Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

The sun shines brightly, lighting the sidewalk through the slim gaps of cherry blossom branches for the few strangers moving towards their destination. 

The three males—one a hair shorter than Hao with soft, black hair and the cutest whisker dimples, another a tall, gangly pup with brown hair and loads of energy, and a tall, massive pup who’s matching the other pup’s excitement—leisurely walk down the path towards their favorite cafe with the two pups raving about the new flavor of cake they absolutely can’t wait to try. 

The cat-like male watches the two with so much love in his eyes, smiling brightly at, what Hao guesses, two of his packmates. Hao may not be a werewolf, but he has a sixth sense for this sort of thing. He can tell this male is the pack alpha. 

It’s the way he stands on the right side, closer to the road to keep an eye on it in case something were to happen. It’s the way the two pups glance at him every five seconds, evaluating the cat-like male’s reactions as if they want him to agree or acknowledge their feelings and opinions on the matter of which cake flavor is superior. It’s the way the male is ever so slightly on guard, not completely relaxed in his stance, preparing for any threats towards his two pack mates. 

Hao walks alongside them, off the sidewalk but on the road near the curb. He’s honestly enthralled in the surprisingly heated debate about the superior cake flavor, laughing every now and then when the way too energetic werewolf has a live tantrum when the giant wolf rebuffs his take on mango cake being the superior flavor.

Personally, Hao thinks durian cake is the best, but he’s aware how many people would disagree with him, unfortunately. 

“Hanbin hyung!! Hyunggggg!! Tell Gunwookie mango cake is the best!!” 

“No!! Hyung, tell Gyuvin hyung he’s wrong!!! There’s no way a fruit cake would ever be the superior cake flavor!! How can it be when there are tons of chocolate cakes out there?!?!!”

“Alright, alright you too,” Hao’s breath hitches as this was the first time Hanbin has spoken, and it sounds absolutely heavenly. It’s so light and airy but most importantly it sounds so comforting. He feels like if this alpha told him everything would be okay, he would one-hundred percent believe him.

“Obviously, the best cake flavor is tiramisu,” Hanbin laughs heartily when the two wolves stop in their tracks.

Not bad. Tiramisu cake is quite delicious. 

“Well, I’m the closest! There’s cocoa in tiramisu cake, so I win!!” Gunwook actually yells…in public, pumping his fists in the air, followed by prancing around Gyuvin, sticking his tongue out.

“Hyunggggg, how could you do this to me? You’re precious dongsaeng?” Gyuvin whines as he drapes himself across Hanbin’s back.

“I’m sorry, Gyuvinie. Hyung will buy you two slices of mango cake,” Hanbin says as he pulls the young wolf off his back and to his front, so he can pet his hair gently.

Hao blushes brightly because fuck this man is so fucking attractive, both physical and personality. He’s only seen this alpha not even five minutes, but he knows he’s a green flag. 

“Promise?!?” Gyuvin jumps away in excitement, and Hao knows if he was in his full-fledged form, his tail would be wagging erratically back and forth. 

“Of course.”

“What about me???” Gunwook pouts, jutting his bottom lip forward. 

“I’ll buy you a slice of tiramisu cake as well,” Hanbin smiles a bit cheekily, but the young wolf doesn’t care he doesn’t get to choose the flavour of his second slice. He’s perfectly okay with Hanbin’s selection.

“We need to get Matthew hyung a slice of blueberry ca—“

Hao doesn’t think he will ever be able to eat anything with blueberries ever again after this. A loud noise rings through the air, sounding similar to a firework. His body reacts instinctively, jumping a foot in the air because he is without a doubt, a scaredy cat. He clutches his chest, trying to calm his heart down and frantically looking around in the direction the sound came from. 

He freezes though when he hears a bloodcurdling scream from his right, and he turns around in horror to find Hanbin, sprawled out on the ground with a bullet in his chest. There’s so much blood, seeping through the fabric and painting the sidewalk red. Hao’s heart cries in his chest as he witnesses the two pups try in vain to stop the bleeding. 

Hao rushes towards the three werewolves and takes notice of the wound. Tears sting in his eyes as he sees remnants of purple powder around it, gasping in horror when he realizes it’s a wolfsbane bullet. 

Due to evolution, werewolves have developed stronger healing powers and immune systems, so they no longer die or get extremely close to it if they were to be shot with a silver bullet. Of course like humans and some other supernatural species (like himself), a bullet to the heart does kill them, but they do live a little longer than others if it were to happen. 

A wolfsbane bullet essentially guarantees death. It doesn’t matter if the bullet rips through the arm, leg, torso, etc. because the wolfsbane enters their bloodstream and spreads throughout the entire body. The body tries its hardest to heal itself, but it doesn’t compete with the toxicity of wolfsbane to the heart. 

The fact someone used this…Someone wanted this alpha leader dead. Someone wanted Hanbin dead. 

“Hyung!! Hanbin hyung!! No, no, no. no!!”

“Hyung!! Don’t leave us!! Hang in there!! Y-Y-You-You can’t leave us, alpha!!! Please don’t leave us!!” 

“Yo-your Mashu needs h-his blu-blueberry cake. He says th-the baby is c-craving it, bu-but we all know he-he’s the one who wants it,” Gunwook wails, paining Hao’s heart. 

“Please don’t die, hyung. We need you,” Gyuvin cries, body shaking with every harsh hiccup.

“Someone help!! Please!! Anyone!!” Gunwook shrieks, looking around frantically for another person. 

Hanbin tries to say something, and even though, Hao doesn’t know him, he can guess it’s something reassuring, comforting because that’s what an alpha does to soothe his pack mates, but when the male tries to speak, a geyser of blood shoots passed his lips, dripping down the sides of his face. 

