Yongguk sighed as he slashed his way through the trail with his blade. The night rang out with the crickets' concerto and the leaves shone in the moonlight. A slight chill bit at his bare knees and he broke into an energetic run to work up his metabolism. He saw the glint of an animal's eyes staring at him from between the trees, but he ignored it.

"Ramen, ramen, ramen," he chanted randomly and pushed a fern's leave out of his way. He stopped walking.

Right before him, was a small wooden cabin well hidden between some trees. He furrowed his brow and strode forwards.

Vines crept over the building like veins, roof had been crushed by fallen branches. The walls were built out of oak, and the door hung off its hinges. Yongguk stepped onto the porch and onto the threshold. There were smashed pottery and more vines in the house. An ancient fireplace sat in the middle of the cabin, but there was still a black kettle sitting on the pit. Leaves scattered over the floor, ceramic shards littered the floor, and there were cracks on the wooden planks in the floor. They were all illuminated by a single lighted candle sitting by the window on a stool; and on the windowsill…

The back of a long-haired figure faced Yongguk and he put down the blade hurriedly.

"Excuse me, I didn't know that anyone lived here."

The figure didn't move.

Yongguk stood there awkwardly for a minute, then…

The figure turned to look at him.

For a minute, Yongguk's eyes widened at the sight of her.

She had ghostly complexion, cracked lips and seemed to be ill. Her hair fell messily in some parts over enormous eyes, which appeared abnormally sunken. She wore a thin slip of woven material, which covered her down to her toes. She appeared to be shivering.

Yongguk looked around and caught sight of a dirty robe hanging by the candle. He strode forwards, pulled it down from its hook and smacked it with a palm so that the dust came up in a cloud. He looked at it, bemused and peeled off his own shirt. Without a word, he slipped it over the girl, who cringed at his touch.

"It's cold," she murmured.

"I just gave you my shirt."

"I meant for you."

"I'll be alright. The robe's too dusty, even in my standards."

She stared at him for a bit and he raised an eyebrow, sitting on the floor next to the window.

"What are you doing with that blade?" she asked quietly.

"Cutting the ivy out of my way," he said shortly. He had never been biased in his attitude towards female Matokis, let alone Earthian ones.

"Aren't you afraid of me?"

Yongguk turned to look at her with a raised eyebrow, "don't you have better things to do around here?"

She turned to the ground.

"My name is Yongguk, by the way."

"My name is Shi Ma; I have lived here for a very long time."

"I'm not from around here."

"Far away?"

"Very far away, do you live alone here?"

"Yes."

"Aren't you lonely?"

"It helps when time doesn't."

Silence fell over the duo as Yongguk pondered over her words. Then, she slid down to sit with him.

"Are you lost?" she asked. She seemed lonelier than she looked, and stared at Yongguk with her wide eyes.

"Nope, I just took a walk."

"When are you leaving?"

"Until you fall asleep, if that's what you want."

Shi Ma smiled to herself and hugged her own knees. Her long hair fell over her face even more. Yongguk scrambled to his feet and went to the fireplace.

She clasped razor-sharp nails into his flesh.

"Ow!" Yongguk yelped as she held on to his leg.

"What are you doing?" she rasped, her eyes wild, and her limbs shaking.

"I'm going to light the pit! It's freezing here!"

Her grip relaxed and he hopped on his right leg, inspecting the left where she had grabbed.

"First thing I'm going to do after lighting the fireplace," he told her with a scowl, "is cut your nails."

She stared at him but said nothing.

*

Dada stirred and grunted as it felt a weight on its tummy, and rubbed its own nose. It peered down with beady eyes and started slightly to see Jong Up snuggling up to it. It grunted and tried to move away, but its new friend had dug his fingers into its fur, as though pulling a blanket. Dada groaned slightly as Jong Up nestled in closer.

Then, it laid its paw over Jong Up's waist. He stopped digging into Dada's fur and relaxed in his sleep, breathing steadily. Dada rolled its eyes and closed them.

