For the next couple of days, after the group left, they continued to travel. Throughout the entire time, misfortune kept striking at them: they were chased around, cursed at by random travelers, and once someone had stolen their belongings. The three original members couldn't understand why they were taking in all these bad luck, but every time something bad happened, Jieun would glance at Mino, who wore a mask with pure guilt.

On one particular afternoon, Taemin finally gave up trying to run away from his bad luck. He threw his bags on the ground, stirring attention from everyone in the party. He shot all of them a glare, and shivers ran through their spine.

"Okay, I've had enough of this." Taemin hissed, then spat on the ground as he glared at the four. "One of you guys brought something unlucky with you from that village, and I need you to get rid of it now."

Mino bit his lip—hard.

"I think you're just overreacting," Jieun quickly piped in. "This is just another low-point of your life. It's like an obstacle."

"No, don't give me that kind of excuse. I know what I see," he snapped. "There is no such thing as obstacle for me. This is different. It's like someone has a curse or something…"

Mino paled, but he remained keeping his stiff expression. Taemin looked at him, noticing how Mino wasn't moving a muscle. He stared at him in a suspicious manner and was about to interrogate him until he heard some clinking against the ground. Naeun and Myungsoo both raised their heads, then frowned when they recognized the sound.

"Headless horsemen," Naeun said. "Is it coming for us?"

"Impossible. We haven't done anything wrong," Myungsoo reasoned. "I'm sure it's just coming in our direction."

"No," Taemin disagreed. "These are headless horsemen. You're not supposed to see them or hear them at all unless you've done something wrong."

"So you're saying that we did something wrong?" Jieun asked.

"Can they detect curses?" Mino asked quietly.

"No, that's not it. It's more like we did something illegal in the village and they're reporting us, or that we did something illegal in this forest and something or someone reported us for that," Myungsoo explained. "I'm sure we followed the rules in the village, so we must've done something wrong in these forest. Different parts of the forest has different rules. Once we were reported for wearing our shoes in one area of the forest."

"And they didn't put signs for that?" Jieun cried out, widening her eyes.

"Of course not. It's like those unspoken rules," he replied.

"Can we run?" Naeun asked Taemin.

"Let's see what they have to tell us," Taemin said. He turned to everyone. "Drop your bags."

They did as they were told to do. The tinkering sound got louder and louder as Taemin raised his hands to touch his ears. Naeun and Myungsoo followed, while Jieun and Mino took some time to understand what was going on. When everyone placed their hands on their ears, the tinkering sound turned into a rough galloping rhythm.

Out of nowhere, ghostly blue figures surrounded them one by one. Jieun and Mino nearly fainted when they saw that there was nothing but some kind of mysterious gaseous liquid flowing down from their headless necks. These were headless ghosts riding spirit horses, and the two feared about having these creatures possess them.

A larger horsemen, who seemed to be the leader of the group, wielded out his sword. A small gasp escaped from Jieun's lips as she realized that this was a real sword—it was a swore that could physically harm them. The man walked over to Taemin and flipped his swore so that the dull part of the blade mirrored Taemin's eyes. The swore glowed, and red scriptures engraved the blade. It was in a language that the rest were unfamiliar with, but Taemin seemed to understand exactly what was on the blade.

He muttered the words to himself, squinting his eyes as he watched the words appear and disappear from the blade. After a few minutes, he groaned and ran his fingers through his rough brown hair.

"Damn it," he cursed. "Are you serious?"

"What?" Naeun asked. "What's happening?"

"I'm going to jail," he revealed.

Everyone widened their eyes. "What?"

"F-For how long?" Naeun stuttered. "Why are you going to jail?"

"Remember that revenant we killed a few weeks ago?" Taemin asked them. Everyone nodded. "Apparently, it wasn't the revenant. It was actually just an guiser."

"A guiser?" Mino repeated.

