f_ynn

First Look

„Oh my god, could you go any slower?”

The girl behind her scoffs, still audibly out of breath. “I should, if you continue chasing me through what could’ve been a nice and calm walk.”

Bora casts one look at her, a few steps ahead. “Try me. I'll leave you to the forest monsters.”

Yoohyeon stops for a second, actually contemplating her choices for once. Maybe stopping in a spooky forest like this isn’t the best option. Who knows what insects could crawl up her legs once she stands still, not like she believes in Bora's stupid monster tales. She decides against creating more tension and keeps on moving.

“I’ll have you known, my walking speed is perfectly fine-”

A tree branch snaps under Bora’s shoe. It echoes trough the woods and Yoohyeon looks up. The older woman keeps on moving forward, seemingly not a care in the world besides finding those damn ruins she read about. When in reality, her head is full, brimming and packed, with scenes she never would admit fulfil some of her deepest fantasies, involving sudden confrontations and a woman dressed in a deadly suit. Since that encounter, Bora couldn’t form a single thought without the mystery woman.

Yoohyeon on the other side is scared already. She really didn’t want to live out scary adventures in the shady parts of the woods. The furthest she ever went was the nearby park two streets down her old apartment. And neither does she have to run off excess energy that otherwise would be fuelling very inconvenient dreams.

Yoohyeon sets into motion again, a bit faster this time around because Bora has already far too many steps on her. She keeps on for some minutes before the whining sets in again. It’s not like she could do anything against that.

“It’s like God wanted to slow you down with those short legs and you said fuck that, I don’t care, I’m going to be faster than nature wanted me to.”

Bora barks out a laugh and she hears another rustling noise, “That’s a nice thought, but I think it has something to do with you not going outside much and me being very much in shape.”

“Yeah well, that’s why I’m better at games than you are. Now would you please slow down!”

Something squeaks in the distance and a growl somewhere in the bush next to them, making both girls jump.

Over the years, rumours of supernatural activities in these woods became louder and louder until some search team declared this forest safe. Nevertheless, even the proven existence of magical creatures or something supernatural makes their heads spin. Nowadays the news of a turned feral werewolf or vampire are a rarity, there are enough blood banks and help centers scattered across the land to prevent those accidents from happening. Something most normal citizens try to ignore because society has always been a little too slow about accepting new things.

Bora’s eyes widen and she looks at the younger girl, the two of them come to the silent agreement that this wasn’t just a little bird. “You wanna keep flexing your Minecraft achievements again or do you want to shut up and live another day?”

Yoohyeon runs before Bora could even form some sort of game plan.

“Minecraft is a legit and honourable game!” She yells over her shoulder.

Bora rolls her eyes, sprinting after her. “Sure, dumbass.”

Eventually they reach a clearing in the woods. Coincidentally Yoohyeon’s lanky legs brought them to the exact spot they wanted to explore. The clearing is made out of a couple yards of grass, wildflowers and a small hill in the middle. Bora pats her friend triumphally on the shoulder and jogs to the top of the hill. It’s definitely larger than she thought. A few stones and maybe a wall was her idea of the ruins. Not this.

On the hill, with a terraformed even ground, stood the remnants of a little castle. Depending on the era it’s from, maybe even a mansion. Nothing that could house more than twenty people, yet still a proud building in the middle of nowhere. The standing walls suggest a height of three stories and a tower of five levels on the west hand side.

Moss covered almost every single stone and vines closed the castle wall where stones are missing.

And Bora is in love.

She has read about this place in some of her magazines. It’s supposed to be an old orphanage for magical beings. A rescue center of some sorts. The cold and muddy stones leave them to wonder about those ancient times.

Yoohyeon comes up behind her and laughs at her friend who stands, mouth open, gaping at the ruins. She lifts her chin with a finger and gets punched an armful, but she couldn’t care less, seeing Bora, the usually so composed and confident Bora, this awestruck is hilarious. Bora’s eyes glim in delight, she absolutely loves discovering old ruins.

“You look so stupid right now,” Yoohyeon jokes and laughs right into Bora’s ears.

The latter winces and glares her way. “And you run like a baby deer.”

“Ouch, that's a compliment. Deer are cute.”

They wander around the building in search for something to get them inside or a little souvenir to take home or even the confirmation of a supernatural past would be enough for Bora. The walls at the ground are all closed up or at least too high for the two friends to peak inside. The broken windows start at a higher level, so without committing burglary they won’t get any further.

“See nothing here,” Yoohyeon leans against the cold stone of the entrance and watches Bora, “Can we please go now?”

Bora tries her luck again at the door, knocking, pulling and pushing with no avail. Meanwhile dark, rainy clouds are dimming the sunlight. It’s going to rain soon and Bora’s jacket would not survive a storm.