‘He’s good at being a fake…’ Wonshik commented as he glared at the Dark Taekwoon along with the rest of the members for the rehearsing photo shoot.

The others almost couldn’t believe that the Jung Taekwoon in front of them wasn’t the one they were familiar with. Despite how different the Dark Taekwoon and the vocalist of VIXX’s personality was, the Dark Taekwoon was able to pull a complete change in his character. It almost felt as if their second oldest was suddenly back with them.

‘I’m not surprised. After all, he and I have both watched the six of you from Dreamscape. Your habits and personality, we’ve seen much of it. So, him being able to copy Jung Taekwoon isn’t unusual at all.’ The Dark Hakyeon told them.

It was decided that their first Korean comeback was going to be a trilogy series called the ‘Conception,’ which is based on Greek Mythology and the story between mortals and Gods. To the public and fans, it is just another brilliant idea from the concept idols called VIXX, but to the members and those who know of their story, this was the truth.

It was an alternate version based on their previous lives.

Wonshik could not believe it though, that he was stuck throughout the past several days having to record with the Dark Taekwoon. He wanted to refuse the offer but for some reason, he couldn’t. Not only was their CEO highly anticipating this comeback but the idea itself was fresh.

It irritated the rapper a lot to think that this idea was actually the fake Taekwoon’s proposal. Despite the dark past and stories they all had, it was still a really fresh concept in which Wonshik had a lot in his mind of what he wanted to do with it.

Since it was this Taekwoon’s idea, it was only natural that he helped the producers and Wonshik in composing the new album together. No one could tell that this Taekwoon was a lie though. Even though the Dark Taekwoon had an arrogant and ruling type of personality, when he was in front of the staff, it almost felt like he was another person. He became much quieter yet still had a lot of ideas in his mind as if he really was the real Jung Taekwoon.

He had everyone fooled.

‘I don’t get it. Why is he even here?’ Jaehwan asked.

‘If only we knew… then everything would be a lot less complicated,’ Hyuk sighed.

The others nodded.

‘Still nothing from Soo-ah?’ Wonshik asked his friend.

‘Not yet.’ Hongbin replied.

‘You don’t think… she bailed on us or something do you?’ Jaehwan presumed.

‘Definitely not. She’s not that type of person. I can guarantee that.’

‘Wow, you’re even vouching for her now? By the way, how did you end up being so close to her in the first place?’

He’s close with that girl? The Dark Hakyeon instantly looked at the younger so see Hongbin’s reactions. The older was quietly listening to the younger members’ conversation. He almost felt anxious to hear what Hongbin had to say.

‘Look, there’s really nothing between me and her. I’m kind of her assistant since I couldn’t go with you guys to Dreamscape.’ Hongbin said.

Hakyeon felt somewhat relief.

Huh? What am I getting happy about?

‘Anyways, where did she go off to anyways? Heaven?’ Jaehwan asked.

‘Not sure but last time I remember, she bought a flight ticket to somewhere…’ Hongbin informed him.

‘So you need a plane ticket up to Heaven? Is there some sort of express airline that we don’t know about?’

The younger shrugged.

‘Maybe it’s a good thing you couldn’t get inside of Dreamscape though,’ Wonshik said.

‘Huh? What do you mean?’

‘I know you watched us with Soo-ah but to actually be inside of that place can really mess with your mind. It was cool at first knowing that we could have powers we can’t in real life but when we had to go through that Underworld and the mazes, you start to lose it. Everything felt dark and as if you can just disappear within that world. It makes you forget things…’

‘He’s right. A dream is a place that eventually makes you confuse between what is real and what is not. It makes you lose trust in what you thought was the truth for what is actually a lie. You can die within the dream and think that you actually died in real life as well. That is when your conscious is lost and only an empty body remains in the real world. It is also the reason why Cha Hakyeon got so easily pulled into Dreamscape in the first place. He was at his weakest at the time and he no longer wanted to return to the real world. The dream fulfilled his desires and was able to live the life he wanted.’ The Dark Hakyeon told them.

Hongbin sighed.

‘I’m worried about Taekwoon-hyung too. If he really died inside of Dreamscape, shouldn’t his body at least remain here in the real world? Why did he completely vanish like he did?’

~

Hakyeon felt sick.

Though the fake Taekwoon gave him his meals on a regular basis, being trapped here for so long made him very nervous. He could not even sleep with peace, thinking that he might never wake up again.

He was afraid that something would happen to him while he was asleep. A few days ago, he woke up to find himself transferred to a room rather than the usual cage. It seems that Taekwoon have brought him here while he was fast asleep. Though he doesn’t know the reason behind why the latter would do such a thing, being transferred to a larger prison made no difference.

