Chapter Text
The forest behind the vacation house was old.
The villagers said the trees had been standing since gods still walked among men, that foxfire lit the mountain paths at night, and that those who entered without offerings might never return.
Choi Han didn’t know any of that the first time he wandered in.
He was six, small and quiet, visiting Japan with his parents for the summer.
Their family owned a traditional house tucked between the mountain’s base and a sleepy town.
It was peaceful.
Too peaceful, perhaps.
With his father’s attention consumed by business calls and his mother busy unpacking, Choi Han grew restless.
One afternoon, while chasing a butterfly beyond the garden fence, he slipped through the boundary.
He didn’t notice how the air changed.
How the chirping of cicadas dulled and how the breeze turned fragrant and strange. He just kept walking.
And then he was lost.
It wasn’t the kind of lost that came with panic right away.
At first, it was the slow realization that he hadn’t seen a familiar tree in a while.
Then it was the way the sun dipped behind the clouds, dimming the light in his surroundings.
And then— he fell.
Caught on a root, scraped his knee, and sat in the middle of the woods trying not to cry.
That’s when he heard it.
A soft rustling, footsteps, bare against the moss.
Choi Han blinked up through tears, and what he saw stole the rest of his breath.
A boy stood a few feet away.
No, not a boy.
It was a spirit.
He was beautiful in a way that hurt to look at.
His waist-length red hair flowed like river silk, catching the dim light that filtered through the canopy.
His eyes, reddish brown and almost copper, glowed with something mystical and gentle. He wore a white yukata with faint gold stitching and stood barefoot on the forest floor like he belonged there.
Behind him, something tiny poked its head out of the trees. It was a small, shadowy creature with wings and bright blue eyes.
“Are you lost?” the spirit had asked, his voice smooth, calm and soothing. Something a lost child most definitely needed.
And so, Choi Han nodded his head hesitantly, still biting his lips to not cry.
The spirit then crouched beside him, close but not quite touching.
“You shouldn’t be here. Humans don’t belong in this forest.”
“I… I was just…” Choi Han sniffled, “I wanted to see the butterfly.”
There was a pause after his words.
And then, to Choi Han’s surprise, the spirit laughed. It was a soft breathy sound and was not mocking, just amused.
Fond even, if Choi Han thought about it more.
“You’re braver than you look,” the spirit finally said.
Then he reached out, but, stopped himself.
“I can’t touch you,” he added, more to himself than to Choi Han.
“Why?” the boy asked curiously.
“If I touch a human, I’ll disappear.”
Choi Han’s eyes widened in concern. He scooted away from the nice spirit.
“Forever?”
The spirit nodded. Then he gestured to the tiny creature now hovering around them.
“That’s Raon. He’s loud, but harmless.”
“I am not loud!” the little dragon huffed, wings flapping indignantly with all the mightiness his small body could musterm.
“You’re the one who let a human get this close, Cale!”
Choi Han blinked, then turned his head to the pretty spirit slowly.
“Cale?”
“That’s my name,” the spirit, Cale, said with a small amused smile.
The boy and the spirit sat in silence for a moment.
The wind whispered through the trees. In the distance, the cicadas resumed their cry.
“I’ll take you back,” Cale finally said. “But you must promise something.”
Choi Han nodded eagerly.
“Don’t try to touch me. Ever, no matter what.”
The boy nodded again, this time with determination and understanding.
“Okay. But… can I come see you again?”
Cale looked at him, surprise flickering through his golden-touched eyes.
“You want to?”
“I do,” Choi Han said earnestly. “You helping me.”
The spirit looked at him confused. Like what this human child said was so strange he couldn't wrap his head around it.
Then, as if giving up on thinking about it, he let out a quiet breath and smiled.
“Then come back next summer.”
And Choi Han.
Pure sweet Choi Han.
Smiled brightly like he was given the most amazing treasure (or candy).
"Of course!"
And just like that, a promise was made.
One that would stretch across the years like a red string between them.
The summers would come.
And so would Choi Han.
Just like he said he would.
✧✧✧
✧
✧
✧
✧
CHAPTER END