin’s breakfast.

“Let me guess, Seokjin forgot his breakfast again” Taehyung says. Jungkook hums in response. Taehyung stares at him; he and Seokjin are starting to have the same appearance: they seem always tired and in a bad mood. And Taehyung hates to see his friends like that.

“Give it to him, please” Jungkook commands. Taehyung furrows his eyebrows.

“Do it yourself, I’m not your delivery man”.

“Please” Jungkook pleads with his puppy like bunny eyes.

“Okay” Taehyung says, taking the bag from Jungkook. “But I’m just doing it because I’m also giving Yoongi his breakfast”.

“So you finally decided to confess?” Jungkook asks, escorting Taehyung to the door.

“Hey, chill. I’ve only made breakfast for him today. I’m not confessing yet. I want to tease him more”.

“Why are you wasting your time like that? You like Yoongi and Yoongi likes you. What’s the matter?”

Taehyung glares at him.

“You know, it’s funny that you’re saying this about me and Yoongi. You and Seokjin have been always together but never dated”. Jungkook looks at him, not knowing what to say. Taehyung stares at him, knowing he has touched a nerve. “It’s not just me who thinks like that. All the pack thinks that. It’s clear that you like Seokjin and Seokjin likes you. So, Jungkook, what’s the matter?”

Jungkook is left astonished at his door. Taehyung closes it for him, after giving him a playful pat on his shoulder. He doesn’t want to make Jungkook angry. But he needed to say that. He knows Jungkook is suffering, and Seokjin is in pain too. But they need to understand that above anything else, they love each other. And they should sit and talk about their problems instead of avoiding each other like that. If they want to solve this situation they have to remain together.

Taehyung hopes that his message will get into Jungkook’s stubborn mind.

Meanwhile, Jungkook moves from the door and sits on the couch, wondering if what Taehyung said is true. Does Seokjin like him? But in which way? Seokjin cares for all his friends like a mother; but it’s true that sometimes Seokjin gives Jungkook the vibe that he cares about him in a not so motherly way.

There are a lot of things inside Jungkook’s mind. Maybe he misunderstood the conversation Seokjin was having with the other man, and Seokjin really doesn’t see him as a kid. He’s the youngest in the pack and people often refer to him directly by kid, instead of Jungkook, and also treat him like if he was, indeed, a kid. Jungkook has tried to make his appearance a bit more masculine, more mature, so people would stop calling him a kid. He also stopped playing outside all the time. But it didn’t work and Jungkook has run out of ideas.

There’s also another thing that has been always bothering him, but he never told anyone, not even Seokjin. He knows something is wrong with his body. He had his first transformation when he was sixteen years old, when the usual for a werewolf is to have their first transformation at the age of eleven or twelve. He also feels stronger when he’s in his human form and he can control better than the rest his inner wolf. Jungkook knows it’s not normal, he doesn’t know any person that has the same problem as him in the pack. And it scares him; the feeling that he isn’t like the others, and the thought that he’s not suitable for Seokjin.

But he cannot stop loving Seokjin. How can he, when the elder has always been taking good care of him? They’ve been together almost all his life. They’ve shared a lot of things, they’ve created a lot of memories and they’ve been each other’s support when things got complicated. Jungkook loves all about Seokjin and he can’t stop doing it because Seokjin would never stop being the handsome, kind and adorable man he is. And even if he suddenly became ugly and cold, Jungkook would still love him the same.

Seokjin deserves to be loved; and Jungkook decides that even if he isn’t suitable enough for Seokjin, at least he should try.

So he gets up from the couch and takes a shower determined to make things right and tell Seokjin everything on his mind. He knows the elder isn’t coming home until dinner, if not later, so he decides to entertain himself doing some cleaning, not wanting to go outside yet.

Jungkook is making lunch when his doorbell rings. He wipes his hands before opening the door, and he’s greeted with the sight of Yoongi.

“Hi, Kookie” he says. “Can I come in for a bit?”

Jungkook lets him pass and closes the door after him.

“You can stay for lunch if you want” Jungkook offers. “I’m alone, and I don’t mind cooking for you too”.

“You’re so cute. Of course! I’ve also brought some candies for you”.

Jungkook doesn’t know how to react. He loves candies but it makes him seem like a child.

“You don’t have to bring me candies” Jungkook says, returning to his duty. “I’m not a kid anymore”.

Yoongi stares at him. Jungkook’s tone has been very serious, and that gives Yoongi a little idea about what could be his real problem.

“Is that what upsets you? That you don’t like being called kid?” Yoongi asks, and Jungkook stops what he is doing to look at him. Bingo! Yoongi thinks.

“You all treat me like one” Jungkook says.

“You think I treat you like a kid because I bring you candies?” Jungkook nods his head. Yoongi moves until he’s standing in front of him. “Jungkook, nobody treats you like a kid anymore. I bring you candies because I know you like them, not because I see you as a kid. I do it because you seem so happy when you eat them, that I keep giving them to you to see you smile”.

Jungkook stares amused at him. He can’t believe what he’s hearing: Min Yoongi, the serious and lazy man, that usually doesn’t have pleasant words for anybody, has just declared that he gives Jungkook candies to see him happy!

“Are you serious?” Jungkook asks, incredulous.

“Of course I’m serious! I care about you, Jungkook! We’re friends! We’ve been friends since you were a child. I’ve seen you grow up. I’ve seen you become a man. It’s clear to everyone that you’re not a kid anymore. So stop thinking that. You have a lot of friends here that love you and I’m sure that if you ask them if they think of you as a kid, they will answer the same I did”.

Jungkook is speechless. He turns around and finishes cooking the meal for them.

“I know some people used to talk bad about you” Yoongi continues. “But their opinion shouldn’t matter to you, Jungkookie. The opinions that really count are the ones from your friends. Do you think Jimin and Hoseok play with you because they see you as a kid? They do it because they like it, because they have fun with you. Do you think Taehyung jokes with you because he thinks you’re a kid? He does it because you always put a cute face when you’re mad. And do you really think that if Namjoon sees you as a kid he would allow you to run through the forest alone?”

Jungkook finishes serving the food and Yoongi sits with him at the table. Even when Jungkook doesn’t respond, Yoongi knows he’s wondering about his words.

“You think we do all those things because we see you as a kid. But it’s not true, Jungkook. We do those things because we love you, because we are your friends and we want you to be happy”.

Jungkook stares at him in the verge of tears. He needed this. His friends, talking to him, to remind him that there are people that love him the way he is. And he should love and treasure these persons the most.

“And do you know who wants you to be happy the most? Seokjin” at the mention of the name Jungkook lets out a little sob, and Yoongi stands up to hug him. “You think he takes care of you because he sees you like a kid. Jungkook, let me tell you something: I love you, but you’re really dense. Seokjin takes care of you because he loves you the most. And not like some mother or brother not even a friend. He really loves you…like I love Taehyung” Yoongi confesses to make sure Jungkook has understood how Seokjin truly loves him. The room stays silent for a moment until Jungkook chuckles.

“You’ve just said that you love Taehyung” Jungkook says, and Yoongi smiles, because even when it’s not what he wanted to hear it’s pleasant to see that Jungkook is happy again.

“Don’t pretend that you didn’t know. I’ve always been a bit biased towards him, and I haven’t been discreet about it. But what matters here, is that Seokjin loves you and I know you love Seokjin. So can you please stop thinking everyone sees you as a kid, and accept the love Seokjin wants to give you?”

Jungkook stares into Yoongi’s eyes and sees nothing but pure honesty in them.

“Are you sure Seokjin feels that way?” he asks, only to be sure he understood.

“God, Jungkook! You have to see the way he looks at you when you take off your shirt. I can tell you that is not the way someone would look at a kid. He even drools when it happens. And it’s not a nice view, by the way. Seokjin, I mean. You’ve got some good abs”.

Yoongi winks at him and Jungkook blushes furiously.

“Don’t talk like that please” he murmurs, making Yoongi laugh.

“Aren’t you an adult already? You should get accustomed to it. Now let’s eat. This smells and looks delicious”.

They eat while talking about anything, until Taehyung’s name comes in and Jungkook takes the chance to tease his older friend. Yoongi starts to regret having told Jungkook about it. But they end up laughing, and it melts Yoong’s heart to see at least one of his friends smiling again.

They clean everything together, and after eating some candies Yoongi decides to go.

“You’ll talk with Seokjin, right?” Yoongi asks before leaving.

“I’ll do it. He’s worrying me. He comes home late at night and yesterday I could swear he was drunk” Jungkook answers, and the last part surprises Yoongi.

“Well, I’ll trust you with this. If he’s going to listen to someone, it’ll be you. See you, Kookie! Thank you for the meal! It was really great!”

Jungkook waves at him and closes the door. He goes to his room and searches in his closet for the box in which he saves important items. He looks at all the presents Seokjin has been giving him for the past years. He smiles remembering all the things they’ve done together, and how Seokjin would do something different for each one of his birthdays. But sadly the best gift Seokjin has ever given to him couldn’t be saved in there; but it’s something that Jungkook will always remember.

He’s still looking inside the box when the doorbell rings again. He quickly puts the box back on his place and runs to open the door.

“Hello little brother!” Shura exclaims when he opens the door. Yugyeom is by her side, waving and smiling at him. “How are you?”

“I’m fine thanks. Please come in” Jungkook smiles back and the three of them sit on the couch. “Do you want some candies? Yoongi gave me too many”.

“If it’s fine with you” Shura says, and Jungkook gets up to bring the extra candies.

“Here, eat all you want”.

“Thank you, Kookie! You’re so nice!” Shura says and reaches for some. Meanhwile, Yugyeom stares at him, worried.

“Are you sure you’re fine?” he finally asks. Jungkook sighs before answering.

“I’ll be. Don’t worry about me. Something happened between you two? You seemed awkward last night”.

Yugyeom and Shura looks at each other. Shura gulps and proceeds to tell Jungkook what happened.

When she finishes, Jungkook looks at them worried and surprised that something like that actually happened.

“But are you fine now?” he asks both of them.

“Yes we are. I’ve already apologized to her and Youngjae. And I apologize to you also for hurting your big sister” Yugyeom says bowing to him.

“It’s not necessary. But I can’t believe your dad is still alive and he didn’t want to come back with you. I’m sorry”.

“Don’t worry. I’ll make him understand better next time. Now I’m worried about Jaebum. Jeonghan is only using my father to provoke him. And we can’t do anything against him for the moment. But I’m sure the lead pack will discover how he truly is and will put him under arrest”.

“I really hope that too. I don’t want our pack involved in a war”.

“I pray we won’t have to reach that point. By the way, can I use your bathroom?”

“You don’t really need to ask. We’re friends!” Jungkook happily answers. Yugyeom grins to him before disappearing. Jungkook then turns to talk with Shura. “I’m glad you’re fine with Yugyeom. It must be hard for him to know that his biological family is still alive but they don’t want to stay with him”.

“Next time we face his father, I’ll make him understand” Shura says in a defiant tone. “If I found out that my real family is still alive I wouldn’t leave them.  And I won’t let Yugyeom suffer”.

Jungkook smiles tenderly at her.

“You really like him, don’t you?” he asks, making Shura blush.

“Maybe. But I like you more”.

“But I wasn’t talking that way”.

“I know. I just wanted to let you know that even if I get a boyfriend, my little brother comes first”.

“I won’t interfere between you and Yugyeom. Even though we don’t hang out like before, I still consider him my friend. If you have to be with someone, I would like it to be him”.

“Wow, so serious” Shura laughs and Jungkook also does by instinct. “I would also like if you two start hanging out together again. He would also like that a lot. He needs his friends now more than ever”.

“Of course, count with me. But first I have to sort out something”.

“Something about Seokjin?”

“Yeah”.

Jungkook stares at the floor, a bit flustered. Shura reaches his cheek and caresses it tenderly. Jungkook looks at her and sees her smiling.

“I’m sure everything will be fine. You’re such a lovable person, Jungkookie. And Seokjin adores you so much. I’m envious” Jungkook lets out a chuckle, warming Shura’s heart. “If I had someone like Seokjin who would adore me that much, I wouldn’t let him go. Even if I thought I don’t deserve him” Shura adds, reading Jungkook’s mind. “I would use that love to become stronger. And I would protect and treasure it above everything”.

Jungkook thinks he must be the luckiest guy on Earth for having such best friends. Each one of the friends that have visited Jungkook while he was sad had encouraged him to smile and become stronger again. They’ve given Jungkook enough reasons to overcome his fears and be a better person.

He puts his hand on top of Shura’s and returns the smile.

“Thank you, Shu. I wish you were my real sister. I love you so much!” he declares before throwing himself on the girl.

“Hey, I really would like it. I love you too Kookie” she says, and from the corner of her eye she sees Yugyeom staring at them grinning. She moves a bit until she can pull from Yugyeom’s sleeve forcing him to join the hug. He looks at her confused, but Jungkook notices him and hugs him tightly.

“I love Yugyeom too” he playfully says, making Shura laugh and Yugyeom blush.

“I love you too Jungkook” he says nevertheless.

“Promise me we will hang out together again” Jungkook requests.

“I promise” Yugyeom complies, and Shura hugs both of them tighter.

That night Jungkook feels full of energy. He’s really glad his friends visited him and gave him some advices. He prepares a special dinner for Seokjin. But it’s already late and he isn’t home yet; the food already cold.

“I should have figured it” Jungkook murmurs to himself, finally eating alone and saving the rest for Seokjin.

He waits for him sitting on the couch. He has the tv on but isn’t really watching whatever is on it at the moment. Time passes and he’s about to go out and search for him when he hears someone knocking at his door. When he opens it, Namjoon is outside.

“Hi, Kookie. I know it’s late but can we talk?” he request, and Jungkook can’t say no. So he lets him in and offers him some water, which the elder gladly accepts.

“I’m sure you know why I am here” Namjoon says, Jungkook nods and waits for him to continue, expectant.” I’ve been trying not to interfere because this is for you and Seokjin to solve, but I can’t endure it anymore. Jungkook, why don’t you want to talk with Seokjin? He’s having a hard time because he thinks he did something bad but he can’t figure it out, and neither can I. Can you explain to me?” Namjoon asks, and Jungkook lowers his head, intimidated. Namjoon senses it and quickly adds “I’m not asking as your pack’s leader; I’m asking as your friend, as a person that deeply cares about you. So please, can you trust me with this? I won’t tell anyone if you don’t want to. But at least talk to me”.

Hearing this, Jungkook inhales deeply and exhales. He really wants to tell Namjoon. He was the one who took care of him when his parents died and has been really kind with him. He owes him that much at least.

“I’m afraid of myself” Jungkook finally says, and Namjoon stares at him, surprised at the statement. “I know it sounds weird. But I feel different. My body is different. You know I had my first transformation late. And since then, I’ve been more comfortably with my inner wolf. I don’t need to control him that much. And that scares me. Why am I different, Namjoon? It’s bad?”

Namjoon sighs. He knew there will come a day he would have to tell Jungkook the truth about himself. But it can’t be today; he needs Seokjin and also Shura with him.

“Jungkook” he says, extending his hand and Jungkook quickly reaches and holds it. “It’s true that you are different. But it’s not like you think. It’s not bad; there are more people like you outside. It’s not normal but you aren’t a monster or anything like that. If that is what is bothering you, come with me tomorrow and I’ll tell you everything. But you have to bring Seokjin and Shura with you”.

“Why? And why didn’t you tell me anything if you knew?”

“Because it’s dangerous, Jungkook. I wanted to tell you. But if you knew you would be in danger. I thought I was protecting you, but I had no right to hide it from you. I’m sorry, Jungkook. If I knew you would feel this way, I would have told you sooner. Are you mad at me?”

Jungkook feels a bit mad, that’s true; but he can sense that Namjoon’s apology is sincere. And he can’t be mad with him. Too many years of friendship can’t be ruined by that.

“I’m a bit annoyed. But I can’t be mad at you. I just want to know what ‘s wrong with me”.

Namjoon smiles at him and squeezes his hand to calm him, and Jungkook does.

“I promise you’ll know everything tomorrow. But tonight you have to seriously talk with Seokjin. He’s busying himself with a lot of work and I suspect he has been drinking secretly. We have to stop him before it gets worse”.

“Don’t worry; I was actually waiting for him when you came. I thought that I wouldn’t be suitable for Seokjin because of what I told you. But now I feel relieved. Today I understood I don’t have to be scared of anything, not even myself. I love him, Namjoon. And even if in the end I’m not suitable for him, then I’ll become better until I be”.

Namjoon smiles at him. He’s glad Jungkook finally found courage to face his fears and is taking the next step to be with Seokjin. He has been waiting for this day to come. The day when Seokjin and Jungkook will be together after years of seeing them being sweet with each other and recently suffering too.

“I’m really proud of you, Jungkook” he says while putting his hand on Jungkook’s shoulder. “You know you’ve always had my blessing. I would love to see you together tomorrow” he stands up and gives the younger a playful wink.

“You’re leaving already?” Jungkook asks.

“Yes, I’m going to find Seokjin and send him home immediately. I’ll be cheering for you from my bed”.

Jungkook nods and gives him a hug before Namjoon could go.

“Thank you, Namjoon. I’m really thankful that you found me that day”.

“Hey, it was my pleasure. I’m really fond of you, you know? Continue being the adorable Jungkookie you’ve always been. Don’t let anything change you” he returns the hug and then goes out. Jungkook sees him walking away before closing the door and returning to the couch to wait for Seokjin.

After ten minutes the door is opened and closed with a loud bang. It startles Jungkook, and he becomes more scared when he looks at Seokjin. His face is red and his eyes are filled with fury. But Seokjin hasn’t seen him yet. He hasn’t even taken off his jacket; he goes directly to the kitchen and searches for something. Jungkook runs to him when Seokjin finally finds a bottle full of wine, and quickly takes it away from him.

“Give it back!” Seokjin yells. He’s visibly drunk and probably pissed off because Namjoon forced him to go home.

“No, Seokjin! You’re drunk!” Jungkook says, struggling to keep Seokjin away from the bottle.

“I’m not drunk! But I really want to be!”

That takes Jungkook for surprise and Seokjin takes the chance to push Jungkook away. But the latter reacts quickly and drags Seokjin away from the kitchen.

“Why are you like this?” he asks the elder.

“Let go” Seokjin commands angrily, and Jungkook obeys. Seokjin doesn’t turn back to pick up the bottle, but doesn’t look at Jungkook either. He rests his head against the wall, meanwhile Jungkook stares at him, concerned.

“Tell me Seokjin. Why are you doing this? You aren’t eating and you haven’t slept well for days. And now you’re drinking a lot. You’ve never drunk that much before. Tell me what’s wrong”.

Seokjin sighs loudly. Jungkook thinks he’s calmed now and is going to talk with him; but he doesn’t have time to react when he’s pinned against the door.

“Do you want to know why I am behaving like this?” Seokjin angrily asks, his hands grabbing Jungkook’s wrists tightly. Jungkook is sure it’s going to leave a mark later. “You made me like this, Jungkook. I’ve dedicated all my life to please you and suddenly you don’t want to talk to me anymore. Don’t you think it’s unfair?”

“Jin you’re hurting me” Jungkook says, but Seokjin only closes more the distance between them and puts one leg between Jungkook’s, making sure he’s not going anywhere.

“Now I’m Jin, like if we were friends again. You know something? We aren’t. I don’t want to be your friend” Seokjin blurts, and Jungkook’s heart clenches. He knows Seokjin is drunk and probably is not conscious of what he’s saying; but it still hurts.

“S-Seokjin please… stop” Jungkook pleads, staring right into Seokjin’s eyes, the latter doing the same. And to his surprise, they’re not empty, but they aren’t angry either. Jungkook can see pain and sadness in them. And also fear. Jungkook has never seen Seokjin so vulnerable, so broken; he feels horrible for turning Seokjin like that. “I’m sorry” Jungkook manages to say when Seokjin loosens his grip a bit. Seokjin looks at him one last time before he ducks his head to the ground.

They remain like that for a while until Jungkook hears sobs. Realizing they come from Seokjin he moves his arm, trying to reach his cheek. But Seokjin notices and tightens his grip again. Jungkook waits for what’s about to come, when Seokjin finally raises his head and looks at him again, tears running wild down his cheeks.

“Why, Jungkook?” he asks. Jungkook has lost his ability to talk. He can’t bear looking at Seokjin. It’s too sad. Too unfair. An angel like him should never cry, Jungkook thinks. He’s on the verge of tears when he hears Seokjin’s voice again. “Why can’t you love me like I love you?”

Jungkook stares at him speechless. He wasn’t expecting that. What should he say now?

“I’ve been always in love with you” Seokjin continues. “I first loved you when Namjoon brought you to me. You were so scared, and needed someone to take care of you. And I did, because I didn’t want to see you suffer. I had seen you grow up, and I’ve grown up with you too. You learned from me and I also learned from you. We were happy together” Seokjin takes a deep sigh while Jungkook is still dazed, waiting for Seokjin to finish what he’s saying. “Then something changed. I don’t know when it happened, but it did. The type of love I was giving to you wasn’t the same as before. I loved you at another level. I wanted to hug you and kiss you and hold your hand all the time. I even wanted to have sex with you. I’m still waiting for it to happen”. Seokjin looks at him again and Jungkook blushes madly.

“But you don’t love me like that” Seokjin says with a sad smile. “I thought you did, but suddenly you pushed me away and I didn’t know what could have gone wrong. Was that kiss, Jungkook? Was that kiss what changed everything?”

Seokjin finally releases him, but before he can go away Jungkook catches his arm and intertwines their fingers. Maybe the alcohol helped Seokjin being brave, but now is Jungkook’s turn to be brave and face the problem directly.

“I asked for it. It wasn’t the kiss” Jungkook answers. Seokjin has stopped crying and looks at Jungkook confused. “Jin, I love you too. Like you love me. I’ve been in love with you the entire time. I should have told you when that kiss happened. I should have been brave. I should have told you all my problems, so we wouldn’t be in this situation now. I’m sorry. But I was insecure, Jin. I thought I was a burden to you. I heard a lot of people saying that. I thought you were only taking care of me because you saw me as a kid”. Seokjin wants to protest but Jungkook continues before he can say anything. “Thanks to our amazing friends I understood that I was wrong. That I should have listened to you. I should have talked to you about it instead of just assuming things. I thought you deserved more but now I don’t care. Because I want to be the best for you, and for you I’ll be more confident. I’ll learn to love and appreciate myself. But I need you with me” Jungkook says and kisses Seokjin’s knuckles. “Jin, can you forgive me for being an idiot and for hurting you? I’m really sorry”.

Seokjin seems to wonder about it, and it makes Jungkook worry. What if he doesn’t forgive him? What if he messed up for good and there’s no way to go back?

Suddenly he feels soft lips against his own. The same lips that kissed him some time ago. Even when they taste like alcohol, they’re still sweet to Jungkook. He’s quick to respond to it, and Seokjin pulls him into his embrace. Jungkook melts against Seokjin’s body while they kiss tenderly. Seokjin’s hands are on his back, holding him in place, meanwhile Jungkook’s hands pull from Seokjin’s jacket bringing their bodies closer.

The desire in both of them is almost unbearable. The two have been wanting to feel each other for a long time now, so the tender and sweet kisses quickly evolve into hot and passionate ones. Jungkook stops pulling from Seokjin’s jacket in order to take it off from him. Seokjin lets him, and when he’s finished he pushes the younger against the wall. Jungkook growls but lets Seokjin kiss him from his ear till the end of his neck. Seokjin takes his shirt off without permission, but Jungkook doesn’t protest. He moans Seokjin’s name while the latter continues descending, kissing every part of his exposed body until he reaches his pants.

Jungkook pulls Seokjin up and kisses him again. Without thinking he takes his hand and guides him to his room. He throws Seokjin onto the bed and does the same thing Seokjin has previously done to him.

“W-wait Jungkook” Seokjin says between moans. Jungkook raises his head from his chests and looks at him expectantly. “We can’t do this”.

Jungkook starts to panic and quickly sits beside him.

“Why? What’s wrong?” he asks worriedly.

“If we do this I don’t think I’ll be able to contain myself” Seokjin answers. Jungkook raises an eyebrow at him.

“That’s the idea, isn’t it?” he asks, confused. He hasn’t done this with anybody but he definitely knows how it works. Seokjin bits his lip, and Jungkook lets out a growl of protest.

“It’s not like that. I really want to do this with you now. But we can’t”.

“Why not?” Jungkook eagerly asks.

“Because if we do this we’re going to mate. I won’t be able to control my inner wolf and we will end up linked to each other forever”. Jungkook stares at him, more confused than before.

“You never told me about this”.

“I wanted to. But I didn’t know how to do it without it seeming like I was giving you ‘the talk’” Seokjin says, blushing a bit. And Jungkook can’t help but smile because he’s incredibly cute. “But Namjoon wants to tell all of you tomorrow. He feels like it’s his duty. We should wait until tomorrow”.

Jungkook doesn’t know what to do. He knows nothing about the mating issue. And his inner wolf is under control, like always. Is he, himself, who wants to continue. He has been longing for this for a long time now. He wants Seokjin and wants him now.

“I can’t do it” Jungkook finally says. “Jin, I don’t know what’s with that mating thing. But I already want to spend my life together with you, so it won’t really change anything”.

“No, Jungkook, you don’t understand. If you’re mated with me and I die by unnatural causes you’ll die too. This is serious. I can’t let it happen for the moment”.

Seokjin turns to the other side and hugs himself. He is also desperate for Jungkook. But he can’t risk anything now. He’s aware that outside they have enemies. Until the situation becomes stable he can’t mate Jungkook.

He wants to cry again, because finally Jungkook told him he loves him and he wants him. But he has to wait. Suddenly he feels strong arms hugging him, and he lets himself rest between them.

“Seokjin, listen to me. You have a lot to explain” Jungkook says, dangerously close to his ear. “But I really want to mate you. It doesn’t make any difference if we do it now or later. Because if you die when we aren’t mated I’ll die likewise. I can’t live without you. So please, look at me” Seokjin obeys, moved by the younger’s words. “Everything is going to be fine, trust me. And I won’t let anyone hurt you, much less kill you. Let me show you how much I love you”.

Seokjin stays still, but lets Jungkook move him until he’s lying on his back again. Jungkook straddles him, taking Seokjin’s cheeks between his hands.

“I love you, Seokjin. Everything is going to be fine” Jungkook reassures him again.

“I love you too, Jungkook” he says, and then Jungkook is kissing him slowly but tenderly again. Seokjin puts his hands on Jungkook’s thighs, making the younger moan into the kiss.

At this very moment, nothing else matters in the world for Seokjin. He forgets about everything and allows himself to melt under Jungkook’s body. Because he’s finally where he should’ve always been: with Jungkook, making love instead of avoiding each other.

Chapter Text

Seokjin was sixteen years old when Namjoon asked him to form a new pack. They were from the same pack; a pack that believed in the survival of the strongest ones. Since they were kids they were forced to fight against each other and the leaders did horrible things to them. But Namjoon stood out for them and reported everything to the lead pack. They took care of the situation and they were freed. The lead pack offered Namjoon the opportunity to form a new pack since he was the one who denounced them. He agreed and asked Yoongi to be his right hand and Seokjin, Hoseok, Taehyung and Jimin to be part of it. They all agreed and worked hard together to give a new home to people in their same situation or similar.

Seokjin was seventeen years old when one summer night he couldn’t sleep and spent the night reading. It was 3 a.m. when the door opened and Namjoon walked in all sweaty. Seokjin only stared at him until he noticed another person behind him. He stood up and was about to ask what happened when Namjoon told him to take care of the child so he could search the zone to know if they had been followed. Seokjin nodded and Namjoon left them alone.

The kid was quiet, looking at the floor with the saddest face Seokjin had ever seen. He approached the kid and stood in front of him.

“Hi” he said. The boy raised his head a little, bangs of dark brown hair covering his forehead. “What’s your name?”

The boy remained silent. Suddenly, he started to cry. Seokjin instinctively hugged him, and the boy sobbed hard. His knees were weak, so Seokjin took him and placed him on the sofa, where the kid continued crying. When he relaxed, Seokjin let him go and offered him a glass of water. The boy took it and emptied it quickly.

“Thank you” the boy said, surprising Seokjin. He smiled at him while ruffling his hair.

“It’s nothing. My name is Kim Seokjin, but everyone calls me Jin”.

The boy looked at the floor again and muttered something Seokjin couldn’t catch. When he realized that Seokjin didn’t hear it, he spoke louder.

“Jeon…Jungkook” he said.

“So, your name is Jungkook?” the boy nodded, “It’s a beautiful name”.

Jungkook blushed a little, and then looked at Seokjin.

“You have a pretty face” he said before Namjoon came back.

“I’m glad everything is okay in here” he said, making a sign with his hand telling Seokjin to approach him. The latter looked at Jungkook before getting up, but the younger was looking at the floor again.

“I found him at the forest. His parents got killed, and I think he saw it and ran away”, Namjoon explained.

Seokjin nodded and turned to look at the boy again. He was making a sad face again and his eyes were tearing.

“I’ll take care of him” Seokjin said without thinking about it twice.

“Are you sure?” Namjoon asked him and Seokjin nodded, “okay” and he went with Jungkook. “Jungkook” Namjoon said, “my friend Jin will take care of you now”.

The kid looked at Seokjin and saw him smiling. He nodded.

“I will be here too if you need something” Namjoon said before leaving them alone in the living room.

Seokjin sat next to Jungkook and took his hands in his.

“I’m sorry about your parents”, Jungkook shrugged a bit at the mention, “my parents were killed too”.

Jungkook looked at him empathetically and freed his hands from Seokjin’s so he could hug the elder.

“I’m sorry, too” he whispered.

Seokjin grinned at him and returned the hug, caressing Jungkook’s back.

“Will you be by my side now?” the younger asked.

“Always”.

Since that day, they became inseparable. Jungkook was afraid of the strangers, and there all were except Seokjin and Namjoon. Jungkook was always by Seokjin’s side. The older made him feel safe.

Jungkook confronted his first transformation when he was sixteen. He was going through puberty and the first full moon night he needed to change into his wolf form. He was in his room when he felt his body started trembling and went outside. He knocked at Seokjin’s room door. They moved into the same apartment a year ago, just the two of them. Seokjin opened the door and his face became worried as he saw the younger down on his knees.

“Jinnie” he said, “I don’t know what’s happening but it hurts”. His back curved and the sound of a broken bone was heard. “A lot!” he cried, tears in his eyes. Seokjin carried him out and left him on the ground. He let out a loud scream when more bones started to change.

“Don’t leave me!” Jungkook pleaded.

“Of course not!” Seokjin said, hugging Jungkook. “Listen, this is going to hurt, but you have to be brave. It will fade away, you’re strong, you can do this. I’ll be with you all the time”. Jungkook pressed his nails against Seokjin’s shoulder and the elder let out a growl when he felt the blood running through his skin. But he didn’t care. He had to hold on for Jungkook.

With a loud scream, Jungkook changed himself completely, and instinctively he ran to the forest to hunt something. Seokjin turned himself into a wolf and followed him. They captured a rabbit and ran everywhere all night long.

When Jungkook woke up the next day, his body felt weak and his head was dizzy. He was at home, lying on the sofa only covered by a blanket. He heard the sound of a shower and knew Seokjin was in there, so he came to his room and put some clothes on. He returned to the living room and minutes later Seokjin walked in, his fit body only covered by a towel tied at his waist, showing his abs and broad shoulders. Seokjin was definitely gorgeous. He was jerking his hair to dry it, and there wasn’t anything sensual in it, but Jungkook found it kind of sexy.

He had never seen Seokjin like that before. They got a lot closer through the years and they saw each other a lot, but he never felt like that. Nevertheless, Jungkook knew he felt more than just gratitude towards the elder for caring about him. The feelings he had for Seokjin the first time they met were so different from what they were at that point. He loved the other, but not the same way he did before. He didn’t know well when did it happened, but it did. Jungkook wanted Seokjin to hug him, to be by his side at the good and bad moments like before, but now he wanted also to make Seokjin happy, to be the reason for his smile every day, to spend all his life with him. He loved Seokjin in a romantic way.

So the sight of a half-naked Seokjin only worsened it all. He felt shivers through his entire body and he blushed. Fucking hormones, he thought.

For each Jungkook’s birthday Seokjin made a special event. When he reached 17 years old, Seokjin covered his eyes with a cloth, got him into the car and drove to the beach. When they arrived, Seokjin removed the cloth and Jungkook was surprised to find himself on a desert beach. The place was wonderful even at that time, with the sun disappearing at the horizon. Seokjin put a large towel on the sand and placed all the food he made for both there. Jungkook sat by his side while they watched the sunset. Jungkook was amused by it, and Seokjin was not only amazed by the sunset but for Jungkook’s reaction. He always did his best to make Jungkook happy since the day he accepted to take care of him.

They ate and rested on the towel for a while until Seokjin suggested getting into the water.

“But I haven’t brought my trunks” Jungkook said.

Seokjin got up and went to the car to grab something. When he returned he was carrying a present with a colorful envelopment.

“Surprise!” Seokjin exclaimed, offering it to Jungkook. He stared at him for a moment before taking the present and opening it to see a pair of black and red trunks. He jumped in joy and hugged Seokjin tightly.

“Thank you” he said, and Seokjin’s heart skipped a bit.

“Go change yourself and then let’s play in the water” Seokjin said with a smile, breaking the hug.

Jungkook went behind the car and changed while Seokjin took his clothes away. When Jungkook came back, Seokjin was dazzled by Jungkook. He was a cute boy when he was a child, and with the years he grew up not only cute but also handsome. That night with only the moon light shining for them, Jungkook was the most wonderful thing Seokjin had ever seen. He was a bit proud of him for raising Jungkook so well, but also part of him felt…well, Seokjin didn’t know how to describe it.

They played in the water until late that night, Jungkook falling more in love with the elder and Seokjin feeling overly happy.

For Jungkook’s eighteenth birthday, Seokjin took him to the fighting club for the first time in the younger’s life to celebrate he was now an adult. Jungkook had his first fight and he won. The loser had to pay a beer for him. That’s how Jungkook tasted his first –and free- beer with Seokjin’s permission, of course. He wouldn’t do anything without Seokjin’s permission. After some more beers, they were a bit drunk, Jungkook more than Seokjin thanks to his low tolerance to alcohol. Seokjin knew his feelings for the younger changed a while ago; but that night, Seokjin finally realized what those feelings had become. He was beyond worried with Jungkook having a fight, but he trusted the younger nevertheless. When Jungkook won and jumped onto him to celebrate, Seokjin felt his heart beating faster than any time before. And at that point, with some alcohol in his body, Seokjin felt tempted to kiss the younger to make him know how much he cared for his ‘Kookie’.

Seokjin finally realized that he didn’t have any right to stole Jungkook’s first kiss and decided to not do anything, much to Jungkook’s dismay.

The nineteenth was probably the most special and unforgettable birthday Jungkook ever had. There was an occasion when Jungkook asked Seokjin about his opinion about love. Seokjin answered that he was still waiting for the one, and he was saving his first kiss for that person. Jungkook nodded, he felt the same about it. He had been reading a lot about love recently and wanted to know how his beloved one felt about it. Jungkook wanted to be the one. He wanted to be his first.

Jungkook thought that maybe Seokjin was still seeing him like a kid. He was trying so hard to erase that image of him, working out harder to get a fit body, to become a real man. But everyone in the pack still continued calling him ‘kid’ and that was annoying him horrors. So he started to become a bit cold towards the others without knowing.

That year Seokjin had no idea of what to do. The previous years they had done everything. When the day came, Seokjin was still without a plan, so he locked themselves at home and did a Lord of the Rings marathon all day. Jungkook didn’t complain; he loved those films, so he was more than satisfied with the choice. Plus he got the chance to cuddle with Seokjin all day.

It was night already when they were watching the last movie. They stopped to make dinner and when they finished, Seokjin brought the birthday cake. The only light they had was the one the candles were making. Jungkook was so happy with all that; it was something quite normal, but special to him anyways because Seokjin made it. He put a lot of effort in that, and Jungkook felt bad because he only gave Seokjin a present for his birthday, without doing something special.

Seokjin told him to make a wish before blowing the candles. Jungkook stared at the wall for a moment before looking at Seokjin right into his eyes.

“I want my present” he said.

“Jungkookie, if you say it loud it won’t become true”.

“I want you to make my wish come true”.

Seokjin raised an eyebrow; Jungkook was still looking serious at him.

“Okay, tell me”.

Jungkook moved his head to the side before closing his eyes.

“Can you…”

He thought about it. He knew that it could end well or bad; but he decided to finally take the risk and try.

“…maybe…”

Seokjin’s heart started to beat so fast he thought it was going to pull out from his body. What was with all the tension? Jungkook finally opened his eyes and stared again at Seokjin before ending the question.

“…give me your first kiss?”

Seokjin was shocked at that moment. He never thought that Jungkook would want something like that. He wasn’t a kid since long ago, but he didn’t know the younger was interested by that thing. Jungkook blushed and looked at the floor; embarrassment all over his face. Seokjin looked anywhere but Jungkook, wondering why Jungkook would want him to kiss him. He relaxed himself and cleared his throat.

“Jungkook, why-”

“You said you want to give it to someone special,” Jungkook cut him, staring again at his eyes. Seokjin could tell he was talking seriously, “so do I. And that’s why I want you to be my first, and if I’m so special to you like you are to me, then I’ll be more than glad to be your first, too”.

Seokjin was speechless. Of course Jungkook was special to him. In all his life, Seokjin never met anyone who could make him feel the way Jungkook did with only seeing him. Jungkook, on the other hand, started to wonder if it was the worst idea he ever had.

“Jin, I’m sorry. Can we forget about this and-“

But he was cut by Seokjin’s lips placed on his own. Jungkook felt his heart stop at that moment and looked at Seokjin, who was kissing him with his eyes closed in a tender way. He shut his eyes closed too and enjoyed his best present ever.

Seconds after Seokjin broke the kiss. He didn’t know from where he took the courage to do that, but he didn’t regret it. In the end, he was glad that Jungkook had asked.

“I hope you won’t regret it” he said, avoiding Jungkook’s gaze.

Jungkook just laughed at the nonsense Seokjin just said.

“I won’t, never” he placed his hand on top of Seokjin’s hand and the elder looked back at him. “Do you regret it, Jin?”

Seokjin stared at him and shook his head before smiling at him.

“Of course not. I gave it to the most important person in my life”.

Jungkook wasn’t ready to hear something like that, and wondered if it was a confession, but discarded the idea. Besides, he wasn’t ready to confess to him.

“Well, I will make another wise then”.

Seokjin nodded and looked at Jungkook while he positioned himself to blow the candle. He closed his eyes and blew it, leaving them in the dark.

I wish I’ll be always by your side.

Last year had been problematic to Jungkook. Namjoon recruited a lot of newbies and Seokjin had a lot of work since then. He always had time for Jungkook, but it wasn’t the same. Jungkook didn’t know what else to do to probe he was truly a man and to make everyone stop calling him kid. But things only got worse one day he was returning from working out and heard two newbies talking about Seokjin. He stood in there, hidden from the boys but close enough to catch what they were saying.

“Seokjin has a very good reputation in here” one said, “he’s good at fighting and knows how to do a thousand things”.

“He is also funny and kind”, the other said. Both males were younger than Jungkook.

“I wish he was my teacher”.

“Me too, but he only has eyes for his Jungkook”.

Jungkook jumped a bit at the mention of his name.

“I honestly don’t understand how he can stay with a kid like him”, seriously, you are more kid than I! “That loser only goes everywhere to do nothing and has this cold face like he’s mad with the world”.

“I would be mad with the world if I had his face” they both laughed, but Jungkook was beyond angry. He clenched his fists but didn’t move from his position.

“Seokjin always says that Jungkook is the most amazing person he has met. I bet he hasn’t met many. That fool has nothing special”.

“The only good thing he has is Seokjin”.

Jungkook’s heart skipped a bit at that. He never stopped to think about what made him special for Seokjin to stay by his side. But the guys were right: the only special thing Jungkook has is Seokjin. Seokjin is the opposite from him: he’s handsome, kind, so open with everyone, funny, smart and hard-working. Jungkook knew that there was something wrong with his body. And besides that he never found himself attractive or strong neither. No one could find anything good in him. Not even Seokjin.

The boys laughed hard while going away and Jungkook ran to his room to burst into tears.

Another day, Jungkook heard two young girls talking and stopped to listen to them.

“Have you seen that Jungkook guy? He’s so cute and handsome…”

“And has this bad boy vibe, too. I like that.”

Jungkook sighed in relief. He was expecting something like the other day, but the fact that the girls where actually saying good things about him made him a bit happy.

“Have you heard about the trip from the newbies? The pack organizes a trip to train the new members out of here for some time. Maybe Jungkook is going, and I want Seokjin to go too”.

“I don’t think so. I’ve heard that Seokjin never goes to that trip, neither goes Jungkook”.

“I wonder why it is”.

“Well, some people say that Seokjin always refuses so he can stay in here with Jungkook. It seems that Jungkook is a bit clingy towards Seokjin”.

Jungkook was starting to hyperventilate. Why Seokjin never told him about that trip? He didn’t even know the existence of it! And why did he refuse to go for him?

He regretted having stalked the girls and ran again to his room to cry.

Of course Seokjin noticed the change in Jungkook’s mood. The younger seemed to be avoiding the other, and Seokjin wondered why. Maybe he was mad because they were spending less time together. Seokjin made breakfast for both of them, knowing that Jungkook was still asleep and would wake up when he was gone. He stared at the calendar while drinking his coffee. In five days it would be Jungkook’s twentieth birthday. He decided to focus that days on Jungkook’s present to cheer him up.

The following days Jungkook kept hearing comments about how wonderful Seokjin was and how shit he was. He knew better than anyone how great Seokjin was and how he was a fool. At first he thought he could just ignore it, ignore the people’s opinion about him. But with time he started to believe it was true, that he was a burden to Seokjin. He only wanted to prove him that he wasn’t a kid anymore, but it seemed like he was changing into a dumb guy. He thought he didn’t deserve to be by Seokjin’s side. Seokjin was brighter than the day and he darker than night.

He almost forgot his own birthday. That day he went to the forest and spent a lot of hours there just doing nothing, walking alone thinking about his feelings about Seokjin and what people were thinking about him, or climbing onto the trees.

When he returned to the house it was late on the evening. Seokjin wasn’t there so Jungkook took a shower and sat on the sofa, bringing his legs to his chest and capturing them with his arms. He buried his head in his legs and just remained on that position until the door opened and Seokjin walked in with a lot of colorful balloons.

“Surprise!” he exclaimed. Jungkook raised his head and blinked a few times. He realized then that it was his birthday. He stared at Seokjin for a moment, not knowing what to say. Seokjin stared at him, waiting for some reaction, but the younger was frozen on his spot.

Seokjin dropped all the bags and the balloons when he noticed his red puffy eyes. He ran to Jungkook and hugged him.

“Kookie! What happened?”

Jungkook was trapped against Seokjin’s chest, but he could catch the concern in the latter’s voice.

“Nothing Jinnie” he answered. Seojin’s warmth was filling his entire body, and the sadness disappeared from Jungkook as he returned the hug, “I just missed you”.

Seokjin hugged him tighter and grinned.

“I missed you too. I’m sorry I’ve been busy recently”.

Jungkook nodded his head in Seokjin’s chest.

“It’s okay. Now you’re with me”.

Seokjin left a kiss on his forehead before breaking the embrace. He stared at Jungkook and wiped a few tears from Jungkook’s eyes.

“Hey! Today is your birthday, crying is forbidden”.

It’s a bit late for that, thought.

Jungkook smiled at Seokjin and the elder caressed his cheek a bit before standing up.

“I’ve bought some things for you. Come on, let’s celebrate!”

Jungkook helped him taking everything out of the bags and placing the balloons near him to play with them. Seokjin had everything Jungkook liked: strawberry milk, snacks, pineapple juice…even cheesecake ice cream! Jungkook was so shocked because he never told Seokjin about what food he truly liked. How does he know? Jungkook wondered if Seokjin got it with just observing him.

“This is also for you” he said while putting a diadem with a black cute cat on it on Jungkook’s hair. He looked so cute with that Seokjin felt the urge to pinch his cheeks and hug him.

Jungkook looked at the mirror and couldn’t help but think that he looked cute with that. He liked it; cute stuff had always been his weakness. And Seokjin was the cutest thing he had ever seen.

“You’re soooooooooooooooo cute!” Seokjin shouted, placing his arm onto Jungkook’s shoulders while holding his phone with his free hand to take a photo. Jungkook put a cute face and Seokjin smiled widely.

“Thank you” Jungkook said.

“It’s nothing. Let’s eat!”

After they ate all the food Seokjin had brought, and they were watching another movie –Jungkook’s choice- while eating the ice cream. Suddenly Seokjin jumped on his seat like he forgot something and Jungkook stared at him, confused.

“Jungkookie, I have another present for you”, he said while searching inside his pocket for something.

“More? Wasn’t all this enough?”

“Never is enough for my Kookie”.

Jungkook blushed a bit while Seokjin found what he was looking for. It was a small box. Instead of giving it to Jungkook, he started to open it himself.

“You know, I’m so sorry I haven’t been spending with you much time. I know this present won’t pay for it, but I hope it will remind you that no matter what, I’ll always be by your side”.

After saying that, he picked a necklace from the box. It was a part of the ying-yang.

“I know it’s a bit cliché, but I really think we are like the ying and the yang. We are both different that we suit each other perfectly and we complement each other. You are my half, and I will never be complete without you. We are a perfect team. So I want you to have this”.

Jungkook was speechless. After all he has been through this days, he wasn’t expecting something like that. He felt stupid; he should have asked Seokjin about his thoughts about him and not listen to random people’s opinion. He was about to cry when Seokjin put it on Jungkook. He took it in his hands and stared at it. It wasn’t as special as his first kiss was, but it was the second best gift Seokjin has given to him.

“I have one, too” Seokjin said, but before he could put it on himself, Jungkook took it and put it on him. They stared at each other for a moment.

“Thank you, Seokjin. For everything you always do to make me happy. For being with me even when I’m an annoying kid. You know I love you, right?”

“Finally, you’ve said it! I’ve been telling you how much I love you but this is the first time you’ve said it to me”.

Jungkook was confused. He didn’t know if Seokjin meant in a romantic way, but he just let go and hugged him.

“I’m glad you’re my partner” Seokjin said, and Jungkook understood Seokjin didn’t love him in a romantic way, but like a friend. Nevertheless, he was still happy with that.

After that, things only get worse. Seokjin was busier than before and Jungkook continued working on his cold boy image and trying to find a way to make Seokjin look at him like a real man. They spent time together only to have lunch and dinner, but the feelings and good vibes between them were the same. Even when they were most of the time separated from each other, the necklaces they were always wearing reminded them that no matter what, they can still count on each other.

Chapter Text

Jungkook wakes up in the morning with Seokjin snoring lightly by his side. He smiles at the sight and caresses softly his cheek. He gets up from the bed and starts collecting his clothes. Then he looks at his night table and finds the necklace he took out from himself at some point last night. He doesn’t remember doing it, but probably did so it won’t be ruined or could interfere and hurt one of them.

He touches it delicately. It’s a precious object that he always wears with him unless he has to turn into a werewolf or is doing something that would harm it. He glances one more time at Seokjin before going to the kitchen to find his shirt and make breakfast before Seokjin wakes up.

He picks his shirt up from the floor and then proceeds to do the same with Seokjin’s jacket. But when he lifts it, something falls from the pocket. Jungkook bends down to pick it, and then recognizes the object: it’s the other half from his necklace, Seokjin’s half. Jungkook wants to ask the elder why it was in his jacket; but it’s happy that Seokjin still takes it with him nevertheless.

He places the jacket carefully on the couch, and then proceeds to search for something to eat. He decides to make some pancakes for them, like Seokjin used to do. He smiles at the memory and picks everything he needs.

He’s almost done making the pancakes when his mind drifts to what happened last night. He’s glad it happened, but his mind keeps wondering about all the information he received yesterday, not only from Seokjin but also from Namjoon. Luckily, he’ll get some answers today.

“Oh my God, Kookie! You’re burning them!” Seokjin shouts, hurrying to save the pancakes before they turn into a burnt mess, Jungkook letting him take his place. Of course, Seokjin’s first instinct is to save the food.

“Is food more important than me?” Jungkook asks with a pout.

“Of course not. Or maybe yes, I don’t know. My head is about to explode and I feel dizzy but I had to come here in a rush because you almost burned the kitchen”.

“Hey, I had everything under control!”

“No, you hadn’t. Now just sit and wait for breakfast”.

But instead of obeying Seokjin, Jungkook just walks behind him and hugs him.

“You didn’t say ‘good morning’” Jungkook whispers on his ear, sending shivers through Seokjin’s body, and then pecks his cheek.

Seokjin turns off the stove and faces Jungkook, dropping a kiss on the younger’s forehead.

“Good morning my Kookie” he says, making Jungkook blush.

“Yah, what’s with that ‘my Kookie’?” he asks, Seokjin chuckling at the sight of his mate blushing cutely.

“Well, you’re mine now, remember?” Seokjin says while touching Jungkook’s neck, where he has a small bite mark. Jungkook places his hand above Seokjin’s, and then he touches the matching bite mark Seokjin has on his neck.

“And you’re also mine” Jungkook says, making Seokjin smile. “You know, you have to explain everything to me later”.

“I know. But let’s just eat for the moment” Seokjin disposes the food in two plates and offers one to Jungkook. They grab some juice and then they sit at the table.

“I found your necklace in your jacket” Jungkook comments, and Seokjin stops chewing. “You weren’t wearing it”.

“I just took it out because I felt like I didn’t deserve it”.

“Why?”

Seokjin reaches for Jungkook’s hand and holds it above the table.

“I thought you didn’t want me by your side anymore because I did something wrong so I removed it. But I still kept it with me, as a reminder of the times we were happy together”.

Jungkook takes the necklace from his pocket and gets up, moving towards Seokjin to put the necklace on him again.

“I’m sorry” he says while doing it. “It’s my entire fault”.

Before Jungkook can go, Seokjin grabs him by the arm and forces him to sit on his lap. Jungkook looks at him surprised, but he enjoys pretty much being seated on his lover’s lap.

“We talked about it yesterday. It’s in the past now. Let’s just enjoy the moment from now on. We won’t hide anything from each other anymore. No more secrets and no more avoiding each other. Let’s go back to how we were before”.

“But we can’t” Jungkook says, Seokjin furrowing his eyebrows. “We were only friends before. We’re more than that now”.

Seokjin relaxes and grabs his fork to feed Jungkook.

“Then what are we now?” he playfully asks.

“We’re mates” Jungkook responds, allowing Seokjin to feed him.

“Only mates? It sounds so formal”.

“Boyfriends?”

“But no one asked me”.

Jungkook sighs. He stops Seokjin from feeding him and caresses his cheek.

“Kim Seokjin” he says, Seokjin grinning pleased to him. “Do you want to be my boyfriend?”

“You should have asked before we had sex. You’ve skipped at least two levels”.

Jungkook flicks the elder’s forehead, causing Seokjin to yelp.

“You’re unbelievable” Jungkook says pretending to be upset, turning to the other side so he isn’t facing Seokjin.

“But you love me” Seokjin says, kissing Jungkook’s exposed bite mark.

“Hell I do” Jungkook says, facing Seokjin again and kissing him deeply on the lips.

Namjoon and Yoongi are talking about the meeting they’re having with the entire pack later today when they hear someone knocking at the door. Namjoon opens it to find Jaebum.

“Hi, Namjoon. Can we talk for a moment?”

Namjoon nods and signals to Jaebum to come in, where Yoongi welcomes him.

“It’s fine if Yoongi is here?” Namjoon asks.

“Of course it’s fine” Jaebums responds. “I won’t distract you much. I want to talk about Mark”.

“What’s with Mark? Isn’t he happy here?” Namjoon inquires.

“No, it’s not that. But there was a part of his story he didn’t told us”.

Namjoon and Yoongi look at him, intrigued. Jaebum proceeds to tell them the whole story about Mark, not forgetting to include Jinyoung. When he ends, Namjoon and Yoongi stare at each other, thinking about it.

“I don’t know what to say” Namjoon finally says. “It’s kind of unexpected”.

“I know. But I trust them. When Youngjae and Shura found Jinyoung two men were there at his house to kill him. I believe in them. I’m sure they’re telling the truth”.

“I said Mark was the last person I’d accept. It was for a reason, Jaebum. You know we are being watched closely. One bad move and all our work will be destroyed”.

“I know, Namjoon. But having Jinyoung here can make us more good than bad. He can heal people. It’s an incredible power. We can’t let him go. I’ll respond for him, like I do for Mark”.

Namjoon sighs and looks at Yoongi.

“What do you think?” he asks his partner.

“I think he’s right” Yoongi says. “Like you’ve said, we’re being watched. That means we have enemies, and if we end up fighting them, Jinyoung will be a great advantage”.

Namjoon looks alternatively between Jaebum and Yoongi, and finally he makes a decision.

“Okay, I allow him to stay here. He’ll be living at your house, so you’re in charge of taking care of him”.

“Thank you” Jaebum says, bowing to him.

“By the way” Namjoon continues, “tell all your friends to come this afternoon to the meeting we’ll be having at the common room. There are some things I want to clarify to everyone”.

“Sure. We’ll be there”.

When Jaebum leaves, Namjoon’s mind is already busy with a lot of things. Yoongi notices and puts a hand over the leader’s shoulder.

“Namjoon, relax. Everything is going to be fine”.

“I really hope so. You know I trust Jaebum, so I trust his words. I hope I won’t be mistaken”.

Yoongi smiles at him, and Namjoon finally relaxes a bit.

The common room is already crowded when they arrive, but fortunately the first seats are unoccupied. Shura notices Jungkook and Seokjin already sitting there, accompanied by Hoseok, Jimin and Taehyung. She sits by Jungkook’s side, followed by Youngjae. Mark sits beside him, and a while after Jinyoung arrives with Jaebum and Yugyeom. Mark practically forces Jinyoung to sit by his side –even when the latter was going to do it anyways- so Yugyeom sits beside them grinning and then Jaebum sits by his side, a bit upset because he didn’t get to sit with Youngjae.

“So are you fine now guys?” Shura asks Seokjin and Jungkook.

“Yes, we are” Jungkook answers, and intertwines his fingers with Seokjin’s, “more than fine”.

“Uh, you’ll have to give me the details later bro” Shura jokes, and Seokjin flushes.

“Of course sis” Jungkook winks at him, and Seokjin pokes him lightly on the arm.

“By the way, nice tattoos you have in there” Shura says, pointing at their necks. “How come I never noticed them?”

Seokjin is about to answer her when Namjoon comes in, followed by Yoongi and Bonnie.

“We’ll tell you later” Seokjin whispers to her and she raises his thumb to let him know it’s fine.

“Good afternoon everyone” Namjoon says. He’s standing at the front of the room, Yoongi at his right and Bonnie at his left. “First of all, thank you for coming here. I should have done this sooner, but until now I didn’t think our pack was well settled. By the way, let’s welcome our new and last incorporation, Park Jinyoung. Please come here”.

Jinyoung gulps, but does as the leader commands. Namjoon has an imposing and strong aura that makes your body obey him before you can even blink. Jinyoung walks until he’s in front of Namjoon, and he feels small compared to the leader.

“Welcome, Jinyoung. Nice to meet you” he says, offering his hand for a shake.

“It’s my pleasure” Jinyoung says, glad that he can still talk even with his nervousness, and accepts the shake. “Thank you for letting me stay here”.

“No problem” Namjoon releases him and faces the crowd before him. “Guys, Park Jinyoung here has an exceptional physic power, so I expect all of you to treat him with respect” he turns and whispers to Jinyoung “you can go sit now”.

Jinyoung nods and returns to his seat besides Mark, the latter holding his hand to comfort him.

“Now, I want to tell you all something” Namjoon continues. “Something I should have told you before. Most of you don’t know, but some of us came from a cruel pack, like me. They treated us like if we were animals. No, worse than that. They forced us to fight against our own friends when we were young. They ruled our pack using violence and terror. Even though I was born in there, my parents died when I was a baby, so I didn’t owe anything to them. I found a way to escape and reported everything to the lead pack, my body being an evidence of all the atrocities they did to us. They caught our pack and we were freed. As a reward, they gave me the chance to start over in another pack. My own pack”.

The room remains quiet. Everyone is absorbed and intrigued about the story Namjoon is telling. Their pack’s story.

“I accepted their offer. I formed a new pack with some of the survivors from my previous pack under the supervision of the lead pack. I invited to join me any person I found abandoned or alone until we reached our limit. We have lived in peace here. But out there, there are people that are in discomfort with us”.

Namjoon looks at his public and finds amused faces. Namjoon knows everyone is loyal to him; he made sure of it.

“We don’t follow the traditional alpha-beta-omega’s system. We aren’t conditioned by our strength or our lineage. I’m the alpha because that’s the title the lead pack gave to me. I’m equal to all of you. No one is better than the others. No one has more rights than the rest. We don’t have slaves. We don’t look down at each other and we cooperate and coexist in harmony.

But there’s still people ingrained to traditional customs that don’t tolerate what we have in here. I also think the lead pack let us be because we are like an experiment to them. If they see it works fine, I think they’ll adopt our system. I don’t mind. But it puts us in danger. We have to be cautious with all the things we do and say. We’ve been doing well, and I expect to stay like that. I know we can do it together.

That’s why I want to tell you about mating too. The older ones probably know something. Nowadays it’s an underrated question and almost anybody pays attention to it. Everyone thinks mating brings more disadvantages than benefits. I don’t think so. It’s true it’s risky, but I can tell it’s really worth it”.

The room erupts on murmurs, asking what is that and why it’s important. Seokjin looks at Jungkook and the latter squeezes his hand. For them, there is no way back. Seokjin is still surprised at how quickly Jungkook accepted to mate; but it’s more surprised about how mature he seemed when he told the elder why he wanted to do it anyways. Seokjin understands his reasons. He thinks like that too.

Yoongi shouts a silence and the room remains quiet again.

“Thank you” Namjoon says to Yoongi before continuing. “To make it simply, it’s the fusion between two souls that want to be together forever. Once you do it, you can’t undo it. It remains until one of them dies. The link between mated persons gives them strength and happiness. They can feel what the other feels and even locate each other. The deeper the bond is, the stronger the persons are. But, if one of them dies by unnatural causes, the other becomes weak until they finally die too.

This part always scares everyone. That’s why nowadays almost anybody mates. But I truly believe that love makes you powerful, stronger. Union makes force. I think people that don’t take the chance to mate are actual cowards. But I respect your decision if you don’t want to mate. I only wanted to inform you about it, but I highly recommend mating.

And before I forget, to mate you have to bite the person you love during a sexual intercourse. The mark will remain on you and your mate. We are wolfs and that’s why we like to mark what’s ours. We become very protective over our mates, but it’s in our nature. God, I feel like a father giving his kids the sex talk”.

Everyone laughs, meanwhile Shura looks with her mouth hanging open to Jungkook and Seokjin, now realizing that their marks are not tattoos but real bite marks. Mating marks. Jungkook notices and shrugs his shoulders. Shura mouths a we are definitely talking later, to which Jungkook nods and they focus again on Namjoon.

“And that’s all. Just be careful with anything you do and I’m sure we can live at peace without other people watching us. Free” Bonnie gives Namjoon a bottle of water and he takes a long sip before continuing. “Any questions?”

A boy seated at the bottom raises his hand, and Namjoon nods with his head, giving the boy permission to ask.

“Are you mated?” he asks, and the room erupts in laughter.

“I was expecting something like that” Namjoon says, smiling. “Yes, I am. It would be a bit hypocrite if I insist you to mate and I’m not. Any more questions?”

A girl now raises her hand.

“Can we see your mating mark?”

Yoongi scoffs by his side, and Namjoon gives him a quick death glare before removing his shirt a bit to show his left collarbone, where his mating mark is. The room is full with oh’s and aw’s until Namjoon fixes his shirt.

Suddenly Youngjae raises his hand, and Namjoon signals to him to speak.

“Can a human and a werewolf mate?” he asks.

Half the pack stare at him, just like his friends; Mark, Jinyoung and Jaebum being the most curious ones.

“Finally, a serious and interesting question” Namjoon says. “Yes, they can. Nowadays it’s allowed and it’s very usual. But there’s a chance your children won’t be a werewolf. Nothing determines if the baby will be a common human or not. But the human can be turned onto a werewolf. Mated humans suffer the same effects as the mated werewolves. They’re stronger physically and also have the bite mark. They can feel each other and everything. But humans with physic powers can’t be turned onto a werewolf. For some reason, the nature doesn’t allow it. There’s only one documented case of a werewolf with physic powers, and we don’t exactly know how it can exist. But there’s a chance your sons will be werewolves or at least inherit part of your power. Not both thought”.

Youngjae nods at him. Mark and Jinyoung turn to look at each other at the same time. Both of them blush and quickly direct their gazes to the floor. Yugyeom smirks at Jaebum and the latter hits him hard in the arm.

“If you don’t have any more questions, you are dismissed. You can always come and ask me whatever you want. Thank you for your time. Have a nice day” Namjoon concludes, the crowd giving him applause before dissolving.

“Do you know who Namjoon’s mate is?” Shura whispers to Jungkook.

“No I don’t. I heard from Seokjin he mated but he always managed it so secretly I think neither Seokjin nor Yoongi really know who this person is. But just for that reason I think it’s Bonnie. If he’s been cautious about it it’s because he doesn’t want people from the outside to know. And be mated with a human could give him problems. It’s tolerated but not well seen by everyone”.

Shura nods and then turns to Youngjae.

“You guys can get going, I’m talking with Jungkook and Seokjin for a while” she says. Youngjae raises an eyebrow at her meanwhile Jungkook and Seokjin stare at each other blushing.

“Okay. Mark and I are going to spend the rest of the afternoon in Jaebum’s house. See you later!” Youngjae says nevertheless. He walks to Mark and Jinyoung and intertwines their arms with his, dragging them out. Yugyeom follows trying not to laugh at Jaebum sending daggers to Mark and Jinyoung’s heads.

Shura is about to ask Jungkook about the mating mark when Namjoon approaches them, this time only followed by Bonnie.

“Can I speak with you three for a while?” he requests. ”I have something important to tell you”.

Shura looks disorientated, so Jungkook quickly holds her hand. His other hand still intertwined with Seokjin’s.

“Of course!” Jungkook exclaims, impatient to know the truth about himself.

“But let’s do it somewhere else. C’mon”.

Namjoon leads the way, followed closely by Bonnie and then Shura, Jungkook and Seokjin. Seokjin is a bit confused, but remembers that Jungkook warned him about this before. Shura seems to have forgotten her previous turmoil, because while they walk she’s trying to see if Bonnie also has a mating mark.

They finally arrive to the nursery. Inside, there is a small laboratory with a lot of screens. Bonnie turns on the computer while Namjoon locks the door.

“What I’m about to tell you it’s confidential” he says, now standing right by Bonnie’s side. “You can’t tell anyone. Not even your friends”.

Jungkook, Shura and Seokjin nod, the three of them starting to feel tense.

“First of all, congratulations! You’ve finally mated!” Namjoon exclaims. “I thought this day will never come. And you’re even exhibiting it so proudly so everyone can see”.

Seokjin and Jungkook blush. Shura smirks at them.

“Yeah, congratulations! I really can’t believe that my little brother got a boyfriend before me. I’m jealous” she jokes.

“Well, you have Yug-“ Shura cuts Jungkook covering his mouth with her hand. Seokjin grins at them.

“Jungkook, you asked if there was something wrong with your body” Bonnie says, and one of the screens turns on and shows some images of what seems to be cells. “There is nothing wrong with it. But it’s different. Look” she types something on the computer and another image of cells appears beside the previous one. “These are your cells and these are Seokjin’s cells”.

“Why mine?” Seokjin asks, worried that something is wrong with his mate. But soon starts to feel relaxed thanks to Bonnie’s powers.

“It’s just an example” she explains. “Do you see the difference? Your cells are different from Seokjin’s. They are more…”

“Human” Namjoon ends. “Your body behaves differently because you’re more human than wolf”.

“It’s that possible?” Jungkook asks in disbelief.

“Yes, it is. And it happens more often than you think. But society doesn’t tolerate it”.

“Why not?” Seokjin asks.

“They’re technically legal. But the werewolf society is still full of ambiguities. And the existence of hybrids represents a threat for them”.

“Why?” Jungkook asks.

“Hybrid werewolves are stronger in his human form. Their first transformation happens late and they have more control over their inner wolf. But they’re practically the same as regular werewolves”.

“Then why are they dangerous?” Jungkook asks. “Why am I dangerous?”

“Your body is more human than werewolf” Bonnie continues. “So your tolerance to silver is higher than normal”.

Jungkook, Seokjin and Shura let out a large ah when realization hits them.

“That’s why they’re dangerous” Seokjin says. “A higher tolerance to silver is a huge advantage versus regular werewolves that can die easily by it”.

“People are envious because they’re more resistant to silver” Namjoon says. “Meanwhile cuts and wounds leave a scar on regular werewolves, hybrids can make them disappear. That’s why they are a thread for common werewolves. Like I’ve said, hybrids are allowed to live. But I’m afraid out there exist secret organizations that want to erase them from the face of the Earth”.

Jungkook holds Shura’s and Seokjin’s hands tighter, now realizing the danger he’s put in.

“I thought that if I hide it from you you’d be protected” Namjoon says. “I was wrong and I’m sorry. But you have to have special care with anything. I’m really fond of you so I won’t let anyone hurt you. But please be careful”.

Namjoon puts a hand on Jungkook’s shoulder and smiles at him. Bonnie does the same and uses her powers to calm Jungkook.

“I’m going to protect you, don’t worry” Seokjin says, also smiling to him.

“You’re safe with us” Shura reassures him while grinning.

“But, wait” Jungkook abruptly says. “I understand why you wanted Seokjin here with me, but why Shura?”

Shura’s smile drops.

“Why? Don’t you want me here?” Shura asks sadly.

“No, it’s not that” Jungkook says. “But he said we can’t tell anyone, not even our friends. It’s okay if Seokjin knows because he’s my mate. But then why you if we are just friends?”

Shura feels disappointed, but understands what Jungkook wants to say.

“Because you’re not just friends” Namjoon answers.

Jungkook and Shura stare at each other, Seokjin now feeling a bit jealous.

“What?” both ask in unison.

“You called Jungkook ‘little brother’ a while ago. Surprise! You’re actual siblings!”

Jungkook and Shura seem more confused than before, meanwhile Seokjin sighs in relief.

“Remember I made you an analysis when you first came to the pack?” Bonnie asks Shura. “When I had the results, I noticed that you DNA is very similar to Jungkook’s, so I made some more tests. And they revealed that you’re both siblings by father. Congratulations!”  

“Then I’m also a hybrid?” Shura asks curious.

“Yes, you are” Bonnie says, not knowing if she should add a ‘sorry’ after that.

“Now I understand why I also had my first transformation late. But it’s really true that we are siblings?”

“It’s not 100% sure, but close”.

Shura stares at the floor, trying to digest all the new information she has received. Jungkook looks at her. He’s happy because Shura is his real sister, so he still has family alive. But that means Shura is also a hybrid and it’s in danger too.

“But my parents were both with me while they lived” Jungkook says. “How can we share the same father?”

“Probably one of the men that claimed to be your father really wasn’t. I’m sorry” Bonnie says.

Jungkook tries not to think about it. Even if his actual father wasn’t the father that took care of him, it doesn’t matter. Jungkook’s father is the one who lived with him and loved him.

He’s going to say something else when he hears sobs coming from his side. He looks at Shura and notices she’s crying.

“Oh, Shura! Please don’t cry” he says, releasing Seokjin and hugging the girl tightly.

“How can I not? After all those years, I’ve just found out that I still have family alive” she says between sobs, tightening the hug. “We’re siblings, Kookie! Like, actual siblings! It’s amazing. I’m so happy. I’m crying because of happiness, Jungkook”.

She smiles a bit and Jungkook does too. It really feels amazing, to hug your real family when you thought they were all dead. Namjoon looks at them in awe with Boonie, and Seokjin also starts to tear up.

“I’m so glad we’re siblings too” Jungkook says. “I always wanted a sibling. We have to regain the lost time. I don’t care if my parents lied to me. What matters to me right now is that you’re here with me and I won’t let you go”.

“Me too Kookie. God I’m so happy!”

Jungkook laughs and turns to look at Namjoon, with Shura still between his arms.

“Is this why I felt like a special connection with her since I saw her?” he asks.

“Yes” Namjoon knows. “To us, family is very important. We’re also overprotective towards our relatives. And if your bond is deep you become stronger too if you’re together. That’s what you should know about your link”.

“Can we tell this to our friends, at least?”

Namjoon looks at Bonnie, and she nods.

“I don’t think it’ll be a problem. So go ahead, tell everyone you’re siblings. But please don’t tell anyone you’re also hybrids”.

“Promise!” both siblings say in unison.

“Now you can go. Bonnie and I still have business to do” Namjoon says. He accompanies his three members out, and then he comes back to Bonnie.

“Do you think they’ll be fine?” he asks.

Bonnie smiles before hugging him.

“You worry too much. They’re adults; they can take care of themselves”.

Namjoon returns the hug and allows himself to melt in Bonnie’s embrace.

“I really feel like the father of all them”.

“Wow, it’s amazing!” Shura shouts. Jungkook and her are practically jumping all the way to Seokjin’s house while holding hands. Seokjin walks behind them, letting the two siblings enjoy their time together.

“When are you going to tell your friends?” Jungkook asks.

“I don’t know. Would you want to come have dinner? And after we can tell them together”.

“I would love to. But tonight we’re already having dinner with Yoongi and the others. It’s been a while since the last time I hanged out with them”.

“Tomorrow maybe?”

“It’s fine with me. What do you think, Jin?”

Shura and Jungkook stop in front of his house and wait for Seokjin’s response.

“It would be really nice” he says with a smile.

Shura lets out a squeal and throws herself on the boys.

“I’m so happy!” she says. “I’ve not only gained a sibling but also a wonderful brother in law! I love you so much guys!”

Jungkook laughs and Seokjin smiles because Shura just called him her brother in law.

“I’ll see you guys tomorrow! I love you my precious family!” she shouts before disappearing.

Seokjin opens the door and both of them come in. Seokjin has just closed it when he feels Jungkook back hugging him.

“I’m so happy too, Jinnie” Jungkook whispers. “I have now a sister and the most handsome and amazing mate of the entire world”.

Seokjin grins and turns around so he can return the hug.

“You’re exaggerating. But I’m also happy for you two”.

Jungkook stares at him and gives Seokjin a quick peck on the lips.

“And your sister in law already likes you. It will spare me some problems”.

Seokjin laughs and returns the kiss.

“I think I’m gonna mate Jinyoung”.

Shura, Youngjae and Mark are currently having dinner at their house, just the three of them. They were on a comfortable silence until Mark spoke, causing Shura to choke on her food at the statement. Youngjae smiles slightly at the same time he gives the girl soft pokes to make her stop coughing. Mark looks at them, intrigued.

“Did I say something bad?” he asks worriedly.

“No, it’s not that” Shura answers when she’s fine. “It was just unexpected. But I’m 100% okay with you mating Jinyoung. You make a great couple”.

She raises her thumbs up, followed by Youngjae.

“How should I tell him?” Mark asks, now smiling.

“Well, I think you should ask him first to be your boyfriend” Shura suggests. “If you say directly to him that you want to mate him you’re going to scare him like you did with me”.

“But why? We’re already special friends. Do we need to be more than that to mate?”

“What?” Shura and Youngjae ask in unison, looking suspicious to Mark.

“Jinyoung said we are special friends” Mark clears.

Shura and Youngjae look at each other and smirk.

“Oh, you really are” Youngjae says teasingly. “You don’t behave the same with us and with him. But I think Jinyoung meant more than that”.

“I don’t understand” Mark says, confused.

“Do you love him?” Youngjae asks.

Mark seems to be thoughtful for a moment, but quickly answers.

“Yes I love him”.

“More than a friend?”

“I told him how I feel, but he said that was ‘special friendship’. I’m really not getting anything”.

“Mark” Shura says. “I think Jinyoung wasn’t sincere with you about that. You really don’t act like normal friends do. I suspect that Jinyoung also loves you but he’s afraid of telling you”.

“But why would he be afraid?” Mark asks, confused again.

“Because maybe he thinks you don’t love him the way he loves you”.

“But I thought we love each other the same?”

“Yes. But the love you have for him isn’t the same love you have for us, right? It’s more intense. You want things with Jinyoung that you don’t want with us” Youngjae says.

“That’s exactly what Jinyoung said!” Mark exclaims, finally getting something.

“Mark, my dear friend. You love Jinyoung more than just a friend. You love him like a boyfriend”.

Mark remains quiet for a while, until he finally understands everything.

“Aaah, I’ve realized now. I should speak with Jinyoung about all this” Mark says.

“I’m sure he’ll agree” Shura says.

“Me too” Youngjae adds. “You’re so in love with each other. I’m envious”.

“You don’t have to be. I’m surprised Jaebum hasn’t asked you yet” Mark teases.

Youngjae blushes, Shura and Mark grinning at each other.

“I’m pretty sure he won’t do it” Youngjae says.

“I’m mating Youngjae”.

Jaebum, Jinyoung and Yugyeom are currently having dinner at their house, just the three of them. They were on a comfortable silence until Jaebum spoke, causing Yugyeom to choke on his food, Jinyoung rushing to help him.

“And you said Mark was possessive” Jinyoung comments, offering water to Yugyeom.

“He’s worst, believe me” Yugyeom says accepting the water.

“I’m going to mate him so people like Mark will keep their hands away from my sunshine” Jaebum states, earning a glare from Jinyoung and an amused look from Yugyeom.

“Oh my God, you’re not Jaebum!” he exclaims. “Where did the boy who claimed not to like Youngjae go?”

“You’re not funny” Jaebum says. “And now that I think about it, I have to keep my Youngjae away from you too”.

“Me?” Yugyeom asks pointing to himself. “What have I done now?”

“I can’t trust you. You went rushing to tell him what happened with Shura. You’re lost for his cute puppy eyes. I can’t let you near him”.

“Oh my God” Jinyoung exclaims.

“What the fuck?” Yugyeom says, glaring at Jaebum.

“I thought you liked Shura but you’re also after my sunshine and I can’t allow that”.

“Shura and I are just friends” Yugyeom says blushing.

“I also think he’s going to do it” Shura says. “He’s so gone for you”.

“You’re exaggerating” Youngjae says, crossing his arms.

“Didn’t you see him the other day? I really thought Mark was going to die”.

“I was also seriously afraid for my life” Mark adds.

Youngjae glares at them, and then an idea crosses his mind.

“Well, why don’t we talk about Yugyeom?” he asks, and Shura stops laughing. “Someone here is also possessive towards him”.

“I’m not possessive” Shura declares.

“I never said it was you” Youngjae says with a smirk.

Shura blinks twice, and then she finally sighs.

“Fine, you want me to admit that I like Yugyeom?” she asks, Youngjae grinning proudly while Mark gives the girl a merciful smile. “I do. I really like Yugyeom. Are you happy now?”

Youngjae claps his hands, a wide smile on his face.

“Are you gonna mate him too?” Mark asks.

“I want to” Shura answers. “But I don’t think he feels the same way about me”.

“Please, you’re practically inseparable. These days I’ve seen you two together a lot” Youngjae says, caressing her back.

“That doesn’t mean anything. We’re just friends” Shura says with a sigh.

“Oh, you’re more than friends” Jinyoung says. “You’re always together laughing at us”.

“Well, it’s really funny to see all of you losing your temper” Yugyeom teases.

“If you like the girl leave Youngjae alone” Jaebum jokes, sticking his tongue out to the younger.

“Here comes the possessiveness again” Jinyoung sighs.

“He was the son of the alpha of his previous pack. I think that influenced his overprotectiveness” Yugyeom whispers to him.

“What are you talking about?” Jaebum asks loudly.

“Okay, let’s do this” Jinyoung says, taking his wallet out. “I bet 20 bucks that I’ll be the first of us to mate”.

He puts the money on the table and looks at Jaebum defiantly.

“Hah, how funny” Jaebum says, grabbing his wallet. “I’m decided to get Youngjae now. I’ll win”.

He puts the money above Jinyoung’s, the latter smirking to him.

“I’ll bet for Jinyoung” Yugyeom says, also placing his money above the rest.

“You can’t bet for Jinyoung” Jaebum says removing Yugyeom’s money.

“Why not? I really think it’ll be him”.

“How do you dare betraying me?”

“Jaebum, you know I like you but Mark and Jinyoung are just the cutest”.

Jinyoung smiles proudly while Jaebum frowns.

“Aren’t Youngjae and I cute?” he asks.

“Youngjae is. You’re… scary”.

Jinyoung burst into laughter. Jaebum is now actually killing Yugyeom with his glare.

“Get out of my house” Jaebum declares.

“C’mon Jaebum it was a joke” Yugyeom says, afraid that Jaebum was talking seriously. “Look, I’ll bet that I’ll be the first, okay?”

“Why don’t you bet on me?” Jaebum asks, still faking being mad.

“Because I don’t want to”.

Jinyoung smiles pleased at the two.

“The nerve of this guy to defy me” Jaebum says, pinching his frown.

Yugyeom winks at him, and Jaebum suddenly burst into laughter.

“He’s crazy” Jinyoung whispers to Yugyeom. “But you’re crazier for provoking him”.

“I have to enjoy this” Yugyeom whispers back. “I’ve never seen Jaebum this happy before. Youngjae takes the best out of him, so I’ll be forever thankful to him for it”.

“I seriously think you two will mate before me” Youngjae says.

“No, I’m sure it’s going to be you” Mark says.

“I think it’ll be Mark” Shura says.

The three of them stare at each other before laughing like if there was no tomorrow.

“Do you wanna bet?” Shura asks.

“Betting is for silly people” Youngjae declares.

“You shouldn’t bet because tomorrow Jinyoung will be mine” Mark says bravely.

Shura looks at him scandalized while Youngjae laughs at her reaction.

“Mark, you’re going to kill me with your straightforwardness” Shura says. “You better don’t say such things to Jinyoung tomorrow”.

“I’ll be gentle” Mark says.

“Oh God” Shura exclaims and covers her face with her hands, embarrassed.

“But now seriously Mark, do you know how to do it? You know…the sex” Youngjae asks.

“I have an idea. But can you explain it better to me?”

Suddenly Shura starts laughing loudly while Youngjae flushes furiously.

“It backfired to you!” the girl exclaims.

“We’re not having this talk” Youngjae states.

“But I want to know” Mark says with a pout.

“Then ask Jinyoung. But not me!”

“But I have to be prepared”.

Youngjae sighs, but it’s Shura who puts her hand on Mark’s shoulders and smiles to him.

“Don’t worry” she says. “I’m also not experienced as you are, but I’m sure it will come out naturally. Don’t bother with it and just let it be with Jinyoung. You guys love each other a lot so I think it won’t be difficult”.

Mark grins at her and happily continues eating his meal.

“I’m talking with Jinyoung tomorrow anyways” Youngjae whispers to Shura, and she nods.

Chapter Text

The following day, Youngjae is working on his laptop when Mark gets out from his room.

“I’m going out for a run” the blonde says, “see you later!”

Youngjae waves his hand at him, and after waiting for five minutes he closes his laptop and goes out.

He walks to Jaebum’s house and rings the bell; the door opening just few seconds after.

“Oh, hi Youngjae” Jinyoung greets him, letting him come in.

“Hi, Jinyoung. Can we talk?” Youngjae requests with a smile.

“Of course. Please have a seat”.

Youngjae has just sat on the couch next to Jinyoung when Jaebum emerges from his room.

“Hi Jaebummie!” Youngjae quickly salutes him.

Jaebum stops for a moment and stares at the close proximity between Jinyoung and Youngjae.

“Hello sunshine” he says, furrowing his eyebrows. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to talk with Jinyoungie for a while” Youngjae answers. Jinyoung smirks at Jaebum, who tries to hide his disappointment because the younger didn’t come to see him.

“Sure. I’ll see you later, I’m going out to do some errands” Jaebum says a bit annoyed before slamming the door shut.

Something tells me I’ve just signed my death sentence, Jinyoung thinks.

At that moment Youngjae notices some money placed carelessly on a small table.

“Why are you leaving money on a place like this where everyone can see it and stole it?” he asks.

“Oh, don’t worry” Jinyoung says, “It’s just a common deposit”.

“Common deposit? For what?”

“Don’t mind it. What do you wanted to talk about?”

“It’s about Mark”.

“What about Mark” Jinyoung says, trying to conceal his excitement about it.

“I know this isn’t my place to tell, but Mark is oblivious to how relationships work and something tells me you’re not going to tell him, so I’m telling you: Mark wants to seriously mate you”.

Jinyoung blinks, totally not expecting something like that. He tries to process this new information, while Youngjae observes him, smiling slightly.

“Wait what?” Jinyoung finally manages to say. “Mate me? But why?”