The windows were barred and the doors were completely locked and too heavy to kick it open. He couldn’t even walk far if he wanted to as his ankles were chained up to the distance of the room itself. He could only walk as far as reaching all four walls around him.

Hakyeon was quite depressed the past several days after witnessing s being so happy around his lookalike. Especially the younger who never showed such affections to him, Hakyeon grew even more upset as he remembered. He sighed deeply.

There’s no use being all gloomy about this… I need to escape first then worry about it later.

Though it has only been a few days after being transferred to this room, Hakyeon realized something rather odd about Taekwoon but until he had enough evidence, he wanted to keep quiet.

The footsteps were nearing again and Hakyeon got back to his seat as if everything was normal. He tried his best to remain calm in front of Taekwoon in order for him to not lose his mind and also not to anger the other. Who knows what the latter could do if he was mad.

The door clicked open. The heavy metal door slowly opened with Taekwoon holding another tray in his hands. He brought Hakyeon his meal again.

Without a single word, he walked to the small table of the room and set the dishes down. Then, he noticed something on the bed. He was not pleased.

‘You… took them off again. The bandages…’ Taekwoon sounded rather irritated.

‘So? What I do is for me to decide.’ Hakyeon talked back.

Though he knew well enough that the metal shackles bound to his ankles were not going to pry open, Hakyeon was still persistent. He was desperate to leave, so desperate that he was willing to break his ankles if he had to in order to escape. Though Hakyeon did not throw a fit or tried to fight Taekwoon in front of him, when the latter wasn’t around, Hakyeon would desperately try all methods to get him outside.

Who knows how much longer he can hold it before he really loses his mind?

Taekwoon sighed as he placed the torn bandages into the trash and cleaned up the mess that Hakyeon had made.

‘Why… do you want to leave so badly?’ He suddenly asked.

‘Huh? Isn’t it obvious? My members are waiting for me back home. I don’t know where this is but I definitely don’t want to be here!’

‘But didn’t you see how happy they were without you? They were so clingy to the other Cha Hakyeon.’

Hakyeon ignored that and pretend he didn’t hear it. He got irritated again after being reminded.

‘I want to go home!’

‘But you were the one who wanted to come here in the first place.’

‘What?’

Taekwoon sighed.

‘You wanted to leave reality, so you decided to escape into a dream instead. This place gave you everything you ever wanted, even me.’ He said.

Hakyeon was rather speechless as he heard what the other had to tell him.

‘You’re the one who wanted to be here in the first place rather than home so why are you contradicting yourself now?’ Taekwoon asked him.

‘I…’

It’s true that Hakyeon was under a lot of pressure and was extremely stressed out about everything around him. He was the oldest and the leader of a popular group. The public and all those around him had their eyes on him as the leader.

He wanted to be as responsible as he could for the group but at the same time, Hakyeon also wanted to be pampered just as much as he did with the younger members. He gave them all they wanted but all the younger members did was in front of so many eyes. Never have they really showed him such affection and care as they did the other Cha Hakyeon.

For the longest time when Hakyeon became the oldest and the leader of the group, he was worried of how to act in front of the youngers. If he was showing too much authority, he was afraid that the younger members would eventually fear him. But when he showed them a lot of care and love, the others decided to push him away.

After being rejected by Taekwoon and being pushed away even more, Hakyeon started to feel as if his world had completely fell apart. He’s had enough.

When the CEO asked him to take care of a peculiar trainee back in the days, he never thought that curiosity eventually killed the cat. He didn’t think he would fall in love. Especially to such a quiet and cold man such as Jung Taekwoon.

Just sitting across the table and meeting the latter’s eyes was enough to make his heart race a mile away.

When Hakyeon confessed his feelings for Taekwoon, it was on the spurt of the moment. It was at a point where he couldn’t even control what he was saying. He wasn’t really expecting the other to return his feelings especially because they were both guys but he didn’t think that it would make Taekwoon push him away even more.

Hakyeon felt very lonely during that time. He constantly thought about his other members instead. Wonshik was always there for him when he needed someone to consult with and Jaehwan had the world’s greatest hugs. Hongbin was younger than Hakyeon by three years but they were basically best friends and have known one another the longest amongst the group. Hyuk was young and Hakyeon just adored him too much.

If only the person I fell for was Kong instead… wh-what am I saying? I’m going crazy now.

Hakyeon slapped himself for thinking so stupidly. He was just too desperate for affection to be returned by the person he loved. He was sure that Hongbin would also be there as long as he needed someone but that would just be too cruel to the younger.

