Jisung sighed as another plant withered by his presence, a trail of them behind him, obscuring the snow-covered ground with their dead foliage. Luckily it seemed trees were immune to whatever curse that had been placed on him - he wouldn’t have heard the end of it from the village elders if the trees started dying as well. 

The snow crunched loudly under his heavy boots in a teeth-grating, goosebump-raising sort of way. Jisung had always hated the sound that snow makes, the feeling of it, and even the cold temperatures it brought with it. Yet, he could never deny the beauty of it. The way it blanketed the ground, lush and white. The peaceful serenity that was cast about. Always so beautiful. But nevertheless, it was an annoying pain in the , especially now as he had to trudge through it in order to get to the local witch. 

Though if you ask Jisung, “local” wasn’t the correct term to use. It was more like the “convenient” witch, as she....he?(Jisung wasn’t sure)...was the only one around for miles. Villages were scattered around in what maps showed as some sort of ring with Jisung’s village being in the center. A central hub of sorts, rich with resources that were traded with the other villages. And just on the outskirts of the south village, was a large forest, and nestled right in the front of the tree line was the witch’s home. A foreboding abode that had everyone wary since its . Which was understandable, witches weren’t to be trusted. They used their magic for evil, summoning dark creatures that wiped out civilization faster than any plague or drought could. Stories of such happenings had been passed down for years, eventually becoming bedtime stories and even warnings to children to be good unless they want to be snatched up by a witch. 

Jisung had been the most obedient child in the whole village. But as he grew older, he grew more adventurous which lead him into very dangerous situations half the time, and one of the reasons he was cursed now and making the day’s trip to the witch to see if maybe he could beg for its removal. He highly doubted it, it’s not like the villages had welcomed the witch with open arms or anything. 

——

It was nightfall when Jisung finally reached the log cabin, smoke billowing from the chimney as the light of the fire danced from the windows. It looked so welcoming and homey and for a moment, Jisung forgot about the danger that lurked inside. 

Knocking on the door, he waited for about 3 seconds before knocking again. Another 3 seconds found him knocking again until there was no longer a pause between the rapping of his knuckles against the oak wood. The door swung open quickly, startling Jisung slightly, and he was greeted to the sight of a very handsome and a very disgruntled young man. 

Was this the witch? No surely not. Witches were old hags with warts on their faces, stringy grey hair, and a hunched back, or so he had been told. This beautiful man couldn’t possibly be the witch. 

“Um, hi?” Jisung wanted to facepalm because what kind of greeting was that?! He was such an idiot, letting a pretty face startled him so much. To be fair though, not even the most beautiful women in his village could make him as speechless as this guy had. 

He received no response, just the male stepping aside and motioning for him to walk in. Jisung’s mind instantly screamed ‘it’s a trap!’ and his body refused to move, which seemed to further upset the already irked witch. “Well, are you going to come in or are you going to stand there all night