Dara's POV

So I met Chaerin or how she would like me to call her, CL. She’s the queen of hearts and she’s a real beauty. She invited me for tea in her garden. I have to say it’s a very beautiful.

“Sunsets are quite pleasant. Afterall it’s our favorite time.” CL said before she took a sip of tea from a white porcelain cup with hearts on it.

“Dara.” I heard Taeyang calling me.

I turned around and found Taeyang standing behind me. He bent down and started to whisper in my ear.

“I’m heading back to Top.”

Suddenly there was a loud gun fired sound in the air. I turned and saw that Seungri was holding a gun and pointing it at Taeyang.

“Back off Taeyang! You’re too close to my Dara. Do you want to get killed?” Seungri shouted.

“Seungri is so scary. I’m leaving! See you soon Dara!” Taeyang waved before he left.“What’s with that man? He’s so rude.” Seungri said in a childish voice.

“Quiet Seungri. Do you want to lose your head?” CL said, never looking up from her cup. Seungri didn’t speak after that.

I guess I shouldn’t interrogate Seungri here.

“But, we understand why Seungri would love you so. Perhaps we could love you too.” CL said and looked at me.

“Even you!? There is no need for anyone else to love here.” Seungri whined.

“It can’t be helped. Dara is an outsider. It is said that anyone else in this world will fall in love with him or her.

That’s weird. Having a dream like this… Do I want everyone to love me? Hmm…

“An outsider like yourself will probably leave someday but, we will grant you permission to remain in this castle if you’d like.” CL said as she poured more tea.

“Thank you CL but I’m already staying at the clock tower.” I politely declined.

“Clock tower? You mean with Choi Seunghyun?” Seungri flinched. “You have already decided?”

“Yes.” I said and drank some tea.

“Don’t be ridiculous! Please reconsider Dara! Stay here! It’s not too late to move here.” Seungri was whining again.

No way.

“You do not need to force her to remain here. She can come and go as she likes.”

“No! Dara should stay here! Can’t you?”

“Enough!” CL snapped. “It is nighttime already. How dare it interrupt our time together. Any time other than sunset should never come.”

“By the way, is it normal for the time to change randomly here?” I asked.

“Yes. It’s perfectly normal. No one knows what will come next. A ‘role holder’ like us can change time but there is a rule that says we cannot change time without a good reason.” CL explained.

Huh role holders?

“As much as we dislike it has come to an end.” CL said as she got up from her seat.“Ah me too. I have to leave.” I said and got up. Urgh my head hurts.

How strange. I get sleepy in dreams too. I haven’t slept a wink since I got here. (A/N: Dara never slept in chapter 2. It was just breakfast time there since the time can change randomly)

“You will not be able to get to the clock tower like that. Just rest here.” CL offered.

“I think I’ll do that.”

“Seungri! Take her to the guest room at once!” CL commanded.

Great. Stuck with this whiny rabbit.

We were walking down the halls of the castle. I was feeling really tired already. I think I’m dozing off.

I felt a hand grab my arm.

“Careful now! You’ll trip.” That voice woke me up.

“It’s none of your business, let go!” I said and pulled my arm away from him.

Soon we reached the guest room. Before I went in Seugri said something.

“Please use this room. I would have taken you to my room but..”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I have my guard up even now.” I replied.

“No, I want you to like me. Why would I do a thing like that?”

After all, you forcibly kissed me earlier.

“I would never like someone like you. Goodnight.” I said and opened the door to the room. I was about to close the door.

“That’s right… I told you the more you want to win, the harder it will be.” He said as he stopped the door from closing. “Even if it’s not me you wished for… As long as you remain in this world, I’ll let that go for now.”

Before he closed the door, he said “Goodnight Dara. Sweet dreams.”The room was big, bigger than my room at home. It had huge windows and the room had hearts too. 

I immediately plopped on to the big bed and started to think about what Seungri said. I can still remember his words. “In the world you wished for…”, “As long as you remain in this world…” Wished for? Is that why I’m here?

Huh? Where am I? This place looks like the desert.  Am I dreaming in a dream?

“That’s right.” I heard a voice say.

“Who’s there?” I asked

“I am Nightmare, an incubus who creates nightmares.” He replied. A guy was floating in the air wearing a black coat and white leather shoes. Are coats popular here?

“An incubus? Another weird one… As expected from a dream.”

“A ‘dream’” He said. “If you believe that, that’s fine.”

“You say the same thing as Top. What are you trying to say?”

“It’s nothing. This is a dream” He said.

Urgh… that voice.

“Is it you!? The one who is showing me this weird world?” I said in anger.

“Not exactly. Seungri went to get you. So I simply showed him the way.”

The way?

“The way to the world you wished for. The world you’ve desired most.” He said as if he could read my mind. “Everyone in this world loves you. Even I love you.”

“Oh. So it’s like that. I’m just a lonely person inside who wants everyone to love me and this is a dream that reflects my inner feelings.” I said with annoyance in my voice. “A crazy world where everyone loves me. What a world I’ve created.”

“Dara, you didn’t create this world. It’s a world that was already created.”

“Right. Like I believe that. Not everyone in the could like someone like me.”

“But there is in this world. Not everyone will fall head over heels in love with you. The more time they spend with you, the more they’ll like you.” He looked in me in the face. “No one else but you.”

“That’s impossible. Quit lying. You’re a devil!” I pointed at him.

“I’m nightmare, worst than the devil.” He said smugly. “Devil drops people into hell, I drop people into dreams.”

“You can wake people up from dreams. It’s not that scary.” I said as I crossed my hands.

Suddenly he pointed into a direction where it was very bright.

“Where do you think is beyond a dream?” He asked.

