Nerves are high as the guests' stay in Chrysalis is closing in because Seonghwa knows that means his time with San is slowly but surely counting down. He knows that soon, he will be gone again, that the pain of not being with him will become insanely strong again. After how close they've become, Seonghwa isn't sure he will be able to take it this time...

No amount of suppressants could contain the desire he has of seeing and being with San. His upped doses made him feel numb to emotions in general, and he realized how bad that was for his body as well as mind.

He won't let himself be blinded by his own stupidity this time.

Seonghwa will find a way to be with San.

That evening, an announcement rang throughout the entirety of pack Chrysalis, calling all members and guests outside to listen.

Gyungho's joy-filled voice could be heard everywhere, "We're thankful to the gods and goddesses to announce that our little girl, Park Areum, has recovered from her illness. To celebrate this miraculous moment, we invite everyone to a bonfire in the center of the grounds. We hope to see everyone there."

Seonghwa smiles softly at the news his father relayed, seeing San with his group of friends by the boys' building.

San looks to Seonghwa before he even walks up to them, sensing his fated mate's presence, "I love seeing your smile, Hwa," San says quietly as he reaches him, knowing that he heard his faint words.

Seonghwa's cheeks grow red, "You'll be seeing more of it, I'm sure," he teases, letting himself finally fully open up to the boy that's come to mean the world to him and more.

"Oh, get a room," Jongho scoffs with a smirk on his face.

Hongjoong shoves Jongho's shoulder as if to tell him to behave, and Jongho clicks his tongue, "Joong, you're lucky I don't throw you into that fire."

"I'd like to see you try," Hongjoong challenges with a mirrored smirk, and Yeosang and Wooyoung visibly roll their eyes at the pair.

"Here they go again," Yeosang hums.

Wooyoung lets out an exaggerated sigh, "They've been doing this all day!"

Seonghwa looks at them with an amused smile, enjoying seeing the friends he's made this past month playing with one another as they always have. He's so thankful to have met them all, but he thinks he'll keep that part to himself... He might be more relaxed with San, but the others may take a bit more time. Seonghwa only hopes that he will actually get that time. The time to spend with them after they all leave.

When he, too, hopes to leave...

They're all seated together around the bonfire, Areum having come to join them with the happiest smile Seonghwa's seen on her face in a long time.

"It's so amazing to finally meet all of you!" Areum cheers, her voice louder than it's been in months. The only difference Seonghwa could notice physically about Areum, would be the slightly golden hue to her otherwise dark brown eyes.

Yunho and Mingi coo at Areum's happiness, "We're glad to see you up and moving, right, love?" Mingi nuzzles his nose into Yunho's hair, giving him little kisses all over the top of his head.

"I'm just relieved my medicine worked for you," Yunho says, easing himself back into Mingi's chest to relax as the fire roars.

"I wish we could've met long ago!" Areum smiles, her eyes turning into half-moons to show just how lively and thankful she really is, "Thank you so much, Yunho. Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"A-Areum...?"

Areum turns around from praising Yunho, to see Eunji standing there, illuminated in the night by the bright reds and oranges of the fire. Seonghwa and San also turn at the sound of Eunji's voice, having not seen her since last night, and it was worrying them.

Areum's eyes widen, and she stumbles as she stands up to face her, "Eunji! I'm all better now, didn't you hear?"

Eunji's eyes begin to fill with tears as she studies Areum up and down, seeing her standing right in front of her, fully healthy, and full of joy. Just as she remembered her being before falling ill.

Eunji lets her tears spill as she nods, overwhelmed by all of her emotions that are happening at once. She's been conflicted since the previous night, knowing exactly what she saw. Areum doesn't know... Seonghwa was there, she thought to herself. Would he tell? Should she?

"I-I... Y-Yes," Eunji sobs.

Areum gets closer to her best friend, "Hey," she says in a calm voice, "Look at me," she asks, and Eunji does. Areum shows her a big smile, showing off her pearly white teeth, "I'm all better now, so why the tears?"

Eunji chuckles through her crying, "I'm just s-so happy, Areum."

Areum smirks, "That's the answer I was looking for! Now, let's dry those tears and sit down by the fire, Eun."

Eunji nods at her and wipes her face with the backs of her hands before sitting down with everyone. She can't help herself from continuously glancing over at Yunho, having a war within her heart of what to do with the vital information she holds.

