Sehun’s eyes were cold as he stared at me.

I didn’t know how to feel as I stared back at Sehun with widened eyes.

*Am I still in the test now?* I wondered as I finally tore my eyes away from Sehun and studied my surroundings, *Or have I returned back to real life?*

Glancing around myself, I noticed that I was currently in a small and empty room enclosed by grey brick walls that made the air around the room stuffy and tense.

The only source of light was the swinging, flickering light bulb hanging from the ceiling, and as I glanced to my right, I saw a small table with the samurai sword rested upon it.

Turning my attention back to Sehun, it was then that I noticed the small dagger that was held tightly in his hands.

“S-Sehun?” I whispered as I could sense no kind of tenderness in his eyes, instead, he was glaring at me like I was some kind of enemy. “What’s wrong?”

Sehun gave me no answer as he shifted his stance so that he was positioned in a more solid position. Raising the dagger to the level of my eyes, he raised one eyebrow and dared me to go closer to him.

“S-Sehun…” My heart broke at Sehun’s hostile actions, “Why are you acting like this?”

“Stop talking like you know me.” Sehun finally spoke, yet his voice was as poisonous as venom. “Get out of my sight before I hurt you.”

My heart fell to the pit of my stomach.

“Sehun, it’s me. Kim Soyoung. Don’t you remember-“

“-I don’t know anyone called Kim Soyoung!” Sehun snarled as he pointed the dagger at my face, “You’re intruding my space right now. Get out of here!”

“There are no doors here!” I couldn’t help but snarl back, my heart was too disappointed at everything that was happening, “How do you expect me to leave!?”

“Get out of here the way you came in.” Sehun snapped, “It’s none of my business how you get out. Just leave! Hurry up!”

My heart sank lower the more he spoke to me with that hostile tone of his, and there was silence as I stared at his angry face, at a loss for words.

“Sehun.” I took that one step forward as I tried to console him.

Yet the moment I took that one harmless step towards him, Sehun dashed towards me with the dagger raised high above his head.

“I TOLD YOU TO LEAVE!” Sehun roared as he thrashed the dagger down onto me, and I shrieked as I quickly dodged to the side, the dagger luckily only scraping past my arm.

In the moment of confusion, I grabbed the samurai sword off the table and pointed it at Sehun, whose eyes were wide with anger.

Searching Sehun’s face as the two of us stood with weapons pointed towards each other, I could not find any signs of the Sehun I knew.

All I could see right now was a wild animal, trying to get rid of any strangers he come across.

And that stranger just happened to be me.

Pain pierced my heart as tears began rolling down my eyes.

M worst fear had come true, Sehun doesn’t recognize me.

“Sehun,” My voice broke, “It’s me, Kim Soyoung. Don’t you remember anything?”

“I DON’T KNOW YOU!” Sehun yelled as he tried plunging the dagger into my heart, but I blocked his attack by swinging the samurai sword against his dagger, sending the dagger flying across the room.

Now that I was the one with the advantage, Sehun visibly gulped as he backed away from me, his eyes never leaving the samurai sword that was clenched tightly in my hands.

I was trying to keep my breaths even as tears continued streaming down my eyes, and I lowered my eyes from Sehun as my eyes landed upon the words engraved onto the samurai sword.

Kill Sehun if you want to life.

“Kill…Sehun?” I voice my thoughts out loud, sending Sehun jolting in a startled manner at my sudden words.

“I won’t let you kill me!” Sehun yelled as he ran across the room and grabbed the dagger off the ground. Without a second thought, he began sprinting towards me, the dagger pointed towards me.

I just stood there numbly, not knowing what to do. If I just stretch the samurai sword out, then Sehun would surely run into the sword and die.

But can I do that? Can I really kill Sehun even though this Sehun is just part of the test?

Heaving a deep breath, I tilted my head towards the ceiling and pressed my lips together.

“Why?” I asked as tears continued rolling down my cheeks, “Why must you guys give me such heart-breaking tests!?”

And with that one last question, I dropped the samurai sword to the ground and fell to a crouching position, my head buried within my arms.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I waited for that finishing blow from Sehun, yet all I felt was a pair of arms wrap itself around my trembling shoulders.

“Kim Soyoung,” The person hugging me spoke, and to my surprise, the voice belonged to a female, “The test have ended. You can relax now.”

Raising my head, I stared dumbly at Guardian Seohyun who was crouching beside me, her beautiful face lit up in a warm smile.

“Guardian Seohyun…?” I whispered with awe as tears began streaming down my eyes again, “What are you doing here?”

“I’ve always been around you, Soyoung.” Guardian Seohyun began the back of my head in a comforting manner, “I was always watching out for you this whole time.”

“Why…?” My lips trembled, “Why did you disappear like that?”

“Because you were the only one who could stop Warrior Yonghwa.” Guardian Seohyun pulled me into a hug, “From the moment I saw you, I knew you were a girl with great courage. Only people with courage can take that step forward and defeat the evil.”

“Me? Courage?” I began laughing, “I’m a flower, guardian Seohyun. I don’t have any courage-“

“-Shush.” Guardian Seohyun pulled away from the hug with a slight frown on her face, “It’s time you start believing in yourself, Soyoung.”

I stared at Guardian Seohyun as the tears continued flowing down my face like a never ending river, and I sniffed as I wrinkled my nose.

“Then…” I tilted my head slightly, “Then did I pass the test?”

“You did.” Guardian Seohyun smiled, “You faced the two biggest fear of your life and chose to face it instead of trying to get rid of it.”

There was silence as I processed the two tests I had just undertaken.

Kim Jongin. My number one fear. I had spent my life trying to please him, trying to steal him away from the many other concubines in the palace. I feared my place in his heart would be taken away by something or someone else. I wanted to become the number one in his world.

Yet in the test, I found out that my place in his heart was nothing more than a weak flower, that in the end, he valued his life and his status over mine, my decision wasn’t to kill him.

I decided to let it go.

I’ve decided to let go of all my hatred towards him, and end the tiring process of chasing after his desires.

Oh Sehun. My number two fear. I feared he would forget me. I feared that Sehun would no longer love me, I feared that all the obstacles between us would become a barrier towards our relationship.

Yet when he really did forget me in the test, I chose to go with the flow. I didn’t try to fight against the reality and let go of the samurai sword. At the same time, I let go of my fear.

“Do you finally realize what courage is, Kim Soyoung?” Guardian Seohyun spoke, breaking me away from my train of thoughts, “Courage isn’t all about war and glamour and a strong appearance…”

“Courage…is when you are able to let go of your own desires and fears…and take that one step forward.” I finished off Guardian Seohyun’s sentence as realization dawned unto me.

A small smile lit up Guardian Seohyun’s face.

“You may be a beautiful flower on the outside, Kim Soyoung.” Guardian Seohyun placed one hand on my heart, “But deep inside, you’re a mighty warrior.”

There was warmth in my heart as for the first time in forever, my heart felt light and happy.

Pulling Guardian Seohyun into another hug, my tears this time were of joy and relief.

“Thank you, Guar