ELVEN | K.TH

54

RINEI

"Ten coins, missy."

I drop a pocketful of golden coins into the old woman's hand. She gapes for a second, her frail body freezing in place.

"This..."

"Keep it, please." I say, forcing a smile as I take the paper bag of hot sweets. "I won't be needing it, anyways. Thank you for the food."

Then I keep walking, past all the booths towards the end of the street. Every once in a while I risk a glance behind me.

But I don't see his familiar, tall figure anywhere.

Maybe he really had left.

I doubt that, I think to myself as I peek inside the warm paper bag. He's an elf. If he wants no one to see him, no one will see him.

With careful fingers, I pull out one of the sticky rice buns, powdered with sugar and full of mocha cream. It's one of the best things I've tasted for a while.

Because elves could only eat fruits and sarieh, I'd been missing so much of this back in Elven. These treats were the little things Jungkook and I'd always helped ourselves to in the Festivals.

I keep walking, while chewing.

The night wind is cool against my cheeks. Soon the rows and rows of booths turn into blossom trees, lining the wide path. Cherry blossom petals cover the ground.

The end of this path was a dead end. It was the steep rock face of a cliff, barren stone and overlooking darkness.

But Jungkook and I'd found a secret path around the rock face years ago. To the right was the edge, where someone might think it would lead to nothing but a dead end.

Follow along the narrow ledge, and it would lead you to a small platform where you could sit and watch the skies. And the moon, the stars.

I start on a second sticky bun just as I weave my way around the cliff overhang, finding the little ledge.

A faint smile curves my lips.

I sigh softly, setting down the paper bag and sitting down on a large rock covered with soft moss. It keeps the hard surface soft for me, and I lean my head backwards to touch the stone there.

It's a stunning view in front of me.

A spotless night sky. And the moon is a full moon tonight. Its light is so bright that it outshines the stars.

I bask in it. In the moonlight, and the warm chill of spring. It makes me feel alive.

I wish that he was here with me.

I wish that he was here, his arms around my shoulders and the warmth of his body surrounding mine. His soft breath against the back of my neck, the tip of his chin rested on the top of my head.

This had been a place I'd wanted to bring him.

But now I could never.

The elf I loved didn't exist during the night.

_________________________________

TAEHYUNG

She's gone.

My eyes flicker open. And my mind is sluggish, body cold with the chains. Darkness spans out in front of me, making it hard to tell if there is an end to it.