She ran as fast as she could. She needed to get out of that place as soon as possible but the huge forest was making it hard for her. She kept on running without really knowing where to go. She kept on running without really knowing why she was feeling scared that moment. She felt like she's being watched by someone. She was not even sure if it was a someone. All she knew was that she had to get out of the forest and be back to the safety of her grandmother's house.

She was lost inside the forest with the tall trees surrounding her. She doesn't know where to go. She felt like crying and she started blaming her own curiosity about the place. Her grandmother once told her to never go to that place but she still went and now, she's regretting that fact that she didn't listen to her grandmother.

It was getting dark and she still wasn't able to find her way out. She started walking because she was too tired from all the running she had done. To rest was in the last on her to-do list, though. She can't stay there anymore. Not when she was feeling so scared. She almost cursed herself for letting her curiosity get the best of her. She should have been obedient but the adventurous part of her just won't let her stay still.

After hours of walking around, she felt like her body can't take it anymore. She was too hungry for she had skipped her lunch. Her energy was depleting and it was not doing any good for her. That's when she decided to finally take a rest. She chose to stay beside a big tree and sat on one of its roots. She was so scared, hungry and cold. She hugged herself as she forced herself to sleep. Maybe, just maybe, when she wakes up, she'd be on her grandmother's house again.

But of course, it wasn't a dream.

When she woke up, it was still dark and the full moon can be seen clearly in her place. There was also a small fire a meter or two away from her, which she doesn't remembered making. She felt more scared by then. She almost had a heart attack when she heard someone spoke.

"You're awake." It was a voice of a man. She looked behind her and indeed, a man was standing there. He was holding something which she still can't see despite the small light coming from the fire.

"Here." The man walked towards her and offered that something to her. "I got this for you. They're blueberries. Don't worry, it's safe."

She doesn't know why but she felt like she can trust him so she got the blueberries from his hands and started eating them. She watched as he sat on the opposite side of the fire. She can't help but stare at his face―doe-like eyes, sharp jawline, pointed nose, small lips. He's probably around my age, she thought. But what is he doing here? Is he a hard-headed teen like me?

"I live here." The guy told her as if he could read minds. She stopped eating and stared at him in disbelief. How can he live in a scary place like that anyway?

"It's not as scary as you think." He smiled at her. A gentle smile she could have swooned over if not for the fact that his mind reading ability was scaring the hell out of her. It's probably because of the books she had read before that she started thinking he's a supernatural being. She quickly got rid of that thought, though. Those things aren't true.

"Sometimes, you have to believe in the impossible." He blurted out.

"What are you?" She asked him.

"I'm a boy, can't you tell?" He grinned. She scoffed at him. He's obviously playing some games with her judging by how his eyes had this playful sparks in them.

"Of course I do." She scrunched her nose. "But do you have a supernatural ability like reading minds, perhaps?"

"Not really. You're just very transparent, Miss―?"

"Seohyun."

"Right. You're very transparent, Miss Seohyun. I can tell what you're thinking just by looking at your eyes and your expression." He explained, in which she just nodded in understanding although it still creeped her out.

"You don't have to call me miss. What's your name?" She asked him as she finally finished eating the blueberries. She was thankful that she was able to feed her grumbling stomach. She owed him a lot.

"You can call me Luhan."

They started talking about random stuff. It was mostly her asking him questions in which he just answered briefly. Seohyun got the idea that he doesn't really want to tell her that much about himself but being the girl that she was, she just started blabbering about herself―how her grandmother told her not to go to that forest, how she started calling it the forbidden forest, how she started really getting curious on what's inside it that makes it forbidden and how she ended up being stuck in the middle of it. He chuckled once she started telling him how scared she was for being alone and how glad she was when she woke up seeing him with the blueberries that feed the anacondas inside my stomach so thank you, really.

"What's so funny, Luhan?" She eyed him.

"Nothing, really. I just find you cute." He smiled. That gentle smile again and she finally allowed herself to swooned over it. Who knew when she's going to meet someone with a smile that could―of course, not literally―light up the darkness in that forest, anyway?

"I know I'm handsome but can you please not look at me like that?" He suddenly said and Seohyun swore, she can see his cheeks getting red. "It makes me nervous."

"Somehow, I find that statement funny." She giggled. "How can you boast about your looks then tell me I make you nervous?"

"It's just that you're the first one to look at me like that. I've never had a friend before." He looked away.

"Why? Because you live here?"

"Yes. Everyone in the city, not only your grandmother, forbid their children or relatives to go here. You're actually the very first person I met." He explained as he started playing with the dried leaves around him.

"Then I guess going here is not that bad at all." She smiled at him. "I was glad that I met you too. It's been so long since I actually had someone to talk to."

"What do you mean? I bet you have a lot of friends." He looked at her intently. Her smile turned bitter.

"You might be right but you see, I don't really have a close friend which I can talk to about everything. They always see me as Seohyun―the math geek, the bookworm, the Einstein of the school. I can never be just Seohyun." She explained, still with that bitter smile on her face.

"Don't smile like that. It doesn't suit your pretty face."

"Hey! You can't fall for me that fast!" She giggled, turning the serious mood into a lively one once again. He blushed upon hearing that which made her giggled more.

"Well, y-you can't fall for me that fast too! I've seen you looking at me like you want to have every bit of me earlier!" He countered.

They began teasing each other as if they had known each other for years. She was surprised that she actually felt comfortable with him that fast because she was known in her school to be awkward with strangers. With him, she felt at ease. But there's still something that was bothering her. She felt like there was something with him, something that was probably unexplainable so she chose to just ignore it. She'd probably just wait until he finally felt comfortable telling her what that is.

It was really late―around midnight as what he had said―and Seohyun felt the sleepiness and tiredness overcoming her system. She yawned, in which she quickly covered upon realizing he was staring at her. He just smiled at her, as if telling her it's okay.

"You should sleep. And I must go now." He said before he stood up and started walking away.

That's when Seohyun realized how stupid she was. She could have asked him to help her get out of the forest instead of telling him how her life was like. And now, he's going and was about to leave her alone. She stood up too and ran after him. She held his wrist to stop him from walking. He turned around and smiled sadly at her, which actually confused her but she decided not to ask him about it. She needed to ask him for more important things.

"Can you help me get out of here?" She asked him.

"I can't." He looked down. "But tomorrow, be sure to wake up before the sun rise. You'll find a deer. It's going to help you."

"Why?" She asked because she doesn't really understand why he can't help her and why would a deer help her during the dawn.

"Sometimes, some questions are better left unanswered." He whispered. "I don't want to scare you so just believe in me. I promise, you'd be out of here tomorrow."

And then he went away.

Seohyun didn't sleep that night. Instead, she waited for the deer that will help her. True enough, it came and it guided her out of the forest. There was something familiar with the deer, though. Something she can't really point out but she just shrugged the idea, thinking she just lacked sleep and was tired. When she was finally out of the forest, the deer quickly ran away from her. She just watched it went away. It's not like she can talk to it and thank it for helping her anyway. She started walking towards her grandmother's house which is actually just near the said forest. She gulped in nervousness as she saw her grandmother waiting for her outside the house.

"Did you saw him?" Her grandmother asked her. She was about to ask her who when she remembered Luhan.

"I did. You knew him?" She asked back.

Her grandmother nodded and smiled at her, which surprised her because she was expecting the old lady to be mad at her.

"He must have liked you then."

"Who is he really, grandma? What is he?"

"He's the prince of the forest―the deer of the dawn."

And she might have understood it a bit because sometimes, you really have to believe in the impossible.

END