[Time before Yong-sun met Moonbyul]

Dark smoke raises and clouded the sky. The scorching fire was spreading fast and cries filled the place. Yong-sun was being pulled by her mother while shouting at Hye-jin to run towards the forest. Their house was burning and everyone was running for their lives. At a distance, Yong-sun saw her father standing. She called for her father as her mother drag her into the deep dark forest. And she saw her father stabbed to death and burned along with others.

“Father?”, Yong-sun woke up covered in sweats and breathing heavily. The sun hasn’t risen yet and Hye-jin was sleeping like a baby next to her. It has been more than a hundred years since the terrifying dusk. Yong-sun has nightmares about it every now and then.

It was just her and Hye-jin left in the small cottage. Their mother died a suspicious death not long after the incident. She would have still been alive had she not gone near the border of the forest. Yong-sun hasn’t figured out why her mother went there frequently. They were safe in the forest. It was one of the places where witches and wizards were believed to flee after that ill-fated night; the mystical forest no one dared to enter for centuries, now known as the Witchery Forest.

Yong-sun got up quietly and went for a walk near the brook. She strolled along the path, remembering the night their mother brought them to the cottage as young teenagers.

“Yongsun-ya, Hyejin-ya. You are saved here.” Their mother wept as she wrapped them in her arms. Hye-jin was still in shock and her legs gave up, stumbling as she entered the cottage.

“What about our father? He is still there. Why did you leave him alone? Why?”, Yong-sun cried as she shook her mother demanding an answer. But what had happened cannot be undone and they had to accept that their father was no more alive and their village, Manyeo ma-eul, was burnt to ashes.

Engrossed in her memories, Yong-sun lost track of time and her subconscious had brought her to the border of the forest.

Yong-sun came to her senses when a peculiar feeling hit her. The area was oddly quiet and the wind stopped blowing. It was the same place where her mother died. Dawn was approaching and it was best for her to leave immediately before anyone sees her.

Yong-sun hastily turned around and before she could run, an arm suddenly hooked around her neck and the tip of a dagger poked at . “Who are you?”, the voice of a woman asked.

The white apparel and the long dark hair reminded the woman of the person who helped her two years ago. The smell of nature and potions from Yong-sun intrigued the woman and she promised to let Yong-sun go if she agreed to talk to her.

Yong-sun immediately accepted, and the woman vigilantly let her go from the grip. With the spell already on the tip of her tongue, Yong-sun immediately stamped her fingers on the woman’s throat as soon as she turned around.

The woman fell back in defense and taking the moment, Yong-sun ran for her life. Her presumption was proven correct. The border was never a safe place for them. She will not ever walk near the border again.

The woman tried to shout at Yong-sun but her voice was gone. She ghastly rubbed while trying to make a sound and not a squeak was heard. She looked around and Yong-sun was long gone. The woman stomped her feet in anger as she had to return to the town before day broke upon the land.

Yong-sun huffed as she slammed the door close and calm herself down. Hye-jin woke up to the sound and warily came for the door. Seeing her sister restless and panicky, Hye-jin rushed out, asking her sister what the matter was.

“Do not go near the border. Hye-jin, please promise me you will never leave this forest.” Yong-sun begged her adventurous sister knowing she will one day try to leave the forest.

Hye-jin hugged Yong-sun and promise she will not leave the forest. How could she do so after the traumatizing incident? And she could have left anytime if she had wanted to instead of spending years in the strange forest. With this, Yong-sun felt relieved and put her arms around her only sister. Like any other day, the day passed by peacefully.

The next dawn, Hye-jin woke up early before Yong-sun and sneaked out. She mumbled to herself as she rushed towards the border. “It must be that crazy woman. I told her to never come back again, and she threatened my sister?”

Hye-jin was quick on her feet because she must hurry back to the cottage before Yong-sun woke up. As she was near the border, she started to run towards the spot where she met the woman two years ago. And all of a sudden, she tripped on a rope and the hidden net flipped up, taking Hye-jin into the midair.

Hye-jin screamed when the trap appeared out of nowhere. Just then, a stone hit her. When Hye-jin refused to look, fearing it could be the townsmen, another stone came flying to her back. She heard footsteps approaching and from the sound, she could guess it was only one person.

Hye-jin carefully gazed down and she saw the same young woman she had helped two years ago glaring at her. “You! Get me out of here.”

The woman aggressively signed that she lost her voice to the likes of her.

