Little snowflake.

Part 1.

Once upon a time, in a kingdom hidden deep into the forest, far away from the human world, lived a little fairy.

It wasn't just any kind of fairy. It was a Winter fairy, and Winter fairies had that particularity that they only lived wherever you could find snow. Every year, they would awaken on the day of the first snow and go back to sleep as soon as the last snowflake was melted away by the Spring.

There had been a time where you could see them flying in the woods and across the rivers, trailing some of their magic shining powder behind them as they flapped their little wings elegantly. But those times were long gone, and it wasn't easy to find any fairy in the woods anymore. They had taken refuge far away from the humans, afraid of these creatures which where known to be mischievous and cruel, capturing fairies and using them for their magic.

The kingdom of Winter fairies was located somewhere in the Northern Territories, across the Frozen Lakes and beyond the White Mountains, there where the winter lasted the longest. They dwelt in the depth of the Lonely Forest, protected by the wilderness of the trees and nourished by the cold and thick coat of winter.

There, hidden from the outside world, lived our little fairy and his clan.

His name was Hyukjae and, unlike most of his kind, he was an adventurous fairy.

He had that one little thing that made him different from the others : his huge curiosity. While his peers wandered within their kingdom, frosting flowers and trees, or drawing ice patterns on the waters and over the stones, Hyukjae liked to escape from his home and explore the forest.

That year, the winter had come earlier than usual and Hyukjae had been among the firsts to awaken. Like a flower blooming at the arrival of Spring, he had slowly straightened his little body and unfolded his shining wings, stretching himself out of sleep. Then, his gaze had taken in the sight of the pure and untainted layer of snow covering the forest and he had quickly taken off in order to explore the depth of his homeland.

Day after day, he had gone from a place to another, always daring to fly a little further. He knew he wasn't allowed to cross the borders of the kingdom, but he did none-the-less and soon enough, he found himself flying towards the southern part of the forest.

He made sure to come home every morning, so that his clan wouldn't notice any of his little runways. Yet the others were used to his frequent disappearances and none ever tried to stop him from wandering out of the kingdom.

One day, though, Hyukjae realized he had ventured a little too far.

He had spent the whole morning and early afternoon around the Dark Blue Lake, flying low between the blades of grass, frosting them whenever they made contact with his fingers or his wings. He had crossed the path of a couple of rabbits looking for roots to eat and he had watched them for a while until a sudden, loud and creaking sound boomed from the nearest woods and caught his attention. 

It was a sound a bit like a thunder bolt and the ground shortly trembled under his feet. The rabbits nervously ran away while Hyukjae looked around carefully and tilted his head to the side, wondering what had happened. .

Curious, as always, he quickly flew to the closest pine and carefully jumped from a branch to another, and then from trees to trees. His wings tended to whistle a little whenever he flapped them and he wanted to be as silence as possible. He cautiously approached, getting further into the depth of the woods, and progressively some other sounds reached his pointy ears. Sounds he had never heard before, and which made him even more intrigued.

He soon reached a small clearing and stopped there. Hiding behind a branch, he scanned the surroundings. He knew he needed to be careful, because he was clearly beyond the borders of the fairies' realm and the magic of his kind wouldn't be able to protect him anymore.

His little heart missed a beat as he finally discovered what had caused all the noises. It was a human, a woodcutter, who had brought down a young and healthy oak and was about to cut it into pieces. He realized the loud sound from earlier had been caused by the tree crashing down to the ground.

Hyukjae knew he should be scared and run away. He knew what humans did to his kind. They captured them and locked them into small boxes, just so that they could harvest the powder from their wings and use their magic for whatever potions they needed to brew. Yet, as much as his instinct scream for him to run away, he found himself utterly mesmerized and fascinated, strangely unable to move from his spot. 

The human was young, he could tell even if he hadn't met so many men before. He had some warm brown hair, which was long enough to cover half of his face, and despite being a bit messy it looked soft as silk. His face was slim, his bone-cheeks high and his eyebrows slightly frowning. Hyukjae couldn't see his eyes from where he was, but he noticed that the mortal had a small nose and thin pink lips, from which small clouds of white smoke escaped every time he breathed out.

His skin was slightly tanned from what Hyukjae could tell. It was mostly hidden under a large and thick coat, adorning some fur collar circling the man's neck, to protect him from the coldness of the wind.

The little fairy didn't move for a while and simply stared, his eyes wide open, as the human moved around the cut tree and traced red marks over certain areas. Hyukjae wasn't sure why he was doing that, but he didn't care so much.

He couldn't take his eyes off him. It was as if he had been put under a spell. His gaze followed every move the mortal creature made, his eyes took in every detail of his slim and slender figure, and his heart couldn't stop pounding in his chest, both from nervousness and excitement.

