1952....

           The sweet melody of birds singing swirled through the open window frames, the cool morning breeze causing the white curtains to flutter softly,  and just the brush of color coming in from the slow rise of the sun on the horizon. As the inhabitant of the house began to awaken, so did the rest of his forest. The chattering of squirrels running along the branches of the large bunch of trees the home was settled across, the gentle roars from distant bears waking up to hunt, and the soothing trickling of the streams twisting between the trees slowly filled the forest. 

           Sitting up in his bed, Jinki stretched with his arms above his head. He smiled slowly as he realized it was raining softly, the gentle patter of drops against the roof of his home, comforting. Quickly tossing the covers from his legs he slipped out from the bed and ran to the ladder on the far wall leading up to the highest part of the home. The sun was just rising over the eastern mountains. His smile widened when he heard the familiar howl drift from the snow-covered peaks. 

           His favorite thing to do first thing in the morning was to watch the sunrise paint the sky in pretty oranges and pinks. As he sat on the edge of the deck, feet swinging off the edge and getting raindrops on them, he made an apple grow from a branch above him. As it fell he caught it with his left hand, biting into it without looking away from the sunrise on the horizon. The colors were so bright he felt he could reach up and smear them with his fingers. Even with the light rain the vividness of them wasn’t dulled in the least bit.

           Just as he took a big bite from his apple he felt a disturbance outside of the forest. A grin pulled at his lips as he figured out what it was. A human venturing too close to his world. With the destruction he knew to be happening in the world around his forest he was all the more excited to take from the disgusting creature.

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           Tingles ran up and down his skin under his dirty army uniform with each step. There was a flash of bright light causing his eyes to squeeze shut tightly. He blinked a few times to make the spots disappear, but the vision of green and flourishing life made him freeze and rub at his eyes. Underneath his boots were dark green grass, daisies popping up between the tree roots twisting over the expanse of life. Just a moment ago he was squinting his way through the dirt and fallen trees on the trek back to camp. Was he dreaming? Was he dead?

           His head whipped to the left when he heard a branch snapped in half, but nothing could be seen besides thick trees as far as he could see through the thick foliage. Heart beating harshly in his chest, he gripped the rifle in his hand tighter and lifted it slightly. As he stepped forward it was only then he realized it was raining, something that hadn’t been happening before he opened his eyes to a field of green. The small drops plopped against his skin, pulling days of dirt and grime down his cheeks. 

           A flash of movement, a streak of dark green to his right, but when he looked there was nothing but the trunk of a tree. Blood rushed past his ears as a deep, sultry voice floated in the air around him, “How about you put that down, hmm?”

           “Who are you?!”

           “Who am I?” A soft, beautiful laugh bubbled. “That does not matter.” 

           Kibum lifted the gun higher, aiming at the seemingly empty space. One moment he swore the voice was coming from one place, and the next the opposite. “What is this place?”

           “Why, this is Aurora.” Leaves fluttered in the breeze along with the pitter-patter of raindrops against the forest floor, “Put that awful weapon down handsome. Nothing will harm you here.”

           His jaw tightened for a moment, before his hands began to fall, the end of the gun pressing into the grass. “Where are you?”

           “Here, there. Everywhere.” Bright laughter was heard above him as leaves began to fall. The gun fell to the forest floor completely as the voice grew distant. “Come see.” 

           As if pulled by a taut string, he stumbled forward, hands pressed against the tree trunks, steadying him. The further he walked, the more drenched he became. The uniform was now sagging with the weight, as he continued to walk. He didn’t know where he was going, but at the same time, he felt like there was a certain destination he was heading towards. Before he knew it the sound of water crashing over rocks came to his ears and through the slowly spacing out trees he saw a wide river twisting to his left.

           As if in slow motion his gaze moved away to fall on a figure standing between the opening a dozen feet in front of him. The breeze whipped the white fabric of their pants against their legs, dark green hair braided off their left shoulder. A gorgeous smile spread across their face as they lifted their hand, and suddenly daisies were popping up from the ground making the green of the grass white with petals. “Does what you see appease you?”

-----

           “The voice… it was you.” 

           Very observant this one, Jinki thought to himself, but he kept the smile as he stepped closer. “So it seems.”

           “This place, Aurora you called it. What is it?” 

           “A forest. A home. Sanctuary.” Jinki looked away from the man, humming. He walked around him, running a hand over the expanse of his back, feeling the heavy fabric of his clothes. “Aurora is whatever you need it to be, Handsome.” 

           “My name is Kibum.”

           Jinki slipped by him closely, chest brushing against Kibum’s shoulder as he looked up at him through his lashes. “And Kibum, what is Aurora for you?” 

           Kibum's eyes are half-closed as he focused on Jinki’s face, and then lowered to his lips. Jinki can feel his smile widen. A few more moments and this human, while rather pretty, would serve his purpose and whatever valuable thing he had in his possession would be within Jinki’s grasp. Except suddenly Kibum’s eyes were fully open and he was breathing out, “A bath.” 