This only causes the young wolves to sob harder, clutching onto their hyung, their leader, their alpha. 

“I…love you…all…of…” Hanbin mutters to the best of his ability. The leader doesn’t get to finish his sentence nor his goodbye. The light leaves his eyes, and his chest stops rising, but the blood still leaks from the gaping hole. 

Hao has to look away because he can’t handle it anymore. He slaps his hands on his ears, trying to tune out the heartbroken wails of the two pups as the alpha dies in their arms. 

Wake up. Wake up, Hao. Wake up!!! 

~~~

Hao gasps as he awakens, shooting upright in his bed. His face is wet with tears, chest heaving up and down, and his hands grip his sheets so tightly his knuckles turn white. A few seconds pass before he blindly reaches for the small garbage can next to his bed and promptly throws up into it. His eyes sting with new tears from the sensation. 

He’s so overwhelmed with grief and pain from his dreams that soft cries emit from his mouth uncontrollably. Gosh, he could really use a hug right now, but he’s not going to call Kuan Ji or Soobin to provide him with that so early in the morning. Plus, he knows deep down the only hug he wants right now would be from Hanbin. 

Fuck…what is he going to do? His premonitions always come true. Ever since he turned seventeen years old, he has been gifted (?) with the ability to see the future. He would really like to have a talk with whoever gifted (?) him this power as it took a lot of first-hand experience and learning to figure out how his powers work. 

First, he will always have the same premonition for three days. This greatly confused him at first, but he later figured out it was so he could explore the environment to understand the situation at hand. When he dreamed his neighbor’s house caught fire, he watched in panic and desperation as Mr. Hong was pinned down by a fallen bookcase and slowly died from lack of oxygen. 

He dreaded the second day as he couldn’t bear watching the future play out, but he had a thought, wondering what started the fire in the first place. He found out he could move freely through the premonition. He wasn’t stuck with the focused person. He quickly found the cause of the fire: a rice cooker that suddenly burst into flames. 

The main problem with his premonitions is he doesn’t know when they will happen. The only way he can get confirmation is if he can find some sort of date, which is harder than is expected. Fortunately, his neighbor kept track of the days with a turn-over calendar. He noted the date, October 5, 2017, and then promptly looked for a clock to see when the fire would happen–5:32 pm–and knew what he had to do. 

This brings to the second thing he learned: his premonitions will always happen, but it doesn’t mean they can’t be stopped. At first, Hao believed there was no changing fate because how could one possibly go against fate? He tried many times in the weeks and months after his seventeenth birthday to change the future. He wanted to use his powers for good. 

Of course, his first attempt ended in failure. It wasn’t as easy as he thought, and he took it pretty hard. It was a week after his first ever premonition that he met the man that died in it. Before that, Hao genuinely thought he just had a recurring nightmare, that it wasn’t real. However, when he saw the man at the hotpot place he worked at, he knew deep down, instinctually, that his dream was real and that man would die. He successfully stole the man’s lighter, and he foolishly went home that night with a hopeful heart for it to only be crushed the next day when he saw the man’s face on the news. The video showed exactly what Hao saw in his dream: the man lighting a cigarette while filling his truck with gas. You can imagine what happened next, right? Under further investigation, Hao realized he had played into Fate’s hand because the lighter he stole was blue while the one in his dream was red. He hadn’t even thought about it until after the man’s death. 

Was this some sort of cruel joke? 

Mr. Hong proved he could change the future…well, mostly. He was successful because he did not die, but his house still caught fire. Hao should have planned more because when he arrived five minutes before the rice cooker would explode into a ball of fire, he didn’t exactly know how to go and unplug the appliance. He couldn’t go up to Mr. Hong and tell him what he saw because of the third thing he learned: despite living in a world where humans and supernatural co-exist, being a seer is extremely rare, so most hide their identities to keep themselves safe. Also, Mr. Hong most likely would not have believed him, either because it was too fantastical to believe or believe that he actually was the one to start it and accuse him of arson. 

Hao was so caught up in panicking that he didn’t even realize a few minutes had passed, so he loudly knocked on the door. The old man arrived shortly after, and Hao didn’t know what to do. He was acting on pure instinct. 

“Would you help me find my dog?” Hao asked, despite knowing that Bao was sleeping soundly on his dog bed at home. 

“You lost your dog?” Mr. Hong asked, skepticism clearly present on his face. Hao would’ve been touched at the fact that losing his precious Bao was unbelievable to his neighbor, but he was a man on a mission. 

He never got to answer as a loud bang interrupted them, causing him to pull his neighbor out of his own house. So yeah…the future can be changed, evidently, and he has found it has a more likely chance of success when it has to do with something severe. The man with the lighter was due to lack of experience on his part, and he still feels awful to this day, but since then, he has gotten much better. He has saved a kid from a hit and run, a classmate of his who was badly bullied, a woman from being sexually assaulted, and a young teenager from committing suicide to list a few. 

He could not stop his parents from disowning him, though. He saw it first, waking up in tears when he remembered the stinging sensation of his father’s hand across his face…all because he was gay. Maybe deep down, Hao knew they wouldn't be supportive of him and that’s why it took him years to tell them. However, he is glad he told them after he graduated undergraduate because he was able to support himself without their help. 

Hao needs to find Hanbin as soon as possible because another thing he learned was his premonitions happen within six months of him dreaming of them. He has a maximum of six months, but the minimum of three days. He was very surprised when he encountered a premonition only a day after his last dream. Fortunately, he has two more days to explore the area to find more clues as to where, when, and possibly why. 

There is no way he is letting this alpha die. 

Hao flings his sheet and comforter off of him, swinging his legs over the edge. He slips his feet into his raccoon slippers Kuan Ji gifted him on his twentieth birthday four years ago. He makes his way out of his bedroom, heading down the hallway to the living room. He picks his laptop up from the coffee table and takes a seat on the couch, wiggling himself in a comfortable position. 

He quickly inputs his password, pulling up Naver. He won’t be able to fall back asleep until he has found some sort of clue as to who the alpha or the pack was, but he doesn’t know where to begin. He only has the first names and their supernatural species. There must be hundreds of people named Hanbin who are also werewolves. 

He bites his bottom lip, chewing on the skin in nerves. He types in Hanbin pack alpha in the search bar. His eyes widen in shock when he gets multiple images and articles about the alpha in his premonition. It turns out Sung Hanbin is a public figure. He finds the alpha is a year younger than him, the leader of the ZEROBASEONE pack—ZB1 for short—and is one of the chair board members for the supernatural inclusive society. 

The last fact peaks his interest as that could be a possibility as to why Hanbin is targeted in the first place. There are humans who are completely against supernatural beings living amongst them, believing they should be eradicated. There aren’t many humans nowadays who believe in such things as it’s been years and years since humans and the supernatural started to co-exist. 

There’s a grueling, complicated history of how the supernatural beings were acclimated into society, but it was worth it as the majority of the population don’t have any qualms with them anymore. There are many laws and rules emplaced, so there won’t be any breaches in power. Of course, humans are inherently weaker than most supernatural beings, but every work place, school, establishment, etc. must have a mixture of humans and supernatural beings instated there, especially the police. 

There are supernatural and human officers with each division having a human only crimes, supernatural only crimes, and human/supernatural crimes department. Each human department has at least two supernatural beings and vice versa with the supernatural only departments. The human/supernatural department has an equal number of workers. They all host biweekly meetings with every department there to inform and discuss certain events that have happened. 

The supernatural inclusive society was founded over a hundred years ago, and they are the major reason as to why there are laws and rules emplaced. Nowadays, they meet once every two months to discuss if there are any laws they should discuss, whether to revise, null, or add. They also bring up any criminal activity, whether it’s supernatural beings causing harm to other beings or humans and human based crimes against supernatural beings. 

There hasn’t been any major attack like the one Hao saw for several years. He’s pretty sure there hasn’t been one in this century. Most of the crimes are werewolves who can’t control their rage, vampires who enter bloodlust, and witches who think they could manipulate others for fun. There are smaller crimes that happen in schools, mostly infringing on discrimination and racism. 

Something as major as this…it’s unheard of nowadays. Also, why target Sung Hanbin out of all of the chair board members? From what he has read online, he’s an extremely likeable, welcoming, and loving person. He hasn’t read anything bad about him, not even one scandal or controversy. He advocates for better opportunities for children, both human and supernatural for crying out loud. Why would anyone want to kill Sung Hanbin? 

Wait.

Maybe that’s the exact reason why they chose him. It’d be quite the introduction, wouldn’t it? Killing the most loved alpha and chair board member would definitely grab everyone’s attention. 

But they won’t. Not if Hao can help it. They don’t even know it, but they messed with the wrong seer. 

Hao’s gaze focuses on the picture of the (pretty) alpha, a fire of determination burning in his eyes. “I won’t let you die. Not on my watch.” 

