Chapter Text

Chapter - 1

“Dreams and Peppermints”

⧪

Jaeyun's day starts at three in the morning, crisp cold, street lanterns, and frosty air that freezes the breath in lungs. He walks from one place to another inside his house, gathers flour, eggs, chocolates that he ground to dust, and packs of sugar.

He mixes one thing with another, gathers ingredients, whips them, and mixes them until they disappear into the concoction of sweet muffins, breads, and cookies. He places them on the tray over the fire, wrapped in foil, and covers them with coal and heat. Then he sets about preparing tea, a precise amount of tea leaves, boiling water, a touch of lemon, and sugar. He leaves it to boil in the kettle as he goes about arranging the house and sweeping the wooden floors.

The tea boils, and he lets it steam while he sits near the fire hearth and reads the book on princes and dragons. He slowly sips his tea, blowing on it to cool the heat as much as he can to avoid burning his tongue. Then, when the sun peaks over the hills, he goes to check on his baked goods and starts cutting them. He places them on a plate for him and his grandmother, then puts the rest in the basket.

He boils another tea and leaves the sweet baked goods for his grandmother to eat; her medicine lay out neatly beside the empty cup for tea.

Jaeyun goes about to knock on every door in town. The sweet cookies and chocolate-flavored muffins go to the little kids who are going to school at the local temple, where the monk teaches them. The loaves of bread go to the parents and the elderly who get ready for breakfast at six in the morning.

In exchange, they give him coins, and ingredients, sometimes herbs and fruits that grow in their fields. Warm smiles and honeyed blessings for him that he accepts with a blinding smile of his own. When he gets back home, his grandmother is already sitting at the table, breaking the bread to dip it in her tea.

“I'm back,” Jaeyun softly calls to her as he places the baskets near the door to take them to wash by the river, along with their clothes that have been piling up for weeks.

His grandmother, now eighty-three, smiles at him gently and beckons him forward. Jaeyun goes without fuss and is greeted with a kiss on his cheek. “Good Morning, moonchild.”

Jaeyun smiles at his grandmother, “Good morning, Nana,” then proceeds to show her his earnings for the day. As winter crests, most of the fruits at his disposal are apples. “Perhaps, I ought to make apple pie for tomorrow.”

“That would be great, it's been a while since I last ate an apple pie.” His grandmother used to bake for the two before him, and Jaeyun followed in her footsteps as it became a source of their income.

Jaeyun makes sure his grandmother takes her medicine, finishes his own bread, keeps the muffin for dessert later on, then washes the dishes. When everything is clean and pristine, he makes arrangements for lunch. Jaeyun walks to the field behind his house and unroots onions and cabbage. He plucks carrots and potatoes and takes them inside to wash them. Then he kneads the flour and rolls it into perfect circles before flattening them. All that's left is to heat it over the pan and make a vegetable side dish to last them till dinner.

He leaves the prepared lunch for his grandmother to make and goes to collect the laundry he has been putting off for days. He collects his undergarments, his grandmother's clothes, then dumps them in the bucket and grabs the handmade soap. He makes his journey down the hill and goes past the temple, where the kids wave at him when he passes by. Jaeyun smiles at them and waves back.

The sunlight spills over tree leaves as Jaeyun joins the wives who have buckets of their own clothes and ideally converses with them as they make their way to the downstream River. Jaeyun squats on the rocky floor and begins the motion of dipping them in the river and soaking the clothes. He rubs the soap over the fabrics mechanically and beats them into shape.

When the sun crests into the afternoon, Jaeyun parts ways with the women and climbs back up the hill as children run and weave between the adults as they go home. Jaeyun laughs as children greet him, “Good day, sweet brother Jaeyun!”

That's become his name in town. The brother who gives them sweets and cookies that melt in their mouth. Jaeyun ruffles the hair of one of the kids and makes his way back home.

He sets up the line behind his house and wrings the clothes to get out the excess water. They splatter onto the vegetables and fruits in his field, and he hangs them to dry. When Jaeyun gets inside the front, his grandmother is already plating their food.

“Come, come, eat it while it's still hot!” His grandmother waves him forward, and Jaeyun goes and sits at the dining table to eat his food with her. They eat two roti each and leave the rest for dinner, along with the pickled cabbage and potato curry.

