Deep inside the forest, there live a young man and a magician. The young man had lost his family when he was but a child. The magician took him in as his own, and they have been living together, just the two of them.

 

The magician possessed a remarkable talent, and it became his livelihood to help the townspeople with all kinds of potions and spells. The nearest town was a five-day walk from their little house, and each time the magician left, he was away for a week or two, leaving the young man alone.

 

During these times, the young man finds himself immersed in the tranquility of the forest, surrounded by the murmur of trees and the gentle caress of nature.

 

It was no different this time.

 

“Felix,” The magician called.

 

The young man looked up from the book he was reading. “Yes, Uncle?”

 

“I’ll be going to the village tomorrow morning,” he announced. “I’ll be back in two weeks. Do you have everything you need?”

 

Closing his book, the young man straightened. “I do. We still have some fishes that would be enough for a few days, and I just harvested the some crops a few days ago.”

 

The magician smiled at that. “Good. Do you want me to bring you anything?”

 

Felix hesitated for a moment, “Some books maybe, Uncle?” he asked, sounding hopeful—eyes darting around the room sheepishly—he hated asking his uncle for stuff because he always felt like a burden. “I’ve finished reading the ones you brought last time.”

 

“Of course,” His uncle replied easily.

 

As the afternoon waned, the fireplace crackled, casting enchanting shadows upon the walls. The boy and The magician settled into a conversation about their day. Felix started telling his uncle all about the new cave he’d discovered when he was exploring the forest that morning, saying that he was planning to explore the cave soon. The magician listened fondly, saying something here and there as a response to Felix’s chatter.

 

That was a little over a month ago.

 

The magician—his uncle—never returned, and Felix was left confused and scared, because this has never happened before. Sure, once in a while, he would take longer than two weeks to return, but it was always planned and Felix would always be informed of his expected return.

 

He could feel the knots of anxiety twisting in his chest, growing tighter with each passing day.

 

“I think I need to go look for him,” Felix finally said one day. In front of him, a wild fox he called Seung watched him curiously. “I’m going to Duskwood.”

 

Duskwood was the closest village, and it’s where his uncle goes to most of the time. Sometimes he goes further away, which takes longer, but those occurrences are rare. And his uncle always told him if he was going to a different village.

 

Seung simply tilted his head, as if asking, are you sure?

 

“I need to. Something might’ve gone wrong. What if there was an accident? What if he's gotten ill?” Countless possibilities swirled in his mind, each one more distressing than the last. Felix stood up as he paced back and forth. “He’s never late. Something must have happened. I need to find him.”

 

With that, Felix darted into the house as he packed his stuff hastily, throwing the things he thinks he’d need into his backpack. Seung followed him and watched as his human friend darted around the house.

 

When he was done and his bag was filled to the brim, Felix took a deep breath and let out a long sigh. His heart was beating out of his chest. He couldn’t deny that he was afraid—he was terrified—at the prospect of going to the village.

 

He has never gone to the village his whole life. He never ventured outside the forest his whole life.

 

What if they won’t let him into the village? What if they won’t even let him ask his question before kicking him back to the forest?

 

His spiraling thoughts were stopped when Seung rubbed its head on his leg.

 

Felix swallowed. “Thanks, Seung,” he said softly before he crouched to pat its head. “I’m going to look for Uncle in the village. I’ll be back in a week… or two. I’ll be back as soon as I found him and as soon as he’s able to make the trip back, if he’s injured or sick we might need to wait, but…” he trailed off.

 

He almost yelped when Seung jumped and climbed his body to settle on his backpack, something he does a lot whenever Felix asks if he wanted to come explore the forest with him.

 

“You’re coming with me?” Felix asked, voice wavering a little as he knew how much Seung hated humans. Heck, he wouldn’t even get close whenever his uncle was around, growling whenever he approached Felix when he was watering the plants with Seung sitting nearby.

 

He growled at Felix the first time they met, as well, but the fox would curiously follow him in a distance, or watch him when he was tending to his plants. A few weeks later he was already letting Felix pat his head.

 

“Thank you,” Felix said softly.

 

He was still terrified, but he felt a little relieved, knowing that he wouldn’t be alone on his journey. Seung might leave him once they were out of the forest, but even then he was more than grateful that it wanted to come with him that far.

 

With that, he took another deep breath to calm down and made his way out, locking the door behind him. Bracing himself, he took his first step and started walking towards Duskwood.

 

 

As expected, the journey to Duskwood took him five whole days, and when he arrived the day was getting darker although the sun hasn’t fully set.

