“Young lady, you have to walk by foot from here.”

Hayi perks her head up and sees the fields of green spread beautifully on either side of the long bumpy road. At the end of the road, she can see some hills, all covered in beautiful green color of nature. She can already breathe the nice, clean air even though she’s still inside the old rusty bus with her luggage placed nicely on the empty seat next to her.

She remembers how the bus kept making some banging noises everytime it went over a bump. She thought that the bus is going to fall apart by the time she arrived in the village, but turns out this rusty bus is not as weak as she thought.

“You can call someone to pick you up here.” The old driver says with a kind smile, flashing his yellowish lined teeth, but his eyes are showing friendliness and warmth.

“Alright, thank you very much, Mr. Driver.” Hayi smiles sweetly as she starts to drag the luggage with her and walk to the door.

“Be careful, young lady.”

The old man speaks again as Hayi steps out, almost stumbles out the bus because of the uneven steps. She manages to regain her balance and drags her luggage out of the vehicle safely before nodding her head politely at the old man.

Gathering her bags, she takes a deep breath before taking the first step, only to whipe her head back to the bus door, just in time before the old driver closes the door.

“Um, so I have to turn left and just walk straight until I see the village?” Hayi asks intelligently while gesturing a hand across the green field and points at what looks like a forest. She swallows dryly, wondering if it’s a good idea to cross the trees just like that, who knows what’s inside the forest.

“That’s right.” The old man nods with a warm smile. “Just cross the trees and keep going straight, you’ll see the village soon. Trust me, I’ve been there years ago.”

Well, things change in years, but Hayi doesn’t say it out loud. Instead, she nods her head and smiles kindly at the driver before she finally starts crossing the field of grass.

Hayi can hear the coughing noises of the old engine as the bus drives away, leaving her alone with her heavy luggage – she shouldn’t have taken so many things with her – while walking ahead to what still looks like a forest.

She doesn’t remember crossing this kind of path when she went here before. But then again, when was the last time she came here? Twelve years ago? Maybe more, she can’t remember correctly since it was so long ago, before everything happened and her life went upside down.

Taking a deep breath, Hayi takes a brave step forward and walks through the woods. She swallows thickly and keeps looking around, as if making sure that there’s no wild animal or beast who might attack her. Among all the fairytale stories that she read before, she never thought that she’d feel like a Red Riding Hood who’s crossing the forest alone with the wolf following behind her.

Except now, there aren’t any wolves who are following her…right?

Hayi gulps and turns her head over her shoulder, making sure that there’s indeed no wolf.

Rustle.

“Eep!” Hayi shrieks a little and whips her head to the side, seeing the bush rustling a little. She stands on her spot and holds onto her luggage as if wanting to hit anything that’s hiding behind the bush.

A moment later, a small rabbit hops out of the bush, its cheeks moving around while chewing on grass. Hayi’s face falters immediately at the sight of the cute animal and she slowly approaches the rabbit, crouching down in front of it to take a better look.

“So cute.” She mumbles to herself and smiles at the rabbit that’s staring curiously at her.

The rabbit then hops away and Hayi stands on her feet again, continuing her journey of exploring the forest. Somehow, after seeing the harmless little rabbit wandering in the forest, she doesn’t feel so scared anymore. At least there wouldn’t be any wolves around if that rabbit could run away freely, right? Smiling at her own thought, Hayi continues to drag her luggage, ignoring the wheels of her pink suitcase that are soiled by muds and leaves.

After what feels like 20 minutes of walking, Hayi notices that she’s still inside the forest and it seems like there’s still long way to go because there’s no sign of any villages or even any other human beings. She has seen another rabbit and some squirrels jumping across the tree, even a big worm that’s crawling on the tree, but there’s no someone else.

If the driver was right about this forest being close to the village, then there should be one or two villagers here, right? But why didn’t she see anybody else? Fear and doubt start to crawl back into her mind as she keeps walking down the forest carefully.

She stops her step abruptly when her ears catch a sound from distance, a thrumming noise, like the sound of water, a river or waterfall. Which means there should be villagers nearby since it’s the source of water. With a bulb flickering inside her head at the thought, Hayi quickens her pace and drags her luggage along, not caring whether the branches and bushes would scratch the poor pink suitcase or not.

