Kyuhyun groaned.

Seriously, why did these things happen to him? 

“Yep, she’s really dead as a doornail.”

Kyuhyun wondered why a doornail was ever thought to be alive in the first place but now really wasn’t the time to debate the issue. Gingerly, he tried to poke the body lying on the floor with the tip of his right shoe just to make sure if the girl was really dead. Of course the pool of blood staining the carpet underneath the girl’s head should have been an obvious give-away but Kyuhyun had long since realized that there are lots of things in this world that shouldn’t be taken at face value.

“Hey, don’t touch that thi-… her!” the annoying Labrador beside him chided, “Haven’t you watched those cop shows? You mustn’t tamper with evidence!”

Yes, that was a dog speaking. See why Kyuhyun doesn’t take anything at face value anymore? Because in the world he used to know and live in, dogs do not talk. But he didn’t know how and when he fell in some cosmic rabbit hole and found talking dogs and dead bodies on his door step. 

Well okay, that was the case with Kangin, the Labrador. This dead girl at least had the decency to die in his neighbour’s living room. Not that that was any better, especially for his poor neighbour, but at least he was spared the shock and terror he experienced once when he opened his front door to the dog who was now his “housemate” all those months ago.

What happened exactly you ask? Well it wasn’t really anything earth-shaking, unless you count meeting talking animals as “earth-shaking”. Anyway, it was just that Kyuhyun woke up one day and found the birthmark he had on top of his belly button glowing.

Yes, glowing. There was no other word for it because it was just really…glowing. This particular birthmark of his wasn’t particularly pretty, at least in Kyuhyun’s opinion and was the primary reason he was quite conscious about showing his torso. Or more appropriately, lack of showing his torso since he took care not to expose it, even when he went swimming. Or even when he gets particularly intimate with a girl. Yes, he wasn’t a but then again, he was already 25 and quite attractive, it would be much more shocking if he was. 

The birthmark was oddly shaped. When he was quite young, he thought it looked like a snake but after some years, he could distinguish it as shaped like a tail. A pronged tail to be exact. And now that it glowed, he could make out more lines on the birthmark (which should be impossible but then again, it wasn’t supposed to glow either) and they gave the appearance of scales. His birthmark looked like a pronged tail with scales, Kyuhyun thought to himself, And it freaking glows.

Kyuhyun was quite a rational person, he was a law student after all, and he didn’t panic. He observed all of this with an almost detached manner and stood up to start his day per usual. Maybe he was just really a calm and self-composed person. Or maybe he was just in denial that odd things were happening to him. Whatever the case, that composure left him completely when he heard a knock on the door and after asking who it was and getting a somewhat gruff response, “Kyuhyun, we need to talk.” He opened the door wondering who of his friends was the owner of that voice. 

As it happens, it wasn’t one of his friends, it was a Golden Labrador Retriever on his doorstep.

“Ok kiddo, I need you not to panic,” the dog said calmly as he stared straight at Kyuhyun, “It’s quite important that you listen to what I hav-”

SLAM! Kyuhyun didn’t wait for the dog to finish what he had to say. He let out a scream (which Kangin, whenever he recalled it, said sounded like a little girl’s shriek but which Kyuhyun was quick to deny and say that it was a manly outburst of emotion) and realizing what he just did, clamped both hands on his mouth.

There was another series of knocks on the door and Kyuhyun closed his eyes as he whispered fervently to himself, “This is not real. I’m still asleep and I’m still dreaming and…ouch! Okay, I just dreamed that pinching myself within the dream will hurt me but it really didn’t and…” Kyuhyun didn’t care that he didn’t sound like the rational and sensible person that he usually was. Coming face to face with a talking dog on your door step did that to people.

Then he heard a series of loud howls and barks and knew that his cranky old next door neighbour will probably go out and complain and find the dog and… 

Instantly, Kyuhyun opened the door and almost instantly, got bowled over by the large dog.

“Alright, listen to me,” the Labrador enunciated every word slowly and precisely in a low growl as he pinned Kyuhyun on his back with his large paws on his shoulders, “I’m here to help you and I can’t do it if you’re going to flail around like a chicken with a lost head.”

Kyuhyun didn’t bother correcting the Labrador that a chicken couldn’t do much with a severed head. Not that it was important considering the present circumstances. He wondered if it was a good idea to panic more since he figured he was just in a dream anyway when the dog’s next words startled him. “We need to do something first about that glowing mark of yours,” the Labrador said as he abruptly got off him then snapped, “Now get up and take this pendant on my collar.”

Kyuhyun, a little dazed but quite compliant since the dog was after all, very large, sat up and did as he was told. He examined the small object in his hand and saw that it was a plain gold nugget. There were no designs or marks on the shiny gold lump, just a small loop on one side, presumably to string a chain into.

“You can admire that another time,” the Labrador brusquely said, “Get a chain and wear that. NOW!”

At the large dog’s growl, Kyuhyun jumped up and quickly searched through the drawers for some suitable chain. He wasn’t that fond of jewellery and so he didn’t own a gold chain. He finally found what he was looking for, a string made of plaited hemp. 