~~~

By the time the sun awoke, Hao had finished his extensive research on Hanbin and his pack, scouring the internet and social media for the past three and a half hours. 

Here’s what he found: Pack leader Alpha Sung Hanbin, twenty-three years old, was born in Cheonan, South Korea to an alpha father and omega mother and later became a big brother to an alpha sister. 

In high school, Hanbin was an active member of his community, often volunteering at the local orphanage and tutoring children in about every subject one could name. He moved to Seoul for college, studying at Seoul National University and recently graduated with a major in supernatural culture & history along with a bachelor’s of arts in developmental psychology. 

Hanbin became the youngest chair board member of the supernatural inclusive society at twenty-one years old after implementing a new policy at SNU following an altercation between a female omega and human male. 

The first member of his pack was Omega Seok Matthew, best friend since their first year of undergrad. They met after Hanbin protected the younger wolf from a sleazy alpha who wouldn’t leave him alone. 

Hanbin introduced Matthew to his close friend, actor Alpha Kim Jiwoong, who fell for the omega at first sight. It was revealed last autumn the couple were expecting their first child with the latter hitting the six month mark of pregnancy recently. 

Hao didn’t even begin to unpack the utter relief he felt when he learned that Matthew wasn’t Hanbin’s omega, deciding to completely ignore the unconscious smile and warm feeling in his belly and looked into the next member of the pack instead. 

High school sweethearts, Alpha Kim Gyuvin and Omega Shen Ricky, and Alpha Park Gunwook were the next three members to officially join the pack. From what Hao could gather, in reality, they were a trio. Despite Gyuvin and Ricky being the official couple, they never left Gunwook behind. It smelled slightly fishy to Hao, not completely believing it’s all platonic between the three of them, but he supposed it didn’t matter in the end and frankly, not his or anyone else’s business except theirs. 

Hanbin approached Gyuvin first, asking him if he would be interested in joining his pack a few months after meeting at one of the university’s dance clubs. The younger alpha agreed but only if Ricky and Gunwook could join too because they were a package deal. Of course Hanbin welcomed them all, giving them a pack to call their own.

Beta Taerae and Beta Yujin, the last members of the pack, joined within weeks of each other. Yujin’s history as to how he became an official pack member has never been directly stated. When asked, the members or Yujin himself gives a vague explanation as to how it came to be.

Hao can make an educated guess that whatever events lead up to Yujin joining the pack were most likely bad, but he’s so relieved and glad the baby wolf has found a loving and caring pack. Yujin always looks so happy and taken care of in all of the photos and videos online.

