Misun didn't go to school the next day.
She told herself it was because she felt sick.
But the truth was simpler.
She was scared.
Scared of the forest.
Scared of the boy who seemed to know too much.
Scared of herself.
---
Morning sunlight spilled weakly through her curtains, but it didn't feel warm.
Misun sat on the edge of her bed, staring at her hands.
They looked normal.
Too normal.
Because last night… they hadn't felt normal at all.
She flexed her fingers slowly.
Nothing.
"…Maybe it was just a dream," she whispered.
But even as she said it, she didn't believe it.
---
A knock came at the door.
"Misun?" her guardian's voice called. "You're not going today?"
"No," she replied quickly. "Not feeling well."
A pause.
"…Alright. Rest."
Footsteps faded.
Silence returned.
But it didn't stay long.
Because then—
The pain started.
---
It began in her chest.
Sharp.
Sudden.
Misun gasped and grabbed her shirt. "No… not again…"
Her breathing quickened as heat spread through her body. Her vision blurred at the edges.
This time… it was worse.
Much worse.
She stumbled off the bed, knocking over a chair.
"Stop it—please!"
Her bones felt like they were being pulled apart and rebuilt at the same time.
She screamed.
---
Outside, birds scattered from the trees.
Dogs began barking in the distance.
The forest… responded.
---
Misun fell to her knees, trembling violently.
Her nails dug into the floor.
And then—
Crack.
A sound no human body should make.
She froze.
"…What was that?"
Her fingers began to change first.
Slightly sharper.
Longer.
Her reflection in the mirror caught her eye.
Her pupils were thinning.
Expanding.
Turning golden for a split second before fading back.
"No… no, no, no—"
She crawled backward, shaking.
But the shift had already begun.
---
A voice returned.
Not outside.
Inside her head.
Don't fight it.
Misun froze.
"…You again," she whispered.
The voice didn't answer.
Instead, her body responded.
Her senses sharpened instantly.
She could hear things outside her house she shouldn't have been able to hear.
A car miles away.
A heartbeat from the next room.
And something else…
Far beyond the town.
Waiting.
Watching.
---
Misun let out a broken breath.
"What am I?"
The pain slowed.
Not gone… just paused.
Like something had decided she wasn't ready yet.
Her body collapsed onto the floor, exhausted.
---
That night, she didn't sleep again.
Because every time she closed her eyes…
She saw the forest.
And this time…
She wasn't being called.
She was being claimed.