Hwayoung put her hands over as Jongin was dragged upwards from the snow by a boy with a slight frame and a face so horribly angelic that Hwayoung felt her hands drop the bundle she was holding. The thud gently sounded in the snow, and the girl flinched back in terror as the boy slinging an unconscious Jongin looked around in suspicion before loping gracefully deeper into the trees. 

         There was a moment of eerie silence that settled around Hwayoung like an frigid blanket before she sunk into a squatting position on the balls of her feet in an attempt to catch her breath that had left with the mysterious boy she had found in the snow. Hwayoung put one hand on the tree nearest and put her weight on it, feeling the coolness of the bark beneath her fingertips.           Something about his eyes had held her so still she could feel her fingers twitching from the thunderous pounding of her heart in her ears. Putting a hand over her chest, Hwayoung took deep breaths to try to calm herself, but the image of giant, yellow eyes slowly morphing into the strange, dark eyes of Jongin loomed behind her eyelids.          "Hwayoung," a voice behind her startled her from her thoughts, and the girl visibly jumped.          Turning to face the voice, Hwayoung visibly relaxed upon seeing Taemin standing behind her, hefting his axe behind his back and looking at her with a soft gaze. Hwayoung gulped and looked away, watching melting frost drip to the weather hardened soil below.           "What are you doing here?" Taemin drew closer, causing Hwayoung to press herself further into the tree.          "M-mother asked me to fetch some Sage and b-bark," the girl, a good half a head shorter than the boy in front of her, felt her voice trail off, backing farther into the tree with each step Taemin took towards her until he was standing directly in front of her, his arms crossed over his chest.           "It's not safe out in these woods," Taemin put a hand next to her cheek, his palm pressed firmly into the bark. "I don't want anything to happen to you."          Hwayoung turned her face away from him, looking off into the trees, but said nothing. Something about the way Taemin was looming above her made her feel slightly uneasy. His hand slowly wound its way into her hair to cradle her neck. He began to lean in as though to kiss her but paused.          "Hwayoung," he whispered, twirling a strand of her dark hair around his finger. "Look at me. Please."          Hwayoung pushed herself off the tree and began to stalk back towards the village, refusing to turn. However, she could not help but notice that she no longer felt the same searing heat when he touched her skin. Whatever feelings she once had for Taemin no longer possessed her like they once had.          "Hwayoung," came Taemin's cry from behind her, and she felt him grab her arm.          Hwayoung bit her lip in distress, determined to end the encounter without winding up pressed against the trunk of a tree and the boy who once plagued her thoughts. Forcefully, she jerked her arm away from Taemin's grip.          "Please," he begged, grabbing her by