Eunji catches Seonghwa's gaze in her still slightly panicked state and she pauses, knowing that Seonghwa knows as well. Is he not going to do anything about this? Eunji sees Areum and Yunho talking happily out of the corner of her eye, and then looks back to Seonghwa. She feels a clenching in her chest when Seonghwa shakes his head subtly at her, as if he knows what she's thinking about.

Seonghwa has been having a great night with San and his friends so far with the addition of his sister, but he couldn't stop himself from noticing how much Eunji looks at Yunho. He knows she saw Yunho do... whatever he did to heal Areum. Seonghwa could only assume it was magic. It was the only thing that made sense, as funny as that sounds. Magic making sense. Yunho is from Essence, Seonghwa remembers, and he knows from his countless studies that in the past there was magic within Essence.

Seonghwa never understood why the magic ban was such a big deal to everyone other than keeping other packs at bay from initiating war, but even that, he didn't get. War in general was something he didn't understand, but he always assumed it was his generally neutral upbringing. Seonghwa's parents always taught him, Dohyon, and Areum to look at things from an outside perspective and to always make their decisions after looking at the big picture.

Seonghwa hopes that through their lessons, Eunji would understand that Yunho was just wanting to help Areum even if it was through a forbidden method, but he can also see how and why she would alert his parents. Magic is forbidden, and it's for a reason. Even if he might not understand that reason completely, it still stands, and not telling someone about it would be a breach of morality for some people.

Seonghwa just has to pray it doesn't go against Eunji's.

As the night is closing in, Yunho and Mingi head out with Dongwoo and Kyelin after feeling too tired to stay up any longer. Areum left the group to go sit with her family and Eunji, Eunji feeling nervous under Hyejin and Gyungho's eyes.

"No you go to bed first," Jongho shoves Hongjoong's shoulder with a teasing smirk still on his face.

"No you," Hongjoong replies back with retaliating push.

Yeosang and Wooyoung were getting fed up with Hongjoong and Jongho's constant flip flop between bickering and being flirty by this point, giving each other questioning eyes to which they both nod and stand up.

"We're going to go back to the building now," Yeosang says, cutting off Hongjoong and Jongho's weird argument of who was going to go to bed first.

Hongjoong and Jongho both look at Yeosang and then back to each other, "I guess we'll go to, eh?"

Wooyoung facepalms and starts walking off to the building with Yeosang, "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, guys. I'll be up there soon," San calls out to them, wanting to savor his time with Seonghwa while he still can.

Seonghwa smiles up at San, the fire having calmed down by this point in the night, "Looks like everyone has gone to bed for the night," he says softly, letting his hand crawl over to San's to gently lay on top of it, craving the contact.

San's whole body eases when he feels Seonghwa's touch, intertwining their fingers and squeezing his hand, "It is getting a little late," He says as he looks up at the beautiful shining moon in the sky.

"Do you want to turn in?" Seonghwa asks as he sits up on his knees, willing San's eyes back to look into his own.

San smiles warmly and nods as he stares into Seonghwa's gorgeous brown eyes, admiring the way the always sparkle under the moonlight. Being here with him makes his heart do somersaults in his chest, giving his hand another soft squeeze as he thinks about the future. San doesn't want to leave Seonghwa here, but he has to trust him.

Seonghwa bites his lip from saying the words he wants to say to San as the two of them stand up together. He's been wanting to reveal his feelings to San for a while now, but he always works himself up and can't do it. That, or he gets interrupted. He knows how careful San has been around him ever since hearing all of Chrysalis' pack rules, and as sweet as he thinks it is, he wishes he wasn't so safe with his actions.

Seonghwa and San walk back together in a comfortable silence, close together so they're able to still hold hands and it be slightly concealed just in case. Seonghwa's heart skips a beat every time he feels San's thumb glide across the top of his hand, loving the way his insides flutter at San's safe touch. His wolf is purring, and he knows that San's wolf is too, feeling at peace in this moment with him. If he could, he would leave with San right now and run away with him, but he has a few things he must do first...

They arrived to the front of where Seonghwa goes in to go to his bedroom and turn towards each other with faint smiles that can only be seen when San sways to the left, letting the light shine onto them.

"Goodnight, beautiful," San says softly, letting his hand come up and gently caress Seonghwa's cheek, leaving a burning sensation behind when his hand falls back.

"G-Goodnight," Seonghwa stutters, his voice getting caught in his throat.

Tell him.

Seonghwa's legs go wobbly as his mind fills with his wolf wanting him to tell San exactly how he's feeling, his words choked back as he watches San's back walk away further and further.

Tell him.

