Fire.
The heat licked at Eun-ji's skin while the smokey air whipped up at her face. She raised her arms to protect herself and took a step back to escape the burning building. She was even more shocked to realize that she wasn't in the building where Lee Rang lived.
Instead, the fire stretched for miles over an open meadow. Where was she? She was pretty sure she just walked into the condo. Was this a dream? No, it felt too real. Her skin began to sting from the growing heat of the fire and her eyes watered from the smoke.
The wolf let out a cough as she breathed in the smoky air, her lungs burning immediately in regret. Anxiety gripped her chest as she looked around for another being but she was alone with the exception of some forest creatures running past her looking for safety. She felt as if she was having an out of body experience. Everything felt real but none of it was making sense to her.
The fire was sweeping quickly toward her. Her legs were shaking as she tried to will them to do something, anything. It wasn't until hot ash hit her face that she reacted as it burned her cheek. Her feet moved quickly, running away from the fire, unsure of where to go.
A loud wailing noise reached her ears and she stopped in her tracks to look all around her. It sounded like a human crying, a child to be exact. Her heart lurched at the idea of a small kid being stuck in this tremendous fire. "Hello!" She cried out, hoping she would be heard. She received no response but she followed the sound and after a moment she stumbled upon a younger boy who was cradling a small black puppy to his chest.
"Blacky, wake up." The boy coughed a sob into the pup's chest before letting out a string of coughs. He was covered in dirt and ash, signs of being out here for a while.
Eun-ji raced over to him and grabbed onto his arms, trying to pull him up from the ground. "We can not stay here, we have to go."
The boy cried out and weakly pushed her away. "Hyung!!"
The wolf stilled for a second. The boy wasn't alone, she looked around but didn't see or hear anyone else. No cries for help, no one searching for the small boy.
Before she could turn back to the child he went into a coughing fit and slumped over the black canine. "Boy!" She tried to rouse him by shaking his shoulders. It did nothing. She could feel the tears start to roll down her face as she tried to lift him up. "Someone help!" She felt lost and confused.
There was no escape, the fire made a ring around them. She tried to find a way out but she was growing weakened, coughing from carrying the boy and dog.
'Please, please, please.' Her mind was chanting her pleas as she melted to the ground. She cradled the boy and dog to her chest, leaning over them. In a way to try and protect their bodies. She wasn't even sure if the boy was alive anymore, but she didn't have much hope. "Someone, anyone - please help."
A vortex of fiery wind whipped up in front of her and though she knew she should curl up into a ball, she looked at the swirling, burning embers in front of her. A man appeared in front of her. His form was translucent but she could tell he wasn't a figment of her imagination.
The man was dressed in traditional Royal robes, wolf ears perched on his head and gave her a most unpleasant look with his blue eyes.
"Who are you? Please help."
He scoffed. "You forget who I am and then ask for help after leaving my protection." He tsked at her. "Why should I help when you ran to the Mountain God?"
Eun-ji felt like she didn't know what he was talking about, but her body seemed to know everything. The words spilled from her mouth before she could think. "D-Doung?" She gasped. "I had to leave. The pack died under your care. It wasn't safe. I wasn't safe with you."
He looked furious. "They chose to make that sacrifice. Now look at you! You're in the same boat. Where is your Mountain God now? Not here for you."
She let out a whimper of pain as more hot ash hit her skin directly. "Please, please help." She pleaded. "He doesn't deserve this." Her attention turned to the boy in her arms.
The wolf considered her for a moment. "Even after you left, you're still mine. I can gift you your powers early. In return when you turn of age, you will forget everything and in return everyone will forget you. You will be alone, but I will care for you. Do you accept it?"
"Will it save them?"
"You can save the land, but because you're so young it puts a limit on your potential, so you may choose to save one of them."
Eun-ji's heart twisted at the words. The boy meant so much to her and she knew the pup meant so much to the boy. She, however, already knew what her decision was, if she could save both she would. She'd give up her life for him to be happy.
She paused in her thoughts, while none of this made sense logically to her, it all felt right. She looked up at the Duong above her. "I accept it."
He looked at her as if she was disappointed in her decision, his eyes going from anger to disgust. "Fine." He replied and snapped his fingers with a spark.
At first nothing happened but then she felt it trickling in, flowing through her veins. The combination of fire and ice ran through her body, it was intense having her gasping for air as it overpowered and consumed her very being. It was too much at once and she felt the need to push it from her bones. She pictured the power shooting out of her and with a small amount of effort it did.
A blue shockwave flew out from all around her. It ran across the ground, diminishing the fire in its wake.
Her eyes widened in surprise, not really expecting it to work. She turned her attention to the boy in her arms. She could feel his name leave her lips, she knew him but she couldn't hear the words that left her mouth.
She pressed her lips to his forehead and felt them tingle with power. "Come back to me, okay?" The wolf felt the wind get knocked out of her and as her eyes started to droop in exhaustion the boy's eyes started to open.
He looked at her, his eyes widened as he called her name.
