It's cold.

That's the first thing he noticed, but what else did he expect? He walked out during midnight in the middle of winter. Of course it was going to be cold. However, on top of that, it was snowing. The white crystals had piled up high, nearly reaching his knees. It blanketed the entire landscape, leaving the scenery completely pure and untouched.

He breathed out, white fog taking place where his exhale should be.

Despite the cold, he still wanted to come out. It was only once a year where one could participate in the Year Walk. It was the only chance he could get to possibly peek into his unknown future. It was something that excited him.

His friends tried to dissuade him. "You don't know what happens out there, Byunghun. Walking that long of a distance to go to the church, to see something that's not meant to be seen, is just foolish."

But they couldn't change his mind. The thought of seeing his future was tantalizing.

He stepped into the snow and went on his way, his flashlight his only trusty guide that he took with him.

It was very dark, but the only feeling he had was euphoria. He had already finished most of the prerequisites for the Year Walk: He was alone, it was night time, and he had not eaten anything the entire day. If the myths were true, he should be able to catch a glimpse of his future when he reached the church.

He shuffled along. The only sounds accompanying him were the loud crunching of the snow beneath his shoes and the occasional flitter of ravens that darted among the tree branches. He was wary. It was known that participating in the Year Walk allowed occasional sights of the supernatural. He did not want to be caught off guard by them.

The snow was falling gently, covering his previous footprints and partially blinding his vision. The church was quite far from his home and he had to trek through forest to get to it. Hardly anyone lies in between, allowing for a perfect feeling of solitude to blanket him.

Eerie was a perfect word to describe his situation. Silence had always unnerved him, but even more so now. It was known to him that a couple years back, a woman had kidnapped and murdered four infants in these very woods. Byunghun would not describe himself as someone who believed that ghosts and spirits existed, but the knowledge of that one piece of news made him all the more frightened.

A brief scuffling sounded out behind him. He rapidly his heels and pointed his light, but only saw a little rabbit hopping about. Byunghun sighed. It was only the woodland animals.

He pressed on. He had to admit, he had never really visited the church. It was the only one in his town, but it had been abandoned by the pastor long ago, claiming that the grounds were no longer sacred and had been corrupted. Byunghun believed he was just superstitious.

He noticed something in the distance, a dark silhouette that outlined a building. As he came closer, he noticed it was a small, run-down shed almost entirely covered with snow. It was peculiar that there would be something like this out here. He twisted the handle and pulled open the door, ducking his head as snow fell on top of him. He stepped in and pointed his flashlight around the dark room.

In the very center, a wooden doll was displayed, its feminine features painted on its face. However, what unnerved Byunghun the most was the fact that it was hanging from a piece of rope wrapped around its neck. He didn't move. He felt completely paralyzed simply from this one little thing.

Slowly, he broke out of his paralysis. He reached a hand out and touched it, sighing in relief when nothing happened. The doll's head was unnaturally flexible. He could literally twist it all the way on one side without it breaking. So, he kept twisting and twisting, wondering if it would get to the point where the head would pop off. Instead, he finally reached the end. As he let go, the doll's head slowly revolved back into its original position. As it did so, a faint tinkering of music emanated from it.

It was the erted version of a music box.

Byunghun could feel his legs shaking. He watched as the doll swayed ominously from side to side, listened to the beautiful, yet haunting music that came from it. Quickly, he ran out of the shed and slammed its door shut. He didn't remember anyone saying anything about a shed containing such a disturbing doll. In the end, he decided that it was only the start of the supernatural. It was not uncommon to witness strange events during the Year Walk.

He passed the shed and continued on. He was starting to wonder whether it was worth it to go through all this effort just to see his future, but he had already reached this point. He might as well follow through with it.

Byunghun continued. He shivered slightly, from the cold and from the previous sight. He hoped the rest of his little journey would be uneventful. He arrived at a quaint stream that had not yet frozen over. A cursory glance along the banks showed him the way to cross. A tree on his side had conveniently fallen over onto the other side of the stream. It would act as his bridge. He walked over to the fallen tree, stepped onto it, and began to cross.

He safely reached the other side, hopped down, and continued on. Byunghun didn't think the church was far now. He had heard it was only a small ways away from the stream.

A soft singing came from his right. Byunghun froze before slowly pointing his light in that direction.