Kong deserves someone better. Someone who would only look at him and not think of someone else… not like me, who keeps thinking about that stupid Jung Taekwoon!

He sighed again as he looked out the window and at the bright full moon in his prison.

‘I miss them…’

~

The members were taking a break from their schedules after a few hectic days with planning and photo-shoots. It’s been quite hard for everyone to juggle back into the idol lifestyle on top of worrying for their two older members. In addition to all that, they had to constantly keep a close eye on the Dark Taekwoon as the latter was now living with them under the same roof. Though he hasn’t done anything in particular yet, the members were worried about being caught off guard.

Seriously, what is he thinking of coming here to the real world? He was so close to being the new King of the Underworld and now he wants to become an idol?

The Dark Hakyeon was stressing out just thinking about what the other could possibly have in mind. He sank into the milky hot bath that Hyuk had prepared for him. The younger have been really caring as well as the rest of the members. They showed him around the city, brought him food and souvenirs they thought that this Hakyeon would been interested in.

The bath itself was a first for the Dark Hakyeon and it really helped to calm his mind.

‘Hey, are you done yet?’ Someone knocked on the door.

Hongbin?

‘You didn’t faint in there did you?’ The younger asked.

‘N-no. I’m done now. I’ll be out right away!’ Hakyeon shouted back.

Hakyeon quickly got out of the bath and changed to his clothes even though his body was still quite wet.

‘Sorry for taking so long. You can use it now.’ Hakyeon felt bad.

‘Come here.’ The younger pulled him to the living room rather than going to use the bathroom. ‘Your hair is still wet, didn’t you take a bath? How’d you get it so wet?’

‘… Sorry.’

‘Huh? Why are you apologizing to me? Anyways, let’s dry you up before you catch a cold.’

‘A cold?’

‘Don’t tell me you don’t know what a cold is…’ Hongbin looked at him strangely.

‘I-I know what it is! I just never caught one…’ Hakyeon felt embarrassed.

‘Well let’s not start now. It won’t be fun, trust me.’ Hongbin told him as he covered the Dark Hakyeon’s hair with a dry towel.

‘You sound like a mom…’ Hakyeon couldn’t help but chuckle a bit thinking about it.

‘That role has already been taken.’

‘…’

The Dark Hakyeon knew exactly whom the younger was thinking about.

‘Do you miss him?’ He asked the younger.

‘What do you think?’ Hongbin asked back.

‘… A lot.’

Hongbin didn’t reply to Hakyeon but his silence said it all. Both kept quiet as Hongbin finished drying the older’s hair.

‘Well, it’s my turn to take a shower now. You should go to bed early. We have practice tomorrow morning.’ Hongbin patted Hakyeon on the head as he got up from the couch and left to take a shower.

Hakyeon watched the younger leave the room and started to think back at how much precious memories Hongbin probably had with the other Hakyeon. He’s witnessed everything within Dreamscape after all.

I’m sure Hakyeon misses you a lot too. He probably misses you all as much as you guys miss him…

He sighed.

‘You’re not beginning to fall for that kid too now are you?’ The Dark Taekwoon suddenly appeared in the room, after watching the whole scene with Hongbin and the Dark Hakyeon.

‘None of your business.’ Hakyeon got up and was about to go into his room until the latter grabbed him tightly by his wrist. Stopping him in his tracks.

‘Don’t.’ The other said.

‘Huh?’

‘Don’t fall for him.’

What is he saying all of a sudden?

‘Let go of me,’ the Dark Hakyeon demanded as he tried to struggle out of the other’s grasp.

‘You’ll only get hurt again.’

Suddenly, Hakyeon noticed a rather strange expression on the latter’s face. One that he never thought he would see. Did the other really mean what he said?

Such a sad and empathetic expression…

* * * * * * A/N * * * * * *

I swear coming up with a title for each chapter is so difficult. Especially in English. I keep thinking of titles in Korean or Japanese because there are so many single words that I can think of to describe each chapter where as in English, it's like several words and doesn't even give off the same feeling as I'm trying to convey. Why's English so hard?

Also, I really want to interact with you all more especially because some of you have followed me since the beginning of The World of Us! Totally appreciates it. I also know quite a few of you that binge-read all three stories! That's amazing <3 So, if you guys ever want to ask certain questions about anything as long as it's not asking me how I'm going to end this story, please feel free to ask away. I will try to reply to each other of you guys as much as I can or even have a FAQ section after each chapter. Or even do another fun fact like I did back in the prequel.