           For a split second Jinki’s facade cracked, utter confusion gracing his features before he got it under control. “A bath?”

           “It has been some time since I have properly bathed. Even if this is a dream… I would like a bath.” Kibum grinned widely, “And food. Does this place have food?”

           “It has whatever you need.” Jinki turned around, sighing quietly to himself before smiling over his shoulder. “Come, I will show you.”

-----

           Jinki had seen many humans over the course of the last thousands of years since the barrier was put into place. Something intrigued him about this Kibum more than any human had in that time. He seemed as if he was fighting the lure which shouldn’t be able to happen in the first place. Thousands of humans have stumbled upon his forest, whether by accident or Jinki’s magic. Each one tempted closer with only one thing on their mind, lust. Kibum had barely looked at him since asking for a bath. The man was currently swimming in the lagoon the waterfall ran into and the rivers twisted from toward the south. If Jinki looked up he could see Taemin in his crane form, trying to be subtle in his spying. 

           Kibum’s clothes were laying over a nearby tree limb to dry. When the man wasn’t looking Jinki had slipped his hand into one of the pockets and fished out a necklace of some sort with rings hooked on it. Taemin had swooped just above him and caught the item when Jinki tossed it to him before Kibum could notice it was missing. The man didn’t seem to mind the missing item, too busy focusing on the food placed before him. Jinki swung his feet in the cool water before him, back against a tree and eyes steady on Kibum’s form. “You eat as if you have not in days.” 

           “I haven’t.” A bit of juice dribbled off his lips and down his chin, making Jinki wince slightly. Kibum wiped it off with the back of his hand as he continued, “The war has made it hard for food to be distributed to the ground troops.” 

           “War.” Jinki huffed. “You humans never seem to stop raging it.”

           “I cannot disagree with such a statement; however,” Kibum’s hand falls against the grass around the river, fingers tight around his peach. “The north attacked us. Are we not supposed to protect our homes? Our families?” 

           “Violence and destruction can always be prevented.”

           “There was no prevention! It was unprovoked.” 

           Jinki brings his legs up, wrapping his arms around them and resting his chin on the top of his knees. “War is not honorable. Whether you are the aggressor or not. My forest is here because your people have ruined your own land with this foolish destructive endeavor. There’s no honor in this.” 

           The peach in Kibum’s hand was smashed then, juice dripping down his fingers and palm as his voice rose in volume. “You have no right to question the honor behind everything while you sit here in your safe and lavish magical wood.”

           “And you have no right to judge me while you bathe in my waters and you eat my food.” Jinki stood, hands held in tight fists at his side. “I have witnessed many wars over my years, thousands of humans murdered by their own kind for useless materialistic reasonings and with each, the world suffers more. The Earth Mother and her creatures suffer because she decided to create such a selfish breed. I believe it is time for you to leave.” 

           Kibum slowly blinks before pulling himself from the water, lips pressed together for a moment before he abruptly turns on his heel and heads for his dried clothes. Jinki turns away as the cloth he had provided for the human falls away and he changes. “How will I know the way out?”

           “You will know when you see it.” Jinki calmly states, toes curling a little in the soft grass beneath him. He gestured to the gun, “Do not forget that invention of war.”

           “Thank you for your hospitality.” The man stands there in the glow of the setting sun for a few moments staring at Jinki before he slowly turns away. Jinki barely watches him disappear through the trees before he ventures to investigate his newly acquired treasure.

-----

           It’s only a few days before he feels another human approaching his forest. Even more intriguing is that the human feels familiar as if they’ve met before. Gazing from behind a tree, Jinki lets the human in through the barrier. Almost immediately he recognized them as the soldier he had taken the ring necklace from, Kibum. Jinki raises his brows as he steps out from his hiding spot, silently following the man as he storms through the forest. “Excuse me!” 

           Kibum jumps a foot off the ground as Jinki speaks. “There’s no need to yell, Sir.” 

           “Jesus Christ.” Kibum pants out. “You can’t sneak up on someone like that. I could have shot you.”

           “You cannot do that without this, can you?” Jinki flicks his wrist and the weapon that was once held within the man’s hand is tugged away. Cocking his head to the side, he curiously asks. “Is that someone...Jesus was it, important to you?”

           “What? I- that doesn’t matter.” Kibum bit his lower lip. “It took me two days to find this place again.”

           “You remember?”

           “Why wouldn’t I remember something like this?” 

           “No one ever has.” Jinki scanned the man’s form before waving his hand towards the woven archway that signified the exit. “All who ever leave here of human blood never recall what they have experienced.” When Kibum remains silent, Jinki ventures to question, hand tight on his staff in case something goes astray. “Why have you returned?”

           “I lost something while I was here and I was wondering if you’d allow me to look for it.”