****
Lee Rang was tired. His leg hurt terribly and the ghost just kept coming no matter how many times they took them down. It seemed like nightfall was already upon them. He stumbled slightly, grabbing Yeon’s as he had gotten a few steps ahead of him. The older fox stalked over to him and grabbed his arm to assist him but instead Rang shoved him off. “Let go.”
Yeon stared at him for a moment. “You’re in no condition to be proud.”
Rang looked at him. “I’m just a corpse without my pride.”
Yeon scoffed. “You look like a corpse already.”
Rang took in a deep breath and tried to push himself off the ground, he could feel his arms tremble with the effort. His attempt was in vain as he flopped down and hissed in pain.
“What is it?”
“I can’t go any further. The poison spread everywhere. I can barely see. I’m sick of walking with this leg.” He looked down at it in disgust.
Yeon couldn’t believe it. “So? You’ll sit here and become food for evil spirits?”
Rang sighed. “Go to your woman. It’s too late for me anyway.” He closed his head and tilted his head back, trying to relax his body so he wouldn’t feel the pain so much.
“You haven’t changed.” Yeon stated, causing the younger fox to open his eyes and look at him. “You’re just like when we first met. You still give up easily and you still whine. Why are life and death so simple for you?”
“Because I don’t have anything I cherish. I don’t have a first love to protect with my life as you do, and I don’t have a family that I’m waiting desperately for as she does.”
“So that’s how you feel about her?” Yeon asked with a tinge of anger in his voice.
“Who?” Rang asked, but he knew. He knew that Yeon knew. He just wanted to hear Yeon say it. Needed to hear him say her name.
“Mae Eun-ji. I’ve smelt her on you previously.”
“I had a feeling you knew.”
“I didn’t until recently. For both of you to be covered in each other’s scent and for it to mean nothing to you is ridiculous and hard to believe.”
“She’ll be fine without me.”
“Unbelievable.” Yeon scoffed. “She’s something that can be good for you, and obviously you mean something to her. I’ve seen how she has changed after her ex. I thought she could save you too. I bet she would if you let her, or are you playing with her for your own twisted game?"
"No, I wouldn't do that to her."
"Then why do you talk as if she's nothing?"
Rang remained silent as thoughts of the wolf floated into his head. He did care about her but she deserved so much better than him. If he said how much she meant to him then it was a way she could be used against him. He promised to keep her safe.
The two brothers stared at each other for a moment, each feeling a different emotion. The younger masking his sorrow with a blank face while the older swallowed a lump in his throat and tried to push down his anger.
“I shouldn’t have come. Neither then nor now. I wasted my time. I’m leaving.” He couldn’t look at his brother before stepping away.
“When I die,” Rang started talking, causing Yeon to stop in his tracks. “Bury me in the woods of Baekdudaegan where we used to live.”
“Am I your will?” Yeon continued to walk away from him, angry and disappointed.
Rang thought back to when they were younger. “I wish we could go back to those days. There were azaleas everywhere. It’s strange. I can’t remember how the azaleas tasted back then.”
Yeon couldn’t help it anymore, his rage grew to the boiling point. He turned around and started marching back to his brother. “If you don’t remember how azalea tasted, get out alive and eat some, you idiot!” He was back in front of Rang, looking down at him. “At least try to survive, will you?”
“Be honest. Why did you come here.”
“To save both Ji-Ah and you.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“I don’t care!”
“I almost died by your knife.”
Yeon sighed. “You massacred an entire town. You deserved it.”
“Exactly. Why are you saving someone you tried to kill?”
Yeon looked up at the sky in disbelief. Taking a deep breath he turned his attention back down to Rang. “Listen carefully.” He squatted down to be eye level with the younger fox. “My sword never missed, not even once. I have never missed the target. Think hard with that stupid brain of yours why you survived my sword. I’m leaving and never coming back.”
Rang sat on the forest floor and watched his brother walk away. All the things he thought about Yeon were wrong. He hated his brother for so long but the older fox intentionally didn’t kill him. Rang thought about Eun-ji and how Yeon was right about that as well. He wanted to build something with her, maybe a family of just them and Yuri. He wanted to eat azaleas again. He found himself pushing off the ground and stumbling toward Yeon, who slowed his steps.
Yeon threw an arm under Rang’s shoulder and helped him carry his weight so they could advance and get out of the forest.
***
“Eun-ji, please -” The voice called out to her.
The wolf opened her eyes and found herself at the peak of a small mountain side looking over the scorched land below. She turned attention and glared at the man that stood across from her. She could feel her body shaking with a mixture of rage and sadness. How could he stand there looking so confused at her behavior? The picture of perfection, not a scratch on him while she was still trying to heal her burn scars. “Where were you?”
He stared back at her, his emotions hidden behind the calm facade he wore daily. “Pup-”
“Don’t!” She choked a sob. “Yeon, just don’t.” He took a step toward her but she threw her arms up to tell him to stay back. “I trusted you. I know you’re heartbroken over Lady A Eum. I’m sorry about that - I really am. But you had a responsibility, Yeon. You let everyone down. You abandoned him! You abandoned us!” More tears began to flow down her face.
