summer nights and morning dew | jjk

01

August

"No, look, we need to constantly be on guard, and frankly, expect the worst. Do you realize how much we lost on that one elk?!" Jeongguk questions, angrier than he usually lets himself become.

Hoseok sighs quietly, throwing a small stick into whatever's left of the fire.

"Huh?"

"Yes," he finally answers reluctantly.

"So what did we lose, exactly?"

"Money."

But Jeongguk doesn't let go so easily. Not when the recent mistakes have cost so much, already.

Hoseok meets the unwavering, waiting gaze of his alpha, sighing once more and sitting up straighter on the log. "If we'd managed to protect him until sexual maturity, then the herd would've had a chance to grow further. Which would've meant that we'd have more elk meat to sell in the coming years."

"Right. But you let those wolves through, why?" Jeongguk pushes because he needs Hoseok to get it.

"Because he found one of them hot," Yoongi comments, an underlying teasing tone to his voice.

"No," Hoseok argues, "I promise that wasn't it. They were nice and said they were only passing through."

"You literally told me you were in love," Yoongi snitches with a cock of his eyebrow.

Just as Hoseok is about to butt in again, Jeongguk interrupts. "Look, I don't care. You can't trust people, and we need to protect what's ours, okay? So do us all a favor and take off those rose-colored glasses."

Hoseok huffs, standing from the log and staring into the now smoldering fire. "You're one to talk," he mutters. "As if we don't know where you go every night."

Jeongguk blinks in surprise. "Wh—what?"

But Hoseok is already on his way to his cabin for the night, and whatever he mumbles, it's unintelligible.

Awkwardly, Jeongguk clears his throat, standing up as well and avoiding Yoongi's watchful eyes.

"We'll have a meeting when the others ni are back. We don't wanna lose anymore," Jeongguk instructs through a mumble of his own.

"Yeah," Yoongi agrees, and Jeongguk can feel the older's suspicious gaze on him.

"Good night."

"Good night."

As the sun starts to set, Jeongguk heads back to his cabin, the forest around him calmer than his mind.

---

Three hours later, the dark wooden door creaks open slowly. The night air is refreshing, and he breathes it in through his nose as he reminds himself to oil the hinges in the morning. The sound has been there for a while, and although he's had it on his to-do list for almost as long, he's been busy with other things. But with the recent developments, he wants to get it done as soon as possible.

A lone breeze hits his naked skin, but being something more than merely human has its perks, and his wolf blood keeps him warm.

Like always, he locks the door behind him and walks a few steps to hide the key in the grass under a rock. Then, he shifts.

It's later than usual, and although he should've stayed home–it would've definitely been smarter to–he couldn't, and so, he wanders the all too familiar path through the forest.

Occasionally, he stops to listen and smell the air, just in case someone's decided to track him, but it's always silent. The only smells are those of trees, dirt, and other animals.

He lets his paws carry him just a bit more west where he once used to go more east, the mistake that led him onto that lawn the first time. Jeongguk knows that he shouldn't do this, that he's risking a lot, and that there is literally no reason that excuses his behavior.

But it's quiet as he exits the trees for the nth time, and the little white-painted house and its green backyard—full of plants and flowers and bushes—come into view. It makes him feel like he's stepped into a bubble, so far from his everyday life. Maybe even a fairy tale.

He trudges on, toward the girl sitting on the steps of her back porch, bundled in a cozy cream-colored sweater and reading a thick book. You haven't noticed him yet, but you do the moment he curls up at your feet—the black hairs brushing your skin—and lets out a sigh.

"Oh?" you say quietly, probably closing the book slightly, thumb keeping your place, to look down at him. "Hi, puppy."

Of course, Jeongguk doesn't say anything or even show you that he heard you. The rest of the pack would tease him to no end if they were there, but he doesn't even think too much about the name anymore.

"Are you hungry? I got some rabbit meat from the market earlier," you offer in your sweet voice.

Jeongguk only closes his eyes and takes a deep, sleepy breath. He doesn't usually let you feed him even if you more often than not offer to. To you, Jeongguk is a wild animal—an oddly tame wild animal—but wild, nonetheless, so it makes sense that you worry.

It's not needed though because he eats every day, and he doesn't want you to waste your money on him, but you don't know that, so occasionally, he'll swallow down some meat from your hand.

"Okay, I guess not," you laugh.

For about one hour, until it's right past midnight, you read out loud for him. Sometimes after turning a page, you reach down to tangle your fingers in the black fur between Jeongguk's shoulder blades, and every single time, there's an involuntary rumble sounding from him. That's his favorite spot.

He sleeps in your moonlit garden after you've retreated for the night, only returning to the forest through the morning dew when the sun starts to rise again.