“Hyukjae, I heard you’ve been wandering around alone recently…” The elder council member began, stepping beside Hyukjae on the balcony.

“Mm.” Hyukjae replies monotonously, not even shifting his gaze

“You know your mother doesn’t like it when you do that. The region has become unsteady now, a lot of unwelcome visitors are making their way here, and we have no clue how or why-“

“Yeah, I get it, father. It’s not safe; mom doesn’t want me to get hurt. I need to get out and walk around…” Hyukjae interrupts, as he turns around and begins to pace towards his room door.

“Not only your mother, hyukjae, me as well. Take two guards with you,” The council member calls after his son, signalling two of his men to follow the young man.

“chyeah. Okay.” Hyukjae mumbles under his breath.

                He walks past the courtyard and took one step out from the gate, he sighs in relief. Finally, I can breathe. He walks a couple more steps before he remembering that he was being followed. He turns abruptly, slightly scaring the two armoured men behind him. And these two were supposed to be protecting me. I’d probably be safer with a dog or something. Hyukjae stares at them, his annoyance pouring from his eyes, waiting for one of them to speak. When nothing was said from the two shiny followers, Hyukjae finally speaks.

“I can take care of myself from here. Go back to the palace; they’ll probably need more help there than I will.” He orders casually.

“But… we were ordered to-“

“Do I not look like I can handle have myself?” Hyukjae snaps, getting impatient. The two guards have no reaction. He sighs before walking to one of the guards rashly. He pulls the sword and sheathe off of the frozen guard.

 “I’ll take this with me, okay? I know how to use these; I’ve been practicing since I was six. I can probably use these better than both of you can, so you can go. I’ll be fine.” Hyukjae persuades, speaking as gently as possible. The two guards look at each other uneasily, before looking back at the blonde haired boy. The boy sighs, turning around to walk further into the forest, after three steps he can hear the clinking of metal armour behind him.

“God! Do you need me to show you I can use the sword?!” Hyukjae growls as he pulls the blade out from the sheathe. The two guards flinch back a little, but still say nothing. “You guys can go take a break. Go rest, eat, sleep or something. Anything. I just don’t want to hear the sound of your steps following mine anymore.”  Hyukjae states flatly, trying to sound less vicious.

                Without any more hesitation, the two shiny outfits of armour turn around and walk back in through the palace gates. Hyukjae watches them disappear into the palace before he places the sword by his side. With an uplifting sigh, he stretches his arms as he turns around and steps into the forest.

                Hyukjae walks in silence, wandering aimlessly in the familiar space; he always enjoyed venturing out into this forest ever since he was a kid. One reason is because he always found something new and interesting here, and secondly, because it was isolated from everywhere and everything else. This forest was very mysterious, and for the most part, abandoned. Ever since he was a child, he’d been told that this forest was prohibited; nobody and nothing could enter. Why?  It’s simple really, in this forest there are several gateways to the other world opposite to their own.  Where people and demons were of one kind, where people were poor and uncivilized, where dark creatures roamed the grounds, where the skies never met sunlight. Hyukjae has only once seen a creature from the other world, and he had to admit, it looked both fearsome and gruesome. It did not speak any language; it only growled and roared, its voice mangled and croaky. The court killed that creature for trespassing into their world boundary, but before it died, it said that the division will end; soon the worlds will be as one. What this meant, Hyukjae had no clue, so he never bothered to occupy himself with thinking about it. What he and everyone else was told remained a fact about the beings of the other world:  Those creatures aren’t like them, they are creations of the devil’s design.

                Like any other day, Hyukjae stumbled upon a new area of the forest and decided to sit and rest. He closes high eyes as he lies in the green grass, taking in the fresh air, slowly drifting off into sleep. Just before he dozes off, he hears rustling not too far away. Instinctively, he jumps up and places his hand on his sword, ready to take on whatever it was that would appear from the bushes. He rolls his eyes and exhales as a squirrel jumps from behind the bushes, only to jump right back into it when it saw Hyukjae. Hyukjae laughs while shaking his head, thinking he was stupid for being afraid of that tiny creature. Maybe all the talk of invasion is getting to me… He thinks, remembering all the rumours that were spreading through his state. He walks to a nearby well, and rinses his face with the water, clearing his mind. As he removes his hands from his face, he sees a quick movement in the water. He widens his eyes, looking at the water, checking for what was in there. The object became more blurry, as the ripples from the dropped water began to wane. Hesitantly, he put his hand back into the well, and shook the water, making another wave of ripples.

                Hyukjae froze, eyes wide. The creature in the well was looking right back him… He didn’t know what to do; he didn’t know what to think. The only thing he did know: He has never seen anything like it before.