The fox before her frowned at her words and stepped closer slowly until he was right in front of her, taking in all the words she cried at him. He carefully telegraphed his moves trying not to upset her more than she already was.
“You told me I’d be safe here. You asked me to protect the land when I was powerful enough, when I was older - but you neglected everything you swore to protect and I couldn’t let it all die.”
Yeon grabbed her arms swiftly and hugged her close to him, her face pressed to his chest as she tried to push him away. The fox didn’t let the wolf go and it took less than a minute for her to just collapse into his arms. He allowed their bodies to sink down with the weight of her sadness. “It’s okay pup. You did well.”
Eun-ji shook her head. “No, it’s not okay.” She pulled back to look into his eyes. “I protected your land like I promised I would. I saved him. Me! I did that. It didn’t come for free. I had to make a deal with the Wolf Spirit and now I’ll lose it all one day because of you. I trusted you, Yeon. Where the hell were you?”
His eyes widened at her mention of the wolf spirit. “Eun-ji…”
Her heart was breaking, more cracks appearing by the second. It wasn’t fair. She didn’t want to feel this way. She was furious and devastated. “I hate you. I hate you so much.” She sobbed and tightened her grip on him, afraid he would disappear from what she said. She was thankful he seemed to understand that the words weren’t true and he tucked her closer to him, pressing his nose to the top of her head and running his fingers through her hair. She breathed in his mountain scent and allowed herself to fall part.
“I’m scared, Yeon. I don’t want to lose anything, I don’t want to lose you. I don’t want to lose my memories. I don’t want to lose him. I can’t lose him.”
“I know pup. I know.”
Eun-ji wasn’t sure how long they stayed that way but his fingers soothed her until her sobs turned into gentle studders of air that would pass her lips. She curled into him as he was warm, like all foxes were, her nose pressed to the side of his neck as she twisted the fabric of his shirt between her fingers.
He sat there and picked up the tiny shards of her heart and put them all back into the right place, but it didn’t matter, once something was broken it was weaker and surely would break easier next time. Her body relaxed and she felt herself getting tired from all her emotions running haywire for the past few weeks. “Yeon?” She mumbled into his neck.
“Yes, pup?” His voice was soft, just above a whisper.
“Please don’t leave us again.”
“You know I can’t stay.”
She whimpered and tightened her hold for a moment. “I know. Please stay for the night at least.” She smiled as she felt him nod his head. “I love you Oppa.” She whispered as she let her eyes close as she drifted off into a slumber, the gentle whisper of ‘Love you too pup’ reached her ears before fading away.
***
The two foxes kept running through the forest. It was still nightfall but was now foggy. It was hard to see much further in front of them, in fact a few times they almost ran into a tree here and there.
They finally came to an area where the trees started to thin out, the end of the forest perhaps. They came to a stop at the edge of a cliff, peering out into the dark nothingness.
“The path ends here. Just keep going.” Yeon turned to his brother.
Rang shook his head. “Not on this leg.”
“A path will appear when you overcome your fear.”
Rang looked at him, chest heaving as he looked over to the nothingness. He couldn’t see anything and it made his muscles tighten. “I don’t see any door.”
“Don’t be a wuss!” Yeon yelled at him. He took in his brother’s nervous expression. “Stay strong and think of what you fear the most.”
“What…. What I fear the most?” He couldn’t look his brother in the eye. “Being abandoned. Mom abandoned me…” He turned his attention to Yeon, who was listening closely. “And so did you.”
Yeon sighed. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” The older fox grabbed the younger’s jacket and tugged him closer. “I… never abandoned you.”
There in his heart Rang felt a small spark of warmth, he could tell Yeon meant what he said and he felt his lip quiver. However, before he could get too emotional Yeon grabbed onto his shoulder and faced him to the gorge. Rang closed his eyes tight and tried to imagine the door, willing his fear down. When he opened his eyes, through the fog he started to see it, a small white door appeared in the woods across from them. “I see it.” He whispered.
The brothers looked at each other and nodded, knowing what needed to be done. “Let’s go.”
Unfortunately the ghost spirits could be heard gaining on them again. They took a few steps back before running forward and while Rang leapt across the gorge, Yeon stayed behind and watched him grab onto the cliff wall. He watched Rang look back at him and nodded his head. “Make sure you stay alive.” He then turned back to fight the ghost that came upon him.
Yeon used his sword, slicing into them but he was quickly overrun, a bite to his shoulder and they were on him, pushing him toward the cliff side. He looked back to see Rang still holding on the cliffside in the same spot. “Keep climbing!” He yelled toward him and he tried to keep his balance.
Rang struggled, reaching up and grabbing a small notch in the wall to pull himself up, he tried to ignore the painful cries of his brother as surely he was being bitten over and over again. He could hear a ghost yell behind him get a little closer before a heavy weight grabbed onto him and caused him to slide down the side a little more.
“Don’t look!” Yeon yelled out to him, grabbing Rang’s attention. “She’s not your mom! Don’t look!”
