A/N: Remember how in the original manga, Joon Pyo's character was pretty violent?

When Jan Di smacked Joon Pyo on the forehead, applying some considerable strength so much so that she wondered if the book would tear, she felt a wave of intense hatred run through her body. It went down her hair, wrapped her waist, and fell down, tickling her heels. It was so unlike her, she felt uneasy. The sticky fear crept up her spine and now she felt like it was right behind her, sentient and breathing into the back of the head, causing her skin to prickle in goosebumps. Tiny baby hairs stood on end like little antennae. Jan Di shivered involuntarily, slouching and trying to fold onto herself, and her blouse stuck uncomfortably to her suddenly sweaty back.

In the moment of fear she closed her eyes tightly, but kept her ears perked for any noise so that she could run for her life at any moment. But there was such complete silence, as if the whole grand school campus died at once. Jan Di wasn't even sure that anyone breathed. She peeked out to look at Joon Pyo, who stood stock still before her with the same strange gleaming stare directed at her. There... She saw him exhale heavily and the warm air drifted down to her. She exhaled too, and his eyes closed briefly, nostrils flaring.

He was shaking ever so slightly and she could tell that he was running out of patience or restraint. His hands were clenched tightly into fists and his expression was so terrifyingly... inhuman at this moment that Jan Di decided that caution was the better part of valor.

She better leave while he controlled himself. Perhaps he didn't retaliate because they were in public and many students were watching? Perhaps he was plotting to hurt her when they were alone? When she was in the swimming pool? At the lockers?

Like it already happened once...

She shivered at the memory of their encounter not long ago.

- flashback-

Jan Di walked down the second floor corridor to get to the side stairs. In the bag lay a ready report on biology, which had to be submitted in a week, but Jan Di decided to take care of it in advance, so she was going home in high spirits. The hallway was deserted which suited her just fine. She walked with a pep in her step, rolling from heel to toe, holding a bag that was dangling on her shoulder by the strap.

Just then, a silhouette appeared at the end of the corridor. He was approaching quickly and confidently, and she was ready to bite nails, because at one glance she recognized that silhouette and that swaggering walk.

It was Goo Joon Pyo. His one hand was in the pants' pocket, while the other swayed on the side. His back was upright and straight, shoulders thrown back, head held high, and it was as if he didn't see anything before him. But that wasn't true. She knew already that he noticed her. And that meant she couldn't relax. Judging by his pressed lips and flaring nostrils, he was angry. Although that wasn't a surprise: these days it seemed that he was always in a strop.

The corridor was wide enough - two people could pass each other comfortably. But Jan Di moved closet to the wall, hoping to appear nonchalant and slowing down a step. She was not afraid, she just did not want to spoil her mood because of some idiot with a short fuse. She got used to the F4 mockery, tried to pretend that she didn't care about Goo Joon Pyo and his buddies. She didn't care. She didn't. At least she hasn't shown it in school. She had to remain strong in front of him.

When he caught up to her, he bumped into her shoulder hard enough that she hit the cold wall. She bit her lip. Just keep quiet, do not escalate.

"Look where you're going," he bit out and went on.

She snorted to herself, "Jerk. Only knows how to bully and nothing else."

Jan Di thought he didn't hear her, but she was wrong.

She remembered vividly his hot hand pressed into her neck. The thumb laid right over the pulse point, pressing hard. Hard enough that she almost choked. Her face went pale, and her hands clenched his fingers convulsively in an attempt to pry them away. But it seemed futile. Her vision was going blurry, but her mind screamed at her to remain alert.

"You think I can't do anything else, you poor beggar?" And he slowly raised his arm and Jan Di had to get on her tip-toes, as her vision swam with white dots. "But I can do this."

Tears sprang in her eyes, but she struggled to hold them back, clutching at his arm.

"Your stubbornness is your only virtue," he spat out each word casually, chuckling. "Do you think because you got here to appease the masses, you are somehow better than the rest of us? That we're all stupid degenerates? You are mistaken because," he leaned closer, lowering his voice, "you are an outcast."

