# Side Story 6
It was when Haylen was persistently staring at the door Kay had entered, expecting to see him transformed into a wolf. As if responding to his expectations, the door slowly opened, and through the gap, a wolf’s ears perked up.
Kay, hesitating and fidgeting with his front paw that he had cautiously extended outside, walked out with his head bowed low. The massive wolf covered in soft brown fur looked threatening, as if it might reveal sharp claws at any moment.
“Wow…”
Golden eyes flashed fiercely as they stared at Haylen. But Haylen merely approached with a bright smile, as if looking at a small puppy.
“You’re cute.”
“Grr…”
Kay roughly pushed away the hand that suddenly approached him. When he’s a wolf, instinct takes precedence over reason. Because of this, the current Kay was easily swept up by emotions. Kay bared his threatening teeth as if in warning. They were teeth that looked like they could cause serious wounds with just a graze.
“So soft…”
But even that was useless to Haylen. No matter what Kay did, Haylen only saw it as affection.
Haylen had been looking forward to this all along. Kay in wolf form. He had seen him as a wolf pup many times, but it was extremely rare for him to appear in adult form.
So now that he could properly appreciate this form, he wanted to remember it as much as possible. He carefully stroked Kay’s ears. The fluffy sensation was something he could stroke forever.
Haylen rubbed around Kay’s eyes. He couldn’t take his eyes off the irises that were glowing gold, unlike usual.
He didn’t particularly like animals, but Kay must be special. To look this lovable no matter what he did.
Kay closed his eyes and wagged his tail, as if the warmth spreading from his eyes felt good. Haylen burst into laughter at the sight.
“So cute like this, it’s a shame I didn’t see it earlier.”
Kay, who had been melting into the touch, flinched at that laughter and raised his fur on end. Haylen looked curiously at Kay with his perked-up ears and tail, but Kay couldn’t meet his eyes.
Kay was embarrassed to the point of madness. In human form, he was immune to most things, but in wolf state, it was different.
Though a wolf, all these expressions of affection toward him with a human consciousness made his mind fuzzy. Haylen was probably just treating him as a wolf. So he wouldn’t hesitate to touch parts that would make a human uncomfortable.
Did he even know how hard it was for Kay to endure? Judging by that smile, he would never know. At the gently relaxed, pleasant smile, Kay almost hallucinated that the living room had brightened.
“To even be this honest… Aren’t you just too cute?”
Kay finally couldn’t bear the embarrassment. Despite being a wolf, he was so flustered that his blushing face was visible, and he stretched out his paw to go back into the room. Just as Kay’s front paw touched the floor, something unexpected happened.
“Kyaa!”
His adult form shrank, and in an instant, he transformed into a wolf pup. As if surprised himself, Kay wiggled his tiny front paws and stared blankly at Haylen. Haylen, equally surprised by the small, bright eyes, came to his senses and examined him.
“…Kay?”
Kay, who had filled the entire living room, had shrunk so small he could be stepped on. To exaggerate a bit, he was so tiny he could be mistaken for rolling dust.
“Can you control your size too?”
When Haylen knelt down and asked, Kay shook his head vigorously. Haylen placed his hand on the floor as if inviting Kay to climb on, and after checking the situation, Kay pattered over and settled on his palm.
He was a bit too big to fit in one hand, but Haylen lifted him as if it were nothing. He carefully observed Kay, who was tilting his head.
“Then this is…”
Originally, this form only appeared during the full moon. So Haylen had thought that Kay’s transformation into a wolf pup was limited only to the full moon.
But the reason Kay became a wolf pup during the full moon was because he wanted Haylen’s attention. After all, his childhood was when he received the most attention from Haylen.
So if he had the will, he might be able to transform into a wolf pup even when it wasn’t a full moon.
“…It reminds me of old times.”
Kay just kept biting Haylen’s hand as he touched his face. As if recognizing it as a toy, Kay’s tail wagged incessantly.
Haylen laughed softly at the behavior that looked like teething. Undisguisable affection was revealed in his expression.
“Full of aegyo, and just as lovely as always.”
Though it was a murmur, Kay with his good ears didn’t miss his words. Kay was startled by the whispering voice. With strength in his jaw, he bit down hard, accidentally wounding Haylen’s hand.