Rang couldn’t help it, his eyes snapped down like a magnet and he looked at the ghost figure that resembled his mother. Flashes of her being alive danced in his memories. “Mom? Darn it.” He looked at the creature below him, snapping its disgusting teeth while making growling noises. He struggled to try and shake her off but it was of no use.
The younger fox noticed his brother had made the leap across and grabbed onto the ghost. He twisted and turned making the creature loose grip and unfortunately Yeon went down with it. “No!” Rang cried out as he reached his arm out, hoping and wishing he was able to grab his brother but he was too far gone. He lost sight of them in the fog. He just had to keep moving, he knew the door would be right at the top.
***
Eun-ji's eyes cracked open and dread filled her very soul. The old wooden door in front of her was slightly familiar and it wasn’t a good familiar feeling. She took a step back and collided with someone behind her. With her heart hammering in her chest, she looked back and found the wolf male behind her.
"Ah pup, don't try to get out of this now." He was unamused as he put a hand on her shoulder and pushed her closer to the door. "Ji-ho is a good man, we will have a very long agreement about you. He will take care of you and in return I'll take care of him and when he passes you’ll be taken care of by his children and grandchildren. You worry for nothing."
Eun-ji could feel her face was tear stained, like she had cried not long ago. She stared at Duong and felt her bottom lip start to wobble as she tried to stop it.
He frowned at her. "I don't know why you stayed with him for so long. You knew what our agreement was. Did you think I would just let it go?"
She shook her head. "No, it just hurts." Her heart had shattered again, she was whisked away before she could say goodbye to him.
"Ah, my sweet dear, it won't hurt for much longer. For him either.” Duong knocked on the door.
An elderly man opened the door and greeted Duong like an old friend, smiling and hugging the wolf spirit. “Good to see you, very good to see you again.” The man laughed.
“Likewise Ji-ho.” His blue eyes snapped over to the female. “This is Eun-ji, she is the one I have spoken to you about.”
The man looked over at her and gave her a gentle smile. “It’s nice to meet you dear.”
Eun-ji surveyed him, he seemed nice and carried a calming scent around him. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad here. She tried to be positive about her situation.
Ji-ho turned back to the wolf spirit. “I was thinking about our deal. I know you said the price was set, but I was thinking I’ll have another mouth to feed since I’ll be taking her-”
“The price it set.” Duong snapped at the man. “Plus, you won’t be feeding her. She will be out of sight but never out of mind. Do you understand?”
Eun-ji looked over to Duong, confusion written on her face. She wasn’t sure she understood what he meant ‘out of sight but never out of mind.’
“Yes sir.” Ji-ho nodded his head.
“Good. Now Eun-ji, it is time.” Duong pulled out a small box that had chains around it from his robes and her eyes widened. He noticed her nervous face. “We had a deal pup.”
“You didn’t say anything about a box.”
He ignored her for a moment and turned his attention to the man. “Ji-ho, you will watch her with this. This is part of the deal she and I made a long time ago, is it not?” His eyes pierced her.
She stared at the box in his hands, flight or fight was racing through her head. She knew he said she would forget, that they all would but she didn’t think it would have anything to do with an obliviation box.
“IS IT NOT?!” Duong growled at her.
“Y-yes.” She whimpered and looked down.
“Good. The time has come. Let it go, pup.”
Eun-ji gasped as a sharp pain shot through her head. It felt like a hand grabbed her brain and began picking through it, combing all the nooks and crannies, plucking everything precious to her. The mountain, her pack, the open fields she loved to run in, Lee Yeon, cooling her feet in the river - all were grabbed from her head. She felt her own mind try to fight it, wrapping a security blanket over the most important thing to her - him, but that too was ripped from her. She found herself on her knees, gasping for air feeling highly confused. There was only a little bit she could remember as she watched a lilac orb float into the box.
“That part is done, the box will take care of the rest once you’re inside.” Duong held his hand out and with a flick of his wrist he wrapped her up in a mist.
A moment later all she saw was darkness as she drifted to sleep.
***
Shin-Joo ran as fast as his feet could carry him, shoes slapping the pavement, chest heaving with each burning breath he took. He didn’t care that people were watching him run down the hospital walkway. He needed to get there in time.
‘You must not be late. If you’re late, they’ll never be able to leave that world.’ The words echoed in his head. He needed to run faster, there was no time to lose.
As he entered the hospital emergency wing he found Ji-Ah right away. He noted that her vitals were going haywire on the monitor screen as warning alarms sounded out. Stress filled his very being as he started unhooking her from the machine. The fox hoped everything was going okay but his hope was very thin.
"It's okay Lady A Eum, I will help you." As he started to swoop Ji-Ah into his arms, his eyes slid to the bed next to her and froze. He placed Ji-Ah right back down and ran to the other bed. “Eun-ji!” He called her name in shock.
The wolf looked much like the PD, laying on the hospital cot, hooked to a monitor. Her vitals however were stable. The fox felt his anxiety grow more and more. For some reason he knew that Eun-ji was under the same spell as the PD. “I’ll be right back for you. I promise.”
