“Bear!” Jisung yells.

You indeed are looking at a baby cub with a gunshot wound in its side. However, it isn’t what Jisung is referring to.

You look up to see a full grown Asian black bear snarling at you. You can only assume she’s its mother.

“Jisung,” you ask with as much composure as you can muster, “what are our chances?”

“Not good,” he replies. “Especially since there’s also her.”

You follow where he’s pointing and see Hyunjin’s daughter approaching the mother bear with child-like curiosity.

“Okay, let’s back away from the cub first,” you suggest.

The mama bear runs to her baby as soon as you and Jisung step away with your hands raised up in the air. You are about to let out a breath of relief when the mother bear snaps her head up and lets out a pained and dangerous roar. She has found the injury on her child and that the future is bleak for the shot cub.

Jisung mutters a curse. “Y/N, I’m going to get the kid, and then you’re going to jump on my back and we’re out of here, okay?”

“No, wait,” you object in the middle of yelling anything you can to get the child away from the bear. “That won’t work; not in your condition. You should run back to the house and get help.”

“I’m not leaving you here alone,” Jisung deadpans.

“Yes you are or we’re all dead.”

“Still--”

“Jisung, I’m dying anyway!” 

Your anxiety gets the better of you and you scream at your companion. This startles the toddler and she begins crying, which alarms the mother bear. You watch in horror as she stands on her hind legs, about to obliterate the wailing child. On instincts, you lunge forward and wrap yourself around her tiny body. You brace yourself for the pain, but it doesn’t come. You lift your head to see why right as Jisung takes the blow for you and is sent soaring through the air before tumbling meters across the ground.

Jisung struggles to get back on all fours. His pristine silver coat is now mixed with blood and dirt. When he is finally back on his paws, he bares his teeth at the bear, letting out a threatening snarl.

“NO!” you cry as the bear races towards the wolf.

You set the child down and jump to your feet, trying to do something, anything, to help Jisung stay alive. That is when you notice the glow on your wrist.

Hyunjin.

The brown wolf soars over your head right on time, knocking the mother bear off balance just as she is about to maul Jisung’s face. The bear is quick to get back on her feet, displaying her teeth for Hyunjin to see as the wolf steps between her and his fallen friend. Around his wrists glows a faint yellow, giving him a slight edge over what chance Jisung had. Still, can he win against a bear?

Your worries are soon put to rest when you hear more howling from a distance. Before long, the entirety of Mu Alpha Theta is by your side, backing the bear into a corner. Realizing that her chances have slimmed to zero, the mother bear lowers her head and turns back into the woods, leaving the cold body of her child behind. 

The first to speak after ensuring that she is gone is Seungmin. “We need to get Jisung medical care quick.”

“I’m fine,” he groans, earning a sharp glare from his frat brother.

“Get back into wolf form! Those injuries can kill a man!” Seungmin scolds. 

The boys load the silver canine onto Changbin’s back and begin leaving after you thanked them.

“Need a ride?” Chan offers.

You shake your head and walk towards the fallen cub. “I’ll stay with it for a little bit. Felix is calling the Humane Society from the house.”

Chan nods and raises a brow at Hyunjin. The taller male points at you, so the young leader bids you goodbye, leaving the two of you alone.

“Thanks for coming,” you say again as the remaining wolf kicks at a pebble.

He lets out a grunt with his hands in his pocket. You can tell something is off.

“H-how did you know?” you try.

Hyunjin lets out a sigh and turns sharply to face you, surprising you with his fierce gaze. He raises his soulmark and answers, “Because this started tingling. Tingling, Y/N. These are supposed to be on fire when our soulmates are in danger. I’m supposed to be drunk with power until you are safe. Do you know what this means, Y/N? Do you?”

You take a few steps back, scared by his sudden outburst.

“It means you’re dying. It means you’re going to look like that!” he finishes, pointing furiously at the cub when you don’t answer. “I mean, I already knew you were, but getting into a bear attack? Do you really want to leave that soon?”

“I’m sorry,” you squeak, unsure of what else you can say.

Hyunjin lets out another deep exhale and walks up to you, toes touching yours and taking both your wrists in his hands. “No, this isn’t your fault. I’m sorry for yelling. I just…” He turns his head towards the cub’s corpse, voice cracking as he speaks. “Looking at that makes reality so real. Too real…” He leans his forehead against yours. “And I realized that I can’t bear it. Please don’t leave, Y/N. Please. Not when I’ve… Not when I’ve finally fallen in love with you.”

The confession isn’t surprising. You two are soulmates afterall; everyone knew which way his heart would turn after his breakup. Despite this, your breath still gets caught in your throat and your body still turns rigid at his words.

“Hyunjin…” 

You don’t have to say anymore. He already knows that he’s why you’re leaving. He already knows that there is nothing that can be done about it. Well, perhaps not nothing.

He lifts his glassy eyes to look at you. His soulmate. The one above everything and everyone. But is there someone that’s an exception to “everyone”? Is his own daughter?

Hyunjin shakes his head, not believing such an idea-- the very one that he threatened Jisung against many moons ago-- passed through his head. He throws his arms around you and buries his head in your neck.

“I’m sorry,” he croaks. You can feel his tears rolling down your skin. Or is that tear yours?

Despite your better judgement and previous ideologies, you allow your arms to go around his waist. You tighten the grip you have on his shirt and close your eyes.

“I’ve told you to stop apologizing,” you whisper.

Hyunjin wakes up in cold sweat and heavy breaths from a nightmare. He swallows with great effort as he recalls the vivid images.

You laid in his arms with blood trickling from your lips onto the forest floor.

“Hyun… Jin…” you croaked as you attempt in vain to lift your hand up to caress his face.

“N-no,” he whimpered. “N-no! Don’t go! Please don’t go!”

You shook your head, telling him to come to terms with your fate.

“Who did this to you? Tell me, who did this? I swear I will not let them see another day for doing this!” he cried while holding you tighter against himself.

“It’s…” Suddenly, the orbs of your eyes turned glassy and black. “... you.”

The orbs popped and dark liquid spilled out of them. You disintegrated out of his arms, leaving nothing but blood in your wake. 

Hyunjin fell to the ground, clutching at the leaves stained by your blood as he cried.

“Y/N, please come back! Please! I… I... I’m sorry! I’m sorry!… Please don’t leave me alone. I’ll do anything!”

“Anything?”

A cry sounded from under the leaves. Hyunjin gasped in surprise at the sudden noise but wasted no time pushing away the bloodied fronds to find its source. Finally, his hands rubbed against something soft. He lifted it up off the ground and let out a blood curdling scream.

Hyunjin wills his breathing to slow as he pushes his sweaty bangs out of his face. He walks over to his daughter and picks her up into his arms. She wakes up but is too tired to say anything as her father bounces her up and down gently.

He paces around his room with a heavy decision weighing down on him. He knows what he must do to save you, but can he? The stars against the moonless sky remind him that his time to decide is running out.

“Anything?” he repeats out loud. He doesn’t have to dig through leaves to find what the question means. It’s right there in his arms this time.

~ ad.gold