Summary: Eunsook visits the home she grew up in and finds a lot more than what she thought she left behind.
March
Eunsook stepped out of the car, the frigid air immediately biting at her face. It had to be at least 6 inches on the ground as she looked back down the long snow covered road she had just traveled. And I thought I’d never need all wheel drive. It was nearly spring and the snow was unexpected this time of year. She smiled to herself getting her bags out the back and making her way up to the old house. Even in the dark buried under a blanket of white seeing this place brought in a flood of memories. Her heart clenched in her chest and she fought back the sting of tears unlocking the door to the home she had shared with her grandmother growing up. She stomped the snow from her boots and just before she walked in a movement from the woods caught her eye. The full moon lit up the yard behind the house, the snow glittering under it’s brilliant light. Silence settled around her as she watched carefully for a sign of anything by the trees. After a few moments, the cold seeping into her bones she settled on a trick of the eye and made her way inside where it wasn’t that much warmer.
April
A month had passed and any signs of snow had melted away and the days were getting longer. Eunsook stood at the kitchen sink looking out the small window facing the back yard. Night had just started to fall, small bits of pink and gold could still be seen through the bare trees on the horizon. A dark shadow moved along the treeline and her hands stilled inside the warm soapy water letting the mug fall back into the sink. She blinked several times, absently thinking she should get her eyes rechecked when she gets back to the city. Just as she was about to disregard what she had seen two unmistakably bright yellow eyes came into focus from the woods. Suddenly all of her senses peaked, the hum of the refrigerator echoed in her ears, the harsh artificial light above her head made her eyes hurt, and the smell of lavender dish soap was too strong and flowery. Her hand trembled as she tried not to blink but as quickly as the eyes had appeared they were gone.
May
Eunsook got out of the car, the gravel crunching under her leather flats. It was dark out and there was still a chill in the air that warranted a light jacket but clear signs of spring were all around. Light green buds sprouting on the branches of trees, blooms opening up in the areas that were already warmed by the sun. Her skin was no longer bitten by the cold but refreshed by it. It gave her a hope that she hadn’t felt since before her grandmother's passing that winter. The snap of a twig behind her broke the comfortable silence and she froze in place very aware and very afraid that she wasn’t alone. Her mind went back to the shadows in the snow, the eyes in the woods and her mind screamed at her to run. Forget the groceries in the back seat and haul ass inside but she couldn’t move. Her eyes clenched shut, fists balling up at her sides. There was no barrier between her and whatever it was out here, real or a product of her imagination. She was out in the open, vulnerable. Hot breath ghosted her cheek and a whisper, no, a growl of her name caused her eyes to fly open, wide with fear. It was more than enough to set her body in motion, leaving her car door open she ran inside, a shaky hand unlocking door and slamming it shut behind her.
~
Eunsook pushed her buggy through the diary section of the grocery store in a daze, haunted by yesterday evening’s encounter she was unable to sleep that night. At first dawn she got up, washed her face and got back in her car, throwing out the food that was left to spoil overnight. She went to the store to stock up again, the sun and clear blue skies offering her enough peace of mind to at least get this done.
“All of the chickens!?”
It wasn’t the question itself but the shock behind it that made her stop.
“The eggs too. Gone.”
She watched two ladies gossip in front of a display of artisan cheeses.
“Only the mess was left behind. Some blood, bones and a few stray feathers.” The old woman’s face twisting in a little smile, clearly pleased at the reaction that she got from her friend.
“What could have cleared out an entire coup of hens like that in one night? They have alarms on the pens?”
“Disarmed.”
“Disarmed?”
“By hand.”
Eunsook turned the buggy around and went back the way she came.
~
That night after dinner Eunsook eyed the trash can by the door. The lid was hanging open, trash peaking out from the top, the odor from the onions she had used earlier already permeating it’s way through the kitchen.
The predators in the city are far more dangerous than anything you would find out here in the woods.