Seonghwa's eyes widen as he's finally able to take a few steps in San's direction, his voice coming back to him, "W-Wait," he says, it coming out too quiet for San to hear, "San!" Seonghwa's voice rings out, and his body eases as soon as he sees San turn back around to face him with a tilted head. The anxiety in his chest rises up, seeing that they're not too far apart from each other. He felt like a mile away in his mind, but he's really only a few meters.

"What's wr-" San starts, worrying about why Seonghwa called out to him like that, but he's cut off by words that completely change his world.

"I love you..."

San's eyes widen at Seonghwa's hushed confession, suddenly feeling how watery his eyes are as they stand there under the stars, staring as if they can see right through one another.

"Y-You... What?" San's voice comes out shaky as he starts walking back to Seonghwa, his walk turning quickly into a run as he clashes into Seonghwa, embracing him as tightly as he possibly can without causing him harm. Seonghwa squeezes him back, an unwavering smile carved into his face as shy giggles escape him.

"Say it again," San whispers into his ear.

Seonghwa looks up into San's eyes, both of their irises glassy from the tears, "I'm in love with you," he says, his lips staying parted after he confesses once again, which San smiles at.

"I love you, Seonghwa," San breathes, taking Seonghwa's lips into his own, expecting, but not surprised by the intense emotions and sensations that ignite within him as soon as their lips connect. San's fingers file their way through Seonghwa's hair, gently holding onto the back of his neck and rubbing his thumb in circles as their lips continue to glide and brush over each other's over and over, the silky smooth skin of Seonghwa's lips that San knows he will develop an addiction to.

And goddess, how he's going to dread going through the withdrawals, he knows that one day, Seonghwa is going to be his for the rest of his days, and he will be at peace. He will be able to rest easy once his sweet addiction is back in his arms, but while he's still here for now, he will cherish him.

San parts away from Seonghwa and their lips are instantly chilled by the cool night air, their eyes fluttering open to gaze at one another. Seonghwa carefully takes San's hand in his and leads him back to his bedroom, sliding the door shut behind them as they fall back onto his mattress full of feathers. Seonghwa lies back, allowing for San's hands to trail down his face and his arms, leaving goosebumps in their place as San moves his head down to kiss his neck. His wolf purrs loudly at the kiss on his neck, knowing that's where his mating mark will go when it's official.

They're tangled in Seonghwa's blankets and sheets as they touch each other, intimately or not, the mere touch from the other causes them to shiver. San eventually settles down into Seonghwa's bed further and pulls Seonghwa's body into his chest, the silence surrounding them as the only sound is the faint beating of their hearts. The thumping caused by the boy they both see laying in front of them, both admiring how warm each other's skin is under their fingertips.

San can't get over the soft skin that graces Seonghwa's beautiful face, making sure to study and memorize every square inch of the man he loves so much.

"Promise that you will find your way back to me..." San whispers, his voice full of need and a scared hint of hope.

Seonghwa presses his forehead to San's, his eyelids visibly getting heavier the later into the night it gets, "I promise you, San."

San smiles at Seonghwa's reassurance, his wolf getting set at ease. He rests back with Seonghwa, knowing how tired his fated mate must be after the long day they just had.

"Goodnight, my love."

The next morning, Seonghwa's bedroom door slowly slides open, causing Seonghwa to stir, never having been much of a deep sleeper. He doesn't lift his head at the noise, nor does he open his eyes, but he knows he heard a sound which makes him wary.

"Seonghwa, honey, it's time to wake up. Areum said you'd wake up early to go to lessons with her-" Hyejin says, but her voice stops when she sees two bodies in her son's bed.

An audible gasp is heard and Seonghwa opens his eyes, fear flooding his veins, but he's slightly calmed back when he feels San start to move. He must've woken from the talking, Seonghwa thinks.

Hyejin's heart shatters as she sees her son's face along with that boy's, realizing that Seonghwa didn't heed her warning and distance himself before the two got too close... And this is much too close. She knows that San's departure is inevitable, as well as Seonghwa's mating to Eunji, so she's so confused at what she's seeing.

"M-Mothe-" Seonghwa starts, his voice shaking as he sits up, his night robe slightly hanging off of his shoulder to show his milky skin.

Hyejin's eyes widen at her son's appearance, and her movements become a bit erratic as she rushes over and checks her baby's neck all over, "Y-You didn't mate him, did you?" Her voice is laced with venom as she speaks to San, her hands shaking.