“Would you like some tea, nana?” Jaeyun asks, and she agrees, so he boils tea for them both. They talk while they drink, and his nana tells him a story about his mother.

“She used to do every chore in the house and went to work as a seamstress. Not unlike you, she used to nag me about my health and scold me when I refused my medicines.” His grandmother adds the last bit playfully, and Jaeyun chuckles with her.

“You deserve to be scolded if you refuse to take care of yourself, nana,” Jaeyun says with a smile, then blows on his tea.

His grandmother laughs and continues, “Your mother did warn me that you would be just as tenacious as her.”

Jaeyun laughs and shakes his head. The tea slides down hot in his throat. He collects their cups and washes them. His grandmother then settles into knitting for the upcoming winter, and Jaeyun goes to read about the herbs.

He squashes peppermint and makes candies out of it. He's heard it suppresses appetite, so he makes them for the days when the cold will be too much and his crops will die, and they will have to be sparse with their food. He makes dozens of them and leaves them to freeze over in a pot.

Night falls, and some strays bark down the road. Jaeyun prepares dinner, and he and his grandmother eat dinner and exchange warm conversations.

The moon peaks out of the clouds, and Jaeyun tucks his grandmother in bed just like she used to with him, and blows out the lantern. After that, Jaeyun prepares the ingredients he will need for the apple pie and and after he is done, he takes the oiled lantern and moves to his room.

On the way, he sees a dog curled up on their front door, and out of pity, he takes an old shawl now worn and sporting holes here and there and opens the door, and wraps the dog in it. He leaves a piece of bread from his dinner by its head and closes the door. Then he goes to his room and climbs into bed. The only fur blanket he's had since he was a kid.

He makes a mental note to go and bring more peppermint leaves and lavender, along with some Tulsi for his grandmother, and promptly falls asleep.

⧪

Heeseung's day starts with the sun at six. He gets up, canopy falling around his king-sized four-poster bed, and gets out to slip his feet into warm slippers. Then he robes himself and orders the guard outside his Chambers to bring servants in for a bath. The bath water is prepared by the time he comes back from training at eight. He washes the sweat and grim and his hair before he gets into the fitted robes of silk and velvet, glittery ornaments, and gloved hands.

After that, he goes to his studies of history, war tactics, strategies, and business. He learns about his ancestors and conquerors, of battles and blood spilled to make him the crown prince of the beautiful realm of Dellaconshire. Then he attends court meetings and entertains nobles who veil their greed in honeyed compliments and polite smiles.

Then he has his meals with his family and friends before they go for a spar and train some more. He comes back at night, servants gone after fluffing up his pillows and warming his bed with wrapped coal, bath water ready. He takes his warm bath, and reads the missives and finances of the castle expenses in his pants and a thin robe to cover him, then goes to sleep. Covered in warm fur blankets, and his extravagant room.

Tomorrow comes hunting day with his friends.

⧪

The hour of the wolf strikes, and like always, he begins to dream. It starts the same, moonlight spilling between leaves, brushing the blades of grass. The trees cast long shadows that scream of horror and danger. A wolf howls in the distance, and out from the depths of the jungle comes a snow white horse.

It watches him as he slowly reaches out a hand to caress its head. But before he can ever make contact, the dream disappears like the wisps of smoke.

⧪

This time, Jaeyun wakes up to violent coughs coming from his grandmother’s room. Jaeyun opens his eyes and then slowly gets up. It’s barely two in the morning. He moves to light the lamp beside his bed, and the floor creaks as he moves out of his room to his grandmother’s.

He places the lamp on the dining table before he sets to boil some tea with the last batch of tulsi that the monk had recommended. He will have to call him again and have him check her over.

The coughs don’t stop, and Jaeyun leaves the tea to boil to check on her. She is hunched over in her bed, and Jaeyun carefully wraps her shawl around her. Winter is starting soon, and as the weather turns harsher, so does her cough.

There is nothing he can do but keep her warm and feed her tulsi tea. Jaeyun methodically rubs her back as she heaves, the smell of old people and violent coughs permeating the air. As the coughs subside a bit, he leaves her side to go and get the tea.