Standing on her toes, Jan Di desperately tried to breathe. When his grip loosened, but not entirely gone, she tried to lift her chin defiantly and whispered in a hoarse voice.

"I hate you."

She said it very quietly. But it was like her whispered words slapped him in the face. His face twisted a grimace of anger and he retaliated immediately. He slammed her against the wall with his body, fixing one knee between her legs. His eyes were so black that he looked like a demon who had escaped from Hell.

He punched the wall so close to her head she felt the vibrations of impact. Everything danced in her eyes, and her ears rang, and she started at the loud noise, still mostly suspended in air by his strong grip.

"Feeling's mutual, beggar," his breath burned her cheek and she turned away. "You're so revolting that I have to wash my hand for the whole fucking week to get your stink off."

Jan Di was really scared of Joon Pyo at that moment. He had such strong hands, and she sincerely believed that he could break her neck and not blink an eye.

She ran home like a mad woman and then she locked herself up for the whole weekend. She spent the next couple of days watching instructional videos on self-defense lessons. Jan Di didn't have a partner to spar, so she dusted off the old stuffed teddy bear. It was large, practically her height and both she and her brother played with it. She printed a photo of Joon Pyo and attached it to the plush toy. It became her training dummy and she attacked it again and again. She imagined that it was the curly-haired idiot and and let her kicks and fist fly. She wasn't sure it improved her fighting skills, but it made her feel better, despite the fact that sometimes after the so-called workout, she'd fall to the floor and allowed herself a small self-pity fest complete with ice-cream.

- end of flashback-

One. Two. Three. Four. Five.

She slowly exhaled and looked at Joon Pyo, ignoring the wet and dirty uniform.

He glowered at her, his blackened eyes burning her with hatred. Of course, he was as angry as a snake. But Jan Di saw that in the depths of his eyes some other emotion lurked. Not that she had time to figure it out. The shaking got worse and bit his lip so hard, she saw a bead of blood bloom. He licked it, but the red droplet appeared again. Jan Di looked at his mouth as if spellbound, and Joon Pyo seemingly forgot about her hitting him, stuck virtually motionless as the blood trickled out.

She stepped back a step when Joon Pyo leaned closer to her, stooping low, because he was much taller than her. Jan Di held her breath, fists clenched. She was ready to fight back if necessary. In the periphery she saw Song Woo Bin come closer with arms spread as if ready to tackle someone.

But then Joon Pyo did something strange: he inhaled deeply several times over, like he was sniffing her, and she saw that his shaking subsided.

"You are lucky, beggar, that I'm not in the mood today," he said slowly and his voice dipped low. He opened his mouth again, intending to say something, but was interrupted by someone calling his name.

"Joon Pyo, come on. We have places to be."

Jan Di also turned to the voice and recognized one of the F4. Yoon Ji Hoo was sitting casually on his bike and waived for Joon Pyo to join him. Momentarily Jan Di was struck by the attractive picture Ji Hoo made. He was tallish, had wiry built, and as usual he was dressed in mostly whites. There was no doubt that their nickname - Flower 4- was well deserved. All four were exceedingly attractive.

She paused... Did it mean that she just admitted Joon Pyo was attractive?

She quickly looked back at Joon Pyo and grudgingly agreed with herself. At least in regards to his appearance, the providence was generous with the leader of F4. Dark curls framed a strong face with great bone structure. His eyes were expressive. At least when he wasn't just glowering at her. Not that she paid attention. In general, Jan Di avoided looking at him. She observed, as one would observe the enemy. Like a reconnaissance operation. There were no other reasons for her to look at him!

She shook her head, chasing away foolish thoughts that were out of place now.

"Next time, look around when you walk, Dry-cleaner. I don't want to get your cooties," Joon Pyo said in her ear, shoving her with his shoulder, and turned to leave.

