{ 3. } The Lost Village.
Bound Through the Crimson Butterfly
The sky gradually turned into a gloomy dark gray as they walked through the path. Youngmin stood there in front of the old torii for a time, beckoning the two to come and follow him. Once the crimson butterfly flew away again, the blond followed the little creature through a torii gate..and he disappeared in an instant.
Alarmed, Hyejin ran after him. "Y-Youngmin!" she cried out, running after her friend past the Shinto gate.
"Wait, H-Hyejin!" Kwangmin exclaimed before chasing after her and his twin. As he chased after them, a white flash blinded his eyes. "Agh!" he cried, rubbing his eyes yet again in order for him to see.
"I'm sorry.." a male voice said...a voice that sounded uncannily like a higher pitched version of his own voice. "I'm so sorry.."
"Huh?" he murmured under his breath, now turning his attention to the pale young man in a pristine white kimono standing in front of the torii gate, crying and apologizing to no one in particular. 'Weird.' The brunette slowly approached the boy, reaching a hand out to tap his shoulder.
"Hey, don't cry," he began to say in attempt to try and comfort the sobbing person, but he was cut off once he had touched him.
"Hey, don't cry," he began to say in attempt to try and comfort the sobbing person, but he was cut off once he had touched him.
At a flash, he was gone. The short haired male in Japanese-like clothing vanished without a trace, and only the moldy old torii was in front of him now.
"W..What?" he reacted, rather shocked. "Am I hallucinating..ugh. What the hell.." he murmured under his breath, passing through the gate and entering the area.
He caught up to them, standing near the edge of the hill they were apparently standing on. From the younger male's point of view, Youngmin looked..sober. He was staring at the eerie town they were overlooking..and obviously ignoring the two.
"Youngmin?" his twin said, waving a hand in front of his face. "Yoohoo."
"The..Ikimori Village.." Youngmin said solemnly. "The..Lost Village..my home.." At this statement he turned to face them, and as if by an unseen power, a mass of glowing crimson red butterflies sprouted from behind him and circled the boy a few times before flying away into the sky.
"..I don't know what you did for that to happen, but that wasn't very funny," scoffed Kwangmin, hitting his brother on the arm.
"Youngmin..Youngminnie..?" Hyejin tried, and luckily for them at the nickname Youngminnie, his blank and serious face softened and soon he was snapped out of his unusual trance.
"A..Ah! Hey! I told you never to call me Youngminnie, you little devil!" exclaimed Youngmin in his usual happy self, pulling the girl into a headlock with his arm. She laughed while trying to get herself out of the tight headlock.
"Why the hell were you ignoring us?" Kwangmin retorted, hitting his brother on the arm.
"Eh!? Ignoring you..? Why would I ignore you two?" said the older twin, eyes wide. "What are we doing here anyway? What is this place..?" he questioned, looking genuinely clueless.
"We were trying to call out to you, but no! You just kept following that stupid butterfly and got us here!"
"..Butterfly..?"
"Stop acting so innocent! Hyejin and I were so worried about you.."
"No, really. What the hell? I was just sitting by the stream and when I opened my eyes again, I was here with you guys," Youngmin reasoned with eyes that showed nothing but the truth. Then it must have been the truth...but Kwangmin refused to believe him.
"Stop acting! I know you did this on purpose to--"
"Please, stop fighting!" cut in Hyejin with a slight frown on her face. "This is no time to be fighting," she paused for a while, to see if they were listening. "I'm really scared right now of this creepy place especially since a ghost just ambushed me a while ago...a-and I don't doubt there will be more, so can we just go home and eat cookies..like nothing happened..?" the girl said quickly, breathing hastily. The twins looked at each other skeptically for a short moment before breaking into grins and hugging each other.
"Sorry 'bout that, Youngmin. Especially the overreacting part."
"No, I'm sorry. I...I shouldn't have joked about it," the blond said sheepishly, pulling their female friend into the hug too. "Forgive me?"
"Of course."
The girl smiled and chuckled. "Great! You two are on good terms again, as usual," she remarked, giving both a tight hug. "Now..can we please go home now..? I'm getting a chilly feeling just standing here, even if I'm with you guys.."
Youngmin shuddered a bit, frightened as he slapped her on the arm. "..Dammit Hyejin, don't do that to us!"
"I-I'm serious!" she exclaimed, taking the boys' hands in both of hers and pulling them to the faded red Shinto gate. "Let's get some cookies now, my mom made it fresh as always!" Once by the gate, she stopped, her now fearful eyes wandering around her surroundings frantically.