 

He hadn’t gone into the village just yet, finding himself glued to the ground a good distance away, staring at the village for the first time in his life. The sight of the bustling village, teeming with life, was both exciting and overwhelming to him.

 

Seung sat beside him patiently with its ears perked up, sensing the nervous energy emanating from its human friend. It was mirroring Felix's own unease, as if it, too, understood the weight of the situation.

 

“I’ve got this,” Felix muttered to himself as he clenched his fists, his hands were shaking and he didn’t like it. Sure, he knew he was terrified of meeting the people, but he didn’t think that seeing the village for the first time would be this daunting. “I’ve got this. I’ve got this…” He repeated. Do I, though? His mind asked.

 

Doubt gnawed at the edges of his resolve, feeding him a dozen of horrible what ifs.

 

With a frustrated groan, Felix released a heavy sigh, catching Seung's attention. The fox turned its gaze toward him, its amber eyes conveying a mixture of curiosity and concern.

 

“I don’t know if I can do this, Seung,” Felix admitted quietly, voice heavy with resignation. “I don’t want to do this, but I have to. What if Uncle needs help? What if something’s gone wrong? I have to do this. I have to find him.”

 

Seung maintained his steady gaze on him, and Felix knew that his fox friend might not understand what he said or the predicament he was in at all; but even then he felt like it was telling him that it’s not too late to go home just yet.

 

Shaking his head, he convinced himself that it was his own thoughts trying to trick him, because obviously he wanted nothing more than turning around and going back home.

 

The sound of branches snapping jolted him out of his thoughts. He stood quickly, turning his head towards the source of the sound.

 

It was a human. A young man. Maybe someone his age, if not a few years older or younger.

 

Seung was already growling menacingly, body tense and ready to pounce.

 

“Sorry, didn’t mean to spook you,” the stranger said as he raised his arms in the attempt to look not threatening. Felix had no idea what kind of expression he was making towards the stranger, but Seung was still growling. “I thought I heard someone talking and came to check. It’s getting dark, you shouldn’t be too close to the forest, there are a lot of wild animals out here.”

 

Still caught off guard by the encounter, Felix found himself frozen, unable to formulate a coherent response. The stranger, oblivious to Felix's internal struggle, continued speaking.

 

“Uh…” the stranger said. “It’s dark, so I can’t see you that well, but I don’t think I’ve seen you around?” This was it. This was where he’d start screaming and told him off. Felix closed his eyes.

 

“Name’s Wooyoung, by the way. What’s yours?”

 

Felix eyes snapped back open. He didn’t expect the other boy to introduce himself.

 

“Felix,” he said quietly, hesitantly.

 

“That’s definitely a name I’ve never heard,” Wooyoung said, which made Felix feel like he would really scream now, but he didn’t. “Come on, you shouldn’t be so close to the forest at this hour. Come with me, my family runs an Inn, so you can stay the night there,” he suggested. “What do you think?”

 

Felix weighed his options. He wasn’t sure what he should do, but at least this person was not freaking out or anything, so he supposed he might be his best bet.

That was before he remembered something.

 

“Thank you,” Felix said. “But I uh, I don’t have money,” he admitted, feeling embarassed.

 

He didn’t have money, and he never had money. He never needed it before. Sure, his uncle buys him stuff from the village sometimes, so he does have money. Not that it meant anything to Felix, because he always stayed back whenever his uncle traveled. He had no need for money in the forest, so the old man never gave him any.

 

There was a brief pause that only the sound of Seung’s growl can be heard.

 

“Don’t worry about that. You can stay anyways,” Wooyoung replied kindly. “Besides, what were you planning to do, camp out here?” he asked incredulously.

 

“Err, yeah,” Felix admitted sheepishly. He didn't see anything wrong with that, he was perfectly fine with camping out—he had been camping out the whole journey here; but the way Wooyoung said it made him feel a little embarrassed. 

 

“Really?” Wooyoung sounded horrified at that. “That’s really not a good idea. I mean it when I said there are wild animals in the forest, even beasts… Not that I’ve seen one, but my dad did a few years ago. Fastest he’s ever ran in his life.”

 

“Oh,” Felix said lamely. “I hope he’s alright?”

 

“Yeah, he’s fine, don’t worry!” Wooyoung said cheerfully. “You’ll meet him soon enough. You’re coming, right? We won’t ask you to pay, you can sleep with me in my room.”

 

“Are you sure that’s gonna be okay?” Felix asked warily. Should he even consider doing this? What if Wooyoung realized who he was, would he be furious?

 

“Of course! My parents wouldn’t stop nagging at me if they knew I let a friend sleep outside when we literally own an Inn,” h