Jinki could still remember the first time he saw Hwayoung: it was when he was barely eleven and only for a split second, but he could still remember how that moment seemed to last forever. Her image was burned into his memory.

         It was on that day that Jinki had first become an apprentice to his father as a Blacksmith. Jinki could still remember how tiring his day had been, trying to remember everything he had been told, and spending the day in a hot, loud forge had not been easy, either.           The sun was sinking in the sky, and the village was for once alive with the shuffle of the uniform villagers making their way home from their work. Voices rang out in the air as one person called to another, and Jinki remembered feeling an odd sense of peace as he watched the sky slowly bleed out into night.          A shrill cry jerked Jinki from his thoughts, and he looked up to find the source of the commotion: two girls- one girl a few years older, and another about his age, maybe a bit younger. The older girl was desperately chasing after the younger, who was all but flying through the huts. Her hair flew about her face like a cloud, her cheeks glowed pink from the night air, and the sweat on her brow caused little strands to stick to her forehead. The little girl, though more on the tall side, was built like a bird, and her body was lost in the folds of her dress.          What caught Jinki's attention, however, was the gigantic grin that was plastered across her face: her wide mouth was crimson on her pale complexion, and her teeth were pointed like those of a cat. Jinki wanted to know what made such a girl smile so.          The older girl frantically trying to keep up with the little whirlwind that was clearly her sister was crying out words of caution, begging the younger to slow down, to be careful. Both girls shared the same brutal mouth and shockingly dark eyes and hair, though the older was rounded in the way girls do when they grow up. The older also lacked the catlike features that were so apparent in her younger sibling.          Jinki did not notice the smile that grew across his face at the sight until later.         As soon as she was there, the young girl was gone, and all Jinki had left of her was the memory, which grew dull and faded from his mind with time. Until he saw her again nine years later.          As he stood by the village gate, he watched as the girl approached, and when her face came into view, he felt himself freeze-