Taerae joined last, all due to Yujin. It turned out the beta was the young wolf’s guitar teacher. Yujin expressed much enthusiasm to learn the particular instrument, and Hanbin immediately searched the internet for anyone who could teach his youngest pack member. 

Taerae wasn’t even officially teaching. He simply loved to play, sharing clips of himself on Instagram, and busking in the street or playing gigs at local events. It took Hanbin barely any time in tracking him down, finding him in the music department at Seoul National University (how lucky but Hao thinks if someone were to ask any of the members, they would call it fate). 

Evidently, it took a few attempts to convince the beta to teach Yujin, but after one session with the younger, Taerae agreed to continue teaching him. It was only a few weeks later that Yujin sat all of his hyungs down and begged them to accept Taerae into their pack. 

It also took a short period of time where Taerae didn’t accept the offering either, mulling it over as it was a big decision to make, but he loved Yujin dearly and thought his pack mates were some of the greatest people he’s ever met, so almost a week later, he officially accepted the offer. 

It’s been a little over a year since Taerae joined, and there hasn’t been any more new members. From what Hao could tell, he believes it will end as eight for their pack. 

The pack lives in Mapo, which made Hao choke on air after learning that tidbit because he lives in Yongsan, which is only a couple subway stops away. It seemed the universe wanted to make this more convenient for him because he has gotten premonitions that were set in fucking Busan and Daegu which are hours and miles away.

However, it doesn’t necessarily mean it will be easy because he still has no idea where this cafe is. He couldn’t find any information about the pack’s address, which makes sense for privacy reasons, but even the members’ work and school were carefully hidden. Technically, it was public knowledge that few of the members attend Seoul National University and Korea University, but their majors and schedules weren’t public knowledge. Jiwoong was an actor, so this automatically eliminated him. Matthew wasn’t working at the moment, and Hanbin seemed to be everywhere, so it would be hard to pin him down. 

As much as Hao wants to save this alpha, he is also a scaredy cat. For a short time, he did entertain the idea of calling the supernatural inclusive society to warn them about it, but he did not want to reveal his identity to them and he’s worried they would think he’s actually trying to assassinate their board member. 

There is a part of Hao that’s upset he’s been put into such a position. This is dangerous, political, and has implications for the future that he really does not want to think about. The fact there could be a genocidal group against supernatural beings? Hard pill to swallow. 

He can only hope that his premonitions will help him. 

