Soojin was out of breath as she ran up the hill, not being used to such strenuous activity. Her shoes were muddied, her hair was in a mess, and she was pretty sure that she was sweating buckets.

This time, the Daegu Kingdom guards were after her. Her parents led the troop, riding on horses which galloped closer and closer by each passing second. They were closing in on her, but she did not know how much longer her legs would hold.

Step by step, she put in all her energy into moving forward, just to get out of their sight. And just as she thought she was about to pass out, the familiar dwelling came into view. It was a wreck, exactly like how it was left. The navy flag of her kingdom was on the ground, right at the entrance.

“Chanyeol! Help!” she cried, falling onto her knees.

A magnificent, red dragon appeared out of nowhere, circling the dwelling before landing in front of her.

“Chanyeol! Quick, they are going to get me!”

Her hands trembled in the ground, and nothing would go through her mind except escape, escape, escape. She had to get out of there no matter what. The air was suffocating.

“Who is Chanyeol?” the dragon asked. “My name is Sir Loey. Get away from my home this instant. Who on earth are you?”

Tears pooled at her eyes. “Yeol, I am Soojin! Princess of Daegu, remember? Why do you not remember me? If this is supposed to be a joke, it is not funny in the slightest!”

“Princess of Daegu? You are nothing to me.”

“Nothing? But-” Soojin eyed the flag on the ground as tears started to spill. It stood out with the brown of the earth. “But I love y-”

A puff of smoke encased the dragon, concealing it in grey. Chanyeol emerged from the thick fog, glowing somehow, looking as handsome as ever. He had on his Busan Kingdom attire, all smoothened out, and his hair was carefully styled back. His skin was smoother than she had ever seen before. It was as if he was perfect.

Perfect Chanyeol scoffed as he eyed her pathetic stance. “Love? Who could love someone like you? The daughter of a psychopath, the least ladylike princess out there. In fact, if you could even take a look at yourself right now…”

“What are you saying?”

He continued as if he could not hear her. “That is also why Prince Baekhyun rejected the marriage, no? What royalty would marry you? News has spread everywhere.”

“That is untrue!” Soojin protested, but she wondered who she was actually trying to assure. She felt clog up. “Yeol, do not believe such lies! They are rumours, at most.”

“There is no smoke without fire, dear princess.”

The way he spoke made shivers go up her spine. She was still on the ground, which meant that she had to look up at him when they spoke. Somehow, the angle from her point of view made him look a little like King Oh.

“Are you done with your talk, Soojin?” A voice appeared from behind her and she jolted. “Do not be afraid. It is just your father.”

Queen Oh walked closer towards her. “Yes, my daughter. It is just us.”

Soojin attempted to stand up, but the strength in her legs was no more, and she collapsed onto the ground yet again. Slowly, she crawled backwards, away from the frightening gaze of her parents. That was, until, her back hit something hard, and she had nowhere to go.

Thinking it was just a tree, she shifted towards the left and tried to move away again.

Two arms caught her from behind before she could even take another step. Perfect Chanyeol’s sturdy, almost painful, grip hauled her up. “Where do you think you are going?”

“I-”

“Here.” He dragged her to King Oh, as if she was a gift to be presented. She dug her heels into the ground, but it seemed like nothing to him. He spoke into her ear gruffly. “Do not worry. Have you not read the bedtime fables? Princesses always end up with happy endings.”

Her ending would be face to face with her father.

“Tonight, you will die.”

-

Sweet, sweet relief poured in when she realised it was all a dream.