Sungyeol POV

"The hunt?" I asked suspiciously. Ignoring my question, Dongwoo gives his full attention to Meera and begins to tell us a story.

Sensing Dongwoo going into storyteller mode, the children gather around him and sit down on the floor as we are all enraptured by his tale.

"Petrichor. Better known as the Land of the Orphans was given its unique name by the legend that surrounds this place. During dawn and dusk, Petrichor will always be enshrouded by fog which causes the birth of many mysteries and legends.

Many of the natives will lull their children to sleep while singing of this land's Birth Legend which is called The Hunt." Taking a dramatic pause for special effects, Dongwoo looks around him to make sure everyone is paying attention before continuing.

"On days when the fog is especially thick, many people have claimed witnessing a silver fox walking beside a small bunny with their heads together as if they're telling each other their hopes and dreams underneath the cover of twilight.

"Petrichor was once ruled by a prince who was considered very wise. Through his quick thing and wit, the Prince lead his country through many prosperous years. Suddenly, the Prince disappeard! For three years, the kingdom was left in chaos as evil and corruption bled through the small kingdom. But everything changed when an orphan girl who was abandoned by her family in the forest spotted a rare silver fox."

"Why was an orphan girl in the forest?"

"The villagers probably wanted her to die of starvation or get eaten by wolves." Eileen said so seriously that I became speechless.

""Seeing that he was injured, the orphan girl tried to help him. When she touched his blood, she immediately became a bunny. "What did you do to me?" she cried in fear when she realized what happened.

"I'm very sorry," said the fox as he looked down at her with worry. "The same thing happened to me three years ago."

"I'm scared..." she trembled as the world seemed to turn darker as time continued.

"Since it was my fault that you were turned into an animal, I promise to protect you." After he said that, the sound of hunting dogs echoed throughout the eerie forest. Starting to run, the fox led the bunny to a sage place where they lived for quiet a while.

Eventually the two grew to love each other and were never seen separate of each other.  Unfortunately, their pleasant days were over when they were again being chase by the hounds. "Hide or I will never forgive you!" the bunny warned as they found an abandoned tree to hide in. In order to protect her lover, the bunny sacrificed herself to the hounds so that he could escape.

When the hounds caught up with the bunny, they bit into her soft flesh and flung her around like a ragdoll as the fox watched in horror. Satisfying their blood lust, the hounds left the scene while the little bunny slowly died from blood loss. Quietly, the fox returned to his lover's side and cried tears for her.

"Why did you save me? I was the one who promised to protect you.....and yet here you are dying because of my cowardice."

The bunny simply smiled. "It's because you are a prince while I am but a small orphan girl who was abandoned by the world because I was different."

"Orphan or not, you were still a person. And every life is precious in my eyes." The fox cried out as he nuzzled the bunny with his snout in affection.

"Then promise me that you will shelter those who can not defend themselves. That you will  promise to protect the orphans of this world like you promised me." With that, the brave bunny died in the dark forest. But the forest wasn't so dark because here in the scary forest, she was not alone. She was able to die knowing she was finally loved.

The next day, the Petrichor's lost Prince returned. And in memory of his beloved bunny, the Prince kept his promise and made Petrichor the refuge for all those who are shunned from society." Dongwoo finished with a flare of his arms.

"Whoa...that's deep. Is that why your flag has the silhouette of a bunny on it?" I asked in fascination.

"Exactly! Even though it is an old legend, it shaped the character of our country." Dongwoo said with pride. "Since every life is precious, we rarely play games that involve life or death."

"So how do you play the hunt?" Meera asked as her eyes took on a new light.

"The game, the Hunt was inspired by this beloved children's tale. One player is a fox and the rest of the players are hounds. Before the game starts, players will determine a set location that will be the finish line. The main aspect of the game is that the hounds have to run and catch the fox. The fox wins if he can outrun the hounds and make it to the destined location first without being captured. If one of the hounds manages to capture the fox or make it to the destination first, than the hounds win."

"That doesn't sound fair." Meera voiced her thoughts. "If we play the game, then that would be seven players against one."

"True, that's why in the game, the fox has an ally."

"Really? Who?!"

"The Bunny."

"The bunny?" I questioned suspiciously.

Crouching down near Eileen, Meera whispered in her ear. "Is he just playing with us?"

Eileen covered her mouth to hide her laughter as her eyes twinkled. "No, he is telling the truth this time, Miss." She whispered back.

"This time?" Dongwoo feigned shock as he clutched at his chest when he heard her words. "You hurt me with your words, Eileen."

Blushing from his attention, Eileen turned to us and explained the role of the bunny. Awww, Eileen must have a girl crush on Dongwoo.

Looking up at Dongwoo, I carefully looked him up and down. I guess he could be considered handsome. But he isn't as tall as me. Smirking at my thoughts, I listen in on what the little girl was telling me.

"...no one knows who the bunny is but the player who was chosen to play that particular part. Everyone assumes the form of a hound dog when the fox is chosen. When the game is nearing its end, the bunny can either choose to remain hidden as a hound and kill the fox or the bunny can reveal her identity and turn against the hounds."