He brings her the cup and blows on it to cool it down before he slowly touches it to her lips and helps her drink from it. His grandmother takes it gratefully as it warms her inside out and soothes her battered throat.

“It’s getting colder,” she whispers in the dark, and Jaeyun takes the cup from her and helps her lie down.

“I know,” he tells her softly, “I will go to buy coals next week.”

He doesn’t tell her that the coins he earned aren’t enough. Coals cost a lot, but it lasts longer, and his grandmother has a bed warmer. It will ease her discomfort and keep her warm at night. There is only so much the wool can do for her.

He also has to go hunt Tulsi for her. Her medicines are already expensive, and Jaeyun bought the recipe at a high price that he still hasn’t paid off completely. He is going to need another batch, and the herbs he won’t find in the forest, he will have to buy from the market next town over.

Perhaps tomorrow, he should ask for coins instead of flour and sugar.

His grandmother caresses his cheek once before she falls asleep.

⧪

Chapter Text

Chapter - 2

“Fate or coincidence?”

⧪

Jaeyun doesn't go back to sleep after. Instead, he goes to bake the apple pie and make peppermint candies. Then he heats water for a warm bath that is only enough to wash his body of soap suds and otherwise showers with cold water. They can't afford to waste more water, as soon as the river downstream freezes, they will have to make do with what they have.

Jaeyun opens his pouch of coins and counts while the tea boils. Three dicells and twenty domes. Only enough to buy wood and candy. Not good.

Jaeyun packs it up and goes to get the ready pie, and the whole cottage smells of apples and sugar. He neatly cuts the pie into even pieces. Separates four for him and his grandmother, then places the rest in the baking container and covers it with the cotton cloth. Then he pours the tea into a cup and leaves it by the table for his grandmother, who has risen.

“Here, drink this tea,” Jaeyun says softly as he hands her the cup. She takes it gratefully and blows on it. “I'm going to go and sell the pies. After that, I will go and look for the herbs so I won't be back for lunch, and I've already plucked the vegetables for today. Your medicines are by the plate, and don't forget to eat them. Tomorrow, you can take a bath. I've also left tea leaves where you can reach them, should you need them.”

His grandmother looks at him, fond and pitiful, “You work so hard, dear. Your mother would be proud.”

Jaeyun smiles at her.

He leans down, kisses her cheek, then walks back to the kitchen. He washes the vegetables that he plucked after showering and cuts them into even pieces. He takes out the utensils she might need and places all the herbs and salt within reach. After that, he takes the pie and another bag for the herbs and goes out to do his job.

He goes around town, gives a piece of pie for one three dimes. He gives peppermint candy to children who stop to ask him for the pie and sends them off to school with a pat on the head and a promise to make chocolate muffins soon.

After that, when he is done, he takes the leftovers and carefully wraps them in a cloth. While he is doing this, he sees the dog from last night digging into the ground, and Jaeyun feels his heart clench. He forgot to bring his pie for lunch.

When he approaches, the dog growls at him. Vicious and angry, hunger curling in their belly. Jaeyun offers a piece of pie in surrender, halves the leftovers, and gives one to the dog. The dog growls at him, and Jaeyun doesn't let it bother him. He places the pie on a leaf on the ground and slowly backs away.

The dog stops baring its teeth at him and cautiously moves forward. He warily smells the pie before he devours it in one bite. Jaeyun agrees. Hunger makes everything disappear into nothingness. Jaeyun watches the dog gobble the food greedily. He regrets giving the piece and wants to snatch it back, and wants to bear his teeth on it too. But Jaeyun simply watches as the pie disappears and the dog runs away.

Jaeyun doesn't know what he is going to feed himself tomorrow. He doesn't have enough money to stock up for the upcoming winter, and here he is giving away food and clothes to strays. He could have used that holed shawl as an extra blanket when snow would fall and wood would be scarce. He could have used that pie for something else, and he could have hoarded it to secretly eat it in his room when there would be no more food.

But Jaeyun simply gets on his feet, turns, and walks into the looming forests.

