summer nights and morning dew | jjk

06

August

Time never stops, evident by the way the seasons still change.

If Jeongguk was miserable before meeting you, it's even worse now. Originally, he didn't think his pack members noticed, and if they did, that they just assumed he was in a bit of a slump.

But one August evening, when most of what Jeongguk did earlier at the fire was stare into the woods, Jimin corners him.

"What?" Jeongguk asks, watching over Jimin's shoulder as Namjoon puts out the flames.

"You okay?"

"Yeah? Why wouldn't I be?" Jeongguk responds, meeting the concerned eyes of his friend.

"Well, you've been a bit off for a few months now, but you're barely speaking these days."

"I am spea–"

"--No, you're not," Jimin interrupts. "Has something happened with the girl?"

Jeongguk blinks. "Excuse me?"

"The woman? The one you've been visiting for more than a year now?"

Despite it being very clear that his pack knows, Jeongguk can't help it. "I–I don't know what you're talking about," he stammers, clearing his throat and turning away, a sign for Jimin that the conversation is over. "Goodnight."

"...Night," Jeongguk hears his friend mutter defeatedly behind him.

The truth is that August is one of the toughest months for Jeongguk so far because it was the best. It was when he visited you the most, feeling like he could come and go as he pleased. You were always outside, always happy to see him, and you always spent so much time with him.

He misses it. The feeling of late summer evenings and your hands in his fur, the sound of the light breeze, the occasional bird chirping, and your voice as you read your books to him. You didn't know him, but he felt less lonely.

The loneliness gets worse when he thinks about how his pack would never understand. Wolves aren't supposed to mate with humans, that's just the way it is, and most of them have their own partners already.

Jeongguk isn't actually sure if it helps with the loneliness or not, but he still goes to visit you. Just like he does two hours after the talk with Jimin. Only, these days, he curls up on the moss in the woods, not close enough to see you. All he can see is the chimney through the tree tops, and it's enough. Close enough for him to feel a little bit better, but not to feel like he's invading your privacy by looking through your windows or anything.

Tonight, a light breeze hits him, one that carries scents of cooked food, yarn, and you. It also masks the slight scent of another wolf.

---

You hum a song quietly as you grab the basket with clean laundry, pushing the door open to step out onto your back porch. It's a warm day in early August, perfect for hanging the clothes to dry outside, and you set your sight on the white line spanning between your two cherry trees.

It's been months since you stopped expecting a wolf to visit your little backyard, but when you look up from the linen, and a brownish wolf stands only meters from you, you drop the basket.

Just like the first time you saw a wolf, your first instinct is to stand as still as possible. It's not like this one looks to be extra dangerous, you just don't think your black wolf was a good representation of the average one.

"Hi," you whisper nervously, "...are you a nice wolf?"

The animal tilts its head, and you take a slow step backward. Luckily, it stays put even as you back up all the way to your porch. With the railing between you, you allow yourself to take it in.