Sungmin slowly opens his eyes in a dark and damp corner of a small room. The floor on which he is lying is colder than the Han River in December. As he tries to sit up, he realizes his hands are tied together to the back, and so are his feet. It takes him five seconds to recall what had happened that led him to this situation. He, along with his father, his friends, and teachers were all disguised as Kim Heechul to bait Heechul's stalkers. As he felt the presence of the stalkers, he started to fight them back. But to his surprise, the group of stalkers was incredibly well-organized, and with their use of poisonous powder, Sungmin was taken aback and finally kidnapped by the stalkers. 

Sungmin takes a look around the room. It looks almost like a storeroom, dusty and filled with cobwebs. The air feels as if no one has stepped foot into the room for years. There is no window, only a small door three meters away from him. Sungmin imagines there would be a few guards standing outside this door, making sure their prey does not get away. As he slowly approaches the door, it was suddenly swung open. On the other side, a tall young man dressed in simple black clothes appears, his one leg slowly lowering as if he had just kicked the door open. As Sungmin looks at the man and waits patiently for his next moves. To his surprise, the words that come out of his mouth next are beyond any of his wildest imaginations:

"Lee... Lee Sungmin hyung??"

Sungmin widens his eyes. In front of him is a young man, probably a few years younger than himself, but much taller and muscular. His skin is dark and his eyes show a hardness and determination not to be found common amongst men of his age. A closer look at the man's face suddenly takes Sungmin back to a piece of memory more than four years ago, to the day that had forever changed the course of his life.

"Kim Dongchun?" (See again chapter 8)

It was that fateful day that Sungmin saw Kim Dongchun bullied by that jerk Kim Hongdae from his school on the street. So, as per his instincts, Sungmin got into a fight with Kim Hongdae while trying to protect Dongchun. The incident also gave Sungmin an injury that made him believe he would not pass the State exam. 

"Hyung, long time no see." 

The last time Sungmin saw Dongchun, he was barely as tall as his shoulders. He did not expect that after that many years, he would have the chance to see that boy again, let alone to see a healthy and good-looking man like this.

Just as Dongchun starts speaking, he hurries to untie Sungmin's hands and feet, all the while looking almost ashamed to have taken Sungmin by mistake.

"I am so sorry for this, hyung. My people must have taken you by mistake. But... why were you out there, hyung? Were you... also looking for Kim Heechul?"

Sungmin is stunned to hear Dongchun mention his teacher's name. "You...", he stutters, "you were Kim seonsaengnim's stalker?"

"Kim seonsaengnim?" Dongchun retorts.

"Yes, he was my teacher at the Academy. Answer my question, were you stalking Kim seonsaengnim, Dongchun?"

"Yes", Without hesitation, Dongchun gave Sungmin the answer that he had feared the most ever since he recognized the young man.

"Why?", Sungmin asks, almost impatiently.

"Because he killed my brother. It took me nearly twenty years to find him. But at last, I found him, hiding behind the walls of Seowangmyeong, teaching the younger generations. He is a murderer and a hypocrite."

"So...", Sungmin tries his best to contain his worry, "the last time that I saw you, you were in Hanyang..."

"I was looking for him in Hanyang. He left our town when I was only four years old to go work for the Kim family in Haeju, Kim Heechul's family. And after only one year, my parents died. My sister and I were forced out of our home, and we lost contact with my brother. I have been looking for him ever since. When I finally found the Kims in Haeju, I found out that my brother died of exhaustion after only two years of working there! He was only ten years old, hyung!"

Dongchun's voice starts to tremble as if he has to use all his might to control all the anger and hatred bottled up inside. 

"Listen to me, Dongchun. I don't know what happened between Kim seonsaengnim and your brother, but I can assure you, he is not the man that you think he is. I have known him half my life, and he is a kind and righteous man. There must be an explanation, or someone else could have had something to do with your brother's death."

"Hyung", Dongchun remains unconvinced as if he had heard this for the thousandth time, "Kim Heechul's parents died when he was young. He took over the mansion ever since he was ten years old. No one could have done anything without his permission or knowledge. So he must have been responsible somehow."

Just when Dongchun was finishing his sentence, a few loud thuds were heard from outside of the room. Next, the door is kicked wide open, and behind it are two tall men both in dark clothes. Immediately, Sungmin recognizes Kyuhyun at the door, marching as quickly into the room as if his life depended on it, his face as solemn-looking as he has ever seen. Before Sungmin could open his mouth to explain the situation, he feels an incredible force pulling him towards that person, away from Dongchun. Before he knows it, he is already behind Kyuhyun's back, with Dongchun on the ground before anyone even sees what happens. 

"Kyuhyun! That ... " Sungmin exclaims as soon as he realizes one of the men who had just stormed into the room was Kyuhyun, but as he sees Kim Heechul on the other side of the door, he seems to be at a loss for words.

"Kim... Kim seonsaengnim..."

But Kim Heechul seems not to be able to hear him. He remains still in his position outside the door. His eyes are glued onto the person on the ground, who seems just as stunned as he is. For a second, Sungmin swears he could see an indescribable pain in his teacher's eyes. But, as quick as a fox, Dongchun recognizes the person standing in front of him. In only a heartbeat, Dongchun pulls out his sword and swiftly aims toward Heechul. 

"Seonsaengnim!", Sungmin shouts aloud after his teacher when he sees Kim Heechul completely motionless in front of another's sword. "Kim seonsaengnim!", Sungmin exclaims again, but to no avail, as Heechul seems entirely engrossed in his thoughts as his eyes are glued onto his assailant. At last, just when Sungmin thinks that the sword is about to hit his teacher, Heechul raises one hand to catch his assailant's sword. As he holds the sword in his bare hand, his blood starts to drip onto the ground, yet, his eyes remain glued on Dongchun, as if he were looking at a ghost in front of him. After what seems like an eternity, Heechul finally utters the first word ever since he got there:

"Dong... Dongchunnie".

Dongchun looks at him, half with shock, half with horror. For another minute, he stumbles to find any word to even respond to the man in front of him, but, finally chooses to reply with a question of doubt: "How... How do you know my name!?"

At this point, even Sungmin and Kyuhyun remain silent, holding their breaths and watching from the sidelines. 

"Of course I know," Heechul whispers, almost distinctively. His face now is glued onto the floor, as if trying to hide an unknown pain. And for a second, Sungmin swears he thought he had seen a tear in the eyes of his toughest and most fearless teacher. "It's me," he whispers again.

"Keng"

Sungmin hears the sword drop to the ground. Dongchun widens his eyes, but this time, there is a tiny hint of joy in his eyes. He looks at Heechul for the longest time, until finally, the next words come out of his mouth as naturally as they have always been there since the beginning of his life and childhood.

"Hyung?"