“Well, I think it’s obvious that you both love each other. You should talk and explain to Mark how everything works. I really want you guys to be together” Youngjae says, noticing that Jinyoung is still confused, and places his hand above Jinyoung’s. Suddenly both of them feel something like an electric shock pierce through their bodies. But it doesn’t hurt them; in fact, they feel a warm sensation invading their bodies and minds.

“What was that?” Jinyoung asks, looking as confused as Youngjae.

“I don’t know, but it has happened before. Not only with you but also with Bonnie” Youngjae answers, looking fascinated at their joined hands. “I think it is because of our powers”. 

“It’s true. When we touch, I feel something special” Jinyoung agrees. “I feel more powerful”.

“I can feel that too” Youngjae says, “I think being together makes our powers stronger”.

“I really wish to be helpful to Mark”.

Youngjae smiles at him and this time he intertwines their fingers.

“We’ll help each other protecting our friends”.

Jinyoung smiles at him, and suddenly the door opens, Jaebum stepping in. He stares at Jinyoung and Youngjae, and Jinyoung quickly frees his hand from Youngjae’s and gets up.

“Well, I’m going to do…something” Jinyoung excuses, Jaebum already glaring at him. “See you later!”

“Wait! We still have more to talk about!” Youngjae yells, but Jinyoung is already closing his door.

Jaebum stares at him, waiting for some sort of an explanation about why they were holding hands, but Youngjae just stares back at him. Jaebum sighs and gets himself some water. Youngjae is torn between knocking at Jinyoung’s door and beg him to listen to what he has to say or taking this chance and spend time with Jaebum.

Jaebum feels mad. He tries to control his temper, but he is naturally possessive and his feelings for the younger are still an unexplored path, so he gets really annoyed when he sees someone being so intimate with Youngjae. He’s trying real hard to be more open and touchy with the younger, but the feeling is still foreigner to him. Jaebum thinks his relationship with Youngjae is fragile, because the younger is so cute and kind hearted, meanwhile he has always had this cold boy vibe, and someone can just come and steal his precious sunshine from him.

Finally Youngjae decides to break the silence.

“Do you want to go out for a walk?” he asks, taking Jaebum out of his thoughts.

He wants to say no, because he isn’t in the mood for it. But again there is Youngjae looking at him with his adorable puppy eyes. And Jaebum can’t help but nod at him.

Jaebum and Youngjae are walking through the forest, Jaebum trying to calm his jealousy and Youngjae wondering if the other is mad at him. Jaebum is also wondering if he should go further with Youngjae so the younger won’t leave his side.

Suddenly he feels warmth on his hand, and he glances down just to see his hand being held by Youngjae’s.

“You don’t have to be sulky because I held Jinyoung’s hand” Youngjae says. “I can do it for you if you want me to”.

And to Jaebum, everything is perfect again. Because every time he’s insecure about losing Youngjae, the younger proves him wrong and does something to reassure him he’s with him, by his side. Youngjae really seems to be one step ahead of Jaebum. The latter thinks this has to change if he wants Youngjae’s love, so he decides to take the risk and go further.

“What were you talking about?” Jaebum says, blushing a bit while slyly intertwining their fingers.

Youngjae notices, but instead of blushing he smiles widely at Jaebum, glad that the latter is becoming more touchy with him; giving him also hope.

“We were talking about Mark” Youngjae replies. “He just blatantly said yesterday that he wanted to mate Jinyoung”.

Jaebum flinches, thinking about their bet. He really doesn’t want to lose against Jinyoung. Even less after what happened before.

“Mating isn’t an issue you can take lightly” Jaebum declares seriously. “You can’t just mate the first person you think about. It’s serious. He should think about it before saying those things”.

Youngjae stares at him in disbelief, a bit disappointed that he doesn’t seem to support Mark’s and Jinyoung’s relationship.

“I know, but they love each other. They aren’t just persons that have talked once or twice. They know each other for a year and I believe they’re deeply in love” Youngjae blurts out, startling Jaebum a bit.

But he still can’t lose the bet.

“I’m just saying that they should talk seriously before doing anything” Jaebum says, afraid he disappointed the other.

“Well, that’s true. That’s what I wanted to talk about with Jinyoung, but he just left me before I could say anything else” Youngjae says with a pout.

Cute, Jaebum thinks, grinning.

“But why were you holding hands?” Jaebum asks, and Youngjae notices something else hidden on his voice.

Is he jealous? Youngjae wonders.

“When we touch we feel something weird” Youngjae explains. “It feels like an electric shock. But it doesn’t hurt. In fact, we feel more powerful when we are together and it leaves a good sensation in our bodies”.

“Maybe it’s because of your powers?” Jaebum inquires.

“Yes, I think so. We are going to protect you and Mark together”.

“What?” Jaebum asks, staring surprised at him.

“You and Mark have enemies out there. Jinyoung and I will become stronger together and we’ll protect you from them” Youngjae assures him.

Jaebum stares at him, thinking about his words. He knows Youngjae knows about Jeonghan, but he really doesn’t know how far the other would go just to hurt him.

Youngjae notices him becoming serious suddenly and wonders if he has said something wrong.

“You shouldn’t take them lightly” Jaebum declares solemnly. “You don’t know how evil they actually are”.

Jaebum has stopped walking and looks sadly to the ground; old and painful memories coming back to him. Youngjae sees him struggling not to let his emotions go out as well as his inner wolf. The sight breaks Youngjae’s heart, so he lets go of Jaebum’s hand to give him a back hug. He embraces the other tightly, placing his head on Jaebum’s shoulder.

Jaebum just stays still. His previous thoughts disappearing and leaving free way for other thoughts to come in: thoughts about losing Youngjae against Jeonghan. Thoughts about hurting the younger, about himself breaking his sunshine’s smile.

He shakes his head and takes refuge in Youngjae’s embrace. He lets himself relax and melt against Youngjae’s warmth. He puts his hands above Youngjae’s, accepting the hug.

“I’ll protect you” Youngjae whispers.

Jaebum smiles sadly, wishing that Youngjae could really protect him. But in fact, Jaebum knows he is the one who needs to become stronger to protect the other.

“No one can protect me from him” Jaebum says, and Youngjae holds him tighter.

“Then we’ll face him together” Youngjae declares.

He doesn’t need to know who this person is or what is his relationship with Jaebum. Youngjae knows this person has hurt Jaebum really badly, and it’s enough reason for him to find this person and make him pay for all the pain he has caused.

Youngjae will make sure to protect Jaebum at all costs.

Shura is excited. Tonight, they’re finally telling the others that Jungkook and she are actual siblings. She even made a special cake at work for them with her boss’ permission. She’s preparing everything while Youngjae makes the dinner. The girl is talking to him but he really isn’t listening: he’s distracted remembering that evening’s events. Mark is setting the table when he notices that Youngjae is almost burning the meal.

“Youngjae!” Mark yells, making Youngjae go back to reality, quickly saving the food.

“Shit, sorry” Youngjae apologizes. “I was distracted”.

“We noticed” Mark reprimands him.

“Are you okay?” Shura asks.

“Yes, it’s nothing” Youngjae answers, but Shura doesn’t buy it.

“It’s because you talked with…” Shura starts to say, glancing slyly to Mark. “You know, about that”.

Mark stares at them, raising an eyebrow. Shura tilts her head a bit and Youngjae catches the hint.

“Well, I went to talk with that junior but he was on a hurry apparently” he responds.

Mark stares at him for a moment but shakes his head and returns to his duty.

“Good job” Shura whispers to him, and they secretly high five each other.

“I’ll try again tomorrow” Youngjae whispers back.

“But seriously, something happened?” Shura asks him, worried again.

“No, it’s just-“

“Let me guess” Shura interrupts him. “You were talking to this junior but Mr. Hottie came in and you lost your focus”.

“Mr. Hottie?” Youngjae asks, intrigued.

“Jaebum” Mark shouts.

“So he was silently listening, what a snitch” Shura murmurs.

“Excuse me but I’m on the same room as you and you’re not talking softly” Mark argues.

Shura sticks her tongue out to him and Mark grins, both of them ignoring the horrified but blushing Youngjae.

Then the doorbell rings and Mark rushes to open the door.

“Jinyoungie!” Mark says excitedly, like if he hadn’t seen the other in years.

“Hello Markie” Jinyoung greets the other.

“You didn’t come to see me today” Mark grumbles while pouting cutely, making Jinyoung chuckle.

“I’m sorry. I was busy finding a new job”.

“You don’t need a new job, you have me” Mark jokes while offering him a hug.

“I know. But my parents would be mad if I don’t find one, so I have no choice” Jinyoung replies, accepting gladly the hug. “For them I’m still living a normal life, remember?”

“I know” Mark says. He understands that to Jinyoung the situation is different. He doesn’t have parents, so he doesn’t have obligations like Jinyoung has. “I would like to meet them someday”.

Jinyoung doesn’t know if he should be happy because Mark wants to meet his parents or freak out because Mark actually wants to be serious with him.

“I would love that” Jinyoung says nevertheless, “but I think we have to talk first”.

“Of course. Stay here tonight” Mark offers.

Jinyoung is left speechless, so he just nods his head, earning a bright grin from Mark.

“Great!” Mark yells. “Guys, Jinyoungie is staying here tonight!”

Youngjae and Shura give him thumbs up meanwhile Jaebum and Yugyeom look at each other, worried about losing their bet.

They’re about to protest when the doorbell rings again. This time is Shura who opens the door.

“Lil’ bro!” Shura exclaims while throwing herself on Jungkook.

“Hi sis!” the latter says, catching Shura and returning the hug.

“And hello there, handsome brother in law” Shura says, winking at Seokjin and pulling him into the hug.

“Hi, sister in law” Seokjin greets back, grinning widely.

She frees them and lets them in, the rest of the boys greeting them.

“Congratulations by the way” Jaebum says. “I heard that you’ve mated”.

“Thank you” Seokjin says, giving all of them a can of beer to celebrate.

Everyone congratulates them too, but before anyone could take a sip of their beer Shura intervenes.

“Wait! We have something else to tell you all”.

Everyone stare at her, confused. Seokjin gives Jungkook a little push so he’s standing by her side, and smiles at him, knowing what is going to come.

“Yesterday we were summoned by Namjoon because he had to tell us something important” Shura says, and Jungkook takes her hand in his. “And after showing us the results of our analysis we discovered that we are actual siblings!”

The rest stare at them between confused and incredulous.

“You’re probably wondering how it could happen” Jungkook says. “We have the same father but different mothers. But we have practically the same DNA so yeah, we’re siblings”.

Youngjae stands up and hugs both of them, followed by Mark and Yugyeom.

“Congratulations! This is unexpected but I’m really happy for you” Youngjae says.

“You know you’re also part of our family” Jungkook says while smiling at him.

“I’m happy for you too” Jaebum says, hugging both of them accompanied by Jinyoung. “I remember you saying that you wanted a sibling”.

“Yes! I really wanted Shura to be my sister because she’s so awesome” Jungkook replies.

“My brother is the sweetest!” the girl shouts, making everyone laugh.

“Let’s cheer for the siblings” Seokjin says, raising his beer.

“And for the newly mated couple” Shura adds with a wink.

“Cheers!” everyone says, clashing their drinks together before taking a sip for them.

They have dinner in peace, asking Seokjin and Jungkook questions about the mating thing. Seokjin answers everything calmly, with Jungkook seated on his lap. Mark is also siting on a chair besides the couch where Yugyeom, Shura and Youngjae are sitting. Jinyoung is placed by Mark’s feet on the ground, and Jaebum is also sitting on the floor in front of Youngjae.

“If you’re planning to invite more people in here, you should bring more chairs” Jaebum complains.

“Maybe we should just ask Namjoon to let us use the community dining room so the others can join us” Shura suggests.

“Can we do that?” Jungkook asks Seokjin with pleading eyes.

“Of course we can. I’m sure he’ll accept as long as he can join us” Seokjin replies.

“Namjoon rules!” Shura chants.

They decide to watch a movie together. After a while, Jinyoung starts to feel uncomfortable sitting on the floor. He starts moving a little, trying not to bother anyone, especially Mark. But Mark is more into staring at Jinyoung than actually watching the film, so he quickly notices. He glances at Jungkook, peacefully seated on Seokjin’s lap. Mark decides to follow the example, and bends down catching Jinyoung, who lets out a yelp totally not expecting it, and places him on his lap. He wants with Jinyoung a relationship like Seokjin and Jungkook’s, so he plans on acting as the couple does.

He lets his hands rest on Jinyoung’s thigs, the latter trying to hide his blush. Youngjae, Shura and Yugyeom stare at them with their mouths hanging open, not expecting that to happen. But quickly it fades away and they smile at the sweet pair besides them. Seokjin and Jungkook also stare at them, both grinning happily. Jaebum also thinks the act was cute, and maybe he wants Youngjae to do it too, or to do it for Youngjae, but the younger doesn’t do anything.

They come back to watch the movie, but Mark keeps smiling not only because he has Jinyoung seated on his lap, but also because all their friends seem to approve his attitude.

“I’m pretty surprised no one here has a pet” Youngjae casually comments.

“I’ve always wanted to have a cat” Jaebum says.

“But the sad reality is that cats don’t want Jaebum” Yugyeom whispers to Shura, earning a glare from Jaebum.

“Why don’t you have one?” Youngjae asks, intrigued.

“I already have to take care of one mascot” Jaebum answers staring at Yugyeom.

“I’m sure Yugyeom behaves well” Jungkook jokes, and Yugyeom playfully pouts at him.

“I would want to have a dog” Youngjae comments.

“Don’t you like cats?” Jaebum asks.

“I’m allergic to them” the younger answers.

“Good luck, Jaebum” Yugyeom whispers, giving his partner a pat on his shoulder.

“I also want a dog” Mark says. “Maybe we can adopt one together?”

“I would love to!” Youngjae exclaims happily.

“Hell no” Jaebum declares.

“Why not?” Youngjae asks, disappointed.

“A dog is a big responsibility and will require a lot of patience and time” Jaebum argues.

“But Mark and I will take good care of him, right Mark?” Youngjae asks with pleading eyes.

“Of course. The dog will be really loved by its two daddies” Mark jokes.

Jaebum stares at him in horror before glancing at Jinyoung.

“And you’re okay with that?”

“Yes, why not?” Jinyoung responds, Mark smiling widely at him. “As long as the two of them take responsibility for him I don’t have a problem with it”.

“But that’s the problem! They will take responsibility together” Jaebum emphasizes the last word, hoping Jinyoung would help him.

“Two are better that one, isn’t it?” the latter answers, shrugging his shoulders.

Jaebum glares at him and Seokjin starts to feel the tension growing up.

“Well, I would like to have a bunny” he says, gaining the attention of the others so they won’t fight.

“You have Jungkook. He’s practically a bunny” Yugyeom replies getting his revenge and sticking his tongue out.

“Actually, you both look like bunnies” Shura adds, pointing to Seokjin and Jungkook. “I’m sure that if you both have babies they would be half bunny instead of half wolf”.

“How can we have babies if we are both males?” Seokjin asks while laughing.

“I don’t know, but imagine if you could. I’d be the auntie of the cutest persons ever”.

“It’s more probably that we end up being the uncles rather than you being an auntie” Jungkook says with a smile.

“Well, you already have a boyfriend. You’re one step ahead from me”.

“I’m sure there’s someone out there that wants to apply for that position” Jinyoung says while smirking at Yugyeom. “But he doesn’t say anything about it”.

Yugyeom reacts kicking Jinyoung’s leg, making him yelp.

“Hey, don’t hurt my Jinyoungie!” Mark exclaims.

“So protective” Jaebum murmurs.

“How cute” Youngjae says while staring lovely at them.

“Don’t say that loud or Jaebum will force me to kick you too” Yugyeom whispers to him.

“Why would he do that?” Youngjae asks, intrigued.

“So he can protect you and-HEY!” Yugyeom shouts when Jaebum kicks his leg.

“Why don’t you shut up?” Jaebum grunts.

“Please don’t fight” Seokjin’s mother instincts intervenes.

“Oh, you want me to kick you instead so Youngjae would protect you? Okay” Yugyeom ignores Seokjin and starts kicking Jaebum’s leg, the latter giving back the kicks. In the middle of the turmoil, they also hit Shura by accident, making her jump on her seat and landing almost on Yugyeom’s lap. The boy stops kicking his partner and blushes furiously. Youngjae playfully pushes Shura a bit more so she’s fully seated on Yugyeom’s lap. She starts rubbing her kicked leg, avoiding Yugyeom’s gaze, the latter doing the same, and Jaebum takes the chance to finally sit on the couch besides Youngjae.

“Hey, that’s my place!” Shura complains.

“You left it” Jaebum declares. “And you could have moved before I did, but you didn’t so it’s mine”.

Shura pouts but does nothing to get her place back.

“Aaah! Can you all please stop being so lovey dovey in front of me?” Youngjae cries. “I’m envious”.

“You can sit on my lap if you want to” Jaebum states solemnly, everybody staring at him surprised.

“Why would I want to sit on your lap?” Youngjae teases, feigning innocence. “I just want they to stop being all sweet around me. Do it privately please”.

“Oh my God” Jinyoung murmurs, trying to contain the laughter.

“Someone just got rejected” Yugyeom says, smirking at Jaebum like if he forgot there is a girl sitting on his lap.

“You want me to hit you again?” Jaebum growls.

“Jaebum chill. You can sit on Youngjae’s lap too if you want to” Mark also says while smirking.

“And why would he want to sit on my lap?” Youngjae innocently asks, tilting his head.

“Is he really that blind or is he pretending?” Jinyoung whispers to Mark.

“I don’t know. He seems innocent the most part of the time, but sometimes he gives me a devilish vibe too” Mark whispers back.

“Jaebum really has it complicated. But it’s good for me” Jinyoung murmurs, smiling to himself.

“Huh? What?” Mark asks, intrigued.

“I’ll explain to you later” Jinyoung promises, smiling cutely to him. Mark replies with an equally sweet grin.

“I don’t want to sit on his lap” Jaebum lies, trying not to blush madly.

“Yeah, sure. No one believes you” Yugyeom teases, Jaebum sending daggers to his head.

“But Jaebummie” Youngjae cutely says while putting his best puppy eyes on display, “if you want you can sit on my lap. I don’t mind”.

At that Jaebum grins shyly while blushing. Youngjae smiles at him, happy with the result of his teases.

“I think he really enjoys torturing Jaebum” Jinyoung whispers to Mark again, the latter nodding at the statement.

“I-I’m not going to sit on your lap” Jaebum mutters.

“Oh, what a pity” Youngjae sighs.

“Why are you refraining yourself?” Yugyeom asks.

“I told you to shut up” Jaebum manages to say, lowlier than he originally planned to.

“Are you blushing Jaebummie?” Youngjae asks playfully. “How cute!” he exclaims while pinching his cheeks.

“You’re lucky it’s you or else he would have already killed you” Yugyeom whispers to him.

“How could my cute Jaebummie kill someone? He’s so lovely, look at him” Youngjae says.

“I-I’m not cute. I’m manly” Jaebum says, still flushing but doing anything to stop Youngjae.

“Then prove it” Yugyeom dares.

Jaebum stares at him frowning, but out of the corner of his eye he sees Youngjae looking at him curiously. He smirks, sensing that it’s his turn to tease the younger. So he does the first thing that crosses his mind.

He stands up and takes out his shirt.

Half of the room stares at him with their mouths hanging open, meanwhile Jungkook covers his eyes and Shura and Youngjae stare at the exposed skin in front of them. The girl also takes the chance and recovers her previous seat, earning a disappointed look from Yugyeom. She’s disappointed too but the proximity between them was suffocating her.

“See, I’m manly” Jaebum states proudly.

“That doesn’t prove anything” Mark says.

“You’re just envious because you don’t have this body”.

Jinyoung is about to protest –there was a time when Mark was feeling hot and removed his shirt for a short period of time, but enough for Jinyoung to engrave the sight on his mind forever- but Mark simply pushes him carefully and stands up, making Jinyoung sit on the chair before removing his shirt, throwing it onto Jinyoung’s lap.

“Excuse me but my body is perfectly fine” Mark says defiantly.

Seokjin has covered his eyes too, meanwhile Yugyeom looks incredulous at the two; Youngjae laughing silently at Jinyoung, whose face is red as a tomato. Shura just stares at the shirtless duo, admiring them. Yugyeom notices and clears his throat loudly.

“Sorry to interrupt, but can you please control yourselves and put your shirts on again?” he says, his voice full of jealousy.

“Leave them like that, it’s fine” Shura jokes without looking at him.

Yugyeom looks at her in disbelief and starts to feel also really annoyed.

“He’s just saying that because he doesn’t have a great body like us” Jaebum says approaching Mark, the latter smirking at him. Jinyoung actually face palms himself meanwhile Youngjae looks away, feeling jealousy running through his body.

Shura gulps and it’s Yugyeom’s cue to stand up and remove his own shirt, throwing it carelessly to the floor.

“Oh, he really did it” Mark says.

“Not you too, Yugyeom!” Jungkook protest, still with his eyes covered.

“I can’t look anymore” Youngjae says, also covering his eyes.

“You still have to grow up more” Jaebum retorts.

Yugyeom frowns and reluctantly puts his shirt on again and sits beside Shura.

“You’re number one to me, ignore them” she says, smiling at him.

Yugyeom grins back, proud that his girl chose him among the others.

“Can you please just put your shirts on?” Seokjin asks, and Jaebum and Mark laugh together one last time before complying.

“We’re done” Mark says, sitting on Jinyoung’s lap again, like if it’s the most natural thing to do.

Meanwhile, Jaebum sighs and resigns to sit on the floor. But before he does it, Youngjae stands up and offers him his spot.

“It would be bad for your back if you sit again on the floor” he reasons against Jaebum’s complains.

“But what about you?” Jaebum asks worriedly.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine”.

Jaebum glances at him one last time before finally sitting on the couch.

And then Youngjae sits on his lap without warning, provoking the laughter of all his friends. Jaebum tries to hide his blush, unsuccessfully.

“It’s really comfy” Youngjae comments, and turns to smile at Jaebum.

Oh, you thought you won, Jaebum thinks, smirking.

He leans forward to whisper on Youngjae’s ear.

“You can sit on my lap whenever you want”.

Youngjae keeps smiling, although his heart is beating like crazy.

“Thank you” he replies.

They continue in a comfortable silence. Mark and Jinyoung staring lovely at each other, Shura and Yugyeom cutely trying to avoid each other’s gazes, and Youngjae adjusting onto Jaebum’s lap, the latter circling him with his arms so he won’t fall. Jungkook and Seokjin look at each other, glad that their friends are also happily in love like them.   

They remain like that until Youngjae speaks again.

“So, Mark, when are we going to the animal shelter?”

And Jaebum sighs, but he can’t argue with him when the younger is grinning adorably at him while holding his hands.

And you thought you won, Youngjae thinks.

After everything is successfully cleaned, they wish good night to each other and go to their respective houses and rooms. Jinyoung is about to sit and sleep on the couch when Mark grabs his hand.

“You’re sleeping with me” he declares, dragging Jinyoung to his room. The latter doesn’t say anything, internally glad that Mark wants to share the bed with him.

He closes the door and goes to his closet to get Jinyoung something to wear for the night.

“Here” he says, offering Jinyoung some pants and a sweater.

“Thank you” he says. He’s about to walk to the bathroom to change when suddenly Mark takes off his shirt in front of him.

Jinyoung stares at Mark’s bare back. He doesn’t know if Mark is doing it unconsciously or if, like Youngjae, wants to torture him. He feels his body getting hotter when Mark bends down and takes out his trousers, throwing them to the floor carelessly. Jinyoung has lost the ability to talk and can only blink at him. Mark doesn’t seem to notice as he picks a pair of trousers and puts them on. He picks also a shirt and turns around before wearing it.

“Why haven’t you changed yet?” he asks Jinyoung.

Jinyoung doesn’t know how to respond, so instead he turns around, his back facing Mark, and starts undressing. He removes his sweater and places it neatly on the desktop. He takes a quick glance at Mark and notices the other staring at him. He tries to ignore it and takes off his trousers. When he raises his head he sees a mirror in front of him, and reflected there is Mark biting his lip while scanning him from head to toe. He quickly grabs Mark’s trousers and puts them on, picking also the sweater and trying to cover his naked torso.

“Mark can you please stop?” he manages to asks, but he turns around, still with the sweater in his hands.

“Stop what?” Mark asks innocently.

“Stop staring and biting your lip”.

“It makes you feel uncomfortable?”

Jinyoung looks at him, thinking the elder is messing with him. But Mark is staring at him with his head tilted, really curious about his feelings.

“Yes. I mean, no” he says after seeing the disappointed face of Mark when he said yes. “I don’t know”.

“Why don’t you know?” Mark asks, approaching him.

“I mean- what are you doing?” Jinyoung asks when Marks puts his hands on Jinyoung’s hip bones.

“I want to mate you” Mark blatantly says.

“What?” Jinyoung almost shouts, staring at him with his eyes wide open.

“I mean” Mark corrects, seeing that he has scared Jinyoung, just as Shura predicted the previous day. “I want-“

“But do you realize how serious it is?” Jinyoung asks, his brain turned off and saying anything without thinking. “Mark, you can’t just say that you want to mate me! You haven’t even dated me first! We can’t have sex now. Hell, I don’t even know how to have sex with a guy! I mean, I know but I’m inexperienced. It’s not that I’ve just imagined it happening with you. Haha, of course not. But I would want to if you want to. Well, maybe that was a bit desperate. But we haven’t even kissed! And-!”

He gets cut by soft lips crashing against his own. Jinyoung is terrified because it was so sudden, but Mark moves his lips carefully against his, and Jinyoung finally submits because Mark it’s actually kissing him. After almost a year wanting him, he finally has a little piece of heaven. He closes his eyes and lets his body respond to Mark’s touch. He releases the sweater and cups Mark’s face, pulling him closer. Mark’s kiss is tender; he’s a bit scared because it’s his first time doing it but he really wanted to kiss Jinyoung for a long time. He won’t waste time. He almost loses Jinyoung forever and he doesn’t want that happening again without them at least trying to work things out.

Mark is the one to break the kiss, caressing Jinyoung’s naked hip bones. Jinyoung stares at him, breathless.

“You won’t shut up so I had to shut you” Mark jokes, smiling. “You didn’t let me finish what I was saying”.

Jinyoung nods at him and throws his arms around Mark’s neck, softly caressing his blonde hair. Mark takes the chance to place his right hand on Jinyoung’s cheek, stroking it.

“I really meant that, you know. I want to mate you” Mark continues. “But I also want to kiss you, to hug you. To spend all the time possible by your side. To cuddle with you and sleep together at nights. To wake up every morning with you by my side. To see your beautiful smile every day. To make you happy and treasure you like no other will.”

“Mark…” Jinyoung whispers softly.

“Let me finish” Mark interrupts him. “I have the feeling you think I only love you because you’re the first friend I ever had. But there’s more than that. I love you because you decided to talk to me when no one did. Because even when I was rude to you, you still cared about me. Because even when I was different, you accepted me for who I am, not for what I am. Because you would always smile at me, and you didn’t know but that only made me happy each day. Yes, I made other friends here. But what I feel for you isn’t only for the things you did for me, it’s also because you’re the most amazing and wonderful person I’ve ever met. And I’m so lucky I had the chance to meet you. I really love you, Park Jinyoung. I’ve loved you even before I realized I did. You also showed me what love is. Because for me, Jinyoungie, you are love. And even when I don’t have any idea about relationships, I really want to try and experience this with you”.

Jinyoung stares at him, speechless. Mark doesn’t understand about relationships but he does about feelings. Jinyoung smiles widely at him before pulling him and kissing him deeply. Mark complies, hugging him tightly; Jinyoung’s naked torso sending shivers through his body. But he really feels relieved he let everything go out.

Jinyoung breaks the kiss and gives a light peck on Mark’s cheek.

“Gosh, Mark. I’m so in love with you” Jinyoung exclaims cutely, Mark chuckling at him. “I was scared you didn’t feel the same or that I was forcing you because I was the first friend you made… but now I understand I was a fool. Your feelings for me are real and so are mine. I love you Mark. I’ve loved you for a long time now. You’re the only reason that made me stay at that company…”

Mark looks at him curiously. He knows that Jinyoung discovered that he is a werewolf somehow. But he didn’t know Jinyoung stayed just for him.

“They saw me videos” Jinyoung explains. “About the werewolves they had captive. They were suffering. I wanted to leave but then I saw you. And I just couldn’t leave you there. If anything would have happened to you I would have died. I decided to stay and protect you, but they just took you away from me. And I was so mad when you weren’t coming back, because if anything bad happened to you it would have been their fault. You really can’t imagine the mess I created when I left” Jinyoung remembers with a chuckle.

Mark stares at him lovingly, his heart beating faster than ever.

“Jinyoung, I never knew” he says softly.

“You couldn’t come back, so it’s okay” Jinyoung reassures him, caressing his cheek.

“You know, I don’t think anyone can love as deep as I love you” Mark whispers to him, pressing his body against Jinyoung’s.

“How exaggerated” he retorts, earning a bite on the shoulder. “Hey!”

Mark chuckles and breaks the hug. He helps Jinyoung put the sweater on and drags him to the bed.

“We aren’t going to mate tonight, are we?” Jinyoung asks while getting in. Mark lies besides him and covers them with a sheet.

“We aren’t” Mark answers, cuddling Jinyoung. The latter presses another kiss at his cheek before kissing him again full on the lips.

“But we are definitely together” Jinyoung says between kisses.

Mark nods at him and rewards the younger with a kiss on his nose.

“We are” Mark says, getting comfortable and ready to drift to sleep, Jinyoung also doing so. “But I’ll definitely mate you someday”.

Jinyoung smiles against Mark’s chest, hugging him like a koala. Mark also smiles at him and drops a kiss at his forehead.

The room feels warm for both of them; meanwhile outside the first snowflakes start to fall.

Chapter Text

“Youngjae wake up!”

Youngjae opens his eyes in the morning to see his best friend shaking him roughly with a huge grin plastered on her face.

“What happened?” he lazily asks, rubbing his eyes with his hand.

“It snowed last night and there’s a lot of snow outside!” Shura exclaims, excited.

She pats his tummy playfully and gets out. Youngjae gets up and follows her to the living room, where she is standing by the window.

“Look!” she says, inviting Youngjae to look outside the window.

The view is amazing. The forest that surrounds them is fully covered by snow. Youngjae thinks he hasn’t seen anything more beautiful than this.

“It’s so beautiful” Youngjae says, Shura agreeing to him by nodding.

“Why are you being loud this early?” Mark curiously asks, exiting from his room.

“Look, Mark!” the girl exclaims. “It snowed! It’s wonderful!”

She drags Mark near the window so the latter can see through it.

“Wow, it’s really wonderful” Mark agrees, staring with an amused face. “It’s been a while since the last time I saw snow”.

“C’mon! Let’s play outside!” Shura shouts, rushing to her room to change and go outside.

Youngjae laughs at her excitement but also runs to his room to get dressed properly.

“Hey, what’s going on?” Jinyoung asks approaching Mark. The elder stares at his boyfriend yawning cutely before answering.

“It snowed and the guys want to play outside”.

Jinyoung watches the scene outside the window and grins.

“Beautiful” he murmurs. Mark stares at him lovingly.

“Just like you” he whispers to him. Jinyoung turns to him and smiles widely.

“What are you doing still standing by the window?” Shura asks. Both males stare at her; Mark wondering how could she get changed in such a short time.

“Let’s change and play outside” Mark tells Jinyoung, making the latter pout.

“But I don’t have any winter clothes” Jinyoung complains.

“I’ll lend you some, don’t worry” Mark assures him. “Shura and Youngjae bought a lot of clothes for me when I arrived”.

“We didn’t want you to get ill” Shura explains. “Now go and get dressed so we can go outside”.

Mark gives Jinyoung a smack on his butt. Jinyoung glares at him flushing, but starts walking to Mark’s room nevertheless. Shura grins widely when Mark closes the door.

“I’m ready!” Youngjae exclaims. He’s fully equipped with boots, gloves, a scarf that almost covers his entire face and earmuffs. Shura has the same look, except that her scarf is smaller and she’s wearing a pink beanie. Shura looks at him still grinning, and her friend stares at her suspiciously. “Why are you smiling like that?”

“I have a feeling something good happened last night” she answers.

“Be more specific” Youngjae pleads.

“You’ll see” she says, walking to the kitchen. “For the moment let’s make some hot chocolate for four”.

“Aaah, now I remember!” Youngjae says. “Jinyoung stayed here last night”.

“With Mark” Shura reminds, mixing the chocolate.

“In his room” Youngjae adds, getting an idea of what could have happened.

“In his room” Shura repeats, smirking.

Youngjae grins at her while taking out four mugs, putting them on the counter.

“We’re ready” Mark says the moment Shura is already serving the drinks.

“Just in time” Youngjae says, giving one mug to him and other to Jinyoung.

“Good morning guys” Jinyoung greets them. Shura raises her mug, acknowledging the greeting before taking a sip of the hot beverage.

“So good” she comments. She can feel his entire body getting warm thanks to it.

They finish their drinks and eat something before going outside. The ground is fully covered by snow, just like all the trees in the forest. The sky is clear and the weather is cold, but it’s bearable.

Shura turns to the rest of the group and starts singing.

“Do you wanna build a snowman? Come on, let’s go and play!~~”

The others laugh at her childishness. She smiles adorably to them and then she starts making a huge snowball to build a real snowman.

“Hey, Youngjae” Mark calls the younger, “imagine a little puppy running here through the snow. It would be so cute”.

“Yes, I wish there was one. It would’ve been fun” Youngjae says with a sigh.

“Here it is” Jinyoung says, running after Youngjae while barking cutely.

“What? There’s a monster after me!!” Youngjae shouts while running away from Jinyoung, frightened to death.

Mark watches both of them running through the field meanwhile Shura ignores them, focused on building the snowman, still singing happily. Mark smiles. It really feels good, being surrounded by the people he loves. It makes his heart melt, makes him feel alive again after years of captivity and solitude. Now he’s free and has great friends and a wonderful boyfriend that love him too.

He’s taken out from his trance by something cold hitting his back. He turns around, furrowing his eyebrows.

“Hey, what are you doing standing there like an idiot?” Jaebum asks him, a smug smile placed on his face. Yugyeom waves at him from Jaebum’s side.

Mark bites his bottom lip, feeling challenged by Jaebum. He bends down to make a snowball to have his revenge. Yugyeom notices and quickly abandons Jaebum’s side, offering his help to Shura, who gladly accepts it while singing Let it go.

“JAEBUMMIE!!” Youngjae screams, running to him. “Help me please!”

Jaebum furrows his eyebrows, and then notices the raven haired male running after his sunshine. He quickly makes a snowball and throws it to Jinyoung, making impact against his chest.

“Ouch” Jinyoung groans while rubbing his coat, but stops running.

“Jaebum saved me” Youngjae cutely says, hugging Jaebum’s arm. His body is pressed against Jaebum’s, making the latter blush.

Jaebum decides to take the chance and say something corny to the younger for a change; but just as he opens his mouth a snowball hits him straight on the face.

Youngjae starts laughing madly at Jaebum’s half surprised half annoyed face, still holding Jaebum’s arm for support. Mark smirks at Jaebum, crossing his arms. Jinyoung runs to his side and gives him a hug.

“Well done darling” Jinyoung compliments him. Mark returns the hug and grins pleasantly at him, happy with the way Jinyoung just called him.

“This isn’t over” Jaebum warns. Youngjae lets him go, scared. Jinyoung also breaks the hug and distances a bit from Mark. The oldest boys quickly bend down to make more snowballs at the same time.

“Oh no” Youngjae says, running to Jinyoung’s side to hide behind him.

“Here they go again” Jinyoung says with a sigh. “Let’s go Youngjae, let’s search for a safe place”.

Jinyoung takes Youngjae’s hand –after making sure Jaebum isn’t looking at them- and guides him a bit far from them under a tree, where they can see their boys throwing snowballs at each other without getting involved. He feels again this special connection with Youngjae, and smiles.

“I’ll be back in a moment, someone is calling me” Youngjae tells him letting his hand go, breaking that connection. Jinyoung sees him walking a bit before answering his phone. He smiles at the younger and turns to watch the scene displayed on the field. Jaebum is distracted making a huge snowball and fails to notice Mark approaching from behind him, snowball in hand. He quickly smacks it against Jaebum’s butt, causing the latter to jump, startled. Mark runs away, laughing at the patch that has appeared on Jaebum’s trousers. Jaebum stares at it in horror before glaring at Mark, his chin popping almost out of his face. Jinyoung burst out laughing, seeing Jaebum yelling at Mark, with the latter sticking his tongue out to him. Jaebum continues making an even bigger snowball, throwing tantrums at Mark; but Jinyoung can see him smiling widely too. Meanwhile, Shura and Yugyeom are making another big snowball for their snowman. They are singing and laughing together, completely on their own world.

“I think your boyfriend’s life is in danger” Youngjae jokes, coming back to Jinyoung’s side.

“Maybe I should help him” Jinyoung suggests. The snowball Jaebum is currently carrying is as huge as a basket ball; meanwhile Mark is distracted making his own snowballs. “But they’re the ones constantly bickering. Let them solve their problems alone”.

Youngjae nods, and suddenly they hear a high pitched scream, followed by Jaebum’s evil laugh. Mark has fallen with the force of the impact, his face smashed against the snow on the ground. He raises his head and shakes it like if he was a dog, removing the snow from his face. Jinyoung laughs at how cute it is. Mark glares at Jaebum, who shrugs his shoulders. Mark smirks and takes all the snowballs he has made. Jaebum looks at him frightened, and starts to run and search for a place to hide.

“Have you noticed that you didn’t correct me when I called Mark ‘your boyfriend’?” Youngjae asks, still grinning widely at the scene in front of them.

“Maybe I didn’t do it for a reason” Jinyoung says, crossing his arms.

Youngjae stares at him and waits for a confirmation. Jinyoung smiles at him happily.

“Oh my God, congratulations!” Youngjae says while throwing himself onto Jinyoung. Jinyoung catches him, glancing slightly at Jaebum; but the latter is busy trying to dodge Mark’s snowballs.

“Thank you” Jinyoung whispers to him. He breaks the hug and smiles at how cute the other is.

“I’m so happy for you” Youngjae says. “You both really deserve to be happy”.

“Yes, we do. I want Mark to be happy, to feel everything those horrible persons forbid him to feel. To give him all the happiness they took away from him”.

Youngjae’s smile widens. Jinyoung looks so determinate and so passionate about loving Mark; he can’t help but feel a bit jealous.

“Aw guys, you’re so cute. You love each other so much. I really want you two to be happy together”.

“I know you hear this a lot, but you’re so cute Youngjae” Jinyoung says sincerely. Youngjae blushes a bit, and gives him a glad smile.

“Can you do me a favor, Jinyoung?” Youngjae suddenly asks.

“Of course. Tell me”.

“The new inquilines of my old house just called me. The oven has stopped working, so I have to go and check on it since it’s still my property; but I don’t have a driver’s license. Can you accompany me?”

“Sure. Count on me”.

“Thank you. It’s a bit far from here, but I really have to go. I’ll invite you to coffee after, I promise”.

“You don’t have to do it” Jinyoung says, laughing while covering his mouth with his hand. “I want to accompany you. We can have some alone time and also I get to see your old house”.

“Sounds great. Then tomorrow we’re having our date”.

“Don’t say that aloud or Mark and Jaebum will kill us”.

Youngjae turns to look at the two males. Jaebum is running now after Mark, but his boots slide on the snow and falls, dragging Mark along and falling directly on top of him. Mark rolls his body so he’s facing Jaebum. He catches some snow and smashes it against Jaebum’s face. Jaebum reacts throwing him a bunch of snow from the ground. They look at each other and laugh, but they don’t get up until a bit later.

“Tell me you saw that” Jinyoung says, staring at them in disbelief.

Youngjae doesn’t respond. He just makes a snowball and lifts it with his psychic powers, throwing it at Jaebum from the other side. Jaebum looks at his sides, searching from the culprit, but not finding anyone where the snowball came from.

Jinyoung now stares at Youngjae, incredulous. The latter is smirking mischievously at the confused Jaebum. Jinyoung starts to think that Youngjae really has a dark side and really enjoys torturing Jaebum.

“Hey!” Youngjae shouts, making Mark and Jaebum look at him. “Tomorrow Jinyoung and I are having a date!”

Jinyoung stares terrified at him. Mark tilts his head, curious; meanwhile Jaebum is already sending daggers to Jinyoung. To prove his point, Youngjae holds Jinyoung’s hand and starts walking to Yugyeom and Shura, who are deciding on which complements they should put on the snowman.

“NO WAY!” Jaebum yells, running after them with a snowball perfectly made in hand. Jinyoung frees his hand from Youngjae’s and starts running for his dear life; Jaebum sprinting after him. Mark quickly reacts and signals for his boyfriend to run to him so he can protect him, and quickly makes a bunch of snowballs. Youngjae laughs loudly, making his own snowballs, ready to throw them to the three males.

“Ah, I told you we should have come out early!” Hoseok complains. “The snowball fight already started without us!”

After him Jimin raises his head to have a clearer view of what’s going on. Taehyung only shrugs his shoulders.

“I don’t know why are you making a fuss” he says. “We still can join”.

Hoseok glares at him.

“I think I know who my first target is going to be” he declares, running far from them to make a snowball.

“You made him mad” Jimin accuses Taehyung while pouting.

“I only wanted him to start the action instead of just talking. And why are you complaining? You’re two versus one. It’s not fair”.

“Then why did you come with us?”

“Because I’m 100% sure that Yoongi will come and he’ll kick your asses off”.

“You’re so mean! Hoseok, Taehyung is being evil with me!” Jimin cries while running towards his friend. Hoseok glares at Taehyung.

“You’re so going to pay” Hoseok threatens.

“Catch me if you can” Taehyung defiantly says with a wink, and starts running with Hoseok after him. Jimin cheers for Hoseok and makes his snowballs to fight with his buddy.

Soon they all get caught on the same snowball fight. Yugyeom and Shura are in the middle of the war, so they try to get out as soon as possible. None of the snowballs hits them; but their snowman is completely ruined.

“My precious Olaf” Shura groans with a pout.

“We’ll build another” Yugyeom says, taking her hand in his and guiding her to a safe spot to make a new snowman.

“Look, Jinnie! They’re making a snowman!” Jungkook exclaims, pointing to them. Seokjin smiles at him while holding his hand.

“Do you want to help them?” he asks the younger.

“I want to. But look at them. It seems a bit intimate. I don’t want to break their moment”.

Seokjin glances at Shura and Yugyeom. They’re again making a huge snowball while singing together. They sometimes look at each other, smiling lovingly. He doesn’t want to disturb their lovely moment either.

“How about we make another snowman close to them but without bother them?” Seokjin suggests. “Their snowman’s little brother?”

Jungkook smiles widely at him while nodding his head vigorously.

“Let’s do it!”

Jungkook runs close to his sister and his friend. Seokjin trails behind. Shura and Yugyeom notice them and greet them pleasantly.

“We didn’t want to bother you guys” Seokjin apologizes.

“You can’t possibly bother us ever!” Shura reassures him. “You’re more than welcome to help if you want to”.

Seokjin looks at Yugyeom, and the latter smiles and nods his head in approval.

“Seokjin suggested making a little brother for your snowman” Jungkook says.

“Wow, that sounds really nice! Please do that” his sister says.

Jungkook grins at her before bending down to start building their snowman. Seokjin joins him, admiring how adorable his mate is.

On the other side of the field the war continues. They are all throwing snowballs to whatever thing that moves comes on their visual field.  Except for Youngjae, whose special ability allows him to throw more than one snowball at the same time and from different directions, also making him able to redirect the ones directed to him.

“That’s really smart” Yoongi compliments him, suddenly appearing behind him.

“Thank you” Youngjae says, smiling at him.

“I really like your style” Yoongi continues, watching Taehyung throwing a snowball to Mark, and successfully dodging one from Jimin. “Do you think you can throw some at Taehyung at the same time?”

Youngjae looks at him, pondering if he should do it. Yoongi sees his worried face and grins.

“Oh, don’t worry. I’m sure you won’t hurt him. And if you do, I’ll take the responsibility. I’ll even make the snowballs for you”.

“You sure?” Youngjae asks him.

“Of course! I give you my permission to do it”.

Youngjae glances at Taehyung and silently apologizes to him.

“Deal. I’ll protect us in the meantime”.

“Good” Yoongi says with a smile before starting making his snowballs.

After successfully dodging one of Jaebum’s snowballs, Taehyung notices Yoongi crouched besides Youngjae and smirks.

“See? I told you Yoongi would come to kick your asses” he says to Jimin proudly.

Hoseok tries to hit Yoongi with a snowball, but Youngjae quickly redirects it, hitting Jinyoung instead. Hoseok stares at them suspiciously.

“I’m done” Yoongi says. Youngjae looks at the amount of snowballs Yoongi has made. He’s shocked to see that the latter has made 10 perfect snowballs in a short period of time.

“There are a lot” Youngjae murmurs.

“You don’t have to throw all of them at the same time” Yoongi reassures him.

“Okay” Youngjae nods, and lets out a sigh before lifting four of them.

He throws them at Taehyung at the same time from different directions. The poor target tries to cover himself, but they all hit him. Hoseok and Jimin laugh at him.

“Hey! I thought we were friends!” Taehyung yells.

“I’m sorry Taehyung! I’m just following orders!” Youngjae yells back. Taehyung glances at the smaller male besides him, who is laughing at him while making more snowballs. He sees Youngjae lifting some more and starts running, scared.

“You’ve been betrayed!” Jimin shouts at him.

This time Taehyung succeeds avoiding two of them, but still receives the impact of another two.

“How could he?” Taehyung whispers to himself. “Hey!” he yells loudly when another one hits him on the arm. “Be careful with the evil cuties team!”

“Evil cuties?” Jaebum asks. He glances at Youngjae –because obviously ‘cute’ and ‘Youngjae’ are the same to him- and sees him laughing his ass off while throwing snowballs with his psychic powers. So it was you, Jaebum thinks. He smirks and walks discretely towards the younger without being detected by him or his partner in crime. When he’s standing just behind him, he starts tickling him.

Youngjae turns around, laughing because of the sudden tickling attack. He tries to hold onto Jaebum for support.

“Jaebum please stop” Youngjae pleads. Jaebum shakes his head, ignoring his pleads. He lets Youngjae grab his arm, enjoying way too much that the younger is practically clinging onto him. Youngjae is almost on his knees when he puts his best puppy eyes for him and whines cutely “Jaebummie pleaseee~”.

Jaebum is about to surrender when a snowball hits him straight on the face. He stops and Youngjae takes the chance to stand up, still holding Jaebum’s arm.

“We have now an alliance” Yoongi declares. “Youngjae’s enemies are my own enemies”.

Jaebum is torn between confronting Yoongi or let him be. He has a huge respect for him, and he also has a scary reputation on the pack. But now he’s also his rival because apparently he is Youngjae’s knight in shining armor.

“But Jaebummie is not our enemy. He’s on our side” Youngjae says, and turns to look at Jaebum straight in the eyes. “Right Jaebum?”

Jaebum finds himself nodding faster than thunder.

“Of course. I’m with you” Jaebum says, emphasizing the last word.

“Oh, okay” Yoongi mutters before returning to his job, making more snowballs.

“I’ll protect you Jaebummie” Youngjae says with a smirk, taking his hand in his and intertwining their fingers.

Jaebum smiles at him. He searches for Jinyoung to show him that he’s with Youngjae and closer to win their bet. But when he finally finds him, he’s caressing Mark’s cheeks, warming them. Mark says something to him, making Jinyoung smile. The latter rewards his boyfriend with a kiss on his forehead, and Jaebum has to smile because they are really cute. But then Jinyoung turns to him and smirks wickedly to him.

“Don’t you know? Mark and Jinyoung are together” Youngjae informs him.

Jaebum is happy. He really is. He considers Mark as one of his best friends, and Jinyoung is a truly nice man. And together they’re super cute, and Jaebum is happy for them. But he wants to win that bet. For some reason, it has stuck on his mind that he has to win the bet for him and Youngjae.

He puts a poker face and decides to throw at them his new snowball.

“You’re making me want to puke” he shouts at them. Youngjae stares at him in disbelief. Sometimes Jaebum doesn’t seem the same person to him. He decides to let it go and focuses on throwing the rest of Yoongi’s snowballs; failing to notice the wide grin that has spread through Jaebum’s face even when he was trying hard to suppress it.

“You’re just jealous because you haven’t kissed Youngjae yet!” Mark shouts back.

“Mark, stop provoking him” Jinyoung whispers to him.

“Why? It always works wonders for Youngjae” the elder whispers back.

Jaebum looks at Mark hugging Jinyoung, and then turns his vision to Shura and Yugyeom, who are taking cute photos together with their snowman. He’s clearly losing against them. He looks at Youngjae. The younger is unaware of Jaebum’s stare because he isn’t facing the elder. He’s busy throwing some more snowballs against Taehyung under Yoongi’s command. This time is Jimin who throws a snowball to Yoongi’s direction, and Youngjae stands in front of the other, opening his arms as if he was protecting Yoongi.

Jaebum decides that it’s time to take control and before Youngjae could move he approaches the younger from behind and back hugs him, roaming his hands all over Youngjae’s chest. Youngjae is taken aback from the sudden move and screams, but realizing its Jaebum who is holding him he puts his own hands above Jaebum’s, preventing him from letting go.

“See?” Mark points to Jinyoung, smiling proudly.

“That was wild” Jimin comments, Hoseok agreeing with him.

“GO GET A ROOM!!” Mark shouts at them, Jinyoung laughing hard still in his embrace.

Yoongi smiles slightly at the scene in front of him, not noticing a shadow approaching him. Suddenly a strong pair of arms are also hugging him from behind, lifting him from the ground.

“We’re having a serious talk here” Taehyung whispers to him, carrying Yoongi to the other side of the field. Yoongi doesn’t even try to resist; he just shrugs his shoulders and lets the younger take him.

Youngjae is happy but confused at the same time. He’s starting to think that Jaebum has a problem with same-gender relationships; but at the same time, he’s aware that Jaebum treats him differently. But he doesn’t want to get his hopes high just in case he’s misunderstanding the other’s actions. He frees Jaebum’s hands, and the elder also breaks the hug but gives him a final pat on his side.

“Seems like your ally left you” Jaebum retorts, glad that now they’re alone. Youngjae pouts cutely, and tries to tease the elder again.

“Now I’m left all alone here” he says dramatically.

“You still have me” Jaebum says to him, holding his hand to reassure him.

Youngjae just grins at him widely, intertwining their fingers and diverting a snowball launched at them by Jinyoung.

Namjoon stares at the beautiful sight in front of him. His entire pack is out there, playing with the snow. He smiles, seeing how the great effort he put to make it work has paid off.

“Aren’t you going to join the fun?” Bonnie asks besides him.

“I’m having fun right now” he answers. Bonnie raises an eyebrow at him. “Just look at them” Namjoon continues, tilting his head the field. “This is what I’ve always wanted. A united pack. A pack where everybody is friends with each other, without prejudices. And look at this; they’re so happy. They’re having so much fun together. I really feel like a proud father looking at his wonderful family”.

“You’ve worked real hard to get this” Bonnie says to him, caressing his back. “All of this is because of you. Because they have the best leader any pack would want for them. You united them, and I’m sure there isn’t a person here that doesn’t love you”.

Namjoon is really touched by Bonnie’s words. This pack is basically his entire life. He fought first to get his freedom, and then used that freedom to give a home to the ones who needed it, without rules. Just the respect for each other. Namjoon is proud of all they have achieved. But he can’t help but think until when it’s going to work.

“I really wish it would remain always like this” Namjoon mutters. Bonnie looks at him, worried.

“Why are you saying this now?” she asks.

“We still have enemies outside. And there’s this uneasy feeling, like something big is going to happen”.

Bonnie understands. He knows all the problems the pack has been through. But at the same time she believes the pack is going to survive to whatever life throws at them.

“Then we’ll face it together” she says, also using her powers to calm Namjoon.

Namjoon gives her a bittersweet smile. If only everything was that easy.

Suddenly a snowball makes impact against his face. All the chatter and laughter is replaced by silence. Everyone stares at Namjoon, waiting for their leader’s reaction. Namjoon removes the snow from his face and walks behind the building. When he’s out of sight, everyone starts to search for the culprit of marking their leader angry.

“I-I’m sorry” Jimin timidly apologizes, earning a few glares. Hoseok stands before him, shielding him from the angry glances of the others.

“Don’t worry. I’ll talk to him” Bonnie says with a smile, disappearing after Namjoon. After a minute she appears again, running like if she was chased by the devil. “Run, you fools!” she warns them.

They look towards her just to see their leader carrying a HUGE snowball with both hands, running towards them. Everyone starts to panic and try to escape. Unfortunately, it ends up hitting some of them. Jimin was the main target, but Hoseok received the impact for him and is currently lying on the ground. His face is red and his clothes are all wet.

“Hoseok!” Jimin cries, bending down to help him. “Are you okay?” he asks worriedly, reaching to hold his hand.

“I’ll survive” Hoseok answers. In fact, he’s not really injured. But he likes the affection he’s receiving from Jimin. The latter caresses his cheeks.

“You’ve been so brave protecting me from our leader’s fury. I’m in debt with you”.

“You know I would do it again if it was necessary. But a date would be great”.

Jimin smiles widely and nods at him. Hoseok smiles too, and feels the urge to lift his head and kiss Jimin; but he’s interrupted by Taehyung shouting.

“He isn’t really dying, cut the crap!”

Jimin turns to glare at him, and Yoongi takes the chance to escape from Taehyung’s embrace.

“Look what you’ve done!” Taehyung reprimands Jimin. “Now it’s going to be a while before I get to hug him again”.

“You’re worse than us” Hoseok says to him, getting up.

“But I still haven’t reached the disgustingly sweet level like them” Taehyung says while pointing at Seokjin and Jungkook, who got hit by Namjoon’s snowball and fell one on top of the other, and are now rolling through the snow while laughing heavenly.

“They are sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo cute!” Shura exclaims, letting out a squeal after seeing her brother and his mate being overly adorable rolling on the snow. Yugyeom smiles at her and nods his head. “Aw, I also want a warm hug” she suddenly says.

Yugyeom’s smile widens, taking the girl on his embrace.

“Like this?” he asks her. Shura returns the hug while grinning against his chest.

“So amazing” she comments, causing Yugyeom to laugh.

They hear someone whistling and without breaking the hug they look for the culprit.

“What is this, Jeon Shura?” Youngjae playfully asks, dragging Jaebum after him.

“I wanted a warm hug” she answers, blushing.

“You wanted a warm hug or you wanted Yugyeom’s warm hug?” Mark asks her, popping out of nowhere, with one of Jinyoung’s arms over his shoulders.

“Well, I just wanted a warm hug. But I have to say Yugyeom’s are now my favorites”. Shura says with a grin, making Yugyeom blush.

“Is our Gyeomie blushing?” Jaebum teases.

“He is, look at him” Jinyoung adds.

“Yah, stop it” Yugyeom complains.

“But it’s soo cute!” Youngjae exclaims.

“He’s right” Shura agrees.

Yugyeom sighs. Suddenly everyone is in for mocking him and he can’t do anything to make them stop.

At night they go to the common room to have dinner together with Namjoon’s permission. They are all seated on the floor forming a circle, with the fire from the chimney keeping them warm and leftovers spread everywhere.

“Let’s cheer” Namjoon says, raising his drink.

“What for, leader?” Hoseok asks curiously.

“For us, for the pack” the leader answers with a grin. “Also for our newbies here,” Namjoon says while pointing to Shura, Youngjae, Mark and Jinyoung. “Since they arrived here I feel like something has changed. There’s always a good mood anywhere you go. I’m so glad I took you under my care”.

Shura looks at him incredulous, but so happy at the same time. Besides her, Jungkook pats her hand while smiling. Mark and Jinyoung grins at the leader, really thankful that he accepted them even with their past. Youngjae raises his drink and smiles too.

“Let’s cheer!” Yugyeom exclaims, and the sound of glass colliding against glass echoes through the instance.

“Can I say something?” Shura requests to Namjoon. The latter nods at her with a pleasant grin.

“First of all, thank you for accepting us in. Being in this pack means a lot to me. I didn’t want to join any pack because it was another pack who killed my parents. But this pack really surprised me. All of you are so kind; you made me feel like home again. Even Yoongi. I’m sorry again I hurt you” Shura says while bowing to Yoongi apologetically.

“It’s fine. I’m glad you did, or else maybe you wouldn’t be here with us now. So it’s okay, stop apologizing to me” Yoongi assures with a smile.

“Thank you” Shura says with a smile. “And thank you all, for taking good care of us. But among all, thanks to my little brother” she says while turning to her right, where said person is staring at her curious. “Thank you for believing in me. For giving me the chance to meet you. I would still be lost out there without you. Thank you for proposing me to join the pack even when I hurt your friend. I love you bro” she says while giving Jungkook a hug.

“Wow, you’re welcome sis” Jungkook mutters, still in shock because of her words. “But it wasn’t me who requested you to join the pack. It was Seokjin’s idea”.

Shura breaks the hug and looks at Seokjin, confused. The latter stiffs on his place, fidgeting with the hem of his sweater.

“But he told me it was you who did it?” the girl asks.

Jungkook turns to Seokjin and looks at him, frowning.

“Why did you do that?” he inquires.

“Well, it was you who wanted her in” Seokjin answers, trying to be calm even when his heart is beating like crazy at the thought of his mate being mad at him. “I didn’t think it mattered who requested it. I knew you wanted to meet her, but you wouldn’t say anything to Namjoon. So I did. But I told her it was you because in the end, you were the one who wanted it. And I only wanted to make you happy. Please don’t be mad at me”.

Jungkook stares at the ground for a moment; Seokjin pleading at him not to be angry with him.

“Jungkook, I think Seokjin is right” Shura whispers to him, feeling guilty for their argument. “You wanted me in, and that’s what counts to me. And he did it because he loves you. Don’t be mad at him, please”.

Jungkook looks at her before staring at Seokjin right in the eye.

“I’m not mad at you” Jungkook assures. “I just don’t understand why you have this thing for underestimating yourself. You always put me before you, when if it wasn’t for you I wouldn’t be anything. So please give you some credit”.

“So you’re not mad at me?” Seokjin asks for reassurance.

“No I’m not. But don’t do something like that again”.

“But Kookie, you can’t just ask me to not put you before me. I love you. I’ll always put you before me”.

“But I also love you so I want you to put yourself before me too”.

Seokjin is about to respond when Taehyung yells at them.

“Please stop this nonsense and just kiss already!”

Seokjin glares at him while Jungkook blushes. But quickly the room is filled with ‘kiss! Kiss! kiss!’ from all their friends. Jungkook shrugs his shoulders and pulls Seokjin to a tender kiss. Everyone claps their hands at them and squeal at how cute they are. Youngjae looks for Jaebum’s reaction and smiles when he sees the elder grinning widely at them.

“I also want to thank all of you for accepting Jinyoung and I even when I lied to you” Mark says, bowing to them. “It means so much to me too. I was captive for almost all my life. I was so lonely. Then I met you and you gave me a new home, and made me feel things I’ve never experienced before”.

“C’mon, you’re part of us now” Hoseok says to him. “We’re going to protect you from whoever is after you”.

All of them nod at him and Mark is beyond touched. Jinyoung smiles lovingly at him.

“Thank you guys” Mark says, smiling too. “But I want to say thank you especially to Jaebum” the addressed male jumps a bit, startled at the sudden mention of his name, and stares at Mark, the latter staring at him too. “You could have left me behind but you decided to take me. You made yourself responsible for me and also for Jinyoung after. You decided to trust my word. We’re constantly bickering but it really makes me happy every time we do it because we have a lot of fun from doing so. I really consider you as my best friend. So thank you Jaebum” he ends, offering his hand to Jaebum for a shake.

To say Jaebum is surprised is an understatement. He’s speechless. He didn’t know Mark was that fond of him. At this moment, Jaebum realizes that Youngjae isn’t the only one who has melted his heart. All of the persons that surround him have contributed to it too. Jaebum can feel himself blush, but soon it’s replace by a huge grin. To let Mark know that he’s also important to him, Jaebum takes Mark’s hand and pushes him against his body, hugging him.

It’s the others’ turn to be surprised. Half the party starts clapping while the other half stares at them in disbelief, but smiling too. Youngjae claps to them while laughing hard. Maybe he was wrong about Jaebum disliking Mark. He can see they are really close. Jaebum wouldn’t do anything that could hurt the other, and vice versa.

“If anyone else wants to say something, this is the moment” Namjoon jokes when Jaebum and Mark break the hug.

“I want to” Jimin says raising his small hand.

Namjoon signals for him to talk while Hoseok gives him a soft pat on the back, encouraging him.

“This is the best place I could ever be” Jimin starts. “I left my previous pack because I didn’t share the same ideas they did. And then Namjoon found me and showed me that my thoughts can be different but they weren’t wrong. Here we’re all equal to each other. We don’t have to fight and the mood is always up. I got the best friends I could ever have and I’m the happiest I’ve ever been on my life. And all thanks to our amazing leader Namjoon who worked hard for us to live comfortably. I think we should cheer for him too”.

Jimin raises his drink again, followed by Hoseok and Bonnie. Quickly all of them are raising their drinks while Namjoon is left astonished.

“For our amazing leader Namjoon” Jaebum says.

“Cheers!” Seokjin exclaims.

“You’re going to make me cry” Namjoon says. “But please don’t cheer for me. Cheer for the entire pack. I’m nothing without you guys. Together we form the pack. I’m the leader by title but I’m equal to all of you. Without any of us this pack wouldn’t be what it is nowadays. So let’s cheer for all of us”.

“Union makes power” Yoongi adds.

“For our pack!” Namjoon cheers.

“For our friendship!” Jimin happily cheers.

“Cheers!” they all say in unison.

The rest of the night comes by quickly, with them sharing old stories and anecdotes between them and laughing together. Bonnie is glad she doesn’t have to use her powers to lift up the atmosphere; all of them are happy genuinely, and there’s no better sensation than that.

Chapter Text

“Are you ready?” Jinyoung asks Youngjae when the younger steps out from his room.

“Yes, we can leave now” Youngjae answers. He takes his keys and waits for Jinyoung by the door.

“Take care baby” Mark whispers to Jinyoung and kisses his cheek. “And have fun! Enjoy your date meanwhile I prepare ours” he says with a wink.

“I can’t wait” Jinyoung whispers back, kissing Mark on the lips. “I’ll see you later”.

Mark kisses him one last time before letting the younger go. Youngjae opens the door for him, letting Jinyoung go out first.

“I’ll take care of him, don’t worry” Youngjae assures Mark before exiting, closing the door after him.

Mark smiles. He gets up and goes to his room to think what to wear tonight for their date.

“I can’t believe you have a bet involving us” Youngjae says, surprised.

“I shouldn’t have told you. It’s supposed to be a secret, but since I told Mark it’s only fair to tell you too” Jinyoung says, grinning at the confused male besides him.

“Then you have to tell Shura too. You’re all so silly. You had it won since the beginning”.

“I know. Yugyeom even wanted to bet for me, but Jaebum forbid him”.

“Aish, so competitive” Youngjae says with a sigh.

“Hey, but aren’t you happy?” Jinyoung asks, eyes fixed on the road while driving. “Jaebum is in it for you”.

“I’m not sure, Jinyoung” he mutters, his face serious now. “I think he only does it because he thinks I need to be protected”.

“Don’t underestimate you. I can tell he’s head over heels for you. You’ve seen the way he treats anybody that approaches you”.

“I don’t know. I give this vibe to people like I have to be protected at all costs, and I think Jaebum fell for it. But it’s not true, I can defend myself perfectly”.

“You’re really confident”.

Youngjae fidgets with the hem of his shirt; old memories coming to him.

“It’s not that I had another option. Back in high school some dudes used to pick on me. They would always come to take away my lunch, and I gave it to them because I didn’t want any trouble” Youngjae pauses for a while. Jinyoung alternates his vision between the road and Youngjae, worried about him. “But they misunderstood it like if I was mocking them, so they tried to teach me a lesson. At that time I was struggling with my psychic powers, and I didn’t want to hurt the boys because of that. I let them beat me” Jinyoung turns to stare at him in horror, not believing that someone could do that to a sunshine like Youngjae. “Focus on the road, Jinyoung!” Youngjae reprimands him.

“Sorry” Jinyoung apologizes.

“They only gave me two punches when my powers got wild. I unconsciously hit a boy with a case. They were so shocked. I quickly reacted and ended up beating the boys before it could go worse. And since that day I became the official bully of the school, even when I didn’t want to hurt anyone” Youngjae says, smiling sadly. “Then I started college, and I thought I could have a new start. But like I said, every person that approached me tried to protect me, to stand before me. They didn’t let me do anything on my own, so I ended up distancing myself from everybody. That’s why I don’t have any friends besides Shura and the pack”.

Jinyoung doesn’t know what to say to the younger. It’s true that Youngjae seems so fragile because he’s a limitless ball of fluff and happiness. But Youngjae saved him when he was in danger; so he obviously knows that the boy has his ways to protect himself.

“But it’s okay” Youngjae says, like if could read Jinyoung’s mind. “Because now I have the best friends ever, so I’m happy”.

“I’m sorry all of that happened to you” Jinyoung mutters.

“Don’t be sorry. Like I said, I’m fine now”.

“I would have befriended you if I would have had the chance to meet you before. And I would have respected you”.

Youngjae smiles at him. A real, full smile that makes Jinyoung smile too.

“You’re my friend now. That’s what matters to me. We are even having a date, so no more apologies. Let’s enjoy the ride”.

Jinyoung nods at him and continues driving happily.

Youngjae examines the oven carefully. His house was reformed before he came to the city, but the home appliances remained the same from some time ago, so it’s normal that at some point they would break.

“From the outside everything seems fine. I’m going to open it to check on the cables” Youngjae resumes, reaching to pick a screwdriver. When he’s done he takes a look inside; but everything seems fine to him.

He’s about to tell his inquilines about the state of the oven when he feels a jab on the back of his neck. He turns around: one of his inquilines is in front of him, holding an empty syringe. He scratches the back of his neck and frowns at the person before him.

“I’m sorry” the guy says, and before Youngjae can ask why his vision starts to blur and energy abandons his body. He falls to the ground, and the last things he sees before blacking out is Jinyoung’s body on the same condition as his.

Mark follows the recipe book diligently. He’s making his first attempt to make a real meal for him and Jinyoung. He’s mixing some different ingredients when an uneasy feeling starts to set on his heart. He stops what he’s doing for a moment, trying to decipher what this new sensation is.

“The cake!” he yells when he smells something burning.

When Youngjae wakes up, he’s on a white room with a huge window in front of him. He’s tied to a chair by his wrists, meanwhile his legs are free. He stares at his own reflex. He can’t see anything from outside, so he guesses it’s one of those glasses that only allow vision from one of the sides. And in this case, it’s from outside.

He suddenly feels his head buzz. His head aches and he lets out a groan, making the man on the other side of the room notice him.

“Good morning, sleeping beauty” the man greets him with a smirk. Youngjae looks at him with terrified eyes.

“W-who are you?” Youngjae asks with a shaky voice.

“It doesn’t matter who I am” the man answers, caressing Youngjae’s cheek with his index finger. “What matters here is that your friends hurt my brother real bad, and you’re going to pay”.

Youngjae flinches. The man laughs at him and takes Youngjae’s phone.

“Please don’t kill me” Youngjae pleads.

“It depends on that little friend of yours, the girl. She was the one who damaged him the most. I’m calling her right now. If she doesn’t show up then I’ll cut you in pieces and I’ll send them to her”.

Youngjae lets out a cry and shifts on his seat, trying to free himself.

“Be quiet or I’ll give you a nice tattoo” the man threatens, taking out a knife from his pocket. Youngjae remains silent. “You should really change your password. It’s a bit easy, you know” the man says, unlocking Youngjae’s phone. This time, Youngjae glares at him for a moment, until he hears the beeps from his phone.

“Hello, Youngjae?” Shura says, picking up her phone.

At the mention of the name, Jaebum approaches the girl on the sofa. They are waiting for Yugyeom to come back to see a movie together, since the rest of their friends are busy.

“Hi beauty” an unfamiliar and unpleasant voice greets her from the other side. Shura gulps, feeling worried as hell for her best friend.

“Who are you?” she spits out with anger. The person on the other line laughs.

“Like I said to your friend here, it doesn’t matter. But I’m sure you remember that little fight you had near the fighting club. You hurt my brother real bad that time. I want revenge”.

Jaebum clenches his fits. It’s a member from Jeonghan’s pack. He knew he would take Youngjae. His blood starts boiling with anger but also with fear from what could happen to the younger.

“What do you want?” Shura asks.

“Meet me at the street behind the fighting club in thirty minutes. And come alone or you won’t see your friend again”. Shura lets out a growl, earning a laugh from the man again. “C’mon Youngjae, say something to your friend”.

“Where’s Jinyoung?” it’s the only thing that comes out from his mouth.

“You mean that other guy? He isn’t here. We weren’t interested in him, but someone else was so we just gave him to them” the man answers. Shura takes this new info, already on her feet.

“I’ll be there. But if you lay a finger on Youngjae I’m going to kill you” she warns the man, Jaebum agreeing with her, ready to go out.

“Sure. You’re the only one I’m interested in” the man says, making Shura put a disgusted face. “I’ll see you soon. Say something to your friend, Youngjae”.

Jaebum’s heart aches in pain when he hears the sweet voice of his sunshine tinted with fear.

“P-Please, come save your junior first. Please”.

Shura’s head rises violently at this. She nods, even when her friend can’t see it.

“Don’t worry, Youngjae. I’m coming” she assures him before ending the call.

She retrieves the phone to her pocket and rushes to the door.

“We have to find Mark” she declares, but before she can go outside Jaebum catches her by her arm.

“What? Didn’t you hear what he said?” Jaebum asks in disbelief. “You have to go alone or else he’ll hurt Youngjae”.

“I’ve heard him well. But we’re not going there” she answers. Jaebum stares at her surprised.

“But Youngjae-“

“Jaebum” Shura says seriously. “Youngjae was giving us a message. We have to find Jinyoung first, and I’m pretty sure I know who took him. Mark will know where to find him”.

“But how?” Jaebum manages to ask.

“Junior is the nickname we gave to Jinyoung so we can gossip about him when Mark is near. He was asking us to get Jinyoung first and he also got the information about who could have taken him away. Youngjae has everything under control”.

“But we can’t just leave him like that”.

“You worry too much, Jaebum” the girl says with a smirk, freeing herself from Jaebum and finally going out. “Youngjae may seem innocent and inoffensive, but he’s none of that. He’s going to be fine”.

“But-“

“We don’t have time for this” Shura says, dragging Jaebum with her through the forest to find Mark. “Look, I know Youngjae is cute and all you wanna do is cuddle him and protect him from everything. But he really doesn’t need any protection. In fact, they are the ones who should be protected from Youngjae”.

Jaebum stares at her while trying to catch her rhythm. He knows Youngjae is strong. He has trained with the younger and knows what the other is able to do. But he sounded so scared that Jaebum can’t help but worry lots for him.

“But he’s frightened. We have to do something” he complains.

“Here’s something you must know about Youngjae if you’re planning on dating him” the girl says, giving him a comforting smile. “He’s the best actor you’ll ever know”.

As soon as the conversation ends, the man suddenly finds his back colliding against the floor. The phone is away from his hand and also is his knife. He raises his head just to see Youngjae walking to him, free from his bandages. He tries to get up but Youngjae just sits on top of him and punches him hard on the face, breaking his nose. The impact makes the man’s head fall to the floor, but Youngjae takes him by the collar, lifting him.

“You’re going to tell me where they took my friend” Youngjae demands. The man swears he hasn’t seen on his entire life something as scary as the look of this boy and his rough tone.

Seeing that the man has no intention of answering him, he pushes the man’s head against the floor. The man screams painfully before Youngjae lifts him again.

“I said where they took my friend” Youngjae angrily shouts at him.

The man spits some blood before answering.

“The warehouses at the east of the city. They took him there”.

“Good” Youngjae says before pushing his head again against the floor, making the man lose his consciousness.

Youngjae makes his phone fly to his hand, and picks the knife from the floor while dialing Shura’s number. She answers at the second beep; only that the person that greets him isn’t Shura but Mark.

“It’s me, Youngjae” he says after his friend threw a few tantrums at him thinking it was the other man.

“Youngjae! I’m sorry, how are you?”

He looks at the bleeding man on the floor and smirks mischievously.

“I’m fine, don’t worry about me” he says, walking to the door and opening it with his psychic powers. “Listen, they took Jinyoung to the warehouses at the east of the city”.

“I knew it” Mark says. “We’re heading there right now. If you need any help tell us”.

A person exits from another door, and quickly takes out his gun, aiming to Youngjae. But before he can fire it flies from his hand and hits him on the head, knocking him down. Another person comes out after the first, and this person gets to shoot at him. Youngjae quickly redirects the bullet to the wall and pushes the man against the door with his mind. The man falls to the floor, unconscious.

“Don’t worry about me. I have everything under control” he assures the other, turning to the other side and throwing the knife against another guy that appeared behind him. It lands perfectly on his chest and he falls to the floor. “Save Jinyoung first. We’ll see each other later”.

“Take care” is the last Mark says before hanging up.

Youngjae puts the phone on his pocket and proceeds to inspect the room from where the guys exited earlier. There isn’t much inside: just some weapons and a desk with a computer above it. Youngjae approaches the computer and starts searching for any possible valuable information, but he only finds reports of the number of materials at the warehouse he’s currently in. Even so he memorizes everything before throwing the computer to the floor, breaking it. He goes out and examines the two guys’ clothes. He finds their wallets and identifications, and in the pocket of one of them he also finds a lighter. He takes it and sets fire to one of the guys before throwing the dead body inside. He registers every room and proceeds to burn as much as he can.

The car practically flies through the streets. Shura has always been a decent driver; but now that the life of her friend is at risk she can’t stick to the rules. Mark is by her side guiding her meanwhile Jaebum is sitting at the back seat, running his hand through his hair nervously.

“We’re getting closer” Mark says. “Turn right at the next intersection”.

Shura obeys; the car turning violently. If they weren’t wearing the seatbelts they would have jumped out of the window.

“Why isn’t Youngjae calling?” Jaebum asks worriedly.

“I told you, Jaebum” Shura answers. “He’s going to be fine. He was only pretending to be scared so that man wouldn’t suspect anything. You have to give him more credit”.

Jaebum sighs. Youngjae is really brave; but Jaebum is in love and can’t help but worry.

Jinyoung opens his eyes when he feels his body being shaken violently, only to close them again when he sees the person in front of him.

“You weren’t expecting me, were you?” his ex-boss asks him. Jinyoung groans, trying to move his arms and legs; but they are tied to a chair, preventing him from escape.

The man smirks at him. But Jinyoung won’t let him win. He raises his head and stares at him defiantly.

“Ah, aren’t you happy to see me again?” his ex-boss continues. “Because I am. Well, I’m more relieved than happy. You escaped somehow that day; but I can assure you that you won’t do it today”.

His ex-boss starts walking on circles in front of him, pretending to be pensive.

“How could you do that, by the way? My men didn’t even know what attacked them. It’s like your house was hunted; but we both know better than that, don’t we? So tell me, Park Jinyoung… how did you do that?”

Jinyoung remains silent. Whatever this man has planned to do to obtain information from him is condemned to failure. He must admit his boss is stubborn; but he won’t ever surpass Park Jinyoung’s determination.

His ex-boss seems to give up and sighs, pausing to smile devilishly to Jinyoung.

“It’s fine, I can live without that. Now let’s talk about Mark”.

Jinyoung can’t prevent his body from flinching at the mention of the name. He should have known: this man won’t ever get tired of hunting them. His ex-boss notices and smirks at him.

“I guess after your runaway you found him” his ex-boss continues. “I bet you thought you could live happily ever after. But here I am. You can’t escape from me, Park Jinyoung. I’ll find Mark and I’ll kill that abomination for your eyes to see”.

“Why are you so obsessed about us?” Jinyoung asks back, frowning at the images of this man laying a finger on his Mark. “You have plenty of werewolves to study and humans to help you. Why us?”

The man stops smiling and grabs Jinyoung by the neck of his shirt.

“Because both of you left me in a bad position” the man almost yells in Jinyoung’s face, the latter grimacing at that. “Now everyone thinks I’m weak and that they can do whatever they want. But I’ll find both of you and I’ll teach you and those people a lesson”.

“Good luck with that” Jinyoung says confidently. “I won’t ever tell you where he is”.

The man releases Jinyoung and smirks before walking to stand in front of a table, studying the objects on it.

“Don’t you feel disgusted at yourself?” the man asks, still giving his back to Jinyoung. “The whole existence of werewolves is disgusting. But what is more disgusting is to see a human in love with one of those things”.

“I’m not disgusted of my love for Mark” Jinyoung states proudly. “I will never be”.

“That’s even more disgusting” the man mutters, finally grabbing something and turning to Jinyoung. “Mark is an abomination. And you’re also an abomination for loving him. You’re worst that him”.

Then suddenly Jinyoung remembers about Youngjae. He wants to slap himself for forgetting about the younger. He searches for him but he’s not in the room with him.

“Are you looking for your little friend?” the man asks; walking to Jinyoung, whip in hand.

Jinyoung notices but doesn’t let his fear overcome him. He has to be strong. He can’t tell the man where Mark or his friends are. He won’t betray them even if it costs his life. This man can’t put his hands on Mark again. Mark is free now. Mark is happy now and Jinyoung would do anything for it to stay that way.

“He’s not here” the man says. “We were planning to kill him, but someone else wanted him. Who knows, maybe he’s dead anyways”.

Now, Jinyoung really starts to panic. If Youngjae is dead, he won’t be able to live with it.

“I searched anywhere for you” the man continues, now standing right in front of Jinyoung, showing the latter his whip. “I went after any suspicious activity just to find you. And I found him instead. Who leaves a house perfectly situated near his university to go live elsewhere? I personally went to check on him and his inquilines told me they didn’t know where he moved to. I asked them to make your friend return in exchange of a decent amount of money and ta-da! He came with surprise!”

Jinyoung glares angrily at him. If this man has hurt Youngjae in any way Jinyoung will make him pay.

“Hey, no need to look at me like that” the man says while laughing. “Like I said, I don’t know where he is. He can be dead as far as I’m concerned. But know, my dear Jinyoung” he says, giving the floor a playful hit with the whip to scare Jinyoung, “let’s talk about Mark. Where is he?”

Jinyoung doesn’t respond. His blood boils with anger even when he can’t do anything but glare at the man.

“I knew it wasn’t going to be easy” the man says with a sigh before hitting Jinyoung with the whip.

“Ah!” Mark groans, suddenly gripping his chest in pain.

“Mark!” Shura exclaims, turning to check on him and barely dodging a car in the process.

“The road!” Mark manages to say between pants.

“What’s happening?” Jaebum asks, now worrying the double.

“I don’t know” Mark answers, and then groans painfully again.

“Maybe is the bond with Jinyoung” Shura suggests, diverting his view between the road and Mark. “Namjoon said you’d be able to feel your mate even before mating him”.

“But he’s suffering!” Jaebum exclaims.

“Their bond is very strong already” Shura says while Mark seems to be calming a little.

Jaebum nods, but at the same time is a bit disappointed he isn’t able to feel Youngjae. He blames himself for it, knowing that is his fault that their bond isn’t that deep.

“D-don’t worry Jaebum” Mark tries to comfort him between pants, as if he could read his mind. “I’ve known Jinyoung for a year already. It’s not the same”.

Jaebum tries to smile but his face falls when Mark squirms on his seat, moaning again.

“We have to hurry” Jaebum demands and Shura complies by stepping on the accelerator sharply.

When Youngjae is finished burning everything he gets out after beating another pair of minions. He coughs when the smoke from the warehouse gets to him; but besides that he’s fine. He turns around and uses more power to demolish the entire warehouse. He pants for the amount of use of his powers, and when he has recovered a bit he runs the GPS device from his phone to know where he is. After finding the location, he retrieves the phone to his pocket and attempts to go back to the pack. 

Suddenly something attacks him from his right. Before he can react he’s on the floor with a wolf trying to bite him on top of him. Youngjae puts his forearm under the wolf’s head so it can’t bite him. One bite and you’ll die, Youngjae remembers. If this wolf bites him it’s game over. He won’t survive the transformation because of his powers and he’ll never see his friends again.

The wolf sinks his claws in Youngjae’s shoulder and drags them through his chest until he reaches the stomach. Youngjae screams in pain when he feels his skin being torn violently. With his last forces he manages to get rid of it and stands up before the wolf could attack him again. The wolf growls loudly and is already going for him again when Youngjae pushes him against a tree with his mind, letting out a shout of anger and desperation. The wolf collides violently against the tree and falls to the ground. Youngjae waits a bit until he’s sure the wolf is knocked out, and then he kneels down, one arm supporting him and the other hand touching his wounds. He’s bleeding but he thinks he’ll be fine until he reaches the pack at least.

