"Kai. Kai...Kai! "

Jongin is torn from slumber when D.O. slaps him across the face. He gives him a what-the- look when he finally comes to.

"I think there's someone outside," D.O. whisper-shouts. Jongin looks around the room for a window, only to realize D.O. didn't have any.

D.O. doesn't panic until they hear the sound of leaves crunching somewhere behind a near wall. 

"I'm getting my gun," the protagonist says, determined. leaps out of bed and runs outside the room, Jongin following suit.

D.O. already has his rifle loaded. The same one he had aimed at Jongin the night before. 

"D.O, I really don't think this is a good-"

D.O. kicks open the front door and storms through while Jongin stands there, not sure if he should follow.

He remembers writing this very scene, except he wasn't in it, of course.

If everything had gone well in the original story, maybe he shouldn't interfere here.

Jongin tip-toes outside. It is barely morning. The thin air pierces Jongin's throat with every breath.

He gets behind a nearby tree when he sees D.O. along with two knights on horses. D.O has his rifle lowered. He must have recognized from the armor that they were allies.

"You live here?" asks one of the knights.

"Yes. What seems to be the problem?" D.O. is in a slightly defensive stance, ready to fight if they came any closer.

"The Parks seem to be launching a siege on us. We think it's best we make sure every one of our citizens returns safely within the walls, in case they..." the knight pauses, "...attack anyone."

One of the horses makes eye contact with Jongin. Jongin gasps, straightening his body to hide as much of it behind the tree as possible.

"Looks like Harold's spotted something," one of the knights points out.

Jongin's eyes widen. This wasn't part of the story. Has he disrupted the chain of events? 

"Mister, does anyone else live around this area that you are aware of?" the other knight questions in suspicion. D.O. is silent for a solid second as if to choose his words carefully.

"Yes, I share my cabin with a friend," he finally says. 

Way to throw me under the bus! Jongin panicks, contemplating whether or not he should just bolt for it. He peeks his head back out, catching same horse's attention. This time, the knights notice him. 

They place their hands on their rifles, and Jongin freezes.

"Is that him?" a knight asks.

D.O. turns around with a stern expression. He motions with his head for Jongin to get his over there, and Jongin reluctantly obeys. He stands beside D.O, feeling like his taller height makes him more prone to being attacked.

The knights both stare, probably wondering why Jongin was hiding, to begin with. Luckily, they avoid the topic. "We will the two of you back to the city."

D.O. requests to go back and gather his important items before leaving. When he comes back with his rucksack, the knights signal for their horses to start walking. D.O. and Jongin follow close behind. 

"If you see something suspicious, let us know."

"Yes, sir."

Throughout the trip to the city, the two knights end up being the only ones talking to each other while D.O. minds his own business. Jongin looks around awkwardly, trying his best to enjoy the forest view. He never understands people who enjoy sightseeing.

He turns to D.O. God, he's gorgeous. 

I should talk to him.

The man in question seems to notice him looking and stares back.

Jongin stiffens. Maybe not...

He tears his eyes away and lets out a long sigh.

The city is just as Jongin had imagined; no motor vehicles in sight, wide cobblestone streets filled with merchants and women with their children. It never seemed weird to Jongin to imagine a medieval setting, but it feels so weird now that it is right in front of him. 

D.O. looks uncomfortable. There are probably more people around than he would like.

Jongin pinches his own arm to confirm that this is a reality, and all that comes is a couple looks as he hisses in pain.

The two knights stop their horses. "Here we are."

"Thank you," D.O. says, looking around. When the knights leave, Jongin turns to him.

"You're awfully calm about getting taken from your home," he says. D.O.'s eyes widen like he's found the answer to something.

"My father owns a tailor here," he says.

"Great. You know where that is?"

"...No."

"Bro," Jongin blurts, then realizes that D.O. doesn't know modern slang. The shorter man looks at him, questioning him with his eyes.

"That was just..."  Jongin trails off, deciding to just change the topic. "Well, then what about your mom? She must be around here as well."

D.O. stares off blankly. "...I don't have a mother."

Jongin opens his mouth, then closes it. He mentally facepalms. How could he, of all people, forget?

"Okay, nevermind that," he puts his hands over his mouth as he thinks. "Do you have money?"

D.O. checks inside his rucksack. "Not too much."

"Maybe if you find some sort of hotel around, we have at least a few days with a place to stay," Jongin suggests. D.O. looks unsure for a second.

"Okay," he finally agrees. "Help me look for an inn."