⧪

The servants bring him warm jasmine tea and a meat pie. Heeseung dismisses the pie and instead walks to the garden where his father waits for breakfast with him. There is an array of food laid out on the table, and Heeseung plops down on the chair that his butler pulls for him.

“I heard you're going on a hunting expedition today,” The King starts with idle questions. Heeseung nods at his father as he neatly cuts into the pie and eats it. The taste is sour, and Heeseung scrunches his nose in distaste.

“Yes, Jongseong insisted we go.” Heeseung is looking forward to it; it's been a while since they went on a hunting expedition, and he heard Riki is coming back from his studies today.

“Riki is coming back from Summerton?” Heeseung asks his father.

The king nods as he chomps on a piece of apple. “He came back last night. Apparently, your brother rushed the horses when he heard you were going on a hunting expedition.”

Heeseung chuckles. “He's always been eager about it after all.”

The King joins in on his laughter, “He finds nothing more interesting.” Heeseung stabs a piece of bacon and plates it between his toast. “How many guards will you take with you, son?”

Heeseung stops short at that. “I don't need guards.” He looks up at his father and sees the way his mouth twitches, displeased by the answer.

“You are the prince of the realm-” The King starts, and Heeseung cuts him off. Not many have the audacity and live to tell the tale.

“I know. But I don't need guards. Jeongseong, Beomgyu, and Riki will be there. I don't need more. Besides, I'm taking Sunghoon with me, and that's enough protection for all.” Heeseung argues.

The King stays silent, his jaw clenched as he weighs the option. After a long moment, he finally lets out a sigh of defeat and nods. “Fine, but a month is all you will get.”

Heeseung feels a rush of thrill at that. One month. A whole month in the wild, with the people, the commoners, the farmers, with his friends. No guards, no servants, no tents.

This part, he hasn't told his father. That they haven't arranged for tents or luxury. The only thing they will be carrying is money and weapons. That's it. They will live as commoners for four weeks.

Heeseung was the one who suggested this idea. While Riki complained for a bit in his letter, he eventually agreed.

Heeseung finishes his breakfast and then goes in search of his cousin brother. He is still in bed, canopy pulled close, snoring away. Heeseung smirks at an idea. He takes the pitcher of water, slowly pulls the canopy open, and pulls down the blankets to expose his cousin's face before he dumps the entire pitcher of water on it.

Riki jerks awake, sputtering and coughing. “What the hell?!”

Heeseung grins as he puts the jar back in its place by the bed and spreads his arms wide in grandeur, “Rise and Shine, my lovely cousin!”

His cousin glares at him, not impressed in the slightest bit.

Heeseung chuckles as he takes out his handkerchief and offers it to Riki, who snatches it with a glare in his direction and wipes his face with it.

“It's already nine in the morning, and we have to leave in two hours. Get up and start packing, or we'll leave you behind.” Heeseung takes the handkerchief and tosses it over his shoulder without looking.

Riki grumbles at him but slowly gets up anyway. Heeseung watches his cousin stumble out of bed and turns to leave. On his way out, he informs Riki's guard, “Prince Riki is awake. Send for a bath and food.”

The guard bows to him and hurries to do it. Heeseung goes back to his room and starts packing away his things. They don't need much, just clothes, weapons, and a money pouch.

The princes get ready, and after a hefty lunch with the King and their friends, they make their way to the stables.

“Should we simply just travel today?” Beomgyu proposes, patting his bloated stomach.

Heeseung wacks him on the head and puts his arm around his shoulder. “We need to change our clothes first, remember?”

Beomgyu whines, “If they know we're nobles, they will fall to our feet to fulfill our every whim!”

Heeseung sighs, “That's true, but we're not here to make them act like sycophants; we are going on a trip to gauge what's missing with our country.”

“There is nothing amiss if you ask me,” Riki interjects, “Scholars would know if our civilians were unhappy with the way uncle ruled our country.”

“Unless the scholars do not bother even to ask the civilians," Jay calmly retorts.

Heeseung frowns, “They wouldn't dare. That's treason.”

“To lie about the King or his family is treason; civilians don't count in the mix,” it's his personal knight Sunghoon who interjects this time.

“They wouldn't do something barbaric like that, would they?” Beomgyu frowns.