His body doesn’t move at first, out of exhaustion. But then Youngjae thinks about his friends back at home, about Jinyoung who is missing, and with a groan he manages to stand up. He starts to walk slowly, until he gains the strength again and walks as fast as he can go.

For a second his mind thinks about Jaebum. What if the elder is really interested in him? What if Youngjae is just misunderstanding things? You’ll never know if you die now, Youngjae; he tells to himself. That gives him more strength to keep going.

If I get out from this, I’m asking him out, he decides.

“Jinyoung, Jinyoung!” Mark cries while squirming, feeling his skin burn and his heart aching in pain.

Jaebum is about to hold his hand to calm him when he feels something cutting the skin on his chest.

“Jaebum, what’s wrong?” Shura asks when she hears Jaebum also groaning, touching his chest with his hand.

“I think it’s Youngjae” he answers while picking his phone to call the younger.

But Youngjae doesn’t respond. He tries calling him again and again until he finally answers.

“Jae… Jaebum” he hears the younger say between pants.

“Youngjae are you okay?” he worriedly asks.

“I’m fine… I’m hurt but I’ll live, don’t worry about me” Jaebum doesn’t see him but he can tell the younger is smiling as always; the anguish sensation on his chest fading away. “Where’s Jinyoung? Did you find him?”

“Not yet. We live exactly at the other side of the city. But we’re close”.

“Jinyoung!” Mark yells, already tearing up.

“What’s that?” Youngjae asks.

“Mark. He can feel Jinyoung”.

“It-it didn’t sound good…”

Mark is suffering and now Youngjae is probably in pain too. Jaebum feels useless as he can’t help any of the two. Fortunately Shura moves her hand and holds Mark’s, caressing his palm with her thumb to comfort him.

“Listen to me Youngjae” Jaebum says. “Call anybody from the pack and ask them to pick you. It’s not safe for you to go alone. We’ll save Jinyoung in the meantime”.

“Okay” Youngjae mutters. “Please take care”.

“You too” Jaebum whispers with a smile. He’s about to hung up when Youngjae calls his name again.

“Can we talk when you get back? There’s something I want to tell you”.

Jaebum’s heart beats fast in anticipation; but Mark screams again, reminding him this isn’t the time for that.

“Sure. See you soon”.

Youngjae ends the call and Jaebum quickly dismisses the phone in favor of holding Mark’s hand.

“Where is Mark?”

Jinyoung remains silent. He’s been silent since the beginning; only letting out some cries and whimpers as the lash hit his porcelain skin. His shirt is completely opened and almost ruined, covered partially by blood. Jinyoung’s chest is on fire; there are cuts everywhere and he can’t heal them or the man will know about his powers. He’s more exhausted for having to control the natural healing of his body than for all the abuse.

“For the last time,” the man says with a sigh, “where is Mark?”

Jinyoung spits at him. The man drops the whip and slaps Jinyoung directly, splitting his lip. Jinyoung smirks at him.

 “You know, you’ve drained all my patience” his ex-boss says while taking out a gun, and then he charges it. Jinyoung raises his chin proudly. “Some last words?”

“You’ll never have Mark” Jinyoung states with confidence.

“Shocking news: you neither” his ex-boss says.

A gunshot and the body of ex-his boss falling to the floor is the last thing Jinyoung sees before he loses consciousness.

“Here it is” Mark exclaims, sensing that something is off because the aching sensation of his body is gone, “the last one in this road”.

Shura follows Mark’s orders diligently. They are half way there when they see a huge smoke cloud. From their place they can see the warehouse Mark signaled as the target in flames. Shura stops the car and Mark goes out, rushing to reach the location. He ignores the voices of Shura and Jaebum calling for him. He doesn’t even care that the building is on fire; he steps in, covering his nose with his forearm. He searches every room for Jinyoung, but there’s nothing much in there. He’s not mistaken; this warehouse is his company’s property. Jinyoung should be in there.

He advances but he only sees furniture burning and some dead bodies too. Mark can recognize them as employees of the company. He turns around one of the bodies and notices that it has a gun shot in the chest. After checking every room he heads out and starts to cough. He has breathed some smoke and his lungs are on fire. He wants to shout Jinyoung’s name, but nothing comes out from his mouth.

Jaebum and Shura reach him. Shura tries to calm Mark while Jaebum registers the place. The roof falls down, expelling the smoke directly to them. Jaebum picks Mark up from the floor while dragging Shura by the hand, moving them away from there. The three watch from the distance how the building finally falls down.

“Jinyoung!” Mark screams when he’s finally able to do so. He starts running through the rest of the place, trying to find any clue about what happened to him. But everything is useless; the only possible trace of Jinyoung was the warehouse.

Mark falls down to the ground, still calling Jinyoung’s name. Jaebum and Shura rush to help him get up, but he refuses. Shura and Jaebum look at each other, not knowing what to do.

“Why?” Mark asks nobody in particular, throwing a punch to the land under him. “I just got him back!”

Mark starts to cry. He finally had the younger with him; they were about to start a new life together. There were a lot of things Mark wanted to do with Jinyoung. He really wanted to experience each step of the relationship with Jinyoung. He wanted to love Jinyoung until the day they die.

But the younger is gone, and Mark doesn’t have a single clue of where he can be. At least, something inside him tells him Jinyoung isn’t dead. And Mark is going to attach himself to that tiny bit of hope till the end.

When they arrive to the pack they are quickly directed to the nursery. They aren’t really injured, but as Yugyeom informed them, Namjoon is in there and would want to see them. Shura is the first one to enter. Namjoon and Yoongi are there with Bonnie, and in front of them is Youngjae. His upper half is covered by bandages, but he seems fine. Shura approaches him and carefully hugs him.

“How did it go? Where’s Jinyoung?” Youngjae asks as soon as his vision reaches Mark.

The latter flinches and looks sadly to the floor. Youngjae sees him clenching his fists and Jaebum standing behind him, shaking his head ‘no’.

“We didn’t get on time” Shura whispers to him.

Youngjae’s eyes plop open in a second. He glances to Mark again; Jaebum has a reassuring hand on his shoulder meanwhile Mark tries not to cry, but his eyes are already puffy and red. Youngjae’s heart drops to the floor. It’s my fault, Youngjae thinks. I asked him to accompany me and then I couldn’t protect him.

“Hey” Mark says, “are you okay?”

Youngjae feels like he doesn’t deserve the elder’s concern. If Jinyoung is missing it’s his entire fault.

“I’m sorry” he mutters, biting his lip.

Mark looks at him surprised.

“You’re sorry for what?”

“I was the one who asked Jinyoung to accompany me. If I hadn’t done that, he would be here with you”.

Mark’s face softens at that. He walks to Youngjae and gently caresses his cheek.

“Hey” he calls the other; but Youngjae still looks to the floor. “Look at me” Mark says, and Youngjae finally stares at him. “It’s not your fault, okay? You couldn’t know it was going to happen. Don’t blame yourself please. I’m really glad that you’re safe at least”.

Mark tries to hug him, but Youngjae is still reticent. Finally Mark looks at him in the eye while taking his face in his hands.

“Youngjae please stop” Mark pleads, the younger starting to sob. “Jinyoung isn’t dead, I can feel it in here” he says while pointing to his heart. “You have to recover quickly so we can go out and find him wherever he is. Do you hear me?”

Youngjae nods energetically. At the back, he sees Jaebum talking with Namjoon and Yoongi, probably explaining what happened while Yugyeom takes Shura’s hand in his to comfort her. For a moment Jaebum glances in his direction and their gazes meet. Jaebum gives him a look Youngjae can’t decipher and then turns to continue talking with Namjoon. An uneasy feeling tingles on Youngjae’s stomach, but he tries to shake it off.

“I think all of us need to rest” Namjoon declares, “we’ll talk tomorrow more calmly. Please Youngjae take care. I’ll see all of you tomorrow”.

Namjoon and Yoongi are the firsts to go after patting Youngjae’s and Mark’s shoulders. Jaebum gives Youngjae a last glance before also going out, without waiting for the rest. Yugyeom quickly apologizes to Shura and rushes behind his partner. Bonnie hands some pills to Youngjae and they finally go out.

Youngjae can’t hide his disappointment towards Jaebum. The latter hasn’t even said a word to him when he only wanted some comfort from him. Shura notices but doesn’t say anything. It’s been a hell of a day for all of them and she only wants to fall on her bed and rest. Mark doesn’t go home with them. He silently goes through the forest again, but neither Shura nor Youngjae does anything to stop him.

Jeonghan kicks with his boot what seemed to be a table; although now it’s only burnt pieces of wood. He’s lucky this warehouse wasn’t really important or his plans would have been ruined. A man approaches him with a laptop in his hands.

“Sir, this is the only thing I could recover from the cameras” the man says.

The screen shows the main hall. Suddenly one door opens and a young boy exits, phone in hand. Jeonghan watches in amusement how the boy knocks down two of his men without doing anything. The boy shoots a knife to another person and then enters a room. That’s the last he sees before the camera stopped working.

Jeonghan is left astonished. He has met special people before; but this boy has something that really attracts him. He wants to know more about him. He wants to know how far this boy can go with his powers.

“I want the name of this guy” he tells the other, “he has really perked my curiosity”.

“And it’s only about to get more interesting” a feminine voice sounds behind him. Jeonghan turns around to see a pretty dark haired woman approaching him. He smirks and opens his arms to her.

“My beautiful Alyson” Jeonghan greets her. Alyson hugs the boy back and smiles. “What are you doing here?”

“Well, I came by before as you asked me” she answers, breaking the hug. “I checked on the boy’s mind and then left. And I’m glad I did it or I would have ended like this” she says, pointing to a pile of dust.

“And? What did you get from this guy?”

“Really interesting news. His name is Choi Youngjae. He’s on his last year of college, majoring in Informatics Engineering. He’s pretty smart and can move things with his mind”.

Jeonghan nods. It explains why he was able to hit his men without moving a muscle. He must admit that this Choi Youngjae is fascinating.

“But the real issue is this: he’s now part of Namjoon’s pack” Alyson continues. Jeonghan stares at her, a wide grin already forming on his face.

“Namjoon always takes the most interesting people” he comments.

“But he isn’t any member” Alyson says, smiling at Jeonghan’s reaction. He’s grinning even more in anticipation. “I cannot assure you 100%, but there is a high chance he is what you’ve been looking for all this years”.

“Please say it” Jeonghan says, almost laughing at the thought. “I think I’m already in love with this guy”.

Alyson smirks and approaches Jeonghan to whisper in his ear.

“He’s Jaebum’s weakness”.

Mark lies down on the blanket he had prepared for his date with Jinyoung in the middle of the forest. There’s a bag with the food he made; all of it ruined. He raises his arm towards the dark sky full of stars.

“Jinyoungie” he whispers, “I know you’re somewhere under the same sky as I am. I’ll find you and I’ll save you, I promise. I swear I won’t rest until we’re together again”.

He stares at the half moon and lowers his arm, resting his hand on his chest; just above his heart.

“I love you Jinyoungie” he mutters, closing his eyes. “I’ll always will”.

Chapter Text

Son Hyunwoo only had one passion in his life.

Dance.

He really liked to dance when he was young. He watched professional dancers dance on television and he liked it, so he used to copy them. He learnt by himself and he was so proud of his skills.

However, his father wanted something different for him. He told his son more than once that dance wasn’t going to lead him anywhere, so he should chose other way to build a future. That’s how Hyunwoo ended being the head of a special division of the Security forces.

He only wanted to join the Security forces, but the captain wanted to form a special unit to solve certain cases, different from the usual, and Hyunwoo accepted to be the head out of boredom.

He doesn’t regret his decision at all. He had only six companions, but each one of them was a precious friend to him. He met Jooheon, the skilled guy; Kihyun, the smart one; Hyungwon, the sassy dude; Wonho, the good-looking one;  Changkyun, the youngest; and lastly, Minhyuk, the cheerful one.

Minhyuk was the last to arrive, but the one who made the deepest impact on Hyunwoo. Since the beginning, there were good vibes at the office; but with Minhyuk’s arrival it only got better. Waking up early each day didn’t matter anymore to Hyunwoo; he only wanted to arrive the fastest at the office to be greeted with Minhyuk’s wonderful smile.

Minhyuk was a bit clumsy at the office and sometimes he tripped and lost papers, but he always cleaned the mess and put everything in its place. Minhyuk never lost his smile and it made Hyunwoo incredibly happy. At the beginning they had a normal boss-employee relationship, but they got along well and used to be together almost all the time. When they had to go out to some special mission, Hyunwoo would always pick Minhyuk to come with him. Minhyuk was a great shooter; the best in Hyunwoo’s opinion. When they were out, Hyunwoo would always go first with Minhyuk covering his back with his shotgun; or if they were out to obtain information, Hyunwoo would do the talk while Minhyuk would be his sniper in case the negotiation went wrong.

Hyunwoo and Minhyuk were a special team and everyone knew. After a certain time, Hyunwoo also asked Changkyun to come with them to missions. Hyunwoo wanted Changkyun to learn from them, always telling the younger that if something ever happen to him, he would take the role of the boss. Changkyun would say that Hyunwoo is an exaggerated, but he came with them in the end, and even enjoyed it. People at office started calling them The family, because the three of them would go together everywhere. And nobody denied it.

Hyunwoo appreciated everyone at the office, but with Minhyuk and Changkyun it was special. Hyunwoo saw the potential in Changkyun since the day he met the younger, and wanted to explode it. With Minhyuk, he simply liked him and they had good chemistry. They never failed a mission and even got praised not only by his partners, but also the rest of the Security forces. To Hyunwoo, Minhyuk was like a ray of sunshine. He had a lot of energy, and it was contagious. When Minhyuk was hyper active, he made everyone at his surroundings go active too. When Minhyuk smiled, everyone smiled and when he laughed, everyone laughed with him. Hyunwoo would always be glad to Minhyuk for always maintaining the mood up, and for helping him managing the squad. Hyunwoo didn’t know what he would have done without Minhyuk with all the new discoveries they did. He managed to control the team and everything worked well.

Until the day Kihyun went missing.

Hyunwoo was at the office that day. Kihyun and Minhyuk asked him to have a day off. Hyunwoo looked at them suspiciously, but he shrugged it off and let the boys go. He missed Minhyuk a lot that day. Even when Minhyuk wasn’t all the time at the office, he would always come to his office at every break they had to make sure Hyunwoo was eating well. But that day he was out all day and Hyunwoo sensed the quiet vibe at the office.

He just arrived home and was about to open the door when his phone rang. He saw it was Jooheon and picked it up quickly.

“Jooheon?”

“Hyunwoo, can you come to the hospital?”

At the mention of the hospital Hyunwoo became really worried.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Yes, I am” Hyunwoo sighed in relief before Jooheon continued, leaving Hyunwoo without breath.

“It’s Minhyuk”.

And Hyunwoo had never run so fast in his entire life.

When he arrived at Minhyuk’s room, Jooheon was waiting for him at the door. Hyunwoo was going to open it when Jooheon grabbed his arm.

“He’s asleep, but he’s okay. The doctors said he is fine, only his arm is injured but he’ll recover quickly” Jooheon said. Hyunwoo nodded and felt some relief, but he needed to see Minhyuk.

“Thank you, Jooheon”. Jooheon smiled before releasing him.

“I’ll be here. Come in, I’m sure he will want to see you when he wakes up. And don’t worry, I’m calling the others”.

Hyunwoo smiled and thanked him again before entering the room.

His heart stopped a bit when he saw Minhyuk. He was sleeping at the bed, with some cuts on his handsome face and a plaster on his arm. He approached the younger and sat by his side.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you like you always do with me, Minhyuk” he muttered.

A while passed before Minhyuk opened his eyes. Hyunwoo was close to him, sitting on a chair staring at him. Minhyuk seemed lost for a moment, and then he stood up abruptly.

“Hey” Hyunwoo said, stopping Minhyuk from going further and accommodating Minhyuk in his bed again, “calm down. Everything is okay”. Hyunwoo caressed his hair and for a moment Minhyuk let himself go in the touch, before reality hit him.

“They took him, Hyunwoo!”

Hyunwoo didn’t know what Minhyuk was saying, and looked at him with a confused face.

“Kihyun!” Minhyuk clarified, and his eyes started to get teary. “We were having ice-cream at the park when suddenly some guys came and took him. We tried to fight them, but they were stronger than us. The last I remember was Kihyun shouting my name while they were dragging him away”.

Hyunwoo gulped. He forgot about Kihyun, and now he just found that his friend got kidnapped and his partner got injured trying to save him.

“It was my fault” Minhyuk muttered, a tear actually rolling down his cheek. “If I was stronger I could have saved him. But I’m weak and clumsy”.

“Hey, it’s not your fault” Hyunwoo said, patting Minhyuk’s back to comfort him.

Before Minhyuk could say anything, the door opened and the rest of the squad came in.

“Oh my God, Minhyuk!” Wonho said running to his side, the others following him.

“You scared us!” Hyungwon said caressing his hair.

“Sorry I worried you guys” Minhyuk smiled sadly at them. All of them had worried faces. They kept asking what happened and if he was okay until Changkyun asked where Kihyun was.

“He’s not responding to my calls” Jooheon said.

Hyunwoo looked at Minhyuk, already knowing the answer. Minhyuk started to silently sob, but Hyunwoo noticed and held tightly his hand.

“He was kidnapped” he answered. The room fell in complete silence.

“By who?” Jooheon asked, but when Hyunwoo was going to speak seeing that Minhyuk wasn’t able to do it, a loud sound echoed through the room.

All of them looked at the direction of the sound, seeing an extremely angry Changkyun who had punched hard the wall.

“And you let them take him away?” he asked.

Hyunwoo was silent. Minhyuk tightened the grip on his hand, and Hyunwoo knew that guilty was consuming him.

“Changkyun” Hyunwoo said in a warning tone.

“I asked him, Hyunwoo. You have to answer for him, too? He’s so dependent to you that he doesn’t know how to defend himself, much less others!” Changkyun snapped. Everyone was surprised to hear the youngest talking like that not only to his boss, but also the eldest of them.

“That’s not it…” Minhyuk muttered. Changkyun glared at him.

“Then, what is it? You let them take Kihyun away! He was with you, you should have saved him!” Changkyun was also crying while shouting all those things to Minhyuk. Hyunwoo didn’t know what to say. He wanted to defend Minhyuk, but the outburst of Changkyun, his disciple, left him speechless.

“I’m sorry okay! I’m not strong enough!” Minhyuk shouted, also crying.

The room fell silent again, until Minhyuk cleared his throat.

“I know it’s my fault, I’m sorry”.

“That’s not going to bring him back” Changkyun stated, he wasn’t crying anymore but was clearly mad. “Do you know at least who took him?”

Minhyuk shook his head.

“They were covering their faces. I’m sorry”.

Changkyun made a tsk sound before walking to the door.

“So helpful” he said sarcastically, before slamming the door hardly.

Everyone flinched. Minhyuk lowered his head before saying a low ‘I’m sorry guys’.

“I’m going to talk to him” Jooheon said, and left the room following Changkyun.

“We know it’s not your fault” Wonho said grabbing Minhyuk’s other hand.

“We’ll found him, don’t worry” Hyungwon said and smiled at him.

Minhyuk nodded. He thanked them for visiting him but asked them to leave him alone for a moment. Everyone understood and left the room after encouraging Minhyuk again. When Hyunwoo was about to leave, Minhyuk grabbed his arm.

“Please stay” he said, and Hyunwoo couldn’t say no to that sad puppy eyes.

Hyunwoo sat on the chair again, but he still held Minhyuk’s hand.

“I’m sorry I disappointed you and Changkyun” he said.

“You didn’t disappoint me” Hyunwoo assured him, caressing Minhyuk’s hand with his thumb. “What has happened has been premeditated, I’m sure of it. No one of use could know, so it’s not your fault”.

“I’m so weak. What Changkyun said is true. I depend so much of you, Hyunwoo. I’m completely useless without you. I’m sorry”.

Hyunwoo couldn’t take it anymore, so he stood up and hugged Minhyuk.

“You’re not weak, Minnie. C’mon, don’t be like that. We’ll find a solution, and we’ll definitely find Kihyun so stop crying and being so harsh on you”.

“I appreciate your effort, but it’s useless. I’m-“

“Stop it!” Hyunwoo hugged him tighter, making Minhyuk stop talking. “Listen, I was so worried when I heard you were at the hospital. I’m mad that some people attacked us, but I’m relieved that at least you’re okay. So now you have to recover and we’ll find Kihyun together, okay?”

Minhyuk stared at him for a moment before nodding.

Minhyuk was discharged the morning after. Hyunwoo begged him to stay home since he still had the plaster on his arm, but Minhyuk refused, saying that he would be more helpful at the office. Hyunwoo regretted letting Minhyuk come when Changkyun arrived and glared at him. Minhyuk tried to apologize again, but the younger just ignored him and acted like if Minhyuk didn’t even exist. Hyunwoo wanted to reprimand the younger, but Minhyuk shushed him with a sad smile, saying that it was fine. But it wasn’t.  Minhyuk and Changkyun’s friendship was as strong as his own friendship with Changkyun. Through that smile, Hyunwoo could see Minhyuk was suffering for both Changkyun and Kihyun.

The rest of the week passed by and the situation was the same. They didn’t have a clue on who could have taken Kihyun away nor where he could be. Changkyun kept avoiding Minhyuk like the plague, and Hyunwoo had to see with a heavy heart how Minhyuk’s smile disappeared. His heart ached in pain for his partner. Jooheon, Wonho and Hyungwon noticed the tension between the three but didn’t say anything. They wanted to help, but anything they could do would be useless. So they just remained silent while searching for Kihyun.

It was Monday morning when Minhyuk’s plaster was going to be removed. Hyunwoo insisted on accompanying him, but Minhyuk said it was fine and went alone. Hyunwoo spent the rest of the day at the office, searching any possible location where Kihyun could be. He tried to approach Changkyun to make the boy come back to his senses. But Changkyun wouldn’t listen to him. Hyunwoo wanted to be mad at him; but Hyunwoo’s nature is to remain calm in any situation. He couldn’t be angry with Changkyun; but he wasn’t going to let the boy keep treating Minhyuk that way either.

He came the next morning with the resolution of talking to Changkyun until he understood the situation, only to find a small note left on his desk besides a bouquet of white roses. He looked around, but there wasn’t anyone at the office yet. His soul left his body when he saw what was written on the note.

I’m sorry, Hyunwoo. I had to do it. Thank you for everything :)

There was no name on it, but Hyunwoo already knew who left it. He grabbed his phone and dialed Minhyuk’s number. After the third ring Minhyuk picked it up.

“You saw it” was the first thing he said.

“Minhyuk, where are you?” Hyunwoo asked, more like demanding.

“I can’t tell you, Hyunwoo, I’m sorry. But I had to go. Changkyun is right; I’m so dependent of you.  What happened to Kihyun was my fault. I’m going to find him alone. If anything happens to him I won’t forgive myself, neither will Changkyun”.

“But Minhyuk, where are you going to go? We don’t have a single clue of where Kihyun could be”.

“I’ll find him, no matter what. We’ve been only researching in the office, but if we don’t go out we’ll never know. I know it’s risky, that’s why I wanted to go alone. I’ll call you and tell you anything I’ll discover”.

“Minhyuk please come back. I’m worried about you”.

Minhyuk chuckled from the other side of the call.

“You’re so cute, Hyunwoo. I’m really going to miss you; but I won’t come back without Kihyun. He’s my best friend, I can’t let him down. I hope you understand”.

Hyunwoo sighed. He would have done the same if he was Minhyuk. Both of them like to handle things on their own, trying to involve the less people they can.

“Hyunwoo?”

Hyunwoo hummed to let him know he was still there.

“I’ll take care, okay? And I’ll call you every day. The boys need you. Take good care of them. And please take also care of yourself. Don’t go skipping meals or I’ll kill you when I come back”.

Hyunwoo smiled. Minhyuk always had a way to make him happy.

“Take care. And call me every day! If it goes a day and you haven’t called me, I swear I’ll take the guys and we’ll track the entire city and beyond until we find you”.

A small laugh could be heard from the other side of the call.

“Fine, I promise. Bye Hyunwoo”.

“Bye Minhyuk”.

And Minhyuk hanged up.

Like he promised, Minhyuk called every day. The first ones he didn’t say much; but the third one he said he had found a potential trace. He said he couldn’t give them many details; but the next day he gave them a name and said he was almost sure he knew who could have kidnapped Kihyun.

Hyunwoo was happy but at the same time worried about Minhyuk. The boys quickly started to work on the information Minhyuk provided them with; even Changkyun, who now seemed a bit troubled with his thoughts. He would glance at Hyunwoo and then duck his head in shame. Hyunwoo would smile slightly at him and give him a pat on his shoulder.

However, the fifth day Minhyuk didn’t call. Hyunwoo tried to call him all day, until it didn’t beeped anymore, signaling that the line was unavailable, dead. Hyunwoo would call the guys frightened and put them on action. He searched for Minhyuk till down to no avail; Minhyuk was gone too.

Hyunwoo still searched for him two more days. But he never found him. He returned dejected to the office again, where everyone gave him a hug while saying sweet nothings that didn’t cheer him up. He appreciated the effort; but he lost two of his precious friends, and that loss was irreparable.

Everyone left to rest after a tiring day. Only Changkyun and Hyunwoo were at the office. Hyunwoo regained the composure and was determinate to do anything to have his friends back. He glanced at Changkyun’s spot. The latter was sitting on a chair, half his body resting tiredly on the table, while looking sadly at a photo in front of him. Hyunwoo didn’t need to approach to know it was a photo from Kihyun’s birthday, with Minhyuk and Changkyun hugging a happy Kihyun. It was Hyunwoo who took that photo, and Changkyun immediately requested to have a copy of it.

He opened his drawer and took a small package that was given to him by the hospital’s staff, saying that they found it where Minhyuk was the day he was attacked. Hyunwoo never opened it, having an idea of what it could be. The envelop had various bright colors that could only come from Minhyuk, while at the back it had a letter attached to it with the word Changkyun written on it. Hyunwoo recognized it as Kihyun’s handwriting, and he then knew that that day Kihyun and Minhyuk went out to buy together Changkyun’s birthday present.

He walked to Changkyun’s spot and dropped the package on the table next to him. Changkyun looked at it suspiciously and then stared at Hyunwoo, asking the elder what it was.

“This is what they were doing the day Kihyun disappeared” Hyunwoo declared. He didn’t want to make Changkyun feel bad with this; but Changkyun had to understand, to remember, that Minhyuk cared about him. Hopefully, it would encourage him to search for his friends more intensely.

Without saying more, he patted Changkyun’s shoulder before going out, leaving the younger with the package in his hands.

It was Changkyun who found the place where Kihyun could be at. After confirming it, they all took their equipment and rushed to the location. They irrupted at the warehouse without warning, shooting and kicking anybody that tried to stop them. They took some hostages and freed the prisoners, and then proceed to burn the place. And even though they didn’t find Kihyun or Minhyuk there, it was something and it satisfied them for the moment.

They only held back the boy Hyunwoo found tied to a chair at the same room as the head of that company they were tracking since Minhyuk gave them its name.

Hyunwoo looks at him through the glass. After Hyungwon healed his wounds they took the boy to the interrogation room and tied him to the chair, not sure about how the boy was going to react when he wakes up. Hyunwoo needs to talk with him, because although he found a report about him stating that Park Jinyoung worked for the company, the situation in which he was when Hyunwoo found him says otherwise.

“He should be waking up soon” Hyungwon says by his side.

Hyunwoo nods. Usually it’s either Wonho or Hyungwon who do the entire interrogation thing. But in this case, Hyunwoo wants to do it personally. He has a feeling this boy can guide them to Minhyuk and Kihyun. He doesn’t seem as a thread either. He looks very kind. Hyunwoo feels bad for all the pain he must had suffered from the wounds on his upper half. Hyungwon was very surprised at how quickly they healed, but he still cleaned and put a bandage on them.

“I’ll try to get something from our prisoners” Hyungwon continues.

“I know you will” Hyunwoo says with a small grin. “Wonho still thinks he’s the bad cop without realizing he’s the good one”.

“I like it that way. It gives him confidence and I want him happy”.

“You have to tell him someday”.

Hyungwon shrugs at it and smirks.

“Not today” he replies before leaving the room.

Hyunwoo smiles and looks at the boy again before taking a look at the reports below him. He takes the three folders and enters the interrogation room the same moment the other starts waking up.

“Park Jinyoung?” Hyunwoo asks him from the other side of the table. He takes a seat in front of the boy and waits until the latter is fully awake.

Park Jinyoung blinks twice before raising his head, staring at Hyunwoo. He seems lost. Hyunwoo smiles pleasantly at him, wanting to create a good friendship with this new potential ally.

“Who are you?” Jinyoung asks with a frown.

“My name is Son Hyunwoo. I’m the head of the Special unit from the Security forces. Don’t worry, I mean no harm”.

Jinyoung squirms in his seat, trying to move his tied hands.

“Then why am I tied to the chair?” he asks.

“We didn’t know how you were going to react. And you’re gonna listen to what I have to say before I free you, okay?”

Jinyoung stares at him, doubtful; but something about Hyunwoo makes him want to trust him. He decides to give the other a chance.

He nods his head and Hyunwoo smiles again, taking one folder in his hands.

“Good” he says. “I’ve found this at the same place I found you. It’s your personal report. Here says you worked for that company, is that right?”

“It is” Jinyoung answers. “But after I found the truth about their work I left. I didn’t want anything to do with them”.

“But you knew too much” Hyunwoo continues for him, and Jinyoung nods. “So they wanted to kill you. But if that’s the case, why torturing you first, Jinyoung? Unless you had some information they wanted”.

Jinyoung gulps. He can’t tell them about Mark. He still doesn’t know if this man is reliable, and until he’s sure he can trust him he can’t say anything about that. Hyunwoo notices the anxiety in Jinyoung’s eyes. He discards the folder in favor to take the second one, opening it and placing it before Jinyoung.

Jinyoung’s heart goes wild when he sees Mark’s photo in there; it’s a full report about his boyfriend.

“In your report it was stated that you were missing” Hyunwoo continues. “And that you had a special friendship with this Mark Tuan. I’ve read his report and it states the same. He worked for the company and then went missing. It also says he’s a werewolf and he has a special liking towards you”.

Jinyoung gulps again. He wants to reach for Mark’s photo and hold it in his hands. That small piece of paper is playing games with his heart; he misses Mark so much already.

“And do you believe it?” Jinyoung asks, trying to sound steady.

“We’ve dealt with werewolves before”, Hyunwoo replies. “Well, all what we are allowed to. There is an unestablished rule that humans can’t interfere in the werewolves’ doing and vice versa. But we can tell them to back off when they’re interfering in some human matter and we definitely know about their existence”.

Jinyoung nods, feeling a bit relieved. This person doesn’t seem to be disgusted about the existence of werewolves.

“We know that company experimented with them”, Hyunwoo continues. “We freed some of them the other day. I’m sure they’ll spread the word that someone kidnapped them and other packs will take retaliation, which is going to give us a lot of work since those persons were humans”.

Hyunwoo lets out a sigh, and Jinyoung wonders if that information will reach Namjoon’s pack so they would have an idea of where to find him, since Jinyoung doesn’t know how to come back to the pack –excuse Park Jinyoung, he’s very bad with directions.

“As I was saying,” Hyunwoo says after clearing his throat, “they had Mark for those experiments too. But somehow he escaped and like you the company couldn’t let him go”.

Jinyoung is already glaring at him, anticipating this man to also ask where Mark is. And he won’t tell him, of course; over his dead body. Hyunwoo smiles at the protectiveness on Jinyoung, taking note that Mark is a delicate topic.

“Look, Jinyoung,” Hyunwoo says calmly, “I won’t ask you where Mark is. I don’t care. Like I said, we don’t get involved with werewolves if we can avoid it. I want your trust. I’m not your enemy, Park Jinyoung. I’m here to help you and I want you to help me too”.

“I’m not gonna tell you where Mark is” Jinyoung states firmly.

“It’s fine with me. You won’t hear me asking that question” Hyunwoo says as he closes Mark’s folder, Jinyoung following with his gaze every movement.

He picks the last folder and places it opened in front of him. And as before, Jinyoung’s heart skips a bit at the sight of a stolen pic of Youngjae walking, probably on his way to college.

“I guess you recognize Choi Youngjae” Hyunwoo speaks again. “His report is filled with personal information and even his grades, all of them” Jinyoung reads the sheet, checking that effectively there is a lot of information about Youngjae. His grades are very impressive by the way. “I don’t see the connection between the company and him. Why was he important for them?”

Jinyoung ducks his head, wondering where Youngjae is and if he’s okay. He needs to know the younger is fine, so in this issue he decides to trust Hyunwoo.

“He was hiding me” okay, that wasn’t exactly the truth but it’s similar for Jinyoung. “They found about him because he moved from his old apartment without a reason. They thought it was suspicious and studied him. They wanted to get him but coincidentally I was with him. Did you find him?”

Hyunwoo smiles sadly. From the dejected face of Jinyoung he can tell the other boy is important to him.

“He wasn’t with you” Hyunwoo says, walking close to Jinyoung and resting his weight on the table besides him. “But it doesn’t mean these people don’t have him”.

Jinyoung stares at Hyunwoo. Something about the way Hyunwoo spoke tells him there’s more behind it.

“This is why I need your help” Hyunwoo says, fixing his gaze on Jinyoung’s. “Do you have an idea of why there are a lot of reports about Youngjae’s grades in this folder?”

Jinyoung shakes his head. He really doesn’t have an idea of who could want Youngjae like his ex-boss told him. But now that Hyunwoo pointed about it, it’s really strange that someone had taken so many bothers to gather all of Youngjae’s grades.

“I have a hypothesis” Hyunwoo says, igniting the curiosity in Jinyoung. “One of my fellows got kidnapped out of the blue. His name is Yoo Kihyun and he’s a chemist, one of the best from our country. This year he got a specialization in chemistry weapons studies. When he finished it, he was gone. At first I didn’t catch on it, but reading Youngjae’s report I started to think about their similarities”.

Hyunwoo bends down and carefully starts to release Jinyoung’s hands, now that the latter seems intrigued about the issue.

“What would a company like that want from a chemist and a computer engineer?” Hyunwoo asks. Jinyoung waits curious for his answer. “Think about that. They have experimented on werewolves. They know their flaws, like silver. Silver is lethal for them, but buying tons of silver could be suspicious. But what if they have a good hacker who can enter the database of the security forces and extract all the information about weapons for them? What if he can get all the silver they want for them and cover it all? And what if they have a great chemist that can make weapons with a small portion of silver and mix it with something dangerous?”

“That will be a disaster” Jinyoung mutters as he realizes what Hyunwoo is hinting. “It would be the end for werewolves”.

Hyunwoo nods.

“But what stops them from doing the same to humans once the werewolves are gone?” he rhetorically asks. “Kihyun and Youngjae are one of the best at what they do. With their potential, imagine all the things they could do. We can’t let them have it, or it would be the end for all of us”.

Jinyoung agrees. What those people have between hands it dangerous, very dangerous.

“Since we didn’t find them with you, I guess they have more hideaways” Hyunwoo continues. “But luckily we got their head” Jinyoung flinches at the mention. “This is the deal: you help us find Kihyun and Minhyuk and we help you find Youngjae. We put an end to this and then you’re free to go whenever you want”.

“Wait” Jinyoung intervenes, “who is Minhyuk?”

“Minhyuk is Kihyun’s childhood friend as well of one of my members” Hyunwoo answers with a bittersweet smile. “He disappeared when he was looking for Kihyun. He was the one who discovered about the company, but was gone soon after. I have a feeling he was kidnapped by the same people who kidnapped Kihyun. And before you say it, I pondered the possibility of him being dead; but until I see his dead body he’s alive to me”.

Jinyoung gives him an emphatic smile. He understands what Hyunwoo feels. It’s the same for him: until he sees Youngjae’s dead body, he’s alive to him.

“He’s important to you, isn’t he?” Jinyoung asks. Hyunwoo lets him get up and guides him to the door.

“Let’s just say he’s to me what Mark is to you” Hyunwoo answers with a wink, making Jinyoung blush.

But at the same time, Jinyoung is relieved that they already have this confidence with each other. Hyunwoo needs him to find his friends and he needs Hyunwoo to find Youngjae. Even if a common enemy isn’t enough to call themselves friends, Jinyoung is ready to give it a try. Who knows, maybe later they could help him finding the pack again and even form an alliance with them.

“So,” Hyunwoo says, hand already in the door knob, “do we have a deal?”

Hyunwoo offers his hand for a shake. Jinyoung smiles at him and takes it.

“We have a deal” Jinyoung confirms.

“Great” Hyunwoo says, opening the door and both them step out the room. “It’s enough for today. Do you have a place to stay?”

Jinyoung shakes his head.

“Do you have my mobile phone?” he asks instead.

“We didn’t find it, I’m sorry” Hyunwoo answers. “But you can use mine”.

His hand is already in his pocket when they hear a third voice coming to them.

“Park Jinyoung?” Jooheon asks.

“Lee Jooheon?” Jinyoung asks back. Hyunwoo looks between the two, confused.

 “Man, it’s been a while since the last time I saw you” Jooheon says, hugging Jinyoung.

“I’ve been asking Jackson about you but he always says you are busy” Jinyoung says, hugging him back.

“So do you guys know each other?” Hyunwoo asks.

“We have a friend in common” Jooheon says while nodding. And then he breaks the hug, staring at Jinyoung as if he had remembered something. “But what are you doing here, Jinyoung?”

Jinyoung pauses for a moment. What is he supposed to tell Jooheon? But wait…

“And you?” he asks back.

“I work here” Jooheon answers, and then looks worriedly to Hyunwoo. “Has Jinyoung done something bad?”

Hyunwoo denies it with his head.

“He’s helping us actually” he answers.

Jooheon looks confused at the two, both of them now giving him comforting smiles.

“Jooheon” Jinyoung calls, “can you drive me to Jackson’s house? I’ll tell you everything in the way”.

“Of course” Jooheon agrees, still confused.

“Well, call me tomorrow” Hyunwoo says while handing a piece of paper with his number on it to Jinyoung.

Jinyoung gladly accepts it and keeps it in his pocket.

“Thank you for everything, Hyunwoo” he says. “I hope we do a great work together”.

Hyunwoo nods and smiles to him. Jooheon and Jinyoung wave to him as they go out.

“I can’t believe you had to go through all of that” Jooheon says incredulous while driving.

“Its fine now” Jinyoung says, “I just want to find my friend. And I don’t mind helping you. At least I know you are really trustworthy”.

Jooheon grins at that.

“But what are you going to tell Jackson and Bambam?”

“I don’t know” Jinyoung says with a shrug, “I’ll make up something, don’t worry”.

Jooheon nods, but he’s still worried about the other.

“What do you think about Hyunwoo?” he asks.

“He seems nice. I feel like I can trust him. But it’s still too soon. But I seriously hope we can get along well and success on our mission”.

“Hyunwoo is a cool dude” Jooheon adds, “an actual gentleman. It’s just… he hasn’t been himself since Minhyuk disappeared”.

“He told me something like that” Jinyoung says, “he seemed ready to fight the world just to find this Minhyuk”.

“Oh, trust me, he really is” Jooheon says with a wide grin. “How would you feel if the person you love the most was suddenly taken away from you?”

“I can relate” Jinyoung says, thinking about Mark with a smile.

Jooheon stares at him curiously before stopping the car in front of Jackson’s house.

“Something tells me you’re going to make good friends” he says. “Well, it was all for now. Call me if you need anything. Good night Jinyoung”.

“Good night, and thanks for the ride!”

Jooheon smiles a last time to him before starting the engine again. Jinyoung watches the car disappear from the street before ringing the doorbell.

“Jinyoung?” Jackson asks as he opens the door.

Jinyoung gives him a smile.

“Can I come in?” he requests.

“Of course” Jackson complies, letting him in and closing the door behind him. “But what are you doing here?”

“I need a place to stay for a while” Jinyoung says.

Before Jackson can ask him more, Bambam appears beside him, rubbing his eyes as if he has just woken up.

“Darling, who is it?” he asks. When he recovers his full vision he stares dumbfounded at the man in front of them. “Jinyoung? What are you doing here?”

“There was a fire at my place and I need a bed for a while” Jinyoung lies. He feels bad about lying to his friends; but he can’t involve them.

As usual, Bambam knows when something is off and pierces Jinyoung with his gaze, but says nothing.

“Of course you can stay, Jinyoung. But are you fine?” Jackson asks worriedly. “And why didn’t you call us right away?”

“Yes, I’m fine. And I didn’t call you because I saw Jooheon and he brought me here”.

“Ah yes, Jooheon works in some security shit” Jackson comments, making Jinyoung smile at him. “Well, our guest room is always at your disposal. We were about to go to bed, so good night”.

Jinyoung bides him farewell and Jackson goes out; but Bambam is still there, staring at him.

“Don’t you think you can fool me like that” he warns Jinyoung, “tomorrow you’re telling me the truth or I swear I’m kicking you out”.

Jinyoung gulps. Bambam smiles to him innocently and leaves the room. Jinyoung sighs and goes to the guest room, lying exhausted on the bed. He stares at the sky outside the window and smiles, wondering if Mark is looking at the same sky as him.

“I miss you so much, Mark” he whispers before his eyes close almost automatically.

Hyunwoo dismissed the guys after Jinyoung left. He told everyone that tomorrow starts the hard work, so for now they should go home and rest. But he is excited about finding Minhyuk and Kihyun, so he stays still. He’s reading some reports they found at the warehouse when he feels a hand on his shoulder.

“You should rest too, Hyunwoo” Changkyun says softly.

Hyunwoo smiles. He stops reading and turns to him, putting his hand above Changkyun’s.

“I can’t. I feel like we are so close to find them” Hyunwoo says. “I just can’t sleep when we have gone from knowing nothing to have a bunch of information. I’m sure Jinyoung is going to give us more and he’s also going to take it out from his boss’ mouth”.

“But you need to rest, Hyunwoo. Minhyuk wouldn’t be happy if he knew you aren’t getting a proper sleep”.

Hyunwoo’s smile grows wide. Changkyun is smiling at him too, and Hyunwoo is glad that Changkyun is going back to his old self.

“Okay, you win” Hyunwoo says in defeat. He collects his things and goes out, followed by Changkyun.

Hyunwoo drives Changkyun home. They’re almost there, sitting in a comfortable silence until Changkyun speaks again.

“I’m sorry” he mutters.

“Why are you sorry?” Hyunwoo asks; the apology catching him by surprise.

“Minhyuk left alone because I was harsh on him” Changkyun confesses with his head lowed.

“No, Changkyun” Hyunwoo comforts him, holding his hand as he stops in front of Changkyun’s house. “He would have gone alone anyways. He was already blaming himself for it. I don’t know how I didn’t see it coming. But it’s not your fault. I never blamed you for it. And I need you up to find them and kick those bastards hard in the ass”.

Changkyun smiles at him slightly, caressing Hyunwoo’s hand.

“I just want to find them and tell Minhyuk how sorry I am. I want to hug both of them. I just miss them so much” Changkyun says before erupting in tears, Hyunwoo reacting quickly and pulling the younger onto his embrace.

“I know, Changkyun” he whispers in his ear. “I miss them too”.

Chapter Text

“What are we going to do?” Yoongi asks Namjoon first time in the morning.

Namjoon crosses his arms. He doesn’t know. According to what Jaebum told them last night, the people who took Jinyoung were humans. If that’s the case they are tied by hands and feet. But there’s a thing that has been bugging him since last night: Youngjae said the people who took him were werewolves. So how is it possible that humans took Jinyoung and werewolves took Youngjae when they were together?

The only rational explanation is that humans and werewolves are working together. But it doesn’t sound logical either; especially knowing what type of humans and what type of werewolves are they dealing with. If they are passing through their differences and joining forces they have to be plotting something big.

“I don’t know” Namjoon answers in all honesty, “they’re humans; we can’t do anything. And we’ll be lucky if Jeonghan doesn’t report Youngjae to the lead pack. He doesn’t have a good reputation but at least is better than ours”.

Yoongi understands. Their situation is complicated. Other packs are waiting for them to do a blind move so they can attack them willingly.

“But we can’t just let them have Jinyoung” Yoongi says. “He’s part of the pack now”.

“I know”, Namjoon mutters, “this bothers me as much as it bothers you. But it’s complicated. The only thing I could do is to send Youngjae out to search for him since he’s also human. And I know he would do it willingly. But I can’t let him go out either because he could get attacked by someone”.

Namjoon sighs. He doesn’t want Jinyoung outside the pack; they must stay united. But there’s no way they can go after him, as much as it hurts him. Whoever plotted this was smart, Namjoon concludes.

The silence between him and Yoongi is broken by the door opening violently. They turn to look at the intruder: a sweaty and very agitated Jaebum, who has probably rushed to reach them.

“We have to talk” he demands, panting.

Namjoon nods and signals for him to sit on the couch; but Jaebum refuses and stands still.

“Namjoon, Youngjae is in danger” Jaebum warns him.

“I know, but please relax a bit” Namjoon says, seeing the state Jaebum is in.

“You don’t understand the issue” Jaebum says nervously, “Jeonghan knows. He’s the one who took Youngjae. I’m sure he knows”.

Yoongi and Namjoon stare at him curiously.

“Know what?” Namjoon asks.

Jaebum gulps. This is the first time he’s admitting it publicly, and he wishes it would have been different.

“That I’m in love with Youngjae” he whispers, but not low enough for Namjoon and Yoongi to not hear it.

They don’t know how to react. Namjoon is happy that Jaebum has found someone who has melted his heart after years of seeing the other suffering in silence. Jaebum deserves happiness. But at the same time this information only adds fuel to the problem at hand.

“How are you sure he knows?” Yoongi asks him, a bit doubtful.

“He has to. He always knows everything from everybody” Jaebum answers, chewing at his lip. “I don’t know how he does it, but he does. I’m sure he knows Youngjae is important to me and he will try to take him and hurt him so I’ll suffer too”.

Namjoon listens closely. He wants to believe Jaebum: he has seen the despicable game Jeonghan has been playing with Jaebum since a long time ago. But at the same time Jaebum seems a bit paranoid when it comes to Youngjae. The younger told them it was a regular werewolf who took him because he wanted revenge from a fight they had at the fighting club previously. Namjoon knows about that fight because the involved ones told him. It’s a logical explanation. Jaebum is just assuming Jeonghan knows something that almost anyone from the pack knows; even though Namjoon must admit the boy is pretty obvious. But outside the pack they didn’t had any interaction that would have made Jeonghan suspicious. And he couldn’t just know magically.

“But Jaebum, it’s impossible he could know it” Namjoon tries to reason with him, “you and Youngjae haven’t been outside the pack together. He can’t know just by looking at him or you. You’re allowing him to crawl under your skin and get in your mind. Don’t let him win Jaebum, you’re better than that”.

Jaebum snaps at this. It’s true; Jeonghan is only playing tricks with his mind. He has to relax. Youngjae got out alone from a big mess; he can endure whatever fate throws at him.

“I’m sorry” Jaebum apologizes, seeming to calm a bit. “I shouldn’t let him have his way inside my mind. It’s just…” he sits on the couch, covering his face with his hands. Namjoon hurries and puts a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “I don’t want him to be hurt because of me. I don’t want anything to happen to him”.

“I know, Jaebum” Namjoon says with a soft tone, “but you have to understand that Youngjae is strong. He was able to stand on his feet and get out from that hell alive. If you’d ask him to fight by your side, I’m sure he would do it. God, he would do it even if you wouldn’t ask him. I bet he was thinking about you when he destroyed that warehouse. I bet he was thinking about finding Jinyoung, about coming home and see all his friends. When Seokjin picked him up and brought him here he couldn’t stop asking where you were. He even wanted Bonnie to heal him the fastest she was able to so he could go and save Jinyoung too, and he was injured pretty badly”.

Jaebum can’t hide the smile that spreads through his face. He’s so proud of his Youngjae; he doesn’t think it will come a day when the younger doesn’t surprise him with a new amazing skill of his.

“Imagine him enraged” Yoongi says, “I bet he could kill with a glance anything that would come in his way. The guy is really something. He has the guts and the power; a lethal combination indeed”.

Jaebum smiles widely. Youngjae isn’t scared of anything, unlike him. He tries to imagine a furious Youngjae, making his way through the battle field and defeating anything that comes to him. Angry Youngjae must be hot, he decides while blushing a bit.

“You don’t have to worry about him” Namjoon says with a smile, “he’ll be fine”.

Jaebum decides to trust his words and finally leaves, feeling like a weight have been removed from his heart.

“But what if he knows?” Yoongi asks, always prepared for the worst.

“Then we pray that Jaebum doesn’t do anything stupid” Namjoon says. “Youngjae is powerful but Jeonghan is a very dangerous man. We can expect anything from him”.

Yoongi is already wishing everything will end up right.

As soon as he steps in his house, an uneasy feeling starts to settle on Jaebum’s heart; his insecurities hunting him again. He sits on the couch and thinks. Thinks a way to protect Youngjae. To keep him away from danger. But the only things that come to his mind are answers Jaebum doesn’t really like; because all of them involve hurting Youngjae one way or another.

“And that’s everything I know” Mark ends. Namjoon nods to him, registering each piece of information the other has given him.

“Well, that doesn’t give us much to work on” Namjoon says, “but we’ll figure out something. Why do you think your boss would want to make a deal with Jeonghan’s pack?”

“I don’t know” Mark says, “my boss hated werewolves. I can’t picture why he would want to deal with them”.

“You said there were others like you” Yoongi says. “That could mean they were kidnapped. But we don’t have any information about that”.

“Unless someone else is covering it” Youngjae suggests. Namjoon turns to look at him as if the boy would have discovered the actual answer of it, a wave of proudness running through Jaebum’s body.

“That could be” Yoongi agrees, “Jeonghan has great contacts. Any pack in favor of going against humans’ rights is on his side. They could have been kidnapping small packs and then giving them to humans to experiment. And after that they somehow managed to cover it up”.

“But in exchange of what?” Shura asks.

“Information” comes Youngjae’s answer again. Namjoon is gladly surprised by how quick the boy thinks for a possible answer. “Maybe the werewolves want to know how far they can go when put under pressure or when have been given some drugs or anything like that to them. What things make them weak or stronger, maybe?”

“But we already know” Namjoon says. “Silver makes us weak and can even kill us. It’s common knowledge”.

“What if they are making new weapons?”

“If humans are making new weapons why would the werewolves help them?”

Youngjae wonders about it for a moment, and finally sighs.

“I don’t know. Maybe they want to use them for their own advantage? But it doesn’t make sense if the humans build them first”.

Silence settles on the room. Everyone is thinking about a possible answer to that; but now everything seems nonsense.

“This is really complicated” Yugyeom states.

“For the moment we’re sending someone to the fighting club to search for information about Jinyoung” Namjoon says. Mark is already raising his hand to volunteer for it.

“Mark, I know you want to go but it’s risky” Namjoon says with a sigh. “If that people was still after Jinyoung they are after you too. I can’t let you out like that”.

“But-“

“I’ll go” says Jaebum confidently. Mark smiles at him.

“You’re not in a good position either” Namjoon says with a sigh, “I’ll ask Hoseok and Jimin. Maybe Taehyung too”.

Yoongi looks at him like he wanted to argue about that; but quickly shrugs it off. Meanwhile Jaebum looks dejected at him, and Youngjae immediately senses something off.

“What about Jeonghan?” Yugyeom asks. Jaebum’s body stiffens and Youngjae understands that that name is bad news.

“We wait” Namjoon says. “If we can’t prove that Youngjae was kidnapped by them and they report us we’re fucked. But I’m surprised we haven’t heard anything about it yet”.

Jaebum thinks about it. He realizes then that Jeonghan must be up to something. If he hasn’t say a word about the incident is because he’s plotting something; involving Youngjae of course. Jaebum’s pulse accelerates at the thought of his enemy laying his hands on his precious sunshine. His blood boils and his mind is clouded with paranoid thoughts again. Youngjae notices and smiles at him; but that smile only breaks Jaebum more, knowing he could cause that smile to wreck.

“Well, that’s all for the moment” Namjoon resumes, “we’ll talk again tomorrow. Youngjae, I want you to start working from home. You can’t go to college alone. Until we find Jinyoung I want all of you safe”.

“It won’t be a problem” Youngjae assures.

“Good. Shura, try to catch all the shifts at the hours when the café is more crowded. They won’t attack you if there’s people involved. But take care anyways”.

“Sure leader” Shura says with a nod.

“See you tomorrow. Have a nice day everyone”.

Namjoon leaves followed by Yoongi. Yugyeom bids farewell to them and goes out to patrol the forest. Jaebum is the last one to leave Shura’s house, but not before Youngjae could ask him if he has a moment to talk about something.

“I have to do something this afternoon” Jaebum lies; he has nothing to do but think more possible ways to protect Youngjae without having to hurt him.

“Maybe tonight? Just five minutes, I promise” Youngjae pleads with puppy eyes. And once again, Jaebum falls for it and nods. Youngjae lets out a squeal before waving goodbye to him.

Jaebum goes to his house and thinks. Thinks about Youngjae’s smile, about how nice it would be to wake up seeing it in the morning till the night when the two of them would fall asleep next to each other. Thinks about how nice it would feel to hold Youngjae between his arms; about how good it would feel to kiss that tempting lips of his. Thinks about how a future with Youngjae would be. He smiles, knowing that it would be amazing and full of surprises. There would be bad times but they would always overcome them together. They would link their fingers and stare at the sunset. They would eat ice cream together and then he would wipe a bit of ice cream from Youngjae’s mouth, and Youngjae would smile to him. And Jaebum would say ‘I love you’ and Youngjae would answer ‘I love you too’.

But those are things that will never happen if Jeonghan gets Youngjae. So instead of thinking about future with Youngjae he has to think about the present.

“So what you’re trying to say is,” Bambam says after Jinyoung decided to tell them all the truth, totally not being threatened by the younger, “that Mark is a werewolf. And you’re in love with each other but there are bad persons that want to hurt you both. And you’re helping Jooheon and his squad of Special Forces-“

“Special unit from the Security forces” Jinyoung corrects him.

“Whatever. You’re helping them catch the bad boys that have your friend captive-“

“Youngjae” Jinyoung corrects again.

“Youngjae” Bambam repeats, “and after that you’re free to go after your prince charming. But the only problem is that you forgot where he is”.

“I didn’t forget” Jinyoung complains, “it’s just…I don’t know where it is located exactly or how to go back”.

“The question is” Jackson suddenly intervenes, “we still hadn’t met this Mark guy and you said you’re dating him”.

“He’s my boyfriend, yes”.

Jackson and Bambam stare at each other, dumbfounded. They are trying to digest all the information Jinyoung has thrown at them.

“I don’t know what to think, Jinyoung” Jackson says, scratching the back of his neck. “This story is quite unbelievable”.

“But for some reason I believe it” Bambam says. Jinyoung looks at him with hopeful eyes while his boyfriend stares at him confused.

“Look, I’m not asking you to help me” Jinyoung says. “This whole thing is difficult to swallow, I know. I couldn’t believe it the first time I saw a werewolf. But Mark came and I couldn’t leave him. What I feel for him is something I’ve never felt for anybody before. And our friends in the pack are really nice people. And Youngjae… well, he’s just too precious for this world”.

“Dude, you sure you love Mark and not this Youngjae guy?” Jackson playfully asks him.

“I’m sure” Jinyoung says while laughing, “but if you saw him you’d understand”.

“The thing is,” Bambam continues, “you’re not going to back off, are you?”

Jinyoung shakes his head negatively.

“I won’t let them down” Jinyoung declares.

Jackson and Bambam look at each other again, and then Jackson sighs.

“Then I’m in” he says.

“What?” Jinyoung asks in disbelief.

“He said he’s in” Bambam repeats for his boyfriend, earning a grin from him, “and I’m in, too. Whatever you’re up to, we’re coming with you”.

“But you can’t-“

“Jinyoung” Jackson says seriously, “you’ve been pushing us out from your life. You had to suffer alone and I don’t like it. Mark, the pack, they are your friends…but we also are. And we want to help you. So let us do it”.

“But guys, this is dangerous. You could die!”

“Well, you too” Bambam says, leaving Jinyoung speechless. “Stop thinking about us. We can protect ourselves. Jackson here is a fencing teacher and I know karate. I think we are prepared for whatever comes to us”.

“But-“

“You’ve heard Bammie” Jackson says, “we can take care of ourselves. Just let us help you”.

Jinyoung looks between his two friends and he sighs in resignation. There’s no way his friends are going to let it go now that they know the full story.

“Fine” Jinyoung says, “but you have to do everything I say, okay? Don’t act on your own or I’m freaking killing you, understood?”

Jackson and Bambam nod effusively. Jinyoung frowns at them, worried about what could happen to his friends. But it’s replaced by a wide smile when Jackson and Bambam throw themselves onto Jinyoung to hug him.

“You’re suffocating me” Jinyoung manages to say.

“We just love you so much” Bambam mutters.

“Yeah, so be prepared because we’re pulling out all our weapons to find your little friend and then we’ll go find your princess” Jackson jokes.

“Hey!” Jinyoung playfully hits Jackson’s head while feigning annoyance, “don’t talk about my future husband like that”.

“Future husband wooooah” Bambam says, releasing Jinyoung.

“If he really exists, obviously” Jackson teases, earning a glare from Jinyoung.

“He does exist” Jinyoung complains.

“But you barely showed us any photos” Bambam argues.

“I lost my phone” Jinyoung says with a sigh. “I had lots of pics from Mark. And now they are all gone”.

“Don’t worry bro” Jackson says, putting his arm above Jinyoung’s shoulders, “we’ll find Mark and you’ll have all the time in the world to creep him taking shots of him”.

“I’m not creepy” Jinyoung says, Jackson looking at him with a seriously face. “It’s not my fault he has been born handsome”.

“If he really exists, of course” Bambam repeats again.

“Isn’t Jinyoung coming today?” Jooheon asks, peeking at whatever Hyunwoo is doing on his computer.

“He called a while ago and I told him to stay home and rest until tomorrow” Hyunwoo answers, eyes fixed on the screen. “We can work it today without him. He had several injuries and all the shock from the torture must have exhausted him. He should rest”.

Jooheon smiles.

“Finally, you’re back again” he mutters before leaving him.

Hyunwoo smiles to himself. Today he woke up with a restored hope, and since then he hasn’t stopped working. He’s trying to decode all the data from the computers he found, hoping it would lead them somewhere.

“I’m going to find you guys” he whispers, glancing at the photo resting on his deck: a beautiful pic of the entire squad laughing together.

“You’re here” Youngjae says when he finally finds Jaebum.

He had to walk a bit into the forest to find him. Jaebum is resting on a huge stone besides a tall tree, looking at the sky full of stars. But to Jaebum, any star shines as brightly as the one in front of him does.

Youngjae came to Jaebum’s house only to be informed by Yugyeom that Jaebum had gone to the forest for a walk. So Youngjae went to the forest and now here he is, standing in front of Jaebum nervously, trying to find the best words to tell him what he wants to.

“I’m here” Jaebum repeats softly. “What was that that you wanted to tell me?”

Youngjae panics for a moment. What if Jaebum rejects him? What if he stutters? What if…?

Stop, Youngjae, he says to himself, if you don’t try you’ll never know.

So he approaches Jaebum. The latter notices and stands up, approaching him until he’s in front of him. Youngjae looks beautiful under the moonlight. Ironic, how a sunshine also shines at night. He wants to raise his hand and caress the delicate skin from Youngjae’s cheeks. But he resists the urge to do it.

“I, uhm…” Youngjae mutters, clenching his fists. You can do it, Youngjae!

Jaebum stares at him and smiles internally. Youngjae is so cute when he’s struggling with his words. Jaebum is also lost in his eyes, breath caught on his throat when Youngjae takes a step closer. Their chests are almost touching and Jaebum has to restrain the urge to pull Youngjae forward and kiss him senseless.

Jaebum sees fear in Youngjae’s eyes. Anticipation. Nervousness. But he also sees himself in them; he sees himself, being as scared as Youngjae is. But Jaebum is not good with dealing with fear. It’s been a while since he was scared. But this time, fear is real and deep. It burns Jaebum’s entrails and plays dirty tricks with his mind.

The fear of losing the most precious thing for him.

“Jaebum I…” Youngjae whispers when he’s close enough, his breath caressing Jaebum’s skin, dangerously close from his ear.

Jaebum has to make a decision. Now. Push Youngjae away where Jeonghan wouldn’t be able to reach him -but neither would himself- or pull him close and involve him in his personal hell.

The decision is made the very same moment Youngjae whispers a quick I think I love you and grips the neck of Jaebum’s leather jacket, taking out all his courage and placing his lips above Jaebum’s.

And Jaebum knows; knows that he loves this person so much to let him be involved with his pain, with the weight on his shoulders that he has been carrying since long time ago. He knows that he can’t let this person wage a battle that isn’t his. He knows that this person, no matter what, has to be protected at all costs. Even if it means that he has to be protected from Jaebum too.

Jaebum lets it last a bit longer, savoring all he can before it ends and Youngjae hates him for what he’s about to do. Youngjae’s lips are so soft and sweet against his; Jaebum wants to drown in that feeling forever.

But he has to let go. To let Youngjae go.

Before Youngjae could move further he’s being pushed away roughly. He stares at Jaebum surprised, the latter looking somehow scared. Scared of what, Youngjae wonders.

“What are you doing?” Jaebum snaps angrily at him. Youngjae flinches, frightened to the core.

“Jaebum, I-“ Youngjae tries to apologize, but he’s cut by Jaebum’s furious voice again.

“What do you think you’re doing? It’s disgusting”.

Youngjae can hear his heart shattering into pieces; but it isn’t until Jaebum says the last sentence that his hearts finally breaks.

“You’re disgusting”.

Youngjae wants to cry. After he took all his courage out, after he decided to take the chance, he’s being treated this way by the person he loves the most. Suddenly the urge to cry is replaced by the burning sensation of wanting to punch something; Jaebum’s face preferably.

Jaebum doesn’t know what to do. If he stays longer he’s going to break too. He tries to convince himself that this is the best for both of them. But the expression in Youngjae’s face is starting to make him regret everything.

Jaebum finally decides that it’s time to leave before he does something he regrets later. He can’t go back now; he’s pushed Youngjae away and the younger will be better without him.

However, he has made the first step when he hears a groan from behind and some words Jaebum couldn’t understand well. He turns around to see Youngjae standing there, head lowed and fists clenched, fuming with anger.

“How could you?” Youngjae mutters.

Jaebum isn’t sure what the younger meant; but it doesn’t matter because suddenly the younger is raising his head to pierce with his furious eyes Jaebum’s scared ones. Jaebum feels his knees go weak at the sight. He retracts what he thought about Youngjae being hot when angered. He looks scary. Scary as hell.

“How could you?” Youngjae asks again, this time almost shouting. “I knew for the beginning I didn’t had a chance with you. But then you started to act so sweet towards me” Youngjae’s words passes through Jaebum’s skin, straight to his heart. “And then I thought hey, maybe he likes me after all. But you were toying with me, weren’t you? You thought it would be funny to play with my feelings like that. You made them all believe you were in love with me so they would encourage me to confess. You made them make me believe I had a chance. So I took it and finally you had what you wanted”.

Jaebum doesn’t know how he manages to stay still. This is painful; seeing Youngjae on this state is painful. Hearing him say those things to him is painful. But it’s not as painful as what Jeonghan could do to him if he takes him. It’s not as painful as the thought of Youngjae dying in his arms while Jaebum can’t do anything to save him.

He has had those nightmares. Nightmares in which Youngjae dies in front of him. Nightmares in which Youngjae is tortured for his eyes to see but no matter how fast he runs, he never reaches the younger. He hears Jeonghan’s diabolic laugh in all of them. He’s afraid he’ll wake up someday on one of those nightmares and it won’t be a nightmare anymore; Youngjae will be gone and Jaebum will never be able to forgive himself.

“You only used me because you couldn’t have what you wanted” Youngjae continues rambling, but this time he really perks Jaebum’s curiosity because he has no idea to where Youngjae is heading with that sentence. “I should have known by the way you looked at Mark and Jinyoung”, really, now Jaebum is completely lost. What have Mark and Jinyoung to do with all this? And how does he look at them?

“You also don’t seem bothered about the fact that Jinyoung disappeared” Youngjae keeps going, making Jaebum more and more confused. “Hah, why would you?” Youngjae asks with a cynical laugh, “It favors you, doesn’t it? You can now make your move on Mark”.

WHAT. THE. ACTUAL. FUCK.

“Youngjae” Jaebum practically growls. Now he has an idea of where is this going and he needs to at least make it clear that he doesn’t have that kind of feelings towards Mark.

“No, let me finish!” Youngjae shouts, effectively shutting Jaebum off. “At first I thought you had a problem with same-gender relationships because you’d always glare at Jinyoung whenever he was close to Mark. But with Seokjin and Jungkook it’s different. You don’t seem to have any problem with them, so I thought it had to be something about Jinyoung and Mark. But then I realized. All this time you two were bickering and teasing each other, you were actually flirting with him, weren’t you?”

“Youngjae” Jaebum warns again. He’s getting really bothered with this. From where has Youngjae taken out those thoughts? He doesn’t like Mark. At least not that way. Mark is a precious friend for Jaebum but it’s far from what Youngjae is to him.

“But you couldn’t have Mark” Youngjae continues, ignoring Jaebum, “because he’s in love with Jinyoung. You must be so happy now that he isn't here. You can finally put your hands on Mark all you want to because now he’s also vulnerable. How low and dirty that is, Jaebum. I wasn’t expecting that from you”.

Jaebum has had enough. This hurts him too; but he’s not going to bear with Youngjae’s blind rage. He takes a few steps closer and tries to grab Youngjae’s hand, but the latter doesn’t let him.

“Don’t touch me!” Youngjae yells. At this point he doesn’t care if someone hears them. He doesn’t care about anything actually. The only thing that matters to Youngjae is to hurt the person who has hurt him first, without thinking this isn’t like himself. “Don’t you dare fucking touching me! You said I’m disgusting but you’re worse than me! Leave me alone”.

Jaebum should be happy. He wanted Youngjae to go away. But not this way. Has he really hurt Youngjae that badly to make him become like this?

“But I’m warning you” Youngjae says, actually pointing a finger towards Jaebum. “If you step into Mark and Jinyoung’s relationship I’ll punch you. You know I can punch real hard. And I would punch that beautiful face of yours willingly. So don’t you dare ruin what they have like you have ruined me”.

Jaebum flinches. He only wanted to make Youngjae go away. Why things have to be like this? Why has Youngjae to be like this? Why didn’t he run away the moment Jaebum said he was disgusting?

Jaebum tries to grab his arm again before he could go with the wrong idea and this time succeeds; only to have his hand yanked away and his cheek slapped roughly.

Somehow, this seems to have brought Youngjae back to his senses. Youngjae stares at Jaebum’s red cheek and at his hand alternatively, as if he couldn’t believe it was him who did that. And he can’t. He doesn’t know what possessed him to shout cruel things to Jaebum and then slap him on the face. He’s not like that. He should have apologized for the kiss and go home to cry till his body couldn’t handle it anymore.

“Jaebum…”he mutters, hands reaching to touch the damaged area, but he takes them back upon seeing Jaebum’s broken face. “I’m sorry…”

This is what he should have done a while after. Apologize and then run away. Youngjae cries and doesn’t care about anything else. He runs through the forest, hurt for Jaebum’s words but also for the way he treated Jaebum back then. He runs until he reaches home, where Shura and Mark were talking in the living room, but stopped when they saw Youngjae’s state. Without saying anything Youngjae throws himself onto them, Shura and Mark catching him quickly. He sobs hardly then, Shura and Mark looking at each other with confused faces. They don’t know what happened but what matters here is that Youngjae is crying and he needs them.

Later they discover the truth. Youngjae tells them how he decided to confess. How he went to the forest and found Jaebum, kissed him and he called him ‘disgusting’. He tells them about how he snapped at the elder, with zero control over his body. To say Mark is shocked is an understatement. Like both of his friends, Youngjae doesn’t understand too what happened to him to react like that. But he continues crying until he passes out on the couch, with Mark and Shura still holding him. Mark is conflicted meanwhile Shura needs an actual answer of why the heck Jaebum rejected Youngjae when yesterday he was suffering for the younger.

Yugyeom knows something is off as soon as he goes out from his room. He heard the door slammed shut a little too roughly and came out to check what happened. Jaebum is there, sitting on the couch all crouched. He has his elbows resting above his thighs, with his hands covering his entire face.

Yugyeom starts to really worry when he hears sobs. He was going to reprimand the elder because he is sure he did something stupid –he always does stupid things when it comes to Youngjae- but hearing him sobbing wrecks Yugyeom’s heart. He quickly reaches for him and pulls him onto his embrace. Jaebum removes his hands from his face and grips Yugyeom’s shirt tightly. This is the first time Yugyeom sees Jaebum this wrecked, this vulnerable, since they met long time ago.

Jaebum sobs uncontrollably in Yugyeom’s chest. The younger doesn’t mind the wetness. He really doesn’t give a fuck either to what could have happened between Youngjae and Jaebum. What matters now is that Jaebum is crying and needs a shoulder to cry on.

Later he discovers that Jaebum was struggling with his past with Jeonghan. That Jaebum had nightmares in which he loses Youngjae, and it scares the shit out of him. He discovers that Youngjae told him he loves him and even kissed him. He knows Jaebum enjoyed it, but he also discovers that Jaebum loves Youngjae much more than Yugyeom originally thought. He loves Youngjae to the point he would throw away his own happiness if it means Youngjae won’t die. He discovers that Youngjae slapped him and that he thought Jaebum loved Mark. And Yugyeom thinks that’s stupid, because Jaebum always made it so obvious that he was into Youngjae.

But even though he understands Jaebum’s reasoning, he can’t help but think that Jaebum is stupid. Youngjae was blinded with rage when he slapped him, but Jaebum is still blinded with fear. He’s able to see that he loves Youngjae to the point he would sacrifice his own happiness if it means the younger will live; but what he isn’t able to see is that Youngjae loves him to the point he would sacrifice his own life if it means Jaebum will live.

He doesn’t need Youngjae to confirm it; Yugyeom has seen it. Yugyeom sees it every time Youngjae smiles at Jaebum, every time they touch, every time Jaebum tells a bad joke and Youngjae would always laugh so Jaebum wouldn’t feel bad. He sees it every time Jaebum struggles with his words and actions because of the younger, and the latter would always smile at him with a grin that could blind the sun. Yugyeom can see it on the dejected face of Youngjae every time he rings the doorbell and he goes out instead of Jaebum, or when he tells him that Jaebum isn’t home.

Jaebum is blind and maybe Youngjae is a bit blind too. But fortunately, Yugyeom isn’t and is ready to fight the world to make his friends see what they didn’t see before.

Chapter Text

Youngjae can’t hold it anymore. Shura left to work and Mark is nowhere to be seen. But it’s better for Youngjae; finally he can escape without anyone noticing.

He feels suffocated. He needs to get out from here, from the constant reminder of rejection that this whole place is, at least for a while. He rushes through the forest, trying to not be seen by the other members. He succeeds in getting out without being noticed. He inhales deeply and starts walking.

After a while he decides to stop at a park to rest. He observes the kids playing at the playground. Youngjae smiles at them, at those innocent little beings that don’t need to worry about anything. He sees elderly couples walking by hand in hand, grinning at the youth. He sees lonely persons like him feeding the animals. It reminds him of Mark saying he wanted a puppy and Jaebum saying he wanted a cat. Youngjae smiles sadly at that.

He loses track of the time he spends just sitting there, away from the pack but feeling somehow relieved. Suddenly his phone buzzes on his pocket, and Youngjae groans, wondering why he hadn’t left it behind. He takes it out and sees the screen, notifying him that the university has sent him an e-mail. Youngjae checks it quickly; it’s only spam. Youngjae sighs and closes the application, just to be rewarded with a beautiful picture of him and Jaebum from days ago when it snowed that he had settled as his wallpaper. Youngjae smiles at it sadly. He touches the screen, and a tear drops just above Jaebum’s face on the screen.

Youngjae retrieves the phone back and rubs his eyes with his sleeve. At that moment he isn’t aware of someone staring at him from the other side of the bench he’s sitting in.

“Excuse me”, Youngjae turns to look at him. It’s a boy about his age, with tousled dark hair and a pleasant smile. “Do you mind if I sit here?”

“Oh no, of course not” Youngjae says while making space for the other to sit.

They fall in a comfortable silence until Youngjae sniffs again. The other boy turns to look at him worriedly.

“Bad break up?” the boy asks softly.

“It’s not a break up if you weren’t even together” Youngjae says almost in a whisper.

The boy gets closer to him, but Youngjae doesn’t mind. He’s still trying to suppress the urge to cry.

“What has Jaebum done this time?”

And just by that, Youngjae catches on the situation. He tries to stand up and leave as soon as possible but something pierces through his thigh and he’s forced to sit again with a groan.

“Move and I’ll inject this into you” the boy says, and at this moment Youngjae notices that he has in fact a syringe buried deep on his thigh, the boy’s hand curled around it, pressing lightly on the plunger. Youngjae can’t see what’s inside of it; but it’s something pernicious for sure.

“What is it?” Youngjae dares to ask. He’s been taught to extract as much information as he can about anything and then erase the proof.

“This, my friend, is what we call a silver bomb” the guy -Youngjae can safely assume is Jeonghan- says, still smiling at him, “if I put this little microchip in you you’ll become a real menace for your werewolf friends. Nothing would happen to you, but with pressing a button you’d become the cause of your friends’ deaths. And we both don’t want that to happen, do we?”

Youngjae shakes his head but stares at him defiantly, his eyes burning with anger. He’s furious with the person in front of him but also with himself for being that stupid to put himself in danger going outside.

“Good, now you’re going to listen to what I have to say, Choi Youngjae” the guy says with a smirk, not intimidated by Youngjae’s fierce glare at all. “I’m sure you’ve heard about me before. My name is Jeonghan and I’m the alpha from Jaebum’s previous pack”.

“I know who you are” Youngjae almost growls to him. He doesn’t have much information about the guy, but he knows he wants to hurt Jaebum and has just threatened his friends too, meaning he’s an enemy.

“Wow, I’m flattered” Jeonghan retorts. “Then you know what I want from you”.

“You want to hurt Jaebum” Youngjae replies. “But I don’t see how I could help you with that”.

“But you were here just crying over him few minutes ago” Jeonghan laughs a little, making Youngjae angrier. “And a good friend of mine told me that you’re…how do I say it…very special to him”.

“Then your friend is wrong” Youngjae says, his mind searching for a possible traitor inside the pack. “I don’t know who told you about that, but I’m not the person you think I am.  Jaebum doesn’t have those feelings for me”.

“Are you sure about that?” Jeonghan asks, raising an eyebrow at him. “Well, let me guess” he adds, resting his free arm on the bench and his head on his hand, close to Youngjae. “You got kidnapped by one of my fellows and Jaebum just assumed I took you because I somehow knew about his feelings, even when this boy told him he only wanted revenge. Speaking about that, how did you managed to make such a mess of my property? I’m really curious about it”.

“Your members are weak” Youngjae argues, “and your walls are like paper. Destroying them was easy task for me”.

Jeonghan smirks.

“Ah, so feisty. I see why Jaebum likes you so much” Jeonghan says, earning a disgusted face from Youngjae. “But like I was saying, he was all wrong. I received a call from this guy telling me that he recognized you as Shura’s friend from that time she took you to the fighting club and that he wanted revenge because your friend hurt his brother or something like that. I said yes and asked this friend of mine to check on you. She’s amazing, really; one look and she can read any chapter of your life from your mind. Fortunately she left before you destroyed my property. But it’s okay; after all I got something better from that”.

Youngjae tries to digest this new info. So basically, what Jeonghan is saying is that he has a friend that can read minds. She probably has seen through his past memories. But she can’t assume Jaebum is in love with him just by that. What if Youngjae wasn’t wrong and Jaebum was really pulling a façade on himself to toy with him like he said?

“You don’t believe me” Jeonghan complains with a sigh. “She told me everything she saw in you, and we both concluded that Jaebum was pretty obvious about his crush on you. You probably still think I’m wrong. I don’t know what Jaebum did to you to be like this, but I can guess again”.

Youngjae is ready for whatever this dude says to him. He’s still convinced Jaebum doesn’t have that type of feelings towards him.

“I’m sure after that incident he became paranoid” Jeonghan says, smirking again. “He wouldn’t stop thinking about me laying my hands on you. He had to do something, anything to protect his ‘sunshine’” Jeonghans says dramatically, and Youngjae’s body trembles at the nickname. “And I think we both know what Jaebum tends to do when he wants to protect something”.

Youngjae starts to feel anxious, because this guy really has a point. He knows Jaebum since a long time ago, and Youngjae also knows about Jaebum’s way of avoiding hurting someone because he can relate.

“He pushes that something away” Jeonghan adds, making Youngjae’s body paralyze because of how true that actually is. “He did something like that to you before, didn’t he? Because he didn’t want you to suffer. What makes you think it’s different this time? I just had to listen to my friend to know how much Jaebum loves you. Believe me when I say I was truly amazed. I could never imagine Jaebum acting that way towards someone. Serious, cold Jaebum being all warm and soft because of a cute kid. Incredible”.

Youngjae doesn’t want to fall for his words; but he would lie if he’d say that he isn’t thinking about that. Youngjae knows Jaebum is not the type to play with someone’s feelings when he doesn’t understand very well his own. Jaebum cares about all his friends. Jaebum wouldn’t hurt him if he could avoid it.

What means, Jaebum reached a point where he couldn’t avoid it. And Youngjae feels miserable for not realizing about it sooner; for getting all angered with the elder and not seeing the truth. If Jaebum couldn’t avoid it, it only means it’s something serious, deadly serious. Something that escapes out of Jaebum’s control and makes him blind by fear.

So it was true, Youngjae realizes late, his heart beating like crazy. Jaebum did love me.

“Do you believe me now?” Jeonghan asks after letting the boy reorganize his thoughts for a while. “Jaebum would do anything to protect you. But he’s so scared of what I could do to you that he didn’t stop to think that what matters here isn’t you; that pushing you away wouldn’t solve anything, because the damage was already done the moment he fell in love with you. What matters to me, dear Youngjae, are Jaebum’s feelings for you. And pushing you away won’t make them go away. He should have been smarter than that. But well, Jaebum isn’t acknowledged for being smart, is he?”

Youngjae turns to glare at him, regaining his composure. It doesn’t matter if this guy forces him to go with him to protect his friends. He won’t let him have his way and hurt Jaebum. Jaebum’s words still stings in his heart; but the love for the elder is also there and it’s not going to fade away that easily.

“So, Youngjae” Jeonghan calls his name again, “do we have a deal? Are you coming with me willingly or have I to turn you into a human weapon?”

“It’s not like I have an option, do I?” Youngjae asks sarcastically.

“You certainly don’t”, Jeonghan answers with a chuckle. “You’re going to work for me. You’re such an interesting human being; smart, powerful, handsome, brave… who knows, maybe I end up falling in love with you too”.

Youngjae’s face contorts in disgust at that. This guy isn’t getting in his pants, that’s for sure.

“But if I do” Youngjae request, even though he’s not in a good position for making demands, “you have to leave my friends in peace”.

“Of course, I promise you I won’t lay a finger on your friends. Except for Jaebum. If I don’t get to hurt him this wouldn’t be funny. And maybe you can have a little revenge for whatever that dumb guy has done to you. Deal?”

Youngjae doesn’t want to accept. He doesn’t want to hurt Jaebum; but with that syringe still pressing against his thigh is not like he has another option for the moment.

I’m sorry Jaebum.

“Deal” Youngjae says.

“Great” Jeonghan says. He eases the pressure on the syringe, and Youngjae is ready to flick it and stab the boy with it when Jeonghan smirks and presses the plunger till the end of it.

Youngjae screams. It hurts; his energy is being drowned from his body and he has to hold onto the bench for support. Jeonghan finally releases him, smiling proudly at his work. Youngjae manages to raise his head to glare at him.

“We- we had a deal” he says breathing heavily.

“We still have it” Jeonghan says, two guys appearing from somewhere and taking Youngjae by his arms, dragging him with them. Youngjae searches for someone who could help him; but suddenly the park is empty. “Do you think I’m that stupid to let you go like that after seeing how you destroyed my property without moving a single muscle? I’m really aware of your potential, Choi Youngjae. What I injected to you is a serum that will suppress your powers for 14 hours. I was sure you would come with me anyways so I took the necessary precautions. But the silver bomb is real; behave so I won’t have to put it on you, understand?”

Youngjae nods weakly. Jeonghan smiles and opens the door of a car from him. The guys leave Youngjae on the back seat, but Youngjae doesn’t have the energy to do anything. He lets the serum take over him and quickly falls asleep.

Jaebum knows lying on the bed all day is not going to solve anything; but his body doesn’t seem to mind. It simply doesn’t respond to Jaebum. As much as Jaebum wants to get up he can’t. His body feels heavy and his head aches. He groans at the sunlight peering from the window and succeeds rolling his body so he’s lying on his stomach, face buried on his pillow.

