"Here, drink this."
"What is it?" Hyunjin looked up from the cup on the table and stared at his mother. His parents were acting rather oddly ever since Minho told them that Hyunjin had been seeing a girl.
He couldn't tell if their behaviour was because of his zero experience with girls or because they just wouldn't believe him. Hyunjin had tried his best to hide about Maru, heck, no one knew her existence. Unfortunately, he blurted out something to Minho that gave his witty mind a complete freakout and came to a conclusion that he had a girlfriend.
However, neither his parents nor his brother gave him a solid answer of what they were experimenting on him. Hyunjin's eyebrows met as he looked down the cup of drink in front of him. The colour was already odd, just imagining the taste made it the worst dream for him.
"I won't. Not until you tell me what's ins- Heck! What is going on??" Hyunjin changed the topic. It was true, he wasn't understanding what was going on with his family. Even if he did like a girl, which was none other than Maru, what was so wrong with it? He had never seen them doing this to Minho before.
The three stood still in front of him, eyeing one another. All of them were flustered, unsure if they should tell him or not. However, Hyunjin wasn't going to tolerate with this. If they wanted him to drink whatever was in the cup, they better give him a good reason to do so.
As if on repeat, they looked at one another again. Speaking with their eyes, as if they could communicate by doing so. Hyunjin kept his gaze on his family, he wasn't going to miss this so called secret message they had with each other.
"Minho told us you were seeing a girl." His father started. Hyunjin glared at his brother whom shrugged his shoulders as if it wasn't a big deal. "If so, what is wrong with that?" Hyunjin snapped, a bit annoyed with the treatment he was receiving.
"That's not just it. Judging from the clothes you took from your mother, the boots you bought and the usual tired look in your eyes, we came to a conclusion..." Father's words trailed off. Hyunjin felt his stomach sank, he wasn't going to like what he was about to hear.
"You see dear, there were people talk about a mystery girl." Now, his mother spoke. "No one knew how she looked like, but a lot said she is beautiful." At the mention of the description, Hyunjin immediately imagined Maru's face.
"But that's not all, a majority of the people agreed this mysterious girl was a witch and... well, she lured young boys at night for a whole winter until she kills them. It was an offering, for her eternity living." His mother finished her words, and Hyunjin was correct. His heart sank, he recalled the same hurtful words he once said to Maru.
"That's absurd." He scoffed, he wasn't going to let anyone talk bad about Maru when he knew how she really was. "The people here are having too much joy, they are starting to create tales to scare one another. This is simply a prevention from letting the parties go on each night." Hyunjin said, standing to leave.
"And I can't believe that you trusted those ridiculous rumours. Can't you be happy that I actually opened up my feelings for someone?" Hyunjin added, he was a bit taken aback by his family to be honest.
"See? I told you we should've just forced the drink down his throat." Hyunjin heard Minho 'whispered' to his father. "Fine, if that's your opinion we respect that. But, if you want to make sure, you can always try this. They said if you were the marked one, a mark will glow on your neck." His father sighed, watching him leave.
"If the tales are true, the witch is out to kill you."
——— ☾———
Since they closed the shop for the whole day, Hyunjin couldn't find anything to busy himself. His father's words kept on repeating at the back of his head. He tried to shake off the thought each time, but they came bothering him again.
The boy tried getting some sleep but he failed numerous times. Without realising, it was already dark. Nighttime arrived and he knew that he was going to see Maru once more.
However, things started getting complicated in his head as he felt sudden uneasiness. Some part of him believed his parents' story, but recalling the pain flashed in Maru's face, he wanted to trust her. He was torn between two.
Then a thought came in his mind. He'd be running a bit late to see Maru but then he could protect himself if the rumours were true.
"La, la, la...
La, la...
La, la, la..."
Hairs on his arms stood as soon as he heard the familiar melody. It was strange as he was never spooked by the melody ever since they got closer. Hyunjin walked out of his room and the cup on the dining table caught his eyes.
He took the challenge, it won't hurt to try after all. Deep inside, he wanted to believe that it was just a fairytale, make up stories just to scare some people but a part of him said that it was the truth.
Hyunjin held the cup tightly in his hands, it was a moment of truth. He shut his eyes for a moment, hoping the best of which ever stories to be proven. Quickly, he drank the drink. The taste was rather bland despite the very strong aroma.
After he was done, he placed the cup on the table. He felt nothing. His heart eased, it was false after all. Just as he was about to move to the door, he felt a sudden tingling on his neck. The soft tickle changed to a painful pierce. Hyunjin grabbed his neck and rushed to the nearest mirror.
There, while staring at his own reflection, he saw it. A yellow mark was glowing on the right side of his neck. He couldn't properly figure out the shape of the mark, but it glowed. That was when he knew, that Maru was not what she said to be.
——— ☾———
Maru looked around, the field was empty. There was no sign of Hyunjin. She felt disappointed, she was looking forward to see him. She had realise that she actually developed some feelings towards him. It was rather impossible, but that was what she thought.
The feelings were odd, she wasn't able to understand what it was. She still hadn't figure it out wholly. Maru decided to wait for a little longer. Maybe he was running late, she thought.
She jumped from the branch she was always seated and landed on the snow. Funny, she had never felt any tinge of coldness before but tonight was strangely freezing for her.
As Maru was about to make her way towards the village, she felt a sudden zap in her system. It was as if she was struck by a lightning bolt. Almost immediately, she fell onto the snow, her body weakened. She knew what was happening, he had found out.
——— ☾———
🐾Merry BangChrismas to my readers!
Well, the plot has just thicken, hope you people liked this. Think of it as a christmas gift from me to you 💓 💕
PLUS SK IS HAVING A VLIVE TOMORROW IM EXCITED AF
pps, here's a failed edit of an adorable hyunjin the reindeer