Save me back

Part.3

All heads turned towards Hyungwon, when he entered the big hall. Everyone was seated at the long table with a big breakfast prepared and a wonderful smell of freshly baked bread and grilled meat was filling the whole hall, but no one was eating yet. Hyungwon felt uncomfortable under the stares as they eyed him from his head to his toes.

He knew that Hyuna had gone overboard with the robe and that he was looking stupid, wearing the clothes as if he was someone, as if he had the right to be someone he wasn't. But right when Hyungwon was about to say something Wonho, who was seated at the head of the table resting his chin on his hand, spoke up.

"Look at him!" he said as a wide smile spread across his face as if everyone wasn't already looking at Hyungwon. "This is the look of an elf."

"More like the look of a royal prince." Jinyoung stated and everyone nodded their heads in agreement. Hyungwon lowered his head embarrassed by the compliment. Jinyoung himself was the most elegant and royal among the wolves and hearing him say those words made them even more meaningful to Hyungwon.

"I think it's a little too much." he shyly admitted as he slowly walked to sit next to Jooheon, just like he had the day before.

"No! It's just right." Jooheon disagreed as he shook his head, his brown locks wobbling around his head. "You look great, so be a little more confident about yourself." he laughed. He lifted a hand to touch the braids in Hyungwon's dark hair making Hyungwon flustered.

Wonho gestured for them to finally start eating and as the wolves started to stuff their faces while drifting off into different stories Hyungwon's slight feeling of discomfort slowly faded. He looked at his own knees dressed in the new grey colored fabric. He had to admit that he was overwhelmed by all the good things happening to him in the last day and he was scared that if he staring to get used to them, that if he openly accepted them, they would get taken away from him again.

He wanted to stay. 

He knew that it was a selfish, foolish thing to desire. But deep down in his heart the desire to stay in this city, with the wolves and by Wonho's side and that desire was growing and he knew that soon enough he wouldn't be able to suppress that desire anymore.

"Please don't misunderstand when I ask this" Jackson suddenly began as he turned to look at Hyungwon, "but how did you know that we're wolves? I mean you just had to look at us and knew."

Hyungwon was a little surprised by the question. He never had to explain himself, because no one ever knew and if they did know, they never asked.

"Well..." Hyungwon was searching for the right words. He didn't know how to explain something, coming so naturally to him like breathing. "It just happens naturally. It's not like I can turn it on or off. I just see the true nature of people." he tried to explain, not really satisfied by his own words.

"So, you see my face as a wolf's head?" Jackson asked surprised, touching his own cheeks and ears as if he was trying to check if they were still in the same place. Hyungwon shook his head, laughing.

"No, not like that." Jackson calmed down as soon as he heard Hyungwon's answer. "I see you as the human you are. But at the same time, I just know that it's not who you really are. I just know that the face I see is like a mask, covering what's inside. I don't know why or how I know, I just know." Hyungwon tried to voice that feeling he had, when he was looking at Jackson.

"I think it's similar to how you can't really describe the feeling of transformation." Jinyoung suddenly spoke up, sounding like was about to teach them something important. "It's so natural to us that we don't have to think about it. Is it painful? Yes, but not really."