"Sure thing," Jongin says, not wanting to have to explain to D.O. how absolute  his vision is. While the other man is off doing his own thing, he pretends to search around when eventually, something dawns on him.

He stops and grabs D.O.'s shoulder. The other man spins around, alarmed. 

"Um," Jongin fidgets. "I think we should just stay out here."

D.O. narrows his eyes. "Why?"

Because in the story you end up homeless on the streets and Prince Baekhyun the Third takes you in all because he feels bad for you but now since you're gonna be where he can't see you the plot will stop progressing and I'm scared of how that will affect me. "Because Prince Baekhyun is in town."

"Who cares?" D.O. resumes looking. 

"Wait!" Jongin chases after him. "Don't you wanna meet him?"

"I couldn't give two s about the royal family if I wanted to."

Jongin stares at the back of D.O.'s head as the man walks away. Who hurt you? he thinks. 

Now that it has come to mind, he's never gone in-depth on D.O.'s background. He only wrote that story for fun in his free time. To be honest, he himself isn't too sure what happened to D.O.'s mom.

"Wait, Kyungs- I mean, D.O.!" Jongin catches up to him again, once again grabbing his shoulder. D.O. whips around and smacks his hand off.

"Stop touching me."

"I guarantee you won't regret it."

"You know what," D.O. lifts his hands up in a defensive manner, "if you want to meet the prince that badly, I'm not stopping you. But I'm only here for a roof over my head." He then realizes something. "And how do you know the prince is in town? I thought you weren't from here."

...

"...Word got around?"

D.O. stares at him suspiciously. "Either go with me, or stay on your own," he finally says, marching off.

Jongin sighs. He follows D.O. through the streets of Byun (yes, the king had named the place after himself), politely declining merchants who offered their goods. 

He bumps into someone and profusely apologizes while the people surrounding him gasp in horror.

Whispers rose around him as he wonders what he did wrong.

"My goodness, he just shoved the prince!"

"He pushed Prince Baekhyun!"

"Who does he think he is?"

The person he bumps into turns around, bows, then continues walking. Jongin gets only a glimpse of his face and holy Jesus, he is smoking hot.

Wait, what?

Jongin slaps himself. He didn't just think someone other than Kyungsoo was attractive.

But D.O. is attractive, and he's not Kyungsoo.

That's a whole different story.

No, it's not- Hold on, that's not the issue here. Jongin looks back, and the person is still in sight. He's in formal attire, this hair is well-done, his walk is professional, his posture is confident, and he's drawing attention wherever he goes.

Jongin's jaw drops. He just bumped into A ING PRINCE!

Said man doesn't seem bothered by it. Hell, he probably doesn't even remember what just happened. But people are still shaking their heads and commenting on how rude Jongin is. 

Jongin flushes, and escapes the crowd by fleeing in the direction D.O. was going when he realizes the man was nowhere to be found.

"D.O?" he calls out.

No answer.

Not like the guy would just reply by shouting 'Kai!' in public, right?

Jongin speeds through the city, frantically searching for his protagonist. At one point, he considers asking people if they've seen a midget with a rifle, but his lack of social communication skills stops him.

His legs start to get worn out, and he starts panting. The cold, thin air suddenly becomes unbearable to inhale.

When breathing finally becomes difficult, Jongin comes to a stop. 

In the middle of a buzzing crowd, on a foreign street, he gasps for whatever air he can get.

"," he coughs loudly. I don't have my inhaler...

Or my glasses...

Or my phone...

I don't have anything!

Jongin scans the area. No D.O, only weird stares.

He's truly alone.

Tears well up in his eyes. A whimper escapes him before he slaps a hand over his mouth, hoping no one had heard him.

Calm down.

Calm down.

Wiping his eyes, Jongin straightens himself up. 

He created this world. He's basically a god here! These people just don't know it.

Jongin takes a deep breath. "Just keep walking," he whispers to himself.

As time passes, more people fill the streets. Specifically, young women who probably looking for the prince, while Jongin is praying he would eventually see D.O. wandering around.

Jongin gives up on the searching and just walks around aimlessly, head down and arms hanging at his sides.

"Kyungsoo, are you gonna join us?" Chanyeol shouts across the kitchen. It had been their lunch break, and the employees always hung out in pairs. All except Kyungsoo, the man with earphones plugged in, too absorbed in the book on his lap to reply to Chanyeol.

Chanyeol turns to Jongin. "Bro, you think he just ignored me or is his music that loud?"

Jongin laughs. "It's probably the music," he assures.

"Why don't you go talk to him?"

"Dude, did no one teach you not to talk to someone wit