Despite his fears, he won’t give up. He won’t ignore it. He will save this alpha. 

~~~

“Rui, I need your help,” Hao says, not even bothering with a greeting as he enters the witch’s shop. 

He’s known him for a long time, attending the same middle and high school in China. They applied to the same schools in South Korea, throwing a small party when they learned they’ve been accepted into Yonsei University. They roomed together through all of undergrad, only splitting ways after they graduated. Kuan Ji currently lives with his boyfriend while Hao opted to live alone. 

Kuan Ji sighs, giving him the look that Hao secretly despises. He supposes if the roles were switched, he would feel the same way. He would want his best friend to keep himself safe and away from danger but that’s hypocritical, considering he’s doing exactly that. 

“What is it this time?” His friend asks, already moving to the back of his shop to start prepping for the protective charm and elixir. 

Hao bites his lip uncomfortably, debating whether he should lie or not. This is something bigger and more serious than he’s ever dealt with before. He follows Kuan Ji meekly, probably looking like a sulky puppy. 

“Can’t you just trust me on this one?” Hao says instead, trying to prolong the inevitable because he knows Kuan Ji will not budge.  

“Absolutely not. You know one of my conditions is knowing what happens in your premonition. I need to know the severity of it and the potential danger,” Kuan Ji firmly says, not even looking at Hao as he gathers all the ingredients. Before Hao can even respond, the witch continues, “Also, the fact you are even avoiding telling me means it’s bad. I won’t ask again.” 

Hao shuffles nervously behind him, knowing this will not be good. “A werewolf will be shot with a wolfsbane bullet.” He winces as Kuan Ji freezes, understanding the implication of what he just said. In all the years the witch has helped him, it was never from murder. 

Hao panics as Kuan Ji unfreezes, placing the ingredients back onto the shelf. “No! Please! Don’t put them back!” Hao rushes forward, trying to take them but stops from an invisible barrier the witch must’ve put in place.

The witch doesn’t pay any attention to his pleas, stepping down from the stool. Hao pivots, running to the entrance and blocking the door with his arms spread out. “Rui please! I know it sounds bad but–”

“No, there is no ‘but.’ This is too dangerous. This is murder, Zhang Hao!” Kuan Ji hisses, waving his hand, which causes Hao to lose balance. He passes him without a glance, moving to the counter to continue what he was doing before this poor self-preservation seer came. 

Hao sighs, knowing this is serious because he never calls him his legal name unless he’s very upset. He stands on the other side of the counter, pouting at the witch who’s trying his best to ignore him. 

“If you don’t, then I’ll do this without your protection!” Hao threatens, immediately regretting it when Kuan Ji’s head snaps up at him, eyes glaring deeply at him. Uh oh…

Hao doesn’t get to pipe out anything before his body lurches backwards. He emits a quiet oof as he falls onto a bed, but it’s soon followed by a pained groan because teleportation always makes him nauseous. He tries to get up, but a strong invisible force pins him in place laying on the bed. He peers up to find Kuan Ji standing next to the bed, leering over him with a deep frown. 

“Rui, let me go!” 

“I will do no such thing because I know you. I know for a fact that you will most definitely do this without my protection. I would like my best friend to be alive, thank you very much,” Kuan Ji replies, folding his arms across his chest. 

“What about the alpha who’s going to die?!? He has a pack! A family!” Hao shouts, tears welling up in his eyes, thinking about the way those poor pups sobbed as Hanbin died in their arms. 

“And you don’t?!? What about me?!? What about your friends?!? I could list dozens of people who would be gutted if you died! Aren't like four of your friends still trying to convince you to join their family?” Kuan Ji fights back, keeping his position. 

Hao pauses because that is true. Soobin, Xion, Yena, and Yuqi have all been trying to convince him to join their respective families for a while now. He was surprised Kuan Ji hadn’t asked him, and he blushed furiously after the witch told him he wanted Hao to find his mate and join or make a family of their own. 

“Well…that’s where you come in! I won’t die! I will be totally fine!” Hao counters, feeling a bit proud of himself when he sees Kuan Ji soften. He knows there’s a war of logic and emotion battling inside of the witch. 

“Let’s say you do save this alpha. What about next time? And the time after that? Clearly someone wants this alpha dead. How do you even know if he is a good person? Maybe he’s–”

“He’s a good person,” Hao says quietly, mind straying to the pretty alpha.

“Oh my god. Are you serious?!? You’re risking your life because this alpha is hot?!?” Kuan Ji explodes, exasperated to the max. He knows that faraway soft look. He’s seen it one too many times at the most inappropriate times like now. 

“No! That’s not the reason! I mean…yeah, objectively he is hot but–”

“Don’t even finish. I can’t believe this,” Kuan Ji says before trailing off. There’s a moment of silence before he continues. “You must know who this alpha is if you have come to me already and you are sure he is a ‘good person’.”

Hao pauses again, knowing this will not help his case. Hopefully Kuan Ji won’t know who he is. 

“He’s just an alpha from around here. Thankfully, they said his name in the dream—”

“You are stalling. Don’t take me for a fool. I know your lying tone.” 

Hao sighs. “He’s name is Sung Hanbin–”

“Oh fuck no! Are you serious?!? Like deadass,” Kuan Ji yells, eyes almost popping out of his sockets from the shock. 

Well, shit. He knows who he is. 

“Like THE Sung Hanbin?!? The alpha of the ZB1 pack?!? The youngest board member of the supernatural inclusive society?!”

“Wow! Three for three! You’re on a roll,” Hao laughs nervously, trying to lighten up the conversation because poor Kuan Ji looks like he could down a whole case of liquor, right about now. 

“You’re telling me you saw someone assassinate Sung Hanbin?!?” 

“I saw someone attempting to assassinate Sung Hanbin because I will save hi–”

“Nope. Absolutely not,” Kuan Ji shuts him down, stressfully pacing back and forth. 

“Rui, are you serious? Are you really going to let Sung Hanbin die?” Hao bluntly says, a sliver of disappointment ringing through him. 

“I don’t know! Hao, don’t you understand the implications?! If you do save him, then you’ll be involved! You’ll become a target too and I can’t let that happen!” Kuan Ji says, and Hao feels so guilty because of the witch’s red, tearful eyes and trembling voice. 

“And I can’t let Sung Hanbin die. Rui, it was bad. Two of his packmates are with him when it happens. Those poor pups…I don’t think I can ever forget their screams. He died in their arms!” Hao cries, tears finally falling onto his cheeks. 

“Oh, Haohao,” Kuan Ji says, waving his hand to undo the spell so he can gather the seer into his arms. 

Hao clings onto him, crying as he vividly recounts the premonition to the witch. Kuan Ji rubs his back, hushing him gently as he gets to the climax. “It’s okay. You can stop. I understand. I’m sorry, Haohao. I’m just so worried. This is so serious.” 

“I know, Rui, but I can’t let this go. Hanbin doesn’t deserve this, and frankly, I don’t think the universe wants this. I mean why else would I get a premonition then?”

Kuan Ji pulls back, wiping away some of the tears from Hao’s rosy cheeks. “You’re right. He doesn’t. His pack doesn’t either. Fuck, okay, I will help you. I will have your charm and elixir ready by Thursday morning. You can come pick it up after your last dream. Why you? Why couldn’t it have been someone else?” 

Hao doesn’t have an answer for that. He genuinely doesn’t know. He’s not sure why he was chosen. He has no clue why the universe gave him these powers, but for the first time, it’s strangely starting to feel like a gift.  

~~~

The sun shines brightly, lighting the sidewalk through the slim gaps of cherry blossom branches for Gunwook, Gyuvin, and Hanbin moving towards their destination.

Hao doesn’t follow them. He can’t even look at them as they pass by him. Instead, he observes the surroundings, taking note of the buildings around them. He hasn’t done much exploring since he moved to Korea, focusing entirely on school. He’s not familiar with the area, and he’s surprised how quiet it is. There’s hardly any traffic, very few people, and the businesses aren’t smushed together. Cherry blossom trees line the sidewalk, creating a beautiful, serene environment. It’s the perfect place to quietly murder someone and escape with no witnesses. 

He crosses the street, entering a small convenience store. There are no customers inside, but the employee sits behind the counter on their phone. Hao breathes a sigh of relief. He peers over the counter, doing a happy dance inside as he learns the time, 10:05 a.m. Unfortunately, he cannot see the date, but at least, it’s something. 

Hao flinches when he hears the telltale sound of a gun firing, swallowing harshly. He glares daggers at the employee who stupidly glances at the door but does nothing else. He gives them the middle finger before leaving angrily because of the complete lack of concern. Did they not hear that loud bang along with screaming?!? 

He winces when he sees the three wolves a ways down the sidewalk, cradling their alpha in their arms. He hadn’t seen this part yet as he forced himself out of his premonition. He takes a deep breath before lightly jogging to them, trying his best to tune out Gunwook and Gyuvin’s heartbreaking wails. Hanbin is no longer with them, joining the Moon Goddess in the sky. He wants to yell at the two pups to keep away from the bullet wound because he does not need nor want three dead wolves. Theoretically, they should be okay if it doesn’t enter their bloodstream or digest it. 

