Crunching leaves resounded from the road as Chani continued on his search for his sister. She couldn't have gone far in the dark so he was sure to find her. As a hunter by trade, Chani's tracking skills would hopefully pay off. He had even thought of bringing the lantern which he used to see the tracks.

Chani had followed Minnie's prints until he came to a strange path. He knew that no one ever went that way, but her tracks disappeared right where the road started. Convincing himself that this wasn't a coincidence, Chani went with his gut feeling and decided to just follow the path.

Being past its rising peak, the moon was now positioned to allow the sun to emerge. Chani really wanted to hurry as it was getting cooler outside, and he was starting to feel the chill through his coat.

After he had continued on for a while, the sound of an animalistic grumbling alerted him to stop. He knew it was a bear.

Without making a sound, he stood completely still. The bear was nearby, but Chani couldn't tell how close it was. If any sudden movements were made, he could lose his head or a limb.

Chani waited a long time until the bear slowly crept by across the path. Chani really wished that the animal would hurry so he could keep going, but it seemed to go slower as soon as he thought this.

Finally, the area was safe, and Chani hurried away to keep from running into the bear again.

As one annoyance went away, another swiftly followed. Rain drops began to fall out of nowhere, and the wind speed picked up. Chani couldn't see clearly from the water that kept slapping at his eyes. He had a way to get through this though.

Huddling down under a tree, he tucked his face to his knees and held his knees tightly. He had done this many times while he was out hunting because he was just too stubborn to give up easily. Thinking of his sister again, he hoped she wasn't out in this weather.

When Chani opened his eyes, he saw the sun slightly shining through the trees. There was some rolling fog from the previous storm, and the leaves were dripping water onto his head.

Standing to his feet, Chani came to the realization that he had slept through the downpour. If Minnie was outside, she would definitely have caught a cold by now.

Suddenly, Chani sneezed. Now, he was going to get a cold. He didn't even know why he went so far as to try to look out for his older sister anyway. All he did know was that she had better have an extremely brilliant explanation for not coming home last night.

Moving further down the road, he was about to give up and turn around when he noticed a wall lined by trees. As he made his way to examine the wall, Chani saw the lively and fresh ivy which clung to it. He was no expert on plants, but he knew that the ivy would have dried up by now from the cold. As he rounded a corner, he found himself standing before a large gate and behind it sat a looming castle. Chani wondered if Minnie had really come here until he saw something lying on the ground past the gate- Minnie’s poison bag.

…

Bright sunlight streamed in through the windows and onto Minnie's face. Forcing herself to open her eyes, she simply turned over and sat up to face the dimmer side of the room. Her hair stuck up every which way and anyone would have laughed at the sight.

Glancing around her, she noticed that she had been sleeping on a large bed in a luxurious room. She almost wondered if she was dreaming when the memory of deep eyes came back to her. Mentally kicking herself, she was determined to never stare into that man’s eyes again. Somehow, she had always fallen unconscious after she looked into those cavernous depths for too long. She was even perturbed to even be thinking about him again.

She looked down at her clothes to find them still filthy from when she was in the cellar. Her favorite billowy, white blouse was ruined with holes in the shoulder, and she felt extremely dirty. She remembered what had happened last night and shuddered at the thought of someone drinking blood.

Then, she felt her shoulder with her opposite hand and didn’t have any pain. She pulled the collar down enough to see and was amazed that there was no wound. That man must have been what she had heard about in stories- a vampire. If he was a vampire, then vampires were indeed real and would also explain why the poison didn’t work. With this newfound knowledge, Minnie knew that she wouldn’t be able to escape her punishment.

Looking down at the bed again, she noticed a lovely midnight-blue dress made of crushed velvet sitting atop the comforter. A little note sat near the dress and read,

‘There is a bathtub in the room connecting to your room if you wish to freshen up.

Please accept my deepest apologies for the state of your attire. 

Your host, Taeyang.’

Rolling her eyes, Minnie carelessly tossed the note aside and picked up the dress to gaze at it endearingly. The fabric seemed to be quite expensive, the stitching neat, and the design cute. “Well, he has taste in clothes at least,” she commented.

Standing to her feet, Minnie trudged off toward an open door to find an elegant bathroom beyond. In the center of the room, a porcelain clawfoot tub awaited her with clean water which had already been drawn for a bath. A towel and soaps sat next to the tub on a fancy little table. Minnie was in awe of the fanciness as she had never seen such things in her whole life as a farmer’s daughter.

As she settled into the tub, she told herself that she must try to be nice until she could finish the dull chore of atoning for her crime.

