Forest Guardians || Straykids ff

f o u r t e e n

yeona

It was kind of weird when Jeongin showed me that memory of him. And from that moment, I suddenly knew how to go to the waterfalls.

I was still wondering if Jeongin really saw me before. Was it just him or did others had seen me before?

As I went on my way, I heard a faint sound of water flowing, or rather falling. We must be near. The waterfalls should be somewhere here. I also heard yawns from behind me. The little ones woke up. Like all of them at the same time.

I stopped walking and approached them. "Hey guys, how's sleep?" I asked them, and they showed me their cute smile. I nodded at them as I smiled back at them.

They hopped out of the floating carpet and started walking on their own. I quickly followed behind them.

They were playfully teasing each other as they went on their way. I was occasionally chuckling at their cute reactions.

As time passed by, we started to get tired from walking. "Guys, are we still far from the waterfalls?" I asked them, then Jisung stopped to turn to me. He started to jump up and down in his position, telling me that he wanted to be carried. I picked him up and carried him in my arms. I continued to walk to catch up with others.

'We're almost there, Yeona.' A voice suddenly spoke inside my head. Am I getting insane? Or was it just my imagination?

I stopped and tried to look around, but no one was in sight. Actually, I think we're the only ones here in this part of the forest.

I continued to walk, still thinking about the voice. There was something odd about it. That voice knew my name. And it seemed like he had been observing me.

The voice was too charming to belong to a stalker. I could listen to it all day. But who knows, I might meet him someday.

My train of thoughts were cut out by Jisung who tried to jump down from my arms. I watched him as he ran to the others who stopped at their tracks. I hurriedly walked to them and saw what they were looking at.

It was a waterfall. This must be it.

Down the waterfall was an elderly man in his 60s, I guess. I'm not that good at guessing other people's ages. The little ones ran to the man and they greeted him. The man seemed to know them as he was smiling at them.

Then I saw them look at me. The elder man looked as well and was surprised. He hurriedly walked out of the water to greet me.

"You must be Yeona, if I'm not mistaken." He said as he wiped his hands to dry, then offered me a handshake. I politely took it and shook his hands. Then I looked at him, confused.

"How'd you know my name? I believe this is our first time meeting." I told him, then he chuckled. "Of course, silly me. You were too young when your parents went here with you." With that, I somehow understood him with the help of Jeongin's memory. He must be a friend of our family.

"And I see you're a witch now. You must have taken a lot of training with Seojin and Elijah. Ohh wait, have you already met Elijah?" He said as he guided me into his house. He was quite talkative, which was okay for me.

"Yes, I've actually met him." I said as I looked at the waterfall in front of me. I was actually standing at the side of the falls, and behind the falling waters were a passage. It must be the passageway to his house.

"Ohh, I'm sorry for my rudeness. I believe you don't know me, and yet I'm guiding you to my house. I'm Jung Hakyeon, a friend of your grandmother and parents. I'm also a wizard like your ancestors. Do you know when I was your age..." I quietly sighed as he went on his story telling. It's not that I'm being rude or anything, but the moment someone elderly said the words 'When I was your age', it will always lead to them telling their whole story when they were younger. And believe me, it would take hours before they finish talking.

I followed him as he went the passage behind the waterfalls. From afar, you won't see this, which made his house hidden from people looking for him.

As we walked our way to his house, he was still telling his stories when he was younger. He told me the adventures he did and the creatures he fought. He was also with grandma during his adventure when she was still an apprentice.

Minutes of walking, we arrived at his house. It was like grandma's cottage, and it has a lot of post lamps around due to the large cave where the house was located. From here, you couldn't hear the sound of the waterfalls. It seemed like something was blocking the sound of the water.

As we arrived at his humble home, he wrapped up his story telling and he invited me inside. He made me sit down on the couch and offered me drinks. I told him that water was enough.

"So, why did you decide to have an adventure? C'mon, let me hear your reason." He asked as he put down a glass of water on the coffee table. I slowly grabbed it and drank half of it.

"I wanted to know where the forest guardians are and broke the curse if they have any." He laughed as soon as I finished my sentence. "That is, if they're real." I looked at him, confused as he continued to laugh.

"What do you mean?" I asked him, and he suddenly stopped laughing.

"Yeona, the story you knew about them is just a legend. A folklore." My eyes widened as he looked at me and said those words.

"In short, the forest guardians are not real."

•••

Happiest birthday to our quokka and an all-around ace, Jisung-ie!! And an advanced happiest birthday to our favorite deep voice, sunshine and Stray Kid's master chef, Felix!!

We wish you guys all the best! Please stay healthy and keep fighting! STAYs are always here for you to support and love you unconditionally!

You make us STAY!