Chapter 8; Force of Frost

A thick stream of blood falls from her forehead, but she watches, mesmerized, at the scene before her. Her ribs ache, many of them are probably broken, but the sight is beautiful--captivating. Fingers of ice curl up it’s body, freezing it in its place. The frost’s intricate and lacy, like a beautiful garment. As it creeps up the monsters body, it hardens, keeping the monster rooted to its spot. The frost reaches the tip of it’s horns, and with that, the thing is completely encompassed in the maze-like ice.

Minseok appears from behind the monster, his eyes wide and full of terror. “Did I--” he begins, but collapses to the ground, breaking leaves and twigs as he goes. Kyungsoo limps over and places a hand on the older boys shoulder, both of their gazes drift over to Su Min and Minseok’s mother. The world seems to stand still as they all struggle back to the town. “I did that?” Minseok asks, his voice trembling as he looks to Su Min for support.

She places a hand over her stomach and nods, grimacing. “Force of Frost. The second Divine Force.”

Minzy waits at the border of the town, and she slaps a hand over as she watches the four of them struggle up the side of the mountain. “Umma!” she screams, rushing towards her mother. The woman’s hair is falling out of her bun, dark blood matts her hair down, and she looks incredibly frail and weak in the fading sunlight. Tears fall from Minzy’s eyes as she embraces her mother. Minseok joins in, and he’s followed by two older men. Presumably the childrens older brother and father.

Su Min swallows back her pain, and surprisingly, jealousy. “You did good, Kyungsoo,” she notes, patting his back slightly. Kyungsoo smiles, almost cockily, and looks at her.

“Can I get that in writing?”

- - -

The smell of food cooking embraces the house like a warm blanket. The thatched roof keeps the heat in the house, and despite the snow outside, the interior of the house feels bright and safe. “Eat a lot, Su Min,” Minseok’s mother says as she sets a plate of food down in front of her. Su Min obeys, shoving the warm rice into . His mother pats her head lovingly, running her hand along Su Min’s hair. “Such a good girl.” she whispers before walking away.

“Minseok, your mother is the best.” Su Min declares, pointing her spoon at him accusingly.

He gives her a look full of disdain. “I prefer,” he begins, “to be called Xiumin.” Su Min rolls her eyes as she shoves her spoon back into the rice, shoveling another spoonful into . Her injuries, luckily, weren’t very severe. The town healer was able to fix her up practically in seconds. A great deal of effort was needed to calm the town down, as the notion of a maemeodeu being around was quite unnerving for them. And they were all very interested in Xiumin after his whole frost episode.

Kyungsoo works in the kitchen with Xiumin’s mother, cooking food for the whole family. They had declared that they owed their lives to them, although, it was there own son who did most of the work. Not that Su Min plans on declining their offer. “Yah, Su Min, you eat as much as a full grown boy!” Kyungsoo exclaims as he walks in, staring in awe at her empty bowl. She punches him in the gut angrily, her lips curling into a snarl.

Minzy walks into the room, clothed in blue robes, her hair tied into a bun with a thin dagger-like instrument placed through it. “Kyungsoo oppa!” she calls, running towards him and grabbing onto his arm. He raises his eyebrow, and Xiumin twists around in his seat to watch the two of them. “You’ll come back and marry me, right?” she asks, her big brown eyes sparkling.

“Ehm,”

Xiumin stands up with a start, enraged. “No!” he screams. “What are you thinking? You can’t marry him!” he exclaims, staring at his sister incredulously. Su Min leans back slightly, watching the chaos unfold with a smirk. Kyungsoo, who obviously had no intentions of accepting anyways, looks offended as he stares at Xiumin.

“What’s wrong with me!?” he yells, scowling. Su Min holds back a chuckle as she watches the two of them, with Minzy in the middle. She sends a pout towards her brother, but it has no affect on him. The two continue arguing until Xiumin’s parents walk in. At that point, everyone in the room falls silent. Mrs. Kim steps towards her son, embracing him in a firm hug.

“My baby, you must be safe, okay?”

Xiumin struggles out of his mother’s grasp and grabs her hands, a wistful smile on his face. “Don’t worry about me, Mom, I’m much stronger than these two.” he promises. A spark ignites in Su Min’s eyes and she puffs her chest out threateningly.

“Are you sure about that, punk, you wanna try me?”

“No, no thanks.”

His father steps forward and ruffles Su Min’s hair. He’s burly and broad-shouldered, with long hair tied back into a bun. “Please, keep my son safe.” he requests, his rough voice trembling ever-so slightly. Su Min stands and bows in an attempt to hide her own jealousy. To have parents like these, that love their child so much, parents who will always be there for their son. It’s beautiful, and Su Min can’t help but feel a little cold and angry towards Xiumin.

“I will.”

- - -

They scale down the mountain, Su Min in front with Xiumin and Kyungsoo following behind her. She’s outfit with enough weapons to supply an army, and the two of them wear large sacks on their bags; filled with food and other necessities provided by the towns people. They were generous, to say the least. “Su Min, don’t your feet hurt?” Xiumin asks, secretly wanting to stop himself.

“Not in the slightest,”

Kyungsoo pats Xiumin’s shoulder and sighs. “She’s always like this, you’ll get used to it.” he discloses. He nods, and glances back at his town, the fog covers most of it. But what he can see makes him miss home already. After all, this is the first time he’s ever done something like this. That is, leave his hometown. The thatched roofs and clay walls of the houses fade away, and the falling snow makes everything seem surreal. As if the town never even existed in the first place. But Xiumin knows it did, and this town, where he grew up, will remain known in his heart. Kyungsoo speeds up slightly, passing Xiumin and walking alongside Su Min. “Where are we headed next?”

“I--” she begins. Su Min pauses and stares out over the land, their current location is within an encirclement of trees. And the view is incredible, one can see for miles and miles from this point. Her eyes glaze over as a wave of nostalgia washes over her. “Honestly, I don’t know.”

Xiumin's Town