The sky was red. Although the situation was already extreme, the people of this country could and had to be ready for something worse each day. The environment was extreme enough to make the stars in the sky appeared red. He had to escape this place, in order to survive, or even reunite with his family if very lucky. Reunification. Jungnam was able to make a tiny attempt at a laugh thanks to that idea. However, he knew already. He knew that the chance of meeting his family again was extremely low, but the slightest of possibilities was the only factor that kept him away from erasing himself from the world completely. Thus, he had to hold on to that idea of reunification. Jungnam’s buttocks and backbones started to disturb him from concentrating. Fifteen hours of sitting down on a tree was a challenge even for a man who had endured so much pain working secretly for his country.  

Just a few months ago, Jungnam was one of the elite spies and was sent to the southern part of the country for a mission. However, as soon as he returned as a national hero, a coup’ replaced the old leader with a new one, who was eager to eliminate anyone who had a history of working for the old leader. This included the spies who worked for Him. Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, his family had escaped the chaos, as people in the town claimed that they had escaped to the north. 

Claimed. Just because of speculation, perhaps a sign of hope for the witness, he had no choice but to head north, not south, north. Shivering in the cold, risking himself to all the danger he could face. Luckily, he was almost there, as he could now spot the Yalu river. The only possible route to the north. He was waiting for the perfect timing to cross the river. He knew from the experiences in the past that 12 AM was the time when the guards’ switched; the perfect time for people to catch the guards off guard. He was almost there. The stars looked a little brighter to him now; almost yellow. Perhaps maybe because of that thing called hope. Was it due to his nerves relaxing? He felt his eyes slowly closing, and soon, he could only see darkness. 

Jungnam woke up from the sounds of footsteps, he could tell immediately from his instincts gained from being a spy that it was four people. The sounds of footsteps were getting louder, and it was getting clearer by each second that these people were soldiers as he heard the familiar sounds of the guns clicking against the grenades. Although Jungnam had a pistol which he brought just in case, he awaited very quietly; quiet to the point where the only thing he could hear was nothing. Making a sound was risking his own life, as he only had two bullets left. He had experienced so many of these situations that he just knew instinctively what to do, but this time, he had to stop all his instincts and keep calm. He was too close to his family to risk his life. He could feel that he was close to his family. He could feel it. 

‘I can not risk it, no I should not risk it’ he thought. 

He was so close, he was almost there. Thus, he put down his pistol. Then, all of a sudden, there was a sound of two humans running in the bushes. Jungnam noticed that these were the footsteps of a woman and a boy. The soldiers reacted to this sound, and fiercely chased after them, with a murderer’s face on them. He wished to help and knew that he could, but again, he could not risk it, and besides, this was the perfect time to cross the Yalu river. He jumped down from the tree as quietly as possible and ran towards the river as quickly as possible. He put aside the brutally honest fact that the woman and a boy would have survived if he had helped. Running was not easy as the roots of trees were making the ground bumpy. However, he made it to the river surprisingly quick. He put a foot in the water. It was cold. Too cold for a human cross. Jungnam started to think of different ways he can use to cross this river; get one step closer to his family. That was when he heard non-human footsteps. 

Instinctively, he sank himself into the deepness of the water, only his head barged out of the water. To his surprise, it was a horse. Not just any horse, but a horse with long fur on each side of its body, just like a wing. Right next to it, however, was a tiger, with red stripes bright as a flame, the black stripes darker than the color of the sky, and eyes bluer than the color of the ocean. The horse seemed injured, the wing-like material was all ripped, and its legs seemed to be bleeding. Remarkably, the tiger seemed to have no intention of attacking the horse, but rather seemed to be helping the severely injured horse. Strangely, the horse with long fur seemed remarkably familiar to him for some reason. He could sense a strong connection with the horse and it reminded him of his home. The tiger, on the other hand, was a little different. He felt a very faint, distant, but a strong connection. Jungnam thought this was all his imagination, as he was taught that humans see figures when they are in extreme condition. However, it was too real. The strange connection that he felt with them was too strong and evident to be denied. When the two animals slowly walked away from him, he lost consciousness and sank into the deepness of the river. 

When he woke up, he was on the other side of the river. He could not move nor see, but he could feel that he was now in the north. He kept on attempting to move, but could not even lift his fingers up. As he continuously attempted to wake his muscles, he heard the footsteps of animals. He could sense that these animals were slowly coming towards himself. The footsteps stopped, and Jungnam opened his eyes with all the energy he had left. Through the slight line of sight he could pierce through, he saw two adult foxes and their four cubs staring down at him. 

‘How ironic’ Jungnam thought to himself as he closed his eyes forever.