He doesn’t know what he’s going to do now that he has pushed Youngjae away. The idea seemed right in his mind when he made the decision of letting him go; but scenes from last night don’t stop replaying in his mind. Every time he closes his eyes he sees Youngjae’s broken face, and his words keep repeating in his ears.

I think I love you.

How could you?

You thought it would be funny to play with my feelings like that.

Don’t touch me!

You said I’m disgusting but you’re worse than me!

And I would punch that beautiful face of yours willingly. So don’t you dare ruin what they have like you have ruined me.

Jaebum.

I’m sorry.

Jaebum sighs. What happened last night felt like a real war without a clear winner. In the end, nobody wins wars, Jaebum thinks. He feels lost. Scratch that, he IS lost. He doesn’t know how to live now that Youngjae won’t be a part of it. He doesn’t know how to act when he sees the younger for now on. Jaebum wonders if one day Youngjae will stop hating him. If one day the entire Jeonghan problem will be gone and Youngjae will come back to him; if he still will love him. 

Because Jaebum doesn’t think he’s able to forget the younger; to stop loving him after he finally opened his heart.

“This is kind of unexpected” Hyunwoo says, glancing at the two boys in front of him.

“I know” Jinyoung says, “but they wouldn’t let me go if they didn’t come with me”.

“We’ll do anything you ask us to” Jackson says, “we’re very disciplined”.

“But please let us help” Bambam pleads.

Hyunwoo sighs. He’s not a supporter of involving civil people; but two pair of hands more would be really helpful.

“Okay, Jackson Wang and…uhm, Kunpi…?” Hyunwoo says, struggling with Bambam’s real name.

“Kunpimook Bhuwakul” Bambam corrects him with a pleasant grin, “but call me Bambam”.

“Well, Jackson and Bambam” Hyunwoo finally says, “if you promise to follow all my orders without complaining then you’re in”.

“We promise” both of them say in unison.

“Good. Welcome to the S.U.S.F.” Hyunwoo says with a smile, offering his hand for a shake.

“Our pleasure” Jackson says while shaking Hyunwoo’s hand energetically, leaving Hyunwoo a bit shocked. Jackson finally releases his hand and Bambam reaches for it.

“We won’t give you any problem” he assures the other.

“Well, Jooheon will be here in a second to show you the office and give you some advices” Hyunwoo says, and a second after Jooheon appears behind him. “Oh, perfect timing. Jooheon, these are our new trainees Jackson and Bambam, even though I’m sure you already know them.

“Yes” Jooheon says, “they already noticed me that they were coming to join us”.

“Oh, good. Give them a tour for our office and tell them everything they need to know”.

“Of course. C’mon guys”.

Jooheon starts walking with Jackson and Bambam following him. Jinyoung sees Jooheon trying to be professional in front of his friends, and failing miserably when Jackson lets out a squeal and shouts a but dude this is so cool! I also want a gun. Jooheon squeals too while yelling I know dude I’m so cool and Bambam complains about wanting a weapon. 

Jinyoung face palms himself meanwhile Hyunwoo finds it hilarious how the three of them are so excited about working together.

“Well Jinyoung,” Hyunwoo says, “you said you were a criminologist, right?”

“Yes, that’s right” Jinyoung answers.

“Good. So I assume you have some knowledge about decoding and elaborating tracking maps, am I right?”

“Yes”.

“Perfect. Today you’re going to work with me decoding some documents I found at the warehouse, okay?”

“Sure”.

“Here” Hyunwoo says, sitting at his spot and motioning for Jinyoung to take the spot next to him. “This was Minhyuk’s spot. You can use his computer for the moment”.

Jinyoung switches it on, feeling a bit guilty because this is someone else’s place.

“Ah, I almost forgot” Hyunwoo says, opening a drawer from his desk and taking out an envelope, “this is for you”.

Jinyoung grabs it and opens it. He takes out its content and grins upon seeing what it is.

“I found them in one of the boxes we took out from the building” Hyunwoo explains, “and even though I think it’s a bit creepy by their side, I supposed you would want to have them”.

Jinyoung nods in appreciation. He examines carefully the first pic that was in the envelope. It’s a photo taken from behind of Mark and Jinyoung having lunch on the rooftop. The next one has Mark and Jinyoung having lunch again, but this time inside the office. The following is a pic of Mark talking with Jinyoung at his spot.

There are three more photos featuring Mark interacting with Jinyoung, and the last one is the picture of Mark that was in his report. Jinyoung leaves the rest on the desk, staring at Mark’s pic. Even though Mark doesn’t seem very happy in it, to Jinyoung it’s perfect. Jinyoung finally can admire the handsome face of his boyfriend again.

He turns to Hyunwoo, moved by the latter’s gift and gives him a warm smile.

“Thank you so much, Hyunwoo” Jinyoung says, caressing delicately Mark’s photo.

“It’s nothing. I felt bad that we couldn’t find your phone and your wallet, so I figured that you would want something to remind you of Mark in the meantime. When Kihyun and Minhyuk disappeared, all that was left was their pictures. I had them everywhere to remind me of them; to give me the strength to find them and never surrender. It worked really well for my members and me, so I thought it would cheer you up too”.

“It really means so much to me. I’m so grateful to you”.

“I think it’s enough” Hyunwoo says while laughing, “I just want us to get along well. I want you to trust us and for you to feel like home here”.

“Well, I think you’re doing a great job with that” Jinyoung says with a grin, placing the photos back inside the envelope, only leaving Mark’s photo out. “But can I have Youngjae’s photo too?”

Hyunwoo smiles at him and searches through some folders until he finds it.

“Here you go” he says, handing the pic to Jinyoung.

“Thank you” he says while placing it besides Mark’s.

“Now, let’s work” Hyunwoo commands with a small grin.

Jaebum doesn’t know when he fell asleep; but he wakes up to Yugyeom shaking his body violently.

“What?” Jaebum growls to him, covering his eyes with his forearm.

“We need to go” Yugyeom says.

“Go where?” Jaebum asks, removing his arm so he can glare at the younger.

But Yugyeom’s worried face makes Jaebum worry too. Something is wrong. Something inside him also tells him that it has to do with Youngjae.

“Namjoon wants to speak with you” Yugyeom says before going out, allowing Jaebum to get dressed in the privacy of his room.

Jaebum grabs some pants and a sweater and puts them on hurriedly. He doesn’t even bother combing his hair; he puts his boots on and goes out.

Yugyeom is waiting for him besides the front door. Jaebum picks his keys before going out after the younger. Yugyeom guides him to the common room, where Yoongi is telling something to Hoseok, Jimin and Taehyung meanwhile Jungkook has an arm wrapped around Shura’s body. Seokjin is saying something to Mark besides them; and in front of all of them there is Namjoon, looking pensive at the floor with Bonnie by his side.

Yugyeom closes the door behind them, making the rest notice their presence. They are all wearing the same expression as Yugyeom; minus Shura, who is visibly mad.

“What happened?” Jaebum asks with his heart in his throat.

“What happened?” Shura repeats angrily. “What happened are you asking? How dare you?”

And Jaebum understands that it definitely has to do with Youngjae, and that Shura knows what happened last night and probably the rest of their friends know now too.

“Relax Shu” Jungkook whispers to her, drawing circles on her back to calm her.

“I can’t relax” Shura says, glaring at Jaebum intensely. “I can’t relax when my friend is missing”.

Jaebum flinches and starts to panic. At that moment he realizes that the younger isn’t in the room. He wants to slap himself for not noticing sooner.

“And it’s your fault” the girl adds, shattering Jaebum’s heart.

“We don’t know for sure, “ Namjoon intervenes, feeling the tension between them. “There is a chance Youngjae went back to his parents’ house to walk away from the pack”.

“Then why didn’t he take any of his things with him?” Shura asks.

“Maybe he made the decision at the moment without thinking about it twice” Yoongi suggests.

“He would have told me at least. I’m telling you, he got kidnapped”.

With every word Jaebum feels the world crumble around him. If Youngjae was kidnapped he knows without doubt who took him, meaning that his sacrifice was in vain.

“Can you tell us exactly what happened last night?” Namjoon requests.

Shura turns to glare at Jaebum again.

“Jaebum can tell you better” she declares.

Jaebum feels all eyes on him. Everyone is waiting for an answer that nobody is going to like, and probably by the end of the meeting he won’t have any friends. He gulps, losing all the strength to tell them how he broke Youngjae’s heart; but Yugyeom is quick to notice his struggle and puts a hand on his shoulder. Jaebum turns to him, realizing now that the younger never left his side and inhales deeply.

“We were at the forest” he starts, “Youngjae said he had something to tell me so he looked for me. I was out for a walk when he found me. He…well, he told me he thought he was in love with me” Jaebum sees some surprised faces, meanwhile Shura is raising an eyebrow at him and Mark seems troubled, “and I rejected him because Jeonghan is still after me and I didn’t want him to be hurt. We argued pretty badly and then,” he pauses feeling his cheek burning again where Youngjae hit him, “then he slapped me”.

“You called him disgusting” Shura adds, as if it was an important fact that Jaebum left behind.

“I lied” Jaebum admits, “I only told him that to make him go away”.

“And he did” Shura practically growls to him, “he ran away this morning and we can’t reach him. Your plan worked well, except for the fact that Jeonghan could be laying his filthy hands on Youngjae at this very moment”.

“As I said, we don’t know for sure” Namjoon intervenes again. “Jaebum, what happened after?”

“He apologized and ran away” Jaebum answers, his body trembling slightly. “I haven’t seen him since then”.

The room remains in silence. Everyone is looking at the floor, not knowing what to do or say. Mark is looking between Jaebum and Shura, like if he wanted to comfort both of them at the same moment but he couldn’t. Shura places her hand on his forehead meanwhile Jungkook tries to calm her. Yugyeom is still standing by his side, hand on his shoulder, and Jaebum reaches to hold it as his only comfort.

“Well, until we know exactly what happened with Youngjae I have no choice but to send some of you to the fighting club and to extreme the precautions around the pack” Namjoon declares.

“Let me go” Shura quickly volunteers. “Mark and I want to find both Youngjae and Jinyoung. Let us do it”.

“Mark is still in danger” Namjoon replies, “I can’t let him go out. And no” Namjoon says as soon as he notices Jaebum opening his mouth to volunteer too, “you can’t go either. You’re very much affected to go outside the pack. You’re going to stay in here until we find some evidence that Jeonghan has Youngjae”.

“Then we go” Seokjin says, Jungkook nodding by his side.

Namjoon sighs.

“Okay, you and Jungkook will go” he declares, “for tonight let’s just rest and think of possible places Youngjae could be at. You’re all dismissed”.

Namjoon goes first followed by Bonnie. When he is standing besides Jaebum, he squeezes his arm slightly. Jaebum thanks him with a nod, and finally Namjoon exits the room. After him Yoongi walks to Jaebum and also squeezes his arm before going out. Taehyung, Jimin and Hoseok smile at him, telling him that Youngjae is going to be fine. Jaebum nods, but he can’t bring himself to believe it.

Finally, there’s only Mark, Shura, Seokjin, Jungkook, Yugyeom and Jaebum still there.

“Hey” Jungkook mutters when he hears Shura starting to sob, “we’re going to find him, okay? Please don’t cry sis”.

Jungkook hugs her and Seokjin smiles at her. The elder turns to look at Jaebum and upon seeing his face his smile falls. He knows Jaebum wants to say something, so he pats Jungkook on the shoulder, motioning for him to let the girl go. Jungkook takes the hint and wishes good night to her sister, holding her hand a bit more before finally parting ways. Seokjin gives Jaebum a squeeze on the arm before going, and Jungkook mouths to him that everything is going to be fine.

When they close the door Jaebum releases Yugyeom’s hand and walks to stand before Shura.

“Shura, I’m sorry” he says, but when he’s about to hug her she steps aside.

“Don’t touch me” she says, eyes full with rage. The situation reminds him of last night, of Youngjae’s expression mirroring Shura’s right now, saying to him the same words as him.

Mark flinches on his spot. He seemed to be in trance during all the meeting until now. Yugyeom looks between Shura and Jaebum. He wants to stand by Jaebum but he also feels the urge to go and take Shura between his arms.

“How could you do that?” the girl continues, Jaebum feeling even guiltier. “How could you go and break Youngjae’s heart like that? He loves you, Jaebum! He’s deeply in love with you and you also are with him, so what was running through your mind when you called him disgusting?”

“I only wanted to protect him” Jaebum says firmly, “I just couldn’t let him deal with a battle that isn’t his”.

“You should have thought that your bond already exists” Shura continues. “And you should have known that Youngjae would throw himself to that battle gladly. You think he’s weak and that he needs you to protect him. But he doesn’t. He accepted to love every part of you, good or bad. He knew you had problems but he was still ready to embrace them as long as you were by his side”.

Jaebum gulps, trying to contain his tears. He should have realized that when Youngjae told him I think I love you he lied; he already knew he loved him but was anxious to give his heart to Jaebum because there was a chance he got it broken in return. And Jaebum did the mistake to actually break it. He never stopped to think that if their bond exists it’s because both of them feel the same. He never took in consideration Youngjae’s wishes. He feels miserable. He should have told everything to the younger and let him decide before taking the decision by himself.

“I know you love him” Shura says, “but if anything happens to him it would be your fault”.

Jaebum’s heart breaks completely at that. To make things worse, he hears Yugyeom gulping by his side. The younger must feel overwhelmed with all of this; two of the persons he loves the most arguing with each other. Why, Jaebum? He asks himself, why don’t you have in consideration other people’s feelings when making a decision?

Yugyeom is torn between comforting Shura or Jaebum. His mind tells him to stay with Jaebum but his heart wants Shura. He looks at Mark searching for a solution, a sign of what he should do; who to comfort. Luckily Mark seems to have read his mind and leaves Shura’s side to take Jaebum’s hand, dragging him out. The latter doesn’t say anything; just lets Mark guide him to whenever he wants. Yugyeom looks at them until they’re gone, and then rushes to hug Shura.

“We’ll find him” Yugyeom whispers to her, one hand caressing her hair.

“Why?” Shura mutters against Yugyeom’s chest, fists clenched tightly on Yugyeom’s shirt. “Why Jinyoung and Youngjae? They haven’t done anything wrong. Why it had to be them?”

Yugyeom doesn’t respond. Instead places a kiss on her hair and takes her face between his hands.

“Hey,” he whispers, “I’m here. And we’re going to find them”.

Shura smiles sadly at him between tears.

“Just promise me one thing” she asks. Yugyeom looks at her surprised.

“Tell me” he says anyways.

“Just promise me you’ll be fine. Promise me you won’t act recklessly. I don’t think I can stand losing you too”.

Yugyeom is taken aback for a moment, but upon realizing the implication in her words he smiles tenderly.

“I promise” he whispers, placing a kiss on her forehead.

“Mark what are we doing here?” Jaebum asks.

He let Mark drag him out of the room and he’s glad the elder did it because he couldn’t handle it anymore. But he doesn’t understand what they are doing at the forest in the middle of the night.

“Look at the sky” Mark says.

Jaebum does as he’s commanded.

“And now what?”

Mark smiles at him before staring at the dark sky too, still smiling.

“Do you know how I do to go ahead?”

Jaebum shakes his head. Mark isn’t very open about his feelings, even though is obvious that the loss of Jinyoung has affected him.

“I look at the sky and think that we’re still under the same sky” Mark answers. “It may seem silly, but it works for me. I know Jinyoung is out there, and I know he’s fighting his way to come back to me as I’m fighting to have him back. I know that Jinyoung is also thinking of me whenever he is, and that gives me the strength to keep going. Namjoon doesn’t allow me to go out but it doesn’t mean I’m not doing anything. I’m working out to become stronger to make sure that when I’ll finally find Jinyoung no one will be able to take him away from me again”.

Jaebum stares at Mark. The elder is smiling at the sky, and Jaebum admires him for keeping smiling given their circumstances. He wants to be like Mark, he decides.

“Youngjae is under this same sky too” Mark continues, “and I’m sure he’s also fighting his way to come back to you. Jinyoung and he are not the type to let someone take them without putting a fight first. I’m sure Youngjae thinks about you too. He told us everything that happened and also said how sorry he was for snapping at you”.

“He must hate me right now” Jaebum whispers.

“I don’t think so. Youngjae loves you so much, Jaebum. He lost control because he loved you so much and you just broke his heart. But if you told him the truth, I’m sure he’d understand. But above all, you can’t let Jeonghan control you. You act on impulse and don’t stop to think, and that’s what he wants you to do, Jaebum. You have to be stronger and overcome that”.

Jaebum nods. Mark barely talks, but he’s very wise. He observes and then analyses the situation, extracting the best solution.

“Help me” Mark says, this time looking at Jaebum. “Train with me. Work out with me. Run through the forest with me. Let’s become stronger together, so when we find Jinyoung and Youngjae nobody will be able to take them away for us ever again”.

Mark opens his arms for him, offering a hug and comfort. Jaebum decides that Mark is the smartest person he has ever met and he will take example of him. Jaebum accepts the hug and Mark laughs.

“I’ll take it as a yes” Mark whispers.

Jaebum nods against his shoulder. Mark releases him but still wraps an arm around Jaebum’s shoulders. Then he looks at the sky again, Jaebum doing it too.

“Jaebum?”

“Hhm”.

“Do you love me?”

Jaebum turns to glare at him only to find Mark smirking to him.

“It’s not funny”.

Mark laughs at Jaebum’s now blushing face.

“But your face is”.

Jaebum sighs but ends up smiling widely at Mark.

Youngjae wakes up in the dark. He can tell he’s lying on a bed, but the rest of the room seems to be consumed by darkness. He feels dizzy but at least his body doesn’t feel heavy anymore. He tries to use his powers but it’s useless. The serum is still working inside his body.

Suddenly a small lamp is turned on at his side. He turns around and finds another guy staring at him. He has a slim body with a gentle face and white hair peering from his hood. The boy looks at him curiously.

“Uhm, hello” Youngjae greets him.

“Hi” the other boy greets back, “I suppose you’re my new cellmate. Welcome I guess”.

Cellmate? Youngjae looks at the room now that he has better light; the walls are painted by a dry shade of grey, there are two beds, one occupied by him and the other occupied by the boy; besides that, there’s only a desk with a chair and a closet. There is also an open door of what seems to be a bathroom. There is only one window that Youngjae is sure can’t be opened or broken, and the door doesn’t have a knob, meaning that it can only be opened from the outside.

A cell indeed.

“Excuse me,” the other boy says, “but why are you here?”

“They didn’t give me a choice really” Youngjae answers, staring back at the boy.

“Let me guess… the silver bomb?”

Youngjae nods.

“Ah, that’s really fucked up” the boy says with a sigh, “then I should apologize to you”.

“Why?” Youngjae asks, furrowing his eyebrows.

“It’s partially my fault that a monstrosity like that was created”.

“But aren’t you a prisoner?”

The other boy smiles sadly and squirms on his bed.

“Maybe I should tell you the story from the beginning” he says, stretching his arm for Youngjae to take, “my name is Lee Minhyuk. I work for the S.U.S.F., aka the Special Unit of the Security Forces” Youngjae takes his hand and shakes it. “We deal with special situations like mysterious disappearances, people with strange powers or even werewolves. My best friend Yoo Kihyun is a chemist. He was the one who got the job for me. He’s awesome. He’s a smartass but in the positive definition of the word. He’s one of the best chemists in our country. We worked together at the S.U.S.F. when some dudes kidnapped him. I was with him but I couldn’t do anything to help him”.

Minhyuk sighs. It must have been a difficult thing for him, Youngjae thinks.

“I got injured but as soon as I recovered I went after Kihyun”, Minhyuk continues, “I tracked the entire city until I found a company that was secretly working with werewolves. I informed my squad, but when I was spying on them they got me. They took me here and threatened Kihyun with torturing me if he’d reject making the silver bomb for them. I asked Kihyun to let them torture me. I knew the silver bomb was bad news for werewolves, and I’d rather die than let them cause a slaughter.  But one kick and Kihyun was already accepting the offer. I wasn’t angry with him; after all, I would have done the same if I was in his position. We’ve been friends since childhood. I don’t think I could handle watching Kihyun being tortured”.

Youngjae nods. What Minhyuk and his friend had suffered is horrible; it only makes Youngjae angrier than he already was with Jeonghan and his dirty games.

“And well, since Kihyun is the best at his job he made the silver bomb real” Minhyuk says with a sigh. “They already had the plans for it, but none of the persons they had could make it work until they found Kihyun. And now there is a mass destruction weapon more outside. So I’m sorry. If they wouldn’t have kidnapped me, Kihyun wouldn’t have made the bomb”.

“If your friend wouldn’t have done it, then your friend would have died” Youngjae says, making Minhyuk flinch. “So you shouldn’t apologize to me. It’s really sad what happened to both of you. But where is him now?”

“They have him still working for them in something evil for sure. His cell is at the end of the corridor. They really don’t let me go outside often, and Kihyun is barely allowed to visit me. I guess they let him come here to check that I’m still alive so they can keep forcing him to do things he really doesn’t want to do; but he doesn’t have a choice either”.

Youngjae smiles sadly at him. Minhyuk really seems such a nice person, and by the way he is talking Youngjae is sure that he cares about his friend Kihyun a lot. He wonders how someone could do something like that to them. They don’t let them be together in the same room even.

“But really,” Minhyuk says, “why are you here? I mean, they threatened you with the silver bomb. But you have to be special for them if they would go as far as threatening you with that. Who are you?”

“My name is Choi Youngjae” he says, offering Minhyuk his hand as the other did earlier.

“Wait, that name sounds familiar” Minhyuk says while accepting the hand. “I spend so much time here, so I sometimes stick my ear to the door and listen to the guards talking outside”.

“Maybe you heard about a boy that destroyed an entire property alone”.

“Aaah, I’ve heard that story. Good job, by the way. You must be a freaking badass to be able do something like that”.

“Well, I have special powers. I can move things with my mind. Sadly they gave me a serum that neutralizes them”.

“Oh, sorry. That was also Kihyun’s creation”.

“Don’t worry about that”.

Minhyuk stares at him. There is something still off with this boy.

“Wait, do you mean you’re here so they can have their revenge for what you did?” Minhyuk asks.

“Oh, no” Youngjae replies, “we’re a bit similar in this case. They also want to use me against a friend of mine”.

“They want you to make weapons for them?” Minhyuk asks, tilting his head and looking at Youngjae with curiosity.

“It’s not like that” Youngjae replies shaking his head, “well; they want me to work for them too. But the important thing is that they think I’m important for their boss’ rival and forced me to go with them so he will suffer”.

“Wait, I know who you’re talking about” Minhyuk says, staring at the ceiling while thinking, “Im Jaebum. Is that right?” Youngjae nods. “He’s like a celebrity in here, just like you. I heard the guards talking about how obsessed their boss is with this guy”.

“He forced me to come even when I assured him that he was wrong. But he wouldn’t listen. He wants whatever that can hurt Jaebum. He’s a maniac”.

“Man, that’s so fucked up”.

“Yeah”.

They fall in a comfortable silence until Minhyuk claps his hands together.

“Well, you don’t have to worry because I’m sure my friends will save us” Minhyuk says with a smile. “I trust them. I’m sure they are doing all they can to find us”.

“I’m sure my friends will find me too” Youngjae says, “they’ll know something happened to me and will search for me”.

“It would be really great if they could work together. My friend Kihyun is already plotting something, but he needs help from the outside”.

“If they put me to work on weapons it’s possible they put me to work with him. Maybe we can plot something together and get out from here”.

Minhyuk smiles.

“I like you”, he says. “Let’s work together to escape from this hell. My friend Kihyun is a bit short, brown hair and cute face. If you tell him that you’re my cellmate he will listen to you”.

“I promise I’d do anything to get you and your friend out from here” Youngjae says, “if I just could avoid the serum or suppress it we’d be able to get out in no time”.

“Since Kihyun made it I think there’s a chance he knows how to suppress it. I really like this. Now I really have faith that we are leaving this place”.

“By the way” Youngjae says, mirroring the smile on Minhyuk’s face, “have you heard something about a certain Park Jinyoung? Or seen him? He’s tall, dark hair and fair skin. His eyes make wrinkles when he smiles”.

“No, I’m sorry; I don’t know anything about him. But I’ve heard there are more places like this. Maybe they have him somewhere else”.

“Maybe. Thank you, Minhyuk. Now let’s sleep; tomorrow our plan to escape begins”.

Minhyuk grins at that and lies on his bed after wishing Youngjae a good night. Youngjae turns off the lamp and stares at the ceiling.

I won’t let them win, he thinks while closing his eyes, wait for me guys I’ll be back.

Chapter Text

Youngjae wakes up to an unpleasant sound. He covers his ears with his hands, and glances towards Minhyuk, who lies awake staring at the ceiling, but doesn’t seem bothered by the sound.

“What was that?” Youngjae asks when it stops.

“The morning alarm” Minhyuk answers, rolling to the side to look at Youngjae. “They will come in five minutes to escort you to your workplace”.

“Fantastic” Youngjae says sarcastically while getting up from the bed to use the bathroom.

“You’ll get used to it” he hears Minhyuk say from the other side.

He quickly washes his face and finds some deodorant on the sink. Youngjae wonders if they will give him some more clothes, because he doesn’t want to smell bad.

“Hey, Minhyuk” Youngjae says when he gets out, “how do you do laundry here?”

“Each three days someone comes and takes my dirty clothes and then gives me fresh ones” he answers, “at least they care about hygiene. Even though a toothbrush would be great”.

They hear some noise outside and then the door is opened, two men standing outside motioning for Youngjae to follow them.

“I’ll ask for one” Youngjae tells Minhyuk before leaving.

“Good luck with that” Minhyuk says as the door closes again, leaving him alone once more.

“Good morning Youngjae” Jeonghan says as he joins his members in escorting the younger.

The latter doesn’t respond; he glares at his captor instead. He’s more bothered now after the men injected the serum to him, making him feel weak again.

“Ah, you’re not talking to me” Jeonghan says, pretending to be offended, “I thought we were friends”.

“You forced me to come” Youngjae blurts out, “that doesn’t make us friends”.

“I didn’t force you. I gave you the chance to go”.

“And then my friends would have been dead”.

“But you still had the option”.

Youngjae desists on responding to him and just keeps walking.

“Anyways” Jeonghan says when they stop in front of a small room with a glass door, “from now on you’re working here. Let me introduce you to your new boss”.

Jeonghan dismisses his fellows and opens the door for Youngjae, who enters without sparing a glance towards the other. The room is full with papers and strange machines Youngjae hasn’t ever seen, but it looks like some sort of laboratory. Working on a computer is a brown haired male, who seems to be too focused on his work to even notice that someone came in until Jeonghan knocks on the door after coming in.

The guy stops typing on the computer and turns to them, glaring at Jeonghan almost instantly.

“Good morning, Kihyun” Jeonghan says, ignoring the way the boy is practically killing him with his eyes. Youngjae doesn’t believe how lucky he is that Jeonghan brought him directly to Kihyun, Minhyuk’s friend and his only hope to get out from there.

“I’m busy” it’s the only thing Kihyun says to him, inspecting Youngjae from head to toes.

“I know, that’s why I got you an assistant” Jeonghan says, giving Youngjae a little push towards Kihyun, “Choi Youngjae here is an excellent computer engineer and will help you with anything you want him to”.

Youngjae smiles to him, but Kihyun doesn’t return it. He’s still staring at Youngjae, probably trying to know if he’s ally or enemy.

“Youngjae, meet Yoo Kihyun” Jeonghan continues, “the most brilliant mind you’ll ever find. I expect great things from you both. I have to leave you guys, but in the meantime you could get to know each other better. See you guys”.

Jeonghan smiles to them one last time before going out. Kihyun and Youngjae stare at each other; Kihyun still trying to decipher if Youngjae is reliable or not and Youngjae thinking of a way to approach the other to let him know he’s an ally.

“Well, take a seat” Kihyun says finally. Youngjae complies and sits on a chair besides him, “I’ll give you some problems to see how much do you know and then work based on that”.

Youngjae nods. Kihyun grabs a notebook and a pen and starts writing on it. Youngjae watches him until he’s done.

“Please, answer in the next page” Kihyun says while giving the notebook to Youngjae.

Youngjae takes a look at it. There’s some equation on the page, and just below it there’s something else written.

There’s a camera with a microphone behind us. Who are you and why do they want you to work with me?

Youngjae glances briefly at Kihyun, the latter staring back at him, waiting for his answer. Youngjae takes another pen and turns the page before writing the solution followed by a note.

They are keeping me here against my will. They want to use me against a friend of mine. My name is Youngjae and I’m Minhyuk’s cellmate. He said you could help me get out from here. He told me you’re also here against your will, so I thought that maybe we could help each other to escape from here.

He returns the notebook back to Kihyun, and then he sees the latter narrowing his eyes at it. Kihyun glances at Youngjae, who nods discretely at him and then he turns the page again.

“Nice. I’ll give you a difficult one” Kihyun says while scribbling on it. Youngjae turns around briefly and notices the camera that Kihyun mentioned earlier. “Here you go” Kihyun says, giving the notebook to Youngjae again.

How is he? They didn’t allow me to see him this week. I’m sure he wouldn’t have told you anything if he didn’t trust you, and I trust him so I’m trusting you too. This isn’t going to be easy; we’re constantly being watched. Your name sounds familiar by the way.

Youngjae looks at Kihyun again, but this time the latter is staring at him with curious eyes. He quickly writes a reply and hands the notebook to Kihyun again.

He’s fine, don’t worry. He told me everything about you two, and I told him about me too. I have psychic powers. I can move things with my mind and recently I destroyed a property of them all by myself, maybe that’s why it sounds familiar to you.

Kihyun smiles a bit.

“Okay, I’ll give you a different one this time” Kihyun says, writing furiously something again.

Ah yes, I know that story. Nice job. I suppose they are giving you the serum I made for them. It was a bit complicated to make, but I’m pretty sure I can find a way to suppress it; we just need a bit of time. It would be really good if you could use your powers. If my friends could find us and cause a ruckus we would be able to find a way out and also we could destroy all the armament they have since I know where they are hiding it. I’m sure you’ve heard about the silver bomb. We have to destroy it or a lot of people will die.

Youngjae turns the page and starts writing on it.

They threatened me with it. I can’t avoid the dose they give me, so we are going to have to be discreet while working here. But I’ll help you with whatever you want me to. We’re on the same team. You can trust me. I doubt there’s a person who could hate Jeonghan as much as I do right now.

Kihyun reads the note and smirks, closing the notebook and leaving it on the desk.

“Well, Youngjae” Kihyun says, “I think we’re ready to work together. It’s a pleasure to have you here”.

“Same” Youngjae says while returning the smirk to Kihyun.

“So he really exists” Bambam says.

“Of course he does! I’ve showed you photos before” Jinyoung says while taking the photos from his friends’ hands.

“I’m not fully believing it until I see him with my own eyes” Jackson says while sticking his tongue out.

“Why are you being like this?” Jinyoung asks the two of them.

“Because it’s so funny to tease you, Jinyoung” Jackson says while smirking.

Jinyoung glares at him, causing Bambam to laugh. Changkyun, who has been watching them from his spot, grins at them slightly.

“Jinyoung” Hyunwoo calls him, “can you come here for a moment?”

Jinyoung nods and approaches Hyunwoo. He guides Jinyoung to another room, the same one he was previously in: the interrogation room. Only that after the glass there is his ex-boss, tied to the chair while looking everywhere a bit tense.

“You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to” Hyunwoo says, seeing the disgusted look on Jinyoung’s face, “but Hyungwon suggested that he would be more responsive towards you since you have a connection”.

“He wants me dead” Jinyoung says, “I don’t know why he would spill everything to me”.

“Because he knows you” Hyungwon says, joining them, “people react better to a person that they already know before a person that doesn’t have any type of connection with. Moreover, the fact that you’re standing here while he’s tied to a chair in there will bother him more. And when his patience drains out I’m sure he will spill everything willingly. But if someone can upset him to the point he loses his mind, it would be you”.

Jinyoung looks at him. The fact that he’s free now would be really a bother to his ex-boss, who was at the edge of killing him. He doesn’t want anything to do with this man again; but in this moment he’s the only one who can provide him with information about Youngjae’s location.

“I’ll do it” Jinyoung says.

“If you feel suffocated at some point put your hands on your back and raise your thumbs, and Hyungwon will come in to replace you” Hyunwoo says, giving him a little squeeze on the arm.

Jinyoung nods. Hyunwoo opens the door for him before walking besides Hyungwon, both of them looking through the glass.

Jinyoung closes the door, making his ex-boss notice him.

“Park Jinyoung” the man says with a smirk, “you’re still alive”.

“You won’t kill me that easily” Jinyoung says defiantly, standing before him at the other side of the table.

“So? You got me now. But worse people are out there, Jinyoung. Meanwhile you’re here playing cops with me my friends are out there doing whatever. Maybe they are now laying their hands on your precious Mark”.

“Who are these friends of yours?” Jinyoung asks while clenching his fists.

“What makes you think I’m going to tell you? I’d rather die before telling you anything. But they’ll find you and then they’ll kill you”.

“Who are they?” Jinyoung repeats angrily.

He knows he shouldn’t let this man’s words get through his mind. He’s only provoking him; but Mark’s name pronounced by this despicable person makes him really angry. And also part of him is angry with himself for not having a way to get back to Mark or know anything about him.

“I said I’d rather die than telling you”.

Jinyoung growls and slams his fists on the table, startling his ex-boss and his two friends at the other side of the glass.

“This isn’t going well” Hyunwoo says, “it’s too early”.

“He needs to be prepared because it won’t be easy,” Hyungwon says, “but I’m sure he’s the only one who can take the information out from him. He’ll get better; he just needs to see what it is like”.

Hyunwoo nods. Before him, Jinyoung walks to stand beside his ex-boss.

“Who is working with you?” Jinyoung asks.

“Do you know what I do before going to bed every night?” his ex-boss says with a smirk. “I think about all the possible ways I could kill Mark painfully slow and make you watch it. Or ways to torture you for Mark’s eyes to see”.

Jinyoung’s blood boils inside him. He has to take all of his willpower to not kill this man right now with his own hands.

“Who are they?” Jinyoung demands one more time.

“Mark has a nice face, doesn’t he? I bet other guys and girls would do anything to have him on their bed. He would make such a great slave for my friends” the man says nonchalantly, smiling even more when he sees Jinyoung glaring intensely at him. “Tell me Jinyoung, have you touched Mark yet? You know, intimately. Because if you haven’t, I bet it will be the first thing they will do to him”.

Hyunwoo gulps. He’s about to intervene when Hyungwon grabs him by his arm.

“Wait until he signals you to come in” he says.

“But-“

“Believe me. He needs this to get better. That’s how I made it”.

Hyunwoo sighs. He knows he’s talking with the best interrogator in his team; but he worries for Jinyoung. He wouldn’t bear having someone talking like that about Minhyuk.

“Oh, you haven’t touched him yet” the man says seeing how Jinyoung tries to calm himself by inhaling and exhaling deeply, “what a pity. I bet he was expecting you to be his first. But well, he’s half animal; if you keep being away from him his wolf instincts will kick in and I’m sure he’ll look for someone else to take. Would you like that? Imagine your little Mark begging some other person for more…”

“Shut up” Jinyoung growls. How dare this man talk about Mark like that? He’s not like that, Jinyoung knows it.

But hearing those words it’s not a pleasuring experience either.

“Why? You know it’s true. You can’t trust a werewolf. They respond to their animal instincts. Maybe meanwhile you’re here wasting your time with me he’s already on his knees waiting for someone to-“

He’s cut by Jinyoung aggressively grabbing the neck of his shirt. He looks furious and angry, like he’s ready to kill him any moment. A part of him is scared of this side of himself, but his other half is somehow contented.

“I told you to shut up!” Jinyoung yells on his face. “Tell me who the fuck are those friends of yours and I’ll go kill them after I’m done with you”.

The man smirks.

“If you’re this bothered is because you really don’t trust Mark. You know what I’m saying is right. He’s half animal and-“.

He doesn’t get to end the sentence because out of the blue his middle finger is twisted in a painful way. The man shouts in sorrow, meanwhile Jinyoung releases him, not knowing too what happened. But it definitely was him.

The door opens and Hyunwoo and Hyungwon rush in. Hyungwon bends down and takes a look at the injured hand.

“It’s broken” he says, staring at Hyunwoo with a shocked look.

Hyunwoo, who is holding Jinyoung to stop him from hurting the man more, stares at the weird position of this man’s finger, wondering how it happened since Jinyoung didn’t touch it.

“He’s a monster!” the man says abruptly between cries, “I knew there was something odd with you but you’re an actual monster!”

Jinyoung flinches; too many emotions running through his body: anger, sadness but also fear of himself.

“Let’s get you out from here” Hyunwoo whispers to him, dragging him out.

Hyungwon goes out too; heading towards the infirmary to take the necessary supplies to heal the man’s wound. Hyunwoo takes Jinyoung out of the building, seeing how agitated the other boy is. Jinyoung takes a deep breath of fresh air while resting his back on a wall. They don’t say anything; Hyunwoo only stares at Jinyoung, thinking about possible ways to comfort the other.

“I’m sorry” Jinyoung mutters after a while. “I shouldn’t have reacted like that”.

“It’s your first day, it’s okay” Hyunwoo says, “I shouldn’t have pressured you either. We’ll think another way to obtain the information from him”.

Jinyoung looks at the blue sky above him. He’s calm now but he’s also very disappointed at himself for letting that man irk him. But at least he has a theory about what could have happened earlier.

“Jinyoung”, Hyunwoo calls him, “what happened in there? I thought you said you can heal people. What was that?”

“I don’t know, it never happened before” Jinyoung answers. “But I was thinking about something Youngjae told me. He asked how my powers worked, and at that time I didn’t know what he was talking about; but he told me that in order to move something with his mind, he has to think about the thing and then fly it to where he wants to. I think my powers work the same. When someone is injured, I only have to think about closing the wound and it does. But maybe it works the other way too. Maybe if I think about breaking a bone it does; only that this time I lost control because I was enraged”.

Hyunwoo nods. If that’s the case, Jinyoung’s powers are very dangerous but useful at the same time.

“Well, then you’re very powerful” Hyunwoo says, “but you don’t have to do it again. Hyungwon and Wonho are used to deal with people like him. We can continue working decoding data and let them do the work”.

“He won’t say anything” Jinyoung says, “he’d rather die than tell us anything”.

Hyunwoo knows it. Hyungwon and Wonho are the best; but they have always had their answers verbally, as they only use violence when it’s necessary. Hyunwoo also doesn’t want to obtain information through torture; if he’d do it, he wouldn’t be different from that man. But in this case it seems like he doesn’t have any other option.

Jinyoung on the other side is actually pondering about it. He has never hurt anyone. He has always been the savior, the one who heals the wounds. But this time, Jinyoung is ready to be in the other side. They need the information, and the only way the man is going to give it to them is by torturing him. And with his powers he can make it very painful to the point the man will spill everything quickly. But it isn’t like himself. He has to take that path for him, for his friends and also for Mark. But he knows it’s going to affect him.

“Listen, Hyunwoo” Jinyoung says finally, “I know we don’t do torture. But it’s the only way he’s going to tell us everything. I…I can do that. Just give me a little time. This is something new for me”.

“I can give you whatever you want, but you don’t have to do it” Hyunwoo repeats again.

“No, I have to. If I don’t do it we’ll never get the information and our friends need us” Jinyoung states firmly. “I just want to be prepared. We only have this chance”.

Hyunwoo can’t say no to Jinyoung when the latter is staring at him with eyes full of determination. Any of the two wants to do it, but both of them understand that it’s necessary.

“Okay, but for the moment let’s do something else” Hyunwoo says, signaling for Jinyoung to follow him inside again, and Jinyoung complies obediently.

“So slow” Mark mocks Jaebum after turning human again while putting his clothes on.

“Yah, I’m not running with you ever again” Jaebum complains, giving his back to Mark while also starting to dress up.

“Why are you so upset? It’s not my fault you’re slower than me”.

“Mark Tuan, you are so dead!”

Mark laughs at that. He puts his sweater on and waits for Jaebum to do the same. When they are ready they head towards their houses.

“Let’s take a shower and then let’s go train for a bit” Mark says.

“Wow, you don’t stop” Jaebum says with a smile.

“There are no breaks when you’re planning to become the strongest man on Earth”.

“I don’t know if I’m going to be able to keep up with you”.

“I’m older than you, how can you be that tired already? You really need to do more exercise”.

“Yah!”

Jaebum gives Mark a playful punch on his arm, and the latter pretends to be in pain. Jaebum smiles at him, thankful that he has a friend like Mark who is able to make him smile even with all that is happening.

“Well, I’ll see you in thirty minutes at the training room” Mark says when they arrive to Jaebum’s door. “Unless…”

“Unless what?” Jaebum asks with a groan. He needs that shower before working correctly again.

“Unless you want us to shower together?”

Jaebum doesn’t respond. He opens the door and comes in, slamming the door shut in Mark’s face. He can hear Mark’s laugh from the other side as he tries to cover his own.

Yugyeom takes a sip from his hot chocolate while looking at Shura. He decided to accompany the girl to her workplace, afraid that something could happen to her. She assured him she was fine, but like Shura wants Yugyeom to be safe he also wants her to be too.

“Aren’t you bored?” Shura asks him while cleaning the counter.

“It’s quite entertaining to see you working, you know” Yugyeom says with a smirk.

Shura playfully slaps his hand with a towel.

“Well, I’m glad that I entertain you” she says.

Yugyeom smiles and takes another sip from his drink.

“Hey, Yugyeom” Shura calls him again. He hums to let her know he’s listening. “How is Jaebum?”

Yugyeom looks at her. She has his head lowered as if she was ashamed while drying some dishes.

“Well, he keeps saying that he’s fine but he isn’t. I think he hadn’t slept well last night and he only had breakfast because Mark threatened him. It has affected him so much. I’ve never seen Jaebum like that. The night he rejected Youngjae he was completely broken”.

Yugyeom stares at the hot chocolate in his mug. Remembering Jaebum like that hurts and it hurts more because Jaebum is still in pain. Shura notices and bites her lip.

“I’m sorry” she says, making Yugyeom look at her surprised, “I shouldn’t have said those things to him. He was suffering and I only made him feel worse. I want to apologize to him, but I feel ashamed of my behavior towards him. He has been a good friend to me since we met, and I know his feelings for Youngjae are pure. I’m just worried and scared for him. I just want to see him and check that he’s fine”.

“It’s okay, Shura. I’m sure he isn’t mad at you. I was also mad with him because he didn’t stop to think twice about the decision he made. But he’s already being harsh on himself. He doesn’t need us to tell him the things he has done wrong, because he reminds himself all the time. He needs us to hold him, to keep him sane and help him escape from the torture Jeonghan has been putting on him since long time ago. The pack has always given him their support about this. But now he has to real fight. And I’ll be by his side all the time”.

Shura nods and smiles. He’s really glad he joined this pack, where the bonds between all the members are deep and everyone gives their full support to anything.

“I want to help him too” Shura whispers to him, “I’ll talk to him later and apologize. We have to fight together with him. I’m sure Youngjae would have said something like that”.

Yugyeom smiles to her.

“We’ll find them, I’m sure” he says. Shura gives him a last smile before attending another customer.

“Oh, Kim Namjoon, what a pleasant surprise” Jeonghan greets him with a smile. “What brings you to my pack?”

“Kim Jeonghan” Namjoon greets back with a serious tone, “we need to talk”.

“Of course, please come in”.

Jeonghan guides him to what seems to be a living room. Behind him, Yoongi inspects his surroundings, looking for any sign that this man has Youngjae.

“Can I offer you and your partner some tea?” Jeonghan offers.

“It won’t be necessary” Namjoon says when they are already seated on a couch. “We won’t take much of your time”.

“I see. Well, how can I help you guys?”

Namjoon glances one more time towards Yoongi. The latter gives him a firm nod and Namjoon turns again to face Jeonghan. They agreed to pay him a visit to see what he’s up to, and even though is a dangerous move they decided to take the risk.

“We heard you had a little problem with a property of yours” Namjoon says, “and I was wondering why that property was outside your territory”.

“Oh, that” Jeonghan says with an amused face, “I bought it from another pack time ago. It was nothing, just a mere warehouse. You also have properties outside your territory, right? I don’t know why me having one is a big deal”.

“Right” Namjoon says, returning a fake smile to him, “It wouldn’t matter if it wasn’t for the fact that a member from my pack was involved in that incident. One of your fellows kidnapped him. Tell me why I shouldn’t report it to the lead pack”.

“Making things clear, aren’t we? Well, the culprit already paid the price. And who do you think the other packs will believe between us? You don’t have any support, Namjoon. Think better before making any dangerous assumptions. Give me a reason to not tell them about what Choi Youngjae did with my property”.

“Choi Youngjae is currently missing. You don’t have anything to do with that, do you?”

“Of course not. Why would I? My fellow did wrong, I acknowledge it. And like I said, that property wasn’t important, so I don’t care. But if you come again to my pack to accuse me from something I haven’t done I’ll report everything to the lead pack. And we wouldn’t like that, would we? Let’s just shut up our mouths and pretend like nothing happened”.

Namjoon clenches his fists. Their situation is complicated; they can’t do any move but Jeonghan can’t either. For the moment they can only wait until something happens and Jeonghan will get exposed to the other packs.

“Fine. But if I find out you have something to do with Park Jinyoung’s and Choi Youngjae’s disappearances don’t doubt I’ll track you until I make you pay. And then you won’t have any support. Clear?”

“Crystalline” Jeonghan says with a smirk, getting up and leading them outside. “Well, see you soon Kim Namjoon”.

“I hope we won’t see each other soon, Kim Jeonghan” Namjoon says before going away, Yoongi following after glaring at Jeonghan.

“Well, I can’t say it went good but at least we have something” Yoongi says when they are at a prudential distance.

“He’s waiting for us to do the first move and attack him so the other packs will see us as a menace” Namjoon mutters to him. “But it benefits us since we are also waiting for him to do the first move and expose himself. In the meantime they won’t attack us, what gives us time to plan a strategy”.

Yoongi nods.

“But I think it’s clear he has Youngjae, and he must know about Jinyoung too”.

“I also think so. But I couldn’t smell him there. They have to have him somewhere else, and until we find that place we wait”.

Jeonghan goes inside again. He knew that Namjoon eventually would meddle in his issue with Jaebum, as he always stood as the protector of the latter. But fortunately, he has more information and more contacts.

“Everything alright, sir?” one of his fellows asks him, suddenly appearing at the door.

“As we predicted Namjoon is sticking his nose where he shouldn’t” Jeonghan responds. “Send Kim Jinwon a message and tell him he can make his move on Namjoon. We need to dispose of him for our plan to work”.

“So, what brought you here?” Kihyun asks as they have lunch on the laboratory.

Two members from Jeonghan’s pack brought the meals for them, as they won’t let them even go out to have a break. Youngjae doesn’t see a problem on talking with Kihyun about what he asked; Jeonghan already knows.

“They think they can use me against Im Jaebum” Youngjae answers. “Jeonghan’s enemy. They think I’m important to him so they want to hurt him through me”.

“That really sounds like something Jeonghan would do. Did Minhyuk told you that he was brought here to be tortured by him so I would work for them? He’s really a fucked up man. I don’t know why he hates the world so much, but he needs to be stopped”.

“Totally agree”.

They fall in a comfortable silence. At the table besides them are already the plans to make a suppressor for the serum along with some tests of it.

“But is it true?” Kihyun asks suddenly. Youngjae looks confused at him, not knowing what he means with that. “That you’re important for this Jaebum guy”.

“I don’t know” Youngjae says with a sigh. “I thought I wasn’t. Just two nights ago he rejected me, but then Jeonghan said something and it really made sense. He said that when Jaebum wants to protect someone from being hurt, he pushes that person away to spare them the pain. And he did something like that before to me, so now I’m confused. But I’m not letting this boy hurt him”.

Kihyun nods. He gives Youngjae an empathetic smile that the latter returns.

“I’m sure you’ll have the chance to find it out later” Kihyun says, glancing slightly at the camera behind them. “There’s also something I want to find out”.

“About what?” Youngjae asks curiously.

“About a person I like” he says; Youngjae told him a part of his life so it’s only fair if he shares something about himself with him too. And what danger could it do to him? He’s already locked there along with his best friend. “I’ve liked this person for a while now, but I wasn’t sure my feelings were requited. Minhyuk convinced me to give it a try, because he was sure this person liked me back. I wasn’t confident enough, but then I saw that their favorite group was going to have a concert at our city and thought about buying tickets for us both and then make it a date. But the day I bought them was the day I got kidnapped, and I don’t know what happened with them; so I don’t know what their response would have been”.

“That’s really sad” Youngjae says while giving the other a soft smile.

“Yup. I’m sure he would have enjoyed it”.

“So it is a he” Youngjae says while wriggling his eyebrows.

Kihyun laughs but then nods.

“His name is Changkyun” he says. “He’s younger than me and sometimes he can be a bit weird, but I think that’s what makes him cute. He’s really talented and is our boss’ second favorite member after Minhyuk. He always says he’s not biased but we all know better. But it’s okay because he really cares for all of us”.

“Sounds like Minhyuk also has some juicy secrets” Youngjae jokes with a smirk.

“Ah, but don’t get him started or he won’t stop talking about it. I honestly don’t know why they aren’t dating right now. Well, not right now like right now because, well you know” Kihyun says with a small smile, “but they have always made a perfect team. Good chemistry and perfect teamwork. It was truly amazing to see”.

“I would want to meet them, all your friends”.

“I would want them to meet you too. We both connected so well and have good dynamics. I seriously think we could become their competence”.

“Then let’s work harder so we can surpass Minhyuk’s team and become the best team ever”.

Kihyun grins widely at that.

“I really like you” he says, and Youngjae gives a finger heart to him causing Kihyun to laugh loudly, “Okay let’s do this”.

“Are you sure about this, Jinyoung?” Jackson asks him for the fourth time.

They are all there; Jinyoung, Jackson, Bambam, Hyunwoo, Jooheon, Changkyun, Hyungwon and Wonho. They all came to give their support to Jinyoung, as he’s the first one to do torture at the interrogatory room.

“I’m sure” Jinyoung answers. He has been mentally preparing himself for this all day.

“We’ll all be here the whole time” Hyunwoo says, “if you want to go out put your hands on your back and raise your thumbs up”.

Jinyoung nods. This time he’s determined to get the answers he wants. All eyes are on him as he turns the doorknob and enters in. As the door closes, Jackson back hugs Bambam, who holds his hands tightly, worried about his friend.

“You again” his ex-boss greets him. Jinyoung has just taken a step closer to him when he hears the other yell “don’t get closer to me! I’m not surprised you got along that well with Mark since both of you are monsters”.

“He’s scared of him, that’s good” Wonho says, earning a proud smile from Hyungwon that makes him blush a bit.

 “I won’t do any bad to you if you respond to my questions” Jinyoung says, standing in front of the man. “So tell me, who are those friends of yours?”

He sees the man doubting. He smiles internally; the fear he has now for Jinyoung is making him scared. If he just pushes the man enough, he will spill out everything.

Seeing that the man isn’t answering, he takes a step closer, making the man flinch.

“Don’t come near me or I won’t tell you anything” the man says while putting a stoic face.

“Sure” Jinyoung says. “But you have to tell me”.

The man bites his lip. He’s at the edge of giving in; Jinyoung can see it. So he takes a step closer.

“I said don’t come closer!”

“And I asked who your friends are. Tell me!” Jinyoung yells, slamming a hand on the table.

“I’m not going to tell you, ever! I’d rather die than telling you! They’ll find you and they’ll kill you and that monster!”

“Wrong answer” Jinyoung says calmly. He fixes his gaze on the man’s hand, and thinks about breaking one of his fingers. At first nothing happens, but suddenly the finger twists into a strange position just like the other time, and the man screams in pain.

At the other side of the glass, Bambam flinches a bit, so Jackson holds him tighter. Jooheon and Changkyun gulp; that shout really sounded painful. Wonho also flinches a bit, surprised because Jinyoung didn’t touch the other, and Hyungwon quickly intertwines their pinkies, making Wonho’s body relax a bit. Hyunwoo mentally cheers for Jinyoung, sending him strength from his position.

“Now I want the truth” Jinyoung says. He’s lucky his friends can’t see his face, because he’s sure they have never seen him this enraged. He looks scary, his eyes burning with fury. This time he won’t back off. He’s going to have his answers one way or another.

The man doesn’t answer. He’s sweating and breathing hardly, but in his eyes there’s still reluctance to tell Jinyoung what he wants; so Jinyoung stares at another finger and twists it mentally. The man cries loudly, some tears already appearing at the corner of his eyes.

“Next will be an arm” Jinyoung warns him. He’s not sure of being capable to do it, but he prays he won’t have to check it out.

The man looks at him terrified, but doesn’t say anything. Jinyoung sighs before focusing on his arm, frowning a bit. The man notices and panics a bit, knowing that that look means something bad for him.

“Okay! I’ll tell you!” he cries, making Jinyoung’s features soften. “I’ll tell you everything but please stop it”.

“Then tell me who they are” Jinyoung demands firmly.

The man continues sweating and breathing hardly. Outside, all eyes are fixed on him; all of them anxious about the response he’s going to give them.

“Werewolves” the man finally says.

“Are you kidding me?” Jinyoung asks angrily, “why would you trust werewolves?”

“Because they are planning a civil war between them” the man answers, making Jinyoung panic a bit. “They are developing weapons to kill each other. They are going to end their entire race by themselves. I’m just helping them doing so”.

“So your plan is to let them kill each other so you won’t have to do it?” Jinyoung asks him, returning to his serious mode again.

“Yes. They are going to make a great slaughter. If they don’t kill all of themselves, then I’ll erase the survivors”.

“How exactly are you helping them?”

“I’m giving them information about the experiments we did at our company. I also gave them properties so the other packs won’t interfere with their plans. But they are already powerful, Jinyoung. You can’t stop them. They’ve already gone too far to be stopped. Your werewolf friends and your beloved Mark are in deep shit”.

“You took Mark’s liberty out from him since he was a child. I’m not letting anyone do that again. So give me the names of those friends so I can kill them all and keep Mark free”.

“What’s so special about him that you would go that far just for him, Jinyoung? He’s just a werewolf. He’s been abused since he was a child; he’s a mere piece of thrash. I bet you only want to be a hero for him. You don’t really love him; you just want him to adore you and give you everything you want”.

“You know nothing. I doubt you even know what feelings are. But if you say Mark’s name again your arm isn’t going to be the only thing I’m breaking”.

The man gulps. His plan of making Jinyoung mad using Mark isn’t working a second time. Jinyoung knows and smirks at him, victorious.

“Now tell me the names” he demands.

“There isn’t only a pack involved in this, Jinyoung” the man says. “But I’ve only treated with a man about the issue. His name is Kim Jeonghan, the alpha of his pack and a very dangerous man”.

For some reason he remembers hearing that name before; and if he has heard it, it has to have been at the pack.

What means, his friends are in danger.

“Where is Youngjae?” he asks.

“Jeonghan’s pack wanted him, but I can’t tell you where they took him since they are using diverse warehouses as their hideaways”.

“Then tell me where they are located”.

“I’ll tell you, but in exchange I want my freedom”.

“Like hell I’m making deals with you after everything you did to me and Mark. Just tell me or I’ll kill you right now”.

“If you kill me you won’t have the answers you want”.

“True”.

Suddenly Jinyoung puts his hand on top of the man’s thigh and presses on it. He can feel the muscles breaking as the man cries desperately. He’s about to break the bone when the man talks again.

“Alright!” the man yells between cries, “I’ll give you all the locations, but please stop it”.

“I don’t know” Jinyoung says while shrugging his shoulders, “you really made me go through an agony the other day. Why should I stop it?”

The man visibly panics, earning a smirk from Jinyoung. He’s about to add something more when Hyunwoo takes him by his arm.

“It’s enough, Jinyoung” he says, his voice making Jinyoung come back to himself. “We have what we wanted”.

Jinyoung glares one last time at the man before going out where Jackson and Bambam hug him.

“Now, you’re telling me where my friends are” Hyunwoo says with a solemn voice.

The man gulps before spilling everything.

Chapter Text

“You okay?” Jaebum asks Mark as they make dinner, since the latter had suddenly stopped cooking to stare at the infinity. Jaebum voice takes him out of his trance and he turns to look at him.

“Yes, it’s just I felt something weird inside me” Mark said in disbelief. “I felt…so much angry all of a sudden. It’s the second time it happens to me today”.

“It must be Jinyoung” Jaebum says, and he can’t help but feel a bit jealous that Mark can still feel Jinyoung even when they are separated.

“But that’s good. At least I know he’s alive”.

Jaebum smiles at him. He wonders if he can’t feel Youngjae because of what happened the other night. He wants to slap himself for being that stupid; but the cheek Youngjae slapped previously still stings for moments. He thinks is enough with one damaged cheek and an aching heart.

They hear someone opening the door and Jaebum turns to look at who he expects to be his partner.

“Kim Yugyeom” he half growls when he sees the bunch of red hair appearing through the door, “where the hell were you? You didn’t say where you went and you weren’t answering your phone”.

“I’m sorry” Yugyeom apologizes, but before he can add something more Jaebum continues rambling.

“Don’t you know how worried I was? Don’t go out again without telling me or you’re dead meat. Understood?”

Yuygeom nods. Jaebum has become more paranoid with his friends, but he thinks it’s normal given the circumstances.

“I understand. But I wanted to-“

“I don’t care what you wanted. Just don’t do it again”.

Yugyeom is about to answer when Jaebum finally notices a person standing at the doorway, waiting for permission to come in. Shura senses a pair of eyes on her and stares back at Jaebum, but quickly looks at the floor again.

“I wanted to accompany Shura to work just because” Yugyeom finally says, motioning for the girl to come in. “We looked for Youngjae after but we couldn’t find anything. I invited her over to have dinner too”.

Shura closes the door behind her. Jaebum diverts his gaze to the other side, still feeling guilty for what happened with Youngjae. Mark doesn’t say anything; he just continues preparing the food. Yugyeom remains silent too, not knowing what to do.

“It’s fine if you feel uncomfortable with me here” Shura says, noticing the tension in the room, “I can go home and have dinner by myself. It’s no big deal”.

Yugyeom wants to protest. He knows Jungkook and Seokjin are out tonight so the girl is alone, since Mark already made it clear that he’s going to spend all the time besides Jaebum making sure he doesn’t skip meals and helping him with all his paranoias.

“No, please join us” Jaebum says, surprising Yugyeom and Shura. “I would want you to have dinner with us”.

Shura glances at Yugyeom, who nods to her and then she turns to look at Jaebum, who stares back at her.

“Uhm, okay” she mutters. Yugyeom takes her coat and brings it to his room. Meanwhile Jaebum goes back to assist Mark with the dinner.

“I’m almost done” Mark says, “you can start setting the table”.

“I’ll do it” Shura quickly volunteers.

“I’ll help you” Jaebum says to her.

Mark smiles, anticipating the talk his friends are about to have. Yugyeom goes out from his room and quickly catches on the situation, so he excuses himself with going to the bathroom so his friends can talk about their problem.

“Jaebum, listen” Shura starts, but soon is cut by Jaebum.

“Please don’t” Jaebum says, “don’t apologize. I’m the one who should apologize to you. What you said last night was true. I should have listened to Youngjae and have asked him what he wanted to do instead of taking a decision by myself. If something happens to him I’ll gladly let you do whatever you want with me”.

“Don’t say that. I’m still sorry, I also didn’t have in consideration how you were feeling. This is affecting us all, and among anything we should be united. I know your feelings for him are honest, and I can’t think of anyone better than you to be with Youngjae. But you have to understand that you are important for all of us, and we all want to help you. Let us be by your side; you don’t have to do this alone”.

“But this isn’t your battle. I can’t just let you deal with something that doesn’t have to do with you”.

“Excuse me” Mark suddenly says, “even if it doesn’t have to do with us, we still want to do it. Because we care about you, Jaebum. Tell me: if I was in danger wouldn’t you come to save me? Even if it didn’t affect you?”

“Of course, but-“

“It’s the same. We don’t have to do this, that’s true. But we WANT to. Because we love you, Jaebum. You don’t have to fight this alone. I’ve already told you that I’m going to help you overcome this. But you don’t only have me with you”.

“I’ve been all in with this since ever” Yugyeom suddenly says. He came out some time ago but remained quiet, just listening to the conversation between them. “I’ve seen you suffering alone, and I’m sick of it. You always took good care of me, there’s no way I’m letting you down now. And he now has my dad, so I’m directly involved with this”.

Jaebum is speechless. He has always considerate this people as his friends; but now he truly understands the meaning of true friendship. This people care about him and are ready to wage a battle that isn’t theirs because of their love for him. He should have known that all of them would get involved by his own will, because they are loyal and the most amazing friends Jaebum could ever have.

“I’m in this too” Shura adds, “and you know you have the support from the entire pack. You are not alone anymore, so this time I’m sure you’ll win against Jeonghan. If Jinyoung and Youngjae were here they’d say the same thing. We’re all in this together, and now it’s a bit late to push all of us away”.

Jaebum looks at the three of them, all giving wide smiles to him. Jaebum can’t express with words how grateful he is to them, how relieved and happy they are making him feel.

“Thank you guys. It really means a lot to me” Jaebum finally says, his voice shaking a bit.

“You also mean a lot to us” Yugyeom whispers to him while embracing him in a tight hug that Shura quickly joins.

“Don’t worry, Youngjae will be fine. He’ll return to us” Shura assures him.

“Okay guys, dinner is ready” Mark says, breaking the aura around them.

They sit at the table, Yugyeom and Shura placed one next to the other with Mark in front of them. Before Jaebum can sit beside Mark, the latter pulls him onto his lap, provoking the laughs from Shura and Yugyeom.

“Mark what are you doing?” Jaebum mutters while blushing a bit.

“I think we both need some love since our beloved ones are out” he jokes, earning a slap from Jaebum.

“I’m going to tell Jinyoung all of this when he comes back”.

“Tell Youngjae too. I bet that would make them happy”.

“You both are too much” Shura says between laughs.

“Yeah” Yugyeom agrees, “are you sure you’re not dating behind our backs?”

Jaebum and Mark look at each other, as if they were seriously considering it.

“I still prefer Jinyoung” Mark declares.

“Good, because I also prefer Youngjae” Jaebum says, freeing himself from Mark and sitting beside him; both of them smiling.

“I can’t believe that even when Jinyoung and Youngjae aren’t here you still manage to make me jealous” Shura jokes.

“I can’t believe it either” Mark says, “like, I thought Jaebum and I were going to be third wheeling you both so I decided to give part of my love to him; even though once we have Jinyoung back you can forget about it”.

“I’ll survive” Jaebum mutters.

“Good. But still feels like you both are third wheeling us”.

Shura and Yugyeom look at each other and blush. Mark and Jaebum glance at each other and high five under the table.

“We aren’t dating” Yugyeom says, and Shura nods by his side.

“Yet” Jaebum adds.

Yugyeom glares intensely at him.

“Let’s eat okay?” Shura request, still blushing and deep inside thinking how much she wants that ‘yet’ to be true.

The smell of alcohol and sweat hits them as soon as both of them come in. Jungkook makes a disgusted face while Seokjin makes way for them to the center of the club. Jungkook’s hand searches for Seokjin’s, and quickly intertwines their fingers.

“Well, what’s the plan?” Jungkook asks him, raising his voice a little so his boyfriend can hear him among all the noise.

“We look for someone who could have seen Youngjae” Seokjin answers, already setting his gaze on the bartender, who notices him and gives him a small smile.

“What about him? He’s always here” Jungkook says while observing the man.

“Let’s ask him then”.

They both walk hand in hand and sit at the counter. The bartender dismisses his former customer and turns to them.

“How can I help you?” he says, smiling again at them while cleaning a jar.

“We are looking for someone” Seokjin says, taking out his phone to show the man a picture of Youngjae. “Have you seen this boy recently?”

The man narrows his eyes to take a better look at the picture.

“He’s the human friend of that female werewolf, isn’t he?” he asks them.

Both Jungkook and Seokjin look at them with their mouths hanging open, shocked to know that this man remembers him.

“I never forget a face” he says to them, seeing their confused faces.

“Have you seen him around here recently?” Seokjin asks, recovering the seriousness.

“No, I don’t. Why, is he missing?”

Seokjin and Jungkook look at each other for a moment before Seokjin answers him.

“He ran away due to an incident and we don’t know where he is”.

“I see. Well, if you give me your number I’ll call you if I see him”.

The man hands his phone to Seokjin, who takes it still a bit doubtful but saves his number in it nevertheless.

“Great…Seokjin” the man says after taking back his phone and checking the new contact. “I’ll call you if I have any news about him”.

“Thank you, ehm…”

“Call me Yesung” the man says, grinning to him again, “nice to meet you”.

“Nice to meet you too, Yesung. I’m Seokjin and he’s my mate, Jungkook”.

“Nice to meet you sir” Jungkook says while bowing.

“How endearing! Are you staying for a bit here?”

“Most likely. Can we have two beers, please?”

“Sure”.

When Yesung goes to get their drinks, Jungkook pulls from Seokjin’s shirt.

“What are you doing?” he asks.

“The guy seems reliable” Seokjin answers, taking Jungkook’s hand again on his, “and we’re staying here for a while to watch for possible suspicious activity. Why not enjoy ourselves a bit? I haven’t taken you to a proper date yet, we can take some profit of the situation”.

Jungkook smiles to him, caressing the elder’s hand with his thumb.

“I’m glad we still have time for things like this even with everything that’s happening” he says, giving Seokjin a kiss on the cheek, “you always know how to cheer me up. I love you”.

“You know I’d do anything to make you happy” Seokjin mutters while kissing Jungkook properly on the lips, “I love you too”.

“Oh guys, you’re the sweetest!” Yesung exclaims while putting two beers on the counter. “Forget about paying. It’s really pleasant to see that true love isn’t dead yet. These are on the house”.

“Thank you so much Yesung” Jungkook says while bowing to him again.

“Please enjoy the night. I hope I’ll get to see you soon again” Yesung says with a smile before going to attend a new customer.

Seokjin takes their drinks in one hand and Jungkook with the other. He guides the younger to an empty table far from the hassle and they sit, one in front of the other. They clasp their drinks together before having a sip, and then Jungkook reaches for Seokjin’s hand above the table.

“Have I told you how much I love you?” Jungkook asks him, staring at him with heart eyes.

“Just five minutes ago” Seokjin says, “but you can do it whenever you want. I won’t complain”.

“You can always say it back…or prove it directly”.

Seokjin smirks, and then approaches Jungkook to kiss him full on the lips.

“So you met Kihyun” Minhyuk says. He and Youngjae are having dinner at their cell; Youngjae already feels suffocated for being trapped on this place all day, plus he has just received his dose of suppressive serum. Luckily, today’s tests for the anti-serum have been great.

“He’s really nice” Youngjae comments. “We instantly clicked together. I think we are more similar than we think”.

“Sure thing, you both seem cute but can kill someone within seconds”.

Youngjae grins. He can tell Kihyun is able to do so by how intensely he had glared at anyone that was interrupting their work.

“We’re doing great” he says. As he came back to the cell earlier, he checked for possible cameras or microphones; but he found nothing. Which is good for them. “We’ll have that anti-serum ready in no time”.

“Good”.

They end their meals in silence, and then they throw the rubbish to the trash can. Youngjae invites Minhyuk to sit by his side on his bed and talk for a while.

“Kihyun told me about the guy he likes” Youngjae says, “since I talked to him about Jaebum. It really makes me angry to know that he had planned a perfect date for him and he never could make it real because of this people”.

“I feel like that too. I’m sure Changkyun would have said yes, and both of them would have had the time of their lives. I don’t know what happened with the tickets, but I hope someone found them and gave them to Hyunwoo. I’m sure he would take good care of it”.

“Hyunwoo is your boss, isn’t he?”

Minhyuk nods.

“Yes, but it really doesn’t feel like it. He doesn’t yell at us and isn’t very strict. He gives us orders but he’s gentle when he does it. He wouldn’t force us to do something we wouldn’t want to do. He’s also very friendly and takes good care of us. We’re very lucky to have him as our captain”.

“Kihyun says you’re his favorite”, Youngjae grins upon seeing the blush spreading through Minyuk’s face, “is that true?”

“I don’t know” Minhyuk mutters, “everyone at the office says so, and I know Hyunwoo and I have a deep bond with each other. But I would have noticed like how I’ve noticed the way Changkyun looks at Kihyun when he speaks, or how Wonho is always showing off his muscles for Hyungwon to see. But I don’t see anything special about Hyunwoo and me. He’s kind to everyone, not only me. I think my buddies are mistaking kindness with love”.

“But you like him, don’t you?”

“God, you and Kihyun are really alike” Minhyuk says while laughing a bit, “you don’t seem like it but you’re really snitchers on the inside”.

“Everyone is a bit blabber on the inside” Youngjae says while shrugging his shoulders.

“True. Well, yes I like him. I mean, who doesn’t? He’s a true gentleman. It’s not that unusual to fall for him, so I did. But it doesn’t matter because he won’t ever look at me as something more than a teammate”.

“You won’t know until you try it. Kihyun said he wanted to find out about Changkyun when we’ll get out from here. And I’m also going to confront Jaebum about this. So why don’t you do the same and take the courage to ask Hyunwoo how he feels about you?”

“It’s not that easy, Youngjae. We work at the same place, and we have the same group of friends. If something goes wrong it would change everything”.

“Well, Kihyun also works with Changkyun and hangs out with the same friends as he does. But he wants to take the risk, and I think doing it would really be worth it. I know by experience what it feels when you confess to someone and you get your heart broken in return. But I don’t regret it at all, because if I wouldn’t have done that maybe I would have never know what Jaebum feels for me. It’s hard but you’ll regret later not trying it”.

Minhyuk stares at him, and Youngjae gives him a wide smile. Minhyuk thinks Youngjae is the most optimistic person he has ever met; he still can wear a smile every moment even with all he has to endure.

“Okay, I’ll do it when we escape” he finally says, earning an applause from Youngjae, “but I want you to be there, whether it goes well or wrong”.

“Promise” Youngjae says, sticking his pinkie out.

Minhyuk intertwines his pinkie with Youngjae’s and smiles at him. It’s incredible how the three of them bonded in such a short period of time; but there’s something about Youngjae that makes you eager to trust him and befriend him.

Youngjae is also glad he has found nice people there like Minhyuk and Kihyun. He thought he would have to suffer the captivity alone, but Minhyuk and Kihyun came so friendly to him that it has been easy for him to open himself for them.

Youngjae is sure a lot of great things will come out from their friendship.

“Uhm, excuse me guys” Yesung calls them, interrupting their passionate make out session. Seokjin pulls back from Jungkook and looks at him expectantly. “There’s someone who has been asking for you”.

Yesung takes a step back, allowing Seokjin and Jungkook to take a glance at the person Yesung was referring to. They find a couple of guys looking at them from a table at the other side of the club. They are young, probably around their age; one has brown hair and is showing off his muscles meanwhile the other has dark hair and very fair skin.

“They want to speak with you” Yesung whispers to them.

Seokjin glances to them again, the two boys staring back like waiting for them to approach them and nods, getting up from his seat with Jungkook following.

Yesung cleans the table and then comes back to his spot, but keeps an eye on them. Seokjin and Jungkook arrive at their table and the dark haired male invites them to take a seat.

“The bartender said you were asking for us” Seokjin says. He seems calm on the outside but it’s actually nervous inside, not knowing if these persons are allies or enemies. Jungkook notices and holds tightly his hand under the table.

“Yes” the black haired male says. He has a powerful aura around him; his face is serious but calm at the same time. “We heard you are looking for someone”.

“Soo, that’s not the way to greet someone” the other male reprimands him, giving Jungkook and Seokjin an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry if my partner has been a bit impolite; it’s the first time he is doing something like this. I’m the omega Nam Woohyun” he says, extending his arm to Seokjin and Jungkook. Jungkook stares at him with a confused face before realizing what Woohyun meant when he addressed himself as ‘omega’. Seokjin takes his hand but thinks how grateful he is that Namjoon decided to rescind of those titles. “And this is my partner, the beta Kim Myungsoo”.

Myungsoo offers them his hand as Woohyun did previously; but Seokjin can see something else like discomfort in his eyes.

“Kim Seokjin” he says, earning a surprised look from Woohyun and a curious one from Myungsoo, “and he’s my mate, Jeon Jungkook”.

“Nice to meet you” Jungkook says while bowing to them.

“Oh, well…” Woohyun mutters, “as Myungsoo was saying, we’ve heard you asking the bartender about someone. And we also happen to be searching for someone too, so I thought that maybe it had some type of connection and we would like to help you”.

“Whose pack are you from?” Seokjin asks him, lowering his tone.

“Kim Junmyeon’s” Myungsoo answers. “And you?”

“Kim Namjoon’s”.

“I figured it out since you both introduced yourselves without your status” Woohyun says. “Anyways, I assume you know about our pack’s history; so you must know about the turned werewolf with psychic powers”.

“We do” Seokjin answers with Jungkook nodding by his side, “wait, don’t tell me he’s the one who has disappeared”.

“Unfortunately, he is” Woohyun says with a sad smile, “he’s been gone for almost a month now. No one knows outside the pack, but I don’t think it’s far from reaching everyone’s ears. We have to find him first before we get ourselves in a riot”.

“And what could we possibly do about it?”

“You’re looking for someone” Myungsoo says, startling his own partner a bit, “and I don’t think it’s a coincidence. We’ve heard about more strange disappearances but you’re the first ones we see coming here asking about it”.

“If someone has been able to take the psychic werewolf away, imagine what things they could do” Woohyun continues, “I smell a complot here”.

Seokjin and Jungkook look at each other, thinking about their words. They are almost sure it’s Jeonghan who took Youngjae away and probably knows about Jinyoung too; both people with psychic powers. And now, the werewolf with psychic powers is also gone. It can’t be a coincidence, both of them agree.

“The person we’re looking for” Seokjin decides to speak, “it’s a human with psychic powers. His name is Choi Youngjae. He disappeared yesterday but he has been kidnapped before”.

Somehow it peaks Woohyun’s and Myungsoo’s curiosity, who lean closer to Seokjin so they can talk more privately with Jungkook imitating them.

“We don’t know about the person you’re talking about” Woohyun whispers, “but you do have an idea about who could have taken him, don’t you?”

“I’m sure you’ve heard about our pack too” Seokjin continues, Woohyun and Myungsoo nodding to him, “so I’m sure you’ve heard about Im Jaebum”.

“Ah, yes” Myungsoo whispers, “he’s Kim Jeonghan’s pack’s enemy, isn’t he?”

“He came from that pack, his father being the alpha. Jeonghan defeated him and took his place, and since then has been bugging Jaebum. Well, we confirmed that a member of his pack kidnapped Youngjae once, and we think he has taken him away again. He is important for Im Jaebum”.

Woohyun mouth’s turns into a ‘o’ while Myungsoo blinks at them, thinking about the meaning of his words.

“I understand” Woohyun says, “I think Jeonghan is the main suspect right now. But he has to have some type of support. Do Kyungsoo, the werewolf with psychic powers, couldn’t have been captured easily due to his condition. Someone else has to be helping him”.

“I agree” Seokjin says, “but we don’t know who could be doing so. We have a bunch of enemies out there, but we can’t know how many could be actually plotting against us”.

“That’s why we should help each other. It’s not a secret that our pack has good contacts with the lead pack; but they’re stubborn about not acting if they can avoid trouble. We could make them change their opinion, but we’ll need proves. If we work together I’m sure we’ll find a way to demonstrate that our accusations are truly serious, and they’ll have to take action”.

Seokjin looks at Jungkook as asking him about his opinion. The younger nods firmly, assuring him this is a good chance for them.

“We have to ask our leader about it” Seokjin answers finally, “but I think he’ll agree with us”.

“Great. Then I’ll give you our alpha’s number so you can talk to him directly” Woohyun says, reaching for his phone.

Seokjin saves the number and places his phone inside his pocket again.

“Well, that’s all for now” Woohyun says, “but we expect to hear about you soon”.

“We too” Seokjin says, “it was nice meeting you”.

Woohyun nods. Seokjin and Jungkook are already getting up from their seats when Myungsoo calls them again.

“One more thing” he says; Seokjin and Jungkook nod and stare at him curiously, meanwhile Woohyun looks at him surprised. “If all this ends well for both our packs, could you talk to our leader and ask him to quit the alpha-beta-omega system from our pack? I bet that if he sees that it works well he’ll take it in consideration”.

Seokjin and Jungkook look at him shocked; but not as shocked as his own partner is looking at him. But Myungsoo stares back at them with a serious face; his eyes full of determination.

“Of course” Seokjin finally says, “but it’s still his decision. We can only try to convince him by telling him the perks of it”.

“I understand; but it’s enough. Thank you”.

Myungsoo gives them a small grin before Woohyun practically drags him away from them.

“See you soon!” he says before completely disappearing from their view; but Seokjin still catches a glimpse of Woohyun asking Myungsoo what was he doing, and Myungsoo only shrugs his shoulders before they go away from Seokjin’s sight.

“What was that?” Jungkook asks as he had also seen the scene.

“I don’t know” Seokjin answers, “but we have a potential alliance at hand”.

The sound of the noisy alarm wakes Youngjae up again. He gets up with a groan and goes to the bathroom to refresh a little before meeting Kihyun.

“Good morning” Minhyuk greets him when he gets out.

“I have a feeling this is going to actually be a good day, Minhyuk” he says.

He sees Minhyuk smiling to him before he’s dragged out from his cell to meet Kihyun. This time Jeonghan doesn’t join him, and Youngjae is thankful for that; even though the serum still bothers him. When he arrives to the laboratory, Kihyun is already there checking the test tubes.

“Good morning Kihyun” Youngjae greets him as the guards close the door behind him.

Kihyun glances at him and smiles, tilting his head towards the experiment table.

“Good morning indeed” Kihyun says, and quickly takes the notebook to write something. Youngjae approaches him, blocking the view from the camera.

He grins upon seeing what’s written on the paper.

I’ve found the right formula to make the anti-serum. Prepare for a day of hard work. Fighting buddy :-)

“This is great” Namjoon says, “do you realize how amazingly good this is? Incredible. They’re like the closest to the lead pack. There’s no way they are going to turn them down when they’ll find evidence against Jeonghan or his allies. We can actually win this”.

“Let’s not get too excited about it” Yoongi says, “we need to know the terms of this agreement”.

Namjoon stares at him, pensive. In front of them Seokjin and Jungkook look at each other, not knowing what to say.

“They seemed pretty reliable” Seokjin says.

“One of them was really intrigued about our pack’s system” Jungkook says, “I think that’s a good sign”.

Namjoon looks between them before finally taking out his phone.

“I’m calling Junmyeon right now” he declares. Seokjin gives the number to him and Namjoon instantly calls the other.

“Hi, you’re speaking with alpha Kim Junmyeon” a voice answers after three rings.

“Hi, my name is Kim Namjoon”.

“Ah, I was expecting your call” Junmyeon says, “I’m glad you decided to call me”.

“My fellows here told me you want an alliance. We want that too”.

“Yes. I’m aware my boys told you about what happened. I really think we should collaborate to find our members and to stop whatever this is before it gets worse. We have just ended a civil war; we don’t want a repetition”.

“We don’t want it either. So here’s the truce: we provide you with all the information we have and you do the same. We trust each other, and if you need our support we give it to you and vice versa”.

“Fair enough. We have to act quickly, so I’m telling you everything you need to know at this moment”.

“Same” Namjoon says, motioning for Yoongi to scoot closer so he can hear it too. Seokjin and Jungkook smile at each other, anticipating the good news.

“We have all the directions” Hyunwoo says as he places a map on the table. “I’ve checked all of them and they coincide with what we’ve found at the databases”.

All of them are gathered around the map. Changkyun holds a paper for Hyunwoo as he marks the places where a base is located.

“But how do we know in which one are they?” Bambam asks.

“We don’t know” Jooheon says while scattering on the table some papers, “but here we have all the information about them”.

Each one of them take a sheet and read it, minus Hyunwoo and Changkyun who are still busy marking places on the map.

“Here” Wonho says, “in this one figures a lot of bills from chemical equipment. Kihyun must be in there”.

“But we can’t know if they’re all at the same place” Jackson says.

“We have to pray that they are” Hyungwon says.

“In which one did you say was the chemical equipment?” Hyunwoo asks when he finishes with the map.

“This one” Wonho says, passing the paper to him.

Hyunwoo reads the direction and then glances at the map.

“Here” Hyunwoo says, “it’s at the east of the city. We’re looking there first. If we find no evidences about Kihyun, Minhyuk or Youngjae in there we skip to the next. But we have to be discreet. We go, check out the number of werewolves there and then plan a strategy. We split in two teams: one comes with me to inspect the property and the other stays here and ends decoding all the data and preparing the weapons for the assault”.

“We need silver” Jinyoung says.

