Somewhere within a forest, a girl was seen walking along an unfamiliar terrain. She seemed exhausted. But even then, she kept herself moving forward.

But the girl only appeared to be 9-11 years old, making this sight especially so disheartening. She was but a mere child, alone within the forest, fatigued beyond means too. A truly lethal combination.

Not long after, the girl scanned her surroundings. And after a good few second, she finally decided to take a short rest, planning to regain some energy before continuing her journey.

Draped with a worn-out appearance, she walked to a nearby tree to rest for a while. But before she even sat down on the rough dry leaves, before she was able to even catch some air. She found something out of the corner of her eyes.

A small green snake was discovered to be resting just beside her, peering at her in vigilant.

“Kyaa!”

The terrified girl screamed in panic. She couldn’t help but lose her balance. But out of fear, she kept her gaze fixed on the snake.

“G-go away!”

In a fluster, she attempted to kick the snake away. However, as it was done out of panic, the kick barely touched the snake’s tiny body.

In self-defense, the beast responded and attacked the girl.

Sadly, the girl was utterly paralyzed by fear as she watched the snake closing in on her.

But then, right before the fangs stabbed into the girl’s arm. A hand sprang from nowhere and caught the small snake.

With large leather pouch strapped on his back, a young boy dressed in ordinary clothing emerged in her line of sight.

He had a bright complexion, pitch-black hair and a clean-looking face. But what made him especially stand out though was his eyes, a set of brilliant golden eyes. The kind of captivating eyes that could easily draw anyone in when stared for too long.

After gaining control over the snake, the boy turned to face the girl.

“You ok?”

But the girl, on the other hand, merely stared at him with her restless eyes.

Figuring that the girl was still in a state of shock, the boy decided to toss the snake as far as possible.

“Sorry lil snake.”

Swoosh!

The snake swiftly vanished towards a far-away bush.

“That one isn't the type to attack people easily. You must have startled it so much... well, I guess it doesn’t matter,” the youngster clapped his palm to sweep away the dirt.

But when he examined the girl’s tattered outfit, he cocked one of his eyebrows.

“Eh? You look like you came from a well-off family. What is a rich brat doing alone in the middle of the forest?” said the boy, forgetting that he too, was a mere brat alone in the middle of the forest.

But instead of replying to him, the girl once again kept her silence. Her eyes were veiled with a sense of wariness.

Seeing her reaction, the boy lost all interest.

“I guess it’s none of my business… brat, go home quickly, this place is not for some kid to play around,” said the brat himself.

But right before he left the scene, the girl’s stomach suddenly growled audibly.

GGggrrrrr!

“…Seriously?” the boy glanced over at her with a look of disbelief.

The little maiden’s face quickly turned bashful from embarrassment.

The boy, seemingly conflicted at first, eventually sighed and decided to help. He grabbed 2 large fruits from inside his pouch.

The fruits were fully ripe apples, and for good reason. The clear and bright red hue made it even more appetizing to the eyes.

“Catch!”

The girl clumsily accepted the fruits. But instead of eating it, the girl only stared at the boy with a pair of puzzled eyes, as though she didn’t understand what he had just done.

Unsurprisingly, the boy was unsettled by her gaze.

‘Isn’t she hungry? Why isn’t she eating? Because I’m watching her? Is she too nervous?’

All kinds of thoughts raced inside the boy’s head as he was baffled by the strangeness of the girl in front of him. Shaking his head, the boy took out another fruit from his pouch before moving and sitting directly near her.

He returned her staring with an indifferent manner.

“What? Can’t I be hungry too? Just mind your own business and eat your fruits,” after saying so, the boy nonchalantly took a bite of the juicy apple.

Watching his laidback attitude, the girl peeked towards the apples in her hand.

GGggrrrr!

Flustered by her own stomach, she bit the apple in a haste. And right at that very moment, her eyes twinkled with delight while her cheeks flushed with ecstasy.