He moved his attention back to Ji-Ah. Quickly, he swooped up the PD in his arms again and made his way to his car. The whole time he was letting too many thoughts in his head. What if it was too late? What if Eun-ji was also stuck? How could he save her? He didn’t have time to make another deal, even if he did, what could he possibly trade this time?
He made sure Ji-Ah securely fastened with a seat belt before heading back into the hospital. He was lucky to see that so far no one has noticed that the PD was missing, but he knew that wouldn’t last for long. He needed to grab Eun-ji quickly and get back to the car. With a last minute decision he grabbed her paper chart from the front of the bed. Hopefully this was a freak accident and she wasn’t a victim as well. He noticed, just as he was slipping from the emergency room he could hear the commotion of doctors and visitors rushing in, probably to check on the now empty beds and blaring monitors.
He placed Eun-ji in his car and made sure she was safely fastened as well before getting into the driver's seat. He looked in the rear view mirror at both females every few seconds as he drove carefully but quickly to The Snail Bride. The restaurant was closed due to what was going on. The owner was watching over Yeon, who was in the back room laying down waiting for Ji-Ah.
Once Shin-Joo arrived, he parked in the back of the building and moved quickly removing Ji-Ah from the car.
Bok Hye-Ja, the owner, came out to help him. She immediately noticed the second female in the car and gasped. "Is that?"
"The wolf? Yes, that's her. I think Eoduk Sini got to her too. I need to get Yeon and Lady A Eum set and then I'll worry about her." Shin-Joo stated as he situated Ji-Ah better for carrying into the building.
Bok Hye-Ja decided to stay next to the car with the wolf until Shin-Joo returned to the vehicle. She looked at the wolf and frowned, she knew of many wolves before and felt a mixture of sadness and joy to be in the presence of one. From what she remembered Shin-Joo telling her was that this particular wolf didn’t have any memories of her true self. ‘Poor dear must be so lost in there.’ Hye-ja thought to herself.
Not two minutes later Shin-Joo returned for Eun-ji. He carried her to the back room but placed her in her own spot away from Yeon and Ji-Ah. He made sure the wolf was comfortable, or at least looked comfortable, before he turned his attention back to the couple. He was nervous, what if this didn’t work? He shook his head and pulled the braided yellow and red cord from his pocket.
He placed them on Yeon’s and Lady A Eum’s connecting wrists and followed all the instructions that Taluipa had given him. “This is all I can do. I hope you both return.” He frowned and turned his attention to Eun-ji, he wasn’t sure what to do with her.
He crossed the room and took a seat next to her. “Eun-ji, please come back to us. Please.”
***
Eun-ji felt tired even before she opened her eyes. Her head felt like a thousand pounds and she felt like she had been asleep for years. The sound of voices reached her ears but she just curled up into a ball more before cracking her eyes open slowly. She was resting on a bed of a sort, it was raised off the ground and nothing like her nest. She allowed herself to wake up more before moving to place her feet on the ground.
She was confused, unsure of where she was exactly. Nothing seemed familiar to her, in fact she couldn’t think of anything familiar at all. It made her head throb and she felt herself get anxious. This couldn’t be a good thing if she couldn’t remember things.
She stood up feeling a little weak, pins and needles filled her feet but she knew the sensation would go away faster if she just started moving. So she headed out the doorway of the room and was met with a long hallway. She could still hear the whisper of voices and so she decided to head in that direction.
As she reached the end of the hallway, she reached a larger, more open room where two men were talking in hushed voices. One was older than the other, he was wearing traditional clothing and there was an air of familiarity around him. The second male was younger, probably around her age and was quite good looking.
As they continued to whisper the older man seemed to have sensed her gaze because his eyes slid over to hers and held her stare. It was intense and she felt her body freeze up and she slammed her eyes shut, pushing herself into the wall. She stayed that way for a few seconds before she peeked at them again, happy to see that the older man had once again returned his attention to the male across from him.
“You will continue to be paid, but since the seal is broken then I will grant you a little more since care will be a little more now. You keep that box safe, should anything happen to it there will be consequences. I’m not sure how long it will hold on its own but I’m figuring it will last for at least your lifetime.”
She was confused as to what the man was talking about but she was also intrigued. She shifted around which caused the both males to turn their gazes at her. Under the two sets of eyes, she froze, realizing she didn’t know what to think. “Um, who are you?”
“Take care of it.” The older man spoke gruffly before he left the room.
The younger man approached her slowly. He offered a gentle smile that made her feel warm and fuzzy inside but her head was screaming alarms. “Hey there. I’m Park Kyong, do you know your name?”
The female thought for a moment willing the bad feeling to go away while she talked to the man. She knew the answer to his question but she tried to calm her emotions that were going haywire. She felt out of body. “It’s Mae Eun-ji.”
He was still smiling gently. “Hello Eun-ji. I’m going to help you out. Do you know where you live?”
“I don’t.”