Hye-jin was in utter confusion about the random movement of the woman’s hands. “What? Are you trying to say…you can’t speak?”

The frown on the woman’s face disappeared and she nodded helplessly. She released Hye-jin and the two sat down to communicate.

“Poor you. First, your friend and now you can’t speak.” To lose the ability to speak at a young age, Hye-jin pitied the woman.

The woman angrily swings her hands again trying to tell Hye-jin that her voice was actually stolen by someone. For a person who did not know how to do a proper sign and for the other who has never met someone who is mute, the two had quite a time to communicate.

“This is why you should have learned how to write.” Hye-jin pouted at the woman. The woman felt embarrassed for being illiterate. But what could she do when she was an orphan and could not afford to have someone to teach her?

“So, you are telling me a woman who looks like me touched your throat and then you couldn’t speak?”, Hye-jin asked for the last time and the woman eagerly nodded. “That witch!”, Hye-jin mumbled.

Hye-jin agreed to help the woman but on one condition; she shall never speak of where Hye-jin was taking her and if she did, Hye-jin will hunt her down herself. The woman readily agreed as she had nothing to lose.

And so, the two women made their way to the heart of the Witchery Forest.

Yong-sun was collecting herbs from the small garden that she cultivated next to the cottage. For the first time, she was happy that Hye-jin woke up early and it was about time Hye-jin return back from wandering around.

“Sister, I am back.” Hye-jin could only pray that Yong-sun does not kill her. And as expected, Yong-sun froze at the sight of a stranger standing next to her. “Sister, I can explain.”

When their mother died, no one explained why and Yong-sun sees no reason to listen to Hye-jin.

Yong-sun walked up to the woman calmly and stood in front of her. Inside, she was trembling with fear, yet she put on a brave face, and without any delay, she blew her breath on the woman’s face.

“Sister!”, Hye-jin widen her eyes in surprise. The spell knocked down the woman and she slept like a baby on the cold ground. “Why would you do that?”, Hye-jin yelled at Yong-sun.

“We will remove her memory and leave her where you found her.” Yong-sun quickly kneeled down and place her hands on the woman’s head.

“But you haven’t perfected that skill yet. What if you crippled her forever?”

“Does it matter? As long as she forgets about us, I don’t care what happens to her.”

Hye-jin could understand that her sister was doing it to protect them, but to harm someone to save themselves, she would not allow it. She requested Yong-sun to stop it and listen to her just once.

Yong-sun ignored Hye-jin’s words and continue to recite the spell. Hye-jin knelt and begged her sister to stop it but Yong-sun pushed her away and continued to recite the spell.

Hye-jin hated that Yong-sun never took her seriously and to push her away when she sincerely begged to spare the woman, it hurt her feeling. She recklessly stood up and push Yong-sun away from the woman. “I will never let you remove her memory.”

Yong-sun stared at Hye-jin’s eyes glaring at her. They never knew what this woman is capable of. To expose their existence to a stranger was a danger itself and to bring them to their home was not a mere mistake to be excused. She was willing to get blood on her hands if it meant safety.

“Don’t kid yourself, sister. You can’t even hurt a fly.” Hye-jin unfolded what her sister's true nature was. To hear such spiteful words from a decent woman was a joke to Hye-jin’s ears. She firmly clutched Yong-sun’s shoulder and gaze into the clear brown eyes, “I am sorry for telling you this now but you must believe me. I met this woman two years ago and she kept her promise to never tell anyone about me. Is this not enough?”

 “You what?”, Yong-sun gaped as she looked at Hye-jin and avert her eyes to the woman lying on the ground. Hye-jin pulled in Yong-sun’s hands and held them tight as she continued to convince her sister that they could trust the woman. She could understand that Yong-sun was shocked by the sudden confession but Hye-jin really wanted to keep the woman.

For over a hundred years, they avoided the town and resided in the forest. Because of the uncanny creatures of this mystical forest, no one dared to enter it. The solitude had stuff in their mind and Hye-jin wanted to escape from there. However, every time she steps near the border, the terrifying night kept replaying in her head, stiffening her body and preventing her from taking one more step. And to finally meet someone from the town, Hye-jin was more than excited to talk to her. She wanted to use the woman to know more about the contemporary town.

Yong-sun could say nothing more. She too wanted to know what had become of the place she once called home. While the woman slept on their bed, Hye-jin narrated how she met the woman to Yong-sun.

The day Fate decided to intervene and change their lives for better and worse.