Hyejin guided them towards a corner of the library, a bright red curtain hanging from the top of a small dark room that was sealed off to the others.

The woman snapped her fingers, an assortment of candles lighting up the room like shining stars in a pitch-black night sky. There were books here and there along some wooden shelves, but overall, the room was mostly empty. The floor was of solid stone, the roof hollowed out upwards into the sky like a never-ending cave. It felt like something out of Harry Potter, with sparkles engulfing both Ina and Yoongi. They continued forward, Yoongi's steps reluctant to follow.

In the center of the room lay a marble platform, Hyejin approached it cautiously, two large wooden chests sitting on either side of it.

Moving a hand up, Hyejin expelled a bright light, the chests opened up to reveal glistening green crystals.

"Take one each," she ordered, both of them walking over and grabbing a crystal.

Hyejin smiled, both her hands being raised to the sky, looking like they were pulling something up from the ground, a large, round portal appearing before them.

"When you cross through, let go of the crystal. These will lead you directly to a safe area near Agatha's cottage, otherwise, you might get lost at another location. If all else fails, which it's rather improbable to do so-"

The woman paused, looking over at Ina before grabbing ahold of the moon-shaped pendant around her neck.

A slow stream of green began to surround the pendant, infusing it with a blue hue inside that continuously swirled until turning into a bright cyan color.

"If all else fails, let your pendant guide you in the right direction. I doubt it will be needed, but it's simply a precaution," she smiled, turning away from Ina and Yoongi before walking out of the room, her heels echoing off the walls.

"Do we just...go?" Ina mumbled, looking over at Yoongi, who seemed just as puzzled as her.

Ina sighed, moving towards the platform and slowly extending her hand out.

"Let's go," she said with confidence, grabbing Yoongi's arm and pulling him in.

It took her only seconds to be engulfed in that same familiar air brushing against her cheeks. It had been the same air she had felt before when Casper took them through the barrier's opening. However, this was slightly different. There was a delay in getting to the other side, Ina letting go of the gem in her hands, waiting patiently before closing her eyes as the wind increased in strength. When the wind had finally stopped, Ina felt her breath leave her body most oddly, the sensation of drowning lingering in her lungs.

Her eyes widened, the realization hitting her like cement on glass. The atmosphere was grim, like the woods of a horror story. She had no idea where they were, nor in what direction to go, her eyes scanning every direction in hopes of finding any familiar landmarks. Trees surrounded them, a large patch of dirt underneath their feet as if their presence had killed all signs of grass below them.

"What in the hell-"

Ina's eyes immediately went toward Yoongi's hand, a green glint coming from them.

"You son of a-" 

"How- Why didn't you let go of the damn crystal!" Ina yelled.

His eyes narrowed, annoyed at Ina before looking down at his hand, the glowing crystal turning to dust between his fingers.

"I didn't know when to let go and when was the right time. Does it look like I do this often, woman?" He groaned out, Ina rolling her eyes while shaking her head.

Yoongi began kicking the ground, readjusting a long bag he had on his back. Ina's eyes wandered around the area, attempting to find some sort of path to follow. There were bushes on her left and trees to her right. The more she stared the more eerie they became. She shook her head, a shiver running down her spine. No one way seemed clear enough to walk through, and no one way seemed like the right way to go. There was no clear path to follow, the trees too thin to even attempt and climb.

"How the hell are we going to get to her place now?" Ina groaned, Yoongi pointing at her chest.

"She said improbable, not impossible. Make that thing work," he suggested, his voice sounding irritated.

"Right. But how is this thing used?"

"Again, not like I would know. Hit it or something. Usually works if you do that," he suggested, Ina once again rolling her eyes before looking at her pendant.

She gently tapped at it, hoping something would happen as the sky darkened over them, Ina began to worry that they would be stuck out there during the night. The last thing she wanted was to find out what lurked in those woods, worse yet, having to sleep at the side of a stranger. In the blink of an eye, the pendant turned bright green, the chain pulling at Ina's neck. It felt heavy like a guiding hand, Ina moving forward, wanting the weight to distribute and go away, and for a second it did. Just as soon as the pendant seemed to lighten, the left side of the chain began to get heavy, Ina moving once again in that direction.

"I see. It gets heavy when it wants me to move and also shows me what direction to follow," she declared excitedly.