"That doesn't make sense." I said in frustration

"Oh, I'm sorry. Let me dumb it down for you. The fox is the one being chased. And the hounds are the chasers." Dongwoo said sarcastically. "It's basically a game of Tag, Your It."

I roll my eyes in annoyance.

"No worries, it's not like I expected a city born guy to understand. " Dongwoo sneakily egged me on by challenging my pride.

"Did you hear that, Meera?" I feigned shock as I point at Dongwoo while looking at her. "It sounded like a challenge to me. That's it! We're playing this game."

"Awesome, I knew you would." Dongwoo laughed as he ignored me again and walked towards Meera.

Handing her a box full of folded paper, he let her choose one. Passing the box around, we waited for everyone to get assigned their positions.

"Okay, who are my hounds? And whoever is the bunny, raised your hands with the hounds." Dongwoo instructed. Looking down at my paper, I saw the word hound scribbled down so I raised my hand.

"Perfect! This handkerchief gets tied around your wrist. It signifies your life. If someone steals this handkerchief, then they are considered as dead. And if you are the bunny, you can undo the hounds' handkerchief, than that hound also becomes a bunny."

Meera POV

We all walked outside into the morning light as we prepared for the game. When Dongwoo had everyone prepared, he announced that he was the fox.

"The end destination will be the creak that is past the forest over there." Eileen said as she pointed across the golden wheat field where a dark forest was. If you run straight through the forest, you will find a small creak. There is a rock protruding out in the middle of the creak. If the fox makes it to that rock before us hounds can catch him, then he wins."

Anticipation ran through me as I was starting to get excited about this game. I've never played a game that was purely for fun!

Once everyone was ready, Huin counted down on his fingers. When he reached 3, Dongwoo began to run, while we waited. When Huin held up his fist we began to chase after Dongwoo.

Thankfully, Dongwoo didn't get far, so we easily caught up to him until we hit the golden wheat field. The golden strands were taller than me as we tried to brush the chaffs out of our faces as we ran. Knowing the area better than us, Dongwoo was able to get a lead before we could safely exit the wheat field.

When I made it out of the confusing wheat field, I spotted Ssungyeol resting on the ground for a few minutes. While I was catching my breath, I couldn't help but laugh as I watched the three boys keeping Dongwoo busy as they chased him away from the forests borders and back into the wheat field. Seeing Ssungyeol getting up to rest near a tree, I waved to him cheerfully.

Looking up, he was about to wave back when I noticed that Myungsoo was positioned on a tree limb right above Sungyeol. Placing his fingers on his lips to tell me to keep silent, I watch in awe as Myungsoo does a front flip and lands right behind him. Before Sungyeol could react, Myungsoo had grabbed Sungyeol's arm and quickly undid his handkerchief.

When he finally pulled away from Myungsoo's grasp, it was too late as Myungsoo held Sungyeol's handkerchief in his hands.

Wait, does that mean...

Looking up, I meet Sungyeol's eyes before I started running away. Hearing his labored breathing behind me, I tried to escape but Sungyeol's long legs eventually caught up to my short ones. Trying to grab at my arm with the handkerchief, he overshoots and trips on top of me.

Laughing, he grabs both of my arms and pins them on the ground. "Stop flailing around and just give up." Sungyeol smirked.

Smiling up at him which made him confused, I quickly kick him and roll over from his grasp. Getting back up, I was about to run away but Myungsoo grabbed my arm while Sungyeol quickly untied my handkerchief.

"No fair, two against one!" I yelled when Sungyeol successfully untied the handkerchief which turned me into the bunny.

"At least you needed two guys in order to get killed. It only took one guy to take me." Sungyeol laughed.

Taking his notebook out, Myungsoo wrote down his thoughts. When we read what he wrote, we both laughed.

"Eileen got me before I could even start running."

"Taken down by a little girl. Wow, Eileen and I are going to be really good friends." I joked.

Hearing a loud commotion, we turned around and saw Dongwoo laughing hysterically as a boy had a hold of his arms. Shizuka was hanging around his neck with his little arms as the children were yelling and screaming. With a carefree air about him, Dongwoo collapsed onto the ground in exhaustion and allowed the mute boy to untie his handkerchief.

"You win this time, Shizuka." Dongwoo said with a smile as he held the little boy in his arms while sitting cross-legged on the green grass.

At that moment, Eileen and Jingshen finally burst through the wheat field.

""I didn't even make it to the forest this time." Dongwoo jokingly complained them. "You guys keep getting smarter the more we play this game." All of the boy's eyes lit up at Dongwoo's compliment.

"That's a cute sight." I looked longingly at Dongwoo surrounded by little children who adored him and listened to his every word.

Suddenly, I felt Myungsoo's presence leave my side as he rushed over to Dongwoo and the children.

"Shizuka! Wake up, Shizuka!" Dongwoo cried as he gently shook the now limp boy in his arms.

The air seemed to grow darker as a large cloud covered the once warm sunshine. Bending down, Myungsoo gently took Shizuka in his arms.

"Doctor!" Myungsoo mouthed to me when our eyes met.

Besides what happened to his little brother, I've never seen Myungsoo this worried before. It scares me...