She steps out of the bushes and sees a stream flowing with the water as clear as glass. drops open a little as she stares at the beautiful sight in front of her. She has seen the picture in her schoolbook or internet, but she has never seen them in real life, she has never heard the sound of streaming water and the chirping birds and the cracking branch below her feet as she steps over. She realizes that she had never heard the actual sound of nature before, only the sound of traffic and city that never dies.

Just then her ears catch another sound other than the streaming water, a small wail. Turning her head curiously, her eyes widen in shock when she sees a pug in the middle of the stream, desperately clinging onto a stone as the strong stream tries to drag it away.

Acting purely by reflex, Hayi abandons her luggage and takes off her red canvas shoes before running over to the bank of the stream, staring at the helpless dog who’s wailing for its life. She turns her head around to search for something that can be used to save the dog, but doesn’t find any.

Another wail from the poor pug snaps Hayi’s attention and she quickly turns her head back to the dog who’s now staring at her pleadingly, its round eyes glistening slightly.

“I’ll save you. Don’t worry.” Hayi says in determination and carefully steps a foot into the water, feeling how strong the stream actually is.

She carefully places both feet inside the water, holding herself against the bank as she tries to find her balance. The water is not really high, just reaching her thighs (she’s not a tall girl), but the stream is so strong that Hayi’s sure she would be washed away once she loses her balance.

After making sure that she has the perfect balance, she slowly makes her way to the pug by moving her feet little by little. She stares back at the dog’s round eyes with determination, as if telling the pug not to worry because she’s going to save it.

Then in a blink of an eye, the little pug gets washed away down the stream.

“No!!”

Out of reflex, Hayi quickly throws both hands and grabs the dog just in time before it gets washed out of her reach. However, the sudden movement makes her lose her balance and before she knows it, her feet are no longer touching the bottom of the stream.

She presses the dog against her chest while her other hand flails around in the water, trying to grab ahold of anything to keep herself from being washed away to God knows where. The water is too strong that she can’t even seem to catch a breath even with her head poking out of the water.

This is ridiculous, she’s really good at swimming, she should be able to handle this. But no, she can feel herself getting washed away and drowning, the poor dog still placed in her arms.

Is she going to die like this? At least let the dog survive, God.

“Obang!”

Hayi starts to think that she’s becoming delusional when she hears a faint call of a male voice.

But then she feels something strong holding her body from being washed away, something hard but not a stone because she doesn’t feel any notable pain that she’s supposed to feel if her body slammed into a stone. She briefly wonders if it’s a thick branch, but knows that she’s wrong when the thing wraps around her body like an arm and pulls her out of the water along with the dog.

She coughs couple of times to catch a breath and feels a pair of hands pressing her against the bank of the stream, keeping her from being washed away.

“Hey, you okay?”

Hayi slowly perks up to see a young male, probably just as old as her, standing in front of her, his arms placed on either side of her body, shielding her from the stream that doesn’t seem to affect his strong figure. She blinks couple of times, trying to register whether this is reality or a dream because this guy is oddly good-looking.

“Hey, can you hear me?”

The guy speaks again, tilting his head a little and leans his face closer to check on her. Hayi quickly backs a little out of reflex and blinks again.

“Yeah, I—I’m okay…” She nods vigorously. “Thanks… You saved me…”

“You saved my dog.” The guy smiles, showing his cute little dimple on his left cheek.

“Your dog?” Hayi blinks dumbly and just then, she remembers about the pug that she’s holding against her chest. “Oh right, the dog!” She exclaims and quickly lifts the dog up to check on it, seeing it wagging its tail and staring at her with twinkling eyes.

“Obang, I told you to never get close to the stream.” The guy huffs and takes the dog away from her hands, placing it safely on the bank before turning to look at her again. “Can you get out of the water by yourself?”

“Huh, yeah, sure.” Hayi nods again and looks down to herself, only to realize that the water in now reaching her chest, much higher than the spot she stepped on earlier. Just a little further and the water would reach her head and drown her completely, the thought sends a small shiver to the back of her neck.

“You sure?” The male raises a brow.

“Yeah, I’m sure. Um, let me try.” Hayi says, turning around to face the bank and places both hands on the ground. Taking a deep breath, she musters up all the strength and tries to lift her body up by her hands, only to get washed away by the stream.