“Then let's find out,” Heeseung firmly declares. “Let's dress ourselves as civilians roam the country and live with them to experience their lives and come back and make reforms accordingly. I refuse to rule on a throne that's been made up of its subjects' hardships and tears.”

“I agree,” Riki nods. “Especially because all of us have the power to change the system. Heeseung hyung is going to be King one day, and I will be his loyal advisor.”

“I will be the Master of Coins and Master of Ships. I will control his fleets and trade, I will manage the crown's finances.” Jay joins in.

“I will be the Lord in the North,” Beomgyu beams proudly. “I will make it the strongest defender and army for you to rule and protect!”

“And I will still tell you people, this is a bad idea,” a new voice joins in. The five of them turn around to see Yeonjun, heir to the Lord of the southern valleys.

“You always spoil the fun, Yeonjun,” Beomgyu scowls.

“If you all cannot even say two sentences without rubbing your status in it, then in no way are you going to be able to pass yourselves as civilians,” Yeonjun ignores Beomgyu's jab and addresses the group as a whole.

Heeseung, having had enough of this, suddenly feels drained, “Let's just go. Don't forget we're going as civilians and normal hunters. Do not speak of anything that might give you away.”

He is stopped before he can reach his pearl white horse. Yeonjun gently pulls him back, “And that will give you away faster than your robes.”

Seeing Heeseung's confused face, Sunghoon clarifies. “The people don't know what you look like, my Prince. While they've never seen you since you were a toddler, they know that you ride a white horse.”

Heeseung frowns, “But, moonbeam goes wherever I go. I've never left her behind.”

Yeonjun pats his shoulder, "Yes, but if you take her, you will give away our identity. Take Midnight with you instead.” Yeonjun leads him to his other back horse. “I'm sure Moonbeam wouldn't mind.”

The white horse gruffs and digs its hooves in the ground, upset at the thought that her rider was going to take another horse instead of her.

Midnight, however, looks too smug and pleased. Bastard.

Heeseung sighs, defeated. He pats Moonbeam lovingly and quietly reassures her that he will be back soon and will order the stable boy to give her more treats.

Appeased but not in the slightest pleased by him, Moonbeam huffs but nudges him away. Her own silent way of saying, ‘I'm not happy, but you can go if that's what you need.’

Heeseung pats her a little more before he moves to mount Midnight. His money pouch is hidden inside his clothes, and the bag of the commoner's robes is slung in Midnight's saddle along with the weapons.

Heeseung covers his sword made of dark steel with a carving of his name on the hilt. The blade itself is carved with intricate runes, and he has no idea what they mean, so he carefully sheaths it. They all hide the engraving of their names on the hilt and cover the weapons with a cloak.

“Ready to go?” Sunghoon calls from the front. The only one proficient in the winding roads to the mountains out of the capital. They have ventured into the capital and the markets around their stronghold palaces many times in their youth. However, this is the first time anyone has ever travelled to the edges of their country.

They all say yes, and Sunghoon takes off on his horse, the rest of them following behind.

In the stables, a whimsical boy smiles.

⧪

Chapter Text

Chapter - 3

“The Strings of Fate”

⧪

The six nobles and the knight travel into the depths of the forest before they stop in order to change their clothes. They all joke and laugh as they change together, the knight turning away from them, respectfully, shedding his armor under which he was already wearing his usual clothes of common background.

Heeseung marvels at his clothes in fascination. Many of them don't know how to wear these robes, and Yeonjun, who frequently ventures out of his Palace to the villages for a break as a commoner, had to teach them.

They had a hefty lunch in the palace, so they didn't organise the picnic they had planned the day before, but they continued to travel, taking in the winding roads, the luscious forests, and endless scenery. They reach a small town on the borders of Asherville and stop to rest for the day. They pretend to be travelers as they take shelter in an Inn to spend the night.

Yeonjun and Sunghoon arrange for the rooms and dinner, and Jongseong calls for a night of drinks.

They talk, they laugh, and they enjoy the local markets when they stop by the next day, stay in the Inn for another day, before hitting the road again.

They ride for a day straight and stop at Mablethorpe, a region full of plain terrains, endless fields. They arrive at nearly noon the next day, and they watch the farmers run with the huge oxen to plow the now barren fields.

