Amidst the cheers, Onew carefully walked into the room. What was happening? He looked up at the decorations, the banner placed crookedly across the wall where his favourite painting had once been. His grandmother had take it down after he told her that the magical creature on the bottom left corner changed its position on the painting every night. And at the moment, he stood stunned, wondering more about where the painting was now, rather than at the moment at hand. It was hard for him to focus on something he knew nothing about.

The elders in the village smiled expectedly up at him from the rotten wooden chairs, and as they bent forward to look into his face; the chairs creaked dangerously, threatening to collapse.

Calmly, Onew returned everybody’s smile with his own cheerful grin, a grin that had brought about his family’s popularity in the small village.

“What a sweet boy…” an old grandmother cooed from the side. “We’ve watched him grow up. I can’t believe this all is really happening!”

“Of course,” Onew smiled, and went over to hug her. He didn’t expect for a young lady to suddenly appear behind the grandmother, though.

“Jessica!” He exclaimed, looking into her eyes for comfort, but everybody was looking at them, so she did nothing more than smile. It was a smile he’s never seen before. She was proud, expectant, and for once, he saw the dark shade of her scars fade against her blushing cheeks.

“What is-”

But with a swish of her headset, Jessica ran into his arms. “What took you so long?”

The elders in the room gasped, shocked at Jessica’s intimate gesture. This was no way to act in front of the elders! But in the next moment, they relaxed against their creaking chairs.

Onew patted Jessica’s back, and didn’t even try to push her away. He smiled sweetly, and reminded Jessica that he would always be there. It had always been him that hugged and comforted her, whenever someone laughed at Jessica, whenever Jessica laughed at herself.

“A man had lost his way in the forest, so I led him into the city, but he robbed me when we got within the city’s parameters. So, I ended up having to walk back, rather than take the transportation car.”

“Are you alright?” Jessica asked automatically, as this wouldn’t be the first time Onew got into trouble. What she wondered though, was… how come Onew seemed so cheerful after being robbed?

 “Of course! I helped out a man today!”

The audience sighed at his innocence, at his ignorance. This was the same Onew they had come to meet ten years ago. That was the problem, actually, he was exactly the same  Onew; the twenty two year old Onew with the mindset of a ten year old.

“All things aside!” Onew’s grandmother interrupted. “Enough, the two of you! As Jinki has arrived, we will start the wedding ceremony!”

“Wedding…” Onew exclaimed aloud, looking around at everybody’s expression, at the decorations, and lastly as the blushing Jessica. Mentally slapping himself, Onew wondered why he hadn’t noticed earlier.

To be truthful, however, he admitted that he shouldn’t have been as shocked as he was. After all, who in the village did not know that he and Jessica would get married sooner or later? The two were meant for each other! Plus, they had been the closest of friends since they were twelve. Nobody mentioned Jessica’s accident, as it was an unspoken taboo, but they could not deny the fact that Onew would probably be the only man that would accept Jessica’s current appearance.

Onew looked at Jessica again, and realized how nervous she was. As much as he loved Jessica, he couldn’t help but admit that he was reluctant to carry on with the ceremony.

He had always loved Jessica, from the bottom of his heart, but he had always hoped that is anything were to happen in their relationship, one of them would have initiated it… rather than the village’s elders. Onew wasn’t a romantic person, but he had faith in love. Regardless, he was still young and confused about his feelings. He’s never quite thought of marrying Jessica, even if he found her beautiful. Undeniably, they were the perfect couple. Taking a deep breath, he took Jessica’s hand, squeezed it, and took his place by her side.

At this particular moment, a flock of crows flew over the large mansion, their devastated caws echoing throughout the little village.

 Onew’s ears immediately perked up at their helpless cries.

“Something’s happening.” He said, breaking free from the crowd and peeking out the door. “Something’s wrong.”

“Stop being childish!” His grandmother commanded harshly from the side, not paying any attention to the crows.

“The crows… they’re crying though, grandmother! I can hear them!” Onew said, exasperated, fear lining the rises and falls of his sweet voice.

Groaning as she stood up, Onew’s grandmother marched up to Onew and slapped him across the face. “Don’t you dare speak of such nonsense at this time.” She gave him a cold glare, and ignored the familiar ache of her heartstrings being tugged. This boy… this boy was exactly like her husband, and her husband was never wrong… at least not about stuff like this.

She refused to let it scare her, however, and huffed a sigh when she saw the shocked expression on the guests’ faces.

Onew rubbed his reddened face roughly, and took his place beside Jessica once again. Angry tears threatened to fall though, so he wiped them away with his sleeve. He could feel, from the core of his being… no, he knew that something was wrong.

And indeed it was.

Onew hadn’t even taken another step before growls were heard, echoing in the distance. Jessica’s eyes widened and clutched onto Onew’s shirt, whimpering slightly.

The memories were far too fresh in her mind.

“The… the beast,” She whispered, trying to relax but finding herself caught up in terrible fear.

“What do you mean?” Onew asked, embracing the violently shaking Jessica.

“I ran and I ran! It wouldn’t stop…”  Jessica was lost amidst her own cries, and she shook her head furiously, trying desperately to rid herself of the horrible memories.

Onew shushed her, like he always did, but then he abruptly let her go when someone screamed.

“Grandmother!” He gasped.

~ 

Really short update :P Sorry for any grammatical errors! 

- ICEDCOFFEE