Sproutland, Monolith’s Lair, 3.02 am.

Jongdae hadn’t meant to eavesdrop, really. He had gone to check on Seungwan’s siblings and came back after making sure they had eaten. He didn’t know where their father was, but he assumed he was either drinking, gambling, or working. He could only guess. So when he gets back to the tower, pushing the door open with his right shoulder as fast as he can and shaking his head, splashing the floor with his wet hair and his dripping clothes, the only thing he has in mind is going to sleep. He hasn’t been able to do that since the night Seungwan left with the princess, caught up with The Monolith’s errands and Joohyun’s search, and also planning. He thinks about Seungwan and how she managed to work so many hours, stealing as a side job, and her secret life as Wendy with their group. He’s never had to work so he wouldn’t know.

The storm is so loud that Jongin doesn’t seem to hear him, with his back turned toward the hall and the lights off, the room filled with candles. He’s going to announce his arrival, but then, something catches his interest.

“Tha—that’s not what we agreed on,” he says, trying to sound calm, but Jongdae can hear the anger in his voice. “What? No, I know that—no, it wasn’t planned. I couldn’t have known they would run away, I’m not some kind of soothsayer, Yix—sorry, Lay.”

The name doesn’t register right away. He’s somewhat rich, of course, but that doesn’t mean he knows every rich person of Sproutland, assuming this Lay guy is even from there. It wasn't until he said run away that Jongdae realized they were talking about Seungwan and Joohyun.

Jongin huffs, changing the comms to his other ear, posture defensive and guarded. “No, I didn’t—how’s that my problem? You should have known better than to mess with Winter,” he kicks a can of soda away, leaning on his shoulder on the wall. “Well, find out where they are heading then! You’re supposed to be the one with enough manpower, we are barely pushing eighty people in numbers.”

Jongdae guesses it won’t be long until he hangs up and sees him there, so he moves toward the other side, slowly, trying not to make any sound. But he’s never been a lucky person, and he confirms as much when his bag pushes a vase off the table, pieces scattering across the floor with the loudest grating sound he has ever heard. It stops him in his tracks, long enough to realize Jongin isn’t speaking anymore. He turns around, watching as Jongin pushes the comms into his pocket, slowly approaching him. He then says, “Where do you think you’re going?”

And Jongdae freezes in his spot, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

•••

Winterland, White Palace, 5.22 am

Despite Seungwan’s promise, she doesn’t make it up to Joohyun, not because she doesn’t want to, but because they don’t have time. It’s almost dawn when Joohyun finally brings herself to see Minjeong again, but now when she looks at her, she doesn’t see the girl who spent all her time with her, who played with her, who comforted her when her parents missed a birthday, who cried with her when her brother died. She sees a different person, the person who slowly drifted away from her, who rejected her calls, who didn’t want to see her anymore, who joined her parents in forgetting her birthdays, the queen that everyone talks about, the monster, the murderer. She knows she isn’t being fair, because in that case, Seungwan would also be a murderer if she thinks about it, but it’s just not the same for her.

She has always known, it was just that she kept trying to separate her as two different people—her Minjeong and Queen Winter. The public Minjeong just happens to be her Minjeong, but her Minjeong is not the same anymore. She might be overreacting about Winter lying to her, but the truth is that Minjeong would have never lied to her, and that truth is enough to break any idealized version she had of her. It just makes Joohyun wonder what other things Winter hides from her.

Seungwan keeps her close while they walk through different halls, looking for the right room. This side of the palace has changed, with walls filled with paintings and mirrors, and if she looks closely, she can also see cameras, their usual red light turned off. It’s not like Winter needs them, since she has eyes everywhere. They turn right and Joohyun hears a faint cry, like a whimper. She hesitates with her hand over the big handle, not sure if she should open it or not. Jimin doesn’t see her hesitation and decides to push the big doors herself. They open with a loud creaking sound, alerting people inside.

Joohyun feels her cheeks heat up in an instant. Minjeong IV is straddling a man, his tanned skin a strong contrast with Minjeong’s pale one. She can’t see his face, but she can see enough of Minjeong’s back to know that they are not supposed to be watching what they are doing. Joohyun looks away, while Karina looks at the scene with her jaw slack, hanging open.

Minjeong IV bounces off the man’s lap, turning around like she isn’t fully . She brushes her now curly, blonde hair off her forehead, damp with sweat.

“Oh, Irene! I’m glad to see you again.” Minjeong walks toward them, looking curiously at Karina. “You wanted to join us?” she asks, extending her arm to point at the man, who’s also very .

“No, no, I’m sorry, I was looking for—you know, Minjeong.”

Seungwan frowns, just as confused as Karina. “What are you talking about? We were looking for her.” She points at Minjeong IV.

Winter laughs, and Seunwang fixes her eyes on the roof.

“It’s okay, it happens a lot.” The queen says. “I’ll be here if you want to join me, otherwise…” she lets the implication hang in the air, and Seungwan doesn’t need to be told twice, pulling Karina outside and closing the doors again. They stay there for only seconds, pulling out of their shock just when another moan resonates in the empty hall.

Joohyun grabs both of them by their arms, dragging them through the hall and stopping in front of the last door. She pushes it open, finding Minjeong in the center of the playground, long, black hair with white highlights back.

“What took you so long?”

