Jonghyun never really took the long way to the little wooden cabin he called home. When he would go into town, he would cut through the stream with the skipping stones, but he decided to that day. Jonghyun lived by himself, in a circle of grass far way from the city, the only piece of land that wasn’t filled with hundreds of trees, instead, a single tree stood tall right in the middle.

The first few days in the forest were hell, with lightning striking around his cabin, the constant dark clouds that only hovered around him and nowhere else. The winds were harsh and birds would slam themselves against his windows every day.

He didn’t really understand why the Forest Spirits would let him finish building his home, then try to drive him out. He knew that humans didn’t live here, the forest sheltering only hybrids and animals the Spirits can protect.

The first hybrid Jonghyun thought he saw was a rabbit named Jinki. He was wandering around Jonghyun’s cabin for hours before the man even noticed him; the hybrid smelling the wood suspiciously, hopping about until he stood in front of the door. The day was unnaturally sunny, the clouds unusually wispy and soft instead of being the constant gray he was used to. It felt calm, Jonghyun curled into his couch with a book when he peaked out his window and saw the rabbit.

He looked younger than himself, with his long eyes and the way he squatted down with his hands on the floor. Jonghyun was a little surprised when he saw the hybrid, most never got near his cabin, he could only get glimpses of their tails or antlers as they scampered away; and so with slow movements, he opened the door, too afraid to frighten the hybrid.

“Hey there,” Jonghyun spoke softly, reaching out to show his empty hands, to revealthat he didn’t mean any harm.

The rabbit’s long ears twitched curiously, sniffing Jonghyun’s palms before straightening his back to stand up tall. Jonghyun has never seen a hybrid up close before, not even the domesticated ones that lived in the city. The independent hybrids were usually cautious of humans while the hybrids used as pets always had their owners in tow.

He was beautiful, faint whiskers shining when the sun hit in just the right angle, his rabbit ears a soft shade of light brown that stood up high against his head. To Jonghyun’s surprise, he spoke perfect Korean, although with a hint of an accent Jonghyun could only think came from the forest.

The hybrid was a curious thing, stepping into Jonghyun’s home like he belonged in there. It seemed like he was investigating, a hop in his step as he sniffed around his pantry then his room. He didn’t mind though, he was happy he could have a bit of company after the stormy days he endured.

“The trees talk,” Jinki voiced after a while, turning his head to look at Jonghyun over his shoulder. “They speak of an evil human that moved into our forests, however, you do not seem evil.”

Jonghyun smiled wearily, “I would hope not,”

“Why have you come, human?”

He shifted in place. “My Grandmother would take me here as a child when we visited the small town nearby. She loved the forest, and when she became ill, we made a promise to move here if she healed.” Jonghyun took a breath. “She did not.”

“I see,” the hybrid blinked, slinking his way closer towards the other man. “Your intentions are pure and your soul is sad.” Jinki glances at the window, the tree rustling in a rush of orange hues, like they were moving in a language Jonghyun couldn’t understand.

“Then you are blessed by the Spirit of the Animals,” Jinki states, hands coming up to close over Jonghyun’s cheeks and before the other can do anything, a small kiss is placed on his lips. “No harm will come to you and your cabin so long your heart stays pure.”

Then he was gone, the wind blowing the leaves to follow the hybrid like a trail. 

It was after that day, when the forest began to accept him as one of theirs. Jonghyun frequently thinks about Jinki especially one days like this, when he treks along the stream. It takes hims quite a while to get home when he takes this path, but he never minds. The weather always so beautiful, the wind blowing a cool breeze that set a calm lul into the air.

He was almost home, Jonghyun could see the gate that separated the forest from the human world. When he was a young boy, Jonghyun could not remember a gate being there, the pair always walking from town into the forest without any trouble. It was when he wandered back by himself, when grandmother took her last breath, is when he saw the gate.

It wasn’t very high, so Jonghyun saw no problem in hopping over it when need be, but before he could jump, he heard a loud whine. He paused, hands letting go of the metal to listen.He heard it again this time coupled with a heavy breath and the clattering of metal.

Jonghyun furrowed his brows when the gate began to shake, like someone was rattling it forward and backward forcefully. “What in the world,” he whispers to himself, walking slowly towards the noise. He didn’t know what it was and didn’t want to be seen incase it was something of danger.

The gate shook again when he saw it. A tangle of bright red hair and antlers that stuck through the openings of the fence. It was a boy, no, a hybrid who was leaning against the gate head first, his antlers entangled with the metal.

It seemed like the boy didn’t notice him at first, his body drenched with sweat as he continued to struggled, his dirty knees digging against the ground to twist his body into odd angles. He was stuck, the young boy scrambling to free himself when he let out another frightened whine.

Jonghyun walked closer; his movements still slow and careful, this was a deer hybrid and a scared one at that. He didn’t want to cause him more stress, but when Jonghyun accidently stepped on a twig, the hybrid froze.