“Whoa, be careful.” The male quickly grabs her and shifts closer, pressing her against the bank to keep her from being washed away.

Hayi blushes a little at the sudden closeness, she knows she has a small body, but she feels so tiny like this, caged in a stranger’s arms. Wait, strangers. This doesn’t really sound like something romantic or worth blushing for. Shaking her head, she turns over her shoulder to look at him.

“Um, the water is a little bit higher here, I guess it’s hard for me to get out of here.” She explains with a soft voice.

“It’s not high. You’re just short.” The guy grins widely as if he’s not saying any offensive things.  

Hayi drops open in disbelief, suddenly feeling offended at the other’s words. Yes, she’s short, but being told that she’s short by a complete stranger makes her kind of offended.

“I’m not short! You’re just ridiculously tall!” She bites back, earning a laugh from the male.

“Right, Thumbelina, let’s get you out of the water.” The guy grins and without warning, he grabs Hayi by the waist and swiftly pulls her up to sit on the river bank.

Hayi lets out a small yelp of surprise at the sudden move and looks up to see the guy getting himself out of the water and sits next to her. He whips his head to shake the water off his hair, but ends up splattering it across Hayi’s face. She frowns a little and wipes the water off her face.

“Obang! I was so worried about you!”

Hayi perks up and sees the guy kissing the pug on its muzzle. The dog his nose in response and the guy hugs it against his chest before suddenly turning to Hayi who’s looking like a deer in headlights.

“So, Thumbelina, what’s a girl like you doing here?”

“Thumbelina…?” Hayi furrows her brows at the nickname.

“Yeah, that tiny girl, you know right? You resemble her, so short and tiny.” The guy says casually with a smile on his face.

“I’m not tiny!” Hayi hisses, “I have a name. It’s Hayi, Lee Hayi.” She says, placing a hand against her chest and introduces herself.

“Alright, Hayi. I’m Hanbin, Kim Hanbin. What’s girl like you doing in this forest?” The guy, Hanbin, asks with a soft laugh.

The anger seems to die a little inside Hayi after the boy introduces himself properly. She combs her wet hair with fingers as she speaks, “I was trying to get to Hahoe village.”

Hanbin tilts his head a little as if trying to process the girl’s words. “And…? Why are you in the forest?”

“I need to go through the forest to get into the village, right?” Hayi asks as she gestures a hand.

“Not really…? There’s a pathway beside the forest that would lead to the village directly. You don’t know about it?”

Hayi drops open and blinks couple of times before speaking again. “I—I asked the bus driver and he told me that I need to go through the forest… He said he did the same thing years ago when he visited the village…”

“Well, the pathway was created ten years ago. When was the last time he came to the village?” Hanbin shrugs a shoulder.

“Well… Okay… I guess…” Hayi says with a blank look on her face, still trying to register everything and what she has gotten herself into.

“Don’t worry, Thumbelina! I can take you to the village in a blink of an eye.” Hanbin says with much confidence.

“Stop calling me Thumbelina—and really? You know the way to the village?”

“Of course, who do you take me for? Come on, let’s get to my truck.” Hanbin says before standing up on his feet and walks over to slip his sandals on.

“Wait.” Hayi quickly stands on her feet and scurries over to her abandoned pink suitcase and canvas shoes.

Hanbin follows her from behind with his dog still tucked in his arm, chuckling softly when he sees the cute pink suitcase in the middle of the forest.

“A city girl, aren’t you?” He asks with amusement lacing in his tone.

“How do you know?” Hayi turns over her shoulder as she puts on her shoes.

“You smell like one.” Hanbin shrugs and walks over to grab the suitcase before walking down the forest. “Come on, let’s get to my truck before any of us catch a cold.”

Just then, Hayi realizes that both of them are wet from head to toe, including her denim shorts. She quickly reaches her phone that she keeps in her pants pocket and takes it out. She presses the power button couple of times before finally concluding that her phone is completely dead. Well, at least she won’t be bothered by all the calls and messages that she’s sure she’s going to get.

“Ta-dah! Welcome to my truck.” Hanbin says dramatically as he gestures a hand ahead.