           Jinki walked past him, planting his staff into the ground with each step. “Walk with me. Describe this, item. Maybe I have seen it.” 

           A few moments pass before he hears Kibum’s footsteps as he jogs to catch up. “It’s a necklace. It has two silver rings upon the chain.” 

-----

           A few hours later, upon retracing the path he had taken yesterday and not finding anything, Kibum felt the disappointment weigh down on him. His head was cradled between both of his palms, sounds of sorrow and words of disbelief leaving his lips as he curled into himself. “I can’t believe I lost it.” 

           “Why is such a simple thing so important to you that you would leave your fellow soldiers to find it?” 

           “It was my mother’s.” Kibum sniffles, wiping his nose with the back of his hand as he lifts his head to meet Jinki’s gaze. “The rings were her and my father’s wedding bands. It’s the last thing I have of theirs besides the photos locked away back home.”

           “Are they away on an adventure or something?”

           “They’re dead.” Kibum’s breathing shudders as his gaze lowers to his hands. “I am not sure how much of the world outside this you are aware of, but before this war, there was another. It was thought to be a war to end all wars, millions are believed to have been lost. My father and older brother died in such a war when I was only five or younger, leaving my mother being the only person I had left. She passed away just before the North attacked.”

           “If you have no one left, then what are you fighting to protect as you so claimed on our first meeting?” 

           When Kibum meets his gaze the sadness in his eyes is tinged with anger. “So the men I fight with do not have to go through what I’ve had to...to give the little girl who’s father just died yesterday, a safe place to grow up, a place he fought to protect. Because… that is what you do for your country.” 

           “I see.” Without removing his eyes from Kibum, Jinki reaches into his pocket and pulls out his fist. He opens it, palm up, as he says, “Then I apologize for having stolen this from you.” 

           His hand is shoved with the force that Kibum grasps it. The man stands directly above him, looming almost as he hisses. “How dare you! You had it on you the whole time! How could you!” 

           Jinki slowly rose, right hand limp at his side, but gripping his staff with the other as he calmly met Kibum’s fuming gaze. “I lure humans into my forest and I take whatever I wish from them.”

           “Do you have any shame?” A bit of spit flicks from Kibum’s lips as he speaks. “You speak of honor and yet you take what people hold valuable. How pathetic.” 

           Lifting his jaw, Jinki takes one step closer until Kibum is breathing down on him. “Your kind have taken my homeland from me, tried to kill me and burn this entire forest down so don’t you DARE stand here and attempt to make me feel sorry for trying to make up for the pain they’ve caused me by taking your little trinkets.” He stares at Kibum for a moment before turning away, squeezing his eyes shut and trying to get his breathing under control. “You have your necklace. Now please leave.” 

           When he doesn’t hear the man retreating, Jinki whips around, “Why are you still here?” 

           The gaze is different, soft and warm, an expression Jinki cannot place. “That scar… did a human do that to you?” 

           “Yes.”

           “I’m sorry.” Kibum avoids his gaze then as he clears his throat. “I shouldn’t have judged without knowing your story. We all have our demons.”

           “I don’t need or want your pity.” Flexing his fingers on his staff, Jinki spits out, “Why would a human care about my story?”

           “The pain one experiences shape who they are. I want to understand.” Kibum meets his gaze then. “Will you tell me about it?”

           His heart pounds in his chest as he replies, not expecting to concede to Kibum’s gaze. “Alright.”

----

           Kibum slowly rises from running his hand over the long-ago dried earth, the blackened soil of the only remnants of the scarred past. “Why did you return my necklace to me?”

           “No one has ever returned for something I have taken from them.” Jinki looks to his right, arms tight around his middle, and softly continues. “The last human I trusted with my world betrayed me. You are the first human to remember this place and...and I was weary of what someone like you could do for something they held so dear.” 

           “You were afraid I would hurt this world?”

           “Yes. I still am.”

           “I see.” Kibum turned, looking at the expanse of thick forest, the river twisting to the East, and the mountain line in the distance. “I understand why you are so protective of this place. It’s breathtaking. I would never do anything to put it at risk.” 

           “I have been told that before.”

           “You’ve never given anyone a chance to prove you wrong.” Kibum let out a little chuckle before turning his head to look at him. “What’s your name?”

           “Jinki.”

           “Well Jinki,” Kibum smiles sincerely as he turns to face him. “I apologize for the betrayal and destruction my kind has wrecked. I know you do not trust me, but I hope I at least have earned your mutual respect. Deep down, biologically, you and I aren’t that different. You would do anything to protect your home, and so would I for mine. Don’t misunderstand me for doing the same.” 

           “I suppose.”

           “That’s good enough.” Kibum softly smiled. “I guess I’ll get going. You won’t see me again. I will respect your wishes and keep this a secret.”

           “Is that so?”

           A few steps away Kibum looks back, shrugging. “You gave me back what means the most to me. The least I can do is to protect what is most dear to you. Goodbye Jinki.” 

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