She remembered her grandmother telling her over the phone one day not long after she had moved to the city. She wondered if her grandmother had ever seen anything like what she had over the last few months. Had the farm at the end of the road ever had their entire stock of hens picked away in one night?
Sighing she got up, she had never been afraid of going out at night alone in the city, she wasn’t going to be kept inside here either. The motion lights flicked on as she opened the door and she cautiously scanned the woods for any movement. Once she built up enough nerve she made her way to the large outside rubbermaid trashcan. She flipped the bungee cord off that was put to keep out animals and snorted to herself. “If that beast wanted in my garbage I doubt this would keep it out.” She heaved the bag in and let the lid fall closed, fastening the cord back to the handles. Her eyes scanned around her again, her car, the woods, the back porch, nothing. Feeling silly she made her way back inside and shut the door. Once again thinking this was something her mind has conjured up. Those chickens’ fate fell to a pack of wild dogs or maybe a coyote, she reassured herself.
June
Summer came on quickly that year, she never remembered the house she grew up in being this hot before as she stood in the window of her bedroom, the night air blowing the sheer material of her nightshirt around keeping it from sticking to her sweaty skin.
The old box fan she had found in the attic was too sketchy for her to plug in, pieces of the wire worn through the cord, rusty and rattled by age. So she stood in front of the window for a little extra reprieve from the heat before she gave up and tried to get what would surely be a fitful sleep because of the stifling temperature in the room.
Her eyes searched the wood line out of habit now. No more gossip of anyone’s livestock being horribly slaughtered, no more yellow eyes, no more growls. She looked for shadows and movement but didn’t expect to see a figure standing at the edge. Skin glowing in the soft light that came down through from the full moon, dark hair shone like a halo around his head. The boy turned towards her and regarded her with a gentle tilt of the head. Eunsook leaned out, palms against the chipped the paint on the window seal to try to get a better look, eyes desperately trying to focus. He was the first to move, turning to make his way back into the woods, the pale glow from his skin fading into the darkness slowly.
In the morning before the heat of the day came she went outside to tend to the small bed of flowers her grandmother had kept. She was never one for gardening and even the small aloe plant in her apartment in the city would be better off taken care of by anyone but herself. Curiosity took her to the woods, looking back at her bedroom window, this must have been where she saw him. She looked around the dark soil and decaying leaves surprised when she actually found what she was looking for. Paw prints.
July
The scent of stew and fresh bread filled the kitchen. The temperature inside of the house was made only slightly more bearable by the new fan that she had propped up in the door, blowing out all the steam from the meal she was cooking. She could hear her grandmother scold her now as she wiped the sweat from her brow.
Only you would want hot stew in the dead of summer.
After she cleaned up she eyed the large stone pot and half of a loaf of bread on the counter. She laughed at herself as thoughts of beasts and men and full moons filled her mind. Something would be fed, she thought as she pulled out a spoon from the dish drainer quickly changing her mind before letting it fall back in with a clank. Whatever it is probably won’t need that.
She carried the stone pot and bread wrapped in a thin towel to the edge of the woods under the light of the full moon. There was a rotting stump that served for a table close the tracks she had seen before. Her eyes stared into the thick of the trees afraid and also hoping to see a glimpse of something. After a few moments better judgement found her and she made her way quickly back inside.
When she opened her eyes the next morning she anxiously went outside to see if anything had taken her offering of a hot home cooked meal and nearly stepped on the large chicken carcass left out on her front mat that said hello in tacky script. She screamed, almost falling over the dead animal. After she discarded the carcass and the welcome mat she found the stone pot and towel where she had left them. Empty.
August
Eunsook stepped out of the shower, even before she could dry off a thin sheen of sweat started to form on her body. She groaned slipping on a thin nightshirt, a soft pink cotton eyelet, something that hopefully would keep her comfortable.
Heavy cloud cover blocked most of the light from the moon tonight as she checked outside again for her wolf, her boy. Disappointed when the darkness wouldn’t allow her to see anything she sat the fan in the window aiming it at her bed. She drifted off, the night air on her skin refreshing but the exposure keeping her from slipping into a deep sleep.