He didn't know why he felt so deeply troubled. He had seen humans before, though he had never approached any of them. This human was like the others, dangerous and unpredictable, and yet something about him made Hyukjae completely hypnotized and strangely thrilled.

After an hour of secret spying, the sky was already turning dark and the man stopped whatever he was doing. Hyukjae stared as the other quickly picked up his belongings and placed them in a large grey bag. The human glanced around one last time before he walked away, taking the opposite direction from Hyukjae's tree.

The fairy found himself deeply conflicted. A part of him wanted to follow the mortal, but another kept reminding him how dangerous and unwise it was. In the end, he remained rooted to his spot, unable to move a single muscle. By the time he managed to snap out of his dazed state, the human was long gone and the sky had fully turned black.

With shaking legs, he stood up and flew back home, unable to calm the overwhelming feelings storming in his heart. None of his friends noticed anything different about him that night, but Hyukjae found himself quieter than usual. He spent the whole night gazing at the starry sky and the northern lights, unable to take his mind off his previous encounter.

The next morning, the sky was grey and cloudy, the air incredibly cold, and he smelt it would be a snowy day. The strange unsettled feeling was still tugging on his heart, making him restless. He tried to resist the unexplainable urge to see the human again, but he failed. Silent as a shadow, he sneaked out of the kingdom and crossed the borders as he headed back to the southern woods, hoping he would find the human in the same clearing.

Taking shortcuts and flying fast between the trees, it didn't take too long before he got across the distance. Yet, when he arrived, there was no sign of the mortal. The place was quiet and still, nothing had moved since the previous day.

Sighing with disappointment, Hyukjae flew a little closer. His wings whistled, breaking the silence around him. He elegantly landed on the laying tree trunk, right beside one of those strange red marks the human had traced.

He wondered what he should do. He knew he wasn't supposed to stay there, but he had secretly been fascinated by humans his whole life and he hadn't come across any in centuries. And the one he had met the day before had managed to make him even more intrigued.

He walked along the tree-trunk for a while, lost into his deep thoughts and struggling with his hesitations, not noticing the small trails of shining powder he spread on the cold wooden bark whenever he unconsciously flapped his wings. 

Then, all of a sudden, he heard footsteps approaching. The snow creaked under the newcomer's feet and the sound of rustling clothes reached his ears. He completely froze on the spot, his heart thumping furiously, until he realized the situation and quickly flew up to the nearest tree. He pressed himself against a branch and held his breath.

The human appeared a minute later. He was wearing a hat this time, covering the sides of his head. His cheeks were a bit rosy due to the chilliness of the morning's air, but other than that, he showed no sign of discomfort.

Hyukjae watched him intently as the human placed his big grey bag on the ground and proceeded to take out his tools. He had brought a bigger axe this time, and the fairy knew he would use it to cut the tree into smaller pieces.

After fumbling with his belongings for a while, the human finally turned around to face the laying oak. He took a couple steps closer, but then suddenly froze. Hyukjae blinked, wondering what was wrong.

The human leaned forward and ran his fingers over the tree's bark. He tilted his head to the side, brows frowning as if he was thinking hard about something. Then, he looked up and quickly glanced around him.

Hyukjae remained completely still, hidden behind his branch. His heart missed a beat when the human looked up and silently scanned the trees around him. The fairy should have felt utterly terrified when the human's gaze landed on the area where he was hiding, but as soon as he met the mortal's eyes he forgot about fears and danger.

The man had beautiful eyes. Hyukjae hadn't been able to see them properly the previous day but now that he had a perfect view of them, it left him speechless. The dark orbs were deep and impressive, and yet somehow soft. They were like two abysmal pits of sweet chocolate in which Hyukjae instantly drowned. Those were bewitching eyes, Hyukjae though, as he found himself deeply marvelled by their charm.

The mortal averted his gaze too soon for Hyukjae's liking.

The fairy brought a hand up to his chest and pressed his fingers over his heart, feeling the power of its beats under his skin. It was as if an arrow had pierced through his skin and touched his heart, as if he had been struck by the human's eyes. A warm and fuzzy sensation began to spread through his small body, invading his veins and taking over each of his cells. Something churned in his tummy, though he wasn't sure what was happening to him.

His heart kept racing as he observed the man who finally started his work over the dead tree. His gaze remained glued to the mortal's face the whole time and he found himself captivated by the other's every move and expressions.

The man busied himself over the tree for a while, using his axe to take down all the branches sticking from the trunk. Soon, he had to take off his hat and his coat, since he was obviously warming up and starting to sweat profusely from the physical efforts it asked from him. 

Hyukjae wasn't sure how it happened, but he found himself progressively moving a little closer. He desperately wanted to get a better sight, and maybe even be able to meet the man's gaze again. So, carefully, he climbed down from his branch and crept to another one, a meter lower. The man kept working, his muscles flexing every time he moved his axe a