Minhyuk woke up to the sun shining on his face through the windows of the bedroom. The curtain was too thin, he thought in his head as he finally got up from the bed, feeling fresher than he had ever been last night. He looked around and noticed that he was alone, and also, the bed that Kihyun used regularly was missing.

“Did he sleep outside?” he wondered to himself. He stretched one last time before getting up and going right into where the studio was.

He was still groggy from the sleep that he almost didn’t notice something bumping his feet when he came out. With blurry vision, he looked down to see that it was a bed he bumped with, and someone with bright pink hair was sleeping on it.

“Kihyun?”

He rubbed his eyes, only to find out it wasn’t Kihyun, but a girl with a white dress.

And then he screamed.

Kihyun immediately woke up from his sleep. He fell asleep on the couch in the living room last night, so when he got up, he hazily walked into the studio, only to find Minhyuk sitting on the floor trembling with fear.

“Minhyuk-ah, what happened?” he asked with only one eye open.

“Who-who—”

Minhyuk was pointing at Luda, who was starting to stir from sleep. Now both of Kihyun’s eyes were wide open, as he remembered that he had to explain this to Minhyuk and possibly the others when they came here later as well.

“Luda? That’s Luda?”

They were in the living room, trying to give Luda some more time to sleep, or more like Kihyun dragging Minhyuk away from the studio because it was obvious Luda wanted to sleep some more.

“You don’t have to whisper that to me, and yes, she is.”

“But.” Minhyuk looked at the closed door of the studio in suspicion. “How can you be so sure that’s Luda? I mean it could’ve been one of the cosplayers.”

“The webtoon hasn’t even been released yet. Why would anyone want to do a cosplay of it already?”

“It could be a stalker who knows that you’re crazy for Luda.”

“Hey, if you put it that way...”

“See? It could be someone like that!”

“Minhyuk, I don’t mean that way! You make me sound like I’m obsessed with my own creation.”

Instead of words, Minhyuk just gave him the look.

“Okay, I might like my drawing of her just a little bit, but I am not that crazy for her.”

“Sure. You always worry about what dress Luda should wear in each episode, in each scene of day and night, worrying if it won’t match with her hair color or not.”

They suddenly heard knocking sound coming from the door to the studio.

“Open the door,” a commanding voice was heard from it. Kihyun took the initiative to open the door, and then Luda stepped out of it, strutting elegantly into the living room. She looked around the living room, where she found Minhyuk trying to offer her the friendliest smile he could muster.

“Who is that?” She pointed at the black-haired man.

“Oh? That’s just Minhyuk. He’s a friend.”

She threw him a dirty look, and his smile was fading gradually.

“Wasn’t he the one who was so obnoxiously loud that it almost woke me up from my slumber?”

Minhyuk stood up from where he sat and protested.

“You didn’t even wake up, what are you even talking about?”

“Minhyuk-ah, stop.” Kihyun could somehow feel Luda glaring at him, but he ignored it. “I will make some breakfast for all of us. For the others too, when they arrive.”

“Stop.”

Luda’s voice made Kihyun, who was about to head to the kitchen, really stopped.

“I need to cleanse myself. And a new gown. Provide them all for me.”

“Hey, girl, don’t act like a princess around here! You can go shower in the bathroom by yourself and just—“

“Minhyuk-ah, grab some clothes from Yeonjung’s room,” Kihyun effectively cut off his friend’s rant as he proceeded to go to the kitchen.

“I thought your little sister doesn’t like her room getting invaded!”

“I know, but we’ll make it so that she doesn’t know. Now go.”

Minhyuk looked like he was about to protest again, but he knew he would be ignored. As he looked back at Luda, he sighed and went to the said room across the studio, leaving Luda alone in the living room.

“I know,” she said to the empty air. “I am not a princess here.”

When she had entered the bathroom, she looked around in confusion.

There was something that seemed vaguely familiar with a bathtub, but there was no water in it. In the palace, the maid would usually prepare the water and also put some flowers on it to give it a scent, but what she could see around her were white tiles, and only that.

She chose to knock the door to the bathroom.

“Open the door!” she commanded in a loud voice. It wasn’t long until she found Minhyuk opening it for her.

“What is it again?” he asked, looking irritated.

“How am I supposed to cleanse myself in a place void of water?” she pointed at the empty bathtub. Minhyuk rolled his eyes before entering the bathroom and the knob to make the shower spill out some hot water, instantly making Luda’s expression turning into amazement.

“That’s how you get the water, Princess.” He raised his eyebrow at her again, looking at her up and down. “Are you sure you really don’t know how to operate that thing?”

She hesitated in answering, feeling her pride in danger. She raised her chin up before speaking again.

“I just need to learn, that’s all.”

Minhyuk shook his head, still not being able to fathom the weird girl in front of him. He was about to walk out the door to the bathroom when Luda stopped him again.

“Wait! Don’t you have flowers around here?”

He turned around with knitted eyebrows, wondering what in the world she was going to ask now. “What for?”

