Prologue

"Keep your lips in tact my love,

for the monsters has grown near;

Clothe yourself in darkness heights

as there's nothing left to fear."

The little girl hummed to the tune of the lullaby her mother ought to sing for her — a strange form of poetry unfamiliar for one's knowledge, yet so familiar for its distinctive melody fawn to immediately catch attention once it sought its appearance. "Halt underneath the angel's wings — you're a child worth protection. Within the depths of danger, let me be your distraction."

If it wasn't for her mother, 6 year old Jieun Kang wouldn't have the ability to memorize such complex English words — even for a kid who is able to speak 3 languages fluently. The melody was evidently simple; easy to discern even, yet the lyrics are rather weighty for something to be sang on a children's lullaby. And for that, Jieun never bothered on singing the song with the actual lyrics herself as it takes her a bit while to recall the next lyrics; alternatively, she only simply hums. It's a much easier method than to burden herself with words she's yet to understand.

In the mountainous part of South Korea — specifically in the agricultural position pitted in between the two major Gyeongsang provinces — lies the metropolitan city of Daegu, city known for its distribution of high quality apples and textiles. It was also the place Jieun visited every year with her parents during Christmas, as she still had a considerable amount of relatives residing on the outskirts of the city.

The weather igniting the city always been callously fair, frosted by the winter's breath, yet distinctively different than what she had to cope in Switzerland, the country she was more familiar of than her native. She spent most of her lifetime living in Europe instead, in favor of her father who, for some apparent reason, was a former Swiss Guard who swore to ensure the safety of the Pope; that was until he met her mother, a talented and intelligent woman far away from home pursuing her studies in the country of the Red Cross. By then, he had swore to ensure her safety and the family they're bound to bear several years to come.

Jieun was never fond by the thought of going back to Daegu. There was no specific reason whatsoever, she just never had considered the region as her home in the first place. In her defense, she never had the chance to deliberately live there; there were no memories worth coming back for. However, as great as her mother was keeping a straight face, Jieun could definitely see the spark of joy emblazoning the latter's eyes every time they ventured home for Christmas, and by that reason only, she chose to stay. It's not like she even had a choice anyway.

Perhaps one of the main reasons why she was hesitant to go back was because of the cultural indifferences that supposedly made it hard for her to get friendly with her other cousins of the same age. Yes, she understood the language and was quite a fluent speaker (her mother made sure that her native tongue was completely brought down to Jieun and her sister, Namjoo, who was only a few years older than her) but that doesn't mean she completely understood the subject that they brought upon on. There were some phrases and slangs she wasn't familiar of and were only used by locals who spoke the language by heart; in other words, unethical mockery for such halfbreed sorts like her. She also had trouble keeping in touch with news worth the sizzle — it's not

her fault that her mother had already thrown out the old Barbie doll she owned years ago when it just reached Korean markets for the last three months or so. The strong, undistinguished Daegu dialect most of her relatives had and their rapid pace whilst talking certainly did not help; Jieun would rather listen to her teacher aggressively lecturing her in German if she were to be given a choice, at least she'd understand at least half of what she'd say.

So as the night started to linger, the assuring warmth of the family reunion started to waver as the ones in importance start to open up about serious 'adult' matters which involves their economic growth and politics, subjects Jieun consider herself too young to dissect. The other children were asleep (with the eldest cousin who was preparing for his midterms as an exception), adults conversing into deeper subjects with voices as faint as whispers, the purplish sky had turned into a bedazzling kyanite blue. The sky was pretty, that was the only thing that popped into her mind. Too pretty. Were there any shooting stars for her to wish upon? She had no clue.

She decided that it would be better for her to head out and to search for it herself.

As foolish as it seemed for her to venture out alone in the middle of the night at a place she wasn't quite familiar of, the girl wasn't going to leave the house without any proper preparation. She slid into her winter gear, fitted herself into her lit up boots, and made sure to bring her thermos bottle, a plastic bag filled with Christmas treats, and a can of pepper spray. If she were to get lost tonight, at least she had come prepared. She carefully opened the exit door, looked around her surroundings, then quietly sneaked out of the household's premises.

It was cold, just as how she expected it to be. Air blustering in a light breeze. Tiny bits of snow embellishing the trees fond to wither to the ground. Her lingering steps were of silence; tiny foot tracks scraped the snow as she went on. Hazy sight of the Waryong mountain set upon her, though all she was able to see was the tip of the mountain as a herd of enormous pine trees had blocked her from seeing further. The faint sparkle amidst the sky has found itself coalescing with the glimmering snow.

Her eyes hovered along the picturesque scenery, somehow mystified by the sight. The sound of snow she stepped on was getting louder, which either means the snow had gotten thicker further she went on, or that she simply had gotten feverishly excited. Perhaps it was both. Following where the moon takes her, she lifted her head up high, eyes skimming for any sightings of a shooting star. After a bit while of walking whilst dreadfully looking up discovering nothing, the little girl ended up discovering herself deteriorating in a neck fatigue and decided it would be reasonable for her to stop by for a while. As her head drooped down to the ground, she found something that wasn't quite there before.

The snow she stepped on had altered into a strange shade of pink.

Rattled, the girl stomped her lit up boots, enabling her to see clearly. In front of her was a trail of red tint disheveling the nature of such monochromic snow. Without thinking twice she followed the red spots, purposely stepping on it as she did so to achieve the satisfying pink  color she had grown to like. From tiny droplets to teaspoons and even puddles, the striking color of red appeared so often that it transformed Jieun's curiosity into elucidating fear instead. Before her mind was even able to wrap around the lingering thought of heading back home, her ears captured an undermining sound that simply curated her other senses.