“That’s obvious. There’s nothing beyond a dream. It just ends.” I replied.

“Very good. Once you wake up, there is only reality.”

‘Dreams are scary because there is an end. You’ll understand soon Dara.’

I slowly opened my eyes. It was morning already. This dream is taking a while…

“Please wait Dara!” Seungri called out as I walked ahead of him. “You don’t need to be in such a hurry! Please rest more at the castle!”

“I’m going back! I stayed out long enough. Top must be worried.” I turned around to reply.

“Just leave that man alone! You’re despicable Dara! You’re having an affair!” He said as he shook me back and forth.

“An affair!? I don’t remember dating you in the first place.” I said and immediately punched his face.Suddenly 2 guards wearing those thingys that the British guards wear walked right up to us.

“L-Lord Seungri…”

“What do you want?”

“Please excuse us, the Queen has requested your presence. Please come to the receiving room.” One of them replied.

I saw Seungri taking out his clock. Suddenly, it changed into a gun! He pointed to one of the guards and immediately shot him.

“Wait Seungri! The man is already…” He still continued shooting him. Even if it is a dream, this is still too much!

“The notification didn’t get to me cause, the messengers went missing...” He then pointed his gun towards the other guard.

I immediately pushed Seungri and went to stand infront of the guard. His gun soon went off.

“What is the meaning of this Dara?” He asked. “If you hadn’t dodge it correctly, you might have been hurt.”

“I don’t care if I get hurt! Aren’t their lives more important!?” I shouted in anger.

“What are you talking about? Who cares if a mere soldier dies?” He asked astound.

“That’s right. Please do not worry about me.” The guard told me.

I snapped at him. “Even you! Are you stupid!?”

“It’s only normal. They don’t even have names, they’re just another card in the deck.”

“So you’re so great that you can just dispose people like that?”

“It’s no different for us ‘role holders’. It’s just that we have a role.” He said still pointing his gun.

Again with the ‘role holders’…

“Death is not a big deal in this world.” He said. “But not for you Dara, there is no replacement for you. So please don’t do this.”

“I’ll move if you promise not to shoot him.”

“It can be helped, I’ll see the Queen for Dara’s sake.” He said as the gun changed back into his clock and he put it away in his coat. “I don’t understand you much but I love that part about you.”

Before he left, he smiled at me and said “I would love to stay by your side forever, but I’ll settle with having you remain in this world instead.”

“Um, thank you… For worrying about my life like that.” The guard thanked me.

“You guys are just idiots. I did what was normal.” Or what seemed normal in my world. “But for the other man, what are you going to do to him? Shouldn’t you get help?”

The guard was just dragging the dead guards body on the floor.

“No, I have to dispose of him before the afterimage arrives.”

Afterimage?

“The Queen will be angry if they show up here. Take care” He said and left with the body.

What a strange world. A world where life can be easily taken. I can’t believe I wished for a world like that.

There are ‘role holders’ and ‘afterimages’. Things I don’t understand. It’s different form my world too.

I was just walking through the woods. Going back to the direction where the clock tower was.

“Hey! Isn’t that unnie!?” I heard a voice.

I looked up and saw the two sisters and a guy with them. The sisters immediately ran towards me and gave me a big hug.

“The boss told us to be nice to you!” The one called Bom said.

“We’ve been waiting forever for you to come and visit the Hatter’s Mansion!” The other whose name I think is Minzy finished her sentence.

He controlled them for me.

“Huh? Is she a friend of Bommie and Mingkki?” The guy I saw asked. He was wearing a sleeveless shirt and a 'skirt and short pants' bottoms. He wore a so-called collar around his neck and a chained was attached to it. He also had a purple fur around his body.

“Yup she’s a foreigner! Her name’s Dara!” Bom replied. They were still holding my arms.

“Oh a foreigner? No wonder you smelled so good.” What the hell…

He seemed like he was into punk fashion and had cat’s ears and a tail.

“He’s our friend Daesung!” Minzy told me.

“Nice to meet you Dara.” He said.

“Daesung lives at the amusement park.”

“The amusement park?” I said aloud. “Aren’t the amusement park and the Hatter in a middle of a power struggle? Is it alright to get so friendly with each other?”

“Probably. I’m just a free loader while they’re hired as guards. There’s nothing in the contract that says ‘we can’t fraternize with the enemy.’ But the old man and the Hatter do have a bad relationship.” He said before he scratched his ear.

Daesung then told me that there’s more to it than a power struggle. The old man at the amusement park hates Jiyong a lot. Daesung feels the need to shoot Jiyong.

“Do you want to know the reason?” He asked. Well, it doesn’t hurt to be a bit curious.

“What happened?” I asked.

“Mary Gowland.”

“Mary Gowland?”

“Yup. The old man’s name is Mary Gowland. The owner was embarrassed and kept it a secret.” Bom said.

“Our boss spread it across the country.” Minzy sniggered.

“Mary Gowland. That is pretty funny.” I said, trying to hold in my laughter.

“I know I know. He’s so bothered about it.” Daesung smiled. “You haven’t been to the amusement park yet right? The old man’s name is pretty funny but there’s more fun stuff there.”

His smiled reminded me of a Cheshire cat, different from Taeyang’s.

“You’re invited to come!” He told me.

“Aww that’s not fair!” Bom said.

“Boss invited her first! So she’ll go to the mansion with us first!” Minzy told him.

Author’s POV

They were fighting over whom Dara should go with. What they didn’t know something behind them was watching them.

For those who read the manga: As you can see, I didn't give Nightmare or Mary Gowland any idol's names as I couldn't think of anything :/

yay for new chapter! Feel free to ask questions if you don't understand anything :>