"Ahhh" a shout cut through the forest.
"Ahhhhhh" another followed almost immediately.
"Who are you?", Rong Jae asked, shaking visibly.
His dad Min Jae had told him tales about this forest and his curiosity had gotten the best of him.
No villager in the whole of Woo of Daego dares to come close to this forest for fear of losing their lives. Legend says it holds the power to bring destruction or peace to the human race.
But is the forest really as cursed as the myths about it say? Rong Jae had pondered this for the past two years, when he was about to join the Royal guards. Now he is 22 years old and has trained so hard that he feels he's now strong enough to embark on this adventure.
"I... I... I am like you?", came the reply of the strange looking person in front of him.
Is he stammering? Rong Jae wondered. And what kind of response was that...
Rong Jae's fear lessened when he sensed the person didn't look dangerous. It seems they're about the same age even.
"Yes, you're like me. I know that. I'm asking... What's your name?", Rong Jae tried a different question. Maybe that'll help.
"My name is... Hyun Woo". The person replied.
"Hyun Woo", Rong Jae repeated the name.
The name sounds unique, he must say. But how come he's in here? Maybe Hyun Woo is just like him, truly, curious and adventurous, wanting to know more about this forest. But then, he's never seen this face before.
"So which village are you from?" Rong Jae tried asking for more information. He'd really like to know what Hyun Woo has discovered about the forest, given that his assumptions about him were correct.
More so... is there a mysterious gate here? Rong Jae wanted to see it.
But he heard the gate was guarded by some strange creatures. What did his dad call them again? Yes, DEMONS.
The demons guard the gate very fiercely as it is their only gateway into the mortal world.
Before Hyun Woo could figure out what the boy in front of him meant by the word 'village', and why he is not looking like an animal but a creature like himself, a strange sound came from the east part of the forest, through the evening air.
"What's that?" Rong Jae asked, his fear returning.
Although Rong Jae has trained for two years in the Royal Guards training ground, he was not certain it's enough to overcome whatever creature is out there.
And then again, he's not sure whether Hyun Woo has any fighting skills, so what if Rong Jae also needs to protect him?
The sound came again, closer this time around…
“Run!”
Hyun Woo grabbed Rong Jae’s hand and started running towards the opposite direction.
Although he still doesn't understand how another person appeared in this forest, he had to get them to safety first.
Leaves and thistles scratched their arms as they ran forward, and the blood prickling out from their cut skins seemed to agitate whatever was pursuing them more, as they could hear the pace of the creature behind them picking up.
They kept running until they got to a small clearance close to a river that has a small waterfall.
Rong Jae panicked. Behind them was something he had zero idea about and in front of them was a river. How are they supposed to escape this?
Once again, he felt his arm being pulled forward, and his eyes widened at the strength of Hyun Woo who pulled him into the river.
Splash.
The coldness of the water first registered in Rong Jae's mind causing him to open his eyes under the water. But he couldn't see a thing. The river looked small from the outside but was actually deep and the bottom was pitch black.
Something reached out and pulled him towards a direction. At first Rong Jae struggled, he wasn't sure if it was the creature pursuing them that was dragging his arm. But later, he stopped struggling and allowed the thing to lead him away. Anyways, it is either he drowns here in this river and dies, or allows whatever is pulling him to swim them towards the shore.
At least once they're on the shore, he might have a chance to fight against it. And where could the river have taken Hyun Woo?
“Hmm”, Rong Jae's eyes opened immediately they came above the water, and before he could throw a punch towards what pulled him ashore, he saw Hyun Woo’s face.
“Hyun! It's you!”, surprise and relief flashed across his face at the same time.
“Yes. I had to take the risk, I hope you weren't frightened, I wouldn't have let you drown, don't worry.”
That was a whole lot of messages passed across at the same time. First, he can't be frightened, he's not a girl!
But then Hyun Woo seemed to be a really nice person, risking things like that for someone he just met for the first time.
“Thank you, Hyun.”, Rong Jae said sincerely.
“There's a cave close by. I'll take us there for now.”, Hyun Woo nodded and continued swimming the both of them towards the waterfall.
…
Inside a small cave hidden by the waterfalls close to the river, Hyun Woo found a big stone by the side and made himself comfortable on it.
Rong Jae watched as he moved with the ease of someone who was used to this kind of occurrence. A wild guess formed in his mind but he quickly dismissed it. Who will be brave enough to actually live inside this forest? That's not possible.
He had simply thought to use this evening to check out the forest and leave quickly. Maybe come back later to familiarize himself with the forest so he can find the mysterious gate. But now he's trapped, and all manner of strange things have happened to him.
“We'll stay here till it's bright enough to leave. The forest can be dangerous at night.”, Hyun Woo said as he moved around in the cave as if he was arranging for something.
“What are you doing?” Rong Jae couldn't help but ask.
Hyun Woo looked at him as if he's asked the most stupid question. Isn't it obvious?
“I'm trying to make fire to keep us warm, then I'll clear the area to sleep. Do you want me to clear yours too?”, he asked back.
Rong Jae shook his head, rejecting the offer.
He blinked rapidly and rubbed his hands across his face. So, they were actually not going out of this forest today. This is bad, this is really bad.
What's he going to tell his father? How's he going to explain himself? That he went out into the forest out of sheer curiosity?
All these thoughts and questions are only necessary only if he can even get out of this forest safely. He turned to Hyun Woo to ask him how certain he was of getting them out but he saw the latter was fast asleep already.
How can he even sleep in a dangerous place like this?
Sure this cave seems hidden but what if a demon appears and finds them here? To be sincere with himself, he was really scared. Rong Jae started considering if his quest for adventure was worth it.
He didn't sleep a wink throughout the night, just staring blankly at the burning fire which lot up the dark cave while providing them warmth.
….
The next morning, Hyun Woo led Rong Jae through another path towards where they first met.
Surprisingly, Rong Jae was very quiet during their journey back. A lot was running through his mind, and then the way Hyun Woo was moving through the forest like he owns the place was also another huge question. But he just doesn't know how to bring it up. What if Hyun is not what he seems to be.
Yes he saved his life, but what if he did it to lure him to trust him. Then when his guard is down, he'll capture him.
As the path got familiar to Rong Jae, another sound came through the forest.