"It's like a shape-shifter, but they're more mentally-ill, I guess? They can take in whatever form and mirror your exact purpose. It's like an extra you," Myungsoo explained. "Shape-shifters are able to change shape while keeping their mentality. Guisers can change shape, but they adopt someone else's mentality."

"I didn't catch onto that thing being a guiser, though," Taemin muttered regretfully. "I was just caught up in the moment. I thought he was really hurting you."

"But how long will you be in jail?" Naeun asked again.

"Couple of days. It should be a few years, but they knew that there was a revenant loose and are willing to cut down the time." He turned to Jieun. "Oh, and you're coming with me."

Jieun widened her eyes. "Me? But I didn't kill anyone!"

"You were there, and you were with me. They're assuming that you helped me," he said.

"But I didn't."

"Do you have proof?"

"Do they take words as proof?"

"Tough luck, then," Taemin said casually. He put his wrists together. The gas coming out of the headless horseman floated down to Taemin's wrist and turned to shackles with white beads.

The creature froze for a long time. Jieun frowned, confused until she realized that somehow, the horseman was looking at her. She slowly put her hands together and the gas came down. Oddly enough, the gas was lukewarm, as if it was filled with life. When it transformed into shackles, they felt heavy and cold. She looked down at her wrist, only to realize that she had two colored beads on her shackle: red and yellow.

Naeun and Myungsoo stared at her shackles, amused.

"Let's go," Taemin said, gesturing her to follow him.

"Where are we going?" Jieun asked slowly.

"To jail, of course," he replied. He rolled his eyes. "Where else?"

"But I really think I should stay," she protested. She looked at Mino. "Will you be okay?"

"I'll be fine," he said quietly.

"Of course he'll be fine. He managed to adapt to this place real fast, unlike you," Taemin retorted. He smirked, while Jieun glared at him.

"What? Is it so bad to be concerned for my friend?" Jieun snapped.

"Come along now," he said, ignoring her last few words. "These guys don't like waiting. They have other better crimes to catch."

"Wait, Taemin," Naeun said, trotting up to him. "Where should we meet you?"

"Same place. We'll ask these guys to drop us off at the Vampire Realm. You guys go ahead."

"Okay, got it." There was a faint blush on her cheeks, arousing stares from the others. "I hope you come back soon."

Taemin ignored her shy look. "I hope I'm back soon, too." He turned to Jieun. "Come on. You're slowing us down."

Jieun dropped her jaws, but she followed silently. She figured that if she was going to jail, it would be better to stay close to him. Maybe she could figure out how to go back to her own world by talking to a few prisoners. 

"Oh, Mino," she said, turning to face him. She pointed at his scarf. "Stay warm. Make sure you don't take off that scarf. I know how easily you sick."

Mino frowned, confused. It took him a few minutes to realize that she was setting the stage for him; she was stating a fake reason why he had the scarf on in case it got hot or cold. He nodded his head, and made sure that his scarf hid the mark.

"I will," he answered. "Thanks."

Jieun nodded her head and turned away. The next thing she knew, the horsemen began to disappear, and she was slowly fading away with Taemin to a whole different part of the world.

It seemed like it was only minutes when Jieun arrived at her cell. When she was conscious, she found herself dressed in a plain black jumpsuit. Her little room that she was locked in was all white, making her stand out if anyone glanced through the narrow window. She quickly scurried over to the door, trying to see what was going on outside. Unfortunately, she could only see a blank wall across the hall. 

Do I just wait? she wondered. She looked down at her wrists, noticing that the shackles were still on. She examined the room, and sat down on a block of stone that seemed to be her bed. As she sat down, she patiently waited for someone to come in.

An hour later, she heard the door click open. When she looked up, she saw a few other humanoids pushing another creature—her cellmate, she supposed—into the same room. Jieun was just about to greet her partner until she noticed the cruel look on her cellmate's face.