“Mm!” a euphoric sound escaped from her chomping lips.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

Not long after, her mouth moved and stole another bite, nibbling at the fruits slowly yet aggressively.

Meanwhile, stealing a glance at the famished girl, the boy scanned her secretly.

‘When was the last time she ate? Did she get separated from her guardian?’

As he immersed himself in his mind, the two of them enjoyed the sweet apple in silence.

.

.

.

When the girl was about to finish the final piece, she noticed the boy beside her getting up. As she glanced curiously toward him, a fresh fruit dropped onto her lap.

“Alright, I’m going home now. You should too, lil miss,” right after saying that, the boy walked away.

Faced with the unexpected turn, the girl panicked and unknowingly stood up. Her face was packed with signs of distress.

“W-wait!”

“Hm? You can talk? What’s up?” the boy turned around and gave her an inquiring look.

Being stared at by him, the girl’s demeanor immediately changed as a wave of anxiety went through her body. However, she fought it out by pinching lightly onto her dress.

“I… I…”

“Hm?”

As he waited for the girl to express her thoughts, the boy realized something that caused him to facepalm in shame.

“…Aah right, you must be lost! My bad, just tell me the name of your city and I can lead you to the city’s gate.”

The boy thought that he had found her problem, only to find the girl shaking her head.

“Eh? Then what is it?” the boy was stunned and waited patiently.

“C-can I… go… with you…?”

“…Huh?”

The boy blinked his eyes… twice.

“Go with me? As in… to my place?”

The girl rapidly nodded and the grip on her tattered garments grew tighter.

Meanwhile, the boy fell into a daze as he kept his eyes fixed on her.

“Your parent will be worried you know.”

When the little lady heard it, she couldn’t help but looked down in sorrow before her eyes welled up in tears.

“P-Please… I… I don’t have a place to go….” she said softly.

The boy started to think.

‘…Uwahhh. I’ve gotten myself into quite the trouble’

Scratching his head, he checked the sun’s location, ‘Damn, it’s about to turn evening soon…’

Noticing the boy being so troubled over this, the girl was struck by her sense of guilt.

“F-forget it… I-I was just… joking,” claimed the girl despite her body screaming otherwise. And to make matters worse, tears began streaming down her cheeks.

The boy’s eye twitched.

‘Girl… are you trying to guilt trip me… ughh but why is it actually working?!’

In the end, the boy lamented to himself.

“It’s fine. You can join me.”

The girl, however, didn’t dare to be happy despite his approval.

“No… you don’t have to… I-I…”

Hearing her stuttering, the boy rolled his eyes and approached her before grabbing her arm. After which, he began dragging her to walk with him.

“It’s fine, so stop crying and follow me.”

“…”

With that sentence, the girl tried her hardest to not make any noise, even widening her eyes to hold her tears as best as she could.

When the boy discovered her great dedication to not cry just like what he had told her, the boy was rendered speechless.

‘W-wait… you don’t have to try that hard you know…’

.

.

.

A few minutes had passed since then and the ground underneath them had changed considerably.

The girl realized that they were now walking on a small road. But although it was called a road. It was more like the path had been walked upon for a long time, making it easy to walk as there was no tall grass in the way.

Seeing that she had calmed down to an extent, the boy opened a conversation.

“Right, what’s your name? I’m Tae Hyun Goo.”

“…So-Young. Cha So-Young.”

“Alright Cha So-Young, just to be clear, my house isn’t located in a city but instead inside this forest. Not only that, I also live by myself. Is that fine with you?”

Tae Hyun Goo intentionally used such an alarming description in the hopes of scaring her. But when he checked her reaction, what he found was just her head, nodding furiously with a display of dazzling purity.

‘…Aah~ the innocence’

After all, she was just a child, from a rich one at that. So this was to be expected.

“Alright, we’ve arrived.”

When her ears caught that, the girl inadvertently directed her eyes to the front. And at that moment, a mesmerized expression filled her face.

In a blink of an eye, she was left enamored by the scenery in front of them.