“To put it into the water. I can’t just bathe without using flower scent.”

Still with suspicion and confusion in his expression, he pointed to Kihyun’s collection of bathing necessities in the rack next to the bathtub. “The body washes are there, just pick your favorite scent.”

When Luda turned to look at the rack, Minhyuk used the chance to completely leave the bathroom and closed it behind him.

“Oh, what a crazy woman,” he muttered under his breath. Meanwhile, the smell of Kihyun’s homemade kimchi fried rice was starting to fill the air. He thought about going to the kitchen to have breakfast right away when suddenly another shout was heard from the bathroom.

“Open the door again!”

This time, Minhyuk couldn’t take it anymore. He opened the bathroom door in a quick click and faced the princess, his whole being irritated.

“What is it again?” he asked, slightly with a raised tone.

“Tell me how to use that,” she pointed to the soap rack, “and I need help to get out of this gown.”

At that, he was starting to look up and down at Luda again. The gown? She needed help to get out of the gown. That means—

He slapped himself for almost having thought of something inappropriate.

At that moment, the door bell was starting to ring.

“I’ll get it!” Minhyuk shouted very loudly, loud enough to reach Kihyun and also the person waiting outside the house. He ran very quickly to the front door, while Luda just looked at him in confusion. Meanwhile, the smell of something delicious was starting to reach her nose as well, followed by the sound of her crunching stomach.

“No, I need to take a bath before eating,” she convinced herself. Not too long, she heard the incoming voice of Minhyuk, followed by another voice, a female.

“Thank God you’re here. Can you help us out a little bit?”

“What is it?”

“We have a girl in our bathroom and she wants to take a shower, so help her out, okay?”

“A girl? Is it not your sister, Kihyun oppa?”

“Huh? No.”

“Just go there, kid.” Minhyuk pushed the newcomer right to the bathroom, where Luda had been waiting. When she finally saw Luda, her jaw dropped right away.

“Are you guys kidding me? Now you guys even got a model for Luda’s character?” She turned to Minhyuk, who already ran away to the kitchen. “You erts!”

She turned back to Luda, who was still looking expectantly at the girl.

“Okay, Unnie, we surely need a lot of things to talk about.”

She ushered the princess into the bathroom before locking the door behind her.

“Okay, how did you even end up here with a gown that looks suspiciously similar with what Luda— I mean, a webtoon character would wear? Who are you?”

Luda scoffed, making the girl look slightly taken aback. “Why don’t you tell me who you are first?”

“Me? Well I’m Park Myungeun and I’m also someone who has a work to be done here, but I didn’t know I have to help someone to shower. So, tell me, did the guys force you to wear this? Did they—”

Myungeun gasped ironically, and Luda was confused. She couldn’t catch her drift.

“No, you guys possibly didn’t have like, a...” She held up her three fingers tentatively and waved it, also tentatively, in front of Luda, making the princess look at her in more confusion. Then she slapped herself on the face, making Luda raise her eyebrow.

“Do people here have a habit of slapping their own faces?” Luda suddenly asked out of blue.

“Yes?” Myungeun was now confused.

“Whatever. Anyway, please help me with my bath. And also help me get out of this gown.”

Myungeun looked at the water at the bathtub spilling from the shower, so she walked to shut it off first. Unfortunately, some of the water drops already got to the floor and made the edges of the gown wet.

“Unnie, I think the gown is getting wet though. What should we do about it?”

“That’s okay, I don’t mind. Just help me get out of it. And I need to change into those as well.” She pointed at a set of clothes hanging on one side of the bathroom.

“Okay, I will help you then.”

It didn’t take too long for Changkyun to arrive at the house. He greeted the hyungs who were sitting in the kitchen having breakfast, but they were looking serious instead of their usual sunny opposition.

“Hyungs, what’s wrong? Is there any problem with the webtoon?” He looked around the house, feeling like someone was missing. “Where’s Myungeun?”

“She’s in the bathroom,” Minhyuk helpfully answered for him.

“Here, have a plate,” Kihyun offered him a plate of kimchi fried rice and the younger happily accepted.

“Thank you, Hyung!” Changkyun exclaimed in delight before digging in.

This would be the right time for Kihyun to organize his train of thoughts again, because all of his friends had gathered in his house. (He excluded Hoseok because that hyung basically just played around and of course, bought them food and drinks to refill their energy. He was more like a supporter, suffice to say.)

Not too long after, Myungeun came out of the bathroom with Luda’s gown in her arms, followed by Luda herself, who was already dressed in Yeonjung’s clothes: a pink sweatshirt paired with a black overall skirt. The appearance of Luda certainly caught Changkyun’s eyes immediately, as he turned to the hyungs with curious eyes.

“Hyungs, who is that?”

“Oppa, I’ll put this near the washing machine, okay.”

“Sure,” Kihyun responded, and then turned to their other junior, who was looking at Luda in fascination.

“She seems familiar,” Changkyun muttered under his breath. Kihyun faked a cough before rising from his seat and going to lead Luda to the dining table.