“Okay, that’s fine. Don’t get upset. We will figure this out together. It’s the least I can do since I found you. I’ll take care of you.”
She stared at him knowing his words should bring her comfort, and she felt her body relax at them but there were warning bells firing off in her head again - this time they warned more urgently. “Okay.” She was confused, that was not what she wanted to come out of her mouth. “Who were you talking to before?”
Kyong paused, a flash of panic crossed his face but was easily replaced. “That was Duong. He’s…. He’s my cousin. That’s right, my cousin.”
She didn’t believe him for one moment but her body didn’t care what she thought. “Oh, well hopefully you can introduce me sometime.”
“Sure.” He motioned to the couch. “Would you like to sit? We can talk and try to figure things out. I can order some food, are you hungry?”
She looked around the room, it wasn’t decorated much so she couldn’t get a feel on him. She sank into the couch while he was still talking about food.
“ - not a bad place, it can get crowded though. We could go somewhere more quiet if you feel like that would be better. It’s up to you if you want to go out or stay in - either way I have no food right now so we will have to order.”
She wasn’t sure why she decided that going out was a good idea. “Let’s go out, maybe some fresh air will do me some good,”
“Sure, let’s talk first. Maybe tell me about some of the things you can remember.”
“I can’t remember anything. Just my name.”
“Okay, maybe we can start with small stuff and it might trigger some memories.”
Eun-ji shrugged her shoulders. “I guess we can try.”
Kyong asked questions like ‘What’s your favorite food? Favorite color? Favorite weather?’ and for the most part she didn’t know her answers but she explained what she might like and why. After about fifteen minutes of talking he decided it was enough for now. “Let’s get you something to eat, I’m sure you’re hungry.”
Her stomach rumbled at his words and she blushed in slight embarrassment. He walked her through the house, it wasn’t very big but it was cozy. He offered her a coat from the closet that he helped her put on. “Thank you.” She smiled at him even though she didn’t want to. This all seemed right but wrong, like things were moving fast. In her mind she knew the conversation lasted longer - Kyong had explained so much more, earned her trust and coaxed her out to dinner. But now she just followed him to the front door with no questions asked. This was wrong. Her body didn’t care, as she stepped into the hallway, she turned back to watch him lock up but he wasn’t behind her.
The door was the familiar old wooden door but slowly morphed into one that was more modern and it took her by surprise. The door made her anxious, she felt fear settle into her skin and she was no longer hungry but queasy instead.
The door that seemed warm and cozy quickly faded into darkness. She could sense a coldness from behind the door and she took a step back, not waiting to be anywhere near it.
“It’s not going to open by it’s fucking self.” The voice that just sounded so gentle a few moments ago, now sounded so harsh. “Open the door, dipshit.” Kyong grumbled from behind her as she refused to move. “Fucking really?” He stomped up to her and grabbed her arm roughly.
She pulled out from his grasp. Flashes of him hitting and kicking her came to mind, echoes of his yelling and screaming swirled in her brain. She took a step back and another, as he advanced toward her. She began to run down the hallway to the elevator. She pressed the call button and the doors opened immediately. Dashing inside quickly she then pressed the close doors button over and over again.
Kyong was getting closer and closer, steam pouring off of his angry body. “Get back here you dumb bitch.” He yelled.
Just as he was about to reach the elevator, the door snapped shut and she sighed in relief leaning against the elevator wall. She took a moment to catch her breath, eyes shut as she willed herself to relax. A moment later her eyes slid open and she looked over to the control panel but instead of floor numbers there was only one button to press.
Ah Gwi Forest
She stared at the button for a moment before pressing it. The elevator shifted as it started to descend. It took just a moment before the doors opened and surely enough there was a forest that was laid out before her. With no other options she stepped off the platform.
There was pull in her chest, she felt it leading her through the forest. She thought for a moment that she should be feeling uneasy but this was the most sure thing she felt in a while. Her body and mind finally agreed with each other. She could hear some commotion going on ahead but with all the fog she could barely see her hand in front of her. She paused in her steps. Maybe she shouldn’t be going toward the sounds of an angry mob, but as she pondered this she immediately threw caution to the wind and allowed her feet to keep moving.
The loud ‘No!’ sounded out from the darkness and she was running toward the noise. The wolf came upon a cliff and halted in her steps. From below she could hear the sound of someone panting and struggling, like they were trying to climb up the side of the cliff.
Eun-ji got on her hands and knees as she could see the person getting closer. “Here, take my hand.” She cried out but they didn’t seem to hear her other their own struggles. She waited until they were closer and her heart filled with relief. She found him. She reached down as he was reaching up and grabbed onto his hand, his eyes snapped up to hers. “I got you.”
******
Rang’s eyes snapped open, and he felt his whole body shaking, his heart was pounding in his chest.
“Lee Rang!” A voice cried to him but he looked around and took in his settings. He was in his room and his eyes landed on his wardrobe. “I need to go.” He struggled to push himself up.