"So, we just need to keep moving?"

Ina nodded, Yoongi following close behind. Both of them began to walk in the direction the pendant led them, their steps wary, both of them only thinking of how dark the sky was becoming.

◇

The slivers of sunlight that had once illuminated their path were now so thin Ina could barely manage to keep herself from tripping. The sounds of the woods had become louder, only amplified by the silence that had filled the air as they walked. Ina couldn't help but feel nervous, the awkwardness between them too thick to push through. She wasn't scared of him, no that wasn't it. She was afraid of being stuck with him for a night, of being stranded with someone she had yet to truly meet under normal circumstances. She wasn't used to being around guys she was unfamiliar with, and their last encounter was less than pleasant to be fair.

"How much longer?" he groaned out, Ina shrugging while continuing to move forward, her body feeling exhausted from all the walking they had done that day. She had never been one to walk much, and the past couple of days had been a pain to her.

"We'll be there eventually. What matters is getting there safely. I don't like how late it's getting," she huffed out, her legs pulsating with every step. 

The shivers just continued to run through her body, telling her something more needed to be said. She hated the feeling, like a soda can shaken, ready to explode. Ina chucked it up to the weather. The wind around her was now cold, but her body felt incredibly hot, her arms filling with goosebumps.

"What happened in your village?" Ina asked, finally attempting to break the ice between the two.

It had been a relatively silent hike up a hill, both of them not knowing what to say to the other, simply following the pendant without a single exchange of words. Yoongi took a moment to answer, pondering whether or not his explanation would suffice to answer the woman's question.

"Do you know about the Warlock King?"

"The one who was kept alive by the Elder witches?" Ina questioned, remembering the words of her father and Casper.

"Yeah. He has been dormant for a long time and suddenly woke up a couple of days ago. When he woke up he summoned these man monsters called Gleamers that attacked the village," Yoongi began to explain.

"They are terrifying being made of mud and clay, an undead army to be more exact," he continued after noticing Ina's expression.

"And one of them attacked your mother?" Ina asked, Yoongi nodding his head, his eyes fixated on the path in front of them.

Staring up at the sky, Yoongi shook his head and came to a halt, a shiver running down his spine. There was a strong wind that had begun to pick up as the sun began to move over the horizon, a cold breeze making both of them shudder. It was too cold, and only now that they had gone still for a moment had they realized just how dark and frigid their surroundings had become.

"It's better if we wait the night out. If we continue walking in the dark we might get lost, or worse, get attacked by something," he suggested, Ina nodding slowly.

She didn't want to camp out, but what other choice did she have? The area was far to dark to navigate now, and the path they had been following would slowly bring them further into the forest. Scanning the area, Yoongi began pushing through some bushes until he found a clearing, Ina close behind him. Yoongi walked around for a bit, picking up some branches here and there and beginning to bring them to the center of the cleared area. There were massive trees surrounding them, some bushes lining the cleared-off area that was covered in bare dirt. They had walked deep enough for the forest to change, Ina contemplating whether to climb a tree and see if she could spot any landmarks but deciding not to since it was far to dark to do so.

"Need any help, " Ina asked, Yoongi nodding his head.

"Get some tree branches, we can use them to start a fire," he urged.

 Ina quickly began to search the area for large branches, her body turning quickly to the trees that were around them. Taking a small deep breath, she pulled and tugged at the tree branches that looked dead enough to use, making sure to avoid green branches since those would take forever to burn, if they could burn at all.

Yoongi shuffled left and right, tossing branches to the center with Ina's help before getting on the ground and beginning to dig a hole. Ina dragged a large hollow log towards the middle, using her foot to test how sturdy it was before letting herself sit on it.

"Ina, you think you can line this up with stones when I'm done?" Yoongi asked, Ina attempting to keep her arms warm.

"Yes sir-"

She paused.

"Why am I even listening to this dude? Are we really going to sleep here together? We should try to get to a safer place. The woods are scary at night. What if he tries something funny?" Ina thought, picking up stones she found off the floor.

A small grumble began to come from her stomach as she set the stones around the hole Yoongi had made, her head feeling a warm heat radiating from her temples. She was probably hungry, realizing she hadn't had anything to eat since that afternoon.

"Hungry?" Yoongi asked, Ina nodded shyly at his words.