Before the premonition ends, Hao thoroughly checks Hanbin’s wound. Based on the blood patterns, wound location, and body falling placement, he calculates it must have come from behind them. He was shot in the back, the bullet tearing right through him. The last thing he sees are the buildings behind him, and a streak of black from one of the rooftops. 

~~~

Hao bounces his foot erratically, causing the couch to shake along with him. He woke up not too long ago. The moment he regained consciousness he promptly ran to the shop. He didn’t even change out of his pajamas or brush his teeth. He was a ball of anxiety, and he knew his best friend would help him. 

“Here,” Kuan Ji says, placing a cup of tea in front of him. Hao quietly thanks him, taking a sip. He instantly feels better as the witch put some anti-anxiety remedies in it. He sighs contentedly, leaning back into the couch. 

“Were you able to find anything this time?” Kuan Ji asks as he takes a seat next to him. 

“Yeah, the time, and the location, kind of. I still need to look up the business names, but I have enough that I believe I can find them. I don’t know the date though. Tonight, I will find the sniper–”

“Cheese and fucking crackers, you didn’t tell me it was a fucking sniper.”

“Did you really think this person shot him close range?” 

“I’m not sure what I thought, but this…fuck, this is so crazy. I almost don’t want to know anymore. Like this is a full on assasination,” Kuan Ji replies, disbelief colouring his voice. 

“Yeah, I still can’t wrap my head around it either, but honestly, I really don’t want to. The more I think about it, the more I feel sick and awful. I didn’t even know who Sung Hanbin was two days ago, and now I just know what he looks like soaked in blood,” Hao swallows thickly, trying to keep the tears at bay. 

Kuan Ji doesn’t respond, rubbing Hao’s thigh instead to comfort him. 

“Do you think I should warn them? I feel like that is the most logical thing to do, but it’s also the most unpredictable and risky,” Hao asks, wanting to get a second opinion. 

He has been mulling it over again, but this time he isn’t worried about his own safety or being accused of being involved. He’s worried about them. At least right now, there are no unknown variables. At 10:05 a.m. some day in the future, a sniper will kill Sung Hanbin in front of his two packmates. This is the guaranteed future. However, Hao has found that if he inserts himself too early before the event, things become messy. 

There are too many unknown variables. It could tip off the organization or person orchestrating this. It could cause mass panic if it were to be leaked to the public. It could cause the sniper to kill him a different time, a time that Hao has no knowledge of. Or…it could happen the way it exactly does, despite the warnings. 

This happened a few times before Hao stopped preemptively telling them. Three people didn’t believe him and actually threatened to report him for harassment if he didn’t stop. One ended in a coma, who didn’t wake up for six months, the other one lost their leg in a freak accident, and the last one died in a tragic motorcycle crash. He didn’t have the courage to face them once he saw the news articles. 

He could tell Sung Hanbin what will happen in detail, but he could simply ignore it and write Hao off as a lunatic. 

Changing the future is a fucking piece of work, and it still confuses him till now. 

Kuan Ji hums at Hao’s question, silently thinking about it for a minute or two. “I want you to tell them, so we can nip it in the bud, but I know it doesn’t always work like that. I don’t know him, but based on what I’ve heard and seen, I think Hanbin would actually trust you. I just…I don’t think the unknown variables are worth the risk. Not when you have a good idea of what’s going to happen.”

Hao nods, feeling slightly better that his original gut instinct was “right”. It’s been seven years since he acquired this power, but he still isn’t confident in his abilities. It feels like every new premonition causes a new problem for him, but for better or worse, it also teaches him on what works and what doesn’t. He could do everything right and it still won’t be enough. Those are times when he isolates himself in his room, cursing the universe. Why give him the premonition when he can’t even change the future?  

He doesn’t pick and choose when he gets one. It happens randomly. No pattern. He’s tried to figure it out, but he came up with nothing. The universe did gift (?) this power to the correct person though. Hao is stubborn as fuck, so he won’t back down. 

He will save Sung Hanbin. 

~~~

The sun shines brightly, lighting the sidewalk through the slim gaps of cherry blossom branches for Gunwook, Gyuvin, and Hanbin moving towards the cafe, ZEROSE Garden. 

Unlike yesterday’s dream, Hao looks at Hanbin, determination burning in his eyes. It only increases in size as he briefly takes in Gyuvin and Gunwook talking animatedly, looking at their pack alpha every five seconds. He’s not only saving Hanbin, but those two pups and the rest of their pack. 

Hao turns around, looking at the opposite street’s buildings. They aren’t tall, a good medium sized height. They are lined in a row, but they are spaced apart quite evenly. He jogs across the road and enters a building that consists of study rooms and a small dry cleaners. He scales the stairs, heading up to the rooftop. Based on his earlier calculations, this building would be the perfect spot. He walks through the closed door, feeling like a ghost as he steps onto the roof. It’s pretty standard, loose gravel, a few steel boxes that most likely power the building, and a low ledge. 

He breathes a sigh of relief when a person crouching low on the ground comes into vision. Maybe a tiny (big) part of him wasn’t confident in his calculations. It wouldn’t have been the end of the world if it wasn’t this building because it does give a clear view of the other buildings rooftops. At least now, he can get a close up of them. He approaches them, picking up the pace as he realizes he doesn’t need to be vigilant. 

The person mounts the gun on the ledge, momentarily surprising Hao. It’s not exactly inconspicuous, but he supposes the gunman doesn’t fear capture. No sane person would be checking building rooftops for snipers. 

