"Tell us again exactly what he looked like," Wonshik commands, looking down at Sanghyuk. He sighs, and stands from the river bank.

"Bright red hair, tanned skin, red eyes. He evaporated the water when he touched it, and he seemed to be in pain because of it. He disappeared into fire before I could ask any more," he answers, as the river moves over his feet.

"Pyroead," Taekwoon states, and the other three nymphs tense.

"We can't have one of those in our forest," Hongbin seemingly growls.

"We know that," Jaehwan speaks, before leaning against a tree.

"What's a pyroead?" Sanghyuk asks, looking at all of them.

"A fire nymph. Legends say that if one shows up, the forest will burn by the end of the season," Wonshik explains, pacing afterward.

"The legends could be wrong. Death and forms of it happen all the time here," Sanghyuk counters, frowning deeply.

"Death is different than the pure destruction which pyroeads bring. The forest would be gone, and you might be the only nymph left. You haven't even been here a whole cycle yet," Taekwoon whispers, looking at Sanghyuk.

"We could remove him," Hongbin states, looking at them.

"You know how hard that it is," Jaehwan speaks, almost floating upward.

"It's hard to find a source, but not impossible," Wonshik counters.

"Source?" Sanghyuk asks.

"It's where a nymph originates. The beginning of a river, or the first tree of a forest," Hongbin explains, staring at him. Sanghyuk nods, quickly understanding.

"We just need to get this pyroead's source, and destroy it before it destroys us," Taekwoon whispers, sending shivers down Sanghyuk's spine.

Sanghyuk plays with the plants growing along the edge of the river. An orange flower blooms from one, and he smiles brightly.

"Pretty," a familiar voice whispers. Sanghyuk looks up to find the pyroead before him.

"You're here. You shouldn't be here," Sanghyuk whispers, rising up.

"You know what I am, don't you?" He asks, casting his eyes down. His red hair falls into his eyes.

"Pyroead," Sanghyuk whispers, moving into the water.

"Yeah," he confirms, kneeling by the flower. He moves close to it, ghosting his fingers over the petals.

"What are you doing here?" Sanghyuk asks. The pyroead exhales, and moves away from the flower.

"I need your help," he speaks, sitting down on the stone ground. He remains on the rocks, and avoids the few plants which grown in between the rocks.

"I wouldn't know how," Sanghyuk replies, sitting inside the river. "I don't even know anything else about you."

"I go by Hakyeon. I am a pyroead. That is all you need to know," he whispers, looking back at Sanghyuk.

"Are you going to destroy the forest?" Sanghyuk asks, looking up at him.

"I hope not. I can't truly control myself when I am flame," Hakyeon answers, shrugging his shoulders.

"What does that mean?" Sanghyuk questions. Hakyeon sits, careful to avoid plants and the water. He sighs.

"Yes. I burn things, but I have to. If I don't, everything becomes overcrowded. I have one more chance," he whispers, rubbing his arms.

"One more chance? To do what?"

"To successfully burn. Pyroeads get five chances to burn correctly. I've done it four times. If we do it correctly once, we stay, and claim the forest as our own. We fade away if we don't. Only able to hope for a human-made flame."

Sanghyuk crawls out of his water. He sits beside Hakyeon, pulling his legs up to his chest. He tilts his head, and reaches out to grab Hakyeon's hand. "You can do it."

"Thanks," Hakyeon whispers, setting his hand on the rocks. Sanghyuk lays his own on it, smiling weakly.

"So, you're going to make this forest burn," he states, looking up at the trees. Hakyeon follows his vision, smiling weakly.

"Yeah. I'll try to follow the path laid out for me," he speaks, looking back at Sanghyuk.

Sanghyuk stands on the river. Barely frozen ice lays under the balls of his feet. He smiles, and watches the fish and plant-life underneath the blue surface. He steps along, old ice melting, new ice forming. His right hand clasps his left wrist. His left palm is slightly pink from holding Hakyeon's hand.

"Cute."

Sanghyuk stumbles, and falls into the water. Hakyeon laughs from the bank. Sanghyuk decides that it's warm like the fire he controls. He swims over to Hakyeon, smiling at him.

"Hey," he greets, standing up. He shakes his head, spraying water everywhere. Hakyeon laughs again, holding his hands in front his face.

"Hey," he greets back, pulling his hands back down. His sighs, and looks down.

"What's wrong?" Sanghyuk asks, pushing his hair back. Hakyeon sighs again.

"I think I'm about to burn soon. I just feel it," he confesses, blinking up at Sanghyuk.

"Oh," Sanghyuk utters. Hakyeon shrugs.

"How about you? How are you feeling?" He asks, smiling at Sanghyuk.

"The other nymphs are looking for your source. I'm worried for you. You seem like you'd be wonderful. They just don't see that," Sanghyuk whispers, blinking slowly. Hakyeon nods.

"That always seems to happen. I'll be fine," he speaks, moving closer to Sanghyuk. He grabs Sanghyuk's hand, squinting at the pink skin. "What happened?"

"You burned me when we held hands," Sanghyuk confesses. Hakyeon drops his hand, backing away.

"Sorry. Maybe I should just fade. I'm nothing but destructive," he whispers, frowning deeply. Sanghyuk stomps, drawing Hakyeon's attention up to him.

"You are not destructive. You're just inexperienced," Sanghyuk speaks, shifting awkwardly after. Hakyeon smiling weakly at him again.

"Thank you," he speaks. Sanghyuk nods, and watches the woods. Familiar voices walk to him. His eyes widen, as Taekwoon and Wonshik walk out to the river.

"Sanghyuk, who is that?" Wonshik asks, nodding at Hakyeon. Sanghyuk panics, and looks at Hakyeon.

"I'm Hakyeon. I am the pyroead that you don't wish to have here," Hakyeon speaks, nodding at them. Taekwoon's hands curl into fists, glaring at Hakyeon.

"You're the one that's going to burn our forest to the ground," he growls, scowling at him.

"I am not going to burn the forest to the ground. I burn off the overgrowth. I remove the dead things, and make space for new ones to grow," Hakyeon says back, locking eyes with Taekwoon.

"Lies," Wonshik counters, pulling Taekwoon back. Hakyeon huffs, glaring at them both.

"I'm sick of nymphs just thinking I'm going to burn everything to the ground," he growls, curling his own hands into fists. Sanghyuk watches him, noticing the steam rising from his skin.

"Hakyeon? You're steaming," he whispers, watching the amount increase. Hakyeon exhales, as his skin catches fire. He pulls up his arms to look at them.

"Well, I was right about it being soon," he speaks, letting them drop. He walks to Sanghyuk, and gently cups his cheek. It burns the skin. "Thank you for believing in me."

Sanghyuk smiles weakly, as the hand pulls back. Hakyeon allows the flames to consume his body. He disappears in a burst of fiery light.

Sanghyuk cups his own cheek, feeling the heat from the burn. He looks to Taekwoon and Wonshik. "I trust him."

"We don't. We need to get the creatures safe, save as many as possible," Wonshik says, grabbing Taekwoon's arm and pulling him back into the forest. Sanghyuk sighs, and moves to sink into the water.