Jiyong ruffled his hair as he awoke, throwing the blanket off as he stood. It was quiet. He made his way to the bathroom, quickly washing up. He would usually step out of the bathroom feeling refreshed, but today he just felt…tired. It was as if he hadn’t had a single wink of sleep – which was somewhat true. He woke up constantly, searching for any sign of Ara. But she was never there. He would run around the house, wondering if maybe she was just asleep on the couch. Sometimes he would stay up for an hour at most, waiting to see if she was only handling something within the forest before coming back to sleep next to him. He never thought he would miss seeing her shiver madly, as long as she was beside him. But she was never there. It was just…quiet. Hell, he swore he could hear a branch fall and the flap of birds’ wings by the deafening silence.

It was silent.
Always silent.

He was skipping pebbles on her pond like he had the first day he met her. He had been skipping rocks for almost an hour, hoping it would bring her out of the forest like it had that day. Maybe he thought it was the way to call her out, or maybe it was the way he thought would bring her back, but either way, he was only waiting there. Jiyong sighed as the music through his ear buds was the song he let Ara listen to before its release. He sat down where they always did together, staring at his empty side as if she would appear again if he sat their long enough.

Suddenly Jiyong felt a bright idea, cupping his mouth and yelling, “Loki!” He continuously yelled but there was no response. Quickly, he tried whistling the tune Ara always did to call the fox. He was getting desperate. If Loki didn’t respond, Jiyong would really want to pull the hairs out of his scalp. What if it was all his imagination? What if she wasn’t real? What if she was a figment of his imagination from his loneliness in the middle of nowhere?

Magic wasn’t real…and so Ara wasn’t either.

Maybe it was his fifth try – or was it his sixth? Loki cautiously appeared from the bushes, and as soon as he recognized Jiyong, the fox leapt into his arms. Jiyong swore he never felt so relieved. He cursed himself for even thinking Ara wasn’t real as he embraced the animal, the loneliness of spending only a single day without Ara filling him completely with sorrow. He let out a shaky breath as Loki rubbed the top of his head on Jiyong’s chin, knowing the animal felt just as saddened without Ara’s presence. As the sun was beginning to set, Jiyong lay down on the grass with the animal in his arms, his heart slowly beating as his lips mumbled over and over again.

“I’m sorry.”

He missed her.

He missed the way she would always appear behind him, hoping to scare him. He missed the way she slyly showed off her powers. He missed the way she always called him mortal. He missed the way she had her random moments of absolute confidence, and then was suddenly shy. He missed the way her first priority was the forest and the beings within it. He missed the sound of her giggle. He missed the brightness of her smile. He missed her green eyes and her pink hair. He missed the way she let out a breath of relief when he held her at night. He missed the way her face would turn red seeing him first thing in the morning. He missed the way her brows would furrow together in worry or confusion. He missed the way she would tear down his ego when it was getting too big. He missed the way she comforted when he felt small.

He missed the way she made him feel when her fingers brushed his skin. He missed the way he felt when she calmed in his arms at night. He missed the way she knew just how to make his face burn red. He missed the way she cleared the path when she took him into the forest so he would get hurt. He missed the way he always laughed with her. He missed the way he felt having company. He missed the way he felt showing her off to his friends. He missed the way his heart skipped a beat when she smiled at him. He missed the shiver that went through him when they touched. He missed the feeling of their lips coming together.

He missed her.

Jiyong distracted himself today. He spent almost every hour of the day making calls with his agency about what would be happening once he got back from his vacation in a wee