Nevertheless, it had never felt that safe before. Its fear of other predators were absent just that one night, for it felt safe next to the sleeping figure. The steady breathing, the smile on his face when he slept.

It wrapped its paw closer over the sleeping figure and went back to sleep.

*

"You have to clean your nails after you cut them, Shi Ma." Yongguk said exasperatedly as he tried for the fifth time to coax Shi Ma down from the tree. She was hugging the bark of the tree obstinately and turned away when he spoke.

"Yah, Shi Ma. There are ants on that tree, so I suggest that you stop hugging it."

"No."

"Shi Ma."

"No."

Yongguk sighed and flexed his arms. Then, very stealthily, he started to climb the tree.

"No. No. No. No." Shi Ma chirped, still looking in the opposite direction. It wasn't until Yongguk had clasped his hands around her waist did she start screaming.

He was nearly deafened and they both crashed down from the tree. She kicked and twisted and scrambled to her feet, running desperately to the other side of the house.

"Don't kill me!" she screamed hysterically, "don't kill me!"

"Shi Ma," Yongguk groaned.

"Don't touch me! Don't kill me…"

Then...

Yongguk realized that she was crying.

*

I pushed Zelo off me and sat up, breathing heavily. The youngest slept on, oblivious to my suffering.

"I could have died," I muttered, and kicked him slightly in the leg, "died."

As I pulled the blankets back over me…

I thought I heard crying in the distance.

*

"Look," Yongguk told her, evidently exhausted, "I'm not going to do anything, okay? I'm just going to lower your fingers into warm water…"

"It's boiling hot."

"Thanks to you wasting time running around, it's cooled down now," Yongguk explained and pressed her boney fingers into the pot immediately. She gave a small scream, but stopped when she realized that it wasn't boiling.

It wasn't even warm.

"It's cool," she agreed and Yongguk rolled his eyes.

"I'm glad you're pleased, now take your fingers out and dry them here," he pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket.

She kept her fingers submerged.

"Yah," he said snappily and she hurriedly pulled them out to dry. Then, he washed the handkerchief in the water as she watched.

"Do you have children?"

"What?"

"You'd be a good father."

"Yeah?" he said and squeezed the hanky dry, then he pushed back her hair and dabbed her face with the material. Her eyes had widened at his touch, but before she could pull away, the wet cloth had brushed through her cheek soothingly. He pulled her hair back and rubbed her face clear of the dust and dirt. She kept her eyes wide open in the process and then…

She reached out and touched his cuticle.

"Yah, don't scare me like that." Yongguk started, tilting his head backwards and he rewashed the hanky. She looked away and her hair fell back onto her face. Yongguk pulled her hair back again and twisted it into a knot like how he used to twist ropes in training. She looked embarrassed.

"There, you look loads better," he commented after he was done.

She looked up at him.

Then, she smiled.

It caught him off guard and he felt something in his heart twitch at the sight of the deprived girl sitting in front of him. He grinned back at her and patted her on the head.

"I'll get you some help," he said softly, "as soon as we get you to Seoul, I'll help you."

"We?" she murmured.

"My friends and I."

She smiled even wider.

"Tell me about them."

"What do you want to know?"

She placed her hands into his shyly.

"Everything…"

*

Yongguk opened his eyes as soon as the first ray of light pierced through his lids and he squinted quickly. His back felt sore and he sat up, looking around giddily.

The cabin was just as before, dust-filled and crawling with vines and ivy. His handkerchief was folded neatly on his chest and he stuffed it into his pocket. The kettle was empty and the fireplace had died. His shirt hung on the hook on the wall.

The candle was gone.

So was Shi Ma.

He waited until the sun had completely risen, before starting his journey back to the campsite.

Shi Ma still did not re-appear, and eventually, he began to think that it might all have been a dream.

A short one, but one that he was sure that he would never forget.