This time, they stay with the village chief disguised as merchants, and Heeseung secures a good deal to transport the harvest back to the capital, which had always exported goods from outside Dellaconshire. He mourns the fact that all these years, they could have had their organic crops that were grown by the people, and yet, the crown was in debt because it kept importing rather than exporting.

Heeseung can see that Mablethorpe's fields could feed half of the nation easily, and if he budgeted coins to buy more lands for the farmers, it could feed the entirety of Dellaconshire. What they needed was manpower and land.

Jongseong diligently catalogues all of Heeseung's plans and calculates the costs and debt beforehand.

They stay in Mablethorpe for three days before they take off on a two-day journey to Moonfield, the land of jewels. They pretend to be merchants and avoid the main cities whose reports are given yearly by the scholars, and instead focus on the backward and marginalised border villages.

Moonfield is a place for merchants and miners, the people work gruelingly to dig into the soil and rocks to fetch the crystals and jewels that adorn the Royals like pieces of pebbles.

Heeseung and crew explore this minefield for a week and find out that it is rich in minerals and including limestone and granite. Jongseong writes the reminder of funding these mines more and using them in noble houses and penmanship.

After a trip of seven days, they travel on the road to Illary, the land of tea and herbs. They find the villages filled with tea fields that smell of rich herbs, and drink nothing but the organic tea planted there for their entire stay. Heeseung resolves to ask his father to export these tea leaves and herbs to the faraway lands of Elladon and Norewan, beyond the sea, where they might sell for good prices.

They stay here with the commoners, eat their food, learn their ways, and plant the next batch of tea leaves for the upcoming winter. Heeseung takes notes of their lifestyle and feels intense disappointment at the current government.

They leave on the eighth day and travel to the Summerton mountains. Life here is even more difficult, and Heeseung's heart bleeds for his people. While he was enjoying a luxurious life, these people were struggling to make ends meet to give him that life. Heeseung vows he will return these tenfold and resolves to live with them for a week.

The cold bite at their feet and for the first few days, they struggle, but once they adjust, the once picky eater heir to North, Beomgyu, the rich kid of Denver, the spoiled prince's of Dellaconshire, and Yeonjun, the heir to the Lord of the Southern Valleys all get an eye opening experience of the country they will be responsible for.

It fills them with equal determination and remorse for the way this government has been treating the civilians.

For the last week of their stay, they travel through the mountains and come upon a market in a town of seemingly nowhere. This is the far countryside of the East, where they share a border with the country of Cordyn.

The birds chirp and flutter around as they make their way through the town market, where only a few people have opened shops.

They all stop at a small, rundown shop and ask for food. They are served hot, boiling noodles with tea, and they gratefully gobble them up after travelling for days.

This time, they pose as Hunters. The local guides them through the rocky terrain in between the houses, where people peek from their doors and windows in the early morning sun, and leads them to the forest. They thank him and make their way into the luscious green forest and look for animals to hunt while their horses pull at the bushes and shrubs.

Riki yawns somewhere behind him as Heeseung and Sunghoon lead the way.

“Sunghoon leading makes sense, but why is Heeseung leading outside of court?” Riki voices as he scratches at the back of his head. They have to find an Inn with hot water to shower now. A cold breeze blows past, and he shivers.

Heeseung turns to glare at his cousin dearest, but Beomgyu beats him to it. “He has a leader-complex or whatever it is that mind healers say about him.” Beomgyu jokes with Riki, and the two snicker like kids.

Assholes.

“And you two have no survival instincts,” Yeonjun reprimands them as he pulls them aside before they stumble into a lair of some wild animal that is clearly venomous and peeking out from under its burrow.

“No situational awareness either,” Jay pips in as the other two frown before Beongyu fights his way out of Yeonjun's grip.

“No, but seriously, do you guys even know where we are going? What if we get lost?” Beomgyu demands as he walks behind them, now far from Yeonjun's immediate reach.

“Don't worry, Sunghoon knows the way,” Heeseung says back confidently. He's fully dependent on his knight's knowledge of the common areas and is simply walking beside him because the idea of following behind Sunghoon makes him uncomfortable.

His father always said he was meant to lead, not be led.