Hao clenches his fists as he watches the sniper load his gun with the wolfsbane bullet. However, he’s more than relieved to see the lack of a back-up. From what he sees, there is only one bullet. He does a little happy dance, sticking his tongue out at them because this works in his advantage, infinitely. This person or organization is so cocky they think they can do it with one bullet, so Hao’s elated about their arrogance.  

If he can intercept the bullet, the sniper won’t be able to finish the job. Hao doesn’t have to worry about them reloading the gun and firing more. He just needs to make sure the bullet doesn’t hit any of the pack members. Weirdly, it sounds easy in theory, but Hao has a feeling it won’t be. 

He watches in dread as the sniper gets into position, placing his finger on the trigger. As much Hao doesn’t want to see, he turns around, so he has perfect vision of the three unaware wolves. Once again, he harshly flinches as the gun shot rings out. The shot perfectly enters the left side of Hanbin’s back, right by his shoulder blade. He notes exactly how Hanbin’s body crumples, collapsing to the ground. 

The sniper dismounts the rifle, quickly and efficiently taking it apart and packing it into a case that strangely looks like a guitar case. They sling it over their shoulder, starting to walk towards the door but halt. Hao sneers in disgust when the sniper stands a safe distance away from the ledge to not be seen but can see the dead wolf and grieving pups. 

“Fucking animals, deserve to be put down,” The man says, spitting on the ground in disgust. 

Hao’s blood boils in a furious rage, punching the sniper over and over. Unfortunately, his fists go right through him but that doesn’t deter him in the slightest. He follows him down the stairs, leaving through the back. The male continues walking for about half a mile before he reaches his car, placing the gun in the trunk. Hao glares daggers at him from the passenger seat while memorizing the guy’s face as he takes off his mask and cap. 

The man grabs his phone from his pocket, dialing someone with no caller ID. It doesn’t even take two rings before they pick up. 

“Job is done. Sung Hanbin eliminated.”

“Good job. No complications?”

“None.” 

“Just you wait motherfucker!” Hao yells, trying to punch him again and failing. 

“Perfect. These vermin need to be eradicated. Come to the base. Phase 1 was successful. Now onto Phase 2.” 

The sniper ends the call, carelessly throwing his phone onto the passenger seat. 

Hao can throw only one last punch before he wakes up. 

~~~

“What if we just murdered the guy? Because I really like that idea,” Hao says as he storms into Kuan Ji’s shop. 

There is no greeting, only violence. After he woke up, his anger and adrenaline were dialed to about 100. Murder has been on his mind since then. 

“Actually, let’s just eradicate all of them! Every single last one. How dare they?!?” Hao continues, pacing back and forth angrily.

Kuan Ji watches in concern from behind the counter, silently figuring out how to diffuse an angry Zhang Hao. He is someone who needs to be treated carefully when he’s like this or else he may explode, even more than he is right now. 

“So, it’s officially an organization? He’s not alone?” Kuan Ji asks, hoping to cool Hao down by talking about the case, so he can start preparing methodically and not emotionally. 

“Yeah, it seems so. They have a base. The sniper was a male human, but the person on the phone was a female. He called her right after he ‘completed his mission’,” Hao sneers at the last part, clenching his fists in fury. 

“Damn, I kind of hoped this was a one man show. This makes it more complicated,” Kuan Ji replies, leaning on the counter. “Do you have a plan that doesn’t involve murder?”

“It’s not a full-proof plan, but I do have something. Yesterday after I left, I spent most of the day scouring the internet about where this is taking place. It is in Mapo, about halfway in between the Han River and Sangsu station. I visited the area, and I was able to find the cafe. When I was inside, I noticed a couple of flyers that were advertising a new cake flavor, starting tomorrow,” Hao pauses at Kuan Ji’s surprised face. If the situation wasn’t so serious, he would laugh because his best friend looks like the shocked Pikachu meme. 

“This is happening tomorrow?!?” Kuan Ji shrieks in bewilderment, jaw dropping to the floor. 

“Yeah, it seems the universe really doesn’t want Sung Hanbin to die,” Hao replies, remembering how shocked he was as well when he read the flyer. It gave him this premonition three days before he dies. 

“Fuck, okay. Tomorrow. Yeah, we can work with that. I have your protective charm and elixir done. I strengthened it because of how potent wolfsbane is. Technically, it would hurt you less than werewolves, but I’m not taking any chances,” Kuan Ji informs, moving towards the protected shelf to grab them. 

“Thank you so much, Rui,” Hao says as he takes them, immediately putting the necklace on and tucking the pendant into his shirt. He takes a short, calming breath before downing the elixir, face scrunching up at the taste. “Would it kill you to make this taste like strawberries or something?” 

“This is a protective elixir not a smoothie, you dork,” Kuan Ji replies, rolling his eyes playfully. “How are you going to save the alpha?” 

“The cafe opens at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow morning. I am going to buy a drink and treat while waiting for the time. At 10:00 a.m., I’m going to start walking in the direction of the three wolves. The only problem is I am still not sure exactly how to protect him. It needs to be natural, so it won’t tip off the sniper. If I push him out of the way before it happens, that would be way too suspicious,” Hao says, leaning back onto one of the tables. 

“That’s true. It could potentially out your identity, and we don’t want that,” Kuan Ji agrees, biting his lip in nerves. 

“I did think about being a thief, but this is a sniper. I’m sure he could still shoot him, even if he’s running after me.”

“Not a bad idea but yeah you are right. I don’t think that would deter the sniper. From what you’ve described, he’s a man on a mission. It would only be a small hiccup in his plan,” Kuan Ji says, sighing in frustration. 

“I do have an idea that I just thought of, but it’s the most risky for me. If I need to do this, then I will, but I know you won’t like it,” Hao brings up carefully after a few moments of silence. 

“What is it?” Kuan Ji asks, eyes forming into slits. 

“I know the exact time Hanbin will be shot. If I time it right, I could pretend to run into him while busy on my phone, taking us both down to the ground. The bullet should miss. This is risky because I could be hit instead.”

Hao cringes at the dead silence that follows. 

“Rui…”

“Don’t…I’m trying my absolute best to not lock you in my room again, Zhang Hao, give me a few moments.” 

Hao shrinks in on himself, meekly sitting on the table, legs dangling in the air. Kuan Ji takes several deep breaths, trying to calm himself down. 

“The two protective measures should be enough if it hits or grazes you, but Zhang Hao, there is only so much I can do. If this bullet enters your brain or heart, I cannot save you. I am not a miracle worker, so please, be careful. I’m trusting you,” Kuan Ji breathes out, voice trembling. 

Hao hops off the table, heading straight to the witch. He hugs him tightly, heart breaking when Kuan Ji starts crying harshly onto his shoulder. He holds him for a while, gently rubbing his back and saying comforting words. 

“I will make sure all four of us will go home tomorrow night.” 

