The prince and the squirrel || Minsung

02 - h

" Minho-yah! " Grandpa lee called as soon as he saw Minho and his wife making their way in the yard outside their house.

" Grandpa! How have you been? " Minho said and engulfed the old man into a hug.

" Good. But I'm gonna be better now that you are here. "

" You both catch up, I'll go and cook something for our Minho. He must be hungry. " Grammy said and unlocked the door.

" Come on Minho-ya, I'll show you the surprise I built for you. "

" Surprise?" Minho asked curiously. Grandpa lee nodded and guided him to the backyard of the house where there was a tree on which Minho used to climb when he was a kid.

The swing tied to the branch of the trees by Minho himself when he used to play here was still there but along with a ladder made of strings and wood planks.

Minho's eyes lit up when he saw the swing and immediately sat on it. All the memories flood into his brain when he felt the wind blowing through his hair.

" You still kept the swing tied. " Minho exclaimed swinging back and forth.

" Of course. It reminded us of you. But that's not the surpise. Look up. " Grandpa lee said.

Minho looked up confused and saw a wooden block on higher tree branches. He stood up surprised because last time he checked the tree only had branches which he used to climb.

Walking a lit further away from the tree he saw the wooden box or which more specifically looked like a tree house high up on the tree.

" A tree house?! " Minho looked at his grandpa happily. Grandpa nodded.

" You always wanted me to build you one when you were a kid but you grew up too fast before I could even complete your wish. I wasn't sure if you would still want it after growing up but I wanted to complete your wish before I get too old. "

" I love it! Can I climb up? " Minho asked excitedly. Grandpa gestured him towards the ladder and he climbed up.

" Wow! It's so spacious here. Even the view is beautiful! " Minho exclaimed when he reached up and looked around the tree house.

" Be careful of the squirrel on the tree. " Minho didn't mind the warning and went inside.

The tree house was bigger than he thought and had windows from where he could see the vast field surrounding the house.

Suddenly he heard some rustling in the tree and looked closely. There it was, the squirrel peeking from the window. It was curiously peeking it's head and looking at Minho.

Minho's cat instict tingled and he decided that he wanted to befriend it. He slowly approached the squirrel, taking small steps.

The squirrel didn't back away but it was all ready to leap as soon as it saw a vigorous movement, Minho was sure of it.

Minho stretched his hand slowly and steadily. The squirrel looked at his hand suspiciously, backing away a bit. Minho reached forward a little more, one more centimeter and he can touch it.

" Minho-ya! "
There it goes leaping from branches to branches and disappearing into the tree leaves.

" Yes Grammy? " Minho replied, a little disheartened.
" Food is ready, come down. " Minho took a last glance towards where the squirrel has vanished to and climbed down.

" I saw a squirrel on the tree. " Minho exclaimed when he sat on the dinner table.
" Yes it has been living there after you left. " Grandpa explained.

" I'll give you some acrons later. You can feed it to him. " Grammy said and served food to Minho.

" Umm! It's as delicious as I remember. " Minho moaned at the nostalgic taste.

" Then eat more. " Grammy said happily.

The whole day went by with Minho catching up with his grandparents and just relaxing.
At night Minho went to his room which happened to be near the tree. He could see the tree in its full glory, reflecting the moonlight while he laid into his bed, taking calming breaths.

Meanwhile on the tree branch slept a little squirrel. Looking at the moon while his stomach rumbled. He hate winter season as it meant less fruits on the trees. However, it was nothing new. He suffered through hunger every winter, this winter wasn't any special.

The next day

Minho woke up early the next day. He wished to explore the forest surrounding the not so small house of his grandparents.

The house had two floors and total 5-6 rooms excluding the kitchen. The best part was the underground room filled with different types of toys ( like the one you play with as a kid not the adult kind y'all. )
It was Minho's favorite room when he was kid, now it's the top most room on 2nd floor with the huge window and a balcony just near the tree with the tree house.

If minho stretched his arm he could reach the branch leading to the tree house. That means he could go to the tree house without walking out of his house.

Now back to present, Minho quickly brushed his teeth, changed his clothes and had breakfast.

" Where are you going? " His grandma asked as Minho put his boots on.

" To explore the forests. " Minho replied happily.

" Wait, take this. You'll need it. " His grandpa said handing Minho a bow and some arrows.

" Are there any wild animals that I need to be careful of? " Minho asked confused.

" No, none that you should be scared of. There are many fruits near the river in the forest, you would love some of them so you'll need bow and arrow unless you're a squirrel and can climb trees. " Grandpa lee chuckled. Minho nodded in understanding and excitedly left to explore the forest.

Minho always loved the way air in the forest felt cleaner and filled his lungs naturally. He loved the cripple of leaves under his feet and the satisfying crunch of small twigs of trees.
Minho wasn't a fan of bugs, of course, but he felt that the forest would lose its voice without the buzzing sound and chirping of birds.

Carrying the bow on his back and some arrows in hand, Minho explored the forest looking for the river grandpa Lee described. He heard the sound of water hitting some rocks and the shuffles of some wild animals near by.

He followed the sound and walked into a clear spot where a river flowed. The water reflected every single cloud of the sky but still could show the beauty underneath if one peeked inside.

Minho walked near the river taking the scenery in. It was pretty, no it was majestic. The way the water fell from the higher rocks to the lower ones and meeting the southward flowing river.
How the flowers growing nearby the river glowed and shined, looking ever so hydrated. ( go and drink some water. ) The fishes that could be seen from the clear water without any difficulties.

He would come again for fishing, Minho decided.
Everything was calm. A rarity Minho experienced when he was in seoul. But it was disrupted by a tiny squirrel trying to reach the nearby pear, failing miserably as it had tiny hand and the fruit was faraway from his reach.

Minho decided he wanted to help so he removed the bow, adjusted the arrow and aimed at the target.
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It shot perfectly at the stalk of the fruit and it fell on the ground with a small thud. ( y'all thought he was gonna shoot the squirrel, didn't ya? )

Minho looked satisfied that he didn't lose his shooting skills and glanced at the squirrel, expecting him to look at Minho with awe but the squirrel looked horrified.
One glance at the fallen pear, the arrow stuck on the tree branch, were it used to be the fruit and the squirrel decided that he wasn't as hungry as before.

Last glance at Minho and the squirrel dashed away. Swinging from one tree to another trying to get away from a man who could have possibly killed him.

                     °❃.✮:▹◃:✮.❃°

Word count - 1375
Fun fact: I hv written this story along with D.i.D but it was in my draft as I eventually lost the plot.