There was nothing. He didn't understand. His eyes darted from left to right, but he could not pinpoint the exact  location of the singing. Therefore, he merely decided to ignore it and go on. However, he had heard about it before. The ancient folklore was that singing in the forest signaled that a huldra was nearby. He had no intention of seeking it out. He only wanted to know his future, not meet supernatural seductive forest creatures.

Byunghun tried to convince himself that logic was infallible. Supernatural beings didn't exist. However, the longer he stayed out here, the more his logic was failing him.

The singing disappeared, but a slight squeaking noise came from his left. Growing even more frightened he also pointed his flashlight in that direction.

There was a windmill, almost run down to the state of the shack he came from. Its door had been busted down and the sails were ripped. It was in a sorry state, but that was not the thing that caught Byunghun's attention. Instead, his gaze had drifted over the sails that were red, almost as if they had been dipped in crimson. The red was dripping onto the ground, painting the snow in almost delightful splatters. In addition, a pitiful whimper, almost to the point of crying was coming from the windmill. He had heard about that too. There were rumors that if someone walked through the woods in the right conditions, they could hear the crying of deceased infants.

The hairs on the back of his neck raised sharply and he slowly walked past the scene. He was even colder, as if the very warmth in his body was leaking out. At this point, he very much regretted his decision. He wanted to go home.

Even so, he finally saw the church. He had finally reached his destination. Byunghun walked through the cemetery and pushed open the rusting gate, wincing when it squealed sharply. Now he just had to do the last step to complete the Year Walk. He was grateful that the church wasn't very big.

Calmly, he walked around the church in a complete circle clockwise, then counter clockwise, and then clockwise again. When he finished, the door creaked open eerily, but nevertheless, he stepped inside, eager to see his future, and he knew he would see it. After all, if the superstitious were right about the supernatural happening during the Year Walk, then they were right about seeing the future.

It was warm.

He didn't expect that. Instead of snow, the hills and trees were a vibrant green. Color had cascaded itself over the landscape, bringing back life. It was sunny, almost blindingly so. He breathed in deeply, revelling in the fragrant perfumes of flowers.

Slowly, he walked around.

Was this his future? If it was, then he was sorely disappointed. This just seemed to be every spring that happened each year. Would this be his life everyday? Then it wouldn't be something he minded. He just expected something more... Exciting.

He saw something, lying on the side of the hill. There was nothing else to do. He might as well see what it is. As Byunghun walked closer, he finally realized it was not an object, but a person. However, it wasn't just a random person.

It was himself.

Was this the future he desired to see?

Now that he saw it, he regretted it. It was not the fact that it was himself, it was the state he was in. There bruises, so many bruises. They were all along his neck and chest, dotting across his skin. There were cuts, so many cuts. They were etched into his wrists, his legs, and his cheeks. There was the blood, a sickening crimson scarlet that seemed to permanently stain the green grass and made everything so much more... Morbid.

It was hard. It was hard for Byunghun to comprehend that this was him.

This was his future.

He could feel his entire body shaking. This was his future? Death? This was not the future he wanted to see. This was the last thing he expected.

Byunghun gasped loudly. He breathing was nearing hyperventilation. He didn't want this. He didn't expect this. He needed to changed this.

Byunghun snapped back into brutal reality. It was no longer warm, but unbearably cold. He had stayed too long in the church. He didn't want to be here. He ran out, and continued to run across the snow.

However, someone caught him, holding him down. Before he could scream, a rag was pressed across his face. A sickly sweet scent made its way through, causing him to slowly give up his fight. He stilled, falling into unconsciousness.

Byunghun was lifted up by the stranger. It took a while, but it was worth it. He had spent days planning this, from the little doll in the decrepit shack to the morbid windmill. Although, the eerie crying of infants and the huldra were an unexpected bonus. He had set it all up so it would be believable, so Byunghun would continue on this path and fall right into his arms.

He smiled. His plan worked better than expected, and now Byunghun was with him. Pushing his way through the snow, he carried Byunghun with him, thanking whatever entities that allowed him to be with Byunghun. He supposed that it was worth the two year wait he had to endure while watching from afar.

"Don't worry, Byunghun." He murmured, pressing a soft kiss on Byunghun's forehead. "Chanhee will take good care of you."