“I’m bored!”

“How about I tell you a story?”

“Appa~! No more stories!”

“Why? I thought you liked my stories?”

“I’m getting too old for stories.”

“Kyungsoo-ah~,” Joonmyun gently chided his young son, “your not even ten years old yet! How could you be too old for stories?”

 Kyungsoo merely sighed. It was true; Kyungsoo was still very young, but he had to technically grow up faster than most children. His small family didn’t exactly live a luxurious lifestyle, so little Kyungsoo was encouraged to help his father, Joonmyun, in his small merchant business from a fairly early age. Also, the death of Kyungsoo’s mother had certainly been harsh on the young child, leaving him with a bleeding hole in his heart. He had always been a pretty serious child, but a blissful child nonetheless. However, the reality that he would never see his mother again or hear her voice made all his father’s stories of “happily ever afters” and “dreams coming true” seem….well, childish. Kyungsoo believed he was too old for such things and that it was time him and his dad, especially his dad, grow up already.

Joonmyun, however, had always been a dreamer. Despite the fact that he had ultimately shamed his family by quitting his education for a life as a low class merchant, he never once regretted his decision. He preferred being out-and-about amongst the common people and travelling to different places from time to time rather than stay inside and study all day long (He did, however, keep some of his books and studied a little when he had the opportunity. He was an intelligent man after all!). He soon met a young girl whom he deemed to be the love of his life, asking for her hand in marriage. While she and her family found his confession to be a bit overbearing, they were eventually wedded.

It did hurt him, though, whenever he had to leave her behind while he travelled for work (because she insisted to stay and take care of their home), but, after a few months of travelling, he returned home to a most pleasant surprise: his beautiful wife was pregnant with their first child! He would soon be a father! He was absolutely overcome with happiness, and treated his wife with the utmost care and affection throughout the pregnancy (not that he didn’t already treat her like royalty—Joonmyun was definitely a romantic man). It was definitely a terrifying shock, though, when the baby came earlier than he should have. Their baby boy was so small and frail that most of the family didn’t think he would make it, but not Joonmyun. He believed his son was stronger than that, and he thanked the heavens when his son, christened Kyungsoo, pulled through. Joonmyun utterly adored his son; with his big, beautiful eyes, gorgeous lips, and all-around squishiness, he was the spitting image of his lovely wife.

Life was good for the little family…..until an illness struck down Joonmyun’s beloved wife a few years later. He did his best to nurse her back to health, but there was nothing he could do. Even the caretakers of their village could do nothing, but provide medicinal herbs to ease the pain. It broke his heart to watch her fade away, and as much as he wished to follow her in death, he knew he couldn’t be selfish. He still had his baby boy to look after, and he knew Kyungsoo would miss his mother terribly so.

As days passed, Joonmyun continued to work, taking Kyungsoo with him to spend time together and also teach him the trade. Although Joonmyun’s late wife never disrespected his wishes to teach their son the trade of a merchant, he knew she wished more for their son. Kyungsoo was intelligent and thoughtful, and she had hoped of seeing him become a scholar one day. While Joonmyun agreed, he ultimately decided to let his son decide for himself one day in the future.

For now, he wished for Kyungsoo to enjoy his childhood, hence the storytelling. Even before Kyungsoo was born, Joonmyun had an active imagination for telling wild tales. His deceased wife often joked that she married a child trapped in a grown man’s body, to which Joonmyun simply laughed at. As a father, he made it a habit of telling stories to Kyungsoo, who often asked loads of questions (once he could actually speak), but was nevertheless intrigued. Recently, however, Joonmyun noticed that Kyungsoo was becoming reclusive. He showed little interest in things and rarely smiled. Joonmyun’s heart was breaking at the sight of watching his baby son want nothing to do with being a child and grow up to be a little man at such a young age.

Even, now as they were heading off for their longest journey yet into China, Kyungsoo refused to hear his stories. Joonmyun sighed quietly and caressed his son’s hair. My poor baby, he thought, how I wish I could heal you from your pain. As their travelling caravan headed deeper into the woods, Joonmyun suddenly had an idea. There was one story he hadn’t told his son yet, mainly because he didn’t think he was old enough to understand. It was a story that had been passed down to him as a child and he believed now was the best time to tell his son in hopes to restore his little broken heart.

“Hey….I have something to tell you,” Joonmyun spoke softly.

“Hmm?” Kyungsoo hummed quietly.

“Have I ever told you the story about your great-grandfather?”

Kyungsoo sighed heavily, “Appa~, I said—!”

“I know, I know!” Joonmyun stated quickly, “But this is different! This story is true!”

Kyungsoo gave him a look of pure skepticism, which made Joonmyun shudder a bit considering his late wife would give him the exact same look sometimes. Joonmyun leaned over towards his son till he was face to face with him. He nuzzled his tiny nose with his own and then kissed it, smiling cutely (as cutely as a grown man could anyway!).

“Please~,” Joonmyun cooed.

Kyungsoo giggled a little at his childish father’s antics, slightly pinching Joonmyun’s cheeks with his small hands. “Okay, but only because Appa is such a baby and looks like he’s about to cry.”

“Hey~! Don’t call your Appa a baby, Little Boy!” Joonmyun chided in mock anger. He grabbed Kyungsoo’s little body, lifting him swiftly up above his head. His son squealed in surprise and squealed even louder as he hugged the child close and proceeded to tickle him.

“Hahahahaha!! Okay! Okay! I’m sorry, Appa!!” Kyungsoo screamed in laughter.

“And~?” Joonmyun teased.

“Hahaha! And I’ll listen to the story!!”

Joonmyun chuckled, discontinuing the tickle session and kissing his baby boy on the head. “Good! Now, before we even mention your great-grandfather, you have to understand something first.”

“What’s that?” Kyungsoo asked, already captivated (he is still a child after all!).

"Legend speaks of a creature so beautiful, only the purest of heart and the most innocent of souls are able to lay eyes upon it. The creature itself is the embodiment of utmost wisdom, and the magic it exudes has the power to bring forth and sustain life."

"Appa~, how could such a creature exist? If it does, then where does it live?" Kyungsoo asked curiously.

Encouraged that his son was listening earnestly, Joonmyun continued. "Well, the creature normally lives in the deepest part of the forest far, far away from humans to live in peace with nature."

"What kind of creature is it?"

"In Hangul, we call it Girin--"

"A giraffe!?" Kyungsoo exclaimed.

"--BUT!! In China, it is called QiLin or what the Westerners call a Unicorn."

"Appa~! Unicorns don't exist! Life is not a fairytale!" Kyungsoo whined, completely upset with his father.

"Now, now, Kyungsoo! I may have exaggerated a bit about my encounter with that mermaid ("Ahjusshi said you were drunk, Appa."), but I'm telling you the truth!" Joonmyun pleaded.

"Appa~! You promised this story was going to be about great-grandfather, not imaginary unicorns!"

"But, Son, your great-grandfather met a unicorn! He even fell in love! ("Ewww!!!")" Joonmyun explained.

"Ahhhh! Now it's a love story, too!!! How can he love a unicorn!! That's gross!" Kyungsoo was definitely not happy with this sudden spoiler alert.

"Well, if you'll just listen to my story, you'll understand."

"Ugh! Fine." Kyungsoo gave in. He was stilled bored and their trip was going to be a long one, so he decided to just listen to his father’s silly tale.

All smiles, Joonmyun got himself as comfortable as he could on his seat, hugging his little son close to have him sit in his lap."Now, where shall I begin...."