Once Upon a Time…

In a small village not far from Seoul, there was a huge, angry mob running through the rows of cottage houses. Women held knives and torches, raising them high in the air with pride. Men, on the other hand, were grabbing firmly to their large axes and guns, marching everyone down the streets. Children, various of their ages, also blended in the mob; their tiny hands grabbed ahold of small crumbs of bread from the ground, face paled and scared. It was another gloomy, cold night, and the villagers were obviously unhappy with what was going on in their economy.

At that very moment when the clock ten, the group of humans stopped. The atmosphere was silent except for the fire crackling on the torches, eating up the wood and oxygen. The air was heavy and damp, and only the fog clouded their visions. Standing in front of them was a quite small village house, which was the only obstacle in their path.

"Open the door, or we'll tear your cottage down!" one man threatened. In a few moments, the door slowly swung open. Out popped up a rather young woman, holding a book in her hands.

"Yes? May I help you all?" she asked in a quiet voice. Everyone took one huge step back.

"Your cursed ol' witch! You've sinned our children with your haunting stories!" a mother of two screamed from the crowd. 

"I am not a witch. I am Lee Jieun-" The maiden was interrupted by other loud eruptions from the mob. Each and every villager lifted up their weapon as they shouted and cursed at Jieun.

"You've starved us with your spell! How is your farm growing crops while ours isn't?"

"How dare you bring a disease to our village? Be gone!"

"Pack up and leave! Never come back!"

"Everyone, everyone! Calm down!" Jieun yelled furiously. She opened the door wider to step outside and closed the wooden door behind her. "My farm is only growing crops because of the soil! It's full of nutrients compared to all of yours-"

"Lies!" an old man accused her.

"It's not a lie! I'm serious! Your children aren't being sinned by my stories! It's called a fairytale-"

"There's no such thing as fairies!"

"Ma'am, please! Listen to me! The disease is not my fault! We all know that there is a deadly disease going around in Seoul! It must've spread to our village just a few weeks ago-"

"Kill her! Murder her!" the leader of the audience declared. Everyone cheered with agreement and took a step to tear apart the young girl. Jieun screamed, and tried to run back into her house. Instead, the door locked itself and Jieun was stuck outside. 

Her icy breath chilled the air, as her lungs stung from the freezing fog. The tips of her hands were turning slightly red, as her heart raced to pump blood and keep warm. Her ears, if possible, turned deaf as the angry men and women approached her with mighty loud footsteps. There was no way for Jieun to escape. She crouched down and rubbed her hands, closing her eyes until a drop of tear fell to the ground.

Snow White Ran Into the Scary Forest…

"Stop." A loud, humble voice rumbled the air. Every head turned around and widened their eyes to see a rather handsome man dressed in a white uniform. The crowd parted to the side, bowing in honor as the prince of the village traveled down the center while riding the horse. Jieun's eyes narrowed slightly, still crouched at the same spot. 

"W-Why are you here?" Jieun stuttered. The prince nodded his head to the mob, ignoring what Jieun was asking him.

"Citizens!" he shouted, his voice booming over the crackling sound of fire. "Do you want this young maiden to die? She has not done anything to bring us harm. She has been faithful and loyal to the royalty, and never once meant to curse the people. Her reasons are the truth; the ground she is living on has much richer soil than the soil we have always reused and toyed it. The tall tales she tell us are from her imaginations. Recently we have been eating foods from Seoul, and the disease might've infected the food we eat."

"Prince Baekhyun!" a grandmother cried loudly. "Do you plan on defending this witch?"

"She is a good friend of mine. She has always brought me luck," Baekhyun replied honestly. Although he was being sincere, his eyes did not show any signs of empathy. His bright gaze glowed with exhaustion and his small frowns expressed his desire to move on. His white horse sneezed, causing one person to speak up.

"Then why is she not in your palace, but here at the farthest place of your castle? She must be bad luck, otherwise you would have brought her to your kingdom or near your mighty castle!" the man pointed out. Jieun, who was becoming weary, slowly stood up. Rain suddenly began to sprinkle on them, dying the fire and preparing to drench the people with a heavier weather.

"You did not let me finish," Baekhyun replied. He threw his silky cape to the side and and stared at his people. "If you do want me to kill my old friend, I will not hesitate to do so. If you want her to receive the cruelest punishment, yell 'Ay!'"

"Ay!" the mob screamed. Baekhyun turned his horse around to capture the "witch," but she had already fled to safety.

While Cinderella Cut Her Toes…

"Ack!" 

Cobwebs loosely hung out from the trees, while large spiders abandoned their home to take in refuge under the bushes. The rain poured down, the sky covered with black clouds while the dry dirt turned to gooey mud. Jieun had to stomp her way through the forests, lifting the rim of her skirt so that she could see her feet. Her nightgown glowed and stood out among the blacks trees and the dark night.

I have to leave, she told herself. When she took another step, she tripped on a twig and fell flat on the ground. Her hands were dirtied with mud and her white gown was covered with the brown substance.

"Ew!" she cried, trying to get up. She almost screamed as a sudden pain jerked from her ankle. She collapsed back to the ground, and held back her tears which crying in pain. Taking a deep breath, she tried to stand up again. This time, she screamed in agony and fell back on her knees. She covered with her hand before choking on the mud she had accidentally breathed in from her hand.

"Stupid Baekhyun…" she muttered, coughing out the mud. She began to crawl her way out of the forest, hoping to seek shelter secretly from the mob or the prince, who once was her lover and childhood friend.

Then the Beauty Met the Beast…

The white mammal cried and lifted its two front hooves from the mud. The horse had a difficult time adjusting and galloping through the wet ground. Baekhyun only patted the horse's side, encouraging it to go on. When they heard a sudden cry from the east, Baekhyun could only identify who that scream belonged to: Jieun.

"Let's go over there," Baekhyun told his horse, pulling out a sword from his side. His mind was sharp and on the hunt for the "cursed witch." He did not care that she was someone he knew. She was disturbing the peace in the village, and it was the duty of the prince to do something about this.

"Sir! Sir! We heard something over there!" a soldier informed him. Baekhyun nodded his head as he turned slightly to the left. The cries of the woman grew louder, and Baekhyun knew that Jieun was in pain. He was a bit hesitant to approach her, and motioned his soldiers to stop. 

"If you hear my scream for help or my white horse travel back to you, then you may rush in to rescue me," Baekhyun told them. The soldiers pondered on what Baekhyun had told t