A whimper.

Shivering under a tree gallant among all other trees was a scrawny young man with such natural curly locks resting upon his head. His physique looked like he barely even reached 25, yet his eyes flaunt to appear so, so old; at least, seen in Jieun's perspective. It was as if he had experienced the inevitable — eyes seen myths not worth to be told. The man was clearly injured, seen by the way he kept grasping the hem of his shirt, a throbbing wound visibly seen underneath it. He didn't seem to notice the girl's presence; he was rather occupied by the overall pain ravishingly consuming him to even think of anything else. Jieun, though fully aware that the crippled man was nothing else but harmless, for some reason dithered on every step as she got closer to him. She eventually stopped in a reasonable distance, hoping that the stranger had gotten the memo that she had no intentions to intrude. Her eyes trailed along the man's surroundings but never to the man — she knew it was impolite to stare at strangers.

"Where am I?" The man croaked in a hoarse voice, the dreadful look on his face impetuously softened once he caught the sight of Jieun. "Uh... English?"

Jieun nodded out of spontaneity. "You're in Korea. Daegu."

"... Joseon?"

She tilted her head in confusion. "... Moohyun."

"2005?"

"2003." Jieun tried not to look weirded out, though it should have been reasonable even if she did. The man had already appeared strange enough to be slumbering alone wrapped in a blanket of snow in the middle of the night, now strewed up with the absolute nonsense of him having zero clue of what year it was.

Jieun's thoughts were put on hold when she caught the sound of the man wincing, as he shred another one of his garments to detain his loss of blood. "Are you alright..?" She asked lowly, a question she then regretted on asking because of how stupid it was. Of course he isn't, he's bleeding to his death!

The man instantly stroke a laugh. Thankfully, he completely ignored Jieun's question, going along another different topic. "I'm sorry for the mess I made. Some might find it unpleasant to see blood splattered on the snow of a friendly neighborhood."

Jieun bit her lips. "I don't mind. Personally, I find it pretty."

"I'm sorry?"

"I mean, when I step on the snow," she stomped her feet, enlightening the tip of her lit-up boots, grinning frivolously. "The blazing red and the dashing white, it mixes into a pretty shade of pink.. and I personally think.. it's a friendlier sight."

"Pink.." the man couldn't help but smile on her sincere statement. "What's your name, kid?"

And for the first time, Jieun contemplated on the man's sudden question, cluttered in hesitation.

The man arched his back, his head falling backwards. "Ah, you're not supposed to tell your name to strangers. Your mother has taught you well."

"Jieun."

".. I'm sorry?"

"Jieun Kang, that's my name." She fearlessly repeated. "Or.. if you needed something more familiar to your tongue.. Jean Rivière."

For a second, Jieun had noticed the change of color shown on the man's face; the change of expressions, too. He coughed shortly afterwards. "Ah, just as how I predicted it would be."

His lips parted, eyes dilating tardily. "Well Jean, as you are aware — I hope you're aware — of the humongous gun shot wound I have here on my tummy, out of great distress I ought to tell you that I am now, clearly, utterly am on the midst of falling to my nearby death."

Jieun nodded in advance. "Don't worry, my mom says that it's easier than living."

"Dying?"

"Yes. She said it's as simple as falling asleep."

The man's fingers were starting to feel numb. "I guess I'm having a hard time falling asleep, then."

"That means you'll be needing a distraction."

"Distraction?"

She adherently slumped to the icy ground, kneeling as she got closer to the stranger. She unwrapped her scarf off her neck and gently placed it on top of his throbbing wound, assuming that it would probably help. The man responded by gripping the hem of the scarf tightly, in dire of senseless comfort. "A distraction to help you sleep. Like counting sheep, or a bedtime story.."

"What's your distraction?" He asked lowly, his grip starting to loosen.

"Lullabies."

"Lullabies?"

"My mom sings me to sleep. It's the easiest way to doze off, I guess."

"Well then, Jean Rivière." The weary man managed to take another single of his last breaths. "Would you do the dying man a favor and perhaps, sing him a lullaby?"

Jieun pursed her lips. "Right now?"

"Yes, something that could hurdle the pain."

She stared at the ground, feeling empty. Was she really going to let this man to ask her to do things? Well, it's definitely quite fair enough as it's safe to say this man's going to die anyway. It wouldn't hurt to at least do another single one of a dying man's wish, right? Before she could respond on his strange notice, the man cut her off. "Any lullaby would do." He held a heavy breath. "Or maybe.. just maybe.. you could go with something that starts like this?"

Noticing that the man's ability to articulate was experiencing a major decline, Joan decided to come closer to hear what the man had to say for the last time.

"Keep your lips in tact my love.." The man whispered softly, he wasn't even singing the melody correctly anymore, yet Jieun could clearly understand what he meant.

"for the monsters has grown near," Jieun continued on, hoping that he would finish the next line with her, but turned out he did not have the strength to do so anymore. His eyes were starting to close, his muscles were starting to decompress, he was already ready to greet death.

Jieun cleared her throat, preparing herself to sing the rest of the song as blatantly as possible without having to break down crying. "Clothe yourself in darkness heights as there's nothing left to fear."

""Halt underneath the angel's wings —

you're a child worth protection.

Within the depths of danger,

let me be your distraction."

For once, Jieun understood what the song meant. She understood it clearly now.

—