Sleeping Beast

The forest was like a backyard to him.

Rafi thought no one would know this forest better than him, and that did not differ from the truth.

However, today’s forest was strange, just like the suspicious rain that did not fit the season.

Unlike usual, he couldn’t find his way. Rafi couldn’t erase the suspicion that he was going around the same place over and over again, so he eventually stopped walking.

“What happened?”

Even if he continued to take a different path, he couldn’t find the place he knew. It felt like he entered a completely different forest. He felt unfamiliar with the feeling of getting lost in a place he knew well.

“Should I go back?”

Rafi sighed tiredly. The waterproof cape, which is used as a substitute for umbrellas, is useless and soaked. His toes were soaked cold inside the boots filled with water.

It was too much to go further. Of course, it didn’t seem easy to find the way back.

“I can’t…”

Rafi lit the inside of the forest with a desperate light in the kerosene as if it would turn off at any moment. The faint light seemed like a reluctant greeting.

“If the tomb is destroyed, I’ll make a new one after the rain stops. I don’t have to worry about it.”

Considering the witch’s personality, she won’t be able to stand it even for a moment, so he thought she would swear all kinds of swear words. But he couldn’t help it. The rainy season in the forests was a completely different season where everything would stop.

“I think I just came from this way.”

Rafi fumbled in the direction he came. The footprints had been swept away. He turned his body completely depending on his senses and set the direction, but suddenly there was a loud sound.

To-do-du-duk!

“……?”

Rafi swallowed with tension.

This was the sound of something moving.

Seeing the vibration mixed in the rain, it was like an enormous beast. A bigger beast than him running through the forest.

His hand gripped the shovel.

Was there such an enormous beast in this forest?… Grey bears lived much farther away.

When that kind of question comes to his mind…

Oh my god!

Something came out of the dark at a speed that the eyes could not keep up with. It rushed straight to Rafi.

“ARGH!”

A scream burst out. There was no time to swing the shovel. Rafi collapsed as he was pushed by the beast. However, their tangled bodies rolled around the forest, which became a mess.

“Ugh… What the heck is this……!”

Rafi struggled to escape from the beast weighing on his body in a state of astonishment.

“What… Go away!”

He happened to make eye contact.

If there is a jewel under a curse, it will look like that eye. The brilliant blue eyes looked straight at Rafi until it gave him goosebumps. The back repeatedly contracted and relaxed. His skin was numb.

“Who…”

…was not an animal. It was a person.

Boo!

He stretched out his big hand and tore off Rafi’s cape. Under the cape, the honey-like blonde hair was revealed. Thanks to the cape, his hair was not wet in the rain.

He thought he was an animal, but when he saw Rafi’s blonde hair, he looked surprised and blanked, and then flinched his lips.

“You’re pretty.”

He said it was pretty, but it was horrifying to hear.

Rafi twisted his body reflexively. However, the hand that threw the cape quickly stretched out and grabbed the long hair that came down to the shoulders firmly.

“Ugh!”

His scalp was pulled. While Rafi was groaning, his fingers clung tightly to his hair as if they were tangled together.

“It hurts!”

Rafi screamed. Then there was a brief pause.

“It hurts…”

With blue eyes, he copied Rafi’s words. It was then that Rafi felt something strange.

Contrary to the bright eyes, the expression was very blurry. He seemed to be in such a state of confusion and lost his mind.

Rafi raised his hand and rubbed his eyes. When he wiped some mud off his eyes from falling and rolling around, he could see the condition of the opponent who attacked him clearly.

“…Crazy.”

The opponent was naked. He didn’t wear a single thread.

Looking at his long arms, wriggling muscles, and wide right shoulders, he could see that he was quite tall.

If he had more time, he could have seen the large body with beautiful proportions, enough to leave his mouth hanging open, but he was naked anyway.

“What are you doing? Why are you wandering in the forest without clothes? Why?”

“It hurts.”

The question mark disappeared from the naked person.

“Yeah, it hurts.”

“It hurts.”

“Let go because it hurts.”

“It hurts…”

The naked body turned its head.

It wasn’t until he collapsed Rafi realized it meant he was sick.

The naked back that collapsed on Rafi’s stomach after losing its mind was all turned upside down. At first glance, it looked like a trace of being burnt by fire. The reason he didn’t see any blood was probably that this heavy rain had washed it away.

“Oh, my. How can I do this?”

He felt like he was going to die because his back hurt.

Rafi stretched out one arm and picked up the cape he tore and threw. He covered his back first. The naked body wriggled with its eyes closed.

“Oh, I’m going crazy.”

Rafi muttered helplessly as he saw the naked body that had lost consciousness.

What should I do with this?

The naked fingers were still tightly attached to his hair. There was no way to remove this hand unless he pulled out the held hair.

“I can’t leave him in the rain.”

It meant that they had to go home with parts of their bodies tangled.

I should have cut my hair earlier.