A growl was heard and at first she was unsure if she was dreaming or awake as her eyes tried to focus in the darkness, a movement was made out from the corner of the room, the flash of yellow eyes came next. The beast stood on it’s back legs and made it’s way over to her, looming over the bed, she shut her eyes tightly as she felt the bed dip down. The heat of the animal encased her, the soft fur tickling at her bare skin and she finally screamed, hands flying forward to push the thing away. An effort that was too little too late in her state of shock.
Eunsook no longer felt the hot breath in her face and the fur against her palms, she worked up the courage to open her eyes. In place of the towering beast was the boy from the woods, she looked into his eyes, her trembling eased as he looked back her much the same way he did before, with curiosity and the slight tilt of his head. His eyes were deep brown, dark hair falling carelessly in them, she wanted to reach up and brush it away so she could see them better because they were the kindest eyes she had ever seen. Instead she let her arms fall curling against her chest.
“Shh.” Was all he said, soft and gentle, soothing, one of his hands coming up to gently thumb away some of the tears that fell from her eyes now. “Shh.” He rolled over and lay next to her, pulling her into him, her back flush against his chest. He smelled like the woods, like earth, cedar and pine.
Eunsook let herself relax into his body. He was so warm against her, comforting even in the heat of the summer night. His hands smoothed along her hair, brushing it away from her face and shoulders and suddenly she became very aware that the only thing that stood between their bodies was the thin material of her night gown.
As if he sensed this himself the hand that was caressing her upper arm slid down to the hem of the garment tugging at it, leaning up to allow her to slip it over her head.
Eunsook’s body tingled with nerves when she relaxed back into him, his touches tentative at first until she made no moves to halt his hand and where it traveled along her body. Her mind buzzed with how crazy this was, who was he, what was he... Any amount of sense she had melted away and a need that she had never imagined took her over. She wanted to be touched, had to be touched by him.
She felt his lips on her for the first time, followed by his tongue as he licked across the skin of her shoulder and neck.
“Please.” She whispered, hoping he would understand her plea.
He lifted her leg, guiding his cock into her in one fluid motion, tangling their legs together before he started to thrust into her. He held her body close to his, arm wrapped around her, hand clinging to her breast as he fucked into her.
A hand reached behind her and she gripped the firm flesh of his ass, feeling it flex with every thrust forward. The boy’s grunts filled the room becoming more animalistic and Eunsook lost herself with him. His hips drove into her with a desperation that she tried to match, her backside pushing back into him. The slide of their sweat slick bodies moved in tandem, joined by a force that later she wouldn’t even try to make any sense of.
He growled and buried his face into her hair, the hand tightening against her breast and with a soft cry she came, body tensing in his hold, reaching up to pull at his hair. With one final push inside he found his release, panting roughly in her ear.
September
Eunsook stared out of the large window in her corner office on the 10th floor. Her mind wasn’t in her work today, finger tapping restlessly on the keyboard. The phone rang snapping her out of the trance she found herself slipping into.
“Eunsook.” She simply answered.
“I see.” The drop in her voice was obvious.
“No. That’s good. I’m glad we found a buyer.”
“Of course not. There’s no need for me to have a house out in the country when I live here.”
“It was nice to get away but I missed my work.”
She hoped her words were more convincing to the real estate agent because she certainly wasn’t fooling herself.
“Yes. Right. Good bye.”
Eunsook looked at the calendar on her desk, tomorrow was the full moon.
You know even though I like like the original Spider-Man movie series, and I like Spidey's accuracy in Civil War, I actually kind of like The Amazing Spider-Man in a different light? Like, I don't know, I'm not a huge fan of the actors or anything, but I actually sort of like it??
Do you ever just really want to be in a relationship and love someone who loves you back like wo ah and kiss them and shit buttt you also would do anything to NOT be in one because fuck no and it's really weird