"Hyejin..?"
"There..uh..w-where is the way back home..?" she questioned, letting go of their hands and fiddling with her fingers.
"What are you talking about? Stop joking, it's right.." the brunette twin began, but was cut short when he saw it with his own eyes. "..God, no."
Beyond the Shinto gate, there was no path as far as they could see. Only a dense pack of trees were there. The path they were walking through, the path they were just standing on. It disappeared...as if it was never there.
"We're not lost, right? Please tell me we're not lost," Youngmin pleaded, running over closer to examine the gate.
"We're not lost! We're just.." Hyejin trailed off, biting her lower lip. "Uhm."
"We are hopelessly, unfortunately, and irreversibly lost," Kwangmin concluded, sighing deeply and crossing his arms together.
"I told you not to say that!" the older twin cried, kicking a post of the Shinto gate angrily. "I want to go home!"
"Then help us look for a way out," said the younger boy simply, shaking his head. "Don't unleash your anger here, we're just as lost as you are," he mumbled, scanning the environment, hoping to find someone who could help them. After all, from his spot, he could clearly see that they were in village territory. There was no one roaming the streets, no children laughing and playing around, and the place carried a creepy and ghostly atmosphere with the whole deserted and dark look...but there had to be someone here. At least someone. "Since we're in a village, maybe we can ask for help..."
"Ask for help? Here? Seriously, Kwangmin. Do you think anyone still lives in this deserted place..?!" exclaimed the blond, now observing their surroundings as well. "Look around you. Everything's old and looks like it hasn't been touched for centuries."
"...That is true. But you never know. I mean, look over there," Kwangmin said, pointing to a discarded leather satchel lying in the middle of a pathway that lead down the hill and into the village. The boy ran over to the bag and picked it up, examining the contents. "This looks pretty brand new compared to anything else. And look at these--" he put a hand inside the bag and dug around, pulling out two newspapers and a small photograph. "...The publishing date of this local newspaper..it was a week ago."
"Oh! I remember a particular headline..my mother was talking about it with our neighbor...uh," Hyejin spoke up, following her friend down the pathway to examine.
"Twenty-seven year old historian and surveyor Yang Hyunjae goes missing...search for him is still ongoing.." the brunette male read out loud, murmuring the rest of the news article to himself. "Oh..he was last seen surveying the forest for the mall..and he was also suspecting that the rumored derelict village that was wiped off the map is here, so he went off to look for it and was never seen since."
"Looks like we found that spooky village," laughed Youngmin, approaching the two crowding around the satchel.
"Seems like it. Think this is the place?" the younger boy asked, surveying the desolate area.
"Yang Hyunjae huh..oh. Pretty much. Hm, if that is here...then someone must have come looking for him," the female of the trio confirmed, peeking over the brunette's shoulder to see the documents.
"Apparently, yes," Kwangmin answered, revealing the photograph from under the newspaper article.
"Hey, I've seen their faces before..." Hyejin remarked, pointing to the faces and tapping them repeatedly with her index finger, trying to remember.
"Really?" the blond twin responded, now taking interest in the article and photograph too.
"...Yeah! Now I remember! Can't believe I forgot them for a minute there! Yang Hyunjae is our neighbor's son, and the girl with him is his girlfriend, Park Minah," she informed them, chuckling. "They always came home together, they gave each other kisses and hugs..they were the sweetest couple ever," the young teenage girl sighed dreamily, lost in her daydreams of true love. "If I remember correctly, Hyunjae-oppa spilled to me that he was going to propose to her in front of everyone in the park! So cute!"
"Lost in your playful fantasies again, huh. I pity the poor guy who'd love you so much that he'd do all of that for you, seems like too much work," Youngmin teased, winking playfully at his brother, who tensed up and froze at his place. She didn't seem to notice that though, as she smacked the older twin on the arm. "Ow!"
"Shut up! I'll find my special someone, just you wait Jo Youngmin!" Hyejin exclaimed, blushing furiously. "And plus, I'm only sixteen, come on."
"Sixteen, and no boyfriend or any experience on love. How lonely are you, Hyejin-pyon?! Why not be like me and explore? You've been forever hanging onto that guy you really won't tell us about..give it up and look for someone else like..oh I don't know, say, Kwangmin?"
"What?!" the aforementioned boy exclaimed, eyes wide.
"H-Huh..?" the girl squeaked, confused and red at the same time.