Hayi perks up from her phone to see an old mini truck painted in black, but slightly coopery due to age. The wheels are absolutely dirty with mud and grass covering everything even up to the door. The vehicle looks strong enough to ride down the forest, but Hayi wonders if Hanbin ever washed his car before.

“Is it…safe?” Hayi asks with a doubtful look plastered across her face.

“Of course it’s safe. It might be old, but it’s my father’s car. It has survived and conquered so many things.” Hanbin says dramatically.

“Um, okay.” Hayi nods unsurely and slowly makes her way to the mini truck.

Hanbin places her suitcase at the trunk before getting into the driver seat with Obang. He then throws a jacket to Hayi’s face before starting up the engine of his truck, the dog placed nicely on his lap.  

Hayi lets out a muffled sound of surprise before looking down at the jacket and at herself, seeing her white-colored shirt sticking onto her skin and to her—bra. She flushes in realization that all the time since Hanbin pulled him out of the water, her underwear was visible. She didn’t realize it at all and Hanbin didn’t act like he noticed it, but Hayi knows the boy notices everyting, he just acts like he doesn’t.

Despite being blunt and pretty weird, Hanbin is actually quite a gentleman, it’s surprising.

“So, what’s a city girl like you trying to do in this village? Where are you heading?”

Hanbin’s voice snaps her out of her little trance and she quickly looks up to the guy who’s now starting to drive his car.

“I’m heading to my grandma’s house.” Hayi says quietly. “Grandma Lee, have you heard about her before?”

Hanbin’s face falls at the name and he quickly glances over at her, a look of hesitancy flashes in his eyes. “Y-Yeah, I think everybody knows her. She’s a really nice woman. She’s your grandma?”

“Yeah, she’s my beloved grandma.” Hayi smiles softly and nods her head.

“When was the last time you saw her? I’ve never seen you around here before.” Hanbin says carefully as if weighing his words.

“Twelve years ago or something? I was very young back then and we never stayed for too long at grandma’s house.”

“Oh,” Hanbin breathes out and his lips nervously. “Then, you’ve never heard about your grandma after that…?”

Hayi sighs softly and turns to Hanbin with a soft smile on her face. “Hanbin, I know that she has passed away, don’t worry.”

Hanbin seems to be relieved at the words, his shoulders droop a little and there’s a puff of air leaving his lips. He speeds up the car a little bit once they’ve passed the bumpy road.

“You sound so mature, how old are you?” He asks, changing the topic suddenly.

“I’m turning 18 on September.”

“What??” Hanbin whips his head and stares at her, one foot still placed on the gas pedal.

“Look at front! Look at front!” Hayi screeches when she sees a tree in front of them.

Hanbin quickly whips his head back to front and turns the steering wheel to the right, almost throwing Hayi off the window with a short pitched scream, and then drives calmly again. Hayi takes in some deep breaths to calm herself before continuing the conversation again.

“How old are you anyway?”

“I’m turning 18 on October. I can’t believe we’re on the same age.” Hanbin says in awe.

“I’ve predicted that we’re around the same age.” Hayi smiles before she realizes something. “Wait, you have driving license already?”

“I have the motorcycle one.” Hanbin nods.

“No, what about this truck?”

Hanbin turns his head slowly and flashes her a full toothed smile.

“No, I don’t have any license for the truck.”

And then he turns the steering wheel, almost throwing Hayi off the window once again.

By the time Hanbin finally hits the brake, Hayi is already slumped on her seat, too tired to scream or react everytime Hanbin turns the steering wheel or speeds up when going through a bumpy road. She blinks and looks down when she feels a sudden weight on her lap, seeing the pug staring at her with wagging tail. She smiles and reaches a hand to pat the dog on its head.

“Male or female?”

“Male.” Hanbin says and steps out of the car.

“Hi, Obang.” Hayi says, giggling lightly when the dog her hand.

Suddenly, the passenger door swings open and she turns her head to see Hanbin with her pink suitcase in his hand, looking so hilariously unmatched next to him.

“I can only get my truck until here, we have to walk a little to your grandma’s house.”

Hayi nods her head and quickly gets down from the vehicle with Obang jumping off her lap and stands next to Hanbin, waiting for her. She shuts the door behind her and turns to Hanbin, the male’s jacket still wrapping her body, engulfing her figure.

