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“There’s a perfectly good explanation for this.”
“Bullshit.” Han Sooyoung is certain there isn’t a good explanation for this. This being an unconscious naked man in their living room. “That’s our coffee table. I write on that coffee table, why is his junk on my coffee table?” Why was he on the coffee table? The couch was right there!
“Look, do you remember my coworker, the one who doesn’t talk to anyone?”
“The socially awkward turtle?”
“Yes, well. He’s not so much a turtle as a wolf.”
Han Sooyoung stares at her roommate in disbelief. A wolf, really? She brought a wolf home? Taking a deep breath, Han Sooyoung finally notices the distinctive odor of wet fur. Fuck, he probably is a wolf.
“Please don’t get mad.”
“Oh, I’m already mad. Sangah, what the fuck?”
“I haven’t seen a werewolf in decades Sooyoung! They supposedly went extinct back in eighties.”
Yoo Sangah’s eyes sparkle as she points to the possible werewolf. Han Sooyoung grabs a silver knife from the cabinet and goes to slit the man’s thoat.
“Don’t kill him!” Yoo Sangah lunges at her. “Why are you trying to kill him?!”
“Today is as good a day as any for an extinction event!” Han Sooyoung flails in Yoo Sangah’s iron grip. “I. Am not. Dealing with this bull shit.” She yells between each stab attempt. “So. Let. Go. Stop stopping me!”
“Sooyoung that’s murder!”
“Like we haven’t done worse!”
Han Sooyoung drops the knife as she’s lifted off her feet. She starts to do jazz hands but Yoo Sangah notices and twirls her to face the wall. A 3’ by 7’ stretch of the wall lights on fire for a brief second before her hands stop shaking.
“No spells in the house!”
Han Sooyoung lets out a scream and tries to kick the wall. Her legs can’t reach that far and she’s forced to watch her toes almost scrape the wall. Enraged, she grabs Yoo Sangah’s hair and pulls.
“Hold it!” Han Sooyoung yelled. “Naked Dude’s gone!”
For once Han Sooyoung isn’t just trying to distract Yoo Sangah, naked Dude is gone. Both women stare at the table in disbelief. How the hell did he leave without them noticing? Yoo Sangah releases her grip and Han Sooyoung scrambles over to the table to check.
“Hair, hair, c’mon he has to have left a bit of blood or some hair behind.”
“Sooyoung!”
“This guy knows where we live! I’m killing him one way or another!”
Han Sooyoung lets out a victory cry and raises a single strand of hair. She bolts to the bathroom with Yoo Sangah hot on her heels.
Two hours, one spilt potion, and a thorough cleaning later, Han Sooyoung lies defeated on her bed. Fuck Yoo Sangah. Like, usually her outlook on life is ‘fuck Yoo Sangah’, but today, fuck Yoo Sangah. Han Sooyoung works hard to write and earn enough money for the two of them to live comfortably while building a nest egg. Then Yoo Sangah will do something like this, bring a stranger to their home and be nice, leaving herself open and then being betrayed so they have to leave everything and run.
Tomorrow, Han Sooyoung will hunt down that damn wolf and put a bullet in his heart. Or maybe she’ll burn him alive after stuffing his mouth full of poison. Either way, she’ll solve this problem. Yoo Sangah will be sad but she’ll be safe. And disappointed in her. Maybe she’ll even sleep for another decade or two until she feels Han Sooyoung’s been punished enough. Han Sooyoung buries her face in her pillow and lets out a scream.
Yoo Sangah walks in to work the next day to find Kim Dokja waiting for her. He grabs her, slaps something on to it with a halfhearted, “I’m sorry I stole your roommate’s wallet. I took all the money as compensation for my lost clothes and the murder attempt. Please continue to ignore me,” and walks away.
“Wait-”
“Sangah-ssi, we have an emergency meeting in conference room 3.”
“Eh? Department Head-nim, I’ll be right-”
“Now.”
Yoo Sangah spends the entire day almost buzzing. A werewolf! In her building! And a young one too, if her instincts weren’t telling her to attack. He had to be newly turned, but when? Sometime within the last month or two, if he was any older than that there’d be more signs, an increase in muscle mass or scent. He does smell off from what she remembered a fully turned werewolf smelled like.
