The Dark Forest

Min Jun stood frozen in place, unmoving.

The laughter still echoed from between the trees...

Soft, yet close.

He tightened his grip on the wooden stick in his hand

a short stick, full of splinters.

He didn't know how to fight.

His father had trained him a little… but it wasn't enough.

He had only learned the basics.

A strike… a defensive stance… nothing more.

His mind was scattered.

His palms were sweating.

He whispered to himself:

"It can't see me… not now."

He started stepping back, slowly.

Carefully.

His foot pressed down on dry grass, crackling softly

but he tried not to make a sound.

His eyes never left the direction the laughter came from.

The creature hadn't revealed itself yet… but it was there.

He could feel it

moving between the trees.

A rustling came again, this time from a different direction…

Closer.

Min Jun swallowed hard and kept retreating.

He didn't think about fighting

he just wanted to escape.

To escape… silently.

---

At the edge of the forest...

An old man stood silently at the entrance, a girl beside him.

She looked into the forest and said,

"It looks a little dark in there."

The trees were tall and close together,

their branches tangled above, blocking sunlight from reaching the ground.

Shadows stretched thick across the soil,

and the light that managed to pierce through felt dim

as if daylight had never entered this forest.

The air was heavier there,

and the scent of damp earth filled the space.

Still staring ahead, the girl murmured:

"Something about this forest feels… wrong."

The old man didn't respond.

He was gazing in the same direction, eyes steady.

She looked again into the shade between the trees and said:

"It's like it hasn't seen the sun in years…"

The old man remained silent for a few more seconds.

Then he finally spoke, calmly:

"Come. Let's go in."

He stepped forward, steady and sure.

The girl followed without hesitation.

With every step they took,

the shadows seemed to deepen around them.

Moments passed… nothing happened.

No sound but the wind stirring the high branches,

rustling leaves softly,

yet bringing no other noise with it.

No birds.

No animals.

Not even the faintest of footsteps.

Everything was… unnaturally quiet.

The girl stopped for a moment, looked around, then whispered:

"Strange… I don't see anything."

The old man said without turning:

"Keep walking."

They continued on together.

Suddenly, the girl stopped and bent down slightly, staring at the ground.

She said:

"Wait, sir… look here."

The old man approached and followed her pointing finger.

"What is it?" he asked.

She pointed at a dried leaf stained with a dark spot:

"It looks like… a drop of blood."

The old man leaned in closer and examined it.

"Yes… dried blood," he said.

The girl asked,

"Do you think it's human?"

He paused a moment before answering:

"Most likely. The color and texture suggest it."

She looked around, puzzled:

"But from who? There's no trail nearby…"

The old man thought for a second, then replied:

"Maybe someone wounded… passed through here at night."

Her voice grew worried as she asked,

"Then… they could still be nearby?"

The old man stood up and said:

"Possibly. We don't know how far they got… but we're getting closer."

Then he pointed toward a narrow path between the trees:

"We should continue this way."

The girl nodded, and they moved forward into the shadows.

The trees thickened.

The light filtering through the canopy above grew fainter.

Their steps were slow and careful

every movement watched, every sound noted with caution.

The forest grew darker…

but there was no turning back.

---

Meanwhile, Min Jun was still retreating quietly...

Until his foot caught on a slanted tree root.

He tripped and hit the ground hard.

"Ugh!"

He let out a muffled cry.

And in that moment…

everything stopped.

The laughter disappeared.

The rustling vanished.

Even the wind seemed to freeze.

Min Jun quickly lifted his head, heart pounding.

He muttered as he scrambled to his feet:

"Damn it…"

He didn't wait.

He ran.

He ran with everything he had.

His feet slammed the earth in rapid steps.

The stick had fallen he didn't look back for it.

He didn't dare to glance behind him

all he wanted was to get away.

To survive.

Min Jun sprinted through the trees, breath ragged, eyes wide.

And then

A grey wolf lunged from the trees on his right!

He barely saw it

before it leapt at him and slammed him to the ground.

They rolled across the dirt, dust flying up around them.

The wolf landed swiftly and circled behind him, ready to strike again.

Min Jun tried to get up he was halfway to his feet when

The wolf pounced again.

But the boy rolled sharply to the left at the last second,

narrowly dodging the attack.

The wolf's claws scraped the earth, and it let out a furious growl.

Min Jun stood up, panting eyes locked on the beast.

The fight had begun.

His face was smeared with the wolf's blood.

He quickly wiped his hands, shaking it off.

He took a deep breath, and with a tired but relieved voice, said:

"Finally… it's over."

He exhaled slowly and sat on the ground for a moment, trying to recover.

The battle hadn't been easy… but he had survived.

Min Jun stood again, slowly, pressing his right hand to the ground for support.

He breathed hard, every movement aching from the fall.

He stood, leaning on one knee, then brushed the dust off his pants.

His voice trembled with a mix of fear and fatigue:

"That… was terrifying."

The forest around him was silent

only the faint whisper of the wind passing between trees remained.

But then

the quiet was broken.

A sharp, repetitive, eerie sound rang out through the air:

"Kikikiki… kikikiki…"

It came from somewhere in the shadows, fast-paced and closing in.

Min Jun froze.

His eyes gleamed sharply as he strained to see through the tangled woods.

His heart pounded faster.

The silence around him felt heavy pregnant with something unseen.

He didn't know what waited for him in that darkness…

But one thing was certain:

The fight… wasn't over yet.