“So tiny.” Hanbin shakes his head with a chuckle before turning around and walks down the small pathway.

This time, instead of feeling offended, Hayi just sighs softly and follows the boy. She looks around the surrounding as they walk down the road with Obang following behind them, looking at the grass field and green hills, comparing it to the boring sight that she always sees on her way to school.

“Which city do you live in?” Hanbin suddenly asks, starting the conversation.

“Gangnam.”

“Gangnam? Like the song?” Hanbin blinks rapidly.

“Yeah, but the city is not like the song.” Hayi laughs at the other’s innocence.

“So there’s no dancing guy in the elevator or something?”

“Of course not! Do you think the MV is real?” Hayi laughs a little harder this time.

Hanbin smiles sheepishly and scratches the back of his head, seemingly embarrassed. Hayi can’t help but to let out another laugh at the other’s expression. They share a comfortable silence through the walk until they eventually arrive in front of a small sized traditional house, the fence is made of stones and the house has straw roofing.

Hayi smiles brightly at the familiar house and stops her step to take a good look of the entire house, trying to recall her memories of staying here with her grandma. She doesn’t notice how Hanbin stares at her smiling face all the time.

“I miss this place.” Hayi says softly and steps over to the house.

“I bet you do.” Hanbin says and drags the suitcase over to the door. “Well, the house is never locked.”

“I know.” Hayi nods. Unlike the city, most of the houses here are not locked because the village is safe. Besides, there aren’t any things left in her grandma’s house for someone to break in.

“Well, do you need me to—you know, take your pinky bag inside and clean the house or something?” Hanbin offers.

“No, no need, really.” Hayi shakes her head and flashes the boy a thankful smile. “I can take it from here. Thank you for your help.”

“Alright, no problem. I’ll bring some friend tomorrow to visit you, okay?” Hanbin steps back and waves his hand.

“Okay—wait, what?” Hayi blinks.

“See you tomorrow!” Hanbin runs back to the pathway with Obang following behind him. “Just return the jacket anytime you want or you can keep it!” He shouts for the last time before running back to his truck.

Hayi stares at him in disbelief before chuckling softly and opens the door of the house. She carefully drags her suitcase inside and looks around the house, noticing how lifeless it is since it has been couple of years since her grandmother passed away. She slowly makes her way into her grandma’s room and places her suitcase inside before sitting down on the floor, sighing softly.

Her phone is dead and she doesn’t bring any other electronic device here, so there’s no way the people in the city would be able to contact her, even her mother or her classmate. It’s better that way since she’s still not ready to face or talk to anybody, she just needs to be alone right now after so many things that happened.

She takes off the jacket and folds it nicely by her side. She then heads to the bathroom and takes a shower with the cold water before changing into a new piece of clothing. She comes back to the room and lies down on the floor, staring blankly at the ceiling. Slowly, her eyes start to close due to the exhaustion for walking in the forest and getting washed away in the stream.

“Did you know that girl from class A, that Lee Hayi?”

“Oh, I know, that smart student, right?”

“Yeah, that Lee Hayi, did you know what was she doing behind her good-student façade?”

“Wait, that rumor is true??”

“Of course it’s true, there are proofs everywhere, don’t you see them before he left the school?”

“I thought it was fake. Wow, who would’ve thought such a goody-two-shoes can do something like this?”

“No wonder she got good grades, don’t you think so?”

“…yi!”

“Lee Hayi!”

Hayi snaps her eyes open at the call and sits up, realizing that she just fell asleep and the sky is turning slightly darker by now.

“Hayi!!”

She quickly stands up and looks out of the window, seeing Hanbin standing in front of the house with different pair of clothes, a big smile plastered across his face as he waves his hand to the window.

“W-What are you doing here?” Hayi asks, eyes wide in surprise.

“I bet you don’t bring any food here! Let’s go eat dinner with us!”

“Us? Us who?” Hayi frowns and looks around, noticing that Hanbin is the only one who’s in front of the house.

“Just follow me and you’ll see. Come on.” Hanbin says as he gestures a hand in hurried manner.

Hayi smiles and nods her head before scurrying over to the door.

A/N

Thank you for reading and sorry for mistakes! English is not my first language and I'm bad at it ;;

More characters coming on the next chapter