𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐃𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐆𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐒 || skz

CHAPTER 5: THE MONSTER'S LAIR

Jisung had left them as the sun dipped below the horizon.

"I need to get back before they grow too suspicious of me," he said with an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry I cannot help you more."

"I cannot ask you for more, Jisung," Minho said softly, placing a hand on Jisung's shoulder. He glanced to the edge of the forest and the mountain they needed to pass before they reached the fields.

"Be safe," Jisung said as he gave the mountain a glance as well. "Those mountains can be dangerous. Try to..." He trailed off, licking his lips. "Try to stay away from the tunnels. Take the path over the mountain if you can. The tunnels are quicker, but the path over is a less dangerous one." He leaned a bit closer. "There is something within the mountain. Something that traveled here from the mountain range in the north. There have been a few sightings reported but a lot of disappearances. We have yet to investigate it properly. Please be careful."

"We will try," Seungmin said. He was not sure they could avoid the tunnels. They needed to follow Insu's footsteps.

Jisung gave a last, tight-lipped smile before he turned around and vanished into the forest again. Minho and Seungmin were alone again.

"We should travel until the edge of the forest, and then we need to stop for the night," Seungmin said and Minho simply nodded. "I don't know what awaits when the forest ends and honestly I'd feel a bit more comfortable being able to hide somewhere."

Minho hummed.

It felt awkward as it was only the two of them again. As they walked, Seungmin kept glancing to Minho every now and then. The sun was setting, the light disappearing but Minho's hair remained bright. It wasn't as dull as before.

He wanted to ask about it, but maybe that wasn't his place. He and Minho were not friends. So he bit his tongue and pushed ahead.

The forest continued to thin out as they left the large and thick trees behind them; they were now surrounded by thin, young and brightly colored trees. The firs and pines faded, replaced by birch and aspen trees as they got closer and closer to the mountain.

"Do you know anything about the monster of the mountain?" Minho asked as they settled down for the night. "Except for what you discussed with Jisung of course."

Seungmin opened his mouth to speak, but stopped himself. The open tear in Minho's left cheek was no longer there. He narrowed his eyes to see if better, aided by the warm light of the fire. It was still covered with bark, but his teeth were no longer exposed.

"You've traveled a lot, surely you-" He cut himself off as he noticed Seungmin's stare. "Is something wrong?"

"Your... your cheek," was all that Seungmin could muster. His brain was whirring, trying to figure out what was going on.

Minho frowned but his hand came up to gingerly brush his fingers over his cheek. First his right cheek, and then the left. His whole body froze, eyes wide as he stared back at Seungmin. He did not say a word, he just stared.

Seungmin could see the tremble in his fingers.

"It is healed," Seungmin whispered.

Minho stared at him in disbelief. "It's healed," he echoed. "It's healed!"

"But..." Seungmin frowned, trying to wrap his mind around what was happening. He did not know much about forest spirits but he knew that the withered ones did not just magically heal one day. Then he remembered something. "Your tree."

Minho blinked.

"Your sprout," Seungmin said and Minho nodded slowly.

Then he realized too, his eyes widening. "The sprout has rooted," he whispered, mostly to himself. His voice was trembling and Seungmin could see the tears well up in his eyes, reflecting the warm glow of the fire. "I'm no longer withering," he said, looking to Seungmin and he let out a short, relieved laugh; but the happiness did not last long as his expression twisted. "Instead Hyunjin is withering..."