#writiny

Hongjoong shivered on the edge of the campsite, waiting for Yunho to meet him. The weather during their expedition had been bitter cold since they set out, everyday harder than the last as more snow piled up for them to trudge through.

He was on his first trapping expedition, trying to find a way to scrounge up money for his poor mother and his younger siblings back home. The rest of the men in the crew could smell his inexperience on him, making him do the hardest tasks with no help and laughing at him when he messed up. The sight of the dead beavers made Hongjoong’s stomach turn. He had already decided he never wanted to do this again. There was only one member of the crew who didn’t bully Hongjoong— Yunho.

Yunho, a year younger than Hongjoong, seemed older because of his experience. It was his third expedition and it showed in the way he kept his head down and silently followed instructions from the older men. And it was paying off, they didn’t tease him like they did Hongjoong despite being the youngest on the team.

Before they had all split off into their tents last night, the last embers flickering as the wind whipped through their campire, Yunho had changed seats to sit next to Hongjoong.

“I’ve heard the men talking.” He kept his voice low. They were the only two still outside. “They’re trynna cut you out of yer fair share. They think you won’t know any better.”

Hongjoong shook his head, his gaze fixed on the glowing campfire. “It’s not worth it to fight against them,” he whispered back. The cold weather had zapped his strength. Every night he dreamed of the warmth of his mother’s home and woke up more miserable than he fell asleep.

Yunho scoffed. “Yer right about that. And don’t expect me to do it on yer behalf. But I have a way for you to make up the difference.”

Yunho hadn’t given him anymore details, only told him to pretend to go to bed and then sneak away and wait outside the campsite for Yunho to meet him.

So Hongjoong waited for him. He was started to think Yunho was pranking him, just like the rest, when he spotted him trudging through the snow towards him. He had a bow and arrow slung over his back and an empty sack clutched in his fist.

“C’mon,” he huffed as he passed Hongjoong. Hongjoong wordlessly followed behind him, further into the cold forest. Yunho seemed to know where he was going, guiding Hongjoong down a slope towards a thin, frozen creek, then adjusting his path to follow along the bank.

They had been walking for a few minutes when Yunho put out his arm to signal Hongjoong to pause. He crouched down, drawing his bow and an an arrow off his shoulder.

“There,” Yunho whispered, “in the glade,”

Hongjoong peaked around Yunho’s shoulder, stifling a gasp when he saw it.

The creek opened up into a wider lake, the moon shining down onto the frozen water in a pale, silvery glow. Sitting on the bank of the river was a creature, it couldn’t have been human, not with how it was barely clothed, only a thin sheen on fabric tied around its hips. It sat in the snowy shore of the lake, bare feet daintily resting on the cold ice. More stunning than its clothes, or its glistening, almost scaly skin, were the two translucent, sparkling wings rising from its back.

Hongjoong felt the air leave his lungs, a warmth spreading through his body as the unearthly scene made him forget the cold chill in his body. He could feel a tear spring to his eye.

The fairy was stretching its long, slender arms when Hongjoong caught Yunho’s movement in front of him. He was reading his bow, drawing back his arm to shoot—

“Wait-“ Hongjoong gasped, barely louder than a squeak. The fairy’s head whipped towards their direction, its body tensed, but it was too late. Yunho had released his grip, the arrow flying cleanly through the air and striking the heart of the fairy. It fell silently, softly, like a leaf in the wind. The tear in his Hongjoong’s eye dripped free, falling to his cheek.

“Don’t startle me like that,” Yunho grumbled, rising back up and crossing the stream to make his way towards the now dead fairy. It took Hongjoong a moment to collect himself, brushing away his singular tear and jogging to catch up with Yunho.

The fairy had a glow of its own that seemed to emanate from within its skin, but as he got closer it faded, life force draining, and by the time Hongjoong caught up with Yunho, standing over the body, its skin had dulled to a pallid grey.

“Huh,” Yunho mused, eyes raking down its exposed body, “I’ve never seen a guy fairy before, they’re usually women.” Hongjoong felt a wave of nausea roll in his gut.

Yunho nudged the body onto its stomach with the toe of his boot and drew a hunting knife from his belt.

He held it by the blade, pointing the handle towards Hongjoong. “It’s time for yer end of the deal.”

“What-? I can’t—“

Yunho fixed him with a dark stare. “Do you want your share or not? Better yet, do you wanna leave this glade? I can’t just letcha leave without gettin’ yer hands dirty. Can’t have ya runnin’ to the first person ya see and tellin’ them what happened.”

Hongjoong gulped, taking the knife with shaking hands. It made him sick to look at the body, like a dead fish washed up on the shore— it was wrong.

“What do I—“

“The wings are the important part, try not to tear them.”

By the time they got back to the campsite, Hongjoong was wide awake. They parted ways silently, heading back to their tents but Hongjoong couldn’t sleep, the image of the fairy silently, as if weightless, falling to the snow playing on repeat in his mind. He was awake until dawn. He didn’t sleep a wink and he didn’t speak, just silently endured the abuse from the rest of the crew as they worked their way through the rest of the traps.

There were sparkling flecks of skin stuck to his palms, stains of blue blood on his fingertips, that wouldn’t come off for days, not until they were in the next town and Hongjoong was forced to quit the expedition early, holed up in the inn with a fever.