It only took a tense second for the hybrid to shake his head suddenly, his neck curving to look at Jonghyun with wide doe eyes. Jonghyun knew he shouldn’t have spoken when the hybrid was obviously terrified, but he that didn’t stop him from whispering a small, hello.

And the hybrid came to life, legs kicking out against the floor in a sudden movement that had him crashing deeper into the fence.

“No, no, don’t do that,” Jonghyun tried to comfort, hands reaching out to touch the antlers, but the boy scrambled even harder, the gate slamming into its post with a loud slam.

“Sh, sh, it’s okay,” Jonghyun was beginning to sweat, his hands clammy as he pressed them flat onto an empty spot next to the hybrids head. “I won’t hurt you, I promise I won’t hurt you.” he kept repeating, racking his brain trying to figure out how to entangle the poor boy.

He touched the antlers without thinking, trying to push the boy away from entangling himself even further when the hybrid let out a bloodcurdling shriek.

“Oh , I’m sorry!” Jonghyun jumped back, his heart stopping for a terrified second as he watched the hybrid cry against the gate. “I’m going to come back, I’m going to get shears and I’m going to come back, okay, I swear, I’m going to get you out of there.” He was blabbering, his heart beating a mile a minute.

He didn’t even know why he had a pair of garden shears in his little cabin, but Jonghyun scrambled to find them anyway; almost throwing his entire shelf in the process. He has never ran this fast in his life, his shirt was drenched when he returned back to the trembling boy, Jonghyun’s breaths coming out in loud pants.

“I’m back, I’m back,” Jonghyun gasped, dropping to his knees to survey the new angle he was in. The boy was really entangled in, he somehow got one of his antlers fully through the one of the little holes of the gate.

The hybrid scrambled when Jonghyun reached out to touch again, his eyes wide. He was still skittish. He didn’t know how to tell the boy he was going to cut him out with scaring him half to death so he decided to just comfort him instead and see where that takes him.

“Hey,” he began softly, shuffling on his knees to get a little closer. He was behind the hybrid, the boy’s head curved downward, the bones on his neck protruding, exposing the faint freckles on the skin there. “I’m going to get you out of here, okay?” he tried to say as reassuringly as he can, the boy still shaking as he brought the shears near him.

He watched as the boy struggled a little bit longer, before his shoulders slumped low. The hybrid’s red hair glowed with sweat and the shine of the sun, the messy strands sticking around his oddly pale face. He was giving up.

“I’ll take you out, don’t worry,” It was with a small breath that Jonghyun brought the clippers to the gate, the boy’s knees sliding slightly away, his antlers digging into the gate even more.

Jonghyun crouched next to the hybrid, being careful not to touch him, not wanting to get another reaction from him. “Don’t worry,” he said again softly, resisting the urge to pet his hair.

“Don’t cut them off,” it was a desperate voice, light and airy as their eyes met for a moment. “please don’t cut them off.” He was terrified, his cheeks stained with tears.

“I won’t, I promise,” Jonghyun put the pieces of metal in between the tool carefully and when it clipped, the hybrid screamed. “I would never, don’t worry, I won’t hurt you.”

Jonghyun leaned over the boy’s back, the hybrid’s shirt falling under one of his shoulders, more freckles peaking through.

It wasn’t a hard job after that, the first few pings of the metal frightening the desperate boy, his fingers curling into the gapes of the gate and clutching harder when his clippers got a little too close to his antlers. But he was okay, taking deep breaths when needed, his eyes never once leaving the ground.

“Almost done.” Sweat dripped down Jonghyun’s chin, watching as the hole in the gate began to get larger and larger, the hybrid shaking his head a little experimentally. It only took a few more clips before the hybrid suddenly pulled an antler fully between the large gap then twisted his head to untangle the other one.

He was free, Jonghyun taking a step back to admire them free against his head. They were beautiful and Jonghyun couldn’t help gasping when the hybrid  looked up at the sky with disbelief. The boy’s eyes fluttered, chest moving with every shaky breath he took, his red hair surrounding his head like a halo.

It was slow, the way the boy sat up, their eyes connecting, his antlers finally standing gloriously tall on either side of his head. He was perfect, his skin glowing, sun kissed and glittering. His shirt hung low against his chest, Jonghyun tracing the freckles that splayed across it like a constellation of stars.

He knew it was a mistake to take a step forward, he knew the hybrid would run, with the way he was still shaking on the ground, but he still did it anyway, hand reaching out to brush the galaxy of colors on his chest.

Their eyes met and Jonghyun paused, the hybrid scrambling backwards to get away. They were too close, too close, Jonghyun’s fingers was close enough to touch.

“I--” Jonghun tried to say, but the other boy jumped as soon as the sound came out of his mouth. He ran away before Jonghyun could say anything else; although he expected it, Jonghyun couldn’t help but slump into himself.

At least the hybrid was out, but he doubts the Forest Spirits are going to be happy about the hole in the fence.

That was a worry for another day.

I added more to this chapter :)

Thank you for reading!