Jan Di felt so relieved, she sunk back into the wall. Her book was still clutched close to chest. She stood like this until the three F4 guys disappeared and then she examined the damage to her uniform and the book. Her poor parents cleaned her uniform so many times by now, she could no longer lie that it was all because of her clumsiness. Her father suggested that she could quit the Shinhwa High, but her mother insisted that Jan Di persevere. Mother's reasoning involved the opportunity to meet rich young men. Jan Di always rephrase mom's lectures into those of Mrs. Bennet from Pride and Prejudice: 'Jan Di will have an opportunity tot throw herself in the path of rich young man of marriageable age.'

Jan Di lamented that if only her mom knew what sort of arrogant, rotten young men attended Shinhwa High, she'd never say such things. But Jan Di found that after a while she could see the benefits of graduating from this school. It had a campus and facilities that rivaled some universities. The laboratories, the equipment, the athletic quarters, food, everything was top notch. Her understanding of subject improved too, because the teaching staff was excellent as well. And she made one friend there, too. No, not Oh Min Ji, who betrayed her. Jan Di met Lee Min Ha by accident, when she got lost looking for a teacher's office. He helped her out a lot in math and she finally believed that she wasn't just too stupid for hard science classes.

Her equilibrium restored, Jan Di walked home. She quickly divested her uniform and put it to clean. Her dad managed the register and her mom was busy cooking. She helped them both and when all the house chores were done, she grabbed her books and went to see Lee Min Ha. They have arranged to have tutoring and study group sessions together. Her parents didn't mind. Min Ha's brother was the boy that Jan Di kept from jumping off the roof. When Jan Di was offered a scholarship to Shinhwa High, Lee Min Ha offered to become her sunbae and help as much as she needed. His resolve to help her only solidified when she became the target of the F4 ire.

The Lee family home was in the tony neighborhood and his direct neighbor was none other than Goo Joon Pyo. At first, Jan Di quailed at being so close to the F4 leader, but the two properties were separated by a tall fence and one could hardly run into a neighbor when everybody drove or was driven. Min Ha told her that the Goo family tried to buy their house, but the Lees lived here for a couple of generations and had plenty of memories that had sentimental value to them. So they refused, which only fueled their mutual animosity.

She and Min Ha settled with their respective work and the hours trickled by in near silence. Jan Di would never have thought herself as a particularly bright girl, but discovered that she understood far more than she previously bothered with. It might have been the shift of focus. Previously, given her family's situation, her path in life involved working in the dry-cleaner or some other job in service industry. Now there was a reasonable chance for her to go to college. She now could dream to become more than what her circumstances made of her.

After a couple of hours, Jan Di and Min Ha finished everything and a steady stack of completed assignments was the evidence of their work. Min Ha went to grab some snacks for them and Jan Di aimlessly wondered about the reading room, where they usually did most of the work. There was such a great number of books here, Jan Di always felt uneducated just by looking at them. To imagine that someone read all of these books was humbling.

Jan Di opened the window to air the reading room though she suspected the smell of dusty books would remain here forever. The window was framed by soft blue curtains and underneath was a cozy built-in seat. She sat there, looking out to the yard and the tall building behind the fence. This was the Goo family mansion and it was grand.

She settled to watch as the sun set, turning the blue sky in various colors of pink and orange and red, when she heard strange sounds. They came from behind the fence. Hopeless pained noises that sounded more like a roar. The closest window on this side of the Goo family mansion belonged to the Joon Pyo's bedroom.

Goosebumps ran through her body, tickling her back, and ending in tingling fingertips. Jan Di stopped her sky-watching and listened. The quite was only interrupted by the noise of rarely passing cars on the street and the barking of a dog somewhere far away. So, maybe she misheard? Jan Di just shrugged and turned to scroll through her phone. She was just responding to the Chef Bom Choon Sik asking her to take an extra shift, when a short human cry again reached her ears. It sounded so pained that Jan Di was momentarily afraid. The cry was so deep and forlorn. Should she call the police? Did anyone hear it?

"What is it?" she asked herself out loud.

