Sungjong really was an excellent cook! Or else… I think he was. The food in the Wood was so different than anything I had ever tasted before. I really didn’t have much to compare to.

It turns out that the old man on stage who had judged my story true was the Chief of the village. He only had two sons, Sungyeol and Sungjong. Sungyeol was the leader of the village Warriors, and was set to take the role of Chief once his father passed away. Sungjong was content staying as the dongsaeng. It meant he could spend as much time as he wanted with his plants, without having to worry about government, politics, or battle.

“Not that Sungyeol-hyung approves,” he added forlornly. “He always says I should learn up, in the event ‘something happens’ and I become Chief. But… I just can’t…”

I patted my new friend softly on the shoulder in support. He flashed me a sad smile.

Since they were a family of leaders, their treehouse was noticeably more palatial. There were quite a few extra rooms for me, Hoya, and Namu to stay in. After Sungjong fed me (and had one of the maids carry the leftovers to Hoya’s and Namu’s rooms), he asked if I wanted to go for a walk. I nodded yes.

“There’s a really cool place I want to show you,” he said as we made our way down the various bridges and ropes that connected the houses. “It’s kind of a…secret, though, of course Father and hyung know about it. It’ll be the first time an Outsider sees it… But I trust you!” Then, he met my eye. “And that means that you trust me too… right?”

I hesitated. But what about this transparent and innocent boy couldn’t I trust? So I nodded firmly.

He smiled widely. For the first time, I noticed that his teeth were rather pointy, each one whittled down to a sharp end. It almost struck me as odd.

“Good. Then, kaja!” he said.

We were on the village floor, and cut our way through the various ground-based houses until we were farther from that main path and the general din of the village quieted to a hush. Here, the grass stood taller, obviously less accustomed to being trampled by foot traffic. The earth dipped down a small, steep hill and the dewy grass threatened to make me slip, until finally we reached a small stone arch, tucked right into the hill. Sungjong waited for me until I got my footing.

“It sure is a nice night,” he commented, looking up at the stars. I followed suit.

“It’s beautiful.”

“Are you ready?”

I looked at him again, and he had a mischievous glint in his eye and an excited smile on his face. I hesitated again. He then traced a finger against the face of each stone in the arch, and as his touch passed, the stone would suddenly become engraved with a symbol. I watched in awe, and then read the finished message aloud.

“‘Because He knows, I know.’”

Then, suddenly, the earth below the stone arch sank into the hill, revealing a small passageway with stairs the led deep into the darkness. I gasped in surprise.

“You still have the Lumissero I gave you?”

“Oh yeah!”

I pulled out the bottle and handed it to Sungjong, letting him lead the way into the darkness. His eyes were lit up in excitement as he quickly and familiarly bounded down the stairs. I followed close behind him.

We landed at the floor of a deep and tall chasm. I gasped in awe. It could easily have fit the entire block of apartments that Sunggyu and I used to share. I took a step forward and found weight in my step. I realized that the ground was a sloshy, soft mud, and my shoes sank deep into them. The faint tinkle of water meant that a spring was nearby.

“Cool, isn’t it? Kaja! Let’s go to the water. Watch your step!”

I followed Sungjong deeper and deeper into the earth, the mud getting thicker and more difficult to walk in. A chill bounded off the walls with every step we took. Finally, we reached the main pool of the spring. I could just barely see that the water bubbled out of the deep ground in the center of the pool.

Sungjong knelt at its edge, and then pulled an empty bottle from his belt. “This water is the purest water on this Earth. It comes straight from the Earth’s core. And, it has many healing powers.” He scooped some up and then quickly downed the entire bottle. When he finished, he scooped up some more and handed it to me. “Go ahead. Try it.”

“What does it do?”

He smiled widely, eyes shining. “It hones your ‘Skill,’ as you Outsiders call it.”

I frowned. “But I don’t have a Skill.”

“Are you sure?”

I eyed the liquid in the bottle. It looked like normal water. I gulped it down in one go, and noticed that it was warm. As it trickled down my throat, I suddenly felt the warmth spread, first across my chest to my heart, then down to my extremities.

“Minji? Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I just feel… kind of funny…”

Then, the warmth hit my head. And the next moment, darkness swallowed me up.

