the wolf in me / markhyuck

{2}

2018, Seoul, South Korea

"Happy 18th birthday, Mark!" His mother shouted, along with his friends Jaemin, Jeno, Renjun, Chenle, and Jisung.

Mark laughed, "Thanks guys, I really appreciate it."

"Who cares?! Blow out the candle already!" Jaemin shouted, laughing.

Mark waved his hand in the air as he leaned down towards the cake. "Alright alright, calm down."

Mark leaned forward, his face only a couple of inches away from the candle as he made a wish and blew. Cheers erupted from his family and friends that gathered around the dinner table, clapping and smiles being exchanged.

He wrapped an arm around all his friends as they gave him one big hug, smiling. Mark soon thought about his 18th birthday, and what was coming; he was able to turn into a wolf whenever he needed to or wanted to but he also knew of the powers. He knew everything that his parents had told him and everything he needed to know.

His whole family knew about everything and so did his closest friends but the one thing that scared Mark the most was that all the other sons had their souls removed trying to control their powers. If Mark was able to control it within a month, with him actually finding out what the secret thing is, he would be the first son to do so.

Honestly, he was worried. What if he wasn't able to find out what the secret was? What if the time ran out? What if he got hurt? And most importantly, what if he wasn't able to control the powers and he didn't have his soul?

So many horrible thoughts flooded through his mind, not realizing his friends has been calling his name for the past 3 minutes.

"Mark? Mark. Mark! Holy sh- dude. Earth to Mark?!" Jaemin shouted, snapping his fingers in front of his face trying to get Marks attention.

Mark looked like he just got electrocuted as he pulled himself back into reality, only to see his friends and parents staring at him like he murdered someone.

"Uh, wha- I.. yeah?" Mark rubbed his face and looked at his friends.

"Bro, you looked dead. You were literally staring at the table for a good 5 minutes." Jeno laughed.

"What do you mean? He always looks dead." Jisung crossed his arms over the table and rested his chin down.

Mark glared over at Jisung, but just shook his head as he tried not to laugh.

"Sorry. I just got distracted, I probably zoned out." Mark replied, waving the conversation off.

~~

8:00 PM, Woods

"Chenle! Stop sticking your tongue out at the lizards, you look stupid." Mark whisper shouted, carefully climbing down the steep rocks; he had to make sure he wouldn't fall on a tree branch or something.

Chenle switched his eyes over to Mark who was standing a few feet away from him, his tongue still sticking out as he slowly put it back into his mouth and stepped away from the lizard.

"Alright.. bUT in my defense! The lizard did it first."

Jisung gave a 'what kind of drugs are you on' look before quickly saying, "Dude, the hell?"

Chenle just shrugged as he continued walking.

Mark was currently leading his friends out into the woods towards a certain hidden spot he used to come to when he was little.

Under the trees and through the vines, there was a huge other side that looked completely different to the side he came from. A waterfall that showed crystal clear water that slid over and around the rocks that would shine in the moonlight and sun during day and night, and bushes that were covered in tiny little pink and purple flowers that hid the outside from coming in. Huge, bright green trees towered over, but as you looked up, there was only an opening for the moon and sun to shine down.

It was like he entered a whole other world; the beauty standing out so much more than he imagined and in fact, Mark hadn't been to the hidden spot in about 5 years.

He surprised himself when he remembered the way to go, but his friends were even more surprised on how beautiful the secret place really was.

"You guys like it?" Mark whispered, standing in front of the waterfall on the bright green grass that was surrounded in flowers.

The boys all nodded in unison, their mouths hanging to the floor in awe.

"How did you ever find this place?" Jeno spoke up, swinging an arm around Jaemin's waist and pushing Jaemin's head onto his shoulder.

"I honestly can't remember that well but I think it was when I was like 9 years old? I was walking around and then I just stumbled through the vines and fell into this place. Being amazed by it, I decided to make it my secret hideout spot. I also used it to calm myself whenever I got mad or sad." Mark replied, slowly walking around and admiring the place he found.

Jaemin smiled at that. He thought it was cute how long Mark had been using the place.

Jaemin looked up from Jeno's shoulder and stared at him before gently placing a small kiss onto his neck. Jeno smiled at how cute the other was being; cuddly, clingy, and just cute overall.

"Alright lovebirds, you can stop now." Jisung waved his hand, making a disgusted face towards the two.

The others just laughed and shook their heads until they heard a loud, ear piercing scream.

They all froze in their spots, hoping that what they heard was just their imagination.