“No, I don't,” Sunghoon says from beside him with a blank face. Everyone in the group freezes as they stare at the knight in disbelief.

“What?” Beomgyu squeaks.

Sunghoon fights back an eye roll and releases a deep sigh as if asking the heavens to give him strength. “This is a jungle in the middle of nowhere. We do not know the name of this place, and we don't even know if we're still in the borders of Dellaconshire. I know the way around the capital, but even I don't know where this is or my way around a fucking jungle.”

It's silent for a bit, and a cricket chirps somewhere. And then, it finally dawns on them that they are lost. Utterly lost in the middle of nowhere.

"You jinxed it," Heeseung unhelpfully supplies as he glances at Beomgyu.

"I might be a witch," the Lord murmurs, horrified as they all stand stranded in the middle of a jungle.

⧪

Jaeyun spent an entire day in the forest picking out herbs and the fruits that seldom grow there. He's been in the dark embrace of these trees since he was a little kid, and he knows every nook and cranny like the back of his hand. Jaeyun makes it home by nightfall and stows away his findings accordingly.

When he gets home, he realizes that his grandmother had not left him food to eat. She apologized profusely when he went to give her tea before bed. “Oh, Jaeyun, I thought you would eat out.”

Jaeyun smiles at her and simply says, “It's okay, nana. I'll find something to eat.”

He ends up eating the biscuits that he had made last week and had been saving for peak winter.

Jaeyun takes two bites of the biscuit in his hands before guilt gnaws at him. If he eats this now, they will have to go hungry in a month. He needs to feed his grandmother so that she can take her medicines on time.

He puts down the half-eaten biscuit and rolls up the remaining ones in the cloth and puts them away in a jar. He then goes on to prepare the ingredients he needs for tomorrow's bake.

He brews himself tea and pops in a peppermint candy. His stomach settles, and he goes to sleep.

⧪

The forest is dark, and the wind is gentle on his hair. He walks forward and comes to the clearing that he has seen many times. Just like clockwork, the hour of the wolf arrives, and a snow white horse steps into the clearing.

He expects it to be the same as always; its pearlescent skin will shine in the moonlight, and he will be tempted to touch it. An inexplicable longing and pain made him complacent to the whims of this dream. When he touches the horse, the dream will dissolve away, and he will wake up.

But this time, when he moves to touch its snout, the dream remains.

He can touch the horse, and it gently nudges his hand when he freezes in surprise.

“You are truly so surreal and magnificent,” he whispers to the horse.

The trees shuffle somewhere, and the leaves crunch as someone walks in their direction. He jerks away and looks around, but realizes that he is alone.

But when he squints into the darkness, he sees the silhouette of a figure. Tall, broad, muscular, and so safe. He moves forward before he can stop himself, and tears stream down his face. Longing clenched his chest.

“I love you,” he whispers to the figure, and the silhouette shimmers as if the figure had taken a shuddering breath.

“I know,” a distorted voice replies, broken and fragile.

He feels his chest ache as he cries and sobs the confession over and over again, and when the figure steps forward, the foggy frame shimmering in the moonlight, a wolf howls in the distance. He feels desperation sear his heart and makes a run for it.

But before they can collide, a wolf jumps out from the darkness and sinks its claws into him. He feels teeth clamp down on his throat, and he feels warm liquid running down his limbs, and even through it all, he keeps whimpering, “I love you.”

The white stallion lies bloody beside him, too, and the moon smiles serenely down at him before he welcomes the darkness tugging at his vision.

⧪

In the highest mountain, a girl in tattered skirts strokes the head of a wolf lying on her lap. It's soft brown fur, warm and beautiful under the moonlight.

Her eyes stare at nothing as the moonlight spills down her shoulder. She pets the wolf in her lap and whispers, “Such a funny thing it is, the touch of destiny.”

The wolf in her lap remains still and does not stir; somewhere on its neck, the fur turns damp with blood.

“You will be alright,” she whispers and runs her hand down its body when the animal whimpers in its sleep. Her hand runs over the bloodiest coat and leaves behind pristine fur untouched by anything.

“A touch of destiny is all you need.” She whispers and soothes the wolf to sleep.

⧪