"I'll go find some frogs, I'm sure there should be some around here...maybe squirrels?" He questions, Ina's eyes widening.

"I should have eaten before jumping with this man," she muttered, Yoongi looking over at her confused.

"What? Never had squirrel before?"

"Hell no. Canned food maybe, but squirrels? Poor things-"

"Trust me, those damn squirrels can be a real pain during the autumn months. They've made holes in our house enough times that Jungi and I had to eat them before they brought our house down. They also had a habit of messing with my mother's garden and I think that was the last straw for her. She made my brother and I go find them and kill them," he admitted, Ina looking at him judgingly.

"No. I won't eat squirrels. I'd rather go hungry than eat a squirrel," Ina huffed out, Yoongi shrugging at her response.

"Suit yourself. I'm going to look around, let me just start the fire before I do so. I might be able to find you some nuts or something."

Placing the wood and twigs they had collected in the pit, Yoongi mumbled a couple of words before throwing a flash of light into the hole where the wood rested, small flickers of flames soon engulfing the wood.

"If you'd like to stay warm throughout the night I advise you to look for more wood," he added, walking off past some bushes before completely disappearing from Ina's vision.

"Squirrel? Is this dude crazy?" She mumbled to herself, walking around the makeshift campsite they had made while picking up branches and dried wood she could find.

Setting the wood next to the pit, she took off her backpack and rummaged through the side pockets, resting the bag against the log.

"I'm sure Jungha put some leftover gimbap here, oh water. Hm..."

Setting a water bottle she found on the floor, she took out a white bag from the side pocket of her backpack and opened it, finding one and a half-eaten gimbap wrapped in tinfoil.

"I guess this will do," she sighed, beginning to chew at the leftover half while waiting patiently for Yoongi to return.

It was the first time in a while that she had been separated from Casper and Jungha, her heart feeling a slight ache.

Even if it hadn't been more than a day, she missed them, wondering if they were hard at work deciphering where to find the rest of the ingredients for the antidote.

She felt sad.

She knew she had probably hurt Yoongi by not helping his mother and instead choosing to heal Hyejin, but something had made her feel like that was the right option. She couldn't quite describe it. It was just a gut feeling that had led her to that decision.

Hopefully, they were able to save her, hopefully, she had made the right choice.

The heat in her body continued to rise, Ina took the water bottle and drank every last drop with one large swing in an attempt to quench her thirst. The rustling of bushes made her turn around startled, Yoongi walked out from them with two fishes in his hand.

"How did you-"

"There's a stream not far from here swarming with fish. I'm guessing they don't have many predators to kill them off," he replied, walking over to Ina and grabbing the empty plastic bag away from her.

"May I?" He asked, Ina nodding quickly.

Placing the bag on the floor, he used it to open the fish and prep it before sticking a long slender branch in it.

"I see you found some food. What is it?" He questioned while placing the fish near the fire, the branch sticking into the dirt next to it.

"Gimbap. I'm guessing your village doesn't have it," Ina responded.

"I think my mom let us have some after a trip to the human world."

The woods were silent, only the crackling of fish skin and fire heard. Ina looked down at the remaining roll of gimbap, Yoongi still keeping an eye on the fish.

"He brought two. Is one of those for me? Nah, he doesn't seem like the type to be considerate like that. But maybe," Ina wondered.

"Hey, you want to try some?" Ina asked, Yoongi looking over at Ina, her hand extended outward to offer the remaining gimbap to him.

"I'll have a bite but you should have the rest. I'm unsure if you'll like fish," he mumbled.

"Have half."

Yoongi grabbed the gimbap, took a bite from it, and chewed slowly. Ina waited, her eyes wide in anticipation of the young man's reaction.

His eyebrows raised upwards, a small smile falling on his lips.

"Well?"

"It's hard to go wrong with rice," he spoke while chewing, his face going back to the same scowl he appeared to always carry.

"Don't talk with your mouth full, bad manners," Ina chuckled, feeling a wave of relief fall on her shoulders.

For some reason, she had felt uneasy around him. She was still a bit afraid, not trusting him as easily as everyone seemed to trust one another in the witch world. There was something about him that intrigued her though.

Yes, she was afraid of him, but she felt a sense of comfort having him next to her, especially being so far from those she was familiar with.