~~~

If Hao’s being honest with himself, he’s way in over his head. He is a regular citizen, who sometimes sees glimpses into the future. He doesn’t particularly keep up with politics or engage in protests. That’s all going to change in exactly seven minutes. 

He arrived at the cafe exactly at 9:30 a.m. on the dot, ordering an iced americano and a slice of the new cake flavour. It was very good, and he wished the two pups could try it, but he hoped they could try it another day. He also bought a slice of blueberry cake for Seok Matthew. 

Yes, he’s aware that it’s strange, but he’s heard pregnancy cravings are strong. The omega deserves to have his blueberry cake. A psycho sniper and his murderous organization shouldn’t get in the way of an omega and his pregnancy cravings. He even made sure the container of the cake had his name written on it, so in the commotion that will most definitely happen, they will know the cake belongs to one omega Seok Matthew. 

Hao packs the cake into a small bag he asked from the staff. It’s 10:00 a.m. It’s time. He exits the shop, breathing in the clean air. He walks the short path to the sidewalk, heading in the direction of the three wolves. He walks slowly at first as he watches the time tick away. 

The sun shines brightly, lighting the sidewalk through the slim gaps of cherry blossom branches for the three wolves several feet in front of him. 

The three males—one a hair shorter than Hao with soft, black hair with the cutest whisker dimples (Sung Hanbin), another a tall, gangly pup with brown hair and loads of energy (Kim Gyuvin), and a tall, massive pup who’s matching the other pup’s excitement (Park Gunwook) —leisurely walk down the path towards their favorite cafe, ZEROSE Garden, with the two pups raving about the new flavor of cake (Dark Chocolate with Mixed Berries Compote) they absolutely can’t wait to try. 

His heart pounds loudly in his chest as he hears their voices. The adrenaline pulses through his veins, making him feel like he could throw up and run a marathon at the same time. He inconspicuously moves his eyes up but keeps his head down, so it looks like he’s still engaged with his phone. He picks up the pace, pretending to be in a hurry as his thumbs move quickly across the keyboard. 

The three wolves are so close, Gyuvin and Gunwook’s voices louder as the distance shortens. Hao’s heart stutters in his chest as the time finally changes to 10:05 a.m.  

“We need to get Matthew hyung a slice of—” 

Hao slams into Hanbin a tiny bit early, slightly pushing the alpha away from him as they fall to the ground. He knew if he were to get shot, there was a good chance of the bullet tearing through him and then going into Hanbin, and of course, he cannot let that happen.  

He just hopes it was quick enough he wouldn’t be hit. 

It was not.

A hot searing pain rips through his left shoulder. He can’t help the bloodcurdling scream that erupts from his mouth as he falls onto the ground next to Hanbin. There’s a ringing in his head that pierces his skull, causing him to whimper in pain. All he feels is pain, pain, and more pain. It’s burning. It feels like his shoulder is continuously being branded.  

He can faintly hear panicked voices, but he can’t understand what they are saying. It feels like someone is holding him underwater with the voices sounding so far away and distorted. It doesn’t feel like any air is coming into his lungs, no matter how many gasping breaths he takes.

He opens his eyes, not even realizing they were closed this entire time. The first thing he notices is the blood, his blood, staining the sidewalk. A brief warm, relieving sensation spreads through him as it’s his blood and not the alpha’s. However, the second thing he notices is Hanbin is no longer in his line of vision, panicking him greatly. He moves without thinking, trying to search for the alpha. He needs to make sure he’s okay. 

“H-H-Han-Hanbin? Han-Hanbin?!” Hao cries through the pain, feeling like there’s molten lava being poured onto his shoulder and back. 

He sobs heavily when the alpha appears in front of him, who is staring at him with such fearful eyes. “Y-You’re o-o-okay.” 

Hao flinches back when Hanbin tries to touch him, most likely to inspect the wound. He starts scooting away, screaming when it aggravates his injury. 

“Don’t move. I’m trying to help. It’s okay,” Hanbin says, raising two hands in the air to seem unthreatening. 

Hao shakes his head back and forth, continuing to put distance between them despite the pain. “Wolfsbane. D-D-Don’t come near. D-D-”

Hao can’t finish as a wave of vertigo hits him. He can’t tell which way is up and where his body is in space and time as he throws up god knows where. He loopily looks around after he’s done, vaguely seeing the splatter of blood and black on the ground and feeling a sticky substance drip down his chin. 

“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Stay with us. Help is on the way! Stay…”

Hao’s so tired. He would love to keep hearing Hanbin’s voice, but he would really like to take a nap. He’s just so tired and doesn’t feel very good. He, apologetically, doesn’t hear the rest of what Hanbin has to say as his eyes roll backwards into his head, being welcomed by the painless darkness.