“We have some silver weapons reserved for special occasions; take them” Hyunwoo continues. He takes a glance at his members trying to decide which ones are coming with him, “Changkyun and Wonho are coming with me. The rest stay here doing what I have told you earlier. We’re leaving now”.

“Sir yes sir” Changkyun says, already going to grab his shotgun.

“Take care” Hyungwon whispers to Wonho as he charges his own gun.

“Don’t worry babe; I’ll come back in one piece” he says with a wink.

Hyungwon rolls his eyes. Hyunwoo, who has witnessed it all, smiles at them while putting his jacket on.

“Let’s go guys” he says, “if you need something call me”.

The three of them take their leave; Wonho dedicating a last glance towards Hyungwon who gives him a small smile.

“You’ve heard the boss guys” Jooheon says while clasping his hands together, “let’s get to work”.

“Why are you acting like our boss now?” Jackson asks him, “I didn’t hear Hyunwoo giving you power here”.

They start bickering about it meanwhile Bambam tries to stop them, unsuccessfully. Jinyoung ignores them and focuses on studying all the reports on the table, helped by Hyungwon.

“This is perfect” Kihyun says, removing the safety glasses from his eyes. “We won’t know if it works until we try it; but I’m pretty sure it’ll work”.

Youngjae takes out his own glasses and grins at him. Kihyun puts the liquid inside a syringe and leaves it on the desktop as if it was an irrelevant thing.

“Now let’s work on this new silver weapon” Kihyun says, motioning for Youngjae to come near the place where the camera is, and they start examining a blade. They pretend to be focused on it; but both of them know it’s only an act.

“I think it’s pretty good” Youngjae says.

“We should be able to produce more of this in different forms. Let’s check the materials out”.

Kihyun opens a closet and stares at what it’s inside it. He takes a bottle with a red liquid inside and closes the doors.

“We have to make more solutions like that” Kihyun says, tilting his head towards the anti-serum. Youngjae nods, mentally congratulating Kihyun for putting such an act so nobody will suspect about it. “We’re going to modify the formula a bit, like this”.

Kihyun scribbles on a paper. Youngjae waits for him to finish, anticipating the note.

We’re making smoke bombs to help us escape from here. Luckily this people barely know anything about chemistry, so they won’t suspect. Btw, nice acting skills you have.

Youngjae gives him a smirk which Kihyun reciprocates.

“Good, but I think we should add this” Youngjae says, taking the notebook from Kihyun’s hands and writing a note for him.

I still think you’re way better than me, professor Yoo. I’m just following orders^^

Kihyun wants to laugh, but holds himself in place. He really feels so good joking like that with Youngjae; he has missed the company so much.

“If we change that we should modify this too” Kihyun says grabbing the notebook again.

I like the nickname. Please feel free to use it whenever you want.

“Then let’s add this too” Youngjae says while grinning slightly, just like Kihyun, before taking the notebook again.

Don’t you think Changkyun would be jealous? Even though we make a nice couple and have the best teamwork :p

Kihyun lets out a snort before snatching the notebook again from Youngjae’s hands.

“I’m sure we should combine this too for a better use” he says while writing again on the notebook.

I know right^^ But Changkyun is not the jealous type. I can make room for you too in my heart <3

“Oh my god” Youngjae mutters, immediately covering his mouth with his hand.

Kihyun smirks at him, still holding back his laugh. Youngjae looks at him defiantly for a moment before grabbing the notebook again.

“Then let’s just finish it with this” Youngjae says while scribbling on the paper.

Kihyun is eager to take the notebook back again, anticipating Youngjae’s answer.

You’re flattering me, professor. But I think Jaebum is the jealous type and I can’t have him killing you, so please stop it :(

Kihyun sighs dramatically.

“Well, I think we can’t add anything else to that…” Kihyun mutters, “wait no, this is going to be the best”.

Youngjae looks at him terrified. He knows this flirtatious talk is only a joke, and he’s really enjoying it. But Kihyun’s eloquence scares him a bit.

“Here, take a look” Kihyun says while proudly placing the notebook in front of his face.

Then run away with me and Changkyun. We three can have an amazing experience together. I’m sure Changkyun would like you because you’re cute, and I already like you too <3

Youngjae takes the notebook and slaps Kihyun on the arm with it, making the latter burst out laughing.

“Fine, let’s do that” Youngjae says, closing the notebook so Kihyun can’t write more.

“Really?” Kihyun asks while looking at him, eyes shining brightly.

“Of course” he says with a wink. “Let’s get to work”.

Youngjae can’t believe how funnier this is being. They’re not only making plans to sabotage their captors but that notebook also feels like some sort of a dirty secret between them, and they both are enjoying it. Kihyun is thankful he got to meet such a nice and funny person like Youngjae and the latter is glad he met Kihyun because he thinks they can possibly be soulmates.

Youngjae gives Kihyun a playful smack on his ass, making the latter jump, totally not expecting it. Youngjae smirks while putting his safety glasses on again.

“I really meant it” Kihyun says while joining him.

“I’m not the type to share” Youngjae whispers to him.

“Then I’m all yours” Kihyun whispers back, and Youngjae almost drops the test tube he was holding.

“You’re really evil professor” Youngjae says with a smirk.

“Ah, you’ve won me” Kihyun says.

They look at each other for a moment before bursting out laughing.

“Can you please move? You’re blocking my view” Wonho complains.

“You don’t fit in here” Changkyun argues back. They’ve found a perfect spot between two huge rocks to spy on the warehouse without being noticed. “Look for another place”.

“If you would just move I could fit in”.

“You can’t. I don’t want to be sandwiched between your muscles and Hyunwoo’s”.

“Then move and let me see”.

“No”.

Hyunwoo sighs. What was he thinking when he picked Changkyun and Wonho as his partners for the day? They can’t be together in the same space without bickering first.

“Guys please stop” Hyunwoo demands before turning to look through the binoculars again. “You’re going to make them notice our position”.

“If Changkyun would just move so I can take a look too this wouldn’t be happening”.

“But I’ve arrived first”.

Hyunwoo sighs again. He should have just picked Jooheon instead of one of the two to spare him the incoming head ache.

“Keep quiet or I’ll send you both back to the quarter”.

“Sir yes sir” Changkyun answers, without moving from his position.

“I’m going to freaking murder you” Wonho threatens.

“Changkyun be good and let Wonho take a look, please?” Hyunwoo asks him with a soft tone, knowing that the younger can’t refuse when he pleads to him like that.

“Sure dad” Changkyun answers, moving a bit so Wonho can fit in.

“Thank you” Wonho says while taking a look through his own binoculars.

“You’re welcome”.

“I was talking with Hyunwoo”.

“But I was the one who moved. You should be grateful to me”.

Hyunwoo sighs for the third time. It’s going to be such a long ass ride.

Chapter Text

“Boss, I think you should take a look at this”.

Jeonghan approaches his fellow, staring at the screen in front of him. He sees Kihyun and Youngjae at the laboratory. Kihyun is holding a test tube with one of his hands while motioning for Youngjae to come closer. Jeonghan hears Youngjae refusing to do it, arguing that it smells bad. Suddenly Kihyun grabs his hand and pulls him closer, putting the tube near his face. Youngjae’s reaction is hilarious: he puts a disgusted but cute face while slapping Kihyun repeatedly on his shoulder. Kihyun laughs and places the tube on the table, grabbing Youngjae’s hands and stopping him from hurting him more. Kihyun begs for Youngjae’s forgiveness, to what the latter refuses. Kihyun pouts cutely while pleading again, and Jeonghan sees Youngjae sighing before asking for a kiss on the cheek as an apology. Kihyun smiles and obediently complies, earning a smile from Youngjae before continuing working together.

Jeonghan is left astonished. Was Alyson wrong and Youngjae is not in love with Jaebum? But when he found him at the park he was crying over him. Has he moved on so easily?

“How long has this been happening?” he asks, staring still at the screen.

“All day. Even though yesterday they were already getting along pretty well”.

Jeonghan smiles. If Youngjae doesn’t return Jaebum’s feelings it benefits him; he can cause more pain to him.

“Can you give me the recordings at the afternoon?” Jeonghan asks.

“Of course, sir”.

Jeonghan smiles. Seems like he’s paying Jaebum a visit after all.

“Coffee?” Hyungwon asks Jinyoung while offering a mug to him.

Jinyoung gladly accepts it. It’s been a long day just staring at the map and the papers to look for potential places where Youngjae could be at.

“I’ve reviewed all the characteristics of the possible locations and I’ve put apart three places; but we can’t really know if Youngjae could be there” Jinyoung says.

Hyungwon takes a look at all the papers Jinyoung has hanged up on a board along with the map. There are precise lists with all the materials they have; but there isn’t really an evidence of occupation there.

Jinyoung takes a sip from his coffee, fixing his gaze at a certain point of the map that vaguely seems familiar to him. It’s a normal street at the south of the city, but now that Jinyoung has spotted it he won’t stop thinking what relationship can it have with him.

As he takes another sip he realizes, letting out a bunch of curses and face palming himself for being that stupid. He startles Hyungwon, who looks at him a bit shocked.

“Oh my god I’m so stupid!” Jinyoung chants repeatedly.

“Jinyoung are you okay?” Jackson asks genuinely worrying about his best friend and rushing to his side.

“No I’m not; I’m like the biggest idiot ever! How could I’ve forget? It was there all the time and I didn’t repair on it!”

The other four boys stare at him, not knowing what he’s talking about.

“Jinyoung, you’re not making any sense” Bambam says.

Jinyoung inhales deeply, trying to suppress the anger he feels towards himself.

“There’s a way to contact the pack” he finally says. “It was there from the beginning but I forgot it existed. I’m so mad at myself for forgetting it. We could have contacted them sooner”.

“Jinyoung relax” Hyungwon says, “tell us about it”.

“Here” Jinyoung says, pointing at the spot he has been staring at in the map, “there is a café. One of my friends from the pack works there. I could have met her before and told her the situation. I have to go see her”.

“Wait, Jinyoung” Jackson says grabbing his arm, “you can’t just go like that. We should inform Hyunwoo and you have to let us accompany you”.

“Okay, I’ll call him” Jinyoung says, picking his phone and dialing Hyunwoo’s number.

“Hi, Jinyoung. Everything alright?” Hyunwoo asks as he answers at the second ring.

“Yes. It’s just I’ve found a way to contact the pack”.

“Great. Here there are at least 30 people; we’re going to need support if we want to trespass the property”.

“I’ll let them know; but I can’t assure you they’ll come. They’ll probably think you’re forcing me to do this”.

“Then go alone. Make them trust you. Without them we aren’t going to be able to make it”.

“I know. Count on me, I’ll convince them”.

“Okay. I’m hanging up; we’re still going to spend a while here spying them. Take care”.

Jinyoung bids him farewell and then the connection is cut.

“He said I have to go alone” Jinyoung says while searching for something on his desk.

“Like hell you’re going to go alone” Bambam says, “we’re going with you. We’ll watch from the distance and we won’t intervene unless it’s necessary. But please let us accompany you”.

“Okay. But you have to stay quiet” Jinyoung says, taking out one of the photos of Mark and him together, “and we have to disguise ourselves for precaution”.

“Sure. But what are you going to do with that?”

“They’ll need something that assures them you’re trustable. If I give this to Mark he’ll convince Jaebum and he’ll convince Namjoon”.

“Dude, you have to make me a list with all their names and what’s their relationship with you”.

Today Yugyeom decides to accompany Shura again, even when the girl refused. This time he told Jaebum first, who nodded and then left to meet Mark.

Shura is happy that Yugyeom is concerned about her safety; but she heard her workmates gossiping about them and even her boss –a man that is always wearing a smile and is more a friend than a boss; named Lee Jinki- approached her to ask who he was. Since Shura didn’t know what exactly their relationship is she kept quiet, and her boss shrugged his shoulders along the lines of he can be your boyfriend or whatever as long as he buys something.

Every time someone calls Yugyeom her boyfriend she blushes and denies it a little too quickly. Yugyeom didn’t notice of course, but Shura would become more awkward around him.

As they come in Yugyeom takes his spot at the counter meanwhile Shura puts on her apron.

“The usual?” she asks Yugyeom, who nods to her.

She is making his beloved’s hot chocolate when her boss approaches her, looking nervously between Shura and Yugyeom.

“Shura, can we talk for a moment?” he requests.

“Of course” Shura answers, passing the hot beverage to Yugyeom.

“Can we do it a bit more, um, privately?” Lee Jinki says, glancing at Yugyeom.

“Sure”.

Jinki walks her to the end of the counter, where he’s sure Yugyeom can’t hear them.

“This is a bit, uh, troublesome” he whispers to her, “there is a boy sitting by the window who asked for you. I didn’t know what to say to him because I don’t know him but I think I’ve seen him with you before. But then there is your, eh, boyfriend there and I couldn’t just tell you in front of him because I don’t want to cause you any trouble”.

Shura glances towards the window, where a boy with dark hair and glasses is sipping from a mug calmly. At first she doesn’t recognize him, but when he puts the mug again on the table Shura finally acknowledges him.

“Oh my God” she exclaims, startling her boss, “I… I need to speak with him”.

“Okay, but I can only give you ten minutes” her boss says.

Shura nods and quickly rushes towards Yugyeom, who looks at her intrigued.

“Gyeomie, Jinyoung is here” she whispers to him, making the latter spit out what he was drinking.

Yugyeom glances towards the direction Shura is signaling and sees him. Park Jinyoung, who usually dresses nicely and always wears his hair styled, is there; wearing a pair of glasses, casual clothes and his hair almost covering his eyes if it wasn’t for the glasses.

Shura suddenly grabs his hand and drags him towards Jinyoung, who upon seeing them stands up from his seat and rushes to hug them.

“Shura! Yugyeom!” he exclaims, “I’m so happy to see you again! I should have come here before but I completely forgot. I’m sorry if I worried you”.

“Shh, don’t worry” Shura shushes him, “I’m glad to know you’re fine. We were all so worried about you, especially Mark. But you’re here and that’s all that matters”.

Jinyoung releases them and invites them to join him at the table. Shura obediently complies while Yugyeom looks suspiciously at the couple of boys with snapbacks sitting at the table next to theirs.

“There are so many things I want to tell you” Jinyoung says, “but first there are more important issues to talk about. I need your help”.

“Wait, first you have to tell us where you were all this time” Yugyeom says, leaving the other two boys in peace.

“My ex-boss took me” Jinyoung starts, “the day Youngjae and I were out. He tortured me asking for Mark’s location, which I obviously didn’t tell him. He was about to kill me when I was rescued by the Special Unit of the Security Forces, a special division of the Security forces that is in charge of dealing with paranormal activity and strange disappearances. I’ve been working with them to find Youngjae and now we have a clue about where he could be”.

“Wait” Shura cuts him, “have you been looking for him since the day you both were kidnapped?” Jinyoung nods. “Jinyoung, that day Youngjae saved himself”.

“So I’ve been tracking him for nothing?”

“Not exactly. Youngjae came back but he got kidnapped again, and we suspect a man named Jeonghan took him”.

“My ex-boss mentioned that name when I was interrogating him. He said they’re working together; even though I don’t think they really trust each other. I’m sure this Jeonghan knew where Mark was but never told my boss. And this man wanted them to enter a civil war so they would kill each other and end with the entire werewolf kind”.

“They are planning a civil war?” Yugyeom asks terrified.

“This Jeonghan guy is making weapons to kill other werewolves. They kidnapped a member of the S.U.S.F., a chemist, and we suspect it is to help them make dangerous weapons. We have to stop this before it gets worse”.

“Okay” Shura says, “tell us what you want us to do”.

“This people, the S.U.S.F., are also looking for two missing members, and we suspect they are at the same place as Youngjae. They’re really good people. We have located all the properties my ex-boss gave to them so they could work without being exposed. The S.U.S.F.’s leader, Son Hyunwoo, is there inspecting the territory to know if Youngjae or the others are there. But if they are we’ll need more people to rescue them. They’re like 30 werewolves versus the five members of the S.U.S.F., I and two friends. We need the pack”.

“How do we know they’re not using you?” Shura says. “I trust your word, but after everything that has happened I can’t help but be cautious”.

Jinyoung looks through the pockets of his jacket until he finds a picture and gives it to Shura.

“Their leader gave me this” Jinyoung says as Shura stares at the pic, “he didn’t have to, but he did. He really has good intentions. He only wants his two friends back with him, as I want Youngjae back. Give this photo to Mark and ask Namjoon to trust me with this, please. I wrote Hyunwoo’s number behind it so you can contact him if you have any doubt”.

“And you?” Shura asks, passing the photo to Yugyeom, “how do we contact you?”

Jinyoung turns to the side and motions for the boys who were sitting next to them to approach him.

“These are my best friends Jackson and Bambam” Jinyoung says.

“Nice to meet you” Jackson says, offering his hand for a shake.

“I can’t believe we’re finally meeting werewolves!” Bambam exclaims.

“Is your name actually Bambam?” Yugyeom asks curiously.

“No, it’s Kunpimook Bhuwakul. But everybody has problems pronouncing it so I just took an easiest name”.

“This” Jinyoung says while writing on a paper another phone number” is Jackson’s number. I’m staying with him for the moment so if you want to speak with me just call him”.

“Um, sure” Shura says while taking the note, “but Jinyoung, I don’t want to seem rude but wouldn’t it be better if you’d come back to the pack? You’re part of it and Mark misses you so much”.

“I know” Jinyoung says with a sigh and a sad smile, “I also miss him so much. But I can’t let this people down after how far we’ve arrived. I promise I will come back, but first we have to rescue Youngjae”.

“I understand” Shura says, giving him a comforting smile, “well, we’ll tell Namjoon about this. But after expect a call from Mark. I’m sure he would want to speak to you as soon as he knows we’ve met you”.

“I wouldn’t expect any less. I also want to talk to him a lot”.

Yugyeom places the pic on his pocket meanwhile Jinyoung gathers all his things.

“We’re taking our leave” he says. “We’re still waiting for news from Hyunwoo. I’ll be waiting your call. Take care guys”.

“Take care Jinyoung” Shura says. “Jackson and Bambam, it was nice to meet you”.

“Same” both of them answer in unison.

“Hope we see each other soon again” Yugyeom says. The three friends give him a last smile before finally disappearing.

Youngjae is a bit suspicious about the fact that Jeonghan made him go to his cell earlier than yesterday without giving him any explanation. Then he gave Youngjae a decent pair of clothes along with nice shoes and left.

“What’s going on?” Minhyuk asks him, taking a closer look at the clothes.

“I don’t know” Youngjae answers, “we were working peacefully when he came in and urged me to go out. Kihyun and I didn’t get to finish what we were doing”.

“He even gave you nice clothes. This smells bad. Have you done anything that could have made him suspicious about you two?”

“Of course not. We always act as if we were actually working on new armament for them and…oh”.

“Oh?”

“I think I have an idea of what he wants” Youngjae says, starting to take out his clothes.

“You do?” Minhyuk asks, turning to the other side to give the other some privacy.

“Kihyun and I may have been a bit too…affectionate towards each other”.

“Affectionate? Like what?”

“Like laughing together, giving each other hugs and kisses on the cheek. We were only joking, but I think he saw, probably has a recording and it’s going to throw it along with me at Jaebum’s face to hurt him”.

“That’s really twisted. But totally Jeonghan’s style”.

“I should have thought he would do something like that” Youngjae says while struggling with the neck of his shirt. Minhyuk notices and quickly assists him. “It’s just…Kihyun and I feel very comfortable around each other. If Jaebum sees it he’s going to misunderstand it”.

“Then explain it to him”.

“Jeonghan won’t let me. I’m sure he’s taking me to the fighting club. I can only hope the rest of my friends would be there and they’d get the right idea”.

“Man, that’s going to be hard. I’ll send my strength to you from here” Minhyuk says while giving Youngjae a hug.

“Thank you” he says, holding Minhyuk back.

They leave each other’s arms when they hear the door opening. Jeonghan steps in, clothed in a nice suit.

“Well, princess” he says. “It’s our time to leave”.

“Namjoon” Yugyeom calls his leader. Namjoon turns to look at him and smiles.

“Hi, Yugyeom. How can I help you?”

“We’ve found Jinyoung” he answers.

Namjoon frowns a bit.

“More like Jinyoung found us” Shura says, appearing after Yugyeom. “He’s working with a human team, the Special Unit of the Security Forces. They rescued him from his ex-boss hands and took care of him. They have information about his captors”.

Mark, who was listening quietly suddenly jumps from his seat and rushes towards them.

“You’ve seen Jinyoung?” he asks, “how is he? And why he isn’t here with you?”

“He’s fine” Yugyeom answers. “He gave us this for you”.

Yugyeom takes out the picture and hands it to Mark, who takes it carefully. His eyes start tearing upon seeing the moment captured at that photo: Jinyoung and him having lunch together at the rooftop. Jinyoung is smiling at him, his eyes making the wrinkles Mark loves; and Mark is also smiling while staring at Jinyoung.

“You’ve met that people?” Namjoon asks, taking a look at the photo too. “Are they trustable?”

“We only met Jinyoung and two of his friends” Shura answers. “But he asked us to tell you to trust him with this. Given the circumstances I think we should do it. They have information about Jeonghan’s activities and Youngjae’s possible location”.

“I know Jinyoung” Mark says, still staring at the photo, “we can trust him. He’s a very cautious guy; he wouldn’t have requested for us to trust these people if he wasn’t sure they are reliable. You have to trust him. Namjoon, please”.

Mark stares at him with pleading eyes, just like Shura and Yugyeom. He searches for Jaebum’s reaction; even though he knows beforehand what he’s thinking.

“If there’s a chance they know where Youngjae is, we should trust them” he says.

Namjoon nods. Of course, Jaebum would say that.

“Okay, I’m calling this Hyunwoo guy” Namjoon says as he notices the number written at the back of the photo. Mark gives it to him willingly; but his eyes call the pic to come back quickly to his hands.

“Mark” Yugyeom whispers to him, “Jinyoung gave us the number of his best friend for you to call him”.

Yugyeom takes out another piece of paper and hands it to Mark, who is eager to catch it; but decides to wait after Namjoon has finished the call to do his.

“Hi?” Hyunwoo says from the other side of the call.

“Am I speaking to Son Hyunwoo?” Namjoon says reading the name from Jinyoung’s pic.

“Yes. Who is it?”

“My name is Kim Namjoon. I’m the leader of Jinyoung’s pack”.

“Oh, so he was able to contact you; I’m glad. Look, I’m aware we don’t know each other and probably you don’t trust me. But we need you. I’m ready to share with you all the information we have about this complot but you’ll have to believe everything I’m going to tell you”.

“I know Jinyoung. I know he wouldn’t do anything that could harm us; so I’m putting my trust on you as he did”.

“Fantastic. Listen closely”.

Hyunwoo has just ended the call when he hears Wonho calling him.

“They’re moving” he tells his boss. Hyunwoo quickly takes his binoculars and stares at the same point as Wonho.

He sees a few people coming out from the warehouse and getting into a couple of cars. The last of them to exit are a young guy accompanied by a familiar face.

“Choi Youngjae” he mutters.

He sees Youngjae being forced to enter one of the cars, followed by the other boy; and then they take their leave.

“We have to go back” Hyunwoo says. “Following them could be dangerous. But we now know for sure Youngjae is in there. We’re assaulting this building tomorrow”.

“C’mon Jinyoung pick it up” Mark chants, pacing nervously around the room waiting for his boyfriend to answer the phone.

After the fifth ring he hears someone finally answering it; but the other person beats him at talking first.

“Hi, you’re talking with the wild and sexy Jackson Wang”.

“Em, who are you?” Mark asks timidly.

“Dude, I’ve just said I’m the wild and sexy Jackson Wang. The question is who are you?”

“I’m Mark” he answers; and then adds “Jinyoung’s boyfriend”.

“Ooh, you’re Markie” they guy, Jackson, says. “Wait a moment,” Mark hears him distancing himself from the phone and then “JINYOUNG! YOUR BOYFIE IS ASKING FOR YOU!”

Even though the other was away from the phone, Mark has to take his own phone far from his ear.

“So” Jackson says, back at the phone, “we’re finally meeting. I’ve heard a lot about you from Jinyoung, but we never met. I thought you weren’t real”.

“I’ve heard a lot from you too from Jinyoung. Nice to meet you”.

“Yeah? What things did he say about me?”

Before Mark can answer him he hears Jinyoung’s voice demanding Jackson to give the phone to him. Jackson complains about wanting to know Mark better and Jinyoung says to him that he can do that any other time but he has speak with Mark right now. Mark smiles at that; and they continue bickering until Jinyoung says something like go fuck Bambam or whatever to which Jackson answers maybe I’ll just do that; but just for your info we aren’t precisely quiet when we do it. Mark hears Jackson going away and he can also imagine Jinyoung rolling his eyes at the other side.

“Mark?” he hears Jinyoung calling his name. “Are you still there?”

“Yes” Mark eagerly answers.

“Oh God Mark, your voice. I missed you so much”.

“Me too, Jinyoungie. I want to see you”.

“I want to see you too, but I can’t go back to the pack until we find Youngjae”.

“I understand… but I miss you lots”.

“I know, Mark. I’m so sorry… I’ve been such a shitty boyfriend to you. If I’m still your boyfriend, of course”.

“Of course you are, silly”.

“Uff, I’m so relieved” Jinyoung lets out a chuckle and Mark smiles. “I promise I’ll make it up for you when this ends”.

“I’m keeping your word darling”.

“Good” there’s a moment of silence between them until Mark hears Jinyoung sighing. “God Mark, there’s a lot of things I want to tell you”.

“I know. But I have to tell you something first”.

“What is it?” Mark senses the tension in Jinyoung’s voice and suppresses the urge to chuckle because he can imagine the other pouting to him.

Mark lets a few seconds pass to torture Jinyoung; only speaking again when he hears the other sighing again.

“I love you, Jinyoungie. I had to say it”.

“Mark Tuan, how dare you?” Mark laughs, picturing Jinyoung’s cute angry face in his mind. “I thought you were going to break up with me or something like that. I hate you”.

“Why would I break up with you? You’re my entire life, my only source of light. I’m not letting you go; you’re stuck with me baby”.

“Why are you saying such embarrassing things…”

Mark chuckles. Jinyoung is so cute even over the phone.

“Do you have time?” Jinyoung suddenly asks.

“The boys are still making dinner, so yeah”.

“Good. I want to keep you with me all the time I can”.

“If you want I can ditch them right now and go to your house”.

Jinyoung laughs.

“I would like that. But I don’t want you go out alone, so you’ll have to wait”.

Mark pouts; and this time is Jinyoung who can imagine him doing so from the other side.

“Mark”.

“Hmm?”

“I love you too”.

Seokjin’s phone lights up on the table. Jungkook notices and motions for his mate to pick it up. The latter checks the caller id and answers it quickly.

“Yesung?” he says.

“The one and only” Yesung responds. “Your friend is here accompanied by Kim Jeonghan”.

Seokjin’s face turns serious upon hearing that. When he ends the call and tells the others what’s going on Jaebum is already at the door after hearing Youngjae’s and Jeonghan’s names together.

They don’t even need to enter the building to find Jeonghan; he’s outside with four of his members and Youngjae by his side.

Jaebum’s heart gets caught in his throat when he sees the younger. He seems okay, without any visible wounds; but in his face is plastered all the discomfort he’s feeling. Jaebum wants to take him and hug him and apologize one million times until the younger forgives him.

“He’s here to provoke us” Mark mutters, “don’t do anything stupid”.

Jaebum knows that words are meant for him; but he can’t help it when he sees Jeonghan putting a hand on Youngjae’s shoulder.

“JEONGHAN!”

The addressed male turns to look at the person who called him and smirks when he sees who is walking towards him angrily.

“I knew this was going to happen” Yugyeom mutters with a sigh.

“C’mon guys, Jaebum needs us” Jungkook hurries them.

Jaebum stops in front of Jeonghan, and his friends are quick to appear by his side. Youngjae looks at all of them as if he was saying hi but remains serious.

“Don’t you dare touching him” Jaebum growls.

“Why not?” Jeonghan asks, putting again a hand on Youngjae’s shoulder. Youngjae grimaces while Jaebum glares more intensely at his rival. “You don’t want anything to do with him anymore, do you? You pushed him away”.

Jaebum’s face falls at it. It’s true; he pushed the younger away. But he did it because he cares about him, because he didn’t want him to end hurt because of him. Even though he was the one who hurt him in the end.

“Do you know how Youngjae and I met?” Jeonghan continues. “I found him at the park crying alone because a stupid boy had the guts to reject him”.

Jaebum glances at Youngjae, searching for a confirmation. Youngjae turns his face to the other side and looks at the floor; and Jaebum understands that what Jeonghan has just said it’s true. He made Youngjae cry. He broke Youngjae. One of his worst fears has become true thanks to his irrational reasoning.

“Youngjae I’m sorry” the words practically slip from his mouth without thinking.

Youngjae stares at him. He doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t smile or mouth something back. Jaebum’s heart clenches at the sight, and he’s too focused on the pain in his heart to notice Youngjae’s eyes saying I forgive you to him.

“I think it’s pretty late for that” Jeonghan says, “Youngjae has moved on”.

This time not only Jaebum but all his friends look at Jeonghan shocked. Youngjae remains serious by his side, unfazed about Jeonghan’s words. Jeonghan takes out his phone and starts playing a video on it, showing it to Jaebum and his friends.

At the screen they can see clearly a smiling Youngjae whispering something to a short unfamiliar boy. The boy laughs and turns to mix the content of two test tubes in one of them. After shaking the final solution he shows it to Youngjae, who gives him thumbs up. The boy places the tube on the table and says something to Youngjae. Youngjae smiles again and gives the other a hug.

The video ends at that moment. Youngjae’s friends are still looking at the screen shocked. Jaebum can’t believe what his eyes just saw. Youngjae and that boy were laughing and acting as if they were childhood friends. It was a short video but you can clearly see the complicity and the chemistry between them.

“I have plenty of those” Jeonghan says, showing to them the same video his fellow showed him previously.

Jaebum’s heart finally breaks when he hears Youngjae asking for a kiss on the cheek and sees the shorter boy giving it to him. The rest of his friends stare at it in disbelief; but they aren’t as shocked as Jaebum as they know Youngjae’s open personality. They also see the empathy and the bond between them; but all of them have seen Youngjae with Jaebum and know that it’s not the same.

The way they look at each other is more a look of complicity rather than a love one; unlike the way Youngjae looks at Jaebum.

This time Youngjae is staring at them too; but out of all his friends the only one who notices him discretely drawing a ‘no’ with one of his fingers at the back of his hand is Yugyeom. He nods, and Youngjae internally smiles at him knowing that his message has reached at least one of them.

“As you see, Youngjae has a new boyfriend” Jeonghan says, placing the phone back in his pocket. “Right, Youngjae?”

The six of them stare at Youngjae waiting for a response. Jaebum’s heart is about to get out from his body due to all the anxiousness he’s feeling.

“Kihyun and I are together” Youngjae finally says.

Jaebum ducks his head to the floor, not wanting Jeonghan to notice his urge to cry. But this time Mark, Yugyeom, Shura, Jungkook and Seokjin do notice Youngjae mouthing a ‘fighting’ when none of Jeonghan’s fellows is looking at him.

The message gets clear to them; Youngjae and this Kihyun guy have bonded to escape together from Jeonghan’s hands.

Mark pokes Jaebum at the back, noticing the way Youngjae is apologetically looking at him as if he knew his words have affected Jaebum and was saying sorry to him. But when Jaebum raises his head and stares directly at Youngjae’s eyes the latter flinches.

“Youngjae please come back” Jaebum says in a desperate try to get Youngjae back.

There’s nothing else in this world that Youngjae wants more than come back home with his friends and rest in Jaebum’s embrace. But first, Jeonghan wouldn’t let him and second, he can’t let Kihyun and Minhyuk down when they are so close to escape.

“He can’t” Jeonghan answers for him, “he accepted to come with me by his own will”.

This earns him the confused faces from the six members of Namjoon’s pack.

“Youngjae” Jaebum asks; voice shaking in fear for the answer, “it’s that true?”

“Yes, it is” Youngjae quickly says. It’s not a lie even though it’s not the truth either.

“As you see” Jeonghan says, placing his arm on Youngjae’s shoulders; earning a growl and a glare from Jaebum, “we’ve bonded through our mutual feelings for you. I hope you’re happy now, Jaebum. We’re taking our leave, but I’m sure we’ll meet again soon”.

Jeonghan pulls Youngjae with him. The younger glances one last time towards his friends and catches Yugyeom’s gaze. Yugyeom nods as if he was reassuring the other that they are coming for him and Youngjae nods back. He looks one last time apologetically to Jaebum and this time the latter notices, giving him a pleading look. But Youngjae is quickly forced to come inside a car and they finally leave.

Mark wraps an arm around Jaebum and the six of them remain quiet until Yugyeom breaks the ice.

“I know you didn’t notice” he says, “but when Jeonghan was showing us the second video Youngjae wrote a ‘no’ with one of his fingers at the back of his hand. He was clearly telling us that it wasn’t the truth”.

“But we saw it” Jaebum says, “we all saw how Youngjae and that boy were so lovey-dovey there”.

“Seriously, Jaebum? You spend all the days staring at Youngjae but you didn’t notice everything he told us?”

“I heard everything he said. He came to Jeonghan willingly and now has a new friend”.

“God Jaebum, no” Mark says. “You’ve got all wrong. After he said that Kihyun and he were together he mouthed a ‘fighting’ to us. They are working together and bonding to get out from there together. They have a plan, Jaebum. They’re fighting to escape. He’s fighting to come back to us; to you”.

“And didn’t you see the way he was looking at you?” Seokjin adds. “He was staring at you all the time as if he was saying ‘sorry’”.

“We need to go back” Shura says, “we have to tell everything to Namjoon and contact Jinyoung. Kihyun could be one of the boys the S.U.S.F. was looking for”.

Hyunwoo ends the call and turns to look at his squad. All of them are gathered at the quarter, making a plan to assault the building at dawn.

“It was Namjoon” he tells the others, “Jeonghan showed up with Youngjae tonight. He has Kihyun at the same place as Youngjae. What means, we know where they are”.

All of them look at each other, excited about the news they have just received and the possibility of their friends coming back.

“Namjoon is giving us reinforcement” Hyunwoo continues. “But we have to do the first move”.

There are some squeals and everyone is high fiving and hugging each other. Finally, they are saving their friends. Jinyoung lets out a shout of euphoria, so happy that he’s finally meeting Youngjae again and rescuing him after all that happened to both of them.

“We should rest now” Hyunwoo says. “We’re taking our friends back tomorrow”.

As soon as they come back to the warehouse, Youngjae is shoved to the darkness of his cell again. The door has just closed behind him when Minhyuk turns the small lamp by the side of the bed on.

“How was it?” he asks, staring at Youngjae with curious eyes. Youngjae smiles to him while taking out his clothes.

“My friends were there. I couldn’t say much to them; but luckily they are amazing at taking all the hints I gave them”.

Minyuk gets up from the bed and helps Youngjae changing.

“What are you saying is…” he starts.

“They are going to find us. And we’re going to get out from here” Youngjae ends.

Minhyuk smiles widely to him.

“I can’t assure you 100%” Youngjae continues. “But now they know who has me and that Kihyun and I are plotting from the inside. I’m sure they’ll find a way to find us and we’ll be free”.

“I can’t wait for Kihyun to hear it” Minhyuk says, hugging Youngjae.

“Me neither” Youngjae says while hugging Minhyuk back; the grin never leaving his face.

Chapter Text

Jaebum rolls on the bed, trying to get some sleep. But he’s way too excited to do so, not when they’re getting Youngjae back at dawn.

He wonders what would be Youngjae’s reaction when he sees him again. Will he be mad? Will he punch him again? Or maybe he will give Jaebum a chance to explain what happened and Jaebum will obey willingly, not leaving any detail behind; not even the fact that he’s in love with the younger.

Jaebum closes his eyes and smiles, trying for the last time to get some sleep so he will be more helpful when they do the assault. He has made another decision, and this time he’s pulling Youngjae closer.

The sky has just started to get clearer when Hyunwoo’s squad arrive at the warehouse. They’re all there: Hyunwoo, Jooheon, Wonho, Hyungwon, Changkyun, Jinyoung, Jackson and Bambam. They’re all wearing bulletproof vests and are equipped with guns and knives. They’re hiding at the same spot they were yesterday, taking a look at the warehouse entry, where there’s only a man resting besides the door, most likely asleep.

“Okay guys, we’re going in” Hyunwoo says. “We have to be silent until we get inside. Once there you have to cause all the trouble you can. We’ll split in three teams: Jooheon, Wonho and Hyungwon will explore the west side; Jinyoung, Jackson and Bambam will explore the east side and Changkyun and I will explore the end of the building. Is it clear?”

“Sir yes sir!” they all exclaim in unison.

“Good. Let’s go guys, fighting!”

“Fighting!”

Hyunwoo leads his team through the space between the rocks and the warehouse, cautious to not be noticed by the pack. The man that was guarding the door is still in the same position, unaware of the eight persons trying to trespass the building he should be protecting.

They hide at the corner of the building, Hyunwoo taking a look at the door. They could have just broken a window and come in sneaking up; but if the plan is to make a ruckus so Kihyun will have time to put his plan on action they are going to do it by the big door.

“Changkyun” he mutters. “Can you shoot the man from here?”

Changkyun stands before Hyunwoo and then he lies down, placing his shotgun on the ground and taking a look by the eyehole.

“No big deal” he mutters back. “Where do you want me to shoot him?”

“The head”.

Changkyun looks up at him. Hyunwoo nods seriously. The younger knows any of them want to do this, but they also know that these people wouldn’t hesitate to do the same to them. So Changkyun looks back through the eyehole and when he’s sure he will hit the desired place, he fires the shotgun.

Only a small noise comes out from the shotgun and then the man is falling to the ground, dead. Changkyun gets up and follows Hyunwoo, who is already running to the door, taking the doorknob in his hand.

“Are you ready guys?” he asks.

All of them nod, eyes full with determination and also excitement, anticipating what’s about to happen.

Hyunwoo smiles at them one last time before turning the doorknob and quickly pulling his own gun out.

Kihyun is showing the last smoke bomb he made to Youngjae when they see people running nervously outside the lab. Kihyun and Youngjae look at each other for a second; both catching up on the situation and with one quick motion Kihyun is grabbing the anti-serum and injecting it to Youngjae. The latter groans at the slight pain on his thigh, but then moans in pleasure as the liquid invades his body and restores the strength that has been being drained from him since days ago.

When all of it is inside him, Kihyun takes the syringe out and throws it carelessly to the floor.

“Did it work?” he asks. Youngjae diverts his gaze towards the glass door and pushes it mentally. The door opens violently, knocking out some panicked minions that were passing by, scattering the glass in million pieces.

Youngjae turns to look at Kihyun with a smirk, who returns the gesture before going to collect all the smoke bombs and then throws a silver blade to Youngjae just as a man comes in to take them. Youngjae catches it in the air and gives the man a several cut across his chest. The man stumbles and finally drops to the ground, defeated.

Youngjae stares at Kihyun again, the latter staring back and both smile proudly at each other.

“Teamwork goals” Kihyun jokes while passing some of the smoke bombs to Youngjae.

“Let’s go get Minhyuk” Youngjae says after winking at Kihyun.

As Namjoon is a kind leader, he summoned his pack at the common room and then explained the plan to assault Jeonghan’s warehouse to them. He told them he wasn’t going to force them to help him; he wanted volunteers. Of course the first one to raise his hand was none other than Jaebum, quickly followed by Mark, Shura, Yugyeom and the rest of their friends.

So here they are; hiding at the other side of the warehouse, right opposite Hyunwoo’s squad. Namjoon is going to have a meeting with Kim Junmyeon in person to talk about Jeonghan, so he assigned to Jaebum the squad’s leadership.

The plan was to wait for Hyunwoo to trespass first and then come in after five minutes so they could clear the way for them. But two minutes have passed since they started the assault and Jaebum is growing impatient with each second that passes.

“Jaebum, relax” Mark whispers to him seeing how nervous his friend is.

“I can’t. I need to get in and save Youngjae”.

“Do you think I don’t want to go in immediately after seeing Jinyoung there? But we have to wait”.

Jaebum sighs. Mark is right; he’s as nervous as he is since his boyfriend is also there, but they have to follow Hyunwoo’s rules.

Right behind them, Shura tries to cheer up Yugyeom, as the latter is worried about finding his father again there. Shura doesn’t say it to Yugyeom, but if they really meet Yugyeom’s father today she’s going to do everything to convince him to go with them, even begging if it’s necessary. Anything for Yugyeom.

Seokjin is busy caressing Jungkook’s hair, who seems eager about taking action. Seokjin smiles, remembering the night before when Jungkook explained his worries to him and ended assuring the elder that he won’t let anyone hurt him. Seokjin kissed him and then hugged him until both of them fell asleep together.

Hoseok also seems ready to fight anything that comes in front of him. Jimin smiles cutely to him, but blushes when he gets caught staring and Hoseok whispers to him that he’s going to protect him; and Jimin turns impossibly redder. Taehyung rolls his eyes, asking himself why out of all his friends he’s the only one single. Oh right; because he’s in love with the impassible Min Yoongi.

“That’s it, five minutes” Mark mutters after taking a look at his watch.

“Let’s go” Jaebum commands and everyone follows him to the battlefield.

“What do you want us to do, sir?”

Jeonghan runs a hand through his hair. He knew he shouldn’t have trusted the humans; they are fragile and easy to manipulate. He needed the info and the properties, but now they are being exposed.

Jeonghan sighs. Well, maybe he will have to do some changes to his plan but it has already begun; there’s no way back now.

“Take all the armament to Jinwon’s pack. We can’t risk taking it to another warehouse whose location they can also have”.

His fellow nods and leaves quickly. Jeonghan takes a look at the screens in front of him: two of the cameras have been disabled, one of them being the camera located at the laboratory; but he still can see the trespassers searching through the building. He thinks of confronting them since they are only humans when he sees him: Im Jaebum, running through his property followed by a group of members from Namjoon’s pack.

Jeonghan groans. He needs to do something to damage Jaebum because the latter can’t just trespass his property and leave unpunished. He’s not going to win over Jeonghan never ever.

He finds his answer when he looks at another one of the cameras, the one located at the cell zone. He sees doors flying open and his prisoners being freed, and then there’s Kihyun holding Minhyuk’s hand as he drags the other out of his cell. They leave the place just when Youngjae comes into view, directing his gaze towards the camera, narrowing his eyes; and then the image fades to black.

“Alyson” he says, startling the girl that was by his side taking a look at the screen. “You’re coming with me”.

She nods; having an idea of what Jeonghan wants her to do. And she’s more than happy to show him how much power she has.

“What do you want me to do?” she asks while following Jeonghan through the hallways of the building.

“I want you to erase any memory of being here from their minds” he answers. He doesn’t need to say the names for Alyson to know about who he’s talking about. “Also erase every memory of the S.U.S.F. I don’t want them to remember the others”.

“And Youngjae?”

Jeonghan smirks devilishly and Alyson realizes that he was keeping the best part for the end.

“Erase each memory he has about Im Jaebum. I want him to remember everyone but him”.

“Shit” Kihyun mutters, “we accidentally dropped a smoke bomb there and we need to pass to the other side to reach the armament”.

 Youngjae looks to where Kihyun is pointing and sees a cloud of smoke cutting the way to the right side.

“What do we do?” Minhyuk asks.

“We can pass. We just have to avoid inhaling the smoke. I’ll go first” Kihyun says.

He takes the neck of his shirt and covers his nose with it. He has just turned the corner when his head starts to ache and his mind buzzes. He shouts in pain, causing Minhyuk to run beside him; but before his best friend can reach him Kihyun falls to the floor unconscious. Suddenly Minhyuk’s head also hurts, making him groan. He places his hands at the sides of his head and stares at Youngjae like asking for help but before Youngjae can get him he passes out too.

Youngjae doesn’t understand what’s happening, but a second after he can also feel like his head is about to explode. He tries to resist the sensation but he can’t hold the cry of sorrow that escapes past his lips before he also falls to the floor and loses consciousness.

“Hyunwoo, they’re leaving!”

Hyunwoo takes a look through the window. He sees some trucks leaving at fast speed. Changkyun shoots one of them, but it’s useless; from that distance they can’t stop them.

“Leave them, Changkyun. Let’s find Kihyun, Minhyuk and Youngjae and get out of here”.

Shura and Yugyeom rush through the corridors, looking for any possible trace of their friend or Yugyeom’s father; although by now they aren’t expecting to find the latter. They turn to the left at the next corner only to find three bodies lying on the floor.

Shura doesn’t recognize two of them; but she does recognize the face of her best friend passed out on the floor. She calls his name but he doesn’t move, so she runs to his side and bends down, followed by Yugyeom.

“Youngjae wake up!” she says, shaking her friend roughly to wake him up.

After a few shakes Youngjae starts to open his eyes. He blinks twice before recognizing Shura’s face close to his.

“Hi, Shura” he greets as if nothing happened, “what happens?”

Shura and Yugyeom stare at him is disbelief. How can he be talking so normal after being kidnapped and God knows what else?

“Youngjae, are you okay?” Yugyeom asks.

“Oh, hi Yugyeom. I’m more than fine, see? Well, my head aches a bit but it’s bearable”.

“Youngjae” Shura says seriously, “you’ve been kidnapped”.

Youngjae tilts his head to the side, staring at his friends in disbelief.

“What do you mean?” he asks.

Just as Shura opens her mouth to answer they hear someone calling Youngjae’s name loudly. The three of them look at the end of the corridor to see Jaebum running to them with a worried face.

“Youngjae” Jaebum says softly, taking the boy in his arms without thinking; only wanting to feel him, to make sure he’s there and he’s fine. “I’m so glad you’re fine. I was so worried about you, and I’m so sorry…”

“Uhm, eh…” Youngjae mutters, squirming nervously in Jaebum’s embrace.

Jaebum notices and breaks the hug, staring confusedly at Youngjae’s eyes.

“Youngjae, are you okay?” he asks.

“Who are you?”

Jaebum’s heart stops beating for a moment. The younger is kidding, isn’t he?

“I get it, Youngjae. You’re still mad” Jaebum says.

“How do you know my name?” Youngjae asks, and then he turns to Shura. “Is he your friend, Shu?”

Jaebum looks nervously between Shura, Yugyeom and Youngjae. Youngjae is still staring at the girl, waiting for an answer.

“Something’s wrong with his memory” she says instead, looking at Jaebum. “I think he doesn’t remember being kidnapped”.

Youngjae furrows his eyebrows and turns to look again at Jaebum, wondering who this boy is and what kind of relationship has he with his best friend.

Jaebum should have known that Jeonghan would do something like that. He always has a way to know everything and do impossible things just to hurt him. He doesn’t know how he managed to make Youngjae forget him; but this has his signature all over.

“I’m sorry” Youngjae says to him, seeing how agitated the other boy is, “but do I know you?”

That’s the last thing his heart can take. Jaebum takes a deep breath before turning around and running out from there, almost knocking Mark out in the process. The latter tries to catch him after witnessing everything that happened with Youngjae, but Jaebum escapes from his reach in no time. He’s about to run after him when he hears a familiar voice calling his name from the other side of the hallway.

“Jinyoung!” he calls back, rushing towards his boyfriend.

Jinyoung quickly pulls him between his arms tightly. Mark wraps his arms around his waist and nuzzles his head on Jinyoung’s neck. Jinyoung breaks the hug after a while and places one of his hands on the other’s cheek, staring directly into Mark’s eyes.

“I’ve missed you so much, Mark” he says before leaning closer to kiss his boyfriend on the lips.

At first Mark limits himself to return the kisses, but soon he needs to feel more of Jinyoung after being separated for a while. He presses his body closer to Jinyoung’s and kisses him more hungrily, almost devouring him. Jinyoung feels hot but doesn’t stop, corresponding to all the kisses with the same passion.

“Wow, boys, slow down” Jackson says from behind them.

Mark flinches at the sound of his voice and separates from Jinyoung, blushing a bit. Jinyoung needs a moment to catch his breath but is eager to glare at Jackson for interrupting them. Now Jinyoung needs more of Mark urgently; and only when he hears Youngjae calling his name he understands that this isn’t the moment or the place to let his love go wild.

Jinyoung leaves Mark to introduce himself to Jackson and Bambam and rushes to Youngjae’s side. Youngjae almost throws himself onto him, causing Jinyoung to laugh at how cute the other is.

“Jinyoung I’m so sorry!” Youngjae says while hugging him tightly. “This all happened because of me. I’m so sorry!”

“Youngjae, please stop. It’s not your fault, okay?” Jinyoung tries to reassure him while drawing circles on his back. “We couldn’t know. But we’re together again, aren’t we? So stop apologizing and smile to me, pretty please?”

Youngjae distances himself from Jinyoung and gives him the best smile he can. Jinyoung smiles back at him and then he greets Shura and Yugyeom too. Jackson, Bambam and Mark join him and he introduces them to Youngjae.

“He’s really cute, Jinyoung” Jackson comments, making Youngjae blush.

“Nice to meet you, Youngjae” Bambam greets him while shaking his hand. “I really was looking forward to meet you since Jinyoung wouldn’t stop searching you restless with how worried he was”.

“Were you looking for me?” Youngjae asks cutely to him.

Jinyoung nods and smiles to him. Mark smiles happily too, glad that his friends are reunited again, and then he takes Jinyoung’s hand in his.

“By the way, where is Jaebum?” Jinyoung asks.

Mark, Shura and Yugyeom visibly flinch, making Jinyoung wonder if he said something wrong. Youngjae’s face darkens, starting to feel uncomfortable about the issue with Jaebum.

Jinyoung’s question is left hanging in the air when he hears Hyunwoo calling his name. Changkyun and he are running towards the group, but before Jinyoung can do any introductions Hyunwoo and Changkyun bend down to take the two forgotten bodies close to them.

“Minhyuk, Minhyuk!” Hyunwoo repeats as he shakes the white haired boy, who starts to stir on his sleep.

When he opens his eyes he seems a bit disorientated, and Hyunwoo stares at him worriedly. Minhyuk starts looking at his surroundings and finally notices Kihyun being shaken violently by another guy.

“Hey!” he says, yanking the boy’s hands away from Kihyun and hugging him. “Don’t touch him”.

Changkyun looks confused at him for a moment before staring at Hyunwoo, who mirrors his expression.

“Kihyun wake up!” Minhyuk says while pinching Kihyun’s cheeks. “There are strange people around us”.

Kihyun’s eyes start to flutter little by little until they are completely open. As Minhyuk, he looks around him but doesn’t recognize the place or the confused faces surrounding them.

“Where are we?” Kihyun asks to Minhyuk.

“Don’t you remember us?” Changkyun asks in disbelief.

“And don’t you remember being kidnapped?” Hyunwoo asks too.

Minhyuk and Kihyun stare at each other before shaking their heads.

“The last think I remember was being in our house and we were celebrating something, just the two of us. And then nothing” Minhyuk says, and Kihyun nods by his side.

“Guys, that was several time ago” Hyunwoo says, “when you were accepted at the Special Unit of the Security Forces that I command”.

“Then why don’t we remember?” Kihyun asks.

“I also don’t remember being kidnapped” Youngjae adds.

Kihyun and Minhyuk look disorientated to all of them, not knowing what’s happening.

“We think they changed their memories somehow” Shura explains to Hyunwoo and Changkyun.

“But how?” Changkyun asks, glancing slightly at Kihyun.

“For the moment we should take them out from here” Hyunwoo says.

They decide to bring them to the pack so Bonnie can have a better look at them along with Hyungwon since both of them are doctored in medicine. During the ride home, Changkyun explains to Kihyun and Minhyuk who they are and what happened to them. At first both of them didn’t believe him, until the younger showed them the date on his phone and they could check that effectively, several times had passed since the last memory they have.

Youngjae was put on the same car as Jaebum, being the latter the driver with Yugyeom as his co-pilot. He was seated at the backseats with Shura, since Mark and Jinyoung joined Jackson and Bambam to lead them to the pack’s territory.

Shura tried to explain to him that he was kidnapped by an evil guy, but never mentioned anything about Jaebum. The latter didn’t say anything, limiting himself to just drive home. Youngjae was really curious about why among all his friends he forgot Jaebum. Why him? And what for?

Since Namjoon hasn’t returned yet but Yoongi stayed at the pack he assumes the leader’s role and greets Hyunwoo and his squad, inviting them to join him at the common room to discuss about Jeonghan while Kihyun, Minhyuk and Youngjae are being examined.

Bonnie asks them to strip out from his clothes to check if they have hidden wounds in their body. The three still confused guys nod and start taking their clothes after Bonnie and Hyungwon left some privacy for them. Kihyun is taking off his pants when he hears something colliding against the floor. He takes a glance at the direction of the sound and sees a black small object lying on the floor. He picks it up and to his surprise is an USB flash memory.

“Guys, I think I’ve found something” he tells his two partners.

Youngjae and Minhyuk stop what they are doing to take a look at the object on Kihyun’s hands.

“We have to show them” Youngjae says.

Minhyuk nods and they put on their clothes again before rushing towards Bonnie and Hyungwon, who look at them suspiciously.

“I’ve found this when I was taking out my clothes” Kihyun explains, giving the object to Hyungwon so he can take a better look at it. “I think it was hidden on my boxer’s waist and fell when I took my pants off”.

Hyungwon hands it to Bonnie and she examines it for a while before suggesting that they should meet the others.

Yoongi sighs in exasperation. He has been calling Namjoon to let him know about the operation but he isn’t answering, making his partner worry. In front of him Hyunwoo seems a bit worried too; not only for Namjoon but also for Minhyuk and Kihyun. He glances at Changkyun, who is biting his lip nervously. He knows what the younger is thinking, because their thoughts are the same: if Minhyuk and Kihyun don’t remember them, all their memories together are gone along with their feelings for them.

The door bursts open roughly and Hyungwon and Bonnie come in rushing, followed by Kihyun, Minhyuk and Youngjae.

“Kihyun found this hidden between his clothes” Bonnie says, giving the object to Yoongi. Kihyun is glad the girl chose to say that instead of that it was hidden on his boxers.

“It’s a USB flash memory” Yoongi says, showing it to Hyunwoo.

“We should check its content” the other suggests.

Yoongi nods and takes out a laptop from one of the closets in the room.

“It’s a video” Yoongi declares.

Taehyung and Hoseok quickly assist him on connecting the laptop to a projector and lowering a screen so all of them can see what it has inside.

Yoongi plays it and joins the others at the front to see what happens.

At the screen they see an image of Kihyun very focused on his reading. The camera is recording from ahead of him. A few seconds pass without anything happening, until Kihyun lifts the page, leaving it up in the air so the camera can record what’s written on the paper.

To everyone’s surprise, between equations and formulas there are some words written upside down so from the position of the page they’re clearly legible to them.

Hi, my name is Yoo Kihyun and I’m a member of the Special Unit of the Security Forces. If you’re reading this is because the rumors I heard are true and there’s a girl in here that can manipulate your memory. You know too much, so if they haven’t killed you yet when you’re finished they’ll most likely change your memory so you will forget about being kidnapped.

After a while Kihyun turns the page and pretends to be reading the next one. The Kihyun with his memories changed is more than confused right now; the boy in the screen it’s clearly him, but he really doesn’t remember doing that.

The Kihyun on the video turns the page again, and another note is written between numbers.

Listen, if by any chance you get rescued by the S.U.S.F. you’ll have to trust them. They won’t hurt you, I promise. They’re friends. They can help you, and you’re really going to need their help.

These people are werewolves; I know it sounds crazy but it’s the reality. They made you make a very dangerous weapon, the one they call the silver bomb. It’s made by a combination of silver with some other materials and to ignite it you have to do it by remote control. It can be injected on people or just put somewhere. It doesn’t affect humans but it emits a gas that is lethal to werewolves. Here you have the contents and the formula used to make it.

Kihyun does the same process, and when he finally turns the page they see a formula written the other way around above the others that are upside down.

I don’t know how to destroy it since the gas could escape and damage the werewolves. But maybe you can find a way to make an antidote, or something that gives immunity against it at least for two hours. Since you press the button and the microchip releases the gas until it affects the werewolves there is a period of time they could use to take the antidote and suppress the effects of the bomb. I don’t know if it’s going to work but it’s the only thing I can think of.

Kihyun repeats the operation one last time and turns the page again.

Kihyun, you’re smart. You can do this. The people at the S.U.S.F. are also smart and I’m sure together you’ll find a way to prevent a massive slaughter. Trust them, okay? A lot of lives depend on you. Fighting another me!

Kihyun briefly moves his hand towards the camera and the image fades to black. Yoongi is about to take the USB out when another recording starts playing. It’s Kihyun again, with another set of clothes but still pretending to be reading. He turns the page and they see again some words written upside down.

I almost forgot. If you’re out there without Minhyuk by your side run. He has been kidnapped along with you, so if he isn’t with you, you have to find him right now. And I’m going to give you some information about your friends at the S.U.S.F.

Your boss’ name is Son Hyunwoo. He’s always been gentle to you and he’s very reliable, but don’t trust him when he says he doesn’t play favorites because it’s a lie. Minhyuk probably will be forced to forget this too, but he’s Hyunwoo’s favorite and he likes it, a lot^^

As Kihyun turns the page again and this time he also writes something on it, Minhyuk glances slightly to the man that introduced himself as Son Hyunwoo. He remains stoic but Minhyuk can see a tint of pink coloring his cheeks. Cute, Minhyuk thinks with a small smile.

Kihyun reads again what he has written on the page and turns it, earning the surprised stares from the crowd congregated there at how fast he had been able to write upside down in a short amount of time.

Jooheon is the man you have to ask for help with the silver bomb. He has knowledge of almost anything, and he has helped you with your experiments before. But this time try not to hurt him, please. I still feel bad for burning his finger because I wasn’t looking where I should. Oh, maybe he’s with you right now. HI JOOHEON, I’M SORRY AGAIN FOR BURNING YOUR FINGER!

Jooheon chuckles. He has told the other countless times that it was fine; the wound healed quickly and he barely felt any pain. As the Kihyun on the screen starts writing again, the real Kihyun looks at Jooheon and bows, feeling somehow responsible for hurting him even when he doesn’t remember doing it. Jooheon notices and smiles gently to him.

They turn to look at the screen again when Kihyun lifts the page like before for them to see.

Hyungwon is in charge of the nursery. He can be a bit grumpy if he hasn’t had his hours of beauty sleep but he’s a good guy. Also be careful not to make him mad; I don’t know what he does when he’s in the interrogation room but the people that come out after seem very broken.

To avoid it you should not offend Wonho. If Hyungwon catches you molesting his princess or being too close to him he’ll kill you. Both of them are nice to you, except that time you leaned too close to Wonho to whisper a joke to him and Hyungwon caught you. The following day all your things were removed from their previous spots and scattered for all the office. You don’t want another day of collecting all of them while trying to get the others away from your private items.

All of them laugh at that but Kihyun, who is a bit annoyed that he can’t remember all those things because they sound real fun. He sounds as if he really had a group of good friends instead of just having Minhyuk by his side. He’s secretly a bit jealous of his previous himself.

Kihyun repeats the process and turns the page again.

You probably remember everything about Minhyuk except for your memories together at the S.U.S.F. I don’t think there’s anything else to say about him that he doesn’t know. He has always been there for you, and I’m very lucky to have him as my best friend. Minhyuk, if you’re seeing this and the worst has happened and I’m dead you have to know that I love you and I’m so thankful for the time we spent together.

Also I found your diary and maybe I read it by accident. Well, really not. How can you read a diary by accident? The thing is yes, Minhyuk, I would be more than honored to be the godfather at your wedding with Hyunwoo when you’ll finally decide to confess. I really don’t know why you didn’t want to tell me. You’re so silly! But I love you <3

Minhyuk looks surprised at Kihyun. They have had personal talks that ended with both of them telling each other how much they love the other, but that words have melted his heart nevertheless. Kihyun blushes but allows Minhyuk to hold his hand.

Hyunwoo glances at them, happy but at the same time sad because his feelings were requited but probably not anymore since Minhyuk forgot everything about him. He takes a look at Changkyun, who looks like he’s about to cry, probably because Kihyun didn’t write anything for him and now is just staring at the paper.

Hyunwoo is about to hug him when Kihyun starts writing furiously again at the screen. Changkyun stares at him with hopeful eyes. And Hyunwoo smiles because of course Kihyun couldn’t have left his favorite mate behind.

The other Kihyun is also curious about what else has his other himself to say. On the screen, Kihyun finally turns the page while smiling proudly and the other Kihyun gulps.

You probably would have forgotten about Changkyun. And this really makes me mad, you know? Since I met him I’ve been trying to hit on him but he just doesn’t get any hint I throw to him. Minhyuk always tells me that it’s my fault because I give him confused signals, like one day I approached him to ask seductively if I could borrow his pen but then he turned around at the same moment and it was just too close! I couldn’t work properly with him so close to me, so I kind of ran away without looking back and then acted like nothing happened. Well, reading it like that I now understand that it’s true. I was giving him mixed signals, fuck.

I’m also really mad because just when I had the perfect plan to ask him out, these people just had to kidnap me! I swear I’m going to kill all of them! But you! I’m also going to freaking kill you if I recover my memory and I discover that you have screwed all my efforts of seducing him, understood? I don’t know how I am going to do it since we are the same person but I’ll punish you, I promise.

Well, I don’t have anything else to say. Good luck, Kihyun! And be good!

The image fades to black again and the room remains silent for a moment. Right now Hyunwoo’s entire squad is blushing since Kihyun kind of exposed them to each other. Jooheon is the only one that doesn’t blush; instead he tries hard not to laugh at his friends’ faces.

He’s about to make a comment about it when the recording starts again and Kihyun comes onto view with a different outfit. This time he’s talking to someone at his left, but they can’t hear anything since there’s no sound.

Kihyun stops talking and then lifts a page as he did before, showing another note to them.

Hi again! Unexpectedly you have another good friend you have to remember and find if he’s not with you right now. His name is Choi Youngjae and I’m almost sure he’s your soulmate, so take good care of him!

Kihyun moves the camera slightly, and Youngjae appears by his side. Youngjae notices the camera and smiles to it before Kihyun moves it again to his previous position. Kihyun pretends to be reading until he turns to look at Youngjae, says something to him and laughs. To Changkyun, the sight is beautiful; to Jaebum, it feels like a kick on the gut. The fact that this boy also called himself Youngjae’s soulmate makes him really jealous, especially after seeing the videos Jeonghan showed to them before.

He almost misses the next note Kihyun shows to them.

I’ve told Youngjae about the rumors and we have confirmed that it’s indeed a girl with the ability to change your memory. Youngjae wants to say something to his future himself, but it’s private so you must give this USB to him so he can see it later alone.

Yoongi quickly takes action and ends the video just when Kihyun was moving the camera again towards Youngjae. He disconnects the laptop from the projector and removes the USB, handing it to Youngjae.

“We are going to respect your wishes” Yoongi says. “You can see it alone but the S.U.S.F. will have to take it with them so they can make an antidote for the silver bomb”.

Youngjae nods while accepting the object.

“I’ll go see it now” he says, already making his way out.

Jaebum watches him go. He half hopes that in the video there’ll be something that will make Youngjae remember him, or what he was to him. It’s a bit selfish but Jaebum is helpless.

While they wait for Youngjae to come back, Yoongi and Hyunwoo talk about what to do now. Hyunwoo is going to take care of making antidotes for the pack, meanwhile Yoongi has to wait for Namjoon to come back and tell him what they’re going to do about Jeonghan.

Jaebum calls Shura, Mark, Yugyeom and Jinyoung, who approach him to talk more privately.

“We aren’t going to tell anything about our relationship to Youngjae” Jaebum says.

“What do you mean?” Yugyeom asks.

“I know now the mistakes I did in the past” Jaebum answers. “He has a new chance to start again, without me hurting him. I want him to do his own decisions. We’ll tell him we were friends and the truth about Jeonghan, but you can’t tell him I love him or that he loved me too. And then it’s up to him to befriend me again or leave me behind. I’ll accept whatever decision he takes”.

His four friends look at each other, not knowing what to say.

“Jaebum, do you realize you’re asking us to lie to Youngjae?” Jinyoung says finally.

“You asked me to lie to him before” Yugyeom adds, “and we all know how it ended”.

“I know, okay?” Jaebum says with a sigh. “But you have to do it. I’ve hurt him. I wanted to protect him but I ended being the one damaging him. I don’t want that to happen again; so please, do me this favor and tell him we were just friends. I promise I’ll respect any decision he takes from now on”.

Nobody answers him, the four doubting if they should obey Jaebum or not. But surprisingly, Shura is the first to respond.

“I’ll do it” she states firmly, “I’ll lie to my best friend if that’s what you want”. Jaebum smiles at her, but before he can thank her she speaks again. “But you have to keep your word and respect any decision he makes, even if it is to love you again. And this time you won’t push him away. You can’t. Understood?”

Jaebum knows he can’t refuse; less when the other three nod to her, supporting her idea.

“I promise I’ll respect any decision” Jaebum says. “Even if it is to love me again. And I won’t push him away”.

“Good. Then we have a deal” Shura says, smiling to him.

“I’m here!” Youngjae exclaims behind them.

His friends turn around and act as if nothing happened; but Youngjae notices how stiff they became for a second when they heard his voice. He pretends as if he didn’t, and passes across them to give the USB to Kihyun.

“I promise I won’t look at your recording” the latter whispers to him.

“I think I don’t care if you do” Youngjae says and smiles to him before walking away.

But instead of frowning, Kihyun smiles too for some reason.

“Well, we are taking our leave now” Hyunwoo says. “We should start working on the antidote right now and also we should take Minhyuk and Kihyun home to see if there’s something that can help them remember”.

“Of course” Yoongi says with a nod. “I’ll call you as soon as Namjoon comes back”.

Hyunwoo grins to him and thanks every member that helped them today. Yoongi tries not to smile at the sight, at how after all they’ve made such nice allies. The squad follows Hyunwoo but Jinyoung, who stays still besides Mark.

“Aren’t you coming, Jinyoung?” Jackson asks.

Jinyoung stares at Mark, as if he was expecting the latter to say something; but Mark doesn’t say anything. Maybe Jinyoung is waiting some sign that Mark wants him to stay, so Mark holds his hand tighter.

That seems to be the answer Jinyoung needed because then he’s smiling and shaking his head.

“No, go without me” Jinyoung says, “I’m staying with Mark”.

Jackson nods, but Mark can see that they’re sad. He frees Jinyoung so he can part from his friends. Hyunwoo’s squad also joins them, and Mark feels a bit uneasy about it. He can also feel that part of Jinyoung is sad to have to leave his friends, and it makes Mark sad too. He doesn’t want to be the cause for Jinyoung to be sad. But, Mark realizes now, Jinyoung can’t help it; after all, he’s human and he belongs to human world, not with Mark. Not to the werewolf world, where he’s in constant danger.

Maybe Mark is the one who should let Jinyoung go instead of the younger letting his friends go.

“Are you okay?” he asks Jinyoung when his friends are gone.

Jinyoung turns to him and nods, but Mark knows he isn’t fine. He has just reunited with his friends, long-time friends, and now he is bidding farewell to them to stay with Mark. He feels a stab on his heart thinking about that. Jinyoung is rejecting his friends, who have been with him for longer than Mark to be with him; a werewolf, who does nothing but put the younger’s life in danger and can’t even protect him.

This time is Jinyoung who notices something wrong going on with Mark. His behavior has changed abruptly, and now the elder even refuses to look at him. Jinyoung can also feel him; he doesn’t know how but he can. And Mark is sad. He doesn’t know why, but he is. And Jinyoung doesn’t want him to be sad, so he takes him in his embrace and excuses both of them. They leave the room, with their friends’ eyes following each step.

“Am I the only one who smells something bad coming?” Yugyeom says.

Nobody nods but they all think the same: there’s something wrong with Mark and Jinyoung and with Namjoon; and for Youngjae with Jaebum too.

Chapter Text

Choi Youngjae swears he hasn’t been this confused ever in his entire life.

Not even that time when he fought those bullies and his father scolded him in front of the director of his school, but then bought ice cream for him and said that he was so proud of him for being that strong and brave.

But that video has left more doubts in his mind than anything. When his friends asked about it, he answered that it was related to his family in case he was forced to forget them.

But it’s a lie, totally far away from the truth.

As they walk to Yugyeom’s house since they don’t want to go to their own house and find Mark and Jinyoung doing ‘something’, Youngjae can’t stop looking at Jaebum and remembering his own words written on paper at that video.

You won’t remember, but Im Jaebum loves you, and you love him too. These people and Jeonghan only want to hurt him. They’re going to make you forget him so he will suffer. You have to help him.

He sees Jaebum taking out a key and opening the door. His mind doesn’t have any memory of Yugyeom having a housemate other than Jinyoung; but Jaebum clearly lives there, and probably always has.

You can’t let them win, Youngjae. Even if you don’t have those feelings for him, he needs you. He made some mistakes in the past and hurt you, but he did it because he loved you and was scared to lose you. That’s what they want and you can’t let them have it. Don’t let them win.

Once in Youngjae glances to the only room he remembers not having an owner. But it clearly has; Jaebum’s things are all scattered inside. He sits beside Shura on the couch and tries to remember being in this same house with Jaebum.

You both have a lot of beautiful memories together. He treasures you. I can assure you no one has treated you like Jaebum did. No one has ever looked at you the way Jaebum did. You’ll probably see it for yourself once he finds you again. He’ll treat you better this time. Stay close. He needs you.

His head aches a bit as he tries to remember being with Jaebum. He tries to hide it as his friends start telling him why he was kidnapped.

Jaebum is the reason you were kidnapped. They took you because you’re important to him. You did the mistake to run away from the pack because you didn’t understand Jaebum’s real intention when he rejected you. And they found you and took you to make him suffer.

Youngjae is even more confused when Shura says that he was kidnapped on his way to college because he had to deliver an assignment in person and Jeonghan was waiting for someone from Namjoon’s pack to go out alone and kidnap him. She says that Jeonghan is Jaebum’s enemy and also Namjoon’s.

Youngjae nods even though he knows she’s lying. But why? Why is his best friend lying to him? He glances to his friends and all of them nod; and Youngjae understands this is some kind of agreement to lie to him. Why?

Shura continues talking but Youngjae’s eyes are glued to Jaebum, who is staring back. Youngjae notices the shift in his gaze as their eyes meet. Jaebum’s gaze now seems apologetic, as if he was saying sorry to him. Sorry for lying? He also seems sad but at the same time Youngjae finds it tender.

Then Youngjae realizes he’s doing it again. Jaebum is pushing him away again to protect him; from himself this time.

You can’t let him push you again. This time, it’s you who has to pull him close.

To Youngjae, Jaebum is only a stranger; but a stranger that feels familiar to him somehow. And Youngjae is the type of person to do anything to help his friends, so he has to help Jaebum too.

I have the hope that even if your mind won’t recognize him, your heart will.

Jaebum blushes and looks to the floor and before Youngjae can stop it a smile is spreading through his face. He’s adorable.

I really believe that what both of you share is true love.

Mark has just closed his room’s door when he’s being pinned against it. He’s still shocked by the action when he feels soft lips claiming his; Jinyoung’s lips are ravishing his, as if he was truly hungry. Hungry for him.

Mark doesn’t even try to resist. He submits to the pleasure Jinyoung is giving him and delivers as much as he receives, pulling Jinyoung’s body closer by his waist. Jinyoung moans and starts kissing lower, spreading kisses along his jaw.

Mark moans. He hasn’t felt something like this ever in his life, and the sweet pleasure Jinyoung is offering to him is almost unbearable. He feels suffocated, hot and in need for release. His body aches for Jinyoung; his inner wolf screams for him to take the other, to mark him and make the younger his.

As Jinyoung continues travelling lower scattering kisses through his neck, he wonders if this is the time to do it, to mate him. But he realizes that he can’t do that now, not when their enemies are still out there and if something happens to him, then Jinyoung is going to suffer too. And he can’t drag Jinyoung down with him.

Jinyoung bites his collarbone and Mark growls; that felt real good. His body wants Jinyoung desperately; the problem is that Mark’s heart needs Jinyoung safe and sound.

“J-Jinyoung” Mark calls between moans, trying to resist the urge to mate him.

But Jinyoung doesn’t stop. Instead he goes up again to suck at a sensitive spot on Mark’s neck, sending shivers through Mark’s entire body.

“Jinyoung… Jinyoung s-stop” he demands again.

But Jinyoung is way too excited now. He also feels the urge to possess Mark’s body and heart. He needs Mark and he’s going to have him. He wants to show the other just how much he loves him; he wants to be with Mark forever.

Jinyoung’s hands find the hem of Mark’s trousers and is about to pull down the zipper when he’s being pushed away roughly.

All his arousal dies upon seeing Mark’s face. He’s burning with fury, and Jinyoung doesn’t understand very well why. Doesn’t Mark want him as much as he does?

“Jinyoung, we can’t do this” Mark says angrily.

It’s not that he’s angry with Jinyoung. Well, he’s a bit because the other didn’t listen to him when he was asking him to stop. But he’s angrier with the world for not letting him have what he wants because if he does he can lose the person he loves; so unfair. And well, his inner wolf is also mad at him for stopping when he was already aroused and ready to mate.

“I’m sorry” Jinyoung sheepishly says, wondering if it’s his fault for speeding things with Mark when they have barely been together. “I shouldn’t have got carried away. I don’t know what happened. Maybe it's because I missed you so much”.

Jinyoung is looking so disappointed that Mark feels really regretful about what he’s going to do.

“It’s not your fault Jinyoung” he says. “It’s mine. I shouldn’t have let you get in”.

“What do you mean?” Jinyoung asks, now staring at him surprised.

“You don’t belong here” Mark states and Jinyoung’s heat stops beating for a moment. “You’re being constantly hurt and away from me and I can’t do anything to protect you”.

“But Mark-“

“Maybe it would be better if you’d leave. This isn’t your place”.

“What are you saying, Mark?” Jinyoung asks him in disbelief. “I’ve just come back to you. Why are you kicking me out?”

“Because I’m tired” Mark says loudly, almost yelling, startling Jinyoung.

Jinyoung stares at him frowning, not knowing what Mark means with all this.

“I’m tired of finding you to lose you again” Mark answers, turning away from Jinyoung so he can’t see his teary eyes.

Jinyoung finally understands what’s going on, and it’s about to open his mouth to argue but what Mark says next leaves him defeated.

“I don’t want this”.

Jinyoung’s face falls at that. It doesn’t matter what Mark doesn’t want, if he doesn’t want this situation or being with Jinyoung at all; Jinyoung understands that what Mark wants to say is that he doesn’t want to be in a relationship that is being constantly broken.

He should have known this was going to happen; that the differences between both of them would interfere eventually. But Jinyoung hoped that Mark would fight to overcome them and be together.

But Mark has just surrendered and Jinyoung can’t do anything if Mark doesn’t want to fight by his side.

“Okay, I get it” Jinyoung says. “I’m sorry”.

Mark doesn’t know what Jinyoung meant with that apology, but he doesn’t have time to find out because Jinyoung is already out from his house.

Youngjae is still pretending to believe the lies his friends are throwing to him and wondering when they are going to tell him the truth when they hear someone knocking roughly at the door. All of them look between each other curiously. Finally Jaebum stands up and opens the door.

Jinyoung rushes in, ignoring everyone in his way as he walks angrily to his room. His friends are more than shocked to see him like that and more when they hear him taking out his things and putting them inside a bag.

Jinyoung does a quick work of it and goes out, stopping midway to look at his friends with watery eyes.

“I’m leaving” is the only thing he says.

The rest stare at him more shocked than before, not understanding anything.

“Why? You’ve just come back” Jaebum asks.

“Mark doesn’t want me here anymore” he answers, “so there’s no reason for me to stay”.

Yugyeom sighs. He had the feeling something bad was going to happen, but he wasn’t expecting it to be this soon. Shura and Youngjae look at each other, not understanding why Mark wouldn’t want him anymore when he’s so in love with Jinyoung.

“That can’t be” Jaebum says, “he couldn’t stop saying how much he missed and loved you when you were away”.

“Well, he must have changed his mind” Jinyoung answers.

“But just a while ago you were kissing and hugging?” Youngjae asks then.

“Look guys, I know I’ve just come back but I can’t stay here” Jinyoung says. “If you want to know more then you should ask Mark instead”.

“But I’ve just got you back too” Youngjae cries while pouting, hoping it will make Jinyoung change his mind.

But it doesn’t work. Instead Jinyoung takes a pen and writes something on a paper.

“This is Jackson’s address” he says, giving the paper to Youngjae. “You can come visit me if you want to. And you have Jackson’s number too. I’m going to get myself a new phone but in the meantime you can call him, okay?”

Youngjae wants to protest, but then he sees Shura shaking her head to him. Youngjae understands then that this isn’t his issue to meddle and that he has to give Mark and Jinyoung time to solve whatever happened to them.

“Well, goodbye guys” Jinyoung says. “I’m going to miss you”.

“Don’t go, Jinyoung” Youngjae pleads one last time before hugging the other tightly.

Jinyoung bites his lip. He wants to stay with his friends, especially with Youngjae now that he’s finally back too. But he can’t stay here where Mark doesn’t want him. Even if Mark breaks his heart, he’s still determined to do anything to make him happy. And if he has to go to satisfy Mark’s wishes then he’ll do it.

“I’m sorry Youngjae” he says, trying to separate Youngjae from himself. “But I have to go”.

Youngjae frees him and sits again on the couch, feeling neglected and sad. He doesn’t want Jinyoung to go, and he also doesn’t want Jinyoung and Mark to break up. They’re his ideal of true love, the perfect example of that when it comes to love there aren’t any differences. He really can’t believe they have argued. It seemed impossible before.

“Wait, Jinyoung” Jaebum says before he can go. “You can’t go alone. Let me drive you”.

“Don’t worry, I borrowed Jackson’s phone and I’ve already called Bambam” he says, “they’re coming to get me”.

Jaebum nods, and they remain silent until Jinyoung bids them farewell again and they let him go after hugging him.

“Boy, what happened?” Jackson asks Jinyoung while driving them home. “You seemed very happy beside Mark”.

“Mark doesn’t want me there” Jinyoung answers, looking through the window.

“But how is that possible?” Bambam asks him. “You were eating each other’s faces when you met earlier”.

“I’m not saying that Mark doesn’t love me anymore. I know he does. But he doesn’t want me there”.

“Dude, if he loves you then why are you here right now?” Jackson asks, confused.

“He said I don’t belong there. That we are from different worlds and he’s tired of losing me”.

“Why are you so calm about it?” Bambam asks, also not getting the situation.

“Mark needs space to think” Jinyoung clarifies. “He’s scared he’ll lose me again because we’re almost entering a war. I understand; we had just found each other again when they took me away from him. I just have to wait until this is over and Mark makes sure that nobody is going to take me away from him again. Then we’ll be able to be together again”.

“How can you be so sure about it?” Jackson asks.

“Because I know Mark” he says. “He almost made me believe that he didn’t want me anymore. But I understand now. After all, I can feel what he feels. And I sense fear”.

“But you said you didn’t mate” Bambam says as he remembers their talk with Jinyoung. “Or did you mate in the short period of time you were together?”

“Almost” Jinyoung answers. “He stopped me. I think that’s why I was also that affected. He left me hanging”.

“But doesn’t it hurt you? You know you don’t have to pretend with us”.

Jinyoung doesn’t say anything. At the front, Jackson and Bambam glance at each other while waiting for his response. Finally Bambam sighs and turns around to face Jinyoung, calling his name.

Jinyoung looks at him and then Bambam notices a tear rolling down Jinyoung’s cheek.

“It hurts” Jinyoung mutters. “It hurts so much that we’re separated again when we’ve just found each other. It hurts to know that Mark prefers to push me away instead of having me by his side to fight with him. It hurts so, so much…”

Jackson glances at him from the rearview and almost stops the car when he sees his friend crying, but Bambam’s hand on his thigh prevents him from doing so. With his other hand Bambam reaches for Jinyoung’s and the latter accepts it. Bambam’s position is a bit uncomfortable but he doesn’t care. He needs to calm down his two most important persons in the world.

“Jinyoung” he mutters, drawing circles on Jinyoung’s palm with his finger. “It’s okay to cry. Just let all go out. You’ll feel better”.

Jinyoung lets out a few more tears before drying them with the sleeve of his shirt, and then looks seriously at Bambam again; who is truly amazed at how strong and calm is his friend being in this situation.

“I know he loves me” Jinyoung continues. “I know he means good with this… but it still hurts, because all I want to do is be with him. I just want to hug him, and kiss him and spend all my life by his side. But he thinks he’s not strong enough to protect me. But you know what, Mark Tuan? I don’t need any protection. They have tried to kill me, they have kidnapped me, tortured me and made me torture too. And I didn’t care, because I only wanted him to be safe. I did everything for him. Why can’t he see that?”

“Jinyoung”, Jackson says finally, sick of just being able to hear how his friend falls apart. “Have you thought that as you want him to be safe he wants you too? Maybe he thinks that you will be safer with us. You can’t blame him for wanting to protect you”.