"He's obviously not a bad guy, and you know him really well! He's calm, sweet, charming...uh...whatever a girl wants! Hold on...how does that song go..uh. Oh! Uh..Lucky I'm in love with my best friend, lucky to...something something--" he began to sing, but was cut off by his twin.
"...Youngmin, come here," Kwangmin screeched, punching the blond's arm and slapping his hand over his brother's mouth to keep him from talking before pulling him a bit further down the path.
"Then help us look for a way out," said the younger boy simply, shaking his head. "Don't unleash your anger here, we're just as lost as you are," he mumbled, scanning the environment, hoping to find someone who could help them. After all, from his spot, he could clearly see that they were in village territory. There was no one roaming the streets, no children laughing and playing around, and the place carried a creepy and ghostly atmosphere with the whole deserted and dark look...but there had to be someone here. At least someone. "Since we're in a village, maybe we can ask for help..."
"Ask for help? Here? Seriously, Kwangmin. Do you think anyone still lives in this deserted place..?!" exclaimed the blond, now observing their surroundings as well. "Look around you. Everything's old and looks like it hasn't been touched for centuries."
"...That is true. But you never know. I mean, look over there," Kwangmin said, pointing to a discarded leather satchel lying in the middle of a pathway that lead down the hill and into the village. The boy ran over to the bag and picked it up, examining the contents. "This looks pretty brand new compared to anything else. And look at these--" he put a hand inside the bag and dug around, pulling out two newspapers and a small photograph. "...The publishing date of this local newspaper..it was a week ago."
"Oh! I remember a particular headline..my mother was talking about it with our neighbor...uh," Hyejin spoke up, following her friend down the pathway to examine.
"Twenty-seven year old historian and surveyor Yang Hyunjae goes missing...search for him is still ongoing.." the brunette male read out loud, murmuring the rest of the news article to himself. "Oh..he was last seen surveying the forest for the mall..and he was also suspecting that the rumored derelict village that was wiped off the map is here, so he went off to look for it and was never seen since."
"Looks like we found that spooky village," laughed Youngmin, approaching the two crowding around the satchel.
"Seems like it. Think this is the place?" the younger boy asked, surveying the desolate area.
"Yang Hyunjae huh..oh. Pretty much. Hm, if that is here...then someone must have come looking for him," the female of the trio confirmed, peeking over the brunette's shoulder to see the documents.
"Apparently, yes," Kwangmin answered, revealing the photograph from under the newspaper article.
"Hey, I've seen their faces before..." Hyejin remarked, pointing to the faces and tapping them repeatedly with her index finger, trying to remember.
"Really?" the blond twin responded, now taking interest in the article and photograph too.
"...Yeah! Now I remember! Can't believe I forgot them for a minute there! Yang Hyunjae is our neighbor's son, and the girl with him is his girlfriend, Park Minah," she informed them, chuckling. "They always came home together, they gave each other kisses and hugs..they were the sweetest couple ever," the young teenage girl sighed dreamily, lost in her daydreams of true love. "If I remember correctly, Hyunjae-oppa spilled to me that he was going to propose to her in front of everyone in the park! So cute!"
"Lost in your playful fantasies again, huh. I pity the poor guy who'd love you so much that he'd do all of that for you, seems like too much work," Youngmin teased, winking playfully at his brother, who tensed up and froze at his place. She didn't seem to notice that though, as she smacked the older twin on the arm. "Ow!"
"Shut up! I'll find my special someone, just you wait Jo Youngmin!" Hyejin exclaimed, blushing furiously. "And plus, I'm only sixteen, come on."
"Sixteen, and no boyfriend or any experience on love. How lonely are you, Hyejin-pyon?! Why not be like me and explore? You've been forever hanging onto that guy you really won't tell us about..give it up and look for someone else like..oh I don't know, say, Kwangmin?"
"What?!" the aforementioned boy exclaimed, eyes wide.
"H-Huh..?" the girl squeaked, confused and red at the same time.
"He's obviously not a bad guy, and you know him really well! He's calm, sweet, charming...uh...whatever a girl wants! Hold on...how does that song go..uh. Oh! Uh..Lucky I'm in love with my best friend, lucky to...something something--" he began to sing, but was cut off by his twin.
"...Youngmin, come here," Kwangmin screeched, punching the blond's arm and slapping his hand over his brother's mouth to keep him from talking before pulling him a bit further down the path.
- - - - - - - - - -
Once they were at a considerably far distance, the younger sighed heavily before letting go of his twin.
"Kwangmin, what was that for?!" exclaimed Youngmin, rubbing his arm, hoping to alleviate the pain. "Oww."
