╸𝔈𝔫𝔠𝔬𝔲𝔫𝔱𝔢𝔯 ╸

❦ 𝔏𝔢𝔢 𝔍𝔢𝔫𝔬 ❦

╸╸╸╸╸╸╸╸╸╸╸╸╸╸╸

ℜ𝔢𝔫𝔧𝔲𝔫'𝔰 𝔭𝔬𝔳

╸╸╸╸╸╸╸╸╸╸╸╸╸╸╸

I met Jeno in the most unlikely way possible.

-

It was like any other occasional Saturday evening. It was that time of the month to venture to the convenience store for groceries.

I find it more convenient for me to go in the evening, simply because I won't have to interact with too many people. I'm not that good at communicating with anyone, except the cashier.

I do the same thing every month. I put on my favorite hoodie and jeans, plug my earbuds in, and take my shortcut through the woods. Then, finally, I arrive at the convenience store.

The same welcoming bell rang when I entered the store, and the same soothing scent of citrus hit me as I walked in.

"Welcome back Renjun~"

The same friendly voice of the cashier welcomed me, along with his signature wave.

Of course, I waved back, just to be nice.

I picked up the usual groceries that I purchase every month: a variety of ramen cups, a variety of snacks, a variety of meats, and a variety of teas. And of course, when I got to the counter to check out, I planned on picking up my monthly vape pen, but the cashier stopped me.

"You get the same flavor every time. Why not try a new one~?"

He handed me a new flavor, that looked like it had been released just recently.

"Cherry Bomb huh?"

"I've tried it, and it's probably one of the best ones out there right now~"

"Thanks...., uhh"

"I'm Minhyung, but you can just call me Mark~"

"Right. Thanks Mark"

He smiled at me, and began to ring up my groceries.

"That'll be ₩56,754.61~"

I pulled out ₩60,000, since I didn't feel like pulling out exact change. He handed me my bag, change, and receipt, and I began to walk out of the store.

"Be careful out there Renjun. I heard that there's a full moon out tonight, and it's already past nine. You'd better hurry up and get home"

"You think I'm scared?"

"Of course not~, I was only joking~. Have a good night~"

I rolled my eyes, and ventured out into the calm night.

-

I couldn't listen to my music on the way home because, unfortunately, I forgot to charge my phone before I left. So now, I'm wandering through the woods, with no music to satisfy me.

I walked through the eerie darkness of the woods, until I heard a sudden growling behind me. I turned around, to be met with a wolf with abnormal blue colored eyes.

But this wolf was at least five times larger than any regular wolf.

I started backing up, but it chose to continuously walk toward me. It suddenly charged at me, and knocked me away into a nearby tree.

I suddenly heard whimpering noises coming from the same wolf. I put my bag of groceries down, and slowly walked towards the enlarged wolf to see what was wrong. It's ankle was caught in a bear trap.

It saved me?

Then, I noticed a steam-like smoke coming from its leg, along with a light sizzling noise. It's ankle soon turned into the ankle of a human!

A werewolf saved me?!

It had a scared look on its face when I got closer. I started petting it, to show that I wasn't going to hurt it, and it slowly started to calm down.

I used all of my strength to try and pry the trap open, and I succeeded after a few seconds. The werewolf just stared at me, as if it was waiting for what I was going to do next.

I can't just leave it out here like this. Something could attack it due to its vulnerability, and I don't need that on my conscience.

"Can you walk?"

It tried to stand up, and succeeded, but it had a little limp in its step.

I picked up my groceries, and I led the werewolf back to my place.

-

I ran a bath for the werewolf that night, just so I could cleanse it's body and it's wound at the same time.

I wrapped up its wound afterward, so now it could walk a little bit better. It looked very hungry, so I got a raw steak that I bought and gave it to the wolf.

It fell asleep on my couch after it ate. Of course, I got one of my thin blankets and covered it up, so that it wouldn't be cold, and I headed off to sleep after I ate.

-

The next morning, after I took a shower to freshen up, I wrapped my towel around my waist and went to see how the werewolf was doing.

But, the wolf was gone, and had been replaced with a boy sitting on the floor, watching the rain fall while being wrapped up in my blanket. He had the ears and tail of a wolf, and had charcoal black hair.

I sat down on the couch, and that's when boy noticed my presence, and turned around to face me.

"Hi. Thank you for helping me last night. I'm Jeno"

"Renjun. And you're welcome. Thank you for pushing me out of the way of that bear trap"

"No problem. But..., how did you figure out that I was a werewolf?"

"The bear trap. It reverted your ankle to that of a human's. It helped me to conclude that it was made of silver. I read online that silver can either kill, weaken, or cure a werewolf. And, that scared look in your eyes... It just seemed so human to me"

"I see. But why did you help me instead of running away?"

"Why wouldn't I help you?"

"When I'm around, humans usually run away, or try to kill me. They like to lay out those traps for me, but I never fall for them. I'm...just not used to humans helping me"

"I understand. It must've been hard for you to live like that"

"It wasn't always like this for me. I wasn't always a werewolf. When I was younger, I was bitten by a werewolf, and I transformed into one when the full moon came around. I didn't know why back then, but my parents kicked me out. But now I know that it was because I became a threat to their lives..."

"But, you saved me, and I don't see you as a threat"

I got up from the couch, and sat down next to him.

"To me, you're just as normal as anyone else Jeno"

I gently pet his head, and he leaned into my touch.

"I...appreciate that"

"Mhm. You can stay with me if you want"

"Huh??! But, don't you have someone else who lives here with you???"

"Nope, just me. This is free real estate. Final offer"

He sat there frozen in disbelief, but soon smiled softly and rested his head on my shoulder.

He closed his eyes, and nodded softly while holding my hand.

"I accept. Thank you~"