Bambam turns to stare at him, quite amused that something like that came out from his boyfriend’s mouth. Jackson briefly looks at him as if he was saying ‘what’, and Bambam smiles proudly to him.

Jinyoung stares at them; a bit jealous they get to do all those small things and make it seem as if it’s something only both of them understand, something that is only theirs. But somehow it succeeds at making him calm down.

“I know I can’t blame him,” he mutters after a while. “But if he thinks I’m going to stay away from this, then he’s very wrong. I still can help Hyunwoo. And if Namjoon summons me as part of the pack I’m going. Then I’ll make him see that I don’t care about who tries to separate us because I will always find a way to come back to him”.

Bambam and Jackson look at each other and smile. Jinyoung is the most stubborn person they know; so if he says that he’ll find a way to be with Mark again, then he’s going to have him one way or another.

Youngjae is aware this is an ambush.

Shura and Yugyeom left saying that both of them needed fresh air; but Youngjae caught the knowing glance between them and realized it was only an excuse to leave him alone with Jaebum.

So now here he is, sitting on the couch with Jaebum awkwardly sifting on a chair in front of him, with neither of them saying anything. The way Jaebum blushes and seems nervous about his presence turns to be adorable in Youngjae’s eyes. He can totally understand why he fell in love with the other the first time.

He thinks that the least he can do for Jaebum and his other self is try to get things friendly again. He has to gain Jaebum’s trust again, and he wants to feel comfortable with other too.

“So,” Youngjae finally says, making Jaebum flinch. “We were good friends before”.

“Yes” Jaebum mutters.

“And how were we like? Together I mean”.

He sees Jaebum flinch on his seat and then scratch the back of his neck.

“Uh, well…” Jaebum starts saying. “You were nice. Really nice. And I… I made a fool of myself more than once because you were too…sweet”.

“Like what?”

Jaebum glances at him, then at the floor and finally sighs before staring seriously at him.

“Look, Youngjae” he says finally. “I… I asked your friends to lie to you”.

Youngjae frowns, but then he hears a voice in his head telling him that it’s only a proof that Jaebum was trying to push him away again as he thought.

“Why? Hadn’t you said we were friends and that I was nice to you?”

“That’s the problem, Youngjae. You were really kind to me. I’ve never met someone like you before and you caused me to act strange. And I was scared I could hurt you because of my past so I tried to push you away from my life and told you horrible things to make you go. You were kidnapped because of me. You were hurt because of me, and I can’t stand that”.

Youngjae is visibly surprised; but not by the information Jaebum is giving him but because it’s the own Jaebum who is telling him the truth. Well, not all the truth; he hasn’t said anything about them being in love with each other. But it isn’t really necessary either; Youngjae is sure of it just from hearing Jaebum’s words.

“Why did you ask my friends to lie to me?” he asks confusedly.

“Because now you have a new start. You can start a new life without me hurting you. I think… I think you can do better now. You don’t even have to befriend me. I only want you to be safe”.

Youngjae stares at him, letting his words sink in before standing up and going out. Jaebum sighs; he should have known something like that was going to happen.

He has just risen to his feet when he hears the door being knocked again. He rushes to it in case it’s Mark and needs him but what he sees leaves him more than shocked.

“Hi”, Youngjae says happily, smiling widely to him. “I’m new in this neighborhood and I want to meet all my neighbors. My name is Choi Youngjae, nice to meet you”.

Youngjae extends his hand to Jaebum, still smiling. Jaebum looks between Youngjae and his hand and sighs while accepting it.

He hasn’t changed after all, he thinks. He’s still the angel I met before.

“Nice to meet you too, Youngjae” he says while shaking Youngjae’s hand. “My name is Im Jaebum”.

“Oh look, we’re both Jae’s” Youngjae comments while giggling.

Jaebum’s smile only gets wider at that. He’s really glad that Youngjae decided to give him another chance, because this time he isn’t going to waste it.

“Seems like it” he says, smiling tenderly to him. “Do you want to come in?”

“Yes, please. I would like to get to know you more”, Youngjae says before sitting on his previous spot at the couch.

“What do you want to know about me?” Jaebum asks, also taking his seat on the chair.

Youngjae smiles lovingly to him before answering.

“Everything”.

Mark is lying on his bed, face buried in the pillow. He knew it was going to hurt but damn, the pain he feels it’s really intense.

“What have I done?” he asks himself.

He was longing for Jinyoung’s presence and when he had it he let him go. He let his fear get to him and push the younger away.

Wait, Mark suddenly thinks, isn’t this situation familiar?

Mark lifts his head from the pillows, leaning on his elbows while staring at the wall. He realizes then that he has just done what Jaebum did to Youngjae: he pushed him away to protect him, but they all know how it ended. Mark curses himself while getting up from the bed; he can’t believe he did the same mistake Jaebum did. He was always telling Jaebum to be stronger and not let his fear overcome him, and now he is the one possessed by fear.

He quickly gets out from his room and the house as well. As he rushes towards Jaebum’s house he realizes that Jinyoung always found a way to come back to him. He should have trusted Jinyoung’s strength before. The younger doesn’t need Mark to protect himself; he has proved well enough that he can stand by his own feet. Mark should have kept him closer, so that way Jinyoung wouldn’t need to find a way to come back to him.

Just as he’s about to knock the door Jaebum opens it, looking shocked at him.

“Mark?” Jaebum mutters.

Mark passes by Jaebum and searches inside the house for Jinyoung, noticing that his door is open; he’s not there.

“Where’s Jinyoung?” he asks, turning to the other.

“Mark,” Jaebum answers, closing the door again. “Jinyoung is gone”.

Mark’s world crumbles upon hearing it. So Jinyoung actually left him as he asked. He can’t blame him though; he shouldn’t have said anything to begin with.

“Gone where?” he asks.

“Jackson’s house”.

Mark stares at the floor, not knowing what to do now. He has to take Jinyoung back, he has to apologize and then hug him and never let him go. But at the same time, having Jinyoung away from the pack could be safer.

“Mark”, Jaebum calls him, squeezing Mark’s shoulder with his hand. “Jinyoung told us you asked him to go. Why would you do that?”

“I thought he would be safer with his human friends”, Mark answers, trying to relax under Jaebum’s touch. “I wasn’t thinking properly. I shouldn’t have said anything”.

“Have you realized you have done the same…” Jaebum stops, glancing slightly to the bathroom’s door, “…the same thing I did with Youngjae? Push him away to protect him but ending hurting him?”

“I’ve realized now. But I can’t keep losing him to have him back just to lose him again. I thought that pushing him away would stop that. But this time I’ve screwed it up and maybe I’ve lost him forever”.

Mark sits on a chair, looking dejected. Jaebum places both hands on Mark’s shoulder, massaging them. Mark did so much for him when he lost Youngjae; the least he can do is pay him back helping him now.

From the other side of the bathroom door, Youngjae remains silent listening to their chatting. He was ready to go out when he heard Jaebum saying his name and stayed still, hand already on the doorknob.

“I don’t think so”, Jaebum says. “If he wouldn’t want you to find him again he wouldn’t have given us his address”.

“Did he?” Mark asks, lifting his head violently.

“Yes,” Jaebum says, showing Mark the paper with the address Jinyoung wrote on it. “Youngjae and I were leaving to pay him a visit since we don’t have anything else to do here”.

“Is Youngjae here?”

“He’s in the bathroom” Jaebum whispers.

“How are you dealing with that, Jae?” Mark whispers back.

Youngjae chuckles lightly at how ridiculous it is for them to whisper when he can hear both of them perfectly.

“Well, I ended up telling him that I asked you to lie to him because I want him to have a new start” Jaebum whispers and Mark raises an eyebrow to him. “I know; I’m so weak for his puppy eyes. He has always had so much power over me, Mark. He got me wrapped around his finger since the beginning”.

“But I bet you loved it”.

“Of course. I don’t mind selling my soul to him. I only wish I would have done things right from the beginning”.

“Well, you have the chance now” Mark whispers, standing up from the chair.

He’s about to say more when he hears Youngjae coming out from the bathroom with a wide smile plastered on his face.

“Hi, Mark!” he happily says. “Are you here to join us visiting Jinyoung?”

Mark’s face falls, not knowing still what to do; so he shakes his head to the younger.

“I might see him tomorrow” he says, “but for the moment I need some time to think”.

“Of course”, Youngjae says, walking to open the door. “But I’ll tell him you want to speak with him”.

Mark smiles slightly to him.

“Do you think he’ll forgive me?” he asks the younger.

“You know him better than I do” Youngjae answers, “but I’m sure he will. I’ll tell you later everything he says to us, okay?”

“Chill boy,” Jaebum warns Youngjae, “maybe Jinyoung wants some privacy”.

“He won’t know” Youngjae says with a wink, making Jaebum blush. “I’m team MarkJin forever”.

This time is Mark who blushes.

“What are you saying…” he mutters.

“Well, we should go before it gets darker” Jaebum says, pushing the smiling Youngjae out carefully.

“I’ll be in my room” Mark whispers to Youngjae after exiting behind them and closing the door.

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure Jinyoung forgives you” the younger whispers back, patting his shoulder before going first.

Youngjae turns around after taking a few steps more and raises his thumbs, shouting ‘MarkJin forever!’ before running away, giggling like a child.

“He’s so adorable”, Jaebum mutters without thinking.

Mark chuckles before pushing him after Youngjae.

“You’re so whipped, Jaebum. Stop drooling” he says while laughing. “Go get your sunshine. I promise I’ll talk with Jinyoung tomorrow”.

Jaebum glares at him but quickly smiles upon hearing Youngjae demanding him to hurry playfully.

“I’ll see you later, okay?” Jaebum requests, now smiling at Mark too.

Mark nods and waves at him before walking home.

“We’re lucky you gave me a key to you apartment or else you would be ruined” Hyunwoo says after opening the door.

Minhyuk smiles at him and bows, thankful to his other self for giving Hyunwoo a key since both Kihyun and him lost the ones they had. It also means that they really trusted Hyunwoo, and Minhyuk somehow feels relieved about it.

“Thank you for everything, Hyunwoo” Minhyuk says, “you’ve really saved us from a big mess. Twice today”.

Hyunwoo smiles gently to him. He follows Minhyuk to his room as Kihyun and Changkyun come in, both of them walking awkwardly next to each other.

“Well, what do you want to do?” Changkyun asks, startling Kihyun.

He turns around and looks at him, trying to hide his nervousness for being alone with a guy he used to like and that is almost sure likes him too.

“I think I’m going to review the video now” Kihyun answers, rushing to his room to get his laptop and quickly returning back.

He sits on the couch and turns on the computer. Changkyun stares at him, making the other even more nervous. Kihyun glances at him, but quickly swifts his gaze back to the screen when his eyes meet Changkyun’s.

Kihyun pretends to be busy with his laptop, but still can feel Changkyun’s eyes on him. It makes him anxious but not in a bad way, somehow it feels good. Kihyun is sure a part of him is enjoying way too much the attention he’s receiving; something really strange since he usually goes unnoticed by others. He doesn’t want unnecessary attention on him, but somehow he’s not uncomfortable receiving Changkyun’s.

His heart stops beating for a moment when he feels another weight on the couch just beside him. He doesn’t need to look to know its Changkyun again. The younger doesn’t say anything, but Kihyun’s heart starts beating again as if it wanted to go out from his chest.

At Minhyuk’s room, said owner is busy trying to find his diary. Kihyun mentioned something about Hyunwoo written on it by him, so it could be useful to help him remember about his life as a member of the S.U.S.F. He clearly remembers what Kihyun said about it, but he’s trying hard not to think about it. Hyunwoo being the perfect gentleman with him isn’t helping calming his heart.

Hyunwoo watches Minhyuk searching for his diary. He grins, seeing how cute the other looks when he’s focused on something. Minhyuk feels a gaze on him and turns to meet Hyunwoo’s eyes, both of them turning their heads to the other side in embarrassment. Hyunwoo then decides to focus his attention on the framed pictures on Minhyuk’s bedside table. There are photos of Minhyuk with his family, of Minhyuk and Kihyun when they were teenagers and a few more recent. He finds another pic of the S.U.S.F. squad, the same he has on his own desk at the office. He also has another picture of the squad celebrating Minhyuk’s birthday.

Hyunwoo picks it to take a better look at that. He chuckles upon seeing what’s going on: Hyungwon is making an ugly face, always photobombing every picture they take together; Changkyun and Kihyun are at Minhyuk’s sides, the three of them having their faces covered by white cream after having had a cream battle; Wonho would be the only seriously posing for the photo if it wasn’t for Jooheon placing two fingers behind Wonho’s head making it seem as if Wonho had rabbit ears.

Finally Hyunwoo locates himself, standing behind Minhyuk with a happy smile. He then notices Minhyuk’s finger at his cheek, leaving some cream on it. Hyunwoo didn’t even notice when it happened that time; he only realized he had cream on his face when he took a look at the mirror, but he never found the culprit. Now that he comes to think about it, he remembers having taken that photo but he never saw it after. He glances then at the unsuspecting Minhyuk, who is still looking through his drawers for his diary.

Hyunwoo smiles after understanding that Minhyuk kept the photo to himself. He would like to ask the other if he did because he liked the picture or because he was afraid of being caught by him. He wouldn’t have punished him though. He had the hope it was Minhyuk who did it but he never asked the other in case he was wrong.

Hyunwoo places the photo on his previous spot and then notices something hidden under Minhyuk’s pillow on his bed. Hyunwoo glances slightly at Minhyuk, who has moved now to search inside his closet, and then grabs the object.

It turns to be another framed picture; but what Hyunwoo sees leaves him breathless.

Because there, in a precious gold frame rests a picture of Minhyuk smiling brightly as always, with one arm wrapped around Hyunwoo’s shoulders. Hyunwoo usually doesn’t like to be featured in pictures because he thinks he doesn’t look good on them; but he’s also smiling radiantly in this picture. Hyunwoo remembers that day; it was the day Minhyuk asked him to take a selfie with him, and after a lot of begging and a sigh from Hyunwoo’s side, he had agreed to it. Minhyuk took that photo, and after looking at it he smiled to Hyunwoo and said ‘see? You look gorgeous as usual. You should be more confident about your body. You have a really nice one’.

At that point Hyunwoo was more than accustomed to Minhyuk’s boldness; but he blushed nevertheless. Minhyuk smiled at him before walking away, leaving Hyunwoo speechless but with a wide smile plastered on his face.

Hyunwoo smiles sadly at it, thinking about how important he must have had been to Minhyuk, but he never got the balls to tell him his real feelings. Probably Minhyuk was expecting him to do so, even though he could have told Hyunwoo too. He should have realized that the head of the S.U.S.F. only had eyes for him.

Minhyuk finally finds the diary and turns to inform Hyunwoo about it when he sees the other staring intensely with a longing gaze and a sad smile to a picture. Minhyuk narrows his eyes to have a better look of it and he recognizes himself at the photo, with Hyunwoo by his side smiling happily. Minhyuk then stares at Hyunwoo, feeling apologetic because he can’t remember him. He can see from Hyunwoo’s expression that he was important for him; and he seemed to be important for himself too.

Minhyuk finally clears his throat, not being able to keep looking at the tragic scene in front of him. Hyunwoo quickly raises his head, taking one last look at the picture before placing it on the bedside table with the others.

“Oh, you’ve found it” Hyunwoo mutters, trying to sound unaffected by his discovery. “Great”.

“Yes, but it seems like there are a few of them” Minhyuk answers. “Seriously, how much have I written?”

Minhyuk made it seem like a joke to make Hyunwoo smile; but he also smiles while watching Hyunwoo grinning genuinely.

“Well, hopefully you’ll find something useful in there” Hyunwoo says, pointing to the diary on Minhyuk’s hand.

Minhyuk smiles at him before walking to the living room, where he finds a nervous Kihyun typing awkwardly on his keyboard with Changkyun watching by his side.

“Changkyun” Hyunwoo calls the other, making the younger divert his gaze from Kihyun; the latter being more than thankful to Hyunwoo for that. “I’m going to get them a pair of mobile phones since they lost theirs. Wanna join?”

Changkyun looks at Kihyun one last time before nodding.

“We’ll come back later” Hyunwoo says.

Minhyuk nods and thanks Hyunwoo one more time before him and Changkyun go out. When the door closes Minhyuk sits beside Kihyun, who inhales deeply.

“Don’t leave me alone with him ever again, please” Kihyun says.

“Why?” Minhyuk asks with a smirk. “I thought you liked him”.

“I’m not saying I don’t. But he makes me nervous”.

“You have just met him but you already like him? Wow”.

Kihyun smiles but doesn’t say anything, making Minhyuk drop his smile.

“This really bothers me” Kihyun mutters. Minhyuk looks at him intrigued. “The fact that our memories were taken away from us like that. We had other friends before. We were happy. We liked them before and they liked us but now everything is lost. I want my memories back. I want to remember everything, good or bad. I want these people in my life again”.

Minhyuk nods. He also wants the same; he wants to remember his friends, the memories he lost and he wants to remember liking Hyunwoo. He wants to remember everything they did together.

“Me too” he says, “I want my memories back. I want to find whoever did this to us and make her return our memories to us”.

“I would like to contact Youngjae for that too” Kihyun says, opening the recording again. “His memories were also taken from him. And I also want to remember him”.

“You were friends with him?” Minhyuk asks.

Kihyun nods.

“Look”, Kihyun says, pointing at the screen, “when Youngjae gave me the USB I told him I wasn’t going to look at his private video. But he told me he wouldn’t mind if I did and smiled to me, and I felt something. So I decided to look at it to know what he meant with that. Changkyun didn’t look though; he’s very considerate. And after feeling bad for all the pain he had to suffer I’ve found this”.

Kihyun plays the recording at the screen. Minhyuk scoots closer to him and then they see the other Kihyun moving the camera again towards himself. He lifts a page and they find a note written there as the ones they saw earlier.

Youngjae, I know how you feel. You have to be strong, and you can always count on me for whatever you want .I admire you so much; I hope we can develop an abiding and lovely friendship after everything ends (or more if you want^^). You deserve all the happiness in the world, and I’m so thankful to you for the short time we have spent together. Brief but intense.

Fighting, my sweet Youngjae! Until we meet again :D

With love from your soulmate and number 1 fan Doctor Yoo <3

The recording ends with that. Kihyun closes the laptop as Minhyuk wonders about what he has just seen.

“I was friends with him too” Kihyun says, “and you know how I am with other people. There’s a reason why you’re my only friend. But the people of the S.U.S.F. and Youngjae somehow got inside my heart. I want them in again. I want everything back. I’m going to contact Youngjae as soon as I get his number, and then we’ll find together the person who did this”.

“I’m sure that together we’ll take our memories back” Minhyuk agrees.

“I’ll work with Jooheon developing an antidote. But in the meantime you can track the girl that did this and maybe Youngjae can help us too”.

Chapter Text

“Oh, that was fast” Jinyoung mutters after opening the door of Jackson’s house

“Jinyoung!” Youngjae yells before pulling Jinyoung into a tight embrace.

“Hey, hey, relax I’m not going anywhere”, Jinyoung says with a chuckle.

Jaebum smiles at Youngjae’s cuteness. Jinyoung notices him and panics, but Jaebum only shakes his head and comes in, closing the door after him.

“What are you doing here this soon?” Jinyoung asks them as he detaches himself from Youngjae.

“Well, Shura and Yugyeom disappeared suspiciously and left us alone” Youngjae answers with a smirk. “So I asked Jaebum to tell me his entire life and then we decided to come here”.

“Oh, really?” Jinyoung asks Jaebum, surprised about it.

“Yes”, Jaebum answers, “I though you would be missing each other a lot so I suggested paying you a visit”.

“I’m really glad you came” Jinyoung says with a smile, “I’ve missed you guys”.

“Jinyoung, who is it?” Bambam asks as he and Jackson enter the room.

“But if it’s cute otter Youngjae!” Jackson exclaims, rushing to take the amused Youngjae in a bone-crushing hug.

“Cute otter?” Youngjae asks, accepting Jackson’s embrace.

Jaebum glares at Jackson with murderous eyes, feeling the urge to yank the boy away from his precious sunshine.

“Yah, Jackson! Release my friend before he suffocates!” Jinyoung yells noticing Jaebum’s stare and actually feeling worried about his friend’s health.

“But doesn’t he resemble a cute otter?” Jackson asks looking adorably at Youngjae.

“Of course not” Jaebum mutters, “he resembles an angel”.

Jackson and Bambam look amusedly to him, while Youngjae blushes and Jinyoung rolls his eyes.

He’s back at it, Jinyoung thinks.

“I still think he looks like an otter”, Jackson says while taking out his phone. “I’m sure I have a picture here…”

“Please, take a seat” Bambam says, smiling to their guests, “can I offer you some tea?”

“Yes, please!” Youngjae answers, “I’m so thirsty”.

Bambam smiles to him and then looks at Jaebum, who nods his head, and then he walks towards the kitchen.

Youngjae is about to sit beside Jaebum when Jackson takes him by the arm and forces him to sit by his side, provoking Jaebum’s fury.

“Here, look!” Jackson shouts, showing Youngjae his phone’s screen, “don’t you think it looks like you?”

Jaebum starts taking deep breaths trying to contain his assassin instincts. Jinyoung by his side smiles apologetically to him.

“Oh, it’s true” Youngjae says, blinking repeatedly while staring at it, “I do look like an otter. Look Jaebummie, doesn’t it look like me?”

Jaebum flinches at the nickname, but a wide smile quickly appears on his face. Jinyoung smiles at them too; thinking that it’s a good sign of that Youngjae still remembers Jaebum somehow.

“You’re cuter” Jaebum answers after taking a look at it while grinning.

“Thank you…” Youngjae mutters shyly.

“Ah, Jaebum is right! You’re cuter” Jackson says, pinching Youngjae’s cheeks.

The smile on Jaebum’s face drops and he runs a hand through his hair in exasperation. Jinyoung is about to tell his friend to stop with the PDA if he appreciates his life when Bambam comes back, holding a tray with five mugs and some pastries.

“Here you have milk and sugar too” he says while offering everybody a mug.

“Thank you, Bambam” Youngjae says, “you’re very kind”.

“Please, he’s only doing this to impress you” Jackson says. “Once you get comfortable with him he’ll stop doing this. And forget about going out for dinner; he will always leave his wallet at home ‘unintentionally’”.

As a response Bambam kicks his boyfriend’s leg subtly. Jackson grimaces but says nothing, accepting the punishment even though he was saying the truth. When Bambam is finished he sits at the other side of Youngjae.

“Well, have you heard about Namjoon already?” Jinyoung asks.

“No, he’s still missing” Jaebum answers, “but he knows how to take care of himself. He’ll be fine. He’s probably busy helping Junmyeon”.

Jinyoung nods.

“I really hope so” he says, “I wouldn’t want anything bad happening to him”.

Youngjae smiles to him.

“So tell us, Jinyoung” he says, “how was it working with the S.U.S.F.?”

“Oh, really good. You guys should get to know them more. They’re actually nice people”.

“They even accepted this dork as part of the team, so…” Bambam says, pointing to Jackson.

“Who are you calling dork?” Jackson asks, seriously offended. “At least I have a bunch of muscles. Look, look!” he says while showing his muscled arms to Youngjae.

“Wow, amazing” Youngjae mutters.

They hear coughing from the other side and as they turn to look for the injured person they find Jaebum with his shirt covered by tea while Jinyoung dabs it with a tissue.

“Oh My! Jaebum are you okay?” Youngjae asks worriedly.

“Yes, yes I’m fine” Jaebum answers a bit angrily, “I just need a moment with Jinyoung at the kitchen”.

Jinyoung frowns at him but before he can complain he’s being dragged towards the said room.

“Jaebum what are you doing?” Jinyoung asks. “You need to change your clothes. I’ll lend you a shirt”.

“I don’t care shit about my clothes” Jaebum answers. “Why is Jackson all over Youngjae? Who does he think he is? You have to control your friend or else I’ll have to teach him a lesson. Youngjae is mine”.

Jinyoung realizes then that Jaebum wasn’t present when he introduced Jackson and Bambam and probably doesn’t know that they are actually a couple. Even though he also wants to scold Jackson because he’s sure the other is being extra with Youngjae to bother Jaebum. And maybe he should scold himself too because it was him who made a comment on how funny Jaebum looks when someone is too close to his sunshine.

Jinyoung wants to inform Jaebum about his friends being madly in love with each other, but the other doesn’t hear him calling out his name as he continues rambling and rambling about how he’s going to kill Jackson if he doesn’t stop.

“Jaebum!” Jinyoung shouts, effectively shutting the other boy. “Chill man, you’re losing your mind. And you should know that-“

“You know what? It’s okay” Jaebum cuts him, “after all he’s coming home with me. And I’m going to glue myself to him like a limpet”.

Jinyoung sighs.

“Why do you always complain about Mark being possessive when you’re a thousand times worst?”

“Speaking about Mark,” Jaebum says, purposely ignoring Jinyoung’s question. “He came to our house a while after you left searching for you”.

“Did he?” Jinyoung asks staring at him incredulously.

“Yes. He said he was regretful he argued with you. He acknowledges his mistakes and wants you to come back to him”.

“If he wanted me to leave why would he want me there again?”

“Maybe that was my invention but I’m sure he wants you with him”.

Jinyoung leans on the counter and crosses his arms on his chest.

“Look, Jaebum” he says, “I know what was he thinking when he told me to go away. And I’m aware he did it for me. But he didn’t think about my feelings as you also didn’t think about Youngjae’s. Stop trying to protect us because you’re only damaging us. Youngjae and I are very much able to stand by our own feet”.

Jaebum bites his lip. Jinyoung is right; they should stop thinking that because they’re human they are weaker than them.

“And of course I want to go back” Jinyoung continues. “I love him too. I want to be with him more than anything else. But at the moment I’m still mad he chose to let me go instead of keeping me by his side to fight with him. I’ll talk to him tomorrow but not now”.

“As long as you both talk to each other again it’s fine with me” Jaebum says. “Now give me a dry shirt. This smell is damaging my nose”.

Jinyoung chuckles while leading Jaebum towards his provisional room. He takes out a clean sweater and gives it to Jaebum.

“By the way, Jaebum” Jinyoung says after turning to give Jaebum some privacy. “You shouldn’t worry about Jackson. He and Bambam are very happily in love with each other”.

“Then Jackson is a terrible boyfriend flirting with another boy in front of his beloved one” Jaebum says with a scoff as he finishes putting the sweater on.

“Look who’s talking. I remember you openly flirting with my Mark in front of us” Jinyoung says, scoffing back and guiding Jaebum back to the living room.

“We were only joking, okay?”

“Sure. But if I see you getting too close to my man I’m warning you that I won’t have mercy”.

“You don’t have to worry about that”.

“I hope so. But look, you should really worry about that”.

Jaebum follows Jinyoung’s gaze and finds Bambam squeezing Youngjae tightly and screaming how cute the other is while Jackson takes photos of them and squeals.

Jaebum’s ears turn red with fury and he clenches his fists. Jinyoung prays the house will be undamaged by the end of this.

“YAH! GET AWAY FROM HIM HE’S NOT A TOY!”

“Where’s Seokjin?” Shura asks as she accepts the cup Jungkook is offering to her.

“He’s with Yoongi trying to contact Namjoon” he answers. “They’re very worried about him”.

“Do you think he’s fine?” Yugyeom asks him.

“I really hope so. But…it’s not usual from him to not answer their calls. Yoongi and Seokjin are the closest to him”.

“We should trust him,” Shura says. “He has to be okay”.

Jungkook smiles weakly to her. Yugyeom notices the hesitance in his face, but doesn’t say anything.

“How is Youngjae?” Jungkook asks then. “You said he lost his memories of Jaebum. It has to be hard, knowing that someone took an important part of your life out from you”.

“He’s fine” Shura answers. “Jaebum asked us to not tell him about them being in love with each other, but still I think that Youngjae wants to be his friend again”.

“Well, we kind of forced them to have a talk alone” Yugyeom says.

“Do you think they will be like before?” Jungkook asks.

“I really hope so. They were so in love with each other but everything went wrong… but I’m sure it will get better from now on” Shura honestly says.

Jungkook nods and smiles innocently to her.

“And when are you two going to mate?” he asks then.

Shura chokes in her drink while Yugyeom looks shocked at him, totally not expecting the question.

“Mate is a strong word” Shura says after recovering, “we aren’t even dating”.

“Because you don’t want to” Jungkook says, “look, Yugyeom is blushing”.

“I- I’m not blushing!” Yugyeom complains; but his face is as red as a tomato.

“Seriously guys, being mated is the best sensation in the world” Jungkook says dreamily. “It’s true that you feel everything more intense, pain included; but it’s really worth it”.

“But aren’t you scared?” Shura asks him. “You feel what he feels. You suffer as he suffers. And if he dies, you’ll die too”.

“I know”, Jungkook says, still smiling widely. “I barely knew anything about mating when we did it, but as I told Seokjin that night, it really doesn’t matter to me. If he died even if we weren’t mated, I would have also died because I can’t live a life without him by my side”.

“Wow, Kookie” Shura says, “you’re my younger brother but you talk as if you were the older between us”.

“I’m only stating facts” he says, “I really love Seokjin so much. A life without Seokjin wouldn’t be a life”.

“You both are soooooooo cute~!” Shura squeals while hugging her brother.

Jungkook laughs while Yugyeom smiles tenderly to them.

“Ah, before I forget!” Jungkook exclaims while disentangling himself from Shura. “Seokjin and I made this for you”.

Jungkook gives both of them a bag full of homemade cookies, making his sister squeal in delight and Yugyeom smile at him brightly.

“They look so delicious!” Shura says. “But what for?”

“We felt like the good vibe was dropping so Seokjin thought it would be a good idea to make cookies to lift everyone’s mood” he answers. “But Yoongi summoned him to search for Namjoon so we couldn’t make more. These are the only ones we could make, and I wanted you to have them”.

“This is such a beautiful gesture” Shura says, “thank you so much, Kookie!”

“Wow, cookies from Jungkookie” Yugyeom jokes, making the siblings burst into laughter.

“Thank you again, Hyunwoo” Minhyuk says, checking that his new phone works well.

“Stop thanking me, please” Hyunwoo says while smiling gently to him, “I’m just doing what every normal person would do in this case”.

“Sure” Changkyun mutters, eyeing the other and raising an eyebrow to him.

“I was thinking…” Minhyuk says, leaving his phone on the table. “It’s already late, why don’t you stay for dinner?”

Changkyun and Hyunwoo look at him with shining eyes, while Kihyun glares at him.

“And you can also stay for the night” Minhyuk continues, ignoring the pleading gaze from his best friend. “I have an extra mattress in my closet and Kihyun has another bed in his room”.

Minhyuk turns to smirk at his friend, but Kihyun just looks at him at the edge of having a panic attack.

“Well, if it wouldn’t be much bother to you, I would feel relieved knowing that you are okay tonight” Hyunwoo says.

Kihyun wants to say that they are going to be fine and it’s not necessary for them to spend the night there when Minhyuk claps his hand over Kihyun’s mouth.

“Of course,” Minhyuk says.

Kihyun is the only one who doesn’t smile at that.

“Aren’t Jinyoung’s friends nice?” Youngjae asks Jaebum as they walk towards the pack’s residence.

“Yes, they’re the nicest” Jaebum sarcastically says.

“Don’t be like that. They are really a lovely couple”.

“Jinyoung could have said they were a couple first”.

“And Kihyun also texted me. He’s so nice too. I want to meet him again”.

“Sure…”

Jaebum sighs. Why is Youngjae receiving so much affection today from everybody? It really bothers him and makes him jealous because he also wants Youngjae’s care.

Youngjae turns to smile at him, missing the broken branch at his feet. He trips over it but Jaebum quickly catches him and steadies him by the waist.

“You have to be more careful” Jaebum says without letting the younger go.

Youngjae smiles to him nevertheless. Jaebum sighs, surrendering to the younger’s cuteness. As Youngjae doesn’t make a move to get away from him, he places one of his hands in Youngjae’s cheek. He studies Youngjae’s face, as if he was rediscovering the beauty in front of him again.

Suddenly Youngjae’s mind buzzes, and images of Jaebum in the same position but wearing different clothes and his hair styled back appear in his mind. He closes his eyes, trying to relieve the pain in his head. He sees in his mind Jaebum staring at him the same way, but they are at the common room surrounded by a crowd of people. He remembers that party but not being with Jaebum.

Jaebum doesn’t know what’s going on with Youngjae; he seems nervous, but he’s not trying to push him away. He calls the younger’s name softly, and Youngjae responds by opening his eyes to meet Jaebum’s worried ones. Jaebum caresses Youngjae’s cheek with his thumb and ends placing it just above Youngjae’s mole under his eye.

Youngjae melts into the touch, his body reacting naturally to Jaebum. He doesn’t even realize he’s leaning towards Jaebum; his face close to Jaebum’s and his hands pulling the other closer by his shoulders. Anticipating what’s coming next, Jaebum closes his eyes and Youngjae leans closer; his lips almost touching Jaebum’s.

Jaebum lets go of Youngjae as soon as he hears an unfamiliar engine noise coming near them. He takes Youngjae by the arm and drags him to hide behind a tree. Youngjae stares confusedly at him wondering what’s going on and also why he was almost kissing the other. Then he sees the cars stopping a few meters away from where they are hiding, but he doesn’t recognize any of them or the persons that get out from them.

“Who are they?” Youngjae whispers to Jaebum.

Jaebum stares at them a while more before turning to look at the other.

“I don’t know”, Jaebum whispers, “but they aren’t members from our pack. We need to inform the others”.

Youngjae barely has time to nod before Jaebum takes him by the hand and drags him towards the pack’s residence.

Shura has just ended telling the two younger boys the story of how she knocked out a guy thinking that he was a thief when the boy only was trying to flirt with her when they hear the door being banged roughly. The three of them stare surprised at each other before Jungkook gets up and opens it.

“You have to get out” an unknown guy commands him.

Jungkook takes a step back so Shura and Yugyeom can see the other. Both of them get up quickly, knowing as Jungkook that this guy it’s bad news.

They obediently comply and get out, following the guy towards the pack’s residence entrance, where a crowd is already congregated. They notice Seokjin and Yoongi at the front row and walk towards them.

“Jinnie” Jungkook mutters while reaching to hold Seokjin’s hand, “what’s going on?”

“I don’t know” Seokjin answers, squeezing the younger’s hand, “but I don’t like it”.

Just as more unfamiliar faces start arriving and standing in front of them Jaebum and Youngjae find them.

“Guys are you okay?” Shura asks as soon as she sees the others.

“Yes” Jaebum says, “but this smells real bad”.

“Attention, please” a girl says. The entire pack keeps quiet, waiting for the girl to say something more.

The girl steps aside and a more familiar face comes onto view as Mark also reaches them, asking Jaebum with his gaze what’s going on. Jaebum’s only response is a shake of his head, and then he takes Mark’s hand in his and squeezes it, seeing how nervous the other is.

“He’s part from Jeonghan’s pack” Jaebum mutters loud enough for his friends to hear.

“Hello everyone” the guy says, smiling devilishly to them. “You’re probably wondering why are we here. The answer is easy: I’m your new alpha”.

Namjoon’s pack stare at him is disbelief, not believing his words. The boy clicks his tongue before telling two boys to walk to the front.

The pack watches shocked how these boys throw something in front of them carelessly and shout upon realizing what it is.

Namjoon’s wounded and motionless body.

Yoongi is the first to react as he rushes towards his friend and bends down, placing his hand above Namjoon’s chest to check if he’s actually dead. A few seconds pass before he looks at the pack and shakes his head with teary eyes.

All of them understand that his previous leader is dead, and some of them grimace at the idea of another guy taking Namjoon’s place. Seokjin also bends down besides his friend, not wanting to believe that his leader is gone. Shura claps a hand above her mouth in shock. Jungkook, Yugyeom and Youngjae just stand there, too shocked to do anything. Jaebum holds Mark’s hand tighter while glaring intensely at the guy, same with Hoseok, Jimin and Taehyung.

“As you can see, Kim Namjoon is dead” the guy says with a smirk. “I defeated him fairly in a duel, so I’m the rightful alpha of this pack now”.

“You’re not my leader” Yoongi mutters still crouched besides Namjoon.

“Listen boy” the boy says, glaring at Yoongi, “he’s gone, and you have to accept me as your new alpha”.

“You may have stolen Namjoon’s position, but you’re not my alpha. You’re not my leader”.

“Then dare me and defeat me”.

Yoongi glares at him again, but he’s also scared of fighting this boy. If he has defeated Namjoon he’s way out of his reach.

The other notices and scoffs.

“Well, now you are part of Kim Sewon’s pack” he says with a proud smile. “Since today, your departures from the pack will be controlled. You can’t leave the pack unless I give you permission, understood?”

“But some of us have jobs out of here” a man complains.

“Then you’re calling your bosses and telling them you’re quitting. And then you’re going to give your phones to me, all of you; and I’m going to cut the internet connection. Any contact with the outside world is forbidden”.

As a proof that his words are now law, two of Sewon’s minions approach a girl from Namjoon’s pack and take her phone away without caring about the girl’s complains. They continue doing the same with the rest of them when Bonnie finally approaches Namjoon’s body.

She bends down and caresses his hair tenderly. Yoongi and Seokjin stare at her shocked, but then she gets up and firmly looks at Sewon.

“Can I keep the body?” she requests.

All of her friends stare at her confused, but Sewon just scoffs again and looks at her with disdain.

“Of course. You can do with it whatever you want” he says.

Bonnie nods and bends down to pick Namjoon’s body up.

“Bonnie, what are you doing?” Seokjin asks her quietly.

“He isn’t dead” she whispers.

Yoongi and Seokjin look at each other in disbelief.

“But his heart isn’t beating” Yoongi whispers then.

“I know” Bonnie whispers again, “but I still can feel him. He’s alive; he has to be”.

Yoongi and Seokjin want to believe her, after all she’s Namjoon’s mate. But how can Namjoon possibly be alive when his heart is no longer beating?

“Are you going to help me or not?” Bonnie asks more loudly then.

Seeing that Yoongi and Seokjin are too shocked to help her, Shura and Jungkook approach the girl to do it.

“Thank you” Bonnie says as the three of them lift Namjoon from the floor.

“Bonnie”, Jungkook whispers as they walk towards the nursery, “are you okay?”

“If your question is if I’m going to die too then the answer is no” she replies, “Namjoon is still alive. I know it’s hard to believe when his heart is motionless but I still can feel him faintly”.

Jungkook is doubtful about her answer, but Shura collects all her words and keeps them replaying on her mind.

Inside Minhyuk’s bedroom said owner prepares the mattress on the floor for Hyunwoo, who is changing into one of his pajamas that was casually left inside Minhyuk’s closet. Minhyuk was a bit shocked when Hyunwoo mentioned that he had one there, but then he remembered that he and Hyunwoo were so close before.

After everything is settled he picks up the photo Hyunwoo was looking fondly before. He stares at it, seeing how comfortable and happy he seemed there by Hyunwoo’s side. He smiles sadly to it before placing it again at his spot as he hears steps coming towards his room.

Hyunwoo comes in and closes the door behind him, and then he places his used clothes neatly on a chair. Minhyuk watches him doing so, smiling at him unconsciously.

“I’ve prepared this” Minhyuk says, pointing to the mattress. “But I’d be a terrible host if I’d let you sleep on the floor, so use my bed please”.

“Oh no”, Hyunwoo replies while shaking his head, “I can’t let you sleep on the floor either. This is your house; I’d be a terrible guest too if I’d let you sleep on the mattress instead of doing it on your own bed”.

“I have to insist” Minhyuk argues back, “you have done so much for us; please, let me do this for you now”.

“I have to insist too. This is your bed, so please sleep on it. I don’t want to be a bother”.

“You’re not a bother. Please sleep on my bed”.

“I can’t”.

Hyunwoo and Minhyuk stare at each other, neither of them wanting to give in. Minhyuk sighs and Hyunwoo smiles at him.

“Then the only option left is for us to share the bed” Minhyuk says.

“Are you sure?” Hyunwoo asks softly.

“Of course”, Minhyuk answers while lying on top of it. “C’mon”.

Hyunwoo smiles again before lying on the bed by his side.

Minhyuk turns off the light and then both of them just lie there while staring at the ceiling.

“Do you think they’ll be fine?” Hyunwoo asks.

“Sure” Minhyuk answers, smiling as he imagines Kihyun’s face right now. “Changkyun is a nice guy and Kihyun is very polite; he won’t do anything that could offend him”.

“Changkyun was very glad with your offer but Kihyun was intensely glaring at you. I thought he was going to kill you, especially after you said that he could lend Changkyun a pajama because they’re both short”.

“He takes the jokes about his height very serious. I think I would have been slayed by now if it wasn’t because we’re friends”.

Hyunwoo chuckles at that, making Minhyuk smile widely.

They remain silent for a while until Hyunwoo speaks again.

“Wanna know something?” he asks Minhyuk.

Minhyuk turns to look at him and nods.

“I already knew this was going to happen”.

Minhyuk stares at him confused.

“What do you mean?”

“This. Us lying on your bed, sleeping together”.

“How come you already knew?”

Hyunwoo chuckles again and turns to stare into Minhyuk’s beautiful eyes.

“Because we’ve done the same countless of times. You would always send me to change in the bathroom so you could settle the mattress and then try to persuade me to sleep on your bed. But I’d always refuse because it’s your bed, and then we would have argued about it until you would offer to share the bed”.

“Then if you knew why didn’t you stop me when I was settling it?”

“I wanted to know what you were going to do now. I assumed you had changed because you lost your memories but I didn’t realize that it was the only thing that really changed. You’re still the same kind hearted, sweet and beautiful Lee Minhyuk I knew before”.

Minhyuk smiles gently to him, internally having a heart attack because of how lovely the man by his side is.

He takes the forgotten sheets and covers both of them, and then turns to look at Hyunwoo again.

“Good night, Hyunwoo” he whispers with a grin.

“Good night, Minnie” Hyunwoo whispers while snuggling closer to the other boy.

Kihyun hopes the other boy is already asleep, because he’s sure he isn’t going to be able to hold another conversation with the other boy constantly trying to flirt with him. He appreciates the fact that Changkyun is still interested in him, but it only makes him more nervous. He thinks that his body must recognize the other, because he would always blush when Changkyun is closer to him and try to lean more towards him; even when his mind tries to avoid it as much as he can.

“Thank you for letting me stay here” Changkyun whispers.

Kihyun curses lowly, reaching under his pillow to grab his phone. He has been messaging Youngjae non-stop since he was given a new phone and the younger’s number but it’s been nearly two hours since Youngjae last replied back. He used it as an excuse to ignore Changkyun, hoping that the younger would stop the flirt to no avail. But as much as he needs Youngjae to reply so he can have a distraction from Changkyun he also wants the other to answer so he can make sure Youngjae is fine.

He sends another message pleading Youngjae to answer him because he’s really worried about him before placing the phone back at his previous spot.

“It’s nothing” he replies to Changkyun then.

“Do I make you uncomfortable?”

Kihyun turns quickly to look at the other, who is staring back with really intrigued eyes.

“Why would you think that?” he asks.

“Because you’re always trying to be as far away from me as possible. You really don’t seem to like me being here with you”.

Kihyun bites his lip, now feeling awful that he made Changkyun feel like that. He likes Changkyun’s company but at the same time it makes him nervous, but not in a bad way. It’s very complicated when your body wants one thing but your mind wants the other.

“It’s not like that, Changkyun” he answers finally. “But how would you feel if you won’t remember anything and suddenly you see yourself saying that you like a boy that you don’t even know?”

Changkyun then looks at the floor, actually thinking how Kihyun and also Minhyuk are feeling at the moment.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t think about it” Changkyun says. “It must be hard. I shouldn’t push you like that”.

“You don’t have to be sorry” Kihyun says and smiles gently to him. “It’s just… too much information to take in. I’m sure tomorrow will be a better day”.

Changkyun nods and then turns to look at the ceiling with Kihyun following.

“I really hope we can at least get along well again” Changkyun mutters.

Kihyun doesn’t respond but nods.

“Good night, Kihyun” Changkyun whispers then.

“Good night, Changkyun” Kihyun whispers back.

Kihyun checks his phone one last time before turning to look at Changkyun again, but Youngjae hasn’t answered yet.

Great, Kihyun thinks, I don’t think I’m getting any sleep tonight.

Jinyoung walks in the dark towards the pack’s residence. He has decided to come back with Mark, as he can’t stay longer mad with the other. But he feels like the journey was longer than the first time he came. Something is off with the pack, Jinyoung can feel it.

He has just taken two steps closer when he hears a voice. He flinches as he recognizes it belonging to Mark but he can’t understand what he’s saying.

“Mark?” Jinyoung asks loudly.

He stays still for a few seconds before he hears clearly now Mark’s voice again.

“Jinyoung I need you. Please help me”.

Jinyoung runs through the forest. He doesn’t even know to where he’s running but he has to find Mark urgently.

“Mark! Mark where are you?” he yells while running.

“Jinyoung I need you. Don’t leave me, please. I need you”.

“I’m coming Mark. But please, tell me where you are!”

Jinyoung stops to catch his breath, and then is when he sees a bunch of blonde hair in the darkness of the night.

“Mark!” Jinyoung screams as he starts running again.

Mark turns around and looks at him. Jinyoung speeds up when he notices tears rolling down Mark’s face.

“Jinyoung, please help me. I need you”.

But no matter how much Jinyoung runs, Mark only seems to be further away. Jinyoung calls his name repeatedly, but Mark only keeps pleading Jinyoung to help him. Finally Jinyoung seems to be reaching him and Mark stretches his arm, as if he was signaling to Jinyoung to take his hand.

“Help me Jinyoung” he pleads, “I love you”.

Jinyoung extends his arm before him to hold Mark’s hand, his fingers almost touching Mark’s when suddenly the other disappears and the only thing he sees is darkness.

“Mark?” he asks, looking around him searching for Mark.

Just as he’s going to take a step ahead his feet bumps against something at the floor. He ducks his head and panics upon realizing that it’s Mark’s body lying at his feet.

He quickly bends down and takes Mark on his embrace. He places his ear on Mark’s chest, trying to hear Mark’s heart beating; but the only thing that he hears is silence.

“Mark no”, Jinyoung mutters while shaking Mark’s body, “please don’t. Wake up, Mark! Please wake up!”

Mark doesn’t respond. Jinyoung doesn’t know what to do anymore, so he just hugs Mark tighter and cries hardly above Mark’s head, thinking how unfair is that he has been given the power to heal others but he couldn’t help Mark.

“Mark, I’m sorry” he whispers between sobs, “I’m so sorry Mark. I love you. Please don’t die”.

Jinyoung takes Mark’s body by his shoulders and shakes him again, not giving up on him.

“Mark wake up! I also need you! Wake up!”

Jinyoung keeps shaking Mark’s body while yelling at him when he hears another voice calling his name; but he ignores it as he continues trying to wake Mark up.

Suddenly he opens his eyes and the first thing he sees is Bambam’s worried face.

“Bammie?” Jinyoung asks, “What’s going on?”

“You were having a nightmare” Bambam says, giving him a glass of water.

Jinyoung empties the glass in one go before looking at his surroundings, realizing that effectively he was having a nightmare and nothing that happened was real. He takes a deep breath of relief before starting to panic again.

“Mark” Jinyoung says, “he was in my dream. He wanted my help, and he said he needed me. I need to go”.

Jinyoung gets up from his bed before Bambam can do anything to stop him, but luckily Jackson comes inside that moment, placing a hand on Jinyoung’s chest preventing him from opening his closet.

“Where do you think you’re going at 3AM?” he asks Jinyoung.

“I need to go back to the pack” Jinyoung answers very determinate, “Mark needs me”.

“It was only a nightmare”.

“No it wasn’t” Jinyoung sighs and walks back to sit on his bed again. “I’ve been trying to contact the pack since Youngjae and Jaebum left. Youngjae said he would text me when they got back but he never did, and I don’t think he forgot. Also, I can feel Mark. He has been feeling uneasy since a few hours ago. You know we both share a special link even when we aren’t mated. So believe me when I say that it wasn’t only a dream. Mark feels scared and wants me with him. He needs me, and if he needs me I have to go”.

Jinyoung attempts to go again but this time both his friends hold him back.

“Jinyoung, we understand” Bambam says, “but it’s pretty late. You can’t go now, just wait until the morning and then you’re free to go”.

“Besides” Jackson says, “if there’s something wrong with the pack, don’t you think your friends would like you to be safe with us?”

Jinyoung looks between them and finally sighs. They won’t let him go no matter how much he begs and pleads. But he feels the urge to run there and hold Mark between his arms and shush him to sleep.

Jackson and Bambam give him a final hug before exiting the room. Jinyoung sits on his bed and stares at the moon outside the window, thinking about Mark. He can feel the other, and Mark is scared and sad. He probably must be too nervous to sleep too. Jinyoung wishes he could be with him, calming him while cuddling.

Mark, he thinks, probably our bond isn’t strong enough for us to communicate like this, but you have to calm down. I’m here with you. Forget about our fight; forget about everything but the fact that I love you.

Mark is staring at the moon outside his window. He can’t sleep; he’s too agitated to rest. So many new and foreign things are happening and Mark doesn’t know what to do. He feels insecure and he craves for Jinyoung’s touch. Jinyoung always has had a way to calm him, either hugging him or kissing him or just being there with him. He once again blames himself for pushing the younger away when he needs him the most. How he wishes he could be hugging Jinyoung now. If he has the chance to see Jinyoung again, he will make sure to be a more loving and dedicate boyfriend for him.

Suddenly his body starts to relax. A warm feeling invades his body, and Mark melts into that. He closes his eyes and tries to focus on the sensation because he’s 100% sure it’s Jinyoung relieving him somehow. He also thinks he hears Jinyoung’s voice somewhere inside his head, so he tries focusing more on it. He misses most of his words but he clearly catches the last ones.

Jinyoung, he thinks, if you’re hearing me, you have to know that I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. I also love you, so much. Now you can’t come back, but I wish I could see you again one last time. I wish I could be there at this moment with you, holding you between my arms. I miss you. I need your kisses to feel safe again. Thank you for being part of my life, Jinyoung. You’re the best thing that has ever happened to me.

Jinyoung opens his eyes shocked as he starts hearing Mark’s voice in his head. He can hear the other clearly, and smiles upon hearing Mark’s words. But instead of replying to him, he starts singing a lullaby on his mind.

When he finishes he doesn’t hear Mark’s voice again. But he can feel that Mark has calmed down and now it’s probably sleeping. He also feels that the other is happy, and he feels happy too.

He lies on his bed and closes his eyes, now ready to sleep.

Wait for me, Mark. He thinks before drifting to sleep. I’m coming to you first time in the morning.

Chapter Text

Jeon Shura hates being controlled, especially by people she utterly dislikes.

That’s one of the reasons why she didn’t want to join a pack, because she doesn’t like receiving orders and people commanding her and telling her what she can do and what not.

However, she never felt like that in Namjoon’s pack. Under Namjoon’s leadership she was really happy, she felt as if she had found a new place she could call home. She never felt as if Namjoon was a though leader; he seemed more like a friend than a leader itself. The pack felt more like a family than just a place for homeless people like her. She has friends there and she also found a missing member of her family: the little brother she always wanted to have.

But now everything has been ruined thanks to Jeonghan and his pack. Shura can’t forgive the other for everything he has done to her friends. First Jaebum and Yugyeom and then Youngjae too. And now the entire pack is ruined, her friends are in pain and her leader is dead.

Or isn’t he?

Shura wants to believe Bonnie when she said Namjoon was alive. Who can know better than his own mate if he’s alive or not? But the fact that Namjoon’s heart is motionless is a big conflict.

Shura goes out from her house to run for a while through the forest. She needs that little bit of freedom more than ever. It’s still early in the morning so probably nobody would mind if she escapes for a while.

She rolls her eyes at her own stupidity as she sees a group of Sewon’s fellows blocking her way towards the forest.

“Hey pretty” one of the guys says, “where are you going alone so early in the morning?”

“I’m going for a run” she answers bitterly, “or is it also forbidden now?”

“No, it isn’t” the same guy answers, “but you can’t go alone”.

Shura glares at him. Of course it couldn’t have been that easy.

“I can take care of myself, thank you” she says firmly.

“We know” another one of the boys says, taking a step closer to her, “but who knows what could you be actually doing out there? I’m afraid you can’t go there alone”.

Shura is about to jump on the guy and bite him when a strong hand pulls her away from the boy.

“She’s with me” Yugyeom says, pulling Shura behind him and shielding her from the other boys with his body.

Shura sees the first boy glaring at Yugyeom with Yugyeom glaring back at him, both guys engaged in a glaring contest.

“And why would you think we are going to allow both of you to go out there?” the boy asks.

“Your beloved leader gave me permission to keep my position” Yugyeom answers calmly, “so I’m pretty much allowed to go there. Besides you have men all around so we wouldn’t be able to run away from the pack even if we wanted to”.

“He’s right” the second guy says. “Let them go. They can’t escape anyways”.

Yugyeom takes Shura’s hand in his and leads them pass the boys, bumping his shoulder against the other boy before going away. Shura glares at all of them before turning to the front to follow Yugyeom.

“Thanks” Shura says when they have walked a few meters away from them.

“It’s nothing” Yugyeom answers, “It’s the least I could do since I’m still able to patrol the forest”.

They both walk hand in hand for a while until they decide to stop and sit on a low branch.

“This situation sucks” Shura mutters then, bouncing her feet in the air.

Yugyeom looks at her and nods, agreeing completely.

“I still can’t believe all of this is happening” Yugyeom mutters while looking at the sky. Shura turns to look at him, noticing that the other wants to say more. “First, I find out that my dad is still alive but it’s convinced that Jeonghan is a savior and doesn’t want to leave his side not even for his own son”.

Shura bites her lip. She knows it’s not her fault that Yugyeom’s father refused to go with his son, but she can’t help but feel a bit sad that she got to be reunited with her actual family and Yugyeom couldn’t.

“Then when everything was going so well for all of us Jinyoung and Youngjae got kidnapped” Yugyeom continues. “And I couldn’t help Jaebum. He has always been so attentive to me, so caring… I really wanted something good for him, and I thought he could be finally happy with Youngjae. But that went wrong too. Jinyoung was still missing when Youngjae went missing again. And it was freaking Jeonghan who took him”.

Shura nods slightly. She’s also mad all that shit happened to her friends. Everything was good until Jeonghan had to come in the picture.

“And just when we’re reunited again Mark and Jinyoung argue, Youngjae is forced to forget Jaebum and now Namjoon is dead” Yugyeom finishes.

Silence falls upon them. Yugyeom is still looking at the sky but his eyes shine with anger and his fists are clenched. Shura stares at him, feeling ashamed that she can’t do anything to help Yugyeom, a person she has learnt to love and that she’s sure she can no longer live within.

“And the worst part is that we can’t do anything to solve it” Yugyeom mutters after.

Shura’s head rises violently as she hears Yugyeom’s defeated tone. They have to keep fighting. There’s always a way, they just have to find it. But it’s difficult to keep fighting when there’s no hope.

“Maybe that’s the problem” Shura suddenly says, startling Yugyeom a bit. “We think we can’t do anything, so we just sit here and look what’s happening in front of us. I always thought that words were enough for people to understand each other, but they are no longer working. We have to do something. As little as it can be, it will count for something”.

Shura climbs off the branch as she finishes. Yugyeom looks confused at her.

“Where are you going?” he asks when he sees her walking away.

“To do something” she answers before disappearing through the woods.

The sound of the door being opened and then closed alerts Bonnie of the presence of another person at the nursery. She stands up from the desk and approaches Shura, who has stopped to stand beside Namjoon’s body lying on a stretcher.

“You said he’s still alive” Shura says before Bonnie can ask what is she doing there, “so how do we get him back?”

Bonnie can’t help but smile as finally one of her friends believes her.

“I don’t know” Bonnie answers. “I’ve cleaned his wounds, but neither of them could have provoked his death. I also did blood tests, and I’ve found something strange in them but I can’t decipher what it is”.

Shura nods, scanning with her eyes Namjoon’s body. She understands that Namjoon was poisoned with an unknown substance that has caused his heart to stop beating.

“If only Jinyoung was here maybe he could find out what that thing is” Bonnie continues, “but now we don’t have a way to communicate with him”.

“Maybe I can sneak out and find him” Shura suggests.

“That’s pretty dangerous, Shura. Sewon has put a decent amount of his fellows controlling the territory”.

“Then I’ll go to him and I’ll beg to him or something”.

Bonnie is about to refuse again when they hear a third voice irrupting in their conversation.

“That won’t be necessary”.

Both girls turn to look at the owner of the voice, even though they have recognized him perfectly.

“Jinyoung!” Shura shouts as she rushes to hug the other.

“What are you doing here?” Bonnie asks him.

“Well, I felt something off with the pack” Jinyoung answers accepting Shura’s embrace. “So I came to check what was wrong, but as soon as I put a feet here an unfamiliar man popped out from nowhere and told me that now this territory is Kim Sewon’s property. I didn’t believe him so I asked to meet Namjoon and he informed me he’s dead. Then I asked him to show me his dead body and he told me to come here. He also not very kindly told me that if I come inside the pack I can’t go out again”.

Jinyoung takes a few steps closer towards Namjoon’s body, staring at it from head to toes.

“Is he really dead?” Jinyoung asks Bonnie.

“I’m sure he isn’t” the girl says, “I can feel him. He’s still alive, but we don’t know how to wake him up. I’ve found a strange substance in his blood but I can’t decipher what it is”.

“Maybe I can scan him” Jinyoung says, “I’ve been discovering new sides of my powers so it may work”.

Bonnie nods and then she and Shura leave space for Jinyoung to do it. Jinyoung puts his hands on Namjoon’s chest and closes his eyes, focusing on Namjoon’s body.

The rooms falls silent for a while until Jinyoung’s eyes pop open suddenly and he retrieves his hands from their previous position.

“I’ve also felt something weird in his body” Jinyoung says, “but it somehow feels familiar. I don’t know what it could be though”.

“If you’re able to do this, could you also be able to reanimate his heart?” Shura asks.

“That is a whole new level” Jinyoung answers. “I don’t know if I could be able to do it”.

“I think that’s a pretty good idea in fact” Bonnie says. “If we could make his heart beat again maybe he would wake up”.

“But I’ve never done that before” Jinyoung argues.

“Then it’s the time to try it” Shura says.

“I can’t. What if I only worsen it and Namjoon actually dies? Bonnie would die too”.

The three of them duck their heads, thinking of a solution for the problem at hand.

“Then try it on me” Shura says then, staring deep into Jinyoung’s eyes.

“Shura, don’t” he says. “If anything goes bad you could end dead”.

“As much as I want Namjoon back I can’t allow you to do it” Bonnie argues, “and he wouldn’t want that too”.

“But what other option do we actually have?” Shura asks determinate. “We can’t test it directly on Namjoon. We need a subject, and I’m volunteering for it”.

“We’ll find another way” Jinyoung mutters.

“There isn’t another way” Shura argues. “If we don’t do this we won’t know if it works. And we need Namjoon back. He’s my leader and I don’t want anyone else in his position. Namjoon has done so much for me and my friends and I own him so much for it. So please let me do this for him”.

Bonnie and Jinyoung look at each other, wondering what to say to make Shura leave the idea.

“But what about Youngjae?” Jinyoung asks. “Do you think he’ll agree with this? And Jungkook? What will happen to them if you die?”

“And Yugyeom” Bonnie adds. “You aren’t mated but your bond is strong already. If anything happens to you he will suffer”.

“How can you know that?” Shura asks a bit bothered.

“He was the one who cut your face back then, wasn’t he?” Bonnie asks. “It didn’t heal after a while. If your bond wasn’t strong it would have disappeared sooner”.

“I have something to say about that too” Jinyoung says. “I saw that cut the day we met and I used my powers to cure it”.

“See?” Bonnie continues. “If Jinyoung wouldn’t have healed it maybe you could still have it”.

“But he isn’t going to die if I do, is he?” Shura asks then, shutting the other two. “I’m the only option left”.

“I’m not going to do it” Jinyoung refuses again.

“Listen, Jinyoung” Shura says seriously, “I wouldn’t have volunteered to do it if I wasn’t sure you’re able to do it. I trust you and your powers. I’m sure you can do it”.

“Still it’s a huge deal and I won’t risk your life. Seriously, think about the others. Do you think they would allow you to do that? Not even Namjoon would allow it”.

“It’s because I’m thinking of them that I want to do this. The pack needs Namjoon. If I can do something to help him then I’m going to do it. Do you really believe I’m not thinking about the others? Of course I am. I think about my brother, about Youngjae, Jaebum, Mark… and also Yugyeom. Tell me Jinyoung, isn’t Mark the reason you’re back?”

Jinyoung flinches and scratches the back of his neck.

“Well, yes” he says. “But it’s different”.

“Why is it different?” Shura continues. “You came back because you want to help Mark. I’m doing this because I want to help my friends too. You understand that, right Jinyoung?” Jinyoung doesn’t say anything as he has run out of arguments. “So please let me do this”.

Jinyoung stares back and forth between Bonnie and Shura. Bonnie also doesn’t know what to say to make Shura drop the idea. They don’t have another option but allow her to do it.

“Okay, I’ll do it” Jinyoung says after a sigh. “But I need Youngjae with me. When we are together we are more powerful. With Bonnie’s and Youngjae’s power would be enough to succeed. But I would only agree to this if Youngjae also agrees. If Youngjae refuses then I won’t do it”.

“It’s fine with me” Shura says with a smile. “I’ll go get him”.

Youngjae closes his laptop as soon as he hears the door being opened. He was watching his video again, wondering about the entire Jaebum issue and still asking himself why he almost kissed Jaebum yesterday.

Shura greets him with a smile and he smiles back.

“Are you busy?” she asks while taking a seat beside him.

“No, I’m not” Youngjae answers.

“Well, I have something to ask you but before I have to tell you something”.

Youngjae tilts cutely his head, waiting for his best friend to start speaking.

“We lied about Jaebum” she says.

“I know, he confessed everything yesterday”.

“No, Youngjae. What I mean is that we lied to you about your relationship with Jaebum. You two weren’t just friends. There was more going between both of you”.

“What you’re telling me” Youngjae says, sighing because finally someone is being sincere with him, “is that Jaebum and I were together?”

“You weren’t together exactly but you both were in love with each other” Shura answers, “well, Jaebum still is. I’m sorry we lied to you. Jaebum asked us to do it because he didn’t want to pressure you to like him again or something. He wanted you to make your own decisions. But you deserve to know the truth. And the truth is that you loved him deeply. I know he did badly to you and he hurt you, but he loves you the most, Youngjae. He would do anything for you. I know everything about you two and I can assure you that I wouldn’t want anyone else with you but Jaebum. He treasures you deeply”.

Youngjae ducks his head and bites his lip, thinking about how Shura’s words are the same his other self wrote at the video.

“Youngjae” Shura says, making him stare at her again. “I won’t force you to love him again. But please, give him another chance. It doesn’t have to be right now. Maybe after a time you will remember your feelings for him. Or maybe you won’t, and then I will accept it. But Jaebum is a nice guy. He won’t hurt you again”.

“Shura” Youngjae says, “this isn’t something easy for me. So much is happening right now and I keep having these… hallucinations. Or maybe they aren’t hallucinations at all but my memories coming back to me. But my head hurts every time I try to remember Jaebum or when a memory of Jaebum tries to pop up at my mind. So please just give me time. We’re getting to know each other again and I kind of like the guy already but I need some time”.

“Okay, I won’t talk about it again. But now you have to come with me”.

Shura grabs Youngjae’s hand and drags him out from their shared house.

“What’s going on?” he asks confused.

“Jinyoung is here” Shura whispers to him while leading him towards the nursery.

“What?” Youngjae asks very surprised. “What is he doing here?”

“I think we both know what is he doing here” Shura answers.

“Then why aren’t you taking Mark instead of me?”

“Oh, he’s my second target today but now I need you”.

“Why?”

“First promise me you will accept my decision”.

Youngjae stares suspiciously at her before talking again.

“I will accept it only if you promise you aren’t going to meddle between Jaebum and me”.

“Promise” Shura quickly agrees.

“Now tell me what it is”.

Before answering Shura opens the nursery door for him, and leads him to where Jinyoung and Bonnie are standing.

“Youngjae!” Jinyoung exclaims, hugging the other.

“Jinyoung, how could you be that dumb to come back now?” Youngjae asks him while pouting adorably, slapping Jinyoung’s chest lightly.

“Why do you all keep saying that? I decided to come back because I belong here, so stop telling me that I should have stayed away”.

Youngjae finally stops hitting Jinyoung and separates for him. He can understand that the other wants to be with his friends and above all, he wants to be with Mark.

“So,” Jinyoung continues, “have you agreed with this crazy girl?”

Youngjae looks a bit worried to the ‘crazy girl’, but she only nods to him, reminding him about their deal.

“To what exactly am I agreeing?” Youngjae asks.

“You’ve agreed to let Jinyoung stop my heart and then make it beat again” Shura answers.

Youngjae’s jaw drops as he stares in disbelief at her. Jinyoung bites his lip upon hearing that Youngjae has already agreed to it.

“You can’t get it back” Shura says before Youngjae can complain.

Youngjae looks at Jinyoung and sees that he’s also not happy with that, but it’s Shura’s decision and they can’t really argue with that.

“Okay, I’ll accept it” Youngjae says, “but if you die today I’m going to resuscitate you and then I’m going to kill you again for being that reckless”.

“Deal” Shura says with a smile. “Then let’s get started”.

“I don’t know what we are going to do now” Yoongi mutters. “We can’t even contact Hyunwoo and ask for help”.

“They will figure it out eventually” Seokjin says, “and then they will come and free us. I’m positive”.

Jungkook smiles to him and Seokjin gives his mate’s hand a squeeze in appreciation.

“But what do we do in the meantime?” Hoseok asks. “I refuse to call them my pack”.

“I don’t like the idea either” Taehyung says, “but we don’t have another option. We have to behave and wait for Hyunwoo”.

The room falls silent for a moment, but suddenly the door bursts open and they are informed not very nicely by Sewon that the access to the common room is also forbidden and reunions of more of 4 people will be considered as a crime.

The seven guys reunited there glare at Sewon before retreating to their respective houses.

“Fantastic. Now we can’t even talk with our friends” Yoongi mutters after Hoseok and Jimin leave.

“How I wish we could do something against them” Jungkook also whispers before disappearing with Seokjin.

Jaebum is the last to arrive home after Yoongi left with Taehyung. He wanted to talk with Mark, but the latter said he wasn’t in the mood and refused to go out.

Jaebum plops on the couch and stares at the ceiling. Somehow he feels as if all this issue was his fault. He should have confronted Jeonghan when he could. Now the other is messing all his friends’ lives and he can only watch.

Of course Jaebum has thought about defying Sewon and take the pack’s leadership. He feels like all that’s happening is his responsibility and it’s his duty to solve it alone. But right now he doesn’t have the strength to fight.

Right now the only thing Jaebum wants is Youngjae holding him and reassuring him that everything is going to be fine.

“The anesthesia will work in 3…2…1…out” Bonnie says.

They wait for a while until they are sure that Shura is fully asleep and isn’t going to suffer any pain.

“Let’s do this” Youngjae says, placing a hand on Jinyoung’s shoulder.

Bonnie does the same and Jinyoung looks at both of them before placing his own hands above Shura’s heart.

“Everything is going to be fine” Youngjae whispers to him while squeezing his shoulder, “you can do this”.

“She’s not going to die” Bonnie whispers to him too, “if you don’t feel able to do it I’ve already prepared the defibrillators”.

Jinyoung nods and closes his eyes. He focuses on stopping Shura’s heart. Even when it’s his first time doing it, he tries to make it carefully. He hears the beeps start going faster, signaling that the girl is about to have a cardiac arrest.

Jinyoung gulps but doesn’t stop. He keeps thinking about making Shura’s heart motionless at the same time he tries calming his nerves. He needs to be relaxed if he doesn’t want anything to go wrong.

By his side Youngjae and Bonnie remain silent, both with their eyes closed sending their energy and also support to Jinyoung. They doesn’t even falter when they hear the beeps speeding up until the plain line signals that Shura’s heart has stopped beating.

Jinyoung also has a little heart attack as he hears the machine, but he shakes his head and quickly works on reanimating the girl.

“You can do this, Jinyoung” Youngjae whispers to him. “We’re here with you”.

“Relax, Jinyoung” Bonnie whispers too, “you’re doing fine”.

Jinyoung inhales deeply and applies more pressure on Shura’s chest. Her heart isn’t responding to him but Jinyoung is not going to give up on her.

“C’mon Shura” Jinyoung mutters, already feeling his body getting tired and his forehead sweating, “don’t die on me. I don’t want to suffer the giant baby’s fury”.

Both Youngjae and Bonnie smile at that. They tighten their hold on Jinyoung, trying to give him more energy as Jinyoung keeps pleading to Shura to wake up.

After a few seconds the beeps of the machine starts sounding again inside the room. Jinyoung opens his eyes to check if Shura’s pulse is good. Youngjae and Bonnie do the same, and the three grin widely after making sure Shura is really alive.

“You got it!” Youngjae shouts before hugging Jinyoung tightly. “You’re so awesome Jinyoung!”

“This is definitely the most marvelous thing my eyes have ever seen” Bonnie says as she also hugs Jinyoung.

“She’s going to be fine, right?” Jinyoung asks still worried about her.

“Yes, don’t worry” Bonnie answers, “besides I’m going to stay here all the time. If something comes up I’ll be here to help her”.

Jinyoung lets his body rest a bit on Youngjae’s embrace, feeling really exhausted after reanimating Shura’s heart.

“Are you okay Jinyoung?” Youngjae asks him, also worried.

“Yes, I just need some rest” he answers. “I’ll come back later and I’ll be fine, don’t worry”.

“I will stay here for the moment, but let me know if you need something”.

Jinyoung smiles weakly to him before going out. Bonnie prepares to do some checkups on Shura to really prove that the girl is fine while Youngjae takes a sit by her side holding her hand.

Jinyoung is about to reach his house when he hears his name being called by the voice he has longed the most to hear.

He turns around slowly, not because he doesn’t want to see Mark but because is all his body admits after all the effort he has done earlier.

“Hi, Mark” he says with a weak smile.

Mark notices something going wrong with Jinyoung and quickly walks towards him.

“Are you okay?” he asks when he’s close to him.

“Yes, I’m only tired, don’t worry”.

“You don’t look great”.

“Can we talk about this later?” Jinyoung asks, holding onto Mark for support. “Can we just go to your room, please?”

Mark doesn’t answer but firmly nods, intertwining Jinyoung’s fingers with his while leading him towards his house. Jinyoung’s hand feels warm against his, and even though Mark is happy to have Jinyoung by his side again he can’t help but worry for him.

They walk in silence until they get to Mark’s room. When the latter closes the door Jinyoung is already making himself comfortable on his bed. Mark stays there watching Jinyoung settling his pillow how we wants it before placing his head above it.

“Aren’t you going to join?” Jinyoung asks him after.

“Can I?” Mark asks back.

Jinyoung looks at him incredulously.

“Hhhm, of course you can. What makes you think the opposite?”

Mark walks with his head lowered until he’s sitting on the edge of the bed. He stares at Jinyoung as if he was asking for permission. Jinyoung nods his head and then Mark carefully positions himself by Jinyoung’s side but without touching him.

Jinyoung doesn’t mind. He moves then closer to Mark, placing his head on Mark’s chest and cuddling by his side. Mark looks a bit shocked to him.

“Aren’t you going to hug me?” Jinyoung asks.

Mark nods and rounds Jinyoung’s body with his arms. Mark is nervous and clearly wants to say something, so Jinyoung just waits with his eyes closed for the other to talk.

“Jinyoung, we need to talk” Mark finally says.

“We did it last night, didn’t we? You don’t have to apologize again if that’s what you want to do”.

“But I need to” Mark says firmly, startling Jinyoung who raises his head to stare into Mark’s eyes. “I’m not only sorry about what I did. I’m also sorry for being a horrible boyfriend to you. I didn’t understand you and I couldn’t even help you when you were in danger. You always do anything for me, and I feel as if I’m not giving you the same I receive”.

“Wanna know something, Mark? You’re right. You’ve been being an awful boyfriend” Jinyoung says before placing his head again against Mark’s chest. “But you’re the only boyfriend I want. You have your flaws as I have mine. We all do mistakes. Maybe you didn’t understand me but I understood you. You’re really bad at relationships, you know? But that’s also my fault. I haven’t been here to teach you how to do it properly. We aren’t going to be a normal couple ever. Our relationship is going to be constantly teased by the differences between us, but it’s in our hands to overcome them together. I feel able to do anything as long as I’m by your side. So tell me, Mark: do you want to fight with me or are you going to give up on me?”

“I want to fight with you” Mark answers without thinking about it twice. “I want to be with you more than anything. I want to be a good boyfriend for you. I’m not going to repeat my mistakes anymore. But please don’t go anywhere”.

“Haven’t I made it clear that there isn’t any other place I want to be at more than here by your side? You said I don’t belong to werewolf world but I don’t belong to human world either. Do you know where I truly belong?”

Mark shakes his head and then observes Jinyoung placing a finger above his heart.

“I belong here” he says while looking at Mark, “I belong with you”.

Mark feels his eyes getting teary as he sees Jinyoung smiling at him while placing the hand that was previously above his heart on his cheek, stroking it softly.

“And even though I would want to hear it more often from you, I already know you feel the same” Jinyoung continues. “We belong together. Here in the pack or outside of it, I don’t care. As long as I’m with you I’ll be happy. So stop trying to make me go away because this is my place. I won’t let you go, never. Baby you belong to me”.

“I love you, Jinyoung” Mark says as he leans more towards Jinyoung, “I love you so much. I will repeat it for you all you want, I won’t ever get tired of reminding you that you are what gives me life”.

“I like that but you aren’t getting a kiss” Jinyoung says while covering Mark’s mouth with his hand. “I’m still mad you pushed me away, so for the moment you won’t get kisses from me”.

“I guess I deserve it” Mark mutters defeated.

“Now give me my goodnight kiss so I can sleep for a while”.

“But Jinyoung, it’s still daytime. And you’ve just said you don’t want any kisses”.

“I’ve said you won’t be getting any kisses. I never said I couldn’t get them, so give me mine so I can sleep; I’m very tired. It can’t be on the lips though”.

Jinyoung smiles as he feels soft lips leaving a kiss on his forehead. He has missed this so much, cuddling with Mark and receiving kisses from him.

Mark gets a little startled when he sees Jinyoung removing from his embrace. Jinyoung lifts his upper body and then without warning leans towards Mark, kissing him on the lips tenderly but with longing too. Mark moves his lips in sync with Jinyoung’s while taking him again in his embrace.

Jinyoung breaks the kiss seconds after, resuming his previous position with his head again above Mark’s chest.

“I thought you said I won’t be getting any kisses” Mark reminds him with a smile.

“That’s a reward for being a good boyfriend” Jinyoung answers. “Now let’s take a nap. I wasn’t joking when I said I was tired”.

Mark watches Jinyoung as he slowly falls asleep by his side. Mark places a hand on Jinyoung’s head, running his fingers through his hair while admiring the sleeping beauty in front of him. He thinks about Jinyoung’s words earlier. The younger is right: he belongs with Jinyoung. He should have known since the beginning that he did. Jinyoung has been like home for him since the day they met. He’s always comfortable with him and the other provides him with warmth and love.

He pecks Jinyoung’s forehead one more time, leaving his lips for a while resting there. Jinyoung’s body is warm and soft against his. Mark separates after a while and tightens his embrace on Jinyoung, not wanting to let go of the other ever again.

“Here you are” Yugyeom says as he finally finds Youngjae at the nursery talking with Bonnie.

It’s when Youngjae moves that he notices another body lying on a stretcher besides Namjoon’s.

“Oh my God, Shura!” Yugyeom exclaims while running towards the girl. “What happened?”

“Relax, Yugyeom” Youngjae says while placing his hands on Yugyeom’s shoulders. “She’s fine”.

Youngjae tells Yugyeom what happened to Shura, and after a brief phase of anger he relaxes. He then remembers that he was looking for Youngjae because Jaebum wanted to talk with him. Youngjae smiles at him and bides farewell to him, leaving his friend in Yugyeom’s care.

Yugyeom sits beside Shura and takes her hand in his, staring at the still asleep girl. Bonnie said that she should be waking up soon, and Yugyeom wants to stay by his side so he can scold her later for being that reckless.

“Do you know that Jinyoung was scared you would kill him if something had gone wrong?” Bonnie says, staring at Yugyeom from Namjoon’s side.

“I wouldn’t have killed him” he says, and then adds in a lower tone, “I would have made him suffer first”.

Bonnie chuckles at that and reaches to hold Namjoon’s hand.

“Namjoon always cared about all of you so much, as if he was the father of all of you” Bonnie tells him, “and I also felt as if I was your mother. I’ve seen some of you grow up and mate. I’ve seen people coming and leaving the pack. But I never believed that something like this was going to happen to us”.

Yugyeom stares at her, fully listening to all the things she’s saying.

“No one also believed me when I said that Namjoon wasn’t dead” she continues. “And I was going to give up on the idea too as I couldn’t find what put him in this state. But Shura did. She believed in me and gave me hope again. I didn’t want her to do this either but now I think it was necessary. We all need now some hope, and Shura has given it to us”.

Yugyeom ducks his head to stare at Shura. He’s still mad about it but now Bonnie is also making him feel somehow proud of the girl.

“It’s thanks to people like Shura that this pack works” Bonnie says while staring at him. “She’s brave and she’s loyal. She cares about the others purely, with no further intentions. That’s what Namjoon always wanted for his pack. He would always say how proud he is of this pack, of the people he has recruited. He doesn’t only pick random people. He has a good eye to catch the good pieces. He always said that he exists for the pack and he’s one with us”.

“How many packs out there really have the bond we have?” Yugyeom asks then, still looking at Shura. “We also owe so much to Namjoon. If there was anything I could do for him, I would do it without having to think about it twice”.

“See? That’s what we need right now. We need hope. We need something to keep fighting. Shura knew and that’s why she did that. You shouldn’t be angry with her. It was risky but she was brave enough to embrace it. She fully believed in Jinyoung. She believes in his friends, and that’s the reason why together we shall overcome any problem that menaces us. You should be proud of her”.

“I’m proud of her. So, so proud. But I can’t help but worry about her”.

Bonnie smiles at him tenderly.

“She cares about you so much, do you know it?” she asks, startling the boy.

“I also care so much about her” Yugyeom answers nevertheless. “That’s why it makes me so mad, because I care so much about her”.

“I’ve seen you grow up, Yugyeom. I’ve seen you change with time and become a real man. But you were always alone. Don’t you think it’s time for you both to have some happiness?”

Yugyeom stares at her. Bonnie really talks as if she was his actual mother, but it also makes him happy.

“Maybe I’ll ask her out after this” Yugyeom says, “but before I’ll make her suffer for the scare she gave me”.

Bonnie rolls her eyes. These kids, she thinks.

Jaebum opens the door and internally smiles when he finds Youngjae standing there.

“Come in, please” Jaebum says while stepping aside so Youngjae can come in. When Youngjae passes by his side Jaebum adds, “good morning, sunshine”.

Something in Youngjae’s brain stirs at that and past memories start to flood his mind. He hears Jaebum calling him sunshine in his head in different occasions. Youngjae places his hands at the sides of his head, trying to contain the pain.

“Youngjae, are you okay?” Jaebum asks him as he notices the sudden change in the younger.

Youngjae doesn’t answer. He keeps remembering things and it hurts, but now Youngjae wants to remember. He wants to remember Jaebum. He wants to remember loving him.

So instead of discarding those thoughts out from his mind he turns around, facing Jaebum. The latter stares at him, not sure about what to do in this situation. Youngjae takes a few steps closer to Jaebum and hugs him tightly.

He then remembers hugging Jaebum. He remembers being seated on top of him. He remembers having dinner with him and the rest of his friends. He remembers Jaebum staring at him while smiling.

The pain in his mind is almost unbearable but still he has the strength to raise his head and stare into Jaebum’s eyes.

“Hug me back” Youngjae requests firmly.

Jaebum is confused about what’s going on but complies with that puppy eyes. As his arms embrace Youngjae’s body, the younger remembers more. He remembers walking with Jaebum through the forest. He remembers back hugging Jaebum. He remembers himself thinking about how much he loves Jaebum and how he would do anything to protect the latter.

Jaebum keeps calling his name, worried about his state. Youngjae’s eyes start to get teary and he has to hold onto Jaebum for support as he feels his body giving up. He barely can mutter a ‘thank you’ to Jaebum before passing away in his arms.

“Youngjae?” Jaebum asks him.

Youngjae doesn’t respond, but Jaebum can hear his little snores so he sighs in relief. He picks Youngjae up from the floor bridal style and takes him to his bed, placing him carefully on top of it.

