Kangmin the Little Witch and his New Friend

Kangmin the Little Witch

At the end of a winding forest path, there was a clearing that sat a small cottage. Covered in vines and wildflowers, hid a small boy who lived there all by himself. The neighboring village had forced the boy out of town once they found out he possessed magical abilities.

Labeled as 'witch', Kangmin didn't mind being all alone. He had a cat named Gyehyeon that kept him company and he was plenty busy taking care of his garden to feed himself.

His days usually consisted of a little farming, cooking, potion making (to sell back to the village that exiled him), and singing. Kangmin loved singing.

One early morning while out in his garden picking carrots, he was singing his favorite song when a young boy stumbled out of the forest and into his clearing. Startled, Kangmin ducked behind a bush, however he was already seen.

"Oh no don't hide. I wanted to compliment you on your singing. I didn't know that anyone lived this far out from the village." The boy stumbled over his words as he approached the bush.

Refusing to acknowledge that someone had found him, Kangmin stubbornly stayed behind the bush. How dare someone come to his clearing without being invited.

"Is your mom here? You look young." the other boy said, stepping closer to the little witch's hiding place. "I really like your garden. It's so big!" The boy started to walk around the garden and towards the cottage.

Warming up a little, Kangmin slowly stood up and faced the other boy. "I live here all alone and I am doing a great job at it also. Now leave so I can keep living alone in peace." He huffed.

Before his sentence was out, the other boy was already opening the front door to the home.

"WHa! What are you doing? You can't jus-" Kangmin sprung up and chanced the other boy into his home. "WOW! That's a big pot! Do you make soup in that?" The boy pointed to the cauldron by the fire.

"No. And You shouldn't just barge in like this. I don't even know who you are." The witch sighed frustrated.

"Yeonho" the boy said and kept walking around the main room to the small cottage.

"What?" Kangmin followed behind, trailed by a curious Gyehyeon.

"My name is Yeonho. Now you know who I am. What's your name?" the boy smiled and turned around to hold out his hand.

Kangmin froze, starting that Yeonho's hand that was reached out. No one has asked Kangmin for his name in a long time.

"Silly, this is where you take my hand and tell me your name." Yeonho laughed, reached down and grabbed the witch's smaller hand.

"Umm, my name is Kangmin." almost inaudible, the smaller boy's cheeks turned a dark shade of pink as he refused to make eye contact with Yeonho in front of him.

"Hi Kangmin, I hope that we can be best friends so you don't have to be lonely all the time" the boy sang as he skipped back to looking around at the house.

Kangmin could only sit there, confused as to what just happened. Gyehyeon rubbing his head around the boy's ankles. Hugging himself slightly, the word rang in his ears. A friend. That sounds so nice to Kangmin. He had a friend.