The sun was relentless.
Its golden light spilled across the asphalt like spilled honey, coating everything in warmth too thick to be comfortable. Even the breeze, when it came, was lazy—dragging across skin like warm silk rather than offering relief. The sky above was cloudless, wide, and unforgiving. It was the kind of day that made you sweat just by existing.
Ye Jun squinted up toward the sky from his seat in the back of Jin's car, legs folded beneath him, head resting against the window. His hair—now a strange, radiant hue between deep red and gold—caught the sunlight and shimmered like fire itself. He didn't notice the way people on the street turned to look. He didn't care. He was used to it by now.
"It's going to be a hundred degrees if this keeps up," Jin muttered from the driver's seat, one hand lazily steering while the other fanned his own face. "I might actually die before we reach the pool."
"Dramatic," Hanjae sighed beside him, eyes closed behind tinted glasses. "We're five minutes away."
Ryung leaned between the front seats from the back. "That's five minutes too long. My thighs are sticking to this seat."
"Gross," Kwang said softly, gaze fixed out the window on his side. He'd hardly spoken the entire trip.
No one said anything after that.
Because something had changed.
It had been a week since that night. The night of Ye Jun's birthday. The night something inside him twisted. Shifted. Burned.
The others were careful around him now—not because they feared him, but because they didn't understand what had happened. Because they didn't know how to ask. Especially not Kwang, who had withdrawn so far into himself it felt like his shadow didn't even want to follow him.
But no one pressed. Not yet.
When they finally pulled into the pack's park grounds, the familiar landscape greeted them: wild, open space stretched around a wide, clear lake turned swimming area. A simple lodge-style park house sat on the northern side, partially shaded by tall pines, its weather-worn walls hiding locker rooms and equipment storage. To the east, a more modern pool area with clean tile, lounge chairs, and cabanas reflected the pack's prosperity.
And it was packed.
Pack members milled about, children laughing in the shallow water, adults lounging or tossing balls in the air. Music played low from the speakers scattered around the grass, rhythmic and slow.
As Ye Jun stepped out of the car, the sunlight hit his hair again, flaring across the yard like a beacon. He was immediately aware of eyes on him—some wide with curiosity, some whispering behind hands.
"He's glowing," someone murmured.
"His hair—it wasn't that color before, right?"
But Ye Jun ignored them all.
He reached for his hoodie out of habit, paused, and dropped it back in the car. Let them stare. If that's all they could do, they weren't worth noticing.
His friends spilled out behind him, already tugging at shirts and stretching after the ride. Jin was the first to shout, "Last one in the water buys dinner!" before bolting off toward the pool like a kid.
"Cheater!" Ryung yelled and took off after him.
Ye Jun and Hanjae trailed behind at a slower pace, walking side by side toward the park house.
"You okay?" Hanjae asked.
Ye Jun nodded once, then added, "Are you?"
Hanjae blinked at him in surprise, then gave a soft smile. "Touché."
Ye Jun looked back once—just for a second—and caught Kwang still standing at the edge of the lot, eyes locked on something far away. His shoulders were tight, unreadable.
Something was definitely off.
They reached the park house and took their time changing into swimwear, voices echoing through the wooden building, laughter bubbling despite the silence in their chests. When they emerged again, the sun was still blazing, the water calling like salvation.
Ye Jun slipped into the pool without grace or flair—just a slow slide into the water, cool and cleansing. For a moment, everything fell away. The ache in his bones. The burning question in his chest.
Who was that man?
He still remembered the way he looked at him—like he saw through him. Past the fire. Past the shifting color. Past the body that refused to be just one thing.
Ye Jun dipped lower in the water, closing his eyes.
Above the surface, Ryung was joking with Jin about his horrible cannonball. Hanjae was sunbathing nearby, half-asleep. Kwang sat at the edge of the pool with his feet in the water, saying nothing.
The sun beat down on them, yes—but it wasn't the only thing making them sweat.
Change was coming.
And beneath the surface, everything was beginning to boil.
---
The water rippled behind him as Ye Jun climbed out of the pool, running a hand through his wet, fire-colored hair. It clung to his neck in lazy waves, glinting like molten gold under the late afternoon sun.
"I need to pee," he muttered, reaching for a towel.
Jin tossed one toward him and grinned. "Don't get kidnapped on your way there, princess."
Ye Jun gave him a dry look as he wrapped the towel around his waist. "If I do, avenge me."
Ryung chuckled. "You mean leave you and tell the tale to your moms?"
Kwang smirked. "You'd probably scare off the kidnapper halfway through."
"Just go," Hanjae said, shaking water from his ear. "But come back. We're not done bullying you."
Don't get kidnapped !" Jin sang with a wild grin." You are too pretty, someone might collect you.
Ye Jun rolled his eyes with a small laugh and padded off toward the edge of the park grounds. He spotted a uniformed guard nearby and politely asked for the restroom. The guard gave a short nod and pointed down a paved path toward a small structure tucked between trees.
The shade from the trees cooled his damp skin, but unease settled low in his stomach for no reason he could name.
The restroom was clean and empty. He slipped into one of the stalls, locking the door behind him. As he finished, the loud clack of the main door locking echoed across the tiled walls.
He froze.
He listened.
Nothing.
Then—laughter.
Low and sharp, teenage voices filtered through the thin walls. Muffled, but unmistakable.
"I told you he'd come alone."
"Did you see his hair? Freak."
"What is he even? He doesn't even smell right."
"Think the rumors are true? That he's not a real wolf?"
"Maybe he's a mutt. Or worse—one of those things."
More laughter. Cruel. Contemptuous.
Ye Jun's heart thudded loud in his chest. He took a shaky breath and stepped toward the door. Tried the handle. Locked.
He knocked hard. "Hey! Open the door!"
"Oops," a voice mocked. "Looks like it's stuck."
More snickering. Then silence.
Ye Jun pressed his back against the wall and slid down, sitting on the floor, trying to will his panic away. He'd been through worse. He had.
But being alone in a locked room with voices mocking what he was—what even he didn't fully understand—was something else.
He clenched his fists, trying to ground himself. His skin itched. His chest burned. Something inside him twitched—, maybe. Or something else entirely.
They don't even know what I am...
He bit his lip and held back the scream rising in his throat.
He wouldn't give them that.
He wouldn't.
---