Side Story 3 - A Fire in Their Wake (Chapter 1)

Chapter 1. "I like you, Jinnie. Let's go play."

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In the Northern Gyeongsang Province of South Korea, a small village was nestled in the valley beneath the base of a mountain chain. Stretching either side of the village and into the horizon, their surface was covered in a layer of fog and a thick canopy of forest in vibrant shades of red, green and orange.

In the early morning sun, a sheet of mist hung lazily over a wide glassy lake of clean, mirror-like water, a large twisted tree at its centre. 

And at the foothills of these mountains, beside the still lake, a young boy was kneeling down in the tall grass underneath the shade of the trees. 

The boy was smiling lightly, his face partially hidden beneath a wide brim hat to protect his pale skin from the sunlight, his long platinum blonde hair neatly tied back beneath the head covering.