“Go where?” The voice that he now recognized as Yuri asked. The vixen fretted about him as he moved into a sitting position “Where do you need to go?” She came around to the other side of the bed, trying to block him from moving more. She grabbed onto his arm to steady him.
“To Yeon and her.” He gritted his teeth in pain. His whole body was shaking in protest as he held his arm out, willing for the wardrobe to come closer to him. “To Yeon. I must go to Yeon and her.”
“Where are you trying to go? Who is this ‘her’?” Yuri asked in a panic. She was so confused. Rang wasn’t making any sense. It was bad enough she had to watch cuts and bruises appear on his body out of nowhere. She heard every whimper and gasp of pain as he lay incapacitated on the bed.
Rang stood from the bed. “I need to go to Yeon. I need to find her.” The moment the words left his mouth, he dropped to the floor.
“Lee Rang!” Yuri cried out as she grabbed onto him. She didn’t know what to do anymore. With much effort she got him back onto the bed and pulled her phone out, dialing the number she needed to. The phone rang three times before he answered. “Shin-Joo…”
***
Shin-Joo’s phone started to ring, it took him a moment to get it from his pocket. The ringer ID stated that it was Yuri and he answered the call immediately. “Yuri?” He pulled the phone away from his ear a little as he was met with sobs of his name. “Yuri what’s wrong?”
He listened to her concerns about her friend, whom he knew was Lee Rang, and with every word that left her mouth, he knew Rang was stuck there too. Yuri talked about wounds that happened to appear all over his body and that he was running a fever.
“I’ll be there as soon as I can. I have to get some supplies but I’ll do my best to be quick.” He ended that call and looked over to Yeon and Ji-Ah, nothing had happened for them and he felt the pit in his stomach grow more. Shaking his head, he turned his attention to the wolf and was beyond shocked to see her eyes opening slowly. “Eun-ji?” He whispered, worried that if he talked any louder something would happen and that the wolf would be dragged back in.
Eun-ji slowly blinked at the ceiling of the room, her head felt fuzzy - but not in a warm comforting way. It was heavy and made her vision blurry. A muffled noise car to her ear and she tried to locate the source. She blinked again as she turned her attention to a blurry blob next to her. The sound reached her ears again and she felt her brows furrowed in confusion. “What?” She blinked again, the image becoming more clear to her.
Shin-Joo was already assessing her vitals and everything seemed to be checking out normally. She had a few scrapes and bruises, alone with something that looked like a burn mark on her cheek that he didn’t really get to examine earlier. He cradled her face and tried to have her focus on him, he wanted to make sure that she still remembered him, herself and Yeon. “Do, do you remember me?”
Eun-ji blinked again and was so completely confused. “What?”
Shin-joo felt his heart sink, his hands fell from her face and he looked down. There was no hope. He failed her, he failed them all.
“Shin-Joo, what are you talking about? Why wouldn’t I know you?”
The fox perked up immediately. “You remember me?”
“Yes?” She responded. “What’s going on?”
“I can explain it all in the car but I need to help Yuri out.”
***
When they arrived at the home of Lee Rang, immediately Eun-ji sensed something was very wrong. She was being impatient as Shin-Joo grabs a few things that he had packed up in the back of the car. She was rocking on her heels, she thought about leaving him behind and making her way up herself but something told her to wait for him.
The two of them walked quickly to the residence and Shin-Joo was in front of Eun-ji, knocking on the door. The wolf realized at that moment that the fox didn’t know that she lived there. She reached past him and used her key to open the door. As she opened the door, Yuri was getting ready to open it. Eun-ji ignored Shin-Joo’s shocked face and embraced her friend tightly. “Yuri, what’s going on?”
The vixen hugged the wolf back as she saw Shin-Joo over her shoulder. “It’s Lee Rang, he’s hurt.”
The wolf felt a whine get caught in her throat as she pulled back from the hug. “How did he get hurt?”
Yuri didn’t mean to ignore the question but she looked at her friend and noticed the wolf had injuries of her own. She grabbed the wolf’s hands in concern. “Eun-ji what happened to you?”
“Don’t worry about it.” She brushed past the fox, letting her hands fall from her hold. Eun-ji didn’t have any more patience and made a beeline to Lee Rang’s room. She found him on the bed, pale as could be with blood stains on his shirt. “Rang!” She cried out and rushed over to him. Her hands danced across his burning skin carefully, noting each and every cut to his skin.
Behind her, she could hear Yuri and Shin-Joo enter the room but she didn’t listen to what they were saying, her thoughts were going a mile a minute and all the thoughts were about the male in front of her. “Rang,” she tried to rouse him gently, “please wake up.”
Shin-Joo walks into the room, Yuri talking softly about Rang and how he woke up briefly before collapsing again. His eyes traveled to Eun-ji, he watched her whispering to the fox on the bed. All the pieces clicked in and he felt foolish for not realizing earlier the relationship. The familiar scent on Eun-ji was Rang. He thought it was strange as to Yuri and the wolf being friends as well. He thought about how happy Eun-ji seemed since leaving Kyong and couldn’t believe that it was all Rang’s doing.
