‘Minki, wake up.’

Ren opened his eyes and a bright gush of light hit his face. Where were Tao, Luhan and Sehun? Wasn’t he with them? He looked at the person calling him to wake up. By now, he was already used to not knowing everyone.

‘Hello, I'm Dara.’ She said, introducing herself. ‘Your family is waiting for you to eat breakfast.’

‘B-breakfast?’ Ren asked. ‘My family?’

‘Yes. You are the prince of the kingdom of Nuex. You just woke up from a long sleep so you wouldn’t know what has happened lately.’

Ren followed Dara, trying to memorize the castle corridors. When he saw the main hall, he immediately knew, this was the place he visited in his dreams, when he was 5 or 6.

He looked up at his supposed ‘mother’. She looked very familiar but Ren could barely remember the life he had on Earth.

Wait. That was a he.

‘SUNGMIN-AH!’

Ren turned around and saw a man with a crown on his head walking into the room, supposedly the king.

‘What is it Kyu?’ Sungmin asked, turning to the man who took the seat next to him.

‘The kingdom architects lost the blueprint for the game console…’ Kyuhyun sighed.

‘It’s alright Kyu.’ Sungmin said, patting.

‘How on Earth do I have parents who are both guys?!?’ He thought to himself. ‘Wait… I’m not on Earth anymore…’

He walked up to the table and sat down, opposite Kyuhyun.

A boy around the age of 15 bounced into the room like an excited puppy.

‘Choi Minki! You’re finally awake hyung!’

This person Ren definitely knew.

‘Zelo?’

‘Yes Ren?’

Ren became even more confused when Zelo used his stage name. He just stared at Zelo.

‘I thought you said you’d call me Junhong if I call you Minki.’ Zelo told him.

‘Choi Junhong?’ Ren asked. Oh right… that was Zelo’s birth name.

Ren staggered out after a full breakfast. This was really confusing. When he returned to his room, he hunted around for a notebook and pencil.

‘Queen: Lee Sungmin

King: Cho Kyuhyun. CHO not CHOI (Why did they get married? O_o)

Brother: Zelo. Choi Junhong.’

He paused for awhile. It kinda made sense that his brother was Zelo. A bit. At least he didn’t end up with a brother who had a different last name, that would have confused him even more.

‘Maid(?): Sandara Park.’ He added on the paper after awhile.

Then he flipped it over and wrote, ‘Looking for: Tao, Luhan and Sehun because I can’t be the only one here. Maybe any member of Exo will help.’ at the bottom.

He heard a knock on the door and walked over to open it.

‘Hello.’

Ren stared at the man in full body armour. ‘A-Aron?’

Aron bowed down. ‘Sorry. A man at the gates asked me to pass this to you.’ He handed Ren a letter, head still bowed.

Ren hesitantly took the letter from his hand but didn’t open it. ‘Please. Please stand up Aron. I’m younger than you.’ Ren said, averting his eyes and voicing his discomfort.

‘But you are my future king.’ Aron said. ‘I am just the replacement. JR is still on break.’

‘JR? Jonghyun?’ Ren asked in surprise, forgetting about the envelope.

‘Yes sir. Though may I ask how you know his name?’

‘Weren’t we… friends…on…’ Ren’s voiced trailed off. No they weren’t. This was a different realm. As much as people resembled each other and had the same names, they couldn’t be the same person, could they?

‘Don’t worry.’ Ren said.

He picked the envelope up from the ground as Aron saluted him then walked off.

Inside he found a necklace with an Hourglass on it. Tao’s sign. He had trouble putting it around his neck because the clasps were small and irritating but he got it on in the end.

Then he realized. He had to find Tao again.

Over the course of the day, Ren gathered a number of props to help him escape. He hadn’t told anyone about what he was planning to do simply because he didn’t trust them. He asked Dara for a map and some food, saying he didn’t feel like eating with his family because he fell sick. He also went through his drawers and found a few plain clothes that fitted him. He couldn’t walk around the countryside in his current clothes. He found a small bag and chucked his clothes in there. He also found a water bottle in the kitchens and put it in the bag as well.

When he finally gathered all he needed, clothes, matches, food, water and—of course—courage, he slipped out of his room. The moon was high in the sky. It casted a shimmering glow on everything. He jumped at the slightest movement in the bushes.

It wasn’t like he’s never sneaked out of a place before. He did that multiple times before he debuted.

‘Ren?’

Ren turned around so fast that he almost lost his balance. He saw a man with shoulder-length, straight brown hair.

‘You’re not supposed to be sneaking out of the castle.’

‘Who are you?’ Ren asked wide-eyed. He was guessing that this man worked as a guard or something. Everyone he had met so far worked in the hospital.

‘You’re looking for something—no, someone right?’

He didn’t know how to reply. Say he was looking for Tao? He barely knew Exo or the stranger. He couldn’t say he was looking for Nu’est since it was pretty clear he wasn’t in the same universe as them.

Somewhere in the bushes, a cricket chirped.

‘Follow me.’ The stranger ordered.

Ren quickly ducked out of sight after the stranger as a patrol marched by. Ren was about to asked the stranger who he was but the stranger held a finger up to his mouth and crawled slowly along the ground, making soft noises. Ren stealthily stalked him.

After half an hour, the stranger reached a wall. He was looking for something on the ground and when he found it, pulled the cover of the secret passageway open.

‘Go.’ The stranger said softly. Ren slowly lowered himself into the dark hole and heard the stranger get in after him.

Then everything went black.

Ren heard a rustle behind him and all of a sudden, light appeared again. The stranger was holding a small candle.

‘Let’s go.’ He said to Ren with a smile. It was friendly and Ren instantly knew he was safe with this person.

Ren wanted to ask where they were going but he didn’t because the stranger squeezed between him and the wall and started leading the way.

When they resurfaced, they were in a house which was lighted dimly.

‘This is my house.’ The stranger said, turning to him. ‘Oh yeah, I haven’t introduced myself yet. I’m Lee Hongki.’