“I’m sorry, Jong Kook…” A deep sad male voice echoed in the darkness. Jong Kook could not see a single thing. He tried to feel around but all he touched was emptiness. He started to panic and attempted to walk towards the direction of the voice in front of him, cautiously placing his every step.

“I’m sorry, Jong Kook…” However, another voice appeared on his right. This time round, it was a female. She sounded as if she was crying but Jong Kook could not be certain as the voice was somehow muffled.

Jong Kook was perplexed. He had no sense of direction in the blackness and he did not know who to trust.

“I’m sorry, Jong Kook…” Just as Jong Kook was internally debating, another voice sounded on his left. It was another female voice, only that this time round, it sounded older.

Jong Kook was now totally confused. He had no idea why were they apologising to him and why was he trapped in the darkness, feeling extremely lost. He squatted on the ground, trying to soothe his throbbing headache.

“HAHAHAHAHA!” A loud evil laughter suddenly boomed behind Jong Kook. It sounded so close that Jong Kook could practically feel the person laughing directly into his ear. He spun around instantly but could not see anyone. The worst thing was Jong Kook could gradually feel himself being immobilised.

Unable to get out of the restraint and feeling powerless, Jong Kook yelled for help in frustration.

---

“AHHHHHH! HELP! WHO ARE YOU?” Jong Kook shouted and thrashed around on the couch. It seemed he was having a nightmare. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead, eyes were tightly squinted shut and he was thrashing his limbs wildly around.

Suk Jin and Jae Suk tried to wake the young lad but to no avail. After their talk in the early morning, Jong Kook had fallen asleep on the sofa in the living room. Only one hour had passed when Jong Kook suddenly started screaming.

The noisy din managed to wake up Ji Hyo. She was feeling better after resting for another hour even though she was slightly dizzy when standing up. Ji Hyo took a few deep breaths, successfully in calming herself down and walked out of the room.

It was hectic in the living room where her two fathers were trying hard to pin the muscular Jong Kook onto the sofa. Instantly, Ji Hyo stepped into their fighting zone, demanding to know what was happening.

“Ya! Ji Hyo ya! Don’t come near us! It’s dangerous!” Jae Suk shouted worriedly to his un-frightened daughter while holding onto Jong Kook’s flailing arms.

“That’s right, Ji Hyo ya! Stay away! Jong Kook is currently having a nightmare but we can’t wake him up! And he’s strangely violent!” Suk Jin joined in the persuasion as he pressed his whole body weight to secure Jong Kook’s legs.

“!” Ji Hyo cursed and massaged her forehead.

“Sung Im…” A female pleading voice appeared in Ji Hyo’s thought and Ji Hyo knew she had made a mistake. Casting the spell over Jong Kook was a terrible and grave mistake.

Tears started to form in Ji Hyo’s eyes but she wiped them off with the back of her hands. It was not the time to break down and cried. Bravely, she stepped nearer to the struggling trio and managed to put her right hand onto Jong Kook’s forehead.

The effect was almost instant as Jong Kook’s struggle gradually ceased. Suk Jin and Jae Suk continued to hold onto Jong Kook’s limbs for fear that the young man would resume his violent thrashing and hurt Ji Hyo in the process.

The moment Jong Kook opened his eyes; he saw his beloved angel’s pale face looking anxiously at him. After making sure that Jong Kook had awakened, Ji Hyo slumped lifelessly onto the ground.

“Ji Hyo!” The three men called out at the same time.

---

“Silence!” Kwang Soo said in a demanding tone into the mic, successfully in quietened the noisy crowd. Gary, Dong Hoon and Kwang Soo together with Joong Ki were standing on stage in the city central.

Fed up with the constant appearance of imposters claiming as the heir of the universe, the trio had discussed with the kingdom’s adviser and came up with a solution. They gathered all the citizens at the city central and Joong Ki would deliver a speech.

“Good evening, everyone.” Joong Ki started his speech as soon as the people were listening attentively. “I understand that all of you know that the heir of the universe will be making his appearance soon in months. And I understand that by making use of our lack of knowledge of the rightful heir, some of you have been taking advantages and conned us in believing that you are successor of the universe.”

Gary proceeded to prove their stand by flashing photos of the imposters on the large screen. Angered murmurs spread like wild fire among the crowd as that was their first time being notified of the absurd and unacceptable news. In their eyes, the Royal matter should not be treated lightly and offenders had to be severely punished in order to maintain the stability in the universe.

Infuriated, the crowd started to search for those imposters and pushed them onto the stage. In the midst of doing so, a low rumbling sound was heard.

They knew it was the porthole being opened by the other side of the universe but could not determine who had such high power or authority to gain access to it. Bracing for attack, all the citizens, including Joong Ki, Dong Hoon, Gary and Kwang Soo withdrew their weapons and stared at the formation of the porthole.

Three men stumbled out of the porthole. Two of them were at their middle-age while one was young and was immediately recognised by the three buddies. Though Dong Hoon, Gary and Kwang Soo had been separated with the young man for almost ten years, they could distinctly identify him.

“KIM JONG KOOK?!”

The trio and the crowd were tremendously surprised to see someone from the alternate universe looking so much like their late Royal Prince.

Adding more to the surprise, a young lady walked out gracefully from the porthole, pointing her sword at the young man.

“CHEON SUNG IM?!”

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Hi everyone! I'm finally back with a longer chapter!

Somehow the ending, eh... well... doesn't seem so bright from my point of view... So I'm now in the midst of re-constructing the storyline... >__<

Hence, please give me more time in updating this story as I try to steer the gloomy and angst story to a livelier one! ^_^

As usual, do comment or criticise! ^_^