He doesn’t know what’s going on with Youngjae, but he can wait to find out when the younger wakes up. He lies with him on the bed and embraces him, taking care not to bother him. Jaebum is not sure if Youngjae can hear it, but he starts singing to him a lullaby his mother used to sing to him before falling asleep. He runs his hand through Youngjae’s hair, caressing it softly.

Whatever thing happens to Youngjae, Jaebum will make sure to be by his side and hold him every time he needs him to. He’s not going to let the other down ever again now that he’s back where he should have been since the beginning.

In Jaebum’s embrace.

Chapter Text

Kihyun hates not knowing things, especially if they’re things other people know.

He hates not knowing what did he do the last past years of his life. He hates not knowing what kind of relationship did he had with the people at the S.U.S.F. He hates not knowing how his relationship with Changkyun was.

But he also hates not knowing how to make an antidote for the silver bomb and he especially hates not knowing if Youngjae is fine.

Minhyuk knows. Well, it’s clearly perceptive by the way he swifts his weight from one feet to the other and bites the end of the pen nervously. Minhyuk is very aware of his best friend’s hate for things he doesn’t know. When they were in high school there was a day when a group of boys were gossiping about something and Kihyun wanted to know, but for some reason the others wouldn’t tell him. Kihyun got that mad that in recess time he sneaked inside the class and threw all their things across the class and put their bags upside down.

That day they learnt that you shouldn’t piss Yoo Kihyun off if you want to live in peace.

“Okay, Kihyun” Jooheon calls him, taking him out of his trance. “I’ve brought all the science books you told me. I hope we’ll find something valuable out of all this”.

Kihyun throws the pen carelessly at the table, quickly reaching for the first book that Jooheon offers to him.

Minhyuk leaves the room to let the geniuses work. He walks to the main room, where Jackson and Bambam are telling something to Hyunwoo with a very worried face. Hyunwoo nods at everything they say while rubbing his chin. Minhyuk realizes that Hyunwoo is bothered, probably because what Jackson and Bambam are telling him isn’t good news.

After Jackson and Bambam end their story the room remains silent. Hyunwoo is now scratching the back of his neck, deeply wondering about something. As if he was feeling the intense and worried glance of Minhyuk, he turns his head to stare back at him. Minhyuk discretely waves at him, smiling a little to try cheer the other up. Hyunwoo smiles at him before turning again towards Jackson and Bambam.

“We have no choice but to take a look at it” Hyunwoo says, already putting on his jacket.

“Can we join you?” Bambam asks him.

“It’s better if you stay here. But call me if you hear something from Jinyoung”.

Hyunwoo checks that his gun is charged before walking towards the door.

“Hyunwoo, wait” Minhyuk says, making Hyunwoo and the other two boys look at him. “Let me join you”.

“Minhyuk” Hyunwoo starts saying, but is cut by the other quickly.

“We were a team before” Minhyuk says, picking his forgotten shotgun from his spot. “I may have lost my memories but I’m sure my skills remain the same. Please let me help you”.

They stare at each other for a brief moment before Hyunwoo smiles to him and separate from the door, inviting Minhyuk to walk outside before him.

“Thank you” Hyunwoo says as he closes the door after himself.

“Stay here” Hyunwoo commands him. “From here it’s Namjoon’s territory. They will detect my presence as soon as I put a feet on it. Stay here in case something is actually wrong”.

Minhyuk nods and gives Hyunwoo’s shoulder a squeeze before hiding himself behind a tree and aiming his shotgun in the direction Hyunwoo is walking to in case he has to help him.

As Hyunwoo had predicted, as soon as he trespasses the property two guys pop out of nowhere and block his way towards the pack’s residence.

“Human, back off or we’ll have to make you” one of them warns.

“Excuse me, but I have an alliance with the leader of this pack, Kim Namjoon” Hyunwoo informs him.

“This pack no longer belongs to Kim Namjoon” the other guy answers. “He’s dead. The leader of this pack is Kim Sewon and he doesn’t have any alliance with you”.

“My bad. I’m sorry, I won’t bother you again”.

Hyunwoo turns around and goes back to where Minhyuk is, making sure the others haven’t seen him.

“What happened?” Minhyuk asks him when they are in a safety zone.

“They said Namjoon is dead and they now have a new leader” Hyunwoo says as he motions for Minhyuk to follow him. “I don’t think the others have taken it so lightly, especially since now Jinyoung is with them. Well, we can only wait and hope the others will solve it their way. If they don’t trigger it we can’t help them”.

“I see…”

They walk in silence with their heads ducked down until they hear a branch crushing in front of them. Instantly Hyunwoo raises his head and takes a defensive position, with Minhyuk already aiming his shotgun at the two boys in front of them.

“Shit, Myungsoo” one of the guys says, taking the other and pulling him behind him.

The four of them stare at each other for a while trying to decipher if they are allies or enemies, but the two guys seem more defensive than offensive.

“Humans” the guy the other had called Myungsoo mutters.

“How can they know we’re humans just by a look?” Minhyuk asks. “We look the same!”

“But you smell different” Myungsoo explains, “less…doggy”.

That earns a smile from Minhyuk, who lowers his weapon. Hyunwoo notices and relaxes his body.

“My name is Kim Myungsoo” Myungsoo says, “and this is my partner Nam Woohyun”.

As Hyunwoo and Woohyun exchange information, Minhyuk notices that Myungsoo is still clinging onto Woohyun’s arm even when they have made sure they aren’t enemies; but it doesn’t seem defensive. It looks genuine, as if it was comfortable for Myungsoo to do so. Woohyun and Hyunwoo are both too focused on their talk to notice, but Minhyuk stares at the way Myungsoo looks at Woohyun as he talks. He has seen that sight in Hyunwoo’s eyes. That appreciation for the person he’s looking at, that passion…that love.

Minhyuk wonders if he also looked at Hyunwoo the way Myungsoo is looking at Woohyun. He also wonders if Woohyun looks at Myungsoo the same way he does.

He’s almost sure Woohyun does because he put himself before Myungsoo when they met. It seemed as a simple gesture but nothing escapes from Minhyuk’s eyes. He noticed how Woohyun pulled Myungsoo behind him to shield him from their possible attackers. He would have preferred to suffer instead of Myungsoo.

“So you had an alliance with Namjoon” Woohyun says, attracting Minhyuk’s attention again. “So did us. We can’t just stay here without doing anything”.

“I know about your rules” Hyunwoo says. “We can’t do anything if they took the title from Namjoon fairly. We have to prove that it wasn’t fair or wait for his pack to do something before getting involved in it”.

“I wish we had the lead pack’s help, but unfortunately the alpha is at an unknown location. He and his best men are missing and we don’t know where they are. We’re alone in this”.

“I’m afraid they also did something to the lead pack” Myungsoo intervenes. “They don’t just disappear without telling anyone where they are heading to, not even their mates”.

“We needed Namjoon’s pack’s help” Woohyun continues, “they were the only pack we could count on. Now we don’t have anything”.

“You have my squad” Hyunwoo says. “We were allies with Namjoon. We still are. We have friends inside there that won’t accept other leader but Namjoon, so believe me when I say that they have to be plotting something. We just have to wait and intervene as soon as they make a move from the inside”.

“That’s smart” Woohyun says. “Can we trust that they are going to do something?”

“I’d bet anything that they are” Hyunwoo says and Minhyuk nods by his side. “So if you want their help accept mine. We can also be allies”.

“We need to speak with our alpha” Myungsoo tells them. “You can come with us if you like”.

“Of course. Lead the way”.

When Youngjae wakes up the other side of the bed is empty, but it’s still warm. He turns to the side trying to avoid the sun and finds a glass of water with some pills by his side. He takes them and drinks the water, smiling after knowing that it was Jaebum who put them there.

When he gets out from Jaebum’s room he’s greeted with the sight of the other cooking at the kitchen.

“Good morning, sunshine” Jaebum greets him. “Or should I say good evening?”

“How much have I slept?” Youngjae asks him as he takes a sit at the couch.

“A few hours” Jaebum answers as he turns off the stove, serving the meal for him and Youngjae.

He places a plate full of food in front of Youngjae, who smiles before thanking him.

“Are you going to tell me what happened earlier?” Jaebum asks him as he takes a seat besides the younger.

“I think I’m remembering things” Youngjae answers, staring serious at him. “When we touch my head buzzes and images start to appear in my mind. But they aren’t hallucinations… I somehow know they are memories. But it only happens with you and not all the time”.

“It’s okay, Youngjae” Jaebum says as he reaches to remove a strand of hair from Youngjae’s hair, placing it behind his ear. “But don’t push yourself like that again. You scared me. And you won’t want to remember everything for me”.

“Why not?” Youngjae asks curiously.

“You won’t like the last things you heard from me”.

“What did you say that is that horrible?”

Jaebum bites his lip before looking again at the younger.

“I called you disgusting” Jaebum says, seeing how Youngjae’s face contorts in surprise.

“Why?” Youngjae asks in disbelief.

“I needed you away from me. I didn’t want you to get hurt because of me, so I pushed you away without realizing I was the one hurting you”.

“But why calling me disgusting? Why did it affect me so much?”

“You confessed to me that night” Jaebum says with a deep voice, startling Youngjae. “You even kissed me. And I loved it because I loved you. But I had to reject you because I thought I was protecting you by doing so”.

They remain in silence before Youngjae clears his throat.

“You ‘loved me’?” he asks, and Jaebum stares at him confused. “Don’t you love me anymore?”

“Of course I still love you” Jaebum says, “but it’s different. You’re Youngjae but at the same time it feels as if you were a different person”.

“Because you’re a stranger for me” Youngjae adds.

Jaebum ducks his head and bites his lip. After that, none of the two say anything. They just finish their meal and make a silent agreement on washing the dishes together. Jaebum cleans them and then Youngjae dries them with a towel. It’s inevitable for them to touch while doing it, but Youngjae doesn’t look at him again. Jaebum stares at him sadly.

“I’m leaving” is the only thing Youngjae says before going out from the house.

Jaebum can’t complain. He leans on the counter, wondering what did he actually said to make Youngjae angry.

Outside, Youngjae is still leaning against Jaebum’s door, also wondering why he is so shaken up by Jaebum’s words.

I loved it because I loved you.

It’s that ‘loved’ what really bothers Youngjae, but he doesn’t really know why. It’s normal that Jaebum said it that way because he was talking about his past; so what is he exactly mad at?

You’re Youngjae but at the same time it feels as if you were a different person.

As Youngjae remembers Jaebum’s words he understands that it hurts because he’s jealous. Jealous of who? He thinks. Jealous of himself? Of the version of himself that knew Jaebum and loved him? But it’s still him. He’s Youngjae but he doesn’t have the memories of Jaebum.

At that moment Youngjae realizes it hurts because Jaebum is in love with his past himself, the one with the memories. Even though they are the same person, if he doesn’t have those memories he’s not Youngjae to him. And Youngjae is really bothered by the fact that a part of his life is missing. A very important part that he wants back with all his heart.

He wants to remember loving Jaebum and he wants Jaebum to love him like he did before.

Yugyeom keeps walking in circles besides Shura’s body. He’s getting nervous because the girl doesn’t wake up even when Bonnie said she should have done it an hour ago.

Truth is, Shura is very awake since that time but refuses to open her eyes. She knows Yugyeom is mad at her and is afraid of the scold the younger is going to give her when she’ll open her eyes.

“Why isn’t she waking up?” Yugyeom asks impatiently.

“She’s awake” Bonnie answers, “she just refuses to open her eyes because you’re going to scold her”.

“Thank you so much, Bonnie” Shura suddenly says, feeling betrayed by who she considers her friend.

Bonnie shrugs her shoulders as Shura incorporates on the stretcher. She didn’t want to expose the girl but she can’t keep seeing Yugyeom like that.

“For God’s sake you worried me!” Yugyeom yells, approaching the girl. “How can you do something that risky just like that? Weren’t you thinking straight?”

“I was thinking straight” Shura says. “I was thinking of all of you when I did it, okay? We needed to know if it would work, and now we know. Why can’t you all understand that instead of scolding me?”

“I could have lost you, you know?” Yugyeom asks, running a hand through his hair.

Shura smiles lovingly to him, feeling glad that Yugyeom worries about her that much.

“You’re so cute, Yugyeomie” she says, reaching for his hand to hold it. But Yugyeom averts his hand, glaring at the girl.

“Don’t ‘Yugyeomie’ me” he says angrily. “I’m mad at you. You didn’t only put your life in risk but also pretended to be asleep to avoid talking with me. I don’t understand why I am still in this room”.

Shura sighs and ducks her head in shame. She didn’t want to make Yugyeom mad. She just wanted to help her friends.

“I’m sorry” she mutters.

She understands that the younger is angry. Probably she deserves this, but she can’t just sit and wait for a miracle to happen. She needed to do something. She needed to help Namjoon, her friends, her brother and Yugyeom too.

Yugyeom stares at her. He knows the girl is sorry, but he can’t help but be mad. He could have lost the person he loves. He’s not mad about her wanting to help her friends. Things like that are what really attracts Yugyeom about her, that she cares so much about her friends that she’s eager to risk her life for them.

“Please don’t go” Shura says after, reaching to hold his hand again.

This time Yugyeom allows her to do it. Shura is glad the younger isn’t pushing her away even when she made him mad.

“I know you’re mad at me and you probably won’t forgive me any time soon” Shura mutters. “But if I did it it’s because I don’t want to lose you either. I can’t lose you, Yugyeom. I wouldn’t have minded dying on this stretcher if it would have been useful to you”.

“But I do” Yugyeom says, “I do mind if you die or not. Why do you have to say such things? I don’t want to hear more”.

Yugyeom removes Shura’s hand and takes a step back. He glances at her one last time before going out.

Shura stares at the door with teary eyes. She doesn’t regret what she did, but it hurts seeing Yugyeom like that and hearing those words directed to her by him. She fidgets with the hem of her sweater, trying to suppress the urge to cry.

Bonnie doesn’t say anything, but she approaches Shura and takes the girl in her embrace. Shura burst in tears at the contact, and Bonnie caresses her hair to calm her.

“He’ll understand, Shura” Bonnie whispers in her ear. “Just give him time”.

Minhyuk still wonders about why everybody says werewolves and humans are different if they look the same, act the same and have the same habits. They have been leaded to a large house that it’s supposed to be Kim Junmyeon’s house. Minhyuk has to admit that they have worked hard for it, as this pack is as big as a whole neighborhood and are actually distributed as if they were a separated town.

However he finds a difference as they enter the room where Junmyeon is waiting for them, sitting at a desk with two boys at each one of his sides. There’s another boy resting at a couch, but he doesn’t really seem as if he was paying attention to his surroundings.

Minhyuk finds the difference when Myungsoo walks to sit beside the boy on the couch, but Woohyun stays close to the door. Minhyuk guesses it’s part of a protocol, as if Woohyun had a lower status than the rest of the guys.

He feels bad for Woohyun. Junmyeon quickly offers him and Hyunwoo a sit in front of him, but Woohyun remains standing by the door. He has his head raised, as if he was proud of his status. Minhyuk doesn’t think Woohyun is unhappy with it; but he’s sure Myungsoo is by the way he looks at the other, as if he wanted to tell Woohyun to sit by his side but couldn’t.

Junmyeon exchanges some information with Hyunwoo, but Minhyuk isn’t really paying much attention. His curiosity is attracted by Myungsoo and Woohyun and the boy sitting at the couch. The boy’s eyes are lost in the infinity. He looks in front of him but Minhyuk is sure he isn’t seeing anything. There’s longing in his eyes as if he was missing something.

Myungsoo has stopped staring at Woohyun and now is focusing his attention on the talk between Hyunwoo and Junmyeon. Both are smiling and Minhyuk is sure the negotiation is going to end well, but he can’t tear his eyes off of Woohyun, who is now staring at Myungsoo. Minhyuk wonders if they are together or not. He sees that they really love each other but they doesn’t seem like an actual couple.

At a certain moment Myungsoo turns his head and meets Woohyun’s gaze, who quickly diverts it towards Junmyeon and Hyunwoo. Myungsoo seems disappointed with that, and looks at the floor for a second before paying attention to the meeting again.

Minhyuk feels sad they can’t be together for some reason. As he’s a very curious person, he wants to know everything about Myungsoo and Woohyun and the rest of the pack. But he can’t just go and ask them what’s wrong with them, so he has to live with the intrigue.

Minhyuk stops looking at them and focuses his gaze on Hyunwoo. He’s explaining to Junmyeon the things they discovered from Jeonghan’s pack, but his smile never falters. He can totally understand why he fell in love with him the first time. Hyunwoo is gentle with everyone and has a pleasant presence that dazzles everyone.

Maybe it’s still early to say it, but Minhyuk can feel himself falling in love with Hyunwoo again. But he doesn’t want to end like Myungsoo and Woohyun, having the person he loves so close but so far at the same time.

He doesn’t know what’s keeping both of them apart, but Minhyuk knows what’s keeping him apart from Hyunwoo: his lost memories. He needs to recover them. He needs to remember every single thing he did with Hyunwoo, no matter how small or insignificant it is.

And he’s going to get them one way or another.

“Kihyun, stop it” Jooheon says, “you need a rest. Your brain is about to explode”.

“I can’t” Kihyun says. “I need to know the answer”.

He is supposed to be eating with the rest of the squad at the office, but Kihyun can’t stop looking at the board full of equations and chemical formulas. Jooheon is seriously worried about him; Kihyun has barely moved from that chair and even when he has a plate with food in front of him he hasn’t even payed it a glance.

“Take a rest” Hyungwon says then, “it’s not good for your health working this much”.

“I know” Kihyun says, “but I have to solve it. I won’t rest in peace until I’ll find the right answer”.

“You still have the entire evening to solve it” Wonho says, “please rest”.

Kihyun is going to refuse again when he hears Changkyun calling his name. That catches his attention and he turns his head to look at the younger.

“Kihyun, take a rest” Changkyun commands in a serious tone.

As if it was an order Kihyun has to obey, he abandons the pen he has been holding for a while and replaces it for a fork.

“Happy?” Kihyun asks before eating his meal.

“Thank you” Changkyun says with a smile.

The other five boys look at each other surprised, but after Changkyun sends them a warning glare they decide to let it be.

“I swear” Kihyun mutters after a while, “if I solve this before the day ends I will dye my hair pink”.

“The fuck?” Hyungwon asks, not understanding why Kihyun has the urge to solve it today.

“You have to keep your promise” Changkyun says, ignoring Hyungwon.

Kihyun looks at him defiantly before standing up and throwing the leftovers to the trash. He picks his pen and starts taking notes on a paper.

“Why is he so obsessed with that?” Jackson whispers to the others.

“He doesn’t like not knowing things” Jooheon answers.

“He’s going to faint if he continues like that” Hyungwon says.

“Well, if you want him to stop just ask Changkyun to tell him. It seems like Kihyun only obeys him” Wonho whispers too.

“I can hear you, you know?” Kihyun says without removing his gaze from the paper. “I don’t obey him. And now shut up if you don’t want to die today”.

They remain silent for a while until Wonho whispers again.

“Changkyun control your princess, please. He’s threatening us”.

Mark caresses Jinyoung’s hair as the other sleeps. He smiles at him, thinking how nice it has to be waking up every day by the younger’s side. He couldn’t fall asleep even after Jinyoung did, so he has just been there watching Jinyoung sleep while wondering how their life together would have been if Jeonghan wouldn’t have come in between.

After a while Jinyoung starts to stir in Mark’s embrace. He yawns but doesn’t open his eyes; he presses his body closer to Mark’s instead. Mark chuckles but allows him to do what he wants, resuming his previous task of combing Jinyoung’s hair with his fingers.

“Are you done with that?” Jinyoung asks him a minute later.

“I won’t ever be tired of doing this” Mark says, lowering his head to drop a kiss on Jinyoung’s forehead.

“I won’t ever be tired of receiving your kisses either” Jinyoung says with a smile, finally opening his eyes to look at Mark.

“Good, because I won’t stop giving them to you ever”.

Jinyoung giggles before lifting himself up, escaping from Mark’s embrace. He sits on the bed next to Mark and kisses him tenderly. It’s just a brief peck but it warms Mark’s heart and makes it beat faster.

“I thought I wouldn’t be-“ Mark starts complaining but is quickly shut up by soft lips crashing against his.

“If you say that again I’m going to take it seriously and you won’t get any kisses for today or the rest of the week” Jinyoung warns him as they separate.

“Yes my lord” Mark says with a bow.

“Now let’s eat something before going to the nursery again” Jinyoung says as he gets up from the bed followed by Mark.

“Why the nursery? Something happened?” Mark asks him.

“I’ll tell you about it later. Now make me lunch”.

“I’m not your slave”.

“Do you want kisses or not?”

“You’re going to give them to me equally”.

Jinyoung raises an eyebrow at him before walking towards the door.

“Okay, Mark. Bye”.

Jinyoung gets to open the door before Mark grabs his arm with one hand and closes the door with the other.

“I’ll do what you want but please don’t go” Mark pleads with his puppy eyes.

“That’s my boy” Jinyoung says petting his hair. “Now make me lunch”.

Mark obeys, but as he cooks he starts plotting his revenge in his head. Jinyoung sits at the counter besides Mark and watches him. He knows the elder will take revenge on him but he doesn’t mind. He knows Mark won’t hurt him.

“Hey, Mark” Jinyoung says, bouncing his feet in the air. Mark hums to him, focused on preparing their meal. “After all this ends, do you think we could live together?”

“We’re living together now”.

“Not like this… I mean, actually living together. Just you and me”.

“As if we were married?”

“Yes. We can also get married if you want”.

“Would that make you happy?”

This time Mark stares at him, waiting for Jinyoung’s response. He’s actually curious as if Jinyoung thinks about marrying him one day, because that thought has crossed Mark’s mind a few times.

“Only if it makes you” Jinyoung answers, caressing Mark’s cheek.

“Then we’ll get married” Mark says with a wide smile before resuming cooking.

“It doesn’t have to be right now” Jinyoung says. “It can be in a few years”.

“What about mating then?” Mark asks him, intrigued again about Jinyoung’s answer.

Jinyoung blushes upon realizing what mating implies. Mark probably isn’t aware or just isn’t ashamed about it.

“Would that make you happy?” Jinyoung asks, repeating Mark’s words from earlier.

“Yes, it would” Mark answers, smiling at him again.

“Then we’ll mate” Jinyoung declares firmly.

“It doesn’t have to be right now” Mark says, repeating Jinyoung’s words and making the younger smirk at him.

“Oh no, it has to be right now” Jinyoung says, pulling Mark closer to him as the other turns off the stove.

“Right now?” Mark asks surprised, placing his hands above Jinyoung’s thighs. “As in right now? Here, in the kitchen?”

“Of course not, silly!” Jinyoung says, poking Mark’s forehead slightly with his finger. “Not right now. But soon… very soon”.

“Wait, do you want to mate me now to win that bet you had with Yugyeom and Jaebum?”

Jinyoung puts an offended face before poking Mark’s forehead again.

“Auch!” Mark groans while rubbing the spot Jinyoung hit.

“I couldn’t care less about that bet” Jinyoung answers pretending to be upset, but adds in a lower tone “even though it would be funny to see Jaebum’s reaction”.

Mark glares at him and attempts to go away, but Jinyoung takes his hands in his preventing him from doing so.

“Hey, I was joking!” Jinyoung says, but Mark continues glaring at him. “Don’t be mad at me, Markie. I’ll give you all the kisses you want, okay?”

“I don’t want kisses” Mark says while pouting. “I want you to love me”.

“But Mark, I already love you”.

“Then just let me mate you”.

“But I don’t want it to be just mating, Mark. If we’re doing it we have to do it properly”.

“What?”

Jinyoung smiles before leaning towards Mark. He places his arms around Mark’s neck and pulls him closer to kiss him. Mark’s hands instinctively find Jinyoung’s waist as he presses his body closer to him. Jinyoung smiles into the kiss before deepening it. One of his hands is clutched in Mark’s hair, keeping him in place while the other roams through Mark’s back. When they break the kiss both of them are breathless.

“We have to do it like this” Jinyoung says, running his hand through Mark’s hair. “With care, with love. It has to be meaningful to us because it’s something that has to be done with love. It’s not just my body what I’m giving to you, Mark. I’m giving you my all”.

“I want to give my everything to you too, Jinyoung” Mark says with a smile, caressing Jinyoung’s waist with his fingers. “It was yours since the beginning”.

“Liar. You didn’t want to talk to me when we met”.

“Way to ruin the mood” Mark says as he separates from Jinyoung and serves the meal for them.

Jinyoung chuckles and gets off the counter as Mark walks towards the table with their lunch. He waits for Mark to sit before taking a seat on his lap.

“I love you” Jinyoung whispers in his ear, making Mark become weak under him.

“Why are you doing this to me, Jinyoung?” Mark asks as he accommodates Jinyoung on his lap and secures him between his arms.

“See? I’m not the only weak here” Jinyoung says as he feeds Mark. “I know I’m your weakness as you are mine”.

“You’re amazing” Mark says before placing a kiss on Jinyoung’s cheek.

The walk back to the office is quiet for Hyunwoo and Minhyuk. After everything has been already clear with Junmyeon they just have to inform the others about it. Hyunwoo doesn’t seem very affected by the meeting, but Minhyuk is. He can’t help but be curious about love. About the love Hyunwoo and Minhyuk were supposed to have had before.

“What are you thinking about?” Hyunwoo asks him, noticing that Minhyuk is unusually quiet today.

“Junmyeon’s pack” Minhyuk answers. “Why had Woohyun to stand all the time by the door without sitting with the others? I felt really bad for him”.

“It’s because they have something like a status inside. Junmyeon is the alpha, what means that he’s their leader and is above the rest. The boys that were sitting were betas, something like ancient nobility, and Woohyun is an omega, the lowest status”.

“To me all of all them were the same. How can you know all that?”

“We investigated a lot about werewolves after we discovered them for the first time. But you don’t remember”.

Minhyuk stops walking. He hasn’t just lost memories; has lost knowledge too.

“I want to remember” he mutters.

Hyunwoo stops walking too and stares at him.

“We will find the person who did this to you and we’ll make her give your memories back to you” Hyunwoo says approaching Minhyuk, “I promise”.

Minhyuk raises his hand and caresses Hyunwoo’s face, who only smiles wider.

“I want to remember everything” Minhyuk mutters. “Especially you”.

Hyunwoo takes Minhyuk’s hand in his and presses it more against his cheek.

“You will, don’t worry” Hyunwoo averts Minhyuk’s hand from his face but still holds it as he turns around to keep going.

They fall in a comfortable silence the rest of the journey. However, as soon as Hyunwoo opens the office’s door both of them are left speechless.

It looks as if a hurricane had razed the room. There are chairs and tables thrown everywhere, as same as pens, papers and trash cans. Only a table and a board are standing where they should, and leaning on said table giving Minhyuk and Hyunwoo his back is Kihyun, who doesn’t seem to have heard them coming in.

Hyunwoo is too much shocked to do anything; he just stands there looking around him. Minhyuk on the other side approaches his undisturbed friend and taps his shoulder.

“Oh, Minhyuk” Kihyun says, turning to look at him with a smile, “you’ve come back”.

“What happened?” Minhyuk asks.

 “The other boys wouldn’t shut up so I made them do it”.

“Making a mess out of the office?”

“Oh, that” Kihyun says with an evil smirk. “Mr. Muscles did an unfortunate comment about me and I had to punish him”.

“Please tell me he’s alive”.

“He is… for the moment”.

“Where are the others?” Hyunwoo asks approaching them.

“Well, you would want to take a look at the gym” Kihyun answers, returning to his previous task. “I’ve heard something about a fight”.

“Between my boys?” Hyunwoo asks surprised.

“It seems that I offended Mr. Muscles’ princess by throwing his beloved one a dissected frog at his face, which caused all this mess until he fainted. Then Mr. Snapback and Mr. Baby face had to carry Mr. Muscles to the nursery meanwhile said princess threatened with ending my life and then my charming prince stood out for me and well…  poor Jooheon tried to stop them but it was useless”.

“What you’re telling us” Hyunwoo says, more confused than ever, “is that you threw a dissected animal at Wonho’s face and he fainted, so Hyungwon got mad at you and Changkyun got in between and they ended fighting over that stupidity?”

“Yes”.

“And why?”

“Because I needed peace to think about the antidote. And because that muscular bunny called me a princess, so I had to put him in place”.

Hyunwoo face palms himself meanwhile Minhyuk is left astonished.

“Stay here” Hyunwoo tells them, “I’m going to stop those kids”.

Minhyuk feels the urge to follow Hyunwoo and check that the others are fine, but he stays with Kihyun in silence, taking a look at the notes on the board. Kihyun is taking all of this very seriously.

“They didn’t seem surprised” Kihyun mutters.

“Huh?” Minhyuk says, not understanding Kihyun’s words.

“They weren’t surprised about my behavior” Kihyun answers. “I even heard Jooheon saying ‘not this again’”.

Minhyuk walks to stand besides Kihyun and leans against the table too.

“That’s great” Minhyuk says.

“I’m not really mad at them, you know? But I’m really mad at the person who did this to us. I’m mad with the freaking silver bomb and I’m mad with Youngjae for making me worry. Maybe I’ve paid my fury with Wonho unfairly. I’ll apologize when he wakes up”.

“I know why Youngjae isn’t answering you, Kihyun. Don’t be mad at him, it’s not his fault”.

“I’ve never said it was. I’ve said I’m mad at him for making me worry. Now tell me what you both have found out”.

Chapter Text

“Well, it’s the moment of truth” Jinyoung says, “we’re going to know if Namjoon is dead or not”.

The seven persons around him nod. This time Jinyoung not only counts with Youngjae’s and Bonnie’s support; he has with him Mark, Shura, Yugyeom, Jungkook and Seokjin who also wanted to help after Yugyeom told them what Shura did.

Much to Yugyeom’s dismay, Jungkook didn’t scold her after. He only approached her and hugged her tightly, telling her how proud he was of being her brother. Seokjin also hugged both of them, making Yugyeom wonder is he should stop being mad with the girl.

“We have to do it quickly” Seokjin says. “If they discover what we’re doing here we’re going to lose our only chance”.

Jinyoung nods firmly before placing both hands above Namjoon’s chest. Youngjae and Bonnie put their hands on Jinyoung’s shoulder; meanwhile Mark hugs him from the back. Shura places her hand above Youngjae’s and Jungkook and Seokjin do the same with Bonnie’s hand. Surprisingly, Yugyeom places his hand above Shura’s. The girl flinches and smiles to him but he doesn’t return it.

“I’m starting” Jinyoung says.

All of them close their eyes, focusing only in Namjoon. Jinyoung feels the energy of his friends flowing through his body. He applies a bit of pressure on Namjoon’s chest, focusing on reanimating his heart.

C’mon leader, he thinks, you have to come back to us.

He redirects all the energy towards Namjoon’s heart. He doesn’t hear the machine indicating that it’s working, so he applies more pressure.

“You’re doing well, Jinyoung” Bonnie mutters by his side.

“You’ve got this babe” Mark whispers behind him.

Jinyoung smiles as his friends continue showing him their support. Instead of making him more nervous, it is calming him, helping him redirect the energy more smoothly. He presses his hands against Namjoon’s chest more, taking out all his own energy to make Namjoon’s heart beat again.

He starts sweating as his energy keeps being drained to reanimate his leader’s heart. Mark notices his boyfriend losing balance so he hugs him tighter, making sure Jinyoung doesn’t fall to the floor, to what Jinyoung is very glad.

With a loud groan Jinyoung leads the remaining energy straight to Namjoon’s heart. He’s aware he’s going to faint soon if he continues like that, but he has to do it. His friends trust him, and he owes Namjoon for taking care of Mark when he couldn’t.

Jinyoung opens his eyes as he feels the first beat of Namjoon’s heart. He lets his hands rest on the other’s chest for a few seconds, just to make sure it wasn’t a hallucination. But it wasn’t; Jinyoung can feel his heartbeats one behind the other.

“He’s alive” Jinyoung says.

The machine attached to Namjoon’s heart also starts making noises, signaling that their leader is alive and kicking.

The room erupts in cheers and congratulations. Mark raises Jinyoung in the air before kissing him. The others quickly start hugging Jinyoung too, who tries his best to stand still after all the effort he did earlier.

“I can’t believe you did this, Jinyoungie” Mark says, pulling Jinyoung again into his embrace. “You’re amazing”.

“It wasn’t just me who did this,” Jinyoung says, “it was all of us. I wouldn’t have made it without you guys, especially Shura. If she hadn’t believed in me to make it work on her we wouldn’t be here right now”.

All the gazes fall now on Shura. The girl flinches and starts playing with a strand of her hair nervously. Yugyeom bites his lip, now fully regretting having snapped at her when she only did well.

“I did nothing, Jinyoung” she says, “without you we wouldn’t have anything”.

“You’re both amazing” Youngjae says, noticing that Jinyoung was about to continue arguing with her.

“But why isn’t he waking up?” Jungkook asks, worried about Namjoon.

“Maybe his body needs a bit of time to start working again” Bonnie says, “I’ll stay here to check on him. You should probably go before we start raising suspicions”.

“I need a rest” Jinyoung says, leaning onto Mark for support.

“Hop on, I’ll take you home” Mark commands him while offering his back to him.

Jinyoung smiles and jumps on Mark’s back, hugging him tightly. Mark smiles to him before walking away. Jinyoung waves at their friends as they leave.

Yugyeom silently leaves too without sparing a glance at Shura, feeling ashamed of his behavior towards the girl. Shura rubs on her arm, feeling a bit disappointed towards Yugyeom. Seokjin notices and quickly takes her hand on his.

“Why don’t you hang out with us for a while?” he suggests with a smile.

Shura turns to look at his brother, who smiles and nods to her. Then she looks at Youngjae, who smiles to her too.

“I’ll stay here with Bonnie”, he says.

Shura gives him a small smile before nodding to Seokjin, who smiles and bids farewell to Bonnie and Youngjae. Jungkook takes Shura’s other hand in his and follows them out.

“What are you going to do now?” Youngjae asks Bonnie then.

“I’m going to disconnect this machine” Bonnie answers, “if someone from Sewon’s pack comes here and finds out that Namjoon is alive we’ll be in trouble”.

Youngjae agrees to her before helping her unplugging the cables.

Minhyuk is trying to get Kihyun to eat something more when he hears Jooheon calling his name and turns to look at him. Kihyun takes the opportunity to sneak out of his hold and goes to his previous spot in front of the board.

Minhyuk sighs as he sees Kihyun getting all focused again with finding a right formula to make the antidote for the silver bomb. He understands that Kihyun wants to help his friends, but he needs to eat and rest or else he’s going to faint.

“Someone is looking for you” Jooheon tells him.

Minhyuk takes a glance to Hyunwoo, who is at his private office still scolding Hyungwon and Changkyun. Even though he’s very much bothered with their behavior, his face remains gentle as usual. Minhyuk smiles slightly to him before following Jooheon towards the visiting area where his visitor is waiting for him.

“Who is it?” Minhyuk asks.

“He said his name is Woohyun and that he’s from Junmyeon’s pack” Jooheon answers, surprising Minhyuk. “He said he has some information he wants to share with you”.

Minhyuk frowns. Is there something Junmyeon didn’t tell them when they were at his house? But why? Weren’t they allies of Namjoon’s pack?

Jooheon opens the door for him but he doesn’t come in. As the door closes behind him, Minhyuk approaches Woohyun, who is staring curiously at his surroundings, and takes a seat in front of him.

“Hi, Woohyun” Minhyuk greets him with a smile, “did you want to speak with me?”

“Hi. Yes, I have something to tell you” Woohyun says.

Minhyuk squirms in his seat nervously meanwhile Woohyun takes out an envelope and hands it to Minhyuk, who stares at it suspiciously.

“What is it?” Minhyuk asks.

“Hyunwoo asked if we knew something about a girl with the power to change one’s memories” Woohyun asks, placing the envelope on the table. “We hadn’t any idea that there was someone with ability like that. So after you left I contacted one of my friends from the lead pack and asked if he knew something. He told me they were aware of her existence but they hadn’t much information about her, but I still asked him to give it to me. My friend sent me all the information he had about her so I came here to give it to you”.

Minhyuk takes then the envelope and opens it, inspecting its content.

“I’m sure this will help us” he says as he reads it. “Thank you, Woohyun”.

“It’s nothing. Hyunwoo mentioned that you lost your memories because of her so I thought it was the right thing to give it to you. You would want your memories back”.

“Yes, I want them back as soon as possible” Minhyuk says, saving the information again at the envelope. “Thank you for coming here, Woohyun. This is really kind by your side”.

“We’re allies, aren’t we?” Woohyun says with a smile. “We have to help each other. If you need something else tell me”.

“Can I ask you something a bit private?” Minhyuk asks curiously.

Woohyun is taken aback for a moment but then nods.

“I couldn’t help but notice the tension between you and Myungsoo” Minhyuk says, “and since I’m a bit curious I was wondering what’s going on with you two”.

Woohyun bites his lip, staring at the floor in discomfort. Minhyuk realizes then that he shouldn’t have asked something so personal, and it’s about to apologize when Woohyun finally looks at him again.

“You probably know about how our pack works” Woohyun says, and Minhyuk nods to him. “Well, I’m an omega and Myungsoo is a beta. My status is lower than Myungsoo. You maybe don’t understand this, but it’s a huge deal for werewolf packs. So even though Myungsoo and I have been friends since childhood and I’m now assigned as his partner it’s impossible for us to develop anything more than just a friendship”.

“You’re right, I don’t understand why” Minhyuk asks confused. “Do I have to suppose that if you and Myungsoo can’t be together because you have different statuses you have to be with another omega and he with another beta?”

“Not necessarily. But this system is not only a status, it’s a lifestyle too. Through time, the betas have built something like a closed society, and they barely mate omegas now. We’re left to mate other omegas or if you’re lucky you get to mate a beta or even an alpha. But they are remote situations. Myungsoo would never mate me”.

“But I still don’t understand. If that isn’t forbidden at all why can’t you and Myungsoo mate?”

“To begin with, I don’t even know if Myungsoo reciprocates my feelings. I know how he feels because he’s very expressive, but I can’t feel him” Woohyun says sadly. “And even if he did, his family has made it clear to me that I can’t have him. Myungsoo is fated to marry a beta woman who could provide him with offspring that will have their same status. They wouldn’t allow him to marry an omega who could lower Myungsoo’s status and that on top of all is a male”.

“I’m sorry, Woohyun” Minhyuk says, feeling really awful for having asked such a painful question for Woohyun. “I shouldn’t have asked”.

“No, it’s okay” Woohyun answers with a sad smile. “I’m already accustomed to it, so it’s fine. I really wish we were like Namjoon’s pack. They don’t have that kind of boundaries. They’re free to love who they want”.

Minhyuk smiles to him. He wishes there would be something he could say to make Woohyun feel better, but it’s hard knowing the truth of his situation.

“I wish we could be like you, humans” Woohyun speaks again. “You don’t need to mate. You just love freely, without having to give your life to other person. I’m really envious of you”.

“Loving as humans isn’t easy either” Minhyuk assures him. “There’s also a chance your feelings aren’t requited. And you can’t know because we don’t feel each other like you do”.

“Aren’t your feelings requited either, Minhyuk?” Woohyun asks him curiously.

“Before I forgot my friends they were” Minhyuk answers sincerely. “Now… I don’t know. I forgot my feelings too. I don’t know if my feelings are requited or not because they changed. I need my memories back to have them”.

“Can I tell you my honest opinion, Minhyuk?”

“Of course. After I made that uncomfortable question, you’re allowed to do whatever you want”.

“Don’t be like that, I’ve told you it’s okay” Woohyun says, standing up from his chair to place his hand above Minhyuk’s shoulder, giving it a squeeze. “If I had learnt something from years and years of loving the same person, is that feelings can’t be forgotten. Do you think I haven’t tried forgetting my feelings for Myungsoo? Of course I have; it’s just it wouldn’t work. I have even tried distancing myself from him, but I couldn’t forget him. When you love someone deeply, your heart can’t forget about it. And it hurts, because I can’t have what I want. But I’m sure that inside your heart your feelings remain the same. You just have to allow them to surface”.

Minhyuk looks at Woohyun and smiles widely. Woohyun’s words have all the meaning for him: he feels different when he’s with Hyunwoo. It’s like his body was reacting instinctively towards who it recognizes as his beloved one without having in consideration his mind. So maybe it’s true after all: his feelings remain the same even if he doesn’t remember Hyunwoo.

“Thank you, Woohyun” Minhyuk says, also standing up and giving Woohyun’s hand a squeeze. “For everything. You’ve helped me so much”.

“I’ve done nothing” Woohyun says before taking out a piece of paper from his pocket. “Here you have my personal number. I would want to know how your research goes, so keep me informed”.

“Of course” Minhyuk says, gladly taking the paper. “Again, thank you for coming. Have a safe trip to the pack!”

Woohyun smiles and waves at him before going out. Minhyuk stays there staring at Woohyun’s number before saving it on his phone. Then he picks up the envelope and returns to Kihyun’s side, who is now scribbling in a notebook.

“How did it go?” Kihyun asks him without looking at him.

“Better than expected” Minhyuk answers, and then snatches the notebook away from Kihyun.

“Hey!” Kihyun complains, trying to get the notebook back.

“You’re going to listen to me for a moment and then you can continue working on this, okay?” Minhyuk requests.

“Deal. But make it quick”.

Minhyuk glances one more time towards Hyunwoo, who is now smiling while watching Hyungwon and Changkyun apologize to each other. As Hyungwon and Changkyun hug, Hyunwoo’s gaze meets Minhyuk’s, and he waves to him with a sweet smile that Minhyuk returns before turning to look at Kihyun again.

“You’re going to like what I have to say” Minhyuk says while throwing the envelope in front of Kihyun.

The cold breeze of winter hits Yugyeom’s face as he keeps walking, but he doesn’t mind. He needs to be alone right now. He can’t stop thinking about everything that happened and feeling bad for denying Shura. The girl has lost that cheerfulness so characteristic of her. Her eyes don’t shine bright anymore and it’s his fault. Thanks to her they found a way to bring Namjoon back. He should be proud of her. He should have congratulated her, show her his support. But he was so blinded with rage that he didn’t see the good Shura did for Namjoon and the pack.

He decides then that it’s enough and turns around, walking towards the pack’s residence again. He has just taken a few steps when he hears someone running towards him. He instinctively adopts a defensive pose, waiting for the other person to appear.

To his surprise, it’s Hoseok who comes into his view. He looks around him for a moment before his eyes land on Yugyeom’s figure.

“Here you are!” Hoseok exclaims, approaching him. “I’ve been searching for you everywhere!”

“Something happened?” Yugyeom asks seeing how agitated Hoseok is.

Hoseok gulps and then tells Yugyeom the news. Upon hearing it Yugyeom freezes, and Hoseok looks at him troubled. They remain in silence for a few seconds before turning back rushing to the pack.

“Thank you, Seokjin” Shura says while accepting a mug of hot chocolate. “You’re very kind”.

“Please can you stop talking to me as if we were only acquaintances?” Seokjin says softly. “We’re family now”.

“I’m sorry” Shura says with a bow, making Seokjin sigh.

“Why do you have to be so polite all the time?” he asks, taking a seat besides Shura on the couch.

“I don’t know” she answers, “I just feel so grateful to you for everything you’ve done for me”.

“That’s what family is for, isn’t it?” Seokjin says smiling.

Shura nods happily and Jungkook grins at them. He really likes having his small family reunited.

“It would be perfect if Yugyeom was here too” Shura mutters.

Seokjin and Jungkook stare at each other. They weren’t going to bring the Yugyeom issue out; they just wanted to distract Shura a bit because she seems a bit down lately. But if she wants to speak about it then they are all hears for her.

“How are you doing about that?” Jungkook asks delicately.

“Honestly, I’m feeling like shit” she answers with teary eyes. “I wasn’t expecting him to congratulate me or anything, but much less I was expecting him to ignore me. I know what I did was risky, but we need Namjoon back. And this situation isn’t going to solve itself by magic. We have to do something”.

“I’m sure he’ll forgive you, Shu” Jungkook says caressing her back. “He just needs time”.

“I know, but it hurts. We’ve been almost inseparable since Youngjae and I came here, and now he’s ignoring me and I don’t know what to do. I need him to talk to me, to say something. I need him to smile and say to me that everything is going to be fine. I feel like dying every time he ignores me. I just… I just love him so much”.

“I know, Shu, I know. Everything is going to be all right” Jungkook says actually hugging her.

Seokjin is about to join when his doorbell rings. He stands up and opens the door to find an anxious Jimin outside.

“What’s wrong, Jimin?” Seokjin asks, worried about his friend.

Seokjin’s mouth hangs wide open as Jimin tells him the news he’s bringing to him. He turns around and sees the shocked faces of Shura and Jungkook who had heard everything too.

“Well,” Seokjin says after a period of pure silence, “you said we had to do something, didn’t you?”

Yoongi stares in disbelief at Taehyung. He was deep in thought about what could they do to take their pack back when the younger came looking for him very agitated.

“Are you sure that it is true?” Yoongi asks him after hearing the news.

“100% sure” Taehyung answers. “Jimin, Hoseok and I were present when Sewon made it official”.

Yoongi stares at the ground, letting Taehyung’s words sink in. Taehyung stares at him waiting for his reaction.

“He’s crazy” Yoongi mutters before raising his head to stare into Taehyung’s eyes. “But now there’s no turning back. The only thing we can do for him is to show him our support”.

Taehyung nods. He’s about to go when Yoongi catches him by the arm.

“Stay for the night” he requests, and Taehyung gladly complies.

Kihyun stares again at the board in front of him. The room is in complete silence, except for the sound of a keyboard as Minhyuk keeps typing on it. Hyunwoo and his squad left to do other tasks to let the two friends focus on their duties.

“Have you found something?” Kihyun asks his best friend.

“Nothing yet” he answers, “but I’m going to find where this girl is hiding one way or another. What about you?”

“Nothing yet” Kihyun repeats Minhyuk’s words. “Why can’t I find the right formula? There has to be a small detail I’m not noticing”.

Minhyuk sighs before continuing searching on his laptop. Kihyun grabs his phone without thinking to check on Youngjae, even though he knows the latter can’t answer him. He stares at the last message Youngjae sent to him, the last time he knew about him. He wants to talk to him and tell him what Woohyun told Minhyuk about the girl and their feelings. He wants to tell him that their feelings are still there, inside their hearts. But he can’t contact the younger and that makes him nervous. His only hope is that Youngjae finds out by himself.

“I’ve found it” Minhyuk says, staring at the screen with a wide smile plastered on his face.

Kihyun quickly approaches him, taking a look at it.

“This is where she lives” Minhyuk explains to Kihyun, pointing at the screen. “I can’t make sure she’s still there given the circumstances, but we don’t lose anything taking a look at it”.

Kihyun smiles at that too. They have the first clue to find the person who took their memories away from them.

“We need Youngjae” Kihyun says. “This also involves him. We need to contact him”.

“I’ll talk to Hyunwoo” Minhyuk says, standing up from the chair, laptop in hand.

Kihyun follows him with his gaze until he disappears from the room. He goes back to his previous spot and leans on the table, focusing again at the board in front of him.

“Kihyun?” Changkyun asks as he pokes his head through the door Minhyuk has just closed.

“Yes?” Kihyun asks without looking at him; but he’s already smiling.

“I’ve brought you some cookies” Changkyun answers.

Kihyun stares at him and motions for him to come in. Changkyun approaches him and hands him the cookies before leaning against the table besides him.

“Thank you” Kihyun says taking it and eating one.

“How is it going?” Changkyun asks him, trying to decipher something between the amounts of formulas written on the board.

“Bad” Kihyun answers, eating two cookies in one go. “I can’t find the right answer”.

“You don’t have to solve it today, you know? We’re not forcing you, and we won’t be mad at you if you can’t have the antidote today”.

“I know, but I hate not knowing things. And I want to be helpful for you guys”.

“Kihyun, you’re already being helpful just with your presence here” Changkyun answers while smiling at him. “To me, having you by my side is enough”.

Kihyun finishes eating the cookies and throws the wrapping carelessly to the floor.

“How can you say that?” he asks Changkyun. “Isn’t it hard for you? I’ve forgotten you, but you still keep being nice to me. You even got involved in a fight because of me”.

“And I would do it again gladly. Look, Kihyun, what I feel for you isn’t going to change because you’ve forgotten me. You would have to… I don’t know, morph into an alien or something for me to stop loving you. I should have told you all this long ago, but well… shit happened”.

Kihyun smiles again before leaning towards Changkyun, who looks at him surprised. Then Kihyun drops a kiss on his cheek, turning Changkyun into a tomato.

“I’m glad” he says after. “Because I think I still love you too”.

“Are you for real?” Changkyun says, touching his cheek as if he couldn’t believe that Kihyun had kissed him.

“Yes”, Kihyun answers. “We have the theory that our feelings are still there even if we can’t remember you, and I can feel it. The more I want to stay away from you the more I feel pushed towards you somehow. I think it’s because my body recognizes you as the person I love”.

Changkyun smiles at him and reaches for Kihyun’s hand, who accepts it with a lovely grin.

“Now let’s solve this together” Kihyun says, intertwining their fingers, “shall we?”

Youngjae is helping Bonnie doing more tests to Namjoon to know why he seems to have entered a comatose state when Yugyeom irrupts in the room very agitated. Bonnie is the first to react as she approaches the younger and tries to calm him.

“Yugyeom, what happened?” she asks.

Yugyeom inhales deeply before sharing with them the news. Bonnie stares at him shocked for a moment, before she and Yugyeom hear a loud noise behind them.

They turn around to find Youngjae looking nervous at them, with a broken glass at his feet. Bonnie rushes towards the boy and pulls him away from the mess, making sure he’s fine. That seems to take Youngjae out from his shock as he apologizes and walks towards Yugyeom while Bonnie cleans the broken glass.

Yugyeom and Youngjae just keep staring at each other for a moment before Youngjae extends his arm, taking Yugyeom’s hand in his.

“Yugyeom” he says calmly, “can I ask you a favor?”

Yugyeom gulps before nodding.

“Minhyuk, I understand that you want to tell Youngjae but we can trespass the pack like that” Hyunwoo says, staring at Minhyuk.

“But we have to do something, Hyunwoo” Minhyuk argues, “we can’t just wait here and do nothing. We have to help them”.

“I understand but-“ Hyunwoo starts saying before being cut by his phone ringing.

He takes it out and sees that it’s Junmyeon calling him. He quickly answers it.

“We’ve found the location of Do Kyungsoo” Junmyeon informs him. “We’re taking him back tomorrow”.

“Will you need any backups?” Hyunwoo asks him.

“No, we’ll be fine. But after this, I’m afraid it will become an open war. You have to be prepared for anything. Besides, I’ve heard something interesting coming from Namjoon’s pack”.

“What is it?” Hyunwoo asks hurriedly, wanting to know what could have happened there.

“It’s only a rumor” Junmyeon says, “just a confession my friend Yesung has taken out from a drunk minion from Sewon’s pack. But if it’s true, then you have to be there to help Namjoon’s pack”.

“Tell me everything” Hyunwoo demands.

Minhyuk sees how Hyunwoo’s face changes while hearing the news. He seems troubled but after a while his face becomes lighter, as if he had just heard good news.

“Great news” Hyunwoo says loudly, attracting the attention of his members reunited there, “we have a new mission. Tomorrow we’re freeing Namjoon’s pack”.

Shura and Jungkook are setting the table when they hear the doorbell ring. Jungkook raises an eyebrow at it before going to open the door, just to find Yugyeom there.

“Hi” Yugyeom says, “would it be a bother if I stay here for the night?”

Jungkook turns around to look at Shura. She stares at Yugyeom for a moment before nodding to Jungkook.

“Of course not. Come in” Jungkook says, allowing Yugyeom to enter the house.

He stands there for a moment looking at Shura. She stares back before busying herself with the table again.

“Oh, Yugyeom” Seokjin greets him. “Thank God I’ve made extra dinner just because. What are you doing here?”

“Well, I’ve been a bit forced to stay away from my house” Yugyeom answers.

“Huh?” Jungkook mutters. “Why?”

“It’s a surprise”.

“What has Youngjae done this time?” Shura asks him.

Yugyeom stares at her nervously before answering.

“Nothing. He just wanted some alone time with Jaebum”.

Shura raises a doubtful eyebrow to him, but Yugyeom quickly diverts his gaze towards the food.

“Thank you for letting me in” he says, taking the seat Jungkook is kindly offering to him.

“Do you think he’ll be fine?” Mark asks Jinyoung worriedly.

“He’s going to be” Jinyoung answers him while caressing his hair. “Besides, you’ve heard Youngjae. He’s going to be there with him”.

Mark hums in response. He hugs Jinyoung tighter, wanting to feel the other as close as he can.

“Aren’t you worried though?” Mark asks him while drawing hearts on Jinyoung’s chest. “You’re going to lose the bet”.

“I couldn’t care less about it” Jinyoung answers. “Well, I would have liked to see Jaebum’s defeated face. But it’s okay. I feel happy for them”.

Mark lifts himself from Jinyoung’s chest, leaning on his elbow for support.

“We can always do it now” he suggest raising his eyebrows seductively.

“If I wasn’t this tired I would agree” Jinyoung says with a smirk.

“You can always have me whenever you want, wherever you want and however you want”.

“Oh, yes? Then can I have you tomorrow in this same bed covered by whipped cream?”

Mark looks at him as if he was making sure Jinyoung is talking seriously before answering.

“Of course not. I’m not going to cover myself with whipped cream. It would be a mess”.

“What a pity” Jinyoung says with a sigh. “But I’m still going to eat you up”.

“Jinyoung stop” Mark says getting flustered.

“There isn’t going to be a place I will left without tasting”.

“Jinyoung, please”.

“I’m going to make you feel real good”.

“Jinyoung!” Mark exclaims while slapping the other’s shoulder.

“Hey, stop it!” Jinyoung says giggling, grabbing Mark’s hands to stop the attack. “You’re so cute when you’re all flustered”.

“It’s not funny” Mark says pouting.

“Come here babe” Jinyoung says, resuming their previous position on the bed, “I’m sorry”.

“It’s fine” Mark says, removing in Jinyoung’s embrace so he can back hug him, “just make sure that the next time you can actually do it”.

Jinyoung smiles while leaning towards Mark’s body.

“Okay. Good night Mark”.

Mark kisses his neck and Jinyoung smiles before drifting to slumber.

Shura can’t sleep. Her brother offered his room to her since he now sleeps with Seokjin on his bed. But the girl can’t sleep, thinking about everything that is happening.

She goes out from the room and finds Yugyeom sitting on the couch, looking at the television that is turned off.

“Can’t sleep?” Shura asks him softly.

Yugyeom looks at her and nods. Shura then decides to sit beside him to see if she can calm the other somehow.

“Shura,” Yugyeom whispers, “I’m sorry about what happened. I’m proud of everything you did, but you worried me so much. Even with that, you didn’t deserve the way I’ve treated you. I’m sorry”.

“It’s fine Yugyeom” Shura says, “I understand”.

“If there’s something I could do to compensate you-“

“Sleep with me”.

Yugyeom looks at her shocked, and then she notices what she has said and covers her mouth.

“It sounded really bad” she says after. “What I meant is if you would want to sleep with me, as in the same bed but we don’t have to touch if you don’t want to. Oh my God it sounds worse…”

Yugyeom chuckles at that before placing his hand above Shura’s.

“Of course, let’s sleep together”.

Shura blushes but nods, ashamed of her choice of words earlier. Yugyeom holds her hand and leads her towards Jungkook’s room again. They lie on the bed facing each other but keeping a safe distance between their bodies.

“Again, I’m sorry” Yugyeom whispers. “I shouldn’t have snapped at you. I just… I just didn’t want to lose you”.

“You’re not going to lose me” Shura whispers back. “Never”.

Shura smiles and then unexpectedly leans closer to Yugyeom, who starts to panic but doesn’t move. Then she takes out all the courage she has and finally kisses Yugyeom. It’s just a brief peck, but full of meaning and love. Shura blushes as they separate and looks to the other side, avoiding Yugyeom’s gaze.

“I-I’m sorry” Shura whispers. “I don’t know why I’ve done it”.

Yugyeom smiles slightly before kissing her again. As they kiss, Shura’s hands instinctively find Yugyeom’s chest and she caresses it while Yugyeom smiles into the kiss before breaking it.

“As you see, you can do it whenever you want to” Yugyeom says.

Shura smiles at him before pressing her body closer to Yugyeom, who secures her between his arms.

“Hey, Yugyeom” Shura says, “is Youngjae going to do what I think he’s going to?”

“Probably yes” Yugyeom says.

Shura smiles as she draws smiley faces on Yugyeom’s chest.

“He’s so brave” Shura says, “I only hope it would be useful to Jaebum to win tomorrow”.

“That rascal” Yugyeom mutters. “Why had you both to be so reckless? You putting your life in danger and he defying the leader without consulting anybody first”.

“We both did it to help the pack. Jaebum isn’t going to lose. I believe in him. He’s going to defeat Sewon and take the pack back”.

“I really hope so. Now let’s rest so we can give all our support to him tomorrow”.

Shura drops a kiss on Yugyeom’s neck and he smiles, caressing her hair before they both fall asleep in each other’s arms.

The office is in complete silence. All the members are there, including Jackson and Bambam, but they are all half asleep or actually sleeping. The only one who isn’t in that state is Kihyun, who continues watching the board.

He has reviewed all the formulas and equations but he still can’t find the correct one. Suddenly a number catches his attention and he focuses on it, wondering why it seems so out of place. He then realizes that it seems like that because the number is really out of place, so he quickly erases it and writes the correct one.

After reviewing it a few times he lets out a squeal, waking up all the members. Changkyun reaches for his phone and checks the hour. 23:55PM.

“I’ve found it” Kihyun announces with a big smile plastered on his face.

Chapter Text

Im Jaebum was the son of the alpha wolf of his pack. He was educated to be a strong leader like his father. At the age of 10, Jaebum could speak various languages, was stronger than any kid of his age and had the politeness of any grown man.

His parents were so proud of him. Anytime his father had a meeting with another pack’s leader, he brought Jaebum with him, not only to show his well-educated son, but also because Jaebum could always learn something new from it.

When he was fourteen, some boys of his pack tried to drag him into a fight. But Jaebum refused to fight and thanks to his dialog capacity the boys left him alone. What Jaebum didn’t know was that people started to talk behind his back calling him a coward because even with his strength he refused to beat some kids.

At first, it didn’t bother him or his parents. Jaebum’s father always tried diplomacy upon violence. The pack wasn’t pacific, there were troubles; but it happened on every pack. Jaebum’s father taught him to avoid conflicts when he could, and to only use violence if he needed to.

When he was sixteen Jaebum’s life took a degree of 180º. He finished high school early because he received more classes before. To celebrate his graduation, some boys cornered him at the school’s door and they hit Jaebum. He refused to fight and tried to talk, but the other guys ignored him, so Jaebum only let the guys hurt him.

When he got home he was a mess. All his body ached and he was both thirsty and hungry. His parents weren’t home, so Jaebum painfully made himself some meal. After that, he lied on the sofa and he fell asleep.

He woke up feeling his body shaking and a voice calling his name. It was his mother shaking him while crying. Jaebum quickly stood up and hugged his mom who was sobbing hard.

“Mom, what happened?” he asked.

His mother sobbed a little more before answering his son.

“Your father is dead”.

Jaebum’s physical pain was nothing compared to the pain he felt on his heart. His father, the man who taught him everything and was proud and always by his side, was dead. Jaebum didn’t want to believe it, but the trembling mess on his arms that was his mom told him otherwise.

But the worst part of all was that the person who killed his dad was no other than one of the kids Jaebum refused to fight when he was fourteen. He knew the boy, Kim Jeonghan, a problematic kid from a beta family.

Jaebum’s blood was boiling inside of him. He wanted to kill the kid for what he had done. He released his mom and was about to leave when she caught him by the arm.

“Don’t, Jaebum. Your father wouldn’t want this for you”.

“He’s dead, mom!”

His mother stared at him with pleading eyes, and finally Jaebum let it go and returned with his mother, hugging her and crying too.

Only they and his loyal man were at his funeral. Jaebum’s father lost support from few beta families due to his policy of diplomacy. Only the ones who truly believed on a united pack with no violence stayed with them.

Jaebum knew what they wanted: a new leader, someone who would restore the no violence policy. And they wanted Jaebum. He was the vivid image of his father, and he had the strength to fight Jeonghan and win.

But Jaebum wasn’t like that. He didn’t want to be a leader. He only wanted to live in peace. He wasted a year cursing Jeonghan about his father’s death until he understood that the real culprit was the tradition of killing the leader to take the power. Power was what killed his father, and he wasn’t taking that risk.

Jeonghan mocked him and tried to provoke him, without succeeding. Jaebum knew his game and didn’t want to join in. He kept waiting for Jaebum to exit from his house to go anywhere just to say disgusting things to him.

“You’re a coward like your father”.

“He died because he was weak, just like you”.

“You refuse to fight and you call yourself a man?”

“You’re just a loser”.

He had heard things like that a lot, but he continued with his life anyways. He and his mother had a life before, like they weren’t anyone special. His mom worked as a medic and he started working as his assistant. They didn’t depend on his father money, so now they hadn’t any problem on living on their own.

Jaebum knew his mom was being bullied like him, but she didn’t say anything; neither did Jaebum. They just went with life like nothing happened.

But as his mother was mated with his father, she started to get weaker with each day and was dying slowly. At first Jaebum didn’t notice until his mom couldn’t do normal things like clean the table or cook. His mother had to tell him what was happening to her; that she was dying because she was linked to his father and he died by unnatural causes. That was the painful way Jaebum knew about mating.

His mother died a few weeks after his father. He was accompanied by his loyal man, but Jaebum knew they still prayed that Jaebum would take revenge and take the leadership back. Jaebum didn’t have the strength to do anything anymore; his heart was broken and his body was tired. But that didn’t stop the others from bugging him about taking action, to do something more than just mourn on his disgrace and self-pity.

So he did.

He left the pack and ran away the furthest he could.

And then he found Namjoon and he brought him to his pack.

At first he was hesitant. He just ran away from the pack he was born in, and joined another without knowing anything about it; but Namjoon assured him that they were pacific. And he was loyal to his words.

With the years he got used to everyone. He never had a fight although he continued getting stronger. He had friends in there like Namjoon, Jimin, Seokjin, Taehyung… who helped him to heal his heart. In Namjoon’s pack everyone was nice to him; everyone helped each other and took care of everyone. It was very different from his previous one, where everyone just looked for his benefit without thinking about the others. He felt like he belonged to that pack instead of the one he was born in.

He was twenty years old when he was given a mate. Everyone had one: Hoseok had Jimin, Namjoon had Yoongi, Seokjin had Jungkook… he didn’t feel ready to have another life under his responsibility, but Namjoon told him it would be good for him. So Jaebum finally accepted having a mate.

He was taller than Jaebum and had brown hair. He was a year younger than him and was called Kim Yugyeom. His parents were killed by humans and he just joined the pack. He was moving to Jaebum’s apartment and that pleased him; he was living alone in there when there were another two dorms more.

The day Yugyeom moved in, Jaebum left the house early to buy supplies for his new roommate. When he returned home, Yugyeom was sitting on the couch talking with Namjoon. Yugyeom joined the pack two days ago and was staying at the nursery because he had some injuries from his fight against the humans who murdered his family. He quickly recovered and was ready to start a new life with Jaebum.

Jaebum admired Yugyeom’s attitude. It had just happened, and even when anyone could tell Yugyeom was hurt, he tried to be calm and talkative to other people. He left the bags on the countertop and walked to Namjoon and Yugyeom. He saluted them and they returned it.

“Yugyeom, this is your new mate Im Jaebum. He will take good care of you”.

“Nice to meet you” Yugyeom said.

“Same” Jaebum said while shaking Yugyeom’s hand.

Namjoon left them and Jaebum started to put everything on his place. Yugyeom quickly offered himself to help, and Jaebum let him. They talked about themselves while doing it. They continued talking at lunch time and even at the afternoon.

Yugyeom listened to Jaebum’s stories amazed. Jaebum told him about his previous pack and how he ended in there and Yugyeom told Jaebum about him. They felt like they had a lot of things in common.

They got along pretty well. Yugyeom obeyed Jaebum on everything. He truly admired the older and how he remained calm when the problems came. How the older wasn’t only strong physically but also mentally. On the other side, Jaebum valued that Yugyeom avoided any type of discussion with Jaebum or any other member. They were similar; none of them wanted troubles but they were open towards the others.

Yugyeom was an easy person to befriend. The younger had a lot of funny commentaries and seemed to know what to say at any moment. Few years later, Jaebum was fully trusting his partner, and Yugyeom did the same with Jaebum.

Jaebum had his first fight when he was 22. At first he didn’t want to, but the other guy messed up with Yugyeom and made Jaebum truly angry. Yugyeom was more than a buddy to him; he was his brother. They understood each other without needing any words and had good coordination. Jaebum fought with the guy and won easily. He surprised himself enjoying the victory, thinking that maybe some violence wasn’t that bad; it tasted better if it was for justice.

Jaebum didn’t believe on justice. Even when his family was good people, they all died except Jaebum who became no one to his pack. But that night, he felt like he needed to make the other pay for what he did to Yugyeom.

There was a thick line between justice and revenge, and Jaebum was actually ready to cross it the night he had a collision with Jeonghan and some of his boys. They recognized each other instantly. Jaebum and Yugyeom were exiting the fighting club while Jeonghan was entering. They stared at each other. Jaebum’s gaze was that intense that even Yugyeom felt like burning and they weren’t looking at each other.

“Im Jaebum” Jeonghan said, “I really missed you”.

“Go to hell, Jeonghan”.

Jeonghan faked a sad face.

“That’s not the way to salute your friend that hasn’t seen you for years”.

“You’re not my friend. And you don’t deserve anything”.

Jeonghan laughed hard, and some of his boys seconded him.

“And you, Jaebum? Do you deserve something? You just ran away from your pack like the rat you are. You’re not only a loser,” he paused, staring now at Yugyeom who had identified the other and was sending daggers to him with his gaze, “you’re also a faggot”.

Yugyeom wanted to punch the other for saying such hard things to his brother, but Jaebum stopped him.

“Don’t join him. That’s what he wants” Jaebum whispered to him.

Jeonghan clapped his hands and both guys looked at him, angrily.

“Hey boy,” he said, pointing at Yugyeom, “don’t get too attached to him. He can’t protect the people he loves. He’s just a coward”.

Jaebum’s blood was boiling. He wanted to punch the other but he didn’t want to join his game. He took all the self-control he could and dragged Yugyeom out of there.

“You know I’m right!” Jeonghan shouted and started to laugh.

During the trip back to home, Yugyeom didn’t say anything. He was clearly mad and pissed off, and Jaebum feared that it was his fault.

“Yugyeom, are you mad at me?” he finally asked.

Yugyeom didn’t answer, but he shook his head. Silence filled again the car until finally the younger spoke.

“I’m mad at that guy. Who the hell he thinks he is, treating you like that?” Jaebum was going to answer him, but Yugyeom continued talking. “I know about him, Jaebum, and I know it was for the best not to fight him. But you can’t stop me from being angry about it. He said really bad things about you, Jaebum. And we both know they aren’t true”.

They remained silent for a while until they got home.

“Yugyeom, I’m not the type of man you think I am” he said while closing the car.

They both walked to their home. When they were finally in, Yugyeom filled two glasses of water and offered one to Jaebum. They sat on the couch while drinking it.

“I know the type of man you are, Jaebum” Yugyeom said. “You’re a caring one. You don’t want troubles with anyone. You have a huge heart and because of that you don’t have self-esteem and you think you deserve all the bad things that happen to you. But you don’t. You’re strong and kind and you put everyone’s needs before you; what it’s good but also bad, but the point is, you’re the best person I have ever met”.

Jaebum was speechless. Even when Yugyeom was the younger, he sometimes talked like a wise old man.

“How could you know?” he asked the younger.

Yugyeom finished his glass before answering.

“You are the type of man I want to be. You’ve always been”.

He didn’t met Jeonghan any time after that, to Jaebum’s relief. But his words were impressed in his heart. Maybe he was a coward. He lost everything he loved, so he was definitely a loser too. And a faggot? Well, he never cared about that.

Yugyeom started working at securing the pack’s territory for foreigner invasions while Jaebum sometimes helped Bonnie at the nursery and started to study mechanics on his own. They still spent an amount of time together and the bond between them was stronger than ever.

Jaebum would never forget the day he offered his services to help the newbies to move in. It seemed like the previous night there was an interesting fight and a girl beat Yoongi. The girl was proposed to join the pack, and Jaebum agreed, because he really didn’t mind having more members.

But no one warned him about her roommate, that living sunshine called Choi Youngjae.

When they arrived to her house, Jungkook jumped out the car in excitement. The younger seemed so interested and happy about the girl, but Jaebum didn’t say anything. They reached the door and Jungkook rang the bell.

They waited for a minute, Jungkook swinging on his feet in anticipation and Jaebum just scratching his neck. Then the door opened, and Jaebum’s heart stopped beating.

In front of him appeared the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. The boy was smiling at them even when he didn’t know who they were or what they wanted. He had brown hair with a headband that only made him look even cuter if possible.

“Hi!” the living sunshine said, and in Jaebum’s ears it sounded like a perfect melody.

“Hi! My name is Jungkook and we came to help you move!” the younger said. Jaebum was still dazzled by the guy so he let Jungkook talk.

“Oh, thank you for coming! My name is Choi Youngjae!” the boy let them in and offered a sit on the counter.

Jungkook pushed Jaebum in, waking him from his daydream about Youngjae. He cursed himself when he realized that Youngjae was smiling and staring at him, waiting for an introduction.

“Oh, sorry. I’m Im Jaebum”.

“Nice to meet you, Jaebum!” Youngjae took his hand and shook it. He was so cheerful and happy that made Jaebum instinctively smile.

“M-My pleasure” he murmured.

“Do you want something to drink?”

Jaebum took the place next to Jungkook on the couch and sat in there.

“Maybe some cola?” Jungkook asked, and Youngjae nodded.

“Do you want one too, Jaebum?”

Every time Youngjae said his name, Jaebum felt his heart melt on pure happiness. He didn’t know what was wrong with his body, but definitely that Youngjae was affecting him.

He nodded and tried to calm while Youngjae was serving the drinks.

Jaebum sighs after remembering the first time he met Youngjae. It hasn’t really passed a lot of time since then, but a lot of things happened in the meantime. Even so, Jaebum’s feelings still remain the same.

That’s why he goes out from his house, determinate to find why Youngjae was so upset with him and mend the problem. He needs Youngjae by his side, where he can protect him. Right now, Youngjae is the most important thing for Jaebum. He wants to make it up for being such an asshole to him before. He wants to show Youngjae just how much he cares for him; how much he loves him.

However, his determination falters when he hears a familiar voice shouting for help. Jaebum quickly runs following the voice and finds two guys trying to force Jimin to go with them when he clearly doesn’t want to.

“You have to pay for what you did” Jaebum hears one of the guys saying to Jimin when he’s closer to them.

“I did nothing wrong!” Jimin shouts angrily. “My leader is Kim Namjoon!”

The boys release him before pushing him to the ground. Jimin falls on his butt and grimaces at the pain in his back.

“You’re really annoying me with your stubbornness” one of them says, approaching Jimin and hovering about him. “Say your leader is Kim Sewon or I’ll beat you up”.

“Never” Jimin refuses and then spits at his shoes.

The boy frowns even more, but before he or Jaebum can do anything Hoseok appears rushing and pushes the boy away from Jimin, standing between the two to shield Jimin from him.

“If you dare to lay your filthy hands on him I’ll kill you” Hoseok angrily warns.

“C’mon, try me” the other boy mockingly says, opening his arms and exposing his chest for Hoseok to hit.

Hoseok frowns even more and is about to land a punch on the other’s face when a hand grabs his arm from behind.

“Don’t give him what he wants” Taehyung mutters to him.

Hoseok looks between Taehyung and the two boys before finally landing his gaze on Jimin, who stands up and shakes his head to him. Hoseok sighs before lowering his fist but continues glaring at the other two boys.

“Cowards” one of the boys says with a scoff before the two walk away.

When they both are out of their sight, Hoseok quickly turns to Jimin, asking worriedly if he’s okay. Jimin assures him that he’s fine and that it’s his fault he got into trouble because of a commentary he did. Hoseok still tells him that it’s not his fault; Namjoon is their leader. Their only true leader.

Jaebum is biting his lips in anger and has his fists clenched tight. His mistake should not affect other people. Jimin and Hoseok shouldn’t be mistreated and mocked just because of him.

Jaebum has had enough. He can’t stand seeing his friends suffering anymore. He needs to do something. He needs to mend his mistake.

He turns around and walks towards Sewon’s house. Taehyung notices him and quickly pokes Hoseok and Jimin, who were hugging each other tightly. Both of them nod, understanding the situation and Taehyung leads the way, following Jaebum.

Jaebum opens Sewon’s door violently, almost knocking the girl that was besides it in the process. Sewon raises his head from the papers on his deck as soon as he hears the door colliding with the wall roughly, but Jaebum doesn’t let him have any time to ask what’s happening as he places both his hands on the desk in front of him, staring intensely at Sewon.

“I’m tired of you and your minions constantly bullying my friends” Jaebum states with fire in his eyes. “I defy you”.

Sewon blinks twice, not quite expecting something like this to happen, but quickly surprise is replaced by challenge as he smirks at Jaebum before clapping his hands.

“I defeated Namjoon previously, what makes you think you can win over me?” he asks mockingly.

Jaebum wants to really rip that smile from Sewon’s face with his fists, but for the moment he only clicks his tongue in annoyance before glaring more intensely at him.

“Are you afraid I can?” Jaebum asks in the same mocking tone Sewon used before.

Sewon’s smile falls upon hearing it.

“Of course not” he quickly denies, “I was just making sure you know what you’re getting yourself into. I accept the duel, but I’m going to give you a day to rethink your decision. If tomorrow at this exact hour you’re still willing to fight me then we’ll fight… till death”.

Jaebum smirks to him defiantly before walking two steps back towards the door without looking away from him.

“See you tomorrow then” Jaebum says before turning around, nearly bumping against Hoseok, Jimin and Taehyung who were listening to their conversation from the door.

They allow Jaebum to go out but quickly follow him as he walks towards his house.

“Are you crazy?” Hoseok asks him. “We don’t know what he did to defeat Namjoon. Do you want to die too?”

“I’m not going to die” Jaebum answers, “I’ll win. And then we’ll recover what belongs to us”.

The three of them just stare at Jaebum as he walks away. They know that Jaebum is strong, almost as strong as Namjoon was; so they can’t help but worry about him.

“We need to tell the others” Jimin says, to what Hoseok and Taehyung nod before the three of them run different directions to inform their friends about what happened with Jaebum.

Jaebum spends the rest of the day at the training room. He needs all the practice he can have before the duel. He’s pondering about what Hoseok said earlier. It’s true; they don’t know how Sewon managed to defeat Namjoon, so he has to be extra cautious with him.

As he hits the punching bag he wonders how his friends are going to react. Will they try to stop him, like Hoseok did? Well, he really didn’t try a lot. What Hoseok said sounded more like a warning that a plea to back off from the duel. As he, his friends must be tired of being under Sewon’s power without being able to do anything. He hopes his friends are going to support him. Without them, Jaebum isn’t so sure he can make it.

He wonders how Youngjae is going to react about the news. Will he be mad at him? Will he show the other his support or will he ignore Jaebum? He hopes Youngjae will be by his side, even if he disagrees with his decision.

It’s almost dinner time when Jaebum decides to come back home. He can’t exhaust his body too much or he will be sore tomorrow, and he can’t allow that. He wishes Yugyeom is already making dinner so he can shower first and then eat calmly before getting a nice sleep to be fresh for tomorrow.

He smiles when the smell of food being cooked hits him as soon as he opens the door. He closes his eyes and lets his body enjoy the sensation. When he closes the door he finally opens his eyes and looks at the kitchen expecting to find Yugyeom; but his eyes widen in surprised when he sees a totally unexpected guest moving around his kitchen.

“Youngjae?”

Said male turns around and smiles as he notices Jaebum standing by the door with a surprised look on his face.

“Hi, Jaebummie” Youngjae greets happily. “I’m almost done with cooking. Go and shower while I finish, okay?”

Jaebum is still dumbfounded, but he still manages to nod. Then he forces his body to go to the bathroom. He strips out from his clothes and turns on the shower. As the warm water caresses his body he can’t help but wonder what Youngjae is exactly doing there making dinner. Does he already know about the duel? It’s that the reason why he’s being so nice to him? Because he thinks he isn’t going to make it and wants to bid farewell to him in a nice way?

He shakes his head. It can’t be, he thinks, Youngjae isn’t like that. But still, he needs to know why Youngjae is making dinner for him.

He makes a quick work of drying his hair and putting some clothes on before returning to the living room, where Youngjae has already everything settled and is waiting with a smile for Jaebum to sit by his side.

Jaebum walks timidly towards him and sits by his side. Youngjae starts informing him about the dishes he made, but Jaebum is barely listening to him as he keeps repeating the same question in his mind.

“Why?” Jaebum asks loudly, interrupting Youngjae’s description of their dinner.

Youngjae blinks at him for a moment before offering him a smile again.

“I heard you’ve defied Sewon” he answers, calmly taking one of the plates from the table in his hands.

 “So you’ve done all of this as a farewell dinner or something like that?”

Youngjae stares at him in disbelief, a bit surprised at the rough tone Jaebum used to ask him that.

Jaebum notices his mistake and looks to the floor ashamed.

“I’m sorry” he mutters.

“It’s fine” Youngjae answers, blowing at the spoon in his hands to cool the soup down. “But I haven’t done this as a farewell or anything like that. I’m here to offer you my help”.

Jaebum scoffs at that, making Youngjae frown.

“Help me? Youngjae, it’s a one versus one duel. You can’t help me”.

“That’s not right” Youngjae says, sipping from the spoon casually as if they weren’t almost arguing with each other. “I can help you”.

“How?”

Youngjae places the dish on the table again and then stares seriously at Jaebum’s eyes.

“Mate me” he says.

Jaebum’s heart stops beating at the statement. Youngjae can’t be talking seriously, can he?

“What?” he asks in a mix between disbelief and anger.

“Mate me” Youngjae repeats again. “You love me. So if I’m your mate I can give you strength”.

“Youngjae, it’s not that simple” Jaebum says as he crosses his arms on his chest. “You can’t just come here and ask me to mate you. This isn’t a one-sided thing. You have to feel the same to make it work”.

“What if I feel the same?”

Jaebum stares at him again, trying to contain his anxiousness.

“Youngjae-“ he starts, thinking that Youngjae must feel forced to love him because he’s so miserable, desperately trying to gain back his love.

“No, Jaebum” Youngjae cuts him, placing a hand on Jaebum’s thigh, making him more nervous than before. “Listen to me. I know everything, okay? I’ve remembered things; not everything but part of it. And you and Shura have told me… things. And then there’s the video…”

Jaebum furrows his eyebrows in confusion, to what Youngjae answers rubbing his thumb against Jaebum’s thigh.

“I lied” he continues. “I said that it was about my family because I wanted to know if you were going to tell me the truth or not. And you didn’t. But I saw myself there, telling myself to stay by your side no matter what because you love me and I love you too. And… I don’t know if this is because my heart never forgot you or if I’ve fallen for you again, but the thing is I did it. So if we do it I’m sure we’re going to mate and I’ll give my strength to you to fight tomorrow”.

Youngjae smiles sweetly at him again. Jaebum tries to say something, but the sudden confession got him tongue-tied. He feels so many things at the same time: happiness because Youngjae reciprocates his feelings, nervousness about what’s about to come but also fear for what would happen to Youngjae if they mate now.

“Youngjae” he says after collecting himself again. “I feel really happy that you love me too, really; but we can’t mate now. What if I die tomorrow? You’ll die too. I can’t let that happen. You have family and friends that adore you. And I can’t lose you again”.

Youngjae sighs before flicking Jaebum’s forehead, who yelps at the sudden move.

“Hey!” he complains while rubbing the wounded spot.

“Silly” Youngjae says. “If you die tomorrow you’re going to lose me anyways. What means you can’t die tomorrow”.

Jaebum stares at him and gulps, wondering how is he going to convince Youngjae that this is a bad idea.

“Besides” Youngjae says, grinning again, “how do you expect me to continue my life without you? I’ve fallen for you twice. I don’t think I can fall for anyone else. I could keep losing my memories and still fall for you all over again”.

Jaebum stares at him dumbfounded. Youngjae’s feelings are as intense as his own, he can feel it. He finally smiles and lets out a chuckle.

“This…” Jaebum manages to say finally, “this is more than I could ever expect from you. I love you, Youngjae, so much… that’s why I can’t mate you now. If I die you’ll die and you deserve all the good in this world”.

“Why do you keep saying ‘if I die’? Don’t you trust yourself?” Youngjae asks. “Because I do. You’re not going to die. We’re going to do this together. Then tomorrow we’ll face Sewon together and we’ll win. And we’ll free the pack from Sewon’s yoke. Do you know why I’m so sure of it?”