But every time she tries to leave her office and find him, something pops up. First it's the emergency meeting about upcoming layoffs, then a sexual harassment complaint they need her to corroborate, then the team lead needs everyone’s input on a presentation for the upcoming new hires’ background checks. It’s as if the whole building is conspiring to get in her way. The moment the work is over, she runs out the door. Kim Dokja is almost at the subway station when she catches up to him. She grabs the back of his collar and yanks him away from the stairs.
“Wait!”
“Grk!”
Kim Dokja goes tumbling backward and onto the floor. There’s an audible crack as the back of his head meets pavement and he goes limp. Yoo Sangah’s face pales as she hears murmering around her.
She gets down on her knees and starts slapping the ground near his head. “Dokja-ssi! Are you alright?”
Kim Dokja groans and squints up at her. He raises a hand and pushes her out of the way. “Sangah-ssi is very kind to worry about me. But please stop.”
“You should see a doctor about that fall.”
“Don’t worry, I’ve got a good constitution.” He replies with a pointed look. “So, I’ll just be going on my way and-”
“No!” Yoo Sangah graps his hand. “That fall was my fault, let me compensate you somehow!”
“I’m uncomfortable taking money from a coworker.”
“I can treat you to dinner!”
“I have left overs that I need to finish tonight.”
“Let me buy you an apology coffee!”
“I won’t be able to sleep tonight.”
“My roommate has left over walnut cake!”
“Please lead the way.” Kim Dokja looks at her with sparkling eyes.
The apartment is empty when Yoo Sangah opens the door. Han Sooyoung must be out with her editor for once. She toes her shoes off and lead Kim Dokja to the living room. Kim Dokja is looking around, taking in the foreign decoractions that line the walls and shelves.
“I’m so glad you agreed to come. I haven’t met a werewolf in years!”
Kim Dokja gives her an odd look. “I’m not a werewolf.”
“Ah, its fine, you can be honest here Dokja-ssi. Sooyoung warded this place to hell and back when we first moved in.”
“No, really. I’m not a werewolf.”
“You should have seen it before we got the wallpaper up, she really is the best witch in Seoul. She’s even had a few people ask for apprenticeships since we’ve got here.
“Hey, listen.”
“Ah! I forgot to mention! I’m a vampire, but you could probably smell that.” She pulls her gums up to show off her teeth. “It’s a bit of a pain to keep them hidden during work.”
“I’ve always been the way I’ve been. But-”
“I should get the cake, shouldn’t I?”
“Please do.”
Yoo Sangah gets the cake from the fridge and cuts out two pieces. She rummages through the cupboard and finds the potion she’s looking for. It’s temporary, she tells herself. Just a little something to get a peak. The full moon is past and it would be a shame not to see his form for a month. She dunks a fork halfway into the bottle before putting it away. She goes back to the living room and places the slice with the laced fork in front of her guest.
Kim Dokja is staring at the cake with glittering eyes. He carefully picks up his fork and cuts into the cake and takes a big bite. She waits in anticipation as he chews, swallows, and shifts. Instead of the cool, muscular, sleek wolf appearing, a very sleepy, fuzzy, large bear bursts through his suit. The couch gives a tired groan at the sudden change in weight. Both the bear and Yoo Sangah give each other wide eyed stares. The bear lurches across the couch and there is what Yoo Sangah could only describe as a mane shoved into her face and gentling claws skate across her body and into her pockets.
“A-a-ah, the potion’s effect is temporary.” Yoo Sangah stutters. “Please feel free to wait here.”
Kim Dokja gives an unhappy huff at the answer. A little white moon peeks out from his chest as he climbs over the back and flops off the couch. He lands on his back and waves his paws in the air for a moment before rolling onto his front. There’s a deep mumble and the bear trots into the kitchen. At the distinctive suck of the fridge door opening and happy chuffs, Yoo Sangah finally jerks around to see the bear scraping the inside of a jam jar clean with his tongue.
A bear. She brought a bear home. She didn’t know werebears existed. Han Sooyoung is going to be so angry when she gets back.