She stood on the on the window sill and leaned out the window. The evening air swept over her face, cooling it down and messing her hair. But she didn't paid attention, listening carefully. It was quiet outside. Very quiet. An ominous silence of the growing night, forcing the bodies to curl up in fear. No cars passing by, no dogs barking, nothing...

Fluttering curtains hit Jan Di in the back, which made her immediately shudder, but then she shook her head, reassuring herself.

She didn't imagine it this time... The cry seemed to have really come from the direction of the large bedroom window...

Jan Di peered into Min Ha's neighbor's territory, noting the study fence and manicured lawn. There were lights on the first two floors, so the house wasn't empty, but Joon Pyo's bedroom seemed dark... So what was going on here?

After Ji Hoo called his name, his friends quickly put took him home, where he was met by his father. It was obvious that his behavior concerned his friends and they called the expert. Joon Pyo wasn't upset or anything. In fact, he was grateful. Because he hardly would have made it home on his own as the pain grew worse since his altercation with the Dry-cleaner. In fact, he got so bad, he passed out somewhere on the way.

Ji Hoo slapped him, earning himself a retaliatory punch in the shoulder, but it worked. Joon Pyo was able to make into his room and collapse on his bed without changing clothes. He lay on his stomach, burying his nose in the pillow for, it seemed, ages. The pain came and left in waves and otherwise he felt weak, hot and dizzy. He knew that none of his symptoms could be alleviated withe medicine. He must go through this pain until the process is complete. All he had to do was wait.

Hearing a knock at the door, Joon Pyo rolled over onto his back. He raised his head to see the guest, and immediately found himself in a woman's arms.

"Mom, that's enough!" he groaned, unable to move away. She squeezed him tightly in her arms, then kissed his temple. Joon Pyo didn't like all these tenderness, so he only grimaced, muttering.

"Why didn't you call?" she pounced after pulling away. "You know how scared I was when Woo Bin called me on my work phone! I immediately came home. Your dad hurried so much, he left during the Board meeting!"

"That's why Woo Bin shouldn't have called anyone," Joon Pyo said slowly, examining his mother. "I didn't want you to worry."

"Of course he had to, Joon Pyo-ah," she sat down on the edge of the bed, frantically inspecting every bit of her son, "How are you?"

"Could be worse," he shrugged.

"Don't worry, everything will go well, Joon Pyo-ah."

She gently stroked his hair, then turned to the sound of the opening door. Mr. Goo stood at the door. Joon Pyo looked at him and nodded, as if they had not seen each other today. He stopped at the very bed and shared a quick glance at his wife. His serious expression softened, and he even allowed himself a smile.

"We need to tell you something. Something very, very important," the woman sighed. She put her palm on the back of Joon Pyo's hand, stroking with the thumb.

Joon Pyo carefully looked at his parents, waiting for the continuation.

"As you know," his father began, "you're a werewolf."

Joon Pyo had a hysterical chuckle, but he frowned immediately, rubbing his chest. Wow, what a surprise! "Father, I knew that from the day I turned fourteen. The transformation will last from three to seven days, and I just have to wait out... these unpleasant feelings," Then he added, after a short silence, "I have been waiting for this for almost four years, after all. And I am grown up already. I think I'll fucking manage!"

"Son!" Madam Kang exclaimed at hearing the foul language. She squeezed his hand in displeasure, and then added, "Of course you can do it."

Joon Pyo just waved his hand away, biting his cheek so as not to say too much.

He remembered very well when he first heard about his true nature, which was to assert itself fully before the age of eighteen. At first he paled and ran away, having decided that they simply decided to laugh at him, but the family was serious. His father followed him out and wordlessly transformed before his eyes into a large black wolf. Joon Pyo was so amazed that he was ready to dance with happiness. That was so cool! Mind-blowing! After all, the bonus to the transformation was the perfect hearing, vision, agility and strength. One could only dream of such a thing. Joon Pyo dreamed every day, waiting, despite the fact that the whole body needed to break down and reform in order to gain the best qualities.

His mother slapped dad's arm, squinting at her son, to which Joon Pyo raised his eyebrows in surprise, waiting. He folded his arms across his chest, sitting comfortably on the pillows.