“These clothes are comfortable,” she offhandedly remarked. “And the way people cleanse themselves here is kind of... unique.”

Her remarks certainly made the youngest look confused, while his hyungs tried to avoid his gaze at all cost.

Myungeun was back from the laundry room, and took a seat next to Luda.

“Let’s have some breakfast first, shall we?” Kihyun asked while looking at Luda hesitantly, kind of asking for her approval. She just had a poker face instead, but that didn’t stop him from serving the fried rice he made to her and also Myungeun.

“Wow, thank you!” Myungeun was bright for a second before she gazed at Luda, who was only staring at the plate suspiciously in front of her.

As if knowing what Luda was thinking, Kihyun suddenly said, “It’s not poisoned, don’t worry. We don’t have that kind of thing around here.”

She looked surprised too at his sudden explanation, but then she slowly picked up the spoon and tasted the weird food in front of her. As she scooped up some of it, she could feel the four pair of eyes on her intently. She felt comfortable, but tried to ignore it as she brought the spoon in . When she tasted it, she got another surprise. The food was delicious. She nodded several times slightly, and Kihyun caught it. He had expected the princess’ reaction to his cooking, and to see that she liked it made him feel relieved.

“You erts,” Myungeun suddenly said as she pointed at Kihyun and Minhyuk, “got something to explain, remember?”

“We’re not erts!” Minhyuk protested.

“Then how did you guys get a girl and make her look so much like Luda?”

At the mention of her name, Luda immediately snapped up.

“She is Luda! She’s the main character of our webtoon. She—she—“

Kihyun was having a hard time trying to continue his sentence, and Changkyun helpfully tried to guess instead.

“Came out of the webtoon?”

“Dude,” Myungeun looked at her friend sarcastically. “As if that could happen in real life.”

“She did,” Kihyun finally managed to speak. Myungeun turned to him with an incredulous look on his face.

“Seriously?”

“I did,” Luda decided to speak up. That earned her the attention of four other people in the room, some looking at her in surprise, some in amazement, some in disbelief.

“She could still be a stalker, you know,” Minhyuk whispered his idea.

“Wait. You came out of the webtoon? Like for real?” Changkyun’s tone sounded like he was interested in the matter of subject, which made Myungeun turn her attention to him.

“Don’t tell me you believe in that kind of fairytale.”

“I was in the palace for my wedding. The gown I wore before was my wedding gown.”

Everyone’s attention was back to Luda again, and she tried to hold the annoying feeling bubbling up inside of her. She opted to look anywhere else but the people around her.

“You guys didn’t force her to wear that gown?”

“Myungeun, I don’t have that much money to get a wedding gown, moreso a gown that was exactly the same as the one I designed,” Kihyun explained to his female junior, feeling a bit exhausted with the suspicions. “If you want, you can check my drawings for the gown. It was finished two days ago.”

Immediately, Myungeun left to the studio, and Changkyun also followed suit while saying, “Me too! I want to take a look as well!”

The remaining people in the room started drowning in awkward silence, before Minhyuk broke it.

“You could still be a stalker,” he said it directly to Luda.

“What a rude thing to say, young man.”

“You’re young too. Don’t act like you’re so high above.”

“Please stop it,” Kihyun pleaded. He had enough problems in his hands, he couldn’t let this one go on for long.

“Hyung,” Changkyun called out as he came out of the studio. “I thought you said we will work on episode 13 together.”

“Huh? I only finished up to episode 12 last night,” Kihyun replied in slight confusion.

“Then why is episode 13 already finished?”

“Are you sure you didn’t see it wrongly?” Minhyuk asked.

“Yes. The plot is also a little... strange.”

The two guys in the living room hurriedly went into the studio, leaving Luda in the kitchen behind. They let the door opened though, so she decided to see what was it that had them looking worried. She entered the room to see the four people huddled up in front of the monitor. She quietly slid behind them, as she also took a look at the thing they were looking in it.

Unexpectedly, she saw a picture of what looked like the witch, Seola, and her father covered with blood on the floor. The witch held high a beating heart into the air, her expression that of pure evil.

“What the hell is this? I didn’t make this!” Kihyun exclaimed in horror, before somehow realizing there was another pink head slipping in between them. When he looked at Luda, he could see how the color had drained from her face. She stepped back in shock as her back thudded with the wall.

“Luda.” He held her on her shoulders, trying to give her a little bit of comfort by squeezing them a little bit, but he could tell it was useless. Her face started contorting before fresh tears started spilling away from her eyes, the sadness and shock too overwhelming for her to register anything. Not even when Kihyun pulled her into a hug in an attempt to comfort her.

Everyone was silent as only Luda’s sobs were heard in the air. No one knew what to do with the situation.

Instead, a door bell was heard throughout the house, along with a shout.

“Guys, I brought some dumplings here!”

Kihyun sighed. It was going to be a long day.

Finally posted another update. Well I'm still writing this story it's just that I have work and writer's block all at the same time... otherwise I will still continue to update this as much as I want ^^