Night photoshoots have never been Donghae's favourite. The wild weren't friendly in the daylight and they would only get scarier when the dusk falls. However this day just keeps on getting unluckier as the clock ticks by. When he had drove all the way to the national park headstarting at 10 am, with a plan to take pictures of the ever elusive 'Vampire deer', Donghae never realised he would end up with only a couple photos of trees and nothing more. Not a single animal, not a single sound, as if the forest were ridden of all living things except the trees.

Knowing he can't waste his time and drive for just an animal, Donghae had adeptly decided to take landscape photos just in case if his visit turns out to be a bust. It was really such a pleasant autumn day, too bad luck was not on his side. Normally Donghae would return by 4 pm, but today he had hiked so far into the wilderness that the sky had already dusked and he was nowhere near to where he had parked his car.

"Aish, why is it taking so long to get back? Has this tracker freezed?" Donghae violently shook the smartphone in his hand, marching off through the shrubs - littered path. He stretched his hand upwards, as if the space between the trees would give him a better signal, only to notice the dwindling charging of his device.

"Damn, am I walking in circles?" Donghae asked to himself as he continued walking on his path following the device.

The sun had already set, and night was crawling up, with it increased the sound of insects as if indicating, that the forest is still very much alive. The cool night breeze stung his face, the earthy smell of trees wafting in the air, as Donghae pulled the zipper of his jacket and dug his hands in its pocket. He hung his camera around his neck and quickened his pace, the crunch of dried leaves following him. 

"Great!! Why did I come here alone? Should have brought Siwon with me." Donghae continued walking as he remembered how his friend had offered to come alongwith him. The trees now seemed even more longer, as their shadows casted its darkness on each other. He slung his backpack to his side to retract a flashlight. He glanced at his smartphone only to see a 'Low Battery - Turning Off' message.

"! Just what I needed to make my day better!" Donghae snarked.

The long walk just seemed endless, and as if on cue, his stomach growled lowly. Donghae grumbled "Yeah, should have brought a whole lunch box, if I was gonna end up stranded in the middle of nowhere." He swung his backpack once, carefully opening one of the upper zippers to take out a protein bar.

"Woah" Donghae exclaimed. He had his head bowed, looking inside his backpack, his steps continuing his endless journey, the sound of crunching leaves ceasing, that he didn't notice the huge obstacle in his way. It was an old oak tree, its trunk riddled with gashes and dried sap, its branches - void of any leaves, a tangled mess, as if a hurricane had a personal grudge against the only tree. The ground surrounding it was clear of any small plants, unlike the rest, the soil looking ashen in the dimming lights.

Donghae looked around, noticing the other trees before turning back to this odd tree in front of him. It looked withered but yet sturdy enough to stay upright, holding a mass of twisted thick branches. Curiosity got better of him and so he stretched his hand to see what the tree felt like. Just as what it looked like, the tree's bark fell on the ground, with dust following after.

"Hey oldie, how are you still holding up?" Donghae asked as he looked up at its tangled branches. He slowly raised his hands up, but stopped short at his head. 'Too high anyway' he thought as he let his arms fall. He opened the protein bar with his mouth and took a big bite. He circled around the tree and noticed a red string, covered in dust and soot, which had been tied loosely around the tree, threatening to fall off at any moment.

"Strange" Donghae thought out loud. For some reason his hand gravitated to the tree and was about to touch the tiny knot of the string when a bat flew right by his ear.

"Aaaah" Donghae screamed and turned around, knocking himself off his feet as his backpack scraped roughly against the old tree. He dropped his protein bar and scrambled back up. Adjusting the straps of his back, he quickly walked off, not sparing a single glance back, not at the tree, not even at the damn bat, the sound of crisp leaves being crushed filling the almost silent night.

'Le...t...'

"Ah, I need to just get out of here", he said as he rubbed his ears, feeling for any injury or scrapes. The jump scare had pushed his heart into overdrive, and now it was ramming so hard against his chest that he could feel the blood rushing to his ears.

'I'll soon start hearing things too', he thought. He picked up his pace, almost running, as he followed the path on instinct, his legs taking him through the dark forest. After what seemed like eternity, he finally reached where he had parked his car.

"There you are", he sighed in relief. He threw his backpack into the backseat and climbed in the driver's seat. First things first, he turned the ignition on and plugged his smartphone to the car. Then unscrewed the water bottle, taking it from his bag and took small gulps, relaxing, the safety of his car calming his nerves. As soon as the smartphone , the quietness of the car was interrupted by the sound of a few notifications. Swiping the screen, he saw a couple of missed calls from Siwon and Kyuhyun, his neighbour.

'I'm on my way home' Sent.

He sent the message to both Siwon and Kyuhyun. He drove in silence, a small smile graced his lips as he thought about his two friends. Being alone had never been easy for him, but yet he had lived that way ever since he can recall. That changed when he met Siwon during his early days as a professional wildlife photographer. After turning to photography as a profession, his freelancing had led him to cross paths with Siwon, a Magazine Editor, owner of Korean Wildlife Magazines. Donghae had assumed, Siwon would leave him like his other business connections after the project's over, but he stayed. Stayed to be his friend. Th