"According to tradition, it is customary to say when the process of transformation starts..."

"Get to the point already," his mom huffed and looked at her husband with icy glare.

"Every werewolf has a pair. A mate. Not just a woman, but a beloved who is destined to go hand in hand with the werewolf his entire life."

What the fuck?

Joon Pyo's one eyebrow shot up. He seems to be speechless, not believing what he heard, and then he choked on his own saliva. In turn, he looked at his parents and assured himself that he didn't mishear. Tiredly rubbing his nose he asked.

"Is it true? What the hell?!"

As if the transformation into a werewolf itself was not enough of the mind-fuck... He barely restrained himself from snarling at his parents.

His mother nodded shortly. "You will understand that she is the one because you will be pulled towards her like a magnet," Mrs. Kang continued softly for her husband. "Usually a mate is found within a month. Depending on how far she is from you. Perhaps you already know her. It'd be great, right?"

His mom smiled at him, patting his hand, but Joon Pyo just frowned at. He did not like it all. At all! Trepidation froze his insides, but he only dismissed the feeling. It was nothing he couldn't overcome.

"By the way, if you try to-, eh, be with... any one other than your mate, you'd feel feel awful and disgusted. The werewolves have a principle - one mate forever," Mr. Goo added, gently squeezing his wife's shoulder.

Joon Pyo almost groaned with annoyance. The fuck this was? He would be on the forced celibacy because of this inheritance of his? He was still too young! He hadn't had enough of being young and free. There were so many girls! He and his buddies had grandiose plans for their senior year.

"What the hell?! Only one mate? What if I don't like how she looks? Or maybe I'd hate her, because she has awful character?" Inwardly he wondered if Ginger was his mate and shuddered.

Parents only shrugged in response.

But eventaully Mr. Goo decided to answer, "Such is your fate, son. Your nature will reach out to her anyway, and you cannot change anything. Our so-called curse is never wrong and matches the pair perfectly. You will complement each other, and soon you will understand that keeping her near you is what you and your nature need."

"Why?" Joon Pyo asked plaintively and looked at his father directly. Father was staring at his wife like she was the most precious thing and Joon Pyo wanted the ground to open and swallow him whole.

"Because she would be your love."

Mr. Goo smiled looking at his wife, who sent him a kiss. He caught it and stuck it on the cheek with a wink. Joon Pyo gagged, watching his parents flirting. The corners of his lips lifted, and a blush suddenly appeared on his cheeks.

Gross... He'd be like his dad... Fuck... It didn't sound encouraging, and he panicked. What if his mate wasn't his usual preference? And he would have to be with her because his nature wanted it, and not he himself? And what if this dissonance between him and the wolf nature enraged him? Destroyed him?

His chest tightened, and Joon Pyo closed his eyes, lying down. The pain began to intensify and drops of sweat began to bead on the forehead, making his bangs stick to skin.

His mother patted his hand, ordering her husband to continue.

"After the transformation, all the emotions will intensify. They'll become several times stronger, so you will need to learn how to control them, especially around your mate. The wolf blood will run wild, it will have to be tamed," the father said seriously. "And something else…"

But his father's words were lost to a sound of rushing blood in his ears. Chest pain has become unbearable. It was as if his heart was clenched in a fist and was ripped out, and Joon Pyo was breathing heavily, gritting his teeth. His lips were bitten and pale, although from time to time he felt the trickle of blood from where he bit too hard. His breathing was ragged and noisy, the heat and trembling grew stronger too. Suddenly he roared when something broke in his chest. It felt like he just cracked a rib.

The hopeless cry was more like the roar of an animal. His parents only looked at him helplessly. They understood that they could not help. Joon Pyo just had to survive, endure, and the pain would pass, rewarding him strength and dexterity.

The last thing he remembered before his world was a haze of white-hot pain of broken bones, was the tender touch of his.

A/N: So, what do you think? I'll try to keep my twice-a-week updates schedule, but since I'm writing the Heirs story as the same time, there might be delays.