Little droplets of blood began to form through the wound. Seeing this, Kay made whimpering sounds with a tearful expression. It was evident that he didn’t know what to do.
“It’s okay.”
This hardly counted as a wound. To reassure the startled Kay, Haylen stroked his back. After blinking a couple of times at the gentle touch, Kay cautiously checked the situation. Then he licked the wound on Haylen’s hand.
Looking intently at the action full of apology, Haylen finally burst into laughter. He had been watching curiously to see what Kay would do.
“Ah… Aren’t you just too cute?”
Holding Kay with both hands, Haylen kissed his face. Kay flailed his legs in the air at the warmth touching various parts of his face. This was the limit now.
“Stop…”
Kay, returning to human form, pushed Haylen away. But Haylen, with a sly smile, paid no mind and kissed Kay’s palm.
“What a shame. I didn’t even get to take a picture.”
“This is enough…”
“Well… I suppose it is enough.”
Haylen slowly scanned Kay’s body with an indecipherable smile. Only then did Kay realize.
“…”
That he wasn’t wearing clothes.
All along, Zenon had created an illusion barrier, so when his transformation wore off, he never had to worry about his attire. But now, there was no Zenon to help. Kay froze like a statue.
“Kay?”
“…I’ll go to bed now.”
A thousand unvoiced screams passed through his mind that felt like it would burst. Kay, finally coming to his senses, chose to run away.
BANG―
Kay leaned against the door after closing it roughly. His face was not just hot; it felt like it was on fire.
Kay grabbed his head roughly and made a promise.
No matter what happens, he would never show his wolf form again.
Of course, that promise wasn’t kept.
* * *
Many changes occurred after Haylen left the organization. One of them was the relationship between Haylen and Alice. When Alice was rescued, Haylen refused to see her.
It wasn’t that he disliked her, but rather that he didn’t know what to do. His desire to rescue Alice was merely a means to survive. Therefore, Haylen hadn’t thought about what to do after rescuing Alice. He didn’t know how to approach her.
But he couldn’t avoid seeing her forever either. Kay noticed Haylen’s inner thoughts.
He began to act as a bridge so that Haylen and Alice could build a relationship for the future. Perhaps thanks to that effort, the two were able to develop a relationship that wasn’t awkward.
Once Haylen could have some conversation with Alice, he guided her to a certain place. Alice expressed doubt at him who was just taking her without saying anything, but she followed silently without protest.
“We’re here.”
“This is…”
Looking around, Alice frowned as if she couldn’t understand. All that could be seen around were graves. She looked at the grave in front of her. The tombstone without any name made it impossible to identify who rested here. What connection did this place have with her?
Haylen, watching Alice stare blankly at the grave, slowly opened his mouth.
“Alice, this is your family’s grave. I thought I couldn’t leave it as it was, so I moved it.”
“My… family?”
Her doubtful eyes widened. Alice already knew there was a grave for her family. Kay had told her.
But she hadn’t thought about visiting it. More precisely, she had chosen not to. They were already dead people. There was no reason to visit.
She thought no one would bring her here unless she asked, but she hadn’t expected Haylen to bring her. Alice just stared endlessly at the smooth tombstone with nothing engraved on it.
She had been locked up in a laboratory all her life. So even looking at a grave shouldn’t evoke any thoughts. But contrary to that thought, stirring emotions disrupted her inside. It was too numb to be unpleasant, and too calm to be sad.
“…There are belongings. I’ll bring them to you if you want.”
Alice, who reacted to the word “belongings,” twitched her hand and turned her head toward Haylen.
“Is there a family photo too?”
She didn’t particularly want to receive belongings, but she was curious about her family’s appearance. They say family members resemble each other, so would they look similar to her?
At Alice’s question, Haylen took out a photograph from his possession. Although it was a faded photo, it wasn’t difficult to identify the faces.
Alice, who received the photo from Haylen, blankly stared at it for a while. Her calmly settled eyes made it impossible to know her inner thoughts.
“Is this me?”
It was when the silence began to feel familiar. Alice parted her lips and shifted her gaze.