The dog hissed, “Hurry up! They’re almost here!”

Kyuhyun adjusted the length of the makeshift necklace, knotted it and slipped it over his head. 

Just as a well-dressed man and woman showed up on his open front door.

“Gatekeeper, we need to escape. Open the gates to Pendarak now!” the man said while the woman added a little desperately, “Please hurry Gatekeeper, please!”

Kyuhyun did as was expected in this kind of situation. He stood there and just gaped at them.

The Labrador shook his head disgustedly and growled at Kyuhyun under his breath. “Just follow my lead. And try to act as if you know what you’re doing, will you?” Kyuhyun nodded a little dazedly and the Labrador told him in whispering tones, “Draw a large circle on the floor with your forefinger.” Kyuhyun blinked at him so he snarled, “Just do it!”

Kyuhyun did as he was told while his brain was screaming at him the whole time, demanding to know what on earth was going on. But as he completely traced a circle with his finger, his eyes widened as the floor suddenly glowed a fiery red, precisely following the curves of the imaginary circle he drew.

“Now repeat these words after me.” And Kyuhyun did just that, stumbling a little over the unfamiliar syllables. He had no idea whatsoever what the heck was going on and would have loved to have anyone sane explain it to him but he repeated the words the dog dictated to him.

The space inside the circle suddenly shimmered as he said the last words of the incantation.

“Come Jessica darling, we need to go now,” the man said to his companion. He had looked panicky the whole time but as he saw the shimmery surface, his face now relaxed and his expression was one of adoration as he gazed upon the woman with him.

The woman named Jessica just smiled at him, a little shyly in Kyuhyun’s opinion then he was surprised when she suddenly addressed him, “Thank you!” The man now also looked at him and nodded in gratitude as both them stepped inside the circle. 

And promptly vanished along with the drawn circle.

“What the-…!”

Then suddenly, three men and a young woman appeared on his doorstep. By this time, Kyuhyun was now wondering if someone had posted a sign outside his door saying, “Weirdo convention here! Come one, come all!”

“Why did you let them go, Gatekeeper?” the tallest of the men demanded with a disapproving scowl when he surveyed the room and only found him and the dog.

“He was a dragon, he had the right to ask for passage to his home world,” the Labrador barked back at him.

The scowling man narrowed his eyes at the dog and Kyuhyun suddenly felt a little better with the dog by his side. Even if he didn’t understand a single thing going on!

“But the woman with him was not, daemon,” the man snapped back then he turned to Kyuhyun, “Why did you open the gates for her?”

Kyuhyun told himself that he probably would not endear himself to anybody if he answered, umm, because she looked desperate and pretty? So he quickly searched for something else to say and thinking that since he was stuck in this weird dream, he might as well say something odd as well. “She smelled a little like him so I figured, it was okay to let her go with him,” he said with a shrug and forced himself not to laugh at the absurdity of what he just said.

Except that many things happened at once after his statement. The Labrador gave a strangled bark then looked up at him in…was that nervousness?! The scowling man’s ears turned red and he coughed embarrassedly, the girl stifled a cry while the two other men shuffled their feet nervously behind the others.

Kyuhyun felt a little bad that the young girl looked upset and so he said the first thing on his mind, “Well, she smelled a little like you too,” he said a little consolingly. By now, he was still half-confused but the other half was now starting to feel amusement about the situation. This is just a dream, nothing this absurd happens in real life. 

The girl suddenly covered her face with her hands and was that a sob? Kyuhyun suddenly felt bad, he didn’t know his statement acually made the girl more upset. But before he could take a step forward, the girl just as quickly raised her head and lashed out at the scowling man, “This is all your brother’s fault, Prince Nickhun! I’ll make sure to tell my Queen about this!”

“My brother?!” Nickhun said in outraged tones, “What about your sister, Lady Krystal?! Lady Jessica’s the one who-… Never mind, I won’t say bad things about a woman even if she’s a Hielan.” Kyuhyun could see that the man named Nickhun was controlling his temper when he suddenly him, “Are you sure you smell-…,” then he suddenly stopped. His eyes widened as he moved closer to Kyuhyun and sniffed.

Understandably, Kyuhyun stepped back from the sniffing Nickhun. The truth was, he actually did smell the scent of the man earlier on Jessica as well as the scent that the girl Krystal had. He didn’t know he had that acute sense of smell but since this was a dream, maybe he was just dreaming that his senses were that heightened? Although he was a little nervous why Nickhun was suddenly sniffing him. Why was everyone suddenly obsessed with smelling other people anyway? Oh yeah, because I set the theme of this dream, Kyuhyun concluded to himself.

“Are you…?” Nickhun began then his eyes alighted on the gold pendant on Kyuhyun’s chest. His furrowed brow cleared then he smiled to himself, “Oh, so that’s why. I thought…anyway, that’s not important.” He turned back to a glaring Krystal. “You know what, it’s time I make a personal visit to that queen of yours and demand that she fixes this.”