"What do you think you're doing?!"
"Trying to hint at Hyejin-pyon to go for you, why?"
"I'd prefer to hint at her myself, thanks. She also likes--"
"You haven't made a move on her ever since you realized you liked her more than best friends should. It doesn't help that she's dense to the core, and overly pessimistic about her love life! A big bro's gotta do what a big bro's gotta do, and one of those things is get his little brother a girl," the blond male proclaimed proudly.
"Oh please, you're older by six minutes," quipped the younger, rolling his eyes.
"I'm still the elder one."
"...Stay out of this, I'll tell her myself. Really."
"You sure? The last time you said that you totally chickened out--" Youngmin was interrupted by Hyejin's voice and footsteps approaching them quickly as she was walking briskly, like she was trying to get away from something. She was carrying the satchel along with her as well, as she thought that she would return it to Minah...if she could find her.
"G-Guys..? I-I don't know about you two b-but...I'm really scared of this place. I can feel some..uh..er, s-spiritual hostility here..and it's really making me shudder. Please don't leave me like that again..." she murmured, already rather paranoid as she gripped on the sleeve of Kwangmin's polo.
"S-Sorry. We're here for you now," the brunette reassured her, patting her head and giving her a comforting hug. Hyejin smiled, and played with her fingers before breaking apart and mouthing a "Thank you, Kwangmin." with her lips. He felt a hand on his shoulder, and he assumed it was Youngmin hoping to ease the bit of tension in the air. It was cold..but it didn't matter. Maybe his twin really still did care..it was silly of him to doubt it.
"Aww--oh look, a house. Maybe someone's hiding! Come out, we do not wish to harm you!" the blond boy's deep voice called out, running to entrance of the two-story house on their left. Their female companion followed soon thereafter as the older twin knocked on the door.
"Anyone here?" said the older male, knocking on the door repeatedly.
'Wait. Hold on. Something's..out of place here. Something...really..out of place.' Kwangmin pondered for a moment before realizing that the hand on his shoulder..
It was still there...touching him. It wasn't hovering over his shoulder...it was on his shoulder. Cold, creepy...it sent chills up his spine.
"Who's there!?" the boy yelled, turning his body to the other side to see who this mystery person was.
There was no one there. Only the dirt path, an odd mini-statue and the silhouette of the huge trees.
"...Kwangmin, are you okay?" Hyejin asked, immediately running to his aid. "You just screamed out of nowhere..."
"You okay? You seemed really fazed," commented his older twin, scratching the top of his head in confusion.
Kwangmin shook his head a few times, trying to snap himself out of his hallucinations. "I'm...I'm fine. Just...hallucinating."
"Will you be okay?" she questioned, sounding absolutely worried.
"I will. Thanks for your concern though," he replied, smiling warmly at her to make her stop worrying.
"D'aww. Alright! Now, come with me! And plus, it's so awkward watching you two from my spot. Get your butts over here!" exclaimed Youngmin with a foolish grin, pushing open the door.
Hyejin chuckled, then took Kwangmin's hand in hers and started to pull him to the door. "Before Youngmin gets himself into trouble."
"Right," he responded, chuckling lightly as they ran to the house. They just need to ask for directions, and go home. A simple task.
Something bothered him though. From the corner of his eye...he could swear that there were a pair of deep black eyes staring at them from the slotted window. Eyes that were dead, and showed no life.
The eyes only sent a jolt of fright through his body.
It was as if it was warning them to get out..
"Kwangmin, what was that for?!" exclaimed Youngmin, rubbing his arm, hoping to alleviate the pain. "Oww."
"What do you think you're doing?!"
"Trying to hint at Hyejin-pyon to go for you, why?"
"I'd prefer to hint at her myself, thanks. She also likes--"
"You haven't made a move on her ever since you realized you liked her more than best friends should. It doesn't help that she's dense to the core, and overly pessimistic about her love life! A big bro's gotta do what a big bro's gotta do, and one of those things is get his little brother a girl," the blond male proclaimed proudly.
"Oh please, you're older by six minutes," quipped the younger, rolling his eyes.
"I'm still the elder one."
"...Stay out of this, I'll tell her myself. Really."
"You sure? The last time you said that you totally chickened out--" Youngmin was interrupted by Hyejin's voice and footsteps approaching them quickly as she was walking briskly, like she was trying to get away from something. She was carrying the satchel along with her as well, as she thought that she would return it to Minah...if she could find her.
