Jongin dreamt of falling into a pit of darkness; at the very top, he could see a glimpse of bright light. “Save me,” he screamed, but his voice was seemingly muted. “Save me!” He reached out his hand, as though something, or rather, someone would save him at the end of the bright light. His efforts proved to be futile as he only fell deeper and deeper, farther away from the bright light.

            SPLASH.

            Jongin was still in the pit of darkness, but there was water all around him this time. The water reflected the bright light, illuminating the pit of darkness. Jongin looked into the water, as if the water held all the answers to his questions. All he could see was a reflection, but not of himself. Of someone he had never seen before.

            “Be strong, my brother. The battle has not even begun yet. You have much to learn, Fifth Prince,” the reflection said.

            Jongin extended his right hand to touch the reflection, but as he did so, the face had disappeared. The water began swirling uncontrollably, forming a whirlpool around him. The next thing he knew, bright light flashed before him and he awoke with a startle.

            He stared upwards and was greeted by a white ceiling; a strong aroma of herbal medicine wafted into his nose. Automatically, he wrinkled his nose in disgust. Jongin tried getting up, but his neck was extremely sore, preventing him from sitting up. “H-Help,” he stammered. Where am I, even? Jongin tried piecing together what had happened previously, but he didn’t remember much. All he recalled was being at the party with Jonghyun, dancing with Seohyun, and then…that guy. That guy plunged a needle into Jongin’s neck!

            “Help! Save me!”

            As though responding to his pleas, the sound of shattering glass rang around the room.

            “FIFTH PRINCE! PLEASE WAIT, FIFTH PRINCE!”

            Jongin furrowed his eyebrows. That guy who plunged a needle into his neck called him fifth prince and the reflection in his dream called him fifth prince, so what exactly was going on? Jongin was only an average citizen. He was no prince, let alone a fifth prince.

            “You have much to learn, Fifth Prince.”

            Jongin swallowed. He subconsciously knew that whoever was in the reflection would be of great help to him and what was to come.

            News of the Fifth Prince regaining consciousness quickly spread like wildfire around the Royal Palace. The Queen immediately dropped her sewing class and rushed to the Fifth Prince’s side; the King interrupted his monthly meeting with his military commanders and made his way to the Fifth Prince’s room; the Second, Third, and Fourth Princes ended their training sessions early to see the much anticipated Fifth Prince.

            The only royal who wasn’t peeved was unsurprisingly Princess Ji Hye. She remained in her room, perfecting her sewing skills. Even upon receiving news that the mysterious Fifth Prince had awoken, she asked for a cup of tea and chose to continue sewing.

            “I suppose the Princess refuses to see the Fifth Prince only because the Fifth Prince is a mere replacement of the First Prince. The Princess must really love the First Prince,” the Princess’s lady-in-waiting thought to herself as she went to fetch a piping hot cup of tea.

            Meanwhile, in her quarters, Ji Hye continued to sew a phoenix into a white handkerchief. Unfortunately for her, her nimble fingers had failed her and slipped, causing the needle to penetrate her index finger. Drops of blood soon tainted the white handkerchief. Furrowing her eyebrows in frustration, Ji Hye flung the needle across the room and balled up her fists. This was the third handkerchief she had messed up on.

            Jongin was overwhelmed – if anything, he felt