The little boy looked at his father with wet and wide eyes. He was scared very much and trembled a lot.

“I am unforgiveable for what I have done... What I did a year ago...”, stuttered the great king of Gongju and grabbed his son by the shoulders, “You must run. Otherwise, they want me to kill you like your mother...”

Xiah tried to escape his grip, but his father was way too strong.

“It was a mistake... a big mistake. I loved her for real... And you are the fruit of our relation... But you… you are like your mother... Your blood... Your eyes…”, Jaejoong whined and kept clinging to the shoulders of his son, “I hope you will forgive me. You are everything, what is left of Sandara. Please take care of yourself. And never come back here! Never! You hear me?!”

The boy shook his head in fear. Tears ran down his cheeks once again. He was not sad, no. Xiah was angry, disappointed, and scared. He tried to get out of the grip of Jaejoong, but he still had no chance. His father was not the great king for no reason.

“I warn you my son, do not think about revenge. You do not have the slightest chance. Everything that had happened has its good reasons.”, his father explained and suddenly went on threateningly, “If you ever dare to come back here, I will kill you with my own hands! Do you hear me?!”

Xiah swallowed the lump in his throat and kept his anger in check. His father's words were hard and loveless. First, he had Sandara beheaded and now after a year he banned his own son from the kingdom. Just because he was different. Just because his eyes were red, and his blood was black. The great king knelt in front of the little boy and tapped with his index finger on Xiah's forehead. Suddenly everything went black before the eyes of the boy. His limbs became weak, and he lost his footing. He fell unconscious.

When he opened his eyes again, he only recognized the blue full moon, which threw its light through the embankment right onto the boy. The dark night sky was scary, yet the moon magically drew the boy's attention and helped him relax. The glittering stars also calmed him. Where was he? The floor below his body was wet and woody. He felt branches and leaves in his palms. The air was cool and fresh. Xiah carefully straightened up and rubbed his eyes. Due to the cold air, he coughed heavily. How long had he been here? He was in a dark forest. The boy stood cautiously up and looked up to the full moon once more. It immediately crossed his mind what had happened. His father had really exposed him. His pupilless, blood-red eyes instantly filled with tears. The cold night air tightened the boy's throat. He fought back his tears and pulled the phlegm in his nose. As his tears on his childish cheeks dripped down, they evaporated in the cold air. His body temperature rushed a tremendous heat and quickly dried the wet forest ground under his bare feet. Xiah felt his own body temperature rise even more. Did he get sick? Did he get a fever?

He had to go home immediately. His father could not mean it. Xiah had locked himself up in the palace since the death of his mother and avoided everyone. He tried to suppress the hatred he had for the people of Gongju. Nevertheless, they banished him. Just because he was a child of a Dokkaebi. Just because they were afraid of him. His father had not the guts to kill his own son but exposing Xiah to the cold was no different. He should have the little boy exposed to the wolves. Xiah would not survive if he stayed here. He had to get out of the forest immediately. But where should he go? How could he ever escape from this forest?

Xiah set off and wandered around in the dark forest. After a while he felt tired and at some point, he noticed that he had run in circles. The boy leaned against a tree trunk and rested. He still breathed heavily and panted due to the heat of his body. His eyelids tightened. He barely kept them open when he suddenly heard a loud growl. The boy immediately opened his eyes in shock. The tiredness vanished in an instant. In total fear, he pressed his body with all his strength against the tree trunk to hide from whatever had growled at him. He did not dare to get up, let alone to move anywhere else.

The beast in front of him seemed hungry. Should Xiah make a wrong move, he would certainly end up as fodder. The red-headed boy had never seen such a gigantic beast in his life. Its white fur gleamed in the moonlight. From his dangerous fangs large amounts of drool dripped to the cold forest ground. Xiah held his breath and trembled all over. The gigantic beast sniffed at him and stared at the little boy with its fiery red eyes.

“Oh... please... please do not hurt me...”, Xiah whispered with a stutter.

His eyes were closed as he was afraid of being eaten alive. Never in life would he survive this, would he?

“What are you doing