His attention turned to the fox and immediately he noted that Rang didn’t look at all. Chances of survival could be low - he didn’t know how he would tell Yuri let alone Eun-ji. He took a deep breath and started examining the man on the bed.
Suddenly, Lee Rang coughed, blood spitting out from his mouth. Shin-Joo was quick and grabbed a nearby cloth, handing it to Eun-ji. The wolf wiped Rang’s mouth, making sure all the blood was gone. “Hang in there for me, please.” She whispered into his ear.
Shin-Joo looked over to Yuri and frowned at her worried expression. “It’s the poison of Eoduk Sini.” He sighed.
“Do something.” Yuri started to cry.
Shin-Joo bit his lip, there wasn’t much he could do - if anything. He needed to get back to Yeon and Lady A Eum. He looked away from her. “Mr. Lee Yeon isn’t back yet.”He could see swift movement from the bed, he knew Eun-ji was staring at him as well.
Yuri moved quickly, going to the doorway, blocking it with her body. “No, you can’t go. I’ll die if he dies.” Tears were pouring down her face as she looked into Shin-Joo’s eyes. “I’ll repay you for this somehow. I’m begging you.” When he didn’t respond she tried again. “I’m begging you. Help him.”
Eun-ji removed herself from the bed by now and wrapped her arms around her friend. “Shh, Yuri. We will figure it out.”
Yuri looked at him over the wolf’s shoulder. “I’m begging you.”
The fox nodded his head after staring at the two females. He bent down and unraveled some supplies that he had wrapped up. “This will take a little while.”
The wolf took her friend’s hand. “Yuri, why don’t you make some tea for Shin-Joo while he helps Rang. I’ll be here to help him too.”
The vixen, reluctantly, nodded her head and stepped out of the room slowly, ready to find things to occupy her mind so Shin-Joo could do his work.
Eun-ji knelt down next to her boss, ready for any instructions like they were in surgery for a dog instead of a human. “Let me know what I can do to help.” She stated. “Also, thank you Shin-Joo.”
He nodded his head. “So this is him?” He questioned like he didn’t know. “He is the one that saved you from Kyung. He’s the one that makes you happy?”
The wolf nodded her head. “He is. He saved me at my lowest and helped me climb to my highest point so far. Lee Rang is his name. My savior, Lee Rang.”
Hours passed, the room grew dark and Eun-ji had to turn the lights on for Shin-Joo to see. The veterinarian had treated all minor wounds but more importantly he tended to the giant wound on Rang’s leg. The sight of it made the wolf next to him anxious, he could feel her emotions rolling off her body tenfold. Once he did all he could, the wolf crawled up the bed, carefully cradling her body around Lee Rang’s form. She closed her tired eyes as she grabbed Rang’s wrist, putting her fingers over his pulse point, feeling his heartbeat gently.
Yuri entered the room, she had been watching from the hallway - too nervous to leave the area in case anything terrible happened. “How is Mr. Lee?”
“It will take a few days for the poison to leave his body, but he will be fine in no time.”
“Why aren’t you asking me anything? You see why I approached you the first time.” She questioned and the male looked away from her. “You already knew?”
“I happened to see you two together one day. I was taken to a junkyard and beaten up thanks to that.”
“By Mr. Lee?”
“Yes.”
Eun-ji’s eyes opened and she looked over to the two of her friends. ‘Rang did that to him?’ Her eyes looked at the face close to hers. There was no way Rang did that, right? She felt her stomach flop. She did know that Rang was a dangerous man to others, but she figured it wouldn’t be something so close to her as her boss.
"My brother, he isn't the kindest person."
Yeon's words echoed in her head. Rang was Yeon's brother? Did that mean he was a fox as well? Her head was swirling but she didn't have long to think as the body next to her started to shift. "Rang?" She whispered but it was loud enough for the other two in the room to hear.
He looks at her. "Hello, wolf." His voice was soft as he grabbed her hand gently. He made himself sit up and he looked at the other two foxes in the room. "Shin-Joo?" He was confused for a moment.
"How's Yeon? Is he back?" Rang asked.
Shin-Joo frowned and looked down, shaking his head. He couldn't look the other fox in the eye.
Rang felt his eyes tear up. "Why are you here then? Shouldn't you be with him?" His voice wasn't malicious as it normally would be when talking to the veterinarian.
Eun-ji pressed her head to his shoulder. Rang confirmed it without knowing it, they were brothers. She didn't know what to feel about that but she was glad that Rang was awake. "He came to help you."
"Me? Why me?"
"I was asked. If you're okay now, I need to get back to Yeon." Shin-Joo gathered his things and headed out the doorway, Yuri followed him with a promise to be right back.
Rang looked at Eun-ji as she lifted her head from his shoulder. "So happy to see you wolf. Thank you for saving me."
She pressed a kiss to his cheek. "You're welcome." There was a long pause. " When you're feeling better and up to it - I have some things to discuss with you about myself and you. Nothing bad."
"Sure wolf."
She looked at him closely to gauge his reaction to what she was going to say next. "Thank you, fox."