The girl woke up with a startle. Something was off.

She squinted, trying to see anything in the obscurity, and then she realised. She realised that everything was too dark. The fire had faded out. It meant just one thing.

She knelt near the boy, and half-smiled tenderly. He had fallen asleep. She took her blanket and put it gingerly on him. Then she rose up and lighted the fire again with some wood. She sat down on the hard ground, and sighed.

They were gone for three days, already, and no sign of man civilisation. She did not even know if there was a town nearby. Her brother had clearly explained that they must go the farthest from their old town, just in case. If the rumour on them had spread, they needed to be on their guards.

Jieun looked up at the sky. There was a multitude of stars that night, unlike any other nights. It had been so long since she last watched the stars with her brother. They were too concerned with running away from the villagers. She put her arms around her thin waist. She could only be herself when she was far from others. She was sick of this life. Her brother would do anything in order to protect her, but it always ended up with him hurting himself. And Jieun hated it.

She laid her eyes on the burning logs. The wood would flame up, then silently fall down into cinder flakes.

 

--

 

Sun was raising, but the weather was still chilly. Jieun guessed it must be barely six in the morning. She stretched up and walked to her brother.

“Oppa, wake up. We need to move.”

Baekhyun woke up with a jolt, before setting his eyes on her. He understood the situation and closed his eyes for a moment.

“I did fall asleep, right?”

Jieun put a hand on his arm to reassure him. “It’s not your fault. You stayed up all night, the night before, and the night before. Don’t worry, no beast came to visit us!” she said with a proud expression.

Baekhyun relaxed and slightly smiled. He ruffled Jieun’s hair, who protested. Then he rose up and started to gather their stuff.

“Come help me,” he called. “We need to bury the fire.”

Jieun bent down to dig the earth, while Baekhyun was pushing the half-burnt logs into the hole. The girl rose up and swept her hands on her clothes. Baekhyun stopped her gently and took her hands. With his own, he swept the earth. He smiled at her.

“We still have some walk to do. Are you ready?”

Jieun nodded. She felt a sudden urge to cry, but she needed to stay strong. She had to be strong for her brother.

 

--

 

"She is the cursed child!" the woman shouted. “She killed my husband! He is dead, you devil’s child! You must be hanged ! Stop that monster, grab that child!"

The little Jieun stepped away from the unconscious man, on the floor before her. Her childish face was struck by fear. Why was this woman screaming at her? The man was the villain. He had wanted to take off her clothes. He had took off her glove – her brother always told her to never take it off – so she had fought back.

"You only deserve the pyre, wretched witch!"

The crying woman came forward; Jieun stepped back. She whispered: “Oppa…”

Many villagers had gathered around the little girl, whispering. She only understood the word dead. Suddenly, there was a loud metallic sound, and a shout followed.

Baekhyun rushed through the crowd and pushed everyone away in order to make a path towards his little sister. She was in tears and repeating oppa in a desperate voice. That was when he noticed the scene in front of his eyes. The man on the ground, dead, and Jieun with no glove. He shut his eyes closed and hugged his sister tight against his chest.

"I’m sorry," he whispered and her hair.

He wanted to get out of the circle, but no one let him pass through.

“You and your sister, you are the devil’s spawn!”

“This man died because he had wanted to hurt my sister!” Baekhyun screamed back.

The woman gasped and pointed out at him. “Do you all hear his lies? My husband would have never hurt a fly!”

A tall man came closer to the two children. “We know what you are.”

Another woman, small with greasy hair, grimaced in disgust. She crossed herself before saying: “It’s easy to understand why your mother left you.

Baekhyun felt a sudden burst of anger. He had not wanted to come to this choice, but it was too much. He raised his hand and energy rushed through his blood. His hand gathered all the light he could summon and guided towards the woman. She screamed out of pure terror and fell on her knees, covering her eyes.

He had blinded her.

The other women began to scream and Baekhyun took his chance to grab Jieun’s hand. He forced her to run as fast as possible. Some of the men tried to stop them, but Baekhyun used his power against everyone crossing his way. He ran, ran, and never let go of his sister’s hand. He had to protect her. They made it to their house – they had lived in it for months. He had to hurry before the others came. He ordered Jieun to say still and wait for him. He picked up a small amount of stuff, only what they necessarily needed.

 

--

 

Jieun looked at his brother who was walking in front of her. He knew where to go. He always knew which path to take.

It wasn’t the only incident. Baekhyun tried his best to stay with Jieun, but when he couldn’t be there, Jieun was too imprudent. Each time, they had to move to another town. But in the last village, it had been different. Someone had called the hunters. Pictures of Baekhyun and Jieun were placarded in every city on a large mile scale. Baekhyun decided then to flee once and for good, to leave in another country. The number of miles they would have to do didn’t matter. All he wanted was to keep Jieun safe and sound, and eventually at peace with her power.

There were few children born with powers, in this world. What people could not understand, frightened them. For those people, the children were monsters, demons. Jieun herself would see her as a hideous monster. Having the power of death was not a power everyone would wish for. But for Baekhyun, she was and she would always be his little sweetheart, his cherished little baby sister, the one he would do anything for.

“Oppa… When will we stop?”

Baekhyun turned to Jieun, and offered her a reassuring smile.

“When it will be time. You’ll see, one day we will be safe. And one day, you will live peacefully.”

He took his sister’s hand, the one which was always gloved. He took off her glove gently, and linked his fingers with his sister’s. Jieun looked up at him with shining eyes, tears threatening to fall down.

“One day, you will understand that you are the most beautiful person in this world.”

He kept his hand in hers and led her to the far, where she would feel alive, away from her power of death.