…

About an hour later, Minnie was fully dressed and ready to start the day and carry out her repayment. She pressed her ear to her room’s solid door but didn’t hear a sound. She tried the handle to find it locked, “Hello? Is anyone there?” The door opened to reveal Zuho, “Follow me, please.” He turned around and began down the hall. She quickly caught up to him while feeling very much like a child following their parent.

When they reached the dining hall, Taeyang was sitting in a regal manner while reading another book. Minnie thought he was posing for a painting when she remembered what he had done last night. With a frown, she snapped herself out of staring and looked toward the corner of the room.

Taeyang pretended to just notice that Minnie was present. “Ah, you’re awake,” he said plainly. “Obviously,” she huffed with arms crossed, “So, I’m ready to start ‘paying for my crimes’ as you call it.” As he looked up from his book, Taeyang had a strange bubbly feeling from the sight of Minnie who was unknowingly wearing one of his mother’s dresses. When she tilted her head at him, he coughed in embarrassment and regained his composure.

“Well? What do I need to do?” she asked in an acidic tone. “Eat breakfast, of course,” he faintly smirked. She sat down slowly while holding her shoulder. “Really? Have you eaten already?” she almost sounded as if she cared about his health, but, in reality, she was worried about herself. Knowing what she truly meant, he made a small laugh, “Yes, I have. There’s no need to worry. I won’t bite you again.” She made an attempt at a half-hearted laugh as her breakfast was placed before her.

Wanting to leave this castle as soon as humanly possible, Minnie scarfed down all of the food she was served. She cleaned off with a dinner cloth and jumped up from her seat. “I’m ready. Now, what do I have to do?” she asked again.

For a moment, Taeyang was at a loss for words as he pondered if this girl had ever been fed properly before. Breaking away from his thoughts, Taeyang straightened in his chair and signalled, with his hand, to Inseong who went off somewhere.

"I have someone visiting today who will help you learn how to care for plants," Taeyang explained, "He'll be here soon. When he's gone, I'll expect you to have the roses blooming again." Minnie couldn't believe what she was hearing, but she didn't have time to process anything when a commotion could be heard outside.

Moving to the window, she was shocked to see her brother arguing with Zuho. Taeyang stood by her to witness the scene. "That's my brother, Chani; he's a hunter. I have to talk to him, or he won't go home," she explained. Taeyang closed his eyes while trying to hold back his temper, "Fine. Just hurry up." Rushing out the door, Minnie felt annoyed that Chani was slowing down her process of leaving. 

"I'm not a thief! I'm trying to find my sister…" Chani noticed Minnie approaching. "What are you doing?" she asked while almost laughing aloud at the sight of Chani's ear being held by Zuho. Their height difference had a wide gap which made Chani look so small.

Chani got out of Zuho's grip and straightened his damp coat. Before looking at her, Chani glared at Zuho who seemed unperturbed at him. "You didn't come home last night," he accused with flushed cheeks, "I was naturally the only one who could look for you."

"Chani, the person who lives here wants me to fix his rose bush," she attempted to explain. Chani scoffed, "Oh, and you weren't the one who broke it? I told you that you were going to get into trouble, but you never listen." Minnie smiled, "It's fine. I'm safe, and I'll be home soon. Tell mother and father not to worry."

Even from the gate, Chani could see Taeyang watching them from the window; Chani shot a deadly glare at him. He didn't want to leave without Minnie, but if she thought she was fine, he would go home. "Okay, but if you're not back soon, I'm going to bring the whole village with me to save you," he tried to bargain.

"I'll write you letters because who knows how long it will take to heal the rose bush," she sternly countered. "Fine," Chani agreed before turning back. It wasn't like he had just braved certain death to find her or anything.

When he was out of earshot, he started coughing and sneezing. He would have to get some medicine for his cold when he arrived home.

Minnie arrived back in the dining room and was surprised to find Jaeyoon speaking with Taeyang. They noticed her, and Jaeyoon was also astounded to see her, "Minnie, what are you doing here?"

"You two know each other?" Taeyang asked with a confused look. "Yes, Minnie visits me for advice on plants," Jaeyoon smiled. Minnie felt more at ease now that someone she knew was present.

"Well, should we get started?" Jaeyoon asked her. Due to Minnie's questioning look, Taeyang explained, "Jaeyoon is going to instruct you on how to take care of rose bushes."

"Okay, let's begin," Minnie swiftly took Jaeyoon by the arm, and they made their way outside. Taeyang was left wondering how they could have met.

**.**.**.**.**.

Chapter 4 is here! Poor Chani, he walked all the way there for nothing. 😆