***

I felt like I was in a furnace. I came to and was lying on my back. The heat sweltered around me, pricking at my skin and making me want to throw up. I rolled my eyelids open, and even the cave around me seemed to sizzle and burn, its bright light struggling to pierce the orange and red haze so that everything looked warped and wavy.

I frowned. Weren't we in a cave? Where was the light even coming from?

“Heh... hehe....” It was so quiet at first I thought it imagined it. But then, it grew louder. Laughter, I thought. Someone is laughing.

With much effort, I twisted my neck to look. Sungjong was sitting cross-legged just out of arms' reach, facing me. He was laughing harder and harder, one arm wrapped around his stomach, the other covering his eyes. He couldn't stop, he continued to get breathless, and it honestly creeped me out.

“What's so funny,” I asked, my voice dry and cracked in the heat.

He didn't hear. The creepy laughter grew louder.

“Yah, Sungjong. What's so funny?” I insisted.

At that, he finally stared at me, giving me a wide toothy grin. His sharp teeth glinted in the cavelight. I flinched at the eeriness of his glare.

“It's you, Minji,” he said. He took an excited, rattling breath, his eyes widening. “Ooh, you've done it now.”

I sat up, feeling scared. “Done what?”

“You've broken through his spell,” he said. “And now... Now there's no going back!!” At that, he burst into a fresh round of laughter, head rolling back, arms grabbing at his sides.

“Sungjong, I don't know what's going on. But...” I glanced back down the cave, trying to see the entrance through the heavy, sweltering haze. “Maybe I should go,” I said.

I turned back to Sungjong and flinched. His laughing had stopped, and now he leaned towards me in dead-pan seriousness, eyes incredibly wide and lips drawn tight.

“Sungjong?--”

“But I just told you,” he said, eyes unwavering. “There's no going back.”

“H-Huh?”

“A rabbit runs through the forest, evading a predator. It scurries through, and then halts. It almost runs into a girl on the trail. She, too, is startled, and for a moment they just stare at each other. Then, the girl smiles, maybe laughs in relief. Says something the rabbit doesn't know. But the rabbit knows what is coming behind him. The danger that will soon arrive. He needs to get the girl away, to make her turn around. Quickly! Before it arrives! He rushes a few steps towards her and then halts again. A signal. And then, what does the girl do? Does she understand? Do you think she can understand?!”

“I don't--”

“No! She decides there's something wrong with the rabbit and continues on. That is your problem. You kept going. Now. Give me your arm.”

“Wait, Sungjong, what are you saying? I don't unders--”

“Stop! Okay. I'll tell you another. In this world, there exists the person that you choose to be with and the person you were meant to be with. You will seek that second person out, and once you find him, you will do everything in your power to be with him. But at what cost? That is your problem. When your friends start dying around you and the world burns down to the ground, you will see. You will understand why you chose otherwise. And that's what is sad and funny. Because you already chose.”

I blinked hard. Even through the heat, a shock of ice slid down my spine. “Sungjong,” I whispered, stunned. “What are you saying--”

“Hush. I have already given you two. Now.” He squared his shoulders and tilted his head down, peeking up at me with a small, dangerous smile. In his eyes, I picked up the ghostly trace of a threat. “Give me your arm.”

I stared down at my wrist. There was something clearly wrong here. This wasn't the Sungjong I knew. I looked back up at him and shook my head. No, I thought.

The change was immediate. His face contorted into a demonic expression of loathing and ruthlessness. His throat gurgled in a strangled growl. And before I knew it, he pounced forward and tackled me.

I struggled against him, screaming and trying to push him away, but his thin frame was unyielding, willful and strong. He's gone crazy, I thought in all the rush. But then suddenly, his body went slack. I looked down and screamed.

At first glance, it almost looked like he was kissing my wrist. But then I felt the searing pain, and I knew otherwise. He was biting me. His jaw tightened around my forearm, his odd sharp teeth digging into my skin and muscle. I was too terrified to move, other than making a weak attempt to push his forehead away. I couldn't believe it. Even as my blood ran over his lips and down his jaw, I still couldn't believe it.

The heat sweltered around me, smothering me and playing with my vision, until finally my senses failed me. All I could remember was Namu's mischievous smirk, his words to me only earlier that day.

He will tell you exactly what will happen in your future, and no matter how you try to change it, it will always come true.

No matter how you try to change it, it will always come true.

–

Eek!