They had now entered a somewhat flat ground as the trees appeared to have been chopped down and removed to make space for a wooden house. But what made this place so magnificent was the huge tree spotted right behind the house.

In front of them, surrounded by a sea of lush green, stood a tall primeval tree with a trunk so gigantic that it towered over the house itself, so much so that its branches were wrapping the sky above the roof. And with its vivid pink leaves shrouding and mystifying the house. The great tree had effectively shielded the house from both the cold rain and the summer heat.

It was as though the ancient tree was its guardian, not allowing any harm to come close to it.

“It looks beautiful right?” a prideful smile manifested on Tae Hyun Goo’s face.

“Believe it or not. This tree is a cherry tree. But for some reason, it manages to grow really well. I bet the age of this tree is very very old.”

While listening to the boy, the young girl realized that some of the cherries had matured and were ready for picking.

The boy continued. His eyes flashed with memories of the past.

“Someone wanted me to live here. And well... I just go along with it.”

Cha So-Young’s eyes was wide in amazement. It appeared that after viewing the fascinating display. It really uplifted her mood and made her to be much cheerier than before. A much more fitting attitude for her age.

Noticing her sudden change in mood, Tae Hyun Goo smiled inwardly.

They soon found themselves in front of the wooden house. Entering the place, Tae Hyun-Goo led her to a chair and instructed her to stay put. He then placed his leather pouch on top of a table and entered a room.

While waiting for the boy’s return, Cha So-Young glanced around the place. Considering that only a child lived in this place, the house was rather spacious. The house had a simple kitchen, a dining-living room, a bathroom, and 2 other rooms.

Not long after, Tae Hyun-Goo came back with clothes in his hand.

“Here, a towel for you to use later. And right, do you want to join me tomorrow to buy your clothes in the city?”

So-Young hurriedly declined the invite and shook her hand. For a brief period, her pupils showed a fearful expression.

“Well, if that’s what you want… here use my clothes for now.”

When So-Young accepted it all, she of course felt overjoyed and grateful for she could finally clean herself. But even so, a curious question came to her.

“Hyun-Goo, how come you have money?”

The boy’s mouth jerked uncontrollably.

“What does that supposed to mean?”

“I-I mean, you’re also like me. And mom and dad told me that children can’t work… Aah! Do you also get an allowance every day?”

“…Damn spoiled kid.”

“Eh? What was it?”

“It’s nothing.”

Tae Hyun-Goo then explained calmly.

“It’s not that we can’t work. It’s just that no one wants to hire kids. And even if there are, we might not get paid and even be sold to some bad people.”

“Isn’t that really bad?”

“It is, which is why I don’t show myself as a kid.”

“Really?”

“Yes really! Enough of that, come, I’ll teach you how to use the shower.”

Although she was still curious, Cha So-Young held back and followed him to the bathroom.

“You see this handle? If you spin it, water will come out from this thing called showerhead,” he then demonstrated how to do it. And exactly as he said, cold water began gushing out of the showerhead.

“Woah! Cool!”

The only method Cha So-Young knew was using a wooden bathtub filled with all kinds of fragrant herbs to bathe.

So using something like this was certainly a fascinating and exciting experience.

“Cool right? Alright, you can try this yourself. I’ll go make some food while you shower.”

After telling her the uses of the shampoo and the soap, he left her alone captivated inside the bathroom and began heading towards the kitchen.

“Hmm, today I’m a little unlucky, I failed to catch any animals… wait why did I throw that snake away… even if it's tiny, meat is still meat…”

“Aish… let’s treat today as vegetarian day.”

And so, he began taking out some vegetables, mushrooms, and other ingredients.

Then, out of nowhere, he pulled out a knife hidden beneath his clothes… what was this? Some kind of assassination movie?

Using the same mechanism as the bathroom, water poured out from the faucet as he started washing the knife and the vegetables. Soon, only the sound of water and a chopping board was heard inside the house.