Once, long ago, there existed a village at the bottom of a mountain. The mountain was rumored to be blessed by the gods and that any person that may live under it shall be happy and prosper. However, the mountain attracted much more than just humans. The children of the village were told to keep away from the forest that led to the mountain, for fear that they would be taken away by whatever creatures may reside there. Most popular were the tales of sightings of tengu disguised as birds, or foxes transforming into humans, so the villagers were wary.

Life was difficult for Chaeyoung ever since she could remember. She never knew her mother or father, having been abandoned as an infant. She was found on the edge of the forest by a gentle caring old woman.

The tale went that the elderly woman was simply going for a walk (though only known to Chaeyoung, she was hoping to see a forest spirit) when she heard the cries of a child. And she followed the sound until she found a group of foxes huddled around a basket. At the sound of the woman approaching the foxes scurried off, leaving the basket and the baby inside. The woman approached the basket and lifted the child. It ceased its cries and looked at the woman strangely. Thinking that for sure this baby had been abandoned and not wanting to leave the child to be left to die, she took it home with her.

When the news reached the rest of the village the residents were outraged. They claimed that the child was cursed and should be thrown back into the forest so as not to endanger everyone else. But the woman would have no such thing. She went on to continue to raise the child as her granddaughter.

“Grandmother, why do the other children not play with me?” A seven year old Chaeyoung inquired one rainy day.

The old woman pulled the girl onto her lap and held her close with so much love. “My sweet sweet child, pay them no mind, they do not understand what they fear. You are a precious gift and one day they will see how wrong they were.”

And Chaeyoung believed her because she saw that loving twinkle in the eyes of her grandmother.

After her reassurance her grandmother ushered her outside so that they could watch the rain. It was their favorite thing to do on such gloomy days. After awhile of the rain beating down upon the ground it began to ease up and the clouds parted to allow the sun to shine its light upon the earth. “Ah,” the old woman exclaimed aloud, “a fox is getting married.”

The young girl gave a questioning glance to her grandmother which made her laugh. “My dear Chaeyoung, I hope that one day you will wed on a day as lovely as this.”

“But it’s raining.”

“Yes, but isn’t it beautiful how the sun smiles so adoringly upon the land as the sky weeps?”

Chaeyoung, being so young, did not understand her grandmother’s ramblings, but she filed it in the back of her mind and went back to enjoying the day.

On a particularly warm and serene afternoon, Chaeyoung was taking a walk near the river that came down from the mountain and ran alongside the village. Her grandmother had gone into town to get fabric to make new hanbok since Chaeyoung was outgrowing hers. She became bored being stuck at home so decided to go for a walk just outside of the village.

Chaeyoung sat down at the river’s edge and leaned over to get a drink of the cool crisp water. When she came back up, just on the other side she spotted a fox, curiously watching her. She got up from her spot and slowly backed away, remembering the stories she had heard from other people about how foxes can steal souls. As she took a few steps back the fox began to move forward, feet landing on the surface of the water and easily walking across the river.

Chaeyoung took off, lifting the skirt of her hanbok so as not to trip, and rushed home. The door slammed behind her, frightening her grandmother who had also just arrived.

“My goodness, what has gotten into you?” Her grandmother asked the girl. Worry then crossed her face as she saw fear in her granddaughter’s eyes. She went over and cupped the girl’s face, brushing away strands of hair that had fallen out of her braid. “What’s wrong, what happened?”

“A fox! There was a fox and it walked right across the river! Oh grandma, it was going to steal my soul!”

“Now calm down child, you’re here, you’re alright.” She held the girl tightly and sang sweetly to help calm her. Once she was sure that Chaeyoung was okay she let go.

The old woman went to the door, Chaeyoung close behind, and opened it. She peered out and off in the distance saw the fox that Chaeyoung had spoke of. Chaeyoung, also noticing it, pulled on her grandmother’s sleeve begging her to close the door. But the old woman did something rather odd. She gave a single nod toward the fox, and they both watched as the fox seemingly returned the nod and trotted off back toward the mountain.

Chaeyoung could sense something in that moment, the look in the eyes of the fox and the way her grandmother stood there unafraid. It was almost like there was some secret agreement between the two, in that single nod,  that Chaeyoung did not understand. And the memory of that day would forever stick with the young girl.

As Chaeyoung got older so did the old woman. And on Chaeyoung’s twentieth year her grandmother quietly passed in her sleep. The girl was terrified when she couldn’t get her to wake and didn’t know what she was to do. She ran into town, tears staining her pretty little face, and begged the doctor to come with her. At first he was reluctant, not wanting to be around the supposedly cursed girl. But the look on her face, one of fear of losing the only person that had ever loved her, changed his mind almost instantly.

Once at the house the doctor pronounced the old woman deceased, and that afternoon a funeral was held.

From that moment on Chaeyoung was all alone. The villagers continued to avoid her. And everytime she went to the markets for necessities she was chased out.

The doctor would pay an occasional visit to bring the young woman rice and fish, but spent not a second longer than to drop off said items.

One evening Chaeyoung woke to the sound of something banging on the side of her house. She threw her covers off and went to the front door to check out what was going on, only to find some children throwing rocks against the building. Chaeyoung was furious and threw open the door to confront them. But that’s where everything went wrong. When she stepped out a rock flew at her head and she was unable to dodge.

Chaeyoung was now crouched on the floor holding her hands to her head. The oldest of the children, a boy no older than sixteen, grabbed Chaeyoung, then pulled her out of her house, and threw her to the ground. Many of the children started kicking at her and tearing her hanbok. They taunted her with the things she was always insecure about. ‘Unwanted’ they yelled, ‘abandoned’, ‘cursed’, so many terrible things. But not once did she shed a tear, and not once did she lay a finger on those children, no matter how much she wished to fight back.

Then, out of the darkness of the forest, came a terrifying scream. The children became frightened and took off back to their homes.

Chaeyoung realized that she could no longer stay in the village without the protection of her beloved grandmother. So she packed a few things into a satchel and set it beside her bed. She would leave in the morning after breakfast, she decided. And after fighting off tears for so long that night she finally cried herself to sleep.

Morning came and Chaeyoung woke up to swollen eyes and the sun happily beaming through her window. She quickly ate her breakfast and put on the hanbok her grandmother had made just before she passed. Chaeyoung was unsure of where she should go, perhaps the next village over would suffice. But first she had to visit her grandmother's resting place.

She kneeled down on the dusty earth and prayed to her eternally sleeping grandmother. She told her that she was going to leave this place and search for somewhere better, a place she would be welcome. And as if her grandmother had heard her prayer and was speaking to her the wind picked up and swirled around her. Chaeyoung smiled at this, it was like her grandmother was still with her.

Then the wind grew stronger and sent Chaeyoung to the ground. She laughed, almost hysterically, then ceased. She was trying her hardest not to cry. She really didn’t know what to do or where to go. But again, as if her grandmother heard her, a small leaf landed on the girl’s forehead.

She sat up, allowing the leaf to flutter to the ground below, and just stared at it, like she expected it to do something. And so it did. The leaf, picked up by the winds, danced its way to the forest, with Chaeyoung not far behind.

Feeling that it was a sign from her grandmother she asked, “Grandma, why am I here?” But no answer came. So she stood there just staring inside, wondering.

Should she go in? She took a step...