Karina opens and closes like a fish, her words stuck in . “You—,” she tries, “I mean, we were—,”.

Winter squints her eyes, briefly looking at Joohyun, deciding to ask Wendy instead. “What’s wrong with her?”

“We saw you—,” Wendy tries, but she doesn’t know how to explain what they saw without blushing or sounding crazy. She doesn’t have to at the end, because Joohyun speaks for her.

“They saw Minjeong IV.”

“Oh, that. I guess it’s understandable.” Winter hums, and Joohyun feels her gaze on her. “Was she at least decent?”

Karina is still in shock, trying to gesticulate with her hands, and Winter takes it as enough answer to her question.

“I see,” she continues. “She’s supposed to act her part, but she has been rebelling a lot lately. She even dyed her hair.” Winter scratches her head in exasperation. “I’ll have to fix that later.”

It takes a minute for Karina to sit on the floor, still trying to figure out what just happened.

“I think she broke her,” Joohyun says, just a murmur, but loud enough for Winter to hear it. She can still feel Winter’s eyes on her, but she refuses to look at her, a whimsical act that gives her a false sense of control.

“Ji—Karina,” Winter addresses her, almost blurting out that she knows her real name. “It was just another me. It’s not that deep.”

“Another you?” Karina finally speaks, her chest rising and falling like she’s trying to even out her breathing, a horrified expression on her face. “What do you mean? How many yous are there?”

Winter suppresses a yawn, a ray of light blinding her for a second. She changes her position to avoid the sun reflection on the glass behind her, rubbing her arms to try to warm herself up.

“Do you really want to know?”

“I—I just, I don’t understand. Who’s the real Winter?” Karina asks.

Seungwan keeps her attention focused on Joohyun, not interested in participating in the conversation. She doesn’t want Joohyun to think she would take Winter’s side over her, so she remains silent, watching the exchange. Besides, it’s very entertaining to see Karina at a loss for words, when she’s usually the most talkative of them.

“All of us are real,” Winter says. “I just happen to be the first.”

Karina opens to say something again, but she ends up nodding.

“So,” she continues. “I’m sorry to be the one to say this but I don’t think going after The Purple Warlock is a good idea.”

“But—,” Joohyun starts, just to be silenced by Winter’s hand in the air.

“As I was saying,” she rolls her eyes. “Going into the enemy’s land isn’t wise. But it could have the surprise factor, so I will still help you,” she clarifies, pointing at Joohyun. “But the Minjeongs never agree on anything if I’m not here so I’ll just accompany you to the border.”

“So—,” Winter holds her hand up again, and Joohyun feels like a child all over again, silenced by her parents at social events.

“We will try to leave in the daylight by foot this time to not attract attention,” Winter says, exhaling. “We’re not even safe in my land, for God’s sake.” She rubs her right eye with the back of her hand, letting her head hang from the chair.

•••

Dimland, Frogs, 6:20 am

Kang Seulgi is a lot of things, but a bad person by choice is not one of them. She didn’t choose her life, she didn’t want it in the first place. She should have fled when she had the opportunity. But now it was too late. So that’s why what she has to do to Jimin doesn’t make her proud. But it is what it is.

She looks at the little bottle, a red drop just like the color of blood. She wonders what it would taste like, what it will do to her aunt when she drinks from it. She’s no stranger to doing things with family because she’s Joy’s slave after all, but it still feels wrong to do that to Joy’s daughter. Like she’s betraying her master, like she’s violating Jimin’s trust. Not like she doesn’t deserve it though, after what she did. Sooyoung’s state is Jimin’s fault, after all. Her Sooyoung disappeared because of her, and she would make her pay if it weren’t because of the tiny possibility of Jimin getting through her mother.

So that’s exactly why she stands outside of the house of one of Joy’s informants. It’s always been hard for her to admit she doesn’t know something, and this time is no different. Joy said it better: she’s probably the most stupid shadow in the whole Kingdom. That’s her burden—being a shadow. She wonders why the gods decided to make her that way. She would have been better off as a laughter, making people happy, but maybe not as happier herself, since Laughters were at the bottom of the pyramid. It’s just an idea anyway. She’s too far away from that reality to give it any second of her time.

Wood planks cover the windows, keeping the house’s occupants inside. Black paint hides the walls, blending with the landscape well enough to not stand out in the stack of buildings and houses filling the city.

The City of Frogs. Surface: one thousand one hundred fifty-four kilometers squared. Population: two hundred ten thousand seven hundred twenty-nine. In other words: big enough. She knows it’s also one of the coldest in Dimland, but all places are cold if the sun doesn’t shine. She shivers, feeling something barely touching her back. It must be those things that Jimin created and no one likes, except for Winter, who seems to have them under control.

She goes around the back, stopping just before putting her right foot on the biggest bear trap she has ever seen. It must be hand-made.

“Paranoid much,” Seulgi murmurs, hitting the back of the flashlight until it shines again. Frogs is so dark that she can barely see her feet in front of her, but it’s enough to avoid falling into the amateur traps they have set. She’s a step away from the back door when the sound of a loading gun makes her stop in her tracks. It must have come from behind the door because she would have felt if someone followed her.

“Don’t waste your time,” Seulgi raises her hands, taking a step back in a symbolic sign of peace even if the person be