Jaebum shakes his head no. Youngjae takes his hand in his and places a kiss above his knuckles.

“Because you don’t want to lose me, so you’ll do your best. You’ll fight Sewon with all what you have and you’ll win. And then I’ll reward you for being the most amazing boyfriend ever”.

“Bo-boyfriend?” Jaebum almost shouts from the emotion. Youngjae chuckles at how cute the elder is.

“Im Jaebum” Youngjae says seriously, intertwining his fingers with Jaebum’s, “a lot of shit happened to us. I can’t remember everything but I’m willing to do anything to have my memories back. But still, here we are. You and I, together. Even when you tried to push me away, I guess I’m really stubborn” Jaebum giggles at that, and Youngjae’s smile widens. “So, would you like to be my boyfriend and stop wanting me to go away because I’m not going to do it never ever?”

Jaebum lets out a chuckle at that before staring lovingly at the younger.

“I’m still not pleased with the idea of us mating now” Jaebum says, grinning too, “but I would pretty much love to be your boyfriend. Only if you’ll be mine”.

“Of course, Jaebummie” Youngjae says, and then adds playfully “this isn’t a one-sided thing”.

Jaebum stares at him perplexed before pulling him in a headlock.

“If you keep mocking me I’ll go and we won’t mate tonight”.

“I surrender! I surrender!” Youngjae shouts between giggles.

Jaebum releases him and Youngjae laughs loudly by his side. Jaebum can’t help but smile widely at how amazing his boyfriend is.

Yes, boyfriend.

Choi Youngjae is Im Jaebum’s boyfriend and soon-to-be mate.

Jaebum is still grinning like an idiot at the thought when Youngjae stuffs a spoon full of soup in his mouth. Luckily Jaebum reacts quickly and avoids chocking on it.

“That wasn’t fair” he complains after gulping.

“We’ve wasted so much time talking that the food I prepared with so much care is getting cold” Youngjae says, feeding Jaebum again; more delicately this time.

“Where’s Yugyeom, by the way?” Jaebum asks, noticing now that his partner is nowhere to be seen.

“I asked him to leave the house for us alone for tonight”.

“And he was willing to do it?”

“No he wasn’t. He started to put excuses saying that he didn’t want to go with Mark and Jinyoung because Jinyoung needed to rest and didn’t want to go with Jungkook because Shura was there and they haven’t resolved their problem yet”.

“So how did you convince him?”

Youngjae smirks before stealing the piece of steak that Jaebum was going to put on his mouth.

“I told him what I wanted to do with you”.

Now Jaebum is glad that Youngjae took the meat away from him or else he would be choking on it this very same moment.

“You did what?” Jaebum asks in disbelief.

“I told him what I was going to do to you” Youngjae answers calmly. “He endured it well at the beginning for his stubbornness until I started to give him explicit descriptions about everything I wanted to do to you and then he flied from the room”.

Jaebum keeps staring at Youngjae in disbelief, wondering how someone who looks like an angel can be that dirty on the inside.

“Why are you so surprised?” Youngjae asks him noticing his stare.

“I wasn’t expecting such things from you” Jaebum says, gulping the piece of meat he was chewing hardly. “You look so innocent. Who would have thought you also have a naughty side?”

“Didn’t anyone tell you not to judge a book for its cover?” Youngjae asks playfully.

“Touché” Jaebum says.

They continue eating in silence, feeding each other from time to time until they finish all the delicious meals Youngjae prepared for them.

“Now it’s time for dessert!” Youngjae exclaims happily while getting up from the couch.

“Please, tell me you’re not going to say that you’re the dessert” Jaebum jokes.

“Of course not, that’s so cheesy” Youngjae answers sticking his tongue out to him.

Jaebum smiles and watches Youngjae opening his freezer and taking out some ice cream. Jaebum wonders if their life is going to continue like that from now on; if Youngjae is going to accompany him in every step he takes. If he’s going to continue seeing that beautiful smile of his forever.

“What are you thinking?” Youngjae asks him as he sits by his side, handing him a spoon.

Jaebum lifts his arm and places it around Youngjae’s shoulders, pulling him closer to his body. Youngjae accommodates himself on Jaebum’s chest while blushing a bit. Jaebum takes a spoonful of ice cream but instead of eating it he gives it to Youngjae.

“I’m thinking about how wonderful my life is going to be with you by my side”.

Youngjae grins pleased and feeds him from his spoon.

“There are a lot of things I want to do with you, Jaebum” he mutters.

Jaebum smiles to him but it quickly morphs into a sad grin.

“What’s wrong?” Youngjae asks worriedly.

“Nothing, it’s just…” Jaebum sighs, “I would have liked to do this differently. You know, court you, take you on dates, shower you with kisses and hugs and then make love to you in a more pleasant environment”.

“We can do all those things later, Jaebummie” Youngjae says, noticing some ice cream resting by the corner of Jaebum’s mouth. “What if we do it the other way around? It doesn’t matter. To me, what matters the most is that we are together. It’s not like after mating I’m going to dump you or something. We’ll continue together till the very end”.

Jaebum smiles at him fondly. Right now, the ice cream isn’t the only thing that is melting. His heart usually melts every time he sees Youngjae, but right now Jaebum can feel his entire body melting due to Youngjae’s sweetness.

“I love you so much, my sunshine Youngjae” Jaebum whispers to him while caressing his cheeks with his thumb softly.

Youngjae grinds widely before leaving his spoon on the table, turning to look at Jaebum, who looks at him expectantly. Then he slowly leans closer to Jaebum until his faces are millimeters away from each other. The latter doesn’t move; he just waits for Youngjae to do something, his heart beating like crazy because of their closeness. Youngjae smiles tenderly to him one last time before licking the remaining ice cream from the corner of Jaebum’s mouth.

The contact sends shivers through Jaebum’s entire body, which reacts on his own as he takes Youngjae by his shoulders and places him on his lap. Youngjae is taken aback by it, but quickly smiles again before kissing Jaebum properly.

Jaebum thinks he can’t be happier than he is right now, with Youngjae straddling him on his lap while kissing him passionately. Youngjae’s lips feel so soft and sweet against his, and the way their mouths fit perfectly against each other drives Jaebum crazy. He places his arms around Youngjae’s waist, bringing him closer as he deepens the kiss. Youngjae gladly responds to Jaebum’s hungry kisses, gripping the other’s hair a bit as the kisses get more heated.

As they break for air, Youngjae smiles at him while Jaebum removes a strand of hair from Youngjae’s face. Suddenly memories of the two of them together start to appear in Youngjae’s mind, making him groan in pain. Jaebum quickly notices and tightens his hold on Youngjae, bringing him closer and placing a hand on Youngjae’s hair, caressing it softly.

“I’m here, Youngjae” he whispers in his ear. “I’m here, relax. Everything is going to be okay”.

Youngjae stares at him while holding his head. He wants his memories back but now it’s not the time for it. So with that in mind he pushes the memories to the back of his head, promising that he’ll recover them later.

He bumps his forehead against Jaebum’s as his body starts to relax and the pain goes away. Jaebum waits for him to calm down, stroking his hair.

“Youngjae, are you sure about this?”

Youngjae doesn’t respond; instead he places both hands on Jaebum’s cheeks and kisses him passionately. Jaebum is surprised at first but quickly kisses back as Youngjae squirms on his lap, making him moan at the contact. Youngjae smiles at that for a moment before starting to bit Jaebum’s bottom lip, asking for permission. Jaebum parts his lips and welcomes Youngjae’s tongue with his own as he roams his hands through Youngjae’s back.

Youngjae separates a bit, breathing heavily only to pepper kisses all over Jaebum’s face to finally arrive at his ear. He nibbles at the earlobe, earning another moan from Jaebum that only fuels his desire. 

“Yes, I’m sure about this” Youngjae whispers on Jaebum’s ear, making him shiver. “Are you ready?”

Jaebum gulps and it’s all it takes for Youngjae to stick his tongue out and trace with it from his ear to his collarbone, not forgetting that sexy neck where Youngjae leaves a hickey, marking what is his as Jaebum is going to do later; only that that bite mark will remain forever with them.

Chapter Text

“Youngjae…” Jaebum softly calls the boy sucking on his neck.

Youngjae hums against his skin, giving Jaebum’s neck a final lick before lifting his head so he’s at the same eye level with Jaebum.

“There are a few things we should talk about before going further” Jaebum continues, caressing Youngjae’s hair. “First of all, I’ve never done this before. Everything is new to me and I’m scared of hurting you or not being good enough.  And I don’t want all this to revolve around me. It has to be pleasurable for both of us. I’ve made some research but-“

“Wait”, Youngjae says, placing his index finger against Jaebum’s lips, shutting him up. “You’ve made some research? When?”

Jaebum takes Youngjae’s finger and removes it from his lips, intertwining their hands after.

“Some time ago” Jaebum answers, letting out a chuckle at Youngjae’s confused face. “I was curious about how would it be having a relationship with a male so I searched for information. I found… pretty interesting things about the sexual field”.

“Jaebummie watched porn” Youngjae says with a giggle, making Jaebum become more flustered than what he already was when he was talking about sex; but it also makes him become even cuter in Youngjae’s eyes.

“I- I was curious okay? I did it with informative purposes”.

“I’ve never said it was a bad thing” Youngjae says as he caresses Jaebum’s red cheek with his free hand. “I’ve also made some research. I asked Mark and Jinyoung too”.

“What?” Jaebum asks in shock. “So they know about this? And they’re okay with it?”

“Of course, why wouldn’t they? Mark said they were planning on doing it soon too”.

“Unnecessary information, thank you” Jaebum mutters with a disgusted face, knowing that Mark probably told Youngjae that so it would reach his ears. Mark seems to enjoy bothering Jaebum; but the latter can’t complain. He really treasures Mark and his playful side.

“Jinyoung said we shouldn’t worry too much about it or else we won’t enjoy it” Youngjae keeps going nevertheless, “and that everything will come out naturally. We just have to be a bit careful while doing it and it will be okay. It’s our first time after all, it won’t be perfect but we’ll get better eventually. With practice” Youngjae adds with a seductive smirk.

“I know” Jaebum says, smiling at Youngjae’s naughty side. “I’ve seen some videos so I have some knowledge about what to do. But there’s other thing we should talk about”.

“I’ll do it” Youngjae automatically answers before Jaebum can even ask the question.

“But I-“

“You were going to ask about positions, weren’t you?” Youngjae asks while closing even more the distance between their bodies; the contact eliciting a moan from Jaebum. “Since we are both inexperienced and we can’t have you wasted for tomorrow I’ll bottom for you tonight. We can switch later or whatever. I really don’t care; besides we’ll have all the time in the world after to try other things, don’t worry about that”.

Youngjae smiles at him briefly before kissing him deeply. Jaebum’s hands make contact with Youngjae’s soft skin under his shirt as Youngjae’s own tug from Jaebum’s hair, threading his fingers through Jaebum’s locks.

“Youngjae” Jaebum whispers again as the younger descends through his neck, leaving wet kisses all the way. “There’s more…”

“Yes, I know we don’t have the proper equipment to do it but it’ll be fine, okay?” Youngjae answers, reading Jaebum’s mind. “You won’t hurt me. And please don’t hold yourself back just because I’m human. I’m sure I won’t break, so please give me your everything. I want to feel it all”.

Jaebum feels himself getting more turned on by it. Youngjae continues squirming on his lap while leaving marks all over his neck, making Jaebum groan in frustration because his inner wolf needs more; but he needs to know that this will be 100% okay for Youngjae not only now, but in the future too.

“Youngjae” Jaebum calls him for the third time.

Youngjae raises his head violently, almost glaring at Jaebum as he stares at him.

“What now?” Youngjae asks after a sigh of frustration. He’s ready and eager to mate with Jaebum, so why is the other asking so many questions?

“About the mark,” Jaebum says cautiously, noticing that Youngjae is burning with desire in front of him. He bites his lip, also feeling his skin on fire having Youngjae that closer; “we have to discuss where you want me to place it”.

“Aren’t you going to bite me on the neck?” Youngjae asks; his previous anger dissipated at the concerned face of Jaebum. He doesn’t understand very well what the other is meaning with that, but it has to be important if he’s asking about it.

“I can bite you wherever you want” Jaebum explains calmly, “it doesn’t have to be on the neck. I just thought you’d prefer having it on a more discreet place so your family won’t notice”.

Youngjae’s face softens at that. He was rushing things, wanting Jaebum to just do it without thinking about anything else while Jaebum was only thinking about him. He smiles at the other and then places a peck on Jaebum’s lips.

“How considerate from your side to think about my family seeing the mark” Youngjae says, resting his head on Jaebum’s shoulder. “But you really didn’t have to worry so much. I can tell them it’s a tattoo or something like that”.

“But what if your parents don’t buy it?” Jaebum asks roaming his hands through the younger’s back softly. “I don’t want them to think that I mistreat you or something like that”.

Youngjae smiles against Jaebum’s shoulder. He’s a bit mad at himself for only think about the present meanwhile Jaebum is also thinking about their future, about his family.

“I want them to like me” Jaebum mutters, hugging Youngjae tightly.

Jaebum really meant it. He wants Youngjae’s family to like him. They are an important part of his soon-to-be-mate’s life. He really worries about if Youngjae’s parents will approve of his son dating another guy; if Youngjae’s parents will approve their relationship and will give them their blessing because he can’t live without Youngjae by his side.

“Jaebum, you worry too much” Youngjae says, lifting his head so he can look at Jaebum in the eyes. “My family will like you. It’s impossible not to like you”.

“How can you be so sure? They don’t know me, and they don’t know anything about our relationship. I would like to have a good relationship with them. I don’t want to lose you ever again”.

“Hey, Jaebummie” Youngjae says, freeing his arms from Jaebum’s embrace to throw them around Jaebum’s neck, rubbing his cheek against Jaebum’s. “You’ll meet my parents someday. But it isn’t going to happen any time soon, so stop worrying about that. We’ll talk about the parents issue when the time comes. For now let’s focus on us. And this is the last time I’m going to repeat this today: you’re not going to lose me. Not because of my parents, Sewon or whatever. So stop worrying, really. I want you to enjoy this, not to be making a fuss over every little detail of our relationship. Can you just relax for tonight and let everything flow, please?”

Jaebum nods, a bit embarrassed from having been scolded by the younger. He removes Youngjae’s arms from his neck a bit so he can kiss his forehead as if he was apologizing for worrying too much.

“Okay, I won’t ask any more questions” Jaebum says, earning a sweet smile from Youngjae. “But answer me first”.

Youngjae stares at him pensive, wondering in which part of Jaebum’s body the mark will look better.

“I don’t know” he answers after a while. “I would like it in a place where everyone could see that you are mine, but it can’t be on the neck”.

Jaebum can’t help but smile at Youngjae’s possessiveness. He wouldn’t mind marking him on the neck, but he doesn’t want Youngjae to be constantly hiding it from his parents or something.

Jaebum scans Youngjae from head to toes, wondering too where he could put his mark. He then fixes his gaze on Youngjae’s lower body and his mouth drools at the sight.

“How about your thighs?” Jaebum asks without diverting his gaze from Youngjae’s legs.

Youngjae looks confused at his thighs, wondering what Jaebum finds interesting about them.

“Why the thighs?” he asks.

As a response Jaebum lowers a hand to caress one of Youngjae’s thighs delicately, as if it was a precious object he has to be careful to touch to not break it.

“Why not?” Jaebum asks, his hand wandering above Youngjae’s clothed thigh as he takes on the sight of that piece of Youngjae’s anatomy trapped inside Youngjae’s tight pants; such a delicious view that has Jaebum’s length throbbing inside his own pants. “Your thighs are beautiful, Youngjae. You’re so beautiful from head to toes, but there’s something about your thighs that has me drooling for you. I’m jealous because they look so damn fine”.

To prove his point, Jaebum stops caressing Youngjae’s thigh to clutch it roughly, eliciting a moan from its owner’s mouth. Jaebum’s inner wolf growls, wanting desperately to feel those wonderful thighs naked against his skin.

“You can-“ Youngjae starts saying only to be cut by a moan coming from his throat as Jaebum squeezes his thigh while nibbling at his earlobe. “You can bite me wherever you want, Jaebum. I’m all yours”.

Jaebum actually growls upon hearing that. Without previous warning he embraces Youngjae before standing up with the younger in his arms, Youngjae’s legs tightly wrapped around his waist as he walks towards his bedroom. Youngjae takes the chance to attack Jaebum’s neck again; so it doesn’t really surprise him to find himself pushed against the door as it closes. He releases Jaebum’s neck to devour his luscious lips. Jaebum grinds his body against Youngjae’s, both of them moaning at the contact.

Jaebum repeats the action, but this time he hears a small bang on the door. He separates himself from Youngjae to look at the cause of it when he sees the younger rubbing the back of his head.

“I’m sorry” Jaebum apologizes, feeling bad at himself for not being able to control his strength.

“Didn’t I say that I won’t break?” Youngjae says, pulling Jaebum closer again to give him a hungry kiss. “It didn’t hurt, don’t worry”.

“I don’t want to hurt you” Jaebum mutters seriously, concern written all over his face.

“Jaebum, honey” Youngjae whispers on his ear, “you’re hurting me being this slow”.

Jaebum’s shocked face is quickly replaced by an ecstatic one when Youngjae places an open mouthed kiss on his neck, dangerously close to his ear at the same time he presses his feet against Jaebum’s butt to bring him closer, making their erections meet.

Jaebum bumps his forehead against Youngjae’s to make him look at him again. They stare into each other’s eyes, lost in the love and desire for each other inside them before Jaebum kisses him again deeply. He lifts Youngjae’s shirt a bit to place his hands on his naked skin so he can bring his hips closer to his. Youngjae catches on the situation and moves his hips willingly, rocking them against Jaebum’s and generating a tension that is unbearable anymore for either of them.

“Youngjae, you’re so sexy” Jaebum whispers against Youngjae’s lips between kisses.

Youngjae’s answer comes in the form of a hungry kiss, tasting Jaebum’s tongue with his own as they meet inside Jaebum’s hot cavern. Jaebum growls and pushes Youngjae’s shirt up, exposing his bare torso. Youngjae raises his arms to allow Jaebum to remove it completely before placing them at their previous spot. Jaebum’s mouth waters at the amount of precious skin on display only for him, and he can’t restrain his own body from pushing Youngjae even more against the door to feel the beautiful body of the younger against his clothed one.

Youngjae moans against his lips, one hand tugging from Jaebum’s reddish brown locks. Jaebum moans and then moves his hands to round Youngjae’s butt, separating him from the door to carry the younger towards the bed where he drops him carelessly. But he doesn’t have time to lie besides him as Youngjae tugs desperately from his shirt, almost removing it with only one pull. Jaebum raises his arms like Youngjae previously did so that piece of cloth won’t bother them anymore.

Their lips meet again as they kiss deeply. Jaebum places both hands on Youngjae’s cheeks to pull him closer meanwhile Youngjae’s hands roam through Jaebum’s exposed torso, something he has been wanting to do for a long time. Jaebum’s skin feels on fire each time Youngjae touches it. Never in his entire life has Jaebum felt something as intense as this; and it’s all thanks to Youngjae.

He’s about to point how wonderful Youngjae is when said male places both hands against Jaebum’s chest and pushes him backwards, making him lay on his back on the mattress. Jaebum looks surprised at him, even more when Youngjae straddles him again before resuming their previous passionate make out session, not forgetting to grind his body against Jaebum’s one. Jaebum wonders if there will come a day when Youngjae doesn’t surprise him, but always in the good meaning of the word.

“Youngjae” Jaebum moans out as the younger leaves his lips to kiss every inch of skin of Jaebum’s body, descending from his neck towards his abdomen where he spends some time leaving hickeys, marking what is his. “You’re driving me crazy”.

“I haven’t done anything yet” Youngjae answers, staring innocently into Jaebum’s lustful eyes as he continues leaving kisses all the way down to his navel and beyond, only stopping when he reaches the hem of Jaebum’s trousers.

The previous ‘yet’ is still lingering in Jaebum’s mind making it wonder what else has Youngjae in stock for him when he feels Youngjae’s fingers unbuckling his pants and pulling them down until they are gone from Jaebum’s body. He throws them carelessly to the floor, eager to resume his previous task only to be stopped by Jaebum lifting his body up to a sitting position.

Youngjae raises an eyebrow at him but it quickly fades away as Jaebum pulls him to sit on his lap, kissing him again deeply.

“I don’t want you to do all the work” Jaebum softly mutters before pushing Youngjae down, hovering above him.

Youngjae gulps. He doesn’t know from where did he get all the confidence from before to lead the way, but now that Jaebum is on top it is quickly fading away. But he’s ready to face whatever Jaebum is going to do to him; after all, it was his choice to put himself on Jaebum’s hands.

Jaebum nibbles at Youngjae’s neck at the same time he unbuttons Youngjae’s pants hurriedly, wanting to feel those sinful thighs against his skin. However, he takes the piece of cloth slowly, marveling at the sight of Youngjae’s milky skin being exposed for him to take. Youngjae bites his lip nervously, feeling Jaebum’s gaze burning his skin.

When the pants are finally gone, Jaebum spreads Youngjae’s legs and inserts himself between them, kissing and sucking the skin of his inner thighs. Youngjae is a mess under him, moaning Jaebum’s name as he grips the mattress tightly. Jaebum goes back and forth between Youngjae’s thighs, wanting to worship both of them equally the way they deserve, kissing and licking and leaving purple marks that create a beautiful contrast against Youngjae’s skin.

“Jaebum” Youngjae pants between moans, “right now I need you somewhere else”.

Jaebum wiggles his eyebrows at Youngjae’s bold request. With one last kiss to each thigh, he finally hooks his fingers inside Youngjae’s boxers’ waistband and pulls them down without thinking twice. He discards them somewhere across the room, not really minding where as his sole focus right now is Youngjae completely naked under him.

Youngjae flushes but doesn’t try to cover himself. Jaebum’s eyes travel through his entire body, mouth drooling at the incomparable sight under him. He licks his lips unconsciously before resuming his previous position, resting his elbows at each side of Youngjae’s head.

“You’re so beautiful, Youngjae” Jaebum tells him purely. Youngjae feels the sincerity in Jaebum’s voice, so he rewards the other by lifting his head a bit so he can savor Jaebum’s lips again.

As Jaebum kisses him pouring his entire heart on the kiss, Youngjae’s hands roam his back, from his broad shoulders to the hem of his boxers. He inserts one hand inside, squeezing Jaebum’s butt softly before gripping it with his hand. Jaebum moans and unwittingly bucks his hips, grinding his clothed erection against Youngjae’s naked one.

“I really love your butt” Youngjae mutters with a smirk, giving Jaebum’s ass another squeeze. “Can you bite me in the ass so you would have the mark there?”

Jaebum chuckles at Youngjae’s silly request, already having decided where he’s going to bite him; and of course it’s not the ass.

“Of course not” Jaebum answers. Youngjae pouts cutely, making Jaebum wonder how is Youngjae able to look cute but hot at the same time. “That’s something Mark would do, but not me”.

Youngjae pouts even more and Jaebum chuckles before kissing those pink pouty lips sweetly, effectively erasing the pout from Youngjae’s face.

“Fine, I’ll let you surprise me” Youngjae says, smiling after their lips part.

“You’re going to like it” Jaebum says, giving Youngjae a tender kiss on his lips before coming back to a kneeling position between Youngjae’s thighs, massaging both of them.

“Something tells me you’re going to bite me on my thigh” Youngjae jokes, grinning even more when Jaebum lifts his right thigh and brings it to his lips, kissing it softly.

“Oh? Why would you think that?” Jaebum playfully says, placing Youngjae’s leg on the mattress again before taking the other to repeat the process.

“Do you really love them that much?”

Jaebum stares at him intensely as he not only kisses the porcelain skin there, but also bites it lightly to leave a mark. Youngjae doesn’t know how come he’s getting more turned on seeing Jaebum practically making love with his mouth to his thighs, but he really is.

“I love everything about you, Youngjae” Jaebum says, releasing Youngjae’s thigh and placing it again on the mattress. “I want to taste every part of your body. I want to feel all of you”.

“Then take off your boxers” Youngjae commands boldly.

Jaebum raises an eyebrow at the demanding tone, but complains anyways. He hops off the bed to remove them, leaving them on the floor as he walks completely naked again towards the bed.

“Stay there” Youngjae ordains, moving towards the end of the bed where Jaebum is at. Jaebum eyes him suspiciously but obeys, feeling curious about what Youngjae is planning to do to him now. “Now turn around”.

Jaebum complies intrigued. He doesn’t know what to expect now, but fortunately Youngjae doesn’t make him wait longer as he throws his arms around Jaebum, pulling him closer from behind.

“I love you too, Jaebum” Youngjae whispers innocently on his ear.

But all innocence dies when Jaebum feels something hard rubbing against his ass. He moans as Youngjae continues pressing his erection against Jaebum’s back while biting his neck.

“Do you like it, Jaebummie?” Youngjae asks, still using that innocent voice that doesn’t match with the current situation at hand.

“Y-yes” Jaebum pants between moans. He would never have thought he would enjoy having another man’s cock latched to his butt so much. But Youngjae has changed a lot of things from him; and only for good.

“Then you’re going to love this” Youngjae mutters seductively in his ear.

Jaebum panics for a millisecond until he feels one of Youngjae’s hands descending through his bare torso, stopping above his twitching erection. He hears Youngjae moistening his lips before gripping carefully Jaebum’s length.

Jaebum can’t contain the mix between moan and growl that escapes past his lips at that. Youngjae stares surprised at him for a moment, but after checking that it was a sign of pleasure he moves his hand, jerking Jaebum off.

“Are you okay, babe?” Youngjae asks him without stopping the movements of his hand.

Jaebum turns his head to look at Youngjae. The younger is staring at him curiously, genuinely wanting to know the answer to his question; so Jaebum gives him a sweet grin before kissing his lips.

“Better than ever” he mutters as he breaks the kiss, earning a proud smile from Youngjae. “Don’t stop”.

“As you wish” Youngjae whispers, feeling relieved that he’s doing it well.

Jaebum throws his hands back, placing them on Youngjae’s hips for support. Youngjae rewards him thrusting from behind him teasingly, eliciting a moan from Jaebum’s lips. Youngjae is about to make a retort about that when Jaebum’s hands push his hips against his own back, with both of them moaning at the contact.

“I didn’t know you liked being dominated my love” Youngjae playfully says after Jaebum smacks their bodies together once again.

Jaebum’s inner wolf growls at that. He allows Youngjae to jerk him off a bit more before removing his hands off of him. Youngjae looks at him shocked, even more after seeing the fierce look in Jaebum’s eyes as he turns around. He flinches as Jaebum takes a step closer, almost climbing on the bed, wondering if he did wrong saying that.

“Jaebum I-“ Youngjae starts saying, only to be cut by Jaebum’s index finger pressing against his lips.

“I can’t be the only one receiving, don’t you think?” Jaebum asks with a smirk.

Youngjae’s cock twitches at that. To his relief –or not—Jaebum pushes him down on the bed before flipping him around. Youngjae’s head buzzes a bit, and he barely has time to understand what is happening when Jaebum lifts his butt up from the mattress.

“Jaebum what-“

His sentence is cut in the middle by his own deep moan as he feels something sticky and wet teasing his entrance.

“Did you like that, sunshine?” Jaebum asks him from behind.

Honestly, he only acted in impulse. He doesn’t even know from where he got the idea; he just did it. He just felt the imperative need to take Youngjae and devour him in every way he could. He’s aware that he should be careful with his animal instinct; but Youngjae shamelessly grinding his arousal against his back still has him seeing stars.

“Yes, Jaebum” Youngjae mutters, making his best effort to look at Jaebum from his position. “Please keep going. That felt sooo good”.

Jaebum smirks devilishly and then hides again behind Youngjae’s provocative butt, giving it a soft squeeze before licking the tempting entrance again.

Youngjae moans at the contact, burying his face on the pillow in both embarrassment and pure joy.  He can’t believe Jaebum would do something like that in their first night together. But he’s not going to complain; much less when Jaebum’s tongue gets inside of him, making him moan loudly.

Jaebum grips Youngjae’s buttocks and spreads them to the sides to have a better access to Youngjae’s entrance. He pushes his tongue deeper and deeper with each moan that resonates in the room.

Suddenly the blissful sensation is gone and Youngjae turns back to glare at Jaebum, supporting his weight on both elbows.

“Why did you stop?” Youngjae asks.

“I didn’t want you to cum yet” Jaebum answers while massaging the younger’s ass. “Besides, I haven’t prepared you properly. But you taste amazing babe”.

Youngjae blushes at that, turning his head and burying it on the pillow again.

“Okay” he mumbles against it, “but do it quickly”.

“Someone is impatient” Jaebum jokes teasingly, earning a groan from Youngjae.

“If you don’t fuck me right now then I’m going to do you” Youngjae argues without looking at Jaebum.

“Wow, so demanding” Jaebum says, pressing one finger against Youngjae’s butt. “But I have to say I love this new side of you”.

With that being said Jaebum finally enters Youngjae, who groans at the uncomfortable sensation in his back. It doesn’t hurt much due to Jaebum’s previous treatment but this new feeling is totally foreigner and will take a while for him to get used to it.

“Are you alright?” Jaebum asks him worriedly.

“Yes” Youngjae eagerly responds, “please keep going”.

Jaebum drops a kiss on Youngjae’s back before resuming his previous task. When he thinks Youngjae can take more he inserts another finger. Youngjae shifts uncomfortably on the mattress, still not getting used to the feeling but Jaebum’s moist lips dropping relieving kisses on his back is calming him down.

“More?” Jaebum asks as he scissors Youngjae to open him up.

Youngjae nods against the pillow. Jaebum notices and smiles at how cute his boyfriend is hiding like that, with the tip of his ears completely red from embarrassment and arousal.

He then pushes a third finger in. Youngjae flinches but relaxes quickly, now more accustomed to the sensation. Jaebum resumes his previous task of leaving kisses over his skin until his fingers brush against something unknown that causes Youngjae to raise his head violently.

“Fuck, Jaebum” he mutters, turning to stare into Jaebum’s eyes. “More”.

Jaebum holds his gaze as he brushes his fingers over that spot again, causing Youngjae to bite his lips sexily as he tries to suppress a moan. Jaebum didn’t think he could get any harder but he was wrong; the sight of Youngjae’s face contorted in a look of pure ecstasy is probably the hottest thing he has ever seen.

Eager to see more of that expression he pulls his fingers out of Youngjae and turns him around. Youngjae looks at him still recovering from his amazing experience, but pleading with his eyes for Jaebum to do more. The latter settles himself between Youngjae’s legs, raising one of them to obtain a better angle.

Before pushing his length inside of the other, Jaebum looks at Youngjae for approval. Youngjae only nods and Jaebum has enough confirmation to buck his hips and bury himself inside his beloved one carefully.

As he enters the other slowly, allowing Youngjae to get used to his size, Jaebum places both elbows at each side of Youngjae’s head and intertwines both their hands together.

“Youngjae…” he mumbles, worshipping the intense look on Youngjae’s face.

“You can move” Youngjae mutters back. “I won’t break. Don’t hold back”.

Jaebum smiles a little and then lowers his head to kiss the younger. Youngjae tilts his head to the side to deepen the kiss, and at the same time Jaebum joins their tongues together he pushes his hips more in before pulling back. Youngjae stares at him with eyes full of lust, making Jaebum’s self-restraint disappear completely.

Jaebum thrusts into him roughly, causing Youngjae to moan loudly at that. He continues thrusting into him as he leaves kisses all over Youngjae’s face and neck. The moment Jaebum finally loses his mind happens when Youngjae clutches his hair tightly, something that has been insanely turning him on since the beginning. He pushes his hips into the younger harder, hitting that precious spot inside him again. Jaebum’s growl mixes with Youngjae’s ecstatic moan, and there’s a brief eye-contact between them before Jaebum thrusts in again, hitting Youngjae’s precious spot over and over again.

“More” Youngjae mutters between pants, not begging but demanding it with a fierce voice as he keeps tugging from Jaebum’s hair, making him growl and push even harder inside him.

Jaebum feels his inner wolf ready to mate and his release coming closer at the same time, so with a powerful final thrust he disentangles his body from Youngjae’s, causing a shriek of surprise from the younger that is quickly muffled as Jaebum lifts one his thighs and licks his lips. Youngjae observes him amazed as the other runs his thumb across the spot he’s going to mark. Their eyes meet for a second, both of them understanding the situation and their hearts beating faster in anticipation.

Jaebum mouths an ‘I love you’ to Youngjae before he sinks his teeth in the flesh of Youngjae’s left thigh. Youngjae screams in pain, with tears threatening to flow from his eyes when he feels Jaebum squeezing his thigh tenderly. The painful sensation is quickly replaced by something warm spreading through his entire body, and he melts into the feeling. He breathes in relief as he returns his gaze towards Jaebum, realizing how Jaebum resembles like a lost puppy there with his teeth piercing his skin.

Jaebum notices his beloved’s stare and retrieves his teeth from Youngjae’s inner thigh, licking the bite mark to heal and seal it. Youngjae chuckles upon seeing Jaebum like that, as if he was actually a puppy. Jaebum smiles at him when he’s finished and points to Youngjae with his finger towards his own inner left thigh, when there is already a bite mark; the same one Youngjae has on his inner left thigh.

They both smile at each other, feeling a wave of joy flooding their bodies. But suddenly that happiness morphs into lust again as neither of them has had his release and the mating ritual hasn’t been finished.

Now both of them feel an intense need of each other, so instinctively Youngjae turns around, wriggling his butt in the air as if he was provoking Jaebum, who wets his lips before thrusting inside the younger again. Youngjae moans and naturally arches his back, making Jaebum’s length to collide with that sweet spot inside of him. Jaebum growls and moans at the same time, feeling his orgasm being intensified now that he can fully feel Youngjae, not only physically but emotionally too. He places both hands on each side of Youngjae to support himself as he rides through his orgasm.

The sensation of being filled tears a deep moan from Youngjae, who continues moving his hips against Jaebum searching for his own release. Jaebum rests his forehead against Youngjae’s back as he finishes releasing his seed inside Youngjae. He breathes deeply twice before kissing Youngjae’s sweaty skin, turning Youngjae around so he can stare at his face again.

Even when he hasn’t finished yet, Youngjae stares at him happily, glad that the experience was wonderful and pleasuring for them both. Jaebum gives him a light peck before lowering himself until he’s in front of Youngjae’s throbbing erection.

Carefully he places it into his mouth, engulfing Youngjae’s tip as he continues looking at the younger’s flushed face. Youngjae extends his hand to him, and Jaebum is eager to take it and intertwine their fingers together. Youngjae smiles at him before moaning as Jaebum licks him. He alternates before trying to go further and just licking the full length until he feels Youngjae pulling from their joined hands.

“Leave it, Jaebum” he says between pants, “I’m going to cum”.

Jaebum gives him a defying glance, as if Youngjae had just challenged him. Youngjae gulps and tries to suppress a moan as Jaebum keeps licking his tip before taking it again into his mouth.

With one final and loud moan Youngjae finds his release inside Jaebum’s mouth, who takes it all until Youngjae is truly finished. Then he lets the younger go, moving to lie besides him on the bed.

“That was…” Youngjae says, trying to recover his normal breathe again.

“Amazing” Jaebum finishes for him.

Youngjae turns to look at him and smiles as the other also turns and pushes Youngjae’s sweaty bangs away from his face.

“Well, we’re mated” Jaebum says, “I hope you don’t regret it”.

“I don’t. I’ve enjoyed it pretty much” Youngjae says with a chuckle, snuggling closer to Jaebum.

“Me too” Jaebum mutters, kissing Youngjae’s forehead. “But we should get up and clean ourselves or something”.

“Do you want to repeat in the shower?” Youngjae suggest seductively.

“I would love it, but I think it’s enough for today”.

“Tomorrow after you win?”

“God, Youngjae” Jaebum exclaims, looking dumbfounded at his boyfriend. “Was it that good that you already want to repeat?”

“Uh, yes? It was truly amazing like, wow. Amazing”.

“I’ve already said it was amazing”.

“It was. Amazing. Incredible. Wonderful. All words fall short to express how it actually was. The foreplay? Amazing. The bite? Amazing. The final? Sublime”.

“Okay, I get it” Jaebum says while chuckling, pushing Youngjae a bit to force him to get up from the bed. “It was amazing, but now let’s take a shower please. I feel dirty”.

“Oh, you’re so dirty” Youngjae retorts, standing up from the bed. “I think you enjoyed a lot being dominated by me”.

“Ah, seriously…” Jaebum mutters, remembering the scene from before when Youngjae was grinding against his back; the memory making his body feel hot again.

“Next time I’m doing you. No complaints allowed” Youngjae states with a wink, rushing out of the room while laughing hysterically.

Jaebum lets out an amused chuckle before following his playful mate.

Seriously, Youngjae, he thinks as he watches his mate practically dragging him under the warm water of his shower, laughing at him before kissing him passionately inside the shower cubicle.

Do you even know how much I actually love you?

After the shower that lasted longer than planned due to Youngjae and his determination to prove that effectively Jaebum submits to him easily by giving him an unexpected blowjob, both of them fall exhausted on the bed.

“You didn’t have to do it” Jaebum says, disposing of his towel as well as Youngjae’s to feel the younger’s naked body against his own again. Youngjae giggles at the tickling sensation but allows Jaebum to hug him. “Now I feel bad”.

“You don’t have to” Youngjae mutters, caressing Jaebum’s face delicately.

“I feel like I owe you” Jaebum whispers back, placing one hand on Youngjae’s hip and running his thumb over the freshly cleaned skin.

“You don’t owe me anything. But if you want to do something for me then win tomorrow. Stay by my side. Don’t leave me ever again”.

Jaebum smiles tenderly at him, bringing the other boy impossibly closer to him.

“Of course. I’ll win tomorrow and the pack will be free. And after everything has calmed down we can start a new life together. Would you like that?”

“A lot” Youngjae answers, nuzzling Jaebum’s neck with his nose. “But do you know what else would I like a lot?”

“Tell me”.

“You winning big tomorrow” Youngjae says. Jaebum opens his mouth to say something but closes it as he sees the smirk on Youngjae’s face. “Then you taking me home and allowing me to do the same you did to me tonight”.

Jaebum sighs. Has Youngjae been this perverted since the beginning or has he just woken up the beast inside him?

Youngjae laughs at Jaebum’s exasperated face. He will be fine even if they don’t do anything tomorrow, but teasing Jaebum is so funny. He now understands why Mark said he should tease the other a lot during the mating process.

“You’ve always had me wrapped around your finger” Jaebum suddenly says, tracing Youngjae’s lips with his thumb. “Even now, you have all the control here. You can dominate me however you want. You have so much power over me I’m starting to get scared, Youngjae”.

Youngjae stares at him without moving. Jaebum’s eyes are full with pure love and passion but Youngjae can see clearly also fear inside them.

“I’ve felt scared almost all my life” Jaebum continues. “I never allowed myself to have happiness because I was afraid I’d lost it. I was afraid of not being strong enough to protect it, to keep it with me. But then you came into my life and changed everything”. Jaebum removes the finger on Youngjae’s lips to take the younger’s face between his hands. “I tried to resist you but every time I pushed you away you always came back. You wouldn’t leave my side so I had to get the idea that you were coming back to stay. I had to accept my feelings for you and all that entails”.

Tears start appearing in Jaebum’s eyes, but Youngjae is eager to lift his hand to wipe them away from his face, smiling softly to him.

“You have so much power over me, Youngjae” Jaebum says, intertwining one of his hands with one of Youngjae’s. “I’m scared because you hold an important part of my life. Because if you disappear, I’ll never be the same. Because if you’d tell me to kill myself for you I’d do it. But at the same time I love it. I love having given my heart to someone worth of all the love in the world”.

“Jaebum…” Youngjae mutters, feeling himself getting teary too as he keeps wiping Jaebum’s tears.

“I’m ruining the moment, right?” Jaebum says, smiling sadly at Youngjae.

“No, you’re not” Youngjae answers, embracing Jaebum’s naked body. “I want to know how you feel”.

“I haven’t felt this good ever” Jaebum answers, hugging Youngjae back. “I’ve never felt happier, Youngjae. So even if a part of me is scared of all the power you have over me I’m still happy you do, because I know you won’t hurt me. Even if you can, you won’t. Your sole existence is a blessing for me. I love you, Choi Youngjae. I really mean it”.

“I love you too, Im Jaebum” Youngjae answers, still caressing Jaebum’s face. “But you know, feeling fear is not a bad thing. It means you care. Even if we are different, we still feel the same emotions. Things like fear, love or pain are in our nature and we can’t avoid feeling them. But it’s okay because that is what makes us feel alive”.

Youngjae smiles and takes Jaebum’s hand in his, holding it in front of Jaebum’s eyes.

“I’m scared too” Youngjae confesses, bringing their joined hands to his lips to kiss Jaebum’s knuckles. “I’m scared about what will happen when I’ll have my memories back. Will this new memories disappear, or would they just mix with the ones I lost? I don’t want to lose my new memories. I want to remember everything, especially this night. I want to remember how you made love to me. How I was able to feel loved by you, and all the passion we felt as we were finally just one”.

“You shouldn’t be scared then” Jaebum mutters, disentangling his hand from Youngjae’s to kiss his palm. “Even if you lose these memories, we can always make new ones. We’re mated forever, remember?” Jaebum playfully ask while raising his left leg, showing the bite mark to Youngjae.

“I know, but it wouldn’t be our very first time. I want this moment to remain forever with me” Youngjae says, and then adds more seriously. “I want you to stay forever with me”.

Jaebum sets Youngjae’s hand free to take his face between his hands, bringing their lips together in a sweet, slow kiss. Youngjae holds onto Jaebum’s forearms for dear life as he moves his lips in unison with Jaebum, who is the first to break the kiss.

“There’s no other place I would want to be at but by your side for the rest of my life” Jaebum whispers, kissing Youngjae’s smiling lips again.

“You better be because I want nobody but you” Youngjae teases as their lips part again.

Jaebum smiles but let’s out a yelp as Youngjae rolls over him and positions himself on top of Jaebum.

“Youngjae, what-“ Jaebum starts saying only to be cut by Youngjae’s lips on his.

“I love you, Jaebum” Youngjae says after breaking the kiss.

Jaebum smiles but doesn’t say anything, still moved by the seriousness of Youngjae’s voice. Youngjae smiles too before placing his head on Jaebum’s chest, ready to fall asleep.

“I love you too, Youngjae” Jaebum whispers while caressing Youngjae’s soft brown locks affectionately. “You have no idea about how much I do”.

Youngjae smiles at that with his eyes still closed.

I know because I feel the same, he thinks before drifting to slumber on Jaebum’s chest with his mate following.

Chapter Text

Silence rules inside the pack’s residence. It has been a while since the building was this quiet. With a lot of people living inside there wasn’t many times when the corridors were quiet, often being occupied by friends hanging out or by kids playing with their parents. But today you can’t hear even the lowest breath of a bug.

Today the temperature is nice. It’s a bit cold outside but the sun is still shining brightly on the sky. It’s a perfect day to go out and enjoy this little rest from the winter’s cold and cloudy weather. But that isn’t the reason why the entire pack is outside the residence.

There’s a duel starting in a few minutes. A duel that could change the fate of Namjoon’s pack and set them free from Sewon’s yoke.

A duel between the current pack’s leader, Kim Sewon, and the challenger Im Jaebum, son of a former alpha.

Sewon is already there, surrounded by his minions. They are face to face with Namjoon’s members, who stare at them with fury in their eyes. The entire pack has come to give his support and strength to Jaebum, except Bonnie who decided to stay at the nursery for obvious reasons.

The first rows are filled by Jaebum’s closest friends while the rest of the pack stays behind; but all of them share the same feelings: support and encouragement towards the only member brave enough to defy the alpha. They all yearn for freedom, for peace; for revenge towards the ones who damaged their pack and its leader.

Jaebum advances towards the crowd with Youngjae’s hand inside his. He doesn’t want to let it go until the last moment, needing Youngjae’s support more than anything else. As they approach their friends, Jaebum turns around to look at Youngjae, who smiles happily to him. The beautiful sight makes Jaebum smile in delight too before turning to look at his friends.

As he passes by them, all of them give him thumbs up and words of encouragement. When he reaches the end of the crowd he stands by Mark’s side, who gives him a small smile before linking their hands together. Jaebum stares defiantly at Sewon as Mark intertwines his fingers with Jinyoung’s, who at the same time holds Hoseok’s hand. Hoseok continues the chain of joined hands by linking his with Jimin’s meanwhile at the other side of Jaebum Youngjae links his hand with Yugyeom’s, who holds Shura’s hand. The girl intertwines his fingers with his brother who also joins his hand together with Seokjin’s. By Jimin’s side, Taehyung links his hand with Yoongi, who reaches behind to hold the hand of the person after him.

Sewon stares surprised at Namjoon’s pack all joining hands together. He quickly changes his face to pretend as if it didn’t affect him; but the sight in front of him is too intense to not be affected by it. Sewon’s minions also start to look disconcerted to their surroundings, feeling a bit threatened by the imposing sight in front of them.

After a few seconds more of silence and holding hands Jaebum frees his own from Mark’s hold, who looks at him and nods. Jaebum nods back before turning to look at Youngjae, who gives him a squeeze before smiling brightly to him. Jaebum mouths an ‘I love you’ before walking away without freeing Youngjae’s hand until they can be no longer together. Youngjae’s smile falls at that, but quickly reaches for Mark’s hand to hold it; showing to Sewon’s pack that no matter what, their pack will remain united.

“You showed up” Sewon says, breaking the deathly silence that surrounded them.

“I told you I wasn’t going to back off” Jaebum states solemnly.

Sewon smirks at him before taking a step closer.

“I’ll give you one last chance to retract” he says, “go home now or we’ll fight till death”.

Jaebum turns around and the crowd bows to him, showing their support. Jaebum searches for a certain pair of eyes that are staring intensely back at him. Youngjae nods slightly and Jaebum turns around with passion and determination burning in his eyes.

“I chose fighting till death” Jaebum claims, already challenging Sewon with his gaze.

“Till death then” Sewon says, removing his coat and throwing it to one of his minions.

Jaebum does the same but Youngjae is eager to approach him to hold the coat for him.

“You have this” Youngjae mutters to him, “but still please be careful. We don’t know the tricks this man could have at hand”.

“I know my love” Jaebum whispers back, running a hand through Youngjae’s cheek, “I’ll be fine, I promise”.

“I can’t lose you” Youngjae mutters.

They stare into each other eyes, feeling what the other feels in their own body. Youngjae feels the excitement and nervousness of Jaebum while Jaebum feels the worry and the love of Youngjae.

“You won’t lose me” Jaebum says before pushing Youngjae’s head with his hand to leave a kiss on his mate’s forehead.

There’s a series of squeals before Jaebum releases Youngjae, who smiles at him again and then returns to his previous spot between Mark and Yugyeom. Jaebum watches him doing so, and when Mark and Yugyeom link their hands together again with Youngjae he finally turns back, facing Sewon.

“Let’s end with this” Jaebum says defiantly to Sewon, adopting a fighting position.

“Come and get it” Sewon says, smirking at him.

Jaebum is the first one to move, throwing a fit towards his opponent. Sewon dodges it and attempts to return the movement but Jaebum catches him by the arm, pushing him aside. Sewon clicks his tongue in annoyance before aiming a kick towards Jaebum, who avoids it by bending down, kicking with his leg Sewon’s one. The alpha falls back on the ground, and Jaebum is quick to immobilize him by sitting on top of him. Then he starts throwing fierce punches to Sewon’s face repeatedly, barely allowing the other to breathe; but he misses Sewon’s free hands grabbing him by the collar of his shirt before pushing him aside. Sewon rolls then on top of him and aims to repeat what Jaebum did to his face; but Jaebum is wiser and covers his face with his forearms.

After the first failed punch, Jaebum hits Sewon straight in his face with his fist, making him loosen up his immobilization. Jaebum takes the opportunity and removes Sewon’s weight from his body, standing up and aiming to kick the fallen man. Sewon stops the attack and pulls from Jaebum’s leg, throwing him again to the floor. Jaebum rolls through the floor as Sewon attempts to kick him until he’s able to stand up in one jump. He then hits Sewon’s chest with his elbow, but his second hit is stopped by his rival, who throws a punch at him.

As the two men keep throwing fists and kicks to each other, Youngjae follows with his gaze every movement of Sewon. He doesn’t trust the other, not when he made Namjoon enter a comatose state and nobody knows how. He has to be Jaebum’s other eyes in case he shows any dirty trick that could put his mate in the same situation as their leader was in.

C’mon my love, Youngjae thinks, you’ve got this.

The message gets clear to Jaebum’s mind. He groans and kicks Sewon on the stomach when the other lowers his defense. Sewon grasps and aims a kick back to Jaebum but his attempt is in vain as Jaebum grabs him by his hair and throws him to the ground.

Namjoon’s pack erupts in cheers and growls. Jaebum walks besides the alpha as the other spits a mix of saliva and blood to the ground under him. The shouts and claps from the enemy’s pack infuriate him because it makes him feel as if he was losing.

At that exact moment Sewon realizes that he IS actually losing to Jaebum. He should have listened to Jeonghan when he said he shouldn’t underestimate Jaebum. The fact that he never fought against Jeonghan didn’t mean that he wasn’t strong. He’s now painfully aware of how much stronger Jaebum is in reality.

“Already given up?” Jaebum asks him mockingly.

Sewon balls his fists and forces his body to stand up. He needs to defeat this guy; Jaebum has become the spur of Namjoon’s pack rebellion against him and if he doesn’t erase him he is not going to have the pack under his absolute control never.

As he thinks of a way to attack Jaebum without being blocked his gaze falls upon the only boy that isn’t cheering and shouting. Choi Youngjae is staring intensely at him, as if he could melt the other with his eyes. He then remembers Jeonghan advising him that if he wants to damage Jaebum where it hurts the most he should go for Youngjae. He should have been smarter than his rival and have attacked his weak point before the duel. He now can’t hurt Youngjae and he can’t hurt Jaebum either.

Fortunately he still has his plan B.

He puts his left hand on his back, pretending as if he was hurt there to search inside his back pocket for the syringe he saved there earlier in case something went wrong. After making sure it isn’t broken he retreats his hand back to the front and smirks to Jaebum.

“Oh, please” he dramatically says, “we have just started”.

As he aims a punch towards Jaebum’s face, Youngjae stares even more suspiciously towards him. He’s not distracted by the cheering crowd around him or the enemy pack whispering to each other. His sole focus is Sewon for now.

Jaebum, he mutters in his mind, be careful. I’m almost sure he has something on his back.

After hearing Youngjae’s mental warning Jaebum frowns and pushes Sewon away from him.

What do you think it is? He asks his mate mentally, could it be a knife?

I don’t know but please be careful. I’ll keep an eye on him to find out.

Jaebum half smiles at Youngjae’s concern for his wellbeing before throwing a punch directly on Sewon’s stomach. The other avoids it and kicks Jaebum straight on the nose, destabilizing him. He doesn’t fall on the ground but he wobbles as he takes two steps away from his enemy. Sewon takes the chance and tackles Jaebum, bumping him against a tree. Jaebum growls at the pain on his back and aims a punch towards Sewon’s face, who dodges it and pushes Jaebum harder against the tree, making it wiggle.

The sudden movement elicits a satisfied smile on Sewon’s face, who repeats the action. He smiles even more as he hears the tree cracking up due to the force of the impacts, threatening to break and fall directly above Namjoon’s pack.

Jaebum catches Sewon’s idea and tries to push him away from him, but Sewon bumps his back against the tree again making him see stars. Sewon takes a few steps back before raising his fist. Jaebum doesn’t move as Sewon runs towards him but avoids it at the end, rolling to the floor. He’s sure the tree is not going to fall now, but unfortunately a branch comes off from it just centimeters away from his head.

He gets up and kicks the branch away without caring where it lands. He runs towards Sewon and punches him on the stomach, succeeding this time and sending him backwards. Jaebum grabs him by the collar of his shirt and bumps his head against the other with force. He releases the alpha, who wobbles back and almost trips over the branch Jaebum had previously kicked away.

He stares at the branch and then at the crowd at his side. A small smirk spreads through his face as he takes it from the ground and aims to smash it against Jaebum’s head. The latter stops the attack before it succeeds and pushes him back. Sewon throws himself desperately against Jaebum again; the action is so unexpected that Jaebum struggles to avoid it, turning on himself to finally kick his opponent’s arm. The force of the impact causes Sewon’s arm to release the branch, with such bad luck that it flies directly towards Youngjae’s face.

When Jaebum realizes it’s too late: the branch impacts against Youngjae’s face before he can divert it with his power. Mark and Yugyeom catch him before he falls to the ground and Jinyoung rushes to his side to heal him. Jaebum also attempts to run to him but suddenly an intense pain appears in his head making him groan.

“Don’t tell me…” Sewon mutters, smirking devilishly after realizing that Jaebum is stronger than before because he’s mated to Youngjae. “Don’t tell me you are mated to a human. You’re really a disgrace to our kind”.

Jaebum glares at him, still suffering from the headache and unable to move. Sewon’s smirk amplifies as he hits Jaebum’s abdomen with his knee and then elbows him in the back, making Jaebum fall to the ground. His vision starts to blur as his head makes contact with the land under him, and he feels Sewon placing a foot on his back preventing him from moving.

“Jaebum!”

His gaze shifts towards the voice calling him; that melodious voice that captivated him since the first time he heard it. He sees Youngjae kneeling down, staring at him with worried but hopeful eyes.

Jaebum I’m fine, he says through their mental link. Don’t worry about me, I’m not hurt. You have to get up.

Jaebum keeps staring at him as he tries to stand up, but Sewon’s foot on his back isn’t making it easy for him. If anything, the other has noticed his intentions and is putting even more pressure on him.

Get up, Jaebum!

Jaebum tries again with all his willpower; but he has only lifted his body a few centimeters from the ground when Sewon pushes him back to the floor.

Jaebum, the object on his back! He’s taking it out, I’m seeing it! It’s a syringe! He’s going to poison you, you have to get up!

Jaebum groans as Sewon’s feet nails painfully on his back. He sees all his friends’ worried faces staring at him. He sees Youngjae clenching his fists, and he feels the need of the younger to run to him and help him.

Jaebum.

Time seems to freeze as they stare into each other eyes. Jaebum desperately tries to find strength to move inside Youngjae’s eyes as his mate pleads to him to get up and fight for his live.

Youngjae is about to mouth something to him when he breaks the eye contact and stares above Jaebum. The latter watches terrified how Youngjae widens his eyes and feels fear possessing his entire body.

Jaebum you have to get up, now!

Jaebum turns his head slightly to see what has scared Youngjae so much and sees Sewon’s face grinning in pure delight as he holds a syringe in one of his hands and starts to bend down to inject its content inside Jaebum’s body. He tries resisting once more without success. Sewon’s hold on him is too strong and he doesn’t have the strength anymore to fight it.

Jaebum!

Jaebum turns his head again to look at Youngjae and his heart breaks upon seeing his beloved’s teary eyes.

Youngjae don’t cry. I can’t stand seeing you cry. An angel like you shouldn’t cry. You deserve all the happiness in this world so please don’t cry.

Youngjae looks at Sewon getting dangerously close to his boyfriend and then looks at Jaebum again. He clutches his hand above his heart and stares intensely into Jaebum’s eyes.

I can’t lose you, Jaebum.

That sentence stirs something inside Jaebum and he feels his body recovering its strength again. He stares at Youngjae for a second before rolling to the side, escaping from Sewon’s hold. As Sewon attempts to stick the syringe on Jaebum he gets up and catches his arm, applying pressure on Sewon’s wrist to make him drop it.

“Oh, what’s that?” Jaebum asks as the syringe falls to the ground. Sewon growls at him as Namjoon’s pack starts to jeer at him. “I had you for a conservative of our traditions but you have violated the rules. You’re a coward. You’re the actual disgrace to our kind”.

Sewon widens his eyes at Jaebum’s firm words. The latter releases him with a push and then kicks the syringe away from them. It lands at Yoongi’s feet, who picks it up from the ground and saves it on his pocket to analyze later.

Namjoon’s pack erupts again in cheers and shouts of encouragement. With a restored hope and strength Jaebum glares at Sewon, who looks a bit terrified. He throws himself against the alpha and kicks him on the stomach repeatedly.

“You son of a bitch” Jaebum mutters as he keeps hitting the other man. “You dared to hurt the most valuable thing on this world and I can’t forgive you”.

He clenches his fist and directs it towards Sewon’s back, making him fall to the ground. Jaebum rolls him so he’s lying on his back before sitting on top of him.

“This is for my pack” he mutters as he lands a rough punch on Sewon’s face, breaking his nose and few of his teeth. “This is for myself” he mutters again as he punches his rival’s face again.

Sewon’s allies are too terrified to do anything meanwhile Namjoon’s pack keep chanting Jaebum’s name, already knowing the result of the duel.

“This is for Youngjae” Jaebum mutters as he punches Sewon’s face again.

He raises his fist and stares at Sewon’s damaged face, knowing that the other is on the verge of death.

“And this” Jaebum mutters again, inhaling deeply before finishing the sentence, “this is for Namjoon”.

Sewon has barely time to shout as Jaebum’s fist smashes against his face, taking away his last breath before his heart stops beating.

He gets up and walks away from Sewon. One of the alpha’s minions crouches besides the lying body and checks his pulse.

“He’s dead” the minion confirms.

At first nothing happens. Jaebum just smiles and turns around to look at his friends, who are smiling proudly at him. He stares at Youngjae’s relieved but glad face and his smile gets wider. He has just taken a step towards them when he hears a scream at his back and he turns around violently. His eyes widen in surprise as one of Sewon’s minions runs towards him and is about to tackle him when said minion flies away from him, bumping his back against a tree. He turns his head again to the front and sees Youngjae with one of his arms extended to him and a fierce look in his eyes.

At that moment Namjoon’s pack starts to shout and growl as they throw themselves against Sewon’s minions, who either fight them back or run away scared through the forest. Jaebum avoids the crowd of wild people as he advances towards Youngjae, who is eager to run to his side and engulf him in a bone-crushing hug.

“You’re okay, you’re okay” Youngjae repeats on loop as he hugs Jaebum even tighter.

“I’m okay” Jaebum answers with a chuckle. He disentangles himself from Youngjae and cups his boyfriends’ face between his hands. “Are you okay?”

“I’m okay” Youngjae says, bumping his forehead against Jaebum’s carefully.

“We’re all okay” Jinyoung says, appearing by Youngjae’s side. “But I think Jaebum would be more okay if I heal him a bit, don’t you think?”

Both males smile at that and finally Jaebum releases Youngjae, who stays by Jinyoung’s side as he takes care of Jaebum.

“That’s right, run away as the rats you are!” they hear Yoongi yelling.

“Cowards!” Jungkook yells too.

“That’s what you get for messing with Namjoon’s pack!” Jimin shouts.

They all start cheering and congratulating each other, especially Jaebum. They form a circle around him and clap and bow to him.

“What would have we done without you” Yoongi tells him as he ruffles his hair.

“This victory isn’t only mine” Jaebum says, “it’s of all us. Namjoon’s pack’s victory”.

“Man, we wouldn’t have done anything without you” Mark says to him with a teasing smile. “You have to give yourself some credit”.

“But it’s true, guys” Jaebum says again, punching Mark’s shoulder playfully. “I wouldn’t have been able to make it without you all. Especially without Youngjae”.

Youngjae flinches at the sudden mention of his name but quickly accepts the hand Jaebum is offering to him.

“Without him I’m positive I wouldn’t have been able to do it” Jaebum says, making Youngjae blush.

They hear some whistling from their friends and some approval shouts. Then they also hear some noise at their backs and they see Sewon’s minions running back to the pack, looking very frightened. Namjoon’s pack adopts again a defensive pose, and they are all ready to fight when they see Hyunwoo’s entire squad walking behind the runaways, shotguns in hand.

“No one leaves before we ask a few questions” Hyunwoo declares.

Namjoon’s pack erupts in shouts of pure joy as they help Hyunwoo’s squad handcuffing all the minions.

“Park Jinyoung!”

The aforementioned one flinches upon hearing that voice. He knows he’s going to be scolded by his friends for leaving their house without saying anything. Mark notices the terrified look on his boyfriend’s face and chuckles at his cuteness.

“Park Jinyoung!” Jackson yells as he reaches his friend and stares at him with both arms crossed on his chest. “Do you think it’s nice to leave the house without leaving a note or calling us? Do you know how worried we were? OF COURSE YOU DON’T KNOW BECAUSE YOU WEREN’T THERE!”

“Jackson chill” Jinyoung says trying to calm his friend.

“Don’t” Jackson says, ignoring Jinyoung’s attempt of hugging him. “You should have left a note at least. We are your best friends and we care about your wellbeing”.

“If you really care about my wellbeing then you wouldn’t fuck next to my room” Jinyoung argues. “You could have told me to put some earphones or something first. Hearing your loud moans wasn’t something I wanted to do and now thanks to it I keep having nightmares”.

“We allow you to stay with us and you’re still complaining? How ungrateful!”

“That’s true Jinyoungie. That’s not nice” Mark steps in, placing an arm around his boyfriend’s shoulders. “We should return the favor, don’t you think?”

Jinyoung smirks to his evil boyfriend as Jackson stares terrified at the two.

“I liked you, Mark” Jackson says. “But I don’t think I do anymore”.

Mark and Jinyoung laugh as Bambam reaches them and hugs both of them, scolding Jinyoung too for leaving without a note.

Hyunwoo approaches Jaebum to congratulate him and to inform him about their new alliance with Junmyeon’s pack. Youngjae stays by Jaebum’s side, glad to know that they still have friends and allies that support them.

“Youngjae!”

He turns around, recognizing the voice that has called him. He sees Kihyun running towards him with Minhyuk following.

“Thank God you’re okay” Kihyun says as he hugs Youngjae. “You left me truly worried when you stopped answering my texts”.

“I’m sorry, Kihyun” Youngjae says, releasing Kihyun to hug Minhyuk too. “I wish I could have warned you about what happened. But it was so sudden that I couldn’t do anything”.

“It doesn’t matter anymore. You and the pack are fine and that’s what counts the most”.

They both smile at each other, being watched closely by Jaebum. He knows he shouldn’t be jealous when Youngjae is already his, but he can’t help being territorial.

“In the meantime we did some useful things” Minhyuk announces happily.

“Really?” Youngjae asks truly amused. “What did you do?”

“Kihyun discovered the right formula to make an antidote for the silver bomb!” Minhyuk exclaims animatedly.

“And Minhyuk found where Alyson, the girl that took our memories away lives!” Kihyun announces.

“That’s amazing guys!” Youngjae says happily.

“We were wondering if now that your pack is free again you would like to join us in recovering our memories” Minhyuk suggests.

“I would like to go with you guys” Youngjae answers with half a smile, “but…”

He glances slightly at Jaebum, who is talking with Hyunwoo and Yoongi about something. Kihyun and Minhyuk stare at him with hopeful eyes, waiting for his final response.

“I’m mated now” Youngjae says. “And I think I should stay with Jaebum”.

“Wow, you’re mated?” Minhyuk asks, amazed by Youngjae’s confession.

“Congratulations bro!” Kihyun shouts, hugging Youngjae while giggling.

“Yes, we’re mated now” Jaebum intervenes, placing a hand on Youngjae’s shoulder to separate him from Kihyun.

“Someone is jealous” Kihyun mutters while wriggling his eyebrows.

Jaebum glares at him while Kihyun smirks.

“Kihyun said they have an antidote for the silver bomb” Youngjae says, trying to erase the tension between his mate and his friend.

“Yes, Hyunwoo already told me” Jaebum says without removing his gaze from Kihyun.

“They also asked me if I would like to join them on recovering our memories” Youngjae tries again, reaching to hold Jaebum’s hand to calm him down.

“He already said he should stay here, no need to kill me with your gaze” Kihyun says.

Jaebum is about to add something more when another voice chirps in.

“Behave, Jaebum. I haven’t raised you to be harsh towards our allies”.

Everyone turns around quickly to look at the owner of that voice, and they soon start shouting again as they all approach their leader to hug him.

“Hey, please chill” Namjoon says as Bonnie tries to remove all the people from above him. “I can’t even walk properly for the moment! Please calm down!”

His pack obeys diligently and all release Namjoon, still surrounding him and looking as happiest as ever now that their leader is back. Bonnie sighs in relief, supporting half Namjoon’s weight with her own body while the other half is supported by a crutch. He looks pale and weak but more alive than the last time his pack saw him.

“I know you’re all happy to see me again. I am too” Namjoon says with a smile. “I’ve missed you guys. But first we have to talk about a few things”.

“If it’s about the leadership” Jaebum starts saying, “I don’t want it. I only wanted to set my pack free, but I never intended on becoming their leader”.

“I know, Jaebum” Namjoon says, squeezing his shoulder. “But for the moment you should keep it. Right now I’m not in a good condition to rule the pack towards what is going to become, without any doubt, an open war. Until I recover I need someone strong to be their leader, and you have proved that you’re the most suitable one for the task. I know my pack will be in good hands under your leadership”.

Namjoon smiles to him and Jaebum can’t help but smile back, feeling full of confidence to take the leader role for the moment.

“Okay, I’ll accept it” Jaebum answers.

The pack cheers for him and his friends give him shouts of encouragement. Youngjae also claps for him while smiling proudly.

“Well, you have the power now” Namjoon says. “I think you have some decisions to make”.

“That’s right” Jaebum says, glancing towards Hyunwoo and his squad. “But first, I would like to choose two advisors to help me ruling until you’re fully recovered”.

Namjoon nods to him. He trusts Jaebum with all his heart; him and Yoongi have always been the two persons he would want ruling his pack if he wasn’t there.

“I would want Yoongi’s wise advices” Jaebum declares, and Yoongi smiles to him. Jaebum extends his hand to him for a handshake, and after accepting it Yoongi walks to stand by Jaebum’s side.

“For my other advisor” Jaebum starts saying, staring directly at all his friends, “I would like to have by my side the person who has been my friend, my confident and my support while I was at my lowest moment. Without him, I wouldn’t have regained the strength and the courage I lost long time ago. He helped me overcome my fears and he made me understand what the things that really matter in life are”.

Youngjae smiles tenderly at him, already having an idea about who is Jaebum talking about. Jinyoung also grins, pleased with Jaebum’s choice.

“So, Mark” Jaebum says, staring into Mark’s surprised eyes, “would you like to accompany me through this new challenge as my friend, my confident and my support?”

Mark opens his mouth to say something but he can’t speak due to all the emotions he’s feeling right now. Jaebum walks to him and holds his hand as Mark’s body starts to shake.

“But- but- but…” Mark babbles, “I-I don’t have any idea about ruling a pack. I don’t think I’ll be able to help you, Jaebum”.

“Bullshit” Jaebum says, grinning widely to him. “You’ll be an amazing advisor. Please, help me like you did before. I can’t do this without you”.

Mark gulps and turns to his side to look at his friends. All of them nod to him, and Youngjae even gives him thumbs up.

“You’ll do well, darling” Jinyoung whispers to him.

Mark smiles grateful at him before pulling Jaebum’s arm to engulf him into a tight hug.

“I accept” Mark mutters to him, “but if something goes wrong it’ll be your own fault for choosing me”.

Jaebum smiles at that and nods, breaking the hug and standing in front of the pack with his two new advisors by his side. Namjoon internally cheers for Jaebum’s choices.

“Changing the subject” Jaebum says, recovering his serious appearance again. “I restore our previous alliances with the S.U.S.F. and with Junmyeon’s pack. From now on we’ll be working with them and we’ll provide our support to any decisions made by them”.

Now not only his pack but also Hyunwoo’s squad cheer at him. Hyunwoo approaches him with a gentle smile on his face and offers his hand. Jaebum smiles too before accepting it and shaking both their hands.

“The S.U.S.F. also agrees to work with this pack and provide our support to any decisions made by them” Hyunwoo states firmly.

Jaebum nods to him slightly and so does Hyunwoo before releasing Jaebum’s hand.

“How about we start by interrogating all those minions we’ve just captured?” Hyunwoo suggests.

“Fine with me” Jaebum agrees.

“I see I’m not needed here anymore” Namjoon jokes, “I’ll be staying at the nursery until I feel well again”.

“Don’t say that” Jaebum says, “you’re always needed”.

“No, I’m not” he says, placing a hand on Jaebum’s shoulder. “Now they need you. You haven’t just freed them; you have given to them hope and strength to fight for what is right. I’m so proud of you, Jaebum. I’m sure that your parents, wherever they are, are watching you and they also feel so proud of you”.

“Thank you, Namjoon” Jaebum says, placing his hand on top of Namjoon’s.

Youngjae stares at the moon through the window of Jaebum’s bedroom, thinking about what Kihyun told him when they met. He refused but it didn’t feel right. Deep down, Youngjae knows he should have said yes. He should join Minhyuk and Kihyun and take their memories back together, just like how they lost them.

He turns around and stares then at Jaebum’s naked body sleeping on the bed. He smiles, admiring how peaceful Jaebum looks like that; without worries, without any problem troubling him. He doesn’t want to go away from him but he needs his memories back. He needs to know everything about his relationship with Jaebum.

He turns again to stare at the moon. Minhyuk and Kihyun said they weren’t going to move until tomorrow at night so it would be easier for them to trespass into Alyson’s place. He still has time to wonder about it, but he’s almost sure he knows what his final decision is going to be.

He feels naked arms embracing him from behind and he smiles, knowing too well to whom they belong. He then feels Jaebum’s lips leaving kisses from his shoulder to his neck, and he throws his head to the other side to give him more space to kiss.

“What is my sunshine doing staring at the moon instead of sleeping by my side?” Jaebum asks him in a low and deep voice, still attacking his neck.

“I was thinking about my memories” Youngjae answers.

Jaebum stops kissing his neck and tightens his hold on him, placing his chin on top of the younger’s shoulder.

“You want to go with them, don’t you?”

Youngjae nods slowly. Jaebum releases him and Youngjae bites his lip, scared of Jaebum’s reaction; but his boyfriend just takes him from his shoulders and turns him around so they are looking at each other.

“I’ve been feeling your turmoil since they left” Jaebum says, both of them staring into each other’s eyes. “I’m sorry if I acted a bit jealous this evening when you were with Kihyun. It’s not that I don’t want you to go with him. It’s just… I just wanted to spend time with you. I wanted to celebrate after everything that happened today. I wouldn’t have been able to win if it wasn’t for you, so forgive me for being selfish and wanting you a little bit more before you go away”.

“There’s nothing to forgive, Jaebum” Youngjae answers, taking Jaebum’s hand in his. “I also wanted to be with you. But now I want my memories more than ever because I want to know everything about us. I want to remember everything about our relationship”.

“You’re free to go, you know that” Jaebum says, bringing their joined hands closer to kiss Youngjae’s. “I understand what you want. Also I promised Shura I would respect any decision you would take, so you have my blessing”.

“Really?” Youngjae says with shining eyes. Jaebum nods and Youngjae pulls him closer to hug him. “Thank you, Jaebum! I promise I will call you every hour”.

“That won’t be necessary” Jaebum says with a grin.

Youngjae stares at him confused until he hears a voice inside his head.

We can now communicate like this.

Youngjae opens his mouth widely in surprise. Jaebum chuckles at his cuteness before leading him again towards the bed.

This is super cool!

Jaebum laughs at it and so does Youngjae. Both of them lie again on the bed, Jaebum pulling Youngjae into his embrace as soon as Youngjae’s body touches the mattress. He then caresses delicately his back as Youngjae snuggles closer to him.

“So you’re 100% okay with me going with Kihyun and Minhyuk?” Youngjae asks him.

“I can’t answer that” Jaebum says.

“Why?” Youngjae says, raising his head so he can look at Jaebum’s face.

“I don’t fully trust that Kihyun guy” Jaebum answers with his chin almost popping out of his face. “He knows you for what? Two days? And still he dares to call himself your soulmate. Who does he think he is?”

Youngjae chuckles at that. Jealous Jaebum is funny but also cute.

“You already have me but still you’re jealous of the poor guy”.

“I can’t help it, okay? Werewolves tend to be territorial, especially towards our family and mates”.

“I don’t think you should worry, Jaebum” Youngjae says, pecking his lips softly. “I don’t think Kihyun likes me that way. And I’m already yours and I’ll forever be, so you don’t really need to be overprotective towards me or be harsh towards him. I’m sure he’s a good guy or else he wouldn’t be my friend”.

“I know, okay? I’ll try to control my jealousy next time we meet him”.

Youngjae smiles satisfied at that. Jaebum also does and then he kisses Youngjae deeply, pulling him even closer to him.

“I’m going to miss you” Jaebum says as they part.

“Me too, Jaebummie” Youngjae says. “Me too”.

Jaebum smiles before covering their naked bodies with a sheet. He kisses Youngjae one last time before preparing himself to succumb to slumber.

Chapter Text

“Good morning, my love” Mark whispers in Jinyoung’s ear.

Jinyoung stirs in his sleep and turns around, face inches away from Mark’s. He opens his eyes and blesses his boyfriend’s eyes with a beautiful smile of his.

“Good morning, babe” Jinyoung whispers back.

Mark smiles too and drops a kiss on Jinyoung’s forehead.

“How did you sleep?” Mark asks him.

Jinyoung stares at him suspiciously. Since when is Mark so considerate after waking up?

“Good, I guess?” Jinyoung answers, a bit confused. “And you?”

“I had trouble falling asleep” Mark says while caressing Jinyoung’s dark hair delicately.

“Is something bothering you?” Jinyoung asks truly worried.

“Well, yes… I wanted to talk to you about something but you quickly fell asleep and I had to keep it to myself”.

Jinyoung bites his lip unconsciously, feeling a bit guilty that he left his boyfriend hanging. Mark tries not to stare at Jinyoung’s lips, but it’s a difficult task when they are so inviting and tempting.

“I’m sorry” Jinyoung apologizes, “I’m just feeling a bit tired these days. But now I’m awake, you can tell me now”.

Now it’s Mark’s turn to bite his lip. He doesn’t know really how to say what he wants, even when they have already talked about the issue more than once. The thought of it makes him nervous but excited at the same time.

“I just wanted to know…” Mark starts, swallowing hard when he sees Jinyoung’s curious eyes staring directly into his. “I just wanted to know if you still-“

“Guys, breakfast is ready!” Shura yells from the kitchen.

“Fantastic! I’m so hungry!” Jinyoung exclaims, taking the sheets off of him to get up from the bed. He then remembers that Mark was saying something and quickly turns around. “I’m sorry, Mark. But I’m truly hungry; can we talk about this later?”

“Y-yes, of course” Mark says.

He’s left both flustered and frustrated because he didn’t get to end what he was saying after taking the courage to do it. But he quickly forgets about it as his own stomach growls.

“Jinyoung” Mark calls his boyfriend who is profusely focused on the movie they are currently watching.

Well, only Jinyoung is watching it. Mark has been thinking of a way to say what he wants again without making it seem as if he was desperate about it.

“Yes?” Jinyoung asks without diverting his eyes from the television.

“Jaebum did well on the duel, didn’t he?”

“Yes”.

“He’s really strong, isn’t he?”

“Yes”.

“Mating Youngjae seems to have given him a lot of strength. And he seems happier than before”.

“Yes”.

“Seems like mating is something really good after all”.

“Yes”.

“So”, Mark says; he inhales deeply before ending the phrase, “would you like to-“

The doorbell rings, cutting Mark before he could ask the question. Jinyoung stands up and goes to open the door, unaware of his boyfriend clenching tightly his fists in annoyance and frustration.

“Mark, Jaebum wants you to go to his house” Jinyoung says as he walks towards Mark with Youngjae behind him.

“What does he want?” Mark asks a bit rougher than intended.

“He wants to speak about something important with you” Youngjae answers, a bit startled by Mark’s sudden bad behavior.

Mark sighs before leaving. As the door closes with a loud bang, Jinyoung and Youngjae stare at each other.

“What’s wrong with him?” Youngjae asks the other.

“I don’t know” Jinyoung answers with a shrug of his shoulders. “Maybe he’s in his male period or something”.

Youngjae grins at that and then takes a seat besides Jinyoung on the couch; both of them quickly being caught again by the movie playing on the screen.

“Two packs from the east and the north have contacted us” Yoongi tells the other three persons gathered in Jaebum’s living room. “They said they’re on our side. And another neighbour pack has shown his support to us since the people Hyunwoo’s squad freed from the humans has spread the news about what they had done to them and who gave them to the company”.

Jaebum nods. He’s gaining allies very fast, but is a good thing. Jeonghan also has a few packs supporting him; if they want to win this war they need more allies.

“Yesung called me” Seokjin informs. “They found the missing members of the lead pack along with Do Kyungsoo, but unlike him they are in the same state Namjoon was before. They have identified the poison used with them, but they can’t wake them up. Their hearts don’t beat but they are alive as their mates also are. They want to know how we waked Namjoon up”.

“Have you told them about Jinyoung?” Jaebum asks him.

“Yes. I told them he used his power to bring him back, and they asked if he could do the same for them. I told them that I had to consult it with you”.

Jaebum nods and then looks at Mark, who looks pensive at Jaebum’s table.

“Can you ask Jinyoung to come here for a moment?” Jaebum asks him, taking the other out of his trance.

Mark nods and mentally talks to his boyfriend. He hears a ‘yes’ in his head and nods to Jaebum. Not a minute after Jinyoung is knocking at Jaebum’s door.

“Did you need me?” he asks after coming in.

“Yes” Jaebum says, motioning for him to take a seat next to Mark. “The lead pack wants you to do with their missing members the same you did with Namjoon since they were poisoned with the same venom”.

“And you want me to go with them?” Jinyoung asks.

“It’s your decision” Jaebum answers.

“Of course I want to help them” Jinyoung says, placing both hands on the table. “But-“

“Mark can accompany you” Jaebum declares, knowing too well what his problem is.

“Really?” Mark asks, staring at him with hopeful eyes.

“Yes, you can go with him as my representative” Jaebum says. “I authorize you to take any decision you could need to take while you’re away. Also it’ll be good to our pack if they see we send our people with them”.

“There’s another thing” Jinyoung points out. “I need people at my surroundings to take more energy from them or I’ll faint before I can finalize the process. And if they are like me, better”.

“I can send Youngjae with you, but he has to be with Hyunwoo’s squad for the night”.

“Great, but this task could last several days. I only have been able to heal two persons in one day and I had Youngjae and Bonnie in both operations. I could be away from the pack a bit longer. Do you think you can have Mark away until I’m finished?”

“I don’t think it’ll be a problem” Yoongi intervenes. “For now we’re just going to visit other packs to obtain their support before facing Jeonghan and his allies. And we still have to wait for Hyunwoo’s squad to make several doses of their antidote”.

“That’s right” Jaebum says, “you can leave now to pack all the things you will need for your stay at Junmyeon’s pack. I’ll call him to let him know you’re going”.

“Hey, Jinyoung” Mark calls his boyfriend as they finish packing their things, “do you think we’ll be able to sleep together?”

“I don’t know, maybe?” Jinyoung asks, still focused on making sure that he has everything he needs already packed. “Would you miss me that much at night?”

“Uh, it’s just… I thought that maybe we could-“

“Guys we’re leaving!” Youngjae shouts from the other side of the door.

Mark sighs and runs a hand through his hair nervously. Why can’t he ever end what he’s saying?

“Let’s go, Mark” Jinyoung says, grabbing his things before going out.

Mark also takes his bag and carries it with an angry face following Jinyoung. Jinyoung and Youngjae notice his smug face as they leave, but Jinyoung quickly shrugs his shoulders while mouthing a ‘definitely male period’ to Youngjae.

“Hi guys!” Shura’s cheerful voice salutes them as they exit from Seokjin’s house.

“Hello family” Youngjae greets back.

“Are you going somewhere?” Jinyoung asks as he sees Shura, Seokjin, Jungkook and Yugyeom carrying luggage.

“I thought it’ll be better if I accompany you since I know Yesung” Seokjin answers, “they just tagged along”.

“And Jaebum and Junmyeon already gave us their permission” Jungkook adds.

“Well, the more the merrier” Jinyoung comments, “let’s go”.

“It’s done” Kihyun mutters, holding a test tube in front of his eyes. Jooheon stares at him curiously until Kihyun adds “the first sample of the antidote”.

“Well done!” Jooheon congratulates him while patting his shoulder. “It wasn’t really difficult to make, was it?”

Kihyun doesn’t respond; he just stares at the tube with his brows furrowed. Jooheon starts to get worried after a few seconds of silence has passed with Kihyun still immobile with the tube in his hands.

“Kihyun” Jooheon says while shaking Kihyun’s shoulders a bit, “are you okay?”

“What if it doesn’t work?” Kihyun asks suddenly, his gaze still focused on the thing between his hands.

“But you found the right formula to do it, and your calculations are always right”.

“But what if I made a mistake? What if it doesn’t work after all and werewolves die? We won’t know if it works if we don’t prove it but who would put their life at risk for it?”