It was cold. Freezing. Jiyoon was walking along a trail deep in the woods. There were rumors about how werewolves would roam throughout the woods at nights, but she was no fool to believe in such preposterous lies. Some classmates of hers decided to make a bet with her. They said that if she could walk alone in the woods at night, with only her flashlight, and retrieve the red ribbon they tied to the root of the tallest tree in the middle of the woods, then they would each cough up $50, cash. On the other hand, if Jiyoon did not retrieve the ribbon, then she'd get zilch. It was a stupid bet at first, but as the money pooled in, Jiyoon couldn't help but take up the offer. So, here she was, walking along this trail in the supposedly cursed woods said to be stained in the blood of wolf slain humans.
Finally, Jiyoon reached her destination and found the ribbon tied to the root of the tallest tree in the middle of the woods. She pulled the ribbon off the root and tied it tightly around her wrist. Then, as Jiyoon turned around to walk back on the trail, she heard something rustle in the bushes. She slightly jumped in surprise and shook her head in disapproval as she took in a deep breath.
"Yah!" Jiyoon yelled, "If you guys are playing a trick to scare me, it is not working!"
Jiyoon shined her flashlight in the direction from where the rustling was coming from and walked over to it steadily.
"Yah!" Jiyoon yelled again as she looked inside the rustling bush.
Then, unbeknownst to herself, Jiyoon heard a whimpering sound come from inside a basket in the bush and saw a baby bundled in the basket covered in blankets.
"Oh shit!" Jiyoon cursed quietly and bent her head back, clicking her tongue.
The whining baby continued as Jiyoon bent further down and reached out to pull the basket out from inside the bush. She quickly scooped the baby out of the basket and cooed him to stop crying.
"Now, now." Jiyoon swayed the infant lightly in her arms as she lifted his face to her cheek, checking his temperature, "There, there. You don't need to cry little one! Everything's okay~ I got you in my arms and everything's peachy. Hm~?"
He looked up at her through the tears in his eyes and giggled, revealing his gums.
"See!" Jiyoon smiled brightly at the baby and hugged him closer to her chest, "You are A-OK! Though you are a bit cold—thank goodness I came out here then."
He stared up at Jiyoon with his round eyes as she wiped away his tears. He smiled at her happily full of innocence. Jiyoon kissed his chubby cheek and cooed him to sleep, thinking about what kind of despicable monster of a parent was capable of leaving this poor, innocent, helpless baby out in the woods. Jiyoon couldn't help but shake in anger at the thought of any human being leaving behind and hiding an infant. She sighed sharply and looked back at the baby with sincere eyes.
"How's about this?" Jiyoon spoke in her baby voice, "How about I take you to my home in Seoul and we report to the police about this bad, heartless person who left you here to freeze."
The baby giggled back at Jiyoon with a happy expression spread across his face.
"That's what I thought!" Jiyoon kissed his cheek again and smiled at the innocent baby as she fastened the basket around her back, "Now, let's get you to my house!"
The night grew colder and colder as Jiyoon heard a wolf howl from deep inside the woods. She froze in shock a bit before quickening her pace out of the woods. Jiyoon's breath got heavier as she neared an opening from in the woods. Then, just before she stepped into the opening, she heard another howl rip through the air, and fear overtook her body as it neared her. She clutched tightly onto the baby and stepped into the opening, thinking it was her ticket out of the woods and into the arms of her classmates, but she was wrong. The opening led her to a dead end. In front of her was a small opening that led to a vast field of tall grass that grew taller than herself. Irritated, Jiyoon screamed into the air and cursed her classmate's names. She bit back her tears of frustration and took in a sharp breath when suddenly she heard a howl from behind her. She spun around quickly and saw nothing. Catching her breath, she looked down to the infant in her arms and a sad smile broke across her face as she reassured the baby about his safety.
"I'll make sure that you are safe in my arms." Jiyoon kissed the baby's chubby cheek, "I won't let anything out here get a scratch on you."
The infant smiled in his deep sleep and Jiyoon sighed in relief.
"Excuse me?" Jiyoon whipped her head around and looked over her shoulder to see a young man in a large cloak with his arms crossed and a slightly irritated face on.
"W-Who are you?" Jiyoon turned around swiftly and hugged the baby tight to her chest.
The young man sighed, "Excuse me," Then, he pointed at the infant and scratched the back of his head with his other hand, "but you seem to have my baby."
Jiyoon's face went blank as her lip quivered in anger and she took in a sharp breath exclaiming, "What!"