"G-Guys..? I-I don't know about you two b-but...I'm really scared of this place. I can feel some..uh..er, s-spiritual hostility here..and it's really making me shudder. Please don't leave me like that again..." she murmured, already rather paranoid as she gripped on the sleeve of Kwangmin's polo.
"S-Sorry. We're here for you now," the brunette reassured her, patting her head and giving her a comforting hug. Hyejin smiled, and played with her fingers before breaking apart and mouthing a "Thank you, Kwangmin." with her lips. He felt a hand on his shoulder, and he assumed it was Youngmin hoping to ease the bit of tension in the air. It was cold..but it didn't matter. Maybe his twin really still did care..it was silly of him to doubt it.
"Aww--oh look, a house. Maybe someone's hiding! Come out, we do not wish to harm you!" the blond boy's deep voice called out, running to entrance of the two-story house on their left. Their female companion followed soon thereafter as the older twin knocked on the door.
"Anyone here?" said the older male, knocking on the door repeatedly.
'Wait. Hold on. Something's..out of place here. Something...really..out of place.' Kwangmin pondered for a moment before realizing that the hand on his shoulder..
It was still there...touching him. It wasn't hovering over his shoulder...it was on his shoulder. Cold, creepy...it sent chills up his spine.
"Who's there!?" the boy yelled, turning his body to the other side to see who this mystery person was.
There was no one there. Only the dirt path, an odd mini-statue and the silhouette of the huge trees.
"...Kwangmin, are you okay?" Hyejin asked, immediately running to his aid. "You just screamed out of nowhere..."
"You okay? You seemed really fazed," commented his older twin, scratching the top of his head in confusion.
Kwangmin shook his head a few times, trying to snap himself out of his hallucinations. "I'm...I'm fine. Just...hallucinating."
"Will you be okay?" she questioned, sounding absolutely worried.
"I will. Thanks for your concern though," he replied, smiling warmly at her to make her stop worrying.
"D'aww. Alright! Now, come with me! And plus, it's so awkward watching you two from my spot. Get your butts over here!" exclaimed Youngmin with a foolish grin, pushing open the door.
Hyejin chuckled, then took Kwangmin's hand in hers and started to pull him to the door. "Before Youngmin gets himself into trouble."
"Right," he responded, chuckling lightly as they ran to the house. They just need to ask for directions, and go home. A simple task.
Something bothered him though. From the corner of his eye...he could swear that there were a pair of deep black eyes staring at them from the slotted window. Eyes that were dead, and showed no life.
The eyes only sent a jolt of fright through his body.
It was as if it was warning them to get out..
E n d C h a p t e r Three.
Here's a GIF of the butterflies~and the original twins from the game. xD Just to give an idea of what it looks kind of like. :)
Maybe I'll try to include GIFs from now on? Haha. I feel like I can't explain some things very well..so I'll put up some GIFs! 8D
If you want something in GIF form, don't hesitate to ask. I'll be happy to take a small part for you to help you on your reading. ^A^
I'll still try my best to write though, of course! 8D The words make up the story, after all.
For now, enjoy the pretty butterflies~
Author's Note:
Yes, finally! UPDATEEEE. xD Sorry for the very slow updates. ; n; I've been quite busy..but I will try to update whenever I can!
And yes, I know this chapter is rather long..well, they talk a lot. That's one factor. xD There's an explosion of events right there as welll..but I really do hope you will all enjoy this chapter! :) Well..there's a bit of crushing going on, but you will all find out that it is also rather essential to the plot.
Kind of. 8D Heee.
Keep your eyes peeled for future updates! And thank you for staying with me~♥
Comment, subscribe~xD
~Kyru
And yes, I know this chapter is rather long..well, they talk a lot. That's one factor. xD There's an explosion of events right there as welll..but I really do hope you will all enjoy this chapter! :) Well..there's a bit of crushing going on, but you will all find out that it is also rather essential to the plot.
Kind of. 8D Heee.
Keep your eyes peeled for future updates! And thank you for staying with me~♥
Comment, subscribe~xD
~Kyru
Here's a GIF of the butterflies~and the original twins from the game. xD Just to give an idea of what it looks kind of like. :)
Maybe I'll try to include GIFs from now on? Haha. I feel like I can't explain some things very well..so I'll put up some GIFs! 8D
If you want something in GIF form, don't hesitate to ask. I'll be happy to take a small part for you to help you on your reading. ^A^
I'll still try my best to write though, of course! 8D The words make up the story, after all.
For now, enjoy the pretty butterflies~
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