“How dare you! You think we’ll let you order our queen around?” Krystal snapped at him, “Queen Victoria will have all your clan’s tails for daring to run off with my sister!”

“So that’s your queen’s name,” Nickhun said through gritted teeth, “Well, I also have a lot of things to tell her when I meet her. One of them is how dare she lets one of her “trusted” ladies-in-waiting seduce my brother Taecyon! And this probably happened right under her nose!”

The Labrador suddenly gave a loud growl, “If you’re done here children, can you just take your squabbling elsewhere?”

Nickhun gave him a glare but signalled to the two men who gave a slight bow to Kyuhyun before going out. Nickhun looked at Kyuhyun and seemed about to ask something before changing his mind. He just apologized grudgingly and followed the two men outside. Krystal was the last to go. She looked at Kyuhyun with a very reproachful look before flouncing out of the house, her long hair floating in waves around her as she abruptly turned and walked out.

Kyuhyun calmly went to the door, closed it and clicked the lock in place. Then he went back to his bedroom.

“Hey, what do you think you’re doing?”

Kyuhyun climbed onto his bed and arranged the blankets around him before answering the dog, “What does it look like? I’m going back to sleep and when I wake up, I expect you gone and this weird dream finished,” then he added with a little sarcasm, “It was fun entertaining you and apparently, some crazy aliens but I have class in the morning, this morning actually, so ta-ta. Good night and good riddance!”

The dog seemed to choke in outrage and Kyuhyun didn’t care that the Labrador’s face was now red probably from lack of oxygen as it probably tried not to pounce on him and take a bite at him. Then Kyuhyun blinked in surprise as the dog suddenly smirked and stared at him with the most annoying expression on its face. It was too smug for Kyuhyun’s liking so he his side, facing away with a huff.

Minutes passed and Kyuhyun still couldn’t sleep, which was quite understandable considering that he had actually already slept the night through and just woke up. What’s more, he could see the time from the clock on his bedside table and from the open windows just beyond that the sun was shining in all its glory. It was mid-morning and Kyuhyun should have been out of the house thirty minutes ago if he actually wanted to be in his university’s lecture hall on time.

Slowly, with his heart starting to pound and an inexplicable heavy weight in his stomach, Kyuhyun turned to face the large dog which still had that stupid smug look on its face.

“Alright, I get it,” Kyuhyun said in defeat as he pushed off the blankets and sat up on his bed, “Just give me some moments, okay?”

The Labrador tilted its head on the side in confusion, “For wha-..” His question was cut short as Kyuhyun suddenly screamed and pounded his fists on either side of him. Then not contented, he suddenly caught hold of his pillows and threw them with all his might across the wall on the other side of his room still screaming all the while.

Then just as quickly, he stopped, cleared his throat, stood up and calmly but coldly asked the dog, “Okay, that’s done. So this isn’t a dream, huh? Then explain to me what the is going on! Who are you?! What are those people?! How come you know about my birthmark?! And did I just actually make two people ing vanish?!”

The Labrador smirked, “Finished with your tantrum, eh? That was quite entertaining actually. And good to see you’re not going to be too much hysterical about this.” Kyuhyun started to deny that he was not that hysterical but the dog cut him short, “Alright, I’ll just give you a short rundown first so you don’t get overwhelmed with new information all at once. My name’s Kangin. I’m a daemon and your guardian. I’ll explain that to you later on but what’s most important is that you should know you’re one of the Gatekeepers of the Nine Worlds. One of those worlds is this one, Earth, your home. That mark you have is proof of your identity. The man you sent to Pendarak is really a dragon. That’s his home world so you didn’t break any rules sending him there. The girl’s from Hielo. And all the other people you met this morning are not from this world. So now are you starting to understand?”

That was what happened four months ago and no, Kyuhyun still didn’t understand. Well okay, just not completely considering he was quite stubborn as to some parts of it. Especially to one particular detail about his role. He was brought back to the present as Kangin growled at him, “Have you actually been listening to anything I’ve said?”

Kyuhyun scowled and said a little haughtily, “Yeah, I was!”

The Labrador just gave a wry smile as he said sarcastically, “Oh really, then I suppose it doesn’t bother you that I just said someone is coming…” Kyuhyun was quickly alert, his eyes darting to the front door which to his horror, he now saw the doorknob being turned, “…and that we should leave immediately. But oh look, it’s too late now,” Kangin purred like a cat and Kyuhyun knew that whenever Kangin did that, it was mainly to annoy him.

Kyuhyun stood rooted to his spot while Kangin quickly bolted out of the room, presumably to hide himself. Kyuhyun hissed. This was quite bad. He was all alone with a dead body and whoever was on the other side of that door will just take one look, put two and two together and come up with five. 

Kyuhyun started to curse in his head. He cursed the cowardly Kangin, he cursed why his life had become like this, he curs-…

The door opened and all thoughts flew out of his head as Kyuhyun found himself staring into the most piercing dark eyes he had ever seen.