Yoongi continued to tend to the fish, getting up to gather more wood from around the area. Ina's heart began to rise. The sky was dark now, the sun no longer visible on the horizon. Her fear of him turned to a fear of being away from him. The woods were darker than she had ever seen them, the wind now howling past them harder than it had during the day.

"W-where are you going?"

"I'll go get some more wood. Just stay here and keep warm," he said just as he was about to walk past the bushes.

"Stay. It's too dark for you to wander around," Ina said in a panicked voice.

"We need wood. If we run out of a source of light in these dark woods we might get eaten by wolves!" Yoongi warned, Ina shaking her head.

"What if when you leave you get attacked by something?"

"I doubt it, I can defend myself," he assured her, turning back towards the bushes.

Ina stood up quickly, grabbing the sleeve of his shirt and looking deep into his eyes.

"Tell me, what do people your age do in your village? Do you go to college or do some sort of apprenticeship?" Ina asked, hoping that her curiosity would keep him from leaving.

"Fine, I'll stay woman. At least let me pick some dead branches from the bushes," he groaned, Ina nodding at his words.

He didn't move for a minute, Yoongi signaling that she was still holding onto his sleeve, Ina letting go as soon as she realized she was doing so. He sighed, walking past her, and to some of the bushes near the log, Ina had placed in the center of the camp area.

"About your question, when women graduate from the schools in the village they often venture to the human world and live there for a couple of years so they can get money. Trading was something the witches used to do with humans. However, since my mother's generation that has changed. The witches must now work in the human world to be able to get services or other materials not found in the village," he explained, using his foot to break up some dead branches from the bushes nearby.

"What about the men?" Ina questioned, walking over to pick up the branches and take them closer to the fire.

Yoongi walked past her with some branches in his arms, setting them down where Ina had and picking up the fish they had left by the fire.

"The men stay in the village and start taking over the rebuilding of the town if anything needs rebuilding, or they go on hunting trips with some of the witches. Some are fishers and some become semesters. Some are sent to other villages once they graduate to find a wife or to go help with taking care of the village kids and other stuff. I'm not very sure what this 'college' you speak of is but we don't have one."

Yoongi handed Ina one of the fish, picked up the other, and began to put pieces of the meat into his mouth.

"Colleges are further education. In the human world, going to college helps you learn a specific proficiency. Isn't there anything you want to be in this world? Maybe a medic or-"

"Oh, like a doctor? No. Men can't be doctors. The healing is left to the Elder Witches. At most, I can be an assistant, but not really. I don't think I have any particular thing I have seen myself doing in the future," he admitted, taking a large bite of the fish in his hand.

"Your brother, how old is he?" Ina questioned.

He had mentioned he was the eldest, and Ina was as curious as ever. If he was the eldest, did that mean he was married or maybe he had a job in the village? Anything helped to keep the conversation going.

"If you're trying to get into his bed I will wholeheartedly object-"

"Why the fuck would I want to get into your brother's pants, you moron? I'm wondering if he has a job and stuff not if he's romantically available!" Ina rushed out angrily, Yoongi chuckling to himself.

"Was...was he teasing me?!"

"He's a single man who is considered the mediator between teen guys and them becoming adult men. The witches have been keeping a close eye on him since he was born and wouldn't let them out of their sight until recently because of the current circumstances."

"So he's like a counselor," Ina mumbled, Yoongi throwing the bones of the finished fish into the fire.

Ina was still in the middle of eating her fish, only taking small nibbles from the flavorless meat. She wasn't used to not having salt on her fish, even when her father did take her and her brother camping many years ago. Yoongi seemed to be eating like nothing was wrong, probably a daily occurrence for him.

"Your magic, when did you-"

Ina paused, looking over at the man who now sat near the fire. He looked sad, his eyes focused on the flames in front of them, his eyes relaxed in a displeased way.

"She's going to be okay," Ina comforted.

There weren't any traces left of fear of him for her. This was a man who simply wanted to keep his mother alive.

"I know she will. My mother was one of the strongest fighters in our village. There's no way in hell she'd die this easily," he assured Ina, but the words sounded more like they were there to reassure himself.

"She'll make it."

°˖✧♡✧˖° 

🐨I know this is shorter than my usual chapters but I wanted to post something regardless of how short. I didn't want to keep you guys waiting forever.

Enjoy!!

Mama KoalaBeaw
~♔~