"I didn't freaking do it!" the creature cried out. Jieun squinted her eyes, trying to identify the criminal. "You know I didn't do it! He started it! You guys didn't lock him up right!"

"Typical elf," one of the humanoid muttered. "Always over-analyzing everyone and thinking that they know everything. Well, you get nothing to eat, scum!"

"But I—"

The door closed. The elf, frustrated, turned bright red and let out a shriek. Jieun flinched and scrambled closer to the wall, fearing that the elf might use her as a punching bag to release stress. When Jieun made movement, the elf looked up and was surprised to see her.

"Who the hell are you?" the elf asked.

Jieun answered, but her eyes were on his large pointy ears. "I-I am Lee Jieun… I'm not from this world…"

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I'm accused of helping someone commit murder," she murmured.

"And they put you in with me? That's highly—" His eyes fell onto his shackles. His jaws dropped down while his eyes widened. "Two-colored shackles? Incredible! No wonder you're being forced to wait here!"

"W-What?" Jieun stuttered. 

"Excuse me, strange dull-pointed creature, but may I please see your shackles?" he asked. He didn't wait for Jieun's answer. Instead, he walked over to her in a brisk manner and lifted her hand, examining the red and yellow gems that decorated the handcuffs. "Beautiful… I haven't seen these things in a while."

"I'm so sorry, but I have no idea what you're saying. You see, I'm not from this world, and I'm trying to get back to my world as soon as possible," Jieun said.

"Well, you shouldn't go back. You should stay here," the elf said. He pointed at the gems. "You say that you're new? Well, you see these? Each color represents your powers. In several cases, a creature will have one power, resulting in one single color. These shackles are designed to identify your powers and to nullify them."

I have powers? she wondered. "Do you care telling me what my powers are?"

"Oh, I have no clue!" the elf exclaimed. "It can be any kind of power, really."

"Anything?"

"Oh, yes! Anything! You can have the power of read minds, to fly, or even the power to move heavy objects! It differs from person to person, though."

"You seem very knowledgeable."

"I am," the elf said in a matter-of-fact tone. "Don't you know that elves are one of the wisest and smartest creatures in this world?" He waved his hand. "Bah! Never mind. You're not from this world. I forgot, my apologies."

"Are you smart because you're just naturally smart or is it because you run around in the forest and learn how to interact with nature?" Jieun asked him.

"You must be insane. We discover, take notes, and read. I doubt there's a 'naturally smart' creature out there. We're just more capable of doing more mental things compared to other creatures. It's not our fault that we don't go insane after we read," the elf told her.

Jieun pressed her lips. "Wait, you were saying something about reading. Why is it so bad for other creatures to read?" She pointed to herself, but lowered her voice. "I'm actually capable of reading books—"

"Books!" the elf cried out. He dropped his hands to the side, letting go of Jieun's wrists. "You must be insane! You shouldn't be locked up here! You should be thrown in the Pit of Sanity!"

"But didn't you just say that you read books—"

"That's not what I meant," the elf said, shaking his head. "Sure, we collect books for a hobby, but we never read them. Those things are meant to be preserved and to be looked at, just like other furnitures!"

"So what do you read?"

"We read the sky, the water—we read nature, if you know what I mean."

"Then your notes?"

"They're just drawings!" The elf shivered. "Enough! I refuse to talk to you!"

"But why is it so bad to read books?" Jieun asked. "I've been trying to figure out this question—"

The door swung open. The two quickly kept quiet, but Jieun let out a sigh of relief when she saw Taemin walk in. Taemin looked at the elf, and gave the creature a small nod of respect. He turned his attention towards Jieun, which made her heart skip a beat.

Odd, she thought. It was strange for her to feel affected when a guy looked at her eye-to-eye, but she didn't dislike it.

"I was just checking to see how you were doing," Taemin said. He pointed outside. "You hungry?"

Jieun looked down at her stomach. She had just realized how hungry she was.

"Starving, actually," she answered.

