The young man didn't even bother to look back. Taecyeon sighed behind him. After walking for quite a while, the young man stopped in his tracks. He turned around and looked at Taecyeon. He pointed a pathway to the north and asked Taecyeon to walk forward. Taecyeon followed as he was told and he felt his surroundings changing. He was now looking at a busy town. Amazing. Sooner or later he expects an apple to appear on his hand! The young man followed behind him and placed one of his hand on Taecyeon's shoulder. Taecyeon turned around to look at him.

"Welcome to the Solitaire," the young man smiled. Taecyeon couldn't believe his eyes. The town looks exactly like the city in Seoul. Shops along the streets, cars driving on the busy road and people doing their own activities. He didn't expect such fantasies to have a normal living. It was the first time he noticed a town enclosed within a forest, like seeing both the past and the present. The young man dragged Taecyeon with him as he was still busy looking at the town in awe. They headed to an apartment.

"Is this a real town?" Taecyeon asked.

"Well, of  course it is! What do you expect? A countryside?" the young man laughed as he unlocked the front door. He stepped inside as he took off his shoes while Taecyeon did the same. The house was like an apartment, it's just that it's two-storied flat. Taecyeon was fascinated just by looking how large the area of the house is. A simple and modern type. He liked it.

"You live alone?" he asked.

"Umm, yeah...oh and my apologies for not introducing myself earlier. My name is Jang Wooyoung. You can call me Wooyoung." He reached out a hand for Taecyeon to shake.

"I'm Ok Taecyeon. Call me Taecyeon or Taec will do." He shook hands with Wooyoung. They settled down in the living room, making themselves comfortable on the white sofa.

"I guess you're from Seoul. I think I have to tell you more information about this place if you would want to survive," said Wooyoung.

"How did you know that? Oh and by the way, what's with the people here and formal clothes?" Taecyeon asked curiously.

"It's one of the traditions here. Although we have to dress formally anywhere everytime," Wooyoung replied him.

"What an interesting fantasy," Taecyeon smirked.

"This isn't a fantasy my friend. It's also a real world here, and the only difference here is that the people here are ruled under royal highnesses." Wooyoung stated as Taecyeon looked at him in confusion.

"You mean like Kings and Queens?" Taecyeon guessed.

"That's right. Queens, that is. No Kings." Wooyoung lowered his head down after saying the word 'Kings'.

"What do you mean?" Taecyeon sat nearer to Wooyoung.

"Alright, listen to me carefully. I'm going to do a lot of talking." Wooyoung sighed. Taecyeon focused his eyes on him.

"In the world of the Solitaire, there are nine Queens who rules over the whole kingdom. People here are called the 'Solitarians'. Just a year ago, there was a group of Kings who attacked the Solitaire. Many Solitarians were killed and injured almost none survived the brutal attack. Luckily, the Queens had managed to defeat them but the Kings refused to let them rule the kingdom. After a few arguments, both parties have declared war. The war might occur anytime soon. Now, we are already prepared with weapons and such just to be sure. The Queens will let us know anyway, when to be ready. For now, it's safe to go around the town so, no worries. Oh, and the people who are under the Kings' control are called 'Jesters'. They too, are enemies. That's why be careful when you roam around the forests. Alright, I guess that's pretty much it. We'll talk again later after I get a good nap. I'm exhausted. Taecyeon...?" Wooyoung snapped a finger infront of Taecyeon's face. He jerked up as he stared blankly at Wooyoung.

"Oh, right...sure go ahead..." Taecyeon replied.

"Please don't go anywhere and just make yourself at home. If you feel drowsy, you can sleep in the guest's room upstairs. Understand?" Wooyoung confirmed with Taecyeon.

"Okay..." replied Taecyeon. Wooyoung headed upstairs and peeked at Taecyeon who was still sitting on the sofa. He smiled and went inside his room.

I guess I have a lot to figure out in this world. Taecyeon thought. Thousands of questions ran through his mind even though he knew some answers. One second he was struggling with his own problems, and then miraculously, he was involved in such fantasies. He shook his head and started to doze off on the sofa. This adventure isn't easy as he thought.

It was already in the evening and Taecyeon just woke up. He blinked for a few times and stood up. He noticed Wooyoung at the dining table. Dinner was prepared.

"Come Taecyeon-ssi. Let's eat!" Wooyoung grinned. Taecyeon sat across him and stared at his dish. It was pasta with spicy rice cakes on top. He took a bite and a smile formed on his face. Of course, after not eating for such a long time, he was starving to death. One bite to another non-stop. Wooyoung looked at him in disbelief.

"Why? Anything wrong? Haven't you seen people eat before?" Taecyeon spoke in between his chews. Wooyoung laughed.

"It's as if like you haven't eaten for days. Slow down, or you would choke." Wooyoung took a bite of his sandwich.

"I'm serious...? Never tasted such good food for a long time." Taecyeon complimented on his cooking skills.

"Thank you. I rarely cook for myself and I would just prepare sandwiches for every meal time." he smiled.

"How can you possibly ever live just by eating sandwiches?!" Taecyeon exclaimed. Wooyoung was amused by his reaction.

"I don't really like eating that much. I prefer cooking the food and serving them."

"How interesting." Taecyeon finished his meal followed by a sudden burp. Wooyoung giggled as Taecyeon blushed.

"Excuse me..." Taecyeon's ears started to turn red.

"Looks like you're satisfied now. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the meal." Wooyoung noticed him grinning from ear to ear.

"Enjoyed it? I LOVED it! Gosh, you have got to cook more of those spicy rice cakes!" Taecyeon pleasingly patted his stomach.

"Well I'm glad to hear that. Anyway, tomorrow morning I'll show you around town."

"Sure! No problem. Oh right, what's your job here?" Taecyeon remembered that he needed to ask more questions to Wooyoung.

"I...uhh...work as a craftsman." he replied.

"Craftsman? You make weapons and defensive tools?"

"Yes, I do. Actually to be honest, I have worked in the palace before. The palace is where the Queens live in. I worked as a bodyguard, but unfortunately after the war I didn't continue working there due to my parents' loss." Wooyoung gave him a bitter smile.

"Oh...no wonder." whispered Taecyeon.

"But I have gotten use to making tools after my father taught me years ago. So now, I'm a certified craftsman. I rather missed the palace once I thought of her..." Wooyoung slipped a word that he wasn't suppose to say. He panicked.

"...her?" Taecyeon rose his eyebrow.

"Ah, what I meant was that I just really missed working there. No other reasons..." Wooyoung felt himself blushing.

"Yeah...right." Taecyeon winked. Wooyoung shot him a glare which made both of them laugh.

Taecyeon helped Wooyoung to clean the dishes as he felt bad that he wasn't helping out yet. Both of them chatted for a while in the living room before they headed to their bedrooms. Wooyoung couldn't stop smiling as he knew his lonely days were over. He was glad Taecyeon came. Taecyeon too, felt grateful he met Wooyoung as both of them got closer even though it's just the 'first' day of his adventure. He forgot all the worries in his mind and drifted off to sleep.

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