San's heart is beating so fast at the situation they've found themselves in and tries to squeeze Seonghwa's hand, to no return. Seonghwa is frozen under his mother's unsteady gaze, seeing the tears welling up in her eyes.

"S-Seonghwa, what did you do? Your father is going to be s-so disappointed... Oh goddess, what are we going to do..." Hyejin mumbles through her thoughts aloud, staring down at her hands to keep herself from seeing Seonghwa, "Get away from him..."

Seonghwa looks to San with fear in his eyes, not so much for himself, but for San. Seonghwa tears his hand away from San's and brings his knees up to his chest to hold his legs tightly, his whole body filled to the brim with fear, knowing that his mother must find him to be a disgrace to Chrysalis. So many rules have been broken.

"You're tainted," Hyejin murmurs, realizing that her son isn't pure as he should be for his future mating ceremony.

"He didn't do anything-" San tries to defend Seonghwa, but Hyejin looks up at him with tear-stained cheeks and gritted teeth.

"Leave to the center building immediately," Hyejin hisses and Seonghwa looks up with even more fear.

"Don't. M-Mother, don't do that," Seonghwa pleads, but he feels San slowly getting up from his bed, "San, don't go!" He cries out, knowing what they're going to do to him for breaking so many rules with him. He's going to receive a severe punishment... One that hasn't been served in ages.

"I'm sorry..." San whispers before he leaves the room, walking to the center building without lifting his head, not bothering to answer when any of his friends call out to him.

Two days pass and San is finally able to stand on his own, his body feeling wrecked after the intense pain he went through the day before. He could barely tend to his own wounds, the aching and stinging being too much for him every time he tried to wash himself. He shivers to himself when he remembers, still being able to feel the way the wooden paddle would slap across his bare back. The only thing that managed to get him through the pain was thoughts of Seonghwa.

Seonghwa...

San worries for his love, afraid of what happened to him after he was forced to leave him that morning. His mind would trail to more intrusive parts of his psyche and his anxiety would peak when he thought about how Seonghwa might've received the same punishment that he did.

The next few days as San would attend the closing lessons, Seonghwa wasn't there. He hadn't come to a single one. The weird part was, however, that Seonghwa's sister and brother were coming to lessons... and so were his parents, so where was Seonghwa? Where was his love? All of their friends were concerned, too, always asking San where Seonghwa was.

Finally getting too in his own head, he goes up to Areum after lessons.

"A-Areum?" San starts, his voice coming out shakier than he would've liked.

Areum startles at the familiar voice of San, turning to him with a guilty look on her face as she meets his eyes, to which she quickly looks elsewhere, "Yes, San?"

"Where is he...?" San asks straight out, "Please tell me he's okay, Areum."

Areum looks around and quickly motions her head to the side of one of the buildings, "Alright... Seonghwa is alright, don't worry," She says, making sure to rid San of his concerns as fast as possible, "He told me everything, San. I snuck out to see him last night, and he explained it all..."

"By everything, you mean?" San asks, wanting clarification of how much Seonghwa told her exactly.

"You're destined to be together," Areum smiles, "And I wish that for you two, I truly do, San, but-"

"But what?"

"I'm not sure yet... Seonghwa and I have a plan, I promise we do. He's not the only one that wants to be out of here, San. You and Seonghwa aren't the only ones that have to h-hide your feelings, you know?" Areum says, twiddling her fingers as she tip-toes over what she's trying to get at.

San nods knowingly. He had always thought something was going on by the way they would act, especially Eunji.

"I'm in love with her," Areum chuckles sadly, "So I know exactly how you two are feeling... And now that I finally have the means to do something about it," she goes on, referring to being fully healthy now, "I'm going to do everything in my power to do so, and to help Seonghwa, too."

San listens to her, taking in everything she has to say, but his mind can't help but to get distracted by thoughts of Seonghwa. He will fight for him if he has to. He would do anything.

"I just-" Areum sighs, pausing before she continues, "I don't know how long it's going to take, San... I still have to talk about all of this with Eunji and-"

San was afraid of that, afraid of hearing those words. He knew that Seonghwa said he would come back to him soon, but 'soon' has so many variables. There is no definitive time limit of 'soon', is there? There must be something he could do to possibly make the time away from Seonghwa shorter, to somehow change his and Areum's parents' minds.

It might be difficult, but San is already building his plan in his mind as Areum keeps talking, unknowing that San's mind is trailing off into the unknown as he files through the possible outcomes of what he's about to do.

He has to at least try...

He has to try to get Hyejin and Gyungho to understand.

End of Chapter Thirty Two