"Good. Let's go get something to eat—" Taemin looked at her shackles. "They haven't unchained you yet?"

She looked down at her wrists. "I guess not."

He groaned. "Why didn't you go out and tell anyone?"

"I didn't know that I could go outside."

"It's probably because she has two colored gems on her," the elf told Taemin. "They're probably trying to identify her power source before letting her free. You know, they're just keeping records."

"Two…?" He looked more carefully at her shackles. "Oh, you really do have two."

"Is that bad?" Jieun asked Taemin.

"Depends."

She let out a small groan. "Why does everything 'depend' in this world?"

"Well, if the experts are able to distinguish your powers, they might share it with you," the elf said. He walked over to another bed and began to lay down. "I'm sure you can go outside, though. Your shackles are on, and they're only on to prevent you from using your powers. I'll tell them that you're just browsing around."

Jieun looked at the elf, then she looked at Taemin. She waited for him to give her some sort of signal. She wasn't sure if the elf was trustable. They seemed smart, but were they loyal?

After a minute, Taemin nodded his head. "Okay, that sounds good. What do you want from us, though? Elves don't usually do other creatures any favors unless they get something in return."

"I was able to get my eyes on these gems," the elf said. "This is a good enough deal for me."

"Sounds fair."

It doesn't, Jieun thought. She couldn't possibly believe that looking at different gems was equal to telling the guards that she was in the area. 

"Come on, Jieun. I'm hungry," Taemin said. He grabbed her wrist and dragged her out of the room. 

A small blush appeared on her cheeks, but she made no comment about it in her head. Instead, she quietly followed him to what seemed to be a cafeteria. Wooden round tables and benches scattered all over the room. People wearing the same uniform as her walked around the area, but they were happy.

"Grab this," Taemin said. She barely caught the flying tray that he threw at her. She frowned, but she followed him to a random table. The two sat down on the bench with the trays sitting on the table.

Jieun looked around for food, but she saw none. She looked at Taemin, who his lips and rubbed his palms together. When he realized that she was looking for food, he pointed at his tray.

"Watch carefully," he instructed. She did. She watched him, but when she blinked, food at appeared on his tray. She widened her eyes, surprised, but Taemin only smirked. "Did you see what I did?"

"You stared at it and food came out," Jieun said bluntly.

"You're limited to what food you want, but if you think hard for it, then you'll get it," Taemin explained.

"This isn't prison, this is paradise!" she cried out loud. She closed her eyes and prayed for some food back home. When she opened her eyes, all she got was some sticky white rice, cabbage, and steak. watered as she quickly picked up her utensils to eat. 

As the two ate in silence, Jieun couldn't help but remember how Naeun had blushed before bidding her goodbye to Taemin. It seemed like Taemin noticed Jieun's disturbed expression because he casually asked her what was wrong.

"Do you not like the food?" Taemin asked. "I think the quality is amazing."

"No, it's not that," Jieun said softly. She bit her bottom lip before asking. "Did you and Naeun have a thing…?"

"Naeun?" Taemin chewed slowly. His eyebrows furrowed down as he thought hard, trying to remember if there was anything romantic between the two. "I don't think so. Why? Does it look like we have something?"

"N-No," she stuttered. She didn't want to reveal Naeun's possible feelings towards Taemin. Maybe Naeun didn't want anyone to tell him before her. "But I'm curious, do you have something for her?"

"Nope," he said almost immediately. "Romance annoys me. It's a huge distraction, especially in the battlefield." He lifted his hand. "If I get too emotional, I can't control my powers."

"Have you had a romantic fling?"

"Once in a while, but that's because some creatures intoxicate me to do that."

"Oh, I see."

Jieun wasn't really sure what to ask him. She was pleased to hear that there was nothing going on between him and Naeun, but she was disappointed to hear that he wasn't interested in romance.

Pitiful, she thought of him. But who was she to judge when she didn't think romance was a good thing, either?