River of Souls

Chapter 1: The Call of the Sky

I live in a small village at the foot of Baekdu Mountain and I am known for my beauty and gentle personality.
At least that's what the villagers keep saying. But I'm sure they would think completely differently of me if they knew about my secrets.

Since my childhood I have known about the old legends, those that have been forbidden since the reign of the new royal family. And this rule has existed for centuries. My mother constantly told me about the gods and spirits that supposedly inhabit our land.
Just as her mother had told her about them and her mother had told her before. My favorite story is the story of Hwanung, the son of the sky, who descended to earth to help people. But he also allegedly disappeared along with the old legends at the beginning of the new herd. It is often rumored on the street, behind closed doors, that the gods and spirits have abandoned us people.
But me personally I don't believe that. Something deep inside me opposes this theory and is firmly convinced that the gods are still with us, in Iseung, in this world.

I sitting on our roof and looking at the sky, like I do it every evening. Today was a little later than usual, which is why the moon is already shining brightly in the sky and the stars sparkle like diamonds. Everything is the same, except for the quiet melody coming from the nearby forest.
Normally the villagers and actually me too are avoid getting too close to the forest because so far no one who has even dared to set foot in the forest has come back.
But for some reason the melody seems to attract me. It clouds my mind and before I can even comprehend what is happening to me, I find myself by a river in the middle of the forest. The river glitters seductively and looks as if it were out of place and actually belonged in the underworld, to Jeoseung.
Because even if this place is often referred to as hell, there are also places there that enchant you when you see them. This river was like one of those places too, it shimmers in every color imaginable and seems to pulsate as if it were alive.

The sound of the melody that lured me into the forest could still be heard. Slowly, careful not to make a sound, I sneak to the bank of the river. The water just seemed to attract me magnetically. With extreme caution, I reach out my hand to touch the water pulsating before me. My hand touches the water, at least that's what it looks like, but I don't feel anything, absolutely nothing. I can't feel any difference from the air around me, yet I can clearly see that my hand is submerged in water up to my elbow. Confused, I pull my arm out of the water. Even as I do so, I hear a quiet giggle from somewhere behind me and I turn around suddenly.
Not two meters behind me is an outrageously handsome man. He has long, flowing hair that shines like the moon and eyes that glitter like stars. He looks really beautiful. The robe, clearly expensive silk, shimmered in various shades of blue that faded into colors very similar to the night sky. His entire appearance exuded such power that I was sure that this man must be a god. Somewhere in the back of my mind a voice seemed to whisper, “This is Hwanung.” And although I wasn't entirely sure, I thought it was really him. After all, he fit the descriptions from my mother's stories perfectly. The only difference was that it exceeded my expectations by at least a hundred times.

The silence that had reigned while I stared at the man was broken by a throat clearing. A clearing of the throat and shortly afterwards a sentence.

Fuck a sentence! I completely forgot to listen because I was looking at the man in front of me. I really could have had the idea that the man would talk to me.

"Um, sorry, but to be honest I wasn't listening to you at all just now. Could you perhaps repeat your sentence?" Embarrassed, I look down and I'm pretty sure I'm turning pretty red.

There's another giggle. I look up and see that the person I'm talking to has to hold back a laugh.

"Of course I can repeat my sentence. However, it no longer sounds as mystical and mysterious as before."

I see my counterpart pout and then start talking again.

"Actually I didn't say much, just 'hello Hana, I've been waiting for you'."

He spoke in a voice that sounded like music. Simply breathtaking. So nice that I immediately forget that he knows my name without me ever telling him it.

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After my last story was blocked, this is a completely new one that also has a completely different topic. I really hope someone doesn't report this again. If the person who had the last one blocked reads this and again finds something that doesn't suit you, I would ask the person to please contact me privately first, as I will lose the whole story if it is deleted and then not even for it have myself. So yeah thank you very much and I hope you like the story!